RTHK: US Bars Russian-affiliated ships from its ports President Joe Biden announced on Thursday the United States will ban Russian-affiliated ships from American ports, joining Canada and European nations in the latest step to pressure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Reuters first reported Biden's planned action on Thursday and had reported in early March that the ban was under consideration by the White House. "That means no ship, no ship that sails under the Russian flag or that is owned or operated by a Russian entity, will be allowed to dock in a United States port or access our shores. None," Biden said Thursday. The sources said that in 2021 Russian vessels made about 1,800 visits - less than 3 percent of all traffic. People briefed on the matter said nearly 90 percent of that traffic was oil imports, which the United States has previously banned. Biden's order released on Thursday cited "the policies and actions of the government of the Russian Federation to continue the premeditated, unjustified, unprovoked and brutal war against Ukraine." The order authorizes the Homeland Security Department to issue rules "to regulate the anchorage and movement of Russian-affiliated vessels, and delegate to the secretary my authority to approve such rules and regulations". The order aims to prevent Russian ships from entering the United States - even if they are reflagged at sea - and covers Russian-flagged, owned or operated ships. The issue prompted an extensive Biden administration review to ensure the ban on Russian ships would not seriously impact US supply chains. The order does not seek to ban the shipment of all Russian cargo. Canada on March 1 shut its ports to Russian-owned ships and barred them from Canadian waters, and many European countries have also taken the same step including Bulgaria, Estonia and Italy. The United States previously barred Russian airplanes from US airspace, joining Canada and European nations in the action. The United States has also banned the import of oil from Russia. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2022-04-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat airport upgrade nears completion The upgrade of Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat international airports has been scheduled to be finished before Reunification Day (April 30) and the May Day (May 1) holiday. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has decided to reopen the runway 11R/29L of Noi Bai International Airport from April 23. The upgrade of the airports S1, S6, S1A, P4, P7 and S6B taxiways has also been slated for being completed before the Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holiday. Noi Bai International Airport Deputy Head of the CAAV, Noi Bai International Airport Pham Van Hao said the airport would see a surge during this holiday with around 400 flights per day and 75,000 passengers through its domestic terminal. During the same period last year, Noi Bai served 420 flights, nearly 64,000 passengers per day. Meanwhile, the upgrade of Tan Son Nhat International Airports runways and airways will be completed before April 30 to meet the airports passenger rise. Tan Son Nhat International Airports 25R/07L runway has been closed for upgrading work since February. During the closure, the CAAV has adjusted the number of flights at Tan Son Nhat to 30 per hour compared to 36-48 between February 21 and Apr 30. Many domestic flights have been fully booked for the upcoming Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holiday. 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. Nearly 50 volunteers turned out to remove trash from the unsanctioned homeless encampment on the south end of the Reserve Street Bridge on Friday for Earth Day. They filled countless trash bags in an effort to remove as much debris from the riparian area as possible before the river hits its high water mark this spring and washes it all downstream. Its overwhelming how much trash there is, said Kevin Davis, who helped organize this years effort. Id say theres more trash this year than what weve had the last couple of years. Last year, volunteers removed 15 tons of garbage in two cleanup events. Although the area is fenced off to prevent unhoused people from setting up camp in the area, some have never left, Davis said. Despite signs you can see on the bridge, no trespassing enforced January 2022, it hasnt been enforced, he continued. Sarah Dunfees employer gave her the day off from work to participate in a community service project for Earth Day. Dunfee is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, visiting friends in Missoula while working remotely. I definitely had a wide range of emotions (when I first walked into the encampment). I didnt expect it to be this wild, but it's overwhelming, Dunfee said. Its sad, but also inspiring. Its an eye-opening experience, but theres a sense of hope with all these people coming together. Volunteers spread out among the trees sifting through piles that extended well beyond the underbelly of the bridge, chipping away at piles of discarded plastic, shopping carts, blankets and more. This years cleanup almost didnt happen due to security and liability issues with people moving back into the camp, Davis said. Earlier this week the Montana Department of Transportation, which owns the land that the encampment is on, filed a complaint in Missoula County District Court to remove people who are illegally camping there. I said (to MDT), 'You guys have the ultimate decision, I have to do what you tell me, but keep in mind, hows it different from last year when there were campers there?' Davis said. In fact, some of the campers got out last year and asked for bags to help us pick up trash. The number of people in the encampment fluctuates and there is not consistent monitoring of the site to determine how many might live there, Davis said. The goal of MDTs complaint is to gently escort people living at the Reserve Street Bridge and connect them with other options, including the legal Authorized Camping Site nearby, county commissioner Josh Slotnick said earlier this week. John Wolverton, a volunteer at the cleanup, said the encampment is indicative of a larger systemic issue. We cant just cure homelessness by shifting homeless people around the community, Wolverton said. At a larger national and global scale weve got to address some really problematic economic issues. Davis hopes to organize a second volunteer cleanup event at another site in the coming weeks, however he has a short window of time to work with before the water rises from melting snow, he said. I want to shift from cleaning to now restoring the river bank and potentially turning it into one of the nicest public river access points in Missoula, Davis said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 8 Sad 1 Angry 4 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A judge has halted a law that required Montanans who are transgender and want to update their birth certificates to undergo surgery and petition a court. "Living ones life consistently with ones gender identity includes using identity documents that accurately reflect ones gender identity," Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses wrote in Thursday's order issuing the preliminary injunction. "Gender-affirming surgery, even for those transgender people who have a medical need for it, does not 'change' their sex, but rather affirms it." The injunction means the law is on hold while the lawsuit challenging it plays out. It was filed by Amelia Marquez, a Billings woman who is transgender and sought to update her birth certificate that identifies her as male; and an anonymous John Doe, who was born in Montana and wants to correct the sex designation on his birth certificate, but did not want to be forced to share medical information in open court proceedings. It was filed against the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, which handles birth certificates and changes made to them, and Gov. Greg Gianforte. The law was passed in the 2021 legislative session and signed by Gianforte. It was one of the most intensely debated bills of the session. Republican state Sen. Carl Glimm, the sponsor of Senate Bill 280, said when he brought the legislation he was frustrated with the rule adopted by the former Democratic administration under which people could previously update a birth certificate by submitting a form to the state health department. In an emailed statement Thursday, the ACLU of Montana, which represents the plaintiffs, celebrated the order. We are thrilled that the court recognized the substantial and unnecessary burdens this law places upon transgender individuals in violation of their constitutional rights, said Akilah Lane, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Montana. The courts injunction affirms the basis of our case: that SB 280 intentionally targets transgender people for unequal treatment because, as Judge Moses wrote, only transgender individuals are subjected to these procedures and burdens in order to have a birth certificate that accurately reflects their gender." When asked via email Thursday if the state would appeal the preliminary injunction, a spokesperson said the state health department does not comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson for the Governor's Office also said it does not generally comment on potential or ongoing litigation. In his order, Moses wrote the law didn't make clear what kind of surgical procedure would meet its requirement or how someone would prove they'd had an operation, nor did it specify if a licensed medical or other professional would review the information submitted to the heath department. The law also made no exceptions for if there was a medical reason to not do surgery or if someone could not pay for a mandated procedure, Moses wrote. "SB 280 requires plaintiffs to disclose private medical information, as well as information about their transgender status, in a public proceeding with no assurance of confidentiality," Moses wrote. "SB 280 also compels plaintiffs to undergo surgery they may not want or need or that is not part of their prescribed medical care or that they may not be able to afford." While Doe has undergone what's commonly called "top surgery," or masculinizing chest-reconstruction surgery, he said it was unclear if that would meet the requirements in the new law. Further, Doe said going to court would force him to "share private medical records related to his transition in a public court proceeding to determine whether he is the man he knows himself to be," Moses wrote. In his order, Moses pointed to the state Constitution's privacy provisions that guarantee that "the right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest." It's the same provision that a watershed state Supreme Court hearing in 1999 pointed to in protecting the right for women to access pre-viability abortions. "Like other major health care decisions, decisions about gender-affirming surgery are profoundly personal, require confidential medical evaluations, and often involve intimate conversations with family members," Moses wrote. The state previously argued that the plaintiffs' "alleged injuries are no more than generalized concerns over abstract, future harm that lack basis, are ill-defined, and may never materialize. The state also argued that fears over being outed as transgender were not valid since the plaintiffs decided to participate in the lawsuit. However, Moses found the plaintiffs' concerns sufficient to issue the preliminary injunction. "Ms. Marquez has had personal experience with the high incidence of harassment and discrimination experienced by transgender people, having been the target of this treatment in both her personal and professional life, Moses wrote. "Due to these experiences, Ms. Marquez has learned that she must take extra precautions for her personal safety and is afraid anytime she is in situations where her status as transgender might be revealed to people whom she does not already know and trust." You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Office of the State Public Defender will "immediately" open union negotiations for higher pay and up its rate for contract attorneys, the agency said Thursday. The plan to increase rates to address pay disparities is aimed at resolving a serious backlog of public defender cases and staffing shortages that have long plagued the agency. Officials from OPD have urged lawmakers in recent legislative hearings to boost pay for their attorneys in an effort to gain ground on employee retention woes. Currently, public defenders could move laterally within state government and take an attorney job for $13,000 more per year than what OPD pays. With this plan, we are taking substantive steps to improve the public defense system in Montana. Our goal is to make public defender compensation more in line with similar attorneys so we can recruit and retain well-qualified attorneys to serve Montanans, OPD Director Rhonda Lindquist said in the press release. Making prudent, responsible investments in public defense is an investment in our justice system and in ensuring our constitutionally guaranteed rights are upheld. Brett Schandelson, OPD development and operations bureau chief, said Wednesday the agency received support from the Governor's Office and the state budget office to make the increases. The parties had been in discussions about the need for wage and rate increases for months, Schandelson said. The increase will represent the largest investment in public defense in Montana since OPD was founded, the agency said in the press release. "Were really pleased with this investment into the agency and look forward to working through it," Schandelson said. "We know not everything can be solved with money, but the vacancies we have, the low contract rate, these are real issues that are clearly affecting to our ability to assign our work and having some ability to address them head on is really important." The announcement comes less than a month after a group of contract attorneys in western Montana wrote a letter to OPD questioning the legality of a higher rate paid to their counterparts in Yellowstone County. State law requires pay be balanced across the state for contract attorneys who take on cases for the often-shorthanded public defenders office. Contract attorneys in the Yellowstone County area were provided a higher rate, $71 per hour, as the state public defenders office there was struggling to assign attorneys to indigent clients. The contract attorneys who sent the letter to OPD said they would no longer take cases as long as the uneven rate remained in place. On Thursday, one of the attorneys speaking on behalf of the group said they will again accept cases on behalf of the public defenders office. "We look forward to getting back to the work of providing high-quality public defense and support to Montana's vulnerable citizens," Kelly Driscoll said in a message Thursday. "We are hopeful that we can continue the conversation with the Office of Public Defender to ensure a robust public defense system for all Montanans." Asked what affect the contractors' letter had, Schandelson said Wednesday it gave the agency tangible footing in discussions with the Governor's Office and the state budget staff. "While we've been working on this, I think it put a point on it," Schandelson said. "These folks weren't willing to work for that lower rate anymore and said so openly. It reinforced the message that we'd already been saying." Schandelson said the rate increase in the Billings area had a positive impact, one he hopes will translate statewide with the new rate of $71 per hour across the board. Gov. Greg Gianforte and the budget office, given a successful "pilot program" in Billings, supported OPD's use of general fund dollars, spokesperson Brooke Stroyke said in an email Thursday. The public defenders office will be able to cover the costs from its existing budget through the rest of the fiscal year, she said. "At the start of the next fiscal year, (the Governor's Office of Budget and Program Planning) will monitor to determine if there is a need for additional funding to be requested by the next legislative session for the increase in contractor rate, unbudgeted Capital cases, or the increase in caseload above what was budgeted by the legislature," Stroyke said in an email. The new rate goes into affect for all contract work that began on April 1. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. 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 Wyoming construction worker has been sentenced to 44 months in jail for the assault and attempted kidnapping of a co-worker in Yellowstone National Park in 2021. Gregory Michael Samuel Toth, 40, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $500 fine and a $100 assessment. Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal handed down the sentence on April 18. Assault is a serious crime regardless of the location, but when it occurs in a national park, it becomes a federal felony, said U.S. Attorney Bob Murray in a statement. This individual is now serving close to four years in federal prison due to an unnecessary assault on an innocent individual. According to court filings, Toth pressed a knife to the throat of the co-worker, identified only as a Wyoming man with the initials EF. Toth accused the victim of seeing his ex-girlfriend. The two men reportedly knew each other for 32 years. Toth had just gotten out of jail for kidnapping and assaulting an ex-girlfriend, and EF had vouched for Toth to get the Yellowstone construction job. Toth and the victim were sharing a trailer in the Fishing Bridge RV Loop when the alleged assault occurred. While EF was shopping in Cody, Wyoming, Toth called and threatened EF for having sex with the ex-girlfriend. Toth told EF he was driving to Cody to find the car and deal with us [them] properly, according to court documents. On the drive back to Fishing Bridge, Toth was reportedly parked alongside the highway and pursued EF and his companion. At around 5:22 a.m., Toth banged on the trailer where EF had been sleeping. When EF opened the door, Toth rushed into the trailer, threw EF down and began choking him. He then took a knife out and held it to EFs throat. Eventually, Toth let EF up but kept him trapped in the trailer, saying dont worry, Ill give you a chance before I kill you, Ill let you try and fight me then Ill shoot you in the head. When Toth let EF out of the trailer, he ran away toward a co-worker who was driving out of the campground. Jumping in the co-workers vehicle, the two drove toward West Thumb as EF called 911. When detained at the campground, Toth denied threatening EF with a knife, telling officers he had only pushed EF down and held him there. A knife similar to the one EF described was found in Toths vehicle along with a nearly empty bottle of vodka. Toth was arrested on Oct. 6, 2021, in Park County, Wyoming. His sentence will be served concurrently to a state sentence. This crime was investigated by National Park Service special agents and Yellowstone National Park law enforcement officers. Michael J. Elmore prosecuted the case. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Montana has temporarily closed the Veterans long-term care center in Miles City following concerns over patient safety, the agency said Thursday. In December, the VAs regional office received a self-report from the facility over concerns for patient safety. The VA did not disclose the nature of the concerns or whether any veterans were harmed as a result of the concerns other than to say they were valid. The VA reportedly investigated the situation at the CLC in Miles City through an administrative review process, deemed the concerns justified and decided to move the veterans at the facility to other long-term care centers, according to Montana VA spokesperson Matt Rosine. In Dec. 2021, Montana VA identified concerns with patient safety. VA pursued multiple processes to include inspections, investigations, and inquiries to fully evaluate the CLC, read a press release Thursday afternoon issued in response to questions from the Billings Gazette. Currently, the VA is working with the veterans living at the center and their families to relocate them to other care homes. Those facilities could include local nursing homes or other federally-managed homes like the care center at the VA Hospital at Fort Harrison near Helena according to people familiar with the situation. After the veterans have been moved from the home, the temporary closure will allow the VA to recruit, train and increase staffing requirements to the level of care the VA deems necessary to reopen the living center. The safety and well-being of our veterans is our highest priority. Due to staffing challenges, we are unable to ensure that a critical level of high-quality care can be provided to residents, said Montanas VA Executive Director Dr. Judy Hayman via the press release. We are proactively transitioning Veterans to other locations based on their and their families' preference. Currently the home, which treats long-term patients in need of skilled-nursing and complex care, is home to 14 veterans. The facility employs 40 people but has staffing shortages in five areas, according to the VA. Those include physical therapy, social work, nursing leadership, nurse educator, and recreation therapy. Sen. Steve Daines office said they were aware of the closure in Miles City and the Senator is looking into the situation. He added in a statement that he is committed to doing everything he can to support and care for Montanas veterans." Sen. Jon Testers office said they were also aware of the closure Thursday and the Senator had been in contact with Department of Veterans Affairs officials to look into the situation. Im deeply concerned with what has transpired at the VAs Miles City Community Living Center. The issues that have been brought to my attention and to that of VA leadership are unacceptable, and I'll be working to hold anyone found responsible of wrongdoing accountable. The Montana VA Health Care System serves more than 47,000 enrolled Veterans across Montana with a staff of 1,400 at 18 care sites across the state. One third of Montana VA employees are veterans, according to the Montana VA press release. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Jill, why are you running for school board? For families. The best interests of students should drive every board trustee, but at its backbone are the families in which students are raised. Parents rights has become a hot-button topic, an idea that, like so much in our society, tends to polarize our communities. It shouldnt be this way. Families of all ideological stripes put the most at stake in education: stand with the moms in the kindergarten line on the first day of school and you see the emotion of releasing ones child to school. It comes with the reality that a large percentage of the day is now spent, not at home, but in a classroom an enormous transfer of trust. Our family has been blessed by teachers who love and care for our kids. I am forever grateful for their best efforts with Montanas future. Separate from the work in our classrooms is administrative-level policy-making and our communitys discourse surrounding the ideologies of how schools should operate for the best interest of students. These discussions include parents rights. Parents rights do not end at the school doors, in the classroom, and especially not in the board room. We face important issues: the task of hiring a superintendent, the end of federal funding that has provided crucial help during the pandemic, learning loss, and the need to hire and retain teachers and school professionals in Missoulas high-cost-of-living climate. Parent voice is crucial in those discussions. Many Missoula parents feel their voice is unheard by the current board of trustees. They desire more balance of opinions and ideas. Many have become disenfranchised with the process of raising their concerns or offering their opinions. We enter dangerous territory when parents are afraid to make a ruckus for their kids sakes. When a parents fear of the repercussions for their kids, their relationships, or their career supersedes their willingness to advocate for their children, we need to recalibrate the system. If we cultivate a society that makes parents afraid to speak up, what will become of us? Respectfully demanding accountability, conversation, and solutions that give parents and families a voice in school policy-making should not come at a great cost. What are we teaching our kids if we convey that the only acceptable solution is silence or that dissent comes at too big a risk? Our community has buzzed this week about a worksheet titled, Questions for Exploring Sexual Orientation, allegedly used in a class a Sentinel High School. In a time where the national discourse is hyper-focused on education policy, MCPS would do itself and the community a service by being forthright about the veracity of the worksheet, the context in which it was used, and a precise explanation of what is being done to rectify the situation. With 31% of Missoula high school students proficient or above in math (Montana Office of Public Instruction), we must focus more time on academics and less time on suggestive and leading worksheets. The teachers working toward academic progress would appreciate that focus and support. Lack of transparency only feeds the local rumor mill and spikes parent suspicions, harming teachers in our classrooms and the students they serve. Missoula students, families, and teachers deserve an administration and board of trustees who refuse to veil the truth. Our kids deserve a community committed to its claim of forward-thinking: one devoted to inquisitive conversations that seek solutions rather than placing labels and stoking political divisions. Jill Taber is a Missoula parent and candidate for MCPS Board of Trustees, Elementary/High School District #1. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 Heres a heaping Earth Day helping of our favorite fruit to all those helpers whove volunteered to clean up the Clark Fork River around Missoula. In a counterintuitive twist, we can take pride in the decline of exotic, lucrative discoveries by bank-combers and snorkelers prowling for trash in the waterway. Recent years ago, cleaners crowed about finding expensive sunglasses, fishing gear and other prizes mixed with the beer cans, sandwich wrappers and other flotsam mucking up the shoreline. The overall fall in both poundage and dollar value of stuff people lose in the river indicates both better care for the environment and better skill in using it. In contrast to the global trends toward decay and dismay, this demonstration of caring for the beauty before us reinforces the case for hope in the world. Overpriced chokecherries to the market forces driving Missoulas housing prices to record highs and its housing availability to record lows. When the median home sale jumps 28.6% between 2020 and 2021, but nobodys discovered a new gold mine or fountain of youth drawing people to town, such unsupported fundamentals usually forecast investment trouble ahead. Thats almost three times the 11.1% jump between 2019 and 2020 which was a record for the previous two decades. At the same time, Missoulas rental vacancy rate sits at 1.3%, when the comfortable norm would be 5-8%. In a place where transient students and visiting professors form a significant part of the local economy and culture, such overheated pricing of an essential commodity will leave claw marks. Thundering huckleberries to the anticipated 500 dancer and 50 drum groups coming to the 53rd annual KyiYo Pow Wow at the University of Montana Adams Center. This celebration of Indigenous culture and community has become one of the longest-running and most famous in the nation, thanks to the dedication of its student organizers and volunteers. Grand Entry will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, April 22, and noon and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 23. This Earth Day, renew your acquaintance with this display of Montana Tribal heritage. Red-handed chokecherry stains on the cowards leaving homophobic graffiti on public spaces around Missoula. Anyone who spreads fear and intimidation in secret mirrors their own broken humanity every time they look at their own scrawls. Defacing everyones world for the sake of expressing someones internal hate solves no arguments, wins no battles and wastes cleaning supplies. Constitutional huckleberries to the 60 Montana state legislators who voted against holding a special session to waste tax dollars on a fever dream of voter fraud. Those 10 solons who claim, "the continuing and widespread belief, among a significant majority of Montana voters, that sufficient irregularities in election security in Montana create serious doubt as to the integrity of elections in our state" need to bring their evidence to a court of law and make their case. It remains disturbing that 44 legislators still hold this unfounded view, even after the their most suspect election office (in Missoula County) underwent a thorough, GOP-authenticated review and found nothing actionable or even eyebrow-raising. It takes 75 legislators to convene such a session, after Gov. Greg Gianforte refused to authorize it. At some point, the losers might consider that hammering holes into the Ship of State merely drowns their cause faster. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. TOWNSEND A judge on Friday sentenced 66-year-old Lloyd Barrus to life without parole in the Montana State Prison for his role in the 2017 shooting death of Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore. District Judge Kathy Seeley also gave Barrus two additional life sentences for a high-speed chase he and his son, Marshall Barrus, had with police that ended in a shootout 100 miles away in Missoula County. Marshall Barrus was mortally wounded in the shootout. The three life sentences will run concurrently. Several people, including Moores wife, Jodi, gave statements inside a packed courtroom in the Broadwater County Courthouse before Seeley imposed the sentence. Jodi Moore said her husband was executed at close range. Execute. Thats what he did. Lets call it that, she said. Please do not allow this man the opportunity or possibility to ever do this again to another family. He has proven by his past behavior that he will do this again and again. Seeley said it was, indeed, an execution. I dont know that there was a plan per se, but these two men with their extremist anti-government beliefs were both out of control, and they both made bad choices over and over that evening, Seeley said. I do not believe if he is out in the streets that the public will be safe. Barrus showed little emotion during the hearing but did speak briefly. I am truly sorry for the loss, uh, the Moore familys loss, he said, flanked by defense attorneys Craig Shannon and Greg Jackson. My son I dont see how anybody could be more upset than I am for what happened here. Prosecutors say Lloyd and Marshall Barrus held anti-law enforcement views and were on a suicide mission on May 16, 2017, when they provoked Deputy Moore shortly after 2 a.m. by passing him on U.S. 287 south of Townsend driving 100 mph. They were in a Chevy Suburban and Lloyd Barrus was driving. They say Moore was struck in the face by a bullet through his windshield, his car stopped in the grass just south of Three Forks, and he was alive until the Suburban returned four minutes later and additional gunshots from a semi-automatic rifle ended his life. They say Marshall Barrus fired the mortal rounds. Butte-Silver Bow police spotted the Suburban moving westbound on I-90 about an hour later and started a 90-mile chase, ending in a shootout in Missoula County. Bullets fired from the Suburban knocked two Butte patrol cars from the pursuit, but by then troopers and police from several counties were involved. The Suburban came to a stop just inside Missoula County, its tires shredded by stop-sticks, and a firefight broke out. Marshall was hit and later died while Barrus escaped injury and was arrested. In September, a jury in Butte found Barrus guilty of deliberate homicide by accountability in Moores death, and of two counts of attempted deliberate homicide for the high-speed chase and shootout. Defense attorneys for Barrus argued Friday, as they have the past five years, that Barrus suffered from mental illness and severe delusional disorders. They wanted him to be sentenced to Montana State Hospital. Who was driving that car? His delusional disorder was, Shannon told the judge. But Seeley had already decided he was going to Montana State Prison so the only question was for how long. Seeley ruled last month that even though Barrus was paranoid in the days leading up to Moores death, he understood the criminality and wrongfulness of his actions. Her ruling meant Barrus would be sent to state prison as prosecutors requested. Moores brother, Nebraska Moore, told the judge Friday Barrus should never have been free to commit the crimes he did that night. In March 2000, Lloyd Barrus, another son and a woman were arrested after a high-speed chase and armed standoff with police in Death Valley, California, that lasted more than 18 hours. They eventually exchanged gunfire with police and reportedly damaged a California Highway Patrol helicopter and forced it to land. Barrus was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was ultimately released. The state of California, in its infinite wisdom, released the convicted individual from confinement to do what he said he was born to do to attack and ultimately kill law enforcement officers, Nebraska Moore said. That Barrus was not going to be executed by the state of Montana was an unwarranted mercy, he said. The next time I make popcorn, I will regret that I am not eating it at his execution, he said. The next time I have a beer, I will take great satisfaction in knowing that while there is alcohol in prison, its usually fermented in a trash bag in somebodys toilet. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty but dropped that because Barrus has had extensive mental health issues that could have been a significant mitigating circumstance for imposing death. At one point after charges were filed, Seeley ordered Barrus be given antipsychotic medications via injection to render him competent to stand trial and aid his defense, since he refused to take the drugs orally. He was ultimately cleared to stand trial. The case was prosecuted by Montana Department of Justice Attorneys Dan Guzynski and Stephanie Robles and Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson, with help from several others. Guzynski said after Fridays hearing that under the circumstances, the sentence was the most severe allowed by law and he was pleased the judge imposed it. It honors Deputy Moore, his family and all the law enforcement officers that were involved, he said. Moore was 42 when he was killed. He left behind Jodi and their three children. Two of their sons, now 18, were also in the courtroom Friday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 4 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. Wade Dahood, a colorful, charismatic Anaconda lawyer who often made headlines in high-profile cases during a 70-year career and was instrumental in writing an expansive Declaration of Rights into a new Montana Constitution in 1972, has died. He was 94. Dahood died peacefully on Monday after a short illness with family members by his side. He practiced law into 2021 and despite physical challenges the past few years, was still mentally sharp. He did it all in 94 years and theres nothing to be sad about here, his wife, Nancy, told The Montana Standard this week. He had a great life, he did it all the way he wanted to and he did it his way. Dahoods son, Jeff, joined his father at Knight & Dahood in Anaconda in 2006 and never quit learning from him. The love of his life was the law, Jeff said, and he never gave it up. His eyesight was starting to go but we would send things over for him to read, he said. We had a Supreme Court brief due and he helped us with different things like that. So up until the end, his mind was absolutely there. Dahood took on the Montana Power Co. on behalf of shareholders who lost their shirts, ESPN for tagging Evel Knievel as a pimp, and the Montana Attorney General after a grand jury indicted Dahood on 29 charges tied to workers compensation claims for clients. He practiced with confidence and flair, mixed with the media in the same manner, and in the grand jury probe, all charges were dismissed and the AG issued a public apology to Dahood as part of a libel settlement. He has a scrapbook on all that, Jeff said with a laugh. He bought a new suit, a bigger cigar and a new car. But no matter the cause or client, said longtime Butte lawyer Brad Belke, Dahood practiced with the same fervor. He would do cases for millions of dollars and cases for 50 bucks and bring the same care to all of those cases, Belke said. Most of us practice law but he loved the law. It was a lifelong love affair with the law. And in the courtroom, Belke said, Dahood always had a commanding presence. The minute he stood up at the table, he had the attention of the entire jury, Belke said. And the lawyers were watching to see what he was going to do next because youre going to have to deal with it so you better be paying attention. Dahood was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1927 and came to Anaconda as a young boy when his father found work in the mines. He earned a law degree from the University of Montana in 1951 and served as an Army Judge Advocate General Officer during the Korean War, arguing cases before the U.S. Court of Military Appeals before returning to Montana to practice law in 1953. Jeff Dahood said his dad was very patriotic and big on community involvement, especially on all-American holidays. He would give speeches for Memorial Day and I remember one when I was a kid here at the Washoe Theatre, he said. The minute he walked in, everybody kind of turned around and it got silent until his big booming voice started. You knew when Wade Dahood was in the room. Tom Powers, clerk of the District Court in Butte-Silver Bow, said Dahood was larger than life just walking into the clerks office. He would come in and in this booming, bombastic voice say, How are my favorite clerks in my favorite courthouse in the whole state of Montana? Powers recalled with a smile. Im fairly confident they were his favorite until he went to the next courthouse. But there was nothing disingenuous about that, Powers said. That larger-than-life personality was not affected, it was very much him. He was always very gracious and genuine. Dahood took cases of all kinds during his career but practiced mostly in condemnation law, personal injury, products liability, criminal law and workers compensation. He was a founder and past president of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, a fellow of the International Society of Barristers and was on the Board of Governors for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, among other organizational posts. In 1975, a state probe into Montanas workers compensation system led to grand jury indictments against Dahood, a state administrator and several other lawyers. Dahood was accused of larceny and other wrongdoing in handling claims for clients. During the case, Dahood voluntarily submitted to fingerprinting at the Lewis and Clark County jail amid prosecution claims that indicted lawyers were getting special treatment. Dahood emerged smiling from the process and, at the request of a newsman, posed for a photograph with his palms turned upwards and his hands extended before him, an Associated Press account of the event said. Even before indictments were handed down, Dahood challenged then Montana Attorney General Robert Woodahl and his team of prosecutors to a statewide televised debate regarding the investigation. I am willing to stand alone, he told the AP. Surely such odds ought to be attractive to the other side. All charges against him were ultimately dismissed but Dahood filed a $1.5 million libel suit against Woodahl and his chief prosecutor for statements they had made about him. They settled in 1980 and issued a public apology to Dahood, saying they never intended to question your character, honesty and professional integrity. Dahood accepted the apology but added a word of caution, saying, Overzealous use of power by prosecutors casting aside the presumption of innocence causes irreparable damage and suffering to our legal system, as well as those wrongly accused. Dahood spearheaded a 2001 class-action lawsuit demanding the former Montana Power Co. compensate shareholders who were burned when the energy giant devalued its stock and sold its utility assets to become Touch America, a telecommunications company that later filed for bankruptcy. That and two other lawsuits ended with a $115 million settlement a federal judge approved in 2010 after nearly a decade of litigation. The money came from insurance companies, Goldman Sachs and a big law firm. A lot of lawyers did great work in the cases, Jeff Dahood said, but his father got those folks to really come to the table with their checkbooks. Dahood was friends with Evel Knievel and represented him in several cases, including one after Knievel was photographed at an ESPN awards show in 2001 with one arm around his wife and one around another young woman. ESPN posted the photo with a caption that read, Evel Knievel proves that youre never too old to be a pimp. Knievel filed a defamation suit but a lower court said the photo and caption were not defamatory as a matter of law and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision. Still, no stage was too big for Dahood. He practiced I think in every court in Montana and the Supreme Court and Judge Advocate General and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Nancy said. But his most lasting legacy might have come from outside the courtroom. Dahood was one of 100 elected delegates who drafted a revised Montana Constitution 50 years ago. He chaired the committee that produced a Declaration of Rights enumerating 35 individual and collective rights, 17 having no parallel in the U.S. Constitution. I was always concerned about individual rights. Thats why I became a lawyer, Dahood said in a 2015 video interview that Buttes Evan Barrett did on the 1972 Constitution as part of an historical series on Montana. Dahood said delegates were concerned that the size and complexity of government were becoming excessive and threatened individual liberty. Its a reason one provision states, The right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest. Barrett said there are more protections under the 1972 Montana Constitution than any other constitution in America and Dahood played a major role in their adoption. As just one example, Barrett said, Montanans are the only ones in America with the explicit right to public participation in governmental processes before decisions are made. Rick Applegate, a research analyst and chief of staff for the committee, said Dahood was the shepherd of the Declaration of Rights. As an attorney, he spent much of his career sticking up for people who had been damaged or were disadvantaged or who were afflicted, and he brought that perspective to the convention, Applegate said. He also brought a forceful personality, legal talents and an ability to work with people who had very different views, Applegate said. He had a habit, without being aggressive, where he would approach somebody, typically with an unlit cigar in his right hand, and with his left hand he would reach out and take hold of the biceps of the person he was talking with and the person would realize that he was not likely to relax or release his grip until he was sure you at least understood what he was talking about, Applegate said. Dahood had enormous respect for discipline, debate and discussion, he said, and there was something else that remained a constant. I never heard anyone say that he wasnt telling the truth, that he was just trying to snow somebody or hoodwink them or was offering a proposition that was clearly at odds with the facts, Applegate said. Dahood noted in the 2015 interview that of the 100 delegates, 58 were Democrats, 36 were Republicans and six were independents. Dahood was a Republican, but in the end, after 56 days, everyone signed the document and voters ratified it later that year. The first 10 days there may have been some partisanship, Dahood said. After those first 10 days, there were no political labels. There were 100 Montana delegates dedicated to the task that had been placed before them to write a constitution that would be good for today and always in Montana. A celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Constitution is set for June 15-16 in Helena and as part of it, the 10 remaining living delegates will be honored. And Dahood will be missed. He was like a living legend, Belke said. He was just one of those guys who was bigger than life. A full obituary will appear in The Montana Standard and on the Standard's website on Friday. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 7 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. Located directly between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, Montanans are proud to recognize our land of natural splendors as the nations last best place. Our pride is justified, even though it is not of our own making. An idea, however, that is a creation of the human mind and is of incalculable significance, is our historically unique system of public education. Early in our development as a free people, Thomas Jefferson observed freedom and self-governance were dependent on a society that was educated and freethinking. In keeping with Jeffersons vision, Congress has repeatedly renewed national support for public education. Examples are the Land Grant Act which has provided significant support for Montana State University as well as for the University of Montana and Montana Tech; the Enabling Act which established Montana statehood and in so doing set aside sections 16 and 36 of every township within the state boundaries for the support of common schools; and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which since 1965 has provided broad federal support for public education in all states. In Montana a coordinated system to ensure a foundation of support for all Montana public schools has been in effect for three-quarters of a century. Without question there has been a firm and ongoing recognition in both our nation and our state that education is a human right. In no other part of the world has such a commitment been made. Free, public education was a major reason that millions of European immigrants fled a dead-end existence of ignorance and poverty in the old world to seek opportunity in the new world. The key to opportunity here was public education. The burgeoning American economy of the 1800s had an overwhelming need for literate workers. Those who could cipher and read the language were far more productive than those who could not. They would soon become not only the backbone of American labor, but also the entrepreneurial creators of countless private enterprises that have resulted in perpetual job creation, and thus a continual cycle of opportunity and prosperity. This land of the American dream could not have happened without the universal opportunity for education. Most of the elite in the old world hated the concept of public education. Prosperity there was confined to the inheritors of wealth and power. The privileged classes alone enjoyed the opportunity to an education. If the masses were educated, they feared, the resulting questioning minds within the working class would pose a direct threat to the perpetual domination of the ruling class. As an alternative to the competition for wealth and power that an educated workforce would inevitably create, the European gentry decided on the creation of a welfare state, the prototype of which occurred under the leadership of Germanys Iron Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck. By providing for basic human needs at public expense, Bismarck concluded that the masses would have little reason to overthrow the existing system as they had been doing in Europe since the guillotine time of the French Revolution. The public welfare concept was adopted to some degree in much of the rest of Europe. It is no accident of history that upward mobility producing systems of public education did not emerge there until after the upheaval of two world wars. While we have our inequities, and the American way remains a work in progress, Americans retain our self-governing freedom to adapt and reform. We have a high standard of living as well as a social safety net. Our productivity produces tax revenue, which makes possible our public services. The foundation of all of this universal public education has made creating and sharing in the American dream a tangible reality for those fortunate enough to live here. Particularly insulated from a less fortunate world, we Montanans have more than most of humankind to be grateful for. Our fortunate circumstances are due in large part to our ongoing commitment to public education. On May 3 we will have the opportunity as free people to again renew our commitment to our time tested educational birthright by supporting our public schools. Bob Brown is a former Montana Secretary of State and State Senate president. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ARCHIVED - Morocco strikes oil off Spanish Island coast Oil has been discovered less than 100 kilometres from the Canary Islands in Spain A huge oil field with a potential of 1 billion barrels has been discovered off the coast of Agadir in southern Morocco, less than 100 kilometres from the Canary Islands British company Europe Oil & Gas will be responsible for first prospecting in the Inezgane area, which is about 175 kilometres northeast of the Canary island of La Graciosa, before moving on to the Tarifa coast, off the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The total area to be explored covers 11,228 square kilometres of the Atlantic Ocean, and the oil company will need to drill to a depth of between 600 and 2,000 metres to strike the oil. Ironically, Spanish company Repsol prospected close to the area where Morocco has now discovered the oil between 2001 and 2014, but they gave up on the project, claiming the discovery had neither sufficient volume nor quality for future extraction. Environmental concerns The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Spain has urged the Moroccans to be cautious in drilling for oil lest the project cause any environmental damage. The Ministry has vowed to closely follow the process and to remain firm in defending the interests of Spain and faithful to the positions it maintains in relation to Spanish waters. While the government remains watchful, several environmental groups including Greenpeace , Ecologists in Action and WWF Spain have pointed to the enormous risk any prospecting on the high seas poses for the local fauna. The head of fossil fuels at Greenpeace, Francisco del Pozo, has warned that an oil spill could be devastating for both Morocco and the Canary Islands. We must all be on alert and we must remember that Morocco also has climate commitments because we have all signed the Paris Agreement and Morocco is within the COP system, Mr del Pozo pointed out. Moreover, the Canary Islands live on desalinated water, and an oil slick could result in a devastating shortage for Lanzarote, Fuerteventura or Gran Canaria. All of the organisations are in agreement that any oil discovered offshore, be it in Spain or Morocco, has to stay where it is due to climate change if countries are going to honour their commitment to keeping the planets temperature below 1.5 degrees. Image: Wikimedia Commons MUSCATINE Juniors and seniors curious about a career in law enforcement will have the opportunity to learn from police this summer. Muscatine Police Department will host a free junior police academy from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 6-9 at Loper Hall on the Muscatine Community College campus. Assistant Chief Steve Snider said this would be the second time the department collaborated with MCC to connect with students interested in law enforcement. The suggestion to start this class came from Naomi DeWinter, the president at MCC, Snider said. She saw the program somewhere else and brought it up to me, asking if the department would be interested in partnering with the college, and they have been our partners ever since. The first junior police academy was in 2019. They could not be held during 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Were trying to pull the academy back together in 2022, Snider said. Our goal is to spark an interest. If theyve ever had an interest in law enforcement, we want to show them what its about and help them figure out if its something theyd be interested in for a career. Right now, our profession is struggling for applicants, and were trying to boost that back up, he said. Having a class like this helps build a bridge where theres kind of a gap between youth and law enforcement right now. Students will learn about all aspects of policing, including patrol tactics, physical conditioning, K-9 operations, accident investigations, crime scene processing and evidence processing. Muscatine police officers teach the course. Two students will be chosen as this years top performers, making them eligible for one of two $500 scholarships, one from the community college and one from the department. The Junior Police Academy is open to juniors and seniors in a local school district. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/mpd-junior-police. 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. South African communications minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said the government would realise its plan to provide 10GB of free data to every household within the next three years. The project will be implemented in parallel with the rollout of the SA Connect Revised Model, following the completion of a feasibility study. This was revealed in Ntshavhenis written response to parliamentary questions from Zandile Majozi of the Inkatha Freedom Party. A specific feasibility study relating to the 10GB data has not been undertaken, however, the SA Connect Phase 2 proposal borrows on the tenets of universal access to basic and essential services (e.g. water, electricity and data being the next step), Ntshavheni wrote. Ntshavheni first made the promise of providing 10GB of free data to South African households during a joint State of the Nation debate on Tuesday, 15 February 2022. The proposed timeline is in parallel to the roll-out of the SA Connect Revised Model, which is planned to be completed within the next three years starting from 01 April 2022. The minister added that the 10GB free data project aims to bridge the digital divide in South Africa. Recognising the negative impact of the digital divide, especially in the rural and underserviced areas, the statement relating to the allocation of 10GB is a statement of intent to address this divide, she wrote. The ministers timeline aligns with the deadlines revealed in the National Infrastructure Plan 2050 published by public works minister Patricia de Lille. The document revealed that the South African government wants to ensure all households have access to 50GB of data each month by the 2025/6 financial year. It set a short-term goal of 10GB by 2023/24. However, it differs from Ntshavhenis plan in one crucial aspect the National Infrastructure Plan only suggests free basic data for low-income users. Ntshavheni promised that government would provide 10GB of free data to every household in South Africa regardless of income level. The basic data allocation will be similar to the provision of essential municipal water and electricity services to needy households. These households are allowed 6,000 litres of water, 50kWh of electricity, and free sewerage and sanitation. One possible way government could implement this plan is through the broadband fund. It involves the government seeking partnerships with private companies to achieve its goals together with public money. Ntshavhenis department said earlier this year that it had requested funding from the National Treasury to establish the Broadband Fund. The objective of the fund is to subsidise household connectivity and public Wi-Fi hotspots in low-income households and rural communities nationally, it said. Inseco, which operates the biggest insect protein plant in the southern hemisphere, said it raised $5.3 million (R81.6 million) in South Africas biggest ever startup seed funding round. Futuregrowth Asset Management contributed alongside E4E Africa and Oak Drive Ventures, Inseco said in a statement sent to Bloomberg on Thursday. Inseco operates a 10,000 square meter (108,000 square foot) plant in Cape Town that converts the larvae, known as maggots, of the black soldier fly into 100 tons of insect oil and meal a month. Insect products are high in nutrients and, because the process sees the maggots fed with waste, is seen as a climate-friendly way of feeding farmed fish, poultry and pets. Fly eggs are produced at Insecos plant and then transported to where the waste is produced, either as a by product of a food-manufacturing process or so-called canteen waste, from restaurants. While the latter can be used in South Africa, laws in the European Union do not permit its use to create feed for poultry and aquaculture. Inseco plans to start exports to the EU and the U.S. in the second quarter. We are finding a new home for food products that would have been otherwise destined for landfill, Simon Hazell, Insecos chief executive officer, said in an interview. The meal is used to feed poultry and fish as a supplement to fishmeal, made from small fish netted in the sea, cutting down on its use, Hazell said. The use of insect protein boosts growth and it also has immune system boosting properties, Hazell said. Futuregrowth, South Africas biggest specialist fixed-income investor, has invested in a number of startups including SweepSouth, Africas largest online home-services platform. Inseco competes globally with enterprises such as the Netherlands Protix BV, Frances Ynsect SAS and Innova Feed, Canadas Enterra Feed Corp and U.S. company EnviroFlight LLC. The company is targeting what it sees as a 500,000 ton market for insect protein by 2030 and a global pet food market worth $38 billion. Elon Musk formed a trio of holding companies as part of his bid to acquire Twitter Inc., potentially giving the billionaire a path to bring all of his business ventures under a single parent. The new companies each with a variation of the name X Holdings were formed this week in Delaware, according to records filed with the state. Musk and his investing partners plan to put money into one of the entities to fund the purchase of Twitter shares in a tender offer, while a subsidiary would merge with the social-media firm, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. While its not clear if the holding companies would have any affiliation with Musks current businesses, including Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the name offers a clue. He has mused about creating a parent as far back as 2012, and in 2020 he said calling it X was a good idea. Musk also owns the domain X.com the name of the online payments company he started and eventually merged with PayPal. Musk didnt immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. The entrepreneur, whose business interests also include Neuralink and the Boring Co., didnt dismiss the idea during a discussion last week with TEDs Chris Anderson but said that creating such a holding company would be tricky. Tesla is publicly traded, and the investor base of Tesla and SpaceX, and certainly Boring Co. and Neuralink, are quite different. To combine his companies under one parent entity, Musk would likely have to follow in the footsteps of other tech giants like Google, which restructured itself in 2015 to create a new holding company called Alphabet Inc. But he would also have to separately acquire SpaceX, Neuralink and Boring, which are private and have all seen their valuations go up in recent years. Its not that easy to sort of combine these things, he said to Anderson. Eskom doesnt plan to slap customers using solar panels with any additional usage tariffs, but it may need to charge an upfront fee. An Eskom spokesperson told MyBroadband that the power utility might take on extra work relating to the compliance regulations for solar installations. There is no intention to charge customers with solar any additional tariff charges not applicable to other customers. Eskom treats all customers in a non-discriminatory manner, they said. It is possible that additional work may be required by Eskom to ensure the solar installation is a technically compliant connection. The spokesperson said Eskom would treat solar users the same as any other customer adjusting their installation. Any such associated costs will be raised as an upfront charge, the same as any other customer that makes changes to their installation, they said. MyBroadband reached out to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), and it declined to provide comment. Nersa is unable to comment at this stage as the licensee is currently piloting this tariff, the regulators communication head Charles Hlebela said. Eskom proposed splitting energy tariffs into fixed and variable costs last year. The state-owned power utility said this was to ensure it remained attractive compared to alternative energy sources such as self-generated solar power. The change would see South Africans billed based on volumetric energy usage, with an additional fixed daily network charge independent of how much Eskom electricity is consumed. By splitting its tariffs, solar power customers would need to pay Eskoms fixed cost to remain connected to the grid regardless of their usage and their solar power system would not save them nearly as much money. Its split-tariff structure would also address the increased demands solar power users placed on the grid, Eskom said. The power utility said that those who use solar power generate most of their electricity during the day, resulting in Eskom ramping up more rapidly to meet the evening demand. This has significant adverse effects on the power system, Eskom explained. While solar power systems could use battery packs to store excess energy for night-time usage, this raises the price of solar installations considerably. Earlier this year, Nersa announced that it planned to adjust South Africas electricity pricing methodology. News emerged that this could see solar power users pay ten times more for electricity. The regulator recently adopted a principles document which included categorising South African power users into three main groups: Big power users characterised by consistent day and night usage. characterised by consistent day and night usage. Normal power users characterised by high demand in the mornings and evenings, with lower power usage during the day. characterised by high demand in the mornings and evenings, with lower power usage during the day. On-grid solar and self-generating power users characterised by fluctuating power demands dependent on the availability of sunlight. Nersa also adopted a principle that each user category must pay tariffs based on the actual cost of providing them with electricity. The impact will see the most prominent power users pay substantially less than their current rate. Eskom slammed Nersas principles document, saying they could not, on their own, be used to determine revenue or tariffs. It deviates from a well-established process of first determining revenue, based on a clear methodology, then doing a cost allocation of this approved revenue to customer classes and then designing tariffs, the utility told MyBroadband. The .ZA Domain Name Authority (ZADNA) has published draft regulations for South Africas registry operators and registrars that offer .ZA domains. Registry operators manage domain name registrations and provide services needed for those domains to work. This includes a database (Whois) that helps translate a domain into an Internet Protocol address. A registrys Whois database points to Domain Name System servers that may be queried to look up addresses associated with a domain. Registrars are the organisations that help users buy and configure their domains. If you wanted to set up a website on a .co.za domain, you would go to one of South Africas many hosting companies, which also offer registrar services. Those hosting companies register your domain with the ZA Central Registry, which ZADNA contracts to act as South Africas registry operator for the co.za, org.za, net.za, and web.za namespaces. ZADNAs proposed regulations will govern these various entities in South Africas domain name ecosystem. Among the proposals in the regulations are: Registrars must collect and store identity documents, physical addresses, and contact information of people wishing to register .ZA domains Licence and registrar fees payable via the registry yet to be determined Registrars must apply for a licence, which will be valid for 10 years If non-commercial registrars stop operating, they must provide customer registration data to ZADNA Registrars must provide broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) information with their licence application specifically details of BEE ownership. Public comments for these regulations are open until 6 June 2022. ZADNA will invite members to a members-only engagement session to deliberate on these regulations, ZADNA CEO Molehe Wesi said in a notice to members in the early hours of Friday morning. The engagement session will allow members to seek clarity and address their concerns about the draft regulations. The proposed members engagement will be communicated in due course. Eswatini, Africas last absolute monarchy, is set to launch a flag-carrier airline almost a quarter of a century after the previous one ceased operations in the country formerly known as Swaziland. Eswatini Air will fly from national capital Mbabane to cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town in neighbouring South Africa starting later this year, Qiniso Dhlamini, chief executive officer of holding company Royal Eswatini National Airways Corp., said in a statement. The state-owned company has bought two Embraer SA 145 regional jets to kickstart services, which are being painted in a livery, including a logo featuring a bateleur eagle. Eswatini Air will boost connectivity in the region after the grounding of South Africas Mango, which is in bankruptcy protection and awaiting government funds. The capacity shortage was exposed last month when Comair Ltd., operator of low-cost Kulula and local British Airways flights, was idled for five days amid safety concerns, leading to rocketing prices and chaos at airports. The new carrier succeeds Royal Swazi National Airways, which ceased flying in 1999. Flights to Mbabane have since been operated by a joint venture between the government and South Africas Airlink, a partnership that has now been disbanded. Airlink will continue to operate the Johannesburg-Mbabane route independently, CEO Rodger Foster said in a statement. The carrier will also offer to rehire workers for the partnership, which was called Eswatini Airlink. Now read: Record profit and revenue for Tesla The number of apps available on the Google Play Store plummeted by more than 1 million in four years, an analysis by tradingplatforms.com has shown. According to the site, the Google Play Store hosted just short of 2.6 million apps by March this year, a 28% decline from the roughly 3.6 million it offered in March 2018, four years ago. Tradingplatforms.com said the decline was due to Googles periodic purging of apps that violated its terms of service, some of which were malicious and intruded on user privacy. Tradingplatforms.coms Edith Reads said Google had a duty to protect its customers. Its Play Store is teeming with apps that could interfere with the proper functioning of users devices. Some could even jeopardise the security of users who download them. This reality makes such cleanups inevitable. The graph below shows the decline in apps on the Google Play Store between March 2018 and March 2022. Google uses standards that developers who wish to list their apps on its store must adhere to, including a commitment to adhering to its user data policies. Those policies stress transparency in how those apps interact with users data. The threshold is higher for any apps handling sensitive and confidential information, tradingplatforms.com said. Google has been using both human reviewers and AI tools to flag malicious or non-compliant apps since 2015. Despite this, malicious apps have managed to make their way onto the store time and again, potentially exposing personal data stored on millions of Android devices. In one recent instance, nine apps were found to be stealing Facebook login details and passwords and were only removed by Google after being downloaded more than 5.8 million times. Gradual improvements But Google has gradually improved its checks and balances on malicious apps on its stores, as evidenced by RiskIQs Mobile App Threat Landscape Report for 2020. It found that Google had around 60% fewer blacklisted apps on VirusTotal in 2020 compared to 2019, declining from 25,647 to 10,292. That followed a decrease of over 76% from 108,770 to 25,647 between 2018 and 2019. Googles main rival in the smartphone platform front is Apple. The company is renowned for treating its App Store like Fort Knox, with stringent approval policies and a typically longer turnaround time for clearing an app for publication. While this has been known to frustrate some app developers, it also ensures better control mechanisms to prevent nefarious apps from landing on the store by accident. EU considers additional funds for eastern countries for a deal to ban Russian oil Armenia PM to visit Netherlands Germany's finance minister warns that wage increases could further fuel inflation Ursula von der Leyen travels to Hungary to persuade Orban to support sanctions on Russia NEWS.am digest: Armenia marks May 9, Shushi liberation; Azerbaijan opens fire on Sotk gold mine Ursula von der Leyen says unanimous vote on key areas of EU policy no longer makes sense Resistance movement marches through central streets of Yerevan US First Lady meets with Slovak President North Korea urges citizens to strictly adhere to antiviral measures in connection with COVID-19 Armenian TV host dies after falling into river 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 We will not do it alone on the way to making peace, Russia will be involved in this process, I believe Russia is also interested, and officially Russia has repeatedly stated that it is interested in the establishment of peace in our region. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, stated about this on Public TV, answering the program host's question as to what will happen when Armenia achieves peace with Azerbaijan, after which Azerbaijan will say that there is no need for a Russian presence in the region. "Russia will be involved, and the security guarantees we are thinking about, we see Russia's participation also in the construction of that security architecture. And I believe that in case of a long-term solution, such an issue should not arise," he said. To the remark that Azerbaijan will nonetheless go in that direction and tell Russia that there is no need for its presence in the region anymore, responded by saying that it is necessary to understand what security guarantees we will use to achieve a solution to the issue. "We must think about those security guarantees. If we think about it, then there should be an international presence in terms of security guaranteesat least for a while. And I believe that Russia should also be interested in the settlement of the issue in the long run. There is also an active involvement of Russia here; I believe such issues should not arise in Russia itself," he said. The program host asked who is managing the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. In response, Armen Grigoryan said that it is managed by Armenia and Azerbaijan, while Russia, the EU, and the US provide support to resolve the issue. "Of course, there are some disagreements within the framework of the [OSCE] Minsk Group due to the geopolitical issues created. But globally, Yerevan and Baku are naturally the primary responsible for this process, and we are trying to find solutions," he said, adding that the direct Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue will be continuous. The proposal to lower the bar on the status of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was not voiced by one person. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, stated about this on Public TV, answering the program host's question as to who is that international community that makes such proposals, and what the security guarantees are if that bar is lowered. "At the moment I cannot say specific names It was not a proposal from one person; many partners have talked to us about this. But when you ask about security guarantees, we must form security guarantees during the negotiations. It is not that they said that if you lower that bar, these are the security guarantees. Within the framework of negotiations with Azerbaijan, as well as thanks to the support of the international community, we will create those security guarantees. If there are no security guarantees, we naturally will not move there; the existing status quo will be maintained," Grigoryan said. The host noted that he assumes that a peace agreement will be signed, which will become that guarantee, but Azerbaijan has repeatedly proved that it violates any agreement, does not keep the agreements even with Russia, and considering this, he asked what the Armenian authorities expect. In response, Armen Grigoryan said that not only the agreement but also the mechanisms are a guarantee. According to him, for example, in the November 9, 2020 statement, not only the text is the guarantees, but also the mechanisms, for example, the presence of Russian peacekeepers in the region. "() our region is under the strong influence of global, international structures. And seeing these changes, we try to find security guarantees so that we can ensure security in Artsakh and find mechanisms. These mechanisms are not just treaties or the treaty, but mechanisms that exist on the ground; for example, with the option of peacekeeperswe expect that they will be there for a long time until we find a solution. But the incidents of Parukh [village] show that these security mechanisms also are not enough to ensure complete security. We want to receive additional guarantees that security will be ensured in Artsakh," he said. And to the host's question whether he means other troops, Armen Grigoryan gave a negative answer, adding that it is necessary to find those mechanisms, and one of the issues on the agenda is to find the mechanisms that will guarantee security and the exercising of rights for the people living in Artsakh. Britain will offer India to intensify defense cooperation, such as helping to build its own fighter jets and faster delivery of defense equipment, Reuters reported. During his first visit to New Delhi as prime minister, Boris Johnson will discuss with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi how to develop trade and security ties. "This is a very auspicious moment in a relationship and friendship between two democracies," Johnson said after Modi briefly welcomed him at the presidential palace ahead of the talks on the final day of a two-day visit. "I don't think the relationship has ever been as good." The effort follows last month's attempt by the United States to alienate India from Russia with its own proposal to increase defense and energy sales after President Joe Biden called India somewhat hesitant in its actions against Russia. Britain hopes its offer of closer security ties with the West will encourage India to distance itself from Russia. The UK has said it plans to support India's long-standing goal of building its own fighter jets to reduce imports of expensive military equipment. India has Russian, British and French fighters. The UK will issue a so-called open general export license to India to shorten the delivery time for defense goods. Only the European Union and the United States currently hold such licenses, Johnson's spokesman said. Offering closer security ties will also lead to more joint military exercises and officer exchanges. While Britain's offer of closer security cooperation is welcome, India will continue to rely on Russian military hardware, in part because it's cheaper, said Mohan Guruswami, director of the Center for Political Alternatives in New Delhi. The UK does not offer India everything it wants, and what it offers is usually more expensive, he said. Johnson and Modi will also discuss trade as they try to reach an agreement before the 2024 general elections in both countries. British data show that the UK's trade with India was 23bn ($29.93bn) in 2019, a minuscule amount compared to trade with neighboring Ireland, which has about 4m people. Any trade deal is likely to depend on easing rules and cutting tuition fees for Indian students and professionals heading to the UK. Johnson signaled he was willing to be more accommodating on the issue, adding that the UK was facing a massive shortage of hundreds of thousands of workers, especially in sectors such as information technology. Western Europe's leading oil and gas producer, Norway, increased natural gas production in March by almost 6 percent compared to March 2021, beating forecasts by 6.3 percent, the Norwegian Petroleum Authority said. Norwegian gas has been in high demand since last autumn, when the energy crisis in Europe led to a sharp increase in natural gas and electricity prices across the continent, Oilprice reports. Although not a member of the EU, Norway is an ally of the EU and is on Russia's list of unfriendly countries, so in recent weeks it has been trying to maximize its gas supplies. Three weeks after the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, the Norwegian company Equinor said that, together with its partners and the Norwegian authorities, it would take new steps to meet the demand for gas in Europe. The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has given Equinor permission to increase production and exports from the Troll, Oseberg and Heidrun gas fields during the summer months. Equinor has also decided to postpone a workover at the Oseberg field from May to September this year in order to speed up production. Moreover, Equinor is now planning to restart the Hammerfest LNG plant after a September 2020 fire forced its closure. In January 2022, Equinor pushed back its launch date from late March to mid-May due to a spike in Omicron infections earlier this year. YEREVAN. Within the framework of his official visit to the United States, the Minister of Finance of Armenia, Tigran Khachatryan, participated in the 2022 spring meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. During the visit, meetings were held also with the executive director representing Armenia on the IMF Board of Directors, the head of the IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department, and the head of the IMF Mission to Armenia, the Ministry of Finance of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Minister Khachatryan met also with the World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, as well as the executive director representing Armenia on the Board of Directors of the World Bank. Among other events, a joint meeting of the World Bank and the IMF Friendship Group covering Armenia took place, as well as a meeting of the delegation of the Ministry of Finance of Armenia with the delegation led by the Minister of Finance of Georgia. And within the framework of separate bilateral meetings with senior officials of the IMF and the World Bank, the current participation with Armenia in the agenda economic processes was discussed, and agreements were reached on the organization of assistance and experience exchange programs as well as the development of further cooperation. During 2021, a total of 2,150 criminal cases were investigated on the crimes in the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war; and by the end of the year, 800 people had been prosecuted. Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan stated about this during Fridays meeting of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia, presenting the report on the 2021 activities of the Prosecutor General's Office. "Fifty-five people have already been sued in those criminal cases; we have relevant verdicts. () the investigation of the remaining cases continues," Davtyan added, in particular. The Prosecutor General assured that they are diligent in revealing the most objective truth in those cases and in bringing to account everyone who committed criminal violations and caused criminal violations due to the painful outcome of the war, or led to that outcome. As for the crimes committed by the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan, Artur Davtyan noted that the picture documented by objective evidence is that the violations of the international humanitarian law by the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan and its servicemen were deliberately targeted in specific cases, settlements were targeted, and civilians were targeted. Also, civilians were killed, the rules of war were violated, prohibited weapons were used, Armenian historical and cultural treasures were targeted and destroyed, and acts of violence, torture, and murder were carried out. The Prosecutor General of Armenia noted that the objective facts obtained in the criminal case clearly testify that since June-July 2020, well-known terrorist groups have been recruiting mercenaries from the northern parts of Syria, these mercenaries were transferred unobstructed to Turkey through the Turkish-Syrian state border, and from Turkey where they were transferred to Azerbaijan where their military training was carried out. "They underwent special trained to fight in the mountainous areas, they were instructed to kill, torture the civilian population. During the [44-day] war [in the fall of 2020], our armed forces had succeeded in finding and arrest two such mercenaries, who presented in detail everything I talked about," the Prosecutor General of Armenia stated. He noted that both of the above-mentioned mercenaries were sentenced to life imprisonment, and at present there are about 60 representatives of the Azerbaijani military and political leadership who have been prosecuted. YEREVAN. During the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in the fall of 2020, the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan and its servicemen committed numerous gross violations of international humanitarian law. Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan stated about this during Fridays meeting of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia, presenting the report on the 2021 activities of the Prosecutor General's Office. According to the prosecutor general, they have objective evidence which testifies to those violations. Thus, specific cases were exposed when Armenian settlements, civilians, cultural and religious monuments became the target of deliberate attacks. "Civilians were killed, the rules of war were violated, prohibited weapons were used. Moreover, on the grounds of national hatred, the enemy actively used methods of violence and torture," Davtyan said. He added that 60 representatives of the military and political leadership of Azerbaijan were prosecuted. The result of the talks with the Russian President was the emphasis on the importance of the international mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the context of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflictwith the ensuing political consequences. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated about this at Fridays Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia. "If we note that the Russian, American, and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group had visited Armenia in the days before the Moscow visit, we can say that the assessments on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing are not grounded. We clearly see that all the co-chairing countries remain committed to their mandate for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflictdespite the fact that the events unrolling in Ukraine have created difficulties for the joint activities of the co-chairs. But the fact that even in these conditions the co-chairs are operating, visiting the region, and recordingat the political leveltheir commitment to assist in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, gives a tangible basis for optimism," the Armenian premier said. According to Pashinyan, the uninterrupted and unhindered operation of the Lachin corridor is a key component of ensuring the security of Nagorno-Karabakh. "In this regard, the contribution of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh is undeniable. On the other hand, in a number of episodes we see the need to increase the efficiency of peacekeepers' activities," Pashinyan added. He said that the incursion of Azerbaijani army units into the Parukh village area in Artsakh is a very worrying fact, which is important from the point of view of the overall assessment of the situation, and they hope that the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh will ensure the complete withdrawal of these Azerbaijani units. Pashinyan informed that he had informed the Artsakh President about the content of his Moscow talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "This practice is not new, I have always done so after all the negotiations. And the Artsakh President presented those results to the Artsakh political elite," Nikol Pashinyan said. After each round of the Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] talks, I share detailed information with most various government and political circles of Armenia. I also have always shown willingness to share that information with the parliamentary opposition, but the latter always refuses from such discussions; perhaps for obvious reasons, in order to create legends about "various conspiracy theories" and put them on the base of their activities. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at Fridays Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia. "In particular, practically, before almost every foreign visit I have made since November 9, 2020, rumors have spread with all possible resources that I am going to sign a document on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, by which Artsakh shall be handed over to Azerbaijan. I responsibly say that during this period, at this moment, there has not been and is not any project or draft of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement that is on the [negotiating] table or in circulation. As for handing over Artsakh, I have to apologize a thousand times and say that Artsakh is not a thing, it is not an object to hand over or not to hand over. Artsakh is, first of all, the people living there. If we were to handover Artsakh after the 44-day war, we would not have spent tens of billions of drams to ensure the return of the people of Artsakh to their homes. The one who handed over Artsakh, on the contrary, would simply not launch anything after the war, and the handover of Artsakh would, in fact, have become a reality. On the contrary, we are making unprecedented amount investments in Artsakh because to keep Artsakh means to keep the people of Artsakh in Artsakh. To keep Armenia means to keep the people of Armenia in Armenia plus to return those who left, and that is not possible without peace," Pashinyan said. Also, he noted that he rules out the signing of any document without a broad public discussion. "I rule out that there will be a document more or less close to the signing, which will be signed without a broad public discussion, including with all segments of the Artsakh society. This is an iron guarantee that the fate of Artsakh cannot be decided behind the people's backs. In this regard, the pessimists bring the example of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, which was signed without broad public discussion. This is a strange comparison because during the war a decision had to be made within hours, sometimes minutes, to save the lives of thousands of people of Artsakh, 25,000 soldiers, and to save Artsakh from the expulsion of Armenians, and comparisons are not appropriate. On the other hand, all our steps are aimed at not having to make a decision in such conditions," said the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia received the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar. The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin was also present at the meeting. Attaching importance to the Armenia-EU cooperation, the Prime Minister praised the efforts of President of the European Council Charles Michel to establish stability in the region, which, together with the efforts of other international partners, contribute to regional dialogue. Reaffirming Armenia's commitment to the agenda of democratic reforms, Nikol Pashinyan expressed satisfaction with the allocation of 2.6 billion to Armenia within the framework of the EU's Eastern Partnership economic-investment plan and the implementation of development programs in our country. Toivo Klaar thanked the Armenian Prime Minister for the assessments, reaffirmed the EU commitment to deepen the partnership with Armenia, to continue the efforts aimed at regional peace. The interlocutors exchanged views on the implementation of the agreements reached at the April 6 meeting between the President of the European Council, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan in Brussels. Issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict, the delimitation and demarcation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the unblocking of the region's economic and transport infrastructure were discussed. The sides stressed the need for a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. During the meeting, the implementation of the programs envisaged by the EaP investment package was discussed. In this context, the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin presented the current work and future plans. The programs are aimed at strengthening democracy in Armenia, stimulating the economy, developing SMEs and the spheres of energy, and infrastructure. Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 22.04.22: On April 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, after negotiations with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, confirmed a fact that everyone knew about but never mentioned the OSCE Minsk Group was no longer able to continue its mediation in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Lavrov explained this by the fact that the other two co-chairs the United States and France did not want to work in the same format with Russia amid the war in Ukraine, he even accused them of Russophobia. This of course provoked heated discussions in a society. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, for example, said that assessments on dissolution of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing are not grounded as Russian, American, and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group had visited Armenia recently. We clearly see that all the co-chairing countries remain committed to their mandate for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflictdespite the fact that the events unrolling in Ukraine have created difficulties for the joint activities of the co-chairs, the PM said. However, Russian MFA spokesperson Maria Zakharova said she has not received any signals from the American and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to resume work in one way or another. And Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, in turn, noted that the Minsk Group was actually paralyzed in 2019. I have said that the OSCE Minsk Group will mark its 30th anniversary in 2022, and then retire. But after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, they do not even have the opportunity to mark the anniversary," Aliyev added. After Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the international community is telling the Armenian side to lower its "benchmark on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh a little and ensure greater international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh, the social media discussions are at the high. And today Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan said that the proposal to lower the bar on the status of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was not voiced by one person. At the moment I cannot say specific names It was not a proposal from one person; many partners have talked to us about this, he said. The families of the soldiers killed in the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in the fall of 2020 have decided to hold a sit-in at Freedom Square in downtown Yerevan, they are trying to put up a tent there, but the police are not allowing it. They are joining the two young participants of the 44-day war who are on hunger strike at Freedom Square. On April 17, the leader of the opposition parliamentary faction I have the honor Artur Vanetsyan began a sit-in strike in the Freedom square in Yerevan. Another opposition force of the National Assembly, the Armenia faction did not join this initiative, but announced that it had developed its own program to overthrow the current authorities. Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of the I Have the Honor opposition faction and the leader of the Motherland party, announced that he was starting a sit-in during a live broadcast on his Facebook page. He stated that he is not going to go home because a critical moment has come when neither articles, nor posts on social media or speeches achieve anything. Accordingly, Sergey Galitsky (Harutyunyan), the founder of the retail chain "Magnet," is ranked 32nd, with a fortune of $3.2 billion. Private investor Andrey Andreev (Ohanjanyants) is 42nd, with a wealth of $2 billion. And Samvel Karapetyan, the chairman of Tashir Group of companies, is ranked 82nd, with a worth of $1.1 billion. Russias defense ministry says it is ready at any moment to allow a ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor for civilians at Mariupols Azovstal steel plant if Ukrainians soldiers were to raise white flags. However, Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says no humanitarian corridors will be open across Ukraine on Friday due to the danger on the routes. Meanwhile, in a phone call with Putin, EU Council President Charles Michel urges the Russian leader to open humanitarian corridors from the southern city of Mariupol Strongly urged for immediate humanitarian access and safe passage from Mariupol and other besieged cities all the more on the occasion of Orthodox Easter, he said on Twitter And the situation has escalated as satellite imagery from near the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol shows a mass grave site that has expanded in recent weeks to contain more than 200 new graves, a private US company has said. The United Nations office for human rights, in turn, has sounded the alarm over growing evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, urging both Kyiv and Moscow to order combatants to respect international law. If red-light cameras in Chicago and other cities are supposed to be race-neutral, why do more Black and Latino drivers get busted there? As data reflects and guides our actions, and society grapples with systemic inequality, four Emory College professors from diverse disciplines are leading 40 students to seek, gather and analyze data with justice in mind. A new course this semester, QTM 310: Introduction to Data Justice, is not only about quantitative theory and methods (though juniors and seniors in that major quickly snapped up almost every available slot). The faculty team includes biology (Michal Arbilly), English (Lauren Klein) and political science (John W. Patty and Elizabeth Maggie Penn) for the Emory College of Arts and Sciences course. As an emerging field, data justice considers how questions about data, its collection and its use are connected to broader social and political concerns, and how data-driven systems can be designed more equitably, the four said in their syllabus. Such data is expansive and expanding, and serves as the basis for automated systems that range from resume screening to voting redistricting, predictive policing to cell-phone autocomplete. What we talk about when we talk about justice Inspired to teach the class after the Black Lives Matter movement, the four instructors knew things would get interesting in the class because their fields have differing definitions of power, fairness and justice. And were these concepts possible to measure accurately by the methods that were being used? Explicit and implicit biases surface when collecting and analyzing data. The one thing that has surprised me the most was learning about how ingrained biases could be with a scientist or researcher even with them being aware of how biases can affect the groups being studied, says Christina Chance, a math and computer science major who talked her way into the class. There are natural biases in how we are taught to approach problems, and the bias of inference and making connections or assumptions. Those were things that I had never thought about until this class. No measurements are neutral Students in this class are learning that within data that influences technical and policy decisions, choices (and trade-offs) are everywhere. In examples like red-light cameras in Chicago, seemingly objective algorithmic systems may not be neutral in their effects. Many systems rely upon data or were designed to achieve goals that reflect embedded, global biases and inequalities. Another example: The accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) is based on a predominant system, such as a beauty contest in which most past winners were white. To predict winners among a new batch of contestants, the AI almost immediately made categorizations based on race. It reflected bias in the system, instead of producing nonbiased results. Its not just theory; students learn data justice by doing too. They use software, platforms and programming language in the course lab, seeing for themselves whether designing an unbiased research project is possible. The final includes their recommendations on the issues that they think future students will want to address. We want students to believe they can do justice-oriented data science and to tell themselves that it is possible for each of them to do this work, Klein says. Nothing that we are doing in the course, computationally or statistically, is outside the scope of any Emory students abilities, whether theyve had prior experience with quantitative analysis or not. One of my core beliefs is that we need everyone contributing, from all of the disciplines, because these problems are so complex and multifaceted, and so deeply entrenched in every area of our society, that they demand expertise from all areas of society. Dani Roytburg took QTM 310 after seeing how people are leaving a digital footprint that can be used with data analytics. In my mind, the mapping of human and social interaction is of paramount importance. Roytburg has learned multiple ways of modeling inequality and other abstract ideas, and developed a perspective on how both the humanities and STEM interact with one another. And I think that's the point of the QTM department writ large, to bridge that gap. Is DNA data a predictor of behavior? Students dived into misuses of population genetics with Michal Arbilly, a lecturer in biology and QTM. Research has attempted to link behavior and intelligence to genes, and these supposed links have been used to justify eugenics. Today, genetic sequencing is so easy, and there is an abundance of genetic data we can use for such association studies. In the future, will peoples genes be used in determining, for example, their educational opportunities? We know that there's some heritable basis to a lot of our traits, but to what extent is it meaningful? Arbilly asks. Something can be heritable and still very sensitive to the environment. Often we can make a big difference by changing the environment, even for highly heritable traits. Her message to students: You have the ability to use all these incredible quantitative tools. You have to use them properly. When you're reading the literature, always ask yourself, Whats the bias here? Is this the proper inference that can be made based on the data? Is fairness even achievable? Facial recognition software has been shown to be inaccurate in identifying people of color. The example shows how structural inequalities, and racism in particular, enter into datasets and get amplified when those datasets are used to train data systems. QTM 310 students replicated a facial recognition audit and identified how biased training data led the system to be able only to identify white faces. But they also learned about the harms that come with the oversurveillance of people of color. As a result, students learned to reject quick technical fixes and create frameworks that help people imagine alternatives, says Klein, the Winship Distinguished Research Professor of English and Quantitative Methods. From Penn, professor of QTM and political science and scholar of social choice theory, the students learned that valid statistical inference can still lead to discrimination. She has researched fair representation in the design of electoral systems and questioned the students about whether truly fair representation and political power can be quantified through algorithms of fair division. If you try to achieve fairness with respect to one criterion, you're necessarily going to violate it with respect to one another, she says. And the criteria are very, very sensible. Penn urged the students to think creatively about measuring power, which some in her field define as the ability to cast a pivotal vote or unilaterally change an outcome. There are all sorts of indices of power, and there are a lot of kind of natural ways of measuring that in many applications, like in network analysis and natural language processing Penn says. I think it gave the students some food for thought, and thats what I want them to get. Choosing the rules that an algorithm must follow Patty, professor of political science and QTM, has researched how bureaucratic agencies make decisions based on data. Some flaws seem obvious; for instance, the federal Department of Education collected data related to the No Child Left Behind policy but did not include the families that pulled their children out of public education. But data justice can be far more nuanced. From Patty, students learned that justice as a theory contains contradictory notions. Algorithms can be too complicated to explain or interpret. In a lab assignment, students designed college admission rules to see how fairness and efficiency sometimes conflict. When there are competing goals, finding a winner requires choices and justifications. It's time for you to find your voice to tell me what you think, Patty says. The whole secret of these impossibility theorems is there isn't one right answer. There are multiple right answers, and then you have to be willing to defend yours. Current headlines point to QTM 310s relevance The class is one way that Emory College is prioritizing the study of race and inequality, part of the colleges strategic plan. The four faculty members plan to keep teaching it. We have only begun this conversation about how our approaches inform each other and help each other, Klein says. There's so much possibility in this space, and its the kind of work that's so urgently needed. Pretty much every week, a new type of algorithmic bias or discriminatory system gets exposed. These problems require everyone in order to be resolved. Story Highlights Median approval of Germany's leadership is at 43% in Asia U.S. leadership not far behind at 41% WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ahead of President Joe Biden's special summit with Southeast Asian leaders next month, the image of U.S. leadership is in a much stronger position than it has been in years, not only in Southeast Asia but across most of the continent. Gallup surveys show median approval of U.S. leadership across Asia shot from 31% in 2020 to 41% in 2021, and the U.S. now essentially ties Germany for the most-positively viewed leadership in the region. Unlike approval of the U.S., Germany's 2021 approval rating was mostly unchanged from previous years, while Russia (33%) and China (27%) were also on a similar footing to where they have ranked in the past. China's approval continued to drift slightly lower in 2021. ###Embeddable### The median 41% of adults in the region who view U.S. leadership positively is a substantial increase over any reading during Donald Trump's presidency but is still slightly below the trend-high 45% recorded in 2013. Notably, the approval rating for the U.S. is based largely on data collected during or after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 and before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Countries Driving the Increase in Approval for U.S. Ratings of U.S. leadership showed substantial improvement in 13 Asian countries and territories in 2021, including South Korea, where ratings increased 29 percentage points; Australia and New Zealand, which each saw ratings jump 22 points; and Taiwan, Province of China, where ratings rose 17 points. ###Embeddable### Highest and Lowest Approval of German and U.S. Leadership At the country level, Germany's leadership was viewed most positively in Australia at 70%, followed closely by New Zealand at 69%, both record highs for the respective countries. This increase may be at least partly related to the German government's efforts to play a greater role in the region and participate in collective security arrangements favored by the Australian and New Zealand governments. The publics in Pakistan and Cambodia were least likely to view German leadership positively, with 23% in each approving of the country's leadership. Approval of German leadership in Pakistan, while low compared with other countries in Asia, is on the high end of the trend for the country. ###Embeddable### The highest level of approval for U.S. leadership was the 71% recorded in the Philippines, a traditional U.S. ally in the region. Additionally, the U.S. was viewed particularly positively by several other traditional allies, including South Korea (59%), Australia (51%), Israel (50%) and Japan (50%). ###Embeddable### In contrast, the lowest level of approval for U.S. leadership was in Iran, where the 7% of Iranians who approved was little changed from levels since 2018. In Afghanistan, where U.S. forces were in the process of drawing down and withdrawing from military operations during the survey period, residents had already soured on U.S. leadership. The 14% of adults who approved was unchanged from 2019. Pakistanis were also particularly negative about U.S. leadership, with less than a quarter (23%) approving, though this is on the higher end of the trend for Pakistan. Bottom Line Many view Asia as likely to be the most significant global region for the 21st century, and the politics of the area have been increasingly defined by great power competition. This competition makes soft power or the approval of countries' leaderships particularly important. The soft-power dynamic also has economic implications as Asian countries join trade groups and open or close their markets to the powers vying for position in the region. The world's attention is focused primarily on the war in Ukraine. The lessons from that conflict about the future of alliances and the global order are likely being closely watched throughout Asia. As it currently stands, the region is positively disposed toward German and U.S. leadership, but a substantial shift or upset in that conflict could contribute to upending those views. To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter. For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details. Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works. While the technology world earlier this week converged on Miami Beach for eMerge Americas 2022, the University of Miami College of Engineering has announced a new multifaceted digital technology initiative supported by a gift from the Jose Milton Foundation. Our goal is to accelerate Miamis technology evolution, with the University of Miami as the chosen resource for expertise, research, innovation, and training for success, said Ana VeigaMilton, the foundations president and a member of the Universitys Board of Trustees. Citing the far-reaching impact of eMerge Americas 2022, an annual conference that focuses on transforming Miami into the tech hub of the hemisphere, VeigaMilton added, South Florida must have a pipeline of talent to supply the needs and demands of tech companies. The University will be a driver of talent, coupled with our communitys entrepreneurial mindset that attracts investment. The Jose Milton Foundations $500,000 gift includes support for software engineering courses, fellowships, lectures, and a digital technology conference to be held at the University. The Milton familys generous investment in the College of Engineering demonstrates a keen understanding of the need to foster innovative pathways for our students to learn and develop their skills at the University of Miami, said Jeffrey L. Duerk, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. This gift will prepare our graduates to build lasting networks that will help them enhance their careers, better serve their communities, and ultimately sustain a lifelong connection to the U. Pratim Biswas, dean of the College of Engineering, also expressed his gratitude for the gift, which advances the colleges ability to meet the educational needs of todays students and tomorrows technology workforce. We look forward to building our software engineering program and contributing to our communitys growing position as a leader in digital technology, he said. VeigaMilton, who is a double alumna with degrees from the College of Engineering and School of Law and is also president of the Universitys Citizens Board, said a strong software engineering program at the college will contribute to the regions technology talent pool. Software engineering lends itself to a remote working situation, and engineers who wish to live in Miami can make an impact around the world. The Jose Milton Foundations gift provides support for four new digital technology offerings: The Jose Milton Foundation Digital Tech Initiative will support the launch of new courses, programs, and degrees in software engineering. VeigaMilton indicated that a strong software engineering program will attract a diverse talent pool of students and faculty members who collaborate to address local and global challenges. We can take the best of what we collectively know and incorporate these ideas into solutions, she said. The Jose Milton Foundation Endowed Software Engineering Fellowship will furnish fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students studying software engineering with a focus on those from underrepresented communities. VeigaMilton pointed out that the digital tech space encourages and celebrates diversity of thought from different geographies and cultures. The Jose Milton Foundation Endowed Digital Technology Lecture Series will provide funding for guest speakers to share their expertise with students, faculty, and the tech industry community. This will be a great way to share experiences and talent and take inspiration, said VeigaMilton. This lecture series can enhance Miami Engineerings connection to industry leaders, tech start-ups, and researchers. It will create opportunities for students to connect to internships and jobs, and the visiting speakers will experience the power and brightness of the U. The University of Miami Digital Technology Conference will subsidize a recurring conference presented by the University of Miami in collaboration with Florida International University, Miami Dade College, and other local academic institutions, as well as government and economic development organizations. The South Florida community boasts world-class academic/research institutions, said VeigaMilton. Through the Universitys Digital Tech Conference, these institutions will showcase their combined strengths as we invite the world to take notice of South Floridas talent and entrepreneurial spirit. The Jose Milton Foundation was established by VeigaMiltons father-in-law to support programs and organizations in South Florida that improve quality of life and close the opportunity gap, with a particular focus on education, research, and health care. The foundation supported the reimagined Milton Leadership Hall at Miami Engineering, a multipurpose space for learning and collaboration, and each year the foundation awards Advancing Minorities in STEM Scholarships to graduates of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Program. VeigaMilton noted that the Milton family has deep ties to the University of Miami. She and her husband, Cecil, have three children, Alec, Eric, and Diana. Alec has degrees from Miami Herbert Business School and Miami School of Architecture, she said. Eric has a software engineering degree from the University of Miami, and Diana earned a similar degree from Georgia Tech and is now working toward a J.D. from Miami Law. Looking ahead, VeigaMilton encouraged engineering students to be curious and open-minded. Share your insights and elevate our profession by devising efficient and effective solutions that are good for individuals, good for the planet, and good for society. Work to promote liberty and quality of life for all, she advised. Sumit Singh, the leading executive of Chewy since 2018, said that his previous work experience with Dell and Amazonpioneers of e-commercewas critical to helping forge the customer-centric business model that has driven the companys enormous growth, especially during the pandemic. The CEO spoke with John Quelch, dean of the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School, as part of the Distinguished Leader Lecture series, held at the Finker-Frenkel Family Promenade. Both of these companies were true pioneers of e-commerce and led by visionaries, they encouraged internal mobility and a relentless focus on customer experience and ability to renovate at scale, Singh explained. Working there taught me how to be a pioneer and how to take problems that havent been solved and solve them really well. He held nine different jobs at Dell alone and learned a range of different facets of the operation. As part of his leadership advice, Singh encouraged students to raise their hand often to volunteer for new opportunities. Learn from wherever and whoever you can, he suggested. Theres power in the build-a-lot, break-a-lot, be-humble, growth mindset, and its important to have the humility to accept defeat and to persevere. When your boss says do X, just say yesthough if you have a better idea express itand learn from the experience. Chewy was formed in 2011 after the two founders shifted from their original idea of a South Florida-based jewelry startup to one that provided products mainly for dogs and cats. Singh joined as COO in 2017, and six months later the founders bowed out and he became CEO with an intention to create a world class institution, he explained. During the pandemic revenues increased by $2.2 billion annually, and Chewy currently has some 20 million customers and controls 30 percent of the U.S. pet market, with revenues near $9 billion, according to Singh. Key to the growth success has been the companys ability to scale personalization, he said. Human beings are really good at creativity, and technology is good at creating scale, said Singh, explaining that Chewy currently works with about a thousand local artists who hand-draw hundreds of thousands of portraits of customers pets. We send portraits to our customers, and its such a surprise-and-delight moment that they arent expecting, he said. We kept the customer at the forefront [with the portrait] and we automated everything around itthe upload, the shipping, etc. He noted that the companys mission-purpose statement"to become the most trusted and convenient destination for pet parents and partners everywherepropels constant expansion. It takes a village to raise a petthe shelter, feeding, care, breeder, veterinarian, groomer, theres a whole community that services pets, the executive said. The focus on that wider customer base has prompted the firm to ladder up into health care services, including telehealth and pharmacy, to consider internationalizing and to venture deeper into the insurance market. Compared with the UK, Europe, and Australia, where 20 percent of pet owners maintain insurance, only about 2 percent of pet owners in the U.S. have coverage. Singh, who described himself as one of the most impatient people I know, said he was an atypical candidate for a CEO. Most CEOs come from the marketing, business, or sales sideIm a supply chain guy. I ran factories and through my interest in business, I focused on how to take cost out of the system. I want to learn how revenue is generated. The learning agility and putting myself outside of my comfort zone to try new things has been pivotal. His professional career has meandered, he said, while encouraging students to follow an S-curve in their own development. Are you anticipating change and building for change? Its good to step back and understand where you are on the curve, he said. The ideal point for a change is when youre moving up on the tangent and you can jump over and up onto another curve and not slip back down, which generally happens. Based in Dania Beach, Chewy has been an attractive landing point for University students for internships and careers. What does Singh look for when interviewing students? Humility, hard work, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to express an opinion clearly and succinctly, he responded. Notice that I didnt mention grades or what school you attended. Theres no substitute for the value of hard work and curiosity. For those who gravitate to leadership positions, Singh recommended the approach of Abraham Lincoln, outlined in the recent book Team of Rivals. Hire people who share your common values, but those who will disagree with you. Its important that they think big, act as owners, and debate openly, he said. If you are a leader, its an obligation that you debate. At some point, youll have to make the decision, but encourage the debate. Quelch asked what a CEO might learn from their pet. Pets make us happy; they bring us together. Theyre just this bundle of joy and consistent in the way that they treat you, meet you, and greet you, Singh said. What you can learn from them is optimism and positivity, and who doesnt want an optimistic and a positive world? OSU/A&M Regents approve personnel actions Media Contact: Shannon Rigsby | Public Information Officer | 405-744-9081 | shannon.rigsby@okstate.edu Numerous Oklahoma State University personnel actions were approved during the OSU/A&M Board of Regents meeting Friday at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami, Oklahoma. New Appointments Audrey King assistant professor Agricultural Education, Communication and Leadership Kate Kinder teaching assistant professor Art, Graphic Design and Art History Stephanie Jones-Bartmus assistant professor English Peter Crank assistant professor Geography Francisco Beltran assistant professor History Will Wiggins teaching assistant professor Integrative Biology Juan Carlos Rozo assistant professor Languages and Literatures Maria Fox assistant professor Mathematics Paul Kirchberger assistant professor Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Bradley Genevro professor and director of bands (appointment confers tenure) Music Howard Sanborn professor and head (appointment confers tenure) Political Science Angela Andrade teaching assistant professor Psychology Sangyoon Yi assistant professor Statistics Eric Frei assistant professor of professional practice Theatre Mary Giggey assistant professor of professional practice Theatre Don Murray assistant professor Educational Foundation, Leadership and Aviation Carlos Valiente professor and head (appointment confers tenure) Human Development and Family Science Leticia Fanucchi clinical assistant professor Clinical Sciences Jennifer Thomas clinical assistant professor Clinical Sciences Benjamin Hedges assistant professor and archivist Library Sana Masood assistant professor and archivist Library John Schoeneman assistant professor Global Studies and Partnerships From OSUIT Robert Firth dean Engineering and Construction Technology Changes in Appointment Karl Rich extension of appointment to the Don and Cathey Humphreys Endowed Chair in International Studies Agricultural Economics Ali Mirchi extension of appointment to the Iranian Persian Gulf Studies Chair Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Saleh Taghvaeian extension of appointment to the Iranian Persian Gulf Studies Chair Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Pouya Jahanshahim extension of appointment to the Iranian Persian Gulf Studies Chair Art, Graphic Design and Art History An Cheng title change from department head to professor English Jeff Menne title change for appointment as department head English Hamed Gholizadeh extension of appointment to the Iranian Persian Gulf Studies Chair Geography Reuel Hanks extension of appointment to the Don and Cathey Humphreys Endowed Chair in International Studies Geography Audrey Gramling title change from department head and Wilton T. Anderson Chair and appointment as Anadarko Chair Accounting Kevin Voss extension of appointment to the Don and Cathey Humphreys Endowed Chair in International Studies Marketing and International Business Greg Clare appointment to the Carol Dewitt Morsani Professorship in Design Design, Housing and Merchandising Paulette Hebert extension of appointment to the Don and Cathey Humphreys Endowed Chair in International Studies Design, Housing and Merchandising Stephen Wanger extension of appointment to the Don and Cathey Humphreys Endowed Chair in International Studies Educational Foundations, Leadership and Aviation Alex Bishop reappointment to the Bryan Close Endowed Professorship in Adulthood and Aging Human Development and Family Science Amanda Harrist reappointment to the Bryan Close Endowed Professorship in Early Childhood Human Development and Family Science Bob Larzelere reappointment to the Endowed Professorship in Parenting Human Development and Family Science Mike Stout reappointment to the George Kaiser Family Foundation Endowed Chair in Community Policy Human Development and Family Science Randy Kluver extension of appointment to the Don and Cathey Humphreys Endowed Chair in International Studies Global Studies and Partnerships Retirements Korean leaders swap friendly letters despite tensions Kim Jong-un (pictured) said his historic summits with Moon Jae-in gave the people hope for the future, KCNA reported. File photo: AFP North Korean leader Kim Jong-un thanked the South's outgoing president Moon Jae-in for his efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, Pyongyang and Seoul said on Friday, in an unexpected move following signs the isolated state could resume nuclear testing. The North has carried out more than a dozen weapons tests so far this year, the latest one just last week -- a short-range launch that state media claimed would enhance the "efficiency in the operation of tactical nukes". The dovish Moon held three summits with Kim and helped facilitate talks between former US president Donald Trump and the North Korean leader. But Kim and Trump's nuclear negotiations ended in failure in 2019 due to disagreements on sanctions relief and what North Korea would be willing to give up in return. Since then, Pyongyang has labelled Moon a "meddlesome mediator", blown up a US$15-million joint liaison office north of the border that was financed by Seoul, and last month test-fired an ICBM at full range for the first time since 2017. But on Friday Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency said Kim and Moon agreed that inter-Korean ties would improve if both sides "make tireless efforts with hope", despite "the difficult situation so far". In his letter, Kim also said his "historic" summits with Moon gave the people "hope for the future", the KCNA report added. The North Korean leader "appreciated the pains and effort taken by Moon Jae-in for the great cause of the nation until the last days of his term of office", the report said, adding the duo's letter exchange was an "expression of their deep trust". Seoul's presidential Blue House confirmed the two had exchanged friendly letters, adding Moon told Kim that despite the "disappointing moments", together they have made a "clear step" in "changing the fate of the Korean peninsula". Moon also told Kim in his letter that their inter-Korean summits should become the "foundation for unification", and that he hoped for the swift resumption of the stalled dialogue between North Korea and the United States. (AFP) Politics and Legal Studies Professor Mark Fathi Massouds book, Sharia, Inshallah: Finding God in Somali Legal Politics, has captured global attention in the past year, earning him a series of book award recognitions, invitations to speak across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, and a closed session with resident representatives of the United Nations Development Program. Massouds book, published in 2021, traces Somalias history and contemporary politics to reveal how Shariaa system of Islamic religious rules often portrayed as a tool of extremism or oppressioncan advance human rights and promote the rule of law. For example, the book shares stories of Somali womens rights activists who are teaching how gender equality is compatible with the principles of Islam. These activists have found that appeals through the lens of Sharia are more effective than those that emphasize legal rights under international law. Massoud has argued this indicates that international advocacy organizations will need to understand and acknowledge the role of Islam in order to support human rights efforts in Somalia and other Muslim-majority nations. Many Somali women have actually been fighting religious fundamentalism not by demanding religion stay out of politics but by promoting religious interpretations of women's rights, and they do this because they know that religion is so essential to people's lived experiences, Massoud said. And in countries that experienced European colonialism, many people see legal conceptions like human rights as just another Western imposition, but religious interpretations of social justice resonate. Massoud shared findings from Sharia, Inshallah on the rule of law and gender with senior officials, known as resident representatives, of the United Nations Development Program at a meeting last month. The closed session was organized in connection with Gender at Work, a global feminist network that is working to end discrimination against women. Earlier this month, on April 7, Sharia, Inshallah was also awarded the 2022 Hart-SLSA Book Prize from the Socio-Legal Studies Association, which recognizes the years top book in the field. And in January, Massouds book was honored as a finalist for the American Association of Publishers PROSE Award for the best book on government & politics published in 2021. Massoud says the books example of how religion and politics entwine in East Africa holds lessons for other regions of the globe. In particular, he argues that religious moral authority often helps to establish rule of law, which has historically laid the path for many of todays democracies. One of the things I hope people see in the book is that the rule of lawthis concept that is so fundamental to ensuring thriving democracieshas its roots in religion, he said. Even today, religious faith is very much a part of the underlying politics in America and Somalia alike, and people invoke religious faith for all kinds of politics, from conservative to progressive. Massoud will discuss these themes from the book and more during a series of four hybrid lectures this May for the University of Oxford. He was selected to give Oxfords Evans-Pritchard Lectures, which will take place on May 10, 17, 25, and 31 and will be open to the public virtually. Overall, Massoud said the widespread interest in and appreciation for Sharia, Inshallah has been an uplifting and emotional experience for him. I feel so much gratitude for all of the people who supported me through the process of developing this book, and seeing this kind of recognition has just made all of that come flooding in, he said. Its really special to have this validation from others, but ultimately, the biggest reward is the opportunity through this book to share something meaningful with the world about the powers of faith and law. The company has established brand name as "Hari" for all its project. The company's business activity falls within two segments, Development of Real Estate Properties and Civil Contracting Business. KBC Global Ltd., is a leading player in affordable and mid-income housing segment. As per bulk deal data available on NSE, Singapore based fund Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte ltd picked up stake 3500000 shares in KBC Global Ltd. at average price of Rs.9.99 per share on 21 April 2022. Earlier, as per bulk deal data available on NSE, Rama Krishna Varma Pemetsa had picked up 3700000 shares at average price of Rs. 9.75 per share on 19 April 2022. Earlier, KBC Global Ltd also participated at CREDAI Nashik Property Expo where it showcased 12 prominent projects ranging from Affordable housing, Mid-segment and Luxury Housing across Nashik region and successfully converted 9+ bookings i.e. 1% spot conversion and additionally expecting more then 50+ to convert in near term. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) Guangzhou [China], April 22 (ANI/PRNewswire): The 131st Canton Fair has a grand opening online on April 15. Over 25,000 exhibitors gather for this 10-day event and have already uploaded more than 2.9 million high-quality exhibits, covering electronics and household electrical appliances, building and decorative marerials, industrial manufacturing, hardware and tools, household items and consumer goods, fashion, health and recreation products. China is a world-leading producer, exporter and consumer of household items. At the 131st Canton Fair, nearly 9,000 companies will exhibit over 1.17 million products. As China's top-ranking ceramic brands, Shenzhen Guoci Yongfengyuan Ceramics and Jiangsu Gaochun Ceramics have brought a new series of state banquet tableware, which allows consumers to enjoy flavors and a visual feast at the same time. The Building and Home Decorative section is joined by China's best suppliers of building materials, home furnishings, and bathroom supplies. They represent China's strongest competence in this area. In 2021, Guangdong KITO Ceramics Group won the Gold Canton Fair Design Award for the building material industry. More than 85% raw materials of their new foam porcelain tiles were made of repurposed solid waste, with a distinctive feature of fire, thermal and sound insulation as well as others excellent performance. Guangzhou Monalisa Bath Ware's intelligent massage bathtub can provide hydrotherapy and relaxation by massaging skin in bath. Moreover, with just one click, lighting can be turned on to amp up the ambiance, bringing a brand-new lifestyle to consumers worldwide. Canton Fair is not only a business card for Chinese intelligent manufacturing but also an important platform where producers can build up brand images and expand their reach. The 131st Canton Fair will continue to be a bond of friendship and a bridge for trade, and play the role of a trade promotion platform for exhibitors and buyers. Visit https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US/register/index#/foreign-email for more opportunities. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/TPT): The renowned American influencer has been in the limelight since 2019 when she became "Miss Teen USA." The way a few industries and sectors have been on a constant growth pedestal, it has naturally made people wonder about the many reasons that have been instrumental in helping these industries attain massive growth and success. Out of the tons of factors and reasons behind them, no one can deny the incredible hard work and endless efforts a few individuals and professionals put in through their brands and businesses to create more glory for them. We came to learn about one such company in the artistic and photography world called De Massis Photography, which has often garnered headlines around its incredible work and the kind of contributions it has made in the world of photography. What garnered more attention and turned people's heads recently was Italy-based De Massis Photography doing a photoshoot with the renowned American influencer Kaliegh Garris, also known for being the "Miss Teen USA" in 2019. Working along with his gorgeous beauty and enchanting personality, De Massis Photography proved its mettle in the industry as a photography company that is trusted by prominent names in the industry. Speaking more about it, Luca De Massis, the brain behind De Massis Photography, says that the pictures and videos that were shot in this collaboration were later used by Wilhelmina, an established Los Angeles-based influencer and modelling company, such was the craze it created. It was only Luca De Massis who could've done this with his De Massis Photography company, as he has been an experienced photography talent in the industry for years, whose works have always been lauded and praised for the kind of uniqueness he has always offered through each shot of his, capable of evoking many emotions in the viewer. De Massis Photography is a renowned Italian photography company that works closely with Social Media Influencers, Celebrities, and Models. It was founded 15 years ago in Italy by this Italian fashion photography genius. He is a published portrait fashion photographer from Pescara, Italy, known for his "Love What You Do" philosophy. Recently, he was even featured in Forbes Italia as "Photographer of the moment." This story is provided by TPT. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/TPT) Georgia experienced invasion by Russia in 2008 and is since partially occupied. It shares Euro-Atlantic aspirations with Ukraine. This context suggests that Georgia should be more straightforward and bolder in condemning the Kremlins aggression against Ukraine. However, Georgia has taken a cautious stance: it did not join any of the Wests sanctions against Moscow. Georgias appeasing posture seems conditioned not only by the security threats posed by Russia but also by Georgias domestic politics. The Georgian government is attempting a difficult balance between two types of threats on the one hand to its national survival and on the other to the survival of its regime. BACKGROUND: The Georgian governments ambiguous stance towards the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been surprising to many observers. Even though Georgia condemned the war and supported several decisions to denounce Moscow in international organizations such as the UN and Council of Europe, the government fell short of joining any of the sanctions introduced by the U.S., the EU, and its allies. Georgia has its own experience with Russia. Moscow invaded the country in 2008, occupied two of its regions, and recognized them as independent states in a manner very similar to its present modus in Ukraine. Moreover, Georgia has frequently been regarded as the most pro-western country in the EUs eastern neighborhood and a strategic ally of Ukraine. The two states wanted to distance themselves from the Russian sphere of influence and join the Euro-Atlantic institutions. Therefore, many observers found it confusing that Georgia was not taking bolder steps to join Western states and societies in their coordinated responses to the Kremlins aggression. Georgias position has been criticized both domestically and by Ukrainian officials. Indeed, there are times when citizens are not the Government, but better than the Government,- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted in response as thousands of protesters gathered in the streets of Georgias capital Tbilisi in support of Ukraine. The Georgian government has explained its cautiousness by pointing to national interests. Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili was quite clear on the subject: I want to state clearly and unambiguously, considering our national interests and interests of the people, Georgia does not plan to participate in the financial and economic sanctions, as this would only damage our country and populace more. IMPLICATIONS: Georgia is indeed vulnerable in several respects. The Russian military occupies two of its regions and is located less than 50 miles from Tbilisi. Georgia, a country with 3.7 million inhabitants and an army of 37,000 active personnel, is no match for the Russian war machine. Georgia fought a five-day-long war against Russia in August 2008. Only the timely mediation of the EU saved its independence, as the Russian leadership was not ready for a wholesale confrontation with the West at the time. The bitter experience of the past dictates the Georgian government to avoid provoking Russia. Moreover, Georgias economy is in several respects connected to that of Russia. Despite the non-existing diplomatic relations since the 2008 war, economic ties have grown during the last decade, especially after Russia lifted the embargo on Georgian products in 2013. Russia was Georgias second-largest trade partner in terms of both export and import in 2021. Thus, the governments cautiousness is arguably a direct result of external structural constraints (military threats and economic dependence) facing the country. Therefore, Georgias approach to the war in Ukraine is consistent with the strategy of Realpolitik, which small states pursue in light of a capability deficit. Georgia, realists would contend, behaves as a small state should in the face of external threats and constraints. When a small state lacking credible allies is within the reach of an aggressive power with superior offensive military capabilities and unavailability of credible allies, it expectedly chooses to bandwagon rather than balance. Small states often face significant external constraints in their foreign policies. However, foreign policy is not only about external limitations; it is a much more complex enterprise. As one leading thinker of International Relations has argued, while external factors are key, foreign policies are ultimately governmental products. Indeed, governments often care about the survival of their regimes as much as about the interests of their country, and in some instances, motivations relating to regime survival can outweigh considerations of the national interest. This is especially true when the regime in question is a non-consolidated democracy. Accordingly, a comprehensive understanding of Georgias cautious Ukraine policy requires opening the pandoras box and taking a careful look at the domestic context. The current ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party came to power in 2012, when the previous United National Movement (UNM) government, under which the 2008 war with Russia occurred, lost fiercely fought parliamentary elections. Since then, Georgian domestic politics have revolved around highly charged battles between the two parties. Several high-ranking officials from UNM were prosecuted under GDs rule. Many former UNM officials left Georgia for Ukraine and occupied key administrative positions after the pro-western Euromaidan in 2014. The most notable is Mikheil Saakashvili, president of Georgia 2004-2013. Saakashvili was prosecuted in absentia at home and arrested in 2021 when he returned to Georgia. Political polarization had already reached its peak one year before, during the 2020 parliamentary elections. GD then succeeded in retaining power for a third consecutive term an achievement unprecedented by the parties ruling Georgia since the countrys independence in 1991. However, Georgias Western partners have expressed frequent criticism of the declining state of democracy in the country. UNM, also carrying its share of responsibility for the political polarization, have blamed GD of falsifying elections and usurping power. The EU has attempted to mediate between the parties but ultimately failed. CONCLUSIONS: Georgias Ukraine policy is a play on two chessboards one external and one domestic. The government is concerned about the Russian threat and the prospect of a repeated full-scale invasion. The government regards de-escalation and appeasement of Russia as the only viable approach for Georgia, since the country has no international security guarantees. The Georgian government honestly wants Ukraine as a country to succeed, because it understands that the outcome of Ukraines fight for survival has immediate consequences for Georgias survival as well. However, and this is where domestic politics make the picture more complex, the government in Tbilisi does not fully trust their Ukrainian counterparts, keeping in mind that they have harbored many of its political opponents from Georgia during all these years. If the Ukrainian government succeeds in defending its country (and hopefully, it will), Kyiv will become a significant player in the European part of the post-soviet space, including Georgia. The current Georgian government is almost certain about which side Ukraine will take in Georgias domestic political dispute. The current Georgian government is honest about its European aspirations. Indeed, it sent an official EU membership application to Brussels in parallel with Ukraine and Moldova. However, the Georgian government also understands that the application provides the EU with greater leverage to push Georgia towards further reforms, undermining the current dominance of the ruling party. The Georgian government thus faces a difficult balance between national survival and regime survival. At this critical juncture, sound assessment and true statesmanship, not partisan interests, is the only viable solution. AUTHORS BIO: David Aprasidze and Giorgi Gvalia are Professors of Political Science and International Relations at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/PR Newswire): Deakin University, Australia, has announced its Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholarship program 2022, which offers a 100 per cent tuition fee waiver to 100 per cent tuition fee waiver for the full duration of their studies at the University - at either undergraduate or postgraduate level. Deakin aims to bring this opportunity to millions of students across India through the extensive reach of its broadcast partner and leading English news channel, Times Now. Applications for the scholarship are open for students applying in the July intake this year. The announcement comes as part of Deakin University's initiative 'Changing Lives', which recognises deserving students with consistently high academic performance, who have potential to make a leading contribution to the University and their community in India. Deakin has 28 years of engagement in India fostering collaborations across education and research, and launched this initiative in 2014 to support talented and dedicated students - it has awarded 35 scholarships to date. Professor Iain Martin, Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University said that Deakin was committed to supporting Indian students who had aspirations to pursue a high-quality international education. "Over almost three decades, Deakin's relationship with India has been a very successful one, achieving great outcomes for Indian students and their communities. This is a priority for us - helping students gain the skills that will make a real difference to their communities in India." "And we gain so much in return; our international students make wonderful contributions to the life of our University, and beyond graduation they join our thriving global alumni community." "Through the Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious 100 per cent Scholarship program, we provide financial support to deserving students so they can focus on realising their full potential." Ravneet Pawha, Vice-President (Global Alliances) and CEO (South Asia) at Deakin added, "This announcement couldn't have come at a better time. Both our countries' prime ministers have recently emphasised the importance of education exchange in the light of the Free Trade Agreement." "With these scholarships, we aim to nurture future leaders who can make significant contributions in areas of science, technology, arts and more," she said. The selection for the Deakin Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholarship Program is a rigorous process consisting of application review, referee recommendations and interviews/presentations, including a panel interview with neutral representatives from academia and industry. Hritish Kakati, a Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholar in 2021, said, "I feel extremely privileged to have won the Deakin University Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious 100% scholarship last year." "Being a Vice-Chancellor's scholar gave me the opportunity to be part of the Vice Chancellor's Professional Excellence Program (VCPEP), wherein I can meet and interact with achievers from all over the world." Deakin University also offers other academic merit-based bursaries and scholarships for Indian students that include a 25 per cent Merit Scholarship and a 20 per cent Bursary for studies onshore in Australia. For more information about the Deakin University Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholarship Program 2022, and to check one's eligibility to apply, please visit: http://deakinuniversity.in/vcscholars Students may also email vcscholars@deakin.edu.au or call the Deakin South Asia Office, New Delhi on +91 11 2654 4725 Established in 1974, Deakin University successfully combines excellence in teaching, research and effective partnerships with industry and government to deliver high quality courses and undertake research that makes a difference to the domestic and international communities it serves. Deakin's South Asia operations commenced in 1994 at New Delhi, India, making it one of the first overseas education provider to set operations in this region. Here, Deakin engages with the government, industry, and academia to share its vibrant culture of education and research. For more information on Deakin University, please visit: www.deakin.edu.au This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PR Newswire) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/Oswaal Books): What is CUET? Common University Entrance Test, primarily known as CUET 2022 is a sole entrance test whose score will be the deciding factor for admission to the undergraduate programs. The officials have also stated that no consideration will be given to the score card of board exams, and hence, it will just be an eligibility criterion. The registration process for CUET 2022 has begun and will last till April 30, 2022. Top Universities which are participating in the CUET 2022: As the registration process is speeding up, given below is a list of the universities that are participating in the CUET 2022 exam. CUET 2022: Complete Information How Sample Papers are Helpful in CUET 2022? No matter how good you are in studies, there are always some improvements that you can make to be the best. If you have been good in studies so far but now want to get even better, then there is nothing wrong with that. You can change your studying ways and get better at it so that you can gain more knowledge. In this case, sample papers can come to your rescue if you are determined to study better. This is where sample papers play a crucial role. They can help you elevate your preparation in different ways. There are several ways in which sample papers can help students prepare better for their exams: 1. Consistently Study the Sample Papers: Sample papers are the exact replica of the original examination paper, so it is important to study them consistently. Solving sample papers is a very good habit and it helps you keep up with your studies. If you solve sample papers regularly, then it helps you to complete your coursework on time. 2. Make You Determined: Determination always helps to escalate your preparation process and Sample Papers help you to prepare for the exam systematically and regularly. Determination is very important in studies. If you are motivated to study, then you will work hard to achieve your goal. It also helps you stay focused on your studies. 3. Study according to your coursework: It is very important that you study according to the coursework provided by your teachers. Sample Papers also helps you to do the same which automates the number of scores. Choosing the right coursework is also very important to rank you up in the Exam. Students can also go with Oswaal NTA CUET (UG) Question Bank | Entrance Exam Preparation Book for 2022 | Chapter-wise & Topic-wise. With these Question Banks, students can take lot of benefits for their exam like: * Why to choose? As Oswaal NTA CUET (UG) Question Banks 2022 are Strictly as per the latest Syllabus and pattern of NTA CUET (UG) - 2022 based on MCQs * Chapter-wise & Topic-wise The NTA CUET (UG) Question Banks 2022 Chapter-wise & Topic-wise introduction to enable quick revision and systematic flow of concepts in Revision Notes on all subjects * Score up with Tips & Tricks Tips to crack the NTA CUET Exam 2022 in the first Attempt The NTA CUET (UG) Question Banks 2022 includes Valuable insights - tips, tricks and short Cuts * Short Cuts to learn more Mind Maps to provoke new ideas CUET (UG) Sample Paper | Mock Test Paper | Entrance Exam Preparation Book for 2022 Click here, https://bit.ly/3xHKCju CUET (UG) Question Bank | Entrance Exam Preparation Book for 2022 | Chapter-wise & Topic-wise Click here, https://bit.ly/3JWLAdZ 4. Smart working helps: Smart working always helps students score better than others, so whatever you learn, try to understand it rather than just mugging it up. This will help you remember things for longer periods of time and help you solve questions quicker when you are writing the exam paper. 5. Revise the portion between solving the papers: After completing a particular portion of solving sample papers, it is important to revise them simultaneously so that you can remember all the stuff and boost your preparation process in an effective manner. Revise the portion where you have solved the paper right after finishing it because this will help you refresh your memory regarding the information given in that chapter or topic. 6. Mark important questions simultaneously: Marking important questions simultaneously while solving the sample paper will help you not only to remember them but also to work on those difficulties at the same time so that you can perform better in the exam. 7. Improvement matters the most: Improvement matters the most as it helps you to work on your weakness and enhance your strength as well for performing better in the exam. And the sample papers are the best way to improve on your lagging points and come out as a warrior! We wish you good luck for your examination and are hopeful that you will pass with flying colours! DO YOU KNOW WHY CUET 2022 EXAM IS SO IMPORTANT FOR CLASS 12TH STUDENTS? READ TO KNOW! This story is provided by Oswaal Books. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Oswaal Books) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 22 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Godfrey Phillips India was certified as a Great Place to Work For 2022 by the Great Places to Work Institute, for the fourth year in a row. Godfrey Phillips India, which has been ranked as Top 30 Best Companies to Work For three times in the past, celebrated the recognition. The certification is a testament to the rich culture of the organization with some of the best practices that encourages learning from failures, risk-taking, provision of exceptional medical support and benefits, empathy and care before business and people in centre of all decisions. Dr Bina Modi, President, Godfrey Phillips, delighted at the news, said, "Compassion, concern and care - these are the mainstays for our leadership team. All our decisions, even the hardest ones, are taken with people at the centre of it. That is all I ask. One of the lessons, I learnt from my husband, Late KK Modi, is to 'bet on people, not strategies.' He believed people are the heart and soul of an enterprise, invest in them and they will create magic. This is our legacy, and I am a staunch upholder." Sharad Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer - Godfrey Phillips India, shared, "Our strong culture of trust, care and empathy helped us overcome pandemic, the challenges that came with it and the post recovery; we not only sailed through, but we also performed superlatively. Every employee, partner and associate reflect the same pride of belonging to a 'People-First Organization'. This certification and recognition by the Great Places to Work Institute, drives us to do better and perform better as a team." Rajesh Mehrotra, Head HR - Godfrey Phillips India Limited, spoke of the practices that enabled the recognition, "The pandemic and its continuous waves challenged all organisations with many moving into survival mode. I am proud to share that Godfrey Phillips India not just survived but thrived in the face of hardship. We just ensured that our core philosophy of 'putting people first' did not waver. It was not easy. Through each wave, we made sure that the well-being and health of our employees and their families were top priority. From stringent precautions, medical assistance, job security to transparency in communication and business decisions, at every point, employee needs were considered. Our mantra was - every GPIte is a family member and we will look after each other. We call ourselves OneGPI and each member resonates with it." Great Place to Work is the global authority on building, sustaining, and recognizing High-Trust, High-Performance CultureTM at workplaces world over. Every year, more than 10,000 organizations from over 60 countries partner with Great Place to Work Institute for assessment, benchmarking, and planning actions to strengthen their workplace culture. In India, more than 900 organizations applied to Great Place to Work Institute to undertake the assessment this year. 'India's Best Companies to Work For' is a celebration of the best work cultures in the country. Every year, Great Place to Work and The Economic Times come together to appreciate and applaud the efforts of 100 Best organizations that have created and sustained a great workplace culture. India's Best Companies to Work For is the most prestigious and the most credible employer brand recognition in the country. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) Sri City (Andhra Pradesh) [India], April 22 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Panasonic Life Solutions India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation, today announced the opening of its new manufacturing facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. The facility aims to strengthen the company's presence in the Southern Region and develop market synergies by providing swift material deliveries and customer delight. The 'highly automated' unit is spread over 133,584 sq. mt. and currently covers a floor area of 37,025 sq. mt. This will be the company's first electrical equipment manufacturing base in Southern India and seventh in India followed by facilities in the North and West regions. The company will be making a total investment of INR 600Cr in two phases, the first phase of INR 300Cr has been made. Through this facility, the aim is to support the infrastructure development, create employment opportunities, and industrial development in Andhra Pradesh. It will contribute to the company's larger goal of increasing capacity expansion in India and carbon neutrality by 2030 to deliver on the promise of a carbon-neutral future. This facility is fully operational and will primarily focus on manufacturing Wiring Devices products covering Roma, Penta Modular, and Roma Urban. Additionally, the company further intends to add other products from the Wiring Devices and include Switchgear, Wires, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) products over a period. Currently, the production capacity in the first year is 80 million units, and it is expected to increase by 15% year by year as sales further expand. Besides, the new facility will benefit the local communities as it is expected to create direct and indirect employment opportunities by developing a local supplier network only for Wiring Devices products by FY2025. Further, aligned with the vision of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the company looks to support an all-inclusive growth and contribution to the development of the country. Addressing the occasion, Kawamoto, Business Unit Head - Power Component Business, Panasonic Corporation, Japan. added that, "India is on a growth trajectory and this growth will need tremendous support from the ECM industry for people to "Live their Best". We see this as a tremendous opportunity for making human life simpler, safer, and comfortable, by enhancing the consumer experience through our technologically advanced products, with Japanese standards, which will now be manufactured at this facility in India." Kazuki Yao, Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. said, "As a global leader in electrical construction materials, providing the most comprehensive electrical portfolio across the entire value chain, India being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world is an important market for PLSIND. Through the inauguration of our facility in Sri city, it will help us significantly scale up our productions in India, while contributing to the overall development of the region. We plan to invest in building consumer connections, enhancing the industrial connect, and improving its visibility on the production front. We see Andhra Pradesh as a strategic market that has witnessed an exemplar shift in its industrial culture and believe it's an accurate time to delve into this region." Rajesh Nandwani, Director and Business Unit Head of Wiring Devices, Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. said, "Today, we are delighted to announce the inauguration of our manufacturing facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. The facility has been set up to manufacture and produce products from the Wiring Devices category. The new factory production system includes a state-of-the-art assembly line that will manifest Industry 4.0 technologies to support industrial transformation and business excellence, for enhanced safety and productivity. At PLSIND, we look forward towards building more resilient and sustainable partnerships by offering the best technologies and building world-class manufacturing facilities in India while supporting the Government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' mission." This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/Oswaal Books): On Thursday, 21 April 2022 CBSE released the syllabus for the new session 2022-23. Students can also check the syllabus for the new session on the official website https://cbseacademic.nic.in. CBSE has offered the syllabus for classes 10 to 12 for the new academic session 2022-23. There are various things that students need to look upon for the upcoming session 2022-23. Students can also check the subjects which are compulsory, which are optional & which are for internal assessment. For this academic year, students should pull up their socks and have a look from where they should start for the CBSE new Session 2022-23. Question Banks are always a great source for learning and give outstanding results. It shows the right way from where to start and how to score better marks in the coming session. There are some points where Question banks can be the best example to kick start the CBSE New Academic session 2022-23. Better understanding of the Coursework: Question Banks help the students in a thorough understanding of the coursework. It allows the students to know which are the weak points and where need to focus more. For a better understanding & to start with the session 2022-23, students can also go with Oswaal CBSE Class 10 Question Bank | Solved Paper Chapter-wise | For Exam 2022-23 where students can get many benefits like: * CBSE Question Bank Class 10 English, Science, Social Science & Math Standard 2022-23 are based on latest & full syllabus * CBSE Question Bank Class 10 English, Science, Social Science & Math Standard 2022-23 Includes Term 1 Exam paper 2021+Term II CBSE Sample paper+ Latest Topper Answers * CBSE Books Class 10 2022 -23 comprises Revision Notes: Chapter wise & Topic wise * The CBSE Question Bank Class 10 English, Science, Social Science & Math Standard 2022-23 includes Exam Questions: Includes Previous Years Board Examination questions (2013-2021) * It includes CBSE Marking Scheme Answers: Previous Years' Board Marking scheme answers (2013-2020) * The CBSE Books Class 10 2022 -23 also includes New Typology of Questions: MCQs, assertion-reason, VSA, SA & LA including case-based questions Exam Oriented Prep Tools * Commonly Made Errors & Answering Tips to avoid errors and score improvement * Mind Maps for quick learning * Concept Videos for blended learning Here is the recommended link for the CBSE Class 10 & 12 Question Bank | Solved Paper | For Exam 2022-23, Click here https://bit.ly/3MkbxWC Work Smart not Hard: It also allows you to work smartly not hardly. Question banks solve the toughest problems in easier ways & give you better results as per your convenience. Know your Week Subjects: Question Banks allow the students to keep updated with their progress by letting them know about the subjects where they need to focus on more. Students can also track their progress by using Question banks. This story is provided by Oswaal Books. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/Oswaal Books) Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) [India], April 22 (ANI/NewsVoir): iServeU, a leading financial infrastructure provider, had secured an investment commitment of INR 100 Crores or approx. USD 13 million from its parent, Niyogin Fintech Limited. This is in-line with the hypergrowth strategy that was announced in November 2021. As part of this commitment the first tranche of this investment, comprising INR 50 Crores has been invested in iServeU. The money will largely be utilized in building the talent and technology to help bring in incremental products and service capabilities on our platform to create India's premier API infrastructure platform. Our business plan will enable us to increase the tech team by 300 in coming quarters in Bhubaneshwar through these investments, which is a validation of the talent potential of Odisha. And a step towards investing into the socio economic future of Bhubaneswar which is emerging as a start-up hub. Tashwinder Singh, MD & CEO, Niyogin Fintech Limited said, "We are deeply committed to our partnership with iServeU. We think we are at pole position to dominate the API infrastructure platform play in Financial services. This investment is in line with our strategy of delivering "Banking as a Service" to our customers." Commenting on the milestone, Debiprasad Sarangi, CEO and Co-founder of iServeU Technology said, "We are excited by the opportunity to create the most comprehensive banking infrastructure platform offering in the market enabling businesses to offer full-stack financial services. Further this investment will create hundreds of new cutting edge engineering jobs in Bhubaneswar, Odisha and validates the talent potential of the state. The iServeU platform is in the FinTech segment. It is the only full stack financial infrastructure company to be your one stop solution for providing innovative customer experience for payment acquiring, issuing, accounts, lending, withdrawal, deposit, remittance, insurance and customer KYC etc. Our technology gives partners complete banking services embedded within their own application. We have tied-up with product partners such as banks, insurance companies, among others, helps it to facilitate a technology-led product delivery system. On the other hand, through its partnership-led model, it onboards Banking Correspondents (BC) partners (includes enterprises and local community BCs) on the platform to reach out to local retail stores. By connecting banks, BC partners, and BC agents in one place, it enables the merchants to provide frictionless and easily accessible banking, financial, and payment services to local communities. For more information, please visit www.iserveu.in. iServeU Technology Private Limited (iServeU) is a DIPP certified Fintech Company registered under The Start-up India program of Government of India, supported by NSTDEB, pledging towards making India a financial inclusive society. The Company is 5 years old and is successfully running several technology solutions in partnership with Banks, NBFCs, FI Players and Corporate BCs. iServeU is offering financial inclusion products in 25,000+ villages across India. For more information, please visit www.iserveu.in. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/PNN): Destiny landed them in an old age home, but their zeal perched them to history's first ever inter old age home talent show 'Oldies Talent Show'. Abandoned and betrayed souls living in old age homes and wounded by their own families eventually decided to stand up and buckle up to lead a joyous life. Their hungry hearts finally got a dose of joy, appreciation, love and applause. Niraj Gera, the founder of the Humanify Foundation and an internationally awarded photographer, has always been eager to serve the underprivileged and deprived sections of society. He has already whipped up mankind with his various photo series. This time, when he introduced his unique creative idea of organizing history's first-ever inter old age home talent show for the residents of old age homes. Numerous people stepped forward to join his journey in this noble endeavour. The show which was organized at Vishwa Yuvak Kendra (Delhi) was a big hit. The talent show was jazzed up with the awe-inspiring performances of dozens of old age home residents. The hall was full of applause when the 'young at heart' oldies had an awesome ramp walk. The audience started humming to the melodious songs sung by the participants. The dance performance by dynamic dancers ones shook the crowd. Niraj Gera said, "After witnessing a sudden shift in their mindsets, added rays of hope and positivity to their lives, I feel that the purpose behind organizing this event has been accomplished. The event successfully added euphoria in their lives. The sound of applause, words of appreciation and standing ovations filled their tiresome hearts with endless pleasure." Gera further added, "Some of them wore sunglasses for the first time in their lives, while for others it was the first moment to hold a microphone or perform on stage. It was a heart-touching moment for not only the participants but also for the sensitive audience who came specially to cheer them up." Destiny landed them in an old age home, but their zeal perched them to history's first ever inter old age home talent show 'Oldies Talent Show'. Abandoned and betrayed souls living in old age homes and wounded by their own families eventually decided to stand up and buckle up to lead a joyous life. Their hungry hearts finally got a dose of joy, appreciation, love and applause. Niraj Gera, the founder of the Humanify Foundation and an internationally awarded photographer, has always been eager to serve the underprivileged and deprived sections of society. He has already whipped up mankind with his various photo series. This time, when he introduced his unique creative idea of organizing history's first-ever inter old age home talent show for the residents of old age homes. Numerous people stepped forward to join his journey in this noble endeavour. The show which was organized at Vishwa Yuvak Kendra (Delhi) was a big hit. The talent show was jazzed up with the awe-inspiring performances of dozens of old age home residents. The hall was full of applause when the 'young at heart' oldies had an awesome ramp walk. The audience started humming to the melodious songs sung by the participants. The dance performance by dynamic dancers ones shook the crowd. Niraj Gera said, "After witnessing a sudden shift in their mindsets, added rays of hope and positivity to their lives, I feel that the purpose behind organizing this event has been accomplished. The event successfully added euphoria in their lives. The sound of applause, words of appreciation and standing ovations filled their tiresome hearts with endless pleasure." Gera further added, "Some of them wore sunglasses for the first time in their lives, while for others it was the first moment to hold a microphone or perform on stage. It was a heart-touching moment for not only the participants but also for the sensitive audience who came specially to cheer them up." Oldies Got Talent spread the rays of hope, positivity, happiness, and enthusiasm among the golden age champions. From rehearsals to performances, everything was full of pep. There were approximately 45 'young at heart' participants from different old age homes in Delhi/ NCR who got 2 months regular training by volunteers of Team Humanify. Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi (Hon'ble Minister of State Union Govt. of India) magnified the event with her presence as a Chief Guest along with special Guests of Honour, Asha ji & Badri Singh ji (Parents of 'Nirbhaya'). Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi appreciated the zeal of oldsters and the selfless mentoring of Team Humanify. She further added, "Anyone who is young at heart and in spirit enjoys his youth forever." She extended her note of thanks to the Humanify foundation for giving her an opportunity to meet and interact with those senior citizens. With tearful eyes Asha ji (Nirbhaya's mother) said she feels as if she met her own parents at this event. In her words, "I have never seen any organization working for the sake of the happiness of the deprived sections of the society. But Humanify foundation is doing the same exceptionally.' The event was primely supported by Rotary Club of Delhi Metro which was represented by their District governor Mr Lalit Khana, Mr Rajiv Kharbanda, Mr Suchit Agarwal & their team members. Further few other entities were also associates such as Ilariyaa (clothing partner), Shubh Photoworks (photography partner), Murliwala Sweets (food partner), Balaji Printing Works (designing & printing partner), & Rotaract Club of DSPSR (Human Resource Partner). 'Oldies Got Talent' was also enriched with other eminent Guests of Honours such as Smt. Suman Oscar (Eminent Social Activist & Oscar award winner), Dr. Surbhi Singh (Social Activist and Head of Sachi Saheli NGO), Sh. Ravi Jaiswal (President of NHRO) and Sh. Gagan Deep Khurana (Indian origin Choreographer from Canada) while Smt. Shaleen Sinha (Hindustani Vocalist), Sh. Mohd. Hameed Khan (Eminent Hindustani Vocalist), Smt. Padma Vashisht (Eminent Hindustani Vocalist) judged the sensational acts of versatile oldies. Being an Art of Living faculty, Niraj Gera is a high-spirited person who aims to add positivity and happiness to the life of everyone around the world. Niraj Gera said, "We are thankful to the residents of 4 different ashrams- Sawhney Foundation, Raunak Vridhhashram, Triveni Vridhhashram & Mata Ram Beti Vridhhashram, who participated enthusiastically in the event. I am also grateful to the sponsors of the event, especially our prime sponsor Rotary Club of Delhi Metro, and the entire team of Humanify Foundation, who have put their efforts selflessly day and night." Rosy Sachdeva, chair person of Raunak Old Age Home, also appreciated Humanify Foundation for adding euphoria into the lives of its residents. "From rehearsals to the event, team Humanify was full of excitement and committed to bring smiles upon those lustreless faces", she added. The event was enlivened by a group dance performance at the end, wherein all the participants, mentors, and team members spun passionately. Abandoned souls are now full of beans. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/BusinessWire India): In its efforts to bring attention to India's lesser-known species and habitats, and build a conservation mindset, The Habitats Trust, launched 'Wild You Were Sleeping' a six-part original docuseries on Earth Day (22nd April 2022). The series will feature stories of some of India's most fascinating wild species that live in close proximity to humans but are not understood, often leading to conflict situations. It will showcase short 7 - 9 minute episodes each, on six species including the Malabar Pit-Viper, Striped Hyena, Desert Fox, Greater Adjutant Stork, Smooth-coated Otters, and Hoolock Gibbon. Co-produced by leading documentary film company, Trippintoe Media, an episode from the docuseries will be streamed every Friday at 11 am starting 22nd April 2022 on The Habitats Trust website as well as the social media channels - Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. The Habitats Trust continuously works towards producing original, engaging content to bring into the spotlight lesser-known species in India and draw attention to the challenges and threats to their existence. 'Wild You Were Sleeping' will provide a glimpse into the lives of six species that live around us. The films, while scientific in approach, will present the stories of the species in a simple yet creative format, to not only elicit empathy for the animals but rather, enhance a conservationist ethos amongst the general population. Rushikesh Chavan, Head, The Habitats Trust said, "India, a megadiverse country with only 2.4% of the world's land area, accounts for 7-8% of all recorded species. Much of the conservation attention and efforts in India today are focused on select large, charismatic species that inhabit our forests. As urban dwellers, we rarely pay attention to the many species that co-inhabit our spaces and how our actions or lack of those may pose a threat to their existence. These species play an important role in maintaining balance in the ecosystems and food-webs and their rapidly dwindling population may force total collapse in the ecosystems, where they exist. At The Habitats Trust we continue to work towards demystifying many of these species and shed light on what threatens their existence in the hope of influencing more action for their conservation." Siddharth Ganesh, Founder, Trippintoe Media said, "We are delighted to co-produce 'Wild You Were Sleeping' with The Habitats Trust. The series will journey into the world of different species through rich location videos, time-lapse sequences and inputs from wildlife scientists and academicians. Given that each episode is only 7 - 9-minute-long and will be available online, individuals will have the opportunity to watch them on-the-go or during breaks in their busy schedules. Our heartfelt gratitude to The Habitats Trust for partnering with us to narrate these stories in our trademark visually creative style." The six-part series will feature: The Malabar Pit-Viper: A venomous snake species distributed across the Western Ghats, the Malabar Pit-Viper is often found in the coffee plantations spread in this region. It is a unique, fascinating species that shows 'polymorphism' (is found in multiple colours), and appears during the monsoon season - and not much is known about their activities for the rest of the year. Its bite, while not fatal, can leave people unable to work for a few days, unfortunately often leading to the snake being killed when spotted. Very little ecological research has been done on the species, but there is a need for more studies as well as efforts for snakebite mitigation to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and this reptile. The Greater Adjutant Stork: It is among the rarest stork species in the world, only found breeding in India and Cambodia. They are largely scavengers and play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The bird is Endangered, with only 800-1200 individuals remaining worldwide. In India, a third of their population survives in garbage dumps on the outskirts of Guwahati, Assam. Greater Adjutants are threatened given the steady decline of their wetland habitats worldwide due to pollution and rapid urbanisation. The Smooth-coated Otter: This species is distributed in freshwater habitats across India (including Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and many other states). They are social with large families, but unfortunately, their populations are in decline due to loss of habitat. Additionally, they are threatened due to the presence of feral dogs, and occasional conflict with fisher-folk of the regions that they inhabit. In Goa, otters and fisherfolk compete for the same resources on a daily basis as the boundaries of wild spaces and human habitations blur. The Desert Fox: It is a subspecies of the widely ranging Red Fox and is specially adapted to survive in extreme arid weather conditions of the Thar Desert and Kutch. However, due to the widespread perception of deserts as barren wastelands, these regions are not recognized for their biodiversity value, thus leaving the future of this species uncertain. Western Hoolock Gibbon: They live in small families including the male, female and their young ones, and communicate with other gibbons by vocalization. They are dependent on connected forest canopies for foraging and dispersal that are essential for their survival. The expansion of linear infrastructure in their already shrinking habitats of evergreen forests, poses a threat to their existence. In Assam, near the Hoollongapar Wildlife Sanctuary, the gibbons survive in fragmented forest patches and agricultural fields. The Striped Hyena: The Striped Hyena is a scavenger species that consume carcasses and play an important role in keeping their ecosystem disease-free and healthy. Sadly, they are sometimes considered vermin by the general public. Their natural habitats that include grasslands, dry scrub and rocky outcrops are fast disappearing due to the expansion of the urban spaces and large infrastructural projects. Lack of recognition of their habitats for its biodiversity and tag of wasteland, leaves the future of this scavenger uncertain. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/TPT): Travel agency ''Tripcart Tours and Travels India LLP" has recently introduced its Thailand tour packages that are affordable yet offer complete satisfaction to the travelers. The package comprises 3 Nights Relaxing Gateway to Pattaya, 4 Nights Relaxing Gateway to Pattaya & Bangkok, 5 Nights Relaxing Gateway to Pattaya & Bangkok, 4 Nights Relaxing Gateway to Phuket & Krabi, 6 Nights combo to Bangkok, Pattaya & Phuket, and much more. Moreover, the prices of the package range from Rs 8999 per person to Rs 23999 per person. TripCart Tours and Travels, a travel technology startup, has released a beta version of its app on the Google Play Store. The company was founded to encourage domestic and international travel and was conceived by Ved Anand in 2019. The branch office of the brand is in Siliguri, and the corporate headquarters is in Ahmedabad. The package also includes adventurous activities like Rafting, Paragliding, and Scuba diving. Customers will be able to observe the rich sea life in the blue depths of the Indian Ocean, explore beautiful beaches with their loved ones in complete privacy, and stay in overwater villas and luxury resorts with modern amenities thanks to the affordable Thailand Travel Packages. The affordable Thailand Packages allow you to experience the finest of Thailand without breaking the bank. The founder of the brand Ved Anand says, "TripCart is not just a dream, but a reality created through consistent and consistent efforts. In life, you will face a lot of difficulties. You will pay for your failures. But, if you persevere, if you let those failures teach you and strengthen you, then you will be prepared to handle life's toughest challenges." Customized Thailand Tour Packages allows the customers to connect with core Thai values and culture while also providing them with a one-of-a-kind experience of visiting Bangkok and Rayong's floating markets. Furthermore, the Thailand travel package also entails popular rentals like car rentals, bike rentals, and cycle rentals. This budget-friendly package takes the travelers through a myriad of retail malls, temples, wildlife sanctuaries, bars and pubs, and tropical beaches and help them explore the destination to a great extent. The travel company "TripCart Tours and Travels" also offers packages covering countries such as Maldives, Australia, and Nepal. Also, the brand provides seasonal destinations like Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Andaman at reasonable price ranges. For more information please visit www.trip-cart.com This story is provided by TPT. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/TPT) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/NewsVoir): PRADAN organized the third annual event Samagam for 2022. The event also marked the completion of 40 years of existence of PRADAN. This year's event had eminent speakers like Shoka Nodo UNDP Resident Representative, India, Anoop Nautiyal Founder, Social Development for Communities Foundation, Reshma Anand, CEO, Hindustan Unilever Foundation, Sonali Srivastava, Head, Anode Governance Lab, and Foundation, Saurabh Garg, IAS, CEO, UIDAI, and, Bhim Singh, IAS, Collector, District of Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, to name a few. The focus for this year has been partnerships and winning coalitions for achieving our Sustainable Development Goals. Speakers from UNDP, Government sector, and private organizations came together to discuss the changing environment in coalitions and funding. Today's donors are seeking co-funds and government partnerships and helping deliver a greater impact on the economy. Shoko Noda, UNDP Resident Representative, India said, "Achieving SDGs require a truly joint approach. Different sectors, especially the civil society organizations, private sectors, academia, communities and media; we all must work together in an integrated manner by pulling resources, ideas, knowledge, expertise, listening, understanding of what's happening at the community level. Building these coalitions are integral part to SDGs and this is why we have specific goal SPG 17 for partnership. UNDP globally and in India has encouraged and promoted effective public private sector partnership, civil society partnerships to push for social goals collectively and at our end we are making our efforts to be an integrator of SDGs." Saroj Mahapatra, Executive Director, PRADAN said, "There must be coalition with community institutions directly, rather than few ones who indirectly engage. Rational leadership is important and there should be honest conversations on intention, motivation, and competencies. Post pandemic, there has been an enormous increase in number of collaborations over the past two years, wherein, the funding has also scaled up. Partnerships and coalitions are significant to make the funding scenario favorable for social development projects." The first session focused on CSO Coalitions at work: Rationale, Experiences and Challenges talked about major factors that make coalition successful. There should be focus on the larger picture (systems thinking) instead of the symptomatic interventions. According to few speakers, identity crisis is a major factor where, discarding of ideas or thoughts can lead to imbalance in the coalition. The second session focused on Donors seeking co-funding opportunities and challenges. Speakers talked about the need for philanthropic collaborations. Multi-stakeholder and multidimensional collaborations bring in diverse skill sets, but it requires robust alignments and course corrections. 80% of collaborations take place to leverage diverse skills, 77% collaborate to expand the circle of influence and impact, and 60% collaborate to mitigate risk. The three primary goals of collaborators include - scaling solutions, helping build field, building a case for promising innovations, spanning a range of key roles to achieve impact. 90-95% of total funding comes from govt. the rest of the 5% coming from philanthropies and CSOs make the 95% complete in terms of bringing in know-how. There is appetite amongst funders to bring a large-scale impact - US$500 million has already been mobilized and gender fund has been initiated. Third sessions focused on Convergence of government departments is helping deliver greater impact for the development rupee. In many cases, there are convergence between programs such as MNREGA and NRLM and skill development. Partnership with academic and research institutions, person power is different forms of convergence. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/SRV): Unominds, a leading teacher training institute and woman empowerment center, has emerged as a pioneer in evolving the early education foundation in India. The brand plans to launch three more verticals under Unominds as a part of its expansion plan. The verticals will all be aimed at empowering women and developing children. The existing vertical is focused on training pre-school teachers and trainers in order to improve the pedagogy and regularise the early year foundational education system of India. Close to 11 crore children in India do not have access to proper education and those that have, do not receive a quality curriculum. A teacher's role is to adequately educate the children and parents; however, there is a huge gap in the teacher training program. Unominds is addressing this fundamental problem. Founded in 2021 by CEO Mamta Surendra Prasad Thakur and Managing Director Nikhil Thakur, Unomind's core mission is to empower women and develop children and its vision is to create millions of teachers who can make early year foundation education available to children aged between 2 and 6 years old. Mamta Surendra Prasad Thakur said, "Education empowers people with the knowledge, skills and values they need to build a better world. It is not possible to take a school to every child but it is possible to make teachers available to everyone who deserves to be educated. Our goal is to make education affordable and accessible." Currently, Unominds is providing Pre-Primary Teachers' Training Certificate Course, Montessori Teachers' Training Certificate Course, Nursery Teachers' Training Certificate Course, Online TEFL Certificate Course, Early Childhood Care & Education Certificate Course, Education Management Certificate, Phonics Teaching Certificate and Certificate Course in Counselling. The three other verticals that Unominds plans to launch will be a systematic division of skill development. Each vertical is designed in such a way that the consolidated results are directed at the upliftment of women and children and helping them better navigate and deal with crises. The brand plans to launch the second vertical in the month of May which will be aimed at the development of existing teachers. Unominds will provide a global exposure to the teachers to communicate the happenings of the world. The approach will also involve webinars, seminars, events, training programs and tourism. The third vertical of Unominds will provide guidance to women returners. There are several women who take a break from work and find it difficult to start again. Unominds will assist in upskilling them to return to the job markets and get hired into suitable profiles. The fourth vertical will be launched to help women in rural areas to provide help of any kind. Unominds will act as a helpline where women can get in touch to seek support. The brand plans to launch the four verticals in India and then apply the same in the other countries with the business expansion. While the majority of work is focused in India, Unominds also plans to provide support in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Southern countries in Africa. Unominds is a self-funded holistic solution for women. The brand has also collaborated with a few institutions in Finland and the United Kingdom to develop the pedagogy required to regularise the early education system. Institutes from The United Kingdom are especially helping in generating content. Unominds is also seeking collaboration with leading industries to support the foundation. To know more visit: https://courses.unominds.com/ This story is provided by SRV Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV) Pune (Maharashtra) [India], April 22 (ANI/NewsVoir): Brinton Pharmaceutical Limited, which has a strong presence in India & globally in 24 countries has decided to invest in a global research and development center in the United Kingdom. The company plans to invest GBP 30 million over the next five years to strengthen its product pipelines, create 300 highly skilled jobs and develop innovative products for its global consumers. The proposed life sciences research and development centre in North of England region of UK will support acceleration of the company's research in the areas of biotechnology, health and life sciences. The investment helps the company engage in a thriving life sciences ecosystem, supporting their global ambitions to build next generation healthcare products. UK-India Collaboration: -The company looks towards UK as a partner to achieve its international aspirations. UK provides a collaborative business environment which is dedicated to nurturing science and innovation with access to some of the finest pharmaceutical talent, excellent global connectivity and a broad range of opportunities across the healthcare and life sciences sector. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "Trade and investment between the UK and India is creating good jobs and sustaining livelihoods in both of our countries. I'm very pleased that Brinton Pharmaceuticals has decided to join the legions of Indian companies investing in the UK, boosting our healthcare sector and driving economic growth." RahulKumar Darda, Chairman and Managing Director of Brinton, said, "Our long-term business plan is based on research and innovation. The primary objective is to generate a high-quality portfolio of niche-differentiated products that answer unmet needs. This is a significant step in our long journey to growth and we are quite excited." We continually strive for unparalleled operational excellence by harnessing on research and development, production, quality, and regulatory compliance standards. Our Global Capacity Partnership Pool (GCPP) ensures significant operational synergy in bringing innovations to life, Darda added. Brinton has recently been in the news for its strategic alliance for Heritage Brand Krack Cream and Globally No. 1 Scholl's footcare range of products. Market Needs: -The UK is a global life sciences leader providing companies with the right business environment to help them invest and build their global identity in the industry. The country provides a very high-end dedicated research infrastructure to support companies who want to develop cutting-edge therapies and treatment pathways for patients. -The UK government is supporting research, development and overseas investment in the life sciences sector with its proactive interventions. The government is looking to increase R & D spending to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. -UK's public healthcare system, National Health Service (NHS England) is a key partner to life sciences companies who are keen to enhance the healthcare amenities and patient care services offered to people in UK. The NHS has some of the finest hospitals and clinicians who can help companies in their efforts to create affordable, world-class patient care systems. Initiatives around innovation, research and development. Key features: -Brinton is committed to developing innovative formulations for consumer healthcare as well as specialty care in Dermatology, Paediatric, Respiratory & Family physician specialities as well as nutraceuticals. The organization has introduced 14 unique formulations in India to address unmet patient needs of people in the country. -The company is planning to use its global research and development centre in the UK to create affordable novel products using niche technologies. -The team understands the critical importance of the highly skilled sector human capital available in the UK which can help them in developing an innovative portfolio of products for the global life sciences market. -Brinton Pharmaceuticals has ambitious growth plans for the UK and wants to be a key partner in the UK healthcare ecosystem to synthesize world class research and innovation interventions leading to the making of top medical products. -The company will also be creating high value job opportunities across the various domains and skill set of the life sciences industry in the UK. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI/NewsVoir): The major global industrial conglomerate, Toray Industries India Private Limited held the 2nd edition of its flagship and prestigious convention, the Toray Forum India 2022, in Delhi, today. This was the second Toray Forum India, which is a continuation of the first Toray Forum India, held in February 2019, in New Delhi. -The 2nd edition of Toray Forum India was graced by Minister Kunihiko Kawazu Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy of Japan to India and Ms. Tanushree Ganguly, Lead - Air Quality Program, CEEW. -The Toray Forum witnessed distinguished subject experts sharing profound, evidence-based insights on the theme Sustainability - Clean Air. -Air pollution is a very complex behavioral, cultural and economic challenge. The experts suggested there is no magic bullet because air pollution is as national as it is regional and local. Hence, one solution does not fit all of India. The Forum drew leadership from corporate India, Toray's customers and suppliers, Central and State Governments officials, diplomats, think-tanks, service providers like consulting, engineering, legal and audit firms, academia and subject experts in an intimate setting to share best-of-breed ideas to deliberate upon the theme "Sustainability - Clean Air". The convention opened with Mr. Akihiro Nikkaku, President and CEO, Toray Industries, Inc., welcoming the invitees. Elaborating upon the businesses of Toray Group and stating its vision for contributing to the sustainable growth of India, Mr. Nikkaku, said, "Toray Group aims to realize a carbon neutral society by increasing the contribution to GHG reduction through Green Innovation (GR) businesses. Toray's history in India starts in the 1960s. Besides trading activities, we have established our plants in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with the motto of contributing to the sustainable development of these regions with innovative technologies and advance materials. The development of our green innovation businesses will contribute to the sustainability goals of the Indian society." Speaking on this occasion with his special address, Minister Mr. Kunihiko Kawazu, Deputy Chief of Mission, Japan's Embassy to India, said, "PM Fumio Kishida visited India last month to hold the 14th India Japan Annual Summit with PM Modi to further forge our economic partnerships by announcing Japan's intent to invest Rs. 3 lakh crore in India over the next 5 years. Additionally, both leaders made important announcements with respect to Paris Agreement." To achieve India's decarbonization goal by 2070, Minister Kawazu suggested that India would need deep partnerships between private and public institutions. Japanese companies, like Toray, have much to offer Indian society with technology, advanced raw materials and environmental solutions. Sharing an overview on the importance of air filters, Mr. Shin Ito, General Manager, Environment & Amenity Products Division, Toray, added, "Air pollution is a big problem in India and other emerging countries in the world. During the COVID pandemic, the demand for air filters recorded a new high in India. Due to extensive awareness around air pollution, customers in India require high efficiency filtration system for PM2.5 particles and less. In 2021, Toray launched air filter business in India to address this challenge. Toray is now offering customized air filter solutions in India." Offering an expert perspective in her keynote address, Ms. Tanushree Ganguly, Lead - Air Quality Program, Council for Energy, Environment & Water (CEEW), said, "There is a need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to address sustainability challenges like air pollution. India needs a mission mode approach which will only work when there is a collaboration between the political class, citizens, and private players. The first step for political leadership is to devise aggressive targets, build effective and accountable institutions for air pollution, and set clear metrics for performance. Only with metrics can you manage the problem. There needs to be a people centric agenda for clean air, so that citizens can act on available information, protect the vulnerable, State and corporate action need to go hand in hand. It is important for the business sector to understand climate risks, report transparently on its emissions and environmental impact, and leverage innovation and new technologies to mitigate emissions." Ganguly hopes that in the near future clean air becomes an electoral issue on which citizens' vote. Other distinguished speakers at the forum Industry experts included Mr. Barun Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Breathe Easy Consultants Pvt. Ltd., which offers zero PM2.5 clean air solutions; and Dr. Pratima Singh, Research Scientist, Air Pollution Lead, Center for Study of Services, Technology & Policy (CSTEP). The interactive forum saw spirited questions and answers between the speakers and the audience. Mr. Shigekazu Suenaga, Chairman and Chief Representative of Toray in India thanked all guests and speakers and closed the Toray Forum India 2022. Well-known all around the globe for its superlative technologies addressing the challenge of air pollution, Toray's air filter solutions for HVAC units, new split level air conditioners, air purifiers and automotive cabin filters provide clean air with cutting edge, durable and cost-effective technology. They are a much needed solution for Indian Society as Clean Air is an issue across India, especially in winter months. Toray Industries, Inc., established in 1926, is a maker of premium, advanced materials. Its approximately 46,000 employees work in 29 countries generate $18 B in global revenue. Toray's corporate philosophy is "contribution to the society through the creation of new values" and its employees are dedicated to "Innovation by Chemistry". Toray researches, manufactures and sells Fibers & Textiles, Resins & Chemicals, Films, Carbon Fiber Composite Materials, Electronic & Information Materials, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Products, Water Treatment & Environment and new innovative Materials and Products. Based upon Toray's corporate philosophy, Toray formulated "Toray Group Sustainability Vision" in 2018 balancing greenhouse gas emissions with absorption resulting in carbon neutrality by 2050. Green Innovation and Life Innovation are key pillars of the Sustainability Vision which target significant reduction in Toray's carbon and waste emissions, water and power consumption. This would be accomplished by new, innovative products and processes driven by Green Innovation, including but not limited to Clean Air and Clean Water, and Life Innovation, including but not limited to increase comfort for society. Domestically in India, and in concert with Government of India's Make in India policy, Toray has established factories in Vapi, Gujarat and SriCity, Andhra Pradesh for sustainable development in the Indian Sub-continent focused on cutting-edge materials of Toray. Toray manufactures polypropylene spun-bond which is the raw-material for baby and adult diaper to promote Life Innovation; compounds engineered resins for automotive, electrical and consumer goods industries for product robustness and light weighting to promote Green Innovation; and fabric for automotive airbags for Society's Safety. Toray's footprint in the Indian sub-continent has expanded considerably in last decade; it is committed to strategic expansion in the present decade. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Pictures of the two have been doing rounds on the internet in which they can be seen posing with their fans. Ranbir could be seen in a black t-shirt beneath a black jacket paired with white pants. It seems like the stars were also felicitated at the location of their stay as they could be seen wearing the traditional Himachal cap and shawl while posing with the fans. Titled 'Animal', the crime drama will be directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga of 'Kabir Singh', 'Arjun Reddy' fame. Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor are also a part of the project, which is produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar's T-Series, Pranay Reddy Vanga's Bhadrakali Pictures and Murad Khetani's Cine1 Studios. The movie is scheduled to release in theatres on August 11, 2023. (ANI) Producer Ekta Kapoor has signed a multi-film production deal with Armaan Zorace's U.S. genre label Dark Hell and prolific Hollywood producer Steven Schneider. As per Variety, the audience can expect a slate of high-concept Indian films in the thriller-horror genre from their collaboration. Details of the projects under the particular deal have not yet been revealed, but they are expected to "cater to the audiences of the South-East Asian markets in India and overseas," the signatories said in a statement. Excited about the association, Ekta said,"At Balaji Motion Pictures, our aim is to continue telling genre-bending stories which connect with the viewers. I am elated for this association, and I'm certain to be bringing together the best of cross-cultural content to the Indian diaspora. Such an opportunity helps us expand our reach to markets and audiences not tapped before, and this collaboration is of mutual ideas and intent." Schneider, who is best known for producing 'Paranormal Activity', too, expressed his excitement to create content for the Indian audience. "This deal is a landmark for me and us as a team. India is an exciting market always known to put forth current and revolutionary content across genres. I'm looking forward to working with Ekta and Armaan, and together, we are certain to bring forth stories that are waiting to be told and heard," he shared. Ekta has earlier produced a few horror dramas including 'Krishna Cottage', 'Ragini MMS', and 'Ragini MMS 2'. (ANI) According to Deadline, the movie has technically not been banned; it simply didn't receive a distribution certificate. If that changes, then it might be released. This follows in the wake of Marvel's 'The Eternals' not playing in Saudi Arabia, that movie was forbidden there over its same-gender couple romance and the MCU's first gay superhero. Quite often movies with LGBTQ content don't make it past censors in the Gulf, and 'Doctor Strange 2' features America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) who is gay in the Marvel comics. Doctor Strange 2 was scheduled to be released across the Gulf as part of the day-and-date theatrical debut on May 5. The sequel is expected to be released in the United Arab Emirates though, Kuwait and Qatar's release for 'Doctor Strange 2' remain up in the air, as per Deadline. (ANI) The precaution doses for all eligible beneficiaries will be available free of cost at all government vaccination centres in Delhi, it was announced on Thursday. "In order to give the benefits of precaution doses to all eligible beneficiaries in Delhi, the same will be available for 18 to 59 years of age group, free of cost in all Government CVCs from April 21," the Directorate of Family Welfare said. However, the provision of paid precaution dose in private CVCs will also continue to be available, it added further. The same vaccines, as used for previous dose, will be available for the precaution doses. It said that the citizens need not to register afresh for the administration of precaution doses. The Delhi government also said that necessary changes in CoWin have been made for Delhi wherein both online and walk-in appointments will be available. The Union Health Ministry had decided to provide precaution doses for all 18 plus population from April 10 on the completition of nine months from the date of administration of second Covid doses. --IANS avr/vd ( 194 Words) 2022-04-21-22:02:36 (IANS) According to a source familiar with the development, the Subject Expert Committee has recommended Drug Controller General of India grant the emergency use authorisation to Hyderabad-based Biological E's Corbevax for this age. However, the emergency use authorisation may be the subject of certain conditions, the source added. Earlier in the day, the panel held a meeting to discuss the recommendations on restricted emergency use of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and Biological E's Corbevax vaccines among children aged 5-12. The SEC has sent the recommendations to the DCGI. After the DCGI's nod to the recommendation, the Union Health Ministry may give final approval to begin the vaccination for this age group. Corbevax vaccine is India's first indigenously-developed protein sub-unit vaccine against Covid-19. This vaccine is currently being administered to children in the age group 12-14 years. --IANS avr/vd A A ( 180 Words) 2022-04-21-22:44:03 (IANS) A day after the North Delhi Municipal Corporation rolled out bulldozers in violence hit Jahangirpuri, the Delhi BJP is now planning to request the civic authorities for a similar drive in other parts of the national capital to remove encroachments by Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. Sources in the Delhi BJP said that a similar encroachment removal drive will be carried out in other parts of the city in the coming days. "We had received the go ahead from the BJP central leadership for the anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri. Now, the other two municipal corporations, East and South, will also be urged to remove encroachments by Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in the coming days," they said. The anti-encroachment drive by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation was launched in Jahangirpuri following Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta's letter after violence erupted in the area during a Hanuman Jayanti procession. The drive, however, was stopped following a Supreme Court order to maintain the status quo. Gupta on Thursday said that he would also write to the Mayors of East and South Delhi to conduct similar drives in their areas to bulldoze encroachments by Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. "I am also going to write letters to Mayors of East and South Delhi to remove encroachments and illegal construction by Bangladeshis and Rohingyas living in their jurisdiction," Gupta said. It is learnt that the drive will be conducted in the areas where the civic bodies feel that there is a huge concentration of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. Delhi BJP sources said some such areas have been identified and a drive will be conducted soon to clear the encroachments. The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the status quo order on the demolition drive carried out in Jahangirpuri until further orders. However, BJP Lok Sabha member Manoj Tiwari said that the bulldozers will not stop. "We respect the Supreme Court order. We will follow the stay for 14 days as per the Supreme Court's direction. Bulldozers will roll out once again. I request everyone not to see the encroachments from a religious angle. The drive against rioters and illegal encroachments will go on," Tiwari said. Gupta also slammed the opposition parties, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying they were trying to protect the rioters in Jahangirpuri. Gupta alleged that the AAP MLAs and councillors are supporting the Rohingyas and the Bangladeshis in their areas to use them as vote banks. --IANS ssb/bg ( 421 Words) 2022-04-21-20:04:03 (IANS) With an aim for effective counter-insurgency operations against Maoist in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas, as many as 20 helipads with night landing facility have been built in three states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha and more will come up within a few more months, CRPF officials said. Noting that helicopters are an important component in anti-Maoist operations, the officials of the paramilitary force said that the air evacuations of the injured becomes the most important task when the operations against the ultras begin. Giving details, they further said that 13 such helipads have been built in different parts of Chhattisgarh so far, four in Odisha and three in Jharkhand and all are operative now. A senior official in the security set-up in Chhattisgarh said that the helipads with night landing facility are now considered as a force multiplier and in case of injury, the security personnel can be evacuated to the nearest city hospital for better medical management. When the security personnel is assured that he will be quickly evacuated from the encounter areas in case of injury, his morale gets boosted, a commandant level officer said. He also said that some times, reinforcements are also needed but because of night, sometimes they only reaches by the next morning which provides enough window to the Maoists to escape back into the forests. The officials also said that all these helipads are fitted with sensors and infrared enabled features which automatically guide the chopper when it is approaching. The helicopters are also fitted with the same type of sensors that help in recognising the landing ground. They also said that the pilots of these choppers are well trained for night landing facilities and they are given night vision goggles to see in the dark. The CRPF officials also said that more helipads are planned in other Maoist-affected areas like Telangana, and Maharashtra as well as these three states. --IANS ams/vd ( 339 Words) 2022-04-21-21:50:08 (IANS) In a significant success, the police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli on Thursday nabbed four most wanted Maoists, including a woman, carrying a total reward of Rs 18 lakh on their heads, a top official said here. Among those arrested from the Nelgunda forests -- as part of the Maoists' 'Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign' week -- are two area committee members, said Superintendent of Police, Ankit Goyal. They arrested Maoists have been identified as Bapu alias Ramji Doghe Wadde, 30, Maruti alias Manik Sadhu Gawde, 34, Suman alias Janni Komati Kudnami, 24, and Ajit alias Bharat, all hailing from different villages in Gadchiroli. The operation was conducted by the Gadchiroli Police crack teams after receiving a confidential tip-off that the Maoists would strike the villages in the Nelgunda area disguised as civilians. Wadde belonged to Company No. 10 and was involved in the brutal murder of a policeman, Dushant P. Nandeshwar, at Pomke Kothi village on August 14, 2020, besides 13 other major crimes like seven murders, three shootouts, two robberies and one arson, and carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head. Gawde worked as an area committee member in Gutta Dalam had three encounter killings and other offences registered against him with a reward of Rs 6 lakh on his head. The sole woman nabbed, Kudnami, faced 11 major offences including three murders and eight encounters, and carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh, said Goyal. Bharat was part of the team comprising Gawde and Wadde who indulged in the shocking killing of two tribals in the last fortnight in Jharewada village. The police are now probing his involvement in other crimes. The operations were carried out under the supervision of top officials, including Goyal, Additional SPs Sameer Shaikh Somay Munde, Anuj Tare and others, as part of the efforts to rid the district of Maoist violence. --IANS qn/arm ( 323 Words) 2022-04-21-21:54:03 (IANS) Ansar Sheikh, the prime accused in the Jahangirpuri violence case, had created a Robin Hood-like image of himself at his wife's village near Haldia in West Bengal's East Midnapore district. Many people in the village remember him as a social activist who devoted his life for the welfare of others. Ansar too made sure that his image remained intact by doing charity works. The villagers said that while he didn't come to the village very frequently, he made sure to go there on Eid Eid and during elections. He also owns a luxurious mansion near Haldia, the prime industrial township near Kolkata. The villagers also said that Ansar is very fond of gold, a point proven correct by pictures of the accused surfacing on social media, in which he could be seen flashing gold jewellery. As per sources, Ansar, originally a resident of Assam, married into a family which had been living in the village for a long time now. Soon after his marriage, Ansar built a mansion there. A few villagers said that Ansar last came to the village in March this year. Every time he visited the village, he used to meet the deputy village head before leaving for Delhi. Rafiq-ul-Islam, the deputy village head, said that Ansar used to always make monetary donations to the poor, both Hindus and Muslims, during his visits to the village, creating an image of a philanthropist for himself. Islam believes that Ansar has been framed in the Jahangirpuri violence case. He was also quite popular among the neighbours as whenever he used to come there, he used to arrange feasts at his mansion where the neighbours were invited, a source said. --IANS atk/arm ( 295 Words) 2022-04-21-22:34:04 (IANS) A Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Assams Kokrajhar district on Thursday rejected the bail petition of Independent Gujarat MLA and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani, and sent him to three-day police custody. After the CJM court's order, the lawyers of Mevani told the media that they would appeal in the higher court seeking his bail. Earlier on Thursday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while talking to the media on the arrest, had claimed that he was not aware of Mevani's identity or his arrest. The Assam police refused to share the detailed reasons for the arrest of Mevani, who is also the convenor of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch. However, another police official on condition of anonymity said that Mevani's arrest was made in connection with an "objectionable" comment he made through a tweet on April 18. Mevani, who was elected from Gujarat's Vadgam Assembly constituency, was arrested by an Assam police team from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night after a complain was filed by an Assam BJP leader, Arup Kumar Dey, on April 18 seeking action against him under the IT Act. Mevani was flown to Guwahati on Thursday morning from where he was taken to Kokrajhar by road. The Assam state Congress unit, which protested the arrest of the Gujarat legislator who had earlier pledged outside support to the party, termed the arrest as a conspiracy. The Congress has sent its legal team to Kokrajhar to look into the matter. Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah alleged that it is a conspiracy and "Goonda Giri" by the police. "The police could not produce the details of the FIR based on which Mevani was arrested. He was arrested as he had always been vocal against the BJP and the RSS. Recently, Mevani tweeted about the Prime Minister but it had nothing objectionable," Borah said. The Congress leader also accused the BJP government of misusing the state's police force to deal with a simple tweet. In his tweet, Mevani had reportedly urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure communal harmony during his recent visit to Gujarat. The tweet was removed later. --IANS sc/arm ( 367 Words) 2022-04-21-22:54:39 (IANS) At a time when Bengal is hosting a two-day business summit, the CPI(M) is widely circulating a sample survey conducted by the party's peasant wing that depicts how the majority of the rural population in West Bengal is frustrated about the lack of employment generation in the state. The sample survey was conducted by the West Bengal unit of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the peasant wing of CPI(M), after interacting with the 20,000 families in rural Bengal. According to senior peasant leader of the CPI(M) and former politburo member of the party, Hannan Mollah, the survey was conducted by AIKS involving different research scholars. As per the survey, around 82 per cent of the respondents claimed that the scope of employment generation in West Bengal has declined substantially in the last 10 years. While little less than 1 per cent of the respondents claimed that there have been improvement in employment generation in the state during the last 10 years, a little over 7 per cent declined to make any comment on this issue. The ruling Trinamool Congress leadership, however, has rubbished the claims of the survey conducted by the CPI(M)'s peasant wing. According to a recent report of the Ministry of Rural Development, West Bengal ranked first among all Indian states in employment generation under the MGNREGA scheme by spending over Rs 7,335.31 crore. State Panchayat Minister, Pulak Roy, claimed that this success of West Bengal government has come despite a huge amount of Rs 2,786 crore of unpaid dues from the Union government. --IANS src/arm ( 273 Words) 2022-04-21-23:05:06 (IANS) India's reaction came after an explosion at a Shiite mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif killed at least 20 people on Thursday. In reply to a question during the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "We condemn all terrorist attacks such as the one in Afghanistan. We are looking at the developments there." The explosion took place when people were about to offer praeyrs during the holy month of Ramadan. The attack came just two days after multiple blasts hit educational facilities in Shiite-majority areas of Kabul, killing at least six people. The Shia community, which is a religious minority group in Afghanistan, has often been on target of Sunni militant groups, including the ISIS. --IANS ams/arm ( 150 Words) 2022-04-21-23:12:05 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu Revenue Department is to provide housing sites to tribals in Anamalai Tiger Reserve after tribal activists conducted a prolonged fight for this. The Revenue Department has conducted a survey in Kadamparai near Anamalai to study the sites to be provided for the tribal families as free housing sites. This is in line with the allocation of land to tribal families at nearby Kallar, Theppakalmedu in November 2021. Around 2.5 cents of land was provided to each family for constructing houses. Coimbatore District Collector G.S. Sameeran has visited the site of the land and directed the officials to conduct a proper survey so that the land allocated to the tribal families is good for habitation. Tribal activist Thangaraj, who was spearheading the struggle for land rights for tribal families, told IANS that Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) officials had earlier deemed the tribal families at Kadamparai as encroachers and had ignored them even during the Covid-19 pandemic. "The intervention of Coimbatore District Collector Sameeran has changed the perspective about the tribal families and at least, they are considered as forest dwellers now." Sources in the Revenue Department told IANS that around 50 to 55 families will be provided with the land and the number may increase after verifying and checking the details of the tribal families who require the land. The Tribal Welfare Department and revenue officials will be conducting a meeting with the members of the tribal families at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve forest with Pollachi Sub Collector and Forest Division officers participating in it. Talking to IANS, Sugandhan, a tribal elder, said: "We have been petitioning the district revenue authorities including the District Collector and the Pollachi sub-collector for land to the families. Unfortunately for the past 30 years, our plea fell on deaf ears. However, the present District Collector has taken the initiative and helped us get the land. We are really thankful for the authorities and the government in providing land to us." --IANS aal/vd ( 344 Words) 2022-04-21-23:16:05 (IANS) In a landmark order, the Calcutta High Court has directed the concerned authorities to provide necessary psychiatric/psychological treatment to the family members of a minor girl who was allegedly gang-raped at Hanskhali in Nadia district on April 4 by the son of an influential political leader and his associates. The girl, whose family was allegedly prevented from taking her to a doctor, died of excessive bleeding a day later. Her body was cremated by those involved in the crime at an unlicensed crematorium without any autopsy or a death certificate. The family and witnesses in the case have also been granted permission by the bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj to apply to the competent authority of the district, seeking protection. In extreme cases, such protection may involve change of identities and relocation at the state's cost. The competent authority in every district is headed by the District and Sessions Judge with the Superintendent of Police as member and the head of the prosecution in the district as its member secretary. The high court, after hearing a petition by Anindya Sundar Das on April 12, had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the matter. Das moved the court again on Tuesday, praying for directions to the state to provide protection to the members of the victim's family and witnesses in the case under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018. He also prayed for psychiatric/psychological treatment for them to get out of the trauma. It was submitted by the petitioner's counsel, Phiroze Edulji, how one Afroze Sarkar, a Trinamool Congress block president in Bhagabangola, had issued threats to anybody who spoke against the gang-rape. The high court took cognizance of this matter. It also referred to a judgement in which the Supreme Court had directed that the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 is to be treated as law under Articles 141/142 of the Constitution till the enactment of suitable legislations on the subject. Till such applications are made to the competent authority by the family and witnesses and it takes measures in accordance with the threat perception involved, the state has been directed by the high court to provide adequate security so they come to no harm or are coerced in any other manner by those involved in the crime. The matter will come up for hearing again on May 2. --IANS jayant/arm ( 412 Words) 2022-04-21-23:22:03 (IANS) Two drug peddlers have been sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for possessing, transporting of Cannabis (Ganja) in commercial quantity in Telangana's Hyderabad on Thursday. The accused, Mohammed Ameen and Rameshwar, were arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on January 21, 2020 under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The DRI, in a press release, said, "The Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Nampally, Hyderabad found the accused, Mohammed Ameen and Rameshwar guilty of the charges of possessing, transporting, export inter-state of Cannabis (Ganja) in commercial quantity, under Section 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(C) of the NDPS Act and sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 20 years each with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each and in case of default, to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three years." "...in default to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three years under Section 29 of NDPS Act. Thus, the accused are convicted under section 235 (2) of Code of Criminal Procedure," the release further read. According to DRI, on January 20, 2020, the agency intercepted a heavy goods vehicle that was concealed/covered by another number plate and seized 1335.4 kilograms of Cannabis (Ganja), being transported illicitly in the said heavy goods vehicle. (ANI) This development comes after the Subject Expert Committee discussed recommendations for the restricted emergency of Covaxin in children aged between 2-12 years. No recommendations have been made as of now, sources told ANI. However, the SEC, after a meeting on Thursday, has recommended restricted emergency use of Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine, Corbevax, in children aged 5-12 years, said sources. Now DCGI will be giving approval for its emergency use authorisation. The Corbevax vaccine is currently being administered to children in the age group of 12-14 years. The vaccination drive for children in the age group of 15-18 years commenced on January 3 this year. They are being administered Covaxin. The drive later expanded on March 16 to include children aged between 12-14 years. They are being administered Corbevax. Overall, India is currently administering two COVID-19 vaccines to children above 12 years. (ANI) Assembly Secretary Mukesh Kumar Singhal said that the information about the vacancy of the seat has also been sent to the Election Commission. Earlier on Wednesday, to pave in the way for Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to contest assembly by-polls from the Chamapawat Assembly seat, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kailash Gehtodi has resigned from his position. Informing about the resignation State BJP President Madan Kaushik told ANI, "The resignation of MLA Kailash Gehtodi has also been accepted. Chief Minister will now contest from this seat." Later, Dhami extended his gratitude to people and expressed his happiness for their love. "I am thankful to BJP MLA Kailash Chandra Gahtori and the people of Champawat for giving me their love and blessings. I will try my best to develop this area in all sectors including tourism, and employment," the chief minister said. In the recently held assembly elections in February, Dhami lost the Khatima constituency seat to Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri from Khatima by a margin of 6,579 votes in the state polls. However, he was given a second term as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Assembly elections were held in Uttarakhand on February 14 to elect 70 members of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. The results were declared on March 10. (ANI) At Boao, Xi calls on all nations to pull together to "navigate storm, sail for bright future" Xinhua) 08:11, April 22, 2022 * Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday proposed a Global Security Initiative to promote security for all in the world in his keynote speech delivered via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022. * Xi underscored the importance of resolutely safeguarding peace in Asia, vigorously advancing Asian cooperation, and jointly promoting Asian unity. * No matter how the world will change, China's faith in and its commitment to reform and opening up will not waver, Xi said. BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Likening countries around the world as "passengers aboard the same ship who share the same destiny," Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on "all passengers" to pull together for the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future. "Faced with the many challenges, we must not lose confidence, hesitate or flinch. Instead, we must firm up confidence and press ahead against all odds," Xi said in his keynote speech delivered via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. The world is yet to walk out of the shadow of a once-in-a-century pandemic, but new traditional security risks are already emerging, Xi noted, saying this year's conference theme of "The World in COVID-19 &Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future" is all the more relevant against such a backdrop. Photo taken on April 19, 2022 shows the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) SECURITY FOR ALL Xi proposed at the event a Global Security Initiative to promote security for all in the world. "It is important that we stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security," he said. He called for a commitment to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, upholding non-interference in internal affairs, and respecting the independent choices of development paths and social systems chosen by people in different countries. He stressed staying committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, rejecting the Cold War mentality, opposing unilateralism, and saying no to group politics and bloc confrontation, which would exacerbate security challenges in the 21st century. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, on April 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) The legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, said Xi, underlining the importance of opposing the pursuit of one's own security at the cost of others' security. He made the call to support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. To tackle global governance challenges, Xi said that all countries need to "embrace a global governance philosophy that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, promote the common values of humanity, and advocate exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations." "We need to uphold true multilateralism, and firmly safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law," said Xi, calling for major countries to lead by example and act in a way befitting their status. ASIAN FAMILY OF UNITY, PROGRESS "We need to continue developing and strengthening Asia, demonstrate its resilience, wisdom and strength, and make Asia an anchor for world peace, a powerhouse for global growth and a new pacesetter for international cooperation," Xi said. Noting that the world benefits when Asia fares well, Xi underscored the importance of resolutely safeguarding peace in Asia, vigorously advancing Asian cooperation, and jointly promoting Asian unity. Xi called upon Asian countries to honor principles such as mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence, follow a policy of neighborliness and friendship, and "make sure that we always keep our future in our own hands." Highlighting win-win cooperation as a sure path to Asian development, Xi called for fostering a more open Asia-wide market and making new strides in mutually beneficial cooperation by seizing opportunities such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-Laos railway. He also underscored efforts to cement ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture and uphold a regional order that balances the aspirations and accommodates the interests of all parties. Hailing the broad-mindedness of Asians in "choosing dialogue and cooperation over zero-sum games, openness and inclusiveness over a closed-door and exclusive approach, and exchanges and mutual learning over a sense of superiority," Xi made the call to "contribute to an Asian family of unity and progress together." Aerial photo taken on April 15, 2022 shows a view of Shanghai's Yangshan Port in east China. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.6 percent, noting that global economic prospects have worsened "significantly" since its forecast in January. The Chinese economy, with its strong resilience, enormous potential, vast room for maneuver and long-term stability unchanged, will provide great dynamism for boosting the stability and recovery of the world economy and broader market opportunities for all countries, Xi noted. "No matter how the world will change, China's faith in and its commitment to reform and opening up will not waver," Xi said, adding that the country will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The visit, which is scheduled between April 22 and April 24, will include mixed programmes from public events to political engagements, sources told ANI. During his visit to Madhya Pradesh today (Friday), the Home Minister will be participating in 48th All India Police Science Congress (AIPSC) Meet in Bhopal as a chief guest at 11 am. Madhya Pradesh Police in association with the Home Ministry and the Bureau of Police Research and Development is organizing the event at the police headquarters in Bhopal. Police officers, academicians, researchers, and judicial and scientific experts will present their papers at the meeting. The Home Minister will visit Bihar to pay tributes to freedom fighter Veer Kunwar Singh on April 23. Shah will also attend a program in Jagdishpur town of Bihar's Arrah district on the same day. "The programme will be a non-political event. The coming generation will be informed about the sacrifice of Veer Kunwar Singh. The programme will be organized under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th year of India's independence," said sources. On April 23, the Home Minister will reach Puducherry to attend some public and political events. (ANI) Congress is aiming to retain power in Rajasthan and change the 30-year-old history of alternate front governments, said party leader Sachin Pilot after meeting interim president Sonia Gandhi ahead of the 2023 State Assembly polls. Pilot, former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan, said that Gandhi is "very keen that we all work unitedly to form government in Rajasthan again". "In the last 30 years, it has been a tradition in Rajasthan that every five years there's a government change. If we do the right things, which we have started to do, as the committee of the AITC that was formed two years ago on which some steps have been taken in the right direction. We need to move forward in that direction to make sure that Congress wins the 2023 polls in Rajasthan. It is very important because soon after that we have Lok Sabha elections," Pilot told reporters after meeting Sonia Gandhi. The meeting took place on Thursday evening at Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence. It lasted for nearly one and a half hours. Earlier, he met Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leader Rahul Gandhi. "The Congress President is very keen that we all work unitedly to form a government in Rajasthan again. I have been giving her my feedback regularly. Today we also spoke about organisational elections, how to strengthen the party," he said. Pilot also said that in the meeting, organisational elections and how to strengthen the party were discussed. This meeting was held a day after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Sonia Gandhi. In July last year, Pilot had rebelled against Ashok Gehlot and accompanied by MLAs who supported him had camped in Haryana. Pilot finally announced his return to Rajasthan after the Gandhi family intervened and reportedly assured him that his grievances would be addressed. A committee was also set up under Ajay Maken to look into the issues raised by Pilot and his camp. (ANI) The stage is set for the grand welcome of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Bihar where he is scheduled to reach on Saturday to attend a programme organised in the memory of Veer Kuwar Singh, one of the heroes of the freedom struggle of 1857, at Jagdishpur in Bhojpur. The 'Vijayotsav program' of the great freedom fighter Babu Veer Kunwar Singh is being organized under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav at Jagdishpur, Arrah area on April 23. Notably, as per the information received by ANI, it is a non-political programme. One of the organizers of this program told ANI that the Union Home Minister will pay tributes to the veteran freedom fighter with more than one lakh national flags under the ongoing 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' at Dulaur ground Jagdishpur. According to sources, Bihar BJP is claiming that the programme scheduled to be attended by Shah at Bhojpur which will be held at the birthplace of Veer Kuwar Singh is non-political but the entire Bihar BJP unit including Union Ministers, BJP MPs, and party cadre from village level to state-level along with social volunteers have been active since the past couple of weeks to make this programme a grand success. Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Government of India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of Independence and the glorious history of its people, culture, and achievements. Veer Kunwar Singh fought his last battle near Jagdishpur on April 23, 1858, and defeated the East India Company in this battle. Later, Kunwar Singh died after taking down the Union Jack flag from Jagdishpur Fort. (ANI) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sought recommendations from states, Central agencies, and police forces for awards of President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service on the occasion of Independence Day this year. MHA's Police-I division, in a written letter, has requested that the recommendations "relating to the awards of service medals on the occasion of Independence Day, 2022 should be sent or submitted online by May 15, 2022, positively". "It is important to note that recommendation received after May 15, 2022, shall not be entertained by this Ministry," mentions the letter. The order copy specifically mentioned giving the instruction top priority. "This may be accorded top priority." Earlier, the Ministry send a similar letter on March 3 on the subject by which recommendations were called for by May 15. The letter was issued on Wednesday to the Home Secretaries of all the states and the Union Territories (UTs) except Meghalaya. A similar letter was also issued to the Directors General of Police of all the states and UTs; and Directors of Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Special Protection Group (SPG), North Eastern Police Academy (NEPA) and National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Directors General of Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), National Security Guard (NSG), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Railway Police Force (RPF), Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Assam Rifles (Through LOAR) have also been directed to recommend personnel from their forces. Besides, the letter has been sent to the Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and Cabinet Secretary for recommendations for the award of the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service on the occasion of Independence Day. A total of 1380 Police personnel were awarded medals on the occasion of Independence Day 2021. Of them, two President's Police Medal for Gallantry and 628 Police Medal for Gallantry were awarded. President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service was awarded to 88 personnel in 2021 while Police Medal for Meritorious Service was awarded to 662 personnel the same year. (ANI) Ansar, a resident of Jahangirpuri, is presently under police custody. Aslam and Ansar are the prime accused in the violence that broke out in Delhi's Jahangirpuri on April 16 during a religious procession. The incident left nine people injured, including eight police personnel and a civilian. During submission before the court last week, Delhi Police alleged that the main accused - Ansar and Aslam - got to know about the 'Shobha Yatra' on April 15 and then they built up this "conspiracy." Delhi Police also said, "We have to go through the CCTV footage, and identify others involved in this case." In wake of the violence and subsequent demolition drive, the Delhi police have installed several CCTV cameras in the Jahangirpuri area for strict surveillance. Supreme Court, later on, Wednesday ordered to maintain a "status-quo" on the demolition drive conducted by North Delhi Municipal Corporation in Jahangirpuri in the national capital. Delhi Police has beefed up security in the violence-hit area with heavy barricading. (ANI) At a time when conflict is going on between Ukraine and Russia leaving many Ukrainians to flee to other countries to take shelter, two Ukraine nationals were detained by police at Badarpur railway station in Assam's Karimganj district. The Police detained the Ukraine nationals from the Agartala Firozpur Express train on Thursday night. Two detainees were identified as Trischanisk Voladimir (39) and Najari Bhojniuk (21). According to the reports, the railway police were conducting a routine check-up when they noticed the two foreign nationals in the 14619 Agartala Firozpur Cantt Express train. "We detained them from the Tripura Sundari express (14619 Agartala Firozpur Cantt Express) train. When we asked them to show valid documents like passport, visa etc, they couldn't able to show the documents. We have recovered some Bangladeshi currency notes, shoes, clothes, and other items, four bags in possession from them. We are trying to contact with the Ukraine Embassy in New Delhi," Dulon Boro, an official of the Government Railway Police said. The duo boarded the train from Agartala station and was moving towards the national capital, the official said. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday called for reforms in policing practices across the country and also spoke about the revival of the Khabri (informer) system. "It's imperative that police have to be ahead of the criminals, they have to become tech-savvy. Until knowledge of technology percolates to a constable level, we won't be able to tackle modern-day criminals," said the Union Home Minister while inaugurating the 48th all India police science congress meet. Stressing the importance of collaboration among police forces from different states, Shah said there is a need for a comprehensive policy. "Drugs, hawala, and cyber frauds are among some of the challenges which every state police faces. I request the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRND) to discuss a comprehensive policy to fight crimes witnessed across the country in this session," He further said, "There is a need to revive the Khabri system and I am using the word revive, after giving it much thought." A Khabri (informer) acts as the eyes and ears of police officers in sensitive places. They are officially not part of any government organization. They are common members of societies and communities they live in and provide essential information to police officials to fight crimes, solve cases and make pre-emptive strategies. Shah's statement comes days after Parliament passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 which lays emphasis on the use of technology in policing. The bill provides for legal sanction for taking appropriate body measurements (finger impressions, palm-print and foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, physical, and biological samples) of persons who are required to give such measurements to "make the investigation of crime more efficient and expeditious". It also seeks to empower the National Crime Records Bureau to collect, store and preserve the record of measurements and for sharing, dissemination, destruction and disposal of records. It also empowers a magistrate to direct any person to give measurements and empowers police or prison officers to take measurements of any person who resists or refuses to give measurements. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Friday expressed dissatisfaction with the affidavit filed by the Delhi Police which stated that there were no instances of hate speech against the Muslim community at the event of Hindu Yuva Vahini held in Delhi held on December 19 last year and asked it to file a "better affidavit". Delhi Police conceded before a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and AS Oka that it needs to have a relook at its affidavit and it will file a fresh affidavit. In its affidavit, the Delhi police had said that "no specific words against any particular community were used". It had also submitted that the speech by Sudarshan News TV Editor Suresh Chavhanke at the Hindu Yuva Vahini event in Delhi's Govindpuri did not amount to hate speech since none of the words used in the speech by Chavhanke could create an environment of paranoia against any religion. "There is no use of such words which mean or could be interpreted as open calls for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing or an open call for the murder of an entire community in the speech," the affidavit had stated. Today during the hearing, the bench asked if the concerned officer who filed the affidavit had put any thought into it or merely reproduced the enquiry report. The top court asked, "We want to know that the senior officer has understood the nuances of other aspects before filing this affidavit. Has he merely reproduced the enquiry report or applied his mind? Do you want to take a relook?" Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj, appearing for Delhi Police, said, "We have to take a re-look and file a fresh affidavit." Asking the Delhi Police to file a "better affidavit" within two weeks the apex court posted the case for further hearing on May 9. The bench was a hearing filed by former High Court judge and senior advocate Anjana Prakash and journalist Qurban Ali seeking an independent probe into the alleged hate speech targeting the Muslim community delivered at the Dharm Sansad in Haridwar and Delhi. At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the petitioners submitted that the Delhi Police had tried to justify the "call to kill" as a measure to "save ethics of the community". Sibal said, "They say they are ready to kill. The police say this is to save the ethics of the community. This court may have to decide constitutionally what the ethics are." The apex court in its order noted, "At the outset, Sibal invited our attention to the extracts of the speech and the enquiry report of the Sub Inspector (Police Station Okhla Industrial Area) on March 24, 2022, as also the counter-affidavit filed by Deputy Commissioner of Police reiterating the same position. In the backdrop of this, the ASG seeks time to get instructions from authorities to file a better affidavit. Two weeks time prayed for. List this matter on May 9. Better affidavit be filed on or before May 9." Meanwhile, counsel appearing for the Uttarkhand government submitted that the investigation in the cases has been completed and chargesheets have been filed. Sibal also submitted that the petitioners have filed a fresh interlocutory application with respect to the Dharm Sansad event held in Himachal Pradesh last week and that "scandalous" things were said at the event. The bench posted the case for hearing on April 26. The bench also posted another plea filed by three retired officers of the Armed Forces seeking a probe by a new Special Investigation Team into the hate speeches delivered at religious events organised in Haridwar and Delhi between December 17 and 19 December 2021, for May 9. The affidavit of the Delhi police had stated that police conducted a preliminary enquiry on the complaints against the event and examined the video recordings of the speeches made and based on the investigations, all the complaints filed regarding the event are closed. It had stated, "In-depth investigation of the video and other material found that no hate speech was given against any community. Therefore, after investigation and evaluation of the purported video clip, it was concluded that the alleged speech contained no hate speech against a particular community." The affidavit of the Delhi police further submitted that the event and speeches in Delhi were about empowering one's religion to prepare itself to face evils that could endanger its existence. The police also claimed that there must be "tolerance to the views of others." The plea had stated that between December 17 and 19, 2021, at two separate events organised in Delhi (by the Hindu Yuva Vahini) and Haridwar (by Yati Narsinghanand), hate speeches were made, consisting of open calls for genocide of Muslims in order to achieve ethnic cleansing. The Delhi police had also refuted the claims of being hand in gloves with the perpetrators of communal hatred since the investigation is based on the evidence of a videotape and there is no scope of tampering with it. The plea said that it is relevant to note that no action has been taken by the Uttarakhand and Delhi Police in relation to the event held there despite the fact that open calls for genocide, which are available on the internet, were made therein. The plea has also highlighted a video that had gone viral where apolice officer was seen acknowledging his allegiance to the offenders. (ANI) This was announced earlier by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at a press conference. As a part of the preparations for the event, a cleanliness drive was carried out in Panipat on Friday morning, to make the city clean in order to avoid any inconvenience to the Sangat who will attend the celebrations. Member of Parliament Sanjay Bhatia, Member of Legislative Assembly Mahipal Dhanda, MLA Pramod Vij, and District Deputy Commissioner Sunil Sarwan participated in the drive. The CMO officials said that it is estimated nearly one lakh people will attend the event. A grand pandal has been planned on an area of two lakh square feet in 25 acres of field. Ahead of the event, a team of the Haryana government visited Amritsar to bring the holy water of the Golden Temple lake for the event. Chief Minister Khattar and his cabinet, Leader of Opposition, leaders of all political parties of the state, and Sant Samaj will also participate in the event. Sikh musicians, Ragi and Dhadi, from across the country will be present at the event. Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Guru (April 1, 1621-November 11, 1675) of the Sikh religion. The event is focused on highlighting the teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur, who sacrificed his life to protect religion and human values, ideals and principles in world history. He was executed for supporting the religious freedom of Kashmiri Pandits on the orders of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. Crores of people follow the path and remember the sacrifice of the Guru even after 400 years. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will hear next Monday a plea related to the removal of 'jhuggis' in the Sarojini Nagar area of the national capital. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh mentioned the matter related to the removal of 'jhuggis' in the Sarojini Nagar area before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana. The petition has challenged the Delhi High Court order which declined to provide rehabilitation/ relocation of the slum dwellers residing in 'jhuggis' of Sarojini Nagar. The petition was filed by minor Vaishali, through next friend Sita Devi and others. The plea was filed by advocate Nitin Saluja. The petitioner has urged the Supreme Court to grant special leave to appeal the final order and judgment dated April 19, 2022, passed by the High Court of Delhi. The present Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed by the petitioners against the final order and judgment dated April 19, 2022 (Impugned order) passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Delhi, wherein the High Court had refused to interfere with the order dated April 11, 2022, passed by the Single Judge of Bench of Delhi High Court. Delhi High Court has declined to provide rehabilitation/relocation of the slum dwellers residing in 'jhuggis' of Sarojini Nagar. The petitioner said that about 1,000 people and about 200 families have been residing in the said shanties for more than four decades ie since the 1980s. "Hence, the Courts below have allowed the demolition of jhuggis/eviction of the slum dwellers as per the order dated April 4, 2022, issued by the respondent, and no alternative arrangements have been made for the said indigent and poor slum dwellers," read the petition. The petitioners said that they do not seek to hinder any of the development work/ public projects undertaken by the Government but are only seeking rehabilitation/relocation as per the policies of the State. The petitioners submitted further that the forced eviction of jhuggi-residents in question, will permanently disrupt and destroy the lives of jhuggi dwellers, as about 200 families, including children, elderly and women (including pregnant women) will be forcibly thrown on the streets, without any alternate accommodation. The residents of the said jhuggis are extremely indigent persons such as dhobis, daily wage labourers, rag pickers, maids, street vendors etc. and they do not have any other source of residence, the petition read. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party has condemned the "provocative" remarks by Uttar Pradesh cleric Tauqir Raza for his call for 'jail bharo' agitation if the government does not "mend its ways." BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that Raza was a close aide of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and had a history of making inflammatory speeches. "Congress party and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's close aide Tauqir Raza is famous for his hate and inflammatory speeches. His call for 'Mahabharat' in India is not the first time that he has given such a provocative statement. During the Uttar Pradesh elections, when Congress had given him a platform (to speak), he warned the Hindus that if Muslims pick up weapons, them it would be difficult for Hindus to take accommodation in India. Till when will Congress party give shelter to such people who incite violence?" Poonawalla said. Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister and BJP leader Keshav Prasad Maurya also slammed Raza's remarks. "There is ample space in prison. Those who incite violence will be taken care of," Maurya said. Tauqir Raza called for 'jail bharo' agitation and gave the government an ultimatum to "mend it's way" alleging one-sided investigation in Jahangirpuri violence, the statement was condemned by members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), All India Sunni Ulema Council and Hindu Mahasabha. Expressing distress over Raza's controversial remarks, All India Sunni Ulema Council general secretary Haji Mohammed Salees said there was a need to stop those who are trying to mislead people and attempting to incite hatred amongst the communities. "To save this country, one must not give a call to protect their community by dividing people," said Salees. Salees also suggested said Raza should have addressed the atrocities committed against all sections of the community and not just one. "It is written in holy scriptures that one follows a religion so that they don't commit sin. When there is fire around you, one must pour water instead of igniting the fire even more. Some silly people want to destroy the unity of the country. Tauqir Raza, instead of talking only about Muslims, should have taken a stand against atrocities committed against all religions," Salees said. Hindu Mahasabha leader Swami Chakrapani demanded immediate arrest and strict action against Raza. "These statements seem as if 'supari' has been taken from Pakistan to incite a civil war in the country. These are attempts to provoke the Muslims. Tauqir Raza called for a blood bath. Whose blood do you want to shed? This provocation is not in the interest of the country..... I demand from the government that such remarks not be taken lightly. I urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah to arrest such people and investigate which organisations they are linked with," Chakrapani said. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that no power has been born in India to divide the country. Speaking to ANI on Thursday evening, the senior Congress leader said, "No matter what anyone says.. my opinion is clear. No power has been born to divide the country of India. A few people can confuse the public but the soul of the country cannot be broken because there is no force to break India." "This belief should never be allowed to get hurt. There is definitely a concern about what is happening in India. I believe that no one's faith should be hurt. We are all proud of the country we live in, India," Khurshid said. Post the demolition drive in Delhi's Jahangirpuri where communal violence broke out recently, Tauqir Raza had in a press conference announced a 'jail bharo' agitation. "After Eid, our meeting will be finalised. If the government does not correct its actions and continues a one-sided investigation...their sayings of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' is just a slogan and it is not being practised. Therefore I demand that only 10 days are left, the government should fix its ways of working. Otherwise, we will announce from Delhi and start a Jail Bharo Andolan after Eid," he had said. (ANI) The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Manoj Sinha expressed condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. "I salute India's brave son and CISF's ASI SP Patel, who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting terrorists at Sunjwan, Jammu. His gallant deeds will never be forgotten. We stand in solidarity with his bereaved family. Prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured," tweeted the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. A bus, carrying 15 CISF personnel going for morning shift duties, was attacked by the terrorists at about 4.25 am hours near Chaddha Camp in Jammu on Friday. (ANI) With just one year left for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, it is crucial for the Congress high command to resolve the ongoing tussle between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot -- a contender for Chief Minister's position -- who met the Gandhis yesterday. In order to avoid the repetition of the party debacle in Punjab polls where the tussle between Amarinder Singh, who left Congress and formed his own party, and Navjot Singh Sidhu cost the party dearly. As Sachin held deliberations with the Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, there is enough indication that Congress will make changes in the leadership of its Rajasthan unit ahead of the state Assembly elections in a bid to retain the power in the state and break the 30-year-old trend of alternative governments in Rajasthan. In view of the Rajasthan Assembly elections 2023, according to the top sources, timely intervention is important in Rajasthan to win the upcoming polls. "Leadership change in Rajasthan Congress is expected soon. The final decision is likely to be taken soon in view of Assembly elections in 2023. Timely intervention is important in the state of Rajasthan. If any decision of changes has to take place it should be taken immediately. It is important to take a decision timely. So that leaders can get the time to perform better and there could be no issues at the end moment," said sources. After facing a major debacle in the five states, the Congress working committee (CWC) had decided to make changes in organisation for at least one year ahead of the upcoming elections in various states. Congress convened a three-day key meeting at the residence of Sonia Gandhi, 10 Janpath to discuss the party's preparations for the upcoming state elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including organizational reforms in the party. The buzz came a day after party leader Sachin Pilot held a meeting with interim president Sonia Gandhi. The meeting took place at 10, Janpath for an hour. Earlier on Wednesday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also held a meeting with Congress Sonia Gandhi. At the beginning of the month, Sachin Pilot had met Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leader Rahul Gandhi. As per the reports, he is continuously in touch with the party high commands. After the meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Pilot said the Congress aims to form the government again after the coming elections (2023) in Rajasthan. "In the last 30 years, it has been a tradition in Rajasthan that every five years there's a government change. If we do the right things, which we have started to do, as the committee of the AITC that was formed two years ago on which some steps have been taken in the right direction. We need to move forward in that direction to make sure that Congress wins the 2023 polls in Rajasthan. It is very important because soon after that we have Lok Sabha elections," Pilot told reporters after meeting Sonia Gandhi. Pilot also said that in the meeting, organisational elections and how to strengthen the party were discussed. In July last year, Pilot had rebelled against Ashok Gehlot and had camped in Haryana accompanied by MLAs who supported him. He finally announced his return to Rajasthan after the Gandhi family intervened and reportedly assured him that his grievances would be addressed. A committee was also set up under Ajay Maken to look into the issues raised by Pilot and his camp. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda on Friday attacked the Congress saying that the grand old party has always snatched the rights of Himachal Pradesh while the BJP government has safeguarded the rights and worked for the good of the state. Addressing a public rally in Kangra, the BJP national president said, "The Congress party has always snatched the rights of Himachal, not always given what Himachal should have got, rather it has also snatched what was given from the front. BJP has always safeguarded the rights and worked for the good of Himachal Pradesh." Nadda further said that during former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's tenure, they took back the state's special category status but when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, he gave back the special category status to the state. "Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister in 1987. At that time, the 9th Financial Commission came to Himachal, whose chairman was purely Congressman N KP Salve was there, he took back the special category status of Himachal Pradesh. When Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, he himself made Himachal Pradesh as before by giving special category state status," said Nadda. "If we used to spend Rs 100 in the schemes of the Center, then Rs 90 were given by the Center and Rs 10 by the state government but N KP Salve snatched this right of Himachal Pradesh with the blessings of Rajiv Gandhi. Now, the Centre gives Rs 60 Centers and state have to give Rs 40," he added. The BJP president further said that it was decided in the smart city plan that 500 crores is the upper limit for Shimla and Dharamshala. "Out the 500 crores, Rs 250 crore will be given by the state government and Rs 250 crore by the central government. But the central government made a special provision and said that Rs 450 crore would be given by the central government and Rs 50 crore by the state government in the smart city project in Himachal," he said. Referring to the development projects in Himachal Pradesh, he said that the Atal Tunnel, whose foundation stone was laid by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002, was not completed even after many years. But, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, this tunnel was completed within five years. The BJP national president said that earlier no one had even thought that an institute like AIIMS would come up in a small state like Himachal but the Modi government has given AIIMS to Himachal, a satellite centre of PGI, and four medical colleges to the state within five years. He further said that the culture of politics of the country has changed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Congress leaders only talk about dynastic politics, casteism, communalism, and regionalism. But PM Modi has taken development forward by giving a tough competition to all this," Nadda added. He said that the BJP leaders only talk about development because the BJP government is accountable and is full of nationalism. Counting the achievements of the central and state government in the field of COVID-19 vaccination, the BJP President said that PM Modi has given health protection cover by putting 187 crore vaccines. "Today everyone is sitting in this public meeting without a mask, so all this has been possible because of the vaccine. India also gave vaccines to other countries like Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Afghanistan. The reason for this is that today there is an accountable government at the Center and in Himachal. This is a pro-active, pro-responsive government," he said. Further slamming the Congress government, the BJP leader said, "Hepatitis B drug was introduced in 1965, but came to India in 2002. This means that at that time the remaining medicines in the world were available to India. The medicine for chickenpox came to America in 1995 but came to India in 2005. BCG vaccine came to the world in 1921 while it came to India in 1948. Polio vaccine came to the world in 1955, but it came to India in 1985." Nadda further said that the Congress government in Uttar Pradesh lasted 40 years, but none of their chief ministers could complete five years, nor could they become chief ministers again. He said the trend of voting has also changed. If the people of the opposition understand this, then it will be good for them. "With the blessings of PM Modi and the tenacity of Yogi Adityanath, he became the first Chief Minister of independent India to take oath for the second consecutive time after completing five years. In Uttar Pradesh, after 37 years, if the government of any party has come again, then it is the BJP government under the leadership of Yogi," he added. Talking about the evacuation of Indian students stranded in Ukraine amid the Ukraine-Russia war, the BJP chief said, "When there was a need of bringing our people back from Ukraine, it was India that repatriated its people. Even people from Pakistan used Indian flags to get into safer havens out of the warzone." The Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are scheduled to be held this year. (ANI) Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital, the Delhi government on Friday announced the re-imposition of a fine of Rs 500 on those found not wearing masks in public places with immediate effect. However, the fine will not be applicable to persons travelling together in private four-wheeler vehicles. The decision has been taken as the positivity rate of COVID-19 infection has been increasing in Delhi over the past fortnight. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had in its meeting on Wednesday decided to make masks mandatory in public places. "A fine of Rs 500 for not wearing of face mask/cover in all public places in Delhi will be imposed from immediate effect till further orders in compliance of Notification dated February 26, 2022. Further, the fine under this provision of the notification will not be applicable to persons travelling together in private four-wheeler vehicles," the Health and Family Welfare Department's order reads. DDMA after examining all relevant facts related to the penal provisions for not adhering to COVID-19 protocols of wearing masks in public places decided to impose the fine with immediate effect. This comes after the Delhi government on Friday released the Special Operating Procedure (SOPs) to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools. According to the SoP issued by the Directorate of Education, the deployment of school staff, who would make sure no student or staff with COVID symptoms enter the school premises, has been made mandatory at the main gate. Thermal screening too has been made compulsory at the main gate. Hand sanitization has also been made mandatory at school entrances, classrooms, labs and public places. The SoP also suggests that parents should not send their children to school if any family member shows COVID symptoms, and the teachers should seek information about the family members of students and whether they have COVID symptoms while taking takes attendance. Notably, 965 new COVID cases were reported in Delhi yesterday and a day before that the number was 1,009. The active cases in the city have crossed the 3,000 mark. Nearly three weeks ago, when Delhi witnessed a dip in the daily infections, the DDMA had issued an order removing the fine for not wearing masks. However, it had advised people to continue using them in crowded places. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take steps for issuance of a red corner notice against a person who has taken his minor daughter to Nepal violating the conditions imposed by the court. A division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar issued the direction to the agency to take steps for issuance red corner notice against Karan Goel who is currently said to be in Nepal. The bench also directed Karan Goel to produce the minor school-going daughter of the petitioner before the court on the next date of the hearing. The Court granted two weeks' time to counsel appeared for Karan Goel to file a reply on the petition. The matter has been listed on May 18 for further hearing. The High court issued this direction in the habeas corpus plea moved by Kanika Goel, who is the mother of the minor child. The bench was told by the Senior Advocate Rebecca John that the respondents along with three US citizens are in Nepal. The petitioner is also in Nepal. Nepalese authorities have been informed about the registration of FIR and they are doing what they can. The senior advocate sought the court's direction to CBI for the issuance of a red corner notice against the respondents. She submitted that after the issuance of the red corner notice, the Nepalese authorities will send them back to India. On the other hand, counsel appearing for Karan Goel submitted that the case of kidnapping can not be made out against the father. A red corner can only be issued for extraditable offences only. He has two orders passed by the US Court for custody of the child who is also a US citizen. The bench rejected the contentions and said you put your submission in the reply. "We are not interested in what order US Court had passed. We are interested in what order this court had passed." "You are in the gross violation of the orders passed by the co-ordinate bench of this court and conditions imposed while granting you interim custody and visitation rights. You did not mention the US Court order before that bench," it said. The court said that if you are US citizens that don't mean you have some immunity. "You bring back the child or we will direct the authority to do what they can." The court noted, "Your passports are here and you have travelled to Nepal. Are you going to produce the child or we will direct the authority to do what they can?" Another bench headed by justice Mukta Gupta on April 18 had issued to Karan Goel and his mother Jasleen Goel for contempt of court for misleading the court and playing fraud by depositing a duplicate/fake/ second passport with the Registrar General. On March 28, 2022, the High Court granted interim custody of the child to the father Karan Goel. The Court had directed him to deposit his and his mother's passport with the Registrar General. The Court had directed him to collect the passports from the court after the child is returned to his mother Kanika Goel on April 24, 2022. Instead, they had taken the child to Nepal. A petition of habeas corpus had been filed on Sunday, April 17, 2022, through Advocate Ramakant Sharma. The Advocate Malvika Rajkotia, Counsel for the petitioner, had submitted that Karan Goel and Jasleen Goel have taken the child to Nepal by road and they are trying to go to the USA. After hearing the submission, the vacation bench directed Delhi Police to register FIR. An FIR for kidnapping has been registered. The Court had also issued notices to Karan Goel, Jasleen Goyal, Central Bureau of Investigation and Central Government. The issue pertaining to the custody right is pending before the court. The supreme court of India 2017 had directed to decide the issue. (ANI) The Delhi Crime Branch and local police will probe the call details and WhatsApp chats of accused Ansar in the Jahangirpuri violence to gather more information about his contacts during the violent incident on Hanuman Jayanti, said the sources. According to the police sources, Ansar may have called up many people to gather the crowd at the spot of violence. The police will arrest and probe the persons who turned up on the spot of violence on the call of the accused. The West Bengal connection to the violence has also come to the fore, following which the Crime Branch has sent a team to the state to dive deep into the investigation. The police suspect the possibility of a Bangladesh connection of the accused. Nearly a dozen CCTV cameras have also been installed at the Kushal Chowk in the Jahangirpuri area. The police are also planning to set up a temporary monitoring station from where they will keep an eye on the passersby in the area through the cameras. The high officials including DCP Northwest will have access to the CCTV footage. The police have activated their local intelligence after the violence. According to the sources, a large number of people with criminal nature live in the area and are suspected to have arms in large numbers. The police are locating the houses which are most likely to possess arms. (ANI) The charge sheet has been filed against accused Gurmej Singh alias Geju, resident of Ferozepur district in Punjab, under various sections of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and sections 18, 20,38 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. The case was initially registered on August 25 last year at Mamdot police station in Ferozepur, and re-registered by NIA on November 6 last year. "The case pertains to smuggling of Narcotic substances, weapons, ammunition, explosive materials and IEDs (Tiffin Bombs) sent from across Indo-Pak border by accused Lakhbir Singh Rode, Chief of banned terrorist organisation International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and his associates via drones," said the NIA. "These smuggled consignments were received by cadres of ISYF in India namely accused Darvesh Singh and Harmesh Singh alias Kali and transferred to the other members of ISYF namely Gurmukh Singh and Gagandeep Singh for carrying out terrorist activities in Punjab and other parts of India." "The investigation has established that accused Gurmej Singh is a member of ISYF, who in connivance with his Pakistan based handlers of ISYF and his sibling Harmesh Singh alias Kali and Cousin Darvesh Singh, was involved in the furtherance of terror activities by circulating terror funds arising out of proceeds of narcotics smuggling for furthering the subversive activities across Punjab and other parts of India," said the NIA. Gurmej Singh was arrested in this case on October 10 last year. Earlier the NIA had charge-sheeted five Khalistani Terrorists on March 4 last year in this case. (ANI) A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday visited the Sunjwan area in Jammu and Kashmir, where a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) vehicle carrying 15 personnel was attacked by terrorists earlier in the day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Jammu visit on April 24. The anti-terror agency visited the spot hours after the attack which was reported at about 4.25 am when the 15 CISF personnel, who were performing duty in the outer cordon near the Chadda Camp and their relieving teams arrived in a bus. The CISF, in a statement, said, all the CISF personnel came under heavy firing from the terrorists. "The CISF personnel immediately took position and retaliated. During the course of retaliation, terrorists lobbed grenades and by taking advantage of darkness managed to escape from the spot towards the nearby residential area," said the CISF. In the attack, the Central Armed Police Force said, Assistant Sub Inspector S.P. Patel of CISF laid down his life while undergoing treatment in hospital, one personnel was grievously injured and six other personnel of the Force sustained minor injuries while valiantly retaliating against the terrorist attack. All injured are undergoing treatment at Jammu Medical College and Hospital in Jammu. In the subsequent action, security forces succeeded to eliminate the two terrorists responsible for the attack. As per information from the sources, two fidayeens (Aatma ghati) terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit were present in the area, said the CISF. "These terrorists were planning to target the security forces and innocent people. If they could have managed to surpass the outer cordon (Naka), a major loss to the security forces might have been caused," said the CISF. Due to the valiant response by CISF personnel, a major fidayeen attack was not only averted but terrorists were contained and eliminated also, said the force. State Investigation Agency (SIA) team also reached the Sunjwan area. The CISF said a total of three companies of CISF are deployed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for Law and Order duties. A CISF company (No. 757) of the 3rd Reserve Battalion has been deployed at Jammu City for maintaining Law and Order with the local police of Narwal Police Station, Jammu. Based on the inputs, the CISF said "some fidayeen terrorist organisations were planning a major attack in the Jammu region". Considering the input, it said a joint "combing and search operation was being carried out in the area, wherein Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and local police personnel were deployed for inner cordon and search operation while CISF personnel were deputed at Naka near Chadda Camp meant for outer cordon". (ANI) In the wake of the recent incidents of violence across the country, CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Vishwam on Friday said that people purposefully propagate religious extremism and hatred among religions for the sake of ulterior motives. Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalling Aurangzeb and saying fanaticism couldn't deter India, Vishwam said, "Fanaticism should not deter India. Fanaticism has many colours. There is Hindu fanaticism. There is Muslim fanaticism. Our Prime Minister supports one stream of religious fanaticism to oppose another religious fanaticism. And we don't agree with that approach. The fanaticism of all streams, colours, and creeds should be opposed. I ask the Prime Minister whether he is ready to oppose all sorts of fanaticism." Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of the 400th Parkash Purab celebrations of Guru Tegh Bahadur at Red Fort, said that history is proof that tyrants like Aurangzeb might have slit the heads of Indians, but could not shake the faith even within the storm of religious fanaticism. After Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan said that he 'can't stop Muslims if they hit the streets', CPI MP said, "This kind of statement from anyone can fan religious extremism, and cannot be supported. Religion is about preaching good values and virtues to the believers. But in Hindu religion as well as Muslim religion, there are people who purposefully propagate religious fundamentalism, extremism, and hatred among religions for sake of ulterior motives. Any religious head of the country should be aware of this fact." Islamic cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan while reacting to the Jahangirpuri demolition drive said if PM Narendra Modi remains deaf and blind to the atrocities committed against Muslims like Dhritarashtra then no one can stop another 'Mahabharat' from happening in India. He issued an open threat saying if Muslims hit the streets then nobody can stop them. Reacting to pro-Pakistan slogans raised in Jharkhand, he said, "We are Indians. We stand for India. We live for India. But there are people who propagate this kind of slogan and there are people who are helping them to propagate this kind of slogan. In India what is happening today is that one stream of religious fundamentalism is supporting the other stream of religious fundamentalism. Sometimes with a cover and sometimes without a cover. These kinds of extremists, support each other. They are keen on one approach--to divide the people." Pro-Pakistan slogans were raised during the Panchayat poll nomination rally in Jharkhand. After Union Minister Giriraj Singh asked for the implementation of the nationwide NRC Act in the wake of Jahngirpuri violence, Vishwam said, "I can only feel pity for them. This is why the country believes that they will divide India. They want to tarnish the Indian Constitution. They want to stop India from moving forward. From that ideology comes this kind of statement." "After the Jahangipuri incident, efforts are being made to disrupt social harmony in the country. In this environment, the time has come when the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be brought in", said Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday. In a veiled attack on the PM, CPI MP said, "I think the ministers in the central cabinet are competing with each other to appease someone who believes religious extremism is the true sense of Hinduism, which is not a fact at all. Hinduism is not Hindutva. These ministers don't know it. That's why they make such statements."(ANI) The attack happened ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Samba district on Sunday to address panchayats across the country on 'Panchayati Raj Diwas'. A bus, carrying 15 CISF personnel going for morning shift duties, was attacked by the terrorists at about 4.25 am near Chaddha Camp in Jammu on Friday. The CISF, in a statement, said, all the CISF personnel came under heavy firing from the terrorists. "The CISF personnel immediately took position and retaliated. During the course of retaliation, terrorists lobbed grenades and by taking advantage of darkness managed to escape from the spot towards the nearby residential area," said the CISF. In the attack, the Central Armed Police Force said, Assistant Sub Inspector S.P. Patel of CISF laid down his life while undergoing treatment in hospital, one personnel was grievously injured and six other personnel of the Force sustained minor injuries while valiantly retaliating against the terrorist attack. All injured are undergoing treatment at Jammu Medical College and Hospital in Jammu. In the subsequent action, security forces succeeded to eliminate the two terrorists responsible for the attack. As per information from the sources, two fidayeens (Aatma ghati) terrorists of the Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit were present in the area, said the CISF. "These terrorists were planning to target the security forces and innocent people. If they could have managed to surpass the outer cordon (Naka), a major loss to the security forces might have been caused," said the CISF. Due to the valiant response by CISF personnel, a major fidayeen attack was not only averted but terrorists were contained and eliminated also, said the force. The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha expressed condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. (ANI) As the recent COVID-19 pandemic scenario has shown the resilience of the pharmaceutical sector, the Central government will engage with industry and academia to chalk roadmap for pharma and medical devices for the next 25 years, said Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday. The Health Minister further assured that India shall soon get the competitive edge in medical devices too with research and innovation. He was addressing the media conference ahead of the 7th edition of India Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Conference 2022, which is being scheduled from April 25 to April 27 in the presence of Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers and S Aparna, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals. The annual flagship three-day conference will be held at Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. This year, India Pharma is planned around the theme: 'India Pharma-Vision 2047: Transformative agenda for future'. For India Medical Device, the theme is 'Transforming Healthcare through Innovation and Integrated Services'. The discussions planned in a span of 3 days will bring in new opportunities and ideas to make Indian the global leader in quality medicines and to ensure the availability, accessibility, and affordability of drugs and medical devices in the country. "Every year this meeting is convened with focus issues like building resilient supply chains, the need to harness technology in the pharma and medical device sectors, the potential to tap into the manufacturing of medical equipment, and many more," the Health Minister said. Speaking on the previous meetings, Mandaviya said, "Previous meetings have helped immensely, today, the Indian Pharma industry is at the threshold of rapid growth. We have already seen India as the pharmacy of the world and from our philosophy, we not only consider the pharmaceutical sector as a business but also as a 'Seva'." As envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Minister said that enhanced collaboration between the Industry, Department, and the Government can help achieve the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in its true sense of "Making in India for the world". "Recent pandemic scenario has shown the resilience of this sector and we must work towards strengthening this further. We will engage with industry and academia to chalk the roadmap for pharma and medical devices for the next 25 years. The Indian pharma industry is known globally for its affordable and quality drugs. We shall soon get the competitive edge in medical devices too with research and innovation," he added. Apart from generic medicine, he also focused on increasing patented drug manufacturing. The Union Minister urged the participants to brainstorm the ideas on various fronts - policy, economic, research and innovation. Mandaviya also said that to make India self-reliant in the manufacturing of key materials and products and to reduce our dependence on other countries, we identified several APIs and started their manufacturing in the country itself. "We now must look forward to be agile against the global competition. We have to focus on other aspects like international partners, global supply chains, digital expertise implementation. Our own requirement is increasing as the accessibility to health is increasing. Thus, such conferences help in bringing all the stakeholders and make a blueprint for the future," he said. (ANI) Two separate delegations of CPI and Samajwadi Party visited the Jahangirpuri area in Delhi where the demolition of structures took place on Wednesday as part of the anti-encroachment drive and alleged that the city police is forbidding them from entering the area citing the law and order problem. Speaking to ANI, CPI General Secretary D Raja said, "We came in a delegation consisting of top leaders of our party. We wanted to visit the place where the bulldozing took place and meet the affected families and victims to understand their difficulties and to express our solidarity. But Delhi police decided not to allow us. They said that we cannot enter into the area because it will create a law and order problem." The CPI leader further said that they visited the site to "uphold the rule of law" which was "broken by bulldozing". "We told them that communists never create law and order problems. We are here to uphold the rule of law which was broken by bulldozing the shops and other structures of poor people. Who should be held responsible for breaking the rule of law?" he said. Raja alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah should be held responsible for "whatever happened in Jahangirpuri". "Delhi police is directly under the Home Ministry. Home Minister Amit Shah should be held responsible and answerable for whatever happened in Jahangirpuri," he said. "The encroachment shows the failure of the Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi government," the CPI leader added. Earlier today, Special Commissioner of Police (CP) Dependra Pathak said that situation in the violence-hit area is peaceful and political leaders are not allowed to visit the mosque. However, no restrictions have been imposed on general devotees. Speaking on the peaceful situation in the Jahangirpuri area, Dependra Pathak said, "Normalcy will return in the area in the next 24 to 36 hours." He added that the situation is peaceful at present. Meanwhile, the Delhi Crime Branch and local police will probe the call details and WhatsApp chats of accused Ansar in the Jahangirpuri violence to gather more information about his contacts during the violent incident on Hanuman Jayanti, said the sources. The drive that was halted by the Supreme Court was launched just days after violent clashes broke out in Delhi's Jahangirpuri on April 16 between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession that left nine people injured, including eight police personnel and a civilian. (ANI) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday directed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to help landlords and shopkeepers alleging that some people associated with BJP are threatening them by running bulldozers at their shops if they don't give money. In a letter to AAP MLAs, Sisodia said that they can also register a complaint against such people. This comes days after the Delhi civic body's anti-encroachment drive against illegal structures in Jahangirpuri. Taking to Twitter, the Deputy Chief Minister shared his letter and he stated, "While going from MCD, BJP has decided to earn as much money as it can, so now BJP goons are giving various threats to the shop owners and landlords. I have written a letter to my MLAs asking them to stand with the people of Delhi against this hooliganism of BJP." Indicating that the BJP will lose seats in the impending Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections, said "BJP has decided to earn as much money as it can." "We have received many complaints against BJP members that they have been barging into the houses and shops of people and threatening the owners to pay a sum or else their properties will be bulldozed. In fact, residents of my constituency Patparganj have reached out to me and complained against many BJP workers. Residents of Green Park have complained too. They are fearful of the BJP bulldozing their shops and homes for real," the letter reads. "I have been apprised that the BJP has decided to amass as much money as they can, given that they are exiting the Delhi Municipal Corporation. That is why they are threatening the landlords," he said in a letter. "The people of Delhi will never tolerate such hooliganism. I appeal to all MLAs across Delhi to stand up against such illicit orders of the BJP. I urge you to inform residents in your legislative seats that the AAP-led Delhi government is by their side. If you catch hold of such BJP-led hooliganism, immediately call the police and apprise the government of the same," the letter further read. Replying to Sisodia's letter, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal confirmed that many such complaints have been received from various parts of the national capital. "Many such complaints are coming from all over Delhi. The people of Delhi will not openly tolerate this type of extortion and hooliganism. Is that why the MCD elections have been postponed?" Delhi Kejriwal said in a tweet. (ANI) TMC chief Banerjee will reach Delhi on April 29, a day ahead of the meeting. According to sources, PM has called the meeting to discuss matters related to courts across the country. Recently, the West Bengal CM had also invited the Prime Minister to the Bengal Global Business Summit. Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said the state and the Central government should work together for public benefit. Mamata Banerjee has asked the Opposition parties to unitedly fight against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 general elections while pitching TMC as the main alternative to BJP in national politics. (ANI) Rana was provided 'Y' category all India security cover on April 14 while Somnath was accorded 'Y+' category all India security cover on April 18. Both Rana and Somnath were provided Central security cover after a threat analysis by the Ministry of Home Affairs in its recent VIP security meet. Rana, a former Indian actress who mainly acted in Telugu cinema, is an elected Member of Parliament from Amravati in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate. Eminent aerospace engineer and rocket scientist Somanath, who also holds charge of secretary of the Department of Space for a joint tenure of three years, recently succeeded Kailasavadivoo Sivan as the new ISRO chairman. Somanath is an expert in a host of disciplines including launch vehicle design. He has specialised in Launch Vehicle Systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, integration designs and procedures, mechanism design, and pyrotechnics. (ANI) Gujarat Congress Working President Hardik Patel on Friday said that his quitting the party and joining the BJP amid the rumours of infighting is "out of question" in the present circumstances while also stating that he welcomes the political decisions taken by the saffron party recently. "News of my leaving Congress and joining the BJP has been circulating in the news for a long time. But under the present circumstances, joining the BJP is out of the question. I've no plans to join BJP. I welcome the political decisions that have been taken by BJP recently," Patel said. "If any such decision has to be taken in the interest of the state and its people, I will speak out," he added. The Congress leader said that he has expressed his concerns to Congress and hoped that the party high command will listen to his grievances. "The Opposition has to worry about the people. If we fail in the opposition, people are looking for alternatives. We have to think of changing our strategy, I will say on the day when the political decision is ready. I come from a Raghuvanshi family, I have Hindutva. We have been associated with Hindutva for thousands of years. I have spoken of my concerns to the party. I hope the High Command will listen to me," he said. In a message to the Opposition, Patel said that they need to struggle against the government on the issues of the people. "The opposition has to fight and struggle against the government on the issues of the people. But we are unable to do so. So people will look for another option. The party is strong in Gujarat as they have leadership with decision-making abilities and it is the time to make the right decision," he said. Clarifying his stand on the question of joining the BJP, Patel said that he has no plans to join the saffron party. "This is not even in my mind. The strength of the enemy should be acknowledged. It is powerful. And the enemy should never be underestimated," he said. Lauding the BJP for revoking Article 370 and the construction of Ram Mandir, the Congress leader said that such decisions of the party should be commended. "I am not talking to BJP. I accept the good things of the BJP. BJP repealed Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, and now good deeds like the construction of Ram Mandir should be commended," he said. (ANI) He said that Rajgarh Municipality has never been mentioned in its proposal to demolish temples. "Accusations against me and the board are baseless. The board never mentioned in its proposal to demolish temples... Everything was done by the administration... Congress has never had a board in Rajgarh, it's their dream," Guria told ANI. "The allegations being made are completely wrong, you have put in the inquiry committee, check if the truth comes out, then you can take action against me, this is the complicity of the administration, due to which this whole incident has happened," he added. A 300-year-old Shiva temple was demolished using bulldozers in Sarai Mohalla, Alwar district. A complaint has been registered at Rajgarh Police Station in connection with the matter. A 300-year-old Shiva temple, 86 shops and homes were demolished with bulldozers in Rajasthan's Alwar district on Sunday, to clear the way for a road. Rajasthan Congress has alleged that Vasundhara Raje was the Chief Minister when BJP had promised a road called the "Gaurav Path" at the spot where the demolitions took place. Earlier today, BJP Rajasthan president Dr Satish Poonia said, "I have constituted a 5-member committee for the factual investigation of the Rajgarh (Alwar) temple case. This committee will go to the spot, prepare a factual report and submit the report to me." (ANI) Apple has reportedly struck a deal with Chinese smartphone display maker BOE for the manufacture of iPhone 14 screens. As per GSM Arena, the deal is reported to be worth 50 million yuan (USD 7.75 million) and will see BOE producing 25 per cent of OLED displays, designated for the vanilla iPhone 14 smartphone. The Chinese company BOE will produce only 6.1 inch panels; which means that the bigger 'iPhone 14 Max' and the 'iPhone Pro' will still exclusively use screens that are manufactured by Samsung and LG. The Chinese display maker, which had been manufacturing panels for previous-gen iPhones and replacement versions, will be producing panels for current-generation iPhones for the first time. In order to meet Apple's needs for future contracts, BOE is reported to have expanded its Sichuan B16 plant and equipped it with the appropriate power, necessary for yielding the required number of OLEDs panels. BOE is reported to have its best year since starting work on OLED panels. It performed very well in the production of those panels, with nearly 60 million OLEDs pushed last year. With a 60 per cent increase in its production last year, the Chinese display maker has cemented its position as the top OLED display manufacturer in China, and second in the world after the undisputed leader Samsung. (ANI) They discussed Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Board, Hollongi Airport, education, road communication and other developmental issues. The Governor stressed on the issue of the preparation of the examination calendar for the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission at the earliest. He also stressed on early filling up of vacancies in the education department. The Governor expressed his concern about the existing procedure for the 'Out of turn Promotion' in various departments, which he said needs to be rationalised in the interest of the state. He advised regular formation of Departmental Promotion Committees and timely advertisement of the vacant posts for their early filling up. The Arunachal Pradesh Governor also called for the commencement of the State University at Pasighat. He suggested advertisements for various posts and maximum utilization of guest faculty. On the other hand, Pema Khandu briefed the Governor about his recent official tour to the National Capital and meetings with Union Ministers. Earlier, along with the Speaker of State Legislative Assembly, Pasang Dorjee Sona, the Governor and the Chief Minister discussed the ensuing Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's (CPA) India Region, Zone-III's conference, which will be held at Itanagar from May 11 to May 13, 2022. (ANI) Amidst load shedding issues in Maharashtra, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said that the state government has decided to import coal from outside the country and also said that efforts are underway to get one coal mine in Chhattisgarh allocated to Maharashtra's power department. On the sideline of an award function of a co-operative Bank in Pune today while speaking to the media, Pawar said that the way coal should be supplied to the states is not happening in that proportion in various states including Maharashtra. While talking to media persons, Pawar said, "The load shedding is going on in the state. A meeting was held with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and as instructed by the CM." He further stated that he will take the review of the power department every week on the issue of load shedding and the cabinet has given the approval to see if there is any availability of power in another part of the country, efforts are being done to do away with the load shedding and made the smooth supply of the power in the state. "The coal supply to the various states is not enough as required, Maharashtra is also not getting enough supply and that is why we have taken a decision to import the coal from outside the country. "Besides, there are efforts being made to get one coal mine allocated for the Maharashtra State Power department. Minister Nitin Raut is working on it, and Congress president Sonia Gandhi has also asked the Chhattisgarh government to allocate one coal mine to Maharashtra." On the question of whether vendetta politics is being played by not providing coal to Maharashtra, he said, "It's not like that issue of shortage of coal supply is in the various states not only in Maharashtra, There are issues of railway wagons. Today railway wagons are needed to transport coal, sugar, wheat and other essential commodities which need to be taken to the ports." He further said that he does not want to do politics over it and admitted that there is a shortage of coal in the state. (ANI) India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has changed tack when it comes to dealing with illegal Bangladeshi immigrants nabbed by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the country's eastern border with Bangladesh. Instead of apprehending such persons, the BSF has been directed to hand them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) as a goodwill gesture. This reduces complications later on. Several hundred Bangladeshi nationals are housed in prisons across India (most of them in West Bengal) after being charged under the Foreigners Act. An illegal immigrant can face a sentence of up to five years under this Act. "Earlier, the BSF would apprehend all Bangladeshi nationals attempting to cross the International Boundary (IB) between India and Bangladesh and hand them over to the police. They used to land up in jail. Nowadays, the BSF is simply checking whether an illegal immigrant has been involved in any crime in India. If not, the person is being handed over to the BGB. In many cases, Bangladeshi nationals caught while attempting to return home after spending several years in India are also being turned over to the BGB. Many of them are victims of trafficking. The touts involved are being apprehended though," a senior MHA official said. What used to happen in the past was that such people would be prosecuted and spend years behind the bars (including women and children) in Indian prisons. Most of them try to enter India in search of a better livelihood, working as rag pickers, domestic helps or bar dancers and sex workers in far off places like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and even Srinagar, despite Bangladesh's claim that its economy is growing faster than India's. "In many cases, Bangladeshi nationals continue to languish behind the bars after serving their sentences as their country refuses to take them back. In West Bengal -- with the largest number of Bangladeshi nationals in prison/ such people are called 'Jaan Khalash'. Ultimately, the courts intervene and order the BSF to 'push them back' across the IB. This becomes difficult and another long drawn process starts involving the consular services of both countries. The BSF has to get involved and this compromises on its primary task of border management. Nowadays, any Bangladeshi national attempting to enter India or trying to leave -- even for a short visit home -- who has not been involved in any criminal activity, is handed over to the BGB," a senior BSF official said. A few years ago, authorities in Karnataka sent several Bangladeshi nationals to West Bengal with armed guards, directing the BSF to send them across the IB. "This took some doing. After all, Bangladeshi authorities aren't ready to acknowledge that their citizens enter India illegally in search of livelihoods. It is better now. Anybody we apprehend along the IB is immediately handed over to the BGB. There is also a humanitarian aspect involved. We do not want an innocent person, even if he is not an Indian national, to languish in jail just because s/he was on the lookout for a job," a senior official of the BSF's South Bengal Frontier said. --IANS jayant/pgh ( 530 Words) 2022-04-22-19:16:02 (IANS) The Iftar party, hosted by the RJD at the official residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Friday, attracted attention of every political party in the state. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accepting the invitation sent to him by Rabri Devi, and her sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, walked from his 7 Circular Road bungalow to her 10 Circular Road residence - a mere bungalow away. He was seen meeting Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav. Nitish Kumar's meeting with Tejashwi Yadav has a big message for BJP top leadership - coming it is a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state. Sources have said that Nitish Kumar is coming closer to the RJD especially at a time when its supremo Lalu Prasad has been granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in a fodder scam case. It will be interesting to see the next move of Nitish Kumar. In the recent past, the relation between his Janata Dal-United and the BJP is not so healthy in Bihar. The leaders of both parties are at loggerheads over power sharing. Recently, there was a buzz that going to Rajya Sabha would be ideal for Nitish Kumar. He himself, in an unofficial conversation with media persons, claimed that he has not served in the Rajya Sabha, while some leaders termed him an ideal candidate for the Vice President's post. Nitish Kumar, however, later clarified that he will not go for the Centre. Nitish Kumar's visit to Rabri Devi's house for an iftar party will increase his bargaining power with BJP. There is also a possibility that JD-U may inch closer to the RJD and Nitish Kumar might replicate his 2016 act where he separate the JD-U from the Mahagathbandhan and formed the government with the help of the BJP in Bihar. This time, there is a possibility that Nitish Kumar may leave the NDA and join Mahagathbandhan to form a government in Bihar. Holding mid-term polls would be his second choice. Meanwhile, apart from a large number of RJD supporters, Congress leaders like state chief Madan Mohan Jha, and Awadhesh Narayan Singh, BJP leader and Industry Minister Shahnawaz Hussain, Assembly Speaker Vijay Sinha and leaders of other parties were also present. The latter included LJP (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan, VIP President and recently sacked minister Mukesh Sahani. Chirag Paswan said that his father Ram Vilas Paswan always visited the residence of Lalu Prasad when he was organising the Iftar party. "I am glad that the high court granted bail to Lalu Ji in alleged fodder scam case. He is like my father. I am praying to god that he will recover from his illness very soon. We will work together in future," he said. Sahani went a step ahead, saying that truth may fall into trouble but it cannot be defeated. "I am glad that he came out on bail and he will be here among us. He is a symbol of social justice and equality in the country and I will learn from him. Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav Ji and Tej Pratap Yadav Ji invited me for the Iftar party," he said. --IANS ajk/vd ( 543 Words) 2022-04-22-19:20:06 (IANS) A Class 12 question paper of Rajasthan Board has gone viral on social media, creating an uproar, as a few questions asked in the paper were reportedly aimed at 'glorifying' the Congress. This is probably the first time that questions related to the Congress have been asked in the political science paper of the board exam in Rajasthan, which was held on Thursday, officials said. The BJP has criticised the Ashok Gehlot-led state government, demanding that officials preparing such question papers be suspended. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, meanwhile, said that the question paper might have been drafted by a Congress worker. BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma said that Congress should not play with the future of students. "This is the first time that so many questions have been asked about a political party. The basic agenda of this question paper is to glorify the Congress," he added. Meanwhile, one question each has also been asked about the Communist Party of India and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Some of the questions asked in the paper were: 1. Briefly discuss the social and ideological alliance of Congress 2. The era of one-party dominance and the Congress system -- challenges and restoration? 3. How many seats did the Congress win in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections? 4. Which party dominated the first three general elections in India? 5. Under what circumstances did the Congress contest the 1967 general election and what was its mandate? Please discuss. 6. In the general election of 1971, there was an election for the restoration of the Congress. Explain it. 7. Who gave the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao'? 8. After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, there was a broad consensus among most of the parties on many important issues. Elaborate two out of them. The BJP alleged that it was attempt to politicise board exams. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Education Minister, B.D. Kalla, clarified that the board is autonomous, and it has the right to prepare question papers. --IANS arc/pgh/arm ( 342 Words) 2022-04-22-21:18:01 (IANS) During the bilateral talks held here at Hyderabad House, both leaders reiterated the commitment to ambitious climate action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and in implementing the Glasgow Climate Pact. "They agreed to enhance cooperation on rapid deployment of clean energy including off-shore wind energy and green hydrogen and work closely for early operationalisation of the Global Green Grids-One Sun One World One Grid Initiative (OSOWOG) under ISA and the IRIS platform under CDRI which were jointly launched by India and UK at COP26," India's Ministry of External Affairs said here. Through the Global Innovation Partnership, India and the UK have agreed to co-finance up to 75 million (British) pounds to support the transfer and scale up of climate smart sustainable innovations to third countries. The novel GIP Fund created under this Partnership will also aim to raise additional British pound 100 million from the market to support Indian innovations. During the talks, Modi also said that India has shown its commitment to fulfil the commitments made in COP-26 in Glasgow and decided to further enhance the partnership for climate and energy. "I invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission and express my gratitude for setting up Strategic Tech Dialogue between the two countries," Modi said. The two Prime Ministers also exchanged views on the two MoUs on implementation of India-UK Global Innovation Partnership and on the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP). He also invited Johnson to India in 2023 for the G20 Summit under India's presidency while Johnson reiterated his invitation to Modi to visit the UK, and he accepted the British Prime Minister's invitation. --IANS ams/pgh ( 312 Words) 2022-04-22-21:28:02 (IANS) MPs approved the Privileges Committee launching an inquiry once the police complete their own investigation into the gatherings. The government had tried to delay the vote, but U-turned following opposition from its own MPs, BBC reported. Boris Johnson said he has "no concerns" about the committee investigation. Speaking during his two-day trip to India, Johnson said, "If the opposition wants to focus on this and talk about it a lot more, that's fine." But Johnson said he "wanted to focus on what matters for the future of the country", including boosting trade ties with India, tackling the cost of living, energy, transport and childcare, BBC reported. Last week, the Prime Minister -- along with his wife and Chancellor Rishi Sunak -- was fined for breaking Covid laws by attending an event in Downing Street to celebrate his birthday. So far, the police have issued at least 50 fines as part of their investigation. Johnson had previously told MPs that laws were not broken in Downing Street, leading to accusations from opposition parties that the Prime Minister had misled them. Under government guidelines, ministers who knowingly mislead the House of Commons are expected to resign. During a debate before the vote, Labour leader Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister had "stood at that despatch box and point blank denied rule-breaking took place, when it did". --IANS san/arm ( 268 Words) 2022-04-21-23:16:04 (IANS) US lawmaker Ilhan Omar's meeting with recently ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and her "unofficial, personal" visit to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) did not represent the United States government in any way, an official said on Thursday. India had on Thursday condemned Omar's visit to PoK as violative of India's territorial integrity and sovereignty and that it reflected her "narrow-minded" politics. The Democratic Congresswoman is on a four-day visit to Pakistan that began on April 20. On Wednesday, she met Imran Khan as well as visited a part of PoK. Speaking to ANI, Derek Chollet, counselor to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "It's an unofficial personal visit and it does not represent any policy change on behalf of the United States government." Omar, a Somali American who belongs to President Joe Biden's Democratic Party, had after her visit to PoK said Kashmir should get more attention from the United States, which elicited stern condemnation from India. "I don't believe that it (Kashmir) is being talked about to the extent it needs to in Congress but also with the administration," Omar told reporters after visiting PoK. Condemning her visit to PoK, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reporters in New Delhi at a media briefing, "Let me just say that if such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home, that's her business." "But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty... makes this ours and we think the visit is condemnable," Bagchi said. The Islamabad visit by Omar, who represents Minnesota in the US House of Representatives, is the first by an American legislator since the new Pakistan government took office. Her meeting with Imran Khan at his residence at Bani Gala has been criticised since the ouster Pakistan premier had accused Washington of conspiracy to dislodge his government. When asked what the US made of the Omar-Khan meeting, in particular, Chollet said, "Congresswoman's visit was a personal visit. It was not something that the State Department helped to organize so I don't have much to comment on it. Because it was a visit made in her personal capacity." Omar is the first naturalized citizen of African birth to sit in the US Congress. She has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has previously questioned Biden administration officials over what she said was their "failure" to criticize the Indian government on the issue of human rights and its actions against its Muslim minorities in India. In a recent hearing in which Omar questioned Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Omar raised concerns about the United States's history of getting close to undemocratic leaders as a strategy to show strength in numbers against an adversary. (ANI) India has had a long-standing defense relationship with Russia for many years when the United States was not available to be a partner, a top advisor of US Secretary Antony Blinken said, adding that "Washington fully understands New Delhi's long-standing ties to Moscow." In an exclusive interview with ANI on Thursday (local time), Derek Chollet, Blinken's top advisor said that the US is there to support India and the partnership between US and India has tremendous potential. "We understand that India has had a long-standing defense relationship with Russia over many years and part of that was because the United States was not available to be a partner. It is decades ago and we face a much different reality today," he said. "Over the last 10 years, the US-India Defense Partnership has changed dramatically. We see great potential and opportunity in their relationships. Anything that two plus two conversations between Secretary (Antony) Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had with their counterparts helped further clarify that." Asserting that India is a strategic partner of the United States, Chollet said: "We're natural allies. And this partnership has tremendous potential. It's already paying dividends for both countries in the region and all around the world. And we think, really, there's nowhere to go but up." He also noted that the US is in close touch with India. "We fully understand their long-standing defense ties to Russia," Blinken's top advisor said. It is to be noted that Russia might not be able to make equipment at its previous rates due to sanctions imposed against Moscow. Some of the Russian arms plants reportedly have halted production as they face difficulties in importing source components. When asked about how the US is planning to use this opportunity (arms export) to lure India, Blinken's top advisor said: "It's not so much about luring India away. We see this partnership is growing organically. And this is something both sides seek to achieve in terms of making our relationship across the board but especially our defense relationship, even stronger. It (The relationship) can't happen overnight. It's going to take a long time to make this shift. And we want to be there to support our Indian allies." However, earlier in the month US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had suggested to India to cut back on purchases of Russian military equipment, stating that Washington does not believe such purchases are in New Delhi's best interest. "We continue to work to ensure that they understand... we believe it is not in (India's) best interests to continue to invest in Russian equipment," Austin told House Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on the annual defence budget. "Our requirement going forward is that they downscale the types of equipment that they are investing in and look to invest more in the types of things that will make us continue to be compatible," he said. Austin made these remarks while responding to question posed by Congressman Joe Wilson. This comment had come as India has refused to join the Western sanctions against Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Indian military uses several Russian-made weapons, including tanks, artillery guns and missile systems. New Delhi has also signed deals to purchase Russia's S-400 air defence system, which has been under threat of US sanctions under Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). (ANI) The United States expects that the recent talks between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe will lead to future conversations, Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said. "This was an initial call. We felt it was a productive one and our expectation is that it will lead to future conversations appropriate to whatever the issue is," Kirby said during a press briefing on Thursday (local time). The call between the two officials took place on Wednesday and they discussed bilateral defense relations, regional security issues and the conflict in Ukraine. Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe has said that US should not underestimate China's determination and capability. In the phone conversation, the two ministers also exchanged views on issues such as maritime and air security and the situation in Ukraine. Wei said that China and the US should earnestly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, as per Xinhua News Agency. The two militaries should enhance mutual trust, strengthen dialogue and exchanges, manage risks and crises, and carry out practical cooperation, so as to ensure the normal and stable development of bilateral military-to-military relations, he said. US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on Monday said that the United States will continue to carefully monitor the level of support China may show towards Russia with respect to Ukraine. "We're going to continue to keep a careful eye, a careful watch on the level of support the PRC (People's Republic of China) exhibits towards Russia," Price said during a press briefing. Price added that there will be strong consequences for China if it provides weapons or supplies to Russia for its operation in Ukraine or if it helps Moscow evade Western sanctions. (ANI) Noting that India's missions routinely engage with various academic institutions and think tanks in Australia and other countries to deepen bilateral relations, the Ministry of External Affairs Ministry on Thursday termed as "not accurate" and "very unjustified" reports dragging India's envoy in a matter related to Australia India Institute based in Melbourne. Answering queries during a media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the institute was set up by the Australian government, in partnership with the University of Melbourne. It is funded entirely by the Australian Government. He said the Indian government does not have any say in the decision making of this institute. "I have seen some media reports on this, which are actually not accurate. I think there are two different aspects here. First, our missions and post routinely engage with various academic institutions and think tanks in Australia and elsewhere, in other countries, with the objective of deepening India's relations with foreign countries, and promoting understanding between India and the foreign country," he said. Bagchi said the institute is funded entirely by the Australian Government and Australian institutions. "I think the state of Victoria, as well as the University of Melbourne, are among the funding institutions. The Government of India does not fund the institute in any way. Nor does the Government of India have any say in the decision making of Australia-India institute (AII). So the report that we saw dragging India or our High Commissioner to Australia into this is actually very unjustified," he added. He was asked about media reports that some academics from universities in Australia had resigned from their affiliation with AII over alleged interference and reluctance to discuss certain issues. Referring to media reports that talk about academic freedom at the Institute are concerned, Bagchi said it is for the Australian authorities to respond. "I do believe that the University of Melbourne has, and in fact, the officials of the Institute also have made their position clear on this. I don't have anything to add on that," he added. (ANI) Deputy Foreign Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries held consultations in Moscow where they highlighted the need for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan as soon as possible. This comes at a time when Afghanistan is facing a dire situation as a result of the takeover by the Taliban in August 2021. The Taliban's swift ascension to power resulted in economic disorder and food shortages that pushed the country to the brink of a humanitarian crisis. "Particular attention was paid to the state of affairs in Afghanistan. The agreed position of the SCO was emphasized in favour of the early formation of an inclusive government with the participation of representatives of all ethno-political and religious groups of the Afghan society, the restoration of peace in this country, and its economic revival as an important factor in ensuring stability in the region," the message from the Russian diplomatic department said reported TASS. The parties also expressed their readiness to "increase efforts to improve the mechanisms of joint struggle against international terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, trans-border organized crime" in order to ensure security in the SCO region. The meeting on Wednesday was chaired by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and all participants discussed in-depth the issues of "further strengthening the SCO and developing multifaceted cooperation" in the context of the current world order. "The concurring intention was confirmed to deepen coordination in international affairs, primarily in the UN and other interstate associations, in the interests of increasing the contribution of the SCO to the formation of a multipolar architecture based on mutual respect, equal cooperation, equal and indivisible security," TASS reported citing Russia's diplomatic message. (ANI) China's support for Myanmar despite human rights abuses by the Junta and the supply of weapons to its military via Pakistan shows Beijing's continued preference for doing business with abusive and autocratic governments across the world. According to a write-up by Sophie Richardson, which was published by Human Rights Watch, it is a "tenet of Chinese foreign policy" to have relations with and provide aid to even those governments that "abuse" human rights of their nationals, reported The Singapore Post. Since the coup in Myanmar in February last year, the junta has destroyed 100 villages and razed over 5,500 buildings in the country's central region. The military regime in the country is suppressing any form of opposition to military rule. Early in February 2022, 200 houses of Ma Htee village in Central Myanmar were burnt to ashes by the junta. Even after human rights abuses of its citizens, China has continued to show its solidarity with the country. Beijing has pledged to jointly oppose unilateral sanctions, a new consulate office in China, and support the military (junta) in hosting foreign ministers of China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Forum-all this while avoiding any mention of human rights abuses by the junta in Myanmar. It is also pushing military hardware to Myanmar through Pakistan. It is supplying 60 and 81 mm mortars, M-79 grenade launchers, and Heavy Machine Guns. As Myanmar is interested in the air to surface missiles and JF-17 fighter aircraft (a China-Pakistan joint venture), China is ensuring that such equipment reaches the junta without much delay. These deals are taking place in a secretive manner and away from the watch of the UN. The UN has already expressed its dismay over the junta rule in Myanmar since its toppling of the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, as per the media outlet. (ANI) Secondary Education Examination (SEE) in Nepal started on Friday with students appearing in person as the COVID-19 wave in the Himalayan Nation continues to falter. Disrupted for two consecutive years due to two waves of coronavirus infection and passing with the third one, students thronged to examination centers to attend the exam which is final for their secondary level studies. "Quite fearful as well as excited, as we are now able to attend it in physical presence. If it had been done by earlier methods then it would have lesser value but now attending the exam in person would give better results as it is a means to test our ability and would be marked on the basis of it. We are quite happy about it," Aryan Gajmer, one of the students appearing the final year examination of secondary level told ANI. Earlier for two years (2020 and 2021), the National Examinations Board which has been conducting the final exams annually had recognized schools' internal assessments of students for SEE results due to the COVID-19 crisis. "English exams will go well because its' one of my favorite subjects and other exams also would go the same but I have to put on more effort. All of the exams would now go smooth and good," Anushka Khadka, another SEE appearing student said. As many as 514,967 students -- 257,053 girls and 157,914 boys -- from 11,615 schools are attending the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) that started on Friday with Compulsory English as the first subject. As per the government records, a total of 11,454 students will be sitting in the exam for grade improvement that has been halted for the past two years and 14,564 students towards technical streamline will be appearing in the exam. The Examination Board has allotted 2,007 exam centers all across the nation where COVID 19 health protocols are followed. "In the past two years, we were not able to conduct the exams on student's physical presence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a fall in the infection rate, Secondary Education Examination (SEE) is now being held in physical presence adhering to the protocols prescribed by authorities ensuring the smooth conduction of the exams in a proper manner," Surendra Bahadur Thapa, head of one of the examination center in Kathmandu told ANI. Millions of Nepali students in the earlier year had received both the dosages of the anti-COVID vaccine which as per officials has ensured the smooth commencement of exams. (ANI) Earth Anthem written by the Indian poet-diplomat Abhay K. is used across the world and has been translated into 150 languages till date. On the occasion of 52nd Earth Day, the writer of Earth Anthem Abhay K. said, "The quest for a common anthem for our planet that had begun in 2008 has come a long way with Earth Anthem translated into more than 150 languages spoken across our planet." It was also played at the United Nations to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020. Earth Anthem has featured in over 200 leading publications globally. "We find that the idea of having an Earth Anthem is a creative and inspiring thought which would contribute to bringing the world together," said UNESCO. Earth Anthem By Abhay K. Our cosmic oasis, cosmic blue pearl the most beautiful planet in the universe all the continents and all the oceans united we stand as flora and fauna united we stand as species of one earth diverse cultures, beliefs and ways we are humans, Earth is our home all the people and all the nations all for one, one for all united we unfurl the blue marble flag. Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi said "Vedas- the first book of universal knowledge and wisdom says, 'Bhumi Mata Putroaham'- which means 'Earth is my mother, I am her son'. This is one of the essences of ancient Indian philosophy. Every effort to protect and respect mother earth is an effort to protect ourselves and our generations to come. The Earth Anthem is a beautiful effort in this direction." "The idea of an Earth Anthem is an excellent one which I fully endorse. Abhay K's multi-language lyrics are extremely inspiring and can easily be made into an official anthem for our beautiful planet," said the noted filmmaker Shyam Benegal. (ANI) The United States hasn't made a final decision on sanctions on India for its acquisition of the S-400 missile system from Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), a top official from Biden's administration said indicating that Washington is focused on the "future" with New Delhi. Speaking to ANI, Derek Chollet, top advisor of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said, "I share the view of my boss Secretary Blinken, that we have not made a decision on that (CAATSA), We are focused on the future with the Indians." On India's determination to purchase the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, Blinken during 2+2 ministerial dialogue earlier this month said: "We have not made determination potential sanctions or waivers under CAATSA law." During the high level diplomatic and defence dialogue between India and the United States, Blinken reiterated that he had urged all nations not to undertake weapons delivery from Russia. Acknowledging that India and Russia have a "long history and long relationship" in defence equipment trade, Chollet highlighted that over the last two decades and especially the last one year of the Biden administration has demonstrated the full potential of the US India relationship. The diplomat said that it's important to note that the relationship between the two democracies is also the result of a bipartisan effort. "Presidents of both parties (Democrats and Republicans) going back over two decades, now have built on the accomplishments of the other to make the US-India relationship what it is today the work we're doing," the Biden administration's top official told ANI. The US administration is required under its domestic law to impose sanctions on any country that has significant transactions with Iran, North Korea or Russia.India had inked the USD 5.43 billion deal with Russia for five squadrons of S-400s in October 2018. The deliveries accelerated ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India and summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources familiar with the matter appear reasonably confident of a waiver to India from the Biden administration because of the improved strategic relations between the two countries. "Not just bilaterally but in the Quad is a showcase of strong India US ties and when the Quad leaders meet in the coming weeks for the second time in person, it will once again show the full potential of what the US India relationship can bring to both of our countries. We think it brings benefits to both countries. And I think ultimately the US India working together is going to make the world better," Chollet said. U.S. President Joe Biden during a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is planning to visit Japan in late May for a "Quad" summit also involving the leaders of Australia and India, a meeting that is likely to showcase a deepening of ties between the four major Indo-Pacific democracies that are facing China's growing assertiveness in the region. When asked on the framework of the upcoming Quad summit and how the US plans to partner with India, Blinken's top advisor said, "I think first it's important to note how fast the Quad has grown into what it is today and it's just a year ago." Quad leaders met virtually for the first time last year and Tokyo will be hosting a second in-person summit. "There's a robust agenda for the upcoming summit as there has been for the previous ones. There's no shortage of issues for the leaders to discuss as we expect that when the leaders have a chance to get together soon. It will be a successful summit," Chollet told ANI. (ANI) The survivor story of a Pakistan occupied Kashmiri woman, Maria Tahir, a braveheart who was gang raped and later did not bow in front of political and social pressure, her inspirational story has caught the attention of everybody whosoever is listening. Married in the Bhimber District of POK, Maria Tahir was gang-raped by some politically influential in Bhimber. She was later blackmailed by her rapists who snatched lakhs of rupees from her as well. When she refused to pay heed to the threats, they even abducted her son, demanding ransom money in return. The intolerable crimes imposed on Maria forced her to contemplate ending her life, reported Just Earth News. Maria decided to confide in her husband who pledged to seek justice for her. But, in an unfortunate turn of events, they were attacked by a mob of goons. Bringing them in front of the panchayat the couple was harassed, while the rapists confessed their crimes. Two laptops containing the video of the gang rape were allegedly played shamelessly in front of everyone in open panchayat. Further, the couple was coerced into signing a compromise agreement at gunpoint both by the Panchayat and the Bhimber Police, reported Just Earth News. After this incident the couple sought help from the DIG Mirpur Police with a copy of the agreement, narrating their ordeal. Finally, DIG helped them to file their plea at Bhimber police station. The local police said that they have already filed two FIRs against the culprits, arresting them. But, owing to political pressure the case failed to proceed further. Even though Maria appealed in Mirpur Shariat Court the case has been pending for the last seven years. Maria's husband also received death threats to take back the case, reported Just Earth News. As of yet, because of political connections and power, the culprits still remain at large without a single case running against them despite having all the proof and witnesses. (ANI) "Ukraine urgently needs housing for internally displaced persons, it needs the undamaged power grid ... My ministry has redistributed funds for these purposes as part of the emergency program," Schulze told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. Out of these funds, 22.5 million euros will be used to restore the power grid and 12.4 million euros to build housing. Two more million euros will be used to provide Ukraine with medical equipment. The World Bank said that the Russian military operation resulted in infrastructure damage amounting to $60 billion. At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the IMF that the Ukrainian economic losses had reached USD 550 billion. (ANI/Sputnik) "Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @BorisJohnson held talks in New Delhi. They discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between India and UK," PMO India tweeted. Earlier today, PM Modi received UK Prime Minister Johnson with a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The UK Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to India, was given a Guard of Honour upon his arrival at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. "It is a very auspicious moment in India-UK friendship and two democracies, largest and one of the oldest. I do not think things have ever been so strong and good between India and UK as they are now," Johnson stated. Johnson arrived in Gujarat on Thursday, at the start of his visit to India to 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 cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. "They (People of Gujarat) put on a fantastic welcome for us. It was absolutely extraordinary. I have never seen such a joyful reception." "I would have not gotten the same reception anywhere else in the world. It was amazing to see your (PM Modi's) home state for the first time," Johnson said. The British PM earlier today laid a wreath at Raj Ghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar received Johnson at the airport here late Thursday. (ANI) "Delighted to call on UK PM @BorisJohnson during his India visit. Discussed our expanding partnership and implementing the #IndiaUK Roadmap 2030," Jaishankar tweeted. Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Johnson at a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan where the UK Prime Minister received a Guard of Honour. "It is a very auspicious moment in India-UK friendship and two democracies, largest and one of the oldest. I do not think things have ever been so strong and good between India and UK as they are now," Johnson said. The British Prime Minister thanked PM Narendra Modi for a "fantastic welcome". "They (people of Gujarat) put on a fantastic welcome for us. It was absolutely extraordinary. I have never seen such a joyful reception. I would have not gotten the same reception anywhere else in the world. It was amazing to see your (PM Modi's) home state for the first time," PM Johnson said, talking about his Gujarat visit. Johnson had arrived in Gujarat on Thursday at the start of his two-day visit to India to 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 cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Earlier today the British PM laid a wreath at Raj Ghat here and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. (ANI) Chief Election Commissioner of India, Sushil Chandra urged the Indian community living in South Africa and Mauritius to register as overseas voters, as the present numbers are abysmally low. He also shared with the members that the extension of the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) facility to overseas voters is being contemplated. CEC visited South Africa and Mauritius from April 9-19, 2022. During this visit, a series of meetings were held with the Election Commission of South Africa and Mauritius as well as interactions with the large NRI community in the two countries. Both Election Management Bodies (EMBs) are also MoU partners with ECI. The three countries share a relationship that is fundamental, unique, and rooted in the collective experiences and cumulative strength of their people. A major highlight of the visit was the rare occasion of a tripartite meeting between ECI, Glen Mashinini, Chairperson, Electoral Commission of South Africa, and Jonghyun Choe, Secretary-General, Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) held at Pretoria on April 12, 2022. India is currently the Chair of AWEB, the largest conglomeration of 118 EMBs in the world and South Africa is the Vice-Chair. As AWEB completes ten years of its foundation and stepped into a new decade, the meeting was positioned at the right juncture wherein it was time to reflect on the way forward for AWEB as an organization. AWEB provides a unique platform for the exchange of knowledge and information between its members. During the meeting, it was acknowledged that this umbrella organization had EMBs with a lot of experience and expertise who could assist and advise those EMBs who were looking for further development and up-gradation of their systems. It was felt that the focus must now be on increasing membership and enhancing the sense of belonging of the members. More avenues must be explored so that the members can interact and meet more often. In the meeting, CEC Sushil Chandra expressed profound appreciation to the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa for organizing this meeting. He said that South Africa has made big strides in democracy and would be hosting the next General Assembly of AWEB in October 2022. India has a very intense and active association with AWEB. Both India and South Africa are the founding members of this organization. He stated that coming to the land which made Mahatma out of Gandhiji and the land of Nelson Mandela was a veritable pilgrimage for him. Chandra recapitulated the numerous activities and initiatives taken by ECI for strengthening cooperation among AWEB members by way of organizing webinars, International Election Visitor Programme events, and also coming out with several international publications. Thereafter, he shared India's experience of conducting 11 state assembly elections and various by-elections during the unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new protocols devised by ECI for conducting safe elections from the perspective of voters, polling personnel, and polling stations. While highlighting the need for AWEB to reinvent itself, CEC Chandra stressed three areas for further strengthening of this institution. First, AWEB must endeavor to come out with standard protocols for various aspects of election management which will be known as AWEB global standards and will help EMBs to work towards achieving these goals. Two, increasing the interaction between members through regional thematic summits, celebrating significant dates in the AWEB calendar like its foundation day on the pattern of India's National Voters' Day, and developing an annual activities calendar for AWEB. Three, intensifying sharing of best practices, training, and capacity building. He offered that ECI would be happy to organize more training programs including customized programs for AWEB members at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM). During his visit, CEC also paid homage to Mahatma Gandhiji on 15th April 2022 at the Constitution Hill, a former prison complex now converted into a museum, in Johannesburg. He also visited the Gandhi-Mandela Exhibition Centre at Constitution Hill. CEC met with Mohd. Irfan Abdool Rahman, Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius at Port Louis on 18th April 2022. During this meeting, he stated that the two countries shared a filial bond of brotherhood, ancestry, kinship, and affection. The two EMBs are not only closely connected through the formal relationship of MoU but also by a close relationship of understanding of each others' systems, support, and drawing strength from each other. CEC gave a snapshot of recent elections held in India and stated that the two Commissions would continue sharing best practices, skills, and experiences for mutual benefit. During the visit to the two countries, a briefing cum interaction was organized with the NRI community at Cape Town on 10th April; Johannesburg on April 12, and at Port Louis on April 18, 2022. CEC Sushil Chandra shared the Indian experience of conducting elections with the members of the diaspora. He said that India, being the largest democracy, conducts elections for more than 950 million voters across more than a million polling stations. Over the past few years, Indian elections have made steady progress towards making elections inclusive and accessible which has led to greater participation of women, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens in Indian elections. He added that this remarkable achievement of conducting free, fair, and participative elections in a country as diverse as India - linguistically, geographically comes as a result of robust election management practices which include the use of technology for enhancing the participation of voters through applications like cVIGIL, voter education through SVEEP, use of EVM-VVPAT, all-women managed polling booths, single unified electoral roll on a single digital platform, deployment of central observers and very robust expenditure monitoring mechanisms. CEC also highlighted the new electoral reforms undertaken in the past few months which included four qualifying dates in a year for registration of eligible citizens as electors as compared to once a year earlier, linking of Electoral Roll and Aadhar data, and extension of postal ballot facility to new categories of voters i.e. senior citizens aged 80 plus years, PWDs and covid affected persons. (ANI) Following the closure of girls' schools by the Taliban and the world voicing out for justice for women and their rights in Afghanistan, another cleric of Pakistan Mufti Taqi Usman calls out Taliban to reopen schools for Afghan girls. The eminent religious scholar of Pakistan, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani wrote a letter to the interim government of Afghanistan to reopen girls' schools for Afghan girls, reported Khaama Press. The letter written to the supreme leader of the Taliban Mullah Hebtullah Akhundzada emphasized the importance of girls' education adding that the enemy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has used it as propaganda against the IEA, the report further stated. Girls' schools were scheduled to reopen across Afghanistan after months of closure due to steady unrest in the country because of war and covid, but Taliban announced that secondary schools and high schools for girls would remain closed until further notice. This decision was met with strong domestic and international reactions. "Women's education is necessary so the women deal with women's education, health, and welfare activities and to avoid the mixture of men and women", said the eminent scholar, adding to it, he also emphasised the need to dispel the impression that Islam is against women's education in the letter. However, it is necessary to make segregated arrangements for girls' education - separate from those for boys", wrote the scholar in the letter, Khaama Press stated. In the end, Mufti Taqi Usmani suggested different timings and different parts of the same buildings of schools so that girls and boys are segregated. Owing to the treatment of young girls and women and the violation of human rights in Afghanistan, majority of the countries have refused to formally recognize the Taliban. It has been over 200 hundred days since the closure of secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the visit of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to India as "historic" since it came during a time when India is celebrating "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav" to mark the 75th year of its independence. "PM Boris Johnson's visit to India during 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' is historic," PM Modi said while delivering a joint statement after holding talks with his UK counterpart here at Hyderabad House. The talks focussed on further intensifying the multi-faceted ties between India and UK. An immediate end to the violence in Ukraine, deepening of climate and energy partnership and keeping the Indo-Pacific region "free and open" figured among the discussions. PM Modi and the British PM Johnson also witnessed the exchange of agreements between India and the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Modi highlighted that the talks on Free Trade Agreement between India and UK are underway. "Last year we (India-UK) launched a comprehensive strategic partnership. Work on FTA is underway. Talks were held on the defence sector, trade, climate, and energy. Talks were also held on free, open and rule-based Indo-Pacific region," he added. Both sides also expressed their commitment to fulfilling promises made during the last 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), PM Modi stated.PM Modi and Boris Johnson also spoke on the need for a rules-based order and a free Indo-Pacific. "We invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. We stressed on a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region," he added. PM Modi hailed UK PM's contribution to strengthening ties between the two countries. "For past many years, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has played a pivotal role in strengthening India-UK relations," Modi stressed. The UK PM on a two-day visit to India had arrived in Ahmedabad on April 21 and arrived in the national capital on Thursday night. Ahead of his delegation-level talks today, the British PM was welcomed in a ceremonial reception by PM Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan where he received a Guard of Honour. Johnson said that "It is a very auspicious moment in India-UK friendship and two democracies, largest and one of the oldest." "I do not think things have ever been so strong and good between India and UK as they are now," Johnson stated. The British PM noted he would not get the same "fantastic welcome" anywhere else in the world. "They put on a fantastic welcome for us. It was absolutely extraordinary. I have never seen such a joyful reception," he said adding, "I would have not gotten the same reception anywhere else in the world. It was amazing to see your home state for the first time," Johnson said. The British PM started his day by paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his Samadhi at Raj Ghat here. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Johnson and discussed bilateral ties and implementation of the India-UK Roadmap 2030. (ANI) With Pakistan's economy in the doldrums and amid demands from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reverse Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's relief package, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Friday reached Washington for talks with the financial institution. This comes at a time when the finance minister on Wednesday said that IMF wants the country to revoke the subsidies extended by the Imran Khan government by increasing fuel prices and power tariffs, to revive its Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The talks will continue until April 24. A Source privy to the information said, "Suggestion pertaining to next budget will also come under discussion during the talks as IMF has already demanded an increased tax target for the next fiscal year," ARY NEWS reported. "The IMF wants Pakistan to set tax target at Rs7000 billion," the source added. Noting that the fund had set a series of prior conditions involving steep fiscal adjustment close to Pakistani rupees 1.3 trillion, the finance minister before leaving said that the IMF wants fuel prices raised to breakeven and taxes restored, an amnesty scheme discontinued for industries, circular debt reduced, power rates increased and fiscal savings ensured in order to completely reverse the February 28 relief package extended by the previous government. However, Ismail said that the government has not made any commitment to the IMF yet, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has advised him to pass on the minimum possible burden to the people. "We will not pass it on as suggested but something would have to be done because the IMF programme is inevitable," the media outlet quoted him as saying. The finance minister accused Former Prime Minister Imran Khan of a totally "ill-advised and illogical" package that was not based on the finance ministry's summary. He added that Khan approved PKR 67 billion fuel subsidy for April which had no prior approval while PKR 96 billion subsidy was now estimated each for the next two months as per litre subsidy on diesel had increased to PKR 51.52. Notably, the previous government had a commitment to have a primary balance of PKR 25 billion which was now in deficit at PKR 1.3 trillion. (ANI) About 64,000 residents in Taiwan are currently under home quarantine, and 737 schools across the region have had classes suspended, relevant authorities said. o date, Taiwan has reported 47,100 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 36,859 were local infections, according to the agency. (ANI/Xinhua) Amidst the ongoing political and economical unrest in Pakistan, fuel scarcity in the country is also raising concerns, leading to severe power outages for continuous hours even during the holy month of Ramadan. Urban centers of Pakistan, namely Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi are facing power crunches lasting up to 4-10 hours while rural areas suffer from no electricity for up to 10-12 hours, reported Geo News. Citizens of Pakistan are devasted by the load sheddings during the time of iftari to sehri. Although Pakistan has installed several power plants with a capacity to contain about 39,000 MW of electricity, there is a minimum electricity production of about 12,000 MW during the daytime while around 16,000 MW of electricity is produced at peak hours starting from iftari to sehri, reported Geo News. According to a power division official, "The less production of hydropower in the wake of no improvement in water flows into the system and no rain spell coupled with an increase in demand of electricity, because of a surge in mercury, which has increased to 19,000MW at peak hours, have also aggravated the electricity availability crisis. However, the demand during the daytime stands at 16,000 MW." Although Wapda has the installed capacity to generate electricity of 9,400 MW, the hydro generation currently stands at 4,700 MW. The lack of improvement in water flows has caused the Tarbela Dam to generate an average of 762 MW of electricity, cited, the water resources ministry as reported by Geo News. Apart from that Liberty Power Plant, Nandi Power Plant, two units of Jamshoro Power House, and others alike are also facing similar issues. (ANI) As Sri Lanka faces one of the worst economic crises, China has been widely criticized for pushing the Sri Lankan economy into its 'debt trap' and for predatory behaviour such as leasing out the port of Hambantota for 99 years. Amidst the dire economic crisis, India's multi-billion-dollar support to Sri Lanka has raised questions over the complaints regarding the lack of transparency in major agreements with the Indian government or private entities, reported E-International Relations, the world's leading international relations website. Similarly, Sri Lanka has also criticized two maritime security pacts signed with India in March which pose as "threats" to Sri Lanka's national security and sovereignty. China's control over the port in Hambantota has even raised concerns in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka granted the Hambantota port to the Chinese on a 99-year lease but is now facing the brunt of repaying the debt. According to the Sri Lankan citizens, they do not have any issues with handing over the port but oppose the fact that the leaders use it for personal benefit. Initially, the Chinese government demanded 80 per cent of the portland share including full control of security. But, upon receiving pressure from the neighbouring countries including India, the Chinese government agreed to a 70 per cent share. Currently, Sri Lanka is grappling with food and electricity shortages, affecting many people. Such an economic crisis has forced Sri Lanka to seek help from its neighboring countries to provide them with basic amenities. (ANI) Moscow [India], April 22 (ANI/Sputnik): Russian President Vladimir Putin is yet to decide on whether he will attend the G20 Summit in the Indonesian province of Bali in November, his spokesperson said on Friday. "We will inform you about our decision as soon as it is made. No decision has been made yet," Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a daily briefing. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati of Indonesia, which is holding the rotating presidency of the group of 20 major world economies, confirmed on Thursday that invitations had been sent to all G20 leaders, including President Putin. (ANI/Sputnik) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson on Friday laid emphasis on the need for a free, open, and rule-based Indo-pacific region with both sides agreeing to combat threats on air, space and maritime. "Shared interests in keeping the Indo-Pacific region free, open & rule-based. Agree to combat threats on air, space & maritime. Taking steps for sustainable homegrown energy," UK PM Boris Johnson said in a joint statement after holding talks with PM Modi at Hyderabad House. "We invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. We stressed a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region," PM Modi said. PM Modi also stated that the talks on the Free Trade Agreement are ongoing and both sides also held talks on defence cooperation. "Last year we (India-UK) launched a comprehensive strategic partnership. Work on FTA is underway. Talks were held on the defence sector, trade, climate, and energy. Talks were also held on free, open & rule-based Indo-pacific region," he added. PM Modi reiterated India's support for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and also stressed the need to choose dialogue, diplomacy, and immediate ceasefire to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. "We reiterated our support for a peaceful, stable, and secure Afghanistan and for an inclusive and representative Government. It is necessary that Afghan land should not be used to spread terrorism in other countries," he said in the joint statement. "We stressed dialogue and diplomacy in Ukraine for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem. We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries," PM Modi added, said the Prime Minister's Office. Speaking on the Global Innovation Partnership between India-UK, PM Modi said, "The conclusion of the implementation arrangements of the Global Innovation Partnership will prove to be a very important initiative between us today. This will further strengthen our development partnership with other countries." "Under this, India and UK will co-finance up to USD 100 million for the transfer and scaling-up of "Made in India" innovations to third countries," PM Modi added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the visit of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to India during 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' as historic. PM Modi and the British PM also witnessed the exchange of agreements between India and the United Kingdom. Both sides also expressed their commitment to fulfilling promises made during the last 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), PM Modi stated. PM Modi hailed UK PM's contribution to strengthening the ties between India and UK. "For past many years, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has played a pivotal role in strengthening India-UK relations," he stressed. Before the joint statement, PM Modi held talks with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson here at Hyderabad House and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between both countries. "Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @BorisJohnson held talks in New Delhi. They discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between India and UK," PMO India tweeted. Earlier today, UK PM Boris Johnson expressed his gratitude to PM Modi for his 'fantastic welcome'. PM Modi received UK Prime Minister with a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The UK Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to India, was given a Guard of Honour upon his arrival at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. "It is a very auspicious moment in India-UK friendship and two democracies, largest and one of the oldest. I do not think things have ever been so strong and good between India and UK as they are now," Johnson stated. Johnson arrived in Gujarat on Thursday, at the start of his visit to India to 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 cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. "They put on a fantastic welcome for us. It was absolutely extraordinary. I have never seen such a joyful reception," he said adding, "I would have not gotten the same reception anywhere else in the world. It was amazing to see your home state for the first time." The British PM earlier today laid a wreath at Raj Ghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar received Johnson at the airport here late Thursday. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reiterated India's support for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and also stressed the need to choose dialogue and diplomacy to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Delivering a joint media statement after delegation-level talks with Boris Johnson, PM Modi said: "We reiterated our support for a peaceful, stable, and secure Afghanistan and for an inclusive and representative Government. It is necessary that Afghan land should not be used to spread terrorism in other countries." On the ongoing crisis in Ukraine crisis, Modi emphasised dialogue and diplomacy to address the problem and called for an immediate ceasefire. "We stressed on dialogue and diplomacy in Ukraine for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem. We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries," PM Modi said in the presence of Johnson. Speaking on the Global Innovation Partnership between India and the UK, PM Modi said, "The conclusion of the implementation arrangements of the Global Innovation Partnership will prove to be a very important initiative between us today. This will further strengthen our development partnership with other countries." "Under this, India and UK will co-finance up to USD 100 million for the transfer and scaling-up of "Made in India" innovations to third countries," PM Modi added. PM Modi pointed out that said good progress has been made in negotiations for the India-UK free trade agreement. "Last year we (India-UK) launched a comprehensive strategic partnership. Work on FTA is underway. Talks were held on the defence sector, trade, climate, and energy. Talks were also held on free, open & rule-based Indo-pacific region," he said. Both sides also expressed their commitment to fulfilling promises made during the last 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), PM Modi stated. PM Modi and Boris Johnson also spoke on the need for a rules-based order and a free Indo-Pacific. "We invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. We stressed on a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region," he added. PM Modi hailed UK PM's contribution to strengthening the ties between India and UK. "For past many years, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has played a pivotal role in strengthening India-UK relations," he stressed. Meanwhile, after the delegation-level discussions with PM Modi, Johnson described the ties between India and Britain as "one of defining friendships of our times". "My friend, Prime Minister Narendra, my "khaas dost" (special friend), we've had a fantastic few days here in India. And yesterday, I became the first Conservative Prime Minister to visit Gujarat, which is your birthplace. I had an amazing reception," Johnson said at the joint address with PM Modi. The UK Prime Minister had arrived in Gujarat on Thursday on a two-day visit to India. (ANI) By 2024, the spacecraft "Orion" developed by Lockheed Martin will bring humans to the moon in NASA's Artemis program. The system invariant analysis technology, one of NEC's Artificial Intelligence technologies, will perform checks to ensure that the spacecraft is tested and operating properly during the production phase. Kevin Woodward, Space Senior Manager for AI/Machine Learning, said, "Right now our focus has been on the assembly test launch operations, and some of that includes the space environment tests and we can realize how that spacecraft will function in the environment. Exquisitely this wonderful holistic view of the system and an understanding that we have not been able to analyze or view in this way in the past. If you were to ask a human to do that same task, one person, it would take them 240 years. Artificial Intelligence does it very quickly within an hour." Moto Sato, NEC Laboratories America while speaking on the collaboration said that NEC is very focused on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can explain the result. "So we are pretty much focused on the experience AI or we call the white box AI that help not only the data scientist but also the expert to understand what the result how the results come from the AI. So we as an NEC, we are not only enhancing the technology from the accuracy or performance point of view to get the trust from the human." "And so SIAT (Technology from NEC) is providing ways to assist human engineers in determining if the behavior was proper or not really critical to crew safety and to the operation of the vehicle. Every disaster that's occurred in aerospace and in spacecraft has been with missed data. We see that as a core mission because there is a crew life at stake here," added Steve Jolly, Lockheed Martin Space. Kevin Woodward, Space Senior Manager for AI Machine Learning, also commented on the capabilities of the AI saying, "There's a great portfolio show of AI capabilities that NEC has developed, and also mentioned that NEC has a great understanding of the environment in which we operate since they too operate in the space environment." Moto Sato, NEC Laboratories America, said, "We need to build the AI in much higher security robustness and also feel the comfort that AI provides. And they know that people's rights mean that they record privacy protection. NEC continues developing AI solutions based on not only the high performance but also high security, robustness, and fairness. NEC and Lockheed Martin are developing new space technology through artificial intelligence." (ANI) As blatant human rights violation continues to take place in Iran against the Afghan refugees, Samira Hamidi, Amnesty International's campaigner, expressed concern over the recent torture and called it inhumane. According to Khaama Press, Samira Hamidi, while speaking to Radio Free Afghanistan, said, "Iran's border guards force Afghan refugees by guns at borders and oust them from their country". Reliable sources have confirmed torture and sexual harassment of Afghan refugees by border guards of Iran. The footages that show discriminatory, violent, and shocking act of Iranians towards Afghans in the country are a blatant act of violation of human rights." Said Hamidi. Adding further, she called on the international community to address the issue of Afghan refugees in Iran, suggesting Afghans have issues with extending visas and payment systems. The Afghan refugees flew to Iran seeking shelters after the Taliban takeover last August. Many of them do not have the legal documents or visas which leads to their harassment, reported local media. Earlier, a viral video had been circulating on social media platforms that showed how Afghan refugees were being "harassed" in the neighbouring country Iran. Meanwhile, Iran's embassy in Kabul in a press release said that the ongoing torture of Afghan refugees in Iran is a conspiracy to disturb bilateral relations with Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took over, Afghanistan has not only seen a mass exodus but also the illegal crossings of Afghans into neighbouring countries like Iran via Nimroz province and Turkey. It also led to the extradition of many and the killings of nearly 100 of them by the Iranian forces. (ANI) Pakistan President Arif Alvi administered the oath to three new federal ministers and one minister of state for the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad on Friday. In today's oath-taking ceremony, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid's (PML-Q) Chaudhry Salik Hussain, son of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain; Balochistan National Party-Mengal's (BNP-M) Agha Hassan Baloch and PML-N's Javed Latif were sworn in as federal ministers, reported Dawn citing Pakistan state-run APP. After the three were sworn in as federal ministers, BNP-M's Hashim Notezai was sworn in as a minister of state in Sharif's cabinet. Sharif was also present at the oath-taking ceremony and was seated next to President Alvi. For the first time, the president led the ceremony involving members of the new government. This assumes importance as Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari met Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman and Sardar Akhtar Mengal from the ruling coalition to discuss the removal of President Arif Alvi through impeachment. President had "complained of discomfort" just a day before the PM Shehbaz was to be sworn in as head of government. Shehbaz was then administered the oath of office by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, 33 lawmakers were inducted into the new PM's cabinet after they were sworn in by Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani in the absence of the president, who had earlier refused to administer the oath to the lawmakers. Although the oath was taken by 33 lawmakers, a notification issued by the country's Cabinet Division carried the names of 26 federal ministers and two ministers of state, Dawn newspaper reported. Several members of the cabinet, from the PML-N, were still under consideration, the Pakistani daily reported citing a source in the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The report said the two main parties of the ruling coalition -- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) -- are at odds over the selection of their members for the cabinet and distribution of portfolios. Reacting to PM Sharif's cabinet selection, the former ruling PTI alleged that most newly inducted ministers were facing corruption charges and were on bail. Pakistan's former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said: "24 members of the federal cabinet including the prime minister are accused and on bail." "A clear message to the world would have been given if IG (inspector general) jails would have administered oath to the cabinet members instead of chairman senate," he added. (ANI) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday emphasized on deepening India-Britain cooperation considering the shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific region free and open, particularly in the face of growing threats of autocratic coercion. "We're taking forward an ambitious ten-year roadmap for British-Indian relations that we agreed on last year, it was great to see you (PM Modi) at the G-7," Johnson said while delivering a joint statement after holding talks with PM Modi here at Hyderabad House. He further added that since then, the "threat of autocratic coercion has grown even further and it's therefore vital that we deepen our cooperation including our shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free." "In challenging times, it is very important that we get closer together. India, certainly the largest democracy is one of the defining friendships of our times," Johnson said. Talking about the talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UK Prime Minister said that "We have had wonderful talks today and have strengthened our relationship in every way. The partnership between India and Britain is one of the defining friendships of our time." He also lauded India's vaccination programme and said, "I've the Indian jab (COVID-19 vaccine) in my arm, and it did me good. Many thanks to India." Johnson noted that the UK is contemplating creating an India-specific open general export licence with reducing bureaucracy and delivery times for defence procurement. Emphasizing joining hands with India is confronting threats, he said, "We've agreed to work together to meet new threats across land, sea, air, space and cyber including partnering on new fighter jet technology, and maritime technologies to detect and respond to threats." He also highlighted that India and UK are embarking on joint initiatives on malaria vaccine on antimicrobial resistance, and the digital partnership between the Indian National Health Authority and National Health Service (NHS). Johnson said that the relationship between the two countries is stronger than ever.He further said that both the countries are also taking big steps together on energy security, helping each other to reduce our dependence on imported hydrocarbons, and adopt cheaper, more sustainable, homegrown alternatives. The UK PM who is on a two-day visit to India, arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Ahead of his delegation-level talks today, the British PM was welcomed in a ceremonial reception by PM Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan where he received a Guard of Honour. (ANI) The newly appointed 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, in a well-thought political move, directed the authorities to provide tight security to the ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan during his rallies. Regarding the security offered to the ousted PM, The Interior Ministry, on the directives of PM Sharif, issued a letter to the authorities concerned to ensure foolproof security of Mr Khan, the report said further. According to Dawn, the Ministry sent an urgent letter to the home secretaries of four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as well as the IGP and chief commissioner of Islamabad, asking them to take strict security measures for Imran Khan. PM Sharif directed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to personally monitor the situation and ensure the implementation of the orders. "The authorities concerned are warned that no negligence would be allowed regarding the security measures, particularly during Imran Khan's public engagements and gatherings," the PM's directives said, adding to which he has been advised to avoid his appearance at rallies, according to reports. Furthermore, a bomb disposal squad has also been deployed outside the hilltop residence of Mr Khan in Bani Gala as a part of Khan's security arrangements. After the fall of his government, Imran Khan started a countrywide protest campaign. However, in view of "severe threat alerts", embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been asked to conduct rallies virtually. Meanwhile, the caretaker Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif also held separate meetings with the coalition partners amid reservations being aired by the government allies over the formation of the federal cabinet. Federal Minister Israr Tarin, Senators Anwarul Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti and Samina Mumtaz, MNAs Ihsanullah Reki and Rubina Irfan and MPA Bilawal Afridi attended the meeting, Dawn reported. A delegation of the Balochistan Awami Party, headed by Khalid Hussain Magsi and Jam Kamal Khan, called on PM Sharif and discussed the overall political situation with him. The delegation lauded the Prime Minister for putting the development of Balochistan among the government's priorities. However, both Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Awami National Party (ANP) have refrained from becoming part of the cabinet and the PM tried to convince their leaders to join the cabinet. The PM also met ANP leaders Amir Haider Khan Hoti and Aimal Asfandyar and discussed the current political situation with them. In a tweet, the PM paid rich tribute to national poet Dr Allama Iqbal on his death anniversary and urged the nation to ensure unity and harmony to progress. 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 PM to be removed through the democratic process. (ANI) While a Pakistani military lost his life in the attack, another suffered from injuries. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the military media wing said that the security forces fought back successfully in the attack, incurring heavy losses to the terrorists. The Pakistani military pursued the terrorists into the nearby mountains. The military and terrorists engaged in a heavy shoot-out near a blocking position, made to stop the terrorists from escaping, as reported in a statement. The report also added that the security personnel of Pakistan are determined to stand in union with the nation to overthrow the disruptors of peace, establish stability and ensure the progress of Balochistan. (ANI/Xinhua) The issue of economic fugitives figured in talks British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had with Indian leaders here with the government conveying that the extradition of these offenders is a high priority as they need to be back to face the justice system. Briefing the media on Johnson's visit and his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has been pursuing the matter of economic fugitives with the UK at different levels. "Our objective is to bring those economic fugitives who are wanted in India to face justice in the country, and the matter did come up in today's talks," Shringla said. "It was conveyed that it was a high priority and the economic offenders who are in the UK, need to be back in India from our justice system perspective," he added. He said Prime Minister Johnson took note of the point raised and indicated that he was very sensitive to Indian concerns in this regard and would see what he could do. "Prime Minister Johnson said that it was important for him as well and he will surely review it. Prime Minister Johnson took note of the point raised by us and he indicated that he was very sensitive to Indian concerns in this regard and that he would see what he could do," Shringla said. India has been seeking the extradition of economic fugitives including Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi from the United Kingdom. Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi defrauded public sector banks by siphoning off the funds through their companies which resulted in a total loss of Rs 22,585.83 crore to the public sector banks, as of March 15, 2022, the government had informed the parliament last month. Boris Johnson, who addressed a press conference here later, referred to extradition proceedings of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya and said they are stuck due to "legal technicalities". "On the two individuals that you mentioned, the extradition case, there are legal technicalities that made it very difficult. But what I can tell you is that the UK government has ordered their extradition," he said. During the briefing, the Foreign Secretary also said that the Ukraine issue was discussed without any pressure on India from the UK. "Prime Minister Modi spoke about the fact that India has always advocated a cessation of violence, a stop of the current conflict and resolution of the conflict in a manner that is satisfactory, and in that context, he said India stands for peace, India stands as always for diplomacy and dialogue and, of course, we do everything possible to facilitate that in that context," the Foreign Secretary said. "The conversation was a very useful exchange on both sides, it was on very convivial terms and, I think, both sides agreed that they had points of view and that was greatly respected," he added. (ANI) Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said that the UK does not tolerate "extremist groups" and informed that an anti-extremist task force has been set up by India and the UK to address the issue. The British PM was speaking at a press conference on Friday evening after his engagements with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. "Both these things were raised with us and we have a very strong view on the UK that we don't tolerate extremist groups setting up in the UK with a view to threatening other countries, threatening India," Johnson said while responding to a question on India's concerns about the issue of Khalistani extremists and actions taken against them. He further elaborated on the steps being taken in order to address extremism including the setting up of an anti-extremist task force. "What we have done in particular as a result of this visit is set up an anti-extremist task force to see what more we can do to help India in that particular respect," Johnson said. Earlier today, in a special press briefing on the British PM's visit, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla also said that the issue of Khalistani elements was discussed and the British PM assured that there was "zero-tolerance for such people." "This point (Khalistani elements) was raised quite clearly, and Prime Minister Johnson took careful note of that. He said that he was very sensitive to our concerns in this regard and that he would have a close look at that. As far as he was concerned, there was zero tolerance for such people who create issues that could impact the relationship between two countries," Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla informed. Boris Johnson arrived in New Delhi late on Thursday and earlier today paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his Samadhi at Raj Ghat. (ANI) Addressing a press conference here, Johnson said, "The success of Ukraine President Zelenskyy and their people in resisting the Russian forces in Kyiv helps me to make this decision and I can announce that we will surely reopen the embassy in Kyiv next week." He further said, "We the United Kingdom will not watch passively as Putin carries onslaught in Ukraine." Johnson talked about India's democracy and said, "India is one of the world's oldest democratic countries and world's largest democracy, sticking together and confronting our shared anxieties about autocracies around the world and we are acting together to make the world safer and more prosperous." Johnson said that the new defence and security partnership will help India to strengthen the domestic defence industry. He also said their collaboration on energy security and the new UK-India Hydrogen Science and Innovation hub will help both the countries to reduce their excessive dependency on the 'Hydrocarbon'. Praising India's economy, UK PM said, "India is a powerful country in South-Asia and one of the fastest-growing countries in the world with 2.25 trillion pounds and set to be the world's third-largest economy by 2050." Referring to Free Trade Agreement between India and UK, Johnson said, "I and Modi told negotiators to conclude FTA by Diwali. This could double our trade investment by the end of the decade." (ANI) According to police, some armed men who were on foot opened fire at personnel of a security agency at a checkpoint in Ajab Talab area of Meelward, in Akkakhel area of Khyber Agency, late on Wednesday night, reported Dawn. Meanwhile, a policeman was also killed in the Sarband area, a locality on the outskirts of the provincial capital when unidentified attackers opened fire at a checkpoint. As per reports, the unidentified attackers opened fire on a cop who was on duty at Akori Chowk in Nowshera district and three personnel of law enforcement agencies were martyred and a suspected terrorist was killed in a late-night attack on a security check post in the Bara area of Khyber. Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed unrest earlier as well when five policemen were killed in a rocket attack carried out by terrorists in the Dera Ismail Khan district. "ASI Rahim Shah was wounded in the attack. He later died in hospital. In Bannu, four terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in a mountainous area of Ping Omerzai late on Wednesday night" reported Dawn, quoting a police official on Thursday. The gunshots were fired by unidentified attackers. (ANI) India is a great democracy and has constitutional protections for the communities, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the concerns of human rights groups. While responding to whether India discussed the human rights groups' concerns where Prime Minister Modi has presided over growing cultural Hindu nationalism in India, Johnson said, "On our relations with India and how we deal with the question about human rights group, Of course, we have these conversations (on human rights or democratic values). The advantage of our friendship is that we can have them in a friendly way. It's very important to realise that India has constitutional protections for communities." He further said, "India is a very different country from autocracies around the world. It's a great democracy. It's a stunning, shining fact that 1.35 billion people live under a democracy. That is something we should celebrate as it offers us an opportunity for closer cooperation and partnership." Johnson also said that this doesn't mean that the UK won't raise the question of the human rights issues. The British PM was speaking at a press conference on Friday evening after his engagements with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Earlier, Johnson talked about India's democracy and said, "India is one of the world's oldest democratic countries and world's largest democracy, sticking together and confronting our shared anxieties about autocracies around the world and we are acting together to make the world safer and more prosperous." Johnson said that the new defence and security partnership will help India to strengthen the domestic defence industry. He also said their collaboration on energy security and the new UK-India Hydrogen Science and Innovation hub will help both the countries to reduce their excessive dependency on the 'Hydrocarbon'. Boris Johnson started his day in New Delhi by paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his Samadhi at Raj Ghat here. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Johnson and discussed bilateral ties and the implementation of the India-UK Roadmap 2030. (ANI) "We have a very strong view that we don't tolerate extremist groups threatening other countries, threatening India. We've set up an Anti-Extremist Task Force," Boris Johnson said. Pro-Khalistan groups have time and again resorted to violent protests outside the High Commission of India in London. Recently, UK police also reportedly conducted raids against pro-Khalistan organization in the country. This group had organized the so-called Punjab referendum. Pro-Khalistan groups also attempted to stoke anti-India sentiments in the garb of farmer agitation that is clearly India's internal matter. Last year, a designated terrorist involved in acts of terrorism in India, identified as Paramjit Singh, led anti-India protests. The pending extradition of economic offenders Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya also came up during Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to India. The UK Prime Minister, while addressing a press conference in New Delhi, also spoke on the extradition of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. "On the extradition cases, there are legal technicalities which have made it very difficult. The UK govt has ordered their extradition... We don't welcome people who want to use our legal system to evade the law here in India," he said. Despite the extradition treaty between India and the United Kingdom, economic fugitives Mallya and Nirav are still in the UK and have been using technical legal provisions to evade the law in India. Nirav Modi, a diamantaire, is facing action from Indian agencies for siphoning off Rs 11,400 crore from Punjab National Bank. (ANI) Highlighting the growing economic cooperation with India, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said that he and his counterpart Narendra Modi were seeking completion of the negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries by October this year. The UK PM made the remarks while addressing a press conference in New Delhi, after his interaction with PM Modi earlier in the day. "We are using our Brexit freedoms to reach a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and today Prime Minister Modi and I told our negotiators to get it done by Diwali in October," Johnson said. "This could double our trade and investment by the end of the decade driving down prices for consumers and increasing wages across the UK by as much as three billion pounds," the UK PM added. Johnson said that in the course of his visit, India and the UK have secured new deals worth a billion pounds, creating more than 11,000 jobs. Johnson also highlighted the importance of India as a major economy of the world as well as an important partner of the UK both in terms of economic and strategic partnerships. "India is an incredible rising power in Asia, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, already worth 2.25 trillion pounds, and said to be the world's third-largest economy by 2050. India is also our biggest partner in the indo-pacific which is increasingly the geopolitical center of the world with two-thirds of humanity and a third of the global economy and that share is rising every year," Johnson said. Talking about India's role in the British economy, Johnson said, "Indian investment already supports almost half a million British jobs, and with a population bigger than the US and EU combines, there is so much potential for us to take our trade and investment to a whole new level." "So, what we are getting on with here is delivering on the priorities of the British people, but also deepening our friendship with a nation with whom we have profound ties of language, culture, and kinship while making both our countries safer and our economies stronger," the British PM said. India and UK launched Free Trade Agreement negotiations in January this year. After the conclusion of two rounds of negotiations, the third round of negotiations between the two countries will begin next week. The two countries are also exploring the possibility of an interim agreement to provide quick gains for benefitting businesses on both sides. (ANI) Hafiz Omar, police chief of Imam Sahib district of Kunduz, said that this afternoon a blast took place at the Mawlawi Sikandar Mosque in the district, Tolo News reported. Security sources and eyewitnesses said more than 30 people were killed and injured in the incident, Tolo News reported. The victims were taken to the district hospital. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, blasts and attacks have become a regular affair. After Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan hosted a live Twitter Space which was attended by an average of 165,000 users listening at a given time, the highest number ever, the social media was stormed by a barrage of hilarious memes over the live stream. Over 446,000 people tuned from around the world to interact with Imran Khan on Twitter Space with an average of 165,000 users listening at a given time, according to The Express Tribune. According to another Pakistan media outlet, a Twitter user referred to Imran Khan's Twitter Space and took a dig at the then Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry who had announced in 2019 that Pakistan will send its "first person to space" in 2022. "Fawad Chaudhry meant it when he said they would send someone to space in 2022. We just didn't know it was Imran Khan." Fawad had said in 2019 that fifty people will be shortlisted, the list will then come down to 25 and "in 2022, we will send our first person to space". With rumors of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz attending the Twitter space, one of the listeners was actually Ali Khan Tareen, son of PTI's disgruntled faction's leader Jahangir Khan Tareen. Ali's presence did not go unnoticed as the listeners immediately spotted him in the Space and took screengrabs. Pakistani meme creators jumped at the opportunity and produced hilarious content about Ali's presence. However, it got more interesting when Ali himself enjoyed the meme game and commented on it, reported Geo TV. Several other Pakistani memes targeted Imran Khan's rivals - PPP and PML-N with content portraying them as sneakily listening to Khan's Twitter space. In contrast to the memes targeting Imran's adversaries, many on Twitter users fired back with some spicy memes as well, calling out Imran Khan's record-breaking 160k listeners as mostly "bots". The previous record for hosting the largest Twitter Space was around 57k for K-Pop star BamBam's lyrical space. (ANI) Amid the visit of the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to India, the two countries signed a number of agreements including two government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on Nuclear Energy Partnership and Global Innovation Partnership. The MoU on Cooperation on Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership was signed between India's Department of Atomic Energy and the UK's Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. "The two leaders (PM Modi and PM Johnson) reaffirmed their desire to strengthen India-UK civil nuclear cooperation and welcomed the UK's renewed collaboration with Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) for jointly promoting research and training on nuclear energy studies, radioactive applications, nuclear security, and safety," a India-UK joint statement said. Another MoU on Implementation of Global Innovation Partnership between India's Ministry of External Affairs and UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was also signed. "Global innovation partnership is a novel development, cooperation initiative which India and the UK agreed to cofinance, up to USD 100 million to support the transfer and scale innovations to third countries that help deliver SDGs and climate-related goals and in the process make Indian innovations go global," Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla informed in a press briefing. "Other institutions to institution MoUs were also concluded in the margins of the visit, including the MoU on the establishment of a short term chair at Birmingham University, signed between the Indian Council of Cultural relations and Birmingham city university, and between the National Institute of Wind Energy and offshore renewable energy catapult," Foreign Secretary added. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in India on Thursday on a two-day visit, which included a day of visits and engagements in Gujarat, followed by a ceremonial welcome in New Delhi earlier today, which was followed by bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (ANI) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday highlighted the collaboration between Oxford-Astra Zeneca and the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the production of COVID-19 vaccines and emphasised that he has "the Indian jab" in his arms. Johnson made the remarks during a joint press meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. SII CEO Adar Poonawala also met the British Prime Minister during the day. The British Prime Minister referred to the collaboration between Oxford-Astra Zeneca and Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) for the production of the COVID-19 vaccine as an example of cooperation between the two countries. "I have the Indian jab (manufactured by SII) in my arms and the power of good it did me so many thanks to India and that has helped India to become, what Narendra has called the 'Pharmacy of the world'," Johnson said. Thanking the British PM for his remarks, Adar Poonawala said that his company remains committed to "providing world-class vaccines, globally." "Thank you Rt Hon. PM @BorisJohnson for your kind words emphasizing the successful India-UK partnership. It was a pleasure meeting you; we remain committed under the leadership of our PM Shri @NarendraModi Ji in providing world-class vaccines, globally," Adar Poonawala said in a tweet. Earlier today, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Central government will engage with industry and academia to chalk aroadmap for pharma and medical devices for the next 25 years. The minister, who was addressing the media conference ahead of the 7th edition of India Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Conference 2022, said India's pharma industry has shown resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Today, the Indian Pharma industry is at the threshold of rapid growth. We have already seen India as the pharmacy of the world and from our philosophy, we not only consider the pharmaceutical sector as a business but also as a 'Seva'." "The Indian pharma industry is known globally for its affordable and quality drugs. We shall soon get the competitive edge in medical devices too with research and innovation," he added. The UK Prime arrived on a two-day visit to India on Thursday. (ANI) In the era of carbon neutrality, Idemitsu Kosan is trying to develop new industrial material. The company has rich experience in the chemical advanced fiber material field. Syndiotactic Polystyrene (SPS) is the company's original material which was industrialized in 1997. SPS has strong points of heat resistance, electric characteristics, and chemical resistance. "SPS is a crystal of common plastic. Compared to the original general-purpose polyethylene, SPS has a crystal structure and melting point. Its melting point is 275 degrees, and it changes into a material that melts at a very high temperature. SPS is a highly heat-resistant resin, and it is said that it was synthesized at Idemitsu Kosan's Central Laboratory in 1985," Masayuki Morikawa from Idemitsu Kosan said. "Currently, there is a group of highly heat-resistant resins called super engineering plastics that are used for industries, home appliances, daily necessities, and automobile parts. SPS has the characteristic of microwave penetration, so when you put the ingredients inside and heat them in the microwave, only the inside gets warm and the surrounding container stays cold," Morikawa explained. "In this way, it is commonly used as a container for microwave. It is chopsticks used in the factory cafeteria. It was previously a wooden chopstick, but it has been changed to plastic. This material is used as a chopstick because SPS is highly hydrolytic and resistant to chemicals. The main target of the business is car parts. SPS is used for connectors that connect things with electricity, and it is also gaining recognition worldwide," Morikawa added. A factory to produce SPS is under construction in Japan's Chiba prefecture. Later this year, a new factory in Malaysia will be launched targeting export to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. "The main market is overseas, and the main areas are Europe, the United States, and Asia. Currently, a second plant for SPS production is under construction in Idemitsu Kosan's oil complex in Malaysia. We plan to start production of SPS within the fiscal year 2022," Morikawa said Idemitsu Kosan is developing technologies to reduce the harmful effects of carbon. For that, SPS could be transformed into various products to enrich lives. (ANI) The regime change in Pakistan has brought the country into a collision course with the Afghan Taliban with Islamist terror groups using Afghanistan's territory to launch attacks deep inside the country, a media report has said. The Shahbaz Sharif administration in Pakistan, coming to power after voting out the Imran Khan government in the National Assembly, is in a mood to militarily retaliate against any terrorist group indulging in violent attacks on Pakistani territory using Afghan territory as a base, though it has not officially voiced such thoughts, Islam Khabar reported. Kabul had received a strong message earlier in April in the form of a Pakistani military airstrike in the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Khost and Kunar which took close to 50 lives after Islamabad repeatedly urged Kabul to immediately act against militants launching attacks from Afghan soil, the report said. "This is a cruelty and it is paving the way for enmity between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reportedly said, adding: "The Pakistani side should know that if a war starts it will not be in the interest of any side." Border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been rising ever 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. The Pakistani military has not commented on the attacks, but the Foreign Ministry urged the Taliban in Kabul to take "stern actions" against armed fighters launching attacks against Pakistan from Afghan soil. "Terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan," the statement, which was unusually harsh in its language, said. The reference is to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a terror group operating from inside Afghanistan. The TTP wants its fighters to be allowed to return to Pakistan after the Afghan Taliban began pressurising them to leave their country. However, Pakistani security forces are now in no mood to allow them entry. That is why, tensions are rising between the two sides. So much so, the TTP announced in March that it will launch a fresh offensive against the Pakistani military from the first day of Ramadan, the report said. Media reports in 2021 cited UN Security Council to say that more than 6,000 terrorists of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had joined their counterparts in Afghanistan. It was alleged that Pakistan has facilitated the travelling of Pakistani fighters into Afghanistan to assist the Taliban in their war against the Afghan national government as then Pakistan PM Imran Khan believed that the Afghan Taliban was fighting a holy war or "Jihad" against the enemies of Islam in Afghanistan, the report said. After Khan's exit, the real pushback against terrorists holed up in Afghanistan has begun. It is not clear how the new Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, will react to the terror attacks, but the airstrike on Afghan territory sends a clear message. Till March this year, terrorists attacked targets in Pakistan 52 times with over 150 people killed. (ANI) Kinwun / Getty Images/iStockphoto The median worker across all occupations in the United States earns close to $46,000 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The median engineer earns more than twice that annual salary -- $99,040. Also Find: How To Get Rich With a Normal Job Rising Gas Prices: The True Cost of Going Electric If building, designing and problem solving are your thing, and if your brain is geared toward precision and exact specifications, the field of engineering can make you rich. Every job on this list pays six figures, with several commanding three times the country's median wage or close to it -- and that's just the engineer in the middle of the pack. Those who excel can engineer themselves a true fortune -- here's how. serts / Getty Images Electrical Engineer Median salary: $101,783 Electrical engineers can work in industries ranging from telecommunications to life sciences to aerospace, developing, testing, and producing electrical systems and equipment. The highest-earning 10% pull in more than $160,000 -- even those among the lowest-earning 10% make tens of thousands more per year than the median worker across all occupations. Electrical engineers make the most when they work in navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing. POLL: Do You Think Student Loan Debt Should Be Forgiven? sanjeri / Getty Images/iStockphoto Chemical Engineer Median salary: $105,550 If you pursue a career in chemical engineering, you might work with applications as varied as fuel, food and medicine -- and you can get rich doing it. If you make it into the top 10% of earners, you can expect to make $187,000 or more. You'll earn the most if you go into the field of engineering services -- in that industry, the median salary for electrical engineers is more than $152,000. sykono / iStock.com Sales Engineer Median salary: $103,710 One of the most unique positions in the engineering world is also one of the most profitable. As the title implies, sales engineers are tasked with selling highly complex works of engineering to companies, manufacturers and governmental agencies. Like most salespeople, sales engineers tend to work on commission, which means their ability to earn depends on their skill in scouting leads and converting prospects into customers. Story continues Those commissions, however, are high. Sales engineers in the top 10% earn upwards of $182,000 or more. Traimak_Ivan / Getty Images/iStockphoto Nuclear Engineer Median salary: $120,380 Nuclear engineers earn the most in the scientific research and development services industry, where the median nuclear engineer pulls in nearly $152,000. Earners in the top 10% among all nuclear engineers make at least $169,000. The federal government employs the largest percentage of nuclear engineers, with scientific research and development services not far behind. It is, however, an occupation on the decline. Job growth is projected at minus-8% between 2020 and 2030, compared to growing 8% for all occupations. TuiPhotoengineer / Getty Images/iStockphoto Aerospace Engineer Median salary: $122,270 Missiles, satellites, aircraft and spacecraft are all in the realm of the world's aerospace engineers. The median earner pulls in more than $123,000 in the three highest-earning industries: Research and development in the physical, engineering and life sciences Aerospace product and parts manufacturing The federal government The highest-earning 10% in the field take home salaries in excess of $168,000, and the occupation is expected to grow at the same rate as all occupations, about 8% by 2030. golubovy / Getty Images/iStockphoto Computer Hardware Engineer Median salary: $128,170 The highest-earning computer hardware engineers, those in the top 10%, make more than $208,000 a year. The largest percentage of computer engineers, more than one in five, work in the field of computer systems design and related services -- although many more are employed in the production of semiconductors and other electrical components. If you really want to get rich in this field, consider research and development in the physical, engineering and life sciences, where the median computer hardware engineer earns nearly $165,000. Shutterstock.com Petroleum Engineer Median salary: $130,850 The big business of energy pays big bucks to the engineers who have the skills and experience to wrest oil and gas from beneath the surface of Earth. These engineers often travel all over the world to far-flung locations where oil is or might be located -- and they earn big bucks along the way. The top 10% of earners rake in more than $208,000 per year. When they manage companies and enterprises, the median pay is $165,480. When they provide engineering services, it's more like $127,240. JP WALLET / Shutterstock.com Architectural and Engineering Managers Median salary: $152,350 Even the architectural and engineering managers who are among the lowest tenth percentile of earners make more than triple what the median wage earner across all occupations earns in the United States. Those in the top 10% make more than $208,000 a year directing and coordinating the activities of engineers, architects and the firms that employ them. They make the most working in the scientific research and development services industry, where the median salary is nearly $187,240. All salary data is from the BLS. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 8 Engineering Careers To Pursue To Become Rich Faster Venerable guitarist Ernest Ranglin, the godfather of ska and an architect in reggaes creation, will celebrate his 90th birthday on June 13. Prior to reaching that milestone, the self-taught patriarch of popular Jamaican music (and one of the finest jazz guitarists in the world) will release a new album, Two Colors (May 27, Tads Record), a collaboration with another Jamaican luminary, saxophonist and Two Colors producer Dean Fraser, 64. Ranglin and Fraser have impeccably woven ska, reggae, jazz and other styles into their instrumental compositions for the album. I wrote new songs because I am playing with young men, so I dont want to put too much old something on there, laughed Mr. Ranglin during an interview with Billboard at his home in the hills above Ocho Rios, Jamaica, in late March. The friendly, silver-haired guitar maestro exudes the warmth of a beloved uncle or grandfather. Turning to Fraser seated next to him, Ranglin added, I have admired this man from when I first met him. He is the tops in this business and its an honor to be associated with him on this recording. More from Billboard The admiration is reciprocal, notes Fraser, whose prodigious talents are heard on innumerable Jamaican artists albums as a musician, arranger, producer, even back-up vocalist. When I listened to what Mr. Ranglin wrote, it sounded everlasting. I treaded waters that Im not used to, hoping to reach a level that blends with this rock star; I thank him again for even considering me and making this album possible. Tads Record founder Tad A. Dawkins, Snr. had long wanted to make an album with Ranglin; the 2020 pandemic lockdowns provided that opportunity. We knew Ernie was here in Jamaica, so Dean contacted him for us, and it worked out, explained Tad A. Dawkins Jr., inside Tads International Recording Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, where he produced Two Colors with Fraser. For me, growing up, Ernest Ranglin was a god and in his signature stamp, he gives you ska, reggae, jazz, a little bit of everything. Story continues Protecting a near nonagenarian from a virus that has disproportionally impacted the elderly meant stringent precautions had to be taken in Ernies recording sessions. We recorded at two different studios, explained Fraser. Mr. Ranglin scored his songs, and I took them to Kingston, recorded them with the other musicians (at Tads Studio). With the help of bass player Dale Haslam, who coordinated everything so well for this project, we took those tracks back to the studio in Ocho Rios and Mr. Ranglin played his part. For the songs I wrote, I returned to Ocho Rios then taught Ernie his part. Thats how Two Colors was made. Time hasnt diminished Ranglins nimble, genre-spanning approach. He delivers awe-inspiring staccato riffs on Lightning From De East. His buttery chords and fluttering embellishments color the cool jazz meets reggae track Papa R and the albums first single, De Ranglin, (featuring a spoken intro by veteran toaster Big Youth). Rangos evokes the landmark ska instrumentals of the early 1960s but played at a less frenetic pace. Highlighted by the stylish interplay between Frasers syncopated sax work and Ranglins fluid fingerboard stylings, Rangos premieres here. Hailing from a family of gifted guitarists, Ranglin showed a precocious interest in the instrument; by age four, he was playing a ukulele given to him by his uncles. Born in 1932 in the inland parish of Manchester, Ranglin moved to Jamaicas capital, Kingston, and at fourteen he dropped out of school to further his guitar playing, studying instructional books and watching as many musicians as possible. In 1948 he joined Val Bennetts Orchestra, performing a repertoire of jazz, swing, Broadway show tunes and Caribbean standards. As he gained greater renown, popular Jamaican bandleader Eric Deans recruited Ranglin; following a performance with Deans in Nassau, Bahamas, the father of modern guitar, Les Paul, was so impressed by Ranglins abilities that he gave him a guitar and remained a lifelong fan. Ranglin admits to having been a jazz purist for a time, but due to the negligible financial returns, he ventured into Jamaicas recording industry in the late 1950s and became one of the most in-demand musicians within Kingstons studio circuit. As an A&R at Coxsone Dodds Studio One, considered Jamaicas Motown because so many reggae artists started out there, Ranglin created the off-beat skat guitar strum that defines ska and, likely, gave the genre its name. Back then, we listened to Bill Doggett, Louis Jordan, people who played that rhythm and blues shuffle, Ranglin recalled. One night, I sat down with Coxsone, I was playing that same shuffle, but putting more jazz influence into it, trying to make something different and from that, we created that off-beat guitar stroke; the next morning, we went in the studio and recorded the first ska songs. Ska was the progenitor of Jamaicas rock steady and reggae; the latter, says Ranglin, resulted from his increasing rock steadys tempo but making it slower than ska. Ranglin led the 1963 Studio One session that yielded The Wailers first hit Simmer Down and he played guitar on the singles B-side, It Hurts to Be Alone, both written by Bob Marley. Marley was so enamored with Ranglins talents he later offered him a job for life as his guitar teacher. Bob really wanted me to travel with him, not as his guitar player, but teaching him how to do arrangements, so he could arrange for his band, Ranglin stated. I was touring with Jimmy Cliff at the time, so I had to turn down the job. Chris Blackwell featured Ranglins playing on one side of the debut album released by his then fledgling Island Records in 1959, Lance Haywood Live at the Half Moon Hotel, Montego Bay. Ranglin was Islands first A&R; following Blackwells suggestion, he moved to London in 1964, where he arranged and played guitar on Millie Smalls My Boy Lollipop, produced by Blackwell, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and introduced ska internationally. That same year he began a nine-month residency at Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club, where his fans included Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton; he was named best jazz guitarist in Melody Makers magazine readers poll. Blackwell calls Ranglin the most important musician to have emerged from Jamaica. For an astonishing eight decades Ernest Ranglin has brought his incomparable musicianship to countless recordings and the worlds most prestigious stages. He continues to seek new ways to elevate his music and the music of his country. You arent going to cook the same meal every day, youll want to do something different to make it more exciting so we cant keep playing our music the same way, he says. I still listen and try to hear something in the playing or the composition that catches me right away, and if I do, I am going to use it. Click here to read the full article. STORY: More than seven years of conflict in Yemen have devastated the economy, displaced millions and pushed food prices out of the reach of many. Spiking global grain and commodity prices are adding further strain. "The situation is not good, were entering into the eighth year of the civil war and the United Nations World Food Program - my organization - is targeting 15 million out of 30 million people in the country. So 50 percent of the population. And they're literally living hand to mouth," said Richard Ragan of the World Food Programme (WFP), which is trying to feed half of Yemen's 30 million people in one of its largest ever programmes. Hunger and malnutrition have worsened this year, the U.N.'s March data showed, and the body projected that between June and December those unable to secure minimum nutrition will hit a new high of 19 million, up from 17.4 million currently. The truce, the first nationwide cessation of hostilities since 2016, includes a halt to offensive military operations, and allows fuel imports into areas controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group and some commercial flights to operate from Houthi-held Sanaa. A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which intervened in March 2015 supporting Yemen's government against the Houthis, controls Yemen's seas and air space. Apr. 22OTTAWA An Akron man may have allegedly threatened the wrong Ottawa police over mask mandates, but he found the right courthouse Thursday morning. Miles Black, 20, pleaded not guilty to two counts of making false alarms during his arraignment Thursday morning in making his first appearance in Putnam County Common Pleas Court. An April 4 grand jury indicted Black, of Akron, on the third-degree felony and first-degree misdemeanor charges involving two phone calls Black allegedly made to the Ottawa Police Department just after 11 a.m. Feb. 7. According to the narrative from the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, someone threatened to detonate a bomb near the Overbrook community in Ottawa, Canada, "because of mask mandates from the government and that politicians and police offices would die because of dumb mandates." The caller made a second call with a fake name saying he'd been shot and needed help near an address in Ottawa, Canada, according to the Putnam sheriff's office report. When a dispatcher for the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, which answers calls for Ottawa police, told him the department would pass the message on to Canadian police, the caller acknowledged he was bored and that "Canada was pissing him off with their mask mandates." Authorities traced the call back to Black, according to their sheriff's office. In court Thursday, Black quietly acknowledged he was unemployed and couldn't afford an attorney. He said he had interviewed for multiple jobs. Judge Keith Schierloh assigned him Ottawa, Ohio, attorney Timothy Hoover. Black remains free on an own recognizance bond. He must stay away from drugs and alcohol and submit to random drug and alcohol screenings. At the request of Putnam County Prosecutor Gary Lammers, he also cannot possess weapons or other dangerous ordnances. A pretrial has been set for 10 a.m. Monday, May 23. Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko. CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) From algae farming to producing a sort of artificial limestone, ideas for reducing greenhouse gas in the atmosphere are getting a funding boost from famed entrepreneur Elon Musk. The Tesla electric vehicle and SpaceX rocket company developer is bankrolling a $100 million XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition for the most promising ways to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide by grabbing the gas right out of the air. The 15 early-phase milestone round winners were announced Friday and each will get $1 million, a welcome boost for the teams to carry on with and scale up their work. What weve said is you havent given us a million bucks; what youve done is catalyzed investment in this technology, said Mike Kelland, CEO of Planetary Technologies, a milestone winner that seeks to increase the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide by controlling the rising acidity of seawater. The milestone winners aren't necessarily ahead or favored for the $80 million in final prize money that will be awarded in three years. Until Dec. 1, 2023, anyone can still jump in the contest, which was announced a year ago, and potentially get a share of that money. The final winning team or teams will need to show they can remove 1,100 tons (1,000 metric tons) of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, show how much it would cost to remove up to 1.1 million tons (1 million metric tons) per year and show a path to removing billions of tons of carbon dioxide per year. A third party neither the participants nor XPRIZE will independently validate the work submitted for the grand prize to be announced on April 20, 2025. XPRIZE announced $5 million in carbon removal project awards to university student teams last fall. The milestone winners announced Friday propose a variety of ways to remove carbon dioxide through artificial means and by helping nature do much of the work herself. Planetary Technologies isn't looking up into the sky but down in the ocean to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide. The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada-based company proposes to use antacids produced from the leftovers of metal mining to make the ocean more able to absorb the greenhouse gas. Story continues If we kind of ignore the ocean say were trying to do this on land, were trying to store it in the ground were just not going to make it," Kelland said. "Thats sort of the opinion of a lot of these scientists working in this field. Durham, North Carolina-based 8 Rivers Capital, sees ocean chemistry as a model to replicate. The winning company seeks to trap atmospheric carbon dioxide in calcium carbonate crystals, similar to how the gas dissolved in the ocean helps form seashells and limestone. Company spokesperson Adam Goff described the process as poetic in a way. The calcium cycle is how the earth regulates its CO2 over millions of years. Were sort of speeding up that natural cycle," Goff said. Global Algae, based in Santee, California, won with a plan to cultivate algae to help restore rain forests, which capture huge volumes of carbon dioxide. Algae can be a more efficient and more profitable alternative to the cattle ranching and soy and palm oil crops currently on cleared rain forest land, said Mark Hazlebeck, a principal of the family-owned company. Were actually creating more oil and protein while were reforesting at the same time, Hazlebeck said. The prize announcement comes as the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns in ever-starker terms of the threat of rising global temperatures, including worsening heat, fires, storms and droughts. We still need more more and deeper emissions cuts, and more reliable, validated carbon removal solutions. Thats why we launched this prize, said Marcius Extavour, chief scientist and vice president of climate and environment at XPRIZE. XPRIZE is a technology promotion organization known in part for a contest that encouraged development of a privately funded, reusable spacecraft in 2004. Last year, two teams that showed they could profitably trap carbon dioxide from smokestacks in concrete split a $15 million XPRIZE award. Even if we stopped CO2 production, that's probably still not enough," XPRIZE founder and executive chairman Peter Diamandis said in a 2021 chat with Musk posted on the XPRIZE website. We do need mechanisms for extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere and the oceans that dont exist right now. The risk of climate disaster could become dire if the trend of higher greenhouse gas concentrations continues alongside human population growth and industrialization, Musk replied. It's probably an unwise experiment to run, Musk said. Right now, we've only got one planet. Even if 0.1% chance of disaster, why run that risk? It's crazy. ___ Follow Mead Gruver on Twitter at https://twitter.com/meadgruver. Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he was in favour of a new type of "political European community" that would allow countries outside the European Union, including Ukraine and Britain, to join the "European core values." Speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Macron called his re-election last month a signal that the French had wanted more Europe. But he made clear that Ukraine's desire to join the bloc would take several years and as a result needed to be given some hope in the short-term. (Reuters) -Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev called on Friday for negotiations to take place soon on a peace treaty with Armenia, but said Yerevan would need to renounce any territorial claim against his country, the Interfax news agency reported. Aliyev said the two former Soviet republics, which fought their last major war in 2020, could reach an agreement quickly if Armenia accepted the principles his country had set forward. "Armenia must officially recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, as well as the fact that it does not have any territorial claims against Azerbaijan, and will not have any in the future either," he was quoted as saying. Otherwise, "we will not recognise the territorial integrity of Armenia, we will announce it officially," he said. Speaking to Armenia's parliament after Aliyev's comments, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he would not sign any peace deal with Azerbaijan without consulting ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. At least 6,500 people were killed in a six-week war in 2020, the latest flare-up of a conflict dating back to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It ended when Russia intervened and sent peacekeepers to the flashpoint region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies inside Azerbaijan but was home to an estimated 150,000 Armenians before the latest round of fighting. RIA news agency quoted Pashinyan as saying: "I rule out that I would come close to signing a document that would not have undergone extensive public discussion, including with all the layers of society in Nagorno-Karabakh." "This is a cast-iron guarantee that the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be decided behind the backs of the people." Azerbaijan is in a strong negotiating position after emerging as the decisive victor, recapturing territory it had lost between 1991 and 1994. But many questions remain unresolved, including over the demarcation of borders. The despatch of almost 2,000 peacekeepers reaffirmed Moscow's role as policeman and chief power broker in a volatile part of the former Soviet Union where Turkey also wields increasing influence thanks to its close alliance with Azerbaijan. (Reporting by ReutersWriting by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Hugh Lawson and Frances Kerry) SheKnows Mothers Day was canceled for one particular family this year and its pretty impossible to dispute the reasoning. A dad took to Reddits AITA forum to share the awful exchange that led to him nixing his wifes celebration and users quickly rallied around him. I (M/37) have a 13 y.o son. I was a [] As hundreds came to Browns viewing to pay their respects, the community is still healing from the trauma of the mass shooting on the North Side and the loss of two 17-year-olds Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross. Cathy Welsh is a family friend and has known Jaiden Browns mom since before he was born. He was her prized possession, Welsh tells Channel 11. It was him and her. Rosalyn Berry lost two children to gun violence. Her grandchildren are cousins with Jaiden Brown. This is a young child that will never graduate, never see life, Berry said. He was just beginning. He was a baby. Karol Stoudemire lost her husband to senseless gun violence while he was at work. She also came to help lift up Jaiden Browns family. Losing a loved one is a punch in the gut and a pain that will never leave, Stoudemire tells Channel 11. As family and friends began their goodbyes to Jaiden Brown, the North Side community came together for a meeting about the recent gun violence. We heard from traumatized neighbors who say they woke up to screaming, the piercing sound of gunfire and kids lying on the ground motionless. Neighbors say this was a secretive party and the address wasnt known until right before. Police say solving this case is top priority and theyre combing through a ton of evidence to find the shooters. Lee Schmidt, Pittsburghs Public Safety Director tells Channel 11 detectives are working tirelessly day and night. Weve had the community send in a lot of videos, which is great, but it also takes a lot of time to go through to look for all the details and information, Schmidt says. Parents want to send a strong message to teens who get their hands on a gun they shouldnt have. Once that bullet leaves the chamber, there is no going back, Welsh said. There is no going back. Youre forever responsible. You can try to run for it, you can try to hide. Pittsburghs police chief will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday with the ATF and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania about the results of a task force on juvenile gun crime. TRENDING NOW: Pittsburgh police searching for missing, endangered 15-year-old boy Texas oldest death row inmate executed by lethal injection Pittsburgh police investigating after multiple people fall victim to theft scheme VIDEO: North Dakota man indicted on child pornography, sex exploitation of Peters Township girl DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Miami Herald The great thing about going out on the town in Miami? If you dont know what to wear, you can opt for nothing at all. Ukrainian soldiers walk through a Ukrainian frontline in Donbass, Ukraine on April 11, 2022. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Russia has launched a new phase of war focused on Ukraine's east after its defeat near Kyiv. Russia may have certain advantages fighting in the Donbas, but that does not necessarily mean they are better off than the Ukrainians. Experts say the problems Russia experienced in the beginning of the war will likely continue to plague them. Following its failure to take Kyiv, Russia launched a new phase of the war on Tuesday, focusing on the Donbas region and eastern Ukraine that gives its battered military a landscape they are more used to fighting in. Russia may have some advantages fighting in the Donbas, but that does not necessarily mean they are better off than the Ukrainians in this phase of battle, Jeffrey Edmonds, a former US Army tanker and CIA military analyst, told Insider. Moscow's advantages in the east include greater logistical ease as they'll be moving through secure, separatist territory where fuel and resupply vehicles are less exposed to ambush as well as the ability to concentrate on a smaller geographical area, said Edmonds, who is a defense expert at the research group CNA. The Russians may also be able to make better use of their air force, as they can now launch strikes from nearby Russian-controlled territory. Edmonds added that the naming of a new war commander, Aleksandr Dvornikov, will create a streamlined command and control structure, and that the open terrain in the east creates a fighting climate more favorable to the Russians. Back in the north, Ukrainian soldiers took cover behind trees and shrubs to ambush Russian tanks. In the Donbas, Russia may be able to better utilize their armored vehicles and artillery. However, the problems the Russian military experienced in the first phase of the war such as poor leadership, sloppy tactics and ill-trained troops will likely continue to plague them and hurt their chances to seize more territory against an entrenched and increasingly well-supplied Ukraine, which is now receiving artillery and armored vehicles from the US. Story continues "What's working against [the Russians] is the fact that they're trying to bring together a bunch of units that haven't worked together well and that are pretty bloody from the conflict so far," Edmonds said. Unlike Ukraine, Russia is not receiving aid and new equipment from other countries instead, it's drawing on its large stockpile, said Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine colonel and senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Certainly, it's likely that they have lost as much in this war as they did in 10 years in Afghanistan," Cancian said. "So they've taken, by current standards, pretty large casualties, and they're not getting resupplied." Ukrainian soldiers are seen at a Ukrainian frontline in Donbass, Ukraine on April 11, 2022. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Over the first six weeks of war, the Russian military has faced heavy losses, with a NATO official estimating then that 40,000 of their troops had been captured, injured, or killed. The official, who spoke to news outlets under the condition of anonymity, said in late March that between 7,000 and 15,000 troops have died in the conflict, and that Russian forces are experiencing low morale and dealing with significant logistical issues. Many Russian battalions were so severely damaged in the north that they won't be able to deploy to the east anytime soon, Ukrainian and Western officials said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "We've seen indications on some units that are, literally, for all intents and purposes, eradicated," a senior Pentagon official told the Journal. The official added that Russia is attempting to mobilize 60,000 troops for this next phase of the war. Mason Clark, the lead Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, described the way Russia is continuing to conduct small, daily attacks in eastern Ukraine instead of pausing to prepare for a larger offensive. "[Russia is] sort of continuing to just feed these small units into minor attacks that probably aren't going to achieve any major gains, particularly since a lot of the units are incredibly damaged from the fighting in northeastern Ukraine," Clark said. "[The Russians are] trying the same thing that they did in northeastern Ukraine, which is the small individual lines of advance of companies and battalions that aren't really large scale offensives that haven't been able to break through in the past," Clark continued. "So I'm fairly optimistic that Ukrainian forces are going to be able to, in large part, hold them back." To Edmonds, much of Russia's war trajectory in this second phase relies on Ukraine's ultimate goal whether or not the country wants to push Russian forces out of the Donbas. "Do they want to push the Russians back into Russia and retake the Donbas? Do they just want to contain what the Russians have? And then, what can they do?" Before the war began, Edmonds said he thought it unlikely Ukraine could persist against Russia, but now he's more unsure. "The Russians have proven themselves to be pretty inadequate, and the Ukrainians have proven themselves to be pretty tough." Read the original article on Business Insider Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a town hall meeting on February 3, 2016 in Derry, New Hampshire. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Senator Bernie Sanders published an op-ed saying NASA overly subsidizes private space companies. He took particular aim at Blue Origin and SpaceX, which are owned by Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. Sanders said the money is being used to fuel a "space race" between the two billionaires. Senator Bernie Sanders has come out swinging against the amount of money that NASA pays to Jeff Bezos' and Elon Musk's private space exploration companies in an op-ed piece for The Guardian. Sanders argues that US taxpayer dollars are being used to overly subsidize private space exploration firms including Bezos' Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX through lucrative NASA contracts. "I am concerned that NASA has become little more than an ATM machine to fuel a space race not between the US and other countries, but between the two wealthiest men in America Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who are worth more than $450bn combined," Sanders wrote. At time of writing Musk's net worth clocks in at $260 billion while Bezos' stands at $173 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The two billionaires have a long history of sparring with each other over their competing space ventures. Sanders specifically took issue with an additional fund that Congress is debating which would add an extra $10 billion to NASA's moon lander budget. Sanders referred to the proposed provision as a "bailout fund" for Bezos, whose company Blue Origin lost out on a NASA moon lander contract to SpaceX in November. Jeff Bezos (right) speaks with his brother Mark at a post-launch press conference after they flew on Blue Origin's inaugural flight to the edge of space on July 20, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper "At a time when over half of the people in this country live paycheck to paycheck, when more than 70 million are uninsured or underinsured and when some 600,000 Americans are homeless, should we really be providing a multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout for Bezos to fuel his space hobby?" Sanders wrote. Sanders has a long history of criticizing the Amazon founder, but in his piece he emphasized the problem goes beyond Bezos. Story continues "The reality is that the space economy which today mostly consists of private companies utilizing NASA facilities and technology essentially free of charge to launch satellites into orbit is already very profitable and has the potential to become exponentially more profitable in the future," Sanders wrote. He pointed to SpaceX's commercial satellite venture Starlink and the burgeoning market of space tourism. SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images "The time is now to have a serious debate in Congress and throughout our country as to how to develop a rational space policy that does not simply socialize all of the risks and privatize all of the profits," Sanders wrote. "Space exploration is very exciting. Its potential to improve life here on planet Earth is limitless. But it also has the potential to make the richest people in the world incredibly richer and unimaginably more powerful. When we take that next giant leap into space let us do it to benefit all of humanity, not to turn a handful of billionaires into trillionaires," he concluded. NASA, Blue Origin, and SpaceX did not immediately respond when contacted for comment on Sanders' article. Read the original article on Business Insider PAUL RATJE President Joe Biden is no stranger to attacks from Republicans who accuse his administration of ignoring public health in the name of politics. But as he fights for the right to re-implement mask mandates on public transit and navigates the growing political opposition to the repeal of Title 42, its the public health experts who are the most upset. So much of what is going on isnt really about public health: its about the midterm elections, said John P. Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Cornell Universitys Weill Cornell Medicine. The intersection between politics and public health in this pandemic is something that historians will look back on and go, what the fuck. Republicans have accused the Biden administration of incoherence in its pandemic response, declaring that its decision to appeal the Monday ruling which ended the nationwide mask mandate aboard planes and public transit while preparing for the repeal of Title 42, which allows for the expedited removal of migrants at the U.S. southern border regardless of whether they are seeking asylum, is inconsistent at best. The Biden administration says that COVID remains serious enough to require passengers on airplanes to wear face masks. At the same time Biden says that COVID it is not serious enough to maintain the Title 42 expulsions of illegal immigrants crossing the border, tweeted Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), one of the administrations most aggressive critics on immigration policy. Pure hypocrisy. The Biden admins logic: Lets roll back Title 42 at the border but force masks back on Americans on airplanes, echoed Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, who has repeatedly accused the administration of impinging on personal freedom in the name of public safety. Biden accidentally invited direct comparison between the two policies on Thursday, when in response to a question asking whether he was considering delaying the repeal of Title 42, as Axios reported on Tuesday, he began talking about appealing the mask mandate decision. Story continues Nowhat Im considering is continuing to hear from my, well, first of all, theres gonna be an appeal by the Justice Department, Biden said following remarks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Because as a matter of principle, we want to be able to be in a position where if, in fact, it is strongly concluded by the scientists that we need Title 42, that wed be able to do that. But there has been no decision on extending Title 42. The White House press office later released a statement attributed to the president clarifying that he was referring to the CDCs mask mandate and there is no Department of Justice action on Title 42. But scientists say that both sides have it backwardsand that theres more than enough blame to go around when it comes to letting public opinion dictate pandemic policy. Containing and mitigating a pandemic requires the ability to alter measures as data and knowledge are accumulated, and that necessitates flexibility as dynamic situations change, said Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of epidemiology at UCLAs Fielding School of Public Health and of Medicine. Narrow definitions of allowed activities prevent that needed flexibility, and ultimately worsen the crisis by limiting options available to respond. Epidemiologists, virologists, public health law experts and human rights advocates told The Daily Beast that the administrations continued enforcement of Title 42as well as its reported consideration of delaying the measures repealreeks of political consideration trumping medical science. Bidens apparent ambivalence regarding the Department of Justices potential appeal of the mask mandate ruling, too, demonstrates a similarly politicized response to a pandemic that has claimed just shy of one million lives nationwide. Theres no public health expert I know who would argue that sending asylum seekers back to their home country or keeping them in Mexico is in any way an effective response to COVID-19, said Lawrence Gostin, director of the ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law Center. It has everything to do with immigration politics and has nothing to deal with public health. The CDC mask mandate, meanwhile, is much, much more important because it can actually prevent transmission of infectious diseases." After Mondays ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, the White House said that the matter of appealing the decision was up to the Department of Justice, which in turn said that it would only pursue an appeal at the request of the CDC. It took three days before the decision was announced that the Justice Department would appeal the rulingin which time the Transportation Security Administration registered 6,296,620 check-ins at airports across the country. That delay is deeply frustrating for public health authorities, both because of the recent uptick in cases due to the BA.2 Omicron variant, a more contagious version of the strain that swept through the United States over the holidays, and because they believe that the CDC needs the ability to implement mask mandates in the event of future waves. Why was the CDC considering eliminating the mask mandate for flights next month? Its got nothing to do with public health, because there is still a significant number of daily infections by Omicron, said Moore. So what is driving it? Its politics. Moore pointed to pandemic fatigue, both on the part of the government and the American people, as a potential motivator behind ending the mask mandate, which was already set to expire in 11 days. White House on Mask Mandate: Choose Your Own Adventure! Everyone wants the virus to go away, but the virus goes away at its own timea wish doesnt make it happen, Moore said. Ending the mask mandate, Moore continued, even on the administrations timeline, isnt based on any serious consideration of the facts of the pandemic. Its based on the serious consideration of the public reaction. That delayed response to the mask mandate was due in part to conflicting feelings about the issue within the White House. On one hand, public masking on airplanes and public transportation remained the most conspicuous marker of the pandemic era that the Biden administration fervently wishes to move beyond. But on the other, an administration that has made adhering to scientific expertise its guiding star cant be seen as letting a single district court judge overrule the CDCs ability to mandate maskingparticularly with the likelihood of new variants rising up and causing mayhem. Federal laws and regulations should not increase the likelihood of avoidable US citizens' deaths or serious disease, Brewer said. Limiting the tools the CDC has available to it to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic does exactly that. Its likely that this winter there will be a new and dangerous COVID variant, and CDC needs to be able to have mask requirements in its toolbox, said Gostin. If theres a legal shadow hanging over the CDC, its not going to be able to act immediately and decisively. Title 42, however, is an entirely different animal, with the administration ignoring loud and consistent cries from public health experts that the measure had far outlived its utility. Policies that may have made sense in 2020 when an objective was to reduce or slow the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into the U.S. make no sense in 2022 when COVID is ubiquitous, said Dave OConnor, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Wisconsin. There are myriad complex considerations for something as challenging as setting immigration policy. COVID risk, as it exists today, shouldnt be one of them. The administrations reported interest in extending the measure comes as Republicans threaten to hold up $10 billion COVID-19 funding unless Title 42 is reinstated, and as more conservative Democrats in Congress push for Biden to do the same. COVID Conspiracy Theorists Are at War Over Snake Venom Earlier this month, five Democratic senators joined Republicans in introducing a bill that would keep Title 42 in place until 60 days after the end of the public health emergency first declared in January 2020. The senatorsMark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Joe Manchin of West Virginiadeclare that the measure is intended to prevent disorder at the border once Title 42 ends. We need a secure, orderly, and humane response at our southern border, Kelly said in a statement, and our bipartisan legislation holds the Biden administration accountable to that. The entire masks-versus-Title 42 farrago, public health experts believe, is just the latest chapter in a pandemic that has seen scientific expertise and epidemiological realities overtaken by the perceived desires of voters to be done with the virus entirelyand, lately, the Democrats desire to avoid an electoral wipeout in the midterm elections this fall. We dont make decisions in this country that are in the best interest of the public health of other people, and its going to get worse, said Moore. Live Free and Die seems to be the motto now. The real architects of the politicization are largely still Republicans, Gostin said, who noted that party identity is now the most accurate predictor of a persons vaccination status, booster status, and willingness to comply with public health orders about masking and group activities. Theyre not making a scientific or public health point. Theyre just dressing up their arguments in the language of public health, Gostin said of Republicans who are using the mask wars to push for Title 42s continued enforcement. If theres one thing that CDC shouldn't be doing, its trying to run American immigration policy. Its Congress's job to have a good immigration policyits CDCs job to protect the American public. But for an administration that vowed to follow the science, its unsure response to the mask rulingand the wobbling on finally bringing Title 42 to an endis disheartening to those who have spent the past two years trying to keep the pandemic at bay. This is one fucked-up country, really, when you come down to it, said Moore. 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. President Biden will nominate Michael Ratney, a career member of the foreign service, to serve as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the White House announced Friday. Ratney most recently served as the Charge dAffaires at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem while Bidens choice for ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides, awaited confirmation. He has served in various State Department roles focused on Israel and the Middle East. If confirmed, Ratney would serve as Bidens envoy to the Kingdom at a precarious time for U.S.-Saudi affairs. The Biden administration has looked to Saudi Arabia and others to step up oil supply amid rising gas prices after the U.S. and some other nations banned Russian oil imports over Moscows invasion of Ukraine. Relations with Saudi Arabia have also been complicated given the kingdoms human rights abuses, particularly the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden vowed last year to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for Khashoggis murder after U.S. officials determined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Crown Prince Mohammed refused to speak with Biden about the U.S. banning Russian oil imports. The White House called the report inaccurate. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid workers during a visit to PGE Narodowy Stadium, Saturday, March 26 in Warsaw. (Photo: via Associated Press) President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid workers during a visit to PGE Narodowy Stadium, Saturday, March 26 in Warsaw. (Photo: via Associated Press) The Biden administrations new program to admit refugees from Ukraine could face the same processing struggles that have plagued efforts to welcome Afghans and other refugees, immigration experts warned after the program was announced on Thursday. The new plan, called Uniting for Ukraine, will allow U.S. citizens and groups to financially sponsor people fleeing Ukraine to come to the U.S. The goal is to admit 100,000 of about 5 million people who have fled since Russia invaded their country in February. U.S. officials said the program is also intended to deter Ukrainians from traveling to Mexico to attempt to enter the U.S. via the southern border. Around 15,000 undocumented Ukrainians have arrived during the last three months, mostly at the U.S.-Mexico border, senior administration officials told reporters on Thursday. The application process for the new program will be fairly quick about a week for clear-cut applications, The Washington Post reported, citing a senior administration official. While immigration and refugee advocates applauded the goal of the program, past efforts to expand refugee admission to the U.S. suggest it wont be so simple to bring in 100,000 Ukrainians. The administration is saying they expect these cases to be decided within a week I think thats very ambitious, said Theresa Cardinal Brown, Bipartisan Policy Centers managing director of immigration and cross-border policy. I hope theyre right, but Im currently skeptical. The streamlined process, set to launch on April 25, will rely on a humanitarian parole program, a tool mostly used for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. It allows certain Ukrainians who have sponsors in the U.S. to enter and stay for two years without having to seek a visa or go through backlogged refugee procedures. Story continues Humanitarian parole has been previously used in crisis circumstances to resettle Vietnamese in 1975 and Iraqi Kurds in 1996. More recently, it was used to relocate and resettle tens of thousands of Afghans in the wake of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Talibans takeover of the country. Afghan refugee resettlement was supposed to be accelerated, too but it hasnt turned out that way. In September, the Biden administration introduced humanitarian parole as a tool for speeding up the relocation of at-risk Afghans who were left behind by the U.S. pullout. However, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has struggled to keep up with a surge in applications that is 20 times larger than the total number of applications it receives in a typical year, Al Jazeera reported. The process has stalled after almost seven months. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told Al Jazeera in February that of more than 40,000 Afghan humanitarian parole applications filed since July 2021, it had denied 930 and conditionally approved just 160. The overwhelming majority have yet to be processed, and the agency offered no timeline for their completion. The refugee resettlement process as a whole was significantly damaged by the Trump administration, which attempted to slash U.S. efforts to welcome people fleeing other countries. Biden announced a goal of admitting 125,000 refugees this fiscal year, but the U.S. is nowhere near doing so. Only 8,758 refugees have been admitted in the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to State Department figures. Prioritizing applications from Ukraine could put unprocessed cases at the bottom of the pile. Its not like there is excess capacity in the U.S. government, sitting around doing nothing that can now be applied to process these new applications, Brown said. Everybody is fully occupied processing the existing applications. And we know we have backlogs. The Ukrainian program does have some unique aspects. Unlike Afghan evacuees who have been paroled into the United States without sponsors and were resettled through resettlement agencies, the new program requires Ukrainians to have an individual or group in the United States thats willing to sponsor their arrival. Sasha, a Ukrainian seeking asylum in the U.S., displays her passport as she waits to cross the U.S.-Mexico border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on April 5, in Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo: Mario Tama via Getty Images) Sasha, a Ukrainian seeking asylum in the U.S., displays her passport as she waits to cross the U.S.-Mexico border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on April 5, in Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo: Mario Tama via Getty Images) Sponsorship is intended to provide the initial financial and other support that will help Ukrainians integrate and regain their footing here in the United States, said Nazanin Ash, CEO of Welcome.US, a refugee group encouraging Americans to sponsor Ukrainians refugees. We have far more capacity as a nation, Ash said. And we are tapping into the goodwill of a much broader range of American institutions and American people. A YouGov poll conducted for Welcome.US shows that 72% of Americans, including Republicans, Democrats, and independents, support the United States welcoming Ukrainians fleeing the war. About 90 million American adults are already taking part in helping Ukrainian refugees settle in the U.S., or would like to, the survey found. But the governments ability to process applications quickly could be an issue, Ash said. Once sponsorship is approved, Ukrainians will receive travel authorization to the United States and will be considered for parole only after they undergo vaccinations and other public health requirements, pass rigorous biometric and biographic screening, and are vetted in security checks. I am concerned that that is going to be a potential constraint on people fleeing Ukraine being able to find safety quickly, Ash added. Even after arrival in the U.S., Ukrainians are likely to face even more backlogs in the immigration system. While parole allows for temporary lawful presence, it does not confer immigration status and does not provide a path to lawful permanent residence. Once here, however, refugees could apply for asylum. Whats going to happen when that temporary status expires? Melanie Nezer, senior vice president at HIAS, a refugee resettlement organization, told The Washington Post. There is a concern that this would just add to the undocumented population here if Congress doesnt act. Ukrainians will be eligible for work authorization once paroled through this process, but that could take months, Brown said. Meanwhile, refugee organizations want similar protections for other refugees from around the world who have fled violence and persecution, including those who have left their homes in Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Mauritania, as well as tens of thousands more Afghan allies who were left in their country. Ash said she hopes the U.S. can replicate quicker processing for other refugees, too. The U.S. government recognized that we needed a rapid mechanism for people to be able to come to safety, Ash said. These are really important innovations that now we need to standardize, replicate, and recognize for all refugee populations. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Retired Army Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff has been chosen by the Biden administration to coordinate security assistance for Ukraine as Russia launches a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine. The NSC recently brought on Terry Wolff to help coordinate the security assistance the U.S. and our partners are providing to Ukraine, which they are using every day to defend their country, a National Security Council spokesperson said. Last week, a bipartisan group of senators wrote to Biden to urge him to appoint a Ukraine security assistance coordinator who would lead an effort across federal agencies to better understand the defense needs of Ukraine while de-conflicting overlapping areas of jurisdiction between the Pentagon and State Department. This person would also serve as the chief liaison between the United States Government and our allies and partners abroad in matters relating to the transfer of existing stocks and assessment of partner capabilities, such as aircraft, heavy tanks, and sophisticated weapons that could be made available to Ukraine, the senators added at the time. The decision was lauded on Thursday by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who are included among the signatories in the letter. Im pleased that the White House has listened to bipartisan calls and is appointing a Ukraine Security Assistance Coordinator to help us expedite military assistance to Ukraine, Portman said in a statement. While Ukraine has taken important steps to regain control of their country, the fight is not over Russias renewed offensive continues to represent an existential threat to Ukraines sovereignty and independence, and it is essential the U.S. is able to move quickly to cut the red tape, synchronize our efforts across the interagency, and provide Ukraine with the tools necessary to win this war. The development comes as Biden announced on Thursday that the U.S. would be sending Ukraine an additional $800 million in military aid, separate from a $500 million package announced by the Treasury Department the same day to provide financial assistance for Ukrainian government pensions and salaries, among other needs. Ellen Mitchell contributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. As President Joe Bidens visit to Seattle concluded, he spent time on Friday, Earth Day, talking about the environment. His first stop was Seward Park, where large crowds of protesters gathered nearby, some with signs such as, Biden: no fossil fuel projects! A small child was seen holding a sign that said, There is no Planet B. Biden arrived at about 11 a.m., and spoke about tackling the climate crisis, safeguarding the nations forests and bolstering resilience during threats like wildfire. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell was seen standing behind the president. Biden also signed an executive order protecting some of the nations largest and oldest trees. On Earth Day, were committed to building a future where everyone has clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and healthy communities to work and live. By investing in climate resilience and infrastructure, and a clean energy future, we can tackle the climate crisis head-on. Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 22, 2022 The president also visited Green River College in Auburn, an invitation-only event, where he spoke about recent actions to lower costs and give families more breathing room, and called on Congress to pass his plan to lower health care and energy costs. Prescription drugs are outrageously expensive, Biden said. Lets end the days when companies could increase prices with no oversight and no accountability. Biden spoke about capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month, and also the high cost of child care. He said he could not afford child care back when he was a single dad. Im more optimistic about America today than Ive been my whole, my whole career, he said. Were the only nation on earth thats come out stronger. The reason Im so optimistic: you are the least prejudiced, the most involved, the most concerned generation in American history. Story continues Thank you @POTUS for celebrating Earth Day in WA. This is our moment. It's time for Congress to send clean energy investments to your desk for signature and take historic action on behalf of American workers and families. pic.twitter.com/H0zC7OrN54 Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) April 22, 2022 At the conclusion of his speech at Green River College, Biden took Marine One to Sea-Tac International Airport to board Air Force One. The presidents departure reportedly was delayed due to a suspicious vehicle at the airport. Fridays events followed a busy Thursday for the president. Joe Bidens departure from Auburn, Washington en route to Seattle by helicopter has been delayed due to a suspicious vehicle at the Seattle Airport, per official Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) April 22, 2022 Hes going to be talking about some of those measures that we want to take, to put more money in peoples pocket, White House Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher said in a Zoom meeting Thursday. Washington Republicans seized on statements like that to highlight inflation. The idea that President Biden is coming to tout how hes saving families money, I think is dishonest at best, Washington State Republican Party Chairman Caleb Heimlich said. Bidens first stop in Seattle on Thursday was Madison Park, where he spoke at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser that night. The fundraiser was hosted by Microsoft President Brad Smith. Introducing Biden to the crowd, Smith said, Its hard to believe that time is going so quickly. Its remarkable to think about what you and your team have accomplished in just the past 15 months. No president has ever moved so fast and so far to reduce unemployment in our country. People at the fundraiser applauded those words. The president opened by thanking those at the fundraiser for not requesting favors after he had been elected. The president also spoke about rebuilding the middle class and the effect that the war in Ukraine is having on the economy. People are concerned, uncertain and angry. Theyre angry. They dont know quite what to do because again, when gasoline rose to over $4 a gallon, its a big deal. Before the president arrived in Seattle, he stopped in Portland, Oregon, and gave a speech about infrastructure spending, including an earthquake-resilient runway planned for the citys airport. The last guy who had this job talked about infrastructure week. Every week hed talk about infrastructure week. It didnt come for four years. Well, I gave you infrastructure decade, this is for 10 years, the president said, in part. Biden also cited high gas prices while he was in Portland. We need to get off this roller coaster of relying on oil. We need to declare Americas energy independence. We need to accelerate our path to clean, renewable energy. For some in Seattle who came out to see the president, they said they would have it no other way. Were really big on getting out into the environment, hiking, walking, that kind of stuff, and I think its great hes coming here to talk about his agenda, an unnamed Seattle resident said. More news from KIRO 7 DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP Known worldwide as one of the biggest names in New Orleans Bounce Music, Big Freedia recently announced she will soon open her own boutique hotel in the famous French Quarter. In an interview with Essence, the queen of bounce said that the hotel only will have three hotel rooms and a restaurant will also be connected to it. People will have a chance to come in, taste Freedias recipes, and get the whole full New Orleans bounce experience, Big Freedia told Essence. It will be a place where people can come if they want to have a cup of coffee in the morning and do some work on their computer, it will also be a great event space for people to come and have dinner. The rapper emphasized that her hotel will also turn into a club space. There, people will be able to party and see a concert, adding that during the events, the pool will become a dance floor for the guests So many things will happen at Hotel Freedia that will definitely have all the locals and tourists stopping by to see whats happening. Because of her cultural identification with NOLA, Big Freedia, is taking part in a campaign produced by Jagermeister. Named Local Snapshot, she will talk about her favorite spots for people to get to know NOLA more in depth. The campaign promoted by the German liquor company aims to link artists deeply immersed in the culture of their hometowns. And New Orleans truly offers countless places for tourists to enjoy, have fun and be enriched by its magnificent culture, history, architecture, and cuisine. We open our doors to people to come here to visit and to hang out in New Orleans and feel the music, the culture, the food, and most importantly, the people who make up the city, and our southern hospitality, Freedia said. All those components make up New Orleans, and its such a great place, theres no place like it in the world. Cafe Du Monde, Jamnola, Claiborne street, and Frenchmen Street are some places in New Orleans that Big Freedia recommended going in the interview with Essence. Jamnola features things like a crawfish pot that you can stand in, and all types of beading on the floor of the museum. There are big statues of myself, Lil Wayne, and Louis Armstrong. Frenchmen Street, which is a little further back in the Quarter, there are a lot of local venues that play all types of music. You might have a bounce concert going on Frenchmen, you might have a Jazz concert going on Frenchmen, Big Freedia said. There is no word on when Hotel Freedia will officially open, but we will keep you posted once details are announced. The co-founder of Black Lives Matter (BLM) of Greater New York Hawk Newsome slammed NYC Mayor Eric Adams over his criticism of BLM for not demonstrating against gun violence affecting African Americans in the city. Hes a white man in blackface, Mr Newsome said during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday. This city is a war zone and he cant stop it. Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer asked Mr Newsome, the subject is African Americans, I would also argue white lives matter too, everybodys life matters here. What the mayor contends though is that the same reaction is not given. What would you say to him? It was smooth the way you do white lives matter in there. Our problem is when Black Lives are oppressed and they dont receive justice nobody cares, nothing happens, Mr Newsome said. Something happens to a white person the world moves. Mr Newsome noted that Mr Adams is a Democrat but said he uses conservative and Republican talking points. Hes a white man in blackface and a very conservative-minded white man at that, he added, after also using a racial slur to refer to Mr Adams. A series of shootings have shocked the city in recent weeks. On 12 April, Frank James, 62, is suspected to have entered a New York Subway train at Sunset Park station in Brooklyn and fired a handgun 33 times. Ten people were reported injured by the gunfire, and 19 by other causes. On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, three people were killed and at least 12 were injured in the Bronx and Brooklyn. The shootings took place just hours after the subway attack. At least half a dozen shootings were reported across NYC within a six-hour period. So what we have is a man with hundreds of people on the citys payroll, billions of dollars in budget, and 40,000 police officers, he has 10 victims in one night, the night before he had 16 shooting victims on a train and they say what are you going to do about policing? And he says, What about BLM? Is America not smart enough to see him deflecting? Mr Newsome said. Story continues Mr Hemmer said Mr Adams told Fox News last week that theyll continue to take guns off the street, whether its white, black, or whatever the category you want to put it in, and that dangerous people will not be a part of the revolving door system, the legal system in New York. Heres the thing, man, youre smarter than this, Mr Newsome responded. Dont listen to what Eric Adams says he gives great press statements. Hes the master of the press conference. So a kid dies, he hugged their mother, hes holding up sneakers, hes crying. But we elected him for the city of New York to keep the city safe. This city is a warzone and he cant stop it. So with all his power, he turns to BLM and says what are you going to do? Well, Ill tell you what were going to do. Were going to organize people in our communities to go out and preach a message of love and unification in the streets, he added. Were going to take control of our cities because the government has failed us for decades. Even when crime is low were still dying, he said. We have to fix this problem ourselves because we believe that poverty is the mother of crime. And until we fix that, there will never be a decrease in crime. So were going to help our people while we build them up and empower them ourselves. Last week, Mr Adams told NY1, we cant be hypocrites. Where are all those who stated Black Lives Matter? Do an analysis of who was killed or shot last night. I was up all night speaking to my commanders in the Bronx, in Brooklyn. The victims were black, the mayor added. If black lives matter, then the thousands of people I saw on the street when [George] Floyd was murdered should be on the street right now, he said. The lives of these black children that are dying every night matter. We cant be hypocrites. Last year, Mr Newsome faced criticism for comments about Mr Adams pledge to revive a unit of undercover officers fighting gun violence. If they think they are going back to the old ways of policing then were going to take to the streets again, Mr Newsome said last year. There will be riots. There will be fire, and there will be bloodshed. New York City police officers criticised Mr Newsome, saying that he should be denounced by every politician because he is threatening to harm the citizens of New York. The FBI should investigate him as a domestic terrorist and look into where he is getting his money. The people funding him should also be investigated, an NYPD official told the New York Post at the time. He is threatening to overthrow the government, cause physical harm and property damage. On Thursday, Mr Newsome told Fox News that they were calling me a terrorist when I say, these cops kill someone there be riots and bloodshed. When I told people that they called me a terrorist. But, what I was saying was this man has no plan, he added. The problem is, in four months his new unit has arrested 126 people, as of last week. Only 30 had weapons. The rest were petty charges, he said. His new strategic policing model is a monumental failure. Cops are not the answer. Poor people commit crimes out of desperation. Address the poverty, Mr Newsome said. In March, the NYPD said, for the month of February 2022, New York City saw a 58.7 per cent increase in overall index crime compared to February 2021. Citywide shooting incidents decreased by 1.3 per cent (76 v 77) in February 2022 compared to the same period last year, the agency said. A month later, at the beginning of April, the NYPD announced that for the month of March 2022, New York City saw a 15.8 per cent drop in homicides compared to March 2021 (32 v 38), as NYPD officers [affected] 28.2 per cent more arrests in the seven major index crime categories (4,025 v 3,140) in that same period. The Independent has reached out to the mayors office for comment. UK PM to be probed over "Partygate" Xinhua) 08:13, April 22, 2022 File photo taken on Jan. 12, 2022 shows British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C) on a screen as he attends the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Li Ying) The privileges committee probe will not start until the two separate investigations into "Partygate" carried out by the Met and senior civil servant Sue Gray have been concluded. In the UK, lying to parliament is an offence that makes resignation obligatory. LONDON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- British lawmakers on Thursday approved an investigation into Prime Minister Boris Johnson over claims he misled the parliament about rules-busting parties in Downing Street during lockdown, casting further doubts on his political future. A Labour-led motion called for the Committee of Privileges to examine allegations that the Conservative prime minister misled the House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament, when he denied lockdown rules were broken in Downing Street. Downing Street had sought to delay the vote on the motion, but made a last-minute U-turn following opposition from Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs). The change demonstrates the discontent among Tory MPs over the "Partygate" scandal, which has dogged Johnson's government and threatened his hold on power. A woman puts a flower on the National COVID Memorial Wall in London, Britain, March 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ying) Last week, Johnson and his wife Carrie, as well as Chancellor Rishi Sunak, were fined by the Metropolitan Police (Met) for attending a rules-breaking event at Downing Street in 2020 to mark the prime minister's birthday. Johnson became Britain's first serving prime minister to be penalized for breaking the law. The Met's investigation into lockdown parties at Downing Street is still underway, and more than 50 fines have been issued so far. Speaking during the parliamentary debate, Labour leader Keir Starmer said Johnson had "stood at that dispatch box and point blank denied rule-breaking took place, when it did." He added that the motion tabled by Labour sought to uphold "the simple principle that honesty, integrity and telling the truth matter" in British politics. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: "The public won't stomach another Conservative stitch-up that drags our democracy through the mud just to protect one of their own." In a major blow to Johnson, Steve Baker, an influential Conservative minister, has called on Johnson to quit for flouting the COVID-19 rules he himself imposed on the country. "The prime minister now should be long gone," Baker told the Commons on Thursday. Johnson, who is on a two-day trip to India, didn't attend the debate. However, he told the media that he had "no concerns" about the privileges committee investigation. A man walks past a bus with a notice requiring people to wear face coverings in London, Britain, March 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ying) "If the opposition wants to focus on this and talk about it a lot more that's fine," he said, adding that he "wanted to focus on what matters for the future of the country." The privileges committee probe will not start until the two separate investigations into "Partygate" carried out by the Met and senior civil servant Sue Gray have been concluded. In the UK, lying to parliament is an offence that makes resignation obligatory. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Washington Post When her partner tested positive for the coronavirus two days before Christmas, Michelle Green worried she, too, would become ill. She was two months pregnant with their second child. He was a bartender at the time, and some of his co-workers were infected with the virus. "I told him to get in the guest bedroom and don't leave," said Green, a 40-year-old project manager at a retail technology start-up in the District of Columbia. The couple, who were both vaccinated, and their toddler postponed (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to blockade the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine likely indicates a desire to contain resistance in Mariupol, a British military update said on Friday. "A full ground assault by Russia on the plant would likely incur significant Russian casualties, further decreasing their overall combat effectiveness," the update added. Heavy shelling continued in the eastern Donbas as Russia seeks to advance further towards settlements, including Krasnyy Lyman, Buhayikva, Barvinkove, Lyman and Popasna, the UK Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. (Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill) (Getty Images) An explosive new book about the royal family has claimed that Buckingham Palace officials admitted they did not take the issue of race seriously enough until allegations of racism from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex emerged. Author Tina Brown, who was formerly editor of Vanity Fair and wrote 2007 biography The Diana Chronicles, says in her tell-all book Prince Harry and Meghan Markles bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 forced the Palace to acknowledge the lack of diversity among its staff. The duchess, who is biracial, alleged in the interview that there had been discussions within the royal family about how dark the couples son Archies skin might be before he was born. She told Winfrey: In those months when I was pregnant, [there were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born. The couple never divulged who made the comments. A statement released by the Palace on behalf of the Queen at the time said: The issues raised, particular that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Brown writes in her book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor that before the allegations surfaced, the Palace never considered the meagre level of diversity within its ranks and what the impact of this might be. She quoted a source as saying that there were barely any black people working in the royal household, let alone holding senior positions. We didnt take race seriously enough We made a mistake as a household, the source said, according to the author. Harry and Meghans interview with Winfrey, which came a year after they stepped down as senior working royals, sent shockwaves through the royal family. The television host clarified that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were not involved in the alleged conversation around the skin tone of the Sussexes child following the interview. Story continues Since then, the couple have had a second child. Their daughter, Lilibet Lili Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on 4 June 2021. The Palace Papers, which comprises of more than 120 sources that Brown spoke to over a period of two years, promises to irrevocably change how the world see the British royal family. The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - The Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown is available from 26 April 2022. 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 A Chinese businessman was charged with torture and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a court in Rwanda after he was filmed beating a local worker who was tied to a pole last year. Sun Shujun, 43, is seen in a video yelling at the Rwandan man hunkered on the ground and whipping him with a rope while other men in orange jackets watched. A Rwandan court sentenced the Chinese man seen in this video, Sun Shujun, to 20 years in prison for brutally beating one of his employees last year. Sun said he was "frustrated and fed up of them constantly stealing minerals. He has 30 days to appeal: https://t.co/QBWEjHBRbv pic.twitter.com/Es9Yf22U8T The China Africa Project (@ChinaAfrProject) April 21, 2022 Sun was arrested after the video circulated online in August 2021. He was later released on bail. Renzaho Alexis, a Rwandan man who is considered by the court to be an accomplice in the beating, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison. Judge Jacques Kanyarukiga said that Sun had tortured the victims and issued corporal punishment with malicious intent, and this is a grave crime. While prosecutors accused Sun of assaulting four people, he only admitted to assaulting two workers. He said he beat them because he was frustrated and fed up of them constantly stealing minerals. Witnesses told the court that workers suspected of stealing from Sun were tied and whipped. Sun, a manager of a mine that produces cassiterite in the Rutsiro district, said that his two victims received compensation of more than 1 million Rwandan francs (approximately $1,000) and a reconciliation letter. Prosecutors, however, argued that the victims only accepted his payments because they were traumatized and afraid of him. In a statement, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda wrote, The Chinese Embassy in Rwanda has taken note of the recent ruling of 20 years imprisonment by a Rwandan court regarding a Chinese citizen. The Embassy always asks Chinese citizens in Rwanda to abide by local laws and regulations. Meanwhile, the Embassy calls for the case to be handled appropriately in a rational, fair and just manner, and requests the legitimate rights of Chinese citizens to be properly protected, the spokesperson added. The Embassy will continue to follow the case. The Chinese Embassy remains committed to promoting relations between the two countries and friendship between our people. Story continues The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda responds to media inquiries on the recent ruling regarding a Chinese citizen. See the picture below for full text: pic.twitter.com/ZCPKBLHavm Chinese Embassy in Rwanda (@ChinaEmbinRW) April 20, 2022 Sun can appeal to a higher court, according to Rwanda courts spokesman Harrison Mutabazi. Featured Image via @ChinaAfrProject Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Teen arrested for allegedly participating in group attack on Asian man in NYC Coronado couple hit with firing, administrative leave as result of anti-Asian viral video San Diego woman fatally shot by law enforcement trying to evict her after she stabs officer Suspect is charged with murder as a hate crime after Yao Pan Ma dies months later Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno on Thursday said she would move to have a full parole board overturn the parole of Chowchilla school bus kidnapper Frederick Woods. A panel of two commissioners on March 29 ordered the 70-year-old Woods parole for the July 1976 kidnapping of 26 children and bus driver Frank Edward Ed Ray. Woods, then 24, and brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld were convicted of abducting the children from Dairyland Union Elementary School in Madera County and holding them hostage in a buried moving van in Livermore. The three were originally sentenced in Alameda County to life without the possibility of parole, but the sentences were overturned. The Schoenfelds have since been paroled. Only the full parole board can overrule the order paroling Woods, said Moreno, and Gov. Gavin Newsom must first ask the panel for an en banc review of the decision. Morenos office will ask Newsom to do so. As a first step, the Madera DA is requesting a transcript of the hearing, which she expects to have by Monday. We dont agree with the parole, said Moreno. In response to Morenos move for the hearing, Dominique Banos, an attorney for Woods, said: Mr. Woods was 24 years old when he committed the senseless crime. Now, 46 years later, at the age of 70, Mr. Woods has shown his substantial growth, maturity, and understanding of the pain and suffering he caused to all those harmed by the crime. He has earned his grant of parole and if Madera DA Sally Moreno had shown up to the hearing she would have seen this for herself. Banos called the DAs actions a publicity grab due to her being up for re-election. Moreno countered that she had a representative attending the hearing, Jill Klinge, one of the foremost experts of parole law in the state. She noted that Banos did not reach out to her personally or provide her a copy of the attorneys remarks. My representative didnt see what Mr. Woods attorney saw, (at the hearing) apparently, said Moreno. Story continues Moreno is running unopposed for reelection. The Madera DAs intervention in the decision drew praise from kidnap victim Lynda Carrejo Labendeira, who was 10 years old when the crime took place. How long is long enough for kidnappers to serve prison time for kidnapping and burying alive a busload of children? Carrejo Labendeira asked. How long is long enough if it was your child? Lynda Carrejo Labendeira Carrejo Labendeira was one of six family members buried in the quarry, including her sisters, Irene, 12; Julia, 8; Stella, 6; and cousins, Robert, 10; and Andres, 8. About 4 p.m. on July 15, 1976, Ray was driving the bus when three men wearing stockings over their heads and carrying handguns boarded it. The trio hid the abandoned bus in a bamboo thicket and loaded Ray and the children ages 5 to 14 into two vans. After 11 hours of driving, the men loaded the captives into the moving van buried in the quarry. The captives spent 16 hours underground before Ray and two of the older boys stacked mattresses and pushed their way out of the van. Ray and the 26 children escaped without any physical injuries. The moving van was registered to Woods, son of the quarry owner. Convicted Chowchilla school bus kidnapper Frederick Newhall Woods, 70, will gain his freedom unless a full parole board overturns a decision ordering his release. Woods has been denied parole 17 times previously. Authorities noted that, unlike the other kidnappers, he had not been a model prisoner. He was caught with pornography in 2002-03 and contraband cell phones in 2013 and 2014. Said Carrejo Labendeira: Their guns were loaded. They preplanned this kidnapping for over one and one-half years. People swat flies, they dont kidnap and bury alive children without consequences. Kidnapping law is especially important because of the rise in numbers of human trafficking. She added that had not the captives, including her cousin Robert, taken action to break out of the buried van, We would have suffocated. Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We can see that Cochlear Limited (ASX:COH) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders? When Is Debt Dangerous? Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together. See our latest analysis for Cochlear How Much Debt Does Cochlear Carry? As you can see below, Cochlear had AU$47.5m of debt at December 2021, down from AU$110.8m a year prior. However, it does have AU$553.1m in cash offsetting this, leading to net cash of AU$505.6m. How Healthy Is Cochlear's Balance Sheet? According to the last reported balance sheet, Cochlear had liabilities of AU$377.6m due within 12 months, and liabilities of AU$324.6m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had AU$553.1m in cash and AU$367.8m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it can boast AU$218.7m more liquid assets than total liabilities. This state of affairs indicates that Cochlear's balance sheet looks quite solid, as its total liabilities are just about equal to its liquid assets. So while it's hard to imagine that the AU$15.5b company is struggling for cash, we still think it's worth monitoring its balance sheet. Simply put, the fact that Cochlear has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely. Story continues On top of that, Cochlear grew its EBIT by 70% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Cochlear can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting. Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. Cochlear may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Over the last three years, Cochlear reported free cash flow worth 6.0% of its EBIT, which is really quite low. That limp level of cash conversion undermines its ability to manage and pay down debt. Summing up While it is always sensible to investigate a company's debt, in this case Cochlear has AU$505.6m in net cash and a decent-looking balance sheet. And we liked the look of last year's 70% year-on-year EBIT growth. So we don't think Cochlear's use of debt is risky. Over time, share prices tend to follow earnings per share, so if you're interested in Cochlear, you may well want to click here to check an interactive graph of its earnings per share history. If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. The lone Idaho location of a chain known for toasted submarine sandwiches is now toast itself. Quiznos recently closed at 2250 E. Gowen Road in Boise. The locally owned franchise restaurant at Columbia Village was the last of a disappearing brand that once was ubiquitous not just in the Gem State, but across America. Quiznos sandwiches still have plenty of enthusiasts. Whether its the Spicy Monterey or the limited-time Old Bay Lobster Club, the menu gets the juices flowing. Even the Traditional has it all, as Quiznos brags on its website, with Black Angus steak, oven-roasted turkey breast, smoked ham, melted cheddar, fresh lettuce, and tomatoes with creamy ranch dressing, served toasted. Founded in 1981, Denver-based Quiznos grew into one of the nations largest sub slingers by the early 21st century. But a multitude of problems including stiff competition ranging from Subway to Jimmy Johns caused an epic downfall during the past 15 years or so. Trade publication Restaurant Business called it one of the biggest restaurant chain collapses in industry history. At its peak in 2006, Quiznos had nearly 5,000 locations, Restaurant Business reported. As of May 2021, the publication wrote, that number had dropped to 255. As recently as 2015, there were four Quiznos franchises in the Boise area. Boiseans might remember one closing that year at 1216 N. Orchard St., leaving two in the city, at 8665 W. Franklin Road and 2250 E. Gowen Road, as well as an Eagle store at 664 S. Rivershore Lane. Before that, there was a Quiznos on Overland Road in Boise, in Meridian, even in Kuna. Fat Guys Fresh Deli, a Meridian-based business, plans to take over the former Quiznos space at 2250 E. Gowen Road. B(200530):2021 20220423 06:12:41 : : B :2021 Stock Code: 000530; 200530 Notice No: 2022-025 Short Form of the Stock: Bingshan; Bingshan B Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. Notice on Holding 2021 Shareholders General Meeting The Company and its whole members of Board of Directors ensure that the public notice is real, accurate and complete, and there are no any fictitious statements, serious misleading or important omissions carried in this notice. I. Particulars about holding the meeting 1. The period of board session: The 2021 Shareholders General Meeting 2. Convener: The Board of Directors of the Company, holding the Shareholders General Meeting th th after the deliberation of 4 Meeting of 9 Session of the Board. 3. The meeting is in line with the relevant laws and administrative regulations, departmental rules and regulations, regulatory documents and relevant provisions of articles of association of the Company 4. Date of the meeting: (1) On-site meeting: 3:00 pm, May 18, 2022 (2) Internet polling: the poll through network via trading system of SZSE will be at 9:15-9:25,9:30-11:30 am and 1:00-3:00 pm dated May 18, 2022; any time from 9:15 am to 3:00 pm dated May 18, 2022 will available for polling through internet poll system of SZSE. 5. Way of holding: On-site votes plus network polling .The Company will provide a voting as an internet form to whole shareholders through the trading system and internet poll system (http://wltp.cninfo.com.cn) of SZSE. Shareholders should participate in voting any time in the network polling during the above mentioned time period. 6. Record date of the meeting The record date of the meeting was May 11, 2022. B shareholders who wanted to attend the meeting should buy shares of the Company no later than May 6, 2022. 7. Attendance (1) All shareholders of the Company whose names appear on the register of the Shenzhen Branch of China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited while the close of trading at noon on record date. The above mentioned shareholders of the Company have the right to attend the meeting, they can attend the meeting through proxy by trust deed and shareholder of the Company wouldnt be necessary as the proxy. The shareholders who should avoid voting on the meeting, shall not accept entrustment of other shareholders to vote. (2) Directors, supervisors and senior executives of the Company (3) Attorney engaged by the Company (4) Other people the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to attend 8. Place of the meeting The conference room of the Company II. Particulars about examination of the meeting Code of proposal The content of proposal The column can vote 100 general proposal ,including all of the following proposals Non-cumulative voting proposal 1.00 2021 Work Report of the Board of Directors of the Company 2.00 2021 Work Report of the Supervisory Committee of the Company 3.00 2021 Financial Settlement Report of the Company 4.00 2021 Profit Distribution Plan of the Company 5.00 2021 Annual Report of the Company 6.00 Report on Authorizing the Chairman of the Board and the Companys Management to Apply for the Bank Line of Credit and Bank Line of Loan for the year 2022 7.00 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 7.01 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 with Bingshan Group Co., Ltd and its holding subsidiary. 7.02 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 with the holding subsidiary of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. 7.03 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 with other related parties 8.00 Report on Engaging Auditors for the Company in 2022 9.00 Report on Amending Articles of Association of the Company 10.00 Report on amending the rules of procedure of the General Meeting of Shareholders 11.00 Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Directors 12.00 Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Supervisors Among the proposals, proposal 7 belonged to a related transaction, and the related shareholders should avoid voting on the meeting. The proposal 9 101112 must be adopted by shareholders present at the meeting representing more 2/3 of the voting right. The independent directors report on their work for 2021will be heard in the shareholders general meeting of the Company. Details of the proposal could be found in the notice on resolution of the Board of Directors published in China Securities, Hong Kong Commercial Daily and http://www.cninfo.com.cn/ on April 23, 2022. III. Registration way of spot meeting 1. Registration way (1) Personal ID card accompanied by the shareholding certificates and stock account card must be taken for individual shareholders. If attended the meeting by proxy, the attendant must hold the ID copy of the client, power of attorney, shareholding certificates, stock account card along with agents ID card for registration; (2) For corporate shareholders, the copy of the business license, certificate of identity of the legal representative, power of attorney, shareholding certificates along with ID of proxy must be necessary. (3) The shareholders in other places can register in way of letter, fax or e-mail. (4) Registration time (5) Place of registration The Securities and Legal Affairs Department of the Company 2. Contact way of the meeting Contact telephone number: (86-411)-87968822 Fax: (86-411)-87968125 Contact Person: Ms. Du Yu Contact Address: 106 Liaohe East Road, Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone Securities and Legal Affairs Department, Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. Post Code: 116630 The spot meeting will be a period of half a day. Transportation and boarding expenses for attendance shall be paid by the participants themselves. IV. Operational process of network polling In the shareholders general meeting, shareholders can participate in voting through the trading system and internet polling system (http://wltp.cninfo.com.cn) of Shenzhen Stock Exchange. (More details please see the attachment 1) V. Documents available for reference h th 1. Resolution and Announcement documents of the 4 Meeting of 9 Session of the Board of the Company; 2. Other relevant documents according to the SZSE. Board of Directors of Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. April 23, 2022 Attachment 1 Operational process of network polling I. The process of network polling 1. Voting code: 360530; Voting abbreviation: Bingshan voting 2. The proposal and vote opinion The proposal is not the cumulative voting proposal. Fill the vote opinion for, against or abstention. 3. The shareholder vote for general proposal means the same voting result for all proposals. If the shareholder voted for general proposal and for individual proposal at the same time, the first effective voting should prevail. If the shareholder voted for general proposal after relevant proposal voting, the voting result for relevant proposal should prevail, and other un-voted proposals would base on the result voting for general proposal. If voted for relevant proposal after voting for general proposal, the result voting for general proposal should prevail. II. Vote via trading system of SZSE 1. Voting period: 9:15-9:25 am, 9:30-11:30 am, 1:00-3:00 pm May18, 2022 2. Shareholders can participate in voting through the trading system. III. Voting via internet poll system 1. Voting period: The voting via internet poll system will start at 9:15 am and close at 3:00 pm on May18, 2022. 2. Shareholders voting via internet poll system, according to the regulation of Business Implementation of Network Service Identity Verification for Investors of SZSE, shareholders must choose the digital certificate or service password for identity verification. 3. The shareholders may vote on-line via logging in http://wltp.cninfo.com.cn with service password or digital certificate. Attachment 2 Authorized Letter of Attorney Hereby entrust Mr. /Ms. to attend the 2021 Shareholders General Meeting of Attachment 2 Authorized Letter of Attorney Hereby entrust Mr. /Ms. to attend the 2021 Shareholders General Meeting of The exercise of voting rights are as followsThe attorney should be filled by in voting result Code of proposal The content of proposals Type of voting result For Against Abstention 100 General proposal ,including all of the following proposals 1.00 2021 Work Report of the Board of Directors of the Company 2.00 2021 Work Report of the Supervisory Committee of the Company 3.00 2021 Financial Settlement Report of the Company 4.00 2021 Profit Distribution Plan of the Company 5.00 2021 Annual Report of the Company 6.00 Report on Authorizing the Chairman of the Board and the Companys Management to Apply for the Bank Line of Credit and Bank Line of Loan for the year 2022 7.00 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 7.01 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 with Bingshan Group Co., Ltd and its holding subsidiary. 7.02 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 with the holding subsidiary of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. 7.03 Report on Estimating Routine Associated Transactions for the year 2022 with other related parties 8.00 Report on Engaging Auditors for the Company in 2022 9.00 Report on Amending Articles of Association of the Company 10.00 Report on amending the rules of procedure of the General Meeting of Shareholders 11.00 Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Directors 12.00 Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Supervisors Stock Code: 000530; 200530 Notice No: 2022-025 Short Form of the Stock: Bingshan; Bingshan BBingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. Notice on Holding 2021 Shareholders General MeetingThe Company and its whole members of Board of Directors ensure that the public notice is real, accurate and complete, and there are no any fictitious statements, serious misleading or important omissions carried in this notice.I. Particulars about holding the meeting1. The period of board session: The 2021 Shareholders General Meeting 2. Convener: The Board of Directors of the Company, holding the Shareholders General Meeting th thafter the deliberation of 4 Meeting of 9 Session of the Board. 3. The meeting is in line with the relevant laws and administrative regulations, departmental rulesand regulations, regulatory documents and relevant provisions of articles of association of the Company4. Date of the meeting:(1) On-site meeting: 3:00 pm, May 18, 2022(2) Internet polling: the poll through network via trading system of SZSE will be at 9:15-9:25,9:30-11:30 am and 1:00-3:00 pm dated May 18, 2022; any time from 9:15 am to 3:00 pm dated May 18, 2022 will available for polling through internet poll system of SZSE. 5. Way of holding: On-site votes plus network polling .The Company will provide a voting as an internet form to whole shareholders through the trading system and internet poll system (http://wltp.cninfo.com.cn) of SZSE. Shareholders should participate in voting any time in the network polling during the above mentioned time period.6. Record date of the meetingThe record date of the meeting was May 11, 2022. B shareholders who wanted to attend the meeting should buy shares of the Company no later than May 6, 2022. 7. Attendance(1) All shareholders of the Company whose names appear on the register of the Shenzhen Branch of China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited while the close of trading at noon on record date. The above mentioned shareholders of the Company have the right to attend the meeting, they can attend the meeting through proxy by trust deed and shareholder of the Company wouldnt be necessary as the proxy.The shareholders who should avoid voting on the meeting, shall not accept entrustment of other shareholders to vote.(2) Directors, supervisors and senior executives of the Company (3) Attorney engaged by the Company(4) Other people the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to attend 8. Place of the meetingThe conference room of the CompanyII. Particulars about examination of the meetingAmong the proposals, proposal 7 belonged to a related transaction, and the related shareholders should avoid voting on the meeting. The proposal 9 101112 must be adopted by shareholders present at the meeting representing more 2/3 of the voting right. The independent directors report on their work for 2021will be heard in the shareholders generalmeeting of the Company.Details of the proposal could be found in the notice on resolution of the Board of Directors published in China Securities, Hong Kong Commercial Daily and http://www.cninfo.com.cn/ on April 23, 2022.III. Registration way of spot meeting1. Registration way(1) Personal ID card accompanied by the shareholding certificates and stock account card must be taken for individual shareholders. If attended the meeting by proxy, the attendant must hold the IDcopy of the client, power of attorney, shareholding certificates, stock account card along with agents ID card for registration;(2) For corporate shareholders, the copy of the business license, certificate of identity of the legalrepresentative, power of attorney, shareholding certificates along with ID of proxy must be necessary.(3) The shareholders in other places can register in way of letter, fax or e-mail. (4) Registration time(5) Place of registrationThe Securities and Legal Affairs Department of the Company2. Contact way of the meetingContact telephone number: (86-411)-87968822Fax: (86-411)-87968125Contact Person: Ms. Du YuContact Address: 106 Liaohe East Road, Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone Securities and Legal Affairs Department, Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd.Post Code: 116630The spot meeting will be a period of half a day. Transportation and boarding expenses for attendance shall be paid by the participants themselves.IV. Operational process of network pollingIn the shareholders general meeting, shareholders can participate in voting through the trading system and internet polling system (http://wltp.cninfo.com.cn) of Shenzhen Stock Exchange. (More details please see the attachment 1)V. Documents available for referenceh th1. Resolution and Announcement documents of the 4 Meeting of 9 Session of the Board of the Company;2. Other relevant documents according to the SZSE.Board of Directors of Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. April 23, 2022Attachment 1Operational process of network pollingI. The process of network polling1. Voting code: 360530; Voting abbreviation: Bingshan voting 2. The proposal and vote opinionThe proposal is not the cumulative voting proposal. Fill the vote opinion for, against or abstention.3. The shareholder vote for general proposal means the same voting result for all proposals. If the shareholder voted for general proposal and for individual proposal at the same time, the firsteffective voting should prevail. If the shareholder voted for general proposal after relevant proposal voting, the voting result for relevant proposal should prevail, and other un-voted proposals would base on the result voting for general proposal. If voted for relevant proposal aftervoting for general proposal, the result voting for general proposal should prevail. II. Vote via trading system of SZSE1. Voting period: 9:15-9:25 am, 9:30-11:30 am, 1:00-3:00 pm May18, 2022 2. Shareholders can participate in voting through the trading system. III. Voting via internet poll system1. Voting period: The voting via internet poll system will start at 9:15 am and close at 3:00 pm onMay18, 2022.2. Shareholders voting via internet poll system, according to the regulation of Business Implementation of Network Service Identity Verification for Investors of SZSE, shareholders must choose the digital certificate or service password for identity verification. 3. The shareholders may vote on-line via logging in http://wltp.cninfo.com.cn with service password or digital certificate.Attachment 2Authorized Letter of AttorneyHereby entrust Mr. /Ms. to attend the 2021 Shareholders General Meeting of Attachment 2Authorized Letter of AttorneyHereby entrust Mr. /Ms. to attend the 2021 Shareholders General Meeting ofThe exercise of voting rights are as followsThe attorney should be filled by in voting result Bill Murray walks a red carpet during the 14th Rome Film Festival on October 19, 2019, in Rome, Italy. Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for RFF Production on the film "Being Mortal" has halted following a complaint about actor Bill Murray's on-set behavior. It is unclear what the nature of the complaint is, or if he will continue to be a part of the film. Last year, Lucy Liu spoke about an argument she had with Murray while filming "Charlie's Angels." Production for the film "Being Mortal" has been suspended following a complaint about actor Bill Murray's allegedly inappropriate behavior on set, Deadline reported on Thursday. It is unclear what the nature of the complaint is or if the 71-year-old actor will continue to be part of the project. On Wednesday, Searchlight Pictures the studio behind the film sent a letter to the film's cast and crew, informing them that production had been halted due to a complaint. "Late last week, we were made aware of a complaint, and we immediately looked into it. After reviewing the circumstances, it has been decided that production cannot continue at this time," the studio wrote in a letter seen by Deadline. "We are truly grateful to all of you for everything you've put into this project. Our hope is to resume production and are working with Aziz and Youree to figure out that timing," the letter said, referring to the project's director Aziz Ansari and producer Youree Henley. According to sources cited by Deadline, Ansari and Henley were not part of the complaint, nor was actor Seth Rogen, who co-stars in the production. The film is set to be Ansari's debut as a feature film director. "Being Mortal" is based on Atul Gawande's book "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End," a non-fiction work that examines hospice and end-of-life care. According to Variety, nearly half of the film had been shot before production was halted this week. Searchlight Pictures did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. This is not the first time Murray has been embroiled in controversy for his on-set behavior. Last year, Lucy Liu recounted an argument she had with him while filming the 2000 action flick "Charlie's Angels." Story continues The actress said it happened during a scene rehearsal that Murray was not initially due to attend. According to Liu, Murray had showed up and began to "hurl insults" Liu and "kept going on and on" with his actions. "Some of the language was inexcusable and unacceptable, and I was not going to just sit there and take it. So, yes, I stood up for myself, and I don't regret it," she said during an appearance on the "Asian Enough" podcast. Read the original article on Insider Just as most Americans have caught wind of the BA.2 variant of Omicron which overtook the original Omicron as the dominant strain in the U.S. less than a month ago another possibly faster-growing version of Omicron is quickly making inroads. The new Omicron sublineage BA.2.12.1 now accounts for 19% of all new cases specifically sequenced for variants in the country, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. That means the strain barely on the national radar two weeks ago is now being identified in close to 1 in 5 newly-sequenced cases, up from 1.5% less than a month before on 3/19. Given that, Americans trying to keep up may be experiencing a form of variant whiplash. More from Deadline A chart showing the recent growth of BA.2.12.1 (in orange) vs. BA.2 (pink) - Credit: CDC CDC Last week, when Deadline first reported on BA.2.12.1, the variant was tied to the parallel rise of another BA.2 sublineage, BA.2.12. Both are sublineages of the BA.2 variant, and thought to have a 23%27% growth advantage over BA.2, according to the New York State Department of Public Health. BA.2 is thought to have an estimated 30% growth advantage over the original Omicron. New York officials announced last week, seemingly out of nowhere that For the month of March, BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 rose to collectively comprise more than 70% prevalence in Central New York and more than 20% prevalence in the neighboring Finger Lakes region. Data for April indicate that levels in Central New York are now above 90%. Then: State health officials have determined that these highly contagious new variants are likely contributing to the rising cases. At the end of the first week of March, the 7-day average number of daily new cases in the state was well under 2,000. By April 13, it was over 5,000, according to the New York Times, with the total number of new positive cases that day, according to state data, at 6,546. Since then, while case numbers have risen and fallen with fluctuating daily test numbers, the 7-day average test positivity in New York has risen from 4.6% to 5.9%. Story continues BA.2.12 is said to be made up of North American and European lineages, while BA.2.12.2 is said to derive its lineage from the USA and Canada, with some speculating the first case was identified in Canada. That may explain why it has taken off more quickly in the Northeast. CDC data released this week indicate that, for the three-state region comprised of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, BA.2.12.2 already accounts for the majority of new cases (52%). Its fellow subvariant, BA.2.12, has not kept pace. Its numbers are now being folded in with those cases attributed to BA.2. The two together are estimated to be causing 46% of new cases, down from about 85% in data released just one week ago on the region. In the southwestern region made up of California, Nevada and Arizona, the new CDC data indicates that BA.2.12.2 is responsible for about 9% of new cases. A graphic showing the regional distribution of BA.2.12.1 (in orange) vs BA.2 (pink) Some states such as California, however, do not break Omicron data out into sublineages, a practice that made it hard to track the rise of BA.2 and is now making it hard to chart BA.2.12.1. But that states largest metropolis has released data that shows, as of April 2, BA.2.12.1 only accounted for 2% of its sequenced cases. That number is more than two weeks old, however. Since that date, cases attributed to the variant have more than doubled nationally. Given trends with the new sublineage, its a fair guess the same has happened in Los Angeles, especially since cases have been rising steadily in the same period. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Apr. 21HAMILTON The third in a series of motions in the criminal case against Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds was filed Thursday by the defense in response to the prosecution's take on their motion to dismiss the charges. Last week, the special prosecutor trying the criminal case responded saying a defense motion to dismiss the charges based on the bill of particulars is just an attempt to get the state to outline its evidence prematurely. "The defendant is attempting (to have) this court find that charges are legally insufficient based upon the contention the state cannot prove the elements of the offense," Special Prosecutor Brad Tammaro wrote in a response. "When last examined, that is precisely what the procedure known as a trial is supposed to accomplish ... did the evidence establish the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt." Late last month Chad Ziepfel, Reynolds' criminal attorney, asked the court to dismiss the criminal charges against him, stating the elements of the charges fail to comply with state law. In the most recent filing, Ziepfel says the defense is not asking for the state to detail evidence, but argues the indictment is legally insufficient and "must be dismissed." Reynolds was indicted Feb. 9 on five criminal charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case is being heard by visiting Judge Daniel Hogan, who was appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court. Reynolds, 52, is facing charges of bribery, two counts of unlawful interest in a public contract and misdemeanor charges of unlawful use of authority and conflict of interest. The charges stem from allegations that Reynolds used his public office to further his own interests. Ziepfel said in the dismissal motion that the case is based on what he says is a flawed bill of particulars, or outline for the alleged crimes, filed by Tammaro, who was appointed by the Ohio Attorney General's Office. Story continues Criminal charges against Reynolds came after a months-long investigation by the Butler County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. In the motion for dismissal, Ziepfel said in 2020 Reynolds found himself under criminal investigation "based on false allegations made in a civil complaint filed by his family's 88-year-old disgruntled neighbor." Tammaro said in a lengthy response that Ziepfel is requesting the prosecution to lay out the facts that would prove the elements of the charges. "He is seeking to use (this) motion as a summary judgment motion," Tammaro wrote in the response, adding that it is not the job of the court to examine the weight or nature of evidence to be presented at trial. Tammaro also said in the motion that the defense ignores the contents of the indictment that identifies the conduct of the alleged crimes. "Moreover, (Reynolds) appears to mix and convert the elements of offenses that are not charged into elements of the offenses that are charged and then called the charged offenses legally insufficient," Tammaro said in the motion. In the latest defense motion to the prosecution's contra response, Ziepfel states, "Mr. Reynold's is not asking the state to detail its evidence. He is not arguing that the state lacks sufficient evidence, either in quality or quantity or quality. And he is not asking the court on the equivalent of a motion for summary judgement. Mr. Reynolds is seeking dismissal of the indictment because the state simply has no viable theory of convicting him." Reynolds' trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 15. There is no request by the defense or prosecution for a hearing on the motions. The charges relate to Reynolds allegedly using his position to facilitate the sale of his father's property in West Chester Twp. Prosecutors allege the bribery crime happened Nov. 8, 2019, and on or about Sept. 17, 2021, when Reynolds, an elected official, "approached a developer attempting to gain approval for a development project and offered to sell the development company his father's land for $500,000, 2-3 acres of land valued at $21,000.00 by the Butler County Auditor's Office, and requested the developer employ him as a consultant at a fee of $200,000 to guide the development project through local governmental requirements," according to the bill of particulars filed. A second felony charge of unlawful interest in a public contract is tied to events that allegedly happened between April 6, 2021 and Aug. 31, 2021, when Reynolds used his office to influence a public contract. Specifically, Reynolds is accused of influencing governmental officials to secure approval of a Tax Increment Financing proposal to provide public funding from three government entities for infrastructure and improvements to Hamilton-Mason Road. Those would benefit himself or a member of his family by providing public funds that would enhance the ability to develop property owned by his family, according to court documents. By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the world's dominant creditor, China must demonstrate leadership in addressing the growing debt problem facing many low-income and emerging market countries around the world, this year's leader of the Group of 20 finance officials told Reuters. Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, speaking in an interview on Friday, welcomed news that China would join a creditor committee for Zambia, one of three countries that has sought debt relief under the G20 Common Framework agreed with the Paris Club of official creditors. Indrawati said there was still work to do to move forward with Zambia's long-stalled debt process, and other countries would also need debt relief and restructuring in the future. "There will more cases coming," Indrawati said. "At some point China has to recognize that they need to step up to actually take that kind of leap, and providing the platform for all creditors to be able to discuss ... how this restructuring is going to be real." International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said China had committed to joining Zambia's creditor committee amid complaints from Zambia's finance minister about delays to its debt restructuring. Zambia became the first COVID-19 pandemic-era default in 2020 and is buckling under a debt burden of almost $32 billion, around 120% of its gross domestic product. Georgieva, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others have called for moves to accelerate the debt restructuring process and make it more efficient. Ethiopia and Chad also signed up to the Common Framework more than a year ago and have yet to receive debt relief. China, which has become the world's largest creditor, has been reluctant to move forward with restructuring deals, according to Western officials. Indrawati said G20 members made clear their concerns about the need to jump-start the slow-moving debt restructuring process during this week's spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank members, with some 60% of low-income countries now in or at high risk of debt distress. Story continues "After a lot of the discussion, especially about the role of China, in the end they agreed to make the creditor committee," Indrawati said. "That's progress." "Because they are becoming very important and dominant, they also need to have the ownership as well as leadership on how this kind of situation needs to be solved," she added. Indrawati said the Paris Club could provide a reference, but it was up to current creditors - including China - to agree on how to treat countries that can no longer service their debts. She said she was optimistic that G20 members would make progress on adjusting the Common Framework to become more effective over the course of the year. (This story corrects to remove extraneous word from first paragraph) (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Will Dunham) The confusion over masking is growing after the Justice Department appealed a judge's ruling that struck down the travel mask mandate. Norah O'Donnell spoke with White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha on why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention thinks a mask is still necessary on public transportation. A Duke University student said she is in shock after a Durham County judge lectured her on marriage and old fashioned principles, while turning down a request for a no-contact order. The woman was seeking protection from another student for what she says was sexual contact she did not consent to and later, stalking. This was classic victim blaming, said attorney Kerry Sutton, who represented the student at a hearing this week. The judge was essentially saying, That is what you get for having premarital sex, Sutton said. Chief District Court Judge Patricia Evans said this during the hearing, according to a recording Sutton shared: As I sit here, Im reminded of the reason for marriage and commitment. Now those are the old fashioned principles, but there is a rationale behind them because when we do things, because we have the opportunity or you have free choice, you can choose what youre going to do, but you cannot choose the consequences of those actions, Evans said, before ruling that the plaintiff had failed to prove a no-contact order was justified. After the judges comments, the student started crying. She said she was worried that student she was seeking protection from, who was present too, would see the situation as a victory and repeat his behavior. That was appalling to me. It was absolutely uncalled for. It was intensely unkind, Sutton said about the judges comments. I cant even use a word to call how unprofessional it was. When asked about the attorneys accusations, Evans wrote in an email that she cannot comment on a matter that is still pending, referring to her understanding that her decision will be appealed. A judges comments Evans, a Democrat, has been on the bench for about 10 years. Appointed as chief district court judge in 2019, she is up for re-election in the May 17 primary. The female student, who said she had a panic attack during the Tuesday hearing, sought the no-contact order after she had two October encounters with the male student in his dorm room, one when she spent the night there. She said the student repeatedly bit her breasts and penetrated her with his fingers without permission, she testified. Story continues The young woman submitted photos and in her testimony she said they showed 10 to 20 bruises from the bites. It felt very much like she was blaming me, the student, who is in her late teens, said of Evans words from the bench. The News & Observer doesnt name alleged victims of sexual assaults. The plaintiff said she reported the encounter with the male student to university officials and sought a no-contact order after school resumed in 2022. The plaintiff sought the order after she ran into the defendant and he stared at her, walked in circles around her and walked up to her twice, she testified. She filed a complaint with Duke administrative officials and university police a few days later, she said, and received a consent no contact order by school officials, which advised the students not to interact if they are in the same area, according to statements in court. About two weeks later, the plaintiff said she ran into the defendant in a dining hall. She said he sat down at a table near hers, and walked slowly by her. After both incidents, she had panic attacks, she said. The male student testified that he received consent for the sexual activity and stopped when she expressed discomfort. He denied stalking or intimidating the plaintiff. No criminal charges have been filed against him. NC no-contact order A no-contact order is a form of protection in North Carolina law for individuals who have been sexually assaulted or stalked by someone they do not have an established relationship with. To receive a no-contact order, a plaintiff would need to show that the defendant committed nonconsensual sexual conduct or stalking, according to the law. The law defines nonconsensual sexual behavior as a lack of freely given consent for any intentional or knowing touching, fondling, or sexual penetration by a person, either directly or through clothing, of the sexual organs ... for the purpose of sexual gratification or arousal, including the transfer of semen. Stalking is defined as taking one or more actions that places the person in reasonable fear for their or their familys safety or causes substantial emotional distress due to fear of harm or continued harassment. In addition to referring to marriage and old fashioned principles, Evans noted not only her conclusion that the plaintiff failed to prove her case. She remarked that a no-contact order would harm the male student. We have a young lady here in obvious distress. We have a young man whose life could be changed forever as a result of my decision. So I weigh them both carefully, Evans said. And at the end of all the evidence, I have to find that the plaintiff has failed to prove grounds for issuance of a no-contact order. The student walked away from the situation feeling that the judicial system is laughable, she said. She said she wouldnt recommend other alleged victims of sexual assault go through the process, she said. Sutton told The News & Observer her client is exploring all her options, including appealing the judges decision or filing a complaint with North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission, which reviews allegations of judicial misconduct. Judges are supposed to follow the North Carolina Code of Judicial conduct. In general, judges have broad discretion in their courtrooms as long as they follow seven canons that define appropriate political activities, administrative duties and avoiding impropriety in all activities. A judge should respect and comply with the law and should conduct himself/herself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, the code states. STORY: "I think nobody really prepared for this long, and I think every household is running into a different problem..." Dutch national Jaap Grolleman has been quarantined in a tiny flat in Shanghai with his partner for three weeks. Recent positive COVID-19 cases among his neighbors means he faces at least another two weeks of isolation. Grolleman has not been able to return home to the Netherlands for three years, and, although he expects an exodus of expats, he does not wish to join them. "I'm sure a lot of expats will leave, there are WeChat groups going around and with tips (on) how to get a plane ticket or a taxi to the airport. So a lot of expats gonna leave. I don't have this plan but I just hope that China finds a good way to either coexist with this virus or to achieve zero-COVID." Some residents complain that isolation orders are issued en masse for the sake of speed and efficiency, with little consideration for individual circumstances. Grolleman says half of his residential compound of around 3,000 people have been affected by COVID-19 and this has resulted in him only spending 15 minutes outside his home since April 1. Instead, he has been exercising by pacing in his 215 square foot apartment. "There's positive cases in our compound all around, and also inside our building now, second floor, third floor, fifth floor. So it's a little bit nervous situation because first we risk the chance of infection, getting ill, but also maybe more extreme as getting removed from your house and (being) put into a quarantine centre." To minimize the risk, Grolleman uses ropes to hoist supplies into his fourth floor apartment through the window. Offering a glimmer of light, the city government said on its official WeChat account that infections were showing a "positive trend" and that life could return to normal soon as long as people stuck to strict rules to curb the spread of the virus. By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) -An Ecuadorian court chief on Friday signed a request seeking the extradition of ex-President Rafael Correa from Belgium to serve an eight-year jail term for bribery, although the former leader's spokespersons said Brussels had granted him asylum. An Ecuadorian court sentenced Correa to eight years in prison in 2020, accusing him and other officials of accepting bribes in exchange for contracts to finance his political campaigns between 2012 and 2016. Correa, who led Ecuador from 2007 to 2017 and has lived in Belgium since he left power, has denied the accusations, describing the case against him as one of political persecution led by his opponents. Court president Ivan Saquicela signed an order requesting Correa's extradition, based on an agreement in force between Ecuador and Belgium and other international agreements, he told Reuters in a telephone interview. "This is the first time that extradition has been requested and, accordingly, it is strictly in line with the law," Saquicela said, dismissing claims by Correa that extradition requests had been made previously. "This is not about political persecution, but rather it is the decision of a sovereign state," he said later, at a virtual press conference. "A conviction for crimes of corruption has been ratified." The extradition request will next move to Ecuador's foreign ministry, who must formally ask Belgium to extradite Correa. Belgium's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Belgium's Commissioner for Refugees declined to comment. Correa dismissed the extradition request as "another scrap of paper" and called Saquicela a clown in a series of Twitter messages. Correa has requested political asylum from Belgium. That has been accepted by the government in Brussels, according to his spokespersons, who sent Reuters a copy of a document from the office of the Belgian Commissioner for Refugees dated April 15 confirming Correa's "refugee" status. Story continues "On April 19, 2022, the federal government of Belgium granted political asylum to the economist Rafael Correa Delgado, Ecuador's former President, thus recognizing the political persecution against him," the spokespersons said. Ecuador's foreign ministry had not heard of asylum being granted by Belgium to Correa, it said in a statement. Saquicela said he was unaware Belgium had reached such a decision. The foreign ministry said it was waiting for the formal extradition request from the court before sending it to Belgium via diplomatic channels. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in QuitoAdditional reporting by Belen Carreno and Inti Landauro in Madrid, and Robin Emmott in BrusselsWriting by Oliver Griffin;Editing by William Maclean and Rosalba O'Brien) CBS-Denver After unsuccessful overnight search, rescue personnel from South Metro Fire Rescue, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office restarted their efforts Sunday morning to locate a man presumed drowned after he fell from an inner tube being pulled by a boat Saturday evening. Read the full article on Motorious And for good measure, he bought two for himself An anonymous father of six visited Bugattis headquarters in France recently, taking delivery of eight cars. Thats right, the man got two for himself (or maybe one for the wife) and a car for each of his children. Even Jay Leno would admit thats insane. Watch the latest Motorious Podcast here. Apparently, the unnamed customer not only bought a Bugatti for each kid, they all accompanied him on the trip to Molsheim, France to take delivery. That sounds like a pretty swanky trip to us. The father bought for himself a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, a model created to commemorate Bugatti breaking the 300 mph street car speed. With just 30 made, these more aerodynamic versions of the French hypercar are quite collectable. As if that isnt enough, the unnamed father also bought a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Edition. If you thought the other model was rare, only 8 of these were ever made. Back in 2013 one of them set the record for the worlds fastest production car, hitting 254.05 mph. It was also the worlds fastest production convertible at the time. So you must be wondering what kind of Bugattis this man bought for his children? Well, since none of them are old enough to drive yet, he went with the Baby II for all six. A tribute to the classic Bugatti Baby, a creation Ettore Bugatti gifted to his youngest son Roland, theyre a 75% scale, fully-electric recreation of the Bugatti Type 35. We think these kids are super lucky. And if you think these smaller cars were cheap, well theyre not as expensive as a Chiron, know they start at $40,000. The man bought 6 of these, but we think it wasnt that much money relative to his financial means. The kids opted to get their Bugatti Baby IIs in different colors: Orange, Yellow, White, Green, Red, and Blue. That makes telling which one belongs to each kid pretty simple. Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. B(200530): 20220423 06:12:47 : : B : Stock Code: 000530; 200530 Short Form of the Stock:Bingshan; Bingshan B No:2022-020 Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. Public Notice on Resolution of the th th 4 Meeting of the 9 Board of Directors Important: The directors and the Board of Directors of Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. hereby confirm that there are no any important omissions, fictitious statements or serious misleading carried in this report. I. Calling of the Board Meeting 1. The Notice on holding of the Board Meeting was served by written form on April 11, 2022. 2. The Board Meeting held in the form of live and video dated April 22, 2022. 3. Nine Directors should present for voting and all of them are present actually. 4. The Meeting was presided over by Mr. Ji Zhijian, Chairman of the Board of the Company. 5. The Meeting was regarded as abiding the relevant laws, administrative regulation, department rules, normative documents as well as the Article of Association. II. Deliberation of the Board Meeting 1. 2021 Work Report of the General Manager of the Company With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 2. 2021 Work Report of the Board of Directors of the Company; With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 3. 2021 Financial Settlement Report of the Company; With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 4. 2021 Profit Distribution Preplan of the Company; According to the audit by ShineWing CPAs (Special General Partnership), the net profit made by the parent company of the Company in 2021 was RMB -86.252 million. Plus the initial undistributed profit of RMB 911.033 million and minus the dividend of RMB 8.432 million of common shares paid in 2020 and the drawn free surplus reserve of RMB 12.785 million (20%), the accumulated profit distributable to the shareholders was RMB 803.564 million. The Companys profit distribution preplan for 2021: Based on the total capital stock of 843,212,507 shares, the dividend of RMB 0.1 in cash (including tax) will be distributed for every 10 shares, the total cash dividend is RMB 8.432 million, and the cash dividend for B share is converted and paid in Hong Kong dollars. If the share capital changes from the disclosure of this plan to the equity registration date of implementing the profit distribution plan, the distribution proportion will be adjusted accordingly according to the principle that the total distribution amount remains unchanged. The above preplan shall be submitted to the 2021 shareholders general meeting for review and approval. With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 6. Quarterly Report for First Quarter of 2022; With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 7. Report of evaluation on internal control of the Company for the year 2021; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 8. Report of social responsibility of the Company for the year 2021; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 9. The independent directors report on their work for the year 2021; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 10. Report on withdrawing provisions for devaluation of assets; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 11. Report on authorizing the Companys Chairman of the Board and management to apply for the bank line of credit and bank line of loan in 2022; In order to meet the need of the Companys normal production and operation, the General Manager and Financial Majordomo of the Company are authorized to apply for the comprehensive bank line of credit not more than 1,200 million yuan, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company is authorized to apply for the bank line of loan not more than 800 million yuan. With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 12. Report on Estimated Associated Transactions for the year 2022; It is predicted that the total amount of routine associate transactions of the Company in the whole year of 2022 will be around RMB 766.5 million yuan, consisting of around RMB 173.5 million yuan for purchasing auxiliary products for package projects from associate parties and around RMB 593 million yuan for selling auxiliary spare parts to associate parties. The Companys independent directors reviewed this proposal on April 11, 2022 and agreed on submitting it to the Board of Directors for discussions. Correlative directors were avoided from voting this proposal respectively. For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 5 or 4 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 13. Report on Engaging Auditors for the Company in 2022; The Company planned to reengage ShineWing CPAs (Special General Partnership) as its auditors for 2022to integrate and audit the financial statements and internal control of the company. Based on the actual situation of the auditing task, the Company planned to pay ShineWing CPAs (Special General Partnership) RMB 770,000 as the annual financial statements auditing fee (RMB 770,000 for year 2021), and RMB 300,000 as the annual internal control auditing fee. And the corresponding expenditures arising from the auditing shall be born by itself. The Companys independent directors reviewed this proposal on April 11, 2022 and agreed on submitting it to the Board of Directors for discussions. With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 14. Report on Amending Articles of Association of the Company; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 16. Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Directors; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 17. Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Supervisors; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 18. Report on revising and improving the relevant management system; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 19. Issues relevant to 2021Shareholders General Meeting. For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cn With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. Among the above resolutions, resolution 234511121314151617 shall be submitted to 2021 shareholders general meeting for review and approval. III. Documents available for reference 1. Proposal of the Meeting with signature of attended directors and seal of the Board; 2. Opinions from independent directors. Board of Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. April 23, 2022 Stock Code: 000530; 200530 Short Form of the Stock:Bingshan; Bingshan B No:2022-020Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. Public Notice on Resolution of theth th4 Meeting of the 9 Board of DirectorsImportant: The directors and the Board of Directors of Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. hereby confirm that there are no any important omissions, fictitious statements or serious misleading carried in this report.I. Calling of the Board Meeting1. The Notice on holding of the Board Meeting was served by written form on April 11, 2022. 2. The Board Meeting held in the form of live and video dated April 22, 2022. 3. Nine Directors should present for voting and all of them are present actually. 4. The Meeting was presided over by Mr. Ji Zhijian, Chairman of the Board of the Company. 5. The Meeting was regarded as abiding the relevant laws, administrative regulation, department rules, normative documents as well as the Article of Association. II. Deliberation of the Board Meeting1. 2021 Work Report of the General Manager of the Company With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.2. 2021 Work Report of the Board of Directors of the Company; With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.3. 2021 Financial Settlement Report of the Company;With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.4. 2021 Profit Distribution Preplan of the Company;According to the audit by ShineWing CPAs (Special General Partnership), the net profit made by the parent company of the Company in 2021 was RMB -86.252 million. Plus the initial undistributed profit of RMB 911.033 million and minus the dividend of RMB 8.432 million of common shares paid in 2020 and the drawn free surplus reserve of RMB 12.785 million (20%), the accumulated profit distributable to the shareholders was RMB 803.564 million. The Companys profit distribution preplan for 2021:Based on the total capital stock of 843,212,507 shares, the dividend of RMB 0.1 in cash (including tax) will be distributed for every 10 shares, the total cash dividend is RMB 8.432 million, and thecash dividend for B share is converted and paid in Hong Kong dollars. If the share capital changes from the disclosure of this plan to the equity registration date of implementing the profit distribution plan, the distribution proportion will be adjusted accordinglyaccording to the principle that the total distribution amount remains unchanged. The above preplan shall be submitted to the 2021 shareholders general meeting for review and approval.With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.6. Quarterly Report for First Quarter of 2022;With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.7. Report of evaluation on internal control of the Company for the year 2021; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.8. Report of social responsibility of the Company for the year 2021; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.9. The independent directors report on their work for the year 2021; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.10. Report on withdrawing provisions for devaluation of assets; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.11. Report on authorizing the Companys Chairman of the Board and management to apply for the bank line of credit and bank line of loan in 2022;In order to meet the need of the Companys normal production and operation, the General Manager and Financial Majordomo of the Company are authorized to apply for the comprehensive bank line of credit not more than 1,200 million yuan, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company is authorized to apply for the bank line of loan not more than 800 million yuan. With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.12. Report on Estimated Associated Transactions for the year 2022; It is predicted that the total amount of routine associate transactions of the Company in the wholeyear of 2022 will be around RMB 766.5 million yuan, consisting of around RMB 173.5 million yuan for purchasing auxiliary products for package projects from associate parties and around RMB 593 million yuan for selling auxiliary spare parts to associate parties. The Companys independent directors reviewed this proposal on April 11, 2022 and agreed on submitting it to the Board of Directors for discussions.Correlative directors were avoided from voting this proposal respectively. For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 5 or 4 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention. 13. Report on Engaging Auditors for the Company in 2022;The Company planned to reengage ShineWing CPAs (Special General Partnership) as its auditors for 2022to integrate and audit the financial statements and internal control of the company. Based on the actual situation of the auditing task, the Company planned to pay ShineWing CPAs (Special General Partnership) RMB 770,000 as the annual financial statements auditing fee (RMB 770,000 for year 2021), and RMB 300,000 as the annual internal control auditing fee. And the corresponding expenditures arising from the auditing shall be born by itself. The Companys independent directors reviewed this proposal on April 11, 2022 and agreed on submitting it to the Board of Directors for discussions.With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.14. Report on Amending Articles of Association of the Company; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.With 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.16. Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Directors; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.17. Report on amending the rules of procedure of the Board of Supervisors; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.18. Report on revising and improving the relevant management system; For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.19. Issues relevant to 2021Shareholders General Meeting.For details, see http://www.cninfo.com.cnWith 9 votes for, 0 vote against and 0 vote as abstention.Among the above resolutions, resolution 234511121314151617 shall be submitted to 2021 shareholders general meeting for review and approval.III. Documents available for reference1. Proposal of the Meeting with signature of attended directors and seal of the Board; 2. Opinions from independent directors.Board of Bingshan Refrigeration & Heat Transfer Technologies Co., Ltd. April 23, 2022 Raquel Rosario-Sanchez - JAY WILLIAMS A feminist student bullied by trans activists should not have expected the university to protect her, a tribunal has ruled. Raquel Rosario-Sanchez, 32, said she had been subjected to a two-year campaign and threats of violence by transgender activists which she claimed Bristol University bosses failed to stop. Ms Rosario-Sanchez, who was accepted on to a PhD course at Bristol in January 2018 and lists her academic specialism as ending violence against girls and women, claimed that she was targeted for attending feminist meetings that opposed allowing transgender women into female-only spaces such as lavatories and domestic violence refuges. She also claimed that she was harassed over her involvement with the campaigning group Womans Place UK. The student, who previously alleged that the university colluded with the trans activists to cancel her, also claimed that university officials had failed to protect her when the row blew up over her use of the word maternity. However, her attempts to sue the university for negligence, breach of contract and sex discrimination have now been dismissed by a judge at the Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre, who said the institution had not failed in its duty of care. No actionable breach of duty by university The court heard activists had protested against a talk by Ms Rosario-Sanchez, and labelled her as transphobic, and claimed she was spreading hate about trans people, yet returning his verdict on Thursday, Judge Alexander Ralton dismissed all her claims. He acknowledged that there had been some occasions where she had been subjected to threats and violence but said: No actionable breach of duty has been identified. Judge Ralton added: This case is not about the general righteousness of the opinions of some persons within the transgender community or the female feminist community per se; it is about the defendants (universitys) management of a conflict which had arisen in this case. Story continues He said the university accepted Ms Rosario-Sanchez was the victim of unacceptable behaviour particularly in the form of threat of violence and added that he has considerable sympathy for the claimant in her capacity as victim who perceived the accused as being given more protection and as having rights which somehow trumped her own. No evidence of malice Judge Ralton said that her complaints could have been progressed in a much better fashion, and this has already been recognised by the university, but added that there is no evidence of any malice on the part of any member of staff. As part of her claim, Ms Rosario-Sanchez said she was told by diversity chiefs that the term maternity was now problematic and exclusionary. She claimed that when she said that only biological women can give birth, she was reported to HR bosses for being transphobic, investigated by the university and ordered to apologise. She also claimed the university dismissed her complaint about men being allowed in the female changing rooms at the pool. Speaking after the case, Ms Rosario-Sanchez said the result was unexpected, while the university said it was pleased at the outcome and described the case as incredibly challenging for both sides. Ms Rosario-Sanchez said: The university was able to successfully argue they do not have a duty of care to students who, like me, face intimidation and violent threats from trans activist students and staff. The judgment, nevertheless, confirms I was the victim of the violent, threatening, intimidating behaviour or language by trans activist students. She said that despite losing her case she was pleased she had been able to remove the stigma of being a liar. My resolve remains unwavering She added: While I have known the truth all along, I cannot emphasise enough how at peace I feel knowing that this dark cloud that has hung over my head every day is now gone. It took a tremendous amount of tenacity and determination to bring this case to trial, but I feel resolute that the public must be aware that this is how academic institutions are treating students like me when nobody is watching. This resolve remains unwavering. I did not deserve years of intimidation for daring to chair a feminist meeting or for defending sex-based feminism. Nobody does. No student should ever have to incur a psychiatric injury over violent and threatening behaviour by their colleagues, and the byzantine policies and procedures of academic institutions that are meant to protect everyone equally. Character is forged through adversity. While this outcome was unexpected, I feel no regret, no anger and no sadness within my heart about this. Standing up to bullies and the academic institutions that protect them will always be the right decision. In a statement, the University of Bristol said: Following a complaint from Ms Rosario-Sanchez about the conduct of fellow students stemming from an external event held off campus, the university has found itself at the centre of a highly polarised debate around gender identity and rights. From the outset, we have sought to remain neutral in our management of this conflict and to follow our internal complaints procedure. While we are pleased the judge found this to be the case, dismissing all claims made against us, we acknowledge that this has been an incredibly challenging period for everyone involved. We wish Ms Rosario-Sanchez all the best for the future, especially with the completion of her PhD. A group of Florida voters and advocates including Black Voters Matter and the League of Women Voters of Florida filed a lawsuit Friday, challenging the states new congressional map, arguing it violates anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state constitution. The plaintiffs have asked the court to invalidate the map and order or choose a new map that complies with the law. The states Republican-controlled Legislature approved the new map on Thursday, after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed state lawmakers preferred and less gerrymandered congressional maps earlier this year. State lawmakers had sought to comply with the state's "Fair Districts" constitutional amendments, which bars legislators from drawing maps to secure partisan gains or deny minority voters representation. DeSantis demanded the Legislature dismantle a Black-held congressional seat in northern Florida, arguing it violated the U.S. Constitution. The legislature complied with DeSantis' demand through shouted protests from Democrats who shut down the Legislature for an hour in protest. The map eliminates three Democratic seats and adds four Republican districts. The plaintiffs are supported by the National Redistricting Foundation, an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which is chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, a Democrat. DeSantis has bullied the legislature into enacting a map that does not allow for a fair electoral contest, and instead draws Republicans an illegitimate and illegal partisan advantage that they have not earned from the voters," Holder said in a statement. "And it does so at the expense of Black voters in Florida who are being denied fair representation in Congress." Such litigation was expected and referred to by Republicans on the House floor on Thursday, as they sought to defend the maps. We are not mindless automatons. We dont do this because we were bullied. We do this because we think it is right, said state Rep. Randy Fine. Today, we pass maps that are constitutional, and they will be litigated, and we will learn whether the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reigns supreme over the Florida state Constitution. That is the discussion at hand. A Florida teenager has been charged in the deaths of six people in a violent 151-mph crash in January, and new court documents reveal he posted himself racing at 182 mph in his luxury BMW on social media just two weeks prior. Noah Galle, 18, was formally charged Monday with six counts of vehicular homicide in the Jan. 27 crash that killed six farm employees leaving work in Delray Beach, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announced. Each count is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The crash unfolded just before 11 p.m. when Galle, driving his 2019 white BMW at 151 mph, struck the back of a Nissan Rogue with six occupants inside on South State Road 7, according to a probable cause affidavit. He was 17 at the time of the crash. The occupants of the Nissan Rogue were leaving Pero Family Farms where they worked, documents said. Galles vehicle crushed the rear of the Nissan forward several feet into the passenger compartment, the affidavit said. The blow was so forceful, the Nissan rotated into the center median and started "flipping and rolling over before coming to a final rest (upside down) within the center median," the affidavit said. Five of the occupants of the car were declared dead at the scene. A sixth died at Delray Medical Center. The victims were identified as Mirlaine Innocent Julceus, 45, Remize Michel, 53, Marie Michelle Louis, 60, Michel Louis Saint, 77, Filaine Dieu, 46, and Vanice Percina, 29. Galle appeared to have his Instagram handle emblazoned on the driver's and passenger side of his car, an investigator noted at the crash site, according to the affidavit. A day after the collision, the sheriffs office received a tip about Galles posts on Instagram and TikTok, in which he recorded himself driving at extremely high rates of speed, the affidavit stated. The tipster sent a screenshot of a video showing the suspect speeding on Interstate 95, telling authorities that Galle posted it two weeks before the accident. Story continues A search warrant for the Instagram account led investigators to find what appeared to be that same video, showing Galle in the white BMW driving at 182 miles an hour on I-95. Officials said they knew the car was the same because of the dashboard and instrument panel configuration. In an edited version of that video, he wrote the caption, first to guess the MPH gets 25 cashapp," in reference to the online payment app. Investigators noted there were several Instagram Messenger posts in reference to the guess the mph video post. Galle told an investigator after the crash while en route to the hospital he was going above 120. However, officials conducted search warrants for the airbag control modules of both vehicles and found Galle was driving at 151 mph at impact, while the other car was driving at 38 mph. "We will seek justice by vigorously prosecuting this case, Aronberg said in a news release. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the six innocent victims in this tragedy, he added. Galle made his first court appearance Tuesday. Bond was set at $300,000, $50,000 for each crash victim, and he was placed on house arrest. He was ordered to be supervised by a responsible parent and barred form having contact with the victims' families. Galle entered a plea of not guilty to all charges, court records state. One of his attorneys, Douglas Duncan, said he does not comment on pending cases. TUSCALOOSA, AL Tuscaloosa dermatologist and former Alabama Republican Governor Dr. Robert Bentley is urging Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Legislature to expand Medicaid and accept additional federal funding to extend Medicaid health insurance coverage for more Alabamians living in rural and underserved areas. Click here to subscribe to our free Tuscaloosa Daily newsletter and breaking news alerts In a lengthy letter submitted to Patch, Bentley said at the start of the 2022 Alabama Legislative Session, he reached out to Ivey and legislative leadership to voice his concerns from the perspective of both a practicing physician and former elected official. Indeed, even after his 2017 resignation from the state's highest office, Bentley has remained outspoken about the need to address the lack of basic healthcare services and limited access to family doctors, local hospitals and specialists in rural parts of Alabama. "Having come into office in 2011 on the heels of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), our administration was faced with the daunting task of implementing the mandates and requirements of the new health care law," he said. "The financial condition of our state at that time was dismal. Unemployment was in double digits, state rainy day funds had been depleted, and we faced unprecedented recovery from the worst natural disaster in Alabamas history, not to mention the manmade disaster in the Gulf Coast." As governor, Dr. Bentley initially opposed Medicaid expansion as outlined in the Affordable Care Act, but did say at the time that he would have considered it had the state been given control of the federal dollars made available, in addition to lending his support to a measure requiring that "able-bodied" enrollees must be employed to receive benefits. This is a nuanced view, obviously, but one that still leans heavily conservative. According to healthinsurance.org, the state of Alabama is leaving $2 billion in federal funding on the table by refusing to expand Medicaid. What's more, if the state did move forward on expansion, data suggests that 340,000 additional Alabamians would have access to insurance, raising the number of those covered in the state to nearly 1.4 million. Story continues The Alabama Medicaid Agency reports that, just in Tuscaloosa County in 2019, a total of roughly 45,000 residents 22% are eligible for enrollment. Dr. Bentley went on to say that when his administration was given the choice by the United States Supreme Court to implement or refuse Medicaid expansion under the ACA, state leadership had no choice at that time but to refuse based on the lack of state funding available. "Today, 11 years later, Governor Ivey and the state legislature are facing a much different situation with record low unemployment, replenished rainy day funds and more robust state budgets," he said. "The Legislature just passed the largest General Fund budget in state history at $2.7 billion, including prepayment to the states emergency funds for the next six years. When the budget is balanced and the storehouse is full, state leaders should prioritize those issues that dont otherwise get attention when money is tight." Focus in his letter then turned to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Dr. Bentley arguing that while the crisis has stretched state resources and created new obstacles, it has also provided an opportunity to improve the lives of all Alabamians. What's more, he pointed to the increase in revenue and its impact on state budgets, as billions of dollars have been made available to states by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). "One of the more profound budget impacts of Medicaid expansion would be the new federal dollars that will replace state-only spending on other health care programs administered by the Department of Corrections and the Department of Mental Health, among others," he said. "By using ARPA Funds to pay the estimated 5-10% of the state share of expansion we will save additional dollars we spend now for other state agencies to treat Medicaid patients." It's important to note that the federal government pays roughly 70% of the cost of Alabama's Medicaid budget, according to the Alabama Medicaid Agency, while the remaining 30% comes from the state general fund and other in-state funding sources. "The federal ARPA funds allocated to our state come at a very high cost," Dr. Bentley said. "Nearly 20,000 Alabamians have died since 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. Much like mitigation funds after a natural disaster, these funds are intended to be used to do everything we can to prevent more deaths, more illnesses, and more tragedy." In its most recent annual report, which was published in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state Medicaid agency reported just shy of $7 billion in related expenditures, with the largest allocation 36% going to hospitals. Additionally, the Alabama Medicaid Agency reports that Medicaid enrollees make up 61% of nursing home patients, while 50% of all births in Alabama are paid for by Medicaid. Dr. Bentley insists that the extension of Medicaid health insurance opens new doors to improving the quality of health care across Alabama, not just to those who fall in the coverage gap. A 2020 study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation the nation's largest philanthropic organization focused on healthcare claimed that of the 15 states blocking Medicaid expansion, Alabama would see the largest decrease in its uninsured rate by doing so. The organization reports that the statewide uninsured rate would drop by an estimated 43% if the Alabama moved forward with expansion. This is compared to an estimated 39% decrease in Mississippi, 36.4% in Missouri and 36.3% in South Carolina. "Alabamas rural hospitals and doctors will see a significant impact in their ability to effectively treat patients in areas that are deeply underserved by any hospital or healthcare provider," he said. "I can tell you from my personal experience not just as a former governor, but mostly as a physician myself, rural Alabama must be prioritized when it comes to healthcare." As Patch previously reported, the former governor and state representative has been active in providing free clinics through a nonprofit he co-founded in 2021. As part of this initiative, the nonprofit began by providing free skin cancer screenings in places like Pickens and Marion counties. Dr. Bentley also speculated on the impact a rural hospital and additional doctors would have on a town like Rockford in Coosa County. Despite having a population of roughly 10,000 people, the county has no practicing full-time physician, while nearly 30% of its residents are eligible for Medicaid. "We recently held a free clinic there where we detected numerous cancers and provided treatment options patients otherwise would never have access to," he said. "Expanding Medicaid Insurance coverage would allow these patients to have a local physician and maybe even a small hospital in their county where they would be able to be treated." Funding, like many other longstanding issues, remains the primary concern for many state leaders in the Medicaid expansion debate, a notion which Dr. Bentley says is a problem that is historic in nature. For instance, he says the state repeatedly had no other choice but to turn to one-time solutions just to fund the basic state Medicaid budget. "After failing to pass a lottery referendum to fund Medicaid in 2016, the Legislature relied on funds from the historic BP Oil Spill settlement to fund the Medicaid budget," he said. "By using ARPA funds readily available to our state to leverage even more federal dollars to pay for the expansion of Medicaid health insurance, we should never again as a state be left with the option of relying on one-time funds as weve done in the past." Time and again, though, Dr. Bentley mentioned the opportunity in front of state lawmakers, even drawing parallels to the passage of the gas tax increase in 2019 a move that received sweeping bipartisan support. "If they were bold enough then to aggressively push for passage of an increase in the gas tax people of this state pay, then surely, they can be bold now to improve the quality of healthcare across our state," he said. "Expand the Medicaid insurance coverage for more Alabamians, and we will see the ripple effects on every small town, rural hospital and, in turn, every Alabamian." Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com. This article originally appeared on the Tuscaloosa Patch The U.S. Courthouse in downtown Tallahassee Monday, July 26, 2021. A former teacher at Trinity Catholic School pleaded guilty Friday to federal child pornography charges. Mark Clow, 54, entered the plea during an appearance before Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee. Clow distributed, received and possessed child pornography from June 2017 to September 2021, when he was arrested. The pornographic material involved a child under the age of 12, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida. More: Former Trinity Catholic School teacher indicted on child pornography charges The Leon County Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations began investigating Clow last summer after getting a tip that he uploaded child sexual abuse material online. He later admitted to the charges, according to court records. Clow was fired within a week of his arrest in September. School officials said after his indictment in February that he didn't use the school's computers and was never alone with students. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and could serve as many as 20 years, the government said. Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter. Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Former Trinity Catholic School teacher pleads guilty in child pornography case WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows, who echoed the Republican former president's false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, was registered to vote in three states at the same time, the Washington Post reported on Friday. Meadows was simultaneously registered to vote in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina for three overlapping weeks -- up until last week -- and is still registered in the latter two, according to state records the Post said it had obtained. Meadow's voting record first drew scrutiny following media reports that he had registered to vote with an address in North Carolina that he did not reside in, own or visit, prompting North Carolina officials to investigate. The former White House chief of staff, who served as a U.S. representative from North Carolina until he joined Trump's administration in 2020, was removed from the state's voter rolls, officials said this month. Trump's claims of voter fraud, which have been rejected by numerous state officials, court rulings, Republican-sanctioned recounts and his own Justice Department, fueled his supporters' deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Meadows is a key figure in Congress' investigation into the attack, but has defied lawmakers' subpoena to testify. The House of Representatives in December approved a criminal referral of the matter to the Department of Justice, which has not said whether it will take any action. Representatives for Meadows could not be immediately reached for comment. The Washington Post reported that a Meadows spokesman had declined comment to the newspaper. The Post noted that Meadows was the keynote speaker at a Conservative Partner Institute Election Integrity Summit in Atlanta on Feb. 19. "What youre doing is investing in the future of our country and making sure only legal votes count, Meadows was quoted as saying. (Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Leslie Adler) By Geert De Clercq PARIS (Reuters) -French nuclear regulator ASN has offered to discuss the Luxembourg government`s concerns about the safety of a nuclear plant near the French-Luxembourg border at a meeting in June, the ASN said in a letter seen by Reuters, after corrosion problems have been found in some reactors elsewhere. The letter, dated April 21, is in response to a Jan. 19 letter from the Luxembourg government, seen by Reuters, in which the Luxembourg energy and environment ministers express concern about the safety of the Cattenom nuclear plant, which is about 10 kilometres (6.21 miles) from the border and 25 kilometres from the Luxemborg capital. In March, EDF halted one of the four reactors in Cattenom - reactor 3 - for safety inspections following the detection of corrosion problems on similar reactors elsewhere. ASN said reactors 1 and 2 had showed no problems during the last major inspection and said EDF was currently investigating Cattenom 4. In their Jan. 19 letter, Luxembourg Energy Minister Claude Turmes and Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg asked the ASN to what extent technical problems at nuclear reactors close to the border can pose a security threat to the Duchy. They asked whether the Cattenom reactors are affected by the corrosion problems discovered at other EDF reactors, whether investigations into Cattenom have started and whether any repair works are planned. Luxembourg also asked the ASN whether it will keep the government informed about the investigation and repair works, and how long it will take to fully inspect the Cattenom reactors. ASN director Olivier Gupta, responding to the Jan. 19 letter and a further Luxembourg letter on April 14, said he proposed to discuss the issues at the next Franco-Luxembourg nuclear safety commission on June 13. In recent years, authorities in France's neigbouring countries including Germany, Switzerland and Belgium, have repeatedly expressed concern about safety in French nuclear plants, many of which have been built close to the borders. French front-curve power prices have been on an upward trend since Tuesday, after EDF published a document confirming corrosion problems on several reactors. The front-year 2023 baseload reaching a new contract high of 258.25 euros/MWh Friday. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq, additional reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Louise Heavens and Elaine Hardcastle) When President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen faced off in a heated debate this week ahead of Sundays election, it wasnt just millions of TV viewers at home in France watching closely. Also paying attention were the 450 million citizens of the European Union and governments from Washington to Kyiv, for whom this election could have seismic implications. Making her third bid for power, the far-right nationalist Le Pen has never been closer to becoming the first woman to occupy the Elysee Palace, the official residence of French presidents since 1848. Its an outcome that seemed unthinkable until recently and would send shock waves across the West, handing Russian President Vladimir Putin a major victory in his campaign to recast the balance of power in Europe even as his military struggles on the ground in Ukraine. Macron, seeking his second term, is a former banker and liberal centrist who burst onto the global stage five years ago with a new political party. He swept to power with grand ambitions, sidelining the traditional powerhouses on the center-right and center-left as he sought to position Paris as a European leader in the Western alliance, but has seen his tenure beset by domestic criticism, the pandemic and now a major war on the continent. He may be leading in the polls, but his technocratic, aloof style is far from universally popular. One woman told the president at a campaign event Thursday that to her, Sundays election amounted to choosing between plague and cholera. Opinion polls since the pair advanced from the first round this month have shown Macron pulling ahead by around 10 percentage points, at 55 percent. But thats far closer than when the two last contested the presidency in 2017. A fierce nationalist and Eurosceptic, Le Pen aims to drastically shift Frances place in the European family of nations by ending its senior leadership in NATO, reducing payments and legal deference to the E.U., restricting non-French peoples access to social benefits and advocating a radical rapprochement with Putin. Story continues As the campaign reaches its conclusion, analysts and diplomats are anxiously weighing what the result could mean for the war in Ukraine and the future of NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right contender Marine Le Pen clashed in a heated TV debate on Wednesday. (Ludovic Marin / AP) From Paris to Putin As war rages in eastern Ukraine, Europe has to contemplate the unthinkable: a pro-Putin leader of a major European nation who, experts fear, could weaken the Western alliance just when it has assumed new relevance. A standout moment from Wednesdays debate was Macron highlighting Le Pens links to Russia and her admiration for Putin. In 2014,- her party took out a loan of 9 million euros (about $12 million) from the First Czech Russian Bank, which allegedly has links to the Kremlin. You talk about your banker when you talk about Russia, thats the problem, Macron told his opponent. You depend on Russian power, you depend on Mr. Putin. Le Pen said in response that she was a completely free and independent woman and that no French bank would lend to her. Nevertheless she told a BBC interviewer in 2017 that her policies are the policies represented by Mr. Trump, theyre represented by Mr. Putin. While many of Frances allies accuse Putins forces of committing genocide and look to make his regime a pariah, Le Pen is proposing a NATO-Russia summit as soon as the war is over. For sure she has sympathies with Putin, said Marie Jourdain, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank and previously a senior figure in the French Ministry of Defense. Since the outbreak of war she has been careful not to support Putin. But she says that when the war is over she would have NATO-Russia rapprochement as if nothing has happened. In stark contrast to Macrons establishment credentials, Le Pens flagship foreign policy goal is to take France out of the NATO Integrated Strategic Command a long-held promise that would end the countrys senior leadership role within the alliance. Charles de Gaulle did this in 1966, and it took until 2009 for France to rejoin. France would still be bound by NATOs Article 5, which guarantees a shared military response if any member is attacked. Russias distrust of NATO is a principal driving factor in the current crisis: One of Putins demands before the war was that Ukraine rule out joining indefinitely. (President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has since said Ukraine will not join anytime soon.) And because France would retain a veto over new NATO members, a newly skeptical and Moscow-friendly Paris could thwart Sweden and Finlands mooted ambitions to join. As things stand its hard to imagine any member state saying no [to new NATO members], but if Le Pen comes in? Jourdain said. It might not be so difficult for her to say, Well, Im not going to ratify that. She might want to get back into dialogue with Putin, rather than provoke him further. Le Pen would also reduce payments to the bloc and undermine the principle that member states give E.U. laws primacy another potential bonus for Russia that suspiciously eyes the E.U.s military and geographic expansion. TOPSHOT-FRANCE2022-POLITICS-ELECTION-RN (Sameer-Al-Doumy / AFP via Getty Images) Macron, meanwhile, has presented himself as a major international statesman, both before and during the war but he has not been short of critics at home or abroad for what some see as his own appeasement of the Kremlin. The French leader has spoken to Putin more than a dozen times in the past four months, including a five-hour meeting in Moscow on Feb. 7, establishing himself as the Wests de facto negotiator with Russia as the United States and others cut contact and warned that Russia was amassing forces for an imminent invasion. He has also distanced himself from President Joe Bidens more robust accusations of Russian war crimes. Nonetheless, Ian Bond, a senior British diplomat for almost 30 years who is now director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said a Le Pen win could mean the end of Frances historical trans-Atlantic defense role. The French were quite often quite difficult in NATO discussions, he said. But where the French didnt go was to suggest, Actually the Soviet Union isnt that dangerous, is it? They accepted the case that the Soviet Union was the big problem that we had to face. And if Le Pen doesnt accept that that is true of Russia, then that is problematic. The result could be an end to French military aid to Ukraine, both Bond and Jourdian said, as well as a major roadblock to more severe sanctions on Moscow. Le Pen wants to weaken France's commitment to the NATO military alliance. (Adrien Courant / AP) Has Macron left it too late? For all the ways this election could affect the course of the war and its aftermath, Russia and Ukraine have largely played second fiddle to domestic issues in the campaign. Macron, now 44, was elected as Frances youngest president in 2017 but has been repeatedly dogged by accusations that he is part of a detached, technocratic elite. One of his central campaign pledges, to increase the retirement age from 62 to 65, is unpopular and opposed by a majority of the country. He is disliked by many of the 7.7 million voters who backed the left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first-round, leading Macron to woo left-leaning voters and ethnic minorities in the campaigns final week. Macron is doing better in the polls, but the big question is what will Melenchon voters do, Jourdain said. They might not like Le Pen so much, but they might not vote at all. This is why the campaigns now are focused so much on climate change and on social justice. Le Pen has won support by talking about the rising cost of living, as raised by the Gilet Jaunes(Yellow Vests) movement in 2019 including among voters who would normally shun a far-right candidate. Marine Le Pen talks about young peoples economic situation, said Enzo Alias, national deputy for the Young People With Marine campaign group. He also praised Le Pens strident anti-European stance. The France we love is a France thats more sovereign, that has control over its destiny, said Alias. But Le Pens domestic program she proposes banning Muslim face and head coverings in public, and radical changes to the rights of immigrants compared with those for French citizens could have effects far beyond France. In a column published Thursday in several European newspapers, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa wrote that Sundays vote is critical for France and all and every one of us in Europe. Its the election between a democratic candidate who believes that Frances strength broadens in a powerful and autonomous European Union and an extreme-right candidate who openly sides with those who attack our freedom and democracy, they wrote. The West will have its eyes on Paris this weekend, and so will Putin. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will provide a further 37 million euros ($40.12 million)to Ukraine for reconstruction as a result of the war, Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported on Friday, citing development ministry sources. Some 22.5 million euros would go into the reconstruction of Ukraine's power grid and additional 14.4 million euros would be earmarked to rebuild apartments attacked by Russian forces and for medical equipment, the newspaper reported. "My ministry has reallocated funds for this via an emergency programme," Development Minister Svenja Schulze was quoted by the paper as saying. ($1 = 0.9222 euros) (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa) Apr. 21NORWICH Gov. Ned Lamont stepped about 5 feet into the lobby of the former YMCA on Main Street on Thursday morning, stepped on spongy fallen ceiling tiles, gazed at a smashed interior window, caught his breath at the dank air and announced he had seen enough. "I see what you mean when you said it's a little bit of work," Lamont said to George and Eric Mattern, the father and son leaders of Mattern Construction, which plans a $4 million renovation and partial demolition of the derelict building at 337 Main St. On April 6, Lamont announced a $2 million Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant to help support the Baltic company's renovation plan. The city also is awaiting word on an application for a $650,000 federal Environmental Protection Agency grant to do an environmental cleanup of the property, including asbestos and lead paint abatement. The YMCA closed abruptly in April 2009, when the YMCA of Southeastern Connecticut announced it could not afford upkeep of the building. The complex became abandoned, and the ownership defunct. The city took the building last summer either to demolish it or market it for renovations. Mattern Construction was the only firm to respond to the city's advertisement. The company plans to demolish a rear portion of the building to create parking, leaving a horseshoe-shaped structure to become the commercial construction company's new headquarters. Additional space will be marketed for a restaurant, coffee and sandwich shop or brew pub, Eric Mattern told the governor, showing an early design rendering. Eric Mattern said company officials will meet with the city in a couple weeks to iron out the plan and prepare to begin. Construction is expected to take about six to eight months. George and Eric both were members of the former YMCA, Eric said, making the project a bit personal. George Mattern started the company 35 years ago. "This is the kind of thing we do. We're pretty good at it. It's quite a challenge," George Mattern said. Story continues Lamont asked why the project is so challenging. "It's been abandoned for so long and neglected," George Mattern said in quick response. "The roof leaks. It's wet inside. Things are falling apart. A lot of remediation needs to be done, and it's a combination of a variety of buildings. We're trying to make them fit to what we need, it's going to be a bit of a challenge. We can do it. We'll try to give it a fresh look, try to update the interior so it's economical as far as energy use and create some more parking." Norwich applied for the Challenge Grant to clean up the Main Street eyesore at a key gateway to downtown. When sidewalk talk turned to city taxes and budget issues, city officials told Lamont the central city paid fire district tax rate is close to 50 mills. Mayor Peter Nystrom said the YMCA rehabilitation will be a big boost to downtown. "This was never taxable property," Nystrom said. "It will become a taxable property. These kinds of things are what we need the most." c.bessette@theday.com With Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran stepping down at the end of the month, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday recommended Republican state Sen. Manny Diaz Jr. as Corcorans replacement. Corcoran, a Republican former House speaker, announced last month that he will return to private life when his resignation takes effect at the end of April. Corcoran was appointed as commissioner in 2018 shortly before DeSantis took office. RELATED: Richard Corcoran to leave Florida Education Commissioner post In his time as commissioner, Corcoran has served as a top ally of DeSantis on contentious education issues. For instance, Corcoran was instrumental in carrying out DeSantis directives to stop school districts from enforcing mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent critical race theory in classrooms. Diaz similarly has helped carry out DeSantis education agenda in the Senate. Manny Diaz has done a great job in the Legislature on education issues ranging from teacher pay to parental rights and choice. I am confident that he will serve our state well as the commissioner of education, DeSantis said in a statement announcing the recommendation. OCTOBER STORY: Some Florida school districts -- including Duval -- continue clash with the state over masks Diaz needs to be formally appointed by the State Board of Education, which is made up of DeSantis appointees. The board will meet April 29th at 11 a.m. at the State Capitol to consider Diazs appoinment. Diaz, a Hialeah Republican, was elected to the Senate in 2018 after serving in the House for six years. He has held posts such as chairman of the Senate Education Committee and the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. Diaz also has sponsored high-profile education bills, including two measures during the 2022 legislative session that were top priorities of DeSantis. SEPTEMBER STORY: Education Commissioner threatens withholding board member salaries over DCPS mask mandate Story continues One of those measures (HB 7) would restrict how race-related issues can be taught in schools and in workplace training. Part of the bill pertaining to public-schools, for example, seeks to prevent instruction that would cause students to feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress because of past actions by members of the same race, sex or national origin. The bill was dubbed by DeSantis the Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees Act, or Stop WOKE Act. It has not formally been sent to DeSantis for his signature. AUGUST STORY: Feds raise concerns about Floridas school mask order, withholding funds from educators A news release from the governors office about DeSantis recommendation of Diaz touted the measure as eliminating CRT (critical race theory) and woke training in Florida schools and businesses. Diaz is a former classroom teacher who works as an administrator for Doral College, a private school that is a part of Miami-based charter school company Academica. For my entire career I have worked to improve the education system to serve Floridas students, parents and teachers. I am excited to get to work continuing the mission of the governor to make Florida the Education State, Diaz said in a statement Thursday. AUGUST STORY: State withholds money from two Florida school districts because of mask disputes A vocal proponent of charter schools, Diaz also has been a driving force behind the expansion of school-voucher programs. During the 2019 legislative session, Diaz sponsored a measure that was signed by DeSantis to create the Family Empowerment Scholarship voucher program. The program significantly expanded eligibility criteria for school-voucher recipients. Diaz also has shepherded higher-education legislation. STORY: 904 and more: New Northeast Florida area code gets backing DeSantis this week signed a Diaz-sponsored bill dealing with higher-education accreditation and the process of reviewing university professors tenure. The bill (SB 7044) will force colleges and universities to change accreditors at the end of each accreditation cycle, which can last up to 10 years. It also authorizes the state university systems Board of Governors to adopt a regulation requiring university professors to undergo a comprehensive post-tenure review every five years. Opponents of the new law, including the United Faculty of Florida, argued that individual schools already have processes to review faculty tenure. STORY: Man who wrote the book on Disney and Florida warns of economic fallout from Reedy Creek dissolution Diaz would become the first Hispanic education commissioner in Florida, according to the Department of Education. Corcoran has frequently clashed with teachers unions. But Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, appeared to express optimism Thursday about Diaz stepping into the job. While we may not always agree, FEA looks forward to working with the new commissioner toward a common goal making our public schools the strongest in the nation. To ensure that every child gets the education they need, we must address our massive shortage of teachers and staff, Spar said in a tweet. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. In a broad hall of a newly renovated church along Martin Luther King Jr. Street in Grand Rapids, seven African immigrant leaders convened to discuss, among other things, their communitys shattered sense of security in America. One of the leaders, Israel Siku, who immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002, recalled being pulled over by a police officer. Siku said he handed the officer his insurance card and received a condescending huh, interesting, in response, a comment he interpreted to mean the officer doubted the cards legitimacy. The officer eventually gave him a speeding ticket, even though Siku said, he wasnt speeding. He has had similar interactions with police officers since then, he said, with officers flexing or abusing their power. Its the same thing over and over, to show Im nothing against them, whether youre Black or African, he said. Israel Siku (Cydni Elledge for NBC News) Siku recalled the story as members of Grand Rapids African community mourn the death of Patrick Lyoya and come to terms with the realization that despite having come to this country for the American dream, they have, in fact, inherited the Black American reality, which is riddled with a complex racial history that many Africans are still struggling to understand. Lyoya, 26, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was shot in the back of the head by a Grand Rapids police officer on April 4 after he was pulled over because his license plate didnt match his car. After a struggle, the officer shot him as he was facedown on the ground. Lyoyas funeral was held Friday, with the Rev. Al Sharpton, the host of MSNBCs PoliticsNation, delivering the eulogy. He came here for a better life and ran into an America we know all too well," Sharpton said to a packed church. "But we wont stop until we change this country. We wont stop until we change this thing around." Before the funeral, the Rev. Kizombo Kalumbula, a pastor at Tabernacle Community Church in Grand Rapids, said Lyoya's death "has for sure shaken the community." Story continues "Many of us continue to struggle with it, said Kalumbula, who has also been a voice for the African community. They did say this is supposed to be a safe land, and that was the reason why resettlement took place here, but after this I dont think much of the community are feeling safe, said Kalumbula, who immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo more than 25 years ago. Grand Rapids is home to a vibrant African immigrant community, although its exact size isnt known because the city doesnt break out immigrant populations by country a point of frustration for community members who feel they should be counted separately. According to 2020 census data, the African-born population in Kent County, which includes Grand Rapids, is estimated to be 6,106. Many arrive here as immigrants to pursue further studies or work, while others are resettled in the U.S. after having spent sometimes years in refugee camps after they fled war-torn countries, like the Congo. Lyoyas family fled the Congo in 2014 in search of a safer life. Patrick was the eldest of six children. African immigrants are often grateful to be in the U.S. and have reverence for the country that has given them another chance, Kalumbula said. But after they arrive, they are up against a new set of obstacles, he said. About a week after Lyoyas death, Mirabel Umenei stood before the Grand Rapids City Council and said it hadnt done enough to support the African immigrants who are thrown into a complicated racial environment they know nothing about. We have to learn very fast what it means to be Black in America, Umenei, the director of the African Collaboration Network in Grand Rapids, told the council. Umeneis organization advocates to improve the lives of African immigrant communities in West Michigan. Umenei immigrated from Cameroon in 2012. We come here without that knowledge, that historical knowledge, without a deep understanding of just how many racial barriers we have in front of us and how deeply rooted they are, Umenei said. Kizombo Kalumbula and Dr. Esai Umenei (Cydni Elledge for NBC News) We get this perfect American dream sold to us, but they dont tell you the truth, which is that you just got yourself in a dark, dark black hole, she said, referring to systemic racism and aggressive policing in Black communities. Lyoyas killing has left the community scared and scrambling to figure out how to keep its kids safe, Umenei said. In many cases, it has found itself ill-equipped. We deal with the same racial aggressions that Black Americans have dealt with for generations without fully understanding the background of that experience, she said. Joanna Demoor, Israel Siku, Kizombo Kalumbula, Beatrice Muriithi, Dr. Esai Umenei, Abdoul Havugiamana, Mirabel Umenei and John Mondi (Cydni Elledge for NBC News) Esai Umenei, a board member for the African Collaborative Network who is married to Mirabel Umenei, said he has struggled to have the talk with his 9-year-old son, a conversation about why Blacks in America are treated differently from whites and how to respond when they are approached by police. Its something that were only now trying to have, mostly because we lack both the background and the language for it, he said. I didnt grow up here. I came here as an adult, and I lacked experiences that could explain that to my young kids, but I know for sure that now they are already getting affected, because theyre seeing this on a daily basis. But it has become a necessity after Lyoyas death, he said. Mirabel Umenei said local leaders must invest and help communities navigate those tricky waters. Through her organization, she has been lobbying the city of Grand Rapids for years to provide funding for resources, including more education for African communities to better adjust in the U.S. That includes preparing them for how to deal with police and the legal system. Its so painful that one of us has to die before any changes are brought on, she said. But we are here now. And were not dropping. Were not letting anything go. All of these things we have been asking for are going to happen. Mirabel Umenei (Cydni Elledge for NBC News) In a statement, the city of Grand Rapids said that since Lyoyas death, several meetings have occurred with members of the African and Congolese Community to include Congolese faith and community leaders, adding, The City is currently working with A Glimpse of Africa and other community-based organizations to plan future engagements with the Congolese community to follow-up on concerns, better understand their culture and identify opportunities to improve their quality of life. Mirabel Umenei said that while that is a welcome step forward, shes worried that the citys commitment may not last after the dust settles around Lyoyas death. Meanwhile, much of the African community has been vocal in advocating for police reform and other measures that would make interactions with the police safer. Specifically, it is advocating for cultural sensitivity training so Grand Rapids police officers are better prepared to deal with immigrant communities. This is a huge wake-up call, Kalumbula said. By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's former president Alpha Conde has been freed from house arrest more than seven months after he was ousted in a military coup, the interim government said on state television on Friday. Conde, 84, had been detained since last September, when special forces troops overthrew him on allegations of fostering endemic state corruption. Guinea's new junta government has permitted Conde to receive visitors, and earlier this month allowed him to travel to the United Arab Emirates for a medical check up. He will continue to reside at his wife's family home in a suburb of the capital Conakry until renovations on his own home are completed, the interim government said in a statement. Conde's overthrow was widely condemned by Guinea's allies, and led to its suspension from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States. The 15-nation bloc sanctioned Guinea's junta leaders and has set an April 25 deadline for them to present a timeline for a return to constitutional rule. [L2N2VS1YX] (Reporting by Saliou Samb; Writing by Cooper Inveen; editing by Bernard Orr) AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File Surgeon General Vivek Murthy posted a Twitter thread explaining why he is still wearing a mask on planes even without a mandate, saying our decisions affect others. Today, were diving into new CDC data on where COVID-19 ranks as a cause of death, and a look at how many deaths could have been prevented with more vaccinations. Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where were following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, were Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. COVID third leading cause of death last year: CDC COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2021, according to data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data illustrate the toll from the virus, with 415,000 COVID-19 deaths last year. Coronavirus was the leading cause of death behind heart disease, with 693,000 deaths, and cancer, at 605,000 deaths. COVID-19 was also the third-leading cause of death in 2020, but the number of deaths from the virus actually increased in 2021, with 60,000 more deaths than 2020. The continued toll from the virus comes even as vaccines have been widely available since last spring, but many Americans did not get vaccinated Covid shouldnt even be in the top 10 causes of death in the US if we consistently used all the tools available, tweeted Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research. Yet were still now losing the lives of 500 Americans each day. COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death for 415,000 people last year, and when deaths where COVID-19 was a contributing factor are counted too, that number increases to 460,000. Read more here. 1/4 of US COVID deaths preventable by vaccines A new analysis finds that approximately 234,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 since June 2021 could have been prevented if people had been vaccinated. The analysis from the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation underscores the importance of vaccination, and indicates a significant portion of the heavy toll from the virus could have been prevented. Story continues The 234,000 preventable deaths translates to about one quarter of the nearly 1 million U.S. deaths from the virus since the pandemic began, and 60 percent of the deaths since June 2021, when vaccines became widely available. Since vaccines became widely available last summer, a total of 389,000 adults in the United States have died of COVID-19, and 6 in 10 of those deaths about 234,000 deaths could have been prevented by timely vaccinations, the analysis states. This analysis underscores the importance of continued efforts to increase the number of people vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. The analysis does not include the effect of booster shots, but notes that booster shots can help prevent even more deaths. Getting a booster is particularly important in the face of the omicron variant, which has shown an increased ability to evade the vaccines, though there is still important protection against severe disease and death. Read more here. VIRTUAL EVENT INVITE Accelerated Approvals & The Pathway to TreatmentsTuesday, April 26 at 1:00 PM ET Last year the Food and Drug Administration approved 14 new drugs via an accelerated approval pathway that fast-tracks potential life-saving treatments to patients. The FDAs recent approval of an Alzheimers drug has put the accelerated approval process in the spotlight. Join The Hill for conversations with Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y), former FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan, JDRFs Cynthia Rice and the ALS Associations Neil Thakur. RSVP today. PHILADELPHIA TO END MASK MANDATE DAYS AFTER REINSTATING IT Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, abruptly reversing course just days after people in the city had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, according to the Philadelphia health department, which released a statement that cited decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts. The mandate went into effect Monday. Philadelphia had ended its earlier indoor mask mandate March 2. The health department did not release data to back up its reversal on masking, saying more information would be provided Friday. But the acting health commissioner, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, told the Board of Health at a public meeting Thursday night that hospitalizations had unexpectedly gone down 25% in a matter of days. Were in a situation that we really had not anticipated being in this soon but it is good news, she said, according to a transcript of the meeting. So Im really very happy to say it appears that we no longer need to mandate masks in Philadelphia and that we can actually move to simply a strong recommendation. Read more here. OHIO AG WARNS OF RISE IN FRANKENSTEIN OPIOIDS Officials in Ohio say theyre seeing a rise in the use of nitazenes a group of synthetic opioids that can be exponentially more potent than fentanyl. Nitazene compounds were first synthesized in the 1950s for pharmaceutical research, and more recently, began to crop up in the illicit drug market in 2019. These synthetic opioids are typically combined with other drugs like fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, as theyre cheap to manufacture and pack a powerful punch. The drugs have been found to be anywhere from 2 to 40 times stronger than fentanyl, which has fueled an unprecedented number of drug overdose deaths. Earlier this week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) warned residents that authorities have reported an increase in the prevalence of the drug over the last year. Frankenstein opioids are even more lethal than the drugs already responsible for so many overdose deaths, Yost said. Law enforcement and the public need to pay attention to these emerging hazards. Read more here. LA County to keep requiring masks on public transit The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said on Thursday that the county will continue to require masking on public transportation systems, breaking with a recent ruling by a federal judge in Florida, which struck down the federal mask mandate on transportation systems. The department noted it is issuing a health order to say that masking will continue to be required in indoor transportation hubs such as bus and airport terminals and on all public transportation including ride-shares, trains and buses within Los Angeles County. The county requirement applies to everyone aged at least two years old, regardless of whether they received the COVID-19 vaccine or not. Public Health will reassess the indoor masking requirement when COVID-19 community transmission in Los Angeles County drops to the Moderate level, OR the CDCs assessment is that an order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is no longer necessary for protection of the publics health, OR within 30 days of this Order, whichever occurs first, the department said in a statement. Earlier this week, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump appointee, struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) federal order mandating masking on transportation modes such as planes, buses and trains. Read more here. WHAT WERE READING Travel nurses remain pricey, and its weighing on hospital profits (Stat) Analysis: The U.S. Appealed to Reinstate Masks. But Is It Seeking to Win? (The New York Times) When will the US have a Covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children? (CNN) STATE BY STATE Biden administration drops fight over Texas Medicaid waiver, now in place until 2030 (Texas Tribune) How Kentucky Republicans blocked all abortions for more than a week (NPR) Hoosiers added to Medicaid during pandemic could be at risk of losing coverage (WFYI) Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. See you Monday. VIEW FULL EDITION HERE For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Honduras former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who left office in January, was extradited to the U.S. Thursday to face drug trafficking charges in New York. Hernandez is accused of running a "narco-state" during his eight years in office and pocketing millions of dollars from drug cartels. U.S. prosecutors allege Hernandez participated in a "corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy" that moved more than 550 tons of cocaine to the United States. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the former leader, who the U.S. once touted as an ally in the war on drug trafficking, "abused his power" while president. He is accused of allowing cartels to operate in the country with "virtual impunity," Garland said, and using the money to finance his political campaigns and participate in voter fraud. "We allege that Hernandez corrupted legitimate public institutions in the country including parts of the national police, military and national Congress," Garland said. He added, "Drug trafficking fuels violent crime and addiction; it devastates families, and it ravages communities. The Justice Department is committed to disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go." A STUNNING FALL FOR EX-HONDURAN PRESIDENT, ARRESTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE US FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING The former leader was succeeded by Xiomara Castro in January, who ran an anti-corruption campaign, specifically targeting Hernandez, who took office in 2014. Hernandez was charged with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. A group of Hondurans were seen celebrating outside the airport as the plane taking Hernandez to the U.S. took off on Thursday. Many citizens left the country during his presidency, accusing him of corruption, lack of job opportunities and complaining of rampant gang violence in Honduras. Story continues Honduras Supreme Court denied Hernandezs appeal this week after a judge decided in favor of extradition. He has denied all the charges against him, claiming he's the victim of drug traffickers he extradited during his presidency - and who subsequently testified against him - seeking revenge. BIDEN ADMIN REVEALS EX-HONDURAN LEADER ON LIST OF CORRUPT CENTRAL AMERICAN OFFICIALS Hernandez was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa in February at the request of U.S. authorities. He arrived in New York overnight Thursday, according to reports on social media. Last year, his brother Tony Hernandez, a former Honduran congressman, was sentenced to life in prison in the Southern District of New York for drug trafficking, the same court where the former president faces charges. On Wednesday, Honduras' Supreme Court also denied an appeal from the former chief of the National Police, Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, better known as "El Tigre" or "The Tiger." He was arrested at the request of U.S. prosecutors on similar charges and is expected to be extradited in the coming weeks. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of foreign policy decisions. Opposition politicians accused Mr Khan of cynically manipulating the public in order to try and remain in power, but the conspiracy narrative has resonated with Mr Khan's supporters. The BBC's Secunder Kermani went to a rally in Lahore, where Mr Khan is still drawing crowds of thousands. The Shelby County District Attorney's office has dropped its case against Pamela Moses, the Memphis woman who was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of illegal voting. Shelby County Criminal Judge Mark Ward ordered a new trial for Moses after the district attorney's office turned over a key piece of evidence that was previously misplaced by the Department of Corrections. Moses was originally convicted by a jury of illegally registering to vote in a November 2021 trial. In February, she was sentenced to six years in prison. Related: Pamela Moses' legal team pushes for dropped charges in lieu of new trial in voter fraud case Previously: Protest of Pamela Moses' conviction, six-year sentence for illegally registering to vote Mayoral candidate Pamela Moses, center, attends a May Day gathering outside of city hall in downtown Memphis on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. The crux of the case rested on the question of whether Moses genuinely knew she could not vote in 2019. During a long-shot bid for a Memphis mayoral nomination, Moses' tried to restore her voting rights and asked a probation officer to complete the certificate that starts the process in Tennessee. The officer certified Moses had completed probation for the crimes that stripped her of the right to vote. That turned out to be wrong, but whether Moses knew it was a mistake became the focus of her jury trial. Moses has maintained she did not know the officer was incorrect. Her sentencing ignited a stretch of national media attention and community pushback. During this time, Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said her office offered Moses a chance to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and avoid jail time. Moses declined that offer. Just City, a non-profit organization devoted to overhauling criminal justice policies in Shelby County, was persistent in its critical of the case brought by Weirich's office. Just City Executive Director Josh Spickler told The Commercial Appeal Friday the case was never about justice. "Prosecuting Ms. Moses was a thinly-veiled attempt to send a message to Black voters in this community. The decision to dismiss her charges came late on a Friday and only after a national media outcry in an election year," Spickler said. "The decision whether to wield the immense power of the State of Tennessee against one of its citizens should be made in the interest of justice alone, not electoral politics and public relations." Story continues Spickler said the prosecution of Moses was, "never about justice." Though Moses will not face a second trial, she will remain banned from voting due to a felony conviction in 2015. Throughout the fallout from Moses' sentencing, Weirich's office told media the decision to go to trial was Moses'. In a statement Friday, Weirich reiterated her office offered Moses a chance to plead guilty and avoid jail time. Here statement issued Friday, is in full below: Pamela Moses sentenced to six years in prison for illegally registering to vote More: Pamela Moses sentenced to six years in prison for illegally registering to vote "Our original offer to the defendant Pamela Moses was a guilty plea to a misdemeanor and no time to serve. She rejected that offer and asked for a jury trial. At the conclusion of the week-long trial, the jury convicted her on the felony charge of false entry on permanent voter registration. She was taken into custody and spent 75 days in jail before Judge Ward granted her motion for new trial. In total, she has spent 82 days in custody on this case, which is sufficient. She is also permanently barred from registering to vote or voting in Tennessee as a result of her 2015 conviction for Tampering with Evidence. In the interest of judicial economy, we are dismissing her illegal registration case and her violation of probation." Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Charges dropped against Pam Moses but activist banned from voting Pictured are Dennis Corley, Business Development and Community Relationships manager, Three Roots Capital; Grady Vanderhoofven, founder, president and CEO, Three Roots Capital; Mitchell Ishmael, co-founder and chief technology officer, Active Energy Systems; Levon Atoyan, co-founder and CEO, Active Energy Systems; John Bruck, member and investor, Queen City Angels, and director, the Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park (UTRP); and Carol Seamons, prrivate banker, FirstBank. With new investments, an Oak Ridge company is promoting a technology for cooling buildings. Active Energy Systems (AES), a cleantech company advancing a new cooling solution, announced it had met the initial conditions for a first close on a $1 million seed funding round, led by the Clean Energy Venture Group. Other investors include Queen City Angels and Three Roots Capital. "Climate change, aging infrastructure and rising costs all present significant challenges for todays building owners ability to maintain safety, comfort and affordability with current cooling systems. AES is commercializing an advanced cooling solution with built-in energy storage to provide building owners with lower cooling costs, reduced carbon emissions and strengthened cooling resiliency," a news release from the company stated. AES plans to create and commercialize an enhanced form of ice thermal energy storage. Such an enhancement will not only further open the current ice energy storage markets, such as comfort cooling and process cooling, but also help enable an upcoming form of electricity storage: pumped thermal energy storage, the news release stated. The company moved to a new facility in Oak Ridge in August 2021, choosing to remain in the region due to easy access to high-quality talent from the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, low operating costs and support from the local entrepreneurial and energy ecosystem, the news release stated. We are excited to announce the initial close of Active Energys seed round, and we are so pleased to bring Clean Energy Venture Group, Queen City Angels, and Three Roots Capital into our team, Levon Atoyan, co-founder and CEO, and Mitchell Ishmael, co-founder and chief technology officer, said in the release. Over the next four months, we will secure final investment to complete this $1 million round, which will be used to file additional patent applications, further develop industrial collaborations and strengthen Active Energys marketing. Story continues This funding will allow AES to advance its business development efforts, including investing in marketing opportunities and intellectual property protection, the news release stated. The company will also engage with potential HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) manufacturing partners to further commercialize the technology. Looking ahead, AES intends to seek an opportunity to be acquired by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the HVAC sector. "Active Energy's thermal storage technology has made significant progress, and it is exciting to be a part of their continued success, Coleman Adams, partner at Clean Energy Venture Group, stated in the release. The impact that cooling load has on the electricity grid is substantial and AES technology is a critical piece in solving that growing problem." "This is truly remarkable progress that Active Energy Systems has made in the development of their technology, strategic partnerships, a backlog of federal agency development funding and customer relationships, stated John Bruck, member and investor of Queen City Angels and director of the Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park (UTRP). We're proud of the AES team and their advancements with this innovative energy storage technology and look forward to continuing to work with them as they grow and commercialize." Three Roots Capital has been associated with AES for more than three years, dating back to the first institutional capital raised by the company from the TennesSeed Fund, which is an affiliate of Three Roots, in April 2019, Grady Vanderhoofven, president and CEO of Three Roots, stated in the release. Because Three Roots and AES are in the same town, and through that early investment, weve had a ringside seat and birds eye view of the maturation and evolution of AES, and weve had occasions to add value to the company in addition to invested capital. Three Roots is extremely enthusiastic about the progress the company has made and the opportunity to continue to support the growth of AES, especially alongside other capable investors. Before this current investment, AES raised over $2.4 million in non-dilutive funding through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation, along with matching funds from Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN). AES is a graduate of the Innovation Crossroads program operated at ORNL and the Energy Mentor Network run by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council in partnership with LaunchTN and a current participant in the Spark Incubator Program at UTRP. This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Investors for Oak Ridge company's cooling tech for buildings No filmmaker in Iran is immune to the pressures of censorship. Movies made in the country must gain approval from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance not only for distribution purposes but for shooting permits as well. For directors and producers with stories that violate government standards say, a scene where a woman removes her traditional headscarf, or another violation of Islamic law the options for maintaining creative freedom are simple: Submit a script with the offending scenes removed, then shoot them anyway. Or hit the road. Panah Panahi took the second option for his acclaimed debut, but Hit the Road is hardly an anomaly. In a sense the car becomes a second house for us Iranians, Panahi said in a phone interview with IndieWire ahead of his movies U.S. release. There is a level of security inside the car. Thats why you see so many road films. More from IndieWire Still, youve never seen a road film quite like Hit the Road. A bittersweet family drama and thrilling escape story all at once, the movie follows a boisterous family as they make their way to the countrys borders in northwestern Iran under mystery purposes. The whole movie takes place in and around a single vehicle: Farid (Amir Simiar) is a 20-year-old man making his way out of Iran with the help of his doting parents (Hassan Madjooni and Pantea Panahiha) while his six-year-old younger brother causes trouble from the backseat. The movie careens from tragic arguments to slapstick comedy, and even finds room for a mystical dream sequence as the group makes its way to a murky destination. Panahis own father, the revered filmmaker Jafar Panahi, took advantage of the vehicle in this fashion for his wistful 2015 comedy Taxi, which the director shot within the confines of a cab as he drove around Tehran. The movie, produced even as the older Panahi had been banned from filmmaking by the Iranian government, won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival that year. For the younger Panahi, growing up in his fathers shadow compelled him to make movies with his own distinctive sensibilities even as he gleaned some practical tools for creating unfiltered art in a society that demands compromise. Story continues I have no choice but to make the films in Iran because I know these people better than I know people anywhere else, Panahi said. We were able to make this in peace. We tried to not make headlines with the film so they werent sensitive about it. First you make the film, then you think about the issues that exist for it. Ultimately, Hit the Road didnt pass muster for Iranian censors, but it didnt need a domestic release to generate validation for the young filmmaker. The movie was a hit with audiences and critics at Directors Fortnight out of the Cannes Film Festival last year, and went on to gain further appreciation on the fall circuit. All of that came after censors rejected the screenplay for Hit the Road outright for obvious reasons: It depicts the very real struggle that many Iranians face when theyve been accused of violating the countrys religious standards. This couldnt have been more inspired by a real incident, Panahi said. Most of my friends have immigrated out of the country, and two or three of them have immigrated illegally. They were the ones who actually mapped out for me how this was done. Panah Panahi at Lux Film Fest in March - Credit: Sipa USA via AP Sipa USA via AP While Iranian cinema has been revered for years due to the likes of Jafar Panahi, the late Abbas Kiarostami, and Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, Panahi is among the spate of younger filmmakers trying to sort through the challenges of making movies there through the secretive processes necessary to get the job done. Last years Berlin-premiering drama Ballad of a White Cow, from co-directors Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moqadam, was banned in the country due to a plot that was critical of the countrys execution laws. The plot finds the widow of man who was wrongly convicted fighting for justice after his exoneration, only to become enmeshed with the very judge who sentenced her husband to death. Sanaeeha told IndieWire that while a version of the script made it past the seven-member committee necessary to gain permission for a shooting permit, the final cut screened for another committee that barred it from distribution. This second permission is harder than the first, Sanaeeha said. It is difficult thing to force. What is clear is that we are not willing to have our films censored on a large scale, nor are we prepared to screen our films at any price. In February, the filmmaking pair won the Eurimages Co-production Development Award at the Berlinale to support production of their next project, My Favorite Cake, which centers on a middle-aged woman in Iran. They are in the process of assembling additional support overseas, while still battling with censors to make the movie in the country. Our stubbornness and constant bickering will continue, since we strongly believe that the majority of our audience is Iranian, and it is their right to see our film at a cinema, Sanaeeha said. All our humility and sacrifice is towards getting permission to screen our film. Ballad of a White Cow But other filmmakers have settled with alternate approaches. For example, the upcoming thriller Holy Spider, which premieres in competition at Cannes next month, was shot in Jordan as a stand-in for the city of Mashhad due to the challenges involved in gaining permits for its controversial subject matter. (The cast, however, is entirely Iranian.) While promoting his last film Border at the Telluride Film Festival, Abbasi said he was hoping to provide a contrast to Western impressions of Irans religious extremism. You just want to let people know that not all Iranians are like that, he said. Were people, you know? Hit the Road is now in theaters in New York from Kino Lorber. It opens in Los Angeles on May 6. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. By Makiko Yamazaki and Yuki Nitta TOKYO (Reuters) - When Japan's biggest banks helped finance a $34 billion deal last year for medical supply maker Medline, one of the largest leveraged buyouts since the financial crisis, the famously cautious lenders signalled their ambitions in riskier, and more lucrative, low-grade U.S. debt. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, Mizuho Financial Group Inc and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, eagerly hunting yield abroad after years of zero rates at home, have beefed up U.S. operations and are now targeting business there lending to lower-rated borrowers and underwriting junk bonds. But their timing - when interest rates are rising and the high-yield debt market is slowing - means they will face increasing risks and dwindling opportunities, testing their staying power. "We'll need to closely monitor the course of the markets following the latest contraction," said Shinichi Sato, an executive officer at Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's biggest lender. He was nevertheless positive about the prospects: "The market for non-investment grade financing will likely remain on a growth trend." The big Japanese banks still have a long way to go to become major players in the market. Mitsubishi UFJ, which has a tie-up with Morgan Stanley, had a 1.6% share of the estimated $18 billion fees in the non-investment grade debt market last year, according to Dealogic, the most of any Japanese bank. It aims to move up five spots in the league table for non-investment grade bonds and loan syndication in the next two years, to 12th place. LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Because non-investment grade borrowers are seen as more likely to default, deals require closer attention to local conditions, bankers say. Developing that expertise has been a challenge for Japanese banks, requiring more reliance on local staff and adoption of a faster-moving business culture, they say. Mizuho has expanded its presence in the United States following its 2015 acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland's North American corporate loan portfolio, where it also brought on board some 150 former RBS bankers. Story continues "U.S. banks and investment banks are cutting edge in terms of their business models and governance, and we have developed our presence with talented bankers joining Mizuho," said Yusuke Kasamatsu, a senior Mizuho banker. "We took on board their perspective and raised our game." It bolstered ties with investment-grade clients and then reached out to lower-rated borrowers as it deepened its knowledge, Kasamatsu said. Rivals took notice when Mizuho's profits from the U.S. business surged in 2020, said a senior executive at another megabank. "The RBS deal changed their culture," the executive said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic. "They sped up the due diligence process and beefed up risk control. The former RBS bankers told them what needed to be changed and they listened." Its U.S. securities business more than doubled earnings to 60 billion yen ($467 million) in the year through March 2021, after trebling a year earlier. Its share of the high-yield fee pool is 1.5% and has doubled in three years, according to Dealogic. Sumitomo Mitsui last year took a 5% stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc, in part to target high-yield deals. "As our U.S. capabilities were weak, we couldn't benefit fully from the buoyant capital markets" that helped boost Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui CEO Jun Ohta said in a December interview. NEW RISKS But the expansion in the United States, and especially in the high-yield debt market, will pose new risks for the big lenders. The Bank of Japan has taken notice, saying exposure to high-risk assets, while small, could saddle lenders with unexpected losses. As the banks pursue greater fee revenues, they need to "assess the quality and risks of their portfolios", the central bank said recently. While Japanese financial institutions generally hedge against the risk of default by selling on the loans in the secondary market, they have been stung on Wall Street before. In last year's collapse of hedge fund Archegos Capital, Nomura Holdings took a $2.9 billion hit. During the subprime crisis, Mizuho was the worst hit of the Japanese banks, losing some $6 billion. At the regulatory Financial Services Agency, an official said it was "reasonable" for the banks to enter the high-yield market overseas after gaining investment-grade debt experience. "It's also important to strengthen the risk control framework in line with their strategies, and we're closely watching it," said the official, who declined to be identified by name. The banks need to know how much risk they can withstand in times of market distress, said Rie Nishihara of JPMorgan Securities in Japan. In such cases, there is a difference in speed between top- and second-tier banks in accessing information, she said, pointing to the Archegos collapse, where top-tier investment banks emerged relatively unscathed. ($1 = 128.3900 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Yuki Nitta; Editing by David Dolan and Edmund Klamann) A lawmaker in Japan was laughed at after highlighting how the new legal age of adulthood could lead to the exploitation of teenagers. On March 28, Representative Ayaka Shiomura of the Constitutional Democratic Party proposed a bill aimed at protecting 18- and 19-year-olds from recruitment into the adult video industry during a session of the Japanese parliament. Shiomura pleaded with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to take up her bill and debate on it but was mocked by her peers instead. Footage of the incident, which highlighted the lack of female representation in the Japanese political landscape, has recently made the rounds on social media. Japan recently lowered the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18 in a bid to provide more rights and responsibilities to young people and to encourage more civic participation. The change, which took effect April 1, eliminated the requirement for parental consent for 18- and 19-year-olds to enter into contractual agreements. They can now also be tried as adults in criminal court. The legal age for drinking, smoking and gambling, however, remains 20. In her proposal, Shiomura suggested that the new legal age of adulthood posed the risk of the adult film industry preying on those in the newly recognized adult age bracket. Advocates have warned that the change has the potential to harm young adults if no protection is set in place. Accusations that the Japanese adult film industry targets teenage girls and coerces them into appearing in porn have also been heard at the Japanese parliament. During a meeting at the National Diet building on March 23, a former adult film actor shared that she was a college senior when she was pressured into appearing in adult videos. She asked the court to have her work scrapped from the market by upholding Article 5 of the Civil Law, which allows minors to cancel the sale of pornographic projects theyve been contracted for without the consent of their parents. Prior to the age amendment, parents were able to intervene on behalf of teens who were coerced into joining a film or who willingly joined but eventually changed their minds. Shiomura raised the idea in Parliament of allowing 18- and 19-year-olds to void their employment contracts for adult films. The move was supported by a group of 40,000 former adult film actors and sex workers who collectively submitted an online petition pushing for the clause that would allow 18- and 19-year-olds to void adult film contracts. At the session in March, Shiomuras bill was met with a lukewarm response from the prime minister, who told her the government will closely monitor it and consider how to deal with the issue. Shiomura refused to back down and asked Kishida to take this issue very seriously. The laughter came in response to Shiomura saying, Hearing todays discussions, I guess youre holding off. The lawmaker then shot back: Everyone, this is no laughing matter. It is an important issue. I hope that instead of laughing, we can work together on this. Shiomura is no stranger to misogynistic attacks in politics. In 2014, she faced similar heckling from an opposing party member while calling for support for pregnant women and young mothers in Tokyo. A member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly at the time, she was also interrupted by male members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during a speech in which she discussed the conception of children out of wedlock. Story continues Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Video: Angry customer douses two men with boba drink because they could not deliver it to her doorstep AI-created images of Pikachu are the farthest thing from kawaii TikToker shows a Korean textbook that has the N-word in it 'Speak in f*cking English': Woman berates Vietnamese restaurant staff for not having miso soup A Japanese news anchor broke down on air while reporting on Russian President Vladimir Putin honoring the soldiers who oversaw the Bucha massacre. The TV anchor, identified as Yumiko Matsuo, is seen fighting back tears while pausing momentarily in a viral clip posted to Reddit on Wednesday. She had just shown clips of children hiding in the bunker of the Mariupol steel mill and was overcome with emotion, Reddit user /u/thefathermucker captioned the post. There are still many civilians stuck in the bunker. I'm so sorry, excuse me... Matsuo said as she tried to compose herself. The Ukrainian war has entered a new phase... Matsuo was reporting about the honorary title of Guards that Putin bestowed upon the military unit that committed the war crimes in Ukraines Bucha region, where more than 300 dead bodies were found. Putin praised Russias 64th Detached Motor Rifle Brigade for acting with great valor and courage and for defending the sovereignty of Russia in a signed letter on April 18. Through shrewd and bold actions during the Special Military Operations in Ukraine, the units personnel became a role model in the fulfillment of their military duty, valor, dedication and professionalism, his statement read. Many Reddit users praised Matsuos courage as they empathized with her overwhelming emotion regarding the news report. Goes to show how deeply this all resonates on a soul-deep level, one user said. We all feel righteous rage and want to protect each other. That from someone in a culture extremely adept at covering up emotions in public, another user replied. I lived in Japan for 1.5 years during uni, and Ive never ever seen a Japanese news announcer show any sign of emotion whatsoever, another user wrote. I cant believe how upset she must have been to have shown this much feeling on television. Featured Image via /u/thefathermucker Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Story continues Woman filmed telling a Chinese bus driver to go back to China while they are in China Japan Prince Akishino blasts Japanese media, the internet for 'slander' of his daughter Mako Japanese lawmaker doesn't back down after peers laugh at her push to protect teens from porn industry 'Welcome to the challenge': Female stunt artist wows TikTok with virtuoso nunchuck tricks Jimmy Kimmel has thanked the doctors and nurses who saved his son Billys life in a post celebrating his fifth birthday. Happy 5th birthday to our little nut, Kimmel wrote. We are eternally grateful to the brilliant doctors and nurses at @ChildrensLA & @CedarsSinai for saving Billys life and to those of you whose donations, prayers and positive thoughts meant everything. Please support families who need medical care. Kimmel and his wife Molly McNearneys son William John Kimmel, nicknamed Billy, was born with a heart defect in 2017 and had to undergo open-heart surgery at just three days old. In an emotional opening monologue at the time, Kimmel told the audience of his chat show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!: It was the longest three hours of my life, but it was a success. The host said a sonogram revealed his son was born with a hole in the wall separating the two sides of his heart. Seven months later, in December 2017, Kimmel introduced Billy on his show after the youngster had successfully undergone his second heart surgery. Kimmel thanked the doctors and nurses at Childrens Hospital, not just for treating Billy but for helping children from every income level, whose health is especially threatened right now, because of something youve probably never heard of. He went on to explain that the Childrens Health Insurance Program covers around 9 million American kids whose parents made too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but dont have access to affordable coverage due to their jobs, meaning it almost certainly covers children you know. Days after a Leavenworth County jury declared a mistrial in the case of former officer Matthew Harrington, a judge ruled body camera footage from the fatal encounter that left a 47-year-old man dead can be publicly released. The Leavenworth Police Department announced they planned to release a 48-second clip Friday morning. Harringtons defense attorneys filed a motion late Thursday arguing its release would be inappropriate and make it harder to empanel enough prospective jurors who have no previous knowledge of the specific facts of the case. The Star filed a motion to intervene saying the public has a right to view the recordings. It is apparent the video is subject to varying interpretations, which is precisely why members of the public should be allowed to view the recording themselves and reach their own conclusion about what the recording shows, attorney Bernard Rhodes wrote. That is the essence of an ordered democracy, in which an informed public can decide for themselves matters of public interest. A judge ruled early Friday that the body camera videos can be released. Shortly after the ruling, Leavenworth Police Department Chief Patrick Kitchens told The Star he was checking on the videos release. The clip shows a portion of the fatal shooting on July 11, 2017, in which Harrington shot and killed Antonio Garcia, Jr. Harrington was fired from the police department for violating policy and indicted on involuntary manslaughter. On Wednesday, a jury in Harringtons trial was unable to reach a verdict. A hearing in the criminal case has been scheduled for May 4 where a new trial date may be decided. The fatal shooting Harrington was called to investigate a domestic dispute involving a stolen vehicle at Garcias home in the 1700 block of Rose Street. Family members were reportedly having an argument at the house. Garcia encountered Harrington after returning to the home. In the video, Harrington is seen walking up to Garcia as he is parked in the driveway in the SUV. Story continues Prosecutors have said Garcia had a knife in his lap but did not threaten Harrington. In the audio, Harrington was heard saying Put that knife away as Garcia shut the door and the two men struggled. Harrington fired several gunshots into the SUV as he backed away. Harrington called Shots fired into his police radio. The shooting happened 32 seconds after Harrington first approached Garcia, according to earlier testimony. Harrington was indicted in August 2018. Earlier court proceedings were held to determine whether Harrington would have legal immunity under Kansas law. At the time, a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent testified as an expert witness that Harrington should have stepped away from the situation and called for backup instead of opening fire. The agent testified that Garcia did not pose a threat to Harrington. Garcias family filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Leavenworth alleging wrongful death and violation of his civil rights. It settled for $1 million in 2019. ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports After Jarvis Landry was released by the Browns in March, there was word that the team was interested in bringing him back on a different contract. The lack of a new deal over the last couple of months was a strong suggestion that conversations about such a deal were not fruitful and theres now a [more] Reuters TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) -Firefighters in New Mexico begged holdout residents of a mountain village to evacuate on Sunday, before the United States' largest active wildfire races up a valley that is their only way out. Many have ignored requests to leave as they stayed on to defend centuries-old homes and ranches in Chacon, the village about 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Santa Fe, with a population of around 200. As the fire rapidly burned through forest 8 miles (13 km) away, firefighters and police warned people they would not be able to see or breathe once the blaze was upon them. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said nothing on Friday after an audio recording exposed him brazenly lying about his own reaction to the Jan. 6 insurrection. McCarthy on Thursday flatly denied a New York Times report that he planned to tell President Donald Trump to resign after the Capitol riot. Hours after he called the report totally false and wrong, the reporters who had written the story released audio of McCarthy making the statement almost exactly as theyd reported. It would be my recommendation you should resign, McCarthy told fellow GOP House leaders in a Jan. 10, 2021, call, explaining the advice he planned to give to the then-president as a second impeachment loomed. That would be my take. I dont think he would take it, but I dont know. In addition to falsely calling the story wrong, McCarthy on Thursday trashed journalists, claiming the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda. A spokesman for McCarthy did not respond to a request for comment from HuffPost on Friday. The Times reporters on Friday released a separate recording of McCarthy telling a broader group of House Republicans, the week after the attack, that Trump had agreed with him that he bore some responsibility for what happened. That claim, which was reported at the time without the audio, doesnt gel with Trumps behavior then or now. In recent months, Trump has gone so far as to describe the riot as a justified protest against a stolen election. McCarthy, too, has downplayed the riot. But the revelation of his private suggestion that Trump shouldnt serve the final days of his presidency, which had not been reported before this week, makes his earlier public reversal on the Capitol riot all the more remarkable. A week after the attack, McCarthy said on the House floor that Trump bore responsibility for what happened and should be censured. The following week, he said that Trump had not provoked the riot after all. And before the month was over, McCarthy traveled to Trumps Florida mansion to pay his respects. Story continues McCarthys groveling reflects a strategy to maintain the fullest possible support of the Trump-loving House Republican conference. If Republicans win control of the House in Novembers midterm elections, McCarthy can only remain their leader if a majority of Republicans vote for him to be speaker. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... People eat lunch at The Dearborn on April 21, 2022, in Chicago. Some restaurants are trying to adapt to the hybrid work schedules of office workers downtown. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Chicagos downtown almost looks normal some days, especially during the middle of the week when office workers pack themselves onto trains and the streets bustle with pedestrians. But downtown restaurant owners say they see something different when tallying weekly sales. Even the busiest lunch hours rarely hit pre-pandemic levels, and Mondays and Fridays are even worse. Advertisement Were questioning whether it even makes sense to be open on these days, said Scott Weiner, co-owner of Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, which operates more than a dozen establishments across Chicago, including West Town Bakery and 90th Meridian, both on LaSalle Street in the financial district. And with many downtown firms planning to bring back their employees for just two or three days a week, restaurants could permanently lose several days of lunchtime business. That would be another heavy blow to an industry buffeted for two years by shutdowns, rising food prices and labor shortages, perhaps putting off real recovery for years. Advertisement Its not just a problem for restaurant owners. The health of the local restaurant scene will play a key role in determining the vibrancy of downtown as it emerges from the pandemic. Downtown Chicago provides a greater variety of food options than any suburb or city neighborhood, from places to grab a quick sandwich to pricey establishments where businesses entertain out-of-town clients. Like Millennium Park or the lakefront, restaurants make downtown appealing. But if the industry continues to suffer, restaurant owners may decide its not worth it to reopen the many locations closed during the pandemic. Some say landlords may eventually have to agree to lower rental payments if they want to keep the restaurant scene healthy. On Wednesdays, hungry theatergoers attending afternoon matinees crowd into The Dearborn, a 225-seat restaurant at 145 N. Dearborn St., according to proprietor Clodagh Lawless. But its a different story on other days. Wednesdays are just a delight, she said. Everything about Wednesday is perfect, but our Friday lunch is now very quiet, and thats a problem, because we had a business model when we signed a lease which relied on a five-day workweek from our business clientele. Two patrons at The Dearborn sit in the bar area of the restaurant in Chicago's Loop during the lunch hour. With many downtown firms planning to bring back their employees for just two or three days a week, restaurants could permanently lose several days of lunchtime business. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) The Loop is still in dire straits, Weiner said. We need the city and the people who call the shots at big companies to get people back to the office. Weiner estimates lunchtime business is down between 60% and 70% on Mondays and Fridays, and on the other weekdays its down about 20%. The lingering uncertainty helps make it difficult to justify reopening Fifty/50 Restaurant Groups Steadfast at The Gray, a Central Loop restaurant at 120 West Monroe St., in the same building as the Kimpton Gray Hotel. It was shuttered during the pandemic as business travel dried up and hotel occupancy plunged. Average hotel occupancy in downtown Chicago was 59% for the week ending April 9, according to hospitality data firm STR. It was 89.1% for the comparable week in April 2019. Advertisement Were not in any hurry to reopen Steadfast, Weiner said. Lawless, who runs The Dearborn in partnership with her sister Amy Lawless, said theyve survived the two years of turmoil brought on by COVID-19, and are determined to meet whatever challenges remain. She learned the business while growing up in Ireland from her parents, who ran restaurants and a small hotel, and switching careers isnt an option. Its in our blood, she said. We know nothing else, but the restaurant industry, which I adore, right now is a bleak landscape. People eat lunch at The Dearborn downtown on April 21, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) The pandemic squeeze may hit restaurants, which typically have small profit margins, harder than other businesses, according to Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, an industry lobbying group. Between 95 and 97 cents of every dollar goes toward labor costs, produce costs and fixed costs, Toia said. And thats in the good times. Some downtown landlords have been willing to cut deals with restaurants during the crisis, allowing them to pay reduced rent while business was slow, he added. Advertisement Weiner said if hybrid work schedules remain in place and restaurants cant generate the revenue they once did, hes optimistic landlords will negotiate the deals needed to keep these key businesses afloat, perhaps including lower rental rates. The smart landlords are going to figure out ways to keep the restaurants in their buildings open, because if they dont, they could lose their (office) tenants, Weiner said. Its not just upscale restaurants feeling the pinch. Fast-food operators have also noticed slowdowns. Pre-pandemic Mondays and Fridays were softer days for us, averaging slightly lower than our Tuesday-Thursday business, Potbelly Sandwich Shop COO Adam Noyes told the Tribune in a statement. That gap has become a bit more pronounced in 2022, likely due to the hybrid office policies. We believe that these market condition pressures should definitely be considered by landlords to ensure that shops are able to be profitable, he added. We have found a number of landlords to be accommodating in supporting us through this recovery. Michael Klein, managing principal of Glenstar, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade Building downtown, home of Ceres Cafe, said he agreed that if downtown businesses stick with short workweeks long term, restaurants will suffer. But he also cautions that the recovery is in its early stages, and office workers may still flood back downtown in the coming months. Advertisement If we get to the point where 50% of the people are coming back to work, others may start to feel that theyre missing out on something, perhaps not getting that plum assignment, Klein said. Its difficult to measure in real time exactly how many downtown workers have returned. According to Kastle Systems, a security firm that tracks office entries, office occupancy in the Chicago metro area stood at 37.8% the week of April 13, the same as the week before, but the company doesnt provide a separate breakout for the central business district. Klein added that tourists have returned in greater numbers than office workers, so restaurants near tourist-heavy areas like Michigan Avenue or Willis Tower should recover faster. If youre across from the Art Institute and go into Chick-fil-A, it may already feel normal because its filled up at lunchtime, but two or three blocks away in the Central Loop, restaurants are much quieter, Klein said. So, when people do come back, there are going to be discussions about what restaurant rents should be, but theyre going to be block by block, location by location decisions. Weiner said he believes the old real estate adage, location, location, location, will be even more important to the downtown restaurant sector. Even though Fifty/50 Restaurant Group is keeping Steadfast closed for now, its already confident enough in the Chicago market to launch later this year one of its biggest projects yet, a two-story restaurant in Willis Tower called Kindling. Starting this fall, the 16,000-square-foot locations chef will serve diners food cooked in a wood-fire rotisserie oven. Weiner said he expects many of the customers will be out-of-towners. Advertisement Willis Tower is one of the top tourist destinations in Illinois, let alone Chicago, so its a totally different business model, he said. Some Loop restaurants have advantages that should keep business humming no matter what happens. Gina Capitaninis family has owned Italian Village Restaurants since 1927, a brand name that keeps customers returning to the landmark The Village at 71 W. Monroe St. Like The Dearborn, it also draws big crowds of theatergoers. Unlike most of their competitors, the family owns the property, thereby avoiding the astronomically high rents of downtown. Its a lot better than it was six months ago, so were surviving and even doing better than I expected at this point, Capitanini said. A person walks by The Village restaurant on Chicago's West Monroe Street on April 18, 2022. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune) The week before Easter was particularly rewarding. I probably had two or three of the best days that Ive had in the past two years, she said. I probably need more new employees than I need new customers. Advertisement But the pandemic did force Capitanini to close both La Cantina and Vivere, the two other restaurants in the building. She currently has no plans to reopen either. Toia said more restaurants could go under even as more employees return to their workplaces unless Congress replenishes the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The funds $28.6 billion in initial funding ran out last summer as thousands of restaurants nationwide rushed to secure relief. The House of Representatives approved this month $42 billion in grants for food service businesses, but according to an April 21 report in Roll Call, an aid package in the Senate faces headwinds after attracting little Republican support. About 177,000 restaurants were approved for grants through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in 2021 but did not receive any funds, according to the National Restaurant Association. Gerardo Castillo, left, speaks to customer Jerry Boruch at The Village, one of Italian Village Restaurants' three restaurants, on April 18, 2022. Boruch has been a regular customer since the beginning of the pandemic and dines at Italian Village Restaurants when he is downtown for business. (Raquel Zaldivar / Chicago Tribune) The Dearborn was one of the unlucky ones, Lawless said. She and her sister spent the past two years without help, paying rent and enduring several shutdowns, as well as the rising costs for food and labor. In January, when omicron began surging, it was desolate downtown, Lawless said. I mean, it was literally tumbleweeds. So, our choice was, do we open for January and February and lose a ton of money, or stay closed and lose a ton of money? We chose to open so we could keep our team together. Advertisement If Congress does replenish the relief fund, Lawless said The Dearborn could use the money to stock up on supplies and avoid any future supply chain disruptions, pay staff more, or perhaps give the restaurants interior a face-lift. No matter what happens with that legislation, Lawless said she sees hopeful signs. A full slate of conventions has returned to McCormick Place for 2022, and even though attendance so far is still significantly lower than 2019, groups attending these events are already making reservations weeks in advance. Before this, our margins were tight, and now its even tougher, she said. But theres definitely light at the end of the tunnel, the only question is, how long is this tunnel? STILLWATER In the middle of pregame warmups last week before his team took on Kansas, Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski started shuffling players around to different infield positions. He moved first baseman Karli Petty to third base, and third baseman Sydney Pennington to shortstop. I didnt tell them why, Gajewski said. About 20 minutes before the game began, he broke the news. Kiley Naomi, who had started 183 of the Cowgirls previous 184 games at shortstop, had injured her back during a fielding drill and wouldnt be able to play. Moving Pennington to shortstop wasnt a major shock. She started there when Naomi missed a game last season and was the regular shortstop as a freshman in 2018 before Naomi arrived. Petty, however, had never played third base in a college game. She occasionally takes grounders there in practice and played it some at Southmoore High School. OSU softball rewind: What's next for Cowgirls after sweeping Kansas? A big series in Stillwater vs. Texas Oklahoma State's Karli Petty (14) has become extremely valuable as a versatile fielder, starting games at four different positions this season. As the sixth-ranked Cowgirls prepare to host No. 16 Texas for a three-game series beginning with a 6 p.m. Friday contest, Petty should be back at first base, where shes recently been splitting time with Hayley Busby and Morgyn Wynne. Naomi returned to her spot at shortstop when OSU faced Tulsa on Wednesday night, bringing some normalcy back to the lineup card. But this season, nothing has been normal for Petty. She has made 24 starts at four different positions in the field, and a variety of spots in the batting order. And regardless of where she is, shes been productive. This kids a freak, Gajewski said. She can play anywhere. The previous two seasons, Petty was a critical piece of the Cowgirl defense as the second baseman, where she started all but one game and had a .972 fielding percentage. With the arrival of freshman Brianna Evans this season, Gajewski was suddenly overwhelmed with talented infielders. Evans earned the second base job, but Gajewski knew he needed Petty in the lineup. So he moved her to left field to begin the year another position she had rarely played. Story continues A few games in, Evans suffered an injury and Petty returned to second base. Around the time Evans got healthy, sophomore outfielder Katelynn Carwile had fought her way into the lineup and has since remained one of OSUs most dangerous hitters, creating a crowded outfield. So Gajewski had another decision to make. Getting inconsistent production from his first basemen, he decided to give Petty a shot there once again, a position she had never played. 'She can take the world over': OSU's Miranda Elish strikes out 10, drives in 5 runs to beat Kansas We had her catching in the fall, because we were banged up and I felt good enough for her to catch, Gajewski said. And thats what Ive tried to explain to her. Its not easy, but I can play you anywhere and I will, just like that. Credit her for just doing her deal. Im happy for her, because shes all about this place and she works hard, and its cool to see kids come up big. Former Florida star Julia Cottrill transferred in over the winter break, solving the catching issue, but Petty was prepared if called on behind the plate. I was just an extra body for pitchers to get reps, Petty said. But I was ready to go in if I needed to. It was really different. Ive caught a little bit, but not D-I pitching, ever. Offensively, Petty is batting .264 over 82 plate appearances with a .354 on-base percentage, plus three home runs and 14 runs scored. While her offense is reliable, her defense is phenomenal. Despite constantly changing positions, shes made only three errors in 75 chances this year. She was error-free in three games at third base last week, and made a smooth play to start a double play. (Third base) is not as big of an adjustment as going to first, Petty said. Third feels more natural. Its a bigger adjustment just reacting to balls, but thats about it. First base was a very, very big adjustment, learning how to receive, and the angle that it comes off the bat at first. Nothing has been routine for Petty, but she makes it look as though it is. Its hard sometimes to be very good at everything, she said. I try my best to get work done everywhere, but I feel like when I go in, I know that I want to do my best for the team. Whatever is gonna help my team win, thats what I want to do. Thats the mindset I go in with every time I go to left field or first base, even though I feel a little bit uncomfortable. I know this is whats gonna help the team and Im gonna do my best at it. 'It was a truly special moment': Oklahoma State's equestrian national title monumental for brand, school OSU vs. Texas Three-game series in Stillwater: Game 1: 6 p.m. Friday Game 2: 6:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) Game 3: 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN+) This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball: Karli Petty provides value in versatility A Sevier County lawsuit alleges the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville mishandled a report about a priest sexually assaulting a parishioner two years ago. Father Antony D. Punnackal, the priest who is also a defendant in the suit, is on suspension from his role as pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Gatlinburg after a grand jury indicted him in January on charges related to the same incident. The lawsuit is the third ongoing civil case in the state against the Catholic Church for abuse related incidents. The other two are against the Knoxville diocese and the Diocese of Nashville for incidents in Knoxville and Murfreesboro, respectively. Plaintiffs in all three cases are unnamed. A spokesperson for the diocese declined to comment on the substance of the lawsuit. "It would be inappropriate for the diocese to comment on allegations raised in an ongoing civil lawsuit," spokesperson Jim Wogan said. Second lawsuit against Knoxville diocese: Knoxville Catholic diocese accused of improper sexual abuse investigation, lawsuit alleges Lawsuit against Nashville diocese: Judge sentences former Catholic Sunday school teacher for abuse at Murfreesboro parish The complaint against Punnackal states the priest locked the adult female plaintiff in a room on Feb. 17, 2020 and "fondled her breasts and buttocks." The woman "rebuffed Punnackal but he continued his assault," said the complaint. Punnackal eventually unlocked the door and the woman escaped, according to the complaint filed in early March and sealed until only recently. The plaintiff, a mother of three, was meeting with Punnackal that day for grief counseling after the father of the woman's third child was killed. Punnackal admitted in his own court response to being alone with the woman on that day for a grief counseling meeting, but denied any allegations of assault. The woman later reported the incident to law enforcement, triggering an investigation and the subsequent grand jury indictment. The grand jury indicted Punnackal on one count of sexual battery and one count of sexual battery by an authority figure, according to records included with the lawsuit. Story continues Knoxville Catholic Bishop Richard Stika holds Easter mass at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, Sunday April 12, 2020. The grand jury indicted the priest on the same day he was at an event with Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika a fact Punnackal acknowledged in his response who has previously spoken highly of Punnackal. "Antony opened his heart to have a true missionary experience, to listen to the Lord, and to follow," Stika said in a 2017 article commemorating Punnackal's 25th year in the priesthood. The diocesan published article said Punnackal moved to Tennessee from Texas at Stika's request. Law enforcement allegedly informed the diocese of the woman's report about Punnackal before the grand jury indictment, but did not take action until the indictment, the complaint states. The diocese has only responded to the lawsuit so far with a motion to strike certain language in the complaint that primarily are about the other ongoing lawsuit against the diocese. That Knox County lawsuit alleges the diocese mishandled an investigation into claims that one of Stika's assistants raped a musician working for The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville. The plaintiff in the Sevier County case experienced such mental anguish from the alleged assault "that she voluntarily gave temporary custody of her children to the government. She is in the process of recovering custody of her children," the complaint said. Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville Catholic diocese, Gatlinburg priest sued for sexual assault Krispy Kreme is closing a pop-up store at its iconic Ponce de Leon location as construction of a permanent replacement nears. Krispy Kreme opened the pop-up last December as a temporary replacement after the original was demolished following two fires just months apart. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Fire investigators said the first fire was a result of arson. The pop-up will close after the end of business on Sunday. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Krispy Kreme did not say when construction will begin on the new building, but said it expects to have more information soon. TRENDING STORIES: A former teacher in Lee County was arrested and faces sexual assault charges after she allegedly had inappropriate physical contact with a student, according to police and local school officials. Courtney Horn, 32, faces multiple charges after allegedly having contact with a student. Lee County Superintendent Sarah Wasson confirmed that Horn was a health and PE teacher at Lee County Middle High School. Wasson said Horn is no longer working for the school district. Wasson said in a letter to Lee County parents that she found out about the incident on Tuesday. Wasson said she notified Kentucky State Police of the situation as required by law. Student safety is the top priority of the Lee County School District and we will not tolerate behavior that puts the physical or social emotional well-being of our students at risk, Wasson wrote in the letter. Wasson said in her letter she couldnt comment further. State police have confirmed they are investigating the allegations and that Horn has been charged. Shes facing charges of sexual abuse, rape and sodomy, according to court records. Horn was charged on Tuesday and posted a $10,000 bond on Friday, court documents say. Shes not allowed to have contact with Lee County school system properties, according to court records. TALLAHASSEE The states League of Women Voters joined other organizations and a dozen voters Friday in suing to block the congressional redistricting plan demanded by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which boosts likely Republican seats while reducing those expected to elect Black Democrats. The new boundaries were approved Thursday by the state Legislature in a special session that ended chaotically. A handful of Black Democrats in the House attempted to stop the vote with shouting and an impromptu sit-in protesting what they call a discriminatory map. The plan was approved by Republican majorities in both the House and Senate in party-line votes. The congressional map creates 20 districts likely to elect Republicans, leaving eight which are considered Democratic leaning. Two of the four districts that have elected Black Democrats would be eliminated in the plan. The lawsuit, filed in Leon County state court, argues that the map violates the state constitutions Fair Districts amendments governing redistricting. DeSantis signed the plan into law Friday. Previously: Senate bows to DeSantis with map boosting GOP at expense of Black Democrats Changing lines and history: Special session: Florida lawmakers heeding Gov. DeSantis' demand for new congressional map, enraging opponents Several Black House Democratic lawmakers sough to stop the vote Thursday on a new congressional map. Legal test coming The lawsuit could test DeSantis legal theory, which contends that the Fair Districts standards conflict with the U.S. Supreme Courts interpretation of federal constitutional requirements. Fair Districts, approved by voters in 2010, bar line-drawing that for Black and Hispanic voters, diminish their ability to elect representatives of their choice. They also prohibit lawmakers from deliberately favoring or disfavoring a political party in redistricting. The League and the other plaintiffs have chosen to not stand by while a rogue governor and a complicit state Legislature make a mockery of Floridas Constitution and try to silence the votes and voices of hundreds of thousands of Black voters, said Cecile Scoon, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida. Story continues Other plaintiffs include the Equal Ground Education Fund, Florida Rising Together, Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, and voters from across the state. Map could tilt state politics for years The once-a-decade redistricting could shape the states political balance for years to come. Floridas current congressional delegation includes 16 Republicans and 11 Democrats, with the state adding a seat this year because of population gains. With control of Congress at stake in this falls elections, DeSantis could emerge as a hero to Republicans nationally if he is seen as having helped boost the GOP congressional count out of Florida. But the news and data analysis site FiveThirtyEight, which is closely following redistricting across the nation, has called Floridas congressional map darn close to the most egregiously partisan map in the country. Along with the Republican gains, the map eliminates a Jacksonville-to-Tallahassee seat held by Black Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson since 2016, which the governor has declared a racially gerrymandered seat. Black Democrats' seats Lawsons district would be turned into a Duval County-only seat that, while still including a large Black population, voted overwhelmingly for former President Donald Trump in 2020. Lawsons district currently contains Gadsden County, the states only majority Black county. But in the map approved by lawmakers, these voters would now be assigned to Congressional District 2, served by U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Panama City, and whose boundaries include a strong Republican majority of voters. The other minority-leaning district dismantled in the plan is in the Orlando area where U.S. Rep. Val Demings, a Black Democrat elected in 2016, is leaving to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. For a state that elected three Black members to Congress 30 years ago for only the first time since shortly after the Civil War, DeSantis approach was condemned by Black House members Thursday as turning back the political clock. The governor, though, has maintained that he wants to create race neutral congressional boundaries. In ridiculing Lawsons current district, drawn by the state Supreme Court in 2015, DeSantis said it violates the U.S. Constitutions equal protection requirements. DeSantis has cited a 2017 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a North Carolina case that found it unconstitutional to racially gerrymander a seat, except in narrow instances, which DeSantis says the Black-leaning Congressional District 5 district fails to meet. That North Carolina ruling came two years after Floridas congressional lines were created by the state justices who had taken over the map-making in the last round of redistricting because of constitutional violations by Republican lawmakers drawing the plan. John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Networks Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida's congressional redistricting plan violates state constitution, groups say Editor, Register-Mail: Amid the brutal rapes and indiscriminate killing of thousands, atrocities, cluster-bombs decimating humans and infrastructure, on April 8 a rocket, with "FOR THE CHILDREN" painted on its side, killed several dozen people at a busy train station in Eastern Ukraine. Amid that backdrop, support for Putin and his war, is soaring in Russia; Putin's approval rating at 83 percent. How can that be? It is the propaganda which is conveyed to the Russian people, who have a 72 percent "negative view" of America. We have similar propaganda machines here. As misinformation and disinformation abound in all forms of media, it falls to us individually, to care enough about our extraordinary country and about revitalizing and maintaining our democracy; to continue educating ourselves and sorting important facts from dangerous fictions; to root out the truth about issues and candidates for offices across our nation, so we're intentionally aware of what's at stake. Case in point: amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 63 oppositional House Republicans, on April 5, voted against a "non-binding resolution" reaffirming our commitment to NATO and its principles. I've read that it can take as few as 21 to 30 days to be deprogrammed from propaganda sources we've chosen to follow. Whether it's FOX, OAN, or QAnon-sources, we CAN choose differently. I used to be a CNN-junkie two decades ago, then I switched to MSNBC, which is a cutting-edge news source. I urge you all to get MSNBC, watch it for a month, and see for yourselves what you believe. We have the choice to regress, to ban books and subjects we don't like, blame and discard good teachers, push LGBTQ people back into their closets, enforce bounties on abortion-seekers, let the hungry and homeless starve in our streets, to support Q-nonsense and elect under-educated Congress members to legislate regressive laws for our citizenry. OR, we can choose to elect progressive candidates, who will support more humane values, a much-needed, modern paradigm in education; more tools for helping humanity, strengthening our police departments by funding addiction and mental health advocates to deal more effectively with struggling communities; to do away with the filibuster so Congress can pass a prescription-drug plan for everyone, to pass a federal voting-rights bill that surpasses the repressive election laws pushed through some GOP-run state legislatures; to promote the rule of law while fortifying personal freedoms. We can choose to believe in the hope & promise of America, and work toward creating "a more perfect union." Onward, upward; as my old FDR poster says, "FORWARD!" Trish Forsyth Voss, Galesburg This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: LETTER: U.S. has propaganda machines as does Russia TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) As state lawmakers moved to ban transgender kids from girls sports, Kansas most visible LGBTQ-rights lobbyist recently said during an interview in a Statehouse corridor that conservatives dont mind if kindergartners have their genitals inspected." The politically needling comment was bold enough to make Tom Witt's point, and loud enough for a lobbyist supporter of the ban to hear as she walked by. It was also classic Witt: Boisterous. Engaged. And well-targeted. Witt is a key reason Kansas is unlikely to join a growing number of states this year with a ban, despite Republican supermajorities in its Legislature. With lawmakers returning Monday from a spring break, supporters don't yet have the two-thirds majorities to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of their bill. They didn't last year, either. Witt, 60, is executive director of Equality Kansas and a Democratic consultant. During 18 years at the Statehouse, he's spotlighted conservatives' bills so that unwanted publicity prompts Republican leaders to disavow them or discourages GOP-led committees from even holding hearings. Others describe him as relentless in pursuing just enough no votes when it counts, and was influential enough in the state Democratic Party to help push it to the left. He's even let his health slide. In 2017, he ignored growing fatigue to successfully lobby against requiring transgender students to use facilities associated with their genders assigned at birth then had a heart attack and bypass surgery. As for this year's bill, he said unnamed Republicans told him they really hate it before voting for it anyway. He said he's bitter that they might have considered the political cost of voting no. This is life and death for some kids, he said. This is not trivial. This is not politics. Witt plans to retire from activism, lobbying and consulting by year's end, having mentored younger, self-described progressive lobbyists. Story continues Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Byers, the state's first elected transgender lawmaker and a retired Wichita band director, credits Witt with connecting her to national groups and making media interviews easier to navigate during her 2020 campaign. Kari Rinker, a friend and American Heart Association lobbyist, said he taught her how to fundraise and work with a nonprofit board. But Witt is sometimes profane and often pugnacious, even with friends. As for lawmakers, he said, party doesn't matter: If they vote against LGBT rights, Im going to go after them." Brittany Jones, the conservative lobbyist who was walking by Witt's recent hallway interview, begins her recollection of their Statehouse introduction in 2019 with, "I believe hes made in the image of God just like I am. As soon as he found out who I worked for, he dropped my hand, walked away and wouldnt speak to me, said Jones, policy director for the conservative group Kansas Family Voice. Witt doesn't dispute that. As Witt fights to keep Kansas from following at least 15 other states in banning transgender athletes from female school and college sports, some Kansas lawmakers are conflicted. State Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, voted no earlier this month but said reasonable constituents see the bill as common sense. He was the deciding vote last year against a veto override, giving a speech weighing both sides before voting no as Witt sat in the main visitors gallery, visibly on edge. You know, its kind of like hes a Marine Corps drill sergeant when he is committed to the advocacy for his ideology, Haley said. Its like, Everybody line up. This is the way its going to go. The Kansas measures have applied to K-12 students, and a few lawmakers cite that as a problem. Witt said elementary schools would be forced to physically inspect children as young as 5 to settle disputes over transgender kids competing against other girls. The bills text doesnt says exactly how disputes would be resolved, and Haley called Witts argument a little bit beyond belief. State Rep. Barbara Wasinger, a Republican from western Kansas, said Witt's argument is diverting attention from what she sees as the real issues, fair competition and scholarship opportunities for young women. But Witt sees this year's proposals triggering bullying and suicides. He pointed out a scar on his left cheek and said it's from being attacked and cut with a knife in a high school bathroom in the 1970s. In some respects, not a damn thing has changed, he said. "In the 70s, the things that trans people are being called today are what gays and lesbians were called then. The panic about bathrooms? We had the bathroom panic in the 70s. He also recalled how his activism began ahead of a 2005 statewide vote in favor of banning same-sex marriage in Kansas. A computer software writer and IT troubleshooter, he was living in Wichita with his future husband and their daughter. All I ever wanted in my life was a family, Witt said. And it felt like those people were coming after it. ___ Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna A rose is placed on the Holocaust Memorial on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. Today marks the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp by Soviet Forces in 1945, where Germany's Nazis were responsible for the deaths over one million Jews and other victims during World War II. This Thursday, April 28, commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day or a Day of Remembrance in the United States. As described by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Congress designated this annual commemoration to mark the anniversary of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The importance of this commemoration is to remember and honor the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism. The Holocaust Memorial Museum states its support of this day and the other remembrance days that occur around the globe as a way to honor the victims and promote Holocaust education. People gather near the Minora monument at Babi Yar (Babyn Yar), a place in Kiev where the Nazis shot more than 100,000 Jews between 1941 and 1943, for a memorial ceremony marking the International Holocaust Victims Remembrance Day on January 27, 2021. Holocaust remembrance groups around the world strongly condemned the damaging of the site. As stated on History.com, the root of the term Holocaust is the combination of two Greek words, holos meaning whole and kaustos meaning burned. Historically, the term was used to describe sacrificial offerings burned on an altar. However, since 1945, History.com states, the word has taken on a new and horrible meaning: the ideological and systematic state-sponsored persecution and mass murder of millions of European Jews (as well as millions of others, including Romani people, the intellectually disabled, dissidents and homosexuals) by the German Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, takes place in January as an annual memorial of the anniversary of the January 27, 1945, liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration death camp. Emily Clare In addition to observing International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as described by the Holocaust Museum, many of the participating countries have established their own remembrance days that are often connected to events for the Holocaust. Argentina commemorates the National Day for Cultural Diversity on April 19 in memory of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Hungarys Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the establishment of the ghetto in Munkacs on April 16. In 1979, the United States Congress established Days of Remembrance that usually takes place between April and early May to commemorate victims of the Nazi regime. The U.S. Days of Remembrance correspond to Yom Ha-Shoah, Israels annual Holocaust Remembrance Day. Story continues Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage There are many written accounts of what occurred during the Holocaust. As journalist Arielle Tchiprout wrote this year, Its easy enough to think that the Holocaust is simply a relic of the past; that it belongs only in history textbooks or in museum displays. Yet, the devastation and destruction it caused lives on today, which is why remembering it is so important. Tchiprouts lists 12 essential books about the Holocaust. This list includes: Maus I by Art Spiegelman Though not on Tchiprouts list, Art Spiegelmans Maus, a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel is another account of the Holocaust that is worth reading. This book has been in the news over the past few months when, in January of this year, a Tennessee School board voted to remove it from their eighth-grade curriculum, which brought a lot of attention to and opened a national discussion about book censorship. However, what is worth noting in this case is the content of Art Spiegelmans graphic novel. Maus is a very personal and intense biographical account of Spiegelmans parents and their experiences in Auschwitz through the personal lens of the author. Emily Clare is program director of the Cheboygan Area Public Library. This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Library Lines: Remembering the horror that was the Holocaust Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters When the US federal governments mandate requiring masks on transportation was lifted this week, reports of celebration ensued. Videos were shared of people removing their masks and cheering, music was blasted over plane speakers, pilots shared the news from the cockpit and flight attendants jumped with joy. Related: To mask or not to mask: which places still require face coverings in the US? When Maureen Miller, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, heard the news, she had a very different reaction. She was horrified. Were basically ensuring that infectious and susceptible people are together for a chunk of time, with no protection at all, she said. Public health experts like Miller have widely criticized the removal of the federal travel mask mandate, a contrast to the jubilant stance airlines and some passengers have taken to the news. The dissonance in reactions adds to the confusion over how to behave as the pandemic continues. People are now left to weigh how much risk they want to take and how much of a risk they want to be to other people when they travel on planes, buses and trains. The thought is troubling to some who have been studying the pandemic. I dont think individual responsibility can solve the epidemic, said Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician and researcher at Stanford University. Karan noted that wastewater surveillance testing which is increasingly being used as official reporting of cases becomes less reliable has indicated a rise in cases as the BA.2 Omicron subvariant continues to spread. This is not the time to be pulling back on mitigation measures in shared public indoor spaces, Karan said. The problem is that everyones coming together, and theyre dispersing to different places. Youre potentially seeding outbreaks to different areas. The potential for outbreaks is what drove the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to delay on 13 April the end of the transportation mask mandate by two weeks, from 18 April to 3 May. The agency said it wanted to assess the rise in cases that have been attributed to the spread of the BA.2 Omicron subvariant before it lifted the mandate. Story continues A Southwest Airlines flight attendant prepares a plane bound for Orlando, Florida, for takeoff at Kansas City international airport in May 2020. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP Since early April, there have been increases in the 7-day moving average of cases in the US, the CDC said in a statement at the time. In order to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time. But then a US district court judge in Florida on 18 April struck down the extension, saying that the agency overstepped its authority. Cue the videos of mask-less people cheering on planes. On Wednesday, the justice department said it was filing an appeal seeking to overturn the judges ruling, leaving it unclear whether the mandate will be lifted permanently. In a statement, the CDC said it is still studying the potential of another wave and still recommends that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings. Miller said she was concerned about what message the lifting of the mandate is giving to Americans. The federal travel mandate removal is the final push over the edge that tells the population you dont have to worry about this any more, its under control, she said. The travel industry had been particularly eager for the mandate to end, with airlines lobbying to have the mandate lifted over the last few weeks. Earlier this month, the trade group Airlines for America sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services saying the public health environment had changed and that science and research clearly support lifting the mask mandate. All major airlines quickly dropped their mask policies once the mandate was lifted. Delta Air Lines went so far as to release a statement that said the company was relieved about the mandates end as Covid-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus. After backlash on that phrasing, the airlines updated the statement, calling Covid a more manageable respiratory virus. For many employees of airlines, the problem with face masks did not come from following the mandate itself, but dealing with angry customers who refused to wear masks. A survey from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) found a rise in the number of flight attendants who had to deal with unruly passengers. One in five had experienced physical incidents, while 85% had to deal with unruly passengers in 2021. The Federal Aviation Administration reported that investigations into unruly passengers surged during the pandemic, largely because of issues with mask compliance. They dont like being policemen on airplanes, David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue and CEO of Breeze Airways, told the New York Times. In a statement released after the mask mandate was lifted, Sara Nelson, president of the AFA, noted the trouble flight attendants had with enforcing mandates. Passengers line up to check-in at Ronald Reagan Washington national airport in Arlington, Virginia, this week. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters During this pandemic, flight attendants have dealt with constant disruptions in our workplaces, including harassment and violence at a level never seen before, she said. We urge the government, all airlines and airports to work urgently on consistent, clear messaging on the new policy, the recommendations to keep everyone safe and the expectation of mutual respect and calm in our airports and planes. To the dismay of union leaders, including Nelson, some airlines American, United and Delta said they will allow passengers who were banned from flying for refusing to wear masks to fly with them again. We have talked to them individually, Scott Kirby, United CEO, told NBC. Many of them assure that now that the mask mandate is off, everything is going to be fine, and I trust that the vast majority of them will [be]. While airlines are happily getting their passengers back onboard, what the lifting of the mandate will mean for the pandemic is unclear. Some public health experts have expressed concern over the uncertainty of the effects of long Covid, even in those who initially had mild cases of the virus. Karan recalls getting Covid in January and being out sick for 10 days. He had ongoing symptoms for weeks. I dont want to get infected again. I just dont want to continue to be reinfected with every wave, and Ive been advising people not to take that lightly, he said. [The judges decision] is really obstructive to the public health effort right now. We may see consequences of that. We may have more population immunity from day one than we suspected, we have vaccinations, but we just dont know. Its a lot of uncertainty right now. The wait is nearly over for 1.6 million Illinois Facebook users who filed claims in a landmark $650 million biometric privacy settlement. Their $397 checks should be in the mail beginning May 9, according to Chicago attorney Jay Edelson, who brought the lawsuit against Facebook seven years ago. Advertisement Not only did we demonstrate that privacy cases can put real money back into the pockets of the class, we also showed that, when it comes to securing biometric privacy, the wind is at our collective backs, Edelson said Friday. The payouts follow a ruling last month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which upheld the February 2021 class-action settlement over Facebooks alleged violations of Illinois biometric privacy law. Two Illinois class members, Dawn Frankfother and Cathy Flanagan, who objected to the awarding of $97.5 million in attorneys fees agreed they will not take any further action in this matter, freeing up the distribution, according to an April 11 court filing. Advertisement The settlement class included about 7 million Facebook users in Illinois for whom the social network created and stored a face template after June 7, 2011. To qualify, Facebook users had to live in the state for at least six months over the previous nine years. More than one in five eligible Illinois Facebook users filed a claim by the November 2020 deadline. The claim form included name, address and preferred payment method. The claims administrator plans to begin mailing checks May 9, Edelson said. Electronic payments will go out in mid-May, and if any transfers are unsuccessful, a check will be issued to the claimant after 30 days. Class members who successfully filed online received an email confirmation upon submission. Most people who got a notice and submitted a claim were approved, Edelson said. Estimates of the payouts to class members have ranged between $350 and $400 during the lengthy settlement process. The final tally after expenses and fees is expected to come in at $397 for each class member, subject to final accounting. In April 2015, Edelson filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of plaintiff Carlo Licata, alleging the social media giants use of facial tagging features without consent was not allowed under Illinois privacy law. The case was moved to Chicago federal court and then California federal court, where it attained class-action status. When we started this case seven years ago, we knew we were in for an enormous fight, Edelson said. The ability to collect biometric information was at the core of Facebooks business and they are one of the most heavily resourced companies in the history of the planet. In November, Facebook announced it would shut down its facial recognition system amid growing concerns over the widespread use of the technology. As a result, Facebook said it planned to delete more than a billion facial recognition templates it had stored, putting an end to the feature that automatically recognized if peoples faces appear in memories, photos or videos. The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which was passed in 2008, is considered the strictest in the U.S. and requires companies to get permission before using technologies such as facial recognition and fingerprint scans to identify customers. Advertisement rchannick@chicagotribune.com Local journalism like this needs your support. Consider subscribing to your local newspaper. See our current offers. Even if youve been deep inside Space Mountain for the past few weeks, you might have heard the intense rumblings emanating from the feud between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Co, which the governor has blasted as a woke corporation. Then again, you probably didnt pay it much attention, just like the thousands of others queued ear-to-ear for Magic Kingdom fireworks on a Friday night, or waiting to meet a Disney princess, or trying to get a required park reservation at The Most Magical Place on Earth. The iconic company's four Orlando-area theme parks are teeming with guests. Additionally, vacationers board Disney Cruise Line's two largest cruise ships the Dream and the Fantasy for sailings from Port Canaveral a total of three times a week. "Disney is very much loved by people in this country. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella are all part of Disney lore," said Abraham Pizam, the founding dean of Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. "Disney has permeated our culture. It is an entertainment giant. If I were in the shoes of Disney, I would not be worried." Disney World's Magic Kingdom on July 18, 2020. By Tim Walters Who is Randy Fine? Republican lawmaker's fight with Disney is only his latest battle in culture wars Lawmakers revoke Disney's status: A smaller world for Disney? Florida lawmakers revoke special self-governing status How is Disney responding? Here's what Disney has said so far about the political storm surrounding it The rumble in a nutshell: This week, the Florida Legislature voted to repeal the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the governing structure for Disney's Florida properties (which has about $1 billion of municipal bond debt), a move viewed as punishment against Disney for speaking out against the "Parental Rights in Education Act." Story continues The law limits instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in grades K-3. Critics said that law, which has been derided as the "Don't Say Gay bill" is hostile to LGBTQ+ youth and exposes school districts to lawsuits. Disney CEO Bob Chapek said the media giant was pausing political contributions in the state and working to overturn the law. If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy, DeSantis said in a fundraising email. The measure to strip Disney of its self-governing power was introduced in the Florida House by Brevard County Republican lawmaker Randy Fine. The change would take effect in June 2023. The political battle has prompted considerable social media chatter on both sides but it doesn't appear to be impacting the Disney magic, judging by attendance. Take as an example: Even if you're a passholder with the top-tier annual pass and no blackout dates, reservations can be hard to come by. As of Wednesday, the last week of April had limited openings, and so did spots in May and early June. And that's also amid some non-political grumbling by consumers over ticket prices being higher than pre-COVID, and a halt on new passes that some in Florida complained favor visitors from out of state over residents and passholders. Guests queue up in a long line for the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom on April 15, 2022. Any financial impact from the Legislature's action would likely come later, and be felt by local taxpayers and the company as Disney must navigate new rules to add attractions. In discussing the political battle, for now, "I don't see it changing guests' habits," said Scott Sanders, founder and operator of the Disney Cruise Line Blog which is not affiliated with Disney. Sanders a Walt Disney World annual passholder who visits the theme parks with his family several times a month doesn't see any evidence that people are staying away from the parks. From his experience, the attractions, shops and restaurants are as busy as they've always been. "It seems like Disney is too big to topple," he said. The Disney Fantasy is one of two Disney Cruise Line ships based at Port Canaveral, the world's second-busiest cruise port, based on passenger volume. Is the magic still there? If there's a group of people talking Disney World online, you'll often see someone add the four-word refrain: "The magic is gone." Feedback about changes over the past few years has been brutal and constant on Disney World-centric Facebook pages. Shifting ships: Disney Dream leaving Port Canaveral this summer Higher prices, and the loss of perks like free Fast Passes for quicker access to popular attractions at Walt Disney World, irked many people and many see this news-grabbing political war as something Disney shouldn't be involved in, period. Does it mean they plan to cancel trips or boycott the company? Karen Fernandez of Happy Trails in Kissimmee agrees with DeSantis' stance when it comes to the Parental Rights law, saying she thinks kids in kindergarten through third grade "should be learning reading, writing, arithmetic. They should talk to their parents about the other stuff." But she sees Disney's side, too, and says of the governing structure battle, "This whole fight is ridiculous." "It's not going to stop me from going to Disney, even if they raise prices because of the Reedy Creek deal going off, if I can afford it," said Fernandez, who was 4 on her first trip to Disney World in 1974. In a photo from July 2020, Karen Fernandez of Happy Trails, Florida, takes a break during a preview for annual passholders at Walt Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom, which reopened July 11, 2020, after being closed since mid-March 2020 due to COVID-19. "It's my escape," Fernandez said. "I go there to ride rides, to watch shows. I go there to meet family and friends. Nothing political or religious, if religion was brought into it, would stop me from going there. The magic some say is gone it depends on what they feel the magic is. Is it getting free stuff, or enjoying yourself, watching shows, riding rides, laughing, eating delicious food? Things change. And people have to adapt to the new changes. Walt Disney was a very creative person. Maybe he would have had a different approach, but things would have changed anyway." Pizam, who currently serves as professor and Linda Chapin Eminent Scholar Chair in tourism management at UCF, said he believes any efforts to boycott Disney for its stances could be offset by Disney supporters making a special effort to frequent Disney venues and buy Disney products and services. Cruises sailing along While the theme parks are one-of-a-kind, when it comes to cruises, consumers have a plethora of choices. That's where an impact might be seen first. But there's no indication yet that consumers are cooling on Disney. During March, the Disney Fantasy had four sailings out of Port Canaveral, averaging 2,316 passengers per sailing, or about 93% of the ship's double-occupancy capacity of 2,500. The Disney Dream had eight sailings out of Port Canaveral, averaging 2,209 passengers per sailing, or about 88% of its double-occupancy capacity of 2,500. Passenger counts were up from February, when the Fantasy was averaging 1,775 passengers per sailing and the Dream was averaging 1,659. But they are not necessarily at pre-pandemic levels, as cruise lines are seeking to limit their bookings to help in social distancing. Because of the large number of children on a Disney sailing, its ships have three of four passengers in many cabins, and the Dream and Fantasy can sail with as many as 4,000 passengers. In March 2019, for example, the Fantasy was averaging 3,884 passengers per sailing and the Dream was averaging 3,764. Melbourne resident Carolyn Perrine, who's sailed with Disney 10 times, has taken two cruises already this year one with her husband and one solo and has another planned for September. If anything, the political situation is making her more loyal to Disney, reinforcing her love of the brand and appreciation for what the company is standing up for, Perrine said. "The fact they have not kowtowed to the Republicans, that they're standing up for people without a voice. I like that," she said. "They're standing up for their employees, not just passholders. And I think all this talk of boycotts, all of that, is just noise. They're still so busy, and I hope they continue to have that experience." Canaveral Port Authority Commissioner and Secretary/Treasurer Robyn Hattaway, a resident of Merritt Island, said she is not overly concerned about any efforts by cruise-goers opposed to Disney's political stance to boycott Disney Cruise Line. Hattaway an attorney, who also is a Republican candidate for the Florida House of Representatives in 2022 noted that there are four other cruise lines sailing from Port Canaveral, which is the world's second-busiest cruise port, based on passenger volume. Hattaway said someone not wanting to book a Disney cruise could always choose to sail on one of the other line's ships that are based at Port Canaveral. "I certainly respect people's opinions," Hattaway said. Parkgoers are pictured near the Tree of Life at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom on April 15, 2022. Special district issues Looking ahead, though, consumers might see some impact from the Reedy Creek decision. Pizam said Disney could face potential roadblocks for getting approval for future expansion projects at its theme parks or other facilities. Such approval might be required to come from the county governments in Orange or Osceola counties. Additionally, the two counties could be financially impacted by taking responsibility for the roads, other infrastructure and public safety within the current Reedy Creek boundaries. A big crowd gathers at Magic Kingdom to watch the first fireworks show since March 2020. The Walt Disney World parks closed for almost four monnths due to COVID-19 but didn't bring back the fireworks at Magic Kingdom and Epcot until July 1, 2021. "Unfortunately, the whole thing is not good for both sides," Pizam said. And the dispute has certainly seeped into discussions about Disney, which previously had seemed eager to be seen as above politics. Caroline Marianek of Fleming Island loves Disney World, and has bought annual passes for herself, her husband and their son for most of the past 15 years. But Disneys failure to come out early against the so-called Dont Say Gay bill left her infuriated, she said. Disney should be the ultimate place of inclusivity. Yes, I have read the bill. Just because it doesnt say those words directly, it is still the spirit of the bill, she said. As the proud mother of a gay son, I was so deeply hurt that Disney not only refused to come out against it, but that they financially supported candidates that proposed it. For a good 72 hours, I would have answered that there is no way I was renewing. I still say they did too little, too late." A view about the conflict: Torres: DeSantis vs. Disney is such a useless fight over a ridiculous law | Opinion When it comes time to renew in July, Marianek said, shell have a big decision to make. Disney is not her husband's thing, she said, and her son now is a college student in Texas. Between higher prices and the loss of spontaneity due to the reservation system, Marianek would agree with many that "Disney has made it harder to want to continue being a passholder. The amount of visit break-even point is getting harder to meet, she said. And yet, she won't rule out future visits. With all that being said, the minute I pull onto Disney property and see those signs, the weight of the world is lifted off my shoulders, she said. No matter what is going on around me, I am thrilled to be home again. Contact Kennerly at bkennerly@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bybrittkennerly. Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman. Support local journalism and journalists like me. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Disney loses self-governing in Florida: Should parkgoers worry? Photograph: Getty Images The far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared in court in Georgia on Friday for a hearing in an attempt to bar her from Congress for aiding the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Related: Republican leader Kevin McCarthy considered urging Trump to quit, audio reveals A lawyer for Greene, James Bopp, tried to portray her as a victim of the Capitol attack, rather than an instigator. Ron Fein, for the challengers, said: The most powerful witness against Marjorie Taylor Greenes candidacy is Marjorie Taylor Greene herself. Greene, who in testifying clashed repeatedly with lawyers for her challengers, is set to appear on the ballot for Georgias 24 May primary and has been endorsed by Donald Trump. The administrative judge overseeing the hearing, Charles Beaudrot, will present his findings to Georgias secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, who will then determine whether Greene is qualified. Raffensperger, a Republican, stood up to Trump when the then president tried to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 victory in Georgia. Raffensperger has said that as a result, he feared for his familys safety. In a statement on Thursday, Trump incorrectly blamed Raffensperger and the Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, for allowing the challenge, saying Greene was going through hell in their attempt to unseat her. The effort to bar Greene from re-election was brought by a coalition of voters and liberal groups, under the 14th amendment to the US constitution. Passed after the civil war, the amendment was written to prevent anyone sitting in Congress if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion or given aid or comfort to the enemies of the constitution. On Friday, some in the room in Atlanta cheered and applauded as Greene took her seat. Matt Gaetz of Florida, another far-right Trump supporter, was also in the room. He tweeted: Im here in Atlanta to support [Greene] against the assault on democracy that is this effort to remove her from the ballot. Story continues As the hearing began, Greene tweeted: Only the People have the right to choose who they send to Congress. Supporters of Trump attacked Congress on 6 January 2021 in an attempt to stop certification of his defeat by Biden, in service of Trumps lies about electoral fraud. A bipartisan Senate committee connected seven deaths to the riot. More than 100 officers were hurt. About 800 people, including members of far-right and militia groups, have been charged, some with seditious conspiracy. Trump was impeached but acquitted. A House investigation continues. Organisers of events on January 6 have said Greene communicated with them. Greene denies it and says she does not encourage violence. In October, however, she told a podcast hosted by Steve Bannon, Trumps former chief strategist: January 6 was just a riot at the Capitol and if you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants. After the riot, Greene was one of 147 Republicans to object to results in key states. Matt Gaetz walks into the courtroom. Photograph: John Bazemore/AP An effort to use the 14th amendment against Madison Cawthorn, a Trump ally from North Carolina, was unsuccessful, after a judge ruled an 1872 civil war amnesty law was not merely retroactive. In Greenes case, a federal judge said the 1872 law did not apply. In Atlanta on Friday, Bopp said the challengers were making a very serious charge. They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th district of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot, he said, adding that Greene did not engage in the attack on the Capitol. Greene met Trump about objections to state results because of concerns about voter fraud, Bopp said. At the time of the riot, he said, she was at the Capitol urging people to remain calm. Representative Greene was a victim of this attack, Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger. The challenge opened with questioning of a historian about the 14th amendment and uprisings including the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, which was quashed by George Washington. Ron Fein, a lawyer, said Greene took an oath to protect the constitution but broke it. Unlike past insurrections, Fein said: The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. Greene played an important role in stoking Republican fury, Fein said, posting: Its our 1776 moment! on the conservative-friendly Parler platform. The most powerful witness against Marjorie Taylor Greenes candidacy the most powerful witness in establishing that she crossed the line into engagement in insurrection is Marjorie Taylor Greene herself, Fein said. Bopp raised frequent objections. When Greene took the stand, the lawyer Andrew Celli became frustrated. Celli asked the court to acknowledge that this is an adverse witness and said: Ms Greene, Im just asking questions. Im just answering, Greene said. Celli asked Greene about posts on social media and other statements. Greene repeatedly said she did not recall them. Asked about the fact her Facebook account had, in 2019, liked a post calling for the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to be shot in the head, Greene said she had no memory of that and someone else could have been responsible. Whenever Celli suggested Greene endorsed violence to stop certification of electoral votes, Greene said she did not support violence and encouraged peaceful protest. Celli played a clip of an interview the day before the riot in which Greene referred to our 1776 moment. Asked if she was aware some Trump supporters saw that as a call to violence, Greene said she was talking about plans to object to electoral votes. I was talking about the courage to object, she said. Beaudrot sometimes seemed exasperated by repeated rephrasing of questions and told Celli to move on. He also repeatedly admonished Greenes supporters for clapping or cheering. The judge asked both sides to submit briefs by midnight on Thursday, and said he would try to make a decision within a week after that. The Associated Press contributed reporting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., faced questioning under oath Friday in a Georgia elections court from lawyers who say she violated the Constitution by aiding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and should therefore be disqualified from running for reelection. After the hearing, Judge Charles Beaudrot will issue a decision with his findings to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who has the final authority to determine whether Greene is qualified to appear on a ballot, though his decision can be appealed in state court. The Georgia primary is on May 24. Raffensperger himself faces a tough primary challenge from another Republican who has parroted former President Donald Trumps unfounded claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene at her court hearing on Friday. (John Bazemore-Pool/Getty Images) Lawyers for plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit against Greene on behalf of voters in her district attempted to establish that her statements in the days and years leading up to Jan. 6 incited and aided the violent assault on the Capitol. The attorneys sought to prove that she violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which has a clause forbidding any lawmaker from having engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [Constitution], or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. Greene, who had attempted to evade the hearing through legal filings seeking to quash the lawsuit against her, testified for more than three hours in a state administrative court hearing in Atlanta. Her attorney, James Bopp, argued that the congresswoman had to have engaged in insurrection and not simply aided it in order to be found in violation of the Constitution. He also said that Jan. 6 was not an insurrection, but rather a riot and mob violence. The plaintiffs attorneys, Ron Fein and Andrew Celli, presented Greene with a series of statements she made that they said demonstrated a pattern of advocating for violence in the two years leading up to her election in 2020. They also questioned her about her knowledge of the potential for violence on Jan. 6, and statements she made spreading lies about a rigged election and urging Trump supporters to stop the transfer of power. Story continues Trump supporters clash with police and security forces on Jan. 6, 2021. (Brent Stirton/Getty Images) Cellis cross-examination began with comments by Greene in 2019, when she said that treason is a crime punishable by death and that Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason. She also liked a comment on Facebook that said a bullet to the head would be quicker to remove Pelosi from office. Not long after that, during a trip to Washington, D.C., in February 2019, Greene said on Facebook Live that Pelosi would suffer death or shell be in prison because of her treason. Greene, for her part, spent most of her time on the stand, under oath, telling the lawyers that she did not remember or recall making such statements. When shown video evidence of her past comments, she tried to downplay her remarks, argued that a video might have been edited or incomplete, or claimed that her social media postings might have been made by members of her staff. Ahead of that trip to D.C., Greene who would launch her candidacy for Congress a few months later called on others to come with her on Feb. 23, 2019, to pressure lawmakers to fund a border wall. If we have a sea of people shut down the streets, if we shut down everything. If we flood the Capitol building, flood all of the government buildings. Go inside. These are public buildings. We own them, she said. Celli and lawyers for the plaintiffs listed these comments to demonstrate that Greene had called in the past for people to attempt to intimidate government officials by going into government buildings with the threat of violence. We can do it peacefully. We can. I hope we dont have to do it the other way. I hope not. But we should feel like we will if we have to, Greene said. Because we are the American people." If you show up in big numbers on Feb. 23, oh I promise you, I promise you, theyll be struck with fear on the inside, she said. Bopp said Greenes language was nothing more than hyperbole that is commonly used. James Bopp, attorney for Marjorie Taylor Greene. (John Bazemore/Getty Images) During questioning, Greene said she did not know if she had liked the comment about a bullet to Pelosis head. I have had many people manage my social media account, she said. I have no idea who liked that comment. Celli then moved on to comments made by Greene after the 2020 election. He spent a long time discussing the context behind her comments the day before the insurrection that referenced the American Revolution. This is our 1776 moment, Greene said on Jan. 5 during an interview with Newsmax, a right-wing TV station. What was done in 1776 was to stop a tyrannical government with guns? Celli asked Greene. She agreed: Sure. But she added, Ive always said Im against violence. Greene claimed her reference to 1776 was a comment only about objecting to the certification of the election results in Congress. But Celli asked her about another comment. He asked if she had said that the peaceful transfer of power should not be allowed. I dont recall, Greene said. In response, Celli said, Lets go to the videotape. He played a video of her entire comment. You cant allow it to just transfer power peacefully like Joe Biden wants and allow him to become our president, because he did not win this election, she had said. Greenes only defense was that this was a partial statement. The congresswoman also said she was a victim of the riot that day because she was afraid for her safety. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was simultaneously registered to vote in three states North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina, according to records obtained by The Washington Posts Fact Checker. The ex-Trump aide was removed from voter rolls in North Carolina earlier this month while he is being investigated by state election officials for possible voter fraud. Meadows, who represented the state in the House before his time in Donald Trumps White House, was registered to vote using an address where he reportedly never lived. Meadows remains registered to vote in both Virginia and South Carolina, per the Post. Like his former boss, Meadows constantly talked up election integrity and the threat of purported voter fraud during the 2020 presidential campaign and after Trumps defeat. There has been no significant evidence of either, despite Trumps continued insistence that he won. At the White House, Meadows was deeply involved in Trumps plot to overturn the 2020 election, which led to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot. Meadows communications with two Republican lawmakers show he helped orchestrate White House efforts to find purported examples of voter fraud. Dude, we need ammo. We need fraud examples. We need it this weekend, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Meadows in a Nov. 7, 2020, text message obtained by CNN. We are working on exactly that, Meadows responded. When Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a self-styled constitutional conservative, suggested that several battleground states could appoint alternate electors, allowing Congress a bogus pretense to throw out real electoral votes and potentially overturn the election, Meadows said: I am working on that as of yesterday. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Marvel Studios Marvel is bringing more LGBTQ+ representation into its universe and running up against overseas censors. The new Marvel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been banned in Saudi Arabia due to "LGBTQ issues," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The report said this ban appears to also apply to Kuwait but that this hasn't been confirmed. The ban is attributed to the film's introduction of a new hero to the Marvel universe, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who is gay in the comics. It was previously reported that her sexuality would be acknowledged in the film. This was the second Marvel movie within the past six months to be banned in Saudi Arabia for featuring LGBTQ representation. In November, the country also banned Eternals, which includes a gay superhero who is in a same-sex relationship. At one point in the film, the character kisses his husband. In that case, the Reporter said local censors requested edits to the film that Disney declined to make. A number of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, also banned Disney's West Side Story remake in January over the inclusion of a transgender character. And earlier this month, Warner Bros. edited lines referencing a gay relationship out of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore so it could be released in China. Doctor Strange was set to be released in theaters across the Gulf at the same time it hits the U.S. in early May. It's expected to be one of the highest grossing films of the summer movie season. According to Deadline, the movie is still expected to be released in the United Arab Emirates. You may also like Bill Murray movie suspends production after he's reportedly accused of 'inappropriate behavior' What's next for Chris Wallace after the end of CNN+? Colin Kaepernick won't make it as a backup in the NFL SheKnows Barack Obama shared a lovely message for Michelle Obama in honor of Mothers Day on Sunday, and the family photo shows how his daughters, Malia, 23, and Sasha, 20, have each developed their own flair for fashion. One of them prefers a breezy laidback style while the other is comfortable with a more glamorous look [] The ninth and tenth buses carrying migrants who entered the country through the southern border into Texas arrived in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night. Gov. Greg Abbotts controversial policy to bus migrants in Texas who volunteer to go to the nations capital came in response to President Biden's decision to end Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to deny entry to migrants. "By busing migrants to Washington, D.C., the Biden Administration will be able to more immediately meet the needs of the people they are allowing to cross our border," Abbott said last week. "Texas should not have to bear the burden of the Biden Administrations failure to secure our border." Abbott told "Hannity" earlier this week that he was forced to come up with "new ideas to do the federal government's job" as border checkpoints struggle to manage the flow of people attempting to enter the United States and amid the Biden administration's move to eliminate the Title 42 expulsion provision. TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT BRINGING THE BORDER TO BIDEN AS HE, ARIZONA'S DUCEY GIVE UPDATE ON CRISIS "Its an atrocity that we have a President of the United States that is not securing the border. He is violating laws passed by Congress to secure the border and on top of that, we have a president who is turning a blind eye to security-based issues by allowing people on terrorist watch lists to come into the United States of America," Abbott said. Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) last week to begin transporting migrants released from federal custody in Texas to Washington, D.C., and other locations outside the Lone Star State. The migrants must volunteer for the bus ride. Many of the migrants had been released into small Texas communities that Abbott said were overwhelmed. Ordalis Heras, 26, an asylum seeker from Venezuela who took one of the earlier buses to Washington, D.C., told the Texas Tribune she was grateful to Texas for the ride. Story continues "We are very thankful for all the help that has been given to us. Frankly, we did not have the money to get here otherwise, so we are very thankful for the help," she said after arriving in the capital. "From here on in, I think things will be better. I have hope that things will be better and that my children will have a better quality of life." Abbott said he is also considering sending migrants to Delaware, Bidens home state. Fox News' Yael Halon contributed to this report. Mike Tyson threw punches at a fellow passenger on board a commercial flight after a water bottle was thrown at him, his representatives have claimed. Viral footage emerged on Thursday which showed Tyson, a former heavyweight world champion, punching a man in the face before take-off on a flight to Florida. Tysons representatives said the passenger was being aggressive and was harassing the 55-year-old in the moments before the incident. A second video shows the passenger attempting to get Tysons attention from the row of seats behind him. Tyson had boarded the flight from San Francisco to Florida but got off the plane following the confrontation and was later detained. Unfortunately, Mr Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat, his representatives said. Blood could be seen dripping from the mans forehead after the incident in the initial video. The passenger refused to cooperate with the police investigation, officials said. Police also said Tyson was detained at San Francisco airport following the incident. Both Tyson and the other passenger were released pending further investigation. Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident, police said. One subject was treated at the scene for non life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation. Mikel Arteta, right, played under Arsene Wenger) (PA Wire) Mikel Arteta admits a part of him was wary of taking the Arsenal job as the spectre of Arsene Wenger continued to loom over the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners host Manchester United on Saturday with the visitors having announced Erik ten Hag as their new manager on Thursday. The Dutchman will become the fifth permanent manager to take the hot seat at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 when he leaves Ajax this summer. Arsenal were in a similar position when Arsene Wenger stepped down following 22 years at the helm with Unai Emery, his initial replacement, sacked after less than two years in charge. Arteta was next through the door, the former Arsenal captain winning the FA Cup in his first campaign, but he said a little part of him was still uncertain of following in Wengers footsteps. It did (cross my mind when taking the job), he said. But it was tiny in comparison to the excitement and the opportunity that I saw to join this club and try to do what we all wanted to do, which is to get it back to where Arsene took it at the highest level and obviously that desire was much bigger than the worries of failure. Arteta revealed he had come close to leaving his assistant managers role at Manchester City to immediately replace Wenger only for Emery to land the job. It was close, but things happen for a reason and it probably was too soon, he added. There are people who made the decisions and they made a different decision. They signed another exceptional coach that again is showing in Villarreal how good he was. But sometimes its not about the capacity of a person, its the capacity of the context that you showed or the team that it fits, if its the right moment or not the right moment, sometimes its not about the capacity, its about the timing. The thing is, the expectations of this club are going to be always the best because were going to compare all the time with the beautiful moments that we lived together here. There is no choice when is the perfect moment, I dont know. Story continues Ralph Rangnick will still be in charge of United for the remainder of the season as they look to usurp Arsenal in the battle for Champions League qualification. Asked directly about Ten Hags appointment, Arteta added: I think hes been really good, what he did a couple of years ago in the Champions League, especially the way his teams play. Its a Man United decision, theres nothing more to say. For us there is no impact (on Saturdays fixture), for them I dont know whats going to happen but for us nothing changes. Searchlight Pictures has suspended production on Being Mortal, a new movie starring Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen and Bill Murray, over complaints about Murrays inappropriate behavior on set. The studio sent a letter to the movies cast and crew on Wednesday, informing them filming had been suspended due to an unspecified complaint. Late last week, we were made aware of a complaint, and we immediately looked into it, the note said. Though sources at the time indicated the production halt was not COVID-19 related, nor did it pertain to Ansari or Rogen, it was ambiguous what caused the shutdown. Advertisement Searchlight Pictures declined to comment on the investigation. It is not clear if Murray will stay on board the film, or if he will be recast. Since principal photography started at the end of March, nearly half of the movie had been shot before production was ground to a halt this week. While the nature of the complaint against Murray is unknown, this is not the first clash hes been involved in on a film set. On the 2000 action-comedy Charlies Angels, star Lucy Liu reportedly confronted Murray for hurling insults at her following a rewrite of a scene without his knowledge. Advertisement Liu only recently addressed the incident for the first time last year, calling Murrays behavior inexcusable and unacceptable. I stood up for myself, and I dont regret it, she told the Los Angeles Times. Because no matter how low on the totem pole you may be or wherever you came from, theres no need to condescend or to put other people down. Ansari, who created the Netflix series Master of None, is pulling quadruple duty on the film. Hes writing, directing and producing Being Mortal, in addition to acting in the movie. Searchlight is scheduled to release the film theatrically in 2023. In Wednesdays note to production, Searchlight said We are truly grateful to all of you for everything youve put into this project. Our hope is to resume production and [we] are working with Aziz and [producer Youree Henley] to figure out that timing. Production will be in touch with you to share details on the wrap, and we will let you know as soon as we have more information to share. Being Mortal is based on Atul Gawandes 2014 nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Gawande, a practicing surgeon, describes his book about aging, patients anxieties regarding death and doctors tendencies to fall back on false hope as having the potential to change medicine and lives. Through reflections and personal stories, the book takes a look at the limitations and failures of modern medicine at the end of a persons life. Plot details have not been announced. Thus, it is not clear who Ansari, Rogen or Murray will play in the film. Ansari, the star of Parks and Recreation, took a break from Hollywood after sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against him in 2018. He since returned to film and television with Master of None: Moments in Love and his sixth stand-up special, Nightclub Comedian. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office released this photo of a vehicle suspected to be involved in the April 2021 shooting death of Roy Thomas, 17, in Sherman Park. One year after 17-year-old Roy Thomas was killed in broad daylight in Sherman Park, the Milwaukee County Sheriffs Office is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Thomas, a student at James Madison High School and a big brother to three siblings, was shot and killed April 22, 2021, when someone opened fire from a vehicle as more than a dozen kids played in the park. We believe that Roy was truly an innocent bystander, Detective Kimberly Alexander said Friday. Investigators have exhausted all leads and are unaware of the motive behind the shooting, Alexander said. She pleaded that anyone with information come forward. Roy Thomas, 17. This mother, her family, needs you to say something, Alexander said. The community needs you to say something. What if it was your loved one or what if it was you? You would want someone to speak up. Seeing something and not saying something empowers the criminal behavior thats going on in todays society. The sheriffs office, which patrols county-run parks in Milwaukee and is the lead agency in the case, released photos of the suspect vehicle Friday, describing it as a silver Nissan Xterra. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriffs office at 414-278-4788. Callers can remain anonymous, Alexander said. In 2021, Milwaukee recorded 197 homicides, breaking its record for the second year in a row. As homicides have climbed locally and nationally since 2020, homicide clearance rates have fallen. The Milwaukee Police Department, which takes the lead on the vast majority of homicide investigations in the city, posted a clearance rate of 51% in 2021. From 2017 to 2019, the department posted clearance rates between 76% and 78%. As of Friday, Milwaukee police reported 62 homicides in 2022, up from 38 as of the same date in 2021. The department's 2022 clearance rate stood at 57% as of April 1. Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12. Story continues Stay in the know. Sign up to get NewsWatch delivered to your inbox every afternoon. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: $5,000 reward offered in 2021 fatal shooting of teen in Sherman Park When Michael Politte walked Friday morning out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center, overjoyed and relieved, he saw the familiar face of a former prisoner among his crowd of supporters. It was Rodney Lincoln, whose sentence was commuted in 2018 after he presented compelling evidence that he spent 34 years in prison for a St. Louis murder he did not commit. Lincoln first met Politte when, they maintain, they were doing other peoples time. Welcome home, Lincoln told Politte as they hugged and shook hands. Now 38, Politte and his sisters have said for two decades that he was wrongly convicted in the Dec. 5, 1998, murder of their mother, Rita Politte. Then 14, he quickly became the prime suspect after he found her body burning on the floor of their Hopewell mobile home in eastern Missouri, his lawyers said. He was convicted on faulty fire science following a biased investigation, they have argued. Michael Politte and Rodney Lincoln. Politte was greeted by a cheering group comprised of his sisters, lawyers and advocates as he was released on parole. Donning jeans and a plaid shirt, Politte embraced each of them saying, I love you guys. Asked what was in his future, Politte told reporters gathered there: Life. Im going to hangout with my family, he said, adding: Justice for Rita. This is her moment, also. Shes smiling today. Politte added that the fight to clear his name would continue. His legal battle seeking exoneration goes on, something he can now work toward from home with his sisters. This is not the end, his lawyers with the MacArthur Justice Center, the Midwest Innocence Project and Langdon & Emison said in a statement earlier this year when Politte was granted parole. Justice for the Politte family demands Mikes exoneration and we will continue to litigate in court to overturn his conviction. Michael Politte and his childhood friend Mike Glore ride bikes after Politte was paroled April 22, 2022, in a murder he maintains he did not commit. In their court filings, Polittes lawyers said no blood or other injuries were found on him on the day of the killing. Investigators also misinterpreted Polittes trauma and stress as indicators of guilt, his lawyers said. Story continues Law enforcement did not investigate other viable suspects, including Polittes father recently divorced from his mother who had been ordered to pay a significant financial settlement the week before she died, according to his attorneys. Polittes petition includes an affidavit from a former deputy sheriff who helped investigate the killing. She said investigators were split on whether Politte was guilty. Her doubts grew as she got to know him, and came to believe he was innocent. Among those outside the prison Friday was Mike Glore, a childhood friend of Polittes. The two used to ride bikes together as kids, so he brought two, red and black BMX bikes. Its been 23 years since I rode a bicycle, Politte said before hopping on. They rode off of the prison grounds together. In recent years, even the jurors who voted to convict Politte have raised concerns about their decision. After learning of evidence they never heard at trial, two came to believe he was innocent and should be freed to correct this wrong, while others said he deserved a new trial. One of the jurors, Linda Dickerson-Bell, of Bonne Terre, in an affidavit said she learned through an MTV documentary series, which featured Polittes case, that there was not gasoline on his shoes. She called that evidence the nail in the coffin for her at trial. After learning about the new evidence, my guilt has only grown, she wrote. I now firmly believe ... that we made a terrible mistake. The Midwest Innocence Project, one of the organizations that represents Politte, set up a GoFundMe to help raise money for him. The fundraiser exceeded its goal of $7,500 by bringing in more than $8,000 by Friday evening. The mother of a missing 5-year-old girl was sentenced to prison in a Washington court on charges involving her other two children. Jordan Bowers, 33, was sentenced to 20 months in prison on two counts of child endangerment with a controlled substance on Friday, April 22, in Grays Harbor County Superior Court. She pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this month. Andrew Carlson, the father of two of the children, had a lighter sentencing for the same charges. He was sentenced to one year in prison on March 28 because he didnt have a criminal history, McClatchy News previously reported. Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson were arrested on Dec. 6, 2021, after a welfare check prompted the search for their 5-year-old daughter, Oakley Carlson in Oakville. Oakley was not found when authorities looked for her and she hadnt been seen in over a year. The couple gave police information about Oakley that was quickly proven to be false and misleading, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities also discovered their 6-year-old child wasnt receiving necessary medication. They also learned two of their children had been exposed or ingested high levels of methamphetamine, KING-TV reported. Bowers and Carlson were initially charged with second-degree abandonment of a dependent person when authorities learned they failed to provide medication to their 6-year-old for 15 months, but those charges were dropped, according to court documents. The child is disabled and the medication is necessary or significant physical impairment could occur, court documents show. Bowers faced a 15-20 month sentencing range for each count, but Superior Court Judge Katie Svoboda sentenced her at the highest end. She will serve her time for each charge concurrently. Its a parents job to protect their children and Ms. Bowers failed to do that. Svoboda said. I am convinced beyond any doubt that they both knew that their children were being exposed and they took no steps to stop it. Story continues Bowers did not make a statement during her hearing. Ms. Bowers always insisted that she was not responsible for this, her attorney Michael Nagle said during the hearing. In addition to her 20-month sentence, Bowers will have no unsupervised contact with any child. Oakleys disappearance has gained a large following online with a public Facebook page garnering over 13,000 followers. A group of people holding signs also showed up to Bowers sentencing and chanted Where is Oakley! as she was being escorted into the superior court. Oakville is about 30 miles south of Olympia. 8-year-olds death still a mystery after vanishing from WA school bus stop 40 years ago 5-year-old boys body found buried in the woods, NH cops say. Mom charged months later 5-month-old found alive, mom found dead a week after they vanished, Indiana cops say KMGH - Denver Scripps One man was killed and his wife has been hospitalized after a random shooting outside of an Enterprise Rent-A-Car on Friday. On Sunday, we learned more about the couple visiting from Ohio. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoya's funeral Friday: We want his name!" Sharpton's comments renewed demands by Lyoya's family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officer's name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. "How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Police reform requires evaluating many long-standing practices to ensure our actions are consistent with the best interests of the community and the individuals involved, Washington said. No timeline has been set for the discussions or a decision, spokesman David Green said, adding that Washingtons statement was intended to let city residents know we hear you and were willing to assess that practice and see if it works or not. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., putting Lyoya's death in the context of the national civil rights movement. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and ran into an America that we know too well. He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoya's killing. Story continues "We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name," he said. Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the district that includes Grand Rapids, said in a statement that his office and the FBI had offered help state investigators and local prosecutors and that the Justice Department can provide consultation, mediation or training assistance. He said his office will continue to review the facts to determine whether additional federal response is warranted. Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton has eulogized George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Crump also called for justice Friday, saying an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution. He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said. If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids. After the service, Crump told reporters: We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community, she said. And if I dont stand up, who will? Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. Bethlehem Shekanena, whose parents immigrated from Congo, said the Lyoyas came to the U.S. for life, liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. We are gathered here today because the promise given to all those who reside on this land, the very foundation of what makes America America it was broken the moment Patrick Lloya was killed in the streets." she said, adding: He did not deserve to die." Before the service, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officer's Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya was driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. How dare you pull your gun about some car tags? Sharpton said during his eulogy. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. ___ Forliti contributed from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya NEW YORK The moonmen are returning to the Garden State. The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, will once again host MTVs Video Music Awards, after it was held for two years at Brooklyns Barclays Center, MTV announced Thursday. The ceremony that awards winners moonmen statues is set for Aug. 28 Our 2019 show in Newark was undoubtedly one of our biggest and most successful shows yet and were excited to bring back the incredible fan energy for one of musics most anticipated and iconic nights, said Bruce Gillmer, president of music at Paramount, MTVs parent company, said in a statement. The last time the event was hosted at the Prudential Center, comic Sebastian Maniscalco hosted. The performances included Megan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift, Lizzo, H.E.R. and Missy Elliott, who won the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Swift, Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish all tied for the most awards that night each took home three moonmen. Swift and Grande were tied for the most nominations with 12. NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins made history Wednesday when she and a crew launched into space aboard the SpaceX Dragon, from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Watkins will be the first Black woman to serve a long-duration mission on the International Space Station. Watkins is working alongside NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines, and Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. The crew will embark on a six-month stint in the ISS laboratory conducting research and doing maintenance on the station, the space agency said. She gushed about the coming trip in a previous interview, agreeing that her mission is both a barrier-breaking moment and the natural progression of the field. We have reached this milestone, this point in time, and the reason were able to arrive at this time is because of the legacy of those who have come before to allow for this moment, Watkins said. Also, recognizing this is a step in the direction of a very exciting future. So to be a part of that is certainly an honor. Watkins mission has drawn praise from diversity and inclusion experts, but it shows just how far Black women still have to go in the white, male-dominated profession. You know theres not enough of us. Women are underrepresented in science, although its getting better in some ways, said Mae Jemison, who made her own headlines in 1992 when she became the first Black woman to go to space. There is a lot of gatekeeping, both conscious and unconscious, that keeps people out. But once you are there, its where do you fit? People hold you to a stereotype of what they consider a scientist. Theres this unrelenting requirement that you prove you have the right to be there. Many times I think that we achieve in these fields in spite of, not because of.Watkins will be the fifth Black woman to have gone to space. The others are Jemison; Stephanie Wilson, who, at more than 42 days, has spent more time in space than any Black other woman; Joan Higginbotham; and Sian Proctor, the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft. Story continues Watkins joined NASA as an intern and held several positions as a researcher and geologist before she was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2017. Watkins earned her bachelors degree in geological and environmental sciences at Stanford University and her doctorate in geology at UCLA. Her career with NASA has been long and full of accomplishments: She has held roles at the agencys Ames Research Center and studied near-Earth asteroids at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and she was was part of the science team for the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity. Mae Jemison (NASA) While Watkins accomplishment is a great step forward for the space industry and evidence of its strides in diversity, there is still work to be done. A report this year from the Space Frontier Foundation, a space advocacy organization, found that nearly 90 percent of people who have been to space are white men. And the space industry as a whole from researchers and managers to writers and photographers is only marginally better, the researchers said. The report also found that white people in the space industry are more likely to make six-figure salaries than Black employees. The fact that its taken this long to get African American folks on the ISS is disappointing. But its nice to see this focus is finally happening, said Kim Macharia, a Black woman who is the chair of the foundations board. She highlighted that even though crews began living on the ISS in 2000, it took more than a decade for a Black astronaut, Victor Glover Jr., to serve a long-term mission on the station. Bernard Harris Jr. in 1995 became the first Black person to walk in space. Just nine years earlier, Ronald McNair became the second Black astronaut to go to space; he died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. Less than 12 percent of all astronauts have ever been women, specifically. And then when you look at the number of people of color, the number is even lower there, Macharia said. But in the actual workforce at large, about 20 percent of the industrys workforce is women. So, theres a lot of work to be done when it comes to addressing these demographics. Most recently, Jemison was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her widely recognized accomplishments in the field. Since leaving NASA, she has prioritized diversity in her own endeavors. She leads 100 Year Starship, a global initiative to support human travel to another star within the next 100 years. I actively bring in people who embody that word inclusion across ethnicity, gender and geography as well as across disciplines, she said. Jemison isnt the only former NASA employee to have taken on such a task. John Hines, a former NASA researcher, founded the Hines Family Foundation to provide resources and opportunities for children from disadvantaged communities interested in STEM science, technology, engineering and math. Now, as Watkins continues her career with a growing NASA, Jemison is using her recognition to push the industry forward. Very frequently we have a tendency to forget that we have to continue to grow. And we dont hold ourselves to that. I do, she said. I always hold myself to continuing to grow, learning new things and contributing in a different way. Follow NBCBLK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. By Boureima Balima and Moussa Aksar NIAMEY (Reuters) -Niger lawmakers on Friday approved a bill allowing the deployment of more European special forces to help stem a jihadist insurgency across the Sahel, a move rejected by some parties that oppose Western military influence. President Mohamed Bazoum agreed in February for the former French colony to host special forces from neighbouring Mali as France withdraws troops deployed since 2013 to help fight Islamist militants, who have since spread from Mali's arid north. Niger's parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bill, which clears the way for more European troops to be deployed but did not specify how many. About 2,400 French troops and 900 special forces in the French-led Takuba force are expected to leave Mali in coming months due to deteriorating relations with its ruling military junta. There are concerns France's withdrawal could sap a lengthy battle against insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have killed hundreds, displaced millions and made swathes of territory ungovernable in the Sahel, south of the Sahara. Discussions continue on re-deployment of troops leaving Mali, with a view to using them to protect affected countries in the Sahel and the coastal Gulf of Guinea nations. The coastal states, such as Benin, Ghana and Ivory Coast, which have been hit by spillover attacks in recent months, could also host troops if needed. The deployments will add to French and other European special forces already stationed along Niger's border with Mali in February, boosting military bases nationwide, the bill said. "We need foreign forces for intelligence and aerial support to Nigerien armed forces fighting on the ground," said leading ruling party member Daouda Mamadou Marte before the debate. The ruling party holds a majority in parliament, with 135 out of 166 seats. But it has faced staunch resistance by opposition lawmakers and civil society groups weary of a foreign army presence amid growing public anger about France's military involvement in its former colonies. Story continues Protesters in both Burkina Faso and Niger blocked a French convoy travelling from Ivory Coast to Mali in November. Ensuing clashes in western Niger killed at least two people and injured over a dozen. [L1N2SI06D] Nigerien civil society leader Abdoulaye Seydou said passing the bill would be a breach of sovereignty. "Sahelian states are able to set up their own protection mechanisms," he told Reuters. (Reporting by Boureima Balima and Moussa AksarWriting by Sofia Christensen and Nellie PeytonEditing by William Maclean and Mark Potter) A state Department of Transportation internal committee met this week to advance a project to study damage to a retaining wall that supports a raised section of Route 80 near the Delaware Water Gap, which may be "subject to sudden failure," according to the meeting's agenda. The committee received approval for its request for $5.5 million in state funds to inspect the wall and come up with solutions to address the problem, which includes the deterioration of the wall and a minimum 12-inch-deep crack. The estimated cost of the repairs to the wall's crack and deterioration stands at $51 million. The "failure" warning was included in the project description from the meeting's agenda, which also stated the retaining wall "does not meet current serviceability requirements due to its minimal reinforcement," and that a failure "is a risk to the traveling public and could result in a closure of I-80." The retaining wall stretches for more than a quarter-mile around the base of Mount Tammany, an area known as the S-curves that was built in the 1950s. This file photo from March 2022 shows the "erosion cave" repairs made to the retaining wall on I80 in the Delaware Water Gap. The photo also shows water stains of a leak (left of repair) through the wall and evidence of water coming from weep holes (right of repair) installed as part of the project. The engineering study will take a look at the retaining wall issues that were discovered by crews making repairs to a nearby section of the wall that had been scoured or eroded by water coming down from Mount Tammany. The mountain is located on the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap and is maintained by the NJDOT. The scour, known by locals as the "erosion cave," is at milepost 1.4 of the wall, which is 1,470 feet long, 13 to 18 feet tall and consists of 49 individual panels. According to an NJDOT memo, "upon clearing vegetation west of this wall repair, additional wall deterioration, with a minimum 12-inch-deep crack adjacent to the wall shear key, was observed." The memo also stated the wall "does not meet current serviceability requirements due to its minimal reinforcement. Due to the tied-back construction of the existing wall, it could be subject to sudden failure, which is a risk to the traveling public and could result in a closure of I-80." Story continues A video taken in 2020 by local residents as part of their effort to draw attention to the "erosion cave" and other problems with the 75-year-old road and wall, shows the crack existed at that time. When the wall was constructed, a drainage system was included that would collect and control the water flowing off the mountain to channel it into the river. However, breaks and cracks in that system of mostly concrete pipes allowed water to get into the fill. The water, seeking a path to the river, pushed down to the bottom of the wall and eroded parts of it away. Closed road: Portion of Route 46 to close in Knowlton for repair of rockfall fence Route 15 bridge repairs: Weldon Road Bridge replacement work to begin Monday. Prepare for lane closure Over the years, other breaks and cracks in the drainage system allowed water to get into the fill behind the wall that holds up the highway. A retired civil engineer who worked for public entities looked at the information that the engineering study will include and said he thinks the water has built up behind the wall, creating more pressure on the structure. The S-curve on Route 80 west at the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area. The engineer, who asked that his name not be published, said the concrete, like a piece of chalk, can take a lot of pressure, but is also "brittle" and can break without warning. As part of the repair project, the contractor drilled a series of "weep holes" in the retaining wall. Those holes are attached to perforated piping and provide a route for water trapped behind the wall to flow through the wall to reduce the pressure. "However, that's just a temporary measure," the engineer said. "It's a sign that there's water back there." The engineer also said he thinks there was minimal steel used in building the wall and in anchoring it to the base of the mountain. While there are strict federal laws on how often inspections need to be conducted on bridge structures, there is no similar law on how often retaining walls need to be inspected. The study is needed since the structure is likely nearing the end of its useful life and was built to standards of the 1950s, not modern standards, the engineer said. He added he does not think there is immediate danger, but a full inspection needs to be done. This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: NJDOT OKs study of Route 80 retaining wall 'subject to sudden failure' Cynthia Albritton, a.k.a. Cynthia Plaster Caster, the legendary artist and recovering groupie renowned for the plaster casts she took of many top musicians erect penises and other body parts, has died after a long illness, her rep confirms to Variety. She was 74. Her collection included Jimi Hendrix, Wayne Kramer of MC5, Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks, Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys as well as female breasts from the likes of Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Sally Timms of the Mekons, Peaches, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and many others. She later expanded her subjects to include filmmakers and other artists and eventually amassed a collection of 50 plaster phalluses. Advertisement Born Cynthia Albritton on May 24, 1947, she began her plaster-casting rock career while living in Chicago in 1968. After meeting Frank Zappa, who found her art concept both humorous and creative (although he did not participate), Albritton found in him something of a patron. He moved her to Los Angeles a goldmine for her line of art where she found multiple willing assistants to help prepare the subjects for her work. In 1971, after her apartment was robbed, Zappa and Albritton decided the casts should be preserved for a future exhibition and entrusted them to Zappas business and legal partner, Herb Cohen. However, artists declined to participate in the exhibition, and she made no casts between 1971 and 1980. In a surreal situation, she found herself having to go to court in 1993 in order to get the 25 casts she had left with Cohen returned; ultimately she got all but three of them back. Advertisement In 2000, Albritton finally held her first exhibition of the casts in New York, and expanded her purview to include womens breasts. Her career was immortalized in the 2001 documentary, Plaster Caster, and she also participated in the 2005 BBC documentary My Penis and I, created by filmmaker Lawrence Barraclough about his anxiety over the size of his penis. She has been lauded in many rock songs including Kiss Plaster Caster and a television conversation between her and the Frank Zappa-sponsored group the GTOs was included on their 1969 album, Permanent Damage. In an intriguing career twist, in 2010, Albritton ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago naturally, on the Hard Party ticket. The off-duty deputy who shot and killed a Black pedestrian amid a confrontation on a busy North Carolina road earlier this year won't face charges, a prosecutor announced Thursday. The special prosecutor who reviewed charges in the fatal shooting of Jason Walker on Jan. 8 determined Lt. Jeffrey Hash had reason to fear bodily harm and to defend himself. Kimberley Spahos, director of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, wrote in a letter Thursday that the shooting occurred after Walker jumped onto Hash's private vehicle "for an unknown reason," ripped the windshield wiper off and began to smash the windshield. Hash's wife and daughter were inside the vehicle. PREVIOUSLY: 911 call released after off-duty North Carolina sheriff's deputy fatally shoots Black man FAMILY: 'All we're asking for is the truth' After shouting at Walker to stop, Hash then exited his truck. Walker lunged at Hash, who shot Walker four times, according to the letter. An autopsy released in March found that Walker had gunshot wounds to his head, chest, back and thigh. The report noted that no alcohol or illegal drugs were found in his system. Fayetteville officials have released three police body camera videos from the scene, showing witnesses as well as Walker's shocked father describing the chaotic scene to police officers. The videos do not show the shooting or what led up to it. The prosecutor's investigation did not provide clarity on what prompted Walker to approach the truck in the first place. The witnesses described how Walker jumped on the vehicle, and his father said Walker tore off a windshield wiper. "He came out the yard and I was trying to get him to come back over here," Anthony Walker said. "And I called him. I said, 'Come back, Jason.'" North Carolina self-defense law allows the use of deadly force if someone reasonably believes they or another person are in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death, Spahos wrote. Story continues "In this case, the evidence clearly supports the conclusion that Hash reasonably believed that he, his wife, and his child were in imminent danger of great bodily injury or death at the hands of Walker," Spahos said. The letter also noted that, in considering criminal charges, prosecutors had to determine whether they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime happened. But an attorney for Walkers family said self-defense laws like North Carolina's justify killings of people of color. The laws enable "people who are quick to pull the trigger and end a life," civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement, which said an officer like Hash should have known how to deescalate a tense situation without using deadly force. "The decision from the special prosecutor to not press charges against Jeffrey Hash is upsetting to everyone who knew and loved Jason in his life and has mourned his untimely death," said Civil rights attorney Ben Crump. "This case speaks to the need for reform of the North Carolina laws and their equivalents across the nation that allow unnecessary deadly force as a means of self-protection, which we often see loosely interpreted." The shooting ignited protests in Fayetteville from demonstrators who demanded police accountability. An attorney for Hash, Parrish Daughtry, praised the special prosecutor's decision. We greatly appreciate that this was not a quick arrest situation, but rather that the state did what appears to be a very thorough investigation, she said. She said her client grieves for the loss of life and for Walker's family. Contributing: Celina Tebor, USA TODAY; The Associated Press This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jason Walker shooting: No charges for North Carolina deputy "The Northman" director Robert Eggers. Axelle/Bauer/Griffin/FilmMagic Robert Eggers gave Insider behind-the-scenes stories on the making of "The Northman." He said it was easy to get Ethan Hawke to bark like a dog with Willem Dafoe on his side. Anya Taylor-Joy was supposed to chew herbs and put them in an actor's mouth, but COVID stopped that. Director Robert Eggers is trapped in the past. This is evident in his filmography, which though only including three feature films has wowed audiences with its textured and highly researched examination of times long ago. His feature debut, "The Witch" in 2015, took us back to the 1600s when witchcraft was feared. Not only did it bring acclaim to Eggers, but it also instantly turned its lead, then-unknown Anya Taylor-Joy, into a young Hollywood starlet. Eggers followed that with 2019's "The Lighthouse," starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as lighthouse keepers in the 1890s who slowly lose their sanity while stuck on a remote island. Its lush black-and-white look led the movie's cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke, to score an Oscar nomination. Now, Eggers goes even farther back in time 900 AD, to be exact to give us one of the most epic (and violent) Viking movies you'll maybe ever see. "The Northman," which hits theaters on Friday, follows Alexander Skarsgard as a Viking prince who has dedicated his life to killing his uncle after witnessing him murder his father (Ethan Hawke) as a teenager. The movie also stars Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, and Bjork, who makes her first movie appearance in 17 years. Like Eggers' previous films, the attention to detail and authenticity in "The Northman" is unmatched. Its visuals make it feel like you are watching a giant tapestry come to life. Insider chatted with Eggers about making his most audacious project to date, the challenges of working during a pandemic, and Hawke's willingness to bark like a dog. Alexander Skarsgard and Anya Taylor-Joy in "The Northman." Focus Features. Even for you, the standards that you set for yourself, are you shocked by what you were able to pull off with this movie? Story continues I mean, I recognize it was a behemoth and I certainly felt the pressure and the difficulty of that. But on top of this being the biggest movie you have ever taken on, you had to deal with shooting during COVID. Yeah, that was hard. I will say there were only two creative compromises that came from COVID. One, we didn't get to shoot in Iceland as much as I wanted. And two, and it's just a tiny thing, but in the scene where we first meet Anya Taylor-Joy's character, she's comforting someone who is in shock from the village raid. She gives the person some herbs and says a spell. Originally she was supposed to chew those herbs up in her own mouth and then take them out of her mouth and put it in the person's mouth. That was how the folk magic was to work. But we weren't allowed to do that due to the pandemic. Was there a shot in this movie where you didn't care what the notes were, it was always going to stay in the movie come hell or high water? Yes. It's a nothing shot but it's where Alex's character is playing the foreman at the farm and he's telling the enslaved people to go back to work. There's this shot where the camera pans and there are two really huge pigs backlit by the sun. I just couldn't let those pigs be cut from the movie. That shot originally was incredibly long. It was a huge tracking shot through the farm and it was focused on the women's work. But when we kept cutting it shorter and shorter and shorter, the result was Alex, but also the pigs. Now, some of the long takes that did stay in the movie were of battles. You have never really ever done action sequences before, and when you do it they are "oners," continuous shots. Why did you do it in that style? It just seemed to make sense with the work Jarin Blaschke and I have been developing over the years. It felt like the logical next step. It's just too bad that the next step was on such a larger film because it just makes things more complicated for us. But we wanted you in there in the action. Every beat of the fight. Bjork in "The Northman." Focus Features Bjork came up with the idea of having her eyes covered playing the seeress in the movie Bjork stars in the movie as a seeress, someone who predicts future events. How did she get involved? It's been 17 years since she's starred in a movie. Basically, Sjon, my cowriter, has known Bjork since they were teenagers. And over the years my wife and I have built a relationship with Bjork due to Robin Carolan, one of the composers of the movie, who is friends with Bjork, and also one of our best friends. It was a cameo. One day of shooting. And playing a seeress, that's not a stretch for her. [Laughs.] Did she have any notes on how she wanted her costume to look? The costume was something that I had in my head. But the main contribution that she brought was she wanted her eyes to be covered. So those shells, which traditionally would be around the forehead, we moved over her eyes. Does anything in the modern-day interest you as a storyteller. No. Nothing? Nothing. And honesty, I don't know why. Nicolas Cage has said that he wants to work with you. Have you ever taken a meeting with him? The Nicolas Cage call has not ever happened. But he has so much modernity about him that it would be an interesting challenge to see what period I could find my way into making Nicolas Cage be utterly believable in. Do you think of actors when you write? I do. Sometimes to my detriment. Willem's role was written for him. So was Anya's. And that was cool because I have worked with them before and I thought they would probably say yes. Nicole's role, after a while of writing it, started being her. That's scary because, if she had said no to the role, it would have been disappointing. Ethan Hawke in "The Northman." Focus Features Eggers says getting Ethan Hawke to bark like a dog was easy, thanks to Willem Dafoe In one scene in the movie Willem Dafoe and Ethan Hawke's characters do a Viking ritual and Hawke's character acts like a dog. Are you still shocked you got Hawke to get on all fours and bark like a dog? He was easy to work with. Also, if you see Willem Dafoe strip down and barking like a dog you're going to do it too. That's a given. I remember Alex and I were at the premiere in Rome, and Ethan came up to us and was like "Guys, guys, you got to stop bitching about how hard this movie was to shoot. You're not fucking coal miners!" [Laughs.] This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Read the original article on Insider The aspirational project to build a memorial plaza dedicated to Gen. Daniel "Chappie" James at the foot of the new bridge across Pensacola Bay named after him became tangible on Friday as an F-4 Phantom II fighter jet rolled through the gates of NAS Pensacola. The jet is the type of fighter aircraft James flew 78 combat missions in during the Vietnam War when he was vice commander of the U.S. Air Force Eighth Tactical Fighter Wing. The Gen. Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. Memorial Foundation is organizing the effort to restore the F-4 Phantom II to look as James' own jet would have looked during the war. City signs onto take jet: City to sign lease for historic fighter jet for Chappie James plaza project 'A perfect match': Renowned artist Ed Dwight will sculpt Gen. 'Chappie' James statue Funding: Pensacola agrees to help fund Gen. 'Chappie' James statue and women veterans monument Memorial foundation board member and retired Navy Capt. Lee Hansen said with the aircraft in Pensacola the foundation can begin serious fundraising efforts to make the memorial plaza a reality. "Now it's real, and now people realize we're serious about this," Hansen said. "It's not just a pie in the sky. We actually have the aircraft. We actually have a statue created." The jet was carried in pieces on three trucks and will be reassembled and restored at the museum. The jet is now officially on loan to the city of Pensacola from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The jet had been on display at Music City Executive Airport in Gallatin, Tennessee before it made the 470-mile journey to Pensacola. An F-4 Phantom II aircraft similar to the one flown by General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. arrives in Pensacola on Friday, April 22, 2022. The National Naval Aviation Museum will reassemble, repaint and prepare the Vietnam-era jet for placement at General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. Memorial Plaza. James was the first African American to become a four-star general in the military and had a legendary career in the U.S. Air Force until his untimely death at the age of 58 in 1978 from a heart attack. Born and raised in Pensacola, James joined the military during World War II and became a Tuskegee Airman learning to fly and then becoming a flight instructor himself before becoming a pilot in a bomber group. Story continues James didn't see combat until the Korean War where he flew 101 combat missions. James ultimately became a four-star general over North American Aerospace Defense Command, one of the top commands in the U.S. Air Force. Economic tax breaks: Should Escambia allow economic tax breaks for new business developments? Voters to decide Addressing Homelessness: Escambia County has $4 million to address homelessness. The question is how to spend it? Hansen said her father, who was from Pensacola and just a few years younger than James, would talk about James as being a role model. "It's one of those, stories were (James was) born into a poor family, but a family that encouraged and demanded education and excellence," Hansen said. "In fact, his mother's 11th commandment was 'Thou shalt not quit.' And so we've kind of taken that on as our motto." The monument will feature the jet as well as a 10-foot bronze statue of James and an 80-foot flag pole with a large American flag. Renowned artist Ed Dwight, a former Air Force test pilot and America's first African-American astronaut candidate, is the lead sculptor for the statue, which is expected to be complete by the end of the year. An F-4 Phantom II aircraft similar to the one flown by General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. arrives in Pensacola on Friday, April 22, 2022. The National Naval Aviation Museum will reassemble, repaint and prepare the Vietnam-era jet for placement at General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. Memorial Plaza. Hansen said the goal is to have the plaza ready to open the same day as the new bridge is complete, and the foundation is looking to fundraise to make it happen. More information about the foundation's fundraising is on their website at GeneralChappieJamesMemorial.org. Along with taking responsibility for the jet, the city has also committed $250,000 and city property at Wayside Park for the plaza. Pensacola Council President Ann Hill and council members Teniade Broughton and Delarian Wiggins were on hand to see the jet arrive at the museum. "He's one of our hometown heroes, so we need to make sure he's honored," Hill said. Before Broughton was elected to the council, she worked at the Chappie James Museum and heard firsthand oral histories from people who knew James. "He was fair. He was honest. He was just a dynamic figure," Broughton said. Broughton said it's fitting a monument to James will be in such a prominent place with a public piece of art for a military figure. "When visitors come to Pensacola, they'll know that they're in a military town, they're in a town that even recognizes African American history," Broughton said. " Chappie being the son of someone born a slave and look what he became. How empowering is that story?" Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: F-4 Phantom II jet for Gen. 'Chappie' James Memorial Plaza arrives WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-President Donald Trump to resign, according to audio posted Thursday night by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show. In the recording of a Jan. 10 House Republican Leadership call, McCarthy is heard discussing the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office and saying he would tell Trump, I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign." Its unclear whether McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker if Republicans gain control during the fall midterm elections, followed through on his thinking or was merely spit-balling ideas shared privately with his colleagues in the aftermath of the deadly Capitol assault. In the same conversation, McCarthy told his colleagues he doubted Trump would take the advice to step aside. That would be my recommendation, McCarthy is heard saying in response to question from Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who would emerge as a staunch Trump critic. I dont think he will take it, but I dont know. Earlier Thursday, after the Times published its initial story describing the conversation, McCarthy released a statement calling it totally false and wrong. His spokesman, Mark Bednar, had told the paper, McCarthy never said hed call Trump to say he should resign. Bednar did not immediately respond to questions late Thursday night after the audio's release. Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the tape. The audio threatens to badly damage the relationship between McCarthy and Trump, who remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party, despite his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection and his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. And it could threaten McCarthy's standing with House Republicans aligned with Trump, whose support he will need for votes to become House speaker next year. Story continues The audio depicts a very different McCarthy than the one who has been leading House Republicans over the last year and a half and who has remained allied with Trump even after delivering a speech on the House floor shortly after Jan. 6, during which he called the attack on the Capitol un-American." At the time, McCarthy called the assault among the saddest days of his career and told his fellow Republicans that Trump bears responsibility for the violence. Even after the violence, though, McCarthy joined half of the House Republicans in voting to challenge Joe Bidens election victory. Since then, the California Republican has distanced himself from any criticism of Trump and has avoided directly linking him to what happened. Within weeks of the siege at the Capitol McCarthy said he did not think Trump provoked the attack, as other prominent Republicans said at the time. Instead, McCarthy has cozied up to Trump, visiting him at the former presidents Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago as he relies on the former presidents brand for campaign support this fall. McCarthy indicated during an interview with The Associated Press this week in California that Trump will motivate voters to turn out for the party in this fall's midterm elections. Hell motivate, get a lot of people out, McCarthy said at a GOP event in Fresno. The Times report Thursday was adapted from an upcoming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for Americas Future, by Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. In the audio, Cheney, who eventually lost her No. 3 leadership position after voting in favor of Trump's impeachment, can be heard asking McCarthy about a 25th Amendment resolution calling for Trumps ouster and whether Trump might resign. Ive had a few discussions. My gut tells me no. Im seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight, McCarthy is heard saying. What I think Im gonna do is Im gonna call him. I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign," he later adds. I mean, that would be my take but I dont think he would take it. But I dont know. McCarthy, 57, has been strategically charting his own delicate course as he positions himself to try to take over as speaker if Republicans retake the House. He has begun to build out his leadership team and last summer tasked several groups of Republican lawmakers with drafting proposals on the partys core legislative priorities in hopes of making a fast start in 2023. But even as he inches closer to leading the chamber, McCarthy is well aware of the downside of power in recent months as hard-right members of the conference have created headaches with inflammatory actions and statements. There was little immediate reaction Thursday night from fellow Republicans who could determine his future. To be sure, no other Republican leader in the House has amassed the standing to challenge McCarthy for the leadership position. McCarthy has recruited the class of newcomers bolstering GOP ranks and raised millions to bolster Republican campaigns. He has drawn his closest rivals into the fold even as he works to shore up the votes that would be needed to become speaker. An outside group aligned with McCarthy has led fundraising ahead of the midterm elections, and rank-and-file Republicans working to regain the House majority are unlikely to be critical of the leader ahead of November. Still, McCarthy has also been a person of interest for the House committee investigating the storming of the Capitol on Jan 6. The select committee, which Cheney vice-chairs, requested an interview with McCarthy in mid-January, hoping to learn more about his conversations with Trump before, during and after the riot. They had also sought information about McCarthys communications with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days before the attack. Hours after the request was made, McCarthy issued a statement saying he would refuse to cooperate because he saw the investigation as not legitimate and accused the panel of abuse of power. The committee has been especially focused on McCarthys communications with Trump and White House staff in the week after the violence, including a conversation with Trump that was reportedly heated. Without his cooperation, it remains unclear whether the panel will be able to gain testimony from McCarthy or any other congressional allies of Trump. While the committee has considered subpoenaing fellow lawmakers, they have so far avoided doing so as it would be an extraordinary move and could run up against legal and political challenges. During a town hall meeting in New York, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) warned that the events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021 were a trial run. If we lose the House, this is no joke, Jan. 6 was a trial run. Now, a lot of people dont seem to understand that. It was a trial run, the New York progressive said this week. And theyre going to come back and they win the House heres the thing, the technicality of what happened on Jan. 6, the only reason it wasnt worse was because Democrats had the House and they didnt have the votes in the House, she continued referring to Republicans. She warned that if Republicans retake the majority in the House in November midterms, then they have the votes to not authorize and legitimize the presidential election, whatever the results are, adding it was very serious. A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill that the congresswomans remarks regarding the trial run were meant about overthrowing the election results. During an interview with CNNs Dana Bash last year, Ocasio-Cortez expressed her concerns over what she believed could have happened to her during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, in which a mob of former President Trumps supporters stormed the Capitol and sought to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election. I didnt think that I was just going to be killed, Ocasio-Cortez told Bash. I thought other things were going to happen to me as well. The New York Democrat, a sexual assault survivor, confirmed that she was worried that she would be raped during the attack. The November midterms are expected to be challenging for Democrats who are seeking to retain their slim majority in the House and even tighter margin of control in the Senate, given that it is not a presidential election cycle, which sees lower voter turnout. A handful of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the insurrection have opted not to run again, underscoring Trumps continued influence on the Republican party and how the Capitol riot has driven a wedge between members of the GOP. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. EXCLUSIVE David Bonola, the handyman arrested in the grisly murder of Queens mother Orsolya Gaal, had been living in the United States in violation of immigration law when he was arrested, law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News Digital on Friday. Bonola moved to the United States from Mexico 21 years ago, police officials said Thursday. They would not comment regarding the 44-year-old's immigration status at the time. But two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the matter told Fox News Digital that Bonola was in the country in violation of immigration law. Details of whether he entered the U.S. legally were not immediately available. "ICE focuses its civil immigration enforcement priorities on the apprehension and removal of noncitizens who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security," an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said in a statement in response to Fox News Digital's questions. Fox News Digital is further told ICE has lodged a detainer with Queens Central Booking. Meanwhile, a representative for Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz's office told Fox News Digital she was unaware of Bonola's immigration status on Friday afternoon. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement could not immediately provide Fox News Digital with a statement regarding Bonola's immigration status. ORSOLYA GAAL MURDER MYSTERY TIMELINE Bonola and Gaal, 51, struck up an "intimate" relationship about two years ago, which also when he started working for the family. "We believe the relationship that Mr. Bonola had with our victim was a intimate-type relationship and this stemmed to be a domestic-type dispute that they were having over their intimate relationship," said NYPD Lt. Tommy Thompson from the Queens North Homicide squad. The NYPD said that Bonola went to Gaal's Queens home shortly after midnight on Saturday to try to rekindle the relationship. Story continues Gaal had just returned home after attending a show at Lincoln Center and having a drink at a local bar when Bonola arrived. ORSOLYA GAAL MURDER: WHO IS HANDYMAN DAVID BONOLA? "A heated argument ensues between the two in the basement. A knife is brandished. A violent struggle ensues, resulting in our victim being stabbed ruthlessly and brutally in excess of 55 times, causing her demise," NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Thursday. One of Gaal's sons was at home during the incident, while her husband and other son were on the West Coast. After the murder, Bonola allegedly stuffed Gaal's remains in a hockey duffel bag and dragged it about seven-tenths of a mile away from her home around 4:30 a.m. before ditching it on the sidewalk. QUEENS MOM ORSOLYA GAAL: NYPD DETAILS HANDYMAN DAVID BONOLA'S 'INTIMATE' RELATIONSHIP WITH MURDER VICTIM Police were alerted to the suspicious bag a few hours later around 8:00 a.m. and were able to trace the blood trail back to Gaal's home. Bonola was arrested on Wednesday evening and is facing charges of murder, criminal tampering and criminal possession of a weapon. The 44-year-old didn't answer questions as he was led out of a New York City police precinct in handcuffs on Thursday afternoon but did shout, "F--- you, motherf-----." Bonola made his initial appearance in court on Thursday night, when he was ordered held without bail. He is due back in court on April 26. Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report. Pakistan's new finance minister on Friday agreed with IMF recommendations to reduce fuel subsidies, pledging to pursue structural reforms to boost a crisis-wracked economy. The International Monetary Fund in 2019 approved a $6 billion loan over three years for Pakistan but disbursement has been slowed down by concerns on the pace of reforms. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, who took office this month after a previous government lost a no-confidence vote, said he had "good discussions" with the IMF on a visit during the Washington-based lender's annual spring meetings. "They've talked about removing the subsidy on fuel. I agree with them," Ismail, himself a former International Monetary Fund economist, said at the Atlantic Council. "We can't afford to do the subsidies that we're doing. So we're going to have to curtail this," he said. He said that former prime minister Imran Khan set a "trap" for his successors through heavy subsidies on fuel. Ismail, however, said that some targeted subsidies should remain for Pakistan's poorest amid sky-high global prices. Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to jumpstart a moribund economy, certain to be a major issue in elections due by late next year. Pakistan has repeatedly sought international support and suffers from a chronically weak tax base. Ismail said that Pakistan, the world's fifth most populous nation, needed to move to a new economic model by removing obstacles and promoting exports to the world. "We have such an elite-benefitting country that almost every subsidy that you can speak of actually goes to the richest people," he said. sct/sst (Penguin Random House) A new book that claims to shed a whole new light on the royal family has been released by Tina Brown, the author of the definitive 2007 biography on Diana, the Princess of Wales. The formerVanity Fair editors new book, The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor the Truth and the Turmoil, continues where Brown left off in her previous book, The Diana Chronicles, just after the princess untimely death in a car crash in Paris. It details the next 30-odd years of the lives of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Brown spoke to more than 120 sources to put her new book together and writes in great detail about the betrayals, love affairs and scandals that Britains most important family has weathered in modern times. She chronicles the Queens stoicism in coming to terms with the deaths of Princess Margaret, the Queen Mother and, most recently, Prince Philip in the years since Dianas tragic passing. Tina Brown, author of The Diana Chronicles and her new book, The Palace Papers (Penguin Random House) The book also explores Prince Charles controversial relationship with Camilla, which became public a year after Dianas death in 1997. It also delves into William and Harrys increasingly-strained brotherhood and the allegations surrounding the Duke of York and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Some of the most explosive claims include how Prince Charles may never get his mothers approval because of his vulnerable, self-centred character, and that Buckingham Palace did not take the issue of race seriously enough until allegations of racism from Prince Harry and Meghan emerged. The author also writes about the nickname allegedly given to Andrew during his time as a pupil at Gordonstoun School in Scotland, as well as how the duke apparently reacted to his separation from his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. The Independents reviewer Sean OGrady described The Palace Papers as a vivid and richly-embroidered book and a mother lode of delectable royal gossip. Brown promises that her new tome will irrevocably change how the world sees the British royal family. The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - The Truth and the Turmoil by Tina Brown is available from 26 April 2022. NEW YORK Mostly taking place in grim prisons, the last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging. They lasted until a final suspension of the practice in 1965 (yes, as recently as that), thus ending the career of professional hangmen like Alfred Pierrepont, who is said to have executed some 500 condemned souls before retiring to run a pub in Lancashire, spending his later years pulling pints rather than breaking necks. Pierrepont, who really existed and even wrote a memoir, was the inspiration for the deliciously gripping Martin McDonagh thriller, Hangmen, which kept Broadway hanging for two years after the COVID-19 closure scuppered its planned New York bow in the spring of 2020. The creepy show, a walloping hit in cynical London, kept its collective body on ice and now is swinging for attention in this crowded spate of spring openings. It opened Thursday at the John Golden Theatre. Advertisement Its a fabulous offering a throwback, really, to the heyday of juicy, creepy London imports by McDonagh (Pillowman), Conor McPherson (Shining City), Mark Ravenhill and Jen Butterworth (Jerusalem). Meticulously directed by Matthew Dunster and designed within an inch of its life by the brilliant Anna Fleischle, it offers up dextrous plotting, sardonic satire, subtle observations about the gray northern life and, above all, an unforgettable central character in Harry, a hangman who also loses his job and who also decides to run a pub in Oldham, Lancashire. Alfie Allen, left, and Gaby French in "Hangmen." (Joan Marcus) He might be set behind the bar, but his long rivalry still festers with Pierrepont, a minor character in this play. Harry is played here by David Threlfall, in a towering, relentless, impossibly verbose performance so intimidating that you might well dream about him hanging you in your sleep. Caveat emptor. Advertisement Drawing from the rich British dramatic tradition of the arrival of a mysterious stranger into an insular community, Hangmen focuses on the arrival of a cherry cockney chap (Alfie Allen, who was Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones) to Harrys pub, where he menaces the landlords wife (the terrific Tracie Bennett) and daughter (Gaby French, evoking a British version of Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear). The whole pub, filled with a motley crew of sycophants, wonders who he might be, as, I guarantee, will you. The cast of 'Hangmen' on Broadway. (Joan Marcus) Is he a relative of someone Harry hanged looking for revenge? A reporter looking for a story? A devil come to take Harrys soul? All three of those options and plenty more beside remain on the table throughout this play and Ill keep shut on the truth, finally revealed in a way that will, I swear, turn you into the sort of goop you typically find on the head of a foaming pint of bitter. McDonagh, who has had enough success not to have to answer to anybody, is having fun saying things few in the theater even dare to whisper these days, of course, and that will delight those who dont look for moral earnestness or a neatly tied thematic bow to accompany their precious nights out on Broadway. But hes also got plenty of stuff to say. As I watched I variously pondered the toll all forms of societal punishment take on those working-class functionaries who do the states business, the arbitrary nature of justice, our ever-amazing ability to carry on in the face of brutality in the air. You might also find yourself thinking about what kids have to deal with when they are dealt the hand of egotistical, narcissistic fathers, the arbitrary nature of when were born, the horror of death. I could go on and on. I should note I spent my childhood living about five miles from where this play is set, albeit a few years later. I had a great dad. I thought about him all night long. Could have been stuck with this guy. Shudder. At the Golden Theatre 252 W. 45th St., New York; hangmenbroadway.com Advertisement Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. The Panamanian Legislative Assemblys economic affairs committee approved a bill on Thursday regulating the use of cryptocurrencies in the Central American country. The bill seeks to give legal stability to crypto assets in Panama and develop the crypto industry in the country to attract more investments and generate more employment, Congressman Gabriel Silva said. It also looks to have blockchain technology be adopted by the Panamanian government to increase transparency and efficiency in procedures, he said. After receiving the committee's approval, the bill now must be discussed by the full Assembly during a second debate where it can receive further modifications and then be reviewed at a third and final session. Following the legislative process, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo can veto or sign the law. The Daily Beast Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin gave a short but defiant speech at a Victory Day parade in which he neither declared war on Ukraine nor claimed victory in his 74-day-old special operation. The celebration was a typical show of Russias military might, which has been put to the test in Ukraine. A flyover fighter jet accompaniment was canceled due to what the Kremlin called bad weatherbut what in reality appeared to show itself as sunny skies with light Photojournalist Carol Guzy has witnessed her fair share of death and destruction over the past four decades. The four-time Pulitzer Prize winner has documented the humanitarian toll of some of the worlds most horrific wars and natural disasters, from Haiti to Kosovo. But from the beginning, there was something different about the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. For one thing, Guzy told Yahoo News, like many Ukrainians, she never expected that Russia would actually invade its neighbor this time around. The wreckage of war: destroyed homes, burnt-out tanks and bodies in the streets of Bucha, Ukraine, on April 3. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) For the first time in 40 years, Ive had this unbelievable feeling of dread that I couldnt shake, and I still have it, Guzy said. Im not sure if the dread is like a warning to me [for] my personal safety or its just been this overwhelming evil thats happening. Rather than head for the frontlines, Guzy decided she would cover the war from the fringes, focusing primarily on stories about refugees. But as she watched the civilian casualties mount, she found staying on the sidelines in this conflict more difficult than she had expected. Wreckage of war and bodies, including some that appear to be Russian soldiers, in the streets of Bucha on April 3. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) This is such a weird war. Its like theres no place thats really safe for anyone, Guzy said, referring to the blatant attacks on civilian sites that have come to define Russias invasion of Ukraine. As of Monday, 4,890 civilian casualties had been recorded in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24, according to the United Nations, with 2,072 killed and 2,818 injured though the actual figures are likely much higher. Ukrainian soldiers stand near dead bodies on a highway in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Its one thing soldiers on a battlefield having a war, said Guzy. These are civilians that are getting targeted. Im sorry; thats just over the line. The extent to which Russia has crossed that line became disturbingly clear earlier this month when Ukrainian forces liberated the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Irpin. Guzy was among the journalists who traveled to Bucha to document the horror left behind when Russian troops retreated. It was quite a scene, Guzy said. It was just horrendous. Its apocalyptic, you know; its like youre walking in a movie set. Story continues A Ukrainian soldier takes pictures with a cellphone of the wreckage of war in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Footage from that scene, showing corpses scattered in the streets, along with reports that the bodies of roughly 300 local residents had been found buried in mass graves, quickly spread, prompting widespread condemnation and calls for investigations of possible war crimes. Many of the dead had reportedly been bound and shot in the back of the head, and survivors have described instances of rape and torture by Russian soldiers. During a visit to Bucha last week, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, which began investigating possible Russian war crimes in March, called Ukraine a crime scene. A War Crimes prosecutor looks at bodies in black plastic bags pulled from a mass grave behind a church in Bucha on April 11. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Guzy said Bucha has remained largely open to journalists and photographers as police and war crimes prosecutors wade through the devastation to collect evidence of alleged Russian atrocities. I think most people here know how important this is for history to be documented, she said. Such documentation has already proven critical in the face of the Russian governments attempts to rewrite history. The Russian Defense Ministry has denied responsibility for any violence against the residents of Bucha during its occupation of the city, suggesting that footage circulated after the departure of Russian troops was staged. A body lies in the street in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Its mind-boggling, Guzy said, calling the statements put out by the Russian government blatant lies. Thats why people want us to photograph it because, you know, the photograph is pretty hard evidence of a lot of things over and over and over again, she added. For Guzy, documenting the truth of what happened in places like Bucha and Irpin is about more than just taking photographs of dead bodies though thats a big part of it. Its also about shining a light on the lives that have been lost to war by documenting the things and people theyve left behind. A distraught woman carries food aid handed out in Bucha on April 4. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Theyre not just bodies. They had a life; they had family, she said. Its not just 300 dead bodies in a mass grave. Its all these lives and hopes and dreams that were, you know, snuffed out. Though the power of these horrific images is undeniable, Guzy, who spent the bulk of her career as a staff photographer, first at the Miami Herald and then the Washington Post, knows editors face a tough choice when deciding whether or how to publish them. The hand of a corpse buried in a mass grave in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) The problem as a photographer is trying to document this tastefully, she said. Theres a lot of pictures I dont even transmit because they are too gruesome. Still, Guzy said, you cant sugarcoat reality. This is the reality of the situation here, she said. Wars ugly. Its ugly, and harsh, and awful, and horrible and terrible. As difficult as it may be for someone to look at these images, she added, Its worse to be here. Its worse for these people. Charred bodies, including those of women and children, lie in a pile in Bucha on April 3. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Witnessing such horrors firsthand is traumatic, even for the most experienced photojournalist, and Guzys years in the field have taught her not to suppress her emotions. Were not walking cameras, you know. Were not robots, she said. But its not the sight of dead bodies that gets to her, Guzy clarified, her voice quavering. Its the suffering of the people that are left behind that really brings me to my knees. Remains of the dead in a mass grave in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Guzy choked back tears as she described the warmth and kindness shes received from people in Ukraine, like the babushkas whove welcomed her into what is left of their damaged homes and offered her tea or a hug. It makes it harder to see what theyre going through because everyone here has been so kind, and theyre such good people, she said. I wish Putin would know the people that hes doing this to. The bodies of Sergei Guryanova and his brother-in-law Roman, who had both been shot in the head, lie in a courtyard as Irina, the wife of Sergei and sister of Roman, quietly weeps. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Ultimately, the stories that are the most emotional for Guzy are the ones that she hopes can offer people hope amid all the pain and suffering. I still look for hope. Look for the angels. Look for the people who are here doing the good work and trying to save these people, she said. Or the woman who hands me the little vial of tea from her totally destroyed, bombed-out building because she wants to give the stranger a gift. Thats what keeps me sane. More of Guzys documentation of the horrors found in Bucha and Irpin A dog stands near a family dog shot dead in a home in Bucha where three people, including Sergei Guryanova, were found executed. Neighbors said he had remained in Bucha to care for his dogs. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) The bodies of two men lie near a damaged home in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A dog follows the bodies of its slain family members in a collection truck in Bucha on April 5. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A corpse lies in a body bag as investigators begin assessing evidence of suspected war crimes in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Investigators and volunteers begin the grim work of chronicling civilian deaths in Bucha on April. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A wallet containing a photo of a young girl lies on top of a corpse in Bucha on April 6. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A corpse lies exposed as investigators and volunteers tally civilian deaths in Bucha after Russian troops withdrew. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A couple comfort each other next to a man's grave in the shadow of the Church of St. Andrew and All Saints in Bucha on April 8. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Investigators pull bodies from a mass grave near the Church of St. Andrew and All Saints in Bucha on April 8. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A worker holds a victim's hand as the body is carefully placed into a black body bag on April 8 in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A man comforts an elderly woman as families search for missing loved ones in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) War crimes investigators tally bodies pulled from a mass grave behind the Church of St. Andrew and All Saints in Bucha on April 8. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Families gather to identify their loved ones as war crimes investigators photograph corpses found in a mass grave in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Body bags of people recovered from throughout the town of Bucha are lined up at a cemetery for transport to the morgue on April 9. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A body is hoisted on a wooden door on April 11 as investigators recover the bodies of more than 400 civilians slain in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) The body of a woman with bound wrists and holding a cross is recovered in Bucha on April 11. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A woman stands over the body of her son as collectors move bodies to the city morgue in Bucha on April 12. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) The body of Marina Naumec, 32, was exhumed by her husband from a makeshift grave in the backyard of a home in Bucha. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) The body of Marina Naumec was exhumed in Bucha on April 12. There were three others buried in this yard, all shot in the eye. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Military dog tags, a medal and a small cross lie on the body of a Russian soldier killed by Ukrainian forces in Irpin, Ukraine. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Blood-stained sheets are inspected in a home in Irpin, Ukraine, where the bodies of two men killed in an airstrike were found. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) Police work with volunteer body collectors at an improvised burial site in Irpin on April 14. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) The body of a man covered in a "USA" T-shirt is exhumed from a home in Irpin that was hit by an airstrike. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) A police officer inspects a passport found in Irpin on April 14 after Russian forces withdrew. (Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press) _____ What happened last week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out. An infographic has been shared multiple times in social media posts that claim Malaysians must wear face masks with official government certification or face a fine of up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgit ($23,600) under new regulations. However, the claim is misleading; the new rules and penalties apply to companies and individuals producing or importing face masks, rather than the general public, Malaysia's Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs said. The infographic about the purported new rules was shared here on Facebook on April 7, 2022. The post's Malaysian-language caption translates to English as: FORCE/THREAT? "If you do not wear a face mask, a fine of 1,000 Malaysian ringgit. If you wear a face mask without SIRIM approval, a fine of 100,000 Malaysian ringgit. "Does the granting of SIRIM approval for face masks prevent the Covid-19 virus from penetrating [the mask]/prevent it from spreading...?" SIRIM QAS International is Malaysia's product testing, inspection and certification body. Screenshot of the misleading post captured on April 15, 2022. The accompanying infographic has a Malaysian-language title that reads: "Non-Medical Face Masks Must Have SIRIM Certification." A column listed under the subtitle "Failure to comply" reads: "Individuals: Can be fined up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgit / imprisonment not exceeding 3 years / both." Malaysia first implemented its mask mandate to prevent the spread of Covid-19 on August 1, 2020, and it remains in place even as the country begins its transition to endemicity. Those who flaunt the mask rule face a fine of 1,000 Malaysian ringgit. However, Malaysian authorities have come under fire for the high price of the penalty while government officials openly flaunted social distancing rules. Malaysians rallied around a teen caught crying on video in August 2020 as he was fined 1,000 Malaysian ringgit for pulling down his mask at a train station, while lambasting local politicians for buying banana fritters without a mask and breaching social distancing measures to hold birthday parties. Story continues The infographic was shared with a similar claim on Facebook here, here and here; and on Twitter here. Comments on the posts indicated that some social media users were misled. The Malaysian-language comments read: "The government educates people by fining them hundreds of thousands (of ringgit) rather than by trying to win the hearts of the people." "It's been 3 years since we were hit by Covid but only now are they thinking about this. Nonsense work," another said. Screenshot of Facebook comments, taken on April 15, 2022 The claim, however, is misleading. Official certification The original infographic was posted by Malaysian state news agency Bernama on their Facebook page on April 6, 2022. Looking more closely at the infographic, it does state: "Manufacturers & importers of non-medical face masks must apply for MS SIRIM certification & labelling from SIRIM QAS Inernational Sdn Bhd." According to new regulations issued by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs on April 5, 2022, manufacturers and importers of non-medical face masks are required to obtain official certification from the government quality control body SIRIM, starting from July 4, 2022. A section of the statement lists penalties for "companies" and "individuals" if they fail to obtain certification. The section for "individuals" reads: "Individuals: fined not exceeding RM 100,000.00 or imprisoned not exceeding 3 years or both. For a second or subsequent offense, a fine not exceeding RM 250,000.00 or imprisonment not exceeding for a period of 5 years or both." Not targeting the public A ministry spokesman told AFP on April 13, 2022: "'Individual' here refers to a person who owns a small-scale cottage industry producing non-medical masks." He also referred AFP to this graphic uploaded to the ministry's official Facebook page on April 11, 2022, titled: "Members of the public don't panic!" A highlighted section of Malaysian-language text reads: "'Individuals' who will face enforcement action are not individual users / wearers of face masks but it refers to an individual who manufactures and imports non-medical face mask without SIRIM certification." According to the graphic, the new requirement has since been postponed to January 1, 2023. Bernama updated their infographics, in both English and Malaysian, and posted the updated versions on their Facebook page here and here on April 7, 2022. The updated infographics now state "Individuals (manufacturers & importers) under the "Failure to Comply" section. Comparisons of the old Bernama infographics (left) and the updated infographics (right), with the main differences marked by AFP: Comparisons of the old Bernama infographics (L) and the new Bernama infographics (R) President Joe Biden speaks with the Interstate 10 Calcasieu River Bridge behind him, Thursday, May 6, 2021, in Lake Charles, La. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Joe Biden is nominating Enix Smith III, who served as former Congressman Cedric Richmond's top aide, for the U.S. marshal in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Louisiana in New Orleans. Smith is one three new nominees for U.S. marshal and five U.S. attorney nominees that Biden will announce today. Smith served as Richmond's 2nd Congressional District chief of staff and deputy chief of staff from 2015 to 2021, law enforcement coordinator from 2011 to 2021 and district director in 2011. Richmond gave up his congressional seat to join Biden's administration as the president's senior advisor. Democratic Congressman Troy Carter of New Orleans won a special election last summer to replace Richmond. More: Louisiana still officially honors Confederate holidays. This bill would change that. "He will prove to be an incredible public servant," Carter told USA Today Network. "He has the proper temperament, integrity and is above reproach." Smith's nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Republican Louisiana U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy haven't commented about Smith's nomination. Before Smith joined Richmond, he worked as a quality control supervisor for Quadel Consulting Corporation from 2006 to 2010 and as a field supervisor for Eagle Environment from 2005 to 2006. Read this: 'These maps are the best maps': Louisiana Legislature overrides Edwards' veto of congressional map He was the Program Site Administrator for the Louisiana Community Developers, Inc. from 2002 to 2005 and the assistant director for New Orleans Community Enhancement, Inc. from 2002 to 2005. Smith, an Xavier University graduate, began his career as a public school teacher in New Orleans. Biden said Smith and his other nominees were chosen "for their devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials in this field, their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all, and their commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice." Story continues Biden has now announced 48 nominees to serve as U.S. attorneys and five nominees to serve as U.S. marshals since beginning his presidency. Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Meet President Biden's nominee for new U.S. marshal in New Orleans Prince Harry watches the wheelchair basketball final with King Willem-Alexander (centre) and Dutch General Mart de Kruif on Friday 22 April (ANP/AFP via Getty Images) Prince Harry met with King Willem-Alexander, the king of the Netherlands, on Friday, the final day of the Invictus Games. The pair watched the final of the wheelchair basketball match between the USA and the Netherlands, laughing and chatting amongst the packed crowd. Earlier today, Prince Harry announced that the Invictus Games will next take place in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, in 2025. Ladies and gentlemen, Invictus is heading back to North America and this is a very, very good thing, he said. As Invictus continues to adapt and evolve, Im thrilled to announce that the Invictus Games Foundation has selected Canada to host the first ever winter hybrid games in 2025. And will be featuring brand new sports as always, the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 will offer a global platform to expand the range and profile of winter adaptive sports. And on Thursday evening, the Prince turned down tequila shots in favour of a quiet pint of Guinness at an Irish bar. The Duke of Sussex visited OCaseys Irish bar in The Hague on Thursday evening accompanied by about a dozen people. Pub owner John Gulay, 51, said Harry had a single pint of Guinness before switching to lemonade. He loves Guinness, Mr Gulay told the PA news agency, adding: He loves the Guinness, of course, who doesn't? According to Mr Gulay, Prince Harry said One pint, that's it and I [will] stick to one pint and then I'll move to lemonade. Mr Gulay said the Duke was offered tequila shots but turned them down, and suggested they instead be given to other people in the pub. Harry stayed in the pubs beer garden for around 90 minutes before leaving for dinner elsewhere, he said. Mr Gulay said he did not send a bill to Harry's table. I said 'Do you know what? This bar bill is mine. I'm so honoured to have you over', he said. They offered to pay, but I said I'm really happy that you guys were here and the Invictus Games were so good for the pub this week, he said. Mr Gulay added that Harry was a really nice guy. The Invictus Games closing ceremony will take place in The Hague on Friday night. WASHINGTON (AP) Decades of conservation efforts have stabilized the population of endangered mountain gorillas in eastern Africa. But the number of Grauers gorillas a less furry, lower elevation-dwelling animal has declined, largely due to habitat loss and hunting. On Friday, the nonprofit Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund announced that more land in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where Grauer's gorillas live will fall under a community-protection initiative. The critically endangered species has lost an estimated 60% of its population in the past two decades, and an estimated 3,800 to 6,800 individuals remain. Most Grauers gorillas now live outside national parks, and protecting them will be difficult in a region facing sustained human conflicts. Their rainforest homes are being cleared for agriculture and mining, and the gorillas are sometimes hunted for food or trapped by snares intended to catch other animals. A 2016 law allows communities in Congo to apply for rights to manage their traditional lands. The Fossey Fund has helped communities in eastern Congo complete that paperwork and entered into agreements with families to provide assistance and training for the sustainable management of their lands. On Friday, it announced that 307 square miles (796 square kilometers) had been added to the program. The addition means 919 square miles (2,379 square kilometers) are now being watched over by about 20 families. The community can decide what activities should be allowed on their lands, and to try to enforce those choices. The Fossey Fund provides education and funding. Community members are trained and then hired "to conduct the science needed to monitor the biodiversity of the forest biological inventories, gorilla tracking, plant biomass for estimating carbon capture, said Urbain Ngobobo, director of the nonprofits Congo programs. This model differs from the approach used to protect the mountain gorillas. They live almost exclusively within the boundaries of national parks in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo, allowing researchers to cooperate with park managers to protect the species. Story continues Most Grauer's gorillas dont live inside national parks and its not feasible to expand the parks to fully cover their habitats. Grauers gorillas exist exclusively in a country that has suffered really extreme degrees of instability for decades, said Richard Bergl, a primatologist and director of conservation at the North Carolina Zoo. When there is violence happening, its very challenging to maintain the infrastructure of a national park," he said. "But the communities will be there regardless of political instability. If you have their support, you have a chance. Community interests vary, but in general there is an incentive to protect their lands from being pillaged by outsiders, whether they're illegal mining operators or commercial hunters, said Dirck Byler, vice chair of the great apes specialist group for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the scientific body that designates species as endangered. Most of these communities want to maintain their forests as they've been in the past, used for subsistence hunting and plant harvesting, said Byler, who has worked extensively in Congo. Community-based conservation schemes have been effective in slowing or reversing the decline of endangered species in other regions, such as the Nigerian mountains where cross river gorillas live and the savannah of northwestern Namibia where endangered rhinos live, Bergl said. The wildlife there would be gone if it werent for community involvement and management, he said. "If were going to be successful, its going to be because of efforts to support the communities to manage their forests." ___ Follow Christina Larson on Twitter: @larsonchristina ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Russian TV journalist Vladimir Solovyov said Russia is already waging a "de facto" war against NATO. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images A prominent Russian TV presenter says Moscow's war in Ukraine will extend to Europe and the world. The Kremlin is already starting to wage a "de facto" war against NATO countries, he said. "Ukrainians alone are no longer enough," Vladimir Solovyov said, in a clip posted by The Daily Beast's Julia Davis. A prominent Russian TV presenter said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is approaching a "new stage" in which Moscow will find itself at war with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and by extension, the entire world. "I believe the special military operation is entering a new stage. Ukrainians alone are no longer enough," said Vladimir Solovyov, according to the translation of a video clip tweeted on Thursday by The Daily Beast's Julia Davis. Video: How Russian media is shaping the war In the widely shared clip, Solovyov noted that NATO countries have been supplying weapons to Ukraine. "We'll see not only NATO weapons being drawn into this, but also their operators," he warned while speaking on his show "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov." Solovyov, a prominent state media figure and supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has often repeated and amplified the Kremlin's pro-war rhetoric on the state-owned channel Russia-1. In the clip, he noted that Russia was "starting to wage war against NATO countries." Meanwhile on Russian state TV: host Vladimir Solovyov threatens Europe and all NATO countries, asking whether they will have enough weapons and people to defend themselves once Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine comes to an end. Solovyov adds: "There will be no mercy." pic.twitter.com/fCN3vfZy4N Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) April 20, 2022 We'll be grinding up NATO's war machine as well as citizens of NATO countries," Solovyov said. "When this operation concludes, NATO will have to ask itself: 'Do we have what we need to defend ourselves? Do we have the people to defend ourselves?' Story continues "And there will be no mercy. There will be no mercy," he added. Echoing Putin's call for the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine, Solovyov said: "Not only will Ukraine have to be denazified, the war against Europe and the world is developing a more specific outline, which means we'll have to act differently, and to act much more harshly." His comments come as several NATO member states announced they would provide Ukrainian troops with advanced weapons and heavy artillery and training on how to use the equipment. For instance, the US is now sending hundreds of tank-busting "Switchblade" drones designed to crash into targets and explode and dozens of long-range artillery systems called howitzers. The UK has also said it would provide 120 armored vehicles and anti-ship missile systems. Solovyov's recent statements on the war align with what some military analysts and Putin critics have predicted: That the Russian leader seeks control of regions beyond Ukraine, particularly Eastern Europe. "We must understand that, in his head, Putin is at war not with Ukraine," exiled Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky told CNN on April 4. "He's at war with the United States and NATO. He said this more than once." Read the original article on Business Insider New Jersey state Sen. Holly Schepisi was lying in bed when she first read the sample lessons one school district was considering incorporating into its sex education curriculum. The Republican lawmaker said she began clicking on links included in the sample lesson plans digging deeper, she said and soon found herself down a YouTube rabbit hole watching recommended videos from a sex ed advocacy organization geared toward kids of various ages. The videos described how many times a day is OK to masturbate, how to properly put on a condom and how watching pornography is normal but that it does not reflect reality. Schepisi posted a link to the proposed lesson plans on Facebook, writing, I truly think New Jersey has lost its damn mind. That single post set off a national firestorm of conservative media coverage promoting Republican lawmakers who said revisions to New Jerseys comprehensive health and physical education learning standards, which were adopted in 2020, were unnecessarily sexualizing children and indoctrinating students with extreme views on gender identity and sexual orientation. That narrative is not true. The sample lesson plans Schepisi spread were not mandated by the state, and the school system in question more than 40 miles away from Schepisi's legislative district in northern New Jersey did not adopt them as written. Another district did adopt some of the broader curricula the lesson plans came from, but it has been using those lessons for four years with little community pushback. Nevertheless, some Republicans in deep blue New Jersey seized on the issue and are using rhetoric that plays on parents' fears the type of talk thats already gained popularity in more conservative states like Virginia and Florida to motivate suburban voters ahead of the midterms. The move put Democrats on their heels, forcing Gov. Phil Murphy to repeatedly address the complaints and, eventually, order education officials to clarify whats covered under the states sex ed standards. Story continues This week, state Sen. Vin Gopal, a Democrat who represents a competitive legislative district, said he plans to introduce legislation that would increase transparency around curriculum decisions and give parents greater involvement in the lesson planning process. This is a coordinated attempt by political operatives whose goal is to create chaos, misinformation and try to cause confusion for people, Gopal, the chair of the state Senates Education Committee, said in an interview. I do wish that the [state] Department of Education and the other side would do a better job as far as taking control of the narrative, making sure the truth is more widely available, and not giving in to the conspiracy theorists. New Jersey is just the latest if unexpected battleground in the national debate about what students are taught in school. In Virginia, inflaming parents over critical race theory helped elect Republican Glenn Youngkin governor. In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is trumpeting the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the Dont Say Gay law by opponents, as he runs for reelection and considers seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2024. In New Jersey, sex education became a wedge issue during last years closer-than-expected gubernatorial election though Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli ultimately pulled away from school curriculum and leaned more heavily into the debate about property taxes, a reliable GOP pain point in the state. Murphy won reelection, though narrowly. There's no law or policy in New Jersey that mandates teaching kindergartners or second graders about sex acts. There's no law or policy that mandates instructing elementary school students about gender transition-related medical care. And there's no law or policy that mandates teaching students younger than 13 about the existence of pornography. But Democrats efforts to correct the record have been sporadic and slow, while Republicans last week were publishing three to four press releases a day, tweeting their outrage and making appearances on Fox News to keep the narrative alive. You can't fact check fantasy. This is not a real thing. Its madness, Joseph Ricca, a school superintendent and member of the state Board of Education, said in an interview. Party cannot supersede reality. And I think in some cases, unfortunately, there's the temptation to sort of exit reality and get into an echo chamber where we're all just yelling and screaming about things. If parents are concerned, talk with your local superintendent. Talk with your school board. Talk with your child's teachers," said Ricca, a Republican. "The politicians know nothing about education. Changing standards The increased attention on the Florida law that bars instructions on gender identity and sexual orientation with the youngest students, along with mainstream societys increased awareness and acceptance of LGBTQ people, has brought a renewed focus on the curriculum standards in New Jersey. But what those standards actually say has been largely ignored as partisans pick out examples from sample lesson plans and overlook the fact New Jersey parents have always had a right to opt their children out of sex ed lessons. Murphy signed two laws in 2019 and 2021 that require middle and high school students be taught about the societal contributions of LGBTQ people and people with disabilities and highlight and promote diversity of gender and sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, disabilities, and religious tolerance to students in grades K-12. Between those signings, the state Board of Education released revised student learning standards that include provisions saying students should be able to define oral, vaginal and anal sex by eighth grade. By fifth grade, teachers should explain common human sexual development and the role of hormones (e.g., romantic and sexual feelings, masturbation, mood swings, timing of pubertal onset) and second graders should be able to discuss the range of ways people express their gender and how gender-role stereotypes may limit behavior. The Republican uproar was caused less by those standards than the sample lesson plans that are available to help school districts meet the state guidelines. There is some truth at the molten-hot core of Republicans' argument. The proposed lesson plans that sparked the controversy came from an advocacy group, Advocates for Youth, with a stated left-leaning progressive mission to "shift the current cultural paradigm in which we live from one that too often stigmatizes youth and youth sexual development to one that embraces youth as partners and recognizes sexuality as normal and healthy." Schepisi pointed out on Twitter that there are relatively few sample lesson plans offered by advocacy groups that comply with the state standard requirements. Schools, she said, may "feel compelled to pick from the limited menu of options that are currently available. But Republicans claims the lesson plans are evidence of Democrats pushing a woke agenda on children is not accurate either. When the state Board of Education added mention of gender identity to statewide standards in 2020, 10 of 13 members on the board had been appointed by or signed-off on by Republican Gov. Chris Christie. The vote on the revised standards was 9-4, with four Christie-appointed board members opposed and six in favor. It was also Christie who, in 2017, signed legislation adding protections for transgender students to state education guidelines. Despite the fact that the 2020 standards are, in large part, very similar to what was in place under his administration, Christie took to Twitter last week saying "these new standards need to be revoked and start over. Dont let the state distract parents from insuring that our young children are not exposed to these new standards." Republican messaging After Schepisi first made her social media post about the sample lessons, it quickly became fodder for conservative blogs and Fox News guests who spent days falsely claiming first- and second-graders in the state are being subjected to psychological torture and predatory grooming, language thats been repeated by adherents to the Q Anon conspiracy theory and some conservatives supporting legislative efforts to roll back rights and protections for LGBTQ people. While Republican-elected officials in New Jersey have avoided the term grooming, their Twitter and Facebook comment feeds are rife with unfounded accusations of pedophilia and child abuse against Democrats, school leaders and the media. New Jersey GOP strategist Chris Russell said those kinds of extreme right-wing buzzwords arent effective in the state and don't resonate with the typical New Jersey Republican voter who leans more socially moderate, but he said Republicans should still find a way to tap into that parental outrage. When it drifts into fringe messaging on our side about grooming, that doesn't do anything to advance our argument. In fact, I think it probably gives people like Phil Murphy the hammer they're looking for to beat arguments down, said Russell, who was Ciattarellis top adviser during the 2021 gubernatorial campaign. Still, Russell said Republicans would be really wise ahead of the congressional midterms this year and the legislative elections in New Jersey next year to absolutely, lean into these things just talk about them in a way that is appealing to a broader group of people. Though theres no chance New Jersey will be getting its own Florida-style law prohibiting classroom lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation while the state remains under Democratic control, lawmakers are already introducing a slew of bills that would give parents more control over curriculum decisions. New Jersey Republican Sen. Ed Durr proposed legislation that would prohibit classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity and would allow parents to sue teachers and schools for alleged violations, damages or attorneys fees. Other lawmakers introduced a bill that would require parental consent for any student to participate in any health, family life education or sex education program, another measure to make curriculum details publicly available to parents and a third that would eliminate the statewide learning standards altogether including standards for subjects like math, literacy and science. Schepisi and other Republicans say the state standards go too far and need to be revisited. Theres a big difference between teaching kids to be loving, kind, accepting to kids who feel they may be transgender and providing appropriate resources. But weve now gone to the other extreme of convincing kids that they may be something they are not, Schepisi said. She said her sister was a tomboy growing up and recently told the lawmaker if I grew up in the current climate, I think somebody would try to convince me Im transgender at this point. Schepisis point about concerns schools are convincing kids they may be something they are not is a well-documented but unfounded myth about transgender people. Still, parental uncertainty about how young is too young to be talking about transition-related medical care is not exclusive to Republicans and arises from a larger societal debate about how we discuss, sensationalize and obsess over trans people and their bodies. Its not confusing to teach kids about acceptance and the concept of varying gender identities, said Eva Goldfarb, a researcher at Montclair State University who studied 30 years of sex education literature and helped co-author some of the lesson plans Schepisi and others found inappropriate. It's not that kids through the age of eight are not going to be exposed to ideas about gender and gender identity and gender expression and sexual orientation, because it's all around them in the world, in the culture at large, Goldfarb said in an interview. By four years old, virtually all kids have a sense of their gender identity ... they have ideas about what girl things are or boy things are and they're going to have questions and theyre going to be curious. Shanghai to launch new campaigns against COVID-19 Xinhua) 08:15, April 22, 2022 Staff members load supplies for residents onto a pedicab in a community of Pudong New Area, east China's Shanghai, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Ting) SHANGHAI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai will start a series of campaigns on Friday to cut off all COVID-19 transmission chains in communities as soon as possible, local authorities said. Tiered community control measures will be carried out to minimize the movements and gatherings of people, according to the arrangements of the municipal committee of the Communist Party of China and the local government. Shanghai will also adopt different policies for COVID-19 testing and screening in different areas. Shanghai has divided the whole city into areas belonging to three categories as part of its targeted efforts to overcome the recent resurgence, which are closed-off management areas, restrictive control areas, and prevention areas. Other campaigns include carrying out epidemiological investigations, traditional Chinese medicine intervention, as well as cleaning and disinfection. Shanghai reported 2,634 local confirmed cases and 15,861 local asymptomatic carriers on Wednesday, the municipal health commission said Thursday. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Not since the emerald hues of Wicked has a show looked more glorious in Chicagos Nederlander Theatre than Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Thats partly because the visual excess of Moulin Rouge, taking its cue from its sourcing of the famously outre Baz Luhrmann musical, matches the gestalt of the palace formerly known as the Oriental Theatre. But its also due to the expansiveness of the new touring production, which has packed its trunk with all the toys from Broadway, including the stuff that sits far beyond the proscenium, the windmill, elephant and all. Thats very rare these days but the producers clearly realized the difficulties of creating truly immersive theater in massive road houses. Advertisement They have succeeded in sending out a date-night show that leads its pandemic-weary audience into a kind of tunnel of visual love, the kind of sexy fete of decadence that offers a bona fide reason to leave the house. The eye-popping design elements of this show really are a reason to attend: The set, by Derek McLane, is like a box of chocolates. Its ornate but also designed to mutate according to how it is lit by Justin Townsend. And Catherine Zubers costumes truly are a banquet of retro Parisian sensuality, a fusion of erotica and nostalgia. No wonder the people all around me Wednesday kept exhaling little gurgles of repressed pleasure. Advertisement Moulin Rouge! is, of course, the story of a star and courtesan at the titular Paris nightclub who must choose between the affections of a duke (offering money, security for the club) and a penniless bohemian (offering love). The show has a lively book by Chicagos John Logan but does not have an original score, instead it samples a slew of existing songs from Firework, as recorded by Katy Perry, to Your Song, as turned into a hit by Elton John. Some numbers are performed with fullness; others get just a snatch of lyric and melody. Some are fusions, such as Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend merged with Beyonce's Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It). The musical arrangements and orchestrations by Justin Levine are extraordinarily skilled, but the lack of an original score, coupled with the choice to pack in so many songs, still extracts a price, especially in Act 2. The cast of "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" in the tour's debut in Chicago at the Nederlander Theatre. (Matthew Murphy photo / HANDOUT) The reason you are reading this review now, even though the show has been playing in Chicago for several weeks, is that the cast was hit with COVID-19 issues. Only recently have all the principal performers returned to the show at the same time: Wednesday night was one of the first times that this cast has been to work together as originally planned. Their pleasure in that was palpable Its a fabulous ensemble, especially when it come to executing Sonya Tayehs exciting choreography. The two romantic leads, Courtney Reed as Satine and Conor Ryan as Christian, are both charming performers with great chemistry, exuberant sensuality, terrific voices and more joie de vivre than I saw on Broadway. That said, theyre both young in their careers, so when Austin Durants nicely caustic Harold Zidler, king of the Moulin Rouge, talks about everyone getting old, thats a bit of a disconnect. And when the splendid Andre Ward as Toulouse-Lautrec talks about first meeting Satine, you wonder how she could possibly even have been born at that point. Of course, such veracity, or the lack thereof, is forgivable in such a piece as this, especially given Reeds talent. Add in the erotically charged David Harris as the Duke (its good for the villain of the piece to ooze desirability) and you have all the ingredients you need for a night on the town. You just cant stream this kind of thing, merci beaucoup. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com Review: Moulin Rouge! The Musical When: Through May 14 Advertisement Where: Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes Tickets: $59-$149 at 800-775-2000 and www.broadwayinchicago.com As Venezuelas economy was crashing in 2017, the countrys state-owned oil company hired former Miami Congressman David Rivera for a costly public relations campaign to improve the tarnished image of the Venezuelan firm in the United States. In just a few months, Riveras consulting business collected $20 million from Venezuelas U.S. subsidiary, PDV USA, but its contract with the former politician abruptly ended when he was accused of doing little work, according to a lawsuit. Newly filed court documents reveal that Rivera diverted more than half of his PDV USA income $13 million to three subcontractors in Miami who supposedly provided international strategic consulting services for the Venezuelan firm. One of Riveras subcontractors who received millions from his Venezuelan deal is a real estate developer who was convicted in one of South Floridas biggest drug-trafficking cases, the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald have learned from court records. Its not clear from the records whether Miami developer Hugo Perera and the other recipients of Riveras payments ever did any work as part of his consulting firms contract with PDV USA. Venezuelas U.S. subsidiary only became aware of Riveras diversion of payments after it sued his company, Interamerican Consulting, in 2020; it is now battling with Rivera and his firms lawyers over obtaining key evidence from the former politician. PDV USA, based in New York, is seeking to recover the $20 million in payments from Riveras company in a breach-of-contract suit stemming from their original $50 million agreement signed in 2017. Riveras firm has filed a counterclaim seeking full payment of the contract. Rivera, who never registered as a foreign agent with the U.S. government to do consulting work for the Venezuelan firm, has been under scrutiny in a parallel criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in Miami, according to several sources familiar with the probe. But no one, including Rivera, has been charged in connection with his contract with PDV USA. Story continues Court records in the PDV USA case, filed in New York federal court, show that Rivera diverted the $13 million in income from his consulting contract to a handful of Miami-area companies owned by or linked to the following three people: Perera, who is building affordable housing projects in the citys working-class neighborhoods of Allapattah and Little Havana, according to his companys website. Currently living on exclusive Fisher Island, Perera pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking and tax fraud charges in the mid-1990s in a massive drug-smuggling case against the notorious Cali Cartel, according to federal court records. Perera played a supporting role as a distributor for the cartel in South Florida and was sentenced to eight years in prison, court records show. Herald reporters tried to visit Perera at his business address, 141 Sevilla Ave. in Coral Gables, but his company, PG & Associates, no longer operates there. Miami-Dade political operative Esther Nuhfer. Over the years, she has provided fundraising, marketing and other services for Riveras campaigns for Congress and the state Legislature, as well as for other local politicians. Venezuelan business mogul Raul Gorrin. He was politically close to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and is tight with current President Nicolas Maduro and reportedly tried to prevent U.S. sanctions against Venezuelas government and state-run oil company. (The Trump administration late imposed the sanctions.) In late 2018, Gorrin was indicted in a money laundering and foreign corruption case unrelated to the Rivera matter and several of his real estate properties were seized in the Miami area. He lives in Caracas and is considered a fugitive. There is no indication in the PDV USA court record that Perera, Nuhfer and Gorrin ever did any work to help the former congressman with his consulting project to spruce up the image of Venezuelas U.S. subsidiary. Owned by parent Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., PDV USA is a holding company for Houston-based Citgo. Citgo refines Venezuelan oil and distributes fuel products in the United States. Rivera and his consulting firms lawyers, as well as Nuhfer, did not return calls, emails or text messages seeking comment for this story. Pereras attorney, Simon Ferro, declined to answer a series of Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald questions. Mr. Perera doesnt have any comments at this time because of the ongoing legal matters, Ferro said Thursday. Hugo Perera In a Nov. 29, 2017, email filed in the PDV USA case, Rivera asked Perera and Nuhfer to provide their companies tax identification numbers and thanked them for their hard work and great contributions to the public relations effort for the Venezuelan subsidiary. This has really been a team effort and the performance by each subcontractor has been truly exceptional, Rivera wrote in the email, before summarizing a series of 19 payments that his company, Interamerican Consulting, made to them in 2017. Pereras main company, PG & Associates, which develops residential projects in Miami, and his other firm, Krome Agronomics, which sells fertilizer products, received a total of $4.85 million from Riveras consulting firm as part of his PDV USA contract, court records show. Nuhfers Miami business, Communication Solutions, Inc., received a total of $4.5 million from Riveras firm. Lastly, a Miami company, Interglobal Yacht Management, LLC, which provided maintenance services for s Gorrins yacht, received a total of $3.75 million from Riveras firm. The president of the company, Joel Brakha, said in a recent deposition that Rivera approached him in 2018 to sign the subcontracting agreement with Interglobal Yacht but he refused to do so. The actual subcontract had been signed by Rivera in 2017, court records show. Im not signing it, Brakha recalled saying to Rivera at their meeting in March 2018. I think this has nothing do with me. Brakha said in his February 2022 deposition that the yacht company neither acted as a consultant nor provided any services for Rivera and his Venezuelan client, PDV USA. Brakha said that after talking with Gorrin, he thought the $3.75 million transferred to Interglobal Yacht was from a real estate deal between Rivera and Gorrin and that it was meant to pay for expenses on the Venezuelan businessmans yacht. In this Nov. 29, 2017, email, former Miami Congressman David Rivera breaks down the distribution of $13 million in payments from his consulting deal with a Venezuelan oil company to a handful of subcontractors in Miami. Confusion over Riveras consulting contract with PDV USA has dominated the legal dispute and news media coverage mainly because of the former congressmans public statements about the agreement. Back in May 2020, after being sued, Rivera would not comment on the specifics of his contract or whether he had taken a paycheck to represent a Venezuelan company controlled by the countrys socialist government. But in text messages he gave a murky explanation, hinting at a scheme to fund Maduro foes with proceeds from the oil consulting contract. All those funds went to the opposition for anti-Maduro protests in the summer of 2017, Rivera wrote in the text messages to the Herald. I never saw a penny of it. Thats all I know. He added that the Trump administration, including the State Department, were aware of everything. But lawyers for PDV USA said in their lawsuit that Riveras statement defies credulity, saying it would make no sense for Venezuelas president, Maduro, to approve giving millions to Riveras consulting business to support Venezuelan politicians who oppose his government. Mr. Riveras claims in 2020 regarding the purpose of the [consulting] agreement are entirely inconsistent with Interamericans two progress reports, which contain numerous representations concerning a consulting project for PDV USA to benefit PDVSA, Venezuelas state-owned oil company, says the lawsuit filed by lawyers Jeffrey Korn and Michael Gottlieb. Moreover, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido emerged two years after Rivera signed his consulting contract with PDV USA. In 2019, the Trump administration recognized him over Maduro as Venezuelas president, and it imposed sanctions against the country and the state-run oil company, PDVSA. In response, however, lawyers for Riveras consulting company assert that he was working directly for the PDV USA subsidiary in the United States not for the Venezuelan government or PDVSA. The president of Interamerican, David Rivera, proved to be the perfect person for the consulting role, lawyers Tucker Byrd and Min Cho wrote in their answer to PDV USAs lawsuit. As a former U.S. Congressman with more than 20 years of experience in governmental affairs and strategic planning (which includes previously working for the U.S. State Department and serving as an elected official at the state and local levels) Rivera had the experience, expertise, and skills to help [PDV USAs] Citgo implement a strategic plan to develop an independent identity and to disengage from its Venezuelan parent. Rivera, a one-term congressman and former Florida legislator whose career has been dogged by ethics and campaign-finance violation complaints, once tried to expel a Venezuelan consul in Miami. He is also a close friend of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, an arch critic of the Maduro administration. Rivera and Rubio, both Republicans, shared a house in Tallahassee when they were both in the state Legislature. Interamericans lawyers contend that PDV USA is the one that breached the 2017 contract with Riveras consulting firm. Interamerican asserts that it provided all the services required under the agreement, entitling it to retain the $20 million that PDV USA previously paid to Interamerican, and that PDV USA owes Interamerican the remaining balance of $30 million, they say in court papers. But lawyers for PDV USA, take an opposite stand in their lawsuit, saying Rivera and his consulting firm performed no meaningful services under the agreement. The Venezuela U.S. subsidiary is seeking to recover the money it paid to Interamerican in 2017, along with compensatory damages. (Independent) Russian state media has claimed that one sailor has died and that 27 are missing after the sinking of the Black Sea warship Moskva. The RIA news agency cited the Russian defence ministry, also asserting that 396 members of the crew have been rescued. While Moscow claims the Blak Sea flagship sank last week after a fire lead to an ammunition explosion, Ukraine has claimed that it took down the ship using missiles. Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian investigative journalist and lead Russia investigator at Bellingcat, shared his scepticism of the Russian defence ministrys claim. Russias MoD claims only one person died on board the sunk Moskva cruiser, with 27 missing (is there another word for missing in the sea??) and 396 evacuated to Sevastopol. So theyre saying essentially 28 killed and 396 saved. Highly improbable given the damage, he tweeted. As a result of a fire on April 13, the Moskva missile cruiser was seriously damaged due to the detonation of ammunition, the ministry said in a statement published by Russian news agencies. One serviceman was killed, another 27 crew members went missing, they said. The remaining 396 members, were evacuated, they claimed. More follows... OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) The French military has released videos appearing to show Russian mercenaries burying bodies near an army base in northern Mali, which it says is part of a smear campaign against the French who handed the base to Malian forces earlier this week. Aerial surveillance images taken by the French military on Thursday morning and provided to The Associated Press show what appear to be 10 Caucasian soldiers covering approximately a dozen Malian bodies with sand 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) east of the Gossi military base in the countrys north, according to a French military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the matter. In the video one of the soldiers appears to be filming the scene. The Caucasian soldiers in the video are believed to be members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force, the officer said. Several tweets with pictures of the bodies have been posted on accounts that support Russia or fake accounts created by Wagner, the officer said. The tweets blame the French for the killings and the burials, according to the French officer. One tweet from an account called Dia Diarra, allegedly created by Wagner, said: This is what the French left behind when they left base at #Gossi. These are excerpts from a video that was taken after they left! We cannot keep silent about this! The French army transferred control of the Gossi base to Malian soldiers on Tuesday, in what the French said was a safe, orderly and transparent manner. Later that day a French sensor observed a dozen Caucasian individuals, most likely belonging to the Wagner Group, and a detachment from the Malian army arrive at the Gossi site and unload equipment, said the French military in a confidential report that was seen by AP. Mali's army spokesman Col. Souleymane Dembele said that a team has been dispatched to Gossi to investigate, adding it is still early for us to react on this case. Story continues The French military said the move to discredit the French forces operating in northern Mali is part of a coordinated campaign of multiple information attacks on them that has been going on for months. The Wagner Group and the Malian Armed Forces appear to be taking disregard for human life to new levels in Mali, said Alex Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati in the United States. Anti-French sentiments, however, reflect more than just Russian disinformation. The Malian junta and Wagner are trying to harness those frustrations, but they did not create them, he said. French troops have been a major presence in Mali since helping to dislodge jihadi rebels from strongholds in northern Mali in 2013. But the extremists' attacks on civilians and the military have continued as the rebels have pushed south. The ongoing violence has prompted numerous anti-French protests in the capital. In February, France announced it would withdraw its troops from Mali amid tensions with the countrys ruling military junta and the West African countrys decision to employ Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. About 1,000 of the Russian mercenaries are believed to be operating in Mali, according to military experts. Earlier this month foreign soldiers thought to be the Russians working with the Malian army were accused of killing an estimated 300 men some of them suspected Islamic extremist fighters but most civilians in Moura in central Mali, according to Human Rights Watch. It was the worst single atrocity reported in Malis 10-year armed conflict against Islamic extremists, according to the group which said it interviewed several witnesses about the killings. Its unclear where the bodies seen in the video Friday came from. The French military official said they might have possibly been taken from near Hombori town, approximately 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Gossi, where there had been fighting a few days earlier, but he could not confirm it. The apparently staged graves can be seen as the latest example of Russias disinformation campaign to damage Frances reputation and it also reflects badly on Malis army, which must have been aware of the Russians actions, said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based organization focused on economics and policy. This incident at Gossi camp will further put Malis junta at odds with the international community, and it wouldnt be surprising if they come up with an unrealistic explanation, he said. He said the aerial images provided by the French military have largely stymied the Russian disinformation effort. This is a big win for France whos been facing tough times about its reputation in Mali, he said. ___ AP writer Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed. If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. Scientists believe there could be hidden alien life on Europa. The icy moon that orbits Jupiter is at the center of a new study. The researchers who published the study in Nature Communications say that subterranean pools of salty water could be promising sites to look for signs of alien life. Don't Miss: A 4 billion-year-old comet 80 miles wide is headed toward Earth Today's Top Deals Signs of alien life on Europa could be hiding beneath the surface alien life could be hiding on Europa Jupiters icy moon is roughly 2,000 miles wide. That makes it slightly smaller than Earths moon. Scientists began to suspect that there could be alien life on Europa after observations with ground-based telescopes revealed evidence of an ocean possible located 10 to 15 miles beneath the surface of the moon. Its an intriguing idea, especially given the make-up of the moon. Europa is covered in giant parallel ridges similar to those seen on Greenlands ice sheet. As such, scientists believe that the Jovian moon could also hold shallow pools a short distance below its surface. Especially if the giant ridges that extend across the surface formed similarly to those found in Greenland. If, and thats a big if, that is the case, those pools could help circulate chemicals necessary for life to exist. Of course, were not talking about the kind of alien life on Europa that we need to talk to. At best, were most likely looking at something small and biological in nature. This could be something as simple as bacterium. Even if thats the case, it would prove that life is possible beyond the confines of our planet. A mysterious, icy moon Story continues Despite everything we know about Europa, the frozen moon continues to throw mysteries at us. For one, there are these massive double ridges that extend for hundreds of miles across the surface. The ridges are estimated to reach up to 300 meters (1,000 feet) high. Theyre separated by valleys that are at least half a mile wide. It is the cause of these ridges that could be hiding alien life on Europa. The current standing belief is that the ridges on Europa formed similarly to how Greenlands did. Shallow pools of subsurface water froze and fractured the surface again and again. As this happened, it created the ridges that we see now. The scientists believe that these subsurface pools may be the key to finding alien life on Europa. There is one intriguing question we still have to prove, though. In Greenland, the water that creates these ridges comes from nearby lakes. However, the surface of Europa is completely frozen. As such, they believe the water rises from an underground ocean. Scientists believe this ocean is 40 to 100 miles deep. They also believe this ocean holds twice the amount of water as Earths oceans. If this is the case, then finding alien life on Europa may be closer than ever. Thats because NASA plans to launch the Europa Clipper mission in 2024. The mission should shed some light on how the ridges formed, as well as help provide more details about the Jovian moon. Click here to read the full article. See the original version of this article on BGR.com Several HBCUs receive upgrades and renovations as part of Bidens $2.7 billion in funding for historically Black colleges and universities Several historically Black colleges and universities in Georgia will receive federal funding thanks to efforts by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ossoff (D-Ga.),visited Atlantas Spelman College this week to announce funding for information technology investments for HBCUs. Ossoff said Clark Atlanta University will receive $1 million for upgrades to its cybersecurity and STEM programs while Morehouse School of Medicine will get $500,000 for a new academic building. Morehouse College (Credit: Morehouse College) Since I took office, working alongside Sen. Rev. (Raphael) Warnock, we have secured more than $250 million in supplemental investment for Georgias HBCUs, Ossoff said during remarks outside the Albro-Falconer-Manley Science Center at Spelman College, the Patch reported. I said when I was running for the Senate, that I would put investment in Georgias HBCUs at the center of my work, and Im going to continue to fight every day for Georgia HBCUs. Spelman College has reportedly received $2.5 million for upgrades to the universitys digital infrastructure. It will allow us to upgrade our wireless network, it will allow us to improve our research capacity, our teaching capacity, our learning capacity, it will allow us to move forward with great speed on our eSpelman learning platform for adult learners, and it will improve our connectivity throughout the (Atlanta University Center) and between the AUC and other research institutions, Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell said. Spelman College (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images) If we have learned anything from the pandemic, weve learned that our technology infrastructure is absolutely essential to the teaching and learning enterprise, said Schmidt Campbell. We cannot function as educational institutions without first-rate, state-of-the-art technology. Georgia has 10 HBCUs. Several will be upgraded and renovated as part of President Joe Bidens record $2.7 billion in funding for the schools. Story continues Im going to continue to work to secure investments for Georgias HBCUs, Ossoff said. During his appearance at Spelman this week, the congressman also mentioned the multiple bomb threats against HBCUs since February. Nearly two dozen HBCUs were targeted during Black History Month, prompting campus evacuations and several probes by the FBI and ATF. Some campuses, such as Howard University, received several bomb threats. In the last several months, I have been in contact with the GBI, with the FBI and DOJ officials, I have been in regular contact with Dr. Campbell, my staff is in regular contact with the leadership at Spelman and other institutions that face these threats, and I will continue to work with you, Dr. Campbell, to ensure that you have all of the support from law enforcement at every level, up to and including the FBI, that you need to continue your work and to keep this institution safe, Ossoff said, as reported by the Georgia Recorder. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post Sen. Ossoff announces $1.5M in funding for CAU, Morehouse projects appeared first on TheGrio. Charlotte Observer Barbara Ryan was forced to live on the streets of Charlotte for two weeks after losing her home to back taxes that she had actually paid. This is her story. The Army on Thursday unveiled an expansive set of new policies aimed to create one of the most consequential sets of quality-of-life improvements ever for military parents, including expanded leave and making it easier for pregnant soldiers to continue their careers. The new directives will affect 400,000 soldiers who are also parents, including 29,000 single fathers. Most of the policies arose from a grassroots effort by midlevel and noncommissioned officers and feedback from parents on social media, not senior leaders who typically craft new rules. "We want to normalize parenthood in the military," Maj. Sam Winkler, who worked on the new policies and serves in the 4th Cavalry Brigade, 1st Army Division East, told reporters. "It should be celebrated and encouraged, and you shouldn't choose between having a career and a family." Read Next: New Benefit Pays for Troops, Civilian Employees to Ship Breast Milk While on Official Travel To ensure at least one parent is home with their child, all soldiers who give birth are excused for one year after delivery from all duty that exceeds one normal duty day. That covers deployments; all field training, including Combat Training Center rotations; any training events away from a soldier's home station; and temporary duties. That one-year deferment from long-term duties also applies to non-birth parents as necessary and soldiers undergoing fertility treatment, according to the Army's new policy. Soldiers still lactating and breastfeeding after a year will be granted an extension to be excused from deployments and training events where lactation accommodations cannot be guaranteed. The new policies include allowing pregnant officers to attend schools needed for promotion, such as the Captains Career Course. Pregnant noncommissioned officers will not be allowed to attend their promotion schools, given the physical requirements in many of those courses, but the Army recently introduced a new policy that allows NCOs to be promoted before attending those schools. Story continues Commanders must also provide soldiers with lactation breaks at designated areas every two to three hours for no less than 30 minutes each. And soldiers must be furnished with a private space, other than a restroom, with a door that can be locked to breastfeed or express milk. That space must include a place to sit, a flat surface and a refrigerator to store the milk. "It's a huge thing to improve quality of life," Staff Sgt. Nicole Edge told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday. "We get posts every day at [The Army Mom Life] that constantly share how they're being held back from promotions or difficulties being a breastfeeding mom." The Army Mom Life is a social media group on Facebook and Twitter run by mothers in the military who discuss parental issues in the force. Feedback posted in the groups chats spurred the policy changes. Army Reserve and National Guard troops will be granted 12 paid drill days off, the policy notes. That ends up being between three to six months, as part-time troops train two to four days a month on average. The fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed on Jan. 1, 2021, required the Defense Department to provide drilling reservists at least 12 weeks of paid maternity leave for drill days or any mandatory events, as well as retirement point credits for those missed activities. The new Army policy allows the service to comply with that law. For every unit assembly during which parental leave is used, soldiers will accumulate one retirement point, for a maximum of 12 points during the entire paid parental leave period. Following the Army's announcement, a Defense Department spokeswoman told Military.com that the policy is "in its final stages of completion and is expected to be published soon." "It will apply to all Reserve components across DoD when published," Pentagon spokesperson Lisa Lawrence said in an email Thursday. Lawrence attributed the delay to the fact that the legislation provided a maternity leave benefit but did not create the necessary leave authority. The DoD needed to determine whether it had sufficient authority to implement the benefit without additional legislation. She added that, while the legislation was signed last year, the benefit will not be retroactive to include drilling reservists who have had babies since January 2021 and have missed drill. "There was no ability for Reserve Component members to take 'maternity leave.' As a result, the Department first had to create a maternity leave status for members to use," Lawrence wrote. "Because the maternity leave status did not previously exist, there is no ability for Reserve Component members to take maternity leave prior to the issuance of the policy. Thus, Reserve Component maternity leave benefits are prospective only," from the day the policy is published. The new policies are aimed at better retaining soldiers -- the idea being that if the Army is more family friendly, more people would want to enlist or commission, and more soldiers will elect to continue their service. "We recruit Soldiers, but we retain families," Gen. James McConville, chief of staff of the Army, said in a statement. "Winning the war for talent means making sure our best and brightest people don't have to choose between service and family." In addition, the new rules direct commanders to give soldiers more time with their families and be more flexible when it comes to parenting matters. "Commanders are encouraged to give soldiers maximum flexibility to personally attend to short-term, unforeseen parenting requirements, even when doing so would interfere with military duties," the new policy notes. "This includes, but is not limited to, unscheduled childcare responsibilities due to child development center/school closures or child illness. In cases where training and operational requirements allow a soldier's absence, the soldier will not be charged ordinary leave if remaining in the local area to care for their children." The Air Force, Navy and National Guard Bureau have yet to publish new policies. When asked about any pending updates to the policy on April 14, Navy officials said they were waiting for direction from the Defense Department. "We are waiting on [Office of the Secretary of Defense] guidance to implement the NDAA changes to Parental Leave, including maternity leave for drilling reservists," said Lt. Cmdr. Travis Callaghan, public affairs officer with the Chief of Naval Personnel, in an email. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @patriciakime. Related: 'They Actually Listened:' Mothers in Uniform React to the Army's New Postpartum Policy A gender discrimination lawsuit against Sony has run into significant hurdles. Axios has learned that judge Laurel Beeler dismissed 10 of plaintiff Emma Majo's 13 claims due to multiple issues. Majo didn't provide enough evidence to make a case in some instances, Beeler said, while in others she incorrectly asserted that promotions and demotions constituted harassment. Majo first sued Sony in November over allegations of institutional discrimination. The former PlayStation security analyst accused Sony of firing her for discussing sexism she reportedly encountered at the company. Sony tried to have the suit tossed out due to both vague details and a lack of corroborating claims, but the case gathered momentum in March when eight other women joined in and raised the potential for class action status. The judge will still allow three claims surrounding wrongful termination and violations of whistleblower protections, however, and she rejected Sony's attempt to block any chance of class action status. As the other claims were dismissed without prejudice, Majo is free to revisit them if and when she can better support them. Sony denied Majo's discrimination allegations, but it also said in March that it would take the women's complaints "seriously." As it stands, the partial dismissal clearly isn't what the company wanted it still has to face potentially grave implications, and may be pressured to join companies like Activision Blizzard in reforming its internal culture. In a landmark ruling, South Koreas Supreme Court overturned the convictions of two male soldiers for having consensual sex while off their military base. On Thursday, the court determined that a 2019 ruling, which sentenced the two male soldiers to suspended prison sentences, was unconstitutional in a ruling that could set a new legal precedent. The decision cited the right to sexual autonomy and human dignity, as well as to pursue happiness. According to Article 92-6 in South Koreas Military Criminal Act, enlisted servicemen who partake in anal intercourse or other indecent acts are punishable for up to two years in prison. While same-sex relationships are not illegal, engaging in homosexual activity while serving in the military is considered a crime. The courts had previously upheld the military code, claiming it necessary to maintain order in the army and also arguing that sex between soldiers could spread AIDS and compromise their readiness to fight. This ruling marks the first time that the South Korean Supreme Court has ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights for soldiers convicted of violating the Military Criminal Act. Amnesty International East Asia researcher Boram Jang told the New York Times, The criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual acts in South Koreas military has long been a shocking violation of human rights, but todays ruling should pave the way for military personnel to freely live their lives without the threat of persecution. In 2017, a South Korean army captain, along with at least 32 other servicemen, were charged for involvement in homosexual activities, with the captain sentenced to six months in prison. At least 620,000 Korean men serve at any given time, ready to fight in the case that North Korea invades. While at a cease-fire, the two are technically still at war and have been for the past 72 years. All South Korean men, except for those with underlying medical conditions that exempt them from service, are required to enlist in the army for a little less than two years. South Korea remains slow to develop LGBTQ friendly policies, oftentimes favoring the dominant conservative Christian groups that oppose gay rights. Last year, a transgender woman died by suicide after being expelled from the army and deemed unfit to serve after her gender-reassignment surgery. Byeon Hee-su, 23, petitioned to be allowed to fulfill her conscription, explaining she wanted to show everyone that she could still protect the country. Her case sparked debate about the treatment of LGBTQ soldiers in the military. Even liberal President Moon Jae-in, a former human rights lawyer, has voiced an anti-LGBTQ stance. During his 2017 campaign, one of his opponents argued that gay soldiers were weakening the Korean army. In response, Moon said that he opposed homosexuality. Topics of sexual identity and LGBTQ rights continue to remain largely absent from both political and cultural conversations in South Korea. Featured Image via Korea Now Story continues Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! 12 charged for burglaries worth $2.1 million on Asian American victims in Georgia Husband Denied From Caring for Terminally Ill Wife Due to COVID-19 Hospital Restrictions 'Someone that looks like them': Underprivileged SF Chinatown children treated to free 'Shang-Chi' screening UConn Student's 'Chinese People Eat Bats' TikTok Sparks Anger in the College Community By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) - SpaceX signed its first deal with an air carrier to provide in-flight wireless internet using the Starlink satellite network, the space company said on Thursday as it jockeys with other burgeoning satellite firms to put high-speed internet on commercial airlines. The company, owned by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, has been in talks for months with airlines to provide Starlink internet in-flight, a key prong in SpaceX's strategy to scoop up enterprise customers beyond consumers and households in rural areas of the globe with little to no internet access. The deal is with semi-private jet service JSX and involves equipping 100 airplanes with Starlink terminals, with the first Starlink-connected plane taking flight by year's end, the charter company said in a statement. A JSX spokesperson declined to disclose the value of the partnership. SpaceX has launched some 2,000 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit since 2019 and, though the network is not yet fully deployed, offers broadband internet service to thousands of customers in a handful of countries for $110 a month using a $599 terminal dish roughly the size of a pizza box. SpaceX has sought regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to operate Starlink on airplanes and shipping vessels and had previously tested the internet network on a handful of Gulfstream jets, as well as military aircraft. The Starlink service on JSX planes will come at no charge to JSX customers, the jet service said in its statement, adding it will "not require logging in or other complexities associated with legacy systems." (Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Stephen Coates) Dear Amy: Occasionally, I get together with a few of my neighbors. Recently these people have commented negatively about people not getting the COVID vaccine. I refuse to get this shot. Advertisement Should I admit my decision not to vaccinate and tell them about it? Should I just not be their friend anymore? Advertisement What is your advice? I Refuse Dear You Refuse: You have the right to roll the dice regarding your refusal to vaccinate against a highly contagious virus that is the cause of a global pandemic. You do NOT have the right to withhold your decision when you know this is important to people you have been spending time with. You likely believe this is a personal and private decision, but unlike other choices you might make this is a personal choice with communal consequences. Their vaccinations would likely protect your neighbors from the more severe forms of this illness, but they may have elders or other more vulnerable people in their circles who might not be so lucky. Where I live, currently cases are way up and hospitalizations are down. But getting sick from this virus can have a huge impact on people who get it (and vaccinated people do get it). The symptoms can be lingering and severe, and they (and family members) will be forced to quarantine. Whether you wish to attempt to continue on in friendship with these neighbors is up to you. But honesty is a necessary aspect of friendship, and so you should disclose your vaccination status, and give them the opportunity to reconsider in-person contact. Advertisement Given that you havent disclosed something obviously very important to them, they may reconsider having a friendship with you, and you should prepare yourself for that. Dear Amy: Our granddaughter has a 5-year-old daughter whose father, W, was convicted of a felony involving a gun. He was a previous felon. W has been in and out of my great-granddaughters life for the past five years. He is now facing some serious jail time. Ws mother and his sister have been involved with our great-granddaughter and have been consistently in her life. What is the best way for our granddaughter to deal with her childs grandmother and aunt when it comes to the child visiting them? My granddaughter doesnt want her daughter going to jail to visit, nor does she want her to talk to W on the phone, because the child becomes too emotional. Advertisement I asked her to see a counselor, but she says she cannot afford one. I think it would be good for the child to continue to have contact with her fathers family members. Your suggestions? Concerned Dear Concerned: I agree that this child is too young to visit her father in prison. I disagree, to some extent, regarding phone calls. Depending on the context and on the fathers ability to communicate appropriately with his daughter, monitored phone or video calls should be considered. The childs father should be encouraged to write to his daughter, and once the mother has vetted his communication the daughter can write back. Advertisement Not knowing the context, backstory, or personalities of any of the people involved, I mainly note that this childs mother is the custodial parent, and it is her duty to always make choices in the childs best interests. If she decides that no-contact with W is best for her child for the next few months, then Ws family members must respect that. Studies show that having an incarcerated parent can have a profound impact on a childs physical and mental health. Your granddaughter should research the impact of incarceration on families. She is mistaken that she cant afford a counselor. Licensed social workers are eminently qualified to work with this family, and by making some phone calls, she can get low or no-cost help. Youth.gov has a wealth of information for families of those incarcerated. A film featuring four young people reflecting on their experience with an incarcerated parent is both illuminating and heartbreaking. (Youth.gov/coip) Ask Amy Daily No-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. For a limited time, sign up for the Ask Amy newsletter and get the book Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from Americas Favorite Advice Columnist for $5. > Dear Amy: Im laughing about your issue with the use of the term maiden name. Arent there bigger fish to fry? Some women, such as my daughter, took her husbands last name when they got married, so if shes filling out any legal paperwork, it will ask for her maiden name. Whats the issue? Advertisement A Reader Dear Reader: Maiden as a term refers or implies a reference to a womans presumed maidenhood, or virginity. Some women really dont want our surnames characterized that way. Got a question for Amy? Enter it here and well send it to her. Sign up here to receive the Ask Amy newsletter to get advice e-mailed to your inbox every morning, and for a limited time get the book "Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from Americas Favorite Advice Columnist" for $5. 2021 Amy Dickinson. Stashing a staggering heap of stolen mail worth over $4 million in 55-gallon trash bags is sending two Texas postal contractors to prison, authorities say. With over 8,000 pieces of mail found in the workers shared home in Slaton, authorities say this was the largest ever seizure of stolen mail in the Northern District of Texas. Joe Roy Rivas III and Jessica Lynn Solomon were indicted on a charge of conspiracy to possess stolen mail in October 2021, according to an April 21 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Texas district. Rivas, 22, pleaded guilty in December, authorities say, and Solomon, 35, pleaded guilty two weeks later. Rivas was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison earlier this month, and Solomon was sentenced on April 21 to 37 months in prison, according to the release. They will spend a combined total of more than seven years in custody. Their defense attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on April 22. Before the two were caught, they worked together at Cargo Force, Inc., a contracted company with the U.S. Postal Service, McClatchy News previously reported. They were tasked with loading mail into and out of air containers for flights through the Lubbock International Airport, officials said. Rivas and Solomon admitted to stealing mail from the start of their employment, about two years before they were caught in early 2021, according to the news release. During their shifts, they sifted through mail looking for items containing merchandise, cash, gift cards, checks, and money orders, officials said. All 8,000 pieces of the stolen mail found in their home had been postmarked within a span of about four days, authorities said. The mailings were headed for 36 states in the contiguous U.S., Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. Prosecutors highlighted some of the mail that had been kept from its proper recipients: a multitude of payments to entities such as mortgage bankers; over 40 pieces of mail related to federal court proceedings; more than 50 letters from local college admissions offices to applicants; and numerous greeting cards intended to brighten someones day, authorities said. Story continues The stolen mail was being sent from or to many establishments, including banks, churches, charities, law enforcement offices, school districts, funeral homes and hospitals, officials said. Court documents show the stolen mail included: A $2 million check to Pershing, LLC A $241,863 check to Sodexo Inc. & Affiliates food services company A $25,728 check to National Rural Telecom Coop Authorities said the scheme also included the washing of checks removing the payee on a check and replacing the name with someone else along with selling cellphones also stolen from the mail. Slaton is about 20 miles southeast of Lubbock in northwest Texas. Postal worker hoarded thousands of pieces of mail in Pennsylvania, feds say Mail carrier stole sports trading cards valued at almost $40K in Missouri, feds say Postal worker stole Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen gift cards from mail in Illinois, feds say Erin Robinson is scared. The 17-year-old nonbinary student attends a high school in Montgomery, Alabama, where the Republican governor this month signed a law that makes it a felony for parents and doctors to provide transgender youth with gender-affirming care, like puberty blockers. Another new Alabama law prohibits trans kids from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and bans any conversation about sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary schools. My GSA has been going crazy over this, Robinson said, referring to the student club known as a GayStraight or Gender-Sexuality Alliance. For me personally, this has been such a devastating moment. It's just taking away my rights, my bodily autonomy. It's making someone else choose what happens to my body, and I'm definitely not OK with that. But Alabama is not unique. In state houses across the US, right-wing lawmakers have attacked LGBTQ rights in recent months with a speed, ferocity, and ugliness that have astonished their opponents. Relying on a winning political strategy that focuses on classrooms and schools in order to spread fear, copycat laws have sprung up in Florida, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Iowa, and Arizona. I'm pretty scared not just for Alabama, Robinson said, but for the entire country. Robinson is one of more than 15,000 students across the US who signed to participate in a Day of Silence organized by GLSEN, a national group advocating for LGBTQ students. On Friday, Robinson and others will either refrain from speaking throughout the day or hold scheduled moments of silence (depending on what their school might allow) in order to draw attention to the discrimination they experience both from their peers and from politicians. Im going to be silent and not talk, said Esperanza Orozco Vargas, a 17-year-old trans girl who attends high school near Tacoma, Washington. It's to show solidarity with LGBT students that get bullied and harassed at school and get called names because of the fact that theyre LGBT. Story continues For some, the silence will be a time to reflect or mourn. For others, its an act of defiant protest symbolizing the oppression against LGBTQ students. But it will end with loud calls to action, where students will attend either in-person or online rallies and commit to fighting for their rights, said Tyler Vazquez, an 18-year-old nonbinary and transgender senior in Albany, New York. Although we are taking silence, we're taking silence on our own behalf and reclaiming that, said Vazquez, who like Robinson and Orozco Varga is a member of GLSENs National Student Council. We're not taking silence as if we're just doing what the Florida legislation wants us to do, Vazquez said, referring to that states so-called dont say gay law. We're taking silence on our own behalf and then we're going to speak up after that. The protest has even caught the attention of Congress. On Thursday, California Rep. Mark Takano introduced a resolution to formally establish April 22 as a National Day of Silence that highlights discrimination against LGBTQ students. Takano noted GLSENs Day of Silence campaign has existed since the mid-1990s, but said there was a particular urgency in its message today due to the recent wave of legislation. To all the LGBTQ+ young people out there, I hope this day reminds you that you are not alone there are thousands of people standing with you across the country. You have a right to live as your authentic self without fear, Takano said in a statement. The fears for LGBTQ young people have been very real, according to Rob Todaro, senior communications manager for the Trevor Project. Crisis counselors at the LGBTQ youth suicide prevention nonprofit have been fielding more calls recently from countless students battling stress, anxiety, and fear about the laws. We have been hearing from LGBTQ young people, especially transgender and nonbinary young people, who are scared and worried about this record wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, most of which specifically targets trans youth, Todaro said. A January poll of 820 LGBTQ young Americans conducted by the Trevor Project and Morning Consult found that 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth and two-thirds of all LGBTQ young people had suffered negative mental health impacts due to debates over state laws restricting their rights. This has been an incredibly difficult year on top of at least two very difficult years for the LGBTQ community and the world, Todaro said. But it has been very inspiring to see LGBTQ students, either speaking out or taking a vow of silence to really claim power in a space where they're being told that they need to be silent and to not be proud of who they are. The three students who spoke with BuzzFeed News said they hope their symbolic protest can spread among their peers and on social media in order to highlight their plight. The main takeaway from the protest is that the silence is deafening, Orozco Vargas said. This is supposed to demonstrate that we go through a lot, and this is to show you that we're being ignored. More on this The 74 It has been obvious since his presidential campaign that President Joe Biden is not a supporter of charter schools. The reason has never been clear to me. Does he oppose the movement for philosophical reasons, or does he believe it is the most politically advantageous path to travel? No matter what his reasons are, his [] Bill Lindsey's son died three years ago, after "his bipolar illness got the best of him." Lindsey, the executive director of the South Carolina National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), doesn't know if the new three-number code to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline would have saved his son, but he believes it can save the lives of others. It's one reason he is advocating for funding to fully implement 988, which will soon be the new way to call or text the suicide prevention hotline. The new number is, as Lindsey describes it, "another tool to be able to call someone immediately for help and not have to call a 10-digit number or something like it was before. But a lack of funds to fully implement 988 could indirectly lead to people's deaths in Greenville and across the state. Suicide hotline call center at Mental Health America Greenville County in Greenville, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Thats the realistic fear of some mental health advocates who expect a surge in calls to the hotline when the shorter, easier to remember code goes live on July 16. Stories like this are possible because of our subscribers. Please support journalism in Greenville and subscribe by visiting greenvilleonline.com/subscribe. Greenvilles Mental Health America has the states only certified Lifeline call center, but is lacking the funds to adequately hire and train more people to answer calls and meet the anticipated demand. The need comes at a time when calls to the local crisis hotline are at their highest. In March, Mental Health America Greenville County answered more than 2,400 calls their highest number ever answered in the state, according to Jennifer Butler, director of the office of emergency services for the state Department of Mental Health. The suicide death rate in South Carolina was 16.3% (868 deaths) in 2020, up from 16.2% (852 deaths) in 2019, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Gun violence: Greenville County Schools focus on return for students after Tanglewood Middle School shooting Story continues Calls to the suicide hotline need to be answered in 20 seconds before they're routed to a back-up center in another state, Butler said. The person in crisis who calls and has to wait for someone in another state may get tired of waiting, hang up out of frustration, and not call back, said Jennifer Piver, executive director of the nonprofit MHA in Greenville. The worst case scenario, she said, is "people would die." 'Nobody did any work' The 988 Implementation Act, which was mandated by the federal government in 2020, is intended to help save lives, in part, by making it easier for someone in need of suicide prevention or who is in a mental health crisis to access the help they need. It also serves as an alternative to calling 911. As part of the mandate, states are required to "implement their 988 and crisis response infrastructure that relies on trained mental health specialists instead of armed law enforcement" ahead of the launch. Only five or six states had done so by January, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "Our state legislature did not have a pre-filed bill when they went back into session the first of January," said Ken Dority, executive director of NAMI Greenville. "Nobody did any work, so we've been behind the apple cart instead of in front of the apple cart." The SCDMH's three-year funding plan for 988 includes a request for $1.5 million for MHA Greenville's operating costs and $1.6 million to staff crisis receiving units. Neither of these are in the SCDMH's FY22-23 budget requests. The SCDMH is also requesting $1.3 million to create a backup call center in Charleston, as well as funds to expand its mobile crisis intervention services to rural areas, areas with high call volumes, and to increase access to mobile crisis telehealth services. During the April 13 Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Thomas Alexander of District 1 of Oconee County announced that they are recommending over $1 million for a secondary call center. Report: SC sees 59% spike in opioid overdose deaths amid pandemic stress of 2020 Dority believes the MHA Greenville call center should be funded first to the necessary capacity to get through this next year. "Then we can make different plans, working with the Senate and the House, come up with better plans and sustainable funding for an ongoing basis," he said. "We do need the funding this year. Right now. July is fast approaching and these folks that we hire have to go through a lot of training to be able to sit in those chairs and take those calls." MHAGC, in partnership with NAMI, The Phoenix Center, and Prisma, was awarded $6.2 million in Greenville County COVID grant funds for a crisis stabilization center and crisis helpline expansion. The organization also upgraded technology in its call center. In addition to now having a rollover site in Greer, MHAGC has almost 50 workstations that could be used on a 24/7 basis and remote desks to enable them to handle hundreds of thousands of calls, Piver said. We have this massive infrastructure there, we have the training, we have the certification, and we need zero construction, she said. We have all of this physical infrastructure and its sitting there with empty chairs. Theres a lot of hope with those empty seat, but we dont have it funded. The MHA Greenville call center is not able to answer all of South Carolinas calls right now, Butler said. In February, 500 calls to the center went out of state. In March, the number was 600 or 700, Butler said. But it is known that South Carolinians are in distress, she said. Last year, the calls to 911 for suicide or self-harm increased 40% from the year prior. Butler said she learned of five suicides and several people whod harmed themselves and were in critical condition in the last week alone. These numbers represent lives. They represent family members and important voices in South Carolina and they deserve to have a fully operated comprehensive 988 continuum of care, she said. They deserve to have two call centers to make sure that every call is answered in South Carolina. They deserve to have robust mobile crisis, so that everybody is able to have a timely response in-person if needed, and they deserve to have a place to go a crisis stabilization unit when they are in distress." But funding or no funding, 988 will happen, she said. When it does, the call volume is going to dramatically increase, Lindsey said. Theyve been increasing all along during the pandemic, he said, and "the pandemic is a reason people are in crisis." Imagine how all of us feel when we cannot be around friends and relatives because of the pandemic, but youve got a mental illness, suicidal tendencies, he said. That isolation is horrible. Thats why the calls have gone off the roof." Last year, Piver said, the state legislature required that the Lifeline number be placed on the IDs of students grades seventh and up. That, too, will go into effect in July. "That's one little thing that wasn't calculated into those moderate growth projections," Piver said. "We don't know what that impact is." Need for funds MHA Greenville is seeking grants from foundations to effectively implement 988. "We don't know if more dollars will come through the government," Piver said, "but, "we're gonna keep fighting for it." On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced that it is awarding nearly $105 million to 54 states and territories to bolster crisis care infrastructure in advance of 988. The SCDMH was awarded $1,390,817 to enhance workforce capacity and improve in-state response to 988 contacts through the Lifeline. Eighty-five percent of those funds must go directly to the one Lifeline crisis center responding on behalf of the state, MHAGC, according to Christopher Garrett, senior media advisor for SAMHSA. "While the funding is a small start, it does not address the needs for the full 988 Crisis Continuum of Care," Butler said in an emailed response Wednesday about the new grant funds. "It will not begin to touch the costs associated with running either call center. It doesnt provide funding for mobile crisis expansion or the development of Crisis Stabilization Units in SC." The total funding amount was based on SCs current call volume of the Lifeline only, not the additional calls that went to 911, SCDMH Mobile Crisis or other hotlines in the state, according to Butler. "It did not include the number of individuals going to the ERs with suicidal ideation or attempts," she said. "Those are important factors and access points that are meant to now be funneled through 988. It also did not factor in the number of people dying by suicide or the level of distress South Carolinians are in at this time, Butler said. Piver said they are extremely grateful to have the funding thats coming, which amounts to $350,000 a year for two years. But, she said, the organization has very little funding for its current employees and who knows when the SCDMH will get to build their second location and take rollover calls? Thats one of the concerns we have right now. SAMHSAs goal, Piver said, is to have MHAGC handling 90 percent of their current call volume by June 15. The centers current answering rate is just north of 80 percent, Piver said. Because of the need to fund current operations, Piver fears the centers answer rate will drop below 30 percent. MHAGC became part of the Lifeline network in 2007 and in early 2019, before any funding was coming our way, we could only answer about 5 percent of the Upstate (calls)," Piver said. "Now being an over 80 percent answer rate for the whole state just demonstrates that with the funding weve consistently been able to perform. MHA Greenville has been taking hotline calls in its center since 1990. At one time, it was one of four call centers in the state. "That's what we did, that's what we want to do," Piver said. "We want to pick up the call when it rings." Here's a breakdown of what the 2-year funding grant from SAMHSA will provide in SC: The total amount of the grant is $1,390,817 ($695,000 per year over two years). Mental Health America-Greenville County will receive $350,000 per year for 2 years to fund 8 staff members $241,000 per year for 2 years will be distributed to begin the work of certification and establishment of a second call center. The remaining funds will support 1 coordinator to oversee the project, 1 grant evaluator (both positions are required by SAMHSA) and associated implementation/coordination costs. This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Lack of funds could lead to unanswered suicide hotline calls in SC The Washington state Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that a city ordinance requiring that guns be locked up and kept out of unauthorized hands is pre-empted by state law. The ruling affirmed a three-judge state of appeals ruling last year in the case sparked by a lawsuit filed by three residents against the city of Edmonds after the city approved an ordinance in July 2018 requiring residents to lock up their guns or else face fines. Under our system of divided government, many elected bodies hold legislative power, including elected city councils. These councils, however, must legislate within constitutional constraints, Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez wrote, joined by the eight other justices on the high court. One of those constraints is that city ordinances must not conflict with general laws that have been enacted by the people of our state by initiative or by our state legislature. A statewide ballot measure that passed later that same year on gun safety doesnt mandate that a firearm be stored in a particular way or place, but it created criminal penalties for when a gun isnt properly stored and accessed by someone who is prohibited from possessing a firearm such as a child and used to injure or kill, displayed in public in an intimidating manner or used during a crime. In a footnote, the court noted that since they resolved the issue of the underlying case on preemption, they did not address arguments about the intersection of this law and Initiative 1639. Edmonds Mayor Mike Nelson said Thursday that the current preemption statute is overly broad, tying the hands of all local governments in our state to do anything to protect our citizens. A previous effort by the city of Seattle to ban guns in parks was stopped by the courts under the same statute. Nelson, who said he is a gun owner who keeps his firearm stored and locked, said he will push for the Legislature to make changes allowing local governments to have the authority to address guns in their communities. Story continues On the one hand we can prohibit someone from smoking in a park, but we cant prohibit them from bringing a handgun into a playground, he said in a phone interview. Does that make sense? The Edmonds ordinance, which took effect in March 2019, required gun owners to keep their firearms locked up and inaccessible to others, especially children. It did not apply to firearms carried by or under the control of owners. Scroll down to continue reading More news from KIRO 7 DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP If anyone not permitted to use the gun got access to it, under the statute, the owner could be held civilly liable and fined up to $1,000. If an unauthorized person used the firearm to commit a crime or hurt themselves or others, the gun owner could be fined up to $10,000. Its enforcement was put on hold following an October 2019 decision at the superior court level. The Supreme Court noted that the city argued that since the ordinance did not apply to guns in the owners possession, that ordinances pertaining to storage are not preempted. We decline to limit the preemption statute to firearms transactions and active use, Gonzalez wrote. That limitation is simply not consistent with the words of the statute as a whole. The court pointed out that the statute, adopted by the Legislature in 1985, specifies that the state fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation. The Second Amendment Foundation, which, along with the National Rifle Association, was part of the litigation against the city, said the ruling should send a signal to other governments considering similar action. A lawsuit by the groups is currently pending against the city of Seattle for a gun storage law it passed in 2018. We will not tolerate anti-gun politicians who violate the law in order to pass laws to restrict our rights, Alan Gottlieb, the foundations founder and executive vice president, said in a written statement. Mariupol SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Mariupol Survivors from the southern Ukraine port city of Mariupol, which has been under siege by invading Russian forces since early March, described the horrors of the invasion in interviews to The Washington Post, telling the outlet "everything" was destroyed. Passengers from a convoy of vehicles that were granted safe passage by Russia to travel from Mariupol to the southeastern town of Zaporizhzhia spoke to the Post this week and described living on raw grains and dried pasta while hiding underground amid the shelling. "The ground was shaking," one Mariupol resident, named Ruslana, told the Post, adding: "The scariest thing was that when you went out in the street, you saw that nobody was allowed to collect the bodies. A lot of buildings were on fire. We know that a lot of families burned alive." Others described survival in Mariupol in similar terms. "There were no light, there was no water," one woman said. "It was hell," said another, per the Times. RELATED: Russian Troops Want to Conceal Bodies of More Than 10,000 Dead in Mariupol, Ukraine, Mayor Says Mariupol has apparently become a central target for Russian aggression in recent weeks. In March, it was reported that a theater in Mariupol, in which hundreds of Ukrainian residents were taking shelter, was bombed even though the word "children" was written in Russian outside the building. "On 16 March, Russian air force dropped a powerful bomb on the building of the drama theatre in Mariupol. The theatre building served as a shelter for hundreds of Mariupol residents who had lost their homes as a result of Russian armed forces bombing and shelling the city," a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine read, in part. "The bomb strike demolished the central part of the theatre building, causing large numbers of people to be buried under the debris. The assessment of the exact number of persons affected is currently impossible due to ongoing shelling," the statement continued. Story continues Later that same month, the Associated Press reported that residents of Mariupol had begun burying their dead in a mass grave on the outskirts of the city. Up to 9,000 bodies are feared to be in the mass grave, per Ukrainian officials. Russian military forces also severely damaged a children's hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a tweet last month, writing: "People, children are under the wreckage Atrocity!" On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that his forces had "liberated" the city, saying in public remarks, "the work of the armed forces to liberate Mariupol has been a success. Congratulations." RELATED: Ukrainians Search from Afar for Missing Family in Devastated Mariupol: 'I Feel More and More Useless' Russia's attack on Ukraine continues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 the first major land conflict in Europe in decades. The invasion, ordered by Putin, has drawn condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia. With NATO forces amassed in the region, various countries are offering aid or military support to the resistance. Ukraine's Zelenskyy has called for peace talks so far unsuccessful while urging his country to fight back. Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend. "Nobody is going to break us, we're strong, we're Ukrainians," he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, "Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness." The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help. Northampton, MA --News Direct-- AllianceBernstein By Edward Bryan, CFA | Senior Research AnalystSustainable Thematic Equities Supply-chain disruptions are testing companies around the world. Can solutions be found in a fermentation tank? We believe the crisis could accelerate the adoption of synthetic biology to ensure local, sustainable supply of many products from materials to food. Crises inevitably lead to great changes and opportunities. Today's supply chain crisis may be no different. Since the beginning of COVID-19, companies and countries have struggled to ensure steady supply of key inputs to the normal functioning of our economies. This year, key commodities and other products from Russia and Ukraine have been disrupted amid the war. And the increasing prevalence of natural disasters driven by climate change in recent years has also interfered with supply chains. Car factories lie dormant because a missing microchip has thwarted production. Pharmaceutical providers rely on overseas supply for active ingredients in many medicines. Food producers that depend on wheat exports from Ukraine, a country known as the breadbasket of Europe, are at risk because the spring planting season is in jeopardy. Companies facing challenges like these in a variety of industries may find innovative ways to redesign supply chains by turning to synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is a revolutionary technology that could make a profound impact on the way a vast array of products are manufactured. In our recent white paper, we explained how the science works and is rapidly expanding into new applications (See The Synthetic Biology Revolution: Investing in the Science of Sustainability). It all happens in a brewery-like environment. Production organism cells (yeast, for instance) are typically grown and fed in a fermenter, and the downstream output (purified protein, for example) is harvested. Beyond the biotech industry, where synthetic biology was first adopted, falling costs are promoting its use to create materials that improve the quality of products such as pet food, watch straps and cement. Now, the retreat of globalization may be a catalyst for broader adoption. Story continues Reversing Decades of Globalization Decades of relative peace prompted companies to globalize their supply chains. Car parts often cross the US-Mexico border several times before they're installed into a vehicle. Apples iPhone contains parts made in over 40 different countries. This supply chain optimization enabled companies to squeeze out ever higher profit marginsbut also created hidden vulnerabilities. The savings gained from sourcing cheaper supply for a component overseas can quickly evaporate when a local COVID-19 outbreak causes ports to close or a geopolitical conflict disrupts supply. Many inputs for products we rely on every day, like fertilizers for farming, come from far away around the world, often from countries governed by non-democratic rulers. Even if the current conflict is resolved, we believe companies and economies won't simply revert back to the old-normal supply chains, having realized their inherent fragility. How can synthetic biology help? By providing cost-effective local production. Anywhere you can brew beer, you can make things with synthetic biology. Here are some examples of potential opportunities for synthetic biology to alleviate tricky supply issues. Oil and natural gasare not only used for generating energy. Plastics and nylon are byproducts of petroleum that could be produced using synthetic biology. Some fertilizers are derived from natural gas and a recent study reported engineered bacteria could be used as a substitute for ammonia-based fertilizers, which currently rely on natural gas. Pharmaceutical ingredientsabout half the worlds drugs are derived from plants and nature-based materials. According to the FDA, some 78% of active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturers are located outside the US. As more pharmaceutical companies tap into the power of synthetic biology to create these chemicals, dependence on supply from abroad will wane. Food and flavorsrecent events have exposed vulnerabilities in different parts of the food supply chain. For example, during the pandemic, as US consumers faced major meat shortages, Tyson Foods warned that the food supply chain is breaking. Synthetic biology can be used to create alternative protein sources, which can be manufactured in a variety of locations because they can be economically viable at relatively small scale, according to the Good Food Institute; a distributed supply system is more resilient to disruption. In Singapore, 90% of all food is imported, so the country has been at the vanguard of regulatory approval for cell-culture meat. Synthetic vanilla now commands up to 85% of global supply, solving chronic supply difficulties for a flavoring that is naturally produced mainly in Madagascar. Clothingits become the norm to find that your shirt or shoes were manufactured on the other side of the planet. But McKinsey reports that 71% of apparel and fashion companies are planning to increase nearshoring by 2025. McKinsey predicts that synthetic biology fermentation can yield significant cost savings in production of materials such as nylon, silk, cotton and clothing dyes. Electric vehicle batteriesa professor from Columbia University used synthetic biology to develop a special microbe that can extract precious materials from a mine in a more environmentally sustainable way. This can help improve local sourcing for electric vehicle batteries in the US. Using Science for Strategic Advantage Many companies might have scoffed at synthetic biology as a futuristic, expensive technology that wasnt aligned with globally dispersed supply chains. We believe it may become a more attractive option as established companies seek to re-orient their operations, and younger companies grow and build out new supply chains from scratch. Greater investments in synthetic biology lead to discoveries that push down the costs of production, opening up more applications and markets, and creating a virtuous cycle that draws in further investment. Investors should take note. Select innovative companies that are enabling the synthetic biology revolution offer attractive growth potential, in our view. And companies across industries that are embracing the technology to address supply chain challenges may enjoy strategic advantages versus peers that can unlock promising long-term return potential. View original content here View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from AllianceBernstein on 3blmedia.com View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/how-synthetic-biology-can-help-fix-the-supply-chain-crisis-530232382 The venture capital market is slowing down, which means early-stage founders are chasing a smaller pool of money. According to Carta, the number of seed deals funded between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 fell 41%, and dollar volume followed suit, dropping from $2.62 billion to $1.81 billion, a 31% decline. In this environment, teams that successfully close a fundraising round will find themselves with a shorter runway than they planned on, which means partnering with an investor who understands the business well enough to add value is more critical than it was a year ago. Because a founders pitch is the first step on that journey, were interviewing active investors to learn more about what theyre looking for and how they prefer to be approached. Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription For our latest outing, we asked each of them to name a pro forma pitch practice they think founders should retire. Notably, angel investor Marjorie Radlo-Zandi said entrepreneurs who embellish the size of their market are sabotaging themselves. Dont be tempted to overstate your market size and its infinite potential, she said. We call blatantly inflated numbers handwaving. If you exaggerate, youll appear less credible to investors. Not all investors expect to invest in the next unicorn. Thanks very much to everyone who participated: Christine Tsai, CEO and founding partner, 500 Global Marjorie Radlo-Zandi, angel, Launchpad Venture Group, Branch Venture Group Clelia Warburg Peters, managing partner, Era Ventures Anarghya Vardhana, partner, Maveron LLC Frederic Huynen, partner, and Wijnand Bekker, associate, HPE Growth If you already have an established network, this article probably isn't for you. But if you're a first-time founder who's getting ready to fundraise, please read and share. Thanks very much for reading, and I hope you have an excellent weekend! Story continues Walter Thompson Senior Editor, TechCrunch+ @yourprotagonist Study up on churn rate basics to set customer and revenue benchmarks Warning sign cliff ahead, West fjords, Iceland Image Credits: Arctic Images (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Whether it's a neighborhood gym or a SaaS decacorn, every company that relies on recurring revenue watches its churn rate closely. Churn "is complex and confusing," says Sid Jain, a senior analyst at ChartMogul, but for early-stage companies, it's one of a few real-time metrics that can help founders run experiments and gather feedback quickly. Jain explains the differences between customer and revenue churn, shares formulas for calculating benchmarks, and answers the question: "What is a good monthly churn rate?" Dear Sophie: Can a startup sponsor a graduating co-founder? lone figure at entrance to maze hedge that has an American flag at the center Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch On Tuesday, April 26, at 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. ET, Sophie Alcorn will answer questions about immigration law for startups during a Twitter Space hosted by Senior Editor Walter Thompson. The conversation is open to everyone, so please submit your questions on Twitter and click here to get a reminder when the chat begins. Dear Sophie, What are the visa options for an advanced-degree graduate from a U.S. university who wants to co-found a startup upon graduation? Can the newly minted company or other co-founders sponsor the recent grad? Forward-Looking Founder Fraud-as-a-service: Scammers are using encrypted messaging to undercut BNPL revenue Credit card online payment scam concept. Internet hacker stealing money cybercrime from smartphone payment app. Image Credits: Blueastro (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Consumers have enthusiastically embraced buy now, pay later services in recent years and so have online scammers. Using secure messaging apps that serve as dark web marketplaces, cybercriminals are targeting retailers and BNPL providers using stolen data. "The only way to get ahead of these scams is for BNPL vendors to ensure they have the right defense strategy in place to combat fraud on their own platforms and networks," says Brittany Allen, trust and safety architect at Sift. 10 IP and commercial contract loose ends to tie up before you approach investors Close-Up Of Multi Colored Shoelaces Against Black Background Image Credits: EyeEm (opens in a new window) / Getty Images A persuasive pitch is not the first step on the fundraising path. Before approaching investors, founders must first perform due diligence on themselves to make sure they're aware of any liabilities involving their intellectual property. "Waiting to tackle these issues during a financing could cause delays, result in time-consuming and expensive remediation, and, in the worst case, lead to lower valuations," says William Wilson, a partner at Goodwin Law. In a TC+ guest post, he identifies 10 potential pitfalls "and steps that startups can take to better prepare for these issues." Submit your questions for a TechCrunch+ Twitter Space with immigration law attorney Sophie Alcorn A composite image of immigration law attorney Sophie Alcorn in front of a background with a TechCrunch logo. Image Credits: Joanna Buniak / Sophie Alcorn (opens in a new window) On Tuesday, April 26, at 2:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. ET, I'm hosting a Twitter Space with Sophie Alcorn, an immigration law attorney based in Silicon Valley and author of Dear Sophie, a column that appears on TechCrunch+ each Wednesday. We'll discuss relevant issues for technology workers and founders who are considering setting up shop in the U.S., including H-1B visas, pathways for international student founders, what to do if you weren't selected in the green card lottery, and information for members of the Ukrainian IT community who've been impacted by the ongoing Russian invasion. This Space is open to everyone, so please click through to set a reminder for the chat and submit your immigration-related questions so we can raise them during the Q&A. 4 questions every CISO should be asking about the metaverse The metaverse is still taking shape, but it's already creating headaches for cybersecurity professionals. Technology that places users inside virtual, immersive environments where they can transact could unlock untold benefits, but it will definitely create a threat attack surface of titanic proportions. To prepare, CSO/CISO David Fairman says organizations must be able to answer these questions: A massive string of car-break-ins around Whitehaven in a span of eight hours. Two teenagers are facing a combined 166 counts of auto burglary and theft after police say they broke into cars at six different locations. You feel like youre being violated, and you just have to bounce back, Marcus Faulkner of Memphis said. Faulkner knows what it feels like to get his car broken into. Actually twice, once in the Westwood area, once at the house, he said. Thats why he wasnt too surprised to hear of a string of car break-ins at schools and businesses around Whitehaven. Now that its warm and more people are out, so that usually comes with the weather, he said. Memphis Police said they were looking for suspects in a Ford edge who were wanted in several car burglaries. Police said the same car was used to break into numerous other cars at MLGW, Whitehaven High School, A. Maceo Walker Jr. High, Holiday Inn Express, Hamilton High School and UPS. Its a shocker to hear that because this neighborhood is peaceful, nice and a tight-knit community, Lavincio Brown of Memphis said. Police said 18-year-old Anthwan Cox was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after the Ford Dodge was spotted on Gill Ave. MPD said surveillance video from the thefts confirmed Cox was at several of the car break-in sites. While investigating, police identified an additional suspect, a 17-year-old, who was later taken into custody. We want to feel safe; we want to have fun because all of that is getting affected. We are getting over Covid, so just stop with the break-ins. Anthwan Cox was charged with 24 counts of auto burglary and 24 counts of theft. The 17-year-old suspect, who was not named by police, was charged with 59 counts of auto burglary and 59 counts of theft. Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD Trending stories: GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded Friday that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle. We want his name! Sharpton said Friday, as he spoke at Lyoyas funeral. Advertisement He said authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people unless the officer is charged. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, he said. How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man. We want his name! Advertisement Mourners, many of whom were wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood in applause. Sharpton delivered the eulogy at the request of family members. Their lawyer, prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, also will speak at Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids. A program of the service, which was printed in English and Swahili, said family members and friends also planned to share reflections. Sharpton and Crump have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharptons eulogies have included those for George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Peter and Dorcas Lyoya, parents of Patrick Lyoya, march with their family and supporters wearing all black on April 21, 2022 for a rally at the Capitol in Lansing, Mich. to demand justice in the police shooting that took the life of Patrick Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant. (Jake May/AP) Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoyas parents and other family members wore black sweatshirts that had Lyoyas picture on the front and the words Justice for Patrick along a sleeve. Lyoyas mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as live music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, was among those who filled the 1,000-seat church to capacity. Local elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also among those in attendance. Outside the church, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. On his way inside, Crump said: Were here to support the family again through this very difficult time, Nobody expects their child to be taken from them before they are buried. But to have them taken by the person whos supposed to protect and serve them is a different kind of trauma. An unarmed Lyoya was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officers Taser. Advertisement Earlier, the officer is heard saying that the license plate did not match the car Lyoya had been driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. On Thursday, Peter and Dorcas Lyoya joined protesters in Lansing for a march and rally, where the call was renewed for authorities to release the name of the officer who killed their son. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. Authorities vowed Saturday to continue their search for a Texas National Guard soldier who went missing Friday morning while assigned to a border enforcement mission along the Rio Grande, the Texas Military Department said. The Texas Military Department identified the missing soldier Sunday afternoon as Texas Army National Guard Specialist Bishop E. Evans, 22, from Arlington, Texas. Evans joined the Texas Army National Guard in May 2019, the military department said and was regularly assigned to operations in Iraq and Kuwait. Evans was attempting to assist two migrants who appeared to be drowning in the river, the Texas Military Department said in a Saturday statement. Both are in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol custody and are accused of drug trafficking, the statement says. A local official had said on Friday that Evans was attempting to help a woman who was struggling in the strong current. He jumped in the river," said Sheriff Tom Schmerber of Maverick County. They never saw him come out." Search and rescue dive operations were paused Friday evening, due to the strength of the current. The search resumed Saturday. The Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife and Border Patrol are continuing to investigate. TEXAS BORDER: Will Gov. Greg Abbott pay a political price for ordering truck inspections at the border? JANUARY: COVID outbreak. Suicides. Shoddy living conditions. Texas National Guard troops voice border mission mistreatment. Powerful currents have created treacherous conditions for people trying to cross the Rio Grande this month, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Earlier this month, a Border Patrol Marine Unit rescued several people who were "swept off their feet" by swiftly moving water, the agency said. Rescues are common in the river and attempted border crossings can be deadly. Schmerber said it's common to find bodies of migrants along his county's section of the river. Story continues Evans was assigned to Operation Lone Star, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's controversial immigration enforcement mission. The Texas governor's office is working with the Texas National Guard as they search for the missing soldier, Abbott said on Twitter Friday afternoon. Friday's incident comes roughly one year into a ramping up of border enforcement along the Rio Grande as a part of Operation Lone Star. When Operation Lone Star launched in March 2021, Abbott said, "We will surge the resources and law enforcement personnel needed to confront this crisis, blaming the Biden administration for policies that he said invited illegal immigration and roiled the border in a growing humanitarian crisis. A central focus of Operation Lone Star was the arrest and detention of people crossing the border. The effort has been strongly criticized for militarizing the border and interfering with immigration enforcement, a federal responsibility. In January, lawyers argued Operation Lone Star violates the U.S. Constitution. Guardsmen themselves have also voiced a litany of complaints about poor conditions during their mission, including massive COVID-19 outbreaks. Contributing: Tony Plohetski, Chuck Lindell and Katie Hall, Austin American-Statesman; The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Missing National Guard soldier identified, last seen along Rio Grande FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, is calling on President Biden to declare fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), arguing that is justified given the tens of thousands of overdose deaths by Americans every year. "Fentanyl has quickly emerged as one of the most dangerous drugs responsible for creating a public health crisis in the United States. It is vital the federal government takes immediate action to address the opioid epidemic and protect the American people by designating fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD)," Gooden said in a letter to President Biden, obtained by Fox News Digital. FATHER WHO LOST DAUGHTER TO FENTANYL DEMANDS ACTION ON BORDER: SHE DIDNT OVERDOSE, SHE WAS POISONED' The drug, which can be fatal in small amounts, is primarily trafficked via the southern border. More than 10,586 lbs of fentanyl were seized at the southern border in FY 2021 by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), up significantly from the 4,558 lbs in FY 2020 and 2,633 in FY 2019. Most of the amount seized is caught at ports of entry. The Drug Enforcement Administration recently warned of a "nationwide spike" in fentanyl-related mass overdoses as it says the drug is killing Americans at an "unprecedented" rate. The agency said that many of the victims believed they were taking cocaine, and did not know that it was laced with fentanyl a deadly drug that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine. "This year alone enough fentanyl has crossed our southern border to kill every single American seven times," Gooden said in a statement. "The president must stop ignoring this crisis, secure our border, and call this drug what it is a weapon of mass destruction. Our national security and hundreds of thousands of American lives are at stake." DEA WARNS OF NATIONWIDE SPIKE IN FENTANYL-RELATED MASS-OVERDOSE DEATHS, AS BORDER CRISIS RAGES The agency cited Centers for Disease Control statistics that in a 12-month period ending in October, there were more than 105,000 drug overdoses 66% of which were related to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Story continues Gooden, in his letter to Biden, cites federal statute that says a WMD is "any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxin or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors." "It is clear fentanyl, and its precursors, meet this definition," he said. Gooden said that the growing prevalence of opioid use "simultaneously heightens the potential for fentanyl to be repurposed by terrorists or cartels as a mass chemical weapon." "The fatal potential of fentanyl use or even contact is a significant threat to national security, an opportunity cartels or other illicit groups may take advantage of," he said. A recent report by the bipartisan Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking said the source of fentanyl into the U.S. has evolved from 2014-2019, when most fentanyl came in from China via international mail. Now, the report said, it comes in from Mexico via the land border. "The drug is manufactured in illegal laboratories there using precursors from Asia mainly the [Peoples Republic of China] and is trafficked principally by land into the United States," the report said. The fund known as the Health Resources and Services Administration COVID-19 Uninsured Program created to help hospitals pay for the care of uninsured COVID patients has dried up. More than $3 billion in federal money has flowed to Texas health care providers in recent months to help pay for COVID-19 treatments, tests and vaccines for patients without health insurance, according to national health officials. Of that, a tiny fraction some $2.2 million went to the local independent hospital in rural Titus County for treating patients during wave after overwhelming wave of the devastating virus in an area where 1 in 3 residents are uninsured. But the 174-bed Titus Regional Medical Center in northeast Texas needed every penny it could get as it struggled to cover the sudden, skyrocketing expenses of the pandemic: paying staff competitive wages to keep them on the job, keeping up with federal safety rules and managing record-breaking numbers of patients pouring into in the intensive care unit from a 150-mile radius, said CEO Terry Scoggin. Now, after sending some $19 billion to hospitals and other health care providers nationwide, the fund known as the Health Resources and Services Administration COVID-19 Uninsured Program created to help hospitals like Titus Regional pay for the care of uninsured COVID patients has dried up. While the halting of funds comes as Texas has seen infection numbers fall dramatically, the virus is still largely uncontrolled, causing surges and lockdowns in other countries. In the past, those surges abroad have always occurred before new cases rise again here in the United States, including Texas, which has more uninsured residents than any other state. The failure to renew the program in time to continue reimbursing providers means that hospitals, clinics, private practices and others that dont get public health funding from the state will have to eat the cost if they dont charge for COVID-related services, Scoggin said. Its a huge issue for us because we have so many adults who are uninsured, Scoggin said. And so it was kind of a kick in the gut for us when they shut that program off because I thought it was a good use of funds for the COVID piece. Story continues Refusing care to those patients who cant pay is not an option, legally or morally, he said. We cant turn people away, so were still going to pay for it, Scoggin said. It just shifted the expense of the uninsured from federal funds to individual hospitals. Throughout the pandemic, the federal government has used tax dollars to alleviate the cost of COVID response on government and health care providers. Much of that assistance has come through the direct purchasing of tests, vaccines and treatments that are then distributed to providers at no cost to them, allowing them to provide care at no cost to the public while still being able to cover their operating budgets during the onslaught of patients. Its also come in the form of the HRSA reimbursements to state providers to cover a portion of the cost of treating uninsured COVID patients, as well as administering tests and vaccines. In Texas, providers have received some $1.8 billion for the treatment of uninsured COVID-19 patients, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Texas has the nations lowest rate of insurance coverage and is one of 11 states that have chosen not to expand Medicaid coverage to include more adults living in poverty. The percentage of Texans covered by that government insurance program is just over half the national average. The cost of treating a COVID-19 patient goes far beyond the cost of the actual therapy, with so-called wrap-around infection control measures that include isolation wings inside a facility and personal protective equipment like masks, as well as other costs. Recent studies have shown that the cost of treating one COVID patient on an outpatient basis averages more than $1,200. Put that patient on a ventilator in the ICU, and the cost can go up to $300,000. In March, just weeks after some hospitals saw record-breaking numbers of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Texas and other states, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that claims for uninsured patients being treated or tested for coronavirus would no longer be accepted and that prior claims would be filled as funds became available. In April, vaccines for uninsured people were also excluded from reimbursement, and the federal government has said there is no more money after the current supply of tests, treatments and vaccines runs out if Congress doesnt act. An attempt by the White House to add billions more to the program has become a casualty of political arguments in Washington over the use of tax dollars to respond to the pandemic. Health care experts say that the impact of that could include fewer independent or private providers offering some of the services they could previously have been reimbursed for, which could reduce access to care in underserved areas. And it could mean those providers are no longer willing or able to take on overflow from safety net hospitals in the event of another surge. It puts the squeeze on teaching hospitals and rural providers like Titus Regional, which offers those treatments regardless of a patients ability to pay. Whichever way providers respond, the result will likely be reduced access for uninsured patients in most states due to more limited provider access and/or potential out-of-pocket costs, Kaiser health researchers said in a recent analysis of the announcement. The halting of the program hints that U.S. lawmakers are ready to shift the responsibility for pandemic response back to the states and local providers even as hospital officials and national health leaders warn of the continuing toll the pandemic is taking, waning vaccine efficacy, new variants and the potential for a fall surge in infections. The funding was great but came up well short of the need, said Carrie Williams, spokesperson for the Texas Hospital Association. The pandemics impact is far from over for hospitals. Were left with staffing shortages and soaring labor and supply costs. Were vulnerable, especially if there is another surge. The death of the COVID-19 reimbursement program, if it stays dead, is a clear indicator that those in charge of the money dont understand that the pandemic battle continues for health care providers, advocates say. Hospitals that provide essential community health services have disproportionately treated uninsured COVID patients during previous surges of the virus and will be on the front lines not only of any future spikes in cases and hospitalizations, but also community testing since most communities have shut down their testing sites, read a recent statement from the Teaching Hospitals of Texas, urging Congress to fund the program again. Right now, there hasnt been a patient hospitalized at Titus Regional with COVID in a week, Scoggin said. But the majority of residents in Titus and surrounding counties still arent fully vaccinated. Only a small percentage have booster shots. The numbers of new cases are still low, but theyre starting to tick up, slightly. The idea that an uninsured local resident could get COVID-19, wind up on a ventilator and require $100,000 worth of treatment they cant pay for is not an unlikely scenario, Scoggin said. And while uncompensated care reimbursements for providers are still available through other funding streams, as they have been for years, the addition of COVID-19 to the mix just means more competition for fewer dollars to help pay for an especially expensive illness, he said. Weve taken care of our community throughout COVID and were going to continue doing it, but this is just another unfunded mandate by the federal government, Scoggin said. Its just a question of how many of these mandates can you handle? Thats the hard part. Disclosure: The Texas Hospital Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here. We cant wait to welcome you in person and online to the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, our multiday celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the days news all taking place just steps away from the Texas Capitol from Sept. 22-24. When tickets go on sale in May, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/20/texas-hospitals-covid-funding/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. More: Texas COVID case and hospitalization numbers are falling to pre-omicron levels This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas hospitals prepare to pick up tab for uninsured COVID-19 patients Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP Chinese firms are in talks to buy Shell's stake in a Russian natural gas export project, sources told Bloomberg. CNOOC, CNPC, and Sinopec are in joint discussions, the sources said. Shell and other Western energy companies are withdrawing from the Russian oil and natural gas sector. Three Chinese state-run energy companies are in talks to buy Shell's 27.5% stake in a huge Russian natural gas export project, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. CNOOC, CNPC, and Sinopec are in joint discussions with the Anglo-Dutch oil and natural gas giant over its holding in the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas venture, the people said. The sources said discussions, which could include selling the stake to one, two, or all three of the firms, were at an early stage and could still fall through. One of the sources said that Shell was also open to talks with potential buyers outside of China. Shell says that Sakhalin-2 supplies about 4% of the world's current liquefied natural gas market, with Japan, South Korea, and China as the main customers. Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom owns a 50% stake in the venture, while Japanese corporate group Mitsui owns 12.5%, and fellow Japanese firm Mitsubishi holds 10%. Shell, CNOOC, CNPC, and Sinopec did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Russia has huge natural gas reserves, and supplied around a third of the EU and UK's total natural gas demand in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency. It's also the world's third largest oil producer and the second largest crude oil exporter, the agency said. Some Western oil firms have said they would discontinue operations in Russia following the outbreak of the conflict and the ensuing package of international sanctions, designed to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to abandon the invasion. China, in comparison, hasn't taken sides and has continued buying energy supplies from Russia. Story continues Shell said on February 28 that it would limit business with Russia by divesting from its joint ventures with Kremlin-owned energy company Gazprom and related businesses, as well as pulling out of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project. It later said that it would withdraw from the Russian oil and natural gas sector and close all its service stations in the country, which it said would lead to it writing off up to $5 billion in assets. London-headquartered BP has also said it would dump its 19.75% stake in Russia's state-backed oil giant Rosneft. Sources told Bloomberg last month that BP had reached out to state-backed firms in Asia and the Middle East, including CNPC and Sinopec, to sell the stake. ExxonMobil, meanwhile, announced that it would discontinue operations at the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas venture, a project it operates on behalf of an international consortium of Russian, Japanese, and Indian companies. US President Joe Biden has pledged to ban Russian energy imports and the European Commission has said it could reduce EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year under a plan to diversify supplies. Germany heavily reliant on supplies of natural gas from Russia has halted plans for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, while Lithuania said it became the first EU country to completely cut off Russian natural gas imports. Read the original article on Business Insider Kent Police Officers, from left, Matt Butcher, Kyle Auckland and Leonard Kunka are recognized by Police Chief Nicholas Shearer for an 2021 incident where the lives of two children were in danger. Auckland and Kunka were both shot during the incident. Kent police officers who were shot while protecting two children from a gunman last year were publicly recognized for their bravery at Wednesday's Kent City Council meeting. More: Windham man charged with murder in stabbing death of 11-year-old brother More: 'I just killed my brother,' caller tells dispatcher; Windham boy described as 'very happy' Police Chief Nicholas Shearer presented commendations to officers Matt Butcher, Kyle Auckland and Leonard Kunka, who responded to the call at a home on East Summit Street in January 2021. A babysitter, who was 14 at the time, was alone in the home with a young child, and called police to report someone breaking into the home. Dante Darnell Dixon, 41, of Cleveland Heights, pleaded guilty in the incident last October, and was sentenced to 38 to 42 years in prison "It's not uncommon for us to get a call like that, especially when you have younger people in the house, and there's just fear sometimes," Shearer said. "But if you ask these two, something felt different about this one." Auckland, Kunka and another officer were the first to arrive. Kunka went to the back of the house and saw signs that the back door had been forced open, and he saw a suspect, later identified as Dixon, who ran deeper into the house. "At that point, he had a decision to make," Shearer said. "The decision Officer Kunka made was one to put those people in that house before himself." As he was chasing the suspect, Dixon turned and fired one round at him. Auckland, meanwhile, heard the shot and entered the house from the front, and also was shot. The officers engaged in hand-to-hand combat to avoid injuries to the children in the house, and subdued the suspect. The suspect fired another round at Kunka during the struggle, and Kunka, who was shot in the hand, is not sure which bullet actually hit him, but told Shearer he had "a pretty good idea." Story continues Auckland, Shearer said, was shot "almost point blank right in the chest" but was saved by his body armor. During the struggle, he said, Auckland didn't know whether the body armor stopped the bullet or not "so he's fighting with this guy this entire time, not knowing if there's a bullet in his chest or if his body armor stopped that round." Butcher, the "senior officer," came in to secure the scene and took charge of the incident, which Shearer said was "instrumental." "Their primary focus throughout all this has been everyone instead of themselves," Shearer said. In addition to commendations for all three, Shearer presented service ribbons to Kunka and Auckland. One, a purple ribbon, was a "duty service ribbon" given to officers who are injured in the line of duty. The Meritorious Service Award, the highest honor the department gives, was awarded because the two risked their lives to save someone else. Last month, Kunka and Auckland were recognized by the American Red Cross, which presented them and five others with a 2022 Acts of Courage award. Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent police officers, shot while protecting kids, are honored (Getty Images) Tiffany Haddish has shared her dating requirements now that shes back on the dating apps following her breakup with rapper Common. On 21 April, the Girls Trip star appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she revealed that dating has been interesting and an adventure. Im all about adventure. Im back on the dating apps, the 42-year-old comedian said, adding that shes listed all the requirements for her next relationship in her dating profile. Good credit score, because I need to know youre responsible, Haddish began. You need to have good hygiene, thats really important to me. I cant stand bad breath and funky armpits. The actress then explained her preference for men who own land over men who have diamonds. Ive been attracting a lot of hip-hop kind of guys and I dont mind men wearing jewellery, Haddish said. But if you own a bunch of diamonds but you dont own no land, thats a problem for me. Meyers suggested that dating might be difficult for Haddish, considering men might be intimidated by her celebrity status. But for Haddish, shes the one thats intimidated. I dont know if theyre intimidated, I think all men are scary. I think yall all scared. In November, Haddish and Common - whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lyn - broke up after a year of dating. The two have been open about their relationship since calling it quits, with the 50-year-old rapper calling Haddish one of the best-hearted and most authentic and caring people hes met. Common cited both of their busy work schedules as cause for their breakup. It really didnt allow for us to spend as much time and put as much energy into our relationship, the rapper and actor explained on an episode of Fox Souls Hollywood Unlocked with Jason Lee Uncensored. I dont think the love really dispersed, we werent feeding the relationship, but I think the energy that has been put into our careers and continuing to want to do the things that we do for ourselves and for people, he said. During an appearance on the same show in December, Haddish expressed she was disappointed in Commons response when he claimed busy schedules were the cause for their breakup, because thats not what you told me, she said. I wish him nothing but joy and happiness, Haddish said. He will always be cool. (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp. jumped after the company said it hired outside advisers as it plans to start seeking proposals from potential investors on privatization and other strategic alternatives. Most Read from Bloomberg Shares climbed as much as 6.5% in Tokyo on Friday. Toshiba retained Nomura Securities Co. as financial adviser and Nishimura & Asahi as legal adviser, it said in a statement on Thursday evening. The company said earlier this month that it would set up a special committee that will, among other things, identify the privatization offer that is best for our diverse stakeholders. Toshiba will evaluate feasible proposals, including the likelihood of each transaction being approved by Japans authorities, it said. Analysts say the likelihood of Toshiba going private has increased, but one obstacle is whether Japans government would approve such a sale. Japans authorities list Toshiba, with its expertise in nuclear power, as a company of interest to national security under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. Read more: Toshibas Talk of Privatization Leaves Some Analysts With Doubts (Updates with share move from first paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump acknowledged "some responsibility" for what happened the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told Republican lawmakers in the days following the deadly riot, the New York Times said. The Times on Friday cited audio it had obtained of McCarthy's Jan. 11, 2021, call with fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives. The audio follows an earlier Times report that McCarthy told the lawmakers he planed to urge Trump to resign. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu) Former President Donald Trump warned in a speech Thursday that President Biden had made America more vulnerable to its enemies, including by withdrawing U.S. troops from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which Trump said he would have kept in order to monitor China's nuclear program. "China no longer respects us, Iran no longer fears us, and with their monstrous invasion of Ukraine, Russia showed just how weak they think our leaders are," Trump said at a Heritage Foundation event in Florida. "They would never have done that under the Trump administration. Never, not even a possibility." "This is the most dangerous period in the history of our country right now," he said. BIDEN'S BYSTANDER IN CHIEF APPROACH TO UKRAINE MAY EMBOLDEN CHINA IN ATTACKING TAIWAN; EXPERT WARNS Trump noted that he, too, planned to withdraw from Afghanistan, but he said the way Biden carried out the withdrawal left America "humiliated." "Our nation has been humiliated in Afghanistan, where we had soldiers killed, left American hostages behind and left American military hardware," the former president said. "We surrendered." He noted that during an 18-month span, no American soldiers died in combat against the Taliban. Trump also claimed that he would have kept the U.S. presence in Bagram Air Base, formerly the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan. He claimed that the base, just north of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, is relatively close to the location China uses to make its nuclear weapons. The mainstream media seem to be moving on from President Biden's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. (Getty Images) Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images | Photo by SHAKIB RAHMANI/AFP via Getty Images "The reason we're keeping Bagram is because of China," the former president said. "It's one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons because billions and billions of dollars to build many years ago and right now it looks to me like China is going to end up owning and operating Bagram. We fled, left the lights on late at night, and we fled. And they did leave all the dogs behind. " Story continues BIDEN DISMISSES CRITICISM OF AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL Trump said the botched Afghanistan withdrawal highlights Biden's weak leadership on the world stage, and he claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine were he still in office. "Russia took Georgia under President Bush. They took Crimea under President Obama. They took nothing under me, nothing," Trump said. "And I took our troops, by the way, out of Syria, and Iraq, and was just months away from getting out of Afghanistan. I'm the one that brought it down to two thousand soldiers." While Trump said he would have withdrawn U.S. troops, he had planned to leave with "great dignity and great strength." "We were all set to leave. We were going to leave with dignity, great dignity and great strength," he said. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the potential threat of China invading Taiwan. Fox News host Tucker Carlson has suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's finances be audited amid an inflow of US aid into the country. Janos Kummer/Getty Images Fox News host Tucker Carlson has suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's finances be audited. Carlson made the suggestion during a segment on the Biden administration's new Ukraine aid package. "Ooh, shut up, that's Russian disinformation!" Carlson added, mocking his critics. Fox News host Tucker Carlson has suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's finances be audited following the latest injection of US aid for Ukraine. "The White House has sent more than a billion dollars to Ukraine in just the past week, and today as we told you, the Secretary of the Treasury announced that there'll be half a billion to pay the salaries of the Ukrainian government workers," Carlson said, during a segment of his show on Thursday. The host was likely referring to the Biden administration's recently announced aid packages for Ukraine unveiled on Thursday and April 14 and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's pledge of $500 million to fund the country's administration. "Shouldn't we have an audit of Zelenskyy's finances first?" Carlson suggested. "Ooh, shut up, that's Russian disinformation!" he added, making a quip about those who have criticized his stances on the Ukraine conflict. Carlson has been known to echo Russian President Vladimir Putin's talking points on his show. A leaked Kremlin war memo that was reported on in March noted that the Kremlin viewed Carlson as a prime subject to be featured on Russian state media. Meanwhile, Russian state media have aired clips of Carlson and Rep. Madison Cawthorn as part of its anti-Ukraine propaganda. Cawthorn said in March that he thought the Ukrainian government was "very vile" and "well known for corruption." Read the original article on Business Insider WASHINGTON At least four people, including a 12-year-old girl, were shot when a gunman unleashed a flurry of bullets in the nations capital Friday, leading to lockdowns at several schools and leaving a community on edge before the suspect was found dead hours later. The suspected gunman was found dead Friday night inside an apartment at the scene as Metropolitan Police Department officers conducted door-to-door searches of buildings in the area. Advertisement Hours earlier, police believe the man had erected a sniper-type setup with a tripod and rifle in his apartment and began firing indiscriminately at people walking below, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said. The shooting was recorded and posted online on 4chan, an online message board. The four victims a 54-year-old man who is a retired police officer, a woman in her 30s, a woman in her mid-60s who was grazed by a bullet, and a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the arm were all expected to recover, police said. For hours, authorities had warned worried residents to stay inside their homes while they conducted a massive manhunt for the shooter. Advertisement Police did not release the suspects name, pending notification to his family, but earlier had said they were seeking a 23-year-old Virginia man as a person of interest in the shooting. The man had been linked to social media postings that emerged as part of the investigation, Assistant Police Chief Stuart Emerman said. Police evacuate people near the scene of a shooting, April 22, 2022, in northwest Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) The gunfire erupted shortly before 3:30 p.m. near the corner of Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness St. in the Van Ness neighborhood of Washington, just as parents were picking up their children from the Edmund Burke School, a private college preparatory school. The echoing bursts of rapid gunfire rocked the normally quiet neighborhood thats home to several schools and colleges and dozens of embassies. It sent frantic parents running from the scene and put Burke and other nearby schools on immediate lockdown. Bibi Stewart of Anne Arundel, Maryland, was approaching the line to pick up her 12-year-old twins when she heard the gunfire ring out. She said it sounded like the shots were coming from above and at a distance. They did it right at dismissal, she said. Stewart said she saw glass shattering in a bridge connecting different wings of the school and she saw the tires of cars in the pickup line shot out. Theyre just saying theyre OK and hiding in the school with their friends and adults, she said of her children. Police in tactical gear were seen escorting people including college students from nearby campuses out of apartment buildings in the area. Officers pointed their rifles upward toward other buildings and windows as the people moved quickly down the street with their hands raised above their heads. Advertisement I had to look in parents eyes tonight who are terrified ... thinking of what might happen to their children, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference. And we have experienced this too much in our country. The epidemic of gun violence, the easy access to weapons, has got to stop. People should not be scared taking their children to school. Police went door-to-door in area buildings as they searched for the shooter for several hours. As officers were approaching the fifth-floor apartment where the gunman was holed up, they believe he took his own life. We will get to the bottom of this. We will find what the motive is, Contee said. His intent was to kill and hurt members of our community. The gunman had posted a video of the shooting on 4chan, though police are still working to determine whether it was streamed live or recorded and then uploaded online, Contee said. The video shows people running frantically as rapid gunfire rains from above and the gunman seemingly following them through a sight as they flee for cover. The University of the District of Columbia, which is located nearby, went into lockdown, telling students and staff to shelter and stay in place. In a tweet Friday, the college said there was an active shooting incident near student housing. Eduardo Bugay, a student at the college, said he was in his first-floor apartment in the AVA building the building where the gunman was eventually found when he heard the shots. Advertisement At first I was confused, he said, not sure what he was hearing. Then, he said, he got scared. Bugay said the university sent emails telling students to stay in place. About 30 to 40 minutes after he first heard the gunshots, police came knocking on his door to escort him and others from the building. A slew of law enforcement officials and emergency crews were sent to the scene. Agents from the FBI arrived in an armored vehicle and the U.S. Secret Service said its officers were aiding police in the search and at the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its agents were also assisting in the investigation. Separately on Friday, emergency medical crews were called to the U.S. Supreme Court around 6:30 p.m. after a man attempted to set himself on fire outside the building. The man was rushed by police helicopter to a local hospital and his condition wasnt immediately known. Tucker Carlson has provided yet another soundbite for Russian propagandists, suggesting Thursday on Fox News that Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be audited before the besieged country receives any more U.S. aid. So theyve beaten you into submission with moral lectures. Meanwhile, the White House has sent more than a billion dollars to Ukraine in just the past week, the Fox News host said. And then today, as we told you, the secretary of the treasury announced they were sending half a billion to pay the salaries of Ukrainian government workers. Shouldnt we have an audit of Zelenskyys finances first? He immediately followed his statement by mocking those who criticize him for repeatedly pushing pro-Russia talking points, adding: Ooh, shut up, thats Russian disinformation. Tucker: Shouldnt we have an audit of Zelenskyys finances first? pic.twitter.com/Ilm3ul81Gg Acyn (@Acyn) April 22, 2022 Biden announced Thursday that the U.S. would send a further $1.3 billion in military and economic support to Ukraine, including $500 million in direct economic aid that the Ukrainian government can use to help stabilize their economy, to support communities that have been devastated by the Russian onslaught and pay the brave workers that continue to provide essential services to the people of Ukraine. Zelenskyy has remained in war-torn Kyiv, fighting with his people and meeting with various governments in continuous efforts to increase sanctions on Russia and bring aid to Ukraine. He rejected a U.S. offer to be evacuated at the start of the invasion, despite reports of a Russian bounty on his head. Carlson was notably unconcerned about former President Donald Trumps finances even after a bombshell New York Times report revealed he paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 and no income taxes at all for 10 of the preceding 15 years. Story continues Carlsons history of pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine rhetoric dates back years. In the lead-up to Russias invasion of Ukraine, he defended Russian President Vladimir Putin and claimed Ukraine was not a democracy. Throughout the war, he has parroted Russian propaganda, apparently earning a convenient rapport with the Kremlin, which has featured his broadcasts on state TV and even reportedly directed state-controlled media to use his segments as much as possible. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... By Ali Kucukgocmen ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala and seven other accused delivered their final defence statements on Friday in a long-running case over nationwide protests held in 2013 that has strained Ankara's ties with its Western allies. Kavala, 64, has been in jail for 4-1/2 years without a conviction and denies the charges he and 15 others face over the Gezi protests, which began as small demonstrations in an Istanbul park and snowballed into nationwide anti-government unrest, in which eight protesters were killed. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and activists say the case is politically motivated and symbolic of a crackdown on dissent under President Tayyip Erdogan's rule, claims the government denies. The court had previously been expected to reach a verdict on Friday, but it postponed the hearing until Monday to give time for defence lawyers to finish their statements. Prosecutor Edip Sahiner has said Kavala and architect Mucella Yapici should be convicted of attempting to overthrow the government through violence, which would carry a sentence of up to life in prison without parole. Speaking to the court via video link from prison, Kavala said: "It is evident that those who issued the indictment did not feel constrained by laws, considering that they will receive political support as they intended to prolong my detention." The courtroom was packed with some 200 people, including opposition members, rights groups and Western diplomats. COUNCIL OF EUROPE Prosecutor Sahiner has said six others should be sentenced for aiding Kavala and Yapici, while asking that the case against the eight other defendants be separated. Kavala and another defendant, whose case the prosecutor also said should be separated, are also accused of involvement in a coup attempt in 2016, which the ECHR said also lacks evidence. The ECHR called for Kavala's release in late 2019 and ruled his detention served to silence the philanthropist, whose civil society projects aimed to foster social change. Story continues But Turkish courts have not freed Kavala, and Ankara faces being suspended from the Council of Europe rights watchdog, after "infringement proceedings" were launched due to his continued detention. Embassies of Turkey's Western allies, including the United States and Germany, echoed the call for Kavala's release last year, prompting threats by Erdogan to expel their ambassadors. Erdogan equates the Gezi protesters with Kurdish militants and those accused of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup and has targeted Kavala personally, saying Western allies would not release "bandits, murderers and terrorists" in their countries. Kavala was acquitted in 2020 of charges related to the Gezi protests. Hours later another court ordered his arrest on a charge of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order related to the coup attempt. That court later ruled to release him on that charge but ordered his detention on an espionage charge in the same case, a move critics said was aimed at circumventing the ECHR ruling. Kavala's acquittal along with eight others in the Gezi trial was overturned last year and the case was combined with the other charges against him. (Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Daren ButlerEditing by Alison Williams and Gareth Jones) By Andriy Perun and Oleh Papushenko LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Sofia Telehina's grandmother called her in tears more than a month ago from the besieged port city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine and asked if she was also hiding from bombs. That was the last time she heard from her grandparents. The project manager is among those desperately trying to contact some of the 100,000 civilians that Ukrainian authorities believe are still trapped in dire conditions in Mariupol, which is now almost fully under Russian control. "She said that everything was bombed to pieces. She was crying all the time," Telehina told Reuters in the relative safety of the western city of Lviv. "Since then I've not been able to reach her." Heavy bombardment knocked out Mariupol's utilities soon after the start of Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, so those desperate for news have no idea if the people they're looking for are among the thousands feared killed or if they're still sheltering in the ruins of the city, unable to make contact. Russia denies targeting civilians and calls the invasion a "special military operation". Telehina asked volunteers to help find her grandparents at their home. Her grandmother, a 69-year-old music teacher at a kindergarten, and grandfather, a 70-year-old retired steel worker, live on the ninth floor of an apartment block. "None of them could reach their home as the area around the building was being shelled," she said, sharing a photo of herself tightly hugging her grandfather. 'WE WANT HIM BACK ALIVE' People have flooded social media sites with similar photos and pleas for information on missing loved ones. The Telegram channel Mariupol Now is sharing information on evacuation efforts and on civilians still in the city, which was home to over 400,000 people before the war. One recent post read: "Mariupol, Zelinskoho Street 13. Vika Morozova and her children, twin boys Sasha and Sergei. They were in a basement with the people who lived in the house. If someone has information, write or call me." Story continues Ukrainian human rights group Magnolia has received reports of around 2,000 missing children since the starts of the war, including in Mariupol. Previously the organisation registered around 300 such cases per year, one of its representatives Marina Lypovetska told Reuters. Over 145,000 people have signed up to a group on Facebook called "The search for relatives and friends Mariupol 2022," where members share contact details and photos of missing people. One member shared a post tagged 'Survivors, maybe you'll recognise relatives' with photos of people who looked like evacuees, clutching blankets and bags. "Where are these people? The woman in a black hat with a kitten looks like my friend," replied one user. Others are searching for news about relatives defending the city, which Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday his forces had "liberated", though a last contingent of Ukrainian troops were holding out at a steel factory. Kristina Kravchuk's uncle Mykola, a father of three, has been fighting with a Ukrainian brigade stationed in Mariupol, but there has been no word from him since March 25. "My family and I are all looking for him," she told Reuters by video call from her village near the southern city of Mykolaiv. "I'd like (him to know) that we are all waiting for him, and we want him back alive." (Additional reporting by Stefaniia Bern and Luiza Ilie; writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Gareth Jones) NEW DELHI (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he would still be prime minister in October, addressing doubts about his future after he was fined by police for breaching strict lockdown rules that he set during the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson's personal standing has plummeted in recent months, primarily over revelations of parties held at his Downing Street office during lockdowns. Opponents say he misled parliament about the events. Asked during a news conference in India whether he would still be prime minister in October - when he hopes to have completed a free trade deal between the two countries - Johnson replied: "Yes". Johnson's visit to India to talk trade and diplomacy has been overshadowed by the domestic crisis over whether he is fit to lead the country. On Thursday, the threat of a rebellion in parliament forced him to accept that he should be investigated by lawmakers over whether he lied to the House of Commons in his initial response to allegations of rule-breaking. The number of lawmakers in his own party calling for him to quit is growing. Johnson repeated his message that the public wanted the government to concentrate on priorities such as easing a cost-of-living squeeze. "I think that what people want in our country is for the government to get on and focus on the issues on which we were elected," he said. (Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Writing by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Michael Holden and William Schomberg) Don Bourne, who is being investigated over his denial of public defender requests, issued a warrant for Kelly Young-Franklin because she didnt pay probation fines. Receipts showed she paid them, but one didnt process until after the deadline. So Bourne signed off on the warrant. The Pentagon has invited 40 allies to meet in Germany next week to discuss Ukraine's longer-term security needs even as Kyiv continues to battle Russian forces in the country's east and south. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said defense ministers and senior generals of 20 countries, NATO and non-NATO members, have already accepted the invitation from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the meeting Tuesday at the US-controlled Ramstein Air Base in western Germany. He called the meeting a consultation that would examine how Ukraine's partners can contribute to shoring up its military strength after the war ends. "One of the things that the secretary wants to come out of Tuesday in Ramstein is the beginning of a discussion with like-minded nations about long-term defense relationships that Ukraine will need going forward," Kirby told reporters. "It's really largely about modernizing and making sure their military is still potent and capable going forward. It's not about security guarantees, it's about their actual military posture," he said. The meeting comes two months into the war, as Ukraine forces push back against a new Russian offensive in south and east Ukraine. Russian forces were driven out of northern Ukraine in a major setback for the initial invasion. The United States has led about 30 countries in supplying military equipment, munitions and other supplies to Ukraine forces to sustain the fight. Kirby said Austin and those attending will discuss how they can continue to help with Ukraine's current needs and what arms various partners can supply as the war develops. "But I think he also wants to take a longer, larger view of the defense relationships that Ukraine will need to have going forward when the war is over." That includes cataloguing the industrial potential of partners to see how their arms manufacturers can continue to help Ukraine, he said. Kirby stressed that the meeting was not under NATO's auspices, and would not necessarily produce any immediate concrete results. pmh/dw Vice President Kamala Harris listens to Dr. Andrea Jackson during an event about Black maternal health at the UC San Francisco Medical Center's Mission Bay campus. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The U.S. is facing a maternal health crisis, Vice President Kamala Harris declared Thursday in remarks at UC San Francisco as she wound down a weeklong trip to her home state. "Women in our nation are dying at a higher rate for pregnancy-related causes than in any other wealthy and more developed nations in our world," she told a crowd of expectant mothers and healthcare workers at the university's William J. Rutter Center. Harris pointed out that mortality rates are higher for women of color. Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications while Indigenous women are more than twice as likely to die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women who live in rural areas with little access to healthcare are 60% more likely to die from complications from pregnancy, Harris noted. "Maternal mortality is not only a healthcare issue, it is also a housing issue, a transportation issue, an environmental issue," she said, noting that women who don't have access to safe housing or hospital checkups are at greater risk of adverse outcomes. The speech came after Harris toured UC San Francisco and met with families expecting children and healthcare professionals about the university's clinical program for Black mothers. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and San Francisco Mayor London Breed were among those who attended the event. Vice President Kamala Harris greets expecting families after delivering remarks at a UC San Francisco health facility Thursday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) "Women are the pillars of so many families and so many communities and when women then receive the care they need, by extension it makes families and communities stronger," Harris said. Harris, who has been the face of the Biden administration's efforts to raise awareness on the issue, has advocated throughout her political career to improve healthcare for expectant mothers. The administration has taken several actions on maternal healthcare including encouraging states to expand Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to up to a year and increasing funding for doulas. The White House also sought money for maternal health in its sweeping climate and social spending bill, which has since been shelved. Story continues As senator, Harris sponsored bills that would provide incentives for improving maternal outcomes and training doctors about implicit racial bias in healthcare, which contributes to higher mortality rates for women of color during pregnancy and delivery. Last week, she held the administrations first Cabinet-level meeting on efforts to improve outcomes for pregnant women. This is not something that she's just talked about. This is something that she's dedicated time and energy and personal and political capital to investing in," said Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, former surgeon general of California, whose work with Harris on health initiatives goes back nearly 15 years. Burke Harris has no relation to the vice president. Vice President Kamala Harris during a tour of a health facility at UC San Francisco. "Women are the pillars of so many families and so many communities and when women then receive the care they need, by extension it makes families and communities stronger," Harris says. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Before Harris spoke, a White House official confirmed the vice president's Chief of Staff Tina Flournoy would leave the administration, the latest in a series of aides who have left her team in recent months. News of her exit was first reported by the Washington Post. Flournoy, the highest-ranking official to leave amid the staff shake-up in Harris' office, will be replaced by Lorraine Voles, who has advised the vice president since last summer, the official said. Voles served as communications director to former Vice President Al Gore and as an advisor to Hillary Clinton in 2008. The vice president earlier spent the week in Los Angeles with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff at their Brentwood home. She visited the Vandenberg Space Force Base on Monday before speaking at an L.A. fundraiser, her second such event in the last two weeks. She will spend the weekend in L.A. before returning to Washington, D.C., on Monday. Times staff writer Melanie Mason contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Le Pens agenda towards Muslims has been crystal clear, while Macrons anti-separatism law and witch-hunt speaks for itself (EPA) As expected, Marine Le Pen is facing Emmanuel Macron in the second and final round of the French presidential elections. It feels like deja-vu, although this time around Muslim lives are much more at stake than in 2017. In other words, either way, it looks extremely terrible for French Muslims, let alone French visibly Muslim women: hijabis as we call ourselves, veiled as they like to refer to us. I know everything I need to know about these candidates without having to closely follow their campaigns. Without even having to watch their three-hour-long Grand Debat a few days before the second round of elections. I know what theyre saying about me and the likes of me. I know that because every five years its the same rhetoric. I often wonder, how would they have an election without us? Its always about us, but without us. We are a major part of the presidential election rhetoric as if there were no unemployment issues to address or a crisis to manage. As hijabis, we are always the main topic of their discussions yet none of us is given a platform to reply, to defend our position, to explain our choice, and how it is intricately linked to their so-called valeurs de la Republique (French Republican values) of liberty, equality and fraternity. But, I should say, we are under no obligation to explain our choice to an entire country. But what else can we expect when one of the candidates proudly says that, Bourguiba, the president of Algeria banned the hijab in public spaces, and a reporter who doesnt seem the least surprised by this statement, only retorts: but that isnt the case anymore. (Bourguiba is the former president of Tunisia, and no such decision was taken in Algeria). The level of debate is that low in France and I refuse to stoop to their level. I refuse to play right into the white French gaze trope one that is extremely Islamophobic. I refuse to follow French politics on TV or through social media because, as a visibly Muslim woman, what do I gain but headaches at a time I should be preserving my mental health? Do I really need to know in detail how they are planning to oppress us when I am still experiencing their oppression? Story continues I was forced to remove my hijab for six entire years to pursue my studies. I was forced to compromise between my faith and my education. Teachers are told to take the wearing of long skirts by female students as a possible sign of radicalisation. I am preparing for a public exam to be a teacher a job where I will have to remove my hijab will my colleagues take my long skirts as a sign of radicalisation, too? Will they report me as a possibly radicalised teacher? To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment, sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here The debate over whether hijabi mothers should or should not be allowed to accompany their children on school outings with their hijabs on is renewed every school year. Its like they have a subscription plan to this topic among others. The Burkini issue which is only an issue to white, French people is a basic summer trend. Mind you, they are quite creative when it comes to limiting the freedom of hijabi women. From the Burkini, to education, to sports, no area is exempt from anti-hijab laws. And that is just the tip of the iceberg because their obsession with us transcends any kind of limit. Le Pens agenda towards Muslims has been crystal clear for decades now. Macrons anti-separatism law and witch-hunt speaks for itself. Just a month ago, a nearby mosque was closed by the government because it was deemed as promoting radical Islam, after its social media page posted in support of Palestinians and Uyghurs. As French Muslims we wish we could vote for the lesser evil, but we are left with a final round where there is no lesser evil because both candidates have proven their Islamophobia countless times. Again, I cannot help but wonder: how would they have any elections without us, Muslims, on whom their entire presidential campaigns are based on? Assia Belgacem is a writer based in France A Back of the Yards neighborhood woman who washed up on the shore of the Chicago River on the South Side on Friday morning had been reported missing about two weeks earlier, Chicago police said. The recovery marks the fourth person, and third woman, found dead in the waters of the citys river and lake in a week. Advertisement Karina Alanis, 31, was found in the South Branch of the Chicago River off the 2600 block of South Damen Avenue about 7:50 a.m., according to Officer Roberto Garduno and the Cook County medical examiners office. Alanis, of the 4800 block of South Marshfield Avenue, was dead at the scene after police marine unit officers pulled her from the water, Garduno said. Advertisement Alanis had last been seen on April 7 in the 4300 block of South Wood Street, according to a Chicago police missing person notification, which said Alanis had recently been diagnosed with depression. Three other people were found dead recently in the waters of the river and lake: On April 17, a mans body was recovered from Lake Michigan in the 3000 block of South Fort Dearborn Drive, in the Bronzeville neighborhood, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. The still-unidentified man was also dead at the scene, according to the medical examiners office. The bodies of two women one of whom was 80 were pulled from the Chicago River in the West Loop and the South Side on April 16 at 10:40 a.m. and about 11:15 a.m. A cause of death was not immediately known for any of the victims, according to the medical examiners office, and it was not clear if police thought any of the deaths were connected. According to a 1993 Tribune report, a yearly phenomenon contributes to bodies surfacing at similar times in spring. A body can remain at the bottom of the lake or river for months in winter. When the water warms, it can surface in three to six days. CERN via BNL The Large Hadron Collider, the worlds most powerful particle accelerator, powered up again on Friday morningand scientists believe its ready to discover some of the biggest mysteries in the universe. The massive, atom-smashing machine has been quiet in the past three years. During this time, scientists made some major upgrades at the LHCs site beneath the French-Swiss border. Researchers once hoped that the 27-kilometer-long particle accelerator would unveil some of the biggest mysteries in science such as the existence of dark matterbut aside from the momentous discovery of the Higgs Boson, a subatomic particle that gives mass to other particles, there hasnt been much else to write home about. Thats why researchers upgraded the accelerators Atlas and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detectorsinstruments used to measure and analyze particles made by the LHC. With the improvements, scientists believe it might now reveal a number of very exciting and potentially unexpected discoveries. The Burning New Feud to Settle One of Physics Biggest Questions It is going to be two to three times better, in terms of the ability for our experiment to detect, collect and analyze data, Marcella Bona, a senior research fellow of particle physics at CERN, the organization that runs the LHC, told the BBC. The whole experimental chain has been upgraded. To understand what CERN scientists hope to find, you need to first wrap your mind around the Standard Model, a theory of physics that explains how subatomic particles create atoms and, therefore, all matter around us. The Model helps explain three of four forces in nature: electromagnetism, and the two types of nuclear forces that hold atoms together. However, it doesnt explain the fourth force of gravity, and it doesnt explain the theoretical, invisible material that makes up 95 percent of the universe: dark matter. While researchers know that these particles exist, they have yet to prove its existence or really understand what it really is. These are the questions that the scientists hope the upgrades will help answer. Story continues Along with uncovering the mysteries of dark matter, the LHC is now better primed to look into whether or not theres a fifth force of nature called dark energy. Researchers believe that the force likely exists because of how it impacts the way the universe expands. However, like dark matter, theyve been unable to confirm its existence or observe it directly. Sam Harper, a physicist researching the theoretical force using the CMS detector, is hoping to finally find some answers After the Higgs Boson: What Scientists Will Do With the Discovery With the upgrades, the team might be on the verge of discovering the fifth force. I've been hunting for the fifth force for as long as I've been a particle physicist, Harper told the BBC. Maybe this is the year. This would upend the field, he said. It would be the biggest discovery of the LHC. He later added that, itll be bigger than the Higgs." Now the LHC gets to make up for lost time in a potentially big and game-changing way. While exciting, the scientists are understandably nervous about restarting operations. Rende Steerenberg, who is a part of the control room operations team at the LHC, told Reuters that restarting the accelerator comes with a certain sense of tension, nervousness. After all, what if they miss something? Or what if the upgrades arent sufficient to make the discoveries they hope to find? Still, theres a whole universe of possibilities to get excited about. The thing that drives all particle physicists is that we want to discover the unknown, Harper said to the BBC, and this is why things like the fifth force and dark matter are so exciting because we have no idea what it could be or if it exists and we really want to find this out. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Irondequoit police set up outside a home in the 400 block of Helendale Road Tuesday. Police Saturday found the body of a missing Brighton man, Edward "Ted" Boucher, there. #BoucherCase For six years after connecting online, local businessman, arts patron and family man Edward Ted Boucher allegedly had a relationship with a much younger woman who sold sex to pay for her addiction to crack cocaine and heroin. Their association started as a prostitution connection but developed into something more serious, according to Leighanne Attridge, 32, who gave emotional testimony Wednesday in the trial of Christopher Wernle, 49, accused of bludgeoning 65-year-old Boucher to death in May 2021. Prosecutors allege that Wernle was jealous of Boucher and Attridges bond. #ICYMI Strong winds are being blamed for the partial collapse of siding on a long-vacant former downtown hotel. Panels several stories high buckled and tore loose from the buildings north face Thursday, windows and all, exposing century-old brick underneath. Some sections fell to the sidewalk and street below, but no one was hurt. The 10-story structure, which once housed the Richford Hotel, sits at the corner of Chestnut and Elm streets and is adjacent to the also-vacant Cadillac Hotel. Efforts to revive both properties over many years stalled. #Found A woman who previously lived in Webster and allegedly abducted her 11-month-old daughter was found with the child Thursday in Chautauqua County, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Adrienne Grace Marean, 35, faces a federal charge of felony concealment of a child. Police in West Virginia allege that Marean who still has family members living in Webster, where the search initially centered failed to transfer custody of the girl to her father in February in violation of a court order. Enjoy Sundays fake summer weather. See you Monday. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Wrenching testimony New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was welcomed to Japan this week at a kiwifruit event where two large kiwi mascots greeted her with a dance routine to somber music. In a video posted to Twitter by New Zealand reporter Henry Cooke, the two large mascots, known as the Kiwi Brothers, are seen swaying to a somber violin song in a room full of suited men. The cute mascots, depicted as a golden and green kiwi with large cartoonish eyes, were a part of a marketing event by New Zealands Zespri, the worlds largest kiwi distributor. This is the greatest day of my life pic.twitter.com/KIp4bP7h8u henry cooke (@henrycooke) April 21, 2022 Ardern, who has not been on an overseas trip in more than two years, began her visit to Japan by attending the Zespri event. According to the Associated Press, Ardern traveled to Japan in hopes of increasing business and tourism partnerships following border closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While posing for a photo with the Kiwi Brothers, Ardern was reportedly heard saying, I feel like Im photo bombing. This was Ardern's second encounter with the Kiwi Brothers since she first met them in 2019 while in Tokyo, Japan. Ardern described the photo as bringing her such joy and delight and stated that she still keeps a photo of the three holding hands in her office. New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, meets kiwi mascots in Japan. pic.twitter.com/NpN8ix1H2X Mondo Mascots (@mondomascots) September 20, 2019 "The kiwi brothers I particularly remember, while they thankfully didn't make me dance, they did hold my hand, Ardern recalled to News Hub. That image brought such joy and delight to my office in New Zealand that to this day, the photo of my hand holding with the kiwi brothers still hangs in my office. The Kiwi Brothers are often used in promotional ads for Zespri in Japan and have even built a fanbase around the adorable mascots. Story continues Featured Image via @zespri_jp (left), @henrycooke (right) Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! NYC suspect who hit Asian man with hammer has 47 prior arrests, threatens killing spree when she is released UK Teen Sentenced to 18 Months Youth Rehab for Racist Coronavirus Attack on Singaporean Student Trusting Pregnant Elephant Killed in India After Man Feeds Her Pineapple Filled With Explosives Chinese Tech Employee, 22, Collapses and Dies From Possible Toxic Work Culture Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the refusal shows how Russia's leaders regard the Orthodox Christian faith. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had rejected a proposal for an Easter truce. He said in a Thursday statement that this showed how Russia's leaders "regard the Christian faith." UN Chief Antonio Guterres had called for a four-day "pause" to the fighting over the period. Russia rejected a proposal to hold a truce with Ukraine over the Orthodox Christian Easter period, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a statement on Thursday. "This is a very clear indication of how the leaders of this state regard the Christian faith and one of the most joyful and important holidays," read Zelenskyy's statement, which was posted on his Telegram channel. "But we still have hope. Hope for peace, hope that life will conquer death," he added. The temporary ceasefire was first proposed by United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, who appealed on Tuesday for a four-day "pause" to the fighting as Russia massed troops on Ukraine's eastern front for a renewed offensive in the Donbas. "The onslaught and terrible toll on civilians we have seen so far could pale in comparison to the horror that lies ahead. This cannot be allowed to happen," Guterres told reporters at a briefing. The four-day ceasefire would allow for the "opening of a series of humanitarian corridors," he said. The Orthodox Christian Easter, which is based on the Julian calendar, typically falls on a date later than the Western Christian Easter Sunday, which is derived from the Gregorian calendar and was celebrated on April 17. Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the calls for a ceasefire were "insincere," per The New York Times. Polyanskiy claimed that an Easter truce would "provide Kyiv nationalists breathing room to regroup" and receive more military equipment, the outlet reported. "I really don't know what's the point of entering in the game with Ukrainians on such issues," Polanskiy also said, per The Washington Post. Story continues Eastern Orthodoxy is Russia's largest religious denomination, and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has staunchly supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is also an overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian nation, with 78% of adults there identifying as Orthodox, per a 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center. Read the original article on Business Insider Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday warned residents in regions to the south and west of Donetsk against providing personal information to Russian soldiers. "I urge the residents of the southern regions of Ukraine - Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - to be very careful about what information you provide to the invaders," he said in an address. "If they ask you to fill out some questionnairesyou should know this is not to help you." UKRAINE ACCUSES RUSSIA OF LEAVING UP TO 9,000 KILLED IN MARIUPOL IN MASS GRAVES Zelesnkyy said Russian troops may be collecting passport data under the guise of completing a "census" of residents in the areas to deliver humanitarian aid. "This is aimed to falsify the so-called referendum on your land if an order comes from Moscow to stage such a show," he added. "This is the reality. Be careful." Zelenskyys warning came just hours after Russian General Minnekaev told Russian news agencies that Moscows aim was to establish "full control" of not only the eastern Donbas area, but southern regions that run along the Black Sea. RUSSIAN GENERAL SAYS GOAL OF WAR IN UKRAINE IS FULL CONTROL OF DONBAS AND SOUTH Zaporizhzhia, which sits directly west of Donetsk above the Sea of Azov, has become a destination for evacuees fleeing the port city of Mariupol in Donetsk. Kherson, southwest of Zaporizhzhia, lays directly above the Russia-occupied Crimean peninsula. Minnekaev said Russias goal was not only to create a land bridge between the Donbas and occupied-Crimea, but to gain superiority over all Black Sea ports extending its coastal access outside the Sea of Azov. Zelenskyy warned that attempts to annex additional regions in Ukraine will not be tolerated and threatened additional financial repercussions. "I want to say straight away: any Kherson People's Republics are not going to fly. If someone wants a new annexation, it can only lead to new powerful sanctions strikes on Russia," he said. "You will make your country as poor as Russia hasnt been since the 1917 civil war. So it is better to seek peace now," Zelenskyy added. New Zealands prime minister Jacinda Ardern has been met in Japan on her first trip outside the country in two years by a duo of enormous, mournfully dancing kiwifruit. The two large mascots welcomed the prime minister with a gentle swaying routine, set to a piece of slow, somewhat sorrowful chamber music. They had a sombre audience of suited men. The surreal scene generated amusement on social media. I feel like the kiwifruit have gatecrashed a funeral, one commenter on Twitter said. So beautiful, said another. Looks like a lament. Is everyone OK? another asked. It was especially touching when the music got sadder, and the mascots dancing changed with it, said Stuff chief political reporter Henry Cooke, who filmed the performance. He said the mascots were part of an event by Zespri, New Zealands kiwifruit export monopoly, rather than a formal Japanese government welcome. At the event in Tokyo, Ardern said her grandparents used to grow kiwifruit. This is very literally the fruit of Kiwis, she said, according to news website Stuff. Ardern is in Japan as part of her first overseas trip since the pandemic began. Earlier this week she visited Singapore. During her visit to Tokyo she discussed defence with prime minister Fumio Kishida. The two countries agreed to work an intelligence-sharing agreement between their countries, amid growing concern about Chinas assertiveness in the region. Japan is a significant market for New Zealands kiwifruit, taking around $600m worth of exports. The event marked the start of the years kiwifruit sale season in Japan. The mascots are known as the kiwi brothers. ...continue reading OMAHA Childrens Hospital & Medical Center announced last week that it will develop, pilot and open urgent care centers for innovative pediatric mental health across Nebraska. The centers, which will serve children and teens, are aimed at addressing the national mental health crisis and improving access to such care in the state. Centers will be in Omaha and in central or western Nebraska. The exact number of centers and their locations has yet to be determined. Childrens Hospital & Medical Center will receive $10 million from the states pool of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to establish the centers. Childrens also will receive $1.8 million in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services for telehealth technology to support pediatric mental health initiatives. The Legislature allocated $40 million of the states ARPA funds for behavioral health projects in LB1014, which outlines how the state will spend the pandemic funds. Gov. Pete Ricketts signed the measure last week. Chanda Chacon, Childrens president and CEO, thanked lawmakers, Ricketts and partners in state government for working to address the needs of the states youths. It is overwhelming to see the support from members of the Legislature who recognize the mental health crisis we are facing today and have the fortitude to make a one-time investment that will last a lifetime, Chacon said in a statement. The time is now to collaborate with our community partners and stakeholders, and we are committed to addressing mental health issues for children with an innovative model of care. One in five U.S children report having experienced a mental health condition in a given year. In 2021, childrens hospitals across the country reported a 45% increase in the number of self-injury and suicide cases in 5- to 17-year-olds compared with the same period in 2019, according to Sound the Alarm for Kids, a campaign by the Childrens Hospital Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and others. In December, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory to highlight the urgent need to address the nations mental health crisis among youth. Dr. Jennifer McWilliams, Childrens division chief of psychiatry, said the $1.8 million for telehealth will help the hospital expand access across the state and offer more immediate access to services. That money had been added to LB1014 after initially being included in another measure. Two other previously announced projects also are aimed at expanding mental health services in the state. Each will receive a portion of the behavioral health care funding allocated by the Legislature. A nonprofit group led by Omaha philanthropist Ken Stinson plans to build a new 36- to 40- bed inpatient behavioral health center for children ages 5 to 18 on the campus of Immanuel Center. The facility will cost an estimated $50 million and be called Lasting Hope Center for Children and Families. It will be operated by CHI Health. In addition, Community Alliance an Omaha nonprofit that has served Nebraskans for 40 years has announced plans to expand services and build a 120,000-square-foot headquarters at 71st Street and Mercy Road. Construction will be funded by a $60 million capital campaign, which includes the organizations share of the federal funds allocated by the Legislature. Carole Boye, Community Alliances CEO, said in announcing the expansion that mental health challenges were apparent in the community before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the pandemic has increased the number of people affected and spotlighted the areas lack of capacity and access to behavioral health care. The head of Chicago Public Schools said Friday he will not fire Jones College Preps principal despite the recommendation of the high schools Local School Council because of insufficient evidence of misconduct. The LSC voted 8-2 last month to request the start of dismissal proceedings against Principal P. Joseph Powers for allegations including violation of the districts residency policy to failure to address systemic discrimination issues and mismanagement of misconduct reports and school financial matters. After the vote, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez had 45 days to decide whether to fire Powers. Advertisement While the investigations are ongoing, based on a review of your materials and discussions with representatives of the investigative bodies looking into this matter, there is insufficient evidence of misconduct by Mr. Powers at this time on which to base an action for involuntary dismissal, Martinez wrote in a letter Friday to the LSC. Jones College Prep High School in the South Loop in 2013. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) We all have a duty to Jones students to work collaboratively to ensure that they are successful in school and in life, Martinez said. I encourage the Local School Council and Dr. Powers to hit the reset button on their relationship and focus their energies on productive actions that will advance the interests of students. Advertisement Powers did not immediately respond to a Tribune request for comment Friday, but he has defended his 13-year tenure to the school community. The LSC vote about him came after hours of debate in which many parents and teachers offered support while others said it is time for change at the selective enrollment school in the Printers Row neighborhood. Three parents who sit on the LSC wrote an 11-page letter to Martinez and Inspector General Will Fletcher in February that outlined their concerns about Powers. One of the major charges was that Powers rents an apartment in Chicago but owns a residence in Missouri and uses that address for his drivers license, and car and voter registration. CPS residency policy says employees hired after November 1996 are required to be residents of Chicago, with some waivers granted. Powers told the school community he visits his wife on weekends at their home in St. Louis. Another complaint is that Powers failed to report or discipline one teacher for alleged misconduct and another for inappropriate behavior involving students. LSC chairperson Cassie Creswell, one of the letter writers, expressed disappointment in Martinezs response to the LSC Friday. Im surprised and, frankly, disgusted. Its really, really disturbing that they would leave him in place, Creswell told the Tribune. She said Martinez was presented with an extremely strong case for Powers dismissal. He is violating the CPS residency policy and has been for 14 years. And I think we provided a very strong case that he has been failing to report extremely serious misconduct and abuse against students, Creswell said. CEO Martinez said in the fall that not just abusers, and not just those who had committed the misconduct, but those who failed to report that misconduct will be removed from a school while investigations are ongoing. And now hes gone back on that. Creswell and the other two letter writers, Sarah Ma and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, did not run for LSC reelection this week. The council will have several new faces when it is seated in July. Advertisement At a forum last month, LSC candidates talked of increasing the transparency of council activities, uniting the school community and making the school, which serves nearly 2,000 students, more equitable. Nearly 37% of Jones students are white, 29% are Latino, 15% are Asian, and about 12% are Black, according to CPS data. When it was composed of different members, the LSC easily renewed Powers principal contract in December 2019 for four more years. tswartz@tribpub.com We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Algeria, faithful to its visceral hatred towards Morocco, has tried again Thursday to obstruct the final statement adopted by the Arab League Ministerial Committee for International Action against Illegal Israeli Policies and Measures in Occupied Al-Quds, convened Thursday in Amman. After Algeria hampered the adoption of a statement by the Arab group at the United Nations in New York regarding the recent escalation in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, its representative to the Arab Ministerial Committee made in Amman a similar attempt, but to no avail. When the Algerian delegate read in the final statement of the committee a paragraph highlighting the role of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee and Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, and his support to the holy city and the resistance of its inhabitants, he demanded that the statement also includes a paragraph on the alleged role of the Algerian president in this regard. However, the participants did not heed this request and the final statement, including the paragraph on the chairmanship of the Al-Quds Committee, was thus adopted unanimously as proposed by the chairmanship of the Arab Committee and the General Secretariat of the Arab League. The Committees rejection of the Algerian request thus enshrined the isolation of Algeria, which had no choice but to formulate reservations on the statement, which do not affect the Arab consensus in support of Al-Quds and its inhabitants. In its final statement released Thursday following its emergency meeting held in Amman with the participation of Moroccan FM Nasser Bourita, the Arab Committee paid tribute to the resilience of the Palestinian people and institutions in defending Al-Quds and its Holy Places, including Al-Aqsa Mosque. It voiced strong support to the right of the Palestinians to freedom and to establish an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Al-Quds as its capital on the basis of the two states option in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. The statement also called on Israel to stop its aggression in all the occupied Palestinian territories, to lift the siege imposed on Gaza Strip and to end all measures that undermine security & peace and jeopardize the two-state solution and the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace, which remains an Arab strategic choice and a regional and international necessity. The UN Secretary Generals Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, is expected to undertake a second tour in the region for talks with the parties involved in the Sahara dispute. De Mistura made the announcement Wednesday following the semi-annual closed-door consultations meeting on the Sahara issuea. According to press reports, he said the visit will be soon, I hope. Staffan de Mistura was appointed to the position last November, nearly three years after the resignation of the former UNSGs Personal Envoy Horst Kohler. This will be his second tour in the region in less than 4 months, his first trip to the region having taken place in January. Actually, Staffan de Mistura briefed the Security Council members on his first tour in the region. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of MINURSO, Alexander Ivanko, also brief the Council via video-conference. According to well-informed UN diplomatic sources, during the closed-door UN Security Council meeting, several members expressed support to the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan, deeming this plan as a serious and credible basis for ending the regional dispute over the Sahara, as enshrined in UNSC resolutions since 2007. Similarly, the recent historic support of Spain and Germany for the autonomy initiative has been omnipresent during the Councils consultations. According to the diplomatic sources, the members of the Security Council have strongly and unanimously supported the UN political process to achieve a political, realistic, pragmatic, sustainable and compromise-based solution to the Sahara issue, as enshrined in the 18 consecutive resolutions adopted by the Security Council since 2007, including Resolution 2602, adopted last October. In this regard, they reaffirmed their support to the efforts of the UN Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy to relaunch the UN political process. A strong and frank call was made for the resumption, as soon as possible, of the round-table process, which Algeria continues to oppose, in an additional challenge to the international community. In Resolution 2602, the UN Security Council mentioned Algeria five times and urged it to remain committed to the round-table process in a spirit of realism and compromise, in order to achieve a successful outcome, thus establishing Algeria as the main party to this regional dispute. The members of the Council also welcomed Moroccos full cooperation with the MINURSO, with special mention of the Kingdoms COVID-19 vaccination campaign which covered the UN missions members. The Security Council members expressed their utmost concern over the polisarios renunciation of the ceasefire, its violations of military agreements and its obstruction of MINURSOs activities and the freedom of movement of its military observers. They also instructed the polisario to respect the ceasefire, to refrain from any act of provocation, and to stop its dangerous obstruction of MINURSOs ceasefire supervision mandate, notably by blocking its patrols and preventing the supply of military observers, as detailed in the Secretary-Generals latest report to the Security Council, released last October. According to the same sources, this meeting took place in a serene atmosphere, likely to ensure best conditions for the UN Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy mandate, in accordance with Resolution 2602. The US, Germany, France, Israel, Spain, the majority of the Arab World and Africa and influential countries in Latin America such as Chile and Brazil all back Moroccos territorial integrity and the vast majority of the worlds countries back a UN process, which describes the autonomy plan as serious and credible. The Security Council meeting thus took place in a new geopolitical context and a changing dynamic in favor of Moroccos autonomy plan as a win-win approach to settle the dispute and bring peace and stability to the region. Morocco is not negotiating its sovereignty over the Sahara but rather a political solution to the conflict, king Mohammed VI said in a landmark speech commemorating the Green March last November. The Nebraska Public Power District is putting a temporary campfire ban in place, effective immediately, at both Sutherland Reservoir and Lake Maloney south of North Platte. NPPD is imposing the temporary ban due to the extreme fire conditions impacting much of the state, including the areas around Sutherland Reservoir and Lake Maloney, the district said in a Friday press release. This is being done in conjunction with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, which has announced temporary campfire bans at state parks in central and western Nebraska. NPPD water resources provide a great area for visitors to enjoy recreational activities, but it is important that people be allowed to do so in a safe manner, said NPPD land management coordinator Brian Hope. We will continue working with state and local officials to monitor the conditions in both areas and the ban will be lifted when the fire risk has diminished. Visitors may still use grills at both locations but are asked to refrain from making campfires until the temporary ban has been lifted, according to NPPD's press release. Signs will be posted near camping areas with fire rings notifying people that the temporary ban is in effect. Dr. Lee Warren, a neurosurgeon at Great Plains Health Brain & Spine, recently led the first image-guided stereotactic brain biopsy in Great Plains Healths history. Unique technology and innovative teamwork made the procedure possible, according to a hospital media release on the procedure. Since Warrens arrival at Great Plains Health almost two years ago, delivering these brain surgeries was a top priority, but it required time to build the infrastructure to support the procedure, according to the release. A brain biopsy is a surgery in which brain tissue is removed for testing to confirm a diagnosis. It is one more thing that our patients can receive at a world-class level right here, Warren said in the release. When youre dealing with something unfamiliar, its scarier in a place you dont know, in a town you dont know, with providers youve never met. At Great Plains Health, we know that our patients will get these procedures and recover in their home and with their family. It brings another layer of peace of mind that, whatever happens, Great Plains Health is committed to our patients receiving care at home. The hospital partners with Pathology Medical Services of Lincoln to bring telepathology to the North Platte facility. That enables a pathologist in Lincoln to read the results of the biopsy within 20 minutes after the procedure. Jackie Rotramel, pathologists assistant, and the Great Plains Health pathology team are integral pieces to the process. It was a great interdisciplinary effort to make this happen, Rotramel said in the release. Were able to tap into specialized resources and open the door for patients who we werent able to assist in years prior. These patients are able to get answers quickly and dont have to drive far. Great Plains Health CEO Ivan Mitchell said he is grateful for Warren, Pathology Medical Services and this collaboration. We appreciate the talent, innovation and resources that allow this service to our patients, Mitchell said in the release. Dr. Warren is a living example of our mission to put the patient first always. It is exciting to envision how this will expand neurological care for our community now and in the future. Maybe Chris Wallace was explaining to Anderson Cooper how Fox News had become unsustainable? Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images CNN+ I know a lot of the kinds of media-political people who keep cable news going all day long in the background, but I dont know anyone who subscribed to CNN+. And you probably dont, either. Hundreds of millions of dollars were sunk into the streaming service. It outlasted its architect, Jeff Zucker, but lived only for a month before being put down by CNNs new owners. In a meeting with staff on Thursday, JB Perrette, the streaming boss at the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery, pointed out how people were calling it CNN minus, since it couldnt even stream the networks live coverage due to agreements with cable carriers. While nobody was much surprised, it was a real face-plant. The streaming service just rolled out with a glitzy launch party on March 28, 100 floors up at Hudson Yards. Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash and Anderson Cooper and Ethan Hawke were there. Also, Atlantic writer Molly Jong-Fast, who told me, I was at the Talk magazine party too, so I recognized the vibe, which is, Are we going to be able to pull this off? Scott Galloway, who was hosting an irreverent CNN+ show about tech and business, describes the vibe that night as cautious optimism. When the Discovery merger closed two weeks ago, it became only a matter of time until the streaming platform would be killed. The recent Netflix subscriber nosedive just reinforced the problem of streamer overload. Who wants to pay for all of these things? CNN+ was reportedly drawing only 10,000 active users. Blog posts do better numbers than that. This one probably will. CNNers are fuming that the launch was allowed to happen in the first place. Hundreds of new employees were brought on, and many will be fired. Naturally, they complained to the New York Post, comparing it inevitably to the great Quibi debacle. The new head of CNN, Chris Licht, reportedly compared it to building a house for an owner who arrives to say, But I need an apartment. He added that it was a uniquely shitty situation. Galloway is bummed about his show but concedes, Its the right move for Discovery. The cards had been dealt with two things: One, Zucker leaving, so it was kind of like Dad wasnt home to protect the household, if you will; and two, Netflix stock off 62 percent just says that this unbelievable run of streaming has slowed down, and so theres going to be massive consolidation. Personally, Im sad to see it end, but I had a great time. There are now discussions happening at all levels about which talent and staff can be saved, perhaps brought into CNNs core programming block, its digital operation, or the wider streaming world of Warner Bros. Discovery. Meanwhile, there was some serious Schadenfreude being felt over at 1211 Sixth Avenue on Wednesday afternoon. Hyenas at Fox were cackling over the uncertain fate of Chris Wallace, who had left them for CNN+, telling the New York Times Michael Grynbaum in an exit interview how life at Fox had become unsustainable. Now, laugh the hyenas, Wallace will understand the true meaning of unsustainability. His comments to Grynbaum had particularly infuriated Fox brass because, as Megyn Kelly dished about Wallace on a podcast earlier this week, He was in last place every week, every year, every month and they still paid him. (Wallace did not return a request for comment.) Never one to miss a good media meltdown, de-platformed Donald Trump quickly rushed out a catty statement about CNN+, writing, It was like an empty desert out there despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars and the hiring of the low-rated Chris Wallace, a man who tried so hard to be his father, Mike, but lacked the talent and whatever else is necessary to be a star. In any event, its just one more piece of CNN and Fake News that we dont have to bother with anymore! Company Logo Global Political Organizations Market Global Political Organizations Market Dublin, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Political Organizations Global Market Report 2022 by Organization, Scope and Services, Mode of donation, Organization Location" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global political organizations market as it emerges from the COVID-19 shut down. Reasons to Purchase Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 12+ geographies. Understand how the market is being affected by the coronavirus and how it is likely to emerge and grow as the impact of the virus abates. Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis. Identify growth segments for investment. Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market. Understand customers based on the latest market research findings. Benchmark performance against key competitors. Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing. Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis Major players in the political organizations market are Democratic Party, Republican Party, Communist Party of China, Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Justice and Development Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Workers' Party of Korea and United Russia. The global political organizations market is expected to grow from $3.94 billion in 2021 to $4.14 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $4.77 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 3.6%. The political organizations market consists of revenue generated through political services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that are engaged in promoting the interests of national, state, or local political parties or candidates. This market includes political groups organized to raise funds for a political party or individual candidates. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. The main types of organizations in political organizations are national, regional. The national political organizations involve the persons engaged in national level political activities to achieve political goals. The different modes of donation include online, offline. The organization locations can be domestic, international and are segmented by scope and services into campaign organizations, constituency associations, local political organization, political action committees (PACS), political campaign organizations, political organizations and clubs, political parties, riding association. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the political organizations market in 2021. North America was the second largest region in the political organizations market. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The initiatives taken by political organizations to improve the support from businesses in the region drive the market. For instance, the Bhartiya Janata Party government in India has promoted reforms that may boost the economy helping small and medium enterprises to expand their businesses. It launched the Make in India initiative to bring in businesses into the country to boost the economic activity and create jobs. These initiatives will help businesses to expand their revenue streams and in turn, encourage businesses to support the political organizations by funding them. Social media platforms are increasingly being used by political organizations for campaigning. The utilization of social media is viable in reaching out to young voters. There are various ways by which a political party can conduct social media campaigns such as engaging with the public through live video, asking questions on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, being active on social platforms by posting daily updates of their political work, and many more. The countries covered in the political organizations market are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Political Organizations Market Characteristics 3. Political Organizations Market Trends And Strategies 4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Political Organizations 5. Political Organizations Market Size And Growth 5.1. Global Political Organizations Historic Market, 2016-2021, $ Billion 5.1.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.1.2. Restraints On The Market 5.2. Global Political Organizations Forecast Market, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 5.2.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.2.2. Restraints On the Market 6. Political Organizations Market Segmentation 6.1. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Organization, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Story continues National Regional 6.2. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Scope and Services, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Campaign Organizations Constituency Associations Local Political Organization Political Action Committees (PACs) Political Campaign organizations Political Organizations And Clubs Political Parties Riding Association 6.3. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Mode of donation, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Online Offline 6.4. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Organization Location, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Domestic International 7. Political Organizations Market Regional And Country Analysis 7.1. Global Political Organizations Market, Split By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Political Organizations Market, Split By Country, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/t7tbfo Attachment CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Family Holiday Card Alexi Lubomirski Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 2021 holiday card Prince Harry will pass down lessons from his military experience to his children, Archie and Lilibet. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE for this week's cover story, Prince Harry shares what he wants his kids to know about his 10 years of service in the British Army, including two tours in Afghanistan. "That I am grateful for every experience I had in and out of my uniform," he says. "That I learned how to be in true service for others. That finding your purpose is one of the most gratifying experiences. And that working hard should be fulfilling and rewarding at the same time." RELATED: Prince Harry on How Mom Princess Diana Inspired Invictus Games: 'I Felt the Lift She Got from Helping Others' The current Invictus Games in The Netherlands mark the first time the Duke of Sussex is attending as both a husband to Meghan Markle as well as a father to son Archie, who turns 3 on May 6, and daughter Lilibet, 10 months. Prince Harry Cover Rollout "Being a dad certainly adds another emotional layer to it," the Duke of Sussex says. "When I was in the Army, I promised myself I would be out before having a wife and kids, because I couldn't imagine the heartache of being apart for so long during deployment, the risk of possibly getting injured and the reality that my family's lives could be changed forever if that happened." "Every member of the Invictus community has experienced varying degrees of these things. I have tremendous respect for what they and their families sacrifice in the name of service," he adds. "For the dads and mums who have served, and have been wounded or injured or fallen ill, there's nothing that compares to seeing them rediscover their ability to do whatever they put their minds to. There's nothing like seeing their kids watch proudly from the stands. It's a true inspiration and a deeply touching experience." Story continues Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in The Netherlands in April 2022 Samir Hussein/WireImage Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Josh Smith, the Team U.S.A. cocaptain who first met Harry and Meghan at the 2018 Australia Games, shared time with them again in the Netherlands. "Being a father, there's an immediate connection that we share," Smith tells PEOPLE. When it comes to bringing Archie and Lili to the Invictus Games someday, Harry says, "We can't wait!" and he's already introduced the competition to his son. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Harry and Meghan Invictus Games Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Prince Harry "I showed Archie a video of wheelchair basketball and rugby from the Invictus Games in Sydney, and he absolutely loved it," Harry says. "I showed him how some were missing legs and explained that some had invisible injuries, too," he continued. "Not because he asked, but because I wanted to tell him. Kids understand so much, and to see it through his eyes was amazing because it's so unfiltered and honest." Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size Article body On Earth Day 2022, Auburn University is celebrating the achievement of receiving a STARS Silver Rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, or AASHE. STARS Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. The Auburn University Office of Sustainability collaborated with the Academic Sustainability Program to conduct a comprehensive self-assessment throughout 2021 and submitted findings to STARS in February. Along with this achievement, Auburn has been recognized in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2022 Edition, and the university is a part of the U.S. chapter of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Auburn has just completed our fourth STARS assessment since 2012, said Mike Kensler, director of the Office of Sustainability. Each time the scoring has been tougher, yet each time Auburns sustainability performance rating has improved. Our latest assessment shows the most significant progress yet, leaving us a mere 0.87 point away from a STARS Gold rating. With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, AASHEs STARS program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or universitys sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership. STARS was developed by the campus sustainability community to provide high standards for recognizing campus sustainability efforts, said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. Auburn University has demonstrated a substantial commitment to sustainability by achieving a STARS Silver Rating and is to be congratulated for their efforts. Unlike other rating or ranking systems, this program is open to all institutions of higher education, and the criteria that determine a STARS rating are transparent and accessible to anyone. Because STARS is a program based on credits earned, it allows for both internal comparisons as well as comparisons with similar institutions. This achievement is a testament to Auburns leadership in the state of Alabama when it comes to sustainability efforts in teaching and research, outreach and engagement, university operations, and institutional planning and administration, said Kensler. With each assessment we discover new opportunities for progress and look forward to recording that progress in our next STARS report. The Auburn University STARS report is public and can be found online. Auburn students will be celebrating our planet and promoting sustainable living at the Earth Day Extravaganza today at the Student Center Greenspace from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. YAAASSSSSSSSS I have been singing this song for YEARS and have been waiting for her vindication! Reply Thread Link Didn't they call her ungrateful over her turning down her Emmy nom for Grey's? I don't remember anything about working hours. Calling out the misogyny in Knocked Up didn't help either. Reply Parent Thread Link yeah that was like the climax of it all - didnt she make a statement saying the writing didnt deserve emmy consideration? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link There were a lot of issues around that time that we know about now. Basically TR was being regularly abused by Isiah because he was gay and he and Heigl were close so she stood up for him. From then on she and George got the shittiest storylines and people often forget TR chose to leave because he couldnt take it anymore. She also didnt call out Knocked Up out of nowhere. The movie was getting some flack for being sexist and an interviewer asked her and she just said that in hindsight yeah some of it was pretty sexist. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Calling out the misogyny in Knocked Up didn't help either. You mean when she was literally asked about the misogyny in an interview and didn't lie in her response and then her answer was used as clickbait headlines everywhere Reply Parent Thread Link Here's the ONTD post, and the 400+ comments primarily dragging her for it. https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/37445079.html#comments She was called ungrateful and unprofessional for turning down the Emmy nod, acknowledging the misogyny in Knocked Up (when asked), publicly calling out Washington for his homophobic behavior towards Knight (which was true), AND for this ridiculous few seconds on a talk show where she said (accurately) a 17 hour work day was cruel.Here's the ONTD post, and the 400+ comments primarily dragging her for it. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yasss bb! We have been one of the few on this site defending her for years! Vindicatiooon! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah I liked her and thought she was unfairly blacklisted. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link It's a good song. You should sing it. Reply Parent Thread Link I have been defending her for years online and IRL lol, so this late defense from Ellen totally rubs me the wrong way Reply Parent Thread Link Katherine's momager Nancy didn't help her reputation, with the way Nancy was rumored to treat people. Reply Thread Link Yes but I dont think her mom had much to do with the wrath Heigl got during/post Greys? Reply Parent Thread Link Exactly. It's one thing her being right about the working conditions in Grey's and a whoooole other different thing the way she and her mother behaved on sets and with the teams who were supposed to handle talent at events for the network or press tours. The reason why not a single soul came to her defense back then, was because she simply was not nice to anybody. Reply Parent Thread Link Bill Murray has had decades of not being nice to anybody, so even if her/her mother's behaviour wasn't great the disproportionate response is still a result of misogyny. We all know men are not punished for bad attitudes the way women are, so it's still bullshit in that sense. Reply Parent Thread Link she wasnt tweeting shit when katherine wouldve benefited so whatever, sit down opportunist. Reply Thread Link I dont disagree but she also didnt have nearly as much power as she does now. Shes more than secured her bag at this point and she has nothing to lose. Back in that time Shonda definitely couldve made her pay and lbr she would have. Reply Parent Thread Link That's probably true. It's kind of amazing that Shonda's gotten away with being as shady as she is for this long. I guess when your shows bring in ratings and $$$$$$$, anything goes. Powerful women can get away with being awful now too!! Uh, hooray! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Agreed. That was during the time that Chyler Leigh was still on the show as Lexie Grey, and I remember a lot of articles mentioning the fact that if Ellen Pompeo ever left, the show could still continue as Greys Anatomy. We should be blaming bosses, not fellow actors who are just as vulnerable to exploitation and/or retribution. Reply Parent Thread Link True that she may not have had as much power, but she chose to stay silent while tr was abused and katherine was blacklisted and through god knows what and that's shitty. Clearly staying silent was the right choice to make money, I get it, but this statement is so intense and it isnt even an apology. I hope shes reached out to katherine privately at least. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link No one talks about this but the creator of GCB basically implied her show got cancelled because of someone on ABC who was also a show runner who has A LOT of power over the network and the only one that couldve fit the description was Shonda. It always blew my mind it got canceled when it was pretty popular. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was about to say. Had I been Katherine, I'd have been like, "Where the fuck were you then, and why are you bringing this now? Keep me out your mouth." I've had shit happen to me and colleagues at work months ago (I quit and some are leaving soon) and had to stand up for myself because some people wouldn't do the same. It's shit like this where you really learn who has your back. I'm not saying people SHOULD speak up and stand up for others. I get that people have considerations, responsibilities, dependents, and it's a power struggle. Ellen has a reputation for saying stupid shit thinking she said something to sound all high and mighty. She can fuck off. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link what took u so long ELLEN Reply Thread Link what's with that title? "disgraced Greys Anatomy co-star Katherine Heigl". Really??? Edited at 2022-04-22 01:15 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link "Dis-Greys-ed co-star Katherine Heigl" would've qualified the word as a "show exit" while making the headline being more succinct ...why am I like this Reply Parent Thread Link Tell me something I didn't already know, Ellen. Reply Thread Link 10 years and 579 episodes after she left is apparently the appropriate amount of time to wait to come forward in support of Katherine Heigl. Shut up and keep counting those residual checks Ellen. Youre a real piece of work, amongst other things. Reply Thread Link Pompeo sucks. Reply Parent Thread Link She really does. You can always count on her to have a shitty opinion about pretty much anything. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah, if she really stands by that, get her back for an episode or use your power to get her cast on Station 19 or something else; it always seems convenient to back someone when it's way way later and when there's no risk anymore of backing them. That said, there should be someone hiring the crap out of the screwed-over women from Heigl to Monique to the first Aunt Viv with Kesha and Jojo singing the soundtrack. Let's fix it in their banks not just with decades-later lip service! Reply Thread Link Hell no! The best thing Katherine has done is stay far away from this mess. You know Shondas petty ass would come back to write just for that episode and have Izzie be mauled by bears or something. Reply Parent Thread Link Shell kill Izzie for sure! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link If shonda filmed a scene in some Seattle mountains of a big bear running her down I would DIE Reply Parent Thread Link fucking finally! justice for katherine tbh! i really hope for a heiglnaissance Reply Thread Link i find watching her in movies/tv really comforting and i have NO idea why lol Reply Parent Thread Link honestly, she is just such a charming, engaging and charismatic actor imo (as well being really good at her job). plus i grew up on a couple of her movies when she was a teen, so i forever have a soft spot for her as she was THAT girl. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link She's got a real charming presence in romcoms tbh. She should definitely do more of those, she's so great Reply Parent Thread Link Her Netflix show did well. They were recently filming S2. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Lmao bless. Im hft all exposures as of lately Elmoinfire.gif Reply Thread Link I really want to say about fucking time Ellen! But also she's a woman and it took her 84 years to become irl uber powerful mer grey (queen of abc so to speak) so I guess why she didn't feel comfortable to speak up then when she could have been replaced by lexie... KH got ton of hate and I hope she's doing ok because I enjoy her face Reply Thread Link IT'S ABOUT TIME. I'm still not 100% sure if KH really asked to leave for good in S6 or if she just wanted fewer hours or what (that set has been full of shadiness and fake PR bullshit from day one lbr), but either way, the way she's been talked about since then has been awful. Not just the headlines and jokes calling her ~ungrateful~, but Shonda herself with the "there are no Heigls on my [Scandal] set" and never inviting her back -- and not even for Alex's final scenes!! That was insane to me. And to have co-star choker and right-wing lunatic Isaiah back...truly insane shit. and yes, Ellen should have said something long ago. At least TR had her back. Reply Thread Link Yeah lets not forget Shonda likes to patronize us queers but then shell bring back Isiah who called his gay cast member a slur and also let ABC ax a female character because she was too lesbian and they wanted a more audience friendly lesbian so we got Arizona. Reply Parent Thread Link OH DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE WAY BROOKE SMITH WAS TREATED but it was bad. I know it was the network or whatever, but the fact that Shonda didn't stand up for her has always bothered me and always will. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I quit watching when they did that. I was pissed. Reply Parent Thread Link ISAIAH CAME BACK?? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I wonder if Shonda still backs Isaiah since he's gone MAGA and letting his homophobe flag fly. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Katherine has been banned from ever appearing on the show again while her problematic male co-stars have continuously been invited back. Is this still true? I could have sworn she and Shonda were okay per an interview in the recent past. Reply Thread Link imo it seems pretty egregious that she wasn't even told that the Izzie/Alex "reunion" was happening, let alone being asked back to film a few scenes or whatever. (And rightfully she stood up for Jo. I AM STILL SO MAD ABOUT THAT UGH) Reply Parent Thread Link Yea, that would have been the perfect time to bring her back for a surprise cameo if everything was copacetic between the two, Reply Parent Thread Link I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, but Heigl wasn't even invited back for that?? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link She came for Shonda's writing back in the day. She knew who she was gonna hit harder when she made the comment about her character's development not deserving a nomination. You best believe a powerful figure like Shonda will hold that grudge forever. Reply Parent Thread Link Ellen Pompeo who stuck with GA because of the money? Bye. Reply Thread Link thats what basically anyone would do including everyone here Reply Parent Thread Link Tbf she got a nice beach house in Malibu out of it .. lol cant hate Reply Parent Thread Link can't say i wouldn't do the same though. guaranteed job and huge paycheque? it's not like people are busting down 50 y/o ellen pompeo's door for other roles. Reply Parent Thread Link I mean it's a job and it pays, what's the big deal? It's like the least offensive thing Ellen's done. Reply Parent Thread Link i have no problem with katherine heigl but i think a lot of people's problem was she had a pattern of shit-talking her projects. i don't even follow her but i can think of 3 separate projects she did that with (valentine, knocked up, greys), of course eventually its gonna catch up with you. she didn't just talk about her hours, ofc everyone should be empowered to talk about poor working conditions without retribution, she also said the writing sucked, which is also what she said about the other two projects. people arent gonna wanna hire you if u repeatedly do that lol. shonda took it way too far but katherine also kinda shot herself in the foot Edited at 2022-04-22 01:32 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link The thing with Knocked Up is that her quotes always get taken out of context. The interviewer specifically asked her if she thought the film was kind of sexist (because it was getting flack at that time) and all she said was Yeah ya know in hindsight some of the jokes and the way certain things were written were kind of sexist. And I know everyone always says but then she did that Ugly Truth movie! but the blacklisting had already started by then and shes adopted another baby and I feel like she was just taking what she could get to secure some money for the future. Lord knows her husbands music wasnt gonna secure them lol. Reply Parent Thread Link oh i don't begrudge her any of her trash movie choices lol. and honestly i don't think any of the situations in isolation are THAT bad (tho im sorry, withdrawing yourself from award noms then saying its cuz the writing sucked is a dumb move!) it's more that she did it a few times over such low stakes shit lol. just no concept of picking her battles at all Reply Parent Thread Expand Link She definitely made some unwise choices, but let's not forget that the writing she criticized on Grey's and took herself out of the Emmy race for was the Denny ghost sex/brain-tumor-but-not-a-brain-tumor plot. WHICH WAS TERRIBLE. I honestly wish more actors would do that instead of just racking up awards for cheesy stories. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah it's a mixed-bag. She was right to stand up for her co-star when Shonda clearly wanted no one to talk about it and let it get buried. And bringing up the long work hours was fine. She screwed up with trashing her projects. I know the Emmy win when she said the writing not up to par during her acceptance was no bueno. That had happened during the writers strike which a lot of tv shows like Heroes got cancelled because of it. Then prematurely trashing Knocked Up only to then choose projects that were contradictory to her statements lol. Reply Parent Thread Link What did she say about Valentine? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link fire them immediately. have they even faced ANY consequences for all this yet?? Reply Thread Link Thank you! I dont know why its so hard for people to say the thing out loud, which is that Ezra Miller has serious issues AND has violently attacked multiple womenare people actually cutting this fool slack simply because they wear make up, use they/them pronouns, and identify as non-binary? I cant think of any other reason why everyone is treating them with kid gloves and acting like they are not an abusive asshole toward women.. Reply Parent Thread Link it's REALLY telling that this happened on the heels of will smith getting punished so much, too. we all know why. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I suspect it's that + general disregard for violence against women + the maniacal DCEU fans refusing to criticize anyone involved with those movies (apart from Whedon. Though that's more about him "vs" Snyder than what he actually did). A perfect storm of shit. Reply Parent Thread Link Ezra is white and presents as male, that's enough for people to go to bat for them. Their pronouns have nothing to do with it and if anyone is using it as such it is only in the way that stans will use any instance if their fave being 'wronged/disenfranchised' to cape for them. Reply Parent Thread Link I honestly think it's because the Fantastic Beasts series is already on the bubble. He hasn't been fired yet bc Warner Bros can't face losing two big film series. Reply Parent Thread Link I agree there needs to be consequences of course. I am in no way justifying what they have done. But when you care for someone and root for them, it's so tough. How do you react and respond when you wish the best for them when they keep making awful decisions? It's a shame :/ Reply Thread Link in my experience you have to tell yourself that you're separating out of love, until they're in a healthier place. keep your focus on caring about them (and yourself!) and know that not enabling is loving them, even if you feel like you're abandoning them. Reply Parent Thread Link ia...I guess my drawing line is when they become violent against other people. Its bad enough when they do harm to themselves but endangering others is unacceptable. Reply Parent Thread Link They are a massive shit show. Someone needs to 5150 them and get them the help they refuse. Or maybe they're just a massive prick. Reply Thread Link This is the chick who hates Jessica Chastain to the point of insanity, right? Reply Thread Link She's....she's really hating on her for how she was sitting on a stool??? JFC. Reply Parent Thread Link good lord Reply Parent Thread Link she is, uh... not well. Reply Parent Thread Link As another Jessica Chastain hater, gee, maybe chill a little. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link unhinged Reply Parent Thread Link Not sure about that but I know she's a Depp defender. Even a bit in this video. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link And Pedro Pascal. She doubled down multiple times that he was leaving Mandalorian and had diva behavior despite being proved wrong lol it was hilarious. No idea what she has against him. Reply Parent Thread Link ty for bringing this up bc i knew i remembered this name from somewhere lol Reply Parent Thread Link She was also mad when they cast Tessa Thompson to voice Lady in Lady and the Tramp bc it was "race-bending". lmao Edited at 2022-04-22 09:02 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link yeah, and jennifer lawrence before that. i think she moved on to jessica when jennifer virtually disappeared and she really needed another woman to hate to the point of derangement. Reply Parent Thread Link I would kill to know the internal discussions happening at WB rn. Reply Thread Link Wondering how much money they sunk into the movie. Reply Parent Thread Link it's all cost-benefit analysis, i'm sure. discussing if the money spent recasting and reshooting scenes/doing digital alterations would be recouped in the box office or if they should release the film as is and hope Ezra's actions don't tank the numbers too badly Reply Parent Thread Link How can they release a film without the lead to do any promo, let alone sequels if it's a success, they need to face facts and stop procrastinating Reply Parent Thread Link I knew from the start it was a bad casting decision. WB stays being idiots. Reply Parent Thread Link Im pretty sure grace randolph has been known to make shit up out of thin air so Not all that surprised shed involve herself in this Reply Thread Link If they ever make a movie about that Long Island Medium lady, this woman could play her. They're both insufferable. Reply Thread Link As an avid lip reader, she is definitely not saying anything remotely close to the caption. Reply Parent Thread Link Guess she couldn't see the future of that gif being made I didn't make the gif, so I can't take credit for that fail...but what is she saying?? Anything about my future? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Hes ugly. Never understood his appeal Reply Thread Link Wow. Seriously? That's where you chose to go with all this? Okay. Reply Parent Thread Link Some people are just that shallow. Reply Parent Thread Link calling them ugly and misgendering them, nice. what's your appeal? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Gross comment. Reply Parent Thread Link Ignoring you misusing they're pronouns, you are right they are so ugly. When I found out he was gonna be playing the Flash I was so mad. Barry Allen super hot in the comics and DCAU, even the CW actor is at least cute. Ezra is none of those things. Reply Parent Thread Link The fuck is that face she's making in the thumbnail? Reply Thread Link Dreamworks Eyebrow Reply Parent Thread Link cry me a river Reply Thread Link due to a major serious personal loss back in February maybe this is true but ezra's been violent for a long time. i was also just reading something about how after We Need to Talk About Kevin, they were happy that people were scared of them, and they kept the crossbow and always asked people if they want to see it basically because they knew it would make people feel uneasy. i think they're just a sadistic and erratic person in general tbqh. they feel like a very real danger. Edited at 2022-04-22 07:51 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link mte did that attack in Iceland happen after a major personal loss too? Reply Parent Thread Link there are no bigger red flags to me than someone asking if you want to see a weapon they own Reply Parent Thread Link Speaking of We Need to Talk about Kevin, there is a pretty insightful piece from Lainey gossip about Ezras antagonistic behavior at the premier: https://www.laineygossip.com/Interviewing-pretentious-Ezra-Miller/21879/amp Ezras never really hid this, idk why people didnt care to notice at the time. Reply Parent Thread Link ...is that insightful?? That just seems like a bad interviewer having no idea what to do with a young hipster celeb who's being annoyingly extra. Which is pretty common for young hipsters. Like clearly Ezra's done some seriously harmful shit since then, but that stuff from TIFF...does not exactly raise alarm bells lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Im sorry if Ezra is going through a tough time but enough is enough they need to face consequences. And good god, the Flash movie needs to be cancelled yesterday Reply Thread Link Your absolutely right, who cares if they're going through a mental breakdown. Ezra keeps on attacking women, and women only and that is not okay. They need to be stopped. Edited at 2022-04-22 11:15 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Throw them in the bin. Reply Thread Link I don't want the word "breakdown" to act as a kind of blanket defense for what they've done and continue to do. Reply Thread Link Grace Randolph is full of shit Reply Thread Link I'm not a fan either. I do like her box office run down shows though. There's only a couple of good YouTubers who do that and she is the least in the tank for Marvel and less likely.(though not immune from) the whole "anti woke" thing that is rife with those box office analysis channels. Reply Parent Thread Link Europe is determined to banfully or partiallyimports of Russian oil and gas, a senior White House advisor said on Friday. Europe has been under pressure to decrease its reliance on Russian energy, including coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear fuel in order to starve Russia of its main income stream. I have confidence that Europe is getting the message, and they are determined to close off this last source of export revenue, Daleep Singh, deputy White House national security advisor, told CNN in an interview. But several particularly oil-dependent countries in Europe, including Germany, have so far refused to support an immediate or full ban on Russian oil and gas. Its important that they do this as soon as they can, Singh said, adding that they need to do it in a way thats smart. According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, a full EU ban on Russian crude oil and gas imports could have unintended economic consequences for both the United States and its Western allies. While Yellen agrees that the EU needs to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, we need to be careful when we think about a complete ban on, say, oil imports, Yellen said on Thursday. The sticking point is finding a way to hurt Russias finances without raising the price of oil and gas, hurting Europe and the United States. Even if all EU members were to agree on such an energy ban, it would still take months to draft and prepare, European officials said last week. The EU is already in talks with other oil-producing countries with the end goal of obtaining alternative oil suppliers so it can more readily wean itself off Russian oil supply. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The EUs determination to reduce its gas reliance on Russia, its drive to increase LNG imports, and Putins ruble-for-gas demand could result in Russian state gas giant Gazprom losing about one-third of its typical gas export volumes to Europe this year, analysts told Reuters on Friday. Gazproms natural gas sales to Europe this year could drop by 40 billion-45 billion cubic meters (bcm) from around 150 bcm in 2021, Sergei Kapitonov at the Energy Centre at Moscows Skolkovo School of Management told Reuters. According to Rystad Energys head of gas market research, Sindre Knutsson, Russian gas exports could be even lower as the EU looks to displace as much Russian gas as soon as possible, while Russia could cut supply over possible disagreements over the ruble-for-gas scheme. Moreover, the Russian war in Ukraine could also disrupt pipeline gas transit through Ukraine if any infrastructure is damaged or hit, Knutsson added. Last month, Vladimir Putin said that unfriendly nations should pay in rubles for natural gas. Russia had set a March 31 deadline for the countries it considers hostileincluding the United States, all EU member states, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, South Korea, Japan, and many othersto start paying in rubles for natural gas. The EU has rejected Putins demands for payments in rubles. Still, Russia did not immediately cut off the gas supply to Europe after April 1, partly because it is dependent on revenues from gas and partly because payments for gas delivered after April 1 are not due until later this month or early May. Some of Russias gas customers have agreed to pay in rubles for Russian gas, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week. The Russian official, however, did not disclose which buyers had agreed to the rubles payment. In the EU, Hungarywhose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been in close ties with Putin for a decadesaid earlier this month that it was ready to pay in rubles for Russian gas. Hungary has broken ranks with the EU by stating it was prepared to pay for Russian gas with rubles, despite the EUs attempt to present a unified front in the face of Putins demands for rubles for Russian gas. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Oil demand in the worlds top crude oil importer, China, is expected to decline by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in April from a year agothe largest hit to demand since the Wuhan lockdowns at the beginning of the pandemic, Bloomberg reported on Friday, quoting sources with inside knowledge of the Chinese energy industry. Chinas gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel demand is set for a 20-percent plunge this month compared to the consumption in April 2021, Bloombergs sources say, as authorities continue to pursue a zero COVID policy imposing strict lockdowns, including one that has been going for weeks for 26 million residents in the financial center Shanghai. Gasoline demand is expected to be hit the worst, as millions of people are confined to their homes, while agricultural activities are partly offsetting the drop in diesel demand that comes from reduced trucking industry demand. Mostly because of the Shanghai lockdown, demand for gasoline in eastern China has already plummeted by some 40 percent so far in April, Chinese oil executives told Bloomberg. Shanghai authorities announced on Friday that they would tighten the already severe restrictions, including placing electronic door alarms to prevent COVID-infected people from leaving and evacuating people to disinfect their homes. Chinas refiners are expected to lower their refinery runs in April at the biggest scaleby 900,000 bpdsince the beginning of the pandemic as new COVID-related lockdowns weigh on fuel consumption. Last week, both OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) cited weakened Chinese demand as a key factoralongside the Russian war in Ukrainein their reduced forecasts of global oil demand. Oil demand is expected to average 99.4 million bpd this year, the IEA said, cutting its 2022 demand outlook by 260,000 bpd to reflect the return of severe lockdowns in China. OPEC also slashed its oil demand growth estimate for 2022 by nearly 500,000 bpd on the back of lower expected global economic growth with the Russian war in Ukraine and the return of COVID lockdowns in China. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Companies in the EU may have discovered a way to pay for Russias gas in rubles without violating sanctions, the European Commission said on Friday. The companies would need to pay in euros or dollars, which would then be converted into rubles, although the transactions would also have to be accompanied by a statement explaining how the companies consider their contractual obligations to be complete once they submitted the euros or dollars. Russia had set a March 31 deadline for unfriendly or hostile nations to start paying in rubles for natural gas, although the EU initially balked at such a demand, arguing that such a demand would be a breach of contract on Russias behalf, and that paying in rubles would violate sanctions. Russia also muddied the waters in the days that followed the initial rubles demand, injecting a fair amount of confusion over how the scheme would work. But Russia clarified the complicated rubles for gas scheme earlier this week for those unfriendly nations, which include EU members as well as the U.S., among others. Under the scheme, these nations would not be able to pay for gas using Gazproms bank accounts abroad because the funds would be susceptible to freezing by sanctions. Instead, these nations would have to pay in euros or dollars using a special account that they would have to open at Gazprombank, which would convert the payment into rubles. Gazprom would then have access to the sanctions-protected funds in rubles. The news that the EU has found a way to pay without violating sanctions comes as the White House on Friday said that the EU was determined to ban imports of Russian oil and gas, although Germany has been opposed to a full and immediate ban due to its significant reliance on Russian energy imports. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Member countries of the International Energy Agency will be releasing a total of 182.7 million barrels of oil from emergency stocks over six months, of which 74 percent will come from public stocks and the remaining 26 percent from lowering of national stockholding obligations set on industry, the IEA said on Friday in an update on the oil stocks release. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the IEA members, including the United States, have announced releases from Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) to try to tame soaring oil and gasoline prices and offset the gap that unwanted Russian oil due to sanctions of self-sanctioning would leave. IEA members announced in early April they would release an additional 120 million barrels from their emergency oil stocks over a six-month period. The collective action, the largest in IEA history, comes on top of the 62.7 million barrels release agreed upon in March. A total of 60 million barrels of the latest IEA release of 120 million has already been accounted for as part of the 180 million barrel SPR release that the United States announced at the end of March. Of the 182.7 million barrels, nearly 50 million barrels is in the form of oil products, the IEA said today. Oil products account for 27 percent of the stocks release, while crude is at 133.8 million barrels, or 73 percent of the 183 million barrel release. Source: IEA The United States is the biggest contributor, with crude release only, of 90.6 million barrels. Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, the UK, and Spain are also among the biggest contributors to the collective 183 million barrel release. Member countries began releasing emergency stocks in March, following the initial IEA decision. And based on the 1 April decision, they will be releasing volumes over the period through to October, according to the specific stockholding system and market needs in each country, the IEA said on Friday. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Indian private conglomerate Reliance Industries has purchased at least 15 million barrels of discounted Russian crude since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported on Friday, citing trade sources and tanker data, as Indian refiners take advantage of record discounts for Russias crude shunned in the West. Reliance Industrieswhich owns the biggest refinery in India and the biggest refining hub in the world, Jamnagarhas bought on average 5 million barrels of Russian crude for delivery in each month between April and June, according to Reuters sources. Reliance Industries is buying Uralswhose primary destination before the war was Europeand is set to receive its first shipment of the ESPO crude, which is typically delivered to China, per Refinitiv tanker data cited by Reuters. Since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine, Indiaa price-sensitive crude buyer who has criticized OPEC and OPEC+ for keeping oil prices artificially highhas increased its purchases of Russian crude. Before the war, Indian refiners rarely bought oil from Russia at such a scale because of high freight costs. Now the cheaper Russian barrelswith the flagship Urals grade being offered at a massive $30 a barrel discount to Dated Brentappear irresistible for Indian refiners, despite warnings from the United States that buying Putins oil is not in the best interest of India. India has abstained from joining almost all countries in the world in condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine in UN resolutions and has defense and military ties with Moscow. India, as well as China, are snapping up cheap Russian cargoes unwanted in the West, but analysts say that the two Asian importers will not be able to absorb all the crude that Europe and major international oil firms and trading houses are shunning. Putin is confident that Russia can find new willing buyers for its oil in Asia. China and India are taking some of the oil unwanted in the West. Still, logistics, high freight rates, insurance, bank guarantees, and payment hurdles prevent willing buyers in Asia from purchasing all the oil Russia has traditionally sold on the European market. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Some members of the European Union stand ready to veto any bloc-wide attempts to impose an oil embargo on Russia, Russia's TASS reported, citing an interview with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. "It will be very hard [to reach consent on embargoing Russian oil deliveries or raising tariffs, because some member states have already announced they would veto any collective decision," Josep Borrell told Le Figaro in the interview. According to the French publication, Borrell does not appear to be particularly optimistic about the effects of any future sanction packages. "As far as I know, at this time there is no proposal on the table regarding oil and gas," the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said. "There are many considerations, many proposals that are studied. What's the best way to do it? A tax? A ban? Many economists have said that the most rational thing would be to make Russian oil and gas more expensive in order to create an incentive to seek other sources. None of these proposals has received the required unanimity." A full EU ban on Russian oil imports has been under discussion for a couple of weeks now, but there is considerable opposition from large oil importers. This week, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, warned the EU against a full immediate embargo on oil imports. Europe does need to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, Yellen told media, "but we need to be careful when we think about a complete European ban on, say, oil imports." Germany is the biggest opponent of a full oil embargo as it receives a substantial portion of its imported oil from Russia. Other import-dependent countries are also against it. But even if all EU members agreed to an embargo, it would take months to formulate and implement, according to European officials. It will also lead to another oil price spike as it takes more than 4 million bpd of Russian oil off the market. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Netherlands has a plan to end all purchases of Russian crude oil and natural gas by the end of the year, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told journalists at a weekly press conference on Friday. The Netherlands is one of the European countries that has increased the amount of crude oil it imports from Russia over the last decade. According to Eurostat data, the Netherlands imported 31.7 million tonnes of crude oil in 2021more than any other EU27 country. In 2020, the Netherlands relied on Russia for nearly one-third of its total crude imports. But nearly half44% of all Dutch energy usage relies on natural gas, but according to Reuters, only 15% of its gas comes from Russia. What the Netherlands would actually like to achieve is being independent of Russian gas and Russian oil before the end of the year, Rutte said, adding that they could achieve this by working hard on a mix of energy savings and sustainability, but it will also have to lead to the import of energy from other countries, including liquid natural gas. The Netherlands is prepared to give companies $675 million in incentives to fill Bergermeer, a major gas facility capable of holding 4.1 billion cubic meters of gas. The state-energy company, EBN, will ensure that Bergermeer is full to 70% of its capacity if the companies are not enticed enough by the incentives. Russias Gazprom, however, has a right to 40% of the storage space of Bergermeerat least through 2045although it did not take advantage of its share last year. Gazprom has a use it or lose it clause, according to Reuters, so their space could be filled by other parties this year if it does not utilize it itself. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: NEW YORK (AP) Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez made a virtual appearance Friday in federal court in New York to face drug trafficking and weapons charges after he was arrested in Honduras and extradited overnight to the United States. Hernandez, who has denied any wrongdoing, was not required to enter a plea at the 12-minute initial hearing before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron in Manhattan. A plea will occur at his next hearing on May 10 before Judge P. Kevin Castel, who would preside over a trial if it were to occur. His lawyer, Raymond Colon, said he agreed at least for the moment to let Hernandez remain behind bars rather than attempt to convince a judge to set bail. During Friday's hearing, a relaxed-looking Hernandez, wearing a blue jacket with a button-down shirt beneath it, sat in a chair as he listened to the judge and lawyers through a black corded phone he held to his ear, letting Aaron know he could hear and understand the proceeding. Yes, your honor, I am listening to you through an interpreter, said Hernandez, who could be seen taking several sips from a can of Coke before the hearing started. As Aaron read him his rights, Hernandez nodded. The magistrate judge then read a brief description of the charges he faced, telling him he was alleged to have received millions of dollars between 2004 and 2022 for his role in a drug trade that brought hundreds of thousands of kilos of drugs to the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elinor Tarlow said Hernandez, who boarded an airplane Thursday in Honduras with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration just three months after leaving office arrived in the New York area at 12:50 a.m. Friday. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has accused Hernandez of abusing his position as president of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state. Hernandez, who served as president of the Central American nation from 2014 through 2022, was charged in court documents with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Hernandez was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa in February at the request of U.S. authorities. Honduras Supreme Court rejected his appeal of a judges decision favoring extradition. His court appearance Friday in New York was virtual because of COVID-19 protocols, authorities said. Hernandez has denied any wrongdoing. In a video message released Thursday, he said, I am innocent; I have been and I am being unjustly subjected to prosecution. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) When he visited Ukraine last month with two other European leaders, Prime Minister Janez Jansa of Slovenia was looking to show solidarity with the war-stricken nation and to attract support at home ahead of what is expected to be a close parliamentary election. The election set for Sunday is taking place amid heightened political divisions in Slovenia. Observers say the vote will determine whether the small Alpine nation of 2 million people slides further into right-wing populism under Jansa or returns to its traditionally moderate balance. Recent opinion surveys showed Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party in a tight race with the Freedom Movement, a newly formed liberal-green political party. The party is led by a U.S.-educated expert, Robert Golob, who has promised to unite centrist and left-oriented groups in a future coalition government. Both parties appeared to have voter support hovering around 20%. Polls showed several smaller left- and right-leaning groups trailing in the race for seats in Slovenias 90-member national legislature. Some surveys suggested 20% of the electorate remained undecided. With no single party likely to secure enough votes to form a government on its own, analysts predicted Golob would have a better chance than Jansa at cobbling together a post-election coalition. The 63-year-old Jansa, a veteran politician, took over as head of government at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, succeeding a liberal who resigned. While the prime minister has boasted of economic successes during tough times, critics have sounded alarm over his increasingly authoritarian course. The race is tight, Jansa told a preelection convention of his party. We will fight for every ballot. Known as a nature-loving nation of stunning scenic beauty, Slovenia was long regarded as a post-Communist success and one of the most stable countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Slovenia was among 10 countries that joined the European Union in May 2004, the blocs largest single expansion. But it has come under EU scrutiny as Jansa has forged close relations with fellow populist, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic another right-wing regional leader recently scored sweeping reelection victories. Since he became the Slovenian Democratic Party's leader in 1993, Jansa has served as both defense minister and prime minister multiple times, faced a corruption trial and engaged in constant spats with journalists. He denies recurring allegations that he has moved to give his party control over public media, intimidate critics and install loyalists in key positions at state institutions. Fractured left-wing groups failed to mount a serious challenge to Jansa in more than two years despite simmering popular anger that fueled street protests and clashes with police. An array of civic movements have joined protests, seeking to galvanize public discontent and create a wider movement. Golob, 55, has emerged as a new face, appealing to Slovenians who are disillusioned with the political mainstream. Under the slogan We deserve a better state, he has promised a green transformation and sustainable development to contrast with Jansa's strong nation narrative. For Andraz Zorko, a public opinion analyst at the Valicon agency, the current pre-election campaign has been marked by a grassroots effort and tireless field work, designed to animate the new generation of Slovenia's youth to vote. Trends are now in favor of the Freedom Movement," Zorko said. Political analyst Zenel Baragelj, however, told the AP election outcome is impossible to predict," due to fluctuating loyalties and several parties teetering near the threshold line of 4%. Observers say Jansa's similarities with Hungary's Orban can be spotted in their anti-liberal rhetoric and governing styles, as well as their financial dealings. Orban's associates have invested in Slovenia's pro-government media and companies. A formerly pro-Jansa political magazine, Reporter, recently urged Slovenia's voters to "ask yourself if you want to live in a country such as Orbans Hungary. A group of prominent intellectuals and public figures warned in a petition that Sundays election was of historic importance and the last chance to stop the authoritarian tendencies of Janez Jansa. Jansa has dismissed criticism as a leftist plot to undermine his government and promised voters stability and continuity in uncertain times. To polish his image, he distanced himself from Orban during the campaign and took a tough line against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In an attention-grabbing move meant to display regional leadership within Europe, Jansa traveled to Ukraine's capital with the prime ministers of Poland and the Czech Republic in mid-March. Shortly after the trip, Slovenia's government reopened the country's embassy in Kyiv and urged other EU nations to do the same. Surveys indicate that citizens' concerns center more around domestic issues such as social equality, environmental protection and the rule of law rather than the war in Ukraine. Jure Mocivnik, a resident of Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, said he expected high turnout and strong voter interest in the election. Asked about the outcome, Mocivnik said: I don't have a clue, everything is possible. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. UNITED NATIONS U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to meet Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press for fighting to stop in Ukraine. The U.N. chief will travel to Moscow for conversations with Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.N. spokesperson Eri Kaneko said Friday. She said discussions about a similar visit to Ukraine are under way. He wants to discuss with the leadership steps that can be taken right now in order to silence the guns, in order to help the people and in order to allow the people who need to get out to do so safely, she said. Guterres asked to meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their respective capitals. Ukraine has welcomed the idea. Guterres had appealed for a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting leading up to Sunday, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter. KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Possible mass graves near Mariupol shown in satellite images EXPLAINER: Why Washington is boosting heavy arms for Ukraine UN rights chief sees horror story of violations in Ukraine US to welcome Ukraine refugees but no longer through Mexico Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: BUCHAREST, Romania Moldova's government strongly criticized comments made Friday by a Russian military official suggesting that Russia's forces are aiming to take control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern Ukraine as well. Moldova's government on Friday called Rustam Minnekayev's comments not only unacceptable but also unfounded." The statement added that his words will lead to increased tension and mistrust in society. Minnekayev said at a defense industry event earlier Friday that broader control of Ukraine would open the way to Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Transnistria broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers have been stationed there since the civil war. Since Russia launched its attacks on Ukraine on Feb. 24, fears have grown that Moldova could be next in Russia's crosshairs. Moldova is not a member of the European Union or NATO. The war has prompted Moldovan officials to try to speed up the country's bid to join the 27-nation EU, which it applied to do last month. The process, however, will likely take many years. MOSCOW Russias top diplomat says talks to end the fighting in Ukraine have ground to a halt, because Moscow hasnt received any response from Kyiv to its most recent set of proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference on Friday that right now, they (talks) have ground to a halt, because another proposal we passed on to Ukrainian negotiators about five days ago, which was drawn up with their comments taken into account, it remains without a response. Lavrov also charged that recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers suggest they dont at all need these talks, they have put up with their destiny. However, Vladimir Medinsky, President Vladimir Putins aide and Russias lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, confirmed reports that he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He didnt offer any details as to what was discussed or if any progress was made. MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside a Mariupol steel plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive. The comments came during a phone call between Putin and European Council President Charles Michel, according to a readout of the call provided by the Kremlin. Putin also said the Ukrainian forces were offered decent treatment and medical care. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged, according to the Kremlin. LVIV, Ukraine A city official in besieged Mariupol says Russian forces are continuing to bomb a massive steel mill where Ukrainian fighters are holed up. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor, told The Associated Press on Friday that every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, despite false promises not to touch the defenders. Andryushchenko added that fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. The Azovstal plant is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, which the Russians has blocked for nearly two weeks and declared victory over this week. Ukrainian authorities have estimated that 1,000 civilians are inside the plant along with the fighters. A day after satellite images came to light that indicated mass graves outside the port city in southeastern Ukraine, Andryushchenko said local residents reported that Russian forces were using mobile crematoria at two locations. Initial estimates said the apparent mass graves could hold up to 9,000 bodies, but Andryuschenko said there could be more. BERLIN The International Atomic Energy Agency says its director general will visit the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant next week, on the anniversary of the 1986 disaster there. The Vienna-based IAEA said Friday that Rafael Mariano Grossi will head a team of experts from the U.N. nuclear watchdog that will be at Chernobyl on April 26, which is 36 years since the day a reactor at the plant exploded. The IAEA says the team will deliver vital equipment and conduct radiological and other assessments at the site, which Russian forces held for five weeks until they withdrew on March 31. The experts will repair remote monitoring systems that stopped transmitting data to the IAEAs headquarters at the start of the war. Grossi said in a statement that the Chernobyl visit will be followed by more IAEA missions to this and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine in the coming weeks. WASHINGTON Pentagon press secretary John Kirby says assessments show Ukrainian troops are still contesting the southern city of Mariupol despite Russian President Vladimir Putins claim of victory in the battle for the city in Ukraines industrial heartland, home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Putin on Thursday ordered his troops not to storm a giant Mariupol steel mill where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainians remain holed up but to seal it off in an apparent bid to free up his troops for the broader campaign in the east. Kirby said it was unclear why Putin did that and Putins words need to be viewed with skepticism. They made this big show yesterday of him saying he wasnt gonna go into that plant and try to eradicate the people that are there, Kirby told CNN on Friday. I think we have to watch and see what the Russians actually do here. What we would tell you this morning is that we still assess that Mariupol is contested, that it hasnt been taken by the Russians and that theres still an active Ukrainian resistance. So they continue to fight for that city. SEOUL, South Korea South Koreas Foreign Ministry says its trying to confirm intelligence that a South Korean citizen who had come to Ukraine as a volunteer fighter to defend the country against the Russian attack has been killed. The ministry said Friday it received the information from an unspecified foreign government but didnt immediately provide more details. The ministry said there were at least four South Koreans who went into Ukraine without government authorization. It pleaded them to quickly return home as the war escalates with Russias new offensive in eastern Ukraine. COPENHAGEN, Denmark The three Baltic prime ministers want more sanctions against Russia. Latvian Prime Minister - Krisjanis Karins pointed out Friday that it is necessary to lessen Russias ability to finance its war in Ukraine, and this includes sanctions at the European Union level on all Russian banks and all energy resources, including natural gas and oil. His Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte stressed the importance of continuing to put pressure on the Kremlin by strengthening sanctions. Kaja Kallas of Estonia agreed. They spoke after a meeting of the Baltic Council of Ministers, the Baltic News Service said. The parliaments of Latvia and Estonia on Thursday adopted a statement on Russias war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. BERLIN German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is defending his center-left partys record on relations with Russia against criticism following the war in Ukraine. Scholzs Social Democrats have long been proud of the legacy of Cold War rapprochement pursued by former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt. But critics accuse it of having clung too much to close relations with Russia, particularly over recent years. Scholz made clear in an interview with weekly Der Spiegel published Friday that he sees no need for the party to chew over its stance, and said that it doesnt have to accept the criticism. He argued that its policies of detente set the ground for overcoming Europes Cold War-era division, and said it always backed a strong German military and integration with the West. Scholz decried what he called distorting and defamatory portrayals of the Social Democrats policies toward Europe and Russia going back to West Germanys early post-World War II years. He did not, however, mention ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeders ties with the Russian energy industry, which Scholz has urged Schroeder to end. KYIV, Ukraine A top Ukrainian official says no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations will be open in Ukraine on Friday because it is unsafe. In a post on the messaging app Telegram, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk asked people awaiting evacuation from war zones to be patient and hang in there. Vereshchuk said Russian forces offered to open a corridor for military surrender but not for an estimated 1,000 civilians sheltering at a steel mill that is the last Ukrainian stronghold in besieged southern city of Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said Moscow was ready at any moment to introduce a regime of silence for both the troops and civilians at Azovstal. But Ukrainian troops must raise white flags in determined areas around the plant before evacuations can begin, the ministry said. LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. is looking at sending tanks to Poland to replace the Soviet-era T-72 tanks the Poles are shipping to Ukraine. Johnson made the comments Friday during a news conference in New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think perhaps what I havent said publicly before is were also looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians, Johnson said. So were looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they sending some of their T-72s to Ukraine. LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the U.K. plans to reopen its embassy in Ukraines capital next week. Johnson announced the planned action on Friday during a trip to India. Diplomats from other European nations have returned to Kyiv since Russian troops withdrew from the capital region to focus on eastern Ukraine. Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv this month to show solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the time, the prime minister detailed a new package of financial and military aid, and Zelenskyy said the U.K. had pledged to help rebuild the city after the war. BERLIN The U.N. human rights chief says that international humanitarian law appears to have been tossed aside in Russias war in Ukraine. The Geneva-based human rights office said in a statement Friday that Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure actions that may amount to war crimes. The office said its mission in Ukraine so far has verified 5,264 civilian casualties, including 2,345 deaths, since the war began on Feb. 24. It said that 92.3% of those were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet added that the actual numbers are going to be much higher as the horrors inflicted in these areas of intense fighting such as Mariupol come to light. She said that over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside. PRAGUE The Russian embassy in the Czech capital has a new address after Prague authorities renamed a section of the street where it is located. Fridays official ceremony comes after the decision to change the name to Ukrainian Heroes was approved by the City Hall at the request of the Prague 6 district where the embassy is located. Pragues mayor Zdenek Hrib unveiled the new street sign in the presence of Ukrainian ambassador to Prague, Yevhen Perebyinis, and the ambassadors of several European Union countries. Hrib previously said the move honors the unbelievable bravery of Ukrainian fighters. Neither the Russian government nor the embassy made any immediate comment on the modification. Two years ago, Prague renamed a square in front of the Russian Embassy after Boris Nemtsov, honoring the slain Russian opposition leader. That modification prompted the embassy to change its address, using the name of the street that has now been renamed. Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr for allegedly spreading false information" about the countrys armed forces, his lawyer said Friday. Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading false information about its military shortly after its troops rolled into Ukraine in late February, in an attempt to control the narrative around the invasion. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Human rights advocates have counted 32 cases under the new law by late April, targeting those critical of the invasion. Kara-Murza was detained earlier this month and jailed for 15 days for disobeying a police officer. Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov says Kara-Murza was due to appear in court Friday. Kara-Murza was hospitalized with poisoning symptoms twice, in 2015 and 2017. He is a a journalist and associate of late Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky. MOSCOW A Russian military official says a second phase of the operation in Ukraine has begun with an aim to establish full control over the eastern industrial heartland of Donbas and southern Ukraine. Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of Russias Central Military District, on Friday told a defense industry event that the second phase started just two days ago." Minnekayev says control over eastern and southern Ukraine will provide a land corridor to Crimea, as well as influence (over) the vital objects of the Ukrainian economy. Russia had previously said it had full control over Ukraines southern region of Kherson on the coast of the Azov Sea and partial control over the neighboring southern region of Zaporizhzhia. NEW DELHI India and Britain have urged Russia to declare an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced steps to help move New Delhi away from its dependence on Russia by expanding economic and defense ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told reporters their meeting Friday focused on the situation in Ukraine, underscoring the importance of diplomacy and dialogue. While India has condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine, it has so far not criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin. India abstained when the U.N. General Assembly voted this month to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. A British High Commission statement said Britain is offering next-generation defense and security collaboration. Johnson said he and Modi also discussed new cooperation on clean and renewable energy. India receives relatively little of its oil from Russia, but ramped up purchases recently because of discounted prices. India is a major buyer of Russian weapons, and recently purchased advanced Russian air defense systems. BELGRADE, Serbia The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, has called for unconditional peace in Ukraine in an Easter message. Porfirije on Friday said that any war, anywhere and at any time produces only losers, and is a defeat of human dignity, defeat and shame of every man as an image of God. Some Orthodox Christian churches, including the Serbian and the Russian ones, celebrate Easter this weekend. The Serbian and Russian churches share close historic links. Serbia remains the only country in Europe that has not joined sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. The Balkan nation is formally seeking European Union entry but it has maintained close relations with traditional Slavic ally Russia. Porfirije says he prays for the unconditional peace, end to suffering and for all the refugees to return to their homes. STOCKHOLM Sweden is helping Ukraine to rebuild a secure electricity supply by sending equipment to repair electricity networks destroyed during the war. Swedish Energy Minister Khashayar Farmanbar said a secure electricity supply is necessary to maintain socially important activities in Ukraine. Svenska kraftnat, the authority responsible for Swedens electricity transmission system, received a request from Ukraine via the European Network of Transmission System Operators to contribute equipment for repairing electricity networks. The equipment to Ukraine will be taken from Swedens emergency stock that exists for the repair of electricity networks and wont affect the Swedish emergency preparedness request, the energy ministry said in the statement Thursday. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Boston urged people to start wearing masks Thursday and the Biden administration weighed its next legal step in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes court fight over the abrupt end of the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. The Boston Public Health Commission noted a rise in hospitalizations, as well as a 65% increase in cases and an even larger spike in COVID-19 levels in local wastewater samples. It also stressed that the guidance was merely a recommendation, not an order. The country is wrestling with how to deal with the next phase of the pandemic and find the right balance in enacting health measures at a time when many Americans are ready to move on after two exhausting years. A federal judge in Florida this week threw out a national mask mandate on mass transportation, and airlines and airports responded swiftly Monday by repealing their requirements that passengers wear face coverings. That put the Biden administration in the position of trying to navigate an appeal that could have sweeping ramifications over the power that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has in regulating future health emergencies. Los Angeles County bucked national trends and said Thursday it will still require masks on public transit including trains, subways, buses, taxis and rideshares. Cases have risen in the past week and hospitalizations have plateaued after falling the previous two months. Philadelphia last week became the first big city to bring back a mask mandate, responding to a rise and infections and hospitalizations there, but the city abruptly reversed course Thursday night and ended the mandate. Other cities in the Northeast have been closely watching the trend lines and a new color-coded map from the CDC to decide next steps. The map that the CDC switched to in late February is less focused on positive test results and more on whats happening at hospitals to give community leaders clearer guidelines on when to urge masking. Nearly 95% of U.S. counties still have low transmission based on the map, but more places have shifted to medium and high transmission in recent weeks, including many places in upstate New York. Hospitalizations nationally have ticked up in recent weeks but are nowhere near the peak reached at the height of the omicron surge. COVID-19 cases have increased rapidly citywide, so we need people to be vigilant and take precautions that can help us avoid another potential surge, said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the Boston commissions executive director. Living with COVID-19 is about collective responsibility and working together. She said people in Boston should mask indoors, stay up to date with their vaccinations and test for suspected infections. The Boston recommendation came two days after the city's transit system lifted mask requirements in response to the national transportation ruling, reflecting the mishmash of reactions following the court decision by an appointee of former President Donald Trump. As the Biden administration figures out an appeal, Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, said a monumental battle" was shaping up, with the future of the CDC at stake. The agency continues to recommend that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings. The question the courts are going to have to decide, and the public will have to decide, is when the next health crisis hits and it will will we have a strong public health agency to protect the population? he said. Or will the CDC simply have its hands tied behind its back? I think its a very really possibility were going to see the CDC handcuffed. While the Supreme Court did strike down the agencys eviction moratorium for housing, that was more at the edge of the agencys authority. Setting rules for mask wearing on public transit is a basic, core tenant of the CDCs power, Gostin said. If someone gets on a flight from New York to LA, theres no state stopping them. The only thing preventing that transmission is the CDC, Gostin said. Temple University Law Professor Scott Burris echoed that sentiment, saying that the U.S. government's legal authority to respond sensibly to epidemics and other kinds of emergencies is at stake in the case. Burris said the ability to manage future health emergencies must have weighed heavily in the reasoning of the Justice Department to appeal the ruling, but lets not forget were going into another surge and there is the potential for new variants. An appeal would go to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered a right-leaning court, and conservative justices have a majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling could take away the CDCs power to issue mask orders and cast any future orders under a legal cloud, he said. Temple Laws Craig Green said the federal governments strategy is really almost brilliant because it could win in two ways with its appeal. If COVID-19 cases numbers continue to fall, Justice Department attorneys could argue that the issue is moot and ask to have the case thrown out. No one will have reason to cite it ever in the future as a precedent, he said. But he said that if cases rise, the federal government would be better positioned to reimpose a mask mandate. I think the arguments about what a government can do, what the federal level can do under conditions of emergency were very difficult and problematic, he said. I can understand why the Department of Justice and the United States government really did not want to see that kind of limit on their authority in the future, even if COVID ends up being more controlled in the future. Amid the court battle, American, United and Delta have all indicated that they will lift the bans they imposed on passengers who refused to wear masks now that masks are optional on flights. We have talked to them individually, United CEO Scott Kirby told NBC on Thursday. Many of them assure us that now that the mask mandate is off, everything is going to be fine, and I trust that the vast majority of them will. Many passengers were shrugging off the changes. When Jon Schaudies flies from Chicago to San Antonio next week, he'll wear a mask, but won't worry if the passenger next to him doesn't do the same. Schaudies, who travels frequently as vice president of a small manufacturing company, feels that he has enough protection from the COVID-19 vaccine and booster to avoid becoming seriously ill if he does contract it. I feel like people are at such extremes, but Im sort of right down the middle," said Schaudies, 51, who plans to get a second booster shot. He understands the worries of parents traveling with children who are too young to be vaccinated, but says they have decision to make about whether to fly. But for business travelers, we can't stop." The world has to go on at some point. Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Whitehurst from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson contributed from Seattle. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will return to the House chamber Sunday to deliver his annual State of the State address in front of lawmakers at the Capitol for the first time since the COVID-19 began. The Democratic governor's address will be the last of his first term before facing a stiff challenge from Republicans in the November election. He's expected to use the address to thank a whole lot of Minnesotans for braving the worst of the pandemic before highlighting his budget plans and calling for compromise in the divided Legislature to end the session. In 2020, Walz taped a shortened version of his annual address from the governor's mansion in St. Paul. He delivered the 2021 address from a classroom at Mankato West High School, where he was a teacher before being elected to the U.S House. The governor is expected to highlight his proposed supplemental budget plan, which includes direct payments, dubbed Walz checks, of $500 to single filers and $1,000 to joint filers. His proposal also includes a $2.7 billion infrastructure package, in addition to tax, education and public safety spending. The address comes as lawmakers head into the home stretch of the legislative session, where they must figure out how to use the state's $9.25 billion budget surplus and more than $1 billion in federal pandemic funds. The divided chambers remain far apart on spending and policy items weeks before the May 23 adjournment. The GOP-controlled Senate is pushing for permanent income tax cuts, while House Democrats are seeking targeted tax credits and increases in spending. Legislative leaders also remain deadlocked on whether to replenish the state's unemployment insurance trust fund and pay back the federal government for jobless aid during the pandemic, causing an automatic tax increase on employers statewide after lawmakers missed a March 15 deadline. Senate Republicans want to use $2.7 billion to refill the trust fund. But House Democrats have tied that to a $1 billion proposal for $1,500 checks to front-line workers who braved the pandemic, up from $250 million agreed to by both sides last year that wasn't doled out. Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, told reporters Thursday that legislative leaders expect to resume negotiations Monday. Shes optimistic they can reach a deal by April 30, which is tax payments are due for employers. Walz has criticized the Legislature for not yet reaching an agreement and said he will provide a path forward during his address. Im going to call for us to get that done, Walz told reporters Wednesday. Because the deadline is truly upon us, and its simply fiscally irresponsible not to deal with it. A spokeswoman for Senate Republicans did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Ive always believed you can learn so much from your mistakes and gain more from your losses than your wins. My experience competing in the Mrs. Nebraska for America Pageant in Lincoln on April 2 was proof of that. I didnt expect to cry when I didnt make the top three, but I couldnt help it. My name wasnt called and I was overwhelmed with emotion. I practiced hard and put so much time and effort into this pageant. My friends and family were there watching me, too. The tears just kept flowing and I couldnt stop them. My husband, Donnie, and my 10-year-old daughter, Dahlia, came to the backstage area to give me hugs and kisses, and tell me how proud they were. They told me I would forever be their queen. The irony of all this is that I never in a million years thought I would be standing on a pageant stage, donning a blinged-out red evening gown. I never saw myself as the pageant-type because I honestly just didnt believe I was good enough. I remember watching pageants on TV as a young girl thinking, That could never be me. My confidence started to improve in high school. I was more girly and not so much of a tomboy. I cared about what I was wearing and how my hair looked. I earned a spot on the cheerleading team my sophomore year and thats when I realized I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. But my life was turned upside down on July 4, 2002, when my mother my biggest supporter was killed in a tragic boating accident on the Missouri River. It was just a month after I graduated from Omaha Bryan High School. While all of my friends were heading to college, I turned to drugs and the streets to mask my emotions. I didnt know how to cope with the loss of my mother. I was heartbroken. All I wanted to do was hide hide from the pain, hide from reality and hide from my life. I was a homeless drug addict with nowhere to go for roughly two years. It took the support of family, friends, even some strangers and my faith in God to save my life and help me get clean. Those two years after my mom died sucked everything out of me. My self-worth and my confidence was shattered. Even though I struggled with the idea of getting on stage because of my past, being a part of the Mrs. Nebraska for America pageant helped me to feel empowered again. It showed me that even after heartbreak, bad choices and grief, I could still pick myself up, hold my head high and go after my goals. Competing in this pageant had been a goal of mine since 2016, when I first attended the pageant to support a friend who was competing. Sitting there watching those women on stage gave me goosebumps and left me in tears. The women I competed with did the same thing to me. They were all so inspiring and I loved learning about their stories and hearing how they are making a difference in our community. Its a sisterhood of strong, supportive women that Ive gained and I am so grateful for that. I definitely didnt walk away empty-handed. I also won the Entourage Award, which is given to the competitor who sells the most tickets to the pageant. I had so many people who love me there to support me, and that made me feel like the real winner. They werent just there to cheer me on in hopes of winning the title. They were cheering me on because of the woman and mother Ive become. Because I didnt give up on my dreams regardless of my past, and Im showing my daughter that anything is possible when you believe in yourself. *** Jacqueline Jo Harris is an Omaha native, wife and mother of one daughter. Shes a top sales account manager for a Fortune 500 Company and is passionate about empowering women through volunteering, fashion and public speaking. Email her at jacquelinejoharris@gmail.com. In 1994, Singapore caned American teenager Michael Fay for vandalism, a day after the sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response Climate advocates and a leading member of Omahas City Council are calling for greater urgency as the city develops a plan to address climate change. City officials in November announced their intention to develop a metro-wide plan to tackle climate change. Nearly six months later, despite ongoing efforts and civic commitments, a finalized plan is still more than a year away. The Mayors Office cited the complexities of developing a plan that is both multi-jurisdictional and regional as a factor in the time needed for its finalization. Still, the timeline puts Omaha years behind hundreds of other U.S. cities with strategies in place for confronting climate change. Of the top 50 most populous cities, 35 have climate action plans. Omaha is one of the 15 that does not, said David Corbin, chairman of the Missouri Valley Sierra Clubs energy committee. City Council President Pete Festersen said a sense of urgency is needed. A resolution introduced by Festersen in November and passed by the Omaha City Council affirmed the citys support for drafting the plan. This needs to be a top priority, Festersen said. Cities need to lead and most already are implementing climate action plans to meet specific goals. I think were already behind, and Im concerned we havent made more progress over the last six months. Omaha has made some progress, and more is expected in the coming month, said Kevin Andersen, a deputy chief of staff with the Mayors Office. The city has tasked Metro Smart Cities, a regional initiative that uses technology to solve transportation problems, with drafting a request for proposals (RFP) and selecting a consultant. The consultant will create the plan, with Metro Smart Cities providing oversight of the process. Metro Smart Cities is on track to finalize the RFP within the next month. Once a consultant is selected, it could take a year or longer to develop the plan, Andersen said. Were trying a pretty innovative approach thats going to be inclusive and incorporates all of our community partners through this process, Andersen said. While its taking a little more time to craft, we think the end results will provide a much greater lift toward the efforts that were trying to achieve with climate action and resiliency planning. Recognizing a need for action is the first big step in creating a climate plan, Corbin said. A climate action plan is about knowing where you are now, where you want to be and how you will get there, Corbin said. As the U.S. chamber of commerce says, inaction to climate change is not an option. Lincoln finalized its climate action plan in 2021. On Thursday, Lincoln, Lancaster County and education leaders also announced an initiative to create a Climate-Smart Collaborative, a local interagency approach to achieve shared resiliency and sustainability goals across the community, according to a press release. As its drafted, Omahas plan will incorporate efforts already underway in the area, Andersen said. That includes a significant initiative by the Omaha Public Power District, which spent two years developing a decarbonization plan with a goal of net-zero carbon production by 2050. Creighton University is also undertaking a significant revision to the climate plan it developed in 2013. Creightons new plan, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible, is due out this month. (This process) really provides us an opportunity to build off the efforts of our community partners, and once again provide that greatest lift of what the citys goals can be and what, as a community, our goal can be to help our partners achieve their climate-related plans, Andersen said. Funding to draft the plan will likely come from a mix of public and private dollars, a fundraising effort that will also be supported by Metro Smart Cities. Metro Smart Cities members include Council Bluffs, Bellevue, the Omaha Public Power District, the Metropolitan Utilities District, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency. Communities that are not part of the coalition are invited to participate in the plan. The city also anticipates a robust public participation process, Andersen said. Nebraska and the Omaha metro area have experienced a range of weather-related disasters in recent years. A deep freeze in February 2021 led to rolling blackouts, and historic flooding in 2019 wreaked havoc on towns and cities across the state. Last summer, a windstorm as powerful as any known to have struck Omaha knocked out power to 188,000 utility customers and ravaged trees throughout the area. Just a month later, torrential rains caused flash flooding that overwhelmed the citys sewers in places. As Omaha gets started on its climate plan, Corbin said that severe weather events should be considered in every part of the citys planning. The Greater Omaha Chamber last month released an ambitious strategic plan that outlines massive infrastructure projects and looks to bring 30,000 residents into the urban core. And earlier this month, the City Council approved a plan that calls for roughly 1,000 new units of affordable and workforce housing to be built in the citys urban core during the next 20 years. Any time you plan buildings and infrastructure, youre committing to many years in the future, Corbin said. If you dont do well in terms of sustainable structures, energy efficient buildings, renewable energy, then youve committed us to years and years of contributing even more to the problem. A climate action plan could also help to draw younger people to the metro area, Corbin said. Festersen and Andersen agree. Andersen told The World-Herald in November that some of the impetus for the plan comes from Omahas desire to remain competitive in attracting new employers and talented workers. Throughout his time as an elected official, Festersen said, the topic of climate change has been a top issue for young people in Omaha. In addition to doing our part to fight climate change, this is also about keeping our young people, Festersen said. Young professionals want to live somewhere were protecting the environment. 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. Ukraine: Russians shift elite units to the new battleground KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian authorities say Russia has shifted a dozen crack units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and is pounding away at cities across the region. The two sides are hurtling toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Russian state TV showed the flag of Moscow-based Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was Mariupols highest point, the citys TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at the citys besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. Russia reported one serviceman was killed and 27 were missing after last week's fire on the warship Moskva that sank. McCarthy, Trump have 'positive' call despite Jan. 6 audio WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had a positive call with Donald Trump, despite the release of an audio recording critical of the former president shortly after the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. That's according to two people familiar with the call and granted anonymity to discuss it. McCarthy is shoring up support from Republicans after The New York Times posted audio of a Jan. 10, 2021, conversation in which McCarthy told GOP leaders he'd urge Trump to resign. Trump says he has had "a very good relationship" with McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker if Republicans win control in the falls election. Climate progress remains elusive for Biden on Earth Day SEATTLE (AP) President Joe Biden spent Earth Day in Seattle, where he signed an executive order intended to help restore national forests that have been devastated by wildfires, drought and blight. The visit was intended to reassert his environmental credentials when he's been more focused on lowering gas prices that have risen during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, Biden's more ambitious climate change proposals remain stalled in Congress, casting doubt on the country's ability to hit his targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He expressed frustration with Republicans and some Democrats for preventing progress and challenged them to get legislation to his desk. Disney government dissolution bill signed by DeSantis TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill dissolving Walt Disney Worlds private government, after the entertainment giant criticized a measure that critics have dubbed the Dont Say Gay law. DeSantis signed the bill on Friday. It would eliminate the 55-year-old Reedy Creek Improvement District and a handful of other similar districts by June of next year. The measure does allow for the districts to be reestablished, leaving an avenue to renegotiate its future. The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have transformed Orlando into one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations. Sharpton demands name of officer who killed Patrick Lyoya GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton is demanding that authorities release the name of the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle. Sharpton spoke Friday at Lyoya's funeral and renewed the call for transparency made by Lyoya's family. He said, We want his name! and said authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people unless the officer is charged. The Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids was filled to its capacity of 1,000 for the funeral. Looking to deepen pain for Putin, West studying oil and gas WASHINGTON (AP) The United States unleashed some of its toughest actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin right after he rolled his troops into Ukraine. Polls in the U.S. find support for doing more. So what options are left to step up the pressure? Many experts say the mightiest trigger the West can pull on Russia is the one on a gas pump nozzle. Oil and gas account for 40% of the Russian government's revenue and are financing the war in Ukraine. Current and former U.S. officials say cutting the flow of oil and gas revenue to Russia is a prime topic now. But that would mean even more pain at the pump for consumers. Voting groups sue over Florida congressional map TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Voting rights groups have sued Florida over a congressional map drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature. The opponents say the map will diminish the states Black representation and benefit Republicans. Several groups filed the suit in a state court in the capital of Tallahassee on Friday, including The League of Women Voters of Florida and the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. The suit alleges the new map violates provisions of the Florida Constitution that prohibit districts from diluting the electoral power of minorities and from being drawn to benefit one political party over another. Florida lawmakers approved the map Thursday. Marjorie Taylor Greene hostile in testimony over eligibility ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year. She also on Friday accused an opposing lawyer of speculating and twisting her words. Voters in Greene's district have said the Republican helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, making her ineligible for reelection under a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment. Greene has denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her is itself unconstitutional. The Edsel, Quibi and CNN+? New addition to business failures NEW YORK (AP) Epic business failures the Edsel, Quibi, New Coke have some new company. CNN's parent company ordered the CNN+ streaming service shut down before it had even completed a month of operation. It's a spectacular failure, with the idea of a paid streaming service for news questionable and unproven to begin with, and it was also a victim of a corporate leadership change. The service started last month only weeks before a new leadership team at Warner Bros. Discovery took over, one that had nothing to do with the idea's development and quickly made clear they thought it was wrong-headed. Heat-Hawks delayed by suspicious package outside arena ATLANTA (AP) The NBA playoff game between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks was delayed Friday night after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena. The tipoff was pushed back nearly an hour while police investigated the package. Three gates were closed while security personnel made sure there was no danger. The package was found near the stairwell that provides access to a MARTA subway station at the arena. The game finally began shortly before 8 p.m. EDT, but many fans in the sellout crowd were still in long lines outside the arena, plodding through security checkpoints that are in place for all games. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year and accusing an opposing lawyer of using chopped videos and twisting her words. But Greene who, the day before the Capitol riot, proclaimed on TV that this is "our 1776 moment testified that she's never endorsed violence. Greene is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgias May 24 primary and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The administrative law judge who oversaw the hearing must present his findings to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then make the ultimate determination over whether Greene is qualified. Greene has repeatedly denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is itself unconstitutional. But Ron Fein, a lawyer for the voters who filed the challenge, said Greene took an oath and then broke it by engaging in an insurrection. While Greene wasnt on the steps of the Capitol, she nevertheless played an important role in stoking Republican fury ahead of the attack, Fein said. Unlike the Civil War and other insurrections that involved military uniforms and tactics, he said, The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. Andrew Celli, a lawyer for the voters, questioned Greene about posts on her social media accounts. She repeatedly responded, I don't recall," or I don't remember. When asked about the fact that her Facebook account had, in 2019, liked a post calling for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be shot in the head, Greene said she had no memory of that and said someone else could have been responsible. Whenever Celli suggested that she'd endorsed the use of violence to interrupt the certification of the electoral votes, Greene asserted she doesn't support violence and was encouraging peaceful protest. Celli played a clip of an interview Greene did Jan. 5, 2021, in which she said this is our 1776 moment. When Celli asked if she was aware some Trump supporters used that reference as a call to violence, Greene said that wasn't her intention and that she was talking about her plans to object to the certification of electoral votes. I was talking about the courage to object, she said. Celli appeared to grow frustrated at times when she didnt directly answer his questions and accused him of was speculating. Ms. Greene, Im just asking questions, he said. Im just answering, she responded. Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot sometimes seemed exasperated by repeated rephrasing of questions and at times told Celli to move on. He also repeatedly admonished Greene supporters for clapping or cheering during the proceedings. James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, said his client did not engage in the attack on the Capitol, and the challengers are making a very serious charge with significant ramifications. They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th District of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot, he said. At the time of the riot, Greene was in a dark hallway at the Capitol urging people via social media to be safe and remain calm, he said. Rep. Greene was a victim of this attack, Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger. Bopp said that Greene was engaging in protected political speech. He also argued that the administrative hearing process is meant to address basic qualification questions, not to evaluate major constitutional and federal claims. Dozens of Greene supporters attended the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and staunch Greene ally. The challenge to Greene's eligibility to run for reelection was filed by five voters who live in her district, and the procedure for such a challenge is outlined in Georgia law. The law says any voter who's eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge that candidate's qualifications by filing a written complaint. The secretary of state then has to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Beaudrot asked both sides to submit briefs by midnight Thursday, and said he would try to make a decision within a week after that. Once he submits findings, Raffensperger will be tasked with deciding the eligibility of Greene, a Trump loyalist, as he faces a tough primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed candidate. Raffensperger attracted Trumps wrath shortly after the 2020 election when he refused to take steps to overturn Trumps narrow loss in the state. The 14th Amendment says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it aimed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta on Monday declined a request from Greene to halt the challenge process. Greene is appealing that ruling. The Georgia complaint was filed on the voters' behalf by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group. The group filed similar challenges on behalf of voters in Arizona, where a judge on Friday ruled to keep three Republicans on the ballot, and in North Carolina against Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally that preceded the riot. A federal judge last month blocked the challenge against Cawthorn, writing that laws approved by Congress in 1872 and 1898 mean the 14th Amendment section cant apply to current House members. Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed reporting. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. More than $1.1 million has been raised in the early months of the race for Nebraskas 1st Congressional District. Republican Mike Flood, who for the first few months of his primary campaign was battling an incumbent, has outraised and outspent his likely Democratic opponent Patty Pansing Brooks. Through March 31, Flood raised $652,815 and spent $522,754, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Flood also loaned his campaign $65,000. Pansing Brooks raised $480,430 and spent $212,652. Pansing Brooks had an edge in cash on hand with $267,778 to $195,061 for Flood. Randall Adkins, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said Nebraskans can expect to see significant spending in the months ahead, not just by the candidates but also by outside groups. Were entering a new era of congressional campaign finance in the 1st District because we have a competitive race for the first time since (Jeff) Fortenberry was (first) elected, he said. We really dont know how much money can be raised in that district. Fortenberry, a Republican, was first elected in 2004 and was expected to win another term this year until a federal indictment cast a cloud over him and sent shock waves through the Nebraska political establishment. Fortenberry resigned in March after being found guilty of concealing illegal campaign contributions and lying to federal agents. Until Fortenberry resigned, he and Flood were in a battle for the Republican nomination. Flood, of Norfolk, and Pansing Brooks, of Lincoln, both said they were grateful for the support. I feel really honored, Pansing Brooks said. Im grateful people understand Ill provide something different from whats always been the case. Said Flood: I am beyond grateful to the Nebraskans who have donated to my campaign getting us to a historic quarter fundraising total. I will continue to work hard to ensure this district has conservative leadership in Congress. This was the last campaign finance report before the May primary and a June special election. The latter is to fill out the remainder of Fortenberrys current term. Both state senators, Flood and Pansing Brooks are seen as the leading candidates in the May 10 primary. Three other people are running on the Republican side and one other person is running on the Democratic ticket. The winner of each partys primary will advance to the November election to determine who will serve the two-year congressional term that starts in January. Floods campaign report reflects his significant support from Nebraska business, Republican and industry leaders. Floods list of donors includes numerous four-figure donations from the likes of Peter Kiewit Sons Inc. CEO Bruce Grewcock, Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz, Noddle Co. CEO Jay Noddle and HDR CEO Eric Keen, among others. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts who endorsed Flood in the race even before Fortenberry abandoned his campaign also donated. Flood received four contributions from political action committees (PACs) during the cycle, including a $5,000 contribution from the Washington, D.C.-based Associated Builders & Contractors Inc. PAC and a $2,500 contribution from Energy Marketers of America, a PAC based in Arlington, Virginia. He spent $458,102 with Ax Media, a business that specializes in media buys and is connected to the consulting firm Axiom Strategies. Pansing Brooks took note of the small-dollar contributions she has received: 4,340 donations have averaged $125. Thats grass-roots, thats people getting behind the campaign and getting excited, she said. According to the campaign report, Pansing Brooks also received a sizable amount of money via ActBlue, a political action committee that, according to its website, serves as an online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates. As of March 31, Pansing Brooks campaign had received nearly $197,309 via ActBlue during the election cycle. ActBlue contacted The World-Herald to state it does not fundraise on behalf of specific candidates, but rather acts as a platform for donors who want to give to a specific candidate, campaign or organization. Much of Pansing Brooks expenditures appear to be for staff and consulting. She paid $67,671 during the cycle to BCom Solutions, a digital marketing agency based in Lincoln. Also on Thursday, Democrat Ben Nelson, a former Nebraska governor and senator, endorsed Pansing Brooks, saying that she has demonstrated a strong work ethic and an ability to work across the aisle to get legislation passed. She is the type of leader who knows how to get things done, he said. Nebraskas 1st District encompasses Madison, Stanton, Cuming, Platte, Colfax, Dodge, Butler, Seward, Lancaster and Cass Counties, along with parts of Sarpy County (including La Vista and the bulk of Papillion) and northeastern Polk County. Update: This story has been updated with additional information from ActBlue. 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. Nancy Gaarder Follow Nancy Gaarder 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 (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) (THE CONVERSATION) Human rights activists and international leaders first warned in April 2020 that countries could use the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to crack down on human rights. Human rights refers to a wide range of political and social rights recognized by international law. It includes everything from peoples right to work and receive an education to peoples right to freely express their opinions and participate in politics. Human rights scholars and I show in new research that human rights violations ultimately happened in 2020. Each of the 39 countries we analyzed including Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States saw an overall decrease in human rights in 2020. There is new evidence that some countries continue to use the pandemic as a reason to restrict human rights by muzzling dissent, and specifically by limiting peoples rights to gather or demonstrate with others. Our analysis of human rights in 2020 offers a window into the start of this downward trend. No overall improvement More than two years after the World Health Organization first declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, some human rights analyses show a continued regression of human rights. Declarations of emergency, for example, gave police significant power to crack down on political protests. Cambodia passed a law in April 2021, for example, in response to COVID-19 that grants the government authority to prevent any gatherings or protests. Violators can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Hundreds of individuals were arrested for violating this law in 2021. In March 2022, Thailand again extended a state of emergency, originally established in April 2020, through May, giving authorities broad power to set public curfews and restrict meetings. Thai authorities charged at least 900 anti-government protesters under this emergency decree between May 2020 and Aug. 31, 2021. 2020 findings The Human Rights Measurement Initiative, a research group headquartered in New Zealand, and other human rights monitoring organizations are still collecting comprehensive global data for 2021 and 2022. The initiative last reported on human rights data in June 2021, informing our research. But there are other sources of evidence that the pandemics damage to human rights will not quickly lift, even as COVID-19 cases decline globally. Some positive changes during the pandemic, like addressing homelessness more seriously, were swamped by the many more negative impacts of government responses to COVID-19, according to the Human Rights Measurement Initiative. This group produces human rights data because governments themselves are often unwilling to share accurate information about human rights violations. The Human Rights Measurement Initiatives findings are widely used by scholars, nonprofits and journalists. The United States and Hong Kong serve as two examples of places where the pandemic led to a decline in respect for human rights. The United States The United States is one of many countries that scored worse on human rights in 2020 than in 2019, according to the initiatives 2021 survey. In the U.S. in 2020, public health restrictions, like limits on public gatherings, also led to human rights abuses and the use of excessive force by police, survey respondents said. The reason people were protesting appeared to have influenced whether police targeted and arrested demonstrators, survey respondents reported. People protesting social justice issues, like racial justice and gun violence, were especially likely to be arrested. People arrested for alleged infractions during lawful demonstrations during the pandemic were also put at risk of contracting COVID-19 because of cramped detention spaces where people could not socially distance. Hong Kong China passed new security laws in Hong Kong in June 2020, allowing it to crack down on opposition speech and arrest journalists and pro-democracy activists. Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong a special administrative region of China intensified in 2020. In 2021, the democracy movement in Hong Kong broke down with the arrest of more than 100 pro-democracy leaders. The Chinese government and police reportedly enforced pandemic regulations unevenly in 2020, according to the Human Rights Measurement Initiative pro-democracy and government opposition protesters were more likely to experience restrictions. Survey respondents in Hong Kong said they believe the government used the pandemic as a cover for restricting rights for other reasons. Officials in Hong Kong delayed general elections set for July 2020 by five months, citing COVID-19 concerns. In February 2022, Hong Kong again postponed elections of its next political leader allegedly because of a COVID-19 surge. Lasting trends The pandemic has prompted growing awareness of structural inequalities based on wealth, ethnicity, gender and race, giving some reasons for hope. In many places, governments are lifting COVID-19 restrictions, which could allow more individuals to return to work and school and gather or travel more freely. Human rights continue to decline in most countries, though, according to the global alliance CIVICUS. The pandemic also continues to draw public attention away from some human rights violations that are happening in ongoing wars, as in Yemen and Ethiopia. Our analysis indicates that countries that had more human rights protections in place before the pandemic saw, on average, smaller decreases in rights violations in 2020 than countries that did not have as many protections. We believe adopting policies and practices that protect human rights during calmer times appears to help countries weather the storm during crises like a global health pandemic. [More than 150,000 readers get one of The Conversations informative newsletters. Join the list today.] This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/human-rights-declined-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-countries-from-angola-to-the-us-to-new-zealand-179543. Licenced as Creative Commons - attribution, no derivatives. 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 BLOOMINGTON Lawyers for a Bloomington man seeking exoneration from his 1999 murder conviction argue that an upcoming hearing should consider all of his innocence claims rather than the one that prosecutors conceded to earlier this month. Barton McNeil, 63, is serving a 100-year prison sentence on murder charges in the 1998 death of his 3-year-old daughter, Christina McNeil. His lawyers, from the Exoneration Project and the Illinois Innocence Project, filed a petition for post-conviction relief in February 2021 on grounds that newly-discovered evidence would likely have led to his acquittal at trial. McNeil has consistently said that his ex-girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, is responsible for his daughters death. He said the two broke off their relationship earlier that same night, June 15, 1998, and witnesses reported the two having an argument in public. In an interview Friday with The Pantagraph, McNeil said he is more confident now in a judge ruling in his favor after hearing his lawyers' response Thursday. McNeil called the response "impeccable," as he heard his cousin read the court filing to him over a phone call Thursday at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center. McLean County Assistant States Attorney Mary Koll previously argued that McNeil's petition should be tossed in part. Prosecutors agreed to an evidentiary hearing on two affidavits backing McNeils argument that Nowlin confessed to the murder to her then-husband, Don Wang. An evidentiary hearing is within the final stages of a post-conviction relief process and it allows testimony, affidavit and deposition evidence. But prosecutors said in their April 1 filing that the majority of McNeils petition should be dismissed. That includes touch DNA evidence showing Nowlins presence at the murder scene, advances in science that refute stomach content analysis as a reliable measurement of time of death, and advances in the science of child abuse pediatrics to confirm that there is no evidence whatsoever that Christina was sexually abused, the initial petition said. To borrow a phrase that was used in my trial by prosecutors when they were rendering my wrongful conviction, 'Its all about the totality of evidence,'" McNeil said, adding that he is hopeful for a court ruling in his favor. His lawyers also accused Nowlin's involvement in the murder in Thursday's filing. Further, to the extent that Christinas death was a homicide, the newly-discovered evidence indicates that another individual not Barton McNeil was responsible, McNeils lawyers wrote. This individual confessed to the murder, left her hair and DNA at the scene, behaved suspiciously on the night of Christinas death, lied to police and the trial court, and was subsequently convicted of a separate, eerily similar murder. Nowlin was convicted and is serving a 55-year prison sentence in the 2011 strangulation death of her 70-year-old mother-in-law, Linda Tyda. Court filings also have shown that McNeil had laundered his bed sheets earlier on the same day of Christinas death, according to a credit card statement showing a laundromat receipt. However, Nowlins DNA was then found on the sheets during the investigation. "The bank statement showed not only that I had picked up my laundry that day from the laundromat, but that I had done so about 10 days earlier, so this wasn't an unusual event for me to pick up my laundry," McNeil said, contesting that Nowlin's touch DNA would survive the cleaning. He also said the forensic examiner for the Illinois State Police crime lab noted in her report that the sheets smelled clean. McNeil argues that the new evidence, in addition to the initial evidence, is "incontestable." "Here you have a murder victim and two feet away you have an open bedroom window, ground floor, window fan is now on the floor. The window is teeming with intruder evidence and you have Misook's DNA," McNeil said. "I didn't need any of this stuff to tell me that Misook was behind Christina's murder because I knew it from day one." McNeils lawyers are John Hanlon, Stephanie Kamel and Leanne Beyer, of the Illinois Innocence Project, and Karl Leonard and Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, of the Exoneration Project. The court should have the opportunity to consider all of the evidence, not just some of it, McNeils lawyers wrote. The court should not be called upon to ignore evidence, as the state requests. McNeil is expected to be brought to court from the Pinckneyville Correctional Center May 12 for a hearing on the states motion to dismiss his petition for post-conviction relief. Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BLOOMINGTON Strong local, state and national education unions are central to combating misinformation and disinformation about teaching and schools, National Education Association President Becky Pringle told Bloomington-Normal teachers on Thursday. Pringle shared her own experience growing up with a father who taught history. The backlash toward progress is cyclical, she said. It was seeing inequities in her own school while spending more than 30 years as a teacher that led Pringle to get involved with her local union. "I'm saying that to say, this is not new," she said. As part of her "Joy, Justice and Excellence" listening tour, Pringle held a roundtable with local teachers union members Thursday afternoon at Anju Above in Bloomington. The event was followed by a private reception. NEA is the largest union in the country, with more than 3 million members. Its state affiliate, the Illinois Education Association, represents 135,000 education employees in the state, its website said. The Bloomington Education Association, Unit Five Education Association and Unit Five Support Professionals Association are local affiliates of IEA. Two of the teachers who spoke with Pringle on Thursday were BEA President Julie Riley and UFEA President Lindsey Dickinson. They said it has been difficult for teachers to transition back this year, due to the pandemic and animosity some members of the community have expressed towards the education system, and at times toward individual teachers. Teachers' first reactions to this backlash can often be to put aside their work in diversity, equity and inclusion, Bloomington special education teacher Brandon Thornton said. That can leave students wondering where their support has gone. There is still plenty of work to be done to address inequities in education, regardless of added disproportionate impact of the pandemic, Pringle said. "We weren't doing all we needed to do for all students before the pandemic," she said. The teachers said they appreciate knowing that their local, state and national unions can help them. The teachers were also worried about the number of their colleagues who are considering leaving the profession. Mentorship programs, which exist at the state level, seem to help, Riley said. IEA has supported the state in expanding a statewide virtual and in-building mentorship program to third-year teachers using American Rescue Plan funds, with the goal of transitioning to permanent state funding, IEA Executive Director Audrey Soglin said. Pringle said she would like to see the idea expanded to the national level. Pipeline programs, which also exist locally, can help with increased recruitment and help students feel more ready to become teachers. There are other employee shortages that are concerning to NEA, Pringle told reporters after the roundtable. That includes support staff, substitutes and bus drivers. "We know that we have to pay substitute teachers more," she said. Other changes that need to happen include making sure all school employees are respected for their role as educators, and increased focus on the emotional well-being of teachers and students, Pringle said. She started and ended her roundtable by thanking the teachers present. "You inspire me in ways you will never know, every day, you make me just so proud to be an educator," Pringle said. Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BLOOMINGTON Seven Bloomington residents living in Ward 1 are being considered to fill a city council vacancy, city officials announced Friday. The vacancy was created by Alderman and Mayor Pro Tem Jamie Mathy, who announced in March he would step down from the council because of a business conflict. The residents under consideration to fill the Ward 1 seat are Tristan Bullington, Sean Fagan, Tim Foley, Jenna Kearns, Kevin Lower, Peggy Wade and Grant Walch. Applications for full consideration for the vacancy were due April 20. During its April 11 meeting, the Bloomington City Council approved Ward 2 Ald. Donna Boelen as mayor pro tem to replace Mathy. Boelen was elected to the council in April 2019 to represent the ward that covers part of southwest Bloomington. Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe has 60 days from Mathys resignation from the council to appoint a replacement to fill his seat. Vacancies are typically filled after the mayor interviews eligible applicants and selects one to recommend to city council. Council members then vote on whether to approve the replacement. Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer. 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. UPDATE: Bloomington police said Mattie Jackson, 31, of Bloomington, was found safe Friday afternoon after she was reported missing earlier in the day. BLOOMINGTON Police are seeking the publics help to find a woman reported missing. Mattie Jackson, 31, of Bloomington, was reported missing Friday. She was last seen at 3 a.m. wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, the Bloomington Police Department said. Jackson is described by police as a white female, 5-foot-6, 200 pounds with hazel eyes and short blonde hair. Police said she may be in Chicago and that she is diagnosed with mental health disorders that may affect her behavior. Anyone with information about Jacksons whereabouts is asked to contact Bloomington police at 309-820-8888. Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NORMAL Professional is a recurring word around local law enforcement leaders when describing Rick Bleichner. I cant say enough great things about Rick. Ive worked with him for over 20 years now. He has a well-deserved reputation as a tireless professional, Illinois State University Police Chief Aaron Woodruff said. The two police departments share a significant portion of central Normal and the two police chiefs have collaborated often over the past 11 years together. Woodruff was named the full-time ISU police chief a month before Bleichner was appointed to lead the Normal Police Department in July 2011. After about 30 and a half years with NPD and the last 11 years as chief, Bleichners last day in his office was Friday. Assistant Police Chief Steve Petrilli will be sworn in Monday afternoon at the Normal Police Department as the agencys 17th police chief. He has been the departments assistant chief since 2015. Nothing lasts forever, Bleichner said. Now, I think the time is right. I think were at a point where next week when we swear in and send five new officers to the police academy, thatll bring us up to full staffing the first time in over a year. The change in leadership reflects a turnover of about one-third of the police departments officers over the past year-plus. Women police officers were the largest drop-off in that one-third decrease. Bleichner said the department lost about half of its female officers within eight months last year, placing the agency below the national average for female officers. He said new hires are pushing the agencys diversity up a tick. NPD was back at the national average for women officers, about 12%, at the start of April. The agency is part of the 30 by 30 initiative, which aims to increase females in law enforcement to 30% of the workforce by 2030. Rebooting that effort, along with the departments large turnover in staff, blossoms a new era and a proper time for a leadership change. There really is an opportunity right now that I can walk in with the lessons learned from having a good mentor over all these years, Petrilli said. And then I can kind of take some of my ideas, some of those learning experiences that Ive had, and continue fostering that culture that we have but also see that opportunity with so many new faces to really build things in a direction that is going to benefit not only the members of the department but the community. The 23-year working relationship between Bleichner and Petrilli remained consistent as the two moved up the ranks of the department. Bleichner served in a supervisory role above Petrilli in about all of those years. Ive had an opportunity to watch him conduct business and thats been very helpful, Petrilli said. I have been exposed to just about every facet of operations, support services, and then those specific duties that the chief handles on a daily basis. Bleichner's professionalism has made impressions across jurisdictions, as well as on other new agency leaders. I have learned the importance of relationships at the local level, which is imperative for successful municipal policing, Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington said of his six months working as Bleichners counterpart across town. Chief Bleichner oftentimes spoke to the value of harmony and goodwill, which in essence, is what law enforcement is all about. McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage said he has sat on several boards with Bleichner over the years and that he was instrumental in a lot of things. I cant say enough about his professionalism, his involvement and his dedication to the job, said Sandage, who also will retire at the end of this year. A nice community Growing up about 70 miles west of Normal in the small town of Yates City, Bleichners presence around police officers during community events developed his admiration for law enforcement. Bleichner also credited his upbringing for the positive words hes received from area law enforcement members. I think part of that really just goes back to a lot of my decisions. I still hearken back to my parents and my upbringing and kind of the morals of doing the right thing, Bleichner said. Sometimes doing the right thing isnt easy and I think Id much rather look at something and think, well, heres why I think its right, heres based on policy, based on my experience, based on what the expectations of the community are. After graduating from Western Illinois University and interning at the Peoria County States Attorneys Office in 1991, Bleichner attended a job fair in Macomb where he spoke to Normal police representatives. I was impressed by the fact that it was a college town, it was a nice community, it was a twin city, it was a nice size, he said. Bleichner was hired as a patrol officer in September 1991 and was eventually promoted to a field training officer and then to detective. He was promoted to sergeant in 1999 and to assistant police chief in 2004. He said the work ethic his parents instilled in him included the ability to work with and listen to people. I think part of it whether its internal or external is trying to identify what the issue is, Bleichner said. And if you can ask the right questions to try and define what the issue is, most of the time, your decision is going to be a lot better. But if the situation does not present itself with much time or If youre in a hurry, he said, Youre probably going to miss the mark. Relationships key to handling crisis One of those situations that has stuck out to Bleichner was in June 2020, following mass protests of George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police. More than 40 people were arrested and charged for involvement in burglary, looting and mob action at several Bloomington-Normal stores, including Target and Walmart in Normal. I was out there with staff and things kind of spun up pretty quickly that evening, Bleichner said. He said police were faced with a lose-lose situation: Businesses were susceptible to damage and loss if police left the area, but he said police would have had to use pretty significant force if they chose to stay in the area. Weighing those two out, I made the choice that we were going to preserve physical safety and sacrifice property, Bleichner said. "...We left, we did try to come back in and clean up things or at least restore some order after we were able to kind of regroup." No injuries resulted from the looting incidents, but he said the department learned from that night and adjusted procedure afterward. The department conducted additional training for similar situations because we realized these things can certainly happen anywhere and they happened here, and so it was an opportunity for us to increase our training, Bleichner said, noting that it also turned into a countywide training initiative. Bleichner said the following nights after the looting incidents were calmer because of the outreach and relationships with community organizations like the Minority and Police Partnership and the NAACP. If youre trying to build those relationships during a crisis, it doesnt work very well, but thankfully we already had those types of relationships in place so that we could reach out, Bleichner said. Continuing to build community relationships remains important for police, he added, pointing to newer programs and partnerships with mental health teams. Theres a lot of things that law enforcement are dealing with now that really arent law enforcement matters, but theyre called because were accessible 24/7, and we get there and do with what we can based on training, Bleichner said. The 988 suicide hotline addition, for example, should help to alleviate some of the duties, he said. The new hotline will connect to the PATH Crisis Center in Bloomington, which also handles calls for information and referrals at 211. It also will pair with the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, which is creating crisis teams that can respond on-site. The 988 service is expected to be available in July. Although weve got training in mental health, folks that are in behavioral and mental health are the experts in it, Bleichner said. Theyre the ones that really need to be there or helping with that. I think thats going to be really a potential game changer. A good human being Petrilli said he is excited for a fresh start within the department, as it graduated seven officers from the police academy last week and will send five more to the academy next week. His first plan as chief is to choose his leadership team, which he has already started through internal interviews. Thats the most important part, is getting those pieces in place, and then that allows me to really dig in and kind of forecast my vision for the department of where we are and ultimately where want to be, Petrilli said. Bleichner, who said he has no concrete plans for retirement yet other than traveling with his wife for about a month, said hes confident in a smooth transition to Petrilli. I dont have any doubts, Bleichner said. I think hell step into his role and he will do well Its kind of a relay race, so as much as I have enjoyed my time here and I enjoy what Im doing, therell be a formal handoff of the baton to him and hell take the baton and kind of continue on and go from there. Petrilli, who is an ISU graduate and has served in at least nine differing roles for NPD, said he will develop his own leadership and vision for the department, but that he will take some of what he learned from Bleichner over the years. Hes a good person, Petrilli said of Bleichner. He makes a lot of good decisions from his heart, always with the best intentions for the people that his decisions effect, that being the community, members of the department, whatever that may be. He takes his job very seriously, but at the end of the day, hes a good human being and so he makes the right choices because thats his ethics and thats the way he does business. Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather 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 umbrella organization of organized labor in Illinois has decided to not make an endorsement for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state, despite more than half of its nearly 900,000 workers whove already pledged their support for Alexi Giannoulias. The lack of an endorsement by the Illinois AFL-CIO signals good news for Giannoulias two major opponents in the Democratic primary on June 28, especially his main rival, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, who has faced questions about whether her husbands lobbying activities have interfered with her role in public office. Giannoulias is one of four Democrats vying for the nomination to replace Jesse White, who has been secretary of state since 1999. With more than $4.4 million in his campaign through March, Giannoulias has maintained a huge campaign cash advantage over Valencia and his other major Democratic opponent, Chicago Ald. David Moore, 17th. Sidney Moore of Homewood is also on the ballot. On the Republican side of the race, state Rep. Dan Brady of Bloomington is seeking the GOP nomination for secretary of state. His campaign has announced endorsements from several Republican state legislators, as well as from three GOP congressmen, U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis of Taylorville, Darin LaHood of Peoria and Mike Bost of Murphysboro. Bradys challenger is John Milhiser, a former U.S. Attorney in the Central District of Illinois, who is running for secretary of state as part of a slate of candidates promoted by billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin. Tim Drea, the president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said Thursday of the Democratic race that the candidates had support from affiliates on both sides, but none could get the two-thirds support necessary for an endorsement from the umbrella organization. Drea said the organization also made no endorsement in three hotly contested Congressional races: The 3rd District, a newly drawn Latino-leaning district that covers the citys Northwest Side and western suburbs and features Democrats Delia Ramirez, a state representative from Chicago, and Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th; The 6th District in the western suburbs where two-term U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat from Downers Grove, is facing off against first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Newman of LaGrange; A crowded race in the 1st District to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush of Chicago. By the end of last year, Giannoulias had already secured an array of key union endorsements, including several labor groups affiliated with the Illinois AFL-CIO that amass more than half a million of the organizations nearly 900,000 workers. But an endorsement from the umbrella organization itself could go a long way for any of the candidates going into the November general election because labor unions generally favor Democrats. In a statement, the Giannoulias campaign said it was still optimistic about the race despite not receiving the support from the organization. Alexi is leading the race when it comes to endorsements from organized labor with announced support from a broad-based coalition of unions that represent more than 600,000 Illinoisans statewide, a campaign spokesperson said in the statement Thursday. Alexi has proven himself as tireless fighter who has a record of protecting and supporting working families. Moore, the Chicago alderman, said in a statement that he appreciated the AFL-CIO rejecting the rush to anoint anyone in this race as the front runner. The Illinois Secretary of States race is still very competitive and while money and endorsements are important, voters will have the final say, Moore said. Valencia, whose campaign declined to comment on AFL-CIO decision, has secured endorsements from many major state Democrats, including White himself, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin. Valencia ran Durbins 2014 reelection campaign. Shes also secured some union support, including from the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois and the Illinois Nurses Association, among others. But Valencia also has become marred in controversy lately over questions about whether her husband, Reyahd Kazmi, has used his lobbying practice to profit off connections to Valencias role as city clerk. Various news reports have documented several instances over the last four years that suggest Kazmi may have benefited financially from that connection, including when Valencia promoted two companies for a city-sponsored event in 2018 that were also clients of Kazmi. While Valencia entered into a nonpaid partnership with these clients for a healthy-food program for Chicagos youth, the news reports said the companies have paid Kazmi $52,000 for lobbying work. In another instance, Kazmis business partner sought Valencias help to expand his business into New Orleans before she set up meetings with city officials there, according to the news reports. Kazmis partner won a contract with that city and competitors then accused New Orleans officials of contract rigging, the news reports say. Meanwhile, the Valencia campaign has gone after Giannoulias for failing to disclose names of his clients from an investment firm where he served as its wealth director after he served as state treasurer from 2007 to 2011, even as he stresses transparency in government in his bid for secretary of state. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Pandemic, poverty drive record homeless death tolls in US Chinadaily.com.cn) 08:33, April 22, 2022 The number of people dying in the streets of US cities has increased as the homeless population has aged and their life expectancies have shortened, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. In an article titled "A Rising Tally of Lonely Deaths on the Streets", the author said the unsheltered died in record numbers last year, an average of five per day. Their bodies could be seen in many places such as public benches, bike paths, under freeway overpasses and stranded on the beach covered with sunlight. "It's like a wartime death toll in places where there is no war," Maria Raven, an emergency room doctor in San Francisco who co-wrote a study about homeless deaths, was quoted as saying. According to the newspaper, deaths among homeless people doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic in many cities, growing at a far faster rate. For example, according to a "homeless mortality report" issued last Tuesday by Alameda County's Health Care for the Homeless program, 368 homeless people died there in 2020 compared to 195 in 2018 a rise of nearly 90 percent. The median age of the homeless who died was 63, well below the average US life expectancy of 77. "Poverty is very wearing on the body," said Margot Kushel, a doctor specializing in homeless care. "Fifty is the new 75." Across California, homeless deaths are overwhelmingly happening to men, especially Black men. In Los Angeles County, men make up 67 percent of the homeless population but 83 percent of homeless deaths. A study by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health found homeless people are 35 times as likely as the general population to die of a drug or alcohol overdose. They are also four times as likely to die of heart disease, 16 times as likely to die in a car crash, 14 times as likely to be murdered and eight times as likely to die of suicide. "To die of heart disease, liver disease, respiratory diseases on your own is pretty shocking," said David Modersbach, who led the first public study of homeless deaths in Alameda County. "These are profoundly lonely deaths." A 2019 study of aged homeless people led by the University of Pennsylvania projected the US population of people 65 and older experiencing homelessness will nearly triple from 40,000 to 106,000 by 2030, resulting in a public health crisis as age-related medical issues worsen, the Associated Press reported on April 10. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Mounds of dirt seen in satellite imagery that Ukrainian officials say indicate new mass graves highlight the savagery of a war that shows no signs of abating. We are certainly living in perilous times. Politics cannot solve the problems in the world. I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I just read an article Biden remarks can soil U.S. policy. The article said, Armies can move on your words, markets can convulse; diplomacy can unravel. That has not stopped President Joe Biden from viscerally weighing in on the Ukraine war labelling Russias Vladimir Putin a war criminal appearing to advocate an overthrowing in Moscow, framing Russians war actions as genocide after saying its all his personal, no presidential opinion. The article went on saying the U.S. should have more concern in action and not make confusion. Well I believe President Biden was right, and so did Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who even praised Bidens remarks. You know, war is a terrible thing. Why didnt the U.N. or NATO do anything when Russia was setting up their armies for a long time before the invasion? Well do you know who really rules the world? Yes this war is genocide, and Satan, the old devil, is the rule of the world. Jesus mentions this in the Bible. Satan knows his time is short. The countries in the world are globalized. Though technology we can find out what is happening around the world in an instant. This could only happen in the last few years. For the last 6,000 years Satan has been going to and fro. The fifth chapter of 1st Peter says it clear and plain verse 8: "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Good advice for these days. Watch and pray. John Gramm, Gridley Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Recently, several local residents made the decision to challenge the petitions of five Republican candidates for county board. The reason being candidates had failed to provide page numbers on their petitions. McLean County Republican Party chair, Connie Beard, dismissed the actions as trying to remove voter choice and create unnecessary burden on taxpayers. While this may seem like a small issue, there are good reasons why candidates are required to number their pages. First, it must be recognized that voters from a community have the right to challenge a petition. Perhaps a signature is too hard to read, or the person doesnt live in their district. However, in order to challenge those petitions, having a page number to identify where it is, is key. This makes page numbers an important part of the process in calling out possible election fraud, an issue that Republicans nationally have been very vocal about. In the case Jones v. Dodendorf, the Illinois Court of Appeals found in a similar case that removing candidates from the ballot without consecutive page numbers was in the interest of the state, because it prevents tampering and preserves the fairness of the election process. This finding has been upheld in numerous decisions such as Hagan v. Stone and Wollan v. Jacoby. Some the Republican candidates that failed to follow regulations have been involved in local politics for a long time, including the sitting County Board Chair, John McIntyre. They ought to be familiar with the process, but they slipped up. It is not the voters' fault for challenging an inconsistency in the petition and working in their power to ensure the fairness of the process. Instead, the blame lies with candidates themselves, for not filing their paperwork correctly and not following procedure. Marissa Uselton, Normal Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 100 years ago April 22, 1922: Owners of the Butler Hotel are taking bids to tear it down. The Butler, at Madison and Front, was the hotel in town in its heyday, and Abraham Lincoln is said to have slept there. It has not been determined how the land will be used once the hotel is gone. 75 years ago April 22, 1947: Good news on the labor front: the TP&W Railroad and its 13 unions have come to agreement on contract terms. The strike ended at 12:01 yesterday morning. Both sides called the agreement satisfactory. Trains are rolling from Peoria to Effner, Indiana and to Keokuk, Iowa. 50 years ago April 22, 1972: Over 200 ISU students staged a march to downtown Bloomington to protest recent escalation of the Vietnam War. Their march ended on the court house steps, where they held a rally. Police Chief Harold Bosshardt called the crowd very orderly. 25 years ago April 22, 1997: Stan Ommen didnt stay retired for long. The former First of America president has emerged as president of the newly formed State Farm Bank. He will direct the start-up from here. In addition to becoming a savings institution, the new bank will do mortgage loans. Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com. The management of the Ghana School of Law has issued an injunction to all its students with regards to comments, accusations, and counter-accusations being made by different factions on the ensuing case of financial impropriety and mismanagement of the SRC funds. In the last few weeks, they have been accusations and rebuttals from executives of the Schools Student Representative Council (SRC), as well as from students, on how the current executive body, led by its president, Wonder Victor Kutor, has managed monies in its possession. At one point, the SRC President was accused of financial malfeasance, including accusations that he surreptitiously sold a personal car to the SRC using a company that was eventually traced to have been linked to him. In other accusations, the Schools SRC Secretary, Safo Kwame Oheneba, was also dragged over some GHc20,000 he used during an official trip to Uganda. Having had too much of these media brawls, the Registrar of the school has called for a ceasefire, while investigations are conducted into the matter. The attention Management has been drawn to Online Publications and Social Media exchanges making allegations of financial impropriety, mismanagement of funds of the S.R.C. These allegations continue to attract responses in rebuttal from some persons connected with same Management takes a serious view of these emerging matters. Consequently, Management has caused investigations to be commenced, the statement said in part. The statement also barred all students to refrain from making any public comments about the matters under investigation. In this regard, Management is inviting any Student and all concerned with any relevant information and evidence concerning the matters under reference to submit same in writing to the Deputy Registrar. In the meantime, Students are advised to refrain from any online and social media activity and comments on any pending or emerging matters relative to the management of the affairs of the S.R.C, as such acts have the potential to bring the reputation of the School and the S.R.C into disrepute, it 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 The Head of Public Relations of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, KATH, Kwame Frimpong says the lack of alternative health care facilities in the Ashanti Region has contributed to the perennial congestion at the hospital. He is therefore appealing to the government to, as a matter of urgency to complete the ongoing hospital projects to decongest the facility to boost healthcare delivery in the region and beyond. Mr. Frimpong spoke to GBCs Ashanti Regional Correspondent Georgina Ama Ankumah. The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital currently has exceeded its capacity of 1,200 to more than 2,500, people, a situation which has created congestion at the facility. According to the Head of Public Affairs at KATH, Kwame Frimpong, the surging number of clients of the hospital has forced Management to convert the facilitys reception into a ward. Mr. Frimpong explained that a cubicle built and designed for about 12 patients is now hosting about 48 patients, and the situation is spreading across almost all the wards in the hospital because the hospital receives referrals from other y all the remaining regions within the middle and Northern Belt and in some instances Faso. He indicated that facilities at the hospital have been overstretched to save lives since there is no option. Mr. Frimpong noted that if all the ongoing peripheral health facilities projects are completed it will save KATH from the perennial congested situation it facing. Built in 1955, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is yet to see any significant infrastructural boost after former President Kufuor. Source: gbc 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 Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Chief Executive Officer of GHIOC Distilleries, has spoken about the political significance of the marriage between his son, Kwabena Jumah, and the daughter of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Edwina. According to him, the marriage was not an arranged one by the two families but that the couple met in their individual capacities and decided to unite in marriage. He said, as a father and in-law to the President, all that he wishes and prays for is that, all that they will do, will be what God wants them to do and not what man wants; so that, their families will reap the result thereof. The significance of their marriage is the togetherness they have brought into the governing party. This is of big significance to me, it also sends a strong message for me, Maxwell Kofi Jumah. My wife is Bono, I am Ashanti and my son has been able to marry an Akyem whose half is also an Ashanti. God bless them, Kofi Jumah said on Accra-based Okay FM on Thursday, April 21, 2022. Speaking on what the marriage means to the governing party, Kofi Ghana as he is known within the political cycles said, this shows how former President Kufuor and President Akufo-Addo have come together one bringing a man and other bringing a woman and have joined them together in unity. This is the unity that NPP needs and it is significant to me. God bless their marriage. I am not someone who will poke my nose into the affairs of my son who is now married, I am not the one to teach him how to live his marriage life but [as a father] all that I have to do is to pray for the couple and I know by the grace of God, their marriage will work, he stressed. Maxwell Kofi Jumah reiterated that the couple, despite the families they are coming from, are very humble. He said they requested a modest marriage celebration, I drove in a big bus with my family to the celebration. The bus is from GHIOC and everyone can testify. BackgroundKwabena Jumah, son of Maxwell Kofi Jumah, recently married President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos last daughter, Edwina Nana Dokua Akufo-Addo in a private traditional ceremony.The event as reported by dailyguidenetwork.com was held at the seat of government, Jubilee House, and was strictly by invitation. 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 Godfred Yeboah Dame, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, is advocating for lawyers who attack the courts and judges on social media when judgments do not go in their favour, especially with the high profile political cases to be punished. According to him, such conduct by members of the Bar and their vicious comments are plainly wrong. He said, the perpetrators of such acts do not relent in seeking to push a certain narrative down the throat of the unsuspecting public. Speaking at the bench, bar and faculty conference in Accra on Thursday April 21, the AG stated, My Lord Chief Justice, one would have thought that lawyers would have taken advantage of the digital revolution, which I have spoken about this morning, to consolidate the importance of this legal profession and its role in the affairs of the state. On the contrary, recent developments disclose systematic attempts by certain lawyers, often belonging to a side of the political divide to deploy social media to denigrate the administration of justice through poisoning and caustic attacks on judgements of the courts, all be it unjustified. This is often worsened in commentary on so-called political cases where some lawyers perceive the outcome to have far-reaching consequences for the objectives of political parties they sympathize with. He added, faced with adverse rulings, some lawyers go to the rather farcical extent of actually advocating for the abolishing or scrapping our courts. The most deplorable thing about such endeavour is that many times their vicious comments are plainly wrong yet the propagators of these wrong and dangerous ideas do not relent in their efforts to push them down the throat of unsuspecting public. Such disreputable practice on the part of some lawyers further becomes an inducement to persons who are not members of the legal profession to launch even more savage and illogical attacks on the judiciary. This conduct is clearly despicable as it has the ultimate tendency to destroy the integrity of institutions of justice delivery in Ghana. Such conducts should result in sanctions inflicted on the lawyers in question. 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 Kenya's former president, Mwai Kibaki, has died at the age of 90, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced. His 2002 election ended 40 years of one-party rule since independence. However, his 2007 re-election sparked months of nationwide violence and led to 1,200 deaths. President Kenyatta, defeated by Mr Kibaki in 2002, led the tribute to his former rival, saying he had "led the charge to keep the ruling party accountable". Mr Kibaki had "earned the abiding respect and affection" of this nation, the president continued. Mr Kenyatta declared a mourning period until Mr Kibaki's burial, with flags flying at half-mast. He will be given a state funeral with full military honours, President Kenyatta said. Many Kenyans are expressing a real sense of loss and regard Mr Kibaki as the best president Kenya has had since independence. He was a sharp economist who set the country on a path of economic growth. He held a number of senior positions in treasury and government in his political career that spanned decades. Politically, however, he was regarded as a non-confrontational fence-sitter and opportunist. He opposed the introduction of multiparty democracy but jumped ship after the constitution was amended. He then embraced it, formed his own political party and, 10 years later, went on to win the election as head of an opposition coalition. Both traits would be seen during his tenure as president. Kenya recorded one of its highest rates of GDP growth during his first term before the violence of the 2007 election severely dented his legacy. As well as his economic record, one of his biggest achievements was to introduce free primary education to Kenya. He also introduced a new constitution in 2010, after it was overwhelmingly approved in a national referendum. It was billed by some at the time as the most important political event in Kenya's history since it gained independence from Britain in 1963. It introduced a more decentralised political system and limited presidential powers. His biggest failure was the fight against corruption. He'd promised to fight it, but his government was rocked by major corruption scandals. But the 2007-2008 election violence after a disputed vote was the worst in the country's history and the lowest point of his presidency. Not only were more than 1,200 lives lost, but more than half a million people were forced from their homes. During the violence there were hundreds of rapes and more than 100,000 properties were destroyed, according to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It charged leading politicians with orchestrating the violence but neither Mr Kibaki nor opposition leader Raila Odinga was among them. The electoral commission, under tight police security, declared Mr Kibaki the winner of the vote, although Mr Odinga alleged widespread fraud. President Kibaki was sworn in hurriedly for the second term as the country descended into violence. An investigation led by former South African judge Johann Krieglar determined that both sides had participated in electoral malpractices in different regions which made it impossible to determine who had won that election. The violence was eventually ended in a power-sharing deal brokered by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, which saw Mr Odinga become prime minister. Mr Odinga has joined those mourning the death of his former rival, describing it as "a very sad occasion for the nation" and saying Mr Kibacki had "served this country for many years with diligence, with fortitude, with honesty and transparency". He is survived by four children. 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 A porcelain kiln site dating to the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the early Tang Dynasty (618-907) has been found in north China's Shanxi Province, according to the provincial institute of archaeology. The kiln site is located in an ancient town site in Jinyuan District of Taiyuan City, capital of Shanxi. The town, named Jinyang, was one of the most important localities in the Tang Dynasty. The institute said that archaeologists discovered the kiln site last year, and after excavation, three porcelain kilns, nine pits, and several thousand porcelain pieces have been unearthed. Archaeologists said both celadon wares and fine white-glazed porcelain wares were produced at the kiln site, which is of great significance to the study of China's porcelain wares in ancient times. "There were very few kiln sites capable of making fine white porcelain during this period. The unearthed fragments of fine white porcelain wares demonstrate the excellent craftsmanship there," said Han Binghua, who is in charge of the excavation project. "Porcelain kiln sites are generally separated from residential areas, but this kiln site is inside a palace, which is very intriguing," Han added. Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has appealed to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to halt galamsey activities unfolding at Ewereko, a predominantly cocoa growing community in the Aiyinasi-North of the Ellembelle district. According to the former Minister for Petroleum and Energy, current developments at Ewereko must alarm every Ghanaian who cared about the future of the country, especially on the issue of land, water and food security. Mr Buah said this when he called on Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, Sector Minister in Accra. According to the MP, a group of young men have been noticed to be involving in the wanton destruction of land in the cocoa growing area through engaging in illegal mining, He alleged the young men claimed they had instructions from the Pekinpat Company Limited, a Prospecting Licensing Company to undertake large scale mining right in the heart of cocoa farms. Mr Buah reminded the Minister that Ewereko was the remaining breadbasket of the district and so no persons should be allowed to threaten the livelihoods of people in the community and the entire district. On his part, Mr Jinapor thanked the MP for his interest and concern in ensuring that the situation was salvaged. The Minister expressed his resolve to take urgent steps to address the concerns of the community. Source: gbc 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 Toyota Yaris vehicle, with registration number GS 6040-21 flipped over and crashed into a ditch while descending the Odweanoma Mountain, killing one passenger and wounding two others. The car was being driven by one Aforleho Tawiah. The occupants, Comfort Obenewaa, 24, Kwadwo Osei, 26, and Edmond Oduro, 32, were transported to the Kwahu Government Hospital for treatment. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ebenezer Tetteh, the Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, told the Ghana News Agency that Kwadwo Osei was transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra where he died on Sunday, April 18. He said the body had been preserved at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Mortuary for autopsy. Mr Tetteh said the occupants were on their way to Atibie from the Odweanoma Mountain April 16, when their vehicle abruptly veered off the road into an offside thicket before landing into a ditch. The accident car is yet to be hauled from the scene for inspection and testing by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority. This is the second accident in less than a week at Atibie, with the first killing one person and injuring ten others during the Kwahu Easter celebrations. 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 With a population of only about 3,000, the Digueois pride themselves on using the bicycle as their main form of transport, unlike the bigger neighbouring islands of Mahe and Praslin, which have seen more urban growth. For locals, a car is unnecessary and moving with bicycles has always been a way of life. "From a small age, my brother used to try and teach us how to ride the bike. They hold the seat and you're thinking they are holding, then let you go and then you fall, and you lose your knees. And that's how you learn to ride a bike," said Florie Marie, a La Digue resident." Still, my sister, she lives in Mahe, and she still doesn't know how to ride a bike." Tourists also partake in the local tradition, renting bikes to explore the island. "La Digue is known to be a bicycle island. So, you will get clients wanting to travel by car to the beach, but the majority, they want bicycles," said Travis Mills, who owns a bicycle-rental company on La Digue. The island's current vehicle count is 60, a sizable increase from the 10 it had in the '80s when only wealthy families could afford to own cars. But it's still a small number, one that is partly tied to the difficulties of individual vehicle ownership here: no cars are allowed unless they provide a public service. However, the rise in tourism construction and the necessary vehicles that come with that work has set alarm bells ringing, especially with locals. "With more vehicles on La Digue, that aspect of tranquillity, quietness, relaxedness will no longer be there. And that will definitely have a great impact on La Digue itself, its tourism, its environment, and its ecosystem," said Patrick Andre, the Seychelles' Principal Secretary of Transport. Conservationists caution that further development could impact the natural habitat of endangered species on the island, such as the Seychelles Black Paradise Flycatcher, known as the Vev in local Creole. The Veuve Reserve, a national park and conservation area set up to protect the endemic Vev, is a crowning jewel of natural beauty for the Digueois. 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 Editor of the Informer Newspaper, Andy Kankam, believes the selection of Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as the running mate of former President John Dramani Mahama, made no impact in the 2020 elections. According to him, the empirical evidence proves his assertion. People have made the argument about this but let me tell you my observation about the party. When it comes to Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, I have nothing against her. She is a solid woman but from the empirical evidence, her coming on board as running mate didnt help the fortunes of the party in the 2020 elections, he stated. Riding on the records available, he argued some people will put up a spirited defense on the subject but if you want to talk about the fortunes the running mate adds to that of the flagbearer and the party, Janes impact was not felt, he told Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9FMs Epa Hoa Daben political talk show. He revealed some party bigwigs have advised the party to be extra careful on who they select as running mate, advising, The NDC must listen to this and treat it with urgency. Joseph Yamin, a leading member of the NDC took a different positon on the matter saying Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang improved the fortunes of the party in election 2020. Looking at the records, Mahama lost the election in 2016 by polling 44percent of total votes cast. But when Jane came in 2020, Mahama lost the election with 47percent of the total votes cast. So if you analyze this and say she didnt add anything to the fortunes of the NDC, then you have to research well into your position. The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President John Dramani Mahama, selected Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate for the 2020 presidential elections. The National Communication Officer of the NDC, Mr Sammy Gyamfi announced that Prof Opoku-Agyeman had been selected as running mate for the NDC ticket after a meeting between the flagbearer and the National Executive Committee (NEC) at the NDC Headquarters on Monday, July 6, 2020, in Accra. He told pressmen that Prof Opoku-Agyeman received a unanimous endorsement from the NEC and the Council of Elders of the party. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video An Accra District Court has granted a GHC10,000.00 bail with two sureties to a businessman who allegedly insulted Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tema West Constituency. Nana Yaw Ntim pleaded not guilty to offensive conduct. Meanwhile, the case has been referred to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for an Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR). The parties are expected to be back in court on May 24, 2022, to give a report on the settlement. The Defense Counsel in praying for bail said the Party had existing structures to settle the matter and that the accused had people of substance to stand as sureties, adding that the case did not warrant public resources for him to be remanded. He then prayed for the Court to refer the matter to the ADR. The prosecution told the Court presided over by Madam Ama Adomako Kwakye that the accused person was a resident of Dwahenya near Tema and a member of NP P in the same Constituency. It said on February 03, 2022, the complainant petitioned the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service against the accused for constantly raining insults on him on Party WhatsApp platforms called, Vibrant 2024 NPP, and speak your mind NPP, without any provocation. The Court heard that the MP also submitted a pen drive containing the voice recordings of the accused person to the police as evidence. In the recording, the accused person was heard uttering abusive words against the MP. The prosecution said the accused person was arrested on February 7, 2022, for investigation, where he admitted some of the voice recordings and claimed that some of them were doctored. 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 Alliance For Social Equity and Public Accountability(ASEPA) has filed a fresh petition against the President of Ghana at the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) asking for the allegations against President Akufo-Addo by Serwaa Broni to be looked into. The petition on allegations of Abuse of Office, Human Rights Abuse and Criminal Misconduct leveled by Miss Evelyn Aidoo also known as Serwaa Broni, filed today (Friday) became necessary after an earlier one submitted in October 2021 got missing with CHRAJ. Who Is She? The Canadian-based Ghanaian lady has in the last few months been trending on social media for perhaps all the wrong reasons. Besides claiming to have had an amorous relationship with the President, Serwaa Broni has among other things, posted images with the President and screenshots of chats she claims to be between her and President Akufo-Addo; to buttress her assertions. Over the weekend, she alleged during a media engagement with one Kevin Taylor that there was an orchestrated robbery attack on her to retrieve some private information she had on the president which she pinned on the President and some of his assigns. Private Petition Similarly, three private Ghanaians have petitioned Parliament to impeach the President over the saga. Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese, Elikem Kotoko and Stephen Kwabena Attuh, hold the view that the allegations, if proven to be true, would amount to human rights abuse, abuse of office, exposing the security of Ghana to external threat as well as dragging the name of the high office of President into disrepute. According to them, the president may have abused his office if those allegations levelled against him are true and will demand that necessary action must be taken against him. Re-Petition Speaking of Okay Fm's Ade Akye Abia Programme, the Executive Director Mr. Mensah Thompson explained that they also wants CHRAJ to investigate the involvement of the General Secretary of the NPP John Boadu, Former CID Boss Tiwaa Addo Danquah, Col.Michael Opoku Head of Operations at National Security, Dr. Gordon Ofei-Larbi personal physician of the President, Kennedy Agyapong MP Assin Central and Management of Golden Tulip Hotels Accra over their involvement in the allegations. "ASEPA also wants a former National Security Operative at the Kotoka International Airport one Hopeson Adorye to be investigated and appropriate action taken in respect of his involvement in the scandal". 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 Credit: CC0 Public Domain A new report launched today (22 April) by the British Ecological Society (BES) says that the UK government's commitment to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 offers the opportunity to revitalize the contribution of protected areas to nature recovery. But it also warns that this ambitious pledge will fail if we don't make radical, transformative changes. The UK government has committed to protecting 30% of the UK's land and sea to support nature recovery by 2030. The report welcomes this target, as failure to achieve it could result in continued and irrecoverable declines in biodiversity. The BES's Protected Areas and Nature Recovery report looks at the role protected areas play in supporting nature and determines what is needed to meet the '3030' target. Although the '3030' target seems close to being achieved, with 27% of UK land and 38% of UK seas under some level of protection, the report finds that many protected areas are not delivering for nature and are in poor ecological condition. The report therefore urges caution over what should count towards the '30x30' target and provides recommendations for what protected areas, and the surrounding environment, need in order to be effective in restoring nature. Dr. Joseph Bailey at York St John University and lead author of the report said: "Designating an area of land or sea does not automatically make it an effective protected area. Designation is simply the first step in a long process towards ensuring that long-term ecological benefits are delivered for nature and people. To be effective, a protected area needs adequate implementation, enforcement, monitoring, and long-term protection." Dr. Bailey added: "The 30x30 target presents such a good opportunity and we can't let is pass us by. Climate change is here, and we must start now if we want our land and seas to deliver for nature." Protecting the land National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other protected areas currently make up 27% of UK land. However, the report finds that the proportion of land that is effectively protected for nature could be as low as 5%. Many protected landscapes, such as National Parks, do not specifically prioritize biodiversity and were not established or funded to do so. The report recommends that these areas should not be included in the '30x30' target in their current state. Professor Jane Hill at the University of York and author of the report said: "The evidence is that most protected landscapes are not delivering for nature and only a low percentage are in good ecological condition. However, because there is existing governance in place managing these landscapes, they have great potential to be adapted to improve how they deliver for nature. "With the right support and willingness, nature can recover and thrive in almost any landscape. If the objectives of protected landscapes like National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty can be reformed to ensure that they deliver for nature in the long-term, they could then count towards the '30x30' target." Protecting the seas On paper, marine environments seem better protected than UK landscapes with Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) already exceeding the government's target and covering 38% of UK seas. However, many of these areas have no current management measures in place and most areas closed to fishing are in UK overseas territories. While regulations to control fishing are in place in some MPAs, across the entire UK only three small MPAs ban all fishing activity. Damaging fishing activity from large bottom trawlers is still unregulated in many MPAs across the UK. Rick Stafford of Bournemouth University and author of the report said: "The proposal to protect 30% of UK seas is very welcome, but we need effective management measure in place in Marine Protected Areas which will protect wildlife and benefit local coastal communities. "The lack of comprehensive management or enforcement means that the majority are failing to deliver for nature and bring the full range of biodiversity benefits they otherwise could." What should count towards the '30x30' target? For protected areas to deliver for nature and be included in the '30x30' target, the report recommends the following criteria: Protected areas must be managed to deliver for nature in the long term, using evidence-based approaches. Protected areas should have effective governance to address pressures such as climate change, pollution, and damaging fishing activities. Have monitoring in place that informs the long-term management of protected areas so that they meet conservation goals. This will require substantial and sustained funding and resourcing. Protected areas should be inclusive to benefit local people and ensure buy-in. The governance of protected areas should involve local communities in partnership with landowners, NGOs, researchers, government agencies, and other stakeholders. Dr. Paul Sinnadurai of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and Cardiff University, and author of the report said: "Protected areas have suffered from not having enough resources and having to make too many compromises. This has left them in a position where they are not doing enough to support nature. "To turn this around, money and resources need be made available for consistent monitoring. During the late 1990s and early noughties, there was a good advance in the use of the Common Standards for Monitoring in protected areas, but momentum wasn't maintained in this essential practice because it is resource intensive. "For effectively protected areas to be successful, they must also be inclusive. To do this we need to have conversations with landowners and local people and ensure nature recovery works for everyone. Nobody should lose out to something benefiting nature." Protected areas are not enough on their own Despite the enormous potential of protected areas, they cannot protect nature on their own. Landscapes surrounding protected areas are also vitally important, particularly with species ranges shifting in response to climate change. The report details how other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)areas outside of designated protected areas that are managed in a way to support naturecan complement protected areas and provide an essential contribution to nature protection and recovery. Dr. Bailey said: "We need to make sure landscapes are suitable for species to move between highly protected areas. This could be done with wildlife corridors such as hedgerows. Protected areas simply won't work if we only have desolate wastelands between them." Explore further Conservation commitments should focus on the best places to protect rare species, new study suggests Dr Ben Shaw (top, centre) with researchers from PNG and Australia at the survey site on Brooker Island. Credit: Photo: Supplied The discovery of pottery from the ancient Lapita culture by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) has shed new light on how Papua New Guinea (PNG) served as a launching pad for the colonization of the Pacificone of the greatest migrations in human history. The new study makes clear the initial expansion of the Lapita people throughout PNG was far greater than previously thought. The study, published in the Nature Ecology and Evolution journal, is based on the discovery of a distinctive Lapita pottery sherd, a broken piece of pottery with sharp edges, on Brooker Island (200km east of mainland PNG) in 2017 that lead researcher Dr. Ben Shaw said was "like finding a needle in a haystack". "Lapita cultural groups were the first people to reach the remote Pacific islands such as Vanuatu around 3,000 years ago, but in PNG where people have lived for at least 50,000 years, the timing and extent of Lapita dispersals are poorly understood," Dr. Shaw said. "For a long time, it was thought Lapita groups avoided most of Papua New Guinea because people were already living there. "We chose to work on Brooker Island because it would have been the first island people reached when traveling through the archipelagoa natural bottleneckand it had large bays sheltered from strong wind and waves, well suited for mooring a canoe and for settlement. "We had almost given up as there was no indication of a past human presence in the top layers of soil, which was hard like concrete and everyone's hands were blistered and sore from digging. But thankfully we soon found fragments of pottery deeper down that gave us reason to keep going." The initial three-day survey at the end of a two-month long field season in 2017 led to a three-week return mission to the site in 2018 and a further four-week expedition in 2019 that documented how the initial expansion of the Lapita people throughout PNG was far greater than previously considered. Lapita people introduced pottery to PNG that had distinct markings, and they also introduced new tool technologies and animals such as pigs. Through archaeological, linguistic and genetic research, it is now well understood that the first Pacific peoples migrated from an ancestral Asian homeland. Later Lapita dispersals through PNG and interaction with indigenous populations profoundly influenced the region as a global center of cultural and linguistic diversity. "We found lots of Lapita pottery, a range of stone tools and evidence for shaping of obsidian [volcanic glass] into sharp blades," Dr. Shaw said. "As we dug deeper, we reached an even earlier cultural layer before the introduction of pottery. What amazed us was the amount of mammal bone we recovered, some of which could be positively identified as pig and dog. These animals were introduced to New Guinea by Lapita and were associated with the use of turtle shell to make tools." Dr. Shaw said Lapita people colonized the Pacific islands 3,000 years ago. He said this paper explains why they colonized the islands at this time and the role indigenous populations in New Guinea had in Lapita decisions to look for new islands to live on. "It is one of the greatest migrations in human history and finally we have evidence to help explain why the migration might have occurred and why it took place when it did," he said. The research involved many ANU researchers and international collaborators who showed how migration pathways and island-hopping strategies culminated in rapid and purposeful Pacific-wide settlement. "We had no indication this would be a site of significance, and a lot of the time we were flying blind with the areas we surveyed and when looking for archaeological sites, so it is very much like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack," Dr. Shaw said. "A lot of our good fortune was because of the cultural knowledge and we built a strong relationship with the locals based on honesty and transparency about our research on their traditional lands. Without their express permission, this kind of work would simply not be possible. The Brooker community is listed as the senior author on the paper to acknowledge their fundamental role in this research." The results of the research have been published in the Nature Ecology and Evolution journal. Explore further Research reveals genetic timeline of early Pacific settlers More information: Ben Shaw et al, Frontier Lapita interaction with resident Papuan populations set the stage for initial peopling of the Pacific, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2022). Journal information: Nature Ecology & Evolution Ben Shaw et al, Frontier Lapita interaction with resident Papuan populations set the stage for initial peopling of the Pacific,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01735-w Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Up to 30% of the rainfall deficit can be caused by "drought self-propagation," the DRY2DRY European Research Council (ERC) project shows. Unlike other weather extremes such as hurricanes or winter storms, droughts affect humans in most climatic zones around the world; from the arid steppes of the Sahel to the humid rainforests of Amazonia. Moreover, droughts are expected to intensify in many regions following global warming. The United Nations has recently described drought as "the next pandemic," suggesting that the associated risks are currently overlooked. It is thus crucial to improve our understanding of drought, and particularly its causes, in order to be able to predict its future risk and enable adequate societal adaptation. Rainfall deficits eventually manifest as dry soils. The land surface, though, also takes a very active role in the generation of rainfall, as it supplies moisture to the atmosphere through evaporation. What happens during a soil drought when far less water is evaporated than usual? It has been hypothesized that this can enable droughts to expand by themselves, as they provide less moisture for precipitation, not just locally, but also downwind. Until now, evidence of this drought self-propagation, fueled by the drying soils, had remained elusive. In a new study, published in Nature Geoscience, led by the Hydro-Climate Extremes Lab (H-CEL) at Ghent University (Belgium), this evidence is provided for the first time. The authors analyzed the largest 40 droughts in recent history. For each event, the authors tracked the air over the drought regions as the drought area expanded. This allowed them to compute how much of the downwind rainfall deficits were caused by the upwind drying of the soils. Their conclusion was that in individual months, up to 30% of the rainfall deficit can be caused by this drought self-propagation. As Dominik Schumacher, first author of the study, states: "In essence, droughts behave similarly to wildfires: while fires propagate downwind by igniting more and more 'fuel' in their surroundings, droughts do so by reducing their own rainfall supply through the drying of the land surface." The authors find the strongest self-propagation in subtropical drylands, such as in Australia and Southern Africain these regions, the limiting effect of low soil moisture on evaporation is strongest. By definition, water is already scarce in drylands, yet these regions sustain a considerable fraction of the global human population and are also used extensively for farming. Therefore, as drylands are projected to expand in light of climate change, the self-propagating character of droughts may lead to even larger and more rapidly evolving events in the future, and further exacerbate water scarcity as well as the attached socioeconomic and environmental consequences. More information: Dominik L. Schumacher et al, Drought self-propagation in drylands due to landatmosphere feedbacks, Nature Geoscience (2022). Journal information: Nature Geoscience Dominik L. Schumacher et al, Drought self-propagation in drylands due to landatmosphere feedbacks,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-022-00912-7 WHOI's Phil Arevalo (left) and Stefan Sievert remove one of the incubation devices used to measure the activities of the chemosynthetic microbes from the sediment. The incubation devices were originally built in the 1980's by WHOI's Carl Wirsen and Holger Jannasch and were part of a free-falling instrument to measure the activities of microorganisms breaking down organic matter in deep-sea sediments. For the present study, they were adapted to be used by scuba divers. Credit: Dr. Costantino Vetriani, Rutgers University Most visitors to Paliochori Beach on the Greek island Milos may not be aware of the bay's shallow-water hydrothermal community, a veritable Greek salad of microbes, that is within snorkeling distance from the shoreline. The hydrothermalism in the coastal sediments of Paliochori Bay strongly affects biogeochemical processes there and supports chemosynthesis, which allows certain microorganisms such as sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to use chemical energy rather than light, as photosynthetic plants or algae do, to convert carbon dioxide into cell material. However, the impact of fluid flow on the composition of the microbial community and the rates of chemosynthetic production have been unknown because it is challenging to measure microbial processes under natural conditions, particularly in hydrothermal systems. A new study uses an innovative approach to examine the bay's shallow-water hydrothermal system and the production of microbes there in situ and near natural conditions as a model to assess the importance of hydrothermal fluid circulation on chemosynthesis. By examining microbial communities directly within the hydrothermally-impacted sandy sediments in the bay, the study demonstrates "the importance of fluid flow in shaping the composition and activity of microbial communities of shallow-water hydrothermal vents, identifying them as hotspots of microbial activity," according to the paper, "Fluid flow stimulates chemoautotrophy in hydrothermally influenced coastal sediments," published in Communications Earth & Environment. In addition, "the study shows how productive the shallow water hydrothermal vents actually are, and how quickly the microbes adapt to changing conditions," says co-lead author Stefan Sievert, associate scientist in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI's) Biology Department. During the study, researchers carried out two sets of stable isotope probing experiments using carbon dioxide labeled with the stable carbon isotope 13C as a tracer to determine the microbes' capability for carbon fixation, which is the conversion of carbon dioxide into biomass. The study deployed incubation devices along a transect at a vent in the bay and injected the tracer at different depths into the sediment, either in open or closed fluid flow modes, and left the devices in place for either 6 hours or 24 hours before picking them up again. The amount of carbon fixation was determined by measuring the incorporation of the labeled carbon dioxide into fatty acids, a key component making up the cell membrane, in combination with assessing the composition of the microbial community using DNA- and RNA-based approaches. The study "extends the current knowledge on dark carbon fixation in coastal sandy sediments to those areas that are impacted by hydrothermal activity," according to the paper. The researchers' data reveal that active fluid flow at this sandy sediment shallow-water hydrothermal vent site sustains carbon fixation rates that are among the highest determined for coastal margin sediments, highlighting the influence of hydrothermalism in supporting chemoautotrophic production by supplying the required chemicals in the form of electron donors such as hydrogen sulfide, and acceptors such as oxygen. Extrapolating the production at the studied vent site to the overall venting area in the bay of about 4 acres, 7 metric tons of carbon are produced there per year. "That is about the same annual production per area as a 4-acre corn field," says Sievert. The study also found a very active microbial community that is able to respond quickly to environmental changes. The chemosynthetic production at Milos is mainly driven by Campylobacteria, which dominated the communities in the open incubations, but declined in the closed incubations. Other bacteria, in particular Gammaproteobacteria, also increased in open flow incubations, while others, such as Deltaproteobacteria and Thermodesulfobacteria increased in closed incubations. In general, the community switched from a community dominated by chemosynthetic microbes to one with a higher proportion of heterotrophic microbes, i.e., microbes that use organic carbon for food, just as people do. The study found that the microbial community changed in response to different conditions within a matter of hours, which is very fast and took the investigators by surprise. When conditions are calm, the mats can grow up to an inch in thickness. During storms, the mats get swept away, providing a mechanism to export the produced biomass to the surrounding ocean, where it can serve as food for organisms. Credit: Dr. Roy Price, Stony Brook University Making the microbe rate measurements and identifying the various microbes at the hydrothermal vent site was a collaborative effort. That collaboration included Sievert's expertise in the use of the incubation device and identifying the microbes based on DNA- and RNA-based techniques. In addition, the lab of co-lead author Solveig Buhring, a researcher at the University of Bremen, contributed data on the incorporation of the labeled carbon dioxide into the microbes' fatty acids. "What drives me to do this research is my curiosity to understand how things work. I'm interested in knowing what the microbes are doing and how they are helping the ecosystem to function," says Sievert. "Each individual microbe is so small, yet their combined impact is so immense," he adds. "Microbes are kind of the engines of our planet, basically driving all of the biogeochemical cycles, such as the nitrogen and sulfur cycles." More information: Stefan M. Sievert et al, Fluid flow stimulates chemoautotrophy in hydrothermally influenced coastal sediments, Communications Earth & Environment (2022). Journal information: Communications Earth & Environment Stefan M. Sievert et al, Fluid flow stimulates chemoautotrophy in hydrothermally influenced coastal sediments,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-022-00426-5 A biopic on the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping will be released nationwide on Friday. "A Man of the People," directed by Lei Xianhe, stars Lu Qi and Yu Hui, tells the story of Deng while he lived and worked in Xinjian county, Jiangxi province, between 1969 and 1973. Lu Qi also co-directed the film. Famous screenwriter Wang Xingdong developed and polished the script for 15 years, beginning as early as 2003, and interviewed many people from the area for their memories of Deng. Deng is best known for being the Chinese leader and architect of reform and opening-up in 1978, which kicked off China's path to becoming a moderately prosperous country. The film project officially started in 2017 and began shooting in 2020 after assembling an award-winning cast and crew in an attempt to be as realistic as possible. The film was produced by Jiangxi Film Studio and was also supported by the four provincial governments of Jiangxi, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Sichuan. After advanced screenings began in October 2021, it has received rave reviews from experts, scholars, and historians, as well as more than 400,000 enthusiastic audience members. It also went on to earn five award nominations in February from the Nice International Film Festival 2022 in France, including best director and best original screenplay of a foreign language feature film. The award winners will be announced in May. After an advanced screening of the film, professor Zhang Weiwei of Fudan University, who once served as a translator for Deng, spoke highly of the portrayal of the great man in the movie. "Deng Xiaoping, played by actor Lu Qi, is very authentic, which reflects Deng's determined and open-minded character very well, and goes deep into his inner world," Zhang said. "This time, it is not only authentic in appearance, but also in spirit." Public observation of Gabon's gorillas is resuming at Gabon's Loanga National Park after two years of closure due to Covid. Around a bend on a narrow trail that runs deep into the forest of Gabon's Loango national park, Kamaya comes into view. The huge silverback gorilla coolly watches visitors arrive, then goes back to his meal. Perched on a strong branch, the 150-kilo (330-pound) beast greedily pulls more leaves from the tree to his mouth with a slow but powerful movement before lumbering down the trunk. Soon he dozes off calmly. After two years of a total shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the executive secretary of the National Parks Agency (ANPN) has decided to resume public observations of Gabon's gorillas, hoping the iconic species will serve as a "loss leader" to boost niche tourism. That Kamaya and his family of about 10 individuals are so used to humans is the outcome of long labours by a team of trackers and scientists who also collect data. They work to win funds to protect a species threatened with extinction and to attract foreign visitors. Spending one hour with Kamaya and his group costs 300,000 CFA francs, (450 euros, almost 500 dollars), on top of charges for access to the site and accommodation. Loango Park, which covers more than 155,000 hectares (380,000 acres) of the densely forested country, offers ample reward for a 4-5 hour road journey from Port-Gentil, the second city, followed by the track and a final stage by boat. The western gorilla population is estimated at 360,000 individuals across six central African countries, about a quarter of them in Gabon. Though steep, the price is much lower than that paid to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda. It also generates income to manage protected areas that provide a safe place for the animals. 'Illegal activities' "Tourism is a beneficial conservation strategy for gorillas," says Koro Vogt, manager of the Gorilla Loango project. The mountain gorillas of Rwanda and Uganda were almost extinct before funds from tourism helped to double their numbers in three decades, attaining a population of about 1,000 individuals today. The western gorillas are far more numerous. Their total population is estimated at 360,000 individuals across six central African countries, about a quarter of them in Gabon. The Loango park is home to nearly 1,500 gorillas, some 280 kilometres (175 miles) south of the capital Libreville. However, scientific studies by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, which specialises in great apes, indicate that the number of western gorillas is falling by three percent each year due to the destruction of habitat, poaching and disease. Protected areas such as Loango are theoretically safe for animals, but are home to only 20 percent of the great apes in Gabon. These threats are heightened by increased access to remote areas occupied by gorillas, the bush meat trade, corruption and lack of law enforcement. Protected areas such as Loango, which are theoretically perfectly safe for animals, are home to only about 20 percent of the great apes in Gabon. "To safeguard the gorillas, our guards patrol the national parks to reduce illegal activities and catch poachers," says Christian Tchemambela, executive secretary of the ANPN. "This species emblematic of Gabon is also a strong draw for foreign visitors. The development of ecotourism is at the heart of our strategy," he adds. From June 2016 until the beginning of 2020, 845 tourists were able to observe the gorillas on site. 'Gain their trust' A ray of sunlight pierces the treetops and shines on Mokebo, a 15-year-old female, and the little one she is carrying on her back. Not yet a year old, Etchutchuku stirs, glances at the few people watching him, and hides shyly behind his mother. It takes years for humans to gain the gorillas' trust. Close by, a nearly adult male, Waka, approaches the observers out of curiosity. He is unafraid, shows no signs of aggression and settles peacefully a few metres (feet) away. "This process is very long, it takes years to gain their trust and we are not sure of succeeding," says eco-guide Hermann Landry. "You have to follow them every day, all year round, relentlessly. Sometimes you lose track of them for several days and that's serious, because they can regain their natural fear of humans," adds Landry, a former poacher who declares that he "fell in love" with gorillas and conservation work. During an initial habituation phase, gorillas are afraid of humans and run away when approached. In the next phase, they stop fleeing but may react with aggressive charges. In the final phase, they react calmly and continue their activities without concern about the human presence. The park authorities are looking to Gabon's great apes to draw in tourists and help develop ecotourism. Today, Gabon is counting on the gorillas to attract new visitors. There are two family groups in the country accustomed to humans, one in Loango, the other in the Moukalaba Doudou National Park 600 kilometres (370 miles) south of Libreville. However, tourist infrastructure is still almost non-existent. Explore further Gabon bans tourists from seeing gorillas over coronavirus fears 2022 AFP The Large Hadron Collider has been closed since December 2018 for maintenance and upgrades. The Large Hadron Collider restarted Friday after a three-year break for upgrades that will allow it to smash protons together at even greater speeds, in the hope of making new ground-breaking discoveries. It will further study the Higgs boson, the existence of which it proved in 2012, and put the Standard Model of particle physics to the test after recent anomalies sparked theories about a mysterious fifth force of nature. "Two beams of protons circulated in opposite directions around the Large Hadron Collider's 27-kilometer (17-mile) ring" just after noon on Friday, Europe's physics lab CERN said in a statement. Buried more than 100 meters (330 feet) beneath the border of Switzerland and France, the collider has been closed since December 2018 for maintenance and upgrades, the second longest shutdown in its 14-year history. To start with, the collider is taking it easy. A "relatively small number of protons" were circulated at an energy of 450 billion electronvolts, CERN said. "High-intensity, high-energy collisions are a couple of months away," the head of CERN's beams department Rhodri Jones said. CERN said its experts "will work around the clock" to get the collider ready to set a new record of 13.6 trillion electronvolts. The unprecedented number of upcoming collisions will also serve as the starting gun for four years of massive data collection and analysis by CERN's four huge particle detectors. 'Exciting few years' The Large Hadron Collider's observation of the Higgs boson was seen as further verification of the Standard Model, which is the best theory scientists have for the most basic building blocks of the universe and what forces govern them. But the collider's new phase of exploration comes at an interesting time, with the Standard Model coming under pressure by a series of measurements that do not seem to fit within its framework. Credit: CERN Earlier this month more than 400 scientists said that after a decade of measuring they had found that the W boson has a significantly greater mass than the Standard Model allowed for. Harry Cliff, a particle physicist at Cambridge University, said the collider's upgrade means "it's going to be an exciting few years". Cliff studies particles called beauty quarks at the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) and said they "are not behaving as we would expect" under the Standard Model. "All these anomalies could be explained by a single new force," Cliff told AFP. There are currently four known fundamental forces of naturegravity, electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forcesand a fifth would be a "really big deal," he said. Another explanation could be that we know less than we thought. It could be that "we're actually looking at one corner of the picture, and there's a much bigger picture where the Standard Model makes a lot of sense," Cliff said. Either way, it would "be a step on a road to a more unified understanding of the basic ingredients of the universe," he said. One of the biggest holes in the Standard Model is that it fails to account for dark matter, which is thought to make up a significant amount of the universe. So far the Large Hadron Collider has found no signs of dark matter. "By its nature it's hard to detect," Cliff said. But he added that "would be a big breakthrough, if we could find a particle of dark matter". Explore further Physicists announce results that boost evidence for new fundamental physics More information: CERN: Large Hadron Collider restarts: CERN: Large Hadron Collider restarts: home.web.cern.ch/news/news/acc on-collider-restarts 2022 AFP Results of study 2 (personal force and intention interaction). ad, Results for trolley (a,b) and speedboat dilemmas (c,d) with all exclusion criteria applied (a,c) and including familiar participants (b,d). Error bars represent 95% CI. Scale ranged from 1 (completely unacceptable) to 9 (completely acceptable). Trolley problem: n = 3,984 when all exclusion criteria applied, and n = 9,844 when familiarity exclusion not applied. Speedboat dilemma, n = 3,513 when all exclusion criteria applied, and n = 9,006 when familiarity exclusion not applied. Credit: Nature Human Behaviour (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01319-5 Do people from distinct cultural groups use similar strategies when faced with moral judgments? Past research indicates that when judging the morality of harmful actions, people are sensitive to both the intention of the actor and whether physical force was applied by the actor. To illustrate, when making judgments regarding sacrificing one person in order to save more individuals, people are less likely to judge this decision as morally acceptable when they had to use their personal force to kill the person and the death of this person was required to save more individuals. However, so far most past research was conducted in samples from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (or the so-called WEIRD) societies, which limits the ability to generalize the findings culturally. Would similar findings be observed in other cultural contexts? Professor Taciano Milfont from the University of Waikato joined an international team of researchers who collected data from 27,502 participants in 45 countries to answer this question. The study published recently in the journal Nature Human Behaviour provides strong evidence that both intention and physical force influence how we evaluate the morality of actions. Further tests conducted by the researchers confirmed that moral judgments were comparable across the samples investigated, indicating that cultural variation was not observed in responses to the moral dilemma investigated. This is the first large study indicating that the way we evaluate the morality of actions might be culturally universal. The 260+ authors project was led by Bence Bago, a Research Fellow at the Toulouse School of Economics in France, and Professor Milfont was one of the researchers collecting New Zealand data. More information: Bence Bago et al, Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample, Nature Human Behaviour (2022). Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour Bence Bago et al, Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01319-5 In the ultrahigh vacuum of a scanning tunneling microscope, a hydrogen molecule is held between the silver tip and sample. Femtosecond bursts of a terahertz laser excite the molecule, turning it into a quantum sensor. Credit: Wilson Ho Lab, UCI Physicists at the University of California, Irvine have demonstrated the use of a hydrogen molecule as a quantum sensor in a terahertz laser-equipped scanning tunneling microscope, a technique that can measure the chemical properties of materials at unprecedented time and spatial resolutions. This new technique can also be applied to analysis of two-dimensional materials which have the potential to play a role in advanced energy systems, electronics and quantum computers. Today in Science, the researchers in UCI's Department of Physics & Astronomy and Department of Chemistry describe how they positioned two bound atoms of hydrogen in between the silver tip of the STM and a sample composed of a flat copper surface arrayed with small islands of copper nitride. With pulses of the laser lasting trillionths of a second, the scientists were able to excite the hydrogen molecule and detect changes in its quantum states at cryogenic temperatures and in the ultrahigh vacuum environment of the instrument, rendering atomic-scale, time-lapsed images of the sample. "This project represents an advance in both the measurement technique and the scientific question the approach allowed us to explore," said co-author Wilson Ho, Bren Professor of physics & astronomy and chemistry. "A quantum microscope that relies on probing the coherent superposition of states in a two-level system is much more sensitive than existing instruments that are not based on this quantum physics principle." Ho said the hydrogen molecule is an example of a two-level system because its orientation shifts between two positions, up and down and slightly horizontally tilted. Through a laser pulse, the scientists can coax the system to go from a ground state to an excited state in a cyclical fashion resulting in a superposition of the two states. The duration of the cyclic oscillations is vanishingly brieflasting mere tens of picosecondsbut by measuring this "decoherence time" and the cyclic periods the scientists were able to see how the hydrogen molecule was interacting with its environment. The UCI team responsible for the assembly and use of the terahertz laser-equipped scanning tunneling microscope pictured here are, from left to right, Dan Bai, UCI Ph.D. student in physics & astronomy; Wilson Ho, Bren Professor of physics & astronomy and chemistry; Yunpeng Xia, Ph.D. student in physics & astronomy; and Likun Wang and Ph.D. candidate in chemistry. Credit: Steve Zylius / UCI "The hydrogen molecule became part of the quantum microscope in the sense that wherever the microscope scanned, the hydrogen was there in between the tip and the sample," said Ho. "It makes for an extremely sensitive probe, allowing us to see variations down to 0.1 angstrom. At this resolution, we could see how the charge distributions change on the sample." The space between the STM tip and the sample is almost unimaginably small, about six angstroms or 0.6 nanometers. The STM that Ho and his team assembled is equipped to detect minute electrical current flowing in this space and produce spectroscopic readings proving the presence of the hydrogen molecule and sample elements. Ho said this experiment represents the first demonstration of a chemically sensitive spectroscopy based on terahertz-induced rectification current through a single molecule. The ability to characterize materials at this level of detail based on hydrogen's quantum coherence can be of great use in the science and engineering of catalysts, since their functioning often depends on surface imperfections at the scale of single atoms, according to Ho. "As long as hydrogen can be adsorbed onto a material, in principle, you can use hydrogen as a sensor to characterize the material itself through observations of their electrostatic field distribution," said study lead author Likun Wang, UCI graduate student in physics & astronomy. Joining Ho and Wang on this project was Yunpeng Xia, UCI graduate student in physics & astronomy. More information: Likun Wang et al, Atomic-scale quantum sensing based on the ultrafast coherence of an H 2 molecule in an STM cavity, Science (2022). Journal information: Science Likun Wang et al, Atomic-scale quantum sensing based on the ultrafast coherence of an H 2 molecule in an STM cavity,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abn9220 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Can we find order in chaos? Physicists have shown, for the first time that chaotic systems can synchronize due to stable structures that emerge from chaotic activity. These structures are known as fractals, shapes with patterns which repeat over and over again in different scales of the shape. As chaotic systems are being coupled, the fractal structures of the different systems will start to assimilate with each other, taking the same form, causing the systems to synchronize. If the systems are strongly coupled, the fractal structures of the two systems will eventually become identical, causing complete synchronization between the systems. These findings help us understand how synchronization and self-organization can emerge from systems that didn't have these properties to begin with, like chaotic systems and biological systems. One of the biggest challenges today in physics is to understand chaotic systems. Chaos, in physics, has a very specific meaning. Chaotic systems behave like random systems. Although they follow deterministic laws, their dynamics still will change erratically. Because of the well-known "butterfly effect" their future behavior is unpredictable (like the weather system, for example). Although chaotic systems seem random, they are not, and we can find order in chaos. From chaotic activity emerges a strange new structure or pattern known as a strange attractor. If enough time passes, every chaotic system will attract its unique strange attractor and will stay in this pattern. What's strange about these patterns is that they are composed of fractals, structures with the same patterns repeating over and over again in different scales of the fractal (much like a branching structure of a tree, for example.). In fact, strange attractors are usually composed from multiple fractal structures. Different sets of states of the strange attractor will be part of different fractals and although the system will jump erratically from state to state, these fractals will stay stable throughout the chaotic activity of the system. Because of the butterfly effect, chaotic systems seem to defy synchrony. Their extreme erratic behavior suggests that two coupled chaotic systems cannot be synchronized and have the same activity. Yet, physicists discovered in the 80's that chaotic systems do synchronize. But how can that be? A study by a group of physicists from BarIlan University in Israel, recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests a new answer to this puzzling question. According to the research, led by Dr. Nir Lahav, the emergence of the stable fractals is the key element that gives chaotic systems the ability to synchronize. They showed that as chaotic systems are being coupled, the fractal structures start to assimilate each other causing the systems to synchronize. If the systems are strongly coupled, the fractal structures of the two systems will eventually become identical, causing a complete synchronization between the systems. They termed this phenomenon Topological Synchronization. In low coupling, only small amounts of the fractal structures will become the same, and as the coupling between the systems grows, more fractal structures will become identical. To their surprise, the physicists found that there is a specific trait for the process of how fractals from one system take similar form of the fractals from the other. They discovered that in completely different chaotic systems this process maintains the same form. When the two chaotic systems are weakly coupled, the process usually starts with only particular fractal structures becoming identical. These are sets of sparse fractals that rarely will emerge from the activity of the chaotic system. Synchronization starts when these rare fractals take a similar form in both systems. To get complete synchronization there must be a strong coupling between the systems. Only then will dominant fractals, that emerge most of the time from the system's activity, also become the same. They called this process the Zipper Effect, because when describing it mathematically, it seems that as coupling between chaotic systems becomes stronger, it will gradually "zip up" more fractals to be the same. These findings help us understand how synchronization and self-organization can emerge from systems that didn't have these properties to begin with. For example, observing this process revealed new insights about chaotic synchronization in cases that were never studied before. Usually, physicists study synchronization between similar chaotic systems with small change of parameters between them. Using topological synchronization, the group managed to expand the study of synchronization to extreme cases of chaotic systems that have a big difference between their parameters. Topological synchronization might even help us shed light on how neurons in the brain synchronize with each other. There is some evidence that neural activity in the brain is chaotic. If so, topological synchronization can describe how synchronization emerges from the vast neural activity of the brain using the stable fractal structures. Explore further Scientists reveal for first time the exact process by which chaotic systems synchronize More information: Nir Lahav et al, Topological synchronization of chaotic systems, Scientific Reports (2022). Journal information: Scientific Reports Nir Lahav et al, Topological synchronization of chaotic systems,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06262-z FORT EDWARD It may cost up to $10 million to bring high-speed internet service to 1,200 to 1,500 Washington County households that still dont have it, county economic development director Laura Oswald told the county Agriculture, Planning, Tourism and Development Committee on Tuesday. Of the countys 28,998 households, 10,609 have been hooked up to the internet since the state began its Broadband for All program in 2017, Oswald said. Spectrum Communications was already serving the countys more densely populated areas but refused to give her information on how many connections they had before that year. She was able to get data from Verizon Communications, SLIC Broadband Internet and Hudson Valley Wireless. A survey was done in April 2021 by someone who drove around the county looking for fiber-optic cables on utility poles, Oswald said. That turned up a count of 1,162 unserved households. Oswald said she believes there are more. According to a chart Oswald presented, the town of Jackson has the largest number of households without broadband, 180, followed by Argyle with 157, Granville with 150, Fort Ann with 128, and Hartford with 100. At the other end of the scale, Dresden has zero, Fort Edward has eight, Hebron has 15, Greenwich has 16 and Putnam has 17. Verizon and SLIC, a company that serves New Yorks northernmost counties, are still working to complete their contracts under Broadband for All, Oswald said. The plan had been to finish at the end of April but due to supply chain and other problems, the end date will be sometime in May. I assure you it is getting done, Oswald said. The average per-household connection cost in Washington County has been $4,300, with a range from the low thousands to $15,000. Some very remote houses may never get fiber-optic service, Oswald said. Other potential providers are Hudson Valley Wireless and satellite services Starlink and HughesNet. But Starlink doesnt meet state latency standards, she said. HughesNets speed is only 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload, below the state high-speed minimum of 100 Mbps/25 Mbps. Anyone on HughesNet is considered unserved, Oswald said. Cambridge Supervisor Cassie Fedler said HughesNet was unable to complete its contract in her town, and Easton Supervisor Dan Shaw said his town counts people with Hudson Valley Wireless as unserved. There will be 1,200 to 1,500 unserved households when all this is done, with no plan to get service, she said. Still, were doing better than we thought were going to do. On the bright side, the state recently repealed the state Department of Transportations fee on fiber-optic cables along roadsides. That has a huge impact, Oswald said, by reducing providers operating costs. Theres $300,000 in the new state budget and $1 million in federal funding set aside for expanding internet service through four new state programs, Oswald said, but its not clear yet how much will go to each program. Oswald said she doesnt expect any funds to be released until 2026, so the state can collect data on service gaps. Other funds available to the county and towns through the American Rescue Plan wont be enough to connect everyone, and some towns have already allocated ARPA money for water and sewer projects, Oswald said. We need $10 million, and Im not anticipating the county will pick up the tab, Oswald said. State resources are some years away. How do we keep up the momentum? White Creek Supervisor Jim Griffith noted that internet services keep progressing. What happens when we have to upgrade to 5G? Griffith asked. Some areas may never get 5G, replied Dresden Supervisor Paul Ferguson. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 FORT EDWARD The Washington County Board of Supervisors has until the end of June to adopt a local law allowing videoconferencing if it wants board and committee members to be able to attend meetings remotely, County Attorney Roger Wickes told the boards Government Operations Committee on Tuesday. The new state budget passed earlier this month expanded the states open meeting laws, Wickes said. The new rules require boards and committees to have a physical quorum in a public space before others attending remotely can have a vote. For example, four members of a seven-member committee would have to be in the same room with each other in order to take a legal vote, no matter how many members are coming in via videoconferencing, Wickes said. Once theres a quorum, other members could join remotely as long as they are in a public space, such as a town hall, and the public is notified of that location at least five days in advance, Wickes said. There may be multiple public spaces, for example several town halls. Members would be able to attend from private spaces such as their homes only under extraordinary circumstances. The state law gives some examples of extraordinary circumstances, such as caregiving and being out of town for a funeral, Wickes said. The board would have the power to set others, but it would also have to determine who decides which circumstances qualify, he said. Board and committees can continue to livestream meetings but arent required to unless members are joining by videoconference, Wickes said. If one member Zooms in, everyone else (in the public) has to be able to come in remotely, he said. Salem Supervisor Sue Clary asked what would happen if a group has to go into executive session when one or more members are remote. Her town hall doesnt have a separate room where someone could join a videoconference privately, she said. Thats a question the board will have to ask, Wickes said. The committee voted unanimously to have Wickes draft a policy for discussion at the boards next meeting, May 20. The committee also voted to hold its next meeting in a classroom near the boards chamber that has videoconferencing equipment, instead of the committee room, which does not. Sound system upgrades Committee members balked at the more than $100,000 estimated cost for upgrading the sound system in the supervisors chambers, but agreed that its time to start planning to replace it. County Administrator Melissa Fitch said the original system has never been upgraded. The audio system is extremely old and has to be replaced, said Chief Information Officer Teri McNall. Not doing it wont make the problem go away. Fitch recommended adding two cameras. Wickes said a new system should include provisions for the hearing impaired and an electronic screen for presentations. The county has $233,000 in its information technology reserve that could be applied to the audio system, said Country Treasurer Al Nolette. Fitch said theres another $30,000 for the supervisors chambers in her budget. The committee moved to send the issue to the Finance Committee. Truth Seekers speak Martine Long, of Feura Bush in Rensselaer County, gave a presentation on why her group, Freedom Fighting Truth Seekers, lacks confidence in electronic voting systems. Her group compared the state records of around 28,000 people who voted in 2020 in Washington County and found 779 were not listed as voting in the county records. People voted (in Washington County) but we cant account for them, she said. We need you to stand up for them because their votes are not being counted. The county has a very clean voting record, with only 54 voters out of 39,019 total enrollment having duplicate IDs on the states lists, but theres something happening where our voting records are not being maintained, Long said. The (electronic) systems are purposely vulnerable. Were finding this across the country. There are also issues with voter registration, Long said. Although its possible to register to vote with a Social Security number rather than a drivers license, most such applications are denied, she said. Long noted that some countries in Europe have banned electronic voting systems because its too easy to manipulate them. France mails ballots to all registered voters, she said. We can do that, she said. Long advocated returning to counting ballots by hand, which is what 359 towns in Massachusetts do, she said. Any county in New York could do the same, she said. The record that actually counts is the ballot. Long thanked the committee for letting her speak and exercise her First Amendment rights. Weve been shut down so many times, she said. County Elections Commissioners Thomas Rogers, Republican, and Jeff Curtis, Democrat, attended via video from their office but did not comment. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A north country Democrat is alleging fraud in the ballot petitions filed by one of the candidates seeking his partys nomination in New Yorks 21st Congressional District race. Jason Clark, a leader in the St. Lawrence County Democratic Committee, is calling into question all of the signatures filed by Matt Putorti, the Whitehall-area lawyer who is running for the Democratic nomination to Congress in NY-21. Clark, who along with a small group of other Democrats has been combing through Putortis petitions since they were filed two weeks ago, said there are a number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies on the pages filed. Clark said hes working independently of the local party, despite his position. We started to see a number of questionable signatures, he said. When we got to page 107, theres not a single signature on there thats valid. Clark said he first noticed issues that warranted a closer look when he saw who was circulating the petitions that Putorti needed to submit in order to appear on the ballot. He had 42 witnesses in total, and 12 of them came from New York City, he said. If youve got a high percentage of your signatures being collected by someone who doesnt know the area, thats being paid, its worth looking at. Clarks filing with the state Board of Election lists a litany of issues. He said the petitions dont adequately describe the boundaries of the 21st Congressional District and has incorrect page numbers. The most glaring issue Clark has noted, however, is alleged signature forgeries on pages submitted by two of Putortis witnesses, one of whom is from New York City. A list of other specific issues alleges more than 450 other forged signatures, incomplete voter information, incorrect voter information, altered signatures and incorrect dates. Putortis campaign has maintained since the start that the petitions are entirely legal. Eric Hyers, a senior adviser for the Putorti campaign, said in a statement that Clark is wasting his time with frivolous challenges. Clark and the St. Lawrence County Democrats were early supporters of Matt Castelli, the other candidate running for the partys line in the race for NY-21. Hyers said Clark is just trying to clear the path for Castelli. It is clear that Mr. Clark is deeply frustrated he does not have the power to select the Democratic nominee for NY-21 and clear the field for his chosen candidate, he said. But he does not. And all of his time-wasting, frivolous petition challenges will not change this. Putorti submitted more than 2,500 signatures, double the amount necessary to secure a spot on the primary ballot. Hyers said Clark hasnt opposed enough signatures to invalidate the entire petition, should any be accepted. Clarks filing states that Putorti has no valid signatures whatsoever. This is a temper tantrum by a grown man, Hyers said. He has gone so far as to accuse Matts mother a respected small business owner and upstanding member of this community of forgery. Thats how you know he has completely lost the script. Hyers said its unfortunate that battle lines have developed in the Democratic primary, when there are big issues to discuss. Again we ask: What are Matt Castelli and his supporters like Mr. Clark so afraid will come from debating ideas and policy proposals and allowing Democratic primary voters to make the choice about who is the strongest candidate to take on Elise Stefanik? he said. Clark said hes not specifically accusing Putorti of fraud, but rather of running a sloppy or inefficient campaign. Anyone with a pulse can tell you page 107 is forged, he said. How they missed that is beyond me, but theres still no excuse. The state Board of Elections will hold a hearing this week on the petitions, and issue a ruling on the validity of the signatures shortly after. On the allegations of criminal forgery, Clark can either file a civil suit or take it to law enforcement. Both options, Clark said, are on the table at this point. If the petitions are invalidated, Putorti will not appear on the Democratic primary ballot in June as planned, and Castelli will go on to the general election against Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville. The state BOE has a deadline of May 4 to certify the primary ballot, and hopes to have all petition challenges finished before May 2. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE Despite his ailing health, 62-year-old Jerry Rosado will remain in the Cape May County jail until his trial on charges of sexually assaulting Susan Negersmith in Wildwood in 1990, Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury ruled Friday. Im very happy that he is being detained, said Emily Negersmith, the victims sister, who drove from Manhattan to be in court for the proceeding Friday morning. Susan Negersmith was found dead behind a restaurant on Memorial Day weekend, after visiting the beach town from Carmel, New York. Her murder remains unsolved, and it took 32 years to charge Rosado with sexual assault, based on DNA evidence recovered from Negersmiths body. On Friday, DeLury found there was probable cause for the charges against Rosado, and that no amount of bail money would be enough to ensure he would return for his trial. He ordered that Rosado, of Millville, remain in jail. DeLury cited the seriousness of the accusation against Rosado. His conduct shows that he would present a danger to public safety if released. That danger is somewhat ameliorated by his current physical limitations, the judge said. Rosados defense attorney, Eric Shenkus, told the judge Rosado had cooperated with investigators since he was first contacted about the case, even providing a DNA sample. Until his arrest, Rosado was in an assisted living facility in Cumberland County, Shenkus said, where he was helped with his extensive daily doses of medicines and provided other services. The Cape May County jail is a new facility but is not equipped to provide Rosado with the care he needs, the lawyer argued. Rosado used a wheelchair for his court appearance, being wheeled in by sheriffs officers. He had a gray beard and was wearing prison orange. Rosado did not speak in court. After decades of investigation, Cape May County officials turned to a technique called genetic genealogy analysis to identify Rosado as a suspect. According to the prosecution, Negersmith was severely intoxicated the night she died, with marijuana in her system and a blood alcohol level of 0.285%. The current legal limit to drive in New Jersey is .08%. Saverio Carroccia, assistant Cape May County prosecutor, spoke of witnesses who described Negersmith as debilitatingly intoxicated, unable to stand and certainly unable to give consent. 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 Examples of Rosados DNA were found inside her vagina, he said, and underneath her fingernails. When her body was discovered on a Sunday morning, she was partially undressed, with her shirt pulled up and her underwear and one pant leg pulled to one side, with clear signs of a struggle. Her face was bloody. Broken bones. A chipped tooth, Carroccia said. For decades, investigators followed every lead they could, he said, speaking to multiple witnesses before finding Rosado. After decades of dead ends in the investigation, they had a DNA match for the recovered material, he said. The hit came back at one in 380 million, so thats pretty much as good as it gets, Carroccia said. The investigation put him in Wildwood around that time with the company he was working with. He said there is no question that the charges meet the probable cause standard, which was the first question before the judge. Shenkus argued the DNA evidence is not as rock solid as the prosecution suggests. DNA evidence often results in matches of one in quintillions, or 18 zeros after the first digit. 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 More numbers than are in Jeff Bezos bank account, he said. A connection of one in 380 million is not as certain, he said, which he compared to hitting the lottery. Thats a lucky day for anybody, but its not something that only happens once, he said. The DNA found under Nergersmiths fingernails was a less certain match, he said, closer to 1 in 650. That could mean a match with several people in a community. Not 650 million. Not 650 thousand. One in 650, he said. That, your honor, I would contend, is not, quote, as good as it gets. Rosado had worked for a painting company. Shenkus said in court that the former employer told investigators Rosado worked for the company for about 30 years, including occasionally in the Wildwood area, which he said gave a wide window for when Rosado may have been there. Rosado denies having sex with Negersmith or anyone else that weekend, according to the courtroom presentations Friday. According to Shenkus, investigators found that Negersmith had sex with at least three other men in the 24 hours before she died, and he said the witness who told police she was too drunk to walk had left her near the restaurant where her body was found, and told others that night that he had had sex with her. 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 is the key witness that theyre citing in their affidavit of probable cause, he said. The prosecutor has offered zero evidence of probable cause. Carroccia said that man, and other witnesses, were long ago eliminated as suspects by investigators. Carroccia told the judge his role was not to serve as an investigator but to decide whether there was enough evidence to charge Rosado. DeLury found there was sufficient probable cause to support the charges. The next question was whether to release him until the trial. Shenkus said Rosado has been extremely cooperative with the investigation, including voluntarily providing a DNA sample. He said after he became ill, he had traveled to Georgia to see his biological daughter. There he was approached by investigators from Cape May County, who told him he was now the primary suspect. According to Shenkus, Rosado then returned to South Jersey, even though at the time that meant living in his car. He has already proven to the court that he is not a risk for flight, Shenkus said. He has cooperated from the moment he has been contacted by the Cape May County Prosecutors Office. That took place in May 2021. Since that time, Rosado had a serious heart attack, requiring a quadruple bypass. In 2010, he was in a car accident that left him disabled, Shenkus said, including a traumatic brain injury that affected his long-term memory. He is also diabetic, requiring insulin before each meal and many other medicines. He has to take 12 different pills throughout the day, Shenkus said. Rosado has had other arrests, including disorderly persons charges for larceny, burglary and joyriding. But these date from decades ago, Shenkus said, mostly from when Rosado was in his 20s, with the most recent taking place in 2005, a disorderly assault charge. In the 1980s, he served a 90-day jail term, DeLury said. This brings no justice to this 62-year-old man, Mr. Rosado, and quite frankly, it brings no justice to the Negersmith family, Shenkus said. Carroccia spoke of Negermiths intoxication, indicating she was in no position to give consent. He described her blood alcohol content as being as damning as the DNA evidence. Emily Negersmith, who was a small child when her sister died, remained impassive in court while the proceedings continued. She said she was not distressed by what she heard about her older sister. The hardest part was hearing the defense try to claim that the DNA was not his, she said after the hearing. Ive heard all of this my entire life. Ive very familiar with the details of the case. When it came to ruling on whether to offer bail, DeLury remained on the bench, silent as the seconds stretched into minutes, before ruling that Rosado should remain in jail. Shenkus said he plans to appeal the detention ruling. He has seven days to do so. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Atlantic County will provide free tree seedlings to residents April 29 through the New Jersey Tree Recovery Campaign. The distribution is a joint effort of the county government, the New Jersey Forest Service, the state Forest Nursery, New Jersey Soil Conservation Districts, Sustainable Jersey and the Arbor Day Foundation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation and the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day. The goal is to plant trees today that will create future forests, according to a news release from the county. Were pleased to offer this program again that was temporarily halted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, county Executive Dennis Levinson said. Trees benefit us in many ways adding natural beauty, reducing home cooling costs and providing wildlife habitats. Maryland driver killed after hitting tree in Hamilton Township Police responded to the crash on the highways eastbound side near milepost 42 about 4 p.m. Pickup will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Warren E. Fox Nature Center in the Atlantic County Park, Route 50, Estell Manor. The first 200 residents will receive seedling bundles, all of which are native to the coastal habitat of the area. One thousand seedlings will be distributed in bundles of five per household with instructions on storage, care and planting. Recipients should plant the seedlings soon after receiving them to prevent the roots from drying out. Information will include how to choose a proper planting site with the trees mature growth size in mind. If you would like to participate, call ahead to confirm seedling availability. For more information, call the county Division of Parks and Recreation at 609-625-1897. 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. Following the success of "Transformers" franchise, director Michael Bay's new action-thriller film "Ambulance" hopes to find similar popularity when it hits Chinese cinemas this weekend. The film, a remake based on the 2005 Danish film of the same name by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen, stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza Gonzalez and follows two adoptive siblings turned bank robbers who hijack an ambulance and take two first responders hostage. The film is packed with high-octane action and gunfights, sticking close to Bay's explosion-heavy fare and using plot elements that mirror "Speed" (1994) and "Bad Boys" (1995). The director has said that he did not watch or read the screenplay of the original Danish film because he wanted to make the film his own. The film is the result of rapid project that began in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles canceled Bay's plans to shoot his next film "Black Five." Tired of being locked up at home, he pitched an idea to Donna Langley, chairperson of Universal Pictures, and said he wanted to direct a "small" film focusing on the tension between characters trapped in a claustrophobic setting. "Ambulance," therefore, could be shot on a relatively low budget and in a short period of time, which suited his needs. The film was shot on a $40 million budget in downtown Los Angeles, wrapping after 38 days. The cast and crew had to follow safety protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as wearing masks on set. The production borrowed a total of six ambulances from Falck, a global market leader in emergency response and healthcare services. Parts of the film were shot using First Person View drones by LightCraft, and were flown by Drone Racing League pilots Jordan Temkin and Alex Vanover using head-mounted displays. Bay's last film to hit China was "Transformers: The Last Knight" in 2017, making 1.55 billion yuan. "Ambulance" received rave reviews after its premiere in Beijing on April 19. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 68% of 208 critics gave the film a positive review. It will be released in China nationwide on April 22 amid the COVID-19 resurgence as more than half of Chinese cinemas are closed. Prior to it hitting the Chinese market, the film has already grossed $41.6 million worldwide as of April 19, 2022. Besides "Ambulance," Universal Pictures will also import a slew of new films to the Chinese market. Previously, "The Bad Guys" was announced to be released on April 29. On Thursday, it was announced "Marry Me" and "Downton Abbey: A New Era" will be released in China on May 13 and May 20, respectively. Finally, the juggernaut sequel "Jurassic World: Dominion" will also come to China, though no release date has so far been set. CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE Despite his ailing health, 62-year-old Jerry Rosado will remain in the Cape May County jail until his trial on charges of sexually assaulting Susan Negersmith in Wildwood in 1990, Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury ruled Friday. Im very happy that he is being detained, said Emily Negersmith, the victims sister, who drove from Manhattan to be in court for the proceeding Friday morning. Susan Negersmith was found dead behind a restaurant on Memorial Day weekend, after visiting the beach town from Carmel, New York. Her murder remains unsolved, and it took 32 years to charge Rosado with sexual assault, based on DNA evidence recovered from Negersmiths body. On Friday, DeLury found there was probable cause for the charges against Rosado, and that no amount of bail money would be enough to ensure he would return for his trial. He ordered that Rosado, of Millville, remain in jail. DeLury cited the seriousness of the accusation against Rosado. His conduct shows that he would present a danger to public safety if released. That danger is somewhat ameliorated by his current physical limitations, the judge said. Rosados defense attorney, Eric Shenkus, told the judge Rosado had cooperated with investigators since he was first contacted about the case, even providing a DNA sample. Until his arrest, Rosado was in an assisted living facility in Cumberland County, Shenkus said, where he was helped with his extensive daily doses of medicines and provided other services. The Cape May County jail is a new facility but is not equipped to provide Rosado with the care he needs, the lawyer argued. Rosado used a wheelchair for his court appearance, being wheeled in by sheriffs officers. He had a gray beard and was wearing prison orange. Rosado did not speak in court. After decades of investigation, Cape May County officials turned to a technique called genetic genealogy analysis to identify Rosado as a suspect. According to the prosecution, Negersmith was severely intoxicated the night she died, with marijuana in her system and a blood alcohol level of 0.285%. The current legal limit to drive in New Jersey is .08%. Saverio Carroccia, assistant Cape May County prosecutor, spoke of witnesses who described Negersmith as debilitatingly intoxicated, unable to stand and certainly unable to give consent. 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 Examples of Rosados DNA were found inside her vagina, he said, and underneath her fingernails. When her body was discovered on a Sunday morning, she was partially undressed, with her shirt pulled up and her underwear and one pant leg pulled to one side, with clear signs of a struggle. Her face was bloody. Broken bones. A chipped tooth, Carroccia said. For decades, investigators followed every lead they could, he said, speaking to multiple witnesses before finding Rosado. After decades of dead ends in the investigation, they had a DNA match for the recovered material, he said. The hit came back at one in 380 million, so thats pretty much as good as it gets, Carroccia said. The investigation put him in Wildwood around that time with the company he was working with. He said there is no question that the charges meet the probable cause standard, which was the first question before the judge. Shenkus argued the DNA evidence is not as rock solid as the prosecution suggests. DNA evidence often results in matches of one in quintillions, or 18 zeros after the first digit. 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 More numbers than are in Jeff Bezos bank account, he said. A connection of one in 380 million is not as certain, he said, which he compared to hitting the lottery. Thats a lucky day for anybody, but its not something that only happens once, he said. The DNA found under Nergersmiths fingernails was a less certain match, he said, closer to 1 in 650. That could mean a match with several people in a community. Not 650 million. Not 650 thousand. One in 650, he said. That, your honor, I would contend, is not, quote, as good as it gets. Rosado had worked for a painting company. Shenkus said in court that the former employer told investigators Rosado worked for the company for about 30 years, including occasionally in the Wildwood area, which he said gave a wide window for when Rosado may have been there. Rosado denies having sex with Negersmith or anyone else that weekend, according to the courtroom presentations Friday. According to Shenkus, investigators found that Negersmith had sex with at least three other men in the 24 hours before she died, and he said the witness who told police she was too drunk to walk had left her near the restaurant where her body was found, and told others that night that he had had sex with her. 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 is the key witness that theyre citing in their affidavit of probable cause, he said. The prosecutor has offered zero evidence of probable cause. Carroccia said that man, and other witnesses, were long ago eliminated as suspects by investigators. Carroccia told the judge his role was not to serve as an investigator but to decide whether there was enough evidence to charge Rosado. DeLury found there was sufficient probable cause to support the charges. The next question was whether to release him until the trial. Shenkus said Rosado has been extremely cooperative with the investigation, including voluntarily providing a DNA sample. He said after he became ill, he had traveled to Georgia to see his biological daughter. There he was approached by investigators from Cape May County, who told him he was now the primary suspect. According to Shenkus, Rosado then returned to South Jersey, even though at the time that meant living in his car. He has already proven to the court that he is not a risk for flight, Shenkus said. He has cooperated from the moment he has been contacted by the Cape May County Prosecutors Office. That took place in May 2021. Since that time, Rosado had a serious heart attack, requiring a quadruple bypass. In 2010, he was in a car accident that left him disabled, Shenkus said, including a traumatic brain injury that affected his long-term memory. He is also diabetic, requiring insulin before each meal and many other medicines. He has to take 12 different pills throughout the day, Shenkus said. Rosado has had other arrests, including disorderly persons charges for larceny, burglary and joyriding. But these date from decades ago, Shenkus said, mostly from when Rosado was in his 20s, with the most recent taking place in 2005, a disorderly assault charge. In the 1980s, he served a 90-day jail term, DeLury said. This brings no justice to this 62-year-old man, Mr. Rosado, and quite frankly, it brings no justice to the Negersmith family, Shenkus said. Carroccia spoke of Negermiths intoxication, indicating she was in no position to give consent. He described her blood alcohol content as being as damning as the DNA evidence. Emily Negersmith, who was a small child when her sister died, remained impassive in court while the proceedings continued. She said she was not distressed by what she heard about her older sister. The hardest part was hearing the defense try to claim that the DNA was not his, she said after the hearing. Ive heard all of this my entire life. Ive very familiar with the details of the case. When it came to ruling on whether to offer bail, DeLury remained on the bench, silent as the seconds stretched into minutes, before ruling that Rosado should remain in jail. Shenkus said he plans to appeal the detention ruling. He has seven days to do so. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ATLANTIC CITY One of two city men chased down and arrested by police Tuesday night had a loaded handgun on him, police said. Officers responded to a gunshot alert at 11:11 p.m. in the 1600 block of Wabash Avenue. Once in the area, officers saw two men quickly walk away from the area where the alert was reported, police said in a news release. The men ran as officers tried to stop them, entering a convenience store in the 600 block of North New York Avenue, police said. Police said the men, Quamir Beltran and Oquan Thomas, both 18, were found in the store. Officers found a loaded gun and a plastic bag of suspected cocaine on Beltran, police said. Atlantic City revelers celebrate 420 on eve of cannabis legal sales ATLANTIC CITY Come Thursday, people will be able to buy recreational cannabis in the state Beltran was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a large-capacity magazine, possession of a ghost gun (a handgun without a serial number), possession of a controlled dangerous substance and obstruction. He was taken to the Atlantic County jail. Thomas was charged with obstruction and was released on a summons pending court. No one was injured by the gunfire, police Public Information Officer Sgt. Paul Aristizabal said. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin 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. ATLANTIC CITY A city man is facing weapons and drug charges after police say they found a loaded gun and suspected heroin and crack during a surveillance operation around Florida Avenue. Louis Roe, 25, was seen loitering in the first block of South Florida Avenue on Thursday while detectives watched, police said Friday in a news release. Roe was observed taking part in suspected illegal drug exchanges, and information also indicated he was carrying a firearm, police said. Detectives approached Roe, who attempted to flee and resisted arrest, police said. Roe was carrying large quantities of drugs and a fully loaded Glock handgun, which fell out of his pants while officers fought to restrain him, police said. The firearm was stocked with hollow-point bullets and a high-capacity magazine, police said. Roe is charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a weapon, possessing a weapon during a drug distribution offense, possession of hollow-point ammunition, possession of a high-capacity magazine, aggravated assaulted on police, resisting arrest and obstruction. He was taken to the Atlantic County jail. About 500 individual wax folds of suspected heroin and 14 grams of crack cocaine were recovered from Roe, police said. Additionally, officers found more than $2,000 believed to be illegal drug-sale profits, police said. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin 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. VINELAND The Jewish Federation of Cumberland, Gloucester & Salem Counties will host a two-part commemoration of the Holocaust in May. The commemoration will consist of a service of remembrance at 1 p.m. May 1 at Beth Israel Congregation and a monthlong exhibit at the Vineland Public Library starting May 2. The library exhibit, From the Ashes to Die Goldene Medina, will have photographs and stories showing the tragedy of the Holocaust and survivors who established themselves in the post-World War II world, including some survivors from the area. The Vineland area became a poultry agricultural capital for a large part of the country as survivors settled in this area and became chicken farmers, building that industry and creating such businesses as the Vineland Poultry Laboratory known from coast to coast, Kirk Wisemayer, former executive director of the Jewish Federation and co-founder of the Jewish Historical Society, said in a news release. The service will include musical selections relating to Holocaust remembrance with participating Jewish community leaders, clergy and students from Vineland High Schools Search for Conscience class. It also will include the annual presentation of the Miles Lerman Holocaust Education Award. This years recipients are members of the South Jersey Holocaust Coalition. The chairperson of coalition is Harry Furman, a son of Holocaust survivors and a former social studies teacher who pioneered the first New Jersey high school semester course on the Holocaust and genocide. We hope that people will come out and see the exhibit and attend the service. With all the horrors facing areas of the world today, people can learn from the past to carve out a better tomorrow, Wisemayer said. Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the Jewish Federation at 856-696-4445. 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 guidelines, which outline what schools should teach students by the end of second, fifth, eighth and 12th grade, have also prompted an outcry from some parents. The most controversial concepts revolve around lessons that discuss gender identity by the end of second grade; puberty and masturbation by the end of fifth grade; and understanding types of intercourse by eighth grade. Here is some background on the controversy: Whats the origin of the changes? In 2020, after five months of discussion, public comments and revisions, New Jersey adopted revised Student Learning Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education a 66-page document that established core ideas for sex education intended to promote physical and emotional well-being among students. Some of the guidelines are similar to the previous set released in 2014, but the latest adds performance expectations and language around masturbation and types of sexual activity. While implementation of the standards was delayed after the pandemic shut down schools in March 2020, the standards are now expected to take effect in September, barring any changes. School districts are in the process of revising their curricula to meet the new expectations. Why are they controversial? Republicans strike back against sex ed standards with parental rights bills New Jersey Republicans upset over new state standards for sex education have introduced bill The controversy was ignited in February after sample sex-education lesson plans posted online, including by state Sen. Holly Schepisi, R-Bergen, and distributed to parents at a Westfield school board meeting said second graders would learn about gender identity and that they can have boy parts but feel like a girl. The standards listed a performance expectation that students should be able to discuss how people express their gender. Superintendent Raymond Gonzalez has said the materials were presented only as a resource, and the district has not updated its curriculum to comply with revised state standards. Two other standards have prompted the biggest outcry from critics: teaching fifth graders about concepts that could include masturbation, and romantic and sexual feelings, and teaching eighth graders about making healthy decisions about sex, which could include being able to define vaginal, anal and oral intercourse. Does the state determine lesson plans? No. While the state sets the standards, or expectations of what students should learn, it doesnt provide curriculum or lesson plans to districts. Instead, the state leaves it to districts to select instructional materials that reflect the values of their local community. School boards are encouraged to get community feedback from parents, business leaders and other stakeholders. Law enforcement at multiple levels works to address trafficking A dizzying number of agencies is working on the issue of human trafficking in Atlantic City, The state noted that the performance expectations are merely examples, and schools are not required to include specific words or concepts cited by the state to meet the standards. Can parents dispute the curriculum? Parents have the right to opt their children out of the lessons. They must submit a signed statement to the school indicating the instruction in health, family life or sex education conflicts with moral or religious beliefs and the student should be excused from that portion of the course. What happens next? Gov. Phil Murphy has directed the state Department of Education to review the curriculum and provide further clarification on what age-appropriate guidelines look like for our students. A timeline was not provided. State Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, plans to introduce the Transparency in Health & Sex Education Curriculum bill to clarify the sex-education standards. Among other provisions, it would require school districts to place all curricula on their website 14 days before the start of the school year. GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP When Michael Ofsanko registered for Gail Rosenthals Holocaust and Genocide Education class at Stockton University, he had no idea he was following in a family tradition. Ofsanko, a biology major from Lacey Township who plans to become a physical therapist, was shocked to find the class he had registered for, taught by Rosenthal, director of the Sara and Sam Schoffer Holocaust Resource Center at Stockton, had also been taken by both his mother, Sharon Ofsanko, and his grandfather John Dominy. I needed a W2 (writing) elective, and I like history. After I registered, my mom looked and said she had taken that class. She said her father had also taken the class and had gone to Israel. So I called my grandfather and he said yes, the class was with Gail Rosenthal, Ofsanko said in a news release from the university. Dominy, of the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey, enrolled at Stockton in 1994 after dropping out of college as a young man. He graduated in 1999. He said he took Rosenthals course because he had always been interested in World War II and the Holocaust, and the course included the opportunity to travel to Israel. Dominy joined Ofsanko for a reunion with Rosenthal to reminisce about the course and its relevance today. He brought along a scrapbook of photos he saved from the Stockton Study Tour to Israel in 1999. Cumberland Jewish Federation to host Holocaust service, exhibit VINELAND The Jewish Federation of Cumberland, Gloucester & Salem Counties will host a I remember talking to survivors here and in Jerusalem, Dominy said. There was Ruth Brand, who had climbed out of a pit and survived when others were shot, and Hannah Pick Goslar, who was a friend of Anne Frank. Associate professor of history Michael Hayse, who also went on the trip, said study tours have a huge impact on students. It gets them out of the American bubble to see other parts of the world, he said. Dominy said he still remembers the Holocaust theme of never forget and how relevant it remains. He and Hayse looked at his scrapbook of the trip, remembering where they were and whom they met. The trips have been temporarily put on hold because of the COVID-10 pandemic. Rosenthal said she tries to connect real-life experiences to the lessons of the Holocaust. Travel really shows students how other cultures live, Rosenthal said. Rosenthal said it is important to link events from the past to the present and to the students own histories. I try to relate students to their own personal past and what is part of our American history, Rosenthal said. It is crucial that we keep sharing these lessons with future generations. 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. City Council voted 5-2 to table an ordinance Thursday night that would prohibit alcohol sales in the city between 2 and 9 a.m., except as provided by the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Local business owners had expressed their discontent with the ordinance, alarmed it could negatively impact current or future businesses. Council member Nicholas LaRotonda made the motion to table. While he said he did not want businesses selling alcohol 24 hours a day, LaRotonda said he wanted time to allow business owners to voice their concerns. He suggested council form a committee to discuss the issue. I would like to see us have a working relationship with our business owners and come to some sort of compromise, LaRotonda said. Council member Stephen Light said prospective entrepreneurs had contacted him, concerned a last-call ordinance could hurt their business. The ordinances planned reintroduction followed the shutdown of one of the citys bars. Hi Point Pub, off the White Horse Pike, had its liquor license indefinitely suspended by the ABC earlier this month. The business has since closed. Absecon's Hi Point Pub closes, liquor license suspended indefinitely ABSECON The Hi Point Pub has closed after the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control Hi Point, which had been in business for more than 50 years, is accused of allowing fights to happen on its premises, serving underage drinkers, overserving alcohol to customers some of whom have been charged with driving while intoxicated staffing ineligible employees and having a suspected involvement in two fatal motor vehicle crashes. The ABC also is investigating the bars involvement in a January car accident that left an Absecon man dead. According to the report, a 24-year-old Northfield man who had been drinking at the bar struck a car and killed its driver and then fled the scene. Hi Point ownership contends it has taken numerous steps to comply with state regulations. Council President Betty Howell said Thursday night she and Mayor Kimberly Horton had spoken with business owners before meeting to inform them of the legislation. Various business owners who spoke during the meeting nevertheless criticized the last-call ordinance. Jim Falivene, owner of the Black Cat Bar & Grill, across Shore Road from Hi Point, said the ordinance could hurt any prospective businesses that might want to operate early into the morning in Absecon. He also said it would be disrespectful to the previous Hi Point ownership, which he said had operated for decades without causing any problems. Reducing hours of operations, Falivene argued, would not solve problems that have their root in irresponsible ownership. The way I look at it is, changing the ordinance I dont believe would help anything, Falivene said. Its up to the business owner to operate the business properly. Leo McLaughlin, a resident who also spoke at the meeting Thursday, said he thought the ordinance would punish current and prospective businesses for the misbehavior of one. He said it was especially important that council be mindful of all its businesses, given the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on bars and restaurants over the past two years. Council members Sandra Cain and Caleb Cavileer voted against tabling the ordinance. Cain said she believed the business owners could be consulted between the introduction of the ordinance and its public hearing, and council would be able to consider any amendments. She added that ensuring that alcohol was not sold 24 hours a day was a vital interest for the city and its residents. I think we talked about the safety of our town and our citizens and we dont want a 24-hour business, so Im voting no to (the motion to table), Cain said. Cavileer called the last-call ordinance a matter of public safety. Council previously tabled the ordinance in December. At that time, some members of council were concerned about the effect the restrictions could have on businesses. Other business owners also spoke out against the ordinance Thursday. Patrizia Rifici, an owner of the Hangtime Bar & Grille just over the border in Galloway Township, said her bar receives many of the same clientele Hi Point had served and they had not caused problems for her. Integration activists speak at Greater Egg school board meeting EGG HARBOR CITY Activists demanding more integrated New Jersey schools are continuing thei Atlantic County Republican Chairman Don Purdy, who owns multiple businesses in Galloway, told council they should be vigilant when determining which businesses should receive liquor licenses, and that that would be a more equitable solution than an ordinance that would affect all businesses in the area. The buck stops here, with this governing body, Purdy said. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin 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. Eric Conklin Follow Eric Conklin 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 MIDDLE TOWNSHIP Bounce houses and similar inflatables, a staple at childrens parties and community events, may face tougher insurance requirements or be banned outright from township-owned property. On April 18, the Township Committee tabled an ordinance that would have banned bounce houses and similar inflatable amusement devices from being used on township land. Mayor Tim Donohue said the pause in legislative action will give officials time to consider how to balance their legal concerns with community groups desire to have something fun for children at their events. The ordinance was tabled after some community members spoke out. Donohue, who said he made the motion to table the ordinance, said those disagreeing with the ordinance feel it would hinder recreational activities for kids, and that keeping the air-filled rubber fun houses and castles on township land can be done if the operator carries liability insurance. They gave us some stuff to think about, Donohue said of the opponents of the proposed ban. Bounce houses may seem harmless, but they can occasionally be hazardous. Earlier this year, a Hickory, North Carolina, woman shared a video online in which a child was almost struck by a bounce house flying through the air after gusts lifted it off the ground. The child dodged the inflatable house moments before it thudded against an actual home. The proposed Middle Township ordinance would have banned bounce houses or similar inflatables from being used by third parties on township-owned property, such as parks. A $500 fine would be issued for the first offense, followed by $1,000 for subsequent offenses. Donohue said talk of banning bounce houses and other similar air-filled amusement devices developed after the townships insurance fund administrators brought up the liability concern. Township Committee, Donohue said, needs to ensure it is safeguarding taxpayers from avoidable liability claims. Donohue said existing rules require vendors to have liability insurance. Plus, anyone hosting an event must agree that the township is not responsible for any injuries. But, he said, some events have happened in which that fell through the cracks, for whatever reason. We had our consultant look at it, and he said, Probably the best thing you should do is just say no bouncy houses. Then you dont have to worry about the liability at all, Donohue said. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin 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. TRENTON Recreational marijuana use by New Jersey police officers will likely be problematic for officers and the agencies that manage them, said state Sen. Michael Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. If the very people who enforce our laws in New Jersey are concerned about the many legal ramifications for recreational pot use by their members, it should give us all pause, Testa said in response to a recent Politico story about a memo written by the New Jersey State Policemens Benevolent Association warning members against off-duty recreational cannabis use. Recreational marijuana sales in the state began Thursday, with hundreds forming lines at dispensaries statewide. But questions remain as to how off-duty police officers should use the drug if theyd like. Testa on Thursday criticized Gov. Phil Murphy for the confusion, saying the governor signed a law that doesnt take into account larger considerations, including federal rules about drug use. This reckless and short-sighted law, and Phil Murphys continuing ignorance about how our federal system of government works, will likely cause an unsuspecting citizen to suffer real and long-lasting legal consequences, Testa said in a statement. Federal law precludes a user of marijuana from owning a gun. That is something that the legalization proponents likely never considered. While announcing an additional class of state troopers for Fiscal Year 2023, Murphy, in response a reporters question, said he would be open to a legislative fix on the matter. But he reminded the public that any law enforcement employee who comes to work impaired by alcohol or drugs would be be dealt with aggressively. That has been the case always, and it will continue to be the case, Murphy said. New Jersey residents voted to legalize marijuana in November 2020, leading to Thursday, when 13 dispensaries began selling legal cannabis. State Attorney General Matt Platkin issued a memo giving off-duty officers clearance to use recreational marijuana. They cant, however, engage in illegal purchase of the drug, the memo said. But state PBA President Pat Colligan warned members against using the drug at all in his own memo, insisting there were too many unanswered questions from the state regarding the use of recreational cannabis by off-duty officers that could result in negative consequences. If I was an active-duty officer thats going to be in a patrol car the next day or in a prison cellblock in a day or two, I would ask you to please wait, Colligan told Politico. Were not really taking a hard yes or no position. Were just saying we dont want anyone to be the test case. This is really murky ground. Lets be careful about it. Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin 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. DES MOINES While he said the bridges arent Republican or Democrat, federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he does notice when elected Republicans who opposed federal infrastructure funding tout its impact. Buttigieg and U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, both Democrats, spoke to Iowa reporters Thursday on a press call about infrastructure funding and projects. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in 2021 passed with just two Republican yes votes in the U.S. House and 19 yes votes in the U.S. Senate, including Iowas Chuck Grassley. All House and Senate Democrats voted for the bill. One of the things that weve found is that even those political figures who did not support this funding seem to be no less eager to have that funding come to communities, Buttigieg said. Look, the point of this is to benefit communities; you cut through the politics and its about making sure we actually get things done. The bridges arent Republican or Democrat. You do notice some of the folks who campaigned or argued against this legislation who now seem to be very happy for this funding to be coming to their districts or their states, Buttigieg added. I guess Id say the sincerest form of flattery is when a politician who was not for one of these policies winds up agreeing with how great they are in practice. Iowa will receive roughly $5 billion in federal infrastructure funding over five years, the White House estimated. The state transportation department estimated the funding will create a 25 percent boost in the first year, increasing to a 35 percent boost by the fifth year. While the federal funding comes with guidelines, it is largely up to states to determine how and where to deploy the funding. When we talk about, for example, $3.9 billion coming to Iowa for roads and bridges alone, thats funding that were going to oversee, but then it will be up to state and local leaders to effectively deploy, Buttigieg said. According to the White House, the infrastructure bill will provide to Iowa: $3.4 billion for highways in poor condition $432 million for bridge replacement and repairs $638 million for water infrastructure $305 million for public transportation $120 million for airport infrastructure and upgrades $100 million and possibly more for expanding broadband internet coverage $15 million for protection against cyberattacks. Iowa received an overall C grade in the most recent Infrastructure Report Card from the national American Society of Civil Engineers, including a C+ grade for its roads. According to the report, 29 percent of Iowas major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and 15 percent of the states rural roads are in poor condition. That report credited the 2015 fuel tax increase for much needed funding for short-term critical needs. That same report gives Iowa a D+ for the condition of its bridges. Iowa has the largest share of structurally deficient bridges in the nation, according to the report. Roughly 4,500 bridges in Iowa are in poor condition, according to state transportation data, roughly 4,300 of which are under county jurisdictions. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Thursday called for the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) to actively provide "Boao plans" for regional development, and make more suggestions for pandemic response cooperation, global economic recovery and low-carbon development, among other issues. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when he met in south China's Hainan Province with members of the BFA board of directors and representatives of the forum's strategic partners. Han also attended the opening ceremony of BFA Annual Conference 2022 and exchanged views with representatives from the business sector. In the face of challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, the will to safeguard peace and security, enhance cooperation and work for common development must be strengthened, and such an aspiration must be put into action in a timely manner, Han said. BFA Chairman Ban Ki-moon and other representatives attending the meeting expressed their willingness to play a positive role in promoting cooperation in Asia and in regional economic integration. When he met with entrepreneurs, Han noted that China's economy is generally stable and that China is fully confident in its ability to realize sustained and sound economic development. China will ensure the stable supply of energy and electricity this year, and continue to forge a market-oriented, law-based business environment, he said. Entrepreneurs attending the meeting made positive comments about the Chinese government's efforts to continuously open up the country and improve its business environment, and expressed their readiness to seize opportunities in China and take further part in China's development. Members of the public will have a chance to learn more and weigh in on planning for a new Interstate 80 bridge over the Mississippi River. The Illinois and Iowa departments of transportation will host a virtual public meeting from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, to present findings from studies for the replacement of the span between LeClaire and Rapids City. Participants can register to attend the meeting by clicking this link, or on the project website at I80MississippiBridge.com. DOT officials have been evaluating traffic, existing conditions and potential improvements along a roughly 6-mile stretch of I-80 from the Interstate 88 interchange in East Moline to 35th Street Southwest in Bettendorf, according to an Illinois DOT press release. The meeting will feature a video presentation and question-and-answer session with representatives from the Illinois and Iowa DOTs and the project consultant team. Exhibits will also be available for review, according to the Illinois DOT. The I-80 Mississippi River Bridge was built in 1967 and is one of three major interstate bridges in the Quad-Cities. "The bridge has required significant repairs and rehabilitation in recent years, and traffic is increasing with associated increases in crashes," according to the DOT news release. "The aging bridge continues to face costly maintenance expenses, and the highway design does not meet current standards. In 2020, Illinois and Iowa conducted an online public meeting to introduce a Planning and Environment Linkages study of the bridge and corridor. Since then, the project team has continued to evaluate existing conditions," of safety and capacity and identify potential improvement alternatives. The study is expected to conclude in late 2023 with a report and recommendation of a preferred alternative. In the meantime, DOT officials will gather public input through May 25, according to the release. Meeting materials and the video presentation will be available after the meeting on the project website, I80MississippiBridge.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. Henry Dinkins, accused of killing 10-year-old Breasia Terrell, will have his trial in Linn County, not Scott County. Dinkins, 49, of Davenport, is accused of kidnapping Breasia on the morning of July 10, 2020. He is alleged to have shot her to death. Her remains were found March 22, 2021, by two fisherman in a Clinton County pond. Dinkins has since been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Each of the charges is a Class A felony under Iowa law that carries a mandatory prison sentence of life without parole. In court documents filed Thursday, the Iowa Supreme Court stated the trial will be moved to Linn County. The supreme court ordered that District Judge Henry Latham who is presiding over Dinkins case and a court reporter be reimbursed for travel and subsistence expenses related to the shift in location. The trial is scheduled for Oct. 17, according to court records. Dinkins consented to the change in venue on April 11, though the change was not finalized at that time. Dinkins and his former court-appointed attorney, Miguel Puentes, requested a change of venue. Latham ordered it March 30 without establishing the location. Puentes withdrew from the case after he and Dinkins could not reconcile a break in their attorney-client relationship, according to court records. Dinkins attorneys, Chad and Jennifer Frese of Marshalltown, were appointed April 4 by Latham. Dinkins is being held in the Marshall County Jail. Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane said on April 12 that Dinkins was moved so he could to be closer to his new attorneys. 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. Thomas Geyer Follow Thomas Geyer Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A Davenport firefighter was injured and a family displaced after their home was damaged by a Thursday evening garage fire. The Davenport Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at 5:23 p.m. Thursday in the 4800 block of Armil Place. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find a detached garage fully engulfed in flame, according to a news release from the fire department. All occupants of the house were outside of the residence by the time firefighters arrived, according to the Davenport Fire Department. Flames shot through the roof and overhead doors of the garage, which sat about 10 feet from the house, according to the fire department. And smoke from the fire floated south to Kimberly Road. Five apparatus and one command vehicle for a total of 16 fire personnel responded to the blaze. Crews had the fire under control within about 30 minutes and remained on the scene for a few hours extinguishing hot spots, according to the department news release. The garage was destroyed along with its contents, which included two vehicles. Heat from the fire also melted a large section of siding on the adjacent house and caused some smoke damage in an attic space. Occupants of the home were displaced by the fire but did not require assistance from the American Red Cross, according to the Davenport Fire Department. The release did not state how many residents were displaced by the fire, and messages left with the Davenport Fire Department Friday morning were not immediately returned. None of the residents were injured in the fire; however, a Davenport firefighter received a minor injury that required medical attention, according to the news release. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to Davenport Fire Marshal Jim Morris. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Small business programming at Western Illinois University-Quad-Cities Campus got a boost this month with the announcement of $400,000 in federal funding, secured with assistance from U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline. Bustos submitted the funding request to the government last June as part of the Financial Services and General Government legislation through her position on the House Appropriations Committee. While presenting a mock check to university officials on Thursday, Bustos said the money is from the Community Project Funding program. "It was a very, very competitive process," she said. "We had communities, we had projects, we had counties, we had cities all over this 7,000-square-mile, 14-county Congressional district (apply). We have 150 towns in this congressional district, so you can imagine how many different organizations, towns and counties had put in really meaningful project requests." Bustos helped secure a total of $55 million through the Community Project Funding process for northwest and central Illinois. "We know half of small-business workers come from the smallest of small businesses and that 2.1 million of those jobs in the state of Illinois are in small business," she said. Chris Merrett, director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at WIU, said the funding would go toward three programs: the promotion of new business start-ups through entrepreneurship training; assistance for existing small businesses to explore new markets; and support for late-stage businesses to create business succession plans. "This money is going to help us drive innovation and business success along the business ownership life cycle," Merrett said. "How do we nurture a sustainable Main Street economy? That's what we are trying to do here." Merrett said the campus currently had an existing small-business development center that had "done some great things" in the community. "This money will help build on our existing successes," he said. "We'll be expanding services to reach out to minority, women and immigrant communities through bi-lingual workshops, bi-lingual training materials and digital literacy in more than one language. That's what we want to focus on at the business start-up stage." WIU President Guiyou Huang said the federal investment would help Western Illinois University "serve as a resource for economic development in our region and well beyond." 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. At 10 years old, Emmett Reistroffers experience with cannabis had been cautionary tales of gangs and wayward lifestyles. When he saw his mother separating seeds and stems from a plant, he knew something hed been told must be wrong. His mother was preparing the plant for his grandmother, who he knew was going through cancer treatments. Reistroffer knew his mother and grandmother werent criminals, he said. Something didnt add up. Reistroffer spent the next 20-some years of his life exploring marijuana, advocating for it, lobbying for it and campaigning for it. He made it his mission to make sure marijuana was something that was accepted. This fall, Reistroffers passion and advocacy will bloom into Genesis Farms a company that he started shortly after Initiated Measure 26 went into effect in July 2021. The companys mission, he said, is to get as many people legal marijuana as possible and at the most affordable price. Selecting Box Elder Genesis Farms headquarters will be in Box Elder on a 7.5-acre campus to include buildings for cultivation and manufacturing, and a dispensary. The Box Elder operation will supply the company's planned 14-16 dispensaries throughout the state. The campus, located off Interstate 90 near exit 61, has an existing 20,000-square-foot building on the property, which will serve as the businesss dually-licensed wholesale facility, where they will conduct both cultivation and manufacturing. The campus will also include a 2,500-square-foot dispensary facility, yet to be constructed. The only step of the start-to-finish vertical integration business supply chain that will not take place on the campus is the testing process. A small room within the existing building is already constructed that will turn into their clone room, where the company will begin bringing in marijuana plants to clone them, which creates the beginning crop. The larger room is expected to be ready in a few more months. The grow side is the most sensitive, the most important, Reistroffer said. If we dont have a successful grow, there will not be a single dispensary thats opened in South Dakota. Not only is the grow a meticulous process that requires the utmost care, it also needs time to accumulate. An important part of the business will be ensuring there is enough product to supply consistently, Reistroffer said. Genesis Farms has 14 dispensary licenses across the state, including two each for cultivation, manufacturing and dispensaries in Box Elder. In addition to supplying their own dispensaries, the hope is to eventually distribute statewide to external networks, as well. Were turning Box Elder into our headquarters, Reistroffer said, and it should be the home to South Dakotas largest cannabis company, which is a huge accomplishment for Box Elder. Box Elder checked the most boxes, he said. The area had the driest climate, the best real estate situation, and most importantly, power and water. Theyve been a great community to us, he said. I think theyre going to see enormous benefits from it. Reistroffer gave a three-hour presentation to the city of Box Elder when initially applying for his licenses, which included a summary of South Dakota policy and laws, his business plan, and a rundown of facilities, operations, security and staffing. The city is expecting significant sales tax revenues from the medical dispensaries points of sale, said Matt Connor, public information officer and legislative advocate for the city of Box Elder. The city participated in a nine-step vetting process for the selection of Genesis Farms, which included background checks for all operating executives for the facility. The city also conducted internal meetings with their planning and zoning department. By city ordinance, no outdoor growing and planting will be allowed. The entire enterprise will be indoors only, which will limit any aroma or visual impact from the medical establishment, Connor said. Genesis Farms has a solid business plan and has proven to be focused on the medical needs of their clients, he said. As part of the vibrant growth for the city of Box Elder, we are encouraged that medical establishments are considering the area to provide important health services for our community. All the stars aligned, Reistroffer said. We got our facility, and we founded our company. Advocacy drives business At 18 years old, Reistroffer started volunteering for one of South Dakotas earliest advocate organizations for medical marijuana, where he drove patients with multiple sclerosis to Pierre to testify at the Capitol. It was through this that he met his eventual partner in Genesis Farms, Justin Johnson. They shared a mutual interest in cannabis and started talking about ways to further accomplish medical marijuana action. In 2010, Johnson started the South Dakota Coalition for Compassion. They started petitions, which would begin a long foray into the world of politics for Reistroffer. Within a year, they were on the ballot. South Dakota voters rejected medical marijuana in 2010 by more than 30%, pumping the brakes on their efforts. Reistroffer then took jobs that would take him to Denver where he gained understanding of the business side of marijuana, Nevada where he learned about cultivation and manufacturing, Washington D.C., New York, Michigan, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. He first joined a group called the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Colorado, which, according to Reistroffer, has possibly worked to pass more marijuana legislation laws than any organization in the world. With MPP, he ran the petition drive for the legalization measure in Colorado, which is where his career started, he said. Everything prior had been volunteer and advocacy work. He made connections in the medical marijuana industry and was present for what was, at the time, the biggest news story ever, he said, recalling the night the measure passed in Colorado. The approval vote was a turning point for Reistroffer and the country, as other states began to follow suit. He has seen how the issue has changed over the decades, both across the country, and in his home state. After his time in Colorado, Reistroffer transitioned from advocacy to business and started a political consulting company. He worked in 10 different states helping with campaigns before it burnt him out and sent him back to the marijuana industry. His Denver connections included a company called Denver Relief, a company that opened the first dispensary with a recreational license in Colorado, that included a consulting business where Reistroffer worked for about four years. He gained knowledge of every aspect of the industry including policy, lobbying, research, technical documents and facility audits. I got my hands on everything that goes into the marijuana business, little bits at a time," he said. The conversation around medical marijuana in South Dakota looked a little different 10 years ago. Reistroffer said he was frequently asked if he was a police officer when he would bring it up. While the conversation is certainly more open now, Reistroffer said people are ahead of the institutions. Resistance from the governor and the health community have presented roadblocks in South Dakota, even after voting to legalize medical marijuana in 2020, he said. Amendment A saw a controversial journey in South Dakota, first passing, which would have legalized marijuana for all adults to possess, consume and cultivate small amounts at home. The amendment was later struck down in February 2021 as unconstitutional, on the grounds that it violated the states single-subject rule for ballot initiatives. So they also have the single subject rule for their own legislation in Pierre, he said, and really, based on [Noems] argument and that lawsuits arguments, we could probably go argue that about more than half of the bills that they pass. A technical loophole, he said, expressing frustration that an alternative was not offered by the governor. Reistroffer was back lobbying in the 2021 legislative session, to prevent what he described as a bill that would have repealed the entire medical program. The bill was defeated, and Initiated Measure 26 went into effect last July. IM26 legalized medical cannabis in South Dakota. Reistroffer worked with the Department of Health to advise the rulemaking, such as how cards are issued and security requirements for facilities. Its coming out from the underground and into the mainstream and its becoming legal, but were still in this weird place where even though culturally its changed, people in positions of power, the institutions are the slowest to move, he said. Reistroffers navigation through politics, business and advocacy eventually brought him back to South Dakota to open his own dispensary, cultivation and manufacturing business under the states own program. He said he hopes the move to recreational cannabis is approved in the fall, when he also hopes the grow for Genesis Farms will begin. He sees the campus eventually becoming a tourist destination, as well, with an opportunity for Black Hills tourists to stop in and see what a campus farm looks like. The campus will include windows in the dispensary that look out onto the farm. Reistroffers hope is that the Box Elder campus will eventually supply all the dispensaries, both internal and external, in South Dakota. That could be as many as 50-60, he said, but for the time being, hes happy to be the trailblazer. I am OK with plowing ahead and building the biggest company thats gonna sell more marijuana than anyone, Reistroffer said. Not because were greedy weve been the biggest advocates for the longest time. Because it has to be done. Contact Laura Heckmann at lheckmann@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. 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. One of South Dakotas consulting experts on cannabis attempted to answer questions and present information to destigmatize marijuana during the Black Hills Press Clubs monthly meeting Friday. Theres still a stigma that exists on marijuana in South Dakota even though the majority of South Dakotans passed it in the ballot measure, said Kittrick Jeffries, director of compliance with Dakota Cannabis Consulting and one of the owners of Puffys LLC. Jeffries, who was born and raised in Rapid City, answered questions ranging from marijuana being a gateway drug and tax revenue, to medical prescriptions and moving toward recreational use. In regards to consequences of cannabis, he spoke with a researcher on the endocannabinoid system, a neuromodulatory system that plays roles in central nervous system development, synaptic plasticity, and the response to endogenous and environmental insults. He said everyone has the system in their body, and the way THC and CBD molecules bind to receptors of cells and release dopamine is similar to how sugar, caffeine, food, alcohol and cigarettes do. Now to tell you that this is directly correlated to an increased use of methamphetamine or an increased use of heroin, thats hearsay, he said. Theres no studies that say this is the exact cause of why this is being attributed to an increase in meth cases. He said there are several states that use marijuana to treat opioid addiction. Jeffries also discussed Department of Health regulations for medical marijuana. He said the department has rules on packaging, how much medical patients can buy at a certain time and testing requirements. He said people sometimes believe that the higher number of potency would cause a greater high, but thats not exactly right. He said terpenes, which are the flavors and aromas that surround cannabis, and the different combinations of it with cannabinoids dictate what type of feeling people will feel from consumption. He said cannabis right now is labeled based on sativa, indica and hybrid, which are the different classifications that have different effects. Jeffries said medical marijuana isnt a prescription and cant be prescribed. Instead, its a recommendation and a doctor can certify a recommendation. He also spoke to taxing and banking questions. Jeffries said because marijuana is still not federally legal, it makes dealing with banks that much more difficult. He said during the 2021 Legislative Session, a bill was passed that allows South Dakota banks to work with medical marijuana businesses within the state program. The federal government does have a little bit of leniency when banking with marijuana and creating a tiered structure saying ancillary businesses have that opportunity to work with banks because theyre not what they deemed plant touching, he said. Jeffries said his company banks with a cannabis-friendly bank in Colorado backed by the FDIC, but was on a nine-month waiting list. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. 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. South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Greg Whitlock announced Friday that Chuck Johnson will be serving as the new superintendent of the Michael J. Fitzmaurice State Veterans Home in Hot Springs. Chuck has a strong healthcare administration background and will help us in succeeding in our mission and vision at the Home, Whitlock said. He has served as the administrator for the Bethel Lutheran Home in Madison and the Care and Rehab Center in Arlington. In addition to these attributes, Chuck has also served as director of numerous rehab facilities in South Dakota and Iowa. Johnson is licensed as a nursing home administrator and a physical therapist assistant. He obtained degrees in health management and business management from the University of Minnesota and a physical therapy assistant degree from Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. Taking care of veterans is not new for Chuck, Whitlock said. He dedicated 22 years of service to the U.S. Army and the Iowa National Guard, serving one combat tour in Afghanistan. During his service, he supervised ground ambulance platoons, trained medics, and conducted live ground to air evac operations. Whitlock said the Department of Veterans Affairs is excited to have Johnson join the agency. His years of excellence and hard work are a great inspiration to us," he said. "His passion for his job and compassion for his residents is inspiring. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Neon pinks and oranges line the edges of cafe benches, pulled up to chalkboard tabletops, surrounded by turquoise walls and handmade art. The space at the Venue at Box Elder, a new cafe opening in Box Elder Saturday, tells a story. From a Street Fighter head-to-head table, to the shattered records decorating the wall above the piano, the story is family. Owner Monica Fosberg sees her family written all over the space. The guitar that rests next to the piano belongs to her son. A cozy corner decorated with bookshelves and a bowl of words of affirmation was named the Book Nook by her daughter. The piano belonged to her husbands grandmother. The walls are lined with hand-drawn art from the entire family. And thats really what this is, is our family, Fosberg said. She hopes that term will grow to include anyone and everyone who walks through their doors. The space will offer board games, puzzles, arcade games, a craft space, a reading space and music. A bare wall sheathed in colorful lights dangling from the ceiling will be a space to display local art. A giant beanbag chair sitting along a wall looks out on counter tops for playing games. The Venue will also offer snack food, inspired by childhood snacks found at ballparks or skating rinks nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, pizza rolls, French fries, cotton candy. Its a space for family, she said. Thats the vision. A space to strengthen family and community in a town where an Air Force base creates a revolving door of shaky stability for so many families, both military and civilian. We wanted it to be a community place where people feel welcome and safe," Fosberg said. Family is not always blood, she said, a sentiment amplified by her own familys time in the military. Her husband Jacob serves as a Chaplain at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and their family has moved across four states since 2009. Most of our closest people are not blood, but they are family, she said. I'm hoping this place will help community relations and just build that. The space Fosberg and her family are cultivating is unique to the city of Box Elder. She saw a need when her family first moved to South Dakota without her husband. With Jacob training for several months at the start of their move, Fosberg and their kids were on their own. They didnt see a place to bond. So we sat down as a family and [asked] what can we do? she said. That question had been planted in Monicas head years prior at a concert in Kansas that would prove an inspiration not only for the cafe, but a life motto. She heard a song called "Do Something." Fosberg described the lyrics and the concert as a transformative moment for her. An ideology shift. I dont want to be the one who sits back and complains, she said, but says, okay, I see something wrong. What can do to make it better? The shift began in Missouri, where Monica opened her own counseling practice in 2019. She saw this as a concrete step towards putting her new motto into action. While her Missouri practice gave her some experience with obtaining business licenses, the city of Box Elder presented some unique challenges. With the base in town, the rules were different. One of those rules being a noise ordinance that would prevent her original vision for the Venue. Their original idea had been to open a community center, an idea local ordinances didnt allow. They were told no by the city. We took some time to process that, but then we sat down and asked, 'Is this going to be worth fighting for?' she said. They decided it was. The vision remained the execution just looked a little different. The family refocused and came up with the idea for a cafe, which they could accomplish within the parameters of the local ordinances. The new plan also remained within the parameters of the original vision: a safe space to strengthen family and community. They moved forward, navigating the business rules, inspections, and licensing with the same family support that inspired the idea in the first place. Fosberg also received community support from local business owners, city officials and local community members. It's truly been a learning experience for me, but (has been) a bonding experience for my family, Fosberg said. The kids have laid the floors, helped paint and served as consultants for their respective age groups. They even contributed their allowance money. The space for the cafe will also serve as a new counseling space for Fosberg, opening a new practice out of the same building called Love, Me Counseling. Shell run her counseling business during the day and switch over to the Venue in the afternoon, when kids get out of school. Fosberg said she envisions a safe place for kids to come where they can play games, have a snack and feel safe. One of the biggest reasons she fought for the Venue's space is its proximity to the schools. It was heartbreaking to see some of the kids walking through the grass by the roads without sidewalks, she said. I wanted this place so they could walk over after school come hang out with friends and just rebuild that feeling of safety. Fosbergs two businesses intertwine not only in physical space, but in the ideology behind them. Her mission of creating safe spaces and building an environment of family and community serve as the foundation of both. We really want people to feel like they belong here, she said. The business is strictly family-run for now, with hopes of bringing in volunteers in the future. She also hopes to open the space to homeschooled families and local art classes, and offer the space to everyone when they need it. She hopes everyone will see it as their own. I just want them to see it as a space to bring fun, family and food together," Fosberg said, "and really know that this space is for them. The Venue at Box Elder will officially open on Saturday, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. It is located at 520 N. Ellsworth Rd., Suite 7A. Contact Laura Heckmann at lheckmann@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Rosebud Sioux Tribe Treasurer Stephen Denoyer III failed to appear in Oglala Sioux tribal court for possession and ingestion of methamphetamine, according to a statement released by the Oglala Sioux Tribes office of the president on Friday. The alleged consumption occurred when Denoyer checked into Prairie Winds Hotel on the Pine Ridge Reservation on Sept. 22, 2019 and stayed overnight. The next day, his hotel room reportedly tested positive for methamphetamine use and, substances located in the room tested positive for methamphetamine, the news release said. The Oglala Sioux Tribe intends to seek restitution of $37,266.47 in alleged damages caused to the hotel room by Denoyer. The Prairie Winds Casino and Hotel is owned and operated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Oglala Sioux Tribal Law Enforcement arrested Denoyer and charged him with possession and ingestion of methamphetamine after the alleged incident. He was then released from jail, but did not appear in court, according to the statement. The OST said Denoyer was picked up again in October 2021 after a bench warrant was issued. Denoyer then failed to appear at his March 2 court date. Another court date has been set for May 19. The Oglala Sioux Tribe will not tolerate methamphetamine use on its reservation. Mr. Denoyer is innocent of the charges until proven guilty by court of law, the statement concluded. OST President Kevin Killer told the Journal on Friday that OST officials are not aware of Denoyers whereabouts but made no further comment. The Journal contacted Denoyer's office on Friday. An employee told the Journal Denoyer was unavailable. The employee said Denoyer is still working in the treasurer's office and alleged some of the information put out by Pine Ridge officials is "untrue," but she declined to elaborate. An April 14 livestream recording of a Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council meeting shows Denoyer giving the official treasurers report. The position of treasurer is one of 24 elected tribal council positions four officials and 20 council members on the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council. Denoyer is serving his second two-year term as treasurer. He was elected for the first time in 2019 and was sworn into his position on Sept. 3, 2019, less than three weeks before the alleged hotel incident. The Journal reached out to Steven DeNoyer, director of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, but did not hear back. Contact Shalom Baer Gee at sgee@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 3 Wow 1 Sad 2 Angry 2 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. SIOUX FALLS | The director of the Sioux Falls VA Healthcare System has been reassigned following a multitude of complaints about mismanagement. The VAs Midwest region director Robert McDivitt said Lisa Simoneau will stay with the Veterans Affairs Department and serve at regional headquarters in the Twin Cities. VA employees in Sioux Falls were notified this week that Simoneau would no longer lead that office. According to a letter from Sen. Mike Rounds to Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough at least 46 employees left during Simoneau's tenure, which began in January 2020. According to whistleblowers who have contacted my office, the SFVA medical center is a hostile work environment, where employees are mistreated and veteran care is not a priority. Rounds said he was concerned that patient care was at risk because of the leadership issues. Simoneau did not respond to a message for comment Thursday. U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson met with veterans at the Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls Wednesday and heard firsthand about the problems. The wait times to call in were absolutely unacceptable, the average wait times were at 52 or 55 minutes, said Johnson. According to Johnson, those wait times have improved, KELO-TV reported. Our congressional delegation does not normally get involved in calling for somebody to be reassigned but in this instance, it was just clear that a change had to be made, obviously that is going to create a little bit of disruption. I think getting the right leadership in place is going to make a big impact long term, said Johnson. Dr. Timothy Pendergrass, the current chief of staff, will take over as the interim director. The Sioux Falls VA medical center serves 25,000 veterans in eastern South Dakota. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Foreign trade of Guangdong Province, a manufacturing heartland and leading foreign trade player in China, totaled 1.84 trillion yuan (285.8 billion U.S. dollars), up 0.6 percent year on year, the provincial customs authority said Thursday. Its exports grew 2.2 percent year on year to 1.14 trillion yuan, while imports decreased 2 percent to 691.9 billion yuan. In the first quarter, Guangdong's imports and export to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations amounted to nearly 283.6 billion yuan, up 0.9 percent, accounting for 15.4 percent of the province's total foreign trade. Guangdong's trade with the United States grew by 10 percent year on year to 225.2 billion yuan and trade with the European Union also increased during the period. In the first three months of the year, Guangdong's exports of integrated circuits, automatic data processing equipment and its components, and electrical equipment increased by 16.9 percent, 9.1 percent, and 6.8 percent respectively. Over the same period, its exports of labor-intensive products rose 2.5 percent. Guangdong's import of integrated circuits increased by 8 percent, accounting for 36.3 percent of the total import value. Imports of grain, crude oil and natural gas of the province also increased in the first quarter. When Brennan Williams graduated from Corvallis High School in 2017, he set a school record by being tardy to class 72 times in a single semester. Alyssa Leno of Missoula dropped out of high school and lived with doubts about herself and her future. Today, the people they see in the mirror is something far different than that. Both are nearing the end of their time at Trapper Creek Jobs Corps where they serve as student government leaders and examples of what's possible for new students just entering the program. The two were among 200 sent home in March 2020 when the center southwest of Darby was forced to close to onsite learning due to the pandemic. They were also among the first to return when Trapper Creek began bringing students back starting Jan. 11. While the wait was longer than they had hoped, both knew they wanted to return to finish the program. I was working a contracting job in North Dakota and getting paid really well, Leno said. I knew that I had a lot of unfinished business and I wanted to complete something for once in my lifeI wanted to accomplish something. Williams went to work at the Missoula Food Bank while he waited for the center to reopen. I knew that I wanted to come back the whole time, Williams said. This is the first program in my life that Ive chosen to be a part of that I am going to complete. I had that feeling from the start that this was something I could do and it would be extremely beneficial for my life in general by building confidence, abilities and skills. Williams plans to join the U.S. Coast Guard after graduation. He hopes to become a rescue swimmer as an aviation survival technician. After she graduates, Leno wants to move to Salt Lake City where shell join other center graduates. She plans to find work as a welder, the trade she learned at Trapper Creek. And she might go on to study diesel mechanics. While her job skills are important, Leno said what she learned with Job Corps goes far beyond that. Coming here, I definitely had the idea that this was a place for delinquents because thats how its perceived by people on the outside, she said. I found it was nothing like that. I learned that I had it in me to lead and to work and to be whatever I wanted to be, Leno said. I had so much doubt in myself. I thought I couldnt talk to people but here I am now, a chatterbox. Its been really cool to meet people from all different backgrounds, she said. I found that we all share some similarities. You just bond with everyone and everyone here starts to become your family. This is the closest thing that I had to family, Leno said. I honestly didnt see myself making it this far in the program because I always thought it might have been too hard for me but then I got here and I grew as a person. Both Leno and Williams serve on the centers Student Government Association. Both will say they couldnt have imagined they would have wanted to take on a leadership role like that before joining the program. I wasnt like this coming into the program, Williams said. I couldnt tell you exactly when or how it happened but from March 2020 to April 2022, its been a complete turnaround for me. Its almost like a caterpillar to a butterfly. The biggest advantage that this program offers is it takes you out of any comfort zones you might have had and makes you examine yourself in the light, he said. I never considered a military path. It was too structured but I learned that its super easy if you just do it. So now, I have the confidence and the knowledge that I can pretty much do anything that I put the time and effort into, he said. Its opened up countless doors for career pathways. Its probably been the most difficult time of my life but naturally, the most difficult things bring the most growth. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Leno said shes made it a point to seek discomfort since returning to the center. When you seek discomfort, it gets you out of your comfort zone, she said. Youre always working and growing as a person the more you step out of your comfort zone. Thats definitely gotten me further in my trade, the dorm and my life in general. Trapper Creek Job Corps Director Bryan Wilson the number of students at the center is growing, with new groups arriving every two weeks. There are currently 57 students on the campus, which offers training in nine trades. Wilson said the students return has been a huge morale booster for the staff. The staff likes to say that Job Corps changes lives and sometimes its even the students, he said. They inspire usSome of our students come out of neighborhoods that we couldnt even walk into. They have been through experiences that we couldnt imagine. And against all the odds for them to become successful out there, they leave here with careers. Beyond that, they leave with a new way of seeing their world. The center brings together people of all races, religions, disabilities, strengths and weaknesses. And the students learn to look beyond that and find ways to help each other succeed. They are like brothers and sisters here, Wilson said. When one feels pain, others feel their pain. They bear each others burdens. They look out for each other and take care of each other. And they hold each other accountable and bring out the best in each other. You dont see that very often in the world, he said. Most people stick to their own cliches, their own people, their own places, their own communities, but Job Corps brings all these diversified communities and people together. You can gain the best skills in your trade or become a genius in your studies, but if you cant get along with other people and celebrate the difference in others, then youre not going to be successful here, he said. They learn to honor that diversity. Love 3 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. The Ravalli County Commission will ask the state for authority to conduct a local post-election audit. The unanimous decision to send a letter to the Montana Secretary of State followed a more than two-hour-long meeting Friday before a packed house of local residents. If approved, the local audit would happen at the same time state officials conduct their spot checks on state and federal races. The county would also like to do audits on school and municipal elections. Commissioner Jeff Burrows said the idea followed numerous public inquiries about election integrity centered mostly on voting machine accuracy. The local post-election audit would add another layer of accountability at a low cost to the county taxpayer, Burrows said. Currently, the state randomly selects races and precincts following an election to do a hand-count verification process. Adding a local post-election audit would add another check and balance, Burrows said. "Theres one check and balance right now. Burrows said he trusts the job County Election Administrator Regina Plettenberg and her staff does. "I think we have the best election administrator in the state," he said. "I think our results are accurate at the county level through the machine but I've heard Regina say it: Trust but verify. For many at the meeting, verifying the accuracy of the voting machines came up short of their expectations. They urged the county to drop the machines and go back to a hand count. Some pointed to the last presidential election as the reason why. We got our president robbed from us, said Greg Brooks of Stevensville. It is time for us to do something about it and quit beating around the bush. Terri Lackey of Stevensville claimed the machines can be manipulated. The technology today is so sharp that they can do anything to us and we are naive enough to think that just by doing an audit that were going to catch the criminals, Lackey said. After being told the states candidacy board, which includes top state officials, selects the random precincts and candidates to audit seven to nine days after the election is held, Lackey replied: We dont trust anybody. My point is that when I say we dont trust anybody (it's) because, honest to goodness, Biden is not our legitimate president, Lackey said. We dont trust the machines because Montana stayed red. (That) doesnt mean anything to us. So they didnt pick on us this time, but they are trying to turn Montana blue. Im a Montana native and I dont want to see Montana turn blue. I dont want to lose my gun rights and my conservative way of life. Its a simple thing, she said, her voice emotional. Were just asking you to just get rid of the machines. Just do a hand count. Please. PleaseGet rid of the machines, please. Ravalli County Democrat Party Chair Linda Schmitt said the party has no problem with elections in Ravalli County. We believe Regina Plettenberg is the finest election official, not only in the state, but in the country, Schmitt said. She has demonstrated nothing but integrity and competency and experience. I am frankly ashamed of people in this county who demonstrate such disrespect for what she has done for them and everyone else in this county. If anybody should complain about elections, it should be the Democrats, she said. I mean clearly weve lost more than we have gained. Elections are the most sacred civil activity and process, Schmitt said. It is the foundation of our democracy Some of you I am worried about that you have been spun up into this fever of paranoia. It is not right. It is a failure of leadership that this kind of anxiety would be cultivated, nurtured and exploited. Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, said that while hes confident the integrity of the election system in Ravalli County and the state is beyond question, theres no reason that it cant be made better. Bedey plans to be in Helena Monday to meet with other legislators to discuss potential changes to the system. He supported the idea of local post-election audits, broadening the audit system to include school and municipal elections and adding more precincts to the state audit. I think the local post-election audit is absolutely necessary, but you have to roll up your sleeves and make sure that you touch every statute that might be impacted to ensure that you dont get an unintended result," Bedey said. Making legislation is not a matter of yelling about it." Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, was part of a group of legislators that recently called for a special legislative session to address election integrity issues. That request was voted down. Manzella said she has concerns about third-party vendors' involvement with voting machines used in the state and the countys inability to access the machines source code. A number of people who spoke Friday also voiced concerns about the countys lack of access to the source code. Our Republican party is in peril, Manzella said. People are getting tired of voting and feeling like their vote is not getting counted. Plettenberg said she was happy to see people interested in the election system and invited everyone to come to watch her staff test the voting machines on June 1 before the election or observe the audit process afterward on June 17 in the commissioners meeting room. The later event will also be streamed so people can watch from home. I would love to have people come down and participate in the process, Plettenberg said. A lot of people probably dont even know that we do a hand audit. I really do feel like the machines will stand up to the test, Plettenberg said. If I didnt, we wouldnt be using them. Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 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. The Times-Dispatch sent public records requests to each of the state's 132 public school systems seeking information on books that had been removed or placed under review in the last two school years. Henrico County police say they detained a male student Thursday afternoon after recovering a gun from him at Varina High School. Authorities said police and school administrators will thoroughly investigate the fact that there was a weapon on school grounds, but note there have been no credible threats toward any specific student or staff members. School personnel notified police that staff members saw a student had a handgun at the school in the 7000 block of Messer Road. A Henrico school resource officer and school administrators detained the student and seized the weapon, according to police. The student was transported to the Henrico Juvenile Detention Home. He was charged on petitions with possession of a firearm on school property, having a concealed weapon, and underage possession of a gun. Police did not identify the student because of his age. We want to remind parents and guardians not to wait for these direct yet important conversations about the consequences of possessing firearms, Lt. Matt Pecka said in a statement. Growing up, Julie Poland developed a fascination with all things Victorian. Her parents believe she got it from an aunt, Eleanor Redfield, and a neighbor, Debbie Bohn, who introduced her to several Victorian magazines, which Julie read from cover to cover and saved. At the end of the year, her parents recalled, she would cut out pictures and articles she liked and store them in files. One year, she held a Victorian-era Christmas tea, and made Victorian-era decorations and food. We all dressed up, said her mother, Jerry Poland. It was really fun. But nothing quite compared to what happened after her fancy was captured by an illustration of a beautiful Victorian house she came across while leafing through a magazine while she was in high school. She went to her dad, Jim Poland, who taught physiology at the Medical College of Virginia, and was an amateur woodworker who had built dollhouses years earlier for Julie and her sister, Jenny, and she asked if he thought they could build a dollhouse that looked like the one in the magazine. He told her to draw up the plans, and he would build it, Jerry said. Julie drew up scaled plans for an exquisite dollhouse that had a front and back the illustration that first inspired her was depicted from the front only and a fully furnished interior she developed from her imagination. She began purchasing building materials and collecting pieces of miniature furniture and furnishings. She designed the house to be viewed two ways: when the front and back halves are pushed together, side-by-side, the exterior appears to be an intact home; when the halves are wheeled apart, the houses numerous interior rooms and hallways are exposed. Once her father completed the framework for the house, Julie, a 1987 graduate of Monacan High who earned a degree in nursing from VCUs School of Nursing in 1991, attached the roof shingles and began painting the house and window frames and ordering a few pieces of miniature furniture, as she had elaborate plans for the interior. However, before she could tackle the inside of the house, she was killed in a traffic crash in 1995. She was 26. At the time of her death, Poland was working as an oncology nurse at Johnston-Willis Hospital. Jim Poland says he was merely a carpenter and didnt have the Victorian expertise that was required to bring their project to completion. He also didnt have the heart. It was hard to work on it, Ill admit, he said. So, the dollhouse sat, largely untouched, frozen in time, in the familys Bon Air basement. For 19 years. The Polands wanted the dollhouse completed, in the way Julie had dreamed, but they werent sure how to proceed until 2014 when a friend put them in touch with Vicky Bickel, a Hanover artist with a love of miniatures. (It turned out Jim Poland and Bickel knew each other years ago from passing each other in the halls of MCVs Sanger Hall, where Bickel worked in a research laboratory for a while, but he was not aware of Bickels artistic background.) Bickel met with the Polands. They told her about the project, and she told them about her work and showed them the only dollhouse she had ever created. Something clicked, and the Polands commissioned Bickel to take on the project. We were all kind of blindly on faith saying, Lets try this, Bickel said. At first, Bickel and the Polands thought an hourly rate would work best as far as compensating Bickel for her time, but Bickel quickly realized that wouldnt be practical as she found herself working a few minutes here and there or sporadic hours around her day job, and it was difficult to keep track. I also came to the conclusion that my commitment to the completion [of the dollhouse] was more rooted in the emotional bond I felt for the Polands so I offered to do the work for free, said Bickel, noting the Polands covered her studio rent at the Hanover Arts & Activities Center in Ashland where she worked on the dollhouse as well as the cost of the materials purchased for the project. For guidance, Bickel had Julies original inspiration, the painting in the magazine by New York artist Sue Wall, who paints custom commissioned portraits of many subjects, including homes featuring Victorian architecture. (I contacted Wall by phone who, of course, was completely unaware of the dollhouse but said she was honored to be a small part of this story.) Bickel also had Julies drawings and notes with her ideas for each room, in addition to conversations with Jim, Jerry and Jenny. The attention to detail in Julies original plans and Bickels follow-through is astounding. Bickels background is in graphic arts, but in the beginning she thought she wanted to be an architect, an aspiration that came in handy in completing the dollhouse that came to be known as The Julianna. The house has 65 exterior windows and doors. Among those were a couple of openings that would not accommodate pre-made, insertable doors, so Bickel had to hand-build those, including a set of working French doors with transom windows, as well as stained-glass windows, leading into the conservatory. She made the curtains, valences and tiny bed linens. Toothpicks painted gold hold down carpet on the stairs. She fashioned the turrets from pieces of jewelry and metal. She created individual bricks for the two identical chimneys by painstakingly cutting out pieces of egg cartons (there are about 700 bricks in each chimney), used actual copper flashing around the base of the chimneys, and topped them with stacks that are thread spools that belonged to Bickels grandmother who was born in 1895, just before the end of the Victorian Era. There was math involved when it came to figuring out the placement of gingerbread and support for porches, negotiating the multitude of angles in the houses intricate design, and even determining how to transport the sizable house that is when both halves are pushed together roughly 6 feet wide, 6 feet long and 7 feet tall. Julie had collected some furnishings before her death, but Bickel had to search out the rest of the furniture, wallpaper, rugs, paint, light fixtures and anything else for the myriad interior spaces: Besides distinctly different bedrooms, theres the aforementioned conservatory, a studio, a sewing room, even a hidden staircase. I tried to match what Julie had wished for, Bickel said. You get the picture: This took a lot of time. Days, months and years. Seven years, in fact. The first couple of years were mostly painting and building walls or stairs, Bickel said. Up until a year ago, she had to work around her full-time job at the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. She would work on the dollhouse on weekends. During the pandemic, she was able to spend six hours or more a day, six days a week, on the dollhouse, as she brought it to completion. Every Sunday night, Bickel would check in with the Polands and let them know about the progress of the prior week, always talking about Julie and her hopes for the house. The weekly chats made Bickel feel a part of the Poland family. She also came to believe Julie has been with us every step of the way. This has been the most magical journey, Bickel said. The dollhouse is finished now, finally, fulfilling Julies dream and theirs. It resides at Bickels studio for now, but they hope to find a permanent home for it in a public setting where, Jim Poland said, It will be on display for a lot of people to see and enjoy. They are open to suggestions. The Julianna never fails to bring a gasp of awe to all who see her, Bickel said. And the best thing about all of this? This is about Julie, Bickel said. A dream never dies. At 71, Rick Gray a Republican-turned-Democrat-turned independent who drifted from Capitol Square to the classroom and the stage is reprising his first role: politician. Running for the legislature in Oregon, as what that state calls a non-affiliated candidate, Gray is no less glib about the politics of his adoptive home than he was about publicly siding with striking air traffic controllers in 1981. That was indefensible apostasy for a Virginia Republican, and it cost him his job as Gov. John Daltons patronage-dispensing secretary of the commonwealth. It was Grays first and probably biggest splash. Since then, hes been barely visible. You were more likely to see Gray teaching history at Midlothian High School in his native Chesterfield County or in the theater, acting in Staunton, Charlottesville and points further west and south. His return to state politics conjures a line from a University of Virginia production of Shakespeares comedy, Much Ado About Nothing in 1990, in which Gray then doing postgraduate work appeared with Tina Fey and Sean Patrick Thomas, alums whose success in television and films is no laughing matter. Gray was cast as Friar Francis, the meddlesome wedding officiant, who says, Hear me a little; for I have been silent so long and given way unto this course of fortune. Grays course of fortune took him more than four years ago to Cannon Beach, a leafy, hilly retirement and Zoomer enclave of approximately 1,500 on the Pacific coast, about 80 miles west of Portland, the uber-liberal hipsterville that overpowers Oregon politics, much as NoVa does RoVa. Having idolized Teddy Roosevelt, the liberal Republican green of his day, and worked for Elizabeth Warren, the liberal Democrat who, TR-like, torments malefactors of great wealth, Gray has given up on the two parties because he believes they prefer to yowl about whats wrong with each other rather than work together on the right policies. Ricks his own guy, said Chip Mann, an old friend of Grays, a fellow Chesterfield centrist Republican and colleague from state government who confesses to supporting the occasional Democrat. Politics has changed around him. Hes stayed focused on the left-of-center, moderate Republican approach. Republicans, Gray says, grumble about race and culture instead of govern. Democrats, he says, dont know who they are, having dissolved into factions. This has the UVA history major wondering if 2022 might be another 1854, when, from the roiling sectional crisis, emerged a new party that was against slavery and for common sense: the GOP. Thus, Gray, who is circulating voter-signature petitions to get on the ballot, is opting for an independent candidacy for an open, freshly redrawn seat in the House of Representatives. Among deep-Blue Oregons 90 legislators 60 representatives and 30 senators there are only three independents, one of whom is retiring. It is a test case for my proposition that we have a time in American history when a third party could actually succeed, said Gray, having just finished his early morning bowl of homemade, 12-ingredient porridge thats built on a foundation of oats and barley. Im clearly too old to be the front man to build it into a state or national power, but I could be the first in Oregon to build a pragmatic, problem-solving party with a powerful commitment to acting on the climate crisis. As a baby boomer who grew up in a conservative Democratic family his late father, Fred Gray, a delegate-turned-senator came up through the old Byrd machine the younger Gray gravitated to the Virginia GOP, attracted by the moderates credited with its early success but who ultimately would be shunned by ascendant conservatives. This included Linwood Holton, the first Republican elected governor in the 20th century who preached racial reconciliation to a state with a rigid black-white divide, and John Warner, the longtime U.S. senator who seemed to delight in opposing GOP ideas and politicians he deemed to the right of reason. Gray would later give Democrats a try. He knocked on doors in New Hampshire pre-scream for Howard Dean in the 2004 presidential primary. After moving to Oregon following his mothers difficult death from dementia, Gray worked for Warren but was alarmed by the inattention of Democrats to voters beyond the partys anchor in Portland. This convinced him Republicans and Democrats were alike in the wrong way: In a duopoly, you dont have to lead, all you have to do is criticize the other side. Gray was 26 when Dalton appointed him secretary of the commonwealth, the office through which political jobs are distributed and flows such government paperwork as lobbyist spending reports, subpoenas for out-of-state arrests and applications for restoration of voting rights. In August 1981, members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association went on strike, violating for the first time a federal law prohibiting job actions by government employees. While President Ronald Reagan would, in breaking the strike, bust the union, Gray aligned with the controllers, saying he wouldnt fly and that he shared their concerns about safety. With Gray unable to get to Tulsa, Okla., on time for a meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State he considered traveling by train but it was a 27-hour journey from Richmond he wrote the groups president to explain his planned absence and express his solidarity with the strikers. It wasnt enough that Gray was going rogue on a non-negotiable issue with union-hostile Republicans. His boss was a governor who had used the state police to keep open strike-idled coal mines and shipyards. Gray would walk across Capitol Square from his office to the statehouse, posting his letter on the press room bulletin board. Mann, who was working in the secretary of the commonwealths office and has been an alter ego to Gray, said he tried to talk him out of going public on his sympathy for PATCO strikers, particularly those whod been jailed. He told Gray, I dont think the higher-ups in the Dalton administration would like that. And they didnt. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Daltons office was hit with a wave of mail sharply critical of Gray. Though Gray would resign these days, he calls his departure what it really was: a firing he was unrepentant at the time, telling the newspaper, Im 30 years old, Im a product of the Vietnam era. It bothers me to see people whove done nothing violent ... just simply put in jail for their beliefs. It was a rare burst of political theater. Gray is now preparing for the second act. Shadeed Abdulmateen, an American national, was sentenced to death for intentional homicide by the Intermediate People's Court of Ningbo City in east China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday. The female victim, surnamed Chen, died last year at the age of 21. The court found that after Shadeed got to know Chen in 2019, he lied to the woman that he was divorced and then entered into a romantic relationship with her. In May 2021, Chen told Shadeed she wanted to end the relationship, but her request was met with opposition and verbal intimidation from the latter, said an official statement by the court. Shadeed asked Chen out for a meeting near a bus stop in Ningbo at about 8 p.m. on June 14, 2021, and carried a folding knife with him. At 9:48 p.m. Shadeed stabbed Chen in her neck and face. The victim suffered a massive hemorrhage and died on the scene, the statement said. The court held that Shadeed deliberately and illegally deprived another of life, and such behavior constituted the crime of intentional homicide. Premeditating revenge murder, Shadeed stabbed and cut Chen's face and neck several times. His motive was despicable. He committed the crime with resolute intention through cruel means, the statement said. The court held that the circumstances of Shadeed's crime were especially heinous and resulted in serious consequences, and he should be punished according to law. During the trial, the court fully guaranteed the defendant's litigation rights, including the right to defense and the access to interpretation service and consular visits. The court also informed the U.S. embassy and consulates in China, per the law, ahead of the court session and sentence. The trial was attended by more than 20 people, including lawmakers, political advisors, and members of the public. RADFORD A Radford man pleaded guilty Friday in a long-running case involving a 2020 brawl that onlookers captured on cell phone videos. Joel Zair Varone, 23, entered three guilty pleas in an agreement that dropped some of the charges he faced and amended the rest to misdemeanors. He ended up convicted of disorderly conduct, destruction of property and assault by mob after he and defense attorney Dave Rhodes of Christiansburg stipulated that the prosecution had enough evidence to win a guilty verdict. Varone was fined $1,000 and sentenced to 24 months in jail. Radford Circuit Court Judge Joey Showalter suspended the entire term on the condition that Varone avoid further trouble for a year. Showalter also ordered that Varone pay $8,765.94 restitution to be shared by two individuals and the Virginia Victims Fund. Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Jason Annis noted that the total restitution amount is to be imposed on all the defendants who are convicted, with all to contribute toward it, and that it is to be paid in the next year. Varone was the second to be convicted among 13 people charged after a Feb. 22, 2020, fight inside a home on Fairfax Street. Videos that made the rounds after the incident showed people hitting one another and climbing in and out of windows either to escape or join the combat. Authorities have not said what led to the fight. Nine of the defendants were Radford University students at the time, and the other four had been students. Earlier this month, Nicholas Thanh Ortiz, 22, of Radford, resolved his charges in a similar plea agreement to Varones. He had the same convictions and also received $1,000 in fines and a 24-month suspended jail term. Charges have been dropped against three men: Conner Martin Cuviello, 22; Logan Michael Hall, 21; and Alexander Scott Volles, 23; all of whom have Radford addresses listed in court documents. Commonwealths Attorney Chris Rehak said recently that most of the rest of remaining defendants are expected to accept plea agreements. 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. Roanoke County Public Schools students took the biennial Youth Risk Behavior Survey last month, but questions about sexual behaviors were removed from the middle school surveys after being deemed inappropriate for the first time since the surveys have been administered, according to school officials. Most Virginia school systems administer the anonymous surveys to middle and high school students as a way to gauge risky behaviors students are engaging in, thus giving school system officials and partnering agencies the data needed to help combat trends deemed to be detrimental to the health and well-being of students. The template for the surveys comes from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, but the school system has a committee made up of employees and stakeholders from the area, which in part work to modify the exams as needed, with some questions routinely being deemed no longer necessary or a concern for students based on analyzing the data trends of past and current responses. Survey questions are focused on topics that could be indicative of behaviors and attitudes that put students at risk, according to the county schools website. Topics include eating and health habits, safe driving, physical exercise, depression, bullying, self-injury, drug and alcohol, and social media use. The YRBS for grades 9-12 also includes questions about sexual behaviors. Chuck Lionberger, the school systems spokesman, told The Roanoke Times in March the decision to remove the five questions related to sexual behavior from the seventh and eighth grade surveys was made by the survey committee. The survey committee determines the questions for the survey each time we do the YRBS [the survey] and some questions are added or removed based on relevance and/or age appropriateness, he wrote in a March 16 email. The questions asked if a student had engaged in sexual intercourse, at what age, with how many partners, was a condom used and were drugs or alcohol involved. The questions were removed because the committee had determined they were no longer age appropriate questions. Roanoke and Salem schools still have similar questions on their middle school and high school surveys, which are given out in odd years instead of even ones as is done at the county, according to officials from both cities school systems. The state made it illegal to ask sixth graders questions on the survey related to sex in 2008. However, Lionberger did not explain why the questions were deemed inappropriate in Roanoke County after having been on middle school surveys in some form for decades. He also stated the school system would no longer be answering any further questions about why the questions were removed. Additionally, executive director of the Roanoke County Prevention Council, and member of the committee that helps draft the surveys, Nancy Hans, said last month she was only told after the fact about the questions being removed from the exam. The prevention council is a nonprofit formed in 2001, and is the school systems biggest partner with the survey. The council provides parents, students and educators with resources to combat problems related to wellness, according to its website. Hans said she was told the questions were removed after some school board members raised concerns about sexual behavior being age appropriate for seventh and eighth graders. I dont know all of the reasons that happened, she said last month. Hans didnt state whether she agreed or disagreed with the decision to remove the questions, but she did say it is important to have as much data as possible to know how to help students going forward. When we dont have the information, we dont know how to put the programs in place, she said, also noting former school boards in the county have generally not gotten as involved in the process as the current board. Virginia Tech professor Kerry Redican and Radford University professor David Sallee, who both help with the data analysis of the surveys, and are also members of the survey committee. Both said last month they were unaware the questions had been removed, with Sallee stating the first hed heard of it was when asked by The Roanoke Times. The school system released a series of emails to The Roanoke Times as a result of a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request regarding the surveys, and an excerpt from a Feb. 2 email from Superintendent Ken Nicely to the school board states that he was the one that had the sexual behavior questions removed from the middle school surveys. At my direction, the RCPS version of the 7th and 8th grade YRBS eliminated all questions about sexual activity this year. Such questions are allowed by state law above grade 6, but we decided not to include them this year in grades 7-8 either, he wrote. Nicely also mentioned to the board the Virginia Department of Health had questions about being transgender in its version of the survey, but the school system would not be asking those questions either. The superintendent also reassured Brent Hudson, the Catawba District board member, at a March 1 work session there would be no questions about being transgender on any of the surveys. The work session was held after the surveys were delayed from being administered in early February, so new Roanoke County School Board members Cheryl Facciani and Hudson could be brought up to speed about the surveys and the process of how they work, according to Lionberger. A Feb. 4 email from Hudson to Nicely involves communication after Hudson received more complaints from parents about some of the questions, which were available to view on the schools website. I spoke with some of the other board members and Tim [Greenway], Cheryl, and I would like for you to pause the survey going out to the students and give us time to look at it and discuss it, he wrote. I appreciate everything you have done thus far with it but I have gotten more complaints this morning about it and I believe we need to at minimum discuss it. Please send an email out advising parents that the survey is being put on hold until a later date. Also, Can you email the surveys to all the members because some did not receive them. Some of Faccianis correspondence in emails with Nicely and board members include her statements on the general topic. As a parent, I did not allow my children to watch PG-13 movies, when they were 10-11 years old. To each his own when it comes to parenting, but I do believe, as a SB member it is my job to question if this is appropriate, especially when surrounding counties are not administering to middle school students. It sends a red flag, she wrote. Franklin County is the only school system in the region not to administer the surveys to middle schoolers, according to an email from Nicely to Facciani. In another email Facciani tells Nicely, upon reviewing the final survey, if the sexual questions have been removed and barring any other serious issues, I will be ready to approve the survey for middle and high school. A question referencing the use of ADHD medication from other students was also altered on the final surveys given to sixth grade students in late March. Hudson brought up at the work session how a parent was concerned her child being asked the question would give them the idea to use the medication, despite Hans telling Hudson there is no data to support kids learning bad behavior or getting ideas from surveys. The question was later altered to remove the reference from the middle school exam. Hans told The Roanoke Times, kids already know whats going on, whether the parents know they know it or not. The data supports that. In an email exchange between Facciani and Nicely, she also expressed concern about the question regarding Adderall and huffing substances for sixth graders. The only two questions I have concerns with are the huffing glue and Adderall questions for a 11 year old, she wrote. I think it could be suggestive for a very small percentage of that young, impressionable population. I know when I was a kid and heard you could sniff magic markers, I thought twice about it. And I was a good kid who never touched anything. Still havent. So, is it possible to pull those 2 questions for 6th grade? I dont know if that throws off the metrics. I am happy the sexual questions are gone. Shawn Hughes, director of counseling at RCPS, told Nicely in an email that the data suggested the Adderall reference could be removed as it had a less than 2% rate of use by students who participated in the 2020 exam, but to keep the huffing question as it was just above 8%. The huffing question was ultimately kept on the survey, while the reference to Adderall was removed. For comparison, a 2020 presentation of the data to the school board showed 8% of middle school students had sent sexually inappropriate technology messages and the huffing question had a similar response. Parents have the option of opting their children out of the survey if they were not comfortable with the questions being asked. Of the 7,000 secondary students eligible to take it, fewer than 200 students had opted out, according to a March 16 email from Lionberger. The school system wrote in an email parents were not notified about the removal of the sexual questions because the school system did not add questions to the survey. Hudson declined to comment about the surveys, as did Facciani after a school board meeting in March, and all of the board members declined to respond to an email with questions about the surveys. 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. Gun violence in Roanoke will trickle less into city schools as staff members forge meaningful relationships with students and parents, Roanoke City Public Schools Virtual Safety Summit panelists agreed Wednesday. Recent gun-related events involving Roanoke students including a shot fired in a middle school bathroom, and a bullet that pierced a school bus tire with students aboard preceded the summit, which was streamed live on the school divisions YouTube channel. About 130 people tuned in to the event, which lasted nearly two hours. Summit panelists included local and national school safety experts. Discussion topics were inspired by input to the school division from members of the community in the weeks leading up to the virtual event. Roanoke Schools Superintendent Verletta White said during a news conference before the event that more than 200 people had weighed in with strong arguments both for and against the implementation of metal detectors and clear backpacks as safety measures. Ken Trump, president of a Cleveland-based national school safety consulting firm that has worked with city schools for 15 years, said that metal detectors are most effective when staff and resources to facilitate them are available all day and every day. You dont want to see a school, district and community invest very limited resources in something thats going to create security theater that youre not going to be able to implement thoroughly on a 24/7 basis with such vibrant building use, only to have another incident and realize youve spent a whole lot of time doing something for the perception and security theater, but youre not dealing with the core of the problem, Trump said. The problems that were dealing with are human problems. And we cant solve every human problem with the technology quick fix. Chris Perkins, chief operations officer and a former Roanoke City Police Department chief, said the school division has made technological improvements during the last four years that promote student safety. Those include upgrades to intercom, video surveillance and emergency notification systems. I could go on and on about what the school district has done, but its the relationships and its the human factor thats most important, Perkins said. Nearly every panelist at the summit agreed that meaningful relationships between staff and students will have the greatest impact on gun violence trends. Trump said hes seen evidence of those relationships in RCPS buildings. As I was touring the schools this week, I was seeing principals who were engaged with the kids, calling the kids out by name, while we were talking in the hallway, Trump said. They know their kids. And there are many schools in the country where you dont have as tight of a connectedness between the adults and the students. And thats how you prevent things. Trump said that school staff members often find out about weapons from students who approach an adult they trust. Chief Deputy Col. James Chuck Ferguson, representing the Roanoke City Sheriffs Office, said school resource officers can be those trusted adults. Those incidents that dont happen, thats ultimately what were there for, Ferguson said. You dont get pats on the back for the incidents that dont happen, but theres quite a few. Gerard Lawson, a professor in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, said gun violence trends in Roanoke mirror those evident throughout the country, where two years of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted students learning, altered political climates and caused cases of depression and anxiety to skyrocket. What weve seen is a period of increasing pressure for a couple years, and now an outlet for that pressure, Lawson said. Now that students are back in school, that outlet of their pressure is showing up with the poor lessons that theyve learned over the past two years and are getting in the way of the lessons they should be learning in school under normal circumstances. Heather Gunn, a Blue Ridge Behavior Health counselor and a mother to RCPS students, said the city has to promote healing and the development of safe spaces for both parents and children in order to address mental health concerns among students. If were not able to have our needs met, how can we meet the needs of our kids? Gunn said. Chris Roberts, the citys Youth and Gang Violence Prevention coordinator, said opportunities to provide parents and children with access to work and play services are being sought. Were looking at the family, and were looking at it from a top-down and a bottom-up perspective, Roberts said. From the bottom-up perspective, were talking to the young person in the home, asking him or her, What exactly do you like to do? What dont you have access to? What doors do you feel like are closed to you? And once we identify that, we let them know about the resources that we have obtained. White said the school division is organizing a job fair to provide opportunities for students to remain engaged in their community outside of school. Students want to make money. They want to be involved. They want to be productive, White said. So, were organizing a job fair for our students, to keep them connected, and to keep them involved and to keep them engaged. Some things like that we can do in the immediate. Other things that require more vetting will take a little more time. To view the full broadcast and listen to comments from all panelists, visit the RCPS YouTube channel. The summit is also scheduled to air on Roanoke Valley Television Cable Channel 3 at 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. Tuesday and 7 p.m. Wednesday. 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. Even though currently there is no concise definition of the metaverse, the concept has been quickly gaining mainstream attention with more than a few big-name brands entering the ecosystem. According to Morgan Stanley, the metaverse is a concept that includes the construction of an alternate universe where individuals can model their image however they like and also perform real-life tasks such as buying things, gaming with friends, and other activities. The metaverse also translates to a digital economy, where users can create, buy, and sell goods. In fact, advertising and e-commerce represent an $8.3 trillion opportunity to monetize U.S. consumer spending on everything from games and music, to apparel, automobiles and real estate, Morgan Stanley said in its Metaverse: More Evolutionary than Revolutionary research paper. Citi recently predicted an even higher number, saying that, with some 5 billion customers, the metaverse economy could be worth between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030. With those numbers in mind, many industries, even outside the obvious tech giants, are looking for ways to benefit from this newish technology. As new and difficult to grasp as it is, the entire metaverse market cap is currently estimated at nearly $37 billion. Late last year, Facebooks CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he believed the metaverse was the future of the internet and of his trillion-dollar company. Announcing the company's name change to Meta, Zuckerberg said this was "the next evolution of social connection3D spaces where you can socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what we can imagine." The company owns three of the biggest social media apps used by billions of people, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, giving Meta a decent advantage. But others are jumping on this speeding train, too, including Roblox, Nvidia, and Microsoft, all of whom have been building out virtual worlds with virtual or augmented reality tech. In January, Microsoft announced a $69 billion deal to buy gaming giant Activision Blizzard. This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsofts gaming business across mobile, PC, console, and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse, the company said in the press release. It also goes beyond the tech universe. According to Kunal Lunawat from Agya Ventures, a fund focused on real estate tech, retail will encounter big opportunities for expansion in the metaverse conversational bridge between the virtual and real worlds. Some retail companies are already exploring the digital world, mostly to satisfy the upcoming major shopping force, Generation Z, which is already dictating fashion and shopping and embracing virtual clothing, either for gaming or social media purposes. This whole concept of co-creation and co-building and having customers take more ownership of the brand itself is such a powerful construct. I think the metaverse will finally give it reality, Lunawat told Yahoo Finance. Some major brands such as Adidas, LOreal, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and others have already jumped into the metaverse, where they see the potential to render online shopping more engaging and usefuland ultimately, more profitable. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. More efforts should be made to narrow the "vaccine gap," or the disparities in COVID-19 vaccination coverage among different countries, according to experts at the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference. Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a sub-forum themed "Narrowing the Vaccine Gap" that wide disparities exist in vaccination coverage between high-income countries and countries of lower incomes. Efforts should be made to narrow the gap and ensure people's health, Gao added. Gordon Brown, World Health Organization (WHO) ambassador for global health financing, said about one-third of the world's population had not yet received their first vaccine shot, calling on medical workers to make more efforts to change the status quo. The Chinese government has provided a lot of vaccines to other parts of the world, contributing greatly to helping others to improve the imbalanced situation, said Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. China has provided over 2.1 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations. The country has vowed to follow through with its pledged donation of more vaccine doses to Africa and ASEAN countries as part of the effort to narrow the immunization gap. FLORENCE, S.C. Florence-Darlington Technical College is partnering with area hospitals and Francis Marion University to train nurses to battle a growing nursing shortage, Florence-Darlington Technical College President Jermaine Ford told the Florence County Council Thursday. Hospitals in the Florence area need approximately 400 nurses, Ford said. South Carolina is projected to be one of four stats with a nursing shortage of more than 10,000 by 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ford joined Florence-Darlington Technical College on Oct. 4 as its fifth president. The technical college offers more than 75 degree, diploma and certificate programs in business, engineering technology, health care, human services, manufacturing and other fields. It also offers the College Transfer Program for students who aspire to transfer to a four-year institution. Ford said he has discussed the nursing shortage with McLeod Regional Medical Center, MUSC-Florence, HopeHealth and Francis Marion University President Fred Carter. Its all about the connectivity from the K-12, Tech, the market and our four-year regional partner, Ford said. The momentum to grow the number of students in nursing is growing, he said. What we did with each of those health-care organizations is we asked them for their job needs within this year and the next three years, Ford said. I brought that back to the Florence-Darlington family and I have all the instructors and program leaders working to see how and when can we plug this hole? It wont be easy, Ford said. Florence-Darlington Technical Center will need support to add resources as the health sciences program is operating near capacity in terms of instructors and classroom space. Our health care providers have said Dr. Ford, tell us what you need and we will be there to support it. We are putting together a comprehensive report literally right as we speak so that we can follow back up with those senior leaders to say lets connect these dots between K-12, tech and our four-year regional partners, and more importantly how do we share this message in the community. So, they will know there is a career pathway, he said. Ford said he also is working with other area businesses and industries to develop students with skills those businesses and industries need. Ive been here for about six months and Ive hit the ground running, Ford said. We are re-engaging our internal and external stakeholders through a campaign we are calling Reimagining Florence Darlington Tech. That solely ties to workforce and economic development. The Pee Dee grows as Florence County grows, Ford said. Florence-Darlington Technical College will continue to provide training programs tailored to business and industry and provide quality, high-paying jobs to members of the workforce. FLORENCE Dr. Fred Carter will continue as Francis Marion Universitys president through 2029, the universitys Board of Trustees unanimously decided in a special meeting Thursday at The Cottage on FMUs main campus. Board members attended in person and virtually via Zoom video conference. The board also unanimously approved a resolution to explore the acquisition of Dargans Pond, a 50-acre pond and recreational area on the border of Florence and Darlington counties. The contract extension and acquisition of Dargans Pond were discussed in an executive session. The board then returned to open session and approved the two resolutions. Carter has served as Francis Marion Universitys president since 1999. During his tenure, the university has experienced exceptional growth and development. The university has added numerous academic programs and the financial stability of the university and its foundations has been enhanced. Francis Marion University Board Chairman Robert E. Lee said trustees felt extending Carters contract was appropriate to ensure several important university projects continue. With three buildings under construction in the four years, half-a-dozen new academic programs, and now Dargans Pond, the board wanted to ensure that Fred would stay with us to oversee the completion of these efforts, Lee said. The entire board was enthusiastic and insistent about keeping him here. Carter said he appreciated the boards continued confidence. Folly and I have lived here since 1999.This is our home. The faculty and staff on this campus are our family so we are not in any great hurry to move anyplace else or go anyplace else, Carter said in an interview after the board meeting. These next few years we have these projects to attend to. We will do that and be happy where we are. Its a great life we have here. Folly is Carters wife. Clemson University operates Dargans Pond as part of its Pee Dee Research and Education Center. It was closed to the public in 2016 after Hurricane Matthew passed through the Pee Dee, damaging Dargans Ponds spillway and dam. Clemson University, Carter said, has indicated it is willing to transfer the property to Francis Marion University. Local legislative and community leaders also have encouraged FMU to restore Dargans Pond. Francis Marion University will commission a soil study, an engineering study and a permitting study over the next 180 days to determine if Dargans Pond can be restored, Carter said. I will correspond with the president of Clemson and ask Clemson to give us the 180-day period to do the due diligence to perform those studies, Carter said. If the studies show Dargans Pond can be restored, FMU will ask Clemson University to transfer the property to FMU. Raising funds to start the restoration would be the next step. Once the funds are raised, restoration projects will start, he said. The ultimate goal is to return Dargans Pond to public recreational use. Its a stunningly beautiful lake, Carter said. Its a wonderful fishing lake. Its a great boating lake. Its a beautiful lake to hike around. Dargans Pond opened as a recreation area in 1962. Its less than two miles from Francis Marion Universitys Freshwater Ecology Center, which opened earlier this year. Acquiring the property would complement the Centers research and teaching activities and further the universitys community service mission. Obama accuse les reseaux sociaux davoir amplifie les pires instincts de l'humanite Lancien president americain Barack Obama a prononce jeudi 21 avril un discours ou il a accuse les grandes plateformes d'avoir largement amplifie les pires instincts de l'humanite. L'une des causes majeures de l'affaiblissement des democraties tient au profond changement dans nos facons de communiquer et de nous informer, a-t-il declare devant des etudiants de Stanford, l'universite au cur de la Silicon Valley, en Californie. Le leader democrate a reconnu qu'il n'aurait peut-etre pas ete elu sans des sites comme MySpace ou Facebook, et a evoque le travail benefique de sensibilisation et de mobilisation realise par des militants dans le monde entier, via les reseaux. Mais il a surtout detaille le revers du succes de Facebook ou YouTube, dont le modele economique - la publicite ciblee a grande echelle - repose sur l'economie de l'attention. Malheureusement, ce sont les contenus inflammatoires, polarisants qui attirent l'attention et encouragent la participation des utilisateurs, a-t-il note. Sonnette d'alarme L'ex chef d'Etat (2009-2017) s'est aussi etendu sur le phenomene de la desinformation, et s'est reproche de ne pas avoir suffisamment realisea quel point nous etions devenus receptifs aux mensonges et aux theories du complot avant l'election de Donald Trump, qui lui a succede. Poutine n'a pas fait ca. Il n'en a pas eu besoin. Nous nous le sommes fait a nous-memes, a-t-il ajoute, evoquant les campagnes de manipulation des electeurs orchestrees depuis la Russie. Nous venons de voir un president en exercice nier des resultats electoraux clairs et aider a inciter une insurrection violente contre la capitale de la nation, a-t-il assene, en reference a Donald Trump, qui n'a pas reconnu la victoire de Joe Biden fin 2020, et a encourage ses partisans avant l'assaut du Capitole le 6 janvier 2021, qui a fait plusieurs morts. Ce doit etre notre sonnette d'alarme pour reagir. Taliban fighters and medical staff stand outside a hospital gate after an explosion in the Imam Sahib district, north of Kunduz city (AFP/-) A bomb blast ripped through a mosque during Friday prayers in northern Afghanistan, killing 33 people including children, just a day after the Islamic State group claimed two separate deadly attacks. Since Taliban fighters seized control of Afghanistan last year after ousting the US-backed government, the number of bombings has fallen but the jihadist and Sunni IS has continued with attacks against targets they see as heretical. A string of bombings rocked the country this week, with deadly attacks targeting a school and a mosque in Shiite neighbourhoods. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that children were among the 33 dead in the blast on Friday at a mosque in the northern province of Kunduz. "We condemn this crime... and express our deepest sympathies to the bereaved," he said, adding 43 more were wounded. An intelligence official said on condition of anonymity that the explosion was caused by a bomb, but it was unclear how it was detonated. An AFP correspondent saw large holes blown through the walls of the Mawlavi Sikandar mosque, popular with Sufis in the Imam Sahib district, north of Kunduz city. One side of the mosque was completely destroyed by the explosion. Jihadist groups such as IS bear a deep hatred for Sufis who they view as heretics and accuse them of polytheism -- the greatest sin in Islam -- for seeking the intercession of dead saints. "The sight at the mosque was horrifying. All those who were worshipping inside the mosque were either injured or killed," Mohammad Esah, a shopkeeper who helped ferry victims to the district hospital, told AFP. "I saw 20 to 30 bodies," another local resident said. - 'Shrapnel injuries' - Relatives of victims arrived at the local hospital to look for their loved ones. "My son is martyred," screamed one man, while a woman accompanied by her four children searched for her husband. A nurse told AFP over the phone that between 30 to 40 people had been admitted for treatment of wounds from the blast. Story continues About a dozen ambulances ferried the seriously wounded to the main provincial hospital in Kunduz city. "The shrapnel injuries on the bodies of the wounded show they were caused by a bomb explosion," a doctor at the provincial hospital told AFP. Friday's blast was one of the biggest attacks since the Taliban seized power on August 15 last year. The deadliest was just days later when more than 100 Afghan civilians and 13 US servicemen were killed in a suicide attack at Kabul airport as tens of thousands were trying to flee the country. IS claimed responsibility for that attack. The regional IS branch in Sunni-majority Afghanistan has repeatedly targeted Shiites and minorities like Sufis, who follow a mystical branch of Islam. IS is a Sunni Islamist group like the Taliban, but the two are bitter rivals. The biggest ideological difference between the two is that the Taliban sought only an Afghanistan free of foreign forces, whereas IS wants an Islamic caliphate stretching from Turkey to Pakistan and beyond. IS claimed a bombing at a Shiite mosque in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday that killed at least 12 people and wounded 58 more. The Taliban say they have arrested the "mastermind" of the attack. They also claimed a separate attack in Kunduz city on Thursday, which killed four people and wounded 18. - Challenge facing Taliban - No group has yet to claim twin blasts on a boys' school in a Shiite neighbourhood of Kabul on Tuesday, which killed six and wounded more than 25. Shiite Afghans, who are mostly from the Hazara community, make up between 10 and 20 percent of Afghanistan's population of 38 million. Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated IS, but analysts say the jihadist group is a key security challenge. "Since the Taliban took power, the only achievement that they are proud of is the improvement in security," said Hekmatullah Hekmat, an independent political and security expert. "If that is not sustained and if they fail to restrain IS, then they will also be a failure like the previous government." bur-jd/sst More than two-dozen Woodbury County businesses are a part of a "treasure hunt." Friday morning, the office of Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald announced via press release that 26 Woodbury businesses have funds waiting to be claimed through the so-called "Great Iowa Treasure Hunt" which has been in operation since 1983. "We are a state supported by the hard work of small businesses and local organizations, which is why I want to extend my own helping hand and reunite Iowa organizations with their rightful money," Fitzgerald said in the announcement. Per the release, the 26 businesses in Woodbury County, and what they are owed, are: Abra Sioux City, Sioux City- $7,626.43 Deanda Bean Walkers and Detasselers Inc., Sioux City- $3,058.00 Iowa Technology and Education Connection, Sioux City- $2,029.54 Long Lines, Sergeant Bluff- $1,902.08 Plaza Bowl Restaurant, Sioux City- $1,443.5 Select Food Market, Sioux City- $1,440.57 Karen and Kates Cafe Inc., Sioux City- $1,413.35 Sioux Body Shop, Sioux City- $1,067.17 Stabers Meats Inc., Sioux City- $1,052.87 Joe's Mini Mart, Sioux City- $1,028.22 Dorseys Bar Grill In Sioux City, Sioux City- $1,001.00 Moville Evangelical Church of North America, Moville- $995.72 The Micah Project, Sioux City- $992.27 Prestige Collision Specialist, Sioux City- $941.60 Burrito Builders St Joe 301 LLC, Sergeant Bluff- $720.00 Grandpa's Discount Autos, Sioux City- $617.10 El Jalisco, Sioux City- $577.85 Choose Joy Sara Gitz Frankl Memorial Fou, Sioux City- $529.56 Morningside Church of Christ, Sioux City- $492.00 La Momia, Sioux City- $476.77 Dakota Graphics, Sioux City- $454.75 Sergeant Bluff Vol Fire Dept., Sergeant Bluff- $449.97 Artisan Press, Sioux City- $406.85 Simply Photography, Sioux City $356.07 St Mary's Catholic Church, Oto- $342.80 Siouxland Humane Society, Sioux City- $300.00 Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter @TwoHeadedBoy98. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. Western Iowa Synod Assembly The Western Iowa Synod of the ELCA, representing 120 congregations in the western half of the state, chose Sioux City for their annual assembly held on Friday-Saturday, April 22-23, at the Sioux City Convention Center. Over 230 ELCA Lutherans from western Iowa will gather for what will be an unusual "convention." Bishop Lorna Halaas has called the event "Some Assembly Required" because only a portion of the event will be held around meeting tables at the Convention Center. On Saturday, non-profit agencies and numerous churches will be hosting groups from the event for a "day of service." Groups of fifteen to thirty persons from the Assembly will be giving of their time and energy to participate in a bed-making project at United Lutheran Church with the "Sleep in Heavenly Peace" organization, and to do a variety of services projects at Community Action Agency, SafePlace, Lutheran Services in Iowa, Sioux City Public Museum, Mary J. Treglia House, Ronald McDonald House, Camp High Hopes, Sioux City Railroad Museum, St. John Lutheran Church, First Lutheran Church, Gospel Mission, St. Thomas Episcopal Church. For further information, Bishop Lorna Halaas is available at 701-580-0162 Spaghetti Supper St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2003 A Street, will host a spaghetti supper from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 30. Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12, and free for children under 5. Tickets available at the door, and carryouts are available. Welcoming New Director of Education Peace Reformed Church in Sioux City is welcoming Rachel Maag as new Director of Education. She will oversee the Sunday School programs, VBS, along with youth ministries for JH and HS students. Rachel has a background in education and a history working with young people. She comes from New York. She and her husband, Brian, have three children. She will begin here at Peace on May 1. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BEIJING (AP) Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade, while Hong Kong's government announced the end of a 2-year-old ban on non-residents flying into the city as its outbreak fades. Streets in Shanghai were largely empty despite an easing of restrictions that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes. Many residents still were barred from leaving their neighborhoods. A deputy mayor, Zhang Wei, promised every effort to resolve problems that prompted complaints about lack of food and fears the shutdown of China's most populous city might disrupt global trade. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government said non-residents who are vaccinated and have a negative virus test will be allowed to fly in again starting May 1. That eases one of the worlds most stringent travel bans, imposed in March 2020. An outbreak that infected some 1.2 million people in the city of 7.4 million and killed almost 9,000 appeared to be fading. Hong Kong Disneyland and museums reopened this week and restaurants resumed evening dining as new daily case numbers fell. On the mainland, Shanghai leaders are scrambling to ease the impact of a zero-COVID strategy that shut down most businesses starting March 28. Most factories and offices remained closed despite changes in anti-virus curbs since last week that have allowed 12.3 million people out of their homes. In one neighborhood, a woman rode a skateboard and a couple took a child's photo outside a park. Delivery drivers rode past on scooters while government employees in white suits sprayed disinfectant on trash bags. You can only walk the dog, said resident Isabella Kao, who cannot leave her apartment compound because nearby areas are quarantined. Theres no point in going out because all your stores are closed, right? On Friday, the government reported 11 coronavirus deaths and 17,529 new cases in Shanghai. All but 1,931 had no symptoms. Shanghai accounted for 95% of the 18,598 new cases on China's mainland, of which 2,133 had symptoms. China's infection numbers in its biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic in 2020 are low compared with other major countries. But the ruling Communist Party has suspended access to Shanghai and some other major cities to isolate every case, fueling public frustration and warnings about the rising cost. Truck drivers who bring food to Shanghai and goods to its port, the world's busiest, are hampered by multiple checkpoints and virus tests. That has led to long waits and reports that some shipping companies and drivers are avoiding Shanghai. Under the new system, drivers are allowed through if they have had a negative virus test within the past 48 hours, no fever and a green health code on their smartphone that shows they havent been to areas with outbreaks, according to Wu Chungeng, director of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation. All localities should directly release them, Wu said, according to news reports. Meanwhile, some 80,000 small enterprises in government-owned buildings in Shanghai will be given six months' free rent, the director of the citys commission for state-owned assets, Bai Tinghui, said at the news conference with Zhang, according to state media. The government has made 65 billion yuan ($10 billion) in support loans to Shanghai businesses and distributed other financial aid, the online news outlet The Paper reported, citing city officials. Officials said the Shanghai port is operating normally, according to news reports. But they cited daily cargo volume equivalent to 100,000 containers, down almost 30% from the normal level of 140,000 containers. Authorities are enforcing a three-tier system that allows residents out of their homes if their area has had no new infections in the past week. They can leave the neighborhood after two weeks without a case. Supermarkets and pharmacies are reopening. Some residents say they came close to being allowed out before a new case was found in a neighboring building and the wait started from scratch. Kao, 38, who runs a trading company, said she and her partner have spent most of the six weeks since March 11 in their apartment. She said they were allowed to go to other parts of the city for only four days during that time. Kao said her building is a control area, which means they are allowed outside, but around it is a closed area whose residents are confined to their homes. I feel the people of Shanghai are puzzled by the current anti-epidemic policy, Kao said. AP researchers Chen Si in Shanghai and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. SIOUX CITY -- Maria Loh is an artist with a very unusual canvas. Utilizing special artistic chalk, the 19-year-old Fargo, North Dakota native creates elaborate art on sidewalks. Thanks to a Gilchrist Foundation grant, Loh was invited to create her one-of-kind art in front of KFHC F.M. Siouxland Catholic Radio's 701 W. Fifth St. office. "I'm recreating (Roberto Ferruzzi's famous) 'Madonna of the Streets,' which is one of my favorite paintings," she explained, Thursday morning. "Since the work is called 'Madonna of the Streets' and I'm a street artist, it seemed to fit perfectly." Ferruzzi's painting -- which is also known as "Madonnina" -- is thought to inspire service to the poor as well as those helping woman and children. In addition, the painting is thought to represent the image of the Virgin Mary. Siouxland Catholic Radio listener relations director Lisa Niebuhr said Loh's appearance on Thursday coincided with the station's pledge drive youth art festival. The art festival, which also had a Virgin Mary theme, concludes on Saturday. "180 1st through 12th grade students in more than 30 counties responded to our request for visual art to honor the Virgin Mary," Niebuhr said. "A panel of professional artists judged the art, choosing a first place, second place, third place and honorable mention in each grade." Loh's appearance was a way to thank the students who participated in the station's first-ever Youth Art Festival. "We wanted the children to know art can be a great way to express creativity," Niebuhr explained. Indeed, Loh has been creating chalk art throughout the upper Midwest for the past few years. "I started working in chalk because I was bored," she said. "I really didn't know anything about it until I picked up a box of chalk and started doodling." Discovering she had an affinity for chalk drawing, Loh began researching the rich history of street art in the Catholic church. "Artists would travel to various European festivals, drawing the Madonna or other religious icons, using chalk," she said. The trend, which started in Europe in the 13th century, eventually came to America. Loh began her interpretation of "Madonna of the Streets" by taping off a portion of sidewalk, painting it white to smooth imperfections in the cement. Over the course of eight hours, she will recreate Ferruzzi's most important work, using nothing but pieces of colored chalk. The oldest of five children, Loh said some of her siblings are becoming as proficient in art as she is. "I'm the only one who prefers working in chalk," she noted. "Chalk isn't a particularly common thing for an artist to use." Well, for one thing, most of Loh's work is at the mercy of nature. "Actually, I think that's why I like chalk art so much," she said with a smile. "It's not permanent. If I mess up, it won't be around for too long." On the other hand, a person is less likely to take chalk art for granted. "We savor a delicious meal or a bouquet of flowers because such things are temporary," Loh said. "Maybe, people will look at art as something that should be savored." 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. SIOUX CITY -- Downtown Partners will present its next Sioux City Restaurant Week: Dining Edition with ten participating downtown restaurants from April 26 to 30. The purpose of Restaurant Week is to showcase local cuisine at a discounted price. It will feature a $30 prix fixed dinner menu with an appetizer, main entree and dessert at each of the dining spots. The ten participating restaurants are 1008 Key Club; The Diving Elk; Main + Abbey; Marto Brewing Co.; Buffalo Alice; Rebos; SoHo Kitchen & Bar; Table 32; Trattoria Fresco; and Woodbury's an American Steakhouse. The restaurant will have its prix fixe menu available all week long. Menus can viewed at downtownsiouxcity.com/restaurant-week-2022. "Each menu was formulated by local chefs to highlight their specialties," Downtown Partners executive director Ragen Cote said. "We are excited to see some new restaurants participating in this edition and hope that you will enjoy all they have to offer." "If you have been waiting to try a new restaurant downtown, now is your chance to eat well and support local businesses," she added. Downtown Partners will also offer a giveaway for people participating in Restaurant Week and posting it on social media. To enter, follow Downtown Partners on social media, post a photo while participating in restaurant week using #RestaurantWeekSC, and be sure to tag Downtown Partners. A winner will be selected at random to win a gift card for each participating restaurant (a $200 value). For more information, visit downtownsiouxcity.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. You are here: China The China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station has successfully tracked and received the downlink data from a Chinese atmospheric environment monitoring satellite, according to the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The data was received by the branch stations in Beijing and Hainan in three parts on Thursday, with a total size of 133 GB. All data was processed normally, said the institute. The atmospheric environment monitoring satellite was launched on April 16. It can comprehensively monitor atmospheric fine particles, polluting emissions, greenhouse gases, clouds and aerosols, land surface, water and other environmental elements, achieving continuous, dynamic performance. The satellite will further enhance China's remote sensing application capacity in the comprehensive monitoring of global climate change, crop yields and agricultural disasters. SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl and having inappropriate contact with a second girl. Xaythavone Keoviseth, 22, entered his plea Friday in Woodbury County District Court to two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of indecent contact with a child. According to court documents, Keoviseth met the 14-year-old on the Snapchat social media application on Dec. 20, and the girl invited him to her Sioux City home to watch a movie. Keoviseth is accused of forcing himself on the girl and slapping her in the face several times before raping her. The girl was able to kick him away and retrieve a weapon, and Keoviseth left the house. On March 1, court documents said, Keoviseth met with an 11-year-old girl who was having difficulties because of a recent sexual assault. During their conversation, Keoviseth hugged her and began to massage her shoulders before grabbing her buttocks. He then pushed the girl onto her bed while continuing to rub her body. The girl asked him to stop, and he left, court documents said. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- Sacred Heart Parish and School is preparing for a $6 million expansion project. The parish and school, 5010 Military Road, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. Sunday. The ceremony will follow the celebration of the 10 a.m. Mass. The Knights of Columbus will serve breakfast. The project is estimated to be completed in 18 months, according to a news release. Plans for the school include adding three classrooms, a new secured school entrance, office upgrades, a reworked gathering space and other improvements. The school has outgrown its space, said principal Kate Connealy. Music classes have been held on the gym stage and meet at the same time as noisy physical education classes on the other side of the curtains. As part of the expansion, new music, art and preschool classrooms will help relieve the cramped conditions. The PK-8 elementary school of 370 students is part of the Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools system. A shortage of space has caused a preschool classroom to be operated two miles away on the Bishop Heelan High School campus. The expansion project for the church will add a parish center with a large community room, full kitchen, small and large meeting rooms, a new area for the sacrament of reconciliation and remodeled sacristy and vestry rooms for sacred objects and church garments. The church needs more dedicated spaces for worship groups, faith sharing activities and wedding and funeral use, said parship pastor The Rev. Terry Roder. Some parish groups meet off-site due to too little space. We are so grateful to all who have supported this project, Roder said. Our construction means we will have new and updated spaces to worship, gather and learn. Our school will have the space and technology to provide the best learning environment for our students, and the church will have spaces to serve all parishioners. Sacred Heart Church traces its history to Catholic Canadian fur traders in Sioux City. One of the traders, Theophile Brughier, and his wife, the daughter of Chief War Eagle of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, attended Sacred Heart Church while it was in its infancy. The school opened in September 1920 with 89 students. With the growth of computer maker Gateway in nearby North Sioux City, and the development of the planned community Dakota Dunes, the school added a major addition in 1997. 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. SIOUX CITY -- Western Iowa Tech Community College's board has a whole new slate of members. On Friday morning, the school shared a press release announcing that Russell Wray had been appointed the new president of the board of directors. "Formerly the Vice-President, Wray joined the Board in 1997," the release said. In addition to Wray's appointment, Tricia Sutherland, who has been a board member since 2019, was named the new vice-president. The release then concludes by noting that WITCC will also have four new members: Bill Anderson, District 2; Blanca Martinez, District 3, Linnea Fletcher, District 4; Al Aymar, District 7. 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. Ukraine: Russians shift elite units to the new battleground KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia shifted a dozen crack military units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and pounded away at cities across the region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, as the two sides hurtled toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Meanwhile, Russia reported that one serviceman was killed and 27 others were left missing after the fire on board the warship Moskva, which sank a week ago following what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack. Moscow previously reported everyone aboard had been rescued. The Russian Defense Ministry did not acknowledge an attack on the ship. It continued to say a fire broke out after ammunition detonated, without explaining how that happened. The loss of the guided missile cruiser the flagship of Russias Black Sea fleet was a humiliating setback for Moscow. In Mariupol, reduced largely to smoking rubble by weeks of bombardment, Russian state TV showed the flag of the pro-Moscow Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was the city's highest point, its TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at Mariupols besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. The Kremlin has thrown over 100,000 troops and mercenaries from Syria and Libya into the fight in Ukraine and is deploying more forces in the country every day, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. McCarthy, Trump have 'positive' call despite Jan. 6 audio WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had a positive call with Donald Trump and appeared to be suffering little political blowback Friday from the release of audio in which he suggested the president should resign shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. McCarthy worked swiftly to shore up support among Republicans, calling and texting many lawmakers about his conversation with Trump as he rushed to contain the fallout. Trump himself told The Wall Street Journal that he has had a very good relationship with McCarthy. In the audio, first posted Thursday by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddows MSNBC show, McCarthy is heard discussing with House Republicans the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office after the president's supporters stormed the Capitol. In the recording of a Jan. 10, 2021, discussion, McCarthy says he would tell Trump, I think it will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign. McCarthy released a statement Thursday calling the report totally false and wrong. His spokesman, Mark Bednar, told the newspaper, McCarthy never said hed call Trump to say he should resign. Climate progress remains elusive for Biden on Earth Day SEATTLE (AP) With a backdrop of flowering trees, it was a setting fit for the signing of major environmental legislation. Even Seattles notorious clouds parted as President Joe Biden stepped up to speak Friday. But when he sat down at a small desk with the presidential seal that had been set up for the occasion, there was no new law to sign, just an executive order directing federal officials to keep better track of trees in national forests. The gap between the scale of the global warming crisis and the presidents initiatives seemed wider than ever on Earth Day. Although last years infrastructure legislation had some climate policies, such as building more charging stations for electric cars, many of Bidens most ambitious proposals remain stalled in Congress. Biden seemed eager to be signing something other than his executive order. My pen is ready, Biden said in Seattles Seward Park. Get some of these bills to my desk. Disney government dissolution bill signed by DeSantis TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday to dissolve the private government Walt Disney World controls on its property in the state, punishing the entertainment giant for opposing a new law that critics call Dont Say Gay. The move is expected to have huge tax implications for Disney and further sour the relationship between the Republican-led government and a major political player whose theme parks have transformed Orlando into one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. For DeSantis, the attack on Disney is the latest front in a culture war waged over policies involving race, gender and the coronavirus, battles he has harnessed to make himself one of the most popular Republicans in the country and a likely 2024 presidential candidate. The law would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the 55-year-old Disney government is known, as well as a handful of other similar districts by June 2023. The measure does allow for the districts to be reestablished, leaving an avenue to renegotiate the future of the deal that allows the company to provide services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure. DeSantis said Friday that the company would end up paying more taxes than it currently does and that the law isn't expected to cause tax increases for residents around Disney. He gave no additional details. Sharpton demands name of officer who killed Patrick Lyoya GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoya's funeral Friday: We want his name!" Sharpton's comments renewed demands by Lyoya's family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officer's name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. "How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Looking to deepen pain for Putin, West studying oil and gas WASHINGTON (AP) The United States unleashed some of its toughest actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin right after he rolled his troops into Ukraine. Polls in the U.S. find that people want Washington to do more. So whats left, financially, diplomatically and militarily, to step up the pressure? The U.S. could get strong results from any number of next steps, economists and current and former U.S. officials say. It could simply persist in pouring cash and potent weaponry into Ukraine a likely course. It could even commit to shutting down some of the inroads the Kremlin has made into U.S. political and financial systems, also conceivable. But the mightiest trigger the West can pull now on Russia, many experts agree, is the one on a gas pump nozzle. Cutting off Russian profits from oil and natural gas sales has become a main topic among world leaders looking at what else they can do to force Putin to end his invasion. It would be very useful to try to devise a way to reduce proceeds from those sales and that really is the proper objective, I think, of a ban, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a meeting of world finance leaders Thursday. But if we can think of a way to do that without harming the entire world from higher energy prices, that would be ideal," Yellen said. Voting groups sue over Florida congressional map TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Voting rights groups sued Florida on Friday over a congressional map drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature, saying it will diminish the state's Black representation and benefit Republicans. Florida lawmakers approved the map Thursday as part of a contentious three-day special legislative session during which Black and Democratic representatives staged a sit-in on the House floor, prayed and sang We Shall Overcome" in protest. DeSantis, who is considered a top tier presidential candidate in 2024, signed the measure into law Friday. The League of Women Voters of Florida, the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Equal Ground Education Fund and others filed the suit in a state court in Tallahassee. The case alleges the new map violates provisions of the Florida Constitution that prohibit districts from diluting the electoral power of minorities and from being drawn to benefit one political party over another. He wants to rig the state and he wants to do that by drawing lines that unfairly represent the state and our voting population, said Equal Ground founder Jasmine Burney-Clark in a phone interview. We also know that he has ambitions to become president of the United States, and creating a Congress that is more favorable to the issues he presumably would push in his administration makes it easier for him to do so. Marjorie Taylor Greene hostile in testimony over eligibility ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year and accusing an opposing lawyer of using chopped videos and twisting her words. Voters in the Georgia congresswomans district have said Greene helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that disrupted certification of President Joe Bidens victory, making her ineligible for reelection under a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment dealing with insurrection or rebellion. But Greene who, the day before the Capitol riot, proclaimed on TV that this is "our 1776 moment testified that she's never endorsed violence. Greene is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgias May 24 primary and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The administrative law judge who oversaw the hearing must present his findings to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then make the ultimate determination over whether Greene is qualified. Greene has repeatedly denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is itself unconstitutional. The Edsel, Quibi and CNN+? New addition to business failures NEW YORK (AP) The Edsel. Quibi. New Coke. The Segway. DeLorean sports cars. The pantheon of colossal business failures has a new member in the CNN+ streaming service. The news network's subscription offering hadn't even been operating for a month before Warner Bros. Discovery announced this week that it would be shutting down on April 30. It's going to be in the Top 10, said Steve Rosenbaum, executive director of the NYC Media Lab and an expert in business innovation, surveying the lengthy history of products that went belly-up. While CNN minus comments quickly proliferated, it's no joke to the more than 300 people hired for CNN+, which was in development for two years. CNN is expected to absorb some of those jobs but there will be layoffs a clear picture on those numbers is still emerging. The company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the project and no one knew when, or if, losses would be replaced by profits. Heat-Hawks delayed by suspicious package outside arena ATLANTA (AP) The NBA playoff game between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks was delayed Friday night after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena. The tipoff was pushed back nearly an hour while police investigated the package. Three gates were closed while security personnel made sure there was no danger. The package was found near the stairwell that provides access to a MARTA subway station at the arena. The game finally began shortly before 8 p.m., but many fans in the sellout crowd were still in long lines outside the arena, plodding through security checkpoints that are in place for all games. Out of an abundance of caution, Gates 1, 2 and 3 were temporarily closed by the Atlanta Police Department while the police department, K-9 units and arena security worked to clear the arena and investigate the contents, the arena said in a statement. The contents of the package were found not to be explosive, and the package was removed safely by the Atlanta Bomb Squad. 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 Ukraine: Russians shift elite units to the new battleground KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian authorities say Russia has shifted a dozen crack units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and is pounding away at cities across the region. The two sides are hurtling toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Russian state TV showed the flag of Moscow-based Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was Mariupols highest point, the citys TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at the citys besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. Russia reported one serviceman was killed and 27 were missing after last week's fire on the warship Moskva that sank. McCarthy, Trump have 'positive' call despite Jan. 6 audio WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had a positive call with Donald Trump, despite the release of an audio recording critical of the former president shortly after the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. That's according to two people familiar with the call and granted anonymity to discuss it. McCarthy is shoring up support from Republicans after The New York Times posted audio of a Jan. 10, 2021, conversation in which McCarthy told GOP leaders he'd urge Trump to resign. Trump says he has had "a very good relationship" with McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker if Republicans win control in the falls election. Climate progress remains elusive for Biden on Earth Day SEATTLE (AP) President Joe Biden spent Earth Day in Seattle, where he signed an executive order intended to help restore national forests that have been devastated by wildfires, drought and blight. The visit was intended to reassert his environmental credentials when he's been more focused on lowering gas prices that have risen during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, Biden's more ambitious climate change proposals remain stalled in Congress, casting doubt on the country's ability to hit his targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He expressed frustration with Republicans and some Democrats for preventing progress and challenged them to get legislation to his desk. Disney government dissolution bill signed by DeSantis TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill dissolving Walt Disney Worlds private government, after the entertainment giant criticized a measure that critics have dubbed the Dont Say Gay law. DeSantis signed the bill on Friday. It would eliminate the 55-year-old Reedy Creek Improvement District and a handful of other similar districts by June of next year. The measure does allow for the districts to be reestablished, leaving an avenue to renegotiate its future. The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have transformed Orlando into one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations. Sharpton demands name of officer who killed Patrick Lyoya GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton is demanding that authorities release the name of the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle. Sharpton spoke Friday at Lyoya's funeral and renewed the call for transparency made by Lyoya's family. He said, We want his name! and said authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people unless the officer is charged. The Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids was filled to its capacity of 1,000 for the funeral. Looking to deepen pain for Putin, West studying oil and gas WASHINGTON (AP) The United States unleashed some of its toughest actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin right after he rolled his troops into Ukraine. Polls in the U.S. find support for doing more. So what options are left to step up the pressure? Many experts say the mightiest trigger the West can pull on Russia is the one on a gas pump nozzle. Oil and gas account for 40% of the Russian government's revenue and are financing the war in Ukraine. Current and former U.S. officials say cutting the flow of oil and gas revenue to Russia is a prime topic now. But that would mean even more pain at the pump for consumers. Voting groups sue over Florida congressional map TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Voting rights groups have sued Florida over a congressional map drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature. The opponents say the map will diminish the states Black representation and benefit Republicans. Several groups filed the suit in a state court in the capital of Tallahassee on Friday, including The League of Women Voters of Florida and the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. The suit alleges the new map violates provisions of the Florida Constitution that prohibit districts from diluting the electoral power of minorities and from being drawn to benefit one political party over another. Florida lawmakers approved the map Thursday. Marjorie Taylor Greene hostile in testimony over eligibility ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year. She also on Friday accused an opposing lawyer of speculating and twisting her words. Voters in Greene's district have said the Republican helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, making her ineligible for reelection under a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment. Greene has denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her is itself unconstitutional. The Edsel, Quibi and CNN+? New addition to business failures NEW YORK (AP) Epic business failures the Edsel, Quibi, New Coke have some new company. CNN's parent company ordered the CNN+ streaming service shut down before it had even completed a month of operation. It's a spectacular failure, with the idea of a paid streaming service for news questionable and unproven to begin with, and it was also a victim of a corporate leadership change. The service started last month only weeks before a new leadership team at Warner Bros. Discovery took over, one that had nothing to do with the idea's development and quickly made clear they thought it was wrong-headed. Heat-Hawks delayed by suspicious package outside arena ATLANTA (AP) The NBA playoff game between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks was delayed Friday night after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena. The tipoff was pushed back nearly an hour while police investigated the package. Three gates were closed while security personnel made sure there was no danger. The package was found near the stairwell that provides access to a MARTA subway station at the arena. The game finally began shortly before 8 p.m. EDT, but many fans in the sellout crowd were still in long lines outside the arena, plodding through security checkpoints that are in place for all games. 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 The oldest son of former President Donald Trump has met with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. That's according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private session. The interview with Donald Trump Jr. took place Tuesday. He's one of nearly 1,000 witnesses interviewed by members of the House committee as they work to compile a record of the worst attack on the Capitol in more than two centuries. He's the second of Trumps children known to speak to the committee. His sister Ivanka Trump sat down with lawmakers for eight hours in early April. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The leaders of the rival Koreas exchanged letters expressing hope for improved bilateral relations, which plummeted in the past three years amid a freeze in nuclear negotiations and North Koreas accelerating weapons development. North Koreas state media said leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday received a personal letter from outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in and replied on Thursday with his own letter appreciating Moons peace efforts during his term. Pyongyangs official Korean Central News Agency said Friday their exchange of letters showed their deep trust. Moons office also confirmed that he exchanged letters with Kim but didnt immediately say what was said. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen since a series of North Korean weapons tests this year, including its first flight-test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 in March, reviving the nuclear brinkmanship aimed at forcing the U.S. to accept it as a nuclear power and to remove crippling sanctions. South Koreas military has also detected signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground it partially dismantled weeks before Kims first meeting with then-President Donald Trump in June 2018, a possible indicator that the country is preparing to resume nuclear explosive tests. Moon met Kim three times in 2018 and lobbied hard to help set up Kims meetings with Trump. But the diplomacy never recovered from the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019 in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Koreas demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility, which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Kim has since vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent to counter gangster-like U.S. pressure and sped up his weapons development despite limited resources and pandemic-related difficulties. North Korea also severed all cooperation with Moons government while expressing anger over the continuation of U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which were curtailed in recent years to promote diplomacy with the North, and Seouls inability to wrest concessions from Washington on its behalf. KCNA said Moon wrote in his letter to Kim that he will continue to support efforts for Korean reunification based on their joint declarations for inter-Korean peace issued after their meetings in 2018. Kim and Moon shared views that inter-Korean relations would improve and develop as desired and anticipated by the (Korean) nation if the (North and the South) make tireless efforts with hope," KCNA said. South Korea's next leader could take a harder line toward Pyongyang. Conservative President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who takes office on May 10, has rejected pursuing talks for talks sake with North Korea and vowed to bolster Seouls alliance with Washington and resume their full-scale military exercises to counter the Norths nuclear threat. Analysts say North Korea is also likely to escalate its weapons demonstrations in coming weeks or months to force a reaction from the Biden administration, which has been focused on Russia's war on Ukraine and a rivalry with China. Biden's special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, traveled to Seoul this week for meetings with senior South Korean officials and said they agreed on the need for a strong response to counter North Korea's destabilizing behavior. After maintaining a conciliatory tone for years, Moons government objected more strongly to North Koreas weapons tests this year, criticizing Kims government for ending its self-imposed suspension of long-range missile testing and urging a return to diplomacy. Seoul has also accused North Korea of destroying South Korean-owned facilities at the Norths Diamond Mountain resort where they ran tours together until 2008. Kim in 2019 called the South Korean facilities there shabby and ordered them destroyed, though the work was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. 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 HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) The first live-televised prime-time debate between leading candidates for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat exposed differences between the rivals Thursday, as they seized opportunities to attack each other. John Fetterman, the state's lieutenant governor who has led polls and fundraising, took the brunt of the attacks from state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia and U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb of suburban Pittsburgh. Fetterman in turn attacked Lamb, while Kenyatta was free to attack both without reprisal. The race in the premier presidential battleground state is perhaps the Democratic Partys best opportunity to pick up a seat in the closely divided Senate. The primary election is May 17. Perhaps the longest and sharpest exchange during the one-hour debate at the studio of WHTM-TV in Harrisburg came over a question about a 2013 incident when, shotgun in hand, Fetterman confronted someone who he believed to be involved with gunfire on a nearby street in Braddock, where Fetterman was mayor. The criticism that Fetterman was reckless and won't acknowledge it was, to a great extent, a reprisal of previous criticism lodged by Kenyatta and Lamb, albeit not with Fetterman standing a few feet away. Lamb and Kenyatta have given the incident racial overtones: The man Fetterman confronted, Chris Miyares, is Black. Fetterman has maintained that Miyares was masked and covered in clothing head-to-toe on a cold January day, and he had no idea of Miyares race when he pursued him. Still, Fetterman didn't answer the question posed to him: Would he do anything differently today? I just think thats disqualifying for any of us who have to work hard to gain the trust of the Black community, said Lamb, who is white. Rather, Fetterman defended himself as he has previously by saying he made a split-second decision in the interest of public safety in a small city wracked by gun violence, and contended that he never aimed the shotgun at Miyares, as Miyares has said. On national issues, all three candidates stood by President Joe Biden, despite the Democrat's flagging approval ratings. Fetterman and Kenyatta blamed the Biden administration's failings, in large part, on Congress' failure to pass Biden's agenda, including opposition in the Senate by Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Lamb, though, did criticize Biden, saying the president could have done better job of addressing the stress and pain on Americans of rising prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. The debate also exposed differences over whether the candidates would vote to suspend the federal gas tax amid sky-high gas prices. Fetterman would and recoup the lost money by raising taxes on the countrys wealthy while Lamb and Kenyatta said they would instead find ways to attack other rising costs for working families. On energy, the debate made plainer a long-standing difference. Kenyatta would end new natural gas drilling leases in an effort to clamp down on planet-warming greenhouse gases. Fetterman and Lamb, however, contend that natural gas is a fuel the country's economy needs for now. The candidates at many points sought to portray each other as flip-floppers or hypocrites. Lamb contended that Fetterman is in favor of drilling when he's talking to western Pennsylvania audiences where the industry is more influential and against it in eastern Pennsylvania, where voters are more skeptical. Fetterman insisted his position on drilling has been consistent despite changing it several years ago and accused Lamb of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the industry, so you can draw your own conclusion about his opinions and where they come from. Kenyatta called Fetterman a cheap date for not taking campaign contributions from the industry, while taking their positions. Lamb said he had not taken campaign contributions from any corporation. At points, Lamb sought to paint Fetterman as too liberal to win a general election, tying him to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the insurgent Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020. At other times, Fetterman and Kenyatta tried to paint Lamb as a conservative Democrat. Say what you will about Bernie Sanders, at least he supported and voted for Joe Bidens agenda as opposed to Joe Manchin, your mentor and someone thats endorsed you in this 2022 race, Fetterman said to Lamb. Lamb who repeatedly reeled off a list of Biden-supported legislation that he had voted for in the House shot back. First of all, Im just not sure who John thinks hes sharing the stage with, Lamb said. I am the one person who has voted for every item in Joe Bidens legislative agenda. Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at twitter.com/timelywriter. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia shifted a dozen crack military units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and pounded away at cities across the region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, as the two sides hurtled toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Meanwhile, Russia reported that one serviceman was killed and 27 others were left missing after the fire on board the warship Moskva, which sank a week ago following what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack. Moscow previously reported everyone aboard had been rescued. The Russian Defense Ministry did not acknowledge an attack on the ship. It continued to say a fire broke out after ammunition detonated, without explaining how that happened. The loss of the guided missile cruiser the flagship of Russias Black Sea fleet was a humiliating setback for Moscow. In Mariupol, reduced largely to smoking rubble by weeks of bombardment, Russian state TV showed the flag of the pro-Moscow Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was the city's highest point, its TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at Mariupols besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. The Kremlin has thrown over 100,000 troops and mercenaries from Syria and Libya into the fight in Ukraine and is deploying more forces in the country every day, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. We have a difficult situation, but our army is defending our state, he said. Numerous cities and villages came under bombardment in the Donbas the industrial region in the east that the Kremlin has declared the new, main theater of war as well as in the Kharkiv region just to the west, and in the south, authorities said. Russian forces pummeled an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters holed up inside the sprawling Azovstal plant, the last known pocket of resistance in the strategic southern port city, the mayors office reported. Every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor. Fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the battle for Mariupol despite the steel-mill holdouts. He ordered his forces not to storm the plant to finish off the defenders but to seal it off instead in an apparent bid to force them to surrender. Mariupol has taken on outsize importance in the war. Capturing it would deprive the Ukrainians of a vital port and complete a land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin seized from Ukraine in 2014. It would also allow Putin to throw more of his forces into the potentially climactic battle for the Donbas and its coal mines, factories and other industries, or what the Kremlin has now declared to be its main objective. Danilov reported that some 12 to 14 of Russias elite military units have, in fact, left Mariupol and begun moving to the east to take part in the fighting there. It will now be difficult for our forces, because our guys in Mariupol were taking (those units) on themselves. It is their courage and feat, he said. Danilov also said Kyiv managed to deliver weapons via helicopter at great risk under cover of night to the Mariupol steelworks, which have been bombarded for weeks. Putin said Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside the plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive, and offered decent treatment and medical care, according to an account of a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel, provided by the Kremlin. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged. More than 100,000 people down from a prewar population of about 430,000 are believed trapped in Mariupol with little food, water or heat, and over 20,000 civilians have been killed in the nearly two-month siege, according to Ukrainian authorities. Most attempts to evacuate civilians from the city have failed because of what the Ukrainians said was continued Russian shelling. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations would be open in Ukraine on Friday because it was too dangerous. She urged civilians to be patient and hang in there. Days into the Russian offensive to take the east, the campaign has yet to become a full-out assault, with military analysts saying Moscows forces are still ramping up and have not achieved any major breakthroughs in the Donbas or gained any significant ground. But shelling attacks killed three civilians in a small town and two villages Friday in the Donetsk region, which is part of the Donbas, the regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, posted on a messaging app. Kyrylenko said the Russians opened fire on at least 20 of the region's settlements. In other developments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks between the two countries have ground to a halt because Moscow hasnt received a response from Kyiv to its latest proposals, the details of which have not been released. Putins lead negotiator at the talks, Vladimir Medinsky, said he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He gave no details. Also, Rustam Minnekayev, a senior Russian military official, publicly outlined Russian war aims that appeared to be wider than what the Kremlin has stated in recent weeks. He said Russias forces aim to take full control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern too. He said such a move would open the way to the nation of Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldovan officials are warily watching Putins actions in Ukraine. In his nightly video address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned: The Russian invasion of Ukraine was assumed to be just the beginning; further, they want to grab other countries. Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak added that Russia was always lying to everyone and that, in fact from the very beginning, it wanted stupidly to steal some of Ukraines territory to secure an outlet to Transnistria. Satellite photos released Friday by Maxar Technologies revealed what appeared to be a second mass grave site excavated recently near Mariupol. The site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 40 meters (131 feet) long, Maxar said in a statement. A day earlier, Maxar made public satellite photos of what appeared to be rows upon rows of more than 200 freshly dug mass graves next to a cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. That prompted Ukrainian accusations that the Russians are trying to conceal the slaughter of civilians in the city. This confirms again that the occupiers arrange the collection, burial and cremation of dead residents in every district of the city, Andryushchenko said on the Telegram messaging app. The Ukrainians estimated that the graves seen in the photos released on Thursday could hold 9,000 bodies. The Kremlin did not respond to the satellite pictures. The U.N. Human Rights office again condemned the Russian invasion. Over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said. Fisch reported from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Inna Varenytsia in Kviv and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world. 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 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lanka will receive $300 million to $600 million from the World Bank over the next four months to buy medicine and other essential items, the countrys finance minister said Friday, as the Indian ocean island suffers its worst economic crisis in decades. Finance Minister Ali Sabri, who is in Washington to negotiate a rescue package with the International Monetary Fund, said in a video conference that the talks with the IMF might take some time, and that the World Bank has agreed to provide support in the meantime. Neighboring India has also agreed to provide $500 million to purchase fuel, and negotiations are underway on an additional $1 billion from New Delhi, which has already provided a credit line of $ 1 billion, Sabri said. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly $7 billion of its total $25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods. Sri Lankans have endured months of shortages of essentials such as food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine, lining up for hours to buy the limited stocks available. Fuel prices have risen several times in recent months, resulting in sharp increases in transport costs and prices of other goods. There was another round of increases earlier this week. The government has announced it is suspending repayment of foreign loans pending the talks with the IMF. Scores of protesters continued to occupy the entrance to the presidents office for a 14th day Friday demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his powerful ruling family resign over the economic crisis. The protests have spread to several parts of the country, where people have blocked roads with vehicles. On Tuesday, one person was killed and 13 others were injured when police opened fire on a group of people protesting against the fuel price hike, in the first deaths since the protests began. The shooting has drawn wide condemnation and the government has pledged to conduct an impartial inquiry. Much of the anger expressed in the weeks of growing protests 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. Five other family members are lawmakers, three of whom resigned as Cabinet ministers two weeks ago. Sabri said the government is also reaching out to China, Japan and the Asian Development Bank for help. China has already pledged about $31 million in emergency aid, including 5,000 tons of rice, medicine and raw materials. It earlier said it was mulling a request for $2.5 billion in economic assistance including a credit line to buy essentials and a loan. The debt crisis is partly blamed on projects built with Chinese loans that have not made money. 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 Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against a prominent opposition activist and remanded him in pre-trial detention Friday for allegedly spreading false information about the countrys armed forces. A court in Moscow ordered Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. held in detention until June 12. Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told reporters that the false information case against Kara-Murza cited a March 15 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives, in which he denounced the war in Ukraine, as the basis for the latest charges. The activist rejects the accusations. Russian media reported that similar charges were being drawn up against outspoken tech executive Ilya Krasilshchik, the former publisher of Russia's top independent news site, Meduza. The moves against the two Kremlin critics are part of a widening crackdown against individuals speaking out against Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading false information about its military shortly after its troops rolled into Ukraine in late February. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Human rights advocates so far have counted 32 cases targeting critics of the invasion. Kara-Murza is a journalist and a former associate of late Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015, and oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for years in Russia. Kara-Murza himself was hospitalized with poisoning symptoms twice, in 2015 and 2017. Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers denounced the Russian government's moves against Kara-Murza. I am deeply disturbed over news reports regarding the arrest and political persecution of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza," Bowers said in a statement. Dont forget about these freedom fighters, like Vladimir Kara-Murza. We must remember names!" Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted: Kara-Murzas brave opposition to Putin has inspired us all. Arizona will always stand for freedom. And we will support those like Kara-Murza who take a stand against oppression. Krasilshchik, the tech executive who left Russia in early March, told Meduza that he had learnt about the case against him from news reports, which by Friday evening remained unconfirmed. Russian media have linked the charges to an Instagram post, featuring what Krasilshchik said was the photo of charred human remains in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. You cant recover after seeing the images from Bucha, the photo caption read. You feel that the army of this country of ours, its capable of anything and so is the country. That were just an order away from mass executions. Also Friday, veteran Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov said in an online statement that he was temporarily leaving the country. Ponomaryov, a former State Duma lawmaker who had helped found Russias oldest human rights organization in the 1980s, has been a vocal opponent of Russias attack on Ukraine, and initiated multiple public petitions against it. In his statement Friday, he claimed to be allowing himself to take a vacation to look after my health , but also think through the difficult situation in which we all find ourselves, and plan further (campaigning) activities, which we cannot stop by any means. I doubt my time away will be long, he added. In a separate move Friday, the Russian justice ministry added Kara-Murza and several other prominent Kremlin critics to the registry of foreign agents. The designation implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit those on the list. The new additions to the registry included Leonid Volkov, top ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Alexei Venediktov, former editor-in-chief of Russia's oldest critical radio station, Ekho Moskvy. The station was taken off the airwaves shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Associated Press writer Bob Christie in Phoenix contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: 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 Cesar Quintana agonized for weeks that his 2-year-old son wouldn't make it out of the battered Ukrainian coastal port Mariupol as Russian troops encircled the city. Thankfully, he did. But Alexander and his mother are now in Russia, where Quintana, who has full legal custody of the boy in California, is no closer to seeing him again. Quintana has been trying to bring his son back to the U.S. since his estranged wife took the child to Ukraine without Quintanas permission in 2020. He was working to get the boy returned through a Ukrainian court when the war broke out, and he lost communication with them. Last month, he finally learned that, unlike the millions of Ukrainians who fled to Poland or Moldova, the family and others from Mariupol escaped across the closest international border to Russia. Russia, however, is not a partner of the United States under an international treaty that governs the return of children abducted overseas by one of their parents, though Ukraine is. That has Quintana hoping the Ukrainian court will take his case back up and he can get Russian authorities to enforce any ruling in his favor. He said hes also trying to persuade his estranged Ukrainian-American wife, Antonina Aslanova, to return to California on her own. Im not giving up, and my sons not going to grow up in Russia, Quintana said. A WhatsApp message sent to Aslanova seeking comment was not returned. International parental child abduction cases are complex, and advocates say relatively few children taken from their countries of residence are promptly returned. More than 2,000 applications were filed in 2015 under the international treaty that puts in place a process for resolving these cases, and about 45% resulted in the children being returned, according to a report by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Many countries have signed the treaty, but it isn't in effect between the United States and Russia, which makes getting a child returned very difficult, said Melissa Kucinski, a Washington-based attorney who specializes in these cases. "With the child now sitting in Russia, my expectation is the father's California custody order will probably mean very little, Kucinski said. Quintana, 35, has been trying for more than a year to get his son back through the treaty process with Ukraine, since a California judge ordered that the boy should be returned to him. Quintana traveled to Ukraine, hired a lawyer and said he got Aslanova to agree to let him bring the boy to California. But he said her mother opposed and filed a complaint with police, which stopped him from doing so. Then, a critical court hearing in February was delayed to March and put off again because of the war. Since then, Ukraine has said it won't be able to uphold its treaty commitments during the war, according to the U.S. State Department's website. The U.S. embassy in Kyiv is closed, though the State Department said it can assist Americans with consular services once they reach another country. In Russia, the U.S. governments ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens is severely limited, a department official said. The war drove Quintana to desperation. He sent money to Aslanova when the invasion began, but communication was cut off as the city of Mariupol fell under siege. When he couldn't reach his son, Quintana asked Ukrainian officials for permission to travel to the war-torn country to find him. He was planning to buy a plane ticket to Europe when he said the State Department confirmed the boy, Aslanova and her family had escaped to Russia. Quintana said he spoke with Aslanova after she got out of Mariupol. He said she was considering coming back to California but was reluctant because she faces criminal charges for child abduction and also for driving under the influence in a case that prompted Quintana to seek the custody order in 2020. She is worried about jail, he said. Why does my son have to suffer because of her? Noelle Hunter, co-founder of the iStand Parent Network, said a voluntary agreement is typically the best option in these cases. She said Quintana has asked the district attorneys office to drop the abduction charge if Aslanova returns, but prosecutors have not committed to doing so. State Department officials have offered to expedite documents should Aslanova leave Russia and take the child to another country, she said. We cant just kind of sit on our hands, said Hunter, whose organization supports parents whose children were taken overseas. We have to be ready. The Orange County district attorneys office declined to discuss the case. Quintana and Aslanova were in the process of divorcing when she was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, according to a letter from Orange County prosecutors to Ukrainian officials. Quintana was granted a custody order and allowed Aslanova to visit the boy at his home in December 2020. While he was sleeping, she took him to the airport and boarded a flight to Turkey then another to Ukraine, he said. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) A crisis hotline counselor in Florida sent obscene material to a teenager who called asking for help, sheriff's officials said. The teen called the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay's 211 hotline around 9:30 p.m. on March 28. She left her contact information so an intervention specialist could return the call, Hillsborough County Sheriff's officials said in a news release. A man called back and introduced himself as a counselor at the center named William," and they spoke for about an hour on a recorded line, the release said. He soon called again, from a restricted phone number, telling the girl he was just checking on her, the release said. During additional phone calls, he got the girl's Instagram username, and followed her. He began sending direct messages to her, including explicit videos and photos, the sheriff's office said. He then asked her to send naked photos of herself. She refused and reported the incident to a school resource deputy the next day. Investigators discovered that the man who called himself William had actually begun working at the center about two months earlier under his real name. His cellphone was searched after a subpoena was issued and investigators confirmed the teen's account of the phone calls, the release said. Detectives then questioned the man and he confessed, they said. He is accused of transmission of harmful material to a minor and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. The crisis center said in a statement that the man passed background checks before he was hired. He has been fired. We are deeply saddened by the actions of this former employee but thankful the victim had a resource available in the community that protected them," Clara Reynolds, the center's president and CEO, said in a statement. We are so sorry that a vulnerable person was hurt because it goes directly against what we work for every day. Detectives are concerned there could be additional victims. Sheriff's officials said the man also worked as a volunteer worship leader at Iglesia Adoracion Y Palabra Jesucristo Es El Senor in nearby Wesley Chapel. 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 LOS ANGELES (AP) The father of three children who were allegedly killed by their mother last year has filed a lawsuit against the city and county of Los Angeles, accusing police and social workers of failing to intervene to protect his young daughters and son before their deaths. Erik Denton filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, more than a year after the children were found dead in a Los Angeles apartment. Denton's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his children, Liliana Carrillo, fled to Tulare County, nearly 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of the scene. Carrillo, later told KGET-TV that she wanted to protect her kids from alleged abuse amid a bitter custody battle. She admitted to drowning her daughters, 3-year-old Joanna and 6-month-old Sierra, and her 2-year-old son, Terry, in the jailhouse interview. Carrillo is charged with three counts of homicide and her case remains ongoing, according to online court records. She is scheduled to return to court next month and is being held in jail on more than $6 million bail. The public defender's office, which is representing Carrillo, did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. Denton sought custody of his three children last year, citing what he said was their mothers erratic and unstable behavior and mental health issues. Fearful for their safety, Denton petitioned the court for custody, alleging Carrillo was delusional and had taken the kids and refused to tell him where they were. Carrillo then filed a restraining order against Denton and claimed he was an alcoholic who may have sexually abused their eldest child. As the case wound through family courts in Tulare and Los Angeles counties, the parents traded accusations in dozens of pages of documents. Police were called, social workers were consulted, alarming text messages and Facebook posts were saved as legal exhibits. Within weeks, the children were dead. Denton's lawsuit alleges that Los Angeles Police Department officers and social workers from the county's Department of Children and Family Services repeatedly ignored warnings about Carrillo's behavior and failed to investigate and cross-report their findings to other agencies as required under state law. The murders of Eriks three children would have been prevented if law enforcement officers and child welfare workers did what they were required to do by law, which is to step in and protect children who are at risk of abuse or neglect, said David S. Casey, Jr., who is representing Denton, in a statement. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services declined to comment on the allegations, citing the pending litigation and confidential records, but offered the agency's condolences to the Denton family. Our mission to protect children is one we share with our partners in law enforcement and the community, the department said in a statement. We remain fiercely committed to strengthening our community partnerships to enhance the safety net for children and families. The Los Angeles city attorney's office said it will review the lawsuit and declined further comment. Representatives for the Los Angeles County counsel and LAPD did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit on Thursday. 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 US spreads Cold War antagonism into G20 to corner Russia, ups pressure against neutrality of China (Global Times) 08:36, April 22, 2022 Illustration: Liu Rui/GT The US and its allies have used every means, ranging from staging a walkout during a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies to launching new financial sanctions, in a bid to increase pressure on Russia, while continuing to throw mud at China despite the latter's repeated announcement of neutrality on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Economists interpreted the US action as a tactic to shift its people's attention from rising living costs to "imaginary enemies," that is, Russia and any other country that shows some level of friendliness to Russia. It also reflects the US intention to draw Europe to its side against China in its "Indo-Pacific strategy" by molding China as a "Russian helper," they said. On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and some from other countries walked out of a G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in protest against Russia's military actions. Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov attended the meeting, while several other officials joined virtually. Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun also attended the meeting, which was held on Wednesday and Thursday. When delivering a speech at the meeting, Liu said that China is against politicizing and weaponizing the global economy, and the G20 should stick to its own responsibility by focusing discussions on economic impact while seeking comprehension and balance. Experts criticized Western countries for "putting on a show" at the G20 meeting and bringing a very bad influence to the G20 system which should be a mechanism to discuss economic issues and seek cooperation. "The original intention of G20 is to solve crises. But it is now becoming a stage for displaying a Cold War mentality. The US is literally destroying the fundamentals of the G20 mechanism," Dong Shaopeng, an expert advisor for the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told the Global Times on Thursday. Apart from insulting Russia on global diplomatic occasions, the US also launched a new round of sanctions against the country. On Wednesday, it imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian entities and personnel, including a Russian commercial bank and a virtual currency mining company. Western countries led by the US have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia, including targeting the country's largest lenders, kicking Russia out of dollar payment system SWIFT, and banning imports of certain Russian products. Chen Jia, a research fellow with the International Monetary Institute of the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US is shifting from general sanctions on Russia to more targeted sanctions to hit back against certain methods used by Russia to counteract Western sanctions, such as using virtual currencies to expand the categories and accessibility of Russian trade. The US also maintained high pressure on China in terms of the Russian issue. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman recently said that if China aids Russia, it could face similar sanctions, according to media reports. Sherman also reportedly spoke of US concerns about "China's support for Russia" in a meeting with NATO representatives on Wednesday. Behind the US' sanctions is the rising trend of unilateralism and conservatism in the country, experts said, as the country tries to shift people's anger amid domestic stagflation risks toward overseas "enemies," while setting Europe against China so that it could get more support from Europe on the "Indo-Pacific strategy," experts said. Diao Daming, associate professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US has had two main demands for China - cooperation with the US in imposing sanctions on Russia and cutting off daily trade with Russia - both of which are impossible to achieve. "While all sides have repeatedly confirmed that China is not providing military assistance to Russia, it makes no sense for the US to request other countries to cut normal trade relations with Russia," Diao said, adding that the US is just trying to tie up China and Russia together to create a vision of the so-called "larger threat." Dong also said that the US didn't care about what China said or the reality of China's stance on the Ukraine issue. "The US just has one aim about China, which is to damage China's rising position in the world," he said. Experts stressed that what sets China apart from the US is that the US has been making judgments based on its own selfish interests and hegemony, while China has been choosing its position on the merits and acting with respect for the UN Charter. "This approach is what guarantees that the world can stay under mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and this status should be the only method to solve the problems we see now in a long-term, effective manner," Diao said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) China's economic data for the first quarter of this year were released on Monday, showing the country's GDP grew by a year-on-year rate of 4.8% in the past three months, beating estimates by a considerable margin. While fixed-asset investment and industrial output also beat expectations, consumer spending took an inevitable hit. Disregarding the latter figures, the data come amid predictions by international economists that China's growth would in fact slow down this year as a result of other structural pressures, including the moderation of the global recovery from the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine and its impact on commodity and energy prices, as well as the stress of real estate and technology readjustments. The data suggest that China has handled the challenges of the past few months quite well. However, the COVID-19 outbreaks that have followed may pose new hurdles for the year ahead, especially concerning the 5.5% growth target that has been set. Nevertheless, these results are already better than expected. While we should expect China to stick to its current pandemic prevention and control measures for the foreseeable future, the national economy performed better than expected, and the country is prepared to offset disruptions with appropriate measures. This is in line with how the central authorities have always aimed to seek to contain the spread of the virus at the minimum cost to the economy. In the face of COVID-19 resurgences in some parts of the country and uncertainties in the external environment, it is true to say that there is mounting downward pressure on China's economy and the future picture doesn't appear too rosy either. That's especially true when it comes to the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai China's financial and logistics hub. Such impact will undoubtedly affect the country's economic performance in the second quarter of this year. However, there is no reason to assume the economic losses from this period will be permanent. Despite the challenges ahead, the data for Q1 have ultimately shown the fundamentals of China's economy are strong and moving in the right direction. Governments and departments at all levels are expected to ramp up efforts to maintain the stability of socioeconomic growth in the days to come while containing COVID-19. In this regard, more proactive policies are ultimately expected to be adopted in terms of a possible targeted stimulus aimed at facilitating business and consumption, as well as ensuring employment and people's livelihoods. 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. Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A Ukrainian woman photographed in a military uniform is a doctor, not a combat soldier. A private gift shop, not the White House, is responsible for selling coins honoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A fabricated BBC tweet spread a fake quote attributed to French President Emmanuel Macron, and a rain-enhancing process known as cloud seeding hasnt caused flooding in Australia. More than 900 bodies of civilians were discovered in the Kyiv region following the withdrawal of Russian forces. That's according to the regional police chief, who spoke Friday. The jarring numbers emerged shortly after Russias Defense Ministry promised to ramp up missile attacks on Kyiv in response to alleged aggression on Russian territory. That warning followed the stunning loss of Moscows flagship in the Black Sea, which a senior U.S. official confirmed was hit by a Ukrainian missile. Amid its threats, Moscow continues preparations for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine. Fighting also continues in the pummeled southern port city of Mariupol. Nearly a week after he was the subject of a news report detailing allegations that he groped eight women, Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster filed a lawsuit against one of his accusers: state Sen. Julie Slama. In a filing Friday, Herbster said Slama defamed him and caused him to suffer "grievous harm to his reputation." The complaint echoes many of Herbster's arguments made in the wake of the allegations, which were reported by the Nebraska Examiner on April 14. The online news site reported that eight women said Herbster, a Republican megadonor and CEO of Conklin Co., touched them inappropriately. The women were between their late teens and mid-20s at the time, according to the Examiner, and all the incidents occurred between 2017 and this year. Slama, who has served in the state Legislature since 2019, was the only woman identified by name, and she later confirmed the Examiner's reporting in a statement to the media and a radio interview that same day. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages, as well as money for fees and costs. Love 0 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Google says it will invest more than $750 million in Nebraska in 2022, an investment that includes construction of a data center in Omaha. The Omaha World-Herald reported Thursday that the investment also includes an expansion of Googles existing data center in Papillion. Company leaders did not provide specific financial details for that or any of the other projects during an event with elected leaders in Papillion. The new northwest Omaha data center will be the third Google data center to open in the region. Along with the facility in Papillion, Google has one in Council Bluffs. The Nebraska projects are part of Google's investment of about $9.5 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. A company official said Google didn't have any job figures for the Omaha area. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Omaha World-Herald. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Mounds of dirt seen in satellite imagery that Ukrainian officials say indicate new mass graves highlighted the savagery of a war that showed no signs of abating Friday, as Russia pounded targets in eastern Ukraine in a new offensive to take the country's industrial heartland. Cities in the Donbas came under Russian fire overnight, and the attacks interfered with attempts to evacuate civilians in one area, according to a regional official. The region, home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories, is bracing for what could be a decisive campaign as Russian President Vladimir Putin attempts to salvage an 8-week-old war already widely seen as a blunder and a humanitarian disaster. On Thursday, the Russian leader claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol, even though an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian remain holed up at a giant steel mill in the strategic city. Putin ordered his troops not to storm the stronghold but to seal it off in an apparent bid to free up troops for the broader campaign in the east. Hours later, Maxar Technologies released new satellite images that it said showed more than 200 graves in a town near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying thousands of civilians there. Russia said again Friday that "second phase" of the war was underway but instead of a full-out assault, scattered towns in the east have experienced the intimidating thuds of incoming shells that drive citizens out in panic. Slovyansk, a city of about 100,000 in eastern Ukraine, came under fire during the night, according to Mayor Vadym Lyakh, who said no injuries were reported. But he urged residents to leave and said a convoy of buses would be organized for Friday. In Rubizhne, Russian fire prevented attempts to bring buses in for civilian evacuation, according to Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai. More intensive shelling was also heard overnight in Kharkiv, a northeastern city that lies outside of the Donbas but has seen strikes repeatedly recently. If successful, the campaign in the Donbas would give Putin a vital piece of the country and a badly needed victory to show the Russian people amid the war's mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by Western sanctions. Full story and live updates here: *** PHOTO GALLERY Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Last weeks impeachment of South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg in connection with a fatal 2020 highway accident produced a couple of new wrinkles in this protracted, twisted, tragic and frustrating story. The vote came one week after a House select committee recommended that impeachment charges not be filed against Ravnsborg, arguing essentially that he wasnt actually acting in his role of attorney general when the accident happened and when he was subsequently providing sometimes-conflicting information to investigators. The vote also came hours after the attorney general sent out two letters on the eve of the House decision in which he urged the lawmakers to vote against impeachment. In a few hours, your vote will set a precedent for years to come, the attorney general wrote. No state has ever impeached an elected official for a traffic accident. He also criticized Gov. Kristi Noem, who injected herself into the scenario by calling for his resignation, by releasing video of Ravnsborgs interrogation and by working to sway lawmakers to file impeachment charges against the AG. It was all dramatic stuff, and the 36-31 House vote to impeach last week set the stage for a trial June 21-22 that will be one of the most watched legal proceedings this state has seen in many years. At this juncture, the closeness of the House vote, which required only a simple majority, may bode well for Ravnsborg. The Senate needs a two-thirds majority of 24 votes to convict the attorney general. If the House vote is any indication, that higher threshold could be difficult to reach. Also, it will be interesting to watch what happens between now and mid-June. As weve already seen (and as Ravnsborg alluded to in his letters), the governor has not been shy in voicing her preference on this matter, so it stands to reason that she or others acting in her interest will apply pressure to sway senators prior to the trial. (While that may not sound appropriate, this is, on one level, a political battle, and that aspect will almost certainly come into play.) An intriguing sidebar is that Ravnsborg is seeking reelection, and the Republican State Convention, which will nominate the partys attorney general candidate, will take place in Watertown two days after the trial is scheduled to end. Former AG Marty Jackley who is, like Ravnsborg, a Republican has already announced his desire to return to the job. Ravnsborgs conviction would likely settle the outcome, but an acquittal would put the matter in a different light. If Ravnsborg is acquitted and then denied re-nomination, what message would that send? Of course, the same may be asked if he is acquitted and then re-nominated after all thats happened the past 18 months. Last weeks impeachment vote merely sets up the final act in this political drama. But we still have a long, winding road ahead until the end is reached. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Is Robert Eggers stunning new Viking movie The Northman historically accurate? Should we care? If anyone can put the boring question of accuracy in historical fiction to rest, its Eggers, whose past films have likewise displayed an uncanny ability to channel the vibes of a time through a witchs brew of visual references, archaic language, and primal emotions. Thats why historians like the writer-directors movies, even if theyre not faithfulthey grab at the gestalt of a vanished time, and immerse us into it. Advertisement Eggers, a person who thinks very hard about sources, agreed to speak about the research process that produced some of the elements that make The Northman feel so extremely Viking, even though the source material for the legend of Amleth, who was also the inspiration for Shakespeares Hamlet, is shrouded in layers of mystery. Our conversation, which covers everything from the werewolf bar mitzvah to the shrunken-head soothsayer to the Valkyrie who emphatically does not have braces, has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rebecca Onion: Lets start with the coming-of-age ceremony, in which Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard) and his father Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke) go underground and pretend to be wolves. Im curious whether this ceremony is something we can find in the historical record. Advertisement Advertisement Robert Eggers: This ceremony is the most hypothetical thing in the film. Every other ritual is based on an archeological find, or something from a saga text, or a firsthand account from the Viking Age. This was something that was that Sjon [Eggers co-writer on The Northman, an Icelandic novelist, poet, and screenwriter] put in very early on, when we were early in the research phase. For thematic reasons in the story, it was important to have this initiation with young Amleth, but it was a process of then taking this idea and then continuing to ground it in reality and research. So, for example, the ritual chamber itself is based on a burial chamber in Orkney [an archipelago off Northern Scotland], from way before the Viking Age. And the idea is that basically as the Viking diaspora is happening, they found this ancient site of religious significance and build their temple on top of it. And so then this ancient burial chamber becomes a special ritual chamber that theyve adopted. Advertisement Advertisement And the artifacts within the ceremony, like the mask that Willem Dafoe wears, are replicas of archeological finds. We dont know that that mask was used in religious ceremonies, but it does seem to have the face of Loki scratched into it, and we thought that was cool. The rattle that he uses in the ceremony is also a museum replica of an archeological find. Nobody knows what those rattles are about, but we made the decision that they were part of some religious ceremony, because one of the more popular academic theories is that they were used to scare away evil spirits. So it seemed that in a ritual context, that was a good place for it. Advertisement Advertisement I saw in Sam Knights New Yorker profile of you that there was a reference to the use of henbane seeds (which have hallucinogenic properties) in the smoke that they smell. Advertisement Advertisement The New Yorker says it was in the smoke, in this scene, but thats wrong, its actually in the stuff that theyre drinking. And henbane is something that we find in burials of people that we believe might have been seers or sorcerers. So again, theoretical. Advertisement Advertisement Twice in the film, first in this ceremony, and then at the conclusion, Amleth touches or tastes the blood of a person, and sees whats basically a family tree inside their body, with bodies hanging from it. Where did this idea come from? If you read a saga, the first segment usually describes the lineage of the sagas protagonist. Son of, son of, son of, son of, son of, son of, son of, and so on. And this was a visual way to do it. Advertisement It integrates the idea of Yggdrasil [the world tree in Norse mythology], but even more than that, an image from the Oseberg tapestry. Most every story that we have from the Viking Age, its from sources that were written 200 years later. And the runic inscriptions we have from the Viking Age usually say, Sven was great. Here he lies. Or, like, I shagged so-and-so in this cave. Its really not much. But the Oseberg tapestry is a visual story that we actually have from the Viking Age. And one of the images on there is this arboreal structure, covered with hanging bodies. Thats where we got this idea. Advertisement And the idea that you could touch blood and see this treewas this something they believed? Advertisement No, no, no. Advertisement OK, thats just a cool idea. Cinematically interesting. Not that I know of! You can ask Sjon, maybe he can tell you an Icelandic folktale that has that, but as far as I know, no. All right, so we see Amleth become a berserker, and attack a village with a band of men. Actually, I dont think we even say what they are in the movie. Oh, right! I shouldnt assume! Are those supposed to be berserkers, then? I think berserker is the contemporary term that people know of, but there were two types of berserk warriors, at least two, that were these elite warriors of Odin. And one were the berserkir, which are the bear shirts. But we dont know if bear shirt means a shirt made out of a bear skin or a person wearing bare skin. Neil Price, one of the archeologists working with us, believes as a good Viking kenning [or poetic phrase], it means both. And so the warriors transform in their minds into bears, or werebears, in their rage on the battlefield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And then the other types are the Ulfhenar, which are wolf warriors. The thinking is that bear warriors were probably huge, and would fight like bears, and the wolf warriors are more agile. In the movie, Amleths character is the size of a bear with the agility of a wolf, is the idea. Before battle, would these warriors call on each other to transform into bears or wolves, as they seem to do around the fire in the film? I think it was a more popular theory years ago that these warriors would get into this ecstatic place from doing hallucinogens. But I dont think you could really fight if you were on mushrooms, much less be the elite fighting squad and the bodyguards of kings. I dont see how that is possible. The more current theory that were using in the film is that it was a shamanic war dance that got them into this trance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amleth ripping out the throat of his enemy, as he does in the course of this raid, comes from Egils saga, in which the poet Egil Skallagrimsson records that his father was a werewolf and he had berserker tendencies. He wins a fight by ripping someones throat out with his teeth. Advertisement In Iceland, Amleth finds a shaman in a cave who tells him where his sword is, and that shaman uses a preserved head of Willem Dafoes character, Heimir the Fool, to deliver his message. Was this something that Vikings believed, that heads of seers could tell the future after death? Did they shrink heads? In the mythology, Odin keeps the head of Mimir [another god], which hes mummified with herbs, and Mimirs head is able to tell Odin prophecies. Thats where we got that idea. Advertisement Theres a lot of Norse religion in the movie. There are references to the Norns (fates, in Norse mythology) and to Odin and Freyr. How did you decide that Amleths Uncle, Fjolnir, would be allied to the god Freyr, and Amleths to Odin? Ethan Hawkes character Aurvandil, Amleths father, is a king and warlord, so it makes sense for his god to be Odin. And then Amleth has his daddy issues, which is probably going to keep him aligned with the cult of Odin. But also, as a berserkerthey are Odinic warriors. We felt Fjolnir, having a chip on his shoulder, is going to not want be a part of the same cult as his brother, the king. There were a lot of people who move to Iceland and worship Freyr. Hes a fertility god. Hes an earth god. And if youre living out an existence as a farmer, you were generally a worshiper of Freyr or Thor. So it made sense, to us, that Fjolnir would worship Freyr. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think a lot of people are going to wonder about the human sacrifices, both the thwarted sacrifice to Freyr, and then the sacrifice at the funeral of Fjolnirs older son. There is evidence of human sacrifice at Viking funerals, I remember. Yes. First, theres the sacrifice that doesnt end up happening, and with that one, even the way the woman who is going to be sacrificed is bound we based on a bog body [a body mummified in a bog], a Germanic bog body from a slightly earlier period than the Viking Age. But the one inaccuracy is that her feet wouldve been incredibly clean, but we made a mistakewe made her feet dirty, even though they wouldve been cleaned. Advertisement But then pretty much everything in the funeral scene is based on Ahmad ibn Fadlan, an Arab travelers, description of a Viking funeral. There are three big differences. One is that the funeral that Ibn Fadlan witnessed was 10 days long. And the other two big differences are that funeral was probably for a Viking who was part of the cult of Odin, because they burned the ship so everything can go to straight up to Valhalla really quickly. Whereas, this character in our film is a worshiper of Freyr, so the ship is half-buried in the earth, the way we think the Oseberg funeral in Norway [which resulted in the preservation of the tapestry with the tree on it, among other finds] was carried out. Advertisement Advertisement And then the last thing that does not happenwell, maybe it happened, we just dont see it on screenis that the enslaved woman whos sacrificed would have been raped by all of those retainers. Thats a scene we did not include. The assumption in both this funeral and the funeral Ibn Fadlan witnessed is that this unmarried, dead Viking man needs a bride to be with him in the other world. Advertisement When Amleth finds his sword, the king he takes it from is seated upright in a burial mound, in a ship. Where did you get this idea? Its very common for a saga hero to get his sword from a burial mound, and its very often that they break into the mound to get their sword. Its very often a magic sword, and they have to fight the undead owner of the sword in the burial mound. And the swords are often ancient compared to the story in which its taking place, because these old swords have old powers, which was an idea I liked. And having him sitting upright on the throne, or the high seatwe see people buried in every conceivable position that you can imagine. That position is based on one of the Lewis chessmen [from medieval Scotland]. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the final scene, Amleth and his uncle fight at the Gates of Hel. Was hell a word Vikings would have used to describe a fiery place like that? Yes, Hel is both a goddess, whose name is spelled H-E-L, and its also where she lives. Probably Hel wasnt such a bad place, but the descriptions we have, we dont know. The descriptions we have of Hel are based on Snorri Sturluson, who was a Christian Viking. So his interpretation of a pagan hell seems quite similar to Christian hell. We dont know how much of his interpretation and description of hell is based on his Christian lens. Snorri interprets Hel as basically where you go if you dont get to go to Valhalla. Its a shameful place to go because you didnt die in battle. Advertisement Amleth and his uncle fight naked for their last battle. Dont get me wrong, I loved the way it looked, but was that something that might ever have happened between Vikings? Advertisement The naked sword fight on a volcano is something that I just wanted to do, and it seemed elemental, and it seemed right. Based on the research that Ive done, Im sure a Viking would say, This is nonsense. But how I was able to justify it is that it seems to me in the Viking Age, nudity was pretty taboo. When nudity is described, it tends to be either in a ritual context or in some kind of context where its aggressive you think about the berserkers as bare shirts, maybe that nudity is to show their fearlessness: I dont need armor because Im that ferocious and that powerful. Its intimidation. The final sword fight could pull from both ideas: in some ways, that duel is a ritual. And also, there is the offensive intimidation of the two men being naked. Advertisement Advertisement I did want to mention one last thing, just because a lot of people are talking about it. The Valkyrie who carries Amleth away does not have braces. Theyve excavated Viking skulls that have horizontal grooves carved into their teeth. And the current favorite historians hypothesis is that it was just something to look cool, to look badass, and that they filled those grooves with some kind of pigment. We chose black for the Valkyrie, but Harald Bluetooth [the king who unified Denmark in the 10th century] might have been called Harald Bluetooth because he had blue enamel in the grooves in his teeth. Maybe! We dont know, but thats where we got that. Its the 1980s. An ambitious young investment banker named Solomon has returned from New York and cooks with his grandmother, Sunja, in her Osaka kitchen. Their conversation slips between Japanese and Korean as Solomon tears scallions in half and places them in a sizzling pan; Sunja ladles batter over them, and then he cracks an egg over the top. They are making Dongnae pajeon, a recipe from Sunjas childhood home, Busan. Your father may think things have changed here for us Koreans, she tells Solomon, but I know better. The pajeon burns and Solomon tries to throw it away, but Sunja scolds him for wasting it. While hes grown up with plenty, she struggled with scarcity. Advertisement Throughout the Apple TV+ adaptation of Min Jin Lees novel Pachinko, food represents the transmission and loss of identity within one Korean familyspanning three generations and three countriesand signals differences in class and culture. Every single dish has a meaning, says food stylist Ellie Hyewon Lee, who worked with food director Soo Jin Kim, prop master Ellen Freund, and showrunner Soo Hugh to create pivotal scenes in the kitchen and around the table. For viewers like fashion designer Sena Yang, 38, who grew up with many of the same dishes, theres a common, unspoken food language that she shares with the characters as well as her own family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats the most emotional scene Ive ever been involved in. Pachinko food stylist Ellie Hyewon Lee Showrunner Hugh says, When you think about real life, were always eating, but I never see that on TV and we really wanted that to be a part of this. While working on the script, she took the entire writers room to a cooking class at Banchan Story, a culinary studio in New York, where chef Shin Kim taught them how to make Dongnae pajeon. Prop master Freund learned the recipe in Korea from food director Soo Jin Kim, a respected culinarian who has worked on more than 60 K-dramas along with her daughter and collaborator Ellie Hyewon Lee. I spent two weeks making pajeon every day so that I could really get it right, says Freund, who then taught the recipe to Yuh-jung Youn, who plays Sunja as an old woman. (Although Youn was the host of a cooking show called Youns Kitchen, she admitted shes not much of a cook and was worried about getting the regional recipe just right.) My job, says Freund, is to make it easy for the actors to become their characters. This included collaborating with set decorator Hamish Purdy to outfit Sunjas Osaka kitchen (filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia) with the two rice cookers, the hot water heater hanging on the wall, the rack of ladles and skimmers, and jars of seasonings ubiquitous in Japan. Advertisement Advertisement Food stylist Lee thinks Sunjas cooking would have changed over the years after she left Korea (more than five decades at one point in the story) and as the family rose from poverty. But when she makes that pajeon, it connects her to her mother and the home she left in Busan. Theres an implied longing that resonates with Pachinko viewer Kae Yol Lee, 83.* Getting old, I miss my mothers home cooking, he says, remembering the fresh fish that came to their table every day from the nearby Yellow Sea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The East Sea is ever-present in images of Sunjas childhood: the bustling fish market where she shops, the cove where she dives for abalone. To create these scenes of Japanese-occupied Busan, Freund began her research looking at old prints and woodblocks and pieces of art that would give me a sense of not only what the food was, but the emotional component of creating meals. Lee and Kimthe mother-daughter Korean food teaminterviewed elders in Busan who remembered subsisting on little more than barley porridge, just a tiny little bit of barley with lots of water, thats it. White rice was sold, traded, or taken as tax payment by the Japanese, who had their own rice shortages at home. Advertisement Advertisement Before newlywed Sunja departs for Japan, her mother struggles to procure a few bowls of white rice. The camera lingers as she pours the pearls of rice into a large bowl, ladles cool water over it with a gourd, and runs her hands through to wash the rice three times, saving the water. She boils it over the fire, and when she lifts the lid to fluff the cooked rice with a wooden paddle, steam rises to her face. Advertisement Advertisement Watching this scene gives me such a sense of home, says Yang. In Seattle, Yangs mother followed nearly the same steps to make rice in an electric rice cooker every day. Open the lid and you get that glorious steam and as you mix it the steam comes up even more, and its really fragrant. Advertisement Sunja holds back tears when her mother sets down a brass bowl and uncovers white rice. Its a delivery of love from mom, says Ellie Hyewon Lee, who cried as the scene was filmed. I am a daughter of my mom, but I am also the mom of my daughters, she says. Thats the most emotional scene Ive ever been involved in. To make it come together, Freund took some of the actors to visit kimchi master Ha-youn Lee outside Seoul, where they learned how to build and cook over a fire. Freund sourced props for historical accuracy, but also for emotional impact. Really, would the rice bowls have been brass? Maybe not, because they probably would have sold the brass because they needed money. But the brass made sense for what we were doing because we needed to cover [the rice] and reveal those important moments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Terri Lee, 49, a designer who grew up in Rochester, New York, talking about Pachinko with her father, Kae Yol Lee, 83, and mother, Soon Ja Lee, 81, who emigrated to the U.S. in 1973, has been poignant. While Terri took white rice for grantedit was always warm in the rice cooker when she came home from schoolher parents remember when it was scarce during the Japanese occupation and the 625 War (known to Americans as the Korean War). Kae Yols family owned a whole village, including their own rice fields, but he recalls a large portion of their harvest was levied as tribute to the Japanese emperor. What was left for the family they mixed with barley and other grains.* He ate pure white rice only on his birthday. He departed for America in his 30s with an M.D. Ph.D. hoping for greater opportunity, especially for his two daughters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Sunja and her new husband board a steamship to Japan in the 1930s, they ride with migrant laborers in the dark, crowded hold where drinking water is scarce, while on an upper deck the wealthy dine on steaka sign of Japans Westernization. When the boat docks in Japan, Sunja rides a streetcar to Ikano and walks into the slum Koreans are confined to, passing vendors selling oden, amazake, and dried fish. Pigs roam the streets. Advertisement To believably re-create the atmosphere of prewar Osaka as Sunja arrives, Freund studied old photos and taught each actor playing a vendor how to make a specific food: They are really doing it, though we hardly see the food on screen. The same is true of a 1980s breakfast table where Korean and Japanese dishes mingle. The right foods needed to be there, says Hugh, but we also want to make sure we dont fetishize the food. Advertisement One of Hughs favorite food moments is a flashback to 1923 Yokohama, when young Hansu and his father grill yakitori on a shichirin, sitting on the grass outside a baseball game. Hansu tries to give his father the first bite, but his father tenderly insists on giving it to Hansu. Hugh says, So just once again, that is a repeat of the rice scene, a parent literally giving love to their childsomething Hugh remembers her parents doing, too. In Pachinko, food is a motif signaling not only love, but power. Echoing the scene on the steamship, steak also appears in the 1980s, when Solomon attends a wedding in a Tokyo banquet hall where waiters in baby-blue tuxedos serve a multicourse French dinner. Solomon reminds his childhood friend of something he said when they were young: that Koreans eat like dogs because they bend over their bowls instead of lifting them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign up for the Slate Culture Newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Talking about similar experiences, Kae Yol Lee says, When I was little, making sounds while youre eating [was] kind of an expression of appreciation. But now, even in Korea, manners have become more Westernized, he says. For him, Pachinko tells a sadand familiarstory about loss of identity. Theres another rice moment when Sunja accompanies Solomon to Tokyo to try to convince an old woman to sell her house (she was not swayed by Solomons earlier gift of an expensive square watermelon, the epitome of bubble-era decadence). The woman serves them rice from Korea, a taste of home that brings Sunja to tears. She eats it with a spoon (as Koreans do), while Solomon, oblivious to why this rice is so special, eats it with chopsticks (as hes learned growing up in Japan). Advertisement Terri Lee observes, You lose your identity every step of the way. You were Korean and then you become Japanese and then your kids become American. Her father, Kae Yol, says he wonders sometimes what he could have become if hed stayed in Korea. He had what many would consider a great job, as a scientific researcher, But now, looking back, he says, I became a minority, a useless person in some sense. Advertisement When Sunja finally returns to Korea, she puts her feet in the sea, and she savors dried cuttlefish from the market. But when she searches for her fathers grave in her much-altered hometown, shes called one of those Koreans who left. Watching the scene, Sena Yang says her heart ached for Sunja because she identifies with that feeling: If I go to Korea, Im not really Korean. . And then here, to some people, Im not really American. Advertisement I think everyone whos left their home country feels a lot more connected to the food they used to have at home than when they were actually in the home country, says Banchan Storys chef Kim. But with the loss of some traditional culture also comes the creation of new culture. Napa cabbage wasnt available when the Lees moved to Rochester in 1973, so Soon Jawho cooked for her family while also working as an early childhood educatormade kimchi with round green cabbage. Thats my favorite, says her daughter Terri. Advertisement Yang has made her mothers kimchi with whole heads of Napa cabbage in Brooklyn and suburban New Jersey. Im going to continue making kimchi forever. Until I cant, you know. I want my kids to be around [it]. I want my kids to smell it, you know? Now that she can find the ingredients in Rochester, Soon Ja Lee makes her mothers white radish kimchi every spring. Some things have changed. In the scene where Solomon and Sunja make pajeon together, he insists opportunities have improved for the Korean diaspora, while she remains wary of oppression and discrimination. After watching, Lee says, I agree with Sunja. On Thursday, Justice Clarence Thomas made a surprising proclamation: A celebrated ruling against school segregationwhich, along with Brown v. Board of Education, abolished the doctrine of separate but equalwas wrongly decided. That decision, 1954s Bolling v. Sharpe, compelled the federal government to abide by equal protection principles. It forms the basis of countless landmark civil rights decisions over the last 70 years. And now, Thomas declared, it should be overturned. The justices condemnation of Bolling came in the form of a concurrence to U.S. v. Vaello Madero, an 81 decision upholding the denial of Supplemental Security Income benefits to residents of Puerto Rico. But Thomas opinion is not really about that unfortunate ruling. Rather, his opinion marks the latest chapter in a career-long quest to replace long-established precedent with a confused, slapdash substitute based on amateur historical analysis and tendentious conservative law review articles. In 15 muddled pages, the justice promoted a series of sea changes in the law, suggesting that the court should legalize sweeping discrimination against noncitizens and erase modern equal protection jurisprudence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. If embraced by the court, Thomas view would wipe away precedents limiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, and, in many contexts, race. It would also relegate noncitizens to second-class status, depriving them of the most basic rights. The nation might reasonably expect such a radical diminution of liberty to be rooted in a clear and definitive interpretation of the Constitution. But Thomas offered no such certitude, acknowledging instead that my conclusions remain tentative. Although conservatives often credit the justice for his alleged consistency, he is, in fact, one of the most erratic and capricious justices in the history of the court. In his eternal quest to divine the original meaning of the Constitution, Thomas zigzags wildly between cases, seeking to destabilize the law on the basis of his underinformed stabs in the dark. Advertisement Advertisement The justices solo concurrence in Vaello Madero is a perfect illustration of this problem. That case revolved around the federal governments refusal to extend important benefits to elderly and impoverished residents of Puerto Rico. This denial is cruel, irrational, and racist. And yet, the court held, it does not violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendments Due Process Clause, because Congress has a rational basis for discriminating against Puerto Ricans. (In short: Puerto Ricans pay fewer taxes, so they can receive fewer benefits.) Advertisement So Vaello Madero is an equal protection casebut the court did not apply the 14th Amendments equal protection clause. Why? Because that clause applies only to the states, not the federal government. The Supreme Court ran into this conundrum when deciding the school desegregation cases in 1954. Brown was easy enough, since it involved state segregation. But its companion case, Bolling, was trickier, since it involved Congress segregation of public schools in the District of Columbia. It would be absurd for the Supreme Court to desegregate schools in every state while permitting it in the nations capital. So the justices turned to the Fifth Amendment, which bars the federal government from denying liberty without due process of law. This liberty, they decided, includes the same principles of equality enshrined in the 14th Amendment. Thus, Congress has no more power to segregate schools than the states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That solution aligns with myriad Supreme Court precedents, both before and after 1954, that due process protects substantive rights, not just procedural ones. And it has spawned myriad precedents striking down federal discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race, and other classifications. (It was, for example, at the heart of the courts decision striking down the federal ban on same-sex marriage.) In his concurrence on Thursday, however, Thomas argued that the court should wipe away this entire area of jurisprudence. The Fifth Amendments due process clause, he argued, does not guarantee any substantive rights or prohibit any invidious discrimination. So all these precedents, including Bolling, were wrongly decided and should be overruled. Advertisement Advertisement Although conservatives often credit Thomas for his alleged consistency, he is, in fact, one of the most capricious justices in the history of the court. What, if anything, should replace them? Thomas proposed elevating the 14th Amendments citizenship clause, which states: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. This language might not sound like a source of individual rights outside of American citizenship. But Thomas asserted that the clause guaranteed equal citizenship by forbidding the federal government from denying citizens equality with respect to civil rights, specifically on the basis of race. Advertisement Advertisement Theres nothing inherently wrong with this ideaif it werent pitched as a substitute for a much larger set of rights that apply to far more people. For instance, Thomas speculated that the citizenship clause bars only racial discrimination, and even then, only with the respect to civil rights. So other forms of federal discrimination, like sexism and homophobia, are kosher. Moreover, the category of civil rights is actually quite narrow, encompassing only basic liberties like the right to own property, sue, and sign contracts. As historian Eric Foner has explained, when the 14th Amendment was ratified, civil rights were distinct from political and social rights, which include the right to vote, get married, and generally exercise the bedrock liberties of a free society. According to Thomas, the Constitution protects none of these rights from federal encroachment. Advertisement Advertisement Then there is the biggest issue: The citizenship clause (obviously) applies only to American citizens, leaving everybody else out in the cold. If it replaced the current regime, then the federal government would be free to engage in rank discrimination against noncitizens. Nonnaturalized immigrants would be relegated to formal second-class status, denied the fundamental rights accorded to other Americans. In fairness to Thomas, this position corresponds with his broader hostility toward the rights of noncitizens. The justice believes that the Bill of Rights limitations on state governments apply through the privileges or immunities clause, which protects only citizens, not all persons. In his view, states are free to deny the entire panoply of libertiesfree speech, religious exercise, freedom from unreasonable searches, and so onto nonnaturalized immigrants. Only American citizens, he thinks, can vindicate these rights in court. Advertisement Where does Thomas get these ideas? Largely from scholarship produced primarily by law professors with membership in the Federalist Society. These scholars are forever publishing new law review articles that purport to identify the true meaning of the Constitution. Like Moses descending Mount Sinai to reveal the Ten Commandments, many of their claims are presented as unquestionable, infallible, almost divinely inspired. These professors then author amicus briefs that lobby the Supreme Court to adopt their interpretations. Advertisement Advertisement Thomas has proved uniquely susceptible to these appeals. And so, of all the current justices, he is uniquely willing to flip-flop on constitutional disputes of immense import. (He has even disavowed his own opinions for the court.) No doubt, a good judge should be open to persuasion when their prior convictions are called into question. The problem is that, for the most part, no person, living or dead, can ever be certain about the meaning of the Constitution. Even the men who wrote it disagreed fiercely about the document they authored. Those debates persist today, even among the small cadre of scholars with Thomas ear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consider the privileges or immunities clause, a moribund provision that Thomas seeks to elevate to the center of constitutional law. Some scholars say this clause enforces the Bill of Rights against the states, the view Thomas holds. Others believe it enforces those rights and other, unenumerated rights. Still more say it does not guarantee any specific rights, but merely bars states from granting some citizens more rights than others. How did Thomas decide the first position is correct while the other two are not? Its a mystery how, exactly, the justice chooses to latch onto a specific theory, then demand that the Supreme Court constitutionalize it. But whatever his process, this method is a surefire way to destabilize the law, keeping Americans in a perpetual state of suspense about what rights will be granted or taken away on each Supreme Court opinion day. To his credit, Thomas does not pretend to believe in stare decisis, or respect for precedent. He thinks the court should overturn precedent, like Bolling, any time a majority concludes it was demonstrably erroneous. The deceptive allure to this simplistic solution conceals the fact that its a recipe for chaos, as well as an abrupt contraction of rights that most of us have come to take for granted. For more of Mark Joseph Sterns reporting on Justice Clarence Thomas, listen to this recent episode of What Next. As the Florida Legislature was convening earlier this week to approve its controversial new congressional maps, Gov. Ron DeSantis suddenly announced the Legislature would be considering another move as well: punching Disney, one of the biggest power players in Tallahassee, in the face. DeSantis and Disney have been feuding since late March, when the corporation, under pressure from its own employees, finally came out against the dont say gay law, saying that its goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts. Advertisement After weeks of tension, with conservatives furious at this latest example of woke capitalism meddling in social policy, DeSantis escalated the fight during the special session. The Legislature would consider a bill that would dissolve any independent special districts established prior to Nov. 5, 1968. Among the handful of districts meeting this criteria is the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the self-governing authority effectively controlled by Walt Disney World. (Yes, Disney runs its own neighborhood.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. If the district were dissolved, it might actually save Disney some moneybut at the cost of not being able to manage its own streets, permitting, bond issuance, and so forth. It would remove a lot of certainty and predictability from the operation. Both chambers of the Florida Legislature passed the bill this week, and its headed to DeSantis desk. Advertisement Advertisement Since the feud began, DeSantis has been saying that he wanted to mark a new era in Florida politics where Disney can no longer dictate policy in the state. But is the governor, who harbors well-known national ambitions, really sticking it to one of the most powerful corporations in the state? Or is he creating the talking point that hes the governor who stuck it to one of the most powerful corporations in his state? Disneys reputation as omnipotent in Tallahassee is almost the stuff of folklore. It brings billions of dollars to the state and employs tens of thousands of people. It donates millions to Florida politicians, with the bulk of it going to the Republicans who control Florida and Republican-leaning groups. It plays a leading role in state business lobbies, like Associated Industries of Florida, and rarely has much trouble securing new tax breaks. It further wields its influence, and spends its money, to beat back would-be competitors to its resort empire. A couple of the political operatives I first wanted to speak with about Disneys influence had to decline because Disney was a client. The Mouse is everywhere. Advertisement Advertisement Those whove watched Disney throw around its weight for decades, then, were stunned to see Republicans go forward with the bill to dissolve Reedy Creek. Im still shocked that this is occurring, Richard Foglesong, a professor emeritus of political science at Rollins College who quite literally wrote the book about the formation of Reedy Creek and Disneys political influence in the area, told me Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement There was a saying, locally, at the county level, in Orange County, that you dont get ahead politically by going against Disney, he said. Itd be like attacking Mother Teresa. Scott Randolph served in the state House before his current gig as the Orange County tax collector. This is also a new one to him. Advertisement Advertisement Thered be three things youd fear in Tallahassee, he told me Wednesday. Sugar, Florida Power & Light, and Disney. Those were the three entities you feared in Tallahassee, and you always sort of tiptoed around. DeSantis has taken Disneys money$50,000 of it in the 2020 cycle, not counting other donations made to the state partyand hes done his share of favors for the company in return, even those he doesnt like to admit. Advertisement Advertisement He doesnt need Disney now, though. Hes in good shape for his reelection, and the donations and national Republican acclaim he gets for Taking On Disney will more than make up what hes lost. Theoretically, taking on Disney might be a harder sell for rank-and-file Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee, though. Foglesong said he cant help but wonder if some of them have reservations about what theyre doing. Advertisement Briefly stated, he added, they seem to be more afraid of DeSantis than they do of losing Disney contributions. This politics of culture war, of anti-wokeness, appeals to a base that Republican legislators are afraid to confront. State Sen. Linda Stewart, a Democrat representing a chunk of Orange County where many Disney employees reside, says my way or the highway is just DeSantis M.O. in his dealings with Republicans in the Legislature. I want this, you better give it to me, she said, riffing on DeSantis style. I want this, do you want your appropriations thats in the budget that I havent approved yet? OK then, if you want it, you better vote yes. Do you want the bills you championed in the legislative session and I havent signed them yet? You want them vetoed, then OK, vote against me, and youll see what happens. I was speaking with Stewart on Wednesday, after shed voted against the bill to dissolve Reedy Creek. She said she was worried about the fate of her own bills now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The extent to which DeSantis and the Republicans hes dragged along with him are actually cutting off Disney at the knees, though, is very much a matter of debate. Specifically, theres real doubt about whether Reedy Creek, which the bill specifies would be dissolved on June 1, 2023, will actually be dissolved. Were this dissolution to go into effect, it would be a total pain for everyone involved. Reedy Creeks debts and obligations, previously paid almost entirely by Disney, would be transferred mostly to Orange County. Randolph said nobody knows exactly how much debt Reedy Creek has, though hes heard figures like $1 billion and $2 billion tossed around. He knows Reedy Creeks annual debt payments, though, are $58 million a year. Advertisement That all gets turned over to Orange County, right? he said. And then Orange County has now got to operate a wastewater treatment facility, they have to operate firefighting stations, they have to maintain roads, and they have to do all of that with zero additional revenue. The $163 million a year that Disney pays to Reedy Creek for its operation will just disappear, and the operation becomes Orange Countys problem. I dont know how they absorb that without raising taxes, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Some Republicans, Stewart said of her colleagues, were noting that Orange County would also be absorbing the assets, not just the debts. But its not like theyre particularly liquid. I dont think the county really wants the Dumbo ride or anything, she said. What are they going to do with it? We just dont know enough about it to make this vote. Advertisement Stewart, and several others I spoke with, suspect Disney and the government will reach some sort of face-saving settlement before the dissolution would go into effect. Disney could sue, citing state law that any dissolution of a special district needs to be voted on by the districts residents, who (in the case of Reedy Creek) would absolutely not vote to dissolve. Or they could argue that the law was a pure act of retribution against political speech, which no ones really denying. Then, instead of a protracted court battle that Republicans might not really want to win anyway, theres a negotiation. Advertisement Advertisement There will be talks that happen over the summer, Stewart said. Because Disney does not want to dissolve, they have enough votes not to dissolve, and there might be some other save-face stuff that may happen with the governor. Maybe take one or two of the responsibilities from the special district. Advertisement Advertisement And maybe, too, Disney would lift the donation pause it put in place when speaking out against the dont say gay law. There is, after all, a much simpler theory for why Republicans are suddenly shaking down Disney than their morals simply not allowing corporate America to get away with such wokeness: They want to get the spigot running again. Even if, a year from now, this whole episode ends in a superficial touch-up of Reedy Creeks charter, DeSantis will have already gotten what he wanted. Hell have secured the talking point that he had the guts to take on one of his states most powerful corporations when it stuck its paws where they didnt belong. Ignore the details of how it worked out. What will matter is that he picked a high-profile cultural fight. You dont really have to win to win, Foglesong said of the culture wars. You dont really have to pass a law that changes anything. You just have to give your supporters a feel-good moment by being vengeful and stirring resentment towards an enemy. Thats enough. Youve won right there. For more on the battle between Disney and Governor DeSantis over LGBTQ rights, listen to this recent episode of What Next. You are here: World Flash At least 34 people were killed and 102 others wounded in two explosions in northern Afghanistan on Thursday, local media reported. In Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, at least 30 worshippers were killed and 80 others wounded when a blast ripped through a mosque, the Khaama Press quoted officials of Abu Ali Sina Regional Hospital in the city as saying. Initial reports said five were killed and 65 were wounded. An eyewitness told Xinhua that the blast took place inside the Saay Doakaan Mosque when scores of worshippers were offering prayers at around 12:45 p.m. local time. The second blast came about 15 minutes later in neighboring Kunduz province, killing four people and wounding 22 others. The Kunduz blast occurred after a roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying military personnel on the outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city, according to spokesman of provincial police Obaidullah Abid. Abid told Xinhua that military personnel were killed and it was not immediately known if any pedestrians were affected by the explosion. In addition, two children were slightly wounded in a bomb attack in Police District 5 of the country's capital of Kabul earlier Thursday morning, police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed in a tweet. Details about the incidents are not available amid the absence of any official statement. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. In recent months, the war-torn country was hit by a series of terror attacks reportedly staged by militants of the Islamic State (IS) group opposing the Taliban-led caretaker government. On Tuesday, at least six people were killed and over 20 wounded in two back-to-back explosions outside a boy's high school in western Kabul. After Jan. 6, 2021, according to public statements and reporting at the time, a number of Republican congressional figures who had rationalized and excused Donald Trumps behavior during his presidency said they believed he was to blame for the violence in the Capitol that day. Some said he should resign or that they would vote to impeach and convict him to remove him from office. This was a natural response on a personal level, since all of them had been inside the Capitol when a mob assaulted and pushed past a line of police officers, then smashed through windows and doors and into the building, after listening to Trump give a speech about overturning the results of the election. Some members of the crowd shouted that they wanted to kill the Republican vice president, and one, who was part of a group that was trying to break through internal barricades into an area where members of Congress were being evacuated, was shot to death by security. It was a frightening experience, and would not have taken place if Trump had handled his election loss differently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sign Up for the Surge The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. But then the spin machine started spinning: Trump insisted that he didnt bear any responsibility for what had happened and continued to claim the election was stolen from him. Hard-line members of the Republican caucus and right-wing press said the violence had been instigated by the Deep State or overblown by the liberal media, then pivoted to an argument that the individuals involved were patriots being persecuted for participating in political discourse. Current polls show that while Republican voters do not generally approve of the riot per se, large majorities agree that the election was stolen and dont think Jan. 6 needs to be investigated. Trump also retains high approval within the party and is its leading candidate for the 2024 nomination. Advertisement Thus, most of the figures who initially felt he deserved to be forced out of public life because of the deadly riot have come around to an opposite position. Among them are House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who was a main subject of a Thursday story by New York Times reporters Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin. (The story was adapted from their new book This Will Not Pass.) The pair write that McCarthy told other Republican leaders in a phone call on Jan. 10 that he believed an impeachment vote was likely to pass and planned on asking Trump to resign. In public, McCarthy would soon strike a different tone. On Jan. 13, he delivered a speech from the floor of Congress in which he denounced the rioting and said Trump bore responsibility for the violence. But he argued against impeaching the president because it would divide the country, and called on members to vote on a censure resolution instead. He would fully reconcile with Trump before January 2021 was even over, and is currently refusing to cooperate with the House committee investigating the riot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, McCarthy issued a statement describing the Times report as totally false and wrong. His spokesman told the newspaper, with great specificity, that McCarthy had never said hed call Trump to say he should resign. So Burns and Martin provided MSNBC with an audio tape of McCarthy in a phone call with Republican leaders on Jan. 10, 2021. Regarding the subject of Trump and impeachment, McCarthy tells his colleagues, What I think Im going to do is call him. He continues: The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign. So, thats that: McCarthy and his spokesman both lied. Advertisement Advertisement This creates a threat to McCarthys position as the person most likely to be speaker of the House if Republicans retake the chamber, but not because its taken for granted that the speaker of the House should be trustworthy and possessed of the courage of his convictions. Its because other Republicans are concerned that the revelation of McCarthys original take on Jan. 6 might mean Trump doesnt support him anymore: Advertisement Advertisement NEW: @GOPLeader is making calls this morning to key House Republicans, telling them that Trump is not angry with him. Another piece of evidence, if you needed it, that Trumps approval is just about all that matters in the House GOP. me and @bresreports Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 22, 2022 Advertisement Despite McCarthys claims, which are reportedly based on a conversation he had with Trump Thursday night after the audio emerged, the Washington Post says that House Republicans are still waiting for a firm statement from Trump, according to multiple GOP aides, on how to determine whether they should still back McCarthy as their current leader and potential speaker. Advertisement The good news for McCarthy is that Trumps reportedly not upset, because he believes that the demonstration that McCarthy will lie to the public on his behalf makes him (Trump) look strong: Yep. Trump liked the original JMart/Burns story bc he felt like it made him look strong bc McCarthy and McConnell said all these terrible things about him around Jan 6 and now he sees McCarthy as a supplicant and McConnell said hell back him in 2024 if hes the nominee. https://t.co/068utzN1eb Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) April 22, 2022 So thats the end, of both this post and maybe, in 2024, of the continuity of American democratic government! Putin has for at least a decade viewed the internet as a threat to regime security. Now, Russias national defense conglomerate Rostec is reportedly looking to take over significant ownership of Rostelecom, Russias state-owned telecommunications provider. Rostec argued that it works in similar areas as Rostelecom and that foreign sanctions on Russia necessitate more coordination between the state and domestic industry. This represents another step in Putins growing securitization of the internetthat is, bringing telecommunications and internet sectors further under the arm of the national security apparatus. Advertisement Rostelecom, like many Russian companies (especially state-owned firms), has always been beholden to the security interests of the regime. The Russian government has weaponized Rostelecoms infrastructure to hijack the Border Gateway Protocol, the internets GPS for traffic, to misroute volumes of global internet trafficincluding from Google and hundreds of other Western companiesthrough Russias borders for possible interception. Rostelecoms CEO is paraded out about once a year in heavily scripted, Kremlin-publicized meetings with Putin to emphasize the firms telecommunications work and the importance of internet infrastructure to economic security. The 2020 conversation spanned plans including an undersea cable linking Vladivostok, a city near Russias borders with North Korea and China, to Hong Kong and Japan (now underway); expanding broadband access in Russia; and investments in data storage and processing infrastructure, for example. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet this recent announcement signifies a new step in Moscows securitization of the internet. Since 2014, Rostelecom has been Russias only universal service provider, maintaining 148,000 pay phones, 21,000 internet access points (unclearly defined), and more than 124,000 miles of fiber-optic cables, among other things. It even has a contract to provide broadband service in Crimea in Ukraine, which it was granted after Putins illegal invasion and annexation in 2014. Putting Rostelecom under Rostecs control would mean formally absorbing Russias key telecommunications provider and a significant portion of Russias internet infrastructure into the Russian military-industrial complex. Today, Rostec incorporates over 700 companies and employs over half a million people, all focused on military technologies; as Russian political analyst Pavel Luzin puts it, if the Russian military can use it, Rostec has had a hand in making it. Rostec is also known to capitalize on Russian proxy activity overseas to make a profitmoving into overseas markets once Russian military or proxy forces get a footholdand the firm plays a key role in shaping Russian security policy. Sergei Chemezov, the defense conglomerates head (whose reported $153 million yacht was recently seized by Spain), met Putin in his KGB daysand Chemezovs enterprise has long enabled Kremlin security objectives, like delivering weapons to Syria and other countries. Advertisement Advertisement This ownership change would also mean more directly establishing the influence of Putins security advisers over the domestic internet. Some members of the Russian security services have long raised concerns about the internet, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, configured online surveillance systems decades ago. But it wasnt until the late 2000s and early 2010sspurred by the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, the 201012 Arab Spring, Russian protests against Putin in 2011 and 2012, and the 2013 Snowden leaksthat Putin became truly paranoid about the internet as a threat to regime security. That view has prevailed since and manifested itself in everything from Russias 2019 sovereign internet law to physically targeting tech company employees and calling YouTube a tool of Western information warfare against the Russian Federation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the coming months and years, the West should expect further securitization of the Russian internet industry, a continued backtrack, as Russian journalist Andrei Soldatov notes, from the relative liberalization of the Russian internet industry in the 1990s. Rostec, in practice, is not a driving force of internet repression in Russia. The FSB runs a surveillance system known as SORM to spy on internet communications (originally, SORM-1 for phone calls, then SORM-2 for internet traffic, and now SORM-3 for all digital media); the media regulator and internet censor Roskomnadzor tells companies to delete state-critical information and oversees the blocking of platforms and websites; and the FSB and other security and law enforcement agencies intimidate those sharing information online through arrests, detentions, harassment, and enforcement of confusing, vaguely worded speech laws. Intentionally vague communication laws are even implemented and weaponized to intimidate Russian companies, and Russian courts use fines and other measures to enforce the Kremlins wishes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thus, in the immediate sense, such an ownership change would not immediately change how Russias internet works. Especially with all going on in Russia at presentincluding Rostecs active involvement in supporting Putins illegal war on UkraineRostec could quite likely allow Rostelecom to keep managing its own operation. Russians might not notice a single difference, and the security services would continue cracking down on internet-related speech and mobilization in tandem. Nonetheless, to move the state-controlled telecomwhich maintains large swaths of telecommunications infrastructureunder the defense conglomerate would increase the security apparatuss sway over its decisions, especially in the long term. Paranoid, conspiratorial views of technology could become even more pervasive in the administration of Russian internet services, and Rostecs security and security-profit mindset could bleed more into Rostelecoms decisions on domestic and overseas internet architecture. For example, consider the aforementioned cable project linking Vladivostok to Hong Kong and Japan, which could be important to Russian internet connectivity and economic development. Defense personnel could instead see it as a national security threat, including from entanglement with a country (Japan) that continues imposing sanctions on Russia. At a minimum, the decision itself signals a Kremlin focus on controlling the Russian internet ecosystem and securitizing the Russian tech sector in the face of Western sanctions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. and other countries will have to develop policies that acknowledge even greater Kremlin control of Russian internet companieshowever little Rostelecoms autonomy and room for maneuver already, it will now have even less. Western governments are already investing in more foreign technology and foreign investment screening for security reasons, though, paradoxically, isolation of the Russian tech and internet ecosystem will likely catalyze the Putin regimes push for a domestic, utterly state-dominated internet. The fact is Kremlin weaponization of telecommunications, internet, and related companies against foreigners cannot be divorced from Russian government surveillance and rights suppression at home. And for those in Russia, internet freedom will only get worseas Putins paranoid security advisers exert an even tighter grip over domestic internet infrastructure. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. ARCHIVED - Jet stream threatens more storms: Spain weather outlook April 22-24 The unsettled April weather will continue throughout Spain this weekend Although were now well into spring, Spain has been experiencing an unusual battery of storms for the last number of weeks , and the unpredictable weather is set to last for another few days yet. As the current storm that brought rain and even snow at the beginning of the week beats a retreat, another Atlantic storm will take over, driven by a weather phenomenon known as a jet stream. According to the experts, a powerful anticyclone in Scandinavia is dividing a polar jet from Greenland in two, with one of those streams winging its way to Spain just in time for the weekend. At the moment, the director of meteorology at Meteored, Jose Antonio Maldonado, predicts that the new storm will enter the northwest of the Peninsula from the Atlantic. Rainfall will move towards the interior of the country and the Cantabrian regions to finally spread throughout all of Spain over the next few days. Friday April 22 will be cloudy and showers will dampen all regions except those close to the Mediterranean. More snowfall is due in the Pyrenees, Cantabrian mountain ranges and inland Spain, while weak rain is forecast for Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Abundant rain is expected in the south of Galicia, Castilla y Leon, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and will be cloudy and showers will dampen all regions except those close to the Mediterranean. More snowfall is due in the Pyrenees, Cantabrian mountain ranges and inland Spain, while weak rain is forecast for Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Abundant rain is expected in the south of Galicia, Castilla y Leon, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and a good part of Andalucia , where some localised storms havent been ruled out. Weather warnings for Friday: Andalucia, Asturias, Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura on yellow alert for rain Andalucia on yellow alert for wind Andalucia, Galicia and the Region of Murcia on yellow alert for sea conditions Little change is expected on Saturday April 23, although the rain will subside throughout the day in most areas, with the exception of the extreme north. Weather warnings for Saturday: Aragon, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, on yellow alert for rain Andalucia, Balearic Islands, Murcia, Valencian Community on yellow alert for wind Andalucia, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Catalonia, Murcia, Basque Country and Valencia on yellow alert for sea conditions Aragon, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia and the Basque Country on yellow alert for low temperatures On Sunday April 24 the Atlantic storm will move away from Spain, although there will still be some residual rains in the Pyrenees. Elsewhere, clouds will prevail with skies clearing to the east, with temperatures beginning to rise in the western half of the country. Weather warnings on Sunday: Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria and the Basque Country on yellow alert for sea conditions. Image: Aemet ARCHIVED - Renfe celebrates its 30th birthday in Spain with 100,000 cut-price train tickets Long-distance and AVE tickets for as little as 15 euros for destinations across Spain Renfe is launching a new promotion between this Friday and Sunday, April 22 and 24, that will offer more than 100,000 AVE and Long Distance rail tickets across Spain for just 15 euros each in honour of the 30th anniversary of the first Madrid- Sevilla AVE, which set off on its inaugural journey on April 21 1992. The train tickets are for travel in the summer months, between July 1 and September 30, to all Spanish destinations. Standard Basic option add-ons with Choose level changes and cancellations, as well as Premium level changes with the choice of seat, bike and pet additions will be available at the time of purchase. The Renfe offer is valid from 8am on Friday and the discount tickets can be purchased directly from the website. Since the launch of the first AVE 30 years ago, Renfe has transported more than 464 million high-speed passengers. Three decades ago, Renfe began to circulate the AVE with a fleet of 18 trains on a 471-kilometre line that crossed five cities. Today, the rail operator has a fleet of 229 trains that run over 3,726 kilometres of high-speed trains on 13 lines, traversing no fewer than 57 cities. As of April 20, Spain has lifted the mandatory requirement for masks indoors , and while they are no longer required in train stations or at stops, passengers will still have to wear masks at all times when on board public transport, including Renfe trains. Celebra con nosotros el aniversario del AVE y viaja por solo 1 5 euros por trayecto! Compra desde este viernes por la manana hasta este domingo tus billetes para los meses de julio, agosto y septiembre. Toda la informacion aqui https://t.co/fYwdb7gpXK pic.twitter.com/0hLYEXFZYq Renfe (@Renfe) April 21, 2022 Image: Renfe Teachers highlight what schools need to prepare students for life in the 21st century. Pupils from a private primary school in Senec look at a photo that is a part of the "Eko, Not Ego" educational exhibition on climate change and Africa. (Source: Jozef Peniak/Integra Foundation) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled A glossary of words is also published online. When Arnold Kiss joined the Teach for Slovakia initiative in 2015, he expected of the two-year course that he would gain some teaching experience so that he could later help improve Slovak education. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Because of staff shortages, he ended up teaching six different subjects at a primary school in Turna nad Bodvou, eastern Slovakia, and he was also in charge of students labelled one of the worst-behaved in the school. Teachers were reluctant to teach those kids, he told The Slovak Spectator. My goal is to educate young people to be able to select from a wealth of information, make arguments and decisions, and bear the consequences of their decisions. Teacher Lucia Mitterova from Rimavska Sobota Not only did he teach, but Kiss also tried to fix dysfunctional relationships in the group and work on students cognitive skills. Two brothers, students of bad reputation, eventually showed a talent and interest in IT, so I tried to encourage and support them, the former teacher recalled. They grew into disciplined and hard-working students, he explained. Kiss believes schools should teach students soft skills, digital, and entrepreneurial skills, which are widely seen as essential in the 21st century. They should prepare students for real life, said Kiss. The Turna school, he claimed, was not particularly keen on teaching those skills, but these are the very areas he now focuses on in his part-time position at the National Institute for Education. Freedom is useless if schools dont know how to use it to the benefit of students, Kiss stressed. He added that schools need more support from the Education Ministry, but also to get practical experience of the labour market. He does not blame Turna teachers and the schools management for the things that did not work well, or not at all, while he was there. Many of my colleagues were burnt out. The system hurt them, Kiss said. Read also: Read also: Im proud of my Roma pupils, a teacher from a Svit school says Read more He believes his colleagues did their best in the manner they were taught. He gives an example of what he means: They did not see asking for feedback to get better at their craft as important because they had not been taught to do so during their university studies. Learning from feedback is one of the qualities of a good teacher, he believes. Looking back over the time since his course finished, he said he has noticed improvements in the Slovak education system, including some reduction in bureaucracy. But support from firms, such as providing work experience, co-operation on projects, and providing computers and other materials, and a clear vision for Slovak education, is still missing, he thinks, adding that while there is the potential to improve the countrys education system under the EU Recovery Plan, he has yet to see any well communicated vision about how that could be achieved. A vision for all schools Iveta Barkova, winner of the Teacher of Slovakia award in 2020 and headmistress of a private primary school in Senec, near Bratislava, agrees that a vision for the Slovak education system is a more urgent priority than any material and technical support for it. The 21st century should not be characterised by having an interactive whiteboard in each classroom which is then only used as a big screen for presentations, she said. We should build schools that better reflect how much we love our children. Teacher Jaromir Sedlar from Bratislava The vision for the system should be one that all schools can identify with, she maintained, and that will also give schools, which need more freedom, the opportunity to realise their ideas. It should also respect childrens various needs. I would also expect systematic help in educating future teachers and teachers in practice, she said. When asked what makes a good teacher, she said no teacher should go into the profession as a second choice career, and that he or she must have an open mind towards new things, children, and information. Barkovas school is currently working on a new curriculum which prioritises encouraging children to take responsibility, engage in civic activities and develop their communication and life skills over the teaching of specific information in individual subjects. Read also: Read also: Schools lack openness and willingness to deviate from the curriculum Read more There is a great need for an integrated curriculum, not one where information is taught in isolation, but one in which children are taught to think, form attitudes and solve problems, Barkova emphasised. She added that many secondary schools have a different priority, putting an emphasis on teaching information and facts, meaning her schools students often face a sudden change when they go to secondary school. Schools should reflect how much we love children At LEAF Academy, a private secondary school in Bratislava, students regularly work on different projects in their own groups or in co-operation with civic associations and other bodies. These projects are related to current social issues and include, for example, initiatives to recycle clothes, or working on the construction of electric cars. They also organise their own workshops on specific subjects, such as sex education. The school, whose curriculum does not follow that set out by the Education Ministry, says its mission is to raise young people who will contribute to raising the quality of life in Central Europe. Read also: Read also: His initial bet on an unknown school got him to Canada Read more What we do is not rocket science, said Entrepreneurial Leadership teacher Jaromir Sedlar. Slovak schools, private and state, need a vision, people, resources, and innovation of culture to provide excellent education and to ready students, regardless of their social status, for post-education life, he added. Sedlar agrees that the Education Ministry should give schools more freedom to innovate their processes. The ministry, he said, should ensure at the same time that schools deliver on any required national standards. He pointed out that various representatives of the Education Ministry, who served there under the previous governments, had written strategies for the education system, but that it would be best if it just set out no more than three accomplishable ideas to be realised even though this may still be difficult given the different circumstances of every school. We should build schools that better reflect how much we love our children, Sedlar said. There is a great need for an integrated curriculum, not one where information is taught in isolation, but one in which children are taught to think, form attitudes and solve problems. Teacher Iveta Barkova from Senec To set a good example of a well-functioning organisation, schools should serve not only their students and parents but also their teachers. In turn, schools could then attract the best teachers from the existing talent pool. Sedlar also emphasised that teachers themselves should be expected to learn from their experience and students, but that we should not expect perfection. But teachers should not do the job of students, he continued. Students should do as much as possible. By adopting this approach, students will acquire the confidence needed to overcome challenges and become people who are ready to oppose but also to propose, he said. Teachers as mentors Lucia Mitterova, a teacher since 2004, has always seen teaching as a calling rather than a job. Today she teaches History, Geography and English at a private vocational school in Rimavska Sobota. My goal is to educate young people to be able to select from a wealth of information, make arguments and decisions, and bear the consequences of their decisions, Mitterova said, adding that she tries to be a mentor and an encouraging friend to her students. Critical thinking, soft and digital skills, as well as integrating theory and vocational skills, are all important qualities and capabilities students must possess to succeed, Mitterova believes. She points to the internships abroad her school offers to both students and teachers as its biggest asset. Read also: Read also: Dual education helps companies achieve top marks Read more However, for students to acquire these skills, todays entire education system would have to be changed, and schools would have to be given more freedom, Mitterova noted. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the rigidity of the current system, she added. Among the changes she sees as most necessary are related to the content of school-leaving exams, known as Maturita. The exams should take the form of a project in which a student demonstrates the knowledge and skills acquired from studying several subjects, not just one, she suggested. Mitterova recently became one of 180 digital coordinators at Slovak secondary schools - a scheme launched by the Education Ministry during the pandemic - to help her school prepare for a digital future. You can have the best technology and a super-fast internet connection, but if you dont use it properly, those things are useless, she said. The Spectator College is a programme designed to support the study and teaching of English in Slovakia, as well as to inspire interest in important public issues among young people. Ganna Konovalenko has found herself in Zvolen, central Slovakia, after she left the Mykolaiv area in Ukraine due to the war. Ganna Konovalenko had taught English to the youngest children at a primary school in her home village before she had to flee the war in Ukraine. Today, she is a teaching assistant in Zvolen, central Slovakia, where she helps Ukrainian pupils. (Source: Facebook/Lenka Balkovicova) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The war in Ukraine did not stop Ganna Konovalenko from teaching children, which she has always seen as her calling. She had taught English at a primary school in a small village in the Mykolaiv region, in southern Ukraine, where she had lived before the war. Konovalenko is hoping to return there one day. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The Ukrainian teacher fled the conflict with her son and found refuge in Zvolen, central Slovakia, where her daughter had moved for work at a local hospital before the war broke out. On the Spectator College podcast, she talks about the conflict, her arrival in Zvolen, and her new job as a teaching assistant at a local primary school. Listen to the podcast: https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/7H3b3v6rHPPKL9kjrPQAsN?utm_source=generator Exam topic: Education Other study materials: Glossary: Teachers call for more freedom at schools Read more Missing from school: Vision, systematic support, freedom Read more The Spectator College is a programme designed to support the study and teaching of English in Slovakia, as well as to inspire interest in important public issues among young people. The general prosecutor excluded Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipsic from the case. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovakia's deputy special prosecutor has been authorised to request parliament's approval to detain Robert Fico, a sitting MP. Following the authorisation, Deputy Special Prosecutor Ladislav Masar filed the request on April 22, according to Dennik N. General Prosecutor Maros Zilinka issued the authorisation after excluding Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipsic from making decisions in the case against Fico, who leads the Smer party. The general prosecutor argued that there could be doubts about Lipsic's impartiality in the case, general prosecutor's spokesperson Dalibor Skladan announced, as reported by the TASR newswire. Lipsic was formerly an MP and minister, during which time he was a political opponent of Fico's. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Fico stands accused of a number of crimes, with the allegations against him dating back to the time when he served as prime minister. His one-time right-hand man and former interior minister Robert Kalinak was also charged on Tuesday as part of a police operation codenamed Twilight. The prosecutor has requested custody for Kalinak, which the Specialised Criminal Court in Pezinok is to decide on later this afternoon. That proceeding is scheduled to start at 15:00. The Special Prosecutors Office has also filed a motion with the Specialised Criminal Court to remand in custody lawyer Marek Para, who was among the other individuals charged this week as part of operation Twilight, which is led by the National Crime Agency (NAKA). Fico, as an MP, cannot be taken into custody unless his fellow MPs allow it. The approval must be granted by more than half of the votes in the 150-seat parliament. You are here: World Flash The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday voted to extend the martial law in the country for another 30 days, until May 25, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. The presidential proposal on the prolongation of the martial law was supported by 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly, Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram. Ukraine imposed martial law on Feb. 24 in the wake of the conflict with Russia. On March 15, the Ukrainian parliament voted to extend the special regime till April 25. On April 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted to the parliament a bill to further extend martial law in the country. Flash South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal floods death toll has been revised down from 448 to 435, said Police Minister Bheki Cele while briefing the media about the flood on Thursday. "There was a figure of 448 fatalities, which has now been revised down to 435. This is as a result of autopsies performed on four bodies and it was determined that the deaths were murder-related as they were found with bullet wounds... Nine more people were determined to have died from natural causes, which were not related to the disaster. The final fatality figure stands at 435 as of this morning," said Cele. He said they have deployed over 3,000 police officers and 900 KwaZulu-Natal province metro police to help with emergency relief, maintain law and order and prevent opportunistic crimes while the army is deploying 10,000 that include doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and pharmacists. You are here: World Flash Former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez was extradited Thursday to the United States, where he will face charges of drug trafficking. Hernandez was transferred by helicopter from the Los Cobras police headquarters on the outskirts of the Honduran capital to the Hernan Acosta Mejia airbase in Tegucigalpa, where agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were waiting for him. His transfer was accompanied by a strong police ground and air operation. Honduran Judge Edwin Francisco Ortez granted the extradition request on March 16, after evaluating evidence presented by the Court of the Southern District of New York and Hernandez's lawyers. Hernandez faces charges of "conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the United States," manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance with the intent and knowledge that substance would be illegally imported into the United States, and with the intent to distribute a controlled substance aboard an aircraft registered on the U.S. soil. He is also charged with weapons violations. Hernandez's family said Wednesday night a team of lawyers was hired in the United States to defend the ex-president. Since 2014, Honduras has extradited to the United States some 32 people linked to drug trafficking. The 2021 Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year Award winner, Desperate Man made his four-year-old debut on Friday (April 22) at Woodbine Mohawk Park and he picked up right where he left off. With regular pilot Trevor Henry at the controls, Desperate Man was one of six four-year-olds competing in the third qualifier of the morning comprised of a lineup that looked more like a four-year-old open. The field also featured two Ontario Sires Stakes Gold winners from 2021 (Powertrain and Second Bruiser), the 2021 Western Canada Pacing Derby champ (Sunshine Boy), the 2021 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Final winner (Armor Seelster) and the winner of the 2021 Ontario Sires Harvest Series Final (Control Heaven). Positioned in fourth early during his qualifying debut, Desperate Man watched as Control Heaven (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Sunshine Boy (Bob McClure) took turns on the lead through the :29.2 opening quarter, and then Henry right-lined Desperate Man from fourth to clear to the top. His lead was short-lived, however, as Powertrain (Sylvain Filion) followed his move to the outer flow and brushed to the top just after the :57.3 half. Powertrain maintained command through a 1:26 third panel and into the stretch before being confronted by the backfield. Desperate Man evacuated the pocket and took a run at Powertrain, who Filion had to steady in deep stretch. Desperate Man took the lead and then held off a hard-closing Second Bruiser (James MacDonald) and Sunshine Boy to trip the timer a head the best in a time of 1:53.1. "He was pretty good for his first time back. It was a top bunch...and he's the type of horse that will always find a way to win," Henry told Trot Insider, noting that he expects Desperate Man to be back at Mohawk for another qualifier in a week's time. Kathy Cecchin trains Desperate Man (Shadow Play - Dreamlands Latte) and co-owns the pacing powerhouse along with her husband John, daughter Nikki and son-in-law Paul Davies. The O'Brien Award winner comes into 2022 with a mark of 1:49.3s taken at Mohawk with $986,266 in career earnings. What Henry will say doesn't come along with that process of bringing back this Horse of the Year is any unrealistic pressure from the ownership group. "They just go with the flow and there's no high expectations with them. He's done way more than they ever thought he would, so they just take it as it comes." 2021 O'Brien Award finalist Silver Label employed similar tactics in her sophomore debut. James MacDonald positioned the pacer in second behind divisional rival Warrawee Xpat (Jody Jamieson) through tepid fractions of :29.2, :59.3 and 1:29.3 and then angled into attack mode turning for home. Silver Label willingly powered home, stopping the clock in 1:56.1 some three lengths the best over Dewitt For Josie (Roy) and Warrawee Xpat. A homebred of Stouffville, Ont.'s Millar Farms, Silver Label (Bettors Delight - Hidden Gem) amassed a summary of 6-2-0 from eight seasonal starts for trainer Nick Gallucci while stashing away $341,726 in earnings. Look for Silver Label to be pointed toward the SBOA Stakes eliminations next month. The video stream from Friday's qualifying session is available below. To view results from the Friday session of qualifiers, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers). Culpeper residents Sam and Kathy Pruett already have their tickets for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Washington, D.C. Temples free public open house, which begins on Thursday, April 28. We still need to gather who will actually be going with us, but we jumped on it as soon as we could and got our tickets, said Kathy Pruett in an interview Wednesday. The iconic buildinglong a landmark in Kensington, Maryland, as it rises up before drivers traveling the Washington, D.C. beltwayhas been closed for more than four years while undergoing renovation. Energy-efficient mechanical, electrical and lighting systems throughout the 160,000-square-foot structure have been installed, as has new plumbing, the church states in a media release. New carpeting and upholstery and a deep cleaning also took place, including removing every piece of stained glass, cleaning it and replacing it. The Pruetts, who were both baptized into the church in 1971, watched the temple being built over years, after construction began in late 1968. We wanted to get married and since the Washington, D.C. temple was still being built, we went all the way out to Provo, Utah, and were married in the temple there, said Sam Pruett. At the time, he said, the Salt Lake Temple was undergoing cleaning and was closed, so Provo was the next closest option. Our families werent too happy we went so far away, but thats what we had to do to be married in the temple, he said. Considered by members to be sacred, Church of Jesus Christ temple ceremonies center around the purpose of life and uniting families, past, present and future. We were married for time and all eternity, Sam said. We wanted our family to be together forever. The temple was originally dedicated in November, 1974, becoming the faiths 16th operating temple. Now, 173 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint temples are in operation around the world. I remember President Spencer W. Kimball was leading the dedication ceremony, Sam said. Hed only been president of the church for a short time at that point, so it was very exciting to have him out here. The temple serves more than 120,000 Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons, in Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, according to the church release. After closing for renovations in March 2018, it will be re-dedicated on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022. Starting Thursday, April 28, anyone can go inside and tour the beautiful building, free of charge. To control parking and crowds, tickets are required and may be obtained at dctemple.org. On Monday, April 18, church leaders invited members of the media to a special temple tour, where they were addressed by Apostles David A. Bednar and Gerrit W. Gong, Sisters Sharon Eubank and Reyna Aburto of the churchs general womens leadership organization, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and The Rev. Amos C. Brown, a civil rights leader and NAACP Board member from Mississippi who has been pastor of Third Baptist Church in San Francisco since 1976. On this day our Maker is proud of us. On this day we celebrate the exquisite, the great and dynamic leadership of President Russell M. Nelson and all the sisters and brothers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Rev. Brown said during a press conference. Moreover I am humbled by the great example of this faith community, uniting in order to heal the breaches in our nation, making bonds and setting the bar higher for us to move away from war, strife, prejudice, in a world that so desperately needs people of goodwill and justice. Let us praise God, and thank Him for this beautiful temple, as we enter it this day, he said. 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. As a group of more than a dozen James Monroe High School students sat in the chilly rain on Monday afternoon at Old Mill Park in Fredericksburg, they envisioned an escaped slave crossing the Rappahannock River to freedom. It was the 160th anniversary of John Washington accepting the Union soldiers invitation to cross the Rappahannock and leave behind a life of bondage. He was the first of 10,000 slaves to do so. The Fredericksburg Tourism Department sponsored the field trip for the JM students, which included breakfast at Foodea Black-owned restaurant on Princess Anne Streetand a trip to Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) to learn more local Black history. The day concluded with a lesson on Washingtons life from National Park Service Seasonal Ranger Steward Henderson. The weather cut short the trip and dampened the enthusiasm a bit, but students said they left enlightened and encouraged to share Washingtons story with others. I actually had no idea about [Washington], JM sophomore Malia Abell said. This was my first time hearing about how he crossed the Rappahannock. I really enjoyed learning about that. James Monroe senior Christian Young also knew little about Washington before Monday. He said Washingtons life was like an adventure. Young said Henderson dropped plenty of useful nuggets of information, including telling students that 300,000 slaves were not soldiers in the Union Army, but laborers. Young said the school system taught him otherwise. I definitely think they should do a better job of teaching stuff like that, especially to younger kids growing up, around middle school age, Young said. Younger African-American kids need to learn about their heritage and their ancestors, especially in the Fredericksburg area. Henderson said National Park Service historians were once in bondage themselves when it came to teaching the Civil War. That was until around two decades ago when former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. inserted language into an Interior Appropriations Bill requiring federally funded Civil War battlefields to address the issue of slavery. The old way that the National Park Service talked about the Civil War was like the Lost Cause, Henderson said. Henderson told the JM students hes now free to inform them the Civil War was about slavery, according to his research, and he doesnt have to fear backlash. Henderson told students that the Confederacys secession documents mention slavery, not tariffs or states rights. People come up with all kinds of reasons, but it all boils down to slavery, Henderson said. I once saw a book that listed 10 reasons of the Civil War. Slavery was listed as No. 3, but all of the other nine issues were all about slavery. So how could it be No. 3? Henderson said the National Park Service is now telling a more inclusive history of the Civil War. He noted that the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center and the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center have both been renovated in the past several years. Fredericksburg now has two speaking exhibits of Washington and one picture of him as an older man. The story of the 23rd United States Colored Infantry is being taught at Chancellorsville. Henderson told students that the 23rd Infantry were the first Black soldiers to fight against Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia, and that the battle occurred in Spotsylvania County at the intersection of what is now Catharpin and Old Plank roads. There is a historical marker describing the event near the intersection and there is also a marker on the Spotsylvania African-American Heritage Trail near Wilderness Elementary School, Henderson said. We need to educate a lot of people about the Civil War, the causes, and we need to bring up the United States Colored Troops, Henderson said. They were highly thought of after the war because at the end of the war they made up 10% of the Union Army When the white Union soldiers and the white Confederate soldiers reconciled, they just forgot all about the Black soldiers. Henderson and the citys Tourism Department are hoping to ensure Washingtons legacy wont be forgotten in the city. Henderson gave a detailed account of his life and the Good Friday 160 years ago that changed Washingtons outlook. Henderson said the arrival of the Union soldiers that day spelled doom for many in Fredericksburg. But Washington was secretly giddy. He feigned fear of the northerners to his owners and made them believe he would head further south with them to Salisbury, North Carolina. Instead, he made plans for a new life. John Washington saw the arrival of the Yankees not as a disaster, Henderson said, but as an opportunity. Taft Coghill Jr: 540/374-5526 tcoghill@freelancestar.com IT is lamentably overlooked that our countrys reunification after its deadliest conflict resulted from the military decisions made by one man in Culpeper County in the spring of 1864, 158 years past, this very week. Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant, who came to Virginia to take charge of all of the nations armies, issued orders launching the Civil Wars Overland Campaign on May 4, which ultimately decided the question of national union, or disunion. (Well add that 2022 is the 200th anniversary of the man who became the 18th U.S. president. Hiram Ulysses Grant was born on April 27; he marked his 42nd birthday in Culpeper.) Riding about the county on his large, bay horse, Cincinnati, Grant began to acquaint himself with the Army of the Potomac, which he had never seen. His previous service was in the western theater. Grants staff and senior army officers decided he and the army would both benefit by the generals close review of its various corps. By far, the largest, best and most colorful review was that presented by the 2nd Corps near Stevensburg. The dayApril 22, 1864was warm and sunny. The event began at noon and took place over two solid hours. North of Stevensburg off todays State Route 663, the site was the flat plain at the western foot of Coles Hill, just west of Mountain Run. Crossing Mountain Run and passing the countys Lenn Park, one ascends a slight elevation until a flat plateau is quickly surmounted between Mountain Run and Jonas Run, almost a mile wide. Looking to the left (west) of the Old Carolina Road, you observe a prominent knoll just in front of a west-facing, unoccupied house. This is Grants review knoll, where he inspected some 25,000 soldiers. Here are the impressions of some of the officers and men who took part: Friday, April 22nd, the sun rose bright and beautiful. Just the kind of weather so ardently wished for by those who were to participate in the Grand Review of the II Corps and who were that day to pass for the first time in front of Lieutenant General Grant. The day was cloudless, with a light haze coming from the West. General Grant, with his inevitable cigar, rode across the field from the direction of Culpepper, and took post on a knoll overlooking the plain. Then, began the glorious pageant ... The troops were disposed in magnificent array, forming four imposing lines of battle, when Grant, accompanied by a brilliant crowd of officers, rode upon the ground. He was met by Major-General Meade, accompanied by his Staff, and, after a cordial greeting, both distinguished Generals proceeded to the spot where Hancock, surrounded by his splendid Staff, was awaiting their arrival. General Hancock saluted them in the most graceful manner, and then dashed off to set his corps in motion. The moment he gave the order the whole of the immense command was marching in review by battalions en masse, and the artillery by batteries, all in one resplendent column. We have been training for the grand review which did come off yesterday. Generals Grant, Meade, and Hancock were on hand. We got a good look at Grant. He is very common looking & was very plainly dressed. He wears a full beard which is black. We were fixed up in our best, with white gloves ... It would have been a grand sight to any one that never seen an army, but with us it has got to be an old story. Grant did not make any fuss about the matter. We had a fine Review by Genl. Grant. He stood on the right of Meade. Was not near enough to see the nicer points in his features, but he impressed me as a great business-like man who would attend to his own affairs and not waste his energies on outside issues. Once in my boyish days, the display might have impressed me and made me feel ambitious. Long columns of infantry moving by, with burnished arms and with steady step. The artillery lumbering along in its rear. The cavalry getting into motion to follow. I wish you could have seen us. You have no idea how imposing such a scene istwenty or thirty thousand armed men, each dressed up in his very best regimentals, their bayonets and brass plates shining like gold and silver in the suns rays, colors floating on the breeze, and bands playing quick marches, which is kept time to by every man with a precision that is almost astonishing. It was the first time we had seen General Grant, who raised his hat in acknowledgement of our salute as we passed by. The men did themselves credit, each one feeling the responsibility of the situation. They marched with a precision and alignment which was perfection. To-day the Second corps was reviewed by General Grant and made a splendid appearance. It was drawn up in four parallel lines in front of the reviewing stand, with the artillery on the right. We estimated the number of men parading at about twenty-five thousand, splendidly equipped and armed in the best fashion. Our division had the right of the line. Grant first moved down the ranks, after which we passed the reviewing stand in column, marching with great precision. This is the beginning of the end, and in a few days our camp near Stevensburg will be a thing of the past, and where we shall we be, who can tell? General Grant reviewed our Corps at 12 m. We had about 30,000 men out & made a magnificent display. It was the first time we had seen Grant, who is a small, stoop-shouldered man, and smoked a cigar all through the review. General Grant is not a very large man. I think he looks a great deal like his pictures. He rides a most beautiful trotting horse with splendid equipment and a great deal of style. Each of the four divisions passed in regular order, the bands discoursing patriotic music. The regiments and national colors were lowered as each organization marched past the General-in-Chief. During the review, General Grant was supported on the right by General Hancock, and on the left by General Meade. Immediately in the rear of them was a grand array of officers ... All of the officers appeared in elegant uniforms, and were magnificently mounted, many of the horses being richly caparisoned with trappings of yellow, and blousings of blue and gold. In the near foreground, the regiments of the First division, marching in close ranks to the music of instruments and drums, saluted with swords at point, muskets at shoulder, and trailing colors. Behind them the burnished arms of troops, just rising from a depression in the plain, shining with almost blinding radiance. Far off, in a circle stretching around the field of review, dark columns stood at rest, or wheeled into the long and sinuous line of single regiments now in motion. Officers and orderlies galloped here and there between; the flags of the corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments fluttered near and far; the music of distant bands, the beat of distant drums, harmonized the soft tumult. On the overlooking hillsides, a myriad of tents gleamed white and calm. The roads in every direction were filled with horsemen, and the tramp of approaching cavalry sounded in the rear. Turning thitherward, one saw clouds of dust then hundreds of armed riders emerging with banners into the field. This was the division of cavalry under General Wilson, to be reviewed after the Second Corps had completed its march. Not a sound of voices broke the spell of this magnificent spectacle. Steadily, ceaselessly, the ordered array in front repeated itself; regularly the uplifted hat of the general-in-chief acknowledged the salutes of generals, colonels, and colors; beautifully the music of bands rose and died away over the hill; bright, like the lances of squadrons told of in the old tales, shone on the left the bayonets of coming soldiers. Here was the scenery of battle without its clamor and bloodshed; in this discipline and splendor was a promise which all who witnessed it hoped might be fulfilled. A New York colonel: I find that great confidence is reposed in General Grant by both officers and men. A Maine colonel informed his wife, For the first time, we have an appointment from the president that carries a grand, national strategy and a unity of purpose. (Grant conveyed) an air of business which soon inspired confidence in us all. The colonel continued: Yesterday I attended a grand review of the Second Corps by General Grant, and it was by far the best one I ever saw. The corps never looked finer, nor marched better, every officer and man seeming anxious to show the Lieutenant-General how well they could do. After the review, Generals Grant, Meade, Sheridan, and about twenty Brigadier Generals were entertained by General Hancock at his Headquarters. After the Grand Review, Grant was hosted at a lunch held at Glen Ella (a house that no longer stands), officiated by Gens. George Gordon Meade and Winfield Scott Hancock. The nations top military commander returned to his headquarters in the town of Culpeper and wrote: The Army of the Potomac is in splendid condition and evidently feels like whipping somebody; I feel much better with this command than I did before seeing it. In late April, Grant directed all U.S. armies to prepare to advance simultaneously against the enemy. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman would attack the Army of Tennessee. Maj. Gen. Franz. Sigel was ordered to advance in the Shenandoah Valley. Maj. Gen. Meade, the Army of the Potomacs commander, was to attack Gen. Robert E. Lees forces in Orange County. On May 4, 1864, the nations most consequential military drama began as the Army of the Potomac left Culpeper forever by crossing the Rapidan River and entering the tangled forest of The Wilderness. Well let a private soldier of Lees Army of Northern Virginia have the last word on Grant, with this from May 1864: We will either ruin General Grant, or he us, and the Confederacy. A Star-Exponent columnist, Civil War historian Clark B. Hall lives in Culpeper County. Write him at clarkbhall@aol.com . Chris Holmes, a resident of Harmony, and member of the Harmony Fire Department for five years, made and donated a wooden K-9 flag sign to the Iredell County Sheriffs Office Canine Unit on Thursday morning. Iredell County Sheriffs Office Canine Deputy Nathaniel Hodges and his partner, Levi, met with Holmes at the Harmony Fire Department to accept this wonderful gift on behalf of the Iredell County Sheriffs Office. Holmes enjoys woodworking as a hobby and this was a way to show appreciation to the Iredell County Sheriffs Office. Holmes has made numerous wooden flags which he has donated to those in public service around the community including the fire service, law enforcement and emergency services. This is my way of saying thank you for the work they do. I appreciate the work the sheriffs office canines have done for the community, he said. Accused of assaulting volunteer firefighters responding to a smoke call on Saturday, a West Virginia man has been charged with four felonies. Frederick James Mabe of Rock will be arraigned next week on charges of assault and battery of a firefighter (three counts), and making a threat to burn. In a criminal complaint, Hollybrook Volunteer Fire Department member Carl Williams said volunteers went to Price Ridge/Burtons Pond Road at 2:26 p.m. on Saturday to investigate a smoke call and started battling a blaze. Williams said Mabe, the landowner, started acting aggressively with firefighters and sprayed three of them Williams, Perry Mabe and T.J. Clemons with a substance from a tank. When mutual aid showed up from Bland Fire the subject then stated he would burn the fire trucks, Williams wrote. Disabled and with no criminal record, Mabe is free on a $1,000 bond while awaiting trial. His preliminary hearing has been set for June 8 in Bland County General District Court. N.C. man facing drug charges Already wanted in Pennsylvania on drug charges, a North Carolina man was charged again in Bland County after police reported finding suspected amphetamines, scales and needles in his car. Bruce William Miller, 41, of Dunn, North Carolina, was arrested on April 1 following an Interstate 77 traffic stop by Virginia State Police Trooper J.P. Kirk. In a criminal complaint and search warrant application, Kirk said he clocked Millers car at 86 miles per hour in a 70-mph zone. Mr. Miller was found to have an expired license and a search of the car due to incident of arrest yielded one glass smoking device and residue that when tested came back positive for amphetamines, Kirk wrote. Kirk said he found a locked bag labeled Smokezilla behind the passenger seat and got a search warrant to look for more illegal drugs and paraphernalia. He said the bag contained $450 in cash, two medium-size bags of white powder and 12 individual bags of white powder. Miller was charged with possessing drugs with the intent to distribute, possessing drug paraphernalia, reckless driving by speeding and driving without a license. Miller is also awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania on charges of possessing methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, according to court documents. Unemployed and with no ties to the commonwealth, Miller, whos criminal record includes charges of disorderly conduct and driving while intoxicated, is being held without bond in the New River Valley Regional Jail. Given a court-appointed attorney, his preliminary hearings been set for June 27 in Bland County General District Court. He also has an extradition hearing set for April 27. County man facing drug charges A Bastian resident is facing drug charges following a traffic stop on Clear Fork Creek Road. Jeffery Miller Kinser, 54, was arrested on April 12 and charged with felony drug possession, driving under the influence and misdemeanor drug possession. In a criminal complaint, Trooper Kirk said he stopped Kinsers Jeep Grand Cherokee on Clear Fork Creek Road because it had a license plate bracket that covered part of Virginia on the front and back. The trooper said Kinser failed to adequately perform field sobriety tests, had constricted pupils and was sweating profusely. I contacted Tazewell County for a narcotic K-9 that arrived on scene and alerted on the vehicle, Kirk wrote. (A) vehicle search yielded a white powder believed to be heroin and a blue pill believed to (be) Xanax. Released on his own recognizance, Kinser has an arraignment set for April 27. Thirty-five years ago, Wythe County was ground zero for UFO sightings when thousands of people reported seeing mysterious, unidentified flying objects in the nighttime skies. To mark the anniversary, the Wytheville UFO Fest will touch down June 11 at the Wytheville Meeting Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. During the day-long fest, there will be speakers, including retired Wytheville news man Danny Gordon, who first reported the UFO sightings, and retired reporter and local science fiction writer Paul Dellinger. Together, the two men wrote a book about Wythe County mysterious encounters titled Dont Look Up. There will also be vendors offering everything eerie and weird from artwork and stuffed animals to jewelry and comics. UFO Fest organizers William and Robin Van Huss said they have been interested in UFOs and cryptozoology (the study and research of animals rumored to exist, like Bigfoot) for years. William Van Huss even wrote a book, Saucers over Appalachia. Together, they own an online business, Mystic Novelty Co. So we both spent a good amount of time researching UFOs, Robin Van Huss said. Weve been into UFOs our whole lives. Her husband remembers hearing about the Wythe County sightings when he was growing up in Bristol, where people were also seeing UFOs at the time. We wanted to start a festival; we are always busy attending festivals. But wanted it tied to somewhere near to where we lived. We were surprised nobody had done a festival there before, Robin Van Huss said. We love Wytheville. The Wythe County sightings started in October 1987 and lasted well into the next year as person after person reported seeing ominous saucers, triangles and cubes floating over Wythe County. Most reported a massive object with lights the silently hovering over the area. Ten years ago, one witness talked to the Wytheville Enterprise about her UFO encounter. It was very, very close to the house, Linda Spiker recalled. It was huge. It was floating very slow. It took forever to go over the house. We lived in the country and it was pitch black outside. You could tell something was moving, but couldnt see outlines or shapes, but it was bigger than our house and made a soft humming sound. She and her daughter watched in awe as the massive craft moved over their house and into the night sky. As soon as it disappeared from view, three helicopters came rushing in behind it. Two followed the object and the third one veered the right to go beside it, Spiker said. As soon as I saw the helicopters, I figured it was something military and went back to bed. But it was strange and one of the biggest things Ive ever seen. Spiker said she believes what she saw was some sort of military blimp. Last year, the U.S. government confirmed reports by military pilots of unidentified UFOs. Gordon, a well-known figure at WYVE Radio before his retirement in 2016, was the first person to break the story and personally witnessed several sightings. His reports brought media attention to the county, including the television series Unsolved Mysteries, which produced an episode dedicated to the sightings. The episode is available for viewing on the UFO Fest website at www.wythevilleufofest.com Gordon received more than 3,000 reports of UFO sightings and took the only known photos of one of the crafts in December 1987 from a parking lot where more than 100 people, including a school bus full of students from Floyd County, saw several crafts fly over. During the fest, Gordon will discuss his first-hand experience investigating the sightings and reveal a new theory he has regarding the sightings. Other speakers include Dellinger, a longtime UFO aficionado. According to the fest website, the first book he ever checked out of the library was Behind the Flying Saucer, an early and sensationalized account of the purported crashed saucer near Roswell, New Mexico. Dellinger has published works of science fiction for decades. Speaker Dave Spinks is an investigator and author who has been investigating and researching the supernatural since 1986 because of several experiences he had as a young man. As a result, he has conducted several hundred investigations across the U.S. and Europe. Filmmaker Sean Kotz is working on a documentary about the fascinating events surrounding the Wythe Countys UFO reports. Other speakers are researchers/artists Ron Lanham and Joe Purdue. In addition to speakers and vendors, there will be music and fun for the entire family at the Wytheville UFO Fest. Admission is free. To reach reporter Millie Rothrock, call 276-228-6611, ext. 573, or email mrothrock@wythenews.com Flash Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a phone conversation with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Friday at the latter's request. Li once again congratulated Nehammer on his assuming office as the Austrian chancellor. Noting Austria is China's important cooperative partner in the European Union (EU), Li said that since the diplomatic ties were established 51 years ago, China-Austria relations have transcended the differences in their systems, cultures, and development levels, with cooperation between the two sides continuously deepening. In 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, decided to establish China-Austria friendly strategic partnership, lifting the relationship to a new level, Li noted. China, he said, is ready to strengthen dialogue and communication with Austria, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and push forward sound and stable development of China-Austria relations. Li pointed out that the current international and regional situation is complex and volatile, and economic globalization is facing headwinds. As China and the EU are comprehensive strategic partners, both major economies in the world and important trading partners of each other, they should all the more stick to two-way opening-up and cooperation, strengthen communication and dialogue, and jointly send a signal of stable development of China-EU relations and active progress of bilateral cooperation, so as to ensure smooth logistics between China and the EU, stable industry chains and supply chains as well as food security and energy security, he added. Li stressed that opening-up is China's basic national policy, which has not only boosted growth for the country itself, but also brought benefits for the world, and the policy will never waver. No matter how the international landscape may change, China will remain committed to opening-up and deepening bilateral and multilateral international cooperation, he said, adding that a large open Chinese market will always be a magnet for enterprises from all over the world, including Austria, to invest and develop their businesses. For his part, Nehammer said that Austria and China have maintained a sound relationship for a long time, and the two countries have carried out successful cooperation in various fields. Noting that China is a vital participant in international affairs, he said that Austria cherishes its relations with China, adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to continue deepening cooperation with China and to promote further development of Austria-China friendly strategic partnership. Austria supports the strengthening of dialogue and communication between the EU and China as well as the continuous improvement of EU-China relations, Nehammer said. The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Li elaborated on China's principled position, pointing out that China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace, upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, observes international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. He expressed the hope that all parties will jointly promote relevant parties to achieve a ceasefire and end the conflict through dialogue and negotiation, especially to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis. Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office detectives say they are using new technology to solve a 40-year-old murder of a Kalama girl that has been incorrectly linked to a local child killer. Chila Silvernails, 8, was discovered dead on April 21, 1982, near Shirley Gordon Road in Kalama, and notorious local murderer Joseph Kondro was suspected in her killing. Chief Criminal Deputy Troy Brightbill said there was no strong evidence linking him to the case, and the search for the killer continues today. I want to get people talking about the case, stir up their memories and see if something comes up, he said. If the person who did this is out there, I want them to feel some anxiety because we arent going to let this go. Open minded The department says there have been persons of interest in Chilas case over the years, but the young girls killer has never been identified. Kondro died in 2012 while serving a life sentence for the rape and killing of two other Longview girls: 8-year-old Rima Traxler in 1985 and 12-year-old Kara Rudd in 1996. Brightbill said detectives are re-examining Chilas case using new DNA matching technology, and reviewing whether the murder was done by a one-time killer or repeated offender. We have to be open minded, he said. Death Chilas nearly nude body was found stabbed and asphyxiated in a creek about three miles from her Martin Bluff home, near Shirley Gordon Road in Kalama, according to a previous Daily News report. Deputies say she was last seen the day before walking down her driveway to her school bus stop. Her mom reported her missing when she learned Chila didnt arrive to school that day. Chilas parents are no longer alive, said her sister Kimberly Williams, 58. Williams, who was 18 when her little sister was discovered murdered, said she continuously relives the loss. Its just plain hard, Williams said. Holidays are hard, April 20 is hard, her birthday is hard. Investigation continues Brightbill said the department is testing evidence using new DNA technology, which can test more materials today than in previous years. He said DNA matching sites work with law enforcement to find matches not in the criminal database, like in the case of the Golden State Killer a prolific California serial killer named Joseph James DeAngelo who was arrested in 2018 when investigators linked crime scene DNA to his relatives using DNA matching sites like Ancestry.com. Cowlitz County detectives, who have already conducted hundreds of interviews in Chilas case, have also questioned people within the last year, Brightbill said. When deputies are confined to desk work due to medical reasons, they type the hundreds of pages of hand-written narratives from the case to use keyword searches on names or locations and find links within interviews. Were not giving up on this case, Brightbill said. Were 40 years in, a lot of people have moved on, but for us, this was an 8-year-old girl who deserves justice. To report information, call Detective Caity Neill at 360-577-3092. Anonymous tips can be made at www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/FormCenter/Sheriffs-Office-26/Warrant-or-Suspicious-Activity-TIP-281. 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. Editors note: Information is provided by the Cowlitz County Corrections Department and local law enforcement agencies. Each individual named in this report is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Indecency Cowlitz County deputies Thursday arrested Michael Jerome Gemar, 68, of Toutle on suspicion of indecent exposure. Malicious Mischief Longview police officers Thursday arrested Michael William Bonham, 36, of Longview on suspicion of third-degree malicious mischief. Burglary Kelso police officers Thursday arrested Gabriel Marcus Jackson, 29, of Kelso on suspicion of second-degree burglary and second-degree theft. Theft Cowlitz County deputies Thursday arrested Michael Louis Willman, 31, of Longview on suspicion of second-degree theft. Assault Longview police officers Thursday arrested Brandon Michael Wilks, 29, of Longview on suspicion of fourth-degree assault. Assault Oregon Way and Industrial Way, Longview. Thursday. 1200 block of 28th Avenue, Longview. Thursday. 900 block of 15th Avenue, Longview. Thursday. Burglary 2700 block of Dike Road, Woodland. Thursday. Residential. 1200 block of 10th Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Residential. 2800 block of Larch Street, Longview. Thursday. Residential. 2900 block of Field Street, Longview. Thursday. Residential. 4400 block of Constitution Lane, Longview. Thursday. Residential. Theft 300 block of Warren Street, Castle Rock. Thursday. 100 block of Minor Road, Kelso. Thursday. 600 block of Pine Way, Kelso. Thursday. 700 block of Allen Street, Kelso. Thursday. 1100 block of Commerce Avenue, Longview. Thursday. Vandalism/malicious mischief 1300 block of Fifth Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. 900 block of Cedar Street, Kelso. Thursday. 3100 block of Washington Way, Longview. Thursday. 2000 block of Hudson Street, Longview. Thursday. Vehicle prowl 400 block of Columbia Street, Kelso. Thursday. 1300 block of Hudson Street, Longview. Thursday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PORTLAND A Rainier man and Portland motorcycle club member was sentenced to life in federal prison last week for the kidnap and torture of a former club member in what prosecutors called a revenge killing. Chad Leroy Erickson, 51, and club President Mark Leroy Dencklau, 61, of Woodburn, Oregon, were sentenced to life in federal prison on April 14 in the U.S. District Court of Oregon in Portland. Court officials report Erickson and Dencklau were members of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club, an organization with local roots since the 1980s where members maintain status by participating in crimes like murder, kidnapping and robbery. The pair were convicted by a federal jury in November of murder in aid of racketeering; kidnapping in aid of racketeering, resulting in death; kidnapping resulting in death; and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, resulting in death. Dencklau was also found guilty of racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors say Dencklau asked club members to attack former member Robert Huggins in 2015, after he allegedly stole from the club and Dencklau. Dencklau orchestrated the kidnapping of Huggins from his Portland home to a rural part of southwest Washington, where they fractured his skull and removed his nipples, officials report. Huggins death was caused by multiple blunt- and sharp-force injuries, according to a medical examiner. Four other people involved in the case have pleaded guilty, court officials report. Tiler Evan Pribbernow, 40, of Portland was sentenced to 140 months in federal prison. Earl Deverle Fisher, 48, of Gresham, Oregon; Ryan Anthony Negrinelli, 36, of Gresham; and Joseph Duane Folkerts, 61, of Battleground are awaiting sentencing. 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. Enrollment at Lower Columbia College is 15% below what it usually is for the spring quarter, board members reported during their virtual meeting Wednesday. Sue Orchard, LCC vice president of student services, said retention of current students is one of the keys to helping with enrollment. Orchard said her department is working to create a retention committee and a customer relationship management program, which launches Monday, both of which are dedicated to communication with current students about better ways the school can support them. We really want to think about these more holistic approaches to helping students, Orchard said. Multiple early learning classrooms hosted at LCC had to close amid staffing shortages, said Mindy Leasure, the colleges director of Head Start/EHS/ECEAP programs. Some open positions for teachers and staff have remained vacant since October, Leasure said. The pool of applicants vying for an educator job in early start classrooms has shrunk since the transition back to in-person learning, she said. We are continuing to work on recruitment, Leasure told the board Wednesday evening. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 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. As Longview and Cowlitz County figure out the next steps for helping the homeless, officials are looking at the programs Vancouver has put in place. A group of officials from Longview, Kelso and Cowlitz County visited Vancouver last Friday to tour the Safe Stay Community and the Safe Parking Zone. Many of the leaders who visited came away impressed with the cleanliness and positivity that the small supportive housing and managed sites provided. Having a safe place to park/ sleep while seeking or maintaining current employment, and working towards permanent housing can be a blessing to those seeking wellness and stability, Longview Mayor MaryAlice Wallis told The Daily News via text. The Safe Stay Community is a set of 20 pallet homes that opened in December on city-owned land near an undeveloped cul-de-sac. The site has 24/7 staffing by a nonprofit, which helps enforce the site rules and connects residents with support services. Staff told the Cowlitz visitors that the site already has already succeeded in getting unhoused residents into the pallet homes, then into permanent housing. County Commissioner John Jabusch said the first Safe Stay Community is half a mile from one of his businesses, but he hadnt heard of any complaints or issues. If the right location is chosen, it could work really well for Longview, Jabusch said. Its expensive but the problem isnt going to go away by ignoring it. Vancouver is in the process of opening a second Safe Stay, run by a different nonprofit, this month. The city has said it wants to open a third community by the end of the summer. Not everyone from the delegation came away as enthusiastic about how a hosted shelter site would work in Cowlitz County. Kelso Councilman Keenan Harvey pointed out that Vancouver spent roughly $1 million getting the second Safe Stay Community prepared. The site itself was clean, but for the amount of expenses it would cost to run an operation like that, Im not sure if its feasible here, Harvey said. Harvey also raised questions about the scope of the project. The homeless campsite on Alabama Street generally has between 80 and 90 people living there. The pallet home communities are generally capped at 20 buildings. The Safe Parking Zone is a dedicated section of the parking lot for Evergreen Transit Center for people living out of cars, motor homes and other vehicles. The area opened in 2020 and allows free spots on a first-come, first-serve basis, as long as visitors help keep the area clean and follow other rules. Ann Rivers, Longviews community development director and a state Senator for District 18 representing other cities in Clark County, thought the approach could work in Longview to help people living out of their vehicles. It would be a great thing for them to have a safe place to park, where they feel comfortable and others feel comfortable with them being, Rivers said. The county is accepting applications for groups that want to run a hosted campsite through May 10. Local officials said that an approach like the Safe Stay Community would not be a requirement for successful proposals. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 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. Reps. Jim Walsh and Joel McEntire are running for re-election with hopes that a wave of Republican support will hit Washington. The representatives for Legislative District 19 spoke at a campaign fundraiser event held by Pacific Fibre at Lemmons Trucking in Longview on Thursday afternoon. Walsh said it was the first of a series of events they would be holding throughout the district to launch the campaign. The southwest corner of Thurston County was added to the 19th district during the redistricting process. The district now incudes some or all of six counties. Restaurants have a soft open. This is a soft kind of kickoff event, and there will be events like this all over, Walsh said. McEntire was not present at the fundraiser because of Marine Corps Reserve training. Walsh was joined in person by Sen. Jeff Wilson and Larry Hoff, the representative from the 18th Legislative District who announced in March he is not seeking re-election. In a pre-recorded video, McEntire thanked the district for supporting his campaign in 2020 and said it was realistic for Republicans to take back both chambers of Washingtons state Legislature. This is not the time for us to lie down. This is an opportunity for us to double down, McEntire said. Walsh and McEntire pointed to the national environment that favors Republican candidates to take back control of Congress. Generic voter ballot polls show Republicans with a three-point advantage for Congressional races, according to Real Clear Politics. Few polls have looked specifically at how that swing would play out in Washington. A Crosscut/Elway poll in January showed 42% of respondents likely would vote for Democrats at the end of the year and 39% of respondents likely would vote Republican. Walsh told supporters the fundraising they do this year not only would support their campaigns, but will help Republican candidates in competitive races across Washington. We can channel some of that money to the caucus committees, who can then channel it into places like the 24th Legislative District, Walsh said. Republicans would need to flip eight seats currently held by Democrats in the state House of Representatives to get a split chamber. If successful, it would be the first time since 2002 the body did not have a Democrat majority. Walsh has represented District 19 in the statehouse since 2016. McEntire was elected for his first term in 2020. As of Thursday afternoon, no other candidates had filed with the Public Disclosure Commission to run against Walsh or McEntire. The deadline for candidates to file for the race is May 20. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Realme Narzo 50A Prime launch is set to happen before that of Realme GT Neo 3 in India. Know what you will get with this budget smartphone. Realme is all set to bring the 150W charging support smartphone, the Realme GT Neo 3 to India on April 29. But right before this, there is another launch from the company that is coming to India for budget buyers. Realme confirmed the launch of the Realme Narzo 50A Prime, which will be the fourth smartphone in the line-up of the Narzo 50 series. However, the Realme Narzo 50A Prime already made its debut in the Indonesian market last month, and now will hit the Indian market. The teaser for the arrival of Realme Narzo 50A Prime featured on Realme's website as well as Twitter suggests its launch on April 25 at 12:30 pm. "This ones going to level up your smartphone viewing experience manifolds! The #realmenarzo50APrime coming with some massive Power Mighty Performance at 12:30 PM, 25th April, on our official channels (sic)," a tweet by Realme reads. Realme Narzo 50A Prime: Expected specs and features As mentioned, the Indonesian market already welcomed the Realme Narzo 50A Prime last month and based on that it is expected to be powered by a Unisoc T612 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage. Well, for power, it will be supported with an 18W fast charging support for a 5000mAh battery. It will feature a 6.6-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display of 600 nits peak brightness with a standard 60Hz of refresh rate and a 180Hz touch sampling rate. In the camera section, the Realme Narzo 50A Prime will feature a triple-camera setup with a 50MP primary sensor coupled with a 2MP macro sensor and a 2MP portrait sensor. While, on the front, it will come up with an 8MP selfie camera. For connectivity, it will include 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 3.55 headphone jack. Realme Narzo 50A Prime expected price The Realme Narzo 50A Prime comes in two memory variants of 64GB with 4GB of RAM and another 128GB memory variant. In Indonesia, the base variant is priced Rp 1,798,000 which roughly makes around Rs. 9550 in India. Similarly, the higher memory variant is priced at Rp 1,998,000 (around Rs. 10,600). We can expect a similar price of Realme Narzo 50A Prime in India. NASA may soon make the Uranus mission a priority in the next decade. Heres why. Uranus, the ice giant, is certainly the strangest planet in the solar system, with more than a dozen rings that circle around it and as many as 27 moons encircle it! Its atmosphere, which is full of hydrogen, helium, and heavier compounds, exists as ice deep in the frigid Uranian clouds. But it is just that! Beyond these couple of intriguing facts, scientists barely know about this interesting but isolated planet. In 1986, the Voyager 2 spacecraft was the first and only time when the planet was visited. But now, a report by planetary scientists suggests that Uranus may soon become the priority for NASA scientists as NASA may launch a mission to Uranus in the coming decade. Uranus along with Neptune are the two ice giants in our solar system that might be representative of the most common type of planets in the galaxy. The mysteries of Uranus, such as its strange magnetic field, hidden internal structure, and extremely cold temperatures, are believed to be significant not just for understanding ice giants across the Milky Way, but also for revealing clues about our solar system's history. Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: Mission to Uranus! According to the report, the proposed mission called the 'Uranus Orbiter and Probe' would launch a small probe to inhale the planets atmosphere while an orbiter will zips around the Uranian system for years. The plan is similar to NASAs successful Saturn system exploration mission called Cassini from 2004 to 2017. The chairperson of the panel on giant planets, Jonathan Lunine said, I think were going to see some real extraordinary surprises there and learn a tremendous amount about planet formation in general, and we may discover some new ocean worlds." Well, planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel has to say that the returns of the mission will be so rich as it will touch on almost every field of planetary science. The report prepared by planetary scientists in 2022 has mentioned that Uranus, which is very unlikely to host life on it, has still been selected as a highest priority mission. And the reasons are simple, Uranus might be the representative of the most common type of exoplanet. And any science that the mission may get from the Uranus system will add value to the limited knowledge about the planet. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Former President Bill Clinton joined Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams at the Empire State Building on Thursday to roll out a blueprint for how to make high-rises in New York carbon neutral as the threat of greenhouse-gas-fueled climate change continues to grow increasingly dire. Nearly half of New York's energy-related fossil fuel emissions come from buildings, and the "Empire Building Challenge" plan unveiled by Hochul, Adams and Clinton aims to overhaul that reality while also spurring economic growth from new jobs required for the green retrofitting projects. "If you believe New York should have more jobs, if you believe that we should avoid the worst consequences of climate change, if you don't want to see the rising waters flood the south end of Manhattan, if you hate all these horrible thingsdo this," Clinton said, standing alongside Hochul and Adams on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, which is among 131 high-rises to have initially signed up for the carbon neutral pledge. Spearheaded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the effort will pour $300 million$50 million of which is contributed by taxpayersinto retrofitting buildings across the state. Partners in the challenge are eligible to receive $5 million each to implement their carbon-neutral reconstruction proposals, which will undergo vetting by the state, according to a memo from the Energy Research and Development Authority. The first 131 high-rises that have signed up comprise 130 million square feet of building space. They are expected to achieve carbon neutrality within the next 10 to 15 years under the blueprint, and Hochul said she hopes the first batch of partners will serve as inspiration for more building owners to join the mission. "Yes, it sounds bold. Yes, it sounds audacious, and it sounds very New Yorkthat's what we do here. We set high goals and we will achieve them," Hochul said. Another prominent building to have already signed up for the pledge is the Bank of America Tower in Midtown. The Empire Building Challenge comes on top of Local 97, a bill signed into law by former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019 that will place strict greenhouse gas emissions caps on all buildings in the city larger than 25,000 square feet beginning in 2024. The legislation staked out a path for making the caps even stricter in 2030, and building owners who don't abide by the emissions rules are supposed to face hefty fines. But Rit Aggarwala, Mayor Adams' chief climate officer, recently testified before the Council that the administration is exploring the option of giving reprieve from fines to building owners who can't comply with the caps despite "doing everything possible." While most speakers at Thursday's Empire State Building event focused their remarks on the urgency of curbing fossil fuel emissions, Adams sought to expand the scope by declaring that conversations around climate must also include social issues like education, crime and job training. "When we talk about changing the climate, we focus on for the most part, changing the physical environmentthe smog, the air, the carbonbut I am saying we need to look beyond that," he said. "As we improve the environment and the air we breathe we need to change the climate of those who watch buildings go up and their futures go down." Clinton, who spoke after Adams, steered the conversation back to the topic at hand and said the Empire Building Challenge will ultimately only be successful if it attracts mass participation. "We don't have any excuses," the ex-president said. "So every one of us has to go get more buildings, or building owners. Our grandchildren are depending on it." Explore further New York unveils plan to cut building CO2 emissions 2022 New York Daily News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Nearly a week into a ransomware attack that has crippled Costa Rican government computer systems, the country refused to pay a ransom as it struggled to implement workarounds and braced itself as hackers began publishing stolen information. The Russian-speaking Conti gang claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Costa Rican government had not confirmed its origin. The Finance Ministry was the first to report problems Monday. A number of its systems have been affected from tax collection to importation and exportation processes through the customs agency. Attacks on the social security agency's human resources system and on the Labor Ministry, as well as others followed. The initial attack forced the Finance Ministry to shut down for several hours the system responsible for the payment of a good part of the country's public employees, which also handles government pension payments. It also has had to grant extensions for tax payments. Conti had not published a specific ransom amount, but Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado said, "The Costa Rican state will not pay anything to these cybercriminals." A figure of $10 million circulated on social media platforms, but did not appear on Conti's site. Costa Rican businesses fretted over confidential information provided to the government that could be published and used against them, while average citizens worried that personal financial information could be used to clean out their bank accounts. Christian Rucavado, executive director of Costa Rica's Exporters Chamber, said the attack on the customs agency had collapsed the country's import and export logistics. He described a race against the clock for perishable items waiting in cold storage and said they still didn't have an estimate for the economic losses. Trade was still moving, but much more slowly. "Some borders have delays because they're doing the process manually," Rucavado said. "We have asked the government for various actions like expanding hours so they can attend to exports and imports." He said normally Costa Rica exports a daily average of $38 million in products. Allan Liska, an intelligence analyst with security firm Recorded Future, said that Conti was pursuing a double extortion: encrypting government files to freeze agencies' ability to function and posting stolen files to the group's extortion sites on the dark web if a ransom wasn't paid. The first part can often be overcome if the systems have good backups, but the second is trickier depending on the sensitivity of the stolen data, he said. Conti typically rents out its ransomware infrastructure to "affiliates" who pay for the service. The affiliate attacking Costa Rica could be anywhere in the world, Liska said. A year ago, a Conti ransomware attack forced Ireland's health system to shut down its information technology system, cancelling appointments, treatments and surgeries. Last month, Conti pledged its services in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The move angered cybercriminals sympathetic to Ukraine. It also prompted a security researcher who had long been surveilling Conti to leak a massive trove of internal communications among some Conti operators. Asked why Central America's most stable democracy, known for its tropical wildlife and beaches, would be a target of hackers, Liska said the motivation usually has more to do with weaknesses. "They're looking for specific vulnerabilities," he said. "So the most likely explanation is that Costa Rica had a number of vulnerabilities and one of the ransomware actors discovered these vulnerabilities and was able to exploit it." Brett Callow, a ransomware analyst at Emsisoft, said he looked at one of the leaked files from the Costa Rican finance ministry and "there doesn't seem to be much doubt that the data is legit." On Friday, Conti's extortion site indicated it had published 50% of the stolen data. It said it included more than 850 gigabytes of material from Finance Ministry and other institutions' databases. "This is all ideal for phishing, we wish our colleagues from Costa Rica good luck in monetizing this data," it said. That seemed to contradict Alvarado's assertion that the attack was not about money. "My opinion is that this attack is not a money issue, but rather looks to threaten the country's stability in a transition point," he said, referring to his outgoing administration and the swearing in of Costa Rica's new president May 8. "They will not achieve it." Alvarado did allude to the possibility that the attack was motivated by Costa Rica's public rejection of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "You also can't separate it from the complex global geopolitical situation in a digitalized world," he said. Explore further Secrets of ransomware gang spilled after it announced support for Russia 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Participants on their way to the Test Flight in an ATR72. Credit: International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace (2022). DOI: 10.15394/ijaaa.2022.1679 A lack of leg room is a well-known grumble among passengers on flightsbut noise in the cabin is the number one gripe when it comes to propeller aircraft, a new study suggests. Experts in design engineering at Nottingham Trent University wanted to identify passenger preferences when flying "turboprop" aircraft, which are expected to become more common as we move towards more sustainable ways of flying than by jet. The researchwhich also involved Delft University of Technology in Holland and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munichlooked at what passengers found most and least comfortable when flying on these aircraft, which are predominantly used for regional flights. As part of the study participants undertook a 70-minute flight on a specially chartered turboprop aircraft, at a cruising altitude of 17,000 ft. Several questionnaires were completed and participants were asked at different pointsascent, cruise and descentwhich factors were contributing most to their comfort and discomfort. After the flight, the vast majority (91%) of passengers stated that "noise" affected their discomfort in the cabin, while two-thirds (63%) said "vibration" and over half (53%) said "seat." Space, lighting and temperature in the cabin, meanwhile, were the factors which influenced the comfort the most for passengers, the researchers found. For many years comfort has been an important factor for passengers choosing an airline and with sustainability becoming more important for passengers the team wanted to investigate the overall comfort experience of the more fuel efficient turboprops. The team argues that for future propeller aircraft design it would be wise to look at noise reduction systems and vibration dampening materials. Noise-canceling headphones could be made available for passengers. Mechanical solutions could include adapting the propeller position so that there is less aerodynamic interaction with the rest of the airframe, they say. "If we are serious about emissions, future propulsion has to move away from jets for regional flights," said Professor Neil Mansfield, head of engineering in Nottingham Trent University's School of Science and Technology. He said: "We need to understand the environment of propeller aircraft so that future designs can be made more comfortable and acceptable to the market. There are ways to reduce the noise with noise canceling or by designing the sound to be less unpleasant." The study is reported in the International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics and Aerospace. Explore further Performance analysis of evolutionary hydrogen-powered aircraft More information: Peter Vink et al, Aircraft interior and seat design: priorities based on passengers' opinions, International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace (2022). Peter Vink et al, Aircraft interior and seat design: priorities based on passengers' opinions,(2022). DOI: 10.15394/ijaaa.2022.1679 Deep learning is creating new applications in optical metrology. As an example demonstrated by the figure, the phase of the fringe pattern acquired from a Fizeau interferometer can be demodulated by deep learning with both high accuracy and high efficiency. Credit: Chao Zuo, Jiaming Qian, Shijie Feng, Wei Yin, Yixuan Li, Pengfei Fan, Jing Han, Kemao Qian, and Qian Chen Deep learning is currently prompting increasing research interests and leading to a paradigm shift from physics-based modeling to data-driven learning in the field of optical metrology. Scientists in China and Singapore published a review article entitled "Deep learning in optical metrology: a review" in Light: Science & Applications. They provide a comprehensive review of deep learning in various optical metrology tasks, revealing that problem-specific deep-learning methods, in most cases, considerably outperform their physical model-based predecessors. Optical metrology is the science and technology of making measurements with use of light as standards or information carriers. Although optical metrology is a rapidly growing area, it is not a new discipline. The development of physical sciences has been driven from the very beginning by optical metrology techniques. In return, optical metrology has been revolutionized by the invention of the laser, charged coupled device (CCD), and computer, developing into a broad and interdisciplinary field relating to diverse disciplines such as photomechanics, optical engineering, computer vision, and computational imaging. Recently, deep learning (DL), a subfield of machine learning, has been gaining extensive attention for its extensive applications and tremendous successes in computer vision, natural language processing, and computer-aided diagnosis. Meanwhile, tech giants Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon have ignited the "art" of data manipulation and developed easy-to-use, open-source deep learning frameworks. Deep learning has left the halls of academia very quickly and is ready to reshape an array of companies across multiple industries. In light of the great success of deep learning in these related fields, researchers in optical metrology were unable to hold back their curiosities with regard to adopting this technology to further push the limits of optical metrology and provide new solutions in order to meet the upcoming challenges in the perpetual pursuit of higher accuracy, sensitivity, repeatability, efficiency, speed, and robustness. In a recent review paper published in Light Science & Application, the research teams led by Professor Chao Zuo from Smart Computational Imaging (SCI) Laboratory, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China, and Professor Kemao Qian from the School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, presented an overview of the current status and the latest progress of applying DL in optical metrology. In this review, they systematically summarized classical techniques and image processing algorithms in optical metrology, and discussed the technical advantages of using DL in optical metrology tasks by interpreting the concept as an optimization problem. Then a comprehensive review of specific applications of DL in various optical metrology tasks was provided. The challenges and future directions of DL techniques in the field of optical metrology were also pointed out and envisioned. Optical metrology methods often form images (e.g., fringe/speckle patterns) for processing. They can provide full-field measurements at scales ranging from millimeters to nanometers with high speed, sensitivity, resolution, and accuracy. In general, the task of optical metrology is to obtain the desired sample parameter from the observed images, which is a typical inverse problem associated with many challenging problems, such as model mismatch, error accumulation, and ill-posedness. In the fields of computer vision and computational imaging, the classical approach for solving an ill-posed inverse problem is regularization, which reformulates the original problem into a well-posed one by imposing prior assumptions about the solution. In contrast, in optical metrology, due to the fact that the optical measurements are frequently carried out in a highly controlled environment, researchers prefer to reformulate the original ill-posed problem into a well-posed and adequately stable regression problem by actively controlling the image acquisition process. However, for many challenging applications, harsh operating conditions may make such active strategies a luxurious or even unreasonable request. Under such conditions, deep learning is particularly advantageous for solving those optical metrology problems because the active strategies are shifted from the actual measurement stage to the preparation (network training) stage, and the "reconstruction algorithm" can be directly learned from the experimental data. If the training data is collected under the environment that reproduces the real experimental conditions, and the amount of data is sufficient, the trained model should reflect the reality more precisely and comprehensively, and is expected to produce better reconstruction results than conventional physics-model-based approaches. Because of the significant changes that deep learning brings to the concept of optical metrology technology, almost all elementary tasks of digital image processing in optical metrology have been reformed by deep learning. Credit: Chao Zuo, Jiaming Qian, Shijie Feng, Wei Yin, Yixuan Li, Pengfei Fan, Jing Han, Kemao Qian, and Qian Chen Owing to above mentioned advantages, DL has been gaining increasing attention in optical metrology, revolutionizing the concept of optical metrology and reinventing almost all the fundamental tasks of digital image processing in optical metrology. Deep learning has gradually "penetrated" into almost all aspects of optical metrology, showing promising performance and great potential in fringe analysis, phase retrieval, phase unwrapping, etc. Nevertheless, the authors pointed out that deep learning is still at the early stage of development for its applications in optical metrology and significant challenges do remain in this field. As an indispensable tool in industrial inspection, medical diagnosis, and scientific research, it is crucial to ensure the results obtained by optical metrology methods are reliable, repeatable, and traceable. However, DL is often been regarded as "black boxes" with no theoretical groundwork to clearly explain why a particular network structure is effective in a given task or not, which may cause severe consequences. In addition, DL learns and extracts the "common" features from the training samples, but this may lead to unsatisfactory results when facing "rare samples" since the information cannot be "born out of nothing." "The progress of science comes from the continuous exploration to solve the unknown." The insights demonstrating possible routes for the further development of DL in optical metrology were envisioned: Leveraging more emerging technologies of DL to optical metrology could promote and accelerate the recognition and acceptance of DL in more applications. Combining Bayesian statistics with DL to obtain quantitative uncertainty estimates allows to assess when DL yields unreliable predictions. A synergy of the physics-based models describing a priori knowledge and data-driven models learning a regularization from the experimental data is expected to provide more physically plausible solutions to optical metrology. "Will deep learning replace the role of traditional technologies within the field of optical metrology for the years to come? "It is clear no one can predict the future, but we can engage it," Zuo et al. said. "If you are still an 'outsider' or new to this field. We encourage you to try it out! It is easy, and often works." Explore further Optical sciences researcher dishes up new method for measuring radio antennas More information: Chao Zuo et al, Deep learning in optical metrology: a review, Light: Science & Applications (2022). Journal information: Light: Science & Applications Chao Zuo et al, Deep learning in optical metrology: a review,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00714-x Credit: Dalhousie University When we picture ourselves drawing, we imagine using a pen and paper to bring our visions to life. For Dalhousie's Mayra Donaji Barrera Machuca, analyzing drawings goes far beyond typical pen-and-paper sketches. An assistant professor in the Faculty of Computer Science, Dr. Barrera Machuca's research focuses on how users utilize immersive three-dimensional (3D) sketching in virtual reality (VR). "My research has a focus on helping people to sketch more accurately when working inside a 3D virtual environment," Dr. Barrera Machuca explains. "When you're sketching there are two types of tasks, creating straight precise lines and creating shapes like cubes. I focus on the shapes because I find it fascinating that most people can draw 2D [two-dimensional] cubes but struggle with 3D." In 2015, Dr. Barrera Machuca attended Simon Fraser University for her Ph.D. studies and worked with supervisor, Wolfgang Stuerzlinger, on her dissertation. This research earned her the 2021 Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee's (VGTC) Virtual Reality Best Dissertation Award. She received the award on March 13 at the IEEE VR Conference. This award is presented each year to the author of the most outstanding Ph.D. dissertation in the broad areas of virtual and augmented reality. The road to research Before joining Dalhousie, Dr. Barrera Machuca earned a Bachelor of Arts in Animation and Digital Art from Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico City. It wasn't until she moved to Canada that she realized the impact computer science has on all disciplines and the potential from an animation and digital-art perspective. Her unexpected journey led her to Dalhousie and the Faculty of Computer Science as an assistant professor in 2021. While working on her dissertation, "Towards More Accurate Immersive 3D Sketching," Dr. Barrera Machuca had two goals which resulted in four different projects. The first goal was to learn more about the reasonings behind reduced accuracy of 3D sketches compared to 2D ones. The second was to develop new user interfaces that help beginner users draw more accurately while using VR. "I have many different projects that involve VR sketching," she says. "The first part of my research was studying how people sketch and to understand what people do before sketching. The second part was analyzing the hand positioning in space, the third was planning how you're going to move your hand, and the final was reviewing the set of visual guides." Ultimately, her research projects have resulted in a better understanding of how people think and react while inside a 3D virtual environment, making VR technology more accessible and easier to use. For the general public, this means using VR applications will be less frustrating and time consuming as the user interface (UI) will adapt to our abilities. This will allow both people and businesses to do more, whether that's experiencing VR applications through videos games, educating and learning course materials, using social media platforms, or even executing work tasks. "One day, I hope my work has an impact outside academia and helps companies working in the VR space to design better user interfaces," she says. Explore further Color affects people's behavior differently in virtual reality The Texas Tech track and field team visits Baylor for a two-day meet beginning Friday afternoon as part of the Michael Johnson Invitational.Friday kicks off with the women's hammer throw beginning at Noon. The running events start at 6 p.m. with the women's 400 hurdles and ending with the men's 5000.The women's javelin throw commences the meet Saturday at 11:30 a.m. as the 4x100 kicks off the running events at 2:30 p.m. The day is capped off with the men's 4x400 race at 5:35 p.m.The men's squad jumped back into the top five coming in this week ranked No. 4, while the women's team jumped to No. 6. Last week, both squads were ranked No. 7.It was a huge weekend for Tech on both coasts of the country as half of the team went to California for the Mt. Sac Relays, while the other half visited Florida for the Tom Jones Memorial. Over in Florida, the Red Raiders took down four school records, highlighted byclocking in a 1:43.69 in the 800 for the world lead. For his stellar weekend, the Morocco native was named to The Bowerman Mid-Outdoor Watchlist Thursday afternoon.Meanwhile, over in California,broke her own school record in the long jump with a mark of 6.86m (22-6.25) that mark is second in the world. She also went on to set a record in the wind-aided long jump portion with a leap of 6.89m (22-7.25).Both Zahafi and Nichols were named Big 12 Athletes of the Week Wednesday afternoon.A few Red Raiders are penciled in to make their season debuts.will look to go in the 400 hurdles, whilegoes in the discus.has her sights set on regaining the top NCAA spot in the discus aswill compete in the long jump for this first time this outdoor season for Tech she debuted last weekend at Mt. Sac in the triple jump.At the Tom Jones Memorial last weekend,, competed in his first-ever 100 race and finished second with a time of 10.09 it's the fifth-best wind legal time in the NCAA.placed second (4.31m) at Florida as her season-best height of 4.35m is 11nationally recorded at the Texas Relays. Over in the shot put,sits fourth nationally at 17.62m (57.9.75). With climate change, plastic pollution and a potential sixth mass extinction, humanity has made some incredible messes in the world. But when people, political factions and nations have pulled together, they also have cleaned up some of those human-caused environmental problems, including healing the ozone hole, clearing perpetually smoggy air and saving many species from the brink of extinction. We can be good at cleaning up our messes, its whether or not we choose to be and what we prioritize, Michigan State environmental sustainability researcher Sheril Kirshenbaum said. For Earth Day, The Associated Press asked more than 25 environmental scientists and policy experts, including two former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chiefs and the current director of the United Nations Environment Programme, to share their top stories about environmental problems that the world fixed. There are some amazing success stories, Stanford University environmental scientist Rob Jackson said. Its easy for us to get tunnel vision with everything going wrong, and there is a lot that needs to change quickly. But its wonderful to remind ourselves that other people in the past have succeeded and that society has succeeded too, both nationally here in the U.S. and also internationally. Here are the four successes mentioned most often and a key aspect that so many ecological wins have in common. Healing the ozone Fixing ozone depletion was by far the top choice of scientists, officials and environmental policy experts. It was a moment where countries that usually compete with each other grasped the collective threat and decided to implement a solution, former EPA chief Carol Browner said in an email. Scientists in the 1970s had discovered that a certain class of chemicals, often used in aerosol sprays and refrigeration, was eating away the protective ozone layer in Earths atmosphere that shields the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation linked to skin cancer. The ozone layer was thinning everywhere, creating a hole over Antarctica, which not only threatened increased skin cancer cases, but cataracts and widespread changes to ecosystems around the globe, said University of North Carolina atmospheric scientist Jason West. Its the first time we created a planet-killing problem and then we turned around and solved it, Stanfords Jackson said. In 1987, the countries of the world signed the Montreal Protocol, a first of its kind treaty that banned the ozone-munching chemicals. At this point every nation in the world has adopted the treaty, 99% of the ozone-depleting chemicals have been phased out, saving 2 million people every year from skin cancer, United Nations Environment Programme Director Inger Andersen said in an email. The ozone hole over Antarctica worsened for a couple decades, but over the last several years it has slowly started to heal in fits and spurts. The United Nations Environment Programme projects that the ozone will heal completely by the 2030s. Cleaner air, water In the United States and much of the industrialized world, the air is much cleaner and clearer than it was 50 or 60 years ago when major cities like Los Angeles were choked with smog and even more dangerous microscopic particles in the air. And lakes and rivers were dumping grounds, especially around Ohio, Michigan and Canada. We would go to Lake Erie when I was young ... and play on the beach and there would be dead fish everywhere. We would have dead fish fights, Stanfords Jackson said. In the United States, the Clean Air Act of 1970 and its follow-up in 1990 with EPA regulations effectively cleaned our air, UNCs West said. A similar law passed in 1972 for water. This has led to fewer health conditions such as cancer and asthma, for example, and saved millions of lives and trillions of dollars in health care costs, Syracuse University environmental sciences professor Sam Tuttle said. That means healthier people, more productive fisheries and a healthier and more attractive environment for all of us to enjoy. Tight restrictions on tiny particles alone decreased annual U.S. air pollution deaths from about 95,000 in 1990 to 48,000 in 2019, West said. In Los Angeles in 1955, smog levels peaked at 680 parts per billion. In the last couple years they hit 185 parts per billion but are usually much smaller. On the water, Brown University environmental scientist J. Timmons Roberts also grew up on Lake Erie and stopped going to the water because of the dead fish: Regulations and cooperation between the U.S. and Canada really made the difference and now theres genuine eco-tourism there and thousands of walleye and other fishers come out every summer. Solar and wind The steep fall in price of solar and wind power, which do not produce heat-trapping gases, has surprised experts and given them hope that the world can wean itself from coal, oil and natural gas that are causing global warming. From 2010 to 2020, the price of residential solar power dropped 64% and the price of large-scale utility solar power generation dropped 82%, according to the National Renewable Energy Lab. Solar is becoming a dominant energy technology and its becoming cheaper, Jackson said. It is cheaper than almost all other forms of electricity generation. Few people thought solar and wind prices would drop so quickly just 10 years ago, Jackson, Kirshenbaum and others said. Experts credit renewable power subsidies to pull the world out of the 2008 Great Recession, especially in Germany and the United States. Endangered species The bald eagle, American alligator, peregrine falcon, Canada geese and humpback whales are each environmental success stories. All were once on the brink of extinction, put on the endangered species list for protection. Now they are all of the protected list and in some cases they are so abundant that people consider them a nuisance or they cause problems for other species. Conservation efforts are clawing some endangered species back from the brink, Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm said. We are learning to do this thing called conservation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken 96 species off the endangered species list, 65 of them because they have recovered. Experts credit regulations and laws across the world with restricting the killing and trading of endangered species and preventing destruction of crucial habitat for those critters and plants. Another key change was the ban on the pesticide DDT, which reverberated through the food chain, causing thinning eggs for eagles, peregrine falcons and other birds of prey, Cornell University environmental biology professor Robert Howarth said. Gov. Pete Ricketts visited Grand Island Thursday to celebrate the passing of legislation that will bolster statewide efforts to recruit and retain law enforcement. Ricketts held a ceremonial signing of LB1241 at the LETC, joined by state senators, local elected officials, and law enforcement officials from across the state. Ricketts also applauded the passing of a bill that will provide $47 million for the expansion of the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island. The funding comes with the passing of LB1014 in April, which allocated American Rescue Plan Act funds to various state projects. This will increase our capacity so we can continue to train law enforcement officers and make sure they are prepared to serve communities all across this great state, Ricketts said. Grand Island will benefit from the expansion, Mayor Roger Steele told The Independent. This legislation is historic in terms of how great of an investment it is in law enforcement, said Steele. Its going to bring in $47.7 million to the law enforcement training center. Thats a huge investment in Grand Island. I applaud Gov. Ricketts for his work on this, and the state senators and law enforcement. This legislation is transformational. He added, This is a wonderful day for Grand Island and the state of Nebraska. Hall County Sheriff Rick Conrad described the investment as huge. Any law enforcement officer you come in contact with throughout the state of Nebraska has spent time in that building, whether its for basic training or advanced training. This will touch the entire state, he said. Its just pure Nebraska that the senators and governor have stepped forward and put money behind their words and supported us. LB1241 will benefit all law enforcement, said Grand Island Police Chief Robert Falldorf. Weve obviously had a challenge over the last several years in hiring and retaining officers, he told The Independent. This will be huge for law enforcement into the future. We feel well be able to hire and retain more officers, and hopefully attract more officers from out of state. Ricketts called the Law Enforcement Attraction and Retention Act a terrific bill. It creates reciprocity with other law enforcement agencies outside the state so we can recruit officers here in Nebraska to be able to help them protect us, he said. The legislation was introduced by State Sen. Steve Lathrop (D-12) and prioritized by State Sen. Wendy DeBoer (D-10). Lathrop said their priority was to address law enforcement recruitment and retention. This bill is an important step in assisting law enforcement agencies, and in particular smaller community agencies, in recruiting and retaining law enforcement, he said Thursday. The support is needed, said Buffalo County Sheriff and Nebraska Sheriffs Association President Neil Miller. In the last 18 months to two years, weve seen a huge problem with recruit and retention of law enforcement officers. We started talking among ourselves that we needed to let Lincoln know, he said. You can certainly say that Lincoln stepped up and worked with us to help solve that problem based on everything thats happened this year. Its just remarkable. Ricketts thanked Nebraskas law enforcement officers for what you do for our communities across the state. In Nebraska, we support our women and men in blue, he said. They sacrifice for us. They spend time away from family and friends. This is not a 9 to 5 job, and its a dangerous job. He added, They are assets to our communities and we need to recognize the work that they do. Ricketts also decried the defund the police movement. That effort has had tragic consequences for those communities who follow through with that, he said. We need to support the police. Im proud to be here today to say Nebraskans support our women and men in blue 100%. 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. Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon is going to Poland in June on a mission to help the people of Ukraine as they battle Russian invaders and try to survive the horror of war after being displaced by the millions. Unlike his multiple military missions in Afghanistan where he was seriously wounded in a firefight with the Taliban, "this is a humanitarian support mission," the retired U.S. Army colonel said. "It has more of a humanitarian flavor." "Help folks," he said. "Make the world better." The current challenges of assisting Ukrainians who have fled from the Russian invasion and the relentless shelling that has reduced their cities to rubble are overwhelming, Brewer said, "and I want to help." An estimated 5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country, largely settling in Poland. Brewer is making plans to fly to Krakow, where he will begin his mission to "help coordinate relief help" with a follow-up trip a few months later. His effort will include visiting logistic hubs and refugee camps and assisting with the command and control skills that can be adapted to help meet the overwhelming challenge that the flood of refugees has produced, including management of equipment and supplies. "When you get asked to go and help, you jump in and go where you can help," Brewer said. "I do not know how long I would be there. The mission dictates it." Brewer said he fears that "Ukraine is in for some very hard days ahead" as Russian troops continue to batter the country. "I think the Russian mindset is much different than any other in the world," he said. "It's an old habit they have. They deliberatively and brutally level towns. There is not much concern for human value. They do very horrible things to people." The Ukrainians "have fought very hard," Brewer said, "and have been very resourceful" in resisting the Russian invasion. Brewer said he wants to do what he can to help them now. "Understand what right looks like," Brewer once said during an interview when he first arrived in the Legislature in 2017. Last November, despite ongoing health challenges that included medical treatment for leukemia and the lingering aftermath of serious combat wounds, Brewer led a team of five state senators on a climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. Brewer, who represents a vast legislative district in north-central Nebraska, grew up as an Oglala Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation and he is the Nebraska Legislature's first and only Native senator. He was re-elected to a second term in 2020. Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon Expert Viewpoint 5 Ways K12 Educators Can Empower Girls to Consider STEM Women hold just 28 percent of jobs in STEM fields in the U.S., according to the American Association of University Women. This disparity contributes to the wage gap and a variety of other inequalities, and the disparity starts long before women get to college. Among K12 students, a recent national study by YouScience uncovered a significant career exposure gap for female students, as their aptitude scores for STEM-related occupations far outweighed their self-defined interest in them. In fact, the research showed that female high school students demonstrated 10 times more aptitude than interest in some STEM career fields like architecture and engineering. When girls with the natural aptitude and promising academic achievements are not encouraged to explore STEM careers, we miss out on the potential contributions and ideas they could bring to those fields. STEM careers can also open doors economically for these students as they enter the workforce. According to The Brookings Institute, 14 of the 16 fastest-growing future industries are in STEM, and all of the top 25 degrees by pay and demand are in the STEM subjects. K12 educators play a crucial role in shaping what future careers young women will explore and consider. During my own experiences in STEM education as both an advocate working at DigitalEd to improve STEM learning experiences at more than 300 colleges and universities around the world, and as a K12 student myself in both Canada and the United States Ive gotten very different messages about women and STEM, depending on the school in question. These experiences have highlighted educator messaging that works and what doesnt work to encourage girls to pursue STEM education and explore STEM career fields before they get to college. Following are five ways that K12 educators can inspire and empower girls in STEM: 1. Consider the Messages Girls Are Receiving About Women as Caregivers As a high school student, I received very different messages about my career possibilities and my role in society in Canada than I did when I moved to a rural U.S. school in 10th grade. At the first school, I heard and understood that women could be anything they wanted to be; I was exposed to STEM careers and encouraged to consider those fields as possible for myself. In contrast, when I moved to a small, rural U.S. school, I got the message that, first and foremost, women were to become caregivers. That message was shared with me formally through the class discussions on topics like home economics, and informally when I looked around at the paths of women and girls in the community. When women are taught that caregiving is their ultimate responsibility, it can feel like a heavy burden. Messages that caregiving is womens work prevent girls from aspiring to enter STEM fields, and it can lead to some women dropping out of the STEM workforce when the responsibilities of unequal parenting are too much to balance with challenging careers. Educators must consider the messages they may be imparting to young girls, consciously or not, about the expectations society has for them as they grow older. 2. Start Early and Get Young Girls Involved in Fun, Hands-On STEM Programs Some of the best programs that Ive seen in our country to get girls interested in STEM start in kindergarten, or even earlier, by combining play and STEM. Getting students to play with puzzles, Legos or blocks to learn basic concepts or having them do fun hands-on experiments is a great way to get them excited about science, technology, engineering, and math. Before children develop negative opinions about STEM as in, STEM topics are too hard or that they arent good at them allow girls and boys to sample those subjects through low-stakes activities where theyre not graded. Math and science enrichment should be about having fun and getting students to think about these topics as interesting and exciting. 3. Connect Female Students with Role Models and Mentors Seeing women working in STEM fields and leading math and science programs is way more powerful than anything you could tell a girl about who or what she can become. These role models and mentors might be teachers in the district, but they also could be community members or guest speakers. Consider the women in your community who are making an impact in fields like engineering, environmental science, healthcare, or technology and then consider how you might recognize and celebrate their achievements, while helping students learn about what theyre doing. If guest speakers arent available, a teacher can make a difference in girls futures by something as simple as sharing the accomplishments of women making the news in STEM roles, creating a bulletin board to draw attention to female leaders in STEM fields, or doing a class project on the lives of women who changed STEM fields. Representation matters, and when young girls see women who have made it in these fields, they begin to believe that they can, too. 4. Share Information on Different STEM Careers and Paths Children do not pursue subjects that they dont know are options. Girls need to learn about the variety of STEM careers and the paths they might take to pursue those careers. Take time to make sure girls know about career opportunities and the ways that the topics theyre learning about in school could apply to those careers. Explore some of the growing career options in STEM. If theyre learning about math in school or taking a course on computers, take some time to share how those topics apply to current and emerging career opportunities in STEM such as architectural engineering, computer coding, and advanced manufacturing. Recognize awareness holidays throughout the year such as International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Feb. 11, Womens History Month in March, and International Women in Engineering Day on June 23. Also, provide resources where students interested in learning about STEM fields can learn more about them independently. Many colleges and universities offer STEM enrichment programs for K12 students during the summer; these programs can help fuel an interest in these subjects. For students with an interest in coding, summer coding camp programs can also be a fun way to offer encouragement. 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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 Stephanie Luke Cottonwood, California, USA "This image is part of a series I'm currently working on called 'Asphalt Beaches.' It consists of random things I've discovered on the sides of the streets where I live. Generally, I find a lot of debris and trash, but once in a while there is something new and pristine. This balloon drifted by as I was taking my daily walk, so I grabbed it and then destroyed it, in the name of art of course! All pictures are taken outside in the immediate surroundings with my iPhone 13 Pro Max, using a Lightroom app and post-processed with Photoshop." Wolfgang Gressmann Germany "Internally displaced boy with tire in Amran, Yemen, 2011. Leica M6, 28mm, Tri-X @ 200; here's my website." Douglas Martin Santa Rosa, California, USA "This object is my wifes hiking hat. Of course, she is under it, but I think of this as a photo of a hat, with a few clues to let you know something about the hat." Ken Ginn Wakefield, Quebec, Canada "Found object. Mourning dove feathers. I noticed a flash out of the corner of my eye one day while working at the kitchen sink. When I went out to see what might have happened, I found what remained of the dove after a hawk swooped in for its dinner. I simply placed these on my flatbed scanner to make this image. I've scanned and continue to scan found objects. Not every camera is held in hand." David Kee Westmont, Illinois, USA "I was recently diagnosed with leukemia (the good kind, my oncologist tells me, that won't affect me for a while). Coincidentally, I then read an article about the ancient phrase memento mori ('remember that you will die'). Although I didn't need reminding, I Googled the concept which, in brief, is that thinking about the inevitability of your death forces you to savor each of your days and thus enjoy the time you have left. The search results included an ad for a skull ring that I thought would give me a constant prod to do exactly that. This is my macro shot of my ring that for as many days as I have will reside on my left index finger." Satyan Devadoss San Diego, California, USA "This object is a polyhedron lamp, shown during sunset, that I randomly came across a few months ago. It's now sitting in my office. Remarkably, this polyhedron was the basis of my math Ph.D. dissertation more than 20 years ago. The small wooden block is also the same polyhedron as well, crafted by a student of mine 15 years ago while in Massachusetts. (This student went on to become a drummer for the remarkable band Darlingside, then a carpenter, and finally a photographer.) Pixel 3a." Peter Van Dyken Duluth, Minnesota, USA "The John Boland ore carrier which I sailed on as a deckhand in the 1970s showed up at dusk as a discreet object in the fog in my front yard this past shipping season. Taken with a Fuji X-H1 and the 55200mm." Mark Gregg Michigan, USA "This small sculpture was a gift from my wife and has become a real keepsake. My whole life has been involved in photography, first as a hobby and then as a vocation, and this little guy reminds me of all the wonderful times I have had in my career. The sculpture is less than six inches in height and made of wire." Jim Simmons Masterton, New Zealand "This is called 'Tomato Figure.' To photograph a misshapen vegetable is to work beneath the immense shadow of Edward Weston. 'Nothing new here.' But I'd like to think I'm expressing the joy that he'd find in colour, not to mention the forms as shaped by the light." Michael Ryan Shanghai, China "I had a nice opportunity to do some personal style photos with my middle daughter last week. Pandora just started learning the cello. "We originally chose the violin but each school we went to for a trial lesson suggested the cello. I was pleased, as I love and prefer the sound and look of the cello, but after the same thing happened at four different schools, I had to ask why everyone was pointing us to the cello. They told us that it's because she's six. She's too old to start learning the violinshe should've started when she was four! Thats living in China." Daniel Speyer New York, New York, USA "Photo of a canoe I had from age 14 to age 70+ (lost in a fire then). It is a rather uncommon ultralight aluminum canoe (a 13-foot tandem canoe weighing only 44 lbs.). A real 'friend' that I normally paddled solowith it I had weathered wind and waves and it never let me down. The picture was taken in the Adirondack Park, Whitney Wilderness Area, where I canoe extensively. The photo was taken with a Pentax Q and the 35mm-equivalent (so-called 'toy') lens." Len Salem England, United Kingdom "My seaside bucket. "I was born in London in February 1939, a few months before the outbreak of a World War which continued for six years. For 24 hours a day, factories produced nothing but munitions and other essentials for the country's war effort. For most, it was a time of great austerity. Knowing no better, I did not feel deprived, but new toys did not exist then and, even on birthdays, I received only hand-me-downs or other second-hand things. Until the end of the war I had never tasted a banana, or any other fruit not grown within our own shores. I had never been on holiday. "In 1946, the year following the ending of the conflict, my parents took me with them to the seaside for their first holiday for very many years. It was of course my first-ever holiday and at that point probably the biggest event of my life. "I remember the feeling of great excitement when I became the proud possessor of my very own new bucket and spade. I made endless sandcastles and watched, fascinated, as they afterwards vanished with the incoming tide. "I remember the spade had an unvarnished wooden shaft and a bright red handle. Maybe I'm imagining the red handle, for it was lost many years ago. But the bucket, a drab grey galvanised steel pail about the size of a small flowerpot, somehow survived. "I look at it now and see myself as a child at the beginning of his life. It is my oldest possession." And one more for good measure: If youve recently been the subject of Illinois DCFS investigations, or had your children placed into foster care, were interested in talking to you about what was helpful that the system offered, and what wasnt. Filling out our short questionnaire will help us do more reporting that matters to this community. We wont be able to respond to everyone who reaches out, but we promise to read everything you submit. This article was produced with ProPublica as part of its Local Reporting Network initiative. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. On a September afternoon last year, a state child welfare investigator drove into Alto Pass, a village in the rolling hills of Southern Illinois, to the home Alan Schott shared with his then-girlfriend and his two daughters. Someone had called the states child abuse hotline, claiming that Schott was neglecting the girls. Though they were only 6 and 8, the girls knew enough to know why the investigator was at the door. The neglect allegation was at least the 10th report made to the state that Schott or the girls mother, who Schott had split up with several years before, was failing to properly care for them. Schotts elder daughter pleaded with her dad to show them a couple things, according to a recording he made of the encounter. Just show them that we have electric. Here, Ill show you that we have electric. Schott knew why the investigator was there, too. At 12, he had been taken from his parents and placed in foster care with relatives, including his grandmother; he didnt return home for about two years. And though, with each of his daughters births, he had vowed to not let them fall into the child welfare system, by the time the investigator from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services came that day, the girls had already spent more than 2 1/2 years in foster care, and had only been back with their father for six months. The investigator told Schott that there were concerns he was using methamphetamine, and school officials said his daughters were showing up to school dirty, according to court records. When he refused to let the investigator into the home or take a drug test both of which, by state law, he is allowed to decline to do she called the sheriffs office for help. Then she took the girls into temporary custody, which is within the discretion of DCFS investigators, within certain guidelines, to do. They were placed into foster care with Schotts grandmother, the same woman who had cared for him when DCFS determined that his own parents could not, and who had cared for his girls when they had been placed in foster care before. I thought you guys were supposed to be for the kids, and for the families, but all you guys do is take them apart, a frustrated Schott told the investigator. His elder daughter echoed: Yeah, thats all you do. Thats all you ever do. The Schotts are among thousands of families across Illinois who have moved in and out of the child welfare system repeatedly investigated but often without getting the help they need to stabilize their lives. From January 2018 through June 2020, 33% of all confirmed reports of child maltreatment about 17,500 cases involved households with at least two previous investigations, according to DCFS investigative case data obtained and analyzed by The Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica. In far southern and southeastern Illinois, the rural area marked by poverty and industry decline that the Schotts have long called home, the rate of repeat investigations was 42%, the highest in the state. The region is served by DCFS's Marion office and its satellite offices. Seen one way, those numbers arent surprising: They show that many families that come to the attention of DCFS continue to struggle. But among child welfare officials and academics, the volume of repeat cases is a sign that the system is failing to live up to its mission not only to protect children, but to increase their families capacity to safely care for them. The pattern of repeated investigations involving a single family or child victim is called recurrence." For decades, child welfare officials across the country have used recurrence rates as an indicator of an agencys performance. Illinois has long had one of the highest recurrence rates in the nation, according to comparative data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (The most recent data available is for fiscal 2019.) The data measures confirmed maltreatment that recurs within six months, though both DCFS and the federal government note that there are caveats to the state-by-state comparisons because of differences in how maltreatment is defined and what circumstances prompt an investigation. Recurrence is complex, driven by a variety of factors. But child welfare experts and families tied up in multiple investigations said DCFSs resources arent adequate. Parents say that classes often arent helpful, drug counseling and mental health services can be hard to find, and direct financial aid is insufficient. And those problems have persisted for years. For the past four years, DCFS inspector general, its internal watchdog, has called on the agency to ensure that families it has previously investigated are receiving the help they need. The U.S. Childrens Bureau, which provides funding and oversight to DCFS, has required voluminous corrective plans from DCFS detailing how it intends to improve child safety following investigations. The Illinois General Assembly and governors office have also pushed for improvement. When he took office in 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered a review of the agencys chief program intended to stabilize families and prevent recurrence, known as Intact Family Services, and promised to change the direction of DCFS. Despite that pledge, Illinois recurrence rate reached a 10-year high in fiscal 2020, according to University of Illinois researchers, who monitor DCFS under the terms of a decades-old consent decree intended to improve the departments handling of children in its care. DCFS itself acknowledged three times in its most recent strategic plan that its recurrence rates are unacceptable. It should be a wake-up call for all of us that the same families are experiencing the same difficulties over and over again, said Jerry Milner, a longtime advocate for better child welfare policies and former associate commissioner of the U.S. Childrens Bureau in the Trump administration. Child welfare is going out, nothing is changing and weve got the same set of circumstances, Milner added. That should be a strong signal for us to look a lot deeper into what is happening. State Sen. Julie Morrison, a Democrat from Lake Forest, suggested the problem is largely invisible to lawmakers. She said the only reports legislators receive on families investigated on multiple occasions relate to child deaths; they dont get information about the huge volume of repeat neglect investigations. She called that dearth of information a glaring problem. DCFS director Marc Smith said Illinois mandates for professionals such as teachers and social workers to report maltreatment accusations are very aggressive, leading to increases in confirmed cases of abuse. Nonetheless, he acknowledged the problem, saying the agency will do everything it can to reduce the recurrence abuse and neglect rate. Smith, a Pritzker appointee, emphasized that grappling with the poverty, unemployment and substance abuse that drive neglect is not DCFS task alone. He said DCFS, its sister human service agencies and the nonprofit organizations that share in the challenge have faced funding issues in large part because of Illinois persistent budget turmoil, particularly during the administration of Pritzkers predecessor, Bruce Rauner. Child welfare advocates say that federal and state lawmakers have failed to make more funding available to help families with chronic troubles, and in recent years the department has turned to the default tool for child welfare agencies: removing children from struggling families. That has fueled a 120% surge in the number of children in foster care across the Marion service area over the past decade, even as the total child population in the area has declined. Overall, when children enter foster care in Illinois, they linger there longer than anywhere else in the nation. So when a DCFS investigator showed up at Schotts door in September to again try to determine if he was neglecting his children, there was a good chance they would return to foster care. Their journey through the child welfare system raises an important question: For all the attention DCFS has given this family and the thousands of other families facing intractable problems such as poverty, joblessness and substance abuse are his daughters any closer to finding stability than when the agency first entered their lives? A Family Under Stress Cases that lead to a childs death have always made headlines and sent shock waves through the child welfare system. But beyond those headlines are far more children who survive chronic neglect, children deprived of the basic care a parent or caregiver is expected to provide. We chronicle the numbers of dead kids. We talk about them: So many kids died at the hands of their parents because of abuse and neglect. Those numbers are out there, and theyre horrific, said Morrison, who chairs the Senates Health Committee. But its the kids youre talking about, who are surviving, that we fail to see. After years of living in trauma, she added, those children leave home not the people who they have the right to be. And at that point, she said, now, youve got an adult who were looking at trying to help recover. At 34, Schott has dark blond hair, a mustache and beard, and big aspirations. He speaks softly, sometimes mumbling, and talks often about how hed like to one day go to law school to help other parents caught in the child welfare system. But he has also struggled to get up in the morning in time to get his daughters on the school bus, forgotten appointments and cycled through low-wage jobs and periods of unemployment. Schott's youth was not easy. By his senior year in high school, he dropped out and spiraled into depression and addiction. His father was arrested on multiple occasions, including for making methamphetamine, and spent time in federal prison. At 19, Schott was arrested for drunken driving, and he subsequently racked up some two dozen additional criminal charges and several misdemeanor convictions, most of them for marijuana possession. As a young adult, I was just drinking myself to death, he said. He was at a bar when he met the woman who would become the mother of his children. Although numerous attempts to reach her for this article, including through family and friends, were unsuccessful, public records paint a little bit of a portrait of her. She left school in the 6th grade, though she later got her GED and took courses to become a dental technician, court records show. She told a probation officer she first used marijuana in elementary school, and she has used methamphetamine and opiates. She has been arrested on numerous occasions and has convictions for such offenses as burglary, armed robbery and possession of methamphetamine. She had three children before she met Schott; in the years since they got together, the pair have split up and reconciled several times, but they have not been a couple for several years. When their first child arrived in 2013, Schott vowed to be a good father and stay out of trouble. I aint never felt love like that before, he said. But a year later, the baby and her half-siblings were placed in foster care following a DCFS investigation that began when one of the children, then 5, was spotted riding her bike unsupervised with a 3-year-old friend a half-mile from home, according to court records. The children were returned to their parents a few months later, Schott said, and his second daughter was born shortly after. Over the next four years, DCFS investigated the family three more times for various allegations, including that the couple engaged in explosive fights in front of their daughters, provided inadequate supervision and used drugs, according to DCFS files that Schott obtained and shared with The Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica. (The files do not disclose who made the allegations to DCFS; the anonymity of people who make them is protected by Illinois law.) DCFS did not substantiate those neglect claims. But that doesnt mean the family wasnt struggling. They were living in poverty with unstable housing and unreliable transportation. In many ways, the child welfare system isnt set up well to deal with families that cycle through investigations, often for neglect. Although neglect is frequently reported alongside physical or sexual abuse, 65% of substantiated repeat child maltreatment reports against families in Illinois involved neglect alone, according to a ProPublica analysis of case data from 2018 through mid-2020. Neglect covers a broad range of conditions, including children being left at home alone while both parents are working; food or housing insecurity; failure to take children to the doctors office; substance addiction; or exposing children indirectly to violence. Often, when an allegation of neglect is called in, the agency starts an investigation. Over the past three fiscal years, DCFS investigated about 254,500 cases. In about 23,000 of those cases, the allegations included forms of neglect that Illinois law considers potentially tied to poverty: inadequate food, clothing or shelter or environmental neglect. If DCFS doesnt remove the children, agency officials typically offer help to families through its Intact Family Services program, which can include substance and mental health counseling, domestic violence prevention programs and parenting classes. But families are not required to avail themselves of those services unless ordered to by a court, and the vast majority of families participate in no services at all whether because they decline to use them or because the services arent available. Since 2013, about 70% of the tens of thousands of Illinois children identified by DCFS each year as victims of abuse or neglect went without DCFS services, according to data compiled by the University of Illinois Children and Family Research Center. Thats in part, child welfare experts said, because child protective services have little to offer when poverty drives so many of a familys troubles. When children arent receiving what they need, and its a neglect concern related to a familys lack of resources, is child protection really the right response? How is that a helpful response? asked Melissa Staas, a supervisory attorney with the Children and Families Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago. A better response is to support the family in accessing the resources they need. Schott and his family encountered these shortcomings firsthand, entering into cycles of investigations without effective interventions. (DCFS declined to discuss the familys situation in depth, citing privacy concerns, although Schott had provided a waiver allowing it to talk to reporters about the family; the agency confirmed some basic facts about their case history.) In the fall of 2018, when the younger girls were living with their mother, the older of the two missed several days of kindergarten, prompting a visit by school officials. When no one came to the door, the educators called the sheriffs office for help, according to a deputys report. The responding deputy wrote that the interior of the home, a trailer that sat atop a hill overlooking a sewage lagoon in rural Jackson County, was covered in so much debris he had trouble walking around. The trailer had two bathtubs one containing food scraps, the other piled high with dirty clothes. The stove appeared to be the only source of heat, while parts of the trailer floor had rotted out. Records show DCFS later found that the girls mother had failed to provide adequate food and shelter. DCFS took the girls into protective custody, then placed them with Schotts grandmother, Peggy Schott, for the first time. An Agency Mismatched In Southern Illinois, the Schott story isnt unique. A 2020 report found that in the Marion service area, which covers 27 rural counties in Southern Illinois, performance has been consistently poor around recurrence for at least seven years. Over a five-year period, from 2016 through 2020, about 19% of children identified by DCFS as victims of abuse or neglect were the subject of a confirmed maltreatment investigation again within a year, according to University of Illinois data, compared with about 13% statewide. These figures likely underestimate the scope of the problem, as they dont capture families that, though their repeat investigations were ruled to be unsubstantiated, still face challenges in the home. The lack of supports for parents in the region is one reason. Mental health counseling and other services often have waitlists or require traveling long distances to appointments, said state Sen. Terri Bryant, a Murphysboro Republican, who sits on a legislative subcommittee focused on child welfare. A lot of it is the absolute inability to get the people down here the services that they need, she said. Many regional social service providers that DCFS sends parents to for help dont have the doctoral-level therapists with the deep experience that some of these families desperately need, said Joanna Wells, a clinical associate professor and director of the Southern Illinois University School of Laws Juvenile Justice Clinic, which provides legal services to children in Jackson County. One afternoon late last year, a woman appeared in court in Union County, which sits just south of Jackson County. Her children had been placed in foster care, and shed been given a list of requirements she had to meet to get them back. Her lawyer told a judge the woman had completed all but one task: a class for parents whose children had been exposed to trauma. When asked why that task remained incomplete, the womans caseworker told the judge that the class was no longer offered. When it had been available, it was held 100 miles from where the mother lived. We need to have a service she can actually complete, the judge said. Still, the judge declined to return the children to their mother, setting a next hearing for about five months later. The children, meantime, remained in foster care. Because of the depth of struggles many parents face, and the shortcomings of the system in the Southern Illinois region designed to address them, Wells said, most cases do not close successfully. DCFS acknowledged families it deals with face greater challenges in some parts of the state, including Southern Illinois: Parents and caregivers in these underserved areas have fewer options for services, and often have to travel farther to take advantage of them. These regions tend to have higher rates of poverty, unemployment and drug use. Smith, the DCFS director, tied those challenges directly to aggressive funding cuts to service programs, most recently during the Rauner administration. Because those social services dont exist in the community, an outcome of that is engagement with DCFS, he said. We have to figure out, as a state, how do we get more resources in communities that are poor, that are rural, that are isolated and dont have the support they need? Smith said. Multiple attempts to reach Rauner were unsuccessful. Schott dealt with the fallout of those shortcomings. When DCFS took his girls from their mothers home in 2018, he was in the middle of a three-week stint in jail connected to old charges for marijuana possession and DUI and couldnt come up with $950 for bail. He figured he wouldnt have any difficulty getting them back once he was released. That wasnt how it would go. With the girls placed in foster care after they were removed from their mothers trailer, he became embroiled in court proceedings that would stretch on for 2 1/2 years as he worked to show he was fit to parent them. Though the process starts with DCFS, decisions about when to place children in foster care and when to return them are made by a judge. Schott said that while his case wound its way through the legal system, he got little help from DCFS or Caritas Family Solutions, the private agency the state contracted with to manage the familys case, in meeting the requirements imposed by the court for getting his daughters back. He was obligated to attend therapy, take parenting classes, submit to random drug tests and undergo a substance abuse assessment; the assessment from a drug treatment provider did not recommend further services, court records show. He was expected to find a job and a place to live; he had been living with his grandmother, but was no longer allowed to stay with her once the girls were placed in foster care there. DCFS can provide families with up to $800 or $2,400 with special permission from DCFS supervisors in one-time emergency cash assistance to help with basic needs such as housing deposits, utilities and basic appliances when poverty conditions threaten to result in the removal of children or delay a familys reunification. A 1991 consent decree that specifically addressed the issue of DCFS removing children into foster care because of poverty led to the creation of this cash assistance fund for families. That consent decree requires the agency to make reasonable efforts to remedy poverty-related conditions that are a factor in a parent retaining or regaining custody of their children. Schott said DCFS never provided him or his childrens mother with cash assistance. I asked them about helping her or helping me, either one, and they never helped us with anything, he said. DCFS confirmed that Schott qualified for the funding and never got it. The agency said Schott declined the help, telling his Caritas caseworker he was employed and didnt need any assistance. Schott denied that he declined the help. It is difficult to measure how many eligible families go without financial aid from the department, but data suggests that spending is not keeping up with need. From fiscal 2019 through 2021, DCFS closed investigations of roughly 19,400 families for poverty-related neglect. During that time, the department said it approved about 8,900 families for direct financial assistance. Families can qualify for funding even if neglect allegations against them are not substantiated. DCFS officials provided statistics showing that under Pritzker, the number of families in the Marion service area receiving financial aid has increased. Schotts aunt let him move into a vacant house she owns, about half a mile from where the girls were living with their great-grandmother on the outskirts of Murphysboro. But it needed renovations before DCFS would allow the girls to visit or move in, and he didnt have a lot of time or money to make them. He also didnt own a reliable vehicle. Hed picked up work at a pasta manufacturing plant in Steeleville, 30 miles away from Murphysboro. To get there, he had to catch a van with other employees, which he said cost him about $60 a week. Getting to all of his appointments to fulfill the courts orders required hitching rides and borrowing cars. He also had to schedule his work shifts around in-person therapy and parenting classes, which met three times weekly in the early months of his case. Hed already taken the parenting class once before, when the children were previously in foster care, but he tried to make the best of it. You can always learn things from what theyre trying to teach you, he said. But the drug test requirements made his schedule that much more hectic. At the beginning of his case, Schott said, the phone calls came about once a month, and they came without warning. When he was summoned, hed have to find a way to leave work early and travel to Carbondale, about 40 miles away. Schott completed the bulk of court-ordered obligations within about a year of his girls entering foster care. The court had set a goal of returning the Schott children to their parents within 12 months, so Schott figured he was close to getting them back. But he wasnt close. His daughters spent another 18 months 30 months altogether in foster care before he regained custody. This is not atypical. For the roughly 4,600 Illinois children exiting foster care in fiscal 2019, the latest year for which federal data is available, the median length of stay in the states custody was 31 months. That is far longer than any other state or district in the nation: Washington, D.C., was next at 21 months, and then Alaska at 20. In March 2021, the judge in the Schott familys case terminated the mothers parental rights, ruling she had failed to make reasonable progress toward the completion of mandated services. The judge returned the girls to Schott, starting with a two-month trial period. Schott remembers being filled with pride. I cried because that judge has been on my ass ever since I was 19 and got that DUI and stuff. I mean, shes really been on my ass, Schott said. I never expected to hear that woman say she was proud of me or want to shake my hand or none of that. And thats what she did at that court date. A Hard Transition For Schott and scores of other parents, regaining custody marks a critical point in the life of their case. Its a moment that requires additional support from the agency, not less, said DCFS officials in a recent report about its efforts to curb its recurrence rates. But in that same report, the agency acknowledged that it doesnt always give that transition the attention it deserves. Returning children to parents also requires a significant amount of preparation, the report said, and the data suggest that is not happening, with an observed high degree of need for the parents and children, and the maltreatment happening soon after reunification. Schott said the girls return to his home didnt come with much help. His caseworker met with him a few times; Schott said the meetings mostly involved assessments of his home and didnt delve into the more routine, day-to-day challenges of parenting he encountered. Schott found the transition difficult. He had little experience fixing his daughters hair or picking out their clothes for school in the morning. Because he routinely stayed up late, he had a hard time waking up in time to get them ready for school. In late March 2021, just two weeks after the girls returned to Schotts care, DCFS received a call that they were coming to school dirty. On the morning the report was made, the girls hadnt shown up for school at all, and someone had gone to their home to wake everyone up, the agency was told. DCFS launched an investigation and learned of additional troubles. The girls were frequently missing school, and when they did arrive, they were often late, the older girl without her glasses and backpack. Her schoolwork and behavior began slipping, it was reported to the agency. One of the girls told the investigator that the house had no hot water. Schott told DCFS that his hot water heater had broken and he was working to get a new one. Asked about its response to the Schotts family, Caritas directed all questions to DCFS. DCFS did not answer a question about what help was offered to the family during the transition, other than to say Caritas was providing unspecified services at the time of the investigation. Schott eventually obtained a water heater on his own, according to DCFS. Schotts Caritas caseworker told the investigator she visited the house regularly, and, while cluttered, it was not a safety risk for the children. She reported that the family was poor but said that she did not have other concerns. She said that, as for the father, he was getting a chance to raise his daughters. DCFS eventually determined that the allegation was unfounded. Meanwhile, the court awarded Schott full custody in May and closed his case. In court records, his caseworker noted as strengths that he was willing to participate in recommended services to improve his parenting, that he had provided for a safe place for them to live together and that he loves his children. Four months later the day his daughter tried to show investigators that the electricity worked DCFS removed the girls, sending them back to their great-grandmother Peggys. In a statement, DCFS said that the investigator made the decision to place the children into temporary protective custody because the investigator had been unable to observe the home or confirm that Schott was not using drugs. When Schott received the list of what he would have to do to get his children back, it was almost identical to the one he had just completed. Its the kind of situation that frustrates Jackson County States Attorney Joseph A. Cervantez, whose office petitions the court to place a child in foster care if it agrees with DCFSs recommendation to do so. He said the system offers the same thing over and over again. Whether there are good results or bad results, it continues to be the same. A Swing Toward Removals In Illinois, as elsewhere, child welfare officials repeatedly turn to placing children in foster care to solve persistent problems in their homes. Removals peaked in fiscal 1997, when the state had more than 51,000 children in foster care. Those numbers fell dramatically over the following years and bottomed out in 2017, when the tally dropped to 14,000. Today, about 19,500 children live in foster care the highest since 2002. Part of the issue is that calls to the agencys hotline have shot up, leading to more investigations. But the foster care population has grown faster than the number of substantiated maltreatment investigations, suggesting that the response to maltreatment is swinging toward removing kids from their parents custody and placing them in foster care. Unlike in the 1990s when Chicago and Cook County drove the states high foster care rates, prompting lawsuits against DCFS and reforms, increases over the past five years have been largely driven by less-populated regions across central and southern Illinois, and drawn far less attention. Over the past few years, children from the Marion service area were placed into foster care at a rate four times higher than in Cook County relative to their share of the population. Across Illinois, 91% of children entered foster care for reasons of neglect rather than abuse in 2020, according to Child Trends, a national research organization that analyzes state child welfare data reported to the federal government. The Illinois child welfare system, which includes DCFS, regional courts and social service providers, is struggling to manage the volume of new cases. A reporters observation of more than 10 hours of juvenile court in two Southern Illinois counties offered a glimpse into the upheaval. The reporter heard multiple stories that showed the system sagging under the strain of removals, including one child sleeping in a service providers office and another in a foster familys bathroom due to a shortage of available foster care placements. To DCFS Smith, the increasing removals are just one byproduct of rising DCFS engagement with families, and a lagging indicator of inadequate service options for families in need. Still, he stressed that the agency works hard to keep families together, petitioning courts to order kids removed from their homes into foster care only when there is an urgent and immediate necessity. The burden of caring for children in the child welfare system frequently falls to relatives, who are often the first choice to serve as foster parents. In Schotts case, that role fell to Peggy Schott, an 87-year-old widow and Army veteran who had worked for three decades as a forklift driver. Her little white house is decorated with figurines outside, and framed pictures of family and Jesus Christ inside. It often smells of something shes cooking. When the girls moved in with her, she placed a tiny table with two chairs for them in her kitchen. But only weeks after they arrived, DCFS bounced them to another foster care home. The decision to place them with people who were not relatives caught the family by surprise. On a Monday in early November, a Caritas caseworker called Peggy Schott to let her know the girls could no longer live with her. Schott had allowed her grandson to see his daughters without a Caritas worker present, as the agency required, according to a follow-up letter from DCFS explaining the move. Alan Schott had visited on a day when he and his grandmother had expected the caseworker to be there, and when she arrived the next day, Peggy Schott volunteered the information that her grandson had visited evidence, she later said, that it had been an innocent mistake. She recalled the hour or so he spent with the girls as uneventful. The four of them had dinner together, and Alan Schott helped his daughters with their homework. She could also point to positive reviews of her earlier care for the girls. Caseworkers had described her as a stable force in their lives. She made sure they went to school, were seen by doctors and attended therapy for emotional issues. Regardless, the caseworker told her someone would pick them up Friday to drive them to their new placement. Peggy Schott had planned to keep the girls home from school that day and tell them what was going to happen. She hoped they could spend their final hours together doing something fun as a family. But while the girls were at school on Wednesday, a Caritas caseworker called and said she would pick them up at school. Someone would come by later to get their belongings. It just upsets me because theyre just hurting those girls more and more, Peggy Schott said that day, upon learning of the change of plans. Theyve been through so much. And I mean, right now, theyre so mixed up. I just cant comprehend what this is doing to those girls. She called the school, pleading to talk to the girls, or for someone to pass along the message to them that this wasnt her decision. After shed placed multiple frantic calls, a school official connected her to her younger great-granddaughter. Grandma loves you and Im going to miss you, she told her on the phone. But theyre going to take you away from me." OK, a tiny, quavering voice answered back, the only word the child could muster before hanging up the phone. The burden of breaking the news to the older child fell to her teacher. When Peggy Schott reached her other great-granddaughter, the girl bellowed between sobs, Where are we going? She didnt know what to tell the girl; she didnt know herself. Remember to say your prayers every night, OK? she said. Five months later, the separation had taken an emotional and financial toll. Peggy Schott was worried about the girls, and about her grandson, who was becoming increasingly distraught. As his daughters time in foster care dragged on, Alan Schott began to sense them growing distant. I dont know what to do about this situation, he said after one visit with the girls. I dont know why theyre keeping my kids from me, he added. I need my kids. I deserve my kids. Alan Schott had the right to challenge the states neglect case in court and was given a public defender to represent him. But when he and his grandmother concluded that the lawyer wasnt giving the case the attention they felt it deserved, Peggy Schott took more than $5,000 from her savings to hire an attorney. Delays by lawyers for both sides pushed the proceedings back to mid-February, well past a 90-day deadline to have the case heard meaning more time the girls spent in foster care. Alan Schott arrived at the courthouse in Jonesboro on the morning of the hearing wearing a Carhartt jacket and work boots. He was nervous. Two days earlier, hed met with his lawyer, who told him the case would be difficult to win. For about two hours, Alan Schott listened as a teacher, the principal and the lunchroom supervisor from his daughters school detailed their concerns. They said that while living with their father, the girls had been registered for school several weeks late, and often showed up wearing dirty or torn clothes and with their hair matted. The school employees testified that the girls seemed hungry, finishing their lunches and often asking for seconds. I still think about her every day, the older girls teacher testified. Is she OK? Hows she doing? Alan Schott and his grandmother said they had taught the girls to eat everything on their plates and that the girls had been well-fed at home. Alan Schotts lawyer, Charles McGuire from the Southern Illinois Law Center, questioned why more hadnt been done to help the family when school officials grew concerned. He was never given the chance to raise these children, the lawyer said. Judge Amanda Byassee Gott later explained how she agonized over coming to a decision. The case, she said, quite frankly is a very close call by this court. She said she was very concerned for the girls well-being under their fathers care. But the state, she determined, had not proved that he had neglected them. Later that day, a caseworker drove the girls to their great-grandmothers house, where Alan Schott and his daughters would stay until they could find their own home. DCFS was out of their lives again, with little to suggest that this most recent ordeal with the agency had delivered any stability. If anything, Alan Schott and his grandmother said, the experience felt more traumatic and disruptive than helpful. The girls were excited on the day they came home, but things got harder in the following weeks. The younger child, in particular, didnt want to let her father out of her sight. The move back home also meant another school change, their fourth transfer in a year. Its traumatizing to them, me, the rest of the family, and putting a burden on everybody, Alan Schott said. Its crazy and they shouldnt be allowed to do that. About the Data: How We Analyzed Child Welfare Investigations in Illinois To understand why DCFS investigates the same families repeatedly, the Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica obtained a database of cases from the department through a public records request. Reporters identified a specific population of families within this database: those with at least two prior investigations, regardless of when those investigations took place. They then focused on substantiated cases of abuse or neglect involving these families from 2018 through mid-2020. The resulting subset of cases represented families who continued to struggle despite repeated interventions. By measuring repeat investigations at the family level, the newsrooms took a different approach from that of DCFS in its public reporting. Like many state child welfare agencies, as well as the U.S. Childrens Bureau, DCFS uses recurrence to track repeated cases of abuse and neglect. Recurrence measures the percentage of children subjected to maltreatment who experience a second report of abuse or neglect within a set period of time, e.g., 6 or 12 months. Yet definitions of recurrence vary among government agencies and researchers, and none of them fully captures those families who, regardless of short-term recurrence, accumulate multiple investigations over a period of years. Neither DCFSs annual report nor research published by the University of Illinois (which monitors the agency) measures longer-term involvement with the agency in this way. The findings have a few important caveats. By focusing on families with multiple prior investigations without regard for when those investigations took place, the analysis included families whose cases may have occurred years apart and involved different children. By only looking at instances of substantiated maltreatment, the analysis did not include families who have been investigated multiple times without ever having an allegation substantiated. The analysis does not include investigations of licensed child care facilities, such as group foster homes, residential treatment centers or day care providers, as well as non-licensed institutional settings like jails. Changes in the departments case-tracking procedure prevented the reporters from examining cases opened before 2018. Nonetheless, for each investigation opened in 2018 onwards, the database detailed the number of prior cases involving that family, even if those prior cases were before 2018. Cases opened after June 2020 were too recent to have outcomes in the database and so were excluded. Finally, data on child welfare investigations is complex. Families who receive services are more likely to experience repeat investigations, which may be attributable to, among other factors, increased surveillance by caseworkers, University of Illinois researchers note. Further, bias and false reports can contribute to recurrence, and child welfare experts caution that repeated investigations involving the same parent dont always signal a problem within the household. The data reflects the way the department interacts with its most persistently troubled families not the frequency with which Illinois families commit repeated acts of abuse or neglect. 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. CHICAGO - A former paralegal who worked in bankruptcy at a Chicago law firm is accused of embezzling more than $600,000 from accounts, officials said Thursday. Becky Louise Sutton, 66, formerly of Park Forest, is charged with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of embezzlement from the estate of a debtor, according to a statement from the U.S. attorneys office in Chicago. An indictment was returned Wednesday for Sutton, of Austin, Texas, who embezzled the money from 2009 to 2018 while she worked at the law firm, according to the statement. Sutton placed fraudulent transfers of bankruptcy funds from fiduciary bank accounts intended for creditors to accounts she handled including her own personal bank account, credit card account, student loan account and mortgage, the statement said. In one instance, Sutton used a company with a name similar to a creditor to disguise her transfer of the money, according to the statement, which said the indictment seeks forfeiture from Sutton of $611,263 in alleged criminally derived proceeds. Neither she nor a lawyer for her could immediately be reached for comment. Suttons arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Cook County judge found DCFS Director Marc Smith in contempt on Thursday. Its the ninth time this year that Smith has faced contempt citations for failing to place children in settings that comply with the agencys recommendations and court orders. The latest case involves a 15-year-old boy with special needs who remains in a locked psychiatric unit despite a medical release on Jan. 31. The court ordered on March 14 that DCFS move the child to an appropriate placement by March 25. DCFS had not moved the child as of Friday. Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert represents the boy in court and stated DCFS failed for months to schedule a neuropsychological exam to assess the boys special needs. Gov. J.B. Pritzkers spokesperson, Jordan Abudayyeh, said Pritzker and Smith share the judges frustration with lack of appropriate placements. DCFS is working hard to find placements for these vulnerable children with special needs. Tragically, when Gov. Rauner decimated social services, we were warned that it would be much easier to lose the 500 beds he destroyed than to recreate them again. Advocates warned that these services werent like a light switch that could be turned on and off with ease, Abudayyeh said. Golbert said the hope is the contempt citations will drive change within the agency, including removing children from inappropriate and harmful settings. Golbert said there are empty beds at existing group homes and residential facilities, but they are not appropriately staffed. In the long term, Golbert said, DCFS needs to expand placement across the board, but especially in specialized foster care. Gov. Pritzkers budget set aside $250 million to hire additional staff, increase rates for DCFS private partners and create new residential capacity, Abudayyeh said. Since taking office, the governor increased DCFS budget by over $340 million with DCFS launching aggressive hiring efforts to bring on hundreds of additional staff, she said. The administration inherited a DCFS with outdated technology and inadequate trainings. Since then, technology has been overhauled and trainings and retrainings have taken place for every DCFS staff member. The contempt citations, child deaths and death of a DCFS investigator have drawn scrutiny from the legislature and the public. Pritzker has been asked on multiple occasions about his confidence in Smiths leadership at DCFS, most recently on April 9. Let me remind you that there have been over a dozen leaders of DCFS over the prior years to my becoming governor, he said. It's important for us to bring stability to DCFS with a good leader who is bringing change. It is hard to make changes in a bureaucracy when you walk in day one. It takes some time and especially after you had two years of no budget, and essentially defunding of DCFS over an awful lot of years. Pritzker pointed to the budget numbers cited by Abudayyeh. Are there still challenges? Absolutely, he said. Every circumstance of a death or neglect or abuse is a tragedy, so we're trying to address those but you can't do it by just saying every time there's a problem, let's toss out the director. Since December, at least five children have died after contact with the states child protection agency. They are Damari Perry, 6, of North Chicago; Sophia Faye Davis, 1, of Dawson; Zaraz Walker, 1, of Bloomington; and Tamsin Miracle Sauer, 3, of Nelson. Caseworker Deidre Silas was murdered in January while on a child welfare check in Sangamon County. And the contempt citations keep stacking up. The first contempt order involved a girl locked up in a psychiatric hospital unnecessarily for more than seven months, starting when she was eight years old. The second order involved a 13-year-old boy whom DCFS kept in a temporary shelter in Mount Vernon for nearly five months. The shelter is nearly five hours away from the childs home. Before being placed in the shelter, the boy slept in a utility closet at a DCFS office. In the third contempt order, a 17-year-old boy was placed in a locked psychiatric hospital for more than four months after he was cleared for release. The fourth contempt order involved a 16-year-old girl shuffled back and forth by DCFS 25 times in two months among various placements including hospitals, emergency shelters, a shelter in Indiana, and temporary foster homes. Before that, she was in a locked psychiatric hospital for nearly two months after she was medically cleared for release. The fifth case involved an 11-year-old girl who was ready for discharge from a locked psychiatric hospital for almost a year. The sixth contempt order involved a 15-year-old girl held in a locked psychiatric for approximately three months. DCFS determined that she needs a specialized foster home. The seventh order involved a 16-year-old boy with low intellectual functioning and cognitive delays who spent more than a year in a temporary shelter. The eighth case involved a 14-year-old girl who had been placed in 21 settings, including DCFS offices, hospital emergency rooms, and emergency foster homes. The placements also include being in a locked psychiatric hospital after she was ready for discharge for more than two months after entering DCFSs care. In each of the cases, Smith was fined $1,000 per day until the children were in proper placements. The first two contempt citations were purged after DCFS removed the children involved from a psychiatric hospital and an emergency center in Mount Vernon and placed them appropriately. All of the other children remain in inappropriate settings and the contempt of court adjudications remain in full force and effect. The fines all remain stayed. bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 2 CHICAGO - Two longtime Democratic state senators whose names have come up as part of the wide-ranging federal corruption probe that led to charges against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan have dropped their reelection bids. Sens. Tony Munoz of Chicago, an assistant majority leader, and Steve Landek, who doubles as mayor of Bridgeview, withdrew their names from the June 28 primary ballot, each likely clearing the way for their political allies to take over the respective seats. Neither Munoz nor Landek has been accused of any wrongdoing. Munoz, a former Chicago police officer whos been in the Senate since 1999, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday, but he issued a statement announcing he plans to retire when his term is up in January. I was taught at a young age that hard work and determination is the key to success, Munoz said. I have applied this to everything I have accomplished, especially as a state senator. With no candidate in the June 28 Republican primary for the newly drawn 1st Senate District, Munozs withdrawal leaves son-in-law Javier Loera Cervantes as the sole candidate on the ballot. There is, however, an objection pending against Cervantes nominating petition. Landek, who was appointed to a vacant Senate seat with Madigans help in 2011, declined to comment on his decision. But with him out of the running, the only remaining candidate on the primary ballot is Democrat Mike Porfirio, a Lyons Township trustee who previously worked as Landeks chief of staff in his Senate office and also as public works director in Bridgeview. No Republicans are currently running for the seat. Neither Cervantes nor Porfirio could be reached for comment. By putting their names on the ballot and then withdrawing after the filing period is closed, Munoz and Landek likely warded off other potential candidates who might have been interested in running for an open seat but wouldnt have wanted to take on an incumbent. Landek is expected to remain in the Senate until the end of his term and he also continues to serve as Bridgeview mayor, a job he first won in 1999. He is also the head of the Democratic Organization of Lyons Township. Had Landek remained on the ballot it would have been the first time he faced voters since his name surfaced in a sweeping federal corruption probe that led to the indictment of Madigan and a guilty plea from Landeks former neighboring state senator, Martin Sandoval. A Chicago Democrat, Sandoval died in December 2020 of COVID-19 after pleading guilty to bribery and tax charges and agreeing to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Federal agents who raided Sandovals Springfield office in September 2019 seized a number of items, including a flash drive with Landek written on it, according to search warrant documents. Landek, who shared an office suite and a legislative assistant with Sandoval, has not been charged with any wrongdoing. One month later, in October 2019, Landek told the Tribune the flash drive likely contained information about office bills, rents and phones, and possibly legislation he sponsored for the Illinois Municipal League. He said at the time that he hadnt been interviewed by federal authorities. When federal agents descended on village hall in southwest suburban Lyons two days after raiding Sandovals state Capitol office, items related to the Democratic Organization of Lyons Township were among the records they sought, according to a search warrant. The list of items that were seized in the Lyons raid also included a framed photograph of Lyons Village President Christopher Getty with Munoz. Munoz, like Sandoval, came up through the now-defunct Hispanic Democratic Organization, a Chicago patronage army backed by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. In October 2019, Munoz issued a statement saying that questions about the photo were the first time Im hearing about this. Our local government officials visit the Capitol while were in session, and I often meet with and take pictures with them, he said at the time. Separately, a court filing earlier this year in the federal case against former state Rep. Luis Arroyo, who has pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme involving sweepstakes gambling machines, revealed that Munoz testified before a grand jury in the matter. A motion from Arroyos attorneys seeking probation rather than prison time noted Munoz testified that Arroyo only approached him to arrange a meeting. Munoz had previously sponsored a measure that would have banned the machines, which died in the House after being approved without opposition in the Senate. In February 2020, the village of Bridgeview, where Landek is mayor, received a federal grand jury subpoena for a range of documents, including communications with Madigan and his longtime confidant Michael McClain, a former state lawmaker and lobbyist who was charged alongside the former speaker last month in a 22-count federal indictment. As part of the February 2020 subpoena, authorities also sought communications with Madigans hand-picked alderman, Marty Quinn, 13th, and his brother Kevin Quinn, whod been ousted from the speakers political organization over sexual harassment allegations. Most of the documents requested in the subpoena were for information related to Raymond T. Nice, a longtime precinct captain in Madigans 13th Ward organization. Authorities sought contracts, invoices and tax records, among other documents. While Nice is not named in the Madigan indictment and has not been charged, the Tribune has reported that prosecutors alleged Nice was designated a subcontractor and had payments funneled to him through a ComEd lobbyist. Nice did little or no work, prosecutors said. As the Tribune has previously reported, Bridgeview was among the more than half-dozen suburbs that awarded insurance business to the firm that employed Madigans son, Andrew. Bridgeview selected Mesirow Financial as its broker for risk management insurance in December 2010, about a month before Michael Madigan presided over a meeting of local Democratic Party leaders who unanimously chose Landek to replace retiring Sen. Lou Viverito. In 2012, Landek declined to say whether Andrew Madigan was involved in securing the three-year contract, but he said all insurance brokerage deals in the village went through a competitive bidding process. The federal indictment of Michael Madigan alleges that during a 2018 meeting about a potential appointment to a state board, he asked then-Ald. Danny Solis, who was wearing a wire, to steer insurance business to his son. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Former Illinois Prisoner Review Board member Jeffrey Mears, who failed to receive confirmation for that post from the Illinois Senate last month, has been appointed to the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Gov. J.B. Pritzker made that appointment Thursday, setting Mears up to face another Senate vote in the next General Assembly. The Illinois Labor Relations Board certifies collective bargaining units. It also investigates and remedies unfair labor practices by public employers and unions, assists with arbitration and mediation to resolve labor-related disputes, and conducts emergency investigations of public employee strikes. Before serving on the Prisoner Review Board, Mears was employed as a union painter for the Department of Corrections for nearly 20 years, but also served as a hostage negotiations coordinator, the negotiations team and statewide audit review team. His experience in de-escalation and crisis intervention speaks to his skills in collaboration, communication and thoughtful approach to complex issues and we look forward to his continued service to the state of Illinois, Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said. Mears new appointment to the Labor Relations Board comes with a nearly $98,000 salary. Mears was one of six members to leave the Prisoner Review Board in recent weeks after the appointment process came under scrutiny by Republican members of the Senate. PRB member Oreal James resigned. Eleanor Kaye Wilson, along with Mears, failed to win Senate confirmation. Pritzker pulled his appointment of Max Cerda, who had been convicted and served time for a double murder before his release from prison and his working with offenders. Senators voting against Mears and Wilson cited some of their votes to release controversial individuals. Senate Republicans long raised concerns about the number of PRB members who were voting on offender releases without being confirmed by the Senate. Those releases included offenders convicted of rape and murder, killing police officers and the murder of children. In addition to 18 Republicans who voted no on Mears appointment to the PRB, 18 Democrats did not vote. Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, joined the GOP and voted no. Pritzker also pulled the appointments of Aurthur Mae Perkins, 83, of Peoria, and Joseph Ruggiero, 62, of Wheaton, for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. The two appointees, originally appointed by Republican former Gov. Bruce Rauner, had served on the PRB without Senate confirmation for nearly three years each. The loss of the six members left the PRB without a quorum and forced the postponement of a clemency docket in April. As of Friday, the PRB website said the board was working to finalize a future date and location. Earlier this month, Pritzker appointed ex-Cook County Judge Robin Shoffner and Rauners former chief of staff, Rodger Heaton, to the PRB. Their appointments quickly passed through committee and they both were confirmed by the Senate, allowing the board to reach a quorum. The controversy surrounding the PRB centered on candidates who had their appointments withdrawn then resubmitted. Wilson and James were appointed on April 2, 2019, but Pritzker pulled their appointments on March 19, 2021. They were reappointed two days later. The governor can withdraw nominations and reappoint the same appointee to restart the 60-session-day clock in which their appointments could be heard by the Senate. This practice is allowed under Senate rules and has been used by previous governors. If they hit the end of 60 days, they are automatically considered approved. Mears was initially appointed to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board in March 2021. He was scheduled to go before the Senate Executive Committee in May, but that appearance was canceled that morning, he said during his testimony before the Senate in March. Mears served on the Prisoner Review Board for a year, making decisions on 40 cases involving the release of those serving time in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He received an annual salary of roughly $90,000. Mears also serves as the Democratic Party Chairman for Johnson County in southern Illinois. Mears declined to comment for this story. bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 April is National Poetry Month. What a perfect opportunity to learn more about poetry and maybe even become poets ourselves. Although it's harder than it looks, a highly recognizable form of poetry is haiku. Originating in Japan, haiku is one of the oldest and most elegant forms of poetry. Haikus were always a favorite of my literature students for an obvious reason they're short. Known for the rule of 5-7-5, a haiku consists of just three unrhymed lines. The first and third lines have five syllables, and the second line has seven syllables. (You may remember tapping your pencil on your desk to count syllables. For example, the word frog has one syllable. The word silent has two.) Nature often inspires poetry, but a haiku, by definition, is about nature. It can be traced back to ninth century Japan where it evolved as poetry that specifically celebrated the elegance of the natural world. Matsuo Basho wrote one of the most famous haikus in the 1600s. The Old Pond An old silent pond A frog jumps into the pond Splash! Silence again. I wonder if Basho would be surprised we're still reading his poems 4,000 years after he penned them. Inspired to write your own haiku in celebration of National Poetry Month? Pay attention to something you find intriguing in nature, and form your thoughts about it in a simple three-line poem that follows the 5-7-5 rule. Basho advised, When composing a verse let there not be a hairs breath separating your mind from what you write; composition of a poem must be done in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree or a swordsman leaping at a dangerous enemy. For extra credit, consider illustrating your poem, as haikus often are. My students loved it when I brought out the cardboard box of watercolors. Their creations always made the most beautiful bulletin boards! Poetic inspiration recently struck me early one morning when I looked outside and saw a rare flash of bright blue fly past the window. My husband and I had nearly given up attracting bluebirds to our Southern Illinois backyard. After jumping for joy, I wrote this haiku. The Birdhouse Vacant for so long Today a pair of bluebirds Found their home sweet home Alicia Woodward is a retired language arts teacher and empty-nester. She and her husband recently moved back to their hometown of Mt. Vernon. She writes a weekly blog called The Simple Swan. Visit her blog at www.thesimpleswan.com. Email her at Alicia@thesimpleswan.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan and Congressman James E. Clyburn joined U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Senior Adviser to the President and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu at Claflin University on Friday to highlight the Biden-Harris administrations commitment to rebuilding Americas infrastructure in rural communities. The visit highlighted federal funding opportunities available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for communities in South Carolina. Regan, Clyburn, Raimondo and Landrieu toured the Orangeburg water-treatment plant and the Railroad Corner redevelopment project, followed by a roundtable with local stakeholders to address water infrastructure needs and discuss federal efforts to ensure residents have access to clean, reliable water. They also joined Claflin University students to discuss the importance of strengthening the relationship between historically Black colleges and universities and federal agencies. The day concluded with a visit to the Orangeburg County Librarys community conference center for a roundtable discussion to hear from local leaders on the importance of having accessible and affordable broadband in their communities. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Congressman James Clyburn pledged Friday that hell make sure Orangeburg and surrounding areas receive some of the money available through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. We are going to get our fair share, Clyburn said during a Friday press conference at the Orangeburg County Library. The House majority whip stopped in the city with federal officials as part of a tour highlighting the Biden administrations plans to rebuild infrastructure in rural communities. Our country has seen some significant challenges in recent years, Clyburn said. COVID-19 has exposed some fault lines in our system that need to be repaired, among them educational systems need to take into account that these kinds of experiences could very well not just be a part of our past but very well could be a part of our future as well. Clyburn said each issue needs to be looked at holistically from an economic and environmental perspective. We don't want to destroy the history of this community, we want to enhance. We didn't tear down the bowling alley. We are going to renovate it and enhance it and turn it into something positive. We want a museum as part of bringing the Railroad Corner back, he said. In addition to water, sewer and broadband improvements, Clyburn said he wants to see a community center within commuting distance of every individual. I am working very closely with all the federally qualified community centers in order to make that happen, Clyburn said. He also touted his leadership in bringing the Lake Marion Regional Water Agency to fruition despite critics who said it would be a waste of money. When South Carolina beat out Georgia for the Volvo plant, the difference was the Lake Marion Regional Water Agency. That is why we got the Volvo plant, he said. I am working with rural communities to regionalize their approach, rather than everyone having their own water systems, Clyburn said. I was very pleased people are talking regionalism. Clyburn was joined Friday by U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan and Senior Advisor to the President and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu during a tour of Orangeburg's water treatment plant and Railroad Corner redevelopment project. Raimondo said her job is to bring high-speed, affordable broadband to every American, to every South Carolinian. She praised Clyburn for his leadership on the issue of rural broadband. The reality is in today's day and age, if you don't have broadband, you can't go to school, you can't go to the doctor, you can't fill out applications online. It is time we close the digital divide. Close it for everyone and close it once and for all, Raimondo said She said about 20% of South Carolinians don't have access to high-speed, affordable broadband. The infrastructure law will invest $65 billion into bringing affordable broadband to every home, she said. The administration is working to ensure carriers offer an affordable broadband plan. We are not going to give a dime to any carrier unless they show us, prove to us, certify that there will be certain offerings and an affordable plan, Raimondo said. She said there is a $30-a-month voucher for low-income Americans. Raimondo said the state of South Carolina is developing a state broadband plan. Your state broadband office here in South Carolina is one of the best in the country, she said. They are on top of it. They know who has coverage and who does not have coverage. Raimondo said money will be put into job training and job creation for laying the fiber and connecting homes. The president tells us every day that everyone deserves an opportunity and everyone deserves a chance, Raimondo said. Regan said the EPA has more than $50 billion to focus on wastewater, stormwater and lead piping, $5 billion to electrify school buses and $5 billion for Superfund brownfield and economic development. We want to be sure that South Carolina gets its fair share, Regan said. Regan said he also wants to make sure HBCUs get a seat at the table. Landrieu said ensuring people have clean water, clean air and access to high-speed internet will help keep individuals together in their own communities and with their own families. Not in America should a kid have to sit in the back of their car when a mom is parked in the McDonalds parking lot so the kid can do their homework off of the high-speed internet that is actually in the fast food restaurant, he said. While in Orangeburg, the visitors held a roundtable discussion with local stakeholders to discuss water infrastructure needs and federal efforts to ensure residents have access to clean water. They also toured the Orangeburg County Librarys community conference center and hosted a roundtable discussion to hear from local leaders on the importance of having accessible and affordable broadband in their communities. The group also joined students at Claflin University to discuss the importance of strengthening the relationship between historically Black colleges and universities and federal agencies. Bidens cabinet secretaries are on the second week of a three-week tour of rural America. 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. South Carolina State Universitys presidential search committee is recommending Interim President Alexander Conyers be named the next president. The committee met in executive session for a little over an hour on Thursday night before returning to vote unanimously for Conyers, who is an S.C. State alumnus. The recommendation will go to the full S.C. State board, which is scheduled to meet May 4. Conyers, a retired U.S. Army colonel, was named vice president for strategic alliances and initiatives at S.C. State in April 2021. He became acting president In July 2021 after former president James Clark was ousted. Conyers was named interim president in August. Conyers retired in 2016 after 28 years in the U.S. Army. He rose from private to colonel as the leader of the Armys largest military police brigade. He led over 3,600 soldiers and civilians across four military installations: Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Drum, New York. He was also responsible for the safety of the Fort Bragg community with a population of over 100,000 personnel. Before joining S.C. State, he worked in Washington, D.C., in the Senior Executive Service as the deputy assistant secretary of the Army. In this capacity, he led the Army Review Boards Agency, which serves as the highest administrative level for review and appeal of personnel actions taken by lower levels of the Army. Conyers previously served as member of the SCSU Board of Visitors, chairman of the Student Relations Committee for the SCSU National Alumni Association and a member of the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. He was featured as a 2016 honoree on the Stellar Alumni Calendar. He has also been inducted into SCSU ROTC Hall of Fame and served as the president of the Washington, D.C., Chapter of the National Alumni Association. A Manning native, Conyers holds a bachelors degree in criminal justice from S.C. State, a masters degree in corrections from the University of South Carolina and a masters degree in public administration from Troy University. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and The University of North Carolinas Leadership, Excellence and Development program. He is a member of several professional associations, including the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, and a former adjunct professor at Upper Iowa University. Love 18 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Orangeburg Department of Public Safety An Orangeburg woman woke up early Wednesday to find a gunman next to her bed, according to an incident report. The Ellis Avenue woman said the man tapped her with his gun around 2:45 a.m., telling her that "I'm not going to shoot you, just give me all your stuff. He already had her cellphones in his hand. He demanded she open them up and erase them. The woman said she opened the phones up so gunman could reset them. The gunman then picked up a bank debit card on the woman's dresser and asked for her personal identification number, according to the report. He left her residence through the back door. The woman then went to a neighbor's residence and called 911. The value of the stolen items is estimated at $1,500. The woman described the gunman as a light-skinned black male wearing a blue ski mask and a blue or gray jacket. Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the sheriffs office at 803-534-3550 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office An Orangeburg woman says a female tried to run her over after the womans daughter got into an argument with the female on the social networking service TikTok, according to a sheriffs office incident report. The woman was in her Deerbrook Lane driveway shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday when the female tried to hit her with her vehicle, the report said. The woman said she was sticking a middle finger at the female, the report said. Deputies found fresh vehicle tire tracks on the edge of the road next to the woman's property and determined that the vehicle did come within six feet of the woman, according to the incident report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Two property owners on St. Matthews Road asked Orangeburg City Council members Tuesday to reconsider allowing their Pecan Way Terrace properties to be rezoned allowing for commercial and business development. Phyllis Pelzer of 1090 St. Matthews Road and Glenda and Randy Shuler of 1080 St. Matthews Road appeared before council two weeks after the body denied their request to have their properties rezoned from single-family residential to general business. The intent of the B-1 general business district is to provide for the development and maintenance of commercial and business uses strategically located to serve the community. "We have done all that has been asked of us by the city, but we feel we have been treated unfairly and not by the rules of procedure," Glenda Shuler said. "We ask that you please don't let politics and personalities continue to determine this outcome." "The council talks about progress for our entire city, but we feel that right now progress is only for certain areas and it is occurring at a rapid pace unlike ours which has taken years and it still has not taken place," Glenda continued. "What is the difference in the area of St. Matthews Road across Chestnut going toward the hospital that can result in a Walgreens and also result in a strip mall?" Shuler said. "Previously that area contained houses directly across from busy commercial area Grove Park, just like our houses are directly across from a busy commercial area the Orangeburg Mall." Property owners expressed their desire to have the properties rezoned a little under three years ago, but council rejected the request at that time. It later asked that the matter to receive further study. Following the $25,000 study, it was recommended that additional buffers be added to the area to protect property owners in neighborhoods off of St. Matthews Road. City Council approved changes to its ordinance on buffers between commercial and residential properties earlier this year. City Council took the matter up again earlier this month and voted 4-3 not to give first reading to rezone the 1090 and 1080 as well as the 1070 St. Matthews Road properties despite the request of the property owners. The properties are located across the street from GrandSouth Bank at the Orangeburg Mall. The three properties are a combined 1.47 acres located between Stuart Street and the CPM Federal Credit Union, according to the Orangeburg County GIS mapping. Voting against the zoning change during the April 7 meeting were Councilman Bernard Haire, Councilwoman Sandra Knotts and Councilman Jerry Hannah. Voting for the change were Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler, Councilwoman Liz Zimmerman Keitt and Councilman Dr. Kalu Kalu. Councilman Richard Stroman abstained from the vote but, according to the city's rules, an abstention is considered a no vote. There was no discussion among council for the reasons for their vote. The vote overturned the Orangeburg City Planning Commission's approval of the request. Pelzer challenged City Council's rules, noting that in other cities she researched, an abstention is taken as a "yes" vote. "The results of the vote were not counted accurately," Pelzer said. "His (Stroman's) silence should have been taken as an accession not a dissension. It should have been a 4-3 in the affirmative." "I would like to ask my representative Jerry Hannah ... I am asking you as my representative to make a motion that the vote be counted in accordance to accepted practices of Roberts Rules of Order and that Mr. Stroman's silence be taken in the affirmative," Pelzer said. "I think that is the only thing that makes sense so that we as citizens feel we have been allowed due process." Hannah declined comment or to restate a motion, to which Pelzer said, "Please know, I want to go ahead and put it out there in about another three years I will be running for City Council." She questioned why council does not follow other cities and have a vote on third and final reading after receiving input. Glenda Shuler also questioned why a reading was given before a public hearing or testimony. "Why does our council vote before they even listen to what the citizens have to say?" Shuler said. "This appears to us to be an immediate attempt to halt the process." Orangeburg attorney John Marshall Mosser said under city code, each ordinance requires three readings and that votes will progress or not depending on whether readings get a yes or no vote at any given part of the reading process. He also noted that Orangeburg provides the public a greater chance to comment than other municipalities. He said South Carolina law only requires two readings. As part of her concerns, Pelzer begged council members to have an open mind and to have a progressive outlook, noting Orangeburg was bustling when she was a young girl 50 years ago. "As I rolled through the city tonight though, I rolled through Orangeburg and it really almost looks like a ghost town," Pelzer said. "It is a former shell of itself. Many of the stores are no longer here downtown. What is happening to the city? There are two Black colleges in this city. We have the potential to really be a bustling, hustling city full of life and businesses." Pelzer said she believes the city needs to take the opportunity to "expand its business capacity" when it is given that opportunity. Stroman asked if the study conducted by the city recommended office-institutional and not business general. Assistant City Administrator John Singh explained that the study pointed out that a zoning change may not be immediately necessary, though there are expectations the area will become commercial in the next 10 years. He also said the study suggested an office-institutional zoning classification in that it is considered less extensive, meaning only offices could locate there. But residents say according to restrictive covenants in place, a business-general zoning designation area would not mean anything and everything could locate there. Liquor stores and nightclubs would not be allowed. Residents say the study suggested an office-institutional or general-business designation would both be allowed. "OI has been the city's position when you have a transition between housing and going out from that point," Singh said. "That is something that has been held by City Council for a number of years." 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. Dogs and puppies King, a 1-year-old black male Boxer-mix, needs the warm embrace of safety with you (case 0328). Cyndi Lou, a 3-year-old black-and-white female Lab-mix, is no Grinch to be around (case 0361). Ollie, a 1-year-old spotted white-and-black male Lab-mix, will only have eyes for you (case 0542). Nosey, 2-year-old tan female Shepherd-mix, needs someone to love just as much as she does (case 0001). Bandi, a 4-5 year-old white female Lab-mix, needs love she has never been shown (case 0051). Petunia, a 2-3 year-old brindle female Boxer-mix, will cuddle with you all day long (case 0137). Diesel, a 14-month-old black male Boston Terrier-mix, is that fire you need in life (case 0242). Rusty, a 9-month-old black-and-brown male Huskey/Rottweiler-mix, will make you feel brand new (case 0274). Rex, a 1-year-old brindle male Boxer-mix, is more than the average mans best friend (case 0261). Timmy, a 1-year-old tan male Mountain Curr-mix, needs someone to show him a loving touch (case 0159). Starlight, a 3-year-old gray female Lab/Boxer mix, will give you all of her love (case 0422). Sampson, a 2-year-old black male Boston Terrier-mix, is searching for his Delilah (case 0034). Jenny, a 3-month-old black female Lab-mix, will be your partner in crime (case 0279). Dick, a 5-month-old gray brindle male Pointer-mix, wants a Batman for his Robin (case 0281). Otto, a 5-month-old brown male Lab/Shar Pei-mix, will trade love for licks (case 0021). Smoke, a 11-month-old brindle male Boston Terrier-mix, will light a fire in your heart (case 0023). Max, a 6-month-old white-and-orange male Lab-mix, is the best track partner (case 0020). Bruce, a 16-month-old black male Lab, will always be there to save the day (case 0028). Sawyer, a 2-year-old white-and-orange male Lab-mix, needs a good country girl in his life (case 0026). Rambo, an 18-month-old white-and-black male Lab-mix, will go on any adventure with you (case 0014). Pugsley, a 4-month-old black male Boston Terrier-mix, needs your love to make sense of his life (case 0033). Lovegood, a 5-month-old black-and-white female Lab-mix, will catapult straight to your heart. Archer, a 4-year-old tan-and-white male Lab/Pointer-mix, will always point his love in your direction (case 0022). Apollo, a 3-month-old tan male Lab-mix, is like music to your ears (case 0036). Albert, a 1-year-old tan male Lab/Boxer-mix, will love you more than himself (case 0045). Mercedes, a 3-month-old gray-and-tan female Lab/Shepherd-mix, will make you feel like a million dollars (case 0039). Glimmer, a 4-month-old black female Boxer/Lab-mix, will bring sparkle into your life (case 0048). Shera, a 4-month-old red female Boxer/Lab-mix, will rescue you (case 0047). Beau, a 4-month-old white male Boxer/Lab mix, will mend any broken heart (case 0046). Fred, a 5-year-old white-and-tan male Carolina-mix, is patiently waiting for his Wilma (case 0052). Cats and kittens Penelope, 2-year-old tabby female, will turn your sour in to sweet (case 0331). June, an 18-month-old black female Bombay-mix, who makes it feel like summer all year long (case 0178). Dotty, a 2-year-old tabby female DSH, will make your heart skip a beat (case 0548). Emma, a 10-month-old black-and-white female DSH, will cast a spell over your heart (case 0059). Freda, an 11-year-old tri-color female calico, knows cuddles are the best medicine (case 0075). Missy, a 7-month-old female tortoise shell, who needs someone classy in her life (case 0229). Haley, an 11-month-old female tortoise shell, is out of this world fun (case 0218). Cynthia, a 1-year-old female diluted calico, is the best couch surfer (case 0132). Kira, a 3-month-old female tabby DSH, has a way with purrs (case 0184). Sunshine, an 18-month-old orange-and-white female tabby DSH, will show brighten your day (case 0185). Meow, an 11-month-old female tortoise shell, knows purrs are the way to your heart (case 0260). Wanda, a 4-month-old black-and-white female Persian-mix, makes every day feel like magic (case 0042). Gomez, a 6-month-old black male DSH, needs a Morticia in his life (case 0031). Mingo, a 2-year-old grey tabby male Persian-mix, is the handsome gentleman youve been searching for (case 0029). The Orangeburg SPCA will be limiting the number of people inside its facility at this time. Hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays. The SPCA is located at 225 Ruf Road and the phone number is 803-536-3918. Check out available adoptions on the internet at orangeburgspca.petfinder.com, the interactive website at www.OrangeburgSPCA.org and Facebook page at Orangeburg SPCA. Email any questions to adopt@orangeburgspca.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The novel approach to mine cleanup funding approved by Wyoming lawmakers this year won rare bipartisan approval, but conservation groups say reclamation policy still has a long way to go. Coal companies have been required under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act to fund the restoration of disturbed lands since 1977. The law, which outlawed the previously rampant practice of abandoning spent mines without mitigating their ecological harms, proved effective. But the law was developed on the assumption that new mines would continue to be developed; and now that mines are contracting instead of expanding, and the companies on the hook for reclamation are going bankrupt, regulators are just not prepared to deal with this situation, said Peter Morgan, senior attorney for the Sierra Clubs environmental law program, during a call hosted by reclamation advocates on Thursday. Morgan and the other speakers, calling in from Appalachia and the West, argued that the 45-year-old federal law, passed long before the start of coals decline, is no longer doing enough to prevent mines from being abandoned or to ensure the land is reclaimed. Until several years ago, many established coal companies committed a sizable chunk of their reclamation obligations through self-bonding essentially a promise that theyd pay when they needed to. Then some of those companies went bankrupt, those promises disappeared and Wyoming and many other mining states got rid of self-bonding. Which left most companies paying premiums for surety bonds financed through third-party insurers. Wyoming relies heavily on revenue from fossil fuel extraction, including coal mining. The state alone doesnt have much power to reverse an industry-wide trend, but it has people hope figured out how to ease the burden of reclamation bonding for coal companies. Novel mine cleanup reform becomes law Wyoming will soon offer mining companies a new way to fund cleanup work. A law passed by the Legislature in March directed the state to establish voluntary assigned trusts for mining companies, which can choose to hold some or all of their reclamation dollars with the state, rather than using surety bonds. The coal industry, increasingly encumbered by its existing expenses, welcomed the prospect of lower costs. Reclamation bonds are expensive, Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, told the Star-Tribune in February. Sureties are getting more and more expensive for operators to pay for. And, you know, this is just another tool that they can use if they want. Wyomings new law is unlike any other approach to reclamation in the U.S. It hasnt been tested yet. But ideally, if companies participate, the program will succeed where federal law has struggled: It will make future cleanup bankruptcy-proof. There are some abilities to do reform at the state level, even in states like Wyoming, which of course have a significant economic incentive to keep the coal industry going and vibrant, said Shannon Anderson, staff attorney for the Powder River Basin Resource Council, during Thursdays call. Anderson also wants to see increased regulatory oversight of mine reclamation, more rigorous economic review of companies plans and increased public participation in the decision-making process. Those changes, however, may lack the same universal appeal enjoyed by Wyomings reclamation law. So she hopes federal policymakers will tighten reclamation standards nationwide and bring every state, including Wyoming, along. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Roughly 150 people protested Thursday outside an abortion clinic now under construction in Casper. The prayer event took place during the evening commute at one of Caspers busier intersections, Second and McKinley. Some protesters carried signs with sayings such as Remember the unborn and Life, the first inalienable right. Protester Molly Moore brought a rosary and a dish of blessing salt to keep evil out of this place. Our country is drenched in the blood of aborted babies, she said. Its selfish and evil, and we dont want it in our town. The clinic is set to open this summer. Itll be the only provider of surgical abortions in Wyoming, and also plans to offer medication abortions, family planning, OB/GYN care and gender-affirming services. Former Mills Town Councilman Mike Pyatt said ideally the clinic wont open at all because of the opposition. But if it does, he said he knows the group will do its best to disrupt the services with so many people out front, women and girls wont want to come in. Pyatt said he planned to ask members of the Casper City Council to denounce the clinic. He spoke against the clinic at a council meeting Tuesday. News of the clinic became public last week. Most in attendance said they heard about it from their churches or from the Casper True Care office. The protest attracted considerably more people than organizers had expected, said Bob Brechtel, a former Republican state lawmaker who planned the demonstration. This is thrilling, he said, and its just beginning. Clinic founder Julie Burkhart attended the event, and said shes no stranger to opposition. Shes slightly worried about security some people tried to come up on the clinic grounds but said shes glad its on such a busy street to get more eyes on it. "It normalizes it to be on Second Street," said Jane Ifland, a member of the clinic's advisory board. Burkhart said that she also chose the location because it's just a few blocks down the street from Wyoming Medical Center. That makes it easy to transport a patient there if extra care is ever needed, she said. About half of the cars driving by cheered or honked in support of the demonstration. The rest shouted against them or laid on their horns. One man parked across the street and blasted music out of the back of his truck, apparently in opposition to the gathering. Some protesters brought their children, including Tyler Martin, a pastor at Outfitter Church in Bar Nunn. He told his children they were going to help mommies know theyre loved and supported. Many protesters said they support adoption as an alternative to abortion. Larry Taylor said he was adopted as a baby by "wonderful, loving parents" and was there to express his gratitude. Currently, a Jackson doctor is the only provider of medical abortions in Wyoming. Residents can also order abortion medication in the mail. Surgical abortions can be performed later in a pregnancy than those by medication, though a Wyoming law passed in 2019 prohibits any abortions after a fetus is viable outside of the womb. Burkhart said her organization, Circle of Hope, chose Casper for its first clinic because of its location. People from all parts of the state, as well as neighboring areas in South Dakota and Nebraska, will be able to use the facility, she said. Circle of Hope has worked with a local advisory board to get the clinic open. Members of the board were also at the clinic during the demonstration. The nonprofit, based in Washington, D.C., eventually plans to open other clinics around the country, according to Burkhart. Thursdays demonstration was the first of weekly prayer events planned by abortion opponents. Protesters passed around forms encouraging others to sign up for future demonstrations. The form included a non-violence pledge. A larger, statewide peaceful protest is planned for the clinics opening this summer, according to Tim Lasseter of Park County Right to Life. Ninety-one abortions were performed by Wyoming providers in 2020, according to data from the state health department. Eighty-eight of those were by medication, one was a surgical dilation procedure and two did not report their method. Chelseas Fund, a Wyoming nonprofit that provides financial assistance to people seeking abortions, has assisted 63 people so far in 2022. Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 4 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. Lawyers for Alec Baldwin are asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of defaming the family of a Wyoming Marine killed in Afghanistan, recent court filings show. According to a motion for dismissal, Baldwin says he was expressing his constitutionally protected political opinion about the Jan. 6 riots, rather than defaming the Marines sister and widow as their complaint alleges. The actors lawyer also argues the case does not have standing in Wyoming, since Baldwin has no connection to the state. Baldwin donated $5,000 to one of Rylee McCollums sisters after the 20-year-old Marine from Bondurant was killed in a Kabul airport bombing in August, according to the initial complaint. In January, when Roice McCollum posted a photo from a Jan. 6, 2021, demonstration in Washington, D.C., Baldwin commented to confirm she was the one who received his donation. They exchanged private messages, court filings state, in which Baldwin accused her of being a January 6th rioter and said her actions resulted in property destruction and the death of an officer. McCollum told him she was protesting legally and had already met with the FBI. Baldwin reposted her photo to his own account, which had 2.4 million followers at the time, according to court documents. He called claims of non-violent protests on Jan. 6 were bulls*** and indicated he would remove the post the following day. The photo, as well as his comment on her original post, have been deleted. McCollum received hundreds of hostile, aggressive, hateful messages from Baldwins followers after that, according to the complaint, causing her and the other plaintiffs in the case distress, anxiety and fear. While McCollums counsel argues Baldwin acted maliciously in reposting the photo, alleging he knew it would bring them harassment, the actors motion says the act could not be malicious because there were no known factual inaccuracies in his caption. It also argues Baldwin shouldnt be held accountable for messages sent by other people. Would this case exist if Baldwin werent a well-known actor? Would Plaintiffs be asking for $25 million? No, clearly not, the motion reads. This is a political dispute masquerading as a lawsuit, motivated further by money. The public squarenot this Courtis the proper place to debate Alec Baldwins opinion. In a response filed this week, lawyers for the McCollums said Baldwins comment calling Roice an insurrectionist was accusing her of criminal activity and therefore defaming her by implication. They also say that Baldwins actions were more serious because of his large following. As evidenced by the followers responses to Baldwins publication, the implication in this false statement is that Plaintiffs are rioters, traitors, racists, Nazis, or white supremacists who sought to overthrow the United States democracy, their response states. Baldwins motion argues insurrection is not a criminal charge, and is rather an expression of his opinion of the events of Jan. 6. This case is not about whether youre a Democrat, whether youre a Republican, said Luke Nikas, one of Baldwins longtime lawyers. Its about whether you believe in the first amendment and in the U.S. and Wyoming constitutions and freedom of speech. Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sean Deines and his wife, Rebekah, were road-tripping after he lost his job as a bartender when the pandemic hit. But while visiting his grandfather in a remote part of Wyoming, Sean started to feel very ill. Rebekah insisted he go to an urgent care center in Laramie. Your white blood count is through the roof. You need to get to an ER right now, Deines, 32, recalls a staffer saying. The North Carolina couple initially drove to a hospital in Casper but were quickly airlifted to the University of Colorado Hospital near Denver, where he was admitted on Nov. 28, 2020. There, specialists confirmed his diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a fast-growing blood cancer. Literally within 12 hours, I needed to figure out what to do with the next step of my life, said Deines. So, after he was started on intravenous treatments, including steroids and antibiotics, in Colorado to stabilize him, the couple decided it was prudent to return to North Carolina, where they could get help from his mother and mother-in-law. They selected Duke University Medical Center in Durham, which was in his insurance network. His family called Angel MedFlight, part of Aviation West Charters of Scottsdale, Arizona, which told Rebekah Deines that it would accept whatever the couples insurer would pay and that they would not be held responsible for any remaining balance. Sean Deines was flown to North Carolina on Dec. 1, 2020, and taken by ground ambulance to Duke, where he spent the next 28 days as an inpatient. By his discharge, he felt better and things were looking up. Then the bills came. The Patient: Sean Deines, 32, who purchased coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. Medical Service: A 1,468-mile air ambulance flight from Colorado to North Carolina, along with ground transportation between the hospitals and airports. Service Provider: Aviation West Charters, doing business as Angel MedFlight, a medical transport company. Total Bill: $489,000, most of which was for the flight from Denver, with approximately $70,000 for the ground ambulance service to and from the Denver and Raleigh-Durham airports. What Gives Insurers generally get to decide what care is medically necessary and therefore covered. And that is often in the eye of the beholder. In this case, the debate revolved first around whether Deines was stable enough to safely take a three-plus-hour commercial flight to North Carolina during a pandemic or required the intensive care the air ambulance provided. Second, there was the question of whether Deines should have stayed in Denver for his 28-day treatment to get him into remission. Insurers tend not to consider patient stress or family convenience in their decisions. Also, both air and ground ambulance services have been center stage in the national fight over huge surprise bills, since the for-profit companies that run them frequently do not participate in insurance networks. Angel MedFlight, which was not in Deines insurance network, sought prior authorization from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. The request was dated Nov. 30, but the insurer said the fax arrived in the predawn hours the same day as the flight, Dec. 1, 2020. On that day, Angel MedFlight flew Deines to North Carolina in an airplane, along with a nurse to oversee his IV medications and oxygen levels. Angel MedFlight spokesperson Kimberly Halloran did not answer a specific written question from KHN about why the flight went ahead without prior approval; often medical interventions are postponed until it has been obtained. But in an emailed statement, she said the company satisfied each step in the health insurance process and transported Sean to his long-term health care providers in good faith. According to the review of the case done months later by an independent evaluator, Blue Cross on Dec. 3 denied coverage for the air ambulance services because medical records did not support that it was an emergency and Deines was already in an appropriate medical facility. At the end of December, an appeal was filed against that decision on behalf of Deines by Angel MedFlight. Then, in March 2021, Blue Cross sent Deines a check for $72,000 to cover part of the $489,000 bill, which he forwarded to the air ambulance company. The explanation of benefits showed the majority of the charges were ruled not medically necessary. Angel MedFlight, through a revenue management firm it hires called MedHealth Partners, continued to appeal to Blue Cross to overturn the denial of the flight portion of the bill. Then, three months after Blue Cross sent the check that Deines then sent on to Angel MedFlight, the insurer demanded Deines pay back the $72,000. The initial thought was I cant believe this is happening, said Deines. Medical necessity criteria are set by insurers, with North Carolina Blue Cross covering air ambulances in exceptional circumstances, such as when needed treatment isnt available locally. When Deines, who was still unemployed and undergoing treatment, couldnt pay, the debt was sent to collections. In late June, Deines representatives at Angel MedFlight took the next step allowed under the Affordable Care Act, appealing the insurers internal determination that the flight wasnt medically necessary to an independent third party through the state. On July 29, the evaluator ruled in favor of Blue Cross. Normally, such a flight would be appropriate because the patient was medically unfit to travel via commercial airflight, the review noted. But, it went on to say, there was actually no need to travel, as the University of Colorado Hospital a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network could have managed Deines treatment. His health plan clearly stipulates their indications for medical flight coverage and, unfortunately, this case does not meet that criteria, the review concluded. Resolution The bill disappeared only after the press got involved. Shortly after a KHN reporter contacted the communications representatives for both the insurer and Angel MedFlight, Deines heard from both of them. The $72,000 payment was made in error, said Blue Cross spokesperson Jami Sowers. We apologize for putting the member in the middle of this complicated situation, she said in an email that also noted the air ambulance company billed more than $70,000 just for ground transportation to and from the airport more than 30 times the average cost of medical ground transport. Such a situation would typically be flagged by internal systems but for some reason was not, Sowers said. I have never heard of a ground transport that costs that much. Thats shocking, said Erin Fuse Brown, director of the Center for Law, Health & Society at Georgia State University College of Law, who studies patient billing and air ambulance costs. Still, theres good news for Deines: Both the insurer and the air ambulance company told KHN he will not be held responsible for any of the charges. (None of the charges stemmed from his first air ambulance flight from Casper to Denver, which was covered by the insurer.) Once North Carolina Blue engages in our formal inquiries about its refund request, the status of the funds will be resolved, the ambulance spokesperson wrote in her email. One thing is certain, Sean will not have to pay for North Carolinas wavering coverage decision. In an email, Sowers said Blue Cross had ceased all recoupment efforts related to Seans case. The Takeaway If the flight had happened this year, the couple might have received more price information before they took the flight. A law called the No Surprises Act took effect Jan. 1. Its main thrust is to protect insured patients from balance bills for the difference between what their insurance pays and what an out-of-network provider charges in emergencies. It also covers nonemergency situations in which an insured patient is treated in an in-network facility by an out-of-network provider. In those cases, the patient would pay only what they would owe had the service been fully in-network. Another part of the law, called a good faith estimate, might have provided Deines with more transparency into the costs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 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. Young Chinese in new era confident, able to realize 'national rejuvenation' : white paper By Cao Siqi, Liu Caiyu and Xu Keyue (Global Times) 08:41, April 22, 2022 Three men hold Chinese national flags at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Tuesday after the flag-raising ceremony. Photo: Cui Meng/GT China on Thursday released its first nationwide official document focusing on its youth in the new era, highlighting the historical achievements the country has made in youth development in the new era, the generation's amazing vibrancy and passion, and their arduous tasks and responsibilities for national rejuvenation. The document, titled "Youth of China in the New Era," was published by the Chinese State Council Information Office on Thursday. This is an official document issued on a special occasion ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC). The white paper said that young Chinese people in the new era are confident, aspirant and responsible. They wholeheartedly support the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). With a global vision, they stand at the forefront of the times bursting with commitment: pursuing lofty ideals with a firm belief in Marxism, communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics; full of patriotism, sharing weal and woe with the country and the people. They also display the sterling quality of living up to responsibilities, are the first in the country to worry about the affairs of the state and the last to enjoy themselves, and strive to be pioneers in, pacesetters for and contributors to the country's development. Analysts said the Chinese young generation today enjoys much better conditions in terms of economy, education and technology, and their patriotism, global vision, openness, talents and confidence will help the country lead the international competition in the future. They noted that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, leaders of the country have attached great importance to youth work, as youth mobilization is a very important part of the work of the Party and the country. Now, youth work is valued even more highly by Chinese President Xi Jinping as the country moves forward to its second centenary goal, and the responsibility of the youth and the historical mission they shoulder are greater, they said. "Both history and reality tell us that when the younger generation has ideals and a sense of responsibility, the country will have a future, the nation will have hope, and there will be a steady stream of powerful forces to achieve our development goals," Xi said at a key meeting with outstanding youth representatives from all walks of life on May 4, 2013. In his speech addressing a ceremony celebrating the CPC centenary on July 1, 2021, Xi, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized that "In the new era, our young people should make it their mission to contribute to national rejuvenation and aspire to become more proud, confident, and assured in their identity as Chinese people, so that they can live up to the promise of their youth and the expectations of our times, our Party and our people." China released its 1st white paper on China's youth: - The majority support socialism with Chinese characteristics - More than 5.5m young people have worked on the front lines against COVID-19 - Young people account for 50% of participants in the creative industries Graphic: Feng Qingyin/GT Stronger sense of identity Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, China has made historic accomplishments in youth development. He Junke, first secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, elaborated on the economic conditions that have fostered momentous progress in the development of young people, their improved mental and physical health, and their access to education and employment. The rapid development of cultural industries and public facilities has created an environment where young people can live a rich cultural life, He said at a press conference upon the release of the white paper on Thursday. The official document cited a survey conducted in 2020 which showed that the majority of China's youth wholeheartedly supports socialism with Chinese characteristics, and are full of confidence about the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. For China's youth, commitment to the Communist Part of China is the most valuable experience, and the revolutionary traditions passed down are the most precious wealth accumulated over the past century, the document said. History shows clearly that without the CPC, the Chinese youth movement would have achieved little. Looking ahead to the new era, China's youth are embracing precious opportunities to realize their ambitions and display their talents, as they shoulder the important responsibility of building a great modern socialist country and realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Zhang Yiwu, a professor of cultural studies at Beijing's Peking University, told the Global Times on Thursday that with economic and social development in China, the young generation in the great new era stand on a broader platform and have received more advanced education, which facilitates them in "developing international vision, a confident and inclusive spirit, and more importantly, a strong sense of identity as a Chinese." Last year, the CPC celebrated its centenary anniversary on July 1, but it still shines with young vitality, as more than a third of its 92 million members are under 40. In a special report the Global Times coveredto mark the historical moment, it found that the 100-year-old Party still has appeal with the young cohort, as experts noted that the devotion many frontline medical workers, Party members and others showed to beat the pandemic has further consolidated young people's beliefs, because "it is an arduous fight that they lived themselves." "A Party built by such great patriotism will never lose its appeal for young people," said 27-year-old Zeng Qing, a Chengdu resident who recently filed her application to join the Party. According to the white paper, during the COVID-19 pandemic, young people have been risking their lives to combat this deadly disease. More than 5.5 million of them in 320,000 task groups have worked on the front lines of this combat, providing medical care, transporting supplies, and building facilities. They have made a tremendous contribution to the all-out war on the virus. Of the 28,600 nurses from the medical teams sent to Hubei, 90 percent were born between 1980 and 1999. In recent years, a growing number of young people have taken part in charity and public-welfare activities, providing services in the communities, protecting the environment, conducting cultural programs, and offering elderly care and assistance to people with disabilities. They are also actively involved in politics and in China's application of whole-process people's democracy. A recent questionnaire survey conducted by the Global Timesfound that most Chinese young people, especially Generation Z born in the 1990s and 2000s, now view China as more democratic than the US and Western political systems, which are no longer considered a "role model" of democracy, while Washington held a "summit for democracy" in a vain attempt to maintain its monopoly in defining "democracy." Generation-Z was born in a time when China was in a rapid development and they could access knowledge and fresh information via various channels. A large proportion of them either went or studied abroad, during which time they have witnessed how "unbelievable, ridiculous and bizarre" Western governments are, for example, in facing the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the "iron fist" of capitalism, Lin Chao, author of China's popular patriotic animation Year Hare Affair, told the Global Times. For them, the society and environment they live in tell them that patriotism is the prerequisite for looking at all problems. They don't look up to the West, and have realized that Western democracy is a democracy played by the rich. They know general elections under the Western political system do not guarantee the continuity of policies, while China's democracy, starting from the grassroots, represents the interests from the bottom up and ensures the policies' continuity, Lin said. Global vision The document noted that China's youth stand ready to work with their counterparts from all over the world and contribute their wisdom and strength to building a better world and a global community with a shared future. At present, many volunteer Chinese teachers, most of whom are young people, are working in more than 100 countries to help youth in other countries study Chinese culture. The China Youth Volunteer Overseas Service Program has sent more than 700 young volunteers to over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to provide services in areas such as medical care, agricultural technology, civil engineering, industrial technology, economic management, and social development. Wang Huiyao, president of nongovernment think tank the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Thursday that the young generations of Chinese, whether they are the post-80s generation, post-90s generation or post-00s generation, have grown up along with China's growing global presence over the years. Compared with their parents and grandparents, the young generations of Chinese are proficient in foreign languages, better educated, and more innovative and culturally connected with the world, and have grasped international technologies and information as they grow up, Wang said. In a time when globalization is suffering setbacks from complex international factors, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 pandemic, the white paper's highlighting of Chinese young people's role is timely and more needed than ever, Wang said. The global vision, practice and environment, such as the unprecedented integrity of the industrial chain, enjoyed by the Chinese young generation puts them in a unique position. With this advantage, young Chinese will be able to shine in a new wave of globalization as it expands and deepens, Wang said. This confidence, patriotism, globalism, and multiculturalism has been fully showcased by the country's Generation-Z, such as 17-year-old snowboarder Su Yiming and 21-year-old short-track skater Li Wenlong, who grew up witnessing the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and have taken on leading roles in the 2022 Winter Olympics' grand stage. 'Lying flat' generation? The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusal to work, marry and have children, dubbed as a "lying down" lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese. But is China's young generation really one that is "lying flat"? Chinese officials stressed that "China's generation-Z is not "lying flat," a euphemism for giving up on hard work, as is often claimed, and making unremitting endeavors and is still the mainstream of a group that believes success should be achieved through concrete efforts." "Most Chinese youth hold an optimistic view of the future, and the saying 'lying flat' is more of a joke to release pressure and express their feelings," He Junke said at Thursday's press conference. China has attached great importance to deeper issues reflected by talk of "lying flat," which emerged because the young generation is subject to increasing pressure across work, study and life amid China's unique demographic structure and highly competitive labor market, Wang Huiyao said. In the face of important choices in life, young people show confusion, and sometimes lose their sense of direction and feel powerless, a phenomenon that is reasonable. In recent years, the country has stepped up its policy efforts to solve difficult problems in education, employment, marriage and child-rearing, and to help young people solve their urgent and anxious problems, he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) 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 Near the Russian Embassy in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, local men are standing in queues to enlist in the Russian mercenary squads to be deployed in Ukraine. Both young and late-middle-aged Ethiopian men are recruited in the social media to join the Russian mercenary squads deployed in Ukraine. New recruits are promised allowance of around 2000 USD. What began as a trickle of volunteers swelled over two weeks to scores, Reuters reported. On April 19th, several hundred men were seen registering with Ethiopian security guards outside the embassy. The guards recorded their names and asked for proof of military service. A man who came out of the embassy and addressed the volunteers in Russian through an interpreter said Russia had enough forces for now, but that they would be contacted when they were needed. Later on the same day, the Russian embassy issued a statement saying that it was not recruiting fighters, and that the Ethiopians who showed up outside were well-wishers expressing "solidarity and support for the Russian Federation". The Ethiopian foreign ministry welcomed the Russian statement for what it called "refuting the unfounded reports of recruitment for the Russian Armed Forces". However, the social media rumors of a $2,000 payment to join up and the possibility of work in Russia after the war tantalized some of the men in the queues. Moreover, the Ethiopian recruits were promised significant benefits, which seemed especially attractive for locals who complained that living in Ethiopia was becoming difficult. Read also: Ukrainian Civilians of Zaporizhzhia region are disappearing in the invaded by Russians territories Ukrainian Civilians of Zaporizhzhia region are disappearing in the invaded by Russians territories Russian soldiers in the invaded territories continue to commit war crimes, kidnap people and endanger the lives of prisoners. The Zaporizhzhia region, where the invaders seized some settlements, is suffering from the actions of the inviders of Russia's aggressor country. In particular, it is known about the abduction of civilians and equipment. It was reported by the Defense Forces of the Zaporizhzhia region. In the village of Yakymivka, Melitopol district, Russian invaders abducted a local resident born in 1986. The man is a citizen of Bulgaria. His whereabouts are currently unknown. In Dniprorudne a local resident announced the disappearance of her brother, born in 1990. The young man left the apartment, but it is unknown where he is. Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territories are also looting. Thus, at the checkpoint in Polohy, Russians illegally seized a ZAZ-Slavuta car under the threat of using weapons. The car belonged to a local man. In addition, in the village of Polohy, Russian criminals stole a VAZ car from a local resident. As reported, in the captured Energodar, the Russians enroll local residents in the queue to pay them ten thousand rubles. In particular, to issue this "assistance" record the passport data of people. They can later be used to hold an illegal "referendum". Read also: Its too bad, somehow, that the Writer in Residence at the Pima County Public Library doesnt actually live in the library. Authors live in a world of words. Why not sleep in one, too? Exhibit A is the librarys current Writer in Residence, Wynne Brown. She has written five books, with a sixth on its way next year. Her illustrations have appeared in dozens more, and her day job is to help aspiring authors find the best way to present the stories they have to tell. Somebody told me Im like their literary bartender, someone whos always there if you need to talk, Brown said. Normally, she doesnt get called until a writer has completed a draft or two. Brown helps them with the next steps. In her role with the library, she helps writers with the first steps. Im meeting people earlier in the process, Brown explained. Im helping them get from Point A to Point B or C, and its different every time. This has been one of the most rewarding things Ive ever done. Its been an honor to be trusted by all these interesting, talented people. The Writer in Residence program is a free public service funded by the Arizona State Library and offered through the Pima County Public Library. The libraries make locally based authors available to share their expertise with residents who have stories to tell but arent sure how best to tell them. Brown is the 11th Writer in Residence in Tucson. For the last three months, she has been holding eight one-on-one sessions a week with local writers. Ive probably talked with 60 people about the books they want to write, and its been fascinating, Brown said. Ive met people with thrillers, poetry, kids books, nonfiction; one of them is curating a collection of her mothers poems. We have 30 minutes. How can I help you? Many of Browns new mentees will need an editor. She refers them to the list posted by the Editorial Freelancers Association. She referred one writer directly to an agent. The woman hasnt even started writing yet, but she has a great premise, Brown said. She needs to get it out there. Interestingly, a younger Wynne Brown did not consider herself a writer at all. At Skidmore College, she majored in art and minored in biology. She first came to Tucson to pursue a masters degree in scientific illustration from a new unit called the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. It was perfect for me, Brown said. Im a naturalist who loves the outdoors. I had a passion for illustrations. I was getting paid to squash plants and draw them! Later, she became a copy editor and reporter for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Later still, she found herself writing a book called More Than Petticoats: Amazing Arizona Women, which was released in 2003. It didnt go so well, she recalled. If you looked for it on Amazon back then, the search tab took you to womens underwear. Still, the word author was now on her resume, and her experience as a naturalist came in handy. At some point between Trail Riding Arizona and the second edition of Petticoats, her research introduced her to Sara Plummer Lemmon a brilliant, relentlessly ambitious botanist best-known for her discoveries in California. It was Lemmon who wrote the bill making the golden poppy Californias state flower. Just as significantly, at least to us in Tucson, is the fact Sara Lemmons name is on our most notable natural landmark: the 9,000-foot mountain just north of town. If we might cut to the chase here, Browns interest in Lemmon led to the recently published The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmons Life of Science and Art by Wynne Brown. It received a Spur Award in biography from the Western Writers of America. It was named one of 2022s Southwest Books of the Year by the Pima County Public Library. In many ways, Browns name could easily substitute for Lemmons in the subtitle. The authors life and her love of science and art can be found on every page. Twelve years ago, I learned that Saras papers were housed at UC Berkeley, Brown said. I knew they had six linear feet of material. I had no idea what Id find when I went there, but there were 1,200 pages of handwritten letters. They had 276 of her drawings. I was hooked. One year I shot pictures of half of them on my phone. The next year I shot the rest. The archived materials, particularly the correspondence, revealed personal details a biographer can only dream about. Hundreds of those insights can be found in The Forgotten Botanist. Tucson takes up only a small part of the book Lemmon spent only eight months of her life here but the experience revealed the dynamo that was Sara Lemmon. Having failed in their attempt to reach the summit from the south, Sara and John Plummer mounted another assault this time with rancher Emmerson Oliver Stratton up the mountains north slope. This time they made it, and it was agreed the honor of first to the top should go to Sara. It did, and now we know why. Footnotes Browns term as the librarys Writer in Residence will end next week. She will pass the literary baton to Lori Alexander, the popular author of books for children and young adults. Alexander, who lives in Oro Valley, will be the Writer in Residence beginning next month. To make an appointment with Alexander or learn more about the Writer in Residence program, visit library.pima.gov/writer. The Pima Library Foundations next Virtual Salon is scheduled for Thursday at 4 p.m. Edison Eskeets and Jim Kristofic will discuss their book, Send a Runner: A Navajo Honors the Long Walk. The online program is free and open to everyone. To register, visit thepimalibraryfoundation.org/salons. The notion of living in a library was explored by author Fiona Davis two years ago. In her historical novel The Lions of Fifth Avenue, Davis recounted a time when the Superintendent of the New York Public Library did have an apartment within the library. Not a small one, either. His family lived there, too. Get day-to-day news from the Tucson book community by following Bookmarks Arizona (@BookArizona) on Twitter. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Arizona hosts two native species, the Foothills Palo Verde and the Blue Palo Verde. The Foothills Palo Verde (Cercidium microphyllum) can be found mostly on rocky slopes. They have a yellow-green trunk, tiny leaves and pods that constrict around the seeds. The Blue Palo Verde (Cercidium floridum) are usually spotted next water sources, like washes, and have a blue-green trunk. Read more about the differences here. Arizona business and education leaders met at the University of Arizona on April 21 to discuss boosting state employment rates at the "Future of the Workforce, Today and Tomorrow event. An 18-year-old has been arrested in connection with a fatal crash on Interstate 10 that killed three people on Thursday. The driver of the vehicle, Kevin Avila of Phoenix, was booked into the Pinal County Jail on suspicion of first-degree homicide, numerous counts of endangerment and aggravated assault, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said. On Thursday at 8:55 a.m., a trooper attempted to stop an SUV for an unknown violation on I-10 westbound near milepost 214, AZDPS said. The vehicle failed to yield and a pursuit ensued. The SUV crossed the dirt median from westbound I-10 into the eastbound lanes and struck a tractor-trailer head-on, AZDPS said. Eight people were inside the vehicle and several were ejected. Two people were confirmed dead on scene and one person died upon arriving to a hospital, AZDPS said. Other victims remain in the hospital. AZDPS said they are working to confirm the identification of the deceased victims and it is an ongoing process with the Pinal County Medical Examiner and the Mexican Consuls Office. The Associated Press reported that the Homeland Security Investigations arm of federal Immigration Control and Enforcement said in a statement its special agents would be looking into "the attempted human smuggling activity. AZDPS will perform an administrative investigation to determine if procedures were followed. Homeland Security Investigations will also be conducting a parallel investigation. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Environmental groups are going to court to stop further development of the proposed 280-mile Interstate 11 project from Nogales to Wickenburg, saying federal officials have not complied with legal requirements. The lawsuit charges that the Federal Highway Administration, in approving one alternative route around the west side of Tucson, failed to consider the destruction to the Sonoran Desert, harm to wildlife and effects on air pollution. Those effects would be less if the highway is co-located with Interstates 19 and 10, it says. The claim, filed Thursday in federal court in Tucson, decries what it calls failure to consider other options to a new freeway. The Federal Highway Administration cursorily rejected detailed consideration of a rail or multimodal alternative, wrote Wendy Park, an attorney for the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity. That group, along with the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection, the Friends of Ironwood Forest and the Tucson Audubon Society, are asking a federal judge to intercede. The agency violated environmental laws, the lawsuit states. It skewed the comparison of alternatives against selection of a no-build alternative by overestimated future travel demand based on inflated population growth and development projections, while ignoring the benefits of currently planned passenger rail and other projects on reducing congestion and the projects potential to induce more congestion. Park said the environmental impact statement prepared by the federal agency about the project failed to take a hard look at potential for worsening air pollution, climate change, disrupting wildlife, increasing wildfire risks, contaminating water resources and degrading wilderness, recreation, scenic values, dark skies, soundscape and wildlife habitat in and around public lands. A spokesman for the federal agency said it does not comment on pending litigation. It isnt just environmental groups that have expressed concern about the project that eventually would stretch north to Kingman and into Nevada. State Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, raised questions as far back as 2019 about the wisdom of constructing hundreds of miles of new freeway when the state cant take care of the roads it already has. He said there are far better alternatives for moving freight from Mexico to Canada, especially rail. And the Sahuarita Town Council voted last year to oppose what has been called the West Option that would build a new road from that community, around Tucson, to Marana. But the project, which could cost anywhere from $3.1 billion to $7.3 billion, depending on the final path, is supported by local officials in Casa Grande and Maricopa who see it as aiding economic development. Ditto Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who told Capitol Media Services years ago that the highway would really benefit our state and allow us to be the player that were going to be in terms of economic growth and development and trade. Duceys views have not changed, his press aide C.J. Karamargin said Thursday. In a prepared statement, Park called the project unnecessary and a road to climate catastrophe. Its despicable to see state and federal officials playing into the hands of private developers and ignoring the climate emergency to approve this boondoggle, she said. The lawsuit itself and the legal bid to stop construction, however, focus not on economic issues but through the lens of the National Environmental Policy Act. The act requires federal officials to prepare an environmental impact statement considering the effects of each major project, and includes considering alternatives. Park said the route around Tucson would put the road through and near sensitive areas including Saguaro National Park, Ironwood Forest National Monument and Tohono Oodham Nation lands. By contrast, she said, co-locating I-11 with the two existing interstate highways would not create the massive impacts to wildlife that the West Option would. Park said, though, there would need to be new and upgraded wildlife crossings. The choice of the two options in Southern Arizona is only one issue. She said a stretch proposed between Casa Grande and Buckeye also would affect recreation areas as well as habitats for various endangered species. There also would be environmental effects from the final stretch from Buckeye to Wickenburg, Park said. She said comments to both the Federal Highway Administration and the Arizona Department of Transportation as far back as 2016 questioned the need for a new highway. Park said even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended that federal officials consider potential rail and transit options. The National Park Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Park said, expressed concerns that the West Option would permanently and severely harm Avra Valley wildlife populations and public lands. In choosing to build the highway while deferring its decision on the route through Pima County, FHWA put the cart before the horse, Park wrote in her legal filing. She said the decision to proceed with construction of I-11 before fully understanding the environmental consequences of part of the project is in violation of NEPAs directive that federal agencies analyze and disclose the environmental effects of their actions to the public and decisionmakers in an environmental impact statement before committing to those actions. The lawsuit asks the court to void the decisions already made by the federal agency about construction of the road and preclude it from proceeding with the next phase until there is an adequate environmental impact statement. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. NEW YORK The co-founder of the We Build The Wall project aimed at raising money for a border wall pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in a case that once included former President Donald Trumps adviser Steve Bannon. Brian Kolfage, who has significant ties to Tucson, admitted to pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars while promising all donations would pay for the wall. His plea came a month before a trial in a case that began in dramatic fashion in August 2020 when Bannon was pulled from a luxury yacht off the coast of Connecticut and arrested on allegations that he and three others falsely promised donors that all donations would help build a wall on the southern border. The fundraising for the border wall was launched at an event in Sahuarita on Feb. 8, 2019, the Star has previously reported. Thats when Bannon told the Star that 100% of this money is going to build the wall and the legal fight to get the wall built. Instead, Bannon pulled $100,000 from the donations on Feb. 11 to secretly pay former Tucsonan Brian Kolfage, the head of the fundraising campaign who had pledged he wouldnt take a penny of the $25 million raised from thousands of donors, Star news archives show. In the following months, Bannon illegally pulled out more than $1 million of donated money, including $350,000 paid to Kolfage, federal prosecutors in New York said in a court filing in August 2020, the Star has reported. A guilty plea Thursday by co-defendant financier Andrew Badolato in the case during the same remotely conducted electronic hearing before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan meant that only one of the four defendants originally charged might go to trial in mid-May. Plea agreements between the government and Kolfage and Badolato specified the defendants will not challenge sentences within an agreed-to guidelines range. For Kolfage, that range was four to five years. For Badolato, it was roughly 3 1/2 years to four years. Sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 6. Kolfage, of Miramar Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and tax charges brought originally in Florida. Badolato, of Sarasota, Florida, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Without the plea deal, Kolfage could have faced up to 46 years in prison while Badolato faced a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. The organizers of the We Build The Wall group raised more than $25 million from thousands of donors as they repeatedly pledged that every dollar would be used for the project. Asked to describe his crimes by the judge, Kolfage said the group had originally intended for all the raised money to be used to build a wall, but it soon became apparent that the plan to donate the money to the U.S. government for the walls construction was not possible. At that point, he said, they induced donors to opt in to the new project to build a border wall on private land by falsely representing that none of the donations would be spent on salaries or compensation to the fundraisers. I knew what I was doing was wrong and a crime, he said. After he spoke, Torres asked questions, including whether he had promised the public that 100 percent of the money would go toward building the wall. That is correct, he answered. Despite your promise, you made an agreement with others to keep a large sum of money for yourself, the judge said. That is correct, Kolfage answered. Badolato said he engaged in the conspiracy from 2018 to 2020, agreeing to assure donors that all the money would go toward building the wall when he knew the statements were false. I knew this was wrong and Im terribly, terribly sorry for what I did and I humbly beg the court for mercy, he said. When the judge asked Badolato if he was aware that Kolfage was going to get money from donations, he said: Yes I did and I helped facilitate it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said evidence against the men at trial would have included testimony from donors, along with transaction records following donations into the defendants bank accounts, emails and text records, along with public statements made by the coconspirators that were false. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Two people have been injured, and multiple homes and vehicles are destroyed after a fire broke out in Bisbee on Friday. The Saginaw Fire has destroyed three vehicles and burned down two houses, a spokeswoman with the Cochise County Fire Department said. Crews are working on a third house fire and managing a fire in the grass lands around a fourth house. The cause of the fire in unknown at this time. A homeowner in her 80s and a sheriffs office employee sustained non-life-threatening injuries due to the fire, the spokeswoman said. Residents on C Street and D Street have also been evacuated, the sheriffs office said in a Facebook post. Highway 80 is closed from Traffic Circle to Arizona Street. According to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, there was no structure fire spread into the wildland and an aircraft was ordered to assist, but is grounded due to the winds. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Ukraine: Russians shift elite units to the new battleground KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian authorities say Russia has shifted a dozen crack units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and is pounding away at cities across the region. The two sides are hurtling toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Russian state TV showed the flag of Moscow-based Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was Mariupols highest point, the citys TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at the citys besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. Russia reported one serviceman was killed and 27 were missing after last week's fire on the warship Moskva that sank. McCarthy, Trump have 'positive' call despite Jan. 6 audio WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had a positive call with Donald Trump, despite the release of an audio recording critical of the former president shortly after the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. That's according to two people familiar with the call and granted anonymity to discuss it. McCarthy is shoring up support from Republicans after The New York Times posted audio of a Jan. 10, 2021, conversation in which McCarthy told GOP leaders he'd urge Trump to resign. Trump says he has had "a very good relationship" with McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker if Republicans win control in the falls election. Climate progress remains elusive for Biden on Earth Day SEATTLE (AP) President Joe Biden spent Earth Day in Seattle, where he signed an executive order intended to help restore national forests that have been devastated by wildfires, drought and blight. The visit was intended to reassert his environmental credentials when he's been more focused on lowering gas prices that have risen during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, Biden's more ambitious climate change proposals remain stalled in Congress, casting doubt on the country's ability to hit his targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He expressed frustration with Republicans and some Democrats for preventing progress and challenged them to get legislation to his desk. Disney government dissolution bill signed by DeSantis TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill dissolving Walt Disney Worlds private government, after the entertainment giant criticized a measure that critics have dubbed the Dont Say Gay law. DeSantis signed the bill on Friday. It would eliminate the 55-year-old Reedy Creek Improvement District and a handful of other similar districts by June of next year. The measure does allow for the districts to be reestablished, leaving an avenue to renegotiate its future. The move could have huge tax implications for Disney, whose series of theme parks have transformed Orlando into one of the worlds most popular tourist destinations. Sharpton demands name of officer who killed Patrick Lyoya GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton is demanding that authorities release the name of the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle. Sharpton spoke Friday at Lyoya's funeral and renewed the call for transparency made by Lyoya's family. He said, We want his name! and said authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people unless the officer is charged. The Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids was filled to its capacity of 1,000 for the funeral. Looking to deepen pain for Putin, West studying oil and gas WASHINGTON (AP) The United States unleashed some of its toughest actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin right after he rolled his troops into Ukraine. Polls in the U.S. find support for doing more. So what options are left to step up the pressure? Many experts say the mightiest trigger the West can pull on Russia is the one on a gas pump nozzle. Oil and gas account for 40% of the Russian government's revenue and are financing the war in Ukraine. Current and former U.S. officials say cutting the flow of oil and gas revenue to Russia is a prime topic now. But that would mean even more pain at the pump for consumers. Voting groups sue over Florida congressional map TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Voting rights groups have sued Florida over a congressional map drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature. The opponents say the map will diminish the states Black representation and benefit Republicans. Several groups filed the suit in a state court in the capital of Tallahassee on Friday, including The League of Women Voters of Florida and the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. The suit alleges the new map violates provisions of the Florida Constitution that prohibit districts from diluting the electoral power of minorities and from being drawn to benefit one political party over another. Florida lawmakers approved the map Thursday. Marjorie Taylor Greene hostile in testimony over eligibility ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year. She also on Friday accused an opposing lawyer of speculating and twisting her words. Voters in Greene's district have said the Republican helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, making her ineligible for reelection under a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment. Greene has denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her is itself unconstitutional. The Edsel, Quibi and CNN+? New addition to business failures NEW YORK (AP) Epic business failures the Edsel, Quibi, New Coke have some new company. CNN's parent company ordered the CNN+ streaming service shut down before it had even completed a month of operation. It's a spectacular failure, with the idea of a paid streaming service for news questionable and unproven to begin with, and it was also a victim of a corporate leadership change. The service started last month only weeks before a new leadership team at Warner Bros. Discovery took over, one that had nothing to do with the idea's development and quickly made clear they thought it was wrong-headed. Heat-Hawks delayed by suspicious package outside arena ATLANTA (AP) The NBA playoff game between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks was delayed Friday night after a suspicious package was found outside State Farm Arena. The tipoff was pushed back nearly an hour while police investigated the package. Three gates were closed while security personnel made sure there was no danger. The package was found near the stairwell that provides access to a MARTA subway station at the arena. The game finally began shortly before 8 p.m. EDT, but many fans in the sellout crowd were still in long lines outside the arena, plodding through security checkpoints that are in place for all games. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Satellite photos show possible mass graves near Mariupol KYIV, Ukraine (AP) New satellite images show what appear to be mass graves near Mariupol. Local officials are accusing Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there in an effort to conceal the slaughter taking place in the siege of the port city. The images emerged hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday claimed victory in the battle for the Mariupol, despite the presence of an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters who were still holed up at a giant steel mill. Putin ordered his troops not to storm the stronghold but to seal it off so that "not even a fly comes through. EXPLAINER: Why Washington is boosting heavy arms for Ukraine WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administrations decision to dramatically ramp up delivery of artillery guns to Ukraine eight weeks into the war signals a deepening American military commitment at a pivotal stage of fighting for the countrys industrial heartland. Were in a critical window now, President Joe Biden said Thursday in announcing he had approved sending Ukraine a new $800 million package of military aid that includes 72 of the U.S. militarys 155mm howitzers, along with 144,000 artillery rounds. Artillery is expected to play a critical role in the unfolding battle for control of the eastern region known as the Donbas. Audio: McCarthy said he would urge Trump to resign WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told other GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-President Donald Trump to resign. That's according to an audio recording posted Thursday night by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddows MSNBC show. The Times reports that the audio is a recording of a Jan. 10 conversation among House GOP leaders in which they discussed the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office. McCarthy is heard telling the other lawmakers that he would tell Trump, I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign. Earlier Thursday, after the Times published its initial story describing the conversation, McCarthy released a statement calling it totally false and wrong. Philadelphia to end mask mandate, days after reinstating it Philadelphia health officials say they're ending the city's indoor mask mandate, abruptly reversing course just days after people in the city had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate. That's according to the Philadelphia health department, which released a statement that cited decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts. The health department did not release data to back up its reversal on masking, saying more information would be provided Friday. Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate, but faced fierce blowback as well as a legal effort to get the mandate thrown out. War in Ukraine spurs bid to take a closer look at UN vetoes UNITED NATIONS (AP) After decades of complaints about vetoes in the U.N. Security Council, some momentum is building behind a proposal to subject any vetoed matter to scrutiny by the world body's full membership in the General Assembly. That's what Liechtenstein is proposing, and an assembly vote could come as soon as next week. The effort has gained momentum since a Security Council measure demanding that Russia withdraw Ukraine was vetoed by Russia itself. Liechtenstein says more than 55 other countries have signed on to its proposal. Among them is the United States, one of the five countries with veto power on the 15-member council. Leaders of 2 Koreas exchange letters of hope amid tensions SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The leaders of the rival Koreas have exchanged letters expressing hope for improved bilateral relations, which have plummeted amid a freeze in nuclear negotiations and North Koreas accelerating weapons development. North Koreas state media said Friday that leader Kim Jong Un received a personal letter from outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in and replied with his own letter appreciating Moons peace efforts during his term. Moons office also confirmed letters were exchanged but didnt immediately say what was said. Moon's term ends in May and his successor could take a harder line toward Pyongyang. President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol has rejected pursuing talks for talks sake and vowed to bolster Seouls alliance with Washington. UK patient had COVID-19 for 505 days straight, study shows Scientists say a U.K. patient with a severely weakened immune system had COVID-19 for almost a year and a half. The case underscores the importance of protecting vulnerable people from the coronavirus. Theres no way to know for sure whether it was the longest-lasting COVID-19 infection because not everyone gets tested, but at 505 days, it seems to be a record. Researchers plan to present several persistent COVID-19 cases this weekend at an infectious diseases meeting in Portugal. Their study investigated which mutations arise and whether variants evolve in people with super long infections. These cases are different from long COVID. LGBTQ leader is key in blocking Kansas ban on trans athletes TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas appears unlikely to join the growing number of states banning transgender athletes female sports in schools and colleges. A key reason is LGBTQ-rights lobbyist Tom Witt. He is the longtime executive director of Equality Kansas, and he's worked for 18 years to use uncomfortable publicity to kill conservative proposals, to persuade enough lawmakers to vote no on others when it counts and to head off debates and votes. He plans to retire from lobbying and political consulting by year's end but will first work to prevent an override of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of a bill on transgender athletes. So far, supporters don't appear to have the votes. Mourners to gather at funeral after Patrick Lyoya shooting GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) Mourners will gather at the funeral for Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a traffic stop and struggle with a white police officer in Michigan. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy Friday. A family lawyer also will speak at a Grand Rapids church. An unarmed Lyoya, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was face down on the ground when he was shot. The officer was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officers Taser. Oldest Texas death row inmate executed for officers death HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) Texas oldest death row inmate has been executed for killing a Houston police officer during a traffic stop nearly 32 years ago. Carl Wayne Buntion was given a lethal injection Thursday at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was sentenced to death for the June 1990 fatal shooting of Houston police officer James Irby. Buntions attorneys had claimed his execution would be unconstitutional, in part because so much time had passed following his conviction. But the U.S. Supreme Court declined to delay the execution. At 78, Buntion was the oldest person Texas has put to death in modern times. He was also the first inmate executed in Texas in 2022. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law new guidelines Friday involving race-based discussions in businesses and schools as part of his campaign against critical race theory, which he called pernicious" ideology. Passed by lawmakers earlier this year, the legislation bars instruction that says members of one race are inherently racist, and that they should feel guilt for past actions committed by others of the same race or that a persons status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race. It also bars the notion that meritocracy is racist, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity. We believe in education, not indoctrination, DeSantis said during Friday's bill signing in South Florida. DeSantis said Florida students will not have oppressive ideologies imposed on them, as the bill provides substantive protections for students in grades K to 12. He said pernicious ideologies will not be allowed. We will not use your tax dollars to teach our kids to hate this country or hate each other, DeSantis said. Opponents say DeSantis doesnt have an accurate idea of what critical race theory is, and argue that his motives are to suppress an accurate account of Black history. Its just illustrating Gov. DeSantis pattern of Black attack policies led by Republican legislators. He is taken a culture war to a classic Republican battleground, which is the public schools. Its going to hurt our childrens futures,' said Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon, who is Black. CRT is not taught in K-12 education here in our public schools.." DeSantis focus on culture war issues involving race, gender and the coronavirus have made him one of the most popular Republican politicians in the country and a likely 2024 presidential candidate. Critical race theory centers on the idea that racism is systemic in U.S. institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society. There is little evidence that critical race theory itself is being taught to K-12 public school students, though some ideas central to it have been incorporated into teaching materials. Black lawmakers in Florida have said they believe the legislation will have a chilling effect on how African American history is taught because teachers will fear lawsuits if students parents object to how they present subjects like slavery, segregation, lynchings and the continued presence of racism in the U.S. The governor is on his bogeyman tour of issues that are not issues, Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones, who is Black, said in an interview. The Republicans continuously cloak themselves in freedom, but clearly pick and choose which freedoms and for whom they support said freedoms .. They sure dont support the freedoms of Black people. The new law does expand language in state law requiring classroom instruction on the ramifications of prejudice, racism and stereotyping on individual freedoms, as well as study of the history of slavery, segregation and racial oppression, and of contributions by Blacks in U.S. history. But such material cannot seek to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the law. What are we supposed to do, just let these ideologies overtake our entire education system? DeSantis said at a campaign-style event Friday to sign the bill in the South Florida city of Hialeah. The gathered crowd responded, Noooo.' This is an ideology that was taking hold in a lot of elite institutions, the media, corporate America, the bureaucracy, the education establishment. Most Americans dont want anything to do with this stuff, DeSantis said. Associated Press writer David Fischer contributed to this report from Miami. 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. Michael Politte walked out of prison Friday, paroled after nearly two decades behind bars for a crime he says he didn't commit the killing of his mother. Politte, now 38, was released from the Jefferson City Correctional Center, two months after he was granted parole. He was greeted by hugs from relatives and friends. I never thought this day would come, Politte said. I don't see any barbed wire or any wire. It's all open. It smells different, looks different. It's amazing." Rita Politte died in a fire at the family home in the eastern Missouri town of Hopewell in 1998. Michael, 14 at the time, and a friend were also in the home but managed to escape the blaze. Politte's lawyers said the boys were awakened by smoke and scrambled to escape, before Politte found the burning body of his mother. Investigators said the fire was started with gasoline and determined that Rita Politte had also suffered blunt force head trauma. The investigation focused on her teenage son as the main suspect and four years later, he was convicted as an adult of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Midwest Innocence Project and the MacArthur Justice Center, which both work to overturn wrongful convictions, have sought to exonerate Politte, saying he was convicted based on debunked science and a biased investigation. A petition by Polittes attorneys last year faulted investigators who determined that the teen had gasoline on his shoes, which was the only physical evidence they said linked him to the crime. The findings were based on now-discredited fire investigation techniques, and the state has conceded that Politte did not have gas on his shoes, the attorneys said. The petition said investigators ignored other potential suspects, including Polittes father, who was going through a difficult divorce with Rita Politte at the time of her killing. Politte said his goals now that he's out are simple. I just want to live," he said. I want to get a job. I want to work. He also wants justice for his mother, whom he said is always in my thoughts, always in my mind. A friend, Mike Glore, was among those greeting Politte. He brought along two small bikes, similar to those they used to ride together before Politte was sent away. The men hopped on the bikes and rode off the prison parking lot together. 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. ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year and accusing an opposing lawyer of using chopped videos and twisting her words. But Greene who, the day before the Capitol riot, proclaimed on TV that this is "our 1776 moment testified that she's never endorsed violence. Greene is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgias May 24 primary and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The administrative law judge who oversaw the hearing must present his findings to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then make the ultimate determination over whether Greene is qualified. Greene has repeatedly denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is itself unconstitutional. But Ron Fein, a lawyer for the voters who filed the challenge, said Greene took an oath and then broke it by engaging in an insurrection. While Greene wasnt on the steps of the Capitol, she nevertheless played an important role in stoking Republican fury ahead of the attack, Fein said. Unlike the Civil War and other insurrections that involved military uniforms and tactics, he said, The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. Andrew Celli, a lawyer for the voters, questioned Greene about posts on her social media accounts. She repeatedly responded, I don't recall," or I don't remember. When asked about the fact that her Facebook account had, in 2019, liked a post calling for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be shot in the head, Greene said she had no memory of that and said someone else could have been responsible. Whenever Celli suggested that she'd endorsed the use of violence to interrupt the certification of the electoral votes, Greene asserted she doesn't support violence and was encouraging peaceful protest. Celli played a clip of an interview Greene did Jan. 5, 2021, in which she said this is our 1776 moment. When Celli asked if she was aware some Trump supporters used that reference as a call to violence, Greene said that wasn't her intention and that she was talking about her plans to object to the certification of electoral votes. I was talking about the courage to object, she said. Celli appeared to grow frustrated at times when she didnt directly answer his questions and accused him of was speculating. Ms. Greene, Im just asking questions, he said. Im just answering, she responded. Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot sometimes seemed exasperated by repeated rephrasing of questions and at times told Celli to move on. He also repeatedly admonished Greene supporters for clapping or cheering during the proceedings. James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, said his client did not engage in the attack on the Capitol, and the challengers are making a very serious charge with significant ramifications. They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th District of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot, he said. At the time of the riot, Greene was in a dark hallway at the Capitol urging people via social media to be safe and remain calm, he said. Rep. Greene was a victim of this attack, Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger. Bopp said that Greene was engaging in protected political speech. He also argued that the administrative hearing process is meant to address basic qualification questions, not to evaluate major constitutional and federal claims. Dozens of Greene supporters attended the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and staunch Greene ally. The challenge to Greene's eligibility to run for reelection was filed by five voters who live in her district, and the procedure for such a challenge is outlined in Georgia law. The law says any voter who's eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge that candidate's qualifications by filing a written complaint. The secretary of state then has to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Beaudrot asked both sides to submit briefs by midnight Thursday, and said he would try to make a decision within a week after that. Once he submits findings, Raffensperger will be tasked with deciding the eligibility of Greene, a Trump loyalist, as he faces a tough primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed candidate. Raffensperger attracted Trumps wrath shortly after the 2020 election when he refused to take steps to overturn Trumps narrow loss in the state. The 14th Amendment says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it aimed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta on Monday declined a request from Greene to halt the challenge process. Greene is appealing that ruling. The Georgia complaint was filed on the voters' behalf by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group. The group filed similar challenges on behalf of voters in Arizona, where a judge on Friday ruled to keep three Republicans on the ballot, and in North Carolina against Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally that preceded the riot. A federal judge last month blocked the challenge against Cawthorn, writing that laws approved by Congress in 1872 and 1898 mean the 14th Amendment section cant apply to current House members. Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed reporting. 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. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Lee Circle a round patch of New Orleans green space where a larger-than-life statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee once loomed over St. Charles Avenue was officially been renamed Harmony Circle on Thursday as the City Council continued to eliminate memorials honoring Confederate leaders. The small urban park, originally Tivoli Circle, had been called Lee Circle since the 16-foot (5 meter) bronze likeness of Lee was erected atop a 60-foot (18 meter) pedestal in 1884. Unanimous approval to change the name of the New Orleans park came a day after officials in southwest Louisiana's St. Landry Parish voted to to remove a 102-year-old Confederate monument from the parish courthouse grounds in the city of Opelousas. Acadiana region news outlets report that the 10-3 vote followed sometimes emotional debate. In New Orleans, the statue of Lee was removed in 2017 the last of four Jim Crow-era monuments taken down in New Orleans under then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu following two years of political and legal battles. Opponents of removal have defended the icons as historic memorials to Southern heritage. But moves to eliminate Confederate memorials in Southern cities had gained impetus after nine black parishioners were fatally shot in 2015 by an avowed racist at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The renaming of the circle comes as part of a continuing New Orleans city government project to rename streets bearing the names of Confederate leaders. Last year, for instance, Jefferson Davis Parkway, named for the president of the Confederacy, was renamed to honor Norman C. Francis, the long-time former president of Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically Black institution. While the circular park, covering an area about the size of a small city block, will be called Harmony Circle, the street encircling the park where it separates sections of St. Charles Avenue, will remain Tivoli Circle. Researchers determined the streets name was never changed from Tivoli, although street signs that are still in place identify the street as Lee Circle. Although the once-heated issue has cooled in New Orleans, the fate of the memorial in Opelousas may not be settled. News outlets said there may be legal action to halt monument removal. The Advocate reported that the monument's supporters said its purpose was nothing other than honoring named and unnamed veterans of the Confederate Army who fought in the Civil War. St. Landry Parish resident George Gremillion said the monument provides a place to honor war dead who wound up in mass graves. To the wives, the daughters and the sisters, they put together their efforts and constructed this monument downtown here to honor, to have a place for them to say thanks to their loved ones," Gremillion said. When all you guys go out there and see your parents and grandparents headstones there, you can go honor them. A lot of families cant say that. The St. Landry monument was erected in February 1920 by the United Daughters of the Confederacys Louisiana division and Gordon chapter, nearly 55 years after the Civil War ended. 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. FAIRFIELD, Calif. (AP) A man allegedly bit and stabbed a police dog in Northern California as officers tried to take him into custody Wednesday, authorities said. The man appeared to be under the influence of drugs, according to Fairfield police. The dog, named Cort, was taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment and recovering at home with its handler. Officers were initially called to an elderly victim's home Wednesday afternoon on a report of a burglary, the police department said in a Facebook post. The department then received a report from an Amazon employee, who said the man had threatened to kill him and steal his delivery truck. Officers found the man, 44, running around inside the first victim's home. They tried and failed to get him to come outside. When police and the K9 dog went inside the house, the dog contacted the man; authorities did not provide further information about what occurred during the contact. The man then allegedly bit the dog in the face and stabbed the animal on its left side with a knife, police said. The man was treated at the hospital for unspecified injuries. It was not clear if the injuries were related to the dog or the alleged drug use. He was booked into the Solano County Jail on suspicion of carjacking, burglary, harming a police dog and obstructing or resisting a public officer. He also faces a parole violation, online jail records show. The city of Fairfield is nearly 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. 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. Attorney General Mark Brnovich is launching a new legal fight with Secretary of State Katie Hobbs as they spar over what should or shouldnt be in a new Election Procedures Manual. But this time he is partnering with the Yavapai County Republican Committee, a move that allows the case to be filed in Yavapai County. And that is resulting in claims by an aide to Hobbs, a Democrat, that the Republican attorney general is not just colluding with the party but is also forum shopping, hoping to get a better result than he might in Maricopa County. Brnovich press aide Katie Conner said the move is justified, however. Our interests are aligned with the co-plaintiffs in this case, she said. Conner said Brnovich and the Yavapai Republicans have the same goal: having what they consider to be a lawful Election Procedures Manual. The lawsuit claims Hobbs has not fulfilled her duty to prepare a new manual for the 2022 election. It asks a judge to order her to write a new one by May 4. It also demands that Hobbs provide a manual that complies with what Brnovich says it can and cannot contain. Hobbs, however, points out she did submit a revised manual to Brnovich. The problem, she said, is that he just doesnt like what she includes and wants her to remove certain provisions. She suggested that his proposals and now, the lawsuit are little more than political posturing by Brnovich, who is in a tight race to become the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate. Hobbs pointed out that much of what he now says is unacceptable was in the version of the manual approved in 2019 by Brnovich and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. Most of the provisions have been there for much longer than that, she said. There is no legal basis for these wholesale deletions, Hobbs, a Democratic candidate for governor, wrote to Brnovich in December. They contravene the purpose of the manual itself, leaving large gaps in election procedures, introducing inconsistency to longstanding processes, and creating unnecessary uncertainty and risk for election officials on the cusp of an election year that will already be challenging due to redistricting. Hobbs also chided Brnovich for saying that she has no right to include guidance on voter registration in the manual. Voter registration has long been a significant part of the Election Procedures Manual, at least as far back as 2006 when your chief deputy, Joe Kanefield, was the state elections director under then-Secretary of State Jan Brewer, she wrote to him. Brnovichs lawsuit also contends the manual illegally says counties can have drop boxes for ballots that are not attended and monitored at all times by election officials. By filing suit in Yavapai County, Brnovich increased his chances of getting a Republican judge. Of the seven sitting judges, four have run as Republicans and the other three are more recent appointments by Ducey. And Brnovich got one of those three with the case assigned to John Napper. The decision to file against Hobbs not in the states largest county and not where both she and Brnovich have offices did not go unnoticed by an aide to the secretary of state. This is another blatantly political move by the attorney general, said aide Murphy Hebert. Its unbelievable that hes venue shopping and colluding with a political party to sue a state official, Hebert continued. And it is most definitely the opposite of what needs to happen to ensure free and fair elections this year. Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com . Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. A freight train heading for the Laotian capital Vientiane departs from the Xi'an international port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, April 22, 2022. Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Friday launched its first freight train to Vientiane, traveling via the China-Laos Railway. The train mainly loaded with textile products will exit China via the Mohan Port in the country's southwest Yunnan Province and arrive in the Laotian capital in about five days. (Photo by Liu Xiang/Xinhua) Aerial photo taken on April 22, 2022 shows a freight train heading for the Laotian capital Vientiane is about to depart from the Xi'an international port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Friday launched its first freight train to Vientiane, traveling via the China-Laos Railway. The train mainly loaded with textile products will exit China via the Mohan Port in the country's southwest Yunnan Province and arrive in the Laotian capital in about five days. (Photo by Liu Xiang/Xinhua) Aerial photo taken on April 22, 2022 shows a freight train heading for the Laotian capital Vientiane departs from the Xi'an international port in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Friday launched its first freight train to Vientiane, traveling via the China-Laos Railway. The train mainly loaded with textile products will exit China via the Mohan Port in the country's southwest Yunnan Province and arrive in the Laotian capital in about five days. (Photo by Liu Xiang/Xinhua) PHOENIX A judge will not bar three Arizona officials who allegedly were involved in some way in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot from running again for office. In a 19-page ruling released Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury said private individuals have no legal right to enforce a provision of the U.S. Constitution that bars those who have engaged in insurrection from holding public office. He said only Congress can create such a law. Coury also rejected a claim by Free Speech for People, which brought the lawsuits, that state election laws give them the right to challenge whether Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, is qualified to run for secretary of state and whether Congressmen Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs are legally entitled to seek another term in the U.S. House. He said those laws are designed solely to determine if candidates meet what is required under state law. Finally, the judge said that the challengers waited too long to bring their claims. He pointed out that all three have been elected officials now for years. Coury said challengers cannot come in now, shortly before the election, and seek to start presenting factual evidence of what was the role of all three in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Coury was careful to say that he is not reaching any legal conclusions about the legality of what any of the candidates did either leading up to or on Jan. 6. Nor is he saying that they cannot be brought to justice. Indeed, there may be a different time and type of case in which the candidates involvement in the events of that day appropriately can and will be adjudicated in court, the judge wrote. But he said this lawsuit, using state election laws designed to deal with candidate qualifications, is not that case. And, irrespective of this decision, there ultimately will be a different trial for each candidate: one decided by Arizona voters who will have the final voice about whether each candidate should, or should not, serve in elective office. Courys ruling is not the last word. Jim Barton, who represents Free Speech for People, late Friday asked the state Supreme Court to intercede. But the lawyers for the three said that the ruling is well-grounded in fact and law and will not be overturned. In fact, attorney Kory Langhofer who represents Biggs, said that Coury actually went further than judges in other states where similar challenges have been filed. It will certainly be quoted and cited by other courts around the country that are reviewing the same issue, he said. Jack Wilenchik, who represents Finchem, said Courys decision is well-grounded in over 100 years of law and common sense. And Gosars attorney, Alexander Kolodin, took a swat at Free Speech for People for even trying to knock the candidates off the ballot. If the radical left hopes to use our courts to punish dissenting views they came to the wrong state, he said. Barton brought the case under a provision of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Approved in the wake of the Civil War, it bars states from enacting laws that deprive citizens of equal protection under the law. But Congress also included a provision which says individuals cannot serve in public office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. Barton said that the activities of all three in planning the Jan. 6 rally that led to the riot and the fact that Finchem himself went to the Capitol shows they are guilty of insurrection and therefore cannot have their names on the 2020 ballot. Coury however, said those arguments, even if true, have multiple flaws. And one of the biggest, he said, is that Congress has never enacted any law to actually enforce the provision. The judge noted that Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., has introduced a measure this session to fill that gap, complete with language saying it would apply to both members of Congress as well as holders of state office. But even if that were to become law, Coury said, it doesnt help Bartons case. The proposed legislation does not create a private right of action, the judge noted. Instead it would allow the federal attorney general to file suit in federal court and have the case heard before a panel of three judges. And theres something else. The judge noted there is, in fact, a federal law prohibiting rebellion or insurrection. But he said none of the candidates have been charged with that crime, much less convicted. Coury acknowledged that state election laws do empower judges to determine if candidates meet the qualifications for the office sought as prescribed by law. So, for example, he said that could keep Finchem off the ballot if he did not meet the requirement of being at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizens for at least 10 years and a state resident for the prior five years. But Coury said Barton was asking him to bar the trio from running for engaging in conduct that is proscribed by law, meaning conduct that is prohibited. And even if there were a finding that they had engaged in insurrection, that is not something that can be addressed through state election law challenges. Coury also pointed out that Biggs and Gosar have an additional protection: Each chamber of Congress has the exclusive right to judge whether its members are qualified for office. It would contradict the plain language of the United States Constitution for this court to conduct any trial over the qualifications of a member of Congress, he wrote. The judge also rejected a request by Barton to have an actual trial where he could present evidence to back his claim that each of the defendants engaged in insurrection. He noted that the language in the 14th Amendment about disqualifying people from holding office applies not just to candidates but also public officials. Coury said pretty much everything claimed about what happened on Jan. 6 has been known for months meaning that a challenge could have been filed long ago, when there would have been the time to examine the allegations of what role each had, if any, in the riot. Instead, the judge said, the lawsuit filed earlier this month put him against a deadline of determining whether their names can go on ballots which start going out in July. The importance of the events of Jan. 6, 2020, and the legal and constitutional issues associated with a judicial inquiry of these events, compels a deliberate and reasoned judicial inquiry, he wrote. Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com . Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Legislation barring the state from issuing new or amended birth certificates listing gender as anything except male or female won final passage from the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Thursday and is headed to Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is expected to sign it. House sponsor Shelia Dills, R-Tulsa, said Senate Bill 1100 assures birth certificates will record the truth based on faith and science. Given the conservative backlash against nontraditional gender identities, the passage of SB 1100 by Oklahomas Republican-dominated Legislature was never in doubt, but House Democrats forced the majority party to spend a half-day on the bill by arguing it serves no useful purpose and is mostly a rebuke to nonconformists. Rep. Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City, and the only nonbinary member of the Legislature, was particularly emotional, saying, I cannot help but feel this bill is a personal attack. SB 1100 essentially codifies a Stitt executive order issued after the discovery last year that the Oklahoma Department of Health had quietly issued an amended birth certificate to settle a lawsuit. The lawsuit was brought by an Oregon resident who identifies as nonbinary neither male nor female and wanted his birth certificate to reflect as much. Stitt quickly denounced the new policy and issued an order rescinding it. That order is being challenged in court. In signing the executive order, Stitt declared, People are created by God to be male or female. Period. Republican legislators have followed that lead, although Dills and other supporters of the bill acknowledged Thursday that some people are born with ambiguous genitalia and atypical chromosomal makeup. In such cases, a decision on gender assignment is generally made within a few days of birth. This usually involves surgery and sometimes hormone treatments. Even then, according to reports, some people remain uncertain of their sexual identity. Dills argued that such cases are too rare about .02% of births to justify a policy exception, saying, This is what the vast majority of Oklahomans want. Democrats replied that the very smallness of the minority meant it needed to be protected, and that, in these cases at least, biological truth called for a male-female alternative. If were willing to cut them out, what lengths are we willing to go to legislate from our own bigotry, said Turner. Legislation like this becomes a path to discriminate. Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Oklahoma City, argued that gender identification ought to be removed from birth certificates altogether. Republicans said it is necessary for identification, law enforcement, medical and even insurance purposes. Ultimately, though, arguments circled around to definitions of truth. Democrats said it is not always a matter of black and white or he and she. Dills, in closing debate, said anything other than male or female, at least on a birth certificate, would be a lie. Featured video: Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Collinsville man has been convicted of manslaughter in the November 2020 slaying of another man, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced. A Tulsa County jury recommended a 28-year sentence for Levi Cobbler, 22, after finding him guilty of manslaughter in the death of Robert Dale Henderson III, 26. Early morning on Nov. 26, Collinsville police officers responded to a call for assistance at 302 N. 12th St. in Collinsville, where they found Henderson bloodied on his back in his room. Emergency medical personnel pronounced the victim deceased, and about 11:15 a.m. investigators were notified that Cobbler had confessed to family members that he killed the man, according to an arrest and booking report filed in 2020. Cobblers sentencing is set for June 15. Both sides rested Thursday in the trial of a man accused of shooting two Tulsa police officers after testimony from the surviving officer and the defendant. The courtroom gallery has had seats to spare throughout the trial of David Ware save for opening statements but on Thursday, spectators and officers of all ranks filled the wooden benches. Now 28, Officer Aurash Zarkeshan survived critical wounds from the shooting during a traffic stop in east Tulsa; his supervisor and backing officer, Sgt. Craig Johnson, was fatally injured in the same shooting. Among other charges, Ware faces one count of first-degree murder in Johnsons death. If convicted, a jury could sentence him to death. Jurors had already watched the body and dashcam footage of the shooting in its entirety and heard from various witnesses when Zarkeshan testified that he has no independent memory of the traffic stop. Nor does he remember the squad meeting at the beginning of his shift, he said. He does, however, remember having a conversation with Johnson at some point that night, in which he said Johnson, his supervisor of about a month, said hed act as his backup in case Zarkeshan wanted to get into proactive policing while other officers were otherwise unavailable. Beyond that, Zarkeshan said he remembers nothing until waking up in the back of an ambulance that was driving to the airport. After a few weeks in a Tulsa hospital, he spent about four months in a rehabilitation center in Colorado recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Assistant District Attorney Kevin Gray had Zarkeshan stand and indicate to the jury on his body where he had been struck with gunfire: just above his right eye, his left hip and his right thigh. Upon Grays direction, he traced with his fingers the scar that ran up and over his head from his eyebrow to his ear. Where Zareskhans memory was blank, as he described to defense attorney Kevin Adams, prosecutors attempted to fill the gap with the testimony of officers who well remembered arriving on scene to find their comrades down. Officer Michelle Sanchez, who shared her memories of Johnson at his funeral, testified that she followed her training and made sure the vehicle subject to the traffic stop was empty before coming to Johnsons side, accepting Officer Rage Staggs rifle while he ran for his medical kit and standing guard against an unknown suspect. Staggs, a certified emergency medical technician, testified he tried to address Johnsons wounds before hoisting him in his arms and heading for any patrol vehicle that could get Johnson to a hospital faster than an ambulance could arrive. Both officers said Johnson was moaning at the time and trying to pull away from them. Officer Kurth Sires, who attended to Zarkeshan, testified that he and other officers also had to hold down Zarkeshan. The jury watched Sires body camera footage after he was excused and saw Zarkeshan lying on the ground and speaking in a sometimes distorted voice while answering the officers questions hit-or-miss: No, he didnt get shot; yes, the suspect had a gun and started shooting at Sires. But he correctly rattled off the PIN code to his in-car computer and identified the shooter. David Anthony Ware, Zarkeshan could be heard saying clearly. Full panic Jurors also heard from Ware for the first time Thursday. The 34-year-old took the stand at the call of defense attorney Kevin Adams and testified that he shot Johnson and Zarkeshan because he feared for his life and didnt believe they had a right to use force against him, order him out of his vehicle or tow it. He later broke down in tears, saying he felt terrible about Johnsons death and that he never wanted to kill anybody. Ware testified that he intended to shoot the officers in their body armor to incapacitate them just enough to give him time to get away from them, an idea he said he mightve picked up from TV or movies but now seems stupid. He testified that he couldnt see due to the pepper spray, and disputed earlier testimony given about him he said he didnt know he had shot either Johnson or Zarkeshan in the head until much later. He said he fired the final shot at Johnson because he thought he saw Johnson reaching for his gun, and he described his legs as Jell-O when he ran and fell, and ran and fell, trying to get to the vehicle of his now-convicted co-defendant Matthew Hall. Im sorry, Ware said. Im really sorry. Ware took a different tone during cross-examination when assistant DA Gray wanted to discuss his choices, detailing almost every one Ware had made between heading to the casino that night and pulling the trigger of his gun. Buttoning and unbuttoning his suit jacket and crossing his arms at times, Ware said he maybe had the power to stop the conflict with the officers at any time by following their orders, but he asserted he was in full panic and didnt want to be cuffed and crushed and suffocated on the ground. During cross, jurors learned of Wares previous arrests and convictions, including one case from 2006 in which he threatened to kill Johnson, his then-arresting officer. Ware, who said he didnt fully recognize Johnson during the traffic stop two years ago, disputed that he made the threat. Prosecutors said they intend to call a rebuttal witness Friday morning. Ware did affirm, however, that he knew as a felon he wasnt supposed to have a gun. In addition to first-degree murder, he faces charges of shooting with intent to kill, obstructing an officer, unlawful possession of a controlled drug with the intent to distribute and possession of a firearm after former conviction of a felony. Being led by deputies out of the courtroom, Ware responded to love-you's from his family, telling them, Everything will be all right. The jury will return Friday to receive their instructions and hear closing arguments. 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. After deliberating for just under three hours, jurors delivered guilty verdicts on all counts Friday night against David Ware in the shooting of two Tulsa police officers. Ware was found guilty in the capital case of first-degree murder and shooting with intent to kill in the 2020 traffic-stop shooting of Tulsa Police Sgt. Craig Johnson and Officer Aurash Zarkeshan. Johnson, a 45-year-old supervisor, died the day after the shooting. Zarkeshan, a rookie police officer then 26, survived critical injuries and testified for the first time Thursday. Ware was also found guilty of obstructing an officer, possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm after former conviction of a felony. Jurors had earlier heard persuasive closing arguments in which attorneys for the defense and prosecution tried to convince them of the reason Ware refused to get out of the car. Zarkeshan stopped Ware about 3 a.m. June 29, 2020, near 21st Street and Memorial Drive for a traffic infraction and expired paper tag. Ware couldn't produce a driver's license or current insurance at the time, and when Zarkeshan and Johnson said they were going to tow his vehicle, he refused to get out. After several rounds of verbal orders and explanations, Johnson shocked Ware with a Taser and later sprayed him with pepper spray. The officers were physically attempting to wrench Ware from his vehicle when he pulled a firearm from under his drivers seat, shooting each multiple times at close range. Neither officer drew their gun. Defense attorney Kevin Adams argued Ware was in fear for his life and standing his ground against what he believed was unlawful and unfair treatment. Assistant District Attorney Kevin Gray said Ware more likely feared the search that would accompany the tow, because he knew as a convicted felon that a gun and drugs in his car could mean prison. District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler reminded the jury of a lie Ware told Zarkeshan about a minute into the stop. Zarkeshan, who had been policing solo for about a month, can be heard asking whether Ware is "good"; noting he looks "awful shaky" as he searches for his license and insurance. "You have anything in the car I need to know about? Zarkeshan asks. "Drugs, guns; no heroin, meth or anything like that?" Ware answered no, saying he was nervous because he was pulled over and couldn't find his ID. Gray reminded jurors that, on what might have been a perceptive guess, Zarkeshan rattled off exactly what Ware was later found to have in his car. Ware testified that he thought he had a right not to incriminate himself Oklahoma law requires motorists to disclose their possession of a firearm to officers but he also said that he knew he wasn't allowed to have a gun as a felon. After hearing arguments that morning, District Judge Bill LaFortune ruled on a pending motion that the jury would not hear instructions on self-defense because Oklahomans have no legal right to resist a traffic stop or use deadly force to resist an arrest. He also ruled he didn't find sufficient evidence to support Adam's request to instruct the jury on heat of passion manslaughter, which requires a homicide be perpetrated without the design to effect death. Under Oklahoma law, a person commits murder in the first degree when that person unlawfully and with malice aforethought causes the death of another human being. "These are adult choices that were made, and they come with adult consequences," Gray told reporters after the verdict. "Today the jury was able to go ahead and, for the first time, tell Mr. Ware that there are consequences when you make bad choices." The sentencing options a jury can consider for a first-degree murder conviction are life with the possibility of parole, life without the possibility of parole and death. With a guilty verdict of first-degree murder, the state will next week attempt to prove several aggravating circumstances they say support the latter while defense provides mitigating evidence to try to dissuade the jury from choosing execution. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Tulsa police officer who was arrested on Monday for a tribal child abuse charge allegedly abused an infant in Jenks while off-duty, according to a Muscogee Nation news release. Michael Donovan Bell, an officer of three years with the Tulsa Police Department, was placed on administrative leave and relieved of his duties pending the investigation after the department learned of the charge filed in Muscogee Nation District Court. Both Bell and the infant victim are tribal citizens, according to the Muscogee Nation. Bell was booked into Tulsa County jail Monday, and his bail was set at $10,000 with an order to not have contact with the victim. We are grateful to the multiple law-enforcement and child-protection agencies who provided our Lighthorse Police investigators and arresting officers with important collaboration and cooperation in this case, said Lighthorse Chief Richard Phillips. Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police was assisted in the investigation by the Jenks Police Department, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Indian Child Welfare and the Tulsa Police Department. Muscogee Nation Attorney General Geri Wisner said the victim and the victims caregiver will be offered victim services. Bell is scheduled for arraignment in Muscogee (Creek) Nation District Court on July 11. The United States, which has concurrent jurisdiction in the Bell case, provided notice Thursday that the U.S. Attorneys Office does not intend to file charges in the matter, according to the Muscogee Nation. He established the locally based heating and cooling equipment manufacturing company in 1988. He will continue to assist in a consulting/advisory role until May 2024. JERUSALEM, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between Israeli police forces and Palestinians erupted Friday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem after Ramadan prayers concluded. According to a statement released by the Israeli police, the Palestinians hurled rocks and threw fireworks at security forces. Israeli police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. "We will not allow extremists to hijack Jerusalem's holy places," the Israeli Foreign Ministry tweeted after the prayers ended. There were no reports of injuries from the latest scuffles. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been high in recent weeks as a new wave of violence has erupted. Last year, clashes at the holy site led to an 11-day war between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. A new nationwide maternity program that Tulsas Saint Francis Health System helped nurse through its infancy is continuing to expand. The TeamBirth program, first introduced at Saint Francis main Tulsa hospital, is now available at Saint Francis South and Saint Francis Muskogee, officials said. The hospital system held special launch events for the program at both new sites Thursday. Saint Francis was one of four hospitals in the country selected in 2018 to pilot the program, which aims to provide new approaches to perinatal care and reduce the number of medically unnecessary C-sections. The program has also been implemented recently at other Tulsa-area hospitals, with Saint Francis providing the training. The further we got into the pilot project, the clearer it became that TeamBirth was more than improving our primary C-section rate, but truly empowering mothers and ensuring they know their voice matters, said Kristy Tudor, Saint Francis perinatal safety nurse. We soon knew we were on the right path from the feedback we began receiving. Developed by Boston-based Ariadne Labs, a joint health system innovation center of Brigham and Womens Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a key program goal is to ensure that women and their health care team share input and understanding on decisions during labor and delivery and postpartum care. At every stage of the process, the entire team huddles, officials said, turning what can be a complicated process into an inclusive experience for the mother, improving communication and medical outcomes. Amber Weiseth, Ariadne Labs representative, said Saint Francis expansion is a huge commitment. You are prioritizing every patient having the role that they want in the birth, having a voice, being part of the care team. And its just really exciting for us to celebrate that. Weiseth added that the program will continue to expand across the state of Oklahoma and the nation. We are working to enroll the second cohort of hospitals in Oklahoma that will launch later in the fall, she said. By the end of 2022, there will be 50 more hospitals nationally that will launch TeamBirth, including in New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, Oregon and California, she said. Barbara Bryan, director of the Oklahoma Perinatal Quality Collaborative, said when she first heard about TeamBirth two years ago, she didnt understand what it meant by the need to elevate the patients voice and practice patient-centered care. I thought, Well, we do that. So, what do we need to do differently? The big difference, she said, is how TeamBirth brings the patient into all of our decision-making, all of our conversations so that theyre part of the plan. Their preferences are included in the plan, and everybody on the whole care team knows what the plan is. Bryan added: Weve known for 20 years that one of the main factors in errors in health care are communication errors. With TeamBirth, its a communication model that includes the patient. Kristi Baker, vice president of womens and childrens services at Saint Francis and The Childrens Hospital at Saint Francis, said, We know moms are already having good experiences with Saint Francis maternity care teams. Now, were making that experience even more empowering and safer. For more information, go to saintfrancis.com/about-us/news/teambirth. Featured video: 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. Jim Hartz, an Emmy Award-winning television journalist from Tulsa who as an NBC correspondent and later Today show co-anchor with Barbara Walters reported on some of the biggest news stories of his era, died April 17 in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 82. Hartz, a graduate of Tulsa Central High School and the University of Tulsa, was a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. He co-anchored the NBCs Today morning show from 1974 to 1977. He returned for a special appearance in 2014 to help celebrate its 60th anniversary. Hartz, who between NBC and PBS spent nearly 30 years in television, won several Emmy awards over his career, including for his coverage of the Apollo moon missions and the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Hartz, who lived in Alexandria, maintained close ties to Oklahoma throughout his life. He was a longtime member and chairman of the Will Rogers Memorial Commission. Born in Tulsa, James LeRoy Hartz graduated from Central in 1958. He started out at TU as a pre-med student before switching to journalism three years later. I was under a lot of pressure from one of my brothers to become a doctor. It took me awhile to realize thats probably not what I wanted to do, Hartz later told the Tulsa World. Hartz worked in radio for Tulsas KOME and KRMG stations before making the jump to television with KOTV. He started as a morning reporter, and at age 23, he became KOTVs news director. Recruited by an NBC scout who came through Tulsa, Hartz soon moved on to the bright lights of New York City, where he joined NBCs flagship station WNBC-TV as the evening news anchor. An eventful few years there paved the way for his move to the Today show. In 1974, following the death of his fellow former Oklahoman Frank McGee, Hartz was named to succeed him as co-host of the long-running morning news series. His three years at the Today show coincided with many big news events. When President Richard Nixon resigned during the Watergate scandal, Hartz reported on it to the nation along with Walters and White House correspondent Tom Brokaw. One of Hartzs favorite Today show experiences, he said, was covering the nations bicentennial, for which he traveled to all 50 states in the span of a year. Hartz moved to WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., in 1977, to anchor the evening newscasts. After leaving NBC, he hosted several shows for PBS, including Over Easy with Mary Martin and Innovations. Among his personal career highlights, Hartz said the Apollo missions were at the top of the list. He covered every manned flight from 1966 to 1976. He also flew aboard the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. I traveled across the world, he said of his career. Its just one of those things where youre on the go almost 24/7. Hartz had a long relationship with the Will Rogers Memorial Commission. He served on the commission from 1987 to 2014, spending much of that time as chairman. Former Oklahoma Gov. David Walters, who appointed Hartz as commission chairman, said Hartz never forgot where he came from. This remarkable man from Tulsa, who co-hosted the Today show, among many other broadcast news achievements, came home to help with the Will Rogers Commission and on many other endeavors for his home state, Walters said. He carried with him the Oklahoma Standard. God speed, Jim Hartz. Jim used to say there was no greater place to grow up than Tulsa, said Hartzs wife, Alex. His work for the Will Rogers Memorial Commission was dear to his heart, and he believed deeply in the mission of the museum. Among other state honors, Hartz was named an official Tulsa Press Club Media Icon and a member of the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Hartz was preceded in death by his son, John Hartz. Besides his wife, survivors include daughters Jana Maher and Nancy Cole; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Memorial donations may be sent to the COPD Foundation, Christ Church Foundation (Christ Episcopal Church, Alexandria, Virginia) or the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. Obituaries Newsletter Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries 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. Prices of rice exported from India and Vietnam dipped this week as supplies increased, although the Vietnamese market was expected to see fresh orders from China, Bangladesh, Iran and Sri Lanka in coming months. Rates for top exporter India's 5% broken parboiled variety were quoted at $361 to $365 per tonne, down from last week's $364-$368, also weighed down by a weaker rupee , which generally increases traders' margin from overseas sales. "Demand is good, but prices are coming down because of rupee. Supplies have also improved in the last few weeks," said an exporter based at Kakinada in southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Vietnam's 5% broken rice was offered at $415 per tonne on Thursday, down from $420-$425 last week, amid ample domestic supplies with farmers in the Mekong Delta having harvested about 90% of their winter-spring crop. State media reports cited the Vietnam Food Association as saying exports are expected to pick up in the coming months, with stronger demand from such markets as China, Bangladesh, Iran and Sri Lanka. Preliminary shipping data showed 291,690 tonnes of rice is to be loaded at Ho Chi Minh City port in April, with most of it heading to the Philippines and Cuba. Thailand's 5% broken rice prices rose slightly to $410-$414 per tonne from $408-$412 two weeks ago, with traders saying that while the market saw small purchases, activity was muted overall. The country exported 1.1 million tonnes of rice between January and February this year, up 29% from the same period last year, according to data from the commerce ministry released earlier this month. In Bangladesh, domestic rice prices stayed elevated despite good reserves on the back of good crops and hefty imports, while the government offers subsidised grain to poor people. A vice-principal of a high school in Ca Mau Province, located in southern Vietnam, has been found forcing students to eat food having been discarded in a garbage can. When Le Trung Dam, vice-principal of Phan Ngoc Hien High School for the Gifted, and some members of the schools Youth Union and proctors were checking up on the students on the morning of April 18, he saw six 12th graders bringing food into their classroom, which is against the schools regulations, according to a report by the provincial Department of Education and Training. Dam asked the students to take the food out to a stone bench in the schoolyard and finish it there. Two of the students then threw their food into a trash can on their way to the bench. As Dam later saw the two students having no food in their hands, he asked them to take the food back and eat. One of the two was absent from school the next day. The students parents then condemned Dams behavior. Nguyen Minh Luan, deputy chairman of Ca Mau Province, sent a dispatch on Thursday to the Department of Education and Training to order clarification of the case. The department is required to report the results to the provincial Peoples Committee before April 28. Meanwhile, Le Chi Nguyen, principal of Phan Ngoc Hien High School, explained that Dam requested the students to take the food back and eat it because he did not know the boys had discarded the food, but thought that they had hidden it somewhere. The management board of the school already convened a meeting and demanded that Dam apologize to the students and their parents after the incident. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen and Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha (the lower house) Om Birla have shared their visions for economic recovery and development after the COVID-19 pandemic in their recent meeting. At the reception hosted on Thursday for Birla, who led an Indian parliament delegation on a three-day visit to Vietnam starting Tuesday, Nen highly appreciated and called for further boosting the comprehensive strategic cooperation ties between the two countries. The visit was made at the invitation of Vietnams National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, in the context that Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in particular have been organizing diverse activities marking the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Vietnam and India. Briefing the guest on COVID-19 prevention and control in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam in general, Nen thanked India for its assistance to the city in the fight against the pandemic. The support, including medical masks, drugs and medical equipment, and technology transfer, has helped the city keep the pandemic at bay and spur economic restoration, he said. Ho Chi Minh City, which is in the process of recovery in various fields including trade, investment, tourism, technology, and education and training, has still a lot of room to receive investment from Indian investors, Nen said. India and Vietnam have the same vision of sustainable and inclusive development, Speaker Birla said, adding that he hoped bilateral ties would continue to expand, especially in technology. The two countries should also promote cooperation in tourism development, as both India and Vietnam have great potential in this field with many attractive destinations in each country, the guest suggested. He expressed his belief that the Indian community in Ho Chi Minh City will contribute to act as a bridge for cooperation and development between the two nations. Before visiting the city, Birla engaged in talks with National Assembly Chairman Hue, met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and paid courtesy visits to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi. During the high-level meetings, both the hosts and guest pledged to step up cooperation in all fields, including trade and investment, technology transfer, energy, vaccine production, education and training, and security and defense. Hue and Birla witnessed the announcement of Vietnamese carrier Vietjets new direct flight routes to India, and the signing of an agreement to build a joint venture between Vietnams Galaxy Digital Holdings and Indias Tech Mahindra Limited. While in Hanoi, Birla and other Indian parliamentarians visited and laid a wreath at the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and also called on Tran Quoc Pagoda. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! What you need to know in Vietnam today: Politics -- Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha (lower house) Om Birla and his entourage left Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday evening, concluding his three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, according to the Vietnam News Agency. COVID-19 Updates -- About four million Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shots for children donated by the Netherlands and France will arrive in Vietnam this month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursdsay. Society -- Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested on Thursday a Vietnamese suspect who had robbed Alexey Pronichkin, a Russian, of his smartphone four days earlier. -- Air tickets are selling like hot cakes in Vietnam as domestic travel demand is rising ahead of the four-day holiday that starts on April 30. -- Authorities in Can Tho City, located in the Mekong Delta, said on Thursday that a 700-meter pedestrian street will be opened on April 30. It will operate from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm every Saturday. -- A vice-principal of a high school in Ca Mau Province, located in southern Vietnam, has been found forcing students to eat food having been discarded in a garbage can. Business -- About US$30 billion is being 'buried' in condotels, shophouses, and vacation villas in Vietnam because of the absence of a legal framework for such property, Dr. Can Van Luc, chief economist state-owned lender BIDV, said at a conference on Thursday. -- "Police in Vietnam arrested the chief executive officer of Tri Viet Securities on suspicion of market manipulation on Wednesday," Reuters quoted the Ministry of Public Security as saying. -- "Prices of rice exported from India and Vietnam dipped this week as supplies increased, although the Vietnamese market was expected to see fresh orders from China, Bangladesh, Iran and Sri Lanka in coming months," Reuters reported on Thursday. Sports -- Vietnamese fighter Dinh Hong Quan will battle with Filipino boxer Delmar Pellio for the IBF Asia Lightweight title at The Grand Ho Tram in Vietnam on Saturday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The family of Ngu Thi Phuong Dung in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City found their 13-year-old son on Thursday after three weeks of losing contact with him. A local resident of Vung Tau City in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, some 100 kilometers away from Ho Chi Minh City, told Dung about the appearance of her son, D., in their area earlier the same day after the 36-year-olds family resorted to the media to search for him. After police in Binh Tan District and Vung Tau City verified the report, Dung and her husband went to Vung Tau to pick D. up. At the local polices headquarters, D. bursted into tears upon his reunion with his family after more than 20 days. D. left his house on his bicycle on March 28 after Dung scolded him for scratches on his hands after school. The boy pedaled to Vung Tau while his family looked for him at places he had frequented before seeking help from police. In Vung Tau, he begged for food and drink, as well as collected and sold scrap for a living, while a local resident gave him a shelter, according to his account. Both of D.s physical and mental conditions are currently stable. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Ho Chi Minh City have detained a local man after he was found stealing a smartphone from a Russian traveler. Ngo Phuong Tam, 36, residing in District 4, was arrested at his home on Thursday as the suspected culprit of a phone theft that happened four days earlier, police officers said. The victim was Alexey Pronichkin, a 32-year-old man of Russian nationality and a visitor to the southern metropolis. On the evening of April 17, Pronichkin was standing on Pham Ngu Lao Street in downtown District 1 to catch an app-based motorbike taxi to his residence in Binh Thanh District. At that time, Tam, in tech-based motorbike taxi driver uniform, rode his bike up to Pronichkin and suggested driving him home. The foreigner agreed to Tams suggestion, got on the bike and handed his handbag to Tam, who then hung it on the front of the bike. When they reached an apartment building in District 4, Pronichkin found Tam was driving him on the wrong route, so he opened his cellphone to find the right way home. Tam asked the Russian man to hand the phone to him for directions and at that time, the foreigners handbag fell off the bike to the ground. The driver halted the bike and asked Pronichkin to get off to pick up the bag, but when the passenger was picking up his bag, Tam sped up and drove away. Pronichkin reported the case to police who launched an investigation to hunt for the driver. Through different information sources, a police task force team identified Tam as the suspect and arrested him at his home on Thursday afternoon. Tam pleaded guilty and confessed he had sold the smartphone, an iPhone 11 Pro Max, to a shop for VND7.5 million (US$327.3). The man has two previous convictions for robbery and another for appropriation of property. Police officers got back the phone from the shop and returned it to the Russian traveler afterward. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Vietnam arrested the chief executive officer of Tri Viet Securities on suspicion of market manipulation on Wednesday, the Ministry of Public Security said, as the country intensifies its long-running crackdown on graft. Do Duc Nam was accused of colluding with executives of two local companies, Louis Capital and Louis Land, to manipulate the companies share prices by conducting illegal transactions, the ministry said in a statement. The Southeast Asian country last month called for the crackdown to be stepped up, with a new target of cleansing the financial markets. Tri Viet Securities said in a statement late on Wednesday that the arrest will not alter the companys future business direction, adding that it is cooperating with the investigators. The police on Wednesday also arrested three other people for their involvement in the case, including executives of Louis Capital and Louis Land, the ministry said. Late last month, Vietnam arrested the chairman of property and leisure company FLC Group and its Bamboo Airways subsidiary, on accusation of market manipulation. A week later, police arrested Do Anh Dung, chairman of Tan Hoang Minh Group, another major property firm in Vietnam, on accusation of corporate bond frauds. Other major arrests this month include that of a former commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard and a deputy foreign minister, on accusation of embezzlement and bribery. KUNMING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- An image of a rare bird was captured by a photographer recently in Napahai Lake Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province, southwest China. The bird has been identified as a yellow-breasted bunting, which is under first-class national protection, according to the reserve's management and protection bureau. After referring to the archives and speaking with Liu Qiang, an associate professor at the national plateau wetland research center of Southwest Forestry University, the bureau confirmed that this was the first sighting of the bird in the Napahai Lake area. The bird's most distinctive feature is a plume of bright yellow feathers on its chest. Native to northeast China and Siberia, Russia, its population was not under threat in 2000, but numbers have decreased sharply in recent years. The yellow-breasted bunting was rated "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2017 and listed as a national top-level protected wildlife in China in 2021. Napahai Lake Nature Reserve is in the resort city of Shangri-La and is an important ecological barrier of the Yangtze River basin. It is also one of the world's most important wetlands. Here are the ANZAC Day programming highlights for Monday. Please check local guides, especially for live morning services. ABC ABC will cover Anzac Day services in all states and territories on Monday 25 April as marches return to towns and cities across the country. Live coverage of state and territory dawn services as well as the National Dawn Service and Ceremony from Canberra will be carried across all ABC platforms. The National Ceremony will incorporate a minutes silence and an acknowledgement of Light up the Dawn when Australians will mark a minutes silence wherever they are from their driveways, balconies, front gates or farm gates. With the return of overseas ceremonies, the ABC will also be broadcasting the Gallipoli Dawn Service and Villers-Bretonneux Dawn Service The Director of ABC Regional & Local, Judith Whelan, said Anzac Day still carries deep meaning for Australians. Anzac Day continues to be one of the largest and most important events the ABC covers. As we see a return to commemorations and dawn services, we will have ABC crews in all our major cities and in towns covering these events and broadcasting them to Australians wherever they may be. The ABC will also mark the day with special programming on ABC Television and ABC iview including the documentary The Many Days of Anzac at 5:30pm on Sunday 24 April and 2:30pm Monday 25 April. This documentary tells the story of how Australians created the Anzac traditions and rituals by which we remember those who fought. On Monday 25 April The Art of Remembrance, presented by Nate Byrne, looks at Australias involvement in conflict through the lens of visual art at 3:30pm; Air Force 100 a highlights package from the 2021 live event commemorating 100 years of the Royal Australian Air Force at 4:00pm; and the Governor Generals Anzac Day Message at 6:55pm. The Sydney Dawn Service will be broadcast live on ABC TV, ABC NEWS channel, ABC iview and on the ABC listen app from 4.30am (AEST), followed by the Canberra Dawn Service on ABC TV, ABC NEWS channel, ABC iview, Radio National, ABC Local Radio and on the ABC listen app from 5.30am (AEST). The National Ceremony will incorporate an acknowledgement of Light Up the Dawn and a minutes silence. ABC TV and ABC News channel will broadcast the Gallipoli Dawn Service live from 12.30pm (AEST) and the Villers-Bretonneux Dawn Service from 1.30pm (AEST). Every capital city will have live coverage of a local march, however coverage of capital city dawn services will vary in each state. State TV broadcasts of capital city marches and dawn services will also be streamed live on and ABC iview and ABC capital city Facebook accounts. Broadcasts times can be found on the ABC Anzac Day website. Seven The Seven Network will bring Australians comprehensive coverage of Anzac Day services and events across the day on Monday 25 April, beginning from 4.50am with the live and commercial free broadcast of the Currumbin Dawn Service on the Gold Coast. In a special extended edition of Sunrise live from Currumbin, Nat, Kochie and the team will cross throughout the morning to local commemorative services happening around Australia to honour our fallen Diggers and give thanks to servicemen and women who have served, and continue to serve, this nation. From 2.00pm AEST on Channel 7 and 7mate, AFL powerhouses Collingwood and Essendon run out onto the hallowed MCG for the annual Anzac Day clash following the pre-game observance ceremony and traditional moment of silence. From 3.30pm, Channel 7 in Sydney and 7plus will broadcast live and commercial free a special tribute concert from Sydney Town Hall, Lest We Forget An Anzac Day Tribute, hosted by the Australian Remembrance Foundation to honour Australias fallen soldiers and to support partner charities RSL Foundation and Legacy. A replay of the concert, featuring more than 150 artists, musicians, veteran and military performers led by Australian music legend and Vietnam veteran Normie Rowe AM, will be broadcast nationally on 7TWO and 7plus at 4.30pm. Then join 7NEWS at 6.00pm for a special Anzac Day commemorative bulletin, live to reporters Nick McCallum from Gallipoli and Tom Hartley at Villers-Bretonneux, as well as the days other headlines from both Australia and around the world. Sunrise Sydney 4.50am Live on Channel 7 and 7plus Melbourne 4.50am Live on Channel 7 and 7plus Brisbane 4.50am Live on Channel 7 and 7plus Adelaide 4.50am on Channel 7 and 7plus Perth 4.50am on Channel 7 and 7plus The Morning Show Sydney 10.00am Live on Channel 7 and 7plus Melbourne 10.00am Live on Channel 7 and 7plus Brisbane 10.00am Live on Channel 7 and 7plus Adelaide 10.00am on Channel 7 and 7plus Perth 10.00am on Channel 7 and 7plus Lest We Forget An Anzac Day Tribute Sydney 3.30pm Live on Channel 7 and 7plus Melbourne 4.30pm on 7TWO and 7plus Brisbane 4.30pm on 7TWO and 7plus Adelaide 4.30pm on 7TWO and 7plus Perth 4.30pm on 7TWO and 7plus Nine 4:30am ANZAC Day Dawn Service 10 8am Studio 10 Its a very special ANZAC Day. With special guests Ding Dong and Normie Rowe, join us live around Australia and the world as we commemorate our ANZACs. NITV 9pm The Skin Of Others The Skin of Others is a story of modern Australia, told through the extraordinary life of Aboriginal WWI soldier Douglas Grant (c.1885-1951). Featuring acclaimed actor and Murrungun man Balang Tom E Lewis in his final performance, as Douglas Grant, and guest appearances from Max Cullen and Archie Roach, this film movingly interweaves the lives of Grant and Lewis two truly remarkable men. Compellingly, this is also the story of Australia, its violent past and its future potential. It recounts a tragic national history of Australian colonial relations with First Nations people, explores the ways we tell the story of our nation, and ultimately dreams of a more reconciled and inclusive Australian future. The Skin Of Others marks Lewis final on-screen appearance before his sudden death in 2018, while the film was still being made, turning the film partly into a tribute about the great actors life. 10:40pm Paradise Soldiers rpt As far back as WWI, through Vietnam and up to present day, young Cook Islanders have served and sacrificed alongside New Zealand in military conflicts and combat. But their stories are largely untold. Paradise Soldiers celebrates their contribution, acknowledges their sacrifice, and shares their personal stories. Foxtel: History Channel: ANZAC, military & war docos all day. The South Australian Film Corporation this week marked its 50th anniversary, launching on 20 April 1972. The invention of visionary Premier Don Dunstan, the proclamation of the SAFC Act prompted the Sunday Mail to declare Adelaide a new mini Hollywood, with work officially starting in October 1972 when the agency formally opened under inaugural Director Gil Brealey. Half a century on and the SAFC is still helping to drive South Australias screen industry to new heights of excellence, supporting, positioning and championing SA screen businesses to achieve creative excellence and prosperity, contributing to a robust South Australian economy and creative vibrancy, SAFC said in a statement. To all the directors, producers, writers, actors, crew, PDV workers, game developers, screen service providers and partner organisations who have contributed to the grand legacy of the SAFC and the South Australian screen industry over the last half century, we say thank you. 2022 marks our golden anniversary and a new golden era of South Australian screen production. Recent South Australian productions have included The Tourist, Gold, Firebite, Maverix, Aftertaste, Upright, Wolf Like Me, First Day, The Hunting, Operation Buffalo, Pine Gap, Wolf Creek, Stateless, Wanted. By Carolyn Kroupa 22 University of Dayton English professor Bryan Bardine contributes to the field of metal music studies with the publication of his latest book, Living Metal: Metal Scenes Around the World. Believed to be the first study of its kind, the book examines international metal scenes from smaller communities like Dayton to entire countries, such as Brazil and England. Bardine edited the book with Mount St. Joseph University professor Jerome Stueart. The 13 chapters highlight heavy metal music scenes across six continents. The chapters are deeply embedded in local histories and contexts and provide important analyses of their respective scenes. The goals of the book are to increase the conversations about metal scenes to other metal scholars and to bring this research to fans, Bardine said. The book is written in a way that is accessible to professional metal scholars plus anyone interested in music." Bardine, who received his bachelors and masters degrees from the University, wrote the chapter about the Dayton scene with Jacob Hale. Dayton was ranked No. 14 among the 100 biggest metal scenes in the U.S., according to a 2016 Vice.com analysis. After conducting more than 30 interviews, Bardine found common themes related to family, comradery and support. For example, when a Dayton-area couple lost their baby, members of the local scene came together to pay for the funeral. The Dayton scene also has united to raise money and donate clothes and food to the homeless. Metal scenes vary across the world because bands incorporate sentiments into their lyrics that represent the local scene. Music is often used as an outlet to let out aggression and express how people feel about themselves, government, religion and other topics. Music is honest, and lyrics say things people dont want to say in polite society, Bardine said. Bardine explained that metalheads, as fans are commonly called, are ostracized by society at times depending on where they come from. Fans wear black t-shirts and long hair and are made fun of for being different. This is a uniting experience that bonds people. Music is the glue, Bardine said. The books authors explore music scenes in countries such as post-apartheid South Africa, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Australia and New Zealand. The foreword was written by Henkka Seppala, former bassist with the Finnish metal band Children Of Bodom. The idea for this book came to me in 2017, and it took about four years until it was published, Bardine said. Language was a barrier to editing, as some chapters were written by scholars from France and Japan, among other countries. Bardine has worked on several books as a writer, editor and concept originator. He serves as chair of The International Society for Metal Music Studies. The organization hosts global conferences, including several at UD in 2014 and 2016. Bardine teaches a course called Metal as Cultural Experience, which requires students to attend a metal show. Students dont know what to expect, but they get a lot out of it while also having a lot of fun, Bardine said. Students examine the culture, how the band and crowd interact, the fashion and the venue itself, and there is a writing assignment along with it. Andrew Slade, professor and Department of English chair, recognizes the value of Bardines research. It was Bryans experience of being a metal fan and getting to know other fans that are also academics that he became one of the leading organizers of scholarly conversation around metal music, Slade said. An important aspect of his work is that hes always looking to bring new voices in from places around the world. At UD, research is constantly influencing teaching. Having faculty active in research brings things into the classroom that cant otherwise come in, Slade said. The field of metal studies involves historians, economists, English scholars and more. The first significant research was published in 1990, and the field has been rapidly growing since with more books and research published yearly. Anytime I do metal research, my hope is it goes beyond people that are in the know, Bardine said. There are more metal bands today than there ever were because of the internet. Metal music is alive and well. For more information, visit the Department of English website. The French military says it has filmed Russian mercenaries burying bodies near a military base in northern Mali and alleges it is part of a smear campaign to accuse France's departing forces of leaving behind mass graves. The French army says there is a coordinated attempt to discredit the Barkhane force which handed the Gossi base in northern Mali over to Malian forces earlier this week. It comes after a Twitter account, using the name Dia Diarra, posted images of pixelated corpses buried in sand and then accused France of atrocities. "This is what the French left behind them when they left the base in #Gossi... We cannot keep silent!" the account wrote in a tweet published on Thursday. Damning video But a video, filmed by the French army with a drone on Thursday, and seen by RFI, shows what appear to be Caucasian soldiers covering around a dozen bodies with sand around 4 kilometres from the Gossi base. The video shows two men filming the scene and Dongfeng vehicles which Wagner a private Russian mercenary group uses to move around the area. France's general staff called the Twitter video an "information attack" and said the profile was "very probably a fake account created by Wagner". France's army said comparing the photos published on Twitter against images taken by a special sensor allows them to "draw a direct line" between Wagner's activities and what has been falsely attributed to French soldiers. "This manoeuvre to discredit the Barkhane force seems coordinated. It is representative of multiple information attacks French soldiers have faced for several months," it said. France and the United States have accused Wagner mercenaries of deploying in Mali as Paris winds down its almost decade-long Barkhane military operation in the West African country. Story continues Mali's military-dominated government has denied the accusations and said the Russians in the country are military instructors. France officially handed control of the Gossi base to the Malian army on Tuesday as part of its withdrawal announced in February. The French general staff warned about information warfare following the retrocession of the base, which hosted 300 French soldiers. (with wires) (Bloomberg) -- A Chinese developer has been sued by a Singapore bank over a loan-repayment demand, in the latest sign that creditors to the nations distressed property firms are growing increasingly impatient. Most Read from Bloomberg Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. filed a claim against Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. and a unit regarding a revolving credit facility agreed to in October, according to a Hong Kong court filing last week by OCBC. Elsewhere, China Evergrande Groups onshore unit will next week meet with holders of a yuan bond to vote on a proposed interest payment extension. After another rough week for Chinese markets, focus is on what policy makers may do next. Optimism generated by Beijings support pledges last month has continued to falter. A Bloomberg Intelligence index of developer shares looks poised for a second consecutive weekly decline, despite edging higher Friday. Key Developments: China CSRC Vows to Ensure Stable Operation of Capital Market Chinas Plunging Markets Trigger Capital Flight Debt Insurance Costs Jump as Market Gauges Risk of Hard Landing Chinese Developer Shimao Sued by OCBC Over Outstanding Loan China Needs Rapid Policy Steps if Any Market Rebound to Last Times China Says It Has Repaid Dollar Bond Due April 20 Evergrande Unit Plans Creditor Meeting on Payment Extension Zhenro Gets Approval to Extend Repayment for Bulk of a Yuan ABS Times China Arranges Funds to Repay Notes Due April 26 (5:31 p.m. HK) Times China has arranged the remittance for the repayment of all outstanding principal amount and accrued interest of the 5.75% notes due April 26, according to a filing to HKEX. Meanwhile, three holders of a Times China onshore units 467m yuan ABS tranche due Friday told Bloomberg News theyve received principal and interest. A Times Chinas IR representative didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Story continues KWG Group Downgraded to B by Fitch (5:11 p.m. HK) KWG Groups long-term issuer default rating was downgraded by Fitch to B from B+. The senior unsecured debt rating was downgraded to B from B+. Ratings remain on watch negative. Chinese Developer Shimao Sued by OCBC Over Outstanding Loan (1:17 p.m. HK) Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. filed a claim against Shimao and a unit regarding a revolving credit facility agreed to in October, according to a Hong Kong court filing last week by OCBC. After demanding repayment of $100 million plus interest in January from the unit, which borrowed the funds, principal of $49.2 million had yet to be repaid by March 2 and the bank is seeking that amount plus interest, the filing said. Luxury builder Shimao had long been considered one of Chinas healthier property firms, and its mounting debt problems have been seen as a bellwether for financial contagion in the nations embattled property industry. China Needs Rapid Policy Steps if Any Market Rebound to Last (9:48 a.m. HK) The slump in Chinese equities and corporate bonds is paring a rebound which lasted for a couple weeks from mid March and that was sparked by vows for policy action. But patience for more details is wearing thin, intensifying growing capital outflows. Any renewed rally ahead could only be sustained if concrete and significant policy steps were taken rapidly, according to Jean-Louis Nakamura, the chief investment officer for the Asia Pacific region at Lombard Odier. Times China Says It Has Repaid Dollar Bond Due April 20 (8:58 a.m. HK) Times China Holdings Ltd. has repaid a dollar bond which was due Wednesday, the Chinese developer told Bloomberg in a written statement Friday. There was $166.8 million of principal outstanding, according to compiled data. Hengda Real Estate to Hold Creditor Meeting (8:00 a.m. HK) Hengda Real Estate Group Co., Evergrandes onshore unit, will hold a meeting on April 25-26 with holders of its 8.2 billion yuan bond to vote on proposal for repayment extension, Hengda said in a filing. The proposal would extend interest payment for the period between April 27, 2021, and April 26, 2022, by six months until Oct. 27 Zhenro Gets Approval to Extend Repayment of Security (6:00 a.m. HK) The developers onshore unit will delay repaying most of a 627 million yuan asset-backed security tranche by a year, according to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchanges private disclosure system. The proposal was to pay accrued interest and 10% of the principal on Fridays original maturity date, with the balance to be delivered on April 22, 2023, the document said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has rejected a call by the Childrens Commissioner for a smacking ban in England (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire) Parents should be trusted to make their own decisions about whether to smack their children, the Education Secretary has said. Nadhim Zahawi rejected a call from the Childrens Commissioner for England for a ban on smacking children, saying mothers and fathers are entitled to be able to discipline their youngsters. Dame Rachel de Souza had earlier told Times Radio she would be supportive if the Government decided to follow Scotland and Wales in banning physical punishment of children, suggesting it is something that should be considered in England. But Mr Zahawi said he did not believe the state should be nannying parents about the way they bring up their children. Dame Rachel de Souza (in hat) thinks England should consider following Wales and Scotland in banning smacking of children (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive) My very strong view is that actually we have got to trust parents on this, and parents being able to discipline their children is something that they should be entitled to do, the minister told Times Radio. We have got to just make sure we dont end up in a world where the state is nannying people about how they bring up their children. Wales last month made any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking, illegal in the country. Scotland introduced a similar ban in November 2020. Dame Rachel earlier urged ministers to look at how the legislation moved through the Welsh assembly and said she would support a decision to follow suit. Scotland and Wales have done this (banned the physical punishment of children). So weve learnt a lot about what that would mean, as it goes into legislation, she told Times Radio. I think weve got a great opportunity to look, watch it, as its embedded (in Wales), and I would be supportive certainly, from what Ive seen so far I would be supportive if our Government decided to do the same. The Welsh Government outlawed the physical punishment of a child in March (Welsh Government/PA) (PA Media) Although Dame Rachel acknowledged that protections for children are already enshrined in law in England, she expressed admiration for the actions of the Scottish and Welsh governments, adding: Its certainly something that I think we should consider. Story continues The smacking ban, as it is known, was brought in under the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 and marks the end of the common law defence of reasonable punishment. Parents or anyone who is responsible for a child while the parents are absent can now face criminal or civil charges if they are found to have physically disciplined a young person in any way. Critics of the law change have said it will criminalise parents, but the Welsh Government insisted the move was about protecting childrens rights. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer previously said the move should be mirrored in England and Northern Ireland, calling it the right thing to do. A survey commissioned by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found more than two-thirds of adults in England believe it is wrong for parents or carers to physically punish their child, with 58% thinking it was already illegal. More than 60 nations worldwide have legislated against the physical punishment of children. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, on April 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- On the morning of April 21, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered via video link a keynote speech titled "Rising to Challenges and Building a Bright Future Through Cooperation" at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 held in Boao, Hainan Province. The Global Security Initiative, proposed by Xi in his speech, provides important conceptual guidance for boosting reforms of the world's security governance system, resolving human security plights and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, said experts worldwide. In their eyes, Xi's propositions will shore up confidence and facilitate synergy for the international community to jointly open up a better future. Surakiart Sathirathai, former deputy prime minister of Thailand and member of the BFA board of directors, said that the Global Security Initiative put forward by Xi reflects his global view and governance philosophy. By shaping a fair and rational global security governance system, the world will be more stable, which is conducive to greater development and cooperation, he said. Bambang Suryono, chairman of Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center, pointed out that the initiative embodies a vision of common and sustainable security. Unlike some Western countries' unilateral pursuits of their own safety, China's Global Security Initiative seeks common security, which underlines peace and cooperation, said Suryono. That will significantly help to create an international order based on mutual respect, equality and mutual trust, and achieve lasting peace and development of mankind, he noted. Ky Sereyvath, director general of the Institute of China Studies at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, voiced his support for the Global Security Initiative, saying that the initiative highlights the significance of safeguarding regional and global peace and security, which is a prerequisite for global development and prosperity. "The Cold War mentality, hegemonism and power politics, unilateralism, and protectionism would only harm global peace, security and development," he said. "It(the Global Security Initiative) depicts that the Chinese care about the world as much as they care about China," Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, chief executive officer of the Islamabad-based think-tank Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development, told Xinhua. The expert believed that a new security framework should concentrate on cooperation and how to make better life for all. "If we want to move for a sustainable future, if we want to move for a prosperous future, if we want to move to achieve the goal of a community with a shared future, we need a new security apparatus that has been exactly proposed by President Xi Jinping," said Ramay. For Alexey Mukhin, director general of the Center for Political Information in Russia, global security is shared and inseparable, with all countries' legitimate security concerns taken into consideration. It cannot hinge on confrontations, military blocs, double standards or the Cold War mentality, said Mukhin. Sengthong Phasavath, Chief Editor for the English News Division at Lao News Agency, said that the COVID-19 pandemic and turbulent international situation have profoundly affected economic and social development across the world. Sharing weal and woe, the international community should join hands to deal with the pandemic, promote peaceful cooperation and create a future together, Phasavath added. Alexander Stubb at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought Finland to the cusp of joining NATO. Finland's former PM Alexander Stubb said he long wanted his country to join and was "giving up hope." "Putin has only himself to thank, you know. I should probably be grateful to Putin," Stubb told Insider. Finland's former prime minister said he was giving up on his hope that Finland would join NATO, but Russian President Vladimir Putin achieved it by invading Ukraine. Alexander Stubb, who was prime minister between 2014 and 2015, told Insider in a phone interview on Thursday that he had been an "advocate of Finnish NATO membership for the better part of 30 years." But his views did not get majority support due to reasons like Finland's history with neutrality and the fear of retaliation from Russian. That changed when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. 'Grateful' to Putin Stubb said the idea of joining NATO did not have majority support in Finland before the invasion, but "all of this changed pretty much overnight on the 24th of February when Putin and Russia attacked Ukraine." A child gives an offering of food to his mother's grave in the Ukrainian town of Bucha on April 4, 2022, after Russian troops withdrew. Photo by Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images "Putin has only himself to thank, you know. I should probably be grateful to Putin, as a strong advocate of Finnish NATO membership," he said. "I was giving up hope." "But everything changed on the 24th of February and, and Putin is to be thanked for it." Stubb said that being motivated by the invasion of Ukraine was "brutal a way to join NATO," but that he believes that joining the alliance will increase Finland's security. Putin 'has made Russia weak again' Stubb said that Russia's decision to invade Ukraine was motivated by Putin's trying to restore Soviet glory and weaken Western alliances like NATO and the European Union both of which have stood by Ukraine in the war. Putin has framed the invasion as a response to NATO's possible eastward expansion as well as the false belief that Ukraine is not a real country, but part of Russian history and culture. Story continues Vladimir Putin seen at a pro-war rally in Moscow on Friday, March 18, 2022. Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images "Putin wanted to prevent Finland and Sweden from joining NATO. And now because of his actions, they will," Stubb said. Sweden is also considering joining the military alliance. "So in his sort of quest to unify Russia, and make Russia great again, he has made Russia weak again, and will go down in history as one of the biggest failures of Russian leadership," Stubb added. Finland is close to joining NATO Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Wednesday that Finland would decide whether it will pursue membership "within weeks, not within months." Finish Prime Minister Sanna Mirella Marin arrives for an EU Summit on July 17, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Pool/Getty Images Stubb said the invasion meant Finland had to contemplate its location as Russia's neighbor with a long, 800-mile border between them. Stubb said he thought the ultimate argument in favor of joining NATO was that it would bolster the country's security. He said people also had the sense that "we never want to be left alone again, as we were in World War II." Finland was at the time invaded by the Soviet Union and forced to give up some of its territory. Finnish troops wearing their white tunics over their uniforms as camouflage in the snow go forward to reinforce the army facing the Russian forces, in southern Finland, Dec. 14, 1939. AP Photo Finland has traditionally kept a policy of neutrality and staying out of military alliances, but Stubb said that kind of stance can no longer work as the fight against Russia now involves energy and the economy. "Neutrality, you know, sounds like a nice [idea]. But there are moments in life when idealism meets reality. And this is one of those moments," he said. Stubb said he didn't think Finnish people and politicians were panicking in wanting to join NATO, but that they were motivated by what he called "rational fear." "I think the logical conclusion is that if Putin slaughters his Slavic brothers, sisters, and cousins in Ukraine, then there's nothing stopping him from doing that in Finland as well," he said. Russia has threatened Finland with retaliation if it joins NATO, but Stubb said the country is well prepared for any attack. Read the original article on Business Insider (Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd) Linton Kwesi Johnson is a man with a message. The Jamaica-born dub poet, musician and social activist is preparing to speak at the Albany in Lewisham next month, for a public Q&A about his five-decade-long career. Hes appearing as part of Rebel Music, an upcoming festival linked to the London Borough of Culture 2022, featuring the likes of Black Obsidian Sound System, Charles Hayward and CURL, which will celebrate the story of the areas history of activism through music. Johnsons music and poetry has been at the heart of Black activism in the UK for the last 50 years and hes still fighting now. Racism is still very much at the heart of the DNA of the United Kingdom, he tells me from his home in South London, as he reflects, aged 69, on the work that still needs to be done. Our struggle is an ongoing one because racism permeates every aspect of British society. Johnson arrived in Brixton, aged 11, after travelling from his home in rural Jamaica to be with his mother. She was a part of the Windrush generation and Johnson recalls how colonialism still propagated the idea of Britain as Jamaicas idyllic motherland. I thought England was this splendid place, this wonderful place, the mother country with castles and palaces and all this sort of thing. What did he find when he got here? Disappointment, he says with a sigh. Racial hostility was pervasive everywhere you went. It was in the corner shop, in the chippy, in schools, on the buses. It was everywhere. Johnson would eventually explore the Black British experience via five collections of poetry and multiple studio and live albums. His verses are written phonetically in Jamaican-English, while his performances see him reciting lines in Jamaican patois over dub reggae. He became a powerful voice for Black Britain during the Eighties, his work charting key moments in the struggle for equality against the backdrop of events such as the devastating New Cross massacre the suspected arson attack that killed 13 teenagers at a birthday party as well as the Brixton riots, the rise of the National Front and the institutional racism of the Metropolitan Police, not least via their infamous sus laws. In 2002, he became the second living poet, and the only Black one, to have his work published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. Story continues Now 69, his activism shows no signs of slowing. He says the manner in which those like his mother from the Windrush generation were treated from the description itself (I often avoid the term Windrush generation because theres been a Black presence in this country going back to Roman times, Johnson explains) to the recent scandal that saw many facing wrongful deportations at the hands of the UK government is a continuing source of anger. The governments response was disgraceful he says, adding that the vast majority of those affected by the scandal still havent been compensated. Our struggle is an ongoing one because racism permeates every aspect of British society, says Linton Kwesi Johnson (Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd) The response has also been cynical, he continues. That Windrush Day thing that Theresa May did I mean what the hell was that? he says with contempt, referring to the former prime ministers heavily criticised idea of an annual, national day of celebration for the Windrush generation while her own government was still busy executing policies that discriminated against that very generation daily. Johnson says his mentor, the late social activist John La Rose who founded the influential New Beacon Books the UKs first Black publisher referred to the Windrush arrivals instead as the heroic generation because of what they had to put up with and how successful they were in establishing the basis for the generation that came after to move forward. He says the UKs continuing, controversial immigration policies show how little has changed. This country has always been a bit xenophobic, he says. Both political parties Im not saying this is just a Tory thing because Labour have done it [too] have used anti-immigrant sentiments as a way of winning elections. That is very much a part of our political culture, and I dont see that going away any time soon. As a teenager, Johnson was so disillusioned by the discrimination around him that he joined the Black Panther movement. It was a crucial stage in my development, he says. I was young, I didnt know anything, and I was able to place myself in the world through the activities of the Black Panthers. I got to learn a bit about my history, my culture, my roots and it did wonders for my sense of identity...in the Panthers, I discovered Black literature because, of course, I didnt read any books written by Black authors when I was at school. He says the curriculum was devoid of writers from other cultures. Reggae music provided us with a subculture of resistance to racism Johnsons early formative literary education came largely via his mentors La Rose and Jamaican poet Andrew Salkey who introduced him to a whole world of poetry he didnt know anything about. He discovered W. E. B. Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk, a life-changing book that got him wanting to write verse, talking about my experiences, the experiences of my generation, of Black youth growing up in England. He joined a small literature workshop where members from his Black community would swap texts and read each others work, and he later did a degree in sociology at Goldsmiths College. Away from his studies, he started to listen to reggae music at places including Moonshot Club in Lewisham. Reggae music provided us with a subculture of resistance to racism, Johnson says. A lot of the reggae tunes coming out of Jamaica were very militant and gave us the spiritual nourishment we needed to cope with the situationit was a rude awakening [coming to the UK], but I found that a way of coping was to draw on our cultural roots, our language and especially as a youngster, our music. Our music gave us a sense of an independence of identity, which was also in tune with the fact we were young people who wanted to change things. Friends of Johnson, from long-term collaborator Dennis Bovell and his group Matumbi, to the bands Misty in Roots and Steel Pulse, provided further inspiration, especially via their Rock Against Racism movement. A film about that, White Riot, is being shown at the Rebel Music festival and explores how a group of artists organised concerts at places including The Albany in Lewisham to stand up to racism through music. The venue, which Johnson will be back in next month for the festival, was burned down in 1978 after a suspected racially motivated arson attack. It only strengthened their resolve to fight harder, he says. These events brought reggae music and punk together and it brought white kids into black culture, he says, recalling how he started to perform his poetry to music, often at events where reggae and punk would be on the same bill. It became a way of sharing our common dilemmas at that time because youth unemployment was even more devastating for Black kids than white kids there was huge youth unemployment. Were talking about the Thatcherite years and the cuts and all of that. I think [these gigs] did a lot in making young white people aware of racism and it was important in bringing about working-class solidarity between young Black people and young white people. Johnson had always dreamed of putting [his] poetry to music and soon enough, his music career took off after his literary one: he was signed to Virgin by Richard Branson initially, and then the pioneering reggae label, Island Records. Johnson met the Sex Pistols John Lydon through the latter and the pair ended up working together. I found him to be nothing like his kind of outrageous image, Johnson laughs. That complete hype of who Johnny Rotten was. He was a very cool guy, very smart, very articulate and I could identify with him because we shared quite a few things in common. I think the thing we shared the most was our anti-establishment sentiments and I got along with him great. Johnson fought the establishment through his poetry, music and protests, as well as through daily battles. In 1972, for example, he saw three Black youths being manhandled by police in Brixton Market. He asked what was going on and soon found himself being attacked and arrested. I was brutalised by three police officers from Brixton, he says. I was charged with ABH and assault. Of course, I won my case in the Crown Court, found not guilty, but that was just typical of the experiences of my generation. The sad thing is that the war the Metropolitan Police have declared against the Black youth of my generation has been a protracted war and its still being waged today by [them] and other police forces in this country against young Black people. Johnsons poetry has explored this tension throughout his career, like in the emotive New Craas Massahkah, which recalled the communitys demand for answers in the wake of the New Cross fire. While the community believed it was racially motivated, the police did not, saying instead that a fight broke out at the party, causing the fire. Plenty papers print pure lie, Johnson wrote in the poem, And the police dem plot and scheme. It was movingly read by Johnson in Steve McQueens recent Small Axe series. He thinks little has changed since The Macpherson Report, published in 1999 after the death of Stephen Lawrence six years earlier, the results of which found that the Mets response to the killing was institutionally racist. Theres absolutely no change in terms of policing and relations with the Black communities, Johnson argues. Theres been zero change. We have a few more police officers from ethnic minorities and a few token ones in senior positions but thats about it, really. Its superficial. Johnson played a pivotal role in organising the National Black Peoples Day of Action following the New Cross Massacre. How does he feel about the governments proposed new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which, if passed, would severely limit the right to protest in the UK? What if this had been in place during the 1980s? It wouldnt have stopped us, Johnson says firmly. We just did what we felt we had to do...we had to fight back. It was cultural resistance against oppression. Of the bill, he adds: This government is becoming increasingly authoritarian, and we have to be vigilant in our opposition to the direction in which its moving. This is not really simply a right-wing government [anymore], he says. Its becoming more and more extreme. He says he can see hope in the new wave of Black Lives Matter protestors who came together across the globe in the wake of George Floyds murder. I feel hopeful because a new generation of young people, Black and white, are becoming more aware of the injustices in the world in which they live, particularly this country, and they [feel the need] to do something about it. He draws parallels with his own generation. I call my generation the rebel generation because we werent prepared to tolerate what our parents put up with. We rebelled and I think largely through our rebellion, our insurrections, or building of political organisations, our agitation and so on, we were able to integrate ourselves into British society. We had to resort to all those things to achieve integration, even though we were created by the British and our history is British. Im hopeful for the future...the new generation have decided to take up the mantle and thats encouraging. While Johnson may have stopped touring now after 40 years of it, I think its time to put my feet up I think I deserve a break! hes not stopped writing, and reveals hes recently written some new poems after a long hiatus. It means Ive not dried up completely, he laughs. He also runs his own independent record label, LKJ Records, out of his home, a platform to promote things I feel are important, he says, showcasing other poets and musicians. This government is becoming increasingly authoritarian, says Johnson, and we have to be vigilant in our opposition to the direction in which its moving. (Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd) Hes also still got his eyes firmly on the news and continuing activism. We talk about the recent Royal Tour to Jamaica. Its a moment that caused him to reflect on the countrys anomaly that despite its independent status, it still has Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridges recent visit was marked by protests opposing the monarchys continued role in the country. Its a throwback to the days of colonialism, Johnson says. The Queen is a lovely lady, but I dont see why she should be the head of state for Jamaica. After independence, we were more or less abandoned by the British What are the benefits? Theres nothing. He still cares deeply, he says, about the country of his birth just as much as his home. Ive spent more than 50 years in this country, [but] I always look forward to going back to my roots. I love Jamaica, he says. Jamaica is my roots, Britain is my home. As the conversation draws to a close, Johnson is getting ready to head to The Albany, ahead of his appearance there next month. How does he feel now, as he prepares to reflect on his 50-year career? I feel very lucky, he smiles. I got a chance to put my poetry to music...and equally important, it provided me with a platform to talk about the injustices in society that we had to struggle against. He says he will always continue to draw attention to these injustices. Racism is still a part of British society, he repeats. Our struggle is always ongoing. Linton Kwesi Johnson is in conversation with Robin Denselow at the Albany in Lewisham on May 5. The full Rebel Music programme, which takes place throughout May, can be found at thealbany.org.uk Cameroonian Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo has signed a military cooperation agreement in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Choigou, as Wagner mercenaries are boosting Russia's influence in West Africa. The agreement was signed a week ago, on 12 April, but revealed on Thursday this week. In the text, the two countries agree to exchange opinions and information in the field of international defence and security policy, training troops, military education, medicine, and topography. The terms appear vague and makes no mention of either the separatist Anglophone crisis in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, nor the fight against Boko Haram in the Far North region. Cameroon has held bilateral relations with Russia since 2015. For researcher Thierry Vircoulon, coordinator of the Central and Southern Africa Observatory at the French Institute of International Relations, the agreement marks a continuation of military ties with the West African country. When Cameroon first signed in 2015, it was after the first Ukrainian crisis and at the beginning of the Russian offensive in Africa as well as arms deals with Russia, Vircoulon tells RFI. During the UN General Assembly vote in February calling for the Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, Cameroon was absent, and for the second vote, it abstained. Wagner mercenaries Some see this as a welcome announcement, even though the terms of the deal are unclear. However, it comes at a time when Wagner group, the private Russian militia company, has been accused of atrocities and human rights violations on the African continent, notably the Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan and Mali. Wagner has allegedly been linked to a recent massacre in the Malian village of Moura. Mali has opened its own investigation but denied United Nations investigators access to the site after Russia blocked the request at a UN Security Council meeting. The EU levied sanctions on the Wagner Group last December accusing it of human rights abuses and saying its members, who are mostly ex-service personnel, had carried out clandestine operations on the Kremlin's behalf. Nissan's former executive Carlos Ghosn (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo). French prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for car tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon from Japan in 2019. Nanterre prosecutors' warrant for the former head of Nissan and Renault is based on an investigation into money laundering and abuse of company assets, reportedly over millions in allegedly suspect payments made between the Renault-Nissan alliance and Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA). SBA is a vehicle distributor company in Oman owned by billionaire Suhail Bahwan. The Nanterre prosecutors' office described the move as the next step in a two-year investigation, one of two separate cases involving Ghosn in France focusing on payments made to SBA. The former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance fled to Lebanon in late 2019, while he was on bail as he faced financial misconduct charges in Japan. In an interview last year with The Associated Press, Ghosn was confident and determined to fight to restore his reputation. A statement sent to the Associated Press on Friday from his PR team called the French warrant "surprising". "This is not an arrest warrant issued by France but by the Nanterre prosecutor's office in an investigation still in progress," it said. The statement also suggested that the warrant was ineffective as Ghosn "is subject to a judicial ban on leaving Lebanese territory", where he currently resides. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. Ghosn has citizenship in Lebanon, France and Brazil. A new book sheds further light on Britains child migration scheme, which former prime minister Gordon Brown called government-induced (human) trafficking. The PA news agency examines some key questions around the programme and the notorious Fairbridge Farm Schools in rural Australia. What was child migration? Between 1912 and 1980, the UK sent around 130,000 children from largely impoverished backgrounds to its colonies, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). 10,000 of those children were sent to Australia alone. David Hill, shown next to the burnt-out remains of a cottage at Fairbridge Farm School near Molong, has written extensively on the suffering caused by the child migrant scheme (Alana Calvert/PA) Why did Britain export its children? The idea of the scheme was to solve the problem of the number of children who were born into poverty in the UK while populating the Empire with good, white stock. The belief among Britains ruling classes at the time was that children from poor or broken families needed to be rescued. It was thought taking children away from financially disadvantaged families was the only way to ensure they did not also become destitute themselves. In the 1930s promotional publicity in newspapers declared that children from the lower classes were a burden and a menace to society that could be converted (in)to valuable assets in Australia. What were the Fairbridge Farm Schools? The Fairbridge scheme was the brainchild of Kingsley Fairbridge, a child of Empire and member of the Oxford Colonial Club. As early as the 1900s he was advocating for sending children from Englands orphan and waif class to the colonies to take up land as white settlers. In 1912 the first Fairbridge Farm School open in Australia in Pinjarra, some 50 miles south of Western Australias capital Perth and many more would follow throughout Britains colonies. The plan was to turn boys into farmers and girls into farmers wives. By 1934 the plan had the backing of King Edward VIII (then the Prince of Wales) who donated 1000 to Fairbridge, declaring: This is not charity. It is an imperial investment. Story continues Fairbridge had the backing of King Edward VIII when he was the Prince of Wales (PA) What was the One Parent Scheme? For the first 50 years of operation, the scheme sought to permanently separate children from their parents. This fact was something many did not realise when they signed their children up and had all contact severed with their children, often forever. This changed in 1957 when the One Parent Scheme was introduced, allowing one parent to follow their children to Australia to set up a home and find work, and once the children were legally allowed to leave school, they could go live with their parent. Why was it introduced? By the 1950s the number of children being signed up to the scheme was declining due to opposition from social workers. A number of damaging reports also surfaced. The most scathing of which saw Fairbridges farm schools in both Molong, some 180 miles west of Sydney, and Western Australia backlisted by the Home Office. The report was suppressed by Fairbridge, which was made to reform in order to keep receiving funding from the British Government. How old were the children deported by Britain to its colonies? Children were as young as four but the typical number was eight or nine. What percentage of the children were sexually abused? At Fairbridge Farm School in Molong alone, more than 60% of survivors won compensation in the New South Wales Supreme Court in 2015 against Australias state and federal governments and the Fairbridge Foundation for the sexual abuse they suffered at the institution. SANTIAGO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Chile's ongoing drought has affected mining production in the northern part of the country, causing a drop in output at Antofagasta Minerals, one of the world's largest copper producers, the company said Thursday. Ivan Arriagada, CEO of Antofagasta Minerals, said the decline in production compared with last year is due to the "prolonged drought" in the northern Coquimbo region and a drop in some production in its subsidiary Minera Centinela. At the same time, the region's Minera Los Pelambres, one of the country's primary copper deposits, has completed 73 percent of an infrastructure project that includes a desalination plant slated for operation in the second half of 2022. It will enable the major copper mining company to normalize its production capacity, even if drought conditions persist for the rest of the year. Antofagasta Minerals produced 138,800 tons of fine copper in the first quarter of the year and maintained its production target for the year at 660,000 to 690,000 tons, according to the company. Chile, the world's leading copper producer, has been hit by a 13-year drought with below-average rainfall, with water being a crucial element for the mining industry. The $341 million project to widen and rebuild a 6.7-mile stretch of Interstate 35 through Waco is coming along faster than expected, and the widened highway is on track to be fully open by years end, area transportation officials said Thursday. Texas Department of Transportation officials originally projected a late 2024 finish date for the project, which started in April 2019. But the contractor, Webber LLC, set a goal early on to finish the project in 2023. The company has continued to stay ahead of schedule, said Jeff Jackson, an engineer in TxDOTs Waco area office. Were looking at having everything opened by the end of the year, Jackson told the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board on Thursday. He said the project was 85% complete by the end of March. Webber has finished rebuilding the Brazos River bridge and all the crossings of Interstate 35 except for the Business 77 overpass within the project zone between 12th Street and the north end of Loop 340. Waco City Council Member Jim Holmes, an MPO board member, said the speed of the project has been impressive, and it will benefit economic development in Waco. The timelines compression is just fantastic, Holmes said. He asked TxDOT officials what accounted for the expedited progress. TxDOT Waco District Engineer Stan Swiatek said incentives in the contract will allow Webber to receive up to $15 million if it meets certain milestones on time. The way we incentivized the project, we went fishing, and we knew what we wanted to fish for, and we got the fish we wanted, Swiatek said. We found a contractor that knew how to execute the project. Swiatek said such incentives are becoming common in major road contracts. When you have something of this magnitude, (the incentive structure) puts them on our side of the table to solve problems as we move through projects, he said. Jackson said in the next month or two new crossings are expected to connect to frontage roads and fully open to traffic, including the crossing for 11th and 12th streets, which closed for demolition early in the project. Under the old design, traffic on 11th and 12th streets crossed Interstate 35 on an overpass. Now Interstate 35 crosses over 11th and 12th streets, which are at ground level. Crews are expected in coming weeks to finish paving work on the new at-grade roadway, Jackson said. TxDOT Waco District spokesperson Jake Smith said that while the project is coming quickly, some items such as landscaping may need to be finished in early 2023. 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. OMAHA A nonprofit group has begun planning an estimated $50 million inpatient behavioral health facility for children on the campus of Immanuel Medical Center in north-central Omaha. The center will be operated by CHI Health. Omaha philanthropist Ken Stinson said the facility will have 36 to 40 beds and serve children ages 5 to 18 who are experiencing mental health challenges. Thats double the 18 beds for children and adolescents currently available at Immanuel. Stinson, former Kiewit Corporation chairman and CEO, said he took the lead on the project about nine months ago, based on his interest in mental health care. He has formed a nonprofit group to plan, design and raise money for the facility. The notion of building a new mental health center for adolescents has been in the works for four or five years, he said. But the need recently has become clearer. There is a general consensus that the increase in mental health problems among young people has been going on for a decade or more, Stinson said. Some see social media as a main contributor to the problem, and experts agree the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated it. I think its an important issue, Stinson said, and its become more important with the ramifications of the pandemic. Indeed, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory in December to highlight the urgent need to address the nations mental health crisis among youths. In early 2021, emergency room visits in the U.S. for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same period in 2019, according to research cited in the advisory. From 2009 to 2019, the proportion of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40%, and the share seriously considering attempting suicide increased by 36%. Stinson and Rhonda Hawks, another Omaha philanthropist and mental health advocate, led a previous campaign that in 2008 led to the opening of the 64-bed Lasting Hope Recovery Center, an inpatient adult treatment center near downtown. Lasting Hope Recovery Center also is operated by CHI Health, which is the largest provider of inpatient mental health care in Nebraska. The group is staying on brand with the new facility, which will be called the Lasting Hope Center for Children and Families. Stinson said he put together a team of health care professionals, business leaders and educators to develop the plan for the facility. The group hired HDR Inc. to conduct a study on the demand for beds. It also has completed a study of the mental health care workforce in Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare, which covers Douglas, Sarpy, Cass, Dodge and Washington counties. In addition, the group is working with educators at Metropolitan Community College, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Creighton University, Bellevue University and Iowa Western Community College, who are focusing on ways to expand their output of mental health care workers. Stinson said it is still early, but the collaborators are becoming comfortable that they will be able to staff the new facility when it opens, likely in a couple of years. Meanwhile, the group has hired Kiewit to serve as contractor and HDR to design the facility. A portion of the estimated $50 million cost will be covered by a share of the $40 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds designated for mental health projects in the state. The Legislature last week approved LB1014, which lays out how the states share of those federal dollars are to be spent. Stinson said the group has other preliminary commitments from other potential funders. Fundraising will begin in the next several months. The group also is looking at state-of-the-art facility design and best practices, working with a group from Boston led by Dr. David Rubin, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program. Robin Conyers, CHI Healths vice president of behavioral health services, said the current pediatric psychiatric unit at Immanuel was set up on a medical-surgical floor. It has no access to the outdoors. Children and families currently come through the hospitals emergency room to get to the unit, which isnt necessarily an ideal experience for kids and families in crisis. The new facility will have a pediatric assessment center, where kids can be seen and stabilized and either admitted or referred for other care. The facility also will consolidate all of the campus child services, Conyers said, creating a one-stop shop for families and providing a full continuum of training opportunities for Creighton University child psychiatry residents and fellows. Conyers said the new facility will have all private rooms. The existing unit has semiprivate rooms. That can create capacity challenges, given the need to avoid mixing patients of different genders and ages. We know that weve had these services in our organization for 100 years, Conyers said, but what were currently doing is not enough, and the pandemic has exacerbated that for us. Were honored to have the opportunity to provide this to our community. Residents in Texas captured videos of tornadoes barreling across parts of the state, a paralyzed pup is walking again after undergoing a dange WATERLOO -- The community is invited to celebrate 10 years of partnership between the Waterloo Regional Airport and American Airlines at a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception Wednesday, April 27 from 4:30-6:30pm. The event, hosted by the City of Waterloo and Experience Waterloo, will take place inside the airline passenger terminal located at 2790 Livingston Lane, Waterloo. WAVERLY -- The outdoor warning systems throughout Bremer County will be tested beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 3. In the event of threatening weather, the tests will be delayed to the next day without threatening weather. Tests are performed to assure all outdoor warning systems are functioning properly. When an outdoor warning system siren sounds on a day other than a test, residents are advised to tune to local broadcast media as soon as possible. Media outlets will be forwarding information regarding imminent threats. Typical Bremer County threats include severe weather, but might also include a chemical/hazardous material incident, or possibly a terrorist threat. Outdoor warning systems are intended to warn citizens located outside of their homes. NOAA All-hazard radios are encouraged for warnings and information inside the home. Emergency notifications may also be received through the Alert Iowa notification system. Sign-up for notifications at the Bremer County Emergency Management web page. For additional information, contact the Bremer County Emergency Management Agency at (319) 352-0133. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO A Waterloo man accused of killing his cousin in March may argue he acted in self-defense. Attorneys for 58-year-old Dorray Darnell Cooper filed a notice they intend to offer evidence of self-defense, defense of others or defense of property when the case goes to trial. Dorray Cooper is charged with first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm, and trial has tentatively been scheduled for June in Black Hawk County District Court. Authorities allege Dorray Cooper shot and killed LaVance Lemar Cooper with a handgun at his apartment at 627 W. Second St. in the early morning hours of March 22. The murder charge is punishable by a mandatory life sentence without parole upon conviction. Prosecutors have filed for habitual offender sentencing enhancements, meaning Dorray Cooper could be subject to harsher penalties if he is found guilty of lesser charges because of prior convictions for second-degree robbery in Webster County and homicide by vehicle in Black Hawk County. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WATERLOO The Black Hawk County Attorneys Office has concluded that a Waterloo police officer acted appropriately when he shot a man following a chase in November. Officer Schaafs use of force was both reasonable and consistent with the standards set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court and Iowa Code, County Attorney Brian Williams wrote in a report released Friday. Officer Ken Schaaf shot Brent Lee Boggess, 42, in an alley behind Boggess Madison Street home in the early morning hours of Nov. 16, 2021. Authorities said Boggess, seated in a pickup truck, drove at police during a nine-minute chase and then rammed an occupied squad car. Officer Schaafs actions were necessary to avoid injury or any further risk to both life and safety. Video evidence also confirms that Boggess truck did not relent until after Officer Schaaf used force and effectively neutralized the threat, the report states. The incident was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. According to the report, Boggess was driving a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck when he allegedly tried to hit a Waterloo patrol officer around 3:23 a.m. Boggess then drove off, but the officer found him in the area of Arizona and Madison streets. The officer turned on his lights and approached, but Boggess accelerated toward the officer, squealing the trucks tires. The officer radioed that Boggess was going to hit him, but Boggess braked, turned and drove off across a yard toward an alley, according to the report. The pickup truck returned to the road and sped at the officer, who continued to radio dispatchers saying the truck was coming head on to me. The officer dodged the truck, and Boggess shouted something out his open window. Boggess then stopped and reversed his truck and stopped near the squad car, yelling obscenities and telling the officer to stay the f*** off me. He then sped away. More officers arrived, and a chase ensued through the Highland and Maywood neighborhoods. Occasionally Boggess would stop but then speed off when officers approached on foot and told him to put his hands up. One such incident prompted an officer to radio to other officers that they should proceed with caution and that the subject was dangerous, according to the report. Schaaf, who had been near the George Washington Carver Academy, heard radio traffic about the pursuit and joined the chase as Boggess headed down Rome Avenue and entered a wooded area at the streets dead end. The chase traveled through mobile home yards at Woodland Terrace and across a dike before coming out by Highland Elementary School and heading into the Eastgate Estates mobile home park. The pickup then struck a parked car on Arizona Street and headed down the alley behind Madison Street. Schaaf exited his squad car and warned a neighbor to go back inside because it wasnt safe. He then heard other officers in the alley telling Boggess to stop and Boggess revving his engine. Officers put down Stop Stick devices. An officer then began to position his vehicle and attempt to block Boggess in place. Boggess then rapidly accelerated forward, as before. Boggess spun his tires, kicked up rocks, and fishtailed slightly as he fully accelerated toward law enforcement, Williams report states. Boggess ultimately rammed his truck into the officers patrol vehicle. In response, Officer Schaaf drew his firearm and fired six shots at Boggess through the trucks windshield, the report states. Boggess climbed out of his vehicle and collapsed. He was pronounced dead after arriving at a hospital. In his analysis of the incident, Williams said Boggess repeatedly baited officers into leaving their vehicles and then accelerated, putting police at risk. Boggess repeated attempts to deliberately ram law enforcement with his truck establish that Boggess had a reckless and wanton disregard for the lives and safety of himself and others. The evidence demonstrates that Boggess, quite unfortunately, could not and would not be reasoned with, even while officers attempted diligently to speak with Boggess, in hopes in getting him out of his vehicle and ending the pursuit without any use of force, the report states. The Iowa Attorney Generals Office will do a separate review of the incident, according to Williams. Love 1 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. Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway prepares to depart from Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) SHENYANG, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Northeast China's Liaoning Province launched its first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway on Friday, according to the local railway authorities. At 10:18 a.m. Friday, Liaoning's first China-Laos international freight train departed from Shenyang, the capital city of the province, for Laotian capital Vientiane, loaded with 25 forty-foot containers of cargo including mechanical and electrical products, daily necessities and auto parts. According to Wang Xiaodong with China Railway Shenyang Group Co., Ltd., the operation of the international freight train service marked the beginning of the trade via railway between northeast China and ASEAN countries. The cross-border train was expected to arrive in Laos in 10 days, which is five to 10 days less than the transportation period of sea shipping, said Gao Zengli, chairman of Chengtong Industrial Investment Co., Ltd., one of the organizers of the service. In addition, the new transportation method can effectively prevent the loss of goods during transportation, and reduce the impact of the pandemic and other force majeure factors, Gao said. The China-Laos Railway, which kicked off operation on Dec. 3, 2021, stretches over 1,000 km, linking Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with the Laotian capital Vientiane. Aerial photo taken on April 22, 2022 shows Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway departing from Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Custom officials check a container of Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Aerial photo taken on April 22, 2022 shows Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway departing from Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway prepares to depart from Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway departs from Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) CEDAR FALLS A team of University of Northern Iowa faculty was recently awarded a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The highly competitive Humanities Connection Grant is for a project entitled "Humanities for Civic Education: Preparing Teachers and Students for Engaged Citizenship." Through this national grant, a team of faculty from across three colleges that span the humanities, education and social sciences including the Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy will create coursework and requirements for a 12-hour interdisciplinary certificate. Civic Literacy and Engagement will be part of the new UNI Foundational Inquiry general education program. This certificate will center the humanities in civic education and will encourage students to explore their obligations as citizens, both in the classroom and outside of it. As one of the members of the panel reviewing the proposal noted, due to UNI's role in educating future teachers, the certificate has "the potential to improve civic education in the state as a whole." This grant recognizes the crucial role of the humanities in fostering the development of educated and engaged citizens, which is a fundamental goal of a UNI education, stated Susan Hill, project director. Since many of our graduates stay in Iowa and work in many different fields, including education, health care, and business, we are thrilled to receive national support for a project that will benefit Iowa well into the future. The project team for the grant includes: Thaddeus Atzmon, research coordinator, Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy Benjamin Forsyth, director of educator preparation Susan Hill, department head and professor of philosophy & world religions and project director (PD) Jennifer McNabb, department head and professor of history, co-PD Lori Norton-Meier, director, Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy Jim O'Loughlin, department head and professor of languages & literatures, co-PD Scott Peters, department head and professor of political science, co-PD Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available online at neh.gov. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO If approved, a new contract would make Waterloos Joel Fitzgerald Sr. Iowas second-best paid chief of police. Waterloo is the ninth-largest city in the state. Monday night the City Council voted 5-2 to postpone a vote on the contract until councilors can hear from Mayor Quentin Hart, who was absent. Councilors Ray Feuss and Jerome Amos Jr. cast the dissenting votes. According to Councilor Jonathan Grieder, the item was added to the agenda late Friday and altered on Monday. He said he did not receive the contract until 11:41 a.m. I have the utmost confidence in Dr. Fitzgerald as our police chief, but I want to know where these numbers came from. I would like to know why were moving our police chief as the ninth-largest city to just behind Des Moines, which is the largest city, Grieder said at the meeting. I just want to know through what process ... this is happening. The contract was the last item on the agenda at the meeting, and was met with concern by members of the community in attendance. That included former City Council candidate Dawn Henry, who stated there hadnt sufficient time for residents to discuss the matter. Let the city chew on that a little bit and say: Yea, is that good or bad? Henry said over the phone Thursday. And can we get a hold of our council and let them know? The contract would raise Fitzgeralds base salary by $23,537 from $141,463 to $165,000. Currently, he has the fifth-highest salary of any police chief in Iowa, behind Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Davenport, according to a June report by KWWL. If approved, he would be behind only Chief Dana Wingert of the Des Moines Police Department, who has an annual salary of $183,404. Fitzgerald holds a Ph.D. in business administration from Northcentral University. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, doctoral holders earn a median weekly salary that is 20% higher than someone with a bachelors degree. Fitzgerald also is a long-serving law enforcement veteran, sworn in as Waterloos police chief in June 2020 after previously serving as chief at Fort Worth, Texas, and for six months as chief deputy for the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) County Sheriffs Office. However, it was reported by the Miami New Times just six months after he was hired that Fitzgerald applied to be police chief in that city. A month later, it was reported he was in the running for the chiefs job in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was also a finalist in March 2021 for the top job in Memphis, Tennessee. More recently, he was one of 26 finalists for chief with the Austin Police Department in Texas. I think that there are many people in the city that are aware of his continuous looking for other places to work, that he is not sold on Waterloo, Henry said. And thats been on the news since basically when he got here. A date to further discuss the contract has not been confirmed yet. The Courier reached out to Fitzgeralds office, but has not received a response. On Thursday morning, Hart said he had not watched the recording of the City Council meeting yet and couldnt comment. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 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. From April 19th to 20th, a ministerial conference on migration issues in the Americas was held in Panama City. Many Latin American experts complain bitterly about U.S. immigration policies. In their eyes, U.S. policies violate human rights, which could intensify the immigration problem in Latin America. Produced by Xinhua Global Service orodenkoff / Getty Images En espanol The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is calling on health care providers to test children for adenovirus, as an unusual hepatitis outbreak in children ages 1 to 6 continues to spread through the country. Based on the most recent data available, the CDC said 109 children have contracted hepatitis in 25 states and territories over the past seven months. Of the victims, 90 percent were hospitalized and five died. Fourteen patients required liver transplants. The cause is unknown but is not thought to be linked to COVID-19. All the children were previously healthy, and they came from across the state. None tested positive for COVID-19. The CDC has yet to identify any connections between the patients and noted that its not uncommon for the cause of hepatitis to be unknown. Is adenovirus the link? European health officials also have reported an increasing number of severe hepatitis cases, cause unknown, among previously healthy children. The CDC is investigating a possible link between the pediatric hepatitis and adenovirus infection. The CDC said of the 109 U.S. cases, more than 50 percent had adenovirus. Adenoviruses are a group of common viruses that cause several illnesses including cold-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea and pink eye. People with weakened immune systems or existing respiratory or cardiac disease tend to get sicker from adenovirus infection than healthy individuals. 3. Other options for dental coverage or discounts First, look to your company or spouses employer if either of you is still working. Half the people 65 or older who had dental coverage were employees, spouses of employees or retirees, according to the National Poll on Healthy Aging. In some cases, employers may offer retirees access to a dental benefits plan or provide a referral to a company that offers benefits, says Richards of Delta Dental. Second, you may be able to get dental coverage or a dental discount program through a Medigap policy. In 2020, about 1 in 8 Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in Medigap plans with additional dental, vision or hearing benefits, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a century-old foundation that focuses on better health care. Some dental programs offer 30 percent to 40 percent discounts for services such as cleanings, crowns, exams and fillings using eligible dentists and have no copays, coverage limits or waiting periods. Also: You can enroll in a stand-alone dental discount program, usually with an up-front annual fee. Ask your dentist if he or she participates in any other plans, such as in-house dental membership programs or discounts for up-front payments. Medicaid provides dental coverage in some states for people who meet income and asset requirements. About 1 in 9 Medicare beneficiaries had dental coverage through Medicaid in 2019, according to the Kaiser study. Fewer than half the states provide care beyond emergency dental services for adults. Contact your state Medicaid office for details. 4. Your dentist can be an ally to control expenses Before you retire, talk with your dentist about the care thats important to have in the next few years, says Leonard Brennan, a retired dentist and codirector of the Harvard School of Dental Medicines Geriatric Fellowship Program. If you need some expensive services, consider scheduling them while you still have dental coverage from your employer that could be better than your future coverage. Dont skip preventive dental visits such as teeth cleaning because youre worried about the cost. The short-term savings could lead to larger health problems, Brennan says. Your dentist may be able stretch your coverage dollars. If youre nearing your policys annual coverage cap, the dentist may be able to spread out some services you need into the next calendar year. To get an idea about how much different procedures cost in your area, Delta Dental has a cost estimator. 5. Tax-free HSA money can help with out-of-pocket dental costs Even if you have dental coverage, you still may have a lot of costs you'll have to pay for. If you already have a health savings account (HSA) because you had been receiving your health insurance through a high-deductible plan, you can withdraw money tax free for eligible medical expenses, including dental costs. You cant make new contributions to an HSA after you enroll in Medicare. But you can withdraw money for eligible expenses at any age. If you havent enrolled in Medicare yet, saving tax free for medical and dental expenses is a good reason to start an HSA. To qualify to make HSA contributions in 2022, you must have an HSA-eligible health insurance policy with a deductible of at least $1,400 for single coverage or $2,800 for family coverage. You can contribute up to $3,650 for single coverage or $7,300 for family coverage in 2022, plus $1,000 in catch-up contributions if youre 55 or older. The HSA provides a triple tax break: Your contributions are taken out of your paycheck before taxes are calculated or theyre tax deductible if not made through your employer. The money grows tax deferred. And you can withdraw it tax free for eligible expenses in any year. Kimberly Lankford is a contributing writer who covers personal finance and Medicare. She previously wrote for Kiplingers Personal Finance magazine, and her articles have also appeared in U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post and the Boston Globe. She received the personal finance Best in Business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. BAGHDAD, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and seven others injured on Friday in two attacks in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial security source said. A roadside bomb went off near a civilian car in a village near the city of Khanaqin, some 165 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, leaving two people killed and three wounded, officer Alaa al-Saadi from Diyala's provincial police told Xinhua. The Iraqi security forces cordoned off the explosion site and searched for attackers in the region, al-Saadi said. Meanwhile, militants of the Islamic State (IS) group launched an attack at dawn on Iraqi army outposts outside another village near Khanaqin, with four Iraqi soldiers wounded during the clash, al-Saadi said. Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have carried out deadly attacks against the extremist militants to crackdown on their intensified activities. The security situation in Iraq has improved after Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. Yet IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. March 2022 Quarterly Activities Report Sydney, April 21, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Tamboran Resources Limited ( ASX:TBN ) provide the third quarter activities report for period ended 31 March 2022.- The Tanumbirini 2H (T2H) well averaged 1.7 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) (2.6 mmscfd normalised for a 1,000-metre section) over an initial 83-days of flow testing. Rates have declined in-line with expectation.- The Tanumbirini 3H (T3H) well averaged 1.5 mmscfd (2.5 mmscfd normalised for a 1,000-metre section) over 32-days prior to being shut-in for pressure build-up in mid-February 2022. Both the T2H and T3H wells are planned to have production tubing installed during the current quarter.- Announced a 428 per cent increase to Tamboran's unrisked net 2C contingent resources to 153 billion cubic feet (BCF), certified by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. (NSAI). This represents only 1.2 per cent of the ~12.3 TCF best estimate of net prospective gas resource in EP 161, which highlights the significant upside potential for further resource conversion within the permit.- NSAI resource maturation study highlighting potential for Tamboran to book approximately 1 TCF 2C contingent gas resources within EP 136 by the end of calendar year 2023, subject to positive results from the planned Maverick 1H (M1H), 2H and 3H wells.- Awarded a grant of up to $7.5 million through the Commonwealth Government's Beetaloo Cooperative Drilling Program. The grant is expected to support funding of up to 25 per cent of the M1H well in EP 136, planned to spud in mid-calendar year 2022.- Members of Tamboran's Board and management team acquired 3.6 million shares, increasing ownership to 25 per cent. The purchases highlight the team's confidence in the commercialisation of Tamboran's Beetaloo acreage following the T2H and T3H flow tests.- Strong balance sheet with $55.4 million cash balance at 31 March 2022.Tamboran Resources Limited ( ASX:TBN ) Managing Director and CEO, Joel Riddle said:"The third quarter of financial year 2022 was another busy period for the Company as we continue to focus our efforts on commercialising the low-carbon dioxide gas resource in the 'Core' Beetaloo Sub-basin of the Northern Territory."During the period, the T2H and T3H wells delivered potentially commercial flow rates from unoptimised fracture stimulated lateral sections within the Mid-Velkerri B Shale. Each well produced approximately 3.0 mmscfd, normalised at a 1,000-metre stimulated lateral section, following a recalibration of previously reported flow data in early March 2022."As a result of the T2H and T3H well flow tests, NSAI certified a 428 per cent increase in our net 2C contingent resources to 153 BCF and 336 per cent increase in our net 1C contingent resources to 48 BCF within EP 161. Importantly, these contingent resources cover only 1.2 per cent of the Tamboran's current 12.3 TCF of net unrisked prospective gas resources in the permit, with further upside as prospective gas resources are converted to contingent resources with additional drilling within the permit."During the quarter, our team worked closely with NSAI to develop a resource maturation study that could potentially result in us booking approximately 1 TCF of 2C contingent gas resources within our 100 per cent owned and operated EP 136 acreage. The maturation study includes a three well configuration that could be delivered by successful results from the M1H, M2H and M3H wells by the end of calendar year 2023."*To view the full quarterly report, please visit:About Tamboran Resources Limited Tamboran Resources Ltd (ASX:TBN) is a natural gas company that intends to play a constructive role in the global energy transition towards a lower carbon future by developing low CO2 unconventional natural gas resources in the Beetaloo Sub-basin within the Greater McArthur Basin in the Northern Territory of Australia. Tamboran's key assets are a 25% working interest in EP 161 and a 100% working interest in EP 136, EP 143 and EP(A) 197 which are located in the Beetaloo Sub-basin. Mt Stirling Gold Project - Further Significant Intercepts Perth, April 21, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Torian Resources Limited's ( ASX:TNR ) ongoing drilling campaign at its flagship Mt Stirling Project in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields has returned further significant additional gold intercepts, continuing to extend mineralisation beyond previous resource boundaries.Ahead of announcing a new Total Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) within weeks, the company has now completed 18,938 of Reverse Circulation (RC) infill and extension drilling at MS Viserion.The Mt Stirling Project hosts a current JORC compliant total mineral resource estimate of 118,400 gold ounces and lies 8km northwest of Red 5's ( ASX:RED ) 4 million oz King of Hills gold mine, which has produced more than 1 million ounces of gold to date.Torian has targeted multiple gold zones and targets, and is pleased to report the following recent significant gold intercepts:1240N 23m @ 1.08 g/t Au from 40m (MSRC288); inc 1m @ 1.42 g/t Au from 47m1560N 6m @ 2.17 g/t Au from 213m (MSRC265); inc 1m @ 5.95 g/t Au from 215m1600N 1m @ 5.57 g/t Au from 109m (MSRC299); and 12m @ 1.42 g/t Au from 182minc 1m @ 6.10 g/t Au from 193m1720N 4m @ 1.85 g/t Au from 76m (MSRC170); inc 1m @ 5.33 g/t Au from 76m1960N 5m @ 2.10 g/t Au from 254m (MSRC305); inc 1m @ 3.26 g/t Au from 257mDrill data continues to be compiled and validated. A further 8 MS Viserion drill holes are awaiting assays, with down-hole density surveying of selective drill holes already carried out.Stirling Well assays are pending for 13 extensional drill holes. A total of 48 drill holes are expected to be included in updated MRE.Two further Skywing drill holes are awaiting assays, with results to follow.Torian's Executive Director, Mr Peretz Schapiro said the latest batch of drilling results have further increase the Company's confidence in the MS Viserion Gold System at the Mt Stirling Projects ahead of the upcoming resource update and an Optimisation Study thereafter."The most exciting part of the results we have been receiving recently is that we have identified a multitude of structural prospective down-dip and along plunge gold target zones at MS Viserion for continued resource ounce discovery and expansion post the delivery of the anticipated resource upgrade," Mr Schapiro said.Mr Schapiro said final results from the Skywing prospect are expected in the next week or so with follow up drilling re-commencing at the high grade Estera and Tyrannus targets where significant assays were previously returned.The Company also wishes to advise the market that it will no longer report on its REE projects at the same time that it reports on its gold projects following the recent significant discovery. This will enable the market to more easily digest the two different sets of updates. More updates on the REE projects will be forthcoming in coming weeks.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Torian Resources Limited Torian Resources Ltd (ASX:TNR) is a gold exploration and development company with an extensive and strategic land holding comprising eight projects and over 400km2 of tenure in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia. Torian's flagship project, Zuleika, is located along the world-class Zuleika Shear. The Zuleika Shear is the fourth largest gold producing region in Australia and consistently produces some of the country's highest grade and lowest cost gold mines. Torian's Zuleika project lies north and partly along strike of several major gold deposits including Northern Star's (ASX:NST) 7.0Moz East Kundana Joint Venture and Evolutions (ASX:EVN) 1.8Moz Frogs Legs and White Foil deposits. Torian's other projects include the strategically located Mt Stirling and Malcolm Projects in the Leonora region (near Red 5's King of the Hills Project), where it recently completed updated Mineral Resource Estimates and preliminary scoping studies, and a suite of other projects in the Kalgoorlie region including Credo Well JV Zuleika JV, Bonnie Vale, Gibraltar and Mount Monger/Wombola. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal A California woman is accused of running a prostitution ring through several Asian massage parlors across New Mexico that agents contend raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. Lily Bai is charged with three counts each of interstate and foreign travel in aid of racketeering enterprises and money laundering related to her businesses in Farmington, Las Cruces, Silver City and Albuquerque. The allegations are contained in a federal search warrant affidavit unsealed this week. The 40-year-old, who lives in Corona, California, was arrested March 29 by the U.S. Marshals Service. Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Through a yearslong investigation, federal and local authorities say they learned Bai ran eight illicit massage businesses across the state and had earned almost $800,000 since 2014. The IRS, Homeland Security Investigations and Albuquerque police Vice Unit also discovered that the vast majority of Asian massage parlors in Albuquerque operate as houses of prostitution, according to the search warrant affidavit. Authorities say the parlors are distinct from legitimate businesses, often using curtains to cover storefronts, and featuring dimmed red or purple lighting and scantily-clad masseuses who accept payment only up front and work late into the night. The search warrant affidavit alleges the workers are rarely licensed massage therapists and that they are coerced into performing sex acts to earn money for their basic living expenses. Many of the parlors are advertised on such sites as www.rubmaps.cn, where authorities found a review for Dian Dian Massage in Las Cruces and owned by Bai that touted how the masseuse delivered the goods and allowed him to have his hands wandering over her clothes. If you cant handle a sketchy parlor, then dont go here, the reviewer wrote. Between 2017 and 2022, undercover officers were offered sex acts at least eight times at Bais parlors, according to the affidavit. In November and March, authorities say undercover HSI agents visited two Las Cruces parlors where workers offered sex acts that ranged in price from $40 to $140, but the pair declined the offers and exited the business. Court records state that, in 2018, an undercover officer with the Albuquerque Police Department Vice Unit reached out to Bai to inquire about buying one of her massage parlors, according to court records. The agent met her several times and she explained the business. Bai allegedly told the agent customers pay $40 or $60 up front, which goes to her, and the masseuse can keep any tips. She said the masseuse at her shop in Albuquerque, which has since been sold, lived at the business, so Bai doesnt have to spend money on an apartment. The court records included a photo of the living quarters, a small room with a bed and microwave on a table. Bai allegedly told the agent a space heater was sufficient for the space since there is no ventilation. Court records state Bai told the prospective buyer its harder to make money with the same girl and suggested having new workers every month. She said the workers use a bank card to deposit $1,000 at a time and the parlors make up to $6,000 a month from six customers a day. Authorities say Bai and her husband reported income of $24,000 in 2016, but made deposits of $95,000 that year and more than $788,000 since 2014. Bai told the agent the parlor business is better in New Mexico because massage licenses are not checked here as they are in other states. New Mexico House Bill 155, introduced in 2020, would have required massage businesses to have a license, and allowed officials to inspect the businesses for licensure and health violations. Bernice Geiger, with the states Regulation and Licensing Department, said the bills sponsor pulled the legislation after massage therapists said it went too far. Bai told the agent she previously sold a parlor after a police raid and has five separate phones, according to court records. She said she and other illicit shop owners use WeChat to alert each other if police are coming so they can close the parlor and avoid detection. By 2020, Bai had sold her shop in Albuquerque, but bought another in Silver City and was transporting a woman from California to work at the Las Cruces parlor, according to court records. Bai told the agent her husbands cousin had been brought to Las Cruces to work at the parlor there and would use a cash app to send the profits back to her. In January 2022, Bai told the agent she had sold all but two of her parlors and wanted to open a real massage store that can have more tables and make more money. When the agent asked what a real massage store is like, Bai replied, not this type. The state agency that safeguards New Mexico workplaces pulled no punches in its assessment of the fatal shooting that took place on the Rust movie set in Santa Fe last October. This was a complete failure of the employer to follow recognized national protocols that keep employees safe, Environment Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said in a news release The report by the Environment Departments Occupational Health and Safety Bureau concludes that Rust Movie Productions, LLC management knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set in the days leading up to the Oct. 21, 2021 discharge from a hand-held revolver that killed a cinematographer and wounded the director. The company demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action, the agency reported. As a result, OHSB issued the production company a willful-serious citation that includes a $136,793 civil penalty the highest level of citation and maximum fine allowable by state law. Count us among those surprised that the states maximum fine for a totally avoidable on-the-job fatality is so low. The maximum is the same across all industries and job sites in New Mexico, an Environment Department spokesman told the Journal. The OHSB report is strong evidence of cutting corners, but its not a felony criminal investigation. OHSB does not issue citations to any individuals associated with the employer. It conducted a civil administrative investigation of the employers compliance with workplace safety rules. Its job was to was to issue a citation within six months of any violation of the N.M. Occupational Health and Safety Act or rules. NMED did its job. Maybe its time for lawmakers to do theirs and revisit whether the fine schedule is sufficient to make employers take workplace safety seriously. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal After seven years of dismantling the ultra-violent Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico prison gang in a massive racketeering prosecution, the FBI had one prominent SNM-related homicide left to solve: the 2019 fatal shooting of a government informant whose testimony a year earlier helped put top gang leaders and members away for rackeetering and murder. On Thursday, a four-count federal indictment was made public, charging alleged Las Vegas, New Mexico, drug trafficker Robert Fat Head Padilla and his alleged accomplice, Gary Coca, 49, in the slaying of Leroy Smurf Lucero the night of July 22, 2019. Both face one count of retaliation against a witness, victim or informant. Padilla, 45, faces three additional charges: killing while engaged in drug trafficking; brandishing and discharging a firearm during the slaying; and using physical force and the threat of physical force more than a year later against an unidentified man to keep him from communicating with a law enforcement officer about drug trafficking and the murder of a federal witness. At the time of the alleged threat, Padilla had been incarcerated at the Cibola County Correctional Center awaiting trial on federal drug-trafficking charges filed by the DEA in the fall of 2019 as part of a parallel investigation. That case is still pending in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. Attorneys for the men in the murder case couldnt be determined from court records on Thursday. In a notice filed with the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo stated that, although the defendants are charged with capital eligible crimes, the United States would not seek a death sentence in the case. Padilla has previously been alleged to be an associate of the SNM gang, but SNM isnt mentioned in the indictment. The case against Padilla and Coca is related to other SNM prosecutions, Armijo wrote in another notice, because the theories of prosecution, facts, evidence and witnesses (involved in the prior cases) are substantially common to one another, and the cases arise out of the same racketeering investigation involving the same enterprise. That investigation, dubbed Operation Atonement, was launched by the FBI in 2015 after an SNM murder plot to kill top state Corrections officials was uncovered, and resulted in the prosecution of more than 160 SNM members and associates. More than 120 SNM members and associates were charged with federal violations and 50 defendants were charged with federal racketeering violations. Of those, 12 received life prison sentences for their roles in gang-related homicides. The plot to kill the Corrections officials was foiled. The SNM gang had controlled the majority of New Mexico prisons and Hispanic street gangs since its formation after the deadly Santa Fe Penitentiary riot in the 1980s. It also has had significant influence on the streets of New Mexico, enlisting members for drug trafficking and other illicit work after their release from prison. SNM members have been responsible for the slayings of four New Mexico police officers over the past 30 years, according to court records filed by lead FBI case agent Bryan Acee. Lucero, 48, was among numerous former SNM members and leaders called by federal prosecutors during federal trials in 2018 to depict the inner workings of the gang and its violent criminal history. On the witness stand, most all testified that they knew they would be targeted by the SNM for death because they violated a cardinal gang rule of not cooperating with law enforcement. Padilla surfaced as a suspect in the FBI murder investigation within weeks after Lucero was gunned down in his driveway in Las Vegas. Some 14 months earlier, Lucero had testified against several SNM members during a lengthy racketeering trial in Las Cruces and federal authorities believe he became marked for death in retaliation. The night of his death, Lucero, a former leader in the SNM, went outside his home to talk to people who pulled up in a dark sedan. Lucero was shot once as he stood by the passenger side, and Padilla is alleged to have exited the vehicle and shot him a second time before he and the driver believed to have been Coca fled, according to court records. Luceros 12-year-old son ran out of the house at the time of the shooting and saw what happened, court records state. Before he died, Lucero crawled toward his house, and told his wife he had been shot and to call for help. Court records state that, after his work as a government witness in 2018, Lucero relapsed and began using heroin again. He was also selling heroin for Padilla, according to an FBI search warrant affidavit filed in 2019. Padilla is alleged to have researched Luceros most recent federal conviction and was suspicious he had done too little time in prison, and that he had not been hit by the feds. Acee and other FBI agents interviewed Padilla on Sept. 5, 2019, after he was arrested in the DEA case in which 11 others were charged in September 2019 with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and conspiracy. At a pretrial hearing last year, Acee testified about the interview with Padilla, which was recorded and transcribed. Early in the interview, Padilla told the agents, If you think Im involved in any murder, youre (expletive) out of your (expletive) mind. Acee testified he had not mentioned the Lucero murder investigation at that point, adding, I just said I wanted to have a long conversation with him. Padilla then got specific, bringing up the name Smurf, Acee testified. Padilla denied shooting Lucero, stating at the time he had five witnesses who would say that he was in bed having sex with Luceros cousin at the time of the fatal shooting. Padillas drug-trafficking organization spanned central and northern New Mexico, according to an FBI affidavit filed in 2019. The organization was responsible for distributing bulk quantifies of controlled substances for many years, and built a fearful reputation on the streets through intimidation and his boastful association to such violent enterprises as the SNM and the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, the affidavit stated. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE With schools around the nation returning to a new normal after two years of disruptions and distance learning, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona got a first-hand glimpse Thursday of how some New Mexico schools are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic fallout. The nations top education official talked with Santa Fe high school students about mental health issues, visited a dual-language classroom at Jemez Pueblo and talked with state and local school leaders. At one point, Cardona even poked his head unannounced into a classroom of students at Santa Fe High School, prompting puzzled glances from some of the students inside. I heard from students the importance of emotional well-being, Cardona later told reporters, adding a group of students he spoke with had identified the pandemics mental and emotional toll as being even greater than its impact on academic and social issues. Thats what schools do, he said. We heal together, we grow together, we learn together. So this was a great example of what I want to see across the country. Cardona said his trip to New Mexico marked the 32nd state he has visited since being appointed as President Joe Bidens education secretary in January 2021. He was joined on the Thursday visit by New Mexicos two U.S. senators both Democrats as Sen. Ben Ray Lujan accompanied Cardona during his visit to Santa Fe High School and Sen. Martin Heinrich joined him for a tour of Jemez Pueblo. During the Santa Fe event that included Cardona and Lujan visiting with students about pandemic-related challenges, Cardona touted funding in the $1.9 trillion America Rescue Plan Act aimed at tutoring, expanded summer school and student support programs. New Mexico got about $1.8 billion under the 2021 law, while New Mexico-based tribes received an estimated $806 million to respond to the pandemic and help offset revenue losses. Without the federal relief funds, some colleges would be closing and some academic support services would not be available, Cardona said. We have families that are in greater need than ever before, he added. He also lauded the school district for creating new support positions, instead of asking current staffers to do even more. Meanwhile, Cardona also praised New Mexicos recently-approved teacher salaries minimum starting teacher pay will jump to $50,000 per year this fall under a bill signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and increased mental health support services. But both he and Lujan said theres still work to be done to ensure such services are accessible to students. Its OK to ask for help, Lujan said. But we have to make it available and make it friendly. Other pandemic-related issues could take years to fully manifest. While New Mexico received a federal waiver from statewide standardized testing last year, a legislative report found public school students lost the equivalent of between 10 and 60 days of instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, state lawmakers this year are offering districts more funding to add additional days onto the school calendar, but school boards in Santa Fe and Albuquerque have already decided not to implement the extended learning program or at least leave it up to individual schools to decide whether to participate. Cardona began his career as a fourth-grade teacher before becoming a school principal and, some years later, Connecticuts top eduction official. In that job, he pushed for schools to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic and, after being appointed as U.S. education secretary, was tasked by Biden with eliminating longstanding racial achievement gaps. During his Thursday visit, Cardona said he was particularly impressed by a group of students who have organized a food drive to provide meals for fellow students or families dealing with food insecurity issues. It takes a village and right now this village is going to grow, he said. He also proved to be a quick study on New Mexico cuisine. How about green chile? Cardona asked students who had bagged food donations ready to be distributed. I heard thats what you have to try while youre here. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce kicked off a new, annual energy summit in Santa Fe on Thursday to help connect Latino businesses with emerging opportunities in renewable energy development. The two-day event, organized jointly with the U.S. Hispano Chamber of Commerce, is uniting a broad range of industry, including clean energy developers, electric utilities and some oil and gas companies to collectively analyze the challenges and progress in building a low-, and eventually, no-carbon economy in New Mexico and nationally, said Albuquerque Hispano Chamber President and CEO Ernie CdeBaca. The national chambers participation helped attract industry leaders from across the country. Its the first time the national Hispano chamber has partnered with a local chamber affiliate to jointly organize an industry-focused summit like this, CdeBaca told the Journal. This is just the first year were doing it, so this is an inaugural event. We intend to continue organizing it as an annual conference in New Mexico going forward. Apart from panel discussions and presentations, the conference includes business networking and company match-making workshops. New Mexico provides an ideal location for the summit, CdeBaca said, given its national prominence as the countrys second-largest oil-and-gas producing state, plus its aggressive efforts to completely transition the local electric grid from fossil fuels to 100% non-carbon generation by 2045. NM at center stage Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham highlighted those things in a keynote speech Thursday morning to kick the conference off at La Fonda hotel. The state, Lujan Grisham said, is leading by example, demonstrating that transformational renewable goals can be achieved while simultaneously limiting pollution from fossil fuels. It will take time to replace oil and gas with clean energy, she said, but in the meantime, New Mexico has imposed the strongest industry regulations in the nation to severely limit methane and other ozone-creating emissions. We can do both, and thats what a transition looks like, Lujan Grisham told summit participants. Were holding polluters accountable with rules and regulations, while at the same time working to build a non-carbon economy. The governor also touted state efforts to create a new hydrogen industry in New Mexico, using that fuel as a critical bridge to decarbonize more sectors of the economy, while also providing a clean-burning alternative for electricity to supplement the intermittency of solar and wind generation. Opposition Some environmental groups, however, are protesting against the summit. Youth United for Climate Crisis Action and the SouthWest Organizing Project called it a greenwashing event where corporate energy executives are promoting false solutions to combat climate change. Those two groups are co-coordinating protest actions, including a planned demonstration Friday afternoon on the Santa Fe Plaza, across from La Fonda, to commemorate Earth Day. In fact, YUCCA activists briefly highjacked the conference spotlight Thursday morning, interrupting Lujan Grishams keynote address with chants and a protest banner before being escorted out of the assembly ballroom. It amounted to only a minor disruption, however, prompting the governor to praise free speech in America. We have the professionalism and courage to accept that as a productive way to get peoples attention, as long as its peaceful, Lujan Grisham said. Corporate involvement Corporate sponsorship for the summit by Chevron and by Public Service Company of New Mexico and national energy firm Avangrid particularly riled environmentalists. Apart from Chevrons participation, YUCCA and SWOP believe PNM and Avangrid which is seeking to acquire PNM in a $4.3 billion merger agreement are doing little to actually transition the grid from fossil fuels to renewables, said Alejandria Lyons, an environmental justice organizer with SWOP. Those groups also adamantly oppose hydrogen development, since the industry generally intends to use natural gas as a feedstock, pulling hydrogen molecules out of methane in a process that produces significant carbon emissions. As it stands now, we see New Mexicos energy transition as greenwashing, Lyons told the Journal. We want a much faster buildout of actual renewables, meaning solar and wind. And we want our voices heard, with seats at the table. Notwithstanding environmental opposition, PNM and Avangrid executives said their merger agreement could significantly accelerate the states transition to renewables. Connecticut-based Avangrid, which has $40 billion in assets and operations in 24 states, is the third-largest renewable energy developer in the U.S. It brings significant financial strength and expertise to help PNM build out renewable infrastructure, said Pat Vincent-Collawn, chairman, president and CEO of PNM parent firm PNM Resources. When this merger is ultimately approved, New Mexico will be more prosperous because of it, Vincent-Collawn told summit participants. The state Public Regulation Commission rejected approval of the PNM-Avangrid merger last December. But the merger partners have appealed to the state Supreme Court to overturn the PRCs decision, and both companies reaffirmed their commitment to plow forward during the energy summit. A merger agreement is often called a marriage, because you need a shared sense of purpose and values, Vincent-Collawn said. Times can get tough while youre tying that knot, but despite the challenges, we remain committed to the promises weve made. Avangrid incoming CEO Pedro Azagra Blazquez said Avangrid is now joined at the hip with PNM. Were proud of that marriage, Azagra Blazquez told summit participants. There are some other candidates we could marry, but we think we chose the right one. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoyas funeral Friday: We want his name! Sharptons comments renewed demands by Lyoyas family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officers name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Police reform requires evaluating many long-standing practices to ensure our actions are consistent with the best interests of the community and the individuals involved, Washington said. No timeline has been set for the discussions or a decision, spokesman David Green said, adding that Washingtons statement was intended to let city residents know we hear you and were willing to assess that practice and see if it works or not. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., putting Lyoyas death in the context of the national civil rights movement. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and ran into an America that we know too well. He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoyas killing. We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name, he said. Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the district that includes Grand Rapids, said in a statement that his office and the FBI had offered help state investigators and local prosecutors and that the Justice Department can provide consultation, mediation or training assistance. He said his office will continue to review the facts to determine whether additional federal response is warranted. Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton has eulogized George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Crump also called for justice Friday, saying an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution. He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said. If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids. After the service, Crump told reporters: We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoyas mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community, she said. And if I dont stand up, who will? Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. Bethlehem Shekanena, whose parents immigrated from Congo, said the Lyoyas came to the U.S. for life, liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. We are gathered here today because the promise given to all those who reside on this land, the very foundation of what makes America America it was broken the moment Patrick Lloya was killed in the streets. she said, adding: He did not deserve to die. Before the service, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officers Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya was driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. How dare you pull your gun about some car tags? Sharpton said during his eulogy. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. ___ Forliti contributed from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya JERUSALEM Israeli police in full riot gear stormed a sensitive Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed. The renewed violence at the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, came despite Israel temporarily halting Jewish visits, which are seen by the Palestinians as a provocation. Medics said more than two dozen Palestinians were wounded before the clashes subsided hours later. Friday evening, Israel said Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets from the territory. One rocket landed in an open area in southern Israel and the other fell in Gaza. Palestinian media reported that two Gaza residents were injured from the rocket that landed short. There was no immediate comment from local health officials. In Jerusalem, Tens of thousands of Muslims took part in the main Friday prayers at midday, which were held as planned. Palestinians and Israeli police have regularly clashed at the site over the last week at a time of heightened tensions following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel and arrest raids in the occupied West Bank. Three rockets have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. The string of events has raised fears of a repeat of last year, when protests and violence in Jerusalem eventually boiled over, helping to ignite an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, and communal violence in Israels mixed cities. Palestinian youths hurled stones toward police at a gate leading into the compound, according to two Palestinian witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. The police, in full riot gear, then entered the compound, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades. Israeli police said the Palestinians, some carrying Hamas flags, had begun stockpiling stones and erecting crude fortifications before dawn. The police said that after the rock-throwing began, they waited until after early morning prayers had finished before entering the compound. Video footage showed the police firing at a group of journalists holding cameras and loudly identifying themselves as members of the press. At least three Palestinian reporters were wounded by rubber bullets fired by police. Some older Palestinians urged the youths to stop throwing rocks but were ignored, as dozens of young masked men hurled stones and fireworks at the police. A tree caught fire near the gate where the clashes began. Police said it was ignited by fireworks thrown by the Palestinians. The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said at least 31 Palestinians were wounded, including 14 who were taken to hospitals. A policewoman was hit in the face by a rock and taken for medical treatment, the police said. The violence subsided later in the morning after another group of dozens of Palestinians said they wanted to clean the area ahead of the main weekly prayers midday. Those went ahead, with some 150,000 worshippers attending, according to the Islamic endowment that administers the site. After prayers, a small group of Palestinians waving Hamas flags marched in protest and tried to break into an empty police post inside the compound. The police used a drone to drop tear gas on them, sending crowds of people scattering across the esplanade. The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalems Old City is the third holiest site in Islam. The sprawling esplanade on which it is built is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of two Jewish temples in antiquity. It lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and clashes there have often ignited violence elsewhere. Palestinians and neighboring Jordan, the custodian of the site, accuse Israel of violating longstanding arrangements by allowing increasingly large numbers of Jews to visit the site under police escort. A longstanding prohibition on Jews praying at the site has eroded in recent years, fueling fears among Palestinians that Israel plans to take over the site or partition it. Israel says it remains committed to the status quo and blames the violence on incitement by Hamas. It says its security forces are acting to remove rock-throwers in order to ensure freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims. Visits by Jewish groups were halted beginning Friday for the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as they have been in the past. This year, Ramadan coincided with the week-long Jewish Passover and major Christian holidays, with tens of thousands of people from all three faiths flocking to the Old City after the lifting of most coronavirus restrictions. The Old City is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and considers the entire city its capital. The Palestinians seek an independent state in all three territories and view east Jerusalem as their capital. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. Destructive fires in the U.S. Southwest have burned dozens of homes in northern Arizona and put numerous small villages in New Mexico in the path of danger, as wind-fueled flames chewed up wide swaths of tinder dry forest and grassland and plumes of smoke filled the sky. Its a very chaotic situation out there, Stewart Turner, a fire behavior analyst, said during a briefing Friday night on the edge of the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. Weve had extreme fire behavior all day. Firefighters working to keep more homes from burning on the edge of a mountain town in northern Arizona were helped by some snow, scattered showers and cooler temperatures early Friday. But the favorable weather did not last and more gusts were expected to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend. Crews were tackling more than a dozen large fires Friday nationwide, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 1,600 firefighters were battling six blazes in New Mexico and three in Arizona that have consumed more than 100 square miles (258 square kilometers) of timber and brush. By Friday afternoon winds were howling across New Mexico,, gusting up to 75 mph (120 kph) near the Colorado line, shrouding the Rio Grande Valley with dust and pushing flames through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the north. Fire officials expected one blaze northeast of Santa Fe to overrun several communities before Saturday. A wall of smoke stretched from wilderness just east of Santa Fe some 50 miles (80 km) to the northeast where ranchers and other rural inhabitants were abruptly told to leave by law enforcement. Maggie Mulligan, 68, of Ledoux, a dog breeder, and her husband, Brad Gombas, 67, left with nine dogs and five puppies packed into an SUV and an old blue Cadillac. She said her dog Liam was a nervous wreck, when a sheriff came to their house Friday afternoon and told them to leave. They agonized over having to leave their horses behind as they drove 40 miles (65 km) north of Las Vegas, New Mexico, to a middle school turned into a Red Cross shelter. We dont know whats next. We dont know if we can go back to the horses, Mulligan said. Theres water in their pasture and theres hay so well see what happens. With no air support or crews working directly on the fire lines, there was explosive growth in a number of fires. San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez warned the situation very dangerous. Lena Atencio and her husband, whose family has lived in the nearby Rociada area for five generations, got out Friday as winds kicked up. She said people were taking the threat seriously. As a community, as a whole, everybody is just pulling together to support each other and just take care of the things we need to now. And then at that point, its in Gods hands, she said as the wind howled miles away in the community of Las Vegas, where evacuees were gathering. Another wind-whipped fire in northeastern New Mexico also was forcing evacuations while the town of Cimarron and the headquarters of the Philmont Scout Ranch, owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America, were preparing to flee if necessary. The scout ranch attracts thousands of summer visitors, but officials said no scouts were on the property. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed emergency declarations for four counties over the fires. In Arizona, flames had raced through rural neighborhoods outside Flagstaff just days earlier. A break in the weather Thursday allowed helicopters to drop water on the blaze and authorities to survey the damage. They found 30 homes and numerous other buildings were destroyed, with sheriffs officials saying over 100 properties were affected. That fire has burned close to 32 square miles (83 square kilometers) and forced evacuations of 765 homes after starting last Sunday. Authorities used alarms overnight Thursday to warn residents to flee evacuation areas, said sheriffs spokesman Jon Paxton. Howling winds muffled the alarms. Kelly Morgan is among neighbors at the edge of the evacuation zone who did not leave. She and her husband have lived through wildfires before, she said, and theyre prepared if winds shift and flames race toward the home they moved into three years ago. Unfortunately, its not something new to us but I hate seeing it when people are affected the way they are right now, she said. Its sad. Its a very sad time, but as a community, weve really come together. Wildfire has become a year-round threat in the West given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall, scientist have said. The problems have been exacerbated by decades of fire suppression and poor management along with a more than 20-year megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. Fire danger in the Denver area on Friday was the highest it had been in over a decade, according to the National Weather Service, because of unseasonable temperatures in the 80s combined with strong winds and very dry conditions. New evacuations were ordered Friday west of Colorado Springs but there were no immediate reports of structures lost. ____ Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press writers Cedar Attanasio in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report. Culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest held at Boao Forum for Asia Xinhua) 08:52, April 22, 2022 A woman of the Li ethnic group demonstrates the skill of dyeing fabric with plants during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 20, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) Women of the Li ethnic group demonstrate Li rattan weaving during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 21, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Photo taken on April 21, 2022 shows a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) Women of the Li ethnic group demonstrate Li brocade weaving during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 21, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) A staff member displays a dessert made with Hainan's local black tea during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 20, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) A staff member displays bread made with Hainan's local pork during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 20, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) A visitor poses for a photo during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 21, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) A staff member demonstrates tea making during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 20, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Hu Zhixuan) People visit a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 21, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) People visit a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 21, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) A woman of the Li ethnic group demonstrates spinning during a culture exhibition featuring tropical rainforest at a theme park of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 20, 2022. A rainforest culture exhibition named "finding the rainforest, a haven for all" is held at BFA in Boao from April 20 to 22. Visitors can enjoy an immersive experience of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the exhibition via seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting. They can also experience the culture of the Li and Miao ethnic groups at the exhibition. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Du Mingming) NAIROBI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF, said Friday it has revised its emergency appeal from 119 million U.S. dollars to nearly 250 million dollars to help millions of children facing severe drought in the Horn of Africa. UNICEF warned that the number of children facing severe drought conditions across the Horn of Africa has increased by more than 40 percent in the space of two months. "If we don't act now we will see an avalanche of child deaths in a matter of weeks. Famine is just around the corner," Mohamed M. Fall, the UNICEF regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The UN children's fund said between February and April, the number of children facing the impact of drought including acute hunger, malnutrition and thirst increased from 7.25 million to at least 10 million. According to the UNICEF, within the past two months across the Horn of Africa, the number of households without reliable access to clean and safe water has almost doubled -- from 5.6 million to 10.5 million while the number of people classified as food insecure has risen from 9 million to 16 million. It said the number of children out of school has remained disturbingly high at 15 million with an additional 1.1 million children being at risk of dropping out and thousands of schools already lacking access to water. UNICEF said the climate-induced emergency across the Horn of Africa is the worst drought the region has seen in 40 years. "Three consecutive dry seasons have driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, killed vast swathes of livestock and crops, fuelled malnutrition and increased the risk of disease," it said. UNICEF said more than 81,000 children in Somalia are at risk of famine by the end of June if the fourth consecutive rainy season fails, food prices continue to rise sharply, and humanitarian assistance is not stepped up. It said more than 1.7 million children across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition and warned that if rains fail in the coming weeks, this figure will rise to 2 million. "We need to act now to save children's lives -- but also to protect childhoods. Children are losing their homes, their education and their right to grow up safe from harm. They deserve the world's attention now," Fall said. UNM Hospital Board of Trustees Meeting Notice The University of New Mexico Hospital Board of Trustees will meet on Friday, April 29, 2022 at 9:30 AM via a Zoom: https://hsc-unm.zoom.us/j/99446166537 / Passcode 333268 The purpose of the meeting, which is open to the public, is to conduct such business as may be taken up by the Board of Trustees. The meeting will then be closed to the public, pursuant to Section 10-15-1H NMSA 1978, Comp., as amended, upon the completion of the normal portion of the meeting for purposes of discussing strategic planning issues. Individuals who are disabled and require the services of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in a meeting of the UNM Hospitals Board of Trustees should contact the Office of Public Affairs, (505) 272-3322, at least one week prior to the meeting. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats by the Office of Public Affairs. /s/ Kate Becker Chief Executive Officer UNM Hospital Journal: April 22, 2022 STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF BERNALILLO SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT Case No. D-202-PB-2021-00920 IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF RICHARD G. WOODS, DECEASED. NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Daniel McCabe has been appointed personal representative of the estate of the decedent. All persons having claims against the estate of the decedent are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of any published notice of creditors or sixty (60) days after the date of mailing or other delivery of this notice, whichever is later, or the claims will be forever barred. Claims must be presented either to the undersigned attorney for the Personal Representative, or filed with the Second Judicial District Court of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, located at the following address: 400 Lomas Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Dated this 5th day of April, 2022. /s/Adrian Terry Adrian Terry, Esq. The Terry Firm, LLC P.O. Box 846 Edgewood, NM 87015 (505) 336-1290 (505) 281-3398 Fax adrian@terryfirm.net Attorney for Personal Representative Journal: April 8, 15, 22, 2022 STATE OF NEW MEXICO IN THE PROBATE COURT BERNALILLO COUNTY Case No. 2022-0405 IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF MILDRED L. SWITENDICK, DECEASED. NOTICE TO CREDITORS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Michael Bittner has been appointed personal representative of the estate of the decedent. All persons having claims against the estate of the decedent are required to present their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of any published notice of creditors or sixty (60) days after the date of mailing or other delivery of this notice, whichever is later, or the claims will be forever barred. Claims must be presented either to the undersigned attorney for the Personal Representative, or filed with the Probate Court of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, located at the following address: One Civic Plaza NW, 6th Floor, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102. Dated: April 12, 2022 /s/Adrian Terry Adrian Terry, Esq. The Terry Firm, LLC P.O. Box 846 Edgewood, NM 87015 (505) 336-1290 (505) 281-3398 Fax adrian@terryfirm.net Attorney for Personal Representative Journal: April 15, 22, 29, 2022 ATLANTA U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year and accusing an opposing lawyer of using chopped videos and twisting her words. Voters in the Georgia congresswomans district have said Greene helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that disrupted certification of President Joe Bidens victory, making her ineligible for reelection under a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment dealing with insurrection or rebellion. But Greene who, the day before the Capitol riot, proclaimed on TV that this is our 1776 moment testified that shes never endorsed violence. Greene is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgias May 24 primary and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The administrative law judge who oversaw the hearing must present his findings to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then make the ultimate determination over whether Greene is qualified. Greene has repeatedly denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is itself unconstitutional. But Ron Fein, a lawyer for the voters who filed the challenge, said Greene took an oath and then broke it by engaging in an insurrection. While Greene wasnt on the steps of the Capitol, she nevertheless played an important role in stoking Republican fury ahead of the attack, Fein said. Unlike the Civil War and other insurrections that involved military uniforms and tactics, he said, The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. Andrew Celli, a lawyer for the voters, questioned Greene about posts on her social media accounts. She repeatedly responded, I dont recall, or I dont remember. When asked about the fact that her Facebook account had, in 2019, liked a post calling for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be shot in the head, Greene said she had no memory of that and said someone else could have been responsible. Whenever Celli suggested that shed endorsed the use of violence to interrupt the certification of the electoral votes, Greene asserted she doesnt support violence and was encouraging peaceful protest. Celli played a clip of an interview Greene did Jan. 5, 2021, in which she said this is our 1776 moment. When Celli asked if she was aware some Trump supporters used that reference as a call to violence, Greene said that wasnt her intention and that she was talking about her plans to object to the certification of electoral votes. I was talking about the courage to object, she said. Celli appeared to grow frustrated at times when she didnt directly answer his questions and accused him of was speculating. Ms. Greene, Im just asking questions, he said. Im just answering, she responded. Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot sometimes seemed exasperated by repeated rephrasing of questions and at times told Celli to move on. He also repeatedly admonished Greene supporters for clapping or cheering during the proceedings. James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, said his client did not engage in the attack on the Capitol, and the challengers are making a very serious charge with significant ramifications. They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th District of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot, he said. At the time of the riot, Greene was in a dark hallway at the Capitol urging people via social media to be safe and remain calm, he said. Rep. Greene was a victim of this attack, Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger. Bopp said that Greene was engaging in protected political speech. He also argued that the administrative hearing process is meant to address basic qualification questions, not to evaluate major constitutional and federal claims. Dozens of Greene supporters attended the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and staunch Greene ally. The challenge to Greenes eligibility to run for reelection was filed by five voters who live in her district, and the procedure for such a challenge is outlined in Georgia law. The law says any voter whos eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge that candidates qualifications by filing a written complaint. The secretary of state then has to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Beaudrot asked both sides to submit briefs by midnight Thursday, and said he would try to make a decision within a week after that. Once he submits findings, Raffensperger will be tasked with deciding the eligibility of Greene, a Trump loyalist, as he faces a tough primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed candidate. Raffensperger attracted Trumps wrath shortly after the 2020 election when he refused to take steps to overturn Trumps narrow loss in the state. The 14th Amendment says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it aimed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta on Monday declined a request from Greene to halt the challenge process. Greene is appealing that ruling. The Georgia complaint was filed on the voters behalf by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group. The group filed similar challenges on behalf of voters in Arizona, where a judge on Friday ruled to keep three Republicans on the ballot, and in North Carolina against Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally that preceded the riot. A federal judge last month blocked the challenge against Cawthorn, writing that laws approved by Congress in 1872 and 1898 mean the 14th Amendment section cant apply to current House members. ___ Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed reporting. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal An 18-year-old charged in two separate homicides will be heading back to jail after the state Supreme Court ruled that an Albuquerque judge made the wrong call when he ordered the teen released on a GPS monitor while he awaits trial. The March 22 decision to release Adrian Avila pending trial drew fire from Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina and was promptly appealed by 2nd Judicial District Attorney Raul Torrez. The five justices unanimously reversed the decision by 2nd Judicial District Judge Stanley Whitaker to release Avila and remanded the case to district court. Justices did not provide reasons for their decision. In addition to wearing a GPS ankle monitor, Whitaker ordered Avila to remain under house arrest and to leave his mothers home only to attend his charter high school for educational purposes. Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Deputy District Attorney John Duran filed a motion asking a judge to issue a warrant for Avilas arrest. Avila is charged with murder, kidnapping and armed robbery in connection with two shootings six months apart. In the first case, Avila allegedly shot and killed Donnie Brandon, who was 16 or 17, during an August 2020 armed robbery. In the second, Avila is charged with the February 2021 shooting death of Elias Otero, 24, in front of his home. No trial dates have been scheduled in either case. The Supreme Court made the right call and I hope the family of Elias Ortero can sleep a little better tonight knowing Mr. Avila will be remanded back to custody, Torrez said. Avilas attorney, Ahmad Assed, said he is waiting for a judges order and Avila will surrender at the courts request. Assed said he was extremely disappointed with the Supreme Courts order. We maintain our strong belief that Judge Whitaker was correct when he released Adrian, a 17-year-old with no prior criminal history, who enjoys the presumption of innocence and who has adhered to numerous conditions of release imposed by the court without any violations, he said. Court records show that Avila turned 18 in February. Prosecutors and the courts cannot deprive people of their liberty solely based on the crime charged, which is in essence what the Supreme Courts decision did, Assed said. In this case, a 17-year-old boy with special education needs is being deprived of his liberty and placed into a very dangerous facility during a pandemic, he said. The states system of releasing felony defendants awaiting trial has come under fire from police, politicians and prosecutors who argue that pretrial release has created a revolving door for violent offenders. Legislative proposals to reshape the states pretrial detention system failed this year, despite backing from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, Torrez and others. The intent of the legislation was to make it easier for prosecutors to secure a judges order to hold a person in jail while awaiting trial. Those efforts were undercut by a report issued by the Legislative Finance Committee in January concluding that low rates of arrest, prosecution and conviction may have more influence on crime rates than pretrial release. The Supreme Courts decision to reverse a judges pretrial release order appears to be highly unusual. Lauren Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the district attorneys office, said the Supreme Court has remanded pretrial detention cases to district court for additional findings in response to an appeal. However, this is the first time the New Mexico Supreme Court has reversed the denial of a pretrial detention motion in the 2nd Judicial District. Avilas release drew a prompt response from Chief Medina who, at the time, called the decision irresponsible and reckless, and criticized the practice of using ankle monitors to track criminal defendants pending trial. Medina applauded the Supreme Court decision Friday, saying it provides relief, particularly for the victims families, who have been on edge since Avilas release. This decision allows all parties to focus on the prosecution and justice for the victims who lost their lives, Medina said in an email. Torrez also praised the ruling, calling it a good day for our community and the criminal justice system. Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against a prominent opposition activist and remanded him in pre-trial detention Friday for allegedly spreading false information about the countrys armed forces. A court in Moscow ordered Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. held in detention until June 12. Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told reporters that the false information case against Kara-Murza cited a March 15 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives, in which he denounced the war in Ukraine, as the basis for the latest charges. The activist rejects the accusations. Russian media reported that similar charges were being drawn up against outspoken tech executive Ilya Krasilshchik, the former publisher of Russias top independent news site, Meduza. The moves against the two Kremlin critics are part of a widening crackdown against individuals speaking out against Russias war in Ukraine. Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading false information about its military shortly after its troops rolled into Ukraine in late February. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Human rights advocates so far have counted 32 cases targeting critics of the invasion. Kara-Murza is a journalist and a former associate of late Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015, and oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for years in Russia. Kara-Murza himself was hospitalized with poisoning symptoms twice, in 2015 and 2017. Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers denounced the Russian governments moves against Kara-Murza. I am deeply disturbed over news reports regarding the arrest and political persecution of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, Bowers said in a statement. Dont forget about these freedom fighters, like Vladimir Kara-Murza. We must remember names! Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted: Kara-Murzas brave opposition to Putin has inspired us all. Arizona will always stand for freedom. And we will support those like Kara-Murza who take a stand against oppression. Krasilshchik, the tech executive who left Russia in early March, told Meduza that he had learnt about the case against him from news reports, which by Friday evening remained unconfirmed. Russian media have linked the charges to an Instagram post, featuring what Krasilshchik said was the photo of charred human remains in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. You cant recover after seeing the images from Bucha, the photo caption read. You feel that the army of this country of ours, its capable of anything and so is the country. That were just an order away from mass executions. Also Friday, veteran Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov said in an online statement that he was temporarily leaving the country. Ponomaryov, a former State Duma lawmaker who had helped found Russias oldest human rights organization in the 1980s, has been a vocal opponent of Russias attack on Ukraine, and initiated multiple public petitions against it. In his statement Friday, he claimed to be allowing himself to take a vacation to look after my health , but also think through the difficult situation in which we all find ourselves, and plan further (campaigning) activities, which we cannot stop by any means. I doubt my time away will be long, he added. In a separate move Friday, the Russian justice ministry added Kara-Murza and several other prominent Kremlin critics to the registry of foreign agents. The designation implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit those on the list. The new additions to the registry included Leonid Volkov, top ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Alexei Venediktov, former editor-in-chief of Russias oldest critical radio station, Ekho Moskvy. The station was taken off the airwaves shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. ___ Associated Press writer Bob Christie in Phoenix contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine LONDON Taking aim at hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content online, the European Union is nearing agreement on a sweeping law that would force big tech companies to police themselves harder, make it easier for users to flag problems, and empower regulators to punish noncompliance with billions in fines. EU officials negotiated into the late hours of Friday night over the final details of the Digital Services Act, which would overhaul the digital rulebook for 27 countries and cement Europes reputation as the global leader in reining in the power of social media companies and other digital platforms, such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. But midnight passed without an agreement announced, though several EU officials tweeting about the proceedings expressed optimism that things were getting close. The act would be the EUs third significant law targeting the tech industry, a notable contrast with the U.S., where lobbyists representing Silicon Valleys interests have largely succeeded in keeping federal lawmakers at bay. While the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have filed major antitrust actions against Google and Facebook, Congress remains politically divided on efforts to address competition, online privacy, disinformation and more. The EUs new rules, which are designed to protect internet users and their fundamental rights online, would make tech companies more accountable for content created by users and amplified by their platforms algorithms. The DSA is nothing short of a paradigm shift in tech regulation. Its the first major attempt to set rules and standards for algorithmic systems in digital media markets, said Ben Scott, a former tech policy advisor to Hillary Clinton whos now executive director of advocacy group Reset. Once agreed to in principle, the law would still need to be approved by the European Parliament and European Council, though that is not expected to be a major hurdle. It has not been decided when the law would go into effect. Negotiators had been hoping to hammer out a deal before the end of Friday, ahead of French elections Sunday. A new French government could stake out different positions on digital content. The need to regulate Big Tech more effectively came into sharper focus after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, when Russia was found to have used social media platforms to try to influence the countrys vote. Tech companies like Facebook and Twitter promised to crack down on disinformation, but the problems have only worsened. During the pandemic, health misinformation blossomed and again the companies were slow to act, cracking down after years of allowing anti-vaccine falsehoods to thrive on their platforms. Under the EU law, governments would be able to request companies take down a wide range of content that would be deemed illegal, including material that promotes terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech and commercial scams. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter would have to give users tools to flag such content in an easy and effective way so that it can be swiftly removed. Online marketplaces like Amazon would have to do the same for dodgy products, such as counterfeit sneakers or unsafe toys. These systems will be standardized so that they will work the same way on any online platform. Companies that violate the rules face fines amounting to as much as 6% of their annual global revenue, which for tech giants would mean billions of dollars. Repeat offenders could be banned from the EU market. The tech giants have been lobbying furiously in Brussels to water down the EU rules. Google said in a statement on Friday that it looks forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical details right to ensure the law works for everyone. Amazon referred to a blog post from last year that said it welcomed measures that enhance trust in online services. Facebook didnt respond to requests for comment, and Twitter declined to comment. The Digital Services Act would ban ads targeted at minors, as well as ads targeted at users based on their gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. It would also ban deceptive techniques companies use to nudge people into doing things they didnt intend to, such as signing up for services that are easy to opt into, but hard to decline. To show theyre making progress on limiting these practices, tech companies would have to carry out annual risk assessments of their platforms. Up until now, regulators have had no access to the inner workings at Google, Facebook and other popular services. But under the new law, the companies will have to be more transparent and provide information to regulators and independent researchers on content-moderation efforts. This could mean, for example, making YouTube turn over data on whether its recommendation algorithm has been directing users to more Russian propaganda than normal. To enforce the new rules, the European Commission is expected to hire more than 200 new staffers. To pay for it, tech companies will be charged a supervisory fee, which could be up to 0.1% of their annual global net income, depending on the negotiations. Experts said the new rules will likely spark copycat regulatory efforts by governments in other countries, while tech companies will also face pressure to roll out the rules beyond the EUs borders. If Joe Biden stands at the podium and says By golly, why dont American consumers deserve the same protections that Google and Facebook are giving to Europe consumers, its going to be difficult for those companies to deny the application of the same rules elsewhere, Scott said. But the companies arent likely to do so voluntarily, said Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank. There is just too much money on the line if a company like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is restricted in how it can target advertising at specific groups of users. The big tech firms will heavily resist other countries adopting similar rules, and I cannot imagine the firms voluntarily applying these rules outside the EU, Meyers said. The EU reached a separate agreement last month on its so-called Digital Markets Act, a law aimed at reining in the market power of tech giants and making them treat smaller rivals fairly. And in 2018, the EUs General Data Protection Regulation set the global standard for data privacy protection, though it has faced criticism for not being effective at changing the behavior of tech companies. Much of the problem centers on the fact that a companys lead privacy regulator is in the country where its European head office is located, which for most tech companies is Ireland. Irish regulators have opened dozens of data-privacy investigations, but have only issued judgements for a handful. Critics say the the problem is understaffing, but the Irish regulator says the cases are complex and time consuming. EU officials say they have learned from that experience and will make the blocs executive Commission the enforcer for the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. __ AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story. Egyptian students perform Chinese songs during an event marking the UN Chinese Language Day in Cairo, Egypt, April 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, April 22 (Xinhua) -- In Egypt, the ways to learn Chinese have become increasingly diverse and considerate towards local youngsters who are willing to challenge themselves with the language famed for profoundness and splendid culture. During an event held in Cairo on Thursday marking the UN Chinese Language Day, which falls on April 20, Egyptian students expressed their ambition to master the language. Jawnaa Essam, a teenage student at Egyptian Chinese Friendship School, said that Chinese is a difficult language but at the same time, it's amazing and enjoyable to learn, "which is why I want to learn it and be fluent in it." "I like today's celebration, and it has motivated me to learn Chinese and have a China-related career like a translator and visit China in the future," the Egyptian student told Xinhua. The event was held in the Misr Public Library (MLP) overlooking the Nile River and decorated with Chinese red lanterns. It was co-organized by the China Cultural Center (CCC) in Cairo, the Chinese Bridge Club in Cairo, and Confucius Institute at Cairo University. Students from the Egyptian Chinese Friendship School and Confucius Institute at Cairo University put on the performance of Chinese songs and the Chinese martial arts. Shao Bin, CCC deputy director, handed over a gift of nearly 300 books to the library, hoping for a growing cultural exchange between China and Egypt. The Chinese language is an important carrier of the deep and vast Chinese culture, Shao told the event, adding that the 20-year-old CCC in Cairo was one of the oldest large-scale overseas Chinese cultural centers. "Over the past 20 years, the CCC in Cairo held over 50 Chinese language courses, in addition to specialized training courses on tour guiding in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, and commerce in Chinese, with the participation of thousands of trainees and students," said the Chinese cultural official. Riad Taher Radwan, director of MPL, told Xinhua that the library, which prepares to expand branches from 21 to 24 nationwide, enjoys longstanding cooperation with CCC in holding activities and symposiums. "Egyptian public libraries and youth facilities seek to consolidate relations between Egypt and other countries and I see that our relations with China are going well," said the library director. For her part, Gianna Xu, head of the Chinese Bridge Club in Cairo, said the channels for learning Chinese have increased in Egypt, and Chinese is now an official curriculum of Egyptian primary, preparatory and secondary schools. "We would like the Chinese language to be a bridge between China and Egypt that enhances their friendship," Gianna told Xinhua. Shao Bin (1st R), deputy director of the China Cultural Center and Riad Taher Radwan (2nd R), director of Misr Public Library, attend a book handover ceremony during an event marking the UN Chinese Language Day in Cairo, Egypt, April 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Being held from May 5 to 7, 2022 in Goa in physical form after two years of Covid disruptions, the excitement in the industry is palpable as the date with Goafest 2022 nears. Now in its 15th year, the biggest advertising festival in South Asia, hosted by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), has been attracting over 2,000 people from across India from the marketing, advertising, media, research and PR fraternity. At the heart of this unique festival is an eclectic platter of knowledge, recognition, networking and of course, celebration that makes each day at this 3-days event a remarkable experience. Also part of the Goafest are the ABBY Awards known as the Oscars of Indian ad awards to honour creative excellence in advertising. ABBY 2022 has undergone a lot of changes basis feedback from the creative fraternity and is celebrating creative excellence for brands in a focused manner. ABBY South Asia 2022 at Goafest is special this year as it joins hands with The One Show. The association creates a new gold standard in recognising and awarding the regions best creativity by bringing global standards of judging, jury selection and transparency to the already revered and established Indian Awards brand. Speaking to Adgully on the evolution of Goafest over the last 15 years of its existence, Anupriya Acharya, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India, reminisced, 15 years is a long time and Goafest has seen a lot of big initiatives in these years. It must have been started with a lot of foresight under the leadership of Arvind Sharma and Sundar Swami at that point in time. It started in a very quaint manner and was held at the Cavelossim beach. For all of us, we hadnt seen a festival like that. It was the whole spirit of advertising coming together over a period of three days. Over the years, Goafest has moved locations and we have garnered a much stronger content over the years. The festival has become more inclusive and we find more and more independent agencies and digital agencies taking part in Goafest a lot. Continuing further, Acharya said, With every edition weve learnt a lot. The first festival was very exciting and there were a lot of learnings that came from that. This year, we are coming together in the physical after two years, so we have taken a step back and the key thing that we have decided this year is to keep the spirit of the industry alive, as the industry has gone through a lot and come out of it very strong, despite all the challenges. We are going full digital this year onwards in the spirit of going more green and we are bringing it more centrestage. So, it will be right in the heart of where the celebrations are happening. We are extending the media coverage to broadcasting as well, which is gaining fast momentum. We have brought in a newer area in terms of speakers and content as well. Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest 2022 Organising Committee, added here, We have incorporated influencer, OTT and physical wellness sessions. The central theme being Celebration, we have kept inspiration as one content and knowledge. In terms of workshops, we have 6-7 workshops this year. There will be a mix of Bollywood, sports, politics, gaming, etc. so, we are incorporating what is trending and inspirational. Acharya remarked, People are just looking forward to getting together and meeting each other in the physical form, because the virtual form can never replace the joy of physical celebration and physical presence. So, for starters, everybody is just looking forward to meeting each other in person. Giving a sneak peek on the speakers and discussions that can be expected at Goafest 2022, Gandhi noted, We have a power-packed session of Anupam Kher in conversation with SS Rajamouli. This will be the first time that Rajamouli is coming to a conclave. I&B Minister Anurag Thakur, Smriti Irani, Kiran Bedi, Rujuta Diwekar, Madhuri Dixit Nene are among the many who will be speaking at the conclave this year. Three Omnicom agencies BBDO India, DDB Mudra Group and TBWAIndia have been announced as co-hosts for The One Club for Creativitys global in-person Portfolio Night 2022 in Mumbai on June 2. In addition, the same three agencies will co-host an online pan-India Portfolio Night on June 1 for those outside of Mumbai. Established in 2003, Portfolio Night has long been recognised as the worlds largest advertising portfolio review program. This fast-paced evening of advice, networking and recruitment takes place in cities around the world on the same date to help the next generation of creative talent entering the industry. Portfolio Night is an important event in advertising because it serves as the gateway for young talent to enter the industry, enabling the best of the present hundreds of renowned international creative directors to meet and mentor the leaders of the future in industry hubs around the world. It has also become a crucial tool for agencies in recruiting top young talent, providing a platform for recognition from local industry peers, and giving agencies a place on the global stage as the ad world tunes in to this one-of-a-kind event. The program also includes Portfolio Night All-Stars, where each city host selects one young creative in their market with the best portfolio. These lucky All-Stars will then participate virtually as a team for a week this summer on a creative assignment for a major global brand. Portfolio Night is a unique global event that serves as a high-visibility opportunity for agencies and creative directors to give back to the industry by guiding the earliest steps of future copywriters, art directors and technologists, said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club for Creativity. We are very grateful to BBDO India, DDB Mudra Group and TBWAIndia for working together to make this important global event possible in person in Mumbai and virtually for all of India. More than two dozen agencies and organisations around the world will host Portfolio Night 2022 on June 2, unless otherwise noted. Other confirmed city hosts so far include: Amsterdam - SuperHeroes Bogota - DDB Colombia Boston - Arnold Worldwide Buenos Aires - Circulo de Creatividad Argentina and GUT Cairo - The One Club-Cairo Chapter (June 4) Cape Town - Duke Advertising Chicago - Chicago Portfolio School (online) Dallas - Dieste Helsinki - Wunderman Thompson Finland Houston - Adcetera Lisbon - Clube Criativos London - VMLY&R London (June 9) Madrid - Media.Monks (June 8) Miami - Alma DDB Montreal - Tank Worldwide Paris - DDB Paris San Francisco - Goodby Silverstein & Partners Sao Paulo - Africa Santiago - Inbrax Seoul - Re-Be Singapore - BBDO Taipei - ADK (June 1, online) Tickets are available at Portfolio Night 2022. Branding for this years program was created by 2014 Portfolio Night All-Star Katlego Phatlane, based in Johannesburg. Unlike for-profit awards shows, The One Club is a non-profit organisation that puts revenue generated from awards entries back into the industry in the form of programs under its four pillars Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality and Professional Development. The Australian feminine fashion retail brand in India, Forever New launches their latest Spring Summer Campaign, Feel Fresh with brand ambassador, Diana Penty. The collection is an ode to the freshness with the onset of the glorious summer days ahead, wherein one cannot help but feel uplifted and resolute in the face of chirping birds and blooming flowers. Entitled Feel Fresh, the campaign features the brand ambassador Diana Penty, meandering freely in nature styled in Forever News latest Spring Summer collection. The video is a splendid depiction of the blossoming months and brings forth this sentiment through a picturesque backdrop, inspiring the feeling of vibrancy and freshness within a Forever New woman. Seeking inspiration from this zeal and vigor, the same has been translated into fabric and brings to the forefront the timelessness and eternal glamour that are integral to the brand essence. The campaign induces optimism, cheer, and exhilaration that are synonymous with Spring Summer and wishes to disseminate the same energy to its audience as well. The brand channels this spirit through Diana, donning dreamy styles in a fresh color palette with floral prints and bright pops of color. The campaign is a quintessential representation of the Forever New woman, glamorous in every role she plays, self-assured, and seeking inspiration from her surroundings. Delighted to have showcased Forever New's latest Spring Summer'22 collection, brand ambassador Diana Penty says, The latest collection by Forever New is all about freshness and the renewed energy that Summer brings in its wake. The prints, bright poppy colors, and easy silhouettes are so flattering and easy to wear. The pieces resonate with my personal style reflecting an easy balance between glamour, fashion, and femininity. The brands ethos has always been about mixing modern or contemporary feminine trends with flattering silhouettes and styles. With this latest collection, the brand adds a surprising twist to your everyday looks with statement styles, ready to take you from work meetings to dinner. Freshen your wardrobe with bright shades of candy pinks and jade, which elegantly complement the sweet sun-kissed florals to bring a playful yet feminine appeal. With a wide array of selections ranging from relaxed and flowing silhouettes for daytime events, sleek solid styles for luxe leisure evenings, to breathable linen separates for everyday wear, pamper yourself to your hearts content this summer season. Having statement necklines is a key focus this season with dresses and tops featuring halter necks and the signature cowl neck for that glam touch. Sleeves also play a major role this season and add fun to the collection in terms of puff and flutter sleeves. Elevate your style this Spring Summer with vibrant tops, dresses, separates, skirts, pants, and blouses with an elegant addition of new handbags and accessories to accompany! Havas Media Group India, the media agency conglomerate of Havas Group India, has announced the launch of its specialised content division, called Havas Content. The unit will focus on leveraging dynamic content to help brands create meaningful media experiences and make a meaningful difference in consumers lives. Havas Content aims to bridge the gap by offering meaningful content solutions that not only entertains but also educates, inspires, and helps consumers, maps brands performance to its content effectiveness and boosts business returns. With the divisions in-house capabilities of analysing data and driving insights, Havas Content is armed with a scientific approach to developing meaningful content which in turn resonates with the Groups core philosophy of building meaningful brands. Havas Content also aims to synergise with various content and media partners across traditional and digital platforms to provide a holistic and seamless consumer experience. Over the last few years, Havas Media Group India has witnessed a 5x growth in the content space, with some clutter-breaking content created for prominent brands like Hyundai, OYO, Swarovski, Swiggy and Tata Motors (CVBU). Havas Content has also adopted a future-first approach and is helping brands navigate todays dynamic content ecosystem that is constantly evolving with new trends like AR, VR, NFTs, Metaverse, that has led to its sweeping success in India. Havas Content will be led by Uday Mohan, President and Chief Client Officer, Havas Media Group India. To further strengthen the division, the agency has made two key hires. Prachi Narayan has joined as Vice President, Content and Shivani Kaushik as Content Manager, who will support Mohan in scaling this offering across Havas Media Group Indias client portfolio. Prachi Narayan brings extensive experience having spent 16 years working across top news networks, event organisations and creative solutions providers. Shes juggled multiple roles as an anchor, reporter and producer in global English & Hindi news broadcasters like NDTV, CNBC-TV18, TV Today Network and Republic Media Network. She has also been at the helm of designing content strategies and delivering nationwide campaigns for Indias leading brands. Shivani Kaushik is a writer and conversationist at heart with a passion for crafting stories and engaging brand narratives. She joins from Josh Talks, where she was heading content for North. Speaking about the launch, Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, said, We understand the power of good content and the launch of Havas Contentcouldnt have come at a better time. The wide range of work that the team has done for a varied set of clients in the content space, and the impact it has made to our client's business made it a logical step to launch this as a separate vertical and further scale it up. Its another step towards further empowering the brands that partner with us,and help them craft more meaningful stories. Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India, said, Content has been an integral part of Havas Groups Meaningful Brands proprietary study each year. In the past, the study has revealed that Content is falling massively short of consumer expectations.With the current content overload, misinformation, fake news and the pandemic-driven shifts in consumer behaviour, it has become more imperative than ever to create differentiated content that not just grabs the consumers attention but also helps & rewards them, making the brand a seamless part of the consumers journey. I am confident that Uday, along with Prachi and Shivani will make the content division the best in the business in India. Uday Mohan added here, In this new world order, consumers are constantly on the lookout for brands with a greater purpose, brands that can impact their lives positively. Content has proved to be an important tool in making consumers see that purpose. Havas's reputation globally in the content space is unparalleled. With Indian brands becoming content-conscious, we believe this was the perfect time for us to officially launch our content division in India. Bringing together the combined expertise of Havas Village, and the content powerhouse within the Vivendi network, we are confident Havas Content will become a one-stop-shop for all our clients content needs. Adtech industry leaders Mayura Nayak and Karana Khanna will join the recently announced startup Huella Services as co-founders along with Prrincey Roy. Huella Services intends to be a strategic growth partner to businesses and improve their efficiency & drive growth with their marketing & sales expertise. Mayura brings with her over seventeen years of experience leading sales teams across print, OOH and digital platforms. Karan Khanna has over a decade of expertise driving digital and omnichannel revenue and advertising strategy for some of the world's leading consumer-facing brands. Together at Huella, the team is focused on building a company that serves as a valuable revenue and growth partner for tech/content platforms in India. Commenting on the appointment, Prrincey Roy, Co-founder, Huella Services, said, Mayura, Karan and I have worked together for a decade now and I am delighted to have them on board as co-founders. Under their leadership, we will have an increased focus on our vision of helping businesses evolve and excel by creating highly profitable strategies that are measurable and result oriented. Mayura Nayak is an industry veteran and brings with her valuable experience in nurturing sales teams across organisations like Times Internet, Big FM, Business Standard and eBay. Her resilient approach to selling very tough offerings, in complicated environments has been her core strength. Commenting on her new role, Mayura Nayak, Co-founder, Huella Services, said, I am looking forward to being a part of the team and embarking on this new journey. Staying true to the meaning of Huella, i.e. footprint, we aspire to lead the footprint of new-age platforms in India. Our vision is to leave our mark on the digital story of every brand. To achieve this, we are focused on enabling digital marketers by offering a bouquet of innovative technology and content solutions curated specifically for them. Karan Khanna is a dedicated digital media professional who has successfully led revenue and media strategy initiatives, assisting customers in designing their digital roadmaps and long-term development strategies. He has over a decade of experience working for businesses such as Times Internet, AdGlobal360, WelcomeBreak, and others. Taking on this new role, Karan Khanna says, We want to encourage brands to use new-age mar-tech platforms to reach their target audiences through innovative ways. We help brands achieve this by focusing on their intrinsic growth as well as measurable and quantifiable metrics. With Huella, we will work towards becoming the center of innovation by maximising the use of creativity, technology and data with a shift to non-traditional forms of advertising recognized globally. Huella Services successfully develops efficient and productive revenue generation processes working with teams for businesses across India. With its shared economic and high-profit strategy, Huella works towards elevating business performances through fundamental shifts in the go-to markets and revenue strategy and related fields. Some of the partners they work with include Accelerate, Adonmo, Newsroom AI and Jukin Media. Founded in 1846 by John Dewar, John Dewar & Sons Ltd has grown from a small wine and spirit merchant shop in Perth, Scotland, to become a globally renowned and celebrated scotch whisky that is enjoyed around the world. We have often seen, heard, experienced alcohol brands leveraging pillars such as music, comedy and social media to engage with consumers. However, that wasnt the case with Dewars. Innovative and premium, Dewars is a brand that has always focused on creating an enhanced experience for its discerning consumers, thus, becoming an integral part of every occasion and celebration. Keeping the consumers at heart, the brand found its niche with the growing trend of romanticizing whisky with delicious food. In an exclusive interview with Adgully for their MARKETING MINDS column, Vijay Dev, Consumer Marketing Lead - Whiskies, Bacardi India, speaks at length about the brand journey and how they always keep consumers at the heart of every decision that they make, facing the challenges thrown up by the pandemic, association with food-based shows, consumer behavior trends seen on the alco-bev industry, and more. When you think of Bacardi, you are always associated with the white spirits. So, what were some of the challenges for brand Dewars to make inroads in the highly competitive whiskey market? At Bacardi, weve always kept consumers at the heart of every decision that weve made be it strategic or operational. These decisions are backed by insights and by understanding the needs of consumers. The decision to focus on whisky as a category was made in the recent years and is in line with the companys aim to cater to Indias whisky dominated spirits market. Whisky, which is the largest category within sprits, is a cluttered category with more than 150 brands/ variants. Indian consumers love whisky, which contributes more than 80% to the overall spirits business in India. As a brand, if you offer an intrinsic benefit to a discerning consumer, theres room to grow and carve a niche for yourself as a brand. Dewars as a brand has always focused on innovation and creating an enhanced experience, something that our audiences indeed resonate with. This is where we have been able to meet consumer needs with our unique double aged scotch and connect with them through our #DoubleIsBetter campaigns. Today, while the company gets majority of its revenue from rum, our whisky portfolio which is also growing at a fast pace, contributes in double digits to the companys overall revenue. With more consumers entering the legal drinking age and being open to trying more premium spirits, we see our Whisky market share getting stronger. As a premium product and brand, how have you differentiated Dewars to be the preferred choice of brand in the scotch whiskey category? Dewars has always stayed at the forefront of progressiveness with experiences and content to make whisky double the fun and relevant for new-age whisky drinkers. Weve been first-movers in creating campaigns and experiences inspired by alternative consumer and cultural trends. Thereby, resulting in content such as You Got Chefd!, which went on to win accolades at The Talent Track Awards as Best Digital Series on Food. We have also partnered with a show called Social Media Star, where celebrity and digital influencer duos come together for a banter-filled fun chat show, echoing the brand messaging. Furthermore, The Doers Club, launched in 2019 with Rhea Kapoor and Pooja Dhingra in Mumbai, was an experiment that the brand took to popularise gourmet food and whisky cocktails pairings pan-India. Dewars has forayed into the carbonated water category with its Highball Soda Water product. Whats the marketing objective here and also whats the idea behind the association with the television series FoodFood? Dewars premium highball soda water launched its first-of-its-kind television series, Dewars Highball Hour, for the FoodFood channel. The objective behind this was to enhance consumers drinking experience. Focusing exclusively on fine highball mocktails made with Dewars Highball Soda Water and tapas, the show comprises eight episodes hosted by the renowned Chef Saransh Goila and Dewars India Ambassador, Myles Carroll. The duo educates viewers about the art and nuances behind pairing delectable highball mocktails with the right finger foods. With a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour, the charismatic pair made sure to keep audiences engaged with their fun banter, as well as spoke about how modern-day consumers can have a great time at home. The pandemic was a challenge for the liquor brands. How did you navigate in those tough times and what are some of the innovations that you brought in to reach the last mile? At Bacardi, we pride ourselves in being leaders in creating unique experiences and having identified changing consumer behaviours, we retained our strategy, but we had to pivot on the execution. With great agility and keeping consumers at the heart, we were able to take many of our platforms virtual still meeting consumer needs during the lockdown. For example, Dewars introduced a uniquely crafted amalgamation of home gatherings through its signature experiential platform, The Doers Club, with a DIY element. The Doers Clubs DIY edition took a digital approach to create a virtual culinary experience for its consumers with Chef Ranveer Brar and Vicky Ratnani on Instagram. It was encouraging to see all our other campaigns in their newer formats accepted so well by our audiences. This gives us the confidence to try our newer platforms and formats going forward. Promoting liquor brands through surrogate advertising has always been challenging. What has been your promotional strategy and how are you leveraging content to engage with the target audience? Innovative and premium, Dewars is a brand that has always focused on creating an enhanced experience for its discerning consumers, thus, becoming an integral part of every occasion and celebration. In line with that, Dewars leveraged the food pillar. Keeping the consumers at heart, the brand found its niche with the growing trend of romanticizing whisky with delicious food. What are some of the consumer behavioural trends that you have noticed in the whisky category with specific reference to scotch brands? Purely going by the trend, Scotch Whisky is popular among Indian consumers. Previously, it was restricted to occasional drinking, but with a younger and more diverse Indian drinking population testing the spirit, it is undergoing a drastic image makeover led by innovations and better access. Today, our consumers are open to experimenting, and they enjoy their whiskies very differently, be it at a bar or their homes, and they are keen to have a more immersive experience. Premiumisation is a key trend that the alco-bev industry overall and the whisky category in particular has been witnessing. Consumers are drinking less and drinking better. This shift has been further accelerated post pandemic, where categories like scotch and above have grown whilst most of the other categories had seen decline. How has the growth story been so far for Dewars? Whats the future looking like and do you plan to bring in innovations in product offerings? In line with our efforts to further scale up the premium whisky category and be at the forefront of Innovations, we have a couple of new launches lined up under Dewars. Watch out for more details soon. KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, April 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 people were killed and nearly 40 others wounded after a blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Friday, eyewitnesses said. The explosion occurred in Imam Sahib district shortly after Friday prayers roughly at 2:30 p.m. local time, a witness told Xinhua anonymously. "The casualties were transported to the district hospital. The death toll may rise as many of the wounded remained in critical condition," he said. The Taliban security forces cordoned off the area shortly after the blast, keeping people from gathering at the scene. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. On Thursday, 34 people were killed and over 80 wounded in multiple explosions, including a blast targeting a mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of northern Balkh province. ShemarooMe is bringing live darshan from various revered shrines across India to customers through its Alexa skill. Devotees can now worship and seek blessings from the comfort of their home. The shrines and temples from which the live darshan will be streamed include Prati Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, Shirgaon; Babulnath Mandir, Mumbai; Vighnahar Ganapati Temple, Ozar; Shri Mahaganapti Ashtavinayak Ganpati Temple, Ranjangaon; ISKCON Temple, Girgaon, Mumbai; Shri Ichhapuran Balaji Mandir, Rajasthan; Lakshmi Maa Mahalaxmi; Shani Shingnapur Temple; and Ganga Darshan, Varanasi. Live darshan of all the deities is now just a voice request away. Devotees can say Alexa, open Live Darshan, or Alexa, live Darshan shuru karo and select a stream from the options available to experience the devotional fervour of worshipping deities from various shrines and temples of India. The live darshan can be experienced by devotees, with no extra cost, across Amazon Echo range of smart speakers, Alexa app and Amazon shopping app (Android-only). Customers can also watch the live stream on devices with screen such as Amazon Echo Show and Fire TV devices. Zubin Dubash, COO, ShemarooMe & Digital Businesses, Shemaroo, said, Voice searches are revolutionising the way we live today. They not only lead to better content discovery but also enhance the overall user experience. We are delighted to bring the live darshan from these revered Indian shrines and temples to the devotees homes via Alexa and make it easily accessible to consumers. Dilip R.S., Country Manager for Alexa Skills, Voice Service and Mobile, Amazon India, adds In most Indian households, Echo devices are kept in the living room where the entire family can interact with Alexa from kids to the elderly. We have also observed that devotional songs and bhajans are the second most popular type of music requested by customers. Learning from this usage trend, the live darshan Alexa skill from ShemarooMe is a great addition for customers who seek devotional content and we look forward to their feedback. With the new Alexa skill, ShemarooMe looks to increase its brand presence in the Indian market. The devotional segment has been a key focus area for Shemaroo and the live darshan initiative will expand the market by connecting newer consumers to the category through formats and mediums of their convenience. Shemaroo has been entrenched in the devotional category through various platforms such as broadcast channels, OTT app, devices and now on Amazon Alexa too. Sidharth Shakdher, the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Disney+ Hotstar, has backed out from leaving the platform, according to sources. In March, Shakdher filed for resignation from Disney+ Hostar where he was heading the direct-to-consumer business and the marketing function. After his resignation, Nikhil Madhok, the Head of Original Content and EVP of Disney + Hotstar, was put in charge of the marketing division of the platform. Shakdher joined Disney + Hotstar in June, 2016 as the Chief Marketing Officer and SVP. He looked after the digital, brand, integrated marketing strategy, user lifecycle marketing, martech, partnerships, growth marketing, and usage analytics function for Disney+ Hotstar. He was instrumental in helping Disney+ Hotstar reach a 200-million user base with a consumption growth of 20X over a four-year period. In September 2018, he was promoted as the Business Head and EVP, which he managed till December, 2020. Prior to joining Disney, Shakdher headed one of the largest retail categories at Amazon in the US and previously worked with Reckitt Bensiker, heading some of the most victorious product launches and helping in building the digital business for Reckitt. There are other matters of transparency which go beyond the Verkerk/Downing letter. For example, the unusual arrangement by which the Secretary of State is also the main shareholder in the Porton Down Lab (as is now well-known). It was distressing to see how the Secretary of State began pumping public money into the speculative Porton Down vaccine project in the early stages of the epidemic, while failing to ensure that the puplic were immediately protected [3] (we are now heading for the worst fatality rate of any country). On the 19 March Public Health England put out a statement that they no longer considered COVID-19 to be a high risk disease [4] and within a day we were facing lockdown. Not much more convincing, now, are tub thumping references to British innovation by the Business Secretary or the Prime Minister. It was well understood even in the 19th century how statistics could be distorted for political purposes, since when the methods have only become more sophisticated and ultimately potentially more obfuscating. The safety, usefulness and effectiveness of universal vaccines should have to be meticulously and transparently established, yet we advance at reckless pace. It is certain that none of the candidates will have long term testing and it is questionable who on the face of it they could sensibly be given to [2]. I am forwarding the excellent letter (attached) to Matt Hancock by Robert Verkerk of the Alliance for Nautal Health International and Damien Downing of the British Society for Ecological Medicine requesting transparency over the introduction of any COVID-19 vaccines in response to the current crisis, and I would suggest that it is necessary for the Secretary of State to make clear undertakings rather than vague professions of good faith. The letter can be found here on-line [1]. This is the letter I sent to my Member of of Parliament yesterday forwarding the excellent letter to the UK's Secretary of Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock (pictured with Bill Gates), by Robert Verkerk and Damien Downing: I must further point to the anomalous position of Prof Pollard, board member of the Jenner Foundation, head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, adviser to the MHRA, and chair of the JCVI. With the eruption of Kawasaki like symptoms in children with COVID-19 I was recently forced to note that Pollard's Bexsero Meningitis B vaccine, according to the manufacturer's data, may cause Kawasaki Disease in as many as 3 in 1,000 children [5]. Pollard was not only lead developer of the vaccine but recommended it for infant use at his second meeting as chair of the JCVI [6]. I take the view that it is not so much Prof Pollard who is to blame for this as the government, who evidently find this continuing situation expedient. We know so far that the Porton/Oxford vaccine will not be tested against genuine placebo [7], so we start in bad place. It is absolutely essential if we are going to have these products that the state operates by some conventional rules and this manifestly is not presently happening. Please will you communicate my concern to the Secretary of State. With best wishes, John Stone Post Script Following a couple of queries I sent a further note to my MP: "Regarding my letter yesterday, I just wanted to make clear because a couple of people have taken me up on it that I was in no way seeking to imply that Matt Hancock was personally benefitting from the office the Secretary of State's shareholdership in Porton Down, I was simply pointing to the unusual nature of the arrangement." John Stone is UK Editor for Age of Autism. See also Meryl Nass "The UK has the world's highest COVID mortality..." Why were ingredients known to be associated with clots permitted in Covid injections?: the British regulator stonewalls By John Stone This is a matter I first wrote about a year ago: as reports began to accumulate of clotting in recipients of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid injection a well-known biochemist pointed out to me that adenovirus component present in this product (as well as the Johnson & Johnson and Sputnik) had been a known risk for thrombocytopenia for two decades before these products were assembled at breakneck speed in February 2020. This presented a simpler issue than the mRNA products of Pfizer and Moderna where many of the potential risks - though not all - were relatively speculative, since our governments had apparently authorised these products either knowing exactly what was likely to occur, or with alarming incompetence having failed to spot it. Back in April last year was the first time I asked had the MHRA (the British regulator) done due diligence. Ultimately, in November 2021 I wrote to the CEO of the MHRA, June Raine, asking her point blank: Can you explain why the MHRA permitted the use of adenovirus in Covid vaccines bearing in mind that it was known to be associated with clots? I did not hear back for a long while, and then on 22 February 2022 I received the following acknowledgement from someone signing himself Peter: Our Reference: CSC 89455 Dear Mr John Stone, Thank you for your email. We have reviewed your enquiry and this has been passed on to our Licensing colleagues for further input. It was an interesting day for this to occur because it was the day the Metropolitan Police announced that they would not be pursuing further criminal investigations into the Covid affair. I thanked Peter and waited a month and in place of an answer re-submitted my enquiry as a Freedom of Information request (which received an automatic acknowledgement). Then when the statutory 20 days for answering such a request had elapsed, earlier this week, I enquired again and received neither answer or acknowledgement. We have perhaps to conclude that we have reached the end of the line and the MHRA cannot explain in any shape of form why they allowed so many people to be hurt, injured or even killed. The MHRAs first assessed the connection between between the AZ product and thrombocytopenia as likely on 7 April 2021 but what they failed to acknowledge was that they were only geared to receiving a small fraction of reports as stated in a notice of 2018: It is estimated that only 10% of serious reactions and between 2 and 4% of non-serious reactions are reported. They knew therefore the risk to patients on which they continued to roll out the product was likely in the region of ten times worse than stated in their published reports, while fatalities were also reported at a much higher rate than for Pfizer and again might be ten times worse according to their own rule of thumb. The issue of how far the British regulator which is an agency of UK Department of Health and Social Care and is 100% funded by the industry, works for the public rather than the industry is more than ever moot, and this instance is complicated by the fact that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - at the time the controversial World Economic Forum advocate Matt Hancock - was also a sponsor of the development of the product. As long ago as 2005 the House of Commons Health Committee remarked: The Department of Health has for too long optimistically assumed that the interests of health and of the industry are as one. This may reflect the fact that the Department sponsors the industry as well as looking after health. The result is that the industry has been left to its own devices for too long.... The industry is by no means solely to blame for the difficulties we describe. The regulators and prescribers are also open to criticism. The regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has failed to adequately scrutinise licensing data and its post-marketing surveillance is inadequate. The MHRA Chairman stated that trust was integral to effective regulation, but trust, while convenient, may mean that the regulatory process is not strict enough. And in 2020 I wrote in BMJ on-line: Two years ago officers of the MHRA were defensive of their inability to detect the narcolepsy risk with the Pandemrix vaccine in the swine flu scare of 2009 nine years before, despite heavy criticism..In 2020 they face a much more daunting task of assessing for licensure and monitoring a plethora COVID-19 vaccines, each of apparently novel design. I hope they are now able to give the public assurances that important lessons have been learned, and not just that they always get it right Yet nothing which has gone before seems to compare with the present recklessness over human life, and it is urgent government and regulator are held to account. There are many complex questions that the Covid episode has thrown up, but this one is as simple as it gets. Asked the most basic question they cannot, will not answer and manifestly there is something to hide. LISBON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday issued a government decree removing the mandatory use of masks for almost all situations. According to the president's website, Rebelo "promulgated a governmental order" related to COVID-19 restrictions, which include reducing the mask-wearing mandate. The Council of Ministers agreed that conditions have been met for the non-compulsory use of masks, said Portuguese Minister of Health Marta Temido at a press conference after a cabinet meeting on Thursday. But masks are still mandatory in places "frequented by vulnerable people," such as nursing homes, health facilities and public transport, said the minister. Noting that the pandemic is not over yet, she made it clear that restrictive measures may change again pending future needs. MOSCOW, April 22 (Xinhua) -- One soldier died and 27 other crew members went missing when they were fighting for the survival of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva that sank in the Black Sea last week, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. The remaining 396 crew members of the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, were evacuated to other ships in the area and delivered to Sevastopol, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry has provided all the necessary support and assistance to the families and friends of the deceased and missing, it added. According to a survey, the vast majority of the Moskva crew members want to continue to serve in the Black Sea Fleet. The Moskva was "seriously damaged" by the detonation of ammunition onboard as a result of a fire on April 13 and a day later it sank in stormy seas when it was being tugged to a port, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The Ukrainian side said that its border guards used Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles to deliver "very serious damage" to the Moskva. From time to time, I am accused of being a bit too optimistic about America's future which I find a tad amusing because past experiences have chiseled my worldview into something more akin to cynical realism than unicorns flying on fairy dust. I've seen enough to understand just how deeply man's cruelty can cut. I've peeked behind a few curtains and learned how monstrous lies get peddled as truths. And I have no doubts about the magnitudes of the various domestic and foreign threats surrounding us. What I do have, however, is a profound faith in God, an appreciation for human history, and a committed belief that Americans are a gritty and determined people who generally excel most when all is nearly lost. I mean no disrespect to the citizens of other nations; I know there are heroes and history-makers among the populations of every country on Earth. But dollars to doughnuts, I'd take a feisty, ragtag group of ordinary Americans by my side were I ever facing long odds and dwindling options. Americans love to fight but can be convinced to control their bubbling anger for a spell. However, when fighting the good fight becomes not only necessary, but also righteous in nature, then Heaven help those who get in their way! There is something almost feral in the American spirit, a kind of attitude that is part can-do and part you-can't-tell-me-what- to-do! The One-World-Government internationalists running the federal bureaucracy have done their best to beat this disrespect for authority out of the American people, but it's still there, just below the surface, sort of stewing in its juices until all hell breaks loose. I swear, the worst thing you can tell an American if you seek his surrender is, "You can't win this battle," because he'll take that as a damn challenge and double down in his obstinacy. That's one of the reasons I know the globalists pushing this Build Back Better BS haven't really thought through their plans for world domination. They're counting on "the good German" or "the kind Canadian" or the "grin-and-bear-it Brit" to take what's coming and accept the New World Order in stride. But all those World Economic Forum SOBs are totally clueless about the average American's psychology. Yeah, government propaganda appealing to Americans' sense of compassion and moral duty works for a while, but when those same Americans start to feel that official organs of power have pulled the wool over their eyes and disrespected them as fools, well, that's when Americans' dormant "rebel" DNA kicks in with true gusto. The Great Reset Gestapo pushing all this Build Back Better boobery down our throats thinks that if all the right billionaires, corporations, and celebrities get together and say abracadabra, Americans will snap to attention and embrace whatever "rules-based international order" comes their way. You say Bill Gates, George Soros, and Klaus Schwab have endorsed fake meat, windmills, and rule by elites? Well, sign us up! You mean Prince Charles and other European royals are all in for the Green New Deal? Well, why didn't you say so? Hollywood and the Woke Capital Class think we better do exactly what they say in order to save the planet? Well, of course we'll follow those yahoos anywhere! Not! What kind of "medicinals" are the one percent of the one percent smoking these days? Appealing to "authorities" for (non-leftist) Americans is not at all different from appealing to the "better angels" of Congress. We know that billionaires, monarchs, and celebrities have opinions; we just don't give two shakes what those opinions might be. When we say emphatically, "All men are created equal," there is no boilerplate fine print for us down below qualifying, "Except for corrupt politicians, noble leftovers from the days of medieval feudalism, corporate oligarchs, or communist dictators, all of whom are obviously superior to and entitled to rule over the rest of us in perpetuity." No siree! We have about as much use for a permanent ruling class as Dr. Fauci has for an introductory ethics textbook that is to say, none at all! Ever since COVID-1984 mania was unleashed (intentionally or unintentionally maybe time will tell) upon the world, the hypnotic drumbeat emanating from the Davos Druids has been steady: trust the experts. Obey. Mandates will set you free. None in the media dare call it "reprogramming," but that's clearly what it has been. So confident in its powers of propaganda and so contemptuous of the notion of free will, the global coalition of the self-righteous has been certain that if it rings the right bells and rewards us with the right treats, a new obedient class of American serfs can be cultivated in Pavlovian fashion. Instead, Americans have learned not to trust "the Experts." They've grown weary of obedience. They've begun to remember that, in a free society, it is they who do the mandating. And they've got a pretty good idea where they'd like to shove that government bell should it need muting in the future. The globalist cabal set out to use a combination of fear and financial stimulus to lead sleepwalking Americans into a new system of "compliance." Instead, more Americans have awakened from this COVID-1984 nightmare with a clear understanding of just what's at stake. Even worse, what's at stake hits Americans at their core. Free speech, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, the right to make a living, the right to control one's future, privacy these aren't esoteric minutiae regarded by Americans as the playthings of philosophers and poets. These are the building blocks that give Americans a sense of their own historic identity. You can't be against free speech but be pro-American. You can't be in favor of "rule by elite" and still support American self-governance. You can't believe that liberty is "selfish" and still fly the red, white, and blue with pride. The globalists have spent the last several years putting into place policies that effectively say, "Americans, destroy yourselves." And to their continuing amazement, more and more Americans have looked around, become disgusted with what they see, and told the globalists, "You first!" Righteous anger is a force to be reckoned with. Hand that righteous anger to an American, and he not only finds renewed purpose, but finds a good reason to fight. You wake up enough Americans to the reality that the only war worth fighting today is the one pitting the preservation of individual liberty against the emergence of some monstrous form of corporate-government totalitarianism, and all of a sudden the future imagined by the New World Order devotees doesn't look so certain. You get, in other words, the beginnings of an American Renaissance. And all it took was a bunch of out-of-touch politicians in D.C., multinational oligarchs manipulating world events, and committed ideological communists to make the unforced error of forgetting that Americans do not like being told what to do! Image: Tom Hilton via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Since the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last August and Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has felt like the world is on fire. But in the midst of these attention-grabbing crises, there is an even more pernicious threat facing the United States and the signs are all around us. Behind most major foreign policy issues lies China. Take the Iran nuclear deal. Media reports indicate that Irans fleet of tankers has ferried at least $22 billion worth of illicit oil to the Peoples Republic of China since 2021. This has provided the Iranian regime with a major source of revenue and raised questions about the Biden administrations lax enforcement of sanctions. It is as good an example of Chinas duplicity as can be found today. But it is not an isolated incident. Leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. approached China numerous times to detail U.S. intelligence suggesting a likely invasion. The U.S. asked China to persuade Russia not to invade. Instead, China simply passed along the intel to Moscow. What about the deadly and economically devastating global pandemic? Chinas role in the origin of COVID-19 continues to be an unanswered question deserving of serious inquiry. In fact, according to an internal memo from the State Department from April 2020, it appears more likely than not that the virus was released from a lab in or around Wuhan, China, such as the Wuhan Institute of Virology or the Wuhan Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Certainly, China is not a friend of the United States. But is it the most hostile nation threatening our national security today? China is -- lets not forget -- a communist state that is conducting a soft war of propaganda and espionage against the U.S. For example, China continues to sponsor the controversial Confucius Institutes, spending more than $158 million since 2006 to place them in U.S. schools. These institutes are placed on college campuses, but controlled, funded, and mostly staffed by the Chinese communist government. They are not the innocent cultural centers offering Chinese language instruction they pretend to be. In fact, their legacy is an epidemic of self-censorship at U.S universities that funnels students away from topics likely to offend the Chinese Communist Party. Allegations of espionage have become quite common, prompting Congress to pass legislation barring universities with Confucius Institutes from also receiving money from the Defense Department. Additional efforts to limit foreign control over these Institutes achieved some success in the Senate but has stalled in the House. Chinese espionage expands well beyond university grounds. In July 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray put Chinas threat in stark terms: The greatest long-term threat to our nations information and intellectual property and our economic vitality is the counterintelligence and economic espionage threats from China Of the nearly 5,000 active counterintelligence cases currently under way across the country, almost half are related to China. Its the people of the United States who are the victims of what amounts to Chinese theft on a scale so massive that it represents one of the largest transfers of wealth in human history. It would be nice if the Biden administration took Communist Chinas soft war against the U.S. seriously. But other than a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics -- an ill-defined and novel tactic with little metrics to show for the effort -- the administration has refused to demonstrate serious resolve when it comes to Chinese treachery, theft, and espionage. In fact, it did just the opposite by ending the China Initiative, a Justice Department Trump-era effort to combat the growing threat of Chinese espionage and trade secret theft. But burying our heads in the sand is not going to make this threat go away. More likely, it will only serve to embolden the source of most of our most dangerous crises. Adam Turner is the Director of the Center to Advance Security in America. Image: National Archives For a couple of years toward the end of the last century, David Horowitz contributed a regular column to the online magazine Salon. In 1999 he gathered those columns in a book entitled Hating Whitey and Other Progressive Causes. To return to this book today is to recognize that it couldve been published yesterday, for the issues it addresses are now even more urgent, and the bizarre ideological tendencies now even more extreme than they were then. To revisit in this book the subjects discussed in his Salon columns -- from Camille Cosbys claim that her sons murder was motivated by the racism that is endemic in American society, to the self-professed anti-white rage of feminist scholar bell hooks (sic); from the black leftist celebration of Bill Clinton as our first black president to the black leftist contempt for black conservative thinkers like Larry Elder; from the entrenched leftism of the American academy to the leftist elites shunning of one of its own, Christopher Hitchens, for betraying his friend, Clinton bagman Sidney Blumenthal -- is like looking at an old photograph of the tree in ones front yard and exclaiming, Wow! We thought it was big then, but look how much its grown since! Given that Horowitz, in these columns, looks back time again to the days of the New Left in which the Clinton-era events hes discussing had their beginnings, what we have here is a text that, revisited today, operates on several temporal levels. Horowitz takes us to the Sixties, as it were, by way of the Nineties, thereby shedding light on the process by which many of the intellectuals, rabble-rousers, and outright gangsters of six decades ago, became themselves. All of them were determined to tear down the American establishment in the name of Black Power or Womens Liberation or explicit Leninist or Maoist revolution. By the 1990s, they were firmly entrenched members of the cultural, political, and academic elite, and are at present, to an alarming extent, our eminences grises, in all but absolute control of the legacy media, Ivy League, Democratic Party, movie business, Silicon Valley, an increasing number of major corporations, and even the military, FBI, CIA, and mainline Protestantism. As for Horowitz, in the 1960s he was one of the lefts leading figures. But while other, lesser lights of the left rode the wave of anti-establishment rebellion to entrenched establishment power, Horowitz, recognizing the toxicity of the movement hed helped lead and the value of the American institutions he and his cronies had sought to dismantle, switched sides. By the 1990s, in one of recent historys supreme ironies, he had ridden his pro-American stance to a position as an outsider in an America rapidly being taken over by its (former?) enemies. And while writers whom hed once edited at Ramparts contributed to the reshaping of American culture from their corner offices at the New York Times, L.A. Times, and elsewhere, Horowitz, by far a finer writer (and thinker) than any of them, was grateful for a perch at Salon. Today -- when Salon is perhaps most famous for celebating pedophilia, and the very idea of conservatives getting a toe in the door even there is a quaint memory -- Horowitz continues to shout through newer (and thankfully proliferating) cracks in the wall, such as the Ben Shapiro and Dave Rubin podcasts, about his ex-comrades enduring perfidy, while they wield microphones so large that they can afford to ignore him entirely -- or, if they do choose to pay him attention, to dismiss him as a crank. But, dammit, he was there, back when the New Left was new. And he remembers. He remembered in 1999, and he remembers now. And hes more aware than anybody in America of the guileful ways in which his old comrades have rewritten their histories, and that of the New Left generally, to make themselves and their former movement look sympathetic and heroic. Take a 1998 PBS documentary entitled 1968: The Year that Shaped a Generation, in which the old lefties Steve Talbot, Todd Gitlin, and Tom Hayden presented themselves as having been liberal followers of the peace-loving Martin Luther King at a time when they had, in fact, been aligned with the violent and murderous Black Power movement. Also dropped down the memory hole in the PBS film was their Vietnam-era support not just for U.S. withdrawal from southeast Asia, as theyd have you believe, but for Vietnams liberation -- a liberation that, precisely as many onlookers had warned, resulted in Communist genocide. As Horowitz declares with a thoroughly warranted bluntness, The mass slaughter in Cambodia and South Vietnam from 1975 and 1978 was the real achievement of the New Left. Repeatedly in Hating Whitey, Horowitz dismantles his ex-comrades Clinton-era resume rewrites and corrects the record with surgical precision. He notes that even the Marxist journalist (and Soviet spy) I.F. Stones own adoring biographer acknowledged Stones ineradicable belief that in spite of the brutal collectivization campaign, the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the latest quashing of the Czech democracy and the Stalinist takeover of Eastern Europecommunism was a progressive force, lined up on the correct side of historical events. Horowitz also quite properly derides the audacious claim by many old leftists that theyd celebrated and even contributed to the end of the Cold War -- when in reality theyd aided and abetted the Soviet system throughout its career and mourned its passing. Even in its best moments, Horowitz recalls, the western left disparaged the threat from the communist enemy as a paranoid fantasy of the Cold War right. To be sure, even as he calls the dissemblers to account, Horowitz is capable of giving credit even to a murderous thug like Eldridge Cleaver for having finally admitted on 60 Minutes, not long before his death in 1998, that [i]f people had listened to Huey Newton and me in the 1960s, there would have been a holocaust in this country. To read Hating Whitey is to be reminded that in the 1990s there still seemed reason to hope that the cultural war might yet be won by the partisans of truth so long as they presented their arguments cogently and respectfully. The only thing thats astonishing about Horowitzs account of a presentation he gave at Bates College is that he was treated with a degree of tolerance by almost everyone (except for the student who called him a fascist and raised a Nazi salute); these days, such a relatively civilized reception would be unimaginable. Similarly, the only surprise about Horowitz being the sole conservative at a book festival is that he was invited at all (however curtly) and that the host was actually embarrassed when Horowitz was heckled. How to describe David Horowitz? By turns, in these pages, hes Daniel in the lions den, Diogenes looking for an honest man, Don Quixote tilting at windmills. Throughout, hes an American (and non-socialist) Orwell, bringing moral clarity to topics that have been twisted beyond recognition by odious ideology and duplicitous rhetoric. One reason why this 23-year-old book remains required reading is that it reminds one again and again that the left, over the decades, has kept proffering the same cynical lies and perpetrating the same destructive slanders -- and thereby seducing ever-new generations of naive, idealistic young people. Not only is Horowitz one of the few sometime New Left members who, as of 1999, was telling the truth about that movement and his role in it; hes also one of the few commentators anywhere who, also as of 1999, was already calling out phenomena -- such as Whiteness Studies and Critical Race Theory -- that were then marginal but that currently occupy center stage. Likewise, if youd read Hating Whitey when it first came out, you wouldnt have been blindsided by the recent transformation of the Democrat party into a veritable Communist Party -- the culmination of a process that, as outlined by Horowitz in this book, began way back in 1968. On top of everything else, Horowitz is a wellspring of abiding truths about the left. For many progressives, he writes, it would be more offensive to support their own countrys democratic government in a struggle against a palpable communist threat than to serv[e] a totalitarian state and ai[d] an enemy power. The acceptance of conservative truths while avoiding conservative conclusions, he observes, apropos of the philosopher Richard Rorty, marks the intellectual cul de sac in which the left finds itself in the post-communist era. Pondering the lefts shunning of Hitchens over the Blumenthal matter, Horowitz declares: This tainting and ostracism of sinners is, in fact, the secret power of the leftist faith. Faith, you ask? Yes, faith -- for the community of the left isbound by ties that are fundamentally religious, with messianism [as] its political essence. Moreover, the left isnt just a faith but a romance -- and, as such, will never perish, because every day new romantics are born while old romantics die still clinging to the dream, unwilling to abandon the role of bold crusader and own up to the unheroic, ordinary, and unredeemed nature of their own existence. Yes, some, like Horowitz himself, do snap out of the leftist illusion. But, he laments, in the closing words of this still-powerful book, he realized long ago that there would always be others, and in far greater number, who would keep the faith. A century of broken dreams and the slaughters they spawned would, in the end, teach nothing to those who had no reason to hear. Least of all would it cure them of their hunger for a romance that is really a desire not to know who and what we are. Bruce Bawer's online articles from 2021 are collected in the book Peak Woke? (Swamp Fox Editions). Photo credit: Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 3.0 license With Joe Biden flailing about in an utterly failed presidency, his poll numbers moving ever lower even as he tells everyone he's running for re-election, it's pretty obvious that he's not going to cut it. This seems to be why Bernie Sanders, two-time failed socialist Democrat presidential candidate, looks as though he's going to try to make third time a charm. According to Breitbart News: A leaked memo from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reveals the socialist is interested in another presidential bid. After losing in two Democrat primaries, one in 2016 to Hillary Clinton and another in 2020 to Joe Biden, Sanders "has not ruled out another run for president," a leaked memo to the Washington Post said. The reported author of the missive is Faiz Shakir, Sanders' advisor and former 2020 campaign manager. "In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president, so we advise that you answer any questions about 2024 with that in mind," the memo read. If so, he's a glutton for punishment. The Democrat establishment cheated Bernie twice to take the Democrat nomination from him, in 2016 and in 2020. He had been ahead, and they employed every dirty trick they could find to make sure Sanders didn't get the nomination, despite his popularity with young Democrats. It was pretty much a dry run or a warm-up act for their big one which was stealing the 2020 election from Donald Trump himself. Bernie, as it turns out, was the guy they practiced on, and he let them get away with it. Recall that in 2016, Democrats were pulling these kinds of stunts, back when Sanders had a commanding lead among Democrat voters in the race for the nomination: A cache of more than 19,000 emails from Democratic party officials, leaked in advance of Hillary Clinton's nomination in Philadelphia, details the acrimonious split between the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton's former rival, Senator Bernie Sanders. Several emails posted by Wikileaks show DNC officials scoffing at Sanders and his supporters, and in one instance questioning his commitment to his Jewish religion. Some emails show DNC and White House officials mulling whether to invite guests with controversial backgrounds to Democratic party events. They rigged the race with abandon: Way back in 2016, they rigged the New Hampshire primary vote between Sanders and Hillary Clinton, to pad Clinton's results to the same level as that of Sanders, even though Sanders beat Clinton two to one in that primary. After that, Donna Brazile came out the next year and said that the party rigged the nomination through questionably legal fund-raising mechanisms[.] And they rigged this way, too: The problem is the Democratic Party's system of "superdelegates" in selecting their nominee. Although it's never a direct line of democracy in the presidential nomination process and both parties have processes that depart from pure one-man, one-vote contests, it's pretty obvious the Democrats are setting themselves up for war with their own party members based on process of permitting "superdelegates" for 747, or almost a sixth, of all 5,083 nominating delegates. Superdelegates are party insiders, governors, campaign operatives and former office holders who have nominating power but who are not selected on the basis of primary results. It means they can vote any way they want, even if it's at odds with what the voters want. Back before the Sanders insurgency and well before the election became front page news, Clinton's campaign team focused on getting commitments from 350 superdelegates, which puts her at an advantage for securing the nomination, no matter what the voters' verdict. In effect, the Democrats pretty much handed over their party apparat to Sanders's then-rival, Hillary Clinton, because she raised money from her usual gamy sources to help the party get out of debt: The Democrats were broke and in debt after bankrolling President Obama's second-term campaign, and he did little to help them raise the money they needed. Desperate, the Democratic National Committee made a deal with Clinton early in her campaign to jointly raise money together. Using Clinton's fundraising clout, the DNC was soon out of debt. In exchange, Clinton took control of the DNC, including hiring and firing, and used it as a political weapon against her foes. The deal let Clinton raise money outside the limits of the campaign finance law, by in effect laundering campaign donations through the DNC. It may have been illegal. Bernie didn't stand a chance. Nor did then-Vice President Joe Biden, who, after showing all the signs of running for president, suddenly bowed out in October of 2015 months after Hillary took over the DNC. Bernie had one commanding lead after another in 2016 polls, prolonging that campaign race as Hillary Clinton, a bad candidate, was forced into defense and unable to seal the deal, but somehow she ended up with the nomination, which had to have left bad feelings in the Bernie camp. Democrats then went for an encore in 2020, during that Super Tuesday weekend run-up, when Bernie once again had a "surging" lead in the polls, and watched as one Democrat candidate after another all dropped out of the race at once, leaving just Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, with all of the dropouts in that "spontaneous" mass exit mysteriously rallying around Joe. They got him again a second time, just as he had the nomination in hand, and he just let them. So now he's going for a third time, as if Democrats would ever mend their ways, expecting a fair fight from them to get the nomination. Anyone who would believe that would have to be a fool. What Sanders could possibly have in mind here is anyone's guess. We know how the Democrats treat him when he brings home the voters and takes commanding polling leads. We also know that Joe Biden believes he can run again and win. Now Sanders, who will be 83 in 2024, is going back for more. Democrats aren't going to let Sanders win this time, either. Does Sanders himself know that? It's pretty obvious to the rest of us that these leopards don't change their spots. Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. A couple of years ago, I was made aware of a wide-ranging survey of religious beliefs in New Zealand. The survey uncovered some fascinating insights into the perceptions held by my fellow countrymen and women regarding Christianity. Particularly interesting was the section about the causes of negative viewpoints towards Christianity. By a significant margin, the number one factor repelling people away from Christianity was church abuse. No specific example was given by the authors of the survey but, now in 2021, I presume things such as the revelations about Ravi Zacharias duplicitous life might fit into a broad category of church abuse. Additionally, I speculate that the unreported individual instances of some Christian leaders being hypocrites and frauds are also causing people to turn up their nose and say, yeah nah, not for me thanks. Whats happening? Some housekeeping first Before I go further, I have to rein these horses in for a second and note down a couple of things. Firstly, as Christians, we know that all people are prone to sin and, therefore, leaders are prone to sin. If we are asking how could he?, the answer is always he could. Sin, no matter the perpetrator, should be sad but, in a sense, not surprising. Secondly, to a certain extent, people will latch on to any excuse they can find to not believe. We humans love our sin and so the church's message of repenting from that sin is always going to be unpopular; it is easy to just label churchgoers as hypocrites to avoid thinking about sin. Because of this I want to stress that we should not allow the opinions of those outside the church to be the determining factor about whether something gets done inside the church. The only conforming the church should do is to Scripture. Heres the thing though. I would be fine if the church was disliked because Christians stood against sin. But with this issue, the problem is the opposite. Church abuse is oftentimes a case of not calling out sin. And therefore, the words that should cause us to tremble are not found in newspaper headlines but in the pages of our inspired textthe same pages that frequently warn of false teachers. The long and the short of it is that bullies and frauds have infested the church like bedbugs crawling through a stately hotel and we dont seem to have noticed that the bedbugs have mutated into gargantuan monsters and the guests are now in danger of losing their limbs. Put another way, there is something deeply sobering to realise that non-believers are noticing wolves in the sheep paddock at the same time (or before) the sheep themselves do. We have stepped in something Since I am a farm boy at heart, let me give us a lesson in rural etiquette: When we open a gate, we must not leave it open. If the gates are left open, the stock are vulnerable. Applying farm manners to the damage left behind by church abuse, we need to ask, Has the gate been left open? It has. The gate is open, the sheep are loose and the wolves have crept in. One reason for this (and this is not every case) is that we have elevated individual personality and charisma over the clear teaching of Scripture on qualifications for leaders: being above reproach, being well thought of by outsiders, not being a recent convert, managing his own household, etc. (1 Timothy chapter 3 and Titus chapter 1). We are too easily enamoured by someones eloquence and ability to draw crowds, rather than their faithfulness to sound doctrine. Somewhat gullibly, we remark, My, what big teeth you have, Grandma, and then wonder how we missed the warning signs. Its a template with ready real-life examplessimply replace Grandma with a headline-making-but-not-for-a-good-reason celebrity preacher and replace big teeth with something like narcissistic behaviour and lying. You know, warning sign kind of things. Closing the gate I grant that in many cases, the warning signs are hard to spot. Certainly, it is hard to spot those razor-sharp canines in the middle of that winning smile. And I am not being glib; it really is difficult. Also, I add that these wolves can do two things at once: pull the wool over the eyes of others while also wrapping it around their own shoulders. So how do we close the gate? Closing the gate means carefully following the instructions the Bible lays out on qualifications for elders (references above). Closing the gate means ejecting the trespassers as soon as they reveal themselves to be trespassers. How? When sin arises, it needs to be confronted and unrepentant leaders are to be publicly rebuked on the testimony of two or three witnesses (Matthew chapter 18 and 1 Timothy chapter 5). Closing the gate means handing criminals over to those with authority to punish (1 Peter chapter 2, verses 13-14). Anyway. Im letting you know. The gate has been left open. Is Joe Biden, or whoever is handling him today, aware of his latest "optics"? Get a load of what he's been up to: President Joe Biden stopped in Portland for a few hours Thursday afternoon to drum up excitement for his administration's trillion-dollar effort to revamp the nation's roads, bridges, airports and railways. Biden's speech was part pep talk, part explainer. "Oregon and America have gone from being on the mend to being on the move," Biden said. "We just gotta get the hell out of our own way." Oregon? Portland? Seriously? That's like touting Flint, or Detroit as the great model upon which to build back all of America. Do his handlers think these things through -- or is Portland the only place out there that will step up to serve as his model? Portland is a disastrous antifa-infested mess, a pit of drugs, crime, and homelessness, with corporations and citizens pulling up stakes to flee the city. Its infrastructure is a mess in no small part because city officials are so busy handing out the city coffers to the homeless instead of repairing the roads, and antifa is busy trashing and burning it. Any city like that would have infrastruture problems. Joe says he's coming to transfer money from other taxpayers to fix Portland up -- so antifa can burn it down again. Neither Biden, nor Portland Democrats talk about getting rid of antifa. According to a video last year described by GatewayPundit: Despite city leaders and their enablers in the leftist dominated media continually make excuses for Portlands rapid descent into third-world status, going so far as to post puff pieces claiming its not as bad as what some say and launching a Be Here For Portland PR blitz, the reality of Portlands demise has now been preserved in a video showing just how downtown really looks in 2021. Homeless tents line the sidewalks, streets are full of trash and debris, blocks upon blocks of boarded up and abandoned buildings, and endless rows of graffiti greet visitors. The video starts off juxtaposing a billboard for Rolex watches at Ben Bridge jewelers, then the camera pans down to show what appears to be an abandoned building, taken over by homeless, and tagged with various different bits of graffiti. Rows upon rows of tents of houseless urban campers adorn the sidewalks. Some are left with no tent and are just napping in sleeping bags in doorways and beneath overhangs. Like something akin to Orwellian newspeak propaganda, one such person is sleeping out front of a happy looking little state run thing called Care Oregon with the words Thats The Care Oregon Effect right above him. Another shot ironically shows the evidently closed Employment Access Center with many homeless camped out around it. Note that many of these tents look brand new, likely handed out by the do-gooders of the non profit organizations that purport to want to help the homeless. Then come the city-of-plywood shots, as building after building are boarded up. Some trying to operate in the face of routine riots, others vandalized by robbers, still some broken into by people who just want to keep warm at night. Several of these buildings and businesses have simply been abandoned. Sure some government officials try to blame Covid for the transformation into Boardlandia, but last I checked the virus isnt powerful enough to shatter windows. After touting Portland as the model for his big spending plans, Biden then backslapped with Portland's finest, local luminaries like these: You defended and empowered antifa in Portland during months of rioting. They then attacked the Democrat Party headquarters on Biden's inauguration and you stayed silent. And why did you delete this? https://t.co/rQWDdlvgHK https://t.co/ohcLyhNKrd Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 22, 2022 Obviously, she likes the money. And there's probably a reason why. Reading through the lines from a report from Axios, emphasis mine: Unless they appoint infrastructure coordinators or czars state and local governments risk squandering their shares of the trillions in public works money coming their way under the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a new report from McKinsey & Co. warns. Why it matters: Because of the historic opportunity to make huge and lasting improvements, the Biden administration has urged each state to name a point person and task force to administer the law, passed in November, which targets everything from clean water and high-speed internet access to bridge and road repair and public transportation. But so far only a handful of states, like Delaware, Arkansas and New Mexico, have done anything of the sort. In other words, the money is likely to be misused if not stolen by Oregon's ruling Democrats, same as happened in previous porkulus bills. Note that Oregon hasn't bothered to send a 'czar' to police the money-shoveling that Joe's got coming for Portland. Meanwhile, the local talent that made Portland famous have reactions of their own: Portland #Antifa member Javier Ivan Reyes hopes violence will happen to Biden as he comes to Portland today. Biden will give a speech to a DNC fundraiser at the Yacht Club. At the same time, another #Antifa member is warning that "fash" will protest Biden. pic.twitter.com/Evj8zvAfO7 Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 21, 2022 These violent thugs are still flourishing in Portland, having spent much of 2020 trashing, looting, and burning down huge parts of the center of the city. They attacked and tried to burn down the federal courthouse. Most of those who were apprehended were let out without consequences or else saw their charges dropped. Businesses fled. School enrollment fell. Nobody was alarmed. Had Portland been a normal city, people like these would be breaking rocks in the hot sun. This looks like the thinking of one of the saner locals, or maybe an ex-Portlandian: Awesome!! For another billion dollars we could probably build 100 more homes like this one! Modern infrastructure! Yay Portland! Equity n stuff! pic.twitter.com/O0d36tOtQD Colonel William Ludlow (@oryx_not_crake) April 21, 2022 Now Biden's off to Seattle, land of the antifa CHOP zone, which turned that fair city into another den of lawlessness, this time to tout "Earth Day." Here's a recent tweet depicting the state of that Democrat-run city: THE CURRENT STATE OF SEATTLE: Car in flames while man exposes himself peeing on the sidewalk. pic.twitter.com/KDAD1NfbRV Katie Daviscourt (@KatieDaviscourt) April 14, 2022 What a model for America in that one, too. If Biden had any sense, he'd get as far away from these leftist ratholes as he possibly could, but no, he goes there to tout his spending blitz there. Amazingly, he also imagined that this was a plus, not a minus, in winning back the support of the American people. He told this to Portland's local burghers on the rubber chicken circuit: PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Thursday predicted that his fellow Democrats could win two more U.S. Senate seats in November's midterms, strengthening the party's majority to pass his agenda despite sagging approval ratings. Speaking at a political fundraiser in Portland during his first trip to the Pacific Northwest since taking office, Biden said he was increasing his travel schedule to make the case around the country about his administration's accomplishments. "I'm determined to make sure we keep the House and the Senate," Biden told the donors. He offered no prediction for the party's prospects in the House. And going to Portland will fix this? Most Americans will be asking why he's not going to the border so long as he's all in for traveling around now, same as Kamala Harris. It's nonsense. Biden's belief that he will expand his Senate majority is just another part of the strange delusions of this optics-challenged trip. Republicans around the country seeking to unseat Democrats will have plenty of material to work with from this Biden trip. It's pathetic. Image: Twitter screen shot In the small town of Livingston, Tennessee, Mayor Curtis Hayes recently signed a citywide proclamation declaring April 2022 as "Confederate History Month." According to the county news website, Hayes's intention was to serve as an impetus to "all citizens to avail themselves of the opportunities to increase their knowledge of this important era of Tennessee's history." A striking photo op to disrupt the left's narrative and modus operandi of revisionist history, Hayes, a Black American, signed the proclamation with some of his townsfolk behind him white descendents of Confederate military members. In a time of absolute historical and intellectual illiteracy, mobs of "misinformed lawless miscreants" who are "wet behind the ears with a sledgehammer" demand the destruction of monuments honoring the Confederate greats. Fledglings of modern academia, well educated in the tenets of Marx and Engels, and imitating the Ministry of Truth, are altering history while being wholly ignorant of it, smearing the character of distinguished Americans. As Orwell puts it: "Every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word." Empowered by their indoctrination, these degenerate misfits decry the "racism" of the Confederacy and perpetuate the lie that the American Civil War was solely a war over slavery, eventually settling on assuming the roles of arbiters of social and racial "justice." Operating within this context, they take after spoiled children, throwing tantrums to get what they want: the erasure of history. They even developed the Orwellian phrase "Unsay Their Names." These statues paid homage to racial bigotry, so they became the "people who stand up against monuments to White supremacy." Amateur photographer @dkannemeyer1 happened upon the protests and dismantling of Confederate monuments in Richmond, Virginia, in 2020. @NiaNorrisWrites spoke with him about the resulting book, UNSAY THEIR NAMES. https://t.co/ULdYAJKbac #BlackLivesMatter #IndieBooks #IndieAuthors Kirkus Reviews (@KirkusReviews) April 21, 2022 So if the character of the Confederacy was purely racist, why would a Black American acknowledge the importance of its heritage and history? Because history is just that: history. The "noble dream" of any honest historian is objectivity simply reporting the events that occurred and acknowledging both the good and the bad. Revisionist history is not history. It is a mockery of the historical pursuit, a sad attempt to push an agenda for a political purpose. Hayes is an admirable American compatriot, placing his national identity before the hysterical demands of "uneducable twenty-year-olds." Democrats are fighting to destroy all fossil fuel companies in the U.S., which harms all of us, especially the poor. They seek to destroy for-profit colleges. They rail against the rich and big corporations But they are somehow outraged that anyone would threaten to take away special tax breaks from Disney, which owns ABC, because Florida doesn't want first- to third-graders taught about gender, which most Americans don't want, either. Via Breitbart: Radical Left Goes Bonkers After Florida Votes to Eliminate Woke Disneys Special Tax District Huffington Post writer, Ann Brenoff, stated Disney should uproot its 25,000-acre theme park complex in Florida and move it elsewhere. This is what passes for governance in #Florida. #Disney should move out and take those jobs with them. https://t.co/GGZcDAdyvc Ann Brenoff (@AnnBrenoff) April 21, 2022 (snip) Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press writer, said the termination moved forward because Disney dared to criticize the states hateful law attacking LGBTQ kids. Florida Republicans just passed a bill to punish Walt Disney World because the company dared criticized their openly hateful law attacking LGBTQ kids. https://t.co/sBM5WUaHrO Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) April 21, 2022 (snip) Judd Legum, who writes Popular Information and is dedicated to accountability journalism, said the Republicans are abusing power. Florida Republicans control the House, Senate, and governorship. I wonder if any other states would be interested in the tourism revenue from Disney World... Craig Beilinson (@cbeilinson) April 21, 2022 Many more examples at Breitbart. The Russian tsars had had absolute power similar to the pharaohs. The aristocracy (boyars) were haughty and brutal, and the educated ones spoke French. The illiterate peasants and muzhiks (serfs till 1861) lived in poverty and squalor. Fyodor Dostoevsky spoke German and French. My favorite book of his is The Idiot, with its incredible insights into the mediocre and incompetent imperial apparatchik's psyche. Reminds me strongly of the current arrogant and incompetent cabal of clintonistas and obamabots in the corrupt regime of Pepe Chicom Bidon. (That's a little play on words in French). Here is an excerpt from another of Dostoevsky's insightful novels: "Everything here is doomed and destined to perish. Russia as it is today has no future." That's from the gloomy novel Demons (or Posessed), published in 1873, which predicted the horrors of Bolshevism and communism, still with us today. The mega-butchers Stalin and Mao were planning the communist global takeover since the end of WWII. Stalin planned an invasion into the E.U. in the early 1950s. Luckily for us, a stroke in March 1953 changed history. God's finger, or karma? The Eastern Bloc countries were forced to build heavy industry for that purpose. After all, Czechoslovakia suplied Hitler's Blitzkrieg machine with modern arms after the Munich betrayal by Chamberlain and Daladier coward appeasers. The Czechs were supposed to be invading France in the early 1950s as a part of the Warsaw bloc. The Soviets and Chicoms were involved in Korea against us as well as in Vietnam later. Let us also remember the Hitler-Stalin pact. Hitler attacked the USSR, but Stalin had these plans, too. Adolf was a quicker-draw traitor. Here is what my bourgeois grandma told me as a boy about WWII. "The Nazis were brutal but, for the most part, clean and polite. They didn't steal or rape women. Obeying the German law was enough to stay out of trouble; disobeying got one shot. On the other hand, the Red Army men were filthy, drunk, brutal, raping women age 1090 en masse, and stealing everything in sight by the ton." It is a historic fact that Russian soldiers raped a great number of women in Germany on their march to Berlin. The same is happening now in the Ukraine. Dostoevsky's demons are still present. The Russian people today still miss the iron fist of Stalin and believe the Kremlin agitprop regarding "denazification" of Ukraine. They still are strongly anti-Semitic the demons never left. The tiny and benighted middle class want their ugly IKEA furniture and cheap vodka. For Putin and his henchmen and oligarchs, admitting a mistake is equal to defeat and humiliation. It will never happen. The remote chance of resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be a treaty securing the latter neutrality. No NATO admission, ever. At fault are also the U.S. and E.U. "elites" and pundits ignoring struggling Russia after Yeltsin and Putin's aggression since 2004: Crimea. Regardless, there should be absolutely no American or NATO boots on the Ukrainian steppe. Our neocons are crazy. That would unleash the WWIII nuclear holocaust Stalin was dreaming about 75 years ago. Image via Public Domain Pictures. Yesterday was a good day for Ron DeSantis and all freedom-loving Americans. It was a bad day for Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, and Goofy and Pluto. Scrooge McDuck's swimming pool might soon have less cash for the old duck to frolic in. The big question now is, who will land the plum role of Goofy in the upcoming "Ron and Mickey, the Musical"? Rumor has it that Mitt Romney has the inside track, but many are touting Adam Schiff due to his uncanny resemblance to the Goofy character. DeSantis is that rarest of male American politicians. The Florida governor has demonstrated that he is a man and not a mouse (I refer to the Disney variety of rodent) by urging the successful passage by the Florida state Senate of legislation removing the self-governing provisions previously bestowed upon the Reedy Creek Improvement District. This district comprises Disney properties, including its theme parks and surrounding empire in the Orlando area. The law is the result of the Disney Company foolishly challenging Florida's H.B. 51557, which forbids sex education for grades K3. I guess they didn't want any youngsters entering the Magic Kingdom unless they had mastered the subject of transgenderism. The legislation will have a huge financial impact on the Disney Company. When DeSantis signs this legislation, Disney will no longer be allowed carte blanche in developing, enlarging, and improving its properties. It will have to go through the same permitting, zoning, and other steps that the rest of the citizenry must follow to make changes, additions, or improvements to its property. Its tax bill will also surge. I do not have the figures to state the actual financial hit Disney will take, but do not look for the already exorbitant cost of a visit to the Magic Kingdom to decrease any time soon. It is obvious to all that DeSantis is not a man for the "woke mob" to mess with. He is not afraid to do battle, and he usually wins. He will be a great POTUS one day. For now, those of us fortunate enough to live in the free state of Florida can only bask in his continued success as America's greatest leader not named Trump. I anxiously await the musical. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Former President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at a one-day symposium, titled "Challenges to Democracy," co-hosted by the Stanford Cyber Policy Center and the Obama Foundation, on the Stanford campus on April 21. Obama spoke at length on topics such as the First Amendment, social media, censorship, technology, and the news media. Obama said: Not all problems we are seeing now are an inevitable byproduct of this new technology. They're also the result of very specific choices made by the companies that have come to dominate the internet, generally, and social media platforms in particular decisions that intentionally or not have made democracies more vulnerable. Obama claimed that societal divisions, from sexism and racism to ethno-nationalism, were amplified on social media, adding that "our blind spots, our prejudices aren't challenged; they're reinforced." Obama said many forms of disinformation originate on traditional media platforms, and social networks have helped accelerate the decline of newspapers and traditional news sources. Obama also said the overwhelming information surplus made it difficult to discern the truth because "our brains aren't accustomed to taking in this much information this fast, and a lot of us are experiencing overload." Obama claimed that "People like Putin and Steve Bannon understand it's not necessary for people to believe this information in order to weaken democratic institutions. You just have to flood a country's public square with enough raw sewage. You just have to raise enough questions, spread enough dirt, plant enough conspiracy theorizing, that citizens no longer know what to believe." Obama said that in time, "we lose our capacity to distinguish between fact, opinion, and wholesale fiction. Or maybe we just stop caring," Obama said, "Freedom of speech is at the heart of every democratic society" and branded himself as "pretty close to a First Amendment absolutist" but added that the First Amendment does not apply to social media companies. "The First Amendment is a check on the power of the state. It doesn't apply to private companies like Facebook and Twitter," Obama said, calling for content moderation and censorship on social media. "While content moderation can limit the distribution of clearly dangerous content, it doesn't go far enough," said Obama. Since Obama mentioned disinformation, it is worth looking back at the records of disinformation in the U.S. in recent times. From the day President Trump was elected in 2016 'til the 2020 presidential election, the Democrats in Washington and their propaganda wing that claims to be the news media have spearheaded myriad disinformation campaigns. Their most audacious concoction was the Trump-Russia collusion hoax that was amplified by rogue Democrat operatives in Washington and the media. The disinformation campaign caused the appointment of a special counsel, resulting in over two years of uncertainty. It probably swayed the 2018 midterms, which handed the Democrats the House and led to two gratuitous impeachments of President Trump. In addition to the Russia collusion narrative, they peddled numerous other fabrications about President Trump. On odd days, he was bigoted, senile, and clueless; on even days, he was a racist evil genius. During the 2020 elections, Big Media and Big Tech colluded to censor the most important news story of that time about Hunter Biden's laptop. The New York Post had reported that there were text messages, emails, and financial documents on Hunter's laptop that proved that thenvice president Biden had abused his power to enrich himself and his family. The laptop also contained photos of an inebriated Hunter in a compromised position with a prostitute and using racist language. Despite ample evidence, pundits on MSNBC, NBC, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, CNN, Politico The HuffPost, and The New York Times worked in unison to discredit the story even calling it Russian disinformation. This was repeated by Biden during the presidential debates. The rigging of the 2020 elections wasn't only at the ballot, but also in the way the playing field was tilted emphatically in favor of Democrats. For four years, voters were relentlessly fed misinformation about Trump while negative stories about Biden were suppressed. It is a testament to his record and popularity that despite all this, Trump managed to secure 74 million votes in 2020. The 2020 presidential election was a vile assault on democracy. Democrats, including many Obama acolytes, were responsible for the disinformation campaigns and fabrication that led to the rigging of an election. There have been several other instances of the news media and Big Tech suppressing information that goes against the Democrat agenda. Merely questioning the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine can get users de-platformed from social media. Matters have deteriorated to such an extent that even satire is not being spared. Yet today, Obama is claiming to stand against disinformation. This has been a standard old Obama ploy. When he presided over a catastrophe such as Obamacare during his White House days, instead of accepting the blame, he would address the situation like a neutral commentator, almost as if he were a bystander. At times he would present a critique of the situation, implying that his ideas were brilliant but the implementation by his subordinates was flawed. If nothing else worked, he blamed the Republicans or his predecessor, President George W. Bush. This was his attempt to feign honesty and objectivity for which his myriad cheerleaders in the media would then slobber and fawn over him endlessly. Obama seemed to be repeating his maneuver at Stanford. Apart from the muddled, puzzling, and contradictory messaging and the obvious hypocrisy, the question is why pontificate now? The Democrats know that they are going to receive an emphatic drubbing during the midterms in November. As they did in 2016, do they intend to reject the electoral results and blame it all on social media disinformation? The fact that Obama called out both Putin and Bannon by name is ample proof of where this is leading. The question is, how far will they go? Will they demand the appointment of another special counsel? Will they just refuse to vacate their space until the probe is complete? Will they hire activists to crowd Washington and harass GOP lawmakers? Will activists heckle GOP lawmakers in the corridors of the Capitol Building? Will it all be done to "save Democracy"? There is never any telling what the Democrats will say or do upon electoral defeats, except that it's bound to be something unprecedented, brazen, and outrageous. Back in 2016, the GOP controlled the Senate, the House, and the White House, yet they couldn't stop the Democrats from running their disinformation campaign and even compelled Republicans to repeat the false premise that the Russians interfered in the elections. It is essential that the GOP have a strategy to counter Democrat disinformation. Hopefully, the GOP will stand its ground and not be affected by the noise in Washington and in the news media. They need to learn to ridicule and dismiss any false Democrat premises, else democracy will really be in danger. The GOP must remember that the Democrats worry about democracy only when they lose elections. Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped). Western politicians and commentators who support doing more to defend Ukraine's independence frequently invoke World War II analogies to justify their policy preferences. They compare Putin to Hitler, Zekensky to Churchill, and less frequently Biden to FDR. Putin, they contend, is a war criminal who is committing genocide against the Ukrainian people. Zelensky, they claim, is defiantly and courageously standing "alone" against Russian aggression, defending "democracy" against autocracy. Biden, some say, is making America once again the "arsenal of democracy" by providing weapons and supplies to Ukraine. None of these claims, and none of these historical comparisons, is justified. Putin, to be sure, is the aggressor in this war, but accusations of war crimes and genocide are as yet unproven. Civilian casualties are unfortunately common to all modern wars. And we do not know if Putin has a master plan to wipe out Ukrainians as a race, the way Hitler did with respect to the Jews. Zelensky has undoubtedly demonstrated courage in leading Ukrainians to fight for their independence, but his portrayal as a champion of democracy and freedom is at best premature. Prior to Russia's invasion, Ukraine was not high on anyone's list as a model democracy. As Ted Galen Carpenter of the CATO Institute recently noted, "Ukraine is far from being a democratic-capitalist model" and "has long been one of the more corrupt countries in the international system." Freedom House categorizes Ukraine as "partly free." Carpenter notes further that even before Russia's invasion, Ukrainian officials "harassed political dissidents, adopted censorship measures, and barred foreign journalists whom they regarded as critics of the Ukrainian government and its policies." Ukraine was criticized by groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. And since the war, Zekensky has further cracked down on opposition political parties and media outlets. Zelensky has skillfully played the Churchill part he is, after all, an actor. In his speeches, he deliberately mimics Churchill: "we will fight in the forests, in the fields," "we will not give up and we will not lose," etc. But he is fighting a regional war against an aggressor that has limited aims. Churchill was fighting the conqueror of Europe who had made a deal with Soviet Russia to divide up Eastern Europe, and who had unlimited aims. Winston Churchill was literally fighting alone in defense of Western civilization. Zelensky is fighting to remain in power in an independent Ukraine. The stakes in the Russia-Ukraine war are simply not as great as in World War II. Finally, President Biden is not FDR. For all of his flaws, Franklin Roosevelt was an inspiring war leader who understood what was at stake in World War II, even if he lacked the political courage to initially play the leading role that Churchill did. The Biden administration seems at best unsure of what America's role should be in the Russia-Ukraine war. The administration's rhetoric appears designed to sound "tough," but its actions do not match the rhetoric and that's probably a good thing. The problem is that rhetoric can sometimes create its own policy momentum. We have already witnessed the irresponsibility of some U.S. "statesmen" who have proposed "no-fly zones" and Berlin airlifts and even suggested the possibility of the first use of nuclear weapons. There have been missed opportunities to play the role of mediator of the conflict. It is hard to get opposing parties to sit down and negotiate when you characterize Russia's leader as a "war criminal" and portray a regional war as an existential struggle between democracy and autocracy. So yes, by all means, voice support and express sympathy for the Ukrainian people, and provide weapons and supplies to help them in the defense of their country. But stop the rhetoric about Hitler and Churchill and FDR. Our statesmen, and Ukraine's leaders, and Russia's leaders, should be working to end the war on reasonable if imperfect terms, instead of widening the war. Because if this regional war becomes a European and then a global struggle, we all lose. Image via Picryl. Though they subsequently backed away from the proposal, Rhode Island Democrats recently put forth a bill that would have punished the parents of children who were not vaccinated against COVID-19. Had the measure been enacted, it would have financially crippled these parents by doubling their personal income tax. As a further kick in the pants, it would have also required parents of unvaccinated offspring to pay a monthly fine of $50. State senator Samuel Bell was the lead legislator backing the bill, which would have mandated that all Rhode Island residents, workers, and taxpayers submit to a COVID-19 vaccination as well as any and all subsequent boosters that the state's director of the department of health shall have required, apparently in perpetuity or else be subjected to pecuniary purgatory. Exemptions to the mandate would have been nearly impossible to obtain, given that, due to a provision baked into the bill, parents would have had to have three different doctors state on the record that their child was "not fit for immunization," and then have the child sign that statement. Even then, the Ocean State's department of health would have been authorized to investigate each and every individual case and could have summarily rejected any given petition and reinstated the monetary penalties on the minor's parents or guardians. Moreover, public and private employers were to be charged with helping the government enforce the legislation. Any employee not working remotely would have been forced to provide proof of vaccination. The employer would have been forced to terminate any recalcitrant worker who refused to have an experimental gene therapy drug injected into his body or face a monthly fine of $5,000. Talk about tyranny! The United States was, uniquely, founded on the concepts of limited government and individual rights as granted to us by our Creator. Today, we are suffering the consequences of an incomprehensibly massive, virtually unlimited government that refuses to recognize individual rights and autonomy while it emphasizes groupthink and tribalism in the guise of "intersectionality" and "multiculturalism." If the government could arbitrarily double the taxes of the unvaccinated, there would be nothing it could not do. "We the people" would have ceded control of our finances, freedom, futures...and very bodies and souls...to the elites who gleefully rule over us. What would stop our elected representatives or, increasingly, unelected bureaucrats in the Deep State from deciding that those of us who own firearms or watch Fox News should have their tax rates doubled. Or tripled. Or that people who smoke cigarettes should have their personal income taxes quadrupled while those who smoke marijuana should have theirs halved. Or that those who listen to Joe Rogan podcasts or subscribe to The New York Post should pay six times the taxes of those who take to Twitter to profess their undying devotion to Dr. Fauci or The New York Times. This country was founded in large part because colonists refused to abide taxation without representation. It will effectively cease to exist unless we here today highly resolve to be as bold and full of integrity as they were. Photo credit: Morrow Long, CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Think ghost town and youll probably imagine ruins roofless houses, dirty broken windows, rotting floors, but at Kitsault, on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, youll find rows upon rows of immaculately kept houses, shopping centers, restaurants, banks, pubs and theaters, all abandoned and sitting empty but untouched and spotless. The towns lights are always on, the streets are lined with neatly trimmed trees and there are freshly mowed lawns, yet no one has called Kitsault home since 1982. The town of Kitsault, near the Alaskan border, situated about 115 kilometers down the gravel road from Terrace, had a very brief existence. It began in 1979 as a community of workers of the molybdenum mines. Molybdenum forms hard, stable carbides in alloys, and is often used to provide hardness and corrosion resistance properties to steel. But just as life was getting started in this pristine mountain utopia, the market for molybdenum crashed and the entire town of some 1,200 residents abandoned it. Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr This area of British Columbia, at the end of the Observatory Inlet, had been mined for precious and semi-precious metals such as silver, lead, zinc, and copper for nearly a century, leading to the establishment of many boom towns such as Alice Arm and Anyox. Molybdenum was first mined here from the late sixties until the early seventies, but was stopped when profits started to dip. But by the end of the decade prices were back up again as many of the known molybdenum deposits in Alaska, British Columbia and the western United States began to deplete. The American mining company Phelps Dodge jumped in at the opportunity. A large swath of land several hundred acres in size was prepared for the town of Kitsault, and a massive construction project, on a scale that had never been seen in Northern British Columbia, began. Ships arrived with building supplies into Kitsaults deep water fiord. A gravel road from Terrace was hastily built through the mountains. Engineers and construction workers poured in from all over North America, drawn by high-paying construction jobs. More than a hundred single-family homes and duplexes were built, and seven apartment buildings with over two hundred suites. There was a modern hospital and a shopping center, restaurants, banks, a post office, a pub, a pool, a library, and two recreation centers with Jacuzzis, saunas and a theater. Cable television and phone lines were laid underground. There was a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant and the cleanest running water in the province. Barely 18 months after the first families had settled in, the molybdenum market crashed caused by a badly timed recession and the arrival of molybdenum by-products. The mines closed and people started moving out and Kitsault was forgotten. In 2005, India-born American entrepreneur, Krishnan Suthanthiran, bought the town for $7 million and began charting its revival. Since then, the millionaire has poured an estimated $25 million on upgrades and upkeep. More than a dozen caretakers make rounds of the houses and other structures, checking on their conditions and making repairs. They mow the lawns, trim the trees and sweep the streets. Suthanthiran plans to recoup his investments by turning Kitsault into a hub of British Columbias Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry. The future of the town depends on the success of this LNG project. Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Photo credit: Chad Graham/Flickr Photo credit: Chad Graham/Flickr Photo credit: Chad Graham/Flickr Photo credit: Bob Steventon/Flickr Source: www.kitsault.com / The Globe And Mail / National Post In western Abruzzo, in central Italy, about 80 kilometers east of Rome, lies one of Italy's most fertile plains. The vegetables that are grown here are highly appreciated across Italy for their distinguishing quality and taste. Particularly popular is the Fucino potato which was awarded the Protected Geographical Indication in 2014a quality label awarded by the European Union to agricultural products of excellence closely tied to a particular territory. Surrounded by low hills, this wide and shallow valley was not always occupied by farmlands. On the contrary, there was a lake here, and it was the third largest lake in Italy until it was drained in 1878. Fucine Lake, or Lago Fucino in Italian, was the source of misery since ancient times. The lake had no natural outlet, causing the lakes water to spill over and frequently flood the surrounding villages. The local inhabitants pressed Julius Caesar to drain the lake and reclaim the valley, but before Caesar could draw up a plan, he was assassinated. A century later, in 41 AD, Emperor Claudius took up the ambitious plan of regulating the flow of the Fucine Lake. To achieve that, Claudius dug a 6-kilometer-long tunnel through the hills near Avezzano to divert the lake waters into the Liri River. Over thirty thousand workers, mostly slaves, toiled for eleven years digging, levelling and tunneling through the hills. Such a grandiose project had never been attempted before. Landslides and collapsed tunnels claimed untold number of lives. The work almost proved to be a disaster when a miscalculation by the engineers caused the lake waters to come rushing out too soon nearly drowning Claudius and his party, who had gathered on a floating platform on the channel. Eventually, the tunnel was completed. At that time it was the longest tunnel ever built, and remained so for eighteen centuries until the inauguration of the Frejus Rail Tunnel under the Alps in 1871. To celebrate the completion of the drainage works, Claudius organized a massive naval battle, called naumachia, on Fucine Lake. The combatants were prisoners who had been condemned to death. The spectacle on Fucine Lake was a carnage, as Roman naumachia usually were. After the battle, the locks were opened and the bloody waters of Fucine Lake flowed out, reducing the size of the lake from 140 sq. kilometers to under 60 sq. kilometers. The tunnel today. Photo: Claudio Parente/Wikimedia Commons The tunnel today. Photo: Claudio Parente/Wikimedia Commons After the fall of the Roman Empire and the Barbarian invasions, maintenance of the tunnel failed causing it to clog up. In the early 6th century, there was a serious earthquake that shifted the lake bed relative to the tunnel entrance, and as a consequence the lake returned to its former levels. After several unsuccessful attempts to restore the Roman drainage system in the 13th and the 15th centuries, Italian nobleman and banker Alessandro Torlonia engaged Swiss engineer Jean Francois Mayor de Montricher with the complicated task. After more than a decade of work, Montricher was able to restore the original tunnels enlarging sections of it wherever required. Other canals and connecting wells were also added. The work was concluded in 1870, and in 1873 the gradual draining of the Fucine Lake began. In five years, the lake was completely drained leaving behind 140 square kilometers of fertile land. Fucines fishermen discarded their fishing nets and took up farming instead, cultivating the former lakebed with cereals, vegetables and sugar beets. In 1942, a second tunnel or emissary was dug to compensate the functions of the original. These tunnels continue to drain runoff and excess water from the cultivated fields, so that there is a continuous flow of water at roughly 9 cubic meters per second through the emissary. In 1876, Roman architect Carlo Nicola Carnevali, built a couple of switch gates and a three-arched bridge on the head of the main emissary. A 23-feet-high statue of the Immaculate Conception decorates the structure. The sluice gates regulates the flow of the waters coming from the numerous Fucine canals which then pour into the outer drainage canal. From there, the water flows through the tunnel under Mount Salviano and exits on the opposite side of the hill to merge with the Liri River. Entrances to the major tunnel. Photo: Claudio Parente/Wikimedia Commons The outlet of the tunnel. Photo: F.angelo/Wikimedia Commons References: # Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnels_of_Claudius # NASA, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/8572/lake-fucine-italy # http://www.aercalor.altervista.org/index_file/Lago_Fucino.pdf # Hughes, Robert. Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History One day I took courage from a Donkey. It was a very special donkey - cast in bronze and placed at the Pukehau National War Memorial Park in Wellington. This donkey is also known as a donkey ambulance and the Anzac donkey. I often climbed the marble steps in my lunch break to visit the donkey sculpture. I would contemplate the donkeys life in WWI ferrying wounded soldiers from the Gallipoli battlefields to safety. I had never considered animals and their part in the war effort before. The memorial plaque read this solider and his donkey had evacuated the wounded from the front line down shrapnel valley and became a symbol of all stretcher bearers. There is also a New Zealand war animal memorial at the National Army Museum in Waiouru. I wondered what it must have been like for them serving in this bleak, violent and deafening environment. The sculpture titled Man with a donkey to me portrayed the donkeys loyal service to man, and bravery as a vulnerable animal in the war effort. According to the Donkey and Mule Protection Trust in New Zealand, donkeys survive because they dont outwardly show fear or stress. In the face of danger, the donkey freezes disconcerting its predator. Donkeys are also social and group animals and if one of them has an accident the others stay with him. This Kiwi soldier, Richard Henderson, and his humble donkey friend Murphy touched me. The story goes on that Murphy was commandeered from the supply chain to become a donkey ambulance by Australian John Simpson and following his death was taken over by Richard. Gods guidance Then one day just as I was about to make a critical life decision I felt compelled to visit this statue once again. The decision I was about to make involved turning down a job offer, and healthy salary, to follow a desire of my heart writing. I prayed all week about confirmation for my next step. As I stood by the statue and read the words courage I felt God was gently saying he wanted me to be brave and follow the direction of my heart, trust him and walk in faith. The next day I rejected the job, purchased a laptop, took a deep breath and boldly stepped out. More than one hundred years later God used this moving sculpture of a courageous man and donkey to give me courage to start my new journey. Memorial history Called, The Man with the Donkey by Paul Walshe, the sculpture is a memorial to all medical personnel, stretcher bearers and ambulance drivers who served alongside New Zealand troops in wartime. The plaque on the side of the memorial titled Simpson and Henderson reads: At Gallipoli in 1915 John Simpson Kirkpatrick, who served with the Australian Forces, commandeered a local donkey and named it Murphy. Simpson, as he was known evacuated the wounded from the front line down shrapnel valley and became a symbol of all stretcher bearers. Simpson was killed on 19 May 1915. Private Richard Alexander (Dick Henderson), New Zealand Medical Corps, together with others, continued the donkey ambulance work. Unlike his Australian counterpart, Henderson survived the Gallipoli campaign and went on to serve in France. A lawsuit that was filed against PlayStation alleging gender discrimination against women has been dismissed by the courts. According to a new report from Axios (via Android Authority), Emma Majo who was a former employee at PlayStation has had most of the claims dismissed. However, the report also states that Majo will have a chance to amend those claims. As it stands right now, Majos case will not go forward as it is. But she will be able to make another attempt. According to US magistrate judge Laura Beeler, Majo will be able to continue to sue Sony over three claims based on wrongful termination and violation of whistleblower protections. For some clarification, Majos lawsuit alleges that she was terminated after filing a complaint over gender bias. The complaint filed with the company stated Sony was discriminating against women. More specifically that her and other female employees were being paid less compared to male counterparts. As well as being subjected to a work culture predominated by men. Advertisement Majos lawsuit against PlayStation for gender discrimination must provide specific facts Based on the judges ruling, Majos case was mostly dismissed because there werent any specific facts. The ruling states she didnt describe her work or how her work was substantially equal to male employees in the same position who were allegedly getting higher pay. Majo, who was fired in November of 2021, was joined by eight other women in the case as of March 2022. And although the case has now been mostly dismissed, Majo has a chance to bolster her claims. Beeler reportedly dismissed 10 of the 13 claims in Majos suit. Noting that the dismissal was because Majo merely cited the elements of the claims. Since Majo has a chance to amend her claims, theres also a chance the lawsuit wont be dismissed next time. According to Beeler, the lawsuit could also be helped by other women. If the eight other women bring forward their own claims, Beeler says it could influence the lawsuit. Advertisement Majo could also end up turning this into a class action lawsuit at a later date. Sony asked the court to dismiss that, but Beeler denied the companys request. Netflix is updating its TV interface with a new layout for the horizontal categories row. Known as the Category Hub, this menu is now positioned to the left of the screen in a vertical layout, highlighting the categories relevant to the user. The streaming platform didnt specify how it would determine the recommendations. But its safe to assume that Netflix will use the existing algorithms to ascertain what a user may like. In general, Netflix can recommend content based on annual special events, like Earth Day, as the screenshot shows. Advertisement Think of this Category Hub as a more lively version of our old Categories row thats tailored to your tastes and makes finding what to watch that much more simple (and fun!), Netflix said in a press statement (via The Verge). Based on the statement, it doesnt seem like this will bring any other changes to the layout. Netflix wants users to interact more with the new Category Hub, so it makes sense to have it highlighted. Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in Q1 2022 This comes in the wake of significant turmoil for Netflix. The streaming giant said it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. The companys revenues have been significantly hit too. Netflix blamed the diminishing subscribers on millions of additional households, a term for non-paying subscribers. Advertisement One of the potential remedies for the companys troubles could be to place new limits on account sharing. Netflix is also considering allowing account sharing at an additional cost under a pilot program currently active in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. Another possible solution is to offer ad-supported streaming at a lower cost. Those who have followed Netflix know that I have been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription, Netflix co-CEO John Hastings said this week. But as much as I am a fan of that, I am a bigger fan of consumer choice, and allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price and are advertising-tolerant to get what they want makes a lot of sense. Advertisement Netflix has tried to offset the losses by increasing subscription costs. But it clearly hasnt worked. So while its not time to panic just yet, its clear that Netflix has a lot of planning to do. (ANSA) - ROME, APR 22 - Italy's COVID-19 Rt transmission number has fallen back below 1 for the first time since early March, according to the weekly coronavirus monitoring report of the health ministry and the Higher Health Institute (ISS). The Rt for the March 23-April 5 period was 0.96, down from 1 in last week's report. A Rt over 1 indicates the epidemic is in a phase of expansion. The last time it was below this threshold was in the March 18 report referring to the February 23-March 8 period, when it was 0.94. The report said the incidence for the April 15-21 period was 675 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants, down from 717 in the April 8-14 period. It said the proportion of Italy's intensive-care places occupied by COVID sufferers was 4.2% on April 21, stable with respect to seven days previously. It said the proportion of ordinary-ward hospital beds taken up by coronavirus patients had risen to 15.8% on April 21 from 15.6% on April 14. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, APR 22 - Premier Mario Draghi thinking of visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in the near future, before his visit to the United States in mid-May, sources at his office said Friday. Draghi is mulling a visit soon like those of other European leaders, the sources said. Draghi has been self-isolating at his home at Citta della Pieve in Umbria with COVID-19 for the past week. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, APR 21 - The EU is united on its determination to cut reliance on Russian gas amid the Ukraine war, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Thursday. In a message sent to the inauguration of the first offshore wind farm in the Mediterrenean, built by Renexia at Taranto in Puglia, Di Maio said "within the ambit of the European Union we are promoting a cohesive action aimed at emerging from our dependence on Russia". He said the EU was also trying to "mitigate the impact of energy market fluctuations on our economies and societies, maintaining at the same time the commitment on the objectives of the Green Deal". Di Maio said that "the Italian government, with the foreign ministry in the front line, promptly acted to diversify supply sources, prevent further tensions on global energy markets, boosting cooperation with strategic partners in the Mediterranean and beyond. "In the last few weeks I went on missions to Algeria, Qatar, Angola, Congo, Mozambique and Azerbaijan with the aim of further developing energy cooperation with current suppliers with great potential". After wrapping up a deal to boost energy supplies from Angola on Wednesday, the Italian government is seeking a similar agreement in the Republic of Congo on Thursday as Italy continues its drive to find alternative sources of gas to replace Russian supplies following the invasion of Ukraine. Di Maio, Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi are leading the two-day mission. Premier Mario Draghi was also meant to go on the trip but had to pull out because he has contracted COVID-19. Nevertheless, Draghi on Wednesday conferred by phone with Angolan President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco on energy cooperation to help seal the deal. Draghi also had a phone conversation with Congo President De' nis Sassou N'Guesso Tuesday morning and agreed on the "wide potential" for bilateral partnership, in particular in the energy sector. Italy currently imports around 40% of the gas it uses from Russia. Cingolani said in an interview with Thursday's La Stampa that Italy should be able to end its reliance on Russian gas within 18 months, having previously said it could take up to three years. Italy recently signed an important agreement to increase the 31% of gas it gets from Algeria too. (ANSA). Greece announces big drop in migration population Refugee camps emptying as state pledges support for tourism (ANSAmed) - ATHENS, 22 APR - Greece's Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarakis insists that the country's ongoing refugee crisis is "being left behind us", after the government released the latest figures showing a big drop in Greece's migrant populations. At the same time, the Migration Ministry, also confirmed that it had signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Municipalities of Mytilene, Samos, Leros, Kos and Chios to fund tourism marketing and promotional campaigns to the tune of 2-million euros within this year. On the subject of Greece's refugee and migrant population, the government's newsletter said that the population of migrants on the North Aegean islands dropped from 6.41% in March 2021 to just 1.13% in March 2022 - which equals 0.25% of the country's total population of refugees and migrants staying in the accommodation centers, camps and apartments ran by the ESTIA agency. "All regions of the country are well below the 1% threshold we had set as our target as a government in 2019; soon the North Aegean will follow suit," said Mitarakis. He added: "The strict but fair migration policy that we apply consistently, has allowed us, today, to draw a very different map concerning migration. The substantial decongestion of the islands, the mainland and the large urban centers continues. Now, we are leaving the migration crisis behind us for good." In terms of the number of refugee and migrant residents overall on the islands as of March 2022, the latest figures announced recorded a reduction by 78% compared to March 2021. The largest decrease is recorded among residents in Samos, which is 90%, followed by Chios with 80%, Lesvos with 78%, Leros with 72%, and Kos with 23%. The report also stated: "More specifically, refugees on the islands in March 2022 were at 3,005. Of these, 2,731 (91%) reside in organized camps, while the rest are residing in other accommodation centers such as the ESTIA program. After systematic efforts, in the third month of 2022, 756 people left for either Europe or third party countries through the mechanisms of deportation, return and relocation of third country nationals, while 968 people arrived in our country. In March 2022, a total of 27,396 asylum seekers resided in all the accommodation centers managed or supervised by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, while in March 2021, the number was 59,212." Due to the developments in Ukraine, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum also included a special section on displaced Ukrainians, which read: "In March 2022 there were 14,630 arrivals of Ukrainian citizens; 31.48% are minors, 22.06% come from the age group 18-34 years, and 46.46% are from the age group 35+ years. Thus, in total, there were 4,605 arrivals of minors (31%) and 10,025 arrivals of adults (69%). The total arrivals from the air border were 2,185 (15%) while from land it was 12,445 (85%)." On the new financial support agreement for the North Aegean islands for tourism promotion, Mitarakis commented: "We are supporting and financing - within 2022 - the tourism promotion of the five islands of the North Eastern Aegean with 2 million euros; the Mitsotakis government supports the Aegean islands with the freezing of VAT on the islands, the decongestion of refugees and migrants from the islands, and with the completion of very important infrastructure projects, along with the 32 million euros that we have given already as the Ministry of Migration and Asylum from 2019." For his part, Tourism Minister Vasilis Kikilias added: "Digital media, television advertising and all forms of modern marketing are at our disposal and through the Greek Tourism Board (EOT), we are ready to promote the excellent beaches, wine tourism, and gastro-tourism of Mytilene, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos." The promotion of the municipalities on the islands will go towards offsetting the damage suffered due to drops in tourism as a result of the migration crisis, but also due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding of 2 million euros will come from the Public Investment Program of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the EU Asylum, Immigration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund (ISF), the External Borders Fund (EBF) and all other related, funded or co-financed program from national or EU resources. In addition to the above is the possibility provided by law for the payment by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum of compensation - in the form of grants in areas that have been badly affected by immigration and/or the effects of the pandemic. (ANSAmed). Gas: Tunisia 'to benefit from new accord Italy-Algeria' Commentators evaluate positive impact for Tunis (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, APRIL 22 - An agreement signed on April 11 in Algiers by Italian Premier Mario Draghi and Algerian President Abdelajid Tebboune, for a gradual increase by 40% until 2024 of the volume of gas in transit in the pipeline Transmed, is seen by Tunisian commentators as an unexpected source of revenue for the country. Tunisia is experiencing a difficult economic situation with negative repercussions expected for cereal imports due to the war in Ukraine. Transmed, which crosses Tunisian territory for 400 kilometers before entering the Mediterranean in Italy's direction, generates royalties each year for Tunisia. According to the agreements in place, Tunisia earns a right of passage of 5.25% on the total of gas transported. Sale contracts signed since the implementation of the project in 1983 provide for payments in foreign currency or in natural gas for Tunisia. "These royalties will bring 500 billion of dinars to Tunisia in 2022", according to the minister of industry, mining and energy, Neila Noura Gongi, who stressed that they "cover, for the moment, 65% of the country's energy needs". Also seen from Algiers, this new agreement is fundamental because it consolidates Algeria's position in the region. "In one fell swoop, Algeria boosts its axis with Italy, giving a sort of present to Tunisian neighbors, cutting provisions to Morocco and increasing prices for 'mean' Spanish clients", stressed Sofiene Ahres on businessnews.com.tn. The accord is also an occasion for Algiers to attract Italian energy giant ENI for investments in solar power, in the south of the country. In this way, Algiers is not hiding its ambition anymore to become the main provider of 'clean' electric energy for the European continent, in particular with its Mega project "Solar 1000" which stretches over 4200 hectares and will generate a total capacity of 1000 MegaWatt. The accord on April 11, signed by the director general of ENI, Claudio Descalzi and the director general of Sonatrach, Toufik Hakkar, provides for an alignment of international market prices and a 40% increase of gas volumes towards Italy (9 billion m3). "Several other projects in the field of renewable energy are part of the accord", according to a statement released by Sonatrach for the occasion. Tunisia will not suffer from any sudden price increase because Algerians have maintained the old value. "Algiers is actually immediately gifting Tunisia with three billion of m3 of natural gas and another 6 in 2023. The agreement also provides for: 3 billion of m3 in liquefied natural gas (LNG)", wrote Sofiene Ahres. She concluded that, "from now on, nearly 30 billon of m3 of natural gas will travel each year at a speed exceeding Mach1 towards Italy through Transmed. The quota for Tunisia in this beautiful Italian-Algerian operation is 1.5 billion m3". (ANSAmed) Tunisia: Fuel tanker that sank off Gabes is 'empty' Xelo's route unclear; Egyptian port denies departure (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, 22 APR - No trace has been found of the 750 tons of diesel fuel that were allegedly stored in the tanks of the Xelo fuel tanker that sank Saturday off Gabes, in southeastern Tunisia, the rear admiral of the Tunisian Navy, Mazri Latif told a press conference on Friday. Latif is in charge of supervising urgent action to prevent an environmental disaster "Scuba divers found nothing in the tanks of the ship", said Latif, without providing further explanations. The Tunisian environment ministry also issued a statement in which it said that the tanks of the ship that sank nearly a week ago off Gabes were empty and did not present any danger to the public's health. The ministry said operations to evaluate damages and protect the sea from pollution have been suspended for the moment, until maneuvers to retrieve the vessel are resumed. Two investigations have been opened - one into the dynamic of the incident and another for environmental disaster. But many mysteries remain on the Xelo's route. Officially, the Xelo, which belongs to a Turkish shipowner, sank while en route from the port of Damietta, in Egypt, to Malta. But port authorities in Damietta said that "the port was not the point of departure for the journey of the merchant ship that sank in the Gulf of Gabes". As a preventive measure, a local court issued a 15-day travel ban, which is renewable, for the seven crew members. (ANSAmed) Turkey: verdict on Kavala expected Monday, lawyers Release necessary for Ankara's adhesion, EU (ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, 22 APR - The final verdict in the trial against Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala could be issued on Monday or Tuesday, attorneys at the Caglayan court in Istanbul told ANSA on Friday. A new hearing of the trial started at 10:30 local time. Kavala is a defendant together with 16 others on charges of "espionage" and "attempt to overthrow the government". A sentence was expected on Friday but, according to some lawyers who were present, the judges' decision could be announced on Monday or Tuesday because witnesses for the defense are expected to testify at length and their testimony could end approximately when the court closes for the weekend. The court was crowded and as the final statements for the defense were presented. Also present in the Istanbul court, along with the defendants, were the delegates of Pen International, representatives of various western diplomatic missions in Ankara, including the US and Germany, and the standing rapporteur for Turkey of the European Parliament, Nacho Sanchez Amor. Before the hearing, politicians of the main Turkish opposition parties and activists read an appeal for Kavala's release. He was been held in preventive custody for over four years. "As every other democrat, I expect an acquittal" and "to bring forward the adhesion process it is necessary to resolve problems concerning human rights and the rule of law", Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament's standing rapporteur, told ANSA, speaking about the trial against Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala whose final hearing was held Friday in Istanbul. "The new alignment between Ankara and Brussels on various issues, as for example the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, has nothing to do with the adhesion process that instead concerns human rights and the rule of law", said Sanchez Amor, who attended the hearing Friday in Istanbul. He claimed that the activist's case is among "issues that must be taken into consideration in a mindful way when we talk about the adhesion process to the EU". The European lawmaker criticized the fact that Kavala was not released from jail, as requested by the European Court of Human Rights already in 2019. The activist has been detained for more than four years on charges of supporting anti-government protests and playing a role in an attempted coup in 2016 in Turkey. "By being part of the Council of Europe, Turkey chose to abide by the decisions" of the European court and the "only legal result that could arrive from this tribunal would be the release of Osman Kavala", said Sanchez Amor. In February, the Council of Europe opened an infringement proceeding against Ankara for failing to release the activist. (ANSAmed). A cat missing for five years has been reunited with its owner after being found on an offshore oil rig. Workers contacted the Scottish SPCA on Thursday after they found the animal in a shipping container from Peterhead. Staff from the animal welfare charity collected the microchipped cat on Friday after he was flown back to the mainland by helicopter. He had been living as a stray around Peterhead Prison in Aberdeenshire. Dexter had been living as a stray (Scottish SPCA/PA) SPCA animal rescue officer Aimee Findlay said she has no idea how the cat ended up in the container but it had been nicknamed One-eyed Joe by the prison officers who have been feeding him for five years. After checking him for a microchip, it turns out his real name is Dexter, she said. We are so glad that he was well looked after for the time he was missing but were even more delighted to be able to reunite him with his original owner, thanks to his microchip being up to date. The charity urged anyone who finds an injured animal or an animal in distress to contact its helpline on 03000 999 999. Boris Johnson has called partnership between the UK and India vital, ahead of a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Friday. The Prime Minister will discuss defence and security collaboration across land, sea, air, space and cyber, and will also use the meeting to press for a loosening of ties with Moscow, amid concerns about Indias neutrality on Russias invasion of Ukraine and its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Johnson wrote on Twitter: Looking forward to meeting with my friend @narendramodi today in New Delhi. From climate change to energy security to defence, the partnership of our democracies is vital as the world faces growing threats from autocratic states. Looking forward to meeting with my friend @NarendraModi today in New Delhi. From climate change to energy security to defence, the partnership of our democracies is vital as the world faces growing threats from autocratic states. Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 22, 2022 Mr Johnson on Thursday committed to supporting India to build fighter jets in a bid to reduce the amount of arms the nation buys from Russia. Downing Street said the UK would offer the best of British knowhow to support building new Indian-designed and built fighter jets, but further details were unclear. Britain will also issue an open general export licence to India, which No 10 said would speed up its defence procurement in a move that is a first outside the European Union or US. Mr Johnson said: The world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty. The UKs partnership with India is a beacon in these stormy seas. Our collaboration on the issues that matter to both our countries, from climate change to energy security and defence, is of vital importance as we look to the future. India has declined to be critical of its former Cold War ally Russia and has abstained from voting in United Nations resolutions condemning Moscow. Prime Minister Boris Johnson arriving at Delhi Airport, as part of his two day trip to India (Stefan Rousseau/PA) As the West divests from Russian fuel, India has upped its purchases of Moscows oil and has been a major buyer of the Kremlins arms. Mr Johnsons two-day visit to India comes as his domestic political drama over partygate deepened further with new Tory calls for his resignation. He hopes to drive forward work on a post-Brexit free trade deal with India during talks with Mr Modi, having said he wants an agreement done by the autumn. Mr Johnson was open to the possibility of accepting Delhis demands for more immigration to the UK, saying the UK is short of hundreds of thousands of IT workers. But the PM was facing renewed calls in India to speak up for minorities and democratic rights as he visited a JCB factory, while bulldozers are being used to tear down Muslim-owned properties in communal violence. He indicated he would bring up those issues during talks with Mr Modi, who is accused of damaging Indias democracy and of whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment. Mr Johnsons intercontinental dash came amid the fallout after he was fined for breaching coronavirus laws with a gathering for his 56th birthday in 2020. While out of the country, he missed a major vote on whether to launch a Commons investigation into whether he lied to MPs and performed a chaotic U-turn in backing down on an attempt to delay an inquiry. A member of an organised crime gang who helped arrange the murder of a Dutch crime writer has been jailed for at least 25 years. Christopher Hughes, 33, was with Martin Kok, 49, when he was shot and killed outside the Boccaccio Club in Laren, Holland on December 8 2016. Prosecutors said he had alerted others to Mr Koks location and let them know when he was leaving the club. Earlier the same day, Hughes had also sent word to others when the pair were leaving the Citizen M hotel in Amsterdam, when an attempt was made on Mr Koks life. The trial took place at the High Court in Glasgow (Jane Barlow/PA) Hughes was convicted of murder following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years at the High Court in Stirling on Friday, the Crown Office said. The 33-year-old from Glasgow was also sentenced to six years for his involvement in serious organised crime, to run concurrently with the other sentence. Laura Buchan, Procurator Fiscal for Specialist Casework, said: Christopher Hughes was a key member of an organised crime gang for many years, facilitating criminal behaviour which culminated in the brutal murder of Martin Kok. The conviction of Hughes was truly a collaborative and international effort, and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) worked closely with colleagues in both Scotland and Holland to ensure Hughes answered for his actions. It is thanks to this great work with international justice colleagues that we were able to prosecute Hughes. In particular, Police Scotland carried out exceptional work on what was a complex and lengthy investigation. Organised crime does great harm to communities in Scotland and beyond and we will continue to work with partners in the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to tackle these groups. Prosecutors said that for almost seven years between July 1 2013 and January 7 2020, Hughes was involved in an organised crime group with international reach. He was involved in the importation and supply of cocaine, firearms and ammunition, money laundering, and the setting up of a company to supply encrypted communication devices to gangs throughout the world. After Hughes was found guilty, Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Houston described him as a dangerous individual and said his conviction is testament to Police Scotlands commitment to relentlessly pursuing criminals who think they are untouchable or above the law. A toy poodle with a pink mohawk, described as a punk rocker by her owner, has been putting smiles on the faces of young Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Eight-year-old Juno belongs to Lars Whelan, a volunteer at Warsaw Central railway station. The former ships captain, 48, from the US, said Juno has been to more than 30 countries but has never been in a situation like the one in Poland right now. But she has quickly become a favourite among refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine since she arrived with Mr Whelan in early April. Juno the dog meets refugees in Poland (Lars Whelan/PA) He told the PA news agency: Shell sit there and let a little kid hold her and pet her. It really makes a big difference to them. Theres a lot of kids that (have) been travelling for two days, they dont know where theyre going. They dont know where they are. They dont know what anyones saying because they speak Ukrainian and people are speaking Polish or whatever. And theyre kind of zombified. You know, they have a blank expression on their face. Junos really good at lighting these kids up and getting them to smile and have a little bit of gleam in their eyes. Mr Whelan, who grew up in Boston but now lives in Hollywood, has travelled the world with Juno, including a tour of the UK. The pair headed to Poland to help refugees leaving Ukraine, with the option of dropping Juno off with friends in Europe if she was unhappy about being in the thick of it. But any concerns were quickly dismissed and Juno is enjoying her role alongside Mr Whelan, who is a co-ordinator and supervisor at the station. Junos owner said she quickly lights up the faces of young refugees (Lars Whelan/PA) Mr Whelan said: I was on the phone all day (on Wednesday) morning and she got annoyed and started pawing my face. Im like what do you want? It wasnt water she wanted to go see the kids. So we made a round and then she was okay. She was looking forward to doing a little work. With the kids in the station, its great. I just get down on their level and reach out even though they dont speak Ill make the petting motion. Theyll do a little petting of Juno or well let them hold her if it looks like the kids have it together. You could have a four-year-old in the middle of a full-blown temper tantrum, (Juno) can flip them out in 10 seconds and hes smiling and giggling. Asked how Junos pink hairdo came about, Mr Whelan said: I had a toy poodle with my previous girlfriend and she didnt like me to give the dog a mohawk. So when I got Juno on my own, Im like, shes going to have whatever I want. Shes a little bit of a punk rocker. Helpers at Warsaw Central train station pose for a photo with Juno (Lars Whelan/PA) The pair will continue to offer assistance in the area until mid-May, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears the two-month mark. Mr Whelan said he hopes people can see that many volunteers are attempting to make the situation better. I like that Mr Rogers quote, you know when something terrible happens, look for the people who are trying to do good and help, he said. You can see a lot of good in the world when you see how many people have really made an effort to come here, donate or work remotely to help these people. I just like to put that out there, that theres a lot of people making an effort to help these people and do what they can to make their situation better. A motorist with over 60 years driving experience and a couple planning to celebrate their wedding anniversary overseas are among those helped by a service set up a decade ago to help older customers access vital insurance. The signposting initiative was launched in April 2012 due to an agreement between the British Insurance Brokers Association (Biba), the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Government. It helps older people who may previously have struggled to find suitable cover. Under the agreement on age and insurance, if an insurer or insurance broker is unable to offer cover to an older motorist or holidaymaker because their age is above any upper age limits they have, they can automatically refer the customer to an alternative provider who can meet their needs, or to a dedicated signposting service such as Bibas find insurance service on 0370 950 1790 or www.biba.org.uk/find-insurance. Biba said it has received more than 860,000 inquiries to its find insurance service. One customer helped by Bibas find insurance service is Jayne Carson, 70, who will be celebrating her wedding anniversary with her husband in California, where they got married 27 years ago. The trip was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19 and with the holiday rebooked for this year, Mrs Carson faced a new challenge of finding travel insurance. She said: It seems that when you get to 70 that you get dumped in terms of travel insurance. She added: Its all tick boxes, and you cant speak to anybody. Bibas service put Mrs Carson in contact with AllClear Travel Insurance, which provided insurance for the holiday. She said: Im so grateful that someone could cover us. We had decided that we are going on the trip regardless because Covid already came along and ruined our 25th wedding anniversary holiday, but thankfully AllClear were able to help. We cant wait to go back to the USA where we got married and have had many memorable trips. AllClear CEO Chris Rolland said: We would never recommend travelling uninsured to anyone, even more so when it involves a trip to the States where costs can be extremely high and where there are pre-existing medical conditions. If in doubt always speak to a specialist broker with expertise in this area. In another case, an 86-year-old man was refused motor insurance by several organisations because of his age. Bibas find insurance service put him in touch with AJ Insurance, which provided cover. The customer said: Ive been driving for more than 60 years so it really means a lot to me to be able to continue to do so. Another customer who previously struggled to find cover is Elaine Davies, 58, who signed up to a charity trek across Cuba to raise money for Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff. Her medical history includes heart issues. She said: Its a real pain as my conditions are not life-threatening and I want to continue to live life to the full. She sought advice from the British Heart Foundation, which referred her to Bibas find insurance service and was put in contact with specialist broker Just Travel Cover. It provided comprehensive travel insurance, including cover for her medical conditions. The agreement has been reviewed and renewed three times since its launch in 2012. Graeme Trudgill, Bibas executive director, said: We are incredibly proud to have helped so many people in need during the past 10 years. Finding suitable insurance can be an enormous challenge for many people and this signposting agreement has made such a difference. Our contact centre team help people daily and hear directly how signposting helps. Access to travel and motor insurance enables older people to live their lives to the full and we will continue on our mission to help many more people access the insurance they need through specialist brokers. James Dalton, director, general insurance policy, at the ABI, said: The agreement offers crucial help for many to get the motor and travel insurance that they need. The signposting agreement has helped improve access to insurance for consumers with non-standard requirements. Other similar collaborations have followed, to help different types of customers find insurance. Initiatives include work between Biba and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2016 to encourage signposting to appropriate brokers specialising in cover for military personnel. In 2020 a protection insurance signposting agreement was launched to help people with disabilities and pre-existing medical conditions access income protection, critical illness and life insurance. And in January 2021 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed that Bibas travel medical insurance directory met its criteria for a medical cover firm directory as part of new rules to help signpost travellers with medical conditions to specialist cover. And in February this year, Biba, the ABI and Flood Re launched a signposting solution and flood insurance directory to help householders who are struggling to obtain flood cover access insurance. John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: I am delighted that 10 years after launching in 2012, the signposting agreement between the Government, Biba and the Association of British Insurers has helped many older consumers access travel and motor insurance, with nearly 900,000 inquiries in total. I look forward to the continued success of the scheme and to working with the sector to ensure consumers can access the insurance they need. Blac Chyna was emotional in court Thursday discussing ex Rob Kardashian posting nude photos of her on social media after their breakup. During her second day of testimony in her trial against the Kardashian-Jenner family, the social media influencer (real name: Angela White) was asked by the defense about obtaining a restraining order against Rob after he posted the explicit photos in 2017 after their scorched-earth breakup. Chyna became visibly upset when asked to look at that court filing, which contained the explicit photos that Rob put online, and also became emotional when asked by the defense if the restraining order was a publicity stunt. "My pictures were blasted to the entire world," Chyna said on the stand. "Rob posted nudes of me on the internet. So Im just supposed to allow Rob post this on the internet ... that's OK, right? Blac Chyna, seen in a courtroom sketch, is facing off with the Kardashians in Los Angeles Superior Court. Rob Kardashian's ex-fiancee claims the famous family destroyed her TV career. (Photo: Bill Robles via AP) She said the restraining order "was the only way I could stop him from posting pictures of me on the internet." Chyna's attorney Lynne Ciani demanded that the explicit photos not be shown to the jury and the judge agreed they would not see them. Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian started dating, got engaged, welcomed a baby and starred in their own reality show in 2016. (Photo: Prince Williams/WireImage) Chyna was also questioned about appearing on Good Morning America the day after she filed the restraining order again Rob, with whom she shares a 5-year-old daughter, Dream, and whether she did it for press attention. "I was already public," she replied. "I'm supposed to just not say anything and take it? I wanted everyone to hear my side of the story. He posted nudes of my entire body." She was also asked about the press conference she gave with attorney Lisa Bloom to discuss her revenge porn allegations, and whether she was seeking publicity when she did that. Chyna reportedly sat silent for a few seconds just staring at the Kardashians' attorney. Chyna then requested a 10-minute break. It's been a wild trial so far. On day one of Chyna's testimony, she admitted she put a gun to Rob's head in 2016 but claimed she was joking. In January 2016, it was announced Rob the Kardashian who's least in the limelight was dating the internet influencer. It was a rollercoaster as they announced their engagement in April, premiered their Keeping Up With the Kardashians spin-off Rob & Chyna in September and had a baby in November. They frequently broke up and got back together before calling it quits for good in 2017. Their final split was bitter with Rob posting explicit photos of Chyna, including showing her exposed genital area, on social media in July 2017 amid a rant in which he accused her of cheating on him and being an unfit mother who abused drugs. She then filed the restraining order and they've since been involved in several legal proceedings against each other. This lawsuit, which Chyna filed in October 2017, targets the Kardashian family, specifically Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. She accuses them of using their power to conspire with E! TV executives to kill the second season of Rob & Chyna. Production on Season 2 of the show had already begun and was to focus on Chyna and Rob's lives as co-parents. She received a $100,000 kill fee for the show now airing, but season one debuted to record-setting numbers and she was due to collect much more money. Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner are seen in a courtroom sketch. Kylie wasn't in court Thursday morning due to sickness but was expected later in the day. (Photo: Bill Robles via AP) Chyna claims she suffered economic damages because the family interfered with her contracts and business dealings to push her out of reality TV. She accused Kris, Kim, Khloe and Kylie of defamation Additional allegations include assault and harassment charges against Rob. Chyna's seeking $100 million in lost earnings. The Kardashians have denied her allegations and said in court filings that they had legitimate concerns about Chyna and feared for the safety of Rob due to the "violence and toxicity" of the former couple's relationship. They have countersued. Kris, Kim, Khloe and Kylie (with whom Chyna shares a mutual ex, Tyga) have been in court during jury selection and as the trial has gotten underway. They are expected to testify. At the conclusion of this trial, Chyna will face off against Rob in her revenge porn case. Johnny Depp is cross-examined on April 21, 2022 during his defamation trial against Amber Heard. (Photo: Reuters) Johnny Depp defended himself during cross-examination on Thursday after a video, which he says was "illegally recorded" by Amber Heard, was played in court that showed him smashing up his kitchen in 2013. "I did assault a couple of cabinets, but I did not touch Ms. Heard," Depp declared. In the video, Depp is seen slamming glass cabinets in the bar area of his home. Heard remarks that "nothing happened this morning" and "I just woke up and you were so sweet and nice. We were not even fighting this morning, all I did was say sorry." Depp is heard saying, "Did something happen to you this morning? I don't think so. You wanna see crazy? I'll give you crazy." The actor then pours himself a very large glass of wine. "Here's your crazy." Depp then realizes he's being secretly recorded and appears to knock down the device. "You got this going? You sic that s*** on me, motherf*****?" Depp yells. More loud sounds are heard off-camera. Heard appears to laugh. When Depp was confronted with the video of himself in court, he suggested it was a set up. "Clearly I was having a bad time. I don't know what it was with regard to completely," Depp stated, noting how Heard was trying "to hide" the recording device. Depp said he "thought that was the most interesting part" about the whole thing was that Heard was seemingly smiling and laughing at the end of the video. Heard's attorney, Ben Rottenborn, asked if Depp poured himself a "mega" glass of wine in the video. (The actor's drug and alcohol use is a main argument for the defense.) "A mega pint?" Depp asked. "I poured myself a large glass of wine, I thought it necessary." When the video was shown in court, Heard flinched throughout the nearly two-minute clip. The actress then became visibly emotional for the first time in seven days of witness testimony. Amber Heard has remained bascially stoic throughout trial but that broke when this exchanged happened: #JohnnyDepp v #AmberHeard@LawCrimeNetworkpic.twitter.com/IDasxfVLiY Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 21, 2022 "One does stray from complete control over their emotions at times, and that is very normal primal thing to do," Depp told Rottenborn. The 58-year-old actor maintained, "I did not try to intimidate Ms. Heard." "If she was intimidated, why was she filming?" Depp asked. "If she was scared to death, why didn't she leave?" Depp is suing Heard for $50 million for describing herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse" in a 2018 op-ed. She is countersuing for $100 million. Most of Thursday afternoon's cross-examination centered around Depp's graphic text messages "I'm not proud of any of the language used" and more recordings of the former couple. Earlier this week, Depp alluded to a meeting between himself and Heard in July 2016, two months after she filed for divorce and a temporary restraining order. They met up at a hotel in San Francisco, apparently at her request, and the actor seemingly threatened to cut himself with a knife. In the audio recording, Depp asks Heard: "Where do you want the scar?" "Please do not cut your skin," Heard replies. "Why would I do that? Please do not do that... please do not cut yourself." Housekeeping knocks on the door and Depp yells, "No thank you, there's sperm on the pillows." (He gave a little chuckle in court listening to that part.) "Cut me," Depp says. "I would never cut you," Heard replies. "You f****** hate me, come on," Depp says. AUDIO RECORDING: Snippet of what was played at end of day. - July 2016, two months after the filing of divorce/restraining order. #JohnnyDepp and #AmberHeard agreed to meet. Depp asks where she wants him cut, "Where do you want the scar?" Then Heard begs him not to cut himself. pic.twitter.com/GKl22OClLr Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) April 21, 2022 Court is adjourned for the week. Depp's cross-examination will resume on Monday. MORE: Johnny Depp's texts about wanting to 'f***' Amber Heard's 'burnt corpse' read at trial The defamation case brought by actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard is still ongoing, but the court of social media seems to have already declared a winner. Posters on Twitter and TikTok have overwhelmingly backed Depp, with hashtags like JusticeForJohnnyDepp racking up nearly 3 billion views on TikTok. Similar hashtags have been tweeted thousands of times. A search for JusticeForAmberHeard on Twitter displayed tweets calling for justice for Depp. Creators and experts explained why they think social media discussion around the topic seems to be overwhelmingly favorable of Depp. Depp is suing Heard for defamation over an essay she wrote for The Washington Post in 2018, in which she said she had become the public figure representing domestic abuse. Although the article never mentions Depp by name, his attorneys said it indirectly refers to abuse allegations she made against him during their 2016 divorce. Heard is countersuing Depp seeking $100 million in damages. The trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, is expected to take weeks. Both Depp and Heard have testified that the other had been physically violent with them during the course of their relationship. Heards legal team presented evidence, including 2013 text messages in which he appeared to say he would subject her to a violent death, arguing that Depp had been physically violent with and had made threats against her. Depp appeared to write in a different 2013 exchange that he would smack her around before letting her in, referring to her using a vulgar insult, according to Heards legal team. During the trial, Heards legal team repeatedly brought up Depps prior drug use, including his use of cocaine, alcohol and opiates. In May 2016, Heard was granted a protective order after she claimed Depp hit her in the face with a cellphone. Depp denied getting physically violent with Heard. Depp lobbed allegations against Heard in court as well, claiming that she would pick fights and escalate them with demeaning language. He also said she would sometimes strike out, saying that she would slap or a shove him, or throw something at him. Depps attorneys provided images of Depp after alleged altercations and audio of Heard making statements, such as, I was hitting you. I was not punching you. Some on social media back Depp On platforms like TikTok, videos of the trial, sympathetically edited clips of Depp and audio recordings of the couple, which appear to show Heard as the aggressor and Depp as the victim, all appear under the JusticeForJohnnyDepp hashtag. Some TikTokers will give play-by-plays of the day in court, recounting the latest testimony or evidence presented. Others suggest unproven conspiracy theories, including one in which users say Heard is intentionally mimicking Depps outfits as a way to psychologically intimidate him. On Twitter, some who back Depp have suggested that Heard isnt being held to the same standard as male domestic abusers and criticized her behavior during the couples marriage. In court filings before the trial, Heard said she hit Depp only in self-defense or in defense of her younger sister, according to The New York Times. Amber Heard got a free pass for her lies and violence for 6 years. This gender bias must end now. Make her accountable for her actions, Virginia, we trust you, Twitter user and Depp supporter Ayca Gurelman wrote. Why has the court of social media sided with Depp? Experts said there may be many reasons why so many people have used social media to declare their support for Depp, including recognizing him as the characters hes portrayed in films such as Captain Jack Sparrow from Disneys Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and the titular Edward Scissorhands from the 1990 Tim Burton film. Amber, in my opinion, wasnt known too well until she started dating Johnny, said Becca Catherall, a TikToker who has posted videos about the case. She became well known when she made the allegations against Johnny and because the world knows Johnny and loves him, I believe that everyone is going to be angry and upset that such allegations have been made towards him. Other factors experts have theorized might play a role in the internets devotion to Depp include internalized misogyny and the live spectacle of the courtroom, which some have claimed makes Depp look vulnerable. Seth Lewis, the Shirley Pape chair in emerging media and director of journalism at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon, said it can be hard to pinpoint one reason in particular as the internets dominating attractor to Depp. Sometimes things become popular because theyre already popular at a baseline level, Lewis said, adding, I think were in this moment where people are fascinated by authenticity. Its the reason people will find greater trust in what seems to be raw video footage on social media or on YouTube. Lewis credits this desire for authenticity with why so many have been fascinated by the Depp case and Depps seeming vulnerability on the stand as a reason so many might be backing him. Some have said Depps quiet and calm responses while talking about previous drug use and other personal matters is a sign of his vulnerability during the case. Lewis added that a platform like TikTok is benefiting from this obsession with authenticity, and it makes for a perfect venue to hash out the Depp-Heard case. Still, he emphasized that for each person, there may a different reason why they latch on to Depp as the case plays out. For other people, its maybe a feeling that somehow men havent been listened to adequately in the Me Too era, and for other people it could be totally different reasons, he said. While Lewis suggested that some may be backing Depp because they worry that the Me Too movement didnt represent male victims as much as it did female victims, others suggested that Depp might actually be benefiting from deeply ingrained societal misogyny. David Schmid, pop culture expert and associate professor of English at the University at Buffalo College, State University of New York, said he feels that some people might look at the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard situation for evidence that misogyny is a thing of the past because the case has a man accusing a woman of domestic violence. Schmid added that people, who might feel cancel culture has gone too far, may also find themselves rooting for Depp. I think a lot of people look at whats happened to Johnny Depps career as a result of this situation and say this is exhibit A of cancel culture ... a lot of people who think cancel culture gets unfairly applied to men more than women will be following this very closely, Schmid said. No matter the reason, TikTokers like Catherall said they feel the internets mind has long been made up about when it comes to this case. I do believe that majority of the public have already sided with Johnny, she said. John Williams heard about the apprenticeship through his former high school and decided to give it a shot. At the time, Williams, now 22, was finishing up his associate degree in computer science at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago and working part-time at a restaurant. He was accepted at that apprenticeship, which is run by the global professional services company Accenture, as part of its efforts to ramp up hiring based on skills rather than just higher education. I was an apprentice for one year starting in July 2019, Williams told Yahoo Money. After completing the program, I was hired as a full-time employee, and, last November was promoted to the position of information technology analyst. John Williams, an Accenture apprencticeship graduate, now works full-time for the company as an information technology analyst from his home office. (Photo courtesy of Accenture) In recent years, major employers, including Accenture, AT&T, Dell, Google, Hilton Hotels, Ernst & Young, Oracle, IBM and Intel hired more workers, like Williams, without four-year college degrees, according to The Emerging Degree Reset: How the Shift to Skills-Based Hiring Holds the Keys to Growing the U.S. Workforce at a Time of Talent Shortage, a recent report by the Burning Glass Institute, an independent nonprofit research center, tapping data from Emsi Burning Glass, a labor-market data firm. The movement away from the four-year degree prerequisite is growing. With close to two open jobs for each of the 6 million unemployed workers that the Labor Department counted in February, employers struggle to find skilled workers. A degree requirement immediately jettisons from consideration the 62% of the U.S. adults over age 25 without a bachelors degree including 71% of the Black population and 79% of the Hispanic population, according to recent Census Bureau findings. Major implications for job seekers The researchers analyzed more than 51 million job listings, looking for four-year college degree requirements. In 2017, 51% required the degree. By 2021, that share had declined to 44%. At Accenture, for example, the researchers found the share of postings specifying a Bachelor of Arts degree or higher fell to 43% in 2021 from 54% in 2017. When employers drop degrees, they become more meticulous about skills in job postings, seeking soft skills such as writing, communication, and being detail-oriented, the researchers added. This reshuffle could have major implications for how employers open opportunities for an additional 1.4 million jobs for workers without college degrees over the next five years, according to the researchers. The change is most visible for middle-skill positions defined as those requiring some post-secondary education or training but less than a four-year degree. But it's just a start. Of the middle-skill job descriptions the researchers reviewed, 37% showed no decrease in degree requirements, which means that some 15.7 million people have effectively been walled out of the candidate pool, even as employers complain bitterly about the unavailability of workers, they wrote. Pedestrians walk past a Now Hiring sign in Arlington, Virginia, on March 16, 2022. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) The cost of four-year degrees has been a major hurdle The average cost of tuition and fees for the 2021-2022 school year is $43,775 at private colleges, $28,238 for out-of-state students at public schools and $11,631 for state residents at public colleges, according to data reported to U.S. News & World Report. I didnt go to a four-year college specifically due to how much it cost, Williams said. We just didnt have the money for me to go. Being almost $100,000 in debt was not what I wanted to do. So, I went to a city college and worked and paid out of pocket for my time there. For many workers, a lack of a four-year degree can make it harder to find work. The U.S. unemployment rate for those 25 and older with a high school degree, but no college, is more than twice as high than those with a bachelors degree or higher, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For Williams, Accentures focus on skills-based hiring appears to be paying off with a path to a career with promising income potential. The average base salary for an information technology analyst at Accenture is $82,000 per year in the Chicago- area, according to Glassdoor. The biggest challenge was learning a new technology and middleware, a type of computer software, he said. At first it was a lot to process, but the training gave me the foundation to work in a team and the skills. And in meetings with our external clients, my communication skills improved. Accentures one-year apprenticeship, known as the learn-and-earn model, for example, focuses on digital economy jobs without a four-year degree requirement, Pallavi Verma, Senior Managing Director, North America Lead, Apprenticeship Program at Accenture, told Yahoo Money. The company aimed to fill 20% of its entry-level roles from its apprenticeship program for its fiscal year 2022, an increase from 15% from the last year. Accenture apprentices, like Williams, receive paid training in areas including application development, cybersecurity, data engineering, cloud and platform engineering. These roles are among the nearly half of Accenture entry-level positions in the U.S. open to people without a four-year college degree. Accenture's one-year apprenticeship focuses on digital economy jobs. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration We recruit apprentices from community colleges, tech academies and nonprofits, such as NPower and Year Up, Verma said. The vast majority 960 people, or 80% of our apprentices joined Accenture without a four-year college degree. Part of the beauty of the apprenticeship program is that we get to teach the apprentices the skills they need. Google launches new initiative to boost the new world of hiring More evidence of the movement toward skills-based hiring is Googles new $100 million fund to sponsor an initiative to find, train and build lanes to good jobs in fields like data analytics, IT support, project management, and UX design for workers without a four-year college degree. Dell Technologies has also developed a program focused on hiring from community colleges. Positions cover the gambit from cybersecurity to engineering, tech support, tech sales, and marketing. Theres a talent shortage all technology companies are facing and it will only increase as time goes on, if action isnt taken today to step out of the traditional recruiting model and open up opportunities for individuals without advanced degrees, Jennifer Newbill, Dells director of university recruitment, told Yahoo Money. At Bank of America, a four-year degree has rarely closed doors for job-seekers, John Jordan, head of The Academy, Bank of Americas onboarding, education and professional development division, told Yahoo Money. Were often asked if we worked to eliminate degree requirements from our job requirements, but notably most of our jobs do not require a four-year college degree, he said. We take a skills-based approach to both hiring and learning, and a majority of our entry level roles do not require degrees." New research by SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management) shows that nearly 1 in 4 human resource professionals surveyed report using artificial intelligence (AI) in their recruitment and hiring process. And AI can automatically eliminate those without a four-year degree. Employers and hiring managers are missing out on possibly great employees by using AI-driven screening tools that filter out people without college degrees, Ramona Schindelheim, editor-in-chief of WorkingNation, a nonprofit news organization, told Yahoo Money. A degree is not the same thing as a skill. Your experience as a problem-solver or a leader isn't determined by a piece of paper. These are qualities you can only demonstrate in an interview by talking about your work and how you creatively solved a problem or mentored someone to help them succeed, she said. Still on long way to go Joseph Fuller, a professor at the Harvard Business School and a co-author of the Burning Glass report, is encouraged by his research with some caveats. We have a very distinct abatement movement in the United States for employers to say they are removing the degree requirement as a corporate policy, but that doesn't mean it disappears from all job postings made by that company, Fuller told Yahoo Money. But I do think skills-based hiring is going to be increasingly common for a couple of reasons. The first is workforce demographics in the U.S. are pretty perilous, he said. We don't have a growing workforce. Companies are going to have to get used to searching the pool of eager beavers that show up at their doors and the widespread commitment by particularly larger companies to improve their performance on diversity hiring in terms of ethnicity African Americans or Hispanics, they will need to reduce inequity on some levels. The payback for employers will likely be positive. By opening the aperture on your recruiting, you'll get more people that not only have the relevant skills and experience, but they're excited to get your job, not the job they're settling for, or not a job that they're ambivalent about, Fuller said. Kerry is a Senior Columnist and Senior Reporter at Yahoo Money. Follow her on Twitter @kerryhannon Read the latest personal finance trends and news from Yahoo Money. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn. British child migrants who were physically and sexually abused as children at a notorious orphanage farm in rural Australia have had their long fight for justice immortalised in a new book. Reckoning by David Hill a former child migrant himself who went on to become the Australian Broadcasting Corporations chairman is the follow-up work to The Forgotten Children, which was published 15 years ago. While the earlier book was an oral history of dozens of first-hand accounts of the children who were sent to Fairbridge Farm School in Molong, the latest work details how it sent shock waves through the British and Australian governments. The child migration scheme between 1912 and 1980 saw about 130,000 children from largely impoverished backgrounds sent from the UK to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). Initially all children were sent on their own but this changed in 1957 when the One Parent Scheme was introduced, which allowed those with parents to have one of them also go to Australia to set up a home and find work. Once the children were legally allowed to leave school, the child and parent could be reunited. The farm school to which Mr Hill and around a thousand other orphans of the Empire were sent had been blacklisted by the Home Office in 1956 but would continue to operate for the next two decades. The Australian government, the New South Wales (NSW) government and the British Government are all guilty of lying, denying and covering up and they all got caught, Mr Hill told the PA news agency. Now all of them, all of those governments, and the Fairbridge institutions in the UK and New South Wales theyve all acknowledged, it did happen. Theyve apologised to the victims and theyve all agreed to pay financial compensation. Former child migrant and author David Hill, pictured inside Nuffield Hall at Fairbridge Farm School Molong, has taken up the fight for justice and recognition for his fellow child migrants (Alana Calvert/PA) His 2007 book, which was followed by a nationally broadcast documentary in Australia, would prompt more former residents to come forward with revelations of mistreatment, rape and molestation at the farm school. By the time most of its 200-odd survivors received a record pay-out of 24 million Australian dollars (13.6 million) from the NSW government in 2015, more than 60% claimed to have been abused. Two years later at Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in London, former prime minister Gordon Brown would call child migration government-induced (human) trafficking that was a bigger sex scandal than Jimmy Savile. Mr Brown said: This seems to me as probably the biggest national sex abuse scandal. Bigger than what people have alleged about Savile. Bigger than what people have alleged about individual childrens homes. Bigger in scale, bigger in geographical spread, and bigger in the length of time that it went on undetected. Im shocked about the information that I have seen. But in 2007 when Mr Hill tried to launch his book in Molong he received a fierce backlash, with local hostility forcing him to relocate the event from a cafe to the back of his car at the railway station car park. A lot has changed in 15 years, Mr Hill says. That includes local perception, which is one of the aspects documented in Reckoning. Reckoning by David Hill has been launched at events in Molong and the nearby larger town of Orange in central New South Wales (Alana Calvert/PA) The prior widespread disbelief was assisted by the many decades of denial from the Fairbridge Society as well as British and Australian governments. The dark truth was harder to hide once Mr Hill and fellow former child migrant Ian Smiley Bayliff began digging through the many thousands of files at Fairbridge Foundation offices in Sydney, at the University of Liverpool and in libraries and record offices. In the nearly two decades since, Britains child migrants have received apologies from two prime ministers, multiple governments have paid compensation and they have been key witnesses at Britains Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in 2017 and Australias Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The collective sum all four institutions and governments have paid out to survivors of the Molong farm alone now stands at nearly 100 million Australian dollars (57 million), Mr Hill estimates. And the pay-out process is not even complete. Still owing money to the survivors of the farm schools is the Charles-founded Princes Trust. Shortly before the publication of Reckoning, Mr Hills co-researcher and lifelong friend Mr Bayliff died after a long illness. The book which was the cumulation of decades of dogged research was dedicated to him. The remains of the old cottage in which Ian Smiley Bayliff and other young boys had lived at Fairbridge Farm School (Alana Calvert/PA) Prior to the IICSA in 2017, the UK Fairbridge Society had repeatedly denied knowledge of any allegations of abuse at its child migrant institutions. In 1997 its then-director Nigel Haynes told a House of Commons committee Fairbridge had no cases of complaint or abuse on record. When the IICSA published its final report in March 2018 it found evidence that both the British Government and Fairbridge Society were aware of abuse at the farm schools as early as the 1930s. It also said: Fairbridge UK denied responsibility, and was at best wilfully blind to the evidence of sexual abuse contained within its own archives. Gordon Brown appeared in person at the hearing. Since issuing a public apology to child migrants in 2010, he had read The Forgotten Children and learnt about the sexual abuse. Gordon Brown apologised to child migrants while prime minister in 2010, although it was some years later that he learnt about the full scale of sexual abuse many suffered (Peter Macdiarmid/PA) Mr Hill, who had also been present at the public hearing, recalled the former PM had been deeply annoyed because he wasnt told the truth in 2010 about what the British Government knew. One particularly distressing story was that of Vivian Bingham whose life of abuse continued after leaving the school. She was knocked around terribly She arrived in Fairbridge as a five-year-old It was a few months after I got there. She was 24 kilograms and they first sexually abused her when she was five, Mr Hill said. I found some documents in the Liverpool University archives (about what happened to her). Fairbridge knew here (in Australia) and Fairbridge knew there (in the UK) that she was distressed and wetting the bed when she was six (and that her) evil cottage mother tried to cure her of it by holding her head down the toilet. David Hill, shown next to the burnt-out remains of the cottage Vivian Bingham lived in while at Fairbridge Farm School, has written two books on the scandal (Alana Calvert/PA) In Reckoning, Mr Hill explained it was often the smallest, youngest children who were treated the most brutally. While he and his brothers suffered many beatings and slave labour-like conditions on the farm, he suspects they avoided sexual abuse because they were slightly older when they arrived and they tried to stick together. Another story to come to light after the publication of The Forgotten Children was Ron Simpsons. At the age of 79 he shared for the first time in his adult life what happened when he was 13. He had been working in the kitchen at Fairbridge when the village kitchen supervisor had attacked him and raped him. When he tried to tell his cottage mother, he was beaten with a stick. Around a year later, he would be beaten so badly with a hockey stick by the principal his back would break. He would spend several years in hospital before suffering from severe back pain for the rest of his life. Despite the 100 million in Australian dollars that was eventually paid out to the surviving Fairbridge kids, the tragic realisation Mr Hill had during this whole horrible process was that no amount of compensation can ever do justice to a person who was abused as child. Children who are sexually abused quite often never, ever recover he said. Weve had some big wins, some historic wins (and) the financial compensation gives a tangible expression of apology It makes it fair dinkum and feel like its not just empty words But the most important thing of all about the compensation (is that) it means for the first time these kids are believed. Its fantastic that there is now a sense of ownership of this in the community (too), he added. People arent embarrassed any more People accepting (the truth) is the best thing thats happened to the Fairbridge kids. Madeleine McCanns parents have said they welcome the news that Portuguese authorities have declared a German man a formal suspect in her disappearance. In a message posted on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page on Friday, Kate and Gerry McCann wrote: Even though the possibility may be slim, we have not given up hope that Madeleine is still alive and we will be reunited with her. It comes a day after convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, 44, was declared an official suspect by Portuguese authorities. Prosecutors in the Algarves city of Faro released a statement that said, according to a translation, that a person was made an arguido, which translates as named suspect or formal suspect. The statement did not name Brueckner but said the person was made an arguido by German authorities at the request of Portugals public prosecution service. Kate and Gerry McCann also wrote: We welcome the news that the Portuguese authorities have declared a German man an arguido in relation to the disappearance of our beloved daughter Madeleine. This reflects progress in the investigation, being conducted by the Portuguese, German and British authorities. We are kept informed of developments by the Metropolitan police. It is important to note the arguido has not yet been charged with any specific crime related to Madeleines disappearance. Brueckner was identified as a murder suspect by German prosecutors in June 2020, but he has not been charged since then. Investigators believe the convicted sex offender killed Madeleine, then three, after abducting her from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007. Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) who worked on the investigation into the childs disappearance, told BBC Breakfast: Well, this breakthrough could mean everything or it could mean nothing. My own gut feeling on it, from the moment the Germans began to release information two years ago, was that this was the best fit. You have proximity, you have opportunity, and you have a profile with regards to an offender that absolutely fits in a way that no others have. He added: This is all positive. And from my own position, and I wouldnt be surprised if charges did follow. Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and also worked on the Maddie investigation (Paul Faith/PA) The move by Portuguese authorities could allow Brueckner, who is in prison in Germany, to be transferred to the Algarve for formal questioning. The German newspaper Bild reported that Brueckners lawyer, Friedrich Fuelscher, said the Portuguese decision appeared to be a procedural trick. Reports suggested the move could be linked to the countrys statute of limitations, which does not generally allow crimes which carry a maximum prison sentence to be prosecuted more than 15 years after they were committed. This would mean Brueckner could no longer be charged in Portugal after May 3. Brueckner, referred to as Christian B in Germany due to the countrys strict privacy laws, was found guilty in 2019 of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old US woman in Praia da Luz, and sentenced to seven years in jail, at a court in Brunswick, Lower Saxony. A federal court in Karlsruhe, a city in south-west Germany, rejected an appeal against the conviction in November 2020. In Portuguese law, an arguido status can be a preliminary move ahead of an arrest being made or charges brought. The Metropolitan Police continue to treat Madeleines disappearance as a missing persons inquiry. Almost 15 years after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Portuguese police have formally identified German national Christian Brueckner as a murder suspect. Investigators believe the convicted sex offender killed Madeleine after abducting her from a holiday apartment where she had been staying with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and younger siblings, Amelie and Sean. Here the PA news agency provides a breakdown of the main events after the three-year-old vanished. 2007 May 3: Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant. Nothing is amiss when Mr McCann checks on the youngsters just after 9pm, but when his wife goes back at about 10pm she finds Madeleine missing. A pink balloon outside apartment 5A on Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, where Madeline McCann went missing on May 3 2007 (Steve Parsons/PA) Jane Tanner, one of the friends dining with the McCanns, reports having seen a man carrying a child earlier that night. May 14: Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an arguido, or formal suspect but this is later withdrawn. August 11: Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead. September 7: During questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both arguidos in their daughters disappearance but this is also later withdrawn. September 9: The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie. 2008 July 21: The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the arguido status of the McCanns and Robert Murat. 2011 May 12: Mrs McCann publishes a book about her daughters disappearance, on Madeleines eighth birthday. Scotland Yard launches a review of the case after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May, supported by Prime Minister David Cameron. Kate and Gerry McCann whose daughter Madeleine hold an image of what Madeline might look like as an older girl (John Stillwell/PA) 2012 April 25: Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive, release an age-progression picture of how she might look as a nine-year-old, and call on the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case, but Portuguese police say they have found no new material. 2013 July 4: Scotland Yard confirms it has launched its own investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleines disappearance two years into a review of the case. It has genuinely new lines of inquiry and has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons. October 24: Portuguese police confirm that a review of their original investigation has uncovered new lines of inquiry, and they reopen the case. 2014 January 29: British detectives fly to Portugal amid claims they are planning to make arrests. June 3: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing. December 12: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case. Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal (PA) 2015 September 16: The Government discloses that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine has cost more than 10 million. October 28: Scotland Yard cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four. 2017 April 30: The McCanns prepare to mark 10 years since their daughters disappearance with a BBC interview in which they vow to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to find her. 2019 May 3: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine. A VW T3 Westfalia campervan that has been linked to German suspect Christian Brueckner (Metropolitan Police/PA) 2020 June 3: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleines disappearance. June 4: Scotland Yards Operation Grange, which had received 12.3 million in funding up to April 2020, is still a missing person inquiry as detectives have no definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead. 2021 May 4: Kate and Gerry McCann post a statement on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign website saying they still cling to the hope of seeing their daughter again as they prepare to mark her 18th birthday on May 12. 2022 April 21: Christian Brueckner, now 44, is made an arguido, a formal suspect, by Portuguese authorities. NEW YORK (AP) The co-founder of the We Build The Wall project aimed at raising money for a border wall pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in a case that once included former President Donald Trump's adviser Steve Bannon. Brian Kolfage admitted to pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars while promising all donations would pay for the wall. His plea came a month before a trial in a case that began in dramatic fashion in August 2020, when Bannon was pulled from a luxury yacht off the coast of Connecticut and arrested on allegations that he and three others ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall. Bannon was pardoned by Trump just before he left office last year. Bannon had pleaded not guilty to charges he pocketed over $1 million, using some of the money to secretly pay Kolfage, a 39-year-old Air Force veteran who lost both legs in a mortar attack in Iraq. A guilty plea Thursday by codefendant financier Andrew Badolato, 57, in the case during the same remotely conducted electronic hearing before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan meant that only one of the four defendants originally charged might go to trial in mid-May. Video: Woman dies after becoming stuck trying to climb border wall Plea agreements between the government and Kolfage and Badolato specified the defendants will not challenge sentences within an agreed-to guidelines range. For Kolfage, that range was four to five years. For Badolato, it was roughly 3 1/2 years to four years. Sentencing was scheduled for Sept. 6. Kolfage, of Miramar Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and tax charges brought originally in Florida. Badolato, of Sarasota, Florida, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Without the plea deal, Kolfage could have faced up to 46 years in prison while Badolato faced a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. The organizers of the We Build The Wall group raised more than $25 million from thousands of donors as they repeatedly pledged that every dollar would be used for the project. Asked to describe his crimes by the judge, Kolfage said the group had originally intended for all the raised money to be used to build a wall, but it soon became apparent that the plan to donate the money to the U.S. government for the wall's construction was not possible. At that point, he said, they induced donors to opt in to the new project to build a border wall on private land by falsely representing that none of the donations would be spent on salaries or compensation to the fundraisers. I knew what I was doing was wrong and a crime, he said. After he spoke, Torres asked questions, including whether he had promised the public that 100 percent of the money would go toward building the wall. That is correct, he answered. Despite your promise, you made an agreement with others to keep a large sum of money for yourself, the judge said. That is correct, Kolfage answered. Badolato said he engaged in the conspiracy from 2018 to 2020, agreeing to assure donors that all the money would go toward building the wall when he knew the statements were false. I knew this was wrong and Im terribly, terribly sorry for what I did and I humbly beg the court for mercy, he said. When the judge asked Badolato if he was aware that Kolfage was going to get money from donations, he said: Yes I did and I helped facilitate it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos said evidence against the men at trial would have included testimony from donors, along with transaction records following donations into the defendants' bank accounts, emails and text records, along with public statements made by the coconspirators that were false. As Russia's military gears up for what it hopes will be a decisive victory over Ukraine in the eastern part of the country, the U.S. is rushing to send weapons and equipment needed to hold off the larger invading force in the rural and open Donbas terrain -- a far different battlefield from the urban fighting where Ukrainian forces held an advantage. What could make all the difference now is the new $800 million military aid package for Ukraine President Joe Biden announced Thursday. It's a race against time -- maybe a matter of days or weeks. "Now they've launched and refocused their campaign to seize new territory in eastern Ukraine, and we're in a critical window now of time where they're going to set the stage for the next phase of this war," Biden said of the Russian offensive, which U.S. military officials believe is just getting started. "We know that time is not our friend," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. Russia gains by being closer to its border With Ukrainian forces focused in the east, Russia intends to push down from the north, near the city of Izium, and up from the south, surrounding the Ukrainian defenders to "finish them or force them to surrender," a senior U.S. official said Thursday. If Russia takes the beleaguered city of Mariupol in the south, it could free up thousands of troops to join the push north to trap Ukraine forces, according to the official. Although Russia and Ukraine have been battling over Donbas for eight years, Russia's concentrated flow of troops and weapons into the region could bring "a whole different level of fighting," Kirby said Tuesday. There are now 85 battalion tactical groups (BTGs), Russia's main fighting units, inside Ukraine, according to the official. Each BTG is made up of roughly 800-1,000 troops. About 10 of them crossed into the country this week, most heading to the Donbas region. PHOTO: Damage is seen on apartment buildings after shelling from fighting on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, in territory under control of the separatist government of the Donetsk People's Republic, March 29, 2022. (Alexei Alexandrov/AP, FILE) Kirby said the U.S. is focused on sending Ukraine weapons and systems that are not only useful for the rural eastern terrain, but that the Ukrainians can use in the fight without much training. Russia, meanwhile, is trying not to repeat blunders it committed in northern Ukraine, and will enjoy certain geographic advantages in Donbas. Early on, Russian invaders in the north were beset by supply problems, running out of food for troops and fuel for vehicles, failing to achieve any major victories. Pentagon officials believe they did not expect such strong resistance from Ukrainians so didn't adequately prepare for a prolonged fight. But since withdrawing its troops in the north to focus on Donbas, Russia has been putting equipment and support forces in place ahead of its combat troops to favorably condition the battlefield. PHOTO: A Russian military convoy moves on a highway in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol, Ukraine, April 16, 2022. (Alexei Alexandrov/AP, FILE) "We believe that they are trying to learn from past mistakes, and you can see that in just the way they are conducting these shaping operations," Kirby told reporters Monday. "They're conducting themselves in ways that we didn't see around Kyiv, for instance." Another advantage for Russia is that its logistics will be simplified by fighting closer to its own border, while Ukraine will now face the challenge of transporting heavy weapons and ammunition coming over its western border all the way across the country, meaning more miles for something to go wrong, and more chances for Russia to strike these vital shipments. How US-provided artillery and radars could make a difference To stand a chance fighting in the open Donbas landscape, Ukraine will need more long-range weapons and the ability to quickly move troops on the ground and in the air, according to Mick Mulroy, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and ABC News contributor. The U.S. has sent Ukraine $3.4 billion of aid since the beginning of the invasion, including many thousands of shoulder-fired missiles, small arms and ammunition, body armor, and medical supplies. The two most recent packages, dedicating $800 million of aid each, announced April 13the and 21st, were tailored to reflect the new battle space. "It's different," Biden said Thursday. "Its flat, it's not in the mountains, and it requires different kinds of weapons to be more effective." PHOTO: Marines from Battery M, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment fire an M777 howitzer during a training exercise aboard Camp Fallujah, Iraq, April 19, 2008. (U.S. Marine Corps) To that end, the U.S. is sending 90 of its 155mm howitzers, which officials say will begin arriving over the weekend. "This is going to be the king of battle out there," Mulroy said. While Ukraine already has Russian-made artillery pieces, the U.S. and most Western nations do not have the 152mm ammunition to offer as it run through its limited stockpiles. The incoming U.S.-made 155mm guns will bring Ukrainian forces extra firepower, but also the ability to be better resupplied by the West. To start, the U.S. is sending 184,000 artillery rounds along with the 90 weapons. Russia has been flowing its own artillery into Donbas in preparation for its renewed offensive. To help Ukraine counter the threat, the U.S. is sending 14 radar systems that can detect incoming artillery and other indirect-fire attacks and find where they're coming from. "Right now the Russians are kind of just lobbing artillery without any consequence," Mulroy said. "They want to give them a whole lot of consequence." The radar systems can help the Ukrainians accurately fire back. "The counter radar is moving to theater this week," a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday, adding that the howitzers and radar systems complement each other, but can also be used independently. PHOTO: M113 armored personnel carriers with the New Jersey Army National Guard, travel on a road at Fort Drum, N.Y., June 8, 2000. (U.S. Air National Guard ) Training will be critical About 50 Ukrainians are being trained on the U.S. howitzers outside of the country. This first group of trainees is expected to finish around the same time as the first artillery pieces arrive in their country, likely Sunday or Monday, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. is using a "train-the-trainer" approach so as not to pull to many high-demand troops away from the front -- the small group of Ukrainians learning to use the new systems will return to their country to train fellow Ukrainian troops there. The U.S. took a similar approach with the small, explosive Switchblade drones, hundreds of which are headed to Ukraine. A small number of Ukrainians were in the U.S. for pre-scheduled military education when Russia invaded their country. The U.S. capitalized on their presence to add a couple days of training on the Switchblades, which are designed to fly directly into targets and explode. "Although it's not a very difficult system to operate, we took advantage of having them in the country to give them some rudimentary training on that," a U.S. defense official said on April 6. MORE: US 'Switchblade' drones heading to Ukraine can target Russian vehicles and artillery: Pentagon official PHOTO: U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Graham Rouse launches the Switchblade 300 1-20 on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Oct. 23, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps) U.S. officials have said other systems being sent to Ukraine will also require a small period of training, likely to also take place outside of the country. Officials have declined to specify where such training could take place, citing operational security concerns. With Russia intent on surrounding and trapping Ukrainian forces, the ability to move troops quickly by ground and air will be essential, according to Mulroy. "They're going to try to envelope the Ukrainians and cut them off and starve them," he said. "So, the Ukrainians need to have the ability not to let that happen." Since the beginning of the invasion, the U.S. has given Ukraine 16 Mi-17 transport helicopters, each able to carry a three-person crew and up to 30 passengers. Mulroy said an advantage of the Soviet-designed Mi-17 is that Ukrainian pilots already know how to fly them. The U.S. has also offered Ukraine hundreds of armored personnel carriers that have tracks similar to those of tanks as well as armored Humvees. Weather will likely play a factor, and muddy conditions during Spring could limit vehicle mobility for both sides. "Even just this week, the ground as it is makes it harder for them to operate off of paved roads and highways," Kirby said. Time is of the essence Mulroy said the U.S. is doing a great job shipping military aid to the region, but believes more can be done to speed things up. "We just have to take every opportunity to increase production and improve the flow, because it is going to make a difference," he said. The U.S. has not sent Ukraine any of its M1 Abrams tanks, officials saying they are too different from Ukraine's T-72s to be useable in the short term. But other nations with the Soviet-era tanks have given theirs. In total, Ukrainian forces have more tanks in their country than Russia's military, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. A less tangible but very real factor in the fighting so far has been troop morale. PHOTO: A Ukrainian service member shows a kindergarten damaged by a military strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Sivierodonetsk, Luhansk region, Ukraine April 16, 2022. (Serhii Nuzhnenko/Reuters) The Pentagon sees evidence Russian forces are still suffering from low motivation and poor unit cohesion, according to officials. "Almost half of their enlisted troops are conscripts who don't receive a lot of training and who we have evidence, even recent evidence, that they've been disillusioned by this war," the senior U.S. defense official said. Meanwhile Russian officers are frustrated with the performance of other officers and of their own troops, according to the official. Ukrainian troops have not seemed to suffer any significant morale problems, and throughout the war have been described by U.S. officials as brave and wily in defense of their homeland. Biden praised the resolve of Ukrainians in a meeting with top military leaders at the White House Wednesday. "I knew they were tough and proud, but I tell you what, they're tougher and more proud than I thought," Biden said. The battle for Donbas: Why the weapons the US is rushing to Ukraine are so critical originally appeared on abcnews.go.com After three consecutive years of almost no rain, the East African country of Somalia is in the grips of its worst drought in more than 40 years, according to an analysis by the World Food Programme, the food-assistance branch of the United Nations. Experts say conditions are so dire for the nations 16 million residents that a famine threatening millions of people is fast approaching. A famine could be declared in some parts of the country in the next few months, Abdi-Rashid Haji Nur, the Somalia country director for Concern Worldwide, told Yahoo News. Three failed rainy seasons and a fourth now unfolding have resulted in barren harvests, malnourished livestock and such limited natural resources that at least 700,000 Somalis have uprooted their lives and left their homes in hopes of finding safety and sustenance. Many have been forced to set out on long journeys through dangerous terrain and conflict-ridden communities in search of urban centers to access support. The situation is not only alarming, but also deteriorating, Patrick Youssef, regional director of Africa for the International Committee of the Red Cross, told Yahoo News. People are massively abandoning their homes in search of food and water ... and women and children are dying on the way. A woman in a makeshift shelter in Luglow, Somalia. (Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC) Located in the region known as the Horn of Africa which also includes the East African nations of Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia Somalia is experiencing its worst drought in more than a decade. From 2010-2012, a quarter of a million Somalis half of them children died during the last famine to be caused by drought, according to a report by the U.N. and the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network. Today, more than a third of the population, or 6 million people, are facing severe hunger in a country where seven out of 10 people live on less than two dollars a day, data from the World Food Programme shows. Estimates show that 350,000 of the 1.4 million severely malnourished children in the country would die by this summer if the country doesnt get the aid they need, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It is too late when children start dying from severe malnutrition and disease, Haji Nur said. Tragically, it is children who are always the first to suffer. Various humanitarian groups, including Concern Worldwide and the ICRC, are on the ground in Somalia, but insufficient funding and limited access to war-torn parts of the country means they can only do so much. Aid groups say they have raised just 3% of the funds that are needed to help the country. A temporary camp for displaced people on the outskirts of Kismayo in Somalias southern region. (Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC) Extreme water and food shortages even before Russias war in Ukraine, which is known as Europes breadbasket, have only made an already fragile situation worse. Somalia imports about 90% of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia, and the war there has all but halted those shipments over the past two months, according to a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Whatever happens in terms of that conflict is impacting prices here, Will Seal, advocacy manager in Somalia for the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Yahoo News. So what weve seen is increasing wheat prices, increasing cooking oil prices and increasing fuel prices. And unfortunately, while we could talk about these economic trends, it can literally be the difference for a family between being able to feed their children or not. Climate change has also played a dramatic role in altering weather patterns in the region. Flash flooding, rising temperatures, sandstorms and cyclones are somewhat the norm across Somalia and there have been at least seven droughts in the last 15 years. While the country has become accustomed to extreme weather, in recent years the harsh extremes continue to happen more frequently, leaving the country little time to recover from one event before the next catastrophe is upon it. Youre seeing increasing frequency and intensity of major events and ... its just a tragedy on a massive scale, Seal said. While Shukri Ali has been able to feed her children, many others have not UNICEF projects that 1.4 million children in Somalia will face acute malnutrition through the end of this year. (Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC) Having one of the highest mean temperatures in the world, Somalia is on pace to get three degrees hotter by the end of the century, according to climate projections. Being that 60% of the population lives in rural areas, mainly living off the land or tending livestock, the effects of climate change can mean the difference between life and death. If you lose your animals, you sign up as a refugee, thats what we say, Mohamed Hassan Gure, a Somali herder, told the ICRC last fall. There are many people who lost their animals and signed up as refugees. As evidenced by severe floods in South Africa this week that have left at least 500 dead or missing, the continent of Africa faces the brunt of other countries actions. In its latest report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined that Africa has historically been one of the worlds lowest greenhouse gas emitters, yet suffers some of the most severe effects of climate change. These floods are a tragic reminder of the increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions as a result of climate change, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a televised speech on Monday. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Darren Stewart/Gallo Images) Swift action needs to be taken to address the root causes of climate change or the results will be costly, Youssef said. I think well be missing the point if we dont engage in climate action, Youssef said. If we dont ask the relevant development actors to step in, either international financial institutions, but also the states themselves, to search for solutions to the root causes that bring us into these cyclical, unfortunate cycles of vulnerability that we see across Africa. ... I bet you in the next three to five years, were going to be facing the same problem. In February, 50 Somali and international NGOs in an open letter asked for support from donor nations and the international community, hoping to avoid a repeat of another near famine-like drought a decade ago. In 2011, despite the warnings, the international humanitarian system did too little, too late and an estimated 260,000 people lost their lives to a famine, the letter read in part. We must make sure that history does not repeat itself. Batulo Mohamed, a drought-displaced mother of five, constructs a temporary shelter on the outskirts of Baidoa in southern Somalia. (Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC) The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has so far donated a total of $114 million to affected regions in the Horn of Africa. About half ($55M) of that sum will go directly to Somalia to provide nutrition, drinkable water and help rehabilitate water systems throughout the country, the organization told Yahoo News. To go two years with no rain or lack of sufficient rain is really devastating for millions of people across Somalia, said Tracy OHeir, head of USAIDs Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance East Africa Division. This is an unprecedented emergency and around the world donor countries have the responsibility to look at what they can do and how they can support, she added. We are very concerned that the amount of funding that is available right now is not going to meet the need. The organization has donated a total of $63M this year to aid groups in Somalia, but knows that more help is needed, and not just financial support. Amina Isse and her family used donkey carts to escape their rural village in Somalia and arrive in Kismayo in the south. She is one 745,000 people displaced by drought, many living in displacement camps with little support and no services. (Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC) Its a universal responsibility, one that Youssef of the ICRC believes should be addressed on a global scale. Everyone fears, I think, that the worlds wealthy donor countries might prove so focused on the war in Europe that they forget that desperate needs elsewhere, he said. Ukraine can only teach us one lesson. If we dont learn that lesson and be better afterwards, I think well just be double losing in a way theres no winner. _____ Cover thumbnail photo: Omar Farouk/NRC LONDON The first shipments of the Biden administrations $800 million military aid package have arrived in Ukraine. Included among the first round of weapons are 18 155 mm howitzers, in addition to another 72 cannons that were announced this week. The howitzers heading to Ukraine will have a significant impact on Ukrainian firepower, according to a senior U.S. defense official, as the war with Russia enters its third month. What is a howitzer? Spanish army soldiers fire a 155 mm howitzer artillery cannon during training exercises at the Grafenwoehr military training grounds in Germany in May 2021. (Lennart Preiss/Getty Images) A howitzer is a short cannon, placed at a steep angle of descent, used to fire at relatively high trajectories. The cannons can fire up to four rounds per minute, according to the U.S. Army. The weapons can be traced back to the 15th century when similar models were used by the Czechs and were known as houfnice cannons. Since World War I, the word howitzer has been used to describe these weapons. How many are the U.S. sending to Ukraine? The Department of Defense confirmed that 18 155 mm howitzers would be sent to Ukraine as part of the $800 million in military aid. In a second $800 million military aid package, announced by Biden on Thursday, an additional 72 howitzers, 72 tactical vehicles to tow the cannons and 144,000 rounds will be sent to Ukraine. The weapons are from U.S. Army and Marine Corps stocks. A U.S. Army soldier carrying a 155 mm mortar round during a training exercise in Afghanistan in 2013. (Andrew Burton/Reuters) A senior U.S. defense official told reporters on Wednesday that howitzer rounds, ammunition for the cannons, arrived in Europe on Tuesday to be sent to Ukraine. The official added that more were arriving on Wednesday and in the coming days. Will Ukrainians be trained to use them? Training of Ukrainian soldiers on how to use the howitzers expected to last about a week has begun, a defense official said this week. The official declined to say where the training was taking place, but said it was not in Ukraine. This is training the trainers, the official told the Washington Examiner. Its a smallish number of Ukrainians, a little bit more than 50. A round is fired from an M777 howitzer cannon during a mission in Afghanistan in 2011. (David Goldman/AP) Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told the Military Times on April 14 that there were no more plans to deploy U.S. troops to handle the training and instead, the trainees will return home to train other soldiers. Why send howitzers? The U.S. sent howitzers after Ukrainian officials asked for artillery. It is believed the cannons will play a significant role in Russias new battle for the Donbas region, which consists of flat, rolling plains, a defense official told Stars and Stripes. We knew from talking to Ukrainians that artillery was going to be a critical need because of the way the terrain lays, the official said. And so we saw early on the Russians were moving artillery [for the battle in the Donbas]. Soldiers fire a 155 mm howitzer at insurgent positions in Afghanistan in 2012. (Tim Wimborne/Reuters) Meanwhile, the Pentagon spokesman reiterated on Thursday that sending the assistance has been in full consultation with Ukraine, and that the weapons sent by the U.S. provide enough artillery now to equip five battalions for Ukraine for potential use in the Donbas. I want to stress again that what were providing is done in full consultation with the Ukrainians and that they believe that these systems will be helpful to them in the fight, Kirby said. Where and when they employ them and how they employ them is, of course, up to them. _____ How are Ukrainian forces taking out so many Russian tanks? Use this embed to learn about some of the weapons systems the U.S. is sending to the Ukrainian army. Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea sent a series of letters to South Korean outgoing President Moon Jae-in with a rare tone of appreciation. Kim, the totalitarian dictator of North Korea, is not known for his kindness toward the leadership of South Korea. However, in a correspondence with Moon over the course of several weeks, Kim wrote warm words of diplomacy rarely seen between the fractured countries. "Kim Jong Un appreciated the pains and effort taken by Moon Jae-in for the great cause of the nation until the last days of his term of office," North Korean state media said of the messages, calling them an "expression of their deep trust." NORTH KOREA: KIM JONG UN STARS IN WILD TOP GUN-INSPIRED VIDEO TO SHOWCASE NEWEST MISSILE LAUNCH Moon confirmed the exchange of letters and spoke optimistically about the possibility of a reunified Korea in the future. Moon has been a continued advocate for greater cooperation with the hermit kingdom, helping facilitate the meeting of Kim and former US President Donald Trump in 2019. North Korea continues to be a cause for concern to its neighboring countries. Specifically, Japan has expressed disapproval of North Korean missile and weapons testing in areas not far from the island nation. The Pentagon addressed a report from North Korean state media that the country had tested a "tactical guided weapon" on Sunday, with the stated goal of boosting its nuclear fighting capability. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials reportedly observed the launch. According to state media, the weapon they tested could drastically improve the firepower of their frontline long-range artillery units, the efficiency of the operation of tactical nukes, and the diversification of their firepower missions. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows listens during an announcement of the creation of a new South Carolina Freedom Caucus based on a similar national group at a news conference on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Mark Meadows a former chief of staff to President Donald Trump who was removed from North Carolina voter rolls earlier this month is still a registered voter in two other states, according to officials. Chris Whitmire, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Elections Commission, told The Associated Press the former Republican congressman and his wife registered as voters in the state in March 2022. Thats when he became active, Whitmire said, noting that neither Meadows had yet cast a vote in the state. From our perspective, it just looks like any new South Carolina voter. The South Carolina registration was first reported by The Washington Post, which noted that Meadows had been a registered voter simultaneously in three states the Carolinas and Virginia until North Carolina removed him from its rolls earlier this month. Meadows remains a registered Virginia voter, the paper reported. Mark and Debra Meadows bought a home on picturesque Lake Keowee for $1.6 million in July, according to records for the property, which was listed on their South Carolina voter registration records. The former North Carolina congressman appeared in South Carolina earlier this week with members of the state Legislatures newly-formed Freedom Caucus, an offshoot of a similar conservative group Meadows helped found on the federal level while serving in the U.S. House. A representative for Meadows declined comment Friday on the South Carolina voter registration. Last month, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Steins office asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into Meadows voter registration in that state, which listed a home he never owned and may never have visited as his legal residence. Public records indicated Meadows had been registered to vote in Virginia and North Carolina, where he listed a Scaly Mountain mobile home he did not own as his legal residence weeks before casting an absentee 2020 presidential election ballot in the state. Trump, for whom Meadows was serving as chief of staff in Washington at the time, won the battleground state by just over 1 percentage point. Public records indicate Meadows registered to vote in Alexandria, Virginia, about a year after he registered in Scaly Mountain, and just weeks before Virginias high-profile governors election last fall. Meadows frequently raised the prospect of voter fraud before the 2020 presidential election as polls showed Trump trailing now-President Joe Biden and in the months after Trumps loss, to suggest Biden was not the legitimate winner. Judges, election officials in both parties and Trumps own attorney general have concluded there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Experts point to isolated incidents of intentional or unintentional violations of voter laws in every election. Through the Electronic Registration Information Center, a consortium through which states exchange data about voter registration, Whitmire also said officials periodically pull voter lists and remove those who have more recently registered in a new state. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. Brooke Petry is a self-described introvert who says she never imagined herself on the front lines of tackling the global crisis of climate change. That all changed when Petry, 40, gave birth to her daughter, Eleanor, 12 years ago. "There is no parent who says to themselves, I would just love to live in this polluted area and have my kids breathing this air that makes them sick,'" Petry told "Good Morning America." "At the end of the day, our kids deserve clean air and the ability to run around and play and not be breathing in something that will harm to them." Petry, of Philadelphia, began volunteering around five years ago with a parent-led advocacy organization, Moms Clean Air Force, after she found herself weighing whether or not she could send Eleanor, who, like Petry, has asthma, to summer camp. "Philadelphia consistently gets a failing grade for air quality and I remember wed get alerts on our phone about air quality saying, Red Zone Days,'" said Petry. "I would think to myself, should I send her to camp? Can she even play outside today?" "To have to weigh decisions like that is just something you dont want to imagine, that your kids cant run and play with other kids because the air in the neighborhood is too dangerous to breathe," she said. "And there are so many parents who are facing these decisions and challenges." PHOTO: Brooke Petry's daughter, Eleanor, sits in a legislator's chair in the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg. (Brooke Petry) Petry, a small business owner, became so passionate about her environmental advocacy that she accepted a paid position with Moms Clean Air Force last year. She now serves as the organization's field organizer for eastern Pennsylvania, speaking with state legislators and recruiting fellow moms to advocate for the environment. "Ive seen legislators in meetings with moms and kids be moved to tears by some of the stories folks are telling about why theyre there and why they want their story to matter to legislators," she said. "The work Ive done over the years has been focused on the idea that if each person can shift their mindset to realize that actions big and small can make a huge difference when it comes to the environment, we can make change, and it really does take all of us." MORE: 5 myths about how you can help the environment The idea that moms can be the biggest advocates for environmental change is one that has taken hold in recent years, given that no parent wants to see their kids grow up into a world in which they cannot fully live, whether that means not being able to go outside because of air pollution or not being able to live in certain areas because of sea-level rise from human-induced climate change. Petry points out that climate change even affects the tick population, which in turn can affect how many kids get Lyme disease, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. "It doesnt have to be this way and its this added burden that parents are thinking about," she said. "This stuff does matter in our daily lives." PHOTO: Brooke Petry is a field organizer in Pennsylvania for Moms Clean Air Force. (Brooke Petry) Moms Clean Air Force, the group for which Petry works, says it has recruited over 1 million moms and dads for its advocacy efforts. The nonprofit organization was founded by a mom, Dominique Browning, in 2011. Browning has said she wanted to move the conversation among moms from talking about which household products were safest to use to talking about lobbying for policy changes that would better protect their families. In 2016, for example, Moms Clean Air Force led moms lobbying for the successful passage of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, designed to protect people from toxic chemicals in consumer products. Under the Trump administration, the organization fought back against changes they say weakened the law. "Moms have passion and power an unbeatable combination. Moms will do everything we can to keep our children safe and sound," Moms Clean Air Force says on its website. "Thats why we are uniting to ensure that our children have clean air right now, and for their future." What's changed in even just the past decade since Moms Clean Air Force was founded is the realization for parents of changes happening to the environment today, not what the health of the planet will be like for their great-grandchildren. The Yale Program on Climate Communication has researched Americans' level of concern for the environment since January 2010. A report released last year found that the segment of people described as being "the most engaged, are very worried about climate change, and strongly support actions to address it," has doubled in size over the past years. One study published last November in the journal Climatic Change found that nearly 97% of respondents were very or extremely concerned about the "well-being of their existing, expected, or hypothetical children in a climate-changed world." MORE: How environmental racism continues to affect communities of color In January 2021, a group of female climate scientists, who are also moms, launched a new organization, Science Moms, to help educate moms on the environment and give them a way to harness their concern, according to Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a founder of the Science Moms campaign and chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy. PHOTO: In this April 3, 2012, file photo, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe delivers her Faith Based Response to Climate Change talk to students and faculty during chapel at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. (Nellie Doneva/Abilene Reporter-News via AP, FILE) "We want to provide really clear, short explanations and describe how [environmental changes] affect us and our kids and their health," said Hayhoe. "We know as moms that were making decisions every single day and we do not have time to sit down and figure out all the nuances." Hayhoe, who has worked with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and former president Barack Obama, said even her life's work as a climate scientist changed after she gave birth to her now 13-year-old son Gavin. PHOTO: In this Oct. 3, 2016, file photo, President Barack Obama arrives with actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, to talk about climate change on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Carolyn Kaster/AP, FILE) "It felt like something physical inside my chest shifted and I would never be the same," she said of becoming a mom. "Children are what gives us hope, that idea there has to be at least the slim possibility of a better future, a light at the end of the tunnel." Hayhoe added that environmental issues should not just be something people think about when deciding whether to have children, but should be a focus of how parents raise their children in terms of setting an example of environmentalism for the next generation. PHOTO: Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for Nature Conservancy, poses with her son Gavin in an undated handout photo. (Courtesy Katharine Hayhoe) Science Moms offers short video explainers on environmental issues, as well as a resource guide for both parents and kids. They also have a call to action for moms to contact their legislators to let them know they care about climate change because of their kids. "The answer to our anxiety is action," said Hayhoe. "No one is too small to make a difference." "What we all have in common is we have a voice, and thats how we change the world, by changing social norms and we change social norms by talking," she said. Editor's note: This report was originally published on April 20, 2021. Moms become climate activists as they worry about the Earth their kids will inherit originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com The parents of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins say they will not attend his funeral services on Friday. We have never met or spoken to the wife, and we didnt want our sons funeral service to be the place we met her for the first time, said Dwayne Sr. and Tamara Haskins in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. Haskins was killed April 9 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when he attempted to cross an interstate and was hit by a dump truck. He was 24. The Florida Highway Patrol said in a crash incident report that Haskins was also struck by a second vehicle. A 911 call later revealed that Haskins' wife called authorities from Pittsburgh to let them know that Haskins had run out of gas and was walking to get assistance. She called 911 after not hearing back from him. Dayne Haskins Two memorials are planned in Haskins' honor one Saturday in Rockaway Township, New Jersey, and a vigil planned for Sunday at Haskins' high school, Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland. Haskins was born in Highland Park, New Jersey and moved to Maryland in the ninth grade. Kalabrya and Dwayne Haskins were married in March 2021. In July, Kalabrya Haskins was arrested in Las Vegas and booked on a felony charge of battery and domestic violence after an argument led to Dwayne Haskins suffering a split upper lip and a missing tooth. The case was dismissed in January 2022. The Florida Highway Patrol is still trying to determine the circumstances of Haskins' death and is not commenting until its investigation is complete, which could take up to 90 days. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Parents of Dwayne Haskins won't attend son's funeral; memorials planned Family members shed tears as music played and civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton gave an impassioned speech at an open casket viewing for Patrick Lyoya a Black man who was shot dead by a white police officer in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Friday. Sharpton focused many of his remarks around the officer who shot Lyoya during a traffic stop on April 4. How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name, Sharpton told the roughly 1,000-person crowd at the Renaissance Church of God in Christ. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, he said. How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! The body of Patrick Lyoya arrives at the Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids, Mich., for his funeral service on Friday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Are you setting a legal precedent now that if a police officer kills somebody on videotape that hes holding down, and shoots in the head, that if the grand jury doesnt charge him that we wont know his name? Sharpton continued. We are not going to let that precedent stand. Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who is working with the Lyoya family, passionately followed: When we witnessed with our own eyes, not something Ben Crump said, not something Al Sharpton said, but what we witnessed with our own eyes, an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution where they shot this young brother in the back of the head. The 26-year-old Lyoya, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, died when a white Grand Rapids Police Department officer shot him in the back of the head after a struggle on the ground, body camera footage showed. The cop, who officials have decided not to name unless charges are levied, pulled Lyoya over for a tag that didnt match his car. Different sources of video captured the incident that unfolded earlier this month. Police released bodycam and dashcam footage, as well as cellphone and home surveillance video. Lawyers for Lyoyas family said Tuesday that an independent autopsy shows he was shot in the back of the head. Dr. Werner Spitz, a member of the autopsy team speaking this week, said he believes the gun was pressed against Lyoyas head when the shot was fired. An official autopsy report from the Kent County chief medical examiner has not been released to the public yet. Supporters and family members of Patrick Lyoya, including his mother, Dorcas, second from right, at a rally in Lansing, Mich., on Thursday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) The service, incorporating elements of Black American and Congolese culture, included speeches, singing and dancing. A man who said he was Lyoyas brother sang what he said was an original song. His parents, with grief-stricken faces, watched the ceremony without speaking. As for Sharpton and Crump, they once again tapped into Russias war in Ukraine, comparing it to what happened to Lyoya. World leaders can condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Mich. If its wrong that you do it in Ukraine, then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids, Crump said. From Ukraine to Grand Rapids, we must stand up for victims, Sharpton said. Lyoya immigrated to the U.S. from Congo in 2014, according to the familys attorneys. His father told the Associated Press in an interview that they left Congo to escape the violence there. During the incident with police in Grand Rapids earlier this month, a struggle over the officers Taser led to the cop getting on top of Lyoya, who was unarmed, and shooting him as he was face down on the ground. A Grand Rapids police officer grasps Lyoya's shirt during a traffic stop, shortly before Lyoya was shot dead by the officer. (Grand Rapids Police/Handout via Reuters) In the footage, Lyoya is seen exiting his vehicle after getting pulled over for what Crump said was a minor traffic stop. When the officer comes over, he tells Lyoya to get back in the car. Instead, Lyoya closes the door and asks why he needs to get his information. Do you have a drivers license, do you speak English? the officer asks. Lyoya opens the drivers side door and asks the passenger in his car to get his license. While waiting for it, he closes the door and starts to walk away. Thats when the officer pursues him. The officers bodycam footage turned off before the fatal shot. Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom said that happens when a button is pushed for three seconds, and it appears that it unintentionally deactivated during the tussle. Crump called for the Michigan attorney general to investigate the officer involved. The unidentified officer has not been charged, but he is on paid leave and his policing powers were suspended, the Grand Rapids Police Department said. Attorneys are calling for him to be fired and charged to the full extent of the law for the killing. French President Emmanuel Macron takes a selfie with supporters at a campaign stop Thursday on the outskirts of Paris. (Ludovic Marin / Pool Photo) Days before a consequential French election, at a fraught moment of the war on Europes eastern edge, President Emmanuel Macron had a telling debate exchange with challenger Marine Le Pen, who embodies the far rights best chance yet to seize power in one of the continents most important and influential nations. I am not like you, declared Le Pen, 53, a longtime politician who has worked hard to soften her extreme anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-European Union image since the two last went head to head at the polls five years ago. You are not like me thank you for the reminder, retorted Macron, 44, an EU-embracing, cosmopolitan centrist who became Frances youngest elected president when he trounced Le Pen in the 2017 contest. Polls suggest that Macron will again prevail in Sundays runoff vote against the nationalist-populist Le Pen, but by what could be a considerably closer margin than the last time around. This contest, analysts say, is driven by a divisive political dynamic: Backers of both Macron and Le Pen view the opposing camps candidate not merely as unappealing but as an active threat to the country and its way of life. Even after the election is over, the deep fissures laid bare by the campaign will continue to reverberate outside Frances borders. The country is the European Unions second-biggest economy and the blocs most powerful state alongside Germany. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it is the only EU country with veto power in the world body. And the war in Ukraine vastly raises the stakes for European unity. French presidential challenger Marine Le Pen campaigns at a market in Pertuis, in southern France. (Daniel Cole / Associated Press) Although Le Pen has condemned Russias invasion of its neighbor, she opposes sanctions on Russian gas and oil, a direction in which the EU is moving. She has backed off from her previous advocacy for quitting NATO but says she would withdraw France from the alliances integrated command structure, has been friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and argues for a strategic rapprochement between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Russia once the fighting in Ukraine ends. In a sign of their concern over what might happen in Sundays runoff, the leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal published a column Thursday in several European papers urging French voters to back Macron. The commentary did not mention either candidate by name but referred to one as a democratic politician who supports a powerful and autonomous European Union and the other as an extreme-right candidate who openly sides with those who attack our freedom and democracy. Analysts say that simply by being a more viable candidate in Sundays rematch than she was five years ago, Le Pen has already achieved a significant victory. She and Macron were the two top vote-getters in the April 10 first-round vote, separated by fewer than 5 percentage points. Never, in the modern history of France, never has a candidate from the extreme right gotten so close to power, said Vincent Martigny, a professor of political science at the University of Nice. Since the initial vote this month, Macron has widened his lead, polling up to 12 percentage points ahead in some surveys. Nonetheless, Le Pens first-round performance was seen as a wake-up call for the French political establishment. Macron swept into office in 2017 promising a new kind of politics, appealing to voters on both sides of the political spectrum. But in some quarters, disillusionment has set in. Once ensconced in the Elysee Palace, he veered to the right, alienating supporters on the left, and failed to deliver the environmental program that activists had hoped for. Many of those struggling economically say Macron is out of touch, and a common gibe labels him the president of the rich. The president got a brief bump in the polls over his statesmanlike role before and after Russias Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, but as the war has dragged on for two months, initial enthusiasm for his diplomacy on the world stage has subsided. On the campaign trail, Le Pen has played down earlier demands to end immigration, leave the European Union and ban the Muslim head scarf in public places. Instead, she has stressed pocketbook issues that resonate well with not only her voter base but also Macrons. Conversely, Macron has moved to the right on some issues to try to steal some of Le Pens thunder and keep abreast of a general rightward shift by the French electorate. He has toughened his stance on immigration and appointed a hard-line interior minister to burnish his law-and-order credentials. French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right contender Marine Le Pen pose before a televised debate Wednesday. (Ludovic Marin / Pool Photo) In Wednesday evenings debate, Le Pen delivered a more polished performance than her crash-and-burn stage presence during the 2017 debate but made clear that her core beliefs had not changed. We are facing barbarism, she said. We must deal with the problem of massive, unregulated immigration, which is aggravating insecurity in our country. Le Pen also called Muslim head coverings for women a uniform imposed by Islamists. Seemingly aware of his image as aloof and arrogant, Macron used the debate to try to convince voters that he empathized with them, understood their difficulties and was the only candidate with realistic solutions. He pledged help for students and higher wages for teachers, and promised to improve working conditions for healthcare workers. But his body language arms crossed as he listened, an expression on his face some saw as patronizing undercut efforts to identify with everyman voters. So did some of his rhetoric. When Le Pen tried to talk about the national debt, which swelled because of Macrons pandemic bailout package, he scolded her: Stop mixing things up. With the war in Ukraine, Le Pens longtime friendly stance toward Putin has become a point of political vulnerability. In the debate, Macron jabbed at her over a loan to her party for her previous presidential campaign that was contracted through a Russian bank. Youre talking about your banker when you talk about Russia, he said. You depend on Russian power. You depend on Mr. Putin. Over the last decade, Le Pen has tried to rehabilitate her image and that of her movement, an effort critics and backers alike describe as de-demonization. In 2011, she rebranded her party as the National Rally, changing its name from the National Front, which under her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was long associated with antisemitism and attacks on immigrants. While emphasizing a sympathy for the common man, she has tried to cultivate an almost maternal demeanor that, to some, eclipsed hard-line elements of her platform. Her image isnt excellent, but its better than five years ago, and maybe ever, said Emilien Houard-Vial, who teaches political science at Paris Sciences Po university. At a recent rally, Le Pen took a supporters 6-year-old daughter onstage and agreed to the childs plea that the candidate take her to Disneyland if she is elected president. This promise, be sure, I will also keep, Le Pens official Twitter account said afterward. Political theater aside, many voters say they will go to the polls with the aim of defeating one of the candidates, rather than in a genuine expression of support for the other. Jean Galen, a property developer in southwestern France, plans to vote for Le Pen. He said he now sees Macron, whom he backed in 2017, as domineering and authoritarian-minded. I suspect that many will vote for Macron out of fear of Le Pen, he said. I am going to vote for Le Pen out of fear of Macron. For him, as for a chunk of the electorate, the COVID-19 pandemic is a wedge issue. In January, Macron used a pungent epithet to describe his desire to isolate and inconvenience those who refuse to be vaccinated. Although some compatriots cheered that remark, Galen was emphatically not among them. Coralie Renardier, a 27-year-old guest-relations specialist in Paris, doesnt think Macron lived up to his promises but plans to vote for him anyway. It will be too dangerous, she said, to have the extreme right. El-Faizy is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Laura King in Berlin contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Chinese envoy calls for joint effort to further promote economic, trade cooperation between China, India Xinhua) 09:30, April 22, 2022 NEW DELHI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Consul-General in Kolkata Zha Liyou Thursday called for joint efforts to further promote economic and trade cooperation between China and India. Speaking at a reception to celebrate the success of 2022 West Bengal Global Business Summit and welcome the visiting Chinese business delegation, Zha noted that the bilateral trade volume between China and India has surpassed 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 and China remained the biggest trade partner of India. "This data sufficiently demonstrates that the strong demand for Sino-Indian economic cooperation is an irreversible fact and serves as the solid foundation for the development of mutually-beneficial coordination," Zha said. Looking at the future, the two giant economies which are on a fast track of development should embrace the great potential in further promoting trade and economic cooperation, Zha said. As an east Indian state adjacent to southwest China, West Bengal State has unique advantages in making a bigger cake of bilateral economic cooperation, Zha said, hoping the state capital of Kolkata would become East India's hub and gateway of doing business with China. He also expressed the hope that as friendship provinces and cities, the trade and economic cooperation of China's Yunnan Province and its capital Kunming with West Bengal and its capital Kolkata would achieve comprehensive and breakthrough development from the current status, he added. Some 150 guests including Barun Kumar Ray, principal secretary of labor department of West Bengal State, and 23 representatives from eight Chinese companies attended the reception. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The lawsuit, filed by Project Say Something, claims the city and police chief are telling the group when, where and how it can demonstrate. FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) An organization that has staged dozens of protests against a Confederate monument in north Alabama filed suit contending the city of Florence is trying to limit the demonstrations in violation of free-speech guarantees. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by Project Say Something and its founder, Camille Bennett, claims the city and Police Chief Ron Tyler are trying to clamp down on the protests by telling the group when, where and how it can demonstrate against the monument, located at the Lauderdale County Courthouse. Bennett said the organization, a nonprofit which she founded about eight years ago, has tried to work with the city, the TimesDaily reported. Confederate monuments, such as this one standing in front a county courthouse in Nottoway County, Va., have sparked protests and demands for removal. (AP Photo/Robert Burns) Alabama has a long history of confronting racial injustice through peaceful demonstration, and it is imperative that we not lose that ability to speak truth to power when the situation demands it, Bennett said in a statement. The city has not responded to the federal lawsuit in court and city officials declined comment. The courthouse monument was dedicated in 1903 when Confederate descendants were erecting memorials all over the South to honor rebel veterans and perpetuate the lost cause mythology that portrayed the Civil War as being about something other than slavery. Project Say Something began almost daily protests against the monument in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. While the group held as many as 175 demonstrations in 2020, it cut back the following year because the city used its noise and parade permit ordinances to discourage them, the lawsuit said. The chief relocated the demonstrations to a protest zone away from the courthouse to shrink the potential audience, it claimed, and he threatened to issue citations. After the city requested $360 a day for police protection during demonstrations, the group began hiring private security and has spent about $4,100 so far, according to the complaint. The group held silent protests in response to noise complaints after counter-protesters began gathering and yelling racial epithets at demonstrators, it said. David Gespass, co-chairman of the Alabama chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, which was among the organizations assisting with the lawsuit, said it was not up to the city or Tyler to tell people where and how to protest. The First Amendment holds that everywhere from the Atlantic to the Pacific and Canada to Mexico is a protest zone, Gaspass said. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post Suit claims city trying to limit Confederate statue protests appeared first on TheGrio. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee's governor on Thursday called off what was to have been the state's first execution since the start of the pandemic, granting a temporary reprieve to the oldest inmate on death row for what was called an oversight" in preparations for the lethal injection. Republican Gov. Bill Lee didn't elaborate on what issue forced the surprise 11th-hour stop to the planned execution of 72-year-old Oscar Smith. The inmate was to have received a three-drug injection only a short while later in the evening at a Nashville maximum security prison. Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol," Lee said in a statement on Thursday evening. Further details will be released when they are available. Smith was convicted of the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her teenage sons. Shortly before the governors surprise announcement, the U.S. Supreme Court had denied a last-hour bid by Smiths attorneys seeking to block the execution plan. Related video: Oscar Smith was set to be executed on April 21 before 11th-hour stay Dorinda Carter, a Department of Correction spokesperson, said the state Supreme Court would need to reschedule the execution. She said Smith would be removed from death watch and returned to his cell on death row. She declined to provide any more information and referred questions to the governors office. It was to have been Tennessee's first execution since the start of the pandemic. In Houston, Texas oldest death row inmate was facing a scheduled execution Thursday evening. Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, was sentenced to death for the June 1990 fatal shooting of a Houston police officer, James Irby, during a traffic stop. In Tennessee, authorities had said earlier that the state was planning for five executions this year, including Smith's. It has been seeking to resume its quick, pre-pandemic pace of putting inmates to death. The five pending death warrants tie Tennessee with Texas for the most nationally this year, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. Smith had initially been scheduled for a June 2020 execution, one of several dates delayed because of the pandemic. Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith and her sons Jason and Chad Burnett, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989. Smith has maintained he is innocent. In a clemency filing, rejected Tuesday by Lee, Smiths legal team claimed problems with the jury in his 1990 trial. His attorneys were earlier denied requests to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons. The state has not conducted any executions since February 2020, when Nicholas Sutton died in the electric chair for the killing of a fellow inmate in an east Tennessee prison. Of the seven inmates Tennessee has put to death since 2018 when Tennessee ended an execution pause stretching back to 2009 only two died by lethal injection. Smith had earlier declined to choose between the chair and lethal injection, so lethal injection became the default method. Tennessee uses a three-drug series to put inmates to death: midazolam, a sedative to render the inmate unconscious; vecuronium bromide, to paralyze the inmate; and potassium chloride, to stop the heart. Officials have said midazolam renders an inmate unconscious and unable to feel pain. Expert witnesses for inmates, however, say the drugs would cause sensations of drowning, suffocation and chemical burning while leaving inmates unable to move or call out. The assessment has led to more inmates selecting the electric chair over lethal injection. In Oklahoma last October, an inmate put to death using the same three-drug lethal injection convulsed and vomited after receiving midazolam. Oklahoma has carried out three lethal injections since, without similar reactions reported. Allies of Boris Johnson have lashed out at Tory MPs calling for the Prime Minister to resign after the House of Commons ordered a third inquiry into lockdown parties in Downing Street. Senior backbencher Tobias Ellwood said there had been a huge breach of trust with the British people as he called on Conservative MPs to force a change of leadership. But that drew a furious accusation of disloyalty from Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns, who said there is no question of the Prime Minister stepping down. He said Mr Johnson is entitled to their support after leading them to a sweeping general election victory in 2019. There are a number of colleagues across Parliament who have never really supported the Prime Minister, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. If the Prime Minister stepped off Westminster Bridge and walked on top of the water they would say he couldnt swim. That is a fact. The reality is that it is only two years ago since we won a majority of 80 seats, the biggest majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987. What the Prime Minister is saying is I led you to that victory, I have got business I want to do. Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns hit out at Tory MPs calling for Mr Johnson to quit (PA) However Mr Ellwood, a former minister and chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, said there is a growing realisation in the party that matters cannot continue as they are. He predicted there will be a steady trickle of letters from Tory MPs to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, calling for a leadership contest. We must stop drinking the Kool-Aid thats encouraging us to think this is all going to disappear and that we can all move on, he told Sky News. Im afraid the absence of discipline, of focus and leadership in Number 10 during that lockdown period has led to a huge breach of trust with the British people. So its beholden upon all Conservative MPs then to take matters into their own hands, and I think this is where things will go, particularly as we have more bad news to follow. An extraordinary 24 hours in Parliament. Its time to stop drinking the Kool-Aid. Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) April 21, 2022 The seething row totally overshadowed Mr Johnsons much-trumpeted visit to India for trade talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At a closing press conference in New Delhi, Mr Johnson largely sidestepped questions about the issue, although he insisted he will still be in office by Diwali in October which he has set as the target date for a trade deal with India. Asked whether he is a cat with nine lives, Mr Johnson replied: We had a pretty good kick of the cat yesterday. His comments followed a chaotic day at Westminster which saw ministers forced to abandon plans to try to delay a vote on an inquiry into whether Mr Johnson misled Parliament in the face of a threatened Tory revolt. Instead MPs nodded through an opposition motion referring Mr Johnson to the Commons Privileges Committee. It was reported that Mr Johnson intervened personally from India to drop a Government amendment after six junior ministers threatened to resign. In the Commons, influential former minister and leading Brexiteer Steve Baker said the Prime Minister needs to realise the gigs up. The committee will not begin its inquiry until the Metropolitan Police have completed their investigations into breaches of Covid regulations in Whitehall. The Prime Minister has already received one fine as has his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak over a birthday gathering in No 10 and there are fears more could follow. The motion passed by the Commons stated Mr Johnson had made statements that appear to amount to misleading the House when giving past assurances that Downing Street had complied with coronavirus laws. The Privileges Committee will now consider whether he is in contempt of Parliament for intentionally misleading the Commons a breach of the ministerial code that has traditionally been considered a resignation issue. Mr Burns, however, said he does not believe Mr Johnson had lied to MPs and that the Prime Minister is confident he will be cleared once the full facts are known. There is no question of the Prime Minister going, he told Sky News. He remains confident that when people can see the full context of what happened it will be clear that he was straightforward, he said to the House in good faith that he believed the rules were followed. Boris Johnson said the UK is ready to take measures if necessary to fix the deal with the EU governing post-Brexit trading arrangements with Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister claimed the Northern Ireland Protocol does not command the confidence of a large part of the population in the province. His comments come after a Government minister issued a fresh warning that the UK could unilaterally suspend elements of Northern Ireland Protocol. Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns refused to be drawn on a report by the Financial Times that ministers are preparing legislation giving them sweeping powers to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement. Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking at a press conference in Delhi, on the last day of his two day trip to India (Ben Stansall/PA) The protocol really does not command the confidence of a large, large component of the population in Northern Ireland. We have to address that, we have to fix that, Mr Johnson told a news conference in New Delhi. We think we can do it with some very simple and reasonable steps. We have talked repeatedly to our friends and partners in the EU. We will continue to talk to them. But as I have said many times now we dont rule out taking steps now if those are necessary. The move by the British Government, which is likely to inspire anger among EU leaders, comes less than two weeks before the Northern Ireland Assembly election on May 5. Unionist parties in the region have consistently declared their opposition to the protocol, which they argue cuts off Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. Mr Burns said it is clear the arrangements are not working in the way that was intended and the Government already has powers under Article 16 of the protocol allowing it to suspend elements of it. He told LBC radio: As far back as last July the Prime Minister said that we believed that the threshold for triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol had been reached. There is significant societal disruption in Northern Ireland due to the way that the protocol is being implemented. I hope Brussels are listening to this conversation and other conversations. I hope they will come back to the table constructively to allow us to change the protocol to make it work in the way it was intended. If they dont hear that, then the Government reserves the right, as we have always said, as laid down in the protocol, to take remedial action. The UK Government has so far resisted calls from unionists and loyalists in Northern Ireland to trigger Article 16. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is currently in India for talks with his counterpart Narendra Modi amid hopes of a trade deal with the nation (Ben Stansall/PA) Labours Peter Kyle condemned the reported plan, and questioned how Mr Johnson can negotiate a trade deal with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the same time. The shadow Northern Ireland secretary told Sky News: This is absolutely astonishing and incredibly damaging. Boris Johnson negotiated, his team drafted the Northern Ireland Protocol; they presented it to the EU, they negotiated it into the deal. It doesnt work as well as it can do, thats why the Labour policy is, you build on it, we can improve the protocol, we can smooth it, and we can do so without breaking the law and breaking our international treaty we signed with the EU. If we just recklessly pull out of it unilaterally, how will any other country in the world sign a deal with us and think that we will honour it? How will prime minister Modi react today when Boris Johnson asks for a trade deal if he is pulling out unilaterally of the last trade deal he signed? Counter-terror police gathering evidence of potential war crimes in Ukraine say they have been struck by the incredibly harrowing material and eyewitness accounts from the frontline of the conflict. The Metropolitan Polices War Crimes Team, which is a unit within its counter-terrorism command (CTC), said it had already received around 50 referrals from people with a link to the UK, including those who have directly fled the conflict in the last two months since Russia began invading. Scotland Yard announced last month that it was supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into alleged war crimes, and appealed for anyone with direct evidence to come forward. Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy, providing an update on the evidence gathering operation as CTC head of operations, told the PA news agency: What were seeing is incredibly harrowing, beyond comprehension In not far off 17 years in counterterrorism, (it is) some of the worst possible footage you could imagine seeing. Police are requesting first-hand evidence of potential war crimes in Ukraine, where cities such as Kyiv have come under fire (Maia Mikhaluk/PA) He said it would be up to the judicial authority to decide whether the material and testimonies gathered so far which are being tested to a UK evidential standard could be used to support a charge of genocide. Mr Murphy said: Does it provide evidence of a war crime? Quite possibly. Does it provide evidence of other international crimes? Quite possibly. And then its for those prosecuting agencies that we provide the information to to make those sorts of judgments and decisions. Were really committed to supporting the best possible outcome here and that is getting justice for victims and the best evidence. He said every frontline police officer in the country has been briefed in the last two months on how to support those who come forward with evidence. Officers based at ports and borders are also asking people arriving into the UK whether they may have any evidence for the ICC investigation. This is particularly important as more Ukrainians are granted refugee status in the UK, police said. Mr Murphy added: Were putting in place processes and procedures that we want to embed into everybodys subconscious so that when more people arrive here in the UK, we are better able to capture that. We need to remember that people are actually experiencing this, and some of the people arriving in this country would have experienced it or been much closer to it than any of us can imagine. Police said they wanted to gather as much first-hand evidence as possible. The War Crimes Unit said it has received around 50 referrals from people with first-hand accounts of the war on Ukraine, where people have been forced to flee their homes following the Russian invasion (Manny Marotta/PA) This could be in the form of messages which Ukrainians have sent to relatives in the UK, and video footage filmed on camera phones by those in conflict zones. It does not include anything sourced from social media or seen as part of news reports. Mr Murphy said the force was utterly committed to not reducing the strength of national security and counterterrorism work while it was supporting the war crimes investigation. Evidence can be reported www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/war-crimes/af/report-a-war-crime Marysville, CA (95901) Today Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Thunder possible. Low 42F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Thunder possible. Low 42F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The contribution of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh is undeniable, but on the other hand in several episodes the need for raising the effectives of their activity is seen, PM Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting. The Azerbaijani military invasion into the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh, into the Parukh section, is an extremely concerning fact which is significant in terms of a general assessment of the situation, and we hope that the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh will ensure the complete withdrawal of the Azerbaijani military units, the Armenian Prime Minister said, attaching importance to ensuring security of Nagorno Karabakh, a key component of which is the uninterrupted and unimpeded function of the Lachin corridor. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that one of the important results of the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the context of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement is the underscoring of the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanships international mandate, with subsequent political consequences. If we note that in the preceding days of my visit to Moscow the OSCE Minsk Groups Russian, French and American Co-Chairs visited Armenia, we can say that the assessments on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship are unfounded, Pashinyan said. Pashinyan said that he clearly sees that all Co-Chairing countries remain committed to their mandate of resolving the NK conflict despite the fact that the developments in Ukraine have created difficulties for the joint activities of the Co-Chairs. But moreover the fact that even in such conditions the co-chairs are working and making visits to the region and are recording on the political level their commitment to assist in resolving Nagorno Karabakh gives tangible grounds for optimism, Pashinyan said. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The regular sitting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Federation Council of the Russian Federation was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia, as well as the 25th anniversary of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. The Armenian and Russian parliamentarians held the 34th sitting of the commission on April 22 in Stepanavan. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the parliament of Armenia, the Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Viktor Bondarev praised the cooperation between the two countries, emphasizing that Armenia is a strategic ally of Russia. He stressed the importance of establishing stability in the region, noting that one of Russia's priorities is the peaceful settlement of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh. The Vice President of the Natoinal Assembly of Armenia, Co-Chair of the Armenian-Russian Commission on Interparliamentary Cooperation Hakob Arshakyan, in his turn, highlighted the role of Russian peacekeepers in maintaining peace in Nagorno Karabakh. Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Viktor Bondarev thanked the Armenian side and personally Hakob Arshakyan for organizing the sitting at a high level and for the warm reception. According to Hakob Arshakyan, the results of the sitting were satisfactory, the discussions were held in a constructive atmosphere. According to him, a clear agreement has been reached to expand cooperation and implement programs in various fields. The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a grand function at Palli in Samba district to mark the Panchayat Raj Day, 2022 Dilbag Singh, Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, arrives at the site of an attack in Jammu, India, Friday, April. 22, 2022. Six suspected rebels and an Indian paramilitary officer were killed in two separate armed clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said on Friday, two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the disputed region.(AP Photo) SRINAGAR: An assistant sub-inspector of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and two militants believed to be members of proscribed Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) were killed on Friday and at least nine several security forces personnel injured in a gunfight that broke out close to an Army camp in Sunjwan on the periphery of Jammu and Kashmir's winter capital Jammu. The officials said that a group of apparent fidayeen was trapped in a private house in Jalalabad quarter of Sunjwan following the J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched an operation on specific input that the militants were planning to carry out a major terror strike ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to neighbouring Samba district on Sunday. The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a grand function at Palli in Samba district to mark the Panchayat Raj Day, 2022. This would be his first visit to J&K since the Centre in a controversial move stripped the erstwhile state of its special status on August 5, 2019, and split it up into two union territories. The officials said that following the outbreak of gunfight at Sunjwan the internet services were snapped and schools shut for the day in some parts of Jammu as a precautionary measure". J&K's Director General of Police, Dilbagh Singh, told reporters, Both the terrorists have been killed. He said the slain militants were wearing fidayeen vests and were apparently tasked to carry out a major terror strike ahead of the Prime Ministers but there are no inputs to suggest they had planned to target the rally he is scheduled to address in Samba itself. He said that from the available evidence and intelligence inputs, the duo belonged to the JeM and were part of a fresh group of infiltrators. Both of them were foreigners and were tasked to either target a security camp or to engage large number of security forces to inflict maximum casualties, he said adding that the duo was aiming to strike in a big was ahead of the Prime Ministers visit but timely action by our alert forces has foiled the design. He said the recoveries from the encounter site included three AK-47 rifles, grenades, magazines, eatables, medicines, energy drinks, etc. Some of these items are usually found in the use of fidayeen, the DGP said. Asked about the possibility of the presence of more militants in the area, the police chief said that as of now it seemed that only two militants had come there and that since they had no old history, they had, most probably, infiltrated from across the border with Pakistan recently just to carry out a big strike. Earlier, Additional Director General of Police (Jammu), Mukesh Singh, had said that there were specific inputs that militants were planning to do something big" and based on it, a cordon was launched at Jalalabad and "there was firing." He had said, "So far, two terrorists have been killed and two AK-47 rifles, some other arms and ammunition, satellite phones and some documents found at the encounter site. It appears they were 'fidayeen' attackers. Operation is underway. The slain CISF ASI has been identified as S.P. Patel and the injured are J&K police Head Constable Balraj Singh, SPO Sahil Sharma, CISFs Parmod Patra of Odisha and Amir Soran of Assam. However, the CISF officials said that militants targeted a bus carrying 15 personnel of the force at 4.25 am near the Chaddha camp in Sunjwan with gunfire and hurling hand grenades at it. This resulted in the on-the-spot death of ASI Patil and injuries to two other personnel, they said. They also said that when the CISF men retaliated effectively, the militants ran away and took shelter in the house of one Muhammad Anwar in Jalalabad locality of Sunjwan. Officials said that mobile Internet services were partially suspended in parts of Jammu including Sunjwan, Bathandi, Narwal, Bahu Fort and Malik Market of Bahu tehsil while schools within 5-km radius of Sunjwan encounter site will remain closed on Friday as a precautionary measure in view of ongoing encounter in the city outskirts. The movement of civilians in Sunjwan and Bathandi areas was restricted with barriers put on the National Highway to halt any type of vehicular movement. Meanwhile, the authorities have confirmed that all four militants including Lashkar-e-Tayyaba's "long-surviving " commander Yusuf Kantroo have been killed in the gunfight that broke out in Malwah village of frontier Baramulla district on Wednesday night. In his words: "I am just a professional writer, which means I don't do blogs and try and get money for whatever I write." The breaking of the law by defying it and partying when it was forbidden will be retrospectively made a criminal offence A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologizing to MPs for the for the "partygate" fine and making statement to MPs on the situation in Ukraine following its invasion by Russia during the first session after the on Easter Recess, at the House of Commons, in London, on April 19, 2022. (AFP) In the honeyed glades my beloved dances To my fluted melodies, avoiding my glances Why is she shy to declare her devotion? Its plain to see in her every bodily motion. Maybe thats just part of her womanly allure The eyes declare why long for more? From Kumbh Mela to Mumbh Kela, by Bachchoo We live, as the Chinese say, in interesting times. Britains Opposition Labour Party had tabled a motion forcing BoJo, the Prime Minister, to be referred to the House of Commons Privileges Committee to decide whether he had lied to Parliament. As the debate progressed on Thursday, it became clear that BoJo didnt want his party to oppose this motion. He wants to give the country the impression that he is open to any investigation as he has nothing to hide. The motion was passed and the Privilegewallas will now investigate! If he is found guilty, its not just naughty boy stuff with a slap on the wrist for ministers it is, as we used to say in my reckless childhood in Poona watching idiotic Western movies, Curtain Call at Cactus Creek! Resignation time! Days before this vote, two issues came to the fore in Parliament. The first was a proposal by the home secretary, Priti Clueless Patel, to send all the seekers of asylum in Britain to camps in Rwanda. She proposed to pay the Rwandan government millions of pounds to accept and house the refugees attempting to seek asylum in Britain. She doesnt want them to remain here. Her proposal was widely opposed by the Opposition parties and human rights activists. After her debate, BoJo dramatically entered Parliament and apologised for Partygate, a term used for the fact that he, his wife and the chancellor of the exchequer, Hedgie Sunak, were fined by the police for meeting in party gatherings and defying the rules of isolation that they themselves had set. It was, said the Opposition, a resigning matter. So, what happens now? The privilegewallas may conclude that BoJo didnt knowingly mislead Parliament. They could rule him innocent. But, like Martin Luther King, I have a dream and in tune with the great mans nocturnal subconscious activity, I too think I am on the side of democracy and natural justice. So, what then, gentle reader, do I see in my dream, or like Alice in the Looking Glass? I see the Privileges Committee condemning BoJo in the strongest terms. He is guilty of lying to Parliament and resigns. The Tory party is thrown into turmoil. They cant agree on a successor. There are moves in Parliament to dissolve it and call an election. The Tory MPs, preferring to keep their seats even as Opposition MPs, rather than go down with BoJo, agree. The watching public bravely elect a coalition with Labour leading it. Hah! Now what happens in Looking Glass land? Firebrand Angela Raynor, Labours deputy leader, is appointed home secretary. The first thing she does is, surprise, surprise, pass Priti Clueless bill to send the asylum-seekers to Rwanda with two added amendments. The first of these specifies that those who are targeted for shipment to Rwanda have to fill in seventy-five forms send them to the Rwandan embassy and then to a newly-formed Committee for Immigrants Advancement (CIA) chaired by the newly-ennobled Lord Tariq Ali of Wahyatt. Lord Ali has the privilege I mean duty of choosing which individuals should fill in the forms and be targeted for deportation. Angelas second amendment to the Rwanda bill is that it shall be retrospective. So, the daughters, for instance, of immigrant refugees from Uganda in the 1960s will be eligible for such deportation to the heart of Africa. Now I am personally acquainted with Lord Ali of Wahyatt and know him to be a fair and humane person. He is the perfect choice for the job and I am sure he will only consider deporting those individuals who are a menace to British society. I am also sure that Priti Clueless, having originated this fascinating and unusual legislation, will be delighted that it has been passed into law. Unless, of course. And there will, after years of the drift of the UK between all manner of poles of hypocrisy, be other reforms. The breaking of the law by defying it and partying when it was forbidden will be retrospectively made a criminal offence. Not being murder, rape or other serious breaches of the law, this will carry a sentence of community service small jobs such as cleaning red wine stains from sofas and carpets every day for a period of not less than three years. Despite BoJos boasts of being Ukraines staunchest ally and sanctioning every billionaire who earns money from Russia, it will be discovered that his administration had a very large-holed net to trap such slimy fish. There are for instance foreign registered firms, lets say in the IT industry, which trade or traded, until recently, in billions of rupees, roubles and international currency with Russia. The gains from these Russian earnings have, on occasion, landed up in the possession of non-doms who live at well-known addresses in, for instance, London. Their funds and houses will now be subject to immediate, sanctioning confiscation. No doubt the former Tory chancellor, Hedgie Sunak, will be biting his lip at the thought that he had allowed this oversight and these particular non-dom billionaires to get away with their, at least part-Russian, gains on his diligent watch. The Holy See Press Office issued a statement following the meeting in Hanoi of the Holy See-Vietnam Joint Working Group, indicating an agreement on issues concerning Holy See representation in the Asia country. Currently, the apostolic nuncio in Singapore is the non-resident representative to Vietnam. Vatican City (AsiaNews) The Holy See Press Office issued a press release saying that the Vatican and Vietnam have reached an agreement on issues concerning the possible opening of a permanent pontifical office in Hanoi in the near future. The statement, by Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, follows a meeting by the Holy See-Vietnam Joint Working Group, yesterday and today, the first time the two parties were able to meet in since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two delegations, led respectively by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and Vatican Undersecretary for Relations with States Mgr Mirosaw Wachowski referred to the fruitful dialogue of the past few years. The two sides agreed again on the advisability of raising diplomatic relations from non-resident pontifical representation, currently held by the apostolic nuncio in Singapore, Mgr Marek Zalewski, to that of a resident pontifical representative. The issue has been on the table for years and, if accepted, it would allow the Vatican to open its own diplomatic mission in Hanoi. The statement reads: The two parties agreed that relations between Viet Nam and the Holy See should be maintained on mutually agreed-upon principles and fruitful dialogue, with the objective of consolidating reciprocal trust and strengthening relations in the common interest of the two parties and the Vietnamese Catholic community. On the issue of a permanent presence of a Vatican diplomat in Vietnam, the statement notes that the two delegations agreed upon issues relevant to raising, in the near future, the level of relations between Viet Nam and the Holy See from a non-resident to a Resident Pontifical Representative and agreed on future steps to be undertaken to establish an office of the Resident Pontifical Representative in Hanoi. What is more, The Holy See follows with interest the Catholic community's deep and vibrant life in the country and encourages the Catholic Church in Viet Nam to contribute to the country's common good and prosperity, as the Catholic community demonstrated concretely during the pandemic's most critical periods by volunteering in hospitals and assisting the needy. Lastly, the two sides agree that the Joint Working Group will hold their tenth meeting at the Vatican at a date to be determined. by Melani Manel Perera A memorial Mass was held in the Sri Lankan capital for the victims of the 2019 attacks in the presence of clerics from different religions. We condemn the actions taken so far to conceal certain facts, said Card. Ranjith. Colombo (Asia News) Commemorations were held yesterday in the capital of Sri Lanka in memory of the victims of the Easter Sunday explosions of 2019. A multi-religious service was held in the Galle Face Green, an urban park in Colombo, which for weeks has been the scene of protests against the administration of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, suicide bombers struck three Sri Lankan churches and a number of hotels, killing nearly 300 people and wounding more than 500. Three years later, a memorial Mass for the victims was held at St Anthonys Shrine in Colombo in the presence of Archbishop of Colombo, Card Malcolm Ranjith, the Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka Archbishop Brian Udaigwe, and various ambassadors representing the foreign victims. After the liturgical service, Card Ranjith led the memorial ceremony, followed by the distribution of food to the poor. In his address, the prelate reiterated the need for justice. Intelligence operatives were familiar with those who took part in the attack, the cardinal explained. However, at the time, the president had the chief of the anti-terrorism division arrested. For Card Ranjith, this was an attempt to "somehow hide the true facts" as ascertained by the presidential commission and the parliamentary select committee that investigated the attacks. Similarly, the leader who rules the country today has ignored all the recommendations contained in the report of the presidential commission, he added. We condemn the actions taken so far to conceal certain facts and prevent the full truth of the matter from being revealed, as the cries of the dead and wounded are being raised to the skies. I firmly believe that all those involved in this heinous crime will soon have to suffer the consequences of their sins. A prayer was also held in the afternoon at St Sebastians Church in Katuwapitiya, while a procession in memory of the victims was conducted in Negombo. Several religious leaders expressed their closeness to the Catholic Church. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. SUV Both act as the flagship SUVs for each corporate sibling brand and share a lot of technology, components, and desirable family traits. For example, the Hyundai Palisade can accommodate up to eight people on board, while the Kia Telluride is not far behind with traditional seven-seat arrangements. They also share the engine, transmission, and wheelbase.Yet, thanks to Kia and Hyundais decision a while back to proudly stand out in a bland automotive styling crowd, both look decidedly modern and different from the norm as well as each other. Even better, after the 2023 model year enters production, they are both even more impressive thanks to a bold mid-cycle update.Naturally, it did not take long for virtual automotive artists to notice the Telluride and Palisade hype and do something CGI about it. Russia-based pixel master Nikita Chuicko, better known as kelsonik on social media, has quickly decided to give us some food for thought with Kia and Hyundais successful crossoverheroes.So, after the CGI expert initially took the 2023 Hyundai Palisade out for a virtual Shadow Line spin (essentially, a signature series with blacked-out details, lowered suspension setups, and cooler/larger aftermarket wheels), now he is back with the Kia Telluride counterpart. Probably because the reference unit was already pretty dark all by itself, the latter does not get all the Shadow Line goodies and instead, solely relies on a hunkered-down appearance, as well as a menacing set of black aftermarket wheels.Thus, the question is pretty easy: do you dig the 2023 Hyundai Palisade with the full Shadow Line some more, or is the lowered and customized 2023 Kia Telluride more than enough for your CGI tuning dreams? Both airbags were manufactured by the tier-two supplier in Knoxville, Tennessee. During the course of the preliminary evaluation, the federal watchdog required ARC Automotive to disclose what other automakers use their airbags. The company was much obliged to answer Hyundai and GM.Fast forward to July 2016, and the Office of Defects Investigation was informed by Transport Canada of a fatal incident involving a driver airbag rupture in a 2009 model year Hyundai Elantra. Largely the same design as the single-stage airbag used in the aforementioned 2014 Kia Optima, this airbag was manufactured in China. The Elantra for the U.S. market, on the other hand, uses ARC Automotive airbag inflators manufactured stateside.Next up, General Motor received a claim letter from an attorney representing the owner of a 2015 model year Chevrolet Traverse in November 2021. The claimant alleged that the front driver airbag inflator ruptured during a crash, which is precisely what airbags shouldnt do in this event. The biggest of the Big Three in Detroit inspected the vehicle in March 2022, and come April, the Safety and Field Action Decision Authority decided to conduct a recall of certain 2015 model year vehicles fitted with this inflator design.As the headline implies, the previous-generation Chevrolet Traverse is joined by the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave to the tune of 2,687 vehicles. Dealers will replace the airbag module with a remedy component that hopefully wont rupture in the case of an airbag deployment. Owner notifications will be mailed on May 30th as per the attached recall report. kW However, a test mule spied recently around the brands Maranello facility in Italy suggests otherwise, which is that Ferrari is indeed planning to launch an 812 successor. It uses the body of the Roma , albeit stretched out, with bigger wheels that likely hide uprated brakes, and a sweet burbling sound as the video embedded at the bottom of the page reveals.You see, the Roma isnt that sonorous, as it packs a 3.9-liter V6, with twin turbocharging, rated at 611 hp (620 ps / 456) and 561 lb-ft (760 Nm) of torque. The 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) acceleration takes 3.4 seconds, making it quicker than the mighty Ferrari Enzo, and it can top out at over 199 mph (320 kph). The test mule, however, might feature an engine with twice as many cylinders under that long hood.So, why use the Romas underpinnings to develop a new V12-powered model instead of the 812s? Thats simple actually, because the brands entry-level model is based on a new scalable architecture, whereas the outgoing supercar builds around an older construction. Moreover, the Romas platform supports a variety of powertrains, including V12s and hybrids.No one outside Ferrari knows anything about the alleged successor of the 812, yet we suspect that if it is indeed happening, then it will be more powerful than the Competizione . This variant has 818 hp (830 ps / 610 kW) and 510 lb-ft (692 Nm) to play with, produced by its naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12. With 2.85 seconds required to hit 62 mph (100 kph) from a standstill, and a top speed exceeding 211 mph (340 kph), it certainly blurs the line between super and hypercars. Since his escape in December 2019, Ghosn spent most of his days out of the public reach, occasionally coming out to have his say about the auto industry and the direction some of its players are heading.As any fugitive ever well knows, escaping the long arm of the law is almost never a permanent thing, and chances are Ghosns dealings will eventually catch up to him. And now that French prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for the man, that eventually might be sooner than later.According to the Wall Street Journal , Ghosn and four other individuals, connected to Omani company Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, a Renault-Nissan dealer in the Middle East, are now wanted for taking millions of dollars from Renaults accounts and using them for their personal use.Currently hiding in Lebanon, Ghosn will probably not be convinced by this latest development to turn himself in, and its unlikely the French will go there to fetch him, but the piece of paper does put additional pressure on a man that for years has been one of the leading figures of the modern auto industry.The exact scope of Ghosns dealings will probably never be known, but some of the juiciest parts talk of him doing anything from trying to outsmart Japanese compensation legislation to buying residences in Rio de Janeiro and Beirut, using the corporate jet for his private business, and even hiring his sister on the Nissan payroll. With money funneled out of the two companies, hes also said to have purchased a 120-foot (37-meter) yacht. SUV Ironically, all that the company presented were two sketches of the battery-swapping station and nothing else. As bold statements need strong evidence, we would rather wait for the first pictures or videos to emerge. The one embedded below just shows thethat should get its battery packs replaced first.GAC Aions first battery-swapping station allegedly also has the A480 fast chargers that could give the Aion V 80% of charge from 30% in under five minutes. The secret for the batteries to stand so much power would be graphene. According to GAC , the battery pack would last 1 million kilometers (621,371 miles) even with 6C charging. Again, we need to see it to believe it.The Chinese carmaker also said that its A480 fast chargers would be fully automatic, thanks to the Aion Robot Charger system. According to CNEVPost , GAC Aion wants this automatic charging process to take care of autonomous vehicles when they are available. If these EVs can have their battery packs swapped, why bother with fast charging ? Wed ask GAC Aion if it had a press department that we could contact.While only the Aion V has swappable batteries, GAC Aion intends to make that possible with its entire lineup based on the GEP 3.0 architecture. The company said that would start to happen in 2023. It seems that it wants 220 stations solely for the Aion V units it is planning to sell this year. Thats something else we would ask if we knew who to talk to at the Chinese company and if it cared to answer. An alleged video of the fire was posted to the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook channel and is available below. It shows an aircraft that looks like a B-1, apparently engulfed by a ball of fire, as sirens of emergency vehicles wail from a distance. The Dyess Air Force Base has confirmed the incident and acknowledged the existence of the video but is yet to confirm whether the footage is authentic.The fire broke out during routine maintenance" of the B-1B Lancer and resulted in injuries in two DoD personnel, who had to be admitted to a hospital near the airbase. Col. Joseph Kramer, commander of the 7th Bomb Wing out of Dyess, says that both victims were discharged soon after and are on the mend.This week, the Dyess Air Base was hosting a Medium Grit exercise by the 317th Airlift Wing. Reports online suggest that the B-1B, a newer Lancer version, was scheduled to take off the next day. This is the second time a B-1 has been involved in a serious incident at Dyess: in 1992, a B-1 that had just taken off crashed, killing the four-person crew.The B-1, also dubbed The Bone, is one of the most legendary, powerful, and expensive aircraft in the USAF fleet. In 2021, it still had 62 of the original 100 B-1s ordered, but that number went down to 44 by March this year. A newer model is in the works to replace the old and overused B-1s.In 2021, USAF temporarily grounded some B-1s to investigate a fuel system issue and then the entire fleet, looking for other problems. Weeks later, the bombers were cleared to fly, but there was no word on how many defective units were found. The B-1 was introduced in the 1980s as a supersonic heavy bomber designed to carry a payload of 75,000 lbs (34,019 kg), including nuclear bombs. Powered by four General Electric turbofans engines, it can hit top speeds Mach 1.2 (921 mph/1,482 kph) and holds over 50 world records in its class. The B-1 has also seen plenty of action in Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.An aging but mighty legend, at over $200 million estimated cost per unit, the B-1 is also the priciest aircraft in the USAF fleet. The jewel in the USAF crown , if you will and one such jewel may have been lost for good. Beaming energy has been a constant preoccupation of sci-fi authors, and in imagination land, it often works like a charm. Here in the real world though, were just beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible.This week, the U.S. Navy announced something it calls the most significant power beaming demonstration in nearly 50 years. It saw a team of researchers from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory shoot 1.6 kilowatts of power via a microwave dish transmitter, with the beam hitting an adapted receiver antenna located 0.6 miles away (1 km).It was the culmination of a number of tests that took place over the past 12 months, at the U.S. Army Research Field at Blossom Point in Maryland and at MITs The Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR) transmitter in Massachusetts.The team used a 10 gigahertz microwave beam, a frequency easily achievable because component technology out there is cheap and mature and, most importantly, does not lose more than 5 percent of its power, even in heavy rain.Described as the point-to-point transfer of electrical energy across free space by a directive microwave beam, this type of energy beaming is of particular interest for the American military, which is looking for ways to eventually beam down energy from space, thus mitigating the reliance on the fuel supply for troops, which can be vulnerable to attack.Best of all, this technique is also safe and completely green, as in it does not harm creatures, and can be generated and supplied around the clock.The recently announced test is part of the Navys Safe and COntinuous Power bEaming Microwave (SCOPE-M) project. No info was provided on what comes next for this research. The convertibles are the ones that ended up becoming super-rare, as the parent company manufactured only a little over 800 units.The Road Runner we have here isnt one of these rare examples, but on the other hand, its still one of the few coming in an unrestored and all-original condition after all these years.This is a California survivor, and even the bright blue metallic paint on the body is the one that came with the car when it got to see the daylight back in 1970. eBay seller kahew_8028 says the previous owner parked the Road Runner in a garage specifically to repair the damage you can see in the photos, but such work has never been completed.Most of the parts required for the whole thing have already been purchased, so they come as extras for whoever buys the Road Runner, just in case they want to fully restore it.And speaking of a full restoration, this 1970 Road Runner doesnt require more than average TLC. The rust doesnt seem to be a major concern on this model, but some occasional dings and dents would still have to be resolved by the new owner.As for whats under the hood, this Road Runner comes with the original 383 4-barrel unit. Unfortunately, we have no idea if its running or not, but given the overall shape of this car, we should expect the engine to at least turn over by hand.A Road Runner in such a solid condition is rather hard to find, and this is why the price of the car seems to be going through the roof lately. The bidding has already reached $36,000, and given the auction comes without a reserve, the vehicle will certainly have a new home in 9 days. This story has a certain you cant park there, mate vibe to it. That viral prank was hilarious precisely because it was done in jest, but Matthew Cole tells My London that his situation is nothing to laugh about. Its still as absurd as telling someone who crashed that they cant park there, though.In late March this year, Cole parked his Ford outside the Blackheath Post Office in Lewisham, in south-east London. There was no mark or disabled parking sign on or near the spot he parked in , but the next one was clearly marked as such. Cole says this wasnt the first time he used the spot, precisely because hed never seen any sign that said it was reserved for disabled parking.To his surprise, he received a notice in the mail from the Lewisham Council, informing him that hed parked in a disabled spot, for which he got a 65 ($85) fine. The photo above was included in the notice as proof.Coles reasoning is that, since the spot he used for parking wasnt marked as disabled parking, the fine must be for the fact that the shadow of his car went outside the white lines into the next spot. He was being fined for parking his shadows car in a disabled spot, to put it bluntly. A most ridiculous reason to issue a parking fine (*but theres a twist ).Its absurd. Theres no signage where I parked and the photos they sent me only show the shadow of my car in the disabled spot, he tells the publication, admitting that he was gobsmacked to find the fine in the mail. He wrote back to the Council to challenge the fine, but the Council stands by the penalty charge. In a statement, they say that Cole was fined for parking in a disabled bay, which was marked with a Disabled badge holders only sign.And now for the twist in this drama: to the Councils response, Cole offers the age-old argument of if I parked there several times before and didnt get a fine, I shouldnt get one now, either, just not in these exact words. If that was a disabled parking spot, there was nothing around it to mark it as such. Its completely wrong. Theyre enforcing something thats not there. I think 65 is not a lot to many people today but the principle is wrong, he says.The Council is now looking into Coles reasons for challenging the fine. Some pixel masters function like clockwork and deliver virtual projects daily. Other CGI experts have a knack for outrageous mashups and do not mind their digital skills need improvement. And a few even showcase their passions whenever the occasion arises.Among the latter, there are those who have a knack for certain segments or love a certain type of car culture . But as far as Emmanuel Brito, the virtual artist better known as personalizatuauto on social media, is concerned, it really is not that hard to know his signature favorites.Whenever he is not involved with a cool rendering-to-reality project, his social media reel gets immediately taken by storm via brash Fox Body Mustangs or sleek Chevy Novas , it seems. Alas, he is also developing a CGI side dish of pickup truck passion as of late, with an emphasis on Chevrolets legendary C/K model series.The latest digital creation that aims to haunt our vintage fantasies comes in the form of a fourth-generation, (1988-2000 model years) standard cab Chevy C10. Informally and lovingly known as the OBS series ( Old Body Style , in reference to its boxy, rugged looks as opposed to the sleeker GMT800 Silverado successor), this truck aims to be a representative of the vintage age that will digitally stand out in any crowd.And it virtually has everything it needs, starting with an audacious crimson paintjob, a thoroughly slammed attitude, baller gold details for the grille and deep-dish aftermarket wheels, and even some carbon fiber wraps to tidily wrap everything up. Naturally, this widebody pickup truck aims for a restomod life via contemporary details, such as the full LED head- and taillights or the cross-drilled brake rotors.But classic truck aficionados might not be disappointed either, as we noticed a hint of tan-leather goodies tucked inside the cabin. Alas, there is just one mystery to round up the virtual package : what could be hiding under the burgundy-red hood? The Red Hawk will eventually come together in a fleet of over 350 flying machines which will be used primarily by the USAF. Until that time comes though, a lot of testing still needs to be done, not only on the aircraft itself, but on the systems that will go into it as well.This week, the Air Force announced it is currently putting through its paces a never-before-used version of something called On-Board Oxygen Generation System. OBOGS for short, it is the hardware tasked with producing an unlimited supply of oxygen for pilots while they are in the air.The tests for the OBOGS have been divided into three phases, two of which the Air Force already burned through. In the first one, the tests comprised putting the system through an ordeal in an unmanned altitude chamber. Phase two involved manned and unmanned acceleration testing and manned altitude chamber testing and required the involvement of 10 USAF volunteer pilots, subjected to maneuvers of up to 8.5 Gs.The final phase of the test will require the system to pass environmental trials and tribulations, and if all goes according to plan, it will then go into the Red Hawk (five of them) for flight testing by the end of the year.The aircraft is powered by a General Electric turbofan engine capable of generating 17,000 lbf (76 kN) of thrust when using the afterburner. Both the color scheme and the name chosen for the aircraft are a reference to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, an almost all African American group of pilots called the Tuskegee Airmen , who flew back in the days of World War II. In other words, sticking with the best-selling vehicles was the only way to survive a crisis that forced them to temporarily halt the production at most factories, sell models without certain non-critical systems, and in some rare cases, even kill off the least appealing nameplates.Ford, too, knows how hard it can be to deal with a super-constrained chip inventory. And after trying to reduce the disruptions in its daily operations with temporary production suspensions and the removal of features from its vehicles, Ford is now ready for another approach.The American carmaker is giving up on the three-door Fiesta, a model that no longer makes much sense going forward. And the reasons the company is pointing to make perfect sense.First and foremost, the three-door Fiesta is currently manufactured at the companys plant in Cologne, Germany. This particular facility is part of a very ambitious transition to EVs, so itll be the one spearheading the push for new zero-emission vehicles starting next year.A new electric crossover is projected to enter the production in Germany as soon as 2023, while another crossover should see the daylight at the very same plant only a year later.Second of all, the chip shortage has forced Ford (and other automakers as well) to closely analyze just how strong every model is selling and try to figure out how their market performance can be improved in the future. In some cases, carmakers abandoned these models completely, pretty much because they didnt make sense from a business perspective.This seems to be the case with the three-door Fiesta as well. While Ford plans to continue selling the five-door model, its no secret that the yearly sales of this model have been declining for quite some time. Back in 2019, before the whole madness started, Ford produced close to 229,000 Fiestas at its German plant. But once the global health issue hit, the sales declined to no less than 156,000 units, while 2021 made the whole thing twice worse, with only 86,000 Fiestas seeing the daylight.So at the end of the day, killing off the Fiesta just makes sense given its collapsing sales, though itll certainly be interesting to see how long it takes before the 5-door sibling ends up having the same fate as well.From a chip perspective, ditching the Fiesta gives Ford the chance to slightly improve its semiconductor inventory by getting rid of a model that doesnt sell well anyway. As a result, the company can prioritize the use of chips for its best-selling models, something that Ford has already confirmed it wants to do until the semiconductor crisis comes to an end.So going forward, the three-door Fiesta, and as a result, the three-door Fiesta ST as well is getting the ax this summer. The existing orders will obviously be completed, but with only some 8,000 units sold this year, its pretty clear the Fiesta will end 2022 with devastating numbers.In the meantime, Ford is also struggling to find more efficient ways to reduce the disruptions caused by the chip shortage. Not a long time ago, the company announced new temporary production adjustments to its North American plans, with the Mustang itself also affected There are signs the chip crunch would ease off in the second half of the year, but Ford has clearly become much more aggressive in its attempt to boost the production of its most profitable models. EV ICE Electric vehicles (EVs) are cool in almost any aspect. It has never been easier to quickly accelerate from 0 mph to 62 mph (0-100 kph). The absence of an engine guarantees a smoother ride thanks to no explosions happening under the hood. The zero-emission cars can be charged at home and, depending on where you live, you can also enjoy tax credits or other financial benefits for buying and using them. Theres also the added benefit of not contributing to the pollution of the city, suburb, town, or village you live in.Lets just agree these types of vehicles have become pretty cool nowadays. Besides not having a global network of Supercharger-like stations, theres literally only one reason left for you to deny yourself an: the price point. Besides the Dacia Spring , thats for Europe, Africa, and some parts of Asia, there arent many cheap new all-electric cars on sale today. Furthermore, Teslas just too attractive of an option to ignore, thanks to its continuously expanding charging network, simple construction, and advanced software.But others are catching up. Rivian, Lucid, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Nissan, Volvo, Canoo, Toyota, GM, BMW, Audi, Porsche, and even little-known brands like VinFast are making a run for it. They want a piece of the pie after Elon Musks Tesla decided to fight the conservative auto industry. If you didnt figure it out yet: yes, he won!But these are just manufacturers that are going at it strong in the U.S. The rest of the world is also looking towards electrifying transport. There are deadlines set in place to phase out the internal combustion engine in many other countries or major cities, and everyone just wants to be ready with a good enough lineup of cars.These automakers will need batteries for their cars a lot of them. This means only one thing: the real battle for resources commences. Up until now, this was a not-that-interesting competition. Currently, its turning into a full-fledged confrontation. Countries must work together with key players from the auto industry to secure these much-needed metals that are found in cars batteries and motors.The U.S. has the means to be a global winner and even defeat major producers of rare earths like Australia or China. But it wont be easy or pretty.Surprising or not, its only been a few decades since Li-ion batteries reached commercial feasibility.Portable devices made this energy storage popular. Thats why it has been in continuous development since smartphones replaced cameras, CD players, and other similar gadgets. But nothing comes close to what the auto industry has meant for the evolution of the battery.Everybody wants packs of these Li-ion units filled with thousands or even tens of thousands of cells. Thats why you keep hearing about billions of dollars being poured into this sector. LG, for example, gave up entirely on making smartphones to focus on battery production and development. Universities keep researching ways of making these units more reliable. New companies are coming up with the sole purpose of recycling used batteries and giving them another shot at working again, either as a backup plan for local or regional electric grids or to be installed in chargers.So, its no wonder that different entities and some countries are looking to establish their supremacy in this sector. It has the potential to create another economic boom and be a catalyst for new jobs.The U.S. should want to be among the top three global producers of EVs. Fortunately, the general agreement is that America would like to spearhead this industrys development. Besides the private sector acting on its own, the federal government should also bring on a strategy thatll make the U.S. a big producer of metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt that are needed in batteries. And it can do that by destroying local environments for the benefit of larger ones.Before you automatically assume this wouldnt be right, Id like to remind you that mining is vital for the EV industry. Without these rare earths, batteries and motors couldnt be made with the current technology that we have. As previously mentioned, nobody suggested it would be pretty.For example, the UK decided to ban the sale of new internal combustion engine () cars from 2030. Gradually, every passenger vehicle or van will become all-electric. To replace 31.5 million cars wont be an easy feat and will certainly require a lot of money and raw materials. More precisely, were looking at over 518,086,316 lb (235,000 metric tons) of lithium carbonate, according to S&P Global . The investments needed for the national electric grid are another topic altogether.We must also consider the fact that Germany, Iceland, South Korea, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, and Israel have also decided to ban ICE vehicles in the next ten years. United States current administration is eyeing a ban on selling new fossil fuel-powered cars in 2035 but a final decision has yet to be taken.In the meantime, theres something else the White House and Congress should focus on.Nevadas Thacker Pass is situated in a remote region that requires a lot of effort to live in. For example, the nearest store is almost 35 miles (56 kilometers) away. Thats why youll see just trucks or farm equipment passing on the few roads that exist from time to time. But this area hides a secret its the largest lithium carbonate deposit the U.S. has. It could single-handedly propel America into the top global producers of this important (and soon to become precious) metal.Getting a mine up and running there is challenging. Theres little water availability, and extracting lithium carbonate from the ground requires a lot of dihydrogen monoxide. Water is pumped into the ground to extract the metal and is also used for the selection process and to keep dust glued to the floor.Companies could strike a deal with farmers, but that would mean the end of harvesting or growing animals like chickens, turkeys, and other birds or cattle. Mining would also destroy the entire environment over time in Thacker Pass.Youd think this is a new idea, but the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish & Wildlife Service has already looked at this area as a potential mining project and spent over $250,000 to bring some interesting aspects to light. Their report showed that an investment in securing a new lithium operation here would damage the underground waters by poisoning them with arsenic. This would take centuries to fix.Establishing a big mining operation there also means breaking off a link between two important regions for wildlife. Indigenous tribes are as well concerned about this potential project and have already taken action to present their opposition. Unfortunately, the courts have already rejected their claims.As we can see, just by scratching the surface with this lithium carbonate mining idea, nothing looks like it would benefit anyone.Thats why the U.S., auto companies, the public, investors, and other relevant stakeholders of the battery-powered future should come together and discuss what should be done here. Is America condemned to permanently import such vital metals from Argentina, Chile, and China to protect a place like Thacker Pass? Should companies be allowed to destroy this area in Northern Nevada to make EVs cheaper for U.S. drivers and businesses?Nothing comes easy anymore, but decision-makers should start consultations as soon as possible on the matter and decide if destroying a local habitat would be acceptable to further improve the quality of life everywhere else in the U.S.Theres a clear need for action, but were not in the 1950s anymore. All parties involved should have their say, and nobody should be left behind in the race for an all-electric future. SUV You might have heard about Simon Leviev due to the Netflix documentary called The Tinder Swindler. The true-crime documentary tells the story of several women who were in a relationship with Leviev, and he ended up scamming all of them so he could continue living lavishly.The Israeli man claimed he was a diamond merchant who traveled the globe. He also alleged he was Russian gem tycoon Lev Levievs son, who is dubbed the King of Diamonds.None of those were true, and he scammed women so he could fly in private jets and buy luxurious cars . He did serve time in Israel after being arrested in Greece for using a fake passport, but the women didnt get their money back.But now theres a new arrest warrant on his name, and this time, it involves driving with a fake drivers license. The incident happened on January 30, 2019, The Daily Mail reports. Leviev was on holiday with a Russian woman when he rented a Maserati Levante for their endeavors. But things went sour when thegot stuck in the sand at a beach called Los Lances Sur in Tarifa, Spain, and officers were called to the scene.There, Leviev told cops he was on holiday, and he gave them one of his alleged aliases, Michael Bilton. The drivers license he provided also had that name on it. At the time, there were no charges, the two were allowed to leave in a taxi, and the Maserati Levante was towed away. Later on, the court summons into the pending investigation for the alleged forgery and traffic offence went unanswered.But it looks like they suspected there was something wrong because a police officer who specialized in detecting false documents finally discovered his true identity. Police have now asked a court to reopen a criminal investigation against the man.An Algeciras court official confirmed via The Daily Mail: An arrest warrant is out for the person placed under investigation. That's all the information I can provide at this stage." Pashinian insisted that his administration has no plans to surrender Karabakh through a peace deal with Baku. If we were to surrender Artsakh (Karabakh) we would not have spent tens of billions of drams to ensure the return of Artsakh residents to their homes after the 44-day war, he said at a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. Our strategy in the short, medium and long terms is as follows: to ensure a situation or solution whereby the people of Artsakh will continue to live in Artsakh Any solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or any state of affairs in Nagorno-Karabakh that does not ensure and guarantee these conditions is unacceptable to us, he said. Pashinian again did not specify the Armenian-populated territorys future status acceptable to Yerevan. Instead, he attacked his political opponents, saying that a tougher line advocated by them would lead to another war with Azerbaijan and a complete loss of Karabakh. Rest assured that we will not allow that to happen, he said. Speaking in the Armenian parliament on April 13, the prime minister said the international community is pressing Armenia to lower a bit the bar on the question of Nagorno-Karabakhs status and recognize Azerbaijans territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevans intention to make such concessions to Baku. The speech fueled more opposition allegations that Pashinian has agreed to help Azerbaijan regain control over Karabakh. Armenias leading opposition groups have pledged to stage anti-government rallies in a bid to topple his government and prevent such concessions to Baku. Pashinian claimed that virtually all peace proposals made by international mediators since the 1990s also called for the Armenian side to lower the bar on the status issue. The prime minister delivered his controversial speech in the National Assembly a week after meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels for talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel. Michel said after the talks that the two leaders pledged to move rapidly towards negotiating an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty meant to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Pashinian has repeatedly said that Bakus proposals on the key elements of such an accord, including a mutual recognition of each others territorial integrity, are acceptable to Yerevan. Aliyev emphasized this fact on Friday when he visited the Karabakh town of Shushi (Shusha) captured by Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 war. He said the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministries are already gearing up for official negotiations on the peace treaty. The treaty may soon be drawn up and signed, he said. Armenia and Azerbaijan may thus establish relations, including diplomatic ones. Aliyev also implied that Yerevans refusal to recognize Azerbaijans territorial integrity through the treaty could lead to another Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Given the outcome of the second Karabakh war, the Armenian side must be conscious of what such a step would lead to, he warned. Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today Generally clear skies. Low around 45F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Generally clear skies. Low around 45F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter. Chinas pledge last year to end financing for coal-powered projects overseas has resulted in 15 plants being shelved or canceled and could potentially put an end to 32 others, according to an analysis released by a Finland-based energy research group on Friday. Still, a potential loophole in interpreting the pledge means that 18 plants including some in Indonesia could proceed because they have secured financing and permits or are linked to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, according to the study by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). It said Jakarta considers those projects to be a priority. Chinas no new coal overseas policy has already had a significant impact on coal power construction, CREA said in its report issued on Earth Day. Since September 2021, CREA found that approximately 12.8 gigawatts (15 plants) of China-backed overseas coal projects were shelved or canceled, following revised energy policies in host countries and withdrawals of Chinese firms, it said. Included are projects planned for Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, Kenya, Iran, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe, according to the study. In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in September, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that Beijing would not build new coal-fire projects abroad as part of efforts to deal with climate change. However, 18 projects, which amount to 19.2 gigawatts, remain in a grey area of the pledge and could still go ahead, CREA said. Of that amount, 11.2 gigawatts are projects that have secured financing and the necessary permits but have yet to enter into construction, the report said. Another 8 gigawatts are proposed captive coal projects linked to BRI nickel and steel complexes in Indonesia and considered a government priority. According to the report, two new China-backed power plants are likely to go ahead in Indonesia because of a potential loophole that allows construction and equipment contracts on existing BRI projects to be interpreted as exemptions. On Feb. 14, Tianjin Electric Power Construction Co. signed an agreement to construct a power plant to support nickel ore smelter on Obi Island in North Maluku province, CREA said. A second project calls for the expansion of the existing steam-powered plant providing power for steel and nickel processing at the Morowali Industrial Park in Central Sulawesi province. Throughout Indonesia, a total of six coal projects are likely to move ahead because the government considers them electricity supply for business and personal interest, it said. Officials at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment on Friday. In January 2020, a spokesman for PT PLN, the state-run power company, said energy sector investors were interested in coal-fired power plant because of lower costs and better returns on investment. Were just talking about the target of fulfilling electricity. In Java, the number of electricity users is huge and we want to avoid another power deficit, PLN spokesman Dwi Suryo Abdullah told BenarNews at the time. Greenpeace supports report Leonard Simanjuntak, the director of Greenpeace in Indonesia, welcomed CREAs findings. We appreciate the development because as the largest coal financier, the decision taken by China last year will have a significant impact on the energy transition process toward renewable energy globally, Leonard told BenarNews. Still, Leonard regrets that some projects are scheduled to continue. Exceptions such as those in Sulawesi and North Maluku will set a bad precedent. We need a truly green Belt and Road Initiative, without coal and other fossil fuels, Leonard said. He called on China to persuade Indonesia to use renewable sources of electricity and energy for national priority projects. This should be a turning point for the Indonesian government, amid criticism that national priority projects that are being built in many places threaten the environment, Leonard said. Indonesia has set a goal of reducing its greenhouse-gas emissions by 29 percent by 2030. The government said the energy sector now accounts for nearly half of the countrys emissions. In 2019, Indonesia was the top exporter of coal for power generation, supplying 40 percent of the worlds markets, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Southeast Asias largest and most populous country is the eighth most polluting one in the world with 2 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions to its name, according to the World Resources Institute. Indonesia draws 60 percent of its own energy supply from coal, but aims to switch to renewable sources supplying 85 percent of its energy needs by 2060. Rohingya men who had escaped a detention center after a riot sit in a Malaysian Immigration truck after being recaptured in Penang, April 20, 2022. Malaysian police have detained two Rohingya they suspect of having instigated a riot and mass breakout at a detention center that led to six escapees being fatally struck by vehicles on a highway in the middle of the night, authorities in northern Kedah state said Friday. Eighty-eight Rohingya remained at large, including nine women and eight children, according to police chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad, who urged local people not to help them. Sheltering people who violate immigration laws is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, he said. Its been three days. These people are hungry, barefoot. They will not be able to last, with children in tow. We ask the public to immediately report to the police if any refugees seek help from them, he said. A total of 287 officers in three states Kedah, Penang and Perak have been mobilized to look for the remaining escapees, Wan Ahmad said. Meanwhile, amid ongoing updates about the manhunt, a Malaysian media advocacy group urged local officials and media not to use language that could foster hatred or fear of Rohingya people. Publishing authorities comments that label Rohingya detainees as highly dangerous or that they may also act out of control to survive presents the detainees as violent and irrational, said a statement by the Malaysia-based Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ). Reporters should interrogate the root causes behind the breakout, and not sensationalize the issue by framing it as a crime, it said. While we understand the need for balanced and accurate reporting, there is a fine line that could potentially trigger increasing xenophobia and discrimination, CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu she told BenarNews. Death hours before riot being investigated On Thursday, Kedah Criminal Investigation Department chief G. Suresh Kumar said the riot occurred hours after a detainee died at the Sungai Bakap Temporary Immigration Depot. For the record, there was a death involving a detainee in his 30s late at night, hours before the early morning rioting took place. We are conducting a post-mortem on the body and until we have the autopsy report, I wish to call on everyone to refrain from speculating, he said. So far, what we know is that the escapees only wanted their freedom and it was not because they were unhappy with the camp management, he said. No serious injuries were reported in the riot early Wednesday, officials said then, adding that security personnel on duty were quickly overwhelmed as 528 people escaped. Two children were among the six later struck and killed on a highway about six km (3.7 miles) away. Most of the escapees have since been captured and taken to a detention facility in Semenyih, Selangor, about 350 kilometers (218 miles) from the place they escaped. We have taken statements from 420 Rohingya detainees and also took their fingerprints for record. [The riot occurred] probably due to congestion and having been in detention for too long, Wan Ahmad, the police chief, said Friday. On Wednesday, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin had said the Rohingya who broke out of the detention center were brought there after being apprehended in Langkawi, off the coast of Kedah, in 2020. But the Kedah police chief on Friday said the main instigator of the unrest had been there three years and was transferred there from another immigration facility. He was transported here from Semenyih Depot three years ago, Wan Ahmad said. As of now, we believe his main motivation in orchestrating the riot was to create an opening to flee from the depot, he said of the 34-year-old suspect. Kedah Police Chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad (right) and colleagues shows images of four Rohingya men accused of instigating a riot at an immigration depot two days earlier, Bandar Baharu, Kedah, April 22, 2022. Two of the four have been captured. [Zul Suffian/BenarNews] Hamzah, the home minister, said Thursday that the reason the Rohingya had been detained for more than two years at immigration centers was because the Myanmar government did not recognize them as citizens. If we want to send them back, where do we want to send them to? This is our problem, he told reporters. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw a sharp rise in negative sentiment toward Rohingya people in Malaysia, with increased hate speech directed at the group. Dozens of NGOs spoke out against the treatment of Rohingya refugees during health-related government round-ups of immigrants and by citizens who took to social media to post views that included threats and dehumanizing language and images. The tragic events on Wednesday drew international attention, along with calls for a probe of what led to the unrest and for transparency about Malaysias secretive immigrant detention centers, where people are held indefinitely and incommunicado. Jerald Joseph, a member of Malaysias Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), called on immigration authorities to allow representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to meet with the detainees. The Immigration Department has to give access to UNHCR so they can determine whether the ones detained were really Rohingya. If so, they should be freed like the 150,000 Rohingya who are here in the country, he said. While Malaysia allows refugees to enter the country, it has not signed the U.N. Refugee Convention. Those caught by the authorities, including children, are often detained in immigration detention centers indefinitely. Close to 1 million Rohingya who have fled persecution in Myanmar are living in crowded refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh, but many undertake perilous sea journeys in search of a better life in Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia. A screengrab from a video to mark Chinas Navy Day, April 23, 2022, hints at the potential launch of a third aircraft carrier. A new propaganda video suggests that the third aircraft carrier of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) could be launched soon, Chinese media and analysts said. A six-minute video, produced by the PLAN Political Publicity Bureau and the army broadcaster, was posted on Friday. It provides a glimpse into Chinas aircraft carrier program and how PLA carriers and personnel operate. China already has two aircraft carriers in operation, named Liaoning and Shandong. The third is being built and the promotional video seems to give a hint that its launch is imminent. At the end of the video, timed for Chinas Navy Day which falls on Saturday, an officer is shown taking a call from his mother who appears to urge him to have the third child, to which the man replies: Thats being arranged. The camera then moves to two photos of a carriers flight deck an apparent reference to the first two aircraft carriers before shifting to a blank screen and closing credits. This video excited some Chinese media. The state-run tabloid Global Times wrote: This is a very clear implication that the countrys third aircraft carrier is coming soon. Global Times quoted Song Zhongping, a Chinese military analyst and TV commentator, as saying that the third carrier, known as Type 003, could be launched in the second half of 2022. It said the carrier could be named Jiangsu, after the province in eastern China. A file photo shows the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning taking part in a military drill of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in the western Pacific Ocean, April 18, 2018. [Reuters] COVID-19 lockdown From the video, it does seem that the third Chinese carrier would be launched in the near future, said Sheu Jyh-Shyang, a military analyst at the Taiwans Institute for National Defence and Security Research (INDSR). The U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a November 2021 report that the launch could be as soon as February 2022 but it has been delayed several times as China is struggling with the COVID pandemic. Recently severe lockdown measures have been imposed in Shanghai, home of the Jiangnan Shipyard where the Type 003 is being constructed and where the COVID situation has disrupted shipping and may have caused delays in arrival of components for the ship. Compared to the first two carriers, the Type 003 appears to be larger, and it has some new important components including catapult systems, used for launching aircraft from the ship. It is the first CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery) carrier that China has, said Sheu from INDSR. CATOBAR carriers have much better capabilities, but they still need to have enough operating experience, he added. The CSIS report last November also said that after launch, it would still be years before the Type 003 is commissioned into the PLA Navy and achieves initial operating capability. China already has the biggest naval fleet in the world, according to the US Office of Naval Intelligence. But the U.S. has far more aircraft carriers: 11 compared to Chinas two. A second screengrab from the Chinese military video. [Global Times] Vulnerable Taiwans Ministry of National Defense, which is watching Chinas military developments closely, said in a report published earlier this year that the Type 003 would enable the PLA Navy to project power past the first island chain. The first island chain, conceptualized during the Cold War, commonly refers to the major archipelagos that lie off the East Asian mainland coast. The chain stretches from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the northeast to the Malay Peninsula in the southwest, and includes the territory of U.S. allies Taiwan and the Philippines. Taiwanese observers also pay attention to the PLAs plan to procure new warplanes for the Type 003. The first two (aircraft carriers) have only J-15 fighters and maybe some helicopters but the third one may have some airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) KJ-600 aircraft, military analyst Sheu said. The Xian KJ-600 is said to accurately detect and track other airplanes and so greatly increases the effectiveness of carrier-based combat aircraft. Meanwhile, Taiwanese media have been looking at the sinking of Russias flagship Moskva, reportedly by Ukrainian Neptune missiles, last week. Russia said it was damaged in an unexplained fire. The missile cruiser Moskva was built in the same Black Sea Shipyard Mykolaiv in Ukraine as Chinas first aircraft carrier back in the Soviet days. Beijing bought the ship, then called Varyag, and renamed it to Liaoning. The Liaoning regularly patrols the Taiwan Strait and may be deployed in the event of armed conflict with the self-governing island. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province that shall be united with the mainland. Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times quoted an analyst as saying that Taiwan has a bigger and more powerful anti-ship missile arsenal than Ukraine. The Chinese aircraft carriers could be as vulnerable as the Moskva to Taiwans anti-ship missile, it said. FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award in Berlin on Dec. 1, 2020. Musk says he has lined up $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, and hes trying to negotiate an agreement with the company. The Tesla CEO says in documents filed Thursday, April 21, 2022 with U.S. securities regulators that hes exploring a tender offer to buy all of the social media platforms common stock for $54.20 per share in cash. 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. A Russian tank destroyed in recent fighting is seen on a road to Kyiv, Ukraine, April 15. On Friday, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming a photo of a woman in a military uniform shows a Ukranian beauty who blew up 52 invading Russian tanks. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. Sheffield photographer Dylan Kubis captures the American Southwest in his first book of photography. He says it's only the start GREAT BARRINGTON A real estate investor and developer from the Boston area has decided to build condominiums at a former nursing home where rental apartments had been planned. Charles Goldman, of Walpole-based, The Goldman Group, LLC, said the company will keep to the same general layout of 30 units as a previous developer who had received a town permit to build market-rate apartments here. The company is closing on the property, which housed the former Great Barrington Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in about two months, and will have to go through new permitting since the plans have changed, Goldman said. If permits are in hand, construction will likely begin in September or October, and the complex will be completed by spring, he added. Goldman said condos will preferably be priced above the market rate. The projected cost of a one-bedroom would be around $300,000; $400,000 for a two-bedroom. A few three-bedrooms might also be part of the plan, as well as a fitness center and various other communal amenities. The plans, he said, are not finalized. The nursing home building, owned by Bear Mountain, has sat vacant since mid-2020. The 29,176-square-foot structure is listed by Stone House Properties for $1.2 million. The previous developer, Jon Halpern, had planned to increase the size to 38,922 square feet. He backed out due to the pandemic and other reasons. The town is in the midst of a shortage of all types of housing, particularly affordable housing. A new report says that only 1,501 new housing units have been build in all of Berkshire County in the last 10 years. Sign-up for The Berkshire Eagle's free newsletters Sign up Town Planner Christopher Rembold says the greatest need is for people making moderate incomes to lower incomes. The need at the bottom is endless, he said. But the town also wants to see its abandoned buildings reused. Town voters approved changes to the bylaws proposed by the Planning Board in 2020 that would allow conversion of former nursing homes into housing. When asked why he switched to building condos, Goldman said the numbers worked better. Great Barrington is unique and the Berkshires are unique in that its far from any metro area but the real estate market is so strong, he said. Condo and home prices are much higher than your average rural town. Goldman also said another reason to build condos is that managing rentals from afar is harder. Neighbors last year pushed back on the previous proposal to build apartments at the former Great Barrington Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Center off Maple Avenue (Route 23), saying it would increase traffic change the neighborhood. The Planning Board issued the permit regardless, after traffic studies and other analysis indicated this wouldnt be the case. Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Russia imposes personal sanctions on U.S. vice president, Meta CEO Xinhua) 09:32, April 22, 2022 MOSCOW, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia has imposed personal sanctions on 29 U.S. citizens, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and 61 Canadian citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. A total of 29 U.S. citizens are included in Russia's "stop list" in response to the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the U.S. Joe Biden administration, the ministry said. "Top U.S. leaders, businessmen, experts and journalists, who are pursuing a Russophobic agenda, as well as the spouses of a number of high-ranking officials" are among those added to the list, and they will be denied entry to Russia for an indefinite term. Russia has also included a group of Canadian government, defense, and media representatives in the country's "stop list" in response to "the Russophobic course" pursued by Canada. Sixty-one Canadian citizens will be prohibited from entering Russia. The foreign ministry said the "stop list" would be expanded in the near future, in response to the hostile actions carried out by the United States and Canada. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) To rewrite the history booksConstantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christs human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned. This passage, from the bestselling Dan Brown novel The Da Vinci Code, expresses a common perspective in pop culture today: the Bible is a man-made book, collected by a corrupt church, in an effort to make their leader seem divine. But is this true? Has the New Testament, a collection of 27 books, been heavily edited and censored by the church? Do we have any reason to trust the books that were included? This article will explore these important questions. What is the canon? The word canon comes from the Greek kanon, and is derived from the Hebrew kaneh, or measuring rod. When applied to the Bible, the canon is the collection of books that are considered the inspired Word of Godthe standard by which all theological claims should be measured. While The Da Vinci Code is extremely inaccurate in its description of how the Bible was formed, it is correct in saying that the New Testament was not collected immediately after the resurrection of Jesus. Mostly, because the books were still being written. Why was the canon formed? The leaders of the early church recognized the importance of determining the biblical canon. The first reason they made the canon a priority was because they needed a standarda measuring rodby which they could recognize and reject heretical teaching by fringe leaders in the church. The most prominent early challenger to established doctrine was named Marcion. He viewed the God of the Old Testament as inferior to the Father revealed by Jesus. So he discounted the entire Old Testament, as well as books he viewed as tainted with Jewish teaching. Marcion declared his own piecemeal version of the canon in 135 A.D., prompting the church to respond. His beliefs were condemned and he was excommunicated in 144 A.D. His was the first of many other heretical movements to which the church responded. A second reason the church was motivated to fix the canon of Scripture was due to the intense persecution being faced by Christians. The persecution by the Emperor Diocletian at the beginning of the fourth century was especially motivating, as he ordered the destruction of Christian writings. So it was vital that the church form a canon in order to stabilize the church and prevent the loss of Scripture. Believers needed to know which books they could hand over to the Roman authorities without committing the sin of sacrilege, and which were part of the canonand, therefore, worth dying for. The process of canonization. It is important to note that history does not report all of the details of how the canon was established. The events surrounding this process happened centuries ago, in a time of intense persecution. Fortunately, the records that were preserved give insights into some of the contributing factors that influenced the formation of the New Testament. One further caveat must be made before the criteria are discussed. The early church was adamant that they were attempting to recognize the books which had the authority of Scripture, not to impose their own authority upon them. They were not arbitrarily picking the books they liked the most, but rather they were acknowledging those works that already had the qualities of divine inspiration. What criteria were used? Apostolic Authority The primary criterion for acceptance into the canon was authorship by an apostle. Additionally, books whose author had a close association with an apostle, such as Mark with Peter and Luke with Paul, were seen as authorized by them and were thus accepted. This authorship or authorization was not a necessary component, as a few non-apostolic scriptures were accepted, but it was the most prominent. The Rule of Faith Early church fathers like Irenaeus pointed to the rule of faith as a criterion which distinguished true teachings from the false ones being presented by heretics like the Gnostics. This meant that the church had been preaching the same message since the apostlesand really since Jesus. This is in line with what Paul taught in Galatians 1:8 when he said, But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! So teachings must align with the tradition of what was taught by Jesus, communicated by the apostles, and contained in the Old Testament. Contrast this with the Gnostics, a group that claimed to have secret knowledge revealed to them about the evil of the physical world, which had no historical claim of tradition. They were simply creating something new, and so they and their writings were rejected. Tertullian, another early church leader, likewise viewed tradition as vital in the interpretation of Scripture. Although controversy over some passages was inevitable, and heretics could twist the meaning of verses by taking them out of context, tradition would lead to the right interpretation. An example of a book that was accepted because of its conformity to the rule of faith is Hebrews. Although its authorship is unknown, its message faithfully aligns with the Old Testament and shows how Jesus fulfilled biblical prophecies. Continued Church Use The final test is whether the book continued to be acknowledged and used by the church at large. Although this criterion could be criticized as a simple majority opinion, it could also point to the Christian belief that God would guide the church into truth. In reality, it is incredible there was such a firm consensus amongst diverse groups of Christians across such a wide geographical area. Therefore, if a writing stood the test of time and continued to be used widely by the church, it retained its standing. The earliest lists. By the end of the first century, two-thirds of the books in todays New Testament canon had been extensively circulated and were considered authoritative. The rest of them were referenced and thought by many to be inspired. However, some books took longer to be accepted by everyone. For example, Hebrews and 2 Peter were delayed because their authorship was disputed. Another example, Revelation was held up because it was not as widely known in some areas (which makes practical sense as it was the last to be written). An early record was the Muratorian Fragment, a partially preserved ancient document written in about 175 A.D. It lists 23 out of the 27 New Testament books as authoritative, as well as a few others. It also rejects some spurious letters attributed to the apostle Paulperhaps the false ones Paul himself referenced in 2 Thessalonians 2:2. The first document that includes all 27 books of the New Testament as the only canonical books was written by Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, in 367 A.D., followed by Jerome and Augustine soon after. There were also some books that were defended by some of the early church leaders, but they were eventually rejected by the church as a whole. These include the first and second letters of Clement, the letter of Barnabas, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Didache. Eventually these books were disqualified from the canon because they failed to meet the criteria mentioned above. So it wasnt one unanimous decision? The canon was not fixed by an instantaneous decision, but through a process over the course of many years. On one hand, this could be seen as a weakness of the Bible. If the books were supposed to be divinely inspired, why did it take the church so long to confirm them? On the other hand, it points to the meticulous care the early church took to make sure they got it right. Rather than rushing to accept whatever writings they had or looking to a single leader to declare the list of officially sanctioned documents, they allowed processes to work gradually while trusting that God was guiding them. This extended process also refutes some of the claims made in pop culture about the Bible. As mentioned in the quote at the beginning of this article, Dan Browns The DaVinci Code (which, incredibly, claims in its opening pages to be historically accurate) declares that the books of the Bible were conspiratorially decided at the council of Nicaea, with the unwanted books being burned. Shockingly, this claim is actually truebut not for the Bible. Instead, according to Muslim sources, this is what happened to the Quran. In the seventh century, the khalifa Uthman rounded up all of the divergent copies of the Quran, selected the one he preferred, and burned the rest. Although an efficient way of eliminating competing collections of the sayings of Mohammad, of which there were many, it does not inspire confidence that the current version matches the original. In contrast, Browns claim about the New Testament is completely false. The canon was virtually established through the processes described above at least 150 years prior to Constantine. Although the final and official ratification of canon came a few decades after Constantine at the Council of Hippo in 393 A.D., there is no historical reason to believe Constantine was personally involved in this process. What about the Gnostic gospels? What should we think about the gnostic gospels, such as the Gospel of Phillip, the Gospel of Mary, or the Gospel of Thomas? Again, Dan Brown claims they were written earlier than the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. So why werent they included in the canon? First, they were actually written much later, in the late second and third centuriesfar too late to have any association with the real apostles of Christ. In contrast, the academic consensus is that the four canonical gospelsMatthew, Mark, Luke, and Johnwere all written within the first century, which is well within the lifetimes of the apostles. Second, the Gnostic gospels did not adhere to the rule of faith. For instance, the Gospel of Thomas includes bizarre ideas such as men becoming lions if they eat them and other teachings that contradict what Christians had been teaching for a century. Third, though they were later favored by a few outliers, they never entered into widespread use in the early churches. The gnostic gospels failed all three criterions for inclusion, and were, therefore, never recognized as being canonical. Because of the Holy Spirit, we can be confident in the canon. Like most episodes of ancient history, the facts concerning the formation of the canon have not been recorded in their entirety. Some details remain hidden and some challenges can still be raised. However, the early agreement among church leaders and the rigorous criteria applied to canonical candidates help alleviate most of those concerns. Additionally, Jesus promised in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Christians believe that the Holy Spirit was responsible not only for inspiring the authors of the New Testament books, but also guiding the church fathers to recognize them in the canon. This final factor should give objective observers confidence that the right books were accepted, and that the Bible we have today is the complete, inspired Word of God. Matthew Mittelberg is a fulltime OCCA Fellow based in Boston, Massachusetts. He was raised in an environment of apologetics and evangelism, as his father, Mark Mittelberg, writes and teaches in these areas. He earned a bachelors degree in entrepreneurial business from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. During his time there, he started and led the Defenders Apologetics Club for three years and was in a number of leadership roles including Servant Scholar and Senior Senator. Matthew received his Certificate of Theological Studies from Wycliffe Hall and was trained at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He has spoken at universities, churches, societies, and training events, and has led international missions trips in Europe and Asia. Hes passionate about helping people understand that faith in God makes sense, removing barriers to belief, and personally introducing others to Jesus. Consulted or Quoted Sources: Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Isma`il al-Bukhari, Sahih Bukhari. Volume 6, Book 61, Number 510. Published 854 A.D. Brown, Dan. The DaVinci Code. New York, NY: Doubleday, 2003. Brown, Harold O.J. Heresies. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988. Bruce, F. F. The New Testament Documents, Are They Reliable? 5th ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1960. Comfort, Philip W. and Jason Driesbach. The many gospels of Jesus. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2008. Horton, David. The Portable Seminary. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2006. Geisler, Norman L. and William E. Nix. From God to us. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2012. Lutzer, Erwin. The DaVinci Deception. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006. McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction. 5th ed. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Metzger, Bruce. The New Testament, its background, growth, and content, 2nd ed. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1983. Miller, Robert J. The complete gospels: annotated scholars version. Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge Press, 1994. Noll, Mark A. Turning points: Decisive moments in the history of Christianity, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012. Shelley, Bruce L. Church history in plain language (3rd ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008. Strobel, Lee. The case for Christianity answer book. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014. Strobel, Lee & Garry Poole. Exploring the DaVinci code. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006. Witherington, Ben III.The Gospel code. Westmont, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004. Photo credit: Thinkstock/Jaflippo BOISE - Idaho state superintendent Sherri Ybarra will face former legislator Branden Durst and former State Board of Education President Debbie Critchfield in debates Monday and Tuesday night, the candidates only televised appearances together before the May 17 primary. Mondays 8 p.m. debate is the second of this election cycles Idaho Debates, an Idaho Public Television series of matchups between contenders for statewide offices. Superintendents candidates will take the stage again the following evening on KTVB at 6 p.m. The Idaho Debates, held in partnership between Idaho Public Television, the Idaho Press Club, the League of Women Voters of Idaho and the states public universities, are broadcast statewide and on IPTVs YouTube page. In addition to airing on TV, the KTVB superintendents debate will be streamed on the Treasure Valley news stations website. Ybarra, Durst and Critchfield have already fielded questions in front of smaller audiences at forums hosted by Idaho Business for Education, the Idaho School Boards Association, the Twin Falls Kiwanis Club and the City Club of Idaho Falls. At those forums, the candidates have worked in digs at each others backgrounds and records, but Mondays debate will offer them formal chances to spar, with one-minute rebuttals built into the first of the two hour-long faceoffs. How to vote: Early voting in participating counties runs May 2 through May 13. Absentee voters must request ballots by May 6, and return them before polls close on election day at 8 p.m. Only voters who were registered as Republicans by March 11 can vote in the states closed Republican primary. In-person voters can find their polling place here; polls open at 8 a.m. Mondays format will resemble Idaho Public Televisions attorney generals candidate debate Tuesday. A panel of three reporters Monday will give candidates 90 seconds to answer questions in between opening and closing statements. The superintendents debates are on despite criticism from Durst and a flurry of pullouts in other debates. Gov. Brad Little has refused to debate two opponents Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and GOP operative Ed Humphreys of Eagle. When Little declined to debate, calling his record non-debatable, McGeachin passed on participating too, causing organizers to cancel it. Congressman Mike Simpson also declined to debate GOP hardline opponent Bryan Smith, the Idaho Press reported. State Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, pulled out of her lieutenant governors debate against House Speaker Scott Bedke of Oakley, decrying media bias and IPTVs tradition of not disclosing panelists names ahead of debates. Durst on social media has echoed a similar line of criticism. Candidates expect to debate their opponents. They shouldnt have to debate the moderator and panelists also. The Idaho Press Club is a cabal of leftists who will use their position to try to tear down conservatives, Durst tweeted. But hell participate. I am going. And I am going to call the panelists out for the liberal BS and make sure that every conservative knows who is asking the questions. This is going to be fun, he later wrote. The pullouts and refusals have left debates for down-ballot positions, including state superintendent of public instruction, attorney general and secretary of state as the only debates left scheduled. BIG RAPIDS Hunting is a common activity among many Michiganders, but one Riverview Elementary teacher impressed with her bowhunting skills and earned four awards from Safari Club International this year. At a recent ceremony, Rachel Stickler was named Women's Hunter of the Year and Bow Hunter of the Year, along with placing second in the White Tail Midwest category and third in the Dall Sheep category. Stickler has been around hunting her entire life, growing up in a hunting family and learning about the ins and outs of the activity at an early age. A resident of Big Rapids and a fourth-grade teacher at Riverview Elementary School, her hunting experience was primarily local. That all changed when she met her husband, Eric. When my husband and I got married, he's the one that really kind of pushed us to do some more adventure hunts out of state and to travel, Stickler said. They'd call them adventure hunts because you're camping and hiking and going that route. He pushed me to get outside of my comfort zone a little bit." Stickler and her husband originally just hunted whitetail deer. I didn't think I would be much more than a whitetail hunter because I love hunting whitetail, and I love hunting them with a bow," she added. "Archery is kind of my favorite thing. We were really happy doing that for a few years, and then he just came to me and asked me if we were to hunt something else other than a whitetail, what would it be? And I said if I could find anything else, that would be a moose. That started us on that adventure of going to Alaska, Canada, and out west and do some big hunts. According to Bow Hunters United, bowhunting can be a challenging activity and often takes years of practice to master. A bowhunter must be within 30 or so yards of a deer, draw and release an arrow undetected, and hit the vital areas of the animal. At 35 yards, a mere 2 yard error in range estimation can cause a complete miss on a deer-sized target. Stickler said she enjoys the difficulty bowhunting requires. It's the precision and the accuracy and the patients that just make it so unique, Stickler said. There's nothing like getting that close. In order for you to make an archery shot, it usually has to be within 50 yards, and I feel pretty comfortable up to 40 yards. But you really have the woods to yourself, and it's quiet. You get to see so much when you are archery hunting, but I feel like so many people miss it because it is such a quiet sport, there's no sound involved. It just makes it like you can see the biggest buck of your life. There's so much that goes involved, being ready, being prepared, she added. Also there's luck on your side too. In those encounters, I always say, to me hunting is it's like Christmas; you kind of you want it to come, but when it's there, it's like, oh, I know it's over. I like all of the lead-up to it. I like seeing that big buck over and over and not getting the shot, you know, I mean, because then when you do get the shot its just that much more exciting. Stickler has spent years practicing at ranges and on trips to perfect her shooting style. For her, bow hunting is more challenging and requires more patience than hunting with a gun. It's not like guns that maybe you'd have to be at a gun range or it's loud or distracting, Stickler said. Theres the worry with stray bullets and things, but with archery, you can practice in your backyard and shoot every night, you can really feel like you can get really good at your craft because everything is such close range. I like shooting all summer and just being prepared. A COMPLETE SURPRISE Stickler received the Bowhunter of the Year award as a result of the culmination of the animals she harvested over two years. According to her, the win was a complete surprise. It took all of the animals that I'd harvested and kind of put them in a category, and then compared me to other females, Stickler said. That was honestly the one that I was striving for, just because as a female hunter you want to stand out, and you want to prove yourself in the industry a little. I did not expect that with a white tail and a black bear that I had gotten, and I got both of them with my bow. I was told that I was the first female from our chapter to win Bowhunter of the Year, she added. It's an open class, but it's always been won by a male, so that was pretty special too. Stickler placed second in the White Tail Midwest category for her harvest of a scored 163 and three-eighths points, uncommonly high for a free-range whitetail deer in Michigan. She also harvested that deer with her bow. Additionally, she placed third in the Dall Sheep category for an animal she harvested with her bow on a trip to Alaska. Stickler said the wins have encouraged her to continue with her hunting traditions. That was pretty special, and I didn't expect the Dall Sheep award, Stickler said. I didn't expect the bow hunter one by any means. I just love the tradition and the camaraderie of it." Sticker said hunting is a family affair. "My family is close, we hunt together," she said. "I harvested this whitetail, but when we went to track it and find it, it was me, my husband, my dad, and my brother. That made it that much more special, it wouldn't have been near as special to have done it alone. To have somebody to celebrate with, I just loved that whole piece of it. Sharing the stories, being a part of each other's stories, and rooting for each other. They're all so supportive of it and root for me, she added. I had two co-workers at the award ceremony that I didn't know were coming. The staff and the kids (at Riverview) love that I have this passion. The staff at Riverview even dressed up in camo to celebrate Sticklers achievement. Stickler also engages with her students often with her hunting knowledge and enjoys educating them on the respectful way to hunt and growing their interests in the outdoors. She said she hopes her passion encourages the students to find their own. I think it just kind of intrigues them enough to make it interesting, Stickler said. I hope that it also helps them see this sport, and the sportsmanship behind it as opposed to just the killing of something. I like the education part of it to say, this is why I love it and this is my passion. Stickler also had some advice for amateur hunters. If they are in a family that likes to do it, then my advice is to just tag along, Stickler said. I spent years not carrying a weapon, not doing any of the hunting, but just the experience of spending time listening and learning from old hunters. Just being a part of the hunt without the pressure I think sometimes is key for kids. My recommendation would be for kids to ask and for parents to offer for that. Also hunter safety classes are so important, she added. They teach so much and make parents and kids comfortable with all sorts of weapons in that department too. With any sport, it's all about preparation. Moving forward, Stickler has made a goal of continuing big hunting trips with family as well as a goal of harvesting a 200-inch whitetail with her bow free-range. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, don't know much about history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices The study was coordinated by Madras Diabetes Research Foundation A nationwide study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and coordinated by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation has found that only a third of individuals with known diabetes in India have good control of diabetes, fewer than half have good control of blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol, and only 7.7 per cent meet all three targets. The study, comprising a vast sample size of 113, 043 people across 30 states and Union Territories of India, is the first extensive epidemiological study consisting of participants from all across the country. The results of the study have been published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. The study presents for the first time the status of diabetes control in the whole of India based on a nationally representative sample of 5,789 individuals with known diabetes. The study revealed that 36.3 per cent of the population with diabetes achieved good glycemic control, 48.8 per cent achieved good blood pressure control and 41.5 per cent achieved LDL cholesterol control. Higher education, male sex, rural residence and shorter duration of diabetes were associated with a better achievement of the combined goals of diabetes treatment. 16.7 per cent of the population reported using a blood glucose monitor to check their blood sugars at home. Only 36.9 per cent of those on insulin performed any self-monitoring of blood glucose, notwithstanding the guidelines that all such individuals should self-monitor their glucose levels regularly. The findings of the study imply that the achievement of treatment goals and adoption of healthy behaviours remains suboptimal in India. The findings underscore the need for better control of glycemia, blood pressure and lipid parameters, to reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications in Indians. These results can help both the Central and state government formulate policies to improve diabetes care at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in India. Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain Despite a challenging 18 months fuelled by the pandemic for the retail sector, customer-focused innovation has remained a top priority for retail giant Massmart. The retail group partnered with credit solutions provider RCS to unlock value for its customers amid a tough economic climate. Gavin Lomberg, chief commercial officer at RCS explains that the credit provider has been working with Massmart on the launch of a value back offer for their various branded store cards. The new value proposition for customers, launched in Builders and most recently in Game, will unlock a number of valuable benefits for their credit customers. The offer rewards Builders and Game store cardholders by giving them a percentage of their spend back for every purchase.Lomberg says that store cardholders will receive 3% of the value of their purchases back when they shop online at any of the Builders, Makro and Game e-commerce sites. In addition, they also get 2% back when they shop in-store at Builders, Game or Makro, and 1% back when they shop at any RCS network retailer (600 brands across 26,000 stores in South Africa). An added existing benefit is that Builders and Game store cardholders can use their card to shop at any Makro, Game, Builders or RCS network retailer giving them greater access to a wide variety of products.The Massmart Group is one of the largest retail groups in South Africa, with leading brands Game, Makro and Builders. This makes Massmart an end-to-end lifestyle retailer with a unique opportunity to unlock significant value for its customers from big-ticket items to everyday purchases.The reward programme will roll out to Makro store cardholders in the near future, Receiving 3% back on online purchases made with your store card at Builders, Makro or Game presents a significant saving for customers when and where they most need it.Lomberg explains: At RCS our goal is to unlock possibilities to grow and enrich lives both for our retail partners and customers. We want our customers to be better off because we are in the picture. By working with our retail partners to offer more value to customers we are tangibly fulfilling this aspiration.We have removed the complexities that are oftentimes associates with rewards programmes. All Game and Builders store cardholders qualify for up to 3% of the value of their purchases when shopping in any Massmart store and there are no additional fees or qualifying criteria in order for customers to benefit from our rewards programs, said Varsha Dayaram, senior vice president for Massmart Financial Services.We have come to understand that Massmart customers are highly discerning in their spending behaviour, and understand how to manage the relationship between their use of cash and credit. All of RCSs solutions for Massmart aim to meet their customers needs across this continuum. We believe that our jointly introduced value proposition will add even more value, and help provide the continued support that customers need to grow. This is but one of a number of new initiatives we will partner with Massmart for the benefit of their customers, Lomberg concludes. Cape Town Tourism researcher, Sinothando Adonisi has earned the coveted title of being one of Destinations International Foundation's 30 Under 30 honourees. The honourees hail from organisations across the world and earn access to invaluable networking and mentorship opportunities as part of the programme. Sinothando Adonisi Bringing cultural change Aside from honouring emerging leaders, the 30 Under 30 programme does important work in amplifying the visibility of destination marketing organisations around the world. By being part of the class of 2022, Adonisi shines a spotlight on the efforts of Cape Town Tourism and the wonders of Cape Town, in a global arena.Commenting on the accolade, Adonisi says: "This means so much, I cant really put it into words. Its amazing getting global recognition and being the second African let alone South African to make the class. Its extra special as the first African to be honoured was my current line manager at Cape Town Tourism, Roxanne Lombard."I believe that tourism and, specifically, research and data analysis within the tourism industry has the potential to change the social wellbeing of my country. I look forward to developing my skill set and building competitiveness in my work environment, while championing the development of tourism as a key economic development tool."Adonisi has over five years of professional tourism experience and currently focuses on research and data analysis in the tourism sector as part of his role at Cape Town Tourism.Adonisi studied tourism management at Walter Sisulu University, then did a B Tech, which is when he says he fell in love with numbers and data. While studying, he presented a paper to compete to win a trip to China, to play an advisory role in the countrys tourism development. He was one of three chosen candidates and attributes his win to being very competitive. A trait that has stood him in good stead his whole life.He then joined SSL Innovations Pty, focusing on market research and business strategy development across myriad industries. He was snatched up by Cape Town Tourism in 2019 and hasnt looked back. He says that in his current role, he connects insights with action. His advice to other young people wanting to work in tourism is to find their niche. "You need to find something to fall in love with and specialise in this. Stay true to yourself, and work hard to excel."Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy is exceptionally proud of Adonisis accomplishment: "We wish to congratulate Sinothando on this stellar achievement. As a destination marketing organisation, we echo the mission of the Destinations International Foundations 30 Under 30 Program to invest in and prepare tomorrow's leaders from diverse backgrounds to bring about real change in the tourism industry.Adonisi concludes that as an honouree, he is most looking forward to being part of the year-round educational programme, which includes professional development webinars and mentorship. Hes also excited to interact with other honourees from around the world. He hopes to bring his newfound knowledge to his role, to encourage even more people to find their freedom in Cape Town. As part of the #GagasiFMCares4KZN campaign, South Africa's biggest regional radio station has embarked on a drive to assist victims of the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal. Gagasi FM has allocated R1m towards relief packages aimed at providing immediate assistance to the floods victims. These relief packages are being distributed mostly to community halls and centres that are currently accommodating families whose homes were destroyed by floods and are currently in desperate need of essential items.KZN is the heart of Gagasi FM, and we are truly heartbroken by the devastation that the floods have brought to our province. Our contribution towards the relief of KZNs flood victims is a protraction of our ongoing commitment towards rebuilding KZN, says Gagasi FM managing director, Minenhle Dlamini.Gagasi FM has already visited some of the community halls in areas such as Umlazi V and G sections, as well as Entshongweni to hand over relief packages. The drive will continue with more visits in the upcoming days and weeks across various areas with people that were affected by floods.We want to reach as many areas as possible across the province, and we have been using our different government networks to help us identify areas that need immediate assistance. Wed like to call upon NGOs to reach out to us so that we can partner in our relief efforts. Wed also like to make a plea to corporates and to our audience to please assist us by offering a helping hand or by donating towards this worthy cause, adds Dlamini.For those who would like to make contributions to the #GagasiFMCares4KZN campaign for floods victims, the Gagasi FM CSI banking details are as follows:Bank: Standard BankAccount name: RADIO IGAGASI 99.5 PTY LTD CSIAccount number: 252837495Branch code: 057829Branch code (electronic payments): 051001For more updates and activities in terms of what the station is doing to assist floods victims, stay tuned to Gagasi FM and also check out social media pages.Facebook: GagasiWorld | Twitter: @GagasiFM | Instagram: @gagasifmFor further information, please contact:Khulekani Shandu senior executive: Marketing, P.R & Stakeholder Management | Tel: 031 584 5300 | Cell: 083 792 5737 | Email: az.oc.599isagag@sinakeluhk Ntsike Khumalo P.R & Trade Marketing Officer | Tel: 031 584 5300 | Cell: 081 411 0832 | Email: az.oc.599isagag@ikistn Since February 2020 - and despite Covid-19 breaking out and the unrest in KZN and parts of Gauteng - Capitec has had a capital annual growth rate of 16%, it has attracted 4.3 million new clients, and 3.4 million new digital clients - bringing its total client base to 18 million - approximately the population size of New York. Source: Supplied. Capitec CEO, Gerrie Fourie. Well done on your Capitec financial results presentation, and on delivering such strong growth. What would you say has contributed to this success? You mention in your presentation that Capitec staff are now shareholders. Please could you explain a little more about this initiative and how it has impacted on Capitec's business model and overall performance? You mention that Capitec will be focusing more on business banking. Could you elaborate on that? How will Capitec's offering in this regard be different to its competitor offering? Interestingly from your presentation, it seems that while the banking industry is moving towards business applications that are completely digitally driven, consumers and business owners have not wanted to completely eradicate business branches. Could you explain how the bank branch is evolving, and what its current role is? It's refreshing to see that Capitec is changing its business model to incorporate multi-income earners - people who earn a salary and have a side hustle. What products or Capitec services - that in the past would not have been accessible to this category of consumer - are now available, and what opportunities or doors can be opened for them as a result? You mentioned that by April 2024, Capitec will be 100% on the Cloud. Could you give us a sneak peek into what logistics have had to be undertaken behind the scenes in order to achieve this? What have been the core traits you've looked for in fintech partners in order to achieve this? Could you unpack the outcome of this move for me? What does this mean in practical terms for the consumer? How do you feel about Capitec's performance and its future? Having reported an 84% jump in full year headline earnings per share, it's no wonder, therefore, that Capitec has been recognised as the strongest brand in South Africa, in the newSpeaking after his 2022 financial-results presentation this month, Capitec CEO, Gerrie Fourie, commented on Capitec's resilience and success against the backdrop of the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity that have underpinned the last two years.If you build a brand, the words 'consistency' and 'trust' come up over a very long period, and I think it's that consistency and delivering service and products in a very simplistic and transparent manner for over 22 years that has resulted in these accolades.We decided when we were doing a BEE deal, that we would either give the profits to external people who don't understand the bank, in which case the benefits would go to two or three people who would enrich themselves, or we would structure a framework which enriches all of our staff. We've gone for the second option. To this end, all our staff who have given three years or more service, are eligible to shares. That has been a very positive experience.I've just returned from KZN branches and had start-up meetings with staff every morning from 7:45 to 8am. We ask the question 'What happened yesterday and what is happening today?' Everyone was referring to the meeting as a shareholder's meeting and everyone was contributing when we were making decisions, I think the fact that everyone is now basically a shareholder is very important to affecting that dynamic throughout the whole organisation,With regards to business banking, we bought Mercantile two-and-a -half years back. Unfortunately Covid struck and our whole focus then was to make certain we get through Covid and understand how to assist new businesses banking with us. We've always said, if you look at Mercantile's business, it's been very manual, very paper-based and people intensified. What we want to build is in line with the Capitec philosophy of transparency, simplicity, and to make certain they've got a very strong digital, very personalised offering.We plan that that will be completed by the end of the year, then we'll test it and rebrand earlier in the new year. We will change the name Mercantile Bank to Capitec Business Bank.There was this idea that you could close all your branches. Capitec was different; we always said we need to open branches, and make certain our branches are open longer hours; we've got 850 branches. For the last year and half, our branch numbers have stayed tallied at 850. My gut feel is that we'll probably go up to 880 maybe 900 branches.People want that personalised interaction and I think the easiest way to explain that is with funeral policy. Our funeral pricing on the digital platform is about 30% lower, yet 85% of clients go to a branch to take up a funeral policy because they want to sit with that consultant; they want to understand the product; and they want to make certain their beneficiaries are correctly created. It's that personal touch they're wanting.What we are doing at our branches, is that a third of the branch floor space upfront is going to be made up of self-help devices, and then two thirds is going to be serving clients. I think more clients will migrate to digital, but I can't see the future without a bank branch.The biggest shortcoming is we had no credit product for them, because we were always very dependent on the payslip of the individual; so if a person didn't have a formal employment payslip, we couldn't provide them with credit. However, using our machine learning and AI capabilities to score a client changes that, and takes into account other facets of income, and changes the context in which Capitec provides clients with a credit card or access to an overdraft facility. It's always been much more difficult to predict or understand a person's income if it fluctuates, but that's the challenge that we've taken on.It's a massive project; there are over 200 people involved,There are two things Cloud gives clients. The first thing is their data is in the Cloud, so banks can scale a service to meet their needs much faster, so a bank's speed to market is much quicker, And then a client's computing capabilities increases tremendously. The easiest way to explain this is by means of our provisioning model that used to run in five six days. Now it runs in four hours. So the people behind it can spend quality time on understanding the data and understanding what's coming out, as compared to in the past, when they were just worried abut the model and running the model.We'll use the same concept in client engagement, understanding what the best next action is for the client. We believe there are plenty of opportunities in the cloud space. It's an exciting journey, and I think understanding the client is actually the biggest benefit.We've partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS). It's quite remarkable that in the last couple of years we've worked quite a lot with Amazon Web Services, and the DNA of the two companies is similar: we're very strongly client-centric at our core, so we're quite excited about our partnership with AWS going forward.The consumer probably won't know about all the products or what is the next best action to take. This gives us the capability to understand each client's profile and to pre-empt and recommend the next best move they should take, or product they should consider, to optimise their banking experience. This fits into our Bank Better philosophy to ensure that we can help clients bank better so they can live better.I think given that we've grown 16% over a two-year period given the break-out of Covid, and its impact on the economy, as well as the KZN unrest, I think we've done exceptionally well. I don't think there are a lot of companies that can say they have grown their financial results similarly since February 2020 (with Covid starting in March 2020). This resilience underpins our transactional growth, it underpins what our people have done.I'm quite excited about the future, there's Business Banking which we've already unpacked, and then there's Live Better, We've launched Live Better in its full capacity. Clients who have got a product with us, and who, at a minimum, have three recurring monthly deductions going off their accounts, plus five transactions, get 0.5% interest on their debit card and 1.5% interest on their credit card.This will ensure clients actually make certain we are first of wallet. This is because many people have two or three bank accounts, and they should be encouraged to take out their Capitec card first. to optimise and use the full benefits of their Global One account.These are the exciting new things that are going to happen. During the catastrophic flooding in KwaZulu-Natal, parts of the province received over 300mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period from 11 to 12 April, and close to 400mm when including the preceding rain in the days leading up to the floods. This has been a wake-up call for government to ensure that future urban development is integrated and resilient to extreme weather events, says Darrin Green, MD Africa at Aecom. A bridge was destroyed after a river burst its banks in Ntuzuma, Durban. Reuters/Rogan Ward 100-year rainfall event A view of shipping containers, which were washed away after heavy rains caused flooding, in Durban. Reuters/Rogan Ward A man walks around a damaged bridge caused by flooding in Umlazi near Durban. Reuters/Rogan Ward Beyond what could have been planned for Countrywide issue The effects are widespread, and I do not think anyone has a proper handle yet on the extent of the infrastructure damage. There is a long road ahead to fix this, he says.While the entire province was impacted, the worst-hit areas were the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and the districts of iLembe, Ugu, King Cetshwayo, and uMgungundlovu. Informal settlements close to rivers and waterways were severely affected, with numerous dwellings swept away and nearly 450 lives lost to date. The flooding disrupted fuel and food supplies.It was a 100-year rainfall event for some areas. That is just in terms of the rainfall itself, which cannot be correlated directly with the flooding. Once everything is saturated, the runoff is much higher.Then there is the secondary impact of landslides and erosion that can change the natural runoff characteristics, resulting in unpredictable impacts that can cause further significant damage to infrastructure, explains Timothy Hotchkiss, an engineer at Aecoms Durban office specialising in flood management and the design of water-related infrastructure.The torrential rain caused extensive damage to houses, businesses, roads, bridges and water, electricity, rail, and telecommunications infrastructure. Cabinet declared a national state of disaster on 19 April. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala estimates it will cost about R5.6bn to repair the damage to road infrastructure alone. While Durban Port, one of the largest and busiest shipping terminals on the continent, has since reopened, there is a massive backlog of 8,000 to 9,000 containers We will be involved with a lot of the repair and rebuild work, especially in terms of bulk infrastructure such as roads and water networks, notes Hotchkiss. The company has carried out flood mitigation work for a major automotive manufacturer in the region in conjunction with the metro.While eThekwini is proactive from a catchment planning perspective, there are still many challenges, and this event was really way beyond what could have reasonably been planned for, says Hotchkiss. For us as Aecom, it is important to take a holistic view of the flooding in terms of its social and environmental impact.It is clear from the extent of the damage that properly planned areas, and areas with well-maintained indigenous vegetation, fared much better than areas where there is a lot of uncontrolled development. A lack of integrated planning in terms of electricity, water, transportation networks and stormwater drainage means that the impact of any extreme weather event is likely to be that much greater.It is a countrywide issue. There is very little holistic planning around any of these critical factors. Unfortunately, this has contributed significantly to what we have seen happen in KwaZulu-Natal. We are paying the price for years of under-planning and a lack of investment in maintenance and infrastructure, says Green.The immediate priority is to ensure that the water supply in eThekwini is fully restored, followed by the electricity and road networks. In some cases, the authorities have consultants and contractors on frameworks and term tenders, and therefore may be able to respond relatively quickly to some of the immediate and less complicated infrastructure repairs. However, on the whole, emergency procurement will need to be put in place.We have seen before that this does not always have the desired outcomes. We need to mobilise as quickly and as effectively as possible, says Green. Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) has stated that its members are on standby to provide any assistance required. In September 2021 the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and the Solidarity Fund's Humanitarian Crisis Relief Fund (HCRF) launched a financial relief programme to support small-, medium- and micro enterprises (SMMEs) recover from the devasting effects of riots in KwaZulu Natal and some parts of Gauteng, setting aside over R580m for the purpose. Source: Supplied. NEF chief executive officer, Philisiwe Mthethwa. Reversing the devastation A concerted response by Government It has always been the modus operandi of the Solidarity Fund to partner with existing organisations that have the experience and expertise needed to fulfil a projects requirements."The NEF is an important and effective contributor to economic participation through the provision of financial and other support to businesses. By partnering with the NEF, the fund was confident that this financial aid would reach the businesses that needed it most. And it has, demonstrating once again the strength we have when we step forward in solidarity, says Gloria Serobe, chairperson of the Solidarity Fund.In accordance with the agreement, R308m was set aside for a concessionary credit-facility commitment by the NEF while the R273m committed by the Solidarity Fund was earmarked as grants for blending with NEF funding, explains NEF chief executive officer, Philisiwe Mthethwa.She says the partnership has been so successful that since its establishment, funding has been approved for 140 sites, with a combined value of R623m supporting 5,562 jobs. The partnership has been able to achieve more than its initial commitment through leveraging its partnership with the dtic.Among the criteria for funding, applicants had to be a registered company, close corporation or co-operative in good standing with the South African Revenue Services. Applicants were also required to demonstrate that jobs lost would be restored or increased within 12 months of receiving the funding, and to demonstrate that they were negatively impacted by the riots and unrests in both provinces.The wave of civil unrest resulted in damage estimated in excess of R30bn on GDP, placing more than 150,000 jobs on the line. The manufacturing and retail sectors were the hardest hit, and approximately 161 malls in both provinces experienced severe damage to property and stock, and damage of varying degrees at 200 shopping centres. Approximately 3,000 stores were looted, resulting in stock losses estimated at over R1.5bn. In the wake of the unrest, 1,400 ATMs were damaged.To implement the partnership, the NEF deployed teams of investment professionals across both Gauteng and KZN, and these teams comprised finance and risk-assessment specialists, engineers, legal advisors and others, who were deployed directly to the trouble spots to interact with and assist entrepreneurs whose businesses had been harmed and whose operations had ceased as a result.The deployment was over a period of several weeks where NEF investment teams engaged different stakeholders including entrepreneurs, local government, property owners and business organisations, having adopted a district-municipality approach to ensure that every blade of grass was covered in the affected areas, adds Mthethwa.Despite the shock and fear felt by many South Africans, community members bravely stepped up in unity to defend their neighbourhoods. In many instances, businesses and communities were saved, but the damage was still great. It was clear that help was needed in order to assist in rebuilding. As a tribute to a winning partnership - SMME businesses, which form the heart of our economy, and thousands of jobs - have been saved, says Serobe.The damage caused by the unrest in both Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal sent tremors across the national economy, necessitating a co-ordinated response by National Government. Through the dtic, Government availed a total R3.85bn to assist businesses in distress, and those that had to shut their doors.A total R650m was allocated by the dtic for the NEF to come to the rescue of the businesses that were affected by the unrest. For this purpose, R100m was allocated from the NEFs own balance sheet.Inclusive of the partnership with the Solidarity Fund, to date the NEF has approved 205 transactions supporting 145 firms with a combined value of R881m, supporting 8,013 jobs."Given the considerable demand for financial support among affected businesses, the total number of transactions under consideration by the NEF amount to R245 million with a potential impact of 1,200 jobs, concludes Mthethwa. The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) has the right to make a partnering U.S. lab wipe all data arising from their collaborative work, a legal document reveals. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) of cooperation, signed between the Wuhan lab and the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch, makes it obligatory for each of the two labs to delete secret files or materials upon the request of the other party. The party is entitled to ask the other to destroy and/or return the secret files, materials, and equipment without any backups, states the MOU obtained by U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit investigative research group focused on public health, through a freedom of information request. The MOU focused on promoting research and training cooperation between the two labs. It was signed in 2017 and stays in effect through this October. But the confidentiality terms would remain binding even after the agreements five-year duration expires, the agreement states. The document goes on to broadly define what materials are to be treated as confidential, opening the door to potentially all documents and data from any collaboration being subject to a deletion request. All cooperation and exchange documents, details and materials shall be treated as confidential info by the parties, the MOU states. The WIV has been at the center of the controversy due to growing speculation that the virus that causes COVID-19, which has now killed millions around the globe, may have leaked from the facility. The lab has denied these allegations but Beijing has blocked international investigators to data and records from the facility thus preventing any meaningful probe into the hypothesis. WIV and the Galveston National Laboratory formally declared their partnership the following year to streamline future scientific and operational collaborations on dangerous pathogens, according to a joint announcement in the journal Science. Experts said the MOU terms about data removal raise alarm bells and can potentially constitute a breach of the law. The clause is quite frankly explosive, Reuben Guttman, a partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC who focuses on ensuring the integrity of government programs, told Right to Know. Anytime I see a public entity, I would be very concerned about destroying records. You cant just willy nilly say, well, you know, the Chinese can tell us when to destroy a document. It doesnt work like that, he added. There has to be a whole protocol. Christopher Smith, a spokesperson for the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), told Right to Know that the lab was built by the National Institutes of Health to help combat global health threats. As a government-funded entity, UTMB is required to comply with applicable public information law obligations, including the preservation of all documentation of its research and findings. The Epoch Times has contacted the UTMB and the Galveston lab. Under Scrutiny The Galveston National Laboratory is one of two federally-funded university-based highest-level biosecurity labs in the United States. It began collaborating with the WIV in 2013, a cooperation that entails training WIV scientists and conducting joint research programs. The then-Galveston lab director James Le Duc, who retired last year, made multiple trips over the years to WIV. The Galveston lab was also among the first in the world to receive samples of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly three weeks after Le Duc urged his Chinese counterparts to share the material. The revelations contained in the 2017 MOU appear to contradict claims from WIV scientists that they would never scrub critical research information. Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, who heads the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the WIV, had characterized allegations that her lab would delete such data as baseless and appalling. Even if we gave them all the records, they would still say we have hidden something or we have destroyed the evidence, she said in a February interview with MIT Technology Review. In September 2019, months before several of its researchers allegedly fell ill with COVID-like symptoms, the facility took its main database of virus samples offline. The Wuhan labs safety standards have also attracted scrutiny since the pandemic broke out from the city. Footage from 2017 showed that some researchers from the facility were feeding a bat while wearing only surgical gloves, and at least one researcher wore only a pair of regular glasses and a surgical mask when out collecting bat samples. In April 2020, the Department of Education launched a probe into Galveston National Laboratorys ties with the Wuhan lab. The Epoch Times has contacted the department for comment. That same month, Le Duc had asked Shi to review a draft briefing he prepared for the university and the Congressional staff investigating the issue. Please review carefully and make any changes that you would like. I want this to be as accurate as possible and I certainly do not want to misrepresent any of your valuable contributions, he wrote in an email to Shi that Right to Know obtained. Shi one day earlier declined to talk with Le Duc over the phone [d]ue to the complicated situation, but insisted that the virus is not a leaky [sic] from our lab or any other labs. Smith, UTMBs director of media relations, had told the investigative group that the information Dr. Le Duc wanted Dr. Shi to review was a description of her research on coronaviruses as he understood it. In corresponding with others, Le Duc nonetheless acknowledged that he considered a lab accident a possible source of the pandemic. It is certainly possible that a lab accident was the source of the epidemic and I also agree that we cant trust the Chinese government, he wrote on April 10, 2020, according to another email obtained by the group. In an interview on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said some NATO member states want the war in Ukraine to last longer as a way to hurt Russia. "There are countries within NATO who want the war to continue," Cavusoglu told CNN Turk. "They want Russia to become weaker." Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Image: Turkish Foreign Ministry According to Irans Mehr News Agency, Cavusoglu did not think the war would last long after Russia and Ukraine held peace talks in Istanbul last month. But following a NATO foreign ministers meeting, he was given the impression that some alliance members dont want the war to end. Since Russia invaded on February 24, the US and many of its NATO allies have abandoned diplomacy with Russia. Instead of seeking a diplomatic solution, the Western powers are pouring weapons into Ukraine and waging an economic sanctions campaign against Russia. The view among some NATO members on the war was summarized by a recent report from The Washington Post... The report said: "For some in NATO, its better for the Ukrainians to keep fighting, and dying, than to achieve a peace that comes too early or at too high a cost to Kyiv and the rest of Europe." The WaPo report also spelled out: "Ukraines Western backers have vowed to respect Kyivs decisions in any settlement to end the war with Russia, but with larger issues of global security at stake, there are limits to how many compromises some in NATO will support to win the peace." As AFP reviews of recent talks which yielded no progress: "Turkey has twice hosted direct negotiations between the two sides, on March 10 between the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in the southern city of Antalya and on March 29 between the two sides' negotiators in Istanbul." Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Advertisement Advertise With Us Two men found with meth, cocaine Police allegedly found meth and cocaine on two men early Thursday morning. At approximately 1:30 a.m., police stopped a vehicle in the 1100 block of Third Street. Officers used a police dog to find 13.5 grams of methamphetamine and 3.5 grams of cocaine, according to police. An 18-year-old man and a 25-year-old man were both charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking both meth and cocaine. They are both scheduled to appear in court on May 12. Police investigating attempted arson Police are investigating after someone reportedly tried to start a fire in an apartment early Thursday morning. At approximately 1 a.m., police and firefighters responded to a fire alarm at an apartment in the 200 block of 15th Street, police say. An unknown person piled clothes on the floor and started a fire, which was extinguished. No one was in the apartment at the time when first responders arrived and no one was hurt, according to police. Anyone with information regarding this attempted arson is encouraged to contact Brandon Police Service at 204-729-2345 or https://www.brandon.ca/police-contact/police-contact. Man charged with stealing bike A man was charged with stealing a bike Thursday morning. At approximately 4 a.m., officers responded to a report of a man going through a yard in the 000 block of 13th Street North. Police reportedly found the man a few blocks away and identified him as the suspect in bike theft on Monday. The 37-year-old man was charged with theft under $5,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on June 13. Police searching for man Police are searching for Jonathan Pylatyk. Pylatyk is charged with theft under $5,000 after an alleged April 15 incident. At approximately 2:45 p.m., police say Pylatyk took several items from a store in the 3400 block of Victoria Avenue without paying. He was reportedly identified on video surveillance. Police investigating attempted ATM theft Police are still investigating after two men allegedly tried to steal an ATM from Boston Pizza on the North Hill. At approximately 3 a.m. on Tuesday, the men reportedly used a White Ford Escape to break a window at the business. Once inside, they threw a tow rope around the ATM at the front of the business and tried to drive off with it. The attempt was unsuccessful, but the ATM was damaged. The first man is described as light skin with dark hair, glasses and a small amount of facial hair on his chin, according to police. At the time, he was wearing a grey toque, a black North Face brand jacket, grey sweat pants and navy-blue running shoes with white soles. The second man was wearing a navy-blue hoodie with a large white design on the front, a black jacket, blue jeans and black running shoes with white soles. The Brandon Sun A storm bringing heavy snow and rain could flood parts of Brandon and Westman this weekend. Advertisement Advertise With Us FILE With a mix of rain and snow in the forecast this weekend, there is a chance for overland flooding for parts of southern Manitoba, the province warned Thursday. A storm bringing heavy snow and rain could flood parts of Brandon and Westman this weekend. The provinces Transportation and Infrastructures Hydrologic Forecast Centre issued an overland flood warning for most of southern Manitoba. The alert covers the Saskatchewan border eastward to Provincial Trunk Highway 12 east of Winnipeg, and from the United States border northwards to the Trans-Canada Highway. The warning could extend north of the Trans-Canada between highways 5 and 16, and north of the Trans-Canada between Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg. These areas could receive more than 50 millimetres rain and snow, with some parts receiving up to 80 millimetres by midday April 25. Flooding may occur as some ditches and waterways are still covered in ice and snow, blocking the flow of water. Large amounts of rain and snowfall in a short period of time may cause rapid overland flooding, and residents living in low-lying areas are being asked to prepare. Weather models vary on the exact location, amount and timing of the storm system. However, central and southern Manitoba basins, including portions of the Red, Souris, Pembina and Roseau river basins on the American side of the border could receive 40 to 80 millimetres of rain or snow by April 25. The Assiniboine River is still considered a moderate flood risk, but the Red River is listed as a major flood risk. Peak flows along these rivers are not expected until the end of April or early May. Strong winds gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour are also expected to be a part of this storm system. In comments on Wednesday, transportation and infrastructure minister Doyle Piwniuk said the Hydrologic Forecast Centre is monitoring the weather system. The province is well prepared for any flooding, and the risk of ice jams on the Red River is low due to previous thawing and ice cutting to allow for water to flow freely. However, this spring could be the second-wettest on record since 1950, second only to April 1986, said Fisaha Unduche, executive director of hydrologic forecasting and water management on Wednesday. Local municipalities are in charge of initial flood responses. The Sun contacted the city managers office and Brandon Fire and Emergency Services for comment Thursday afternoon but didnt receive a response by press time. To get the most up-to-date river forecast information, visit www.gov.mb.ca/mit/floodinfo/index.html. The Brandon Sun The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba will distribute $95 million in surplus funds back to employers who pay premiums next month, the organization announced Thursday. Advertisement Advertise With Us The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba will distribute $95 million in surplus funds back to employers who pay premiums next month, the organization announced Thursday. In a release, the WCB stated eligible employers will get a credit representing 50 per cent of their 2021 premium in May. To qualify, employers must have completed their 2021 payroll reporting responsibilities and have owed a WCB premium in 2021. Employers that have yet to submit their 2021 payroll can still do so in order to qualify for the surplus distribution. The WCB insures more than 39,000 employers, covering 73 per cent of Manitobas work force. The Brandon Sun Telstra receives $40 million annually from the sector to maintain the phones. Most of this money comes directly from Telstras pocket, but competitors such as TPG Telecom and Optus SingTel also assist with the cost (Telstra pays roughly three times the amount of its competitors). Loading And two weeks ago, Optus and NBN Co publicly declared they did not want to provide ongoing funding. Optus said the arrangement was a mess of outdated, poorly managed and costly arrangements, while NBN Co said the department needed to review the payphone service to determine whether it continues to deliver benefits to end users who outweigh the costs. The comments were made in submissions to the government as part of broader calls to reform the universal services agreement. But they were not the first comments about payphone subsidies. A submission by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network to a recent consultation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority said public payphones are often non-operational and are scarce in regional areas. Vodafone Australia said in a submission to the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation inquiry in 2017 that Telstra was receiving gains from running the phones and there was no need to subsidise it given the money it could make from advertising on the phones and Wi-Fi services. Arena says the amount it makes from the phones - which isnt publicly disclosed - is not enough to offset the costs of running it. Its absolutely not a contributor to profitability for us and I know theres a perception of that, he says. But a lot of the advertising you see on those phones is our own media. Its not a massive money-spinner for us. Theres still a cost to us - we still clean, we maintain, and we have to migrate those payphones off copper onto new technologies over time, and we still shoulder the responsibility to do that as well. In an effort to improve accessibility, Telstra made the phones free to use last August. Outgoing Telstra chief executive Andy Penn said at the time it was important to make payphones free so that vulnerable people - facing natural disasters, homeless or fleeing domestic violence - had the ability to call someone. The move to make all phones free was not just about helping the community. On top of maintenance and cleaning costs, collecting coins also costs money, says Arena. JCDecaux and Telstra's revamped payphones with ad billboards. Credit:JCDecaux One person who has seen the effects of making the phones free is Major Brendan Nottle, who leads The Salvation Army in Melbourne. He says the decision has already helped disadvantaged people get better access to services and reduce loneliness. Often people that are homeless or at risk of homelessness or are dealing with complex mental health issues the one issue that we see over and over again is if people do have a mobile phone - and many of them do - they often lose it, or they lose the charger, or they run out of credit. Theyre often a group of people that need access to other people for a number of reasons to access services, food, accommodation options or they need to follow up with Centrelink. Having access to a phone is critical. The other issue that we see is this whole idea of social poverty and social isolation. Being able to pick up a payphone is a really helpful bridge that people can use to reconnect with people, he says. Nottle says he has seen an increase in usage since the phones were made free. A payphone across the road from the Salvos head office on Bourke St, Melbourne, has had queues of up to three or four people at times. Loading Word got out that the payphone was free, he says. It just spread to the point where there were a couple of times early on where there was a queue to use it. The telco sector does not disagree with the idea that these phones serve vulnerable parts of the community. But Telstras rivals do not think it needs millions of dollars to deliver the service and now there are question marks about their future. If you dont continue to make them relevant in society and continue to upgrade and maintain - and were doing that with USB charging, you can make text messages you can send from phones now, emergency messaging - then at some point in the future, someones going to say well, this is not relevant, Arena says. One attempt to continue their relevance was Telstras deal with outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux in 2017. But the attempt to revitalise the city caused all sorts of problems. A messy legal battle between Telstra and the City of Sydney over the installation of new public phones led to the replacement of modern devices with older models to ensure the councils advertising partner, QMS Media, had exclusivity in the CBD. We now have to simply just follow the required planning laws, which take a bit longer, Arena says. But even with council approval, its unlikely there will ever be as many payphones as there were previously. Telstra says it needs to rethink what the phone looks like as the world evolves. We have 15,000 locations where we have a bit of land, power and internet. There are opportunities not just for USB charging, but for light electric vehicle charging such as scooters, you could potentially put automated external defibrillators into our network, Arena says. We believe they have a place in the digital economy and digital society of the future. Hundreds of head office staff from Qantas and all available operational staff from Virgin will be on the frontline at airports over the Anzac Day weekend to avoid a repeat of the passenger hold-ups that caught carriers flatfooted during Easter. Airports are bracing for an influx of passengers as the school holidays, Easter and Anzac Day period marked a turning point for airlines and the highest demand for travel since the COVID pandemic. Melbourne Airport has seen its busiest period since before the pandemic began. Credit:Luis Ascui Delays over the Easter weekend led to thousands of passengers flying without their bags and airlines promising to courier luggage to their destinations. While most have now received their luggage, some travellers waited days for their bags to arrive. This weekend, several hundred Qantas senior managers will volunteer at airports and assist with baggage. Virgin Australia said all available operational staff are helping at airports. When he began to plan the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, this years director, Jose Roca, thought of Australia as a hot, dry country in which water was a precious resource. By the time the show got underway, a month ago, Sydney was well into its wettest March on record. Since then, the clouds and rain have never gone away. Next time theres a drought we should consider holding a Biennale as a matter of urgency. John Gerrards Leaf Work (Derrigimlagh) on Stargazer Lawn at Barangaroo. Credit:Wolter Peeters This years theme, rivus is a Latin word meaning brook or stream, and water or the idea of water - trickles through most of the pieces in the exhibition. The result is an unusually thoughtful Biennale, in which almost every work, be it slight or vast, contributes to the sense of a natural world that has been radically reshaped by our efforts, often for the worse. Many of these pieces represent acts of restitution, looking at the damage that has been done to the planet and how it can be repaired. Loading Roca is from Columbia, where ecological activists have been murdered for their activities, but for the past two years, his main problem has probably been cabin fever. Like the rest of us, hes been anchored in Sydney. Unlike other people, hes been trying to coordinate a massive international exhibition by remote control. Whereas previous Biennale directors have enjoyed the freedom to roam the world visiting artists and galleries, Roca has had to cope with closed borders and travel restrictions. The degree of difficulty makes his achievements even more noteworthy. South Africa: Limpopo schools classrooms shut down for noncompliance The Department of Employment and Labour Inspectorate in Limpopo has prohibited the use of some classrooms at Kgwatlhele Primary School outside Mokopane, due to noncompliance. This follows a complaint laid by parents early this month about unsafe classrooms that have cracks that are visible from inside and outside of the building. Acting Provincial Chief Inspector, Reckson Tshishivheli said a notice for a reactive inspection was served to the school principal on 12 April 2022 for the inspection to be conducted on 20 April 2022. Both administrative and a walk-through inspection were conducted at the school, the whole of building block E and F was prohibited and only grade 1A on building block A was found not to be compliant with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS), Tshishivheli said on Thursday. The building was prohibited based on the following findings: The utilisation of block E & F with cracks that are visible from inside and outside of the building that pose immediate danger of structural failure/collapse and may cause death to persons. The use of classroom grade 1A of building Block A with cracks which are visible from inside and outside of the building which pose an immediate danger of structural failure/collapse and may cause death to persons. The use of admin building block with cracks visible from bottom of foundation level to top roof of the building (both inside & outside) which pose an immediate danger of structural failure/collapse and cause death to persons. Tshishivheli said that following the prohibition notice issued, the Department of Basic Education was also issued with a contravention notice for failing to conduct a hazards identification and risk assessment and failing to ensure that the electrical installation was done safely by a competent person. The person who installed electricity could not produce a copy of the Certificate of compliance (COC) for electrical installation, as it is a legal requirement to assure the building users and inspectors that the installation is safe. The OHS Act 85 of 1993 as amended specifies that if the state of the building threatens or is likely to threaten, the health and/or safety of persons then the building should be prohibited with immediate effect from being occupied or continue to be used in terms of section 30 of the above said Act. Tshishivheli said the department is aware of the impact that the closure may have on the curriculum, however the specialist prohibited the school blocks in the interest of safeguarding the lives which is more important than education. Our inspectors are mandated to protect the lives of people and we are serious about enforcing the health and safety legislation. We encourage the public and employees who find themselves in such hazardous situations to bring it to the attention of the department for inspections to be conducted. The department has zero tolerance for non-compliance and will always prioritise the health and safety of persons in both public and private sector, he said. Tshishivheli said the prohibited sections of the school would remain closed until the Department of Education corrects the noncompliance, as identified by the OHS inspector. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China urges Japan to make clean break with militarism Xinhua) 10:02, April 22, 2022 BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday urged Japan to earnestly honor its statement of and commitment to facing up to and reflecting on its history of aggression and make a clean break with militarism. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sent a ritual offering Thursday to the Yasukuni Shrine. Media reports that a cross-party group of lawmakers is scheduled to visit Yasukuni on Friday. "Japan's negative moves once again reflect its erroneous attitude toward its history of aggression," Wang told a press briefing. The Yasukuni Shrine, where World War II Class-A war criminals with heinous crimes are honored, is a spiritual tool and symbol of the Japanese militarism's war of aggression, Wang said, adding China firmly rejects, sternly condemns this and has lodged stern representations with the Japanese side. "China urged the Japanese side to earnestly honor its statement of and commitment to facing up to and reflecting on its history of aggression, make a clean break with militarism, and win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions," Wang said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A Todd Sampson-hosted documentary series on the links between social media and hate groups, currently in production, has been denounced by anti-fascist campaigners, while far-right figures have posed for pictures with the presenter and predicted it will ruffle some feathers. The two-part documentary will be part of an as-yet-untitled new series from the Mirror Mirror presenter for Ten and Paramount+, due to air later this year. Todd Sampson has come under attack for giving airtime to neo-Nazis in a forthcoming new series of Mirror Mirror. In emails seen by this masthead, producer Rebecca Le Tourneau approached anti-fascist research group The White Rose Society seeking its involvement in exploring radicalism by extreme groups of young people via social media. Six days after that email was sent on April 6, and having received no response, Le Tourneau followed up, framing the project as a documentary around social media and the spread of hate. We have to remember Omicron appeared completely out of the blue, she said. Loading Those who are yet to get coronavirus or were infected more than three months ago are at risk of infection this winter, Stuart said. She is also nervous about the return of the flu. Victoria has reported more influenza cases so far this year than it did in all of 2021, prompting Stuart to urge every Australian to consider getting a flu shot. Anyone can get influenza and anybody can transmit it to somebody whos vulnerable, Stuart said. Plus, the flu is no fun. Epidemiologist and public health physician James Trauer Despite millions of Australians being infected with coronavirus already this year, Associate Professor James Trauer, head of Monash Universitys epidemiological modelling, predicted another wave of coronavirus loomed in winter. Associate Professor James Trauer Credit:Scott McNaughton It is pretty hard to predict, but weve got a virus that is probably going to be intrinsically more transmissible in winter, Trauer said. Weve got a lot of natural immunity that was built up in summer, but a large portion of the population will be losing their immunity as we head to winter. Third and fourth doses of the vaccine will provide protection, but Trauer said boosters wont prevent transmission. He said there were about four other coronaviruses (most people think of them as common colds) which peak in winter. Scientific modelling suggests those viruses are about 30 per cent more transmissible in colder weather, and he suspects SARS-CoV-2 will be similar. Professor Nancy Baxter Credit: Clinical epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne Nancy Baxter As coronavirus continues to spread across the world, Professor Baxter said it was only a matter of time before another coronavirus variant emerged in Australia. It is really hard to believe there wont be a new variant that is significant in the next year, Baxter said. Weve had a new variant every four months or so. Whether it causes problems will depend on how virulent it is, Baxter said. But even variants that cause less severe disease can be disastrous. People often say Omicron is mild, but we all saw what happened, Baxter said. Hopefully the next one wont be as significant as Omicron or Delta. Loading We have more layers of immunity [now], so hopefully well do better next time. Baxter believes another surge of coronavirus cases is inevitable. Whether we get another big wave or not is yet to be seen, Baxter said. But at the very least well have a plateau at a high level of cases. I think well be left with a high number of cases all the time, until the next thing happens. Baxter also urged all Australians to consider a flu shot this year. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, she said there would be two diseases that can be severe, unpredictable and can have big outbreaks going on at the same time COVID-19 and influenza. Infectious disease physician at Canberra Hospital Peter Collignon Six months ago, Professor Peter Collignons prediction was that there would be a significant peak of coronavirus cases in winter. But now that millions of Australians have been infected in recent months, he is not so sure. Professor Peter Collignon. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen There will be more COVID around in winter, and I suspect we will see increased numbers and hospital admissions that are probably at least to the same level were seeing now or have seen over the last month, the infectious diseases physician and microbiologist, said. He expects the extra natural immunity in the community this winter will make a difference. The thing that really matters is death and hospitalisation, and I think it wont be as bad as I originally thought because of all these relatively recent infections, he said. Collignon forecasts a moderate flu season in Australia, similar to what the northern hemisphere experienced, but concedes the virus is unpredictable and community immunity is compromised after limited cases in the past two years. What is flurona? Australia is also predicted to report instances of dual infections when someone has COVID and influenza at the same time sometimes dubbed flurona. One of West Australian Premier Mark McGowans children has been hospitalised due to a COVID-19 infection and is in a serious condition. McGowan has also tested positive for the virus and is isolating at home. WA Premier Mark McGowan has tested positive to COVID-19. Credit:Peter de Kruijff A statement from McGowans office said one of his children, who is fully vaccinated, was in hospital and receiving ongoing treatment. The McGowan family asks for privacy regarding the situation at this difficult time, the statement said. It was on a rough desert track that Barry Eggleton spotted the two tiny dingo pups, like balls of pale fluff, huddled in the middle of the remote Strzelecki Track in South Australia. After an unsuccessful search for a parent dingo, Eggleton discovered a third pup nearby, too dehydrated to move. He gave the pups water, left them in the desert and drove his company car to the closest airport, then flew to Sydney and drove to Newcastle to pick up his wife, Lyn, and their family vehicle. Sandy, the wild-born desert dingo whose genome was mapped, was found in the South Australian desert as a pup in 2014. Credit: They drove 2500 kilometres back to the isolated spot where Eggleton had left the pups. Incredibly, the three desert dingoes were still there. They brought them home and hand-reared them. Now, an international research consortium led by La Trobe University has sequenced the genome of one of the wild-born dingo pups, named Sandy Maliki, and revealed the evolutionary position of the mysterious Australian mammal. An Australian intelligence agency was involved in the last-ditch leak of a draft security pact between China and Solomon Islands after senior officials concluded the deal was likely to be signed despite diplomatic efforts. Multiple government and security sources confirmed that the Australian government was aware of the contents of the document for days before it mysteriously appeared online on March 24. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have confirmed Australian intelligence services knew the secret deal had been in the works for months and decided to encourage a leak from within the Solomons as a last resort. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was unable to convince Manasseh Sogavare to not sign the agreement with Beijing. Credit:Nine The decision was made in the hope of building domestic and international pressure to get the Solomons to change course, but it was not enough to convince Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to pull out of a deal that now threatens to shift the balance of power in the Pacific. The draft security agreement revealed plans to allow Chinese armed forces to protect infrastructure less than 2000 kilometres off the Australian east coast and for a potential Chinese naval base in the Pacific. Dozens of lawyers have quit the agency that runs the National Disability Insurance Scheme in recent months as the organisation comes under pressure for spending tens of millions of dollars on external legal fees fighting against its own clients. The NDIAs legal team has come under increased workload pressure with appeals of decisions that make it to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal more than doubling over the past year. Labor leader Anthony Albanese and spokesman on the NDIS Bill Shorten speak with disabilities representatives to about the scheme in late March. Credit:James Brickwood. As many as 40 legal officers have quit the agency over the past eight months. The NDIA also refused to address questions about whether chief counsel Chris Burke resigned on Friday to take up a post with another government agency. The NDIA did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Call it the Ascham army the alumni network of one of Sydneys most prestigious and expensive schools, ready to go in to bat for one of their own, former head girl Allegra Spender, as she takes on Liberal MP Dave Sharma for the seat of Wentworth. Only problem is, not everybodys happy about it. Especially as Sharma has one daughter and until very recently, two at the school. Allegra Spenders political campaign poster. Credit:Oscar Colman A March 13 article on the schools website, written by Ascham Old Girls committee member Holly Marsh and titled Allegra fights for a better climate, rallied the troops behind the class of 1995s head girl. Allegra believes that in the world of politics she can be kind, gentle, formidable and strong, Marsh wrote in a gushing endorsement. She is not aggressive, just resolute. If your staff say, I feel unsafe because this person is unvaccinated in my midst, they cant be ignored, he said. Former secondary school teacher Josh Russo, from Melbournes western suburbs, says he is expecting to be stood down in coming months once his temporary vaccination exemption following a COVID-19 infection expires. He has considered relocating to NSW, where unvaccinated teachers will be able to work again from mid-May, so he said he can stop feeling like a second-class citizen. Fruit and vegetable giant SPC was one of the first employers to require staff at its Shepparton factory to be vaccinated, even before the government enforced mandates, and plans to continue requiring staff to have had two-doses of the vaccine even after the government mandate is scrapped. Loading Our employee base is vaccinated, and while we still had issues with COVID, we continued to operate, so I think were still convinced it was the right thing to do, chief executive Robert Giles told The Age. Staff at SPC need to have had a booster shot because they work with food, and a small number needed to be pushed to receive the third dose, Giles said. But he said a two-dose rule would be sufficient once the decision is back in the employers hands. Commonwealth Bank required staff working in offices and branches to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 last year, and this week confirmed its vaccination policy would remain, as did Coles and Woolworths supermarkets who said their workplace policies were not affected by changing health orders. Its a similar situation at Telstra, with a spokesman for the telco saying that all of its frontline staff will need to be vaccinated. Telstras vaccination policy continues to apply to our frontline teams. Bunnings director of human resources Damian Zahra, said the hardware chain was reviewing recent changes to health rules in NSW, but added a vaccine requirement does not apply to most of our team members in the state. In his most recent publicly available advice to Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley on April 7, Sutton said he believed it was time to start winding back mandates for industries that only require two doses at the earliest reasonable juncture and move to being at the discretion of industry and individual workplaces. Bytheway said JobWatch was aware of several settlements over unfair dismissal claims linked to vaccine status between workers and their employers for undisclosed sums, the details of which were suppressed due to non-disclosure agreements. Workplace law specialist Corrina Dowling said employers seeking to enforce a vaccine mandate in workplaces that were not frontline, or did not deal with vulnerable customers, could face a wave of fresh challenges. Loading She said many unvaccinated people had already sought to bring discrimination cases through the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission but that she was unaware of any that had been successful. She said many of her clients, businesses in Victoria, had voiced frustration that when government mandates were challenged by workers, it was them who shouldered the legal costs associated with defending them at tribunals and commissions. The Fair Work Commission has in recent months rejected dozens of challenges from workers who were sacked after refusing to disclose their coronavirus vaccination status or telling their employer they were not jabbed. Employers brought before the commission included Virgin Australia, Jetstar, KFC, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, dairy maker Bulla, boot maker Baxter, Mercy Hospitals Victoria, St Vincents Hospital, McKenzie Aged Care Group, the Epworth Foundation, Anglicare Victoria, Eastern Health and many other small businesses. The Fair Work Commission in December approved resource giant BHPs vaccine mandate, following consultation with workers, in what was viewed as a test case, but will still require employers to consider their workplace circumstances. Shannon Martinez, owner of the Collingwood restaurant Smith & Daughters and its sister deli store, said she would start having conversations with her staff and be guided by them. I would seriously consider consulting all my staff to see how comfortable everyone else is with [working with an unvaccinated person], Martinez said. Loading Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the industry body had strongly supported vaccine mandates to protect the economy and expected vaccination policies to eventually merge with current flu jab protocols. We expect that most businesses which are not considered high-risk settings will move to a more relaxed position on vaccination mandates as booster uptake continues, he said. Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter said he supported businesses being given discretion to implement mandates, provided they properly assess risks and consult workers. Victorias Premier on Friday said questions about Victorias COVID-19 restrictions were for Foley to answer, not him, after The Age reported 10 per cent of truck drivers had left the industry because of the mandates. The Victorian Transport Association said that was causing supply chain delays. Loading We have seen significant pressure in the transport sector and I think that we all have to work as hard as we can to have more people working in that sector but that specific issue has not been raised with me [by the industry], Andrews said. Weve made some very difficult decisions, theyre about making sure the place is safe, getting us open and keeping us open. Every rule will be there only for so long as it serves a purpose in keeping us safe. Andrews this week said he hoped he would not have to extend the pandemic declaration beyond July 12, when the powers are next due to expire. His legal team had tried to have his sentence commuted on the basis of an intellectual disability and last month submitted a new medical report by Australian consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Danny Sullivan that concluded he had borderline intellectual functioning which was likely to have been causally associated with his offending. Sullivan is the executive director of clinical services at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health. The appeal was dismissed, however, by a five-judge panel in the Court of Appeal and this week his family in Malaysia was informed he is to be executed next week. Richard Branson has appealed directly to Singapores president and prime minister to spare Nagaenthran. Credit:Attila Csaszar His supporters say his condition has deteriorated further during his years in jail and he has little idea of what is ahead of him. He cant really grasp any of this, his Malaysian lawyer N Surendran said on Friday. He just wants to know when hes going home. He doesnt seem to know thats going to die. It was in November that Branson learnt of Nagaenthrans approaching hanging, and decided to get involved. The case stood out to him on so many levels, he said, not simply because of the Malaysian mans mental capacity and his broader opposition to capital punishment. No one should face death for carrying 42 grams of heroin, he said. When it comes to the death penalty in Singapore, it is clear to me that its no deterrent to crime, but it may well be a deterrent to those seeking to invest and trade in the future. Richard Branson Branson launched a public appeal for Nagaenthrans life and, privately, wrote to Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pleading for clemency. The response I received from someone deep inside the Home Affairs Ministry was a laundry list of unconnected thoughts on drug use and crime in the West and a rejection of Nagens intellectual disability case. And reiterating the law governing the death penalty for drug offences, as the letter did, isnt evidence that the approach is working, Branson said. Singapore credits its zero-tolerance policy for illicit drugs as key to retaining its status as one of the safest places in the world and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said last month that a new government study showed the majority of Singaporeans still supported the death penalty as a deterrent against serious crime. Until last month, the city-state hadnt actually carried out an execution since 2019. But on March 30, Abdul Kahar bin Othman, a 68-year-old Singaporean, was hanged at Changi, also on drug trafficking offences. And while other Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have unofficial moratoriums on delivering the death penalty despite still handing out such sentences, Singapore now appears to be on an execution scheduling spree. Activists supporting Nagaenthran protest outside the Singapore embassy in Kuala Lumpur last November. Credit:AP Since February execution dates have been set for five prisoners including Nagaenthran, the latest on Thursday when the family of another Malaysian drug trafficker Datchinamurthy Kataiah was informed by the Prison Service that he was to be hanged next Friday. The Lee government has strongly defended Nagaenthrans treatment, saying he had been afforded due process and the courts had determined he was not intellectually disabled and that he knew what he was doing when, as a 21-year-old, he strapped the drugs to his thigh and attempted to cross the border from Malaysia. Judges also rejected Nagaenthrans account of being coerced to carry out the crime. As for the amount of drugs he had on him, the ministry has stressed that 42.72 grams was enough for 3560 straws of heroin sufficient to feed the addiction of about 510 abusers for a week. As time runs out for Nagaenthran, Branson is joining a desperate final bid to have the sentence downgraded. Appearing alongside British actor Stephen Fry in a video released on Friday by anti-death-penalty group Reprieve, he again urged Singaporean authorities to show leniency. In his interview with the Herald and The Age, he even appealed to the Malaysian government to lobby for a prisoner swap with Singapore to save Nagaenthran. Malaysia can negotiate Nagens transfer back to his home country, so that his family can give him the support he needs, Branson said. There are clear examples of prisoner transfers taking place with huge benefits to the prisoner and their family, especially when the prisoner is in a particularly vulnerable situation like Nagen is. I know Malaysian authorities, and the people of Malaysia, have stood behind Nagen and appealed for his life to be saved, and I hope they can bring him home. Branson also warned of potential financial ramifications for Singapore if it does go ahead with the execution. Loading His own business links with the city-state arent as substantial as they once were a decade ago, when government-owned Singapore Airlines had a 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic. However, having founded a campaign last year called Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty, he believes others could rethink their association with the financial hub. Its not far-fetched to suggest that Singapores handling of the death penalty the lack of transparency, the disregard for international norms and commitments, the harassment of lawyers and human rights defenders is far from what you expect from a nation professing its commitment to the rule of law, Branson said. And some in business may be prompted to wonder what this could imply for the protection of their interests, investments, and relationships should they ever encounter the justice system and depend on fairness and due process. Hes very close to securing a land bridge in Mariupol now. The situation is, Im afraid, unpredictable at this stage, weve just to be realistic about that, he said. Johnson said Britain was considering sending tanks to NATO member Poland so that the Polish military could send some of their Soviet-era T-72 tanks across the border to Ukraine. However, it later transpired that this would involve just two tanks and that they would be loaned. Johnson said the war could stretch out for a long period and that the West needed to sort out Ukraines post-war security situation. Eventually what the Ukrainians want, and I think are now going to get, is a collection of security guarantees from like-minded countries, security commitments about what we can do to back them up with weaponry, with training and with intelligence sharing, he said. He said this would not operate like NATOs article 5 guarantee, which says that all member countries will come to the collective defence of any member country that is attacked, but would enable Ukraine to offer deterrence by denial. Washington: The US will expedite the opening of an embassy in Solomon Islands and has warned the Pacific nation that it will respond accordingly if steps are taken allowing China to establish a military base there. Days after Solomon Islands sent shock waves across the Pacific by signing a security cooperation pact with Beijing, a high-level US delegation - led by National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator, Kurt Campbell, and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Kritenbrink - met with members of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavares government for 90 minutes on Friday to discuss their concerns. Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands during a ceremony to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between Solomon Islands and China. Credit:AP Pool American officials told Sogavare and members of his cabinet that while the US respected the rights of nations to make sovereign decisions in the best interest of their people, the pact between Solomon Islands and the Peoples Republic of China had security risks for the region, as well as the US, Australia and its allied partners. The US delegation outlined clear areas of concern with respect to the purpose, scope, and transparency of the agreement, the White House said in a statement on Saturday (AEST). Irelands Ambassador to the UK, Mr Adrian ONeill, visited Bristol on 20 April for an event highlighting the historical links and celebrating contemporary ties between the cities of Dublin and Bristol. Together with the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Cllr Steve Smith and the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Joe Costello, Ambassador ONeill participated in a University of Bristol event marking the 850th anniversary of King Henry IIs signing of a royal charter granting Bristolians the right to live in Dublin now the oldest document held in the Dublin City Archives. The Universitys conference explored how these early historical ties were further reinforced in the 18th century through the life of Edmund Burke. Burke, whose statue now stands in both Bristol and Dublin city centres, was born in Dublin in 1730 and was MP for Bristol between 1774 and 1780. Burke made important contributions to political philosophy and aesthetics, and was a close friend of the anti-slavery campaigner, Hannah More. The event follows a conference held in Dublin in February 2022, which explored the medieval links between the two cities. Speaking about the event, the Ambassador said: "I am delighted to be in Bristol today to mark the 850th anniversary of King Henry IIs Dublin charter, which granted residents in Bristol the right to live in Dublin. "This charter is an emblem of the fascinating historical ties between Dublin and Bristol. From the thriving medieval commercial and trade links through to the present day, the relationship between the two cities has long been marked by an economic, cultural and political dynamism, perhaps best epitomised in the figure of Edmund Burke, the Dublin-born Bristol MP, philosopher, and economist." Professor Brendan Smith from the University of Bristols Department of History, added: "The long-standing and diverse links between Bristol and Dublin deserve to be better known. 2022 provides the opportunity to revisit and renew these links, and I am delighted by the support of the civic authorities in both cities for this venture. The presence of the Irish Ambassador in Bristol is another important prompt to further strengthen the ties between Bristol and Dublin." In a bid to protect mangroves and local livelihoods in India, on Friday announced a new initiative in the Raigad district of . The tech giant awarded a grant to the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF) to work with the local community to protect a 2,400 hectare mangrove forest in the region, which provides an important buffer against the most dangerous impacts of climate change. Through the partnership, AERF will enter into conservation agreements with local community members, offering support in exchange for conserving and protecting the mangroves on their land, said the company. "Our new partnership in continues this momentum, helping a community benefit economically from the restoration of the mangrove forests that protect against the worst impacts of climate change," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. The goal of the partnership is to help transition the local economy to one that relies on keeping mangroves intact and healthy. AERF will also engage Conservation International to verify the climate benefits of the mangroves, accounting for the carbon sequestered in both the trees and soil. In addition to protecting coastal communities from climate impacts like the unpredictable monsoons and rising tides that threaten the Raigad district, mangroves act as carbon sinks that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their soil, plants, and other sediment. "Though mangrove conservation issues are diverse and different in each place, here in our project area, opportunities are also many," said Dr Archana Godbole, director of AERF. "Training our young enthusiastic team as well as local communities for blue carbon will surely help us travel a long way to achieve mangrove conservation in this vibrant coastal area along the Arabian Sea," Godbole added. --IANS na/svn/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Realty firm Ashiana Housing has signed an MoU with the to invest Rs 420 crore for developing housing projects in Bhiwadi. The MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed at an investment summit in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, the company said in a statement on Friday. "This is a landmark moment for Ashiana as it gives us the opportunity to contribute more towards the development of the planned city of Bhiwadi and also towards providing people with quality housing, care and more convenient lives, Shantanu Haldule, Vice President - Bhiwadi and Neemrana, Ashiana Housing said. Ashiana Housing has a strong presence in the NCR and Rajasthan. In the planned city of Bhiwadi, Ashiana already has a strong presence in the segments of comfort homes, senior living spaces and kid-centric homes. Recently, Ashiana Housing reported a 7 per cent increase in its sales bookings for 2021-22 at Rs 573.25 crore. Sales bookings in financial year 2020-21 stood at Rs 534.68 crore, according to a regulatory filing. With over 41 years of presence in the sector, and 18 years of experience in the senior living space, the company has delivered over 23 million square feet of property and is managing and maintaining over 19 million square feet. (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.) But, for most of the day, he was spoken of in the context of JCB, the construction equipment company whose backhoe loaders have become to bulldozers what Xerox is to photocopiers or Walkman was to portable music players. As photos of Prime Minister Johnson, waving from a shiny new black and yellow machine appeared across pages and platforms, several people took to social media to discuss the message those photos could potentially convey in the backdrop of ... 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. 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Digital Editor It is the biggest acquisition financing ever put forward for one person. is doing it his way. More than two-thirds of the $46.5 billion financing package that Musk unveiled on Thursday in support of his bid for Inc would come from his assets, with the remainder coming from bank loans secured against the social media platform's assets. That is the reverse of how most investors structure buyouts, with debt secured against the assets of the target company typically comprising the majority of the financing. The banks backing Musk's bid balked at providing more debt secured against Twitter, arguing that the San Francisco-based company did not produce enough cash flow to justify it, people familiar with the matter said. Some banks were also worried that financial regulators could reprimand them if they took on more risk, the sources added. This will have an impact on Musk's returns, since debt secured against an acquired company can greatly amplify profits. To double the $33.5 billion Musk is contributing out of his own fortune to the buyout, Twitter's value would have to go up by 1.4 times. Had he put in only a third of the deal consideration as equity, Twitter's value would have to go up by only 0.7 times for that money to double. What is more, Musk has agreed to take out a risky $12.5 billion margin loan, secured against his stock of Tesla Inc , the electric-car maker that he leads, to pay for some of the $33.5 billion equity check. Were Tesla's stock to drop by 40%, he would have to repay that loan, a regulatory filing shows. Musk said last week that he did not care about the economics of the deal "at all" and that he was pursuing the acquisition because it was "extremely important to the future of civilization." "It seems consistent with what he said," Eric Talley, a professor at Columbia Law School, said about Musk's financing. He added that the proposed deal structure would make it challenging for many private equity firms to join Musk as equity partners, given that they usually rely on saddling with debt to boost returns. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. Musk is the world's richest person, with a net worth pegged by Forbes at $270 billion. Yet most of his wealth is tied up in Tesla shares, and the proposed deal structure would dry up most of his available liquidity. He had already borrowed against $88 billion worth of Tesla stock, and the proposed acquisition financing for would push that figure to more than $150 billion, regulatory filings show. This would leave him little runway to get more cash out of his Tesla shares in the short term, since Tesla executives may borrow no more than 25% of the value of their pledged stock. Musk's loan against his Tesla stock to finance his bid is also expensive, potentially costing him about $1 billion annually in interest and amortization expenses, a regulatory filing shows. That gives him an incentive to refinance the proposed debt package at the earliest opportunity. It is not clear how much of the $21 billion in cash that Musk has committed to the deal is immediately available to him, and whether he would have to cash out on some of his assets. They include stakes in rocket maker SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Co. Twitter's board plans to ask Musk to provide more details on the source of the cash he has promised to deliver, according to people familiar with the matter. A Twitter spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. EQUITY PARTNERS Musk has been looking for partners to reduce his equity contribution to the deal, one of the sources said. It is far from certain that such a partner will emerge. SoftBank Group Corp, one of the world's biggest technology investors, which places big bets on and often without using a lot of debt, has decided it will not pursue Twitter, people familiar with the Japanese conglomerate said. A SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment. Thoma Bravo LP, a private equity firm that had more than $100 billion in assets under management at the end of December, has been in talks with Musk about joining his bid, the New York Post reported on Thursday. A person familiar with the matter said, however, that Thoma Bravo had indicated to Twitter it was exploring a rival bid to challenge Musk, not joining him. A Thoma Bravo spokesperson declined to comment. Musk has also hinted at moving Twitter away from advertising, a prospect that has given pause to some private equity firms, given that Twitter relies on it for the majority of its revenue. Earlier this month, Musk tweeted that the company should generate more subscription revenue and rely less on advertising, because "the power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly increased if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive." He later deleted that tweet. Twitter's board is preparing to reject Musk's bid as too low by April 28, when the company is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings, sources have said. Musk, who has amassed a stake in Twitter of more than 9%, said on Wednesday he was exploring the possibility of taking the bid directly to Twitter shareholders with a tender offer. In that scenario, shareholders would not be able to sell their shares, because of a poison pill Twitter adopted, but they would be able to register their support for Musk's bid. (Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York and Anirban Sen in Bengaluru Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Bradley Perrett) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ltd , operator of the world's biggest oil refining complex, has ordered at least 15 million barrels of Russian oil since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, trade sources said. Reliance has bought an average 5 million barrels a month for the June quarter, the sources said. Reliance did not immediately respond to a Reuters' email seeking comment. Before the Ukraine war, Indian refiners, including Reliance, rarely bought Russian oil owing to high freight costs. But Western sanctions against Russia since its Ukraine invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation", have prompted many oil importers to shun trade with Moscow, depressing its crude prices to record discount levels . Indian refiners have snapped up the cheap barrels as India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is hit hard by high oil prices. India imports about 85% of its 5 million barrels per day oil needs. While New Delhi has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, it has not explicitly condemned Moscow's actions. India has also abstained from voting on multiple United Nations resolutions on the invasion. Refinitiv's tanker flow data shows a supply of about 8 million barrels of Russian oil, mainly Urals, at the Reliance-operated Sikka port in western India, for arrival between April 5 and May 9. Most of these barrels are supplied by Russian trader Litasco, the Refinitiv data shows. Traders said Reliance is buying Russian oil on delivered basis. Reliance is scheduled to received its first parcel of Russia's ESPO oil in early May, the Refinitiv data shows. This grade is mostly supplied to China. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance operates two refineries at the Jamnagar complex in western India that can process about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil daily. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma. Editing by Jane Merriman) (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.) Eighteen more students of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, taking the total number of patients in the institute to 30 in two days. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan visited the campus and termed the spread as a small cluster. Meanwhile, the state government has asked all its hospitals to be on standby as 39 people tested positive in the past 24 hours taking the total active cases to 256. The government has made wearing facemasks in public mandatory and imposed a fine of Rs 500 for any violation. Dilbag Singh, Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, arrives at the site of an attack in Jammu, India, Friday, April. 22, 2022. Six suspected rebels and an Indian paramilitary officer were killed in two separate armed clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said on Friday, two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the disputed region.(AP Photo) SRINAGAR: An assistant sub-inspector of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and two militants believed to be members of proscribed Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) were killed on Friday and at least nine several security forces personnel injured in a gunfight that broke out close to an Army camp in Sunjwan on the periphery of Jammu and Kashmir's winter capital Jammu. The officials said that a group of apparent fidayeen was trapped in a private house in Jalalabad quarter of Sunjwan following the J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched an operation on specific input that the militants were planning to carry out a major terror strike ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to neighbouring Samba district on Sunday. The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a grand function at Palli in Samba district to mark the Panchayat Raj Day, 2022. This would be his first visit to J&K since the Centre in a controversial move stripped the erstwhile state of its special status on August 5, 2019, and split it up into two union territories. The officials said that following the outbreak of gunfight at Sunjwan the internet services were snapped and schools shut for the day in some parts of Jammu as a precautionary measure". J&K's Director General of Police, Dilbagh Singh, told reporters, Both the terrorists have been killed. He said the slain militants were wearing fidayeen vests and were apparently tasked to carry out a major terror strike ahead of the Prime Ministers but there are no inputs to suggest they had planned to target the rally he is scheduled to address in Samba itself. He said that from the available evidence and intelligence inputs, the duo belonged to the JeM and were part of a fresh group of infiltrators. Both of them were foreigners and were tasked to either target a security camp or to engage large number of security forces to inflict maximum casualties, he said adding that the duo was aiming to strike in a big was ahead of the Prime Ministers visit but timely action by our alert forces has foiled the design. He said the recoveries from the encounter site included three AK-47 rifles, grenades, magazines, eatables, medicines, energy drinks, etc. Some of these items are usually found in the use of fidayeen, the DGP said. Asked about the possibility of the presence of more militants in the area, the police chief said that as of now it seemed that only two militants had come there and that since they had no old history, they had, most probably, infiltrated from across the border with Pakistan recently just to carry out a big strike. Earlier, Additional Director General of Police (Jammu), Mukesh Singh, had said that there were specific inputs that militants were planning to do something big" and based on it, a cordon was launched at Jalalabad and "there was firing." He had said, "So far, two terrorists have been killed and two AK-47 rifles, some other arms and ammunition, satellite phones and some documents found at the encounter site. It appears they were 'fidayeen' attackers. Operation is underway. The slain CISF ASI has been identified as S.P. Patel and the injured are J&K police Head Constable Balraj Singh, SPO Sahil Sharma, CISFs Parmod Patra of Odisha and Amir Soran of Assam. However, the CISF officials said that militants targeted a bus carrying 15 personnel of the force at 4.25 am near the Chaddha camp in Sunjwan with gunfire and hurling hand grenades at it. This resulted in the on-the-spot death of ASI Patil and injuries to two other personnel, they said. They also said that when the CISF men retaliated effectively, the militants ran away and took shelter in the house of one Muhammad Anwar in Jalalabad locality of Sunjwan. Officials said that mobile Internet services were partially suspended in parts of Jammu including Sunjwan, Bathandi, Narwal, Bahu Fort and Malik Market of Bahu tehsil while schools within 5-km radius of Sunjwan encounter site will remain closed on Friday as a precautionary measure in view of ongoing encounter in the city outskirts. The movement of civilians in Sunjwan and Bathandi areas was restricted with barriers put on the National Highway to halt any type of vehicular movement. Meanwhile, the authorities have confirmed that all four militants including Lashkar-e-Tayyaba's "long-surviving " commander Yusuf Kantroo have been killed in the gunfight that broke out in Malwah village of frontier Baramulla district on Wednesday night. Eighteen more Sri Lankan nationals who fled the crisis-hit island republic arrived in India on Friday, with the hapless families who landed at Dhanushkodi in the wee hours being accommodated at the Mandapam refugees camp. They rued the severe crisis that has crippled the country's economy and said even milk powder could not be afforded by them and alleged government apathy towards citizens. The 18 people, among whom there were children, came in two batches in as many boats and were dropped off at Arichalmunai. Two of the women who were part of the latest batch of Lankans leaving the country, said they braved rains to cross over to India. is grappling with unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices. The island nation is witnessing large-scale protests against the government's handling of the debt-ridden economy - the worst-ever in the country's history. (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.) An attempt by banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to carry out a suicide attack ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit was foiled after two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed here in an encounter on Friday in which a officer also died, officials said. Nine security personnel were also injured in the pre-dawn gunfight near an Army camp in Sunjwan area on the outskirts of Jammu. Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh, who visited the encounter site, said the two terrorists were part of a suicide squad of Pakistan-based JeM and their infiltration could be a "big conspiracy" to sabotage the prime minister's visit to . According to initial investigation, the two terrorists entered the outskirts of Jammu city on Thursday after infiltrating from the international border in R S Pura sector and were staying in a locality close to the Sunjwan Army camp. "Last night, police and other forces were involved in an operation which culminated... As per reports, the two terrorists were part of JeM's suicide squad, launched from Pakistan and tasked with targeting a camp of the security forces or engaging... to inflict a lot of casualties," the DGP told reporters near the scene of the encounter. The terrorists were wearing suicide vests and were also equipped with a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, indicating that they had come to inflict heavy casualties on security forces. "The encounter took place two days ahead of the prime minister's visit. It is part of a big conspiracy to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Jammu and it could be a big conspiracy to sabotage the visit," Singh said, adding "it is good that we got timely inputs and the operation was concluded successfully." The operation began around 4.25 am on Friday when the two terrorists, who were apparently moving towards the Army camp, were spotted by the guards who were changing duties, the officials said. Around the same time, a bus carrying 15 personnel was proceeding towards the Jammu airport, which is being guarded by the paramilitary force. Apparently, in a knee-jerk reaction, the two terrorists lobbed a grenade towards the bus and sprayed it with bullets before escaping back into the nearby locality, prompting the security forces to lay a cordon around the area. A senior Central Industrial Security Force officer said the terrorists fired at the bus and lobbed grenades, killing Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) S P Patel and injuring two other occupants. The force retaliated effectively. Later in a tweet, the said its personnel were attacked by terrorists while going for an ongoing cordon and search operation. According to the police, the gunfight began when the terrorists opened fire on the search party. The officials said nine security personnel, including two policemen, were injured in the gunfight. A CISF personnel and a police personnel sustained grievous injuries. As the CISF troops retaliated, the terrorists fled and entered the house of Mahommad Anwar, they said. The security forces zeroed in on the house and killed one of the terrorists while he was moving towards the bathroom, where his associate had taken shelter, they said. Efforts to neutralise the second terrorist took longer. He was killed in heavy gunfire and grenade hits, they said, adding the entire gunfight lasted a little over five hours. On the identity of the slain terrorists, DGP Singh said an investigation is on but prima facie, it looks that the two were Pakistani nationals and had freshly infiltrated into this side from Pakistan. They have no history of terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir, he said. The DGP said three weapons along with a lot of grenades were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorists. They fired rifle grenades and some more security personnel were also injured after the initial casualties, he said, ruling out the presence of a third terrorist. Responding to a question about local support to the terrorists, Singh said, "We have certain leads and we are working on them." Two AK-47 rifles, an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher and a satellite phone were recovered from the slain terrorists, the police said. Mobile internet services were suspended and schools in the vicinity of the encounter site were closed for the day as a precautionary measure. On February 10 in 2018, three JeM terrorists stormed the Sunjwan Army camp and in the subsequent gunfight, seven people, including six soldiers, were killed. All the three terrorists were also gunned down. On National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24, the prime minister is scheduled to visit Samba's Pali village, 17 km from here, to address a gathering. This will be Modi's first visit to other than borders since the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state and its bifurcation in August 2019. He had celebrated Diwali with Army jawans on October 27, 2019 in Rajouri and on November 3, 2021 in Nowshera sector in Jammu division. (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.) Two Ukrainians, who illegally entered India, were detained by Government Railway Police (GRP) at Badarpur in Assam's Karimganj district, officials said on Friday. The GRP personnel detained Chrisinsky Volodimir, 39 and Nazari Voznyuk, 21, while they were travelling through the Agartala-New Delhi (Anand Vihar) Tripura Sundari Express train on Thursday night. The GRP sources said that the Ukrainians were travelling without valid passports and other documents. Later, the detainees were handed over to Karimganj police. A police official said that they have contacted the Ukrainian embassy in India to verify records. "We are waiting for confirmation from the Ukrainian embassy in Delhi and then we will start the legal action against the duo," the police official told the media, refusing to be named. The police official, quoting the detainees, said that they had moved out of Ukraine before Russia's invasion of the country started. police are yet to know how the Ukraine nationals entered Tripura before boarding the weekly Tripura Sundari Express. (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.) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI): The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the (DCGI) has asked for additional data on its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, for administering it to children aged between 2-12 years, sources said. This development comes after the Subject Expert Committee discussed recommendations for the restricted emergency of Covaxin in children aged between 2-12 years. No recommendations have been made as of now, sources told ANI. However, the SEC, after a meeting on Thursday, has recommended restricted emergency use of Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine, Corbevax, in children aged 5-12 years, said sources. Now DCGI will be giving approval for its emergency use authorisation. The Corbevax vaccine is currently being administered to children in the age group of 12-14 years. The vaccination drive for children in the age group of 15-18 years commenced on January 3 this year. They are being administered Covaxin. The drive later expanded on March 16 to include children aged between 12-14 years. They are being administered Corbevax. Overall, India is currently administering two COVID-19 vaccines to children above 12 years. (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.) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited the JCB factory in Gujarat's Panchmahal on Thursday, sparked a meme fest after a video of him going up on a bulldozer and waving went viral on the internet. Johnson, who arrived in Ahmedabad earlier today visited the new JCB factory at Halol GIDC Panchmahal where he was accompanied by Gujarat's Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. In the viral video, the UK PM can be seen quickly going up on a JCB machine and taking the driver's seat as he posed with the equipment which is popular for digging roads and construction work. Sharing memes about the incident on Twitter, netizens made subtle and not-so-subtle references to the ongoing political debate in around the usage of bulldozers for the demolition of "illegal structures". Some British Twitterati too joined in, with their own political puns at the expense of their Prime Minister. A tweet said "covered the history of from 1947 to 2022, in a day". Another handle speculated on the dilemma the British PM might face getting into the crosshairs of opposing sides of the Indian political establishment. " also wants to take the bulldozer to Britain," a tweet said. Twitter users also referred to "BulldozerBaba," a reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath. A tweet said that Johnson took "a driving trial of Bulldozer" in JCB factory". "JCB be like: jalwa hai humara yaha," a twitter user 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 government has told the Indore bench of the High Court that the alleged encroachment made by an accused in the Khargone riots case shall not be removed without the due legal procedure. The state government made the submission in the high court on Thursday at a time when opposition parties, especially Congress, was raised question marks over the BJP government's in Khargone. In her plea, Fareeda Bee (45), wife of Firoz Khan, who was arrested in connection with the communal violence in Khargone city, has expressed apprehensions that the government might demolish their house without following the due procedure. A single bench of the high court comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla had on Thursday disposed of her petition after additional advocate general Pushyamitra Bhargava on behalf of the state government submitted that no action shall be taken against petitioner Fareeda Bee for demolition of the house without following the due process of law. In view of the aforesaid statement made on behalf of the respondents/state, the present petition is disposed of, the judge observed. Lawyer Ashhar Warsi told reporters on Friday that his client's husband, Firoz Khan, had been arrested for his alleged involvement in the riot. He claimed that the Khargone district administration's anti-encroachment squad with bulldozers reached Fareeda Bee's place on Wednesday and talked about removing encroachment. He said that his client has not been served any notice to remove encroachment from her house spread over an area of 1,800 sq feet in Tawadi Mohalla in Khargone. Khargone Superintendent of Police Rohit Kaswani said that efforts were on to take action against Firoz Khan under the National Security Act (NSA). He has been accused of inciting people to throw stones. Communal clashes had broken out in Khargone city on April 10 during a Ram Navami procession, leading to arson and stone-pelting, leading to the clamping of curfew. Superintendent of Police Siddharth Choudhary had received a bullet injury during the violence. Muslim religious leaders in have been alleging that members of the community were unfairly targeted by the authorities following the Ram Navami violence, and houses were demolished in some cases without due process. (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 reaffirmed India's political commitment to fighting money laundering and terrorist financing as she appreciated the role of global network in safeguarding the global financial system. Sitharaman said this as she attended the Ministerial Meeting conducted here alongside the 2022 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to endorse the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force's strategic priorities for the years 2022-24. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. The on Thursday extended support to the strategic priorities and reiterated India's commitment to provide necessary resources and support to the in its endeavor as a global alliance against money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the Ministry of Finance said. The Paris-based FATF has placed Pakistan on its grey list since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019. Since then, Pakistan continues to be on the FATF's list due to its failure to comply with the FATF mandates. Sitharaman congratulated FATF President Marcus Pleyer for the able guidance and leadership provided through the challenging times of pandemic, it said. The Strategic Priorities for the FATF for 2022-24 are: Strengthen the FATF Global Network, FATF systems of Mutual Evaluations, Enhance International Beneficial Ownership Transparency, Increase Capabilities to more effectively recover Criminal assets, Leverage Digital Transformation, Ensure Sustainable Funding for FATF Strategic priorities, the finance ministry said on Twitter. FM reaffirmed India's political commitment to fighting Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing. Also appreciated the work of FATF on Beneficial Ownership Transparency, the role of FATF global network in safeguarding global financial system, it said in a series of tweets. Sitharaman arrived in Washington on Monday for the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings 2022. The FATF currently has 39 members including two regional organisations -- the European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. India is a member of the FATF consultations and its Asia Pacific Group. (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.) Private airliner Go First, formerly known as GoAir, has become the first airline to receive approval from the for night parking at as well as airports, officials said on Friday. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched the night parking facility at the airports on Thursday. This provision will ensure late night and early morning take-offs from the two airports. This is a significant development for the union territory as the night parking permission will facilitate better flight operations from the region, a Go First spokesman said. We would like to thank the authorities for their kind consideration and will continue our commitment to the development of and Kashmir, Chief Executive Officer, Go First, Kaushik Khona said. Go First is the only airline appointed for the cargo movement of horticultural perishable and agricultural produce of the and Kashmir Horticulture Products, a state-owned company, he said. Speaking at the launch event, Sinha said the initiative will ease air travelling with a multiplier effect on the hospitality industry. The new beginning reflects our commitment to strengthen connectivity and fulfil the mobility needs of the people. The initiative will make travelling effortless for those looking for single-day travel, Sinha said. The Lieutenant Governor said despite COVID-19, the Jammu and airports had achieved new records. In March 2021, 1,030 flight operations were recorded at the Jammu airport and more than one lakh passengers travelled. This number soared to 1,346 flights and roughly 1.55 lakh passengers, 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.) After facing fines from European consumer and market regulators, Google has introduced an equal "Reject all" and "Accept all" buttons for tracking cookies on its platforms. Anyone visiting Search and YouTube in Europe, while signed out or in Incognito Mode, will see a new cookie consent choice. "This update, which began rolling out earlier this month on YouTube, will provide you with equal 'Reject all' and 'Accept all' buttons on the first screen in your preferred language," Sammit Adhya, Product Manager, Privacy, Safety & Security, said in a statement late on Thursday. The users can also still choose to customise their choice in more detail with "More options". The new cookie button has been launched in France and will be rolled out across Europe, the UK and Switzerland. "Before long, users in the region will have a new cookie choice -- one that can be accepted or rejected with a single click," said Adhya. Earlier this year, France's data protection agency CNIL fined Google $170 million for confusing cookie tracking policies. The new privacy change, said Google, would impact not only Search and YouTube, but also the sites and content creators who use them to help grow their businesses and make a living. "We believe this update responds to updated regulatory guidance and is aligned with our broader goal of helping build a more sustainable future for the web," said the company. --IANS na/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the 400th birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the Red Fort saying India has never posed a threat to any country or society and asserted the country follows the ideals of Sikh gurus. Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Sikh Guru who was killed by the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in 1675. Referring to the Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, built at the spot where he was beheaded, Modi said, "This holy Gurudwara reminds us how great was the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji to protect our great culture. At that time there was a storm of religious fanaticism in the country. India, which considered religion as a matter of philosophy, science and self-reflection, was facing people who had committed violence and atrocities in the name of religion. The Mughal-era monument was chosen as the venue for the event as it was from here that Aurangzeb had given orders for the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur, according to Ministry of Culture officials. Modi is the first prime minister to deliver a speech at the after sunset. "In front of Aurangzeb's tyrannical thinking, Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, becoming 'Hind di Chadar', stood like a rock," Modi said. " is witness that Aurangzeb and tyrants like him might have beheaded many people but our faith could not be separated from us," the prime minister said. "The sacrifice of the Sikh Guru has inspired generations of Indians to live and die to protect the dignity of their culture, for its honour and respect," Modi said. The Gurus death anniversary is commemorated as 'Shaheedi Divas' every year on November 24. "Big powers have disappeared, big storms have calmed down, but India still stands immortal and is moving ahead," Modi asserted. "India has never posed a threat to any country or society. Even today we think for the welfare of the whole world. When we talk about a self-reliant India, we keep the progress of the whole world in front of that goal," he added. PM Modi released a commemorative coin and postage stamp on the occasion of to mark the occasion. The event saw performances by 400 Sikh musicians and a langar was held. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is shown how to operate a cotton wheel at Mahatma Gandhi's house at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad during a cultural tour as part of his two day visit to India, April 21, 2022. AP/PTI New Delhi/Ahmedabad: Beginning a two-day India visit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson touched down in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning. A day before his formal talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on key international and bilateral issues in New Delhi, Mr Johnson announced commercial deals for bilateral investments worth 1 billion in sectors ranging from software to health. During the day, the British PM met top industrialist Gautam Adani, visited the famous Sabarmati Ashram, Vadodara and a factory of British multinational JCB in Halol. On his arrival, the British PM was received by Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel. Mr Johnson was accorded a grand welcome along the 4-km route from the airport to a hotel in Ahmedabad. This is a first-ever visit by a British PM to Gujarat. His engagements in Gujarat included visits to the famous Akshardham temple of the Swaminarayan sect in Gandhinagar. Mr Johnson will reach New Delhi late Thursday night. On Friday he will hold detailed talks with Mr Modi on the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as discussions on global issues, including the Ukraine conflict, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and strengthening of defence and security ties, besides talks on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Yes, I am looking forward to our conversation. We will talk about trade, security and about issues of importance, Mr Johnson told reporters in Ahmedabad when asked about the agenda of his meeting with Mr Modi. On the Ukraine conflict the British PM said: Well, we have already raised the issue of Ukraine with Prime Minister Modi diplomatically. Actually, they (India) were very strong in condemnation of atrocities in Bucha. I think everybody understands India and Russia have historically had very different relationships, like Russia and UK in the last couple of decades. He added: We have to reflect that reality while talking about it (Ukraine) to Narendra Modi. In a statement highlighting the trade and investment aspect, the British high commission in New Delhi said that UK and Indian businesses will confirm more than 1 billion in new investments and export deals, which will create almost 11,000 jobs across the UK. The deals include a new switch mobility electric bus R&D centre in the UK and the opening of their Asia-Pacific headquarters in Chennai, generating over 1,000 jobs. It also includes investment by leading Indian manufacturer Bharat Forge and electric truck maker Tevva Motors to expand to a new site in the south-east and create 500 new jobs, Indian software company Mastek investing 79 million to create 1,600 jobs in the next three years all over the UK, business consultancy FirstSource opening new offices in South Wales, the Midlands and cities in the North-East and North-West, Hertfordshire-based firm Smith & Nephew agreeing a major export deal to sell robotic surgical systems in India and Northamptonshire business Scott Bader opening a new resins factory to supply top renewable energy companies in Southeast Asia. The PM will also welcome OneWeb signing a historic contract for satellite launches with New Space India Ltd, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation. OneWeb is an innovative UK-based satellite communications company, which the government has invested in to put the UK at the forefront of rapidly evolving space technologies. This agreement with India is a significant development for the companys operations, the high commission added. On the first leg of his trip, Mr Johnson held a meeting with industrialist Gautam Adani at the Adani Groups global headquarters at Shantigram, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. Honoured to host @BorisJohnson, the first UK PM to visit Gujarat, at Adani HQ. Delighted to support the climate & sustainability agenda with focus on renewables, green H2 & new energy. Will also work with UK companies to co-create defence & aerospace technologies. #AtmanirbharBharat, Mr Adani tweeted later. News agencies quoted sources as saying the two discussed, among other things, key sectors such as energy transition, climate action, aerospace and defence collaboration. With India set to invest $300 billion by 2030 to modernise its armed forces, the sources said collaboration in the defence sector was one of the key focus areas of the meeting between Mr Adani and Mr Johnson. Mr Adani announced an academic facilitation programme for young Indians through the Chevening Scholarship, one of the most prestigious international scholarships offered by the UK government. Mr Johnson opened JCBs latest factory in Halol in Panchmahal district of Gujarat with a 100-million-pound investment, which will fabricate parts for global production lines. With 11 factories in the UK, employing over 7,500 people, JCB first began manufacturing in India in 1979 and is now the country's leading producer of construction equipment. It (the trip) has been absolutely fantastic so far and its great to be here in Gujarat. Gujarat is a great place and you know we have a huge Gujarati community, which is like a living bridge between India and the UK, Mr Johnson said. The visit to the Sabarmati Ashram also delighted Mr Johnson. It is an immense privilege to come to the ashram of this extraordinary man and to understand how he mobilised such simple principles of truth and non-violence to change the world for better, Mr Johnson wrote in the visitors book at the Gandhi ashram. At the ashram he tried his hand at the charkha at Hriday Kunj, the hut where Gandhi lived. A replica of the charkha was presented to him. The Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust also gifted two books to him. One of them was Guide to London, an unpublished book which consists of Gandhis suggestions on how to live in London. The other was The Spirits Pilgrimage, an autobiography of Mirabehn, or Madeleine Slade, one of Gandhis British-born followers. India and the UK on Friday put aside their differences over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and set an ambitious target of concluding a comprehensive and balanced (FTA) by Diwali this year to double bilateral trade by 2030. Prime Minister and his visiting British counterpart announced measures to enhance defence, security and trade partnerships. Johnson said India shared the UKs anxiety about autocracies and autocratic coercions around the world, while acknowledging Indias longstanding friendship with Russia. In the joint statement after their bilateral meeting, both sides unequivocally condemned civilian deaths and reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Both leaders also called for an early resolution of all pending market access issues between the two nations in a balanced manner and noted that the would unlock the full potential of the trade and commercial relationship, boosting jobs, investment, and exports. As the next round of talks begins here next week, we are telling our negotiators to get it done by Diwali in October. This could double our trade and investment by the end of the decade, Johnson, who was on a two-day visit to India, said in a joint press conference. ...we now have to reach a free trade agreement, a deal where you can lift those tariffs you canon our machinery and apples actually youve already done it on apples and we, in turn, can lift the tariffs on your rice and textiles, he said. Johnson said that in the free trade deal, there would be some difficult issues. Tariff on whisky is a tough one. It would be great if we can fix that. There are big opportunities and we can get it done, he added. ALSO READ: UK not pressing India to change stance in Ukraine conflict: Foreign Secy In May last year, both nations had announced the launch of an enhanced trade partnership (ETP), which would include negotiating a comprehensive and an interim trade agreement for delivering early gains. The trade deal is expected to resolve market access issues, boost exports, and strengthen trade partnership between the two nations. However, both sides now seem to have decided to directly negotiate an without going for an interim deal. The first and the second round of negotiations for the FTA took place in January and March, respectively. The third round of negotiations will start on Monday in India. Modi said India had had two trade pacts with the UAE and Australia since February. India will move forward with similar momentum and commitment with respect to a trade deal with the UK, he added. Both leaders looked forward to finalising the mutual recognition of qualifications and a framework for nursing staff, and agreed to continue cooperation on outstanding areas related to social security arrangements and legal services. In a separate press briefing, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla told reporters that one of the main emphases of the meeting was to further strengthen the trade ties. Trade teams have been mandated to complete the FTA by the last quarter of this year, he added. On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the foreign secretary said Prime Minister Modi expressed deep concern over the ongoing situation in Ukraine and the mounting humanitarian crisis there. During the talks, there was "no pressure" applied from the British side regarding the issue of adherence to sanctions on Russia, and Johnson just shared his views on the Ukraine issue, he said. MP Navneet Rana and chairman S Somanath have been provided a central armed cover by the Union government, officials said on Friday. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) accorded the security cover last week to the two after accepting separate recommendations of central intelligence agencies that favoured armed security of paramilitary commandos to them in view of possible security threats to them. Navneet Rana, a member of Lok Sabha from the Amravati seat of Maharashtra, has been accorded 'Y' category central cover that would entail about three to four armed commandos of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to move with her, they said. On Friday, the Mumbai police issued a notice to her and her MLA husband Ravi Rana, asking them not to disrupt the law and order situation as they plan to recite 'Hanuman Chalisa' outside Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's residence here on April 23. The lawmaker couple is known to have an unofficial understanding with the BJP. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath has also been accorded a 'Y+' category security cover. The rocket scientist will have about four to six armed commandos round-the-clock with him whenever he travels to any part of the country, officials said. The CISF, that has traditionally provided proximate security to previous chiefs and also guards the main complex of the institution in Bengaluru, has been tasked with the job. Somanath, who played a key role in developing the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III, or GSLV Mk III, was appointed the chief in January this year by the central government. Before the current assignment, he was the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. (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.) Even though Kerala Health Minister Veena George accused the Centre of propagating false news that the government has stopped updating daily Covid figures, the state Covid dashboard was last updated on April 5 leading people to speculate whether there has been a spike in fresh infections. George had said that they have been e-mailing the daily data on Covid to the Centre. But the practise of regular daily updates given to the media, which was a feature ever since the pandemic began, is not happening. According to the dashboard on April 5, there were 354 confirmed cases and 282 recoveries. But a mobile laboratory technician in the state capital said on Friday that these days he tests about 40 people daily, of which 15 to 17 turn positive. Even though Covid protocols have been practically lifted, masks continue to be used by all. The first major event that the state witnessed after Covid protocols were lifted was the 23rd CPI-M Party Congress that was held from April 6-10 in Kannur. Massive crowds had assembled to attend the event and its around this time that the official dashboard had discontinued updating the Covid figures. With educational institutions being closed for final examinations, one will have no means to know the virus trend unless the state updates its Covid dashboard. Even the IT parks in the state are getting ready to welcome back their employees who have been working from home since the last week of March 2020. --IANS sg/shb/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Live news updates: and Tamil Nadu on Friday made masks mandatory in public and said it will fine Rs 500 for violations, responding to rising Covid-19 cases. Delhis fine will not be applicable on people travelling together in private vehicles. on Thursday reported a dip in daily cases and an improvement in positivity rate. The city recored saw 965 fresh infections, 635 recoveries, and one death from the disease. Gautam Buddh Nagar on Thursday recorded 103 new cases of COVID-19 as the district accounted for over 50 per cent of the active infections in Uttar Pradesh, official data showed. According to data issued by the state health department, the number of active cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar stood at 467 while the total number of active infections in Uttar Pradesh was 856. Meanwhile, 47 people recuperated from COVID-19 in the district on Thursday. In the wake of a rise in the cases, the health department has urged residents to contact helpline number 1800492211 for any immediate Covid-related assistance. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, a total of 99,360 people in Gautam Buddh Nagar have tested positive for COVID-19, while 490 of them have died due to the infection, according to official data. (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 rise in COVID-19 cases, over a hundred people were fined across and Greater for not wearing face masks in public places, police said on Friday. The were issued on Thursday to these people during police checks in crowded places such as markets, metro stations and shopping malls in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Budd Nagar district, they said. As per the instructions of Police Commissioner Alok Singh, an awareness drive for COVID-19 was carried out in all three zones - Noida, Central and Greater Noida -- of the district. The officials also distributed face masks during the campaign, a police spokesperson said. Police appealed to the people to follow COVID-19 guidelines and masks were also distributed to people. In all police station areas, were issued to 107 people who were found roaming in public places without wearing masks, the official said. The were issued under Indian Penal Code section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), the spokesperson said. Police said a stern warning was also given to people not adhering to COVID-19 norms, while officials also interacted with senior citizens and the general public, seeking suggestions from them over a range of issues. Over the last few days, there has been a constant rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining Delhi, in western . As on Thursday, the district had 467 active cases, contributing more than 50 per cent of the total active cases (856) in the state, according to official data. (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.) Poll strategist Prashant Kishore seems all set to join the Congress party in the next few days. Kishor met Congress interim president on April 16 and 18 and presented a roadmap for the Congress partys revival in the 2024 General Elections and the upcoming state elections. The Congress is examining Kishores 600-slide presentation on strengthening the organization and is yet to confirm his induction into the party. Kishor has successfully planned the electoral strategies of various parties, including the Trinamool Congress, AAP and DMK in the past and wants to help the Congress in 2024 elections. He has suggested that Congress should go it alone in the states of Bihar and Odisha, and it should form alliances in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra to which Rahul Gandhi has agreed. Kishors presentation recommends revival of the Parliamentary Board with continuing as the party president and a non-Gandhi as working president. He set to meet along with Rahul and Priyanka today and details on his role are awaited. After the recent state election debacle, Congress restarted the negotiations with Kishor. The party plans to fend challenges from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress and build a national alliance against BJP. The on Thursday told the Patna High Court that the investigation related to the alleged scandal at the Gaighat shelter home in the state capital will be completed in next four weeks. Advocate General Lalit Kishore made the assurance before a bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S. Kumar. The Gaighat shelter home case came to light in January 30 when a girl inmate of Ghazipur, who was released from the shelter home, claimed immoral activities are taking place there at a large scale and its Superintendent Vandana Gupta is directly involved in it. The girl inmate alleged that more than 250 to 300 girl inmates were raped or gang raped in an unconscious stage, after they were forcibly drugged or given injections to make them unconscious. She accused Gupta of direct involvement saying she used to invite youths inside the shelter home to sexually exploit female inmates in unconscious stage. Despite the serious charges, the Social Welfare Ministry had given clean chit to Gupta and declared that the victim a mentally unstable person. "The district administration of Patna also had a negligent attitude in this matter. The District Magistrate, SSP and other senior officers tried every possible way to suppress the voice of the victim. The Social Welfare Ministry has issued a letter in the matter and given a clean chit to the alleged superintendent without any investigation," said Veena Manavi, convener of a Patna-based NGO Mahila Vikas Manch. Patna police did not register an FIR on the application given by the victim till February 9, and that too after the pressure of media and the Patna High Court taking cognisance, she added. Following the sensational allegation, Patna High Court had taken the cognisance of the matter and directed the to submit the investigation report before it. The Home Department had constituted a special investigation team headed by ASP Kamya Mishra to probe the incident. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Friday initiated a suo moto case to develop guidelines to be followed by courts across the country, while considering matters which involve . A three-judge bench of Justices U.U. Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat, and P.S. Narasimha sought assistance from K.K. Venugopal, and also issued a notice to the Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The bench indicated that it would lay down guidelines to be followed by courts across the country in connection with cases involving death sentences. The bench noted that convicts are at a stage where the litigation assistance is bare minimum. The concurred with the bench that the system -- to deal with issues pertaining with death sentences -- needs to be institutionalised. During the hearing, amicus curiae advocate K. Parameshwar cited a policy in Madhya Pradesh under which public prosecutors are given increment based on the number of sentences awarded in matters prosecuted by them. Senior advocate Siddharth Dave is also an amicus curiae in the matter. The bench said this policy should be brought on record and scheduled the matter for further hearing on May 10. Last month, the top court initiated suo moto proceedings for revamping the manner in which death sentences are handed down by the courts. It noted that the process should have more objectivity. The top court registered the case to examine how the courts, which deal with death sentence matters, can develop a comprehensive analysis on the nature of the crime and the accused. It also pointed at the mitigating circumstances, which the concerned court can look into, while deciding whether a death sentence should be awarded or not. The top court initiated the process after an application was filed by anti- body, Project 39A of Law University, Delhi. The application complained about alleged inadequacies in the existing system of preparation of reports by the probation officers and other officials from the jail administration. The top court was hearing a plea by one Irfan challenging the trial court that awarded him death sentence, which was later confirmed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. --IANS ss/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ltd., the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer and a key supplier of Covid-19 inoculations to developing countries, has stopped making fresh batches of shots after its stockpile grew to 200 million doses amid a global supply glut. We have got 200 million doses of stock. We had to shut down production in December, Serums chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla said at the India Economic Conclave organized by Times Network on Friday, saying he was worried about wastage if the shots expired. I have even offered to give free donations to whoever wanted to take it. Serums predicament underscores the vaccine oversupply that has crept up across a world once desperate for immunization against the . Vaccine makers invested in massive production capacity over the past year and some of that has come online only after most countries covered much of their populations with two doses. The global adjustment to living with the virus -- with the exception of Covid Zero-practising China and Hong Kong -- has also diluted the urgency for booster shots. The about-turn is especially stark in India, which just a year ago slapped an export ban on Serum and other local producers to ensure enough supply for the local population. The country now allows all those above the age of 18 to take booster shots, and Poonawalla urged wider expansion. He said that the government is also expected to cut the recommended time gap for a booster shot to six months after the second dose, from nine months now. ALSO READ: Serum CEO Poonawalla warns against return to business-as-usual approach Poonawala said that Serum, which is a core supplier for the WHO-backed Covax program that helps ensure vaccine supply to developing countries, is drafting a global pandemic treaty to bring about free flow and coordination of essential resources like raw materials for vaccine production in the next crisis. Serum has cited protectionist measures in other countries that led to a shortage of raw materials as one reason it fell short of vaccine production goals at the height of the pandemic. The company manufactures the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University, as well as the shot from Novovax Inc. Like in most other countries, life in India has largely moved past the Covid era, though cases have been on the rise again, pushing capital New Delhi to reinstate a mask mandate in public spaces this week. The family was forced to wait at Ongole bus stand till the wee hours of Thursday. They reportedly left in another car to Tirumala after 1am. (Photo: Twitter) Nellore: The suspected over-enthusiasm on the part of Ongole Road Transport Authorities to secure vehicles for Chief Ministers Convoy on Wednesday has caused trouble to a family consisting of a male, two women and two children. The family was bound for Tirumala from Vinukonda and faced trouble at Ongole late on Wednesday night. RTA officials have been procuring vehicles for the CM Convoy for his visit to Ongole on Friday to launch the third round of YSR Zero Interest Scheme. They emerged in a hurry and took away the car along with the driver, when its occupants Vemala Srinivas and his family had disembarked from the vehicle and were taking food at a hotel. The RTA men ignored the pleas of Srinivas, who ran in, citing the problems they would face in the middle of the night if the car was taken away. The family was forced to wait at Ongole bus stand till the wee hours of Thursday. They reportedly left in another car to Tirumala after 1am. Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy, who watched the news on TV channels, got furious and ordered departmental action against the RTA officials who took away the vehicle. RTA suspended home guard Tirupal Reddy and an assistant motor vehicle inspector Sandhya on Thursday. Ongole SP Malika Garg said the police would probe the incident. Former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu fumed at the RTA officials. He said this incident reflected the misrule of the Jagan-led YSRC government. Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan asked the Chief Ministers Office to explain to the people why private vehicles were seized, that too at night. He asked for details of spending on CMs security every year and how many vehicles were to be placed in the CMs convoy. He urged the chief secretary to order a departmental inquiry into the incident and wondered how the state government with a budget allocation of Rs 2.56 lakh crore and having the capacity to raise Rs 7.77 lakh crore in loans, required to take away vehicles of private persons for the CMs tour. Chairman of Jana Sena Political Affairs Committee Nadendla Manohar slammed the government for harassing the hapless passengers. Just two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir, security forces Friday foiled a suicide attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed, killing two suspected Pakistani terrorists in a pre-down encounter here in which a CISF officer also died. Officials said nine security personnel were injured in the gunfight near an Army camp in Sunjwan area on the outskirts of Jammu. This led to a red alert being sounded across the region in view of the PM's scheduled visit to Palli Panchayat of Samba district on Sunday. Director General of Police Dilbag Singh, who visited the encounter site, said the two terrorists were part of a suicide squad of Pakistan-based JeM and their infiltration could be a "big conspiracy" to sabotage the PM's visit. A joint team of National Investigation Agency and State Investigation Agency visited the encounter site during the day. They are likely to take over the case for investigation. According to initial investigation, the two terrorists entered the outskirts of Jammu city Thursday after infiltrating from the international border in R S Pura sector and were staying in a locality close to the Sunjwan Army camp. "Last night, police and other forces were involved in an operation which culminated... As per reports, the two terrorists were part of JeM's suicide squad, launched from Pakistan and tasked with targeting a camp of the security forces or engaging... to inflict a lot of casualties," the DGP told reporters near the scene of the encounter. The terrorists were wearing suicide vests and also equipped with a huge quantity of arms and ammunition. "The encounter took place two days ahead of the prime minister's visit. It is part of a big conspiracy to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Jammu and it could be a big conspiracy to sabotage the visit," Singh said, adding "it is good that we got timely inputs and the operation was concluded successfully." The operation began around 4.25 am on Friday when the two terrorists, who were apparently moving towards the Army camp, were spotted by the guards who were changing duties, the officials said. Around the same time, a CISF bus carrying 15 personnel was proceeding towards the Jammu airport, which is being guarded by the paramilitary force. Apparently, in a knee-jerk reaction, the two terrorists lobbed a grenade towards the bus and sprayed it with bullets before escaping back into the nearby locality, prompting the security forces to lay a cordon around the area. A senior Central Industrial Security Force officer said the terrorists fired at the bus and lobbed grenades, killing Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) S P Patel and injuring two other occupants. The force retaliated effectively. Later in a tweet, the CISF said its personnel were attacked by terrorists while going for an ongoing cordon and search operation. According to the police, the gunfight began when the terrorists opened fire on the search party. The officials said nine security personnel, including two policemen, were injured in the gunfight. A CISF personnel and a police personnel sustained grievous injuries. As the CISF troops retaliated, the terrorists fled and jumped into the compound of a local resident, Mahommad Anwar, they said. The security forces zeroed in on the house and killed one of the terrorists while he was moving towards the bathroom, where his associate had taken a shelter, they said. Efforts to neutralise the second terrorist took longer. He was killed in heavy gunfire and grenade hits, they said, adding the entire gunfight lasted a little over five hours. The officials ruled out the possibility of a third terrorist being present. On the identity of the slain terrorists, DGP Singh said an investigation is on but prima facie, it looks that the two were Pakistani nationals and had freshly infiltrated into India. They have no history of terror activities in J&K, he said. The DGP said three weapons along with a lot of grenades were recovered from their possession. Responding to a question about local support to the terrorists, Singh said, "We have certain leads and we are working on them." Two AK-47 rifles, an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher and a satellite phone were recovered from the slain terrorists, the police said. Mobile internet services were suspended and schools in the vicinity of the encounter site were closed for the day as a precautionary measure. On February 10 in 2018, three stormed the Sunjwan Army camp and in the subsequent gunfight, seven people, including six soldiers, were killed. All the three terrorists were also gunned down. The officials said at least five suspected persons were lifted for questioning as a red alert was sounded across Jammu region following the incident. The security forces have intensified checking of vehicles and area domination in Jammu city and elsewhere including highways, the officials said. The PM is scheduled to visit Samba's Pali village, 17 km from here, On National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24. He is also scheduled to address a gathering. This will be Modi's first visit to Jammu and Kashmir, other than borders, since the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state and its bifurcation in August 2019. Meanwhile, the traffic police Jammu has issued an advisory in connection with the PM's visit, announcing certain restrictions and route plans. (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.) size may be cut to Rs 21K cr; issue likely to hit market on May 2 The size of the Life Insurance Corporation of Indias (LICs) initial public offering (IPO) may be slashed to Rs 21,000 crore, said people in the know. The IPO, however, may come with a greenshoe option of Rs 9,000 crore. The total IPO size, after accounting for the greenshoe option, will work out to Rs 30,000 crore and will lead to 5 per cent dilution of the government stake. Read more... Lenders have rejected the slump sale proposal of Kishore Biyanis to Ventures (RRVL), multiple sources confirmed to Business Standard after the e-voting was conducted on Thursday. Bankers cited uncertainty over the entire proposition for rejecting the proposal. Read more... Early EV adoption, lowering prices, safety on govt's agenda In the midst of frequent incidents of e-vehicles catching fire, the NITI Aayog on Thursday released the much-awaited draft policy on battery-swapping for electric two- and three-wheelers. Its highlights are lowering prices of (EVs); accelerating the adoption of battery-powered vehicles; addressing anomalies in goods and services tax (GST) rates with regard to batteries, EV supply equipment, and e-vehicles; and enhancing the safety and performance of advanced cell chemistry. Read more... PSUs, cooperative societies disallowed from bidding for state-run entities The Centre has broadened its privatisation policy to disallow public sector undertakings (PSUs) and cooperative societies from participating in the bidding for other state-owned firms. Read more... India's trade pacts: A toss-up between strategic interests, economic gains After a long hiatus, India has resumed its engagement with trade pacts. Question is: To what extent do these deals weigh on economic considerations? More importantly, how similar are they to strategic alliances? This year, India concluded a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a more limited Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement with Australia. Read more... Regulatory changes set to change the way wealthy individuals invest in IPOs Key regulatory changes are set to change the way wealthy individuals invest in initial public offerings (IPOs). Starting this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a cap of Rs 1 crore on IPO financing by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Read more... Two terrorists and a security personnel were killed in a pre-dawn gunfight near an Army camp on the outskirts of Jammu on Friday, officials said, two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Samba district. Nine security personnel were also injured in the operation in Sunjwan area, they said. Mobile internet services were suspended and schools in the vicinity of the encounter site were closed for the day as a precautionary measure, they said. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh said a major fidayeen (suicide) attack in Jammu has been averted with the elimination of the two heavily armed terrorists. Earlier, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials said a bus carrying 15 personnel for their morning shift came under attack at 4.25 am near the Chaddha camp in Sunjwan. A senior official of the paramilitary force said the terrorists fired at the bus and lobbed grenades, killing Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) S P Patil and injuring two other occupants of the bus. The force retaliated effectively, the officer said. In the counter- operation, a terrorist was also killed, the CISF officer said. Later in a tweet, the CISF said its personnel were attacked by terrorists while going for an ongoing cordon and search operation. According to the police, the gunfight began when terrorists opened fire on the search party. "Two terrorists were killed... They were carrying a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, which suggests that they were planning a fidayeen attack which was averted," the ADGP told reporters. Two AK-47 rifles, an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher and a satellite phone were also recovered from them, he said. He said the search operation is still on to clear the entire area. Singh said it is a matter of investigation what exactly was the target of the terrorists and if they had recently infiltrated from across the border. "The clear picture, including the identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists, will emerge after a thorough investigation," he said. The officials said the slain terrorists are believed to be members of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit. They said nine security personnel, including two policemen, were injured in the gunfight. A CISF personnel and a police personnel sustained grievous injuries. Earlier, ADGP Singh had said, "We had inputs about terrorists planning something (on the eve of the prime minister's visit). A cordon was laid based on an input when a search party came under fire." On February 10 in 2018, three JeM terrorists stormed the Sunjwan Army camp and in the subsequent gunfight, seven persons, including six soldiers, were killed. All the three terrorists were also gunned down. On Panchayati Raj Day on April 24, the prime minister is scheduled to visit Pali village, 17 km from here, to address a gathering. This will be Modi's first visit to other than borders since the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state and its bifurcation in August 2019. He had celebrated Diwali with Army jawans on October 27, 2019 in Rajouri and on November 3, 2021 in Nowshera sector in Jammu division. (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 Narendra Modi discussed the Russia- conflict with his British counterpart and conveyed strong advocacy for a peaceful resolution and direct dialogue between the two parties involved, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Friday, asserting that the UK applied "no pressure" over New Delhi's position on the matter. Briefing reporters on talks between Modi and Johnson, Shringla said Prime Minister Modi expressed deep concern over the ongoing situation in and the mounting humanitarian crisis there. The foreign secretary said that during the talks there was "no pressure" applied from the British side regarding the issue of adherence to sanctions on and Johnson just shared his views on the issue. Asked if put pressure on the Indian side to adhere to the sanctions against Russia, Shringla said, "The Ukraine issue was discussed by the two prime ministers but there was no pressure involved. Prime Minister put forward his views on the Ukraine issue from his perspective." Prime Minister Modi put forward India's perspective on the Ukraine issue and asserted that "we are on the side of peace", and want that there should be dialogue and diplomacy, and the conflict should be resolved soon, he said. India's position was very clear and there was "no pressure of any kind", he asserted. "The two leaders also discussed the ongoing Ukraine- conflict. Prime Minister (Modi) expressed deep concern over the ongoing situation and mounting humanitarian crisis. Prime Minister (Modi) reiterated his call for immediate cessation of violence and conveyed strong advocacy for peaceful resolution of the situation, and direct dialogue between the two parties," Shringla said. The foreign secretary said Modi and Johnson also discussed the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and cooperation on energy, green hydrogen, trade, and defence. The talks provided an opportunity to discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, he said. India welcomed the UK joining the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative under the maritime security pillar and agreed to cooperate closely in this region towards their shared commitment for maintaining an open, free and secure Indo-Pacific region, Shringla said. The foreign secretary said both sides felt defence and security was an area of potential cooperation. "As I told you, the UK's recent announcement about providing an open general licence for the export of equipment and technologies to India has been a welcome development. There was a discussion on what we could do... some of the areas that we discussed included electrical propulsion systems that can be used by naval ships, also some work on jet propulsion systems, aviation sector, underwater sea domain etc.," he said. But what is important was that both sides agreed that the two countries would facilitate meetings between their concerned scientists, he said. "In other words the focus is on co-development and co-production in keeping with our initiative of make in India and our policy of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The idea was that there would be greater emphasis on two salient features --which is production in India and transfer of technology," Shringla said. "So, what we are looking at is a combination of UK's technology and our production base to make a win-win situation," he added. Shringla said reference was also made during the talks to easier mobility between the two countries, specifically for students and professionals. "...UK universities could also consider setting up their branches in India, at the same time he (PM Modi) also encouraged UK students to also study in India," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court, which dismissed Elgar Parishad case accused Varavara Rao's plea for permanent medical bail on April 14, said the 83-year-old's clinical summary showed he did not need continued medical care. Since such a summary went against Rao's interest, it was only natural for him to "find ways and means to wriggle out of the medical report," and "dispute its findings," the HC said. It was not the court's job to analyse the advice of medical experts, the HC said while rejecting Rao's pleas for extension of medical bail, modification of bail conditions, and for permanent bail. A bench of Justices SB Shukre and GA Sanap had dismissed Rao's pleas on April 14, but a detailed order was made available on Friday. In making the above comments, the HC bench was referring to contentions made in Rao's pleas, and to the arguments made in court by his counsel Anand Grover. Grover had argued the clinical summary dated December 15, 2021, was based on Rao's medical examination at the private Nanavati hospital in the city. While the summary said Rao was fit for discharge, it failed to provide reasons for such conclusion, and the report was also silent on Rao's previous clinical diagnosis of early Parkinson's disease that was made at another private hospital in the city, Grover had argued. The NIA, however, had submitted that Rao was treated at a hospital of his choice and now that he was deemed fit for discharge by the doctors there, there was no question of extending his medical bail, or granting him permanent medical bail. "He will be given medical help at the Taloja prison whenever required. There are several other senior citizen prison inmates who suffer from medical ailments but continue to remain in custody, " counsel Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh had argued. The court, which took note of the NIA's submission, said it could not ignore the fact that Rao was facing "serious charges" under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, including the charge of having conspired to overthrow the Union government. "The allegations levelled against the accused about his involvement in commission of crime has remained unchanged. It is a matter of record that the clinical opinion is against the accused. It does not suit to the purpose of the accused. Therefore, it is but natural for the accused to find the ways and means to wriggle out of this report," HC said. "The accused has, therefore, blamed the doctors and Officials. In our view, this cannot be accepted," it said. The HC, however, said it had found substance in several claims made by Rao on lack of medical facilities and poor hygiene at the Taloja prison. The HC directed the Inspector General of Prisons to submit a "candid" report by April 30 on the state of such facilities, and the appointment of doctors and medical staff in prisons across the state, and at "Taloja prison in particular". The IG prisons must ensure, henceforth, there remain no grounds for inmates to raise grievances on inadequate health facilities in prisons across the state, HC said. "In our view, if corrective measures are adopted, then the grievance made by the accused in this case, as well as grievances in prisons all over Maharashtra could be taken care of," HC said. "It is the duty of the Inspector General prisons to ensure compliance of prison Act and Rules. The IG will be held accountable for non-compliance and lapses in future," it said. It also directed the special court to expedite the trial in the Elgar Parishad case, and to conduct the trial proceedings on a day-to-day basis. Rao was granted temporary medical bail by Bombay HC in February last year. On April 14 this year, HC extended this bail by three months to allow Rao undergo a cataract surgery, and he will have to surrender to the Taloja jail authorities at the end of this period. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In an order issued on Friday, the Health Department has made wearing of masks mandatory in the state and violators will have to pay Rs 500 as fine. The Department said the decision was taken considering the rising cases of Covid-19 in the country, especially in Delhi,. has also witnessed a slight increase in fresh cases in the past couple of days. The Department had earlier withdrawn the mask mandate following a decline in the number of infections. On Thursday, 39 people tested positive for Covid in Tamil Nadu, with 31 registered the previous day. Twelve students of IIT Madras had also tested positive for the virus and the premium institute was declared a Covid zone on Thursday. The students were however not admitted to hospital even though they had taken first aid care from the Guindy government hospital. Sources in IIT Madras told IANS that while they were ready to admit the students at Guindy Government hospital, doctors have informed them that the students do not require hospital administration. --IANS aal/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Unfazed by the criticism over demolition drive in Jahangirpuri, BJP-ruled south and east civic bodies on Friday said they will intensify anti-encroachment drives in their jurisdictions and will continue to identify structures encroaching public land. South and East Municipal Corporations have said that regular meetings to identify encroachment sites and to conduct anti-encroachment drives are being held in both the municipalities. BJP chief Adesh Gupta had earlier written to mayors of both the corporations for removal of encroachments "by Rohingyas, Bangladeshis and anti-social elements" in their areas. South Municipal Corporation Mayor Mukesh Suryan said regular meetings are being held to chalk out strategy to remove encroachment from public land. "We are going to intensify our anti-encroachment drives. No one (encroacher) will be spared. Today (Friday) also we held a meeting with officials and identified several sites in SDMC jurisdiction. More places are being added and by Monday we will have a final list and an action will then be carried out accordingly," Suryan told PTI. When asked if encroachments will be removed in sensitive areas like Shaheen Bagh and Okhla, Suryan did not take any names, but stressed that encroachment will be removed from all places. East Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Shyam Sundar Agarwal also said that anti-encroachment drives are already underway and will be intensified further. "We have identified several areas where encroachment is a major problem which many a times lead to traffic snarls. Some of these locations are in areas like, Nand Nagri, Jaffrabad, Seelampur etc," Agarwal said. He added that on Friday instructions were issued to deputy commissioners of Shahdara North and South zones to prepare detailed roadmaps and necessary arrangements for carrying out these drives. He said that people in the area will be informed about the drive through loudspeakers a day before. Chaotic scenes had unfolded in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday when roadside stalls and shops allegedly built on public land were pulled down by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in the presence of huge contingents of police and paramilitary, triggering recrimination among political parties before the Supreme Court intervened and stopped the drive. The north civic body's mayor Raja Iqbal Singh had on Thursday said that following the Supreme Court's orders there will be no action in Jahangirpuri, but asserted that notices will be sent to encroachers in other areas falling under the municipality's jurisdiction. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Friday carried out a routine in Sector-7 Rohini and removed some temporary and concrete structures to clear the road near Sai Baba Temple in the area, officials 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.) 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 has stepped down as vice chairman of Niti Aayog, the governments policymaking body, multiple reports said on Friday. Kumar is likely to be replaced by economist Suman Bery, the Hindustan Times website reported. Kumar took over as vice chairman in August 2017 after his predecessor Arvind Panagariya left NITI Aayog, which replaced the Planning Commission. Kumar has been at the Aayog since September 2017. Bery, who is likely to succeed him, was the director-general of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, or NCAER, the independent policy research institution, from 2001 to 2011. Bery, according to his LinkedIn profile, profile is a non-resident fellow of Bruegel, an economic policy research institution in Brussels. He served as a member of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council, Indias Statistical Commission and of the Reserve Bank of Indias Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy. PTI reported a reason for Kumar stepping down could not be immediately ascertained. Kumar took over as vice chairman in August 2017 after Arvind Panagariya left Aayog to return to academics. Kumar holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford University and a PhD from Lucknow University. He was a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR). Students sanitise their hands and undergo thermal testing before appearing for the Karnataka 2nd PUC (Pre-University Certificate) Board exams, in Chikmagalur, Friday, April 22, 2022. (PTI) Bengaluru: The second-year pre-university examinations started in Karnataka on Friday amid tight security and in the shadow of the hijab row. Over 6.84 lakh students will write the exam at 1,076 centres across the state. The exams will go on till May 18. As there is a ban on hijab or any cloth linked to religious identity, the authorities made arrangements at exam centres for the Muslim girls to remove their head scarves before entering the exam halls. Muslim girls who turned up at the examination wearing hijab said they will remove it inside the separate enclosure and will wear it again after the exam is over. "Hijab is important and so is writing and passing the exam. Our future depends on our exam results," a Muslim girl student told reporters in Bengaluru. Two pre-university college students from Udupi who had approached the Karnataka High Court challenging the ban on hijab, returned from the exam centre on Friday as they were not allowed to write the exam wearing hijab. The two girls-Alia and Resham- arrived in an auto-rickshaw at the exam centre wearing burqa. They insisted that they should be allowed to write the exam wearing hijab but the college authorities citing the High Court order denied them entry. Subsequently, the girls returned home. The Karnataka High Court had last month upheld the order of the state government banning wearing clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public order in schools and colleges, which a section of Muslim girls had challenged in the court. Elaborate security arrangements were made at the exam centres preventing any congregation of people to create any ruckus. Also, the photocopy centres were banned around the exam centres to prevent any exam malpractices as is the use of loudspeakers. According to Education department officials, there are 6,00,519 regular students, 61,808 repeaters and 21,928 private candidates who have enrolled this year for exam. The state government made provision for students to travel to and from their nearest bus stop to the exam centre free of cost in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation buses. Public sector lender (BOB) has cut the lending rate for by 25 basis points to 6.5 per cent till end of June 2022 to push retail credit. This special rate is available across all loans amounts and is linked to a borrowers credit profile. The new rate beginning at 6.50 per cent per annum is available for fresh home loans as well as for balance transfers, BOB said in a statement. Home Loans are linked to an external benchmark - policy repo rate set by Reserve Bank of India. This rate cut contrasts with lender decision to hike Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rate (MCLR) by five basis points across different maturities from April 12, 2022 for increase in cost of funds. One year MCLR would be 7.35 per cent, up from 7.30 per cent. Further, the Bank has also announced a 100 per cent waiver on processing fees during this period. H T Solanki, General Manager - Mortgages & Other Retail Assets, BOB said, there has seen a significant pick-up in home sales over the last many months and expect the momentum to continue. It's home loans portfolio rose by 6.57 per cent to year on year basis to Rs 76,898 crore by end of December 2021. Total retail loan portfolio was up 11.13 per cent to Rs 1,28,960 crore as of December 2021. ministry officials on Friday met public sector bank (PSB) executives to discuss their strategic three-year roadmap, collaboration among themselves, and implementation of base-level reforms. The Centre has initiated its two-day deliberations with state-owned lenders, the first day meeting being PSB Manthan 2022 to discuss implementation of next-generation reforms and explore strategies for long-term profitability. It will hold a review meeting of on Saturday to assess their performance on financial inclusion. The PSB Manthan, which resumed after 2019, focused on ways to further strengthen public sector . It also aims to make the self-sufficient to raise capital from the markets, and not entirely rely on the Centre for fund infusion. One of the themes of the meet was to explore collaborations among PSBs, and large lenders were told to share best practices with smaller banks where more expertise is needed. The meeting was chaired by financial services secretary Sanjay Malhotra, who advised banks to explore strategies for long-term profitability and adopt a more customer-centric approach, an official said. The deliberations with bankers also involved implementing digitally-enabled customer-centric products, using big data and analytics. This is for advancing credit, and improving governance as well as focusing on employee development. On Saturday, the ministry will also review the progress made by PSBs on various financial inclusion schemes and establishment of digital units. The review will look at the progress made on accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, including improving the infrastructure in rural areas. The flagship insurance schemes of the government Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJBY) and their penetration to Jan Dhan account holders would also be assessed, an official said. Banks inputs on how to improve the schemes would also be noted and adopted wherever feasible, the official added. Giving a leg up to digital transactions would also be discussed along with preparatory work for establishment of digital units as announced in the Budget. The Budget had proposed setting up 75 digital banking units in 75 districts across the country by scheduled commercial banks. Credit disbursal schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Stand Up India Scheme, PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) and issuing of Kisan Credit Cards, among others, would also be reviewed. Besides, formalisation of micro food enterprises, and review of other agriculture-specific initiatives of the government would also be undertaken. With the (RBI) tightening co-branded cards issuance framework by disallowing sharing of transaction data by issuing entities with their co-branded partners, it might be more open to granting licenses to various large players and non- like Bajaj thereby increasing competition in the segment, said Macquarie Research in a note on Friday. In its master direction, the said, The co-branding partner shall not have access to information relating to transactions undertaken through the co-branded card. The role of the co-branding partner entity under the tie-up arrangement shall be limited to marketing/distribution of the cards and providing access to the cardholder for the goods/services that are offered, the further said. also made it clear that will have to take prior approval from the RBI for issuing credit cards to their customers. tie up with various entities, including non-banks, e-commerce companies, food delivery apps, airline companies, and others, to issue co-branded credit cards. For example: ICICI Bank has a tie up with Amazon, Axis Bank has a tie up with Flipkart, RBL Bank has tie up with Bajaj for co-branded credit cards, etc. "Since data sharing is now stopped, the interpretation is that RBI will be more open for a liberal licensing regime and will be fine with retaining risk on the balance sheet, as per bankers," Macquarie Researchs note said. Further the research note suggests that RBIs new rule of activating the card within 30 days of issuance, failing which the card may get cancelled, may pose some challenges as in many cases the gets activated much later than 30 days. In fact, in many cases, there is a 15-day delay between the issuance date and the customer receiving the card in his hand. So, this will increase the intensity of calling/servicing to activate the cards, thereby pushing operating expenses. There are some other minor operational requirements that have to be met by card issuers, the research report noted. The does not tolerate extremist groups operating in in the country and targeting other nations, British Prime Minister said on Friday on India's concerns over Khalistani elements there. Addressing a press conference after his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day, Johnson said there is so much potential to take the bilateral partnership to a whole new level. Asked about India's position on Russian aggression against Ukraine, he said, "You have to recognise that India came out strongly against what happened in Bucha." India has historic relationship with Russia and everybody respects it, he said. On India's concerns over Khalistani elements in the UK, Johnson said, "We don't tolerate extremist groups operating in and targeting other countries." Asked about reports of rights violations in India, Johnson said India is a great democracy and has constitutional protection. (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.) Fugitive former car executive is surprised by an warrant sought by a French magistrate, Ghosn's spokesman said, a case linked to a probe into suspect money flows between Renault and an Omani dealership. The architect of the Renault-Nissan auto alliance has been fighting multiple probes since fleeing in late 2019 to Lebanon from Japan, where he faced separate financial misconduct allegations. "This is surprising, Ghosn has always co-operated with French authorities," A spokesperson for Ghosn in France told Reuters, reacting to a report of the arrest warrant in the Wall Street Journal. Five arrest warrants for Ghosn and the current owners or former directors of the Omani company Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, a vehicle distributor in Oman, were issued by the investigative judge, the Nanterre prosecutoras office confirmed. The Japanese investigation precipitated a vertiginous fall from grace for Carlos Ghosn, who had lived a jet-set lifestyle with properties in Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Beirut before he was detained for months in a Tokyo custody centre and under home arrest. He escaped Japan hidden in a box aboard a private jet. At the time of Ghosn's escape, he was awaiting trial on charges that he understated his compensation in Nissan's financial statements by 9.3 billion yen ($85 million) over a decade and enriched himself at his employer's expense through payments to car dealerships. Ghosn - who denies any wrongdoing in the cases against him - remains in his childhood home, Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan and has a policy of not extraditing its own nationals. Ghosn holds passports from France, Lebanon and Brazil. French prosecutors allege Ghosn funneled millions of dollars of Renault funds through the Omani car distributor for his personal use, including for the purchase of a 120-foot yacht. In early 2020, French prosecutors stepped up their investigation into Ghosn's Omani dealings and a lavish party he threw at the Versailles palace in 2014. Ghosn told Reuters in an interview last year that he was prepared for a lengthy process to clear his name with French authorities. Ghosn was chairman of both Nissan and Mitsubishi and chief executive of Renault when he was arrested in Japan in 2018. (Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Richard Lough and Tomasz Janowski) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French investigators issued arrest warrants for former . Chairman and four who allegedly helped him siphon millions of euros from partner SA. One of the warrants targets billionaire Suhail Bahwan, who owns a vehicle distributor in Oman that prosecutors suspect was used to funnel funds for Ghosns personal use, prosecutors from Nanterre, near Paris, said. The are against two of Bahwans sons and the former general manager of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles. The warrants were issued on Thursday afternoon, prosecutors said. The one targeting Ghosn concerns a wide spectrum of allegations ranging from his interactions with the Omani car distributor to corporate spending on various events and trips that may have been personal. Since Ghosns dramatic escape from to Lebanon in late 2019, his main legal risks have largely shifted to France, where he is suspected of using Renaults funds to pay for a yacht and his wifes birthday celebration at the Versailles Palace. The charges come after French investigators traveled to Beirut last year to question Ghosn and issued a summons for him to face possible charges in . also has an arrest warrant for Ghosn, but the former auto titan is a Lebanese national and the country does not extradite its citizens. He also has citizenship in and . In Japan, Ghosn was facing charges of financial misconduct. A lawyer for the former boss called the French arrest warrant surprising, saying that his client is forbidden by Lebanese authorities from leaving the country. has always cooperated with French judicial officials, Jean Tamalet said by phone. Ghosn has previously denied the French allegations. An attorney for Bahwan didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal reported the warrants earlier on Friday. Paradoxically, Ghosn was in favor of being charged in the French investigation but legal complexities prevented that from taking place in Lebanon. An arrest warrant prevents him from having an input whereas charges would have given him a status. They would have allowed his defense team to access evidence, lodge procedural challenges and petition for certain witnesses to be heard. Contrary to Japan, Ghosn could be ordered to face trial in his absence in . Tamalet suggested that the probe against his client may be used politically as French voters prepare to decide on Sunday whether to elect incumbent Emmanuel Macron or his nationalist rival, Marine Le Pen, in the presidential runoff ballot. Hats off to the timing of the prosecution for the issuance of the arrest warrant and its broadcasting via the Anglo-Saxon press, the attorney said by phone. is in talks with India for a broader green and sustainable development partnership, a senior German ministry official said, underlining that such an agreement is in the stages of finalisation. State Secretary of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Jochen Flasbarth, who is on a two-day visit to India, held meetings with a number of officials from the Environment, Coal and the External Affairs Ministries. Addressing a media briefing, Flasbarth said is looking for a broader green and sustainable development partnership with India. The agreement covers a broader range of subjects related to sustainable development goals, he added. "Mobility is one area which is quite closely linked to the energy issue. Urban development has many facets on how to organise sustainable cities with regard to energy, mobility and also with regard to social security and that is all covered with this kind of partnership. We are open with our Indian colleagues to identify the most urgent areas under the SDG umbrella that we want to cooperate on during the next 10 years," he said. He said the agreement can be finalised in the coming days after meetings between the cabinets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz next month. Flasbarth said renewable energy cooperation is another area where is seeking to enhance its partnership with India. "We have a very broad area of cooperation with India in the field of climate mitigation and adaptation, and at the very centre, we have scaling up of renewable electricity and energy," he said. Solar partnership was another issue on the agenda of Flasbarth. "In the course of the next days, we have meetings where we will finalise it," 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.) Washington [US], April 22 (ANI): US lawmaker Ilhan Omar's meeting with recently ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and her "unofficial, personal" visit to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) did not represent the United States government in any way, an official said on Thursday. India had on Thursday condemned Omar's visit to PoK as violative of India's territorial integrity and sovereignty and that it reflected her "narrow-minded" . The Democratic Congresswoman is on a four-day visit to Pakistan that began on April 20. On Wednesday, she met Imran Khan as well as visited a part of PoK. Speaking to ANI, Derek Chollet, counselor to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "It's an unofficial personal visit and it does not represent any policy change on behalf of the United States government." Omar, a Somali American who belongs to President Joe Biden's Democratic Party, had after her visit to PoK said Kashmir should get more attention from the United States, which elicited stern condemnation from India. "I don't believe that it (Kashmir) is being talked about to the extent it needs to in Congress but also with the administration," Omar told reporters after visiting PoK. Condemning her visit to PoK, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reporters in New Delhi at a media briefing, "Let me just say that if such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded at home, that's her business." "But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty... makes this ours and we think the visit is condemnable," Bagchi said. The Islamabad visit by Omar, who represents Minnesota in the US House of Representatives, is the first by an American legislator since the new Pakistan government took office. Her meeting with Imran Khan at his residence at Bani Gala has been criticised since the ouster Pakistan premier had accused Washington of conspiracy to dislodge his government. When asked what the US made of the Omar-Khan meeting, in particular, Chollet said, "Congresswoman's visit was a personal visit. It was not something that the State Department helped to organize so I don't have much to comment on it. Because it was a visit made in her personal capacity." Omar is the first naturalized citizen of African birth to sit in the US Congress. She has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has previously questioned Biden administration officials over what she said was their "failure" to criticize the Indian government on the issue of human rights and its actions against its Muslim minorities in India. In a recent hearing in which Omar questioned Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Omar raised concerns about the United States's history of getting close to undemocratic leaders as a strategy to show strength in numbers against an adversary. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's newly-appointed information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday claimed that former prime minister paid a meagre amount of 20 per cent retention money and made Rs 142 million by selling state from the Toshakhana. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, she said Khan used his position as the prime minister to do business and earn money. Aurangzeb said Khan declared that he earned Rs 141 million till date since he started earning. However, he earned Rs 142 million by selling the precious gifts, she said. She asserted that only 20 per cent retention money was paid by Khan for the . Aurangzeb asked Khan to provide the money trail of the amount spent to buy from the Toshakhana. The information minister said Khan will have to show the money trail and the receipts as the Toshakhana gifts cannot be sold."Where is the money trail for the gifts you (Imran) retained?,"she asked. The PTI-led government introduced a law to procure gifts from the Toshakhana at 50% of its original cost, but despite the law being introduced during their tenure, purchased the gift at 20% of the cost, Aurangzeb said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India has been pushing for peace in Ukraine and wants the Russians out of that country, British Prime Minister said on Friday after holding wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. At a press conference, Johnson said Modi has been "very strong" in his reaction to what happened in Bucha in Ukraine and that everyone understands and respects New Delhi's decades-old historic relationship with Moscow. The British prime minister was responding to a question on whether he asked Modi to use his influence over Moscow to put pressure on Russia to stop its aggression against Ukraine. Johnson also announced that the UK's embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv will reopen next week and asserted that Britain and its allies will not watch passively to Russian President Vladimir Putin's "onslaught" in Ukraine. He said it is clear that Modi has intervened several times in asking Russian President Vladimir Putin what on earth he thinks he's doing and where he thinks this is going. "I think you have to recognise that Indians and Narendra Modi, in particular, came out with very strong language on what's happened in Bucha. ..Talking to PM Modi, it is clear he has already intervened several times with Vladimir Putin," he said. "What the Indians want is peace in Ukraine and they want Russians out and I totally agree with that," Johnson said, adding India and the UK have greater convergence on various challenges facing the world. At the same time, Johnson said India-Russia ties are historically well-known and they are not going to change it. "The situation around the world is obliging the UK and India to do more together... The Russia-India ties are historically well-known and they are not going to change that," he said. Johnson's two-day visit to India came amid growing disquiet in Western capitals over New Delhi's refusal to directly condemn the Russian aggression in Ukraine and its decision to procure discounted Russian oil. In his media statement, Modi called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. "We stressed on dialogue and diplomacy for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem in Ukraine. We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries," he said. Asked about concerns over human rights violations and the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, Johnson said India is a great democracy and it has constitutional protection for its people. "On our relations with India and how we deal with questions around human rights and democratic values, of course, we have these conversations but the advantage of our friendship is that we can have them, and we can have them in a friendly and private way," he said. "It's very important to realise that India has constitutional protections for communities, India is very very different from autocracies around the world. It is a great democracy... around 1.35 billion people live in a democracy and that's something we should celebrate," he said. On the crisis in Ukraine, a joint statement issued after the Modi-Johnson talks said the two leaders expressed in the strongest terms their concern about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian situation in that country. "They unequivocally condemned civilian deaths, and reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the conflict, which was having severe implications across the globe, in particular for developing countries," it said. "They emphasised that the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. They reaffirmed their willingness to provide humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine," it added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hanamkonda: The Rythu Sangarashan Sabha is not just a political meeting in Hanamkonda on May 6, but the continuation of the Telangana movement against the cruel TRS government, announced TPCC chief Revanth Reddy here on Thursday. He was speaking to the media at Arts and Science ground in Hanamkonda. He said that on the suggestions given by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, the TPCC would hold a meeting in Warangal. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have a lot of affection towards the people of Telangana. They are very much worried as the dreams and aspirations of Telangana people were not fulfilled even after giving them a separate Telangana state, because of the failures of the TRS government, he said. Revanth Reddy alleged that by making all false promises like waiving of 1 lakh farm loans, giving of 1 lakh jobs to unemployed youths and making a dalit as first CM, Chandrasekhar Rao came to power and betrayed the people. To the question raised by the TRS party working president and IT minister Rama Rao during his visit to Hanamkonda that, where these Congress leaders were when the Telangana movement was held, Revanth Reddy asked KTR to question his parents who gave petrol to their cars from 2001 to 2007. Revanth Reddy also asked KTR to recollect the 2009 assembly session during which he spoke around 52 minutes demanding the then government to resolve various issues pertaining to Telangana region. He also said that he fought for 42 per cent of share for Telangana in TTD and for 400 km of coastal corridor for Telangana and sought a share from the income of Vijayawada, Guntur and Krishna districts for TS. It is the KCR family who are fond of posts and positions, not the Congress party leaders. That is why even though the people defeated Kalvakuntal Kavitha in Nizamabad and Boinapally Vinod Kumar in Karimnagar, KCR gave them MLC and nominated posts, he said. Revanth Reddy said Rahul Gandhi will visit Telangana every three months and has a lot of confidence in the people of Warangal. That is why he decided to hold a meeting in Warangal. It is the meeting which is going to be held by the people of all sections for their welfare. The former PCC president Ponnala Laxmaiah said that by seeing the past history of All India Congress, the Rahul Gandhi meeting is going to be a turning point for the Congress. In 1980, Indira Gandhi contested from Medak parliament segment after which the Congress was rejuvenated to form the government, he said. Before 2004, Sonia Gandhi participated in the BC Garjana meeting conducted at Arts and Science college with lakhs of people after which the Congress party went on to form government both in the state and at the Centre. Now Rahul Gandhi is going to participate in the Rythu Sangarshana Sabha at the same grounds and history will surely be repeated, he said. Congress party star campaigner MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, former union minister Balram Naik, Mulugu MLA Seethakka, Warangal and Hanamkonda DCC unit president Naini Rajendar, Konda Muralidhar and Janga Raghava were among those present. describes four islands whose ownership it disputes with Moscow as illegally occupied by in the latest version of a diplomatic report released Friday, using stronger language to describe the territorial flap than other recent versions and underscoring the chilled relations between the two sides amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The description in the 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook, an annual report on Japan's foreign policy issued by the Foreign Ministry, uses that phrasing for the first time in nearly two decades. Japan, which is struggling to improve ties with Moscow to regain control of the Kurils, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories, had previously described the dispute in a softer tone. The Northern Territories are a group of islands has sovereignty over and an integral part of Japan's territory, but currently they are illegally occupied by Russia, the ministry said in the report. The dispute over the Russian-held islands, which the former Soviet Union seized from at the end of World War II, has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their war hostilities. The report last used a similar expression in 2003 but had toned down its phrasing until last year, when it described the dispute as the greatest concern between Japan and and noted that Japan has sovereignty over the islands. In another territorial dispute, the ministry said the island that Japan calls Takeshima is illegally occupied by Seoul, which calls it Dokdo. South Korea's Foreign Ministry protested Japan's repeated inclusion of unjust sovereignty claims over Dokdo, calling the island an integral part of South Korean territory. It said Tokyo's repeated claims are in no way conducive to efforts to establish a future-oriented relationship between the two sides. Japan-South Korea ties have been also badly strained by historical issues. Japan has joined other Group of Seven countries in imposing a series of sanctions against . Tokyo is taking a greater role in the effort against Russia because of its concerns about the impact of the invasion in East Asia, where China's military has grown increasingly assertive. Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia, which recently announced the suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that included negotiations over the disputed islands. Japan also seeks to bolster its defense capability and budget as part of a key revision to Japan's national security strategy expected later this 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.) US President on Thursday (local time) announced a new programme for Ukrainians called called "Uniting for Ukraine" to enable those seeking refuge to come directly from Europe to the . "I'm announcing a program, "Unite for Ukraine" -- a new program to enable Ukrainians seeking refuge to come directly from Europe to the United States," he said in a statement. According to the statement, this new humanitarian parole programme will complement the existing legal pathways available to Ukrainians, including immigrant visas and refugee processing. "It will provide an expedient channel for secure, legal migration from Europe to the for Ukrainians who have a US sponsor, such as a family or an NGO. This program will be fast. It will be streamlined. And it will ensure the honors its commitment to go to the Ukrainian people and need not go through our southern border," he said further. Speaking about the actions taken by the US against Russia, Biden said: "We're also continuing to ratchet up the pressure on Putin and further isolate on the world stage." "Yesterday, the Treasury Department rolled out additional measures to crack down on the entities and individuals attempting to evade our unprecedented sanctions -- not just ours, but throughout the West," he said. Further announcing that now the US will ban Russian-affiliated ships from our ports, as they (Russia) did in Europe" "That means no ship -- no ship that sails under the Russian flag or that is owned or operated by Russian interests will be allowed to dock in a United States port or access our shores. None. None," he said. Meanwhile, the US today authorized new military assistance worth USD 800 million for . As per an official statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the assistance, valued at up to USD 800 million worth of arms and equipment from US Department of Defense inventories, builds on last week's USD 800 million package and is the eighth drawdown of arms, equipment, and supplies from Department of Defense inventories for since August 2021. Blinken also reiterated the US support of Ukraine's defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. "This is a tragic and catastrophic war of choice entirely of Russia's making, and the United States, its allies, and partners will stand in solidarity with the people of in their just cause the defence of their country and their democracy. Together, we continue to support Ukraine's defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to strengthen Ukraine's position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table," he stated. Notably, launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, which the West has termed an unprovoked war. As a result of this, the Western countries have also imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. (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.) If is able to take over Inc., his biggest promise is to transform it into a platform for free speech with few restrictions something he calls essential to a functioning democracy. But Musk, who is famously sensitive to criticism, has a mixed record on championing the cause. The 50-year-old billionaire has donated over $6 million to the American Civil Liberties Union in the last five years, making him one of its most substantial donors, and hes discussed free speech on numerous occasions with the organizations executive director. But in his tweets, public remarks and policies at the businesses he runs, Musk shows little tolerance for speech thats unflattering to him or his companies, or reflects employee criticism of the workplace. At Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, Musk has a long track record of silencing or punishing anyone who goes public with criticism of a project or practice. Workers must sign nondisclosure agreements and arbitration clauses that prevent them from taking their employer to court. Meanwhile, Musk uses his account, where he has more than 80 million followers and a fan base he can ignite, to publicly mock others, from a local health official during the early days of the pandemic to Parag Agrawal, Twitters current chief executive officer. Musk defined the goal for at a TED event last week: A good sign as to whether there is free speech is: Is someone you dont like allowed to say something you dont like? If that is the case, then we have free speech. But those who have said things Musk didnt like have seen their reputations publicly trashed. Vernon Unsworth, a British caver who helped rescue 12 boys trapped in Thailand, called Musks efforts to help a PR stunt in 2018. Musk retaliated by calling him a pedo guy. Then he paid $50,000 to a dubious private investigator to dig into Unsworths background in the U.K. and Thailand. He also attempted to depose a reporter, Ryan Mac, who was covering Unsworths defamation lawsuit against Musk. That same year, Musk went after Martin Tripp, a worker at Teslas battery plant in Nevada. Tripp saw himself as an idealist trying to improve the companys operations; Musk viewed him as a dangerous foe who engaged in sabotage and shared data with the press and unknown third parties. Teslas PR department spread false rumors that Tripp was possibly homicidal and had threatened to shoot the place up, even though authorities had already determined that Tripp posed no immediate threat and wasnt armed. Another employee was fired six days after he posted a YouTube video of his Tesla Model 3 running into a traffic pylon while using FSD Beta, an early version of software that Tesla has rolled out to roughly 100,000 people. And then theres the case of Jack Sweeney, a Florida teenager who tracks private jets. A few months ago, Musk reached out to him and offered $5,000 to shut down the Elons Jet account, Sweeney said. Musk viewed it as a security risk. Sweeney asked for $50,000, which Musk refused. The billionaire then blocked some of the accounts connected to Sweeney. If Musk were in charge of Twitter policy, he said he believes that people should be blocked only as a last resort, according to his comments at TED. If its a gray area, his preference would be to leave the content up, he said. Its difficult to get clarity on the statements Musk makes on Twitter, in part because he largely disbanded Teslas communications team in the U.S. and rarely responds to inquiries from the financial press. Several journalists who cover Musks companies have been blocked by him on Twitter. Musk didnt respond to a request for comment via email. Musk called himself a free speech absolutist in March when he tweeted that Starlink SpaceXs satellite-based internet service that is now operating in Ukraine wouldnt block Russian state-run news sources, which were cut off by some platforms at the time. He and I have spoken on free speech issues on numerous occasions, and I know that he is quite passionate about defending free speech, Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in an email. Romero attended the TED conference in Vancouver last week, and he and Musk exchanged messages right after Musks on-stage conversation. I believe Elon to be a true civil libertarian. But Musk has already cited some instances where he believes content on Twitter should be blocked. At TED, he said Twitter should continue to take down content on a geographic basis, as the company is bound by the laws of the country that it operates in. In Germany, for instance, its against the law to deny the Holocaust happened, so Twitter hides those tweets in that country. Musk also said he would like to ban cryptocurrency scammers on the site. The billionaires persona and his popularity with crypto investors has been used to trick people in the past. And on Thursday, he vowed to defeat spam bots or die trying if his Twitter bid succeeds. If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying! (@elonmusk) April 21, 2022 A platforms policies are good if the most extreme 10% on left and right are equally unhappy, Musk tweeted Tuesday, presenting a stance similar to past statements by Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The risk is discouraging some people from using a platform because it feels unsafe or prone to abuse. Musk is focused on the idea that free speech means not taking down anything, said Emma Llanso, director of the Center for Democracy and Technologys Free Expression Project. But if people stop speaking out of fear of bullying or harassment, that can actually really end up excluding large groups of people and communities from participation in online discourse. While its unclear if any of Musk's tweets have been removed by Twitter, his account has come under intense scrutiny by third parties, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued Musk for fraud over his infamous funding secured tweet from August 2018. The wording was part of a message saying he was considered taking Tesla private, and it sent the shares surging. Musk and Tesla ended that dispute by agreeing to pay $20 million apiece, without admitting wrongdoing. Musk also agreed not to tweet about specific topics without advance approval from a Tesla lawyer. Another of Musks tweets drew scrutiny from the National Labor Relations Board. That post, also from 2018, threatened workers with the loss of stock options if they formed a union. But its Twitters own efforts to moderate speech that has drawn recent scorn from Musk. He has said that the company should resort less frequently to banning users. Thats led to speculation that Musk could reinstate former President Donald Trumps account if he became Twitters owner. Its always hard when you put humans in charge of making decisions about what speech should be allowed or what speech should not be allowed, said Clay Calvert, who directs the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project at the University of Florida. The one answer for people who object to Twitters content moderation policies is forming your own company. Or, in Musks case, buying Twitter. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida agreed on Thursday to strengthen the partnership in defence, trade and climate between their nations, including the beginning of formal talks toward a military information sharing agreement. Ardern is in on a three-day visit as part of her first trip abroad in more than two years, as her government seeks to promote the country's reopening for business and tourism following a pandemic-related border closure. Ardern said she and Kishida discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine at great length because we are at a critical juncture". Kishida said the two leaders strongly denounced the invasion. Use of force to change the status quo is impermissible. and oppose any such attempt in the East or South sea or any other place, he said at a joint news conference after their talks. The two leaders also raised concerns about the situation in the South Sea, where has militarised several artificially constructed islands and is pressing its extensive territorial claims. They opposed any unilateral actions that could escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the rules-based order, according to a joint statement released by Japan's Foreign Ministry. As two democracies, our approaches to the challenges facing our Indo-Pacific region are closely aligned," Ardern said. "We are committed to working toward a vision of an open, inclusive, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific underpinned by the rules-based order and free from collusion." is especially concerned about Chinese military and coast guard activity in the East China Sea near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls Diaoyu. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has increased worry in Japan about rising tensions between China and Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. Japan in recent years has expanded military ties beyond its traditional ally, the United States, forming partnerships and stepping up joint exercises with countries including Australia, India, Britain and Europe. Japan and agreed on Thursday to step up joint drills and seek a military information sharing agreement, which would be Tokyo's 10th. Ardern and Kishida also shared concerns about human rights conditions in China's Xinjiang autonomous region and crackdowns on freedoms in Hong Kong. They agreed to deepen cooperation in trade and in areas such as renewable energy and green technology. Kishida said they also pledged to cooperate in supporting Pacific island nations. The two leaders were expected to discuss a new security agreement signed by China and the Solomon Islands that allows China to send police and military personnel to the Pacific island nation while also opening the door for Chinese warships to stop in port. It has triggered worries of a possible Chinese naval base on the doorstep of Australia and New Zealand. The new security agreement between China and Solomon Islands could affect the security of the entire Pacific region, and Japan is watching the development with concern, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said earlier Thursday. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the pact would not undermine the peace and harmony of our region. He said his government would not let China build a military base there, and China has denied seeking a military foothold in the South Pacific. Ardern arrived in Japan late Wednesday after a three-day visit to Singapore, where her talks with leaders focused on economic and bilateral cooperation on climate change and adopting low-carbon and green technologies. New Zealand imposed a strict border closure during the pandemic. It will reopen its borders to tourists from Japan, Singapore and many other countries from May. tourism previously accounted for about 20% of New Zealand's foreign income and more than 5% of its gross domestic product, but evaporated after the pandemic began. The visit is also a chance for Ardern to appear on an stage and regain support at home ahead of elections next year. While she is generally highly regarded internationally, her support at home has faded from earlier highs. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister on Friday reiterated India's support for an inclusive government in and also stressed the need to choose dialogue and diplomacy to address the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Delivering a joint media statement after delegation-level talks with Boris Johnson, PM Modi said: "We reiterated our support for a peaceful, stable, and secure and for an inclusive and representative Government. It is necessary that Afghan land should not be used to spread terrorism in other countries." On the ongoing crisis in Ukraine crisis, Modi emphasised dialogue and diplomacy to address the problem and called for an immediate ceasefire. "We stressed on dialogue and diplomacy in Ukraine for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem. We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries," PM Modi said in the presence of Johnson. Speaking on the Global Innovation Partnership between India and the UK, PM Modi said, "The conclusion of the implementation arrangements of the Global Innovation Partnership will prove to be a very important initiative between us today. This will further strengthen our development partnership with other countries." "Under this, India and UK will co-finance up to USD 100 million for the transfer and scaling-up of "Made in India" innovations to third countries," PM Modi added. PM Modi pointed out that said good progress has been made in negotiations for the India-UK free trade agreement. "Last year we (India-UK) launched a comprehensive strategic partnership. Work on FTA is underway. Talks were held on the defence sector, trade, climate, and energy. Talks were also held on free, open & rule-based Indo-pacific region," he said. Both sides also expressed their commitment to fulfilling promises made during the last 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), PM Modi stated. PM Modi and also spoke on the need for a rules-based order and a free Indo-Pacific. "We invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. We stressed on a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region," he added. PM Modi hailed UK PM's contribution to strengthening the ties between India and UK. "For past many years, UK Prime Minister has played a pivotal role in strengthening India-UK relations," he stressed. Meanwhile, after the delegation-level discussions with PM Modi, Johnson described the ties between India and Britain as "one of defining friendships of our times". "My friend, Prime Minister Narendra, my "khaas dost" (special friend), we've had a fantastic few days here in India. And yesterday, I became the first Conservative Prime Minister to visit Gujarat, which is your birthplace. I had an amazing reception," Johnson said at the joint address with PM Modi. The UK Prime Minister had arrived in Gujarat on Thursday on a two-day visit to India. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian President claimed victory Thursday in the battle for Mariupol, even as he ordered his troops not to take the risk of storming the giant steel plant where the last Ukrainian defenders in the city were holed up in a maze of underground passages. Instead, Putin directed his forces to seal off the Azovstal plant so that not even a fly comes through. After nearly two lethal months of bombardment that have largely reduced Mariupol to a smoking ruin, Russian forces appear to control the rest of the strategic southern city, including its vital but now badly damaged port. But 2,000 Ukrainian troops, by Moscow's estimate, have stubbornly held out for weeks at the sprawling plant, despite a pummelling from Russian forces and repeated demands for their surrender. About 1,000 civilians were also trapped there, according to Ukrainian officials. Instead of sending troops in to finish off the defenders in a potentially bloody frontal assault, apparently intends to maintain the siege and wait for the fighters to surrender when they run out of food or ammunition. Mayor Vadym Boychenko rejected any notion that Mariupol had fallen into Russian hands. The city was, is and remains Ukrainian, he declared. Today our brave warriors, our heroes, are defending our city. Putin's comments came as satellite images showed more than 200 new graves in a town where Ukrainian officials say the Russians have been burying Mariupol residents killed in the fighting. The imagery, from Maxar Technologies, shows long rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. Boychenko accused the Russians of hiding their military crimes by taking the bodies of civilians from the city and burying them in Manhush. The capture of Mariupol would represent the Kremlin's biggest victory yet of the war in . It would help Moscow secure more of the coastline, complete a land bridge between and the Crimean Peninsula, which seized in 2014, and free up more forces to join the larger and potentially more consequential battle now underway for Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, the Donbas. At a joint appearance with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Putin declared, The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success, and he offered congratulations to Shoigu. Shoigu predicted the steel plant could be taken in three to four days, but Putin said that would be pointless, expressing concern for the lives of Russian soldiers. There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities, the Russian leader said. Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly comes through. The plant covers 11 sq km (4 square miles) and is threaded with some 24 km (15 miles) of tunnels and bunkers. The Russian agenda now is not to capture these really difficult places where the Ukrainians can hold out in the urban centres, but to try and capture territory and also to encircle the Ukrainian forces and declare a huge victory, retired British Rear Adm Chris Parry said. For weeks now, Russian officials have said capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas is the war's main objective. Moscow's forces opened the new phase of the fighting this week along a 300-mile (480-km) front from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to the Azov Sea. While Russia continued heavy air and artillery attacks in those areas, it did not appear to gain any significant ground over the past few days, according to military analysts, who said Moscow's forces were still ramping up the offensive. A senior US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment, said the Ukrainians were hindering the Russian effort to push south from Izyum. Rockets struck a neighbourhood of Kharkiv on Thursday, and at least two civilians were burned to death in their car. A school and a residential building were also hit, and firefighters tried to put out a blaze and search for anyone trapped. Western nations, meanwhile, rushed to pour heavy weapons into to help it counter the offensive in the east. US President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance, including heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition and drones. But he also warned that the $13.6 billion approved last month by the US Congress for military and humanitarian aid is almost exhausted and more will be needed. All told, more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little or no food, water, heat or medicine in Mariupol, which had a prewar population of about 430,000. The city has seized worldwide attention as the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war, including deadly airstrikes on a maternity hospital and a theatre. has repeatedly accused Russia of launching attacks to block civilian evacuations from the city. On Thursday, at least two Russian attacks hit the city of Zaporizhzhia, a way station for people fleeing Mariupol, though no one was wounded, the regional governor said. Britain's Defence Ministry said that Russia probably wants to demonstrate significant successes ahead of Victory Day on May 9, the proudest day on the Russian calendar, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date, the ministry said. In the continuing war of sanctions and countersanctions between Russia and the West, Moscow announced its has barred US Vice President Kamala Harris, tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans, including foreign affairs commentators, from entering Russia. The move was a response to ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions by the Biden administration, the ministry said in a statement, and targeted people it said were shaping a Russophobic narrative. Similar restrictions were imposed on 61 Canadians. (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 has announced that it has barred US Vice President Kamala Harris, Meta CEO and 27 other prominent Americans from entering the country. In a statement on its website Thursday, the ministry said that the move came as a response to ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions brought on by the Biden administration. It claimed to be targeting top executives, public intellectuals and journalists shaping what it referred to as the Russophobic narrative prevailing in US public debate. Alongside Harris and Zuckerberg, the ban includes top defense and justice officials; the CEOs of LinkedIn and Bank of America; high-profile foreign affairs commentators; as well as the editor of the Russia-focused Meduza news website. In a statement Thursday, the ministry said that the travel bans would apply in perpetuity and that the sanctions list would be updated shortly in responsible to the hostile actions of Western authorities. Similar restrictions were imposed on 61 Canadian citizens, similarly accused of spearheading Russophobic policies. Those sanctioned include Cameron Ahmad, director of communications to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Canadian Special Operations Forces Commander Steve Boivin. Also on Thursday, ordered the closure of all consular missions maintained in the country by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, expelling all their non-Russian staff in retaliation to similar moves by the Baltic states. ___ Kyiv: A Ukrainian official raised the possibility of a Ukrainian airstrike against the strategically important bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland. His statement on Thursday prompted angry denouncements from top Russian political figures. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, was asked in an interview with Ukraine's Radio NV whether Kyiv would be able to hit the $4 billion Kerch bridge, which is Moscow's only direct road link to the peninsula, in order to stem the flow of military resupplies channeled through it. Had we been able to do it, we would have already done it, Danilov said in response. If there is a possibility, we will definitely do it. He did not clarify whether Kyiv currently has the capability to carry out an attack. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, branded Danilov's statement nothing else than the announcement of a possible terrorist act and unacceptable. Speaking at a regular press briefing on Thursday, Peskov added that all security measures were in place around the Kerch bridge and other strategic facilities. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said that Russia has rejected the proposal for a truce during Orthodox Easter, taking place on Sunday. In his latest video address, Zelensky said: "Unfortunately, Russia rejected the proposal to establish an Easter truce. This shows very well how the leaders of this state actually treat the Christian faith, one of the most joyful and important holidays. "But we keep our hope. Hope for peace, hope that life will overcome death." The Orthodox Easter service starts late on Saturday into Sunday morning. It is observed by both the Ukrainians and Russians. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a four-day Holy Week humanitarian pause beginning on Holy Thursday and running through Easter Sunday, to allow for a series of humanitarian corridors to open. In a statement, Guterres had said that a "humanitarian pause would provide the necessary conditions to meet two crucial imperatives, beginning with safe passage of all civilians willing to leave the areas of current and expected confrontation". Senior members of the clergy across the globe have been pressing the Russian Orthodox Church to condemn Moscow's invasion of . The Russian Orthodox Church has not commented on the issue. --IANS ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Sri Lankan police have transferred three top for their alleged misconduct which led to the death of a protester in violence in the southwestern region of Rambukkana after the police opened fire at unarmed anti-government protestors demonstrating against the latest fuel price hike. A special police team has been appointed to probe the incident and report within 3 days. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Wickramaratne has handed over the investigation into the shooting of an unarmed protester in Rambukkana to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said. The CID will conduct an impartial inquiry, he said. The funeral of 41-year-old Chaminda Lakshan, who was killed in the violence, would be held on Saturday. Thirteen people were injured in the violence. The Sri Lankan government on Thursday deployed troops as a precautionary measure in Rambukkana after lifting the curfew. A special gazette was issued yesterday to allow troops to be placed there until April 23 in view of the funeral of the killed man. The police, under fire for escalating the protest by provoking the public, have transferred three top police officials in the area, including the SP of Rambukkana Police and the SSP of the Kegalle Police, with immediate effect. The in question were said to have acted on orders of politicians who had wanted them to crack down on protesters. Police chief Chandana Wickremaratne has been summoned by the independent Human Rights Commission on Friday to probe the incident. A local magistrate on Thursday accused the police of tampering with a report about the protester's death, according to lawyers who defended the rights of the shooting victim. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has condemned the police shooting of protesters. law prohibits the use of lethal force by law enforcement unless there is an imminent threat to life," HRW said in a statement. Army would provide security to fuel transporting bowsers, the Army Commander Shavendra Silva said. Top bureaucrat of the public security ministry Jagath Alwis said the protesters tried to set on fire a fuel tanker having 33,000 litres of fuel. The police were forced to open fire to prevent a fuel bowser from being set in flames by the protesters. Alwis said a three-member probe committee has been appointed to probe if the police had used excessive power in opening the fire at protesters. The latest fuel price hike on Monday night triggered street protests in many areas on Tuesday. Oil entities in the island nation have been hiking the price regularly due to the shortage of fuel. Protests continued in most parts of the island nation against the government for its mishandling of the economic crisis. is grappling with unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices. The island nation is witnessing large-scale protests against the government's handling of the debt-ridden economy - the worst-ever economic crisis in the country's history. Protests demanding the resignation of President Rajapaksa and his Podujana (Peramuna)-led government have intensified as shortages continued and prices soared. Last week, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on USD 35.5 billion in foreign debt as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made it impossible to make payments to overseas creditors. (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 be probed by a House of Commons committee after MPs voted on Thursday whether the British prime minister misled about attending illegal parties in Downing Street during the . While Johnson was miles away in India on a two-day bilateral visit, MPs shouted aye for the Parliament's Committee of Privileges to investigate whether the UK prime minister knowingly misled . The vote, tabled by the Opposition Labour Party, passed without the need of a formal vote as the Conservative Party benches were sparsely attended after the ruling party abandoned a planned amendment to delay the motion. Under parliamentary rules, UK government ministers are expected to resign for knowingly misleading MPs and correct the record as soon as possible if they inadvertently tell something false. Speaking in Ahmedabad, Johnson, 57, said he had "no concerns" about the committee investigation. "If the Opposition want to focus on this and talk about it a lot more that's fine" but he "wanted to focus on what matters for the future of the country," including boosting trade ties with India. Defending Johnson in the Commons during the debate, UK Cabinet Office Minister Michael Ellis said the UK Prime Minister did not mislead the Commons, but made comments about partygate revelations "in good faith". He added that the prime minister "has always been clear that he is happy to face whatever inquiries Parliament sees fit". "He has responded to the event for which he has received a fixed-penalty notice," Ellis said. The fixed-penalty notice refers to a fine, believed to be worth GBP 50, that was issued to Johnson by Scotland Yard last week after he was found in breach of rules on his birthday in June 2020. His wife Carrie Johnson, who had brought a cake into the Cabinet Room of Downing Street on the day, and UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak who said he was there for a meeting were also fined by the Metropolitan Police. All three immediately paid up their fines and apologised in the wake of the notices. Labour Leader Keir Starmer accused Conservative MPs of failing to stand up for the values of "honesty and integrity" and said "Britain deserves better" than Johnson. He said Johnson had "stood at that despatch box and point blank denied rule-breaking took place, when it did." Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner reiterated her party's call for the PM to resign, telling MPs that "the prime minister is leading the Conservative Party into the sewer". Urging MPs to support an investigation, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "The public won't stomach another Conservative stitch-up that drags our democracy through the mud just to protect one of their own." Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Ian Blackford said Johnson had "lied to avoid getting caught, and once he got caught, he lied again". After over five hours of debate, MPs were asked if they supported launching an investigation into Johnson and as no one opposed the proposal, the motion was approved without a formal vote. The clash stems from Johnson's initial statement to the Commons that insisted COVID rules had been followed at No. 10 Downing Street in the wake of the first partygate allegations. His Tory party colleagues have stood by him, with only a handful voicing their criticism within the Conservative Party. Therefore, a parliamentary vote on the issue was expected to go in Johnson's favour but marks yet another dent to his leadership ahead of local council and mayoral elections scheduled for May 5. (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.) HYDERABAD: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday castigated the TRS government over the death of BJP activist G Sai Ganesh from Khammam, saying that TRS leaders, led by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao resorted to undemocratic methods to hang on to power. Reddy, was speaking to reporters at Khammam after commiserating with Sai Ganeshs grandmother and sister, whom he called on. He was accompanied by senior party leaders Vivek Venkatswamy and Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, among others. Calling Sai Ganeshs death a murder, he said that all over Telangana, Raos family has let loose TRS MLAs, and ministers on the people. They believe that only they can criticize others through troll accounts. They do not want their faults, corruption, undemocratic rule, or anything else they do to be mentioned, spoken about, or questioned in any form of media, Reddy said. Sai Ganesh was targeted because he questioned the minister from Khammam Puvvada Ajay Kumar and local TRS corporators, he said. His grandmother told us how he was targeted by the police. He was not a threat to the Chief Minister or to Ajay Kumar. The police must explain why cases were filed against an ordinary BJP worker, the minister said. Reddy said that the minister and the district police were working against the people. In Kothagudem, a similar nexus drove an entire family to suicide. Everyone responsible for such sordid crimes will be punished, he said. Venkatswamy said as per Sai Ganeshs grandmother, the police could have forced Sai Ganesh to consume poison when he was under their custody. It is shocking that the police did not take a dying declaration from Sai Ganesh. But it is not surprising as he would have named Ajay Kumar, TRS leaders and police officials as being responsible for his death, he said. and on Thursday conducted their sixth prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Ten Ukrainian soldiers, including two officers, and nine civilians held by the Russian military were released as a result of the exchange, Vereshchuk said on Telegram. There are wounded among those released and they now can obtain treatment and rehabilitation, Vereshchuk was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. and conducted their first prisoner exchange on March 24. Since then, more than 200 Ukrainians held by Russian forces have returned home. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country stands ready for any format of prisoner exchange with to free people from the besieged city of Mariupol. --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 Ukrainian Parliament on Thursday voted to extend the in the country for another 30 days, until May 25, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. The presidential proposal on the prolongation of the was supported by 300 in the 450-seat assembly, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Zheleznyak's statement on Telegram. imposed on February 24 in the wake of the conflict with Russia. On March 15, the Ukrainian parliament voted to extend the special regime till April 25. On April 19, Ukrainian President submitted to the Parliament a bill to further extend martial law in the country. --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.) United Nations Secretary-General will visit on Tuesday, and will meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin following its February invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for the U.N. chief said. Guterres will also have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Eri Kaneko, Guterres' associate spokesperson, told a press briefing in New York on Friday. "He hopes to talk about what can be done to bring peace to urgently," Kaneko said. The secretary-general's office is also working with Ukraine's government on scheduling and preparations for a visit to Russia's southern neighbor, the spokesperson said. Guterres on Tuesday asked Putin to receive him in and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to receive him in Kyiv, in separate letters handed to their countries' permanent missions to the United Nations. Guterres on Tuesday also called for a four-day Orthodox Easter humanitarian pause in fighting in beginning on Thursday to allow for the safe passage of civilians from areas of conflict and the delivery of humanitarian aid to hard-hit areas. "The secretary-general is not so much disappointed that his own personal call was not heeded, but more that there has been no truce, that civilians cannot leave besieged areas and that the aid that the U.N. and our partners are ready to deliver to these besieged areas cannot go in," Kaneko said on Friday. Guterres will further those discussions during his visit to Moscow, the spokesperson added. Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European country since 1945, has killed or wounded thousands. More than 12 million people need humanitarian assistance in the country today, Guterres has said. Since starting what it calls a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine, has bombed cities to rubble and hundreds of civilian bodies have been found in towns after its forces withdrew. It denies targeting civilians and says, without evidence, that signs of atrocities were staged. Western countries and accuse Putin of unprovoked aggression. (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Jonathan Oatis) (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A senior U.S. diplomat again warned China of sanctions if it offers material support for Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine, while also pledging to help India end its dependence on Russian weapons. China wasnt helping the situation in Ukraine by doing things like amplifying Russian disinformation campaigns, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said at an event in Brussels on Thursday. She said she hoped Beijing will learn the right lessons from Russias war, including that it cant separate the U.S. from its allies. They have seen what we have done in terms of sanctions, export controls, designations, vis-a-vis Russia, so it should give them some idea of the menu from which we could choose if indeed China were to provide material support, Sherman told a crowd at an event hosted by the group Friends of Europe, which is co-funded by the European Union. Sherman also said the U.S. would work with India to help the country move away from its traditional reliance on Russian weapons, given the impact global sanctions are having on Russias arms industry. They understand that their military, which was built on Russian weapons, probably doesnt have a future with Russian weapons anymore because our sanctions have pulled back the military-industrial complex of Russia -- and its not coming back anytime soon, she said. China said this week it plans to continue strengthening strategic ties with Russia, showing the relationship remains solid despite growing concerns over war crimes committed by Putins forces. At the same time, Chinese companies have been complying with U.S. sanctions even though the government opposes them on grounds of sovereignty. India has largely taken the same view as China on the war, supporting calls for a cease-fire and diplomatic solution while abstaining at the United Nations on votes for draft resolutions condemning Russia. The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke with President Joe Biden earlier this month, has told the U.S. it needs Russian weapons to secure its border with China and the alternatives are too expensive. A prominent American Congressman has expressed concern over the situation in and emphasised that the must make clear that it expects better of democracies like India. The remarks by Congressman Andy Levin -- a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation -- came during a virtual Congressional briefing organised by the Indian American Muslim Council and 16 other groups on Wednesday. The Democratic Party Congressman emphasised the need for the US to take a clear stance on India's violations and make clear that the US cares about what happens in and that we expect better of democracies like India. India has repeatedly rejected criticism by foreign governments, lawmakers and groups on allegations that civil liberties have eroded in the country. The government has asserted that India has well established democratic practices and robust institutions to safeguard the rights of all. The government has emphasised that the Indian Constitution provides for adequate safeguards under various statutes for ensuring the protection of human rights. Quoting reports of various human rights groups documenting the rights abuses and intensified crackdown in after revoking its special autonomous status, Levin cautioned that abuses were not happening in a vacuum these abuses are part of a worrying trend towards authoritarianism. The Indian Parliament had revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, bifurcating the state into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019. The had said the Constitution was, is and will always be a sovereign matter and developments pertaining to Article 370 are entirely India's internal affair. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The is currently not in discussions with about the prospect of lifting Western sanctions imposed on Moscow, US Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said on Thursday. "We have channels of communication that are still open, but we're not at the point at which we're talking about sanctions relief," Singh said during a virtual panel discussion with the Bretton Woods Committee. Singh said Western sanctions will have profound impact on Russia's supply chains and its productive capacity over time, including its military industrial complex. The advisor also said that creating leverage through sanctions matters when it comes to negotiations for a diplomatic solution in Ukraine. Any sanctions relief talks with will be led by Ukraine, not the United States, and must include certain security guarantees, Singh said. The and its allies and partners have imposed a wide range of sanctions against Russian persons and entities, including banks, military industrial complex institutions, shipbuilding industry, commercial airlines, among other sectors, but have largely excluded the energy sector. This Western sanctions are in response to undertaking a special military operation in Ukraine. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) HCL Technologies: The IT major reported 4.4% rise in consolidated net income to Rs 3593 crore on 1.2% increase in revenue to Rs 22597 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q3 December 2021. L&T Technology Services: The pure-play engineering services company reported 5.3% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 262 crore on 4.1% increase in revenue to Rs 1756.10 crore in Q4 March 2022 over Q3 December 2021. Tata Communications: The company reported consolidated net profit of Rs 368.67 crore in Q4 March 2022 over net profit of Rs 299.23 crore in Q4 March 2021. Total income rose to Rs 4526.55 crore from Rs 4130.95 crore. TVS Motor Company: The company announced an additional investment of 100 million in Norton Motorcycles, Britain's most iconic sporting motorcycle brand, which was acquired in April 2020. JSW Energy: The company said that subsidiary JSW Neo Energy (JSWNEL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Telangana for setting up 1,500 MW capacity of Hydro Pumped Storage Project viz. Komoram Bheem Pumped Storage Project, in the State of Telangana. RailTel Corporation of India: The company has received an order worth Rs 29.75 crore from National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) for immigration visa and foreigner registration & tracking. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The High Court of Jharkhand on Friday granted bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a case of fraudulent withdrawal of money from the Doranda treasury of Jharkhand. In February, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in Ranchi convicted Yadav in connection with the fraudulent withdrawal of over Rs 139 crore from the Doranda treasury in the late 1990s in undivided Bihar. He was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of Rs 60 lakh. The fodder scam, popularly known as "chaara ghotala", was a corruption scandal that involved the embezzlement of money from the government treasury of Bihar in the pretext of supplying fodder. The Rs 950 crore fodder scam occurred between 1991 and 1996, when Yadav was the Chief Minister of Bihar. He was previously convicted in four other fodder scam cases for illegal withdrawals of Rs 37.7 crore and Rs 33.13 crore from the Chaibasa treasury, Rs 89.27 crore from the Deoghar treasury, and Rs 3.76 crore from the Dumka treasury. Lalu Prasad, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison and slapped with a total penalty of Rs 60 lakh, has now secured bail in all of the five fodder scam cases in which he was convicted. He earlier secured bail in the Chaibasa Treasury scam cases in October 2020, and in the Deoghar Treasury scam case in February 2020. He was granted bail in the Dumka Treasury case in April 2021. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Friday termed the ED raids on industrialist as a "witch-hunt", and alleged that India has turned into a police state under the government. The on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of Jindal's company JSPL in connection with a probe linked to alleged violation of foreign exchange regulations. "The witch-hunt of Congress leader and prominent industrialist, proves that India has turned into a police state.'Ease of Business' has now become 'Ease of Harassment' by stifling the voices," charged Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. Agency officials had on Thursday visited office premises of Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) in Delhi and neighbouring Gurugram as part of the investigation being conducted under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The company has said in a statement that it had an "exemplary track record of corporate governance and (it was) disclosing the required information to the regulators and will continue to do so". (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 handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologizing to MPs for the for the "partygate" fine and making statement to MPs on the situation in Ukraine following its invasion by Russia during the first session after the on Easter Recess, at the House of Commons, in London, on April 19, 2022. (AFP) In the honeyed glades my beloved dances To my fluted melodies, avoiding my glances Why is she shy to declare her devotion? Its plain to see in her every bodily motion. Maybe thats just part of her womanly allure The eyes declare why long for more? From Kumbh Mela to Mumbh Kela, by Bachchoo We live, as the Chinese say, in interesting times. Britains Opposition Labour Party had tabled a motion forcing BoJo, the Prime Minister, to be referred to the House of Commons Privileges Committee to decide whether he had lied to Parliament. As the debate progressed on Thursday, it became clear that BoJo didnt want his party to oppose this motion. He wants to give the country the impression that he is open to any investigation as he has nothing to hide. The motion was passed and the Privilegewallas will now investigate! If he is found guilty, its not just naughty boy stuff with a slap on the wrist for ministers it is, as we used to say in my reckless childhood in Poona watching idiotic Western movies, Curtain Call at Cactus Creek! Resignation time! Days before this vote, two issues came to the fore in Parliament. The first was a proposal by the home secretary, Priti Clueless Patel, to send all the seekers of asylum in Britain to camps in Rwanda. She proposed to pay the Rwandan government millions of pounds to accept and house the refugees attempting to seek asylum in Britain. She doesnt want them to remain here. Her proposal was widely opposed by the Opposition parties and human rights activists. After her debate, BoJo dramatically entered Parliament and apologised for Partygate, a term used for the fact that he, his wife and the chancellor of the exchequer, Hedgie Sunak, were fined by the police for meeting in party gatherings and defying the rules of isolation that they themselves had set. It was, said the Opposition, a resigning matter. So, what happens now? The privilegewallas may conclude that BoJo didnt knowingly mislead Parliament. They could rule him innocent. But, like Martin Luther King, I have a dream and in tune with the great mans nocturnal subconscious activity, I too think I am on the side of democracy and natural justice. So, what then, gentle reader, do I see in my dream, or like Alice in the Looking Glass? I see the Privileges Committee condemning BoJo in the strongest terms. He is guilty of lying to Parliament and resigns. The Tory party is thrown into turmoil. They cant agree on a successor. There are moves in Parliament to dissolve it and call an election. The Tory MPs, preferring to keep their seats even as Opposition MPs, rather than go down with BoJo, agree. The watching public bravely elect a coalition with Labour leading it. Hah! Now what happens in Looking Glass land? Firebrand Angela Raynor, Labours deputy leader, is appointed home secretary. The first thing she does is, surprise, surprise, pass Priti Clueless bill to send the asylum-seekers to Rwanda with two added amendments. The first of these specifies that those who are targeted for shipment to Rwanda have to fill in seventy-five forms send them to the Rwandan embassy and then to a newly-formed Committee for Immigrants Advancement (CIA) chaired by the newly-ennobled Lord Tariq Ali of Wahyatt. Lord Ali has the privilege I mean duty of choosing which individuals should fill in the forms and be targeted for deportation. Angelas second amendment to the Rwanda bill is that it shall be retrospective. So, the daughters, for instance, of immigrant refugees from Uganda in the 1960s will be eligible for such deportation to the heart of Africa. Now I am personally acquainted with Lord Ali of Wahyatt and know him to be a fair and humane person. He is the perfect choice for the job and I am sure he will only consider deporting those individuals who are a menace to British society. I am also sure that Priti Clueless, having originated this fascinating and unusual legislation, will be delighted that it has been passed into law. Unless, of course. And there will, after years of the drift of the UK between all manner of poles of hypocrisy, be other reforms. The breaking of the law by defying it and partying when it was forbidden will be retrospectively made a criminal offence. Not being murder, rape or other serious breaches of the law, this will carry a sentence of community service small jobs such as cleaning red wine stains from sofas and carpets every day for a period of not less than three years. Despite BoJos boasts of being Ukraines staunchest ally and sanctioning every billionaire who earns money from Russia, it will be discovered that his administration had a very large-holed net to trap such slimy fish. There are for instance foreign registered firms, lets say in the IT industry, which trade or traded, until recently, in billions of rupees, roubles and international currency with Russia. The gains from these Russian earnings have, on occasion, landed up in the possession of non-doms who live at well-known addresses in, for instance, London. Their funds and houses will now be subject to immediate, sanctioning confiscation. No doubt the former Tory chancellor, Hedgie Sunak, will be biting his lip at the thought that he had allowed this oversight and these particular non-dom billionaires to get away with their, at least part-Russian, gains on his diligent watch. parties have become an issue of these days in as leaders of different political parties are trying to score points over each other. The (RJD) is organising an party on Friday at 10, Circular Road residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, where has invited Union Home Minister also. posted an invitation card on his Twitter handle and invited Shah. "In the month of the precious Ramzan month, we welcome our Union Home Minister Janab on the soil of Patliputra for the celebration of Dawat-e- in the 10 circular road residence of Rabri Devi," posted in Hindi on his Twitter wall. He also put up a couplet along with the invite. is coming to to take part in Babu Veer Kunwar Singh Jayanti on April 23. He will go to Jagdishpur in Bhojpur district, 65 km away from the state capital, Patna. Such an event is organised to honour freedom fighters of the country under the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'. Amit Shah will also participate in other events also. Besides the tweet, posters were put at several places in Patna, which have Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, Misa Bharti and Tej Pratap Yadav seated in chairs and the pictures of party's other leaders -- Jagadanand Singh, Shivanand Tiwari, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Shyam Rajak, Uday Narayan Chaudhary, Bhai Virendra, Sunil Kumar Singh and newly elected MLC Ajay Singh are also there. The poster has a caption of 'A to Z family'. The RJD has also invited (Ram Vilas) president and VIP president Mukesh Sahani to the Iftar party. These two leaders have had sour relations with the BJP. They were part of NDA and now are looking for other opportunities. --IANS ajk/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UK's partnership with India is a "beacon" in "stormy seas" at a time the world is facing growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off fair trade and trample on sovereignty, British Prime Minister said on Friday. The British high commission said Johnson is expected to discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the next-generation defence and security collaboration across the five domains of land, sea, air, space and cyber as both nations face complex new threats. This includes support for new Indian-designed and built fighter jets, offering the best of British know-how on building battle-winning aircraft and supporting India's requirements for new technology to identify and respond to threats in the Indian Ocean, it said in a statement ahead of the Modi-Johnson talks. "To support greater defence and security collaboration with India over the coming decade, the UK will issue an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) to India, reducing bureaucracy and shortening delivery times for defence procurement. This is our first OGEL in the Indo-Pacific region," the high commission said. It said Johnson will also discuss new cooperation on clean and renewable energy aimed at supporting New Delhi's energy transition from imported oil and increasing its resilience through secure and sustainable energy and addressing climate change in both the UK and India. The British prime minister arrived in India on Thursday on a two-day visit in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. "The world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty.The UK's partnership with India is a beacon in these stormy seas," Johnson was quoted as saying by the high commission. "Our collaboration on the issues that matter to both our countries, from climate change to energy security and defence, is of vital importance as we look to the future," he said. In a tweet, Johnson said he was looking forward to meeting with Modi. "Wonderful to see you, my friend PM @BorisJohnson in India on a long-awaited visit. Look forward to our discussions today," Modi said in a tweet in his response. The high commission said the UK and India are launching a virtual Hydrogen Science and Innovation hub to accelerate affordable green hydrogen, as well as new funding for the Green Grids Initiative announced at COP26. It said the UK and India are collaborating as a force for good globally. The high commission said the UK will work with India to boost security in the Indo-Pacific. "Our governments are committing up to 75 million pounds (1 GBP= Rs 99.63) to roll out adaptable clean tech innovations from India to the wider Indo-Pacific and Africa, and working together on international development and girls education," it said. Johnson visited Gujarat on Thursday before arriving in New Delhi late last evening. "It's been a real pleasure to be in Gujarat today to see the fruits of the incredible partnership between the UK and our friends in India," he had said on Twitter, adding more than 1 billion pounds in new investments between the two great countries were confirmed. On Friday morning, the British prime minister laid a wreath at Rajghat paying his respects to Mahatma Gandhi. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The India-UK relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK virtual summit held between Modi and Johnson in May last year. At the summit, the two sides adopted a 10-year-roadmap to expand ties in key areas of trade and economy, defence and security, climate change and people-to-people connections among others. (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.) Facing record levels of attrition, Indias second-largest software services firm is reportedly invoking the non-compete clause in the employment agreements to curb . A Pune-based IT union, The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), has written to the Union Labour Ministry seeking the removal of the clause, calling it arbitrary, unethical and illegal. While has had the clause for a long time, the union claimed that the company is now enforcing it and that it has received 65-70 complaints from employees. The non-compete clause bars employees from accepting offers from any of the named rival for a period of six months after leaving Infosys, if the new job involves working with a client with whom the employee had worked during the last 12 months of their stint with . For the said duration, the employee also cannot accept a job offer from any customer with whom they had worked in the 12 months immediately preceding the termination of their employment with Infosys. According to reports, Infosys has named five competitors including TCS, Accenture, IBM, Cognizant, and Wipro for IT services employees and nine including Tech Mahindra, Genpact, WNS, TCS, Accenture, IBM, Cognizant, Wipro and HCL for business processing management (BPM) staff. Non-compete clauses are not valid in India as per Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, which states that any agreement that restrains anyone from practising a lawful profession, trade or business is to that extent void. The courts have time and again trashed such clauses and held that post-termination non-compete clauses are not enforceable. Infosys, on its part, said that it is a standard business practice for employment contracts to include controls of reasonable scope and duration to protect the confidentiality of information, customer connection and other legitimate business interests It denied that the clause prevents employees from joining other organizations. The rate at Infosys touched a record high of 27.7% in the March quarter on a last twelve months basis. In FY22, Infosys hired around 85,000 freshers and has planned a fresher intake of more than 50,000 in the current fiscal. As of March 31, Infosys had 3.14 lakh total employees, while TCS had 5.92 lakh people on its rolls. Most IT firms are jostling to hire employees and retain existing ones in a tight job market. Employees have previously opposed the long 90-day notice period standard in Indias IT industry. Invocation of the controversial non-compete clause despite its legal validity being under question can bring down employee morale, restrict the movement of labour between and dent the growth prospects of employees. After all, there are only so many large employers in the IT services and BPM sectors and most employees tend to switch between this limited set of companies. Titan Aviation Fuels has launched its carbon offsets program available through the Titan FBO network. The program is being offered by one of the industrys most respected environmental products organizations, Terrapass. Terrapass sources Green-e Climate certified carbon credits that meet the highest standards in terms of quality and transparency. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> The Titan Aviation Fuels Carbon Offsets Program currently supports the Crow Lake Wind Emission Reductions Project in South Dakota, a 162 MW wind project that hosts 108 wind turbines generating renewable energy and displacing fossil fuel-generated grid electricity. The program will be offered throughout the Titan FBO network where participating FBOs can offer the carbon offsets to their customers at the point of sale. Additionally, Titan is equally proud to announce that all four Wilson Air Center locations in Charlotte, Chattanooga, Houston and Memphis will be the first in the TITAN network to offer the program. Wilson Air Center has always been centered around satisfying our customers needs and requirements, and we are pleased to continue serving them by taking this next step with our Carbon Offsets Program in order to help support our customers environmental initiatives, said Bob Wilson, owner, Wilson Air Center. We are very proud to offer this program through participating Titan FBOs to the operators that utilize the Titan network throughout North America. This is a logical next step within the aviation industry for us to be a responsible eco-partner and to keep awareness at the forefront of our operations, said Robbie Stallings, president, Titan Aviation Fuels. Wilson Air Center has always been an innovator and leader in the FBO market, and their decision to become the launch FBOs for this program again reinforces that mindset. In addition to providing a secure supply of aviation fuels, Titan Aviation Fuels provides a full array of non-fuel support services including a pilot loyalty program, aviation card processing, aviation insurance, Quality Control Training, Atlas FBO Management Software, equipment leasing and financing, and an online aviation parts store as well as a customer focused mobile application. Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin give a press conference after meeting at the Kremlin on Feb. 10. Photo: VCG Kazakhstan / In Depth: How Kazakhstan distances itself from Russia to pursue domestic reforms Since Russias war on Ukraine broke out Feb. 24, Kazakhstans position toward the warring nations has shifted as Central Asias most populous country takes stock of the potential impact of sanctions on its economy, and balances its longstanding links with Russia with an ambitious reform agenda developed in the aftermath of civil unrest in January. Kazakhstan initially responded to the war with an ambiguous stance, but in April, it released a series of measures in an attempt to distance itself from Russia amid international pressure as well as reports on the Bucha incident and other serious cases of Ukrainian civilian casualties. In a rare article for U.S.-based The National Interest on April 4, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said turbulence in Eurasia will not slow Kazakhstans progress. FINANCE & ECONOMY Developing the underdeveloped private pension system has been a policy priority in China in the past few years. Photo: VCG Pension / Five things to know about Chinas private pension system The State Council, Chinas cabinet, released a policy document Thursday on developing the countrys private pension system, outlining a framework and paving the way for nationwide implementation. This is Chinas first top-level design document for its personal pension system, said professor Dong Dengxin at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, who specializes in pensions. Developing the underdeveloped private pension system has been a policy priority in the past few years as the existing state-dominated system could soon run short of funds. Covid-19 / Shanghai pledges stricter oversight of pandemic supplies after complaints of rotten food Shanghais market watchdog pledged to tighten oversight of pandemic supplies after residents complained that rotten food was being distributed by the authorities. Residents are struggling to secure daily necessities as they remain stuck in their homes while the city battles its worst Covid-19 outbreak in two years. Virus-free Tibet builds two makeshift Covid-19 hospitals Quick hits / Chinas zero-Covid strategy will drag growth to below 4%, Nomura says Opinion: The doomsday scenario of U.S.-China financial decoupling BUSINESS & TECH CATLs market cap exceeded 1 trillion yuan in May 2021 and surged as high as 1.6 trillion yuan in December. Batteries / CATL sell-off wipes out billions of dollars of market value Skyrocketing material costs shook the stock of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) as investors wiped billions of dollars off the value of the world's largest electric-vehicle battery manufacturer. Shenzhen-traded CATLs stock tumbled 7.55% Wednesday to close at 407 yuan ($63.60) apiece, erasing 77.4 billion yuan of the companys valuation in a single day. CATLs market value stood at 948.7 billion yuan after the Wednesday close, the first time in nearly a year it was less than 1 trillion yuan. Dragged down by the CATL rout, the Shenzhen Composite Index touched its lowest level since June 2020. Huawei / Huawei targets corporate clients as consumer business suffers Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is reorganizing one of its business units to focus on government and enterprise clients after the tech giant reported sluggish sales of consumer-facing products like smartphones last year amid sanctions by the U.S. At a product launch Wednesday, Richard Yu Chengdong, consumer and auto division head of Huawei, said Huawei renamed its consumer business to terminal business as the Shenzhen-based company sought to reap more orders from government and corporate customers for products like computers and printers. Coal / China to add 300 million tons of coal capacity this year Top Chinese policymakers reiterated the importance of coal for the countrys energy security and laid out a plan to add 300 million tons of coal production capacity this year. The State Council, Chinas cabinet, pledged Wednesday to support coal production and projects to ensure the countrys energy supplies in a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. The expansion would represent about 7% of Chinas projected coal consumption for this year. Quick hits / MU5735 crash report sheds little light on March disaster Chinese oil giant CNOOC jumps 44% in first mainland trading GALLERY Grim skies over North China Recommended newsletter for you / Caixin Must-Read Newsletter brings you the best of our coverage and stories you cant miss. You can opt-in now and get hand-picked news coverage delivered to your inbox each week for free. Thanks for reading. If you havent already, click here to subscribe. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is watched by sadhus, as he pours water on a statue in the Abhishek at the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in Ahmedabad, part of his two-day trip to India, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP) Being in the eye of a storm while ignoring the crosswinds is something of a Boris Johnson specialty these days. Back in the UK, they are baying for his blood with Parliament setting up a probe into whether the Prime Minister, the first in British history to be held guilty of breaking the law and be fined for it, is guilty of lying about it to the House. Out in India, he was feted like royalty at a time when there is little likelihood of the Tory party considering him an electoral asset anymore or the people not looking at him as a national liability after he was found to be a serial party participant in the time of the pandemic while breaking the law he had made and passed in Parliament. As the irony of ironies would have it, Mr Johnson even opened a JCB factory in Gujarat at a time when the bulldozer is fast emerging as a national symbol of hate in India. Given the prevailing circumstances, the pomp and pageantry of Mr Johnsons two-day visit, beginning in Gujarat like the Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit did once, was a triumph of spirit over adversity and of diplomacy over practical politics. There were reasons for India to feel pleased too as Mr Johnsons proposals offering to wean it away from over-dependence on Russian military hardware seem to make sense when Russian arms are not exactly overperforming on Ukrainian battlefields. Mr Johnsons body language seemed to suggest that the UK needs India more at the moment than the opposite though there is no convergence on the national stand on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, of which Mr Johnson is Europes fiercest critic. An understanding of Indias position on Russia and its abstentions from UN votes lambasting the aggressor has extended to Britain, too, which is at least what Mr Johnsons speeches revealed. A Free Trade Agreement, on the anvil for a while, is expected to fructify by Diwali or Christmas to give the UK a major trade deal it seeks post-Brexit. Both sides should benefit from it, including, perhaps, Indians from less taxed Scotch whisky. But of greater importance would be visas for highly skilled Indians for whom the UK is a favoured destination, thanks to colonial ties with the English language. The easing of procedures to buy defence equipment through an India-specific Open General Export Licence to be rolled out by 10 Downing Street is a welcome sign of awareness on both sides of the changing geopolitics post-Ukraine war and an opportunity for India to look at Britain and others for its fighter jets, helicopters and other military equipment, besides crypto battle abilities, that may be in need of modernisation from ageing Russia technology. The joyful vibes were such that the right noises were made about economic fugitives from India hiding in Britain besides a host of issues being addressed, including the question of human rights. The mood at the bilateral table endorsed the views expressed that Brindia ties are at their best currently. Amid the positivity hang such questions as to whether India will ease tariffs that protect its home industry to make any big difference to the quantum of trade and if Boris Johnsons position when he is back home will allow him to convert optimistic words into action. Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zelensky asks for help, heavy weapons from Portugal Xinhua) 10:09, April 22, 2022 BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Addressing the Portuguese parliament via video link, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on Portugal to send "heavy weapons" and strengthen the sanctions on Russia. "I am grateful for the opportunity in this difficult time because you know how we are feeling, fighting for our independence, but also our survival," said Zelensky, referring to what Portugal experienced in history. - - - - Zelensky on Thursday discussed assistance for Ukraine with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. At a meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, the parties touched upon the issues of strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, supporting Ukraine's integration into the European Union and the post-conflict recovery, the Ukrainian presidential press service said. - - - - Ukraine and Russia on Thursday conducted their sixth prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Ten Ukrainian soldiers, including two officers, and nine civilians held by the Russian military were released as a result of the exchange, Vereshchuk said on Telegram. - - - - Russia has imposed personal sanctions on 29 U.S. citizens, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and 61 Canadian citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. A total of 29 U.S. citizens are included in Russia's "stop list" in response to the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the U.S. Joe Biden administration, the ministry said. - - - - The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday voted to extend the martial law in the country for another 30 days, until May 25, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. The presidential proposal on the prolongation of the martial law was supported by 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly, Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram. - - - - President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the United States will provide Ukraine with an additional package of security assistance worth 800 million U.S. dollars to help it defense against Russia's military operation. The announcement came as Russia said the military operation had entered the second phase, focusing on Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. In remarks delivered from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Biden said the package "includes heavy artillery, weapons, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition to go with those howitzers," as well as "more tactical drones," adding that his country will continue to share "significant timely intelligence" with Ukraine. - - - - Russia has ordered the closure of Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian consular missions in St. Petersburg in a tit-for-tat move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday. The ambassadors of Latvia and Estonia and the Lithuanian charge d'affaires were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry Thursday in protest over the closure of Russian consulates and expulsion of staff in these countries. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Murray Rankin, left, and Premier John Horgan leave the chamber following the prorogation address in the chamber ahead of the throne speech at Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, April 12, 2021. The British Columbia government says First Nations, which have been hit hard by the pandemic and last year's wildfires and flooding, will receive a $74-million grant to make up for the loss of shared gaming revenues. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito British Columbia First Nations that have been affected by the pandemic and last year's wildfires and flooding will receive $74 million in grant money to make up for the loss of shared gaming revenues. A joint news release from the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and the B.C. First Nations Gaming Revenue Limited Partnership says 2020-21 revenues were about 80 per cent lower than anticipated due to pandemic health measures. The statement says the one-time $74-million grant will mitigate the loss of revenues that are crucial to supporting First Nations in funding social services, education, infrastructure, cultural initiatives and economic development. B.C. reached a 25-year revenue-sharing agreement with First Nations in 2018, with a commitment to share seven per cent of annual net revenues from gaming with Indigenous communities through 2045. Indigenous Relations Minister Murray Rankin says First Nations need stable funding to support their priorities, and the grant money will help ensure those who were among the hardest hit by the pandemic are not left behind during the recovery. Rankin says a "cascading series of challenges" have had dramatic impacts on First Nations. "Yes, COVID, but let's not forget the other pandemic of the opioid overdose crisis, as well as the heat dome, the wildfires, the flooding and the trauma that so many First Nations community members suffered as a result of the findings at residential schools," he said, referring to the detection of unmarked graves on the grounds of several former institutions in B.C. Terry Teegee, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, said it's crucial that First Nations are able to design their own pandemic recovery policies and address their specific community needs. The grant funding will help First Nations participate in the province's economic recovery plans on their own terms, he said during a news conference on Thursday. First Nations received about $74 million less than expected last year as gaming revenues declined due to the pandemic, the province says. From 2019 to 2021, seven per cent of B.C. Lottery Corporation net income amounted to nearly $123 million, it says. Photo: Brendan Kergin / Vancouver is Awesome Vancouver police are investigating after three reports of a man who had allegedly "flashed" his genitals to students and staff at Langara College. The first incident happened on March 20 when a man "flashed" a student in the college library. A week later, on March 27, a man exposed his genitals to a staff member at the college, and on April 19 a man exposed his genitals to a student inside the college library. In the second and third incidents, the suspect had left before police arrived. In all three incidents, the suspect is described as dark-skinned and between five foot five inches and five foot seven inches tall. "Preliminary evidence suggests the same suspect is responsible for all three indecent acts, and we are investigating whether these incidents could be linked to other unsolved cases in the city, says Constable Visintin. The investigation is still in its early stages, and Vancouver police are asking the public to bring awareness of the incidents to Langara students and the surrounding community. Anyone with information is asked to call 604-717-0604. Photo: The Canadian Press Valentina Greenchuck, 73, holds a plastic bag containing an orthodox icon after arriving from Mariupol at a refugee center in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, April 21, 2022, after fleeing from the Russian attacks. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key Russian objective since the Feb. 24 invasion began. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory Thursday in the battle for Mariupol despite an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters still holed up at a giant steel mill, ordering his troops not to storm the stronghold but to seal it off so that not even a fly comes through. Putin expressed concern for the lives of Russian troops in deciding against sending them in to clear out the sprawling Azovstal plant, where the die-hard defenders were hiding in a maze of underground passageways. Putins comments came as satellite image provider Maxar Technologies released photos showing more than 200 of what it called new mass graves in a town where Ukrainian officials say the Russians have been burying Mariupol residents killed in the fighting. The imagery shows long rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko accused the Russians of hiding their military crimes by taking the bodies of civilians from the city and burying them in Manhush. As many as 9,000 civilians could be buried in mass graves in Manhush, the Mariupol City Council said Thursday in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Boychenko labeled Russian actions in the city as the new Babi Yar, a reference to the site of multiple Nazi massacres in which nearly 34,000 Ukrainian Jews were killed in 1941. The bodies of the dead were being brought by the truckload and actually simply being dumped in mounds, an aide to Boychenko, Piotr Andryushchenko, said on Telegram. There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin. When mass graves and hundreds of dead civilians were discovered in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv after Russian troops retreated, Russian officials denied that their soldiers had killed any civilians there and accused Ukraine of staging the atrocities. In a statement, Maxar said a review of previous images indicates that the new graves in Manhush were dug in late March and expanded over the past couple of weeks. After nearly two lethal months of bombardment that largely reduced Mariupol to a smoking ruin, Russian forces appear to control the rest of the strategic southern city, including its vital but now badly damaged port. But a few thousand Ukrainian troops, by Moscow's estimate, have stubbornly held out for weeks at the steel plant, despite a pummeling from Russian forces and repeated demands for their surrender. About 1,000 civilians were also trapped there, according to Ukrainian officials. Instead of sending troops to finish off the defenders in a potentially bloody frontal assault, Russia apparently intends to maintain the siege and wait for the fighters to surrender when they run out of food or ammunition. Boychenko rejected any notion that Mariupol had fallen into Russian hands. The city was, is and remains Ukrainian, he declared. Today our brave warriors, our heroes, are defending our city. The capture of Mariupol would represent the Kremlins biggest victory yet of the war in Ukraine. It would help Moscow secure more of the coastline, complete a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014, and free up more forces to join the larger and potentially more consequential battle now underway for Ukraines eastern industrial heartland, the Donbas. At a joint appearance with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Putin declared, The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success, and he offered congratulations to Shoigu. Shoigu predicted the steel plant could be taken in three to four days, but Putin said that would be pointless" and would risk Russian lives. There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities, the Russian leader said. Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly comes through. The plant covers 11 square kilometers (4 square miles) and is threaded with some 24 kilometers (15 miles) of tunnels and bunkers. The Russian agenda now is not to capture these really difficult places where the Ukrainians can hold out in the urban centers, but to try and capture territory and also to encircle the Ukrainian forces and declare a huge victory, retired British Rear Adm. Chris Parry said. Elsewhere, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russian troops kidnapped a local official heading up a humanitarian convoy in the southern Kherson region. She said the Russians offered to free him in exchange for Russian prisoners of war, but she characterized that as unacceptable. Vereshchuk also said efforts to establish three humanitarian corridors in the Kherson region failed Thursday because Russian troops did not hold their fire. Russian officials for weeks have said capturing the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas is the wars main objective. Moscows forces opened the new phase of the fighting this week along a 300-mile (480-kilometer) front from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to the Azov Sea. While Russia continued heavy air and artillery attacks in those areas, it did not appear to gain any significant ground over the past few days, according to military analysts, who said Moscow's forces were still ramping up the offensive. A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagons assessment, said the Ukrainians were hindering the Russian effort to push south from Izyum. Rockets struck a neighborhood of Kharkiv on Thursday, and at least two civilians were burned to death in their car. A school and a residential building were also hit, and firefighters tried to put out a blaze and search for anyone trapped. Western nations, meanwhile, rushed to pour heavy weapons into Ukraine to help it counter the offensive in the east. U.S. President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance, including heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition and drones. But he also warned that the $13.6 billion approved last month by Congress for military and humanitarian aid is almost exhausted and more will be needed. All told, more than 100,000 people were believed trapped with little or no food, water, heat or medicine in Mariupol, which had a prewar population of about 430,000. Over 20,000 people have been killed in the siege, according to Ukrainian authorities. The city has seized worldwide attention as the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war, including deadly airstrikes on a maternity hospital and a theater. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of launching attacks to block civilian evacuations from the city. On Thursday, at least two Russian attacks hit the city of Zaporizhzhia, a way station for people fleeing Mariupol. No one was wounded, the regional governor said. Britains Defense Ministry said that Russia probably wants to demonstrate significant successes ahead of Victory Day on May 9, the proudest day on the Russian calendar, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date, the ministry said. In other developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians living in areas of southern Ukraine under Russian control not to provide Russians with their IDs, which he said could be used to falsify a so-called referendum on our land to create a Moscow-friendly government. This is a real possibility, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Beware. In the continuing war of sanctions and countersanctions between Russia and the West, Moscow announced it has barred U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans, including foreign affairs commentators, from entering Russia. Photo: Twitter Amid a regulatory probe of Flair Airlines, CEO Stephen Jones says the budget carrier has rejigged its governance structure to align with Canadian ownership rules but that its "significant" debt to an American investor remains a concern. Jones's virtual news conference Thursday, held amid an industry backlash to his request to exempt the budget carrier from domestic control requirements, sought to reassure Canadians that Flair is "here to stay" a phrase he uttered four times. The CEO, who has asked for an 18-month exemption to the rules, nonetheless says Flair conforms to legislation that allows no more than 49 per cent ownership of a Canadian airline by foreign entities. The Canada Transportation Act also states no one foreign player can own more than a quarter of the carrier or exert effective control over it. In a preliminary determination last month, the Canadian Transport Agency found Flair may not be "controlled in fact" by Canadians a violation of federal law as Miami-based investor 777 Partners holds a "dominant" influence over the airline. In response, Flair has amended the unanimous shareholders agreement, which investors ratified last week, Jones said. The CTA has confirmed to Flair that these amendments address all of the corporate governance concerns, he said. The agency declined to comment amid the federal transport regulator's review of whether the carrier is indeed Canadian and thus entitled to keep its operating licence. The changes made by Flair include expanding the board to nine members from five and ensuring seven of them are Canadian,shrinking the number of directors 777 Partners can appoint to two from three and nixing the veto rights that 777 held "but never exercised," Jones said. However, he also acknowledged that the debt Flair owes to 777 remains a potential issue under the ownership regime, while insisting there was no violation. "Flair has already successfully refinanced nearly Canadian $80 million of its debt to 777 Partners. The refinancing of the balance of our debt will take some time, however. It is for this reason alone that we have sought a time-bound, 18-month exemption from the (Department) of Transport," Jones said. The route out of the red and into the black ultimately runs through an initial public offering, he added, stating he aims to see Flair listed eventually on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The airline leases six of its 14 aircraft from 777 and the rest from U.S.- and Ireland-based companies. While Jones said the federal regulator "has not raised issues with any" leases, the agency noted in its March 3 ruling that dependence on a third party to lease assets "that cannot be acquired otherwise" may be one indication of de facto control. Some 58 per cent of Flair's voting shares are owned by Canadians, Jones said. On Tuesday, two airline associations representing Air Canada, WestJet and 30-odd other carriers called on Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to reject Flairs exemption request and warned that a green light would set a troubling precedent." Domestic control and ownership is not just a nice to have, it is a necessary underpinning of the system, and should be defended. It ensures that there is fundamental fairness and protects against one diluted or foreign owned business causing harm to the competitiveness of the whole industry," the National Airlines Council of Canada and the Air Transport Association of Canada said in a joint statement. Jones dismissed their arguments, saying the council represents the interests of legacy carriers, not passengers or healthy competition. "We've clearly got them threatened. And so they're turning their so-called independent bodies into puppet mouthpieces, and people should see that for what it is," he said Thursday in a virtual interview. Jones has also accused Air Canada and WestJet of having deployed anticompetitive practices. In 2003, the Competition Tribunal ruled that Air Canada engaged in anti-competitive behaviour with WestJet, then a low-cost regional upstart. Meanwhile, a Competition Bureau investigation continues into allegations of predatory pricing at WestJet and budget subsidiary Swoop, launched after Flair complained it was being crowded out from several smaller markets. Jones said Flair did not meet the criteria for several federal COVID-19 relief programs accessed by other airlines. The LEEFF program, for example, had a $300-million revenue threshold which Flair fell below at the time. "We applied for all available programs, and in the end we we didn't qualify," he said, noting that Air Canada and other carriers received billions in government loans during the pandemic. Jones also acknowledged persistent problems with flight delays and hours-long customer service wait times, apologizing to affected customers. Jones pointed to "growing pains," an industry-wide staff shortage particularly pilots and ground handling and the more limited passenger rebooking options available to a smaller carrier with as few as four flights per week on some routes. Photo: The Canadian Press Vivian Ketchum applied for emergency aid during the first wave of the pandemic when she was forced to isolate after being a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19. As someone who is already in a financially precarious spot, Ketchum found taking time off from her low-paying job doing phone surveys completely devastated her situation. The 57-year-old residential school survivor thought the Canada Emergency Response Benefit could be her financial life raft. "I thought the federal government was being gracious in giving out the CERB, she said in a recent interview from her Winnipeg apartment. "But they are unforgiving and relentless in wanting that money back." Ketchum was one of 441,599 aid recipients who in late 2020 received a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency questioning their eligibility and warning they may owe back some of the payments. Number-crunching by The Canadian Press about where the letters went suggest a disproportionate number landed in postal codes home to First Nations, including in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Two areas of northern Manitoba stand out from the data, with more than half the average number of CERB recipients during each of the benefits' pay periods receiving what the CRA called "educational letters." The forward sortation areas, meaning the first three digits of a postal code, are home to two of the largest Indigenous communities in the province. The local MP notes there are also high rates of poverty. Data from the CRA show the average personal income in the R0B postal code is just over $11,900, below the national average of just over $51,000. Nearly 5,000 of the letters landed in this area. New Democrat Niki Ashton, who represents the region in the House of Commons, said her office has received calls from residents worried about having to repay the CERB. "This whole issue has caused a lot of anxiety and worry for people in our communities," Ashton said. "But it really speaks to the lack of, well, frankly, the lack of fairness from the federal government that is extending significant resources and tracking folks down in one of the poorest parts of Canada." Areas with large numbers of CERB recipients, including in and around the Greater Toronto Area, showed smaller shares of letters in the data obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. The CRA said no one has been forced to repay any of the aid, no repayment deadlines have been set and "no recovery or collection efforts have been made with respect to any group, including Indigenous applicants." That could soon change. Work is moving ahead this year to verify CERB recipients' eligibility as the government always promised would happen, with efforts continuing over the next few years. Thousands more letters have also been sent to recipients of the now-defunct program. Just under 8.9 million Canadians used the $500-a-week emergency benefit the government set up quickly at the onset of the pandemic as millions of workers saw their incomes slashed. Eligibility rules were ultimately set to require someone to have earned at least $5,000 in the 12 months prior to applying, something the government noted became easier to verify once tax filings rolled in. Part of the issue with letters going to Indigenous communities is that tax filing rates are lower among Indigenous families. The CRA's website encourages Indigenous aid recipients to file their 2019 and 2020 tax returns as a way of proving eligibility, even though the deadlines for those have long passed. The agency suggested another issue could be that some applicants have tax-exempt income because it is earned on-reserve under a specific section of the Indian Act. "If an individual had tax-exempt employment or self-employment income, it's possible that the CRA did not have the necessary income information on file to confirm their eligibility for the CERB," the agency said in response to questions from The Canadian Press. The agency added that it has an email for specific questions about COVID-19 workplace restrictions and the impact on Indigenous income-tax exemption. Ketchum struggled to understand the CRA website and what, if any, options for leniency there were. She asked a tax preparer for help, but was told she would have to pay back the money. Indigenous workers who met the CERB's earnings requirement were more likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to receive the CERB, according to Statistics Canada research. Among First Nations workers, the rate was 41.5 per cent, for Inuit 40.3 per cent, and 36.2 per cent for Metis. The corresponding percentage for non-Indigenous workers was 33.9 per cent. The reason they were more likely to receive CERB had to do with their disproportionate ranks in low-wage jobs that were hit hardest during the pandemic amid rounds of lockdowns and cuts in hours, and which still have not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels despite the top-line figures. Ketchum shakes her head at the situation. She relies on getting money back during tax season to help pay her bills, but instead sold her condominium and took out $4,000 in risky payday loans to survive the pandemic. She said she can barely afford to eat and can't afford needed dental work. "CRA took my teeth, my rent, my food," Ketchum said. Photo: French Army The French military has released videos appearing to show Russian mercenaries burying bodies near an army base in northern Mali, which it says is part of a smear campaign against the French who handed the base to Malian forces earlier this week. Aerial surveillance images taken by the French military on Thursday morning and provided to The Associated Press show what appear to be 10 Caucasian soldiers covering approximately a dozen Malian bodies with sand 4 kilometres east of the Gossi military base in the countrys north, according to a French military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the matter. In the video one of the soldiers appears to be filming the scene. The Caucasian soldiers in the video are believed to be members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force, the officer said. Several tweets with pictures of the bodies have been posted on accounts that support Russia or fake accounts created by Wagner, the officer said. The tweets blame the French for the killings and the burials, according to the French officer. One tweet from an account called Dia Diarra, allegedly created by Wagner, said: This is what the French left behind when they left base at #Gossi. These are excerpts from a video that was taken after they left! We cannot keep silent about this! The French army transferred control of the Gossi base to Malian soldiers on Tuesday, in what the French said was a safe, orderly and transparent manner. Later that day a French sensor observed a dozen Caucasian individuals, most likely belonging to the Wagner Group, and a detachment from the Malian army arrive at the Gossi site and unload equipment, said the French military in a confidential report that was seen by AP. Mali's army spokesman Col. Souleymane Dembele said that a team has been dispatched to Gossi to investigate, adding it is still early for us to react on this case. The French military said the move to discredit the French forces operating in northern Mali is part of a coordinated campaign of multiple information attacks on them that has been going on for months. The Wagner Group and the Malian Armed Forces appear to be taking disregard for human life to new levels in Mali, said Alex Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati in the United States. Anti-French sentiments, however, reflect more than just Russian disinformation. The Malian junta and Wagner are trying to harness those frustrations, but they did not create them, he said. French troops have been a major presence in Mali since helping to dislodge jihadi rebels from strongholds in northern Mali in 2013. But the extremists' attacks on civilians and the military have continued as the rebels have pushed south. The ongoing violence has prompted numerous anti-French protests in the capital. In February, France announced it would withdraw its troops from Mali amid tensions with the countrys ruling military junta and the West African countrys decision to employ Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. About 1,000 of the Russian mercenaries are believed to be operating in Mali, according to military experts. Earlier this month foreign soldiers thought to be the Russians working with the Malian army were accused of killing an estimated 300 men some of them suspected Islamic extremist fighters but most civilians in Moura in central Mali, according to Human Rights Watch. It was the worst single atrocity reported in Malis 10-year armed conflict against Islamic extremists, according to the group which said it interviewed several witnesses about the killings. Its unclear where the bodies seen in the video Friday came from. The French military official said they might have possibly been taken from near Hombori town, approximately 90 km from Gossi, where there had been fighting a few days earlier, but he could not confirm it. The apparently staged graves can be seen as the latest example of Russias disinformation campaign to damage Frances reputation and it also reflects badly on Malis army, which must have been aware of the Russians actions, said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based organization focused on economics and policy. This incident at Gossi camp will further put Malis junta at odds with the international community, and it wouldnt be surprising if they come up with an unrealistic explanation, he said. He said the aerial images provided by the French military have largely stymied the Russian disinformation effort. This is a big win for France whos been facing tough times about its reputation in Mali, he said. Photo: The Canadian Press Displaced Ukrainians from Mariupol and nearby towns arrive at a refugee centre in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday. MOSCOW Russias top diplomat says talks to end the fighting in Ukraine have ground to a halt, because Moscow hasnt received any response from Kyiv to its most recent set of proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference on Friday that right now, they (talks) have ground to a halt, because another proposal we passed on to Ukrainian negotiators about five days ago, which was drawn up with their comments taken into account, it remains without a response. Lavrov also charged that recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisors suggest they dont at all need these talks, they have put up with their destiny. However, Vladimir Medinsky, President Vladimir Putins aide and Russias lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, confirmed reports that he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He didnt offer any details as to what was discussed or if any progress was made. MOSCOW President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside a Mariupol steel plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive. The comments came during a phone call between Putin and European Council President Charles Michel, according to a readout of the call provided by the Kremlin. Putin also said the Ukrainian forces were offered decent treatment and medical care. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged, according to the Kremlin. LVIV, Ukraine A city official in besieged Mariupol says Russian forces are continuing to bomb a massive steel mill where Ukrainian fighters are holed up. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor, told The Associated Press on Friday that every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, despite false promises not to touch the defenders. Andryushchenko added that fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. The Azovstal plant is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, which the Russians has blocked for nearly two weeks and declared victory over this week. Ukrainian authorities have estimated that 1,000 civilians are inside the plant along with the fighters. A day after satellite images came to light that indicated mass graves outside the port city in southeastern Ukraine, Andryushchenko said local residents reported that Russian forces were using mobile crematoria at two locations. Initial estimates said the apparent mass graves could hold up to 9,000 bodies, but Andryuschenko said there could be more. BERLIN The International Atomic Energy Agency says its director general will visit the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant next week, on the anniversary of the 1986 disaster there. The Vienna-based IAEA said Friday that Rafael Mariano Grossi will head a team of experts from the U.N. nuclear watchdog that will be at Chernobyl on April 26, which is 36 years since the day a reactor at the plant exploded. The IAEA says the team will deliver vital equipment and conduct radiological and other assessments at the site, which Russian forces held for five weeks until they withdrew on March 31. The experts will repair remote monitoring systems that stopped transmitting data to the IAEAs headquarters at the start of the war. Grossi said in a statement that the Chernobyl visit will be followed by more IAEA missions to this and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine in the coming weeks. WASHINGTON Pentagon press secretary John Kirby says assessments show Ukrainian troops are still contesting the southern city of Mariupol despite Russian President Vladimir Putins claim of victory in the battle for the city in Ukraines industrial heartland, home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Putin on Thursday ordered his troops not to storm a giant Mariupol steel mill where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainians remain holed up but to seal it off in an apparent bid to free up his troops for the broader campaign in the east. Kirby said it was unclear why Putin did that and Putins words need to be viewed with skepticism. They made this big show yesterday of him saying he wasnt gonna go into that plant and try to eradicate the people that are there, Kirby told CNN on Friday. I think we have to watch and see what the Russians actually do here. What we would tell you this morning is that we still assess that Mariupol is contested, that it hasnt been taken by the Russians and that theres still an active Ukrainian resistance. So they continue to fight for that city. KYIV, Ukraine A top Ukrainian official says no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations will be open in Ukraine on Friday because it is unsafe. In a post on the messaging app Telegram, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk asked people awaiting evacuation from war zones to be patient and hang in there. Vereshchuk said Russian forces offered to open a corridor for military surrender but not for an estimated 1,000 civilians sheltering at a steel mill that is the last Ukrainian stronghold in besieged southern city of Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said Moscow was ready at any moment to introduce a regime of silence for both the troops and civilians at Azovstal. But Ukrainian troops must raise white flags in determined areas around the plant before evacuations can begin, the ministry said. LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. is looking at sending tanks to Poland to replace the Soviet-era T-72 tanks the Poles are shipping to Ukraine. Johnson made the comments Friday during a news conference in New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think perhaps what I havent said publicly before is were also looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians, Johnson said. So were looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they sending some of their T-72s to Ukraine. LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the U.K. plans to reopen its embassy in Ukraines capital next week. Johnson announced the planned action on Friday during a trip to India. Diplomats from other European nations have returned to Kyiv since Russian troops withdrew from the capital region to focus on eastern Ukraine. Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv this month to show solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the time, the prime minister detailed a new package of financial and military aid, and Zelenskyy said the U.K. had pledged to help rebuild the city after the war. BERLIN The U.N. human rights chief says that international humanitarian law appears to have been tossed aside in Russias war in Ukraine. The Geneva-based human rights office said in a statement Friday that Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure actions that may amount to war crimes. The office said its mission in Ukraine so far has verified 5,264 civilian casualties, including 2,345 deaths, since the war began on Feb. 24. It said that 92.3% of those were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet added that the actual numbers are going to be much higher as the horrors inflicted in these areas of intense fighting such as Mariupol come to light. She said that over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside. MOSCOW A Russian military official says a second phase of the operation in Ukraine has begun with an aim to establish full control over the eastern industrial heartland of Donbas and southern Ukraine. Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of Russias Central Military District, on Friday told a defense industry event that the second phase started just two days ago. Minnekayev says control over eastern and southern Ukraine will provide a land corridor to Crimea, as well as influence (over) the vital objects of the Ukrainian economy. Russia had previously said it had full control over Ukraines southern region of Kherson on the coast of the Azov Sea and partial control over the neighboring southern region of Zaporizhzhia. Photo: Glacier Media The union representing workers it says were locked out by the Hilton Metrotown in Burnaby says it has rejected the hotels latest offer of binding arbitration. Workers and supporters recently marked one year of what they say were mass layoffs and locking out of employees, renewing calls for a fair agreement to be reached. In an email, Unite Here Local 40 spokesperson Stephanie Fung said workers declined the hotels proposal because they decided it wasnt the best process to resolve outstanding issues. We continue to work with the mediator to find a resolution and were talking with the workers to figure out next steps. The union says the location locked out room attendants, front desk agents, banquet, and kitchen staff on April 16, 2021, after terminating 97 long-term staff a move the union has called "mass firings" when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. While Unite Here Local 40 and workers say theyve been locked out, the hotel disagrees. A statement on April 14 said the union cancelled mediation dates in March of this year, while adding workers are free to return to work at anytime and insisted the union is actually on strike. "HVM (Hilton Vancouver Metrotown) believes this [binding arbitration] is the most sensible path forward to bring closure to this long dispute," the statement explained. "We believe it is time to put this dispute behind all of us, and to move forward. While the union claims they were locked out, that is simply not accurate." The statement acknowledged a significant number of workers at the hotel did see seniority rights under the collective agreement expire before the dispute began. The union worked to have the employees reinstated with seniority, something the hotel says they agreed to more than six months ago. "The Hilton Vancouver Metrotown remains an important hub for the City of Burnaby, and a meaningful employer for upwards of 200 valued associates. We do not believe a continuing labour dispute is in the best interests of our associates, the hotel or our community. While workers were offered to come back, Fung says it was conditioned and claims workers would have had to give up union health and pension benefits, paid time off and workload protections that protect health and safety. Thats an impossible choice for workers. Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser stands during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. International students who've graduated from Canadian post-secondary schools will be able to stay in Canada longer now that the federal government has offered a temporary program to help them qualify for permanent residency. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick International students who've graduated from Canadian post-secondary schools will be able to stay in Canada longer now that the federal government has offered a temporary program to help them qualify for permanent residency. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Friday that beginning this summer, graduates with work permits that expire in 2022 will qualify for an extension of up to 18 months. The minister said details about the expedited process have not been finalized and are expected to be released in the coming weeks. Fraser is also reopening express entry draws in July for people looking to become permanent residents. During the pandemic, the government paused applications for programs such as the Canadian experience class and federal skilled worker and federal skilled trades classes to work through a backlog. The government says the "vast majority" of new applications to these classes will be processed within the six-month service standard. Photo: Institute for Canadian Citizenship Young newcomers also cited high housing costs among reasons to leave Canada. The Canadian government, facing an aging population and a shortage of skilled labour, is pushing hard to increase immigration with a plan to welcome about 400,000 newcomers annually over the next three years. But Canada is seeing pushback from the very immigrants the country hopes to attract and retain young university graduates with marketable skills, according to a new Leger survey conducted with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC). The survey found that 30 per cent of 18 to 34-year-old new Canadians and nearly a quarter of university-educated new Canadians say they are likely to move to another country in the next two years. The new data points to the fact that many new Canadians are having a crisis of confidence in Canada and that should be ringing alarm bells all over Ottawa, said ICC CEO Daniel Bernhard. He noted that the findings upset the common conceit that Canadians are welcoming to all new immigrants, who in turn are grateful to be here. Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, however, says there is nothing wrong with Canadas immigration system and those leaving simply represent the global mobility of the highly skilled. It aint broke. Dont fix it, said Kurland, a partner in Kurland, Tobe and a noted consultant on immigration matters. The reality is that if new immigrants plan to leave Canada because they found a better gig, there are many more to take their place, he said. The Leger study included an online survey of 1,519 general-population Canadians adults and an online survey of 2,103 new Canadians, which was completed between February 24 28, 2022. The survey found that new Canadians were generally better educated, with 81 per cent holding a university degree, compared to 28 per cent of Canadas general population. Newcomers also earned more, with 48 per cent making an annual salary of at least $80,000, compared to 41 per cent of the general Canadian population. The majority 67 per cent of the new immigrants had been in Canada for five years or less. While 72 per cent of new immigrants agreed that Canada offers a good quality of life, 54 per cent said Canadians dont understand the challenges that immigrants face. Of the 57 per cent of new Canadians who said they have no plans to move to another country, most were older than age 55 and less educated. The top three reasons that younger, highly educated new Canadians gave for not recommending Canada were current leadership/government (43 per cent); high cost of living (35 per cent) and discrimination/racism, cited by 19 per cent of new immigrants surveyed. The cost of housing, high taxes and a poor health care system were named by 11 per cent. "The data suggest that younger, highly skilled immigrants in particular are starting to fall between the cracks," said Dave Scholz, executive vice-president at Leger. "We need to continue working hard to ensure that we are welcoming newcomers with the resources they need to succeed, and that we continue to be a country that provides opportunity." But Kurland argues that Canada will continue to be a magnet for skilled immigrants. We have huge numbers of skilled workers already here, working and paying taxes, who want to upgrade their status from temporary to permanent, and more than enough to make up for departees, he said. Several activists and political parties on Thursday called on the Taliban to reopen schools for girls in Afghanistan "as soon as possible". During the press conference in Kabul, Civil society groups, political parties, and ethnic councils urged the Taliban to explain to the people the main reason for the closing of girls' schools, TOLO news reported. "What kind of problem is this that has taken the fate of Afghan girls hostage? What special measures are we waiting for? Why is the main issue not shared with the people and the people are kept in the dark?" said Momand Mohammadi, a civil activist, according to TOLOnews. "We very respectfully request that the schools be opened to our students as soon as possible and that no more time be wasted," said Abeda Majdi, a religious scholar. Some of the teachers and students who attended the conference said that girls' right to education should not be politicized. They asked the international community to pay serious attention to the education of Afghan girls. "The exclusion of women from society and the banning of girls from school is a clear act of oppression. Please do not politicize education, we want our rights, we want education," said Munawara Qureshi, a student, according to TOLOnews. Earlier, the Taliban issued a decree banning female students above grade six from attending their classes in schools. The girls were further told to stay home until the Islamic Emirate announces its next decision. The decision by the Islamic Emirate has drawn severe backlash across the world with the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union issuing a joint statement to condemn the Taliban's decision to deny Afghan girls the opportunity to go back to schools. Meanwhile, the envoys and representatives of the European Union, US, and the European countries in a joint statement have also said that the international aid to Kabul will depend on Afghanistan's ability to ensure access to education for girls at all levels, said a media report. In the joint statement, the envoys and the representatives have said that the type and scope of "international donor assistance will depend, among other things, on the right and ability of girls to attend equal education at all levels," reported TOLOnews. The joint statement further stressed that the progress towards normalized relations between the Taliban and the international community will depend mostly on Kabul's actions and delivery on commitments and obligations to the Afghan people and to the international community. (ANI) US lawmaker Ilhan Omar's meeting with recently ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and her "unofficial, personal" visit to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) did not represent the United States government in any way, an official said on Thursday. India had on Thursday condemned Omar's visit to PoK as violative of India's territorial integrity and sovereignty and that it reflected her "narrow-minded" politics. The Democratic Congresswoman is on a four-day visit to Pakistan that began on April 20. On Wednesday, she met Imran Khan as well as visited a part of PoK. Speaking to ANI, Derek Chollet, counselor to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "It's an unofficial personal visit and it does not represent any policy change on behalf of the United States government." Omar, a Somali American who belongs to President Joe Biden's Democratic Party, had after her visit to PoK said Kashmir should get more attention from the United States, which elicited stern condemnation from India. "I don't believe that it (Kashmir) is being talked about to the extent it needs to in Congress but also with the administration," Omar told reporters after visiting PoK. Condemning her visit to PoK, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reporters in New Delhi at a media briefing, "Let me just say that if such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home, that's her business." "But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty... makes this ours and we think the visit is condemnable," Bagchi said. The Islamabad visit by Omar, who represents Minnesota in the US House of Representatives, is the first by an American legislator since the new Pakistan government took office. Her meeting with Imran Khan at his residence at Bani Gala has been criticised since the ouster Pakistan premier had accused Washington of conspiracy to dislodge his government. When asked what the US made of the Omar-Khan meeting, in particular, Chollet said, "Congresswoman's visit was a personal visit. It was not something that the State Department helped to organize so I don't have much to comment on it. Because it was a visit made in her personal capacity." Omar is the first naturalized citizen of African birth to sit in the US Congress. She has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has previously questioned Biden administration officials over what she said was their "failure" to criticize the Indian government on the issue of human rights and its actions against its Muslim minorities in India. In a recent hearing in which Omar questioned Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Omar raised concerns about the United States's history of getting close to undemocratic leaders as a strategy to show strength in numbers against an adversary. (ANI) Also Read: Imran Khan advised to address Lahore rally virtually over 'severe threat alerts' If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Ascension Day - Thursday, May 26, 2022 Holy Day of Obligation The Ascension is the event, where Jesus arose into heaven, at the end of his time on earth. Jesus' time on earth began with his birth. It was interrupted for three days by His death on the Cross. During that time, He descended into the realm of the dead and preached the Gospel to the good people who died before Him. This allowed those good and holy souls--the righteous dead, as we call them--who accepted Christ as their Savior to proceed to heaven. On the third day after his death and burial, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, an event we call the Resurrection. He spent the next 40 days preaching and preparing His disciples to perform the work of preaching and baptizing all people. At the end of this 40 day period, Jesus ascended into heaven. We call this the Ascension. The Bible tells us what happened on that day: In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. While at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. 'It is', he had said, 'what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but, not many days from now, you are going to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.' Now having met together, they asked him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He replied, 'It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end.' As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky as he went, when suddenly two men in white were standing beside them, and they said, 'Why are you Galileans standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go to heaven.' (Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11) It is said that by His death and Resurrection, Jesus opened the gates of heaven for all humanity. This is true, and His Ascension demonstrates this to us. It is His proof that those of us who believe in Him in faith and follow Him will also be raised on the last day, and enter into heaven. From heaven, Jesus hears our prayers and intercedes for us with His Father. We celebrate this on Ascension Sunday, which is celebrated forty days after Easter. Traditionally it is celebrated on a Thursday as a Holy Day of Obligation. The Church presently observes it on a Sunday to allow more of the faithful to attend Mass. It remains a Holy Day of Obligation, and the faithful are reminded that all Sundays are obligatory by default. The Ascension should not be confused with Pentecost, which is celebrated 50 days after Easter. Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Christ, after His Ascension. ARTICLE 6 - Catechism of the Catholic Church "HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER" 659 "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." 531 Christ's body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys. 532 But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity. 533 Jesus' final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God's right hand. 534 Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way would Jesus show himself to Paul "as to one untimely born", in a last apparition that established him as an apostle. 535 660 The veiled character of the glory of the Risen One during this time is intimated in his mysterious words to Mary Magdalene: "I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." 536 This indicates a difference in manifestation between the glory of the risen Christ and that of the Christ exalted to the Father's right hand, a transition marked by the historical and transcendent event of the Ascension. We ask you, humbly, to help. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now > 661 This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one who "came from the Father" can return to the Father: Christ Jesus. 537 "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man." 538 Left to its own natural powers humanity does not have access to the "Father's house", to God's life and happiness. 539 Only Christ can open to man such access that we, his members, might have confidence that we too shall go where he, our Head and our Source, has preceded us. 540 662 "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 541 The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and eternal Covenant, "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands. . . but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." 542 There Christ permanently exercises his priesthood, for he "always lives to make intercession" for "those who draw near to God through him". 543 As "high priest of the good things to come" he is the center and the principal actor of the liturgy that honors the Father in heaven. 544 663 Henceforth Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father: "By 'the Father's right hand' we understand the glory and honor of divinity, where he who exists as Son of God before all ages, indeed as God, of one being with the Father, is seated bodily after he became incarnate and his flesh was glorified." 545 664 Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfillment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of man: "To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." 546 After this event the apostles became witnesses of the "kingdom [that] will have no end". 547 IN BRIEF 665 Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus' humanity into God's heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf. Acts 1:11); this humanity in the meantime hides him from the eyes of men (cf. Col 3:3). 666 Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his Body, may live in the hope of one day being with him for ever. 667 Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit. - The Catechism of the Catholic Church Serbian cement industry faces fuel challenge ICR Newsroom By 22 April 2022 Serbias cement industry is being considerably impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war as the sector depends on high-calorie coal imports from both Russia and Ukraine for more than 50 per cent of its fuel requirement. Moreover, the alternative fuels used by the industry are insufficient to safeguard business continuity, particularly in the currently expanding market. The supply chains from Russia and Ukraine have almost stopped, presenting a serious challenge to the industry, according to Association of the Cement Industry of Serbia Director, Dejana Milinkovic. She added that they will need to try to find an alternative solution together with the state. The Serbian market expanded by 10 per cent YoY to 2.6Mt in 2021, marking a successful year. Published under This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions In at least two of his national best sellers humorist Lewis Grizzard (L.G.) expresses his frustration over the operations of vending machines in our society. In a 1987 publication he complains that over the 30 or so years he had been feeding money into the callous contraptions that actually had worked only about 50 percent of the time. He did express a little appreciation for the fact that he would get his money back if the device delivered the wrong product for which he had inserted his coins. Lewis main irritation would occur not only when the machine failed to deliver his soft drink, candy bar or bag of peanuts that he intended to purchase but also when the ornery machine refused to return his money. His frustration over such injustice placed him in a mad state where my eyes bulged out, my hands began to shake, and I wanted to kill the machine. Adding to his aroused mental state was that there was often no one around to hear him vent his anger or outrage upon when he screamed at a stupid machine that had just ripped him off. An additional area that raised his blood pressure level would be when the operator of the premises where the unreliable mechanical thief was located denied any financial responsibility for the illegal confiscation of funds even if it was in a hotel or restaurant. The assistant manager or clerk on duty would reply after hearing L.G. complain in a loud voice about the loss of his hard-earned currency, Your blankity-blank machine has robbed me of my money. This exclamation would usually fall on the proverbial deaf ears of the employee of the premises who stated, We just lease the space to the vending company. After voicing his frustration and realizing that he would not get his money back the famous former resident of Moreland, Georgia proposed a course of action to get revenge against the next vending machine that took his money: (1)Kicking the machine to the point of repeatedly causing large dents in it, putting the device in a terrible stay of repair and completing his temper tantrum by cursing and using ugly names; (2)In a fit of violence, he would promptly go to his vehicle, get a lug wrench, and proceed to inflict additional punishment on the offender until glass flew, the content inside the machine made awful crunching sounds, and nuts, bold and screws rolled around on the floor and finally; (3)L.G. would commit the act of arson and set the thing on fire. In triumph he then took his clothes off and danced naked around the smoldering victim of his wrath and threw his hands wildly in the air while emitting primal screams. (Whether he would be admitted to a padded cell after putting this article to pen and ink is beyond the scope of this publication). Stay tuned for a second article released in 1983 describing the frustration of teenage males and the scams of vending machines being perpetrated upon them prior to a moonlight romantic rendezvous with their maiden of choice. * * * You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com) A woman called police from Sam's Club at 6101 Lee Hwy. She said a man in a Ford F2S was upset about the traffic in the gas lines and decided to drive through a grass road divider. While doing this, he slung a significant amount of mud onto her vehicle, as well as the vehicle of two other witnesses. This man's vehicle also caused a significant amount of damage to Sam's Club's grass. No damage to the vehicles was reported to police at the time of this incident. The woman said the man then pulled into pump #9 and purchased gas, before leaving the scene in an unknown direction. Police spoke with the management of Sam's Club, who showed video surveillance of the incident, which matched the woman's depiction. Sam's Club also provided police with a membership I.D. for the man. The Ford F2S was also registered to the same man. Sam's Club declined to press charges against the man for the damage to their property. * * * A man told police he left his work tool bag and laptop outside the bathroom on the first floor of CHI Memorial, 2051 Hamill Road, around 4-4:30 p.m. the day before. He said he then left there and completely forgot about it until this morning around 8 a.m. He said he finally got back there around 9 a.m. and he checked several places and no one had turned it in. * * * A woman called from a parking lot near 715 Cherry St. and said her boyfriend's bicycle was stolen off the back of his truck the night before. She said he was in class and wouldn't be able to make the report until later. She said it was a Stump Jumper mountain bike, powder gray with accents of yellow, worth $4,900. The bike was attached to the bike rack on the back of the truck and someone had cut the lock off it and stolen it. She said she had video from a nearby business that shows a white male pacing back and forth in front of the parking lot. The video was very grainy and you could not see the man's face, and the video does not show the theft of the bike or anyone leaving on the bike. Police asked if she had the serial number of the bike and she said she did not, but she will see if her boyfriend can find it later and call back in with the serial number. * * * An employee at Enterprise, 305 W. 20th St., told police there was a gun that was left in the middle console of a rented vehicle, which was a white Nissan Sentra (Michigan tag). The vehicle was checked by an officer, who retrieved a holstered 9mm Ruger that was loaded with a full mag and nothing in the chamber. The car had been rented by a man for a month. The gun was run through NCIC and was not reported stolen or lost. The firearm will be taken to Chattanooga Property Division. * * * Police were moving a vehicle with the owners consent to a different location away from a tow-away zone. While moving the vehicle, police discovered a 9mm Luger in the center console. Police ran the serial on Info Channel and it came back negative stolen. The vehicle owner also had a valid carry gun permit. The gun was transported to property for safe keeping until the owner is released from Silverdale. * * * A woman on Mountain Creek Road told police someone had stolen the catalytic converter from her vehicle. * * * An officer was traveling eastbound on Stuart Street approaching Taylor Street when he encountered a silver Toyota Tacoma that was driving well of 80 mph northbound on Taylor Street. The truck ran through the stop sign at Stuart Street, as well as Wilder Street, continuing northbound on Taylor Street. The officer lost sight of the vehicle in the 3200 block of Taylor Street, and was unable to get any tag info on the vehicle. * * * A loss prevention employee at Walmart, 2020 Gunbarrel Road, told police that a tall white male paid for $91.17 of merchandise, but he also had $146.54 of merchandise in his cart that he did not pay for, and he passed all points of sale. The employee said she attempted to stop him and he fled, leaving behind the merchandise. * * * Police observed a vehicle parked at the boat ramp at Rivermont Park after hours. The officer made contact with the men in the vehicle, who said they were planning on sleeping there for the night. Police identified the men and both came back negative for warrants and wants. They were told it was illegal to be in the park after dark. The two agreed to move along without issue. * * * An officer made a traffic stop for an expired tag and light law violation at N. Willow Street and E. 4th Street. The owner of the vehicle said she was planning to fix the issues. A verbal warning was given. * * * A man on Baskette Way told police he was instructed by someone to contact an agency to help him secure his funds. He said he contacted a number from a flyer and it got to the point where he gave them $144,000. The man said they even told him to sell his home to secure further assets. The man said he was currently in the process of doing so. He said he was contacted by his bank, First Bank, and was told he was being scammed. The man said he needed a report to see what the bank could do for him. * * * A woman on Seminole Drive told police that her husband cheated on her. She said that his girlfriend came over to her house to pick him up for work. She said the girlfriend started arguing with her, and the argument got "heated," so she went back inside the house. She said when she walked back outside, she saw the back windshield on her vehicle was broken. She said she did not see who destroyed it, but her husband told her that his girlfriend destroyed it. Police asked her for the girlfriend's information, and she gave them her name, her possible date of birth and her phone number. She did not have any further information. Police attempted to contact the girlfriend and the husband to get their side of the events that had taken place, but were not successful in reaching either one of them. The officer also was not able to obtain a positive identification of the girlfriend. Charges won't be filed until further investigation. Beginning Friday morning, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will close the Amnicola Highway bridge over Highway 153 to all traffic for contract crews to perform a concrete bridge deck pour. Crews will reopen the bridge to traffic on Saturday, in the afternoon when this work is completed. Motorists traveling north on Highway 153 intending to exit on Amnicola Highway towards Chattanooga State Community College and downtown Chattanooga are encouraged to specially note this closure. Detour: Head north on Highway 153 Take the exit onto Lake Resort Drive toward Access Road At the roundabout, take the first exit onto Lake Resort Drive At the second roundabout, take the third exit onto North Access Road Continue on North Access Road for 1.4 miles Take a slight right turn onto SR-319 South (Amnicola Highway) Keep right onto Amnicola Highway South toward downtown Chattanooga Right turns exiting Highway 153 will be allowed through this closure, therefore Kings Road and the Chickamauga Marina will not be affected. Signage will be posted directing motorists around the closure. This work is weather-dependent. Should inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances delay this work, it will be rescheduled to take place soon. Shortly after turning in a guilty plea in Federal Court, former Rhea County Executive George Thacker turned in his resignation to County Attorney Carol Ann Baron. By 3:30 p.m., County Clerk Linda Shaver had sworn in County Commission Chairman Jim Vincent as the new county executive. Mr. Vincent also announced that he has turned in his petition to run for county executive in the Aug. 4 General Election. Mr. Vincent represents District 7 in Rhea County. He was chosen by the County Commission in November 2019 to fill the remaining term of the late Ronnie Raper and was elected as the 7th District commissioner in April 2020 to finish the rest of the four-year term. Mr. Vincent has a long history of public service starting when he served as County Commissioner for District 1 in Hamilton County. He then served four years in the Tennessee House of Representatives serving northern Hamilton and all of Rhea County. He has served as the building inspector for the county and as project manager overseeing the construction of the new Rhea County Justice Center. Mr. Vincent decided to run for the seat after the qualifying deadline was extended following the Thacker withdrawal. Mr. Vincent said he plans to bring all the governing bodies of Rhea County together as they each bring unique assets to the growth of Rhea County. The city of Dayton, Spring City, the city of Graysville and the unincorporated areas need to work as a cohesive unit for growth and quality of life, he said. Mr. Vincent stated, "We need to keep the values and honor the heritage of Rhea County as we look toward the future. We must keep our children and our schools in the forefront as we prepare our children to reach their full potential and give back to the community which nurtures and encourages them in their endeavors." Mr. Vincent said he will bring professional leadership to the county executive office. He said he "has always governed from a strong conservative philosophy believing 'we the people' are the bedrock of our county and our country. Now is the time for Rhea County to become the strong, prosperous and vital county our citizens deserve." Mr. Vincent who is originally from the Summer City area of Dayton Mountain, lives in the Old Washington Community on his farm. Thursday afternoon, Thacker had appeared in front of District Court Judge Charles Atchley Jr. Thacker was solemn and talked very softly as he answered questions by Judge Atchley and stood with his head down next to his attorney Lee Davis as prosecutor Kyle Wilson read the governments statement of facts in the case. He will appear back in court on Sept. 22 at 9 am for his sentencing hearing. Judge Atchley advised Thacker that there was not a minimum set in his case, he could face up to 20 years along with $250,000 in fines and supervised release after his penitentiary sentence. Prosecutor Wilson said the government plans on recouping the $650,000 in PPE money that was paid to Thacker from loans from Regions Bank and The Small Business Administration. Thacker was released on a $30,000 unsecured bond. The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to participate in a one-hour, ranger-led program on Saturday, May 7 at 2 p.m. discussing cave art and petroglyphs of the American Indians of the Southeast. This program will take place at Moccasin Bend National Archeological Districts Gateway Site at 10 Hamm Road in Chattanooga. Visitors are welcome to bring folding chairs and are encouraged to dress accordingly for weather conditions."When we think of cave art, instinctively, we think of the images on caves in some European countries," officials said."In fact, the worlds first modern discovery of cave art was made in 1879, at Altamira, in northern Spain. Rarely do we consider the cave art and petroglyphs of the native peoples where we live, here in the Southeastern United States. Nevertheless, the mountains of east Tennessee, northeast Alabama and northwest Georgia provided for the formation of caves, that those who are now lost to history had the opportunity to record some of their daily encounters for us to now interpret. Come learn the fascinating stories of this era of human history in our area."For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/chch. County mayor candidate Weston Wamp said Friday he was not involved in negative campaigning, and he said his two opponents went on the attack first. Mr. Wamp said, "Like others, Shelby and I received two mail pieces from an outside group this week at our home. Anyone who has received our campaigns mail or seen our television ads should know that I had nothing to do with this. "I have been involved in every word our campaign has released, and it has been positive, issue-focused and well-designed. That is the opposite of these mailers. The outside group responsible for the mailers is run by people who support me, but Ive never been a fan of these types of mailers."I was on the receiving end of the largest negative advertising campaign in our countys history in my last campaign and never once spent a dime to retaliate. That is a fact."Sabrena Smedley and I have enjoyed a cordial, friendly relationship throughout this campaign. Her husband, Mark, and her mother, Brenda, have become friends. I have respect for her journey as a single mom."That said, no one in this race should play the victim card. Today, Sabrena, launched the third ad attacking me, an ad made by a production company based in Hollywood, Ca. Sabrena started her campaign by attacking me for who my father is. That continued today. It is also ironic that one day after she complained about a mail piece relating to the teachers union, Sabrena embraces her endorsement by the liberal teachers union in her latest ad."Matt hired the nastiest campaign operator in Tennessee, who proceeded to pay for mass phone calls falsely accusing me of supporting 'leftist' policy and 'illegal immigration.'"I look forward to closing out our positive, winning campaign by continuing to provide solutions to serious challenges in this community which have gone unaddressed for a long time." I am so pleased to support my friend, Mike Dumitru for Circuit Court Judge, Division II. I believe Mike will be a judge that will fairly apply the law to every person that comes before his court. I believe Mike knows well the difference between a judge and a legislator. I believe Mike will protect and apply the laws of Tennessee just the way the Tennessee General Assembly wrote and passed them. Mikes love and devotion to his family, faith and country are impeccable. Please join my family and me as we vote for our friend, Mike Dumitru, for our next judge in Circuit Court, Division II. We can all trust him.Richard Floyd Five years ago, my husband was presented with a career opportunity to move our family from Dallas, Texas to Chattanooga. This well-presented opportunity not only included a promotion within his industry in job title, salary and status, but also came with the promise of a different lifestyle, charming topography and high speed internet. After strolling the Walnut Street Bridge and absorbing the mountain views, we were smitten with Chatt. We immediately accepted the offer to uproot our family from the bustling concrete jungle of Dallas where the housing market is fair and the schools are exceptional to land us right into the Scenic City.In the short time between signing the job offer and actually moving here, we realized very quickly that the beautiful facade of the mountains and river was hiding what really mattered to us, a great place to raise our family that was near to my husbands job where we could benefit from the fruits of the job promotion.When we began to explore homes, every real estate agent we interviewed told us about the school situation in Chattanooga. We tirelessly researched and toured public and private schools across the county. Raising three boys, we have always desired to place our children in an educational environment where they could thrive and that was representative of the real world. No school in Chattanooga met those needs. Every school was either predominantly white OR predominantly minority. No school represented the population of Chattanooga as a whole, economically or ethnically. After the tours, I resented the all-white schools and felt sorry for the all-minority schools. It didnt seem just. Why was there no school that met the needs of all children together? Why did the children who lived in closest proximity to downtown draw the short end of the stick in regards to their education.Ultimately, as much as we despised private education and were hoping to pocket that promotion wage for more vacations, we ended up with our children at CCS. On paper, it is probably the most diverse school in Hamilton County. Overall, our cost of living actually went up.A few years pass by and enter my introduction to Weston Wamp. I stumbled on a post he wrote on LinkedIn and it synced with everything I felt. He had candid things to say about what it looks like to live in the Best Work From Home City in America, especially if youre school-aged and underprivileged. Late last year I had left my job in marketing with high hopes of volunteering and spending more time with my boys (especially the one who now is homeschooled). My bucket list also included getting involved in local politics. It was that same week that Weston announced his candidacy for Hamilton County Mayor.We met for coffee. After expressing my passion in his campaign and the issues he stood for, he convinced me to work for him and now here I am. I have spent more time with him, outside Shelby and his closest friends, than any of the people out there who think they know him. Its not in normal Op-Ed tradition for a campaign employee to write, but I consider myself much more than Westons employee. Im not into politics, nor have I ever been. I am a former educator trying to raise children in a city that continues to create lines between the haves and have-nots.I am in it for the long haul. My three boys have all spent time working with Weston and serving in the campaign. He is the REAL deal. I know his heart on the issues pressing Chattanooga. Hes more than a pretty face behind a namesake or an heir to a political dynasty. I have witnessed him working on an actual plan for day one of taking office. I know his motivation behind this race. His heart is truly for the future of the PEOPLE of Hamilton County. My family of five will follow him wherever he goes because we believe he is an important part of the solution to the hidden problems in our county.Becca Caney Sush Shantha, Sujata Singh and their organization, Desi Chattanoogan, along with the Asian Students Association of UTC, are bringing Holi Mela to Chattanooga. "Holi Mela, a Hindu spring festival celebrated predominantly in India, Nepal and in parts of the Western world now including Chattanooga is known as the 'festival of colors' and the 'festival of love.' Chattanooga is home to a vibrant Desi cultural community families descended from Southeast Asian areas of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Now we are bringing this colorful cultural celebration alive for our own Southeast American region," organizers said. "Bring the whole family in white sundresses and tee shirts to the Sculpture Fields at 11 a.m. on April 30 and leave in a blaze of color." We are excited to have Chattanooga experience the joy and color of Holi, said event co-chairs Ms. Shantha and Ms. Singh. Families will share a wonderful day of games, Indian cuisine and cultural activities, as well as the great fun of the color exchange. Guests may purchase pouches of vibrant color to share by tossing the colors on family members and friends. Once the colors are ?ying back and forth, water can be splashed on so the colors run together on faces, arms and shirts. Ms. Shantha and Ms. Singh added, We strongly suggest bringing a change of dry clothes for the drive home. Holi celebrations engage all the senses through festive touch, sights, sounds and smells. Dholi '' Ketu Dave will circulate through the sculpture ?elds performing on his large tasseled drum called Dhol to the beats of popular Bollywood music spun by local Indian DJ Alok Patel. The program includes a fashion show of Traditional Indian clothes of India, choreographed by Sheila Boyington and modeled by area families. People will also enjoy dance performances by local Desi kids choreographed by Sangeetha Chandran and Archana Brahmabhatt. Indian food from Ash Vardhana, Hema Selvam, Kiran Madipattla, KetoNooga, Dos Bros and other vendors will include street food, tandoori chicken, biryani and traditional South Indian food. There will be other vendors doing henna and selling Indian wares that will accept cash or cash apps. Holi Festival sponsors: 1) Emerald Level: Vision Hospitality Group, Doctors Nilesh & Manisha Patel, Steve Johnson. 2) Ruby Level: Spice Trail, Agape Med Spa, Thinking Media, Barn Nursery, Proof Bar, Serina & Hiren Desai, Venya Portraits. 3) Colors Level: Janata Farmers Market, Fischer Evans, Northwestern Mutual, Charley & Misa Anakar. 4) Venue Sponsor: Sculpture Fields 5) Music Sponsor: Alok Patel Gates open at 11 a.m. Festival grounds admission is $10 per person. Children 12 and under are free. VIP admission for two adults with valet parking and two bags of colors is $30. Food and activities are available with additional ticket purchase inside the festival grounds. People are encouraged to buy tickets upfront so valet can be guaranteed. Pre-event entry tickets may be purchased on the Facebook page for The Chattanooga Public Library Foundation. Mike Dumitru is a fine man. In my family, that is a strong statement and reserved for only the finest. Mike is that, and represents what our country was founded upon. His family immigrated to America from communist Romania years after more than 20 of his ancestors were killed in the Armenian Genocide. They wanted a better way of life, freedom from tyranny, freedom of religion and opportunity for their new family to be. Incredibly, they achieved this when their son, Mike, worked hard for the opportunities that America gave him. His impeccable work ethic earned him a law degree from Vanderbilt University. Mikes heart and sense of empathy drive his dealings with others. Based upon his roots, he is passionate about the rights of all individuals and has demonstrated that in his 10+ years of litigation in court. His integrity is based on maintaining the courage and dream that his parents had when they first came to our great country. Hes blessed with a wonderful and supportive wife and two adorable children. He has worked vigorously to provide the same American values his parents sought to those he has represented, his family and all others who will come before his Court. Mike is not only a fine manhe is the man for the job. Join me in electing Mike Dumitru to be our next Hamilton County Circuit Court Division II Judge. Bill Raines Major General, US Army (Retired) In a clip for the upcoming 90 Day Fiance Season 9, 48-year-old Yvette Yve says that her 25-year-old fiance, Mohamed Abdelhamed, was a virgin when she first met him. She then gives some details about her love life. Heres everything she had to say about their intimacy. Mohamed and Yvette | Aaron Patton/Getty Images Mohamed was a virgin when he met Yve In a preview clip for the upcoming April 24 episode of 90 Day Fiance Season 9 (via People), Yve talks to her friends about her intimacy with her fiance, Mohamed. Yve and Mohamed, 90 Day Fiance Season 9 | TLC During lunch, Yves friends ask some questions regarding how things went down in the bedroom, considering Mohameds religion and culture dont allow premarital sex. Her friend asks, In their culture, theres no public display of affection, correct? So how long did you wait until you had sex? Yve replies, You cant stay together, but you know, you can stay in the same hotel. Lets just say that. Another one of Yves friends asked her, He was a virgin, wasnt he? Yve responds, Yes. quietly. Why did Yve and Mohamed decide to be intimate before marriage? After forming a relationship online, Yve traveled to Egypt to meet Mohamed in person for the first time. During the trip, they got engaged and clearly didnt follow the typical Muslim rules regarding relationships. In a confessional, Yve reveals why she and Mohamed decided to break the rules. She said, In the Muslim religion, they dont believe in premarital sex or relations. But we were basically just so convinced that this is the one. So I think thats why, you know, we went against things even though it was breaking rules. Yve says that Mohamed is a rockstar in the bedroom Given Mohameds limited experience, Yves friends asked questions about how skilled he is in the bedroom. Yve immediately defended her fiance, saying hes a rockstar in that department. She elaborated, He has no problem, OK? Lets just say our sex life is just fine. She adds, Multiple times a day, OK? She says to the cameras, Really, theres no limits with the squad. I mean, were very close. But the questions that are always about sex made me uncomfortable because its something that I know in his religion they dont talk about that much. So I just wanted to be more reserved about that, out of respect for him. As teased in the trailer for 90 Day Fiance Season 9, their intimate life is the least of their problems. Their 23-year age gap and clashing cultures make them question their compatibility. 90 Day Fiance Season 9 airs Sundays on TLC and discovery+. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance Season 9: Where To Follow the New Cast Members on Instagram George Harrison loved chanting just as much as singing. However, he didnt realize it until he began his spiritual journey in the 1960s. George had reached the top of a wall. He saw so much more when he looked over it and never turned back. George put all of his energy into spirituality, and he claimed it helped him live in the material world. He also claimed his spirituality helped save him from a plane crash. George Harrison and members of the Hare Krishna Temple | Keystone/Getty Images George Harrison turned to spirituality in the 1960s In the mid-1960s, George had become disenchanted with many things, including fame. Being a Beatle had essentially extinguished the light inside him and had wrung him out. There was not much more he could do, and he grew bored. Thats when he met Ravi Shankar. George often said that the legendary sitar player was the first person he met that wowed him. According to Quartz India, George said, Ravi was my link into the Vedic world. Ravi plugged me into the whole of reality. I mean, I met ElvisElvis impressed me when I was a kid, and impressed me when I met him because of the buzz of meeting Elvis, but you couldnt later on go round to him and say, Elvis, whats happening in the universe?' In 1982, George told a leader in the Hare Krishna movement, Mukunda Goswami (per the Guardian), that his spirituality started once he saw what was over the wall hed hit at the time. It wasnt until the experience of the 60s really hit, George said. You know, having been successful and meeting everybody we thought worth meeting and finding out they werent worth meeting, and having had more hit records than everybody else and having done it bigger than everybody else. It was like reaching the top of a wall and then looking over and seeing that theres so much more on the other side. So I felt it was part of my duty to say, Oh, OK, maybe you are thinking this is all you need to be rich and famous but actually it isnt.' Thats when George started to read about Hinduism and chanting. He never looked back, and it might have saved his life. RELATED: Paul McCartney Said George Harrison Scolded Him for Writing Too Many Songs During The Beatles Trip to India George said chanting to Krishna saved him from a plane crash Goswami asked George if hed experienced an incident where he felt Gods presence strongly through chanting. George replied that he felt Krishna was with him the strongest during a pretty scary moment on a plane around 1971. Chanting helped him through it. George believed that it saved his life. Once I was on an aeroplane that was in an electric storm, George explained. It was hit by lightning three times, and a Boeing 707 went over the top of us, missing by inches. I thought the back end of the plane had blown off. I was on my way from Los Angeles to New York to organise the Bangladesh concert. As soon as the plane began bouncing around, I started chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The whole thing went on for about an hour and a half or two hours, the plane dropping hundreds of feet and bouncing all over in the storm, all the lights out and all these explosions, and everybody terrified. I ended up with my feet pressed against the seat in front, my seat belt as tight as it could be, gripping on the thing, and yelling Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare at the top of my voice. I know for me, the difference between making it and not making it was actually chanting the mantra. Peter Sellers also swore that chanting Hare Krishna saved him from a plane crash once. RELATED: Eric Clapton Said George Harrison Wouldnt Have Wanted Concert for George, but Clapton Wouldnt Have Cared The former Beatle once spent 23 hours chanting during a trip The scary plane ride wasnt the only time George chanted through a long journey. When Goswami asked him how he felt after chanting for a long time, George replied that he felt invincible after chanting for 23 hours straight during a trip from France to Portugal. I find that I sometimes have opportunities when I can really get going at it, and the more I do it, I find the harder it is to stop, and I dont want to lose the feeling it gives me, George replied. For example, once I chanted the Hare Krishna mantra all the way from France to Portugal, nonstop. I drove for about 23 hours and chanted all the way. It gets you feeling a bit invincible. The funny thing was that I didnt even know where I was going. I mean I had bought a map, and I knew basically which way I was aiming, but I couldnt speak French, Spanish, or Portuguese. But none of that seemed to matter. You know, once you get chanting, then things start to happen transcendentally. Many people doubted whether Georges spirituality was genuine. It wasnt a passing phase. George remained spiritual for the rest of his life. Members of the Hare Krishna movement, Georges good friends, chanted at his bedside during his last days. Georges wife, Olivia, said he was not afraid of death in his last moments because of his spirituality. He lit the room when he left his body. RELATED: Slash Said Sitars Sounds Cliche Thanks to George Harrison During the Invictus Games in the Netherlands, Prince Harry spent some time giving an interview to journalist Hoda Kotb. The interview has attracted mixed reactions from people and was also analyzed by body language experts. One guru looked at the Duke of Sussexs posture during the interview and shared that he showed signs of wanting to disappear. Prince Harry | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen VAX LIVE Harry has been living a private life in California with Meghan Markle and their two kids, Archie and Lilibet. During the interview with Kotb, the duke gave some updates on his life. He opened up about fatherhood, sharing that he loves every part of it, though he admitted that working while having kids can be a challenge. Harry also stated that a big desire of his is to make the world a better place for Archie and Lilibet. Additionally, after living in Montecito for two years, Harry now sees the United States as his home. Harry also talked about visiting Queen Elizabeth before the Invictus Games. He revealed that he and Meghan had tea with Her Majesty and that it was great to see her. Harry made headlines when he shared that he wants to make sure she is protected and has the right people around her. Prince Harry was not comfortable and wanted to disappear, body language expert says According to body language expert Louise Mahler, Harrys posture during the interview was not one of comfort. Prince Harry is always trying to disappear into himself, Mahler said on Australian show Sunrise. My favorite thing there is hes leaning forward, but his back is crinkled. This means that his breath isnt working. And he opens his arms, but he immediately snaps them in. She added, And then you notice that he puts his hands on the inside of his knees and sort of tries to withdraw. They call that turtlingtrying to go back into your shell The man wants to disappear. Hes not comfortable. Prince Harry also showed animosity when asked about his father and brother, another expert says In one part of the interview, Kotb asked Harry if he misses Prince Charles and Prince William. However, Harry dodged the question and talked about the competitors at the Invictus Games instead. According to body language expert Lillian Glass, the duke displayed some animosity when Charles and William were brought up. To reveal his clear animosity towards his brother and dad when asked if he missed them he doesnt even answer the question and at least say yes, Glass said (via Express). He says look I am here. It is a hostile response as he reveals his anger towards them. Glass added, Then he goes on to further ignore the question and brings up the families of the Invictus participants and makes himself into some type of hero in his own mind that he wants to help their families and give them a lifetime experience. RELATED: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Might Be Showing a Lack of Intelligence in How They Deal With the Royal Family, Commentator Says Lockdowns due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were stressful for millions of people around the world including Queen Elizabeth II. The royal family matriarch moved to Windsor Castle where she isolated for some time with a smaller-than-usual household staff. Since she didnt have a hairdresser available to cut or fix her hair she had her personal assistant, Angela Kelly, take on that task. Kelly revealed that she found the experience of styling Queen Elizabeths hair terrifying and actually needed a drink after the monarch let her know she wasnt doing it right. Queen Elizabeth II wearing a tiara during a trip to Jamaica | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images Who is Angela Kelly? Kelly began working for the queen in the 90s. Prior to that, she was a housekeeper for the British Ambassador to Germany Sir Christopher Mallaby. Kellys official job title today is Personal Assistant, Adviser, and Curator to Her Majesty The Queen (Jewelry, Insignias, and Wardrobe). She was promoted to the Personal Assistant and Senior Dresser role in 2002 and since then has worked alongside Queen Elizabeth almost every day. The two women have developed a close friendship over that time and today Kelly remains one of the queens top aides and most trusted confidants. I suppose the queen must have liked me and decided I was trustworthy and discreet, Kelly previously told The Telegraph of her hiring. Queen Elizabeth IIs personal assistant and dressmaker Angela Kelly smiling outside a store | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images She recalled how Queen Elizabeth shouted at her when she did her hair But working for the most famous woman in Britain comes with its challenges and that was never more true than during the lockdowns. Hello! magazine noted that in a new chapter of her book The Other Side of the Coin, Kelly wrote: From March 2020 onwards I washed the queens hair every week, set and styled it, and even trimmed it when needed. My team named it Kellys Salon. The queen knew I was nervous and during the first two weeks, I was shaking. I had only done her hair once or twice before while onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. The queen was so kind as she advised me on the very specific way to put the rollers in. However, as time passed, the queen began to treat Kelly as if she was a professional hairstylist. As I grew in confidence Im sure the queen thought I was a professional and started shouting at me, Dont do that, do it this way. Thats right, youve got it, dont change it! Kelly recalled. I was thinking, goodness me, I need a gin and tonic. So while the queen was under the dryer I said to her, Im off for a stiff drink because this is so stressful, getting it just right for you. Queen Elizabeth II in lime green at the annual Chelsea Flower Show | Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images Royal fans may remember another story about Kelly involving Prince Harry If Kellys name sounds familiar to you it may be because she was mentioned in the bestseller Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. The authors told a story about when Meghan chose a tiara for her wedding day and there was a conflict between Harry and his grandmothers personal assistant. Scobie and Durand wrote that Harry was upset with Kelly because he felt like she was dragging her feet in helping Meghan obtain access to her chosen tiara for a hair trial before the wedding. RELATED: Does Queen Elizabeth II Wear a Wig? There are many common traits that most audiences can find in a Quentin Tarantino film. His critically acclaimed movies are known for snappy dialogue, unique writing, and sometimes graphic violence. But these films often shy away from sex scenes. But the Oscar winner once shared this was by design. Quentin Tarantino has been praised for writing female characters Quentin Tarantino | Rocco Spaziani/Getty Images Tarantino has been applauded for how he treats female actors in movies. Many believe that the Pulp Fiction filmmaker consistently depicts strong women in his stories, a hypothesis his own actors vouch for. He writes women like nobodys business, Jennifer Jason Leigh said in the documentary QT8: The First Eight(via IndieWire). Kill Bill star Lucy Liu also complimented the director. The fact that he always has women in these strong positions isnt something that he necessarily highlights or billboards, Liu added. To him, of course it makes sense these are women that are fighting or are leaders. For him its just natural. Zoe Bell, a frequent collaborator of Tarantinos, has labeled him an ally to female actors. Its an interesting conversation to have these days, girl power and equality. It sort of feels like its all coming to a head. The biggest feat is making it normal that we are in lead positions as opposed to it being the fight, she said. Thats where Quentin is a priceless ally. I dont think he needs to sit in an interview and be like, Listen women should have these roles. He doesnt have to drive it because hes just presenting it as such. Quentin Tarantino once explained why he avoided sex scenes in most of his films Quentin Tarantino has dabbled in several genres in his decades-long filming career. But there are a few genres he hadnt tackled that he was once interested in exploring. According to Quentin Tarantino The Man, The Myths and the Movies, he was considering doing a sex movie. At the same time, the Hateful Eight director also revealed why he didnt include sex scenes in his films in the first place. Id really like to do a kick-ass sexploitation flick. Theres usually not much sex in my movies, because Im too much of a gentleman to ask an actress to take her top off, he said. But he wouldve only done a film like this on one condition. But if I were to write a real sex film, the actresses would have to be down with it, he continued. Like those great trampy actresses from Italy and Germany in the 70s who were just like, Roll the camera, m*****f***** here we go. Thatd be so great. Quentin Tarantino once opened up about his decision to shoot womens feet in movies Tarantino has gotten a reputation over the years for shooting womens feet in his movies. Some believe that this reveals a fetish the director may have. In a fairly recent interview with GQ, however, he opened up about his feelings towards this reputation. I dont take it seriously. Theres a lot of feet in a lot of good directors movies. Thats just good direction, he said. Like, before me, the person foot fetishism was defined by was Luis Bunuel, another film director. And Hitchcock was accused of it and Sofia Coppola has been accused of it. RELATED: Did Quentin Tarantino Name His Son After Leonardo DiCaprio? If you havent heard, the 1990s are back. Hair scrunchies, oversized blazers, earth tones, and chunky-soled shoes. Also, apparently, Disney boycotts and conspiracy theories about liberal pedophile sex cults. I was in middle school and high school during the 90s and enjoyed my fair share of both fashion blunders and culture wars. As a conservative coming of age during the Clinton presidency, I remember the feeling of constant siege while we fought to save America from the godless Left. So as debates about critical race theory, wokism, and changing sexual mores ramp up again, Im experiencing a bit of a time warp. I wonder, Why do we love the culture wars so much? Why cant we quit them? To be fair, Western culture was undergoing a radical shift in the 90s, much as it is today. The former Soviet bloc collapsed, initiating a global realignment. An Oval Office scandal made oral sex such a common phrase that even I, sheltered as I was, knew what it meant (after looking it up in the dictionary). It was understandably a time of increased political polarization, especially with the rise of conservative talk radio. Folks like Rush Limbaugh brought a kind of joyful exuberance to the fighta confidence and swagger that somehow felt true and freeing. He warned against the feminazis while selling Snapple and Sleep Number beds. And even when he mocked the presidents daughtera girl my own ageit felt legitimate in light of her parents obvious corruption. So when the GOP recaptured Congress in 1994, it was like hope being restored. When Kenneth Starr led an investigation that eventually resulted in Clintons impeachment in 1998, I felt the thrill of justice. There are simply no culture wars like old-school culture wars. Despite this pedigree, I find myself viewing current political clashes with a mixture of bemusement, frustration, and deep sadness. Because somewhere in the 2000s, after September 11 and before the election of Barack Obama, I grew up. I married, started a family, and entered a life of ministry that included Christian publishing, Bible teaching, and local church work in rural communities. Those spaces brought more pressing concerns, and politics receded into the background. I convinced myself that, like my light-wash, high-waisted jeans, certain things were behind mepassed out of fashion, never to be seen again. But here we are. And while the current clashes express themselves slightly differently, I recognize the basic outline. I also experience a kind of secondary discomfort when I hear talking heads on both the Right and the Left replicate my youthful certainty, self-assuredness, and audacity. Over the years, Ive tried to understand why I found the culture wars so deeply satisfying, even in middle and high school. I was a fervent Christian, wanted to please God, and was eager for affirmation. I got it in spades when I voiced certain opinions. When I mocked liberals, the adults around me laughed. When I wrote papers about the deviancy of Hollywood and the music industry, I got high marks in my Christian school. And when I campaigned for conservative political candidates in college, I got extra credit. In retrospect, I understand that my subculture was encouraging me toward combat. But like the fashion mistakes I made in those same yearsthe mile-high bangs and cropped bobI know more was going on, too. When a teenager experiments with fashion, theyre often trying to find themselves, longing to fit in, and dealing with the general angst of moving from childhood to adulthood. So Im sympathetic to my younger selfboth my lack of fashion sense and my political naivete. But I dont want to excuse the fact that I was drawn to the culture wars for a reason. James 4 addresses our love of war and pinpoints its roots: Article continues below What causes fights and quarrels among you? Dont they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. (vv. 12) These admonitions feel personal to me. As a young culture warrior, I was getting a hit of righteousness. I needed to know that I was a good person, and waging the culture wars was a great way to convince myself and those watching me. It was a way to convince God, too, I think. But like any other drug, self-righteousness needs an ever-increasing supply. Every hit demands another. And when youve come to love the rush, you very quickly become addicted until the only thing you know how to do is fight. This is where things get tricky for Christians who want to bear public witness. We should be reluctant warriors, only picking up arms when a just conflict calls us to protect others. (Social justice is one example.) Its one thing to advocate for and defend our principles in the common square; its another thing entirely to enjoy the fight. And too many of us love the battle. We delight in the pillaging and destruction of our ideological enemies. We love the war because of the rush of righteousness that accompanies it. So I wonder if the way to break the cycle is to reassess our desires and needs. What if we didnt need the feeling of superiority that comes from a sharp comment on Twitter? What if we could count on something other than our own workspolitical or otherwiseto know we are safe and loved? When I think back on the girl I was in the 1990s, I see a young woman eager to please God. But I also see an immature young womansomeone who was too busy trying to please God to understand that he was already pleased with her in Christ. In the subsequent decades, Ive done more than simply grow up. Ive sobered up. Somewhere in my early to mid-20s, I encountered an expression of the gospel that located Gods grace and Christs righteousness over my own. Id always known I was a sinneralways known that others were, too. But I didnt have any meaningful way of dealing with sin or understanding Christs work on my behalf. So the best I could do was to show my commitment to God by simply working harder, trying to do what was right, and reforming myself. And if I could reform myself enough to overcome my sin, then other people should be able to as well. When they didnt, at least to my thinking, I was entirely justified in condemning them and warring against them. By not understanding Gods grace at work in my own life, I couldnt see it at work in the lives of others or even extend it to them in our debates. I was blind to particular grace, which meant I was blind to common grace as well. As the years have passed, I dont know that Ive become less conservative. I still hold policy positions and opinions that make my progressive friends squirm. But one thing has changed for me: I no longer need the fight. And I dont need the fight because I dont need to prove anything. Safe in the goodness of God and the righteousness of Christ, Im free to work for goodness in the world around me. Im free to love my neighbor as I love myself and struggle for their good, not my own. So as a new set of culture wars rage, take a word of advice from an old veteran: Speak truth and speak love, but dont think for one minute that holding a certain position or voting a certain way makes God love you any more or any less than he already does. Dont think for one minute that he loves your neighbor any more or any less than he loves you. Dont think for one minute that your righteousness originates anywhere except with him. And having tasted the goodness of God, having experienced his unmerited grace, go into the world and share it with others. Hannah Anderson is the author of Made for More, All Thats Good, and Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul. The Korean drama Squid Game was a hit in 2021, reaching over 140 million Netflix viewers worldwide. The series used games familiar to Korean children to describe the social pathology of adults amid the fair competition of the modern world. It satirizes a system in which people would do anything in order to survive at the expense of others. In real life, the current war between Russia and Ukraine is the latest event to expose the ugliness of human conflicts. Each brings division, with supporters and opponents increasingly polarized. However, do Christians have to choose only between the polarized options of full support or full opposition amid the conflicts of the 21st century? Two Old Testament books suggest not. Different narratives The Israelites in the Old Testament were repeatedly subjected to cruelty. They suffered from foreign aggression and were often at war. Gideons son, Abimelech, killed 70 brothers in one day in order to become king in Shechem (Judges 9:16). A Levite was returning home with his concubine, but she was raped to death by local hooligans. News of the incident spread to the other tribes and led to a war that nearly wiped out the entire tribe of Benjamin (Judges 1921). The writer of Judges sums up the situation of that time period with a repeated phrase: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit (21:25). When members of society did what was right in their own eyes, everything was based on their own interests, which naturally led to a ruthless generation. The word mercy would not be found in their dictionary. It was during this period that Ruth, a Moabite woman, arrived in Bethlehem of Judah to begin her life in a foreign land (Ruth 1:22). She was prompted by the prayer of her mother-in-law, Naomi: May the Lord show you kindness (v. 8). Naomis prayer of kindness (hesed) for her two daughters-in-law can be understood as loyalty but can also be interpreted as loving-kindness. This prayer motivated Ruths journey of grace. Before Ruth left Moab, she argued with her mother-in-law. Naomi advised her not to come to Judah because there was no mercy from God there, but only his judgment (1:1213). She thought her daughters-in-law should remain in Moab to seek the Lords mercy (vv. 8, 15). Ruths answer was the opposite: Dont urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go (v. 16). This is a puzzling emigration decision. Given the choice, how could Ruth choose a cruel and unforgiving society (as described in Judges) when a normal person would choose a calm, safe, and economically prosperous country to migrate to? Could she have chosen the wrong place? The end of the first chapter of Ruth seems to suggest the answer. They arrived in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning (v. 22). There was a law for people like Naomi and Ruth in Israelite society: When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands (Deut. 24:19). This was the Lords way of showing mercy to disadvantaged people. But in a generation when everyone did as they saw fit, did anyone keep the law? Boazs later words to Ruth seem to suggest that the people of Bethlehem did not, and would even harass her (Ruth 2:89). In fact, the question facing Ruth was not only whether the Israelites were willing to obey the law, but also whether they were willing to break the law. For while the Deuteronomic law protected the widows who lived in the land, it also prohibited Moabites like Ruth from entering the community of Israel (Deut. 23:3). Unless someone was gracious enough to set aside this prohibition, those who strived to keep the law would be deterred from lending a helping hand. Article continues below It seems that this harvest was not only a sign of the Lords renewed favor toward Bethlehem (Ruth 1:6), but also a test of the citys graciousness. Ruth seemed to be aware of the difficulties she would face and the mercy she would need (2:2). What followed was a series of providential events. Ruth went behind the harvesters to glean; as it turned out, she followed them to a certain field of wheat; and just then, Boaz, the field owner, arrived from Bethlehem (Ruth 2:34). Boaz not only allowed Ruth to gather wheat in his field but also protected her (vv. 89). He commanded his servants not to insult her even to let her glean more (vv. 1516). The kindness that Ruth had sought was found, and it was more than she thought she could expect (v. 10). When she couldnt resist asking Boaz why he was so gracious to her, his answer indicated he believed that what had happened was no coincidence but instead a merciful act of the Lord in reward of her faith (v. 12). Naomi came to the same conclusion after hearing Ruths account of the events in the field (v. 20). Sharp social contrasts In the narrative world of Judges, there are apostate Israelites, idolatrous and lustful judges (Gideon and Samson, respectively), Levite priests of idol shrines, the mob in Gibeah who raped the Levites concubine, and the peremptory Benjamites. The land of Israel was a place of foreign invasions and tribal wars arising from internal strife. In the narrative of Ruth, however, the reader sees a society of kindness and warmth, a Bethlehem where the Lord demonstrated his mercy and grace through Israelites. There is not only Boaz, who is full of kindness to the Moabites, but also the ten elders who bless the marriage of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 4:1112). We see some stark contrasts between the two books. Judges tells of a foreign woman who was abused and died in Gibeah, while Ruth tells of a foreign woman who was not only accepted in Bethlehem but also honored as one of the ancestors of Israelthe equal of Rachel and Leah. The writer of Judges repeatedly attributes its chaos to the fact that in those days Israel had no king. Instead of criticizing this environment, the Book of Ruth deliberately concludes with the genealogy of King David (4:1722), implying that the king expected during the time of judges was David, who foreshadowed Christ, the King of peace. The narrative of Ruth offers what Charles Taylor described as an alternative social reality, similar to the alternative consciousness proclaimed by the Old Testament prophets as described by Walter Bruggemann in The Prophetic Imagination. The polarized social consciousness In recent years, there has been a spate of incidents of polarization among Christians, exemplified by debates over public health restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasons for these conflicts are not necessarily biblical, but rather polarized views on politics, race relations, gender theory, sexual ethics, Christian nationalism, and other issues. Among evangelicals, each side defines evangelicalism by its own set of values. As Jim Cymbala, senior pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City, said in a January sermon, Christians in North America now no longer define an evangelical person by whether he or she believes in Jesus, but by whether he or she is Democrat or Republican, pro-vaccination or anti-vaccination, and mask-wearing or not. Article continues below These were my people, but now I dont know who they are, or maybe I dont know who I am, Timothy Dalrymple, CEO and editor in chief of Christianity Today, described his friend as saying last year. In February, he told David Brooks for The New York Times, One of the most surprising elements is that Ive realized that the people who I used to stand shoulder to shoulder with on almost every issue, I now realize that we are separated by a yawning chasm of mutual incomprehension. I would never have thought that could have happened so quickly. One of the major factors that has brought evangelical relations to this point is the divisive information bubbles formed by polarized mass media and social media. Each side chooses to absorb or disseminate only the data of its own circle. The social reality behind each sides values becomes the eyes of the beholder, leading to a clear distinction between enemies and friends. Few people believe the other side, and each side speaks its own language. For each circle, the social reality seen by peers is the real reality while the social reality of other circles is suspicious fake news or misinformation. It is almost another phenomenon where everyone did as they saw fit. This polarized social reality has no room for objective reality. If both sides are in danger, neither side will be able to detect it due to lack of objective vision. Even more regrettable is the fact that within our own Christian community, there are many rivalries and enemies. Those who seek the truth are at a loss. Many people have created a world of cold and cruel narratives without the mercy and grace of the Lord. An alternative reality The Book of Ruth sheds some lightand even offers a modelfor Christians dealing with current conflicts of consciousness. Ruth shows that even amid the darkest chaos, there are positive narratives to report in the world that God created. Like the biblical writers, Christians can create a healthier social reality using the positive examples that exist amid conflicts. Such a social reality does not deny the dark side of the present but focuses on the positive stories within society. For example, in the war between Russia and Ukraine, we can focus on the humanitarian relief efforts of many charities and Christian organizations. As Christians, we should be especially aware of the contributions of congregations and missionaries at this time. Many missionaries chose to stay behind even though they could have been evacuated from the war zone. (The parents of one of my theology students decided to stay in Ukraine to serve and accompany local Christians in distress.) Another example is CTs recent report on Shanghai that even amid the difficulties and chaos of the citys COVID-19 lockdown, local Christians are helping their neighbors and serving their community with charity. Unfortunately, the daily focus of the polarized media today often ignores the ministry of these Christians, which is rarely heard even within the church. Their stories need to be made more public so that we can create an alternative sense of reality amid the predominantly antagonistic social reality. The Lord is still in power in the midst of chaos, and he is still exercising his mercy among the masses. This is the narrative that people who are confused by the opposing social realities need to hear. We want to show them that in this cold era, human beings can still enjoy the warmth of humanity because of Gods intervention. In fact, what Jesus Christ brought out in his three and a half years of ministry was a different kind of social reality. He was often caught between pro-Roman and anti-Roman Jews, and his followers included those who took different sides. In the face of such polarization, Jesus chose to proclaim the alternative social reality of the kingdom of heaven: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (Matt. 4:17). A careful reading of the Gospel accounts reveals that both Jesus message and his healing ministry were beyond the imagination of the Old Testament prophets, who were not able to imagine an eternal kingdom of love for both enemies and friends like the one Jesus described. Article continues below Jesus said that before his return, wars would continue to rage in the world and humans would be divided: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Matt. 24:7). No matter which side people were on, their political views on war all eventually became a thing of the past The focus of Christians should not be blurred in the face of the tidal wave of wars and struggles. Our narrative should be like that of Jesusthe narrative of an alternative heavenly reality. We should pray as Jesus did that the Fathers will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10), and help people see an alternative social reality amid a world in turmoil and a generation divided. Dr. Samuel Goh holds two masters degrees in theology and a PhD degree. He pastored a church in Singapore for many years and is currently a lecturer of Old Testament at Brisbane Theological Seminary in Australia. Translation by Sean Cheng [ This article is also available in and . ] The first call woke Marek Olah up at midnightit was his brother, telling him to prepare the churchs community center because he was picking up Ukrainian refugees from the border. Olah began making calls, and people showed up to search for blankets and mattresses before the bus of 60 people arrived. I was very surprised and touched, said Olah, pastor of the Apostolic Church Sabinov, a Roma congregation of around 300 people in eastern Slovakia. After COVID, we were all a little well, this situation with Ukraine woke us up. Members of his church have been very hospitable and compassionate, even crying with people. Teenagers are buying food, women are praying with people, one man used his savings to buy jackets for everyone. Another Roma Apostolic church in Pavlovce nad Uhom, Slovakia, just 20 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, had been quickly overwhelmed by refugees. Pastor Marek Gombar asked Olahs church for help. Other churches sent food and clothing. Eventually, this led to an informal network of 11 Roma and non-Roma churches from Slovakia, Czech Republic, and England coming together to serve the refugees. Together, they purchased a building in a town near Gombars church for a storage area, housing, and in the future, another church. Christianity among the Roma is thriving in places like Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, all key outposts for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. The crisis in the region calls out the fruits of this Christian growth. This is a way to show the real, strong love of Jesus, said Dimitar Angelov, director and founder of the Youth Mission Network, a nonprofit discipling Roma youth in Bulgaria. Immediately when the war broke out, Angelov began looking for ways to help, eventually connecting with a Ukrainian woman in his region who was coordinating humanitarian help. Roma pastors and their congregations expressed a desire to help all refugees out of a sense of Christian compassion. However, the situation necessitated another motivation, as reports circulated of Roma and other nonwhite refugees facing discrimination at borders and processing centers. Before the war, 50,000 Roma lived in Ukraine, according to official counts, but estimates by intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations put the total at eight times as many. Roma people have many experiences of not being well received, Olah said. And this is what happened to some Roma at the border; they were pushed aside and not treated equal as other Ukrainian people. This is why we as the churches stepped in, because we dont want these families to suffer just because they are Roma. Over the centuries, Roma people in Europe have often been marginalized in the political, social, and religious spheres. Despite improved laws and social policies, crises like COVID-19 and war expose the deep-seated social fears and suspicion toward the Roma that are still endemic in Eastern European societies. Even in Christian circles, Roma Christians are often left out of the narrative. This reality influenced the way Angelov presented himself to his Ukrainian contact in Bulgaria. He said, We do this because we are a Christian organization and we do this for the glory of God, and oh, by the way, I am Roma, and I am proud of this. No matter what we hear, bad feedback from your people or my people, we are here and we will help you. And dont forget, I am Roma. Roma refugees move on Reports of unequal treatment among Roma refugees have emerged from Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, Czech Republic, and Poland. Moldova is the poorest country in Europe with the most Ukrainian refugees per capita, including Roma refugees. After rising tensions and complaints, the Moldovan government came to an agreement with Roma community leaders to separate ethnicities, promising quality facilities. However, the Roma refugees, along with Azerbaijanis and Uzbeks, were placed in substandard facilities and currently face steep challenges, according to an early March report issued by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) after visiting three reception centers in Moldova. Victorina Luca, a Christian Roma lawyer in Moldova, estimated that 70 percent of the Roma refugees have no passport, although some have a birth certificate. Roma have been called the most undocumented group in Ukraine, with discrimination and bureaucratic hurdles keeping them from obtaining official identification. But as refugees, they need this documentation before moving on, which most want to do. According to Luca, no documents means no free transportation to the embassy. Most are here with no money. They walk to the city or get on the public bus but are ejected because they cant pay, said Luca, founder of the Roma Awareness Foundation and Romano Patrin radio station in Soroca, Moldova. To register for documents, refugees have to stay in a line every day for two or three weeks, alongside thousands of ethnic Ukrainians. And then the embassy says, We cannot document you because you never had any documentation. So the people are stuck. While a couple thousand Roma refugees want to stay in Moldova until the war is over, according to Luca, the majority are trying to make it farther west in Europe, where they have relatives. Luca converted to Christianity at age 14 through a radio program and was the first in her family to finish school, despite people in her village telling her, Your mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother never graduated. She went on to graduate from Central Eastern University in Budapest and New York University and now uses her position to advocate for her fellow Roma peopleincluding the recent influx from Ukraine. When you give your life to God, he can take you from a desert and put you on the mountains of his glory, she said. God transformed my life into his glorious light to shine over the world. Ministry to Roma refugees In this scenario, when government resources are dwarfed by the immensity of need, churches are playing a key role. Pastor Ionel Cocos and his wife, Anka, who lead five Roma churches in central Romania, suspected societal attitudes would be a factor in how Roma were received. When they heard reports of neglect, they shifted their primary focus to Roma refugees. Image: Courtesy of Ionel Cocos When the war started, I was so shocked and cried, I just wanted to do something, Cocos said. I spoke in my church; we started to gather offerings and also from international partners. A friend connected him with a Roma church in Edinet, Moldova, where pastor Sibiriak Farfacari and his wife, Tatiana, lead four churches in Roma communities. They had received a large number of Roma refugees, even taking into their own home an extended family with a young girl whose parents were killed while fleeing Mariupol. Ionel and Anka Cocos now travel to Edinet every other week to buy supplies for the church. Roma Christians adeptness at moving between cultures and languages is a key gift in this crisis. Gombarthe pastor in Slovakiais part of the governments response team, and his ability to speak Romani with refugees is invaluable. As soon as the government heard that his church was serving the refugees, they began funneling most of the Roma to him. They called Marek, saying, You need to come get this family, said Shane McNary, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personal member who has worked with the Roma for 17 years in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Marek kept trying to figure out where they were, and eventually found out that they were sleeping in the woods. There are a lot of these stories, and it is still happening. Support for Roma is also sent inside Ukraine. Gypsies and Travellers International Evangelical Fellowship (GATIEF), the mission arm of French Life and Light Fellowship, has delivered five large truckloads of relief supplies for thousands of Roma trapped in various cities. Giving what you do not have Distributing goods can present other kinds of challenges within the Roma churches themselves, particularly in poorer contexts. Gombar has long-standing relationships with three Roma churches in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, only 20 kilometers from his church. He drives aid to them from Slovakia so they can distribute it to the refugees in their churches. Disagreements broke out, however, when it seemed one church received more aid than the others. Others were accused of feeding their own people instead of the refugees. One Roma refugee who had fled from more affluent circumstances in eastern Ukraine was shocked to see such abject povertyand yet those were the communities serving him. Gombar made a pastoral visit to help churches resolve the disagreements and also to warn them about the difficulties of crossing the border and becoming refugees. They are doing the best they can in the midst of overwhelming need and poverty, McNary said after a visit to the communities in Ukraine with Gombar. They are still willing to help when they barely have enough themselves. Gombar reflected that the situation revealed different maturity levels in his congregation. Some of the people saw the need, and they came immediately and wanted to help. Some other people came and saw the need, but there is a struggle in them because they have the same needs and they see all the supplies for the refugees, he said. Do I go to the church and help the refugees when I myself am hungry? I am very strict. No, you cant have anything to eat, not even chocolate, because the chocolate is for the children. If you are here to serve, then serve. In Moldova, the Farfacaris also grappled with the lack of resources, trusting God to daily provide for the 250 people who have passed through. One day in early March, they held a prayer meeting at the church to ask God to send help. That day, Cocos telephoned him from Romania, and a few hours later they were together in a grocery store buying ten carts of supplies for the refugees. It is wonderful when God answers your prayers, Cocos said, but it feels even better when you are the answer to someone elses prayer. Melody J. Wachsmuth is a writer, researcher, and mission practitioner based in Zagreb, Croatia. Her forthcoming monograph is a study on Roma Pentecostals in Croatia and Serbia. Russian sermonsto the extent legally possiblereflect the national mood. Honor the tsar! preached Alexey Novikov of Land of Freedom Pentecostal church in Moscow two days after the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, quoting from 1 Peter 2:17. While not pro-war, it was certainly pro-Russia. Once a lawfully elected president commits troops, he said, it is a Christians duty to support them. One month later, Mikhail Belyaev of Source of Living Water Baptist church in Voronezh, Russia, asked, Why are the churches silent? Many Ukrainian evangelicals are fuming at their cross-border colleagues for failing to speak out against the war. They also cite the apostle Peter, placing priority on the same verses earlier command: Love the family of believers. But Belyaevs sermon was not pro-Ukraine. His congregation 320 miles south of Moscow provides a different answer. The churches are not silent, he said. They are preaching the gospel and praying for peace. Russians take the Ukrainian complaint seriously, said Andrey Shirin, associate professor of divinity at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies, a Baptist seminary in Virginia. But they put God before the nationand think many Ukrainians put too much stock in their nationality. Shirin left Russia 30 years ago and said that, then as now, most believers are wary of politics. And while some pastors have criticized the war, a pro-Ukraine sermon would be hard to find. Throughout the war, polls have shown strong support for what Russia has legally mandated be called a special military operation. Between 65 percent and 89 percent have signaled approval; 71 percent said they feel pride and joy. Some analysts have suggested propaganda is at play: Three in 4 Russians rely on television for the news, and 2 in 3 from state-run broadcasts. Only 5 percent have access to a VPN for outside reporting. Others have suggested falsification: A list experiment in which Russians did not have to answer the war question directly resulted in an approval rating of 53 percent. Specific polls do not exist for evangelicals. Shirin, noting the difficulty of precision, estimated pro-Russia sentiment like Novikovs would register only 20 percent. But pro-Ukraine sentiment and a clear antiwar position would fare worse, registering only 10 percent. The silent majority of his estimated 70 percentsuch as Belyaevwould be characterized as pro-prayer, which in their Russian context means abstaining from judgment. Being an evangelical makes a huge difference in attitude, Shirin said. It makes for a more neutral stance. But this does not satisfy Ukrainian evangelicals. We strongly condemn the silence, detachment, and open support of the war with Ukraine exhibited by the Russian Christians, wrote a group of seven Ukrainian seminary leaders in an April open letter drawing nearly 300 signatures. The suffering of brothers and sisters in Christ requires a public identification with them. Among the chief alleged offenders is Sergey Ryakhovsky, head of Russias largest Pentecostal union, who spoke at a March 29 parliamentary conference gathering to reject Naziism, which President Vladimir Putin has identified as the ideology of Ukrainian leadership. We are together, and we are stronger, he said of the ecumenical participation. Today we have a clear Christian mission for our peoples, in Russia and Ukraine. Novikovs church belongs to Ryakhovskys denomination. But the Ukrainian complaint predates the current invasion. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and began backing separatist movements in Ukraines eastern Donbas region. Since then, Baptist leaders have appeared with Putin at Russias national Unity Day and extended birthday greetings to the Russian president. Others have spoken out clearlyand early. When Putin announced his divorce in 2013, Victor Shlenkin, a Baptist pastor in St. Petersburg, called out his fellow believers. Some Protestant leaders compared Putin to the wise Solomon, he said. But have they forgotten how Solomon ended up? And since the war, others have invoked the Devil. So far, Satan has won twice, said Evgeny Bakhmutsky, former vice president of the Baptist Union, on February 27. He helped unleash a war on the territory of Ukraine with the participation of Russian troops, and he sowed discord and enmity even among Christians. Alexey Markevich agreed. We need to repent for the evil that our country is causing others, said the Moscow Baptist pastor on March 18. Which is closer to us: Our faithfulness to brotherhood in Christ, or our submission to godless authorities? And Yuri Sipko, after seeing images of the burned Bibles at the Mission Eurasia headquarters in Irpin, Ukraine, had choice words for his fellow countrymen. Russian Christians approve such activity, said the former Baptist Union president. [But] I saw Christ crying watching this barbarism. I am crying too. These are not outliers, said Ponomarev, a Russian Orthodox leader serving with the Faith2Share network of evangelical agencies who asked that his full name not be used for security reasons. But they, and hundreds of others like them who in March signed an open letter led by evangelical pastors opposing the war, are courageous. Surprised by the national polls, he believes most Russian evangelicals agree with the protest letterthe issuance of which he called a miracle. The 2016 Yarovaya law, often targeting evangelicals, brought even more caution to a community accustomed to not speaking out. As pacifists they tend to avoid politics, but they are against war. As Russians, however, some are pulled along with the tide. Western sanctions have hardened attitudes, while many familiesand churchesare divided. But Ukrainian evangelicals are not helping their own cause, he said. Too much has been demanded of condemnation. There is almost a feeling of fatigue, Ponomarev said of cross-border relations. After eight years of being told that they are agents of the Kremlin, there is not much patience left in the tank. Andrey Dirienko may be an example. Offended when Russia is called an evil empire, the Pentecostal bishop from Yaroslavl, 170 miles northeast of Moscow, wished for understanding. Sometimes [leaders] have to choose the least of several evils, he said February 27, calling for prayer that God would give wisdom to Russian politicians. God has the answer that peace would come. But to Ukrainians, he asked: Dont try to look for enemies in people. The Ukrainian seminary leaders open letter this month, however, titled Voices from the Ruins, takes no comfort in such generic statements. It accuses Russian church leaders of trading compassionate unity with the crucified body of Christ for proximity to the political elite. Dirienko is an authorized representative of Ryakhovsky, who currently serves as one of two evangelical members on the Russian presidents rotating religious council. Many of those who say, even loudly, No war, support Ukraines integration under Russian world influence, said Taras Dyatlik, Overseas Council regional director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, who signed the letter. The Russian Christian worldview must be cleansed from religious imperialism. Over 280 Russian Orthodox priests and deacons agree, signing their own open letter. Just do not overstate their influence. Their statement was a disgrace, a media-driven effort to criticize authority, said Alexander Webster, an American archpriest and retired seminary dean in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Their number pales before the more than 40,000 bishops and other major clergy who are not involved in that small protest movement. There is a place for dissent, said Webster, who was offended principally by the letters hint of eternal damnation for Patriarch Kirill. During the Cold War, he criticized clerics who cooperated with the KGB. And this war, he said, is condemned as morally unjustifiable. But the few Russian Orthodox figures who have broken with their leadershipsome of them once prominentare airing our dirty laundry before the world. Webster hails instead Metropolitan Onufriy, primate of the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), who on the first day of the war expressed support for soldiers defending their land and called on Putin to stop the fratricide. He is a modern-day prophet, standing up to power, said Webster. He does it calmly, and at some risk. Which Onufriy faces also from his own governmenthaving criticized former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the left-leaning policies of current President Volodymyr Zelensky. A bill currently before the Ukrainian parliament effectively calls for banning the UOC and nationalizing its properties, which Ryakhovsky, among others, has condemned as an offense against religious freedom. Webster would have supported a limited military intervention in support of persecuted ethnic Russians in the Donbas. No one has clean hands, he said, tracing Western interference in Ukraine back to the 2014 Maidan protests that drove a pro-Russian president from office and the 2018 campaign for autocephaly, culminating in recognition of the independence of a Kyiv-based Orthodox church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. In September 2021, Webster continued, NATO and Ukraine held joint defense exercises. In January this year, NATO rejected Russias demand to withhold membership from Ukraine. And one week before the war, Zelensky questioned the diplomatic framework in which Ukraine traded its nuclear weapons for security guarantees, leading Moscow to accuse Kyiv of plans to develop an atomic bomb. National security, given the threat of NATO expansion, is cited as the primary rationale for the war by 7 out of 10 Russians, while half see a goal of protecting Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the Donbas. Only 2 in 5 believe the primary goal is to change Ukrainian leadership, and only 1 in 10 the subjugation of the nation altogether. Asked to estimate the various attitudes among Russian Orthodox, Webster questioned polling in Russia in general and criticized its use by Western media for warmongering. The whole approach is faulty, he said, noting the inability to get reliable information. We dont believe in governing the church according to popular opinion. We believe that the Holy Spirit and holy tradition guide and inspire the church leaders and faithful believers. Roman Lunkin, head of the Center for Religious Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Europe, did his best, however. Approximately half of the Russian people support the military operation, he said, while about 10 percent support Ukraine. He estimates Shirins silent majority at only 40 percent. It is the same among rank-and-file evangelical believers. It is natural to defend your nation, he said. Protestant churches have become national communities, reflecting the mood of the general population. Last month, Lunkin, an Orthodox believer, published a chart to outline the positions expressed by major Russian religious figures, from direct support to condemnation. If anything, he said, there is more diversity among the clerics. A sociologist, Lunkin conducted subsequent interviews among evangelical pastors, many of which were trained by Ukrainians. Support for Russian policy drops to 30 percent, he estimated, equal to the pro-prayer position. He puts support for Ukraine at 40 percent, half of which would say so publicly. But most lack political experience, he said, and keep silent as hostages to public opinion. This is not dissimilar to the Orthodox clergy. The major part stand for peace, and may be not happy with the special operation, Lunkin said, though they recognize the reasons behind it. But why would they divide their parishes? It is not just evangelicals who stay out of Russian politics. Sources indicated that though the government continues to suppress opposition, Russia is no longer the Soviet Union. Stating a viewpoint, unless calling for protests, will not necessarily result in fines or jail. So speak out, said the Ukrainian open letter. Seek the power of the Holy Spirit, urged the seminary leaders, to make practical steps that would impact public opinion in Russiaabout the war against Ukraine, and the countrys top leadership. It is easier from the United States. While Shirin could never imagine something so horrific could happen, he can also call freely for the fratricidal conflict to end. The stance of most Russian Protestants has been shaped by decades of being a persecuted minority, he said. Staying out of politics has been their survival strategy. [ This article is also available in espanol, , , , and . ] 11th Circuit rules against Florida university in free speech lawsuit A federal appeals court panel has ruled against the University of Central Florida policy banning "discriminatory harassment" because it likely violates students' freedom of speech. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued a unanimous ruling Thursday overturning a lower court decision to deny the legal nonprofit Speech First a preliminary injunction stopping the UCF policy. The case has been remanded back to the court for further consideration. We hold (1) that Speech First has standing to sue because the challenged policies chill its members speech and (2) that the discriminatory-harassment policy likely violates the First Amendment on the grounds that it is an overbroad and content- and viewpoint-based regulation of constitutionally protected expression, wrote Circuit Judge Kevin Newsom for the panel. Because the district court never considered the bias-related-incidents policys constitutionality on the merits having erroneously concluded that Speech First lacked standing to challenge it we remand for a determination of that issue. According to the ruling, the school's policy defined discriminatory harassment as verbal, physical, electronic or other conduct" based on a long list of factors that include race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental disability and or political affiliations. Speech First Executive Director Cherise Trump said in a statement the panel opinion is a huge victory for every student at the University of Central Florida, as well as all students attending schools in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. We are thrilled that the Court sided with us as we work to protect students First Amendment rights. This court decision should send an alarming message to anyone attempting to chill, silence, or bully into submission others opinions, she stated. Open dialogue and an exchange of ideas are how leaders are formed, censoring students will only stunt their ability to grow intellectually and contribute to society. In February 2021, Speech First filed a lawsuit against university officials on behalf of students seeking to engage in debates over hot-button issues. According to the complaint, the university policy was overbroad because it punished students who engaged in verbal acts, name-calling, [or] graphic or written statements (via the use of cell phone or the internet) that other students may find humiliating or offensive. The lawsuit expressed concern over UCFs bias response team, which according to the lawsuit, could discipline behavior done on or off campus without regard to whether the act is legal, illegal, intentional, or unintentional. UCF attorneys argued in a brief last October that the university was fulfilling its obligations to prohibit discriminatory harassing speech so that all individuals can be educated and work in an environment that is free from such discriminatory harassing speech that falls beyond the line of protected speech. When it comes to speech-based harassment, the Supreme Court has been clear: The First Amendment protects speech up to a well-defined line, but discriminatory harassing speech on the basis of a protected trait or characteristic falls beyond that line as one of the recognized categories of unprotected speech, stated the brief, as quoted by the News Service of Florida. [The policy] is clearly aimed at regulating only unprotected speech and conduct that unreasonably invades the rights of other students. MSNBC political analyst: Jesus would be called a 'groomer' if he was 'alive today' If Jesus was walking the Earth today, he'd be ridiculed as a "groomer" and a "socialist," according to MSNBC commentator Matthew Dowd, a former presidential campaign adviser to George W. Bush. Responding to Republican lawmakers who are raising concerns about public educators circumventing parents to push gender ideology on students, Dowd, who was a guest on Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace, another former Bush adviser, dismissed such concerns, saying, If Jesus Christ was alive today, he would be called a groomer, he would be called woke, and he would be called a socialist. Dowd, who briefly ran for lieutenant governor of Texas as a Democrat, pointed to Christs messages of love one another and treating everybody with dignity as evidence to support his analysis. BREAKING: Chief Bush-Cheney advisor: "If Jesus Christ was alive today, he would be called a groomer" pic.twitter.com/6he4MCIKhM Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) April 20, 2022 Taking issue with Dowds depiction of Jesus Christ as a groomer, Tim Graham of the media watchdog NewsBusters added that the average Christian would elbow Dowd about um, were taught that Jesus is alive today. Hes just not walking the streets or appearing on cable TV. Dowds remarks followed a discussion about Michigan Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrows pushback against Michigan Republican state Sen. Lana Theis characterization of her as a groomer. Michigan Advance reported that McMorrow was one of a handful of Democrats in the state Senate who walked out of the chamber last week when Theis gave an invocation lamenting that our children are under attack. "We are in a culture war. This has been a culture war launched by many Republicans against the country, not only against Democrats... you don't win a culture war by talking about Build Back Better" - @matthewjdowd w/ @NicolleDWallacepic.twitter.com/2Hdw9EGAWl Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) April 20, 2022 There are forces that desire things for them other than what their parents would have them see and hear and know. Dear Lord, I pray for Your guidance in this chamber to protect the most vulnerable among us, she said. Theis retweeted the Michigan Advance article, warning that Our children are in danger from progressive indoctrination, putting the rights of the education bureaucracy ahead of the rights of parents. Theis concluded that Lansing Democrats are more concerned with virtue signaling than protecting our kids. Our children are in danger from progressive indoctrination, putting the rights of the education bureaucracy ahead of the rights of parents. Unfortunately, Lansing Democrats are more concerned with virtue signaling than protecting our kids. https://t.co/vg3n7A9Xza Senator Lana Theis (@SenLTheis) April 15, 2022 Urban Dictionary defines a groomer as someone who builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them. In recent weeks, the term has been used to refer to those who want to expose young children to sexual content or ideology or talk about sex with them. It has little to do with the concepts of treating everybody with dignity and lov[ing] one another. Dowds comments on MSNBC Wednesday come as Florida lawmakers continue to face criticism from Walt Disney Co. and LGBT activists for passing "Parental Rights in Education," a law that protects parents' rights and prevents school officials from discussing matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity with students in kindergarten through third grade. Floridas law isn't the only example of the states rejection of progressive sexual ideology. The Florida Department of Health has issued guidance on the treatment of gender dysphoria for children and adolescents, pushing back on a fact sheet published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that advocates for providing trans-identified youth with gender-affirming care. The guidance, released Wednesday, states that systematic reviews on hormonal treatment for young people show a trend of low-quality evidence, small sample sizes, and medium to high risk of bias. It cited a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics that found hormonal treatments for transgender adolescents can achieve their intended physical effects, but evidence regarding their psychosocial and cognitive impact is generally lacking. After warning about the lack of conclusive evidence, and the potential for long-term irreversible effects that stem from providing minors with gender-affirming care, the Florida Department of Health unveiled guidelines for the treatment of youth suffering from gender dysphoria. Specifically, the guidance states that anyone 18 years old and younger should not be subjected to experimental puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or body mutilating surgeries like an elective mastectomy or genital mutilation. Based on the currently available evidence, encouraging mastectomy, ovariectomy, uterine extirpation, penile disablement, tracheal shave, the prescription of hormones which are out of line with the genetic make-up of the child, or puberty blockers, are all clinical practices which run an unacceptably high risk of doing harm. The document encourages parents of children expressing gender confusion to provide social support and seek counseling from a licensed provider. Florida is not the only state to express concern about the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors. Arizona and Arkansas have passed laws banning minors from obtaining such experimental drugs. Earlier this year, Alabama enacted a law banning genital mutilation of children as well as the teaching of topics related to sexual orientation and trans ideology to elementary school students. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has characterized gender transition surgeries for minors as a form of child abuse, and the states Attorney General issued an opinion categorizing the procedures as child abuse. Jesus is anointed at and ascends from the house of the poor We've looked at the incident in which Judas criticized Mary for anointing Jesus with expensive perfume. We saw that Judas feigned a concern for the poor. Taking geographical context into account we see the extent of his arrogance. The scene takes place in the town of Bethany, the name of which is likely based on the Hebrew words for "house" and "poor." Going as far back as the ancient Church historian Eusebius, Bethany has been translated as 'House of the Poor'. Some scholars argue that the Jewish monastic group, the Essenes, founded communities for the poor, lepers, and other outcasts in Bethany. This is consistent with the fact that the dinner occurs at the house of "Simon the leper." Bethany is a place where Jesus spent a fair amount of time and where he had friends. Jesus was a friend of the poor, sitting at a table in the House of the Poor, being lectured about the poor by a man who loved money. The Pharisees loved money, but also spoke disparagingly of it. Talking up poverty and talking down wealth can easily be a cover for greed, a deflection of attention away from a racket. But Jesus was literally a friend to the poor, or more precisely, not to "the poor" as an abstraction, but to actual friends from a poor town. This is the place where Jesus gets the anointing for his death. Bethany (where Lazarus lived) was quite near to Jerusalem, on its very doorstep, as fictionalized in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (who is almost certainly the High Priest) (The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man Theopolis Institute). Bethany, the home of the poor and of lepers, sits almost on the very front porch of Jerusalem of the High Priest. This story is drenched in economic factors. The resurrection of Lazarus was causing people to move towards the cause of Jesus, and on that basis the temple elite wanted to kill him and to kill Jesus. The high priest argues for this by appealing to the fear that they "will lose their place" -- that is, lose their place in the social and economic hierarchy. Jesus is a threat to their livelihood, and the raising of Lazarus is a trigger for this. Jesus disrupts their economic model, and Lazarus is the proof of that. He heals. He cleanses. He forgives sins. He receives the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Who needs the Temple? Jesus makes it obsolete by being a better temple, one that is torn down but is built back up in three days. The stone temple is torn down and not rebuilt. On the other side of the murder and then the resurrection of Jesus, we have Jesus' ascension, which takes place in or near, yes, Bethany. "And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And it came about that while He was blessing them, He parted from them." (Lk. 24:50-51 NAS) Jesus could have ascended from Jerusalem. That's what someone who bought into the social status hierarchy of the system would have expected, just as the Magi expected that he would touch down in Jerusalem. But he ascends from the house of the poor. He hangs with the poor. He raises someone from that region from the dead. How in the world could Judas (and even the other disciples) complain? Lazarus' sister gave less than a year's wages worth of perfume, but Jesus gave Lazarus added years of life. Jesus had more than done right by the people of Bethany. The poor weren't an abstraction to Jesus, nor a grift, but a community -- and a poor town was the last place on which his feet stood on earth. Jesus is what Judas claims to be, one who can be trusted to hold the combined wealth of the world and distribute its riches to the poor, a true shepherd and not a hireling. Former Hillsong Boston Pastor Josh Kimes allegedly admitted to writing racist text to colleagues Just months after taking the helm of Hillsong Boston in 2020, Pastor Josh Kimes, who recently resigned from the church with his wife, Leona, without stating a reason, admitted in a deposition summarized by lawyers hired by Hillsong Church that he once wrote a racist text to church colleagues but later apologized. The revelation comes in a deposition by lawyers from the New York City law firm Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman, LLP, who were hired by Hillsong Church to investigate allegations of abuse at Hillsong NYC following the firing of former Hillsong NYC Lead Pastor Carl Lentz in November 2020 for sexual misconduct. The findings of their investigation were delivered to Hillsong Church officials in a report called Internal Investigation Report Regarding Carl Lentz and Other Matters in January 2021. A copy of the report was recently shared with The Christian Post. In late 2020, multiple people had accused Kimes of numerous instances of race-related discrimination, according to a Business Insider report, but Kimes never publicly admitted to any wrongdoing. Kimes response to the allegations at the time when questioned by Business Insider was: Our Hillsong Boston team has taken some intentional steps to improve racial diversity and equity at Hillsong Boston since we launched and were committed to make further strides as we continue to listen and learn. When investigators from Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman, LLP, asked Kimes about the allegations, he said it was limited to a racist text. Josh Kimes admitted that he once wrote a racist text. He explained that he apologized to each of the people who received the text. Outside of that, he stated the other allegations of racism were half-truths or lies, investigators wrote. Leona Kimes stated that if there was racism at Hillsong, it was Carl Lentzs fault. Leona stated that each time they wanted to have a meeting or organize an event related to racism Lentz would tell them that he would handle it and then never do anything. The Internal Investigation Report Regarding Carl Lentz and Other Matters, highlights several allegations of racism from current and former staffers and volunteers. One Asian member of the church described to investigators how she once attended a Connect Group leaders training meeting in 2012, and Kane Keatinge, one of the co-founders of Hillsong NYC, allegedly walked into the room and said, Im so glad there are more white people here today. In the last training, there were too many non-white people and it felt weird. The church member said everyone kind of laughed nervously and Keatinge said, Its a joke And you know, if you cant take the joke, there are many churches out there who will welcome you. In an Instagram post that has since been restricted but cited by Religion News Service, Josh Kimes, who began leading Hillsong Boston with his wife in early 2020, announced on Monday that they had made the difficult decision to resign. It was never our plan to ever leave Hillsong Church. Its been home for 22yrs of my life. Its where Ive pastored for the last 16yrs, Kimes wrote, according to RNS. Kimes originally began working for Hillsong College in the U.S. after serving for five years as a youth pastor at Hillsong Church in Sydney. He later joined the staff at Hillsong NYC which was once led by Lentz who resigned in 2020 over sexual misconduct. The former Hillsong Boston leader stated, according to RNS, that many of his lifes milestones had occurred while he worked for Hillsong Church, including meeting and marrying Leona Kimes, having children and moving to the U.S. Though he did not give a reason for his resignation, Kimes, whose wife alleges that she was sexually exploited by Lentz while serving as his nanny in a relationship that was kept secret for years, apologized for his role in perpetuating a culture that at times valued the building of the church at the expense of those building it. Transparency, honesty, accountability & a culture that allows people to create healthy boundaries is so important & Im encouraged to see things starting to change, Kimes wrote in the post. Hillsong will always hold a special place in our hearts, even with the immense pain weve endured while building church here in the USA. Pastors are meant to be shepherds who protect the sheep, not wolves who prey on the sheep theyre entrusted to protect. Netflix documentary highlights fertility doctor who used own sperm to impregnate at least 50 women A new Netflix documentary follows the story of an Indianapolis-based fertility doctor who secretly impregnated at least 50 women with his own sperm in the 1970s and 1980s. The new documentary, "Our Father," expands on the investigation of Dr. Donald Cline, whose actions were also the subject of a 2019 article in The Atlantic. The documentary features interviews with the genetic siblings the fertility doctor created by swapping their intended fathers sperm with his own. Dr. Cline was eventually exposed after these siblings found one another on websites like ancestry.com, a resource that helps people gain insights about their family through their DNA. "Jacoba Ballard was conceived through a sperm donor using artificial insemination. Growing up as an only child, she dreamed of having siblings. After using an at-home DNA test, Ballard discovered that she had not one but seven half-siblings," the documentary's synopsis reads. "Unfortunately, this isnt a story about one happy family reunion. As the group of siblings set out to learn more about their curious family tree, they uncovered a sickening truth: Their parents fertility doctor had been inseminating his patients with his own sperm without their consent." The documentary will be released on the streaming platform on May 11. Jennifer Lahl, president of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, told The Chrisitan Post that cases like the one involving Dr. Cline are not uncommon within the fertility industry. Lahl is also the director and producer of the 2010 "Eggsploitation" documentary, which examined some of the industrys abusive practices. Well, I think because I've been at this for so long, my gut reaction is that this is a Netflix movie based on the many stories of reality where this happens, she said. This isn't the first case where a doctor has been found out. Lahl cited the case of Norman Barwin, a fertility doctor who allegedly used the wrong sperm and even his own in the conception of at least 100 children. According to the American Council On Science And Health, a class-action lawsuit against the doctor resulted in a $10 million settlement last July. So, yeah, it's more common than we'd like to know, she said. But sperm donation itself, Lahl noted, already forces children to contemplate how they were conceived and the existence of multiple genetic family members, which was the topic of Lahls 2011 documentary, Anonymous Fathers Day. One of the gentlemen in my film his name is Barry Stevens, and his sperm donor was a man, she said. And his wife was one of the biggest fertility doctors in the United Kingdom. So she routinely used her husband's sperm for three decades. And so, Barry Stevens estimates that he's got probably a thousand plus half-siblings because this man for three decades is donating his sperm to one of the busiest fertility doctors in the United Kingdom. While Lahl would rather see the practice of sperm donation go away, she said stopping men from receiving money for donating sperm, removing anonymity and limiting how many times a person can donate could help regulate the practice. When you think about it, that's trying to get at the best interests of the child, she said. So it's not to put the brakes on big fertility if you will. It really is trying to address what's in the best interests of the child, which I would still argue that's not the best interest of the child to be created by donor sperm. According to the International Fertility Law Group, sperm donation in the United States is one of the "least regulated" reproductive technologies. Almost all sperm donors receive compensation, and some donors potentially father "dozens or even hundreds of half-siblings." There is also reportedly no legal enforcement of The American Society of Reproductive Medicines guidelines, which call for limiting each donor to 25 live births. The ASRM also recommends recording and preserving donor information, but this is not enforced by law either. The regulations surrounding sperm donation vary in each state. Donors are typically young and in need of money, and the promise of anonymity and financial compensation often persuades them to donate their sperm. While some only receive $25 for a donation, parents who know the sperm donor's identity may agree to pay more for contributing to the conception of a child. In comparison, Austria, the United Kingdom, Sweden and New Zealand require sperm donors to provide medical and identifying information and consent to a contract with their future offspring. As STAT reported, countries where anonymous sperm donation is no longer legal often experience supply shortages due to a decline in sperm donors. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Law and the Biosciences reported about 29% of potential donors said they would refuse to donate if their names were recorded on a registry. The study suggested that a decline in sperm donations is linked to a lack of anonymity, but donors willing to be identified are likely to demand more compensation. Actor regrets asking God why he was 'forgotten' in Hollywood over refusal to do sex scenes Actor Neal McDonough claims he wrestled with God after being blacklisted in Hollywood for several years because he refused to perform sex scenes. Known for his performances in Band of Brothers, Minority Report and Desperate Housewives, the Catholic actor recently told Fox News about his walk with God when he wasn't working after being dismissed from the ABC series "Scoundrels" in 2010. McDonough has alleged that he was let go from the show in recent years because he refused to do on-screen romance scenes, something that wasn't an issue on past projects. "There was a time when I wasnt working. I couldnt get a job because people thought I was this crazy religious guy," McDonough said. "But that wasnt the case. I love my wife, but I love my acting too. I was hopeful that, at some point, someone would give me a chance again." McDonough said he was three days into filming the series but was cut from the show because he wouldn't agree to on-screen sex scenes. The Boston native has had a no sex scenes policy for most of his 30-year career and not even his stint in Desperate Housewives, a highly sexualized series, made him compromise his rule. He married his wife Ruve in 2003 and maintained that he would not even kiss any other woman because these lips are meant for one woman." The Christian Post reached out to ABC about McDonough's claim of being cut from "Scoundrels," but did not immediately receive a response. After experiencing "a hard few years" without any work, McDonough said he had a heart-to-heart with God. "I remember falling to my knees and saying, God, why have you forgotten about me? Why am I being punished so much?" McDonough said. "And as soon as those words came out of my mouth, I realized what self-absorbed questions those were. He said he regrets his words, realizing how blessed he truly is. God has given me so much. We all experience challenges in our lives. I should be grateful and thankful for all the blessings Im given," he added. McDonough said after his prayer, he got a call from actor and screenwriter Graham Yostwho, someone he had previously worked with on "Band of Brothers." "I remember, a few minutes later, I was sitting there at the kitchen table with Ruve," he recounted. "Graham called and said, Hey, you want to play the villain in the first episode or two of Justified? I said, Yes, yes I do. And after the first take, he came up to me and said, You want to play the villain for the whole year? I joked, Didnt you know that was my game plan? Thats what Im going to do." "And after Justified, everything was kind of forgotten. I was determined to give a really great performance and I did, he noted. In an interview with The Christian Post at the 2019 Movieguide Awards, McDonough spoke of his faith and dedication to his wife. You get one shot at life to do things the best way that you possibly can and to give glory to God in everything that you can do, he told CP. Our relationship is always paramount to me in my life. It's the most important thing in my world. Paul Newman said it best, 'Why go out for a hamburger when I've got a steak at home?' McDonough said. The couple has been together for over 23 years and married 19 of them. They have five children together. McDonough's career has flourished since "Justified" in 2012. "God gave me this gift of being an actor, and Im not going to waste it," he shared with Fox News Digital. "Im now in a position to produce movies with my wife. Im able to co-create projects. And I get to continue pursuing my craft. I couldnt be in a better place in my career. Every step Ive had along the way, every challenge Ive faced, has built this moment. And this is a moment Im really cherishing. Im proud of my work and what I can accomplish." Hillsong exec. called Brian Houstons explanation after visiting womans hotel room dribble: report A high-level Hillsong Church executive dismissed founder Brian Houstons explanation for why he visited the hotel room of an unidentified woman for 40 minutes during the churchs annual conference in 2019 as insulting dribble just days before Houston resigned, a leaked letter suggests. Days before Houstons resignation as the megachurch network's global senior pastor on March 23, Hillsong's head of people and development, John Mays, recommended in a March 19 letter obtained by The Guardian that Houston and his wife, Bobbie, be fired from their positions due to leadership failures. Houstons resignation came after it was revealed that two women, including the unidentified women in the hotel room, made serious complaints of misconduct against him in the last 10 years. Before announcing Houstons resignation, the Australia-based church said Houston violated Hillsong's pastoral code of conduct by entering the hotel room of the unidentified woman for 40 minutes while under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs during the churchs annual conference in 2019. Houston doesnt recall having sex with the woman, and the woman has not said if they had sex. Hillsong Churchs Interim Global Senior Pastor Phil Dooley told Hillsong Church staffers in a meeting that the accounts of what happened from Houston and the woman are not entirely reliable because they were impaired by alcohol. Houston was also reportedly under the influence of anxiety medication during the hotel room visit. In his letter, however, Mays, whose son Jason Mays pleaded guilty to indecent assault of former Hillsong College student Anna Crenshaw in January 2020, said there were obvious information gaps and anomalies in what the Hillsong Church board told staff. I do not believe our employees have bought the narrative within the statement made in the staff meeting, Mays wrote. He said the narrative was met with skepticism and mistrust despite urgings to avoid gossip and talk to leadership about any concerns. One insulting example (of many) is that Brian lost his room key so knocked on the ladys door, a detail he no doubt recalls despite memory loss during the following 40 minutes. Are we really asking our staff to accept such dribble and defend our Church with such? he asked. Hillsong Church also revealed in March that Houston exchanged an inappropriate text message with a church staffer in 2013. According to Dooley, the text message was along the lines of, If I was with you I would like to give you a kiss and a cuddle or a hug. The staffer resigned shortly after. Hillsong Church blamed Houstons actions in this case on sleeping tablets. In his letter, Mays alleged that Brian and his behaviors placed a great deal of stress on Hillsong Church board members. "[T]hese challenges would have been intensified on account of Brians strong, immovable, leadership disposition together with a distinct lack of personal accountability which has been allowed over many years," Mays added. Mays further alleged that Hillsong Church had become an arrogant employer that essentially exploited the commitment of staff to the churchs mission over time. He further called for a review of the boards process that led to Houstons resignation by a forensic, independent, external body with absolutely no allegiance to Hillsong or any of its board members. I believe that the statement provided to staff should be reviewed and modified to ensure it more authentically reveals the full circumstances of Brians indiscretions (subject to his and others right to privacy), the agreements entered into with aggrieved parties (again subject to individual privacy) and the decision-making process that led to such agreements, Mays wrote, according to The Guardian. Earlier this month, Hillsong Church also fired Bobbie Houston. Mays, in his letter, had also recommended that she be held accountable. I believe Bobbie in her capacity as Global Senior Pastor, paid accordingly, should also be accountable for her willingness to tolerate such behavior and defiance on the part of her co-leader, Mays wrote. I do not see her as a victim in this situation, she has a biblical, professional and corporate responsibility to ensure accountability. University of Pittsburgh contacted NIH for help defending experiments on aborted baby body parts New records released by Judicial Watch suggest that the University of Pittsburgh reached out to former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins for help defending its fetal organ experiments, which have attracted controversy due to concerns about their legality and ethics. Judicial Watch announced Monday that it had obtained 34 pages of records, including an email from last October that the University of Pittsburghs Associate Senior Vice Chancellor for Science Strategy and Planning, Dr. Jeremy Berg, sent to Collins. The conservative group stated that it obtained the information in response to a lawsuit filed in November against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for communication records after HHS and NIH failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request. I write regarding ongoing efforts to undermine important science using fetal tissue. As you no doubt know, various public universities have been the subject of rotating attacks about research using fetal tissue, sometimes citing NIH support for the research, Berg contended. It is now the University of Pittsburgh[s]turn in the spotlight. The email highlighted the negative press coverage surrounding reports about the universitytransplanting fetal body parts onto rodents for experimental purposes, creating concerns about organ harvesting of born-alive infants. Berg insisted in the email that, regarding Pitts experiments, The University believes that all appropriate practices and laws have been followed. We have been discussing these issues and it seems that this is an organized attempt to delegitimize science based on fetal tissue rather than to identify misbehavior (although, of course, any misbehavior does create opportunities for outrage), he continued. In light of this, we feel that the scientific community would benefit if more institutions could stand together to take some of the power out of the one-at-a-time strategy that appears to be operating. Berg requested that they find an appropriate venue for University Chancellor Pat Gallagher to meet and discuss the issue with Collins or other appropriate individuals at NIH. The following day, former NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak, who now serves as its acting director, informed Berg via email that a meeting had been arranged for Oct. 20, 2021, between NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research Mike Lauer, Gallagher and other Pitt officials. A September 2020 study from the University of Pittsburgh published in Scientific Reports disclosed researchers efforts to develop humanized mice by transplanting fetal body parts onto rodents. The material necessary to create skin grafts on the rodents was reportedly procured by scalping children who were aborted at 18 to 20 weeks gestation. Public records released last August by Judicial Watch and the pro-life investigative group Center for Medical Progress included a $3 million grant application that the University of Pittsburgh submitted to the NIH in 2015. Pitt emphasized in the application that it had over 18 years of experience collecting aborted baby body parts, making it an ideal candidate to become a fetal distribution hub for the GenitoUrinary Developmental Molecular Anatomy Project. GUDMAP is an assortment of laboratories working to provide the scientific and medical communities with the means to conduct research on the genitourinary tract. The organizations Tissue Hub website describes how its researchers isolate human genitourinary tissues from babies aborted between six and 24 weeks gestation. In the application, the university claimed that in its process of harvesting aborted body parts, Ischemia time is minimized. According to the NIH, this refers to the time a tissue, organ, or body part remains at body temperature after its blood supply has been reduced or cut off but before it is cooled or reconnected to a blood supply. The university also identified labor induction as the procedure that will be used to obtain the tissue. As CMP noted: If the fetus heartbeat and blood circulation continue in a labor induction abortion for harvesting organs, it means the fetus is being delivered while still alive and the cause of death is the removal of the organs. Dr. Ronna Jurow, an OB/GYN who previously worked at Planned Parenthood and considers herself pro-choice, said in a statement to Fox News last August that there is no question the universitys comments about ischemia time means infants would be alive when their organs were harvested. The report prompted nearly 100 members of Congress to demand a thorough review of Pitts federally-funded research practices in a letter directed at Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and then-NIH director Collins. The NIH and the University of Pittsburgh didn't immediately respond to The Christian Posts request for comment for this article. The university has previously denied wrongdoing and states that it doesn't do medical procedures. The Federalist reported that a February letter from the NIH to members of Congress pointed to the investigation authorized by the university. NIH acknowledged that its Office of Extramural Research had engaged in "discussions with the University of Pittsburgh to determine the veracity of these allegations. The University of Pittsburgh commissioned an independent, third-party firm to review and assess their fetal tissue research processes and practices, the letter from NIH Acting Principal Deputy Director Tara Schwetz, said, according to The Federalist. This assessment reviewed all of the University of Pittsburghs activities related to procurement, disbursement, and use of fetal tissue to determine if they were fully compliant with all applicable laws. Republicans have contended that the investigation was inadequate because it didn't investigate the source of the university's tissue bank, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The school has maintained that the medical center is a separate, private entity. "The University of Pittsburghs investigation is a whitewash," Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., the chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, told Fox News. "A truly transparent and comprehensive assessment would not have evaded the questions raised by public records, especially and including whether the University of Pittsburgh used the body parts of babies who were born alive and died from having their organs harvested, as well as if individuals procuring the baby body parts for the university altered abortion procedures to suit their gruesome research." In a congressional hearing last week, HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera was asked by Rep. Chris Jacobs, R-N.Y., if fetal tissue "used for this research was derived from babies who were born alive and then killed by organ or tissue harvesting, would that be a violation of law." According to The Federalist, Beccera didn't directly answer the question. Fetal tissue has been instrumental in helping so many Americans find life-saving treatment and we have to make sure we are respectful of the standards that are in place, Becerra was quoted as saying, adding that the HHS must ensure that fetal tissue is not being used in ways that are not appropriate under the law. In an interview with The Christian Post last year, Collins, a Christian who oversaw the NIH since Barack Obama's presidency in 2009, defended the ethics of fetal tissue research. The 71-year-old geneticist said he is "a person of faith who believes in the sanctity of human life and [a] person of science who's trying to come up with ways that science can save lives." Collins said that since "people have elective terminations of pregnancy every day," "those materials" shouldn't necessarily be "discarded. Suppose it was possible on a rare instance for something that's about to be discarded with full consent after the decision by the mother to be used to develop something that might save somebody's life, Collins said. In that case, I think even God could look at that and go, OK, it's not the thing that I would have wanted to see happening. Still, as an ethical choice between discarding or using for some benevolent purpose, maybe that's defensible. Now that will make some people uneasy. Judge strikes down Bidens face mask mandate for airplanes, trains A federal judge in Florida has blocked a face mask mandate for airlines and trains, prompting the Biden administration to stop enforcing the COVID-19 pandemic-related order. Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, issued a ruling on Monday vacating the mandate and remanding it back to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The Court concludes that the Mask Mandate exceeds the CDCs statutory authority and violates the procedures required for agency rulemaking under the [Administrative Procedure Act], wrote Mizelle, a Trump appointee. The Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF), an organization that was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with two Florida residents, celebrated the ruling against the face mask mandate. Without any public comment, or serious scientific justification, CDC bureaucrats imposed a sweeping Travel Mask Mandate applying to every American over the age of 2, said HFDF President Leslie Manookian in a statement on Monday. There are laws that set boundaries for federal agencies to protect individual freedom and the Court clearly found that CDC exceeded those limits. Unelected officials cannot do whatever they like to our personal freedoms just because they claim good motives and a desirable goal. At the daily White House press briefing Monday, Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the ruling disappointing, as they had hoped to extend the mandate for at least the next two weeks. The CDC recommended continuing the order for additional time two weeks to be able to assess the latest science in keeping with its responsibility to protect the American people, said Psaki. So right now, the Department of Homeland Security, who would be implementing, and the CDC are reviewing the decision. And, of course, the Department of Justice would make any determinations about litigation. After the Biden administration agreed to stop enforcing the mandate, major airline carriers and the national train line Amtrak announced that they, too, were relaxing their mask requirements, according to Reuters. In January 2021, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13998, which required the wearing of face masks in accordance with CDC guidelines at various mass transportation entities, including airports, commercial planes, trains, city buses and maritime ferries. Science-based public health measures are critical to preventing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by travelers within the United States and those who enter the country from abroad, stated the order. Accordingly, to save lives and allow all Americans, including the millions of people employed in the transportation industry, to travel and work safely, it is the policy of my Administration to implement these public health measures consistent with CDC guidelines on public modes of transportation and at ports of entry to the United States. Pastor tearfully recites Bible verse at sight of cross unscathed after tornado rips through church After a tornado ripped through a Texas church last week, only leaving behind a cross that hung on a wall in the sanctuary, the pastor tearfully cited Romans 8:28, declaring that "all things work together for good." First Cedar Valley Baptist Church in Salado was one of three churches, several homes and buildings destroyed by an EF-3 tornado that ransacked and leveled the area Tuesday with 165 miles per hour winds. The Enhanced Fujita Scale, which assigns tornadoes ratings based on their wind speeds, defines an EF-3 tornado as a strong tornado with maximum sustained winds ranging from 136 to 165 miles per hour that inflicts severe damage. The maximum sustained winds for Tuesdays storm were just 1 mile per hour away from qualifying for the EF-4 category, a violent tornado with maximum sustained winds ranging from 166 to 200 miles per hour that inflicts devastating damage. The tornado began in Williamson County, but the track in Bell County is estimated to be nearly 13 miles long with a duration of about 30 minutes, the National Weather Service said in a statement. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued disaster declarations for both Bell and Williamson Counties on Wednesday, one day after the tornado left a path of destruction in central Texas. First Cedar Valley Baptist Church was nearly destroyed except for a few walls that barely remained standing amid the rubble and a wooden cross that remains standing at the site of the church that has since been leveled to its foundation. The churchs destruction five days before Easter Sunday did not stop Pastor Donnie Jackson from holding Easter services there. Abbott joined the pastor and church members Saturday, where he also delivered a message of encouragement. A few days ago, a church was here, he said. The one thing remaining from the church is this cross. Today in Salado, I met with the resilient Texans impacted by Tuesdays tornado & severe storms. A church stood in this spot a few days ago. The only thing standing today is the cross. The church may physically be gone, but the community brought together by God still remains. pic.twitter.com/GckLg82bYE Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 16, 2022 The cross survived, Abbott added. The pastor of this church made clear that the church still survives because the church is far more than just a building. The church is the people who congregate in that building, the people who come together. In a press conference Saturday, Jackson elaborated on what he viewed as a miracle from God: I want to make a point about something. We had a cross hanging on the wall as you entered. In the sanctuary between the doors, everything was destroyed, but that cross was never touched. Abbott and the Texas officials gathered at the press conference applauded as Jackson proclaimed: Tomorrow morning, were going to have service on the slab. That building is gone, but the church is stronger than ever, and I know that God will help us to build back even stronger than before, Jackson said. In the spirit of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, were going to celebrate the resurrection of the First Cedar Valley Baptist Church. While much of the rubble that consisted of the churchs remains had been removed from the site by the time of Saturdays press conference and Sundays Easter services, ABC News affiliate WFAA broadcast what the church looked like shortly after the tornado ripped through the central Texas community. The news report showed that the cross that was perfectly intact amid the rubble and caved ceiling and exposed pink insulation that had fallen on top of a chandelier. Its still anchored. Its not been damaged. Whats that tell you? Jackson asked. Sometimes you want to question why things like this happen, and then one of the scriptures came to my mind that says: We know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called to his purpose, Jackson said. I have no idea what Gods purpose is in allowing this to happen, but I know he has one. In addition to the tornado that caused the destruction of First Cedar Valley Baptist Church, the storm that passed through Bell County last week produced a large amount of hail. One hailstone had a diameter measuring 5.676 inches at its maximum diameter, nearly breaking the record for the largest hailstone recorded in Texas, which had a diameter of 6.4 inches. The damage caused by last weeks tornado extended far beyond First Cedar Valley Baptist Church. In the press conference, Abbott explained that while 70 homes and two additional churches had been destroyed due to the storm, no lives had been lost due to the severe weather. Street preacher cleared of hate speech charges for preaching from the Bible A court in the U.K. has cleared a 72-year-old Christian street pastor of all charges a year after his arrest for purportedly causing alarm and distress in London by preaching about the biblical definition of marriage, which police said was hate speech." Uxbridge Magistrates Court acquitted Pastor John Sherwood of the Penn Free Methodist Church in north London, whose defense was centered on Article 10 of the 1998 Human Rights Act. The trial was quite remarkable in that there was so much Scripture quoted in it. Pastor Sherwood was determined to impress upon the prosecution that everything that he ever preaches upon is grounded in the final authority of Gods word, the Bible, Sherwoods colleague, Pastor Peter Simpson, who was with Sherwood at the time of his preaching, told Conservative Woman U.K. Article 10 of the 1998 Human Rights Act states: Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority. At the trial, 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, Simpson was quoted as saying. And after the trial, Pastor Sherwood recited words of the hymn, To God be the glory, Great things he hath done. Last April, Sherwood had been speaking on Genesis 1:27-28 in the northwest London town of Uxbridge, arguing that marriage is between one man and one woman, when he was approached by police officers and told that three complaints had been received about his preaching. The police accused him of causing alarm and distress to members of the public and arrested him. On April 23, 2021, Sherwood was held overnight at a police station. In September, he was charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which outlaws threatening or abusive words or behavior likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, according to Christian Today. Sherwoods arrest was captured on video and condemned as brutal by the campaign group Christian Concern. A police officer spoke to Simpson at the time and ordered him not to offend people who identify as gay by quoting from the Bible, even though there is no law protecting people from being offended. I responded that the police would have no objection whatsoever to a Pride parade being held in Uxbridge, yet that would be highly offensive to Bible-believing Christians, Simpson wrote at the time. The officer did not appear to appreciate the logic behind this argument. Police officers urged Sherwood to come down from a step ladder he was preaching from as he respectfully informed police he has freedom of speech and people have the freedom to ignore him and continue walking if they disagree with his statements, Simpson wrote. Sherwood resumed preaching and spoke of the precious right to freedom of speech, which is traced back to the Magna Carta in 1215 and the Bill of Rights in 1689. Onlookers again accused him of making homophobic statements and hate speech. The officers proceeded to pull the pastor down from the ladder as he resisted arrest and seemingly lunged at an officer as multiple officers handcuffed and arrested him. A lady in the crowd was heard saying, its a Christian country, let him speak, while Simpson noted that others in the crowd had accused him of hate speech. Destined for greatness: Michelangelos first known study of a nude A recently rediscovered drawing by the Renaissance master is likely to shatter auction records when it comes to auction at Christies Paris in May A nude figure stands in front of two others, his shoulders hunched, his arms crossed. His stance is recognisable as that of the shivering man waiting to be baptised by Saint Peter in the fresco The Baptism of the Neophytes (1426-27) in the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. Part of the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, the chapel was painted with a cycle of scenes from the life of the apostle by Masaccio (1401-28), together with his colleague Masolino and later completed by Filippino Lippi. Marking an important shift in the development of Renaissance art, it soon became a site of devotion for artists as well as churchgoers, among them the young Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). He made several studies from the frescoes, including a recently rediscovered drawing, A nude man (after Masaccio) and two figures behind, that will be sold at Christies Paris on 18 May in the single-lot auction, Michelangelos First Nude: A Drawing Rediscovered. While the position of the central figure in Michelangelos version is the same as in Masaccios fresco, he has added a more defined musculature. Its so much more than a copy, says Stijn Alsteens, International Head of Old Master Drawings at Christies. Michelangelo has decided to make the figure into something that corresponded more to his aesthetic by making him much more robust and monumental, while at the same time keeping the fragility of the figure, who is exposed and shivering. He did this by subtly shifting the position of the feet and redrawing the head a little, but especially by emphasising the back and the buttocks of the man. The skill with which this effect has been produced suggests the work of an accomplished draughtsman. It is hard to put a specific year on the work, but Alsteens says it probably dates to 1496, when Michelangelo, about 21, was already remarked by many as an exceptional artist and was about to be offered prestigious commissions. As well as altering the main figure, Michelangelo added two men who bear no relation to those in the fresco but recall figures that can be found in a drawing by the artist in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. These two figures are drawn in a sketchier style than the central one, and can be seen as further examples of what Alsteens calls Michelangelos talent for telling stories that convey beauty and drama with the help of the human figure, in particular the male figure. Open a larger version of this image Masaccio (1401-1428), Baptism of the Neophytes, c. 1425-1427. Fresco in the Brancacci Chapel, Florence. The drawing offers a remarkable insight into the development of the artists eye, says Alsteens. Through the three figures we can see Michelangelo formulating the subjects and the style on which he is going to build most of his uvre. One of the earliest surviving works by Michelangelo, A nude man (after Masaccio) is thought to belong to a small group of drawings now in major museums in Europe, based on the Brancacci frescoes and other works by Masaccio. Michelangelos interest in the chapel is recorded in Giorgio Vasaris book The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, first published in 1550. He notes how the artist copied those works with so much judgement that the craftsmen and all other men were astonished, in such sort that envy grew against him together with his fame. As well as being hugely exciting for academics and admirers of Michelangelos work, the drawing also represents a major event for the art market. His drawings are very rare, and there are no known paintings or sculptures by him outside public collections, says Alsteens. The drawing would have remained in private hands, overlooked and misattributed, were it not for a chance discovery in 2019, when Christies was asked to value a collection in France. On the basis of a photograph, Furio Rinaldi, then associate specialist in the Old Master Drawings department in New York, suggested it could be a genuine Michelangelo. He had assisted with the exhibition Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art the previous year. Rinaldi was convinced the drawing was related to the others in the Brancacci group, and his theory was soon confirmed by leading scholars, such as Paul Joannides, Emeritus Professor of Art History at Cambridge University. Every year a great drawing comes up for sale somewhere, says Alsteens, but what is exceptional here is that not only is it a great drawing, its a drawing no one knew existed. While it was never recognised as a Michelangelo by its owners, the drawing has been well looked after, including by Modesto Genevosio, a collector from Turin who was its custodian in the 18th century. He thought it was the work of a minor artist called Pietro Faccini, but nonetheless went to the trouble of mounting it. After Genevosio, its provenance is, as is often the case with drawings, a little vague. In some way it found its way through the world, says Alsteens. Eventually it ended up in an auction at the Hotel Drouot in Paris in 1907, where it was sold to the famous pianist and conductor Alfred Cortot. It was given the attribution school of Michelangelo and only a brief catalogue entry. The drawing will now return to the saleroom with significantly more fanfare. It is expected to easily break the previous record set for the artist by another nude male study, The Risen Christ, which sold at Christies London in 2000 for 8.1 million. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) Sprawled like a gigantic swimming pool atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is an asphalt-and-clay pond holding enough water to produce electricity for 1.6 million households. It's part of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, which uses simple technology: Water is piped from a lower reservoir the lake, in this case to an upper one, then released downhill through supersized turbines. Supporters call these systems the world's largest batteries" because they hold vast amounts of potential energy for use when needed for the power grid. The hydropower industry considers pumped storage the best answer to a question hovering over the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy to address climate change: where to get power when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing. I wish we could build 10 more of these. I love 'em," Eric Gustad, community affairs manager for Consumers Energy, said during a tour of the Ludington facility. But the utility based in Jackson, Michigan, has no such plans. Environmental and logistical challenges and potential costs in the billions led Consumers to sell another would-be site near the lake years ago. It's now upgrading the existing plant with co-owner DTE Energy. Constructing a new one doesn't make financial sense," Gustad said. Unless we get some help from the state or federal government, I don't see it happening any time soon." STUCK IN NEUTRAL The company's decision illustrates the challenges facing pumped storage in the U.S., where these systems account for about 93% of utility-scale energy in reserve. While analysts foresee soaring demand for power storage, the industry's growth has lagged. The nation has 43 pumped storage facilities with a combined capacity of 22 gigawatts, the output of that many nuclear plants. Yet just one small operation has been added since 1995 and it's unknown how many of more than 90 planned can overcome economic, regulatory and logistical barriers that force long delays. Three projects have obtained licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but none are being built. Developers of a long-planned Oregon facility expect work to begin in 2023. A Montana company that got a license five years ago needs a utility to operate the plant and buy its storage capacity before construction starts. By contrast, more than 60 are being built worldwide, mostly in Europe, India, China and Japan. The permitting process is crazy, Malcolm Woolf, president of the National Hydropower Association, complained during a January hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, saying it involves too many agencies. Although FERC permits new facilities and relicenses existing ones, other federal, state and tribal offices have roles, spokesperson Celeste Miller said. Every project is unique. All have various case-specific issues, she said. The industry is lobbying for an investment tax credit similar to what solar and wind get. President Joe Bidens Build Back Better plan includes the tax break but is stuck in Congress. Pumped storage dates from the early 1930s. But most systems were built decades later to warehouse excess electricity from nuclear plants and release it when needed. The storage facilities also serve as a safety net in sudden power interruptions. When a New England nuclear unit tripped offline in 2020, Woolf said, the lights in Boston didn't flicker because two pumped storage stations provided backup power. While nuclear, coal and natural gas plants can operate continuously, wind and solar can't so the market for reserve power likely will grow. National Renewable Energy Laboratory models show U.S. storage capacity may rise fivefold by 2050. Were going to bring hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy onto the grid over the next few years and we need to be able to use that energy wherever and whenever its needed, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said last year. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Using computer mapping, Australian National University engineers identified more than 600,000 potentially feasible pumped storage sites worldwide including 32,000 in the U.S. that could store 100 times the energy needed to support a global renewable electricity network. But the study didn't examine whether sites would meet environmental or cultural protection standards or be commercially viable. Its website acknowledged, Many or even most ... may prove to be unsuitable." Environmentalists are cool toward pumped storage because reservoirs typically are formed by hydropower dams, which block fish pathways, damage water quality and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Also, most plants continuously draw water from rivers. But recent designs envision closed-loop systems that tap a surface or underground supply, then repeatedly cycle that water between reservoirs. Water would be added only to make up for evaporation or leaks. The Hydropower Reform Coalition, representing conservation groups, says it might support such projects under very limited circumstances. Yet some are drawing resistance, including the Goldendale Energy Storage Project in Washington state. It would pipe water between two 60-acre (24.3-hectare) reservoirs on opposite sides of a hill. The facility could power nearly 500,000 homes for up to 12 hours, according to Rye Development, spearheading the project. It's seeking FERC licensing and is scheduled to go online in 2028 but still needs a state water quality permit. Environmental groups fear harm to wetlands and wildlife habitat, while tribes say the project would encroach on a sacred site. What are we willing to sacrifice to get this technology online?" said Bridget Moran, an associate director of American Rivers. Developers say the project would include cleanup of the polluted lower reservoir area. The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a web-based tool to help developers find the best locations. A recent Michigan Technological University study identified hundreds of abandoned U.S. mines that could host pumped storage, with upper reservoirs at or near the surface and lower ones below ground. They are close enough to transmission and distribution infrastructure and to solar and wind generating facilities, the report says. All these holes in the ground are ready to go," said study co-leader Roman Sidortsov, an energy policy associate professor. But while some decommissioned mines might be better for the environment, a project in New York's Essex County stalled over water pollution concerns. COMPETITIVE FUTURE As the market for stored energy grows, new technologies are emerging. Texas-based Quidnet Energy has developed a pumped storage offshoot that forces water underground, holds it amid rock layers and releases it to power turbines. The company announced a project in March with San Antonio's municipal utility. Energy Vault, a Swiss startup, devised a crane powered by renewable energy to lift and stack 35-ton bricks. When energy is needed, the bricks are lowered by cables that spin a generator. For now, batteries are the leading competitor to pumped storage plants, which can generate power for eight to 16 hours. Lithium-ion batteries typically last up to four hours but longer-duration ones are in the works. Are we going to get to the point where an eight-hour battery is cheaper than a pumped storage plant? Thats the billion-dollar question, said Paul Denholm, an analyst with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. A 2016 Energy Department report said the U.S. network has a potential for 36 gigawatts of new pumped storage capacity. We dont think pumped storage is the be-all, end-all but its a vital part of our storage future, said Cameron Schilling, vice president of markets for the hydropower association. You cant decarbonize the system without it. ___ Follow John Flesher on Twitter: @JohnFlesher In the 1990s, Earth Day was the one day a year school faculty from around the country got to dust off their daisy crowns, peace medallions and tie-dye without (much) ridicule and the hippie kids handed out homemade Earth-shaped suckers in the quad. In class, theyd roll in the strapped-down TV/VCR combo to watch this Jimmy Buffett-esque tribute to the rainforest and an ecologically sustainable blockbuster like "Bio-Dome" would be the featured attraction. Every year, April 22 takes me back to that era of non-urgency and my sophomore year biology class, where one Earth Day report featured the Rainforest Cafe as an example of heightened environmental awareness making its way into mainstream culture. Earth Day is no longer at the forefront of public consciousness and gatherings, but it still has a strong hold, and the alarm bells are ringing louder than ever at institutions established to protect the environment. One neednt look further than UC Santa Barbara, the epicenter of the Earth Day movement, to see what has changed. Today, theyve been learning about the environment since they could walk, since preschool, so by the time they get to college, these students are pissed, said Eric Zimmerman, UCSBs environmental studies program student affairs manager, which, according to the schools Instagram, is the same age as Earth Day. They say, tell us what we can do to reverse this damage. Theyre kind of beyond the learning phase and are more give me the tools to go out and reverse environmental degradation. How can we get renewable energy, now? How can return some of these places to biological diversity? The first Earth Day: A national teach-in Earth Day was the brainchild of Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin, who was shocked and dismayed after flying over the footprint of the oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara in February 1969. He saw firsthand the devastation in the wake of the estimated 100,000 barrels' worth of crude oil stretching out on the coastline, spanning 35 miles from Goleta to Ventura. Up to that point, it was the single-largest spill in U.S. history and stirred an existential panic in the senator. Nelson returned to Washington and immediately drafted a plan to create a national day of observance and education that became known as Earth Day. I am convinced that the same concern the youth of this nation took in changing this nations priorities on the war in Vietnam and on civil rights can be shown for the problem of the environment, he said during a speech in Seattle in September of that year. That is why I plan to see to it that a national teach-in is held. His idea took off. And on April 22, 1970, more than one in 10 Americans participated in 12,000 Earth Day-related teach-ins and events, most of them in secondary schools and on college campuses. Twenty million participated in the inaugural event in 1970, the largest single-day protest in history. Congress took the day off as well and, in a now unheard-of bipartisan effort, most spoke at Earth Day-related events in their districts. In Santa Barbara, the Community Environmental Council kicked off the towns Earth Day Festival with a block-long peaceful protest, near the same spot where President Richard Nixon had spoken in solidarity with environmental efforts following the spill in March 1969. The Santa Barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people, he said. Nixons support and the surprise success of the Earth Day movement led to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the passage of bi-partisan legislation like 1970s Clean Air Act, 1972s Clean Water Act and 1973s Endangered Species Act. Once Nixon resigned, Gerald Ford took up the mantle and the early 70s were marked by back-to-back Republican administrations establishing national policy on air and water pollution. But then, the GOPs long, politically divisive, corporate lobby-funded and science-free pivot marked the nations approach to environmental policy, resulting in defeat after defeat in environmental legislation and eventually in the Republicans gutting the very agency they spun up to protect and preserve the environment for future generations. The most recent major defeat is 2010s halt of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which would have drastically limited carbon emissions, due to lack of support in the Senate by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. That was followed by the Trump administrations rollback or elimination of major climate policies. A 2020 New York Times study found more than 100 environmental regulations were reversed or rolled back. This is a very aggressive attempt to rewrite our laws and reinterpret the meaning of environmental protections, Hana V. Vizcarra, a staff attorney at Harvards environmental and energy law program, said. This administration is leaving a truly unprecedented legacy. Will the next generation save us? While Earth Day still exists (hint: Its today!) and events at the movements epicenter at UC Santa Barbaras campus and elsewhere around town are still happening, the overall momentum and power have shifted, UCSBs Zimmerman said. And thats created a more aggressive mood among those affected most by the trials of life on a dying planet: young people. Ive been here long enough to see different generations of students come through, including my own, and the unifying theorem is weve got to do better, he said. This newest generation, theyre pointing fingers. Theyre calling people out. Theyre inheriting a mess. Zimmerman notes the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22, 2020) happened during a pandemic itself the result of a planet succumbing to globalization, global warming and the collapse of working ecosystems but even in this, he says he takes a glass half full approach. These students are tackling the issue of how do you make sure that everyone has equal chance for resources, he said, noting that the UCSB environmental studies program has graduated more than 8,000 alumni and more than 40% of current enrollees are from diverse backgrounds, a massive demographic shift from a quarter century ago when he was a student. Were far from solving the problem but at the same time, theres progress. Youve got to pick the battles take the wins when you get them and not just doom and gloom because if you do, it can be damned depressing, Zimmerman concluded. Were not dying tomorrow as a species. But the question may be to what extent are we going to suffer and whos going to be doing the suffering. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADRID (AP) A leading Spanish museum said Friday it's confident that U.S. courts will again rule that a valuable French impressionist painting once taken from a Jewish family by the Nazis belongs to the museum, and not to descendants of the family. In a statement Friday, the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum said that despite a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling that returned the case to lower courts, it was sure those courts would once again rule that Spanish law, rather than California law, should prevail. That would mean the painting, Camille Pissaros Rue Saint-Honore in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain, should remain in the hands of the Madrid museum where it now hangs. The painting has been estimated to be worth more than $30 million. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday to return the case to the Courts of Appeal kept alive San Diego resident David Cassirers hopes of getting back the streetscape that belonged to his great-grandmother. U.S. lower courts have previously concluded that Spanish property law and not California law should ultimately govern the case and that under Spanish law, the museum was the rightful owner of the painting, which the family believed for over half a century had been lost or destroyed. The Courts of Appeal will now decide whether California state law, rather than federal law, might hold precedence over Spanish law. This could overturn earlier rulings. The Thyssen museum said that Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor had commented during the hearing that the next ruling would probably be again in the Spanish museums favor. Cassirers great-grandmother, Lilly Cassirer, a German Jew, had owned the 1897 oil painting. After the Nazis came to power, Cassirer and her husband fled Germany. In 1939, in order to get visas to leave, she surrendered the Pissarro painting to the Nazis. The painting changed hands a number of times after that. In 1958, Lilly Cassirer reached a monetary settlement with the German government worth about 232,000 euros ($250,000) today, but she didnt give up rights to try to pursue the painting if it turned up. Rather than being lost or destroyed, the painting had traveled to the United States, where it spent 25 years in the hands of different collectors before being purchased in 1976 by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza of Lugano, Switzerland. He owned it until the 1990s, when he sold much of his art collection to Spain. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A new collaboration that adds testing spots in Southport and Westport will help officials get a better understanding for the states water quality. The three-year water quality data collection and research effort is a joint project by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. It will be facilitated by the use of special buoys and manual testing in Southport, Westport, Norwalk and Mystic. USGS scientists will collect water quality samples from three locations along the Fairfield shoreline, providing water resource managers with a detailed understanding as to how, and to what extent, excessive amounts of nutrients affect the coastal bays of Long Island Sound, said Brittney Izbicki, a USGS hydrologic technician. Izbicki said the data will provide a detailed understanding of what is in the water and how those things are impacting the sound. She said the effort will be completed in conjunction with USGSs long-term monitoring at various watersheds in the state. She said this new project will monitor water as it moves out into the mouth of the rivers, where conditions are different. The goal is to provide data to the state that can help improve water quality as well as peoples understanding of what influences estuaries and the Long Island Sound. It will be beneficial for habitat, recreational and commercial use, she said. This will be the first buoy deployment for this project in Connecticut, Izbicki said. The data collection began in Mystic and Norwalk in May and June of last year using existing infrastructure to place the testing equipment, she said. Izbicki said buoys were required for Westport and Southport because it allows the USGS to place their equipment at the important mouths of the Saugatuck and Mill rivers to collect data. Samples will be analyzed for nutrients, carbon, suspended solids, silica, chlorophyll and biological oxygen demand. Additional information will be collected every six minutes by the water quality instruments for water temperature, flow, clarity, salinity, and concentrations of oxygen and algae. Izbicki said the data collected will help Connecticut with its Second Generation Nitrogen Strategy. DEEP first developed the strategy in 2016. It combines existing efforts to reduce nitrogen loading into the Long Island Sound with new initiatives under one plan, according to DEEP. It has three main focus areas: wastewater treatment plants, nonpoint source and stormwater, and embayments or recesses along the shoreline that create bays. Izbicki said DEEP is working with USGS to develop a series of monitors in priority areas that also includes collaborating with local partners. Everyone has been very accommodating and very helpful, she said. This will allow us to collect a robust water quality and hydrologic data set that will be available to the public and available to the state. This will help expand scientific knowledge of nutrient data and, basically, the impacts that are going to be happening to Long Island Sound and the local estuaries. Local officials said the study will be an important component in making sure the water in the Long Island Sound and the mouths of the rivers feeding it are clean and safe. We all want clean water, said Kim Taylor, the chair of the Fairfield Harbor Management Commission. The USGS and DEEP have an agreement to take a look at all of the water in about seven coastal areas up and down the Connecticut coast. She said the data collected in Fairfield will help them find out what is in the water coming down the Mill River and can be used to develop larger policies. Taylor said they were notified a couple months ago that the agency wanted to place the equipment in Southport as well something she called a no-brainer. She said there are a number of other groups already taking water samples from the sound, including the town of Westport and the Fairfield Shellfish Commission. The data helps them determine what kinds of chemicals are in the water and whether shellfish taken from there are safe to eat. Geoffrey Steadman, the planning consultant for the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission, said the basic goal of the citys harbor management plan, and of all plans for similar communities, is to protect and improve water quality as well as to pursue any initiatives that help achieve that. He said this study will be one such initiative. To protect and improve water quality, you of course need good data to identify issues and to help develop solutions, he said, adding theyll discuss the USGS data with the citys harbor commission, shellfish commission and the mayors water quality committee. Water collected in the Norwalk River at Ferry Point, near the Norwalk Aquarium and at the Norwalk Cove Marina, will provide data about an invaluable area that is one of the most important shellfish resources in the state, Steadman said. This program that USGS is pursuing helps to advance... the goals of the Norwalk Harbor management plan, he said. Were all working together and continuing to learn. Steadman said the data collected will be used by officials for management purposes and will help local organizations be stewards of the environment. We all have a role in working to protect the resources of Norwalk Harbor for future generations, he said. joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer What in the world is Chris Shepherd, arguably Houston's most famous chef, up to? The number of changes, shuffles, openings and closings that have happened among his Underbelly Hospitality restaurant group in the past few months is enough to merit its own confused math lady meme. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate With more than 20,000 miles of rail and hundreds of trains operating daily, Amtrak connects cities across the U.S. and Canada, offering travelers views across 46 states and three Canadian provinces. That said, a new report ranks the most scenic Amtrak routes in the U.S. and a stretch of railway traversing the Lone Star State made the cut. Most scenic Amtrak routes in U.S. On Tuesday, the finance website FinanceBuzz published a roundup highlighting 10 "incredibly scenic" Amtrak routes in the U.S. Overall, the Adirondack route claimed the top spot. The line starts in New York City, runs through the Hudson Valley and ends in Montreal, Canada. California's Pacific Surfliner is listed at No. 2. The route offers views of the Pacific Ocean as it shuttles riders from San Luis Obispo to San Diego and vice versa. Plan your next trip with Expedia www.expedia.com Shop Now The California Zephyr comes in at No. 3 and runs from San Francisco en route to Chicago with stops in Reno, Salt Lake City, Denver and throughout the Great Plains. The roundup lists the City of New Orleans route at No. 4 and highlights the historical views of this particular journey as the trip runs from Chicago and then follows the Mississippi River through Memphis into the Big Easy in Louisiana. The Southwest Chief route comes in at No. 5 and runs from Chicago to Los Angeles with stops in Kansas City, Albuquerque and Flagstaff. As for Texas routes, the Sunset Limited is listed at No. 9. The route starts in New Orleans en route to Los Angeles. In Texas, the line includes stops in Beaumont, Houston, San Antonio, Del Rio, Sanderson, Alpine and El Paso. "Instead of waterfalls and forests, this is the train ride for desert and mountain aficionados. Starting in New Orleans the Sunset Limited cuts west, out of the Gulf and into Houston and San Antonio, mixing both historic sites with modern attractions," reads a portion of the report. "Then its into the desert, moving through the valleys of the Southwest and into the Rocky Mountains." On the westward journey, other major stops include Tucson and Phoenix before the end of the line in the City of Angels. "While onboard the Sunset Limited, settle back and watch the Bayou Country, Mexican border, southwestern deserts and California mountains pass by your window," reads a portion of the Amtrak page describing the route. Sunset Limited trains depart three times each week in either direction. Learn more about the route here. Full list of the most scenic Amtrak routes DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Five teenagers charged with fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy and seriously wounding two teenage girls outside a downtown Des Moines high school last month pleaded not guilty in court filings. Manuel Buezo, Henry Valladares Amaya, Romeo Perdomo, Octavio Lopez Sanchez Jr., all 17; and Daniel Hernandez, 18 , were to appear in court on Friday, but their hearings were called off when their attorneys filed documents indicating their desire to enter a written arraignment and plea of not guilty. The filings avoided personal appearances before a judge at a courtroom inside the Polk County Jail. Fred Savage Fired from The Wonder Years Over Multiple... Click here to read the full article. Fred Savage has been fired from his role as executive... 3 Americans die in mysterious circumstances at Bahamas resort A fourth guest at Sandals Resort on Great Exuma Island was airlifted to a hospital. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) A judge in Phoenix has dismissed lawsuits seeking to disqualify three Republican lawmakers from this year's ballot because they participated in or helped organize the Jan. 6, 2021, rally in Washington that led to an unprecedented attack on Congress. The decision from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury made public Friday means Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs and state Rep. Mark Finchem remain on the primary ballot barring a reversal by the state Supreme Court. Gosar and Biggs are seeking reelection and Finchem is running for Secretary of State, Arizona's chief election officer. The lawsuits filed on behalf of a handful of Arizona voters alleged that Gosar, Biggs and Finchem can't hold office because they participated in an insurrection. They cited a section of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. constitution enacted after the Civil War. None of the lawmakers are accused of participating in the actual attack on Congress that was intended to stop certification of President Joe Biden's win. Coury agreed with the lawmakers' attorneys who said Congress created no enforcement mechanism for the 14th Amendment, barring a criminal conviction. He noted that Congress proposed such a law in the wake of the attack on Congress but it is not been enacted. Therefore, given the current state of the law and in accordance with the United States Constitution, plaintiffs have no private right of action to assert claims under the disqualification clause, Coury wrote. He also rejected arguments that state law created an enforcement mechanism that allows people to sue to enforce the 14th Amendment's provision. And he said, at least for Biggs and Gosar, qualifications for member of Congress are purely a federal affair. The text of the Constitution is mandatory," Coury wrote. It sets forth the single arbiter of the qualifications of members of Congress; that single arbiter is Congress. The attorney representing the voters who challenged the lawmakers, Jim Barton, urged Coury on Wednesday to hold a planned three-day trial even if he dismissed the case. But Coury declined to do so, noting that election challenge cases are by definition rushed and not the proper place for such legal wrangling. "Arizonas election challenge framework is ill-suited for the detailed analysis of the complex constitutional, legal and factual issues presented in this case," he wrote. Coury noted that Gosars lawyer, Alexander Kolodin, raised free speech issues. And Kolodin stressed that after Friday's ruling became public. If the radical left wants our courts to punish dissenting speech, they came to the wrong state, Kolodin said. Free Speech For People, the group representing the Arizona voters, vowed an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, saying Coury's ruling is contrary to the law. Arizona is not exempted from the mandate of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, the group said in a statement. A candidate who has taken an oath of office and then engaged in insurrection has no place on a future Arizona ballot. The rally where former President Donald Trump spoke and urged attendees to march on the Capitol led to deadly clashes. Protestors forced their way into Congress while lawmakers were certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 victory. The Arizona lawsuits are mirrored in complaints now being pursued by Free Speech for People attorneys against sitting members of Congress from Georgia and North Carolina. Voters in Georgia are trying to get firebrand Republican and Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene thrown off the ballot for similar reasons. She was in court Friday. And voters in western North Carolina want Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally that preceded the riot, tossed from the ballot. Cawthorn sued and a federal judge last month blocked the challenge filed with the states election board from moving forward, writing that laws approved by Congress in 1872 and 1898 mean the 14th Amendment section cant apply to current House members. TOWNSEND, Mont. (AP) A California man was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for his role in the death of a Montana sheriffs deputy, who prosecutors said was shot by the defendant's son after being provoked into a high-speed chase. District Judge Kathy Seeley sentenced Lloyd Barrus to three life terms to be served concurrently after he was found guilty by a jury of accountability to deliberate homicide in the May 2017 death of Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore. Barrus, 66, also was found responsible on two counts of attempted deliberate homicide for shots fired by his son at other law enforcement officers vehicles. Marshall Barrus, 38, was fatally injured in a shootout with officers after a pursuit that ended east of Missoula. I dont know that there was a plan per se, but these two men with their extremist anti-government beliefs were both out of control, Seeley said. I do not believe if he is out in the streets that the public will be safe, she added. Defense attorneys had argued that Barrus should remain at the Montana State Hospital because he suffers from delusional disorders and could not appreciate the criminality of his actions at the time, The Montana Standard reported. During the three-week trial in Butte, prosecutors said Lloyd and Marshall Barrus had talked about going on a suicide mission before passing Moores vehicle traveling 100 mph (161 mph) south of Townsend early on May 16, 2017, with the intention of drawing a pursuit. Prosecutors said Lloyd Barrus was driving and Marshall Barrus fired a shot that struck Moore, 42, in the face. Moore's car stopped and his in-car camera captured sounds of him struggling to breathe when a vehicle drove up and the occupants fired more shots, prosecutors said. The trial was delayed as prosecutors initially sought the death penalty against Lloyd Barrus before he was found unfit to stand trial. Seeley ordered that Barrus be given antipsychotic medications via injection because he refused to take medication to treat his delusional disorder. The Montana Supreme Court upheld the forced medication order in January 2020. Barrus, whose last known address before his arrest was Bakersfield, California, was involved in a shootout with law enforcement officers in Nevada and California in March 2000. Barrus, his son Jeffrey Barrus and a woman were arrested in California after fleeing from a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper and shooting at officers during a 70-mile (113 kilometer) chase. Their vehicle broke down in the Furnace Creek area and they hid in a gully, starting an 18-hour standoff in Death Valley. They reportedly shot a California Highway Patrol helicopter, forcing it to land. No one was injured. On June 6, 1944 the fate of the world changed forever. A multi-national effort among the Allied forces, D-Day changed the course of World War II by opening the Western Front to the Allies. U.S., British and Canadian forces landed on five beachheads on the coast of Normandy. Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the invasion aimed to free German-occupied France and liberate the rest of Europe from the totalitarian Nazi regime. By August 1944, all of France was liberated. D-Day was pivotal in helping the Allies gain control over the Western Front. Since the spring of 1940, Germany had taken over most of Western Europe. At the time of the D-Day planning, in 1943, the Nazi Reich commanded most of mainland Europe and its economy was growing steadily, signaling further control in the years to come. To defeat Germany and win the war, the Allies would need to gain a foothold over the Western Front in the one place where, if planned strategically enough, German forces might not be able to match an attack: the beaches of Normandy. LOS ANGELES (AP) A Los Angeles man twice convicted of murdering his father, stepmother and 8-year-old stepsister 40 years ago had his death sentence reversed Thursday by the California Supreme Court. The court upheld Robert Blooms first-degree murder conviction in his fathers slaying but reversed second-degree murder convictions in the other killings because his lawyers violated his 6th Amendment right to choose his defense. Bloom admitted gunning down his father, Robert Bloom Sr., but denied he killed the other two. His attorneys, however, told jurors he had killed Josephine Bloom and her daughter, Sandra Hughes, as part of a legal strategy to claim that his mental state made those crimes manslaughter and not murder. Defense counsel conceded, over Blooms objection, both that Bloom killed Josephine and Sandra and that Bloom should be held criminally liable for the killings, Justice Leondra Kruger wrote. Counsels decision to concede Blooms guilt on these counts cannot be squared with a rule that gives the criminal defendant the right to oppos(e) . . . any admission of guilt. The Los Angeles district attorney's office did not immediately say whether they will seek to retry Bloom in the other killings. The 7-0 ruling came on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the killings in the Sun Valley section of Los Angeles. Bloom, then 18, shot his father in the front lawn then went inside the house and shot his stepmother and shot and stabbed his stepsister, prosecutors said. Witnesses testified that Bloom's father had beaten him since he was an infant and the two frequently argued. The day before the killing, Bloom called his father from a pay phone and said, Youre running my life now, but you wont be for long," according to one witness. Bloom was first convicted in 1983 and sentenced to die in 1984. A federal appeals court overturned the case in 1997 because his attorney failed to effectively investigate and present evidence of mental impairment. During his second trial, jurors convicted Bloom of first-degree murder in his father's slaying but couldn't reach a verdict in the other two counts. After prosecutors dismissed the allegations that those killings were premeditated, jurors convicted him of second-degree murder in the slayings of his stepmom and sister. Because Bloom had said he was insane at the time of the killings, another phase of trial was held in which jurors found he was sane when he killed his father, but they couldn't reach a sanity verdict on the two other killings. Bloom then withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and proceeded to the penalty phase in which he represented himself. Jurors returned a death verdict and he was sent back to death row in 2001. The California Supreme Court reversed the death sentence because jurors had found Bloom committed multiple murders. The reversal of two of the three charged murder convictions also requires us to reverse the jurys true finding on the only special circumstance alleged here, multiple murder, Kruger wrote. This, finally, requires us to reverse the death judgment, which cannot stand in the absence of a valid special circumstance finding. Although prosecutors can seek the death penalty again, that is unlikely because current District Attorney George Gascon is an opponent of capital punishment and has vowed not to pursue that punishment. KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) East African leaders said they are proceeding with an urgent plan to deploy a regional force in Congo, where some areas in the country's east have long been disturbed by sporadic violence. Kenyan authorities announced the decision in a statement following a meeting Thursday of regional leaders in the East African Community bloc. That meeting in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, resolved to accelerate the establishment of a regional force to help contain and, where necessary, fight the negative forces" in Congo, said the statement. Towards this end, the meeting directed that planning for such a force commence with immediate effect and with the full consultation of relevant authorities in the region." It remains unclear how such a force would be staffed, and there were no details on when it would be ready to deploy. The central African nation of Congo joined the East African Community last month, becoming the trade bloc's seventh member. The other members are Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. With Congos admission, the bloc now commands a market of about 300 million people. Its overall goal is to create a political federation. The bloc already has a common market to allow free movement of people, goods and capital within the region, although occasional trade disputes among members have hampered that and raised questions about protectionism among local authorities. Despite its vast size and wealth of natural resources, Congo remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Eastern Congo is particularly plagued by rebel violence as several armed groups vie for control of its mineral-rich lands. One armed group, the M23, launched attacks against government troops near the Uganda border recently, forcing thousands of civilians to seek temporary shelter in Uganda. In another part of eastern Congo, Ugandan troops are helping Congolese forces to hunt down rebels linked to an Islamic extremist group. FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) A former Massachusetts mayor convicted of corruption charges has reported to federal prison after a judge rejected his latest request for a delay. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia entered the Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin, New Hampshire, on Friday as required in order to begin a six-year sentence. The medium security prison, located in the state's northern region that includes the White Mountains, houses nearly 800 male inmates. Correias date of imprisonment had been put off several times before a federal appellate court refused his request for a delay on Wednesday. The former mayor was convicted last year of 21 counts for defrauding investors in a smartphone app and for extorting money from marijuana companies. A judge ultimately dismissed 10 charges, leaving 11 convictions to stand. Correia is appealing the verdict, and his lawyers argue he should be allowed to stay out of prison pending his appeal. They've been able to stave off his prison term for some 20 weeks after his initial report date, to the frustration of some in the former manufacturing center south of Boston, where he was seen as a rising political star when first elected mayor in 2015 at age 23. Hopefully, this is the end of a long saga for the city and we can move on from that and let people move on to make Fall River a better place to live, Mayor Paul Coogan, who defeated Correia in an election in 2019, told the Fall River Herald earlier this week. This has been going on for a long time. Correia, who has maintained his innocence, was initially granted a reprieve to help out in his in-laws restaurant over the Christmas holiday. He was granted subsequent delays because of an outbreak of COVID-19 at FCI Berlin and for his attorneys to file his appeal. Correia's attorneys didn't respond to an email seeking comment Friday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are increasing flooding, droughts and other costly catastrophes. Pennsylvania on Saturday becomes the first major fossil fuel-producing state in the U.S. to adopt a carbon pricing policy to address climate change. It joins 11 states where coal, oil and natural gas power plants must buy credits for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. President Joe Biden is attempting a less direct approach known as the social cost of carbon that calculates future climate damages to justify tougher restrictions on polluting industries. Republicans say that could crush many businesses. They want the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the administration after lower courts in Louisiana and Missouri split on the issue. Governments elsewhere have moved more aggressively. Canada, for example, imposes fuel charges on individuals and also makes big polluters pay for emissions. It's one of 27 nations with some kind of carbon tax, according to The World Bank. The varied strategies come as scientists warn climate change is accelerating and all can help reduce emissions. But experts say U.S. efforts have been hobbled by its fractured approach. Part of the reason you need all of these things to work in tandem is we do not have a federal climate policy," said Seth Blumsack, director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy at Penn State University. We have social cost of carbon used in regulatory decisions but not (a carbon price) that is faced by the market. SO WHAT'S THE PRICE TAG? It varies. A lot. The Biden administration's social cost estimate is about $51, meaning every ton of carbon dioxide spewed from a power plant or tail pipe today is projected to contribute to $51 in economic damages in coming years. The state of New York has its own social cost of carbon, updated in 2020 to $125 a ton to account for economic trends. By contrast, emissions were most recently valued at $13.50 per ton at auction under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast, which Pennsylvania is joining. A similar cap and trade emissions program is in place in California, and one is due to go into effect in Washington state in 2023. Canada's carbon taxes include a minimum fuel charge for individuals equivalent to about $40 per ton. WHY THE BIG DIFFERENCES? The social cost of carbon attempts to capture the value of all climate damage, centuries into the future. Carbon pricing reflects how much companies are willing to pay today for a limited amount of emission credits offered at auction. In other words, the social cost of carbon guides policy, while carbon pricing represents policy in practice. Youre trying to get the price to reflect the true cost to society, said economist Matthew Kotchen, a former U.S. Treasury Department official now at Yale University. A more stringent policy would have a higher carbon price. A more lax policy would give you a lower carbon price. In the most efficient world, economists say the two figures would line up, meaning there would be agreement about what climate change damages will cost and the policies used to address them. IS ANY OF THIS WORKING? Emissions from northeastern states would have been about 24% higher if the carbon pricing consortium hadn't been in place, according to researchers from Duke University and the Colorado School of Mines. The carbon auctions also have brought in almost $5 billion that can be used to reduce household energy cost increases and promote renewable energy. The consortium began in 2009 the year of a failed push in Congress to establish a nationwide cap and trade program. The bipartisan proposal died amid arguments over cost and whether climate change was even occurring. Following lawsuits from environmentalists, President Barack Obama's administration crafted the social cost of carbon and began including future damage estimates in cost-benefit analyses for new regulations. It was used under Obama more than 80 times, including for tightened vehicle emissions standards and regulations aimed at shuttering coal plants. President Donald Trump moved to roll back many of the Obama-era rules and to help justify the changes, the Republican administration cut the social cost of carbon from about $50 per ton to $7 or less. The lower number included only domestic climate impacts and not global damages. On its face that might sound okay, but when you think about it, global harms from climate change have implications in the U.S. in terms of the global financial system, said Romany Webb, a climate change law expert at Columbia Law School. WHAT'S NEXT? On the day Biden took office, he set up an interagency group that revived the Obama estimate and promised a revised figure incorporating previously overlooked consequences of climate change. Many economists expect the revised figure to be higher, perhaps more than double the current $51. Without a nationwide cap and trade program, environmentalists and some economists want the government to be more aggressive in using the social cost of carbon to overhaul government energy policy. Under Biden, the U.S. Interior Department for the first time is applying climate damage considerations to oil and gas sales on public lands and waters. An upcoming lease sale in Wyoming, for example, could result in future emissions of 34 million tons (31 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide. Thats equivalent to more than $1.5 billion in future damages. But the agency still plans to sell the leases because officials said there were no established thresholds to evaluate whether the increased emissions were acceptable, or not. The expansion of carbon pricing into Pennsylvania remains tenuous. A legal challenge is pending and the state's term-limited Democratic governor could soon be replaced by a successor who opposes the state's participation. While pricing carbon would be the gold standard, it seems politically difficult to actually get there, said Brian Prest with Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization. - Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter: @matthewbrownAP This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law new guidelines Friday involving race-based discussions in businesses and schools as part of his campaign against critical race theory, which he called pernicious" ideology. Passed by lawmakers earlier this year, the legislation bars instruction that says members of one race are inherently racist, and that they should feel guilt for past actions committed by others of the same race or that a persons status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race. It also bars the notion that meritocracy is racist, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity. We believe in education, not indoctrination, DeSantis said during Friday's bill signing in South Florida. DeSantis said Florida students will not have oppressive ideologies imposed on them, as the bill provides substantive protections for students in grades K to 12. He said pernicious ideologies will not be allowed. We will not use your tax dollars to teach our kids to hate this country or hate each other, DeSantis said. Opponents say DeSantis doesnt have an accurate idea of what critical race theory is, and argue that his motives are to suppress an accurate account of Black history. Its just illustrating Gov. DeSantis pattern of Black attack policies led by Republican legislators. He has taken a culture war to a classic Republican battleground, which is the public schools. Its going to hurt our childrens futures,' said Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon, who is Black. CRT is not taught in K-12 education here in our public schools." DeSantis focus on culture war issues involving race, gender and the coronavirus have made him one of the most popular Republican politicians in the country and a likely 2024 presidential candidate. Critical race theory centers on the idea that racism is systemic in U.S. institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society. There is little evidence that critical race theory itself is being taught to K-12 public school students, though some ideas central to it have been incorporated into teaching materials. Black lawmakers in Florida have said they believe the legislation will have a chilling effect on how African American history is taught because teachers will fear lawsuits if students parents object to how they present subjects like slavery, segregation, lynchings and the continued presence of racism in the U.S. The governor is on his bogeyman tour of issues that are not issues, Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones, who is Black, said in an interview. The Republicans continuously cloak themselves in freedom, but clearly pick and choose which freedoms and for whom they support said freedoms .. They sure dont support the freedoms of Black people. The new law does expand language in state law requiring classroom instruction on the ramifications of prejudice, racism and stereotyping on individual freedoms, as well as study of the history of slavery, segregation and racial oppression, and of contributions by Blacks in U.S. history. But such material cannot seek to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the law. What are we supposed to do, just let these ideologies overtake our entire education system? DeSantis said at a campaign-style event Friday to sign the bill in the South Florida city of Hialeah. The gathered crowd responded, Noooo.' This is an ideology that was taking hold in a lot of elite institutions, the media, corporate America, the bureaucracy, the education establishment. Most Americans dont want anything to do with this stuff, DeSantis said. ___ Associated Press writer David Fischer contributed to this report from Miami. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PARIS (AP) French prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for disgraced auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who fled Japan in 2019 for Lebanon in a gripping escape. The prosecutor's office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre said Friday that it issued the warrant for the former head of Nissan and Renault and four other people based on an investigation opened in 2019 into money laundering and abuse of company assets. Prosecutors are investigating millions of dollars in alleged suspect payments made between the Renault-Nissan alliance and Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA), a vehicle distributor company in Oman. The former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance fled to Lebanon in 2019, while out on bail facing financial misconduct charges in Japan. He denies wrongdoing. Ghosn said he learned about the new warrant Friday via the media, and noted that he's barred from leaving Lebanon anyway. I'm ready to defend myself," he told France's BFM television. He repeatedly insisted that he did not receive any money from the Oman distributor and that there was no embezzling. Later Friday, Ghosn told Lebanese TV station Al-Jadeed that he questioned the timing of the arrest warrant and added that he had planned a long time ago to retire in Lebanon. The timing is surprising. A warrant like that is issued two days before the (French) presidential election? Ghosn said. This makes us a bit suspicious. There is bad smell. Asked whether he might trigger a crisis between France and Lebanon, Ghosn said: I dont think so. I think there has to be an understanding between the two countries. He said French and Japanese judicial authorities should cooperate with Lebanese authorities and send the cases to Beirut and judicial authorities in Lebanon can see if there was any wrongdoing. He said otherwise there will be trial in France in his absence. The Nanterre prosecutors office described this warrant as the next step in the ongoing investigation, one of two separate cases involving Ghosn in France. In an interview last year with The Associated Press, Ghosn was confident, energized and determined to fight to restore his reputation. A statement sent Friday to the AP from his PR team called the French warrant surprising, and suggested that it was ineffective as Ghosn is subject to a judicial ban on leaving Lebanese territory." Lebanon does not extradite its citizens. Ghosn has citizenship in Lebanon, France and Brazil. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KYIV, Ukraine Another mass grave has been found outside Mariupol, the city council and an adviser to the mayor said Friday. The city council posted a satellite photo provided by Planet Labs showing what it said was a mass grave 45 meters (147.64 feet) by 25 meters (82.02 feet) that could hold the bodies of at least 1,000 Mariupol residents. It said the new reported mass grave is outside the village of Vynohradne, which is east of Mariupol. Earlier this week, satellite photos from Maxar Technologies revealed what appeared to be rows upon rows of more than 200 freshly dug mass graves in the town of Manhush, located to the west of Mariupol. The discovery of mass graves has led to accusations that the Russians are trying to conceal the slaughter of civilians in the city. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Possible mass graves near Mariupol shown in satellite images EXPLAINER: Why the battle for Mariupol's steel mill matters EXPLAINER: Why Washington is boosting heavy arms for Ukraine UN rights chief sees horror story of violations in Ukraine US to welcome Ukraine refugees but no longer through Mexico Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: KYIV, Ukraine At least three civilians died and seven more were injured in shelling attacks in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Friday, as Russian forces continue to roll into the countrys industrial east, the governor of the region said in a Telegram post. Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko blamed the deaths of three more peaceful residents in a small town and two villages on Russian shelling. In a separate Telegram post earlier, Kyrylenko said that as of Friday afternoon, Russians had opened fire at 20 settlements in the region and destroyed or damaged 34 civilian infrastructure facilities. Also on Friday, the local prosecutors office in the northeastern region of Kharkiv said in a Telegram post that charred bodies of two residents were discovered near the city of Izyum that same day. The post accused Russian soldiers of torturing the residents and burning their bodies. ___ WASHINGTON The Pentagon says U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will convene a meeting next week in Germany of defense officials and military leaders from more than 20 countries to discuss Ukraines immediate and long-term defense needs. The Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, said Friday that about 40 nations, including NATO members, were invited and that responses are still arriving for the session to be held Tuesday at Ramstein air base. He did not identify the nations that have agreed to attend but said more details will be provided in coming days. The meeting comes as Russia gears up for what is expected to be a major offensive in eastern Ukraine. The agenda will include an updated assessment of the Ukraine battlefield as well as discussion of efforts to continue a steady flow of weapons and other military aid, Kirby said. It will include consultations on Ukraines post-war defense needs but is not expected to consider changes in the U.S. military posture in Europe, he said. ___ The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that one serviceman died, 27 more went missing and 396 were rescued after a fire on the flagship missile cruiser Moskva last week. The statement comes a week after the vessel sunk. Shortly after the incident, the ministry said the entire crew of the ship, which was presumed by the media to be about 500 people, had been rescued. The ministry did not offer an explanation for the contradicting reports. Ukraine said it hit the cruiser with a missile strike. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines security chief said Friday that the main battles in the country are taking place in the Donbas, the industrial heartland in the east, with Russia deploying more and more troops every day. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told The Associated Press that over 100,000 Russian troops are currently fighting in Ukraine, including mercenaries from Syria and Libya. Some of Russias elite military units have left the strategic Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which was declared liberated by the Kremlin on Thursday, and are now moving to the east of the country to participate in the fighting there, Danilov said. Danilov said a nighttime helicopter delivery brought weapons to Mariupols steel mill, the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the city. He urged Ukraines Western partners to speed up the delivery of weapons to his country. ___ UNITED NATIONS U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to meet Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press for fighting to stop in Ukraine. The U.N. chief will travel to Moscow for conversations with Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.N. spokesperson Eri Kaneko said Friday. She said discussions about a similar visit to Ukraine are under way. He wants to discuss with the leadership steps that can be taken right now in order to silence the guns, in order to help the people and in order to allow the people who need to get out to do so safely, she said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Guterres is due to meet Tuesday with Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and that Putin will also host the U.N. chief. Guterres asked to meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their respective capitals. Ukraine has welcomed the idea. Guterres had appealed for a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting leading up to Sunday, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter. ___ BUCHAREST, Romania The Moldovan government strongly criticized comments Friday by a Russian military official suggesting that Russia's forces are aiming to take control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern Ukraine as well, creating another way to the region of Transnistria in Moldova. Moldova's government on Friday called Rustam Minnekayev's comments not only unacceptable but also unfounded." The statement added that his words will lead to increased tension and mistrust in society. Minnekayev said at a defense industry event earlier Friday that broader control of Ukraine would open the way to Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Transnistria broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers have been stationed there since the civil war. Since Russia launched its attacks on Ukraine on Feb. 24, fears have grown that Moldova could be next in Russia's crosshairs. Moldova is not a member of the European Union or NATO. The war has prompted Moldovan officials to try to speed up the country's bid to join the 27-nation EU, which it applied to do last month. The process, however, will likely take many years. ___ MOSCOW Russias top diplomat says talks to end the fighting in Ukraine have ground to a halt, because Moscow hasnt received any response from Kyiv to its most recent set of proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference on Friday that right now, they (talks) have ground to a halt, because another proposal we passed on to Ukrainian negotiators about five days ago, which was drawn up with their comments taken into account, it remains without a response. Lavrov also charged that recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers suggest they dont at all need these talks, they have put up with their destiny. However, Vladimir Medinsky, President Vladimir Putins aide and Russias lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, confirmed reports that he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He didnt offer any details as to what was discussed or if any progress was made. ___ MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside a Mariupol steel plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive. The comments came during a phone call between Putin and European Council President Charles Michel, according to a readout of the call provided by the Kremlin. Putin also said the Ukrainian forces were offered decent treatment and medical care. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged, according to the Kremlin. ___ LVIV, Ukraine A city official in besieged Mariupol says Russian forces are continuing to bomb a massive steel mill where Ukrainian fighters are holed up. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor, told The Associated Press on Friday that every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, despite false promises not to touch the defenders. Andryushchenko added that fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. The Azovstal plant is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, which the Russians has blocked for nearly two weeks and declared victory over this week. Ukrainian authorities have estimated that 1,000 civilians are inside the plant along with the fighters. A day after satellite images came to light that indicated mass graves outside the port city in southeastern Ukraine, Andryushchenko said local residents reported that Russian forces were using mobile crematoria at two locations. Initial estimates said the apparent mass graves could hold up to 9,000 bodies, but Andryuschenko said there could be more. ___ BERLIN The International Atomic Energy Agency says its director general will visit the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant next week, on the anniversary of the 1986 disaster there. The Vienna-based IAEA said Friday that Rafael Mariano Grossi will head a team of experts from the U.N. nuclear watchdog that will be at Chernobyl on April 26, which is 36 years since the day a reactor at the plant exploded. The IAEA says the team will deliver vital equipment and conduct radiological and other assessments at the site, which Russian forces held for five weeks until they withdrew on March 31. The experts will repair remote monitoring systems that stopped transmitting data to the IAEAs headquarters at the start of the war. Grossi said in a statement that the Chernobyl visit will be followed by more IAEA missions to this and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine in the coming weeks. ___ WASHINGTON Pentagon press secretary John Kirby says assessments show Ukrainian troops are still contesting the southern city of Mariupol despite Russian President Vladimir Putins claim of victory in the battle for the city in Ukraines industrial heartland, home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Putin on Thursday ordered his troops not to storm a giant Mariupol steel mill where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainians remain holed up but to seal it off in an apparent bid to free up his troops for the broader campaign in the east. Kirby said it was unclear why Putin did that and Putins words need to be viewed with skepticism. They made this big show yesterday of him saying he wasnt gonna go into that plant and try to eradicate the people that are there, Kirby told CNN on Friday. I think we have to watch and see what the Russians actually do here. What we would tell you this morning is that we still assess that Mariupol is contested, that it hasnt been taken by the Russians and that theres still an active Ukrainian resistance. So they continue to fight for that city. ___ SEOUL, South Korea South Koreas Foreign Ministry says its trying to confirm intelligence that a South Korean citizen who had come to Ukraine as a volunteer fighter to defend the country against the Russian attack has been killed. The ministry said Friday it received the information from an unspecified foreign government but didnt immediately provide more details. The ministry said there were at least four South Koreans who went into Ukraine without government authorization. It pleaded them to quickly return home as the war escalates with Russias new offensive in eastern Ukraine. ___ COPENHAGEN, Denmark The three Baltic prime ministers want more sanctions against Russia. Latvian Prime Minister - Krisjanis Karins pointed out Friday that it is necessary to lessen Russias ability to finance its war in Ukraine, and this includes sanctions at the European Union level on all Russian banks and all energy resources, including natural gas and oil. His Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte stressed the importance of continuing to put pressure on the Kremlin by strengthening sanctions. Kaja Kallas of Estonia agreed. They spoke after a meeting of the Baltic Council of Ministers, the Baltic News Service said. The parliaments of Latvia and Estonia on Thursday adopted a statement on Russias war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. ___ BERLIN German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is defending his center-left partys record on relations with Russia against criticism following the war in Ukraine. Scholzs Social Democrats have long been proud of the legacy of Cold War rapprochement pursued by former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt. But critics accuse it of having clung too much to close relations with Russia, particularly over recent years. Scholz made clear in an interview with weekly Der Spiegel published Friday that he sees no need for the party to chew over its stance, and said that it doesnt have to accept the criticism. He argued that its policies of detente set the ground for overcoming Europes Cold War-era division, and said it always backed a strong German military and integration with the West. Scholz decried what he called distorting and defamatory portrayals of the Social Democrats policies toward Europe and Russia going back to West Germanys early post-World War II years. He did not, however, mention ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeders ties with the Russian energy industry, which Scholz has urged Schroeder to end. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A top Ukrainian official says no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations will be open in Ukraine on Friday because it is unsafe. In a post on the messaging app Telegram, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk asked people awaiting evacuation from war zones to be patient and hang in there. Vereshchuk said Russian forces offered to open a corridor for military surrender but not for an estimated 1,000 civilians sheltering at a steel mill that is the last Ukrainian stronghold in besieged southern city of Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said Moscow was ready at any moment to introduce a regime of silence for both the troops and civilians at Azovstal. But Ukrainian troops must raise white flags in determined areas around the plant before evacuations can begin, the ministry said. ___ LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. is looking at sending tanks to Poland to replace the Soviet-era T-72 tanks the Poles are shipping to Ukraine. Johnson made the comments Friday during a news conference in New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think perhaps what I havent said publicly before is were also looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians, Johnson said. So were looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they sending some of their T-72s to Ukraine. ___ LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the U.K. plans to reopen its embassy in Ukraines capital next week. Johnson announced the planned action on Friday during a trip to India. Diplomats from other European nations have returned to Kyiv since Russian troops withdrew from the capital region to focus on eastern Ukraine. Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv this month to show solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the time, the prime minister detailed a new package of financial and military aid, and Zelenskyy said the U.K. had pledged to help rebuild the city after the war. ___ BERLIN The U.N. human rights chief says that international humanitarian law appears to have been tossed aside in Russias war in Ukraine. The Geneva-based human rights office said in a statement Friday that Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure actions that may amount to war crimes. The office said its mission in Ukraine so far has verified 5,264 civilian casualties, including 2,345 deaths, since the war began on Feb. 24. It said that 92.3% of those were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet added that the actual numbers are going to be much higher as the horrors inflicted in these areas of intense fighting such as Mariupol come to light. She said that over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside. AP HONOLULU (AP) A 23-year-old man man accused of killing his 73-year-old lover and pouring cement over his body in a bathtub in one of Hawaii's most exclusive gated communities has pleaded not guilty to murder. A public defender for Juan Baron entered the plea during an arraignment Thursday, according to court records. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Nearly 100 students who attended a high school prom in California have tested positive for COVID-19, the latest outbreak as schools navigate a return to normal amid the ongoing pandemic. Masks were strongly recommended at the San Mateo High School prom on April 9 but many students chose not to wear them, said Laura Chalkley, a spokeswoman for the San Mateo Union High School District, which includes seven schools south of San Francisco. At least 90 of the 600 students who attended the prom at San Franciscos Asian Art Museum have tested positive for the virus, she said. All cases reported to the district were mild or asymptomatic. This has been a really hard year for kids and we need to keep having as many activities as we can, Kevin Skelly, the district superintendent, told KGO-TV. He said upcoming proms at the district's other high schools will have stricter safety protocols. Were going to be more careful about activities. Were going to test more students beforehand to make sure they are not going into the dance COVID positive," he said. Students at the nearby Hillsdale High School have been informed that students and staff will be required to wear a mask while indoors and proof of a negative test will be required to attend the prom Saturday. There are currently 500+ students signed up to attend this event, and I cant wait to see you at our first indoor dance since 2019! school principal Jeff Gilbert said in a note to students informing them of the new safety protocols. The school has also teamed up with the California Department of Public Health to pilot a COVID Doggie Detection Program, he said, which enlists two medical detection dogs to sniff for COVID-19. Parents were told if they do not want their children to be screened by a dog to send them to the school's regular testing prior to the prom. The outbreak came after more than 50 students tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month after returning from a spring break trip to Washington, D.C. The students were among 112 eighth graders from two schools in Marin County, north of San Francisco, who took the annual excursion that was put on hold for the previous two years due to the pandemic, the Marin Independent Journal reported. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York could allow for the automatic sealing of some criminal records, make it harder to evict tenants and ban gas and oil hook-ups in new buildings under bills that advocacy groups want lawmakers to pass in this year's legislative session. The Democratic-led Legislature passed a $220 billion budget this month that boosted pay for health care and home care workers, shaved 16 cents off the cost of a gallon of gas through December and tweaked a landmark bail law. But the budget excluded several criminal justice and environmental policy proposals that had received support from Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Senate. State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he opposed using the budget to pass new policies. Lawmakers could also pass a bill that could nix former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, a Democrat, from the June primary ballot. Benjamin resigned April 12 in the wake of his arrest in a federal corruption investigation. REMOVING FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR FROM BALLOT New York would allow a candidate to decline their spot on the ballot in cases of criminal indictment, life-threatening illness or resignation of the office they seek under a bill sponsored by Assemblymember Amy Paulin, a Democrat of Westchester County. Paulin's bill has 16 co-sponsors but is still in committee. Republicans call the bill a liberal ploy to protect Benjamin. Existing state law makes it tough to remove Benjamin from the ballot. Hochul said this week she won't ask her former running mate to move out-of-state. The state Democratic Party hasn't announced any plan to allow Benjamin to run for another office. CLEAN SLATE ACT The criminal records of certain New Yorkers could get automatically sealed under Democratic proposals. The legislation sponsored by Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a Democrat from Brooklyn would not apply to sex offenses, or for people who are currently under parole or probation or facing a pending criminal charge. Courts, or anyone required to run fingerprint-based criminal history checks, could access the records in certain scenarios. The bill, also known as the Clean Slate Act, did not pass last summer, but advocates say its needed to help as many as 2.23 million people reintegrate into society and find jobs and housing. Hochul and Senate Democrats included the policy in their budget proposals. But the budget excluded the act amid disagreements over how quickly records could get automatically sealed. The Senate bill would automatically seal criminal records at least three years from release for a misdemeanor, or seven years for a felony. Hochul whos hoping to galvanize support from moderate voters proposed waiting longer. She would start the clock at the end of an individuals total possible sentence, even if that person was released early. The Senate is also considering Sen. Jamaal Bailey's bill to launch a state office of expungement that would help oversee the sealing and expungement of convictions. GOOD CAUSE EVICTION New York would make it much harder to evict residential tenants or refuse to renew their leases under a bill backed by influential unions and tenant advocacy groups, and lambasted by the powerful real estate lobby. New York would prohibit landlords from evicting tenants for failure to pay rent following unreasonable rent hikes. The bill defines such hikes as either over 3% of the previous rent or 1.5% of the Consumer Price Index, whichever is higher. Landlords could still evict tenants in certain cases, including being a nuisance or violating tenant obligations. Many New Yorkers are at risk of eviction due to unemployment and laxed eviction protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the bill sponsored by Brooklyn state Sen. Julia Salazar, a Democrat. Tenants can do everything right, live somewhere for one year or twenty years yet be subject to eviction at the landlords whim -- and the only requirement for landlords is that they provide 30 to 90 days notice that the tenancy is not being renewed, Legal Aid Society attorney Ellen Davidson said. But critics claim the bill would usher in statewide rent control and less quality, affordable housing. Simply put, there is just not enough support in the legislature for this bill because legislators from across the state and on both sides of the aisle know it would do nothing but make owning and renting property in New York state a losing proposition, said Ross Wallenstein, spokesperson for Homeowners for An Affordable New York, which represents real estate, property owners, builders and affordable housing providers. BAN ON OIL AND GAS HOOK-UPS The oil and gas sector and real estate lobby has vigorously opposed legislation to ban oil and gas hook-ups in new building construction statewide. New York City passed such a ban last year. Hochul proposed starting the ban in 2027. The state Senate pitched a 2024 launch for buildings under seven stories. Supporters said the bill could prevent millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. New York has a target of becoming emissions free by 2040. But critics have argued the ban would raise consumer bills. This spring, the American Petroleum Institute launched a social media campaign opposing the ban. One of its Facebook ads read: Dont let Albany decide what fuels your home. Oppose the Natural Gas Ban! The Real Estate Board of New York, however, backed Hochul's proposal to start the ban in 2027. The governor has said she hopes to still pass the ban this year. Putin orders blockade of Azovstal plant in Mariupol: local media Xinhua) 10:12, April 22, 2022 MOSCOW, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a blockade of the Azovstal plant in the port city of Mariupol instead of storming it, local media reported. The order was given after Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin that the Russian military had controlled Mariupol apart from the plant where Ukrainian servicemen were still holed up, said the report. Putin said plans to storm the plant were "inappropriate" during a meeting with Shoigu, preferring a blockade instead, according to the Kremlin. "We must always think about preserving the lives and health of our soldiers and officers," Putin said, adding that the industrial area should nonetheless be blocked off entirely "so a single fly doesn't pass through." Shoigu said more than 2,000 militants are currently blocked inside the plant, adding that the operation there would be completed within three or four days. "We once again offer everyone who has not yet laid down their arms to do so," Putin said, adding that those soldiers who do so would be spared and receive necessary medical attention. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) COCOA, Fla. (AP) A woman has been arrested months after threatening to blow up her son's high school unless cafeteria workers started giving him more food, officials said. The threat was left Feb. 3 in a voicemail to Cocoa High School on Florida's Atlantic Coast, according to police and court records. The 41-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday and charged with making a false bomb threat and disruption of a school. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) At least four people, including a 12-year-old girl, were shot when a gunman unleashed a flurry of bullets in the nation's capital Friday, leading to lockdowns at several schools and leaving a community on edge before the suspect was found dead hours later. The suspected gunman was found dead Friday night inside an apartment at the scene as Metropolitan Police Department officers conducted door-to-door searches of buildings in the area. Hours earlier, police believe the man had erected a sniper-type setup" with a tripod and rifle in his apartment and began firing indiscriminately at people walking below, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said. The shooting was recorded and posted online on 4chan, an online message board. The four victims a 54-year-old man who is a retired police officer, a woman in her 30s, a woman in her mid-60s who was grazed by a bullet, and a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the arm were all expected to recover, police said. For hours, authorities had warned worried residents to stay inside their homes while they conducted a massive manhunt for the shooter. Police did not release the suspect's name, pending notification to his family, but earlier had said they were seeking a 23-year-old Virginia man as a person of interest in the shooting. The man had been linked to social media postings that emerged as part of the investigation, Assistant Police Chief Stuart Emerman said. The gunfire erupted shortly before 3:30 p.m. near the corner of Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness St. in the Van Ness neighborhood of Washington, just as parents were picking up their children from the Edmund Burke School, a private college preparatory school. The echoing bursts of rapid gunfire rocked the normally quiet neighborhood thats home to several schools and colleges and dozens of embassies. It sent frantic parents running from the scene and put Burke and other nearby schools on immediate lockdown. Bibi Stewart of Anne Arundel, Maryland, was approaching the line to pick up her 12-year-old twins when she heard the gunfire ring out. She said it sounded like the shots were coming from above and at a distance. They did it right at dismissal, she said. Stewart said she saw glass shattering in a bridge connecting different wings of the school and she saw the tires of cars in the pickup line shot out. Theyre just saying theyre OK and hiding in the school with their friends and adults, she said of her children. Police suspect some of the bullets fired from the high-powered rifle may have traveled several blocks. At least two businesses nearby reported bullet holes in their windows. Police in tactical gear were seen escorting people including college students from nearby campuses out of apartment buildings in the area. Officers pointed their rifles upward toward other buildings and windows as the people moved quickly down the street with their hands raised above their heads. I had to look in parents eyes tonight who are terrified ... thinking of what might happen to their children, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference. And we have experienced this too much in our country. The epidemic of gun violence, the easy access to weapons, has got to stop. People should not be scared taking their children to school. Police went door-to-door in area buildings as they searched for the shooter for several hours. As officers were approaching the fifth-floor apartment where the gunman was holed up, they believe he took his own life. We will get to the bottom of this. We will find what the motive is, Contee said. His intent was to kill and hurt members of our community. The gunman had posted a video of the shooting on 4chan, though police are still working to determine whether it was streamed live or recorded and then uploaded online, Contee said. The video shows people running frantically as rapid gunfire rains from above and the gunman seemingly following them through a sight as they flee for cover. The University of the District of Columbia, which is located nearby, went into lockdown, telling students and staff to shelter and stay in place. In a tweet Friday, the college said there was an active shooting incident near student housing." Eduardo Bugay, a student at the college, said he was in his first-floor apartment in the AVA building the building where the gunman was eventually found when he heard the shots. At first I was confused, he said, not sure what he was hearing. Then, he said, he got scared. Bugay said the university sent emails telling students to stay in place. About 30 to 40 minutes after he first heard the gunshots, police came knocking on his door to escort him and others from the building. A slew of law enforcement officials and emergency crews were sent to the scene. Agents from the FBI arrived in an armored vehicle and the U.S. Secret Service said its officers were aiding police in the search and at the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its agents were also assisting in the investigation. Separately on Friday, emergency medical crews were called to the U.S. Supreme Court around 6:30 p.m. after a man attempted to set himself on fire outside the building. The man was rushed by police helicopter to a local hospital and his condition wasn't immediately known. Armando Franca LISBON, Portugal (AP) Prosecutors in southern Portugal are formally accusing a suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a British girl who disappeared nearly 15 years ago while on a family vacation in the southern European country. A statement on Thursday by the Public Ministry district of Faro, the largest city in Portugal's Algarve region, did not name the suspect but said they were acting on a request by German authorities and in coordination with English investigators. NEW YORK (AP) Celine Sciamma's Petite Maman" runs a mere 72 minutes and yet packs in a lifetime of enchantment. It is, she says, a pocket film you can take home. The film, which opened in theaters Friday, is the French writer-director's follow-up to her 2019 award-winning love story Portrait of a Lady on Fire." Whereas that film took a specific 18th period setting, Petite Maman is more contemporary yet still out of time. It's told largely from the perspective of 8-year-old Nelly (Josephine Sanz), whose grandmother has just died. While her mother, Marion (Nina Meurisse), wrestles with grief and her father (Stephane Varupenne) cleans out her grandmother's house, Nelly is left to explore her surroundings. In the woods behind the house, she meets a girl who looks exactly like her (played by Sanz's twin sister, Gabrielle). With the gentle spell of a fairy tale, it becomes clear that this is Nelly's mother as a child. Where did she come from? From the path behind you, she answers. It's short to watch but it's not short to live, Sciamma said smiling in a recent interview over Zoom from her apartment in Paris. On a spring afternoon with light pouring through the windows, Sciamma reflected on Petite Maman," her fifth and in some ways most personal film, one set in the Paris suburb Sciamma grew up in, Cergy-Pontoise. ___ AP: There isn't a lot that Petite Maman and Portrait of a Lady on Fire have in common, but they're both centered on two characters who connect outside of daily life, free of the baggage of their roles, whether its mother and daughter, or artist and subject. SCIAMMA: My films have kind of always had the same structure. It's always about one character exploring the world. It's a few days out of society. It can happen because you're on an island. It can happen because you're on a holiday. It can happen because you just moved somewhere. It can happen because you're traveling in time. It's a moment, an opportunity to transform. Now, I see film even more as an opportunity to transform myself, and to transform the people watching. AP: Your films seem to pull out not just tropes but traditional frameworks of conflict. There's still the possibility of wonder and change, but it's not happening through a clash. Is that conscious? SCIAMMA: Yes, because it's very counterintuitive to get rid of formal conflict. Especially with a story like that where there's natural conflict because of this time paradox. Petite Maman is a timeless film. We don't know when it's set. There's no time traveling machine. It's a high concept, meeting your parents as a kid. It's like a mythology. You can explore it. It's not that conflict is unfolding and I'm censoring it. It feels like avoiding it makes me work more, think more, explore more. It comes quite naturally now, I must say. I don't have to fight a lot. I'm taking that road deliberately. It's like when you know a drug will work really well. AP: What sent you back to childhood in the first place? Was there something brewing in you that reflected back on your beginnings? SCIAMMA: My personal question was: If I met my mother as a kid, would she be my sister? That's a very particular question. I tried to expand the film around it, including in casting. The two lead performers, the mother and the daughter, are played by sisters. I decided to shoot in my hometown not because of the vibes. Of course you're going to get the vibes. But I know this place very well. Those woods are not even really beautiful. We came up with a lot of leaves from elsewhere to get the colors we wanted. The forest is the most democratic nature you can put on screen. Not everybody knows about the sea, the beach or the mountains. But the forest. That's why it's the setting of most fairy tales. AP: Were you thinking about your own relationship with your mother? SCIAMMA: It's very linked to my own personal life. Even the house in the film it's studio built and it's a synthesis of both my grandmother's houses. The character of the grandmother is based on my own maternal grandmother and she wears her old clothing and stuff. It was the first time I was working with ghosts. AP: You made this film during the pandemic. How did that inform it? SCIAMMA: The pandemic made the film more urgent. I started writing the film just before the first lockdown in France just after I got back from the release of Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I wrote the first five scenes and then lockdown didnt happen for two months. When I went back again and the first scene was a kid saying goodbye to several women in a nursing home. The situation that the film is looking at somebody is emptying the house of someone they couldnt say goodbye to felt strongly connected. It meant the film could be needed, could be helpful. AP: It's an uncommonly authentic depiction of childhood. Did you find it easy to get into that frame of mind? SCIAMMA: It's just that I take children seriously enough to write them as they'd want to be. I don't think I write these characters differently if they're adults or kids. It's about the level of curiosity. My films are always about someone gazing obsessively about things. That's why I love to work with kids, because it's a given. You don't have to put in perspective why a kid would gaze so much at things. Everyone knows it's survival. Nobody's saying it like that, but it is. It's a great tension for cinema. AP: Why do you think gazing is so foundational to your films? They are often about who's looking and how they're seeing. SCIAMMA: So far, that's what I've been looking for. I'm really interested to go in another direction. I could be really interested in having a film with multiple characters' point of view. I would like to try that. I'm feeling curious. AP: Maybe it's a masculine way of thinking but many filmmakers who try to follow up an international success like Portrait with something grand and expensive. You made a tender, small film in the woods of your hometown. SCIAMMA: My definition of success is that you can do what you want, at least for a moment. And that's exactly what I wanted to do. I hope everyone does that, what they really want. I actually feel less pressure. I did something I really care about and now it's living its own life. I could retire! (laughs) But there are so many things to do. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) The leader of South Carolinas Senate Republicans is warning that failing to create a system for oversight of gubernatorial appointees to the state's elections board could mean catastrophic consequences for the state's future balloting. South Carolina held up very well in 2020, but we were very close to being Georgia, and most people dont realize that, Sen. Shane Massey told The Associated Press on Friday, referring to the neighboring state's cascading balloting issues. Massey spoke with AP a day after the chances of having true early voting in upcoming elections in South Carolina appeared to be near death. Both chambers have unanimously passed a bill that would open polling places for regular early voting for two weeks before elections, excluding Sundays. The bill also would expand state-run audits of voting machines and increase penalties for voter fraud. After the bill passed the House, the Senate added in a mechanism through which the chamber would be tasked with approving not just the director of the State Election Commission, but also the five members of the board that oversees the agency. Thats something Massey wanted, saying in a statement shared with AP that Republican Gov. Henry McMaster sat there and did nothing when lawmakers were furious at the agency during the 2020 election. Officials were then considering ballot drop boxes and eliminating witness signatures on absentee ballots without their approval, allowing Executive Director Marci Andino and Commission members to stay in their roles. It doesnt matter how strong you make the laws if the entity thats supposed to enforce them isnt going to do that job, Massey said Friday. State Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said the agency is not taking a position on the Senate bill. It's that measure, though, that threatens to derail the overall package, with the governor and House GOP leaders accusing Massey of a power grab. Unless changes are made, House Majority Leader Gary Simrill said the bill will be sent back to committee, which would likely kill the measure for the session, which ends in three weeks. House Speaker Jay Lucas laid blame on Massey, whom he said chose to unnecessarily increase his own power rather than take concrete steps to make South Carolinas elections the most secure in the United States. On Twitter, McMaster called it unfortunate that some Senate Republicans were misled by the majority leader and Democrats and rejected a common sense compromise in order to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat in SC. If this bill doesnt become law, the voters will know who to blame and why, he added, also telling at least one senator he would veto the bill if changes weren't made. The friction between Massey and McMaster, both Republicans, is nothing new. In late 2020, after Massey launched an effort seeking oversight for the governors emergency declarations amid the coronavirus pandemic, there was speculation the 46-year-old from Edgefield might mount a primary challenge to the governor, who faces voters this year. McMaster ultimately voiced support for a measure that would have put such guardrails in place, but it fizzled out. On Friday, Massey that he felt attacks from both the governor and House lawmakers are at least in part politically motivated. They will all face voters this fall, while state senators are not up for reelection until 2024. "I am not all that interested in fighting with Republicans," Massey told AP on Friday when asked about the conflicts with McMaster. "But I also don't like the idea of, 'Lets pass something so we can tell everybody that weve addressed it.'" The governor, House and Senate leadership are all Republicans, although the governor and House often align, leaving the Senate on its own, like differing on proposals to raise teacher pay or cut taxes. Somebody has to ensure liberal activists are not running our state election commission and jeopardizing our elections, Massey said. If Gov. McMaster is not going to do it, the Senate will. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. SEATTLE (AP) A Seattle police officer shot a man who police say was firing a rifle in an apartment complex on Friday. The Seattle Police Department said police received reports of shots fired in the Squire Park neighborhood just after 4:00 a.m., The Seattle Times reported. EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) A Texas National Guard member was missing Friday after going into the river along the U.S.-Mexico border to help a migrant who was struggling to swim across, according to a local sheriff. A woman trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico made it about halfway to the other side when she appeared to begin going under the water, Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber said. The rescue attempt happened near Eagle Pass at a section of the river known for strong currents. He jumped in the river," Schmerber said. They never saw him come out." He said the Guard member, who has not been identified, took off his jacket and left his radio before going into the water. The woman made it across and was placed in the custody of Border Patrol, said Schmerber, whose department was involved early in the search. The Texas National Guard said in a statement that state troopers and Border Patrol agents were also helping. The attempted water rescue happened around 8:30 a.m., according to Schmerber. The Guard member was assigned to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's sprawling border security mission, known as Operation Lone Star, which has deployed thousands of Guard members across Texas' 1,200-mile (1,920-kilometer) southern border since launching last year. The multibillion-dollar operation also includes a heavy presence of state troopers and authorizes Guard members to help make arrests. The mission has come under scrutiny over migrants sitting in border jails for months on trespassing charges and low morale among Guard members over living conditions, long deployments and little to do. Migrant rescues are common in the river along the Texas border, and the attempted crossings are also sometimes deadly. Schmerber said the bodies of as many as two migrants a week are sometimes found along his county's section of the river. Schmerber, a former Border Patrol officer, said Guard members do not usually enter the water to attempt rescues and this was the first incident he could recall. He estimated the portion of the river where the attempted rescue occurred was roughly 70 to 80 yards (64 to 73 meters) wide. That river is very dangerous. It's strong currents," Schmerber said. It's risky to cross the river like that." Two democratic candidates in a runoff to become the new state representative for District 22 have some different ideas on how to address public education and its funding. Candidates Christian Manuel Hayes, of Port Arthur, and Joseph Trahan, of Beaumont, included public education among their top three goals, if elected, during a Thursday debate at the Southeast Texas Press Club meeting. The two will face off in a May 24 runoff for the Democratic nomination. Former Jefferson County Democratic Party Chairman Trahan, 25, told the small group of attendees gathered at Brunos Italian Kitchen in Beaumont that he supports efforts to increase educators' base pay and improving standardized testing. He described the A-F rating system as problematic and noted that while so much of public education is funded by property taxes, not every school district is created equally or necessarily adequately funded. I want to make sure that we're increasing funding not only for teacher pay, but increasing per pupil funding as well, and finding ways in which we can try to back away from solely relying on property taxes, the 25-year-old said. But we're trying to look at other ways in which you could use revenue in the state to help subsidize the costs of public education to really try and reduce property taxes for many people in the state of Texas Trahan serves as the Enrollment coordinator and community liaison for Phalen Leadership Academy. His goals, if elected, also include plans for drainage and healthcare. Voter Guide: Texas Rep. District 22 - Democratic primary Hayes serves as Chief of Staff to retiring District 22 Texas Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont. He listed education as goal number one. He shared his personal experience as a child with dyslexia and also mentioned having a relative with Autism. We often talk about school funding, but we've never really talked about making sure that those resources get into those special education courses, making sure that teachers have the adequate education that they need to be able to inform parents and then also to make sure that that child doesn't suffer, the 36-year-old said. I think that is too often what happens is that we blame teachers, and we blame parents without realizing we're not giving teachers or parents the necessary information or dollars to school districts to make sure that that information is flowing, he added. Hayes also listed job creation and expanding flood mitigation among his top goals. A few months away from what could be the first "normal" school year since the novel coronavirus pandemic, barring resurgence, the candidates were asked to further discuss education with a specific eye toward teacher loss and learning gaps. After listing the American Federation of Teachers among his public endorsements and supporters, Trahan noted one the labor unions greatest concerns is the proliferation of charter programs and schools. We have seen an increase in the number of public educators who are leaving the profession because of the lack of pay and the lack of support they feel is coming down from the state, Trahan said. What you can see in the city of Beaumont and the city of Port Arthur is that there are a number of positions that are open right now people are just burnt out, especially since the pandemic. Trahan felt it was important when crafting solutions to visit with teachers and others familiar with the issue, including those who may have lost trust in representatives in Austin and Washington D.C. In fact, he's already heard concerns about the increase in standardized testing, the increase in oversight at the state level taking away local control and the inability for educators to feel they can retire because there hasnt been a cost-of-living adjustment for public educators in years. You put all of this together and it makes a Molotov cocktail of frustration and apathy in the political process, Trahan said. For me, I think we have to get back to the community schools approach where these children often times are dealing with mental illness, they are experiencing poverty, they are being raised by their grandparents or their aunts and uncles. And that means making sure we have the resources, educational opportunities and funding available to them for healthcare, for behavioral challenges, he continued. And so, make sure that once they are stabilized only then can they effectively learn what they need to learn in order to productive citizens to be productive students to go on to a higher education whether that is a four-year college degree, a two-year program, or a technical trade ... Rep. Deshotel's Texas House seat will see runoff In response to the same question, Hayes called for a shift from attendance-based to enrollment-based funding to give Texas an actual dollar amount of the number of the students who start the year and how many students are there at the end of every day. He said the approach would provide the opportunity to fund schools and special programs, including technological programs. It also provides data on which after school programs are needed because the number of students in the district will be more clear, he said And the good thing, is if you end up not needing all of that money, it goes back to the state, Hayes said. So that means when you go back to enrollment, you still have that. Thats how were able to assess how many more special resource teachers that we need, ESL teachers that we need. That gives us a real understanding. Hayes said the idea came as the result of feedback from education professionals who have been advocating for the approach and noted states with such programs have performed better than Texas. We are ranked 42nd in education because of how we fund, we have to change that. We also change it by how we fund education by making sure we have an actual fund that we can pull money from so we dont always have to steal from one district to add to another," he said. Whats even more important, he said, is to give teachers an incentive to stay. Instead of offering to pay off student loan debt if a teacher stays in an underperforming school district, he suggested offering a teacher, if they stay in the district for 10 years, an incentive of $40,000 to $50,000. The incentive would be to stay in the area and be a teacher for another 30 or 40 years by putting that down payment on a home as well as still having a federal program that pays off student loans. That gives us community, that gives students who have teachers who become their childrens teachers, that gives parents the security knowing that the younger students are going to teachers that know them, Hayes said. Hayes believes it is important to "stop making enemies" out of charter schools and public schools. He noted there were parents in the district who send their children to charter schools by choice and expressed it was important not to neglect or compare either over the other. Deshotel will not seek 12th term in Legislature Outside of the topics discussed in the debate, Hayes said he also looked forward to helping legalize marijuana to as another source of income to fund education. He is also interested in utilizing casino gambling as a funding source. Trahan discussed the importance of civic engagement, including that state representatives can do better to engage with constituents with more effective means of communicating what is taking place in Austin. He mentioned a better social media presence, texting and emails to help keep residents informed on processes, bills and the local impact. The winner of the runoff will head to a November face-off with Republican Jacorion Randle. meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images A Texas Army National Guard soldier reportedly went missing along the river in Eagle Pass Friday during a mission-related incident, according to the Texas Military Department. Though initial reports indicated that the soldier had drowned, the Texas Military Department later released a statement saying that a body recovered Friday was likely that of a migrant and the missing soldier has still not been found. "We are aware of reports of a fatality, although these reports are inaccurate," the statement said. "The Texas Military Department, Texas DPS, and Border Patrol are working rapidly to find the soldier. More details will be released as they become available." State troopers ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott to inspect every commercial truck coming from Mexico earlier this month which clogged international trade with Mexico found zero drugs, weapons or any other type of contraband, according to data released by the Department of Public Safety to The Texas Tribune. Earlier this month, Abbott ordered troopers to thoroughly inspect every commercial truck coming from Mexicos four border states in what he described as an effort to stop illegal drugs and migrants from being smuggled into Texas. His order for increased state inspections was part of his response to the Biden administrations announcement that it will lift Title 42 the pandemic-era health order used by federal immigration officials to expel migrants, including asylum-seekers, at the U.S.-Mexico border. The expiration of the order is expected to increase the number of migrants seeking entry to the U.S. Over eight days, starting April 8, troopers conducted more than 4,100 inspections of trucks. Troopers didnt find any contraband but took 850 trucks off the road for various violations related to their equipment. Other truckers were given warnings, and at least 345 were cited for things such as underinflated tires, broken turn signals and oil leaks. DPS Director Steve McCraw said at a Friday news conference with Abbott that the reason troopers hadnt found any drugs or migrants in commercial trucks is because drug cartels dont like troopers stopping them, certainly north of the border, and they certainly dont like 100% inspections of commercial vehicles on the bridges. And once that started, weve seen a decreased amount of trafficking across bridges common sense. But Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, an advocacy group for human rights in the Americas, said its not likely cartels stopped the smuggling of drugs because of the states inspections. He said many illegal drugs smuggled into the United States are hidden in small compartments or spare tires of peoples vehicles going through international bridges for tourists. He said if smugglers were trying to hide illegal drugs in a commercial truck, its most likely federal immigration officials found them before the trucks were directed to the DPS secondary inspections. It just seems odd to me that DPS would be that much of a deterrent for smugglers deciding whether to bring something after already passing through the gauntlet of CBP, he said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection routinely inspects commercial cargo coming from Mexico for illegal drugs and people being smuggled as soon as truckers cross the international bridges. CBP called Texas inspections duplicative and unnecessary. The state inspections created a backlog of 18-wheelers on both sides of the border, with truckers reporting delays of several hours up to a few days, when it usually takes between 20 minutes and a couple of hours for commercial trucks to cross after theyve been inspected by CBP. The delays also resulted in rotten produce and lost business for grocers. The states inspections at eight commercial bridges that connect Texas cities with Mexican cities in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas ended Friday after Abbott signed agreements with the four Mexican governors that they would increase security measures to prevent the smuggling of drugs and migrants. Abbott has said he would bring back the secondary inspections if the governors security initiatives dont decrease the number of migrants attempting to cross the border. Abbott said the deals with the four governors were historic, calling them an example of how border states can work together on immigration. But three of the four Mexican governors said they will simply continue security measures they put in place before Abbott ordered the state inspections. Mexico is among the United States largest trading partners. The total trade between the two countries amounted to $56.25 billion in February, according to recent government data. Texas biggest ports of entry Port Laredo, Ysleta, Pharr International Bridge, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Brownsville International Bridge and Del Rio International Bridge accounted for nearly 65% of the total trade between the U.S. and Mexico in 2021. Reporters James Barragan and Mitchell Ferman contributed to this report. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. In the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building, the two top Republicans in Congress, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell, told associates they believed President Donald Trump was responsible for inciting the deadly riot and vowed to drive him from politics. McCarthy went so far as to say he would push Trump to resign immediately: Ive had it with this guy, he told a group of Republican leaders, according to an audio recording of the conversation obtained by The New York Times. But within weeks both men backed off an all-out fight with Trump because they feared retribution from him and his political movement. Their drive to act faded fast as it became clear it would mean difficult votes that would put them at odds with most of their colleagues. I didnt get to be leader by voting with five people in the conference, McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, told a friend. The confidential expressions of outrage from McCarthy and McConnell, which have not been previously reported, illustrate the immense gulf between what Republican leaders say privately about Trump and their public deference to a man whose hold on the party has gone virtually unchallenged for half a decade. The leaders swift retreat in January 2021 represented a capitulation at a moment of extraordinary political weakness for Trump perhaps the last and best chance for mainstream Republicans to reclaim control of their party from a leader who had stoked an insurrection against American democracy itself. This account of the discussions among Republican leaders in the days after the Jan. 6 attack is adapted from a new book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for Americas Future, which draws on hundreds of interviews with lawmakers and officials, and recordings of private conversations. McConnells office declined to comment. In a statement on Twitter, McCarthy called the reporting totally false and wrong. His spokesperson, Mark Bednar, denied that the Republican leader told colleagues he would urge Trump to leave office. McCarthy never said hed call Trump to say he should resign, Bednar said. But the recording tells a different story. No one embodies the stark accommodation to Trump more than McCarthy, a 57-year-old Californian who has long had his sights set on becoming speaker of the House. In public after Jan. 6, McCarthy issued a careful rebuke of Trump, saying that he bears responsibility for the mob that tried to stop Congress from officially certifying the presidents loss. But he declined to condemn him in sterner language. In private, McCarthy went much further. On a phone call with several other top House Republicans on Jan. 8, McCarthy said Trumps conduct on Jan. 6 had been atrocious and totally wrong. He faulted the president for inciting people to attack the Capitol, saying that Trumps remarks at a rally on the National Mall that day were not right by any shape or any form. During that conversation, McCarthy inquired about the mechanism for invoking the 25th Amendment the process whereby the vice president and members of the Cabinet can remove a president from office before concluding that was not a viable option. McCarthy, who was among those who objected to the election results, was uncertain and indecisive, fretting that the Democratic drive to impeach Trump would put more fuel on the fire of the countrys divisions. But McCarthys resolve seemed to harden as the gravity of the attack and the potential political fallout for his party sank in. Two members of Trumps Cabinet had quit their posts after the attack and several moderate Republican governors had called for the presidents resignation. Video clips of the riot kept surfacing online, making the raw brutality of the attack ever more vivid in the public mind. On Jan. 10, McCarthy spoke again with the leadership team. When Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming asked about the chances Trump might resign, McCarthy said he was doubtful, but he had a plan. The Democrats were driving hard at an impeachment resolution, McCarthy said, and they would have the votes to pass it. Now he planned to call Trump and tell him it was time for him to go. McCarthy said he would tell Trump of the impeachment resolution: I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign, he said, according to the recording of the call, which runs just over an hour. The Times has reviewed the full recording of the conversation. He acknowledged it was unlikely Trump would follow that suggestion. What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it, he told the group. McCarthy spent the four years of Trumps presidency as one of the White Houses most obedient supporters in Congress. Since Trumps defeat, McCarthy has appeased far-right members of the House, some of whom are close to the former president. McCarthy may need their support to become speaker, a vote that could come as soon as next year if the GOP claims the House in November. But in a brief window after the storming of the Capitol, McCarthy contemplated a total break with Trump and his most extreme supporters. During the same Jan. 10 conversation when he said he would call on Trump to resign, McCarthy told other GOP leaders he wished the big tech companies would strip some Republican lawmakers of their social media accounts, as Twitter and Facebook had done with Trump. Members such as Lauren Boebert of Colorado had done so much to stoke paranoia about the 2020 election and made offensive comments online about the Capitol attack. We cant put up with that, McCarthy said, adding, Cant they take their Twitter accounts away, too? McCarthy never said that particular members should be removed from Twitter, Bednar said. Other Republican leaders in the House agreed with McCarthy that the presidents behavior deserved swift punishment. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the second-ranking House Republican, said on one call that it was time for the GOP to contemplate a post-Trump Republican House, while Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the head of the partys House campaign committee, suggested censuring Trump. Yet none of the men followed through on their tough talk in those private conversations. In the following days, McCarthy heard from some Republican lawmakers who advised against confronting Trump. In one group conversation, Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio cautioned that conservative voters back home go ballistic in response to criticism of Trump, demanding that Republicans instead train their denunciations on Democrats, such as Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden. Im just telling you that thats the kind of thing that were dealing with, with our base, Johnson said. When only 10 House Republicans joined with Democrats to support impeaching Trump on Jan. 13, the message to McCarthy was clear. By the end of the month, he was pursuing a rapprochement with Trump, visiting him at Mar-a-Lago and posing for a photograph. (I didnt know they were going to take a picture, McCarthy said, somewhat apologetically, to one frustrated lawmaker.) McCarthy has never repeated his denunciations of Trump, instead offering a tortured claim that the real responsibility for Jan. 6 lies with security officials and Democratic legislative leaders for inadequately defending the Capitol complex. In the Senate, McConnells reversal was no less revealing. Late on the night of Jan. 6, McConnell predicted to associates that his party would soon break sharply with Trump and his acolytes; the Republican leader even asked a reporter in the Capitol for information about whether the Cabinet might really pursue the 25th Amendment. When that did not materialize, McConnells thoughts turned to impeachment. On Monday, Jan. 11, McConnell met over lunch in Kentucky with two longtime advisers, Terry Carmack and Scott Jennings. Feasting on Chick-fil-A in Jennings Louisville office, the Senate Republican leader predicted Trumps imminent political demise. The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a bitch for us, McConnell said, referring to the imminent impeachment vote in the House. Once the House impeached Trump, it would take a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict him. That would have required the votes of all 50 Democrats and at least 17 Republicans in the Senate a tall order, given that Trumps first impeachment trial in 2020 had ended with just one Republican senator, Mitt Romney of Utah, voting in favor of conviction. But McConnell knew the Senate math as well as anyone and he told his advisers he expected a robust bipartisan vote for conviction. After that, Congress could then bar Trump from ever holding public office again. The presidents behavior on Jan. 6 had been utterly beyond the pale, McConnell said. If this isnt impeachable, I dont know what is, he said. In private, at least, McConnell sounded as if he might be among the Republicans who would vote to convict. Several senior Republicans, including John Thune of South Dakota and Rob Portman of Ohio, told confidants that McConnell was leaning that way. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, privately told the leaders of several liberal advocacy groups that he believed his Republican counterpart was angry enough to go to war with Trump. I dont trust him, and I would not count on it, Schumer said of McConnell. But you never know. Schumer was right to be skeptical: Once the proceedings against Trump moved from the House to the Senate, McConnell took the measure of Republican senators and concluded that there was little appetite for open battle with a man who remained much to McConnells surprise the most popular Republican in the country. After Trump left office, a new legal argument emerged among Senate Republicans, offering them an escape hatch from a conflict few of them wanted: It was inappropriate to proceed with impeachment against a former president, they said. When Sen. Rand Paul, a fellow Kentuckian, proposed a resolution laying out the argument, McConnell voted in favor of it along with the vast majority of Senate Republicans. He didnt ascend to power by siding with the minority, he explained to a friend. In February, McConnell voted to acquit Trump even as seven other Senate Republicans joined with Democrats to muster the largest bipartisan vote ever in favor of conviction in a presidential impeachment trial. Anxious not to be seen as surrendering to Trump, McConnell went to the Senate floor after the vote to deliver a scorching speech against the former president. But McConnell went mostly silent about Trump after that point. He avoids reporters questions about the former president and only rarely speaks about Jan. 6. In a Fox News interview in late February 2021, McConnell was asked whether he would support Trump in 2024 if the former president again became the GOP nominee for the presidency. McConnell answered: Absolutely. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. To hear Charlie Duke tell it, his life's most important moment did not come 50 years ago today, when he became the 10th and youngest of 12 people to walk on the moon. It came six years later, as he sat behind the wheel of his parked car alongside State Highway 46 in New Braunfels, Tex. He felt lost by then - unhappy in his marriage, emotionally distant from his two young sons, unfulfilled in his post-NASA career selling beer. But that day, he and his wife, Dotty, finished a weekend Bible study retreat, and in the car afterward, he became a born-again Christian. If his conversion story ended there, he would have plenty of company. But Duke would, in time, embrace a literalist interpretation of the Bible that contradicted all he accomplished as an astronaut and scrambled his expert understanding of the heavens. On the triumphant Apollo 16 mission, he picked up a rock scientists reckon to be 4.46 billion years old - a relic of an ancient lunar crust that offers insight into the formation of both moon and Earth - and the long evolutions both have undergone since. Today, Duke says he believes Earth to be only about 6,000 years old, and the rest of the universe with it - which is to say, he holds that the scientists overstated the actual age of that rock by 4.459994 billion years. Charles Moss Duke Jr. is, at 86, one of four surviving moon walkers. He earned his place in history on April 21, 1972, when he and Apollo 16 commander John Young stepped from their lunar module Orion onto an undulating, crater-pocked plain in the moon's Descartes Highlands. He was already known to millions of Americans, thanks to his part in an iconic exchange as Apollo 11 made the first moon landing, three years before. When Neil Armstrong announced, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed," it was the drawling, quick-to-smile Duke who answered for Mission Control: "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground." His own mission, the fifth to land, would eclipse the first in every regard. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent little more than two hours outside their lander; Young and Duke, more than 20. Armstrong ventured only 65 yards from Eagle. The Apollo 16 crew, equipped with an electric lunar rover, drove 1612 miles across a far more challenging slice of lunar real estate. Along the way, the two climbed hundreds of feet up a mountainside, took 1,774 photos and collected 210 pounds of moon rocks. They also made one of the most surprising discoveries of the Apollo program. NASA and its scientific partners dispatched them to the highlands on the belief that they were volcanic in origin. "We were briefed that the Descartes region was two volcanic flows, one more viscous than the other, and there was a contact in the plain," Duke said. "We were to sample back and forth across that contact. So when we got there, we started describing these rocks, and they weren't volcanic at all." Instead, the pair found breccias - mash-ups of different types of older rock, melted and fused together in the violence of titanic meteorite strikes. Scientists on the ground received the news reluctantly. "I got the feeling," Duke said, "that their attitude was, 'Are these dummies?' " It wasn't long, however, before the experts came around. "Everything we said they'd find is exactly what they didn't," said Jerry Schaber, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist who was at Mission Control. "But I guess that if we knew everything about what we'd find, there would have been no reason to go." The expedition also collected some especially old moon rocks. On the second of their three days exploring Descartes, Young picked up a four-pound chunk of bright white stone that turned out to be anorthosite, a remnant of the moon's original crust. Sample 60025, as it's known, is among the most exactly dated prizes of the Apollo campaign, at 4.36 billion years old. The next day, Duke bagged a dust-covered 10-ounce rock on the rim of the vast North Ray Crater. It was a breccia containing a nugget of anorthosite that apparently crystallized 4.46 billion years ago. The finds were a bonanza to planetary scientists, because unlike the earth - which is constantly morphing in the thrall of weather, tectonic shifts, volcanism and such - the moon has been dead since infancy. Its rocks are thus archives of not only its own past, but that of its partner in space, which formed at about the same time. So say the scientists, at any rate. Important as they knew their mission to be, Young and Duke stood apart from other Apollo crews for the obvious fun they had. Both were Southerners - Duke, born in Charlotte in 1935, was raised mostly in South Carolina - and recordings of their radio banter often seem lifted from "The Dukes of Hazzard." Duke's first words on descending Orion's ladder were, "Hot dog! Is this great!" Riding shotgun in the rover, he more than once urged Young to let 'er fly: "Hey, man, we could just go, babe," he cried minutes into their first drive. "I'm really cinched into this moose." Young demurred, but Duke achieved his aim two days later, as they careened down the side of North Ray Crater and set a lunar land speed record (later contested by the crew of Apollo 17) of 10.54 mph. "Man, are we accelerating!" he hollered to Houston. "Super!" Asked by Mission Control to sample soil beneath a rocky overhang - "shadowed" moondust protected from cosmic pollution - Duke stretched a long-handled scoop into the dark space, then mused: "You do that in West Texas, and you get a rattlesnake." Nothing in his manner suggested he and Young faced almost unimaginable danger every second they spent outside the lunar module - an airless vacuum all around, temperatures that swung 500 degrees from sunshine to shade, and a constant shower of cosmic radiation and micro-meteors smaller than grains of sand but moving faster than bullets. A tear in a space suit could kill in seconds. An electronic glitch in their backpacks could be equally deadly. Were the rover to break down, they'd have to hike back to base. At one point, they were almost three miles away. Duke was accustomed to risk. The Eagle Scout and Naval Academy graduate had been a front-line Air Force fighter pilot, then a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base before joining NASA. He didn't dwell on what might go wrong. "You were so focused," he said. "I wanted to do a good job with the time I had on the moon." Neither did he take time for deep rumination. "You were excited and full of wonder," he said. "But you never had time to meditate on the spiritual side of it, or even the philosophical side - what does this all mean, being on the moon? He could appreciate the "awesome beauty of the earth, as you sped away, and the whole circle of the earth, and the magnificence of the moon and the stars when we got into darkness. You'd look out there and see the immensity, the blackness, of space. But it wasn't a spiritual experience for me or a philosophical experience. It was just an adventure." He did contemplate the frailty of his home planet, which appeared as a small blue orb in the infinite black of the lunar sky: "From the moon, you can cover the earth with your outstretched hand." But those glimpses were rare while he was working. "The earth was directly overhead," he explained. "You look up in an Apollo space suit, and you see the inside of your helmet." Splashing down in the Pacific to end the 11-day mission, Duke found himself facing a question that confronted many a moon walker: "Well, what are you going to do now, with the rest of your life?" The Apollo program had just one more flight, and its seats were taken. Once Apollo 17 was finished in December 1972, the space shuttle promised the only rides into space. Those were still a decade off. Besides, astronauts were not paid particularly well, and he was weary of scraping by. So, three years after his moon shot, Duke quit NASA and retired from the regular Air Force - though he remained a reservist, and eventually achieved the rank of brigadier general. He moved with his wife and their two boys to New Braunfels, outside San Antonio, and opened a Coors beer distributorship. By this time, his marriage was in trouble. Dotty Duke had suffered years of Charlie's long absences, his distracted indifference at home and his remoteness with their sons. She welcomed his retirement, only to find their new life brought little relief: In the struggle to launch his business, he was as absent, physically and emotionally, as ever. Dotty fell deep into depression. She contemplated suicide. Desperate, she convinced him to attend a weekend couples' retreat at their church. Duke found it interesting, but Dotty felt a more profound shift. "We got home, and she went off by herself and gave her life to Jesus," Duke recalled. "She experienced peace and purpose and direction. She decided she was going to love me. Jesus took away her depression and her suicidal thoughts." Meanwhile, the beer business was proving difficult for Duke. He was bored. His long hours didn't seem directed toward any great purpose. "It was very lucrative," he said, "but money wasn't the answer." In 1978, he sold the distributorship. Now between careers, he joined Dotty at another weekend retreat, this one devoted to intensive Bible study. Until then, church had been more social than spiritual for Duke. Raised Southern Baptist, he'd dutifully attended each Sunday through his childhood, at prep school and the Naval Academy, and a bit less regularly while a fighter pilot. After meeting Dotty, he joined her at Episcopal services. "And I liked it," he said. "The kids came along and we raised them in the church. But Jesus was more in our heads than in our hearts, so it was really not having an influence on our lives." The Bible study moved him, however: "I realized that what I was reading was either true or the biggest lie ever perpetrated on humanity." Sitting in the car afterward, he told Dotty "that I had no doubt that Jesus is the son of God, and I gave him my life. And I had a profound sense of peace come over me." His transformation was just beginning. As Duke started a partnership to develop commercial real estate, at home he immersed himself in reading the Bible. From its first book, he was challenged in much he'd learned at NASA, particularly the immersive training he'd received in geology. Astronauts on the final three, science-heavy Apollo missions traveled the globe studying the landforms they might encounter on the moon. Mentored by some of the country's foremost geologists, Duke studied ejecta patterns around Arizona's Meteor Crater, volcanoes in Hawaii and Iceland, the pits carved by nuclear blasts in the Nevada desert. "Our training was from an evolutionary standpoint," he said - it followed the scientific consensus assigning "ancient ages" to the universe. The Big Bang had started things roughly 14 billion years ago. Earth and moon had formed more than 4.5 billion years back. The planet's features had been created and changed, time and again, over eons. "That's what I accepted. That's all I understood," Duke said. "Then, once I was a believer, I was reading the scriptures - Genesis - and it was obvious from Genesis that God said he did it in six days. "So I'm sitting there, and my mind is thinking millions of years, billions of years, and this is saying six days. And I can't say I heard a voice, but an impression in my heart asked me: Which are you going to believe? "I think within a year I'd made up my mind that I was going to believe the Bible. The more I read, the more convinced I became that it was true." In other words, evolution played no part in all we see around us. And further study prompted another revision in his thinking, a big one: that God had worked for those six days pretty recently. "The chronology of the scriptures," he said, "seems to indicate that he did it 6,000 years ago." "I believe that," he said. "A lot of Christians believe that." A lot do, at least in part. A 2019 Gallup poll found that 40% of Americans believe that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so." A smaller percentage believe in young-Earth creationism, which holds that all the evidence of an old and ever-changing world - of continental drift, mountain-building, multiple ice ages and a fossil record dictating that dinosaurs and people missed each other by millions of years - has been lavishly misinterpreted. The idea has a staunch following among fundamentalist Christians. So the news here isn't that Charlie Duke is alone in his views. It's that he is the only young-Earth creationist who has picked up and held in his hand a moon rock that the scientific world insists is 4.46 billion years old. And that his faith has caused him, in the second half of his life, to discount much of what he worked tirelessly and publicly - and at great peril - to establish in its first half. He is rightfully proud of his accomplishments as an astronaut. He appreciates the astounding achievement the moon landings represent. He just doesn't cotton to the scientific discoveries he and the other moon walkers helped to make. "The dating of the rocks is suspect," he said. "We have assumptions that we make to date these rocks, and the assumptions might be wrong." Much of what is mistaken for ancient origin, Duke suggested, is actually a product of the Great Flood - a deluge that, according to Genesis, only Noah and his family survived - and its aftermath. "When the earth was cooling down after the flood, the ice age came," he said. "I don't know how long it lasted, but several hundred years or more. And then it was warming up and it began to recede, the glaciers and stuff. There's evidence that there were big, huge, massive lakes, and then when they burst, they sent the water down, and we see the Grand Canyon. "There is no problem between science and creation," he said. "God is the author of science. All the laws of nature, he put into effect. "In every part of nature, every part of physics, I can see the hand of God." Religious faith has long twined with the space program. Wernher von Braun, the former Nazi whose engineering team conceived the mammoth Saturn V rockets that carried Apollo to the moon, became a born-again Christian after he was whispered into the United States at the end of World War II. "Any real scientist ends up a religious man," he told the New Yorker in 1951. The Apollo 8 crew famously read from Genesis on a live Christmas Day 1968 broadcast from lunar orbit. Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin, a Presbyterian, took Communion using bread, wine and a tiny chalice, shortly after he and Armstrong landed on the Sea of Tranquility. After returning to Earth from Apollo 15's three-day stay on the moon in August 1971, astronaut James B. Irwin wrote that he was "relying on God rather than on Houston" during his mission. He later led expeditions to Turkey's Mount Ararat in search of Noah's Ark. Apollo 17's commander, Eugene Cernan - who flew eight months after Duke - recounted his thought, on considering all he'd seen in space: "Too much logic. Too much purpose. Too beautiful to have happened by accident." Still, faith squares with NASA's left-brain, empirical mind-set only so much, and Duke's to-the-letter embrace of the creation story puts him at odds with some of his old colleagues. "I'd like to talk to Charlie about that," said Joseph P. Allen, a physicist-astronaut who served at Mission Control during Apollos 15 and 17 and made two space shuttle flights himself. "It reminds me of a story, a joke, about a scientist and a preacher who were talking. The preacher says, 'God made it all only 6,000 years ago.' And the scientist asks, 'How can you say that? We have moon rocks that are 4 billion years old.' And the preacher says, 'Well, I didn't say that when God made the moon, he used new rocks.' " Duke has no quarrel with those who see things differently. "I have a lot of friends who I know are Christians, but they believe in ancient age, and that's okay," he said. "I'm good friends with several atheists. We respect each other. I'm praying that they'll come around, but I don't beat them over the head with my Bible. "I don't think God's going to stand at the pearly gates and say, 'How old do you think the earth is?' " he said. "You believe that, and I believe this, and we can still be buddies. Let's grab a beer." Point is, Duke said, his life is richer now than it was 50 years ago. As awe-inspiring as it was to look out from the flank of Stone Mountain, high above the plain - to see the maw of South Ray Crater, a spray of white ejecta radiating like a sunburst from its rim, and the lunar module tiny and orange in the mouse-gray middle distance - he's felt greater exhilaration since the day he and Dotty sat parked beside Route 46. His marriage has healed. He's close to his sons. He and Dotty have shared the story of their faith all over the country. He's comfortable believing what he can't prove. The scientists can't prove their theories, either, he said. And they've been wrong before. It says so in the Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report, released seven months after Duke's mission. "None of the returned samples are in accord with the preflight hypotheses concerning the origin of landform units in this region," it says of the bounty he brought back to Earth. "The rocks that apparently underlie the regolith of the plains region are in no sense volcanic." - - - Earl Swift is the author of several books, including 2021's "Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings." The Justice Department charged five men from different states last month with being part of a $12 million drug-smuggling scheme, selling prescription drugs and steroids largely manufactured outside the United States. But those men werent selling dope on street corners or in the local gym. They were doing it the 21st century way: Online. They were dealing on two web domains. The drugs they sold needed supervision under a licensed practitioner, but the sites did not require prescriptions for purchase, the indictment said. Now seized by the federal government, the sites were accessible not via the Dark Web or secret log on but by a simple Google search. Right now, you could Google Percocet or Xanax and more than likely over half of those first-page search results would be an illegal pharmacy, said John Hertig, professor of pharmacy practice at Butler University. According to Hertig, fake pharmaceutical websites like those two are not in the minority. Of the 35,000 online pharmacies, only 5 percent are operating legally, according to the Association for Safe Online Pharmacies. Fake pharmacies are not looking to give consumers a good deal. United to Safeguard America from Illegal Trade spokesman Matt Albence said the sites are operated by drug cartels some with ties to terrorism. They arent bound by any regulations or laws, Albence said. They have no care or concern for the individuals who may drastically suffer from utilizing their products. In 2017, 42% of consumers looked online for prescription medication, according to a study conducted by Hertig. Three years later, amid the coronavirus pandemic, 78% of consumers were buying medications online. The fake pharmaceutical sites are counterfeiting everything from Viagra to Adderall, and consumers have no idea if what they are getting is safe, Hertig said. In 2021, the Drug Enforcement Agency seized enough fentanyl to provide a lethal dose to every American. Targeting high schoolers and college-age kids, drug traffickers have also turned to social media platforms to sell recreational synthetic drugs. Marketed as MDMA or Xanax, those drugs end up being laced with fentanyl, Albence said. Deaths tied to fentanyl-laced pills have been connected to Snapchat in 17 states, according to the Partnership for Safe Medicines. With the internet, there is no longer a need for a street drug dealer, said Kari Kammel with the Michigan State University Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection. Awarded a $1.75 million grant, University of California San Diego professor Tim Mackey co-founded S-3 Research to combat drug traffickers on social media platforms and search engines including Snapchat. Drug traffickers will use keywords to attract consumers, and it is S-3 Researchs job to flag those sites and accounts. With drug traffickers constantly changing keywords, Mackey says platforms must work together. Sharing data like certain keywords and how these keywords are changing over time is crucial, Mackey said. Cooperation between the private sector and law enforcement agencies is key, Albence said. There has to be a commitment by the social media platforms to participate and provide information to law enforcement so they can take the required action against these illegal actors. While combating the cartels on the internet, the Southwest border must not be forgotten, Absence said. The cartel creates vulnerabilities, Albence said. They will send 150 to 200 people across the border in a desolate location knowing that it will take up all the resources of the Border Patrol agents, allowing them the opportunity to smuggle their contraband. And now with a simple Google search and a hashtag, drug cartels have direct access to consumers. Ive talked to a number of families where their kids have died, Hertig said. They didnt mean to do anything wrong, and they had no idea fentanyl was in the product. It was the night before an exam, and they never made it out of their room. Gov. Greg Abbott increasing inspections of commercial trucks entering from Mexico in the hopes of staunching illegal smuggling activity resulted in zero migrants detentions or illegal drug seizures, despite allegedly costing the Lone Star State billions of dollars. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller stated in an email to supporters this week that the enhanced truck inspections cost Texas consumers and businesses an estimated $4.3 billion "despite not catching a single illegal alien or confiscating a single gram of illegal drugs." "However, Governor Abbott successfully persuaded Mexico states to enhance security on their side of the border," Miller added. "Both of these things are true at the same time." The Texas Tribune reports that over an eight-day period beginning on April 8, troopers conducted more than 1,400 truck inspections. Despite no drugs being discovered, troopers managed to take 850 trucks off the road for various equipment violations, including under-inflated tires, broken turn signals and oil leaks. The inspections also created a backlog of 18-wheelers on both sides of the border, with some truckers reporting waiting more than 30 hours for a process that typically takes three hours, according to the Dallas Morning News. The delays resulted in $240 million in spoiled produce and empty shelves at local markets. Miller's estimate roughly coincides with findings released by The Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic analysis firm, which estimates the delays cost the state $4.2 billion in gross domestic product and the U.S. nearly $9 billion in GDP. Abbott ordered the enhanced truck inspections in response to President Joe Biden ending Title 42, a border policy that allowed federal agents to quickly deport migrants attempting to enter the country citing COVID-19 restrictions. Last week, the Republican leader called off the inspection initiative after signing agreements with leaders of four Mexican states that border Texas who said they would increase border security measures. Despite the economic impacts of shutting down traffic at the border, Abbott isn't ruling out reinstating the policy. Asked about the impacts during a roundtable with law enforcement in San Antonio Thursday, Abbott responded, "Obviously there are concerns about the economy but there are even larger concerns about the unabated immigration that the Biden administration is promoting." WFO SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, April 22, 2022 _____ BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT Coastal Hazard Message National Weather Service San Francisco CA 911 AM PDT Fri Apr 22 2022 ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY ISSUED FOR THE COASTLINE FROM SONOMA COUNTY TO MONTEREY COUNTY THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT... .A long period swell has moved into our coastal waters at periods of 15 to 17 seconds from 15 to 18 ft. This swell has reached the entire coastline from Sonoma County down through coastal Monterey County and will impact area beaches through late tonight with large breaking waves in the surf zone from 14 to 18 feet. Additionally during this time period, the high energy of this swell will result in a high risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents. Swell heights and periods are expected to diminish below advisory thresholds late tonight into Saturday. ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 AM PDT SATURDAY... ...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT IS CANCELLED... * WHAT...Large breaking waves of 14 to 18 feet. * WHERE...Coastal North Bay Including Point Reyes National Seashore, Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast, San Fransisco Peninsula Coast, San Francisco and Northern Monterey Bay. * WHEN...Until 3 AM PDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion. High risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Stay well away from the shoreline, expect dangerous, potentially deadly high risk of sneaker waves and strong rip currents. Stay off coastal rocks and jetties. Keep children close, keep pets on leashes, and never turn your back to the ocean. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Inexperienced swimmers should remain out of the water due to dangerous surf conditions. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO AMARILLO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, April 22, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Amarillo has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Northwestern Randall County in the Panhandle of Texas... Eastern Oldham County in the Panhandle of Texas... Northeastern Deaf Smith County in the Panhandle of Texas... Potter County in the Panhandle of Texas... * Until 700 PM CDT. * At 607 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Wildorado, or 12 miles east of Vega, moving northeast at 55 mph. HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Minor damage to roofs, siding, and trees is possible. Hail damage to vehicles is expected. * Locations impacted include... Boys Ranch, Wildorado, Bushland and Valley De Oro. 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 Since the onset of the Syrian crisis Turkey seeks to carry out its Misalk I Mili in the areas extending at its southern borders in Afrin, Jarablus, Bab Azaz and many others up to Mosul in Iraq. All these area are infested with disorder and instability in addition to the demographic change policies in those areas that are run in a systematic manner and openly under the nose of the Syrian government and the international community and Russia. With the start of the Syrian crisis Turkey tried via its agendas and intelligence services to exploit the citizens in north Aleppo and notably in areas on the border with Turkey to confer upon tem Turkish identities offering financial allurements to them due to the grave living conditions and economic circumstances in the region. Turkey tried to from military bodies and formations in the region led by Turkomen to pass its policies in the region, and according to a number of citizens in those areas the Turkish state held meetings with notables and figures of the region citing fake records and documents that the region owes to Ottomans and that citizens in north and east Aleppo of Turkomen origin. Worth to note, majority of population in villages and areas extending from Jarablus and Azaz are Kurds who inhabit more than 200 villages in the region in addition to Arab and Turkomen families. The ruling authorities in Syrian sought demographic changes and Arabizatio0n policy in the region via the agrarian reform projects. The mission was assumed later by the Turkish occupation state that seeks to Turkofy the region and deprive it of its Kurdish culture and identity. Turkey via Turkomen parties and figures harasses the Kurds ad enforces them to carry Turkish IDs under the force of arms, or fighting them economically, alluring them by giving sums of money or attaching them to military formations of mercenary groups to legitimate murder and property usurpation. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is dubbed as the Aleppo burglar after a number of persons closed to him were involved in the robbery of the factories in Aleppo in 2014. In an interview with ANHA a citizen from the city of Bab in far eastern Aleppo, he said that the city of Bab and other occupied areas in particular are known now as one of the Turkish vilayets due to the demographic change taking place by Turkey in those areas such as adopting the Turkish lira, renaming villages and conferring Turkish identity cards on citizens in those areas, and changing the actual reality of the region by introducing service projects on the model of the Turkish cities. The Turkish flag is hoisted and photos of Edogan are posted in all civil circles and bodies and most strikingly imposing the Turkish on people as the official language in schools and forcing locals to learn Turkish. The demographic change was not the sole measure but the Turkish occupation rased whole quarters in Azaz, Jarablus and Bab cities, to create military bases instead serving as safe havens for Turkish officials. Recently, Turkish occupation state created a lot of settlements in those areas between Jarablus and Bab to house and accommodate a large possible number of settlers brought in by the Turkish occupation state rom different Syrian territories. In the last days I a statement by the Turkish president Erdogan said they are doing their utmost to return all Syrian living in Turkey to Syrian lands in an indication to be settled in these created settlements. Turkish officials visit these areas from time to another with no previous notice or informing the Syrian government. The most notable of the Turkish officials is Hulusi Akar the Turkish Defense Minister and Soleyman Soylu the Turkish Minister of Internal Affairs besides officials representing health, education and service sectors. The latest Turkey's bids is a trench dug on the frontlines with the Turkish occupation forces paving the way for a concrete wall later, to annex these areas from Syrian territories. Hisein Welo from the city of Bab said, quoting locals from the occupied areas, the Turkish occupation state is digging a trench on the frontline with the Syrian government forces to build a concrete wall later to be annexed from Syrian lands. Welo said people on the city of Bab and the town of Tadef in eastern Aleppo revolted against the practices of the Turkish occupation state and the mercenary groups in the city of Bab on the background of digging such a trench. Welo went on to say the occupied areas undergo a state of disorder, instability and anarchy and ravaged with a very difficult and hard living conditions due to the depressing economic conditions due to the policy embraced by Turkey to meet its colonial aspirations in the region. Welo said all this is passing under the cover of charities that are attached directly to the Turkish intelligence services to carry out agendas of the Turkish occupation in the region. Welo said the Syrian government is the first concerned part to reveal the crimes and policy of the Turkish occupation state in North east Syrian and to force it to exit the Syrian lands. Welo said the policy goes under the nose of the whole world that preserves silence. Welo called on the Syrian government to exit the Turkish occupation forces from Syrian and to lift the blockade imposed on Afrin internally displaced persons in the Shahba Canton. Welo ended by condemning the Turkish occupation of Syrian lands and calling on the international community, the human and legal foundations to work out to exit the Turkish occupation from the Syrian territory. L..A ANHA Behind every successful IT project, youll find a highly skilled project manager. From hardware and software upgrades to ongoing security patches, to application development and the rollout of software itself, project managers keep your teams on task and productive. Almost any IT pro can benefit from adding a project management certification to their list of IT credentials, showing you have the know-how to plan, schedule, budget, execute, deliver, and report on IT initiatives. Here, CIO.com outlines the most popular project management certifications that will add value and help you hone your skills this year. Top project management certifications Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) Associate in Project Management (APM) BVOP Certified Project Manager Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Certified Project Director (CPD) Certified Project Management (CPM) Certified Project Manager (CPM-IAPM) Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) CompTIA Project+ Master Project Manager (MPM) PRINCE2 Foundation/PRINCE2 Practitioner PRINCE2 Agile Foundation/Agile Practitioner Professional in Project Management (PPM) Project Management Professional (PMP) Program Manager Professional (PgMP) Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) Offered by the PMI, the Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) certification is designed to validate your knowledge of agile principles and skills with agile techniques. The exam covers topics including Scrum, Kanban, Lean, extreme programming (XP), and test-driven development (TDD). Its aimed at those who work on agile teams or in agile organizations and focuses on seven main domains of knowledge, including agile principles and mindset, value-driven delivery, stakeholder engagement, team performance, adaptive planning, problem detection and resolution, and continuous improvement. Price: $435 for members; $495 for non-members Requirements: Candidates for the exam must have a secondary degree, 21 contact hours of training in agile practices, 12 months of project experience within the past five years or eight months of agile project experience within the past three years. A current PMP or PgMP certification can satisfy the requirement for 12 months of experience but is not required for the exam. Associate in Project Management (APM) The Associate in Project Management (APM) certification offered by The Global Association for Quality Management (GAQM) is an entry-level project management certification to validate your fundamental knowledge of the Project Management Framework. Its aimed at those with little to no experience in project management and includes an online course that you will be required to complete before taking the certification exam. The course covers topics such as project management fundamentals, project management training, and all the basics of the project management role that you will need to be successful in the role. Its targeted at managers and project team members, students at the graduate or undergraduate level, entry-level practitioners, and anyone with an interest in project management as a career. Price: $175 Requirements: GAQM body of knowledge study and e-course; no formal education or experience requirements BVOP Certified Project Manager Business value-oriented principles (BVOP) is an agile-based framework that has grown in popularity in the UK. BVOP emphasizes business value in all project management activities and practices. The BVOP Certified Project Manager is for senior practitioners with experience in both project management and people management. The focus on a people-oriented culture sets it apart from other project management certification programs. Its a certification aimed at senior project managers, agile professionals, product managers and owners, Scrum masters, and business analysts. The BVOP approach helps to develop professionals collaboration skills, and candidates for certification not only gain project and product management skills, but also learn to become more people-focused leaders. The exam includes questions from the project management, program management, and product management sections of the course materials. Price: $130 Requirements: No previous professional project management experience required; free study guides and preparation materials available online Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Certified Associate in Project Management certification is the precursor to the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (see below). For professionals without a college degree, or with only rudimentary project management experience or those who want to achieve their PMP certification in steps rather than all at once, the CAPM is a stepping-stone to the more rigorous PMP. For more information, see CAPM certification guide: Certified Associate in Project Management exam explained. Price: $225 for PMI members; $300 non-members Requirements: High-school diploma, associate degree or equivalent, and at least 1,500 hours of project management experience or 23 hours of project management education Certified Project Director (CPD) The GAQMs Certified Project Director certification is the credentialing bodys highest-level project management certification. This designation is designed for experienced project managers who are involved in directing multiple, complex projects, and programs. The certification focuses on managing, budgeting, and determining scope for multiple projects, multiple project teams, and assessing and mitigating interdependent risks to deliver projects successfully. The CDP program is only for those who have significant project management experience. Price: $280 Requirements: Qualified candidates must have a bachelors degree or post-graduate degree or global equivalent and must hold one of the following certifications: a PPM certification from GAQM; a PMP certification from PMI; a PRINCE2 Practitioner certification from APMG; or a CPM certification from GIAC. Certified Project Management (CPM) The EC-Council was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to address issues of cyberterrorism and the information security of nations at large. The EC-Councils Certified Project Management certification course is for project managers who want to benchmark their skills through hands-on experience and across various management techniques and tools necessary to successfully manage complex projects efficiently. The course includes on-demand instructor-led training videos, online CyberQ Labs, a continuing education video subscription, and live instructor-led training in-person or online. You can select from three course options: the basic package includes a single video course, labs, e-courseware and the certification exam, while the midtier package adds on the CodeRed continuing education video subscription and live instructor training, and the top-tier package includes an additional certification course, exam insurance, and online exam prep. Price: $999 for the single video course package; $2,999 for the unlimited video courses; or $3,499 for the full live-course bundle. Requirements: No prerequisites Certified Project Manager (CPM-IAPM) The Certified Project Manager certification is offered by the International Association of Project Managers (IAPM) as an entry-level certification for those with a basic understanding of project management. It covers the necessary knowledge to theoretically plan, organize, and implement a project effectively, according to the IAPM. Its designed for those who aspire to have a career in project management and doesnt require prior experience in the field. The exam covers a range of topics, including project check, project environment, steering committees and core teams, creation of the Phase Model, creation of the WBS, cost breakdown and budget, risk analysis, project review, and more. The certification includes a combination of hard and soft skills that are relevant to the role of project manager. For novices, the IAPM offers a Certified Junior Project Manager certification and for those with extensive experience, they offer the Certified Senior Project Manager certification. Price: Fee depends on candidates nationality, as pricing is based on country-of-origins GDP; in the US, the exam cost is $514 Requirements: None, but IAPM offers workshops through global training partners, or recommended literature for self-study. Candidates can also take a self-test to benchmark their knowledge. Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) The use of agile methodologies has become standard, so its not surprising that IT practitioners uniquely qualified to manage projects in agile environments are in high demand. While there are different Scrum master certifications available, the Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) from Scrum Alliance is a great jumping-off point for project managers getting started as Scrum practitioners. The Scrum Alliance, which offers this credential, is a nonprofit organization that encourages the adoption of Scrum and agile practices, promotes user groups and learning events, and provides resources for professional development. The organization boasts more than 450,000 certified practitioners worldwide. For a deeper look at the CSM, see CSM certification guide: Certified ScrumMaster exam explained. Price: Varies by training provider, but approximately $995 to $1,395 Requirements: General familiarity with Scrum; completion of two-day CSM training course CompTIA Project+ The CompTIA Project+ certification is an entry-level credential for IT professionals charged with managing smaller, less complex projects as part of their job duties. Candidates for this certification should have knowledge and experience with managing project life cycles, maintaining project documentation, managing resources and stakeholders, and ensuring appropriate communication. The exam covers project basics, project constraints, communication and change management, and project tools and documentation. Its best suited for IT project coordinators or managers, IT project team members, business analysts, managers, directors, or team leaders. Price: $348 Requirements: At least 12 months of cumulative project management experience or equivalent education Master Project Manager (MPM) The American Academy of Project Management (AAPM) has modeled the Master Project Manager (MPM) after the professional licensure model that many professions such as pilots, engineers, doctors, and lawyers follow. The AAPM focuses on professional project managers, but also includes professionals with business and technical management responsibilities. The MPM certification is aimed at senior project managers and project directors who have an undergraduate or masters degree. Price: $300 for application, review, processing, review, initiation, and certification Requirements: Three years of project management experience and training; waivers available for professionals holding a masters degree, with other qualified training and experience, the military or project management instructors PRINCE2 Foundation/PRINCE2 Practitioner Projects in Controlled Environments (PRINCE2) is most well-known outside the US, especially in the UK and its government entities. The PRINCE2 certifications are delivered by Axelos and focus on directing, managing, and delivering projects across all phases, pre-project, initiation, delivery, and final delivery. The PRINCE2 Foundation certification is an entry-level credential that tests basic project management terminology and methodology, whereas the Practitioner certification tests advanced project managers who have already achieved PRINCE2 Foundation. These certifications are targeted at aspiring project managers, project board members, team managers, project assurance professionals, project support professionals, and operational line managers or staff. Price: Price varies based on location Requirements: PRINCE2 Foundation: PRINCE2 Foundation course; PRINCE2 Practitioner: one of the following: PRINCE2 Foundation, Project Management Professional (PMP), CAPM, or an IPMA certification PRINCE2 Agile Foundation/Agile Practitioner The PRINCE2 Agile Foundation and Practitioner certifications offered by Axelos are designed for those working in agile environments and validate your knowledge of PRINCE2 governance requirements, agile concepts, and techniques. The Foundation certification covers the fundamentals of the PRINCE2 method and covers governance requirements and agile concepts such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean Start-up, and Cynefin. Once you pass the Foundation certification, youll be eligible for the PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certification, which takes the foundational knowledge covered in the first exam and validates your ability to apply it in real-world management examples. Price: Price varies based on location Requirements: No requirements for the foundation exam but you will need to pass the Agile Foundation exam to qualify for the Agile Practitioner exam Professional in Project Management (PPM) The Professional in Project Management (PPM) is a midtier project management credential from the GAQM. The GAQMs project management certifications are focused on a broad knowledge base and emphasize effective resource allocation, clear direction, adaptability to change, effective communication, and assurance of quality deliverables at minimal risk. The certification covers how to plan, execute, control, and complete project schedules and how to develop project measures, approach project control, and lead project teams. It focuses on project management fundamentals, project management training, effective planning and scheduling, team building, risk management, crisis management, time management, leadership skills, communication strategies, and knowledge management. The PPM is targeted towards intermediate to experienced project managers who are involved in risk and crisis management, and who are involved in the day-to-day management of projects. Organization: Global Association for Quality Management Price: $340 Requirements: GAQM body of knowledge study and e-course; no formal education or experience requirements, but candidates should have at least some project management experience to pass the exam Project Management Professional (PMP) The gold standard in project management certifications, the Project Management Professional certification offered by the PMI is a rigorous test that covers absolutely everything you need to prove your knowledge and skill in managing the triple constraints: time, cost, and scope. The certification validates your project leadership experience and expertise and demonstrates your capabilities to help organizations work more efficiently and perform better. The exam covers topics such as managing conflict, leading teams, building effective teams, training and empowering team members and stakeholders, executing projects to deliver business value, assess and manage risks, engage stakeholders, plan and manage budgets and resources, among other topics. For more about the PMP, and tips on how to pass it, see PMP certification: How to ace the Project Management Professional exam. Price: Computer-based exams: $405 for PMI members, $555 for non-members; paper-based exams: $250 for PMI members, $400 for non-members Requirements: Four-year secondary degree plus three years of project management experience, 4,500 hours leading and directing projects, and 35 hours project management education or CAPM certification; or a high-school diploma, five years of project management experience, 7,500 hours leading and directing projects, and 35 hours of project management education Program Management Professional (PgMP) The Program Management Professional (PgMP) certification offered by the PMI is designed for program managers who are senior-level practitioners who are responsible for advancing the organizations strategic goals. Candidates for this exam should have extensive experience managing multiple, related projects and navigating complex environments across different departments, job functions, regions, or cultures to align results with organizational goals. The exam covers topics including strategic program management, program life cycles, benefits management, stakeholder management, and governance. Price: $800 for members; $1,000 for non-members Requirements: A secondary degree or global equivalent, 48 months of project management experience or a PMP certification and 84 months of program management experience within the past 15 years; those with a four-year degree will need 48 months of project management experience or a PMP certification and 48 months oof program management experience within the past 15 years Additional project management certificates Many colleges and universities offer project management certificates through their existing business, management, or professional education programs. Schools such as Villanova, University of New Haven, Stanford University, and others (check your local college or universitys course offerings) have excellent project management programs and certificates. There also are IT vendor-specific project management certifications available, such as the Microsoft Project Certification. Requirements and price vary based on institution. Too many of the participants in the European cloud project Gaia-X are pursuing their own interests and diluting the concept, Volker Pfirsching told CIO.coms sister publication Computerwoche in a recent interview. Pfirsching is a partner and member of the Central European management board at management consultancy Arthur D. Little, where he also heads the companys global Digital Competence Center. In this interview, he explains that while key members are pulling out, and that funding isnt flowing as planned, this may not be the end of GAIA-X yet, but just a cleansing effect. Computerwoche: The European cloud project Gaia-X the representatives of which prefer to call it a secure European data infrastructure has been quiet. Is it possible that it will join one of the many European IT initiatives that ultimately come to nothing? Volker Pfirsching: At the very least, Gaia-X is one of those projects that started with a good idea but then failed to reach critical mass or really take off. Like the idea of a European search engine? Or the European Payments Initiative? Or De-Mail in Germany? Pfirsching: You can certainly draw these comparisons. Gaia-X actually got off to a good start, and that was appreciated by everyone involved. The aim was to use cloud infrastructure in a way that was as legally compliant and data protection compliant as possible. The problem is well known: If a European company has reached a certain size today and pursues a cloud strategy, it can hardly avoid the US hyperscalers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and IBM. So, its currently operating in an uncertain legal space in terms of using data in infrastructures with servers in the us or other countries outside the EU. Thats why Gaia-X, with its idea of enabling legally secure cloud use, was generally viewed favorably. However, there was also a communication problem right from the start. Gaia-X was never intended to be an alternative to the offerings of US cloud providers. However, many understood it that way: With Gaia-X, you can buy data sovereignty in Europe just as you can with AWS, Microsoft, and Google. This misunderstanding has lasted a long time, and disillusionment quickly set in after the initial wave of euphoria. What is Gaia-X really all about? Pfirsching: Gaia-X has pursued the goal of creating a common basis or a common set of rules for legally compliant data use in the cloud. As more and more members, large and small, joined the ecosystem, the goals became increasingly blurred. Today, it is a loose association that, in my view, operates too much at the meta level. There is still an attempt to find common rules and standards. This is still a long way from clear, tangible use cases. Gaia-X never got out of this theoretical sinkhole. It never really got to the point where companies would say: I see value in this. Does that mean that Gaia-X is already dead? Pfirsching: I see a great danger, at least, that it will never get off the ground. The fact that important members are slowly withdrawing and that the funding is not flowing as originally planned is not a good sign. Confidence in the Gaia-X initiative is waning. The question is: Is this a cleansing tide that will lead to improved control and implementation? Or is it the beginning of the end? After all, there is an overarching organization that controls the whole thing, plus the hubs and the corresponding communities. In my view, there are too many theoretical discussion groups there. Whats needed now is clear governance that ensures that there is a focus and that the many particular interests are put aside. Thats the big problem with Gaia-X: There are too many big and small players, all pursuing their own granular interests. A few use cases have been launched and initial projects have been given budgets to demonstrate exemplary implementations in various industries, but the overall picture is still missing: What does our legally compliant cloud infrastructure actually look like? Gaia-X in the trough of disillusionment Large public projects in the EU and also in the German government are usually accompanied by subsidies or support funds that attract a wide variety of companies. Can we expect any real commitment at all? Pfirsching: Thats what I mean by special interests: There are completely different players at work, from data center providers to IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS cloud providers. Everyone wants to jump on this bandwagon. And many have now reached the valley of disillusionment. If you think about it in terms of the famous Gartner hype cycle, we are now at a crossroads with Gaia-X. Either the initiative will soon sink into insignificance or those responsible will realize: We have limited ourselves for too long to finding a consensus on a meta level instead of producing value-creating use cases or platforms that can really be used by companies. Up to now, there has been almost nothing but discussion about what such a shared ecosystem might look like. I suspect that quite a number of members who had participated at some point because they believed in its success will drop out. You dont need a crystal ball to predict that this exodus is now imminent. But I dont want to call this the end of Gaia-X just yet. It could also be a cleansing effect. But it is not exactly enjoyable for anyone to still have nothing tangible in their hands after such a long time Pfirsching: Thats the point: The participants in this project have still not found much that goes beyond a theoretical concept. There are a few smaller pilots, but they are very pointed and only useful for very specific use cases. If I as an enterprise were to pursue a cloud-first or even cloud-only strategy, Gaia-X is not a usable concept for me today. Enterprises basically have no choice but to go to the hyperscalers if they are looking for a cloud-based AI solution, for example. Nothing has changed in terms of the fundamental problem: As a company, can I work with the US hyperscalers in a GDPR-compliant way or not? Or do I have a problem because of the Cloud Act, which grants all sorts of access rights to U.S. security agencies. A lot of time has been wasted with Gaia-X. The project started in 2019, and the central idea that everyone should be allowed to play a part, including the hyperscalers themselves, was a problem from the very beginning. To date, there is nothing for enterprises to build on, such as a Platform as a Service. No one will say Ah, Gaia-X solves my data protection problem in a very concrete way today. Of course, one can say that such an ecosystem, especially if it is to be open source, must first establish itself. The foundations have to be laid first. Ill give the project credit for that, and I think its a really good idea. But we now need a significant acceleration in terms of infrastructure that can be used by everyone. Cloud Act and Privacy Shield remain problematic for Europeans EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden recently announced their intention to tackle the cloud security issue together. Privacy Shield and the Cloud Act should no longer affect the international data economy. Has this announcement now taken the last wind out of the sails of the Gaia-X initiative? Pfirsching: Im not so sure about that. There is still a great deal of skepticism about a legally secure agreement with the US. The hopes of companies, at least those I have dealt with, are not particularly high in this respect. People dont really believe in a globally homogeneous, easy-to-manage data protection world. I also think that Europe doesnt want to be left behind when it comes to the big digital infrastructure issues. Being totally dependent on the big US players for cloud infrastructure is something that is not good for the European economy. This is where I continue to see an opportunity for Gaia-X. We need to offer European businesses an alternative to the hyperscalers that is at least close to par with the US competition in terms of functionality and pricing. This question is still much discussed by CIOs and CTOs. Gaia-X actually started one level higher: They wanted a multi-tiered data infrastructure to allow customers to better distribute their data by criticality. Thats why they brought in the hyperscalers, because non-critical bulk data can also be held in their US cloud environments. What is still missing today is the control plane or platform from which companies can get started. Pfirsching: You describe exactly the crux facing a company that wants to use Gaia-X services even without being a member. There is not this one company or service or website where I can order. Thats why Im talking about governance: theres not that one institution that goes beyond the facilitating Gaia-X Association, which is more of a moderator, and provides for real usable applications. There is a jungle of theoretical constructs that may be correct in terms of content but are not accessible to the decision-makers in the companies. The question: How can I use Gaia-X in a meaningful way? is not answered. Thats why Im calling on everyone to move away from theory and meta-level discussions and create services that can be used in practice. Otherwise, Gaia-X will fail. Who needs to take concrete action? Pfirsching: The time has come for one of the really big European players, for example a major data center provider or a telecommunications provider such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, or Orange, to be persuaded to take the conceptual lead and develop and offer an appropriately scalable solution based on Gaia-X. This is the right thing to do. Politicians also have a role to play. They must stop distributing funds in a fine-grained manner like a lawn sprinkler. It would be better to consider how a large budget pot could be created and used to build up a Gaia-X-compliant infrastructure. So the much-cited AWS competitor after all? Pfirsching: No, thats not what I mean, but someone has to be found, mandated, and commissioned to put together a product from the various concepts in the Gaia-X ecosystem. The Gaia-X makers have to decide what they want But that would mean that the Gaia-X makers would have to be crystal clear about which direction they want to take. There is a great risk that some of the stakeholders will then jump ship because they no longer see their interests represented. Pfirsching: Thats right, but would that be so bad? The problem at the moment is that were not even getting to that point! At the moment, those involved have the problem that they cant work on anything because nothing is there yet. However, such initiatives are needed so that the feedback processes can begin and things can get moving. There is not even a channel for large or medium-sized companies to feed back their requirements or wishes. You can become a member and then try to implement your data sovereignty requirements, but really, its just going to cost you effort and money at the moment. You wont be able to extract anything of user value. It needs the market idea. Someone needs to offer something concrete that allows data sovereignty and is more than just a theoretical concept ideally a Platform as a Service that everyone can build on. Wouldnt it make sense for the European authorities to act as major clients and thus create desire in the market? They could say: We will only use certain services if they are Gaia-X-compliant Pfirsching: I could indeed well imagine that. Such impulses are needed to create more pressure and to get these many small boats to move in one direction in a network. European authorities or the German government could play such a role, or even the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). It could say: Critical infrastructure must be set up to be Gaia-X-compliant in the future. How is Gaia-X currently funded? Could better management of funds bring about faster progress? Pfirsching: The funding is varied. For example, there have been government-funded projects in various industries that have been funded by the German Ministry of Economic Affairs. But in the end, the members carry the project and fund their own use cases. They also have their own specific interests. The European Commission also plays a role here. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily the best idea that wins, but rather the concept that best fits into a funding scheme or framework. Demand is too strongly decoupled from the allocation of resources and budgets. Thats why I think there would need to be a rethink in the financial structures as well. Projects that have a chance of being applied as widely as possible should be publicly funded. In other words, we should move away from narrow use cases and toward broad application possibilities. The keyword already mentioned is platform as a service, which can then also be used for critical infrastructures. Faster decisions and better governance would be necessary From all that you say, Gaia-X obviously has an immense bureaucracy problem. Pfirsching: Yes. We are operating in a European network here. Of course, we have Germany and France as strong players behind it, but it was a strongly federal concept with a broad diversity of opinions right from the start. Leaner decision-making mechanisms and more governance would really be advisable here. Incidentally, I also fear that we may no longer be driving innovation fast enough in other areas because the big promise of Gaia-X is in the air and is supported by many players. The risk here is that many people are still waiting for the big bang instead of moving things forward quickly and flexibly in small, feasible steps. Thats why the cleansing tide that is now noticeably coming is just the right thing. Translated from an article published by CIO.coms German sister publication, Computerwoche: Gaia-X im Konzeptstadium stecken geblieben. Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access And a Damascus government agency reported that an explosive device planted by unknown persons in a private car in the Al-Wurud neighborhood, northwest of Damascus, exploded this morning, causing only material damage to the car. While the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that a medium-intensity explosion was heard this morning, in the residences of the Republican Guard in Al-Wurud in the countryside of the capital, Damascus. On April 19, the SOHR indicated that unidentified gunmen assassinated the leader of a local group affiliated with the 215th Raid Brigade within the Military Intelligence division of the Damascus government forces, after targeting him with bullets in the Beit Jinn area in the western Damascus countryside. T/S ANHA Anunt cu privire la selectarea unui prestator de servicii ce va derula campania de informare si constientizare pentru promovarea comunicarii etice in raport cu refugiati ucraineni in Republica Moldova Raspunsul la criza refugiatilor: Apel de propuneri, lansat de MAD-Aid in parteneriat cu Camera de Comert Britanica din Moldova On April 4, Elon Musk filed a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealing that he had acquired a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter. (Oh hi lol, he tweeted.) What followed was a somewhat bewildering series of announcements. Musks initial filing implied that he likely wouldnt be an activist investor or push to join the companys board, but that filing was later amended, at which point Twitter said he was joining the board. (Musk also filed his documents late, which some said enabled him to acquire shares more cheaply.) Then, just as suddenly, Twitter said Musk wouldnt be joining the board after all, prompting rumors that he might be planning to acquire the company. On April 14, Musk sent a letter to Twitter and filed a statement with the SEC detailing his plans to do exactly that, with an offer to buy all the outstanding shares for $43 billion. Twitter quickly responded by filing a shareholders rights plan, often called a poison pill. Under the terms of the plan, if Musk or anyone else acquires more than 15 percent of Twitters shares without the approval of the board, then other shareholders will be allowed to purchase more shares at a significant discount. Musk responded by taking to the platform itself in an attempt to win popular support for his bid, asking users whether shareholders should decide on his takeover offer rather than the board. (Close to three million people voted, with almost 84 percent agreeing that shareholders should be able to choose.) Yesterday, Musk put even more money where his mouth is, telling the SEC that he has $46.5 billion in financing lined up for his bid and is considering a tender offer that would be open to all Twitter shareholders. In classic Musk fashion, all these machinations have been accompanied by a series of joking tweets, in what appears to be an attempt to troll the board or all of Twitter. On the same day we learned that Musk owned 9 percent of the company, he polled his followers to see if anyone wanted Twitter to add an edit button; almost 4.5 million people answered, with about 74 percent of them saying they did. (Twitter said it was already working on an edit function.) On April 7, when it still appeared that he might join Twitters board, Musk posted a photo of himself smoking marijuana during an interview on Joe Rogans podcast, with a caption that read, Twitters next board meeting is going to be lit. On April 9, he posted a list of celebrity users he said hadnt posted any tweets in months, and asked, Is Twitter dying? ICYMI: The misguided obsession over Trumps endorsements Underneath the jokes and trolling, Musks desire to buy Twitter seems to be driven by a concern that the company is somehow stifling speech. Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy, he posted in March, before asking his followers whether they believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle. (More than two million people voted, and about 70 percent said no.) In an April 14 ted interview, Musk said that Twitter has become kind of the de facto town square, so its just really important that people have both the reality and the perception that they are able to speak freely. Musk said his interest in Twitter is driven by a sense that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important. In his letter to the board announcing his bid, Musk said Twitter cant achieve this societal imperative in its current form and needs to be transformed as a private company. What Musk hasnt talked about is why he thinks Twitter as a platform is stifling free speech. Some have speculated that his concern stems from the services banning of Donald Trump and other right-wing commentators such as Alex Jones last year. (That may also explain why Musks potential takeover brought cheers from a number of conservatives.) Others brought up the Hunter Bidens laptop story, which saw both Twitter and Facebook remove links to a New York Post report that a computer left at a Delaware repair shop in 2019 contained emails to the presidents son related to an extortion attempt involving Ukrainian politicians. (Jack Dorsey, Twitters former CEO, later apologized for the way that incident was handled.) But so far, Musk hasnt mentionedat least in publicany specific incidents that might have triggered his concern for free speech on the platform. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Some free-speech advocates argue that even if Musk does take the company private, its not clear that this would be good for free speech. Nadine Strossen, former head of the American Civil Liberties Union, said she is in favor of a free-speech advocate taking over Twitter, but is also skeptical of Musks ability to resist demands to censor content. Human nature throughout history and around the world suggests that its extremely unlikely, if not impossible, she told the CBC. Scott Wilkens, from Columbias Knight First Amendment Institute, said he was not in favor of a huge social platform like Twitter being owned or controlled by a single individual, even if that person says they are committed to freedom of speech. Wilkens added that we just dont know what Elon Musk might do as far as free speech is concerned. Bloomberg, meanwhile, noted that Musk himself has a mixed record when it comes to speech. At Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, Musk has a long track record of silencing or punishing anyone who goes public with criticism of a project or practice, Dana Hull, Sarah Frier, and Maxwell Adler wrote. Workers must sign nondisclosure agreements and arbitration clauses that prevent them from taking their employer to court. Previously, Bloomberg reported that Musk went after a staffer at a Tesla plant after the staffer raised concerns about the workplace. (Musk viewed him as a dangerous foe who engaged in sabotage and shared data with the press and unknown third parties,' Bloomberg wrote.) And, of course, Musk has blocked a number of people on Twitter, including journalists on Twitter who cover his companies. A former SEC official told a blocked Yahoo! Finance journalist in 2018, If he blocks anyone who says anything negative about TeslaI do think that raises particular questions about whether he has turned that open channel back into a selective channel. Heres more on Musk and Twitter: Algorithms : In addition to freedom of speech, Musk has suggested he is worried about the amount of control Twitters recommendation algorithms have over what people see. In March, he asked whether the algorithm should be open source; more than a million users responded to his question, and the vast majority said it should be. Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter, agreed, saying that the choice of which algorithm to use (or not) should be open to everyone. Researchers, however, say this would be almost impossible to achieve. Disappointed : Renee DiResta, a researcher at the Stanford Internet Observatory, writes in The Atlantic that while Musk may call Twitter a public square, it has never been anything close to that , nor is he likely to make it so. Musk is correct that social-media companies have incredible power and no accountability, she writes. Opaque moderation decisions and reactive ad hoc policies have undermined the public trust. But if you think that, by taking the public square private and consolidating control even further, Musk will somehow uphold free expression and protect democracy, you will be disappointed. Fizzle : In the Wall Street Journal , Holman W. Jenkins Jr. wrote that Musks bid to reshape Twitter is likely to fizzle out. Although he jokes on Twitter a lot, Jenkins said, Musk is not the naif he finds it useful to play. He knows, for business reasons as well as political reasons, that Twitter has crossed the river of no return in moderating the content that appears on its serviceit cant allow untrammeled free expression. Advertisers cant stomach it [and] the public, acting through politicians and mau-mau groups, wont accept it. Excluded: Musk seems to be focused on the idea that free speech means not taking down anything, Emma Llanso, director of the Center for Democracy and Technologys Free Expression Project, told Bloomberg. But the side effects of this approach could actually result in more speech being stifled, Llanso argued. If people stop speaking out of fear of bullying or harassment, that can actually really end up excluding large groups of people and communities from participation in online discourse, she said. Other notable stories: Warner Brothers Discovery confirmed Thursday that it is shutting down CNN+ , the streaming service it launched just three weeks ago with much fanfare. The New York Times called the move a stunning and ignominious end to an operation into which CNN had sunk tens of millions of dollars, from an aggressive nationwide marketing campaign to hiring hundreds of new employees to recruiting big, high-priced media stars . In a memo to staff, Chris Licht, the incoming president of CNN, said, While todays decision is incredibly difficult, it is the right one for the long-term success of CNN. Jon Allsop wrote for CJR about CNN+ and its chances for success last month. Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is facing internal scrutiny over two occasions in which she pressured a UK tabloid newspaper to shelve a potential article about her then-boyfriend, Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal . In 2016 and 2019, Ms. Sandberg contacted the digital edition of the Daily Mail , which was reporting on a story that would have revealed the existence of a temporary restraining order against Mr. Kotick that had been obtained by a former girlfriend in 2014, the Journal reports. Maria Repnikova, a professor in communication at Georgia State University, argues in The Atlantic that the restrictions Russia has placed on the media in the past year are unlikely to be removed even if the war in Ukraine ends . The crackdown is significant not only because of its practical implicationsmost Russians cannot now access independent news and analysis of a war being waged in their namebut for a deeper reason, she writes. It symbolizes Russias further estrangement from the West on a more subtle, ideological level: Putins regime has now dropped even the appearance of democracy and, by extension, its treatment of the West as a marker of political legitimacy. James Fallows, the author and journalist, writes about several things he thinks Joseph Kahn, the new executive editor of the New York Times , should do, including reinstating the position of public editor, which the paper shut down in 2017. The lack of a public editor is a real problem, Fallows argues. From the outside, it makes the Times seem even more aloof and unaccountable than it inescapably will, given its power and the range of people with an axe to grind about it. Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of Covering Climate Now, and Kyle Pope, publisher of CJR, write about how the media has covered Earth Day since it was invented in 1970. By all scientific accounts, the environmental crisis that activists highlighted more than half a century ago is much more dire today, and the need for far-reaching action more urgent, they write. And yet those network news anchors from 1970, dismissed as anachronisms in our digital era, were in many ways ahead of where journalists are now. Luke Winkie writes at the Nieman Journalism Lab about the cuts at BuzzFeed in the wake of the company going public, and the lessons other media companies should learn . If the last 20 years of layoffs, pivots, and foreclosures have taught us anything, its that running a sustainable, conscientious news organization without the presence of heavyweight shareholders is already exceedingly difficult, he writes. Boardrooms need to start asking themselves some difficult questions. Do the desires of the Wall Street class align with the priorities of good news reporting? Do they even know what good news reporting is? Press Gazette reports that many local news sites in the UK get most of their traffic from outside their local regions. An analysis of traffic data to 50 leading local news sites reveals that many (of these leading sites at least) derive a significant amount of their traffic from outside their local region, the site reported. Of the 50 sites we looked at, only eight drew at least half of their UK audience from the region in which they are based. Twenty brands received less than a third of their UK digital audience from their area. New from CJR: The fake-news kingpin of Brazil Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in the first state high court ruling on the question, has sided with an insurer and an insurance agency in finding that the COVID-19 losses claimed by three restaurants were not direct physical loss of or damage to their property within the meaning of the insurance policies. The ruling affirms a lower Superior Court ruling that was appealed by restaurant firm Verveine Corp., which operates Coppa in Boston; 1704 Washington LLC, which operates Toro in Boston; and JKFoodGroup LLC, which operates Little Donkey in Cambridge. All three have common ownership and management. The case is Verveine Corp. v. Strathmore Insurance Co. No other state supreme court has ruled on the question of whether SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can cause a direct physical loss or damage to property, although 10 federal Circuit Courts of Appeal and intermediate appellate courts in California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Ohio have ruled that it cannot, according to a litigation tracker maintained by the University of Pennsylvanias Carey Law School. The restaurants purchased their insurance through Commercial Insurance Agency, which arranged their coverage from Strathmore Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Greater New York Mutual Insurance Co. When the pandemic began, the restaurants were covered by two Strathmore property and liability policies one covering both Toro and Coppa and the other covering Little Donkey. Commercial Insurance Agency represented to the plaintiffs that the coverage under the policies was the same, but Little Donkeys policy contained an exclusion for loss or damage caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that induces or is capable of inducing physical distress, illness or disease, which was not contained in the policy covering Coppa and Toro. The policy covering Coppa and Toro contained an exclusion that was limited to loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by fungus, wet rot, dry rot and bacteria and did not mention viruses. The plaintiffs three restaurants, like many brick-and-mortar businesses, suffered severe reductions in revenues during the pandemic and the resulting government restrictions on public gatherings. They looked to their property insurers to offset these business income losses, but Strathmore denied the claims under both policies, citing the lack of any physical loss of or damage to the properties and the virus exclusion to Little Donkeys policy. The restaurants then sued the insurer for breach of contract and the insurance broker for allegedly negligently failing to procure policies that would have covered damages resulting from the COVID-19 virus. Holding that the insurance policies in question unambiguously did not cover the plaintiffs losses, a Superior Court judge granted Strathmores motion to dismiss and Commercials motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Judicial Court then took up the matter on appeal. The ruling extends the winning record of insurers in COVID-19 business cases. According to an analysis on ClamsJournal.com by Hinshaw & Culbertson law firm, at the trial court level, insurers have prevailed in more than 78 percent of the 194 rulings on motions to dismiss in state courts and in more than 95 percent of the 598 rulings by federal courts. Also, insurers have won, on the merits, in every appellate court decision thus far in both federal and state court. In this Massachusetts case, the restaurants insurance policies define covered causes of loss as risks of direct physical loss, subject to certain exclusions and limitations. The plaintiffs allege that the policies were marketed and sold as all-risk policies. But the court said the relevant question is what the terms of the policies themselves say. Even if we were to inquire into the expectations of the insured, the focus is on what an insured reading the relevant policy language, would expect to be covered, not the insureds more general perceptions of the policy, the court noted, adding that the burden remains on the insured to demonstrate that such loss or damage, within the meaning of the policy, actually occurred. After reviewing the language in the policies, the states top court found that the question is whether there was any direct physical loss of or damage to property at the restaurants. It concluded that no reasonable interpretation of direct physical loss of or damage to property supports the plaintiffs claims. Even accepting the plaintiffs premise that the suspension of their business was caused by the presence of the virus on surfaces and in the air at the restaurants, mere presence does not amount to loss or damage to the property, the court added. The high court also affirmed the dismissal of the claims against Commercial Insurance Agency over the exclusion, finding that Little Donkey failed to recover from Strathmore because coverage did not attach in the first place, not because of the virus exclusion. Amicus briefs were submitted by the Massachusetts Insurance and Reinsurance Bar Association; by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, and the Massachusetts Insurance Federation; by Amphenol Corp. and Lawrence General Hospital; by United Policyholders; and by American Food Systems, Inc. The same state court system that allowed local governments to sue lead paint manufacturers for promoting a hazardous product many decades ago wont force insurers to pay for the end result. A panel of the California 1st Division Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that Lloyds of London and other carriers that insured W.P. Fuller & Co. are not liable for a legal settlement that requires the companys successor to pay$101,666,666 into an abatement fund. The appellate panel said Section 533 of the California Insurance Code prohibits insurers from paying for intentional acts that cause harm. The underlying litigation established that Fullerthe corporate entityhad actual knowledge of the harms associated with lead paint when it promoted lead paint for interior residential use, the opinion says. A New York appellate court reached the opposite conclusion last month. The 1st Department of the New York Appellate Division found Lloyds and other carriers were liable for a $101.7 million settlement agreed to by NL Industries, which assumed the liabilities of the manufacturer of Dutch Boy paint. While the makers of Dutch Boy paint may have known that lead could cause cause harm, that isnt the same as knowing that it would, the court found. The two cases came to the state appellate courts after more than 20 years of litigation. In 2000, Santa Clara County, California filed a class-action lawsuit against several lead paint manufacturers, alleging that they had violated the states public nuisance law by promoting a hazardous product. Several other counties and California cities joined the action. Californias 6th District Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that required payment into a lead paint abatement fund, but reduced the damages from $1.15 billion to $409 million. After the California Supreme Court refused to hear the case, ConAgra Grocery Products Co., Sherwin-Williams Co. and NL Industries agreed to a settlement that required each to pay $101,666,666 into an abatement fund. The question of whether the paint manufacturers insurers must pay that cost sparked the next round of litigation. A trial court in Ohio let the insurers for Glidden paint off the hook, but a trial court in New York City ruled that Dutch Boys insurers must pay. The state Appellate Division affirmed that decision on March 24. One of ConAgras attorneys, Raymond Cardoza, submitted a copy of the New York ruling to the California appellate court the same day. But in California, the San Francisco Superior Court ruled in 2020 that Fullers insurers were not liable for the public nuisance law violations because of the Section 533 prohibition against insuring damages caused by intentional acts. The 6th Division appellate panel affirmed that ruling. The appellate panel rejected Conagras argument that no authority supports applying Section 533s prohibition against insuring willful acts to a liability that was assumed through corporate succession. The panel said ConAgra stands in the shoes of Fuller and is liable for its acts. Conagra is a publicly owned holding company based in Chicago with $11 billion in annual revenues. It assumed Fullers liabilities through a 1991 acquisition. The company warned investors that it would bear the cost of the lead paint settlement in its most recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, saying that it will pay the cost in seven annual installments starting in fiscal year 2020. Conagra said it must pay an additional $15 million if NL Industries defaults on its liability. ANHA correspondent said that the clashes did not last for a long time and came after shooting by Turkish occupation army on a point of Damascus government forces in the village of Qarmough 15 km east of Kobani. ANHA correspondent also mentioned that some bullets hit residents' homes in the village, but no injuries were reported. Sh-S ANHA McDonalds Corp. on Friday defeated a union-backed organizing groups challenge to a settlement with a U.S. labor agency over claims that the company helped franchisees across the country suppress workers demonstrations calling for higher wages. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected claims by the group, Fight for $15, that the 2019 settlement was inadequate because it did not resolve the key question of whether McDonalds could be held liable for unlawful labor practices by its franchisees. Fight for $15 also argued that a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) who took part in approving the settlement had a conflict of interest and should have been recused. The D.C. Circuit on Friday said those claims were not properly presented to the court. Illinois-based McDonalds and the NLRB did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did a lawyer for Fight for $15. Demonstrations organized by Fight for $15 swept the country in 2012, with workers calling for minimum pay of $15 an hour. The group that year began filing complaints with the NLRB on behalf of McDonalds franchise workers claiming they were fired or disciplined for participating in labor organizing. The NLRB brought a case against McDonalds and many franchisees in 2014. It was seen as a major test of the Obama-era NLRBs attempt to expand the circumstances in which companies could be considered joint employers of franchise or contract workers, requiring them to bargain with unions and exposing them to liability for labor law violations. McDonalds has denied wrongdoing and maintained that it does not exercise enough control over franchises to be considered a joint employer. The NLRB opted to settle the case after former President Donald Trump took office, disappointing unions and worker advocates. The settlement required more than two dozen McDonalds franchisees to pay up to $50,000 to individual workers, but did not address McDonalds liability. Under federal labor law, the board can settle claims against businesses over the objections of unions or workers involved in a case. The Russian army defeated the Neo-Nazis and their supporters in the city of Kherson, Ukraine, where they were driven out. Fierce fighting in parts of Ukraine between Ukrainian and Russian forces raged as the Azov brigades and ultra-nationalists used foreign provided weapons to fight back. Reports of alleged uncivil behavior by the Ukrainians have been denied, but Russian forces have encountered human shields that the Azov Nazis used. Russian Army Reinforces Control of Kherson As Russian troops consolidate control of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, videos show Russian soldiers hoisting a crimson Soviet victory flag, reported the Express UK. The struggle to liberate Ukraine's southeast continues. Putin's troops raise the red Soviet triumph flag at the Eternal Flame monument in Kherson, southern Ukraine, as they drove out opposition forces. Since mid-March, Russia has occupied Kherson, following weeks of severe shelling. In the propaganda war, raising the Soviet flag is a message to Zelensky and his forces they've lost; despite the media saying that Kyiv has been winning. A banner used by Russian troops to openly symbolize their successful occupation of the Ukrainian city, cited Ajansev. The footage comes after reports from Ukraine that seem to prove that the Russian army is ramping up its occupation of Ukraine's southern regions while other neo-Nazis and supporters are on the run. Read Also: Volodymyr Zelensky Children: Does the Ukraine President Have Kids? Russians Closes In on Mariupol Following the claims, the UK Ministry of Defence provided an update clarifying that fighting in the Donbas region has escalated. Ukrainian troops in Mariupol have been given a deadline to surrender by the Russian army. According to the UK Ministry of Defense, Russian forces are launching assaults on vital logistic networks to halt weapons delivery to Ukraine. In addition, assaults on cities across Ukraine demonstrate their goal to impede the transfer of Ukrainian reinforcements and weaponry to the country's east. Mariupol is a major objective for Russian forces because capturing it would allow Russia to link the now-Russian-controlled Donbas region with the occupied Crimea, mentioned BBC. Russian troops would be able to gain full control of more than 80% of Ukraine's Black Sea coastline if they occupied Mariupol, a port city on the Black Sea. Major General James "Spider" Marks, a military expert from the United States, said on CNN that it could further isolate Ukraine from the rest of Europe and cut Ukraine off from its maritime trade, effectively making Kyiv landlocked. According to a Commander from the Ukrainian marines' fighters stationed in Mariupol, they face the last stand very soon. Russians are closing in for a chokehold but want them to surrender. Following reports from Mariupol and other Ukraine's southern cities, President Zelensky publicly requested that the West send additional military help to Ukrainian fighters in a fight they started. He then blamed Russia's quality of arms as the problem and said Ukraine would beat Moscow. Furthermore, he complained about the increased troop number of the forces opposing the Neo-Nazis getting shelled in Kharkiv, Donbas, and Dnipro. The Russian army has earned a victory over the Neo-Nazis and supporters in Kyiv, and that victory in Kherson is just the start, but foreign media is playing it down. Related Article: Moscow Reveals Actual Ukrainian Casualties in Its Military Service Since Hostilities Started on February 24 @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This Earth Day (April 22) Sustainable Earth and CMU Green Practices are hosting an Earth Day Scavenger Hunt. Show some love for our Earth and educate yourself about environmentally friendly resources on campus by completing items during the week top participants will earn cool sustainable prizes! Some of the items to look for include: Join the campus community to celebrate the dedication of the Fifth and Clyde House and Fifth Avenue Commons . Students, faculty and staff can tour the residential and Commons spaces, enjoy student performances and meet special guest and local artist Thaddeus Mosley , sculptor of Inverted Dancer. The dedication takes place on Wednesday, April 27 from 4-6 p.m. with remarks beginning at 4:05 p.m. Register to attend by 5 p.m. Friday, April 22. Pictured above are staff having fun at the selfie-station in Wiegand Gym at the 2019 Community Picnic. Are you a CMU community member who creates art during your spare time? If so, this is your chance to share it with the CMU community! The CMU Community Picnic will once again feature a small exhibition of two-dimensional art in Kirr Commons. Space is limited, so the organizing committee reserves the right to make the final selections for display. To submit a piece, refer to the Art Exhibit Instructions and Guidelines [pdf] The CMU Community Picnic , hosted by the Office of Human Resources and Staff Council with support from the Office of the President, honors the vital contributions that CMU community members make to the university. Please join us as the CMU community gathers to enjoy good food, outdoor games, raffles and more! Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday, April 27. Learn more and happy hunting. Register for Take Our Children to Work Day Jessica Tones, nutrition and marketing director for Dining Services, and Executive Chef Vic of Chartwells put on a demonstration for kids during Taking Our Children to Work Day in 2018. Registration is open for Carnegie Mellons Take Our Children to Work Day on Thursday, April 28. The Take Our Children to Work program introduces children between the ages of 8 and 15 to what a parent or mentor in their lives does during the work day. The program also aims to show children the value of their education and make them aware of some of the many professions and fields they can pursue. In the morning, the children shadow their campus host. Lunch, from noon to 1 p.m. is $8.50 from Chartwheels and includes two slices of cheese pizza or chicken tenders plus an apple, bag of chips and Turner's lemonade. In the afternoon, participants can attend a variety of short presentations in areas such as the ETC, chemistry, the Department of Student Affairs, EH&S, Chartwells, the SEI, sustainability, Campus Police and biomedical engineering. Each presentation features engaging activities facilitated by faculty, staff and students. Volunteers Needed: Members of the campus community are needed to assist with registration, serve as lunch aides, chaperone guided tours across campus, and monitor the children waiting to be picked up from the gym. The time commitment for each role is detailed below. Registration volunteers are needed from 10:45 a.m. through about 12:15 p.m.; Lunch aides are needed from 11:45 a.m. through 1 p.m.; Track guides are needed from 1 to 3:30 p.m.; and Monitors are needed at pick-up from 3 to 4 p.m. Since these positions include direct contact with children as defined by the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law (as recently amended by Pennsylvania Act 153) you will be required to obtain certain clearances prior to participating in the event. Information about these clearances and how to obtain them will be provided in a separate message. If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity, please send email to toctwd@andrew.cmu.edu Swartz Center Seeks Applicants for Innovation Commercialization Fellows Program The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship is seeking applications for the 2022 Innovation Commercialization Fellows program. The Swartz Center is seeking graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and research assistants working with faculty investigators, who are interested in driving the commercialization efforts for their Carnegie Mellon research-based startup companies. Innovation Commercialization Fellows is a year-long program beginning July 1. Along with cohort-based educational workshops and expert one-on-one mentoring, fellows will receive a $50K contribution from the Swartz Center, contingent on a $50K match from another source, to support them while they focus on the commercialization process. Further details on eligibility and program outcomes can be found on the Swartz Center website. Questions can be directed to Melanie Simko at msimko@andrew.cmu.edu. The deadline to apply is midnight ET, Monday, May 2. Tuition Benefits Open Forum Set for Tuesday, May 3 Staff Council and the Office of Human Resources will host a Tuition Benefits Open Forum on Tuesday, May 3 from noon to 1 p.m. The forum will take place virtually via Zoom; registration is required. This forum is open to all staff members who are interested in learning more about the tuition benefits available to Carnegie Mellon employees. Members from the Human Resources benefits team will be on hand to present a summary of benefits and address any questions. In addition, we will welcome representatives from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (for bachelors degrees) and the Registrars Office (for non-degree courses) to share information on applying for those programs. Following the formal presentation, representatives from Heinz College and the Tepper School of Business will be available until 1:30 p.m. to speak with staff members interested in pursuing one of their master's degree programs. To help prepare for this session, we are soliciting questions in advance. Please submit your questions by Tuesday, April 26. If you have questions about the forum, please contact David Danenberg, Staff Council Benefits Committee Chair, or Becky McGhee, Senior Manager, Benefits. New Hours at the Credit Union The CMU Federal Credit Union will be closed on Monday, April 25, and new office hours will go into effect beginning Tuesday, April 26. The Credit Union's new hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 pm., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until further notice. Who's New at CMU? Carnegie Mellon welcomes the following new staff members this week. On Thursday, Russia issued a travel ban against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and 28 other prominent Americans. The restrictions were established in response to Western sanctions placed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Top Pentagon officials, US business executives, and journalists are among those subject to the travel restriction, including Vice President Kamala Harris, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, and ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos. Russia's Latest Sanctions Target US Power Players According to an Insider translation of a press announcement from Russia's foreign ministry, the individuals would be refused entry into the country "indefinitely." According to a translation, the ministry listed the individuals as being responsible for developing "the Russophobic agenda" in the United States. Other than preventing Zuckerberg and the others on the list from visiting Russia, the sanctions are unlikely to have a big impact. Notably absent from the list were the names of key US corporate executives such as Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, although Twitter and Google-owned YouTube have been engaged in combating Russian disinformation. A number of the sanctioned journalists on the list discussed the Russian travel restriction on social media. Last month, Russia sanctioned President Joe Biden and then issued measures against 398 members of Congress. Russia previously declared Facebook and Instagram to be "extremist" groups and banned them. Since 2017, LinkedIn has been restricted in Russia. Admiral Rachel Levine, a Biden health officer, has also been sanctioned by Vladimir Putin. Levine, who is transgender, was classified as 'Richard/Rachel Levine' before and after her transition, as per Daily Mail. Read Also: Fears Rise Over Russia's Potential Use of Tactical Nukes in Ukraine; Vladimir Putin's Aide Says New ICBM Test Is a Gift to NATO, Kyiv Sponsors US Recently Imposed Sanctions on Russian Bank, Bitcoin Business Since Putin's command to invade Ukraine on February 24, the US and its western allies have placed a series of economic sanctions on Moscow. The US imposed sanctions on a Russian commercial bank and a bitcoin mining business on Wednesday in an attempt to limit Moscow's ability to circumvent sanctions by utilizing cryptocurrencies. According to reports, Russia's crypto mining business is the world's third largest. More than 40 persons and businesses associated with Russian tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev, who was previously banned, were also sanctioned. Malofeyev, a pro-Kremlin media entrepreneur, was charged by Biden's Justice Department earlier this month with breaching sanctions imposed in response to Russia's invasion. The president, his son Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and others were among those sanctioned by Moscow on Thursday, including virtually every member of the US House of Representatives. On Wednesday, Putin stated that his military had successfully tested a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. NATO has called the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 'Satan 2' and considers it to be Russia's most powerful weapon. The Pentagon, on the other hand, dismissed worries that the ICBM posed a threat to the US or its allies that day. Meanwhile, the Russian government imposed sanctions on 61 Canadians on Thursday, barring them from entering the country in response to steps taken against its own citizens, according to Moscow. Politicians, government officials, journalists, military leaders, and educators were among those targeted by the sanctions. The sanctions come as Russia's military campaign in Ukraine approaches its two-month mark. Per The Globe and Mail, Canada has imposed a number of punitive sanctions on Russia as a result of the aggression, including sending $110 million in military aid to Kyiv and promising another $500 million in the future, including heavy artillery. Related Article: Joe Biden Slaps Russia With New Sanctions Amid War; More Help Coming for Ukraine @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. More than 600,000 air fryers and air fryer ovens are being recalled by Best Buy due to concerns that they may overheat, creating a fire and burn danger. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recall comes after Best Buy received more than 100 reports of the devices catching fire or melting in North America. Two persons were hurt, one of them was a toddler. Best Buy Recalls Thousands of Air Fryers, Air Fryer Ovens Best Buy said in a notice submitted by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday that it has received complaints from 68 US citizens and 36 Canadians about the fryers and ovens overheating. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is a federal agency that regulates consumer products. According to the merchant, there have been two injuries, one involving a child's leg, and seven claims of minor property damage. Stop using the recalled air fryers and air fryer ovens and return them to Best Buy for a refund in the form of a Best Buy credit. Customers will get a $50 shop credit, or if the amount on the purchase receipt is higher, the amount on the purchase receipt. The merchant indicated that no receipt is required to receive the $50 credit, as per CBS News. Each device has the Insignia brand name on the top or front, as well as a rating label on the bottom that identifies the brand and model number. The recalled fryers were sold online at Best Buy shops from November 2018 to February 2022 for between $30 and $150. They were manufactured in China and imported by Richfield, Minnesota-based Best Buy. Best Buy claims to have sold 635,000 recalled items in the United States and another 137,000 in Canada. The air fryer recall affects Insignia models NS-AF32DBK9, NS-AF32MBK9, NS-AF50MBK9, NS-AF53DSS0, NS-AF53MSS0, NS-AF55DBK9, NS-AFO6DBK1 and NS-AFO6DSS1 sold at Best Buy, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Per ABC7 Chicago, each device has the Insignia brand name on the top or front. The brand Insignia and the model number are identified by a rating sticker on the underside of each device. Consumers should cease using the recalled air fryers immediately and return them to Best Buy for a refund in the form of store credit, according to the CSPC. Consumers can register online at www.insigniaairfryerrecall.expertinquiry.com or call Best Buy at 800-566-7498 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to learn more about the recall. For additional information, go to http://www.bestbuy.com/productrecalls or www.bestbuy.com/productrecalls and click on Product Recalls. Read Also: Biden Administration To Cancel 40,000 Student Loans Amid Renewed Pressure; Here's the List of Qualification Babyganics Issues Voluntary Recall Meanwhile, due to the presence of the bacteria Pluralibacter gergoviae, Babyganics has issued a voluntary recall for some of their bubble baths, Hawaii News Now reported. According to the FDA, the bacteria doesn't usually make healthy people sick, but it can infect those who are immunocompromised or have cracked or irritated skin, such as those who have diaper rash. According to the FDA, infants may be more vulnerable than adults. At this point, no illnesses have been recorded in connection with the voluntary recall, according to Babyganics. Babyganics 20-ounce chamomile verbena bubble bath, UPC 8 13277 01375 4, with lot codes Y314 and Y315, found at the bottom of the packaging and housed in a white plastic container with a green plastic top are among the products included in the recall. Anyone who has purchased a product from Babyganics will receive a complete refund. Related Article: Airborne Gummies Recall: Here's Why the Supplements Are Considered Injury Hazard @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. More than four out of five Indigenous people in the U.S. have experienced violent crime, according to national data. Those are some of the highest rates of violence for any demographic, with Indigenous women nearly three times more likely to be murdered than white women. Colorado lawmakers are seeking to address this disparity with a new bill to improve investigations into missing and murdered Indigenous people. If enacted, Senate Bill 150 would create the Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives to facilitate the investigations and provide other supports. The bill would also create an emergency alert system to report active crimes and a community advisory board to help lead the office. Indigenous people across the state and across the country experience violent crime at an extraordinarily high rate, said bill sponsor Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge. For far too long, the state of Colorado has turned their backs and ignored the problem. Finally, this year we are acknowledging the problem and coming to the Senate and the House with a solid solution. The state Senate passed the bill Friday in a 24-9 vote, sending it to the House for consideration. Fridays vote came after more than two dozen people testified in support of the bill in March, including numerous members of local Indigenous tribes, such as the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Navajo Nation and the Northern Arapaho Tribe. No one testified against the bill. Many of the Indigenous people who testified for the bill were personally impacted by the disproportionate rates of violent crime. Daisy Bluestar of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe said her aunt was murdered in Denver and it took more than two decades before her family learned what happened. Her case went cold for over 20 years and there were no answers for me, my family, any of us, Bluestar said. We needed that alert system. We needed answers. Our family cried for over 20 years not knowing where our aunt went. We have a relative from our Ute Tribe whos missing today. Where is he at? Where is his alert system? Leaders of Indigenous tribes said they cannot access the states emergency alert systems such as AMBER Alter, making it difficult to spread the word when someone is missing. Because these crimes usually also lack mainstream news coverage, the families of victims can only turn to social media for help. Chairman Manuel Hart of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council said his tribe also struggles with law enforcement jurisdiction. The tribe falls under the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs Police, in addition to local law enforcement agencies of three different states. He said crimes also occasionally spill into their neighboring tribe Navajo Nation which has its own systems. Vice Chairman Ramona Eagle from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe said her tribe has been left to investigate their missing and murdered cases itself, a task she said they do not have the capacity to handle. In the past 15 years, our tribe has worked on 10 cases dealing with missing and murdered persons, and seven of those persons were Southern Ute Tribe members. The other three persons were affiliated with other tribes. In addition, the tribe is currently investigating three suspicious cold case deaths, Eagle said. This epidemic has impacted my family personally. My daughter, Sadie R. Frost, was murdered in 1995. Under the bill, the new office would assist on investigations involving Indigenous victims, review cases and develop best practices, data collection and training for law enforcement agencies. The office would also assist families and tribes in how to navigate the system and would coordinate between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and organizations. The bill would require the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to publish a database on missing Indigenous people and notify tribes and media outlets when it gets a report of a missing or murdered Indigenous person. All nine senators who voted against the bill Friday are Republicans. Though none offered comment on their vote, several conservative lawmakers have recently raised issue with Colorados expanding government. In the last three years, the state has added more than a dozen new state offices, a new state department and other governmental structures. Colleges and universities in Colorado are no longer allowed to withhold diplomas or transcripts because of a students unpaid debt thanks to legislation Gov. Jared Polis signed into law on Thursday. House Bill 1049 prohibits higher education institutions from refusing to provide transcripts or diplomas to students who have unpaid fees, parking tickets or other minor costs. In addition, if a student owes tuition, financial aid or room and board fees, institutions cant withhold transcripts or diplomas if the student needs them to apply for a job, credit transfer, financial aid or post-secondary opportunities, such as joining the military. They cant earn money to pay their bills if they cant get a job. They cant get a job without their transcript, Polis said. This will help address some of the workforce needs we have across our state. The Senate passed the bill in a 20-13 vote in March, and the House approved it, 40-24, in February. The bill sailed through in both chambers nearly exclusively along party lines, with all Republicans in opposition to the bill and all Democrats in support except for Democrat Rep. Dylan Roberts of Eagle, who voted against the measure. Opponents said the bill would encourage students not to pay their debts and could result in colleges and universities raising tuition fees to make up for the funds lost by not being able to withhold diplomas and transcripts. During the 2019-20 school year, higher education institutions in Colorado recouped approximately $242 million in student debt by withholding transcripts, according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Supporters of the bill said the relief would give students the ability to earn the money needed to pay back their debt. Nationally, 6.6 million students owe approximately $15 billion in unpaid debt, according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education. We have an opportunity here to support our own students and to home-grow our talent, said bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver. Through the pandemic these last couple of years, people have to make hard decisions on what they can pay for. To know that a diploma or a certificate or a degree can be held up for parking tickets just breaks all of our hearts. The bill also prohibits institutions from charging a higher fee or providing less favorable treatment to a transcript or diploma request because a student owes debt. Students from outside of the United States are exempt from the prohibition. The law went into effect immediately after it was signed by Polis on Thursday because of the addition of a safety clause. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in the siege of Mariupol as his military forces have successfully forced the remaining Ukrainian troops in the area to hold up inside a giant steelworks facility. However, the United States has disputed the Russian president's claims and argued that Ukrainian forces still held ground in the city. On the other hand, Putin ordered his troops to blockade the steel complex where Ukrainians, both military and civilians, were told earlier to either surrender or die. Putin Claims Victory in Mariupol Ukrainian authorities said that Putin wanted to avoid a final clash between the two forces in Mariupol as he lacked enough manpower to complete a takeover of the region. However, Ukrainian officials also appealed for assistance to evacuate civilians and wounded soldiers stranded in the area. At the Kremlin, Putin held a televised meeting where he congratulated his defense minister and Russian forces for having "successfully completed the combat effort to liberate Mariupol." He added that it was unnecessary to siege the industrial zone that contained the Azovstal steel plant, as per Reuters. One senior United States defense official said that the fighting in the region and in the eastern Donbas region was still ongoing. They added that United States President Joe Biden announced a flight carrying more military aid will begin arriving in Ukraine this weekend. Read Also: Fears Rise Over Russia's Potential Use of Tactical Nukes in Ukraine; Vladimir Putin's Aide Says New ICBM Test Is a Gift to NATO, Kyiv Sponsors On Wednesday, Russian and Ukrainian authorities were trying to negotiate a deal to form a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians, but it fell through. There were only four buses to leave Mariupol despite officials hoping to evacuate thousands of people. Residents have been evacuating the Donbas region due to Russian forces massing nearby to try and escape the threat to their lives. This includes Sergei Protsenko, a restauranteur from Kherson, which is near the front lines of the war in southern Ukraine. Situation Inside the City According to NPR, he had crossed nine different Russian-held checkpoints to make it into Ukrainian-held territory and said that he was told to strip down to see if he had any tattoos related to the Ukrainian military. Making it into Odesa, Protsenko is now able to smoke a cigarette and look out into the sea, saying he feels a huge sense of relief. Both sides would benefit greatly from having total control of Mariupol as it is the last pocket of serious resistance in the land bridge that the Kremlin has created between the regions that it already controls in the Donbas region in the east and the Crimean Peninsula in the south. Furthermore, Mariupol is home to much of Ukraine's Azov Battalion, filled with far-right fighters who give a sheen of credibility to Putin's false claim that Ukraine is run by Nazis and that his plan with the invasion was to "denazify" the nation. The fight for the city also illustrates both the brutality of the Russian war and Putin's struggles of accomplishing his goals. For more than a month, Russian troops have been sieging Mariupol, causing much of the area to lie in ruins with satellite images showing a growing mass grave on the outskirts, the New York Times reported. Related Article: Russia-Ukraine War Heading Into Next Phase With "Attritional Conflict" in Donbas, Says UK Ministers @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. Offer a personal message of sympathy... By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account. Boomtown 2022: How to live your best life in Columbia over 50 Columbia makes repeated appearances on lists ranking cities as good places to live. It is perhaps an even better place to mature and retire. A strong health care network, reasonable housing prices, a vibrant, engaged community and an appealing downtown help create an attractive location for all generations, but especially for those over 50. Read more stories. Read the e-Edition You might not know it from all the panic-inducing headlines out there, but Android is actually packed with practical and powerful security options. Some are activated by default and protecting you whether you realize it or not, while others are more out of the way but equally deserving of your attention. So stop wasting your time worrying about the Android malware monster du jour and which security company is using it to scare you into an unnecessary subscription, and take a moment instead to look through these far more impactful Android settings ranging from core system-level elements to some more advanced and easily overlooked options. Make your way through these 12 specific Android settings, then make your way over to my Android Intelligence newsletter to get three exclusive bonus tips on your favorite subject this second. Ready? Ready. Let's do this: Android setting No. 1: App permissions A rarely spoken reality of Android security is that your own negligence either in failing to properly secure your device in some way or in leaving open too many windows that allow third-party apps access to your info is far more likely to be problematic than any manner of malware or scary-sounding boogeyman. So let's address the first part of that right off the bat, shall we? Despite what some sensational stories might lead you to believe, Android apps are never able to access your personal data or any part of your phone unless you explicitly give 'em the go-ahead to do so. And while you can't undo anything that's already happened (unless you happen to own a time-traveling DeLorean in which case, great Scott, drop me a line), you can go back and revisit all your app permissions to make sure everything's in tip-top shape for the future. That's advisable to do periodically, anyway, and particularly now as the last few Android versions have included some important new app permission options. Specifically, you can now let apps access your location only when they're actively in use, instead of all the time (as of Android 10); you can approve certain permissions only on a one-time, limited-use basis (as of Android 11); and you can determine how detailed of a view any given app gets of your location when you grant it that access (as of Android 12). But any apps that were already on your phone by the time those upgrades arrived would've already had full, unrestricted access to those areas of your device. And it's up to you to revisit 'em and update their settings as needed. So do this: Head into the Privacy section of your Android settings and find the "Permission manager" line. That'll show you a list of all available system permissions, including especially sensitive areas such as location, camera, and microphone the same three areas, incidentally, that can be limited to one-time use only on any phone running at least Android 11. (And if you don't see a "Permission manager" option on your phone, try looking in the Apps section instead. You can then pull up one app at a time there and find its permissions that way.) Tap on a specific permission, and you'll see a breakdown of exactly which apps are authorized to use it in what way. You can then tap on any app to adjust its level of access and bring it down a notch, when applicable, or remove its access to the permission entirely and, if you've got Android 12 or higher, also select whether the app should get access to your precise location or only a far less specific approximate view of where you are. If there's one section of your Android settings worth spending the time to revisit, this is without a doubt it. Android setting No. 2: Play Protect Speaking of apps on your phone, this is a fine time to talk about Google Play Protect Android's native security system that, among other things, continuously scans your phone for any signs of misbehaving apps and warns you if anything suspicious emerges. (And yes, it does sometimes fail to detect shady players immediately something that gets played up to a comedic degree in those misleading marketing campaigns but even in those instances, the real-world threat to most folks is typically quite minimal.) Unless you (or someone else) inadvertently disabled it at some point, Play Protect should be up and running on your phone already but it certainly can't hurt to double-check and make sure. To do so, just open up the Security section of your Android settings. Tap the line labeled either "Google Play Protect" or "App security," then tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner and make sure the toggles there are activated. Back on the main Play Protect screen, you'll see a status update showing you that the system is active and running. It works entirely on its own, automatically, but you can always trigger a manual scan of your apps on that same page, if you're ever so inclined (or maybe just bored). Android setting No. 3: Safe Browsing Chrome is typically the default Android browser and as long as you're using it, you can rest a little easier knowing it'll warn you anytime you try to open a shady site or download something dangerous. While Chrome's Safe Browsing mode is enabled by default, though, the app has a newer and more effective version of the same system called Enhanced Safe Browsing. And it's up to you to opt in to it. Here's how: Open up Chrome on your phone. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the app's upper-right corner and select "Settings" from the menu that comes up. Tap "Privacy and security," then select "Safe Browsing." Tap the dot next to "Enhanced protection" on the next screen you see. While you're there, back yourself out to the main Chrome settings menu and select "Safety check." That'll reveal a handy one-tap tool for scanning your various browser settings and saved passwords and letting you know of anything that needs attention. Android setting No. 4: Lock screen info If someone else ever gets their sweaty paws on your phone, you don't want 'em to be able to access any of your personal and/or company information right? Well, take note: Android typically shows notifications on your lock screen by default which means the contents of emails or other messages you receive might be visible to anyone who looks at your device, even if they can't unlock it. If you tend to get sensitive messages or just want to step up your security and privacy game, you can restrict how much notification info is shown on your lock screen by going to the Privacy section of your Android settings, tapping the line labeled "Notifications on lock screen," and then changing its setting from "Show all notification content" to either "Show sensitive content only when unlocked" (which will filter your notifications and put only those deemed as "not sensitive" onto the lock screen) or "Don't show notifications at all" (which, as you'd expect, will not show any notifications on your lock screen whatsoever). If you're using a Samsung phone, you'll find those same options within the dedicated Lock Screen section of the system settings though, unfortunately, with less nuance involved (as Samsung has for no apparent reason removed the "sensitive" notification differentiation from the settings on its version of Android). And speaking of the lock screen... Android setting No. 5: Lock screen controls By default, Android makes all of the shortcuts in your phone's Quick Settings area y'know, that panel of one-tap tiles that shows up when you swipe down from the top of the screen available even when the device is locked. Anything that takes you to another area of the operating system will still require authentication, of course, but the simple on-off tiles can be tapped and toggled by anyone who's holding the phone. More often than not, that's an added convenience. Say you want to flip on your phone's Bluetooth for a fast connection, for instance, or flash on your flashlight to find that stray cheesy poof that slipped out of your sticky grabbers and fell onto the floor. Being able to do those things with a couple quick taps and without having to unlock your phone can certainly be handy. At the same time, though, it can also allow someone else to do something like change your phone's sound settings, disable its Wi-Fi connection, or even put it into airplane mode. And if you're really aiming for the tightest security available, you probably don't want that sort of stuff to be possible. Here's the good news: If you've got a device with a recent Android version, you can take control and turn those controls off in the lock screen environment. With Android 12 and up, march into the Display section of your Android settings and tap "Lock screen." Turn the toggle next to the "Show device controls" option into the off position, then make a celebratory squawking sound and get yourself a soda. With Samsung phones, you'll instead need to head into the Lock Screen section of your settings and tap the line labeled "Secure lock settings." There, you'll find an option to "Lock network and security," which prevents any network-related toggles from being used in that context. (Samsung stripped out the ability to lock down all Quick Settings tiles, unfortunately, but the network-connected are probably the most important in terms of security, anyway.) Android setting No. 6: Smart Lock Security is only useful if you actually use it and given the extra level of inconvenience it often adds into our lives, it's all too easy to let our guards down and get lazy after a while. Android's Smart Lock feature is designed to counteract that tendency by making security a teensy bit less annoying. It can let you automatically keep your phone unlocked whenever you're in a trusted place like your home, your office, or that weird-smelling restaurant where you eat barbeque sandwiches almost disgustingly often or even when you're connected to a trusted Bluetooth device, like a smartwatch, some earbuds, or your car's audio system. Depending on your device, you'll want to look for the "Screen Lock" option in the Security section of your Android settings (with older Android versions), look under "Advanced settings" within the Security section (with Android 12), or look in the Lock Screen section of your settings (on a Samsung phone) to explore the possibilities. And if you ever find the Trusted Places part of Smart Lock isn't working reliably, by the way, here's the 60-second fix. Android setting No. 7: Two-factor authentication This next one's technically a Google account option and not specific to Android, but it's very much connected to Android and your overall smartphone experience. You know what two-factor authentication is by now, right? And you're using it everywhere you can especially on your Google account, which is probably associated with all sorts of sensitive data? RIGHT?! If you aren't, by golly, now's the time to start. Hustle over to the Google section of your Android settings, tap "Manage your Google Account," and then scroll across that top row to select the "Security" tab. Find and tap "2-Step Verification" and follow the steps to set things up. For most people, I'd recommend using your phone's own "Security Key" option as the default method, if it's available, followed by "Google prompts" and an authenticator app as secondary methods. For that last part, you'll need to download and set up an app like Google's own Authenticator or the more flexible Authy to generate your sign-in codes. If you really want to take your Google account security to the max, you can also go a step further and purchase a specific standalone hardware key that'll control the process and be required for any successful sign-in to occur. It'll add an extra step into your sign-in process, but this is one area where the minor inconvenience is very much worth the tradeoff for enhanced protection. Android setting No. 8: Lockdown mode Provided you're using a phone with Android 9 or higher (and if you aren't, switching over to a current phone that actually gets active software updates should be your top security priority!), an Android setting called lockdown mode is well worth your while to investigate. Once enabled, it gives you an easy way to temporarily lock down your phone from all biometric and Smart Lock security options meaning only a pattern, PIN, or password can get a person past your lock screen and into your device. The idea is that if you were ever in a situation where you thought you might be forced to unlock your phone with your fingerprint or face be it by some sort of law enforcement agent or just by a regular ol' hooligan you could activate the lockdown mode and know your data couldn't be accessed without your explicit permission. No notifications will ever show up on your lock screen while the mode is active, and that heightened level of protection will remain in place until you manually unlock your phone (even if the device is restarted). The trick, though, is that on certain phones particularly those that shipped with earlier Android versions and were upgraded to Android 9 at some point you have to enable the option ahead of time in order for it to be available. To confirm that it's activated on your device, open up your Android settings, search for the word lockdown, and make sure the toggle alongside "Show lockdown option" is set to the on position. If you're using a current phone and don't see any results for that search, the option is probably just automatically enabled and you shouldn't have to do anything to make it available. Either way, once the system's up and running, you should see a command labeled either "Lockdown" or "Lockdown mode" anytime you press and hold your phone's power button. With any luck, you'll never need it. But it's a good added layer of protection to have available, just in case and now you know how to find it. Android setting No. 9: App pinning One of Android's most practical settings is also one of its most hidden. I'm talkin' about app pinning something introduced way back in 2014's Lollipop era and rarely mentioned since. App pinning makes it possible for you to lock a single app or process to your phone and then require a password or fingerprint authentication before anything else can be accessed. It can be invaluable when you pass your phone off to a friend or colleague and want to be sure they don't accidentally (or maybe not so accidentally) get into something they shouldn't. To use app pinning, you'll first need to activate it by opening that trusty ol' Security section in your Android settings and then finding the line labeled "App pinning," "Screen pinning," or possibly "Pin windows." (You'll probably have to tap a line labeled "Advanced settings" or "Other security settings" to reveal it.) Tap those words, whatever they are on your specific device, then turn the feature on and also make sure the toggle to "Ask for unlock pattern before unpinning" is activated. Then, the next time you're about to place your phone in someone else's grubby hands, first open up your system Overview interface either by swiping up from the bottom of your screen and holding your finger down, if you're using Android's gesture system, or by pressing the square-shaped button, if you're still hanging onto the old-school three-button nav setup. On any phone running reasonably recent software, you'll then tap the icon of the app you want to pin, directly above its card in that Overview area. And there, you should see the Pin option. Once you've tapped that, you won't be able to switch apps, go back to your home screen, look at notifications, or do anything else until you exit the pinning and unlock the device. To do that, with gestures, you'll swipe up from the bottom of your screen and hold your finger down and with the old three-button nav setup, you'll press the Back and Overview buttons at the same time. Android setting No. 10: Guest Mode If you want to go a step further and let someone else use all parts of your phone without ever encountering your personal information or being able to mess anything up, Android has an incredible system that'll let you do just that with next to no ongoing effort involved. It's called Guest Mode, and it's been around since 2014, despite the fact that most folks have completely forgotten about it. For a detailed walkthrough of what it's all about and how you can put it to use, see my separate Android Guest Mode guide. Just note that if you have a Samsung phone, that guide won't do you much good as Samsung has for no apparent reason opted to remove this standard operating system element from its software (insert tangentially related soapbox rant here). On Google's own Pixel phones and many other Android devices, though, it'll take you all of 20 seconds to set up and get ready. Android setting No. 11: Find My Device Whether you've simply misplaced your phone around the house or office or you've actually lost it out in the wild, always remember that Android has its own built-in mechanism for finding, ringing, locking, and even erasing a device from afar. Like Play Protect, the Android Find My Device feature should be enabled by default. You can make sure by heading into the Security section of your Android settings and tapping the line labeled "Find My Device." Double-check that the toggle at the top of the screen is turned on. Using a Samsung phone? Samsung provides its own superfluous, redundant service called Find My Mobile, but the native Google Android version will bring all of your devices not only those made by Samsung together into a single place. and it's also much more versatile in how and where it's able to work. On a Samsung device, the easiest way to find the Android Find My Device setting is to search your system settings for the phrase Find My Device. Once you've confirmed the setting is enabled, if you ever need to track your phone down, just go to android.com/find from any browser or do a Google search for "find my device." (There's also an official Find My Device Android app, if you have another Android device and want to keep that function standing by and ready.) As long as you're able to sign into your Google account, you'll be able to pinpoint your phone's last known location on a map and manage it remotely within a matter of seconds. Android setting No. 12: Emergency contact Find My Device is a fantastic resource to have but in certain situations, you might get a missing phone back even faster with the help of a fellow human. Give people a chance to do the right thing by adding an emergency contact that can be accessed and dialed with a few quick taps from your phone's lock screen. To start, go to either the About Phone section of your Android settings or the Safety & Emergency section, if you have it, and then find and tap the line labeled either "Emergency information" or "Emergency contacts." Follow the prompts there to add in an emergency contact a close friend, family member, significant other, random raccoon, or whatever makes sense for you. (Hey, I'm not here to judge.) Easy peasy, right? Well, almost: The only challenge is that the emergency contact info isn't exactly obvious or simple to find on the lock screen go figure so anyone who picks up your phone might not even notice it. But wait! You can increase the odds considerably with one extra step: Head into the Display section of your settings and tap "Lock screen" (which may be hidden within an "Advanced" subsection, depending on your device), then tap the line labeled "Add text on lock screen." However you get there, once you find yourself facing a blank space for text input, enter something along the lines of: "If you've found this phone, please swipe up and then tap 'Emergency call' and 'View emergency information' to notify me." That message will then always show up on your lock screen and as an added bonus, if there's ever an actual emergency, you'll be ready for that, too. Using a Samsung phone? For no apparent reason (sensing a theme here?), Samsung has removed the direct emergency contact system and instead offers only the ability to place plain text on your lock screen. You can find that, though, by making your way into the Lock Screen section of your system settings and looking for the line labeled "Contact information" and there, you can just type in your emergency contact info directly and hope that someone finds it and then dials it from their own phone. One more thing... Now that you've got your Android security settings optimized and in order, take 10 minutes to perform an Android security checkup. It's a 16-step process I've created for the state of security on both your phone and your broader Google account and it's well worth doing at least once a year. The best part of this checkup? It's completely painless and unlike with most preventative exams, removing your pants is entirely optional. Get even more Googley knowledge with my Android Intelligence newsletter three new things to try every Friday and three custom tips on your favorite topic right now. 04/22/2022 Photo (c) Carlos Sanchez Pereyra - Getty Images Hybrid and electric vehicles are in demand due to gas prices surging this year. For consumers considering buying one, U.S. News and World Report has issued its list of best choices after evaluating 82 vehicles across eight categories. While Tesla may be synonymous with electric vehicles in many peoples minds, Toyota had the most first-place finishes of any brand. It took home the Best Hybrid Car award, with the Toyota Prius, and the Best Hybrid SUV award, with the RAV4 Hybrid. The Kia EV6 won the Best Electric Vehicle award, the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid won the Best Plug-In Hybrid award, and the Volvo S60 took home the award for Best Luxury Plug-In Hybrid. The 2022 Kia EV6 has a lengthy driving range, spry handling, many active safety features, and a premium cabin with comfy seats but also a rather small cargo area, the judges wrote. The brand-new 2022 Tucson Hybrid features a lively powertrain, a posh interior, two rows of spacious, comfortable seats, and a stellar safety score. For these reasons and more, it stands tall near the top of the hybrid SUV class. Tesla did win in one of the categories, with the Tesla Model Y being named the Best Luxury Electric SUV. The Lexus ES Hybrid another Toyota product was named the Best Luxury Hybrid. Increase in demand U.S. News selected the 2022 Best Hybrid and Electric Car winners based on a combination of the cars' overall score from the U.S. News Best Car Rankings, starting price, Level 2 charging rate, fuel economy, and range data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The judges looked at data for 82 luxury and mainstream hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric cars. Within each of the eight categories, the vehicle with the highest composite score won the category. "There's been a significant increase in the demand for electric vehicles, and they have more appeal than ever as gas prices rise and consumers look for cars with a low carbon footprint," says Jim Sharifi, managing editor of U.S. News Best Cars. "The winners of the Best Hybrid and Electric Car awards deliver a rewarding ownership experience, as well as low emissions and fuel costs." Good luck finding one to buy Finding one of these cars may prove difficult because of their sudden popularity and the new car shortage, which may not be ending anytime soon. Jason Puckett, president of Toyota Alabama, said this week that the industry is still being held back by a shortage of computer chips. Puckett said the shortage of computer chips has been made worse by the war in Ukraine because the country is a major supplier of materials needed for chip production. Supplies are still a challenge, its still a struggle with chips, Puckett said at an event in Huntsville, Ala. I think its going to go on for a while. And its not going to be a solution that any automaker finds in the next few months. So it continues to be a challenge. Ambitious young Ecuadorians see opportunity in learning Chinese Xinhua) 10:15, April 22, 2022 QUITO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Learning the Chinese language is attracting a growing number of young Ecuadorians who wish to develop professionally by traveling to China to learn about its ancient culture and economic opportunities. During Chinese Language Day on Wednesday, some Ecuadorians highlighted the importance of the language in a global context. "The Chinese language is important because China is a world power, so it is essential to learn it. It opens many doors for work. It is the language of the future," said 27-year-old Victor Tipun, a student attending the Confucius Class at the Siyuan School of Chinese Language in Quito, Ecuador's capital. Tipun said Mandarin Chinese is "complicated" and requires discipline but shouldn't be feared. Noting that many Chinese companies operate in Ecuador, Tipun said job opportunities increase with knowledge of the language, with a chance to travel to China. Tatiana Logacho, one of Tipun's classmates, is studying foreign trade and sees Chinese as key to doing business globally. "It seems that the Chinese language would help me achieve greater professional growth, and I would also like to travel to that country. The Chinese culture is very different from ours," said the 20-year-old. Logacho said that learning Chinese has been a fascinating experience and involves several facets, including calligraphy. "The truth is that I love it. I feel that it is fun. Learning a new language fascinates me," said Logacho, adding that Mandarin-language skills can contribute to Ecuador's economic progress. The study of Mandarin Chinese has created a cultural bridge between Ecuador and China. In Ecuador, the Confucius Class at the Siyuan School of Chinese Language is the largest, with some 2,300 students enrolled nationwide via virtual classes and in person. It serves as the official testing center, and classrooms are decorated with traditional Chinese ornaments. The teacher, Sun Jichun, or Anita, as her students call her in Spanish, told Xinhua that her students are genuinely curious about the language. "All the students are intelligent and have fun learning Chinese. They learn quickly. I think they can learn the language very well and travel to China to work," she said, expressing pride in her role as a conduit of the Chinese language. The school, set up in 2003, has about a dozen teachers from China. They teach children aged four and older with didactic methods and material to make learning enjoyable. "We are a school dedicated to teaching the Chinese language and spreading the culture. Many students dream of knowing more about China, learning the language to get a job in a Chinese company or winning a scholarship to study in China," said Cao Xiaohong, the schoolmaster. Cao arrived in Ecuador 20 years ago and set up a school with just three students from scratch. Over the years, Cao's endeavors changed the lives of many Ecuadorians. "With the teachers' efforts, the lives of many families have changed in this South American country," said Cao. "They are motivated to study the language because as each day passes, China's influence is greater, and China's openness is felt more. People want to do business with China, and Chinese culture is attracting attention." (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The cornered Neo-Nazi Azov Regiment would not leave unless the Russian army agreed to their conditions before leaving their positions. Vladimir Putin's forces gained control of Mariupol and are negotiating for an ending to fighting with Nazi sympathizers. But Kyiv reportedly blamed Moscow before an agreement was reached to establish safe passage for them. Azov Refuses To Give Up The Ukrainian supremacists who fell back to the Azovstal steel plant in the Black Sea port city of Mariupol are waiting for the response of the Russian army, reported the Daily Telegraph. Svyatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the neo-Nazi Azov regiment last Wednesday, posted a new video saying his troops will on vacate their hole; if a third party was involved, noted BBC. They demanded to retain their arms and evacuate their wounded and dead from the route. Palamar demanded they walk out and not surrender to Russian forces or Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) soldiers. Commander of Ukraine's 36th marines brigade, Sergey Volyna, sent a video with the same message as the Russians routed their group. He claimed there were 500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians who willing got holed up with them, cited the Press United. He added that they were spared their failed assault in the city and claimed they were in danger of the military operation. Begged for that, a foreign power takes them to any state supporting Kyiv. Russia To Set Humanitarian Corridor A new attempt by the Russian military to provide a humanitarian passage for Neo-Nazi Azov Regiment and civilians willing to leave the Azovstal complex has failed. Read Also: Volodymyr Zelensky Children: Does the Ukraine President Have Kids? The military stated that the Kyiv authorities' declared humanitarian effort was shamelessly interrupted, as no one used the passage. The forsaken Ukrainians were told they were wrong, and all means to spare them were done. Mentioned their leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, let their capture happen and are hopeless. Despite leeway for surrender without bloodshed, Kyiv said it was Moscow's error to stage a way out. The Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereschukn alleged Russia did not honor a ceasefire. Kyiv claimed that Russian forces had no actual intention to implement the surrender of its soldiers. Vladimir Putin said the Minsk Pact was ignored, with the acceptance of the Kremlin of Donbas breakaway provinces Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR). The Ukrainian regime did not stay neutral and claimed no provoking by it, and the west happened; even as Putin said, the Neo-Nazis would attack the LPR and DPR again, which was stopped by a special operation. Mariupol is under Russian control Russian army forces took control of the Donbas Black Sea port city of Mariupol, as told by Sergey Shoigu to Russian Leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Around 2000, Neo-Nazis who are pro-Kyiv won't budge in the Azovstal steel plant in the city. President Vladimir Putin advised Mr. Shoigu to block the militants not storming into the plant, remarked RT; if non-combatants alleged inside might be hurt, mentioned TASS. The remaining Azovs and marines will be cut off until they surrender. Russian army units cut off Mariupol from support; about 8,100 Ukrainian soldiers and their allies were in the plant. The Neo-Nazi Azov regiment holed up in the plant gave conditions for surrender, though human shields were with them was a concern of Russian forces for their safety. Related Article: Moscow Reveals Actual Ukrainian Casualties in Its Military Service Since Hostilities Started on February 24 @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Dreadlines.com scored 58 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 3/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 5 Jun 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the dreadlines homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the dreadlines homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if dreadlines has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the dreadlines homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the dreadlines homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the dreadlines homepage on Twitter + the total number of dreadlines followers (if dreadlines has a Twitter account). Basic Information PAGE TITLE Dreadlines | Real and scary headlines * Updated daily DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS zombie, after, earth, ghosts, zombies, survival, about The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English (United States) UTF-8English (United States) DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Type of server and offered services. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of dreadlines.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for dreadlines.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The total number of people who like website Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Billionaire oligarch Vagit Alekperov, who is one of Russia's richest men, has resigned from his position as the CEO of the country's second-largest oil company, Lukoil, amid sanctions from the United Kingdom over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday, the oil company said that Alekperov has informed them about his "decision to resign" as a director and president of Lukoil. Officials did not, however, disclose the reasons for the billionaire's resignation. Russian Billionaire Oligarch Resigns However, the announcement of the decision was made only a few days after UK authorities imposed sanctions on Alekperov and seven weeks after Lukoil (LUKOY) broke ranks with President Vladimir Putin. The company had called for an end to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. A source familiar with the matter claimed that Alekperov decided to part ways with Lukoil after the sanctions imposed on him to protect the company's operations. The oil company produces more than 2% of the world's crude oil and employs more than 100,000 people. It operates in dozens of countries and is only behind state-owned giant Rosneft as the largest oil company in the nation, as per CNN. The 71-year-old billionaire oligarch has joined a long list of Russian CEOs who have chosen to step down from their positions after receiving sanctions from the West. The list includes the bosses of the country's largest petrochemical producer Sibur Holding, internet company Yandex NV, and e-commerce firm Ozon Group, who have resigned in recent months. Read Also: Russia Hits Mark Zuckerberg, Kamala Harris, More Americans with Ban Hammer Amid West Sanctions [Full Details] As of Mar. 31, Alekperov owned 3.12% voting shares of Lukoil and was the beneficiary of 5.43% of shares without voting rights. The oil company's shares fell as much as 7.39% to 3,970 rubles each and were trading down 7.2% as of 6:36 p.m. in Moscow. The numbers showcase the lowest since the end of February when Russia first started invading its European neighbor. According to Aljazeera, later, Lukoil's board of directors appointed Vadim Vorobyev, who is the company's first executive vice president to be its acting president. Two unidentified people close to the company revealed the information as the company declined to comment on the matter. Who Is Vagit Alekperov? Alekperov is estimated to have a net worth of roughly $18.6 billion and started his oil career as a simple rig worker in the Caspian Sea. by 1990, he was already the Soviet Union's deputy minister for the oil and gas industry. In the year that the Soviet Union collapsed, 1991, Alekperov converted three government-owned oil fields into Lukoil. He is currently holding the title of Russia's eight-richest person. Until recently, Alekperov was able to escape personal sanctions and he was described in 2004 as a man whose "unimpressiveness is calculated" and is known to behave in a way that showed his greatest wish was to be ignored by the public. In an interview at the time, the billionaire oligarch said that he could not afford to be indifferent to politics but argued that he had no personal ambitions. He said that his only task connected to politics was to help his country and his company advance, Business Insider reported. Related Article: Joe Biden Slaps Russia With New Sanctions Amid War; More Help Coming for Ukraine @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Every city has its own fast food urban legend. All of Toronto still mourns the now-closed Parkdale McDonald's, a location so famously weird that the guy who brought in a full desktop computer to watch porn was actually considered one of the better customers. In Long Beach, they swear by Sweet Dixie Kitchen, which was notoriously exposed for buying Popeye's fried chicken, smuggling it in the back door, and reselling it at a slightly higher price. And nobody in Chamblee, Georgia can order Domino's without remembering the time a deranged gunman named Kenneth Noid took two employees hostage, believing that the chain's nationwide "Avoid the Noid" advertising campaign was aimed at him specifically. But there's a new champion on the scene. A story so hilariously insane that you simply would not believe it, unless we added that it took place in Pittsburgh. Everything is true in Pittsburgh, the only town where children's stories about a guy with no face wandering around at night turned out to literally be a guy with no face who enjoyed late-night walks (his name was Raymond and he was reportedly a lovely man). This particular tale was sinking into the mists of local folklore until it was highlighted by Twitter user ohip13, who has something of a specialty in bizarre Pittsburgh legends. We're talking, of course, about the South Side Fake Burger King. Google Maps At least McDowell's had a little pizzazz. Continue Reading Below Advertisement The first thing to note is that this particular Burger King was never exactly going to win awards. It's drive-thru facility can only be described as a terrifying murder tunnel, while online reviews include phrases like "some shady guy charged me a dollar to use the bathroom," "a homeless guy stole another homeless guy's shoes" and "If you've ever said to yourself 'Hey I want to eat lunch in a dirty bus station...this place is for you!'" There was a McDonald's a couple miles away that was selling Happy Meal toys stuffed full of heroin and it still got better reviews. But around the start of 2014, things went even further downhill, to the point that people started asking "Is this even a real Burger King at all?" While many fans may have been expecting another anthology-esque divergence into the unknown, this weeks episode once again focused on our main cast of characters; Earn, Al, Darius, and even Van (briefly). White Fashion begins with an upscale fashion house whose Central Park jersey with a number 5 stitched on it doesnt go over so well. FX So in an effort to save their image, the fashion brand, Esco Esco, enlists a handful of Black celebrities, including Paper Boi/Al, to attend a press conference and offer white reporters empty, mostly insane, promises that the companys new initiatives would end racism by 2024. Although hes not the writer, nor the director of this episode (and ultimately, just one of a number of prominent collaborators working on the series), its still hard not to see Donald Glover as the authorial voice of Atlanta. Especially in this season, surely the European tour of a rap star whose career is exploding must have been somewhat informed by Glovers own experiences touring as Childish Gambino minus the ghosts. And, following that line of thinking, this episode may have been secretly about sneakers. While Glover never struck up a deal with a fancy pants fashion house, he did partner with Adidas between 2018 and 2020. And in that timeframe, Adidas did release a product that prompted a severe backlash no it wasnt Central Park 5 merch, but rather a pair of shoes celebrating the Harlem Renaissance for Black History Month, which were bafflingly all-white and ultimately pulled. Last week, the Department of Education of Americas ball pit, Florida, rejected a bunch of math textbooks from their curriculum because of prohibited topics. No, its not dangerous, illegal math, like fertilizer ratios in improvised explosives. Its instead the inclusion of the tres chic boogeyman known as critical race theory and also, for some reason, social-emotional learning. I assume because looking inward in any way threatens the first thing. Its all a load of crap, of course, played for political points. If you had any doubts about that, just know that the ACTUAL name of the legislation is the Stop W.O.K.E. Act which stands for Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees. Based on this bloodbath of a backronym, we can assume theyre not fans of grammar or syntax either. The New York Times covered some of the specific pages and activities that were rejected, and unsurprisingly, theyre less about questioning the role of race in American societal and legal systems throughout history, and more about having a picture of a non-white kid asking you to disagree respectfully in order to learn together. But since Florida seems dead-set on shoehorning the idea of critical race theory into baby STEM, here are some critical race theory math questions for them to get all ginned up about and ban. Leaked audio recording suggests that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told GOP members that he planned to tell former United States President Donald Trump to resign following the chaos of the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. The recording contradicts the lawmaker's statement where he denied that he was considering such an action at the time. Hours prior to the release of the audio recording, McCarthy vehemently denied a report that suggested he considered the decision, calling it "false" and a "liberal agenda." Leaked Audio Recording The situation comes after former President Trump blasted presenter Piers Morgan and accused the TV host of doctoring an advert for a TV program that would showcase an interview between the two men. The advert showed the Republican businessman storming out of the set and telling the crew to turn the camera off. A Trump spokesman later released an audio recording of the interview that claims the two men thanked each other after the interview. Conservative expert AB Stoddard reacted to McCarthy's leaked audio and said it was a "breathtaking failure" on the part of the Republican, as per Independent. The bombshell recording was shared by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns on Thursday evening. The recording captured a portion of a Jan. 10, 2021, GOP leadership call where McCarthy suggested taking advantage of House Democrats' efforts to impeach Trump for a second time. Read Also: Trump Spokesman Releases Audio Recording Suggesting Former President Did Not Storm Off Interview With Piers Morgan Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming could be heard asking the House minority leader if he thinks that the Republican businessman might resign. In response, McCarthy said that he did not think so but suggested that he might have a conversation with Trump that night. According to Business Insider, McCarthy said, "This is what I think: I think we know it'll pass the House. I think there's a chance it will pass the Senate even when he's gone," regarding the impeachment resolution. He then laid out how he would present the suggestion to the former president. Gap Within the GOP The recording also suggests that the two top Republicans in the GOP, McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, blasted Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot. McCarthy allegedly said, "I've had it with this guy." However, the two officials never moved forward with their potential all-out fight with the Republican businessman in fear of retribution from him and his political movement. The two Republicans' drive to act faded as it became clear that it would only make it more difficult for them to gain votes. The previously unknown expressions of outrage from the two top Republicans against Trump show the massive gap between what GOP leaders say privately about the former president and their public expression of opinion of him. This is primarily because Trump has held the party with an iron grip for the last half a decade. McCarthy and McConnell's retreat from their statements also represented a capitulation at a moment of extraordinary political weakness for the former president. It is perhaps the last and best chance for mainstream Republicans to reclaim control of their party from a leader that is most notable for stoking an insurrection against American democracy itself, the New York Times reported. Related Article: Hillary Clinton Urges To Dismiss Donald Trump's 'Russiagate' Lawsuit Over 2016 Election @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russian attackers turned online this month to continue their onslaught and attempted to disable a Ukrainian energy company. The hackers tried to disconnect several high-voltage substations from a section of the country's electric grid but were foiled by Ukraines computer emergency response team (CERT-UA) with the help of researchers from ESET and Microsoft. Russia's hacker group known as Sandworm, a division of the GRU, the intelligence arm of the Russian military, is thought to be behind the attempted attack. The consensus among industry thought leaders is that the thwarted incident is a victory for Ukraine. Russias GRU hacking unit, Sandworm, infected a Ukrainian energy company with destructive malware, tweeted Nicole Perlroth, a former New York Times reporter covering cybersecurity and current advisor to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The attack was scheduled for last Friday but was caught in time. Bravo ESET and Ukraine CERT. Cannot be overstated what an incredible feat it was to catch this before they shut off power, she later added. Those Sandworm a**hats got shut down this time, tweeted infosec influencer @z3r0trust. The attackers attempted to use the Industroyer malware, a tool used in the past by Sandworm and designed to automatically trigger power disruptions. It was first used in a 2016 attack that lead to a temporary power outage in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. While successful in the past, some security influencers questioned if the Sandworm group had run out of steam in recent months and if the failed attempt was a question of capabilities in a dying unit. Correct me if wrong, but seems the Moscow/St Pete tech/hackers may've fled RU while they could, said Nancy Bowman, a diversity recruitment specialist (@BowmanNancy). Wonder if Putin still has a cyber team up to the task post exodus? Others noted the latest attack attempted signaled that the war in Ukraine may increasingly develop digitally. An important development: the discovery of a destructive malware campaign by Sandworm against Ukrainian energy company, said Lauren Zabierek, Executive Director with the Cyber Project at Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center, who tweets under the handle @lzxdc. The Russian war against Ukraine is far from over, and events in the cyber domain will continue to unfold. US removes malware in preemptive move The power supply attack is yet another move to stop malicious cyber activity at Russian hands as earlier this month United States officials announced they had secretly removed malware from computer networks around the world preemptively. In that instance, officials allege Sandworm had implanted a specific type of malware known as Cyclops Blink on thousands of WatchGuard Technologies Firebox devices, which are security appliances often used in home office environments and in small to midsize businesses. US says it secretly took down Russian GRU-run malware operation. Aim unclear: Intelligence? Something disruptive? Disabled before it became operational, tweeted security researcher John Scott-Railton. Sandworm, according to an FBI statement, had constructed a botnet that would allow attackers to launch malware or to orchestrate distributed denial of service attacks. Officials are unsure of the exact intent of the malware, but similar tactics have already been used by the same group to attack Ukraine in the past. The GRUs Sandworm team has a long history of outrageous, destructive attacks: The disruption of the Ukrainian electric grid in 2015, attacks against the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics in 2018, a series of disruptive attacks against the nation of Georgia in 2019, and, in 2017, the NotPetya attack that devastated Ukraine but also ended up hitting systems here in the U.S., throughout Europe, and elsewhere, causing more than 10 billion dollars in damagesone of the most damaging cyberattacks in the history of cyberattacks, the FBI statement said. Attacks on US next? While speculation about Russian attacks targeting American infrastructure have swirled for weeks, CISA is now warning of the very real potential for attacks on critical infrastructure. The agency is urging critical infrastructure organizations, especially energy sector organizations, to implement recommendations provided in a CISA alert. Today the US Government announced a new ICS malware that has been designed to disrupt industrial operations. CISA/FBI/NSA put out a great advisory, tweeted Dragos CEO and Co-founder Robert M Lee. We call the malware PIPEDREAM. Perlroth tweeted that the warning warrants immediate attention: Here we go. New unnamed state hackers are infecting U.S. critical infrastructurelike grid operatorswith custom tools capable of worst-case scenario attacks. Theres no soft peddling it. This is very serious. Read @CISAgovs advisory in full. And do everything they say. Now. This article originally appeared in CSO's Socialized Security newsletter. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW MILFORD Abdul Matin Malikzada wakes up each morning with a feeling of hope. For the past few weeks, Malikzada, his wife, Molly Malikzada, and their four young children, have been living a new life. Theyre in a new country, establishing new roots, and adapting to a new culture. The Malikadas fled Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August. It took them several months to reach New Milford. Theyre now getting assistance from the Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, or IRIS, and New Milford Refugee Resettlement, or NMRR, nonprofit organizations that help families obtain citizenship and resettle into their new environment. Hearst Connecticut Media communicated with the family through a translator. Life in Afghanistan Prior to leaving Afghanistan, Malikzada worked as a potter. My father taught me pottery, said Malikzada, who is 36. I am the seventh-generation potter. We have a 500-year history of pottery in my family. We use a special clay called ras and a special glaze called eshkar. Through Turquoise Mountain, another nonprofit group hes also involved with that provides livelihood opportunities through ones craft, hes traveled around the world. I had several programs with the Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC, Switzerland, Buckingham Palace in England, and Japan where I did demonstrations of my technique, he said, adding he was head of the ceramics department at Turquoise Mountain. Additionally, on weekends, international groups would visit his pottery workshop and take his classes. At one point, Malikzada began getting repeated threatening calls on his cell phone from the Taliban, or some other terrorist group, informing me that I was in danger. I was accused of being a spy working for the American government, he said. He was advised by others not to leave his home. I stayed at home for three months and changed my home three times, for my protection, he said. When Kabul fell to the Taliban, his Turquoise Mountain supervisor advised him to arrange the paperwork to leave the country. The director at IRIS, who lives in Connecticut, told the family about the town of New Milford and said it was a good place to live, with good schools. We got out Aug. 24 but it took seven months to get here. We were 3.5 months in Qatar and 3.5 months in North Macedonia (in Europe) and one month in Virginia before we got here, he said, adding while in Qatar and North Macedonia, they stayed inside a military camp and were not allowed to leave the camp. Settling into a new life The NMRR rented a home for the Malikzadas to live in, and the family will move in as soon as theyre able. While the NMRR pays the initial rent on the home, the family starts paying rent when they can afford to do so. The family doesnt have to stay in the home the NMRR has found for them, they may choose wherever they want to live. The goal is for them to become entirely self-sufficient in less than a year. The Malikzadas first home in New Milford will offer many conveniences its in walking distance from the Town Green, the library, Youngs Field, a grocery store, a pharmacy and the Farmers Market. Since the familys arrival, the NMRR has been helping the family settle in and assist with tasks such as visiting doctors, registering for schools, starting English classes, and begin looking for work. The Malikzadas are taking English classes through Literacy Volunteers on the Green in New Milford. Its been helpful that Matin already speaks some English and the kids are picking it up quite quickly, said Ari Rosenberg, vice president of NMRR. All of the familys relatives still reside in Afghanistan. Aside from being homesick, theyre grieving Malikzada lost his mother three months ago. I could not be at the funeral. It was the saddest story in my life, he said. He said his family is taking things day by day. We just have to be patient and make prayers to God, he said. When Kabul fell, Rosenberg and Michelle Shackleford, who is president of NMRR, said they wanted to do anything they could to help. It broke our hearts to see the fall of Kabul. All of us are descendants of immigrants, ourselves. One of our primary goals is to help these families become independent, just as our families became independent, Rosenberg said. These are bright people with skills and talents that will enrich our community. Were lucky to have them. We hope they grow to love New Milford as much as we do. Goals Malikzada said his long-term goal is to support his family entirely through his pottery. In the meantime, the NMRR will find him other work to supplement his income. He said he hopes his children, who range in age from 4 to 11, will finish school and pursue their dreams. If they like my artwork, they can do my artwork. I just want to raise their hopes to do whatever they want, Malikzada said. Today, I started life here from zero, from nothing, and I hope that in five years I can stand on my own feet and feed my family all on my own. sandra.fox@hearstmediact.com 203-948-9802 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday to dissolve the private government Walt Disney World controls on its property in the state, punishing the entertainment giant for opposing a new law that critics call Dont Say Gay. The move is expected to have huge tax implications for Disney and further sour the relationship between the Republican-led government and a major political player whose theme parks have transformed Orlando into one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. For DeSantis, the attack on Disney is the latest front in a culture war waged over policies involving race, gender and the coronavirus, battles he has harnessed to make himself one of the most popular Republicans in the country and a likely 2024 presidential candidate. The law would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the 55-year-old Disney government is known, as well as a handful of other similar districts by June 2023. The measure does allow for the districts to be reestablished, leaving an avenue to renegotiate the future of the deal that allows the company to provide services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure. DeSantis said Friday that the company would end up paying more taxes than it currently does and that the law isn't expected to cause tax increases for residents around Disney. He gave no additional details. The dispute began with Disneys criticism of a new law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade as well as instruction that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate. DeSantis and his fellow Republicans have defended the law as reasonable, saying that parents, not teachers, should be discussing such topics with children. Under mounting pressure, Disney eventually said it would suspend political donations in the state and that it would support organizations working to oppose the new law. You're a corporation based in Burbank, California, and you're gonna marshal your economic might to attack the parents of my state, DeSantis said Friday before signing the bill into law at a ceremony in Hialeah Gardens. We view that as a provocation, and we're going to fight back against that." The governor has hammered Disney for coming out against the bill, portraying the company as a purveyor of woke ideology that injects inappropriate subjects into children's entertainment. In a fundraising pitch sent out this week, DeSantis told supporters, It took a look under the hood to see what Disney has become to truly understand their inappropriate influence. Republican Rep. Randy Fine, sponsor of the bill to eliminate the Disney district, has said Disney is a guest in the state and that Floridians are not interested in the company's California values. You kick the hornets nest, things come up, Fine told lawmakers in the GOP-controlled statehouse this week. Democrats have slammed the Disney measure as petty retaliation, warning that homeowners could face tax bills if they have to absorb costs from the company, though details are far from clear. The devil is in the details and we dont yet today have the details, said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, whose county is partially home to Disney World. He added it would be catastrophic for our budget if the county had to assume the costs for public safety at the theme park resort. Disney is one of Floridas biggest private employers, last year saying it had more than 60,000 workers in the state. It is not immediately clear how the company or local governments around its properties would be affected if the district was dissolved. The creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida, was a crucial element in the companys plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. The city never materialized, however; instead, it morphed into the Epcot theme park. The company is a major political player in Florida, as well as the rest of the country. The Walt Disney Co. and its affiliates made more than $20 million in political contributions to both Republicans and Democrats in the 2020 campaign cycle, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks such spending. That same year, Disney-related entities funneled $10.5 million to the America First Action committee, which supports Republican former President Donald Trump. Disney also contributed $1.2 million to support Democratic President Joe Bidens campaign. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW YORK (AP) Kurt Vile says he's always thinking about making catchy music yet his attempts usually end up sounding fried or sizzled out. It's an apt description of this Philadelphia-based songwriter and guitarist's vibe, amiable and hypnotic, the songs alone seemingly capable of producing a contact high. Vile's new disc, his ninth, marks a professional turning point if not a musical one. After years where Vile was the quintessential indie rock artist, his new (watch my moves) is being marketed and distributed by Verve Records, a label best known for its jazz heritage and Jon Batiste's recent Grammy-winning album. It's not as much of an outlier as people would think, said Jamie Krents, the label's chief executive. Verve was Velvet Underground's home. I'm a huge Kurt Vile fan so him signing to Verve has been incredibly meaningful to me. Vile said he was searching for a new recording home, and the timing was right when Verve approached him. I like that it's not an indie rock label, he said. I like to be connected to classic jazz things. It's just a label anyway, literally and metaphorically. The association has done nothing to change his music. If anything, (watch my moves) looks more inward, reflecting a time that Vile was home with his wife and two daughters during the pandemic and recording in a newly-built home studio. He's a strong-willed dad. His daughters, ages 9 and 11, are home-schooled (his wife is a former teacher) and he keeps them away from phones or other screens. I was happy to live a normal life and be a normal dad, he said. I was missing something. Turns out we were all missing something, missing just being a normal dad who was there everyday. New songs such as Like Exploding Stones and Hey Like a Child offer a spaced-out sound behind Vile's deadpan vocals, often said as much as sung. Lyrically, Vile often will just narrate the contents of his head, critic Kitty Empire once wrote. Describing, as he does at one point, playin' in the music room in my underwear, verges on too much information. He opens Say the Word with a description: I wrote the words to this song drivin' from Philly to Amherst. You can feel the satisfaction when he talks about taking a trip to a gig where he supports an artist he's frequently been compared to. Gonna open up for Neil Young, he sings. Man, life can sure be fun. Imagine if I knew this when I was young. Asked about his influences, Vile refers to a documentary where Tom Petty answers the same question by saying, the radio. He began writing songs at age 14 when his father gave him a banjo he wanted a guitar and played in bands together in the 2000s with his pal Adam Granduciel, frontman of The War on Drugs. They parted friends, both wanting to concentrate on their own music. Most of my influences are things you can play over and over again, Vile said. They have some kind of a groove there, where you don't have to stop. But it's hardly aimless. Krents considers Vile a master guitar player, with his own distinct phrasing and sound. The new Hey Like a Child builds from a particularly memorable riff. In Australia, Courtney Barnett bought Vile's 2011 album Smoke Ring for My Halo because she liked the cover. Six years later, the two made their own album together, Lotta Sea Lice. We're both obsessives, and his musical obsessions are infectious, Barnett said. He showed me lots of amazing music that I had never heard. And humor was our other connector. Kurt makes me laugh more than anybody in the world. She said she likes Vile's songwriting because it's so him, and he's unafraid to be that. He really creates this entire other world within his songs. With 92 million streams on Spotify, Vile's 2015 song Pretty Pimpin is his most popular. It boosts the tempo one critic even called it jaunty but fits neatly into his aesthetic. On the new album Vile that's his real name, by the way, even though it seems like the kind of rock n roll stage name that Johnny Rotten would admire covers an obscure Bruce Springsteen song, Wages of Sin. His song, Stuffed Leopard also quotes Springsteens Candy's Room he happened to be listening to it while writing. Verve's Krents said he hopes to expand Vile's audience, particularly overseas. He also hopes Vile's signing sends a message to other artists and listeners that Verve is more eclectic than they might have considered. Krents said the company let Vile make the recording that he wanted and didn't try to influence him in any direction. We didn't sign him to change him, he said. We signed him to amplify what he does. ___ This story has been updated to correct the spelling of record executive Jamie Krents' name. UNITED NATIONS (AP) U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to meet separately with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine next week to make urgent, face-to-face pleas for peace, the world body said Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Guterres is to meet Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and that Putin will also host the U.N. chief. The U.N. later said that Guterres will head Thursday to Ukraine to see President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. In both visits, Guterres aims to discuss steps that can be taken right now to stop the fighting and help people get to safety, U.N. spokesperson Eri Kaneko said. He hopes to talk about what can be done to bring peace to Ukraine urgently," she said. Guterres had asked Tuesday to meet with the presidents in their respective capitals. Guterres has urged Russia to stop its attack since it began two months ago, in what he called the saddest moment in his five years in the U.N.'s top job. He appealed Tuesday for a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting leading up to Sunday's Orthodox Easter holiday. Stop the bloodshed and destruction. Open a window for dialogue and peace," he implored. Guterres sent the U.N.'s top humanitarian official to Moscow and Kyiv earlier this month to explore the possibilities of a cease-fire. But the secretary-general had faced questions about whether he himself should travel to press for peace. In a recent letter, former U.N. officials called on him to step up his personal, public involvement. Whatever overtures may have been made privately, the now-planned trip is a visible symbol of what the United Nations is supposed to be standing for, which is peace and security, one of the letter-writers, former U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman, said by phone Friday. I dont think any of us should have exaggerated expectations about what the secretary-general will be able to accomplish, but he has significant moral power, said Feltman, now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Its important that the secretary-general have these conversations. Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon went to Moscow and Kyiv in March 2014 to try to foster talks and diplomacy as Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Once upon a time, you could simply not answer the door when an unwanted solicitor came knocking. Then that phone rang relentlessly until Do Not Call legislation was adopted. Its no longer a solution to let the bell keep buzzing. The people who used to be on the other side of the door or phone call are already in the house. They are also following you everywhere else. Our digital footprints follow us as closely as shadows. Pause to shop for sneakers and they will track you to sell similar ones. Binge watch a favorite show and similar programming will try to lure you. Theyve been following us for a long time. So long that Connecticut lawmakers have taken five years to craft a remedy to let consumers see what personal data is tracked. They might have acted even sooner, but it was reasonable to assume this would be addressed by Congress. A federal approach could more efficiently address delicate matters of commerce that crosses state borders. This isnt quite the same as grappling over whether to toll trucks. So Connecticut is following roads taken by California, Virginia and Colorado, and learning some best practices. This isnt easy work, given regulatory laws. Remarkably, Connecticuts state senators voted 35-0 to forward the bill to colleagues in the House of Representatives. If signed by Gov. Ned Lamont, it would make personal data visible to consumers, who would finally have the power to edit or delete it. And minors under age 16 would have to opt in for data to be collected. For the first time, Big Brother wouldnt be watching us through a one-way mirror. Lawmakers praised Sen. James Maroney, D-Milford, for relentlessly pursuing this legislation. The genie is out of the bottle. It would be nearly impossible to put it back in, said Maroney, who is co-chair of the General Law Committee. What were doing today is simply saying that Connecticut residents have the right to know what data is being collected about them, how it is being used, and to ask companies ... not to sell their data. Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, called it a crisis of privacy in our country. Crisis makes it sound temporary. This problem will surely persist. But Connecticut can learn a lot from this as it moves forward. Maroney proved Connecticut is capable of working outside state lines, as he consulted peers in other states on best practices. Lawmakers need to continue being watchdogs on digital consumer protection issues, particularly as it relates to shielding children. This doesnt let Congress off the hook either. This is the work that should have been done inside the Beltway, and our Congressional delegation would be wise to press forward. The internet is fast. These next steps to corral it will be slow. If the legislation is passed, carriers will have until Jan. 1, 2025 to create privacy controls. In the meantime, consumers should try to follow best practices as well, like resisting mixing business with pleasure on work devices. Its reassuring to know who is on the other side of the door, but it also helps to keep some doors locked. One of the largest retailers in the world (that isnt Amazon) is giving back to its customers on Saturday: Walmarts offering up free health screenings, including free health and vision screenings, as well as low-cost immunizations (and free COVID vaccines) on April 23. Walmart wellness day Shop Now The health screenings include glucose and cholesterol checks, as well as blood pressure and BMI. Immunizations on offer include pneumonia, tetanus, HPV, flu, MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), varicella (chickenpox and shingles), whooping cough (TDAP), hepatitis A&B and more. Theres also the chance to talk with pharmacists about wellness resources, and some stores will offer vision screenings as well. All of this goes a long way toward both preventing diseases and illness, as well as finding underlying issues that might already be having an effect on your body. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An Earth Day celebration will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 30 at the Fairfield YMCA, at 841 Old Post Road. The free event will also get children moving, learning and creating healthy habits. There will also be plant and seed giveaways, and information available on compost, invasive plants, pests, pollinator pathways and energy efficiency. The day also includes an electric vehicle display, a first safety trailer and hands-on science activities for children. No registration is required. Community clean up to be at Jennings beach in Fairfield The Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department is inviting residents of the town to join community cleanup event at noon on Friday, Earth Day, at Jennings Beach, 880 South Benson Road in town. Residents, who cannot travel to the beach, are being invited to help keep the town cleaner, and greener by joining a cleanup effort at their favorite neighborhood park. More information is available at fairfieldct.org. Sustainable Fairfield to collect mattresses Sustainable Fairfield will collect mattresses and box springs for free from 8:30 a.m until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Veterans Park, 909 Reef Road in Fairfield. At least 75 percent a mattress's components can be recycled into many other useful products, according to information from the town. Visit fairfieldct.org for details. The event is being put on with help from Bye Bye Mattress.. Fairfield League of Women Voters creates new series The Fairfield League of Women Voters has created a free, multi-part series about voting rights, Did You Know: Voting Rights and Wrongs. The series will begin with the first event under the same name, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, at Fairfield Universitys College of Arts and Sciences Media Center, which is located at 1073 North Benson Road. The focus of the event will be about how votes are counted and the election certification process works in Connecticut. It will also review state legislation that has been introduced over the last several years that has been considered to affect the process of voting. Voting Rights and Wrongs across the States, will be the focus of the second event, which will be virtual. It feature a panel of experts on voting rights and types of voter negation in several states and be moderated by author David Daley. The third session, Voting Rights and Wrongs at the Federal Level, will look at how federal legislation can encourage expansion of voting rights, enforce legitimate polling practices, and establish consistent voting rules and regulations. Dates have not been provided for the last two sessions. Spring Fling to benefit Chamber of Commerce The Fairfield Chamber of Commerce is having its 21st annual Spring Fling fundraiser and silent auction from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, at the historic Burr Mansion, 739 Old Post Road in Fairfield. The event will be the organizations first fundraiser in two years. It costs $50 for members of the Chamber of Commerce and $60 for guests and non-members. Ticket prices include an open bar, wine, beer, soft drinks, a signature drink tasting and restaurant lite bites. Walk-ins will be welcome. Attendees who wear something pink will be entered to win an in-studio public relations photo as by the Capitol PhotoInteractive photography studio in Fairfield. There will also be a variety of silent auction items. Visit fairfieldctchamber.com, or call 203-255-1011 for more information, silent auction items, and ticket reservations. American Legion to have mental health awareness kickback event The American Legion Post 143 in Fairfield is going to have a relaxing Mental Health awareness kickback event from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Post 143 is located at 1443 Stratfield Road in the town. People are invited to join the organization for the event, listen to guest speakers talk about mental resources in Fairfield County, stay for a social hour, and mingle with fellow veterans. The event is open to veterans, both those serving in the law enforcement community and those outside of the law enforcement field. Refreshments and finger food will be provided. Register at saveasuit.org/kickback. Contact 203-456-8801, or veterans@saveasuit.org for more details. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) Firefighters fanned out across blackened landscape in Arizonas high country, digging into the ground to put out smoldering tree stumps and roots as helicopters buzzed overhead with buckets of water to drop on a massive blaze. The work has been tedious and steady all with the recognition that already strong winds will become stronger Friday and a shift over the weekend could turn the blaze up hillsides or toward homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff. The 32-square-mile (83-square kilometer) blaze is one of a half-dozen major wildfires that have raced across Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado over the past week. Forecasters have warned that warm weather, little to no precipitation and spring winds create a dangerous recipe for wildfires. Those elements are pretty much on steroids in the atmosphere'' for Friday said Scott Overpeck with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And by that we mean they are really cranked up. Everything is overlapping together at the same time. More than 500 firefighters were manning fire lines in Arizona and New Mexico, with more help on the way by Friday morning when the largest type management team is scheduled to take command of resources at the blaze near Flagstaff. It's expected to keep growing Friday, fanned by the wind, said Jerolyn Byrne, a spokeswoman for the team working the blaze. Neither officials nor residents have been able to fully survey the damage, as crews on Thursday were busy wrestling a spot fire and trying to keep flames from running up the mountainside. If that were to happen, it would mean a much bigger fire with long-term consequences such as erosion and flooding. Still, spirits were lifted Thursday as helicopters for the first time were able to start dropping water on the flames. Aerial attacks also resumed on a pair of fires in New Mexico, where at least one airtanker was able to join the effort something thats likely to be impossible on Friday. Sustained winds of 30-50 mph (48-80 kph) are forecast there Friday morning, with gusts from 60-80 mph (97-129 kph) in the afternoon from the Gila Mountains up through the Rio Grande Valley to neighboring highlands. There is high confidence that a widespread extreme and catastrophic fire weather event will occur on Friday, the Santa Fe National Forest said Thursday evening in its latest update about a fire mostly west of Santa Fe. We are urging the public to stay vigilant, to continue to watch for expected changes in evacuation status and be prepared to leave in a rapid manner, the agency said. Sheriffs deputies called for additional evacuations Thursday of scattered homes and closed some roads at a big fire burning in a rural area southeast of Taos, New Mexico, but reported no structures had burned. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Flagstaff's Coconino County. The declaration clears the way for state funding for evacuations, shelter, repairs and other expenses. However, the money cant be used to reimburse home and business owners for losses. About 30 structures have been destroyed, but it's still unclear how many were homes, the county sheriff's office said Thursday. Hundreds of people have been evacuated because of wildfires burning in the Southwest. Popular lakes and national monuments closed in Arizona including Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument outside Flagstaff because the wildfire moved directly over it, blackening trees, and burning tools and vehicles in a maintenance yard, said monument spokesman Richard Ullmann. The Coconino National Forest has closed where the wildfire is burning but has not enacted broader fire restrictions or closures. A sign at a gate warns of potential loose debris, falling trees and branches, and flash floods. Fire restrictions go into effect Friday at National Park Service sites in New Mexico, including Valles Caldera National Preserve and Bandelier National Monument. Wildfire has become a year-round threat in the West given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall, scientist have said. The problems are exacerbated by decades of fire suppression and poor forest management along with a more than 20-year megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. Residents around Flagstaff a year-round attraction for recreation, respite from desert heat, and Northern Arizona University questioned how a small blaze reported northeast of the college town Sunday afternoon ballooned in a matter of days. Matt McGrath, a district ranger on the Coconino National Forest, said firefighters had corralled the wildfire Sunday and didnt see any smoke or active flames when they checked on it again Monday. By Tuesday, the wind was firmly in control. Flames emerged and jumped the containment line. Residents in some 765 homes were evacuated, along with 1,000 animals from the rural neighborhoods. The fire's cause hasn't been determined. Investigators were at the site Thursday off a bumpy, gravel and dirt U.S. Forest Service road. In the distance, a large plume of grayish smoke rose over the surrounding hills. Snow still sat atop other mountains. Smoldering stumps, scorched grass and charred trees dotted the area near where the wildfire started. Preston Mercer, a fire management specialist with the Coconino National Forest, remembers standing on the same patch of ground in 2010, fighting another large blaze. Like that one, this fire has been taking advantage of dry vegetation and fierce winds. The environment is not very friendly. It was blowing 70 mph. Rocks were hitting everybody in the face. It was very smoky and we were working directly in the heat," he said Thursday from the fire line. These guys are working incredibly hard. They know the values at risk. This is their community. Crews nearby were focused on a 100-acre (40-hectare) spot fire that broke away from the main blaze toward hills that overlook nearby homes. One firefighter repeatedly swung a scraping tool as winds howled and smoke swirled through the air to reveal smoldering tree roots. He removed his glove and reached his hand into the ground to ensure it was cool before moving on and repeating the process. In Colorado, firefighters got a handle on two small wildfires in the southern and northern part of the state while contending with strong winds. The Boulder County blaze was sparked by the battery of a crashed drone that researchers were using to study severe weather, the sheriff's office said Thursday. Researchers used a fire extinguisher, but the fire spread quickly in high winds, authorities said. The other fire damaged or destroyed an estimated 15 structures, including homes, in Monte Vista, a community of about 4,150 people surrounded by farm fields, police said Thursday. Rocky Opliger, the incident commander on a wildfire that has forced evacuations south of Prescott, Arizona, said conditions are some of the worst he's seen in nearly five decades of fighting wildland fires. This is very early to have this kind of fire behavior, he said. Right now we are on the whims of weather. ____ Associated Press writers Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report. The Russian military has been dumping plastic bags containing corpses into new mass graves in the city of Mariupol in Ukraine, according to reports, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues towards the end of its second month. The Kremlin's forces are said to have dumped remains bundled inside plastic bags into three mass graves near a bypass road in the embattled southern Ukrainian port city, according to a report by Mirror. Russia was accused of the newest war crime by a local government official. "Mariupol. Right now. War crimes," Counselor to Mariupol's mayor Petro Andriushchenko shared the statement on Telegram. He furthered in the statement that "after a long search and identification" of the mass graves of the residents killed by Russian attacks, authorities have discovered that Moscow had been digging mass graves in the village of Manhush. Andriushchenko described the mass graves near a bypass road as "up to 30 meters each." He claimed that the Russians are using trucks to bring the dead bodies "stuffed into plastic bags" and "simply throw them in bulk" into the holes. "This is direct evidence of war crimes and their attempts to hide them," the official said. The grave is the latest reminder of the kind of atrocities Russia has committed so far in this war. A US satellite firm similarly identified a mass burial site containing about 200 graves near the same city. More And More Civilians Getting Killed According to a BBC story, Mariupol municipal council had previously published a statement accusing the Russians of burying civilians in the same area. The council accused the Russians of constructing pits and bringing the dead in dump lorries. It offered its aerial photograph of the location, which it claimed was "already twice as huge as the nearby cemetery." Thousands of civilians may have been killed in the city, according to the Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko. Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian forces and top Kremlin lawmakers of mass killing of civilians, which Moscow has frequently denied. Evidence of mass graves outside Mariupol appeared as Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the "liberation" of the southeastern port city by the Russian military, as per a CNN report, despite the aborted attempt to raid the Azovstal steel company. It is the last stronghold of Ukrainian defenders inside the city, where civilians have taken refuge. Read Also: Putin Claims Victory in Mariupol as Russian Forces Surround Thousands of Ukrainian Troops Holding Out in Facility Mariupol has been under persistent Russian shelling since the beginning of Putin's war, and much of the city has been damaged. A maternity hospital and a theater where up to 1,300 people were finding safety were among the civilian institutions targeted. Although many people have evacuated, around 100,000 are still in Mariupol and its adjacent areas, mostly under Russian control. Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) cites growing evidence of war crimes in Ukraine. UN Condemns Russia's Latest War Crimes Al Jazeera reported that the UN human rights office sounded the alarm about growing evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, urging both Moscow and Kyiv to order combatants to respect international law. The office of UN Office High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet accused the Russian military of "indiscriminately" shelling and bombing populated areas, "killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure." The statement noted that such actions "may amount to war crimes." According to a UN expedition to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, 50 civilians have been slain there, including by summary execution. Related Article: Vladimir Putin Children: Does Russia's President Have Kids? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KYIV, Ukraine Satellite images released Thursday showed what appeared to be mass graves near Mariupol, and local officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians there in an effort to conceal the slaughter taking place in the siege of the port city. Satellite image provider Maxar Technologies released the photos, which it said showed more than 200 mass graves in a town where Ukrainian officials say the Russians have been burying Mariupol residents killed in the fighting. The imagery showed long rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko accused the Russians of hiding their military crimes by taking the bodies of civilians from the city and burying them in Manhush. The Mariupol City Council said Thursday in a post on the Telegram messaging app that the graves could hold as many as 9,000 dead. __ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Putin tries to claim Mariupol win but wont storm holdout Chinas Xi urges dispute resolution, opposes sanctions EXPLAINER: Whats the impact if Europe cuts off Russian oil? Biden announce s new military assistance for Ukraine AP-NORC poll: Many say Biden not tough enough on Russia Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: UNITED NATIONS Russia and Ukraine squared off at the U.N. on Thursday over whether Russias war is to blame for rising food prices and hunger around the world. Between them, the two countries account for nearly a third of global wheat and barley exports and millions of people in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia depend on them for affordable bread and noodles. Ukraine also is a major corn supplier and the biggest exporter of sunflower oil. As long as Russia persists in its efforts to invade Ukraine, the threat of hunger will be looming over many countries throughout the globe, Ukrainian counsellor Natalia Mudrenko said Thursday at an informal U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss conflict and hunger. Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Chumakov argued that sanctions, trade wars, the coronavirus pandemic and Western economic policies were shaking up the global food, energy and financial markets. Chumakov said Russias critics were trying to deflect focus from sanctions and the economic egoism of the developed countries during the pandemic. __ KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United States for the new package of $800 million in military aid, which he said was just what we were waiting for. The latest military aid, announced Thursday by President Joe Biden, includes heavy artillery, ammunition and drones for the escalating battle in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Zekenskyy has urged Western countries to speed up the deliveries of weapons to help Ukraine fend off the Russian offensive. The occupiers continue to do everything possible to give themselves a reason to speak about at least some kind of victory, Zelenskyy said late Thursday in his nightly video address to the nation. They are building up their forces, bringing in new tactical battalions and trying even to begin a so-called mobilization in the regions they occupy in Ukraine. Zelenskyy also warned Ukrainians living in areas of southern Ukraine under the control of Russia troops not to provide them with their IDs, which he said could be used to falsify a so-called referendum on our land to create a Moscow-friendly government. __ Russias foreign ministry has announced that it has barred U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans from entering the country. But one of the people targeted by the sanctions, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price, said he views the designation as an honor. I have to say it is nothing less than an accolade to earn the ire of a government that lies to its own people, brutalizes its neighbors and seeks to create a world where freedom and liberty are put on the run and, if they have their way, extinguished, Price told reporters in Washington. In a statement on its website Thursday, the ministry says the move came as a response to ever-widening anti-Russian sanctions brought on by the Biden administration. It claimed to be targeting top executives, public intellectuals and journalists shaping what it referred to as the Russophobic narrative prevailing in U.S. public debate. Alongside Harris and Zuckerberg, the ban includes top defense and justice officials; the CEOs of LinkedIn and Bank of America; high-profile foreign affairs commentators; as well as the editor of the Russia-focused Meduza news website. __ WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden has tapped retired Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff, a former three-star Army general and former National Security Council official during the Obama administration, to coordinate billions of dollars security assistance being sent into Ukraine. Wolff recently joined the Biden White House but his appointment has not been formally announced, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Wolff as Army officer served three tours of duty in Iraq and has held senior roles at the Pentagon, Joint Staff, and State Department. He was tapped by the Obama administration in 2015 to serve as deputy special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter the Islamic State. Wolffs latest appointment comes as Biden on Thursday announced that he was sending a new tranche of $800 million of security assistance to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and drones. The president, who has already approved the dispersal of about $3.4 billion in military assistance, said he will soon seek approval from Congress for additional security assistance for Ukraine. Congress approved $6.5 billion for military assistance last month as part of $13.6 billion in spending for Ukraine and allies in response to the Russian invasion. __ KYIV, Ukraine -- The Mariupol City Council says as many as 9,000 civilians could be buried in mass graves in the village of Manhush outside Mariupol. In a post on Telegram, the city council quoted Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko calling the site the new Babi Yar. Then Hitler killed Jews, Roma and Slavs. And now Putin is destroying Ukrainians. He has already killed tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol, he was quoted as saying. This requires a strong reaction from the entire world. We need to stop the genocide by any means possible. In a separate statement earlier Thursday, Boychenko alleged the Russians had dug huge trenches near Manhush, 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) west of Mariupol, and were hiding their war crimes by dumping bodies there. On Thursday evening, Ukrainian media published satellite photos of Manhush, showing what they said were mass graves similar to the ones discovered in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. The accuracy of these claims and images could not be immediately verified. ___ KYIV, Ukraine No residents could be evacuated from the encircled city of Mariupol on Thursday due to continuing Russian shelling of agreed-to humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk said in a Telegram post on Thursday evening. No happy news out of Mariupol. Everything has been hard-going, she wrote. On the Russian side, everything has been very difficult, chaotic, slow, and of course, dishonest. We apologize to the residents of Mariupol who did not get to be evacuated today. Shelling began at the evacuation point, which is why the humanitarian corridor had to be closed. In the same post, Vereshchuk acknowledged that on Wednesday, a four-bus convoy was allowed to transport 79 civilians from Mariupol to Kyiv-controlled territory in Ukraines southeastern Zaporizhzhhia region - a development she said gave her hope. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A Ukrainian official raised the possibility of a Ukrainian airstrike against the strategically important bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland. His statement on Thursday prompted angry denouncements from top Russian political figures. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, was asked in an interview with Ukraines Radio NV whether Kyiv would be able to hit the $4 billion Kerch bridge, which is Moscows only direct road link to the peninsula, in order to stem the flow of military resupplies channeled through it. Had we been able to do it, we would have already done it, Danilov said in response. If there is a possibility, we will definitely do it. He did not clarify whether Kyiv currently has the capability to carry out an attack. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, branded Danilovs statement nothing else than the announcement of a possible terrorist act and unacceptable. Speaking at a regular press briefing on Thursday, Peskov added that all security measures were in place around the Kerch bridge and other strategic facilities. ___ LONDON Western officials say Ukraine will need economic and military support for months to come as the war grinds into a long conflict. As Russias invasion enters a new phase focused on the eastern Donbas region, an official said Putin is still in a position to win the war, but not quickly. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence, two Western officials said Russia might be able to surround and destroy the bulk of Ukraines forces and make territorial gains. An aim of taking all of the Donbas and securing a land bridge to Crimea is potentially within reach for Russias forces. However, officials said it is far from certain Russia will achieve that goal. They said Russia had learned some of the lessons of past failures in northern Ukraine, and was showing more effective command-and-control. But they said Russia was still feeding troops into its eastern offensive piecemeal and advancing in long columns of vehicles along roads, leaving its forces vulnerable to attack. Officials said they also have not yet seen a major push up from the south, which would allow Russian forces to trap Ukraines troops in a pincer movement. Partly that is due to 5,000 to 10,000 Russian troops attempting to overcome the last pocket of resistance in the port city of Mariupol. ___ LISBON, Portugal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Portugal to support a European ban on Russian gas and oil to help his countrys war effort. Speaking via video conference to the Portuguese parliament on Thursday, Zelenskyy asked the European Union member to help speed up sanctions and the delivery of more military aid. I hope that you will also advocate a boycott of Russian oil and gas on the EU level, he said. The Russian occupiers killed people purely for entertainment, killed them inside their homes and in vehicles in which children were traveling. The Ukrainian leader drew a parallel between his countrys fight against Russian aggression and Portugals 1974 Carnation Revolution, the military coup by left-leaning officers that overthrew an authoritarian regime and ushered in democracy. The Portuguese know how to rid themselves of a dictatorship. I know that our nations understand each other, he said during his speech that earned him a standing ovation by lawmakers. ___ The mayor of the besieged port city of Mariupol says Russian troops are burying Ukrainian civilians killed in the conflict in order to cover up military crimes. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko claimed that the Russians buried hundreds of civilians killed in Manhush outside Mariupol. Boychenko said that the bodies started disappearing from the streets of the city, charging that the Russians were hiding the trace of their crimes and using mass graves as one of the instruments for that. He said that the Russians dug huge trenches near Manhush, 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) west of Mariupol. They are taking the bodies of the dead residents of Mariupol in trucks and throw them into those trenches. He said during an online briefing. They are hiding their military crimes, he said. ___ WASHINGTON President Joe Biden says he is sending another $800 million in weapons and ammunition to Ukraine in the coming days, calling it the frontlines of freedom as it defends itself against a Russian invasion. This $800 million arms package raises to $3.4 billion the amount of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine since the Russians began their invasion Feb. 24. Biden says he will ask Congress next week to approve billions more dollars in aid for Ukraine because the assistance package passed last month is now almost exhausted. He said officials were still sorting out the appropriate amount to request. Biden said the U.S. has the capacity to do this for a long time as it ships arms to Ukraine, but must work harder to maintain international pressure on Russia in retaliation for its invasion. Biden said despite Russian President Vladimir Putins claims, There is no evidence yet that Mariupol is completely fallen. Ukrainian forces and civilians are encircled in a massive steel plant in the city and Biden called on Russia to provide humanitarian corridors so that civilians may flee safely. ___ WASHINGTON The Biden administration is making it easier for refugees fleeing Russias war on Ukraine to come to the United States from Europe while trying to shut down an informal route through northern Mexico that has emerged in recent weeks. A program announced Thursday will streamline refugee applications for Ukrainians and others fleeing the fighting. But it will no longer routinely grant entry to those who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum, as thousands have done since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began almost two months ago. The U.S. says it expects to admit up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine and about 15,000 have come since the Feb. 24 invasion, mostly through Mexico. Officials said that, starting Monday, that route will no longer be an option except in extreme circumstances. ___ WASHINGTON A Treasury official says the United States will provide an additional $500 million in financial assistance to Ukraine to help it sustain salaries, pensions and other government programs. The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an announcement on Thursday, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, along with Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. The new funding comes on top of $500 million in economic aid that President Joe Biden unveiled in March. The announcement comes against the backdrop of International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings dominated by conversations over how to manage the spillover from Russias war in Ukraine. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Denmark's prime minister has announced during a visit to Kyiv that her country will more than double the amount it has given to Ukraine to buy weapons. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday that Denmark will donate 600 million kroner ($87.4 million). Standing alongside Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, she called it a new, significant contribution. Frederiksen said the total Danish military contribution is now 1 billion kroner. Denmark also will assist Ukraine in the clearing mines in areas that are under Ukrainian control. - BERLIN -- The U.N. migration agency says the number of people displaced within Ukraine since Russias invasion began has risen to 7.7 million. The Geneva-based International Organization for Migration said Thursday that more than 600,000 additional people were displaced within the country in the first 17 days of April. The figures from the IOM came a day after the U.N. refugee agency said the number of people who have fled Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24 has risen to more than 5 million. The IOM said that more than half of the internally displaced people, mostly in the east of the country, reported a lack of some food products. It said their most pressing problems include cash and access to financial support, followed by medicines. Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million. ___ WARSAW, Poland Polands Foreign Ministry says that Poland has frozen the bank account of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw over suspicions it was being used for purposes that were not good. Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina said Thursday that the account was frozen by prosecutors. He said that Polands embassy and consulates in Russia have been exposed to various retaliatory steps with roads around the embassy in Moscow dug up for the past two weeks, complicating entry to and exit from the compound. He said that almost prevented the departure of Polish diplomats expelled by Russia in the international spat over Russias invasion of Ukraine. Jasina didnt give further details of the action by prosecutors. According to the Business Insider portal, prosecutors ordered the freezing of the embassy account and that of Russias trade mission in Poland for six months shortly after Russias invasion of Ukraine began, saying the money in the accounts may be used to finance terrorism. ___ LONDON -- Britains government has announced new sanctions against leaders in Russias army responsible for committing atrocities on the frontline. The Foreign Office said Thursday that its targeting several Russian generals and military commanders including Lt. Col. Azatbek Omurbekov. Authorities say the so-called Butcher of Bucha commanded forces that occupied the town outside Kyiv where multiple reports of war crimes and civilian killings have surfaced. Omurbekov and several others were subject to a travel ban and asset freeze. British authorities also said Thursday that they are expanding their sanctions list to individuals and companies that are supporting President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. They include Oleg Belozyorov, CEO of logistics company Russian Railways, and Russian weapons suppliers and manufacturers such as Kalashnikov Concern. ___ MILAN Italian energy company ENI has signed a deal with the Republic of Congo to increase natural gas production and supply to Italy, as part of European moves to cut dependence on Russian energy over its invasion of Ukraine. The deal signed Thursday comes on top of recent deals to increase production and delivery from Algeria and Angola. Italy currently gets some 38% of its natural gas from Russia, and has signed deals to replace about half. The new deal signed in Brazzaville calls for a new liquefied natural gas project that is expected to launch next year with a capacity of up to 4.5 billion cubic meters a year for export. ENI said it also agreed to back sustainable energy projects in the central African country. ___ KYIV, Ukraine An adviser to the Ukrainian president says Russian President Vladimir Putins decision not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol means that the Russian military is unable to perform the task. Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Thursday that they cannot physically capture Azovstal, a giant steel plant that is Ukraines last stronghold in the strategic Sea of Azov port. Arestovichs statement followed Putins attempt to claim control of Mariupol even though Ukrainian defenders have continued to fight at Azovstal. Putin ordered his defense minister not to send troops to storm the plant and to block it instead. ___ HELSINKI -- Latvias Parliament has approved a statement accusing Russia of carrying out genocide against the Ukrainian people. The statement approved unanimously Thursday by the Baltic countrys 100-seat Saeima legislature pointed to extensive testimony and evidence of crimes committed by the Russian military in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol and elsewhere. It said that, as a member of the United Nations, Council of Europe, European Union and NATO, Latvia cannot accept Russias actions. Neighboring Estonias Parliament agreed later Thursday on a similar statement. The Latvian statement also called on EU member countries to stop importing Russian oil and gas immediately. ___ Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, abruptly reversing course just days after people in the city had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, according to the Philadelphia health department, which released a statement that cited decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts. The mandate went into effect Monday. Philadelphia had ended its earlier indoor mask mandate March 2. The health department did not release data to back up its reversal on masking, saying more information would be provided Friday. But the acting health commissioner, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, told the Board of Health at a public meeting Thursday night that hospitalizations had unexpectedly gone down 25% in a matter of days. "Were in a situation that we really had not anticipated being in this soon but it is good news," she said, according to a transcript of the meeting. So Im really very happy ... to say it appears that we no longer need to mandate masks in Philadelphia and that we can actually move to simply a strong recommendation. Philadelphia had become the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate, but faced fierce blowback as well as a legal effort to get the mandate thrown out. Few masks were worn at the Philadelphia 76ers' home playoff game on Monday, even though they were required under city rules. City officials said the mandate would be lifted Friday morning. When the city announced April 11 that mandatory masking was coming back, Bettigole said it was necessary to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. She said Philadelphia had crossed the threshold of rising cases at which the citys guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. If we fail to act now, knowing that every previous wave of infections has been followed by a wave of hospitalizations, and then a wave of deaths, it will be too late for many of our residents, Bettigole said at the time. Cases and hospitalizations continued to rise at least through Monday, when the health department reported 82 patients in the hospital with COVID-19 up nearly 80% from a week earlier with confirmed cases up 58% over that same span to 224 per day. Those numbers were still a fraction of what the city endured during the wintertime omicron surge. Bettigole told the Board of Health on Thursday night that hospitalizations had since drifted down to 65. The restaurant industry had pushed back against the citys reimposed mask mandate, saying workers would bear the brunt of customer anger over the new rules. Several businesses and residents filed suit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn the renewed mandate. The Board of Healths vote to rescind the mandate came after board members met in private to discuss the lawsuit. We were very pleased to see Philadelphia make the correct decision to rescind the mask mandate, said the plaintiffs' lawyer, Thomas W King III, who was among those involved in last years successful legal challenge to the statewide mask mandate in schools. Shortly before news broke that the mandate was ending, the issue came up during Thursday night's debate between the three leading Democratic candidates seeking the party's nomination for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat. Notably, two of them, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia, came out against the mandate. We have to move past COVID," said Fetterman, adding that "we have to live with this virus, and I dont believe going backwards with a mask mandate or with closures is appropriate. U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb of suburban Pittsburgh said he hated wearing masks, but thought Philadelphia officials were trying to do whats best for everybody." Most states and cities dropped their masking requirements in February and early March following new guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that put less focus on case counts and more on hospital capacity and said most Americans could safely take off their masks. The Justice Department, meanwhile, said it is appealing a judges order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs. The CDC asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW DELHI (AP) India and Britain on Friday called on Russia to declare an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an expansion of economic and defense ties that could help India reduce its dependence on Moscow. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he and Johnson discussed the situation in Ukraine during a meeting in New Delhi and underscored the importance of diplomacy and dialogue. Johnson did not pressure Modi to take a tougher stand against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, said Harsh Shringla, Indias foreign secretary. Modi has called the situation in Ukraine very worrying and has appealed to both sides for peace. While India has condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine, it has so far not criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, and abstained when the U.N. General Assembly voted this month to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. India was an ally of Moscow during the Cold War but has since sought to maintain ties with both Russia and Western nations. Johnson used the Hindi language to describe Modi as a Khaas Dost, or special friend, and said, Our relations have never been as strong or as good between us as they are now. He told reporters that the world "faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty. Our collaboration on the issues that matter to both our countries, from climate change to energy security and defense, is of vital importance as we look to the future, Johnson said. He said India had come out strongly against killings in Bucha earlier this month, and that Modi had already intervened several times with Vladimir Putin to ask him what on Earth he is doing and where it is going. Modi has responded coolly to pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden and others to curb imports of Russian oil in response to the invasion. India is the worlds third-largest consumer of oil after the United States and China, over 80% of which is imported. Last month, state-run Indian Oil Corp. bought 3 million barrels of crude from Russia to secure its needs, resisting Western pressure to avoid such purchases. In the early 1990s, more than 70% of Indian defense equipment was of Soviet origin. India is now diversifying its defense procurement, but experts say up to 60% of its current military equipment was acquired from Russia. India has a historic relationship with Russia and everybody respects it, Johnson said. India and Britain have agreed to collaborate on the manufacturing of defense equipment, systems, spare parts and components through a transfer of technology and setting up of joint ventures. Johnson said Britain will issue an open general export license to India, reducing bureaucracy and shortening delivery times for defense procurement. He said he and Modi also discussed new cooperation on clean and renewable energy, aimed at supporting Indias energy transition away from imported oil and increasing its resilience through secure and sustainable energy. India welcomed Britains commitment to invest $1 billion in climate-related projects in India between 2022 and 2026, according to a joint statement issued after the talks between the leaders. Johnson said a collaboration between the two countries on energy security, including solar and offshore wind power, will help reduce dependence on imported hydrocarbons. He said the two countries will try to conclude a free trade deal by October that is expected to double their current $50 billion trade by 2030. There are some difficult issues, he said. But there are big opportunities, we can get it done. Im optimistic. ___ Associated Press writer Krutika Pathi contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WEST HAVEN The call was raised again Thursday, as it has been over the past two years, feet from where New Haven resident Mubarak Soulemane was fatally shot by Connecticut State Police Trooper Brian North in January 2020. Justice for Mubarak! Justice for Mubarak! Justice for Mubarak! Members of the Soulemane family, as well as supporters and attorneys, expressed their gratitude for state Inspector General Richard Devlins decision that the shooting was not justified, leading to North being arrested on a charge of manslaugher. Omo Mohammed, Soulemanes mother, thanked Devlin taking his time investigating the case, as well as family, friends and community members for offering their support during these past years. This is just the beginning, said Mohammed. We have a long way to go, and Brian North will be held accountable for killing my son. Mubarak Soulemanes sister, Mariyann Soulemane, said the decision to charge North came after over two years of complete agony, constant protest, grief and frustration for her and her loved ones. Devlins report, she said, validated the idea that the use of force that claimed her brothers life was unjust. As of Wednesday, my family can breathe just a little bit, she said. This brings me some semblance of peace, but it will never bring back my brother. We miss him every day. ... The real justice would be having him here with us today. But this, this is a step in the right direction. Attorney Jeffrey Ment, representing North, declined to comment Thursday. Mariyann Soulemane called for systemic change in her brothers name, saying officers had wielded lethal force with impunity for too long. The road to accountability will be a long one. But together, the family will continue on this road together, she said. Attorney Sanford Rubenstein, part of the legal team representing the family, called for North to be sentenced to a significant prison sentence, up to 20 years in prison, the maximum allowable under state law. Let this send a message to law enforcement all over this country, that if you kill without justification, you will face criminal charges. Let this be an example to police officers all over this country, said Rubenstein. Attorney Mark Arons, also representing the family, said their stance in this matter does not mean they are anti-police. Rather, he said, there is a role for police people count on them, he noted. Its not about police generally, said Arons. The simple fact is that law enforcement cannot be both judge and jury. There remains a misguided priority in policing apprehension and capture, as opposed to public safety and de-escalation. The Rev. Kevin McCall, a civil rights activist and founder of The Crisis Action Center, led some of those in attendance in chants of Justice of Mubarak! Over the past years, the family and others had wept for the loss, he said; on Thursday, any tears shed were offered in joy. Asked how the events of the past two years had changed her, Mariyann Soulemane noted the weight of the grief, difficult to suffer under normal circumstances, that the family has had to bear in the public eye. Its forced us to be stronger, she said. North fatally shot Soulemane just off Interstate 95s Exit 43 on Jan. 15. Soulemane had stolen a vehicle from a rideshare driver in Norwalk after displaying a knife at an AT&T store there, then fled from police at high rates of speed along the highway until exiting in West Haven and crashing. According to North and the OIG investigation report, Soulemane was motionless in the car immediately following the crash, and the car essentially was boxed in by police cruisers and the other car involved in the crash. North was on the drivers side of the vehicle while another trooper and a West Haven police officer were on the passenger side. When the officer on the passenger side used a baton to break the car window, Soulemane took out the knife and turned to the passenger side. At that point, North said, he thought either the other trooper or the officer was going to attempt to enter the vehicle to apprehend Soulemane and he feared Soulemane was going to stab them. He opened fire. He fired seven shots through the closed window. According to the OIG report, the West Haven officer said he did not intend to enter the car; the other trooper said he did intend to enter the car. Devlin found it unreasonable for North to believe either would enter the car, and that at the moment that North fired, neither the other trooper or officer faced any actual or imminent danger of deadly force being used against them. Among other things, Devlin also found that North did not need to fire 7 times, writing, It is certainly possible that one shot might have disabled Soulemane from attacking others yet not kill him. Ultimately, Devlin found the shooting unjustified. North was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm Tuesday by the state inspector generals office. State police said he had been put on paid administrative leave and that his police powers were suspended pending criminal proceedings. He is free on a $50,000 bond and is due to appear in Superior Court in Milford May 3. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com WELLFLEET, Mass. (AP) A Maine surfer pulled out of the waters off Cape Cod has been pronounced dead, the Cape and Islands district attorneys office said Thursday. Martin Mackey, 48, of Brunswick, was found unconscious off LeCount Hollow Beach in Wellfleet on Wednesday morning after several people called 911 to report a surfer attached to a board face down in the water. PHOENIX (AP) An 18-year-old Phoenix man who was driving a SUV involved in a head-on Arizona freeway collision that killed three people and reportedly involved human smuggling activity has been arrested, authorities said. Kevin Avila was booked into the Pinal County jail on Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and endangerment in connection with the crash Thursday on Interstate 10, the state Department of Public Safety said. BRIDGEPORT Detectives continue to investigate a shooting Thursday night that wounded one person, according to police. Shortly after 9 p.m., a ShotSpotter gunfire notification sent officers to the area of Jones Avenue. Police said there were also multiple calls indicating that a person shot in this incident was on Lexington Avenue. When medics and officers got to the area, they confirmed the male victim suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg. The victim was taken to a city hospital to be treated. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the tips line at 203-576-TIPS. Democrats are thwarting Republican efforts to transfer the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop into the Congressional Record in a searchable digital manner. The Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee, which is in charge of putting documents into the record, is refusing to upload the laptop due to technological problems. Instead, they're asking Rep. Matt Gaetz's staff in Florida to print hard copies and PDF-format versions of the pages. Even though Gaetz's office volunteered to supply the necessary equipment to permit the digital file transfer, Democrats refused. Democrats Block Motion to Subpoena Hunter Biden Per MyValleyNews, Democratic staffers defended the request by stating that the House Judiciary Committee lacked the technology to digitally insert the laptop in its entirety into the record. According to a Republican source, Gaetz's office offered to supply a computer to the majority of staff so they could upload the files, but Democratic staffers rejected it. Hunter Biden's business contacts have been emphasized by Republican Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin in floor remarks, notably his position on the board of Burisma Energy and transactions with different Chinese state-owned firms. Jack Maxey, a former co-host of Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, is said to have given the two senators copies of the laptop. According to the Daily Mail, Maxey allegedly gave copies of the laptop to The Washington Post and The New York Times. The Washington Post and The New York Times confirmed the legitimacy of Hunter Biden's laptop in March 2022. The Biden family's significant contacts with Chinese companies have been highlighted, including a presentation Hunter Biden delivered to Chinese executives advocating American shale and natural gas. According to Hunter and James Biden's business partner Tony Bobulinski, Joe Biden was "plainly familiar" with Hunter's and his brother James Biden's business connections with CEFC China Energy. Joe Biden even submitted a college reference for Jonathan Li's son, who is now the CEO of the investment firm BHR Partners. Hunter Biden served on the board of BHR Partners and owned a 10% investment in the firm through his Skaneateles LLC company. Read Also: New Book: Jill Biden Screamed, Kicked Out Priest During President Joe Biden's Suffering From Brain Aneurysm Prosecutors Obtain Data from Hunter Biden's Paternity, Tax Records According to papers and an attorney involved in the case, prosecutors investigating Hunter Biden obtained data from a paternity lawsuit, including tax records for the president's son. Clint Lancaster told CBS News, "They wanted every record we had relating to Hunter Biden." Lancaster represented Lunden Roberts, a woman who claimed Hunter Biden was the father of her child, in a lawsuit filed in 2019. The decision by federal officials to collect these data provides a new, if limited, look into the president's son investigation, which began as a tax investigation several years ago. Lancaster told CBS News that in the autumn of 2021, Lesley Wolf, the Assistant United States Attorney for Delaware, visited his Arkansas law office, accompanied by at least two federal agents, one from the FBI and the other from the Internal Revenue Service. Lancaster said he and his client spent almost a half-day answering questions regarding Hunter Biden's business practices and private life. Investigators sought information regarding various firms associated with Hunter Biden, including Rosemont Seneca Partners, a firm where he worked for several years, according to Lancaster. The line of questioning coincides with a federal subpoena issued by the US Attorney's office in Delaware in 2019. The subpoena requested "any records, documents, and accounts relevant to all financial/banking transactions" between 15 corporate companies and Hunter Biden, the president's brother James, and two business partners dating back to 2014 when Joe Biden was vice president. Related Article: Hunter Biden's Wealth: How Rich Is the President's Son After Business Dealings Unearthed? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. With the passage of recent legislation in Illinois, Oregon, and Utah and coverage by national media including a recent segment on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver the public has become aware of the maddening reality that law enforcement can and do lie to people in interrogations in order to trick them into confessing. They do this in spite of the well-documented risk this poses for eliciting false confessions and the proven reliability of other methods. In Connecticut alone, three innocent people two adults and one child have already been exonerated after being coerced by police into falsely confessing to murders they didnt commit. Right now, the Connecticut state legislature is deciding if courts should consider whether lies police tell to innocent suspects during an interrogation might have caused them to falsely confess. Senate Bill 306 would, for the first time, require prosecutors in Connecticut to demonstrate that a statement made by someone in interrogation is reliable, but only when law enforcement commits an act known to coerce false confessions such as lying and telling them that there was evidence they committed a crime. However, this seemingly straightforward reform to establish what most people likely already believed was the case is still meeting resistance. Wicklander-Zulawski, one of the largest international law enforcement trainers, knows this decision all too well, as it chose to cease teaching this controversial technique entirely in 2017. The danger posed and the lack of necessity for it in modern policing is why WZ and the Innocence Project, along with other members of law enforcement and false confession experts, have joined together to support reforms such as SB306 to make sure legislatures know that rejecting deceit is a choice proven to enhance public safety. The relative obscurity of this tactic is in part why its been so effective, and why its use has been favored by interrogators and trainers of law enforcement in the past. However, with the availability of DNA evidence, and with efforts from organizations such as the Innocence Project, we have seen definitive proof that false confessions are elicited through these techniques and that those confessions have gone unchecked by judges, juries and prosecutors. In Connecticut, we know of three innocent people already who spent a combined 36 years in prison after falsely confessing due to deceptive interrogations. Thats 36 years during which the actual murderers remained free, empowered with the knowledge theyd gotten away with the crime and no one would be looking for them. In the first 375 exonerations based on DNA evidence, the true perpetrators were subsequently detected in 50 percent of those cases and had committed another 154 violent crimes while an innocent person took their place in prison. The use of deception tactics during a custodial interrogation trades the truth for an incriminating statement so that a conviction any conviction is secured. Introducing lies about evidence has also proven to contaminate the memories of a suspect and innocent people have not only been tricked into falsely confessing but have come to believe they actually had memories of the crimes that occurred. Connecticut has a seminal case in this regard in that of Peter Reilly whose trust in law enforcement overrode his own memory of being nowhere near the scene of the crime. While many see the obvious need to remove deceptive and unethical techniques from interrogation, there can be a concern for many ensuring that police can still investigate crimes. Fortunately, removing deceptive interrogation techniques not only mitigates the risks of false confessions but also provides investigators with more efficient, evidence-based techniques to get information from suspects. Interrogations have proven to be most effective when their goal is obtaining reliable information and building rapport with a suspect. Investigators who demonstrate authenticity, transparency and honesty in their conversations can better facilitate cooperation in both the interview setting and long-term community-police relationships. WZ has trained more than 200,000 investigators including law enforcement personnel from 34 of the top 50 largest police departments in the United States. WZs decision to cease the training of deceptive tactics was based on the important collaboration of 34 years of experience and the incorporation of academic research. These evidence-based approaches to policing support that nonconfrontational, rapport-based methods are more reliable and successful in obtaining actionable intelligence. This aligns with the overwhelming body of academic research and practical experience. While many members of law enforcement have already moved entirely away from this tactic, SB306 would offer a balanced approach to reform. Instead of an outright ban, it discourages its use while still allowing a court to admit confessions procured under such conditions it deems reliable. Some may still argue about whether there is ever a necessity for lies in the pursuit of justice but we can all agree that the reliability of a confession should be made apparent in all circumstances. Connecticut should pass SB306 and reject the false choice between public safety and deceit. David Thompson is a certified forensic interviewer and president at Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, an international training organization that develops and instructs curricula on non-confrontational investigative interviewing techniques. Nathaniel Erb is a state policy advocate with the Innocence Project, which is dedicated to exonerating innocent people and addressing the causes that lead to wrongful convictions. According to a report by the military-owned group developing the weapons, Taiwan is developing missiles that can attack enemy air bases and bring down cruise missiles, as well as drones that can target their launching positions. Taiwan authorized an increase in military spending of $8.20 billion for the next five years last year, as tensions with China, which claims the island as its territory, have reached a new high, and Chinese military jets have regularly flown past Taiwan's air defense identification zone. Taiwan Advances Its Missile, Drone Taiwan's defense ministry announced last month that it expects to more than increase its annual missile manufacturing capacity to close to 500 this year as it strengthens its combat capability. The military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology provided further details about the missiles and drones it is developing in a report to parliament this week, a copy of which was read by Reuters. The Hsiung Sheng land-attack missile has two versions: one with a high-explosive payload for hitting bunkers and reinforced command centers, and the other with "dispersal" ammunition for taking out airfield facilities, according to experts. According to Chieh Chung of the Taipei-based National Policy Foundation, the Hsiung Sheng could reach most locations under the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command, including those near Shanghai and in Zhejiang province. Political analysts anticipate that China will take advantage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine to invade Taiwan. Under the "one-China" policy, Beijing says Taiwan is an inalienable part of the nation and that if it refuses, it will be captured by force, WION reported. Anti-ship weaponry, such as mass-produced domestic missiles and "high-performance" ships, will use this. Tsai, who has dubbed Taiwan the "champion of asymmetric warfare," has stated that modernizing the military is a primary priority for the country. According to US Defense secretary Lloyd Austin, the first batch of MQ-9 Reaper drones will be delivered to Taiwan in 2025. Read Also: China Plane Crash 2022: Investigation Adds More Mystery To Shocking Air Disaster That Killed 132 People Taiwan Charges 9 People in Migrant Fishing Abuse Meanwhile, Taiwan said on Thursday that it would invest more than $68.5 million to enhance the welfare of foreigners employed in the country's fishing sector, which has been accused of widespread migrant abuse. The island is home to the world's second-largest deep-sea fishing fleet, with vessels traveling isolated oceans for months, if not years, to provide the seafood that ends up on our grocery shelves. However, the profitable business has been criticized for allegedly subjecting migrant workers to forced labor and other abuses, in contrast to the government's portrayal of Taiwan as a regional human-rights beacon. Premier Su Tseng-chang, who announced the financing for Taiwan's cabinet-approved "fishing industry and human rights action plan," said it aimed to enhance migrant fishermen's working circumstances. Prosecutors accused nine individuals of allegedly exploiting and abusing foreign crew members on one vessel the day before. Activists have long warned that this type of assault goes unreported and unpunished, as per The Star. Prosecutors claim that the Taiwanese captain and first officer of the Da Wang fishing vessel abused migrants, including beating them, forcing them to work up to 20 hours a day, and forcing Muslims to eat pork. Activists applauded the indictment, saying it was unusual for Taiwanese to be prosecuted in such circumstances, and urged authorities to follow through on commitments to reform the business. Following the death of an Indonesian crew member who was reportedly beaten in the head by the first officer, the Da Wang became the center of attention from rights activists and prosecutors in 2019. Greenpeace obtained evidence from the crew stating that the corpses were kept in a freezer until the boat could dock in Fiji, and the vessel was eventually placed on the US blacklist. Related Article: Joe Biden Disputes Vladimir Putin's Claims That Russia Takes Control of Mariupol, Sends $800 Million More Aide to Ukraine @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. On Thursday, during his $100 million defamation trial in Virginia, Johnny Depp's disturbing messages about his ex-wife Amber Heard were read aloud in court. Amber Heard's lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, cross-examined the actor, who was shown a series of graphic and violent text conversations in which Johnny Depp discussed "burning" and "drowning" the actress, with his pal, actor Paul Bettany, in Fairfax County Court. Johnny Depp Texts About "Drowning" Amber Heard Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard for libel after she wrote an article in The Washington Post in 2018 that his lawyers claim falsely indicates he physically and sexually assaulted her. Rottenborn revealed messages Johnny sent to Paul on June 11, 2013, during cross-examination, as per Mirror. The actor stated he had drunk "all night" before picking up Amber to fly to Los Angeles in a later conversation with Bettany, which was also displayed to the court. Rottenborn questioned the actor if he met the criteria of a "southern gentleman" before presenting the texts. Rottenborn reminded Johnny Depp on Wednesday that the action was not initiated because of anything the actress had done previous to writing the piece. Furthermore, in frightening audio presented at their multi-million dollar defamation trial, Amber Heard implored Johnny Depp not to cut himself two months after filing for divorce from the movie star. Read Also: Flash Actor Ezra Miller Arrested for the Second Time in Less than 4 Weeks After Throwing Chair to a Woman Amber Heard Gets Emotional Heard became tearful when the audio of Depp imploring her to cut him with a knife was played to the Virginia jury, while he also wiped his tears and grabbed a tissue. The knife in question was etched in Spanish with the words "Until death," as well as "Slim," Depp's nickname for his ex-wife, as per The Independent. The trial is taking place in Fairfax, Virginia, since the newspaper's online version is hosted there. Although she did not identify him, his attorneys believe that her claims have made it impossible for him to get film jobs, thereby transforming him from 'Cinderella to Quasimodo' in Hollywood, as the Pirates of the Caribbean star put it. Heard's legal team is attempting to depict Depp as an out-of-control drinker and drug addict, while Depp claims that his ex-wife was the aggressor during their tumultuous relationship. Depp said in court that she bullied him, called him names, threatened to hurt herself if he left her, and used heavy narcotics during their marriage. Depp remembered how Heard informed him that his two daughters, Lily-Rose Depp, and son John Christopher 'Jack' Depp III rejected him and that he was a "bad father." Per Daily Mail, Depp said that the fact was that Heard was disliked by his children. To refute this accusation, Heard's lawyers produced an email Depp sent to Elton John in 2013, in which he complained about Paradis, a French model and actress with who he was with for 14 years from 1998 to 2012. The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor told Elton John in an email that his mother was recovering from a health problem, that his children had "fallen head over heels" for Heard, and that his ex was attempting to "brainwash his children against him." Related Article: Johnny Depp Details Amber Heard's Shocking Abuse, 'Need for Violence' During Marriage @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Everyone is different. Everyone has their unique characteristics, traits and isms that make them who they are. All these little things come together to cultivate our individual aesthetic, and it is through this that many of us strongly identify. Fashion is an important element of personal aesthetic, serving as the first glance into who someone is when you first meet them, but sometimes tattoo art can be overlooked as an essential piece of the puzzle as well. Tattoos can be a direct window into who someone is, as it can represent what they value and how they want to present themselves. In this sense, fashion and tattoo art contain a lot of the same principles in what it is they try to accomplish. Luis Morales, a UO sophomore studying economics, has two tattoos on his right leg above his knee. He got his first tattoo in May of last year, which was a very nerve-wracking experience for him. The first time was scary my mom wasnt home that weekend, and my dad was working all day, so it was kind of a rebellious thing, Morales said. The first tattoo he got is a circular black brush stroke representing discipline, which comes from a book he studied during his time doing martial arts. The book, The Art of Peace by Japanese martial artist Morihei Ueshiba, centers around martial arts values such as discipline, peace and not using your fighting techniques for evil. His second tattoo, which he got last August, is a sword from an anime series which, unlike his first, was very spontaneous, as he picked it out 20 minutes before going to the tattoo parlor. The brush stroke kind of relates to me doing martial arts, so its just a little symbol or memory I have from that, Morales said. The sword one was just more about having fun, and just putting something cool on my body. With his tattoos being very visible on his body in an exposed place, it allows Morales to dress in a certain way that will help accentuate his body art. Being able to show them to the world goes back to why he got them in the first place to boost his self confidence and feel good about his look. I always in general enjoy wearing shorts more, and Ive always been a lot more confident in my legs than in my upper body, so I like showing them off, Morales said. And I know adding something, a cool little design to my legs, just made me a lot more confident and just made me feel a lot cooler, especially if Im showing them. UO sophomore and biology major Dimitri Rodriguez has been inking his skin since the moment he could at 18 years old. Since he crossed over into official adulthood, getting a tattoo was the only thing he wanted. Today, Rodriguez flaunts several different tattoos across all parts of his body. His first tattoo resides on the upper left side of his chest, a Chinese virtue that means fu, which means good fortune, blessings and luck. On his left forearm is another Chinese symbol, jiating, which translates to family. On his ribs is a snake with the number one next to it, representing him being the year of the snake based on the Chinese zodiac, and the number one representing his birthdate being on the first and his birth year being in 2001. On the back of his neck are the hands of God and Adam, depicted in Michelangelos famous painting The Creation of Adam, and the side of his right leg over his whole calf depicts an elaborate image of Zeus, the Greek god of lightning. He believes tattoo art should have personal significance if you want to express yourself in that way. I really like the aesthetics part of it, but also I think having a meaning behind your tattoos is somewhat important, because why would I get something that wouldnt really have something that is meaningful to me? Rodriguez said. If Im going to get it, its going to be there forever; I probably want it to mean something that is somewhat important to me or something that I choose to believe in. His personal fashion style primarily consists of streetwear with a hint of an alternative or grunge flavor, incorporating a lot of blacks and other neutrals such as whites, grays and tans. Having many tattoos across several parts of his body, he likes to emphasize his body art within this style and takes pride in how he expresses himself through it. I think that for the placing of my tattoos, like for the one on my forearm or my leg, maybe Ill tend to wear short sleeves to show it off and then shorts, too, Rodriguez said. I got them to where I can hide them and they can be conspicuous, but at the same time if I really want to I can show them off. I can flaunt them and show them off in a way thats like Im not trying to boast what I have on my body, but at the same time Im proud of what I have. Tattoo art pairs with fashion as an equally essential factor in self expression and showing people who you are and what you believe in. Getting that first tattoo can give you a sense of empowerment and confidence, which is truly the essence of what fashion and style is all about. United States President Joe Biden takes action to preserve national forests that have been destroyed by wildfires and other extreme weather conditions by signing an executive order to protect the oldest and largest trees in the country. The signing of the order occurred on his Earth Day visit to Seattle on Friday. Biden's directive requires federal land managers to identify and assess mature and old-growth forests across the country in a year. The order directs the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service to identify and implement strategies to protect older trees from hazards such as wildfire and climate change. However, the order does not prohibit the logging of mature or old-growth trees, according to the White House. According to a Los Angeles Times report, scientists believe that old-growth trees are critical climate change cushions and carbon sinks that absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Redwood forests are among the most efficient on the planet at absorbing and keeping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and they also offer essential habitats for native wildlife and watersheds that sustain crops and communities on the West of the Mississippi. USA Today reported that President Biden specified a target of conserving at least 30% of US lands and seas by 2030. According to the order, federal agencies must set reforestation goals and prepare reports on how the government can combat global deforestation. Forest clearing for agricultural commodities, including beef, soy, and palm oil, is a major driving factor in worldwide deforestation. The State Department will be tasked under Biden's search for ways for the government to decrease or eliminate purchases of agricultural products produced in illegally deforested or newly deforested areas. Read Also: Joe Biden Disputes Vladimir Putin's Claims That Russia Takes Control of Mariupol, Sends $800 Million More Aide to Ukraine Experts Recommend A Better Solution Former US Forest Service Deputy Chief Jim Furnish believes that cutting smaller trees that can spark uncontrolled blazes and leaving mature trees in place is better for managing wildfire threats and climate change. According to Furnish, the Forest Service has permitted older trees worth more to be logged for many years to generate revenue for the loss of smaller trees. But, he claims that it is no longer necessary after Congress approved more than $5 billion in last year's infrastructure bill to minimize wildfire hazards. The bill includes funding to hire 1,500 firefighters at a minimum wage of $15 per hour. Many forest scientists believe that policymakers allow the removal of far too many older, fire-resistant trees. A petition signed by 135 scientists urged Biden to safeguard mature and old-growth forests as a key climate response. More Efforts Needed To Combat Climate Change Since taking office amid a flurry of climate-related pledges, Biden's ambitious climate strategy has been tarnished by failures. Administration officials defended Biden's performance in addressing global warming, per AP News report. Though, they admit that extra effort is needed. "We can have accomplished a lot, and have a long way to go," said Ali Zaidi, President Biden's deputy national climate adviser. According to Kyle Tisdel, climate and energy program director at the Western Environmental Law Center, Biden has not yet fulfilled the "promises on this existential issue" made at last year's Earth Day summit. "Achieving results on climate is not a matter of domestic politics, it's life and death."Tisdel emphasized. Related Article: Joe Biden's Family: The Untold Story of the 46th President's Wife, Children @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sometimes I feel that my wife and I are polar opposites in every way imaginable. She adores Mick Jagger, I much prefer Mozart. I lap up documentaries about World War II, she would rather watch almost anything that happens to be on another channel. As a Londoner born and bred, I love our capital city and I can't see myself being happy anywhere else. As a native of Ayrshire, she hankers for green fields and the wide open spaces. For the avoidance of doubt, in these most confusing of times, perhaps I should also spell out that I am male, and Mrs U is female in both cases, not only by birth but by inclination. But nowhere are the differences between us more stark than in our attitudes to money. To put it with brutal frankness, I am a mean old bastard who has worried about the pennies for as long as I can remember. She, on the other hand, is the most generous, soft-hearted soul you could hope to meet (I almost wrote soft-headed), with an apparently unshakeable conviction that however much we lavish on others less fortunate than ourselves our underserving sons in particular God will provide and we'll be all right. If you're a beggar with a sob story, or a charity volunteer with a collecting bucket, she is the one you should go to. File image Bankrupt So if you're a beggar with a sob story, or a charity volunteer with a collecting bucket, she is the one you should go to. Just don't try your luck with me. It was with some alarm, therefore, that I read about the study in an American scientific journal which found that the older we get, the more generous we become. Oh Lord, I thought, if Mrs U gets any more generous with our money my money, as I like to think of it, since I've always been the family's main breadwinner we'll be bankrupt and starving before we know it. According to this week's findings, published in Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience, an increasing tendency to help others as we approach our old age has something to do with oxytocin. This is the chemical nicknamed the 'love hormone' because its functions include making couples warm to each other and helping mothers bond with their babies. Apparently, we release more of the stuff as we grow older, which is said to make us more compassionate towards those in need, and more willing to reach for our wallets. Researchers at Claremont Graduate University in California arrived at their conclusion after showing 103 people aged 18 to 99 a heart-tugging video of a father describing his two-year-old son who was dying from brain cancer. When the subjects of the study were then asked to make anonymous donations to the hospital where the child was a patient, the differences between responses of the age groups were truly striking. Indeed, the over-65s gave nearly three times as much as those aged 18 to 35. What's more, the older guinea pigs were found over the previous year to have volunteered for charity work more frequently than the young, and given more of their income to good causes. Significantly, said the scientists, as if this explained everything, blood tests taken before and after the video showed that those aged 65-plus had released more oxytocin as they watched it. But can this really mean that the difference between meanies like me and such generous people as my wife comes down to a simple matter of hormone secretions? If so, all I can say is that both her oxytocin levels and mine must have remained pretty much unchanged since the day we married 42 years ago. Hers as high as ever, mine as low. Even at 22, as she was when I took her to the altar, she was unfailingly generous with what little she had. That was one of the reasons I fell in love with her. Meanwhile, I remain almost as reluctant to splash the cash at 68 as I was when I married her at 26. True, I like to think I've always given fair tips to waiters and waitresses, barbers and taxi drivers. File image Doomed True, I like to think I've always given fair tips to waiters and waitresses, barbers and taxi drivers. Since my youth, I've also made a point of standing my shout in the pub. (Though, my God, how I resented it when one of my fellow regulars changed his preferred tipple from beer to Aperol Spritz, at an eye-watering 8.95 a glass!) But when beggars approach me on the train or at the station, I always avoid their eye, while my wife will be reaching for her purse as soon as she sees them. It's the same when people come round collecting for charities. If I get to the door first, I generally make my excuses and send them away with nothing but a vague promise to think about it. If Mrs U answers it, I know I'll be doomed to send yet another chunk of the cash in our joint account to missionaries in Africa. Either that, or I'll be forced to sponsor yet another wretched child to swim ten lengths of the local pool. Once a meanie, in my experience, always a meanie and I'm not just thinking of myself. Consider J Paul Getty Snr, for example, who was the richest man in the world when I was growing up. Even in his old age, when he was rolling in more dollars than you or I could dream of, he kept a payphone for the use of his guests in his Surrey mansion, Sutton Place. Certainly, I'm prepared to concede that in general with a great many exceptions like Mr Getty and me the over-65s give more freely of their time and cash than the young. It is even possible, I suppose, that an age-related increase in oxytocin secretions may have a minor part in this. But isn't it obvious that a great many other factors are in play? For a start, the elderly tend to be retired, and therefore have more time on their hands to devote to charity work. In many cases (though, of course, by no means all), they also have more spare cash than when they were struggling to pay the mortgage and bring up their families. If I'm over-careful with money these days, I like to think it's at least partly because I remember so well the days when we had none. File image Reluctant It's also true, as many a financial adviser will tell you, that we find we need less money as we grow older, and therefore have more to spare. We no longer hanker for swanky cars or luxury holidays and if you're anything like me, you'll prefer bangers and mash at home to meals out in expensive restaurants. As for those over-65s like me who remain reluctant to part with our money, I can't be alone in attributing this partly to childhood memories of the privations of the Fifties, when austerity really meant austerity. I won't pretend I grew up in abject poverty, as so many did in those days. But I well remember my parents' constant worry about where the next meal would be coming from, or how to afford new shoes when we grew out of the old ones. I can also testify that once you've answered the door to the bailiffs, as I did one miserable day in my childhood, you'll never forget it. Indeed, if I'm over-careful with money these days, I like to think it's at least partly because I remember so well the days when we had none. But then my wife had quite as tough a childhood as mine almost certainly more so, as the fifth daughter of a separated single mum who brought up her large brood alone on the most meagre of wages. Why is it, then, that where cheques for our boys, presents for the grandchildren or donations to charities are concerned, she has turned out to be so much more generous than her stingy old husband? If you ask me, there is one factor those American scientists may have overlooked, in their preoccupation with blood tests and oxytocin levels. I call it sheer kindness of heart. Few in the Kremlins inner circle get a face-to-face audience with president Vladimir Putin these days. The Russian dictator is paranoid about contracting Covid and conducts most meetings over videolink. That has the added bonus of making it easier to end conversations that displease him. The Russian dictator is paranoid about contracting Covid and conducts most meetings over videolink Last month the governor of the countrys central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, attempted to resign over Zoom in protest at the invasion of Ukraine. She didnt mince her words. The disastrous military invasion was flushing the economy into the sewers, she told him. Putin refused to accept her resignation. She was needed to steady the markets, he said. Then he disconnected the call. He will not tolerate dissent or any opinion that contradicts his own. But around him in Moscows halls of power, there is increasing disquiet. It has been reported that senior Kremlin insiders fear Putins invasion of Ukraine was a catastrophic mistake which could doom Russia to years of isolation. Chillingly, they warn he might well resort to the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Such criticism is coming from both flanks, from the nationalists and the more socially liberal technocrats from the hawks and doves, uniforms and suits. The nationalists back Putins belief that Ukraine should be forced back into Russias sphere of influence, severing it from the West. But they are horrified at how badly the war has gone. The liberals were always sceptical about the overthrow of a foreign government and are in despair at the damage being done to Russia both its economy and its international standing. Putin has blocked his ears to almost all of them. One of the few people he still listens to is the Secretary of the Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev. A former head of the FSB or secret police, Patrushev wears a suit these days but his soul, if he has one, wears a uniform. He makes Putin look like a pacifist. Most of the presidents other advisers and ministers are not Putinists. Indeed, theres no such thing for all of them, their first priority is their own skin. And if enough of them become so alienated and scared that they are prepared to mount a mutiny, a coup at the Kremlin is no longer unthinkable. But it would take an alliance of top-ranking figures in the army, government and security services. Thats what happened 60 years ago when premier Nikolai Kruschev was overthrown following the Cuban missile crisis. Knowing they could not win a nuclear war against the US, ministers and generals united to depose their leader. According to the Russian constitution, if a president is unable to continue in office, the prime minister would then head an interim government. Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin is a moderate who is known to oppose the war without ever stating it directly. He would be a safe pair of hands. But what about Russians outside the Kremlin? So far, Western pressure, including severe economic sanctions, has not been enough to bring crowds of protesters on to the streets. But if Putin did resort to tactical nuclear strikes in Ukraine he was boasting on Wednesday night that Russias deadliest-ever nuclear missile, Satan II, had been successfully tested that could well be the catalyst for a putsch. Talk of tactical nukes is a euphemism. The devastation would be the equivalent of a Hiroshima or Nagasaki Talk of tactical nukes is a euphemism. The devastation would be the equivalent of a Hiroshima or Nagasaki. But that doesnt seem to matter to Putin, who is rumoured to have both Parkinsons disease and cancer. He cannot afford to wait years for victory in Ukraine. He is desperate for a triumph of some sort and he could decide to gamble everything on a roll of the nuclear dice. But he cannot simply press a red button. The weapons have been partly decommissioned and would have to be removed from storage, transported to the launchers and made active. Tests and checks would be required and his officials, along with Western intelligence, would know about it. The Kremlin pragmatists know a tactical nuclear strike would be a catastrophe even greater than the initial invasion. Nato would be forced to respond, as would China, to end Putins regime, whatever the cost. That growing band of dissidents in Moscow might well be prepared to act first against their leader both for their own survival and perhaps for the survival of Russia itself. Mark Galeotti is Honorary Professor at the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies Being bisexual is often misunderstood, with people branded everything from greedy to confused to 'on the fence' or accused of using their sexuality as an excuse for cheating. Now bisexual people from around the world have taken to anonymous sharing app Whisper to shed more light on what it's like to be attracted to both genders, with a particular focus on whether they have a preference for either men or women. The eye-opening responses revealed it's a complicated issue with no easy answer - a case in point being a woman who 'prefers' men because she wants children, but would actually rather date women because they're 'more loving'. One person said they prefer to date women because they've been hurt by men trying to take their virginity, while an individual from Indiana claimed they prefer dating guys because they are 'less high maintenance'. Bisexual people from around the world have taken to anonymous sharing app Whisper to reveal the gender they prefer to date - including an individual from Indiana, who claims men are 'less high maintenance' than women Planning for the future! One person admitted they chose to mostly date men because they want to have children, but actually have a preference for women because they're more 'loving' Another person, who lives in Wisconsin, revealed they prefer to date women because men have hurt them in the past Love doesn't come cheap! A bisexual man from Greece, admitted that they prefer to date men because they only have to pay for themselves One person, who lives in California, compared their current boyfriend to their ex-girlfriend, while claiming that women are more affectionate A woman from California, said it's just easier to date men despite wanting a long-term relationship with 'a girl to call mine' because she's so much more picky about the women she's attracted to Safe option! A bisexual person from Nebraska admitted they prefer to date women because an ex-boyfriend caused them a lot of pain One person, who lives in Georgia, claimed they get more respect from women than from men A man, from Texas, explained that he's emotionally attracted to women but prefers to have sex with men Another bisexual person admitted that they prefer men because they don't feel worthy of dating women No traditions! A man from Hawaii, claimed he prefers to date men because they don't have to embrace stereotypical gender roles One bisexual person said they prefer dating women because of their mindset rather than because of their physical appearance A British individual, who knew they were bisexual from their teens, said they prefer to date men because women are 'too much drama' That's one way to nail your financial goals. OnlyFans performer Cheri DeVille has plenty of money to spend these days - but tells DailyMail.com that she is astounded at the ways her male peers talk about investing. So the 43-year-old set out to use her platform the only way she knew how: With a responsible finance-themed porno that she hopes can seduce her viewers out of cyclical crypto-babble and 'virtual Ponzi schemes.' All in time for Tax Day. When the 30-minute erotic film dropped on April 18, DeVille told her Twitter followers, 'Maybe if your man doesn't listen to actual financial experts he might listen to p****!' DeVille, a former physical therapist with no formal financial training, said that she first became alarmed when she began hearing her male friends - predominantly younger men - using the word 'investment' in conjunction with NFTs and cryptocurrencies. 'I became concerned. I'm older and I'm old fashioned, but seeing my friends gamble their hard-earned money away p***ed me off.' Cherie DeVille, 43 (left) is pictured as 'Suze Whoreman' in her Tax Day porno alongside actors Alison Rey (center) and Michael Vegas (right). In the film, a financially-irresponsible man blowing his paycheck on NFTs is seduced into responsible investment When the 30-minute erotic film dropped on April 18, DeVille told her Twitter followers that 'maybe if your man doesn't listen to actual financial experts he might listen to p****!' Despite her relative inexperience in financial management, she's certainly familiar with investing her own money. DeVille is among the top one per cent of OnlyFans creators - and makes more than $1 million a year on her various X-rated projects, according to The New York Post. She's also a veteran of the adult film industry and has been performing for more than a decade, with credits on films such as 'Cougar Sandwich' and 'A**ablanca,' among others. But DeVille says it was her attempts to talk about her money with male friends that inspired her to take action. Cryptocurrency has one of the largest gender gaps in the financial world - more than twice as many men purchase the digital currency than women, with 16 percent of men and 7 percent of women, according to a poll conducted by CNBC and Acorn. And according to the American Psychological Association, men are more likely to take risks than women are. 'I have no problem with any type of gambling - if you'd like to go to Vegas or to invest in a beautiful piece of art, that's fine,' DeVille said. But she doesn't think the recent rush toward digital assets is a good idea for long-term investment. 'I was seeing especially my younger friends and younger colleagues at work not just using this as an investment strategy but as a primary investment strategy.' Her attempts to reason men out of blowing their hard-earned income on Bored Apes and meme stocks, she said, were always met with thoughtless deflections. 'If you try to gently question, a lot of the feedback I was getting was patronizing: "Educate yourself, do your research." That was also concerning to me,' she shared. 'The craziest part is that no one is even willing to engage in these dialogues, especially in the internet space, she said. 'They patronize and tease and demean without providing any answers or solutions or commentary other than "We're on the island of smart and you're on the island of dumb, we're going to be rich, I guess you don't get it."' So DeVille, who earns among the top 0.3 per cent of one million OnlyFans creators and refers to herself as the 'internet's favorite stepmom,' took a more novel educational approach. 'I guess I could go on talk shows as a porn star and say that "I know a lot of things about finance, listen to me," but because of cultural stigma, that isn't something everyone would expect. So I tried to use the cultural genre that I was immersed in to sneak in - porn.' 'I'm weeding my way into this male space to create dialogues, and even if a few people think, that's a win.' It's not the first time DeVille has used her alluring platform raise awareness while sending pulses racing- in October, she launched a get-out-the-vote campaign cleverly called 'Erection Season.' DeVille earns among the top 0.3% of OnlyFans creators as the 'internet's favorite stepmom' 'I've done a lot of advocacy,' DeVille said. 'People are interested in talking to porn stars so... instead of telling them what my favorite position is, I use that time for things I'm more passionate about, whether it's sex worker rights, monetization or censorship.' In the film, a perturbed wife, played by porn actress Alison Rey, seeks professional help after her husband, played by Michael Vegas, drained their bank account buying NFTs and 'stupid meme stocks he saw on social media.' In the film, a perturbed wife, played by porn actress Alison Rey (pictured), seeks professional help after her husband drained their bank account buying 'stupid meme stocks he saw on social media' After a googling snafu, she mistakenly calls 'Suze Whoreman,' played by DeVille, rather than the famous 90's-era financial advisor Suze Orman. DeVille said she was not just inspired by easy segue from the icon's name to a suggestive portmanteau, but a long-standing admiration. 'Hot lesbian older woman, smart as h***, convinced me to start my first IRA,' said DeVille of Orman. 'She was a woman - especially in that decade where every financial person was definitely a white dude. Now there's this lady spewing the truth and it spoke to me as a child.' In a consultation with 'Whoreman,' who is clad in black leather bondage gear under a suit jacket, the bombshell tells the couple that her methods are '100 percent guaranteed - especially with irresponsible men.' Initially, the husband is all eye-rolls and opinions - so the women take matters into their own hands. Using raunchy Pavlovian methods, DeVille and Rey 'f***** [the man] into compliance.' 'Have you ever considered a Roth IRA?' DeVille moans in one scene. 'If you start investing now when youre young. Oh God. Youre going to get so much by the time you retire.' Since the film was included on her OnlyFans account, DeVille said it has been viewed 7,000 times - and that she has received a comparable amount of feedback and praise to when she first launched her career in the adult industry in 2011 'Now, we have a dude with a nice hard d*** watching my porn, hearing about IRAs [and] hearing about good investment strategies,' DeVille told DailyMail.com. 'Maybe the next time he hears those words he'll get hard, or feel good emotions, or some of these things that they get from these Discord groups where they're talking about these virtual Ponzi scams.' Since the film was included on her OnlyFans account, DeVille said it has been viewed 7,000 times - and that she has received a comparable amount of feedback and praise to when she first launched her career in the adult industry in 2011. 'I've gotten a lot of feedback, sort of like I first started porn: "thank you so much, I saw your video" - sort of like it's some dirty investment secret,' she said. The response has been so great, she said, that a sequel could be in the cards. So, why should men take financial advice from DeVille, a one-time physical therapist with no financial training? 'Well, why should you take financial advice from Twitter? Why should you take financial advice from Discord? Maybe you shouldn't take financial advice from anyone,' DeVille quipped. 'Maybe this could be the impetus for you to do some actual research. I'm not some financial guru, I'm just trying to get you to think critically. And my portfolio probably looks better than theirs.' She's landed a coveted role in season six of Netflix's Selling Sunset - yet Chelsea Lazkani wasn't always living the glamorous high life in the Hollywood hills. The British mother-of-two, 29, from London, graduated with a degree in economics from University of Birmingham before gaining a masters in gas and oil economics in Dundee. For years she worked as a business strategist and solar analyst with companies in the oil and gas industry, before she visited Los Angeles and fell in love with her husband Jeff in 2015. After the pair married in 2017, Chelsea gained her real estate license and joined the famous Oppenheim Group last year. She's due to appear alongside the cast of the latest series of Selling Sunset, which will broadcast on April 22. And it seems it won't take long for newcomer Chelsea to make a splash - in the latest trailer for the show, she was introduced as 'Black Barbie', before telling the group: 'I always get what I want.' Glamorous mother-of-two Chelsea Lazkani, 29, from London, is the newest cast member of Netflix's hit show Selling Sunset The mother-of-two wasn't always in real estate - she graduated with a degree in economics from University of Birmingham before gaining a masters in gas and oil economics in Dundee North west London-born Chelsea was inspired by her parents, who are both highly accompanished in their respective fields. Her mother, Elizabeth Adefioye is Chief People Officer at Emerson. Elizabeth was named among the '2021 Elite 100 Extraordinary Black Women' changing the face of Corporate America for her role in leading complex transformations by addressing systemic racism in the workplace. Meanwhile she was recognized among the '2019 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America' by Black Enterprise and was a 2018 recipient of the 'Women Worth Watching Awards' by Profiles in Diversity Journal. The mother-of-two often shares snaps from her lavish holidays abroad with her 22,000 Instagram followers Chelsea, who regularly gushes about her husband online with whom she shares two children: son Maddox Ali Levon, 3, and daughter Melia Man, 2 (pictured on a private jet with Maddox) According to Chelsea's Oppenheim group biography, her mother acted as 'inspiration for what could be possible for her own life but also afforded her the opportunity to travel and see the world, solidifying her love for design, culture, and people.' Meanwhile her father, Segun, an accomplished Architect and Property Developer, left her 'heavily influenced' and 'enamored by real estate.' After graduating from university, she worked as a business strategist, before taking time out in 2015 and travelling across the US. It was during her break in the States that she met and fell in love with her husband Jeff, who is a managing partner at Icon Media Direct, a marketing and advertising company, according to his LinkedIn. Chelsea, who joined the famous Oppenheim Group last year, is due to appear alongside the cast of the latest series of Selling Sunset (pictured in the show) She decided to make the permanent move, later telling her 22,000 Instagram followers: 'Almost two years ago, I came to Los Angeles for what was meant to be a short break. 'I stayed because I fell in love. It was the best decision I've ever made.' After acquiring her real estate license, she said she decided to bring her 'focus, tenacity, and analytical prowess' to the Los Angeles market. She began working with Rodeo Realty Inc. as a real estate agent in Los Angeles in 2017. After graduating from university, she worked as a business strategist, before acquiring her real estate licence Back in 2015, she was travelling across the USA for a break when she fell in love with her husband Jeff (pictured, while holidaying in the states) Later that year, she married her husband Jeff, with whom she now has two children: son Maddox Ali Levon, 3, and daughter Melia Man, 2. Chelsea frequently posts photos of her husband and babies on Instagram, with adorable captions like 'my world', 'mine' and 'pure bliss with you.' In her first year as an agent, she successfully oversaw more than $10 million in sales, leading her to make her own first home purchase in Manhattan Beach, CA. And with over five years in the industry, she was introduced to Jason Oppenheim through her husband. After gaining her real estate licence, in her first year, she successfully oversaw more than $10 million in sales, leading her to make her own first home purchase in Manhattan Beach Chelsea frequently posts photos of her husband and babies on Instagram, with adorable captions like 'my world', 'mine' and 'pure bliss with you' Having 'always been very familiar with The Oppenheim Group', she joined the company in July 2021. According to her online biography, she feels she 'is breathing new life into an industry not typically dominated by black women.' And after almost a year with the company, in March she announced the news she'd be joining the cast of Selling Sunset, posting on Instagram: 'The secret is OUT! 'I'm beyond thrilled to announce that I have joined the cast of Selling Sunset! So grateful for everyone involved, the list is long and you know who you are. In 2017, she married her husband Jeff, who is a managing partner at Icon Media Direct, a marketing and advertising company (pictured together) 'The laughs, the lux, the drama, it's all there in season 5 and I can't wait for you all to see it!' Speaking to People magazine, she explained: 'I think having the support of my husband and my family really essentially prepared me to take on this big role and this big opportunity. 'But for me personally, I saw this as an opportunity to really open doors in an industry that has lacked diversity and where minorities are underrated.' 'I feel like with great opportunities comes great responsibility. This was kind of my time to give back and to educate and really mentor and push forward Black women in this luxury sector in real estate. Chelsea revealed her husband's support has 'prepared her' for taking on the 'big opportunity' of joining Selling Sunset 'So just knowing that I've got a greater purpose kind of prepared me for this.' She added: 'It kind of helps me see my future trajectory by being around so many successful women. 'It helps materialize the fact that I can be selling $20 million, $30 million, $40 million homes, seeing other women in close proximity to me doing it.' However she said juggling her career with motherhood hasn't always been easy. She told Grazia: 'At the beginning it was really difficult because I was still exclusively breastfeeding Melia. 'Black and blonde Barbie!' In the trailer for season five on Selling Sunset, Christine Quinn, 33, teamed up with sassy new realtor Chelsea , who is the first black agent in the office 'Peasants!' 'Little people,' quipped Chelsea before the duo then waved and shouted down in unison: 'Hi, peasants!' and cackling with glee 'On set, I'd be like, "I need to drain!" or I could tell when my daughter was hungry, even when I wasn't with her, as I'd start filling up.' In the trailer for season five on Selling Sunset, Christine Quinn, 33, teamed up with sassy new realtor Chelsea, who is the first black agent in the West Hollywood office. The duo branded themselves 'black and blonde Barbie' and insisted: 'I don't think these b***hes are ready!' as they vowed to take over in the dramatic teaser for the popular Netflix show ahead of the April 22 release of new episodes. After meeting Christine at a listing, the newcomer stated: 'I just love this view, and I just love looking down on people!' as they peered over the edge of a balcony. 'Little people,' quipped Chelsea before the duo then waved and shouted down in unison: 'Hi, peasants!' and cackling with glee. Advertisement Amber Heard has been accused of copying Johnny Depp's courtroom outfits, with social media users pointing out multiple similarities between their ensembles - and even their hairstyles - as the actor's $100 million defamation trial against his ex-wife continues. Exes Heard, 35, and Depp, 58 - who were married from 2015 to 2016 - have been battling it out in court in recent weeks, and each day of the trial has brought a slew of shocking new allegations. The trial, which is still underway in Virginia, is attempting to determine if a 2018 Washington Post essay written by Heard, in which she accused the actor of domestic abuse, defamed Depp. Depp has continuously denied her allegations against him, and is seeking at least $50 million in compensatory damages and a punitive award of at least $350,000, along with attorneys' fees and court costs. Every aspect of the trial has been heavily covered by the media and compulsively analyzed by thousands of fans around the world - including what the two stars have worn each day. Some people are convinced that Heard is purposely picking outfits that look similar to ones that Depp has previously worn during the trial, in an attempt to 'play mind games' on him. Amber Heard has been accused of copying Johnny Depp's courtroom outfits, as viewers spot multiple similarities between their ensembles. Depp is pictured at court on April 13 (left), while Heard is pictured at court on April 14 (right) On the first day of the trial - on April 11 - Depp was seen wearing a Gucci tie, which had a bumblebee on it (left). And two days later - on April 13 - Heard sported a very similar tie, which also had a bee pin on it (right) People have also pointed out that Depp donned a gray suit for the first day of the trial on April 11 (left), and Heard was then seen wearing a pants and shirt combo of the same color to the courthouse on April 12 (right) Then, on April 18, Depp showed up to court with his long hair pulled back into a ponytail (left). The next day, on April 19, Heard had her long locks styled in a similar way (right) - and many people thought it was not a coincidence On the first day of the trial, on April 11, Depp was seen wearing a Gucci tie, which had a bumblebee on it. And two days later, on April 13, Heard sported a very similar tie, which also had a bee on it. People have also pointed out that Depp donned a gray suit for the first day of the trial, and Heard was then seen wearing a pants and shirt combo of the same color to the courthouse on April 12. Then, on April 18, Depp showed up to court with his long hair pulled back into a ponytail. The next day, on April 19, Heard had her long locks styled in a similar way - and many people thought it was not a coincidence. Tons of viewers took to Twitter to share their thoughts on Depp and Heard's alike looks, with one calling her 'sick in the head' for 'mimicking' his clothes. They wrote: 'Is anyone gonna address why Amber is mimicking Johnny's outfits every day? This woman is sick in the head.' 'Amber Heard is playing mind games with Johnny Depp by copying his outfits in court,' added another person. 'The fact that Amber Heard is copying Johnny [Depp's] court outfits is something else... Nobody would ever copy their abusers outfits,' said someone else. Several people have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on Depp and Heard's similar looks, with one calling her 'sick in the head' for 'mimicking' his clothes 'Amber Heard is very scary and manipulative! I realized that she is dressing and mimicking the same outfits Johnny is wearing everyday during this trial,' read a fourth tweet. A different user tweeted, 'Amber Heard actively copying Johnny's outfits every day at court is freaking me the Hell out, like, b***h, you are crazy, what the Hell?' 'Amber Heard is unhinged,' agreed someone else. 'We knew that, but shorty wearing the same outfits as Johnny Depp in court is next level.' Another person said they thought she was trying to 'ensure she's still messing with her victim' by copying his outfits, and called it 'disgusting;' while a different Twitter user claimed it 'screamed psychological abuse.' 'The man is literally in court and she's still mocking him,' they added. 'Amber Heard mirroring all of Johnny Depp's outfits is a continued attempt to torment her victim,' wrote another person. 'Didn't think she could be more vile.' Others took to TikTok to discuss Heard and Depp's similar outfits, with some videos showing off their looks racking up millions of views. Some people were especially outraged by Heard's choice of clothing since Depp's sister Christi Dembrowski testified in court last week that she once overheard the Aquaman alum slamming Depp's sense of style. 'Johnny told Amber that I had just had a meeting with Dior and they were interested in him,' Dembrowski stated. 'Her reaction to that was she was in disbelief and sort of disgust because she said, "Dior - why would Dior want to do business with you? They are about class and they are about style and you dont have style." Depp (left on April 12) has repeatedly denied Amber's (right on April 13) allegations against him, and is seeking at least $50 million in compensatory damages and a punitive award of at least $350,000, as well as attorneys' fees and court costs The trial, which is still underway in Virginia, is attempting to determine if a 2018 Washington Post essay written by Heard (pictured right on April 18), in which she accused the actor of domestic abuse, defamed Depp (pictured left on April 14) 'It was insulting. Taking away that one moment, that insult is there.' Nearly seven years after Depp and Heard tied the knot, the Pirates of the Caribbean star stated in court that Heard was the one who became violent when their relationship soured. Every aspect of the trial has been heavily covered by the media and compulsively analyzed by thousands of fans around the world - including what the two stars have worn each day. Heard is pictured on April 20 Depp claimed that the couple had frequent arguments that included 'demeaning name calling' and 'bullying' by her, when he took the stand on Wednesday. 'It seemed like pure hatred for me,' he told the jury. 'If I stayed to argue, eventually, I was sure it was going to escalate into violence, and oftentimes it did.' When asked to describe the violence, Depp said Heard would 'strike out.' 'It could begin with a slap. It could begin with a shove. It could begin with throwing a TV remote at my head. It could be throwing a glass of wine in my face,' he added. 'She has a need for conflict. She has a need for violence. It erupts out of nowhere.' Depp said he would remove himself from the situation, sometimes locking himself in the bathroom, and insisted that he never struck Heard. He said: In all of these situations, my main goal was to retreat.' In the 2018 article in question, Heard wrote about being a survivor of domestic abuse but never mentioned Depp by name. But Depp's lawyer Benjamin Chew said it was clear Heard was referencing the Hollywood leading man. Depp was accused of slapping the American actress three times in 2013, after she laughed at his infamous 'Wino Forever' tattoo, and attacking her in a cocaine and alcohol-fueled tirade over accusations that she cheated on him with 'rapist' James Franco. Depp has continuously denied her allegations against him, and is seeking at least $50 million in compensatory damages and a punitive award of at least $350,000, along with attorneys' fees and court costs. He is pictured in court on April 12 Some people are convinced that Heard (pictured left on April 18) is purposely picking outfits that look similar to ones that Depp (pictured right on April 21) has previously worn during the trial, in an attempt to 'play mind games' on him. Some people were especially outraged by Heard's choice of clothing since Depp's sister Christi Dembrowski testified in court last week that she once overheard the Aquaman alum slamming Depp's sense of style. Depp is pictured in court on April 20 Others took to TikTok to discuss Heard and Depp's similar outfits, with some videos showing off their looks racking up millions of views. Stills from a TikTok video in which the user discussed their matching Gucci ties are shown Attorneys for Heard have argued that she told the truth in her piece, and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Heard's attorneys have also doubled down on her claims that Depp physically and sexually assaulted her while abusing drugs and alcohol. Heard is seeking $100 million in damages, and has alleged that his legal team falsely accused her of fabricating the claims against Depp. In 2020, the former couple faced off in court for a second time, when Depp sued British outlet The Sun for labelling him a 'wife beater.' At the time, British stylist Susie Hasler, who who runs Styled by Susie, spoke to FEMAIL exclusively about Heard's choice of clothing, telling us that Heard must have 'received the power dressing memo' after she came to court in a sharp suit. 'The actress - as always - looks incredible in an understated, business-like suit, a figure-hugging skirt, and a crisp white shirt,' she observed. In 2020, the former couple faced off in court for a previous time, when Depp sued British outlet The Sun for labelling him a 'wife beater.' At the time, stylist Susie Hasler spoke to FEMAIL exclusively about Heard's (pictured in 2020) choice of clothing 'The actress (pictured in 2020) looks incredible in an understated, business-like suit, a figure-hugging skirt, and a crisp white shirt,' Hasler said of Heard's outfit. 'Shes power dressing - she wants to be seen as strong and not fussy. A trustworthy figure' Heard (pictured in 2020) completed her outfit with a polka dotted, red scarf which she used to cover her mouth like a face mask amid the pandemic - with the stylist pointing out that red is a 'powerful, intimidating color' 'Its a serious look. Shes power dressing - she wants to be seen as strong and not fussy. A trustworthy figure. Its an outfit that says, "I mean business." 'The rest of Team Amber has followed suit with their outfits too. It shows they are unified. They are in this together. 'Theyve all got their hair loose and theyve all opted for minimal make-up. Theres nothing to take the spotlight away from whats important. They dont want to detract from their message.' Heard completed her outfit with a polka dotted, red scarf which she used to cover her mouth like a face mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic - which the stylist claimed was a deliberate move. 'The red scarf is interesting as red is a powerful, intimidating color,' she pointed out. 'Red is worn in powerful meetings to assert your authority. 'The scarlet scarf is a loud nod towards her personality. Red is a passionate color - and can sometimes be interpreted as intimidating.' Princess Isabella of Denmark has paid a subtle tribute to her mother Mary in new official portraits released to mark her 15th birthday. Isabella is the daughter of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, 53, who is heir to the throne, and his Australian-born wife Princess Mary, 50. To mark the special occasion the teenager wore one of her mother's favourite Paul Smith tuxedos, alongside hand-me-down 'Delphis' earrings and a piccolo necklace by Dulong Fine Jewellery. Princess Mary wore the blazer and matching trousers on two separate occasions in 2019 and continues to wear Paul Smith-designed pieces in different colours. Happy Birthday! Isabella is the daughter of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark, 53, who is heir to the throne, and his Australian-born wife Princess Mary, 50 To mark the special occasion the teenager wore one of her mother's favourite Paul Smith tuxedos, alongside hand-me-down 'Delphis' earrings and a piccolo necklace by Dulong Fine Jewellery Isabella even wore the exact same outfit with a plain white top underneath to mark her mother's 50th birthday in February. The schoolgirl, who is third in the order of succession behind her father and older brother Christian, 16, lives with her family at Amalienborg, the royal residence in Copenhagen, and at Chancellery House at Fredensborg Palace, the family's spring and summer residence. Her grandmother Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, 82, is celebrating her Golden Jubilee this year. It comes after Queen Elizabeth II paid homage to Queen Margrethe's Golden Jubilee with an Instagram snap. The snap shows the two Queens with the late Duke of Edinburgh and the late Prince Henrik of Denmark, during a royal visit to Copenhagen in 1979. Royal family! Queen Margrethe of Denmark with her son Crown Prince Frederick (left), his wife Mary (second from right) and their four children (left to right) Prince Vincent, Prince Christian, Princess Isabella and Princess Josephine It comes after the British royal household marked Queen Margrethe of Denmark's Golden Jubilee with a throwback picture on Instagram Margrethe, 82, ascended the throne upon her father Frederick IX of Denmark's death on 14 January 1972. This year marks the 50th of her reign. Throughout the decades the two Queens, who are third cousins, have enjoyed a courteous relationship. Queen Margrethe travelled to the UK on March 29 to attend Prince Philip's memorial service at Westminster Abbey. Queen Margrethe's consort died in February 2018 after a short illness. A furious boss of a freight brokerage company has gone viral after sending an ranting email to employees threatenig to make them work overtime, dock their wages and extend their notice period after several people quit. The unnamed boss, from Chicago, was tipped over the edge when three sales reps gave two weeks notice at the same time, citing 'better opportunities' as their reason for leaving. He railed against them for not considering their co-workers who now have to work overtime when they have 'lives outside of this job and CHILDREN', and complained that he was missing his own kids' band recital because he has to spend time hiring new staff. As punishment, he vowed to make anyone quitting from now on work three months notice and spend that time training new employees, as well as docking their hourly wage by $6. The missive was shared to Reddit by an anoymous employee, where it quickly racked up 13,000 comments who questioned if it was legal and implored all the employees to quit at once. An anonymous man posted to Reddit to air his shock after receiving an angry email from his boss about other employees The employee who posted the email said: 'I laughed out loud at this email. Holy s***. Luckily I have three jobs and can afford to give my effective immediately notice when I show up tomorrow. Lol.' The email from the disgruntled boss read: 'Hello all, Happy Wednesday. I'm not so happy this morning. Yesterday three of you submitted your two weeks notice. All three of you claimed it was because of a "better opportunity" not even thinking about the fact that some of your coworkers have lives outside of this job and CHILDREN. 'Your "better opportunities" (doubtful. we pay you all fair wages) are really worth affecting your team members' quality of life? 'I myself have children and instead of being at their band recital this week I will have to be sitting at work posting job offers on Indeed instead. This is outrageous. You all need to speak amongst yourselves and plan these things out so you don't leave a company high and dry all at once. Commenters were outraged at the boss's comments on giving notice and called him 'deranged' 'The lack of consideration from employees I previously had a different impression of is astounding. The new rule in our employee handbook will be updated to now require a three months notice since that's how long it took to train you. 'You will give three months notice and train your replacement in the mean time, and your three months notice will serve as your consent for your base pay to be lowered by $6/ hour. 'Since you will be leaving, your reduction in pay should be no issue. That's how this works from now on. You can thank your insubordinates for this. 'You can also thank them for the extra 30 hours of overtime per week you will be assigned to until I find new hires and they are fully trained.' The employee revealed he would instead be the fourth to quite following the aggressive email from his boss Commenters were immediately taken aback by the contents of the email and shared that they thought it was a hostile work environment. One person said: 'THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES!!!' While another agreed, saying: 'Who would want to work for this idiot? Apparently he doesn't know how to treat his employees as humans. Someone needs to remind him that slavery ended in 1865.' And a third person questioned the thought process of the boss, saying: 'Lol isn't this just incentive to give zero notice? Another thought the boss had been unreasonable, saying: 'Time for everyone else to leave too. Nobody is obligated to work to support *Your* CHILDREN.' While a fortnight is the common notice period, there is no state or federal law requiring employees to notify their bosses two weeks before leaving their job. Nick Prugo was one half of the duo that masterminded Bling Ring burglaries The Bling Ling leader who stole $3 million from the homes of stars like Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom has said he 'never in his wildest dreams' thought heists would 'reach the levels of criminality it did' in a new Channel 4 documentary. Nick Prugo found infamy at 18 as the mastermind behind a series of burglaries at the homes of Hollywood celebrities by a group of youngsters from the upscale community of Calabasas. The 'Burglar Bunch' break-ins that he lead with former best friend Rachel Lee netted more than $3 million in jewelry, high-end clothes and art, most of it from Paris Hilton, when a group of fame-obsessed high school students robbed a slew of celebrity homes in 2009. The clan struck a who's who of Hollywood stars, including Audrina Patridge, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, as well as Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox. Their story was portrayed and slightly fictionalized in Sofia Coppola's 2013 film The Bling Ring. Speaking in the new documentary Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist, which airs on Monday at 10pm, Prugo said there 'was a thrill' to the crimes, saying: 'I've always been the type to do what I have to do to get what I want, but I never thought in my wildest dreams it would reach the levels of criminality that it did.' The Bling Ling leader Nick Prugo has said he 'never in his wildest dreams' thought the Hollywood heists would 'reach the level of criminality' it did in a new Channel 4 documentary Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist (pictured right, in court in 2009) While Prugo spent his late teenage years living in Calabasas, he was nowhere near as well off as the celeb residents. He and his best friend Lee began their criminal spree by stealing from cars before moving on to take the vehicles themselves. They then began robbing homes, which Prugo said after being caught that he had come up with the plan as a way to fund his cocaine habit. They used Hollywood star maps and the internet to locate celebrity addresses, and calculated when the stars wouldn't be home based on their appearance schedules. The story of the burglaries was portrayed and slightly fictionalized in Sofia Coppola's 2013 film The Bling Ring Showing little remorse for his crimes, he explained: 'Rachel and I had this idea that a celebrity would be an excellent mark to hit. 'I started cruising the gossip websites, saw Paris Hilton was going to Miami and that's when we got the idea to rob her house. 'We'd already seen into Paris Hilton's life so much, so it didn't seem like much more of a step to enter her house. 'The personality she gave off was this ditzy blonde so we thought she may be prone to leaving something unlocked.' Speaking in the documentary, he explained how the pair entered Paris Hilton's home and were 'shopping as though in a boutique.' Showing little remorse for his crimes, he explained how he began by targeting Paris Hilton's Hollywood home because she 'gave off this ditzy blonde' personality The gang went on to steal from Orlando Bloom's then-home with Miranda Kerr, where he compared the robberies to being 'at a high-end store' (pictured left, the former couple together in 2013). Lindsay Lohan was another of the gangs' victims (right) He even explained how they began treating her property as a cash machine after repeatedly breaking into her home. Prugo said: 'We approach the door but this time it was locked, Rachel looks under the mat and there's a f***ing key, like really? Now we have a key to access this whenever. 'Between October and December we went five times. There were purses open with cash sticking out, hundreds and fifties, spare change from a night out. I felt like I needed it more than she did. 'We were constantly going to Paris' house, it was like our personal ATM, we always knew we would find a few grand.' They later turned their attention to the homes of other celebrities, including Orlando Bloom's then-home with Miranda Kerr. He explained: 'There were so many clothes, dresses, lingerie all with the tags on. It was almost like you are at a high-end store. 'I took a ton of his clothes. There was 10 Rolex watches and five grand cash in an envelope.' After months of robbing celebrities, the pairs luck ran out when they were caught on camera entering the homes of Lindsay Lohan and Audrina Patridge. Prudo was arrested and jailed. He was given two years before being released one year later. However he showed little remorse for his crimes, saying: 'This happened, it's not something I'm proud of but I did my time, I've learnt from it.' Caught on camera: Actual security footage of the thieves outside a celebrity home In the film depicting the crimes, Prugo was depicted by actor Israel Boussad, whose character was called Marc. Following the release of the film, Prugo told The Huffington Post that he was happy with how the movie turned out, after meeting with Coppola while she was writing the script. He said all but one scene, which shows him wearing hot pink stilettos stolen from Hilton's home, occurred in real life. He has also said that the robberies start to help fund his cocaine habit, which was not shown in the film. In the film depicting the crimes, Emma Watson played Nicki, one of the teenagers within the criminal gang The movie was based on a Vanity Fair article written by Nancy Jo Sales, The Suspects Wore Louboutins. Prugo was released from jail in April 2013 after serving 12 months. His two-year sentence was reduced was cut in half for 'good time' and 'work time' credits. He was later arrested for breaking parole after it was found he had left California. In 2016, he pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom to a misdemeanor count of stalking Dawn DaLuise, 57. The celebrity hairdresser who styled Meghan Markle's Invictus Games locks has revealed how to recreate the royal's signature 'luxe undone' waves in three simple steps. George Northwood, who has an eponymous salon in London, jetted out to join the Duchess of Sussex in the Netherlands over the weekend. The hairdresser, whose other clients include Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Alicia Vikander, was a regular part of team Sussex when Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, lived in the UK, and was trusted with doing the Duchess's locks on her wedding day. Signature look: The celebrity hairdresser who styled Meghan Markle's Invictus Games locks has revealed how to recreate the royal's 'luxe undone' waves (pictured) in three simple steps Luxe locks: George Northwood, who has an eponymous salon in London, jetted out to join the Duchess of Sussex in the Netherlands over the weekend and created this look for the Sunday He created at least five different styles for Meghan over the course of the three-day event, including a sleek ponytail and the low bun she wore at the opening ceremony in The Hague. Speaking to British Vogue, he explained how he created the 'polished wave' she sported on the Sunday. 'Its key to create a good foundation in the hair, so instead of a rough blow dry, blow hair out smoothly,' he said. 'If youre going for a centre parting, blow dry the front of the hair forward this creates a sweeping motion when you part it afterwards.' Then, using a large-barrel tong, work your way around the head in sections. Tried-and-tested: Northwood created at least five different styles for Meghan over the course of the three-day event, including these loose waves for her first appearance on the Friday Sleek updo: George Northwood (right) also created this stylish ponytail for Meghan on the Saturday, giving the royal a break from the soft waves of her typical daytime looks Classic: The hairdresser also gave the Duchess a low bun for the Invictus Games opening ceremony on the Saturday night (above). The style is one Meghan wore on several occasions while carrying out engagements as a working member of the royal family 'Tong away from the face at the front of the hair, and focus on the mid-lengths, rather than roots and ends, to encourage more of a wave than a curl,' he continued. 'Once youve taken the tong out of each section, pull hair straight so it cools in a softer bend. At the end, use your fingers or a paddle brush to brush through hair.' The finish is key: reach for a product that gives a luxe, glossy finish, whether that is a spray, cream or serum. Northwood last worked with the Duchess of Sussex on her final royal engagements in March 2020 and thought at the time they would be seeing each other at the Invictus Games the following month. Trusted: Northwood, whose other clients include Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Alicia Vikander, was a regular part of team Sussex when Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, lived in the UK, and was trusted with doing the Duchess's locks on her wedding day (pictured) Last outing: Northwood last worked with the Duchess of Sussex on her final royal engagements in March 2020 (pictured) and thought at the time they would be seeing each other at the Invictus Games the following month The pandemic meant the pair were unable to reunite until the long-delayed event was held last week. Meghan was also joined by her favourite makeup artist Daniel Martin, who flew out from the US for the occasion. Martin, a long-time friend of the Duchess, also did her wedding makeup. Posting on Instagram after the Invictus Games, Northwood wrote: 'Two years and one pandemic later; Its great to be finally reunited with Harry and Meghan.' Prince Charles has been encouraged to "listen to the people" and to deny Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the opportunity to rejoin the Royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have planned to quit as senior royals permanently in 2020. The pair has now moved to the United States, although it is speculated that if Prince Charles is crowned King, they may return to the Royal Family as "part-time royals." On their most recent episode, Royally US hosts Christina Garibaldi and Christine Ross explored the idea of the Sussexes rejoining the royal family, as per Daily Express. Expert: Prince Charles Should Listen to The People Garibaldi discussed how a royal watcher on the show, Mark Fru, claimed that whether "Prince Charles likes it or not, he would have to listen to the people" on the most recent broadcast. The Queen did not officially protest the couple's choice when they announced their departure through Instagram, despite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's plea in their statement to "completely support Her Majesty The Queen" while "working to become financially independent." The European tour was Prince Harry and Meghan's first overseas vacation together since their royal departure; Prince Harry is presently in the Netherlands, while Meghan Markle has already returned to the United States. Read Also: Amber Heard Hits Back at Johnny Depp During Libel Trial, Exposes Actor's Texts About Wanting to "Burn and Drown" the Actress Prince Harry, Prince Charles' Secret Meeting Feels Awkward Since their "cordial but slightly uncomfortable" fifteen-minute encounter a week ago, Prince Harry and his father Prince Charles haven't spoken. According to sources close to Prince Charles, he is "at a loss" to explain his son's words during an Invictus Games interview with NBC journalist Hoda Kotb. Prince Harry said that he had visited Her Majesty the Queen to ensure that she was "safe" and "had the appropriate people about her." It's unclear what he meant by his remarks, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's officials have yet to respond to requests for clarification, as per Daily Star. Prince Harry is proud of his ability to make the Queen laugh, and claims that she can confide in him about "things she couldn't tell anybody else." It's unknown if Prince Harry will return to the UK for Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Duke was hesitant to discuss his present relationship with Princes William and Prince Charles, but he did say that he still has a special bond with one member of his family, Princess Diana, who died in 1997. Meanwhile, a Royal family expert claims that Prince Charles is at his wit's end with Prince Harry and was hesitant to meet with his estranged son in a covert meeting last week. During an appearance on GB News in the UK on Thursday, author and journalist Robert Jobson remarked, "Charles was not really enthusiastic about doing it as far as I was aware." Jobson told GB presenter Dan Wootton that Prince Harry, who has been feuding with his father since he abandoned his royal responsibilities two years ago, was late to the meeting. Days after the private meeting, Prince Harry spoke on "Today" with Hoda Kotb, stating he was focused on ensuring his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was "protected" and had the right people around her. He also claimed to have a special relationship with the Queen, who turned 96 on Thursday, telling Kotb they talk about things "she can't talk about with anyone else." The comments, as well as Prince Harry's dodging of the question about whether he misses Prince Charles and brother Prince William, reportedly raised eyebrows among insiders, NY Post reported. Related Article: [Report] Prince Harry Wants To Mend Rift with Prince William, Admits He Tries To Return To UK for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Advertisement Kate Moss's daughter Lila graces the cover of British Vogue this month, cementing her status as one of fashion's biggest up-and-coming stars. The 19-year-old, whose father is Moss' ex Jefferson Hack, started modelling five years ago and made her runway debut alongside her mother in 2020. The teenager, who, at 5ft 6in, is just a shade taller than diminutive Kate, 48, has been blessed with the wideset eyes, full lips and cool girl attitude that helped make her mother a supermodel. And, as these photos show, lookalike Lila has also inherited her mother's flair for fashion. The fresh-faced cover star has been spotted in silky slip dresses, leather jackets and chunky boots that could have been plucked straight from Kate's wardrobe. She is also unafraid to try some of her mother's more daring fashion statements, including an entirely sheer sheath dress worn over a pair of pants. It remains to be seen whether Lila will match her mother's legendary 30-year career and 43 Vogue covers but at least she dresses the part! Kate's mini Moss! Kate Moss's daughter Lila graces the cover of British Vogue this month, cementing her status as one of fashion's biggest up-and-coming stars. The 19-year-old, whose father is Moss' ex Jefferson Hack, started modelling five years ago. She has a long way to go to equal Kate's legendary 30-year career and 43 Vogue covers (including this one from 1995) Slinky supermodels: Lila, 19, slipped into a powder pink dress for an outing in Ibiza last summer that looked just like the silk frocks favoured by Kate in the Nineties. Right, Kate and Richard Avedon at a party honouring the photographer in 1993 Daring to bare! Lila Moss left nothing to the imagination when she stepped out in a sheer black dress with lace detailing for a Kim Jones party in London in 2020. Right, Kate bares all in a now iconic diaphanous silver dress at an Elle party in 1993 Two of a kind! Lila Moss poses up a storm in a bikini in a recent Ermanno Scervino campaign, left. Right, Kate shows off her toned midriff in a bikini top and boy shorts on the catwalk at New York Fashion Week in 1995 Lookalike leathers: Lila looked typically trendy in a leather trench, slogan jumper and chunky military boots at her mum's birthday lunch in January (left). The outfit was reminiscent of one worn by Kate to her birthday celebrations in 2013 Furry similar! Lila was every inch her mother's daughter in khaki trousers, crop top and fur bomber that looked just like one worn by Kate in 2013 A chip off the old catwalk! Lila has followed in her supermodel mother's footsteps after landing her first modelling gig aged 15 - just a year older than Kate was when she started. Above, the pair on the Versace catwalk last year Golden girls! Lila Moss is stunning in a metallic mini at an event in New York in 2019 (left). Right, Kate in New York in 2012 Queen Letizia of Spain was the picture of understated elegance today as she stepped out with her husband, King Felipe, to celebrate the winner of a prestigious literature prize. For the second time this week Letizia, 49, recycled a dress shed worn before and stunned in a sapphire blue midi dress designed by Carolina Herrera. She paired it with blue patent stilettos as she attended the event at the University of Alcala in Madrid. The Spanish monarch, who married King Felipe II in 2004 after working as a TV reporter for 10 years, flashed a smile at the camera while sporting a chic, understated look. King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain appeared in excellent spirits this morning as they arrived at the Miguel de Cervantes Literature Prize 2021 in Spanish Language at the University of Alcala de Henares in Madrid Despite being married for nearly two decades, cameras captured the Queens adoring gaze into her husbands eyes, as if the pair were newlyweds. Tucking her brunette locks behind her ear, Letizia showed a simple pair of small hoops and wore a gold ring on her forefinger. She opted for a nude lip with a touch of bronze on her eyelids for a finely polished look. The King and Queen have spent the past few days meeting with journalists and literary giants at the annual award ceremony for the Miguel de Cervantes Prize. This year the prestigious lifetime achievement award has been given to Uruguayan novelist Cristina Peri Rossi. The Spanish Queen, 49, looked taken by the beautiful surroundings of the university this morning What's so funny? In spite of the rain, the royal couple exchanged knowing looks as they were seen laughing and chatting on the steps of the university The 80-year-old writer has more than 37 works to her name including novels and poetry and is most well-known for her novel The Ship of Fools, published in 1984. The Miguel de Cervantes Prize is considered the most coveted literary award in Spanish literature. The official ceremony takes place every year on 23 April. Yesterday the pair hosted a luncheon for journalists and writers from around the world to celebrate Spanish literature. Again, Letizia opted to recycle an outfit shed worn before a powder blue midi dress with pink and red floral embroidery designed by Manuel Pertegaz, matched with a pair of pink pumps. Letizia looked very elegant in an all-navy look. She recycled a navy dress from Carolina Herrera and a beloved cape, with navy heels Queen Letizia, who gifted her husband a classic book when they got engaged, famously met King Felipe while working as a journalist and was asked to interview him. After a fairytale romance the pair announced their engagement in November 2003. The then Prince of Asturias popped the question with a 16-baguette diamond ring. After divorcing her first husband in 1999, Letizia, whose parents are both journalists, spent the next few years covering major news stories including live reporting of 9/11 in 2001. Her impressive career saw her work for CNN+, Mexican publication Siglo 21, and Spanish TV channel 24 Horas, where she anchored the Telediario 2 evening news bulletin. She is known for being one of the most pro-newspaper royals in Europe and regularly attends journalist award ceremonies. The couple have two daughters together Crown Princess Leonor, 16, and Infanta Sofia, 14. The couple walked to the event together. Felipe looked smart in a black tailcoat, which he wore with a light blue vest and a white shirt TV personality Nick Ferrari today weighed in the discussion surrounding the smacking ban in England, saying that the government should not be able to dictate how parents raise their children. Speaking during a discussion on This Morning with Allison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary and Gyles Brandreth, the Sidcup-born presenter explained his position, despite being personally against using physical punishment. 'When an adult starts hitting a child you have lost the argument,' he said. 'For me, I had two sons. It would be taking them out of the situation, actually leaning down at their level so then it was eyes on eyes. 'I would explain why it was unacceptable. But I do not like the idea that the government has total control of how we bring up our children. 'I think there should be laws in place not to allow you to go back to the days of Billy Bunter, but I don't know the government have the right to tell me how to raise my child.' TV personality Nick Ferrari today weighed in the discussion surrounding the smacking ban in England, saying that he does not know that the government has the right to tell him how to raise his child Speaking during a discussion on This Morning, he said laws should be in place to allow England not to go back to the days of Billy Bunter but that he does not think the government have the right to tell him how to raise his child The group were discussing the fact that Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi had yesterday rejected calls for there to be a ban on parents smacking children in England. He had said that the decision to smack children should be left up to parents and revealed that his wife Lana occasionally gave their daughter a 'light' smack on the arm. It comes after Wales last month made any type of corporal punishment including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking illegal in the country. And Scotland introduced a similar ban in November 2020. The group were discussing the fact that Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi had yesterday rejected calls for there to be a ban on parents smacking children in England In this morning's discussion, the panellists revealed their own parenting methods, with Allison Hammond saying that she likes the 'naughty step.' Meanwhile, Gyles revealed that using a fierce voice was an effective method in his case, which 'terrified the children'. He added that he would say: 'No, no, no stop it', which he labelled 'quite straightforward.' Gyles discussed his own childhood, saying that he belonged to a different generation, being brought up in the 1950s. He also referenced the television show, The Adventures of Billy Bunter, in which the protagonist was beaten in every episode but people laughed about it. Calling it a 'totally different world' he said that the era he grew up in involved grandparents and parents who believed in 'gentle chastisement'. In this morning's discussion, the panellists revealed their own parenting methods, with Allison Hammond saying that she likes the 'naughty step' Referring back to Nadhim Zahawi's words he said: 'What he is saying is that occasionally within a household you will tap a child.' Allison said that the point at which a parent hits a child is when they have lost control and you are no longer in control. Nick then discussed his own parenting, saying that he would explain why his children's behaviour was wrong at their eye level. But said he does not believe that the government should dictate how someone brings up their child. Allison and Dermot then rounded off the discussion. They too discussed their childhoods and the differences in parenting. Gyles Brandreth revealed that he would often use a 'fierce' voice with his children when they were younger as a parenting method Dermot said sometimes a wooden spoon would come out and he and his sister would run. Meanwhile Allison said she had lots of 'boxes around the ear' when she was younger. But all panellists agreed that smacking is unnecessary and Gyles said that he can agree with it being banned. The NSPCC yesterday told the i that changing the law is 'more important than ever.' Joanna Barrett, the charity's associate head of policy said: 'With the cost of living crisis, families continue to be under enormous stress which can affect relationships. 'That means it's now more urgent than ever to address this.' Mike Tindall appeared relaxed as he stepped out in Soho alongside his childhood friend and former Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly yesterday. The former England Rugby Pro, 43, who is married to the Queen's eldest granddaughter Zara Tindall, donned a grey polo shirt as he walked through London alongside the actress. While they may seem an unlikely pair, Katherine is an old schoolfriend of Tindall, with her parents living close to his father Phil and mother Linda in Yorkshire. It is a decidedly low-key appearance from Mike after a busy few weeks, with the sportsman accompanying his wife to the royal's Easter service and Prince Philip's memorial event. Mike Tindall, 43, appeared relaxed as he stepped out in Soho alongside his childhood friend and former Coronation Street star Katherine Kelly yesterday Katherine, who went to school with Mike, got her big break in 2006, when she landed the coveted role of Becky McDonald in long-running ITV soap Coronation Street. Initially signing up for 12 episodes, the Barnsley-born actress would film more than 700 episodes during her unexpectedly extended stint, which ran until 2012. Katherine was one of the guests at Mike's royal wedding to Zara in Edinburgh and it appears the duo have remained close. The pair could be seen on their way to the Film Soho company, which encompasses several smaller brands, including Studio Soho Distribution and Soho Talent. While they may seem an unlikely pair, Katherine is an old schoolfriend of Tindall, with her parents living close to his father Phil and mother Linda in Yorkshire Career: Katherine landed big roles in Cheat, Liar, Mr Selfridge and Gentleman Jack after rising to fame as recovering drug addiction Becky McDonald in Coronation Street (pictured) The royal, who won 75 caps for England between 2000 and 2011, was snapped holding a suit bag from the upmarket tailors Cad & The Dandy as he made his way through the city. Mike has had a busy period for the past few weeks, with a series of rare high profile appearances at a variety of royal events. He joined his wife Zara and their daughter Mia at the Easter Mattins Service in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle last week. Zara teamed the 350 statement LK Bennett dress with nude heels and a striking pillbox-style headpiece, while schoolgirl Mia looked pretty in a blue ditsy floral dress. The couple left their youngest children, Lucas, one, and Lena, three, at home. Mike has had a busy period for the past few weeks, with a series of rare high profile appearances at a variety of royal events, including attending the royal Easter service The Cambridges led the senior royals for the Easter service, while was unable to attend because of ongoing mobility issues. The Tindall family looked polished, meanwhile the Cambridges and Sophie Wessex also arrived wearing blue. Days earlier, Mike was ever the doting dad as he cuddled baby Lucas, one, while taking his children to watch Zara compete at Burnham Horse International Horse Trials in north Norfolk. Mike took Mia and Lena to the funfair at the trials while equestrian Zara showed off her show jumping skills. Sporting jeans and a red jumper, Mike place baby Lucas on his lap, who kept warm in a blue puffer jacket. The father-of-three also supported Zara, alongside their eldest daughter Mia, at the Duke of Edinburgh's memorial service earlier this month And the father-of-three also supported Zara, alongside their eldest daughter Mia, at the Duke of Edinburgh's memorial service earlier this month. Mike looked smart in a grey tailored suit which he paired with a white shirt and a navy tie. Afterwards, he joined his wife and her cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie for a long lunch at celebrity favourite Scott's restaurant. Fashionista Nina Brener-Hellmund has kicked off her pre-wedding events with a bridal shower and pool party at a 1,300-a-night Mexico resort ahead of her big day. D&G model Sabrina Percy, whose father Richard Percy is a second cousin of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, is among the well-heeled guests expected at the wedding of Nina and Freddie Briance over the weekend. Nina, who grew up between Mexico, Texas, and Switzerland, is the founder of online fashion platform Cult Mia. The dashing Freddie is the CEO of gentlemen's outfitters New & Lingwood. The couple officially wed at home in London in October but are now celebrating with friends and family at a big blowout bash in Yucatan, southeastern Mexico. In snaps shared online by guests, the bride-to-be can be seen beaming as she began the celebrations with friends and loved-ones at the exclusive Chable Yucatan. With rooms costing upwards of 1,353-per-night, the wedding is believed to be taking place in a similarly grand venue. Fashionista Nina Brener-Hellmund has kicked off her pre-wedding events with a bridal shower and pool party at a 1,300-a-night Mexico resort ahead of her big day (pictured right) Nina, who officially married her beau at home in London in October, was in high spirits as celebrations kicked off in Yucatan, southeastern Mexico According to it's website, the hotel, which is part of a collection of ultra luxury boutique hotels in the area, offers an escape for 'those seeking a place within the most diverse natural and historical landscapes of Mexico' According to it's website, the hotel, which is part of a collection of ultra luxury boutique hotels in the area, offers an escape for 'those seeking a place within the most diverse natural and historical landscapes of Mexico'. An online description explains: 'In our constant search to redefine wellness, we have destinations where the root of our services interact with local history, nature, traditions, the community, the legacy and the architecture.' The hotel, which is based on a restored 19th-century estate, has a trio of pre-Hispanic-style temazcals (saunas), as well as 'meditation lawns' and a pool. Ahead of the big day, the bride donned a chic white bikini as she joined her guests for a bridal shower at the exclusive resort. Nina, who grew up between Mexico, Texas , and Switzerland, is the founder of online fashion platform Cult Mia. The dashing Freddie is the CEO of gentlemen's outfitters New & Lingwood In keeping with her white-bridal theme, she later stepped out in a detailed tassle dress with matching white flip flops. Among those who are attending the big day are heiress Jemima Cadbury, who is looking ahead to her own big day in the near future, as well as well-connected journalist Natalie Salmon. New York-based influencer Ani Pkhakadze will be in attendance, while personal stylist and shopper fashion influencer, stylist Bettina Looney and her husband Carlos treated themselves to first class tickets. Details of the nuptials have not been revealed but it is likely to be a glamorous affair. Guests attending the pre-wedding parties were quick to share snaps of the luxury hotel online, showing off their rooms (left) and the stunning outdoor pool (right) Meanwhile in snaps from the bridal shower ahead of the big day, Nina opted for a stunning white slip dress with pretty shell detailing The bride posed for snaps alongside a host of other friends who had flown out to the exclusive venue (pictured left and right) Some of the guests have booked into the exclusive Chable Yucatan, where rooms cost upwards of 1,353-per-night. The wedding could be taking place in a similarly grand venue. Nina attended Stanford University in California, graduating in 2013. She first tried to build a business at 19 before joining Goldman Sachs, followed by UBS, working in investment banking. In 2017 she enrolled at the London Business School to study for her MBA. She worked at fashionista favourite Moda Operandi, founded by socialite entrepreneur Lauren Santo Domingo, where she learned the foundations of e-commerce before founding Cult Mia. Ready for the beach! Well connected journalist Natalie Salmon made the journey from the UK Strike a pose! D&G model Sabrina Percy, right, whose father Richard Percy is a second cousin of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, is taking in the sights ahead of the nuptials First class treatment! Personal stylist and shopper fashion influencer, stylist Bettina Looney and her husband Carlos treated themselves to first class tickets It is thought she met Freddie in London, where she has been based for almost 10 years. Oxford graduate Freddie also studied for his MBA at London Business School. He now heads up New & Lingwood, a British heritage brand founded in 1865 in Eton. Multi-day destination weddings have become a must-have for the society set. Lady Kitty Spencer set the trend when she wed Michael Lewis in her Roman extravaganza and in the months since there have been OTT nuptials in Spain, Mexico and the English countryside. Ready, get set, glow! Entrepreneur Ani Pkhakadze is also on her way to the society wedding Chic: Natalie spent time checking out the local shops ahead of this weekend's blowout bash Soaking up the sun: Natalie and friend Holly Tabor shared snaps from their day at the beach Local cuisine: Entrepreneur Ani Pkhakadze made the journey from her home in New York City White supremacists have claimed ownership over the new Viking Hollywood blockbuster The Northman, which stars Nicole Kidman and Anya Taylor-Joy. The epic historical film, which has been released nationwide today, is the latest from Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) and a violent revenge tale taken from Viking legends. However its 'all-white cast', which features famous faces including Alexander Skarsgard and Ethan Hawke, as well as it's 'pure macho stereotypes' have seen the blockbuster championed by supremacists before it was even released. Posts on Reddit and 4Chan have been celebrating the film, with one 4Chan user writing: 'Robert Eggers. He is restoring pride in our people with his great films. The Northman is going to be epic Hail Odin.' Another person commented: 'Northman is a based [agreeable] movie, all white cast and shows pure raw masculinity.' The connection between white supremacy and an interest in Viking culture is not new. A number of alt-right terrorists have referenced the medieval period during their attacks in recent years, including Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, who killed at least 49 people in a Christchurch mosque in 2019 and Jeremy Christian who killed two women in 2017. MailOnline has contacted Focus Features for comment. White supremacists have claimed ownership over the new Viking Hollywood blockbuster The Northman, which stars Nicole Kidman and Alexander Skarsgard White supremacists have long connected with the idea of Viking culture, with a 2017 Washington Post article noting how the white supremacist Jeremy Christian posted 'Hail Vinland' before killing two men in Portland. Writer David Parry noted: 'Vinland was the name that a group of 10th-century Vikings, led by Leif Erikson, gave to a grapevine-rich island off what we believe is the coast of North America. 'For white supremacists, the concept of Vinland asserts a historical claim over North America, stretching especially from the Northeast coast to the Pacific Northwest. 'They use the myth of Vinland to position themselves as righteous defenders in the wars of race and religion they believe are coming.' Its 'all-white cast', which features famous faces including Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as it's 'pure macho stereotypes' have seen the blockbuster championed by supremacists before it was even released The far-right felons who have claimed Viking culture for their own Jeremy Christian, 38, fatally stabbed two men who came to the aid of two black women he was harassing on a Portland commuter train. Christian boarded the MAX Light Rail train in Portland during the evening commute and began shouting racist, anti-Muslim and xenophobic slurs at the two young Black women, prosecutors said. Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, and Ricky Best, 53, died from knife wounds to the neck, and Micah Fletcher survived after Christian also stabbed him in the neck on May 26, 2017. He had that month posted on Facebook: ''Hail Vinland!!! Hail Victory!!!' Brenton Tarrant, 28, killed at least 49 people and wounded 48 more after carrying out a far-right terror attack at mosques in New Zealand. During the massacre, which he live-streamed online, Tarrant could be seen using weapons scrawled with white text. He also posted images of the weapons to Twitter before the feed was taken down. One of the weapons featured a Viking sun wheel design. Celtic and Viking symbols have been adopted by white supremacist groups who believe they represent a pure white race. 'QAnon Shaman' Jake Angeli was among the protestors who attacked the Capital Building in January 2021. He displayed his tattoos of such symbols, including a valknot on his upper left chest and what appears to be Thor's hammer on his stomach. The heavily tattooed Trump supporter sported horns, a fur hat with Viking horns and face paint, occupied the Senate dais moments after Vice President Mike Pence delivered his rebuke to Donald Trump. Advertisement He added: 'American white supremacists want to make Vinland great again, laying out an imagined past in which Vikings are the rightful conquerors of North America, locked in eternal battle with the Skraelings, the Viking slur for indigenous people.' Mathias Nordvig, head of Nordic studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder, agreed, saying the connection between 'bloodthirsty barbarians' and 'Scandinavians' had become a 'cultural trope.' Speaking to kjzz.org, he said: 'We have, you know, a long history of, you know, perceiving Scandinavians as barbarians in context of Vikings. 'This begins already in the Viking period that is, you know, roughly from the period 700 to late 11th century in northern Europe. English authors talking about Scandinavians in these terms like the 'bloodthirsty barbarian' and so on. So that's become sort of a cultural trope. 'You see it in later English literature William Blake, Thomas Gray, they sort of like add spice to their literature by adopting tropes of barbarian Vikings and, and, and such things. 'And so at some point, on the other hand, what we have then is that this is being turned around, turned on its head. 'And, and what we see is Scandinavians and, and also Germans, for that matter, in the 19th century, actually using these tropes as positive. 'And that's when it starts getting really problematic, where the idea of that bloodthirsty, barbarian Viking, who's also a colonizer, is then weaponized. 'And of course, what we see is the, sort of the culmination of that in World War II, where although, you know, most of the National Socialist propaganda was Christian and related to Christian empires in central Western Europe, like the early German empires and so on, there was also some propaganda based off of Scandinavian prehistory and the Viking age.' And speaking to The Guardian, Dorothy Kim, medieval literature lecturer at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, explained: 'Invoking the medieval past has now become a more generalised sign of the alt-right. 'The point is not the specifics of the historical detail or what certain medieval things may mean to certain subgroups. 'Instead, the point is to gather them all for the maximum amount of attention, to plant as many flags to say: 'I am a white supremacist,' and to activate other white-supremacist terrorists globally.' Nicole Kidman is among the famous faces in the film, which follows a similar plot to Shakespeare's Hamlet White supremacist groups have claimed Viking culture as their own in recent years, with Jake Angeli (left) and Australian Brenton Tarrant (right) referencing the period The film follows Prince Amleth who as a child witnessed the death of his father, the king (Hawke), at the hands of his uncle Fjolnir (Claes Bang). As he flees for his own life, he vows revenge and promises to liberate his mother (Nicole Kidman). As an adult, Amleth, played by Skarsgard, hears his uncle has been deposed and now presides over a farm in Iceland. He arranges to be sent there as a slave, bringing him within reach of fulfilling his long-percolating quest. The film follows Prince Amleth who, after witnessing the death of his father, returns to exact his revenge against his uncle With its 'positive portrayal of heterosexual relationships and sex' as well as 'intense portrayals of white female beauty', the blockbuster fits into a criteria of content users of white-nationalist site Stormfront would 'watch repeatedly' (pictured, Nicole Kidman) But despite similarites to Shakespeare's Hamlet in plot, some viewers have been disturbed by other themes within the film. According to InsideHook.com, early viewers noted the 'film's fixation on bloodlines an unwelcome echo of white supremacy, with its idolatry of the Nordics and veneration of racial purity.' Social media users have also expressed concern about the film, with one person writing on Twitter: 'Does the Northman look like white supremacy fan fiction to anyone else?' Another commented: 'The alt right completely co-opted the movie 300. Imagine what they're going to do with The Northman.' Social media users have also expressed concern about the film, with one comparing the blockbuster to 'white supremacy fan fiction' And the film also appears to conform to a criteria created by white-nationalist site Stormfront contributor Yggdrasil in 2001. His list of what makes 'content users could watch repeatedly' included 'positive portrayal of whites in defense against the depredations of liberalism, crime, and attack by alien races', 'positive portrayal of heterosexual relationships and sex, marriage, procreation and child rearing' and 'portrayals of white males as intelligent, sensitive and strong in positive leadership roles and or romantic leads'. The content also has to show 'particularly intense portrayals of white female beauty, in non-degrading roles', while themes such as homosexuality and racial mixing would detract from the film. And speaking to The Observer, Eggers acknowledged the challenges of the associations, saying: 'I'm shocked I made such a macho movie.' According to InsideHook.com , early viewers noted the 'film's fixation on bloodlines an unwelcome echo of white supremacy, with its idolatry of the Nordics and veneration of racial purity' (pictured, Anya Taylor-Joy) He said: 'The macho stereotype of that history, along with, you know, the rightwing misappropriation of Viking culture, made me sort of allergic to it, and I just never wanted to go there.' Meanwhile he also told Digital Spy that the association with white supremacy almost put him off making the film. He explained he was turned off Viking culture because of 'the right-wing misappropriation' but this changed when he travelled to Iceland. 'The landscapes are so incredibly inspiring that I finally picked up some Icelandic sagas and started to read them.' A makeup brand has cast serious doubt on Amber Heard's abuse allegations against Johnny Depp - claiming that the concealer kit her lawyer said she used 'every day' to cover the bruises left by his attacks didn't even exist until a year after they split. Exes Heard, 35, and Depp, 58 - who tied the knot in 2015, and were married for one year before Heard filed for divorce in 2016 - have been battling it out in court in recent weeks. The trial, which is still underway in Virginia, is attempting to determine if a 2018 Washington Post essay written by Heard, in which she accused the actor of domestic abuse, defamed Depp. Depp has continuously denied her allegations against him, and is seeking at least $50 million in compensatory damages and a punitive award of at least $350,000, along with attorneys' fees and court costs. During the trial, Heard's legal team claimed that the actress used Milani's All In One Correcting Kit to cover up the alleged injuries that she received at the hands of her ex-husband. A makeup brand has cast doubt on Amber Heard's abuse allegations against Johnny Depp - claiming the concealer kit her lawyer said she used to cover bruises left by his attacks wasn't actually released until after a year after they divorced Exes Heard, 35, and Depp, 58, have been battling it out in court to determine if a 2018 essay written by Heard, in which she accused the actor of domestic abuse, defamed Depp During the trial, Heard's lawyer claimed that the actress used Milani's All In One Correcting Kit (pictured) to cover up the alleged injuries that she received at the hands of her ex-husband Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft even pulled out the concealer palette and showed it to the jury, telling them that it was what she used to conceal her bruises The actress' lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, stated that she kept the makeup product in her purse at all times, as to make sure that her bruises were never visible to the public. Heard's attorney even pulled out the concealer palette - which is no longer available on the company's website but is listed on a resale site for $25 - and showed it to the jury. 'Amber had to mix the different colors for the different days of the bruises, as they developed in the different coloring,' Heard's lawyer stated However, Milani Cosmetics is now claiming that it didn't release the product that the Aquaman star said helped hide her marks until after she and Depp ended their relationship. 'This was what she used,' her lawyer said during her opening statement, which took place on April 12, as he held up the All In One Correcting Kit. 'She became very adept at it. Youre going to hear the testimony from Amber about how she had to mix the different colors for the different days of the bruises as they developed in the different coloring, and how she would use [this] to touch those up to be able to cover those.' In a now-viral TikTok video, Milani seemingly debunked these claims by stating that the brand didn't release the concealer until 2017, while the alleged abuse was said to have taken place between 2013 and 2016. 'You asked us Let the record show that our Correcting Kit launched in 2017,' the company captioned the clip, which showed a Milani employee pointing to a power point presentation about its products, which stated that the Correcting Kit in question dropped in 2017. The brand did not state whether or not early samples were available before the release. However, Milani Cosmetics is now claiming that they never even released the product that the Aquaman star said helped hide her marks until after she and Depp ended their relationship On TikTok, Milani seemingly debunked these claims by stating it didn't release the makeup until 2017, while the alleged abuse was said to have taken place between 2013 and 2016 The palette is no longer available on the company's website but is listed on a resale site for $25 'We are here to provide the facts of the case,' the Milani also wrote in the comment section of the video, which has now been viewed more than three million times. But a friend of Heard's defended her attorneys, telling DailyMail.com: 'Ms. Heards lawyer was using an example of the kind of makeup that she used, but its a sad day when a makeup company uses that as an opportunity to make light of what victims of domestic violence have to do to hide the results of the abuse they endure.' Others were stunned by the makeup company's claim and took to the comment section to share their thoughts. 'Someone get this to [Depp's] lawyers ASAP,' wrote one person. 'Milani take the stand right now,' joked another. 'We are here to provide the facts of the case,' the brand wrote in the comment section of the video, which has now been viewed more than three million times Someone else said: 'I don't even wear makeup but you just gained a customer.' 'Milani said, "Get my name out your mouth,"' read a fourth comment. 'Milani over here like, "You will not be using us in your life,"' added a different user. While some people supported the brand for addressing Heard's claims, others slammed it for 'profiting' off the case. News outlet Jezebel wrote, 'Milani Cosmetics used the moment as an advertising opportunity. 'Brands do not have to do this. I know its hard out there in the content mines, but wading into a trial where intimate partner violence is at the heart of it all is a bold and aggressive way to try to make a high-profile trial about your brand. 'I would even argue that brands do not have to take a side in celebrity litigation - even if they are mentioned.' DailyMail.com has reached out Heard's representative for comment. Depp and Heard first met in 2009 on set of The Rum Diary. They started dating in 2012, got engaged in 2014, and married one year later. In 2016, Heard filed for divorce, and it was finalized in 2017. Then, in 2018 Heard made a slew of shocking allegations against Depp while writing about being a survivor of domestic abuse for the Washington Post. Although she never mentioned Depp by name, Depp's lawyer Benjamin Chew said it was clear that Heard was referencing the Hollywood leading man during the trial. Many people were stunned by the makeup company's claim and took to the comment section to share their thoughts Depp and Heard (pictured during the trial) started dating in 2012 and got married in 2015. In 2016, Heard filed for divorce, and it was finalized one year later Then, in 2018 Heard (pictured during the trial) made a slew of shocking allegations against Depp while writing about being a survivor of domestic abuse for the Washington Post Depp was accused of slapping the American actress three times in 2013, after she laughed at his infamous 'Wino Forever' tattoo, and attacking her in a cocaine and alcohol-fueled tirade over accusations that she cheated on him with 'rapist' James Franco. But now, nearly seven years after Depp and Heard tied the knot, the Pirates of the Caribbean star stated in court that Heard was the one who became violent when their relationship soured. Depp claimed that the couple had frequent arguments that included 'demeaning name calling' and 'bullying' by her, when he took the stand on Wednesday. 'It seemed like pure hatred for me,' he told the jury. 'If I stayed to argue, eventually, I was sure it was going to escalate into violence, and oftentimes it did.' When asked to describe the violence, Depp said Heard would 'strike out.' 'It could begin with a slap. It could begin with a shove. It could begin with throwing a TV remote at my head. It could be throwing a glass of wine in my face,' he added. 'She has a need for conflict. She has a need for violence. It erupts out of nowhere.' Now, nearly seven years after Depp and Heard tied the knot, the Pirates of the Caribbean star stated in court that Heard was the one who became violent when their relationship soured Attorneys for Heard have argued that she told the truth in her piece, and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Depp and Heard are pictured during the trial Depp said he would remove himself from the situation, sometimes locking himself in the bathroom, and insisted that he never struck Heard. He said: In all of these situations, my main goal was to retreat.' He also claimed that Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him during an argument which ensued after he asked her to sign a prenup in 2015, and resulted in his middle finger being cut off. The star also accused her of spreading human fecal matter on his side of their shared bed in 2016. Attorneys for Heard have argued that she told the truth in her piece, and that her opinion was protected as free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Heard's lawyers have also doubled down on her claims that Depp physically and sexually assaulted her while abusing drugs and alcohol. Heard is seeking $100 million in damages, and has alleged that his legal team falsely accused her of fabricating the claims against Depp. 'White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch' is directed by Alison Klayman and premiered on Netflix on April 19 The clothing chain at the center of the documentary was established by David T. Abercrombie in New York City in 1892 and it looked quite different from what it would become, selling outdoor sporting equipment like fishing and hunting gear. In 1904, lawyer Ezra Fitch bought into the company, officially giving it the name Abercrombie & Fitch. The flagship expanded to a 12-story department store on Madison Avenue, where it sold clothing and sporting goods. It even had a shooting range and golf school, according to Business Insider, and did an impressive $6.3 million in sales in 1929. Like all retailers, it struggled during the Great Depression but was doing well again after World War II. The brand attracted famous customers, including Ernest Hemingway, Charles Lindbergh, and Presidents John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Business went up and down through the decades, and after filing for bankruptcy, A&F was acquired by Limited Brands in 1988 where it would soon get new life. Four years later, in 1992, Mike Jeffries was named CEO, and the brand began its shift toward attracting teen customers. To that end, it soon started producing its famously sexy ads, featuring partially-clothed models, often in intimate poses. A magazine and catalog, A&F Quarterly, was launched in 1997 for $6 per issue. In 1992, Mike Jeffries was named CEO, and the brand began its shift toward attracting teen customers The image shift worked, and the company steadily grew, expanding from 26 stores with $50 million in sales in 1992 to 125 stores and $335 in sales in 1996, when it went public, according to Bloomberg. It continued to expand into the new millennium, with a clothing line for younger kids in 1998 and another brand, Hollister, in 2000. By then, A&F was massively popular for teens, and its sexy ads were iconic. Over the years, several stars modeled for the brand, with many posing for campaigns before making it big. Celebrity A&F models included Jennifer Lawrence, Karlie Kloss, Lindsay Lohan, Sienna Miller, Penn Badgley, Ashton Kutcher, Jamie Dornan, Taylor Swift, Channing Tatum, January Jones, and Olivia Wilde Jennifer Lawrence remembered her 2006 shoot in an interview with Graham Norton. 'They wanted natural pictures, so they made us play football on the beach,' she said. 'The other models played football in a pretty way, but not me. My face was bright red, and I was sweaty with flaring nostrils.' But while the brand was a massive success particularly among middle- and upper-middle-class white suburbanites it was not without controversy. Over the years, several stars modeled for the brand, with many posing for campaigns before making it big. Celebrity A&F models included January Jones (pictured) Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss modeled for Abercrombie early on in their careers Some conservative groups founds its campaigns too racy, and in 2003, a holiday catalog was recalled in response to protests over content that included mentions of oral sex and masturbation. Meanwhile, the company was coming under fire for racism from several minority groups, and in 2002, it was blasted for a line of T-shirts with Asian stereotypes and caricatures. One of the offending shirts featured the slogan 'Wong Brothers Laundry Service Two Wongs Can Make It White' with two caricatures of Chinese men. Some conservative groups founds its campaigns too racy, and in 2003, a holiday catalog was recalled in response to protests over content that included mentions of oral sex and masturbation (pictured: Olivia Wilde) 'We personally thought Asians would love this T-shirt,' a spokesperson said at the time, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 'We never single out any one group to poke fun at. We poke fun at everybody, from women to flight attendants to baggage handlers, to football coaches, to Irish Americans to snow skiers. There's really no group we haven't teased.' Years later, Jeffries would say that the company had a 'morals committee for T-shirts' but 'sometimes they're on vacation.' 'Listen, do we go too far sometimes? Absolutely. But we push the envelope, and we try to be funny, and we try to stay authentic and relevant to our target customer. I really don't care what anyone other than our target customer thinks,' he said. The shirts were pulled from stores within days. But poorly-thought-out T-shirts were hardly the only charge of racism the company was facing. As A&F relied on sex appeal to sell clothes, sales associates at the stores were considered 'models,' and retail locations denied applicants who did not fit a certain 'look' which allegedly often included minorities. The company was coming under fire for racism from several minority groups, and in 2002, it was blasted for a line of T-shirts with Asian stereotypes and caricatures The shirts were pulled from stores within days. Years later, Jeffries would say that the company had a 'morals committee for T-shirts' but 'sometimes they're on vacation' In 2003, nine people of color filed a class-action suit against the brand for alleged discrimination against African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. Gonzalez v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores alleged that Abercrombie 'refused to hire qualified minority applicants as Brand Representatives working on the sales floor while discouraging applications from minority candidates,' according to the LDF. In 2003, nine people of color filed a class-action suit against the brand for alleged discrimination against African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans Legal papers said that store managers would often approach attractive white customers who had the Abercrombie 'look' and encourage them to apply for sales jobs. Minorities weren't hired often, the suit alleged, and when they were they were given 'undesirable positions' which kept them 'out of the public eye' and sometimes, when corporate officials visited, minority staff would be fired soon after. According to the New York Times, former employee Jennifer Lu said that she and four other Asian sales clerks were fired from a store in Costa Mesa, California, after a corporate official visited and said there were 'too many Asian sales clerks.' Juancarlos Gomez-Montejano had a similar story from his Santa Monica, California, store, from which he says he and four other minority sales clerks were fired after a corporate official visited. The official and allegedly said the staff was too large, but a few weeks later, five white UCLA frat brothers were hired. The suit was settled in 2004. Though Abercrombie did not admit wrongdoing, it did pay out $40 million and agree to change its hiring guidelines. Yet t he accusations and subsequent settlement appeared to have no impact on the company's success, and by 2012 it had 1,000 locations and $4.5 billion in sales. It would also launch two more brands, Ruehl 248 (in 2004) and Gilly Hicks (in 2008). Minorities weren't hired often, the suit alleged, and when they were they were given 'undesirable positions' which kept them 'out of the public eye' But in 2012, Abercrombie was sued once again, this time by Michael Bustin, a former pilot who alleged age discrimination and claimed that at age 68 he was fired and replaced by a 32-year-old man. That suit was settled in 2012, with the company not admitting wrongdoing. While the terms of the settlement were not released, the suit did include information about an airplane manual with rules for flight crew that were considered shocking including that CEO Jeffries required male crew to wear Abercrombie underwear. According to Bloomberg, flight crew were required to wear a uniform that included Abercrombie & Fitch jeans, polo shirts, flip-flops, sweatshirts, and a winter coat that must be donned, with the collar flipped, when the temperature fell to 50 degrees or lower. Male crew members were also required to wear a belt, hat, gloves, boxer briefs, and cologne by the brand. In 2006, then-CEO Jeffries (pictured right with fashion publicist Paul Wilmot) said: Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla' The 'look' of those associated with Abercrombie remained incredibly important under Jeffries, and he unabashedly explained his preferences in a 2006 interview with Salon, in which he said that sexual attraction was 'almost everything.' 'Thats why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We dont market to anyone other than that,' he said. 'In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. 'A lot of people dont belong [in our clothes], and they cant belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You dont alienate anybody, but you dont excite anybody, either.' A&F was certainly exclusionary of people who wear bigger sizes, and for most of its history did not sell women's clothing above size 10 or large. For years, it did well enough with slimmer customers, but sales began falling in 2008 and 2009. Though A&F fared better in 2010 and 2011, sales were dropping again in 2012 and 2013 and the company was forced to start closing several locations and shutter spinoffs Ruehl 248 in 2009 and Gilly Hicks in 2013. The decline in sales was attributed to the rise of fast-fashion brands like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21. Abercrombie tired to adapt in several ways, removing its logo from products and launching its first collection with black clothing, which had been banned by Jeffries for being too 'formal.' A&F expanded over the years, including with spinoff Hollister - but after years of rising sales, in 2008, the chain started seeing sales decline The brand also finally began carrying sizes XL and XXL and above size 10 in 2013. That year, Jeffries' comments about being exclusionary resurfaced on social media, this timing earning the CEO quite a bit of backlash. He ultimately issued a half-apology on Facebook. 'While I believe this 7 year old, resurrected quote has been taken out of context, I sincerely regret that my choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offense,' he wrote. 'A&F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers. However, we care about the broader communities in which we operate and are strongly committed to diversity and inclusion. 'We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics.' But employees continued to insist that discrimination was rampant, and despite announcements about changes in hiring policy, Abercrombie still faced allegations of racism and discrimination. In 2015, a female staffer wrote a scathing essay for xoJane, in which she recounted instances of blatant racism just before visits from Jeffries. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled against A&F after Samantha Elauf alleged that they refused to hire her because of her hijab 'When he did visit, managers went out of their way to ensure that the models on the floor were the cream of the crop,' she wrote. 'Unfortunately, this usually meant the thinnest, tallest, and whitest models.' 'On one particularly horrifying instance, most of the black models were sent home an hour early before their shifts ended and before Jeffries was scheduled to visit,' she recalled. In December 2014, amid a continuing decline in sales, Jeffries, then 70, announced his retirement, both as CEO and from the retailer's board of directors. 'I believe now is the right time for new leadership to take the company forward in the next phase of its development,' he said in a statement at the time. Following his departures, sales continued to fall by 14% in early 2015, and between 2010 and 2018, 450 stores were closed. Abercrombie was also embroiled in another years-long lawsuit, which in 2015 made it to the Supreme Court. Plaintiff Samantha Elauf claimed that Abercrombie would not hire her as a sales associate in 2008 because, they said, her hijab violated their 'look policy,' which banned headgear. But her suit argued that companies legally have to provide 'reasonable accommodation without undue hardship' for an an employee's religious practices. Though Abercrombie argued that Elauf didn't ask for accommodation, the Court found in favor of Elauf, with a majority opinion issued by Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia wrote that 'an applicant need only show that his need for an accommodation was a motivating factor in the employers decision' to show discrimination, according to Politico. Abercrombie has since changed its 'look policy' to allow headgear, including hijabs. The lawsuits kept coming, and in 2015, two more former employees, Alexander Brown and Arik Silva, alleged that they and other employees were 'forced' to buy the Abercrombie's clothing 'each time a new sales guide came out' as part of a 'uniform,' according to the Fashion Law. However, California, Florida, New York, and Massachusetts labor law require employees to reimburse employees for work uniform costs which Abercrombie did not. Theirs turned into another class-action suit, joined by 250,000 other then-current and former employees, who settled with Abercrombie for $25 million in 2018. The company has continued to try to adapt, shedding elements that formerly made it successful including the shirtless male greeters who had long stood outside stores, enticing customers. Fran Horowitz became CEO in 2017, and other changes to clothing and store layouts led to better sales in 2018 and 2019. The brand also began introducing more inclusive ads, including a 2020 campaign that included women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Paralympian Scout Bassett, Los Angeles Lakers star Kyle Kuzma, freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, and transgender model Leyna Bloom. In addition to photoshoots, the campaign included opportunities for these stars to share their experiences of body positivity, self-empowerment, determination, LGBTQ+ equality, gender equality, and overcoming obstacles. 'Were moving towards a world of belonging, rather than fitting in,' Joanna Ewing, Abercrombie & Fitchs head of creative, told the New York Post at the time. In a company press release this month, Horowitz touted net sales of $3.7 billion in the fiscal year ending January 29, 2022, saying: '2021 is a testament to the fundamental changes we have made to strengthen our foundation and improve our profitability.' Earlier this month, WWD reported that A&F is working to build up its store presence once again, and for the firs time since 2008, will open more stores (50) than it closes (30) this year. 'This company is transformed. Its at a much healthier place than it used to be. Its a different company,' Horowitz said. Gilly Hicks, which had shuttered freestanding stores in 2013, is now opening again as well, with a location in Ohio last year and two in London and Germany this year. A man has revealed how he removed mould from his favourite coat with just two household items and water. Eman, from New South Wales, shared that he banished the stubborn mould with a combination of washing liquid and $4 bleach. The man simply combined a capful of White King Lavender Bleach and a capful of washing liquid inside a one litre spray bottle. A man has revealed how he removed mould from his favourite coat with just two household items and water, he combined $4 bleach, washing liquid and water in a spray bottle He then filled the spray bottle with water, shook the mixture up and spot tested it on his coat to check there was no colour change. Happy with the results, Eman 'liberally sprayed' the material with his DIY mixture and hung it out to dry in the sun. Eman says he was left thrilled with the outcome and shared the impressive before and after photos with thousands on Facebook. The man used only a capful of White King Lavender Bleach (pictured) and a capful of washing liquid to get the impressive results Many left comments thanking him for the mould removal trick and shared that they will definitely give the DIY spray a try. 'Awesome thank you, will definitely try this. So many things went mouldy during the rain,' a woman wrote. 'I would have thought it would have taken the colour out! I'll give it a try,' another wrote. How to remove mould from clothing: Ingredients: 1 capful White King Lavender Bleach 1 capful Washing liquid Water Method: Combine a capful of White King Lavender Bleach and a capful of washing liquid inside a one litre spray bottle. Fill the spray bottle with water, shake the mixture up and spot tested it before spraying onto the mouldy material. Spray the mouldy clothing item with the DIY spray and hang it out to dry in the sun. Advertisement Other Facebook users shared the DIY solutions they use at home to remove stubborn mould and stains from clothing items. 'I use peroxide, bicarb and dishwashing liquid to make a paste. I apply it thickly over the affected areas using a toothbrush and allow it to dry. Then hand wash the item,' a woman suggested. 'I use vinegar in my washing to remove mould and stains. Works well,' another suggested. Heart attacks in Democrat-voting Southern California spiked 53 per cent following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, a study says. But in Northern California where almost half of counties voted for Trump they rose by a lower 32 per cent. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente the largest health system in the state monitored hospitalizations for heart problems among 6.4million patients over a five-day period two weeks before the election. They then tracked admissions for five days immediately after ballots were cast. Southern California also had bigger surges in heart failure where the muscle stops pumping efficiently and stroke rates compared to its northern neighbor. Researchers blamed 'anger' and 'hostility' amid the close results for the uptick, warning stress could trigger heart problems. But they warned other factors like Covid and extreme weather may also have fueled the uptick in admissions. To manage stress during elections, they suggested Americans should meditate, do yoga and practice 'mindfulness'. The above graph shows the percentage change in cardiovascular events over five-days two weeks before the 2020 presidential election to the five-days immediately following voting. It breaks it into southern California, which mostly backed Biden, and northern California, which mostly backed Trump The above map shows which president each Californian county backed in 2020. In the south nine in ten supported Biden, but in the north 22 out of 46 voted for Trump Scientists have been pointing to a link between U.S. presidential elections and upticks in heart attacks for years. They largely blame stress sparked by casting ballots and expectations surrounding the results for the uptick in rates. Stress is known to raise the risk of heart problems. The 2020 presidential race was a close-fought affair, with Republicans quickly calling a recount in several states over allegations of vote-rigging and shifting tallies. Can high stress levels trigger heart problems? Their is now a consensus among cardiologists that stress can trigger to heart problems. Professor Glenn Levine, a medical expert at Baylor College in Texas, said: 'There is now very good data that psychological stress, and stressful events, are associated with an increased risk of cardiac events. 'Studies emphasize the link between the mind and the heart... and the importance of recognizing that psychological health and distress can impact heart health.' Today's study found heart attacks ticked up 42 per cent across California in the five days following the election, compared to the same period two weeks beforehand. Scientists said 'anger' and 'hostility' around this period over the close results could explain the rise. Stress is considered to be a risk factor for heart problems. Advertisement In the study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Network Open scientists looked at hospitalization rates for heart problems over October 21 to 25, nine days before the election. This was compared to the November 4 to 8, just after the election and spanning the period where the results were disputed before a victor was declared on November 7. Kaiser Permanente's network is the largest in California, and covers 20 percent of people in the southern area and 30 percent in the northern region. The majority of patients were between 18 and 54 years old (62 percent). They were equally split between male and female, and more than 40 percent were white. The health system did not record which candidate its patients voted for. But in Southern California nine out of ten counties backed Biden, while in the north 22 out of 46 cast their votes for Trump. Southern California's hospitalization rate for heart attacks was 141 per 100,000 person-years over the week before the election. But over the five days afterwards it spiked to 216 per 100,000. For comparison, in Northern California the rate rose from 145 to 192 per 100,000. For heart failure, the hospitalization rate in Southern California rose from 245 to 293, up 19 per cent. Strokes in the region ticked up by 14 per cent, from 346 to 396 per 100,000. In Northern California, heart failure rates rose from 216 to 252, up 16 per cent, but stroke rates fell from 246 to 205, down 17 per cent. Overall, white men in their 70s were found to be most at risk of suffering a heart problem following the election. Researchers, led by Dr Matthew Mefford, cardiovascular disease epidemiologist at Kaiser, warned emotions such as 'anger and hostility' were associated with 'new and recurring heart disease, as well as premature development on CVD. 'Additionally, anxiety is often tied to CVD risk factors that accelerate atheroscelrosis (risk factor for heart attacks).' They said: 'Leading up to the 2020 election and through several days afterwards, there were claims of widespread voter fraud, different timelines for counting and reporting mail-in and in-person ballots, shifting vote totals, and speculation that results would not be acknowledged by one of the presidential candidates. 'Although speculative, it is plausible these factors combined created an emotionally charged atmosphere across the U.S. regardless of demographic or political affiliation.' The scientists did not say why stroke rates rose in one region and fell in another. The above graph shows hospitalizations from all heart problems in California before (control window) and after (grey window) the election. The average (black line) is shown to rise by 17 per cent over this period The above graph shows average hospitalizations from heart attacks (black line) over the period before (control window) and after (risk window) the US election. It reveals an uptick of 40 per cent, according to the researchers at Kaiser Permanente The above graph shows the average rate for heart failure (black line) both before (control window) and immediately after (risk window) the US election. Scientists say that the rates rose by 18 per cent across the state between the two periods The above graph shows the average rate for stroke (black line) before (control window) and after (risk window) the U.S. presidential election in 2020. It reveals they rose by two per cent They added that concern over the Covid pandemic 'cannot be ruled out' in contributing to higher rates of heart problems. But noted that any stress from this risk happened over a 'much broader and prolonged period', meaning it is unlikely to explain the sudden spike. Severe weather such as torrential rain and wildfires could also have contributed to the uptick in heart problems, they said. The results match a separate paper from around the 2016 presidential election, which also found a spike in heart problems after Trump won. This found heart problems rose 62 percent across the state in the two days following the victory's announcement. A separate paper from North Carolina which backed Trump in 2016 showed heart attack rates rose 77 percent in the six weeks following the election. Natural-born engagement Source : China Daily Global | Date : | 2022-04-22 11:19:29 Natural-born engagement JIN DING/CHINA DAILY The process of economic globalization that intensified from the 1980s onwards caused significant changes in the world's economic landscape. Over the past 40 years, the formerly industrialized countries of the West have experienced strong de-industrialization, while the previously predominantly agricultural countries in East and Southeast Asia have become important industrial hubs, and Latin American countries, such as Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, abandoned their import substitution industrialization and opened up their economies. Mexico has linked its economy to integration with the United States and Canada. On the other hand, Brazil and Argentina witnessed the loss of industrial competitiveness and began to depend on the export of commodities, such as soy, meat, ores and oil. Regardless of the degree of added value, all countries have entered the new world economic order brought about by applying neoliberal policies in different parts of the world. Globalization has resulted in a restructuring of value chains. The formerly industrialized economies concentrated their economies in the most technologically intensive sectors. In this logic, the leading multinational companies abandoned significant parts of production and focused on higher added value segments, such as research, development, innovation, marketing, commercialization and financial strategies. Countries with abundant labor resources in East and Southeast Asia received the most labor-intensive parts of production, either by hosting branches of multinational companies, outsourcing part of their activities, or even organizing subcontracting companies, especially those responsible for assembling devices and other goods for the global companies that are innovation leaders. The production chains of the information and communication sector in particular developed in the last decades within this paradigm. This production structure has had a substantial impact on trade flows around the world. It is worth reflecting on the Brazilian foreign exchange situation in the period from 1990 to the present day. When the country opened its economy at the beginning of that decade, the US' share of Brazilian exports was 24.6 percent. Europe accounted for 33.7 percent, Asia 16.8 percent. In 2021, the biggest destination for exports was Asia, with 46.4 percent (China alone represented 31.3 percent of the total), followed by Europe, 13 percent, and the US, 11.1 percent. There were also changes in Brazilian imports. In 1990, Europe was the most prominent partner, with 23.5 percent, followed by the US, 20.3 percent and Asia, 10.2 percent. In 2021, Asia accounted for 35.6 percent (China accounted for 16.1 percent), Europe 23.4 percent, and the US, 18 percent. The main explanation for this change lies in globalization, which has shifted production and demand. In this process, a vital part of the production of Western multinational companies moved to China. Soon, the need for raw materials, energy, and food that mainly went to the US and Europe also moved there. This situation applies to other countries with China as their biggest partner such as Chile, Argentina and Peru. Returning to the case of Brazil, China's demand provides the sources to increase imports from other countries, including the US. In 2021, Brazil's trade surplus with China was $34.7 billion, while its deficit with the US was $8.3 billion. However, this greater engagement by China with Latin American countries is viewed with suspicion by the US, as they erroneously see the Chinese presence as part of a hegemonic strategy in a region that the US considers its backyard. The US apprehensions come just as China is organizing a successful development strategy that moves beyond its role as the factory of the world to become a hub of technology and innovation. But this engagement is not a geopolitical output, but the outcome of the course of the globalization process. When the US did not feel threatened by China's development, its diplomats viewed China's engagement with the region positively. In 2006, the then under-secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere Thomas Shannon consulted Chinese authorities on the country's interests in Latin America. This perception changed after President Barack Obama launched the "pivot to Asia" strategy in 2011, and it has intensified since then, whether with Donald Trump or Joe Biden in the White House. In March 2022, General Laura Richardson, in a congressional hearing, warned that the biggest challenge of the US Southern Command is the presence of China and the investment projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America. It should be pointed out that amid these concerns, the US government and its institutions cannot offer Latin American countries viable financing and investment options, because they have a very negative view of public projects that can boost economic development in Latin American countries. The US government is far more likely to release money to crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America than to commit to carrying out projects that can tackle the root causes of immigration, such as poverty and unemployment. Suppose the US government was not dominated by the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum logic. In that case, it could understand that China's presence in Latin America is a factor of economic stability and could help overcome these two major problems that boost illegal immigration to the country. Today, the US no longer finds the same reception for its exclusivist discourse in the region. Many countries have established a solid trade relationship with China and would not like to make a "Sophie's choice "between two highly harmful options, as cooperation is the better choice. The US government should understand that a prosperous Latin America is also in the interests of the US, and that China is boosting the local economy rather than competing with a geopolitical logic. This posture is no secret. It is enough to carefully read China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean published in 2016.Instead of zero-sum games, it is necessary to see the virtues of synergy in this context. The author is a professor of international political economy at Sao Paulo State University. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. Cancer researchers in Britain have identified dozens of new DNA patterns in cancerous tumors, giving hope that more effective prevention, treatment and even cures could be a step closer. The scientists described their findings as a 'treasure trove' of new clues about the causes of cancer. In the biggest study of its kind, researchers at Cambridge University Hospitals looked at the genomes of more than 12,000 people with cancer in England. They spotted 58 new patterns in their DNA, called mutational signatures, suggesting there are causes that scientists are not yet aware of. The researchers hope the discovery will allow future studies to work out the root of these cancer-causing mutations. Scientists were aware of just 51 mutational signatures before the new find, including changes caused by smoking or UV light. Identifying these signatures also allow doctors to look at each patient's tumor and match it to specific treatments and medications. Scientists in Britain looked into 12,000 cancer patients and have identified 58 new patterns in their DNA, called mutational signatures Cambridge University researchers studied the genetic make-up of more than 12,000 people with cancer in England, which allows them to see the origins of the tumor. They spotted 58 new patterns in the DNA of cancer, suggesting there are causes that scientists are not yet aware of However, the patterns can only be detected in cancer patients who have had their whole genome sequenced by scientists which isn't routinely done. Professor Serena Nik-Zainal, a genomic expert who led the study, said these patterns are like 'fingerprints at a crime scene'. She said the findings could indicate an 'Achilles heel' in individual cancers that could be targeted with treatment. HOW DOES CANCER DEVELOP? Cancer starts in the cells. Inside almost every cell in the body is a copy of your genome, made of DNA. The genome can be thought of as the instructions for running a cell. It tells the cell what kind of cell to be such as a skin cell or a liver cell and has instructions that tell the cell when to grow, divide and die. When a cell divides to become two cells, the genome is copied. Usually this happens in a controlled way and is how bodies grow and repair. But sometimes mistakes happen when copying the genome. These are called mutations. The mistakes can be caused by natural processes in the cells, by chance, or by external factors, such as UV light or smoking. Most damage is repaired immediately with no negative effects. But sometimes the mutations in critical genes means it no longer understands its instructions and multiplies out of control. The abnormal cell keeps dividing and making more and more abnormal cells. These cells form a lump, which is called a tumor. Source: Genomics England Advertisement Around 1.7 million new cancer cases are confirmed in the United States every year, and 375,000 in the U.K. Cancer is caused by mutations in the genome of cells, which causes cells to multiply out of control until they form a tumor. The latest study, published in the journal Science, analyzed the whole genome of 12,222 cancer patients being treated by the National Health Service (NHS) as part of the 100,000 Genomes Project in England. Genome sequencing looks at all of the thousands of DNA building blocks within each tumor, showing the mutations that contribute to each person's cancer. Some of the new mutational patterns observed were present across many different cancer patients, while some were more rare. Cancers are thought to have a finite amount of mutational processes, fueling the search to identify them all and what causes them. Knowing the signatures are present within a tumor helps to figure out the root cause of them and point towards whether the mutation was caused by environmental factors or a genetic problem. Professor Nik-Zainal told MailOnline: 'I sometimes use the analogy of footprints in sand where the mutational signatures are the footprints. 'When you look across a beach, there could be footprints everywhere (analogous to cancer, mutations look a bit random, they are everywhere). 'But if you study the footprints in detail, there are characteristics that tell you whether the footprints are an animal or a human.' She added: 'Mutational signatures are like those footprints. We can start to figure out whether something is due to external or cellular factors by studying the mutation patterns in detail.' The researchers used their findings to develop an algorithm called Signature Fit Multi-Step (FitMS) that can spot mutational signatures in new cancer genome samples. Only patients who have had their cancers whole genome sequenced will be able to benefit from this tool, but the team believes it can be rolled out to them 'very quickly'. As it stands, only cancers in children, specific leukaemias and sarcomas rare cancers affecting the body's tissues are sequenced through the NHS but experts expect this list to be widened in the coming years. FitMS will spot the mutational signatures in these patients' cancer, which scientists hope will speed up the ability to match them to a more specific treatment. Professor Nik-Zainal said: 'The reason it is important to identify mutational signatures is because they are like fingerprints at a crime scene they help to pinpoint cancer culprits. 'Some mutational signatures have clinical or treatment implications they can highlight abnormalities that may be targeted with specific drugs or may indicate a potential "Achilles heel" in individual cancers.' Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'This study shows how powerful whole genome sequencing tests can be in giving clues into how the cancer may have developed, how it will behave and what treatment options would work best.' The results can 'potentially be used within the NHS to improve the treatment and care for people with cancer', she added. Professor Matt Brown, chief scientific officer of Genomics England, said applying the mutational clues to patients 'could improve the diagnosis and management of cancer patients'. A British couple have shared their joy after giving birth to their 'miracle' one-in-two-million conjoined twins. After a rollercoaster nine months, Hannah and Dan Bateson, from Toomebridge in Northern Ireland, welcomed Annabelle and Isabelle into the world in March. The couple began fertility treatment last year to help them conceive and were surprised to learn Mrs Bateson had fallen pregnant within the first cycle. But they were given a scare when a 12-week scan revealed the twins were conjoined, something that only happens once in every 2.5m or so pregnancies. Medics knew that the girls shared several key body parts but they could not yet tell if any vital organs were affected a key factor for their survival and long term health. 'You felt in limbo because we knew they were conjoined but we knew so little about the information about the extent of the conjoin,' Mrs Bateson told ITV News. Even as their due date approached, the couple said they still knew 'so little' about the girls' condition and how they would fare. Mr and Mrs Bateson were referred to London's University College Hospital for the babies to be delivered by a specialist team in March. Doctors revealed Annabelle and Isabelle, now aged six weeks, were joined from the chest to the pelvis and shared a bladder, bowel and a fused leg but crucially had sperate hearts. 'They're miracles. Miracle is the word we've used from the day we found out we were having them,' Mrs Bateson said. Annabelle and Isabelle Bateson were born six weeks ago at London's University College Hospital Their parents, Hannah and Dan Bateson, pictured here with the twins shortly after they were born, are originally from Toomebridge in Northern Ireland but made the trip to England in case the newborns needed specialist medical care after the birth The twins are joined from the chest to the pelvis, sharing a bladder, bowel and a fused leg The proud parents have described their newborns as 'miracles' who are 'constantly hug each other Now aged six weeks old, Annabelle and Isabelle have been born against the odds and face a lifetime of medical treatment. This includes a crucial operation next month to begin the girls separation. But new mother Mrs Bateson said: The love they share and the hope they show is the spirit which keeps the family going. At every stage, theyve just been determined. Husband Dan added: Theyve proved everyone wrong so far. In an interview with ITV News, Mrs Bateson described the relief felt by the couple and medical staff the moment Annabelle and Isabelle were born. On hearing their cries for the first time, Mrs Bateson recalled: It was like the weight of the world had been lifted off your shoulders. It was relief and you felt that relief throughout the whole (medical) team. When you had maybe 20 plus people, that relief was just unbelievable. She added: Theyre miracles. Miracles is the word weve used from the day we found out we were having them. Annabelle and Isabelle were conceived during the Batesons first cycle of fertility treatment and their mother described them as very long, very very long waited for wee girls. After they managed to conceive after just one cycle of fertility treatment, a subsequent scan showed Mrs Bateson was not only pregnant with twins but they were conjoined The extent of the conjoining was unknown but thankfully the twins have individual hearts meaning they can be separated surgically Annabelle and Isabelle are scheduled to undergo surgery to sperate them next month But the parents-to-be found out something was different about the pregnancy at the 12-week scan before which Mrs Bateson confessed to feeling apprehensive. She said: You maybe go to a scan feeling somethings wrong. I think a normal feeling is to feel very nervous going to scans, especially first pregnancies. On finding out they were expecting conjoined twins, she added: We were both committed to the pregnancy. 'It was just then you felt in a limbo because we knew they were conjoined but knew so little about the information, of the extent of the conjoin. Mr Bateson said: It was (a case of) trying to piece it all together to see what to do and whats the next step. The separation of conjoined twins is a high-risk operation with a low success rate The surgical separation of conjoined twins is a delicate and risky procedure, requiring extreme precision and care. Therefore, the decision to separate twins is a serious one. Mortality rates for twins who undergo separation vary, depending on their type of connection, and the organs they share. In cases of twins where the pumping chambers of their hearts are conjoined, there are no known survivors. Although success rates have improved over the years, surgical separation is still rare. Since 1950, at least one twin has survived separation about 75 percent of the time. It is only after twins are born that doctors can use magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and angiography to find out what organs the twins share. In order to determine the feasibility of separation, doctors must carefully assess how the twins' shared organs function. After separation, most twins need intensive rehabilitation because of the malformation and position of their spines. The muscles in their backs are constantly being flexed and they often have a difficult time bending their backs forward and backwards and sitting up straight. Source: University of Maryland Medical Center Advertisement The babies, joined from the chest to the pelvis, were born in March at London's University College Hospital, the closest maternity unity to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). They were immediately moved to GOSH the leading specialist hospital in Europe for separating conjoined twins - where operations to separate them and future treatment will take place. Annabelle and Isabelle have separate hearts but share a liver, bladder and bowel. They have one leg each and a shared fused leg. Surgery to begin the twins' separation is scheduled for next month. Mrs Bateson said: Their wee bodies are different and they will be. The girls will have prosthetic legs, theyll have one leg each and theyll have one prosthetic leg each and ongoing surgery the rest of their days. Well be coming back here for the next 18 years, which is a very scary thing to say but if we are coming back for the next 18 years it means the girls survive. The Batesons are now fundraising to help them cover the costs of constantly travelling back and forth between Northern Ireland and London. You can click here to support them. Mr Bateson said of the couples experience so far: Anyone elses nightmare was our sort of dream, it was weird. Hannah will give up work, not many people want to do that, but shed love to because it means (the twins) are here. Mrs Bateson said the family have returned home for a few weeks before the operation at Great Ormond Street at the end of May. It will be a very long day, possibly 12 to 18 hours, she said. NHS senior support worker Mrs Bateson, 31, and her 32-year-old husband, who runs a fruit and vegetables business, have been told the full separation is likely to take place during that operation, details of which are still being worked out by the surgical team. Follow-up operations may then be required in the immediate days and weeks after the main one. Mrs Bateson added: Its going to be very hard. Wed tried to prepare as much as we could before the girls were born that they would be born very sick, even unable to breath unaided. But our girls were born so well. Both are happy wee girls, so to go back into the mindset of having sick babies again is very scary. HOW ARE CONJOINED TWINS FORMED IN THE WOMB? Conjoined twins develop when an early embryo only partially separates to form two individuals. Identical twins (monozygotic twins) occur when a single fertilized egg splits and develops into two individuals. Eight to 12 days after conception, the embryonic layers that will split to form monozygotic twins begin to develop into specific organs and structures. It's believed that when the embryo splits later than this usually between 13 and 15 days after conception separation stops before the process is complete, and the resulting twins are conjoined. An alternative theory suggests that two separate embryos may somehow fuse together in early development. Although two fetuses will develop from this embryo, they will remain physically connected most often at the chest, abdomen or pelvis. Conjoined twins may also share one or more internal organs. Many conjoined twins die in the womb (stillborn) or die shortly after birth. Some surviving conjoined twins can be surgically separated. The success of surgery depends on where the twins are joined and how many and which organs are shared, as well as the experience and skill of the surgical team. Conjoined twins are typically classified according to where they're joined, usually at matching sites, and sometimes at more than one site. Source: Mayo Clinic Advertisement Mrs Bateson, who underwent a Caesarian section, was able to hold her daughters the day after they were born, once they had been transferred to Great Ormond Street. The Batesons, who have been together 14 years having met as teenagers from across the sectarian divide Hannahs family is Protestant and Dans Catholic say they are focusing on the joys of finally having children after many years of trying, and trying not to dwell on the surgery. The couple, who married in 2016, sought fertility treatment more than four years ago but it was delayed due to Mrs Bateson having to lose weight and the Pandemic. They conceived using Clomid, an oral type of fertility treatment. Mrs Bateson spent two months before giving birth in London so she could have her ante-natal sessions at University College Hospital. In the weeks before Annabelle and Isabelles birth, they also began discussions with Great Ormond Street. The experience of Great Ormond Street in this field definitely reassured us. Right down to talking about feeding, they were talking about what they did with the last set of conjoined twins, Mrs Bateson said. The couple say they have had amazing support from family and friends, and also their church, Journey Community Church, in Antrim. Weve had prayers and support from both sides of the community, she added. The church has helped them set up an online fundraising page, accessible via Facebook group Bateson Conjoined Twins, to help support the family. Mrs Bateson said it is set to be a financially difficult few years ahead with her giving up work to care for the twins and the prospect of repeated trips to London. Normally, twins are born after a single fertilised egg splits and develops into two individual embryos The split normally occurs eight to 12 days after conception with the embryos going on to develop their own tissues and organs separately. However, in the case of conjoined twins it is believed this split happens too late and the embryos do not separate. Approximately 40 to 60 per cent of conjoined twins arrive stillborn, while around 35 per cent survive only one day. The odds of longer-term survival can depend on where they are conjoined, with twins sharing a chest, abdomen or pelvis most common, though they can also be joined at the head. If they survive some twins can be surgically separated but the success of these operations depends on exactly where the twins are joined and which organs they share. Heartbreakingly, in some instances only one twin survives the operation. Twins who share a heart cannot be separated successfully which is why it is critical that little Annabelle and Isabelle do not share this organ. With 680,000 children born in the UK each year, statistically, a pair of conjoined twins would be born in Britain every four years. Gun violence is now the leading killer of America's children, surpassing accidents, disease and even drug overdose, a new report finds. Researchers at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, write that over 4,300 children aged one to 19 years old died of a firearm related injury during the pandemic's first year - a 30 percent jump from the previous year. 2020 was the first year that gun violence overtook vehicle crashes as a leading killer - both due to a surge in firearm deaths and a rapid fall in vehicle related deaths over the past two decades. The report is yet another indicator of America's growing gun violence issues, and the large scale uptick of crime that has struck the nation since the pandemic began in early 2020. Gun violence is now the leading killer off American youth, a research report finds, surpassing motor vehicle crashes (file photo) Researchers, who published their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday found that there was a record 45,222 firearm deaths in 2020. Jason Goldstick (pictured), a researcher at the University of Michigan, said that there is no specific cause for the increase in gun violence, but it did correspond with a jump in firearm purchases Overall there was a 13.5 percent jump in firearm deaths, including a 33 percent jump in gun-related homicides year-to-year. Suicides carried out by using firearms also increased one percent, remaining around even year-to-year. The research team writes that after seeing these stats for the overall population, they decided to gather how much of the burden of firearm violence was falling on the nation's youth. They found that just around six out of every 100,000 U.S. children died a fire alarm related death in 2020, surpassing a the five of every 100,000 children that died from the motor vehicle accident. Jason Goldstick, a research associate professor at Michigan, told DailyMail.com that there is not strong evidence to point to any particular cause for the recent uptick in violence. He does note that other studies have made similar findings about gun violence in America, though, and growing crime rates in much of the country seem to be pointing to the same. Kade Lewin, 12, was fatally shot in the head and chest while inside a car with his 20-year-old cousin Jena Ellis, who was also shot but survived, and another eight-year-old relative who was not injured A study from researchers at the University of California, Davis, finds that there was an increase in firearm purchases early in the pandemic, though there was not a direct correlation between purchases and increases in violence on a state-by-state level. Goldstick can not be sure where the death figures will go from here either, as they could regress back to normal levels - though there is also a chance that this heavily increased rate of gun violence is the new normal in America. Deaths from drug overdoses surged as well, nearly doubling from 2019 to 2020, hitting over two deaths per 100,000 children and surpassing suffocation, cancer and birth defects as causes of deaths. Fentanyl has largely been blamed for the surge in drug deaths, with a University of California, Los Angeles, study published earlier this month finding adolescent deaths from the synthetic opioid had tripled from 253 in 2019 to 884 in 2021. The growing prevalence of gun violence in America has impacted communities around the country, and has especially become a major issue in cities like Chicago and New York City. The Big Apple suffered 107 shootings in March, with 27 people having been shot in the last week of the month. That comes on top of a nearly 60 percent spike in crime in February compared to the same time last year. One example included Kade Lewin, a 12 year old from Brooklyn, who was shot and killed while he was in a car with two of his family members - who was also shot but survived. Investigators believe the family was not targeted. A source told the New York Daily News that the gunman was aiming for someone who drives a similar make and model car. 'Just think about this for a moment. What the family said while we spoke just really resonated with me - Whose child is next? Whose child is next? This could have been your [children's] sneakers - My son's. Whose child is next? This story just strikes at the heart of the trauma in our city and out country,' New York City Mayor Eric Adams told reporters outside the grieving mom's home in Brooklyn during press conference at the start of the month. Suicides are also a a significant cause of gun violence in America, with Goldstick noting that they are much more often fatal that other suicide methods, or assaults using firearms. Paxlovid has been deemed one of the gold standard Covid treatments in the U.S., even being touted by President Joe Biden at his State of the Union address this year. Some of those who used the drug to treat the virus are reporting an interesting phenomena, though. The drug, developed by Pfizer, is believed to be highly effective at preventing hospitalization or death in a person that has already been infected with the virus, but some who had their symptoms initially clear up after using the drug are reporting feeling symptoms again later on. There are multiple reports that a people will also start testing positive for Covid once again after the five day treatment period concludes. Experts are not sure why this is occurring, or what could be causing a person that is seemingly fine to later start feeling sick against from the same infection. Some recipients of Pfizer's antiviral Covid pill Paxlovid are reporting that their virus symptoms return after their course of the drug ends, and even that they start testing positive for the virus again (file photo) 'We had three cases in the house with the same pattern,' John Donoghue, 71, told the Boston Globe. 'The symptoms the second time were milder ... in some ways, we feel that Paxlovid did its job. It took away the extreme symptoms of the first round and reduced them very quickly in all three cases.' He reported that he, his wife and is mother, 95, all began to take the drug after contracted Covid. Each started to feel better after using Paxlovid, but and even began to test negative, before their symptoms and positive test status returned once again. Dr Paul Sax, an infectious disease expert at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, told the Globe he had heard about the same occurring in patients as well. 'We continue to monitor data from our ongoing clinical studies and real-world evidence. We have not seen any resistance to Paxlovid, and remain very confident in its clinical effectiveness,' Pfizer told DailyMail.com when asked for comment. At his 2022 State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden (pictured) touted Paxlovid, and said that he would make sure the drug was distributed to those who wanted it The company noted that in clinical trials, the drug reduced risk of hospitalization or death by nearly 90 percent in two patient groups. The drug's arrival was met with fanfare among health and pharmacy experts across the world because of its successful trials. It received Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in late 2021. While the New York City-based company initially ran into supply issues, hindering the rollout early on, there is reportedly an excess of the drug available in the U.S. at the moment. 'It's important to recognize treatments available today for COVID-19 have provided a real game-changer in the global efforts to halt the devastation of the pandemic,' the company wrote. 'Our trials and real-world evidence demonstrated that the treatment has the potential to save patients' lives, reduce severity of infections and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations.' Pfizer responded to the reports by mentioning its highly successful clinical trials for the drug, and that there is no evidence of resistance to Paxlovid (file photo) Excitement for the drug was so high that President Biden even spoke of it at his State of the Union address earlier this year, and said that any American that needed the drug would have access to it. Some of those patients that did receive the drug are now reporting oddities with their infections after taking the drug, though. Experts told the Globe that the likely mechanism at play for the Donoghues, and others who have experienced similar phenomena can be described as a game of cat and mouse. 'It's literally that the Paxlovid is the cat, it suppresses the virus, and then when the cat's gone, the mice come out to play,' Dr. Michael Charness, chief of staff at Veterans Affairs Boston told the Globe. 'Paxlovid works really well while it's there, and for many people, they can eliminate the virus in a single phase of infection,' 'But for some people, maybe because it takes a little longer to ramp up immunity, they can't get rid of [all the virus] and the Paxlovid is no longer there to help.' There are no trials, studies, or other concrete scientific evidence that supports the existence of this type of infectious bounce-back after someone takes Paxlovid, though some Boston area researchers have launched investigations. THE DISTANT SHORES by Santa Montefiore (Simon & Schuster 8.99, 416pp) THE DISTANT SHORES by Santa Montefiore (Simon & Schuster 8.99, 416pp) When biographer Margot Hart arrives at the Irish estate of Castle Deverill, she is full of enthusiasm. The castle, once home to the aristocratic Deverill family, is now a luxurious hotel, and Margot is staying there as a writer-in-residence, while researching the familys long and troubled history. Margots grandfather was a close friend of Harry Deverill, who died in World War I, leaving his illegitimate brother JP as heir to the estate. Having sold the castle to fund his divorce, JP still lives on the grounds, but will the Deverill family ever reclaim their birthright? The fifth volume of Santa Montefiores epicchronicle of the Deverills is an irresistible confection of family secrets, vengeful ghosts and near-fatal accidents in which love eventually conquers all. MAGPIE by Elizabeth Day (4th Estate 8.99, 336pp) MAGPIE by Elizabeth Day (4th Estate 8.99, 336pp) One for sorrow, goes the rhyme about magpies. So it seems like an omen when a magpie flies into a perfect house that author Marisa is viewing. But she refuses to let it bother her. After endless terrible dates, she has finally met the right man. City consultant Jake is handsome, kind and sexy, and after only a few months, he suggests they move in together and start a family. It all seems too good to be true and so it proves. When one of Jakes deals falls through, they have to take a lodger, Kate, who seems strangely at home in Marisa and Jakes house. Elizabeth Days stylish thriller combines an ingeniously twisty plot with a compassionate take on the emotionally fraught issues of infertility, surrogacy and the enduring damage of dysfunctional families. SORROW AND BLISS by Meg Mason (W&N 8.99, 358pp) SORROW AND BLISS by Meg Mason (W&N 8.99, 358pp) Soon after their marriage, Martha and Patrick are at a wedding when a fellow guest asks them how they met. Patricks like the sofa that was in your house growing up, says Martha. You cant remember it not being there. In fact, they met when Patrick was 13 and Marthas cousin, Oliver, who was at school with Patrick, had invited him to spend Christmas with his family. Patrick falls in love with Martha, but they go their separate ways Patrick to train as a doctor, Martha to a disastrous first marriage before reigniting a relationship that is blighted by Marthas depression. It is an illness Mason doesnt name, representing it instead by dashes. Heart breaking and redeemingly funny, Meg Masons elegant debut novel examines broken lives and whether they can ever be fixed. My friends and I have a trip booked in May with P&O Cruises, travelling around Scandinavia for two weeks. It has been postponed and rescheduled multiple times since 2020, so we are keen to finally get our holiday - but having seen recent news about P&O Ferries sacking many of its staff, I am concerned about whether the trip can go ahead. First of all, are P&O Ferries and P&O Cruises connected? It appears that trips on P&O Ferries are all cancelled and customers are being diverted to other carriers, causing long delays in many cases. P&O Cruises, owned by Carnival UK, has no connection to P&O Ferries which is owned by DP World. It said its holidays would not be impacted by the mass-sackings of staff If the two firms are part of the same parent company, I also feel morally dubious about paying money to a firm that has treated its staff so badly. Can you explain what the situation is here and whether our holiday is likely to be affected? M.L, Leicestershire Emilia Shovelin of This is Money replies: Before we go any further, the first thing that needs to be said is that, aside from the shared name, P&O Cruises and P&O Ferries are two separate, unconnected entities, owned and operated by different parent companies. When you booked your dream holiday in early 2020, none of us could have foreseen the next two years of constant rescheduling and Covid cancellations. When restrictions eased, it seemed only natural to start to get excited for our holidays again. But for those planning to travel by boat, the news of P&O Ferries letting go around 800 staff members in March has potentially put travel plans in jeopardy yet again. What happened to P&O Ferries? On March 17, P&O Ferries handed 800 members of staff immediate severance notices to replace them with agency staff who would be paid 50 per cent less. They subsequently called all of their ships back to port, leaving thousands of customers stranded abroad. Bosses said the job losses were necessary to keep P&O Ferries afloat after losses of 100million each year over the past two years. Its Dover to Calais services remain suspended, but customers are being transferred to other operators. Since then, lots of holidaymakers have been concerned about what this mass-sacking means for their trips. Will P&O Cruises be impacted by the Ferries sacking? Other than the damage from people being worried by the name, there is no impact on P&O Cruises from the P&O Ferries debacle. The two companies are totally unconnected, as we explained above. P&O Ferries is owned by DP World, which is an Emirati logistics company based in Dubai, while P&O Cruises is owned by Carnival, a British-American cruise operator. There has been enough customer concern, however, that P&O Cruises has ebenn taking out full page newspaper adverts to reassure customers and explain it has nothing to do with P&O Ferries. The name P&O comes from the company it used to be a part of, which was originally called the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, dated from the 19th century. P&O first introduced passenger services in 1844 with the launch of a cruise from Southampton to the Mediterranean, and it began operating ferries in the 1960s. The brand P&O Ferries was created in 2002 through mergers within P&O, but in 2006, the P&O Group, including P&O Ferries was sold to DP World, while P&O Cruises was taken over by Carnival UK. As a result, the two brands are run completely independently, and while connected historically, the operations at P&O Ferries should not impact P&O Cruises. A spokesperson for P&O Cruises told This is Money: 'Historically the two companies were owned by the P&O Steam Navigation Company (P&OSNCO) but were run separately. 'In 2000 the cruises division was de-merged from P&OSNCO into a new business which included P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises. 'This new business merged with Carnival Corporation in 2003 to create a worldwide portfolio of market-leading cruise brands.' So with regards to your concern that you would rather not financially support a company which sacked hundreds of employees, you can rest assured knowing that P&O Cruises and P&O Ferries' only shared feature is the legacy of their brands. P&O Ferries made a controversial decision to sack 800 staff members to reduce costs after losing 200m in the last two years Is there a risk of my cruise being cancelled? Although it seems unlikely that our reader's holiday will be affected by what is happening at P&O Ferries, the last two years have taught us that it pays to prepare for the worst when it comes to travel plans being cancelled. Unfortunately, we are becoming more used to having our holidays and plans interrupted, rescheduled, or downright cancelled. While many firms will offer vouchers or refunds for trips cancelled by events outside the customer's control, these can be a headache to secure and the process can be a long one. If you are concerned about your holiday getting cancelled for reasons outside of your control, it's best to ensure you are protected. Depending on the type of trip, that could mean making sure to book ATOL-protected package holidays, or taking out comprehensive travel insurance and checking the policy small print carefully. The City watchdog has raised concerns over how so-called challenger banks tackle financial crime. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said smaller digital lenders which have been popping up in ever-growing numbers in recent years were often failing to run sufficient checks on their customers. They should be collecting more data about where their clients are making their income and what their jobs are so they can better spot criminals and money-launderers, the FCA said. Concern: The FCA said smaller digital lenders were often failing to run sufficient checks on their customers And in a warning that has taken on greater significance following the sanctions on Russian oligarchs, the FCA said some lenders were not applying greater checks to the so-called 'politically exposed', who may be more likely to be involved in corruption or bribery offences. Fully digital challenger banks are still relatively new to the UK. They began springing up in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis but as they became bigger, many did not invest enough in their risk departments. Unlike the major High Street lenders, they had little in the way of resources and staffing. And because they operate solely online, they have had to come up with digital checks to verify a customer's authenticity which may formerly have been done by a person. The FCA said some banks were also not being specific or detailed enough when they submitted so-called Suspicious Activity Reports to regulators, flagging potentially dodgy transactions. The watchdog did not disclose which banks were included in its review, but said it spanned six retail lenders which were primarily digital with a combined total of more than 8m customers. Starling confirmed it was one of them and praised the FCA for 'taking financial crime seriously'. Others are likely to include Monzo and Atom Bank, though neither responded to a request for comment. Ukraine's government has branded Shell 'deplorable' after accusing it of using an 'accounting trick' to keep buying Russian oil. Officials in Kyiv said Western companies were continuing to 'bankroll Putin's war machine' despite promising to cut ties with the Kremlin. In a letter sent to Shell boss Ben van Beurden, seen by the Wall Street Journal, Ukrainian economic adviser Oleg Ustenko said it was a 'national shame for many governments and institutions that are financing these aggressions towards us'. 'Deplorable': Shell said earlier this month it would stop buying Russian oil, but it was legally obliged to take delivery of crude which derived from contracts signed before the invasion He added: 'The notion that any company will continue to bankroll Putin's war machine through an accounting trick is deplorable.' Shell said earlier this month it would stop buying Russian oil, but it was legally obliged to take delivery of crude which derived from contracts signed before the invasion. When it comes to refined oil-based products, such as diesel, Shell only defines them as Russian if 50 per cent or more of the blend is from the country. This leaves the door open to Shell trading products where 49.9 per cent of the blend is of Russian origin. A spokesman for the British oil giant said: 'Since Shell announced its plan to withdraw from Russian hydrocarbons on March 8, we have not bought products exported from Russia for blending to be sold on as 'non-Russian'. 'We have stopped all spot purchases of Russian crude and liquefied natural gas, and eliminated the vast majority of spot purchases of refined products that may contain a proportion of Russian fuel that was blended in further up the supply chain.' Troubled Petropavlovsk posted a rise in gold production in the first quarter of 2022 despite sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The miner, which is based in London but has most of its operations in Russia, reported output of 103,000 ounces of gold in the three months to the end of March, an 8 per cent increase year-on-year. Despite this, the group cut its guidance for the full year to 375,000 to 405,000 ounces of gold from 380,000 to 420,000 previously due to expected disruptions to its supply chain. Driving force: The miner reported output of 103,000 ounces of gold in the three months to the end of March, an 8 per cent increase year-on-year The company's mines had operated 'without disruption' during the quarter in spite of the war in Ukraine and sanctions imposed on Russia by western countries following the invasion. However, Petropavlovsk boss Denis Alexandrov said sanctions led to 'various challenges at the corporate level'. The last time an aggressive Asian power took a foothold in Solomon Islands most Australians understood the threat it posed to the security of the entire region. Eighty years ago the Imperial Japanese Navy landed troops in the southern Solomons to establish a base from which it could further occupy the Pacific. Japan planned to use Solomon Islands to support advances on Nauru, New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa, and the invasion of New Guinea. The Allies feared Japan could eventually cut vital shipping and communication lines between the US and Australia. Thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen fought and died to stop them doing it. Today there are similar territorial fears after China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands, which lies less than 2,000km to Australia's north east. China's new security pact with Solomon Islands represents the first major threat to Australia's eastern seaboard by a hostile foreign power in 80 years. It is feared China will soon build a military base on the island which could allow the deployment of missiles, planes and warships The last time an aggressive Asian power took a foothold in Solomon Islands most Australians understood the threat posed to the region. When Japan invaded the archipelago it led to some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II. US troops are pictures in the Battle of Guadalcanal This perceived threat might be less immediate than that posed by Japan in World War II but Solomon Islands' geographic position is no less important than it was then. That Australia failed to stop a long-time ally cosying up with an expansionist communist China has been described by the nation's greatest foreign policy failure of the past 80 years. Strategic experts have warned China will move quickly to establish a military base in the Solomons so it can have a permanent presence in that part of the Pacific. China has claimed the arrangement will promote peace and stability but sceptics believe it will likely put missiles in range of Australia's major east coast cities. While the pact will allow Chinese naval deployments to the Solomons in some circumstances, China claims it does not intend building a military base in the islands. Solomon Islands had previously looked to Australia, New Zealand and the United States for protection and assistance. The nation lies less than 2,000km to Australia's north east. Australian soldiers are pictured in the Solomons last year Strategic expert Malcolm Davis said the Chinese would build a naval base on the Solomons which would be followed by an air base. A Chinese fighter is pictured The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Malcolm Davis did not accept those assurances and said there was a real risk China would establish a base for the People's Liberation Army 'by stealth'. 'Let's say that within the next year or so the Chinese establish a military base on the Solomon Islands,' Davis said. 'What does that look like? 'Based on the documentation we've seen it's going to be a naval base, a shore facility that would support the deployment of PLA navy vessels - destroyers, frigates, that sort of thing - into the South West Pacific. 'From that base, those navy vessels can then deploy into the Cora Sea into Australia's maritime approaches.' Davis said such a scenario would represent the first time since World War II that a hostile foreign power had put Australia's eastern seaboard under threat. 'We could see Chinese naval vessels - submarines for example - able to launch land-attack cruise missiles against military bases and cities,' he said. Strategic expert Malcolm Davis said the Chinese were likely to build a naval base on the Solomons which would support the deployment of vessels including destroyers and frigates. China's aircraft carrier the Liaoning is pictured in Chinese waters Davis said any naval base would need to be supported from the air and China would want to extend the capital Honiara's runway to allow supply by PLA transport aircraft. 'That opens up the possibility of Chinese maritime control aircraft, intelligence gathering aircraft and even long-range bombers that could launch a range of long-range weapons against Australia's eastern seaboard,' he said. By extending the PLA's reach to the Solomons, China could more easily watch and potentially target Australian military bases. Davis said China would also use their Solomons facilities for signals and electronic intelligence gathering to monitor Australia's defence activities. 'They could potentially in the longer term put down undersea sonar systems to monitor what we're doing with our submarines,' he said. 'If you look at the geography of the region, the Solomon Islands is ideally located to do all of these things.' 'We could see Chinese naval vessels - submarines for example - able to launch land attack cruise missiles against military bases and cities,' strategic expert Malcolm Davis said. Two Chinese Jin-class ballistic missile submarines are pictured in the South China Sea Davis said once China gained a presence in a country it was almost impossible to get them out of there. 'If the Chinese go ahead and build this base then for the first time since essentially 1942 we are facing the prospect that in wartime our cities and our bases on the east coast could be open to attack.' 'So it is a very serious issue and frankly when you look at the way the agreement is written it's an open and shut case.' Davis said even in peacetime a Chinese presence in the Solomons represented all sorts of 'grey zone' threats. In February, a Chinese naval vessel aimed a laser at an RAAF Poseidon patrol aircraft in the Arafura Sea, between the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea. 'Those sorts of incidents could become regular,' Davis said. 'The Chinese could behave in an aggressive fashion right off our east coast.' The battle to retake Guadalcanal saw some of the fiercest fighting of World War II. More than 7,000 Allied servicemen were killed and HMAS Canberra went down with the loss of 84 crew. The USS President Adams is pictured off the coast of Guadalcanal in November 1942 Davis's colleague at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Peter Jennings, believes the pact could have been avoided. 'For decades we have over-estimated our influence in the Pacific, under-invested in promoting our security, and failed to appreciate China's strategic intent,' he has written. Jennings believes Solomon Islands can be convinced to walk away from the deal with China but it will take lots of money and 'focused effort'. The text of the agreement announced on Tuesday has not been released but a leaked draft document provided some detail. That document referred to China being provided with 'logistical replenishment', 'stopover and transition in Solomon Islands' and it carrying out 'major projects'. Jennings expected Chinese cargo aircraft and ships to arrive in Honiara in coming weeks with materials to start building. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the pact was a 'massive foreign policy failure' on the part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The text of the agreement between China and Solomons Islands announced on Tuesday has not been released but a leaked draft document provided some detail. China's President Xi Jinping is pictured Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said China having a security alliance with Solomon Islands had made the entire region less secure. 'On Scott Morrison's watch our region has become less secure and the risks that Australia faces have become much greater,' Wong told the ABC. 'Yet again Mr Morrison has gone missing and might talk a tough game, but what we are seeing on his watch is the worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of World War II.' As the nation prepares to commemorate Anzac Day and remember the sacrifices it has made in all wars, Australia has lost a new battle without putting up a fight. The US is sending a delegation led by its so-called 'Asia tsar' Kurt Campbell to the Solomons in a bid to protect its interests. The last time it was so worried about the fate of the islands it sent planes and warships. China has claimed the arrangement will promote peace and stability but sceptics believe it will likely put missiles in range of Australia's eastern seaboard. The agreement also once again threatens Australia's ocean lifeline to the US. Chinese soldiers are pictured The Imperial Japanese Navy landed troops at Tulagai in the Solomons on May 2, 1945 to establish a base from which it could further occupy the archipelago. The next day, a US aircraft carrier task force struck the landing operation with air raids but the Japanese stayed and resisted. In July they took Guadalcanal, the largest island in the Solomons. The battle to retake Guadalcanal saw some of the fiercest fighting of World War II. More than 7,000 Allied servicemen were killed and HMAS Canberra went down with the loss of 84 crew. In the wider Solomons Islands campaign more than 10,000 troops from the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand lost their lives before the Japanese were defeated. Davis cited the similarities between now and then. 'From a military geo-strategic perspective Solomon Islands is like a key territory to control and it's one of the reasons why the Japanese sought to control it in the Second World War and we ended up in the Battle of Guadalcanal,' strategic expert Malcolm Davis said 'From a military geo-strategic perspective Solomon Islands is a key territory to control and it's one of the reasons why the Japanese sought to control it in the Second World War and we ended up in the Battle of Guadalcanal,' he said. 'The same issues and factors are at play here except of course the weapons systems and technologies are that much more advanced compared to, say, 1942.' Eight decades later Japan is among the nations watching closely as China attempts to extend its reach across the Pacific. Davis said the US also had reason to worry about the Chinese projecting power into the central Pacific, which could complicate its ability to move through the ocean and 'cut off' its Guam base. 'If the Chinese then focus northwards, then can monitor US military activities at Kwajalein Atoll, which is a major missile testing site, and of course Hawaii, where the US 7th Fleet is located,' he said. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sign an earlier agreement between the two countries at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2019 A US National Security Council spokesperson said the pact 'follows a pattern of China offering shadowy, vague deals with little regional consultation in fishing, resource management, development assistance and now security practices.' The population of the Solomons is just 652,000, spread across six large islands and more than 900 smaller ones, covering 28,000 square kilometres. Those islands sit about 1,800km east of Papua New Guinea and 680km from Bougainville. Davis is worried about the effect of the Chinese pact on them both. 'From the Solomon Islands the Chinese are very well placed then to project power and influence and presence throughout the South West Pacific,' he said. 'My specific concern is Papua New Guinea and Bougainville. The Chinese have already invested substantially into Papua New Guinea and they're very interested in supporting the Bougainville independence movement. 'If we're worried now about the Solomon Islands hosting a Chinese base, imagine what it would be like if PNG agrees to the same thing after being given bags of money by Chinese diplomats.' Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the Solomon Islands government led by prime minister Manasseh Sogavare had guaranteed it would not allow the Chinese to build naval bases. The pair is pictured together Morrison has said the Solomon Islands government led by prime minister Manasseh Sogavare had guaranteed it would not allow the Chinese to build naval bases. He has also defended sending Pacific minister Zed Seselja rather than Foreign Minister Marise Payne to the Solomons to try to stop the pact going ahead. 'I'm very conscious of how visits are perceived within the Pacific,' Morrison said. 'One of the things you don't do in the Pacific is you don't throw your weight around. 'They're a sovereign country and we have to respect their sovereignty.' Eighty years ago Australia and its allies did not stand back and watch when Japan threw its weight around in the Pacific. Instructors from a China Police Liaison Team train Solomons Islands Police Force officers in March this year. The Chinese instructors were teaching the local police unarmed combat skills and how to use automatic weapons Chinese research vessel returns from expedition in western Pacific Xinhua) 10:16, April 22, 2022 QINGDAO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese research vessel KEXUE, or Science, has completed the second portion of its investigation in the western Pacific Ocean and returned to its home port in the eastern city of Qingdao. The ship covered more than 9,000 nautical miles during its 55-day voyage, carrying 78 scientists from seven research institutes and universities. Researchers have completed observations at more than 170 stations, obtaining a large number of deep-sea samples and observation data, according to Hu Shijian, chief scientist aboard and a researcher of Chinese Academy of Sciences. They conducted the multi-parameter observation of the conductivity, temperature and pressure of seawater, as well as interdisciplinary station investigations. Also, researchers systematically tested the performance, coordination and sampling capabilities of seawater profile on the clean laboratory and winch system. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) CNN Plus is CNN's new streaming service that features much of the network's original works and a "completely distinct experience." However, fate had other plans for the streaming service. A report from The Verge mentioned that the network's new streaming service is shutting down on April 30, per an announcement memo from network CEO Chris Licht. The network assures that CNN+ subscribers "will receive prorated refunds of subscription fees," the network said, per CNN Business. CNN+ Closing Announcement Specifics According to Licht's announcement memo to CNN+, the decision is not "a reflection of the quality of the talent and content at CNN Plus" but a broader strategy. He explained that the network had to shut down the streaming service because customers wanted simplicity and an all-in service in streaming services, which "provides a better experience and more value than stand-alone offerings." CNN Business also added that the decision to shut the streaming service down was made following the merger between CNN's former parent company, WarnerMedia, and Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this month. Licht also added that CNN+ employees are said to receive pay and benefits for the next 90 days, while those who weren't able to get other roles within the network will get at least six months' severance. Read More: Meta Quest Gaming Showcase: Here are the Biggest Announements Made It is worth noting that Andrew Morse, the head of the doomed subscription service, is leaving the company. Licht was also reported to have said in a town hall-style meeting with CNN+ staff that the app had "an incredibly successful launch" but was simply incompatible with the newly merged company's plans. The netowrk will instead focus its investment on CNN's core news-gathering operations and[,] in further building CNN Digital, Licht said, per Tech Crunch. CNN Digital was the network's prior streaming service before CNN+ was launched. Additionally, the network planned to invest $1 billion on the doomed streaming service over a few years, with the company previously commiting at least $100 million (and as much as $300 million) into CNN+. Meanwhile, the shows hosted by prominent network personalities that were promised to be onboard CNN+, such as of Chris Wallace's and Kasie Hunt's, could continue in some form or cancelled as the fate of these shows is still not immediately clear. CNN+ History CNN+ was released at the start of spring 2022. To be more specific, the network launched the streaming service on March 29. Despite the streaming service offering a "completely distinct experience," roughly less than 10,000 were viewing its content at the daily. The network even compared its debut performance with Disney+'s, which had 10 million subscribers on their first day alone. Despite the low numbers, a CNN spokesperson said that the network is "happy with the launch and its progress after only two weeks." The streaming service was supposed to host the network's new live shows, original series, and new features such as interactive interviews. Related Article: CNN PLus Reportedly Struggles with Daily Views How Is The Streaming Service Performing? A judge on Wednesday moved the Kristin Smart murder trial nearly 150 miles after ruling last month that her accused killer couldn't get a fair trial in San Luis Obispo County. San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Craig Van Rooyen ruled that Paul Flores, 45, and his father, Ruben, 80, will stand trial in Monterey County. The court where the actual trial will take place is in the city of Salinas. Van Rooyen said that there were two possible locations for where the trial could move forward. The judge did not say why Monterey was chosen or where the other possible venue was located. In granting a change-of-venue motion for Flores and his father on March 30, the judge said extensive news coverage of the case and a volume of speculation on social media would make it hard to find an unbiased jury. During his ruling, Van Rooyen was quoted by The San Luis Obispo Tribune as saying, 'I don't think this case is discussed around dinner tables in other counties like it is in this county.' The trial at the new location is set to begin on May 31. That date could change again if the new court is not available. San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Craig Van Rooyen ruled that Paul Flores, 45, (pictured on Wednesday) and his father, Ruben, 80, will stand trial in Monterey County Ruben Flores, left, talks to his attorney Harold Mesick after a ruling in a San Luis Obispo court in September 2021. Ruben Flores is accused of being an accessory to Smart's murder after the fact To this day, 19-year-old Kristin Smart's remains have never been found Flores was the last person seen with a very intoxicated 19-year-old Smart on May 25, 1996, as he helped walk her to her dorm at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo after a frat party, witnesses said. Both were students at the school at the time of the murder. Prosecutors said he killed Smart while trying to rape her in his dorm room. To this day, Smart's remains have never been found. The suspect's father, Ruben Flores, 80, is charged as an accessory after the fact. He's accused of helping his son to dispose of the coed's body. The elder Flores was present with his son during the hearing regarding moving the trial. Investigators believe that Smart was buried under Ruben Flores' deck at his home along the 700 block of White Court in Arroyo Grande, California. It's thought that the remains were moved before any searches were conducted. Paul Flores was long considered a suspect in Smart's murder. He had previously been offered a deal that involved six years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter and information about the location of Smart's remains. He declined the offer, according to The Charley Project. In 2016, four women came forward to accuse Paul Flores of raping them, reported The Daily Beast. One of those accusers told authorities that she was date raped while she was in high school with the suspect in 1994. During the initial April 2020 search of Paul Flores' home in southern California, investigators found items of interest that included date rape drugs and videos showing the suspect allegedly raping women. Paul Flores was long considered a suspect in the murder of Kirstin Smart. At one stage in the investigation, he rejected a six year sentence in a plea deal for manslaughter in exchange for information regarding Smart's remains During the search of Paul Flores' home in San Pedro, California, investigators found videos of the suspect sodomizing and allegedly raping young women. In 2016, multiple women came forward to accuse Flores of rape Investigators shown here digging in the back of Ruben Flores' home. Authorities suspect that Smart's remains were buried for a time under the deck of the house. Those remains have not been located Paul Flores' lawyer was also successful in forcing county prosecutors to share more evidence regarding the soil samples that were found at Ruben Flores' home Ruben Flores has been released on bail while his son has remained in San Luis Obispo County Jail since his arrest. Despite the move to Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County taxpayers will foot the bill for the high profile trial Flores and his father were arrested in April 2021 in relation to Smart's murder. Both men have pleaded not guilty. Paul Flores has been remanded in custody at San Luis County Jail with out bail since his original arrest. His father is out on bail. During the same hearing where it was announced that the trial would be moved, Paul Flores' attorney Robert Sanger told the judge that he was still waiting on some discovery evidence specifically soil samples from the Robles' homes. The San Luis Obispo District Attorney Prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle told the hearing that he would share the evidence as soon as possible, reports The Paso Robles Press. Van Rooyen said that while the case had received national attention, especially since the two men were arrested last year, it has been under scrutiny for decades in the relatively small coastal county of 283,000 people. The original judge in the case cited the extreme media coverage of Smart's murder as one of the reasons for the move Despite the move, the cost of the trial will still fall upon the taxpayers of San Luis Obispo County. Superior Court of Monterey County Judge Pamela Butler will decide which judge will oversee the Flores trial. In March 2020, Butler oversaw a similar case to the Smart murder in Monterey County. In that case, Butler sent Charles Holifield to prison for 21 years for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 13-year-old Christine Williams, reports The East Bay Times. Williams was killed in June 1998, Holifield was not arrested in the case until 2017. The last high-profile trial that was moved from San Luis Obispo County to Monterey County was the case of Rex Krebs. Krebs, a serial sex offender, was sentenced to death in May 2001 for the rape and murders of college students Rachel Newhouse, 21, and Aundria Crawford, 20, in 1998 and 1999 respectively. As of April 2022, Krebs remains on death row. Advertisement Struggling to stand from her grief, the distraught mother of a teenage boy stabbed to death at the Sydney Easter Show says she wished people had stepped in to help her dying son, rather than filming his attack on their phones. Uati 'Pele' Faletolu died during his shift at the Show on April 11, after he was allegedly caught up in a brawl between gang members from warring western Sydney postcodes. His mother Janice told mourners at Hillsong Church on Friday morning that her boy was 'stabbed through the heart'. 'I wish everyone who was there put down their phones and helped my boy,' she said through tears. Mourners at Uati ' Pele ' Faletolu's funeral released white balloons into the sky (pictured) as after he was stabbed on shift at the Sydney Royal Easter Show Her youngest son, 15-year-old Mase, squeezed his mum's shoulder and turned his head from the crowd. 'Maybe he'd still be here,' Mrs Faletolu said. Uati's killer remains on the run. Frustrated police blame 'misguided loyalty' for witnesses being unwilling to help investigators. Uati 'Pele' Faletolu died during his shift at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on April 11, after he was allegedly caught up in a brawl between gang members from warring western Sydney postcodes Uati's girlfriend, Taylor Piliae (pictured) told the crowd at his funeral she knew he would have made 'the best dad' On Friday, hundreds of grieving family and friends, including Uati's pregnant girlfriend Taylor Piliae, arrived at Hillsong Church in Baulkham Hills for their final farewells Hundreds of mourners joined the family and Uati's pregnant girlfriend Taylor Piliae for the emotion-charged farewell. Many wore matching black shirts and hoodies with a picture of Uati smiling and the words 'forever 17' emblazoned on the back. The church was so crowded many mourners had to watch the service from outside. Others crammed into the top floor and sat in the stairwell to watch down on proceedings. Uati's mother (left) said her son was the 'man of the house' and 'took his role very seriously' during her moving eulogy in which she criticised witnesses of his death for not putting their phones down Teenage boys tried with all their might to remain stoic but tears rolled down their cheeks as Mrs Faletolu continued to pay tribute to her son, supported by her surviving three children. The packed church was silent save for the occasional sniffle. Young boys, many of whom looked no older than Uati, kept their heads down throughout her eulogy. Ms Faletolu told the story of her son's short life - stolen from him just months before he was due to become a father. The family moved to Australia in 2017 and, by that point, Uati was already the man of the household. 'He took the role very seriously,' Ms Faletolu noted. His father died in 2005, the same year Uati was born, and even as a young boy he felt a great sense of responsibility to his family. His casket was draped in white roses and was removed from the church ahead of his cremation Mourners performed a moving haka after the service had ended, as his casket was being driven away Uati's father died in 2005, the same year Uati was born, and even as a young boy he felt a great sense of responsibility to his family Ms Piliae shared the same story Uati's mother did, how he was determined to use his pay packet from the Easter Show to begin preparations for his baby Uati had dreams of becoming an NRL player and, for a while, his family had high hopes he'd actually make it. He had the talent. But it wasn't to be and after leaving school in 2021, he told his mum he wanted to go back and get his HSC. He had a new goal. He was going to become a teacher. 'I couldn't believe it,' Ms Faletolu told the crowd. Many laughed along with her. 'Uati, a teacher? After he'd caused his own teachers so much grief?' She was so proud. But Uati had to prove himself to even get back into the classroom. Most teachers didn't want him there a second time. Within three weeks of returning to school, life threw yet another spanner in the works. Uati's girlfriend Taylor was pregnant. 'I was so disappointed,' Ms Faletolu confessed. 'He was just so young. But now I know it was a blessing in disguise.' Ms Piliae announced her pregnancy via her sister's Instagram page just days after his death Uati decided instantly he would leave school again. It was time to get a job, he thought, and start making money for his family. He got a short term contract at the Easter show, helping to man the Break Dance ride. 'It was to save money for bub and Taylor, and now he's dead. My boy was stabbed through the heart... now my heart is so full of hate,' Ms Faletolu said. Speaking directly to her son's accused killer, who remains on the run, Ms Faletolu said: 'I'll forgive you one day, but I'll never forget.' After Ms Faletolu addressed the crowd, a tearful Ms Piliae took to the podium. Initially, she was going to speak alone, but as she struggled to compose herself Uati's younger brother, Mase, joined her on stage. Following a moment's reassurance, Ms Piliae pressed on, describing Uati as 'the best boyfriend and the best everything to everyone'. 'I wish I had 10 more minutes with you to tell you how much you're appreciated. You would have been the best dad. 'I promise I'll take care of our baby.' Uati had dreams of becoming an NRL player and, for a while, his family had high hopes he'd actually make it. He had the talent Ms Piliae shared the same story Uati's mother did, how he was determined to use his pay packet from the Easter Show to begin preparations for his baby. She said even as his girlfriend, she had no idea just how much of an impact Uati had on the hundreds of mourners gathered to say their final goodbyes. Police were stationed on the outskirts of the Hillsong church, prepared for anything that could have potentially gone wrong. But the service went off without a hitch; the entire Faletolu family sung together in Uati's honour while his mates performed a moving haka as his casket was transported to the crematorium. There are fears a postcode gang war between rival western Sydney gangs, the 67 from Doonside and the 27 from Mount Druitt, may have sparked the melee that caused Uati's death. The groups are named after their respective postcodes 2767, and 2770. It's understood Uati belonged to the Doonside gang and in a video of the arrest, another teenager yelled 'six, seven, motherf**ker' as police officers secured his handcuffs. Faletolu's grieving girlfriend was supported by her siblings during a memorial for him the night after his death A 15-year-old boy arrested at the scene was still being question by police and granted bail. He attended the funeral A 15-year-old boy was charged with affray and carrying a knife on Tuesday, but his charges do not relate to the fatal stabbing. He was released on conditional bail and was present at the funeral. The court heard the teenager had allegedly pulled a knife and chased three unknown men after learning Uati had been stabbed. NSW Police do not believe he was responsible for the fatal blow and are still looking for those responsible. While the brawl was captured in footage, the person who allegedly stabbed Uati has not been identified from available security video. The CCTV footage police have examined is too grainy and dark to make a positive identification. Police have called for witnesses to come forward and provide further video footage as evidence. The adult section of the Easter Show was closed to the public as the investigation into Uati's death got underway Uati's younger brother was allegedly seen on viral footage sitting on the ground in handcuffs after the melee. Detectives told Daily Mail Australia they know there is mobile phone footage out there as there were a 'significant amount of juveniles' seen filming the event. Homicide squad boss Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said they may not be co-operating 'due to either misguided loyalties or fear of retribution'. 'Of the vision we have already reviewed, we know there was a significant amount of people filming the incident, many of whom have not yet supplied the vision to police,' he said. 'In our experience, it is likely that someone or many people has unknowingly captured a clear shot of something of relevance to the investigation.' Uati 'Pele' Faletolu died during his shift at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on April 11, after he was allegedly caught up in a brawl between gang members from warring western Sydney postcodes Uati (pictured) has been remembered by his heartbroken mother as a happy young man with a big heart A deadly fire swept through a Fort Wayne home on Thursday, killing four children, authorities said. Firefighters responded to the blaze at the Dupont Estates Mobile Home Park on the city's northeast side just before 8:30 a.m. and found the mobile home engulfed in flames, Fort Wayne Deputy Fire Chief Adam OConnor said. 'Crews pulled lines to start extinguishing the fire and looking for ways to enter the structure. Crews battled hard,' a fire department report said. The fire was deemed 'under control' in 23 minutes. Fire crews in Fort Wayne, Indiana found four young children had been killed in a mobile home fire on Thursday morning The blaze broke out at 8:30am on Thursday morning on the city's northeast side Crews are pictured on site tackling the blaze that saw four children killed on Thursday At least four adults who lived in the home were outside it when firefighters arrived, O'Connor said. The adults were taken to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment, police said. The four children were pronounced dead at the scene. Shelby Wright, a neighbor, said she heard an explosion and that neighbors tried to get inside to save the children. Authorities didn't release the names or ages of the children or adults, or suggest a possible cause of the fire. The blaze was put out by 9am with four adults taken to hospital and four young lives lost Fire crews could be seen on site as they tried in vane to rescue those inside On Thursday night, a memorial made up from flowers and stuffed animals together with a wooden cross had been set up outside the mobile home. 'There was just a bunch of screaming inside. I went to go to the front door because there was too much smoke on the outside. It felt like the door was barricaded or something. My full bodyweight and all my force, there was nothing I could do to pry the door open, nothing. All I heard was the screaming of one of the kids,' neighbor Wesley Desjardins told WANE15. 'Tell your loved ones you love them while you have the chance. You never know when you might lose them.' The burnt out structure of the mobile home can be seen once the flames were out An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire She made the decision, despite no 'Do Not Attempt Resuscitation' order in place She stopped colleagues at The Grove trying to resuscitate David Parkerson, 78 A deputy manager at a care home for the disabled has been prosecuted after refusing to perform CPR on a 78-year-old resident because she wanted him to 'die with dignity'. Jennifer Sabbagh, 63, also stopped her colleagues from trying to resuscitate David Parkerson after they were told to do so by ambulance service handlers. Norwich Crown Court heard how she made the decision, despite there not being a 'Do Not Attempt Resuscitation' order in place on him. She was charged with neglect after Norfolk Police were informed of the death at The Grove care home operated by Leonard Cheshire in East Carleton near Norwich. Sabbagh admitted the offence and was given a 12 month community order with 100 hours unpaid work. Jennifer Sabbagh, 63, admitted neglect at Norwich Crown Court (pictured) and was given a 12 month community order with 100 hours unpaid work Mr Parkerson had been living at the home for 10 years, which looks after 32 adults with physical disabilities. Sabbagh, a registered nurse since 1980, had been working at the home for three weeks when the incident happened. The ambulance service was called after Mr Parkerson, who did not lack mental capacity, suffered difficulty breathing at about 6.10pm on April 28 last year. He initially recovered, but his breathing got shallower again and staff were instructed to commence CPR, said prosecutor Peter Gair. But Sabbagh refused, saying: 'No, no, let him die with dignity'. The court heard she also prevented staff from moving Mr Parkerson from his bed to the floor so resuscitation could be carried out, stating, 'We're not doing that, he's going with dignity'. Sabbagh told ambulance service call handlers: 'I won't put him on the floor, he's breathing his last'. Mr Parkerson was later found to have died as a result of congestive cardiac failure as well as hypertensive heart disease. The court heard that experts had confirmed it was highly unlikely CPR would have saved him. The death was referred to the home's regional manager and Sabbagh was suspended ahead of a police investigation being carried out. Sabbagh, of Thorpe Marriott, near Norwich admitted being a care worker who ill treated or wilfully neglected an individual. Damien Moore, defending, described it as a 'terribly sad case' and said that she had offered her 'profound and sincere apologies' to the resident's family. He added that she recognised that the proceedings would have caused additional pain and upset to his family for which she was very sorry. Sabbagh also wanted to apologise to her colleagues for failing in her professional duty, said Mr Moore. He added that the case had 'affected her profoundly', but insisted her sole intention was to 'preserve the dignity' of the deceased and comfort him in his last moment. Mr Moore said that in her 'clinical assessment', he was 'seriously unwell' and 'taking his last breaths'. He suggested that many people might think that 'morally and socially she did the right thing', but he accepted it was not her decision to make. Mr Moore said Sabbagh was of exemplary good character, but was now 'unable to look herself in the mirror' and felt 'no sense of self-worth'. Testimonials were from former colleagues as well as the family of a patient Sabbagh once helped to care for were handed to the court. Judge Alice Robinson said care home residents were 'some of the most vulnerable in our society' and dependant on people like Sabbagh to look after them. But she recognised there was 'a significant amount of mitigation' in the case and that there was a 'genuine attempt to do the right thing'. The family of Mr Parkerson did not attend court and did not provide a victim impact statement. Speaking after the case, a spokesperson for Leonard Cheshire said: 'We are deeply saddened by the death of a resident at The Grove. 'The death of anyone in our care is profoundly upsetting and support was put in place for any staff at the service who may have needed it. 'The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our number one priority at all times and we worked with the police throughout this investigation. 'Ms Sabbagh was immediately suspended while an internal investigation was undertaken. She was subsequently dismissed, with her professional body and other authorities alerted. Damien Moore, defending, described it as a 'terribly sad case' and said that Sabbagh had offered her 'profound and sincere apologies' to the resident's family. Pictured, outside The Grove care home in East Carleton near Norwich 'The actions of Ms Sabbagh could not have been predicted and were completely against the expectations of any staff in these circumstances, as well as professional nursing standards in all settings.' Steve Dorrington, manager of Dorrington House Care Homes, which has three homes in Dereham, Watton and Wells, said the case should act as a 'wake-up call' to homes to make sure people's wishes are documented and 'all staff know what they are doing'. Referring to Sabbagh's decision not to perform CPR, or allow staff to do so, Mr Dorrington told the Eastern Daily Press: 'She shouldn't have done it. 'If there's no DNAR in place you have to assume that every person has capacity and you do CPR.' Sabbagh refused to comment after the hearing. A Care Quality Commission spokesperson said: 'We are aware a former nurse who was employed at The Grove, East Carleton, has been prosecuted following the death of a resident last April. 'Following this sad incident, we inspected the home and rated it requires improvement. We also liaised with the police, who brought this prosecution, and Leonard Cheshire Disability, which runs the home, to determine whether people using the service are at risk of harm. 'We do not have information indicating people at the home are at risk of harm, but we continue to monitor it closely to ensure people receive the standards of care they have a right to expect.' A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a Kentucky law that effectively eliminated abortions in the commonwealth, where the only two clinics said they couldn't meet its requirements. The decision by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings was a victory for abortion rights advocates and a setback for the Republican-led legislature, which passed the law in March. Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, had vetoed the measure, but the legislature overrode him last week to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and require women to be examined by a doctor before receiving abortion pills. Both of Kentucky's clinics said that they would immediately resume abortion services following the ruling from Jennings, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, on Thursday temporarily blocked a Kentucky law that effectively eliminated abortions Pro-abortion protesters gather at the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort last week, when the Republican-led legislature overrode the governor's veto to pass the new law Anti-abortion protesters gather to pray outside the EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville, days after the Kentucky legislature enacted a sweeping law restricting abortions The new law contains new restrictions and reporting requirements that the Kentucky clinics said they couldnt immediately comply with. Noncompliance can result in stiff fines, felony penalties and revocation of physician and facility licenses. Jennings' order did not delve into the larger issue of the new law's constitutionality. Instead, it focused on the clinics' claims that they're unable to immediately comply with the measure because the state hasn't yet set up clear guidelines. The judge said her order does not prevent the state from crafting regulations which would allow enforcement to move forward. Jennings said she decided to temporarily block the measure because she lacked information 'to specifically determine which individual provisions and subsections are capable of compliance.' Abortion rights activists said they were relieved by the decision but noted more rounds are ahead in the legal fight. 'This is a win, but it is only the first step,' said Rebecca Gibron, the CEO for Planned Parenthood in Kentucky, where its clinic is immediately resuming abortion services. 'We're prepared to fight for our patients' right to basic health in court and to continue doing everything in our power in ensure abortion access is permanently secured in Kentucky.' Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, had vetoed the measure, but the Kentucky legislature overrode him last week to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy Kentucky's Republican attorney general, Daniel Cameron, supports the new law and said that he'll be ready to defend it in court as the case proceeds Kentucky's Republican attorney general, Daniel Cameron, signaled that he'll be ready to defend the law as the case proceeds. 'We are disappointed that the court chose to temporarily halt enforcement of the entire law,' he said in a statement. 'This law is constitutional and we look forward to continuing to defend it.' Supporters say the goal of Kentucky's new law is to protect womens health and strengthen oversight. Opponents say the objective all along was to stop abortions in the state completely. Abortions had been suspended at the two Louisville clinics since the law took effect last week. During that time, women in Kentucky could either travel out of state to end their pregnancies or wait for the judge's decision. Many of the women affected were young and poor, advocates said. Attorneys for the two clinics - Planned Parenthood and EMW Women's Surgical Center - filed separate lawsuits challenging the law and seeking an order halting its enforcement. Jennings issued the order in the Planned Parenthood suit. State Rep. Randy Bridges, R-Paducah, gives a thumbs down as protesters chant "Bans off our bodies" at the Kentucky state Capitol last week Charles Booker, a candidate for U.S. Senate, joins pro-abortion protesters at the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort 'Abortion remains legal and is once again available in Kentucky,' said Heather Gatnarek, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, which filed the suit on behalf of EMW. 'We will always fight to keep it that way here and across the country.' Kentucky is among several GOP-led states that have passed restrictive abortion laws in anticipation of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could reverse the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established a right to abortion nationwide nearly 50 years ago. Pending before the high court is a challenge to a law passed in a fifth state, Mississippi, that bans abortion after 15 weeks. The court has indicated that it will allow Mississippis ban to stand and conservative justices have suggested they support overruling Roe. The Mississippi case loomed even as abortion rights supporters cheered their victory Thursday in Kentucky. 'Unfortunately, the ability to receive an abortion will continue to hang by a thread throughout the United States,' Gatnarek said. 'In a few weeks, the Supreme Court will decide whether to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade.' No matter how the current conservative-dominated Supreme Court handles pending high-profile abortion cases - perhaps weakening Roe, perhaps gutting it completely - there will be no monolithic, nationwide change. Fractious state-by-state battles over abortion access will continue. Donald Trump has given his 'complete and total endorsement' to a small-town police chief turned Congressional candidate accused of covering up the rape and abuse of a teenage girl, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal. Ex-cop Loren Culp, 61, is challenging Congressman Dan Newhouse, who broke ranks with the majority of his fellow Republicans by voting to impeach Trump for stoking the January 2021 Capitol riot. But Culp's bid for Washington's 4th Congressional District faces its own challenges after he was accused of 'extreme and outrageous conduct' in a 2017 lawsuit alleging that he failed to properly investigate a child abuse allegation. Culp was one of several officers who dismissed the 17-year-old victim's claims and threatened to arrest her for making a false report when she came forward in 2013 to report that her stepfather had abused her throughout her childhood, according to the complaint. President Donald Trump in February announced his 'complete and total endorsement' of former police chief Loren Culp (right) for Washington's 4th Congressional District DailyMail.com can reveal Culp, 61, the former police chief of Republic, Ferry County, in Washington, was accused of 'extreme and outrageous conduct' in a 2017 lawsuit alleging that he failed to properly investigate a child abuse allegation It was only when deputies in the neighboring county stepped in to conduct their own independent inquiry that pervert Roy A. Moore was arrested and later jailed for first-degree child molestation. The troubling and as yet unresolved case against Culp first emerged when he made a failed bid in 2020 to unseat Jay Inslee as Washington governor, blaming his defeat by around half a million votes on unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. But that has not stopped Culp - who previously headed a one-man police department in Republic, a tiny north Washington town close to the Canadian border - in securing Trump's unconditional support for his second foray into politics. In a February announcement, Trump trashed four-term congressman Newhouse for being one of ten Republicans who joined 'the Radical Left Democrats to vote for the Impeachment Hoax', while lavishing praise on Culp and backing him for August's primary. 'Loren Culp has protected the great people of Central Washington for years as a highly respected Police Chief,' Trump declared. 'A man of the people, Loren will always defend your personal liberty, our under-siege Second Amendment, Election Integrity, and Law Enforcement. 'Unlike Dan Newhouse, who is absolutely terrible, Loren will never turn his back on Central Washington, or our Country. Loren Culp has my Complete and Total Endorsement!' Army veteran Culp served as a police officer and later police chief in Republic - population: 1,073 - for a decade before his role was eliminated in 2020 due to city budget cuts. Culp is challenging Republican incumbent Dan Newhouse (pictured in 2020) who joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump for stoking the January 2021 Capitol riot In a statement released in February, Trump lavished praise on Culp and backed him for August's primary A staunch conservative and Trump supporter, Culp (pictured right with Sarah Palin) first made headlines and appeared on Fox News after he refused to enforce a 2018 gun control measure that would raise the age when someone could legally buy a semi-automatic rifle in Washington State from 18 to 21 A staunch conservative and Trump supporter, Culp first made headlines and appeared on Fox News after he refused to enforce Initiative 1639, a 2018 gun control measure which raised the age when someone could legally buy a semi-automatic rifle in Washington State from 18 to 21. His gubernatorial run was based largely around his opposition to mask mandates, Covid restrictions and 'big Pharma, the US Government, the media, and of course Dr. Fauci,' according to The Seattle Times. He also pushed unproven treatments for the 'Chinese virus' such as Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine in an email to supporters, the outlet reported. Culp's congressional campaign vows to strengthen the southern border and ensure that only US citizens can vote in elections. It takes further aim at the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools and lambasts the government for relying on energy from countries that 'hate us'. 'If you want to know what he'll do in Congress, look at what he did before he ever decided to run for public office' his Culp for Congress website states. According to the suit filed in Lincoln County and later transferred to Ferry County Superior Court, Culp was one of three cops who interviewed the teen victim in 2013. The girl first confided in City of Republic Reserve Police Officer Matthew Beard, her boyfriend at the time, telling him she was sexually abused by Moore from age five to 17. He was legally required to report the allegation immediately to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) but didn't do so, the complaint alleges. Instead he contacted the girl's mother to tell her about the abuse and enlisted the help of Ferry County sheriff's deputy Talon Venturo, who gave the mother a tape recorder to try to elicit a confession from Moore. The troubling case - filed in 2017 - first emerged when Culp made a failed bid in 2020 to unseat Jay Inslee as Washington governor According to the suit filed in Lincoln County and later transferred to Ferry County Superior Court, Culp was one of three cops in 2013 who interviewed the 17-year-old victim who claimed she had been molested by her stepfather Roy A. Moore since the age of five When Moore denied the allegation, he was interviewed by Ferry County Deputy Sheriff Talon Venturo and Culp who 'formed the opinion that Roy Moore was telling the truth and [the victim] was lying' The troubling case - filed in 2017 - first emerged when Culp made a failed bid in 2020 to unseat Jay Inslee as Washington governor. Pictured: Culp ahead of a 2020 debate with Gov Jay Inslee When Moore denied the allegation he was interviewed by Venturo and Culp who 'formed the opinion that Roy Moore was telling the truth and [the victim] was lying.' The victim was then taken to the police station where Venturo and Culp asked her 'disturbing questions about her personal life, sex life, and home life and asked her to provide detailed descriptions of sexual acts engaged in with Roy Moore, and describe Roy Moore's penis,' it's claimed. At the end of the interview the two cops indicated they didn't believe the victim and warned 'she may be prosecuted for making a false report.' 'Disbelieved, abandoned, and fearing she would be charged with a crime, [the victim] suffered through weeks of anxiety, mental stress, nightmares and panic attacks,' the suit claims. 'Escalating the fear, anxiety, and emotional duress was the daily fear of running into Roy Moore, or one of the involved officers in public; or that Moore would stalk her down and hurt or kill her for telling the police about his dirty little secret.' The girl's grandparents sought help from a child advocacy group who reported the allegations to both the DSHS and neighboring Benton County, where some of the abuse happened, and helped her file for a protection order. FORMER PRESIDENT ALSO ENDORSES 'NEVER-TRUMP' REPUBLICAN IN OHIO Former President Trump also waded into the Republican Ohio Senate race last Friday with a surprise endorsement for J.D. Vance, the Hillbilly Elegy author who was previously an outspoken critic of his policies. The ad picks over old interviews and tweets in an effort to discredit Vance More than a dozen Ohio GOP chairs and central committee members wrote to the former president in response, asking him to withdraw his backing for Vance, who voted for 'Never Trump' candidate Evan McMullin in the 2016 General Election and once referred to Trump supporters as 'racists'. 'Ohio Republicans have supported your efforts in 2016 and in 2020 and helped to deliver Ohio for you by over 8 points each time,' read the letter, obtained by DailyMail.com. 'We know there are many qualified candidates in this race who have stood up for the America First agenda over the years and have carried the Trump mantle over the years, again with the notable exception of JD Vance. The letter added: 'Importantly, JD Vance is not, and has never been a registered Republican. To have someone who has not voted in a Republican primary carrying the mantel for the party is troubling.' Advertisement But when the victim went to court on January 3, 2014 she noticed Culp and Venturo sitting directly behind her 'in an apparent effort to intimidate' her, the complaint adds. The suit says Benton County deputies and detectives were 'angry and appalled' by the girl's treatment and set out to properly investigate Moore. When a second victim came forward, he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of child molestation and other crimes. After admitting two charges of first degree child molestation in May 2015, Moore was sentenced to 67 months in prison. The girl's lawsuit demands unspecified damages saying the three officers inflicted severe and permanent emotional injuries through their 'gross negligence and malice' in failing to take her seriously. DailyMail.com is choosing not to identify the girl, whose mother went on to become treasurer for Culp's gubernatorial campaign until early 2020, despite the ongoing litigation. Her name and electronic signature appear multiple times in his campaign's paperwork. The case, listed for jury trial in October, is not the only lawsuit hanging over the Republican candidate, who is also being sued by a 51-year-old motorist who claims she spent three days in jail after a botched K-9 search. Wendy Farris says police dog Karma incorrectly 'alerted' Culp to the presence of drugs leading to her car being 'ripped apart' and a DUI charge that was only dropped after she spent the weekend behind bars. 'As a result of the acts or omissions of the named defendants as set forth herein above Wendy Farris suffered economic damages, emotional distress, and other damages,' her suit alleges. Culp's lawyers have denied Farris's claims and described the abuse 'cover-up' suit as 'legally frivolous' . The congressional hopeful did not respond this week when DailyMail.com contacted him repeatedly seeking comment. When asked about the case in 2020, Culp denied threatening or trying to intimidate the teenage victim and said he was merely helping out in another officer's case, rather than leading the inquiry or deciding whether or not to pursue it. 'Anybody can say anything they want in a lawsuit,' he told The Seattle Times. 'Just because someone says something doesn't mean it's the truth.' Trump has backed a range of eye-catching names in recent months, most notably Pennsylvania Senate hopeful and celebrity physician Mehmet Oz. He had previously endorsed Army veteran Sean Parnell in the same race before Parnell dropped out after losing custody of his kids to his ex-wife, who claimed he was physically abusive. Trump's spokesman did not reply to an email asking if the former president still supports Culp. Honduras extradited former President Juan Orlando Hernandez to the United States on Thursday to face drug trafficking and weapons charges in a dramatic reversal for a leader once touted by U.S. authorities as a key ally in the war on drugs. Just three months after leaving office, a handcuffed Hernandez boarded an airplane with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration bound for the United States, where he faces charges in the Southern District of New York. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hernandez 'abused his position as President of Honduras from 2014 through 2022 to operate the country as a narco-state.' In court documents, U.S. prosecutors alleged Hernandez was involved in a 'corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy' that moved more than 550 tons of cocaine to the United States. He was charged with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Prosecutors charge that Hernandez received millions of dollars from drug cartels, including from notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. During Hernandez' 2019 trial in the Southern District of New York, a key government witness testified that Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman contributed $1 million towards Juan Orlando Hernandez 2013 presidential campaign in exchange for protection. They also allege he used that money to finance his 2017 presidential election and engaged in voter fraud. 'In return, drug traffickers in Honduras were allowed to operate with virtual impunity,' Garland said. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, center, is taken in handcuffs to an aircraft as he is extradited to the US, at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras Thursday In court documents, U.S. prosecutors alleged Hernandez was involved in a 'corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy' that moved more than 550 tons of cocaine to the United States Hernandez is accused of drug trafficking and firearms charges by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Prosecutors also allege that Hernandez, center, fueled 2013 and 2017 elections with the help of money provided by drug traffickers and drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman 'We allege that Hernandez corrupted legitimate public institutions in the country - including parts of the national police, military and national Congress.' Hernandez was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa in February at the request of U.S. authorities after a dramatic stakeout that saw him holed up in his home. He was shackled and paraded in front of journalists, a sight many Hondurans never imagined seeing. Honduras Supreme Court rejected his appeal of a judges decision in favor of extradition. 'Drug trafficking fuels violent crime and addiction; it devastates families, and it ravages communities,' Garland said. ' Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman allegedly handed over $1 million to support the 2013 presidential campaign of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez in exchange for protection of drug deliveries Juan Antonio Hernandez (pictured in 2017) was convicted in a massive drug conspiracy case in a New York City federal court in October 2019 and sentenced to life in prison in March 2021. He is the brother of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (pictured) said Hernandez 'abused his position as President of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state' The Justice Department is committed to disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go.' Hernandez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In a video message released Thursday, he said, 'I am innocent; I have been and I am being unjustly subjected to prosecution.' He has said he is the victim of drug traffickers he extradited who are now lying to seek revenge. 'It is surprising that this decision ... is made based on "media reports" and also on statements from drug traffickers and confessed murderers who were extradited by my government, or who had to flee and surrender to the United States authorities for fear of being extradited,' Hernandez wrote in an open letter. Henry Osorto Canales, a retired National Police commissioner who is now an analyst, said that while the extradition was an embarrassment for Honduras, it was also a historic day. 'This is a start because it has begun with the largest political piece that the country had and logically the rest of the pieces are going to fall, at least those closest (to Hernandez),' Osorto said. U.S. prosecutors have spent years building cases from low-level drug traffickers and local politicians to organized crime bosses who used their political connections and ties to drug trafficking cartels in Colombia and Mexico to move tons of cocaine to the United States. Many of them testified about making payments to Hernandez or one of his brothers, also a politician. His brother and former Honduran congressman, Juan Antonio Hernandez, was found guilty by the Southern District of New York on drug trafficking and firearms charges in October 2019. He sentenced to life in prison in March 2021. Juan Orlando Hernandez took office in January 2014 and held the presidency until this January, when Xiomara Castro was sworn in as his replacement. Castro campaigned on rooting out Honduras corruption and Hernandez was seen as the largest target. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, in chains, is shown to the press at the National Police headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, following his arrest on February 15 On Wednesday, Honduras' Supreme Court denied an appeal from the former chief of the National Police, Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, better known as 'El Tigre' or 'The Tiger.' He was arrested after Hernandez at the request of U.S. prosecutors on similar charges and is expected to be extradited in the coming weeks. U.S. prosecutors allege Bonilla assisted the movement of tons of cocaine through Honduras, working with Hernandez and his brother Tony Hernandez, both co-conspirators in the case in the Southern District of New York. Hernandezs transport via helicopter under heavy guard from the police base where he was held to the airport Thursday was covered live by local television outlets. Some Hondurans stood outside the airport's perimeter fence to catch a glimpse of the former president boarding the plane with U.S. authorities. When Hernandez's plane took off some were seen jumping in celebration. Thousands of their countrymen emigrated from the country during Hernandez's administration, often shouting 'Get out JOH!' using his initials as they walked north. They frequently complained of a lack of job opportunities and gang violence. New research reveals Australia only has 68 days of liquid fuel to keep us going if we're cut off and that the country had increased its reliance on imported transport fuels. That's despite International Energy Agency (IEA) guidelines requiring us to hold 90 net import days' worth. 'The Australian Government tries to bolster this by including some 21 days of fuel in transit to Australia or on-board ships docked in foreign ports the majority of which are foreign vessels,' the report from the Australia Institute states. 'There is no guarantee that this fuel would reach Australia in the event of a crisis.' The report claims that if Australia needed to access US-based fuel reserves, it would take more than three weeks to get here. The Australia Institute has warned the nation only has 68 days of liquid fuel to keep the country going in the event of a crisis that cuts off our supply The report warns that Australia needs to reduce reliance on oil and encourage the uptake of electric cars 'In the event of a global emergency, there is no guarantee the oil that Australia has been promised access to in the US would be practically accessible from across the Pacific or otherwise,' said researchers. The Australia Institutes climate and energy program director, Richie Merzian, said Australias continuing dependence on liquid fuels represented a major energy security risk. 'Australia has a national security problem when it comes to transport fuels. Its worrying that Australia is almost entirely reliant on foreign oil for fuel consumption, leaving it ill-prepared to deal with international disruptions,' Merzian said. 'It should concern every Australian that 91 per cent of Australias fuel like petrol and diesel is linked to imports and most of that is used for transportation. 'The federal government failed to deliver its final Liquid Fuel Security Review in 2019, and since then Australia has become more, not less fuel insecure,' Merzian added. The Australia Institutes report recommends that the federal government should be looking to introduce measures that reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuel supplies, including supporting the uptake of electric vehicles. 'The Australian Government has no plan to electrify Australias vehicle fleet and does not provide direct financial incentives to reduce the cost of EV purchase,' the report says. 'Policies such as rebates or grants, tax breaks, and conversion bonuses for trading in old diesel or petrol vehicles are among the incentives that should be considered, alongside introducing fuel efficiency standards and incentivising transition for heavy diesel vehicles.' 'Australia Institute research shows that the majority of Australians support policies to support EV uptake. Demand-side solutions to liquid fuel security, such as moving to EVs, are needed to significantly reduce our vulnerability. 'Australias energy security policy should consider demand for oil and seek to reduce demand through the uptake of electric vehicles,' it concludes. Merzian says that the only 'long-term' solution to avoid rising petrol prices is to encourage the switch to electric vehicles. 'High petrol prices are already hurting Australians. The only long-term solution is getting off oil. This involves increasing fuel efficiency and transitioning to electric vehicle,' Merzian said. 'Australia is an international laggard when it comes to fuel efficiency. Weak fuel standards and an absence of a national electric vehicle policy leave Australia among the least fuel-efficient fleets in the OECD, and far behind the rest of the world in electric vehicle uptake.' Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad, 29, shot and killed his relatives on Tuesday night, then turned the gun on himself on Wednesday A 29-year-old Minnesota man shot and killed his aunt and uncle, their two young daughters and the family dog while they slept - and then later killed himself, authorities said Thursday. He carried out the shocking massacre after posting on Facebook that he had made 'the absolutely horrid choice' to do so, a shocking confession that his surviving family members confirmed. Mike Tusken, chief of Duluth police, fought back tears as he spoke of the murder of 44-year-old Rian Barry, her husband Sean, 47, and their daughters Shiway, 12, and Sadie, aged nine. Rian and Sean's nephew, Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad, is believed to have killed his relatives in their beds sometime on Tuesday night, then shot himself as police knocked on the door around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Cole-Skogstad made his Facebook post about an hour earlier, saying he had 'suffered many years of mental illness' but that he 'almost never sought out help because I felt I never deserved it.' Rian Barry, 44; her husband Sean, 47; and their daughters Shiway, 12, and Sadie, aged nine, were all murdered in their beds by Rian and Sean's nephew on Tuesday night Rian Barry is pictured with her daughters. Their murder has shocked and saddened the commuity in Duluth The Barrys are pictured with their two daughters when the girls were young He wrote about suffering from mental illness for years, and said he wished he could go back and make better choices in life. 'I would have ignored the hatred thrown at me by peers for so long.' He continued: 'I have made the absolutely horrid choice in not only taking my life, but the lives of my aunt, Riana Lou Barry, my uncle Sean Barry, and my two sweet, beyond angelic cousins Sadie Lucille Barry and Shiway Elizabeth Barry.' Cole-Skogstad says he made the decision because he had told Shiway, 12, he considered suicide, and the declaration saw 'all my past scars opened'. The post ends: 'I cannot fathom how I came to this decision, but I do know this. If there is a God sitting in heaven, I wish so much that he grant my family the most peaceful heavenly afterlife possible. 'I love you all and please know I knew you all loved me. I tried my best to fight it. Good bye.' Tusken confirmed the authenticity of the post. Officers went to check on Cole-Skogstad on Wednesday morning at 11:18 a.m., at his home in Hermantown, after a family member received a message from him saying he intended to harm himself and other family members. Hermantown police then asked Tusken's department to check on his relatives in nearby Duluth. 'It is a terribly traumatic event,' said Tusken. 'We all have really heavy hearts.' The home in the 700 block of East 12th Street is pictured on Thursday, the day after the Barry family and Cole-Skogstad were found dead inside The Barry home is pictured, where Rian and Sean lived with their daughters Shiway, 12, and nine-year-old Sadie Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken pauses and holds back tears on Thursday during a press conference Tusken said he had never seen a case so disturbing in his 30 year policing career 'Incidents like these shake our sense of safety as a community and the region as a whole,' Tusken said. 'In my 30 years of policing, I have never seen anything like this. 'Sometimes people forget that the officers and investigators responding to the scene have families too. This is devastating for them to respond to, to see, and to process afterwards. 'It's heart-wrenching. You can't unsee it.' Police used a drone and robot to investigate before tactical officers entered the home at 3pm on Wednesday - over two hours after hearing the shot. Cole-Skogstad had stayed at the family's home previously, the chief said, but he offered no information on what precipitated the killings. Duluth and Hermantown police checked 911 logs but found no calls indicating any concerns about the man, he said. Duluth is a city of nearly 87,000 that's about 150 miles north of Minneapolis, on the shore of Lake Superior. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he cried when he lost the Republican nomination to former President Donald Trump in 2016. 'When it was over - I haven't ever told anyone this,' Kasich said on the Kasich & Klepper podcast, with guest host actress Julie Bowen of Modern Family fame. 'I went behind this building, and I cried. I had one cry.' At the 'bitter end' of the 2016 Republican primaries, Kasich said he was flying to do a fundraiser and then thought better of it with Trump slated to win the nomination at that summer's Republican National Convention. 'I was really hoping that we were gonna block him and that people were gonna come to their senses,' Kasich recalled. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich captured on May 4, 2016, when he announced he was suspending his campaign for president of the United States Former President Donald Trump's final rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, dropped out of the 2016 race in May. Trump officially earned the Republican nomination at the Cleveland convention that July That didn't happen, with Trump officially taking the Republican nomination at the Cleveland convention in July. Kasich suspended his presidential campaign on May 4, 2016, standing at a podium in Columbus, Ohio. He was the last rival of Trump's to drop out, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz pulling out the night before. Kasich said he had his cry behind an airport building and then went to see his family. 'Then I went to my daughter's school - and that was really hard - and they had gotten wind of [the end of my campaign] and then they came out and gave me a big hug,' Kasich said. 'But then it was over, and it was a wonderful experience,' the Republican added. Kasich, who was and remains an anti-Trump Republican, signed a contract to be a contributor with CNN in 2019. He said on the podcast, which he co-hosts with liberal comedian Jordan Klepper, that he doesn't miss his former life as an elected official. 'I quit Congress, I just walked away, and I thought, "OK, time to do something else,"' Kasich said. 'I left the governor's job. People say, "Do you miss being governor?" - it's a powerful position in the seventh largest state. And I say, "No, because I knew what was gonna come, and the job doesn't define me."' Lexus recalled its NX SUVs after discovering missing welds on its chassis, which could dangerously separate its shock absorber from the body of the vehicle. Lexus Recalls NX Due to Missing Welds The luxury auto brand of the Japanese carmaker Toyota had to recall more than 4,000 NX models due to a serious issue with its structure, as per a news story by CNET. The giant luxury automaker recently announced that it is recalling its 2022 NX SUVs. It comes as less than 1 percent of the recalled models currently lack spot-welds, which in turn could lead to the removal of the front shock mounts of the luxury crossover. In addition to the recall of thousands of 2022 NX units, Lexus also asked its dealers to halt the sale of the luxury SUV until the issue has been completely fixed. Meanwhile, according to a recent report by AutoBlog, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revealed that Lexus appears to have missed a few spot-welds during the production process of the 2022 NX. The NHTSA further explained that the missing weld on the Lexus SUV sits near its shock absorbers. Although it does not directly glue the shocks to the body of the vehicle, it could still affect other panels of the crossover. Once the panels around the missing weld start to weaken, it could lead to what Lexus must be trying to avoid from happening - the separation of the shock absorbers from where it is mounted to the chassis. AutoBlog went on to warn that such a situation could cause the vehicle to completely lose control, which likely raises the risk of figuring in a crash. Read Also: Lexus Unveils Its First EV, the RZ - When is it Expected to Come Out? Lexus NX Models Recalled The Japanese luxury carmaker announced that it is recalling the NX450h+, NX350h, NX350, and the NX250, which in total is more than 4200 units of the 2022 Lexus NX. CNET added in the same report that the automaker plans to notify all of the affected Lexus NX owners by June 6. Upon notifying the owners of the affected luxury SUVs, they will be asked to bring their vehicles to the closest dealership in their area to have the missing welds fixed right away. In the meantime, Lexus is reportedly working on how to fix the missing welds on the affected vehicles. The news outlet further noted that in some structural cases, carmakers sometimes replace their vehicles altogether to get rid of the critical issue. Related Article: Tesla Model X Recall Over Front Airbags: Which Model Years Are Affected? A diehard supporter of Vladimir Putin was filmed launching into a bizarre tirade calling Australian police Nazis after he was arrested for gatecrashing a Liberal MP's event. Simeon Boikov, nicknamed the Aussie Cossack, tried to enter the Drummoyne Sailing Club in Sydney's inner west at 4.50pm on Wednesday. An event was being held at the venue for Reid MP Fiona Martin before Mr Boikov was escorted off the premises by two police officers. His partner filmed the moment Mr Boikov complained police were inflicting 'grievous bodily harm' as they placed handcuffs on him, slammed the arrest as an attack on freedom of speech and told an officer to stop touching 'my penis'. A diehard supporter of Vladimir Putin, Simeon Boikov (pictured, centre) was filmed launching into a bizarre tirade calling Australian police Nazis after he was arrested for gatecrashing a Liberal event His partner filmed the moment Mr Boikov complained police were inflicting 'grievous bodily harm', slammed the arrest as an attack on freedom of speech and told an officer to stop touching 'my penis' 'Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest,' he says. 'The Aussie Cossack is very happy they loosened the cuffs. You can see grievous bodily harm on the wrists. 'You can observe the bruising. It's very serious. Poor Mrs Cossack is looking on in horror. How do you feel about your husband being treated like this? 'It's just like the Nazis, in the gulags, in the concentration camps.' Mr Boikov went on to condemn Ms Martin claiming she was attacking his 'freedom of speech'. 'Well Fiona Martin, I hope you're happy,' he says. 'This is what you wanted. You wanted to arrest journalists. You wanted to fight freedom of speech.' The 32-year-old appeared undeterred by the handcuffs and campaigned for Ms Martin to be kicked out of office. He accused several politicians of being in a 'love triangle' before he made one last declaration as he was led to the police van. Simeon Boikov, nicknamed the Aussie Cossack, tried to enter the Drummoyne Sailing Club in Sydney's inner west at 4.50pm on Wednesday An event was being held at the venue for Reid MP Fiona Martin before Mr Boikov was escorted off the premises by two police officers 'The Cossack is going in for the people against the Liberal party, against the tyranny of Fiona Martin and her police tactics. Just remember, this is for freedom. 'As I was being arrested I sang, 'Waltzing Matilda'. That's who we are. The swagmen, being oppressed by the troopers. One, two, three. Here they are.' The officer asks Mr Boikov if he has anything in his pockets before searching his pants. 'Please stop touching my penis,' Mr Boikov says, lightheartedly. A NSW Police spokeswoman said a 32-year-old man became 'argumentative' with staff before he was taken to Burwood Police Station. 'Officers from Burwood Police Area Command spoke with the man, who continued to be argumentative and refused to leave when requested,' she said. A NSW Police spokeswoman said a 32-year-old man became 'argumentative' with staff before he was taken to Burwood Police Station The Aussie Cossack has made a name for himself with his controversial views about Russia's invasion in the Ukraine 'The 32-year-old was arrested and taken to Burwood Police Station where he was issued an infringement notice for fail to quit.' Treasurer Josh Frydenberg opened the event for Ms Martin after Mr Boikov was arrested. Mr Boikov is believed to live in Ms Martin's electorate. The Aussie Cossack has made a name for himself with his controversial views about Russia's invasion in the Ukraine. Mr Boikov believes president Vladimir Putin is the rightful 'occupier' of the country. The 32-year-old uploaded a video in January last year calling for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to be sent 'to a firing squad' and a 'gulag'. President Joe Biden suggested Democrats were having political trouble because Americans were unaware of the party's accomplishments. 'We've done one hell of a job,' the president said Thursday afternoon at a high-dollar fundraiser at the Portland Yacht Club, co-hosted by The New Republic's owner and editor Win McCormack and his political consultant wife, Carol Butler. Biden said that 'because things have moved so rapidly, so profoundly' that 'they don't know a lot about what we've already done.' He cited some statistics like the creation of 7.9 million jobs, including 430,000 manufacturing jobs, a shrinking unemployment rate and deficit reduction. The president appeared at back-to-back fundraisers in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington Thursday - marking Biden's first time fundraising on the road as president of the United States. In Seattle, Biden headlined an affair at the lakefront home of Mary Snapp and Spencer Frazer hosted by Microsoft's President and Vice Chair Brad Smith and his wife Kathy Surace-Smith. At both fundraisers he was raising money for he Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund, the Democratic National Committee's political action committee, in advance of the 2022 November midterm races. 'We can't afford to lose the House, we can't afford to lose the Senate,' he warned attendees in Seattle, including Washington's Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee. But the president admitted there was economic anxiety due to higher-than-normal gas prices and inflation that could hurt Democrats on the ballot. 'People are angry and don't quite know what to do,' Biden said. President Joe Biden suggested Democrats were having political trouble because Americans were unaware of the party's accomplishments at a Portland fundraiser Thursday. Earlier in the day he gave an infrastructure related speech at the Portland International Airport (pictured) President Joe Biden's Portland fundraiser was moved to the Portland Yacht Club (pictured). It was hosted by The New Republic's owner and editor Win McCormack and his political consultant wife, Carol Butler President Joe Biden boards Air Force One after appearing at a high-dollar Democratic fundraiser in Portland, Oregon. His secon fundraiser was at a private, lakefront home in Seattle, Washington Both polls and historical precedent suggest that Democrats could be in for a beating this fall and lose control of their narrow majorities in the House and Senate. But in Portland Biden pushed that winning was simply a matter of letting people know where the Democrats versus Republicans stand - and believed Democrats could pick up two Senate seats. 'This is not your father's Republican Party,' he said. 'This is the MAGA party.' He tore into a plan pushed by Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott - who's in charge of the National Republican Senatorial Committee this cycle - that sunsets all federal laws after five years. Democrats, including Biden at the fundraiser, have jumped on that to suggest it means the end of Social Security and Medicare. 'If you want a copy of it, I'll send it to you,' the president told attendees of Scott's 11-point agenda. 'That's what they're running on.' In both locales, he also called out Florida Republicans for seeking to dissolve Disney's special status that allows the company to act as its own government. Disney publicly criticized the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill backed by the state's GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis. 'There's nothing conservative about throwing Disney out of its current posture over saying gay?' the president mused to the Seattle crowd. In Portland, Biden recalled how Democrats successfully won back the House of Representatives in 2018, telling the crowd he went into 56 districts - and Democrats won 46. President Biden, in the second car, leaving Seattles Madrona neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/lrn4KptrRx AJ Janavel (@ajjanavelnews) April 22, 2022 'We won all those seats back in 2018 because they kept for 500 times trying to do away with Obamacare,' he said. 'But what people didn't know - and the point I'm about to get to, they don't know a lot about what we've already done.' 'We said do you know why, if you have a pre-existing condition, you can't be denied insurance? Because of Obamacare. Nobody knew it. We won all of those races,' he continued. He then said he was 'worried' going into the midterms, that the American people didn't know what he'd done. The Portland fundraiser was originally supposed to take place at the home of McCormack and Butler, but the alt-weekly Willamette Week reported that it was moved due to popular demand. Biden was introduced by Columbia Sportwear's Joe Boyle. He opened by telling the Democratic donors he was there to thank them and closed by promising to get out more 'and mak[e] the case for what we've done.' Earlier, he delivered an infrastructure-related speech at the Portland International Airport, touting the bipartisan bill he signed into law last year. President Joe Biden arrives in Portland, Oregon to give an infrastructure speech and then attend a fundraiser at the Portland Yacht Club On Wednesday night, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Cedric Richmond - speaking at an event hosted by the White House Correspondents' Association and the Bipartisan Policy Center - suggested that at some point the president would make a 'pivot' and care more about the midterms. 'I think that at some point you've got to make that pivot, but right now this is a president who cares more about other people than 1. his political future and 2. getting credit,' Richmond told the crowd. 'We all recognize that at some point we'll take a deep breath from all those things were trying to do at once and tell the American people what we've been focused on doing and how we've achieved that,' he continued. 'And I think we've got some really great stories to tell.' He also assured Democrats watching on C-SPAN: 'The prediction of our demise, I think, is premature.' A much-loved Thai cook described as 'the backbone' of a posh catering company fears deportation from Australia because she failed an English test by one mark. Sky Sinjack could be kicked out of the country because she's failed the English test needed to be granted a permanent skilled visa 15 times. Her potential deportation is despite the fact she excels in her work with crack Sydney catering company JunEdelmuth Catering, where she has already worked for seven years and runs its kitchen. The case comes as immigration lawyers argue discretion needs to be used to approve applications where skilled immigrant workers have proved they can find work and integrate. Ms Sinjack, who has finished a temporary skilled work visa, can read, write and speak English at a level to manage the company's kitchen - preparing up to 1,000 gourmet meals in a weekend. Fearing deportation she been forced to apply for another two year bridging visa so she can continue her quest for permanent residency. Ms Sinjack trains new staff, has passed several cookery qualifications and is described as 'the backbone' of the company's food production team and kitchen. Sky Sinjack (pictured front, right) fears being kicked out of the country because she's failed the English test needed to be granted a permanent skilled visa 15 times (pictured, Ms Sinjack with her colleagues at June Edelmuth Catering) Ms Sinjack can read, write and speak English well enough to run a kitchen but struggles with 'fancy words' like 'psychologist' and 'psychoanalyst' and has failed the government's official English test 15 times June Edelmuth told Daily Mail Australia Ms Sinjack struggles with 'fancy words that she's never going to use in real life' like 'psychologist' and 'psychoanalyst'. She and her husband Steve have spent $20,000 helping Ms Sinjack get tutoring. But she 'panics' when doing the English test that is part of the citizenship process. 'She's the most incredible worker,' Mr Edelmuth told Daily Mail Australia. 'She's conscientious, loyal and she's forever smiling.' Ms Sinjack failed her last attempt at the test - by just one mark. Ms Sinjack's possible deportation is despite the fact she excels in her work with crack Sydney catering company JunEdelmuth Catering, where she has already worked for seven years. 'I'm gonna be sad because I would like to stay here,' Ms Sinjack told A Current Affair. 'I love Australia.' Ms Sinjack's colleague Julie said the test includes 'university' words that people 'in real life' don't use. 'We were practising before a test one day and I've got to tell you it's very hard... I thought a lot of Australians couldn't spell these words, they say it so fast and you have to [quickly] write it out.' Since she appeared on television, Ms Sinjack has been inundated with free offers of further tutoring - including from professional English teachers. She has been granted a new temporary skills shortage visa, which will buy her another two years and hopes to apply again for permanent residency in June. A statement from the Department of Home Affairs said it stood by its tests. Ms Sinjack hopes to apply again for Australian permanent residency as an immigration lawyer said discretion needs to be used to approve applications where workers have proved they can find work and integrate 'The government remains committed to using English language requirements in migration legislation as a means to effectively manage immigration risks and ensure visa holders are able to fully participate in the Australian community.' An immigration lawyer, Adam Byrnes, said the government should introduce discretion to make exception to current rules. Case-by-case exemptions on English tests could apply where someone has already proved they can find work and integrate into society, he said. A spokesperson for Home Affairs told Daily Mail Australia Ms Sinjack was at 'no more risk of deportation than any other visa holder' and was unlikely to be deported as she is on a two year temporary visa. Could you pass Australia's english language test? Try this sample question: Read the text below and answer Questions 1-6. Types of Season Tickets Standard season tickets allow unlimited travel between the two train stations shown on the ticket for the full duration of their validity. You can break your journey at any train station between the origin and destination station on your season ticket. Combined rail-and-bus season tickets are available from some rail stations. This means if you can make your main journey by rail, you can then complete it by bus. Two separate season tickets may be required for some destinations. Ticket Duration 7-day These normally cost less than five standard day-returns. They are valid for a full seven days rail travel between the points shown on the train ticket. Monthly Monthly season tickets are priced at less than four times the cost of 7-day train tickets and are valid for a full calendar month from the date of commencement. Annual Card This gives you a full calendar years weekday travel for the price of only 40 weekly tickets. Annual Card holders can also save a third on the price of most Standard Class train fares in the region at weekends and on Bank Holidays. You can also take up to three adults with you at the same discount, while up to four children (aged 515) may accompany you for a minimum of $1 each. How do I buy my first season ticket? Your season ticket is not valid without a photocard, and both must always be carried together. A photocard will be issued to you free of charge when you first purchase a season ticket. You just need to take a passport-sized photograph to a ticket office and well do the rest. As long as your photo remains a good likeness, you can continue to use the photocard with any subsequent season tickets that you buy. Questions 1 6 Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text on page 1? In boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet, Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this 1. You are allowed to stop off at an intermediate station when making a journey using a standard season ticket. 2. When using a combined rail-and-bus season ticket, the major part of your journey must be by train. 3. It is more expensive to buy four 7-day tickets than a monthly season ticket for the same journey. 4. Annual Card season tickets entitle you to savings on other rail journeys outside of the working week. 5. Children under the age of 5 are charged one third of the full ticket price when accompanying you on an Annual Card journey. 6. The photo you supply at the time of application is displayed on your season ticket. Answers 1. True 2. True 3. True 4. True 5. Not Given 6. False Advertisement A top Aussie doctor says children who weren't exposed to typical viruses due to Covid restrictions could be at risk of hepatitis - a severe liver condition. Peter Collignon, a microbiologist and infectious diseases expert, said lockdowns during the pandemic may have reduced kids' exposure to adenoviruses - common viruses that can cause cold-like symptoms, including fevers and sore throats. 'If you get infections when you're very young, you seem to have better immune protection,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Being exposed to adenoviruses at a slightly later stage could cause children's immune systems to overreact and trigger hepatitis - also known as liver inflammation. Peter Collignon (pictured) is an Australian microbiologist and infectious diseases expert Health officials in the UK are investigating 108 cases of sudden-onset hepatitis in kids since the beginning of the year - eight were so ill they had liver transplants, the BBC reported. The European Centre for Disease Control also said a number of childhood hepatitis cases have been detected in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain. There are also nine new cases in the US. Hepatitis type A and E are usually contracted as a result of poor hygiene - when a person consumes food or drink contaminated with small particles of infected faeces. But according to the British broadcaster, scientists say it is increasingly likely adenoviruses are responsible among the new cases. Prof. Collignon said there has not been a spike in hepatitis infections among Australian children, but warned 'it's entirely possible it could happen'. Being exposed to adenoviruses at a slightly later stage could cause children's immune systems to overreact and trigger hepatitis (stock image) 'The BBC article is speculative - these are theories and they will be explored,' he said. 'Hepatitis is a serious condition and we do need to sort it out.' Another scenario being investigated is whether there has been a change in the genetic make-up of the adenovirus that could mean liver inflammation is more easily triggered. None of the impacted children were vaccinated against Covid-19, ruling out any link between vaccines and hepatitis. Despite the rise of hepatitis cases internationally, Mr Collignon said the number of people who have the condition is still very small, but urged parents to watch for symptoms. People with the liver condition will experience yellowing skin and eyes, and very dark urine. 'If anyone is worried, see a doctor or go to hospital,' he added. Scott Morrison has shut down claims his government will introduce a cashless debit card for pensioners if they are reelected in the upcoming election. Mr Morrison was asked about the debit card by the Today Show's Karl Stefanovic on Thursday morning. 'This question comes from my mum: "Jenny from the block" in Cairns, she asks if she is ever going to have a cashless pensioner card if you're reelected?' Mr Morrison responded by simply saying 'no'. 'It is an absolute lie and I think it's disgraceful how they're scaring pensioners into voting Labor,' Mr Morrison said. 'No cashless debit card for pensioners, it is an atrocious lie from Labor.' The cashless debit card, being trailed in Ceduna, East Kimberley and the Goldfields. quarantines 80 per cent of JobSeeker payments for under 35s to prevent welfare being spent on alcohol, gambling and drugs. Money on the card can only be used to buy groceries, bills, clothes and petrol. Mr Morrison's comments come as several Labor MPs, including Justine Elliot and Julian Hill use social media advertising to claim the Morrison government plans to extend its cashless debit card to all age pensioners as part of a scare campaign, despite the Morrison government repeatedly ruling out such a move. The cashless debit card is being trialed in some parts of Australia. It quarantines 80 per cent of JobSeeker payments for under 35s to prevent the money being spent on alcohol, gambling and drugs. Pictured is a cashless welfare card The Labor government has used docial media advertising to claim the Morrison government plans to extend its cashless debit card to all age pensioners as part of a scare campaign. Pictured is Labor leader Anthony Albanese In July 2021 the Labor party also launched a website claiming the 'Liberal-National government wants to expand the cashless debit card to include all pensioners;'. The website says: 'Mr Morrisons Liberal-National Government wants to expand the Cashless Debit Card to include all pensioners.' '80% of your pension payment would be put on the privatised cashless card. Its not like an ordinary bank debit card it can only be used at shops that are approved by the Government,' the Labor party website claims. 'Labor will fight this governments plans to expand this shameful cashless debit card and force it onto pensioners,' it says. National Seniors Australia chief advocate Ian Henschke told 3AW the Labor scare campaign had made many pensioners fearful theyd be put onto the scheme if the government is reelected. 'Why dont we just focus on the real policies instead of the ones that are not real? This is what we should be doing,' he said. Death row's oldest inmate has had his execution stopped at the last minute because of a mistake in the preparation of the lethal injection. Oscar Smith, 72, was supposed to be killed on Thursday in Tennessee's first execution since the pandemic began and had even had his last meal of a double bacon cheeseburger and apple pie. Yet Tennessee governor Bill Lee granted a temporary reprieve for Smith, who was convicted of the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her two teenage sons, after what was called an 'oversight' in preparations for the lethal injection. The Republican governor didn't elaborate on what exactly forced the surprise stop but Amy Harwell, an attorney with the federal public defender's office representing Smith, said the issue was a 'mishandling' of the drugs. Lee said: 'Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward. 'I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol.' The inmate had been scheduled to receive a three-drug injection at a maximum security prison in Nashville. Smith became death row's oldest inmate after Texas executed Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, on Thursday evening for the June 1990 fatal shooting of Houston police officer James Irby, 37, during a traffic stop. Oscar Smith, 72, (pictured) was supposed to be killed in Tennessee on Thursday in the state's first execution since the pandemic began (File image, Tennessee Department of Correction via AP) Smith declined to choose between the chair and lethal injection, so lethal injection became the default method. Pictured: A gurney in Texas where death row inmates are strapped down to receive a lethal injection (File image) Heading into Thursday, five pending death warrants in Tennessee had tied the state with Texas for the most nationally this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Kelley Henry, another attorney with the federal public defender's office, called for an independent entity to investigate, saying no execution should happen until questions were answered. Henry said the governor did the 'right thing' by stopping the execution which would 'certainly have been torturous to Mr Smith.' Texas executed its oldest death row inmate Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, (pictured) on Thursday evening Yet Tennessee governor Bill Lee (pictured) granted a temporary reprieve for Smith, who was convicted of the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her two teenage sons, after what was called an 'oversight' in preparations for the lethal injection Capital punishment protesters had been demonstrating and praying together on the grounds of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the scheduled execution of Smith on Thursday. The US Supreme Court denied a last-hour bid by Smith's attorneys for a stay shortly before the governor intervened. His reprieve is in effect until the beginning of June. Dorinda Carter, a Department of Correction spokeswoman, said the State Supreme Court would need to reschedule the execution. She said Smith would be removed from death watch and returned to his death row cell. Just before learning of his reprieve, Smith had received communion from his spiritual adviser, who was going to be allowed in the execution chamber. Tennessee had planned for five executions this year, including Smith's. It has been seeking to resume its quick, pre-pandemic pace of putting inmates to death. Capital punishment protesters pray on the grounds of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith, Thursday, April 2 (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) A group of capital punishment protesters prays on the grounds of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the scheduled execution (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Smith had initially been scheduled for a June 2020 execution, one of several dates delayed because of the pandemic. Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith, 35, and her sons Jason and Chad Burnett, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on October 1, 1989. Smith has maintained his innocence. In a clemency filing rejected Tuesday by Lee, Smith's legal team claimed problems with the jury in his 1990 trial. His attorneys were earlier denied requests to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons. Tennessee has not conducted any executions since February 2020, when Nicholas Sutton died in the electric chair for the killing of a fellow inmate in an east Tennessee prison. Of the seven inmates Tennessee has put to death since 2018 - when Tennessee ended an execution pause stretching back to 2009 - only two died by lethal injection. Smith had earlier declined to choose between the chair and lethal injection, so lethal injection became the default method. An officer with the Tennessee Department of Correction announces to a group of anti-capital punishment demonstrators that the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith has been delayed (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) People leave the demonstration area set up for capital punishment protesters after an announcement was made that the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith has been delayed (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Tennessee uses a three-drug series to put inmates to death: midazolam, a sedative to render the inmate unconscious; vecuronium bromide, to paralyze the inmate; and potassium chloride, to stop the heart. Officials have said midazolam renders an inmate unconscious and unable to feel pain. Expert witnesses for inmates, however, say the drugs would cause sensations of drowning, suffocation and chemical burning while leaving inmates unable to move or call out. The assessment has led to more inmates selecting the electric chair over lethal injection. In Oklahoma last October, an inmate executed using the same three-drug lethal injection convulsed and vomited after receiving midazolam. Oklahoma has carried out three lethal injections since, without similar reactions reported. Tennessee's moves to continue with lethal injections come amid shortages of execution drugs in other states. South Carolina has cited its struggles to obtain lethal injection drugs in recent years, a problem in many states because pharmacies and manufacturers have refused to supply their medications for executions. PE teacher Katie Smith (above) sobbed when jailed for three years for kissing and fondling 14-year-old schoolboy she had exchanged sexual photos with on Snapchat Shocking details have emerged of how a glamorous PE teacher groomed a 14-year-old school boy with Snapchat sexts - as she walks free from prison after almost 18 months. Katie Elizabeth Smith, 30, bombarded the teenager with sexually explicit messages and sexual videos and photos while teaching at a NSW Hunter Valley school. Smith also fondled and touched him but was later convicted and jailed after her attempt to blame the affair on the child failed to convince police. It can now be revealed that Smith urged him to stay silent and warned he would get 'into trouble' with law enforcement if he didn't do as she said. During their months-long dalliance, Smith lured the boy to a storeroom where they kissed as she placed her hand onto his school shorts. They met in a car park where she touched his genitals, the Court of Criminal Appeal heard this week. The boy then returned to class and during their affair sent Smith three photos of his private parts, one of himself naked and and one video of himself naked or engaging in a sexual act. Katie Smith (above) at court before she was sentenced in 2020 when she sobbed uncontrollably and still blamed the 14-year-old boy for her sex crimes The then 26-year-old teacher responded with five intimate photos of herself and two videos of herself, including one of her performing a sex act. Multiple sexual images were exchanged between the boy and Smith over at least five months. The details of how the illegal affair rapidly accelerated days after the schoolboy added Smith to his Snapchat account in late 2018 have now been laid bare after she successfully appealed her sentence. Smith, who sobbed uncontrollably in the dock in 2020 when a judge sent her away for a maximum three years and ten months jail, has had 18 months slashed off her sentence. The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal judgment outlining reasons why Smith has been allowed out from behind bars early also describes how long after she was caught she blamed the schoolboy for instigating the sex affair. It also reveals that on the day NSW Police told Smith turned up to arrest her - February 14, 2019 - Ms Smith secretly rang the schoolboy, who had just turned 15. Katie Smith, 28, a PE teacher at a school in NSW's Hunter region was jailed for more than two years for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old schoolboy she kissed and fondled 'When the victim phoned her that day she told him that the police were at her home and that he should not tell anyone what had occurred between them as they would both 'get into trouble' and asked the victim to delete her number', the CCA judgement read. Even when she was being sentenced, Smith still sought to 'minimise her behaviour and to deflect blame ... onto the child victim'. Katie Smith's criminal acts with the teenage boy began with grooming sometime after July 1, 2018 when they saw each other at the school and they connected on Snapchat. Smith never taught the boy, but one week after exchanging simple Snapchat greetings, the messages became sexual. The boy sent Smith a photo of his genitals, and she responded with one of her bare breasts covered by her hands, to which he sent another explicit image of himself and she replied with a picture of her hand on the outside of her underwear. The next day Smith sent the boy a close-up photo of her breast, he responded with an image of his private parts, and she sent back another photo of herself, the court heard. The following week, the boy sent MsSmith a sexually explicit video of himself, and she sent him a video of herself. It was after that they had the encounter in the storeroom, where she pulled down her shirt. The exchange of sexual images ceased on December 22, 2019, when the schoolboy went on holidays with his family and had no internet access. Smith sobbed uncontrollably when a judge sentenced her to more than three years in prison after issuing 'a stern message' about sexual crimes against children In the last three weeks of the school holidays, the boy and Smith met in a carpark where they kissed and performed sex acts. Further exchanges of sexually explicit images continued until they began circulating around the school and the boy confessed to his mother. Smith was arrested and charged with grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, indecent assault of a person under 16 and intentionally sexually touching a child between 10 and 16. Smith pleaded guilty and in September, 2020 broke down in court when NSW District Court Judge Kara Shead jailed her and issued 'a stern message' about sexual crimes against children. The maximum penalty for each of her three crimes is ten years. Instead of remaining by bars until Christmas this year, Smith served just one year and five months and was released from prison on February 3 this year, Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal. It was revealed on Friday that in February the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal had reduced her sentence, making her eligible for release in February. The 28-year-old has been in prison since September 2020 after admitting her guilt to sexually grooming the schoolboy for unlawful sexual activity The court heard Smith had not wanted to have sex with the student but craved attention due to issues she was facing with her husband. She claimed she just 'wanted to be told I was pretty' and would always 'do anything and everything to get attention'. In sentencing Smith, District Court Judge Kara Shead accepted the teacher had a borderline personality disorder and was seeking therapy, but had said this did not reduce her moral culpability. The judge noted the 'absolute prohibition on sexual activity with a child' and the serious breach of trust involved in Smith's conduct. She said Smith had preyed on the victim and exploited his vulnerability. Courts must send 'a stern message' that sexual crimes against children, particularly by teachers, is unacceptable, the judge said. A transgender woman has slammed Pauline Hanson after she was allegedly told it was her 'choice' to transition. Rebecca Hammond, 46, bumped into the One Nation leader at Elizabeth City Centre in Elizabeth, north of Adelaide, on Thursday. Ms Hanson was on the campaign trail and endorsing Spence candidate Linda Champion and Senate candidate Jennifer Game. Ms Hammond approached the One Nation leader wanting to know what Ms Hanson would do for the transgender community. A transgender woman has slammed Pauline Hanson after she was told it was her 'choice' to transition Rebecca Hammond, 46, bumped into the One Nation leader at Elizabeth City Centre in Elizabeth, north of Adelaide, on Thursday 'She said "it's our choice to be on hormones", but it's not. We were born this way,' she told Adelaide Now. 'I would have liked for her to offer some extra financial support or even mental support.' Ms Hammond said the topic of transgender athletes competing in female sport was also a thorny issue with the One Nation leader. 'She agrees with transgender people but she doesn't agree with transgender people in sport,' she said. The frosty conversation appeared to be the only hiccup during Ms Hanson's visit with the One Nation leader surrounded by friendly voters. 'Super fan' Gage Savage, 23, said Ms Hanson was like Jesus to him. 'I stand for the Australians, so does Pauline Hanson,' he said. 'It doesn't matter whether she worked at a fish and chip shop to start off, I respect that.' Ms Hanson said many voters felt left out by the two major parties and that One Nation was here to listen. 'These people feel they've been forgotten, left behind and they're not being listened to by the major political parties,' she said. 'They see my passion, they see that I'm not afraid to speak up, they see that I have fought for them on these certain issues.' The frosty conversation appeared to be the only hiccup during Ms Hanson's visit with the One Nation leader surrounded by adoring voters 'Super fan' Gage Savage, 23, said Ms Hanson was like Jesus to him (pictured, Elizabeth City Centre) A spokesperson from Ms Hanson's office clarified the One Nation leader's comment to Ms Hammond. 'Its not necessarily their choice they feel transgender, but how they deal with it, is their choice, it should be their choice,' the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 'Senator Hanson is completely against allowing trans-women to compete in womens sport. It is unfair to biological women and it potentially puts their safety at risk. 'Senator Hanson is adamant if trans people want to play sport they can form their own competition.' The topic of transgender athletes competing in female sport has been a major controversy during the election campaign. Natalie Barr questioned Scott Morrison's support for a Liberal candidate who criticised the transgender community during a fiery live interview on Friday. The Sunrise host asked the Prime Minister why he hadn't disendorsed federal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves who was recently slammed for a series of 'transphobic' social media posts. Mr Morrison pointed to the fact Ms Deves was raising three daughters of her own, had a law degree and that she continued to advocate for women and girls in sport. 'There are comments she's made in the past that she's been very clear about were insensitive and that's not how she would seek to continue to pursue those issues, to stand up for women and girls in sport,' he told the host on Friday morning. Starbucks workers at the coffee giant's flagship roastery in Seattle voted Thursday to form a union, the chain's latest location to form a collective bargaining unit against the wishes of CEO Howard Schultz. The Seattle store voted 38-27 to unionize. Workers United said 26 Starbucks locations have unionized nationwide. The Starbucks Reserve and Roastery in the Capitol Hill neighborhood is the business' second to unionize in its hometown of Seattle. 'As we have said throughout, we will respect the process and will bargain in good faith. We hope that the union does the same,' Reggie Borges, a spokesman for Starbucks, said in a statement. Starbucks has multiple flagship stores. The Seattle outlet joined the one in New York in forming a union. Starbucks workers at the coffee giant's flagship roastery in Seattle voted Thursday to form a union, the chain's latest location to form a collective bargaining unit The Starbucks Reserve and Roastery in the Capitol Hill neighborhood is the business' second to unionize in its hometown of Seattle The news came as a leaked video posted by the account 'More Perfect Union' showed Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on a call with managers slamming the unionization efforts EXCLUSIVE: In a leaked video call, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz begged managers to increase their union busting. The billionaire CEO blasted unionizing, hourly employees as so-called workers and some outside force thats going to dictate or disrupt who we are and what we do. pic.twitter.com/KIFI5FzDxr More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) April 21, 2022 In the leaked call, Starbucks CEO smeared @SBWorkersUnited with baseless rumors. I wasnt there, but there are stories that people potentially had been bullied not to vote, Schultz said. Starbucks has been charged with illegally pressuring workers to vote against the union. pic.twitter.com/vcSuoY0hhA More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) April 21, 2022 'A big part of it is just that we don't have a seat at the table, we don't have a voice in our workplace,' said Liz Duran, an operations lead at Starbucks. 'People have been pushed to the edge more and more and more throughout recent years, and with the breaking point being over, the COVID pandemic really just bringing workers to a point where you realize the power that we really do have.' The news came as a leaked video posted by the outlet 'More Perfect Union' showed Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on a call with managers slamming the unionization efforts, which he called 'a new, outside force that's trying desperately to disrupt our company.' Rossann Williams, Starbucks' president for North America, told managers it is 'your number one responsibility' to get store employees to vote no. This campaign also comes on the heels of corporate union drives at Amazon, Apple and at other Starbucks locations. Rossann Williams, Starbucks president for North America, joined Schultz for the call. She told managers it is your number one responsibility to persuade store employees to vote no. Williams claims there has been zero union-busting the NLRB disagrees. pic.twitter.com/kAinawqH65 More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) April 21, 2022 More than 100 Starbucks stores have announced their aspirations to follow suit amid the wave of activism. Senator Bernie Sanders, a former presidential candidate, himself is planning two events on Sunday, one to rally with workers at the Staten Island Amazon and the other at the Richmond, Virginia Starbucks. Sanders, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, is calling the pair of events 'Solidarity Sunday' and promoted it in a tweet. 'From Amazon warehouses to Starbucks locations across the country, there is a common thread: a working class sick of being exploited while corporations rake in record profits,' he wrote. 'I look forward to joining Amazon workers in New York and Starbucks workers in Virginia this Sunday.' Senator Bernie Sanders, a former presidential candidate, himself is planning two events on Sunday, one to rally with workers at the Staten Island Amazon and the other at the Richmond, Virginia Starbucks Workers at an Apple Inc store in Atlanta filed a petition on Wednesday to hold a union election, seeking to become the company's first U.S. store to unionize amid a wave of labor activity at other major firms. The effort at the Apple store in Cumberland Mall is backed by the Communications Workers of America, according to a news release issued by the union and involved workers. More than 70 percent of the 107 workers eligible to join the union - in sales, technical, creative and operations roles - signed cards expressing a desire to organize, the union said. A spokesperson for the U.S. National Labor Relations Board confirmed that the agency's Atlanta office received the union petition on Wednesday. If certain conditions are met, the NLRB works with the union and the employer to arrange an election. Sydney Rhodes (second from left) and other employees at Apple's Cumberland Mall location in Atlanta are pictured together. Seventy percent of the store's 107 employees expressed a desire to launch a union at the location, which would be the first among Apple's 272 U.S. stores The effort at the Apple store in Cumberland Mall (pictured) is backed by the Communications Workers of America, according to a news release issued by the union and workers involved in the effort 'We work hard at Apple because we really believe in the products and the company and we want to make sure that every Apple worker is able to afford quality housing and basic living expenses,' Elli Daniels, an Apple worker who is part of the union effort, said in a statement. Only 6.3 percent of private sector workers belonged to unions in 2020, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics. Private sector union membership declined by 428,000 in 2020 from the year before. The move serves as the latest in a wave of unionization efforts in a labor landscape drastically changed by the pandemic, as workers taking advantage of a demand for manpower seek better wages, benefits, working conditions, and shorter working hours. Earlier this month, Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island voted to unionize in a historical vote that saw the first labor union with the e-commerce giant, despite fierce pushback by Amazon brass. A vote at a second Staten Island Amazon site is scheduled for later in April. On April 1, employees at the fulfillment center known as JFK8 voted 2,654 to 2,131 in support of the Amazon Labor Union, according to a count by the National Labor Relations Board Civil servants who complained about Priti Patel's Rwanda policy have been slapped down by their boss and told to get on with the job. The Home Office's top civil servant yesterday warned his staff that leaks which had attempted to undermine the policy had been a breach of the civil service code. Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft addressed concerns about the Rwanda agreement in a group call with mutinous employees who, the Daily Mail revealed yesterday, had even threatened to refuse to work on implementing the policy. The Home Secretary's Rwanda plan has met fierce opposition - including Home Office staff It is understood Mr Rycroft made a robust defence of the programme which will see some migrants who arrive in Britain through 'irregular routes' such as across the Channel sent 4,000 miles to the East African nation to claim asylum there. A letter Mr Rycroft sent to the Home Secretary was misreported in some newspapers earlier this week and it was claimed he had opposed the policy. When the full letter emerged it was clear the mandarin had concluded it was 'regular, proper and feasible for this policy to proceed'. During yesterday's Home Office group call, Mr Rycroft warned that leaks attempting to 'kibosh' the policy were against the civil service code, to which all Home Office employees must adhere. The Archbishop of Canterbury used his Easter address to slam the policy as 'ungodly' He also stressed ministers decide policy and civil servants have an obligation to carry out ministers' orders, the Mail understands. Allegations of racism against the Rwanda policy by Home Office employees were rejected during the call and staff were told it will apply to migrants depending on their mode of arrival, not on their race. A significant proportion of Channel migrants are white, from countries such as Albania, official figures show. A senior manager on the Home Office call stressed that it was the department's job to tackle people smuggling and prevent further loss of life in the Channel, after 27 men, women and children drowned last November in the worst tragedy since the crisis began. It comes after the Mail reported yesterday how Miss Patel was facing a mutiny by staff, with some even threatening to strike. Civil servants branded the Rwanda policy 'totally unethical' before yesterday's session with Mr Rycroft and asked if they would be able to refuse to work on it. One comment on an internal online noticeboard drew a comparison to serving under the Third Reich. In a reference to the post-war Nazi trials at Nuremberg, an anonymous civil servant wrote: 'The words 'I was only obeying orders' are echoing down through history to me and making me queasy.' Another asked: 'Do we have a responsibility to not just leave, but to organise and resist?' In further questions for the permanent secretary posted online just before yesterday's session began, a civil servant asked if they would get a pay rise as a result of the Rwanda deal. The negativity in the Home Office provided further evidence of officials' attempts to undermine Miss Patel's efforts to tackle the Channel crisis. Earlier this year a trade union representing the majority of Border Force workers joined with a migrant charity to challenge the legality of measures to turn boats back to France. BlackCat Ransomware gang is now under the close monitoring of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which prompted the release of a White Flash alert warning. BlackCat ransomware gang, also known as ALPHV, has already compromised 60 entities worldwide. The Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group breached these networks worldwide between November 2021 and March 2022. The recently established BlackCat group is known for demanding ransom payments in the millions of dollars and for carrying out cyberattacks using Rust, an extremely sophisticated coding language. This warning, issued by the FBI Cyber Division, is one of several reports the FBI is issuing about the rise in ransomware cases. The warning, according to the FBI, emphasizes the need for increased business awareness in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, such as ransomware. BlackCat Cyberattacks BlackCat, the ransomware group, is also known as Noberus and AlphaV. According to Forbes, BlackCat has targeted a number of high-profile individuals and sought ransom payments of millions of dollars. In February, the organization claimed responsibility for an attack against Swissport, a provider of aviation services. It had previously named German energy companies Oiltanking and Mabanaft as victims in a letter sent a month earlier. The fact that this malware was created using the Rust programming language distinguishes BlackCat from numerous cyber ransomware groups. Rust is a coding language that can be used on embedded devices and can be integrated with other languages to create more complex programs. Aside from being highly customisable, BlackCat's ransomware executable also comes with support for a variety of encryption methods and features, making it simple to tailor cyberattacks to use in a variety of corporate situations. The FBI confirmed BlackCat's use of Rust, stating, "is the first ransomware group to do so successfully using RUST, considered to be a more secure programming language that offers improved performance and reliable concurrent processing." BlackMatter as BlackCat BlackCat is now widely believed to be a rebrand of previous ransomware groups, Darkside and BlackMatter. According to Bleeping Computer, the FBI stated, "Many of the developers and money launderers for BlackCat/ALPHV are linked to Darkside/Blackmatter, indicating they have extensive networks and experience with ransomware operations." DarkSide RaaS began operating in August 2020, but it was halted in May 2021 after law enforcement agencies tried to get rid of the gang after the attack on Colonial Pipeline. As of July 31st, they changed their name to BlackMatter. A member of the LockBit ransomware gang was the first to reveal that BlackCat and BlackMatter are linked to one another, a month after BlackCat ransomware launched in November 2021. Another piece of evidence supporting this report is the fact that BlackMatter and DarkSide, and BlackCat's ransomware software, both run on Rust. Read Also: Top 4 Best CPU for 2022: Different Picks From AMD and Intel That Suits Your Needs Defending Systems Against Data Breach With the release of the FBI's White Flash Warning, the FBI has put together a list of safety precautions for businesses in the United States that want to keep their data safe. According to Tech Co., here are some of the recommendations to follow that can help protect companies and organizations safe from BlackCat and other ransomware gangs. When it is possible, use multi-factor authentication. Examine domain controllers for user accounts that aren't properly arranged. Use virtual private networks (VPNs) instead of connecting to unsecured networks. Change passwords for network systems on a regular basis, and use different passwords for different accounts. Anti-malware and antivirus software should be installed and updated on a regular basis throughout company networks. Lastly, if a system has been breached, the FBI recommends reporting immediately to the authorities and disabling the payment of ransoms since this will not guarantee files will be retrieved. Related Article: 2 Teenagers Connected to Lapsus$ Hacking Spree Finally Charged Anthony Albanese risks being upstaged by one of this frontbenchers during his week in isolation with Covid - with journalists and social media users captivated by his 'articulate' stand-in. Western Sydney MP Jason Clare took media questions on behalf of Labor at a press conference on Friday as Mr Albanese began his first day in isolation. Mr Clare impressed the press gallery enough that one reporter to ask him why he wasn't Labor's leader. 'The short answer is Albanese is the leader this country needs,' Mr Clare laughed in response. 'They have a choice here, between honest Albo and smirking Scott. Australians will make that choice very clear.' Mr Clare also addressed previous comments by Labor deputy leader Richard Marles on China by going on the attack against Scott Morrison, quoting a previous comment by the prime minister that China provided 'real stability to the region'. Mr Clare was forced to defend Mr Marles after a report in The Australian said the ALP deputy leader had dismissed concerns over China's expanding presence in the Pacific in 2019, including the possibility of it setting up military bases on Pacific island nations. The revelation undercuts Labor's attack on Mr Morrison's government for what Mr Clare said was an 'epic fail' in allowing China to sign a pact with the Solomon Islands. The shadow minister for housing and homelessness also addressed aged care and NDIS issues, before restating a list of Mr Morrison's 'failures'. 'He was articulate, he was on message, he took the questions. You get a better idea of how a good communicator can get across these issues,' Sky News presenter Laura Jayes said of Mr Clare's performance. Labor spokesperson Jason Clare won instant plaudits for his press conference performance standing in for Anthony Albanese after the opposition leader got Covid and went into a week's isolation Mr Clare with partner Louise (left) and son Jack. The handsome MP for Blaxland has been in parliament since 2007 'Jason Clare is really putting a spanner in media's works. Handling the press pack brilliantly and handling questions with aplomb,' one observer tweeted. 'A very impressive performance from Labors campaign spokesman, Jason Clare, stepping up in Anthony Albaneses absence. Confident, articulate, positive in patches, piercing in others,' tweeted Canberra Times politics reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy. Social media users were quick to praise the performance of Mr Clare as Labor's spokesperson after leader Anthony Albanese was forced into isolation by Covid 'Confident, articulate, positive in patches, piercing in others,' tweeted politics reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy 'Holy hell, Jason Clare absolutely smashed his presser!' another watcher posted. 'Jason Clare is the Labor star performer. More Jason less Albo,' tweeted another admirer. Mr Clare, the MP for Blaxland in Sydney's west, has been in parliament since 2007 and been re-elected four times since. His electorate takes in suburbs such as Berala, Chester Hill, Condell Park, Milperra, South Grandville, Villawood and Yagoona. Opposition leader Anthony Albanese pictured with the Labor candidate for the seat of Bennelong Jerome Laxale at a cafe in Top Ryde, Sydney on the day Mr Albanese tested postive for Covid The 50-year-old lawyer has been a regular spokesperson since the campaign for the May 21 Federal poll started but is expected to share media duties with other Labor frontbenchers such as Marles, Tony Burke and Tanya Plibersek this week while Mr Albanese recovers from Covid. Mr Clare was Minister for Home Affairs and Justice in 2011-2013 when the ALP was last in government. He went to Cabramatta Primary School and was dux of Canley Vale High School in 1989. Mr Clare married his long-time girlfriend Louise Tran in 2012 and they have two children, Atticus and Jack. Green levies should remain on energy bills despite the cost of living crisis, the Prime Minister said last night. Tory MPs are urging Boris Johnson to scrap the taxes, which add about 160 a year to energy bills, to help households as gas and oil prices reach record levels. But the PM said that while the Government wants to do everything we can to alleviate the cost of living, scrapping green levies is not the way. Tory MPs are urging Boris Johnson to scrap the taxes, which add about 160 a year to energy bills, to help households as gas and oil prices reach record levels Levies are aimed at discouraging the use of inefficient sources of energy and encouraging the implementation of environmentally friendly alternatives. Overall if you look at what we have done with renewables it has helped to reduce bills over the last few years and will continue to do so, Mr Johnson told reporters during a visit to India yesterday. He refused to rule out taking more steps to ease cost of living pressures, and he defended existing measures. However, critics have said that policies to ease the crisis, including a 150 council rebate for people in bands A-D, do not go far enough. The PM said that while the Government wants to do everything we can to alleviate the cost of living, scrapping green levies is not the way. The Prime Minister is seen using a spinning wheel on his visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in India The PM said: Well do whatever we can to help, but dont forget what weve already done: so theres the council tax abatement of 150 for everybody in bands A to D homes. Weve cut taxes for most people by lifting the NICs threshold. Thats actually quite a big tax cut for loads of people. Were continuing with all the supports that weve got, weve cut fuel duty by the biggest amount ever, 5p cut in fuel duty. Asked if he was ruling out more measures pre-autumn, the PM said: Im saying well do everything we can to help, but Im pointing to what weve already done. Rishi Sunak is safe in his job until the autumn but Priti Patel could be ousted in a summer reshuffle, Boris Johnson has hinted. The Prime Minister gave his beleaguered Chancellor his full support, but refused to do the same for the Home Secretary. Miss Patel's failure to stop small boats crossing the Channel has angered Tory MPs, but her controversial play to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda impressed backbenchers. Meanwhile, the Chancellor has endured a torrid few weeks in which his family's tax affairs have come under scrutiny, and he was fined for breaking Covid rules. The Prime Minister did not rule out carrying out a reshuffle of his Cabinet in June, as he battles to remain in No 10 after being fined over breaching his coronavirus laws. But on a visit to India, Mr Johnson told reporters that Mr Sunak will still be the Chancellor in the autumn. 'The answer to that is yes,' the PM said. The Prime Minister did not rule out carrying out a reshuffle of his Cabinet in June, as he battles to remain in No 10 after being fined over breaching his coronavirus laws. Mr Sunak had been on resignation watch after the fines were issued, but chose to stay on, in a move seen as helping the Prime Minister stay on to fight another day Miss Patel's failure to stop small boats crossing the Channel has angered Tory MPs, but her controversial play to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda impressed backbenchers Mr Sunak had been on resignation watch after the fines were issued, but chose to stay on, in a move seen as helping the Prime Minister stay on to fight another day. However, he refused to give the Home Secretary the same assurance. 'You've just reminded me of rule number one which I totally forgot about,' the PM said. 'Rule number one: don't talk about politicians, talk about what politicians can do for the electorate. 'Let's talk about what we're doing and let's not talk about who's going to do it.' Asked why he was guaranteeing Mr Sunak's job but not the Home Secretary's, Mr Johnson said: 'Well there you go. Well, c'est la vie. 'Do you know, to repeat what I've just said, I am saying no more about personnel, the prosopographical approach is not right. 'This is about, it's about what you're doing for people, and that fundamentally why I think it's right to get on this plane and why it's right for the Government to get on with what it's doing.' The Prime Minister appeared exasperated when pressed for a third time. 'Oh for heaven's sake,' he told reporters. 'I'm sorry I broke my rule, you're not going to get any more out of me about politicians or Westminster politics narrowly conceived. 'We've got to focus on the agenda for the country.' Mr Johnson has stuck by Ms Patel despite an investigation by his then standards chief finding in 2020 she broke the ministerial code with behaviour towards civil servants that amounted to bullying. Mr Johnson told reporters that Mr Sunak will still be the Chancellor in the autumn. 'The answer to that is yes,' the PM said British Home Secretary Priti Patel reacts at the Conservative Party Spring Conference in Blackpool, Britain March 19, 2022 She was last week behind the eye-catching announcement of sending some asylum seekers arriving by unauthorised means 4,000 miles to Rwanda on a one-way ticket. The policy was seen as an offer to shore up support among Conservative hardliners, as Mr Johnson suffers from the fallout of breaches of coronavirus rules in Downing Street. Mr Johnson praised the Home Secretary for doing an 'outstanding job' on the asylum scheme, which's critics ranging from refugee charities to Tory MPs to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Questions will now remain over whether the Prime Minister will choose to go ahead with a cabinet reshuffle in the summer. He did however vow to stay on in No 10 himself despite how many additional fines he gets for breaking Covid laws. Asked on the plane to Gujarat if he will fight the next general election, he replied bluntly: 'Of course, yes.' Almost 72,000 UK visas have now been issued to Ukrainian refugees, figures showed yesterday, but fewer than a third have arrived so far. Official data showed more than 107,000 people applied for visas under two schemes, including 66,000 through the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship programme. It means there is still a backlog of more than 35,000 applications to process. The sponsorship scheme which allows British hosts to open their homes to Ukrainian evacuees has issued 39,300 visas after painful start. Viktoria Artemenko (right) and her children Violetta (left) and Vitaly (centre), pictured in eastern Poland, applied for UK citizenship in March. A Manchester family offered to take them Only 6,600 of those refugees have arrived in the UK so far. And under the family scheme for Ukrainians with existing links to the UK 32,500 visas have been issued, of whom 15,000 have arrived. Officials believe some people applied for visas so they have the option of coming to the UK but are choosing to stay in countries bordering Ukraine so they can return home sooner. Others may have applied but then changed their minds, deciding to travel elsewhere. And some will be waiting for everyone in their family to receive permission to travel letters or visas before they depart for the UK. There has been widespread concern about the length of time it has taken for visas to be issued. The government's Home for Ukraine scheme (website screenshot) has housed few refugees Anxious would-be hosts are to stage a Vigil for Ukrainian Visas outside the Home Office in Westminster tomorrow. Some who applied on the first day the scheme opened have been waiting five weeks for visas to be approved. One volunteer host planning to take part in the protest said: Were tired of the the dog ate your visa-type excuses the Home Office is using. This time lag will cost lives. Ive promised my home to a family and every night I worry that I will wake up to the news they will never be coming. Refugees minister Lord Harrington has said he wants to get processing times down to 48 hours. The world was warned last night that it is facing a human catastrophe as Vladimir Putin stokes a global famine. World Bank president David Malpass said the record rises in food costs triggered by Russias invasion of Ukraine could push hundreds of millions of people into malnutrition and poverty. His warning came as Ireland accused Putin of using military tactics to engineer a worldwide food crisis on top of a massive wave of refugees and soaring energy costs. World Bank president David Malpass (pictured at COP26) said Putin could start global famine The war between Russia and Ukraine, which together export more than a quarter of the worlds wheat, has sent prices soaring. The US-based World Bank, which provides loans and grants to low and middle-income countries for capital projects, calculates there will be a staggering 37 per cent rise in food costs. It said the effect will be magnified for the poor who will have to eat less and will be left with little money for anything else. African countries who rely heavily on Russian and Ukrainian grain exports will be hardest hit, according to Germanys Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Mr Malpass said: Its a human catastrophe, meaning nutrition goes down. But then it also becomes a political challenge for governments who cant do anything about it they didnt cause it and they see the prices going up. Ukraine and Russia produce 25 per cent of Earth's grain (under-used wheat warehouse, Lviv) On soaring prices, Mr Malpass told the BBC: Its affecting food of all different kinds... oils, grains and then it gets into other crops corn crops because they go up when wheat goes up. He said global stockpiles are large by historic standards, but there will have to be a sharing or sales process to get the food to where it is needed most. He stressed the focus needed to be on increasing supplies across the world of fertilisers and food, alongside assistance for the poorest people. The World Bank chief also warned of a crisis within a crisis arising from the inability of developing countries to service large pandemic debts amid sharply rising food and energy prices. He was speaking days after the head of the United Nations World Food Programme warned of a dire food crisis. Soaring supermarket prices and a wave of refugees have been blamed on the war (file image) Chief executive David Beasley said the shortage in food caused by the war could lead to catastrophe on top of a catastrophe. Meanwhile, Irish prime minister Micheal Martin said Putin was intent on causing huge international instability around food by deliberately targeting grain silos. He insisted: The largest grain silos in Ukraine have all been levelled so theres a very clear strategic objective to create a food crisis on top of the energy crisis that has been created as well as waging an immoral and unjust war on Ukraine itself. He was speaking after being briefed by Ukraines prime minister Denys Shmyhal during an hour-long meeting on a stopover on his way to Washington this week. Mr Martin said that Putin wanted to create a major food crisis as part of his crimes against humanity. He added that he and Mr Shmyhal had discussed how the Kremlin was trying to bomb people out of Ukraine by creating so much terror they had no choice but to flee. Olive the labradors tail had a happy ending yesterday as she was back in her owners arms after being trapped down an old 12ft deep mineshaft for four days. Jo Belton and daughter Charlotte put up missing posters after the two-year-old pet vanished during a walk in countryside on the outskirts of Sheffield. Volunteers from Homebound Animal Rescue Response Team Search and Rescue had used drones and thermal imaging cameras in vain but as hope faded, family friend Phil Robinson heard a whimper and found the red fox lab bedraggled but unhurt. After firefighters pulled Olive out and vets gave her the all-clear, student Charlotte said: Its a miracle. This is the moment the Belton family from Sheffield were reunited with their Labrador dog, Olive, who was trapped in a mineshaft for four days The dog fell down this mine shaft and was unable to make her way back to the surface A specialist rescue team where able to recover the dog safely from the bottom of the shaft Mr Robinson had heard a whimper as he walked through a field and found the opening, which had been obscured by long grass. She had fallen down the hole in the ground and survived by licking water running down the walls of the shaft. Mrs Belton, 52, and the team from HART SAR - Homebound Animal Rescue Response Team Search and Rescue - raced to the scene and called the South Yorkshire Fire Service to finish the job. A firefighter duly went down with a rope and ladder, gave her some food and water to calm her down, scooped a bedraggled but relieved Olive up into his arms and brought her to the surface. She was just as delighted as her owners to be reunited with the mother and daughter, who were on hand to give her a pat and cuddle. Olive was taken straight to see the vet for a check-up but was given the all clear. Charlotte Belton, a student, described the happy reunion as a miracle. She said: Thank you so much to every single person who has been searching for her, we cant believe we have our angel back. She was completely fine other than the fact shes lost a lot of weight. She has no injuries or broken bones or anything and she still seemed herself. Olive and several of her Labrador brothers and sisters was out on her daily walk in a wooded area when she suddenly went missing. Simon Marples, of HART SAR, said the newly-formed search group searched for four days without success until family friend Phil Robinson heard Olive whimpering and realised she had fallen into the hole. When something like this happens you would think they would be barking but sometimes the dog goes quiet, he said. Thankfully she was found and is okay. He described the mine shaft opening as very dangerous and said it had been fenced off to prevent further accidents and there were plans to fill it in. EU chiefs are asking workers to buck the trend of returning to the office after the pandemic to help defeat Vladimir Putin. They want employees to work from home at least three days a week to reduce the consumption of imported Russian oil and gas. The money Moscow makes from its exports is helping to fund Putins war in Ukraine. The EU cannot find alternative supplies at the moment, so it wants citizens to adjust their lifestyles. The nine-point plan called Playing My Part, drawn up with the International Energy Agency, asks workers to avoid commuting and drive more slowly to use less fuel. The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil It encourages them to heat homes less in winter and turn air conditioning down in summer. It is estimated the range of measures would save a typical household 375 a year. The IEA calculates that if every citizen followed the plan, it could save 220million barrels of oil and 17billion cubic metres of gas a year. Fatih Birol, of the IEA, said the aim was to reduce the flow of money to Russias military and help put us on a path to a cleaner and more sustainable planet. The nine-point plan called Playing My Part, drawn up with the International Energy Agency, asks workers to avoid commuting and drive more slowly to use less fuel. Pictured, the Russian-flagged oil tanker Pegas in January In March, the EU announced a plan to become independent from Russian energy imports by 2030. This week the German energy minister Christian Lindner said it would be impossible to stop oil imports immediately. Germany is facing speed limits on its famously unregulated autobahns - federal motorways - to save fuel and cut Russian imports. Germanys Green Party, which is in a three-party governing coalition, is pushing for a temporary 80mph limit. Austria has cut all fares on public transport to three euros per day and is introducing a programme to help low-income households replace old inefficient appliances. Sir Keir Starmer was yesterday forced to apologise for misleading the Commons by claiming Boris Johnson attacked the BBC over its Ukraine coverage. He claimed on Wednesday Mr Johnson accused the BBC of being too soft on Vladimir Putin. The PM rejected this claim. After a Tory backbencher accused Sir Keir of misleading the House, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he would look into the matter. Yesterday morning, before the debate on whether the PM had misled the House, Sir Keir stood up to make his own statement, saying: Im more than happy to withdraw my comments. Sir Keir Starmer withdrew his comments claiming Boris Johnson had accused the BBC of being too soft on Vladimir Putin Meanwhile Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he is sincerely sorry for attending a birthday gathering for the PM during lockdown. Mr Starmer told the House: The Prime Ministers comments on Tuesday night to his backbencher were briefed to journalists by a spokesperson. Those comments were reasonably interpreted by several media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph, as being criticisms of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the BBC for their comments and coverage of Ukraine. Government ministers were out on broadcast rounds yesterday morning and didnt seek to correct that interpretation. But since then, the Government has corrected the record and said the Prime Ministers comments only referred to the Archbishop and not the BBC. So Im more than happy to echo that correction and withdraw my comments of yesterday. The apology referred to an attack made by Sir Keir the day before at Prime Ministers Question Time. Sir Keir said: The Government has corrected the record and said the Prime Ministers comments only referred to the Archbishop and not the BBC. So Im more than happy to echo that correction and withdraw my comments of yesterday' The Labour leader said: The PM also accused the BBC of not being critical enough of Putin. Would the PM have the guts to say that to the face of Clive Myrie, Lyse Doucet and Steve Rosenberg who have all risked their lives, day in day out, on the front line in Russia and Ukraine uncovering Putins barbarism? Mr Johnson replied: I said nothing of the kind and I have the highest admiration - as a former journalist - for what journalists do. I think they do an outstanding job. I think he should withdraw what he just said - it has absolutely no basis or foundation in truth. The Prime Minister added: I did not attack the BBC last night for their coverage of Ukraine. He must be out of his tiny mind. Tory MPs would be prepared to testify to that, he noted. Australian banks are being forced to repay billions of dollars in refunds after asking thousands of customers to pay for 'junk insurance'. A whopping 6.5million Aussies will be repaid their share of $10billion banks are putting aside for victims who bought the 'add-on' insurance. The banking Royal Commission found institutions had asked customers to cough up extra for the 'unnecessary' insurance when applying for credit cards or loans. Bank employees were given a bonus if they sold the insurance, with dozens of Australians agreeing to pay and others unaware of the extra cost. Customers are now being encouraged to delve into their bank statements to see if they have been unknowingly paying for junk insurance. Australian banks are being forced to repay billions of dollars in refunds after asking thousands of customers to pay for 'junk insurance' (stock image) A whopping 6.5million Aussies will be repaid their share of $10billion banks have been forced to put aside to repay victims who bought the 'add-on' insurance (stock image) Brisbane woman Lucy Rolley discovered she had been 'ripped off' by her bank after revisiting a loan she received to purchase a car over a decade ago. The Brisbane woman - who was just 21 when she applied for the loan - was told she wouldn't receive the funds unless she paid for extra insurance. Ms Rolley diligently agreed to pay the extra cost and ended up forking out nearly $60,000 for the car that should have cost her just $26,000. After employing the help of Claimo, a private company who help claim back funds, she was refunded around $18,000. The banking Royal Commission found institutions had asked customers to cough up extra for the insurance when applying for credit cards or loans (stock image) Father and daughter Ricky Emmett and Nicole Venianakis from Victoria had a similar success story after discovering they had also been paying for the insurance. Ricky was refunded $9,847 he spent on unwanted insurance across three car loans, while his daughter Nicole received $2,900 from two car loans. Australians eager to recover their share of refunds up to $10billion have been urged to start looking through their bank statements with a fine-tooth comb. A regular monthly cost that can't be explained may be the clue that hard-earned dollars are being spent on an unnecessary insurance. Brisbane woman Lucy Rolley discovered she had been 'ripped off' by her bank after revisiting a loan she received to purchase a car over a decade ago (stock image) Customers are encouraged to reach out to their bank or money lender to discuss any fees they don't understand and ensure they know why it's being paid. 7NEWS Finance Editor Gemma Acton said joining a class action lawsuit was also a viable option as well as getting a private company to do some digging around. Australian Financial Complaints Authority or the Consumer Action Law Centre could also prove helpful in lodging a claim for a refund, she said. 'Start by looking at your statements and figuring out if you think you might be involved,' Ms Acton said. It's estimated at least 6.5million Australians have been affected by 'junk insurance' that has been sold to customers for at least 15 years. A mother of an ex-bikie who suddenly dropped dead at work has shared a cryptic warning about people 'getting out of control' as she mourns her son's death. One-time Bandidos hardman Ricky Chapman, 32, died after suffering a medical episode at Rio Tinto's port in Cape Lambert, about 1,500km north of Perth, at about 10 pm on Wednesday. Chapman's grieving mother Suzy Stinger shared her heartbreak over Chapman's death on Facebook last night - and seemed to issue a veiled warning to his enemies. 'Everybody stay calm, and if anyone gets out of control, I can't say what gonna happen,' Ms Stinger said. Ricky Chapman, a one-time hard man for the Bandidos on the Gold Coast, died aged just 32 on Wednesday night. Pictured with his partner Stacey Schoppe In the 12 months since leaving prison, Chapman appears to have dedicated his life to body building and his new work His grieving mother Suzy Stinger shared a cryptic warning in the wake of his death Chapman's mother, Suzy Stinger, issued the cryptic post Ms Stinger did not elaborate on the post and nor did she respond to a request for comment. She earlier announced: 'I would like to inform friends and distance family Ricky Chapman passed away last night. Tributes have poured in online for the mother with social media users sharing their heartbreak at her family's sudden loss. 'Omfg you have all of my condolences love you infinity,' one wrote. Another added: 'Sorry to hear suzy, thinking of you'. Chapman was working as a fly-in-fly-out rigger between Perth and Cape Lambert at the time of his death after vowing to give up the outlaw motorcycle gang lifestyle. He was involved in the infamous bikie brawl in Broadbeach in 2013 and last made headlines in 2020 when he copped a stray bullet to the arm in the contract killing of his father-in-law, Rebels kingpin Nick Martin. Chapman, above, in a happy snap with a young woman Chapman was a keen body builder at the time of his death He required surgery to remove the bullet and was arrested upon leaving hospital for breaching the conditions of his parole for associating with known underworld figures. Chapman served further prison time but was released in April 2021, when he again vowed to change his life. Ricky's partner Stacey Schoppe has started a GoFundMe to raise money for his funeral. 'Everybody who knew RIcky knew how much he loved the beach ... He will be sadly missed within our household.' Best Buy recalled thousands of air fryers after more than a hundred incidents reported that they caught fire, and in some cases, it even left burn injuries to its users. Best Buy Recalls Air Fryers After Catching Fire Air fryers have been a revolutionary means of frying out favorite fatty foods like french fries and chicken without requiring oil. In turn, it cuts down the calories in these sumptuous dishes at dramatic levels. As a result, it has been an emerging trend in American households as they attempt to make their fried dishes healthier than ever without abstaining from them. But this time around, thousands of air fryers are in trouble after the giant retailer Best Buy recalled various models of Insignia air fryers and air fryer ovens, as per a news story by CNET, The giant retailer is now recalling a total of 772,000 air fryers and air fryer ovens that Best Buy sells both in the United States and in Canada. Air Fryers Catching Fire It comes after numerous reports revealed that these air fryers have been overheating. In fact, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) revealed that there have been a total of 68 reports of fire catching, burning, or melting air fryers in the country alone. On top of that, there have been 36 reports coming from Canadian owners of air fryers, complaining about the same fire hazards. According to a recent report by CBS News, the reported incidents of air fryers catching fire, burning, or melting, both in the US and Canada, have reached more than a hundred. The CPSC said in its statement that these numerous reports "include seven reports of minor property damage and two reports of injuries." It turns out that one of the incidents even involved burning a leg of a child. Read Also: PS5 Restock Tracker: Best Buy Stock Release Date, Amazon, and More Updates Insignia Air Fryers Recall: 2018-2022 Models Affected The Air Fryers affected by the recent recall of the giant retailer involve Insignia Analog Air Fryers, Insignia Digital Air Fryers, and Insignia Air Fryer Ovens. To be more precise, check your Insignia air fryers at home if they belong to the following model numbers such as NS-AFO6DSS1, NS-AFO6DBK1, NS-AF55DBK9, NS-AF53MSS0, NS-AF53DSS0, NS-AF50MBK9, NS-AF32MBK9, and NS-AF32DBK9. CBS News noted in the same report that the following air fryers are manufactured in China. It reached the US after the giant retailer, Best Buy, imported it from the Asian country. The affected models include Air Fryers that have been sold at Best Best both on its brick-and-mortar stores and its websites from Nov. 2018 until Feb. 2022. Related Article: Nvidia RTX 3090 Restocks Tracker and More: How to Search for the Nearest Best Buy, 5 Tips to Buy GPU Bacardi is suing American Airlines over $65,000 worth of French cognac that disappeared during a flight from Paris to Los Angeles last year. According to the lawsuit, Bacardi gave American Airlines 24 pallets containing 1,680 cases to transport on a flight from Paris to Los Angeles International Airport. Six of those pallets, which had 400 cases in total, were either lost or stolen, Bacardi argues in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Pasadena, California. The spirits company says that the airline carrier has failed to reimburse the $65,000 worth of imported French Cognac. 'While in the possession, custody and control of [American Airlines], six pallets and three cases were lost or stolen,' said the lawsuit, which was obtained by the Dallas Morning News. Bacardi gave American Airlines 24 pallets containing 1,680 cases to transport to Los Angeles International Airport last year. Six of those pallets, which had 400 cases in total, were either lost or stolen, Bacardi argues in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in California (File photo) The spirits company says that the airline carrier has failed to reimburse the $65,000 worth of imported French Cognac (File photo) Bacardi argues that American Airlines was responsible for the missing cargo and has not reimbursed the company after it gave 24 pallets when it took off from France. When the American Airlines flight landed at LAX, at least six pallets and three cases were missing. Each pallet is said to have 70 cases of the liquor, bringing the sum for the missing cargo to $65,820. DailyMail.com has reached out to American Airlines for comment. The flight was part of a recent push by the airline to expand its cargo transportation operations. American Airlines first introduced cargo-only flights in 2020. The cargo airline industry thrived during the onset of the COVID pandemic as international and local flights were halted. In 2021, the cargo industry generated revenue streams of $175 billion, according to Statista. During the first quarter of 2022, American Airlines has reported $8.9 billion in revenue, $364 million derived from cargo shipping, the New York Post reported. Bacardi argues that American Airlines was responsible for the missing cargo and has not reimbursed the company after it gave 24 pallets when it took off from France (File photo) American Airlines is the latest carrier to give a rosy outlook for the rest of 2022 as airlines continue to recover from the pandemic. American said Thursday that although it lost $1.64 billion in the first quarter, sales hit a record in March, and the company expects to earn a profit in the second quarter. American's upbeat view echoed similar comments from Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which both predicted in recent days that they will earn full-year profits despite big losses in the first quarter. Air travel was subdued in January and February by the omicron variant that caused an increase in COVID-19 cases among both travelers and airline employees. But travelers came back in March, and airline executives believe that Americans are eager to travel this summer and won't be discouraged by another, smaller uptick in coronavirus cases and higher airfares. American said overall business travel is 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels, dragged down by corporate travel, which is only 50 percent of 2019 levels Pressure was mounting on Germany last night over a continued refusal to hand over heavy weapons to Ukraine as Chancellor Olaf Scholz was accused of deleting items from a Kyiv wish list. Mr Scholz has been criticised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as opposition parties in Germany for an apparent refusal to provide equipment, including tanks and howitzers, from its own stocks. On Tuesday, Mr Scholz instead said Germany would provide Ukraine with 830million to buy weapons. He was yesterday accused of removing heavy weapons systems, including Boxer transport vehicles and German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks, from a list agreed with Ukraine, according to details leaked to Bild newspaper. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reportedly been accused of deleting items from Kyiv wish list Germany has claimed sending heavy weaponry such as tanks from its own stocks would 'significantly weaken' its own defensive capability and leave the country unable to fulfil its own Nato requirements. By contrast, Britain has provided at least 450million of military aid and weaponry, including armoured vehicles and anti-tank missiles. Yesterday, the US announced a further 612million of military aid including heavy artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers and tactical drones, following a similar-sized package of assistance earlier this month. The apparent leak of the weapons list appears to confirm claims from Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, earlier this week, who said: 'The weapons we need are not even on this list.' The agreed list came to just 257million about a third of that promised by Mr Scholz. Germany instead reached an agreement yesterday with allies in eastern Europe to supply Ukraine with heavy artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles provided by other countries before Berlin replenishes stocks, defence minister Christine Lambrecht said. It will also train Ukrainian soldiers to use its Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers, reportedly sent by the Netherlands. Mrs Lambrecht said Germany cannot send the howitzers itself as its army 'does not have the stocks'. The opposition party may force a vote on the issue next week, forcing Mr Scholz into an embarrassing backtrack. In the dark nightmare of warfare, munitions are not the only weapons. To terrorise populations (and in flagrant breach of all conventions) rogue armies rape and murder civilians. Then there is starvation. Throughout history, repugnant regimes have sought to break enemies' will by deliberately pushing their people into famine. Today, in supposedly civilised Europe, evil Vladimir Putin is inflicting such hell on innocent Ukrainians. Food parcels bound for stranded Ukrainians are loaded aboard a train in Poland Russian invaders have intentionally destroyed farms, grain silos and supermarkets and, in a key city in Luhansk, obliterated food depots. The consequences of this war crime are as tragic as they are predictable. Ukrainians have been reduced to scrabbling in bins and collecting drinking water from puddles. Amid such distress, you our magnificent readers are offering a lifeline. Thanks to your magnificent generosity, hundreds of thousands of life-saving food boxes are being sent to Ukraine. Given the worsening crisis, these vital aid parcels could not be more timely. The record-breaking 11million you've raised for the Mail Force refugee appeal shows the victims they are not forgotten. Is Putin, as Ukrainians fear, trying to recreate the Holodomor the 'hunger extermination', when Stalin starved millions of their countrymen to death? Who knows. But your kind donations are a powerful weapon in the fight to stop history repeating itself. Put customers first On its website, Santander boasts of offering 'a more personal banking service whenever you need it'. Mike Regnier, the bank's extravagantly paid boss, should explain that to customers who will be severely inconvenienced by his branches slashing their opening hours. Wheeling out the old excuse, the lender argues this is because most customers want to bank online or by telephone. But isn't it a case of chicken and egg? Reducing counter services makes it more difficult for someone to go to a branch. That forces many to turn to internet banking, which executives then cynically use as an excuse to cut more hours or shut branches entirely. As usual, the biggest losers are the elderly and vulnerable. With cyber-scammers a threat, they prefer to rely on cash and deal with real people. And small firms, forced to shut up shop at the busiest time of the day to deposit money, suffer too. Yes, as a commercial operation, Santander must pay attention to the bottom line. But is it too much to ask that, for once, they put profits second and customers first? Lessons never learnt They died 27 years apart. Both defenceless little children, both murdered with unspeakable brutality. But their violent deaths are not the only connection between Logan Mwangi, five, and Rikki Neave, six. They were failed abysmally by institutions whose job it was to protect them and deliver justice. Social services missed a string of red flags that Logan was being tortured. Police blunders meant Rikki's killer was at large for years free to commit other depravities. Every time one of these appalling scandals occurs, we are told 'lessons will be learned', that official incompetence, box-ticking and blame-shifting will be stamped out. How shameful that they never are. A small plane crashed in a parking lot near an industrial plant east of Atlanta on Thursday evening, sending a plume of black smoke overhead, authorities and local news reports said. Police said it appeared no one aboard the plane survived - but federal authorities said they couldn't immediately identify the plane and had no information about its occupant or occupants. There were no immediate reports of any injuries to anyone on the ground at the plant, which produces General Mills cereals. Covington police told local reporters the aircraft crashed in an isolated parking lot near an industrial plant just off Interstate 20, a major east-west artery in Georgia. That community about 35 miles east of downtown Atlanta. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash happened near an industrial building around 7 p.m. A small plane crashed in a parking lot near an industrial plant east of Atlanta on Thursday evening, sending a plume of black smoke overhead Federal authorities said they couldn't immediately identify the plane and had no information about its occupant or occupants 'We don't have additional information at this time,' said the FAA statement emailed by one of its spokespeople. Their statement added that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The FAA added that more details would be released later after investigators verify the plane's registration number at the scene. News outlet WSB TV reported that no one survived the crash, citing police sources - though it wasn't immediately known who or how many were aboard. It said the plane came down about 300 yards from an industrial facility into four empty tractor-trailers. Covington police captain Ken Malcom told reporters that authorities did not immediately confirm where the plane was flying from. A General Mills spokesperson said none of their employees were injured and they're cooperating with the investigation. U.S. health officials have sent out a nationwide alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for symptoms of unexplained hepatitis in kids, after clusters of mysterious cases in the US and UK. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding its probe after scores of young children came down with severe liver inflammation, but did not have the viruses hepatitis A, B, or C that usually cause it. In the alert on Thursday, the CDC said it is working with counterparts in Europe to understand the cause of the infections, and urged doctors across the country to report potential cases. A common cold virus known as an adenovirus has been confirmed in several of the European cases, but not all. In the UK, researchers have speculated that kids may have weakened immune systems due to rounds of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. However, the US cases of pediatric hepatitis are so far all in Alabama, a state that did not pursue the most stringent pandemic restrictions, deepening the mystery. Clusters of mysterious pediatric hepatitis have prompted the CDC to issue a national alert UK health authorities on Thursday said they have identified a total of 108 cases of pediatric hepatitis. In some instances, cases were so severe that children required liver transplants. WHAT IS HEPATITIS? Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that is usually caused by a viral infection or liver damage from drinking alcohol. Short-term hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms. But if some develop they can include dark urine, pale grey-colored stool, itchy skin and yellowing of the eyes and skin. They can also include muscle and joint pain, a high temperature, feeling and being sick and being unusually tired all of the time. When hepatitis is spread by a virus, it's usually caused by consuming food and drink contaminated with the faeces of an infected person, or blood-to-blood or sexual contact. Source: NHS Advertisement Additional cases have been reported in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Hepatitis simply means liver inflammation, which can have causes ranging from viruses and toxins to alcohol abuse. The U.S. alert directs doctors to report any suspected cases of the disease that occur with unknown origin to their state and local health departments. It also suggests doctors conduct adenovirus testing in young patients with symptoms of the disease, which include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain, and jaundice. The warning followed a CDC investigation with the Alabama Department of Public Health into a cluster of nine cases of hepatitis of unknown origin in previously healthy children ranging in age from 1 to 6-years old. The first such U.S. cases were identified in October 2021 at a childrens hospital in Alabama that admitted five young patients with significant liver injury - including some with acute liver failure - of unknown cause. In those cases, the children tested positive for adenovirus, a common family of viruses that can cause respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms, but are rarely fatal. The more common forms of the liver disease - hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C - were ruled out. A review of hospital records identified four additional cases, all of whom had liver injury and adenovirus infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding its probe after scores of young children came down with severe liver inflammation Lab tests found that some of these children were infected with adenovirus type 41, which causes acute infection of the digestive system. The state has not found any new cases beyond the original cluster. The CDC is working with state health departments to identify additional U.S. cases. While the leading theory is that the cases are caused by a specific type of adenovirus, health officials are considering other possible contributing factors as well. Writing in the journal Eurosurveillance, a team led by Public Health Scotland epidemiologist Dr Kimberly Marsh said more children could be 'immunologically naive' to the adenovirus strains because of pandemic restrictions. They wrote: 'The leading hypotheses centre around adenovirus either a new variant with a distinct clinical syndrome or a routinely circulating variant that is more severely impacting younger children who are immunologically naive. 'The latter scenario may be the result of restricted social mixing during the pandemic.' Nine US children all under six years old have come down with severe cases of the inflammatory liver condition since October. Adenovirus is a prime suspect in the outbreak (Pictured: A stock image of a virus) Scotlands public health agency first raised the alarm about unusual hepatitis cases in children on April 6. There have now been 14 cases identified in Scotland, including one additional case under investigation this week, Public Health Scotland director Jim McMenamin told Reuters. Increasingly researchers believe that adenovirus infection could be behind the cases, possibly "in concert" with another virus, as 77 percent of the children in the UK had tested positive for adenovirus, McMenamin said. However, he said, other causes have not been ruled out, including toxin exposure, COVID-19, or a novel pathogen, either in tandem with adenovirus infection, or alone. None of the UK or U.S. cases have been linked with the COVID-19 vaccine. And Alabama state health officials said none of the nine cases there had any history of prior COVID-19 infection. Travel booking company Trivago has been fined $44.7 million for misleading consumers about its hotel room rates. Trivago was found guilty in 2020 for telling consumers it would show them the cheapest rates, when it actually ranked hotels by factoring in which advertisers paid the highest per-click fee. The company admitted that between late 2016 and mid-2019 it received about $58 million in cost-per-click fees from clicks on offers that were not the cheapest available offer for a given hotel. Trivago's contravening conduct cost Australian users about $30 million and was intentional, rather than accidental, Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky said in a judgment on Friday. Travel booking company Trivago has been fined $44.7 million for misleading consumers about its hotel room rates Trivago was found guilty in 2020 for telling consumers it would show them the cheapest rates, when it actually ranked hotels by factoring in which advertisers paid the highest per-click fee (stock image) 'Trivago's contraventions have caused loss or damage to Australian consumers in the order of $30 million, and no remediation has occurred,' he said. That called for a substantial penalty, he found. While the penalty was many multiples of Trivago's profit from the conduct, the $44.7 million fine was necessary for specific and general deterrence, he added. Lawyers for Trivago had previously argued a fine of $15 million would be an adequate penalty, while the ACCC wanted the travel company fined $90 million. 'A total penalty of the order proposed by Trivago would not reflect the seriousness of the contraventions and would be seen as an 'acceptable cost of doing business',' Justice Moshinsky said. Tim Begbie QC, representing the consumer watchdog, told the court in October last year that Trivago's conduct was serious and far reaching. Weighting search results according to what Trivago got paid was at the heart of its business model and it offered a service it did not provide, he argued. 'What Trivago delivered to consumers was almost the opposite of what it promised,' Mr Begbie said. There were 213 million searches for hotel rooms on the Trivago site over a period of about 13 months, which was less than half of the period the company had misled people, the court was told. Trivago changed its website following the court's initial judgment, a company spokesman said. 'While we are disappointed with the outcome today, we look forward to putting this behind us and continuing to help millions of Australians find great accommodation deals,' the spokesman said. There were 213 million searches for hotel rooms on the Trivago site over a period of about 13 months, which was less than half of the period the company had misled people, the court was told ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said online businesses had to be held accountable, noting that Trivago had often compared the price of a standard room with a luxury one in the same hotel. 'Consumers were misled into thinking they were getting a great hotel deal when that was not the case,' she said in a statement. 'Trivago's conduct took advantage of consumers' desire to find the best deal and the court's decision to order such a significant penalty reflects the seriousness of Trivago's conduct. 'This penalty sends a strong message not just to Trivago, but to other comparison websites, that they must not mislead consumers when making recommendations.' An American teacher has been sentenced to death in China for fatally stabbing a 21-year-old woman who tried to break off their relationship. Shadeed Abdulmateen, originally of Los Angeles, was sentenced to death on Thursday after a trial in the Intermediate People's Court of Ningbo, a city in China's eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, the Xinhua News Agency reported. He was convicted of international homicide. Abdulmateen, an English teacher at Ningbo University of Technology, met the victim, identified only by her surname, Chen, in 2019 after lying about being divorced, according to Xinhua, and the pair entered into a romantic relationship. When she tried to 'repeatedly' break up in May 2021, he reportedly verbally intimidated her, a court statement said. Abdulmateen arranged to meet her at a bus stop around 8pm on June 14, 2021, in Ningbo. Almost two hours later, he stabbed her to death in the neck and face with a folding knife he had brought with the intention of killing her, Xinhua said. Chen reportedly suffered from a hemorrhage and was pronounced dead at the scene. Shadeed Abdulmateen, originally of Los Angeles, was sentenced to death on Thursday for international homicide in China It is unclear if he plans to appeal the decision. Abdulmateen (pictured in court on Thursday) met the victim, identified only by her surname, Chen, in 2019 after lying about being divorced After 'repeatedly' trying to break up with him in May 2021, the pair agreed to meet at a bus stop in Ningbo around 8pm, where he could stab her to death roughly two hours later The court (pictured) found Abdulmateen guilty of 'premeditated revenge killing' The court found Abdulmateen guilty of 'premeditated revenge killing.' '[The] stabbing and cutting Chen's face and neck several times, resulting in Chen's death, was motivated by vile motives, resolute intent and cruel means, and the circumstances of the crime were particularly bad and the consequences particularly serious, and should be punished according to law,' the court said, according to CNN. The murder reportedly caused outraged among locals, who said the police were slow to respond to the crime because Abdulmateen was a foreigner, according to the South China Morning Post. The former Editor-in-Chief of the Global Times, Hu Xijin, said foreigners' identity shouldn't be used as a 'protective umbrella for them to escape punishment,' the South China Morning Post reported. Abdulmateen was an English teacher at Ningbo University of Technology He posted two YouTube videos in 2013, one showing a lesson plan for teaching the English words for different weather conditions Chinese law states that foreigners will be convicted of their crimes under the country's law and faces the same punishments as their Chinese counterparts, except those with diplomatic privileges or exemptions. It was said Abdulmateen had been provided with a defense, translation services, and consular visits at his trial. The trial was attended by more than 20 people, including government officials and members of the public. A US Embassy spokesperson said it was aware of the sentence and monitoring the situation, but for privacy reasons, could not offer further comment. China is believed to lead the world in executions, but exact figures are considered a state secret. Around 500 executions took place in 2020 among 18 nations, however, it is believed the number would go up 'thousands' if China's numbers were added, according to the South China Morning Post. He taught at the Ningbo University of Technology (pictured) However, the death sentences handed to foreigners in the country mostly involved drug-related crimes, the South China Morning Post said. In August, Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg's appeal was denied and he was sentenced to death for smuggling methamphetamine in 2018. Canada criticized the brutal sentence, calling it 'arbitrary.' Queensland will end quarantine requirements for Covid close contacts and unvaccinated international arrivals. Acting Premier Steven Miles and Health Minister Yvette D'Ath made the announcement at a press conference on Friday. Ms DAth said close contacts will now be required to wear masks indoors and outdoors if they cant socially distance for seven days after contact with a positive Covid case. International visitors into the state who have not received a Covid vaccine will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival. The new close contact conditions will take effect from 6pm on Thursday, April 28. Mr Miles and Ms D'Ath made the announcement in the absence of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who is on holiday leave. Queensland's Acting Premier Steven Miles made the announcement on Friday that close contacts of Covid cases would no longer need to quarantine in the state Health Minister Yvette DAth said close contacts will now be required to wear masks indoors and outdoors if they cant socially distance for seven days after contact with a positive Covid case (pictured, people shopping in Brisbane CBD) 'It's another milestone in our pathway out of Covid-19,' Mr Miles told reporters on Friday. Household contacts won't need to quarantine at home for seven days, but they must return a negative rapid antigen test every two days. Household contacts should still work from home where possible and avoid high-risk settings such as hospitals and aged care homes. They will also have to tell their employers they are a close contact, and avoid high-risk environments like hospitals and aged care settings. The Queensland government will also ditch mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated travellers arriving from overseas, but they will still need to test negative The government will also ditch mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated travellers arriving from overseas, but they will still need to test negative. Queensland recorded five Covid-19 deaths and 8,080 new cases on Friday. There are 528 patients being treated for Covid-19 in hospital and another 18 in intensive care. The latest figures show that 93.59 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have had one dose of a vaccine, while 92 per cent have had two. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow GOP lawmakers shortly after the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he wanted to urge then-President Donald Trump to resign, according to audio posted Thursday night by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show. In the recording of a January 10 House Republican Leadership call, McCarthy is heard discussing the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office and saying he would tell Trump, 'I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign.' Earlier Thursday, after the Times published its initial story describing the conversation, McCarthy released a statement calling it 'totally false and wrong.' His spokesman, Mark Bednar, had told the paper, 'McCarthy never said he'd call Trump to say he should resign.' Bednar did not immediately respond to questions late Thursday night after the audio's release. Representatives for Trump also did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the tape. Audio of a phone conversation shows House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had been planning to ask former President Donald Trump to resign in the wake off January 6 Capitol riot A recorded phone call that depicted a January 10 exchange between McCarthy and Rep. Liz Cheney was released on Thursday evening BREAKING: Audio recording contradicts Rep. Kevin McCarthy's denial that he said he would call Donald Trump to recommend that Trump resign pic.twitter.com/iRmSFoeQPz Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) April 22, 2022 Earlier on Thursday, McCarthy released a statement (pictured above) vehemently denying the claims made in the book as 'totally false and wrong' and insisting 'our country was better off when President Trump in the White House' The audio threatens to badly damage the relationship between McCarthy and Trump, who remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party, despite his role in inciting the January 6 insurrection and his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. And it could threaten McCarthy's standing with House Republicans and his hopes of becoming speaker next year. The audio depicts a very different McCarthy than the one who has been ruling over House Republicans over the last year and a half. He has remained allied with Trump - even after delivering a speech on the House floor shortly after the former president's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, during which he told his caucus that Trump 'bears responsibility' for the violence. January 10 exchange between Liz Cheney and Kevin McCarthy CHENEY: I guess theres a question. When were talking about the 25th Amendment resolution, and you asked if, you know, what happens if it gets there after hes gone, is there any chance, are you hearing, that he might resign, is there any reason to think that might happen? MCCARTHY: Ive a few discussions. My gut tells me no, Im seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight. I havent talked to him in a couple of days. From what I know of him, I mean you guys know him too, do you think hed ever back away? But, what I think Im going to do, is Im going to call him. This is what I think, we know itll pass the House. I think theres a chance itll pass the Senate, even when he is gone. And I think theres a lot of different ramifications for that. Now, I havent had a discussion with the DEMs, that if he did resign, with that happen? Now, this is one personal fear I have. I do not want to get into any conversation about Pence pardoning. Again, the only discussion I would have with him is that, I think this will pass. And it will be my recommendation you should resign. I mean, that would be my take. But I dont think he would take it. But I dont know. Advertisement Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 6 Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021 Since the attack, the California Republican has continued to distance himself from any criticism of Trump and has avoided directly linking him to what happened. Instead, McCarthy has cozied up to Trump, visiting him at the former president's Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago. The Times report Thursday was adapted from an upcoming book, ' This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America's Future,' by Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. In the audio, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who lost her No. 3 leadership position after voting in favor of Trump's impeachment, can be heard asking McCarthy about a 25th Amendment resolution calling for Trump's ouster and whether Trump might resign. 'I've had a few discussions. My gut tells me no. I'm seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight,' McCarthy is heard saying. 'What I think I'm gonna do is I'm gonna call him.' Upcoming book This Will Not Pass from two New York Times journalists recounts the 2020 election and first year of Biden's presidency while exposing deep fissures within both parties ahead of the 2022 midterm elections 'I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign,' he later adds. 'I mean, that would be my take but I don't think he would take it. But I don't know.' McCarthy, 57, has been strategically charting his own delicate course as he positions himself to try to take over as speaker if Republicans retake the House in this year's midterm elections. McCarthy has begun to build out his leadership team and last summer tasked several groups of Republican lawmakers with drafting proposals on the party's core legislative priorities in hopes of making a fast start in 2023. But even as he inches closer to leading the chamber, McCarthy has gotten a taste of the downsides of power in recent months as hard-right members of the conference have created headaches with inflammatory actions and statements. President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally in Washington prior to the January 6 riots In an interview this week in California, McCarthy indicated he is still depending on Trump to turn out voters this fall, even as he charts a distinct course for his party trying to retake the House majority. 'He'll motivate, get a lot of people out,' McCarthy told The Associated Press at a GOP event in Fresno. There was little immediate reaction Thursday night from fellow Republicans who could determine his future. McCarthy has also been a person of interest for the House committee investigating the storming of the Capitol on January 6. The select committee, which Cheney vice-chairs, requested an interview with McCarthy in mid-January, hoping to learn more about his conversations with Trump 'before, during and after' the riot. They had also sought information about McCarthy's communications with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days before the attack. Hours after the request was made, McCarthy issued a statement saying he would refuse to cooperate because he saw the investigation as not legitimate and accused the panel of 'abuse of power.' The committee has been especially focused on McCarthy's communications with Trump and White House staff in the week after the violence, including a conversation with Trump that was reportedly heated. Without his cooperation, it remains unclear whether the panel will be able to gain testimony from McCarthy or any other congressional allies of Trump. While the committee has considered subpoenaing fellow lawmakers, they have so far avoided doing so as it would be an extraordinary move and could run up against legal and political challenges. A tenants' advocate has hit out at a real estate agency that bragged of clinching a deal for a landlord that saw a renter pay an extra $90 a week. The post from the Brisbane agency described the agreement as 'a genuine win-win' for both parties. Bees Nees City Realty boasted it had negotiated the rise in the rent paid by the tenants, who had been in the house since 2016. It comes as Brisbane renters face a grim reality with a Domain rent report revealing prices increasing - the steepest in the city's history - by 14.9 per cent, or $65, in the year leading up to March. Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr blasted the social media post, saying it was 'insensitive' for Bees Nees City Realty to say it was a 'win-win' situation as the city's tenants struggle with limited vacancies and inflated rents The post bragged that the owners of a house (pictured) got a rent increase of $90-a-week without changing their tenants, as Brisbane's rent hikes prove a boon for landlords but not so much for the city's renters Unit prices were not far behind, with a 7.5 per cent annual increase. The now-deleted post said the owners got the increase without changing their tenants, an idea that is a boon for landlords but not so much for the city's hapless renters. Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr rejected the idea a tenant would be happy about such a 'massive rent increase'. 'I think they're living in a parallel universe to the one I'm living in, because I don't know of any tenants who think that a $90 a week rent increase is a happy outcome.' Ms Carr told Daily Mail Australia. 'It is very insensitive for an agency to say this is a win-win situation for all parties.' Low stock, Covid-affected housing development and high levels of migration from other states have been blamed for adding to the city's rental woes, and insiders say there's more to come. 'These are rental dynamics Brisbane hasn't seen for a long time,' Domain's chief of economics and research Dr Nicola Powell said. 'I think there's a variety of different things going on; when you look at the latest population statistics - we have the highest growth of all the states and the driver of that growth has been interstate migration. 'Then, when you look at the vacancy rate being so tight, rents are only going to continue to rise. It's very much a landlord's market and there's just no choice for tenants.' Low stock, Covid-affected housing development and high levels of migration from other states have been blamed for adding to Brisbane's rental woes, and insiders say there's more to come. Ms Carr said renters don't have a lot of flexibility because of the city's tight market for vacancies and tenants have been forced to keep their heads down. 'We are seeing lots and lots of rent increases, probably most typically between $30-$60 a week, but we have certainly seen some with this [$90] amount as well.' 'So many people don't want to express or act on their rights, or put their head up because they are just too worried about being evicted in this market,' Ms Carr said. She advised the best thing for renters to do if they receive an exorbitant rent increase is to seek free advice from Tenants Queensland and become as informed as they possibly can. She also advocated for tighter tenancy laws, and for social housing to become more available. Bees Nees City Realty was contacted for comment by Daily Mail Australia. Planet Labs revealed in a blog post that they are planning to deploy a global constellation consisting of 32 Earth-observing satellites. To be known as Pelican, the constellation can be used to monitor political conflicts, natural disasters, and the ongoing effects of climate change According to the satellite imagery and data specialist, the construction of the 32-satellite constellation is set to start next year. It is "designed to efficiently capture brief and rapidly changing events as they unfold." Planet Labs Designs Pelican to Meet Consumers' Needs "We have designed our next generation 'Pelican' fleet to meet the evolving needs of customers who want real-time information about global events as they unfold - from floods and wildfires to political conflicts and threats to human rights. Pelican's rapid response and higher resolution will do exactly that," said Planet Co-Founder and CEO Will Marshall in a blog posted in Planet Labs' website. Furthermore, Planet Labs said that the advancements of Pelican represent a leap forward in capabilities for their customers, "from higher revisit and higher spatial resolution, to faster data access and delivery." The company said that Pelican will allow for more frequent imaging of single sites and at higher spatial resolutions. It would also result to faster access to data. Pelican, however, won't replace the existing 21-satellite SkySat constellation. It will instead "replenish and improve" the company's existing capabilities. Using Pelican, customers are expected to be able to acquire images of the same location up to 12 times per day, and will even have 30 chances in mid latitudes. It will also allowed reduced latency for downloading data and higher resolution capabilities with up to 30 cm resolution imagery. Pelican's functionality is in accordance with Planet Labs' stated goal, which is to "image all of Earth's landmass every day, and make global change visible, accessible and actionable." Pelican satellites represent a major step forward in terms of its capabilities, according to Planet Labs. Pelican's revelation showcases the company's continuing effort to broaden and refine its orbital offerings. Read Also: Devastation Caused by the Beirut Explosion Seen From Satellite Images Company Targets M ultiple Sectors According to Planet Labs, they have been seeing growing demand from multiple market segments. Defense sector for security intelligence, civil government for disaster response, and software companies for mapping platforms require real-time data and high-resolution products. Pelican is expected to monitor patterns of life, like shifting political borders and changing coastlines, and help characterize drivers of environmental change that are threatening protected ecosystems, Planet Labs stated. The company shared that they hope the product advancements will "provide their customers across global industries and governments with the ability to respond to global events with more speed and better informed insights." Floating at an altitude of 202 miles (325 km) in low Earth orbit, Pelican will monitor civilization and Earth's natural systems. It will track things such as gradual demographic shifts, conflict zones, storms, wildfires, and altered coastlines, as per Gizmodo's report. Gizmodo also reported that the constellation should also provide highly detailed before-and-after images, particularly in the event of natural or human-caused disasters. When responding to serious events, he near real-time data will better equip disaster planners and other stakeholders. Related Article: 4 Steps to Select the Right Provider for Satellite Imagery Revellers looking to celebrate the long weekend have been told to prepare for wet and cold weather. After four days of eagerly-anticipated sunshine over the Easter long weekend, the weather in Queensland and NSW is forecast to take a turn for the worst. Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke said Sydneysiders could expect showers to hammer parts of the city each day over the upcoming weekend. Revellers looking to celebrate the long weekend have been told to prepare for wet weather as large swathes of the east coast are due to be pounded with rain (pictured, a woman in Sydney) Mr Dutschke said temperatures would 'struggle' to hit over 20C on some days with showers forming on Anzac Day, which falls on Monday (pictured, an Anzac Day event in 2019) The forecaster said there was potential for rainfall to accumulate to about 30mm, with parts of Sydney to receive from 5mm to 10mm. Mr Dutschke said temperatures would 'struggle' to hit over 20C on some days, with showers forming on Anzac Day, which falls on Monday this year. He said the wet conditions had appeared due to persistent offshore winds colliding, bringing tropical moisture to a developing low-pressure trough. Queensland will also receive an onslaught of rain, with the meteorologist predicting Brisbane to be 'the wettest place in the country' this weekend, with up to a metre of rain forecast. Rain has been falling from Townsville to the Cooktown areas with 'moist and unstable' winds to spread wet conditions to the northwest and western Queensland. After four days of eagerly-anticipated sunshine over the Easter long weekend the weather in Queensland and NSW is forecast to take a turn for the worst The wet conditions had appeared as a result of persistent offshore winds colliding bringing tropical moisture to a developing low pressure trough. Pictured is a temperatures map. Mr Dutschke said there was potential for flooding in some already-saturated areas with predictions of 100mm to 200mm of rainfall. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a minor to major flood warning for the Culgoa, Birrie, Bokhara and Narran Rivers on Friday afternoon. Minor flood warnings were also issued for the Barwon River at Mungindi and the Paroo River at Willara Crossing. BoM said showers would ease on Friday with most of the heavy deluge falling on parts of the Mid North Coast and Coffs Harbour. 'Dry and mostly sunny conditions inland over the long weekend while along the central and northern coast showers continuing although easing after today,' the bureau tweeted on Friday morning. No severe thunderstorms are forecast, but the rain is predicted to be consistent every day for the week-long outlook and potentially beyond. In Queensland, cool, wet and windy conditions are forecast in Gulf Country, Channel Country and the Central West to last from Sunday through to Tuesday. There is potential for flooding in some already-saturated areas in Queensland with predictions of 100mm to 200mm of rainfall (pictured, a woman walks through flooded Tweed Heads) The Bureau of Meteorology issued a minor to major flood warning for the Culgoa, Birrie, Bokhara and Narran Rivers on Friday afternoon. Pictured are river conditions in NSW. Townsville, Cooktown, and Cairns were warned to prepare for between 400mm and 750mm of rain before Monday. That would be up to four times the average rainfall for the entire month of April. The brunt of the storm will strike those areas on Thursday before moving west late Saturday through to Sunday. Brisbane will get showers as a result of the system but is not expected to have more than 3mm in 24 hours. By Sunday afternoon, the storm will have moved from the north Queensland coast through southern Northern Territory to finish on South Australia's central coast. Widespread showers are slowly moving onshore in FNQld as a trough lingers off of the northern QLD coast. Severe storms with heavy rainfall possible between Rollingstone and Cooktown, risk likely to contract north of Innisfail from this evening. Warnings: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/Vxo625DQFC Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) April 22, 2022 Large parts of Sydney were forecast to receive up to 25mm of rain on Friday with showers to continue into the weekend and next week 'Widespread showers are slowly moving onshore in Far North Queensland as a trough lingers off of the northern QLD coast,' the bureau said on Friday. 'Severe storms with heavy rainfall possible between Rollingstone and Cooktown, risk likely to contract north of Innisfail from this evening.' The Northern Territory and the north and west of South Australia will also receive some showers over the weekend while other parts of the country remain dry. Victoria will remain mostly unaffected by wet and wild conditions this weekend with Melbourne to enjoy a 'fairly warm and dry weekend'. The Northern Territory and the north and west of South Australia will also receive some showers over the weekend (pictured, a man in Sydney on March 2) Adelaide is also forecast to remain warm and dry with temperatures peaking in the mid 20's. In Western Australia, showers are due to develop on Anzac Day. Darwin will continue having hot weather heading into next week with high temperatures sitting in the mid-30s and lows in the mid 20s. The weather is staying consistent in Perth with temperatures in the high 20s and lows in the mid-teens. Residents can look forward to a sunny weekend with a zero per cent chance of rain. Winter is moving in on Canberra with a low of 5C forecast for Thursday and high temperatures only reaching the high teens for the rest of the week. The city will stay cloudy heading into next week but is not forecast to see any of the rain hammering its coastal neighbours. Advertisement Rev. Al Sharpton has demanded that authorities in Grand Rapids, Michigan, release the name of the police officer who shot 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya, an immigrant from Congo, dead in the city on April 4. Sharpton told an impassioned crowd at Lyoya's funeral in Grand Rapids on April 22: 'Every time we are suspected of something you put our name out there... we want his name!' Around 1,000 people attended Lyoya's funeral at which the celebrity reverend delivered the eulogy. Sharpton told the crowd at one point that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the name of the officer who shot Lyoya unless he is charged with a crime. Sharpton spoke at the nearly three-hour long funeral alongside a Swahili interpreter. Sharpton pointed out that Lyoya was killed on the same date as Rev. Martin Luther King Lyoya's funeral was attended by around 1,000 people in Grand Rapids, Michigan Lyoya's casket, wrapped in a flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is taken from the sanctuary following the funeral at Renaissance Church of God in Christ in Grand Rapids, Michigan Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, is shown in an emotional state at the funeral for her son Sharpton told an impassioned crowd at Lyoya's funeral in Grand Rapids on April 22: 'Every time we are suspected of something you put our name out there... we want his name!' Lyoya struggled with the officer over his taser before the fatal shots were fired. An independent autopsy determined that the 26-year-old died after being shot in the head with large caliber bullet Sharpton, the leader of the National Action Network, said. 'How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name!' Mourners at the Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many of whom were wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood in applause. Sharpton was accompanied by a Swahili interpreter. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and 'ran into an America that we know too well.' He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoya's killing. Sharpton said, 'Im not going to desecrate the local authorities, but I want to call on the federal Justice Department to investigate this. We dont want local politics to compromise justice. We're calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to stand up for the civil rights of Patrick Lyoya.' 'We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name,' he said. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officer's Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya had been driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. 'How dare you pull your gun about some car tags?' Sharpton said during his eulogy. The entire funeral lasted for three hours. On April 17, Sharpton said in a tweet that he would support Lyoya's family with burial assistance. Sharpton continued, 'And then you say something about a hand on a Taser. Well, if you say he had a hand on the Taser, that means you knew when you grabbed your gun that you didn't have your Taser. You knew you were using a deadly weapon. You turned a traffic stop into what appears on tape to be an execution.' Patrick Lyoya's mother, Dorcas Lyoya, left, is embraced during the funeral for her son at the Renaissance Church of God in Christ Family Life Center Community weeps during the funeral for Patrick Lyoya, who was shot by a police officer Community members stand with their fists raised in the air during the funeral on Friday after he was shot by a cop Sharpton told the crowd: 'We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name' In the aftermath of the shooting, the unnamed officer involved in on paid leave. Sharpton also took aim at a jury in Grand Rapids that acquitted two men and remained deadlocked on two others who were accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Sharpton said, 'Is this the Michigan that not long ago where you would not convict men who would kidnap the governor? Now, you're going to protect the ID of the man who shot someone in the back of the head? Is this Michigan 2022 or Mississippi 1922?' Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton's eulogies have included those for George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. In the released video, the officer tells Lyoya he was pulled over because his license plate didn't match his vehicle. Lyoya was driving the vehicle and had a male passenger in the car During the stop, the video shows Lyoya exiting the vehicle before the officer approaches. The officer instructs him to get back into the car, asks for his license and if he speaks English, to which Lyoya replies yes Lyoya's family's attorney Benjamin Crump told the media on the day of the funeral, 'World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan' Crump also called for justice on Friday, saying 'an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution.' He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass nationwide reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. 'World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan,' he said. 'If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids.' After the service, Crump told reporters: 'We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan.' Crump has retained the famed pathologist Dr. Werner Spitz in the case. Spitz, 95, has previously worked on the trials of Casey Anthony and Phil Spector as well as the civil suit against O.J. Simpson. In an independent autopsy, Spitz established that Lyoya died after he was hit in the back of the head with a large-caliber bullet, reports The Detroit Free Press. The findings of the official Kent County autopsy have not been revealed. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: 'Its our right to live,' in both English and Swahili. Lyoyas parents and other family members wore black sweatshirts that had Lyoya's picture on the front and the words 'Justice for Patrick' along a sleeve. Peter and Dorcas Lyoya, parents of Patrick Lyoya, march with their family and supporters wearing all black on Thursday, April 21, 2022 for a rally at the Capitol in Lansing, Mich. to demand justice in the police shooting that took the life of Patrick Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as live music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. 'This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community,' she said. 'And if I dont stand up, who will?' Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. A translator was present throughout the service. Outside the church, mourners were given T-shirts that read 'Justice For Patrick Lyoya' on one side and 'Its our Right to Live!' on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Releasing the name of the officer who killed Lyoya has been a demand of family members and activists. On Thursday, Peter and Dorcas Lyoya, Patrick Lyoya's parents, joined protesters in Lansing for a march and rally to again demand the officer's name. Peter Lyoya holds up a picture of his son in his home in Lansing, Mich., April 14, 2022. Lyoyawas face-down on the ground when he was fatally shot in the head by a Grand Rapids Police officer after resisting arrest on April 4, 2022 During a rally at Lyoya's home in Lansing, Michigan, on April 21, Black Lives Matter's Flint chapter president Dewaun E. Robinson, told WWMT, 'I think you know, a lot of times we get to the point where we get desensitized from being in these marches and these rallies, just seeing another brother just being killed in the streets, this is overwhelming. 'I think folks are tired and the Lyoya family is hurt and I just want to say a peace and love to them and their family.' State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an 'execution.' A Perth man accused of sexually abusing 24 children across several years will plead guilty to some charges, a court has been told. The 47-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced Perth Magistrates Court via videolink from prison on Friday. He is facing more than 400 charges including sexually penetrating a child aged under 13 and producing child exploitation material. The court heard the man intended to plead guilty to a number of charges, while some charges would be discontinued. A man accused of abusing some 24 boys and girls will admit to some charges, while others will be discontinued, a Perth court heard His lawyer asked for a special listing hearing to account for the volume of the charges, which he said could take up to two hours to list. Magistrate Peter Malone agreed to the request and adjourned the matter until April 27. The man was arrested last year after police searched his home and workplace, seizing computers and storage devices. West Australian police allege about 3.8 million child exploitation videos and images were found on the devices, some of which allegedly showed him offending against the children. Western Australian Police recently revealed (above) that they kicked in the door of the 47-year-old's home and workplace He is alleged to have sexually abused 24 boys and girls, aged from three to 13, between 2015 and last year. Detective Inspector Hamish McKenzie last week said it would be alleged the man knew the victims through family and friends. "(It) is one of the most significant child abuse investigations ever conducted in Western Australia insofar as how many images were located and how many victims we will allege have been abused," Det Insp McKenzie told reporters. Ben Roberts-Smith and his former patrol commander allegedly spent hours refining their story about key allegations with other SAS soldiers to get their testimony straight, a court has been told. The witness codenamed Person Five has repeatedly denied ever colluding with the Victoria Cross recipient about their evidence in the defamation trial his good friend launched. Mr Roberts-Smith is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald over reports claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan including murder, and acts of bullying and domestic violence. The 43-year-old denies all claims of wrongdoing, while the mastheads are defending them as true. The former SAS soldier in the Federal Court on Friday was asked by Nicholas Owens SC on behalf of the newspapers about a birds-eye image of a mission dubbed Whiskey 108 in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith (pictured) and his former patrol commander allegedly spent hours refining their story about key allegations with other SAS soldiers to get their testimony straight, a court has been told Documents aired in court showed Person Five sent the picture to Mr Roberts-Smith in July 2019, weeks before outlines of evidence in the case were due to be filed. He said he can't recall why he did so. The former Royal Marine said he never possessed the image himself but was sent it by his lawyer. But after Mr Owens proved this was impossible due to her timeline of work, he said he wasn't sure who did. 'You both spent many hours refining what you were going to say about Whiskey 108 in this case,' Mr Owens put to Person Five, which he denied. After giving evidence on Tuesday that 99 per cent of camouflage paint worn by SAS soldiers was green, black and brown he later added that shades of those colours could be used, and so was grey. He denied this was because he remembered photographs depicted his second-in-command Mr Roberts-Smith smeared in grey. Another SAS soldier earlier testified to seeing a soldier wearing a distinctive grey camouflage paint execute an unarmed prisoner at Whiskey 108. Person Five has also repeatedly denied saying or hearing the term 'rookie' during deployment in 2009. Mr Roberts-Smith is suing The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald over reports claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan (pictured in 2009) The media outlets have alleged at Whiskey 108 Person Five ordered a young trooper called Person Four to execute an unarmed prisoner to get his first kill in action, or 'blood the rookie'. He along with Mr Roberts-Smith denied this ever occurred. 'We don't blood people, I thought I made that perfectly clear,' he said on Thursday. On Friday Mr Owens asked if he was aware of a poster in Person Five's own patrol room marked with each soldier's names. One young trooper had written 'rookie f***' next to his, a term Mr Owens submitted was widely used throughout the patrol. Person Five said he did not remember the poster. On Thursday the court was told that Person Five discovered his legal bills were being paid for by Seven Network on Tuesday, almost two years after engaging with his lawyers. Ben Roberts-Smith (pictured attending court) is a Victoria Cross medal recipient Prior to that day he never made any inquiries as to their estimated rates, costs, or bills, he said. Mr Owens outlined in court on Friday a number of subpoenas he had issued to the Seven Network, boss Kerry Stokes and commercial director Bruce McWilliam seeking relevant documents. Person Five doesn't think he sent Mr Roberts-Smith USB sticks containing images taken in Afghanistan that were allegedly later buried in his backyard. Included in the 'hundreds of compromising photographs of your colleagues,' was an image of an SAS soldier dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit, Mr Owens said. 'I wasn't there at the time but I believe it's Person 35,' Person Five said. Person 35 is due to give evidence on behalf of Mr Roberts-Smith. The trial before Justice Anthony Besanko continues. Lifeline 13 11 14 Open Arms 1800 011 046 Ministers are set to ban the NHS in England from buying or using goods and services involving 'slavery and human trafficking' after it emerged that Britain bought personal protective equipment during the pandemic which was allegedly made on Chinese slave camps. Under a tough new law as an amendment to the Government's Health and Social Care Bill, the National Health Service will be prevented from buying equipment from parts of the Communist country where it is claimed that forced labour is used in supply chains. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he wanted to use the NHS's buying power to help 'eradicate modern slavery'. Campaigners say this would effectively create a blacklist of companies banned from providing goods and services to the NHS - including medical equipment, security technology and basic infrastructure. But it is not immediately clear if the NHS will be banned from using PPE or lateral flow tests allegedly made by Chinese slaves which it has already bought - raising fears of further waste. Rights activists have accused China's tyrant Xi Jinping of committing a campaign of 'genocide' in Xinjiang province, where Muslim minorities, especially the Uighurs, are subjected to Beijing's hideous network of re-education camps, detention centres and prisons. It is alleged that slaves have built PPE and Covid gear later bought by the British Government. File image of clinical staff wearing PPE in a UK hospital, May 2020 Workers make protective suits at a factory of a medical equipment maker in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, January 2020 Sir Iain Duncan Smith sitting with folded arms in the House of Commons, March 2022 China is attempting to reduce the minority Uighur population with its forced labour programmes, leaked report reveals Chinese labour programmes for Uighurs in Xinjiang are designed in part to reduce the population of the ethnic minority group, a study accidentally published online states. The report, written by academics at Nankai University, was taken offline in mid-2020 after being published in December 2019. But an archived copy was discovered and saved by a researcher outside of China before the university realised its mistake, the BBC reported. Dr Adrian Zenz, a leading scholar on Chinese policy towards Uighurs, analysed the report and produced an English translation. The report states that the long term measure of moving Uighurs to new jobs outside of the group's heartland in Xinjiang 'not only reduces the Uighur population density in Xinjiang, but also is an important method to influence, melt and assimilate Uighur minorities.' 'Let them gradually change their thinking and understanding, and transform their values and outlook on life through a change of environment and through labour work,' the report said, recommending that the programmes be expanded to eastern and central regions of the country. Dr Zenz described the comment as 'the most stunning admission of this report,' telling the BBC that the authors of the study were what made it particularly interesting. Advertisement But this week, Department of Health officials admitted that 461million of taxpayer cash was blown on masks, gowns and gloves intended to protect medical staff and patients from Covid that were found to be unfit for use. Ministers spent 14.8billion on securing PPE in the first year of Covid, according to annual Department of Health accounts. But roughly 8.7billion was written off, either because it was unusable or passed the expiry date. MailOnline has contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for further information. A senior government source told the BBC: 'It's absolutely right that we use the NHS - a huge procurer of all sorts of goods and services - to help eradicate modern slavery around the world.' Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith last night praised the 'significant move' and urged other government departments to introduce the same tough regulations, adding: 'We will be sending the most powerful signal to those around the world that exploit and terrorise those weaker than themselves that the swords of justice are on their trail.' Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Layla Moran said: 'This is long overdue. It should not have taken a pandemic to shine a light on the hugely concerning links between supply chains involving forced labour - including those in Xinjiang - and PPE and other items used in our healthcare sector.' She called on the Government to make a 'concerted effort' to tackle modern slavery in all UK supply chains, as well as banning goods from Xinjiang altogether. Luke de Pulford, chief executive of anti-slavery campaign group Arise, which pushed for the change, said: 'This is easily the most significant advance in supply chain regulation since the Modern Slavery Act in 2015, and in many ways goes much further. 'I know all in the anti-slavery movement hope that the rest of government follows the health secretary's lead on this, and roots out slavery from our supply chains completely.' China has denied accusations of forced labour and labour transfers, which some human rights experts and foreign government have said amount to cultural genocide, along with the so-called 're-education centres' in Xinjiang where some one million Uighurs have been arbitrarily detained. The Chinese government has said that the work programmes are voluntary and are aimed at tackling poverty. It comes as officials at the Department of Health and Social Care said Government fraud investigators are looking into contracts to supply the NHS with PPE during the pandemic. Giving evidence to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Jonathan Marron, the director general of the office for health improvement and disparities, said they had 'concerns' over 176 contracts worth a total of 3.9billion. Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 4, 2018 Xi Jinping attends a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, December 2018 He said that the actual amount of equipment at issue was worth 2.7billion - with concerns ranging from the quality of the kit provided to performance of the contractor. While some may be possible to resolve through mediation and commercial agreement, he said others may require a 'more legal process'. 'We are working really, really closely with our internal fraud teams and the broader fraud authorities,' he said. 'That is part of what we are looking at, as to how we might bring resolution to these disputes. All options are on the table.' The DHSC permanent secretary Sir Chris Wormald said the level of suspected fraud was no higher than with other government contracts. 'It is not unusual to be in dispute on some contracts. Some of them will be resolved entirely amicably, some of them will get to the other end of the spectrum where we believe there has been wrongdoing,' he told the committee. 'Fraud in contracting is a fact of life, regardless of the circumstances. It would be astonishing if this was the only large set of government contracts in which there was no fraud at all. 'What we haven't seen is this set of contracts being more susceptible to fraud than the average.' Advertisement Boris Johnson says the UK is looking at sending British tanks to Poland - after it was revealed Ukrainian troops are in Britain being trained for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion. Speaking during a news conference in New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister today said the Government was contemplating sending Challenger 2 tanks to eastern Europe to replace Soviet-era T-72 tanks the Poles are shipping to Ukraine. Mr Johnson told reporters: 'I think perhaps what I haven't said publicly before is we're also looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians. 'So we're looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they sending some of their T-72s to Ukraine.' The Challenger 2 tank has been the mainstay of the British Army since the 1990s and saw action in the Iraq War. The 64-tonne vehicles are due to go out of service in 2025, but the Army still has a fleet of more than 200. Ministers had considered donating the tanks directly to Ukraine. However Ukrainian forces are not trained in their use and there were also concerns about their ability to repair them. Instead, Ukraine will receive familiar tanks from Poland and other Eastern European states. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meanwhile said he feared that sending tanks directly to Ukraine could spark a third world war. The UK is already one of the biggest donors of weapons to Ukraine, with the Ministry of Defence supplying hundreds of anti-tank missiles, along with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, ammunition and medical supplies. It comes as it was yesterday revealed that Ukrainian troops are in Britain being trained to use armoured vehicles supplied by the Ministry of Defence to repel Vladimir Putin's forces. More than 20 soldiers arrived last week in the UK for training on the 120 vehicles being supplied to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's resistance as Boris Johnson steps up military support to help in the war. As well as being trained on the Mastiff, Wolfhound and Husky armoured vehicles, the Ukrainians will be shown how to use the Samaritan ambulance, and Sultan and Samson armoured reconnaissance vehicles. The Prime Minister confirmed last night for the first time that Ukrainian forces were in the UK to journalists travelling with him in India, where he is pressing for a loosening of ties with Russia. 'I can say that we're currently training Ukrainians in Poland in the use of the anti-aircraft defences and actually in this country (the UK) in the use of the armoured vehicles,' he told reporters. Further Ukrainian forces are expected to be making their way to the UK for training in the future. The Prime Minister's press secretary said 'a couple of dozen' Ukrainians were currently in the UK for training. In other developments: The Kremlin revealed terrifying plans to seize Ukraines entire southern coast and to invade Moldova, where it claims Russian speakers are being oppressed; Columns of Russian tanks patrolled Mariupol as reports claimed 9,000 Ukrainians may be buried in mass graves there; Moscow refused Ukraines offer of a four-day truce over the Orthodox Easter weekend; Russias armed forces have suffered more than 13,000 deaths, with another 7,000 troops said to be missing in action, according to a pro-Kremlin website, which later deleted the claim. The Challenger 2 tank has been the mainstay of the British Army since the 1990s and saw action in the Iraq War. The 64-tonne vehicles are due to go out of service in 2025, but the Army still has a fleet of more than 200 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi today The UK is already one of the biggest donors of weapons to Ukraine, with the Ministry of Defence supplying hundreds of anti-tank missiles, along with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, ammunition and medical supplies A Mastiff armoured vehicle (pictured at Kandahar base in Afghanistan in 2007) is among the vehicles being used in training Wolfhound armoured vehicles (pictured at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan in 2010) are also being used for training Ukrainians The Husky armoured vehicle (pictured in a Military of Defence handout image in 2009) will also be used in the training The Ukrainian soldiers will also be shown how to use the Samaritan ambulance (pictured at Salisbury Plain in 2015) The Sultan command and control vehicle (pictured on Salisbury Plain in July last year) will also be used in the training Another vehicle used in training is the Samson armoured reconnaissance vehicle (pictured in a display in Wiltshire in 2020) Mr Johnson's official spokesman said: 'We are moving in conjunction with our allies providing new types of equipment that perhaps the Ukrainians wouldn't have had previous experience on. So it's only sensible that they get the requisite training to get the best use of it.' He downplayed concerns the move could be seen as escalatory by Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'We're always conscious of anything that's perceived to be escalatory but clearly what's escalatory is the actions of Putin and his regime,' the spokesman said. 'We're simply working together with our allies to give Ukraine the tools to defend themselves.' Mr Johnson, who remains under pressure over parties at his Downing Street residence during Covid-19 lockdowns, has established close ties with Mr Zelensky, talking to him regularly by phone and visiting him in Kyiv. Vehicles used in training for Ukrainian troops in UK More than 20 soldiers from Ukraine have arrived in the UK for training on the 120 vehicles being supplied to Ukrainian. These are split into six types as follows: Mastiff armoured vehicle armoured vehicle Wolfhound armoured vehicle armoured vehicle Husky armoured vehicle armoured vehicle Samaritan ambulance ambulance Sultan armoured reconnaissance vehicle armoured reconnaissance vehicle Samson armoured reconnaissance vehicle Advertisement Last night the Prime Minister warned that Russias bombardment could continue until the end of next year and Moscow could win the war. At a press conference in Delhi at the end of a two-day diplomatic visit to India, the PM was asked about Western intelligence that Russia could claim victory by consolidating control over the Donbas and Crimea. Mr Johnson admitted it was a realistic possibility, but said Vladimir Putin would not be able to conquer the spirit of the Ukrainian people. It came as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he feared that sending tanks directly to Ukraine could spark a third world war. He said: I said very early on that we must do everything possible to avoid a direct military confrontation between Nato and a highly armed superpower like Russia, a nuclear power. I am doing everything to prevent an escalation leading to a third world war. There must be no nuclear war. Mr Zelensky has accused Germany of dragging its feet because of its economic ties with Russia. Yesterday Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Defence Select Committee of the Commons, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he welcomed the 'upgrade' in the UK's support for Ukraine. The Conservative MP, who is also a former defence minister and soldier himself, added: 'It's consistent with a fine track record from the MoD in assisting Ukraine that actually went back, started in 2014. We've become more bolder, more confident, less risk averse and we're now thinking long term. 'This does come at a critical time - Russia is regrouping, focusing on the Donbas region in its kinetic efforts and also when Ukrainians are coming under increasing pressure and President Zelensky is actually calling for more Nato help. 'I visited Warsaw with the Defence Select Committee very recently this was fascinating to learn that Poland wanted to do more, they were frustrated with Nato not doing enough itself and I'm pleased that we're taking this forward ourself.' A woman stands on the balcony of her apartment yesterday which was damaged after a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv A man rides his bicycle next to a destroyed Russian tank in Chernihiv, Ukraine, yesterday as the conflict continues Ukrainian soldiers examine Russian multiple missiles abandoned by Russian troops, in the village of Berezivka yesterday Members of the Ukrainian government visited a military camp earlier this month on Salisbury Plain where they were shown demonstrations of equipment, followed by discussions on how the government can supply weapons. Ukraine evidence handed to Met War Crimes police 'some of worst ever seen' Counter-terror police gathering evidence of potential war crimes in Ukraine say they have been struck by the 'incredibly harrowing' material and eyewitness accounts from the frontline of the conflict. The Metropolitan Police's War Crimes Team, which is a unit within its counter-terrorism command (CTC), said it had already received around 50 referrals from people with a link to the UK, including those who have directly fled the conflict in the last two months since Russia began invading. Scotland Yard announced last month that it was supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into alleged war crimes, and appealed for anyone with direct evidence to come forward. Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy, providing an update on the evidence gathering operation as CTC head of operations, told the PA news agency: 'What we're seeing is incredibly harrowing, beyond comprehension. In not far off 17 years in counterterrorism, (it is) some of the worst possible footage you could imagine seeing.' He said it would be up to the judicial authority to decide whether the material and testimonies gathered so far - which are being tested to a UK evidential standard - could be used to support a charge of genocide. Mr Murphy said: 'Does it provide evidence of a war crime? Quite possibly. Does it provide evidence of other international crimes? Quite possibly. And then it's for those prosecuting agencies that we provide the information to to make those sorts of judgments and decisions. We're really committed to supporting the best possible outcome here and that is getting justice for victims and the best evidence.' He said every frontline police officer in the country has been briefed in the last two months on how to support those who come forward with evidence. Officers based at ports and borders are also asking people arriving into the UK whether they may have any evidence for the ICC investigation. This is particularly important as more Ukrainians are granted refugee status in the UK, police said. Mr Murphy added: 'We're putting in place processes and procedures that we want to embed into everybody's subconscious so that when more people arrive here in the UK, we are better able to capture that. We need to remember that people are actually experiencing this, and some of the people arriving in this country would have experienced it or been much closer to it than any of us can imagine.' Police said they wanted to gather as much first-hand evidence as possible. This could be in the form of messages which Ukrainians have sent to relatives in the UK, and video footage filmed on camera phones by those in conflict zones. It does not include anything sourced from social media or seen as part of news reports. Mr Murphy said the force was 'utterly committed' to not reducing the strength of national security and counterterrorism work while it was supporting the war crimes investigation. Evidence can be reported via this link Advertisement Britain's military has been training Ukrainian forces since the 2014 annexation of Crimea. They were withdrawn in February to avoid direct conflict with Russian forces and the possibility of Nato being drawn into the conflict. Since the start of the war, Britain has provided Ukraine with anti-ship, anti-aircraft and light anti-tank weapons, which have been used by mobile Ukrainian fighters against Russia's armoured vehicles. The United States military is also training Ukrainian troops on using howitzer artillery while Britain is training Ukrainians in Poland to use anti-aircraft weapons. Speaking about the context of the UK's extra military help, Mr Ellwood told Radio 4: 'It does draw Britain further into this conflict, it places extra burdens on our own Armed Forces, our own stockpiles that was not planned for. 'And as conflict moves from weeks to months, we must now look to updating our own defence posture, indeed our own defence spending in recognition of that change.' He said that the 'bigger question not answered by Nato or indeed us is what does success look like?' Mr Ellwood continued: 'We are doing enough to prevent Ukraine from losing but not enough to ensure they win, so what does our long-term mission objective look like? 'Is it pushing Russia back to pre-February lines, or liberating the entire Donbas region and that's absolutely critical, in how we chose to up arm the Ukrainians, which I absolutely support. 'But there is an absence of overall strategy for which the UK and indeed Nato assistance needs to work towards. For me, Putin will not stop until he is stopped and he has clear intentions to go beyond Ukraine. 'He's got China's backing we are entering a new era of insecurity, and we need to help Ukraine absolutely win rather than just defend the current lines.' As the conflict continued in Ukraine, local officials in Mariupol accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 Ukrainian civilians to conceal the slaughter taking place in the ruined port city that is almost entirely under Russian control. The images emerged just hours after Mr Putin claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol, despite the presence of an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters who are still holed up at a giant steel mill. After nearly two months of bombardment that largely reduced Mariupol to a smoking ruin, Russian forces appear to control the rest of the strategic southern city, including its vital but now badly damaged port. But a few thousand Ukrainian troops, by Moscow's estimate, have stubbornly held out for weeks at the steel factory, despite a pummelling from Russian forces and repeated demands for their surrender. About 1,000 civilians are also trapped there, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly accused Russia of launching attacks to block civilian evacuations from Mariupol. Russian officials for weeks have said capturing the Donbas region is the war's main objective. Moscow's forces opened the new phase of the fighting this week along a 300-mile front from the north-eastern city of Kharkiv to the Azov Sea. While Russia continued heavy air and artillery attacks in those areas, it did not appear to gain any significant ground over the past few days, according to military analysts, who said Moscow's forces are still ramping up the offensive. A croaky Anthony Albanese has spoken for the first time since contracting Covid in the opening days of the election trail. The Labor leader tested positive for the virus on Thursday after a series of public events, confirming he would spend the next seven days isolating in Sydney. Mr Albanese appeared on ABC on Friday afternoon, admitting he wasn't feeling well but wouldn't let it affect his campaign. 'I've had better days, but a lot of people have had it a lot worse,' he said. 'I will get lots of rest, lots of fluids and take everything else that my doctor has told me to do. I'll certainly take that advice.' The Labor leader said on Thursday evening he had been struck down with the virus and would spend the next seven days isolating in Sydney A croaky Anthony Albanese has spoken for the first time since contracting Covid in the opening days of the election trail Mr Albanese's positive result has thrown his election campaign plans into disarray, but the PM hopeful is expected to keep Labor in voters' minds by doing radio, TV and online interviews from his home. 'I'll be isolating for seven days here at home in Marrickville and then I'm able to join the campaign physically rather than digitally,' he said on Friday. He said Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles will take his place in Darwin on ANZAC Day, with Mr Albanese saying he was 'really looking forward' to attending the service. 'It's always a special day to pay tribute to the men and women who defended us and continue to do so,' he told ABC. 'I was really looking forward to it ... (but) we'll get through it. This is Australia and indeed the world in 2022 unfortunately.' Labor have seen several high profile MPs be struck down by the virus already, including Tony Burke and Kristina Keneally. 'It's not surprising. A whole range of people go down with Covid, and I'm sure it's the same on the other side,' Mr Albanese told the ABC. 'We've got people who will come in and fill the appointments I've made.' He spent Thursday campaigning in NSW's South Coast for the seat of Gilmore where he visited a distillery and an aged care assisted living facility Scott Morrison meanwhile is soldiering on with his campaign, visiting the RAAF Amberley Base east of Brisbane on Friday Mr Albanese also continued his attack on the federal government allowing China to swoop in and sign a security deal with the Solomon Islands - a contract that could see Communist military bases built within 2,000kilometres of Australia. The Labor leader described it as the country's 'worst foreign policy failure' and said the nation 'must respond'. 'China has changed its position... We need to recognise that there is that strategic competition in the region - that China is trying to extend its influence,' he said. 'If we are to maintain our influence, we need to respond, be forward-leaning, make sure that we're engaged on the policy issues that are of concern to the Solomons, but also be engaged with issues like foreign aid. 'Be partners of choice - that historically is the role that we have played in the Pacific. Mr Albanese said Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles will take his place in Darwin on ANZAC Day, saying he was 'really looking forward' to attending the service Mr Marles is understood to be earmarked to step in to replace Mr Albanese at other key events. Mr Albanese had been at Bluesfest in Byron Bay on Sunday, attended by more than 100,000 people, with northern NSW seeing a spike in Covid infections this week. Two monthly highs of 631 cases on Wednesday and 719 infections on Thursday have been recorded - around double the daily cases average over the past two weeks. Some areas in northern NSW are also lagging in vaccination rates. Mr Albanese said he'd been testing regularly during his time on the election campaign, and had taken a PCR test ahead of a scheduled trip to Western Australia. The man vying for Australia's top job has been out and about campaigning in the community in recent days, meeting voters and shaking hands with the election just weeks away. On Thursday he visited a retirement village on the South Coast and a shopping centre in Sydney. His party's formal launch is set for May 1 in Perth. Mr Albanese and Mr Morrison are seen shaking hands during the first election debate on Wednesday On Wednesday night he went head-to-head with Mr Morrison for Sky News and The Courier Mail's People's Forum. The PM tested positive to the virus himself in early March. Mr Morrison tweeted on Thursday evening saying he wished Mr Albanese all the best in his recovery. 'Everyone's experience with Covid is different and as Labor's campaign continues, I hope he does not experience any serious symptoms,' the PM said. Mr Morrison is not considered a close contact and it's understood he has personally reached out to Mr Albanese. Labor had put in strong measures to try prevent any spread of Covid after members of the party recently tested positive. Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister has accused Prince Harry of 'hypocrisy' for claiming he wanted to 'protect the Queen' after flying from LA to see her. The Duke of Sussex had claimed in an interview with a US broadcaster that one reason he flew to the UK last week to see his grandmother was because he wanted to make sure 'she's protected and got the right people around her'. The controversial comment, coming from a man who has spent much of the last two-and-a-half years abroad, has sparked fury and speculation as to who he could be referring to. Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, 57, told LBC today: 'Well you know Harry came out and said he just wants to protect the Queen, well that's like sitting there lighting the fuse of a cannon ball and saying ''wait, okay, incoming, I am lighting this cannon ball here it comes, but I am protecting you''. 'It doesn't work that way, it is such hypocrisy and the action's don't speak as loudly as the words, the works speak loudly but the actions don't, it's just terrible.' Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, 57, told LBC today: 'Well you know Harry came out and said he just wants to protect the Queen, well that's like sitting there lighting the fuse of a cannon ball and saying ''wait, okay, incoming, I am lighting this cannon ball here it comes, but I am protecting you''.' Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle visit the sitting volleyball section of the fifth edition of the Invictus Games in The Hague on April 17 Programme host Nick Ferrari asked Samantha what she thought about claims that some of the reason behind reaction to Meghan was because of her skin colour and there was a 'racist element'. Samantha replied: 'I think that came out, that was definitely PR that came out in defence of some of her actions that she was being called on because that only started when there was a lot of controversy about lavish spending and lies and things going wrong.' Ferrari asked: 'You don't buy it, Samantha?' Samantha said: 'I don't buy it. I think when they were held to, being accountable for their own actions, suddenly the decoy was the race card. Programme host Nick Ferrari asked Samantha what she thought about claims that some of the reason behind reaction to Meghan was because of her skin colour and there was a 'racist element'. Samantha replied: 'I think that came out, that was definitely PR that came out in defence of some of her actions that she was being called on because that only started when there was a lot of controversy about lavish spending and lies and things going wrong' Prince Harry opened up to NBC about his private relationship with the Queen a day before her 96th birthday The Queen happily chatted as she went for a drive on her 96th birthday, which she celebrated at Sandringham A new portrait of the Queen which has been released by The Royal Windsor Horse Show to mark the occasion of her 96th birthday 'That's my opinion, that's the way I feel because only then was it brought up. 'It wasn't brought up when there was a $40million wedding and a lovely choir and the fab four running around with wind blowing in my sister's hair and great pictures.' Prince Charles is said by some to be 'weary' of the constant wranglings but buoyed by the fact he got to see his son last week. Pictured, Prince Charles last week at the Royal Maundy Service at St George's Chapel, Windsor It comes following reports that the Royal Family is 'wearied' by the never-ending soap opera surrounding Prince Harry but determined to put on a business as usual front as they marked the Queen's 96th birthday. While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were yesterday working in London, where they had to dodge questions about the embittered prince's latest claims from broadcasters, the monarch enjoyed a low-key day at Sandringham. Charles is said by some to be 'weary' of the constant wranglings but buoyed by the fact he got to see his son last week. Clarence House said it would 'not be drawn into commenting on a private meeting' but one source said Charles and Camilla had appeared 'pleased' after getting to see Harry and Meghan at Windsor. William and Kate were forced to avoid questions on Harry's comment as they visited the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in London this week. As they left, a broadcaster called to William: 'Sir, does the Queen need protecting?' The couple did not stop or respond. William is likely to be irritated at being put in that position as he and his wife were highlighting the generosity of the British people to the DEC Ukraine appeal, which has raised more than 300million so far. Advertisement An adorable bear cub was found lost in the wilderness without his mother by a Turkish rescue centre in Hakkari, a nearby province on the Turkish border with Iraq. The baby bear, called 'Hakvan', is pictured guzzling from a milk bottle after his rescue. Photos show him being nursed back to health after his solo adventure. After being separated from its mother in Hakkari, Turkish rescue workers brought the bear cub to Van for treatment, feeding Hakvan every three hours and keeping him under supervision. Professor Lokman Aslan, the director of the center, told reporters that the centre treats dozens of injured animals brought in every year but bears are rarely seen in east Turkey. '(Hakvan) is fine now. He was fed and released back to the spot where he lost his mother but he could not locate her,' he said according to The Frontier Post. 'So, we took him here. He has the perfect habitat here similar to his natural habitat.' More bears have been spotted close to the area in recent times, however. Aslan said they most recently treated two adult bears who were injured. Feeding time: Baby bear 'Hakvan' is pictured feeding from a milk bottle by an officer at a rehabilition center in Van, Turkey on April 20 Pausing for breath: The baby bear, separated from its mother in Hakkari and brought to Van for treatment, is fed every three hours and is constantly kept under the supervision of veterinarians The bear continues to drink the milk. They found the cub in Hakkari, a nearby province on the Turkish border with Iraq. Bear sightings are rare in that part of the world Professor Lokman Aslan, the director of the center, told reporters the centre treats dozens of injured animals brought in every year but it is unusual for them to spot bears More bears have been spotted close to the area in recent times however. Aslan said they most recently treated two adult bears who were injured Hakvan the baby bear: The name Hakvan is a combination of Hakkari and 'hayvan,' combining the Turkish word for animal with the name of the place the baby bear was found They rescues workers wanted to get Hakvan away from the wilderness as it was unclear he would be able to survive on his own without his mother '(Hakvan) is fine now. He was fed and released back to the spot where he lost his mother but he could not locate her,' said Aslan. 'So, we took him here. He has the perfect habitat here similar to his natural habitat' 'We will apply a special rehabilitation process for him but he will be a longtime guest here,' Aslan said. It is not clear at what point the rescue centre will attempt to reintroduce Harkvan back into the wild Authorities sometimes have difficulty rehabilitating animals into the wild after they have spent too much time in human company. Bears are very social, and while they do not live in extended family groups or join in hunts, they can co-exist in very close proximity to each other Rehabilitating bears can be especially challenging if they have spent a significant time away from other bears. Bears are social creatures, forming hierarchies and have structured kinship relationships. Bears are able to routinely distinguish between threatening and non-threatening human behaviour A man has been arrested after he jumped off a Sydney ferry just moments after it pulled away from the wharf. The man aged in his 20s reportedly jumped into the water not far from the Manly Wharf on Friday afternoon just after 2pm. He refused assistance out of the water from police before he was forced to shore and taken into police custody. The man could be seen in TV footage of the incident in the busy Manly waters after he jumped off a ferry The reason the man jumped in is unknown at this stage. It is also not yet known why he then refused assistance from the water. 7 News vision shows a man's head bobbing in the busy harbour between other ferries and boats. Just after 3.20pm the vessel vaulter was pulled from the water and returned to shore by officers from the Marine Area Command. Once he was onshore, police handcuffed the man and took him into custody. He has been taken to Royal North Shore Hospital for assessment. After refusing assistance and then being forced to shore the man was taken into custody by police In 2020, a man who missed his ferry was filmed jumping into the Sydney Harbour and swimming after it. Sydney Ferries deckhand worker Haig Gilchrist, who was on board the ferry to Manly, shared footage of the unnamed man splashing in the water near the Opera House in the morning. The harbour is often full of bull sharks, and according to Mr Gilchrist, multiple boats slowed down to offer help to the man. 'We all stopped to advise him to get out,' Mr Gilchrist said on the Instagram post. Water police eventually arrived and were able to drag him to safety. An officer escorted him on board the ferry, before questioning what he was doing in the water to begin with The deckhand said 'the poor guy' had clearly 'missed the Manly ferry this morning... So decided to go for a swim from the steps of the Sydney Opera House'. 'He was so lucky not get run over by many fast moving vessels this sun glared location. We all feel lucky the scenario was only a minor event,' Mr Gilchrist said. Water police eventually arrived and were able to drag him to safety. At the time a spokeswoman for New South Wales police told Daily Mail Australia no charges had been laid in relation to the incident. An officer escorted him on board the ferry, before questioning what he was doing in the water to begin with. In footage of the encounter, the man was asked if he had 'taken any drugs' in the lead up to the event. He was given a white towel to wrap around himself and dry off for the journey. As per the report of Futurism.com, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims to have obtained $46.5 billion in funding to buy Twitter, based on a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). NPR, citing the filing, mentioned that Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and many other banks have agreed to finance $25.5 billion, backed in part by some of Musk's Tesla shares. Musk claims he will cover the remaining $21 billion alone. It was noted that the majority of his fortune is invested in Tesla and SpaceX. Futurism.com further reported that it's still uncertain whether Musk will be able to persuade Twitter's board with a detailed plan. Given that Musk's offer has previously been dismissed by a number of major shareholders, the company is unlikely to simply cave in and hand over the keys. But according to NPR, Musk also stated in fis filing that Twitter has yet to reply to his unsolicited offer. The filing read that he "is seeking to negotiate a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Twitter," and "is prepared to begin such negotiations immediately." Read More: Elon Musk "Not Sure" About Twitter Takeover - But He Has a Plan B Is There a Way For Twitter to Avoid an Elon MuskTakeover? According to Business Insider, Dan Ives of investment firm Wedbush said that a white knight - an investor who saves a company from a hostile acquisition by acquiring it at the last minute - could be Twitter's last chance of avoiding Musk's purchase proposal. The report cited Fortune. PayPal, Oracle, and Elliott Investment Management, a hedge fund and Twitter shareholder, were all mentioned in the same article as prospective white knights for Twitter. Separately, on April 14, billionaire investor Mark Cuban tweeted his speculation companies were likely considering ways to acquire Twitter without breaking antitrust regulations. Every major tech company , Google, fb, et al is on the phone with their anti trust lawyers asking if they can buy Twitter and get it approved. And Twitter is on the phone with their lawyers asking which can be their white knight. Gonna be interesting https://t.co/khCVPzuGiM Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 14, 2022 Twitter has yet to respond to Musk's offer to buy the social media platform for $54.20 per share. However, the report cited The Wall Street Journal which said that the company would most likely reject the proposal within the next week. Elon Musk and Twitter's Relationship Thus Far As previously reported, Musk became Twitter's biggest shareholder. The billionaire CEO owns 9.2% of Twitter, which is reportedly to have been "purchased on March 14 and is described to be a passive stake." Another report mentioned that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted on April 10 that Musk will not be joining Twitter's board. The announcement comes only days after Musk revealed that he had purchased a 9.2% stake in the company. Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022 After a few days, another report surfaced saying, "Musk offered to buy Twitter for $41.3 billion (some reports say $43 billion)." And as for the latest development thus far, the SEC filing dated April 20 said that SpaceX and Tesla CEO claims to have secured $46.5 billion in funding to purchase Twitter. Related Article: Musk Offers To Buy Twitter - Will Jack Dorsey Approve? How Much Is Twitter Worth? Advertisement Putin's devastating military losses are continuing to pile up as new satellite images reveal the scale of destruction wrought against Russian tanks. Drone images have revealed huge graveyards of the charred and mangled military vehicles, with broken guns and howitzers also dumped in the field. Ukrainian intelligence carried out reconnaissance flights over the embarrassing military scrapheap located ten miles inside Russia. A previous satellite image taken on February 24 shows an untouched green field with no military equipment in view. On March 17, only a few vehicles were dumped there, but now 57 destroyed military hardware is on the site at Golovchino village. Among the damaged equipment are 17 tanks, seven self-propelled artillery guns including MSTA mobile howitzers, 2S3 Akatsiya guns, mechanised bridges, armoured fighting vehicles and two tank recovery vehicles, according to The Sun. Drone images have revealed huge graveyards of the charred military vehicles, with broken guns and howitzers also dumped in the field A previous satellite image taken on February 24 shows an untouched green field with no military equipment in view Other footage taken this week in the horror town of Bucha showed at least a dozen destroyed tanks and armoured vehicles A Ukrainian service member stands next to a damaged Russian tank T-72 BV, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Donetsk region Ukraine's Armed Forces claim they have destroyed 829 Russian tanks, 2,118 armoured personnel carriers and 393 artillery systems The Ukrainian team commander said the haul of equipment had been taken to the village for repairs but it had been abandoned there. It is believed they had been deployed to the Sumy region in north-east Ukraine before Putin ordered his humiliating retreat to focus on the Donbas in his botched invasion. He said: 'All the Russian vehicles that come to Ukraine will end up in a place like this. It is a tank graveyard. A cemetery.' Ukraine's Armed Forces claim they have destroyed 829 Russian tanks, 2,118 armoured personnel carriers and 393 artillery systems. A Ukrainian intelligence source said: 'The fact these tanks have been left behind in Golovchino tells us they are no use to Russia.' Sam Cranny-Evans, from the RUSI think-tank, added: 'They are positioned somewhat haphazardly, as you would expect for vehicles that are unable to move under their own power and that are in need of repair.' A damaged Russian tank near a road in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv. Some cities and villages had recently been recaptured by the Ukrainian army from Russian forces Western officials even said this week Putin's forces are being 'ritually humiliated' in Ukraine, but cautioned they are still in a position to win the war Broken tanks and combat vehicles of the Russian invaders are seen near the village of Dmitrievka following the botched invasion Poor tactical decisions have been preyed upon by Ukrainian fighters, who have used their anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry to great effect Many of the Russian units now targeting the east of Ukraine and the Donbas region had not had time to properly reconstitute after receiving a mauling in the failed advance on Kyiv Other footage taken this week in the horror town of Bucha showed at least a dozen destroyed tanks and armoured vehicles. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) also reported yesterday that the Russian military death toll had risen to 21,000. Though Russia's armed forces outnumber their Ukrainian counterparts and have more equipment and machinery at their disposal, poor tactical decisions have been preyed upon by Ukrainian fighters, who have used their anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry to great effect. Western officials even said this week Putin's forces are being 'ritually humiliated' in Ukraine, but cautioned they are still in a position to win the war. Moscow's troops failed in their initial invasion objectives to seize Kyiv and install a puppet government, with Ukraine inflicting a series of humiliating defeats on them. The turnaround has come after a general known as 'The Butcher', who is a veteran of the Syrian campaign, overhauled the performance of the Russian advance. Destroyed vehicles and Russian tanks are seen in Irpin, a town near Kyiv that was recently liberated from Russian forces Though Russia's armed forces outnumber their Ukrainian counterparts and have more equipment and machinery at their disposal, poor tactical decisions have been preyed upon by Ukrainian fighters Moscow's troops failed in their initial invasion objectives to seize Kyiv and install a puppet government, with Ukraine inflicting a series of humiliating defeats on them Western officials credited the reversal in Russia's fortunes to General Aleksandr Dvornikov, who was made overall commander a fortnight ago. His takeover followed Russia's failure to seize any major cities, its retreat from Kyiv, and the loss of thousands of troops and hundreds of aircraft and tanks. Since then its use of drones, rocket systems and electronic warfare has been transformed potentially providing Putin with a platform to claim victory. 'This is a new chapter of the campaign and, despite his previous failures, Putin is still in a position to win,' an official said. 'Russia has concentrated sufficient force that if they use it intelligently they should be able to destroy a large part of Ukraine's forces.' Officials now believe that with such a numerical advantage, and more effective leadership, the Russians will be difficult to dislodge from the territory they have won. But they said that many of the Russian units now targeting the east of Ukraine and the Donbas region had not had time to properly reconstitute after receiving a mauling in the failed advance on Kyiv. This is the moment a Russian tank is blown to smithereens by a Ukrainian anti-tank guided missile fired from almost three miles away (R). Footage obtained today from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces shows how the tank is caught in the missile system's crosshairs (L) before it is destroyed The missile blew the Soviet era T-72 tank to pieces, adding to the huge losses already sustained by Putin's armed forces (A man jumps from a Russian T-72 tank destroyed during Russia's invasion, in the village of Yahidne, Ukraine April 20, 2022) As a result, they were being fed into the new phase of the war in a 'piecemeal' fashion with limited impact, taking 'relatively small amounts of terrain'. Meanwhile, footage obtained yesterday shows a Russian tank being blown to smithereens by a Ukrainian anti-tank guided missile fired from almost three miles away. The video from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade - a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces - shows how the tank is caught in the missile system's crosshairs before the projectile soars through the air and meets its target. The brigade titled the video (in Ukrainian): 'Stugna against T-72: attackers of the 128th brigade destroyed a Russian tank with a Ukrainian missile from a distance of 4.5 km'. It comes as separate footage emerged of a Russian Ka-53 attack helicopter being blown out of the sky over Zaporizhzhia by another Ukrainian man-portable missile system. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) reported earlier today that the Russian military death toll had reached 21,000 personnel, with thousands of Putin's tanks, armoured vehicles and helicopters also scuppered. Britain and India have agreed a 'new and expanded' defence and security partnership and will look to complete a free-trade deal by the end of the year, Boris Johnson revealed today. The two countries have a 'shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free', the Prime Minister said in New Delhi alongside his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, calling the new partnership 'a decades-long commitment'. Along with seeking to finalise a free-trade agreement by the end of 2022, Britain will also help India build its own fighter jets, it was revealed Mr Johnson is visiting India just as he faces criticism from his own Conservative MPs and the embarrassing prospect of a probe into whether he lied to parliament over the 'Partygate' scandal. New Delhi is part of the Quad grouping with the United States, Japan and Australia that is seen as a bulwark against an increasingly assertive China. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shakes hands with his British counterpart Boris Johnson after a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi today Prime Minister Boris Johnson inspects a guard of honour at India's presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi at a ceremonial reception Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at India's presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi But India also has a long Cold War history of cooperation with Moscow, still its biggest military supplier, and has refused to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. 'The threats of autocratic coercion have grown even further,' Johnson said alongside his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. 'And it's therefore vital that we deepen our cooperation including our shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free.' The new partnership was 'a decades-long commitment', he added, hailing the relationship between 'one of the oldest democracies, and India, certainly the largest democracy'. Boris Johnson's hopes of a post-Brexit free trade deal with India were boosted today as his counterpart Narendra Modi said New Delhi will make 'all efforts' to get it done. The news is a boost for the Prime Minister as he seeks to move on from the Partygate scandal engulfing his administration in London. But he may face disappointment over the speed at which the deal appears. At a join press event today in New Delhi Mr Johnson said he had told negotiators to 'get it done by Diwali', the Hindu religious festival in October. However Mr Modi only spoke about signing off an agreement by the end of 2022. Mr Johnson held talks with his counterpart on defence, fossil fuels and trade as he seeks to lessen India's ties with Vladimir Putin's Russia over his invasion of Ukraine. Johnson has committed to supporting India to build fighter jets in a bid to reduce the amount of arms the nation buys from Russia. But No 10 said the PM did not pressure his Indian counterpart to strengthen his position against Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine, Downing Street has accepted. No 10 said Mr Johnson did not raise India's neutrality on the Russian invasion at the UN during his meeting in Delhi. At a join press event today in New Delhi Mr Johnson said he had told negotiators to 'get it done by Diwali', the Hindu religious festival in October. However Mr Modi only spoke about signing off an agreement by the end of 2022. Johnson has committed to supporting India to build fighter jets in a bid to reduce the amount of arms the nation buys from Russia, like this Indian Air Force Mig-29 fighte The spokesman said 10-15 minutes of their talk was on Ukraine including what it 'means for energy and defence'. 'Prime Minister Modi was interested in our Prime Minister's perspective on the situation in Ukraine and his views following his visit to Kyiv,' the spokesman said. Asked if Mr Johnson asked his counterpart to harden his position on Mr Putin, the spokesman said 'he was not there to talk to another democratic country about what actions they should take'. Asked about reports the Indian foreign secretary said the PM put no pressure on Mr Modi over the war, the spokesman said that approach would be 'constructive'. Downing Street said the UK would offer the 'best of British knowhow' to support building 'new Indian-designed and built fighter jets', but further details were unclear. Britain will also issue an open general export licence to India, which No 10 said would speed up its defence procurement in a move that is a first outside the European Union or US India has declined to be critical of its former Cold War ally Russia and has abstained from voting in United Nations resolutions condemning Moscow. As the West divests from Russian fuel, India has upped its purchases of Moscow's oil and has been a major buyer of the Kremlin's arms. Mr Johnson was open to the possibility of accepting Delhi's demands for more immigration to the UK, saying the UK is short of 'hundreds of thousands' of IT workers. But the PM was facing renewed calls in India to speak up for minorities and democratic rights as he visited a JCB factory, while bulldozers are being used to tear down Muslim-owned properties in communal violence. He indicated he would bring up those issues during talks with Mr Modi, who is accused of damaging India's democracy and of whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment. A prominent Russian state TV presenter has warned of Russia waging a war 'against Europe and the world' after the invasion of Ukraine, as he threatened there 'will be no mercy'. Vladimir Solovyov, known as 'Putin's voice', threatened Europe and all NATO countries with war as he said Russia's war is entering 'a new stage', adding that 'Ukrainians are no longer enough'. The Russian propagandist questioned whether NATO, which consists of 30 member countries including the UK and US, and Europe will have enough weapons and people to defend themselves once Russia's invasion of Ukraine comes to an end. A ranting Solovyov, who has been sanctioned by the European Union over his close ties to Putin, warned Russia will be 'grinding up NATO's war machine as well as its citizens'. Vladimir Solovyov, known as 'Putin's voice', threatened Europe and all NATO countries with war as he said Russia's war is entering 'a new stage', adding that 'Ukrainians are no longer enough' 'I believe the special military operation is entering a new stage,' Solovyov said on the state-owned Russian television channel Russia 1. 'Ukrainians alone are no longer enough. Now they're talking about NATO countries supplying de-facto their own weapons. We'll see not only NATO's weapons being drawn into this but also their operators. 'De-facto, we're starting to wage war against NATO countries. We'll be grinding up NATO's war machine as well as citizens of NATO countries.' Solovyov added: 'When this operation concludes, NATO will have to ask itself: Do we have what we need to defend ourselves? Do we have the people to defend ourselves? 'And there will be no mercy. There will be no mercy. Not only Ukraine will have be denazified, the war against Europe and the world is developing a more specific outline which means we'll have to act differently and to act much more harshly.' The disturbing comments come as Russia today outlined plans to seize the entire Donbas and the south of Ukraine in the second phase of its offensive to create a land corridor stretching to Moldova. The deputy commander of Russia's central military district, Rustam Minnekayev, said Russia planned to forge a corridor between Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014, and the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. The remaining Ukrainian fighters left in the port city of Mariupol are holed up at the vast Azovstal industrial facility which Putin has ordered to be blockaded, effectively condemning the soldiers and civilians inside to their deaths. Mariupol sits between areas held by Russian separatists and Crimea and its capture would allow Russia to link the two areas. The Russian propagandist questioned whether NATO, which consists of 30 member countries including the UK and US, and Europe will have enough weapons and people to defend themselves once Russia's invasion of Ukraine comes to an end An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops waving Russian flags moves towards Mariupol yesterday which Putin claims he has 'liberated' A view of a Mykolaiv Regional Council building which was destroyed as a result of a shellfire yesterday as Russia continues to pound Ukraine Minnekayev said taking control of southern Ukraine would improve Russian access to Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria, which borders Ukraine and which Kyiv fears could be used as a launching pad for new attacks. Kyiv earlier this month said that an airfield in the region was being prepared to receive aircraft and could be used by Moscow to fly in Ukraine-bound troops. 'Control over the south of Ukraine is another way to Transdniestria, where there is also evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed,' TASS quoted Minnekayev as saying at a meeting in Russia's central Sverdlovsk region. Ukraine's Defence Ministry denounced the plans announced by Russia to take full control of Donbas and southern Ukraine as 'imperialism'. 'They stopped hiding it,' the ministry said on Twitter. It said Russia had 'acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is.' Solovyov's rant about Moscow waging war on Europe and NATO countries just weeks after arsonists targeted his Lake Como villa and suspected activists scrawled 'killer' onto another of his seized Italian properties and poured red paint into its swimming pool. Italian firefighters were called to put out a fire at the villa, reportedly owned by Solovyov, in Menaggio, one of the picturesque towns that dot the lake in northern Italy, earlier this month. Police are investigating the fire as a suspected act of protest. The villa was under renovation and the blaze involved tires at the site, said an official who declined to be identified by name, citing official policy. Solovyov's swimming pool was filled with red paint by unknown vandals in what local police suspect to be an act of 'protest' The Russian state TV propagandist owns two houses on Lake Como that are worth a combined eight million euros, according to the Italian government that announced the property seizures last month Solovyov owns two houses on Lake Como that are worth a combined eight million euros, according to the Italian government that announced the property seizures last month. Police are also investigating anti-Russian graffiti at the second property, Italian state news agency ANSA reported. 'Just one team of firemen put out the fire within a very short time,' Como fire chief, Gennaro di Maio, said. 'There is hardly any damage, it was burnt tyres that gave off visible black smoke,' he said. Solovyov has bemoaned EU sanctions brought against him and has seemed particularly offended by the prospect of losing his Italian holiday destinations. The vandalized facade of one of the two villas belonging to Russian state TV host Vladimir Solovyov on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, seen on April 6, 2022 Pictured: The entrance to Solovyov's villa, with red graffiti sprayed by suspected activists. the word 'killer' can be seen sprayed down one column At another of his properties - a large salmon-pink villa also on Lake Como, pictures showed the words 'killer' and 'no war' pained in red on the building's facade and entrance way. Red paint was also poured into the pool According to the EU list of sanctions, Solovyov is 'known for his extremely hostile attitude towards Ukraine and praise of the Russian government.' The EU says he was targeted because of his support for 'actions or policies which undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.' Days after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Solovyov publicly lamented losing access to his multimillion-dollar vacation homes due to Italian-imposed sanctions spurred by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. 'Is this the Iron Curtain?' Solovyov opined on the set of his late-night program. 'I was told that Europe is a citadel of rights, that everything is permitted, thats what they said.' Pictured: Tyres are seen outside the villa which firefighters were called to on April 6. They said tyres were involved in the small fire Advertisement A bloated Vladimir Putin has been seen gripping a table whilst slouching in his chair during a televised meeting with his defence minister amid rumours the Russian strongman is battling cancer. In a rare live appearance, Putin claimed Russia had 'liberated' the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, as he savagely ordered Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to seal off all routes out of the Azovstal steelworks where defiant Ukrainians are holed up 'so that even a fly cannot pass through'. But Putin's poor posture and his apparently bloated face and neck sparked speculation about the Russian leader's health, which has reportedly been in decline since his invasion of Ukraine. Video showed Putin speaking to Shoigu whilst gripping the edge of the table with his right hand - so hard that it appears white - and tapping his foot consistently. Shoigu does not appear to have fared any better in the eight weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, with the defence minister slurring his words and reading from his notes following an apparent heart attack. A bloated Vladimir Putin has been seen gripping a table whilst slouching in his chair during a televised meeting with his defence minister Sergei Shoigu amid rumours the Russian strongman is battling cancer. Shoigu does not appear to have fared any better in the eight weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, with the defence minister slurring his words and reading from his notes following an apparent heart attack But Putin's poor posture and his apparently bloated face and neck sparked speculation about the Russian leader's health, which has reportedly been in decline since his invasion of Ukraine Vladimir Putin's five medically-related disappearances November 2012: Business trips and long-distance flights of the president are canceled, some of Putin's meetings shown by the Kremlin turn out to be 'canned food' March 5 15, 2015: Putin does not appear in public, all meetings are 'canned' - in other words pre-recorded events were shown with the pretence they were in real time August 9-16, 2017: The President, with journalists, visits Abkhazia and Sochi, and then for a week the Kremlin publishes only 'canned food' February 2018: In the midst of an election campaign, the president cancels public events. Peskov admits that the head of state 'had a cold' September 13-29, 2021: Putin goes into 'self-isolation', all events are held via video link Advertisement Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and former adviser to Ukraine and Russia, said the video showed both Putin and Shoigu 'depressed and seemingly in bad health'. 'Shoigu has to read his comments to Putin and slurs badly, suggesting that the rumours of his heart attack are likely. He sits badly. Poor performance.' Professor Erik Bucy, a body language expert from Texas Tech University, told The Sun Online: 'It's an astonishingly weakened Putin compared to the man we observed even a few years ago. 'An able-bodied president would not need to keep himself propped up with a hand held out for leverage and would not be concerned about keeping both feet planted on the ground.' 'This is not a portrait of a healthy Putin but one appearing increasingly feeble and barely able to hold himself upright at a small conference table,' Bucy added. Putin's bloated face and neck has sparked claims he is undergoing steroid treatment, whilst reports have suggested Putin is 'constantly' accompanied by a doctor specialising in thyroid cancer. Surgeon Yevgeny Selivanov, of Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital, has flown to the Russian leader no less than 35 times in Black Sea resort Sochi, his favourite place of residence. The respected doctor's thesis - showing his area of medical expertise - was entitled: 'Peculiarities of diagnostics and surgical treatment of elderly and senile patients with thyroid cancer'. 'Shoigu has to read his comments to Putin and slurs badly, suggesting that the rumours of his heart attack are likely. He sits badly. Poor performance,' Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and former adviser to Ukraine and Russia, said Service members of pro-Russian troops, including fighters of the Chechen special forces unit, stand in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works Meanwhile Shoigu, who is in charge of the bloody invasion of Ukraine, has been noticeably absent from public view amid reports the defence minister and Putin's relationship has become strained after Russia's military operation in Ukraine has led to more than 20,000 Russian troops being killed. Last week, a Russian-Israeli businessman claimed Shoigu suffered a heart attack, which he suspects was caused by foul play. Leonid Nevzlin claimed Shoigu had been in intensive car after suffering 'a massive heart attack' which 'could not have occurred due to natural causes', suggesting Putin's longtime ally may have been the subject of an assassination attempt ordered by his boss. Some have claimed Shoigu and Putin's poor health is due to the faltering invasion of Ukraine. During the televised meeting, Putin hailed the 'liberation' of Mariupol as a 'success' for Russian forces, and ordered a siege of the Azovstal plant. 'There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can escape,' Putin said. The British Ministry of Defence said today: 'Putin's decision to blockade the Azovstal steel plant likely indicates a desire to contain Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol and free up Russian forces to be deployed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.' There are at least 500 wounded soldiers inside the plant needing medication and surgery including amputations, while a number of elderly civilians are also in need of urgent treatment. 'They have almost no food, water, essential medicine,' Ukraine's foreign ministry said A pro-Russian troop stands in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol where hundreds of Ukrainians are trapped An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops waving Russian flags moves towards Mariupol yesterday which Putin claims he has 'liberated' Defiant Ukrainians holed up inside the steelworks are still refusing to surrender Mariupol despite being surrounded by Russian forces. Today, Captain Svyatoslav Palamar from the Azov Battalion insisted: 'I always say that as long as we are here, Mariupol remains under control of Ukraine.' Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the remarks in an overnight address, saying Mariupol 'continues to resist' the invading forces. Palamar's comments are the first to emerge from inside the steelworks, the last remaining bastion of resistance in the city which has been razed to the ground, since Putin claimed victory yesterday. He described the chilling sight inside Azovstal and its labyrinthine tunnels where scores of dead civilians are trapped in bunkers and under collapsed buildings after taking refuge there from the constant shelling. The soldier told the BBC: 'All the buildings in the territory of Azovstal are practically destroyed. They drop heavy bombs, bunker-busting bombs which cause huge destruction. We have wounded and dead inside the bunkers. Some civilians remain trapped under the collapsed buildings.' Putin's 'lover', 38, reappears with a 'new look' in Moscow - sparking rumours she has used same cosmetic surgeon as Vladimir - amid claims she was hiding in a Swiss chalet or Siberian nuclear bunker Vladimir Putin's rumoured lover has reappeared with a 'new look' in Moscow following rumours she was hiding in a private chalet in Switzerland or a Siberian nuclear bunker. Olympic gold-medallist Alina Kabaeva, 38, resurfaced at a junior rhythmic gymnastics rehearsal in Moscow's VTB Arena this week ahead of the Alina Festival, a charity event scheduled for Saturday. Kabaeva is widely believed to be the Russian strongman's mistress and mother to four of Putin's children whom he has never officially recognised. Pictures of Kabaeva at the event in Moscow sparked speculation that the former gymnast had used the same cosmetic surgeon as Putin amid claims of botox and fillers. 'Something has really changed in Kabaeva's face... the legendary athlete was noticeably prettier,' wrote the Russian Cosmopolitan. Olympic gold-medallist Alina Kabaeva, 38, (right) resurfaced at a junior rhythmic gymnastics rehearsal in Moscow's VTB Arena this week ahead of the Alina Festival, a charity event scheduled for Saturday Pictures of Kabaeva (centre left) at the event in Moscow sparked speculation that the former gymnast had used the same cosmetic surgeon as Putin amid claims of botox and fillers Kabaeva is widely believed to be the Russian strongman's mistress (pictured together at an event in the Kremlin) and mother to four of Putin's children whom he has never officially recognised Avoiding linking her to Putin so as not to be censored by the Russian state, the magazine said: 'Alina Kabaeva is one of the most mysterious and secretive women in our country. 'The gymnast almost never appears in public, does not [appear in] social networks, and it is not possible to accidentally see her on the street or in shopping centres.' Telegram channel Tol'ko Nikomu - also choosing its words carefully to avoid the Russian censor - hinted that she and Putin share the same plastic surgeon. 'A new rare appearance of Alina Kabaeva. This time she is dressed casually - and is again seen with a wedding ring. 'And yes, the handwriting of the family beautician is quite notable.' A TV version of Kabaeva's festival will be broadcast on the eve of Russia's 9 May Victory Day commemoration marking the end of the Second World War. Alina Kabaeva pictured at the rehearsal of her sports festival Alina 2022 in VTB Arena, Moscow Kabaeva pictured with junior gymnasts at the rehearsal of her sports festival Alina 2022 in VTB Arena, Moscow. A pro-Russian troop stands in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol on Thursday where hundreds of Ukrainians are trapped This is seen as the day when Putin will seek to declare some kind of victory in Ukraine, possibly claiming he has seized the entire Donbas for Russia. The West has so far not sanctioned Kabaeva, who as well as being Putin's rumoured secret partner is also chairman of the board of directors at National Media Group - a major Kremlin-obedient TV and newspaper behemoth - with a salary of almost 8 million a year. Kabaeva and her supposedly secret young family with Putin is believed to have been sent to a private chalet in Switzerland or one of several high-grade bunkers in the Urals, Arctic or Siberia. A petition, launched by citizens in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine two weeks ago, has called for Swiss authorities to kick Kabaeva out of Switzerland and deport her back to Russia. The appeal, which describes Kabaeva as the 'favourite wife of the delusional dictator and war criminal Putin', has since reached over 73,500 signatures. 'It's time you reunite Eva Braun with her Fuhrer,' the strongly-worded petition said. 'Despite the current war, Switzerland continues to host an accomplice of Putin's regime.' Putin and Kabaeva have been pictured together on several occasions, and investigations by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, set up by jailed Putin opponent Alexei Navalny, revealed several Russian oligarchs have inexplicably bestowed gifts of property, money and other assets upon Kabaeva's family. Navalny has demanded from his prison cell that Kavaeva faces sanctions. Navalny posted from jail: 'I want to remind you that the National Media Group, which owns the lion's share of this apparatus of lies, undoubtedly belongs to Putin personally, and as such is even formally headed by Putin's mistress Alina Kabaeva.' He called for her as a Putin propagandist to be treated as a 'war criminal'. A petition, launched by citizens in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine two weeks ago, has called for Swiss authorities to kick Kabaeva out of Switzerland and deport her back to Russia The former gymnast is seldom seen in public, but she was caught on video dancing at the 'Divine Grace' rhythmic gymnastics tournament in Moscow in December last year, mere weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. It was her last public appearance before this week. Rumours first linked her romantically to Putin as long ago as 2008 when she was a pro-Kremlin MP. The newspaper printing the story was rapidly closed down. Putin - who in 2013 announced his divorce from wife Lyudmila, a former Aeroflot stewardess - has previously said: 'I have a private life in which I do not permit interference. It must be respected.' He deplored 'those who with their snotty noses and erotic fantasies prowl into others' lives'. Kabaeva is on record as saying she had met a man who 'I love very much', gushing: 'Sometimes you feel so happy that you even feel scared.' In 2001 Kabaeva was temporarily banned from competing in rhythmic gymnastics after failing a doping test. A year earlier she had won gold at the 2000 summer Olympics. Alina Kabaeva shakes hands with Vladimir Putin during a meeting with other gymnasts in the Kremlin Once regarded as Russia's most eligible woman, her only other suitor has been a married Georgian policeman, according to media reports. This relationship petered out in 2005 amid complaints of tabloid intrusion into her life. She once posed almost nude for Maxim and was described as 'full of sex' by a photographer. There have been many reports of her wearing a wedding ring, but no records of a marriage. She is reported to have a fleet of Maybach limousines at her disposal, and was seen surrounded by a squad of machine-gun toting security guards on visits to a Moscow cafe, likely indicating she qualifies for state-level security. Many Russians saw her as the reason for the breakup of Putin's marriage to ex-first lady Lyudmila, 63, mother of his two adult daughters. The dictator of neighbouring Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko hinted that Putin's divorce decision came about because Kabaeva 'put pressure on the president'. From 2018 she disappeared from the public eye for almost three years, amid suspicions she had given birth to twins at a Moscow hospital . Tabloid Express Gazeta recounted in May last year - when she was still out of sight - that she had 'literally vanished. 'After the giving-birth-to-twins reports nothing was heard about Kabaeva, as if she had disappeared. 'Alina is not giving interviews, nor attending social events, nor participating in any TV programmes. 'One can only guess what is happening in her private life.' In her only statement linked to the war, Kabaeva slammed the refusal to allow the Russian team to compete at the Beijing Paralympics. 'There has never been a more shameful page in the history of world sports,' she said. 'They did not worry and did not remove from the competition any country that participated in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. 'But sports officials were very angry when Russia decided to protect the Donbas and Luhansk from the Nazis.' She complained that Olympic officials 'tried so hard to humiliate the Russians, banned our symbols, flag and anthem'. But still Russians succeeded 'due to the talent of our athletes. 'Russia was, is and will be a great sports power - and you can't do anything about it.' NMG is seen as under the sway of Yury Kovalchuk, 70, a sanctioned oligarch very close to Putin. The group owns shares in a range of major Russian outlets including REN TV, Channel 1, STS TV, 5th Channel, Izvestia and Sport Express, which are also subsidised by the state. Putin's inner circle's shrinking - and the stakes are rising, writes Russian President's biographer Professor Mark Galeotti Few in the Kremlins inner circle get a face-to-face audience with president Vladimir Putin these days. The Russian dictator is paranoid about contracting Covid and conducts most meetings over videolink. That has the added bonus of making it easier to end conversations that displease him. Last month the governor of the countrys central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, attempted to resign over Zoom in protest at the invasion of Ukraine. She didnt mince her words. The disastrous military invasion was flushing the economy into the sewers, she told him. Putin refused to accept her resignation. She was needed to steady the markets, he said. Then he disconnected the call. He will not tolerate dissent or any opinion that contradicts his own. But around him in Moscows halls of power, there is increasing disquiet. It has been reported that senior Kremlin insiders fear Putins invasion of Ukraine was a catastrophic mistake which could doom Russia to years of isolation. Chillingly, they warn he might well resort to the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Such criticism is coming from both flanks, from the nationalists and the more socially liberal technocrats from the hawks and doves, uniforms and suits. The nationalists back Putins belief that Ukraine should be forced back into Russias sphere of influence, severing it from the West. But they are horrified at how badly the war has gone. The liberals were always sceptical about the overthrow of a foreign government and are in despair at the damage being done to Russia both its economy and its international standing. Putin has blocked his ears to almost all of them. One of the few people he still listens to is the Secretary of the Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev. A former head of the FSB or secret police, Patrushev wears a suit these days but his soul, if he has one, wears a uniform. He makes Putin look like a pacifist. Most of the presidents other advisers and ministers are not Putinists. Indeed, theres no such thing for all of them, their first priority is their own skin. And if enough of them become so alienated and scared that they are prepared to mount a mutiny, a coup at the Kremlin is no longer unthinkable. But it would take an alliance of top-ranking figures in the army, government and security services. Thats what happened 60 years ago when premier Nikolai Kruschev was overthrown following the Cuban missile crisis. Knowing they could not win a nuclear war against the US, ministers and generals united to depose their leader. According to the Russian constitution, if a president is unable to continue in office, the prime minister would then head an interim government. Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin is a moderate who is known to oppose the war without ever stating it directly. He would be a safe pair of hands. But what about Russians outside the Kremlin? So far, Western pressure, including severe economic sanctions, has not been enough to bring crowds of protesters on to the streets. But if Putin did resort to tactical nuclear strikes in Ukraine he was boasting on Wednesday night that Russias deadliest-ever nuclear missile, Satan II, had been successfully tested that could well be the catalyst for a putsch. Talk of tactical nukes is a euphemism. The devastation would be the equivalent of a Hiroshima or Nagasaki. But that doesnt seem to matter to Putin, who is rumoured to have both Parkinsons disease and cancer. He cannot afford to wait years for victory in Ukraine. He is desperate for a triumph of some sort and he could decide to gamble everything on a roll of the nuclear dice. But he cannot simply press a red button. The weapons have been partly decommissioned and would have to be removed from storage, transported to the launchers and made active. Tests and checks would be required and his officials, along with Western intelligence, would know about it. The Kremlin pragmatists know a tactical nuclear strike would be a catastrophe even greater than the initial invasion. Nato would be forced to respond, as would China, to end Putins regime, whatever the cost. That growing band of dissidents in Moscow might well be prepared to act first against their leader both for their own survival and perhaps for the survival of Russia itself. Mark Galeotti is Honorary Professor at the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies. Advertisement Ricki Neave's mother says she 'regrets' being high on drugs when her son was murdered by a sex offender - as her daughter says she blames her for his death. James Watson, 41, was yesterday convicted of killing six-year-old Rikki, who was found strangled in woodland in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in November 1994. Reacting to the verdict, his mother Ruth Neave, 53, said she 'hated' Watson but admitted she regretted being on drugs when Rikki was killed. She told the BBC: 'I feel flabbergasted and overwhelmed and they have got the right verdict because I know he done it. 'Hate as well, because I hate him. Because he got off with it for 27 years. I just hate him. The way he displayed his emotions, and Im glad he got convicted because I know he done it. This should have happened 27 years ago and they should have got it right. 'Because I was never allowed to go out when I was a kid, I was stuck inside, so I give him [Rikki] extra [freedom]. But what I do regret, is being on drugs as well. I was only on it for a year. One year everybody, one year.' Her quotes came as her daughter Rochelle said she still holds her mother - who beat and neglected Rikki - accountable for his death. She said: 'Even though she didn't strangle him, she still let a six-year-old on the streets alone and she neglected him. All she was interested in was drugs and men and drink. 'I can't stand her. I can't even look at her. The things that she's put us through and our poor brother, how he's been treated, how he was murdered.' Rikki's body was found posed naked in a star shape by Watson, who would have been 13 at the time of the killing and whose father lived on the same estate as Rikki. Yesterday's decision comes 26 years after Rikki's mother Ruth was cleared of her son's murder by a jury at Northampton Crown Court following a high-profile 16-day trial. She later admitted child cruelty in relation to a number of incidents throughout Rikki's short life, including grabbing Rikki around the throat, pushing him against a wall and lifting him up. Ms Neave was jailed for seven years in October 1996. Today, speaking after the verdict, she described her son's murderer as a 'monster'. Rochelle proclaimed the verdict a 'victory' for justice and for her murdered brother, who she described as 'loving, caring and cheeky'. Speaking after today's long-awaited verdict, she said: 'He was so loving, so caring towards us. He would do anything,' 'If there was no food in he would go to the shop, nick it, come back and feed us. 'He would make sure we were clean. He would run a bath. He was so clean, he loved being clean.' Sheradyn (left) and Rochelle Neave, the sisters of murdered schoolboy Rikki Neave, speaking to the media at a hotel in the Midlands. Rochelle says she still holds their mother - who beat and neglected Rikki - accountable for his death Giving evidence to the jury, Watson (pictured left and, right, as a child) denied having a sexual interest in children and denied any involvement in Rikki's murder or disappearance. However he was found guilty by majority verdict of 10 to two today. Judge Mrs Justice McGowan is now expected to adjourn before sentencing Watson on a later date Rikki (pictured left) was found in woodland in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on November 29, 1994. His mother, Ruth Neave (right), was cleared by a jury at Northampton Crown Court of her son's murder When abusive mother Ruth Neave (pictured left with her son in the late 1980s and right at his funeral) was found not guilty of her son's murder in 1996, the question of who did kill little Rikki would remain unanswered for more than 25 years Rikki is pictured left with his father Trevor Harvey. Harvey ended his relationship with Rikki's mother when his son was aged three. Right: A beaming Rikki during his short life Rochelle said it was a 'victory' that Watson had been found guilty of murder 'because he thought he'd got away with it for that many years and thought we were just going to go away and roll under the table'. We weren't,' she added. She was the last member of the family to see Rikki alive and she was three when he left their home in his school uniform. She said: 'The last time I saw Rikki he leant over the [Moses] basket to say goodbye to Sheradyn [then aged six months] and she grabbed him around his stomach. I remember arguing with him, telling him he smelt. Then he left for school.' Rochelle said: 'I called her but she is an alcoholic so she was just screaming and shouting down the phone.' She continued to push for Rikki's case to be re-opened and said she faced death threats. However, during her search, she stumbled across seven previously unknown half-sisters and brothers. She said: 'We are all in contact now, a proper family. I wish Rikki was with us, he would be so happy.' Rikki Neave's murder: A timeline of how the tragic case unfolded over nearly 30 years - November 22 1994: James Watson, aged 13, moves from foster care to a children's home called Woodgates in March, Cambridgeshire, which is 20 miles from Peterborough. - November 25 1994: Watson allegedly phones his mother to ask about a fictional young child being found dead in woods. - November 28: Rikki eats Weetabix for breakfast at around 9.30am and leaves home but never arrives at school. He is seen with Watson by residents in the morning. At 6pm, Ruth Neave, his mother, reports him missing. Police arrive at her home on Redmile Walk at 6.17pm. - November 29: At 12.05pm, Rikki is found dead in woods near the estate. He is naked and his body posed in a star shape. A post-mortem examination concludes he has been strangled with the zip of his anorak hood. - November 30: At 9.30am Rikki's missing clothing is found by a police officer in a wheelie bin in Willoughby Court. - December 5: Watson gives a lying account when he is interviewed by police as a witness. - January 19 1995: Ms Neave is arrested on suspicion of the murder and interviewed. - May 24: She is charged with the murder of her son and offences of cruelty, to him and two of his sisters. - October 1996: Ms Neave goes on trial at Northampton Crown Court and is unanimously acquitted of murder. The prosecution wrongly allege she killed Rikki at home and then wheeled him in a buggy to the woods after reporting him missing. She pleads guilty to child cruelty and is jailed for seven years. - 1999: Rikki's stepfather Dean Neave dies in a car crash. - 2015: A cold case review is launched into Rikki's unsolved murder. - June 11 2015: A press release highlights 'major forensic and technological developments in the past 20 years'. - February 2016: A DNA match to Watson is identified from tapings of Rikki's clothes and he is designated as a suspect. In police interviews, Watson changes his account and introduces the suggestion he may have picked up Rikki to look at diggers through a hole in a fence. - 2018: A victim's right to review is launched into an initial decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) not to prosecute Watson. - October 2019: A reviewing CPS lawyer reaches a decision that Watson should be prosecuted. - February 17 2020: Watson is charged with the murder of Rikki. However, he challenges the legality of the extradition process used to bring him back from Portugal to face trial. - February 2022: Watson goes on trial at the Old Bailey for Rikki's murder. - April 21 2022: Watson, now 41, is found guilty by a majority verdict of 10 to two by a jury at the Old Bailey. Advertisement The horrific murder sparked national outrage at the time, less than two years after the abduction, torture and brutal killing of two-year-old James Bulger in Merseyside. Watson's web of lies and constantly changing alibis which helped him evade justice for 28 years mean much about the murder still remains unclear - including whether he knew Rikki prior to the killing. However jury members heard how Watson's DNA was found on adhesive tapings on Rikki's clothes, and that Watson's posing of the six-year-old's naked body was an act carried out for his own sexual gratification. In a statement following the verdict, his mother Ms Neave said: 'The only thing now is to close this chapter in my life and open a new one. 'I wonder what Rikki would be like today, married, children? Who knows? 'But this monster has taken that all from me and my daughters.' She praised jurors for making the 'right decision' and thanked 'people that believed in me and Rikki'. 'This is not the time to celebrate, as it should never have happened,' said Ms Neave. She described police and social services in the original investigation as 'framing me for my son's murder'. 'Neglect and cruelty were used by these people to cover their own failings, information was gathered from liars, who gave multiple statements with many different versions of their lies,' she said. 'Statements were released to the media and I was not allowed to defend myself because of a gagging order from social services, so anyone could say anything and get away with it.' After Ms Neave's 1996 child abuse conviction, Rikki's murder remained a mystery for a further 20 years, until new evidence came to light in 2015. Jury members at the Old Bailey heard how Watson was arrested after sophisticated technology found a 'definitive match' between his DNA profile and samples taken from Rikki's clothing after a new investigation was opened into the case. Watson fled the country on a ferry at Dover in June 2016, before eventually consenting to his extradition from Portugal two months later. Jury members in the three-month-long trial at the Old Bailey in London heard how Watson wrapped the collar of Rikki's blue anorak around the younger boy's throat from behind him, pulling tightly for at least 30 seconds, in order to kill him. They were also told how Watson - a convicted arsonist with 'morbid fantasies' and a 'sexual interest' in small children - had molested a five-year-old child a year before the murder and throttled a girlfriend during sex. Wearing grey trousers, with a light shirt and shirt tie Watson, now 41 years old, remained seated in a conference room at HMP Belmarsh with his hands clasped together, showing no emotion as a jury foreman read out the long-awaited verdict. Meanwhile, a statement on behalf of Rikki's late father, Trevor, sister Rebecca and extended paternal family, said: 'We would like to sincerely thank everyone involved who have worked tirelessly, patiently and with commitment to ensure the conviction of James Watson for the murder of our Rikki. 'This is a day we feared would never come, 27 years is a long time to grieve without closure. Taking its toll on the whole family then and now. 'Sadly, Rikki's dad Trevor passed away not knowing what happened to his 'Best Boy in the World', now they can finally both be at peace together.' Clare Forsdike, a senior crown prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said the verdict had finally brought 'just for Rikki', almost three decades after his death. 'The conviction of James Watson for killing Rikki Neave concludes an appalling unsolved crime almost 30 years after it happened. It brings justice for Rikki. 'It has been like a jigsaw puzzle with each piece of evidence not enough by itself but when put together creating a clear and compelling picture of why James Watson had to be the killer. The majority verdict comes after 41-year-old Watson (pictured here in a court sketch) - who would have been 13 at the time of the killing - stood trial at the Old Bailey in London Jury members today convicted James Watson of killing the six-year-old, whose body was found stripped naked in woodland in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in 1994 'Ultimately a combination of evidence from DNA, post mortem, soil samples, eyewitness testimony, and his changing accounts proved overwhelming. 'Only James Watson knows why he did it. He remained silent for two decades and then put Rikki's family through the agony of a trial. I hope the verdict gives some consolation to all those who love and miss Rikki Neave.' Jury members had previously heard how Rikki was found in woodland in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on November 29, 1994, stripped naked and left in a 'star pose'. The 'fantasist' and 'compulsive liar' who evaded justice for Rikki Neave's murder for nearly 30 years: Who is James Watson? James Watson is 'a fantasist, a dangerous individual, and a compulsive liar', according to police. Watson came from a broken home in Peterborough and was treated by social services as a 'vulnerable child' from March 1993. That year, he was interviewed about a complaint that he had sexually assaulted a five-year-old boy. Then aged 12, Watson denied it and no further action was taken, although years later he admitted it was 'just two boys playing with each other's penises'. In April 1994, Watson told a family member he was physically assaulted by his father, James Watson senior, who he lived with on the Welland Estate. On being taken into care, he stayed with foster mother Molly Donald, who he formed an attachment to. She found him with a shotgun and felt she could not cope so Watson was sent away again, this time to Woodgate's children's home in March, some 20 miles from Peterborough. Watson frequently played truant from school and would change into civilian clothes, jurors heard. From enrolling at Walton School in Peterborough to the day of the murder, Watson was marked present on the register 18 times out of a possible 38 school days. At the age of 13, he became obsessed with the fantasy of strangling a little boy, even telling his mother he had heard a news report about it on the radio. Three days later, the fantasy came true when he murdered six-year-old Rikki Neave at around midday on November 28 1994, the prosecution said. He stripped him naked for his own sexual gratification, 'exhibiting' the posed body to be found near a children's den in the woods, prosecutor John Price QC said. Afterwards, Watson became 'fascinated' by his own actions and made copious copies of newspaper stories, jurors were told. He even told teachers that he knew Rikki as the brother of a friend, one of a multitude of lies. Watson 'cursed' the fact he been seen with Rikki by an elderly lady, leaving him no option but to admit an encounter when police called on December 5 1994. Watson's account was peppered with lies but went unchallenged for more than 20 years as police wrongly pursued Rikki's mother Ruth. Meanwhile, care workers noted his bizarre behaviour, masturbating over a children's clothes catalogue, keeping a dead pheasant in his room, and once allegedly throttling a member of staff with a stocking. He moved to another care home, and despite knowing he was gay from an early age, formed a relationship with a girl, aged 15. In 2016, she told police Watson once killed and posed a bird and would strangle her when they had sex in woods. Watson clocked up a long list of convictions for petty crimes, including setting fire to a British Transport Police station in Peterborough. In his evidence, Watson said he would steal cars for 'fun' and claimed he felt aggrieved at police because of their role in taking him away from his family. He also claimed his late father had been a police officer, although Cambridgeshire Police say there is no record of it. Mr Price told jurors that in the years before his arrest for Rikki's murder, Watson became forensically aware and adept at dealing with police. So even before police confirmed his DNA had been identified on Rikki's clothes, Watson was prepared with another lie, which was to prove his undoing. Watson, who maintained his connection with Peterborough through his sister Clair and mother Shirley, concocted a fictitious story about lifting Rikki up to look through a hole in a fence to watch diggers. He did not factor in the determination of police, who established the fence was not there in 1994. When Watson fled the country, his sister Clair Perna tried to get him travel documents but insisted they were only to help him return to Britain. Ms Perna told jurors their late father had been a lorry driver, but quickly added that she thought he was a police officer before she was born. She said her brother would never hurt a child, but was in the dark about his admitted sexual activity with a five-year-old. Unbeknownst to her, for 27 years Watson had also lived with the biggest secret of all - Rikki's murder. Advertisement His death became a story of huge national interest, coming just 20 months after the tragic James Bulger case. It was originally thought that Rikki could have been killed in a similar case to that of tragic James, who was abducted, tortured and murdered, aged 2, by 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, in Kirkby, Merseyside, in 1993. Ms Neave then became the key suspect, and was charged with her son's murder in 1996. But the trial hinged on the evidence of a policeman who searched the woods where Rikki would later be found. At the time he found nothing, with prosecutors claiming the officer had initially missed the body because it was dark. It was claimed the body had been washed of vital evidence in the time it took to find it. A judge ordered a jury to acquit Ms Neave if they believed his testimony, because it meant she would not have time to have moved the body after that point because the police were already with her. After being found not guilty of murder at trial, she later admitted cruelty towards her son. Earlier in Watson's trial the court heard Ms Neave say she had been 'bullied into' pleading guilty to the abuse charge and 'did not know' what she was pleading guilty to. The prosecution heard that Watson, a child from a broken home, had murdered Rikki in the woods before midday on November 29. Rikki had been heading to his school, Welland Primary School, that morning, alone, having had a bowl of Weetabix earlier this morning. Watson, the court heard, who was living at Woodgate's Children's Home at the time of the killing, was likely to be bunking off from Walton School in Peterborough on the same day. The court heard that Watson knew the Walton estate well as he had spent time there as a young child and his father still lived there. It is believed he and Watson met on that day, with witnesses telling the jury they saw the pair walking in the direction of the woods, where Rikki would later be murdered. Watson then returned to Woodgates Children's Home that afternoon. John Price QC told jurors at his Old Bailey trial: 'We suggest the evidence has been placed before you to enable you to finally resolve who it was who did it. 'We ask you to declare by your verdict that it was James Watson who murdered Rikki Neave.' The prosecutor said that while the case was 'circumstantial', there was 'no 'only' about it', adding: 'Circumstances do not lie.' Mr Price suggested that Rikki's last meal of Weetabix put his time of death at around midday on November 28, shortly after he was seen with Watson. Mud on Rikki's Clarks shoes indicated he walked into the woods and did not walk out again, the prosecutor said. Mr Price gave jurors a detailed analysis of alleged 'ghost sightings' of Rikki later that day, saying those witnesses were 'mistaken'. Watson was interviewed during the original investigation into the murder but 'did not mention' to police that he had physically 'picked up' Rikki on the day he died. But Watson's lawyers called defence witnesses who all claim to have seen Rikki on the evening of 28 November. Local man Stuart Duffy, who was known locally as 'Jingle Bells' because he used to wear bells on his boots, insisted he saw and spoke with Rikki that Monday evening. In her closing speech Jenni Dempster, QC, defending Watson, told the jury there were several routes to reaching a not guilty verdict. The first was for the prosecution to establish Watson's guilt while the second was the 'wealth of evidence' suggesting Ruth Neave was responsible for Rikki's death. Ms Dempster said the evidence that the prosecution have against Watson 'does not even approach' the level required for the jury to be sure he was the killer. For the third route she referred to evidence about the 'sightings' of Rikki and said of the defence witnesses: 'If any one of those sightings might be correct then James Watson must be not guilty.' Former PC Robert McNeill earlier told jurors he searched the woods just after 7:30pm on the evening of November 28. He claimed Rikki's body was 'absolutely not' on the path where he was ultimately found. Ms Dempster said: 'If that is right... the prosecution case is upended and James Watson must be acquitted. You must be sure James Watson killed Rikki Neave.' But she added: 'If you think James Watson was in the woods with Rikki Neave then you will go ahead and convict but we submit that the evidence doesn't begin to reach that level.' 'We now know did a sort of deal with the prosecution. The prosecution now say we made a terrible mistake, we should never have charged her (with murder).' Ms Dempster suggested she admitted child cruelty to spare jurors of the 'full horror' of her treatment of her children and maximise her chances of being acquitted of murder. 'Given her acquittal it turned out to be a very highly effective strategy.' Ms Dempster said the CPS has had 'literally years' to assess the evidence but 'despite our trial involving dozens of witnesses we are actually no further forward in establishing what happened to Rikki on November 28, 1994. The prosecution heard that Watson murdered Rikki in the woods before midday on November 28 before returning to Woodgates Children's Home that afternoon. Pictured: A graphic showing the movements of Rikki Neave before his death in 1994 The jacket Rikki was wearing when he was killed was recovered from a wheelie bin close to where his body was found The copse in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, where the body of six-year-old Rikki Neave was found in November 1994 Jury members had previously heard how Rikki (pictured left and right) was found in woodland in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, on November 29, 1994, stripped naked and left in a 'star pose'. His death became a story of huge national interest, coming just years after the tragic James Bulger case. Rikki had been heading to his school, Welland Primary School, that morning, alone, having had a bowl of Weetabix earlier this morning However, prosecutor John Price QC set out a detailed version of the events of November 28, 1994 that would end with Rikki's savage murder. He told jurors that the pair were seen walking from the city's Welland Estate. 'It was a sunny late autumn day and they were going to a place both of them knew well and both had visited many times before, at least during daylight they were going to the woods,' he said. 'Some time after the two boys arrived in the wood, from behind and without warning James Watson ambushed Rikki Neave and strangled him to death using a ligature, whether it was the collar of the jacket Rikki was wearing or something applied on the collar. 'Rikki was wearing the jacket when he died and it was still zipped up because the zip left a telltale mark on his neck. 'James Watson then stripped the child's body. He had an abiding sexual interest in small children which he had already acted on in the previous year, an interest reinforced with a morbid fantasy about the death of a child known to have been on his mind as recently as three days earlier.' Mr Price said one of Rikki's shirt buttons came off and was placed on a nearby leaf as Watson 'did whatever he was doing'. Watson then posed Rikki's body 'much as he did with a dead bird' he killed months later, jurors heard. He then took Rikki's clothes and dumped them in the bin, the court was told. Afterwards, Watson became 'fascinated by the consequences of his own act', copying newspaper stories on Rikki's death, Mr Price said. But when he talked to teachers he did not reveal he had been with Rikki that day, only mentioning it to police when they called days later, the court was told. His account was not questioned or challenged for more than two decades, during which time Watson acquired a 'considerable amount of forensic experience', Mr Price said. Before police told him about the DNA link to Rikki's clothes, Watson had prepared an explanation that he had picked him up to look through a hole in a fence, Mr Price suggested. The prosecutor said: 'He would tell them how, all these years later, the memory of the little boy peering through the hole in the fence still made him chuckle when it came to his mind.' That was, Mr Price said, Watson's 'really big mistake because it never occurred to him all these years later it would be possible to conclusively prove that the high fence was not there' on the day Rikki was murdered. The court had heard how Watson had come from a broken home in Peterborough and was treated by social services as a 'vulnerable child' from March 1993. That year, he was interviewed about a complaint that he had sexually assaulted a five-year-old boy. Then aged 12, Watson denied it and no further action was taken, although years later he admitted it was 'just two boys playing with each other's penises'. In April 1994, Watson told a family member he was physically assaulted by his father, James Watson senior, who he lived with on the Welland Estate. On being taken into care, he stayed with foster mother Molly Donald, who he formed an attachment to. She found him with a shotgun and felt she could not cope so Watson was sent away again, this time to Woodgate's children's home in March, some 20 miles from Peterborough. Watson frequently played truant from school and would change into civilian clothes, jurors heard. From enrolling at Walton School in Peterborough to the day of the murder, Watson was marked present on the register 18 times out of a possible 38 school days. At the age of 13, he became obsessed with the fantasy of strangling a little boy, even telling his mother he had heard a news report about it on the radio. Cards and toys that Rikki Neave had in his pockets at the time of his death.A man who strangled six-year-old Rikki Neave has today been found guilty of murder Pictured: A policeman leaving flowers at Welland County Primary School in Peterborough, the school of murdered six-year-old Rikki Neave in 1994 The Daily Mail's original report of when Ruth Neave was found not guilty of her son's murder. It noted how care workers involved in the case had been suspended Three days later, the fantasy came true when he murdered six-year-old Rikki Neave at around midday on November 28 1994, the prosecution said. He stripped him naked for his own sexual gratification, 'exhibiting' the posed body to be found near a children's den in the woods, prosecutor John Price QC said. Afterwards, Watson became 'fascinated' by his own actions and made copious copies of newspaper stories, jurors were told. He even told teachers that he knew Rikki as the brother of a friend, one of a multitude of lies. Watson 'cursed' the fact he been seen with Rikki by an elderly lady, leaving him no option but to admit an encounter when police called on December 5 1994. Watson's account was peppered with lies but went unchallenged for more than 20 years as police wrongly pursued Rikki's mother Ruth. Meanwhile, care workers noted his bizarre behaviour, masturbating over a children's clothes catalogue, keeping a dead pheasant in his room, and once allegedly throttling a member of staff with a stocking. He moved to another care home, and despite knowing he was gay from an early age, formed a relationship with a girl, aged 15. In 2016, she told police Watson once killed and posed a bird and would strangle her when they had sex in woods. Police at the scene where the body of six-year-old murder victim, Rikki Neave, was found in undergrowth less than 500 yards from his home Watson clocked up a long list of convictions for petty crimes, including setting fire to a British Transport Police station in Peterborough. In his evidence, Watson said he would steal cars for 'fun' and claimed he felt aggrieved at police because of their role in taking him away from his family. He also claimed his late father had been a police officer, although Cambridgeshire Police say there is no record of it. Mr Price told jurors that in the years before his arrest for Rikki's murder, Watson became forensically aware and adept at dealing with police. So even before police confirmed his DNA had been identified on Rikki's clothes, Watson was prepared with another lie, which was to prove his undoing. Watson, who maintained his connection with Peterborough through his sister Clair and mother Shirley, concocted a fictitious story about lifting Rikki up to look through a hole in a fence to watch diggers. Pictured: Parents in 1994 escorting their children to Welland County Primary School, Peterborough, where six-year-old Rikki Neave was a pupil He did not factor in the determination of police, who established the fence was not there in 1994. When Watson fled the country, his sister Clair Perna tried to get him travel documents but insisted they were only to help him return to Britain. Ms Perna told jurors their late father had been a lorry driver, but quickly added that she thought he was a police officer before she was born. She said her brother would never hurt a child, but was in the dark about his admitted sexual activity with a five-year-old. Unbeknownst to her, for 27 years Watson had also lived with the biggest secret of all - Rikki's murder. How Rikki Neave's killer almost got away with it: Murder-obsessed teenager kept dead pheasants in his room and masturbated over children's clothes and then fled to Europe as net closed after police found his DNA in cold case review in 2015 By Rory Tingle, Home Affairs Correspondent for MailOnline A petty criminal who lied about being a policeman's son was today found guilty of murdering schoolboy Rikki Neave, finally bringing the killer to justice after nearly 30 years. James Watson, 40, a convicted arsonist with 'morbid fantasies' and a 'sexual interest' in small children, strangled Rikki, six, before leaving his naked body in a star shape in woodland in Peterborough in 1994. Watson had long evaded the authorities before a cold case review in 2015 used new scientific techniques to identify his DNA on Rikki's clothes, which had been dumped in a wheelie bin near the murder scene. It gave a chilling new context to disturbing behaviour that had included keeping a dead pheasant in his room and being caught pleasuring himself over kids' clothing. After he had murdered him, Watson made photocopies of the Peterborough Evening Telegraph with the front page dominated by a picture of a smiling Rikki as sick trophies. When police questioned him following the breakthrough Watson - who the trial was told was gay and HIV positive - implicated himself by mistake. He tried to explain away the DNA being there by claiming he had helped Rikki up to peer over a fence at some diggers - but detectives knew there had never been a fence at the time of the murder. After the appalling killing between November 1998 and October 2008 Watson was convicted of a series of crimes, including carrying a loaded air rifle in public, engaging in sexual activity in a public lavatory, and stealing from his father's house while his dad was in hospital. He also had theft and burglary convictions 17 for theft, eleven for burglary. In 2009, he forced entry to an unmanned British Transport Police station, stole equipment and set it on fire. The killer, who grew up in care, absconded following his arrest over Rikki's death in 2016 by taking a ferry to the Continent, and would go on to taunt police by sharing a string of holiday photos from Portugal showing him drinking beer, sun-bathing and even posing nude. James Watson, 40, was today found guilty of murdering schoolboy Rikki Neave nearly 30 years ago. He is pictured in 2016 after fleeing to Europe following his arrest Watson fled the UK in a mobile home, boasting to a friend: 'The best thing is I don't even have a passport. I just walked out of our country' Watson boasted in one message: 'The best thing is I don't even have a passport. I just walked out of our country. 'Me and a mate left the UK in a mobile home. Booked it on the ferry, drove on and that was that. No checks, nothing.' But his plans to flee to Thailand soon collapsed, and he sent emails to his probation officer begging to be helped back home after he ended up homeless and wandering the streets of Portugal. On July 14, he contacted his probation officer by email telling them he wanted to return to the UK. The next day, Watson's probation officer replied: 'Whereabouts are you? How can we support you getting back to the UK?' Watson wrote back: 'I am in a world of sh**, I left with that Collin under the assumption that he was going to Thailand and I could see a bit of Europe for a few days. 'It never turned out like that. 'Now I am homeless and living on the streets in Europe. Watson strangled Rikki, six, before leaving his naked body in a star shape in woodland in Peterborough in 1994 'I stayed in a room with some people I met but that was not long term now I don't know what my next plan should be? The probation officer referred the matter to the police. Detective Sergeant Gan Thayanithy sent an email to Watson that same day. On August 2, Watson was arrested in Lisbon at the Consulate building, he consented to the extradition and he returned to the UK ten days later. Two years later in April 2018, Watson was convicted of a sexual assault in which he briefly touched the penis of a man over his clothing while he was asleep. Watson said he intended to do this, but he woke up 'completely disgusted with myself'. Watson's trial heard disturbing details about his fascination with murder and dead animals, with a former girlfriend telling how he once killed a sparrow with a stone. Watson had long evaded the authorities before a cold case review in 2015 used new scientific techniques to identify his DNA on Rikki's clothes, including this jacket Rikki's clothes and shoes (pictured) had been dumped in a wheelie bin near the murder scene A white shirt worn by Rikki, who was stripped naked and deliberately posed in a star shape after his death A small pair of sock worn by the six-year-old schoolboy, who was killed in a 'swiftly executed' attack The muddy trousers recovered from the scene after being dumped into a wheelie bin a short distance from Rikki's body Watson's half-brother, Andrew Bailey, was friends with Rikki's stepfather Dean Neave, and took Watson to visit the Neave family home 'a couple of times' when he was aged 11 or 12. Mr Bailey went on to 'distance' himself from Watson after he told him he was gay at the age of 11. In 2016, Watson admitted to sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy in April 1993, when he was 12. Asked why he kept a dead carcass of a pheasant at the children's home, he said he was 'against animal cruelty' but found the iridescence of pheasant feathers 'fascinating'. Watson's defence depended on casting doubt on the evidence he murdered Rikki and suggesting the child's abusive mother, Ruth, had been responsible instead. However, Ruth was cleared of her son's murder 26 years ago, and today the jury in Watson's case found there was enough evidence to convict him. Prosecutor John Price QC set out a detailed version of the events of November 28, 1994 that would end with Rikki's sexually motivated murder. Mr Price told jurors that the pair were seen walking from the city's Welland Estate. 'It was a sunny late autumn day and they were going to a place both of them knew well and both had visited many times before, at least during daylight they were going to the woods,' he said. Watson's defence had depended on casting doubt on the evidence he murdered Rikki and suggesting the child's abusive mother, Ruth, had been responsible instead Watson's trial heard disturbing details about his fascination with murder and dead animals, with a former girlfriend telling how he once killed a sparrow with a stone The killer - who grew up in care and was described as 'vulnerable' - is pictured as a child 'Some time after the two boys arrived in the wood, from behind and without warning James Watson ambushed Rikki Neave and strangled him to death using a ligature, whether it was the collar of the jacket Rikki was wearing or something applied on the collar. 'Rikki was wearing the jacket when he died and it was still zipped up because the zip left a telltale mark on his neck. 'James Watson then stripped the child's body. He had an abiding sexual interest in small children which he had already acted on in the previous year, an interest reinforced with a morbid fantasy about the death of a child known to have been on his mind as recently as three days earlier.' Mr Price said one of Rikki's shirt buttons came off and was placed on a nearby leaf as Watson 'did whatever he was doing'. Watson then posed Rikki's body 'much as he did with a dead bird' he killed months later, before taking Rikki's clothes and dumping them in a bin. Afterwards, Watson became 'fascinated by the consequences of his own act', copying newspaper stories on Rikki's death, Mr Price said. But when he talked to teachers he did not reveal he had been with Rikki that day, only mentioning it to police when they called days later, the court was told. Rikki was murdered near his home in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire on December 5, 1994 and his body was dumped in some nearby woods, circled His account was not questioned or challenged for more than two decades, during which time Watson acquired a 'considerable amount of forensic experience', Mr Price said. Before police told him about the DNA link to Rikki's clothes, Watson had prepared an explanation that he had picked him up to look through a hole in a fence, Mr Price suggested. The prosecutor said: 'He would tell them how, all these years later, the memory of the little boy peering through the hole in the fence still made him chuckle when it came to his mind.' That was, Mr Price said, Watson's 'really big mistake because it never occurred to him all these years later it would be possible to conclusively prove that the high fence was not there' on the day Rikki was murdered. In a police interview in April 2016, Watson admitted to sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy in April 1993, when he was 12. Asked about the admission at his murder trial, the killer pleaded ignorance. Later, he broke down and tearfully told the court: 'I'm a complete a***hole'. Rikki Neave's mother blasts 'monster' who killed her son: Parent who was cleared of murdering six-year-old she treated 'like punch bag' in 1996 blasts police and social services as real culprit is finally brought to justice Harry Howard, History Correspondent for MailOnline Rikki Neave's mother - herself convicted of mistreating him - blamed police and social services for ruining her life today - suggesting their focus on her left the real killer free for decades. Ruth Neave brutally mistreated her son in the miserable years leading up to the six-year-old's slaying in 1994, but was cleared of murdering him after a jury trial two years later. But today, 40-year-old James Watson, who was 13 when Rikki disappeared, was convicted at the Old Bailey of his murder seven years after new evidence was found in a 'cold case review'. Ms Neave described her son's murderer James Watson as a 'monster'. She criticised the original investigation and said police and social services 'totally ruined mine and my daughters' lives'. In a statement, she said: 'The only thing now is to close this chapter in my life and open a new one. 'I wonder what Rikki would be like today, married, children? Who knows? 'But this monster has taken that all from me and my daughters.' Watson was arrested after sophisticated technology that was not available in the original investigation found a 'definitive match' between his DNA profile and samples taken from Rikki's clothing. A constant theme in his trial was Ruth Neave's appalling maltreatment of her son, along with the shocking circumstances of abuse and neglect that he grew up in. Neave, who is now believed to be living with her new husband, Gary Rodgers, in a flat in Cambridgeshire, complained in 2019 of 'living under a cloud' since her son's death, as she begged police to 'find the real killer'. Ruth Neave - seen with her husband, Gary Rodgers - brutally mistreated her son in the miserable years leading up to the six-year-old's slaying in 1994, but was cleared of murdering him after a jury trial two years later When Neave (pictured left with her son in the late 1980s and right at his funeral) was found not guilty of her son's murder in 1996, the question of who did kill Rikki would remain unanswered for more than 25 years Although she was found not guilty of murder, Neave described in Watson's trial as a 'wholly unfit mother' who used Rikki as a drug runner and 'punch bag' had admitted to child cruelty was sentenced to seven years in prison. She was eventually released from Holloway in 2000. On one occasion, she allegedly left Neave screaming after locking him out of the house in his pyjamas. In another incident, she held her son upside down on a bridge as he screamed, the jury heard. Neave complained in 2019 of 'living under a cloud' since her son's death, as she begged police to 'find the real killer' She had also grabbed the child around his throat, pushed him against a wall and lifted him up 'to the point his feet were about a foot above the ground'. At the time of his death, Neave was living with Rikki and his two younger sisters on the 1970s Welland Estate in Peterborough. The older sister, Rebecca, who was aged eight at the time of his death, was living in foster care. Neave's ex, Trevor Harvey, had ended their relationship when Rikki was three. The family were well known to local social services, the court in Watson's trial heard, and Rikki in particular was on the at-risk register around the time of his death. In the hope that his killer would be found, Neave had made a series of emotional television appeals that were later claimed in her trial to be an act. She came under suspicion after it emerged that she was writing a book about a serial killer. Murder squad detectives had discovered how a killer in the book boasted: 'I am a danger to myself I am a threat to everyone.' The mother-of-four had described her book as 'a first person account of the perfect murder about a fellow who strangles and mutilates a girl'. On January 19, 1995, Neave was arrested and questioned over her son's murder. Four days later, she was charged with offences against the child and was accused of assaulting, mistreating and neglecting her son. Neave was alleged to have treated all her children in a 'savage' manner. She is pictured above in 2016 with her husband Gary Rogers Neave is seen struggling with police as they try to put her into a prison van a year after her arrest for her son's murder Rikki is pictured left with his father Trevor Harvey. Harvey ended his relationship with Rikki's mother when his son was aged three. Right: A beaming Rikki during his short life In May of 1995, she was charged with his murder. At her trial, it emerged that officers had found a picture of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous Vitruvian Man inside a book that was in her home. The picture depicted a figure in the cruciform position the exact shape that Rikki had been found in. Prosecutor James Hunt said police also found a book called Magik, by well-known occultist Aleister Crowley, which Neave was 'very familiar with'. The book spoke of sacrifice and the need to 'choose a victim such as a male child of perfect innocence and high intelligence', Neave's trial heard. The prosecution alleged that Neave had strangled her son by grabbing him by his anorak, lifting him up and twisting its cloth. It was said to be a method she had previously used to punish him. At the time of his death, Rikki was living with his mother and two younger sisters on the 1970s Welland Estate in Peterborough. His older sister, Rebecca, who was aged eight at the time of his death, was living in foster care. Above: A photograph of Rikki's bedroom that was shown in court during Watson's trial The filthy kitchen of a house Rikki lived in with his mother, Ruth, on Redmile Walk in Peterborough Jurors also heard how, ten days before Rikki's death, Neave told Cambridgeshire social services that she would kill her son if he was not taken into care. But after 16 days of proceedings, she was found not guilty of Rikki's murder and instead began a seven-year sentence for inflicting horrific and repeated cruelty on her son. The case had hinged on the evidence of policeman PC Robert McNeil, who, on the night Rikki disappeared, did not find the child's body when he searched the woods in which he was later found. Whilst the prosecution had claimed the officer missed it in the dark, jurors acquitted Neave after being told she would not have had time to move his body after that time because police were with her. Jurors also heard how, ten days before Rikki's death, Neave told Cambridgeshire social services that she would kill her son if he was not taken into care. Pic: The living room of the home where Rikki lived The instances of abuse recounted in her trial included one occasion where she squirted washing up liquid into Rikki's mouth. In another, she had kept him away from school because she had 'knocked him black and blue'. If Rikki annoyed his mother, she would 'hit him so hard that she would knock him to the floor,' original prosecutor Christopher Metcalfe had said in her trial. Neave often locked Rikki's sisters naked in their bedrooms, and she was said to have spent up to half of the money she received in benefits on drugs. After Neave was released from prison in 2000 following her child cruelty conviction, she campaigned to have the inquiry into Rikki's murder reopened. Today sees her long battle finally reach its conclusion. A PhD student has lost her attempt to sue Bristol University after claiming they colluded with trans activists who wanted to 'cancel her' when she said only biological women can give birth. Raquel Rosario-Sanchez had alleged university chiefs had failed to protect her when the row blew up over the use of the word 'maternity'. Feminist Ms Rosario-Sanchez said Bristol - dubbed the country's 'wokest' university - did not tackle transgender activists who targeted her in a two-year hate campaign. She took them to court to sue them for negligence, breach of contract and sex discrimination. But yesterday His Honour Judge Ralton said 'no actionable breach of duty has been identified' and dismissed all of her claims. This morning Ms Rosario-Sanchez, who is from the Dominican Republic, said: 'The judgment, nonetheless, confirms that I was indeed the victim of the 'violent, threatening, intimidating behaviour or language' by trans activist students, and that, there was a 'failure to respect the right of others to freedom of belief and speech'. 'In his decision, HHJ Judge Ralton acknowledged that I was threatened with physical violence, and finds that 'provocative, offensive and shocking speech is likely to be legally permissible whilst speech threatening physical violence is not'. 'It took a tremendous amount of tenacity and determination to bring this case to trial, but I felt resolute that the public must be made aware that this is how academic institutions are treating students like me when nobody is watching. Raquel Rosario-Sanchez (pictured) wa s suing Bristol University over claims of sex discrimination and negligence after she says they failed to protect her from trans activists' harassment PhD student Ms Rosario Sanchez (pictured) claimed she was labelled transphobic in a row over the word 'maternity' when she reminded her colleagues only biological women can give birth 'Today, there is one thing that truly belongs only to me. And that is a deep sense of pride, respect, and admiration for the woman I have become over the course of these very difficult years. 'The risk to me is not over: I have lost my case, and I may now have to meet the University's legal costs. 'To risk the loss of my academic dreams, financial ruin and reputational damage is a frightening prospect for anyone, and especially at my age. But I am glad that when the moment of truth came, I took these risks in order to do the right thing and object to injustice.' As part of her civil action, Ms Rosario-Sanchez claimed when she pointed out that only a biological woman can give birth, she was reported to human resources bosses, investigated by the university and ordered to apologise. The women's studies student said she was also targeted for attending feminist meetings that opposed allowing men who identify as women into female-only spaces such as toilets and domestic violence refuges. Rosario-Sanchez, who previously claimed the university 'colluded' with the trans activists to 'cancel her', says she was also harassed over her involvement with the campaigning group Woman's Place UK. She also claims Bristol University dismissed a complaint about men being allowed in the female changing rooms at the pool. A female lecturer contacted Ms Rosario-Sanchez and said she had written to the university's director of sport to say that she and her eight-year-old daughter had come across men who were male-bodied and 'wearing men's clothes' in the changing area. The University of Bristol was also facing claims that its staff objected to the use of the word 'maternity' and allowed men identifying as women to use its campus swimming pool Raquel Rosario-Sanchez claimed uni bosses failed to tackle transgender activists who subjected her to a two-year hate campaign for attending feminist meetings that opposed allowing men who identify as women into female-only spaces such as toilets and domestic violence refuges She claimed that when she spoke to the pool staff, she was told that 'people could use the changing room they were comfortable in, whatever their sex'. The director of sport, she said, backed this approach. Earlier in the hearing, Ms Rosario Sanchez told the court the university failed to take her fears of harassment and unacceptable behaviour against her seriously. Questioned by Bristol University's defence team, Ms Rosario-Sanchez repeated a claim that university staff cooperated with advocates of a campaign to 'cancel' her. She said: 'I just feel very sad. I just want to live my life, go to campus, not face humiliation and until that point I was so hopeful I was going to get that. 'I'm referring as collusion to this email chain demonstrating that staff members were in direct communication with trans activists trying to cancel the meeting. 'Staff members at the University of Bristol were themselves seeking to cancel the meeting'. When asked to confirm what specific communications she was referring to, she explained that according to the emails Suzanne Doyle, co-chair of the UoB's LGBT+ Staff Network, had been in contact with Trans Students' Officer, Spencer Blackwell, in the Student Union. The email was requesting that Suzanne Doyle share the petition advocating for the prohibition, or 'cancelling' of Ms Rosario-Sanchez and Woman's Place UK's proposed meeting on campus. Ms Rosario-Sanchez said: 'The purpose of the open letter was to cancel me, and the way that they were going about it was by intimidating me and other women. 'So when I say they were colluding, they were not just sharing a piece of paper - they were sharing an open letter about targeting and cancelling our meeting'. Questioning Ms Rosario-Sanchez further about support she received from the university, she was asked whether she had received an email listing options for support from the university. Ms Rosario-Sanchez said she had received this email, and that she understood the limitations of what support the university could offer as the event was not on or related to university premises. Ms Rosario-Sanchez accepted that the Student's Union was not the same as the university, but explained that the motion proposed to the Students Union was seeking to ban women such as her from speaking on the university campus. Reading out emails regarding the proposal of the motion to ban her from speaking, Ms Rosario-Sanchez explained that she felt efforts to target her were 'escalating'. The university had previously offered to post on social media a condemnation of efforts to limit freedom of speech. A spokesperson for the University of Bristol said: 'Following a complaint from Ms Rosario Sanchez about the conduct of fellow students stemming from an external event held off campus, the university has found itself at the centre of a highly-polarised debate around gender identity and rights. 'From the outset, we have sought to remain neutral in our management of this conflict and to follow our internal complaints procedure. 'While we are pleased the judge found this to be the case, dismissing all claims made against us, we acknowledge that this has been an incredibly challenging period for everyone involved. 'We wish Ms Rosario Sanchez all the best for the future, especially with the completion of her PhD.' The university had rejected Ms Rosario-Sanchez concerns that the campaign against her was escalating, suggesting she failed to provide evidence of this escalation. Ms Rosario-Sanchez describes herself as a feminist writer, campaigner and researcher from the Dominican Republic. She was was accepted on a PhD course at the University of Bristol in January 2018. Rosario-Sanchez lists her academic specialism as 'ending violence against girls and women'. Western intelligence agencies are warning Russian state-sponsored hackers are targeting critical infrastructure - and cautioned that working from home increases the risk of a successful attack. An alert has been issued by agencies from the Five Eyes alliance - made up of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US. They said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the imposition of Western sanctions on Moscow, had increased the risk of 'malicious cyber activity'. The warning highlighted the activities of Russia state-sponsored hackers and also cybercrime groups that have recently publicly pledged support to Vladimir Putin's regime. The Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies urged those working in critical infrastructure to 'prepare for and mitigate potential cyber threats'. Russian-linked cybercrime groups were said to have targeted critical IT systems, health services, a nuclear power plant, an airport, and government networks. As well as Russian FSB and GRU cyber teams, the Five Eyes agencies also explained how many Russian-aligned groups had been acting in the Kremlin's interests. These include groups named as Killnet, Mummy Spider, Salty Spider and The Xaknet Team. Cybercrime groups supportive of Vladimir Putin's regime were said to have targeted critical IT systems, health services, a nuclear power plant, an airport, and government networks The Five Eyes cybersecurity agencies urged those working in critical infrastructure to 'prepare for and mitigate potential cyber threats' The Five Eyes agencies issued a warning about the use of remote desktops and 'other potentially risky services' In their advice on how to mitigate against the Russian cyber threat, the agencies urged organisations to update software and enforce multi-factor authentication 'to the greatest extent possible'. They also issued a warning about the use of remote desktops and 'other potentially risky services'. Remote dekstops are commonly used for working from home and allows a user to connect to a computer in another location. The Five Eyes alert stated: 'RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) exploitation is one of the top initial infection vectors for ransomware, and risky services, including RDP, can allow unauthorized access to your session using an on-path attacker.' They suggested that RDP only be used if deemed 'operationally necessary'. The warning will increase fears that UK civil servants working from home could leave Government networks more vulnerable to an attack. The Foreign Office was reported to have begun an urgent investigation on Tuesday night into a suspected cyber hack after personal information about Government employees appeared on Russian social media sites. Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is currently leading a government drive get civil servants back to their desks after the Covid pandemic. He was this week claimed to have conducted a personal headcount of officials in one Whitehall office. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay, the minister responsible for cyber security, told the Telegraph: 'Cyber attacks recognise no physical or geographical boundary and it has never been more important to plan and invest in cyber resilience.' This is the moment a Japanese newsreader broke down in tears on air as she revealed her 'frustration' over reports that Russia has honoured troops who oversaw the Bucha massacre. The unnamed anchor became overwhelmed with emotion as she told viewers that Vladimir Putin had awarded the soldiers for being a role model for special military operations in Ukraine. She stopped her broadcast to fight back tears as she delivered the news and had to compose herself before completing her segment. Appearing to wipe a tear from her eye, she said: There are still many civilians stuck in the bunker. I'm so sorry, excuse me Wiping away more tears, she continued: The latest news where Putin was honouring the soldier makes me...sorry, it was just frustrating to read that news, apologies, I'll keep calm. As her colleagues watched on stoically, she then to[ok a deep breath before continuing: The Ukrainian war has entered a new phase. Her show of emotion instantly sparked a flood of words of support after the video appeared online. Watch the moment a Japanese newsreader cries during a broadcast about Russian troops being awarded for the Bucha massacre, wiping away a tear She suddenly stopped during the live broadcast struggling to continue and saying: There are still many civilians stuck in the bunker. I'm so sorry, excuse me Supporters have flooded the internet with praise for her courage, with one Reddit user saying: 'For Japanese people to show this in public is a huge deal.' Vladimir Putin had honoured the soldiers for being a role model for special military operations after massacring Ukrainians in the outskirts of Kyiv Supporters praised her for her courage. On Reddit, one user said: For Japanese people to show this in public is a huge deal. That woman is a saint and we should all praise her. Another wrote: Beautiful woman on the outside and on the inside. God bless her. Twitter user BioDominion Humanica posted: There is something beautiful about this moment. Ukraine and most major western countries have accused Russia of war crimes in Bucha during the several weeks when the northern town was under Russian occupation. Pictures of dead civilians that emerged after Russian forces withdrew sparked an international uproar and led to further sanctions on Russia by the United States, Britain and the European Union. Russia has denied allegations that it killed civilians in Bucha, calling footage and photographs of dead bodies a 'staged performance' by Kyiv. Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it has concluded that Russian attacks on Ukrainian government buildings, schools and hospitals since March 10 were intentional based on, among other things, the types of civilian targets struck, frequency of strikes and volume of munitions used. Earlier, Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno had called the massacre a war crime. Speaking to a news conference he said: Killing numerous innocent civilians constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and is a war crime. Russias war crime must be punished. Earlier this week, Britain announced new sanctions against Vladimir Putin's 'war leaders', including the colonel who oversaw the horrifying mass murder of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha. The move will target those 'commanding the front line' to commit 'heinous' acts in Ukraine, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The latests sanctions list includes Lt Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov (pictured, file photo), who earned the nickname of the 'Butcher of Bucha' for commanding the Russian unit that is believed to be behind the civilian massacre in the Ukrainian town Pictured: Bodies are exhumed and removed from the mass grave near the St. Andrew and All Saints Church in Bucha city of Kyiv area, Ukraine, 13 April 2022 Three dug graves are ready for the next funerals at the cemetery in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022 The list includes Lt Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, a commanding officer in the Russian army with involvement in the 'Bucha massacre'; Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov, commander of airborne forces; Major General Valery Flyustikov, commander of special operations forces; and Colonel General Nikolay Bogdanovsky, first deputy chief of the general staff, the FCDO said. Omurbekov earned the nickname of the 'Butcher of Bucha' for commanding the Russian unit that is believed to be behind the civilian massacre in the Ukrainian town. The commander of the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade - who is thought to be around 40 - was once given a medal for outstanding service in 2014 by Dmitry Bulgakov, the deputy Russian Defence Minister. He now stands accused of organising the rape, pillage and murder of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, a commuter town on the outskirts of Kyiv, during Russia's month-long occupation throughout March. Since Russian forces were pushed back from the region, hundreds of bodies of civilians have been found, the majority of which were discovered with gunshot wounds. Some had their hands tied behind their backs, and had been tortured. Advertisement A huge sculpture made up of 350 British native trees is to be erected outside Buckingham Palace to mark the Queen's historic Platinum Jubilee. An artist's impression shows how the 70ft structure, made up of small trees in aluminium pots 'sprouting' from timber-plank branches, will tower over the palace gates during the four-day bank holiday weekend in June. It will form a centrepiece of celebrations at the palace, which will include a live pop concert to be held in front of 10,000 people. The sculpture was announced on Friday which is Earth Day, with the Prince of Wales also marking the occasion with an environmental project for children. The 'Tree of Trees' sculpture, created by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, reflects the planting of more than a million Jubilee trees as part of the Queen's Green Canopy (QGC). The 'Tree of Trees', a 70ft structure made of 350 potted British native plants, is to be erected outside Buckingham Palace, acting as the centrepiece of celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June Royal tree-planting has long been a staple duty for the Windsors, with the Queen estimated to have planted more than 1,500 trees across the world during official state visits Celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee will include the Red Arrows performing overhead at RAF Cosford, jousting at Hampton Court Palace and Sir Elton John performing at a special concert at Buckingham Palace. Pictured: The Queen cuts a cake to celebrate the start of the Platinum Jubilee on February 5 2022 The initiative, which spans two official tree-planting seasons, has already seen thousands of people planting Jubilee saplings across the UK to create a canopy of green in tribute to the monarch's 70 years of service to the nation. The trees that make up the sculpture will be gifted to community groups and organisations at the start of the next planting season in October. Royal tree-planting has long been a staple duty for the Windsors and is usually used to commemorate official visits. During her reign, the Queen has planted more than 1,500 trees across the world. Mr Heatherwick, whose past designs include London's Coal Drops Yard and office buildings for Google, said it was an 'honour' to work on the project. He said: 'The structure, created from 350 British native trees and recycled steel, is coming together from workshops and nurseries across the country as one part of an incredible community campaign that's literally changing the landscape of our nation.' The 'Tree of Trees' sculpture was announced on Friday, which is Earth Day. Prince Charles marked the occasion by challenging children to draw, paint or write about keeping the planet healthy. Picture: The Prince of Wales signs the visitor book on a trip to Homerton College at the University of Cambridge Huge events are taking place across the country to celebrate the Queen 's 70-year reign. Pictured. standing on the balcony, members of the Royal Family, left to right: Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence; Princess Anne; Prince Andrew; Camilla Duchess of Cornwall; Queen Elizabeth II; Prince Charles; Prince Harry; Meghan, Duchess of Sussex; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (with Princess Charlotte and Prince George) and Prince William A concept image of marching bands who will make up part of the Jubilee celebration. The marching bands, a giant dragon puppet and circus acts will form part of a spectacular pageant RAF Falcons display RAF Cosford Air Show in 2019, when at least 55,000 people attended the event The sculpture is partly made from old surplus steel and materials are being sourced from UK suppliers to minimise transportation, energy use and waste. The Prince of Wales marked Earth Day by challenging children to draw or write about keeping the planet healthy. In a video message released by the Prince's Foundation, Charles said: 'Take out a blank piece of paper and draw, paint or write about the future you would like to see, one that puts nature at the heart of everything we do. 'That way we can share our ideas with as many people as possible. 'And together we can help make our planet strong and healthy for generations to come.' The prince's words are from the foreword he wrote for It's Up To Us, a book for children explaining the Terra Carta, a roadmap to sustainability. The 'Tree of Trees' will be the epicentre around which celebrations agglomerate - with huge events programmed to take place all around the country for the Queen's 70-year reign. The Red Arrows will fly overhead at RAF Cosford, jousting will be hosted at Hampton Court Palace and Sir Elton John is to play at a special concert at Buckingham Palace. Meanwhile, a 70-kilometre 'ultra challenge' is taking place for runners wanting to celebrate Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee in a unique way and a 70-mile classic car run in Cornwall, featuring a car from every year of the Queen's reign, is also pencilled in among a wide variety of events. According to TechSpot, for a long while, Google has been "cracking" down on the ability of third-party Android apps to record calls. It will have closed the last loophole that some developers were utilizing to deploy the feature by next month. Google modified its developer program policy on April 6 to prohibit third-party Google Play store apps from recording calls.The change will take effect on May 11, after which time only apps that come pre-installed on Android phones or that Google has created will be able to use this feature. Are There Exemptions to Google's New Update? Google removed call recording on Android 6 and Android 10 but enabled it in later versions under a special accessibility provision for disabled users, TechSpot reported citing NLL Apps, an Android recording app developer. Call recording isn't an appropriate use of Google's accessibility API, Google spokesperson said. The prohibition was imposed due to privacy concerns, Google said. As per the report of 9to5Google, many apps allow you to record audio from a call without the other party knowing. As a result, only third-party apps on the Play Store are affected by this policy change. On some devices, several default dialer apps, such as Google Phone, Mi Dialer, and others, have native call recording feature built in. The default dialer apps for Pixel and Xiaomi smartphones will not be affected by the update. Read More: Google Messages Bug May be Draining Your Battery - Is There a Fix? While it's understandable to prevent apps from recording calls without the user's permission, some people may desire to record conference or earnings calls. In addition to the limitations listed above, sideloading for call recording on Android may still be a possibility. Because Google's restriction only applies to Play Store apps, it will do little to prevent malware that wants to capture calls from doing so through other means, TechSpot noted. Meanwhile, The Register mentioned that since at least 2017, The Chocolate Factory has hinted that it plans to ban apps with accessibility features that aren't developed for disabled people from the Play Store. In November 2017, it sent letters to app developers informing them that accessibility services should only be utilized to assist disabled people. Popular Android Apps That Were Secretly Capturing Data Have Been Banned by Google According to the report of Protocol, Google has removed dozens of Android apps from the Google Play store after discovering a line of code that was collecting user data invisibly. Citing the Wall Street Journal, the report said that Muslim prayer apps were among the now-banned apps, with over 10 million downloads. The data-scraping code was also discovered in a popular highway speed trap detection app and a QR-code scanning app. It was said that the Panamanian company responsible for the code is related to a Virginia-based firm that deals with U.S. national security services. When users utilized a "cut and paste" feature, the line of code, which was part of an SDK created by Measurement Systems S. De R.L., was detected to be collecting rich data such as precise location information, email and phone numbers, neighboring devices, and passwords. It was mentioned that Google banned the apps on March 25. Related Article: Google Rolls Out Chrome Web Store Badges for Easier Extension Search Advertisement Russia has revealed plans to seize Ukraines entire southern coast and hinted at future military action in Moldova to protect oppressed Russian speakers. The deputy commander of Russia's central military district, Rustam Minnekayev, said Russia planned to forge a corridor between Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014, and the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. The suggestion by a senior Russian official that Moscow needs to defend supporters in a nearby country is a chilling echo of its previous justification for invading Ukraine. It would mean an extended war to the west of annexed Crimea, where Putin's sea power is diminished after the sinking of the Moskva. Russian forces already occupy most of the territory there and, as Western officials have conceded, they are in a position to achieve their military objectives. Moldova, one of Europes poorest states, was part of the Soviet Union but a war broke out between Moldovan forces and Russian-backed separatists in the Transnistria area in 1992. A ceasefire was agreed but the conflict remains unresolved. Transnistria, which borders Ukraine, is recognised internationally as part of Moldova but is effectively controlled by Russia, which has given citizenship to separatists. An estimated 1,300 Russian troops are stationed in the enclave. Unlike Ukraine and Georgia, Moldova is not seeking Nato membership. The landlocked country, with a pop- ulation of just 2.6million, has only a few thousand active military personnel, so it would not be able to withstand a Russian invasion. Meanwhile, last night it was claimed President Putin, who has been pictured looking bloated and weary in the run-up to his 70th birthday later this year, wants to emulate Catherine the Great. The Russian queen controlled the entire Black Sea coast, including Odessa, Mykolaiv and war-torn port city Mariupol. On March 8 Putin referenced Catherine the Great in a speech for International Women's Day. He said: 'She wasnt Russian by birth, but she was proud of becoming Russian.' He also referenced her poor health - perhaps a reference to his own. Putin continued: 'She said: "I will defend my motherland with my tongue, my pen and my sword - for as long as I live".' He also made clear he wanted to emulate this 'great woman'. An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops waving Russian flags moves towards Mariupol yesterday which Putin claims he has 'liberated' Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of an armoured vehicle during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol A destroyed apartment building in Borodianka on the outskirts of Kyiv is seen as Russian bombardment in Ukraine continues The remaining Ukrainian fighters left in Mariupol are holed up at the vast Azovstal industrial facility which Putin has ordered to be blockaded, effectively condemning the soldiers and civilians inside to their deaths. Russia today said it was prepared to stop firing to allow the trapped fighters to leave the plant with any civilians, as the defence ministry blasted 'groundless' claims they would shut it with people inside, as Putin had ordered. The Russian leader also accused Kyiv of refusing to allow their Mariupol troops to surrender. Mariupol sits between areas held by Russian separatists and Crimea and its capture would allow Russia to link the two areas. During tsarist times, the lands now known as Ukraine were called Novorossiya - or New Russia. This week the Kremlin foreign ministry hailed the 1792 Jassy Treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires 'in which the possession of the entire northern Black Sea coast from the Dniester to the Kuban, including Crimea, was finally secured for the Russian Empire'. Putin has had his eyes on dismembering Ukraine for years, with Maj Gen Minnekayevs words only restating Putins dream. State Emergency Service (SES) experts remove Russian bombs as they clear the area in Chernihiv after the latest strikes 'Novorossiya - Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Odessa were not part of Ukraine in Tsarist times,' Putin said in 2014. 'They were transferred [to Ukraine] in 1920 [after the Bolshevik Revolution]. Why? God knows.' Now he is ticking them off one by one - with Odessa, founded by Catherine, the jewel. And afterwards Moldova? 'Control over the south of Ukraine is another way out to Transnistria, where there are also facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population,' said Minnekayev. But Transnistria - a breakaway statelet of Moldova within easy reach of Odessa - is already staunchly pro-Putin and controlled by the Russian army and the KGB, as it has been since the end of the USSR. It is a Soviet time warp and he wont have to fight to take it. But Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff hit back at Minnekayev saying: 'We have our own scenarios to defend Ukraine and I would point out that plenty of Kremlin plans have already been ruined by the work of our army and our people.' The latest escalation comes as Russia continues to pound the Donbas, striking 58 targets overnight, but the Kremlin is still suffering heavy blows with claims their death toll has risen to 30,000. A view of a Mykolaiv Regional Council building which was destroyed as a result of a shellfire yesterday as Russia continues to pound Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin holds an online meeting of Russia's Security Council in Moscow today as he continues his assault A pro-Russian troop stands in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol where hundreds of Ukrainians are trapped Minnekayev said taking control of southern Ukraine would improve Russian access to Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria, which borders Ukraine and which Kyiv fears could be used as a launching pad for new attacks. Kyiv earlier this month said that an airfield in the region was being prepared to receive aircraft and could be used by Moscow to fly in Ukraine-bound troops. 'Control over the south of Ukraine is another way to Transdniestria, where there is also evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed,' TASS quoted Minnekayev as saying at a meeting in Russia's central Sverdlovsk region. Ukraine's Defence Ministry denounced the plans announced by Russia to take full control of Donbas and southern Ukraine as 'imperialism'. 'They stopped hiding it,' the ministry said on Twitter. It said Russia had 'acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is.' Elsewhere in Ukraine today, at least one person died and two were injured when a transport plane crashed over the centre of the country, the latest incident involving accident-prone Soviet-era aircraft. 'An AN-26 aircraft, which according to preliminary information belonged to Ukraine, crashed today in the vicinity of Mikhailovka in the Zaporizhzhia region,' the region's administration wrote in a statement on social media. Russian military vehicles move on a highway in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces near Mariupol Volodymyr Zelensky said in an overnight address that Mariupol 'continues to resist' the invading forces despite Russian claims of victory People walk past cars damaged during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol Fighters of the Chechen special forces unit, led by Russia's State Duma member Adam Delimkhanov, patrol the besieged port city 'The aircraft was performing a technical flight. It has been established that one person was killed and two more were injured.' Crew numbers and the cause of the crash were being investigated, the statement added. The Soviet-designed Antonov aircraft, still widely used in military and civilian aviation across Russia and the former USSR, crash regularly. In February, a Russian Antonov AN-26 transport carrying military equipment came down in the southern Voronezh region near Ukraine, killing all crew members on board. Two dozen people including military cadets were killed in September 2020, when a Ukranian AN-26 plane went down near Kharkiv in the east of the country. In 2018, an AN-26 transport plane crashed when landing in Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria. All 39 servicemen on board died. The central Zaporizhzhia administration said Friday the plane may have hit electrical wires, setting the engines on fire. It said rescue workers were on the scene. In a show of support for Ukraine, Britain announced today it plans to reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv next week. The British government said in February, days before Russia invaded Ukraine, that its embassy office in Kyiv was relocating temporarily and staff were operating from an embassy office in the city of Lviv. Service members of pro-Russian troops, including fighters of the Chechen special forces unit, stand in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works Local residents stand near emergency management specialists, who transport the bodies of civilians killed in the city A damaged Russian tank near a road in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv. Some cities and villages had recently been recaptured by the Ukrainian army from Russian forces Yesterday, Boris Johnson admitted there is a realistic possibility Russia could succeed in Ukraine, in spite of the failures of its military campaign so far. Russia has stepped up operations in eastern Ukraine, seizing 42 villages in the Donetsk region. Perhaps with a view to maintaining its newfound momentum on the battlefield, the Kremlin yesterday refused Ukraines offer of a four-day truce over the Orthodox Easter weekend. Its recent successes follow the appointment of General Aleksandr Dvornikov as overall commander of the operation a fortnight ago. The general, known as the Butcher after the brutal tactics he used in Syria and Chechnya, has boosted Russias use of drones, rocket systems and electronic warfare technology, creating a platform for Vladimir Putin to claim victory. In spite of recent Russian successes in eastern Ukraine, the plans as outlined by Minnekaev are considered ambitious. Capturing the biggest southern city of Odessa would be a huge military undertaking and the port is well defended. Russias forces have also sustained heavy losses, with more than 13,000 troops killed and 7,000 said to be missing in action since the invasion began on February 24. This estimate, by far the gravest of its military campaign, emerged on Russian social media yesterday, only to be deleted hours later. Overnight, Russia struck 58 military targets including sites where troops, fuel depots and military equipment were concentrated, its defence ministry said. The ministry said it had also struck three targets using high-precision missiles in Ukraine, including an S-300 air defence system and a large concentration of Ukrainian troops with their equipment. But the gains are continuing to come at a heavy price for Putin, with three more majors killed in conflict. Online source General SVR today claimed that Putin has been told of a total of 30,557 deaths among the armed forces and privately-hired combatants. This included 23,655 armed forces personnel as being a figure at 6am Moscow time today. The claim could not be verified but other estimates suggest well over 20,000. One example of the hidden death toll is Russia's failure to say how many perished in the sinking of the Moskva cruiser, the Black Sea Fleet flagship, after it was hit by Ukrainian missiles. The killings highlight the appalling losses and pain suffered by Russia from the president's military adventure. He is believed to have lost eight generals and 35 colonels among his top brass. Flags beside the recently buried at graveyards show those killed are among Russia's most elite and highly-trained paratroopers and GRU military intelligence special forces. A Ukrainian service member stands next to a damaged Russian tank T-72 BV, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Donetsk region State Emergency Service (SES) experts remove Russian bombs as they clear the area as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv Dmitrovo-Cherkassy Cemetery in Tver region. A local journalist reported Russian military and navy flags are erected by the graves Major Alexander Shepel (left), 35, battalion commander of the second motorised rifles, was blown up by an anti-tank mine. Major Sergei Averyanov (right), 36, commander of an engineering battalion, was announced today by Ukraine and confirmed by the officer's relatives in Russia GRU Spetnaz officer Major Sergey Kashanskiy, 32, from Siberia, pictured, was killed in an undisclosed operation in Ukraine. Governor of Krasnoyarsk region Alexander Uss offered his 'deepest condolences' to the family. No details were given concerning how he died. Major Sergei Averyanov, 36, commander of an engineering battalion, was announced today by Ukraine and confirmed by the officer's relatives in Russia. A VW-fanatic, he had served two tours of duty in Syria before dying in Ukraine. Major Alexander Shepel, 35, battalion commander of the second motorised rifles, was blown up by an anti-tank mine, according to reports. A memorial to him said: 'You are our hero, we will not forget. We will not forgive, we love, we mourn ... You are forever in our hearts.' He died in a battle in Popkova village, in Ukraine, say reports. Putin's decision on Thursday not to order his forces to root out Ukrainian defenders in the labyrinthine underground passageways under Azovstal steelworks is seen as a reflection that the Russian public is becoming deeply uneasy about the rising slaughter of its soldiers in Ukraine. A number of elite paratroopers appear to be buried at a graveyard in Tver region. There are also new graves at a burial site called Alley of the Paratroopers in Stavropol region, as a video shows. Flags beside the recently buried at graveyards show those killed are among Russia's most elite and highly-trained paratroopers and GRU military intelligence special forces At least some of the fallen are GRU military intelligence special forces officers, indicated by the flag with a bat and parachute prominently displayed. It reportedly belongs to the 10th Separate Order of Zhukov Special Purpose Brigade. Russia has not come clean on the scale of its war losses, and has hidden the return to the motherland of coffins and funerals. Putin also claimed yesterday it had 'liberated' the besieged port city as Putin savagely ordered to seal off all routes out of the plant 'so that even a fly cannot pass through', effectively condemning those inside to their deaths. But today, Captain Svyatoslav Palamar from the Azov Battalion insisted: 'I always say that as long as we are here, Mariupol remains under control of Ukraine.' Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the remarks in an overnight address, saying Mariupol 'continues to resist' the invading forces. Palamar's comments are the first to emerge from Inside the steelworks, the last remaining bastion of resistance in the city which has been razed to the ground, since Putin claimed victory yesterday. He described the chilling sight inside Azovstal and its labyrinthine tunnels where scores of dead civilians are trapped in bunkers and under collapsed buildings after taking refuge there from the constant shelling. The soldier told the BBC: 'All the buildings in the territory of Azovstal are practically destroyed. They drop heavy bombs, bunker-busting bombs which cause huge destruction. We have wounded and dead inside the bunkers. Some civilians remain trapped under the collapsed buildings.' Palamar said the civilians are in separate basements to the fighters, each full of 80 to 100 people, as he claimed there were 'enough to repel attacks' stationed inside. Some buildings inside the plant have been destroyed by shelling meaning soldiers are unable to reach the trapped civilians, with entrances blocked by huge immovable concrete slabs. He said: 'We keep in touch with those civilians who stay in places that we can get to. We know that there are small children there as young as three months old.' The Azov fighter desperately appealed for safe evacuation routes out of the steelworks and urged a third country to act as a guarantor to ensure their safety after Russians repeatedly broke agreed ceasefires. The neo-Nazi Azov battalion formed as a volunteer paramilitary militia in 2014 to fight Russians in the Donbas and has been accused of its own war crimes. But in a last ditch battle to defend Azovstal, the Ukrainian marines joined forces with the far-right fighters. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin hailed the 'liberation' of Mariupol as a 'success' for Russian forces, and ordered a siege of the Azovstal plant. 'There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can escape,' Putin said. The British Ministry of Defence said today: 'Putin's decision to blockade the Azovstal steel plant likely indicates a desire to contain Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol and free up Russian forces to be deployed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.' There are at least 500 wounded soldiers inside the plant needing medication and surgery including amputations, while a number of elderly civilians are also in need of urgent treatment. 'They have almost no food, water, essential medicine,' Ukraine's foreign ministry said. Zelensky added last night: 'In the south and east of our country, the occupiers continue to do everything to have a reason to talk about at least some victories. Russia's ailing command: 'Bloated and slouching' Putin is seen gripping a table amid cancer battle rumours as he meets 'slurring' defence minister Shoigu - who needs to read from notes 'following heart attack' A bloated Vladimir Putin has been seen gripping a table whilst slouching in his chair during a televised meeting with his defence minister amid rumours the Russian strongman is battling cancer. In a rare live appearance, Putin claimed Russia had 'liberated' the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, as he savagely ordered Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to seal off all routes out of the Azovstal steelworks where defiant Ukrainians are holed up 'so that even a fly cannot pass through'. But Putin's poor posture and his apparently bloated face and neck sparked speculation about the Russian leader's health, which has reportedly been in decline since his invasion of Ukraine. Video showed Putin speaking to Shoigu whilst gripping the edge of the table with his right hand - so hard that it appears white - and tapping his foot consistently. Shoigu does not appear to have fared any better in the eight weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, with the defence minister slurring his words and reading from his notes following an apparent heart attack. A bloated Vladimir Putin has been seen gripping a table whilst slouching in his chair during a televised meeting with his defence minister Sergei Shoigu amid rumours the Russian strongman is battling cancer. Shoigu does not appear to have fared any better in the eight weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, with the defence minister slurring his words and reading from his notes following an apparent heart attack But Putin's poor posture and his apparently bloated face and neck sparked speculation about the Russian leader's health, which has reportedly been in decline since his invasion of Ukraine Vladimir Putin's five medically-related disappearances November 2012: Business trips and long-distance flights of the president are canceled, some of Putin's meetings shown by the Kremlin turn out to be 'canned food' March 5 15, 2015: Putin does not appear in public, all meetings are 'canned' - in other words pre-recorded events were shown with the pretence they were in real time August 9-16, 2017: The President, with journalists, visits Abkhazia and Sochi, and then for a week the Kremlin publishes only 'canned food' February 2018: In the midst of an election campaign, the president cancels public events. Peskov admits that the head of state 'had a cold' September 13-29, 2021: Putin goes into 'self-isolation', all events are held via video link Advertisement Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and former adviser to Ukraine and Russia, said the video showed both Putin and Shoigu 'depressed and seemingly in bad health'. 'Shoigu has to read his comments to Putin and slurs badly, suggesting that the rumours of his heart attack are likely. He sits badly. Poor performance.' Professor Erik Bucy, a body language expert from Texas Tech University, told The Sun Online: 'It's an astonishingly weakened Putin compared to the man we observed even a few years ago. 'An able-bodied president would not need to keep himself propped up with a hand held out for leverage and would not be concerned about keeping both feet planted on the ground.' 'This is not a portrait of a healthy Putin but one appearing increasingly feeble and barely able to hold himself upright at a small conference table,' Bucy added. Putin's bloated face and neck has sparked claims he is undergoing steroid treatment, whilst reports have suggested Putin is 'constantly' accompanied by a doctor specialising in thyroid cancer. Surgeon Yevgeny Selivanov, of Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital, has flown to the Russian leader no less than 35 times in Black Sea resort Sochi, his favourite place of residence. The respected doctor's thesis - showing his area of medical expertise - was entitled: 'Peculiarities of diagnostics and surgical treatment of elderly and senile patients with thyroid cancer'. 'Shoigu has to read his comments to Putin and slurs badly, suggesting that the rumours of his heart attack are likely. He sits badly. Poor performance,' Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and former adviser to Ukraine and Russia, said Service members of pro-Russian troops, including fighters of the Chechen special forces unit, stand in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works Meanwhile Shoigu, who is in charge of the bloody invasion of Ukraine, has been noticeably absent from public view amid reports the defence minister and Putin's relationship has become strained after Russia's military operation in Ukraine has led to more than 20,000 Russian troops being killed. Last week, a Russian-Israeli businessman claimed Shoigu suffered a heart attack, which he suspects was caused by foul play. Leonid Nevzlin claimed Shoigu had been in intensive car after suffering 'a massive heart attack' which 'could not have occurred due to natural causes', suggesting Putin's longtime ally may have been the subject of an assassination attempt ordered by his boss. Some have claimed Shoigu and Putin's poor health is due to the faltering invasion of Ukraine. During the televised meeting, Putin hailed the 'liberation' of Mariupol as a 'success' for Russian forces, and ordered a siege of the Azovstal plant. 'There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Block off this industrial area so that not even a fly can escape,' Putin said. The British Ministry of Defence said today: 'Putin's decision to blockade the Azovstal steel plant likely indicates a desire to contain Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol and free up Russian forces to be deployed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.' There are at least 500 wounded soldiers inside the plant needing medication and surgery including amputations, while a number of elderly civilians are also in need of urgent treatment. 'They have almost no food, water, essential medicine,' Ukraine's foreign ministry said A pro-Russian troop stands in front of the destroyed administration building of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol where hundreds of Ukrainians are trapped An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops waving Russian flags moves towards Mariupol yesterday which Putin claims he has 'liberated' Defiant Ukrainians holed up inside the steelworks are still refusing to surrender Mariupol despite being surrounded by Russian forces. Today, Captain Svyatoslav Palamar from the Azov Battalion insisted: 'I always say that as long as we are here, Mariupol remains under control of Ukraine.' Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the remarks in an overnight address, saying Mariupol 'continues to resist' the invading forces. Palamar's comments are the first to emerge from inside the steelworks, the last remaining bastion of resistance in the city which has been razed to the ground, since Putin claimed victory yesterday. He described the chilling sight inside Azovstal and its labyrinthine tunnels where scores of dead civilians are trapped in bunkers and under collapsed buildings after taking refuge there from the constant shelling. The soldier told the BBC: 'All the buildings in the territory of Azovstal are practically destroyed. They drop heavy bombs, bunker-busting bombs which cause huge destruction. We have wounded and dead inside the bunkers. Some civilians remain trapped under the collapsed buildings.' One of Boris Johnson's closest allies has lashed out at fellow Conservative MPs for declining to support the Prime Minister - who he claimed would fail to win the backing of all Tories even if he could 'walk on water'. Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns insisted there were a number of Tory MPs who had 'never really supported' Mr Johnson as Conservative leader or PM. He spoke out after the latest developments in the Partygate scandal saw Mr Johnson - who has been slapped with a 50 police fine over a Covid rule breach - lose further support among Tory ranks. The PM is now facing a third investigation into Coronavirus law-breaking in Downing Street, following the ongoing Metropolitan Police probe and an inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray. MPs yesterday approved an new investigation by the Commons' Privileges Committee into allegations Mr Johnson misled the House with his past denials of lockdown breaches in Number 10. The Commons ruled that the PM's past statements 'appear to amount to misleading the House' as they approved the fresh probe. Yesterday also saw the PM lose further backing among Tories - with influential Conservative backbencher Steve Baker telling Mr Johnson: 'The gig is up.' Mr Baker told MailOnline it would now be up to Cabinet ministers to tell the PM 'it's over'. The PM is now facing a third investigation into Coronavirus law-breaking in Downing Street, following the ongoing Metropolitan Police probe and an inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns insisted there were a number of Tory MPs who had 'never really supported' Boris Johnson as Conservative leader or PM The current discontent within the Conservative Party was further on display today. Another senior backbencher, Tobias Ellwood - who has been a frequent critic of the PM over Partygate - said there had been a 'huge breach of trust' with the public. He predicted there will be a 'steady trickle' of letters from Tory MPs to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, calling for a leadership contest. Mr Ellwood, the chair of the Commons' Defence Committee, called on Conservatives to 'stop drinking the Kool-Aid that's encouraging us to think this (Partygate) is all going to disappear and that we can all move on'. He told Sky News: 'I'm afraid the absence of discipline, of focus and leadership in Number 10 during that lockdown period has led to a huge breach of trust with the British people. 'So it's beholden upon all Conservative MPs then to take matters into their own hands, and I think this is where things will go, particularly as we have more bad news to follow.' However, the continued agitation for a leadership contest brought an angry retort from Mr Burns, who insisted there was 'no question' of Mr Johnson stepping down. 'There are a number of colleagues across Parliament who have never really supported the Prime Minister,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. 'If the Prime Minister stepped off Westminster Bridge and walked on top of the water they would say he couldn't swim. That is a fact. 'The reality is that it is only two years ago since we won a majority of 80 seats, the biggest majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987. 'What the Prime Minister is saying is 'I led you to that victory, I have got business I want to do'.' Mr Burns, who did a series of TV and radio interviews in support of the PM this morning, said he does not believe Mr Johnson had lied to MPs about Partygate. 'There is no question of the Prime Minister going,' he told Sky News. 'He remains confident that when people can see the full context of what happened it will be clear that he was straightforward, he said to the House in good faith that he believed the rules were followed.' Mr Johnson was fined by the Met Police over his 56th birthday bash in Number 10 in June 2020. In a previous defence of the PM, Mr Burns claimed earlier this year that the PM was 'ambushed with a cake' at the gathering. A Liberal candidate at the centre of controversy over her anti-transgender comments has been accosted by an angry punter at a local pub. Katherine Deves, Scott Morrison's personal selection to challenge Warringah MP Zali Steggall, attended an event at Forestville RSL on Sydney's Northern Beaches called 'Politics at the Pub' on Friday evening when the confrontation occurred. The man, named Norris Smith, shouted: 'This is a public event' and 'I'm a member of the club' while RSL staff attempted to calm him down on the staircase leading to the room Ms Deves was heading to, according to News.com.au. Mr Smith, who had not interacted with Ms Deves, was then reportedly asked to leave after being denied entry as a non-Liberal. Controversy erupted around Ms Deves' candidacy after deleted tweets emerged where she described trans children as 'surgically mutilated and sterilised'. Katherine Deves was confronted by an angry punter at Forestville RSL on Friday night after attending her first public event since controversial comments on trans people surfaced She attended an event at Forestville RSL on Sydney's Northern Beaches called 'Politics at the Pub', where a member started screaming at her and her team upon arrival Ms Deves arrived at the event in a white escort vehicle 30 minutes late, and spoke briefly to reporters as she got out. 'I have fought for women and children and now I'm fighting for Warringah. Thank you for coming along tonight. I'm looking forward to campaigning hard over the next four weeks and on the issues that affect the people in the room,' she said. Ms Deves then brushed past questions and moved inside the RSL, which refused entry to the journalists in attendance as it was an 'invite only' and 'no media event'. A worker at the pub told media they were all instructed not to let journalists in, saying: 'They are all for freedom of speech, just as long as it's Liberal party speech'. The yelling from Mr Smith was heard only moments after Ms Deves had rushed inside the building. The man who was restrained by staff also reportedly told onlookers that there had been an increase in young people presenting at his relative's mental health clinic as a result of Ms Deves' controversial comments about the transgender community. 'My son works in mental health. He's 29. He works with kids 12 to 25 and he said 'this just caused a s***storm for us'. Ms Deves brushed past questions and moved inside the RSL, which refused entry to the journalists in attendance as it was an 'invite only' and 'no media event' Ms Deves had once said trans teenagers are 'surgically mutilated' adding she was 'triggered' by the rainbow Pride flag. In tweets unearthed this week she also claimed there was a link between cross-dressing men and trans women being 'sexual predators, even serial killers'. She also wrote that gay men who have surrogate babies are engaged in 'human rights violations'. Ms Deves arrived at the event in a white escort vehicle 30 minutes late, with the car arriving at a high rate of speed. She rushed inside before offering one statement to media The mother-of-three wrote that surrogacy was a 'human rights violation' before saying, 'Women's bodies are not vehicles for a vanity project' Last December, she labelled surrogacy as 'reproductive prostitution'. 'It is egregious exploitation of women, both the woman from the egg is 'harvested' and the pregnant woman who gives birth to the baby,' she wrote. She also compared lobbying to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's sport to standing up against the Holocaust and transgender rights to the Nazis and the Stolen Generation. It is not the first time the Warringah Liberal candidate has slammed surrogacy. Last December, Deves labelled it 'reproductive prostitution' In April 2021, Ms Deves tweeted about a trial where a Canadian father was taken to court for not supporting his teenager transitioning. 'This will go down in history as akin to the grudge trials of the Third Reich,' she wrote. 'I do not like to invoke Nazism but the parallels are remarkable and deeply sinister. 'We can only hope that when society comes to its senses, it's redeemed by trials similar to the Nazi wife and the border guards.' Ms Deves once declared that trans teenagers are 'surgically mutilated' and that she's 'triggered' by the rainbow Pride flag Deves has since apologised for some of her posts, saying that her comments were 'not acceptable'. 'My advocacy for the rights and safety of women and girls is well known, and I stand by my desire to ensure we protect the safety of women and girls and our entire community,' she said in a statement. 'However, the language I used was not acceptable, and for that I apologise.' Scott Morrison has refused to disendorse Ms Deves, saying that she 'should not be silenced'. Murdered MP Sir David Amess left an estate worth more than 616,000 but did not leave a will, it can be revealed. After his outstanding affairs were settled, the figure was reduced to 239,940, which goes to his wife Julia under the rules of intestacy. Conservative Sir David, 69, was attacked by Islamic terrorist Ali Harbi Ali, 26, at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea on October 15 last year. He died at the scene from multiple stab wounds. Ali was given a life sentence, with a whole life term, meaning he will live the rest of his life in jail. He had planned the attack after deciding against targeting Michael Gove, Mike Freer and Sir Keir Starmer. Sir David Amess, pictured with his wife Julia Arnold and his four daughters. After his outstanding affairs were settled, the figure for his 616,000 estate was reduced to 239,940, which goes to his wife Julia under the rules of intestacy A letter of administration, seen by MailOnline, from the High Court's Principal Registry of the Family Division reveals that Sir David's estate was granted to Julia Amess. The letter, dated March 25, reads: 'The application has stated that the gross value of the estate in the United Kingdom amounts to 616,211.00 and the net value amounts to 239,940.00' A letter of administration, seen by MailOnline, from the High Court's Principal Registry of the Family Division reveals that Sir David's estate was granted to Julia Amess. The letter, dated March 25, reads: 'The application has stated that the gross value of the estate in the United Kingdom amounts to 616,211.00 and the net value amounts to 239,940.00.' Sir David, 69, was attacked by Islamic terrorist Ali Harbi Ali, 26, at a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea on October 15 last year Ali had researched more than 250 other MPs as potential targets before settling on Sir David, and at his Old Bailey trial Mr Justice Sweeney said the murder struck at the heart of our democracy and called him a 'cold, calculated and dangerous individual'. Father-of-five Sir David became MP for Basildon in 1983, and was knighted for services to political and public service in 2015. He had long called for Southend-on-Sea to be given city status and soon after his death the town was awarded this. At Ali's trial, Judge Mr Justice Sweeney said Sir David's death was a loss of national significance. 'He had done nothing whatsoever to justify the attack upon him, let alone his murder,' he said. 'On the contrary, he had devoted 38 years of his life to the lawful service of the public, and was engaged in doing so when he was murdered.' The revelation comes after Priti Patel vowed to overhaul Britain's flagship deradicalisation programme following a series of high- profile failures. The Prevent counter-terrorism scheme has faced intense criticism for failing to identify a succession of extremists who went on to commit horrific murders. In a recent case, it emerged this month that Ali Harbi Ali, the murderer of Sir David Amess, was dismissed as a terrorist threat by experts just months before he bought a knife to hunt down MPs. Sir David's killer Ali Harbi Ali - who was sentenced to a whole life order - had been referred to the programme in 2014 but a year later it was concluded he no longer posed a threat Miss Patel pledged that 'things need to change' once she has been handed the findings of a long-awaited independent review of Prevent. 'The Prevent review is really important to me,' the Home Secretary said. 'I can't pre-judge that review. But it is quite clear to me from my own observations that there are things that need to change.' The review, commissioned by Miss Patel in January last year, is being conducted by William Shawcross, the former Charity Commission chief. Prevent was set up in 2006, and was designed to combat Islamist extremism as well as other threats, including far-Right fanatics and those with 'mixed or unstable' ideologies. Confidential referrals can be made to Prevent by anyone who is concerned about a person's behaviour, including faith groups, schools, colleges, and even friends and relatives. French presidential hopefuls Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen kicked off a final flurry of campaigning Friday, hoping to mobilise millions of hesitant voters before the weekend media blackout imposed for Sunday's contest. Both candidates launched attacks in interviews before a heavy schedule of walkabouts, with Le Pen insisting that opinion polls giving her rival the lead would be proved wrong. A win for Macron 'is not inevitable,' Le Pen told CNews television. 'He calls millions of French voters the 'far right'... and for him it's an insult.' 'Never have I expressed even the slightest bit of hostility toward Emmanuel Macron's voters,' she said, accusing the centrist incumbent of 'not liking the French' and failing to appreciate the need for tougher measures to protect low-income households from rising prices. French far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen answers reporters as she campaigns at a street market Friday, April 22. Le Pen insisted that opinion polls giving her rival the lead would be proved wrong Macron drinks a coffee before taking part in a France Inter radio talk show 'La matinale', in Paris. Macron said Le Pen was trying to mask an authoritarian right agenda Macron for his part said Le Pen was trying to mask an authoritarian 'extreme right' platform that stigmatises Muslims with a plan to outlaw headscarves in public and 'to abandon the founding texts of our Europe... that protect individuals, human rights and freedoms.' 'Millions of our fellow citizens have moved toward her party and project because she gives the impression that she has an answer for the problem of purchasing power. But her answers aren't viable,' he told France Inter radio. Le Pen later posed for selfies at a market in the northern Channel town of Etaples, while Macron was headed for Figeac in southern France to discuss 'rural issues and offshoring,' an advisor told AFP. Starting at midnight, neither candidate will be allowed to give interviews, distribute flyers or hold campaign events until 8:00pm on Sunday, when initial estimates of results start coming in. Publishing opinion polls will also be banned. Analysts say abstention rates could reach 25 to 30 percent, in particular among left-wing voters unhappy with Macron's pro-business agenda and plans to push back the retirement age to 65 from 62. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, who scored a close third-place finish in the first round on April 10, has pointedly refused to urge his millions of followers to block Le Pen by voting for the former investment banker. 'It's been eight months that I've been trying to pull people away from this abstentionism,' Le Pen told CNews. 'I want to be the president of harmony... who reconciles the people with their leaders.' A demonstrator holds a banner that reads: 'Neither Macron nor Le Pen', during a protest in Paris, April 16, 2022. Disgruntled left-wing voters whose candidates were knocked out in the first round of France's election are the wild cards in the winner-takes-all runoff on Sunday Spring school vacations will also be in full swing across much of the country this weekend, increasing the chances that many voters won't cast ballots - and adding a wildcard to the final outcome. A highly anticipated TV debate between the two rivals on Wednesday has not appeared to change their momentum in the polls, with most showing intentions to vote for Macron at 53 to 56 percent against 44 to 47 for Le Pen. That would be a much closer result than in 2017, when the same candidates faced off but Macron carried the day with 66 percent to 34 percent - a sign for analysts that Le Pen's efforts to soften and 'de-demonise' her party's image have paid off among a large part of the electorate. If he wins, Macron would be the first French president to win re-election since Jacques Chirac in 2002, when Marine Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie, rocked the political establishment by reaching the second-round run-off. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he fears providing Ukraine with tanks could spark a nuclear war. The leader has faced sharp criticism for failing to delivery heavy weapons to the besieged country, such as tanks and howitzers to fend off savage Russian attacks. Other Western allies have stepped up their military shipments to Volodymyr Zelensky's forces but Scholz has held firm in his bid not to upset Vladimir Putin. Instead, on Tuesday, he said Germany would provide Ukraine with 830million to buy their own weapons. Asked in an extensive interview published on Friday why he thought delivering tanks could lead to nuclear war, he said there was no rule book that stated when Germany could be considered a party to the war in Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he fears providing Ukraine with tanks could spark a nuclear war Soldiers from the German Army's 37th Panzergrenadier Brigade drive tanks during an exercise this month He told Spiegel: 'We need to do everything to avoid a direct military confrontation between NATO and a heavily armed superpower such as Russia, a nuclear power 'I will do everything to avoid an escalation that could lead to World War III there can be no nuclear war. 'That's why it is all the more important that we consider each step very carefully and coordinate closely with one another. 'To avoid an escalation towards NATO is a top priority for me. 'That's why I don't focus on polls or let myself be irritated by shrill calls. The consequences of an error would be dramatic.' The comments were a departure from his previous statements on the topic, focusing on the fact that Germany's own military's stocks were too depleted to send any heavy battlefield weapons while those the German industry has said it could supply could not easily be put into use. Scholz fears a Russian nuclear attack if he arms Ukraine. This week, Russia test launched a Sarmat ballistic missile (pictured) Asked why he would not explain his government's reluctance with the threat of nuclear war, he said such 'simplifications' were not helpful. He was yesterday accused of removing heavy weapons systems, including Boxer transport vehicles and German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks, from a list agreed with Ukraine, according to details leaked to Bild newspaper. Germany has claimed sending heavy weaponry such as tanks from its own stocks would 'significantly weaken' its own defensive capability and leave the country unable to fulfil its own Nato requirements. By contrast, Britain has provided at least 450million of military aid and weaponry, including armoured vehicles and anti-tank missiles. Yesterday, the US announced a further 612million of military aid including heavy artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers and tactical drones, following a similar-sized package of assistance earlier this month. Other Western allies have stepped up their military shipments to Volodymyr Zelensky's forces but Scholz has held firm, not wanting to upset Vladimir Putin (pictured today) The apparent leak of the weapons list appears to confirm claims from Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, earlier this week, who said: 'The weapons we need are not even on this list.' The agreed list came to just 257million about a third of that promised by Mr Scholz. Germany instead reached an agreement yesterday with allies in eastern Europe to supply Ukraine with heavy artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles provided by other countries before Berlin replenishes stocks, defence minister Christine Lambrecht said. It will also train Ukrainian soldiers to use its Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers, reportedly sent by the Netherlands. Mrs Lambrecht said Germany cannot send the howitzers itself as its army 'does not have the stocks'. The opposition party may force a vote on the issue next week, forcing Mr Scholz into an embarrassing backtrack. Separately, Scholz defended his decision not to immediately end German imports of Russian gas in response to what Russia calls a 'special military operation' in Ukraine. 'I absolutely do not see how a gas embargo would end the war. If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin were open to economic arguments, he would never have begun this crazy war,' he said. 'Secondly, you act as if this was about money. But it's about avoiding a dramatic economic crisis and the loss of millions of jobs and factories that would never again open their doors.' Scholz said this would have considerable consequences not just for Germany but also for Europe and the future financing of the reconstruction of Ukraine. Boris Johnson today reiterated he is ready to take action to 'fix' post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border and did not deny claims his ministers are preparing a legislative toolkit to rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol. Speaking at a press conference during his visit to India, the Prime Minister said that problems with the Protocol were 'getting more acute'. He insisted the agreement was not supported by a 'large, large component' of Northern Ireland's population and said he would not rule out 'taking further steps' to solve the issue. Although the Government has negotiated with the EU over possible changes to the Protocol, no solutions have yet been found from the talks. Ministers have also left open the possibility of taking unilateral action in a move that would likely spark a fresh confrontation with Brussels. The Protocol is designed to avoid a post-Brexit hard border on the island of Ireland and is a key part of the UK's divorce deal with the EU. But the agreement is not supported by Northern Ireland's Unionist parties, who have pointed to a damaging impact on trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Boris Johnson did not deny claims his ministers are preparing a legislative toolkit to rip up the Northern Ireland Protocol The PM said the Protocol was not supported by a 'large, large component' of Northern Ireland's population Mr Johnson was asked about reports the Government is preparing legislation - to be unveiled early next month - that would give ministers sweeping powers to suspend aspects of the Protocol. The PM said problems with the Protocol had been 'a consistent issue', adding: 'I think it's very, very simple and I think it's about the balance of the Good Friday Agreement. 'Because of what is happening, I think it's fair to say the Protocol really does not command the confidence of a large, large component of the population in Northern Ireland. 'We have to address that, we have to fix that - the very substantial diversions of trade. It's going on and it's getting more acute, we have to fix that and we can. 'We think we can do it with some very simple and reasonable steps and we have talked repeatedly to our friends and partners in the EU and we will continue to talk to them. 'But as I've said many times now, we don't rule out taking further steps if that's necessary. That's the position but I've said that many times.' According to the Financial Times, the UK Government is preparing plans in anticipation of a constitutional crisis should Unionist parties refuse to re-enter Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive after elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly on 5th May. The newspaper reported that the legslation would give ministers in London the power to switch off key parts of the Protocol in UK law. But, in a warning of a fresh row with Brussels over post-Brexit arrangements, one EU diplomat claimed that any UK move to break international law would be 'utterly irresponsible' when Russia is invading Ukraine. 'Given what is at stake in Ukraine and for the west as a whole, this definitely is not the time for gambling away Britain's reputation as a stalwart of the rules-based international order,' the diplomat told the newspaper. Mr Johnson also faced opposition from among Conservative MPs over the reports that ministers are preparing new laws to tear up the Protocol. Senior Tory Simon Hoare, the chair of the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, posted on Twitter: 'The UKs reputation as an upholder of the Rule of Law, and abiding by its self-entered into legally-binding agreements, is more important now than anytime in my lifetime. 'Its not a plaything. We are temporary guardians of it.' Labour's Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle said the reported plans were 'absolutely astonishing and incredibly damaging'. 'Boris Johnson negotiated, his team drafted the Northern Ireland Protocol; they presented it to the EU, they negotiated it into the deal,' he told Sky News. 'It doesn't work as well as it can do, that's why the Labour policy is, you build on it - we can improve the protocol, we can smooth it, and we can do so without breaking the law and breaking our international treaty we signed with the EU. 'If we just recklessly pull out of it unilaterally, how will any other country in the world sign a deal with us and think that we will honour it?' There are fears of a constitutional crisis should Unionist parties refuse to re-enter Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive after elections on 5th May Mr Kyle questioned how Indian PM Narendra Modi, who Mr Johnson met in India today, would be able to continue a negotiation on a UK-India trade deal in such a scenario. 'How will Prime Minister Modi react today when Boris Johnson asks for a trade deal if he is pulling out unilaterally of the last trade deal he signed?,' he said. Earlier this week, Brexit Opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs that the 'wheels are in motion' on unilateral reform of the Protocol by the Government, although he did not elaborate further. 'We can do what we want, ultimately,' the Cabinet minister said. Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns today refused to be drawn on the Financial Times report of fresh UK legislation. But he said the Government already has powers to suspend parts of the Protocol under the agreement's Article 16. 'There is significant societal disruption in Northern Ireland due to the way that the Protocol is being implemented,' he told LBC radio. 'I hope Brussels are listening to this conversation and other conversations. 'I hope they will come back to the table constructively to allow us to change the Protocol to make it work in the way it was intended. 'If they don't hear that, then the Government reserves the right, as we have always said, as laid down in the Protocol, to take remedial action.' Republican Rep. Liz Cheney is denying she leaked a tape of a conversation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in which he says he'll push former President Donald Trump to resign from office after the January 6 Capitol attack. 'The select committee has asked Kevin McCarthy to speak with us about these events but he has so far declined. Representative Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how the reporters got it,' Cheney's spokesperson said, according to CNN. After denying he made such comments, audio of a conversation between Cheney, then the No. 3 House Republican, and McCarthy was posted Thursday night by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show. In the recording of a January 10 House Republican Leadership call, McCarthy is heard discussing the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office and saying he would tell Trump, 'I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign.' Earlier Thursday, McCarthy tore into the Times' report, which is based on an upcoming book from two of the paper's reporters. 'The New York Times' reporting on me is totally false and wrong,' the House Republican leader wrote in a statement tweeted out on Thursday with the caption 'My statement on the New York Times'. Rep. Liz Cheney is denying that the Wyoming Republican leaked audio of a call to New York Times reporters in which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says he'll pressure former President Donald Trump to resign in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol attack THE RECEIPTS: On Thursday night's Rachel Maddow Show, the MSNBC host played a clip of a conversation between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Liz Cheney. In it, McCarthy says what was reported in a forthcoming book by New York Times reporters, which he denied saying earlier Thursday 'It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda,' he continued. 'This promotional book tour is no different.' McCarthy lamented: 'If the reporters were interested in the truth why would they ask for comment after the book was printed?' Excerpts from This Will Not Pass by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns claimed that McCarthy and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell both expressed that they thought Trump was responsible for the January 6 riot. 'I've had it with this guy,' McCarthy told a group of Republican leaders, according to excerpts from the book detailed by the Times. He also expressed interest in pushing Trump to resign, but the leader's spokesman Mark Bednar denied this account, telling the Times: 'McCarthy never said he'd call Trump to say he should resign.' McCarthy says he never spoke with the authors before the book was printed. It's set to be published May 3. McConnell, the Senate GOP leader, turned his attention to the Democrat-led impeachment against the then-president, according to the book. 'The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a b***h for us,' McConnell said January 11, 2021 during a lunch in Kentucky with two longtime advisers in reference to the imminent impeachment vote in the House. A new book reveals that House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (left) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell both said days after the Capitol riot that they believe Donald Trump (right) was responsible for inciting the attack McCarthy said, according to the book, that he would push Trump to resign while McConnell (left) said of the impeachment proceedings: 'The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a b***h for us' McCarthy released a statement (pictured above) vehemently denying the claims made in the book as 'totally false and wrong' and insisting 'our country was better off when President Trump in the White House' Despite the report, McCarthy said in his statement Thursday that Trump was good for America. 'The past year and a half have proven that our country was better off when President Trump was in the White House' he wrote, 'and rather than address the real issues facing Americans, the corporate media is more concerned with profiting from manufactured political intrigue from politically-motivated sources.' 'Our country has suffered enough under failed one-party Democrat rule and no amount of media ignorance and bias will stop Americans from delivering a clear message this fall that it is time for change.' The two top Republican leaders in Congress, mainly McCarthy, have publicly voiced support for Trump following the attack last January as is further evident by the statement following the report indicating he spoke out against the former president. Within weeks of the January 6 riot, both Republicans backed off an all-out fight with Trump, fearing retribution from him and his supporters. 'I didn't get to be leader by voting with five people in the conference,' McConnell told a friend when seeing there was not widespread support for Trump's impeachment among Republicans. The upcoming book draws on hundreds of interviews with lawmakers and officials and aims to recount the 2020 election and the first year of the Biden presidency while exposing the deep fissures within both parties ahead of the 2022 midterms. Upcoming book This Will Not Pass from two New York Times journalists recounts the 2020 election and first year of Biden's presidency while exposing deep fissures within both parties ahead of the 2022 midterm elections Along with some public rebuke, but mostly a realignment with Trump, McCarthy told his GOP leadership team four days after the January 6 attack that he would speak with the president about the impeachment resolution. He said that while it was very unlikely Trump would follow his recommendations, he would tell him: 'I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign.' Following the January 6 riot, Democrats moved swiftly to impeach the president for the second time claiming his words and actions incited his supporters to descend on the Capitol. The House passed the article of impeachment on January 13, 2021. The vote was 232197, which included all 222 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Four Republicans did not vote at all and the remaining 197 Republicans voted against impeachment. The Senate voted to acquit Trump on the impeachment charges. Later, McConnell tanked an effort to create a 9/11-style commission to probe the Capitol attack, so House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formed a House select committee to do the job. Rep. Adam Kinzinger had a field day with the revelation that House Minority Leader McCarthy made comments in a private call saying he would push former President Donald Trump to resign In Thursday night tweets, Rep. Adam Kinzinger noted that a friend told him after the McCarthy tape leaked: 'But everyone agreed with you on Jan 7, 2021, then just debased themselves.' 'Yep,' the congressman offered The nine-member panel includes just two Republicans - Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who both voted to impeach Trump. On Thursday night, Kinzinger had a field day with the revelation that McCarthy said he'd push Trump to resign on a private call. 'From a friend "But everyone agreed with you on Jan 7, 2021, then just debased themselves." Yep,' the Illinois Republican tweeted late Thursday night, after the clip of Maddow aired. Kinzinger also pressed Republicans to be 'done' with the party's current leadership. 'Wow. McCarthy literally today said this was a lie and just a few hours later the tape with his voice from his mouth proves THAT was a lie. Incredible. @GOPLeader ought to be ashamed,' Kinzinger wrote. 'Republicans, your leaders think you are dumb. Lets be done with them.' Rep. Matt Gaetz, a top Trump ally, shamed McCarthy Friday for trusting Cheney. 'While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney Kevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans While Liz Cheney was secretly recording Kevin McCarthy for the New York Times,' Gaetz said. '[McCarthy] - you should have trusted my instincts, not your own.' Advertisement She was hoping for a relaxed, euphoric evening filled with food, wine and maybe a few giggles. But stoned bride Danya Svoboda had her dreamy, dazed wedding - and her high - abruptly interrupted when she was confronted by police about drugging her guests with a cannabis-laced menu. Danya and her caterer Joycelyn Montrinice Bryant, 31, have both been charged for spiking the food at the February wedding with THC. Their plot was revealed after several of the guests were taken to the hospital in a panic. Some vomited profusely while others said their hearts were racing out of control. Now, as the bride and her caterer await their next court date, bodycam footage has emerged showing the moment cops confronted the 42-year-old bride and her unsuspecting groom Andrew. In the video, Danya barely manages to suppress a smile as she stares at the officer, blinking but saying nothing. Danya Svoboda is shown with her husband, left, and the best man at the wedding in February being quizzed by cops about drugging guests. Several guests were taken to the hospital after unwittingly ingesting THC Danya let her groom do all of the talking. He has not been charged as part of the scheme but she and the caterer have The groom tried to suggest that some of the guests might have brought their own supply of edibles or marijuana to the wedding A guest is removed from the wedding venue on a gurney after falling ill as a result of the weed-laced meal Police tested leftover food from the wedding and found that it contained THC 'Bride and groom?' the Seminole County police officer asks before confronting the pair with: 'Apparently, supposedly, your food had cannabis in it. Did you authorize that?' Danya raises an eyebrow then bites her lip but says nothing, allowing her groom - who has not been charged - to do the talking. 'No sir,' he responds, while she stands behind him in her wedding dress and fur stole. Later, Andrew tries to come up with an explanation for why multiple guests felt sick and even went to the hospital in gurneys. 'I wouldn't be surprised if people had their own [marijuana]' he said. 'That may be. If people brought their own that's one thing but if somebody put it in the food for everybody including minors, that's where the problem might be.' Bride Danya Shea Glenny Svoboda, 42, (left and Joycelyn Montrinice Bryant, 31, (right) were charged on April 18 with delivering marijuana, tampering with guests' food and misdemeanor culpable negligence after allegedly dosing wedding guests with weed - without warning them first The wedding featured about 60 to 70 happy guests, with many of them traveling down to Florida all the way from Michigan and enjoying some of Orlando's famous attractions, namely Walt Disney World Some of the invitees had spent thousands to fly in and stop at nearby Disney World. The guests included elderly grandparents on medications that shouldn't have been mixed with weed 'Absolutely,' the groom said, becoming increasingly serious. 'There are three more people at the entrance not feeling good. We might be transporting more people to the hospital because of this,' the cop said. 'Are you serious?' Andrew, now thoroughly worried, said back. The bride says nothing throughout. Guests previously told how they were terrified they were going to die on the night of the wedding. It all began with the dinner, where they chowed down on meatballs, lasagna, Caesar salad, tortellini and bread with an olive oil and herb dip. Soon afterwards, guests started to feel 'tingly' and noticed their hearts 'racing'. One said he had 'crazy thoughts' while another had to be sedated in the hospital because she was 'unruly'. A third guest vomited profusely, police said. A woman identified as Melissa Stout said she also came in from Michigan. After feeling buzzed from a couple of drinks, she ate some food to stop herself from becoming too intoxicated. By the time police arrived, employees of Bryant's catering service, 'Joycelyn's Southern Kitchen,' were fleeing into their vehicles and away from the venue. Bryant is pictured here in a promotional photo She had Caesar salad, a pasta with white sauce and bread with herb dip, according to authorities. 'After eating the food, she felt much worse,' deputies say. She 'didn't notice anyone else getting sick as she was on her hands and knees throwing up.' Every guest tested for cannabis showed positive results, according to the arrest warrant, and none who were interviewed by police said they knew their food had been laced with marijuana. Each said they would prosecute whoever tampered with the menu. By the time police arrived, employees of Bryant's catering service, 'Joycelyn's Southern Kitchen,' were fleeing into their vehicles and away from the venue. Guests told how the bride nodded and 'acted as if she'd given them a gift' when they asked her if there were drugs in the food. Advertisement The Florida Department of Education released four examples of banned material from the 54 math textbooks it rejected from its curriculum on Thursday, including one that shows a bar graph measuring racial prejudice. The state DOE had garnered criticism for tossing out 41 percent of the 132 math textbooks submitted for the next school year last week without listing the rejected books, more than half of which the agency said referenced Critical Race Theory (CRT) with the rest containing Common Core and Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Of the lessons considered unacceptable in the state was the use of bar graphs that measures levels of racial prejudice based on age and political identity and asks students to solve equations based on the findings. The graphs, which extrapolated data from the Project Implicit Discrimination website, show that those 65 and older and who lean towards the conservative end of the political spectrum have the most racial bias. One of the materials in the 54 math text books banned by Florida included bar graphs that measures levels of racial prejudice based on age and political identity. The graphs show that those 65 and older and who are more conservative have the most racial bias Another example of banned material also references the Implicit Association Test which claims people's bias changes based on age and political identification Two other examples of banned material released by the state both make mentions of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), which is banned in Florida FLORIDA REJECTS 41 PERCENT OF MATH TEXTBOOKS SUBMITTED FOR ITS CURRICULUM Florida has banned 54 of the 132 math textbooks submitted to the state, a total of 41 percent. Of the rejected books: Twenty-eight, or 21 percent, are not included on the adopted list because they incorporate prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT Twelve are not included on the adopted list because they do not properly align to B.E.S.T. Standards Fourteen 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 In Grades K-5, 71 percent of materials were rejected. Grades 6-8 saw 20 percent of materials rejected, and in grades 9-12, 35 percent of materials were rejected. Advertisement Another example of banned material includes a lesson plan for polynomials, with one of the problems once again referencing the Implicit Association Test, claiming that the 2 million people who have taken the test have 'slight' or 'moderate' bias, which changes based on age and political identification. The last two examples released by the state both mention SEL, which is banned in Florida, with one listing an SEL objective in math that states: 'Students build proficiency with social awareness as they practice with empathizing with classmates.' The other, which was posted with a redacted line, calls for a lesson plan 'to build student agency by focusing on students' social and emotional learning, specifically the five competencies that make up the framework,' which include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. The DOE said the examples provided do not represent an exhaustive list of the type of material banned and that the rejected publishers will be able to appeal the state's decision and are granted the right to alter the submitted textbooks as long as it meets that state's specifications. The department said in a statement last week that the 54 books were banned because they were not 'aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies.' '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 department added, noting that all three learning practices are banned in the state. '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.' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had banned CRT as a component in Florida schools, claiming it promotes hatred among students and makes individuals feel guilty for racism of the past. '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 of the rejected books. 'I'm grateful that Commissioner [of Education Richard] Corcoran and his team at the Department have conducted such a thorough vetting of these textbooks to ensure they comply with the law.' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has championed the state's move away from CRT after pushing his Stop Woke Act bill in December (above) Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said the other 24 banned books were thrown out for including Common Core and SEL practices, which were banned in the state in 2019, and failing to align to the department's standards of education. 'We're going to ensure that Florida has the highest-quality instructional materials aligned to our nationally-recognized standards,' said Corcoran. 'Florida has become a national leader in education under the vision and leadership of Governor DeSantis. 'When it comes to education, other states continue to follow Florida's lead as we continue to reinforce parents' rights by focusing on providing their children with a world-class education without the fear of indoctrination or exposure to dangerous and divisive concepts in our classrooms,' Corcoran said. Corcoran said he had warned publishers to make sure the books kept up with the state's laws when he invited them to submit the textbooks last year. The DOE added, 'It is unfortunate that several publishers, especially at the elementary school grade levels, have ignored this clear communication and have attempted to slip rebranded instructional materials based on Common Core Standards into Florida's classrooms, while others have included prohibited and divisive concepts such as the tenants of CRT or other unsolicited strategies of indoctrination despite FDOE's prior notification.' It's the latest blow against 'wokeness' in the state after the legislature approved DeSantis' bill last month barring schools and private businesses from making students or employees feel 'guilt' or 'any form of psychological stress' because of their national origin, sex or race. DeSantis signed into law a parental rights bill that bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on 'sexual orientation' or ' gender identity' in kindergarten through third grade Specifically, the bill would outlaw teachings that assert certain individuals are 'inherently racist [or] sexist] - or 'morally superior' - or that characterize individuals' status as 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their race, sex or national origin.' Florida Sen. Manny Diaz, Jr., who pushed the bill through the senate, said the bill was not meant to cover up America's history with racism, but to not blame students for past wrongs. 'It's not about the feel. We can't control how a person feels about a topic,' Diaz told the Washington Post. 'But what we can control is to have a teacher not go to a student and impose on a male student that they are sexist simply because they are a considered a male.' In March, the state also passed the Parental Rights in Education bill, which bans teaching gender ideology for children at elementary schools. It will become law from July 1, and teachers who breach its regulations can be sued by parents. Critics, however, say it teaches young kids to believe they are wrong for being different and that forcing schools to report students who are receiving mental health services is taking away a safe space for those students to be themselves. Even the White House weighed in on what has become the latest culture wars clash, with press secretary Jen Psaki claiming last week it was 'hateful' and 'misinformed'. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un / Korea Times file North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has exchanged letters with South Korea's outgoing President Moon Jae-in earlier this week in an "expression of their deep trust," state media reported Friday. Kim received a "personal" letter from the South Korean president Wednesday, and sent a reply letter the next day, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "Sharing the same view that the inter-Korean relations would improve and develop as desired and anticipated by the nation if the North and the South make tireless efforts with hope, the top leaders mutually extended warm greetings to the compatriots in the North and the South," it said in an English-language report. A retired colonel, who was deputy director of the Government's Covid-19 task force, must wait a year before he stands trial for fraud. Marcus Reedman, 51, is charged with falsely claiming more than 43,000 in allowances to pay school fees. He was serving as a Lieutenant Colonel at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) building, in Whitehall, at the time of the alleged offence between October 2016 and May 2017. Marcus Reedman, 51 (pictured with David Cameron in 2014) is charged with falsely claiming more than 43,000 in allowances to pay school fees He appeared at Southwark Crown Court (pictured in a stock photo) wearing a plain grey jumper and jeans, speaking only to confirm his name Reedman, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, faces one charge of fraud relating to Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) claims in relation to three payments totalling 43,470. He appeared at Southwark Crown Court wearing a plain grey jumper and jeans, speaking only to confirm his name. Judge Tony Baumgartner set his trial, estimated to take two weeks, for 8 May 2023. Reedman, who has been pictured alongside the Prince of Wales and former prime minister David Cameron during his career, was released on unconditional bail. His last post was as the deputy director of the Covid-19 task force as acting brigadier. He is expected to deny the charges. Pope Francis has said he has dropped plans to meet in June with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has backed Moscow's war in Ukraine. Francis, who has several times implicitly criticised Russia and Putin over the war, told Argentine newspaper La Nacion in an interview that he regretted that the plan had to be 'suspended' because Vatican diplomats advised that such a meeting 'could lend itself to much confusion at this moment'. In Moscow, the RIA news agency quoted Metropolitan Hilarion, a senior Russian Orthodox Church official, as saying the meeting was postponed because 'the events of the last two months' would have created many difficulties in its preparation. Photos show Pope Francis (right) and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (left) meeting in Havana 2016. The Pope was scheduled to meet the Russian Patriarch again in June, but he cancelled the meeting in an announcement on Friday Reuters reported on April 11 that the Vatican was considering extending the pope's trip to Lebanon on June 12-13 by a day so that he could meet with Kirill on June 14 in Jerusalem. POPE FRANCIS' HEALTH CONCERNS Pope Francis, who has had trouble walking due to leg and knee pain, suspended activities on Friday for medical checks, the Vatican said. The checks were taking place at the Vatican's medical facilities, spokesman Matteo Bruni said, explaining why there were no activities or audiences listed on Francis' public calendar for the day. The 85-year-old pope suffers from sciatica in the right leg and recently has had a flare-up of pain in his right knee, causing him to limp more pronouncedly and to sit during some activities. He read most of his Easter Sunday address from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica sitting down. The day before, he attended but did not preside at an Easter vigil service, sitting during most of it. Saturday is the feast of St. George, which is a holiday in the Vatican because it is the pope's name day. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio and took the papal name Francis when he was elected in 2013. Although he may carry out limited activities on Saturday, this would potentially give him more time to rest ahead of a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica scheduled for Sunday. Advertisement Kirill, 75, has given his full-throated blessing for Russia's invasion of Ukraine since it began on Feb. 24, a position that has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion that theologians and academics say is unprecedented. Francis, 85, has used terms such as unjustified aggression and invasion in his public comments on the war, and has lamented atrocities against civilians. Asked in the interview why he has never named Russia or Putin specifically, Francis was quoted as saying: 'A pope never names a head of state, much less a country, which is superior to its head of state'. Putin, a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, has described Moscow's actions as a 'special military operation' in Ukraine aimed at demilitarising and 'denazifying' the country. Moscow has denied targetting civilians Francis has specifically rejected Russia's terminology, calling it a war that has caused 'rivers of blood'. A Vatican source familiar with the planning for the Jerusalem stop said on Friday that it had been at an advanced stage, with even the location for the meeting with Kirill chosen. It would have been only their second meeting. Their first, in Cuba in 2016, was the first between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism that split Christianity into Eastern and Western branches in 1054. Francis said earlier this month that he was considering a trip to Kyiv, telling reporters on a flight to Malta on April 2 that it was 'on the table'. He has been invited by Ukrainian political and religious leaders. Asked in the Argentine interview why he has not yet made the trip, he said: 'I cannot do anything that would jeopardize higher objectives, which are an end to the war, a truce or at least a humanitarian corridor. What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war continues the next day?' Mark Meadows was registered to vote in three states, according to a new report, all while peddling claims of election fraud and urging citizens to 'check on' their neighbors' voter registration. Earlier this month it was reported that Meadows was registered to vote at a trailer home in North Carolina he'd likely never been to - in addition to being registered at a northern Virginia condo he owned. Now it has been revealed that he was registered at the South Carolina home he bought last year. The tri-state registration lasted about three weeks. Meadows was kicked off of North Carolina's rolls last week but remains on the voter roll in Virginia and South Carolina, according to the Washington Post. The former chief of staff and North Carolina congressman voted by mail in the 2020 election from a Scaly Mountain, N.C. mobile home he did not own and his wife briefly rented and stayed in at most a few nights. But then in 2021, he voted in Virginia's gubernatorial race for Republican Glenn Youngkin. Meadows and his wife had registered to vote in the state in September, while they were still registered in North Carolina. Both Meadows and his wife were registered to vote in three states at one point. North Carolina originally purged just Mark Meadows from the voter roll, before later removing Debra Meadows too. The N.C. attorney general's office is now pursuing an investigation into the matter. Two weeks after his North Carolina registration was revealed in a New Yorker article, Meadows registered to vote from South Carolina, where owns a $1.6 million lakefront property. He had also owned a condo in Alexandria but sold that property this year. Earlier this week Meadows was at the South Carolina statehouse to announce a statewide version of the Freedom Caucus with Republican lawmakers. 'I'm a resident of South Carolina,' he said, according to the Post and Courier. It's not unusual for people to forget to terminate their voter registration in one state when they move across state lines, but might be unusual for high-level Republicans who are preaching about inaccurate voter rolls and election fraud. Mark Meadows has been removed from North Carolina's voter rolls as he is being investigated for election fraud Former Sec. of State Mike Pompeo terminated his voter registration in Kansas a few months after selling his Wichita property and moving to northern Virginia to work as CIA director. South Carolina and Virginia are both members of the Electronic Registration Information Center, so if Meadows had listed his Virginia registration on his South Carolina registration, he would not have had to remove himself - South Carolina would have notified Virginia. 'I don't want my vote or anyone else's to be disenfranchised. Do you realize how inaccurate the voter rolls are, with people just moving around? Anytime you move, you'll change your driver's license, but you don't call up and say, 'Hey, by the way, I'm re-registering,'' Meadows told CNN's Jake Tapper in August 2020, apparently speaking from experience. Meadows also did not include information about his North Carolina registration when he registered in Virginia in 2021, according to Macon County Board of Elections Director Melanie Thibault. 'What I found was that he was also registered in the state of Virginia. And he voted in a 2021 election. The last election he voted in Macon County was in 2020,' she said when announcing Meadows would be removed from the roll. After Trump lost the election, Meadows became a senior partner at the Conservative Partnership Institute, which works to promote 'election integrity.' The group's 'citizen's guide' urges people to check on their neighbors to see 'whether voters have moved, or if the registrations are PO Boxes, commercial addresses or vacant lots' and then 'obtaining evidence: photos of commercial buildings? Vacant lots?' and 'securing affidavits from current residents that a registered voter has moved.' Republicans have urged for voter rolls to be more aggressively purged and updated to fight fraud. When Meadows was tapped to serve as Trump's chief of staff, he and his wife Debbie sold their home in Sapphire, N.C. home to move to a condo in Virginia near Washington, D.C. But when Meadows, registered to vote in 2020, he and his wife both registered in North Carolina, writing that their residential address was a mobile home in Scaly Mountain, N.C., as was first reported by the New Yorker. Ahead of the 2020 election, Meadows registered his address to this Scaly Mountain mobile home in North Carolina The home's new owner remarked that he'd made a lot of improvements, but 'it was not the kind of place you'd think the chief of staff of the President would be staying' The previous owner said that Meadows' wife Debbie had rented out the property, which sits in the southern Appalachian mountains, for two months at some point in the past few years. The owner told the New Yorker that Debbie had spent maybe one or two nights there total, and Mark Meadows had not spent any time there. The former owner put the mobile home up for sale in the summer of 2020, but the Meadows never expressed an interest in buying it. The New Yorker informed Thibault that Meadows was registered to vote there. 'I'm kind of dumbfounded, to be honest with you,' she said after perusing his election forms. 'I looked up this McConnell Road, which is in Scaly Mountain, and I found out that it was a dive trailer in the middle of nowhere, which I do not see him or his wife staying in.' Meadows and his wife registered by mail and their voter registration card was sent to a P.O. box they provided as their mailing address. Thibault said there are few checks on a voter's residential address - as long as the voter registration card does not come back as undeliverable, a voter's address is considered legitimate. The home's previous owner said that Meadows' wife had rented the place out for a total of two months over the past few years The owner said that Meadows' wife Debbie had stayed there one or two nights, but Meadows himself had not The former owner put the mobile home up for sale in the summer of 2020, but the Meadows never expressed an interest in buying it The home is situated at the end of a quiet road in the southern Appalachian mountains Meadows, at the time, was reportedly mulling a run for the Senate seat that will be vacated by Richard Burr after this year, and could have risked being accused of voter fraud himself to keep voting in North Carolina. Meadows moved to the Tar Heel State in the mid-1980s and started a sandwich shop called 'Aunt D's' in the Highlands part of the state. He became a real estate broker before running for Congress in 2013. He left the seat in 2020 to join the Trump administration where he pushed the debunked theory that the election was stolen from the former president. In his memoir 'The Chief's Chief' published in December, Meadows went after Democrats' efforts to increase mail-in voting access, claiming it would lead to certain voter fraud. 'President Trump had alerted us to the strong possibility that there would be fraud connected to these mail-in ballots, and we wanted to be on the lookout for it,' Meadows wrote. 'So, elsewhere in the White House complex, we had set up an internal brain room that provided information to the campaign team, and we wanted to approach any potential challenges with the utmost seriousness.' Meadows and his wife Debbie, pictured above, purchased a $1.6 million home in South Carolina in 2021 Meadows and his wife purchased the South Carolina home above for $1.6 million The home is on waterfront property and is a far cry from the Scaly Mountain, N.C. mobile home where Meadows and his wife were both registered to vote until Monday, when Meadows was kicked off the North Carolina roll In addition to the South Carolina home above, Meadows and his wife own a Virginia condo. Meadows was registered to vote in both Virginia and North Carolina Meadows also pushed the Justice Department to look into a theory that the Italian government hacked voting machines using satellites, according to The New York Times. In fact, he sent five emails to then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen urging him to investigate the 'ItalyGate' theory, the paper reported. Rosen never agreed to the investigations, according to emails provided to Congress and obtained by the outlet. Sources said that Rosen rejected the requests from Meadows. In addition to the state investigation into his voter registration, Meadows could potentially face criminal charges if the Justice Department chooses to pursue them after the House voted to hold him in contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before the Jan. 6 committee. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a big dollar fundraiser at the Kentucky Derby next weekend, as he continues his running feud with home state Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The event at the historic Churchill Downs track in Louisville is titled 'MAGA, Again!' and features a cast of well-known figures from Trump world, including former Florida Secretary of State and Trump impeachment lawyer Pam Bondi. Also listed as members of the board of directors for the $75,000-per-plate event $150,000 per couple are former Trump acting director of national intelligence Ric Grinell and former acting attorney general Matt Whitaker. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. and a former Trump campaign official, is listed as finance chair. Trump is listed as a 'special guest' in the invite, which was tweeted out by Trump chronicler Maggie Haberman of the New York Times. Former President Donald Trump is the 'special guest' at the fundraiser for his PAC being held at the Kentucky Derby, on the home turf of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell The event puts Trump in the political backyard of McConnell, who said after Jan. 6th that Trump was 'responsible' for the Capitol riot. The two men have broken off communications since, and Trump has repeatedly attacked McConnell in public statements, last year calling him an 'unsmiling political hack.' But McConnell said in a recent interview he would 'absolutely' vote for Trump. McConnell opposed Trump's second impeachment even as he gave a speech blasting his conduct. McConnell has been a regular at the Derby, and last year put out a sentimental YouTube video celebrating its history and traditional mint juleps. Ticket prices are $75,000 per person Charismatic riden by Chris Antley, crosses the finish line ahead of Menifee, riden by Pat Day, to win the 125th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The event draws fans from across the country, and some well-heeled donors will be attending a Trump PAC fundraiser McConnell called Trump responsible for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump called McConnell a 'hack' and regularly attacks him Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi chairs the PAC's board of directors Former Acting AG Matt Whitaker is also cohosting Trump will be a 'special guest' at the event. He has attended the Derby in the past Donald Trump & Melania at Kentucky Derby in 1999 Trump railed against the winning horse Medina Spirit in 2021 after the Thoroughbred tested positive for a banned substance Trump has his own history with the Derby. He attended in 1999 along with Melania Trump. Last year, Trump drew attention when he labeled winning horse Medina Spirit a 'junky' after the Thoroughbred tested positive for betamethasone, a banned substance, before being disqualified. Trump connected it to his attacks on the Biden administration. 'So now even our Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, is a junky. This is emblematic of what is happening to our Country. The whole world is laughing at us as we go to hell on our Borders, our fake Presidential Election, and everywhere else!' Trump wrote. The funder will feature the intra-party split following new revelations in a book and recording that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told colleagues he would urge Trump to resign after the Capitol riot. McCarthy had denied it after it was reported in This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future, by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns. The book also includes vignettes about what McConnell told aides days after the riot. 'If this isn't impeachable, I don't know what is,' McConnell reportedly told two longtime advisors. But the longtime pol realized his caucus wasn't behind the effort. 'I didn't get to be leader by voting with five people in the conference,' he said, according to the book. Authorities discovered Thursday night the lifeless body of a missing 18-year-old girl inside a water tank located on an abandoned property near a motel in northeastern Mexico. Debanhi Escobar mysteriously disappeared after going out to party - against her mother's wishes - with two girl friends in the city of Escobedo on April 8. A haunting photo of her was snapped by a rideshare driver the morning of April 9 before she mysteriously vanished. Her father, Mario Escobar, accompanied his wife to the Nueva Castilla Motel after they were notified by the Nuevo Leon State Office of the Attorney General that a female body had been found inside a cistern. Although the prosecutor's office said it would need additional time to process a DNA test to confirm the victim's identity, the distraught father told a bevy of reporters at the site that it was indeed his daughter who had been found after 13 days of a massive search that spread across neighboring states. 'My daughter is dead and I don't know what to do,' he said. Debanhi Escobar was photographed by a ride share app driver identified as 47-year-old Jesus Nuevo Leon, Mexico, the morning of April 9 after she decided to get out of the car following an alleged argument. Her father confirmed to the Mexican media that her body was located by authorities Thursday night inside a water tank at an abandoned property next to a motel Debanhi Escobar is said to have gotten into an argument with her two girl friends during a night of partying April 8 in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. One of them contacted a ride share app driver identified as Jesus, who was off duty, to driver Escobar home. However, a heated discussion ensued during the ride to her home and she was abandoned on the side of a road The body of 18-year-old Debanhi Escobar was located inside a water tank on a property next to the Nueva Castilla Motel in Nuevo Leon, Mexico Assistant Public Safety Secretary Ricardo Mejia said during Friday morning's presidential press briefing that the body was apparently unrecognizable after what may have been nearly two weeks in the water. He noted that it had a crucifix necklace and clothing similar to what Debanhi Escobar was wearing the night of her disappearance. 'The alert was sounded by hotel workers, because of the fetid odors coming from the cistern,' Mejia said. According to reports, Escobar had argued with one of the girls at the bar. One of them reached out to a 47-year-old rideshare app driver they knew, identified as Jesus, to drop off Escobar at her residence. During the ride on the morning of April 9, Jesus stopped his vehicle in the vicinity of the Nueva Castilla Motel and Transportes Internacionales Alcosa - a trucking company - after Escobar allegedly told him she wanted to get out following an alleged argument. The father of Debanhi Escobar (pictured) confirmed to the media Thursday night that his daughter's body was found inside a water tank near a hotel in Nuevo Leon, Mexico Mario Escobar addresses reporters in front of the Nueva Castilla Motel in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on Friday after authorities located the body of a woman inside a water tank at a property next door. While the prosecutor's office said it is awaiting results of a DNA test, Escobar confirmed the body is his daughter, 18-year-old Debanhi Escobar As proof that she was no longer in the vehicle, Jesus took the photo and sent it to her two friends. Details of how Escobar ended up in the water tank are unknown. But President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vowed to find out what happened to her. He said the case 'has caused, logically, a lot of worry, a lot of concern' among Mexicans. Mario Escobar slammed the Nuevo Leon state prosecutor's office for the length of time it took authorities to find his daughter after the area had been searched earlier during the week. Authorities had access to 40 surveillance video cameras, but only reviewed half of them. 'I'm upset because I was wrong. I believed in the prosecution. They never gave me the (screenshots); I asked them for copies. It's my right as a victim. I never had them in my possession because they didn't do their job,' Mario Escobar said. Debanhi Escobar went out to party with two girl friends April 8 in Escobedo, Mexico, before she was reported missing after failing to return home The distraught parent slammed the attorney general's office for not allowing him and his wife in the area where their daughter's body was found. Escobar also faulted the prosecutor's office for not sharing all of the information in his daughter's investigation file. 'I demand justice. It has to be cleared up because Debanhi disappeared. At what moment did they know and did not inform us,' he said. 'The prosecutor's office didn't give us any information. Maybe because it wasn't their daughter. Put yourself in our role and you will feel what we are feeling.' The family was planning a march towards the state palace to demand answers from Governor Samuel Garcia. Barack Obama called for greater regulatory oversight of social media companies, warning Big Tech will have 'frightening' implications on democracy without oversight. In a speech at Stanford University on the dangers of disinformation, Obama railed against threats to democracy, including Vladimir Putin's invasion of the Ukraine and disinfomration on the internet. 'People are dying because of misinformation,' he said. And he said it was social media companies that contributed to it by dividing the public, spreading misinformation, and eroding trust in leaders. He said one of the biggest threats to democracy is the 'profound change that's taken place and how we communicate and consume information.' 'Social media platforms aren't just our window into the internet. They serve as our primary source of news and information. No one tells us that the window is blurred, subject to unseen distortions and subtle manipulations,' he noted. Barack Obama warned that Big Tech will have 'frightening' implications on democracy without oversight Obama warned that there needs to be oversight of social media companies and that they need to be held accountable for information being published on their platforms. Companies like Facebook and Twitter have argued they are not responsible for content. 'If we do nothing, I am convinced that the trends we are seeing will get worse,' the former president said, alluding to new technologies that make disinformation see more credible. 'Without some standards, the implications of this technology for our elections, for our legal system, for our democracy, for rules of evidence, for our entire social order, are frightening and profound,' he said. 'Tech platforms need to accept that they play a unique role in how we as a people and people around the world are consuming information, and that their decisions have an impact on every aspect of society. With that power comes accountability and in democracies, like ours, at least, the need for some democratic oversight,' he said. In his hour long speech, given in the heart of Silicon Valley, he slammed Putin and Steve Bannon, the former Donald Trump adviser, as two people who manipulate social media for their own means, saying they spread 'raw sewage' in public to under democracy. 'Autocrats like Putin have used these platforms as a strategic weapon against democratic countries that they consider a threat,' he said. 'People like Putin and Steve Bannon, for that matter, understand it's not necessary for people to believe this information in order to weaken democratic institutions. You just have to flood a country's public square with enough raw sewage. Is that to raise enough questions spread enough dirt? Plant enough conspiracy theorizing that citizens no longer know what to believe?' Obama, in recent months, has returned to a more public facing role after quietly retiring to a post-presidential life. In particular, he has become a champion of democracy and pushed for voting rights to be protected. Disinformation was a major issues in the past two presidential campaigns. Obama said it didn't surprise him, when he was president in 2016, to learn that Putin was trying to manipulate that year's presidential election or that he was using social media to do it. But he did express regret at underestimating the threat. 'What does still nag me though was my failure to fully appreciate at the time just how susceptible we had become to lies and conspiracy theories - despite having spent years being a target of disinformation myself,' he said. 'Putin didn't do that. He didn't have to. We did it to ourselves.' Barack Obama criticized Vladimir Putin (left) and Steve Bannon Iright) for speading misinformation online, saying the the two men fill the public with 'enough raw sewage' to have people doubt their leaders and it harms democracy Tech companies have come under fire, however, from critics who call attempts to combat misinformation censorship and curbing freedom of expression. Some Republicans in particular have gone after Big Tech for some of their decicisions, particularly after Facebook and Twitter removed Donald Trump from their platforms in the wake of the January 6th insurrection. Steve Bannon has called Big Tech 'evil' and said the companies need to be regulated. A senior Russian officer dubbed the 'Butcher of Bucha' after overseeing the atrocities in the Ukrainian town has been promoted by Putin. Commander Azatbek Omurbekov has been promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to full Colonel despite men under his command being accused of gang rape, torture and mass civilian executions. The Russian officer, who led the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, was identified as Putin's senior commander in Bucha when the barbarism unfolded. Commander Azatbek Omurbekov has been promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to full Colonel Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, cries while holding the coffin of her son Vadym, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha The revelation from news outlet Agentstvo comes soon after the 64th brigade were honoured by Putin for 'mass heroism, bravery, fortitude and courage'. Ukraine specifically identified members of his brigade as responsible for murders in Bucha where the Russian forces were also accused of weaponising rape. His elevation was acknowledged in a new report from newspaper Red Star. The ostensible reason for this promotion to full colonel is not clear. But the report hailed his perceived success in Ukraine. 'The separate motorised rifle brigade under the command of Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov carried out the task of occupying a defensive line,' said the newspaper. The Russian officer, who led the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, was identified as Putin's senior commander in Bucha when the barbarism unfolded Bodies of civilians in plastic bags lay in a mass grave in Bucha city, whose horrors were revealed after it was recaptured by the Ukrainian army Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, and other residents carry the body of Ihor Lytvynenko, who was killed by Russian Soldiers after they found him hiding in a basement 'In the course of capturing the designated boundary, the enemy numbering up to a battalion was defeated, and more than 40 pieces of equipment destroyed. 'The Nationalist unit lost all combat capability and was no longer involved in combat operations. 'Within three weeks, under the leadership of Colonel Omurbekov, brigade units at the occupied line repelled more than 50 attacks by the enemy using tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and heavy artillery.' He and his men are now fighting in the Donbas, say reports. Ukrainian reporter Evgeny Spirin said of the scenes in Bucha: 'Some of the killed children had their arms tied up. A Ukrainian serviceman stands amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 6 More than 30 bodies in black bags were lined up in a Ukrainian cemetery in Bucha before being taken to the morgue Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, hugs Ludmyla Verginska, 51, as they mourn their friend Ihor Lytvynenko who is being buried behind them 'Children. They were tying up children. There were shooting dogs. Killed women. Girls younger than ten with their vaginas torn apart. 'How to live with this, and is it worth living at all? How do I explain this to myself, how? They must cease to exist. 'They must all be destroyed, each and every one of them, turned into dust, into mud, into clay, all of them.' Omurbekov and his unit are from Khabarovsk, in the far east of Russia. A UN mission to Bucha documented 'the unlawful killing, including by summary execution, of some 50 civilians there', it was revealed today. The body's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said Russian forces had 'indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes'. The bodies of four people who died during the Russian occupation await burial during funerals in Bucha Ukrainian and French forensics investigators place remains of burned civilians exhumed from a grave in body bags, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the town of Bucha The UN mission was sent on April 9, a week after an AFP team found bodies of people dressed in civilian clothing lining the streets of Bucha, after the town had been under Russian occupation for over a month. US satellite imagery company Maxar released photos that it said showed a 'mass grave' on the northwestern edge of Manhush, west of Mariupol. UK police said they had received 'around 50' referrals relating to alleged war crimes in Ukraine, in support of an investigation by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. Ukrainian officials say the bodies of more than 1,000 civilians have been retrieved from areas around Kyiv, and they are working with French investigators to document alleged war crimes. Forensic experts are now examining the bodies, Oleksandr Pavliuk, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, told reporters. 'But what we saw was hands tied behind the back, their legs tied and shot through the limbs and in the back of the head,' he said. Russian officials have denied that their soldiers killed any civilians in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv from which they retreated three weeks ago, and accused Ukraine of staging the atrocities. The Authors Guild is leading the fight against book censorship by starting a club encouraging children to read novels banned by schools for containing themes such as sexual content and profanity. The group said the Banned Books Club was a reaction to the 'alarming number of states and school boards, which have recently banned a wide number of books and other resources from school curriculums or libraries.' The first novel they will promote is about two boys aiming to break the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss, of 32 hours. It delves into themes of coming out as gay as well as AIDS, gender identity and casual sex. The book has been on the American Library Association's top ten of banned books three times since its publication in 2013. As a result the book has faced challenges for its portrayal of homosexuality and sexual content as well as the fact it makes more than 100 references to words such as 'sex' and 'kiss'. Authors Guild chief Mary Rasenberger said: 'Our goal is to give both students and adults the chance to read and learn more about the books being banned in their districts and elsewhere and provide the rare opportunity to engage on the platform with the authors of those works.' The Guild's scheme comes as a growing number of authors have slammed the 'woke snowflakery' around book bans in the US. This cover image released by Random House Children's Books shows Two Boys Kissing, a young adult book by David Levithan. (Random House Children's Books via AP) Authors Guild chief Mary Rasenberger (pictured) said: 'Our goal is to give both students and adults the chance to read and learn more about the books being banned in their districts.' The Guild was founded in 1912 and has more than 10,000 published authors in it Author David Levithan (pictured) said: 'The growing epidemic of book banning and legislation that undermines the freedom to read across the United States is something we all must stand up against' The Guild has opposed censorship in any form since it was set up 1912. It said book banning undermines democracy, suppresses free speech and expression, hinders creativity and innovation, and makes it harder for authors to earn a living. The group said it wanted to offer both students and adults the opportunity to read and learn more about the books being banned and spark conversation about the harm book banning causes by erasing the unique experiences and perspectives of marginalized voices. Through a partnership with the book club app Fable, the Guild will each month highlight a fiction or nonfiction work that has been pulled from a classroom or school library and facilitate a discussion with the author. Last year 597 books were banned across America, with a total 1,597 targeted with censorship. Half of the top ten banned books of 2021 were challenged because of their LGBT content. Books previously banned in US schools and libraries have included Harry Potter for including 'curses and spells [that risk] conjuring evil spirits' , Of Mice and Men for its use of profanity and even The Catcher in the Rye for its plot that 'centered around negative activity'. Authors from across the world have spoken out this year about growing censorship from across the political spectrum. Margaret Atwood has called book bans in schools 'woke snowflakery', while Art Spiegelman branded society 'Orwellian' amid what many have called the publishing industry's sensitivity crisis. A pastor in Nashville, Tennessee, spearheaded a ban on Harry Potter after he claimed the children's book included 'curses and spells [that risk] conjuring evil spirits' John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (left) was previously banned because of its use of profanity. Meanwhile The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger was seen to have a plot that 'centered around negative activity' Spiegelman, 74, who penned the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus about the Holocaust, saw the book banned by a Tennessee school district over a few curse words and a nude image earlier this year. Meanwhile Atwood, 81, saw her a graphic novel version of her critically-acclaimed book The Handmaid's Tale removed from classroom libraries in a Texas school district in December. Speaking to The Guardian, Atwood said there was a form of moral hysteria around upsetting children, adding: 'Theyre playing woke snowflakery back [by saying] "This might upset people."' Their comments come after a number of critically-acclaimed authors spoke out on cancel culture within the publishing world. To Kill a Mockingbird was also banned in a California progressive district due to accusations of racism and its repeated use of the N-word To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, is a classic of modern literature, its reputation further enhanced by the Oscar-winning film that followed shortly afterwards. It follows the story of a white lawyer in a small town in Alabama, who agrees to defend a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia banned Gender Queer (left) by Maia Kobabe and Lawn Boy (right) by Jonathan Evision from shelves after parents condemned them as obscene and pedophilic The McMinn County school board in Tennessee voted in February to remove 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman from the eighth grade curriculum over eight swear words and nudity Spiegelman, who wrote the poignant tale about his parents' survival against Nazi atrocities, said culture surrounding books had become 'the most Orwellian version of society Ive ever lived in.' He explained: 'Its not as simple as left v right. Its a culture war that's totally out of control. 'As a first-amendment fundamentalist, I believe in the right of anyone to read anything, provided they are properly supported.' Earlier this month, the McMinn County School Board in Tennessee voted to remove Maus from its curriculum due to 'inappropriate language' (eight swear words) and its 'not wise or healthy' content. The book includes an illustration of a nude woman, according to minutes from a board meeting. The McMinn County Board of Education voted 10-0 to remove Maus on January 10, despite educators arguing that the graphic novel is an 'anchor text' in eighth-grade English language arts instruction and the centerpiece of a months-long study of the Holocaust. Margaret Atwood, 81 and Art Spiegelman are among the renowned authors who have slammed publishing's sensitivity crisis as they called it 'a culture war that's totally out of control' (pictured, Atwood) Published in 1991, Maus is inspired by the story of Spiegelman's parents, Vladek and Anja, who survived the Holocaust after being shipped to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. The graphic novel depicts Nazis as cats and Jewish people as mice. Spiegelman's autobiographical book won a Pulitzer in 1992. The Tennessee board's decision came amid a wave of conservative-sponsored legislation and other actions to pull books from schools, with other banned works including Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The Wentzville School in St Louis banned Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye' because of its explicit descriptions of sex, violence, rape and incest. It came as the Florida Department of Education rejected 54 math textbooks from its curriculum on Friday, saying the books were an attempt to 'indoctrinate' students - with more than half of them banned for referencing Critical Race Theory (CRT). The agency tossed out 41 percent of the 132 math textbooks submitted for next year's curriculum because they were not 'aligned with Florida standards or included prohibited topics and unsolicited strategies,' the DOE said in a statement on Friday. The Florida Department of education rejected 28 math text books for including references to Critical Race Theory on Friday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has championed the state's move away from CRT after pushing his Stop Woke Act bill in December (above) '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 department added, noting that all three learning practices are banned in the state. '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.' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had banned CRT as a component in Florida schools, claiming it promotes hatred among students and makes individuals feel guilty for racism of the past. '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 of the rejected books. American author Anne Tyler, 80, has also slammed the cancel culture in a new interview, while insisting that she 'should be allowed' to write a book from the 'viewpoint of a black man' without being accused of appropriation. Spiegelman, 74, who penned the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel Maus about the Holocaust, saw the book banned by a Tennessee school district over a few curse words and a nude image earlier this year Meanwhile, Two Boys Kissing author Levithan said: 'The growing epidemic of book banning and legislation that undermines the freedom to read across the United States is something we all must stand up against, both on behalf of the freedom to read itself and for all the young readers who need to see their stories being told. 'I am pleased to participate in the Authors Guild Banned Books Club, which will be a great forum to discuss not only why these books are being challenged, but how to support the kids who are disenfranchised by such challenges.' In the past few weeks, the New York Public Library has made Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak and a handful of other challenged works available to all through its app, and the Brooklyn Public Library launched Books UnBanned, through which young people nationwide ages 13 to 21 can receive a free library card. We Need Diverse Books, a grassroots organization that advocates for more inclusiveness in publishing, will hand out grants of $2,000 each to teachers and libraries that can be used for author visits, the purchase of diverse books and other efforts to combat censorship. A crisis center worker spoke to a vulnerable teenage girl on his charity's support hotline before he tracked her down on social media, sent her explicit photos and videos and asked to see her naked, cops have claimed. Christopher Augusto Laracuente Cotto, 32, worked as a call taker at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Florida, for around two months before he was dismissed over his sick antics. After initially speaking to the teenage girl on the charity's recorded phone line on March 28 at around 9.30am as she went through a crisis, he repeatedly called on a private line using the name 'William', supposedly to check on her. Christopher Augusto Laracuente Cotto, 32, (pictured) worked as a call taker at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Florida, where he used his position to get in touch with a teenage girl in crisis and send her explicit photos The hotline is meant for people dealing with depression and trauma as a result of 'sexual assault, suicidal thoughts, domestic violence, financial distress or emotional or situational problems', the charity's website said. Laracuente Cotto asked the girl for her Instagram name, which she told him, and he followed her on the platform. He then sent her 'explicit photographs and videos, in addition to requesting nude photographs of her', Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said. At school the next day she reported Laracuente Cotto's actions to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office school resource deputy. They investigated and confirmed the details of the case before obtaining a confession from Laracuente Cotto, who was arrested on April 21 for sending harmful material to a minor and for the unlawful use of a two-way communications device on April 21. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said he could not think of anything 'more despicable than taking advantage of a child during their time of crisis'. He said: 'This individual abused his power, violated the trust of the victim, and equally as important, he violated the trust of his employer, a well-respected non-profit organization that helps tens of thousands of people in need every year. 'I strongly believe this individual is in no way a reflection of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay or the profoundly positive impact the center has made on the lives of children and adults in our community through the 211 hotline. 'I do not believe this incident should prevent anyone who is struggling from turning to the Crisis Center for help, and we continue to encourage our residents to do so.' Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said he could not think of anything 'more despicable than taking advantage of a child during their time of crisis'. He added: 'I strongly believe this individual is in no way a reflection of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay or the profoundly positive impact the center has made on the lives of children and adults in our community through the 211 hotline' (File image) Clara Reynolds, the president and CEO of the Crisis Center, said: 'We are deeply saddened by the actions of this former employee but thankful the victim had a resource available in the community that protected them. 'We are so sorry that a vulnerable person was hurt because it goes directly against what we work for every day.' The Crisis Center said Laracuente Cotto 'passed both his local law enforcement and Level 2 background checks before he was hired and was an employee of the organization for less than 60 days.' It said: 'As soon as the Crisis Center confirmed the inappropriate telephonic contact, the employee was immediately terminated for violating policies.' The Center said it was reviewing its procedures and policies in a bid to stop anything similar and that it would continue to cooperate with the Sheriff's Office investigation. Detectives asked anyone else who feels they may be a victim, or anyone with additional information related to this case, to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200. To remain anonymous, call CrimeStoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477). Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene testified Friday in a hearing for a court case to toss her off the 2022 ballot that she was a 'victim' of the Capitol riot - and thus not an active party in it. She also said she had never seen any violence from Trump supporters and thought Antifa and Black Lives Matter were responsible for the chaos on January 6 while she was in Congress. 'I was on the House chamber when it happened. I had to be evacuated to safety,' she recounted from the stand. We were held for hours, in a secret location, protected by Capitol Police, military members for hours, until they cleared the Capitol.' 'Yes, I was a victim of the riot that day,' the Georgia lawmaker added. A handful of Greene's constituents have sued to prevent her re-election, alleging her participation in assisting the January 6 Capitol attack, which they say violated the 14th Amendment. To questions like whether she encouraged former President Donald Trump to impose martial law to stay in power she answered, 'I do not recall.' Her attorney, James Bopp Jr., claimed to also represent Trump and tried to make an executive privilege claim when questions about martial law were asked. Greene testified under oath that she had never heard of any threats of violence in the lead-up to January 6 - instead saying she thought left-leaning activists were responsible. 'I heard a gunshot, we all heard it. And we were so confused, we thought Antifa was breaking in or [Black Lives Matter], because those were the riots that had gone on and one all of 2020 - day in and day out - just horrible riots all over the country,' Greene recounted in the Georgia courtroom. 'That was the only thing that made sense for most of us.' She denied encouraging violence by telling Trump supporters to descend on D.C. the day Congress was counting the Electoral College votes, to cement now President Joe Biden as the 2020 election winner. 'I was asking people to come for a peaceful march, which everyone is entitled to do under their First Amendment,' Greene said, with political ally Rep. Matt Gaetz seated in the audience. 'But I was not asking them to actively engage in violence or any type of action.' Time and time again, she said she only believed leftists were capable of violence, defending some of the January 6 participants as 'patriots' because they were veterans. 'The only violence I'd ever seen was Antifa and BLM riots and I've been to so many Trump rallies - have never once seen violence out of Trump people. I don't recall any talk of violence,' Greene said. 'We mostly thought it was Antifa dressed up as Trump supporters,' Greene later testified when asked who she thought was attacking the Capitol when it went into lockdown. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene denied encouraging violence on January 6 as she took the stand Friday in a Georgia courtroom for an administrative hearing for the case to have her thrown off the ballot Judge Charles Beaudrot speaks to participants in the courtroom at the Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene hearing on Friday in Atlanta Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene arrives at a court hearing in Atlanta Friday with voters trying to kick her off the ballot. To questions like whether she encouraged former President Donald Trump to impose martial law to stay in power she answered, 'I do not recall' Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz appears in the audience at Friday's Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene hearing. Gaetz is one of her top allies on Capitol Hill One of the lawyers for the Georgia voters, Andrew Celli, focused intently on a Facebook video Greene had posted in the run-up to January 6 where she said Trump supporters should not accept a 'peaceful transfer' of power, like incoming President Joe Biden wanted. 'She said the quiet part out loud,' Celli said during his closing statement. He had asked Greene about previous statements and social media postings the congresswoman made about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including that she was guilty of treason and that a 'a bullet to the head would be quicker' to remove the California Democrat. Celli was trying to knock down Greene's testimony that she would 'never mean anything for violence.' 'I don't support violence of any kind. And I've said it over and over again. So I I'm telling you,' Greene said Friday. On the stand, Greene denied specifically making those statements. 'I'm not answering that question - speculation. No I haven't said that,' Greene answered when Celli asked her whether she thought, 'Speaker Pelosi is a traitor to the country, right?' Greene then revised her answer. 'Oh no wait. Hold on now, I believe by not upholding - by not securing the border that that violates her oath of office,' the lawmaker said. Celli asked Greene, specifically, if she used the words 'traitor to the country' about Pelosi. And asked her if 'it's a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason.' 'This is what I was telling you - she doesn't uphold our laws,' Greene answered. 'It's a simple yes or no question - did you say those words?' the lawyer asked. 'I heard a gunshot, we all heard it. And we were so confused, we thought Antifa was breaking in or [Black Lives Matter], because those were the riots that had gone on and one all of 2020 - day in and day out - just horrible riots all over the country,' Greene recounted in the Georgia courtroom. 'That was the only thing that made sense for most of us' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sits in an Atlanta courtroom Friday for a hearing about a lawsuit filed by Georgia voters saying she should be disqualified from appearing on the November ballot due to her alleged involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack Supporters of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene applaud the Georgia Republican during Friday's hearing in Atlanta Greene answered that 'according to the CNN article I did,' but throughout the hearing she argued that the news network had 'lied' about her record. 'I don't recall saying all of this. But I do recall having said this - I totally disagree with the border issues,' she said. Celli asked Greene if she 'advocated the use of physical violence' against people she disagreed with politically. 'I don't think so. I don't know how to answer that,' Greene replied. The lawyer brought up a like from Greene's Facebook account on a post that said 'a bullet to the head of Nancy Pelosi would be a quicker way to remove her as speaker of the House than impeachment.' It was among the expressions of support on social media that got Greene pushed from her committee assignments by Democrats early in her Congressional tenure. Under oath, Greene responded, 'testifying, I have no idea who liked that comment.' 'I am telling you I do not know,' Greene added, when Celli floated, 'it could have been you, right?' Celli then pointed out that Pelosi was one of the lawmakers targeted by the MAGA mob during the January 6 attack. During his closing statement, he charged that Greene 'advocated violence against the Speaker of the House, the highest ranking member of the House, Mrs. Pelosi, the very house that was attacked on January 6, 2021.' 'She admitted it. She kind of wiggled there for a second, but she admitted it. And you saw that with your eyes,' Celli said. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during Friday's hearing in Atlanta. At one point she was presser on whether she had stolen lines from the movie Independence Day Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene looks at a print-out handed to her of a video she filmed several years ago about protesting in Washington, D.C. during a court hearing in Atlanta on Friday The legal complaint charges that Greene 'voluntarily aided and engaged in an insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power, disqualifying her from serving as a Member of Congress.' The legal filing points to section three of the 14th Amendment that says no Member of Congress, who has taken the oath of office, 'shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion' against the United States. During his opening statement, Greene's attorney Bopp laid out a number of defenses, including that Greene sent out tweets during the attack asking the MAGA mob not to get violent and that she was 'scared and confused.' 'And that is not how someone who planned the attack would react,' Bopp said. Greene said she was 'shocked' once the Capitol went into lockdown. Bopp also pushed that the determination of whether she take office can't occur before the election - and thus the voters can't legally push her off the ballot before the state's May 24 Republican primary. 'She cannot be disqualified today because it cannot be determined that she is ineligible for office on January 3, 2022. That should end this,' Bopp said. The Constitution's definition of engagement is broad in that an individual merely has to voluntarily 'assist' the insurrection. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's attorney James Bopp sits during the Friday court hearing in Atlanta Greene's political ally, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, is captured walking into the Atlanta courtroom Friday Celli showed a number of Greene's tweets to the courtroom that encouraged Trump supporters to come to Washington on January 6. She pointed out that she 'had no knowledge of any attempt' to interfere with the process of counting Electoral College votes. Greene answered 'no, that's not accurate' when asked if she wished that Congress not certify now President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election - but affirmed that she still believed in the so-called big lie, that former President Donald Trump lost the election to widespread voter fraud. 'Well, yes, we saw a tremendous amount of voter fraud,' the Georgia lawmaker said. She added that her husband went to his polling place and was told that he had already voted absentee, which she said he hadn't. Throughout the Friday hearing, Bopp objected to Celli's line of questioning, while Judge Charles Beaudrot grumbled over the voters' attorneys calling of a law professor to give a history lesson. The original legal filing linked Greene's participation in January 6 to comments she made during a Newsmax television appearance on January 5 when she said, 'This is our 1776 moment.' On Friday, Greene was questioned extensively about her understanding of the Revolutionary War, 1776, the violent overthrow of British rule and whether her statements on January 5 amounted to the same call to action. The hearing dipped into the absurd when Celli suggested that a quote Greene said to supporters in advance of January 6: 'we will not go quietly into the night,' was borrowed from Bill Pullman's presidential character from the 1996 blockbuster, Independence Day. 'Now that phrase ... that's not something you came up on your own, is it?' Greene said she didn't know. 'That's something you borrowed from a movie script,' Celli said. 'You borrowed that line from the movie Independence Day.' 'No,' the congresswoman said. Celli then played the scene in question in which Pullman rallies pilots to take on the aliens on the July 4th holiday. 'I think it's probably a great movie. I don't watch movies in a long time, from what I remember it's a great movie,' Greene commented, saying she had previously seen the film. 'You are getting us quite the entertainment today,' she told the lawyer, adding, 'can we watch the whole movie?' Laughs broke out in the courtroom as the clip concluded. Greene didn't buy the lawyer's take: 'I don't recall getting any inspiration from this Hollywood movie like you're suggesting.' 'So you were not communicating in referencing that film that January 6 was going to be a new kind of Independence Day?' the lawyer asked. 'By the way Independence Day is July 4 ... it's July 4th of 1776?' Greene said 'that's right,' but also offered, 'All I was talking about was objecting and standing up for people's votes in our elections.' During his closing statement, Celli pushed, 'Marjorie Taylor Greene knew perfectly well what 1776 meant that it meant violence against the government, overthrowing a tyrannical government.' 'And that was Plan B of January 6, 2021,' Celli said. Wrapping up, Celli argued Greene's statements helped provide the 'spark' that lit the Capitol attack. 'She was one of several leaders who gathered the kindling, who created the conditions that made it possible for there to be an explosion of violence at the Capitol on January 6,' he said. On Thursday, Trump came to Greene's defense. 'The Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, and Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, perhaps in collusion with the Radical Left Democrats, have allowed a horrible thing to happen to a very popular Republican, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene,' the ex-president said, misplacing the blame on two political enemies - Kemp and Raffensperger - who have nothing to do with the case. President Moon Jae-in, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands at the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom at an inter-Korean summit held in April of 2018. Korea Times file Kim Jong-un's amicable message seen as divisive tactic By Nam Hyun-woo Outgoing President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed amicable sentiments through letters they exchanged recently, according to South Korea's presidential office, Friday. On the same day, however, Pyongyang continued with its bellicose rhetoric toward conservative President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, in what appears to be a familiar move from the regime's playbook of fomenting conflict between South Korea's conservative and liberal blocs amid the power transition period. Presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee speaks during a press conference about the letter exchange between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. Yonhap "President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently exchanged letters and reminisced about the past five years (of Moon's tenure)," presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said during a press conference. "They shared the common view that efforts should continue for peace on the Korean peninsula and exchanged cordial greetings for the people of the South and the North." According to Park, Kim said in his letter that their efforts have failed to reach the desired goal, but acknowledged that they had signed historic agreements which are indelible achievements. The North Korean leader added that he believes relations between the two Koreas can develop to meet the expectations of Koreans if efforts continue, adding that he highly acknowledges Moon's achievements in inter-Korean relations. Kim said he will have "unwavering respect" for Moon even after the president leaves office next month. Moon said in his letter that they have made firm steps for inter-Korean relations, and more steps should be taken with more dialogue. The president added that dialogue is now up to the incoming administration, and asked Kim to exert his efforts for inter-Korean cooperation "for a great cause." Moon added that he hopes the U.S.-North Korea dialogue can resume promptly and that a 2018 military agreement signed by the two Koreas should serve as the foundation for unification. The agreement calls for an all-out cessation of hostile military activities against each other. "We expect the letters, which will be the last one between Moon and Kim, will serve as a stepping stone for inter-Korean relations," Park said. According to a senior Cheong Wa Dae official, Moon sent his letter to Kim on Wednesday, and Kim replied a day later. While the presidential office was contemplating when to reveal the letters, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported the exchange on Friday morning, and Cheong Wa Dae also responded. The exchange of letters came amid North Korea's increasing missile and nuclear threats. The North has conducted 13 missile tests so far this year, including the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Multiple reports indicate that Pyongyang may also resume nuclear tests in the near future. "Despite the stringent circumstances of the North continuing missile tests and moving to resume nuclear tests, it is optimistic that the letters contain hopeful remarks," the senior official said. "Although we cannot presume this will change the current situation, the positive and hopeful expressions of the letters are a good sign." The president-elect's aides also expressed a positive reaction to the letters. An aide told Yonhap News Agency, "We believe achieving peace and prosperity through denuclearization is the great cause of the Korean people." In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo, South Korea's then-National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong, left, hands over President Moon Jae-in's letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during Chung's visit to Pyongyang. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae While revealing the cordial remarks between Moon and Kim, however, North Korea's other state media outlets churned out bellicose rhetoric targeting Yoon, describing him as "a confrontational lunatic" and "evil warmonger." "Recently, Yoon Seok-yeol has been running wild not knowing whether a snake or a serpent is coming out of his mouth," the North's propaganda website, Uriminzokkiri, said in a Friday article. "During an interview with foreign media on April 14, this man made malicious slanders on the republic's (North Korea) measures to strengthen its military capability and eventually spewed remarks that North Korea is the main opponent. Such comments can only be made by a confrontational lunatic and evil warmonger," it said. Echo of Unification, another propaganda radio broadcast station, also denounced the president-elect on Friday, saying, "Yoon and his conservative groups are traitors selling Korea to the U.S. and maniacs craving for fratricidal competition." Compared to Moon, Yoon has been heralding a hardline approach to North Korea, saying that a stronger alliance between Seoul and Washington and enhanced military capabilities will be a deterrent to the North's threats. Experts said Pyongyang's contrasting comments are part of its usual tactic of fomenting division between South Korea's conservative and liberal blocs. "Obviously, the North is trying to fuel conflicts between South Korea's conservative and liberal groups," said Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "In the letter, Kim said improvements can be made in inter-Korean relations if the two Koreas work together, but it was just a flowery expression, given the harsh comments other state-run media outlets made about Yoon. If the North has expectations regarding Yoon, it would not have used such language." President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a public event at a traditional market in Haeundae District, Busan, Friday. Joint Press Corps A Florida sheriff known for cracking down on illegal drugs had to arrest his own daughter on suspicion of trafficking meth. Kristen Kent, 38, was arrested on Monday afternoon by deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. 'It's heartbreaking, the last person you ever want to arrest is one of your family members, especially your child - I mean it's like you can't even put it into words,' Sheriff Tony 'A.J.' Smith told WMMB News. Franklin County sheriff arrested his own daughter during sting operation on Monday in a situation that the well-respected law enforcement official called 'heartbreaking' Kristen Kent, 38, was arrested on Monday afternoon by deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department Smith added: 'I don't think it's anything you wish on your worst enemy to do something like this.' The bust took place when deputies from Smith's unit conducted a 'controlled buy,' that involved Smith's daughter, the Miami Herald reported. 'She delivered 2 ounces and that's when she was arrested,' Smith said, in part. Kent faces charges of trafficking methamphetamine of 14 grams or over, drug possession or use, and cocaine possession, according to the sheriff's department. A photo pictured here of some of the drugs that were confiscated by sheriff deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department during Monday's meth trafficking bust Some of the drugs that were seized by Florida law enforcement officials are seen being weighed here During the sting operation, deputies first arrested a different woman, but when officers asked the woman who supplied her with the drugs, she revealed it was Smith's daughter. Bailey Adaire Lee, 25, was also arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine of 14 grams or over on Monday. Both women who were being held at the Franklin County Jail posted bail on Tuesday, a clerk from the Franklin County Clerk's office told the DailyMail.com. Kent posted bond at $25,000 and Lee posted bail at $50,000, she said. Smith talks to community members about how to approach family members who have been impacted by addiction, in his quest to get meth off the streets. He describes addiction as 'heartbreaking.' 'Drugs that ruin families. Here's a prime example of what it does to our communities, what it does to our families, what it does to our friends,' Smith added, McClatchy News reported. Kristen Kent, 38, and Bailey Adaire Lee, 25, (pictured) had posted bail on Tuesday after being held at the Franklin County Jail The well-respected sheriff said he will use the same tough-love approach with his daughter that he advocates for with other families affected by methamphetamine. 'The last thing you want to see is your child in an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs on,' Smith said. He continued: 'Methamphetamine does not discriminate & neither do we. It does not matter who you are, no one is immune or exempt,' Smith wrote on Facebook. 'Our hearts break over the grief meth causes all, whether you use it, sell it or love someone who is involved with it.' Smith said he believes there are more people involved in the trafficking case and that more arrests are expected, a report said. Smith's personal experience drew support from many in the community he serves. 'Talk about transparency. This had to difficult for all involved and just proves how committed FCSO is to eradicating this drug,' one person wrote. An Ohio teenager has been charged with murdering his 11-year-old brother after stabbing the younger boy to death then calling 911 on himself. Nate McAtee, 19, killed his brother Joseph at their home in Windham, Ohio, on Tuesday. It's unclear why he snapped, but family say he has suffered mental illness for years. In a disturbing 911 call obtained by DailyMail.com, McAtee can be heard telling the dispatcher afterwards that he had stabbed his younger brother 'three times, once in the back, twice in the throat'. Nate McAtee, 19, killed his brother Joseph at their home in Windham, Ohio, on Tuesday. It's unclear why he snapped, but family say he has suffered mental illness for years. He is shown in court on Wednesday smirking McAtee told 911 that he stabbed his 11-year-old brother Joseph (pictured) 'once in the back and twice in the throat' He made the call at 1.44am, telling the dispatcher that he didn't know his address but that they had to 'come now'. 'I just killed my brother I don't know the address. I stabbed him three times. One in the back, twice in the throat. Come get me right now. I'll turn myself in. 'I'll be waiting for you. Now! Send them... I'm hanging up,' he said. Police traced the call to his apartment. Another person later called 911 and reported what he had done. The Ohio apartment where the boys were on Tuesday night when Nate killed his younger brother McAtee was charged and appeared in court on Thursday where he smirked and laughed. It's unclear if the boys' mother Tina was at home at the time He told the judge 'I'm cranky today'. The judge replied: 'You're going to make me cranky.' After his bond was set at $1million, the teenager scoffed: 'That's ridiculous'. On social media, the boys' family shared their grief. In a now deleted comment on a local newspaper's Facebook page, the boy's father wrote: 'He's a schizophrenic. 'He used to be my baby'. Others who attended school with him said he suffered mental health issues. It is unclear who else was in the apartment with the two boys when Nate turned on his brother. The mother of a former Bandidos bikie who suddenly dropped dead has become embroiled in a feud with his ex-girlfriend over where to hold her son's funeral. Ricky Chapman, 32, died after suffering a medical episode at Rio Tinto's port in Cape Lambert, 1,500km north of Perth, at about 10 pm on Wednesday. The one-time Bandidos hardman's grieving mother Suzy Stinger shared her heartbreak over her son's death on Facebook. It's understood Chapman's former partner, Stacey Schoppe, was listed as his next of kin at the time of his death. Ms Stringer claims Ms Schoppe is trying to arrange a funeral service for Chapman in Western Australia, despite his mother and extended family living in South Australia. Ricky Chapman, a one-time hard man for the Bandidos on the Gold Coast, died aged just 32 on Wednesday night. Pictured with partner Stacey Schoppe Chapman's mother, Suzy Stinger, has claimed Ms Schoppe is trying to organise a funeral for Chapman in WA, despite his mother living in SA Ms Stringer told The West there was 'no way' she was going to farewell her son over a Zoom video call. 'I just want my boy back,' she said. 'He never changed his next of kin, since the shooting (at Perth Motorplex, which killed Chapman's father father-in-law, Rebels kingpin Nick Martin). Just because he was forgetful, like me, doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to come home to rest. 'She (Ms Schoppe) says she's burying his body but I'm not playing that game, I've already blocked that attempt. My son does not deserve that. He's coming home to his family.' The mother continued to share her frustrations on Facebook. 'Would like everyone to know Stacey is not burying Ricky he's coming home to his mother,' she wrote on Friday. 'Can you all be mindful Ricky has got a family from birth, Chapmans and my family which extends way down Wallaroo, SA. Chapman's mother says she will not watch a funeral for her son over Zoom, amid tensions over where his body will be laid to rest 'Brothers, sister, pops, nanna's and extended (family) that want to give our boy a send off.' The tension comes after Ms Schoppe created a GoFundMe to raise money for his funeral costs. 'Everybody knew Ricky knew how much he loved the beach. He love his dog 'big' they had a bond like no other,' she wrote. 'He will be sadly missed within our household as he would always say thank you for finally making me feel like I have a real family. 'Any help would be Greatly appreciated to give him the send off he deserves.' Earlier Chapman's mother shared a cryptic post following his death. 'Everybody stay calm, and if anyone gets out of control, I can't say what gonna happen,' Ms Stinger said. Chapman was working as a fly-in-fly-out rigger between Perth and Cape Lambert at the time of his death after vowing to give up the outlaw motorcycle gang lifestyle. He was involved in the infamous bikie brawl in Broadbeach in 2013 and last made headlines in 2020 when he copped a stray bullet to the arm in the contract killing of his father-in-law and bikie boss Martin. He required surgery to remove the bullet and was arrested upon leaving hospital for breaching the conditions of his parole for associating with known underworld figures. Chapman served further prison time but was released in April 2021, when he again vowed to change his life. Britons in their fifties and early sixties won't be eligible for flu jabs this winter, as health chiefs stick to their 'reckless' decision to cut back the vaccination scheme. A record 35million people were offered the jab over the last two winters amid fears about a double-whammy of Covid and influenza outbreaks. But the NHS announced last month that it was shrinking the programme back to pre-pandemic levels, with 10million fewer people set to be eligible. A source close to the rollout said the decision was 'extremely reckless' because the next pandemic 'might be caused by the influenza virus'. Despite the backlash, the Department of Health today confirmed the newly eligible groups will no longer receive the jab for free through the NHS. Experts today told MailOnline the move is 'short-sighted' and said they feared it could mean the Covid autumn booster rollout will also exclude 50 to 64-year-olds. A record 35million people were offered the jab over the last two winters amid fears the UK could face one of the worst flu seasons in history. Pictured: Kayleigh Kitson at a Covid vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds in December Face masks, social distancing and travel ban rules brought in during the Covid crisis to control the spread of the virus also drove flu rates to historic lows around the world. But experts have warned cases could soar to all-time highs as social mixing returns to pre-pandemic norms. A letter to health bosses from the Department of Health, NHS England and UK Health Security Agency today confirmed 50 to 64-year-olds and 11 to 15-year-olds will not get flu jabs on the NHS as they have done over the last two winters. Maggie Keenan Among Millions Given NHS Spring Covid Booster Margaret Keenan, the first person in the world to receive an approved Covid jab, today received her spring booster. The grandmother-of-four, who likes to be called Maggie, is one of the 2million Britons who have so far come forward for the latest dose. Ms Keenan, 91, made history on December 8 2020 when she received a Pfizer dose at University Hospital Coventry in Warwickshire. More than 121million Covid jabs have been dished out since then, with health experts estimated around 186,0000 hospitalisations thousands of fatalities have been prevented. Ms Keenan, a former jewellery shop assistant who only retired five years ago, said she was 'delighted' to get her latest vaccine jab and encouraged others to do the same. She said: 'I am really pleased to get my Spring Booster and feel I will be better protected against Covid as a result. 'Now we are all out and about, it is even more important for older people to keep up with all their vaccine doses and I would encourage anyone aged 75 and over to book their vaccine now.' Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said 'the world watched in anticipation and hope' as the NHS delivered the world's first approved Covid vaccine. She added: 'I am delighted that today, Maggie has received her extra dose of protection against the virus. 'When it is your turn to get vaccinated, follow in Maggie's footsteps and get your spring jab the NHS has worked hard to ensure that people can easily get their vaccination and it remains the best way to protect yourself and those around you from the virus.' Advertisement This is despite the health agencies noting that 'there is likely to be a resurgence in influenza activity in winter 2022 to 2023 to levels similar to or higher than before the pandemic'. It also noted 'a late increase' in flu cases in the coming months 'cannot be ruled out'. And co-circulation of Covid and flu, along with other respiratory viruses, could 'add substantially to pressures in the NHS'. Over-65s, care home residents, under-65s in clinical risk groups, primary school children and two to three-year-olds are still eligible for the jab. Carers, close contacts of immunocompromised people and frontline health and social care workers are also able to get the vaccine. The recommendation is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations (JCVI), provides 'direct protection' to those most at risk from flu and will reduce fatalities in this cohort. But the letter justifies excluding 50 to 64-year-olds, saying: 'The programme aims to provide direct protection to those who are at higher risk of influenza associated morbidity and mortality.' It adds: 'We will continue to keep the JCVI's advice for the influenza vaccination programme under review, but for winter 2022 to 2023 those aged 50 to 64 years will not be offered a free influenza vaccine through the NHS.' Even though the JCVI called for all under-16s to be given the jab, 'this will not be taken forward' for the upcoming winter, health bosses said. It is unclear how much money is being saved by scaling down the programme. Four million secondary school children will no longer be eligible for the free shots and neither will around 6million people aged 50 to 64. Those within those age groups who still want to get vaccinated against flu will need to pay up to 14.50 for a shot this year. The decision comes despite the JCVI keen to maintain the expanded rollout. Nearly half (45.7 per cent) of healthy 50 to 64-year-olds came forward for the flu jab last autumn, only slightly less than those in a clinical risk group (52.9 per cent) who are encouraged to get vaccinated every year. A record 35million invites were sent out this winter compared to 25million pre-Covid. The health agencies said higher than usual uptake has likely been due to pandemic concerns and increased awareness of how vaccines prevent illness. The letter orders GP surgeries and schools to offer the flu jab to every single person eligible for one to at least match uptake from the last two years and 'ideally exceed them'. Margaret Keenan, the first person in the world to receive an approved Covid jab, today received her spring booster It also urges pharmacies to 'proactively offer' the flu vaccine to every eligible patient who visit their shop. One source working with the rollout told The Telegraph last month that there were concerns the decisions appeared to be financially driven. He said: 'Given that the next pandemic might be caused by the influenza virus it seems extremely reckless to cut the flu vaccine programme.' Dennis Reed, the director of Silver Voices, a campaign group for the over-60s, told MailOnline not offering 50 to 64-year-olds the vaccine is 'really short-sighted' because there is likely low immunity among the cohort. 'My guess is the decision is just economics to reduce the public spend on vaccines, probably with the Treasury instructing the Department of Health to cut back on the vaccine programme,' he said. The cohort will likely remain unprotected against influenza and 'not even think about' privately paying for the jab as they have 'always relied on the NHS for vaccinations', Mr Reed said. He said the move raises questions about whether the group will be included in the autumn Covid booster programme as a combined flu and Covid vaccine was being considered. 'Has that been dropped or why are they not being included in the fourth vaccine rollout, which would be serious as far as we are concerned,' Mr Reed said. A British taxpayer-funded vaccine manufacturing centre was supposed to be looking into combining the jabs, but it was bought by a US pharmaceutical giant earlier this month. And Novavax this week revealed that its combined Covid and flu jab is 'safe and effective'. During the booster rollout last autumn, Britons were offered both a Covid and flu shot at the same time in different arms. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Thanks to the success of the Covid vaccination programme and treatments available to individuals most at risk, we are now able to live with this virus and it is right that we return our other vaccination programmes such as flu back to pre-pandemic levels. 'We are incredibly grateful to all the staff across health and social care who played their part in the successful flu campaign over the last year.' Advertisement Priti Patel was accused of 'dropping a bomb' on rural Yorkshire last night after villagers learned they face being outnumbered by young male asylum seekers. Residents in the 1,000-strong community of Linton-on-Ouse, near York, are seething after discovering their disused RAF airbase will soon house 1,500 young men seeking refuge in Britain, mostly from Iraq, Iran and Syria. At a heated parish council meeting on Thursday, they said house prices in the area had already crashed, with some homeowners being pushed into negative equity and unable to move out. Some 120 villagers voiced their frustration in a showdown with senior Home Office officials over the scheme saying they were not consulted about the plans before they were announced last week. They were stunned to be told the new processing centre will accommodate 1,500 young men and possibly more if refugees continue to cross the Channel in unprecedented numbers. Hambleton District Councillor Martin Taylor said the impact of the influx would also be felt in surrounding rural communities. He told the Home Office team, led by Phil Riley, the Home Office's director of immigration detention and escorting services: 'You have dropped a bomb on this village and the wider community and its totally unacceptable.' Villagers in Linton-on-Ouse are seething that they were not consulted about plans to accommodate asylum seekers at a decommissioned airbase in the middle of the village before the announcement last week. (Village seen right while left, the disused RAF airbase) Villagers were stunned to be told the new processing centre will accommodate 1,500 asylum seekers (Pictured: Migrants arriving at Dover this week) Home Secretary Priti Patel (pictured) was accused of 'dropping a bomb' on Linton-on-Ouse by one local councillor He pledged to consider every way of reversing the decision, including possibly funding a judicial review, but Hambleton Council would first need to look at the facts. 'We have been ambushed just like you,' he told the meeting. Locals also felt powerless to move out, as local house prices were already collapsing. One woman stormed: 'Nobody is going to buy anything around here. It sounds like a done deal and it's an absolute disgrace.' Home Office bigwigs also made clear that the refugees will be free to come and go provided they observe a nightly curfew. They admitted there was nothing to stop them getting on a bus and disappearing although they could do that now from bed and breakfast accommodation and it would wreck their asylum hopes. But Patel's team could do nothing to allay some residents' fears over safety. The Home Office says refugees will be free to come and go from the base (pictured) as long as they are back before the start of their nightly curfew Houses at the base have been left abandoned since it closed, and are set to be used to house asylum seekers under the new plans The plan would make use of the disused RAF airbase in Linton-On-Ouse, which lies between York and Harrogate in North Yorkshire Officials have tried to reassure residents in the quiet village, which lies on the River Ouse, do not have anything to be worried about by the new arrivals The three-hour meeting was punctuated by jeers, groans, and shouting as the residents vented their frustration. One woman told the crowd: 'I have lived in an area of Hull where these people were being housed and it got to the point where you dare not go out on your own.' While the officials assured her that her fears were unfounded, they were shared by others present. One father protested: 'I moved here six months ago for a quite family life. I have got a four-year-old boy and a baby eight weeks old. MP for Thirsk and Malton Kevin Hollinrake (pictured) has spoken out against the plan, which angry residents say they weren't consulted on In a tweet on Wednesday (pictured), Mr Hollinrake said he had demanded the asylum seeker plan in Linton-on-Ouse be reversed in a letter to Priti Patel 'We moved here for the village life. Now my family is going to be prisoners in their own home while everyone else can roam about doing what they like.' At present, the village is policed by a community policing team. North Yorkshire Police will beef up cover but insist they must adopt a measured approach and see what problems occur. Villagers emerged from the meeting saying nothing had been said during the three hours that had reassured them in any way whatsoever. Homeowner Greg Cox, 47, said: 'They have sent the monkeys to answer the questions rather than the organ grinder. 'The average age in the village is about 40. There is nowt here. They have depended on the air base for the economy.' A record 28,395 migrants reached the UK illegally last year by taking small boats across the Channel, a 200 per cent increase on 2020's tally Taff Morgan, 67, said: 'What's at stake is our way of life in the village. The Home Office need to got back and say 'We have made a mistake'.' 'We have had weasel words from those in power. I am not racist. But this is just so wrong for this village. It is incredible how they have done this.' Karen Cox, 51, said: 'We are losing our freedom by them coming here. It just feels so underhand how they have gone about it. 'Why can't they send someone here who can answer our questions? Why don't they send Priti Patel?' In a tweet on Wednesday local MP Kevin Hollinrake said he had demanded the asylum seeker plan be reversed in a letter to Priti Patel. It comes as the former head of then UK's Border Force told the Mail that 100,000 Channel migrants will reach Britain this year. Former director general of UK Border Force Tony Smith said: 'There comes a point where we need to get a grip of our border and stop the boats. 'The numbers are going up, a fourfold increase already this year 28,500 last year,' Mr Smith told the Mail at an immigration event by think-tank Policy Exchange. 'That's going to be over 100,000 this year just by migrant boats alone.' Tony Smith, former director general of UK Border Force, said 100,000 would migrants reach the shores of Britain this year Mr Smith's prediction would be nearly 12 times the level seen in 2020, 54 times that of 2019 and more than 300 times that in 2018. So far this year 6,693 migrants have reached the UK across the Channel four times that seen by the same point last year. There were 651 arrivals last Wednesday, a level not seen last year until the calm summer months. In January, it emerged that the Home Office had produced official papers warning that 65,000 migrants could cross this year. The number of crossings has since outstripped this. A spokesperson for Home Office said 'we do not recognise these figures', while the Government announced its Rwanda scheme last week. The Home Office says 1,500 young men, mostly from Iraq, Iran and Syria, who are seeking refuge in the UK will be sent to the centre in North Yorkshire. Pictured are migrants arriving in Dover earlier this week The Government has announced plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under a scheme designed to crack down on migrants landing on British shores after crossing the Channel in small boats. Pictured are migrants arriving in Dover on Monday 'Last week, the Government announced a series of measures to overhaul our broken asylum system and through our Nationality and Borders Bill we are clamping down on illegal migration, including dangerous channel crossings which places vulnerable people at the mercy of evil people smugglers,' they said. Mr Smith praised the controversial scheme, which will see asylum seekers sent to the east African country to claim refugee status. He said: 'I think it's a bold attempt by the government to stop the boats. 'We have to stop the boats - people are drowning and people are going to drown. 'The problem the government has is the French won't accept people back, nor will the EU, so the migrants know that simply by paying 5,000 and getting in a small boat, getting into the English territorial waters, they're essentially in the UK. 'So the Government is right to look at alternatives. We need to find countries that are prepared to take people. The Rwanda scheme has been heavily criticised by members of all parties, including former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May Ms Patel has defended the new Rwanda scheme and claimed it is legal after it was condemned by Tory backbenchers and opposition parties 'If Rwanda is a safe country, which is offering them protection and a new life, if it means they don't have to go back to the country they fear persecution from, then this is an alternative to having more and more people coming across the Channel and drowning.' It has been roundly criticised though by members of all parties in the House of Commons, including former Prime Minister Theresa May who questioned how effective the 120 million scheme would be. 'From what I have heard and seen so far of this policy, I do not support the removal to Rwanda policy on the grounds of legality, practical and efficacy,' she said in Parliament. She asked Ms Patel: 'If it is the case that families will not be broken up... does she not believe, and where is her evidence, that this will not simply lead in an increase in the trafficking of women and children?' In response, the Home Secretary stressed the Rwanda plan 'is legal' but declined to comment on who or who wouldn't be eligible for removal from the UK. She said Mrs May 'would know very well that it's that type of criteria that is used by the smuggling gangs to then effectively exploit various loopholes'. A teenage magnet fisher and his father pulled a safe containing thousands of Australian dollars from a river in Lincolnshire - before returning the money to its rightful owner who had it stolen 22 years ago. George Tindale, 15, had been scouring the River Witham in Grantham, Lincolnshire, with his father Kevin, 52, when he made the incredible discovery three weeks ago. The father and son recovered the old safe and were left stunned when among the mud and slime was a pouch containing 2,500 Australian dollars (around 1,400). The safe had been stolen from businessman Rob Everett back in 2000 during a burglary at his office. Also inside was a shotgun certificate and bank cards which expired in 2004, giving George and Kev enough information to track down the rightful owner. After contacting Rob to explain the amazing find, the kind-hearted family visited him at his business in Grantham to return the stolen property on Saturday. The safe being fished from the river. George Tindale, 15, had been scouring the River Witham in Grantham, Lincolnshire, with his father Kevin, 52, when they found it The father and son were left stunned when among the mud and slime was a pouch containing 2,500 Australian dollars (around 1,400) The safe had been stolen from businessman Rob Everett back in 2000 during a burglary at his office. After contacting Rob to explain the amazing find, the kindhearted family visited him at his business in Grantham to return the stolen property on Saturday George, of Newark, Nottinghamshire, said: 'I mean it was amazing really. We pulled this safe out and it had all that money in. 'We counted it roughly on the bank and I think we totalled it about two and a half grand and we were just shocked. 'Rob was great. If I ever want work experience when I leave school, he said the offer is always open.' Rob said the safe was stolen from a previous office by a teenager, who was caught after Rob found a cap the burglar had left behind with their name stitched into it. Rob, who runs Winkworth and the Money Options Group, added: 'I remember at the time, they smashed into a cabinet to get to the safe. 'I was just upset that there was a nice pen on my desk, a Mont Blanc that was never recovered. 'I was just amazed that they'd been able to track me down. 'For me, I just felt there are some really nice and good people in this world. They could have kept the money, they could have said they attempted to get hold of me. 'They wanted to return the contents and the goods to the rightful owners and I think that says a lot about humanity. 'Some people are just wonderful. They've gone to all that trouble. I gave a small reward to George. 'What's good about it is that George is a good mathematician apparently, and I run a wealth management company now, and I've offered him work experience when he's ready to give him something back, give him some opportunity. 'I'd love him to work for us. He's only 15 but give him a bit more time and I'd be happy to give him an opportunity. Kev Tindale with the safe and its contents shortly after they had fished them out of the river Rob said the safe was stolen from a previous office by a teenager, who was caught after Rob found a cap the burglar had left behind with their name stitched into it George, of Newark, Nottinghamshire, said: 'I mean it was amazing really. We pulled this safe out and it had all that money in' 'There's a big lesson there. It teaches George that doing good and being honest and giving back is actually more rewarding than taking.' George regularly magnet fishes with dad Kevin and records his findings on his Youtube channel 'Magnetic G', attracting millions of views. Mother Denise said her son started magnet fishing three years ago and that although he started doing it in search of treasure, his work also highlights river pollution and the harm it can have on wildlife. She said: 'George is very environmentally conscious. He always has been since primary school. 'When he first started to do this, he was after treasure. Everything ends up in the rivers and canals.' Denise said she was grateful for Rob's offer of work experience and added: 'How nice is that? It's just a lovely story. 'It was absolutely the best feeling in the world. Robert was over the moon. 'It's ironic, because it was a 12/13 year old lad that stole from him and my son is 15. It was stolen by a teenager and a teenager has given it back 'We're doing a follow up video because we've got people hanging off the edges of their seats if you read through the comments.' After just six months after starting his hobby, George gained sponsorship from Online Magnets, one of the UK's leading suppliers. JP Morgan bankers have moaned they are being 'forced' back to the office as the firm tries to stamp out the work from home culture after the pandemic. Workers complained about having their ID card swipes monitored by bosses as they reportedly tried to track their attendance. Staff blasted them for putting the 'fear of God' into them and for whipping up an atmosphere of panic. Meanwhile Goldman Sachs was also said to be mulling over the idea in discussions at the weekly meetings of investment bank managers. The New York-based titan has grappled with how to coax employees in after some threatened to quit if they could not work from home. It comes as businesses across the US desperately try to get staff back to the office after two years of working from home during the pandemic. JP Morgan (pictured, its New York HQ) bankers have moaned they are being 'forced' back to the office as the firm tries to stamp out the work from home culture after the pandemic Meanwhile Goldman Sachs (pictured, its New York HQ) was also said to be mulling over the idea in discussions at the weekly meetings of investment bank managers Four sources told Business Insider JP Morgan workers were having their ID swipes checked to ensure they were going into the office. Some employees are reportedly on hybrid rotas where they only go in for three days a week. CEO Jamie Dimon is said to have recently told shareholders he wants half of the 270,000 workforce back in the office five days a week. He is reported to have said 40 per cent can remain on the hybrid system while just 10 per cent can stay home all the time. But staff are said to be livid with the changes and blasted bosses for micromanaging them. One London-based worker said: 'At JPMorgan, nobody trusts you. The higher-ups don't trust you to do your job if they're not constantly watching you in the office.' Another, more senior member, said even managers were not keen and had left them 'deathly afraid' of their teams not having 100 per cent attendance. They said: 'I don't know whether it's because they themselves are too timid or whether it's because the fear of God has been put into them by a bank manager.' They added: 'But every time there's something that requires participation, you sense the panic.' The two sources reportedly said they were looking to leave the company. Meanwhile Goldman Sachs has also reportedly been looking at ways to coax workers back in the office. Sources told DealBook bosses had talked about the idea for younger bankers at their weekly meetings. They were apparently mulling over scheduling in-office appointments so they had to attend in person. Last month junior Goldman Sachs bankers whose salaries start at $110,000 threatened to quit their jobs after the firm demanded they turn to the office five days a week. The bankers, who had complained of working 100-hour weeks, claimed they were being 'bullied' into working in the office for the five days by top managers. The investment bank demanded employees return to the office five days a week earlier this month, after CEO David Solomon (pictured) branded working from home an 'aberration' 'In Goldman Sachs, the top management says it's employees choice but internally they track which team has most in office attendance,' an employee wrote on the message board Blind, according to New York Post. 'It's f***ing bulls**t from top management saying they are people first,' they added. 'In our team meeting, manager showed us the excel where the MDs [managing directors] are tracking which department has not met in-office commitments.' Another Goldman Sachs employee wrote on Blind: 'Apparently they are tracking everyone's attendance and managers are getting lists of people who have low attendance so they can bully them into coming in.' The investment bank demanded employees return to the office five days a week earlier this month, after CEO David Solomon branded working from home an 'aberration'. 'It's an aberration that we're going to correct as quickly as possible,' Solomon said last year. 'The CEO has repeatedly argued that remote work 'is not ideal for us, and it's not a new normal.' Pictured: People wait in line to enter outside the Goldman Sachs headquarters building in New York City on Monday, June 14, 2021 Meanwhile this month Goldman Sachs scrapped Covid perks for New York City-based staff including a free car to and from work, as well as free lunches. The upcoming policy changes, made by CEO David Solomon, comes after the Wall Street giant put an end to two years of free lunches and breakfast at the office. Both were designed to incentivize workers to come work in-person amid COVID-19 and a surge in crime in New York. New York City Mayor Eric Adams stressed in February the need to get workers back to offices. Adams seemed to allege he was seeing many people going from work-from-home Monday to Friday, to going out on the weekends. 'You can't tell me you're afraid of Covid on a Monday and I see you in the club on Sunday,' Adams joked. The mayor previously told leaders of major companies in the city to prioritize getting workers back in the office to stimulate the city's economy. More tapes of Kevin McCarthy's private conversations with House Republicans after the January 6th insurrection have been released as controvesy continues to surround the GOP leader. In the latest batch of audio, which was played on CNN on Friday morning, McCarthy said what Trump did on the day of insurrection was 'unacceptable' and that no Republican should have to defend the then-president's actions. 'I know this is not fun. I know this is not great. I know this is very tough, but what I want to do, especially through here is, I don't want to rush things. Want everybody to have all the information needed. I've had it with this guy. What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it,' McCarthy said on a phone call with a small group of House Republicans on January 10th, 2021. The next day, in a call with the larger GOP House Conference, McCarthy said Trump 'bears responsiblities for his words and actions' on January 6th. He also said Trump told him that 'he does have some responsibility' for what happened. 'Let me be very clear to all of you, and I am very clear to the president. He bears responsibilities for his words and actions, no IFS, ands, or buts. I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needed to acknowledge that,' he said. More tapes of Kevin McCarthy's private conversations with House Republicans after the January 6th insurrection have been released In latest batch of audio, played on CNN, Kevin McCarthy said Donald Trump told him he bore some responsibility for what happened on Jan. 6th - above Trump at a rally outside the White House on the morning of Jan. 6th, before his supporters marched on Capitol It remains to be seen how much the tapes damage McCarthy's desire to be speaker if Republicans win control of the House in the midterm election, as they are favored to do. Much of McCarthy's fate is likely tied to Trump's reaction. Trump and McCarthy spoke on Thursday night after the first round of audio tapes came out, The Washington Post reported. Those tapes were released by authors Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, who dropped a bombshell in the New York Times on Thursday from their new book 'This Will Not Pass.' Their report revealed that, in the wake of the MAGA supporters storming the Capitol, McCarthy said Trump should resign as president. McCarthy denied saying it. The tapes, which were played on MSNBC, showed that he did. Trump was not upset about McCarthy's remarks on the tapes and was glad the Republican leader didn't follow through, which Trump saw as a sign of his continued grip on the Republican Party, sources told The Post of the two men's conversation. Their conversation was before the new audio was played on CNN on Friday morning in which McCarthy claimed Trump told him he bore some responsibility for the insurrection. Martin told CNN that McCarth's comments were 'going to be news to President Trump, wherever he is today.' The two authors have said they have more tapes in their possession. Trump has yet to make a public statement on the matter. But some Republicans close to him have publicly criticized McCarthy since the audio was released. Steve Bannon, a former Trump White House adviser, said on his podcast on Friday of the McCarthy audio: 'Right there you're hearing all the money, all the leadership in the Republican Party, how they plot, in probably Trump's weakest moment, when the whole world turned against him.' And Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who is very close to Trump, tweeted on Friday morning: 'While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney Kevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans While Liz Cheney was secretly recording Kevin McCarthy for the New York Times. @GOPLeader - you should have trusted my instincts, not your own,' he wrote. Cheney denied she leaked a tape of McCarthy's conversations. 'The select committee has asked Kevin McCarthy to speak with us about these events but he has so far declined. Representative Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how the reporters got it,' a spokesperson for her said. Martin and Burns were on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show on Thursday night to play tapes that backed up their reporting on McCarthy's comments. In the recording of a January 10 House Republican Leadership call, McCarthy is heard discussing the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office via an impeachment resolution. He said he would tell Trump, 'I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign.' Earlier Thursday, McCarthy tore into Martin and Burn's report. 'The New York Times' reporting on me is totally false and wrong,' the House Republican leader wrote in a statement tweeted out on Thursday with the caption 'My statement on the New York Times'. Rep. Liz Cheney denies she leaked audio of a call to New York Times reporters in which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says he'll pressure former President Donald Trump to resign in the aftermath of the January 6 Capitol attack THE RECEIPTS: On Thursday night's Rachel Maddow Show, the MSNBC host played a clip of a conversation between House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Liz Cheney. In it, McCarthy says what was reported in a forthcoming book by New York Times reporters, which he denied saying earlier Thursday 'It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda,' he continued. 'This promotional book tour is no different.' McCarthy lamented: 'If the reporters were interested in the truth why would they ask for comment after the book was printed?' Excerpts from Martin and Burns' book This Will Not Pass by Jonathan Martin claimed that McCarthy and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell both said they thought Trump was responsible for the January 6 riot. 'I've had it with this guy,' McCarthy told a group of Republican leaders, according to excerpts from the book detailed by the Times. He also expressed interest in pushing Trump to resign, but the leader's spokesman Mark Bednar denied this account, telling the Times: 'McCarthy never said he'd call Trump to say he should resign.' McCarthy says he never spoke with the authors before the book was printed. It's set to be published May 3. McConnell, the Senate GOP leader, turned his attention to the Democrat-led impeachment against the then-president, according to the book. 'The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a b***h for us,' McConnell said January 11, 2021 during a lunch in Kentucky with two longtime advisers in reference to the imminent impeachment vote in the House. A new book reveals that House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (left) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell both said days after the Capitol riot that they believe Donald Trump (right) was responsible for inciting the attack McCarthy said, according to the book, that he would push Trump to resign while McConnell (left) said of the impeachment proceedings: 'The Democrats are going to take care of the son of a b***h for us' McCarthy released a statement (pictured above) vehemently denying the claims made in the book as 'totally false and wrong' and insisting 'our country was better off when President Trump in the White House' Despite the report, McCarthy said in his statement Thursday that Trump was good for America. 'The past year and a half have proven that our country was better off when President Trump was in the White House' he wrote, 'and rather than address the real issues facing Americans, the corporate media is more concerned with profiting from manufactured political intrigue from politically-motivated sources.' 'Our country has suffered enough under failed one-party Democrat rule and no amount of media ignorance and bias will stop Americans from delivering a clear message this fall that it is time for change.' The two top Republican leaders in Congress, mainly McCarthy, have publicly voiced support for Trump following the attack last January as is further evident by the statement following the report indicating he spoke out against the former president. Within weeks of the January 6 riot, both Republicans backed off an all-out fight with Trump, fearing retribution from him and his supporters. 'I didn't get to be leader by voting with five people in the conference,' McConnell told a friend when seeing there was not widespread support for Trump's impeachment among Republicans. The upcoming book draws on hundreds of interviews with lawmakers and officials and aims to recount the 2020 election and the first year of the Biden presidency while exposing the deep fissures within both parties ahead of the 2022 midterms. Upcoming book This Will Not Pass from two New York Times journalists recounts the 2020 election and first year of Biden's presidency while exposing deep fissures within both parties ahead of the 2022 midterm elections Along with some public rebuke, but mostly a realignment with Trump, McCarthy told his GOP leadership team four days after the January 6 attack that he would speak with the president about the impeachment resolution. He said that while it was very unlikely Trump would follow his recommendations, he would tell him: 'I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign.' Following the January 6 riot, Democrats moved swiftly to impeach the president for the second time claiming his words and actions incited his supporters to descend on the Capitol. The House passed the article of impeachment on January 13, 2021. The vote was 232197, which included all 222 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Four Republicans did not vote at all and the remaining 197 Republicans voted against impeachment. The Senate voted to acquit Trump on the impeachment charges. Later, McConnell tanked an effort to create a 9/11-style commission to probe the Capitol attack, so House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formed a House select committee to do the job. Rep. Adam Kinzinger had a field day with the revelation that House Minority Leader McCarthy made comments in a private call saying he would push former President Donald Trump to resign In Thursday night tweets, Rep. Adam Kinzinger noted that a friend told him after the McCarthy tape leaked: 'But everyone agreed with you on Jan 7, 2021, then just debased themselves.' 'Yep,' the congressman offered The nine-member panel includes just two Republicans - Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who both voted to impeach Trump. On Thursday night, Kinzinger had a field day with the revelation that McCarthy said he'd push Trump to resign on a private call. 'From a friend 'But everyone agreed with you on Jan 7, 2021, then just debased themselves.' Yep,' the Illinois Republican tweeted late Thursday night, after the clip of Maddow aired. Kinzinger also pressed Republicans to be 'done' with the party's current leadership. 'Wow. McCarthy literally today said this was a lie and just a few hours later the tape with his voice from his mouth proves THAT was a lie. Incredible. @GOPLeader ought to be ashamed,' Kinzinger wrote. 'Republicans, your leaders think you are dumb. Let's be done with them.' The Prime Minister's father, Stanley Johnson, has again been caught up in a feud with Nigel Farage over his links to Beijing. Mr Johnson this week revealed on his Instagram account he had hosted China's ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, and the diplomat's wife, Hua Mei, for lunch at his London home. He said he was 'delighted to entertain' the Chinese couple and his other guests. But the social media picture shared by Mr Johnson of himself and his guests prompted Mr Farage, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader, to question the closeness of the Johnson family and China's regime. He posted on Twitter: 'Even in these times it is good to see the Johnson family are still in bed with the Chinese Communist Party.' It is not the first time that Mr Farage, now a presenter on GB News, and Mr Johnson have clashed over his ties to Beijing. Stanley Johnson said he was 'delighted to entertain' the Chinese couple and his other guests. He shared a photo of himself with China's ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang (far left), and the diplomat's wife, Hua Mei (left of Mr Johnson) Nigel Farage, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader, questioned the closeness of the Johnson family and China's regime In November last year, after the PM's father posted a photo on his Instagram page of a meeting at the Chinese Embassy, Mr Farage asked: 'Why is the PMs father at the Chinese Embassy yet again?' He has also previously questioned whether Mr Johnson 'financially benefits' from China - a suggestion the PM's father has branded wrong and 'totally unforgivable'. Commenting on his embassy visit in November, Mr Johnson at the time revealed he had been seeking permission from the Chinese to complete an expedition he started 60 years ago to travel in the footsteps of Venetian adventurer and merchant Marco Polo. Months earlier, Mr Johnson used a newspaper interview to describe how he has 'what the French would call a prejuge favorable towards China'. The 81-year-old told The Sunday Times it was 'vital' to speak face-to-face with China in the lead-up to the COP-26 summit. But he also acknowledged there were issues with China's human rights record, adding: 'I know theres problems as far as Uighurs are concerned. Its right to draw attention to that.' The PM has previously described himself as 'fervently Sinophile', although many of his Conservative MPs are openly critical of China's regime and want to loosen ties with Beijing. Health Secretary Sajid Javid today confirmed plans to ban the NHS in England from using goods and services linked to slavery and human trafficking. This would prevent the NHS buying equipment worth billions from parts of China where it is claimed forced labour is used in supply chains. Two fraudsters behind a multimillion-pound pension scam which saw almost 250 people duped out of their life savings have been jailed. Susan Dalton, 66, and Alan Barratt, 62, helped con 245 victims out of a total of 13.7 million between 2012 and 2014. Today, they were sentenced to four years and eight months and five years and seven months respectively at Southwark Crown Court on Friday. The scam's 'mastermind' David Austin killed himself in 2019 after being invited for a police interview under caution, the court was told. The average amount each person lost was 55,000, but some lost many times more. The victims of the scam have told how it 'ruined' their lives and left them 'panicky'. Pauline Padden, 58, who lost 45,000, said the experience had 'brought a lot of negativity and insecurity and anxiety' into her life. Father-of-four Stephen O'Reilly said his dream of spending his retirement in Spain and leaving money for his children were dashed after being sucked into the scam around 2013. Passing sentence, Judge Gregory Perrins said the pair caused 'such misery to so many people', with victims suffering mental health problems and some even attempting suicide. 'Each account that I have read is a story of a life ruined by your actions and you should both be ashamed,' he said. Susan Dalton, 66, and Alan Barratt, 62, helped con 245 victims out of a total of 13.7 million between 2012 and 2014. During the scam, Dalton was a trustee for four fraudulent occupational pension schemes and duped 103 victims out of just over 5.9 million, taking around 126,000 for herself, the court heard Barratt was a trustee for six schemes and sucked in 139 victims and over 7.7 million of their savings, personally profiting by around 343,000, the judge was told The court was told Dalton and Barratt, who were based in Spain, enticed savers with the promise of unrealistic returns, cash bonuses, and John Lewis vouchers before getting them to transfer their pensions from legitimate schemes to fraudulent ones. The judge was told the cash bonuses, which victims were led to believe were part of a commission payment from the new schemes, were actually taken from their savings. The pair were said to have passed the lion's share of the money to Austin, who used it for his own personal benefit, to fund his businesses, pay others involved in the operation and enrich himself and family members. During the scam, Dalton was a trustee for four fraudulent occupational pension schemes and duped 103 victims out of just over 5.9 million, taking around 126,000 for herself, the court heard. Meanwhile, Barratt was a trustee for six schemes and sucked in 139 victims and over 7.7 million of their savings, personally profiting by around 343,000, the judge was told. Victims of pension fraud say it 'ruined' their lives Pauline Padden, 58, who lost 45,000, said the experience had 'brought a lot of negativity and insecurity and anxiety' into her life. The mother-of-three, who has worked as a critical care nurse in the NHS since she was 18, fell victim to the scam after receiving a text promising higher returns on her pension and bonuses for transferring her current pension funds. As she was spending much of her time caring for her dying mother in 2013, she was unable to make a steady income and was drawn in by the promise of extra cash. Fraud victim Pauline Padden, 58 She said: 'I'm 58 and I've got no thought at all about retiring and all around me; friends, family, colleagues, they're all talking about their retirement and what they're going to do, and I can't do any of that because that's been taken from me. 'Whoever did this had every intention of taking it off hard-working people basically. And they have just robbed my retirement from me, it's gone now. 'I do worry about it a lot, my family are concerned about because they know I worry about it. 'I don't trust very well because obviously I was scammed in this way so it's brought a lot of issues into my life that I didn't have before, which I didn't think I would have going into my old age.' Ms Padden found out she had been scammed about six months later when she received a call from a trustee of the Pensions Regulator, which regulates work-based pension schemes in the UK, telling her it was a fraud. She added: 'When I think about it I do get a bit panicky because I think, 'what am I going to do?' and there's absolutely nothing I can do, absolutely nothing, and I'm just left in this helpless position now.' Father-of-four Stephen O'Reilly said his dream of spending his retirement in Spain and leaving money for his children were dashed after being sucked into the scam around 2013. The 61-year-old former miner from Doncaster now lives on the Isle of Wight and works in a bookmaker to support himself. Father-of-four Stephen O'Reilly Mr O'Reilly transferred 114,000 to the scammers after being told he was getting a bad deal on his current pension by someone he thought was an independent Government pension adviser. He said he had requested a review and was referred by the fake adviser to speak to Dalton on the phone, who persuaded him to hand over his savings. It was not until he came to claim his pension that he found out it was a scam. Mr O'Reilly was told he was due a lump sum and had ordered a car which he was left desperately trying to find the money for, having to borrow from his mother to pay for it. He said: 'If I could get my hands on them, you'd see. They've ruined my life. 'Now I'm just depressed all the time because I know I'm going to have to work the rest of my life because there's no money there. 'I was going to move to Spain but I can't now because I haven't got any money to move in the first place, and I would have to get a job and have enough money to fund myself while I'm finding a job. It's totally ruined my life.' Mr O'Reilly, who worked in the mines for 14 years, added: 'I averaged probably 80 hours a week and I was putting a lot more money into my pension than anybody else that was there and now it's all gone.' Advertisement Mother-of-three Ms Padden, who has worked as a critical care nurse in the NHS since she was 18, fell victim to the scam after receiving a text promising higher returns on her pension and bonuses for transferring her current pension funds. As she was spending much of her time caring for her dying mother in 2013, she was unable to make a steady income and was drawn in by the promise of extra cash. She said: 'I'm 58 and I've got no thought at all about retiring and all around me; friends, family, colleagues, they're all talking about their retirement and what they're going to do, and I can't do any of that because that's been taken from me. 'Whoever did this had every intention of taking it off hard-working people basically. And they have just robbed my retirement from me, it's gone now. 'I do worry about it a lot, my family are concerned about because they know I worry about it. 'I don't trust very well because obviously I was scammed in this way so it's brought a lot of issues into my life that I didn't have before, which I didn't think I would have going into my old age.' Ms Padden found out she had been scammed about six months later when she received a call from a trustee of the Pensions Regulator, which regulates work-based pension schemes in the UK, telling her it was a fraud. She added: 'When I think about it I do get a bit panicky because I think, 'what am I going to do?' and there's absolutely nothing I can do, absolutely nothing, and I'm just left in this helpless position now.' Father-of-four Mr O'Reilly said his dream of spending his retirement in Spain and leaving money for his children were dashed after being sucked into the scam around 2013. The 61-year-old former miner from Doncaster now lives on the Isle of Wight and works in a bookmaker to support himself. Mr O'Reilly transferred 114,000 to the scammers after being told he was getting a bad deal on his current pension by someone he thought was an independent Government pension adviser. He said he had requested a review and was referred by the fake adviser to speak to Dalton on the phone, who persuaded him to hand over his savings. It was not until he came to claim his pension that he found out it was a scam. Mr O'Reilly was told he was due a lump sum and had ordered a car which he was left desperately trying to find the money for, having to borrow from his mother to pay for it. He said: 'If I could get my hands on them, you'd see. They've ruined my life. 'Now I'm just depressed all the time because I know I'm going to have to work the rest of my life because there's no money there. 'I was going to move to Spain but I can't now because I haven't got any money to move in the first place, and I would have to get a job and have enough money to fund myself while I'm finding a job. It's totally ruined my life.' Mr O'Reilly, who worked in the mines for 14 years, added: 'I averaged probably 80 hours a week and I was putting a lot more money into my pension than anybody else that was there and now it's all gone.' A civil trial brought by The Pensions Regulator against Austin, Barratt, Dalton and others took place at the High Court in 2018, after which the trio were ordered to repay millions in ill-gotten gains. However, the funds, most of which were transferred to offshore accounts, have never been recovered, the court was told. The judge heard Kent firefighter Glenn Perkins, who transferred 146,000 to the scammers in 2013, felt 'worthless and useless' and now struggles with mental health problems. Another man, referred to as Mr Holloway, handed over 300,000 and has been left 'devastated'. The judge was told Dalton and Barratt 'deceived' banks in Britain into believing they were in the UK in order to open accounts. A solicitor was also instructed to send disgruntled victims comfort letters and threaten legal action, the court was told. The scam included the creation of shell companies set up to pose as named employers for the fraudulent occupational pension schemes, while Barratt and Dalton were named as directors, the judge heard. Barratt, of Althorne, Essex, and Dalton, of Rochdale, Lancashire, admitted one count each of fraud by abuse of position. However, speaking on behalf of Barratt, Senghin Kong said the defendant had been kept in the dark about many aspects of the scheme and was 'a tool to be used' by Austin. 'Mr Barratt had only a limited awareness and understanding to everything that Mr Austin was doing. Plainly, he was chosen by Mr Austin because he was unsophisticated,' he told the court, adding Barratt was 'profoundly sorry'. George Payne, representing Dalton, told the court that while she had acted improperly as a trustee, she believed the pensions schemes were legitimate and even convinced her own brother to invest 250,000. In a statement read to the court, she said she felt 'huge remorse' for her role in the scam, adding: 'I want to sincerely apologise to all those who have been affected, including my own brother.' In addition to their jail terms, both have been banned from being directors of companies for eight years. A confiscation hearing, to recover what might remain of the profits of the scam, is set to take place in November. South Korea has asked North Korea to provide an explanation over a fire outbreak at the now-shuttered Kaseong industrial complex but has received no response yet, the unification ministry said Friday. On Thursday, the ministry said a fire was detected at around 2 p.m. at a factory in the industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong, which was shut down in 2016 in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests. "Following the opening call via the inter-liaison office at 9 a.m. today, our government made a verbal inquiry to North Korea asking for the confirmation of the fire, as well as its cause and size," Cha Deok-cheol, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "We are currently waiting for North Korea's reply." If any damage to South Korean property is confirmed, the government will review the "necessary measures," including holding consultations with the North, he added. (Yonhap) Former President Trump again tossed around the idea that he will run for the presidency in 2024 Thursday, as he said he'd rather be a 'dictator' than a 'dumb person and bragged about 'acing' the aptitude test. 'First they said not too smart,' Trump said, talking about how Democrats and the media described him. 'But then, they made me a dictator instead. Which would you rather be, a dumb person or a dictator? Perhaps a dictator would be better. I don't want to be a dumb person.' The former president was delivering an address at the Heritage Foundation retreat at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida. He bemoaned that no one calls for invoking the 25th Amendment against President Biden the way they did him after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 'They don't think about it out now - the 25th amendment,' he told the crowd. 'They would mention it anytime I had a great idea, the 25th amendment, there's something wrong with him. That's why I took the aptitude test and I aced it according to Doc Ronny,' referring to White House physician-turned Congressman Ronny Jackson. Trump added: That's a test that even some geniuses in that room will not do that well on. I will tell ya, it's not that easy a test.' Trump took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, an exam that tests for dementia. Invoking the 25th Amendment would entail the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet offering a written declaration that the president is unable to discharge the duties and powers of his office, thereby transferring power to the VP. The former president delivered an address at the Heritage Foundation retreat at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida. 'I ran twice, I won twice, and we might have to do it again,' Trump remarked The former president said that China and Iran 'no longer respect us' and that Russia 'showed how weak' U.S. leaders are with its invasion of Ukraine. But still, Trump said, 'The greatest danger to our country is the destruction of our nation from within.' 'The path back to American unity is not to surrender the culture wars, the path back to national unity is to decisively win the culture wars,' he added. 'So when we go back in, we can do it the right way and do what has to be done. Nobody can really criticize us very badly,' Trump said, promising to throw 'socialism' and 'wokeism' to 'the ash heap of history.' 'I ran twice, I won twice, and we might have to do it again,' Trump remarked. The former president then revealed that he threatened not to defend North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies against Russia if they didn't pay up to their spending targets in 2018. Trump remarked that a world leader 'said, 'Does that mean that you won't protect us in case if we don't pay, you won't protect us from Russia' was the Soviet Union, but now Russia,' Trump said. 'I said, 'That's exactly what it means.'' Trump implied that he made the bold threat as a negotiating tactic. 'Now if I said, "No, I don't mean that," then why would they pay? So somebody had to say it.' The former president then added that he was 'amazed' the conversation had not leaked during his presidency. NATO's guidelines say that each nation should pay 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense by 2024. The remarks come as NATO could potentially expand again in light of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Finland and Sweden have signaled they will look to join the alliance. Advertisement Britain has recorded fewer than 20,000 daily Covid cases for the second day in a row, with the latest wave still firmly in retreat. UK Health Security Agency bosses logged another 19,795 positive tests over the last 24 hours. And another 284 Covid fatalities were registered today. The figures cannot be compared to last week because no daily tallies were shared over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. However, the seven-day rolling average of infections has fallen by a tenth, while deaths have increased by a fifth. Experts say the daily infection count is now 'completely irrelevant' because free tests have been scrapped for the vast majority of people. It comes as separate data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests 38.5million people got infected at some point between April 27, 2020, and February 11, 2022 around seven in 10. It is the first time an official figure has been put on the overall incidence of Covid, following fierce debate throughout the pandemic. And other figures released by the statisticians today show 3.2million people in England were infected in the week ending April 16. The surveillance study, which is based on swabs of 120,000 people and considered the best way of measuring the outbreak, is down roughly 15 per cent in a week, suggesting the country's outbreak is still shrinking. It reported that infections were falling in all age groups and across all regions of England. The Office for National Statistics estimates that 38.5million people in England had been infected between April 2020 and February 2022, the equivalent of 70.7 per cent Separate Government data suggests just three in 10 people across the UK have had Covid. But this figure is based on the number of people who have tested positive and reported their confirmed infection to the Government website, as opposed to the ONS survey which swabs a random sample of Britons to estimate UK-wide infection rates. The UK Health Security Agency data shows 30.9 per cent of people in England had tested positive for the virus by Wednesday. Meanwhile, 32.8 per cent of individuals in Scotland and 34.9 per cent of those in Northern Ireland have logged a positive result. The data is not available for Wales Estimates for the rest of the UK are much less reliable because the ONS only started collecting the data in summer in Wales and Northern Ireland, and even later in Scotland England's Covid outbreak is continuing to fall, ONS data shows Covid cases in England continued to fall last week, with one in 17 people infected, according to the country's surveillance study. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) weekly infection survey suggests 3.2million people in England were infected in the week to April 16. The figure is 14.7 per cent lower than one week earlier and a fifth less than the latest peak. The ONS' weekly report is the most reliable indicator of the current Covid situation now free tests have been axed for the vast majority of Britons. It swabs a random sample of around 100,000 people and does not rely on people coming forward with symptoms, which can skew the results. The ONS estimated 3,218,700 were infected in England last week equating to one in 17 people or 5.9 per cent of the population. And rates were down across the other UK nations, with 281,400 (5.4 per cent) infected in Scotland, 198,400 (6.5 per cent) carrying the virus in Wales and 65,300 (3.6 per cent) Covid-positive in Northern Irelands. Within England, infection rates fell in all parts of the country except from the North East, where the trend was uncertain. And the statisticians believe cases are falling among people of all ages in the country. Advertisement UKHSA data shows that 15,832 people in England tested positive for Covid, while Scotland logged 3,093 positive swabs, Wales detected 163 cases and Northern Ireland logged 707 infections. The 19,795 total is the second day in a row that infections have fallen below 20,000. The 19,482 infections logged yesterday was the lowest daily figure recorded since June 27, when 14,876 official cases were recorded. But the metric has become much less reliable now that free tests have been scrapped for the majority of Brits. Vaccination data shows 92.3 per cent of Britons aged 12 and over have had at least one jab, while 86.4 per cent are double-jabbed and 68 per cent are boosted. Margaret Keenan, the first person in the world to receive an approved Covid jab, today became one of the 2million people who have so far had a spring booster. It comes as the ONS estimated seven in 10 people in England have had Covid in the first two years of the pandemic. The estimate is based on results from more than 500,000 adults and children across the UK over the last two years, who were randomly chosen and regularly PCR tested. The ONS report also estimates 1.7million people in Wales have had Covid, or 56 per cent of the population, based on results between June 30, 2020, and February 11, 2022. In Northern Ireland, the number was 1.3million, which is 72.2 per cent of the entire country, based on tests from July 27, 2020 and February 11, 2022. The estimate for Scotland 2.7million, or 51.5 per cent is the least reliable because data only started to be collected on September 22, 2020. Estimates for these countries are much less reliable than the England figure because the ONS only started collecting the data in summer in Wales and Northern Ireland, and even later in Scotland. Participants were aged two years and over, lived in private households and were regularly tested during the duration of their time in the study. The ONS said the figures for each UK country are not directly comparable with each other because they refer to different time periods. Mr Cook, deputy director of the agency's weekly Covid Infection Survey, said: 'Today's release is a valuable piece of the puzzle for understanding the impact of the pandemic across the UK. 'This analysis would not be possible without the continued participation of the more than half a million people who've taken part over the past two years. 'We will continue to work closely with our academic partners to increase our understanding of COVID-19 and its impact on society.' Working out the true prevalence of Covid has been challenging for academics because testing was patchy at the start of the pandemic and reinfections have become increasingly common. A separate team tracking the outbreak at Cambridge University estimated that 51.8 per cent of people in England had been infected with Covid by February. Government dashboard data, which purely relies on people coming forward for testing as opposed to random sampling, would indicate only three in 10 people across the UK have had Covid. But even the ONS' higher percentage for England is likely to be an underestimate because of the huge number of infections missed out of its analysis. It does not include the crucial months in February and March of 2020 when the first wave took off and prompted the first national lockdown. Scientists were estimating then that up to 100,000 people were catching the disease per day at the peak of the first outbreak but the true prevalence of the virus remains unknown due to a lack of testing at the time. The analysis also does not include March and most of April this year, when millions of people were thought to be catching the virus each week. The ONS statisticians estimated 3.2million people were infected in the week to April 16. The figure, based on swabs of 120,000 people, is down 14.7 per cent in a week, suggesting the outbreak is still shrinking The ONS estimated 3,218,700 were infected in England last week equating to one in 17 people or 5.9 per cent of the population. And rates were down across the other UK nations, with 281,400 (5.4 per cent) infected in Scotland, 198,400 (6.5 per cent) carrying the virus in Wales and 65,300 (3.6 per cent) Covid-positive in Northern Ireland Within England, infection rates fell in all parts of the country except from the North East, where the trend was uncertain. The ONS estimated 7 per cent of people in the North East were infected, followed by Yorkshire and The Humber (6.8 per cent), East Midlands (6.6 per cent) and West Midlands (6.3 per cent). Covid cases were lower than the national average in the South West (5.7 per cent), South East (5.7 per cent), East (5.6 per cent), North West (5.4 per cent) and London (5.3 per cent) And the statisticians believe cases are falling among people of all ages in England. The highest case rate was among the over 70s (6.6 per cent), followed by 50 to 69-year-olds (6.2 per cent), 25 to 34-year-olds (6 per cent), 35 to 49-year-olds (5.7 per cent). The lowest rates were among two to 11-year-olds (4.7 per cent), 16 to 24-year-olds (4.4 per cent) and 12 to 15-year-olds (2.8 per cent) Brit battled Covid for a record 505 days before dying in the longest known case of infection, scientists reveal A Covid patient battled the same infection for nearly 18 months, in what is believed to be the world's longest known continuous case. Scientists say the unidentified British patient who eventually died was severely immunocompromised. Medics did not reveal what condition the patient had, how old they were, or whether they were vaccinated. But they studied nine different patients with weakened immune systems because of organ transplants, HIV and cancer. Researchers from Kings College London and Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation uncovered the cases. Four patients died, and two needed antibody therapies and antivirals to shake off the infection. Two eventually recovered without treatment. The ninth patient is infected with the same bout of Covid they caught 412 days ago. If they fail to clear the virus by their the next follow-up, they will eclipse the 505-day record set by the other patient. In total, the nine patients had battled Covid for an average of 72 days before either recovering, dying, or the study ending. Advertisement The UK Health Security Agency data displayed on the Government Covid dashboard data shows 30.9 per cent of people in England had tested positive for the virus by Wednesday. But this figure is based on the number of people who have tested positive and reported their confirmed infection to the Government website, as opposed to the ONS survey which swabs a random sample of Britons to estimate UK-wide infection rates. Meanwhile, 32.8 per cent of individuals in Scotland and 34.9 per cent of those in Northern Ireland have logged a positive result. The data is not available for Wales. Across the UK, Derry City and Strabane in Northern Ireland had the highest rate of confirmed cases, with 38 per cent of logging their infection. North Lanarkshire (37.7 per cent), South Lanarkshire (37.3 per cent), Renfrewshire (37.2 per cent) and West Dunbartonshire (37.2 per cent) had the next highest rates of confirmed coronavirus tests. At the other end of the scale, people in North Norfolk (21.5 per cent), the Orkney Islands (22.4 per cent), Westminster (24 per cent) and Ryedale (24.1 per cent) reported the least Covid cases. It comes as the ONS weekly infection survey today suggested 3.2million people in England were infected with Covid in the week to April 16. The figure is 14.7 per cent lower than one week earlier and a fifth less than the latest peak at the start of the month. The ONS' weekly report is the most reliable indicator of the current Covid situation now free tests have been axed for the vast majority of Britons. It swabs a random sample of around 100,000 people and does not rely on people coming forward with symptoms, which can skew the results. The ONS estimated 3,218,700 were infected in England last week equating to one in 17 people or 5.9 per cent of the population. And rates were down across the other UK nations, with 281,400 (5.4 per cent) infected in Scotland, 198,400 (6.5 per cent) carrying the virus in Wales and 65,300 (3.6 per cent) Covid-positive in Northern Ireland. Within England, infection rates fell in all parts of the country except from the North East, where the trend was uncertain. The ONS estimated 7 per cent of people in the North East were infected, followed by Yorkshire and The Humber (6.8 per cent), East Midlands (6.6 per cent) and West Midlands (6.3 per cent). Covid cases were lower than the national average in the South West (5.7 per cent), South East (5.7 per cent), East (5.6 per cent), North West (5.4 per cent) and London (5.3 per cent). And the statisticians believe cases are falling among people of all ages in England. The highest case rate was among the over 70s (6.6 per cent), followed by 50 to 69-year-olds (6.2 per cent), 25 to 34-year-olds (6 per cent) and 35 to 49-year-olds (5.7 per cent). The lowest rates were among two to 11-year-olds (4.7 per cent), 16 to 24-year-olds (4.4 per cent) and 12 to 15-year-olds (2.8 per cent). A Florida Proud Boys member is accused of pepper spraying a police officer during the Capitol riot, and then threatening an FBI agent who was investigating his role in the January 6 attack. Barry Bennett Ramey, 38, is also accused in Department of Justice documents of being a member of the South Florida branch of the Proud Boys. Ramey was taken into custody on April 21 in Plantation, Florida - exactly one year after the FBI's Washington field office first put out his photo seeking information in relation to the riot. According the criminal affidavit in the case, Ramey is accused of spraying a substance 'consistent with pepper spray' in the direction of an officer at a stairway between the Lower West and Upper West terraces of the Capitol at 1:48 p.m. on January 6. During the January 6 riot, Ramey can be seen on various videos that were posted on the social media site Parler. Ramey is wearing a black coat, a black hat with an American flag, a black gaiter mask with an American flag, he is clean shaven. When he removes his hat, Ramey can be seen with a buzz cut style haircut Ramey was found to have left a review on Google for the hotel he stayed in the D.C.-area in January 2021. The hotel's manager was interviewed as part of the investigation After spraying one officer, Ramey then sprayed the same substance at another officer. 'Both officers reported that the spray caused them to become disoriented and have their vision impaired,' the Department of Justice said in a press release. During the the investigation, the FBI agent leading the case gave his business card to an acquaintance of Ramey's. The agent testified in documents that he received a phone call from Ramey. In the call, Ramey said, 'Is this Mr. Nougaret? And you still live at [your affiants home address].' The affiant is the special agent leading in the investigation. The documents state that a phone linked to Ramey was used in the vicinity of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. In addition, the FBI investigation found that Ramey left a review on Google for the Hilton Arlington hotel in January 2021. The hotel is located seven miles from the U.S. Capitol. Subsequently, the agent investigating Ramey received a text message that included the agent's former license place number. When the agent replied asking who was sending the message, the response read, 'Check that VIN number. ;)' The phone number in the text exchange belonged to a burner phone company. Ramey's name appeared on a master list of Proud Boys members in southern Florida, documents state. He joins a list current and former members who are charged with involvement in the events of January 6. Ramey is one of the two dozen or so Proud Boys who have been accused of participating in the January 6 riot. Despite not being their physically, the group's former leader Enrique Tarrio faces 20 years in prison for his alleged organizational role in the anarchy The group's former leader, Enrique Tarrio, 38, a resident of southern Florida, is facing charges relating to the organization of the January 6 riot. If found guilty on conspiracy and obstruction charges, Tarrio could face up to 20 years in prison. Tarrio was already facing charges when the Capitol riot took place after he was arrested on January 4 on weapons charges. After being sentenced to six months in that case, Tarrio was rearrested in March 2022 due to his alleged part in the riot. With regard to January 6, Tarrio is accused of conspiring to 'corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College vote.' Tarrio is accused of being a member of a special chapter in the Proud Boys known as the Ministry for Self Defense. While no longer the leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, above, is accused of being in control of a chapter within the group known as the Ministry of Self Defense Around 24 members of the Proud Boys have been indicted for their alleged roles in the Capitol riot. The group has described themselves as 'Western Chauvinists' while in Canada they have been classified as a 'terrorist entity.' Another group with ties to the riot, the Oath Keepers, have seen dozens of members of their organization arrested in relation to the investigation. The Oath Keepers are described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as 'one of the largest far-right antigovernment groups in the U.S. today.' One member of that group, Joshua James, is accused of providing security to Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone on January 6, 2021. In January 2022, 11 members of the Oath Keepers were indicted for seditious conspiracy. Ramey, circled above, is accused of harassing an investigating the FBI agent leading the investigation in a phone call and text message exchange Ramey's arrest came exactly one year after the FBI's Washington office put out his image seeking the public's help in identifying him Ramey is facing charges of assault on federal law enforcement officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon, obstructing law enforcement, entering or remaining on restricted grounds with intent to impede, knowingly engaging in a act of physical violence while using or carrying a deadly or dangerous weapon and an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds. On the same day that Ramey was due to appear in court, two other men, military veteran James Mault and Cody Mattice, pleaded guilty to pepper spraying police officers, reports WUSA. In a press release announcing Ramey's charges, the DOJ said, 'nearly 800 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.' The husband of disgraced California 'supermom' Sherri Papini has filed for divorce two days after she pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud. Papini, 39, admitted to faking her own 2016 kidnapping during a zoom hearing on Monday and conceded that she had not been taken by two Hispanic women but had spent the time away at the apartment of ex-boyfriend James Reyes in Costa Mesa. She maintained the deception for years after her return, with husband Keith, 36, only realizing she had lied when Papini was confronted at her home by FBI investigators. Court papers seen by DailyMail.com show he filed to end their marriage on Wednesday and applied to speed up the divorce process in a second filing made yesterday. Although Papini's parents and sister supported her at her recent court appearances, Keith was nowhere to be seen. In the criminal complaint filed last month, Keith was described as Papini's 'then husband'. The couple married in 2009 and share two children, Tyler, 8, and Violet, 10. Sherri Papini of Redding leaves the federal courthouse accompanied by her attorney, William Portanova, right, in Sacramento, Calif., on April 13. On Monday, Papini pleaded guilty Sherri's husband Keith - with whom she shares children Tyler, 8, and Violet, 10 - filed for divorce on Wednesday - two days after she pleaded guilty Court papers seen by DailyMail.com show Keith (pictured in 2017) filed to end their marriage on Wednesday and applied to speed up the divorce process in a second filing made Thursday Papini sobbed in court Monday as she admitted faking her own abduction six years ago. The Redding, California mom offered no explanation for her elaborate hoax during the half-hour court hearing. She answered only 'Yes, Your Honor,' and 'No, Your Honor' in a trembling voice as Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb outlined the charges and evidence against her. 'I feel very sad,' she said tearfully when Shubb asked her how she was feeling. The mother of two who claimed she was kidnapped in 2016 before suddenly reappearing three weeks later almost 200 miles away from where she was last seen, claimed she was held captive for 22 days by two Hispanic women during that time. Papini's antics were eerily similar to those of the main character in Gillian Flynn's smash-hit thriller novel Gone Girl, which was later turned into a thriller starring Rosamund Pike as a vanishing wife. Police say she was instead with her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes, who she tricked into harboring her by claiming she wanted to escape her abusive husband. She had been charged with lying to federal investigators and fraudulently obtaining $30,000 from the state's victim compensation board. In a deal with prosecutors reached last week, Papini agreed to plead guilty. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence on the low end of the sentencing range, estimated to be between eight and 14 months in custody, down from the maximum 25 years for the two charges. She is scheduled to be sentenced July 11. Papini also agreed to pay restitution topping $300,000. That includes the cost of the search for her that covered several Western states, and the subsequent investigation into the 'two Hispanic women' she said had kidnapped her at gunpoint. Court docket shows Keith Papini filed for divorce on April 20 In a statement issued through her attorney, Papini apologized for the pain she caused her family and friends. 'I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so very sorry for the pain I've caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me. 'I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done,' Papini said in the statement, as reported by ABC10. 'I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.' Papini had told a wild tale of having been abducted and held captive by two gun-wielding Hispanic women, but no arrests were ever made in a seemingly motiveless crime that baffled investigating officers. Despite her detailed account of the abduction to authorities, skepticism had long surrounded the claims. The married Papini was finally arrested last month following the six-year investigation once it came to light that she had actually spent the time she claimed to have been kidnapped at the residence of an ex-boyfriend. After her arrest she struck a plea deal with prosecutors in which she agreed to plead guilty to two counts of mail fraud and lying to a law enforcement officer - charges that carry maximum sentences of 20 years and five years, respectively. Papini appeared before Chief Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman last week for an arraignment on charges of one count of making false statements and one count of mail fraud Sherri Papini is seen after she was released from Sacramento County Main Jail in March When Papini was found, she had bindings on her body and self-inflicted injuries including a swollen nose and blurred 'brand' on her right shoulder. She had other bruises and rashes on many parts of her body, ligature marks on her wrists and ankles, and burns on her left forearm. She had told cops that the two Hispanic women had branded her on one shoulder, had cut her long blonde hair short and had broken her nose. 'She appeared to have lost a considerable amount of weight. She had been branded on her right shoulder, although the exact content of the brand was indistinguishable. 'Papini's nose was swollen, she had bruises on her face, rashes on her left arm and left upper inner thigh as well as other parts of her body, ligature marks on her wrists and ankles, burns on her left forearm, and bruising on her pelvis and the fronts of both legs.' The married mother of two kept lying about it as recently as August 2020 when in fact there was no kidnapping, she admitted in her guilty plea. Papini has offered no rationale for why she did it. Her attorney, William Portanova, said last week that he doubts even she knows. He suggested 'a very complicated mental health situation,' and said her long-delayed acceptance of responsibility and punishment is part of the healing process. A 'missing' sign for Sherri Papini, near the location where she was believed to have gone missing. Papini, whose disappearance and mysterious reappearance set off a frantic three-week search more than six years earlier has admitted it was a hoax Sherri Papini with her husband Keith on their wedding day. The 22 days she claimed she was kidnapped she in fact spent with an ex-boyfriend, James Reyes Papini said Monday that she has been receiving psychiatric care for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder ever since her return - more than $30,000 worth of treatment for which she billed a state victim compensation fund and which is now part of her restitution. 'It is a mistake to assume mental illness is the cause of unusual behavior,' said Dr. Ian Lamoureux, a forensic psychiatrist and frequent expert witness who teaches at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic. There could be a rational, if mysterious, explanation, Lamoureux said, though he cautioned that he has not examined Papini and many factors in the case remain unknown to the public. Prosecutors say her faked kidnapping wasnt impulsive, and that she planned it for more than a year without her husband knowing. The former boyfriend told investigators they didnt have sex while she stayed with him. James Reyes told police that Papini caused self-inflicted injuries while staying with him, including hitting herself to create bruises and burning herself on her arms James Reyes, the ex-boyfriend who hid Sherri Papini, was spotted by DailyMail.com for the first time since her arrest in March The area where Sherri Papini was found near the I-5 freeway outside of Yolo, California Papini's organization and planning would seem to make conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression an unlikely explanation, said Lamoureux, who specializes in complicated criminal and civil cases. She may have expected that the kidnapping hoax would bring her 'fame and fortune,' he said. And she did benefit financially: Aside from the victim compensation, she must repay nearly $128,000 in disability payments. Separately, a GoFundMe campaign raised more than $49,000 to help the family. As a possibly related factor, Lamoureux has researched the false hero or 'pathological hero' phenomenon that takes advantage of society's treatment of victims as heroes. Those who fake their own victimization may be seeking recognition or popularity, and if mental illness is involved it may suggest a narcissistic or histrionic personality disorder. Another possible explanation is that she faked her kidnapping to avoid some other adverse consequence, he said, typically something like a divorce or being fired, though Papini was a stay-at-home mom. Lamoureux said manufacturing a crisis may be a way for those with fragile egos and poor coping skills to seek to prevent the bad outcome from happening. An ambulance was delayed by 55 minutes during an emergency call-out during one of the Insulate Britain protests on the M25, a court heard. Climate protesters repeatedly brought the motorway to a standstill last September and the impact of their actions emerged as three people including a retired teacher admitted causing a public nuisance today. Sue Spencer-Longhurst, 69, of Oxford, along with Michelle Charlesworth, 55, and Meredith Williams, 51, both of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, admitted two counts of causing a public nuisance. The charges related to Insulate Britain protests at Junction 14 of the M25 on September 13, and at Junction 25 two days later. Sue Spencer-Longhurst, pictured right, pleaded guilty today to two counts of causing a public nuisance alongside Michelle Charlesworth, second right, and Meredith Williams, left at Stratford Magistrates' Court The trio were part of a group which blocked the M25 on September 13, 2021 (pictured) The trio also pleaded guilty for the part in a protest on the M25 on September 25, 2021 Prosecutor David Earl said: Their protest was identical on each occasion. They sat on the slip road and held banners saying Insulate Britain. This created a backlog on the slipway. Officers attempted to engage with the group and explain the risks to them but the protestors did not move and they were carried away from the scene. Referring to the first protest on September 13, he said: The duration was between 08:43 and 11:41. It is estimated that 42,970 vehicles were affected with 1,449 vehicle hours lost and it is calculated that the financial impact was 62,669. There is evidence of impact to the public. A woman, who was two hours late to visit her 95-year-old mother who had a fall while she was waiting; a tutor of special needs students and other teachers who were delayed in attending work and disruption was caused to students of those lessons. There was also a pilot who missed his flight to Gibraltar which had to be rescheduled. On September 15, the protestors blocked the motorway between 08:11 and 11:46 and caused a blockage of 43,952 vehicles with a loss of 5,644 vehicle hours at a financial cost of 83,452. Mr Earl said an ambulance was 55 minutes late to a chest pain emergency callout and a funeral director was 30 minutes late to a funeral. Retired primary school teacher and potter Spencer-Longhurst read out a prepared statement from the dock explaining the reasons for her protests. She said: I am truly sorry for the disruption caused. I would like to say that among the many frustrated drivers there were some who thanked us for what we were doing and I am convinced that others are not really aware of the climate crisis because of the government and the media. Many people cannot afford to heat their homes. It is a situation that is worsening. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown that we need to remove our dependency on fossil fuels. We can do this by insulating peoples homes as well as keeping people warm and providing good jobs. I am not a dangerous radical but I am very scared when I consider our childrens futures and the future of all living things on the planet. Petitions and letters have been sent and I have made significant changes to my lifestyle in order to lower my carbon footprint but it seems that only civil resistance is left. I dont know what else to do. Spencer-Longhurst, of Oxford, and Williams and Charlesworth, both of Abingdon, will return to Stratford Magistrates Court for sentence on May 17. A British mother has found homes for over a hundred Ukrainian refugees - after travelling to the Polish-Ukraine border herself. Narelle Guthrie, 35, travelled to the border in order to match up refugees with generous Brits after the UK Government's Home for Ukraine scheme stalls. The mother-of-three went to the border and gave her contact details out to many fleeing Ukrainians - acting as a 'matchmaker' for them and their new homes. Narelle Guthrie (left), 35, travelled to the border in order to match up refugees with generous Brits after the UK Government's Home for Ukraine scheme stalls Ms Guthrie, from Devizes, Wiltshire, has worked in refugee camps and kitchens and handed out blankets and humanitarian aid at train stations in the past. She says she spends her time 'meeting, greeting and spreading the word of what the UK has to offer refugees'. Ms Guthrie, who has a background in health and social care, admits she was inspired to take action as soon as the invasion began. She said: 'As soon as the war started I knew I wanted to take action. 'I started with collecting donations - my ex and my eldest child travelled to Paris to hand out items working alongside the French Red Cross. 'They then became admins on a Facebook page matching Ukrainian citizens and hosts across the whole of the U.K. 'We then decided scaled it down to Wiltshire to be more specific and build a community of Ukrainians here in my home town. The first Ukrainian family Nazelle matched who arrived Tuesday 12th April after waiting 3 weeks for visa approval 'Matching families with Ukrainians is not just a matter of finding a match for the sake of it, it has to be the best match. 'So the way I do it is to get to know the refugees, finding out as much as possible about them. 'Like do they have children, what their hobbies are, what jobs they do, who they would like to live with, are there any disability issues? 'It takes hours and hours and many late nights working to get it right. For instance, are they smokers, do they have pets? 'One lady I helped wanted to bring her pet turtle. 'Also, it's important to try arrange, as much as possible, for the Ukrainians to be homed in the same area with their wider families and friends' Ms Guthrie, who was inspired to launch her own Ukrainian rescue service by her 11-year-old son Xavier saying 'Mum, we've got to do something to help' She admits she had not planned on travelling to Poland until recent events in her employment 'opened my eyes to how better I could use my time'. 'I've travelled to Poland today to volunteer for another 15 days where I will help other organisations on the borders. 'This time I will be managing a team of volunteers and coordinating the work that needs to take place, of which there is a lot'. She has also paid for all of her volunteering - including flights and staying in hostels - with her own savings. Ms Guthrie describes some of the worst stories she has heard are those of the exploitation that women and children are facing in Ukraine. 'There is so many children who are 'stuck' at the border and some have had to go back into Ukraine as their families had to leave their homes quickly with nothing. The teddies that Nazelle collected after asking for donations of clean good condition teddies 'They have no documents, no passports with them so cannot get out of the country and certainly cannot come to the U.K! 'It sickens me to think that these people haven't had time to stop, rest, reevaluate their lives and been given informed options to make informed choices', she said. 'One girl I met was only 13 and she had her younger brother with her and they were alone as their parents stayed to fight - it's so sad'. 'There is also so much sickness within refugee camps and it is inevitable with so many people in crowded spaces sleeping on camp beds'. She has also been fundraising in Devizes, where last week she raised 270 in the space of just three hours. She explains the money is going back into the material funds to allow a local lady in Devizes continue to support her in making items to sell, such as bracelets, teddies, blankets and flags. 'Devizes town council have kindly given me a pitch in the shambles market every Saturday where volunteers will sell these items', she explains. Ms Guthrie is now urging more hosts to come forward to offer to sponsor a Ukrainian citizen and is providing information on how people can offer their support if they cannot offer their homes. 'Donate money, fundraise and ensure this goes to the right organisations that are spending it where is needed, donate tinned food as these people are in desperate need of this food!', she explains. 'Link up with support groups in your local communities and offer transport to help Ukrainians get around to meet people and complete essentials tasks such as opening bank accounts, applying for benefits and seeking employment. 'Push for the government to speed up the visa process - some visas are still talking 3/4 weeks. 'You can contact MPs to push the government for a helpline that actually gives accurate information! 'The more people that work together the better! We all have a voice and this is the time to use it if we want to make a difference.' Narelle said she will continue to support the people of Ukraine and will go back to her job soon but only part-time, so she can dedicate her time to the cause. She said: 'I will continue to be a big part in the communities with Ukrainian citizens and have former positive friendships with many. 'I have connections across the U.K. where I have successfully matched families and will enjoy spending my time meeting these people over this year and beyond.' The Rev Keith Brindle, a co-organiser of LoveUkraine Devizes, added: 'Narelle has made heroic efforts to support Ukrainians coming to Devizes, working tirelessly for refugees and host families. 'Her big heart and huge commitment has been such a help to people in a desperate and very complex situation and the success of matching families here with Ukrainian families has been largely due to her phenomenal work.' Mayor of Devizes, Cllr Chris Gay called her 'an unsung hero'. Ms Guthrie's work comes as British families frustrated by Home Office red tape revealed their fury at the 'broken' Homes for Ukraine application process that sees children asked if they are security threats and fathers fighting on the front line made to fill out consent forms. Kind-hearted hosts from across the UK told MailOnline of how their efforts to open their homes have been hit with snags as thousands of desperate refugees remain stuck in limbo. The Government has come under fire for the slow processing of visa applications as Ukrainian evacuees, some as young as seven and travelling just with their siblings, are stuck in neighbouring countries with little money and no food or spare clothes. Of further concern to hosts is the cumbersome 50-page application process, which asks schoolchildren to divulge if they have ever been considered a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom. Some hosts claim their sponsorship forms were 'lost', while other horror stories reveal visa applications for the same family saw one half allowed to come to the UK, while the other half were left waiting for a reply for a week. Meanwhile, another host from Manchester told MailOnline how the pair of Ukrainian girls his family hope to sponsor were asked, as part of the visa application, to attach a letter of consent from their father - who was conscripted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the start of the war. Piers Morgan has released a video showing Nigel Farage criticising his 'supposed friend' Donald Trump and calling the former president 'angry' and 'one-geared'. In the 'leaked' clip at an unknown event, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader can be heard saying: 'I think there are real problems with Trump.' Alongside the footage shared on Twitter, Piers branded the GB News host a 'treacherous, disingenuous little snake'. He wrote: 'Leaked footage of @Nigel_Farage being shockingly critical about his supposed friend Donald Trump. 'Can you make sure your Dad sees it, @DonaldJTrumpJr - just thought you should both know what a treacherous disingenuous little snake youre dealing with.' Piers Morgan has released a video (above) showing Nigel Farage criticising his 'supposed friend' Donald Trump and calling the former president 'angry' and 'one-geared' Alongside the footage shared on Twitter, Piers (pictured) branded the GB News host a 'treacherous, disingenuous little snake' It is unclear where or when the footage was taken, however Farage's references to Hilary Clinton and his remark that 'it looks like Trump's going to win' suggest the video was recorded during the 2016 presidential election. Farage can be heard saying: 'Whilst Trump puts his finger on some things that do need to be said, I find that there is a certain sense of anger about Trump. 'There's a certain sense that he's only got one gear. And he also seems to believe in a bigger state and has a lot of ideas that I wouldn't necessarily call Republican. 'If Trump's the nominee he's saying good things about security there's much about the rest of his agenda and his manner that I find pretty worrying.' During the clip, one audience member also references Trump's opinions on abortion saying I will never be able to vote for an idiot like that, as Farage responds: 'There are real problems with Trump.' It comes after Trump released an audio recording that seemingly refuted an edited video clip that appeared to show him storming out of a sit-down interview with Piers. Piers wrote: 'Leaked footage of @Nigel_Farage being shockingly critical about his supposed friend Donald Trump' During the clip, one audience member also references Trump's opinions on abortion saying I will never be able to vote for an idiot like that, as Farage responds: 'There are real problems with Trump' It is unclear where or when the footage was taken, however Farage's references to Hilary Clinton and his remark that 'it looks like Trumps going to win' suggest the video was recorded during the 2016 presidential election A 30-second trailer, released on Wednesday, depicted Trump abruptly ending the interview after Morgan challenged Trump's stolen election claims and ordering the crew to 'turn the cameras off' as he gets up from his chair and storms off. 'Very dishonest,' he mutters. But the audio recording, provided by Trump's spokesman to NBC News, indicates that the interview ended with the two men thanking each other for a 'great interview' and laughing, with no sign of Trump storming off the set. Trump communications director Taylor Budowich claims the video trailer was deceptively edited by splicing audio of Trump saying 'turn the camera off' over video of him standing up, to make it look as if he abruptly cut off the interview. The British commentator Morgan recently signed a comprehensive deal with Fox News parent company News Corp - and the trailer was intended to promote an interview airing next week on News Corp outlets around the world. A 30-second trailer made it appear that Trump furiously stormed out of a sit-down interview with Piers Morgan when the television host told him he had lost the election The sequence depicted in the video matches Morgan's dramatic description in a column for the New York Post, which is also owned by News Corp. Morgan wrote that the interview ended with Trump 'abruptly jumping to his feet, looking hateful, and barking at the shocked crew: 'TURN THE CAMERAS OFF!'' 'Then he turned on his heel, and sloped angrily off through a side door, loudly muttering, 'SO dishonest ' added Morgan. But according to NBC, the audio provided by the Trump camp shows the interview actually ending with Morgan saying: 'That was a great interview.' Trump then agreed, saying 'yeah.' 'Thank you very much. I really appreciate it,' Morgan says. It's at that point in the audio that Trump is heard saying, 'Turn the camera off.' Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez landed in New York on Thursday evening to face drug trafficking and weapons charges. Hernandez, who was once a United States ally in the war against transnational drug cartels, was scheduled to make his first appearance before a Brooklyn federal court judge Friday. The disgraced former president allegedly conspired to traffic thousands of kilos of cocaine into the United States from 2004 to 2022, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Federal prosecutors say Hernandez promised to 'stuff the drugs right up the noses of the gringos,' and received millions of dollars to 'use his public office, law enforcement, and the military to support drug-trafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere.' He was apprehended at his home in Tegucigalpa on February 15 after U.S. authorities filed an extradition request almost three weeks after the end of his eight-year presidential term. On Thursday, he was turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, who flew him into an airport north of New York City. Hernandez is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York will be prosecuting the case. 'The Department is committed to disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go,' U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (center) is taken in handcuffs to an aircraft at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Thursday moments before he was extradited to the United States WNBC television cameras captured the moment former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez was escorted out of an airport north of New York City on Thursday following his extradition Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (third from the right) is escorted by security forces at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, moments before he was turned over to DEA agents Thursday According to U.S. prosecutors, Hernandez was part of a 'corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy' that moved more than 550 tons of cocaine to the United States. The two-term president was charged with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Prosecutors charge that Hernandez received millions of dollars from drug cartels, including from notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. During 2019 the trial of his former Congressman brother, Juan Antonio Hernandez, a key government witness testified before the New York court that Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman had contributed $1 million ahead of Juan Orlando Hernandez's 2013 presidential campaign in exchange for protection. The future president sent his brother and an associate - who has not been identified - with machine guns to collect El Chapo's payment. Federal prosecutors allege he used that money to finance his 2017 presidential election and engaged in voter fraud. 'DEA's multi-year investigation revealed that Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former President of Honduras, was a central figure in one of the largest and most violent cocaine trafficking conspiracies in the world,' DEA administrator Anne Milgram said. 'This case should send a message to all political leaders around the world that trade on positions of influence to further transnational organized crime that the DEA will stop at nothing to investigate these cases and dismantle drug trafficking organizations that threaten the safety and health of the American people.' Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (center) is accused of drug trafficking and firearms charges by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Prosecutors also allege that Juan Orlando Hernandez (right) fueled 2013 and 2017 elections with the help of money provided by drug traffickers and drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman #ICYMI DEA Administrator Milgram @TheJusticeDept press conference about Juan Orlando Hernandez, former President of Honduras, indicted on drug trafficking and firearms charges, extradited to the United States from Honduras. Watch https://t.co/hAbafkMkG9 pic.twitter.com/wMvvxWSF9O DEA HQ (@DEAHQ) April 22, 2022 'We allege that Hernandez corrupted legitimate public institutions in the country - including parts of the national police, military and national Congress.' Honduras Supreme Court rejected his appeal of a judge's decision in favor of extradition. 'Drug trafficking fuels violent crime and addiction; it devastates families, and it ravages communities,' Garland said. 'The Justice Department is committed to disrupting the entire ecosystem of drug trafficking networks that harm the American people, no matter how far or how high we must go.' Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman allegedly handed over $1 million to support the 2013 presidential campaign of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez in exchange for protection of drug deliveries Juan Antonio Hernandez (pictured in 2017) was convicted in a massive drug conspiracy case in a New York City federal court in October 2019 and sentenced to life in prison in March 2021. He is the brother of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (pictured) said former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez 'abused his position as President of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state' Hernandez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In a video message released Thursday, he said, 'I am innocent; I have been and I am being unjustly subjected to prosecution.' He has said he is the victim of drug traffickers he extradited who are now lying to seek revenge. 'It is surprising that this decision ... is made based on 'media reports' and also on statements from drug traffickers and confessed murderers who were extradited by my government, or who had to flee and surrender to the United States authorities for fear of being extradited,' Hernandez wrote in an open letter. Henry Osorto Canales, a retired National Police commissioner who is now an analyst, said that while the extradition was an embarrassment for Honduras, it was also a historic day. 'This is a start because it has begun with the largest political piece that the country had and logically the rest of the pieces are going to fall, at least those closest (to Hernandez),' Osorto said. Asi fue el traslado de #JuanOrlandoHernandez para ser entregado a la #DEA pic.twitter.com/aG543F7uO7 Diario La Prensa (@DiarioLaPrensa) April 21, 2022 U.S. prosecutors have spent years building cases from low-level drug traffickers and local politicians to organized crime bosses who used their political connections and ties to drug trafficking cartels in Colombia and Mexico to move tons of cocaine to the United States. Many of them testified about making payments to Hernandez or one of his brothers, also a politician. Juan Antonio Hernandez was found guilty by the Southern District of New York on drug trafficking and firearms charges in October 2019. He sentenced to life in prison in March 2021. Juan Orlando Hernandez took office in January 2014 and held the presidency until January, when Xiomara Castro was sworn in as his replacement. Castro campaigned on rooting out Honduras corruption and Hernandez was seen as the largest target. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, in chains, is shown to the press at the National Police headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, following his arrest on February 15 On Wednesday, Honduras' Supreme Court denied an appeal from the former chief of the National Police, Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, better known as 'El Tigre' or 'The Tiger.' He was arrested after Hernandez at the request of U.S. prosecutors on similar charges and is expected to be extradited in the coming weeks. U.S. prosecutors allege Bonilla assisted the movement of tons of cocaine through Honduras, working with Hernandez and his brother Tony Hernandez, both co-conspirators in the case in the Southern District of New York. Hernandezs transport via helicopter came under heavy guard from the police base where he was held to the airport and was covered live by local television outlets. Some Hondurans stood outside the airport's perimeter fence to catch a glimpse of the former president boarding the plane with U.S. authorities. When Hernandez's plane took off, some were seen jumping in celebration. Thousands of their countrymen emigrated from the country during Hernandez's administration, often shouting 'Get out JOH!' using his initials as they walked north. They frequently complained of a lack of job opportunities and gang violence. At least 33 worshippers were killed and dozens more injured after a bomb attack on a crowded Afghan mosque during Friday prayers. The blast at the Sunni Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque in Imam Saheb, northern Afghanistan is the town's second deadly bombing in just two days. Taliban leaders accused 'seditionist' ISIS fighters of the cruel terrorist attack one day after the group claimed responsibility for a spate of bombings across Afghanistan. The worst of these was an attack on a Shiite mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif that killed at least 12 Shiite Muslim worshippers and wounded scores more. Victims of the latest IS-K attack fight for their lives after the bomb tore through the mosque Medics rush bomb victims to a local hospital near the Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque in Kunduz Earlier a Kunduz province police spokesman put the death toll at the Imam Saheb mosque and madrassa compound at two, with six injured. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid then tweeted the higher casualty numbers, writing: 'We condemn this crime . . . and express our deepest condolences to the victims.' A school blast shook Kabul earlier this week Mujahid called the perpetrator's of the Kunduz attack 'seditionists and evil elements'. Since sweeping to power last August, the Taliban have been battling the upstart Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K, which is proving to be an intractable security challenge for Afghanistan's religiously driven government. Last November the Taliban's intelligence unit carried out sweeping attacks on suspected IS-K hideouts in eastern Nangarhar province. Taliban fighters have ramped up security at religious sites in recent days as terrorism spikes The Sai Dokan Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan was attacked yesterday, with 12 killed In a statement on Friday, the IS-K said the explosive devise that devastated Mazar-e-Sharif's Sai Doken mosque was hidden in a bag left inside among scores of worshippers. As they knelt in prayer, it exploded. 'When the mosque was filled with prayers, the explosives were detonated remotely,' the IS statement said, claiming that 100 people were injured. The Taliban say they have arrested a former IS-K leader in northern Balkh province, of which Mazar-e-Sharif is the capital. Zabihullah Noorani, information and culture department chief in Balkh province, said Abdul Hamid Sangaryar was arrested in connection with Thursday's mosque attack. The IS-K had been relatively inactive in Afghanistan since last November, but in recent weeks have stepped up its attacks in Afghanistan and in neighboring Pakistan, taking aim at Shiite Muslim communities reviled by Sunni radicals. Alleged ISIS terrorist Abdul Hamid Sangrayar is accused of yesterday's attack in the east Earlier this month two bombs exploded in Kabul's Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, killing at least seven students and wounding several others. The IS-K established its headquarters in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and have been blamed for some of the worst attacks in Afghanistan, including a vicious assault on a maternity hospital and at a school that killed more than 80 girls in 2021, months before the Taliban took power. The IS-K also took responsibility for a brutal bombing outside the Kabul International Airport in August 2021 that killed more than 160 Afghans who had been pushing to enter the airport to flee the country. Thirteen U.S. military personnel also were killed as they oversaw America's final withdrawal and the end of its 20-year war in Afghanistan. In recent months, the IS-K has also stepped up attacks in neighboring Pakistan, targeting a Shiite mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar in March. More than 65 worshippers were killed. The upstart affiliate has also claimed several deadly attacks against Pakistan's military . In Pakistan's central Punjab city of Faisalabad, the local police on Thursday issued a threat warning, saying 'it has been learned that IS-Khas planned to carry out terrorist activities in Faisalabad,' advising people to 'exercise extreme vigilance.' The police warning did not elaborate. Meanwhile late on Thursday a Pakistani soldier was killed in southwestern Baluchistan province after militants raided a security outpost. No one claimed responsibility. The area has been targeted by both IS-K as well as the violent Pakistani Taliban militants known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also headquartered in neighboring Afghanistan. The safe havens of militant groups in Afghanistan has raised concerns for Pakistan which earlier this month carried out air strikes inside Pakistan, killing at least 20 children, according to the United Nations education fund (UNICEF). Pakistan has not confirmed the strikes but has warned Afghanistan's Taliban to stop its territory being used to attack across the border into Pakistan. In separate incidents, five children were killed Friday in northern Afghanistan's Faryab Province while playing with unexploded ordnance. In one incident, three brothers died when they found an unexploded device and tried to dismantle it. In a second incident in another village, two children, ages 7 and 8, were killed playing with a device, said Shamsullah Mohammadi, Faryab provincial information and culture head. After more than four decades of war, that included two invasions - one by the former Soviet Union and one by the U.S.-led coalition - Afghanistan is one of the heaviest mined countries in the world and is littered with unexploded ordnance. A mother was left critically injured after she fell out of a eight-story window in Washington DC with ropes tied around her legs, leading to her boyfriend's arrest - hours later an amber alert was issued for the couple's son. Laniya Lewis, of Washington DC, fell from from the eighth floor of the Connecticut House Apartments with 'some type of rope' tied around her legs on Thursday around 7pm, police confirmed to DailyMail.com on Friday. Authorities also confirmed Lewis and Kylee Jamal Palmer, 22 - who has since been arrested and with whom the victim shares a son - 'were involved in a dispute inside a residence on the eighth floor of the building' before Palmer fled the scene after she fell, a police statement said. Police were unable to confirm to DailyMail.com if Lewis had been pushed or if she jumped from the apartment building, as the case is 'under investigation.' Bystanders found Lewis alive, but with 'significant injuries,' and she was taken to a local hospital for treatment. 'She is stable right now, but in critical condition,' Second District Commander Duncan Bedlion said at press conference on Thursday. Investigators were seen inspecting the window (pictured) that Laniya Lewis, of Washington DC, fell from on Thursday night. Bystanders found the mom-of-one with her legs tied together with rope and she was transported to a local hospital with 'significant injuries' Kylee Jamal Palmer, 22, who shares a one-year-old child with Lewis, was arrested on Thursday after returning to the scene and provide police with information which led to his arrest Police confirmed in a statement that Palmer and Lewis 'were involved in a dispute inside a residence on the eighth floor of the building.' Police have labeled it a domestic dispute and are currently investigating After returning to the crime scene, Palmer reportedly provided information to authorities that led to his arrest on Thursday. 'He was distraught,' Bedlion said. 'He provided some information that lead us to believe that he was a suspect in this case.' Palmer was charged on Friday with assault with intent to kill, possession of an unregisters firearm, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. Metropolitan Police did reveal they found a 'rifle-style ghost gun' in the residence, but so far there has been no reports of gunshots. Investigators were seen inspecting the window she fell from, shinning a bright light over the windowsill. The curtains appear to be dented and misconstrued, according to WUSA 9. A few hours before Lewis fell, an amber alert was issued for the pair's son Kylee Palmer, one, who was later found at a different address in Washington DC around 10.30pm with a family member. The pair's son, also named Kylee, (pictured) was reported missing and an amber alert was issued around 9.30pm. He was later found safe with family members at a different DC address Police are not sure how their child got to the family member's residence, but authorities reported little Kylee is 'safe.' They are investigating where Palmer went after fleeing the scene. There has 408 assaults in DC since January 1 and 52 homicides. Overall crime is up 25 percent for violent crime. Does the US welcome Ukrainian refugees? (People's Daily App) 13:52, April 22, 2022 The White House stated previously that it would welcome displaced Ukrainians "with open arms," but it's ironic that according to the US Department of State, the US received only seven refugees between March 1 and 16. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A television broadcasts a news report on North Korea's new type of tactical guided weapon test, April 17. Yonhap If North Korea resumes nuclear testing, it could include development of smaller "tactical" warheads meant for battlefield use and designed to fit on short-range missiles such as the one tested last weekend, analysts said. South Korean and U.S. officials say there are signs that North Korea is seeking to resume operations in an underground tunnel at its Punggye-ri Nuclear Test site, which was officially shuttered in 2018. On Saturday, the North test-fired a new, short-range missile that state media said was for "enhancing the efficiency in the operation of tactical nukes," marking the first time North Korea has linked a specific system to tactical nuclear weapons. Analysts say putting small warheads on short-range missiles could represent a dangerous change in the way North Korea deploys and plans to use nuclear weapons. It means Pyongyang can field more of them, and instead of threatening a few cities to deter an attack, could use them against a wide range of military targets in the South. "North Korea doesn't need to test to deploy tactical nuclear weapons, but it looks like we should expect to see a seventh and perhaps more lower-yield nuclear tests as they go about developing these weapons," said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. North Korea's previous six nuclear tests saw it detonate progressively larger weapons; the final one was viewed as likely to be a thermonuclear weapon. "They don't need to demonstrate that they have a nuclear warhead, but this time they could be demonstrating that they have one small enough to put on a relatively small missile," said Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean army general. "It significantly increases the dangers on the Korean peninsula and increasingly the capabilities of the North Koreans." The weekend missile test, its importance highlighted by the personal presence of leader Kim Jong Un, underscored recent warnings by the North that in a war, it would use nuclear weapons to wipe out the South's military. Concerns over North Korea's recent tests, including what it claims are "hypersonic missiles", have prompted incoming South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to advocate boosting the South's military deterrent, and to enable possible preemptive strikes if an attack is imminent. In this photo distributed by the North Korean government, March 24, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un looks at his watch during a test-fire of what it says a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Yonhap Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are among the five people named Thursday as recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for acting to protect democracy. Cheney was chosen for how she broke with her party to defend the constitution, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation said in its announcement. Zelensky was chosen for his leadership of the Ukrainian people during the Russian invasion. The other honorees are Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and Fulton County, Georgia, elections worker Wandrea 'Shaye' Moss. The foundation said four U.S. officials were chosen for standing up for free and fair elections, as the system is challenged in ways it has never been before. Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the awards May 22 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. The award was created by the family of the late president to honor public figures who risk their careers by embracing unpopular positions for the greater good, and is named after Kennedys 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, 'Profiles in Courage.' John F Kennedy Library Foundation said Liz Cheney was being awarded because she 'broke with most in her party, urged fidelity to the Constitution, and stood her ground with honor and conviction,' and that she has remained a 'consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is being honored for his leadership of the Ukrainian people during the Russian invasion Zelensky was chosen because of the way he has 'marshaled the spirit, patriotism and untiring sacrifice of the Ukrainian people in a life-or-death fight for their country,' as Russia pours in troops and assaults cities and towns, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation said. 'There is no more important issue facing our country, and the world, today than the fight for democracy,' Kennedy said in a statement. 'The war in Ukraine has shown the world that we cant take freedom for granted, and the courage of our elected officials in the U.S. reminds us that as citizens we each have a responsibility to protect our democracy and exercise our fundamental right to vote.' Cheney chaired the Republican House Conference before being ousted from her post last year because of her unrelenting criticism of former President Donald Trump and statements blaming him for the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The foundation said Cheney 'broke with most in her party, urged fidelity to the Constitution, and stood her ground with honor and conviction,' and that she has remained a 'consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy.' Cheney was given the award on the same day audio surfaced of her asking House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy if Trump would resign from the presidency because of his actions on January 6th. McCarthy told fellow GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge Trump to resign, according to audio that aired on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show. In the recording of a Jan. 10 House Republican Leadership call, McCarthy is heard discussing the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office and saying he would tell Trump, 'I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign.' In the same conversation, McCarthy told his colleagues he doubted Trump would take the advice to step aside. 'That would be my recommendation,' McCarthy is heard saying in response to question from Cheney. Cheney's office said the lawmaker did not leak the tapes, which became public after McCarthy denied saying he would urge Trump to resign. The audio showed that was what he said. Audio of a phone conversation shows House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had been planning to ask former President Donald Trump to resign in the wake off January 6 Capitol riot Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (left) and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (right) also honored with the Profile in Courage Award Fulton County, Georgia , elections worker Wandrea 'Shaye' Moss is being honored for her work in the 2020 election Past winners of the Profile in Courage Award include Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, John McCain, John Lewis and Nelson Mandela. Michigan was one of the battleground states where Trump allies demanded further review of the 2020 election. Benson defended the certification of the results. Protestors showed up at her home one evening in December 2020, angry about what they incorrectly said was voter fraud leading to Trumps loss. The foundation said Benson defended the will of Michigan voters, repeatedly refused to back down from fulfilling the duties of her office and continues to speak out about the risks to free and fair elections. Bowers, a Republican, broke ranks with many in his party in December 2020 when he rejected a request from Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani for the Arizona Legislature to step in and replace electors legally pledged for Joe Biden with others who would support Trump. The foundation said Bowers made a 'decision of conscience,' for which he endured persistent harassment and intimidation tactics from Trump supporters, and he acted again to protect the integrity of Arizona elections by stopping a wide-ranging election bill that would eliminate nearly all forms of early voting and require ballots to be counted by hand, though Republicans are still trying to pass these changes. Moss has worked for the Fulton County elections department since 2012 and supervised the absentee ballot operation during the 2020 election. Trump allies falsely claimed she engaged in ballot fraud. The foundation said 'despite the onslaught of random, undeserved and malicious attacks,' Moss continues to do the 'hard and unseen work to run our democracy.' A Coldstream Guard accused of plotting to sell ammunition and possessing a prohibited weapon will stand trial in July, a court heard. Kirtland Gill, 41, is the first black Regimental Sergeant Major in the Queens elite bodyguard unit. He was arrested in his home in Windsor, Berkshire, in January 2021, following a raid by firearms officers and the Royal Military Police. Kirtland Gill, pictured, of Windsor, Berkshire, is accused of being involved in a conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and possession of a prohibited weapon Gill denies all charges. He is set to stand trial at Southwark Crown Court, pictured, on July 4. The hearing is scheduled to last two weeks Gill, pictured, is the most senior enlisted soldier in the elite Coldstream Guards who are the Queen's bodyguard Gill denies conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and possession of a prohibited weapon - an imitation firearm capable of discharging noxious liquid. He did not appear at Southwark Crown Court but defence barrister Simon Ray confirmed his trial, set for July 4, will last two weeks. Judge David Tomlinson said: I like to think we will all turn up on July 4, ready to go. Gill, born in Jamaica, was the most senior enlisted soldier in the Coldstream Guards. The married squaddie served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, and reportedly met with the Queen twice. Experts are saying that it is too early for Americans to start worrying about hepatitis, even after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning Thursday over nine cases detected in young Alabama children. The cases of the inflammatory liver condition were all in children under the age of six, with two leading to liver transplants. Sick children are also being reported in the UK, Ireland, Israel, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain with global cases as part of this outbreak totaling more than 100. Dr Aaron Milstone, a pediatric diseases expert at John Hopkins medical school, urged parents to remain calm saying the illness was 'very, very rare'. He told DailyMail.com: 'It is too early to worry at this point, but as we learned with Covid we will need to follow the pattern.' Dr Richard Malley, an infectious disease expert at Boston Children's Hospital, urged parents not to think of the cluster as 'the next pandemic'. Mysterious cases of hepatitis have been detected in nine children in Alabama since October, with adenoviruses - which normally trigger colds - thought to be the cause (stock image) More than 100 cases have been detected globally to date, including in several European countries. The UK has reported more than 100 cases to date Scientists in the U.S. suggest adenoviruses which normally play a role in mild colds, vomiting and diarrhea may be behind the spate of illnesses. About 70 percent of patients in the U.S. have tested positive for them, while none have tested positive for hepatitis viruses A, B and C. Dr Milstone told DailyMail.com adenovirus cases are common in children, but it is 'rare' for them to spark hepatitis. WHAT IS HEPATITIS? Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that is usually caused by a viral infection or liver damage from drinking alcohol. Short-term hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms. But if some develop they can include dark urine, pale grey-coloured poo, itchy skin and yellowing of the eyes and skin. They can also include muscle and joint pain, a high temperature, feeling and being sick and being unusually tired all of the time. When hepatitis is spread by a virus, it's usually caused by consuming food and drink contaminated with the faeces of an infected person or blood-to-blood or sexual contact. Source: NHS Advertisement He said the CDC issued the alert to get public health experts to come forward if they had cases, and encourage them to keep an eye out for the illness. 'The CDC can issue an alert when there is a rare disease to help understand the extent of the problem and help identify the source or common exposure,' he said. 'There might be one case in each state and no one would think to report an isolated case, but from this alert 50 cases (one from each state) could be detected hypothetically. 'This is a perfect example of why we need strong and integrated public health infrastructure to investigate diseases like this.' Parents can protect their children from adenoviruses in the same way they protected them from Covid, he said, namely through encouraging hand washing and them to cover their mouths when coughing. Malley told DailyMail.com there was no need for parents to be concerned, saying it was important to 'put into context' the alert. 'Again, in the era of Covid one wants to make sure that people don't panic and think this is going to be the next pandemic of hepatitis,' he said. 'That is not what this is.' 'The alert is for the public, specifically public health people, so that if they see one, two or three cases they think to report them to the CDC. 'If you notify your department then they might decide to investigate and test samples. 'We do this, for example, in cases of food poisoning in different environments, such as restaurants.' He suggested the mysterious hepatitis may only be affecting young children because they have less developed immune systems than adults. 'You and I may well have had adenovirus 41 previously,' he said, 'so might be relatively well protected compared to others.' In its alert yesterday the CDC said it was 'asking all physicians to be on the lookout for symptoms and report any suspected cases of hepatitis of unknown origin.' It was first alerted to the outbreak when five children were admitted to a children's hospital in Alabama with the condition in October. A review of hospital records revealed another four cases of un-explained hepatitis among under-6s in the state. No link between the cases has been found, but scientists have ruled out Covid and hepatitis viruses as possible causes. Earlier this week experts investigating the clusters said lockdowns may have played a role, weakening children's immunity and leaving them at heightened risk. Writing in the journal Eurosurveillance, the team led by Public Health Scotland epidemiologist Dr Kimberly Marsh said more children could be 'immunologically naive' to the virus because of restrictions. They said: 'The leading hypotheses centre around adenovirus either a new variant with a distinct clinical syndrome or a routinely circulating variant that is more severely impacting younger children who are immunologically naive. 'The latter scenario may be the result of restricted social mixing during the pandemic.' Other scientists said it may have been a virus that has acquired 'unusual mutations'. Hepatitis often has no noticeable symptoms but they can include dark urine, pale grey-coloured faeces, itchy skin and the yellowing of the eyes and skin. Infected people can also suffer muscle and joint pain, a high temperature, feeling and being sick and being unusually tired all of the time. When hepatitis is spread by a virus, it's usually caused by consuming food and drink contaminated with the faeces of an infected person or blood-to-blood or sexual contact. Harry Potter fans have begged the National Trust not to move Dobby's beachside grave after the conservation charity said it needed to protect the fragile sand dunes. Potterheads have been flocking to the spot at Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire to pay homage to one of the books best-loved characters. The fictional house-elf was buried at the location in the 2010 film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 after he was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange. It attracts thousands of visitors who leave tributes like painted stones, socks, tea towels, flowers, dolls, gnomes, and laminated messages. But it has become so popular that fears are raised about whether it is sustainable in the long-term. Bosses at the trust were concerned that large crowds could cause damage to the natural beauty of the beach. Harry Potter fans have begged the National Trust not to move Dobby's beachside grave after the conservation charity said it needed to protect the fragile sand dunes Potterheads have been flocking to the spot at Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire to pay homage to one of the books best-loved characters A consultation funded by the UK Government was commissioned by the National Trust who own most of Freshwater beach. The consultation reads: 'Freshwater West is much loved and over time has become increasingly popular. 'Access to nature and the outdoors for all is vitally important but the increase in visitors has added pressure on the environment and facilities. 'This does not feel sustainable in the long-term, without negatively impacting this special place. 'Those who care for it, enjoy it and live locally want only the best for Freshwater West. To help understand the issues and consider what options there are for the future a public consultation has begun.' Dobby was a key character in the Harry Potter films in the struggle against he-who-must-not-be-named and died at the hands of Bellatrix after rescuing Harry and friends from Malfoy Manor in the Deathly Hallows film. The fictional house-elf was buried in the 2009 film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 after he was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange It attracts thousands of visitors who leave tributes like painted stones, socks, tea towels, flowers, dolls, gnomes, and laminated messages A sculpture was engraved with the words 'Dobby is a free elf in Pembrokeshire' at the spot. Outraged fans are demanding Dobbys grave be allowed to stay. One said: 'Why are some people so damn miserable. People come from all over to see this and the children love it.' A spokesperson from National Trust Cymru, Pembrokeshire said: 'The two main objectives of the consultation are to engage with the public, local businesses and voluntary, public and private sector business affected by growing visitor numbers and deliver a feasibility study and options appraisal for the car park and related facilities at Freshwater West. A sculpture was engraved with the words 'Dobby is a free elf in Pembrokeshire' at the spot Outraged fans are demanding Dobbys grave be allowed to stay (pictured: Shell cottage where Dobby was buried behind) 'Dobbys Grave, its ongoing creation, definition, and impact on the landscape is a topic for discussion as part of that consultation process. 'Once the consultation process has ended in August a presentation of findings and recommendations will be delivered publicly and to key stakeholders. 'This will help create a vision for a sustainable future for Freshwater West and guide us in any future decisions we make for this exceptional place.' A 23 year-old named a person-of-interest in a Washington DC shooting that injured four has been found dead in a gun-strewn apartment close to the scene that police described as a 'sniper-like setup.' Raymond Spencer, from Fairfax in Virginia, was found deceased in an apartment bathroom close to the Van Ness neighborhood Friday, hours after a man opened fire from an apartment window, injuring three adults and a 12 year-old girl. It is unclear how he died, NBC4 reported. The man shot himself, according to The Washington Post, citing two individuals familiar with the matter. They also said that cops are now combing posts Spencer is believed to have made on internet forum 4Chan, including one said to have been posted four minutes after Friday's shooting. That message read: 'Dear God please forgive me.' Another one sent six minutes later said: 'They're in the wrong part of the building right now searching XD,' with the 'XD' symbol designed to look like a laughing face when viewed from the side. One final message posted six minutes after that read: 'Waiting for police to watch up with me.' The Post also reported that a Wikipedia user's page for Spencer described him as an 'AR-15 aficionado'. The Metropolitan Police Department posted photos of the stockpile of firearms found in Spencer's apartment. Washington police Chief Robert J. Contee III said that his officers found six firearms, including long guns, hand guns and ammunition, as well as a tripod used to mount rifles in the apartment where Spencer was found dead. Contee said that police believe the weapons were obtained legally based on preliminary information. Contee said Spencer had a 'sniper-like setup' in the a fifth-floor apartment overlooking the scene and Edmund Burke School, an independent grade 6-12 school in the area. He evoked the infamous Beltway Sniper attacks of 2002 that killed 10 people in the area: 'It appears this person was shooting randomly at anyone who was out there. There could have been a lot of damage done, and lives lost.' Contee added he's still trying to figure out a motive and does not know that Spencer specifically targeted the school but declared the community safe. Raymond Spencer, 23, has been named a person of interest in Friday's shooting, and has been urged to turn himself in by DC Metropolitan police Cops are now combing posts Spencer is believed to have made on internet forum 4Chan, including one said to have been posted four minutes after Friday's shooting. That message read: 'Dear God please forgive me' Spencer appeared to give play-by-play to his fellow 4chan users after the shooting Before his body was found, DC Metropolitan Police shared images of Raymond Spencer of Fairfax, Virginia, and urged him to turn himself in following Friday's shooting in the Van Ness area of the city. The victims included a 54-year-old man, a woman in her 30s, a woman in her mid-60s who was grazed in the back by a bullet, and a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the arm, Police Assistant Chief Stuart Emerman said. All of the victims were expected to recover. following the incident at Van Ness and Connecticut Avenue. The woman who was grazed told reporters that she was waiting to pick up a child and would've been hit had she not been lying low in her car. It began around 3:30pm ET Friday, with locals reporting seeing a man in a black t-shirt taking shots from a window. The suspect subsequently fled the scene, and is still being sought by cops. Terrifying video footage posted online appears to show a camera attached to the rifle itself as the gunman takes shots. 'It looks very much to be authentic,' Contee said of the video, but clarified that it still needed to be forensically confirmed and it was not known if the video was live-streamed or uploaded afterward. Police were seen escorting a man in a black graphic t-shirt in handcuffs toward a police car around 4.30pm, although Spencer remains on the loose. People being rushed to safety in Dc after shooting. 3 people shot in NW DC pic.twitter.com/InS9cCPtPc Mark Boyle (@MarkBoyleTV) April 22, 2022 VIDEO: Just interviewed the fourth victim in the shooting. She was grazed in the back as she was waiting to pick up a kid in the alley. She explains what happened to me. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/iVaijYhtwD Matthew Torres (@News_MTorres) April 22, 2022 Stuart Emerman, Metropolitan Police's Assistant Chief of Technical and Analytical Services Bureau, said officers did detain people running from the scene but he did not believe that any suspects were in custody as of a Friday evening press conference. He added that the victims have been hospitalized but are in 'stable condition.' An unverified video has been circulating social media that people are claiming the gunman took of him shooting victims. Emerman said they could not yet verify that the video was related. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke Friday and thanked first responders and offered prayers for the victim. Police are reportedly entering the AVA building on Connecticut and Van Ness Avenue wearing riot gear and armed with guns, a local reported. Dozens of cop cars and emergency vehicles have flooded the streets and office can be seen taking 'defensive positions,' according to a Fox 5 livestream. Groups of people were seen being escorting by police, some running alongside police. Police were seen escorting a pan in handcuffs from the scene The shooting reported started from the AVA apartment building (pictured) Police were running to escort both people and their pets away from the scene of the shooting Assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department's Stuart Emerman (C) and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (R) speak during a press conference Metropolitan and Secret Service Police lead a man in handcuffs away from a shooting. Police Chief Stuart Emerman said that they were merely detaining witnesses and had no suspects in custody People on social media reported hearing heavy gunfire in the area, with multiple social media videos depicting the sound of heavy, rapid fire gunshots. Witnesses told Fox 5 that they heard at least 100 gunshots go off in the area. A mass casualties unit is reportedly heading toward the scene and a shelter in place order has been put in place. UDC-Van Ness campus is now in lockdown and students have been told to shelter in place until further notice. A mother heard from her eleventh-grade son at Edmund Burke School that he heard multiple gunshots and the students have since taken cover. Another father reported he saw some of the school's windows were broken, according to NBC Washington. A group of Edmund Burke ninth-graders have been pictured hiding in a liquor store, according to WUSA 9. 'This is the worst nightmare any parent can have,' another parent told NBC Washington. The DC police reported they are at the scene and the streets have been flooded with police equipment. Local schools are also issuing lockdown orders Police are seen with longarm guns, taking defensive position around cars Two officers were seen with ballistic shields and guns near the shooting incident Police were seen running with groups of people down the street, escorting them to safety Police evacuate people near the scene of the shooting in Northwest Washington Police evacuate people near the scene of a shooting. Many had to run to get away An FBI tactical team deploys from an armored vehicle at the scene of a reported shooting and active shooter near Edmund Burke Middle School in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Northwest Washington A Howard Law School student, who did not give her name, told WUSA 9 that she was on her lunch break when heard multiple gunshot go off. 'It was an entire standstill, everybody stopped their cars,' she said. 'We were bumper to bumper. We didn't know what to do...Then we heard another round go off, at least 20 shots. We started to go down Van Ness and all the cars stopped again, and we heard another round go off. We didn't know how close the bullets were so we just stopped right there.' She also reported seeing children and adults running down the street. Parents are waiting near Edmund Burke as the children are in lockdown inside. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (ATF) are also assisting DC Police. Police have been seen with longarm guns and taking defensive positions behind cars and other vehicles, Fox 5 reported. Secret Service is also reportedly assisting the situation, according to NBC Washington. These streets are currently closed: Connecticut Avenue Northwest between Sedgwick and Yuma streets; Tilden Street between Reno Road and 29th Street Northwest, and Van Ness Street at Connecticut Avenue Northwest, according to WTOP News. The gunfire erupted just as parents were picking up their children from the Edmund Burke School, a private college preparatory school, sending frantic parents running from the scene and putting Burke and other nearby schools on immediate lockdown. Bibi Stewart of Anne Arundel, Maryland, was approaching the line to pick up her 12-year-old twins when she heard the gunfire ring out. She said it sounded like the shots were coming from above and at a distance. 'They did it right at dismissal,' she said. Stewart said she saw glass shattering in a bridge connecting different wings of the school and she saw the tires of cars in the pickup line shot out. 'Theyre just saying theyre OK' and hiding in the school with their friends and adults, she said of her children. Police in tactical gear were seen escorting people - including college students from nearby campuses - out of apartment buildings in the area. Officers pointed their rifles upward toward other buildings and windows as the people moved quickly down the street with their hands raised above their heads. 'I had to look in parents eyes tonight who are terrified ... thinking of what might happen to their children,' District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference. 'And we have experienced this too much in our country. The epidemic of gun violence, the easy access to weapons, has got to stop. People should not be scared taking their children to school.' NOW: Police investigation underway at Connecticut and Van Ness Street NW. Police just rushed down an alley with guns drawn toward a school. Parents are anxiously waiting, school pickup time is 3:30 pic.twitter.com/S8lFUCsSzA Kolbie Satterfield (@KolbieReports) April 22, 2022 Police were seen near Van Ness and Connecticut Avenues This is the horrifying moment a gas explosion destroyed a home in southeastern Brazil, killing three members of a family and injuring another. The blast occurred at 7:14 am Thursday in the Espirito Santo municipality of Vila Velha. The victims were identified as Eduardo Cardoso, 68; his daughter, Camila Morassuti Cardoso, 33; and his granddaughter, Sabrina Morassuti, 15, who was Camila's daughter. Eduardoa Cardoso's daughter, Larissa Morassuti, 36, survived and remains hospitalized. Still image from a surveillance camera captures the moment a fireball rushes out of the three-story home in Vila Velha, Brazil, on Thursday morning. The blast killed three members of a family and injured another Eduardo Cardoso, 68, was among the three family members who lost their lives when a gas explosion destroyed their home in the southeastern Brazilian city of Vila Velha on Thursday. His daughter Camila Morassuti and her daughter Sabrina Morassuti were also killed. His daughter Larissa Morassuti survived the blast. The fire department said the explosion may have been caused by a leak in the cooking gas line Sabrina Morassuti, 15, was killed in the blast that tore through her three-story home in Vila Velha, Brazil, on Thursday morning. Her grandfather and mother also died in the tragic accident Larissa Morassuti (left) survived the explosion, but her sister, Camila Morassuti (right), was killed Neighborhood residents told Brazilian news outlet G1 that they smelled a strong gas odor in the morning, but were not sure which property it emanated from. A woman identified as Rosana told the outlet that it 'felt like a bomb' had leveled the three-story building. She said the elderly man lives in the first floor with Camila and Sabrina while Larissa had the second floor of the home to herself. The third floor was not occupied. 'Horrible. I've never seen it in my life,' Rosana said. Espirito Santo firefighters search through the rubble following Thursday morning's blast. The were able to remove one of the victims alive while three others died Still image from a video captured by a resident's cellphone shows the aftermath of Thursday morning's blast that destroyed a home in Brazil Rescue workers gather for a meeting in front of the three-family house that was destroyed by a gas explosion Thursday morning in Vila Velha, Brazil Larissa was the first person pulled out from the rubble. Rescue workers located Camila alive but she died moments later. Sabrina's was still alive when the rescue team's sniffer dog found her under the rubble around 3:45 pm, A Gazeta newspaper reported. A doctor was able to get reach the spot where she was trapped under two concrete slabs to provide medication and oxygen, passing it through a holes. Brazilian first responders search through the rubble of a building that was destroyed Thursday morning following a gas explosion Firefighters continue to work to her out, but she had already died when she was removed around 8:40 pm. Cardoso was pulled from the crushed building during the early morning hours. Vila Velha Fire Department spokesman Colonel Wagner Borges told reporters that preliminary investigations ruled that the explosion was caused by a cooking gas leak. A vehicle powered by gas may have also cause the blast. As he walked towards his fathers room at his Oxfordshire care home, David Whittle could hear his older sister Sonias voice. She was clearly agitated, but it was what she was saying, rather than the tone, that stopped David in his tracks. She was reeling off a list of accusations about me and my wife, Julie, telling Dad I was a violent man who assaulted women and that I controlled a ring of prostitutes, with Julie among them, he recalls. I was also a thief. I literally couldnt believe what I was hearing. It was one of many extraordinary, vile lies which caused former chemical engineer Gerald who would otherwise have died intestate to write a last will and testament three weeks before he passed away, at the age of 92, in December 2016. In it, he left his entire estate to Sonia Whittle and her partner of 30 years. Gerald even told the solicitor, appointed by his 69-year-old daughter, to write in the will that he was estranged from his son, a fact that was heartbreakingly untrue. Her lies would trigger a five-year legal battle, which ended last week in a landmark ruling. Labelling Sonias lies disgraceful and appalling, District Judge Tony Woodburn found that not only had she exerted undue influence on her father but was guilty of fraudulent calumny a little-cited legal concept in which one person has lied about another to gain a financial advantage. David Whittle from Wantage, Oxfordshire, and his wife Julie, who have fought a difficult but ultimately victorious will battle against David's sister Sonia It means that Geralds will has now been revoked and he reverts to being intestate. His estate, worth 1 million, will be split equally between Sonia and David. The money is not yet paid out, but the fact that Sonia will still inherit half is the least of what upsets David about the whole ordeal. The worst part is that my dad died believing all these horrific things about me, says David. Thats hard to live with. And they came from someone who, aside from my children, is my only surviving blood relative. For while David, a genial 64-year-old, would be the first to admit that he and his older sister were not especially close, he never believed them to have anything other than a perfectly ordinary sibling relationship. Both were raised by Gerald, a war veteran and engineer for chemicals giant ICI, and their housewife mother Lorna in an upmarket Berkshire village. David, who lives in Wantage, Oxfordshire, with Julie and their younger son, Richard, recalls Sonia as something of a bossyboots as a youngster, and while academic, he says she went off the rails as a teenager, leading to family rows. Dad didnt take kindly to the miniskirts and the boyfriends, he remembers. Sonia also got expelled from school in her O-level year. Eventually, a particularly combustible row led to Sonia leaving home aged 16. At 18 she returned with a man she went on to marry but the relationship didnt last, and by her 20s Sonia had decided to become a holiday rep. Sonia Whittle with her parents Gerald and Lorna. She would go on to tell vile lies about her brother David which would lead her father to cut him out of his will David, meanwhile, was an apprentice engineer who went on to join the UK Atomic Energy Authority in 1980. He met Julie in 1981 and they married six months later their sons Matthew, now 40, and Richard, 37, arriving shortly afterwards. While not particularly close to Sonia, the couple spent plenty of time with her over the years at the Oxfordshire farmhouse, worth around 800,000, to which Gerald and Lorna had moved and which remained the family home until Geralds death. Julie taught Sonia to drive and there were several family get-togethers. In the early years of our marriage, our relationship with Sonia was reasonably good, recalls David. While they saw each other less as the years went on, relations remained cordial enough, and when the siblings mother died from bowel cancer in 2005 aged 77, Sonia, by now retired, seemed happy, along with David, to support their widowed father. David in particular visited regularly, often popping in on his lunch break. By 2016, however, Geralds health deteriorated, and he was admitted into hospital with leukaemia and a litany of other conditions. Until that point, Sonia and I had been having the normal sibling conversations about his care, but the day after Dad went to hospital, Sonia moved into his house and changed the locks, although as she had kept the door open when I visited, I did not discover this for several weeks until I tried to get access while she was out, says David. Bemused at being unable to get into the family home, he phoned his sister, only to be subjected to a torrent of abuse. It was extraordinary, he says. The worst phone call Ive ever had in my life, calling me every name under the sun. She accused his wife of being a prostitute when, in truth, she had spent all her time being a carer for Richard, who has Aspergers syndrome. David, pictured here with his parents Lorna and Gerald. He was left heartbroken to find his father had described him as being 'estranged' in his will We were reeling, says Julie. This was just the start. The following day, David visited Gerald at his care home where he had initially been listed as next of kin to overhear Sonia repeating the claims to their father. When I walked in the room, she started shaking. I said: None of this is true, Dad, then Sonia called me a thieving b******, among other things, before running off. Dad was getting very upset. On subsequent visits, David was questioned time and again by his father about Sonias accusations. He would ask if I was a thief and whether Julie was a prostitute. I would calmly reason with him, and he would believe me but then she would be back with her poison. Indeed, as Judge Woodburn put it: There was no respite for Gerald from Sonias falsehoods. She was a constant. Worse was to come. David then discovered that Sonia had made herself next of kin, as well as get- ting power of attorney over her fathers estate. This was odd because when I asked Dad, he said he had not signed anything over to her, he says. In November 2016, matters escalated when David arrived at the care home to find his sister had taken their father back to the farmhouse. David went straight there and after receiving no answer at the door, peered through a side window to see his father sitting in a chair. He smiled and waved and tried to get up, recalls David. Then Sonia came in, shouting at him. She then shouted that she was calling the police. True to her word, David returned home to be visited by a police officer who said they had been told he had threatened his sister with a gun. It was ludicrous and thankfully no further action was taken, he says. David struggled to understand how his relationship with his sister could unravel so dramatically in a matter of weeks. It was hard to believe, but at that time my main concern was for Dad. I was worried enough to contact social services to say that I was concerned about his care. Alas, by now no longer the official next of kin and with no power of attorney, David was confronted by one brick wall after another. We rang the police and tried to access social services many times, but we could never get anywhere, he says. Meanwhile, although he didnt know it at the time, in mid-November a solicitor visited the family home to draft the will for their father with Sonia present. The solicitors file records were later read out in court and relayed how Sonia had described David and Julie as psychopaths and criminals who had been removed from the will of Julies mother after doing some terrible things. Gerald, pictured here before his death, was told by Sonia that David was a woman beater and ran a prostitution ring All false. She also claimed that David had stolen their fathers possessions for auction, among them cars and a large green Chinese vase. Further duplicity followed. When Gerald passed away in hospital in December 2016 three weeks after writing his will Sonia omitted to tell her brother. Instead, David who continued to be refused access to the family home, and who had been engaged in an ongoing battle with social services learned the heartbreaking news during a phone call in February 2017. Yet again I was trying to get help from social services but this time someone took pity on me and said the situation was very awkward as my father had died two months previously, David says. It was horrendous to find out about his death that way. Later, David and Julie discovered that Sonia and her partner, Ray, had had their father cremated expressly against his desire to be buried. They would have had to drive past our house to reach the crematorium, David says, shaking his head. Reeling from news of his fathers death, Geralds will was the last thing on Davids mind. But, over time, he decided to try and ascertain what his sister was up to. I rang round all the local solicitors to see if a will had been lodged for my father and eventually got through to one in Didcot who confirmed my fathers will was lodged there but they wouldnt let me see it as they said they had no instructions to release it to me. Frustrated, David and his wife visited his fathers bank. David, pictured, only found out about his father's death two months after he had passed away when he contacted social services They didnt have a will on file but they were very helpful, David says. We learned that there had been a lot of activity on my fathers account. After his death, up to six cheques a day had been written. All in all, Sonia had cleaned out 23,000 from a Lloyds Bank account and their fathers 80,000 building society savings. David would also learn that she had sold various items from the family home through auctioneers before Gerald died, including the Chinese vase she had accused him of stealing. It is at this point and still unaware of the wills contents that David put whats called a caveat on probate, which can be done when suspicious circumstances arise around a will, meaning that it could not be actioned. David admits he was stunned when he finally received a copy in June 2017 and found that his sister had been given the entirety of their fathers estate. While I pretty much expected it, it was a shock to see it in writing, although it was even more horrible to read that we were estranged, he says. The legal process that followed to prove the will was not legitimate was complicated by Sonias refusal to engage at all, other than sending several abusive letters to the courts making further outlandish and untrue claims. Among them was one suggesting that Amanda Noyce, the Whittles solicitor, was engaged with them in a money laundering enterprise. By then, we had got used to her ludicrous accusations, says David. Meanwhile, Sonias defence was that while she had, indeed, made statements about her brother and his wife, she believed them to be true a claim subsequently rubbished by the judge, who labelled them strident, forceful and repeated falsehoods. I am sure it was tactical she took the view that if she stalled and threw endless curveballs then we would run out of money, says David. They nearly did, using all their savings to fund legal fees. We had to put our life on hold, says Julie. We havent had a holiday for six years. They also had to provide evidence of their good characters and that neither had a criminal conviction. I had to submit a statement making it clear that I had never worked as a prostitute, says Julie. I never envisaged I would be in that position! There were several times when I wish I had never started it, adds David. But, ultimately, it was about what was right. They have, of course, now been vindicated, with the judge ruling entirely in their favour and awarding them full costs, estimated at more than 100,000. Calling it a landmark case, their solicitor, Amanda Noyce, from Royds Withy King, said the combination of Sonias egregious lies and the complex legalities made the litigation an uncommon occurrence. Its extremely rare for a court to find on the facts that undue influence has taken place to the standard of proof required to overturn a will especially when the will is solicitor-drawn, says Amanda. Its unclear how the money Sonia took from Geralds bank accounts, which also formed part of his estate, will be refunded. Victory, however, is bittersweet. As David points out: We lost five years fighting this. It was all so unnecessary. Worse, he is left mourning a father who went to his grave believing the worst possible things about his son. Now he will never know the truth, he says. The mother of four young children who died in an Indiana mobile home fire fled the burning residence without the youngsters - then asked another adult living there if they were with him. Jessica Mann, 30, was asleep in her bedroom at the Fort Wayne site when the fire broke out on Thursday morning. She escaped by pushing an air conditioner out. Her four children, aged 2, 3, 5 and 10, were all asleep in a front bedroom and died screaming, according to Travis Garrison, 18, who heard their anguished final moments. Garrison and two other adults - his sister Audrey Kistler, 24; her boyfriend, Samuel Barnett, 17 - were asleep in a third bedroom. Garrison awoke to the blaze, and tried to get out the front door, but the deadlock was not working. He said he he He ran out the back door, and his sister and her boyfriend escaped through a window. When all four adults were outside, Mann ran to Garrison and asked where they were. 'She ran over to me and the other three, or the other two, and asked if her kids were okay and I told her they were still in there,' Garrison told Fox 55. Jessica Mann, 30, is pictured with her four children. The youngsters all died in a mobile home fire on Thursday morning in Fort Wayne, Indiana The blaze broke out at 8:30am on Thursday morning on the city's northeast side Fire crews in Fort Wayne, Indiana found four young children had been killed in a mobile home fire on Thursday morning Fire crews could be seen on site as they tried in vane to rescue those inside Garrison said Mann got on top of his truck to try to rescue them through a window, but flames had already engulfed the entire house. Mann, from Indiana, realized once she was outside that her children were not with her 'I was running to the front door to try and break it open and it wouldn't open,' Garrison said. 'I kept hearing the kids screaming. Screaming and I couldn't do anything about it. 'We tried our best to get the kids out. We did everything we could.' Several other neighbors Fox 55 spoke to asked how could the adults leave without the children, but Garrison insisted they did everything they could to save them. 'We all were trying to get back in there,' said Garrison. 'We couldn't get into the house. The fire was too high. The smoke was too thick. 'We could not get back into that house.' Travis Garrison, 18, lived in the mobile home with his sister and her boyfriend, and Mann Audrey Kistler, 24; her boyfriend, Samuel Barnett, 17, were asleep in the mobile home and managed to escape through a window Kistler and Barnett along with Kistler's brother Travis Garrison tried to free the trapped children Crews are pictured on site tackling the blaze that saw four children killed on Thursday The blaze was put out by 9am with four young lives lost The burnt out structure of the mobile home can be seen once the flames were out Neighbors called 911, and some joined the rescue efforts. Shelby Wright, who lives across the street, said she went outside after hearing an explosion. Mann on Facebook said she was 'full time mommy love every min of it' 'There was too much smoke,' Wright said. 'I couldn't even breathe, couldn't see.' A second explosion made the situation worse, she added. 'I heard the kids back there crying for help and heard the dog whining,' Wright said, adding that she slashed her hands trying to help free the children. 'I ran over there and started busting in windows, trying to help get them out. 'Trying to get some of that smoke out,' Wright said. 'You can't just watch someone's house burn and their kids their kids inside and not even be tempted to just jump up and help. 'I mean, like, I couldn't sit here and just watch it.' Garrison said he had heard a propane tank making a whistling noise before the fire got worse. When the Fort Wayne Fire Department arrived at 8:33am, the fire had spread throughout the mobile home, according to statements from the fire and sheriff's departments. Firefighters had the blaze under control enough to enter the home at 8:56 a.m. and found the children's bodies, a fire department news release said. Finally, after 15 long years, the man prosecutors say was responsible for the most notorious child abduction in criminal history, has been dragged in front of detectives and formally asked: Where were you on the night Madeleine McCann disappeared? Christian Brueckner, a convicted paedophile and rapist who is currently behind bars in his native Germany, was told to account for his whereabouts on the evening of May 3, 2007, when the three-year-old British girl vanished from her bedroom at a resort on the Algarve as her parents ate tapas with friends at a nearby restaurant. Christian Brueckner, who has been convicted of rape and molesting a six-year-old, was living near the McCanns' flat in the Algarv If you werent by the apartment she disappeared from that night, where were you? was one of a series of questions which the 44-year-old sex offender failed to dignify with a response. Sources with knowledge of his recent prison interview, which was carried out by German authorities acting on behalf of their Portuguese colleagues, say that throughout the barrage of probing questions, Brueckner exercised his right to remain silent. He was then handed a document informing him that hed been made an arguido a Portuguese legal designation which elevates a witness to the status of official suspect and is usually a precursor to charges being laid. It was the first time Brueckner, who has at least 17 prior convictions for an array of grisly crimes, has faced official questions about Madeleine, one of several small girls whose disappearance hes been linked to in recent years. Last night, her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann issued a statement saying they welcome the news that a German man has been declared an arguido in relation to the disappearance of our beloved daughter, Madeleine. This reflects progress in the investigation, being conducted by the Portuguese, German and British authorities. We are kept informed of developments by the Metropolitan Police, they added. It is important to note that the arguido has not yet been charged with any specific crime related to Madeleines disappearance. Kidnapper of Maddie, pictured shortly before she vanished in March 2007, remains unknown. Even though the possibility may be slim, we have not given up hope that Madeleine is still alive and we will be reunited with her. Speaking through his German lawyer, Brueckner has denied any involvement in their daughters disappearance. Madeleine was staying with her family at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, a few miles from a ramshackle property the German sex offender was renting at the time. She vanished from her ground-floor bedroom, while her younger twin siblings Sean and Amelie slept close by. Over the ensuing days and weeks, Portuguese detectives presided over a chaotic investigation marred by a series of blunders that placed them under intense pressure to crack the case. Madeleines doctor parents, Kate and Gerry, were accused of neglect for having left their children unattended, checking on them every 20-30 minutes while they dined in the nearby tapas restaurant. Beleaguered Kate and Gerry pose with an artist's impression of her 2012 appearance, aged 9 It was against this backdrop that the term arguido was first used in relation to Madeleines disappearance, with police using it wrongly to describe her parents, who live in Rothley, Leicestershire. After a year in which they faced the trauma of being wrongly suspected of murdering their missing child, the status was lifted in 2008. What do we know about Maddie murder suspect Christian Brueckner and his criminal past? 1976: Christian Brueckner is born in Wurzburg under a different name, believed to be Fischer. He was adopted by the Brueckner family and took their surname. 1992: Christian Brueckner is arrested on suspicion of burglary in his hometown of Wurzburg, Bavaria. 1994: He is given a two-year youth jail sentence for 'abusing a child' and 'performing sex acts in front of a child'. 1995: Brueckner arrives in Portugal as an 18-year-old backpacker and begins working in catering in the seaside resorts of Lagos and Praia da Luz. But friends say he became involved with a criminal syndicate trafficking drugs into the Algarve. September 2005: He dons a mask and breaks into an apartment where he rapes a 72-year-old American tourist. The victim was bound, gagged, blindfolded and whipped with a metal cane before being raped for 15 minutes. She said afterwards that he had clearly enjoyed 'torturing' her before the rape. April 2007: He moves out of a farmhouse and into a campervan now linked to the crime. The farmhouse is cleaned and a bag of wigs and 'exotic clothes' is found. May 3, 2007: Madeleine McCann is snatched at around 10pm from her bed as her parents eat tapas with friends yards away. Brueckner's mobile phone places him in the area that night. He returns to his native Germany shortly after that. October 2011: He is sentenced to 21 months for 'dealing narcotics' in Niebull, in northern Germany. In 2013 police released a photofit of a man seen lurking near the McCann apartment and Scotland Yard said that suspect last night had not yet been ruled out of the probe 2014: He moves to Braunschweig where he starts running a town-centre kiosk. He then goes back to Portugal with a girlfriend. 2016: He is back in Germany. He is given 15 months in prison for 'sexual abuse of a child in the act of creating and possessing child pornographic material'. May 3, 2017: Brueckner is said to be in a bar with a friend when a ten-year anniversary appeal following Madeleine's disappearance is shown on German television. He is said to have told him in a bar that he 'knew all about' what happened to her. He then showed his friend a video of him raping a woman. MailOnline understands the friend went to police shortly afterwards. June 2017: He heads back to Portugal and extradited again to Germany. The reason was a sentencing of the Braunschweig district court to 15 months' imprisonment for the sexual abuse of a child. August 2018: After his release from prison he lives on the streets. But he was jailed again for drug offences. First Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters addresses the media during a press conference on the Madeleine McCann case at the public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig September 2018: Brueckner is arrested in Milan, Italy and extradited to Germany and put on trial for raping the American tourist in 2007 after a DNA match to hair found at the crime scene. July 2019: He is jailed for 21 months for drug dealing in the northern German resort of Sylt. August 2019: Brueckner is charged with the rape of the American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005. December 2019: He is convicted of rape of extortion of the tourist based on DNA evidence. He is given a seven year sentence, but this has not been imposed pending an appeal. June 3, 2020: Scotland Yard and the German police reveal that that they have identified a suspect in the Maddie McCann case June 4, 2020: Prosecutors in Braunschweig, where he lives, say they believe Madeleine McCann has been murdered, says spokesman Hans Christian Wolters. He is named in the German press as the prime suspect. May 4, 2021: Kate and Gerry McCann post a statement on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign website saying they still cling to the hope of seeing their daughter again as they prepare to mark her 18th birthday on May 12. April 21, 2022: Christian Brueckner, now 44, is made an 'arguido', a formal suspect, by Portuguese authorities. But he has not been charged. Advertisement This time, the arguido designation is being applied because of a legal technicality, rather than for the questionable purpose of boosting the Portuguese polices image.Under Portugals statute of limitations, crimes punishable by a maximum prison sentence cannot generally be prosecuted after 15 years. That anniversary falls in the coming weeks, meaning Brueckner needed to be placed formally under suspicion before that date, in order to charge him in the future. The scandal, of course, is that getting to this stage took so long. For had the Portuguese police done their job properly in the first place, a decade and a half of heartache may well have been avoided. As a potential suspect, Brueckner was, after all, hiding in plain sight. A troubled youth who grew up in and out of care, he was a convicted paedophile by the time he arrived on the Algarve in his late teens. He had been jailed for molesting a six-year-old girl in a playground in his home town of Wuerzburg, Bavaria. He continued to pursue a life of crime, which saw him twice jailed in Portugal. During a sentencing hearing in an Algarve court in 2006, a year before Madeleine vanished, a judge was told that hed served time for child sex offences, meaning his status ought to have been well known to local police. In fact, the reverse seems to have been true. For although Portuguese detectives claimed they had interviewed all sex offenders on the Algarve as potential suspects after Madeleine disappeared, Brueckner was not on the list. Apparently his criminal record had not been properly shared by their German colleagues. The suspects name also cropped up in a file of potential suspects sent to British police back in 2011. But only because he was a foreigner whod once been jailed, and not because they thought he was linked to any prior sex crimes. Indeed, Brueckner began to face proper scrutiny only in 2017, after German police received a tip-off linking him to the case. And when, in 2020, they went public with suspicions he had been responsible for the abduction, Portuguese detectives seemingly embarrassed to have been beaten to the punch initially sought to discredit the claim. Brueckner had first arrived on the Algarve in 1995, as an 18-year-old backpacker fresh out of prison, and appears to have sought work in catering in the seaside resorts of Lagos and Praia da Luz. But he soon became involved in a criminal syndicate that trafficked drugs, and later appears to have begun carrying out burglaries and other thefts in the tourist region. Brueckner spent two months in Evora prison in 1999 for a minor offence, and nine months in 2006 after being caught stealing diesel from lorries on a garage forecourt. In 2005 he carried out a depraved burglary during which he had bound, gagged, raped and tortured a 72-year-old American tourist in her villa in Praia da Luz. The victim was grabbed by a very strong and tall man by the neck in the dark before being blindfolded and whipped with a metal cane. She said afterwards that he had clearly enjoyed torturing her. That crime went unsolved until 2019, when, following a tip-off from a former friend, Brueckner was arrested and charged. Only then did police start investigating his potential links to 18 other burglaries of holiday apartments that had taken place on the Algarve in the early 2000s. Several of these had involved the sexual assault of women and children, including nine cases of British girls aged six to 12. In most of the attacks, the tall, wiry attacker seems to have carried out the sex crimes after stumbling upon his victims when he entered properties in search of valuables. Of course, this delay in bringing Brueckner to justice meant that he was a free man in May 2007, when Madeleine disappeared from that ground-floor apartment near the gate of the Ocean Club. A single storey farmhouse he had rented a few year earlier, which has a number of old wells on its land, is less than half an hour away from the scene; while a second building he occupied until 2006 sits on a hill above the resort, about 11 minutes away. On the night in question, hes believed to have been living in a distinctive VW camper van, which he eventually sold in 2015 and is currently in the hands of German forensics teams. Shortly after Madeleine vanished, with the case increasingly the subject of frenzied media attention, Brueckner suddenly left Portugal. The fact that local police had failed to lock down the resort of Praia da Luz and set up road blocks, apparently assuming the little girl had merely wandered off, allowed him to leave without anyone noticing. It was just one of the many blunders made by Portuguese detectives, who took 12 hours to alert Spanish border police about the missing child, and 48 hours to carry out a basic check of other guests staying at the resort. Four days passed before they even issued a description of Madeleine. Meanwhile, the McCanns apartment was not taped off until 10am the day after her disappearance, by which time dozens of people had traipsed through the crime scene and contaminated potentially vital evidence, with ash from policemens cigarettes later found to be one of the contaminants. Back home in Germany, Brueckner continued his life of crime. He was jailed for drug smuggling in northern Germany in October 2011, but was then freed the following year, whereupon he moved to a town in Saxony named Braunschweig and set up a kiosk business, selling soft drinks, alcohol and cigarettes. The business seems to have collapsed, at which point he began drinking heavily. Christian Brueckner was flagged as a key Madeleine McCann kidnap and murder suspect YEARS ago Christian Brueckner was flagged as a key Madeleine McCann kidnap and murder suspect years ago by police but the report was ignored by German authorities. According to German magazine Spiegel, police in Braunschweig sent a report about him being a prime suspect to the Federal Criminal Office (BKA) in 2013, two years before Inga Gehricke, 'Germany's Maddie McCann', disappeared. It was ignored. Braunschweig police were monitoring the 43-year-old around the clock at the time. The report was triggered after an appeal from British police on a German unsolved crime show, on which the news about Brueckner was also broadcast this week. Spiegel went on: 'One person did submit a tip about Brueckner but the resulting report from police in Braunschweig to the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation was apparently not acted upon, much to the consternation of the local investigators.' Brueckner was born to a woman named Fischer but given over to youth authorities at an early age. Between 1992 - when he was 16 - and 1994 he lived in a facility for young people with learning difficulties. A neighbour told German newspaper BILD: 'There were only bad young people there.' He was involved in crime across Europe after that. Advertisement In 2013 he abused another little girl and was caught with child porn on his computer by his teenage girlfriend, Nakscije Miftari, who had been 17 to his 37 when their 18-month relationship began. Friends later revealed how Brueckner had beaten her black and blue after she discovered the material on his laptop. The net began to close in around May 2016, when police were investigating the disappearance of a five-year-old girl Inga Gehricke, known as the German Maddie who had vanished during a family outing while walking in woods near Braunschweig. Officers were carrying out a search of land near the scene land that Brueckner had bought at auction six years earlier. They found numerous items of childrens clothing, most of them small swimsuits, in a motorhome parked on the property. They also discovered six memory sticks holding more than 8,000 files, mostly containing pictures and videos of child abuse. These were in a bag that had been hidden in a hole in the ground, underneath the body of his dead dog. Brueckner was jailed for 15 months this time, for possession of child pornography. Then, shortly after his release in May 2017, he bumped into an old friend while heavily intoxicated in a bar. It was the tenth anniversary of Madeleines disappearance, and the venues television carried a news report. Brueckner is said to have told his chum that he knew all about what had happened to her. He then showed his friend a video of him raping a woman. The friend later went to police, leading to Brueckners subsequent arrest and imprisonment for the 2005 rape of the American tourist. Around the same time, he was also convicted of drug dealing in the northern German resort of Sylt, crimes that have kept him behind bars to this day. Brueckners alleged link to the disappearance of Madeleine first became public in June 2020, when German prosecutors announced that they believed him responsible for murdering her and said they had concrete evidence the British child was dead. In the aftermath, it emerged that police are investigating potential links to a string of other sex crimes, many involving children. Late last year it was reported that Brueckner would be charged this year with three offences including the rape of an Irish woman in 2004 on the Algarve. But with no confession forthcoming, and no proof that Madeleine has been murdered, the question of whether he will ever face trial over her disappearance may revolve around the outcome of forensic work on the VW van he drove while living on the Algarve. One Portuguese insider described the results as potentially crucial. But he added: They could also be the final throw of the dice. At the moment, its a bit of a wait-and-see situation. As for Brueckner, he recently wrote to the Mail (prior to the arguido development) denying that hed yet been interviewed about Madeleines disappearance. It is obvious the German authorities, and especially the Department of Justice, are providing the media with information about me that is likely to make me appear contemptible, he complained. The truth, however, is that Brueckners appalling criminal record is what makes this convicted paedophile and rapist contemptible and why he is now officially an arguido. Failed childrens services bosses some ousted over major scandals have repeatedly bounced back into similar six-figure council jobs in a revolving door of failure. Several officials forced to leave their positions after devastating revelations about the care of youngsters have slipped seamlessly into near-identical roles at different local authorities, a Daily Mail investigation reveals. Some picked up huge payoffs despite overseeing services that deteriorated to inadequate. Others failed to make improvements at already struggling councils. One council boss has toured the country working at six failing local authorities in 17 years. Under his watch, councils have been marred by scandals from financial mismanagement to the murder of a vulnerable teenager. At another crumbling department, a director was paid a basic salary of 138,000 while two children were beaten to death following lost opportunities to protect them. She was swiftly moved to another local authority which was already rated inadequate where she was paid another six-figure salary. One head of childrens services was handed a 100,000 severance payment following a probe by watchdog Ofsted which found vulnerable children were being left for too long in situations of chronic neglect. She is now heading up another council department. The social service system has come under scrutiny after it was revealed the former head of the council department that failed Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was handed the role despite having run another operation only 60 miles away into the ground. Arthur, six, from Solihull, died from brain trauma in June 2020 after he was beaten by his stepmother Emma Tustin. The social service system has come under scrutiny after it was revealed the former head of the council department that failed Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was handed the role despite having run another operation only 60 miles away into the ground. Arthur, six, from Solihull, died from brain trauma in June 2020 after he was beaten by his stepmother Emma Tustin Louise Rees, 60, who resigned shortly after Arthurs death, moved into the role from Stoke-on-Trent. That council fell from requires improvement when she began to inadequate, the lowest Ofsted rating, shortly after her departure. She refused to comment Louise Rees, 60, who resigned shortly after Arthurs death, moved into the role from Stoke-on-Trent. That council fell from requires improvement when she began to inadequate, the lowest Ofsted rating, shortly after her departure. She refused to comment. A Mail audit of the 20 worst-rated local authorities found they had run through an average of three directors of childrens services in the past five years with one council burning through six. It raises questions over whether the current system which sees the same key players bouncing from one inflated salary to another is fit for purpose. Last night MPs and campaigners accused the local authorities of rewarding failure. Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons education committee, said: There seems to be a revolving door of failure rather than proper accountability. Why is it that individuals who have failed these children are moving from job to job with whacking salaries? There should be proper sanctions for those who fail. They should take responsibility and face the consequences. Martin Barrow, a foster carer who campaigns for improvements in childrens services, said: Councils are rewarding failure. Our children deserve so much better than this. Charlotte Ramsden, president of the Association of Directors of Childrens Services, said: Improvement work is hard, and it takes a long time, working alongside Ofsted, government departments and local political leaders. This is a much wider and more complex issue than the role and effectiveness of the director alone. Here we reveal the roll-call of rewards for failures. Two babies killed on her watch Lesley Hagger was at the helm of Northamptonshire Council on a package worth 165,000 when two children were killed by men the authorities knew to be dangerous. Dylan Tiffin-Brown, two, was beaten to death in December 2017 by his father Raphael Kennedy, 31, despite repeated warnings the boy was in danger. Evelyn-Rose Muggleton, nine months, was murdered by her mothers drug-dealing boyfriend, Ryan Coleman, 21, in April 2018. Lesley Hagger was at the helm of Northamptonshire Council on a package worth 165,000 when two children were killed by men the authorities knew to be dangerous The baby had suffered 31 separate injuries despite warnings about Colemans significant criminal history. In 2018, Miss Hagger moved to the same role at Sandwell Council already rated inadequate where she was paid 145,413. She said the last Ofsted inspection while she was at Northamptonshire Council was a positive report regarding progress being made. But an inspection three months after she left found services had significantly declined in the past two years. The replacement on 1,100 a day Sally Hodges took over at Northamptonshire from Miss Hagger for the rate of 1,100 per day equivalent to more than 250,000 a year. An inspection months after her arrival found hundreds of children did not have a social worker and were waiting months to have their needs assessed. It found children were being put at risk and housed in unsafe and unsuitable settings. It did state that the new senior management team had made some key improvements. She left Northamptonshire in October 2019. The authoritys services have since been taken over by a trust. Mrs Hodges previously headed up the department at Solihull Council. She left a year before the council failed Arthur. She declined to comment. 100,000 payout for inadequacy Helen Watson left as director of childrens services at Middlesbrough Council after Ofsteds 2019 report rated childrens services inadequate. It said the quality of care had deteriorated and there were serious and widespread failures that leave children in harmful situations for too long. During her three-and-a-half years in the role, the department was downgraded from requires improvement to inadequate. Her final pay packet including severance payments worth 100,000 totalled 228,863. Miss Watson took up the same role at Nottingham Council, started a consulting business and is now at the helm of Wokingham Borough Councils childrens services. She did not respond to requests for comment. Helen Watson left as director of childrens services at Middlesbrough Council after Ofsteds 2019 report rated childrens services inadequate 'Retired' boss touring top jobs Career council chief Jim Leivers has been at the helm of a string of failing services. He took early retirement from his role as chief executive of North East Lincolnshire Council in 2004 following a damning report into the authoritys management and finances. The council was branded one of the worst 15 local authorities in the country. The 69-year-old has since flitted between at least six local authorities where he has earned up to 236,000 a year. As head of childrens services at Oxfordshire County Council, Mr Leivers apologised to hundreds of children who were gang-raped, beaten and tortured by paedophile gangs while social workers and police effectively turned a blind eye. Career council chief Jim Leivers has been at the helm of a string of failing services He did not work at the council when the abuse took place. But one girl, who was 13 when she was first abused by a gang, accused Mr Leivers, on 144,821 a year, of lying about the support it has offered to a victim and her family. The council also came under scrutiny when he was in charge for failings following the murder of vulnerable teenager Jayden Parkinson, 17, strangled to death by her violent ex-boyfriend Ben Blakely in 2013. The authority was rated good by Ofsted in 2014 while Mr Leivers was in charge. He took an exit payment of 73,866 in January 2017. Mr Leivers was also interim head of childrens services at failing Sandwell, Surrey and Wokingham councils where he was paid 62,000 for two months work. These councils were rated inadequate before he took on the roles. Surrey slightly improved its rating to requires improvement during his tenure. He is now working for inadequate St Helens Borough Council. An Ofsted report published in January criticised the childrens departments ineffective management oversight. Mr Leivers said he has a proven track record of improving failing childrens services and his salary is commensurate with the role at similar councils. He added: We all need to recognise how difficult this job is and how services need our support and development not just criticism. 52,000 payoff with children at risk Steve Kay was handed compensation after a whistleblower alleged hundreds of children were being put at risk of abuse and neglect. A social worker said staff at North East Lincolnshire Council were managing up to 65 cases each and a three-year-old girl was found with drugs including heroin in her system after social workers failed to check on her for months. The council said at the time the figures were taken while there were issues with data reporting and do not represent a true picture of the support given. Weeks after the damning claims were published, Mr Kay stepped down from his 100,000 job as director of children and family services. He left in 2019 with 52,480 compensation for loss of office. Steve Kay was handed compensation after a whistleblower alleged hundreds of children were being put at risk of abuse and neglect The final Ofsted visit before his departure found standards had fallen since the department was rated good in 2017. Inspectors found children at risk and significant weaknesses in the quality of services. The next full inspection, in October 2021, rated the services inadequate. Mr Kay is now in a 85,000 job at Rochdale Council as assistant director for early help and schools. A spokesman said his departure from North East Lincolnshire was not connected to any inspection or individual case. Three flawed councils on the CV The assistant director of Bradford Council is no stranger to local authorities with the worst possible Ofsted rating. David Johnston was director of childrens services at Buckinghamshire Council, which was rated inadequate in 2014, six months before he began. His total remuneration was 178,000. It received the same rating shortly after he left in 2017 with improvements deemed inconsistent and too slow. David Johnston was director of childrens services at Buckinghamshire Council, which was rated inadequate in 2014, six months before he began. His total remuneration was 178,000 He then worked at the failing Powys Council in Wales after it had received a damning inspection report. Mr Johnston has been at Bradford Council since August 2021. The council was rated inadequate in 2018. Last year it was lambasted for failing Star Hobson, 16 months, who was murdered by her mothers girlfriend in September 2020. Bradford Council said the 2017 Buckinghamshire inspection found managers [were] taking effective action to respond to weaknesses. It said Care Inspectorate Wales described significant improvements to Powys Council in certain areas of practice at the time that David worked there. Mr Johnston said that turning around failing services in large complex organisations can be difficult as the causes of the failures can be complex and entrenched in the culture. Another failing council-hopper Childrens services boss Andrew Dempsey headed up two inadequate services but failed to make any significant improvements. In the past ten years he has been at the helm of St Helens Borough Council and Torbay Council. In the latter, an Ofsted report claimed the pace of change has been too slow and criticised fundamental weaknesses in management. He currently works as director of partnerships and strategy at Gloucestershire Council, which this month was upgraded from inadequate to requires improvement. Mr Dempsey was paid six figures in all three roles and now earns 107,000. He declined to comment. Childrens services boss Andrew Dempsey headed up two inadequate services but failed to make any significant improvements Tragic Logan council was warned a year before his murder By JAMES TOZER AND LIZ HULL The social services department that failed to protect Logan Mwangi was warned it was letting down children at risk a year before his murder, it emerged last night. Inspectors told Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) in August 2020 that children were coming off the child protection register too soon. Officials from the Care Inspectorate Wales watchdog also warned it could not be confident that children at risk of neglect or abuse were visited frequently enough. Eighteen months earlier council bosses admitted they also faced compensation claims from a number of families suing for failing to take children into care earlier. The social services department that failed to protect Logan Mwangi was warned it was letting down children at risk a year before his murder, it emerged last night The councils head of social services, Claire Marchant, has refused to comment. She joined BCBC in October 2020 her third job at a different council in five years. She did not respond yesterday Logan spent seven months on Bridgends child protection register, but was removed and downgraded to a child in need weeks before his death at five last July. On Thursday, his mother, Angharad Williamson, 31, stepfather John Cole, 40, and a 14-year-old boy who cannot be named were convicted of his murder and trying to hide his death. The downgrading meant social workers saw Logan less, despite warnings from the 14-year-olds foster parents that he threatened to kill Logan, which officials denied. There were 13 serious case reviews into child neglect at BCBC from 2009 to 2013. Now Logans death has prompted a new inquiry a child practice review led by Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board, which includes experts from the council, police, probation service and NHS. The councils head of social services, Claire Marchant, has refused to comment. She joined BCBC in October 2020 her third job at a different council in five years. She did not respond yesterday. The investigation is expected to examine missed opportunities to intervene in Logans care, including instances when Williamson lied to social workers about injuries Logan suffered. It will also focus on the lack of communication between his social worker, Gaynor Rush, and her colleague Debbie Williams, responsible for the teenager convicted of his murder. Israeli and Korean staff at the Embassy of Israel in Korea pose for a photo during their "plogging," a combination of jogging and picking up litter, at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yoo By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff at the Embassy of Israel in Korea gathered at Yeouido Hangang Park, Tuesday, to "plog," a combination of jogging and picking up litter, in celebration of Earth Day, which falls on April 22. Rasha Atamny, the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Israel in Korea, said plogging is a great way to remind ourselves of the basic needs for human life, which are taken for granted, like nature, oxygen and a healthy lifestyle, explaining why the diplomats are having a day out. "With our hectic daily life, not many opportunities come along to allow us to actually be in deliberate contact with nature. Sometimes we need to create opportunities instead of waiting for them," Atamny said in an interview with The Korea Times. After plogging around the park for a while, Atamny said she saw so many little pieces of trash, though everything looks clean at first glance and worried that this trash might damage the environment and ecosystem around the park. "Environmental pollution is a challenge that we all need to find time and space in our daily lives to decrease our personal carbon footprint by making educated choices. Climate change requires active action all over the world, not only by governments but also by communities and individuals," she said. "The embassy of Israel is committed to these goals wherever it may be in the world, and it is our duty to contribute to the society we live in, raise awareness and encourage others to take action." Atamny outlined Israel's efforts for tackling climate change, including a roadmap to carbon neutrality. "As the world is experiencing a growing need for practical solutions to the climate crisis, Israel has put climate change at the center of our government policies and is one of the world's leading countries in the field of climate change innovation. It has come a long way in addressing challenges in many areas, such as agriculture, food security, desertification and water shortages," she said. Israel's roadmap has the objective of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 27 percent by 2030, and by 85 percent by 2050, compared to the 2015 level. "The plan includes many items, for example, a resolution on clean, low-carbon transportation, an energy-streamlining program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a focus on utilizing renewable energy in infrastructure projects and the development of technologies for use in the areas of climate, energy, food and agriculture. Israel aims to accelerate innovation by removing regulatory obstacles to research and the development of technologies for public infrastructure," Atamny explained. The deputy head of mission noted that the development of technologies in climate, energy, food and agriculture has helped Israel to realize its carbon emission reduction targets, and the Israeli government hopes that those innovations will also be adopted by other countries keen to tackle global climate problems. For instance, an Israeli delegation from Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), a non-profit organization that buys and develops land for Jewish settlement, where it has planted 240 million trees, will participate in the upcoming World Forestry Congress in in Seoul from May 2-6. "Among its environmental goals, KKL-JNF advances forestry in various ways that include education, technology and R&D in Israel. Seventy percent of Korea's territory is composed of forests. Despite people's best efforts, forests change trees grow older, fires break out and the condition of the soil deteriorates. Following the UN Climate Change Conferences, KKL-JNF updated its environmental policy to contribute to the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Atamny said. "I see a very promising opportunity for cooperation between Israel and Korea in this field of forestry, but not only that. Israel and Korea seem like natural partners when it comes to solving global climate change-related issues, this is because both Korea and Israel are amongst the world's leading countries in the field of climate change innovation." Barnaby Joyce's security fended off an abusive driver after he tried to confront the deputy prime minister on a busy highway. Mr Joyce was driving in a car with staff along the New England Highway and headed for his electorate office in Armidale, in NSW's Northern Tablelands, on Friday. The deputy prime minister was being tailed by a security car carrying three Australian Federal Police officers. Barnaby Joyce's security fended off an abusive driver after he tried to confront the deputy prime minister on a busy highway Mr Joyce pulled his car over to the side of the road to take a call on his phone when a passing SUV made a U-turn and headed for Mr Joyce's vehicle. An AFP officer jumped out of the security car and ran in front of the white SUV, stopping the vehicle 30 metres from Mr Joyce. The ensuing confrontation was captured on mobile phone footage from a person in Mr Joyce's group. The driver of the SUV is seen stepping out of the car before launching into a verbal tirade at the AFP officer blocking his path. 'Get out of the f***in' way you dog,' he yells. 'Get the f*** out of my face you maggot c***.' A passenger, believed to be his daughter, tries to take the driver back into the SUV before he hurls more abuse at the unmoving officer. 'C'mon, c'mon on ya c***. You piss weak c***,' he yells. Mr Joyce praised the actions of the quick thinking security staff - labelling the outburst as 'sad' and 'unsavoury' The driver points his finger in the face of the AFP officer who remains silent as he stares him down. The officer calmly watches the driver return to his SUV following the outburst. The incident was referred to NSW Police, but no charges have been laid. Mr Joyce praised the actions of the quick thinking security staff. 'This was a sad and unsavoury incident, which in no way reflects how the majority of Australians participate in our democracy,' he said. 'I thank my protective detail for their bravery in keeping myself and my staff safe. This will be dealt with through the appropriate processes.' The Theatre Royal Bath is one of the oldest and most prestigious provincial playhouses in the country. The exquisitely restored venue, which opened in October 1805, is currently taking bookings for the English Touring Opera's rendition of Puccini's La Boheme in May. Later in the year, Felicity Kendal and Caroline Quentin will tread the boards here in comedies by Michael Frayn and George Bernard Shaw. Other shows in the pipeline include Bugsy Malone and Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. But a very different kind of performance is about to be staged at the Theatre Royal Bath. Actors, sometimes stripped naked, will talk explicitly about sex and, if the publicity photographs are anything to go by, they will also demonstrate various sexual positions (albeit fully clothed) while simulating orgasm for the audience. Parents are encouraged to bring their kids to 'learn about sex' as an 'alternative to porn' during the hour-long production, if that is the right word Many might wonder why such a production, featuring full-frontal nudity apart from anything else, is being put on at a much-respected auditorium in the heart of one of our most historic cities instead of, say, the backstreets of Soho. The more shocking revelation, though, is that the production, The Family Sex Show, subsidised to the tune of nearly 40,000 from the National Lottery, via Arts Council England public money, in other words is aimed at children as young as five. Yes, five. 'It's like Pixar meets Sesame Street meets Flight Of The Conchords' is how the 'show' is promoted on The Family Sex Show website. The quote, apparently from a fan, is reproduced in big letters inside a speech bubble. Could there be a more inappropriate, misleading description? Parents are encouraged to bring their kids to 'learn about sex' as an 'alternative to porn' during the hour-long production, if that is the right word. Youngsters are urged to explore 'sexual pleasure' and 'try sexual practices' with the help of an online information pack that includes questions such as, 'Do you make enough time to experience pleasure?' And, 'If some of your pleasures are sexual, are there any sexual practices you might like to try? Or 'Which pleasures are experienced alone and which are with other people?' Youngsters are urged to explore 'sexual pleasure' and 'try sexual practices' with the help of an online information pack that includes questions such as, 'Do you make enough time to experience pleasure?' The target audience, remember, includes pre-teen children. As the organisers make crystal clear: 'This is a show for everyone. We suggest 5+' The Family Sex Show was due to open this month in at least seven theatres, from Norwich to Bristol, but had to be cancelled following a backlash, with more than 38,000 people (ordinary mums, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, for the most part) signing a petition calling The Family Sex Show 'profoundly irresponsible and wholly inappropriate'. They say the effect will not be 'educating children', but rather prematurely sexualising them. The cast of up to eight performers, however, are determined that the show must go on after all, they have the money. They will perform to an invited audience at the Theatre Royal Bath, it has been announced, at a date yet to be decided, 'ahead of subsequent public performances'. So, despite widespread condemnation that the content is unsuitable for children, The Family Sex Show could if the organisers get their way end up playing at a theatre near you. The producers say 'a small group of people with extremist views' forced the cancellation of the initial shows. But, in actuality, thousands expressed their disquiet on social media. Maybe some went too far. But portraying anyone who disagrees with their own views as 'extremists' and bigots is a familiar tactic of the 'cancel culture' generation. The target audience, remember, includes pre-teen children. As the organisers make crystal clear: 'This is a show for everyone. We suggest 5+' In fact, many of those who have posted critical comments on The Family Sex Show's Twitter page are teachers and professionals working in child protection, hardly a demographic that attracts dyed-in-the-wool conservatives, as well as concerned parents. Reflecting a common theme, one teacher wrote: 'If a child in my class came in telling me about The Family Sex Show they'd been to, I would have to report that to a safeguarding lead.' Of particular concern to families was the nudity. At one point, everyone on stage takes their clothes to a 'level they feel comfortable with', according to the publicity blurb 'for some people, that's taking off all their clothes and being completely naked,' the creators of The Family Sex Show admit. Nudity on stage has flourished since the 1960s, largely due to the way the courts have chosen to interpret Britain's obscenity laws in relation to the arts. Nevertheless, mums and dads on the parenting website Mumsnet called for the police to investigate, with some arguing that 'having naked strangers' in front of children was no different to them 'being flashed'. There were fears, too, that the show could lead to inappropriate conversations between children and adults and was therefore 'creating a gap, nay, a canyon for predators to enter' to quote one critic. So who exactly is behind The Family Sex Show? The producers say 'a small group of people with extremist views' forced the cancellation of the initial shows. But, in actuality, thousands expressed their disquiet on social media The producer is Josie Dale-Jones, 29, founder of the Norwich-based theatre company ThisEgg. She defends the controversial subject matter controversial to almost everyone, that is, except Miss Dale-Jones and her associates by pointing out that she worked alongside 'specialists in sex education'. Among them is 28-year-old Gayathiri Kamalakanthan, her supporting producer and co-director of ThisEgg Ltd. Miss Kamalakanthan is also a key figure in specialist sex education charity the School of Sexuality Education (her official title is 'Queer Education and Community Engagement Lead'). The School of Sexuality Education holds workshops in schools all over the country. Few could have imagined that, when the Department for Education introduced compulsory RSE (relationships and sex education) for secondary school pupils in 2020, it would lead to 'external providers' such as the School of Sexuality Education. However, the reality is that the necessity to deliver RSE left many schools struggling to fulfil the requirements of the curriculum, which has resulted in a plethora of agenda-driven groups springing up. These groups, critics claim, do not receive proper oversight or scrutiny. How many parents would be happy to allow the School of Sexuality Education into their school if they had read the blog by one of the group's volunteers? Many might wonder why such a production, featuring full-frontal nudity apart from anything else, is being put on at a much-respected auditorium in the heart of one of our most historic cities instead of, say, the backstreets of Soho 'The School of Sexuality Education's definition of sex is 'anything that makes you feel horny or aroused',' the female volunteer declared. Examples of sexual activities for some people, she added, include 'oral sex' and 'anal sex'. The influence of the School of Sexuality Education on The Family Sex Show is unmistakable. The website for the show, for example, encourages children to 'try sexual practices' with their 'sexual parts' as well as 'draw and label' male and female genitals. The same advice is given to pupils in workshops by the School of Sexuality Education. The show's website also instructs children to 'remember' that 'not all women have vulvas, and not all vulvas belong to women'. The same defining ideology, namely that your sex is a matter of personal choice, not biology is infused in what many would describe as propaganda masquerading as fact advanced by the London-based School of Sexuality Education and so, inevitably, by The Family Sex Show. Perhaps one of the most offensive sections of The Family Sex Show website has been deleted in the wake of the outcry. It was this: 'All kinds of animals masturbate not just humans. Now use the internet to find other examples of animals that masturbate. Why don't you draw the animals that you've found?' Another now-deleted section read: 'Everyone's different and will have different things that feel nice to touch for them! If one day you want to be touched in a particular way, that's absolutely OK. You decide what feels good for you.' Also deleted is this: 'If you'd like to make your own Play- Doh genitals, have a go with these instructions.' The same Play-Doh exercise is included in workshops run by the School of Sexuality Education. 'We are appalled at the current state of affairs,' said Tanya Carter, of the parent campaign group Safe Schools Alliance. 'Children have a right to accurate information regarding puberty and their bodies. Instead they are being subjected to misinformation and inaccurate material. It is a scandal which has been enabled by very many individuals, organisations and government departments being in complete dereliction of duty.' Surely not many outside the deluded woke bubble would disagree with these sentiments, which are echoed by children's author and former Yorkshire-based policeman G.P. Taylor. He told us: 'It is inappropriate to teach children these things or allow them to watch naked people frolicking about on stage. This is dangerous ground.' Josie Dale-Jones, who also performs in her shows, was awarded a scholarship by the Theatre Royal Bath in 2019 and was commissioned to make The Family Sex Show hence the reason, presumably, why it will still open at the venue. She received further funding (38,216, according to the TaxPayers' Alliance) from Arts Council England, which is responsible for investing public money from the Government and the National Lottery in 'artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people's lives'. The fact that The Family Sex Show qualified for such funding in the first place is perhaps indicative of a wider scandal. Either way, Miss Dale-Jones thanked Arts Council England in a tweet last year. '13th time lucky,' she wrote we're oh so thrilled (& v v relieved) to have money to continue developing all the things that will sit alongside THE FAMILY SEX SHOW (#TFFS) next year. Thank you.' In an interview with The Guardian, in March, she spoke about the benefits of sex education. Miss Dale-Jones added: 'The argument against sex education for younger ages has repeatedly been that education is indoctrination: the more we tell our young children about sex, the more tempted they will be. 'But there's so much research that shows the complete opposite. Knowing your body is about knowing your rights. The more we know, the more we can protect ourselves and each other. 'It's the older people who feel discomfort in something that's challenging their preconceptions.' In the wake of the current furore, ThisEgg issued a statement stressing that 'audiences were given information about the content before booking, so that they could make an informed decision to watch the show. 'We believe what happened is reflective of structural and societal attitudes towards relationships and sex education, as well as art, culture and who is allowed to create and what we are allowed to engage with in the UK.' But isn't there a much simpler reason that The Family Sex Show is dangerous and shockingly inappropriate in the eyes of ordinary people who said so very loudly in their thousands? Additional reporting: Tim Stewart and Mark Branagan Columns of Russian tanks with flags flying from their turrets patrolled the ruins of Mariupol yesterday amid reports that 9,000 Ukrainians may have been murdered and buried in mass graves on the outskirts of the city. The menacing T-72s bore the familiar white, blue and red Russian flag and the less well-known black, blue and red flag of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic, a region occupied by pro-Russian separatists. The huge convoy sent an ominous message to the watching world as Russia tightened its grip on eastern Ukraine. The immense Russian convoy rolled into war-torn Mariupol yesterday to tighten Putin's grip Slide me The first satellite image, taken on March 19, 2022, shows a cemetery on the outskirts of Mariupol. A large empty field can be seen nearby the graves on the right. But the second image, taken on April 3, clearly shows several rows of freshly-dug mass graves running along the length of the field by the cemetery. Thousands of civilians are believed to have died in Mariupol after eight weeks of constant Russian bombardment Some 100,000 civilians remain trapped in Mariupol after talks to open humanitarian corridors fell through as it was reported that Russian forces bombed an escape route. Yesterday, satellite images emerged of what appear to be mass graves near the city. Mariupol council claimed the graves could hold as many as 9,000 bodies. If confirmed, the graves would be much bigger than those found in the town of Bucha. Mariupol mayor Vadym Boychenko accused the Russians of hiding their military crimes by burying the people they murdered. He said: The greatest war crime of the 21st century has been committed in Mariupol. This is the new Babi Yar [a massacre of Ukrainian Jews by the Nazis in 1941]. 'Then, Hitler killed Jews, Roma and Slavs. And now Vladimir Putin is destroying Ukrainians. He has killed tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol. This requires a strong reaction from the entire world. We need to stop the genocide by any means possible. According to Maxar Technologies, which released the images, the graves in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol, were dug in late March, with more being dug in recent weeks. The pictures were released as Putin boasted his troops have liberated Mariupol. The Russian president appeared bloated in TV images as he slouched in a chair and gripped a table. Putins health has reportedly been in decline since the invasion began in February. His declaration of victory in Mariupol came despite the presence of 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers holding out in a huge steel plant in the city. We've only got hours left, say heroes of steel plant By Lewis Pennock Sealed into a 15-mile labyrinth with no means of escape, they have just hours of food and water left. There are 2,000 of them cramped inside the suffocating Cold War tunnels beneath the remains of Azovstal steelworks, and the soldiers and civilians who make up Mariupols last resistance now know one thing for certain the fight is all but over. Above them Mariupol is razed, with tens of thousands dead in the rubble. Deputy commander Svyatoslav Palamar said: 'Russian promises are worth nothing' The Russians are finally in control, the red, white and blue tricolour flying from tanks patrolling city streets which now barely exist. Were at the end of our food and water, Staff Sergeant Leonid Kuznetsov, 25, of the Ukrainian National Guard said. We have about 1,000 civilians at the factory. I cant say how many soldiers we have. 'There are many, many wounded and not enough medicine. There are not even simple bandages. The only hope? Guarantees of a safe passage out for the elderly, women and children. But for the soldiers, surrender is out of the question. The soldiers inside the tunnels and bunkers beneath the steelworks are the only Ukrainian resistance left in Mariupol. This city under a city was built during the Cold War as a hiding place for the plants 40,000 workers in the event of a nuclear attack. Civilians are sheltering in concrete bunkers which each hold about 80 to 100 people, separate from the soldiers. Russian soldiers stand guard in front of the Azovstal administration building on Thursday Intense shelling above ground at the Azovstal site has caused some of the tunnels to collapse, with deadly consequences. Some parts of the subterranean network are being used to store the bodies of the dead, in the hope that they can be given a proper burial. Were hoping for help. If we dont get it, we wont make it out. We will die here with weapons in our hands defending Ukraine, Sergeant Kuznetsov said. We have a day or two if the fight isnt that intense. If it is, it all may end within 12 hours. His wife, Maria Kuznetsova, 23, who is living with their one-year-old son in western Ukraine, added: He hopes everything will turn out all right, but he told me to be prepared for any outcome. On Thursday, Vladimir Putin ordered a blockade of the site so not even a fly can get through. Russias defence ministry said yesterday it was ready for a ceasefire to allow civilians out if the soldiers surrender. Palamar's comments are the first to come from inside the steelworks, the last remaining bastion of resistance in the city which has been razed to the ground But a Ukrainian deputy commander inside the tunnels, Svyatoslav Palamar, said Russian promises are worth nothing. He told the BBC: I hope we all know who we are dealing with. We definitely know that all guarantees, all statements of the Russian Federation are worth nothing. Russia has not said how it will clear the tunnels if troops do not surrender. There were fears a chemical attack could be launched, but Putins decision to blockade the site suggests starvation is the preferred approach. Captain Palamar added: All the buildings in the territory of Azovstal are practically destroyed. They drop heavy bombs, which cause huge destruction. Ukraine says about 100,000 people are still trapped in Mariupol. Putin has claimed the capture of the city, where 21,000 people have reportedly been killed, has been successfully completed. Emmanuel Macron was left furious by Boris Johnsons trip to Kyiv as it ruined his own plans for a secret visit. The French president reportedly threw a strop after seeing the PM arrive in Ukraine to show solidarity with Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Macron had been working on travelling to Kyiv to pose as the EUs de facto leader and bolster support in the tight national elections. But Mr Johnson cut the grass from under his feet, French satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine said. Macron (pictured campaigning) has sought to be the EU's de facto leader during the war Mr Macron is said to have ranted to his advisers: Its so annoying to see Johnson still has this capacity to put himself front and centre when he hasnt actually done very much since the start of this. 'Johnson just does Johnson its populism. He keeps repeating Putin must fail but theres nothing behind the words. A tradie who had sex with a drunken law student he met while on a night out is fighting allegations he raped her amid claims her uni mates convinced her she had been 'drug spiked'. Phoenix Cooper, 23, of St Kilda East - 6km southeast of Melbourne's CBD - had been introduced to his alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, by her law student mate while on a trip to the bar. What happened in the hours after that fateful meeting is now being examined by a jury in the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne. Phoenix Cooper, 23, (left) is being represented by one of Melbourne's top silks, Philip Dunn, QC (right). They are pictured leaving the Supreme Court of Melbourne on Thursday Cooper has been described to a jury as being a 'bit of a bragger'. His hand is tattooed with dollar signs Phoenix Cooper was captured on CCTV canoodling with his alleged victim after leaving the Antique Bar (pictured) in Elsternwick Cooper has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of rape, claiming he had no idea the brief sexual dalliance he shared with the woman was anything but consensual. The court heard the woman herself claims to have no memory of the actual act after her memory became 'fuzzy' just after midnight on April 20, 2019. Crown prosecutor Brett Sonnet told the jury by the time the woman left the bar she had consumed wine and martinis off her own bat and accepted shots of cognac and whiskey from Cooper. When forensic doctors tested her blood alcohol content at 7.55am that morning they estimated she would have recorded somewhere between .135 and a .204 - more than four times the legal limit to drive - when the alleged rape happened. The couple had been captured on CCTV leaving the Antique Bar in Elsternwick just before 1am. The woman had left her friends at the bar along with her handbag, which contained her wallet and house keys. The court heard Cooper had wooed the woman with tales of his window glazing business, cash and time living in New York. Later that night, Cooper and the woman left her friends to enjoy a cigar, which she was captured on CCTV dropping multiple times. When the woman asked for a red wine, Cooper bought her a whiskey, which she consumed. The alleged victim's friends became concerned when they found her bag, but no sign of her. The court heard her friend managed to track Cooper's phone number down thanks to his previous bragging. Phoenix Cooper admitted to his alleged victim's friends he had had sex with her just minutes after the act. He told police the same thing. Then he was charged with raping her Cooper's other hand has the word 'God' tattooed on it. He had been sharing a home with a born again Christian when he allegedly raped a woman Cooper's alleged victim had been familiar with the Anti WHO IS PHILIP DUNN, QC Philip Dunn, QC, is recognised as one of Melbourne's top barristers. He has walked the streets of Melbourne's court district for near on 50 years. Back in the 1970s, Mr Dunn represented Norman Lee in the 1976 Great Bookie Robbery, which remains one of the largest Australian armed robberies. In 1994, alongside Robert Richter QC - who would go onto defend Cardinal George Pell - he represented Detectives Lockwood and Avon, who were charged with the murder of Gary Abdallah following the Walsh Street police murders. Both were aquitted. Advertisement When he finally picked-up the phone some 20 minutes after leaving the bar, Cooper claimed she didn't want to speak. Unconvinced, her law student friend - now in an Uber himself - continued to demand he speak with her, the court heard. 'I'm fine, I'm fine,' the woman told him. Concerned about the slurring of her speech, he asked and was provided Cooper's address so that he could come and check on her. After that conversation, the woman got out of bed with Cooper and went to the toilet. When she attempted to return to the bedroom, the jury heard she ended up in the bed of Cooper's born-again-Christian housemate, who promptly returned her to the correct bedroom. At 1.20am, the woman's friends arrived at Cooper's apartment complex and called him again. 'Darling your friends are here,' Cooper was heard to say. But when Cooper failed to bring the woman down within 10 minutes, her mates proceeded to wake-up the entire complex by pressing every doorbell. When Cooper and the woman finally went downstairs, it was noted she had no shoes on and her clothes were on back-to-front. Phoenix Cooper and Philip Dunn, QC leave the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday He would later tell police he had never seen his friend in such a state in the eight years he'd known her. He further claimed when all four of them went back up into Cooper's apartment to retrieve the shoes, she mouthed the words 'help me'. The court heard the woman's two friends took her to hospital after she vomited in the Uber upon leaving Cooper's pad. When cops met up with Cooper days later he freely admitted to having sex with the woman. Mr Sonnet told the jury by the end of the trial they ought be content the woman did not give Cooper consent by way that she was either too drunk or asleep at the time. Under the law, a person cannot be convicted of rape if the jury accepts they had a 'reasonable belief' that consent was given. 'Did the accused have a reasonable belief in consent? Prosecution case is the accused did not hold a reasonable belief in consent,' Mr Sonnet said. Cooper's barrister, top Melbourne silk Philip Dunn QC, told the jury a key issue in the trial would be the belief of the law student's friends that her drink had been spiked with drugs. '(He) becomes convinced that she must be drink-spiked, she must be drugged to be in the apartment with Mr Cooper. Drugged,' Mr Dunn said. The barrister told the jury the reason his client hadn't opened the door for the woman's friends when they arrived that morning was because they were in the process of having sex, which Mr Cooper freely admitted when he finally opened the door. 'By now (her friends) are convinced that their friend must be drugged, must be drugged ... when she came downstairs you'll hear (her friend) said "I looked at her and I've known her since she was 15 and she was drug affected" and as you'll hear she wasn't,' Mr Dunn said. Mr Dunn told the jury the woman had been cruising dating apps while enjoying pre-clubbing drinks at her Brighton home - in Melbourne's leafy southeast - before setting out that night. 'Why didn't she contact her friends to tell them she was leaving? And was she acting impulsively or was she incapacitated? Does a loss of memory mean that you're not capable of giving consent?' Mr Dunn told the jury. The trial continues. Campaigners have called for the leasehold system to be overhauled following a rally in central London to support cladding-hit flat owners. The protestors gathered outside Parliament earlier this week to call for changes to the Building Safety Bill, which was - at the same time - being debated by MPs in the Commons. The campaigners want to see changes to the proposed legislation that would protect all leaseholders from the cost of fire safety defects. However, MPs ended up voting against the changes previously proposed by the Lords, leaving cladding-hit flat owners in buildings under 11 metres to pick up the cost of the repairs. Leaseholders in affected buildings above 11 metres are also concerned that they could still end up having to pay to remediate buildings they do not own. Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Hina Bokhari (pictured centre) attends the rally with leaseholders Steph Pike and Reece Lipman The Government insists that leaseholders are protected from the costs of dangerous buildings. Earlier this year, the Secretary of State for Housing Michael Gove said leaseholders 'are blameless, and it is morally wrong that they should be the ones asked to pay the price'. However, recent Government amendments to the Building Safety Bill include some caveats, meaning many leaseholders could still have to pay life-changing sums for the remediation work. A recent survey by the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign of more than 2,200 properties in buildings over 11 metres suggested that 64 per cent of leaseholders outside of London and 83 per cent of leaseholders in London will not be protected from all costs to fix non-cladding fire safety defects. The EOCS is seeking for all leaseholder contributions to be reduced to zero and for leaseholder protections to be extended to buildings of all heights. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey speaks at the leaseholder rally outside of Parliament MailOnline Property spoke to Hina Bokhari, Liberal Democrat London Assembly member, who attended the leasehold rally. Leaseholders feel trapped, It is horrible for them and the pressure on them is constant She explained how cladding issues had thrown the wider issues about leasehold legislation into the spotlight. She said: 'There needs to be Government responsibility on the issue of leasehold. It needs to do an umbrella approach on this. 'We have learnt as the years have gone on that it is not just about cladding. There are so many issues with leaseholders and unless they deal with it properly, it is never going to end. 'There needs to be a more serious approach to this. Gove needs to focus on leasehold issues only as it is a massive issue in itself. It has to be done properly. It cannot be a piecemeal approach as there are too many victims. 'Leaseholders feel trapped, it is horrible for them and the pressure on them is constant.' The rally saw campaigners call for more protection for cladding-hit flat owners who face large remediation bills Leaseholder Reece Lipman, who was also at the rally, said: 'It was great to see so many leaseholders, parents and friends out again making our voices heard, as well as cross party support from MPs, Lords and councillors. 'This support has helped push the campaign forward immeasurably in the last few years to get us to where we are. 'But we should not still be having to fight this hard, so I hope that this continued pressure makes the Government reconsider those parts of the Building Safety Bill that are still leaving far too many leaseholders liable for bills they cannot pay and in properties that they cannot sell. We need a fix and we need it now. He went on to describe the MPs vote as 'very disappointing but not a surprise'. He said: 'The Government will have to concede on these points and others eventually, as they have done throughout the passage of this bill. 'The alternative is still mass bankruptcy, foreclosures and evictions. 'Until all of those holes are filled the problem will not go away. They need to fund the remediation up front, fix the buildings that need to be fixed and then claim the money back later from the responsible parties. 'Until then this mess will carry on and people will still be in the same position they have been for years. So we will just have to keep fighting'. More than 35 of the largest developers have signed a pledge to undertake fire safety work on buildings over 11 metres. A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: 'Developer pledges will be converted into legally binding contractual commitments. 'Our wide-ranging industry agreement, together with the Building Safety Bill, will help ensure those responsible for building remediation foot the bill, not innocent leaseholders. 'Low-rise buildings are very unlikely to need costly remediation to make them safe. Our measures will help drive out unnecessary risk aversion and restore proportionality to the industry.' Funded by central government, the UK's National Parks are specifically designed to conserve and enhance natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage. But a new study has warned that National Parks such as the Yorkshire Dales, Cairngorms and Snowdonia don't always boost biodiversity. Researchers from the British Ecological Society (BES) say that only five per cent of protected land is 'delivering for nature.' In a new report launched today, BES warns that more action is needed to meet the government's '30x30' target, which aims to protect 30 per cent of the UK's land and sea by 2030. A new study has warned that National Parks such as the Yorkshire Dales (pictured), Cairngorms and Snowdonia don't always boost biodiversity The UK's National Parks There are 15 National Parks in the UK and each one has been designated as a protected landscape because of its special qualities: England Broads, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lake District, New Forest, Northumberland, North York Moors, Peak District, South Downs and Yorkshire Dales Wales Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast, and Snowdonia Scotland Cairngorms and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs The 15 National Parks have thousands of kilometres of public rights of way over 1,300km of which is designated as suitable for those of us with accessibility issues giving people incredible opportunities to explore these amazing spaces. Source: National Parks UK Advertisement Currently, 27 per cent of UK land and 38 per cent of UK seas are under some level of protection. However, many protected areas are not delivery for nature and are in poor ecological condition, according to the report. Dr Joseph Bailey at York St John University and lead author of the report said: 'Designating an area of land or sea does not automatically make it an effective protected area. 'Designation is simply the first step in a long process towards ensuring that long-term ecological benefits are delivered for nature and people. 'To be effective, a protected area needs adequate implementation, enforcement, monitoring, and long-term protection. 'The 30x30 target presents such a good opportunity and we can't let is pass us by. Climate change is here, and we must start now if we want our land and seas to deliver for nature.' While National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other protected areas currently make up 27 per cent of UK land, the repot claims that the proportion of land that is effectively protected could be as low as five per cent. Professor Jane Hill at the University of York and author of the report said: 'The evidence is that most protected landscapes are not delivering for nature and only a low percentage are in good ecological condition. 'However, because there is existing governance in place managing these landscapes, they have great potential to be adapted to improve how they deliver for nature. 'With the right support and willingness, nature can recover and thrive in almost any landscape. If the objectives of protected landscapes like National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty can be reformed to ensure that they deliver for nature in the long-term, they could then count towards the '30x30' target.' Likewise, while 38 per cent of UK seas are under some level of protection, the report warns that many of these areas have no current management measures in place. 'The proposal to protect 30 per cent of UK seas is very welcome, but we need effective management measure in place in Marine Protected Areas which will protect wildlife and benefit local coastal communities,' said Rick Stafford of Bournemouth University and author of the report. There are 15 National Parks in the UK and each one has been designated as a protected landscape because of its special qualities What should count towards the '30x30' target? For protected areas to deliver for nature and be included in the '30x30' target, the report recommends the following criteria: Protected areas must be managed to deliver for nature in the long term, using evidence-based approaches. Protected areas should have effective governance to address pressures such as climate change, pollution, and damaging fishing activities. Have monitoring in place that informs the long-term management of protected areas so that they meet conservation goals. This will require substantial and sustained funding and resourcing. Protected areas should be inclusive to benefit local people and ensure buy-in. The governance of protected areas should involve local communities in partnership with landowners, NGOs, researchers, government agencies, and other stakeholders. Advertisement 'The lack of comprehensive management or enforcement means that the majority are failing to deliver for nature and bring the full range of biodiversity benefits they otherwise could.' The report recommends that several criteria should be put in place for protected areas to by included in the 30x30 target. This includes being managed to deliver for nature in the long-term, having effective governance to address pressures such as climate change, and being inclusive to benefit local people. 'Protected areas have suffered from not having enough resources and having to make too many compromises. This has left them in a position where they are not doing enough to support nature,' said Dr Paul Sinnadurai of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and Cardiff University, and author of the report. 'To turn this around, money and resources need be made available for consistent monitoring. During the late 1990s and early noughties, there was a good advance in the use of the Common Standards for Monitoring in protected areas, but momentum wasn't maintained in this essential practice because it is resource intensive. 'For effectively protected areas to be successful, they must also be inclusive. To do this we need to have conversations with landowners and local people and ensure nature recovery works for everyone. Nobody should lose out to something benefiting nature.' The report adds that landscapes surrounding protected areas are also very important particularly with species ranges shifting in response to climate change. 'We need to make sure landscapes are suitable for species to move between highly protected areas. This could be done with wildlife corridors such as hedgerows,' Dr Bailey added. 'Protected areas simply won't work if we only have desolate wastelands between them. Stargazers will be treated to up to 18 meteors an hour when the Lyrid meteor shower lights up the sky on Saturday morning. The celestial display is expected to peak in the early hours of April 23 and will be visible all across the sky. Meteor showers, or shooting stars, are caused when pieces of debris known as meteorites enter Earth's atmosphere at speeds of around 43 miles per second, burning up and causing streaks of light. The Lyrid shower takes its name from the constellation of Lyra, where the shooting stars appear to originate from. These meteors are pieces of debris falling from the Thatcher Comet, which is expected to return to the inner solar system in 2276, after an orbital period of 415 years. Meteor showers, or shooting stars, are caused when pieces of debris known as meteorites enter Earth's atmosphere at speeds of around 43 miles per second, burning up and causing streaks of light in the sky The shooting stars appear to originate from the constellation of Lyra, but will be visible all across the sky HOW DO I SEE THE LYRID METEOR SHOWER? The celestial display is expected to peak in the early hours of April 23 and will be visible all across the sky. The best place to see the Lyrid meteor shower is in the Northern Hemisphere, although it is visible from all over the world. Rural areas away from city lights will provide a clearer view. The best time to catch these 'shooting stars' is before dawn, when the moon has set. Hopeful stargazers should look east for the best chance of catching a shower. Lyrid meteors should be the brightest lights in the sky aside from the moon. They leave smoky trails that can last for several minutes Advertisement As with all meteor showers, in order to see the Lyrids it is necessary to find a dark site with an unobstructed view of the sky. The number of meteors people could see will depend on a variety of things, from the time of night to the level of background light. A bright sky will drown out the fainter ones making them much more difficult to see. However, this year the Lyrids started on April 14, two days before a full Moon, and come to a peak on 22-23 April, two days before the last quarter Moon, so conditions are unfavourable. Jacob Foster, astronomer from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said: 'The Lyrid meteor shower is one of the major meteor showers of the year. 'The meteors will spread out across the sky, so simply facing to the north-east on the night of the 22nd should be enough to see a few for yourself. 'Make sure you have an unobstructed view of the sky to maximise your chances of spotting them. 'At their peak, we can expect to see up to 18 shooting stars per hour. 'You won't need any kind of specialist viewing equipment, just clear skies and warm clothes.' And if stargazers miss the display, or simply have not had enough of exploring the sky, there will still be plenty to look out for as Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Saturn and the Moon line up along the horizon on Sunday. Multiple exposures were combined to produce this image of the Lyrids meteor shower over Niederhollabrunn, Austria in April 2020. The meteors streak through the sky at speeds of about 110,000 mph Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Saturn and the Moon will all line up along the horizon on Sunday The best viewing window is between around 5am and 6am (BST), just after the planets rise above the horizon, but just before the Sun follows them. Despite appearing from Earth to be lined up, these types of alignments - sometimes known as planetary parades - occur only from our perspective here on the Earth, and are not actually lined up in space. The planets will be visible with the naked eye, and no specialist equipment is necessary. 'Venus will be noticeably the brightest of all four planets, shining a bright white light,' Jake Foster, an astronomy education officer at Royal Museums Greenwich, told MailOnline. 'Jupiter will be the second brightest, also shining white in colour. Saturn will be clearly fainter than the other three, due to its much further distance from the Sun. 'Mars will have the most distinctive difference from the others because of its colouration, appearing as a bright orange point of light to the naked eye.' The last time Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus lined up like this was back in 2020, and, before that, in 2016 and 2005. In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Jones famously warned that 'when it comes to scorpions, the bigger the better.' Now, scientists have shown that the fictional professor of archaeology was right all along, having confirmed that smaller species of scorpions have more potent venoms. Researchers from NUI Galway analysed 36 species of scorpions and found that the smallest species were 100 times more potent that then largest. 'Outside of entertaining movie trivia there are good evolutionary reason to expect the results and important medical implications for such patterns,' said Dr Kevin Healy, senior author of the study. Researchers from NUI Galway analysed 36 species of scorpions and found that the smallest species were over 100 times more potent that then largest. Pictured: a fattail scorpion in Morocco In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Jones famously warned that 'when it comes to scorpions, the bigger the better' Pincer size vs venom: An evolutionary trade-off Scorpions use both their venomous sting and their pincers to capture prey and for defence. The findings suggest that there is an evolutionary trade-off between these two weapons, according to the researchers. Species that use more energy to make bigger pincers have less energy available for venom. This results in larger scorpions with bigger pincers that can use their physical size and are less reliant on venom, and smaller species with smaller pincers that have evolved more potent venoms. Advertisement In their study, the team set out to test whether Indiana Jones' claims were true, or simply a throwaway movie line. The team analysed 36 scorpion species, including the deathstalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus), the rock scorpion (Hadogenes granulatus) and the bark scorpion (Scorpion Centruroides noxius). Their analysis included measurements of the animals' average length, as well as the potency of their venom. Their results confirmed Jones' claims the smaller the scorpion, the more lethal their venom. The Brazilian yellow scorpion, which typically measures 2-3 inches in length, was 100 times more potent than the rock scorpion, which can measure up to 8.3 inches long. 'When we look at the most potent and dangerous scorpion venoms we find they tend to be associated with species such as the deathstalker which are relatively small,' Dr Healy said. 'In contrast, the biggest species such as rock scorpions have venoms that are likely to only cause slight pain.' However, the potency pattern wasn't just about body size - pincer size was also found to be correlated. For example, the study found that the South African thick-tail scorpion is more than 10 times more potent than the Israeli gold scorpion, despite having significantly smaller pincers. Alannah Forde, lead author of the study, said: 'Not only did we find that bigger is better - when it comes to people being stung - we also found that bigger pincers are better when it comes to assessing the danger level of a scorpion. 'While species such as large-clawed scorpion might be small to medium in size, they mainly rely on their large pincers instead of their relatively weak venom.' Scorpions use both their venomous sting and their pincers to capture prey and for defence. The team analysed 36 scorpion species, including measurements of the animals' average length, as well as the potency of their venom. Their results confirmed Jones' claims the smaller the scorpion, the more lethal their venom The findings suggest that there is an evolutionary trade-off between these two weapons, according to the researchers. Species that use more energy to make bigger pincers have less energy available for venom. This results in larger scorpions with bigger pincers that can use their physical size and are less reliant on venom, and smaller species with smaller pincers that have evolved more potent venoms. According to a 2008 study, there are more than 1.2 million scorpion sting cases every year, leading to over 3,250 deaths. The team hopes their findings will help to develop better medical approaches to scorpion stings. Dr Michel Dugon, a senior author of the study, said: 'As scientists, our job is also to put popular wisdom to the test. 'Most victims hospitalised with severe symptoms following scorpion stings are children below the age of 15. 'Identifying the species responsible is essential to administer the correct treatment, and a simple rule such as "bigger is better" is a first small step toward saving lives.' From fish to dogs, many robotic versions of animals have been developed in recent years. Now, scientists from the Beijing Institute of Technology have unveiled the latest robotic animal a robo rat. The four-legged bot, called SQuRo (small-size quadruped robotic rat), can crouch, stand, walk, crawl, and turn just like a real rat, and can even carry a load equal to 91 per cent of its own weight. The team hopes SQuRo could be useful for squeezing through narrow gaps during search and rescue missions. The four-legged bot, called SQuRo (small-size quadruped robotic rat) can crouch, stand, walk, crawl, and turn just like a real rat, and can even carry a load equal to 91 per cent of its own weight Chinese military develops a robotic YAK An enormous robotic yak, strong enough to carry up to 352 pounds, and able to sprint along at up to 6mph, has been developed by Chinese scientists. The robot can deal with all sorts of road and weather conditions, according to the Chinese state run People's Daily, which shared a video of the yak on a road. When deployed, it will join soldiers from the Chinese army on logistics and reconnaissance missions across complex environments including snowfields, deserts and mountains. The missions will include working in remote border regions, as well as in high risk combat zones, according to reports by Chinese state media. Advertisement According to the researchers, rats have been a key inspiration for many developers when it comes to robotics. 'Rats that live in caves have attracted a great amount of attention owing to their unrivalled agility and adaptability,' the team explained. 'Lots of efforts have been made trying to mimic the morphology or motion characteristics of rats.' Rats are adept at squeezing through narrow spaces thanks to their elongated slim bodies and agility. To develop SQuRo, the researchers studied rats' bodies and movements, building a long and flexible spine, just like the real animal. Their finished product can perform various motions such as crouching-to-standing, walking, crawling, and turning, and can even recover after falling. And during field tests, SQuRo was able to pass through an irregular 3.5-inch-wide passage, cross a 1.1-inch-tall obstacle, and climb up a 15 slope. 'SQuRo can achieve steady locomotion even after carrying a load equal to 91% of its own weight, which demonstrates its superior payload-carrying compared with small-sized quadruped robots,' the researchers explained. The team hopes the rat could one day be used to aid search and rescue missions. 'These capabilities allow SQuRo to agilely pass through narrow spaces and rugged terrains and perform tasks, such as detection or transportation in relevant scenarios,' the team added. This isn't the first time in recent months that scientists have taken inspiration from an animal for their robotics. In January, the Chinese military unveiled an enormous robotic yak, strong enough to carry up to 352 pounds, and able to sprint along at up to 6 miles per hour. The robotic rat can perform various motions such as crouching-to-standing, walking, crawling, and turning, and can even recover after falling The robot can deal with all sorts of road and weather conditions, according to the Chinese state run People's Daily, which shared a video of the yak on a road. When deployed, it will join soldiers from the Chinese army on logistics and reconnaissance missions across complex environments including snowfields, deserts and mountains. The missions will include working in remote border regions, as well as in high risk combat zones, according to reports by Chinese state media. gettyimagesbank The government lodged a formal protest with Japan, Friday, against a repeated assertion that Dokdo, a set of rocky islets in the East Sea, belong to Tokyo. Seoul is taking issue with the first annual report on foreign policy and activities under the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The foreign ministry called in Naoki Kumagai, deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to deliver the message, shortly after reports that the claim was included in Tokyo's 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook. Korea has a firm and clear position that Dokdo is an integral part of Korean territory historically, geographically and under international law, as it has long maintained effective control with the permanent stationing of security personnel there. Tokyo's sovereignty claim is a legacy of its imperialistic past, Seoul officials say. The Bluebook stated that Korea has continued an "illegal occupation" of the area with no legal basis. The expression "illegal occupation" has been used in the Bluebook since 2018. (Yonhap) The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been fired up again after a three year break for maintenance and upgrades with the first beam sent around the tunnel just before 10am BST this morning. The LHC works by smashing atoms together to break them apart and discover the subatomic particles that exist inside them, and how they interact. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, shut down the collider in 2019, so that it could carry out work to make the instruments more sensitive. This will give researchers a higher resolution view inside atoms capturing data 30 million times per second and allow more runs. Firing up the nearly 17 mile-long LHC is a complex process, requiring everything to 'work like an orchestra', especially after the extended shut down due to Covid-19. 'It's not flipping a button,' explained Rende Steerenberg, in charge of control room operations at CERN in Switzerland, where the collider control room is based. 'This comes with a certain sense of tension, nervousness,' he explained, adding that a lot can go wrong, including obstructions in the tunnel and issues with magnets. Particle physicists hope the upgrades will help them discover a new fundamental force of nature, to add to the four basic forces gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak and help explain the underpinnings of the universe. Another hope is that the resumption of collisions will help in the quest for so-called 'dark matter' that lies beyond the visible universe and makes up most of the matter in the known universe, according to researchers. CERN operates the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator (pictured) famous for its 2012 discovery of the Higgs Boson THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It is located in a 27-kilometer (16.8-mile) tunnel beneath the Swiss-French border. The LHC started colliding particles in 2010. Inside the 27-km LHC ring, bunches of protons travel at almost the speed of light and collide at four interaction points. Inside the accelerator, two high-energy particle beams travel at close to the speed of light before they are made to collide. The beams travel in opposite directions in separate beam pipes. They are guided around the accelerator ring by a strong magnetic field maintained by superconducting electromagnets. The electromagnets are built from coils of special electric cable that operates in a superconducting state, efficiently conducting electricity without resistance or loss of energy. These collisions generate new particles, which are measured by detectors surrounding the interaction points. By analysing these collisions, physicists from all over the world are deepening our understanding of the laws of nature. Advertisement Potential pitfalls facing the startup team included the discovery of an obstruction, and the shrinking of materials due to a nearly 300 degree temperature swing. They also faced the chance of developing difficulties with thousands of magnets that help keep billions of particles in a tight beam as they circle the collider tunnel beneath the Swiss-French border. Steerenberg said the system had to work 'like an orchestra,' explaining that 'in order for the beam to go around all these magnets have to play the right functions and the right things at the right time.' On Friday, particles were pushed through the collider's almost 17-mile ring for the first time since December 2018. However, it will take six to eight weeks for the LHC to get up to full speed, at which point proton collisions can take place again. Head of Cern's Beams department, Rhodri Jones, said: 'These beams circulated at injection energy and contained a relatively small number of protons. 'High-intensity, high-energy collisions are a couple of months away. 'But first beams represent the successful restart of the accelerator after all the hard work of the long shutdown.' The batch of LHC collisions observed at CERN between 2010-2013 brought proof of the existence of the long-sought Higgs boson particle. Along with its linked energy field, this particle is thought to be vital to the formation of the universe after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago. But plenty remains to be discovered by particle physicists, and the upgrades will allow them to peer deeper into the hidden quantum realm than ever before. It will also potentially help in the discovery of the underpinnings of the larger universe, by allowing for an understanding of dark matter. Dark matter is thought to be five times more prevalent than ordinary matter but does not absorb, reflect or emit light. Searches have so-far come up empty-handed. 'We are going to increase the number of collisions drastically and therefore the probability of new discoveries also,' said Steerenberg, who added that the collider was due to operate until another shutdown from 2025-2027. The LHC first went live on 10 September 2008, and despite a few glitches taking it offline, everything it has discovered has fallen in line with the standard model. This is the primary, guiding theory of particle physics, developed in the 1970s - but there are issues with it, as it fails to explain some aspects of physics. A general view of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment during a media visit at the Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in 2014 Data collected during one LHC experiment appeared to show that particles can behave in a way not explained by the standard model, which also doesn't explain dark matter. This experiment, into the decay of particles known as beauty quarks, found they turned into muons 15 per cent less often than predicted. This suggests there is an unknown factor at play in the universe, and many suspect it is a new type of force tipping the scales. The team plan to run the experiment again using the more sensitive equipment on the revamped LHC. 'The stakes are extremely high,' Dr Mitesh Patel, a particle physicist at Imperial College London in charge of the original experiment, told the Guardian. This 2018 photo made available by CERN shows the LHCb Muon system at the European Organization for Nuclear Research Large Hadron Collider facility outside of Geneva EXPLAINED: THE STANDARD MODEL OF PHYSICS The theories and discoveries of thousands of physicists since the 1930s have resulted in a remarkable insight into the structure of matter. Everything in the universe is found to be made from a few basic building blocks called fundamental particles, governed by four fundamental forces. Our best understanding of how these particles and three of the forces are related to each other is encapsulated in the Standard Model. All matter around us is made of elementary particles, the building blocks of matter. These particles occur in two basic types called quarks and leptons. Each consists of six particles, which are related in pairs, or 'generations'. All stable matter in the universe is made from particles that belong to the first generation. Any heavier particles decay to the next most stable level. There are also four fundamental forces at work in the universe: the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force. The Standard Model includes the electromagnetic, strong and weak forces and all their carrier particles, and explains well how these forces act on all of the matter particles. However, the most familiar force in our everyday lives, gravity, is not part of the Standard Model, and fitting gravity comfortably into this framework has proved to be a difficult challenge. Advertisement 'If we confirm this, it will be a revolution of the kind we've not seen certainly in my lifetime. You don't want to mess it up.' In 2018 the team suggested the odds of the discovery they made happening by chance was one in a thousand, but for a new force of nature to be declared, the gold standard is one in 3.5 million. So they need more data to prove it wasn't just a glitch in the equipment or the experiment design. This latest upgrade marks the start of the third run of the LHC, and included the installation of more powerful magnets that squeeze protons inside the collider into denser beams - increasing the collision rate of particles. Scientists will be able to use this to observe more events, rarer events and do so with much more precision than would previously have been possible. Mike Lamont, CERN's Director for Accelerators and Technology, said the LHC will operate at an even higher energy and, thanks to major improvements in the injector complex, it will deliver significantly more data to the upgraded LHC experiments. Teams across the world have helped the Large Hadron Collider reach record-breaking energy levels for its third physics run. UK teams have led a series of vital work packages to improve the performance of each of the LHC's four main instruments. The UK's contributions to the upgrade are worth more than 25 million, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Executive Chair of STFC and particle physicist Professor Mark Thomson said this continues a 'strong and fruitful' relationship between the UK and CERN. 'It will never cease to impress me how our scientists and engineers, with their incredible skill and expertise, can continue to improve these cutting-edge facilities using ever-more innovative technologies. 'The global science community will now eagerly await the results from the new run, which will probe some of the recent hints of new physics seen at the LHC and elsewhere.' Science Minister George Freeman said: 'Through our leading role in global projects of this scale the UK is building on a role as a global science superpower and helping retain the highest calibre of talented scientists in the UK.' While many people are naturals at flirting, others struggle when it comes to chatting up potential dates. Now, scientists from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus have revealed the 11 most off-putting flirting tactics, which are 'dealbreakers' for many people. Their findings suggest that having a 'slimy approach', swearing and being too touchy are tactics to avoid, along with bad hygiene, narcissism, and low self-esteem. Scientists from the University of Nicosia have revealed the 11 most off-putting flirting tactics, which are dealbreakers for many people 11 flirting tactics to avoid Slimy approach Bad hygiene Lack of exclusive interest Different views Vulgar vocabulary Lack of intelligence Narcissism Lack of humour and self-esteem Excessive intimacy Poor looks Stinginess Advertisement Previous studies have suggested that people vary considerably in their flirting skills, with poorer flirters more likely to be single. In their new study, the team aimed to further explore the variation in flirting skills by identifying what constitutes a dealbreaker in flirting. More than 200 participants completed open-ended questionnaires about the flirting tactics they find the most off-putting. Their responses were then tested with a group of more than 700 separate participants, who were asked to rate how off-putting they found these traits in a partner. Based on their results, the researchers identified 11 key flirting dealbreakers. Having a 'slimy approach' came out as the most off-putting flirting tactic, followed by bad hygiene and lack of exclusive interest. Differing views, vulgar vocabulary and lack of intelligence were next, followed by narcissism, lack of humour and low self-esteem, and excessive intimacy. Finally, participants said that poor looks and stinginess were also flirting dealbreakers. 'People can become more effective flirting-initiators if they work on their approach, avoid making for instance slimy and sexist comments, touching and being too intimate, and avoid also flirting with more than one individual at a time,' the researchers, led by Menelaos Apostolou, wrote in their study, published in Personality and Individual Differences. 'People can also improve their flirting by improving their looks (e.g., look after their skin), and by not being stingy (e.g., offer to pay the bill).' Women were found to be more sensitive to almost all 11 dealbreakers than men (stock image) Women were found to be more sensitive to almost all 11 dealbreakers than men. 'One reason is that women carry a larger portion of the obligatory parental investment of child-rearing, so they face a higher risk than men if they make a mistake in mate choice,' the researchers suggest. 'Accordingly, women have evolved to be more selective and risk-averse than men, which is reflected in their higher sensitivity to dealbreakers.' Meanwhile, older participants were also found to be more sensitive to the flirting dealbreakers than younger participants. 'Younger people aim more towards getting relationship experience with different partners than establishing a long-term intimate relationship,' the researchers wrote. 'Towards this end, they lower their standards, becoming in effect less sensitive to flirting dealbreakers. 'On the other hand, as people age and they acquire more relationship experience, they become more interested in finding long-term partners, and so they have higher mating standards, and are thus, more sensitive to flirting dealbreakers. ' The researchers hope their findings will be useful for people who struggle with flirting. 'The findings of the present research could be useful for people who want to improve their flirting skills, and for mental health professionals who want to help clients who face difficulties in the domain of mating,' they concluded. A long-lost Viking burial ship discovered 30ft underground may be the grave of a high-status individual, archaeologists believe. The discovery was made as part of archeological work on a site that could form part of the route for the proposed E39 highway, near yesletta, western Norway. The team used ground-penetrating radar to make the discovery, with the work led by the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) based in Oslo. Nothing is known about the person buried in the boat, but as that type of burial was reserved for the most important people in the community, they were likely very of high status, according to the team, led by archaeologist Jani Causevic. 'Boats were an expensive thing back in the day,' he said, adding 'whoever is buried there was probably someone important, and they wanted to signify that by giving them a rich burial. Usually people of high status would be given a boat burial.' The boat, 30ft long with seating for six men, was discovered alongside several smaller burial mounds in an active Viking community 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. A lost ship marking the resting place of an important Viking has been unearthed in the path of a planned highway The boat appears to be a six-row of up to 30ft with a burial chamber. It was found 30ft underground While boat graves are a known phenomenon in Viking history, most contain smaller vessels than the one found by Mr Causevic, according to NIKU. The newly-discovered boat is nearly 30ft (9m) long with seating for six men big enough to bury more than one person. 'This is incredibly exciting,' said Mr Causevic. 'Not just to find such a discovery, but also to see how the use of georadar gives us the opportunity to explore and document cultural history through new and exciting methods.' The discovery was made as part of archeological work on a site that could form part of the route for the proposed E39 highway, near yesletta, western Norway yesletta, and the surrounding municipality of Kvinesdal, were already known to be burial grounds, but this is the first time a boat grave has been found there. The grave has not yet been excavated and what treasures remain inside is still unknown. 'It is yet unclear what will happen to the boat,' said Causevic. 'If the road construction passes through, it will be excavated, but if they choose a different route, then the burials will most likely just be left alone.' The team used ground penetrating radar to make the discovery, with the work led by the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) based in Oslo. Pictured: a burial boat unearthed in 1904 - designed to give an example of what it might look like Nothing is known about the person buried in the boat, but as that type of burial was reserved for the most important people in the community, they were likely very important. Pictured: the ground-penetrating radar machine used to uncover the boat Boat graves are associated with the late iron age which ended in 800 AD in Scandinavia as well as the subsequent Viking age, from 7931066 AD. NIKU said these large boats represented some of the most richly-equipped Viking tombs and were the preserve of the most elite in a community. The boat graves represent a special burial custom in many coastal settlements, both in and outside Norway's borders. Jani Causevic and colleagues discovered the ship using radar. 'Boats were an expensive thing back in the day,' he said, adding 'whoever is buried there was probably someone important, and they wanted to signify that by giving them a rich burial. Usually people of high status would be given a boat burial' The boat, 30ft long with seating for six men, was discovered alongside several smaller burial mounds in an area active 1,500 and 2,000 years ago Nils Ole Sandet, project manager with the local government, said: 'That the project has managed to produce knowledge that we thought was lost is very exciting. 'This means that we can understand and convey better stories about society and the use of yesletta in the Iron Age.' Project manager Manuel Gabler has researched method development in georadar surveys, and is very pleased that this project is yielding results. 'We have many years of experience with large-scale archeological geophysics in different parts of Norway,' he said, adding this is the 'first time that we systematically use the method in connection with the "Archeology in new ways" project.' 'That is why I think it is great fun to not only test and demonstrate how the method can be used practically in the registration process, but also contribute with such an exciting discovery,' he added. Europeans endured the hottest summer on record last year, with wildfires, floods and intense heatwaves battering the continent. Temperatures during the summer were a full 1.8F (1C) higher than the average for the previous three decades, according to a new report by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The report found that, while spring 2021 was cooler than average, the summer months were marked by 'severe and long-lasting heatwaves' particularly in the Mediterranean region, where temperature records were broken in Italy and Spain. This includes an unprecedented 119.8F (48.8C) measured in Sicily last August. Sicily recorded Europe's highest ever temperature on 11 August. The region's agriculture-meteorological information service (SIAS) said a record-breaking 119.8F was recorded in the city of Syracuse, which lies on the southeast coast of the island Average European temperature for Europe running 60-month periods, relative to the 19912020 average (left-hand axis) and as an increase above the 18501900 level (right-hand axis), according to six different datasets Summer (JuneAugust) temperature anomalies over land for Europe as a whole from 19502021, relative to the 19912020 reference period Met Office raises the heatwave temperature threshold across EIGHT UK counties The temperatures needed for a heatwave to be officially declared have been increased across eight English counties, the Met Office has announced. Heatwaves are called when an area has at least three days in a row with daily maximums hitting or exceeding a certain temperature threshold. Levels are designed to be relative to the current climate, but as global warming is pushing up UK temperatures, thresholds have now increased for eight English counties ahead of the summer months. The eight counties are Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and East Riding of Yorkshire. Advertisement The prolonged high temperatures contributed to wildfires, such as those seen in Siberia, Greece and Turkey last year. The total area burnt during July and August in the Mediterranean region exceeded 800,000 hectares (nearly 2 million acres). Experts say it also increased the likelihood of heavy rainfall of the kind that led to deadly flooding in Belgium and Germany last July. Meanwhile, sea surface temperatures last year were higher than at any time since at least 1992 in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Baltic Sea, where the mercury rose more than 9F (5C) above average during the summer months. Annual wind speeds in parts of western and central Europe were among the lowest since at least 1979, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said. This led to a reduction in the estimated potential for wind power one of the main sources of renewable energy that European countries are banking on to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation. '2021 was a year of extremes including the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, flooding and wind droughts in western Europe,' C3S director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement. 'This shows that the understanding of weather and climate extremes is becoming increasingly relevant for key sectors of society.' Rankings of annual average 100 m wind speeds in 2021 from lowest (dark blue) to highest (dark red) within the 43-year record which covers 1979 to 2021 Temperatures during the summer were a full 1C (1.8F) higher than the average for the previous three decades, according to areport by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service The agency's findings are based on ground-based weather stations and satellite observations dating back to 1950. Globally, the report showed that the last seven years have been the warmest on record. Last year, however, was slightly cooler compared to recent years as temperatures were tempered by a La Nina weather pattern which cools sea temperatures in the north of the globe. Global sea level continued to rise during 2021; the total increase since 1993 is around 3.5 inches (9cm). Carbon emissions from Arctic wildfires were the 4th highest since records began in 2003 mostly from eastern Siberia and sea ice in the Arctic reached its 12th lowest extent since satellite records began in 1979. Meanwhile, the latest consolidated data, up until the end of 2020, show that the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets continued to lose mass. Time series of monthly mean Arctic sea ice extent anomalies for all September months from 1979 to 2021. The anomalies are expressed as a percentage of the September average for the 19912020 reference period Monthly atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Data are derived from satellite measurements and averaged over the whole atmospheric column and for 60S60N Greenhouse gas concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), and particularly methane (CH4), continued to rise during 2021, by around 2.3 ppm and 16.5 ppb respectively. 'Scientific experts like the IPCC have warned that we are running out of time to limit global warming to 1.5C,' said Mauro Facchini, Head of Earth Observation at the Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space for the European Commission. 'This report stresses the urgent necessity to act as climate related extreme events are already occurring in Europe.' Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink satellite network 'rapidly' fought off an attempt by Russian attackers to jam the network in Ukraine, the Pentagon has revealed. An official from the US Office of the Secretary of Defense said the US military would have taken much longer to counter the attack against the SpaceX network. Starlink is a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, beaming internet connections to dishes around the world, with a large presence in Ukraine, introduced to keep the country online amid the ongoing Russian invasion. In March, Musk said they had 'resisted all hacking and jamming attempts' and were focusing SpaceX efforts on counter measures - at the expense of other projects. Dave Tremper, from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, was speaking at the C4ISRNET Conference when he confirmed Russian jamming attempts on Starlink. One day after reports of the Russian jamming attack in Ukraine first emerged, SpaceX had updated its network with new code that fixed the problem, he said. Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink satellite network 'rapidly' fought off an attempt by Russian attackers to jam the network in Ukraine, the Pentagon revealed SPACEX STARLINK BROADBAND BRINGS INTERNET TO THE WORLD Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched more than 2,000 of its 'Starlink' space internet satellites into orbit and hopes to have 12,000 in the sky by 2026. They form a constellation designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low Earth orbit. While satellite internet has been around for a while, it has suffered from high latency and unreliable connections. Starlink is different. SpaceX said its goal is to provide high-speed, cable-like internet all over the world. Musk has previously said the venture could give three billion people who currently do not have access to the internet a cheap way of getting online. It could also help fund a future city on Mars. Advertisement Tremper praised SpaceX for its agility, particularly 'in the way that Starlink was able to upgrade when a threat showed up'. He said the US military 'needs to be able to have that agility' when tackling cyber threats in the future. The new code SpaceX introduced meant the line of attack being used to block the internet in Ukraine 'was not effective anymore.' The official said it was a 'fantastic' line of countermeasure, and described the technique used as 'eye-watering'. The US currently has a 'significant timeline' to make those types of corrections in its own systems, saying the SpaceX approach is an interesting case study. 'There's a really interesting case study to look at the agility that Starlink had in their ability to address that problem,' he said, as reported by Business Insider. He isn't the only leading US official calling for better systems aimed at protecting against cyber warfare. Brigadier General Tad Clark, who is the director of the Air Force electromagnetic spectrum superiority, told the conference the US needed to build systems for resilience and speed - to respond to threats quickly. There are thought to be about 5,000 Starlink terminals operational in Ukraine, and earlier reports have suggested they could pose a danger to users. This is because the distinctive dish, and trackable radio signals could be used by Russian military forces to target their location. As well as responding to attacks, officials say Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system is giving Ukrainian forces the edge in winning the drone war as the nation fights back with technology to track down invading Russians. Aerorozvidka (Aerial Reconnaissance) is being used to attack Russian drones and target Vladmir Putin's army of tanks and track down their positions in the conflict, which has been ongoing since February 24, according to The Telegraph. Drones used in the field are able to use the newly available Starlink to keep connected and provide intelligence as internet and power outages plague Ukraine. An official from the US Office of the Secretary of Defense said the US military would have taken much longer to counter the attack against the SpaceX network Starlink is a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, beaming internet connections to dishes around the world, with a large presence in Ukraine, introduced to keep the country online amid the ongoing Russian invasion With the technology, the drones can be directed to drop anti-tank munitions to help ward off the Russian attack. The so-far-successful implementation of the satellites into the defense of the war-torn nation makes good on a promise outspoken mogul Musk - who challenged Putin to a fist fight for the future of Ukraine earlier this week - made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the month, that SpaceX will send more Starlink satellite stations to provide internet to some of the country's stricken cities. The president of the embattled country took to Twitter to thank the Tesla CEO, 50, for the support, and invited the tech mogul to visit Ukraine once the war is over. Space should be given the same level of legal protections as land, sea and the atmosphere, in order to protect its fragile environment, astronomers claim. Low Earth orbit, the region a few hundred miles above the planet, is at risk from space debris, and objects causing light pollution for astronomers viewing space from the Earth, according to a new study led by the University of Edinburgh. Clusters of satellites, including SpaceX Starlink, all orbiting about 300 miles above the surface of the Earth, are 'endangering this precious ecosystem,' researchers say. The installation of these huge clusters of hardware, some with up to tens of thousands of satellites delivering broadband to Earth, are congesting space and rocket launches are also polluting the atmosphere, they added. The research is connected to a legal case before the US Court of Appeal, which will set an important precedent in the growing campaign for space environmentalism. Addressing these issues requires a holistic approach that treats orbital space as part of the environment and worthy of environmental protection, at national and international levels, the team behind the study say. The Scottish team say policy makers should work collaboratively to create a shared, ethical, sustainable approach to space. Space should be given the same level of legal protections as land, sea and the atmosphere, in order to protect its fragile environment, astronomers claim Low Earth orbit, the region a few hundred miles above the planet, is at risk from space debris, and objects causing light pollution for astronomers viewing space from the Earth, according to a new study led by the University of Edinburgh HOW MANY ITEMS ARE THERE IN ORBIT? Rocket launches since 1957: 5450 5450 Number of satellites in orbit: 8950 8950 Number still in space: 5000 5000 Number still functioning: 1950 1950 Number of debris objects: 22300 22300 Break-ups, explosions etc: 500 500 Mass of objects in orbit: 8400 tonnes 8400 tonnes Prediction of the amount of debris in orbit using statistical models Over 10cm: 34 000 34 000 1cm to 10cm: 900 000 900 000 1mm to 1cm: 128 million Source: European Space Agency Advertisement It isn't just a threat to Earth, as pieces of broken satellites, which travel at enormous speeds through space threaten working satellites in their path, the paper says. Furthermore, streaks from satellite flares, which cause light pollution, are increasingly disrupting research. The giant Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which aims to carry out a 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time, will be badly affected, for example. They argue that space is a vital environment for professional astronomers, amateur stargazers, indigenous people and the new space economy. The scientific, economic and cultural benefits of space should be carefully considered against these damaging environmental impacts, they wrote. The researchers urge policy-makers to consider the environmental impacts of all aspects of satellite constellations including their launch, operation and de-orbit. It comes as SpaceX looks set to launch a total of 13,000 satellites, Amazon buys up rocket space to put thousands of satellites into orbit up to 2025, and other companies and nations such as China plan to do the same in the coming years. The installation of these huge clusters of hardware, some with up to tens of thousands of satellites delivering broadband to Earth, are congesting space and rocket launches are also polluting the atmosphere, they added Clusters of satellites, including SpaceX Starlink, all orbiting about 300 miles above the surface of the Earth, are 'endangering this precious ecosystem,' researchers say Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink satellites are responsible for over HALF of close encounters in orbit Over half of all close encounters in orbit between objects are caused by SpaceX Starlink satellites - even with just 1,500 of a planned 12,000 launched so far, data shows. Satellite operators such as SpaceX are constantly forced to make adjustments to avoid encounters with other spacecraft and pieces of debris. With hundreds of Starlink satellites in orbit, the number of dangerous approaches will continue to grow, according to a study by the University of Southampton. Researchers found that Starlink satellites are involved in an average of 1,600 close encounters with other spacecraft every week, including some where the two objects come within about half a mile of each other, according to a Space.com report. If two spacecraft do crash in orbit then they would generate a cloud of debris that would in turn threaten other satellites operating in the same region of space. Advertisement Professor Andy Lawrence, lead author, said the Earth is currently at a watershed moment in history, where cheap launches will increase the number of satellites. 'We can cheaply launch huge numbers of satellites and use them to the benefit of life on Earth but this comes at a cost. As well as damaging stargazing, the space industry may be shooting itself in the foot,' he said. Professor Lawrence brought these issues to popular attention in his book, Losing The Sky, which led to him writing an expert witness statement for a US legal case. It is currently before the US Court of Appeal which argued that US environmental regulations should apply to space launch licensing. Professor Moriba Jah, co-author and Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin, said all things are interconnected, including when it comes to space. 'We must embrace stewardship as if our lives depended on it. Traditional ecological knowledge holds a key to solving this wicked problem,' Prof Jah said. 'The largest challenge we have is in recruiting empathy and compassion toward solving these environmental crises. 'If we can find innovative ways to enable the general public to project themselves into this dire condition, and feel concern to address it, the earth, and all of the lives she sustains, wins.' Professor Jah recently co-founded the start-up, Privateer Space together with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and CEO of Ripcord, Alex Fielding. The company takes a new approach to mapping objects in orbit accurately, in near real-time, to enable the sustainable use of space by a growing number of operators. The research is connected to a legal case before the US Court of Appeal, which will set an important precedent in the growing campaign for space environmentalism Dr Meredith Rawls, co-author and researcher at the University of Washington, said some telescopes and services will be more heavily affected than others. 'Rubin Observatory will be one of the most severely impacted astronomy facilities by large numbers of bright satellites due to its large mirror and wide field of view the same characteristics that make it such a remarkable engine for discovery,' she said. 'I care a lot about how satellite streaks affect science, but the case for dark and quiet skies is much larger than that. 'We need all hands on deck to address the rapidly changing satellite situation if we can hope to co-create a future with dark and quiet skies for everyone.' Dr Rawls is a leading actor in the new International Astronomical Union (IAU) Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Skies from Satellite Constellation Interference which aims to bring together sky observer stakeholders to collaborate on quantifying, mitigating and disseminating the impacts of satellites. The paper is published in the journal Nature Astronomy. Manchester United's Eric Baily has made a plea to start the clash with Arsenal ahead of Harry Maguire. The 28-year-old has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford, making just four appearances in the Premier League and seven in all competitions this term. In Raphael Varane's recent absence, Bailly has seen the likes of Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones start ahead of him, with his last appearance coming in the 3-1 win over Burnley on December 30. Manchester United defender Eric Bailly has made a plea to start ahead of the trip to Arsenal Bailly made the comment under a comment on a Manchester United Instagram post And the defender took to social media to make a plea to start ahead of United's visit to Arsenal on Saturday. Under training photos posted by the club on Instagram, a fan commented, 'start bailly x Varane', and Bailly replied: 'please!', followed by a laughing emoji and a pair of praying hands. Tuesday's 4-0 loss to Liverpool saw Ralf Rangnick go with five defenders at the back and Bailly had to settle for a place on the bench, with Jones picked to start ahead of him. The loss to Jurgen Klopp's side prompted United supporters to get #MaguireOut trending on Twitter following another below par performance from the club captain. The 28-year-old has been limited to just four Premier League appearances this season Manchester United fans got #MaguireOut trending on Twitter after a 4-0 loss against Liverpool Although the entire team played poorly, Maguire was partially at fault for two of Liverpool's four goals and came in for criticism after the match. With Varane fit once again, Bailly - whose contract expires in two years - is unlikely to feature against Mikel Arteta's side. The Ivory Coast international joined United from Villarreal in 2016 and has since made 113 appearances across all competitions, with one goal during that time. Rangnick's side currently sit sixth in the table, three points behind Tottenham and Arsenal in the race for a Champions League spot. Advertisement A miracle occurs as we sit munching our sandwiches in duvet-thick fog on the rim of a volcanic crater. The wind changes direction, a cascade of cloud spills silently over the cliff, and proof of the worlds strangeness unfurls. For, suddenly we are in sunshine, gazing across a vast caldera to miles-long tongues of solidified magma, snaking from the slopes of snow-capped Mount Teide from where they spewed aeons ago. The scene is unearthly, unlike anywhere I know. Walk on the wild side: Martin Symington heads on a walking tour of Tenerife, with Mount Teide National Park (pictured) featuring on the itinerary. There, he admires views 'across a vast caldera to miles-long tongues of solidified magma, snaking from the slopes of snow-capped Mount Teide from where they spewed aeons ago' We are in Tenerife. Yes, the big Canary of mega-resorts, aquaparks and nightlife. The holiday choice (pre-pandemic) of more than two million Britons a year. People sniffed when I mentioned where we were going. This was because they didnt know that three-quarters of Tenerife is national park or protected reserve, and the island boasts ancient forests and a volcano three times the height of Ben Nevis. To glory in these marvels, a companion and I have come with self-guided walking specialists, Inntravel. Following an itinerary the company has devised, we will stay in three contrasting parts of the island. There will be a week of day walks, plus hikes between hotels. Luggage is transferred by taxi. Martin's first base is a rural hotel huddled round a courtyard at the heart of the farming town of San Miguel de Abona, pictured At the airport we hop in a cab and drive along twisty roads up to San Miguel de Abona. Our first base is a rural hotel huddled round a courtyard at the heart of this farming town. We venture first onto a black cinder path skirting sunbaked brushland, sprinkled with paddle-lobed prickly pears. Following water culverts, we weave through a ragged tracery of stone walls enclosing potato plots and vines straggling in crumbly grey soil. Our route notes guide us to rock carvings left by the indigenous Guanche people, who lived here long before the Spanish settlers arrived nearly 600 years ago. After dining on a supper of gofio - a Canarian toasted mixed grain dish - Martin spends a night in Vilaflor, Tenerifes highest village, pictured For supper that night we try gofio toasted mixed grain that has been part of Canarian cuisine since Guanche times. It is tasty, spiced with a peppery green mojo sauce, and best enjoyed with the straw-coloured local wine. Our second stay is at Vilaflor, Tenerifes highest village. To reach it we zig-zag up stony mule tracks. Across a deep, indigo sea, neighbouring La Gomera appears on the horizon. The temperature drops noticeably and the terrain changes. The path plunges into magical woodlands of moss-draped pine and gnarled laurel. The four-star Hotel Spa Villalba, pictured, in woods above Vilaflor offers Martin a soothing welcome after his walk Above is the pool at Hotel Spa Villalba. Describing the area's scenery, Martin says that it's an 'agricultural land where orchards are hung heavy with glossy oranges and velvety-skinned fruit called nesperas, or loquats, which taste like apricots' 'We thread through a network of trails through Tenerifes celebrated hiking region, the Paisaje Lunar (pictured), its barren uplands pocked with craters created by volcanic eruption,' writes Martin Above is the view of the crater at Mount Teide National Park. 'From the caldera-rim, we snake down to the crater floor, and the vast area that is the park,' writes Martin TRAVEL FACTS Inntravel (inntravel.co.uk, 01653 617001) has a seven-night To the Top of Spain itinerary from 875 pp with b&b, picnics and five dinners. Ryanair (ryanair.com) London to Tenerife from 59 return. Advertisement We emerge in agricultural land where orchards are hung heavy with glossy oranges and velvety-skinned fruit called nesperas, or loquats, which taste like apricots. The four-star Hotel Spa Villalba in woods above the village offers a soothing welcome after our walk. We thread through a network of trails through Tenerifes celebrated hiking region, the Paisaje Lunar, its barren uplands pocked with craters created by volcanic eruption. The scenic drama ratchets up further on our dizzying climb to Teide National Park at the islands heart. From the caldera-rim, we snake down to the crater floor, and the vast area that is the park. Just one road crosses the lava field, leading to a single hotel, the Parador Canadas del Teide. We meander from the doorstep out into a weirdscape of magma solidified into bizarre arches, cathedral spires and hooked noses. These rock stars put on a haunting act on our final evening. Wrapped up against the cold, we sit outside and watch the shadows transform into ogres and giants as a half moon rises over the dark hulk of Teide. In the silence, we decide that we have come to Tenerife for the nightlife after all. Advertisement Superyachts dont get much more cutting edge than this one. The stunning 70million ($90million) Unique 71 has a dramatic bow shaped like a giant knife, with its designers, SkyStyle, revealing that in fact Blade 'was one of the possible names during the selection. SkyStyle co-founder Lucas Colombo told MailOnline Travel that the 233ft (71m) vessel is designed for 'comfort at high-speed cruising, penetrating into the air and water masses like a blade'. The stunning 70million ($90million) Unique 71 has a dramatic bow shaped like a giant knife Unique 71's designers, SkyStyle, revealed that Blade 'was one of the possible names during the selection SkyStyle co-founder Lucas Colombo explained that the 233ft (71m) vessel is designed for 'comfort at high-speed cruising, penetrating into the air and water masses like a blade' Unique 71 has six guest cabins that can sleep up to 12 people. There are also nine crew cabins, meaning the yacht's owners can be looked after by up to 18 members of staff Onboard, the four-deck yacht features a sky lounge with a 914-sq-ft (85-sq-m) rooftop. Another highlight is a spacious water-level dining area at the stern. Lucas revealed that these areas lend themselves perfectly to hosting what he calls 'pretty crowded events'. The yacht also features a helipad and an open-air swimming pool, as renderings show. Unique 71's superstructure and hull are made from aluminum and the vessel is able to reach 30 knots (34mph) Pictured is the spacious water-level dining area at the stern. According to the yacht's designers this space and the sky lounge lend themselves perfectly to hosting 'pretty crowded events' SkyStyle, which has offices in the USA, Argentina and Spain, is also known for aviation interior design and executive spaces On the accommodation front, Unique 71 has six guest cabins that can sleep up to 12 people. There are also nine crew cabins, meaning the yacht's owners can be looked after by up to 18 members of staff. The front of the vessel, meanwhile, has what Lucas calls a 'hermetical' design. Lucas explains that this area includes several openable side and roof panels 'but mainly protects the occupants and guarantees the best possible sound and vibration comfort'. SkyStyle is currently in discussions with USA-based yacht brokers Denison Yachting to find a buyer for the project Unique 71's superstructure and hull are made from aluminium and the vessel is able to 'chop' through the water at speeds of 30 knots (34mph). SkyStyle - which has offices in the USA, Argentina and Spain - is also known for aviation interior design and executive spaces. The company is currently in discussions with USA-based yacht brokers Denison Yachting to find a buyer for the Unique 71 project. EASTENDERS: POOR JEAN HAS TURNED INTO MISS HAVISHAM In Eastenders the penny drops that Jean (pictured) might be unwell when she steps out in a Miss Havisham-style wedding dress Has the wardrobe department inadvertently wandered into the costume room for the BBCs forthcoming Great Expectations? What else could possibly explain Jeans Miss Havisham-style wedding dress? Set off with a veil that wouldnt look out of place on a beekeeper, the get-up allegedly cost a fortune, which makes Harvey see red. The penny finally drops that Jean might be unwell (yer dont say) when he sees the OTT dress. KEEP IT IN CHECK What is Soaplands new obsession with chess about? Watching a corpse would be more exciting. Corries Sam is addicted and, on Monday, EastEnders Bernie takes Dotty to a chess club. Advertisement Furious when he tells her they need to slow things down, Jean moves back in with the Slaters and later heads down to Southend, where Stacey tracks her down, heading for the ocean. Hopefully this will be the moment when Jean finally realises she needs some help. And maybe a doctor could also do something about Harveys eating habits. Talking with your mouth full is never a good look; he makes so much noise when hes eating, if you closed your eyes, you would swear there was a trough nearby. Kats ongoing audition for Mafia Wives gathers pace after a run-in with Ben where he tells her shes not up to being a Mitchell (pot, kettle, black). When Sam announces shes moving in, its the final straw, and Kat throws her out before announcing that shes ead o the fairm-ly now. Theres more than a hint of Peggy in her manner, and maybe its time the show reinstalled Kat as landlady of the Vic. Lets face it, theres precious little to do at Kats Cabs. How many taxis has anyone ordered since the place opened? Lets just say you dont need both hands to count. At the Vic, Linda has decided that shes going back to serving the punters. Bang go those profits again. CORONATION STREET In Coronation Street Max (pictured) plans to run away and breaks into the barbers to retrieve the phone after David confiscates it SUMMER'S BATTLE BUDDY In Corrie, Summer has been reluctant to face up to her type 1 diabetes diagnosis, but yesterday she was persuaded to attend a support group, where she met Aaron, a fellow diabetic who gave her his number. Harriet Bibby, who plays Summer, has done a lot of work with Diabetes UK to make this storyline realistic. If you get a diagnosis thats never going away, thats a battle, she says. Its another example of soaps working important issues into their plots. Advertisement The transformation of Max from blonde angel to teen monster has never been convincing. Did he go to Bad Boy School, or have a lobotomy? Either way, hes gone from someone who wouldnt say boo to a goose to a psycho who could take on a gaggle of geese and emerge victorious. Daniel apologises to Daisy upon discovering that it was Max who shared images from Nickys sexual past, and insists hell let Amy know who spiked her drink. After David confiscates his phone, Max plans to run away and breaks into the barbers to retrieve the phone. Alas, upon emerging (pictured), he lacerates his leg on broken glass and loses consciousness. Ah, if only hed had the nous to take Davids keys. The endless sex talk between Sally and Tim (always way too much) takes a turn when Tim admits hes embarrassed about his impotence but Sally assures him shes happy with a hug. Thatll be a first. Given their history of role-playing, dont be surprised if hug is a euphemism for something else. Be careful, Tim; you have only one heart. EMMERDALE: ON STRIKE? YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANY WORK YET! In Emmerdale Kim's (pictured with Jai) staff are demanding fairer contracts and she is not happy to see them on the picket line outside the HOP Kim is not happy when she sees her staff on the picket line outside the HOP. Although shes worrying unnecessarily its less of a line and more of a cluster; actually, its not even a cluster a smattering of protesters, at best. Theyre demanding fairer contracts for what, pray? Theres little evidence anyone in the village does any work at all apart from Moira, of course, who can get very worked up about sheep. When Kim immediately demotes Jai for his non-handling of the situation, shes stunned by his reaction. Her fury is intensified when a wealthy friend turns up for coffee and she has to play waitress. Heaven forbid! Kim touching a kettle? The only domestic task shes capable of is pouring spirits from a decanter something she could do in her sleep. Does she even know which way up a kettle goes? Laurel is so impressed with Jai she decides to take him back, but his excitement is short-lived when she changes her mind after hearing he was tempted by drugs again. Oh, please; enough of the drugs storylines; theyre threatening to overtake car boot kidnappings in terms of air time. Moira contemplating the price of mutton really would be more enthralling. The transition team said Friday it would be difficult to accept a request from Lee Yong-soo, a surviving victim of Japan's wartime sexual enslavement, that President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol include her in a delegation he plans to send to Japan next week. "As far as I know, the delegation is going to Japan for policy consultations, so I heard that it would be difficult for Lee to join," transition team spokesperson Shin Yong-hyun said. The transition team announced that the seven-member delegation, led by Rep. Chung Jin-suk of the People Power Party, will visit Tokyo from Sunday to Thursday to meet officials from the Japanese government and legislature, as well as those from business circles, media and academia. Lee, a 93-year-old sexual slavery victim, had planned to meet Chung, but after failing to arrange the meeting, she visited the transition team's office Thursday and delivered her request. (Yonhap) The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (15, 107 mins) Rating: Verdict: A very Cagey affair All The Old Knives (15, 101 mins) Rating: Verdict: Regrettably blunt Where you stand on Nicolas Cage, or indeed whether you wouldn't mind standing on him, will determine your view of The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, in which the wild-eyed 58-year-old (in my book, one of Hollywood's great hams) looms about as large as it is possible to loom. Rather like the 1999 comedy Being John Malkovich, though with much less inventiveness, this is a film that turns a singular actor into a satirical version of himself. The mildly fictional Cage (Cage) is a fading star desperate for one more great role, who in an awkward encounter at Chateau Marmont, the celebrity hang-out in LA, begs the director David Gordon Green to cast him in a forthcoming movie. Those familiar with the real Cage's family tree are doubtless meant to be reminded of The Godfather, directed by his paternal uncle Francis Ford Coppola, in which crooner Johnny Fontane similarly craved a top film role to revive a flagging career. Where you stand on Nicolas Cage (above), or indeed whether you wouldn't mind standing on him, will determine your view of The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent The fictionalised Cage has a personal life to match his professional side. Sharon Horgan plays his most recent ex-wife, a no-nonsense Irishwoman, whom he met when she was a make-up artist on the set of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. She remains fond of him, but he is far too intense and self-pitying to bond with their teenage daughter (Lily Sheen). He is also deeply in debt. But then his agent (Neil Patrick Harris) brings him a timely $1 million offer. Unfortunately, it's not an acting job. A Spanish billionaire super-fan (not so surprising . . . they savour great hams in Spain) wants to fly him to Mallorca to appear at a birthday party. Swallowing his pride, off he goes. From there, as if the plot hasn't been daft enough already, it takes a really bonkers turn. Cage's starstruck host Javi (Pedro Pascal), a would-be screenwriter himself, is being spied on by a pair of bumbling CIA agents (Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz) who have identified him as a ruthless cartel boss. Rather like the 1999 comedy Being John Malkovich, though with much less inventiveness, this is a film that turns a singular actor into a satirical version of himself (pictured with Pedro Pascal) Classic movie on TV Funny Girl (1968) Barbra Streisand tied with Katharine Hepburn for the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Fanny Brice in William Wyler's musical comedy. Her first line is 'hello gorgeous' that's also what she said on getting the gong. Saturday, 2.05pm, BBC2 Advertisement Certain he has kidnapped the daughter of the president of Catalonia, they enlist Cage to help them find her and nail Javi, but this is complicated by the growing love-in between Cage and his devoted admirer, which is accelerated, in one of the film's sillier scenes, by an acid trip. There are a few pleasingly surreal moments when Cage's younger self, 'Nicky', pops up alongside him to volubly remind him of his Leaving Las Vegas and Face/Off days as a significant and influential movie star, while writer-director Tom Gormican has conspicuous fun borrowing lines and even set-pieces from his long, if distinctly variable, list of credits. Moreover, hats off to Cage for so gamely sending himself up. Apparently, he turned the project down more than once before deciding to give it a whirl, and the result is by no means the most embarrassing film on his CV. But if anything, despite all the silliness, it's not quite outlandish enough. Ultimately, the conceit of Cage playing a version of himself is used to serve a conventionally batty comic caper of the kind we've seen dozens of times before. There's plenty to like about The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, including the ironic title, but what it really needs is more originality. On screen, it doesn't even gently rivet. Chris Pine plays Henry, a CIA agent tasked with re-opening an investigation into a tragic terrorist hijacking in Austria eight years earlier That's the least of what All The Old Knives needs. I've been meaning to give this 'Amazon Prime original' the attention it doesn't really deserve, because it has a fine cast and sounds terrific on paper, where it is billed as 'a deeply riveting tale of global espionage, moral dilemma and deadly betrayal'. On screen, it doesn't even gently rivet. Chris Pine plays Henry, a CIA agent tasked with re-opening an investigation into a tragic terrorist hijacking in Austria eight years earlier. To this end he visits former colleague and lover Celia (Thandiwe Newton), and over dinner in a fancy Californian restaurant they dish up the worst expository dialogue of the year, painstakingly reminding each other (but really, telling us) just what happened back in Vienna on that terrible day, even though they were both there. Frequent flashbacks fill in more narrative gaps, with then and now represented, as always in clumsy dramas, by changing hairdos. Henry eight years ago had the kind of extravagantly floppy thatch no self-respecting spy would ever countenance, but there are lots more reasons not to believe in this over-written, derivative guff, which unfolds like a knock-off of the TV drama Homeland (when it was good), while actors of the calibre of Pine, Newton, Laurence Fishburne and Jonathan Pryce give it a fake veneer of style. All The Old Knives is on Amazon Prime Video. Remembering Shere genius On Monday it will be half a century since George Sanders died by his own hand, but it seems worth remembering a remarkable life rather than a sad death. He was born in 1906 in St Petersburg, into a well-to-do Anglo-Russian family who escaped to Britain after the 1917 revolution. He worked as a cigarette salesman in Chile and as an advertising executive in London before becoming an actor and taking off for Hollywood. On Monday it will be half a century since George Sanders died by his own hand, but it seems worth remembering a remarkable life rather than a sad death. He provided the voice of Shere Khan (above) in The Jungle Book (1967) There, he was quickly typecast as an upper-class British cad, won an Academy Award for his wonderful performance as waspish theatre critic Addison DeWitt in All About Eve (1950), became one of Zsa Zsa Gabor's nine husbands (and later married her sister, Magda). But his greatest hour-and-a-half was yet to come; magnificently, he provided the voice of Shere Khan in The Jungle Book (1967). In April 1972, before taking an overdose of barbiturates, he left a note saying: 'Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.' And that was that. But they don't make actors like him, or indeed lives like his, any more. So 50 years on, it feels timely to thank him for his good wishes and to use the anniversary as an excuse to watch, yet again, two of my all-time favourite films: All About Eve and The Jungle Book. Also Showing The great and remarkably prolific film composer Ennio Morricone died in 2020, aged 91, leaving us a legacy of some of the finest scores of all time, including The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966), The Mission (1986), Cinema Paradiso (1988) and The Hateful Eight (2015). Ennio (, 15, 156mins) tells his life story largely in his own words, lifted from an interview. It has a mighty running time, getting on for three hours, which isn't all that much shorter than another of his illustrious credits, 1984's Once Upon A Time In America on which he insisted that the music should be played during the shoot, with Robert De Niro and co acting over it. The great and remarkably prolific film composer Ennio Morricone (pictured) died in 2020, aged 91, leaving us a legacy of some of the finest scores of all time So this documentary isn't for everyone, but if you're a film-music enthusiast it's fascinating to hear his recollections, punctuated by contributions from the likes of Clint Eastwood, Bruce Springsteen and Quentin Tarantino. Your Mum And Dad: A Devastating Truth (, 15, 75mins) is another documentary, and takes Philip Larkin's famous poem This Be The Verse, about parents 'mucking' you up, as its starting point. Dutch filmmaker Klaartje Quirijns then intersperses the story of a long-ago tragedy in her own family with that of her friend Michael Moskowitz, whose Czech-born Jewish mother took out the pain of losing her own parents in the Holocaust on him. It's searing stuff. Julianne Moore and her husband Bart Freundlich were seen spending time in Venice, Italy on Thursday evening. The actress, 61, and her spouse, 52, held hands while strolling along the getaway destination's streets before stepping aboard a boat. Moore and Freundlich, who wed in 2003, have been romantically linked for nearly three decades and share two children. Cute couple: Julianne Moore and her husband Bart Freundlich were seen spending time in Venice, Italy on Thursday evening Moore turned heads while rocking a stylish black blazer with silk lapels and a pair of matching pants with a flared leg. The Boogie Nights actress slipped her feet into a pair of fashionable high-heeled shoes for the evening stroll with her husband. The Academy Award-winning actress gave her look a pop of color by carrying a bright red purse. Her flowing auburn hair cascaded onto her shoulders and contrasted perfectly with her stylish monochrome ensemble. Sweet: The actress, 61, and her spouse, 52, held hands while strolling along the getaway destination's streets before stepping aboard a boat Head turner: Moore turned heads while rocking a stylish black blazer with silk lapels and a pair of matching pants with a flared leg Freundlich also opted for an all-black outfit that consisted of a long-sleeve t-shirt, slim-fitting trousers and leather shoes. The happy couple initially met on the set of the filmmaker's 1997 directorial debut The Myth of Fingerprints, in which Moore starred. The actress was previously married to actor John Gould Rubin, with whom she tied the knot in 1986. The former couple went on to separate, and their union was formally dissolved in 1995. Consistent colors: Freundlich also opted for an all-black outfit that consisted of a long-sleeve t-shirt, slim-fitting trousers and leather shoes Working together: The happy couple initially met on the set of the filmmaker's 1997 directorial debut The Myth of Fingerprints, in which Moore starred Moore later began dating Freundlich, and they welcomed a son named Caleb, aged 24, just a year after their initial meeting. The two waited for five years before adding daughter Liv, aged 19, to their lives in 2002. The happy couple later made their union official during a wedding ceremony that was held the following year. Moore and Freundlich have collaborated on several occasions in the past, with their most recent effort, After The Wedding, being released in 2019. Putting a ring on it: The happy couple later made their union official during a wedding ceremony that was held the following year Frequent collaborators: Moore and Freundlich have collaborated on several occasions in the past, with their most recent effort, After The Wedding, being released in 2019 The performer spoke about her marriage to the filmmaker during an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, where she offered her advice about staying married. 'The only thing that I can say is, I think that you both have to really want to be married. I do feel like I've seen situations where things aren't working out for people, one of the members of the couple doesn't want to be there,' she stated, The performer also noted that couples interested in working on their relationships should learn to enjoy each other's company. 'I think if you're both invested in it working out, and then you really have to have a good time,' she said. Speaking her mind: The performer spoke about her marriage to the filmmaker during an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, where she offered her advice about staying married Offering her advice: The performer also noted that couples interested in working on their relationships should learn to enjoy each other's company Moore did point out, however, that a sense of humor was an indispensable quality for a potential partner. 'I think they really have to make you laugh. If they don't make you laugh, it's just deadly,' she said. The actress concluded by noting that her time with Freundlich has been pleasant and that she continued to value his presence in her life. 'I mean, I think that's what's been nice about it. It doesn't feel like a long time,' she expressed. Daisy Lowe made a bold fashion statement on Thursday as she attended VIP launch party Escape to a MALFY World in London held by MALFY Gin. The model, 33, took a walk on the wild side as she donned a Dolce And Gabbana 1996 vintage leopard print dress with a thigh-high split detail at the event held at protein studios. She teamed the look with a black blazer by Thierry Mugler and tights, while elevating her height in a pair of stilettos. Her outfit was from OOTO vintage clothing. Stunning: Daisy Lowe made a bold fashion statement on Thursday as she attended VIP launch party Escape to a MALFY World in London held by MALFY Gin Daisy accessorised with a small black shoulder bag, along with gold hoop earrings and a matching bracelet. The natural beauty sported a bronzed makeup look with a red lip and styled her dark fringed tresses in a straight fashion as she posed with a gin in her hand. She met up with Jordan Saul, Harriet Rose and Gizzi Erskine later in the evening as they enjoyed a boozy night. Chic: The model, 33, took a walk on the wild side as she donned a leopard print dress with a thigh-high split detail at the event held at protein studios Fashionista: She teamed the look with a black blazer and tights, while elevating her height in a pair of stilettos and snapping a picture with Jordan Saul Gorgeous: Gizzi Erskine (left) looked effortlessly chic in an all black ensemble as the duo enjoyed a gin Daisy, who has been dating Jordan Saul for almost two years, often speaks out about body positivity and body image issues. Last month, she revealed she felt like an 'elephant' during her career as she compared her curvy figure to other women's 'stick-thin' bodies. The fashion model, 33, admitted that she 'constantly pulled myself apart' and said she was told by others that she was 'curvy' when she was in reality a size six or eight. Stylish: Harriet Rose (left) showcased her quirky style in a vibrant oversized shirt, teamed with black jeans and chunky boots Pals: Daisy and Harriet looked in high spirits as they posed for a flew of snaps together Girl gang: Harriet Rose, Daisy Lowe, Felicity Hayward and Portia Freeman (left to right) looked stunning at the event Speaking on the That Gaby Roslin Podcast, she said: 'Being a model full-time for ten years and throughout my career always being very conscious of wanting to champion real women's bodies and being curvy. 'And being told you're curvy even though at the time I was six to eight which looking back is ridiculous, and feeling like an elephant in comparison to all these stick-thin - wonderful, beautiful in their own way - models.' Daisy - the daughter of designer Pearl Lowe, 51, and the rocker Gavin Rossdale, 56 - said that she loved her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 as it was the first time in her career that she was told that her body was 'good'. She said: 'For the first time in my career I was actually being told that what my body was doing is really good and being really proud of what my body could achieve - rather than constantly pulling myself apart.' Daisy said that she also makes the effort to reach out to young women on Instagram who are dealing with body image issues, eating disorders or body dysmorphia. 'It's been actually a real privilege to send little messages and little things I've learnt along the way actually person to person. as well using Instagram as a proper platform,' she added. Iris Law showcased her sensational style in London on Thursday as she attended a book launch party For i-D: Wink And Smile! The 21-year-old model looked incredible in a blue figure-hugging dress at the event hosted by i-D And Rizzoli. Iris, who is the daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost, teamed the look with a pair of black chunky knee-high boots. Wow! Iris Law showcased her sensational style in London on Thursday as she attended a book launch party For i-D: Wink And Smile! Iris donned a pair of quirky blue rectangle sunglasses as she posed up a storm in the orange spotlight. The beauty covered her head in a colourful head scarf and opted for a dewy makeup palette with a glossy nude lip. She stood out in a bold Nike harness and added a simple pearl necklace and gold bracelet to complete the stunning look. Stunning: The 21-year-old model looked incredible in a blue figure-hugging dress and chunky black boots at the event hosted by i-D And Rizzoli Iris, who is the daughter of Jude Law and Sadie Frost, donned a pair of quirky blue rectangle sunglasses as she posed up a storm in the orange spotlight It comes after Iris gave fans a glimpse of the moment she chopped off her hair in July as she shared black and white before and after snaps to Instagram. Iris looked back on what was a big moment for her as she uploaded a photo showing her shorn brunette locks on the floor. The stunner was seen kneeling down and gathering up her hair, with the angle perfectly showing off her newly cropped hair. She captioned the snap: '2021'. Iris then shared another black and white image of her shortly before her haircut, with the model sporting her former long, raven locks. Change: Iris shaved off her locks in July this year, looking completely different from the signature brunette locks she's known for She's seen smiling at the camera while holding onto champagne and wrapped up warm in a padded coat and cosy hat. The model went on to dye her hair blonde and debuted her shock new buzz cut in Vogue magazine and on social media. She revealed in July that the decision to transform her look was 'liberating' and she had 'so many wigs and secret hiding my head moments!' The beauty discussed shaving her head for her role as Soo Catwoman in the upcoming series, Pistol, in a revealing interview with Vogue. She said to the publication: 'I wanted to do something that felt liberating. The day I shaved my head, I changed my life. I've never done anything like that before. 'I looked in the mirror and thought it was going to be emotional but it wasn't. It felt so positive.' Miranda Kerr gave her 13.1M Instagram followers a glimpse of her fun beach birthday celebrations on Thursday. In a series of clips posted to her Stories, the model celebrated turning 39 with a large blue cake in the shape of a facial cream from her vegan/cruelty-free brand KORA Organics. Among the famous friends present at the event were Elsa Hosk, Sara Sampaio, Jasmine Tookes, Shanina Shaik, Chantel Jeffries and Rachel Zoe. Birthday girl: Miranda Kerr gave her 13.1M Instagram followers a glimpse of her fun beach birthday celebrations on Thursday Kerr looked ethereal in a floral white lace set, consisting of a bra top and matching skirt. The Australian native wore her long brunette tresses parted in the middle and styled into gentle waves. The businesswoman sported a glam look for the beach event, wearing pink blush and a peachy shade of lipstick. Make a wish! In a series of clips posted to her Stories, the model celebrating turning 39 with a large blue cake in the shape of a cream from her vegan and cruelty-free brand KORA Organics The birthday girl enjoyed a bash filled with friends, and was spotted mingling with fellow former Victoria's Secret Angel Elsa Hosk, 33. The blonde beauty looked effortlessly chic for the occasion, wearing her blonde tresses down and sporting a casual red T-shirt and black sunglasses. In one photo the two ladies were pictured with Shanina Shaik, 31, as Miranda posed in the middle. In another snap Elsa was seen flashing a peace sign as she sat next to Megan Roup. Supermodel friends: The birthday girl enjoyed a bash filled with friends, and was spotted mingling with fellow former Victoria's Secret Angel Elsa Hosk, 33, and Shanina Shaik, 31 Pretty friends: The model was also seen in cute snaps with runway sensation Sara Sampaio, 30, and Jasmine Tookes, 31 It girls: Sara looked stylish in a black top and blue jeans, while Jasmine donned a white suit and a white beaded necklace In another cute clip, Kerr was spotted with Elsa as they tested out a Kora moisturizing cream on their faces. The model was also seen in cute snaps with gal pals Sara Sampaio, 30, and Jasmine Tookes, 31. Sara looked stylish in a black top and blue jeans, while Jasmine donned a white suit and a white beaded necklace. Peace: In another snap Elsa was seen flashing a peace sign as she sat next to Megan Roup Cute: In another cute clip, Kerr was spotted with Elsa as they tested out a Kora moisturizing cream on their faces Stylish gals: Sara looked stylish in a black top, while Jasmine donned a white ensemble and a white beaded necklace Fashion guru: The celebrations continued on with more famous friends, including Rachel Zoe, who looked fashionable in a pair of retro sunglasses The celebrations continued on with more famous friends, including Rachel Zoe, who looked fashionable in a pair of retro sunglasses. The fashion guru wore her long blond tresses parted in the middle and lightly curled, and accessorized with large gold earrings. Fashion stylists Jamie Mizrahi, Chriselle Lim, 37, as well as Australian actress Phoebe Tonkin, 32, and American journalist Derek Blasberg, 39, were also present in the snap. In yet another photo Miranda posed next to Chantel Jeffries, 29, who sported a blue top, a white sweater and a green purse, and actress Kara Del Toro, who flashed a bright smile. Maisie Smith stunned Cabaret All Stars audience members as she put on an impromptu a cappella performance of Adele's Easy on Me while watching the show with her sister Scarlett at Proud Embankment on Thursday. The actress, 20, stepped out for the evening to see Claire Sweeney headline the show but was handed the microphone herself to sing for a moment. Former EastEnders cast member Maisie looked glamorous in a sheer black mini-dress with cut out detail that left plenty of skin on show. Star: Maisie Smith, 20, stunned the Cabaret All Stars audience as she performed Adele's Easy on Me while watching the Proud Embankment show with her sister Scarlett on Thursday She was seen posing at the venue before heading inside to watch the show, with her dress giving onlookers a glimpse at her toned stomach and cleavage. The former Strictly Come Dancing star sported a healthy glow and wore lashings of make-up to highlight her pretty facial features. She wore her sunglasses on top of her head and carried a black handbag with her. Born to perform: The actress stepped out for the evening to see Claire Sweeney headline the show but was handed the microphone herself to sing for a moment Dressing up: Former EastEnders cast member Maisie looked glamorous in a sheer black mini-dress with cut out detail that left plenty of skin on show Star quality: Once inside, Maisie was handed the microphone and was heard being told what part of Adele's song to sing while standing up out of her seat Once inside, Maisie was handed the microphone and was heard being told what part of Adele's song to sing while standing up out of her seat. She was filmed as she sung as the rest of the audience sat in silence at their tables around her. The star was given a round of applause after completing the chorus of the song. Glitterati: She was filmed as she sung as the rest of the audience sat in silence at their tables around her On film: Maisie's pals were seen filming her as she sung at the show, with audience members pulling out their phones Making memories: Maisie's sister was seen filming on her phone while dancer Abbie Quinnen also had her mobile out Taking a seat: Maisie looked relaxed as she sat down again after singing to enjoy the rest of the show Chatterbox: She was seen talking to friends and fans who spoke to her in the audience at the venue Looking good: She was seen posing at the venue before heading inside to watch the show, with her dress giving onlookers a glimpse at her toned stomach and cleavage In style: The former Strictly Come Dancing star sported a healthy glow and wore lashings of make-up to highlight her pretty facial features Maisie's outing comes after it was reported she's set to return to screens alongside Alison Hammond in a reboot of classic game show Friends Like These. A source told The Sun: 'Maisie has just filmed a pilot episode and it's unclear if it'll air but it's a great sign she's landing these kind of shows after Strictly and EastEnders.' The show - which teams of best friends compete over a series of challenges for the chance to win a holiday - is thought to be presented by This Morning stars Alison Hammond, 47, and Dermot O'Leary, 48, and will follow the format of the show originally presented by Ant and Dec with Maisie expected to captain a team on the show. Family affair: Maisie stood arm-in-arm with her sister Scarlett Smith who wore a cropped blue top and a black mini-skirt Looking forward: Maisie's outing comes after it was reported she's set to return to screens alongside Alison Hammond in a reboot of classic game show Friends Like These The insider added: 'Everyone thought Maisie was really great on the show - she's so naturally funny - so it'll be the first of many new jobs.' The star - who recently replaced AJ Odudu on the Strictly Come Dancing tour - was last seen on EastEnders at the end of December 2021, when Tiffany Butcher swapped Albert Square for Germany but made a recent return to the show to film a cameo appearance, which she teased will tie up a few loose ends. Speaking on Morning Live, she told Kym Marsh: 'I feel like no matter what I say I'm going to get in trouble. But what I can say is that I'm hoping that a few unresolved storylines will finally be answered.' Glam: Claire Sweeney looked glamorous in a beige dress with crystals and sequins scattered across it Standing strong: The star stood with her hand on her hip, showing off her brightly painted red nails Maisie and her sister Scarlett were joined by a leggy Lizzie Cundy who wore a slinky grey dress with a thigh split and a plunging neckline. The WAG's metallic ensemble sparkled in the light as she posed at the venue, with the star standing with her hand on her hip. She completed her look with a pair of high-heeled black boots and wore lashings of make-up to highlight her pretty facial features. Shining star: Maisie and her sister Scarlett were joined by a leggy Lizzie Cundy who wore a slinky grey dress with a thigh split and a plunging neckline In style: The WAG's metallic ensemble sparkled in the light as she posed at the venue, with the star standing with her hand on her hip Style queen: The star sat in a yellow chair reminiscent of a throne, posing with a hand on her hip On the spot: Lizzie looked surprised as she chatted to one of the performers at Cabaret All Stars All that glitters: Victoria Brown put on a leggy display in a stylish purple mini-dress for the night Spinning around: Victoria showed off her pert behind as she posed in her dress at the show Out for the night: Actress Judi Shekoni wore a floor-length white dress and Katie Price's ex Kris Boyson was also in attendance at the show Meet and greet: Kris was seen holding hands with one of the performers after stepping out for the evening to watch the show Keeping it casual: He wore a white top and blue denim jeans as he stood next to the performer who wore a dazzling gold costume All stars: Claire was seen posing with Kris and Lizzie at the event after performing in the show on Thursday Good pals: Kris and Claire stood arm-in-arm on the red carpet at the show, with Claire headlining the performance for the evening Abbie Quinnen looked stylish in a green floral print top with cut out detail and a lace-up neckline. The asymmetrical hem finished above her knee and she showed off her long legs as she posed at the venue. She was joined by the likes of actress Judi Shekoni who wore a floor-length white dress and Katie Price's ex Kris Boyson at the show. Twinkle-toed star: Abbie Quinnen looked stylish in a green floral print top with cut out detail and a lace-up neckline Looking great:The asymmetrical hem finished above her knee and she showed off her long legs as she posed at the venue Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich have put their third and final investment property in Queensland on the market after setting up home in Sydney. The couple, who met on The Bachelor in 2013, are selling their townhouse in Brisbane's Aspley, reports Realestate.com.au. The four-bedroom, two-storey house has been advertised as 'an unmissable buying, downsizing or investment opportunity'. Selling up: Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich have put their third and final investment property in Queensland on the market after setting up home in Sydney It features a fully fenced courtyard and garage, and was purchased by Tim, 39, for $452,500 back in February 2016. That same year, he bought two other properties in Brisbane suburbs Richlands and Murarrie, both of which have since been sold. Tim and Anna, 35, sold their three-bedroom townhouse in Murarrie for $730,000 in November last year. On the market: The couple, who met on The Bachelor in 2013, are selling their townhouse in Brisbane's Aspley, reports Realestate.com.au For sale: The four-bedroom, two-storey townhouse has been advertised as 'an unmissable buying, downsizing or investment opportunity' A month later, they sold their four-bedroom townhouse in Richlands for $450,000, making the Aspley townhouse their last Brisbane property. The couple, who share one-year-old daughter Elle, have made Sydney their permanent base in recent years. In November, they listed their three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Sydney's Rose Bay with the goal of upsizing to a family home. Investment: It features a fully fenced courtyard and garage, and was purchased by Tim, 39, for $452,500 back in February 2016 Home sweet home: The couple, who share one-year-old daughter Elle, have made Sydney their permanent base in recent years According to a report at the time, Tim and Anna bought the boutique apartment shortly after their 2018 wedding for $1.9million. In an interview with Daily Mail Australia in December, Tim admitted selling the Rose Bay apartment was bittersweet. 'We're not in a mad rush to sell, but we're having a look at whether the market wants it for what we want to sell. We love the area, so it's going to be hard to move,' he said. Kaley Cuoco flashes a peace sign to photographers before heading out for a night on the town in New York City. The 36-year-old actress arrived in the Big Apple earlier this week and did press for Season 2 of The Flight Attendant by appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Good Morning America and Watch What Happens Live. She was spotted on Thursday evening rocking an all-black outfit while heading to her vehicle. Peace: Kaley Cuoco flashes a peace sign to photographers before heading out for a night on the town in New York City The blonde actress stepped out with a satin black blouse under a thin black coat as she walked to her vehicle. Her bangs fell over her forehead and locks over her shoulder as she walked to her vehicle with heart-shaped earrings. She completed her look with black shorts and thick-soled black shoes with a small purse dangling from her shoulder. Kaley's look: The blonde actress stepped out with a satin black blouse under a thin black coat as she walked to her vehicle One of her recent press interviews with Good Morning America also shed some light on a recent Instagram photo with her Flight Attendant co-star Zosia Mamet, where they shared matching tattoos. They both had fresh ink from tattoo artist Arbel Nagar which read 'boop' along their inner-bicep, which Cuoco explained was an inside joke. 'When I met Zosia, she came in to test for the show and we did a chemistry read a couple of years ago and we were kind of playing and improving a scene together and I went "boop" on her nose,' Cuoco said. Ink: One of her recent press interviews with Good Morning America also shed some light on a recent Instagram photo with her Flight Attendant co-star Zosia Mamet, where they shared matching tattoos Inside joke: 'When I met Zosia, she came in to test for the show and we did a chemistry read a couple of years ago and we were kind of playing and improving a scene together and I went "boop" on her nose,' Cuoco said 'And she swatted my hand away and she was like what are you doing? And we just kept doing this thing to each other,' Cuoco explained. Kaley continued, 'So when she left the note was like "oh my God, you guys are like obviously best friends, it's so cute" and I'm like "we've never met."' 'So from here on out we kept booping each other, I know it sounds very silly. She's actually "boop" in my phone, um, and so we got it on our arms because we are insane. So we put boop on there, we are just so close and this year was really heavy and we just wanted to mark it because she really got me through a lot,' she said. Boop: 'And she swatted my hand away and she was like what are you doing? And we just kept doing this thing to each other,' Cuoco explained Cuoco also took to her Instagram story on Thursday, thanking hairstylist DJ Quintero and makeup artist Natasha Smee, 'for making me look and feel like a cool NY chick.' She also shared some fun behind-the-scenes snaps from Season 2 of The Flight Attendant, particularly featuring her stunt/body/acting double Monette Moio. She stars in The Man From Toronto with Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart, and Meet Cute with SNL's Pete Davidson, both expected for release later this year. Thanks: Cuoco also took to her Instagram story on Thursday, thanking hairstylist DJ Quintero and makeup artist Natasha Smee, 'for making me look and feel like a cool NY chick' Twins: She also shared some fun behind-the-scenes snaps from Season 2 of The Flight Attendant, particularly featuring her stunt/body/acting double Monette Moio Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy enjoyed a quick trip together in snaps shared on Thursday on social media. The 35-year-old dancer shared photos of her and shirtless Maksim, 42, on their get-away with her roughly 927,000 followers on Instagram. '...Ojai for a hot minute,' Peta wrote in the caption referencing the small-town tourist destination between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California. Quick get-away: Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy enjoyed a quick trip together in snaps shared on Thursday on social media Peta took a selfie of her and Maksim looking into the camera while standing cheek-to-cheek. She wore a grey sweater and had her long blonde hair down around her shoulders. Peta let her natural beauty shine without makeup while standing next to shirtless Maksim. She also shared another snap on Instagram showing the couple kissing. Tender moment: The 35-year-old dancer shared photos of her and shirtless Maksim, 42, on their get-away with her roughly 927,000 followers on Instagram Local destination: '...Ojai for a hot minute,' Peta wrote in the caption referencing the small-town tourist destination between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, California Peta in her Instagram Stories shared several clips from their 'spontaneous' two-day trip to a serene Ojai spot only 45 minutes from their home in Malibu, California. Peta and Maksim have been married since July 2017 and have five-year-old son Shai together. Maksim confirmed last month that he had fled from Ukraine to Poland amid the Russian attack on Ukraine. Going strong: Peta and Maksim, shown earlier this month in Miami Beach, Florida, have been married since July 2017 and have five-year-old on Shai together He was in Ukraine's capital Kyiv to film a dance show when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and documented his return to Los Angeles via Poland on social media. Maksim later returned to Poland to use his platform to help people impacted by the invasion, teaming up with businessman-humanitarian Michael Capponi's Global Empowerment Mission and Bethenny Frankel's BStrong foundation to help provide the people of Ukraine with aid amid the invasion from Russia. The Dancing With The Stars pro dancer was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and his family immigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1994. Kris Jenner said she was made aware of a death threat Blac Chyna made against her daughter Kylie Jenner while she testified Thursday in the trial in Chyna's $100 million lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. Kris, 66, was asked by Chyna's lawyers if Chyna, 33, ever threatened to kill Kylie, 24, which she initially said she didn't recall, TMZ reported, in another shocking takeaway from the trial in Chyna's lawsuit against Kris and her daughters Kylie, Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian. When the attorney showed Kris an earlier deposition with the allegation, Kris said she was told by Kylie and her ex-boyfriend Tyga, 32, that Chyna had made the threats, and told the lawyer to ask them about the specifics. The latest: Kris Jenner, 66, said she was made aware of a death threat Blac Chyna, 33, made against her daughter Kylie Jenner, 24, while she testified Thursday in the trial in Chyna's $100 million lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court 'That basically was what Kylie and Tyga told me,' Kris said. 'Kylie was dating Tyga at the time - I believe that's where this aggression was coming from.' 'I probably thought it was just some drama, which I'm used to,' said Kris, who added she assumed the threat wasn't to be taken seriously. Under questioning from Chyna's attorney, Lynne Ciani, Kris told the court that she had also heard that Chyna physically abused Tyga when they were together years earlier. 'I just heard that he was physically abused and fought with her a lot and I thought there was a knife cut on his arm,' she said. Chyna on Thursday was seen leaving the Los Angeles court as she was a passenger in a black BMW Chyna was depicted on the stand in a courtroom sketch earlier this week Asked by Ciani what her reaction was to learning later that her son Rob Kardashian, 35, had started dating, and then got engaged to, the woman who had allegedly threatened Kylie and attacked Tyga, Kris said she 'wasn't concerned.' She said Rob and Chyna's relationship 'was rocky,' adding, 'I love second chances and I wanted them to win. I just wanted my son to be happy. He seemed happy so I was hoping for the best for them.' Kris said she was 'excited' by the couple's engagement, which prompted Ciani to say, 'You were excited your son was engaged to a woman who threatened to kill your daughter?' to which Kris said, 'I wouldnt put it like that.' The shocking testimony came a day after Blac Chyna told the court Wednesday that she harbored no hard feelings against Kylie over her relationship with her ex Tyga. Chyna was asked under oath if she held 'a grudge' against Kylie for dating Tyga - after she and the rap artist parted ways in August of 2014 - and she said, 'No, not at all,' Rolling Stone reported. Tyga and Kylie publicly acknowledged their relationship in August of 2015 and parted ways in 2017. (L-R) Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner were seen in a courtroom sketch attending the legal proceedings Kardashian attorney Michael Rhodes was seen alongside Kim Kardashian in this courtroom sketch The Lashed Cosmetics owner - who shares son King Cairo, nine, with Tyga, as well as daughter Dream, five, with former fiance Rob, 35 - was asked by Kardashian lawyer Michael G. Rhodes, 'She took your boyfriend, right?' and said in response, 'No. I have, like, no ill will against none of the ladies, actually.' Chyna also said in court Wednesday that she had been friendly for years with Kim, Mirror reported, but that ended when Kylie and Tyga commenced in their romance. 'Kim reached out to me and said she could not be friends with me anymore because Kylie was dating my ex-fiance,' she told the court. According to the AP, the Washington, D.C. native testified on Thursday that she was not personally aware of any specific actions Kim, 41, or Khloe, 37, took that impacted her career, saying, 'Everything to my face was all good.' Chyna, whose full name is Angela Renee White, filed the suit against Kylie, Kim, Khloe and Kris, 66, over claims they sought to ruin her show business career and force her show Rob & Chyna off the air in 2016. Chyna and Tyga were seen in LA in February of 2014 during the time they were dating Tyga and Kylie publicly acknowledged their relationship in August of 2015 and parted ways in 2017. They were seen in NYC in 2016 Chyna's attorney Ciani told US Weekly in October of 2020 that she had sought 'millions in compensatory and punitive damages from' the quarter over 'defamation, intentional interference with contract, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. The Kardashians and Jenners have denied the accusations and tried in vain to have the case thrown out of court. Kris told the jury Thursday that as executive producer of Rob and Chyna, she negotiated with E! for the couple to each receive $92,500 for a seventh episode of season one, which was a one-hour special on the birth of their daughter Dream. She said that she also negotiated an additional $200,000 fee which was to go into a savings account for Dream. Kris told the court that she was not aware of any filming being done for Rob and Chyna season two, or NBCUniversal (E!s parent company) green-lighting season two, or that E! made an announcement that they were picking up season two. Rhodes said in a Tuesday hearing that E! had decided on its own to cancel Rob and Chyna, with no interference from the family. Rhodes said the network was wary of the problematic relationship between Rob and Chyna, who have made allegations of physical abuse toward one another in regards to their relationship which lasted from January 2016 until July 2017. Chyna and Rob Kardashian were snapped in Las Vegas in May of 2016 The former couple was seen at a May 2016 event in Hollywood, California Chyna opened up on the circumstances behind her moving into a home Kylie owned for a few weeks in December of 2016, saying in testimony, 'The whole time Rob and I were together, the biggest thing he wanted us to do was to live together. 'So finally I let my guard down - my guard and my pride - and I moved into Kylies house, with Rob, so we could be a family.' Chyna also said in testimony that she moved from the home Kylie owned in December, but remained engaged to Rob amid troubled times in their relationship. In other details gleaned from Thursday's proceedings, Blac Chyna said in testimony that she hasn't filed taxes since 2018 or 2019, and doesn't have any bank accounts to her name, TMZ reported. While under questioning from Rhodes, Chyna said that 2015 marked the last year she had filed taxes personally, and that her filings in recent years were for her companies Lashed LLC, 88 Fin and Blac Chyna Inc. She said her sources of income in recent years have come from personal appearances and an OnlyFans account. Chyna also delivered testimony regarding Rob's posting of naked pictures of her on Instagram in 2017, which led to her seeking a restraining order against the sock designer. 'It was the only way I could stop him from posting pictures of me on the Internet,' she said when asked if she had sought court intervention in an effort to garner publicity, according to the outlet. When asked about appearing on Good Morning America after filing the paperwork with the court, Chyna said she 'wanted everyone to hear [her] side of the story. 'I was already public,' she said. 'I'm supposed to just not say anything and take it? He posted nudes of my entire body.' Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki answers questions from reporters on his business trip in Washington, D.C., Thursday (local time). Yonhap By Lee Min-hyung Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki left an International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting on Thursday ahead of a video address by his Russian counterpart, Anton Siluanov, in a show of protest against the country's invasion of Ukraine. "I voluntarily walked out of the hall to join the international movement regarding sanctions on Russia," he told reporters in Washington, D.C. Finance ministers from 12 countries and leaders of four international organizations boycotted the address during the IMFC meeting. But Hong did not leave a meeting of G20 finance officials held on Wednesday when ranking officials from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union left the hall soon after the Russian finance minister started his speech. "A number of countries did not coordinate such actions beforehand," he said. Hong underscored the need for more countries to provide financial support to low-income countries as part of efforts to minimize any negative ripple effect from the war in Ukraine. The Korean finance minister also shared a common ground with his overseas counterparts on the sense of escalating crisis that the Russia-Ukraine war is holding back a global economic recovery. After the IMFC meeting, Hong also met with S&P Managing Director Roberto Sifon-Arevalo. Hong said the Korean government should make diverse efforts for financial sustainability in consideration of rising national debt. Jessika Power's brother Rhyce is known for his heavily tattooed physique. And the OnlyFans star and influencer has added even more ink to his collection. The 30-year-old showed off his new eyelid tattoos as he got his eyebrows done in Perth on Thursday. Extreme body art: Jessika Power's OnlyFans star brother Rhyce showed off his new eyelid tattoos as he got a bizarre design branded into his eyebrows on Thursday Rhyce has had the words 'one' and 'love' tattooed on his eyelids. He also has his last name 'Power' tattooed on his cheek. In a series of posts on Instagram, he also showed off his newly shaped eyebrows after having them done at Brow Down Browz in Perth. Fit: Rhyce, an OnlyFans star known for his heavily tattooed physique, has a 100,000-strong following on Instagram The beauty therapist did a unique crisscross design for Rhyce in his left eyebrow. Rhyce gained notoriety after making a cameo at his sister Jessika Power's wedding on Married At First Sight in 2019. He now has a 100,000-strong following on Instagram and is an OnlyFans creator. He previously told Daily Mail Australia nothing is off-limits with his posts, including full-frontal nudity and solo sex acts, and he isn't ashamed of his racy career. Family: Rhyce gained notoriety after making a cameo at his sister Jessika Power's (right) wedding on Married At First Sight in 2019 'Whatever the people want, they get. I was a stripper for six years so I'm naturally used to being naked. This means I can work anywhere in the world,' explained Rhyce. 'It's funding my carefree lifestyle, living all over the world,' he added. In July last year, Rhyce announced his engagement to fiancee Taylor Peters, who is a lash and beauty therapist. He's not shy: Rhyce previously told Daily Mail Australia nothing is off-limits with his OnlyFans posts, including full-frontal nudity and solo sex acts, and he isn't ashamed of his racy career Rhyce's happily ever after came less than two years after he was spectacularly dumped on Instagram by ex-girlfriend Cheyenne O'Leary. At the time, Cheyenne accused the reality star of cheating on her by having a threesome with two other women on her birthday. When approached for comment at the time, a remorseful Rhyce told Daily Mail Australia he had 'messed up' and 'will have to live with [his] actions' - but did not confirm or deny the alleged threesome. Below Deck Down Under's Chef Ryan McKeown has defended himself after receiving backlash from viewers for his attitude and cooking on the hit series. The Philadelphia-born foodie has been criticised for serving guests 'basic' dishes like tacos and burgers, but he insists he was just giving the guests what they asked for. 'They asked for tacos, they got tacos,' he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. 'So throw me all the hate people want to throw me. I'm enjoying every bit of it.' Hitting back! Below Deck Down Under's Chef Ryan McKeown has defended himself after receiving backlash from viewers for his attitude and cooking on the hit series He added: 'It's super entertaining how much time our fans spend. It's like a lot of tunnel vision. So I'm cool with it. I love it.' Ryan also said the 'guests are happy' - despite being portrayed as unsatisfied with his cooking on the show. 'There's a lot of tidbits where the guests said, "The steak was the best I ever had,"' he said, before adding that one guest specifically requested 's**t Mexican food'. 'And I'm the a**hole for serving tacos!' he added. 'They asked for tacos!' Ryan insists he was just giving the guests what they asked for by serving them dishes like tacos and burgers instead of luxury five-star meals Ryan has repeatedly clashed with Chief Stewardess Aesha Scott over his refusal to tell guests what they're having before being served. And the controversial cook seems to be at the centre of all the drama in the recently released mid-season trailer. Below Deck Down Under has already delivered one of the most dramatic seasons in the history of the yachting franchise. Drama: Chef Ryan is at the centre of all the drama in the explosive mid-season trailer for Below Deck Down Under In one scene, he complains that Aesha's laugh is fake during a heated dinner party. He then screams at stewardess Magda Ziomek, presumably for being friendly with Aesha, shouting: 'You're two-faced as f**k!' Aesha is then shown in tears in her bunk, sobbing to deckhand Brittini Burton: 'I really pride myself on how hard I work.' Unimpressed: In one scene, he complains that Aesha's laugh is fake during a heated dinner party Outspoken: He then screams at stewardess Magda Ziomek, presumably for being friendly with Aesha, shouting: 'You're two-faced as f**k!' Ryan later gets a serving from Captain Jason himself during a clash in the kitchen. 'Let me finish my dinner and you can talk all you want,' Ryan says dismissively. 'No, no, now listen,' responds Jason. 'I don't want your attitude. I'm your captain. If you want to bring it up three decibels, I'll bring it up four!' Broken: Aesha is then shown in tears in her bunk, sobbing to deckhand Brittini Burton: 'I really pride myself on how hard I work' Chef Ryan continues to cause chaos and is later seen losing control at a nightclub during a wild altercation. 'Call me a f***ing loser, dude!' he screams as a producer is forced to physically restrain him. Ryan's castmates are seen in a nearby booth looking shocked as Ryan kicks a table and sends bottles of Corona shattering on the ground. The trailer also teases more tension between Bosun Jamie Sayed and Captain Jason, as well as a romance between Brittini and Culver Bradbury. 'I don't want your attitude!' Chef Ryan later gets a serving from Captain Jason (pictured) during a heated clash in the kitchen Out of control! Chef Ryan is restrained by a producer after screaming at somebody inside a nightclub Many viewers have branded Ryan 'the worst chef in Below Deck history' due to his stubbornness in the kitchen and disgruntled personality. 'That is the laziest, most conceited, selfish and disrespectful chef I've seen on any of the Below Deck series. Chief Stew Aesha is confident and very patient with him. He's a nutball,' raged one. 'Imagine paying $20,000 for a two-night yacht stay and getting Ryan's poisonous food,' tweeted another. 'I'd be very disappointed.' Below Deck Down Under is streaming exclusively on hayu Advertisement Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria put on a loved-up display while attending the opening night of the dark comedy Hangmen on Broadway, by the British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, in New York City on Thursday evening. As they walked the red carpet, the 64-year-old Golden Globe winner and his 38-year-old spouse, who is pregnant with their seventh child, posed for pictures as she rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. While enjoying a rare date night away from their daughters Carmen Gabriela, eight, Lucia, one, and sons Romeo Alejandro David, three, Leonardo Angel Charles, five, and Rafael Thomas, six, Alec sported a charcoal grey suit, matching slacks, a red button-down and leathers shoes. Happy couple: Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria put on a loved-up display while attending the opening night of the dark comedy Hangmen on Broadway, by the British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, in New York City on Thursday evening For the occasion, Hilaria cut an elegant figure in a structured black jacket, a large purse and gold hoop earrings. She styled her shoulder-length golden blonde hair in loose waves, a natural-looking pink lipstick, a warm sparkly eyeshadow, and eyelash extensions. Their lighting comes just days after Alec said he was exonerated over Halyna Hutchins' death in a new report blasting producers of the film whose set witnessed the tragedy on Wednesday. Date night: As they walked the red carpet, the 64-year-old Golden Globe winner and his 38-year-old spouse, who is pregnant with their seventh child, posed for pictures as she rested her head on his shoulder and smiled Having fun: While enjoying a rare date night away from their daughters Carmen Gabriela, eight, Lucia, one, and sons Romeo Alejandro David, three, Leonardo Angel Charles, five, and Rafael Thomas, six, Alec sported a charcoal grey suit, matching slacks, a red button-down and leathers shoes Beautiful: For the occasion, Hilaria cut an elegant figure in a structured black jacket, a large purse and gold hoop earrings Glamorous: She styled her shoulder-length golden blonde hair in loose waves, a natural-looking pink lipstick, a warm sparkly eyeshadow, and eyelash extensions Beaming: The lovebirds appeared in high spirits as they attended the opening night The actor issued the statement shortly after New Mexican Occupational Health and Safety Bureau officials levied the maximum fine against the producers of Rust, the film on which Hutchins was shot and killed by Baldwin in October 2021. Executive producers were hit with a $136,793 film - the maximum available. Baldwin himself was a producer, but highlighted a passage in the investigation which said that he was involved in the script and casting - but not safety procedures. On Wednesday afternoon, Baldwin, who has argued that he did not know the gun was loaded when it was handed to him by the film's assistant director David Halls, issued a statement that touted the scathing report as a victory. Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels wore a baby blue bitton-down, a tweed blazer, and brown loafers The Canadian-American actor, 77, smiled as he got ready to watch Hangmen Looking good! Bryan Cranston rocked a casual three-quarter zip, brown pants, and matching shoes Casual: The Your Honor star, 66, wore a checkered white and blue checkered button-down Edgy: TV host Julie Chan sported a black leather jacket and lace midi dress with white sneakers Photo session: Hilaria Baldwin shared a selfie with David F. Gonzalez on her Instagram Story Baldwin's statement read: 'We are grateful to the New Mexico Occupational and Safety Bureau for investigating this matter. We appreciate that the report exonerates Mr. Baldwin by making clear that he believed the gun held only dummy rounds. 'Additionally, the report recognizes that Mr. Baldwin's authority on the production was limited to approving script changes and creative casting. Mr. Baldwin had no authority over the matters that were the subject of the Bureau's findings of violations, and we are pleased that the New Mexico officials have clarified these critical issues.' The statement concluded: 'We are confident that the individuals identified in the report will be held accountable for this tragedy.' The latest: Their lighting comes just days after Alec said he was exonerated over Halyna Hutchins' death in a new report blasting producers of the film whose set witnessed the tragedy on Wednesday In their report, officials cited a slew of 'willful and serious' safety violations that led them to dishing out the fine - the maximum sum for such safety infractions - and criticized film brass for failing to follow industry safety guidelines. Baldwin has since claimed that he did not pull the trigger of the gun that fired, and that it went off by accident in his hand. In Baldwin's statement, his PR team cited how Halls and another staffer, property master Sarah Zachary - two of three employees to handle the gun before it was passed to Baldwin - were responsible for safety slip-ups that resulted in Hutchins' death, ignoring assertions that the company as a whole should be held 'fully accountable' for the failures. The fine comes after a six-month investigation by the bureau into the circumstances leading up to the shooting, which saw Baldwin fire a round at Hutchins with a prop gun that inexplicably contained live ammunition on October 21. The actor, who was also a producer on the unfinished film, has argued that he did not pull the trigger and has no idea how a live bullet made its way onto the Santa Fe set. Alec Baldwin said Wednesday that a report released by New Mexico safety regulators slamming Rust producers as responsible for the accidental shooting death of a staffer on the film's set last year, has seen him 'exonerated' - despite serving on the unfinished film's production team himself. Pictured is the Wednesday statement from the actor In the filing, officials wrote that the makers of Rust - a group which includes Baldwin - showed 'plain indifference to recognized hazards associated with use of firearms on set,' revealing that film brass ignored complaints from staffers regarding gun safety following 'two firearms-related incidents' five days before the fatal shooting. The report described the incidents as 'misfires,' which reportedly occurred on the film set October 16. Officials revealed that Rust Movie Productions failed to follow up on those claims, circumventing industry-implemented safety procedures 'which likely would have prevented the accident from occurring,' the filing states. The report concluded that management for Rust Movie Productions - which would include Baldwin - 'knew that firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety by failing to review work practices and take corrective action.' The agency went on to declare that because of those infractions and shortcuts by staff - including those by assistant director Halls, whom regulators noted handed Baldwin the loaded gun without consulting with on-set weapons specialists - the production company must be held 'fully accountable' for Hutchins' death. Property master Zachary also failed to 'work in conjunction with the productions designated Safety Representative to assure that the following standards,' the report revealed. The report also said that weapons specialists were barred from making decisions about additional firearm safety training. Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed on set by Baldwin on October 21, after the actor fired a prop gun that inexplicably contained live ammunition in her direction while practicing for a scene 'Through our investigation, we determined that Rust Productions' failures were both serious and willful,' regulators wrote. 'It was the employers' obligation to follow national standards, and that did not happen on the set of Rust. 'This was a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the victim - a mother, a wife, an experienced cinematographer and a well respected member of the film community. Today we continue to extend our thoughts and prayers to her loved ones. 'While I realize no fine can compensate for the loss of life, we are holding Rust Productions fully accountable.' Officials said Rust Movie Productions must pay the sum or face legal action. 'What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management's failure to act upon those obvious hazards,' Bob Genoway, bureau chief of the New Mexico regulator, said Wednesday of the OSHA report. In a statement following the report's release, Rust Movie Productions spokesman Stefan Friedman rebuked the bureau's findings. Director Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust 'While we appreciate OSHA's time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Halyna's family,' Friedman said. Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger. The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by assistant director Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort. 'The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns,' the report states. 'Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. 'As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries.' A spokesman for Rust Movie Productions did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. An attorney for Baldwin was not immediately available. James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members. Hutchins' October 19, 2021 Instagram post showed cast members and staffers, including Baldwin alongside Hutchins herself and armorer Gutierrez-Reed (circled left to right) on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice. The report also revealed that the third person to handle the gun before Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed aired concerns over firearm safety procedure's on the film's set, but was rebuffed, the report said. Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required. Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. He said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered. 'This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something,' he said. Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office. New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25 percent and 35 percent of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work. Kiki Morris looked like a bona fide sex kitten on Thursday as she poured her curves into lacy underwear during a photo shoot for a lingerie brand. The former Bachelor star, 34, wore a sexy white bra-and-knickers set with matching stockings as she posed inside an ornate room at The Star Sydney. The platinum blonde bombshell also slipped into a pink set complete with a cowboy hat, then posed for photos in a seductive red ensemble. Call me! The Bachelor star Kiki Morris looked like a bona fide sex kitten on Thursday as she poured her curves into lacy underwear during a photo shoot for a lingerie brand The photo shoot was for Nia & Rose, a lingerie store in Barangaroo, Sydney. Bachelor fans will remember Kiki from Richie Strahan's season of in 2016. She later starred in spin-off series Bachelor in Paradise. In 2016, the glamour model told OK! magazine she underwent a boob job after being bullied for her 'flat chest' in high school. 'I used to get teased for being so flat-chested,' she said, adding that having the procedure 'definitely made me feel less self-conscious'. Sexy: Kiki, 34, wore a white bra-and-knickers set for the photo shoot at The Star Sydney Yee haw! The platinum blonde bombshell slipped into a pink set complete with a cowboy hat Lady in red: The former glamour model also posed for photos in a seductive red ensemble In addition to plastic surgery, Kiki is also a fan of cosmetic injectables, including Botox and dermal filler. In 2017, she underwent Botox injections to reshape her jawline and relax the muscles around her jaw that had become tight over time. She said at the time that one reason for getting the procedure was to relieve the severe headaches caused by jaw pressure. Plastic fantastic: In 2016, the reality star told OK! magazine she underwent a boob job after being bullied for her 'flat chest' in high school 'I'm a notorious jaw clencher in my sleep so much so I wake up with migraines and from that it's contributed to my strong jawline,' she said. She added that the procedure helped her 'achieve a slimmer jaw while correcting my jaw clenching habits'. Meanwhile, Kiki keeps her skin looking smooth with regular laser treatments. Nicolas Cage has revealed the gender of his first child with wife Riko Shibata. 'I'm gonna have a little girl,' the 58-year-old actor announced during his appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday, April 12. Cage also dished that he and Shibata, 27, have decided to name their daughter, Lennon Augie, after the late John Lennon and Cage's late father August 'Augie' Coppola. It's a girl! Nicolas Cage has revealed the gender of his first child with wife Riko Shibata; the couple pictured in 2021 Explaining the meaning behind the name, Cage recalled how his disc jockey father would blast The Beatles' Let It Be album, particularly the song Across The Universe, at his radio station. When the National Treasure heard the song for the very first time at just four-years-old, he was left 'frozen, paralyzed by the music.' Since then, Across The Universe - which was penned by John Lennon - has remained Cage's 'favorite song ever written' and holds a special place in his heart. 'Because of Across The Universe, her name is gonna be Lennon Augie, Augie after my father,' he announced. Surprise: 'I'm gonna have a little girl,' the 58-year-old actor announced during his appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Thursday, April 12 Expecting: It was revealed in January that Cage and Shibata were expecting their first child, and Cage's third, after Weston and his 16-year-old son Kal-El from his third marriage with Alice Kim Cage noted that he expects he'll be calling his daughter 'Lenny for short.' He continued: 'I'm thrilled. It's going to be the biggest adventure of my life [being a girl dad]' It was revealed in January that Cage and Shibata were expecting their first child, and Cage's third, after Weston and his 16-year-old son Kal-El from his third marriage with Alice Kim. Sentimental: Cage also dished that he and Shibata, 27, have decided to name their daughter, Lennon Augie, after the late John Lennon and Cage's late father August 'Augie' Coppola; August, Nicolas, and his mother Joy Vogelsang pictured in 1998 Meaning: Explaining the meaning behind the name, Cage recalled how his disc jockey father would blast The Beatles' Let It Be album, particularly the song Across The Universe, at his radio station He was also previously married to Patricia Arquette (1995-2001), Lisa Marie Presley (2002-2004) and Erica Koike (2019). Cage and Shibata met in Shiga, Japan, through mutual friends, while Cage was on location filming Prisoners of the Ghostland. The couple kicked off this week with a special screening of Cage's new film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The 57-year-old Cage was all smiles while hitting the red carpet with his 27-year-old pregnant wife, who he married in 2021. Memorable moment: When the National Treasure heard the song for the very first time at just four-years-old, he was left 'frozen, paralyzed by the music' Forever favorite: Since then, Across The Universe - which was penned by John Lennon - has remained Cage's 'favorite song ever written' and holds a special place in his heart 'Because of Across The Universe, her name is gonna be Lennon Augie, Augie after my father,' he announced The screening in Los Angeles took place just days before the film opens in theaters April 22. Cage stepped out wearing a classic black suit with a white dress shirt with the top button unbuttoned and no tie. He also donned a black suit coat, black pants and black shoes for the red carpet event. Riko stepped out with a full-length black dress and black pumps. Blac Chyna testified in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday that she never consciously took a $100,000 payment known as a 'kill fee' for the end of her former E! show Rob & Chyna. Chyna, 33, took the stand in her $100 million lawsuit against Kris Jenner, 66, Kylie Jenner, 24, Kim Kardashian, 41, and Khloe Kardashian, 37, over claims they sought to ruin her show business career and force the show off the air in 2016. Chyna, whose full name is Angela Renee White, took the stand for the third consecutive day in the ongoing trial, fielding questions from Kardashian-Jenner lawyer Michael Rhodes about the reality series, which aired on E! from September to December of 2016 and chronicled her relationship with Rob Kardashian, 35. The latest: Blac Chyna, 33, testified in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday that she never took a $100,000 payment known as a 'kill fee' for the end of her former E! show Rob & Chyna. She was seen leaving the court Thursday in a black BMW Rhodes said that the Lashed Cosmetics owner - who shares son King Cairo, nine, with rapper Tyga, 32, and daughter Dream, five, with Rob - collected the $100,000 kill fee for the series, as well as $370,000 for her appearances on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Chyna testified that she took the $100,000 sum for what she believed to be payment for filming, and not due to the cancelation of the reality series. 'Why would I sign a kill fee for my number one show?' Chyna said, adding that the payment came during a time when the show remained in production, according to People. She added that her lawyer did not include her in contract talks, so she wouldn't be privy to such details. An E! spokesperson in June of 2017 told Variety that Rob & Chyna had 'not been in production for several months and [was] not currently on the E! schedule.' The reality series Rob & Chyna aired on E! from September to December of 2016 and chronicled Chyna's relationship with Rob Kardashian, 35. The former couple was seen in Las Vegas in May of 2016 A lawyer for the Kardashians said that E! was hesitant about renewing the series for a second season as the former couple (pictured in 2016) seemed 'off the rails' in their ability to get along, as the pair had made allegations of physical abuse toward one another Rhodes said during court proceedings earlier this week that Chyna 'wanted' to be associated with the Kardashians and 'would say or do anything to be part of this family.' The lawyer noted that Chyna and Rob were 'screaming and yelling' at one another in a vicious fight at Kylie Jenner's house during the timeframe a second season was in the works, and that Kris's beau Corey Gamble had to stand between them to calm things down. Rhodes said that E! was hesitant about renewing the series for a second season as the couple seemed 'off the rails' in their ability to get along, as they had made allegations of physical abuse toward one another. 'This relationship was fraught with problems and the network was very worried,' Rhodes said, noting that the Kardashian family was more worried about the mercurial relationship than the status of the spinoff series. Chyna was depicted on the stand in a courtroom sketch earlier this week (L-R) Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner were seen in a courtroom sketch attending the legal proceedings Kardashian attorney Michael Rhodes was seen alongside Kim Kardashian in this courtroom sketch He said the family was 'acting against their own financial interest to protect someone they loved.' E! ultimately canceled the series due to Rob and Chyna ending their engagement and breaking up in February of 2017, Rhodes said. Chyna's attorney Lynne Ciani said that Kris, with the help of her daughters, 'set out to have Rob & Chyna canceled' despite that Rob 'wanted it to keep going.' Ciani said that the Kardashians used their clout with E! to have Rob & Chyna pulled off the network, costing Chyna millions as a result. Kris testified on Thursday that as executive producer of Rob and Chyna, she negotiated with E! for the couple to each receive $92,500 for a seventh episode of season one, which was a one-hour special on the birth of their daughters Dream. She said that she also negotiated an additional $200,000 fee which was to go into a savings account for Dream. Kris told the court that she was not aware of any filming being done for Rob and Chyna's second season or NBCUniversal (E!s parent company) green-lighting a second season, or that E! made an announcement that they were picking up season two. In other details gleaned from Thursday's proceedings, Blac Chyna said in testimony that she hasn't filed taxes since 2018 or 2019, and doesn't have any bank accounts to her name, TMZ reported. While under questioning from Rhodes, Chyna said that 2015 marked the last year she had filed taxes personally, and that her filings in recent years were for her companies Lashed LLC, 88 Fin and Blac Chyna Inc. She said her sources of income in recent years have come from personal appearances and an OnlyFans account. Chyna also delivered testimony regarding Rob's posting of naked pictures of her on Instagram, which led to her seeking a restraining order against the sock designer. 'It was the only way I could stop him from posting pictures of me on the Internet,' she said when asked if she had sought court intervention in an effort to garner publicity, according to the outlet. When asked about appearing on Good Morning America after filing the paperwork with the court, Chyna said she 'wanted everyone to hear [her] side of the story. 'I was already public,' she said. 'I'm supposed to just not say anything and take it? He posted nudes of my entire body.' Aussie influencer Jade Tuncdoruk is putting her string of scandals behind her and focusing on her upcoming nuptials to fiance Lachie Brycki. On Thursday, Jade appeared to have her very first appointment for a wedding dress fitting at the J. Andreatta couture house. Sharing a series of Instagram posts with followers, Jade, 26, looked excited as she began the process of creating her dream dress. Focusing on the wedding: Embattled influencer Jade Tuncdoruk is putting her string of scandals behind her as she enjoyed fittings for her wedding dress on Thursday For the appointment, she looked stylish in a beige jumper and flowing skirt, which she teamed with simple white heels. 'Fittings,' Jade wrote, showing a series of stunning dresses on a rack. 'Heaven... It's happening,' she added as her waist got measured. 'Fittings,' Jade wrote, showing a series of stunning dresses on a rack 'Heaven... It's happening,' she added as her waist got measured Jade and Lachie announced their engagement in January last year. It comes after Jade was dropped as an ambassador for Cadbury following her recent Uber Eats rant and travel refund saga. 'We have no plans to engage this influencer in the foreseeable future,' a Cadbury spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph last month, adding that Jade's opinions 'don't reflect our values'. In January, Jade was forced to apologise for a racially insensitive Facebook post about Uber Eats drivers. Going strong: Jade and Lachie announced their engagement in January last year The resurfaced post from 2017 saw Jade complaining about the company's 'annoying non-English speaking delivery drivers'. 'I order off you guys all the time and I'm starting to find it really annoying that you have so many non-English speaking delivery people who can't follow basic delivery instructions,' she wrote. 'I got a notification today saying my food was arriving and it took the person a further 20 mins to get to my door because he didn't read my delivery instructions properly and when I called him to explain he didn't understand a word I was saying.' Controversy: It comes after Jade was dropped as an ambassador for Cadbury following her recent Uber Eats rant and travel refund saga. 'We have no plans to engage this influencer in the foreseeable future,' a Cadbury spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph last month, adding that Jade's opinions 'don't reflect our values' She continued: 'Your GPS is consistently sending drivers to the wrong address which I've explained in my instructions which most people read and have no problem with but when foreigners are delivering it takes twice as long for me to receive my then cold food. Sort it out.' Jade later apologised for her 'hurtful comments' after her post was uploaded by the Celeb Spellcheck Instagram page. The rant came after she faced backlash for demanding that a small business refund her $2,000 honeymoon deposit. The company, Weekenda, accused Jade of trying to 'bypass' their policies after ignoring the terms and conditions. 'It doesn't excuse anything but know that I have grown immensely in the past several years. I always do my best to be someone others can look up to and I know I've let people down and for that I'm truly sorry,' she later said. The Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Festival got off to a rousing start on Thursday night with Steven Spielberg reuniting with several stars of his 1982 classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for a very special 40th Anniversary screening. The 75-year-old filmmaker reunited with stars such as Dee Wallace (Mary Taylor), K.C. Martel (Greg), Robert MacNaughton (Michael Taylor) and Matthew De Merritt, who was born without legs and was one of the actors who was in the E.T. costume. They were joined at the TCL Chinese Theatre by other celebs and fans such as Jane Seymour, but the beloved film's child star Drew Barrymore along with lead actor Henry Thomas were no shows at the nostalgic event. Steven: The Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Festival got off to a rousing start on Thursday night with Steven Spielberg reuniting with several stars of his 1982 classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for a very special 40th Anniversary screening Reunited: The 75-year-old filmmaker reunited with stars such as Dee Wallace (Mary Taylor), who starred as the matriarch Mary Taylor Spielberg had hits like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark under his belt before making E.T., but it still helped define his career. The movie became the highest-grossing film of all time during its theatrical run in 1982. The classic follows a young California family still shaken by a recent divorce, whose lives are turned upside down when they discover E.T. Dee Wallace starred as the matriarch Mary Taylor, the mother of Elliot (Henry Thomas) and Gertie (Drew Barrymore). Fan favourite: E.T. was an immediate blockbuster right from the start, staying atop the box office for its first six weeks and setting a record for having 16 weeks at #1 Steven's look: Spielberg stepped out with with a white dress shirt under an olive green plaid vest and a matching suit coat Before: Spielberg had hits like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark under his belt before making E.T., but it still helped define his career. Matriarch: Dee Wallace also starred as the matriarch Mary Taylor, the mother of Elliot (Henry Thomas) and Gertie (Drew Barrymore) Anniversary: While Thomas and Barrymore weren't at the screening, Wallace arrived looking elegant as ever in a black turtleneck with pearls under a white coat and black pants While Thomas and Barrymore weren't at the screening, Wallace arrived looking elegant as ever in a black turtleneck with pearls under a white coat and black pants. K.C. Martel, who played an older neighborhood kid named Greg, was also in attendance at the event. The final cast member present was Robert MacNaughton, who played Michael, Elliot and Gertie's older brother. Greg: K.C. Martel, who played an older neighborhood kid named Greg (pictured second left) was also in attendance at the event K.C.: The actor opted for a white dress shirt under a brown suit coat, brown pants and brown shoes Older: The final cast member present was Robert MacNaughton, who played Michael, Elliot and Gertie's older brother Robert's look: Robert opted for a black-on-black look with a black coat, black shirt, black pants and black shoes Matthew De Merritt was also in attendance, one of the three actors who spent time inside the actual E.T. suit. Matthew, who was born with no legs, was just 11-years-old when he was invited to play E.T, fitting inside the 4ft rubber suit, which was also inhabited for various scenes by two people with dwarfism, 'Little Pat' Bilon and Tamara De Treaux. E.T was voiced by Pat Welsh, who took over from actress Debra Winger, who spoke the lines for Spielberg's rough cut of the film. Matthew also worked closely with Caprice Rothe, who made and performed the hands for E.T.'s close-ups. E.T.: Matthew De Merritt was also in attendance, one of the three actors who spent time inside the actual E.T. suit Iconic: Matthew, who was born with no legs, was just 11-years-old when he was invited to play E.T, fitting inside the 4ft rubber suit Speaking to the UK's The Mirror newspaper in 2002 Matthew explained how he was undergoing physical therapy at UCLA medical centre at the time when Universal Studios got in touch with his doctors. 'There was a fitting and they took all my measurements and they filmed me walking on my hands,' he explained. 'I'm not sure what they were thinking when they got me down there. I'd never demonstrated to anybody that I could walk on my hands, and I don't see how they could think I could comfortably fit inside a costume and walk around and make a convincing alien - but it kind of worked out that way.' Absent from the reunion was the film's lead Henry Thomas, who played Elliot and is more recently known for recent Netflix hits like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, and Drew Barrymore as his little sister Gertie. Drew, the daughter of actor John Barrymore, was cast by her godfather Spielberg at just seven-years-old. Missing: Absent from the reunion was the film's lead Henry Thomas, who played Elliot Still acting: Henry, now 50, is more recently known for recent Netflix hits like The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass MIA: Drew Barrymore who played Elliot's little sister Gertie, also didn't make an appearance on Thursday night Start of her career: Drew, the daughter of actor John Barrymore, was cast by her godfather Spielberg at just seven-years-old Last year the actress revealed in an interview with People that she is planning a special celebration with her daughters, seven-year-old Frankie and nine-year-old Olive, along with Spielberg. 'I've actually been speaking with Steven Spielberg about it. He calls my girls who he held when they were babies, and he's known them throughout their lives,' Barrymore began. 'I do want to revel in this moment with them and include them and celebrate with Steven. He's a big father figure to me,' she added. She added that Spielberg pointed out that her daughters are right around the same age she was when she starred in the film and he didn't want them to miss this moment. 'So he's like, "We're not missing this moment with your kids." I'm like, "Okay. You're right. We can't. You're right,"' Barrymore added. Special: Last year the actress revealed that she is planning a special celebration with her daughters, seven-year-old Frankie and nine-year-old Olive, along with Spielberg (pictured together in 1982) Reunited: While she wasn't at Thursday's event, Drew reunited with Dee Wallace, the actress who played her mother on Monday's episode of The Drew Barrymore Show She said this celebration is, 'very emotional and full circle,' adding, 'My kids are very close to the age that I was when E.T. came out. Frankie actually is at the age. She is 7, and she will just be turning 8, and Olive is 9. She'll be turning 10. This is where I'm at, and they love Steven.' Barrymore said that when Spielberg mentioned celebrating E.T.'s 40th anniversary with her daughters, 'I cried my eyes out and it's such a life moment and I'm so proud of where we're all at.' While she wasn't at Thursday's event, Drew reunited with Dee Wallace, the actress who played her mother on Monday's episode of The Drew Barrymore Show. E.T. was an immediate blockbuster right from the start, staying atop the box office for its first six weeks and setting a record for having 16 weeks at #1. It ultimately grossed a then-record $359 million in North America and $619 million worldwide, a record that would stand for 11 years until another Steven Spielberg blockbuster dethroned it, 1993's Jurassic Park. Keith's look: Keith Carradine rocks a blue suit at the E.T. screening Kate's look: Kate Flannery stepped out with a floral print dress and black pumps Jane: Jane Seymour steps out in a tan dress and matching pumps Smiles: TCM's Ben Mankiewicz and Dave Karger flank actor Topher Grace J.J.: J.J. Abrams steps out at the E.T. 40th Anniversary screening Leonard: Leonard Maltin steps out in a red and black suit Alicia: TCM's Alicia Malone steps out in a glittering blue pantsuit She has become a popular influencer since starring on Nick Cummins' season of The Bachelor in 2018. And Cassandra Wood lent her star profile to the launch of Bloch - a chic activewear line - on Sydney Harbour on Thursday. The blonde beauty showed off her washboard abs in a slinky black crop top and matching leggings from the brand as guests took part in a Pilates class on The Island. Top of the crops! Former Bachelor star Cassandra Wood (pictured) revealed her fit figure in a chic black two-piece as she attended an activewear launch for Bloch on Sydney Harbour on Thursday Cass looked incredible in the Bloch two-piece, which she accessorised with delicate gold jewellery. She styled her tresses out in loose waves and enhanced her striking facial features with glamorous makeup. The former reality star appeared in the zone as she stretched out her lithe frame on a yoga mat, before mingling with guests including former Big Brother star Aisha Jade. In great shape: The blonde beauty, who rose to fame after starring on Nick Cummins' season of The Bachelor in 2018, donned a crop top and matching leggings from the brand which highlighted her toned physique Picture-perfect: The former reality star appeared in the zone as she stretched out her lithe frame on a yoga mat, before mingling with other event guests Making them green with envy: Former Big Brother star Aisha Jade (left) was also in attendance, and posed for a slew of snaps on the harbour with model Phoebe O'Hanlon (right) Aisha showed off her enviable figure in the brand's mint green long-sleeved crop top and matching full-length leggings. Posing with model Phoebe O'Hanlon, Aisha accessorised the gym look with a black puffer vest, white socks pulled up and coordinating sneakers. She perched a pair of sunglasses on top of her head and showed off her natural beauty, by letting her brunette locks flail in the breeze and going makeup free. Trim and terrific: Aisha looked sensational in the brand's new mint green long-sleeved crop top and matching full-length leggings, which she teamed with a black puffer vest, white socks pulled up and coordinating sneakers Invite only: Cass, Aisha and other influencers were treated to a Pilates class by Tahlia Grogan and a gourmet catering spread Cass, Aisha and other influencers were treated to a Pilates class by Tahlia Grogan and a gourmet catering spread. The new Bloch range exists to deliver elevated, everywhere attire that embraces high quality with high design. Form, meet function; style, meet performance. Ahead of your every curve, Bloch is continuously looking forwardevolving, innovating, and creating eye-catching styles that inspire confidence. This is apparel made to stand out for those who make moves. Nicki Minaj declared that she was happy and sober on Twitter on Thursday while interacting with her fans. 'I used to b happy when I was high. Now I'm happy when I'm sober. No judgement to anyone. Be gentle with yourself,' Nicki, 39, tweeted for her roughly 24.9 million followers. She also responded to a tweet that read: 'baby are you high? @NICKIMINAJ'. Happy rapper: Nicki Minaj, shown last November on Instagram, declared that she was happy and sober on Twitter on Thursday while interacting with her fans 'No I'm sober & loving life. You?,' Nicki responded. The Trinidadian-born rapper, real name Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, has a wide following on social media, including 185 million followers on Instagram. Nicki last month released the surprise single We Go Up featuring Fivio Foreign. A new music video for We Go Up was released on Tuesday and showed the rappers with luxury vehicles in New York City. Popular entertainer: The Trinidadian-born rapper, shown in June 2014 in Los Angeles, has a wide following on social media including 185 million followers on Instagram and 24.9 million on Twitter Be gentle: 'I used to b happy when I was high. Now I'm happy when I'm sober. No judgement to anyone. Be gentle with yourself,' Nicki tweeted Loving life: Nicki also responded to a question about her sobriety on Twitter and said she was 'sober & loving life' Nicki in the song alludes to her sobriety while rapping, 'I know they sleeping on me b****es got epilepsy, I don't do coke little b**** I don't even do Pepsi'. The so-called Queen of Rap has been working on her fifth studio album, which is expected to be released this year. Nicki rose to fame with her 2010 debut album Pink Friday that featured her hit song Super Bass. Rap queen: The so-called Queen of Rap, shown in June 2018 in Los Angeles, has been working on her fifth studio album that is expected to be released in 2022 She's been married since 2017 to Kenneth Petty. Nicki and Kenneth have an 18-month-old son who she refers to publicly as Papa Bear. She released her fourth studio album Queen in August 2018. South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday that it is ascertaining the veracity of intelligence that at least one of its nationals participating in the Ukraine war as a volunteer fighter has died. Currently, four South Korean nationals are known to have entered Ukraine without government authorization to join the war, the ministry said. "The government recently obtained intelligence from relevant countries that there are deaths among our nationals participating as volunteer soldiers in the Ukraine war and is confirming its veracity through various channels," the ministry said. The ministry expressed "serious concern" over their safety amid intensifying fighting in Ukraine's southeast and urged them to leave the country quickly. (Yonhap) Julia Roberts has revealed that she and her co-star Sean Penn hugged in complete silence after filming a 'challenging' fight scene for their new political thriller Gaslit. The actress, 54, said she has been close friends with the Academy Award winner, 61, for years and they have always wanted to work together, having met when she was 16 or 17 years old. And they managed to do just that starring as real-life married couple Martha Mitchell and John Michell, Richard Nixon's attorney general and friend, in Gaslit. The couple split up in 1973 amid the Watergate scandal. Tense: Julia Roberts has revealed that she and her co-star Sean Penn hugged for a 'really long time' after filming a 'challenging' fight scene for their new thriller Gaslit But Julia spoke to Good Morning Britain about the difficulties of filming some of the tense and emotional scenes in the series, admitting she and Sean embraced for a long time after filming a 'challenging' argument scene. A clip from the tense scene shows John slapping his wife across the face, before Martha retaliates and hits John, with Julia saying their friendship made it hard to film such moments. She explained: 'It made it challenging to portray the more vibrant scenes of her, because I knew what was coming. 'Certainly, the day that we did that fight scene, when it was over, Sean and I just hugged for a really long time. We didn't even talk to each other. We just were hugging. Couple: They star as married couple Martha Mitchell and John Michell, Richard Nixon's attorney general and friend, in Gaslit. The couple split up in 1973 'I think we both felt how tragic this relationship was and it was really too bad. Nixon destroyed so many lives, not least the life that was this couple's relationship, he was the ruin of it.' The new series marks the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal and is said to be 'a modern take on Watergate that focuses on the untold stories and forgotten characters of the scandal'. Julia plays Martha Mitchell, the wife of Richard Nixon's attorney general John Mitchell, who was the first person to 'publicly sound the alarm on Nixon's involvement' in the Watergate scandal. While past films and TV series have mostly zeroed in on the men involved in the story from Nixon himself to journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein the new show, premiering April 24, spotlights Martha's role in the drama. Martha was kidnapped by men under President Nixon's orders in an attempt to keep her from blowing the whistle his organization, the Committee to Re-elect the President or CRP. Pals: The actress, 54, said she has been close friends with the Academy Award winner, 61, for years and they have always wanted to work together, having met when she was 16 or 17 Hard: Julia spoke about the difficulties of filming some of the emotional scenes in the political thriller, admitting she and Sean embraced for a long time after filming a fight scene Elsewhere in the interview, the Pretty Woman star also gushed over her close pal Sean as she described him as 'one of the great American actors of all time' as she spoke about starring as his on-screen wife. She said: 'Sean is just one of the great American actors of all time and he happens to be a very good friend, and I think we've always hoped that we would find something to do together. 'For it to be ultimately the Mitchells is kind of amazing because we both truly believed that this relationship was so heartbreaking.' Martha Mitchell, nicknamed the 'Mouth of the South' for her outspokenness with the press, was a controversial but generally well-liked figure until, in June 1972, she suspected that Nixon and his re-election committee were responsible for the Watergate break-in. Not one to keep quiet, she complained to the press, resulting in her getting painted as crazy and a drunk by White House officials and, in one horrific weekend, being held as a 'political' prisoner in a hotel room, where she was reportedly beaten and drugged. A look back: Julia plays Martha Mitchell, the wife of John Mitchell, who was the first person to 'publicly sound the alarm on Nixon's involvement' in the Watergate scandal In March 1972, her husband had resigned as Attorney General to head the Committee to Re-Elect the President (officially abbreviated CRP, but often referred to as CREEP) for the 1972 campaign. In March 1973, she told The New York Times that she thought somebody was trying to make her husband 'the goat' for Watergate, and she would 'not going to let that happen,' saying that Nixon was to blame. 'Mr. President should resign immediately,' she told UPI in May 1973. Martha wasn't pleased that her husband had Nixon's back. She told Helen Thomas, 'I love him very much. He loves me because Ive stood up for him. But he is defending the president, who planned the whole god-damned thing. Im under surveillance day and night. Im no fool.' Her husband would be found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury in relation to Watergate and serve 19 months in prison. Transformation: Sean Penn spent hours in the make-up chair to transform into character, looking almost unrecognisable as John Mitchell Martha never got to be truly vindicated in the press. Just a year later, she was diagnosed with an advanced stage of multiple myeloma, and she died at age 57 on May 31, 1976. Julia is bringing Martha back to life as she embodies her for a new series, while the trailer begins with Martha being introduced as cameras are flashed. A man says, 'You are the first person to publicly accuse the President for the Watergate break-in. Are you crazy?' She responds, 'I'm a Southern woman. We speak our minds, we talk. I never stop talking,' when the interviewer says, 'I bet your husband loves that,' and she says, without missing a beat, 'He takes it in stride.' The trailer, released in February, features more shots of both Margaret and John, with a graphic that reads, 'Based on the insane but shockingly true story. True story: Martha was kidnapped by men under President Nixon's orders in an attempt to keep her from blowing the whistle his organization, the Committee to Re-elect the President or CRP She responds, 'I'm a Southern woman. We speak our minds, we talk. I never stop talking,' when the interviewer says, 'I bet your husband loves that,' and she says, without missing a beat, 'He takes it in stride.' The trailer features more shots of both Margaret and John, with a graphic that reads, 'based on the insane but shockingly true story.' G. Gordon Liddy (Shea Whigham) says, 'That loudmouth wife of his is becoming too much of a liability,' as John tells Martha, 'Do you want to know the truth? There is no conspiracy hiding in the shadows.' While he says that, we see someone putting a bug in Martha's phone and a man literally stepping out of the shadows to confront Martha while she's on the phone. Another man tells her that, 'a lot of women your age suffer from paranoid episodes' while she's seen struggling with two other men who are trying to inject her with something and ultimately throw her through a glass table. New trailer: The Watergate scandal gets a whole new perspective in the first trailer for the upcoming Starz series Gaslit, starring Julia Roberts The trailer winds down with shots of the other cast members such as Stevens as White House Counsel John Dean, Gilpin as his wife Mo Dean and Whigham as Liddy, the chief operative of Nixon's White House Plumbers spy unit. A number of other dramatic shots are shown before John Mitchell tells Margaret, 'nobody gives a damn what you think.' The final shot of the trailer shows Margaret in front of some sort of panel where a man asks her, 'Why risk your husband's position?' 'Because it's the truth,' she says, as the trailer comes to an end. Good Morning Britain weekdays from 6am on ITV and ITV Hub. Gaslit is now available only on Stan in Australia. Lila Moss has landed her first ever cover shoot for Vogue, following the path well trodden by her supermodel mother, who has covered the global fashion bible on 43 occasions. The 19-year-old daughter of catwalk veteran Kate Moss, 48, posed in a dramatic orange bow-front dress in another artistic shot by photographer Steven Meisel. During her conversation with Vogue, Lila - whose father is Jefferson Hack - revealed that her mum tried to talk her out of becoming a model, telling the youngster: 'I wouldn't recommend it'. Wow! Lila Moss, 19, posed in a dramatic orange bow front dress, in another artistic shot by photographer Steven Meisel, during her first ever cover shoot for Vogue Lila was captivating in her voluminous vibrant frock, which was held up by a nude coloured sheer underlayer. The beauty's blonde tresses were styled into a delicate up-do with a long wispy fringe and a slim plait framing her face. With her arms raised up for the striking high-fashion image, Lila's flawless visage was adorned with a heavy dusting of pastel shades, in dramatic fashion. Inspired by racy Netflix period drama Bridgerton, her liberal make-up was carefully selected from a shimmering colour palette, with cosmetics from Dior, Loewe, and Prada used to complement her naturally pretty features. Sensational: Lila has landed her first ever cover shoot for Vogue, following the path well trodden by her supermodel mother, who has covered the global fashion bible on 43 occasions Lila nabbed her first modelling gig at the age of 15 - nabbing a campaign for Marc Jacobs Beauty - at just a year older than her mother was when she entered the business. Learnt from the best: Lila was in familiar territory during the shoot, with Miesel a regular collaborator with Kate, who has covered Vogue on 43 occasions (pictured in 1995) Kate famously started modelling at 14 and was wary of Lila getting into the business but changed her mind when Lila signed to her own agency so she could guide her. Lila told British Vogue: 'My mum always put me off [modelling]. She was always like, 'If you wanna do it, you can, but I wouldn't recommend it.' Despite her mother's apprehension, Lila insisted that she doesn't feel anxious at the thought that modelling success could bring the fame from which her parents tried to protect her. She mused: 'Not really. I've seen it first-hand, so I'm much more able to cope with it. I've had to say no to people. But I'm always nice!' Kate has admitted that she felt unsupported as a young model, saying previously: 'Nobody takes care of you mentally. There's a massive pressure to do what you have to do.' Lila explained: 'When I was younger she was scared that I'd fall into the same trap, I think. I remember Mum asked me to do something with her when I was 13. I said yes. And then I woke up and I was like, 'I can't do it!' I was so shy and I had braces.' Interesting: During her conversation with Vogue, Lila - whose father is Jefferson Hack - revealed that her mother Kate tried to talk her out of becoming a model (pictured in 2019) Lila also admitted that she used to think her famous mother was 'old and boring'. She said: 'I went to secondary school and everyone was like, 'Oh, your mum's Kate Moss!' You don't really have a filter when you're that young and I was like, 'How do you know who she is? She's old! She's old and boring!'' However, these days she understands what a style icon her mother actually is. Lila explained: 'In the last three or four years, I've discovered that her style is actually really cool. I'm having to admit it now. She doesn't have a good trackies selection. She only has pyjamas. probably would hate me saying that. She doesn't want anyone to know she wears trackies.' A chip off the old catwalk! Lila has followed in her supermodel mother's footsteps after landing her first modelling gig aged 15 - just a year older than Kate was when she started - and the pair are now a force in the modelling world (pictured at the Versace special event during Milan Fashion Week in September) Lila's father is journalist Jefferson Hack, with whom Kate was in a relationship in the early Noughties. Jefferson and Kate - who dated from 2001 to 2004 with Lila being born in 2002 - have an amicable relationship and would ensure their daughter spent a regular amount of time with each of them in her childhood. Kate has been on a whopping 43 covers of Vogue, with former British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman singing the model's praises in her column for The Mail On Sunday in 2020. Iconic: Mum Kate has a long professional association with the fashion magazine having featured in dozens of cover shoots She noted: 'It has been an extraordinary trip for the Croydon schoolgirl scouted by Storm Models back in 1988 when she was just 14. And one which undeniably has made her one of most famous and, at the same time, enigmatic women in the world. 'It was March 1993 when I first put her, aged 19, on the cover of British Vogue. By that time she was known to fashion insiders and had already been on the cover of The Face magazine, but this, her first Vogue cover, was an initiation into the big time. 'There are moments when fashion pivots on its axis and this was one of them.' Jessika Power was embroiled in a 'cheating scandal' on her season of Married At First Sight. But she insists this year's villain, Olivia Frazer, is far worse than she ever was on the show. Speaking to The Herald Sun on Friday, the 29-year-old says that Olivia exposing Domenica Calarco's nude photo was 'disgusting'. Worse! Married At First Sight's Jessika Power (pictured) insists this year's villain, Olivia Frazer, is far worse than she ever was on the show. Speaking to The Herald Sun on Friday, the 29-year-old says that Olivia exposing Domenica Calarco's nude photo was 'disgusting' 'It's worse than me. That's a different type of dislike from people. You can't just say 'I found it on the internet', you need to pay for it and it's behind a paywall,' she said. 'As women in 2022 aren't we supposed to be empowering each other? I thought it was disgusting for another woman to do that to another woman,' Jessika added. 'She shouldn't be laughed at behind her back, I think Olivia was grasping at straws and I don't agree with it. It was horrible.' 'It's worse than me. That's a different type of dislike from people. You can't just say 'I found it on the internet', you need to pay for it and it's behind a paywall,' she said. Olivia is pictured 'As women in 2022 aren't we supposed to be empowering each other? I thought it was disgusting for another woman to do that to another woman,' Jessika added. Dom is pictured The former teaching student, 28, received extreme backlash from viewers after she was painted as the villain in her feud with fellow bride Domenica, 28. She infamously outed Dom as an OnlyFans model this season, after sharing a nude photo of her among the cast. Furious Married At First Sight fans have complained to the Australian TV watchdog over this year's scandalous season. 'She shouldn't be laughed at behind her back, I think Olivia was grasping at straws and I don't agree with it. It was horrible' Jessika added Drama: Jessika meanwhile caused an uproar in season six in 2019, when she and co-star Daniel Webb (right) had an 'affair' As reported by the Sunday Herald Sun, the Australian Commercial Media Authority has 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.' Jessika meanwhile caused an uproar in season six in 2019, when she and co-star Daniel Webb had an 'affair'. Dan was paired with HR manager Tamara Joy while Jessika is matched with Queensland farmer Mick Gould. She recently opened up about ditching cosmetic surgery and finding love. And Amy Childs looked very confident in herself as she flaunted her toned figure as she arrived at VIP HQ gym in Essex on Thursday. The TOWIE star, 31, who is proud mum to Polly, four, and son Ritchie, two, showed off her impressive physique in some skintight black embossed gym gear for an afternoon workout. PT time: Amy Childs looked very confident in herself in workout gear as she arrived at VIP HQ gym in Essex on Thursday after vowing to ditch cosmetic surgery Amy looked ready for action as she strolled towards the gym in Nike trainers. The reality star added to the form fitting look with a black tank top with low-cut neck. Bringing some glam to the gym, Amy wore large black sunglasses and sported a full face of makeup and showed off her shorter hair cut. Making sure to keep hydrated during a grueling session, the social media personality toted a flip top water bottle with her. Workout: Bringing some glam to the gym, Amy wore large black sunglasses and sported a full face of makeup and showed off her shorter hair cut The outing comes after Amy said she is 'very happy in myself' after ditching cosmetic surgery and finding love with gym owner and First Dates star Billy Delbosq. The Essex native has had two boob jobs, botox, lip fillers, liposuction and veneers, but ended up regretting the procedures, admitting she looked 'like a freak'. Speaking to The Sun, the TV bombshell now says she has a total change in mindset, and is focused on her two children, Polly and Ritchie, rather than her looks. Happier than ever: Amy said she is 'very happy in myself' after ditching cosmetic surgery and finding love with gym owner and First Dates star Billy Delbosq (pictured November 2021) She told the publication: 'I have not had cosmetic surgery for a long time now, and, for me, being a mum you totally change the way you look at things. Back in the day on Towie you ended up getting obsessed with your looks, but now I am 32 this year and in a completely different mindset. 'I am really happy in me now. I havent got the size 8 body that I used to have, however, I have two lovely children, and thats all I care about, so I am very happy in myself.' Explaining the change, Amy suggested it was down to her new relationship with Billy. Regrets: The TOWIE star, 31, has had two boob jobs, Botox, lip fillers, liposuction and veneers, but ended up regretting the procedures, admitting she looked 'like a freak' (pictured in 2012) Change: Speaking to The Sun, the reality star now says she has a total change in mindset, and is focused on her two children, Polly and Ritchie, rather than her looks (pictured with Polly and Billy in March 2022) She said: 'Maybe that is due to me being in a happy and loving relationship, maybe its due to the part of my life with my children, at this moment in time I am very happy and I hope to carry on feeling like this.' MailOnline revealed Amy was dating Billy in September, after the reality star was spotted enjoying champagne-filled dates with the businessman and attending fitness classes at his gym. Billy is a successful businessman and owns two companies, Box Gym Fitness in Brentwood and LVT which specialises in domestic flooring. According to his Instagram bio, he is also a director of carpet and flooring shop Delbosq Ltd. In 2018, he also appeared on reality dating show First Dates. In late September the mother-of-two was spotted with Billy in London, which was the first time the couple have been seen out together in public. During The TOWIE Afterparty show host Bobby Norris, 35, asked Amy how her love life was following the breakdown of her relationship with ex-boyfriend Tim. Amy cheekily revealed that had been spending time with someone new and that she was now 'happy again'. She replied: 'Do you know what, Bob? I do rush into relationships, you know me. I rush in, but do you know what? I'm happy.' Jessika Power recently returned to Australia after a stint in the UK. And the Married At First Sight star is staying put Down Under for a while - which is why her British boyfriend, Connor Thompson, will soon join her in her native Queensland. 'Connor is coming over in September and we're so happy. It's like "who is this girl from MAFS who was stealing husbands and is all domesticated now?"' the 29-year-old told The Herald Sun on Friday. Incoming: Jessika Power (right) recently returned to Australia after a stint in the UK. And the Married At First Sight star is staying put Down Under for a while - which is why her British boyfriend, Connor Thompson 9left), will soon join her in her native Queensland The reality star added that she's madly in love and things are going swimmingly for the pair. 'He makes me feel so loved. I could go on about him forever,' she told the publication. Jessika also revealed that she plans to buy a home in Queensland's Brisbane - perhaps for the two to share. 'Connor is coming over in September and we're so happy. It's like "who is this girl from MAFS who was stealing husbands and is all domesticated now?"' the 29-year-old said on Friday After arriving in the UK last year, Jessika has appeared on series 10 of Celebs Go Dating. However, she sparked speculation that she faked being single in order to star in the show, while seeing her current boyfriend, Connor. The Australian reality star - who reportedly signed a 40,000 ($70,227 AUD) deal to be on the E4 dating series - has reportedly engaged bosses for 'wasting everyone's time.' 'He makes me feel so loved. I could go on about him forever,' she added. Jessika also revealed that she plans to buy a home in Queensland's Brisbane - perhaps for the two to share A source told The Sun: 'Everyone thinks Jessika has been with Connor the whole time. She has now moved him into her apartment and they are no longer hiding their romance. 'The whole 'split' was very convenient so she could cash her cheque but not surprisingly she didn't meet anyone on the show. It's wasted everyone's time really and bosses aren't happy.' Stars who sign up for the show have contracts which stipulate they must be single throughout the process. Date night: Since arriving in the UK, Jessika has appeared on series 10 of Celebs Go Dating Jessika was claiming to be single while going on dates with numerous men while being filmed for the E4 show. The star even took one potential love match away on the mini-break, before heading straight back to podcaster Connor. She relocated to Manchester, England, from her home in Queensland last year, after falling for British star Connor when she appeared on his Erasing the Bar podcast multiple times. The buxom blonde rose to fame on season six of Married At First Sight Australia in 2019. Kate Garraway was lost for words upon realising she was sitting across from a nurse who saved her husband Derek Draper's life, during Friday's Good Morning Britain. The broadcaster, 54, was interviewing Michael Rosen, 75, and his former carer Beth Dixon, who worked in the intensive care unit while he was in a coma with Covid in 2020. Derek, also 54, returned home from hospital in April 2021 after a year-long battle with the virus, and still requires round-the-clock care in the midst of his lengthy recovery. 'I'm quite overwhelmed!' Kate Garraway was lost for words upon realising she was sitting across from a nurse who saved her husband Derek Draper's life, during Friday's GMB Beth had written the author letters while he was unconscious to help when he woke up, but the pair had never met before. The ITV morning show welcomed her onto the set as a surprise, before it came to light that Michael and her husband Derek were only two beds away from each other. Asking Beth if she would have cared for her husband, she replied: 'I would have cared for him, yeah, we did everything we could.' Her response left Kate emotional as she stood up and hugged Beth, thanking her, saying, 'God that is amazing. Thank you so much by the way.' Wow! The ITV morning show welcomed her onto the set as a surprise, before it came to light that guest Michael Rosen and her husband Derek were only two beds away from each other Group: The broadcaster, 54, was interviewing Michael, 75, (right) and his former carer Beth Dixon (right), who worked in the ICU while he was in a coma with Covid in 2020 'We tried, we did everything that we could. We put our all into it,' said Beth. Kate replied: 'Thank you so much. That is amazing. Gosh, I feel quite I don't know whether I can leap up and hug you but I'm going to. Thank you so much - that's amazing. 'I'm quite overwhelmed as I've not seen the faces of anyone from that time so it's lovely.' Michael, who spent 47 days in intensive care with Covid, revealed his heartbreaking recovery, as well as the selfless work by those on the NHS frontline in the documentary 2020: The Story Of Us. Kate recently detailed how she struggles with 'loss' amid her husband Derek continues his lengthy recovery from Covid. Amazing: Asking Beth if she would have cared for her husband, she replied: 'I would have cared for him, yeah, we did everything we could' Inspirational: 'We tried, we did everything that we could. We put our all into it,' said Beth Beaming: Kate (right) told Beth (left): 'I'm quite overwhelmed as I've not seen the faces of anyone from that time so it's lovely' The former Daybreak presenter spoke candidly about the struggle during Wednesday's episode of Your Body Uncovered, detailed how his ongoing health battle has put strain on their relationship. Kate was joined by guest Paul on the show, who suffered a stroke three years ago and now battles symptoms such as neuro-fatigue, which produces an overwhelming feeling of tiredness, making everyday activities extremely difficult. Paul's story resonated with Kate, who related her husband Derek's neurological health battle with Paul's. Kate shared: 'When something is neurological, it's not just caring for the physical problem, it affects the relationship as well' Hug: Her response left Kate emotional as she stood up and hugged Beth, thanking her, saying, 'God that is amazing. Thank you so much by the way' Shocking: Michael, who spent 47 days in intensive care with Covid, revealed his heartbreaking recovery, as well as the selfless work by those on the NHS frontline in the documtary 2020: The Story Of Us She took time to chat to his wife Lynn, who was going through a similar struggle to Kate as a partner, with Lynn sharing: 'And you don't know how it is going the affect the non-affected person, as it was, because you're still the same and they might not know how different they might be' Kate agreed that there is a loss for both sides of the relationship: 'There's a loss I think, there's a loss for them in the fact that they're changed in some way, but there's a loss that you have to adjust to as well, as a partner,' she explained. Kate also spoke on Derek's condition during Wednesday morning's Good Morning Britain, while chatting to The Bill star Chris Ellison, who has been diagnosed with the speech-debilitating condition aphasia. Open: The former Daybreak presenter spoke candidly about the struggle during Your Body Uncovered, detailed how his ongoing health battle has put strain on their relationship She revealed how Derek can say some words, but not express himself completely, sharing: 'In a sense Derek because of Covid has a version of this where he can understand, sometimes do odd words, but can't express himself.' Derek is currently in critical condition and needs round-the-clock care, with Kate previously admitting that if left unaided for over three days, he could die. He is bed-stricken, with Kate doing much of the caring herself as she insists she won't 'ever give up on him'. Your Body Uncovered with Kate Garraway is now available on BBC iPlayer. She's reportedly single after splitting from her husband of eight years James Cook. And Poppy Delevingne put on a very cosy display with producer, Caspar von Bismarck as they attended the Teen Cancer America Art Auction in West Hollywood on Thursday. The socialite, 35, stunned in a David Koma embellished black mesh mini dress as fellow guest Caspar, 31, wrapped an arm around her. Good company: Poppy Delevingne put on a cosy display with producer Caspar von Bismarck as they attended the Teen Cancer America Art Auction in West Hollywood on Thursday The sister of model Cara flashed a glimpse off her ample assets in the LBD which featured silver flowers over her bust. Poppy looked effortlessly chic on the night as she draped her velvet coat over her shoulder flaunting her underlying ensemble. She completed her look with a pair of grey heeled boots and wore her blonde tresses in a loose middle part while sporting glamorous makeup. More than pals? The actress who appears to be embracing her newfound freedom was deep in conversation with fellow attendee Caspar on the night The actress who appears to be embracing her newfound freedom was deep in conversation with fellow attendee Caspar. A source told MailOnline that Poppy is not ready to date yet but that she and Caspar did seem flirty regardless.' New York University graduate Caspar - who is brother to Kate Moss's boyfriend Count Nikolai von Bismarck looked smart in a navy trench coat and denim shirt. The friends stayed close on the night as they went on to sit with one another at the event. Loved-up: Kate Moss has been dating Caspar's brother, 35-year-old photographer Count Nikolai von Bismarck for seven years (pictured in 2020) Chic affair: Models Kate and Poppy have been close friends for years and are regulars on the fashion scene (pictured in 2015 at London Fashion Week ) Brothers: Caspar and Nikolai are both members of the House of Bismarck (pictured in 2013) Arty affair: Artist Robyn Ward took some time out for a quick snap with Poppy Looking good: Musician Esteban Beckmann and Director/Producer Darren Strowger put on a dapper display on the night Pals: Musicians Leopold Ross and Robbie Furze smiled for photographers at the event in West Hollywood At recent events Poppy has been pictured without her unique blue diamond engagement and wedding rings. The stunner married James in 2014 at a lavish Knightsbridge church ceremony, with sisters Cara and Chloe Delevingne among her 17 bridesmaids. After being together for five years, James, who works for his family's aerospace company, proposed in October 2012 with a bespoke jewellery box by Anya Hindmarch. It contained an engagement ring alongside pictures of the couple and the words 'will you marry me?' embossed in gold. Poppy recently posted about her week at Chiva-Som in Thailand, a health resort whose clients include Elle Macpherson, Naomi Campbell and Kylie Minogue. Tellingly, she appeared to be enjoying the solo tip while James celebrated his 43rd birthday back home. 'If you're searching for peace, a sanctuary where you can really stop & just BE, if you want to come home feeling like the BEST version of yourself (basically brand spanking new or a little like Beyonce must feel most days) then Chiva Som is for you,' she wrote on Instagram. Hair of the dog: Her hangover cure after a wild Sunday night at the festival was blood orange sorbet and in a pool of Prosecco The Mail On Sunday reported last month that before the transformative Thailand trip, Poppy moved into her own place in West London, with an insider spilling: 'James is refusing to accept things are over.' Speaking to The Times last month Poppy didn't mention James, instead focusing on her close relationship with older sister Chloe, 35, and younger sibling Cara, 29. 'When my sisters and I get together it's hard for anybody else to keep up, we're very loud, finish each other's sentences and it can get quite intense,' she admitted, before revealing that she had moved in with her older sister Chloe and her family during the 2020 lockdown. She is embroiled in a $100million lawsuit against the Kardashian-Jenner family over claims they sought to ruin her show business career. But Blac Chyna appeared to put the ongoing drama to one side as she put on a racy display while promoting swimwear from her own range - Blac Chyna Closet. The model, 33, flaunted her incredible curves in a slew of different bikinis as she revealed she had six new styles launched on her website. Sizzling: Blac Chyna put on a racy display while promoting swimwear from her own range - Blac Chyna Closet Racy: The model, 33, flaunted her incredible curves in a slew of different bikinis as she revealed she had six new styles launched on her website Chyna, whose real name is Angela Renee White, looked stunning as she struck a series of sexy poses in bikini snaps shared to her Instagram grid on Friday. In one snap, she showed off her ample assets in a rainbow tie dye one-piece with a daringly low neckline, which she teamed with a pair of pink stilettos. She styled her platinum blonde tresses in a short style with glamorous waves and flaunted her colourful leg tattoos in the sizzling shots. Another shot saw Chyna sporting a barely-there pink bikini with waist straps, which she paired with a matching draping cardigan and sheer heeled sandals. Cheeky: Chyna, whose real name is Angela Renee White, looked stunning as she struck a series of sexy poses in her bikinis in snaps shared to her Instagram on Friday Figure: She styled her platinum blonde tresses in a short style with glamorous waves and flaunted her colourful leg tattoos in the sizzling shots And one sensational picture saw the socialite lounging on the floor as she gave a flash of her underboob in a grey costume with revealing cut-outs. She completed her beachwear ensemble with a pair of over-the-knee denim heeled boots as she struck a racy pose. For the photoshoot, Chyna also wore a slew of stunning black ensembles, an orange floral one-piece, a sailor-style high-waisted bikini and a one-shoulder monochrome two-piece. The star sported a baby pink wig styled into a blunt fringed bob for an array of the snaps, while she bolstered her striking features with dramatic false eyelashes. Revealing: One sensational picture saw the socialite lounging on the floor as she gave a flash of her pert derriere in a grey thong costume with revealing cut-outs Posing: For the photoshoot, Chyna also wore a slew of stunning black ensembles and a sailor-style high-waisted bikini Curves: Chyna showed off her sensational figure in a high-waisted two-piece, featuring striped bottoms and a one-shoulder frilled top The sizzling photographs come as Chyna remains embroiled in a $100 million lawsuit against Kris Jenner, 66, Kylie Jenner, 24, Kim Kardashian, 41, and Khloe Kardashian, 37, over claims they sought to ruin her show business career and force the show off the air in 2016. Rob Kardashian and Chyna welcomed their daughter Dream Renee Kardashian, now five, in 2016, but announced their split as a couple just a month later. She also shares son King Cairo, nine, with rapper Tyga. Their reality series Rob & Chyna premiered in September 2016 and concluded in December the same year. On Thursday, Chyna testified in Los Angeles Superior Court that she never consciously took a $100,000 payment known as a 'kill fee' for the end of her former E! show Rob & Chyna. Tattoos: Chyna gave a flash of her incredible body art as she posed in a stunning one piece with daring clear mesh side panels and a keyhole cut-out Beach ready: Chyna struck a pose in a plunging black and pink one-piece and stilettos, while she shielded her eyes in a pair of oval sunglasses She took the stand for the third consecutive day in the ongoing trial, fielding questions from Kardashian-Jenner lawyer Michael Rhodes about the reality series, which aired on E! from September to December of 2016, and chronicled her relationship with Rob Kardashian, 35. Rhodes said the Lashed Cosmetics owner collected the $100,000 kill fee for the series, as well as $370,000 for her appearances on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Chyna testified that she took the $100,000 sum for what she believed to be payment for filming, and not due to the cancelation of the reality series. 'Why would I sign a kill fee for my number one show?' Chyna said, adding that the payment came during a time when the show remained in production, according to People. She added that her lawyer did not include her in contract talks, so she wouldn't be privy to such details. Relationship: Rob Kardashian and Chyna (pictured in 2016) welcomed their daughter Dream in 2016, but announced their split a month later. They had a reality show Rob & Chyna An E! spokesperson in June of 2017 told Variety that Rob & Chyna had 'not been in production for several months and [was] not currently on the E! schedule'. Rhodes said during court proceedings earlier this week that Chyna 'wanted' to be associated with the Kardashians and 'would say or do anything to be part of this family'. The lawyer noted Chyna and Rob were 'screaming and yelling' at one another in a vicious fight at Kylie Jenner's house when a second season was in the works, and that Kris's beau Corey Gamble had to stand between them to calm things down. Rhodes said that E! was hesitant about renewing the series for a second season as the couple seemed 'off the rails' in their ability to get along, as they had made allegations of physical abuse toward one another. Court: Chyna remains embroiled in a $100 million lawsuit against Kris Jenner, 66, Kylie Jenner, 24, Kim Kardashian, 41, and Khloe Kardashian, 37, over claims they sought to ruin her career 'This relationship was fraught with problems and the network was very worried,' Rhodes said, noting that the Kardashian family was more worried about the mercurial relationship than the status of the spinoff series. He said the family was 'acting against their own financial interest to protect someone they loved'. E! ultimately canceled the series due to Rob and Chyna ending their engagement and breaking up in February of 2017, Rhodes said. Chyna's attorney Lynne Ciani said that Kris, with the help of her daughters, 'set out to have Rob & Chyna canceled' despite that Rob 'wanted it to keep going.' Ciani said that the Kardashians used their clout with E! to have Rob & Chyna pulled off the network, costing Chyna millions as a result. Drama: (L-R) Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner were seen in a courtroom sketch attending the legal proceedings Kris testified on Thursday that as executive producer of Rob and Chyna, she negotiated with E! for the couple to each receive $92,500 for a seventh episode of season one, which was a one-hour special on the birth of their daughters Dream. She said that she also negotiated an additional $200,000 fee which was to go into a savings account for Dream. Kris told the court that she was not aware of any filming being done for Rob and Chyna's second season or NBCUniversal (E!'s parent company) green-lighting a second season, or that E! made an announcement that they were picking up season two. In other details gleaned from Thursday's proceedings, Blac Chyna said in testimony that she hasn't filed taxes since 2018 or 2019, and doesn't have any bank accounts to her name, TMZ reported. Proceedings: On Thursday, Chyna (pictured with Rob in 2016) testified she never consciously took a $100,000 payment known as a 'kill fee' for the end of her former E! show Rob & Chyna While under questioning from Rhodes, Chyna said 2015 marked the last year she had filed taxes personally, and that her filings in recent years were for her companies Lashed LLC, 88 Fin and Blac Chyna Inc. She said her sources of income in recent years have come from personal appearances and an OnlyFans account. Chyna also delivered testimony regarding Rob's posting of naked pictures of her on Instagram, which led to her seeking a restraining order against the sock designer. 'It was the only way I could stop him from posting pictures of me on the Internet,' she said when asked if she had sought court intervention in an effort to garner publicity, according to the outlet. When asked about appearing on Good Morning America after filing the paperwork with the court, Chyna said she 'wanted everyone to hear [her] side of the story'. Exes: The testimony came a day after Chyna told the court she harbored no hard feelings against Kylie over her relationship with her ex Tyga (pictured with Chyna in February 2014) 'I was already public,' she said. 'I'm supposed to just not say anything and take it? He posted nudes of my entire body.' The testimony came a day after Chyna told the court she harbored no hard feelings against Kylie over her relationship with her ex Tyga. Chyna was asked under oath if she held 'a grudge' against Kylie for dating Tyga - after she and the rap artist parted ways in August of 2014 - and she said, 'No, not at all,' Rolling Stone reported. Tyga and Kylie publicly acknowledged their relationship in August of 2015 and parted ways in 2017. Chyna also said in court on Wednesday that she had been friendly for years with Kim, Mirror reported, but that ended when Kylie and Tyga commenced in their romance. Emily Atack and Ruby Wax were left slurring their words as they danced on a bar during a boozy night out on Thursday, where they reenacted a Coyote Ugly scene and Mel B joked she was the 'first black in the village.' The trio, who have been travelling across the US for BBC Two's Trailblazers, overindulged on 'pickled whiskey pickle juice' as they arrived in Aspen, Utah. The Inbetweeners star, 32, and the comedian, 69, donned cowboys hats and sunglasses as they gyrated amongst smoke machines in front of local pub goers. Oops: Drunk Emily Atack, 32, and Ruby Wax, 69, danced on the bar as they reenacted Coyote Ugly and Mel B, 46, joked she is the 'first black in the village' during boozy night out in Aspen A sober Mel B, 46, admitted that her co-stars were 'embarrassing her on a school night' as she took to Instagram to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of their antics. In another video shared to Ruby's Story, the television personality confessed: 'So we've had a few drinks... she's [Emily] got off with somebody, Mel doesn't like it. 'We've been drinking whiskey and having whiskey juice...' Inspiration: The trio, who have been filming for BBC Two's Trailblazers, overindulged in whiskey as they arrived in Aspen, Utah (Leann Rimes and Piper Perabo in Coyote Ugly in 2000) Killer moves: The Inbetweeners star and the comedian donned cowboys hats and sunglasses as they gyrated amongst smoke machines in front of local pub goers Mortifying: A sober Mel B admitted that her co-stars were 'embarrassing her on a school night' as she took to Instagram to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of their antics A worse for wear Emily slurred: 'Pickled whiskey pickle juice...I don't know what's going on.' Mel looked tired of her pals escapades as she said: 'You two have had a few drinks, I've not had any, I'm trying to stay sane because we are going to die.' Continuing with her commentary Ruby added: 'And Mel is very excited because she'll be...' As Mel chimed in: 'The first black [person] in the village.' Oh dear! In another video shared to Ruby's Story, the television personality confessed: 'So we've had a few drinks... she's [Emily] got off with somebody, Mel doesn't like it' A little too much: As a worse for wear Emily slurred: 'Pickled whiskey pickle juice...I don't know what's going on' The upcoming series sees the three generations of celebrities come together to re-trace the footsteps of Isabella Bird, a female traveller from the 19th century. After visiting Kemo Sabe apparel store, a favourite of celebs like Coyote Ugly's Leanne Rimes, they had some fun in between shoots at the western themed bar. Mel then showed off her custom made cowboy boots which bore the rather fitting words: 'It seemed like a good idea at the time.' Filming for the show began last week, with the trio keeping fans up to date on their travels via their respective Instagram accounts. Sight-seeing: Filming for the show began last week, with the trio keeping fans up to date on their travels via their respective Instagram accounts With the locals: After visiting Kemo Sabe apparel store, a favourite of celebs like Coyote Ugly's Leanne Rimes, they had some fun in between shoots at the western themed bar Western inspired: Emily and Mel rocked some country appropiate attire as they posed for some photos on Instagram Fitting as well as stylish! Mel showed off her custom made cowboy boots which bore the words: 'It seemed like a good idea at the time' Emily admitted that 'p***ing off the locals' is becoming her new 'favourite pastime' in one of the videos but didn't say what she had been doing. The women even tried their hands at horseriding during the filming - with Mel B jesting she 'nearly died' during the attempt. All three appeared on horseback in appropriate equestrian attire as they trotted through the Centennial states stunning sights. Aspiring lawyer Kim Kardashian was said to have been taking 'detailed notes' on a legal pad in court as her family is embroiled in a $100million lawsuit against Blac Chyna. The Kardashians star, 41, was said to have been busy making observations and taking notes during the trial at Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday. A reporter for The Sun, who was in court at the time, said: 'Kim was taking detailed notes on a large pad throughout the case. Busy: Aspiring lawyer Kim Kardashian was said to have been taking 'detailed notes' on a legal pad in court as her family is embroiled in a $100million lawsuit against Blac Chyna 'The family left the courthouse discreetly through a private exit. They all looked very stoic.' It comes after she passed the 'baby bar' - which is officially known as the First-Year Law Students' Examination - in December and admitted she has 'never worked so hard' on anything. 'The experience taught me so much and I've never worked so hard on something in my life,' Kim told Vogue Hong Kong. Kim previously admitted that following her legal dreams makes her feel closer to her father, the late Robert Kardashian. Court: Kim and her family are currently embroiled in Blac Chyna's (pictured) $100 million lawsuit over claims the Kardashian-Jenner family sought to ruin the model's business career Kim and her family are currently embroiled in Blac Chyna's $100million lawsuit over claims the Kardashian-Jenner family sought to ruin the model's business career. Chyna brought the lawsuit against Kris Jenner, 66, Kylie Jenner, 24, Kim Kardashian, 41, and Khloe Kardashian, 37. The Kardashians and Jenners have denied the accusations and tried in vain to have the case thrown out of court. Rob Kardashian and Chyna welcomed their daughter Dream Renee Kardashian, now five, in 2016, but announced their split as a couple just a month later. She also shares son King Cairo, nine, with rapper Tyga. Their reality series Rob & Chyna premiered in September 2016 and concluded in December the same year. Law: During the trail, the Kardashians star Kim, 41, was said to have been busy making observations and taking notes during at Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday Testifying on Thursday, Kris said she was made aware of a death threat Blac Chyna made against her daughter Kylie. Kris, 66, was asked by Chyna's lawyers if Chyna, 33, ever threatened to kill Kylie, 24, which she initially said she didn't recall, TMZ reported, in another shocking takeaway from the trial in Chyna's lawsuit. When the attorney showed Kris an earlier deposition with the allegation, Kris said she was told by Kylie and her ex-boyfriend Tyga, 32, that Chyna had made the threats, and told the lawyer to ask them about the specifics. 'That basically was what Kylie and Tyga told me,' Kris said. 'Kylie was dating Tyga at the time - I believe that's where this aggression was coming from.' 'I probably thought it was just some drama, which I'm used to,' said Kris, who added she assumed the threat wasn't to be taken seriously. Proceedings: Chyna brought the lawsuit against Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kris Jenner (L-R: All pictured in a court sketch) Under questioning from Chyna's attorney, Lynne Ciani, Kris told the court that she had also heard that Chyna physically abused Tyga when they were together years earlier. 'I just heard that he was physically abused and fought with her a lot and I thought there was a knife cut on his arm,' she said. Asked by Ciani what her reaction was to learning later that her son Rob Kardashian, 35, had started dating, and then got engaged to, the woman who had allegedly threatened Kylie and attacked Tyga, Kris said she 'wasn't concerned'. She said Rob and Chyna's relationship 'was rocky,' adding: 'I love second chances and I wanted them to win. I just wanted my son to be happy. He seemed happy so I was hoping for the best for them.' Kris said she was 'excited' by the couple's engagement, which prompted Ciani to say, 'You were excited your son was engaged to a woman who threatened to kill your daughter?' to which Kris said, 'I wouldn't put it like that.' Testimony: Chyna was depicted on the stand in a courtroom sketch earlier this week The shocking testimony came a day after Chyna told the court she harbored no hard feelings against Kylie over her relationship with her ex Tyga. Chyna was asked under oath if she held 'a grudge' against Kylie for dating Tyga - after she and the rap artist parted ways in August of 2014 - and she said, 'No, not at all,' Rolling Stone reported. Tyga and Kylie publicly acknowledged their relationship in August of 2015 and parted ways in 2017. Chyna also said in court on Wednesday that she had been friendly for years with Kim, Mirror reported, but that ended when Kylie and Tyga commenced in their romance. Elsewhere in proceedings, Chyna testified that she never consciously took a $100,000 payment known as a 'kill fee' for the end of her former E! show Rob & Chyna. Relationship: Rob Kardashian and Chyna (pictured in 2016) welcomed their daughter Dream in 2016, but announced their split a month later. They had a reality show Rob & Chyna She took the stand for the third consecutive day in the ongoing trial, fielding questions from Kardashian-Jenner lawyer Michael Rhodes about the reality series, which aired on E! from September to December of 2016, and chronicled her relationship with Rob Kardashian, 35. Rhodes said the Lashed Cosmetics owner collected the $100,000 kill fee for the series, as well as $370,000 for her appearances on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Chyna testified that she took the $100,000 sum for what she believed to be payment for filming, and not due to the cancelation of the reality series. 'Why would I sign a kill fee for my number one show?' Chyna said, adding that the payment came during a time when the show remained in production, according to People. Couple: Their reality series Rob & Chyna premiered in September 2016 and concluded in December the same year. Rob and Chyna are pictured in May 2016 She added that her lawyer did not include her in contract talks, so she wouldn't be privy to such details. An E! spokesperson in June of 2017 told Variety that Rob & Chyna had 'not been in production for several months and [was] not currently on the E! schedule'. Rhodes said during court proceedings earlier this week that Chyna 'wanted' to be associated with the Kardashians and 'would say or do anything to be part of this family'. The lawyer noted Chyna and Rob were 'screaming and yelling' at one another in a vicious fight at Kylie Jenner's house when a second season was in the works, and that Kris's beau Corey Gamble had to stand between them to calm things down. Rhodes said that E! was hesitant about renewing the series for a second season as the couple seemed 'off the rails' in their ability to get along, as they had made allegations of physical abuse toward one another. The latest: Kris Jenner, 66, said she was made aware of a death threat Blac Chyna, 33, made against her daughter Kylie Jenner, 24, while she testified Thursday in the trial 'This relationship was fraught with problems and the network was very worried,' Rhodes said, noting that the Kardashian family was more worried about the mercurial relationship than the status of the spinoff series. He said the family was 'acting against their own financial interest to protect someone they loved'. E! ultimately canceled the series due to Rob and Chyna ending their engagement and breaking up in February of 2017, Rhodes said. Chyna's attorney Lynne Ciani said that Kris, with the help of her daughters, 'set out to have Rob & Chyna canceled' despite that Rob 'wanted it to keep going.' Ciani said that the Kardashians used their clout with E! to have Rob & Chyna pulled off the network, costing Chyna millions as a result. Romance: Tyga and Kylie (pictured in 2016) publicly acknowledged their relationship in August of 2015 and parted ways in 2017 Kris testified on Thursday that as executive producer of Rob and Chyna, she negotiated with E! for the couple to each receive $92,500 for a seventh episode of season one, which was a one-hour special on the birth of their daughters Dream. She said that she also negotiated an additional $200,000 fee which was to go into a savings account for Dream. Kris told the court that she was not aware of any filming being done for Rob and Chyna's second season or NBCUniversal (E!'s parent company) green-lighting a second season, or that E! made an announcement that they were picking up season two. In other details gleaned from Thursday's proceedings, Blac Chyna said in testimony that she hasn't filed taxes since 2018 or 2019, and doesn't have any bank accounts to her name, TMZ reported. While under questioning from Rhodes, Chyna said 2015 marked the last year she had filed taxes personally, and that her filings in recent years were for her companies Lashed LLC, 88 Fin and Blac Chyna Inc. She said her sources of income in recent years have come from personal appearances and an OnlyFans account. Chyna also delivered testimony regarding Rob's posting of naked pictures of her on Instagram, which led to her seeking a restraining order against the sock designer. 'It was the only way I could stop him from posting pictures of me on the Internet,' she said when asked if she had sought court intervention in an effort to garner publicity, according to the outlet. When asked about appearing on Good Morning America after filing the paperwork with the court, Chyna said she 'wanted everyone to hear [her] side of the story'. 'I was already public,' she said. 'I'm supposed to just not say anything and take it? He posted nudes of my entire body.' Participants attend the opening ceremony of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Korea representation's online film festival, held at The Seoul Plaza, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-min UNHCR screens six films online to help improve public understanding of refugees By Jung Da-min For Jacob Jorgensen, a Korean adoptee brought up in Sweden, finding a sense of belonging has been a lifelong task he struggled for a long time with, while feeling he belongs neither in Sweden nor Korea. But taking part in the filming of a documentary, titled "Belonging," helped Jacob to define his own sense of belonging. "I did look into the Webster dictionary to get some help with the word 'belonging.' And the first example that is shown in the dictionary of the word belonging in a sentence is this Her adoptive family give the young girl the sense of belonging that she had never developed," Jorgensen said during a press conference after a screening of the film, at Wednesday's opening ceremony of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Seoul office's online film festival. Including "Belonging," a total of six films, each depicting stories of those who have been forcibly displaced from their homes and countries, will be screened online for free at unhcrkoreafilms.com during "Stories Behind the Numbers," an online film festival that kicked off on Wednesday to run until May 3. Captured from UNHCR's website "Belonging is something that is actually given to you by another person or other people by accepting you and inviting you into their group. But this is not enough. When you get invited or accepted into your group, you have to have the sense that you are accepted. I think this has been my problem growing up," Jorgensen said. He said he now has a sense of belonging, which is given to him by his family and friends. He said what gives a person a sense of belonging is not a certain place but the people around that person. But there is one more important thing, Jorgensen added. "I think I found my sense of belonging through life experience. You still have to be brave enough. I think that is the hardest part," he said. Including the stories of Jorgensen and his sister Soni, "Belonging" includes stories of others including Syrian-born naturalized Korean Abdul Wahab Al Mohammad Agha and Egyptian couple Musab and Sara Darwish, who came to Korea after fleeing from political persecution in Syria and Egypt. The film was directed by Paul Wu who has been working with UNHCR on film projects. "The theme used to host UNHCR's first film festival is 'Stories Behind the Numbers,' considering that refugees and asylum seekers are often shown with numbers and figures. Today, more than 84 million are forcibly displaced from their homes and countries doubled the numbers over the last decade," said James Lynch, South Korea's representative to the UNHCR, delivering opening remarks for the opening ceremony. "This is equivalent to one percent of the entire population in the world. A new humanitarian crisis is escalating in Ukraine, and more than 4.5 million people have fled the country. Most of them are women and children." James Lynch, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative to Korea, delivers an opening speech at the opening ceremony of the UNHCR's online film festival at The Plaza Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of UNHCR Sam Frost is single again after splitting with her boyfriend Jordie Hansen. A source tells Daily Mail Australia that the former Home and Away actress, 33, ended things with the Australian Survivor: Blood V Water star, 26, after his ex-girlfriend publicly claimed he'd begun dating Sam just days after they broke up. 'Sam and Jordie have split. His ex appeared on a podcast and it upset Sam,' an insider told Daily Mail Australia on Friday. Over: Sam Frost is single again after splitting with her boyfriend Jordie Hansen. Both pictured 'Jordie was on and off with two ex-girlfriends before he got with Sam,' the source added. Jordie's former partner, Ash, told So Dramatic! this week that just two days after she and Jordie had split earlier this year, Jordie debuted his new romance with Sam. The two had been high school sweethearts and had an on-off relationship since they were 17. Parted: A source tells Daily Mail Australia that the former Home and Away actress, 33, ended things with the Australian Survivor: Blood V Water star, 26, after his ex-girlfriend publicly claimed he'd begun dating Sam just days after they broke up Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Sam Frost for comment. Sam and Jordie, who is a landscaper from Victoria, confirmed their romance on April 4th by sharing videos and photos of themselves on a road trip from Sydney to the NSW South Coast. 'Little team of escapees down the coast,' Jordie captioned an Instagram video in which in Sam was seen smiling from the passenger seat. 'Sam and Jordie have split. His ex appeared on a podcast and it upset Sam,' an insider told Daily Mail Australia on Friday Another post showed the pair sharing a cheeseboard and bottle of wine at their accommodation. Perhaps the most telling post was a black-and-white photo of Jordie cuddled up next to four dogs on the couch in which he was tagged by Sam. The pets included Sam's two dogs, Sir Gregson and Rocky, and two other dogs perhaps belonging to Jordie. Confirmed: Sam and Jordie, who is a landscaper from Victoria, confirmed their romance earlier this month by sharing videos and photos of themselves on a road trip from Sydney to the NSW South Coast Puppy love: Perhaps the most telling post was a black and white photo of Jordie cuddled up next to four dogs on the couch Shortly after, Jordie shared a series of pictures of Sam as the pair travelled together in his car. 'Are you kidding? STOP IT This is a win for the Everyman,' he began his caption, clearly referring to how he recently scored such a catch. 'They said it wasn't possible. You're a dreamer. Don't let anyone tell you you can't. Shoot for the stars kids,' he added. Romance: Shortly after, Jordie shared a series of pictures of Sam as the pair travelled together in his car 'Are you kidding? STOP IT This is a win for the Everyman,' he began his caption, clearly referring to how he recently scored such a catch He also shared a note which had been written by Sam, alongside a present she had given him for his 26th birthday. 'Babe, If watching Survivor taught us all anything it's that you are the worst at puzzles. Get practising if you're ever going to do round 2. Love, me x,' she wrote. Sam's last social media post of the pair was shared on April 11, when she shared a gushing tribute to Jordie on Instagram, alongside several black-and-white photos of the couple hugging. Already close: Sam had earlier revealed she was dating a friend of her younger brother, Alex (left), 26 In her caption, the former radio presenter wrote: 'Mum, can you take a nice photo of me and Jord?' I now have 25 blurry photos of us laughing our heads off.' 'Funniest human I've ever met. Thank you for making me so happy, I'm a very lucky woman,' she added. They were last pictured in public together over the Easter long weekend. Approved: Sam said because her new beau is her brother's friend, he is close to her family already and Alex has given him a 'tick of approval' Sam had earlier revealed that she was dating a friend of her younger brother, Alex, 26. 'I am seeing someone, it's really fun and I'm really happy, he treats me really well,' Sam told on The Herald Sun earlier this month. 'I feel really lucky that I've met him at a really great time in my life.' Sam said because her new beau is her brother's friend, he is close to her family already and Alex has given him a 'tick of approval'. 'I am seeing someone, it's really fun and I'm really happy, he treats me really well,' Sam told on The Herald Sun earlier this month. Jordie is pictured on Australian Survivor The former reality star's prior relationship was with Dave Bashford. The pair were rumoured to have split in January 2020, but Sam did not confirm she was single until June that year. A source close to the pair allegedly 'confirmed' to Woman's Day at the time that they had broken up and that Sam prioritising her career over romance. Search for love: The former reality star's prior relationship was with Dave Bashford (right), which began in 2017. The pair were rumoured to have split in January 2020, but Sam did not confirm she was single until June that year Sam rose to fame when she appeared on the 2014 season of The Bachelor, where she was chosen by Blake Garvey in the finale only to be dumped shortly after for runner-up Louise Pillidge. She then became Australia's first Bachelorette in 2015 and went on to date winner Sasha Mielczarek for 18 months before splitting. In July 2017 Sam confirmed that she was dating her longtime pal Dave, before announcing she was single in June 2020. Caprice Bourret cut a stylish figure as she opted to go barefoot after taking off her high heels off while walking through the streets of London on Friday. The American model, 50, cut a glamorous figure in a red co-ord set, made up of a cropped top and a midi skirt with white rope-style patterns, as she headed to meetings. She completed her ensemble with a pair of white stilettos, but the shoes appeared to be making Caprice uncomfortable as she took them off and carried them instead. Chic: Caprice Bourret cut a stylish figure as she opted to go barefoot after taking off her high heels off while walking through the streets of London on Friday As she strutted barefoot through the streets, she carried her essentials in a stylish cream handbag. The businesswoman styled her two-toned tresses in a straight fashion, with her blonde fringe framing her face. She accentuated her good looks with a dramatic slick of mascara and a bold touch of red lipstick, while she sported a pair of silver dangling earrings. It comes after she blasted Boris Johnson for his 'frustrating' lack of support over a charity initiative she is supporting to give Ukraine's refugees jobs in UK. Barefoot: She accentuated her good looks with a dramatic slick of mascara and a bold touch of red lipstick, while she sported a pair of silver dangling earrings Sore feet: The model, 50, wore a pair of white stilettos, but the shoes appeared to be making Caprice uncomfortable as she took them off and carried them instead Amazing: Caprice was the picture of elegance as she stepped out of the car in her sensational ensemble Fashionable: As she strutted barefoot through the streets, she carried her essentials in a stylish cream handbag Caprice spoke about her charity initiative on Sky News last month alongside celebrity chef Steven Saunders, who wants to pair up Ukrainians who have experience in the hospitality industry with jobs in the UK with his Odessa Project. But Caprice told how while they have the 'full support' of the Ukrainian embassy, they can't get the UK government to 'even talk to them about it'. She said: 'It is very frustrating, we just need a green light. We have the full support from the Ukrainian Embassy. 'They have people ready to go and they have done police checks. We have an agency over here to do additional background checks too. 'They are a proud nation, they don't want charity, they want jobs and to integrate into society and we can provide this for them right now! We can't get the government to even talk to us about it. It is frustrating.' Looking good: The businesswoman styled her two-toned tresses in a straight fashion, with her blonde fringe framing her face Caprice's added of her message to Home Secretary Priti Patel and PM Boris: 'Talk to us about it. We are ready to go! Green light this initiative. You can see the devastation on the front line. This is war for god sake, can we just be human beings!? 'The government should do their scheme as well. It is not a case of one is better or being in competition - let us work together and create a difference now! This is war and people are suffering'. She went on to explain more about her efforts to help where she can: 'I have been very vocal, like a lot of people, about Putin's war. I have given money, supplies and I want to do more! 'When I read about Steven's initiative, I called him straight up and said, I want to help, how can I get involved? I want to do something - it is an amazing initiative.' Rouge: Caprice opted for a bold red ensemble as she stepped out of the car to head to meetings Glam: Caprice was the picture of elegance in her co-ord set, while her two-toned locks looked glossy Speaking alongside Caprice, Steven said: 'We have support and accommodation. We have the whole package, to align them with jobs straight away here in the UK. But what we don't have is government support'. Responding to what he says is the problem, he said: 'It is the UK government. I have spoken to them and they have their scheme, I am not dissing the scheme but it is about putting refugee families into bedrooms essentially without jobs. We are not doing that - we are providing jobs and salaries above the minimum pay. 'They are regular people who have had their lives turned upside down, they don't want to be put in someone's bedroom. 'The government have a great scheme with 300,000 people wanting to take refugee families in, but they do not have any refugee families wanting to go into that scheme. Powerful: It comes after Caprice stripped naked and painted herself with a Stop The War slogan in support of Ukraine as the country continued to defend itself from Russian invasion 'The Ukrainian Embassy told me they didn't know of anyone who want to be aligned with it'. Elsewhere, Caprice stripped naked and painted herself with a Stop The War slogan in support of Ukraine as the country continued to defend itself from Russian invasion. She took to Instagram to share a a handful of images in which she poses without clothing, the reactionary message 'F U WAR' daubed across her chest and back. Using her arms to protect her modesty, she gazes proactively into the camera lens, while in another she gives it a contemptuous middle finger. Captioning the stirring images, she wrote: '#nowar' followed by a broken heart emoji. Ewan McGregor was seen filling up his vintage Porsche while his girlfriend Mary Elizabeth Winstead grabbed a coffee in LA on Thursday ahead of their rumoured wedding. The actor, 31, cut a relaxed figure as he headed to the petrol station wearing his shades while his Fargo co-star Mary, 37, looked casually chic in her outfit. The couple were seen earlier in the day with his parents Carol and James as the family enjoyed some quality time together before the reported ceremony. Here he is: Ewan McGregor was seen filling up his vintage Porsche while his girlfriend Mary Elizabeth Winstead grabbed a coffee in LA on Thursday ahead of their rumoured wedding Mary showed off her sense of style in a pair of baggy red jeans which she teamed with a white T-shirt and navy jacket as she got some fresh air. She wore her brunette tresses in a wavy cropped style and opted for a naturally pretty makeup look while accessorizing with shades atop her head. Mary toted an orange, white and black crochet and leather bag and opted for comfy trainers. Out an about: The actor, 31, cut a relaxed figure as he headed to the petrol station wearing his shades while his Fargo co-star Mary, 37, looked casually chic in her outfit Wedding bells? The couple were seen earlier in the day with his parents Carol (pictured here in car) and James as the family enjoyed some quality time together before the rumoured ceremony Meanwhile, the pair's eco-canyon hideaway has been spotted being prepared for their big day, with the couple covering their pool with chairs for 60 guests, indicating an intimate affair. Trucks and other vehicles could be seen in the drive while workmen are pictured carrying tables to the property. A number of other tables are seen dotted around, while strings of fairy lights are hung up and outdoor heaters set up, suggesting the couple have opted for an outdoor reception with celebrations heading into the night. The look: Mary showed off her sense of style in a pair of baggy red jeans which she teamed with a white T-shirt and navy jacket as she got some fresh air Glowing: She wore her brunette tresses in a wavy cropped style and opted for a naturally pretty makeup look while accessorizing with shades Preparations: Meanwhile, the pair's eco-canyon hideaway has been spotted being prepared for their big day, with the couple covering their pool with chairs for 60 guests It's been reported that Ewan and Mary, who've been together since 2017, are set to tie the knot at an LA ceremony this week. Not having announced an engagement, the actor will allegedly exchange vows with his Fargo co-star on Friday, after they played a couple in the FX show's 2016 series. A source told Page Six, 'They are more in love than ever and having their first child together last year just strengthened their bond.' Representatives for Ewan and Mary have been contacted for comment by MailOnline. Exciting: It's been reported that Ewan and Mary, who've been together since 2017, are set to tie the knot at an LA ceremony this week Plans: Not having announced an engagement, the actor will allegedly exchange vows with his Fargo co-star on Friday, after they played a couple in the FX show's 2016 series He shares daughters Clara, 26, Esther, 21, Jamyan, 20, and Anouk, 11, with ex-wife Eve Mavrakis. They split in 2017 after 22 years of marriage and their divorce was finalised in August 2020. The couple, who met on the set of the TV crime drama Kavanagh QC, first confirmed their split in 2017 amid claims Ewan had been seen kissing Mary in a London restaurant. Eve was pictured without her wedding ring at around the same time. The Star Wars actor who blamed 'irreconcilable differences' for the split then began dating Mary. The couple welcomed son Laurie into the world in June. Cute: A source told Page Six , 'They are more in love than ever and having their first child together last year just strengthened their bond' Stepping out: Ewan wore light blue denim jeans and a navy jacket The couple, who never revealed they were expecting, had their baby news announced by Ewan's daughter Clara on Instagram. Clara, whose mother is Eve, shared a heartwarming snap of herself cradling her brother in her arms as she congratulated her father and Mary Elizabeth. She wrote: 'Welcome to the world little brother congratulations to my Dad & Mary - this is the greatest gift'. Esther also shared pictures cradling the newborn as she gushed: 'Met my little brother looking like a pirate. I recommend! Welcome to the family little Laurie'. Comfortable: Mary was grabbing a coffee and a snack and stepped out in comfortable Ganni trainers Despite Clara's well-wishes for the couple, she previously slammed Mary amid her blossoming relationship with Ewan following his spit from Eve. She described the actress as 'a piece of trash' on Instagram in 2018, which accompanied a photograph of her father and Mary kissing at the Vanity Fair Oscars party. In the post's caption, the fan had referred to Mary as 'the most beautiful and talented woman on earth' - something Clara was more than ready to refute. 'Most beautiful and talented woman on earth??? Oh man y'all are delusional. The girl is a piece of trash :),' wrote Clara in the post's comment section. Fancy wheels: He made sure his vintage car was filled up with petrol as he made a pit stop near his home Soon after her reply, another Winstead fan urged her to 'say it to [Mary Elizabeth's] face not [on] social media.' They added: 'It took TWO to undo this marriage. If a man OR woman is happy w/ their marriage no outside interference can destroy that!' To the fan's surprise, Clara firmly agrees with their assessment. 'Yup it took two!! Mary & my father :),' she wrote. In an interview with The Times in August that year, Clara openly acknowledged the immaturity of her Instagram banter, but claimed that her rage was justified. 'It wasn't the most mature way to go about things, but I was angry and upset.' Couple: Ewan and Mary have been together since 2017 after they met on the set of Fargo (pictured in 2017) According to Clara, there were things going on behind-the-scenes that became 'a lot to deal with' and eventually sent her over the edge. 'There had been a lot building up to it and a lot to deal with - not to make excuses or anything - but, yeah, it wasn't my finest moment,' she admitted. She also explained that she kept 'being tagged in the photograph' and was 'seeing negative things about [her] mom.' 'I said how I felt and I didn't want to apologise for it. It wasn't the right way to go about things, but it's a hard thing to wrap your head around when you feel you had this idea of what the family unit is and then to have that shift. It's very weird.' Australian actor Beejan Land and philanthropist Andrew Martin Weber have exchanged vows at a million dollar wedding in Paris. The All Saints star and playwright, 33, from Sydney's Paddington, is probably best known as a yo-yo champion. Meanwhile, his super wealthy husband Andrew is famous for his generous support for the Arts in the US, where he has been based. Happy days: Australian actor Beejan Land (right) and philanthropist Andrew Martin Weber (left) have exchanged vows at a million dollar wedding in Paris The happy couple having first tied the knot in New York in 2021, felt the urge to splurge on a society bash that has drawn the international A-list this week, reports The Daily Telegraph. For the venue, the handsome pair picked the palatial Palais Garnier opera house in down town Paris, one of the most exclusive venues in the City of Lights. According to reports, venue hire for the 145 year-old building is an estimated $295,000. Fancy: The happy couple having first tied the knot in New York in 2021, felt the urge to splurge on a society bash that has drawn the international arts A-list this week Woah! For the venue, the handsome pair picked the palatial Palais Garnier opera house in down town Paris, one of the most exclusive venues in the City of Lights Pretty penny: According to reports, venue hire for the 145 year-old building is an estimated $295,000. Pictured are guests Amine Amharech, Tina Huntress and Tarek Bishara Attendees reportedly dubbed the lavish nuptials 'the wedding of the century' in social media posts. Guests travelled from around the world to enjoy 'singing and dancing and the most wonderful food ever' according to posts online. Among those who watched the pair walk down the aisle were models, actors, designers and musicians, The Daily Telegraph reported. Wow! The new husbands took the stage for speeches, their stunning venue making for breathtaking scenes So lush! Guests travelled from around the world to enjoy 'singing and dancing and the most wonderful food ever' according to posts online Cool crowd: Among those who watched the pair walk down the aisle were models, actors, designers and musicians, The Daily Telegraph reported Beejan and his husband looked absolutely delighted in photos shared on the day, having said 'I do' under a floral arch. Both men dressed in matching black tuxedos with white shirts, with Beejan opting for a bowtie. The husbands then took the stage for speeches, their stunning venue making for breathtaking scenes before the guests parties till the small hours. Brittany Hockley had a ball attending the red carpet premiere of The Deb at at the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney's Dawes Point on Friday. The former Bachelor star turned heads in a flirty shirt dress, which she worn hanging low on one side to bare her shoulder. The radio star, 34, who recently returned from a holiday in Thailand, showed off her trim, freshly tanned pins in the short frock, which was buttoned down the middle. Looking good: Brittany Hockley (pictured) had a ball attending the red carpet premiere of The Deb at at the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney's Dawes Point on Friday Brittany added a pair of shiny knee-high boots which featured a pointed tip and high heels. For accessories, she opted for a luxurious Chanel pearl necklace worn at choker length, and a pair of dainty earrings. The former reality star opted for heavy blush and lots of highlighter, as well as a pink lipstick. Wow! The former Bachelor star turned heads in a flirty shirt dress, which she worn hanging low on one side to bare her shoulder Fun night: The radio star, 34, who recently returned from a holiday in Thailand, showed off her trim, freshly tanned pins in the short frock, which was buttoned down the middle A look: Brittany added a pair of knee-high boots which featured a pointed tip and high heels She wore her brunette tresses down, with one side of her hair swept over her shoulder to show off some skin. The podcaster looked delighted as she posed on the red carpet at the theatre with her pal Rebel Wilson, 42. The pals laughed and giggled together as they larked about, and appeared in wonderful spirits. Gals' night out: The podcaster looked delighted as she posed on the red carpet at the theatre with her pal Rebel Wilson (left) Details: For accessories, she opted for a luxurious Chanel pearl necklace worn at choker length, and a pair of dainty earrings Brittany recently revealed that being mates with a Hollywood superstar has inspired her to chase her own acting dreams. 'Rebel is so great. I spent a lot of time with her last year and on sets with her in Atlanta, and she really re-inspired me to keep chasing the dream and [reminded me] that nothing comes easily,' she told Stellar Magazine. Brittany has even signed up for acting classes at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney - whose alumni include Cate Blanchett, Sarah Snook and Mel Gibson. Dark side: She wore her brunette tresses down, with one side of her hair swept over her shoulder to show off some skin Made up: The former reality star opted for heavy blush and lots of highlighter, as well as a pink lipstick 'I've been doing some study at NIDA. Even Rebel got rejected from NIDA, like, four times and just hearing her say, '"They were basically saying I'm not good enough, but I kept going", seeing all her success and how incredible she is,' she continued. 'It's really inspiring that there's no age limit, there's no number of times you can get knocked down before you can get back up'. Brittany rose to fame on Nick 'The Honey Badger' Cummins' season of The Bachelor in 2018. TOWIE's Joey Turner showed off his slender frame as he posed in the bathroom on a wild night out drinking with pals on Wednesday. The 21-year-old showed off slender frame in an unbuttoned red satin shirt as he sat on the toilet for the provocative new images. The star has previously worried his followers with his markedly slimmer look and posts about drugs and recently told how he barely ate and was drinking everyday after he reached 'breaking point' at uni. Skimpy: TOWIE's Joey Turner showed off his slender frame as he posed in the bathroom on a wild night out drinking with pals on Wednesday For his night out at the club Joey teamed his bold shirt with leather shorts and converse trainers. He completed his edgy look with a cross necklace as he posed with a male pal who wore an equally wild outfit. The pictures come after the star discovered an old comment from Love Island's Chloe Burrows on his Instagram, hitting back at her for not 'being kind'. Night out: The 21-year-old showed off slender frame in an undone red satin shirt as he sat on the toilet for the provocative new images Edgy: For his night out at the club Joey teamed his bold shirt with leather shorts and converse trainers while posing with a male pal Joey revealed he was going through his archived posts when he noticed a comment on one of his 2019 photos from Love Island runner up Chloe. 'So vile,' read Chloe's comment, which was posted before she shot to fame on the ITV2 show last year. Joey said he was 'casually going thru my archived posts... i'm screaming hahahahahha,' adding: 'not 17 year old me getting hated on by a wannabe love islander purrrrr'. In a string of posts he also quipped of Chloe: 'defo posts 'use my code to get 10% of this #bekind hoodie' too,' before admitting: 'i've never watched an episode of love island btw it just says it in her bio.' Throwback: The pictures come after the star discovered an old comment from Love Island 's Chloe Burrows on his Instagram, hitting back at her for not 'being kind' Back in the day: 'So vile,' read Chloe's comment, which was posted before she shot to fame on the ITV2 show (pictured in March 2022) 'Be kind': In a string of posts he also quipped of Chloe: 'defo posts 'use my code to get 10% of this #bekind hoodie' too' Not a fan: The reality star insisted he didn't know who Chloe was as he has never watched an episode of Love Island A representative for Chloe was contacted by MailOnline for comment at the time. The reality star confessed recently that he barely ate and was drinking everyday after he reached 'breaking point'. Speaking to The Sun, he described the difficult aftermath of leaving the ITVbe show and how his life increasingly spiralled out of control - saying he felt like he was going 'insane.' He said: 'I left Towie to go to uni and do my own thing. But I was being constantly hounded like an animal. Just because I'm in the public doesn't mean I'm not human, it's like people forget that.' Concern: Joey recently opened up about his struggles to deal with his fame after appearing on TOWIE and how he turned to heavy partying to cope It comes as his fans have become increasingly worried about Joey's health, after he posted several selfies looking increasingly slender. Now he explains: 'When I look back at those photos I posted I can see how sad I look. I was experiencing and enduring my emotions and through my look I portrayed that. I didn't have time to eat. I was so busy at such a young age.' Joey received death threats over the images, and while insisting the comment were from 'jealous' trolls, he admits they caused him to bury his feeling through excessive partying. Old times: Joey at the NTAs in September 2019, before his drastic weight loss sparked concern on social media He explained he wasn't even enjoying himself, but had become 'numb' to his emotions. Joey credits his family, especially his mother, for helping him get his life back on track, calling them his 'rehab'. He said: 'There was a point where I did feel overwhelmed with everything. It felt like I'd hit breaking point. I'm very lucky because I had family support around me. 'My mum cares about me very much and has been such a big support in my life. She always makes sure I'm eating and that I'm coping with everything. My family were my rehab.' Despite his struggles after appearing on the show, Joey is still grateful for TOWIE for skyrocketing him to fame. He said that he had 'nothing but respect' for the show and 'everything it gave me' but confessed it was just not the right fit for him. For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123 or click here for details Kate Price confirmed that she is back on with her fiance Carl Woods as she shared a selfie of her on-off beau to her Instagram on Friday - hours after she was seen wearing her engagement ring. The former glamour model, 43, and the former Love Island star, 32, who were rumored to have split last month, recently returned from a holiday together, fueling speculation that they were back on. Katie had previously been spotted without her diamond ring but showcased the sparkler once more as she took to her Story and posted his selfie on her grid. Sporting her ring! Katie Price, 43, confirmed that she is BACK on with fiance Carl Woods as she shared a selfie of her on-again off-again beau to her Instagram on Friday Alongside the new photo of Carl, Katie penned: 'Yesssss clothing range ready set go,' as he donned a T-shirt from her line. Just hours before, Katie showcased the huge ring as she promoted tickets to her makeup masterclass on the Story. Donning a bright pink tracksuit she read off a piece of paper, ensuring that the ring was in full view. Going strong: Katie posted his selfie on her grid as he donned a T-shirt from her clothing line Katie's post comes after she jetted off to Spain with Carl to stay in a bargain 101 a night hotel, The Melia in Alicante. The recent getaway has fuelled mounting speculation that Katie and Carl were back together after they were spotted in Gatwick airport holdings hands last Friday. Carl has since tried to distance himself from split rumours as he took to his Instagram Stories earlier in the week, telling his followers: 'Engagement ring on and off - it's all b*******!', alluding to snaps of her without her sparkler. 'Don't involve me!' It comes after Carl tried to distance himself split rumours, as the pair were seen on holiday together over Easter Carl insisted he 'didn't want to be involved' in the speculation about their relationship status, just days after it appeared they were back on by jetting off on their Easter break. Katie flashed her diamond ring on Instagram last week, before removing in it shots of her at a friend's London stables after returning from their trip. Addressing reports, Carl said: 'I wanted to come on here and clear this up, engagement ring on and off - it's all b*******. 'They're so muggy. I'm not involved in it, please nobody tarnish me with the same brush. I think it's ridiculous - that's all I've got to stay on it.' All off? The the one-time Love Island contestant insisted he 'didn't want to be involved' in the speculation about their relationship status 'Muggy!' Addressing reports, Carl said: 'I wanted to come on here and clear this up, engagement ring on and off - it's all b*******' Carl's statement comes amid mounting speculation that the couple were back on track after jetting off on a secret getaway together. Katie teased their reunion by sharing a sneak peek at the tropical location in a recent Instagram post. Posting on Sunday, the star, revealed a glimpse of palm trees and a luxury restaurant as she wished her followers a Happy Easter. Katie shared a photo of a Pina colada before beaming into the camera, telling her fans: 'Happy Easter everyone, hope you have a fantastic day!' Wish you were here: Katie jetted off on a secret Easter getaway with Carl, sharing a peek at the beautiful location in a new Instagram post The on-off couple were seen walking hand-in-hand at Gatwick airport on Friday, sparling further speculation they've rekindled their romance. The couple, who called off their engagement last month, were seen casually strolling side-by-side as they prepared to jet away together for the Easter break. Carl later took to Instagram to share a snap where he tagged the location as Gatwick Airport, penning the caption: 'Catch Flights.' MailOnline contacted representatives for Carl and Katie for comment at the time. A week before they jetted off Katie was picked up by her ex fiance after a hair salon appointment. Former Celebrity Big Brother winner Katie shared footage of herself sitting in her ex's Porsche as she showed off her new hair, and flashed a look at her huge diamond engagement ring which was firmly back on. The leather embossed seats of Carl's distinctive car could be seen in the background of Katie's selfies. Where is he going? Carl later took to Instagram to share a snap where he tagged the location as Gatwick Airport, penning the caption: 'Catch Flights' Rekindled: A week before they jetted off Katie was picked up by her ex fiance after a hair salon appointment. The leather seats of Carl's car could be seen in the background of Katie's selfies Sharing: She also shared a pretty natural looking selfie while on her break away - although she did seem to have a filter applied She captioned the footage 'show off' with a laughing, crying emoji as Carl drove her home. A second clip saw the star showing off her manicure, with her huge diamond engagement ring from Carl back on her wedding finger. Hours earlier the star had uploaded a snap of herself in the hairdresser's chair while having a blow dry with the ring noticeably absent in the mirror selfie. The reality star's social media activity came just hours after her ex liked one of her Instagram photograph, in another telling sign that the two could be back together. Ring: A second clip saw the star showing off her manicure, with her huge diamond engagement ring from Carl back on her wedding finger The star told how she was 'feeling natural and happy today' in the post which her former fiance liked, in a sign that tensions between them may have calmed down, after he deleted all snaps of them from his Instagram.. Carl previously allegedly accused Katie of cheating twice and reportedly ended his 11-month engagement to her as he could no longer trust her. Just a day earlier Katie and her ex-Kris Boyson, 34, were spotted at the same romantic hotel days apart sparking speculation they have rekindled their relationship. The mother-of-five shared images from inside The Copper Crib in Sussex on her Instagram story last Tuesday while Kris posted matching photos from the same luxury getaway a week later. Bling-free: Her enormous diamond engagement ring from Carl was noticeably absent from her wedding finger in a previous mirror selfie Former glamour model Katie, whose engagement to Carl ended abruptly following claims she sent flirty messages to ex-Kris from her daughter's Instagram profile, said she was at the Secret Cabins venue with son Harvey. A source said: 'Carl will be really upset about this he had his suspicions about Katie and Kris, which ultimately ended their relationship. 'If they stayed in the same hotel so soon after his split from Katie then it's a real low blow and the fact they have posted pictures on social media makes it even more disrespectful because they clearly want people to know.' A friend close to Kris told MailOnline: 'It's just a coincidence that Katie and Kris stayed at The Copper Crib within the same week. 'Kris was there with another woman who he's not ready to go public with and isn't interested in getting back with Katie. Their relationship is in the past for him now.' Katie's engagement to former Love Island contestant Carl ended after she was accused of cheating and sending flirtatious messages to Kris last year. The TV personality regularly spoke about marrying Carl and having his children while they came close to eloping in Vegas last November. Carl proposed to Katie last April just 10 months after they first started dating. Last month, Carl appeared in court accused of using 'threatening words and behaviour' following a row with Katie. Carl had been charged under Section 4 of the Public Order Act following an incident at his home in Little Canfield, Essex last year. Colchester Magistrates' Court was told the charge followed an argument that spilled over into the street, disturbing neighbours. At one stage Carl was seen trying to force open a door, the court heard. Carl was arrested after Katie was allegedly punched in face on August 22, 2021. The reality star is set to face trial after denying the charges and if found guilty could be sentenced to a maximum of six months in prison. Simon Gregson has claimed it's 'amazing' his wife Emma Gleave survived after going through her eleventh miscarriage in 2018, in a new podcast. The Coronation Street star, 47, discussed the 'horrific' experience and how his partner, 38, made it through after her internal tubes got twisted. His words come after Simon was quizzed in the back of a police van following an altercation between two men at a Toby Carvery in Aintree on Friday night. Strong: Simon Gregson has claimed its 'amazing' his wife Emma Gleave survived her eleventh miscarriage in 2018 - a topic he has been incredibly open about in the past In an interview on The Likely Dads podcast, he said: 'We lost 11 along the way. It was horrific. The first one was 21 weeks. 'When Emma lost Georgia, she was 21 weeks, and what had happened was Emma's tubes were twisted, but Georgia stayed alive long enough to untwist the tubes which they said it was amazing how she survived all that and then went.' 'But that paved the way for Alfie you see, so we always think of her as like an angel. 'But then we lost loads along the way. I think it's because Emma can't carry girls for some reason.' Dad: The Corrie star, 47, discussed the 'horrific' experience and how his partner, 38, survived having her internal tubes twisted (pictured with sons Alfie, 14, Harry, 12, and Henry, six) The actor previously revealed Emma almost died after suffering a ruptured ectopic pregnancy in September. Appearing together on Lorraine in 2018, the couple recalled the 'terrifying' incident - which saw them tragically lose their twelfth baby, and left Emma mere hours from death. However the pair, who share three sons together, went on to thank the 'brilliant' NHS for saving Emma's life, as the service celebrates 70 years in operation. After suffering a devastating 11 miscarriages over the years, Simon and Emma endured further heartbreak last year when they were hit with an ectopic pregnancy. Wow! He said: 'We lost 11 along the way. It was horrific. The first one was 21 weeks' (Alfie, Harry and Henry are pictured) Emma explained: 'In September last year I started to feel a little unwell, and I just got this pure pain in my stomach where I couldn't even stand up. I knew immediately that something was wrong. As Corrie star Simon added: 'I was a bit worried because Emma is kind of like all the special forces rolled into one small body. So if she's in pain, she's in pain.' She went on to reveal her diagnosis was the 'scariest' moment of her life - both for her own health, and upon realisation they had lost another baby. She continued: 'The surgeon at the time told me that I'd had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. 'Being told that was probably the scariest moment of my entire life, because I didn't know what an ectopic pregnancy was. And then kind of dealing with the fact that afterwards that the pregnancy wasn't going to carry on.' Tragic: 'When Emma lost Georgia, she was 21 weeks, and what had happened was Emma's tubes were twisted,' he said (pictured in 2016) Understanding the seriousness of Emma's condition, Simon then expressed his relief that he rushed her to hospital when he did, as any longer and she would have died. 'That's when the realisation hit home that this is very serious,' he added. 'I mean, the surgeon said afterwards that another couple of hours and she very possibly may have died.' The pair told the harrowing story on the show in order to thank the NHS, and celebrate their 70th year in operation. Simon said: 'I think it's great to be able to raise awareness and help people understand how brilliant the staff at the NHS are.' While Emma added, through teary eyes: 'The staff at Wythenshawe Hospital absolutely saved my life. Other women don't have the outcome that I had unfortunately. So I was very lucky.' Couple: 'But Georgia stayed alive long enough to untwist the tubes which they said it was amazing how she survived all that and then went' (pictured in 2010) The couple first spoke about their traumatic 12 miscarriages last year - with Simon revealing he was undergoing a vasectomy. He told OK!: 'We originally thought Emma couldn't carry girls, but she so desperately wanted a little girl. 'I would love her to have one but now, after nearly losing her, I'm going in and having the snip.' After years of loss, Simon and Emma are now proud parents to three boys -Alfie, 10, Harry, eight, and Henry Teddy, two. This comes after Simon has hit the headlines recently for several very public meltdowns. He was 'hauled in to an emergency meeting by Coronation Street bosses' after he was quizzed in the back of a police van following an altercation between two men at a Toby Carvery in Aintree on Friday night. Whoops! It comes after he was quizzed in the back of a police van following an altercation between two men at a Toby Carvery in Aintree on Friday night (pictured in 2016) The actor, 47, was at The Rocking Horse pub opposite the racecourse after Aintree Ladies Day having enjoyed some time at one of the course's luxury suites earlier in the day. And the star has allegedly been given a talking to in a bid to get him to keep his behaviour in check on nights out, according to a new report. A source told The Sun: 'Simon is one of Corries longest-serving stars and is loved on set, but that doesnt mean he has carte blanche to behave however he likes. 'Bosses have told Simon his recent behaviour is not ok and its not a good look for the soap. 'Theyve warned him to clean up his act. Simon apologised and told them hed be on his best behaviour from now on.' MailOnline has contacted ITV and representatives for Simon for comment. A spokesperson for Toby Carvery Aintree told MailOnline of the incident at the weekend: 'We can confirm there was an incident at the restaurant on Friday night which was reported to the police. We are fully co-operating with the police inquiry.' Friends in high places: Simon was seen with the likes of Princess Annes daughter Zara Tindall, 40, and her ex-England rugby captain husband Mike, 43, at Aintree Ladies Day According to the Mirror, police spoke to Simon as he sat in the back of their van in the car park of The Rocking Horse on Friday after the altercation inside the pub. A source told the publication: 'There was a bust-up and bouncers kicked him out they pinned him to the ground before the police arrived. He was taken to the police van and spoken to for some time. It was all very messy.' A police spokesperson added to the newspaper: 'We can confirm Merseyside Police were in attendance at the Rocking Horse pub on Grand National Avenue, Aintree. 'At around 9.20pm we received a report two men were involved in an altercation inside the pub. No injuries were reported and the victim declined to make a formal complaint to police. Inquiries are ongoing.' Earlier in the day, Simon was seen with the likes of Princess Annes daughter Zara Tindall, 40, and her ex-England rugby captain husband Mike, 43. It comes after Simon was reportedly ordered by bouncers to head home from his on-screen daughter Alexandra Mardell's leaving party in Manchester's Deansgate district in February. Again? It comes after Simon was reportedly ordered by bouncers to head home from his on-screen daughter Alexandra Mardell's leaving party in Manchester's Deansgate district in February (pictured, centre, with Alexandra and her boyfriend Joe Parker, far left) In footage obtained by The Sun, the soap star could be seen dancing shirtless on furniture after becoming 'a bit merry'. Simon allegedly directed his fury towards the security staff with an expletive-filled rant after they attempted to kick him out of the venue. An onlooker told the publication 'He was the life and soul of the party but took it a bit far and it annoyed the bar staff and bouncers in the end.' A lip-reading expert told the publication Simon he appeared to be saying 'f**k' and 'f**k you' to the two members of staff before assuring: 'I will get down.' The star - who plays character Steve McDonald in the soap - had been partying with Corrie's Katie McGlynn at the showbiz bash. She allegedly stepped in-between her pal and the bouncer in a bid to cool down the situation, later posting a beaming photo of herself in an unmissable yellow dress alongside Alexandra, who plays Emma Booker in the ITV favourite. Gang: Elle Mulvaney (far left) Steve (centre-left), Emma (centre) and Tanisha Gorey (centre-right) appeared to be in high spirits during the star-studded party The source continued: 'Simon was acting pretty wildly but more in the sense that he was in high spirits and getting carried away. 'The crowd were laughing and cheering, with a lot of people egging him on, and most people there saw the funny side. But some clubbers were shouting abuse at him as well, which was unnecessary.' Alexandra's photos from the night saw her party with Millie Gibson (Kelly Neelan), Colson Smith (Craig Tinker), Georgia Taylor (Toyah Battersby), Elle Mulvaney (Amy Barlow) and Mollie Gallagher (Nina Lucas). As Simon rose to fame in the 1990s as a new heart-throb in one of the nation's most beloved soaps, he was hiding a secret life of binge-drinking and drug-taking. Speaking exclusively previously to the Sunday Mirror, the star admitted that soon after his 1989 debut as Steve McDonald on Coronation Street, marijuana, cocaine and booze took a grip on his personal life. 'I went completely wild,' he admitted. 'Id go through a bottle of Scotch at four or five am after the pub... Sometimes Id be two hours late for work. Other times Id not be there at all. 'I didnt take it seriously and I didnt want to be there. I hated being famous. Im not proud of my behaviour, but getting wasted was a way of forgetting... The cocaine use came hand in hand with the alcohol abuse. I started smoking marijuana first. 'Reality wasnt too great so this alternative reality with the use of substances was a better place to be. It was an experimentation at first and I could afford it... I was spending a lot on it. It changed me as a person.' Admitting that his resulting tardiness on the Corrie set led to tensions with on-screen dad Charlie, he turned things around soon after his troubles were made public in 1995. However , a sober Simon said: 'Everything that happened has made me the person I am today and I am so grateful for the life I have. I have a fantastic job, a gorgeous family and amazing friends and colleagues. I am a lucky bloke.' Gemma Collins looked incredible in a black swimsuit as she shared a montage of snaps to mark Earth Day. The former TOWIE star, 41, flaunted her sensational figure as she struck a playful pose and paddled in the ocean in the snap shared to Instagram on Friday. Gemma, who recently lost 3.5 stone, shared a slew of other pictures of herself out in nature as she urged her 2.2million followers to 'go hug a tree' for Earth Day. Looking good: Gemma Collins looked incredible in a black swimsuit as she shared a montage of snaps to mark Earth Day In another photograph, Gemma cut a stylish figure in a tie-dye co-ord set as she soaked up the sun in a field full of plants. One snap showed her holding a huge sunflower while another showed Gemma running through the desert in a chic yellow sundress. A final picture showed the reality TV star out for a walk in her activewear as she posed with her hand pointed towards the sky. In a caption alongside the snap, Gemma wrote: 'Happy Earth Day, just go hug a tree. This year's theme: invest in the planet. Out in nature: The former TOWIE star, 41, shared a montage of snaps to Instagram on Friday, including one of her looking stylish in a tie-dye co-ord set as she posed in a field Earth Day: One snap showed her holding a huge sunflower while another showed Gemma running in a yellow sundress through the desert 'Thought I'd give you an Earth day of collection of all my favourite nature moments. There are many small and big things we can all do to protect our planet. 'It's good for the soul to reconnect. Go hug a tree today.' Gemma was not the only celebrity to celebrate Earth Day, as Love Island's Lucie Donlan and Luke Mabbott took part in the Ann's Cottage Earth Day Beach Clean. Cornwall native Lucie, 23, looked windswept as she braced Newquay's high winds on Fistral Beach on Friday. Having fun: One snap showed Gemma running in a yellow sundress through the desert while another saw her striking a playful pose while out for a walk 'It's good for the soul to reconnect': In a caption alongside the snap, Gemma urged her 2.2million followers to 'go and hug a tree' to celebrate Earth Day The surfer babe looked cosy in an oversized check shirt which she teamed with a white T-shirt. She wore a classic jeans and Converse combo which gave her an undoubtedly stylish look. Embracing her natural beauty on the day, the blonde beauty ditched her hair extensions while showing off her newly cropped locks. Meanwhile, her fiance Luke looked cool in a grey jumper and a pair of baggy jeans as he visited his home county. The couple looked delighted to be involved in the annual event as they toted a litter picker each and helped clean up the prestigious surfing destinations sandy shores. Helping out: Gemma was not the only celebrity to celebrate Earth Day on Friday, as Love Island's Lucie Donlan and Luke Mabbott took part in the Ann's Cottage Earth Day Beach Clean Gemma's Earth Day post comes after she revealed she might try for a baby with fiance Rami Hawash in the summer. She admitted that since being snatched up for the role of Mama Morton in the UK and Ireland tour of the Chicago The Musical, she is 'so busy', but hasn't diverted her attention away from becoming a mother. Gemma, who looked sensational in a fuchsia feather ensemble in her latest Instagram photo, said: 'Doing Chicago, I don't have a day off until August. I might start trying for a baby then. I'm so busy!' Rami, 46, already has a son Tristan, three, from another relationship, and the reality star heavily documented their 'first family holiday' on social media last month. Big news: Gemma's Earth Day post comes after she revealed she might try for a baby with fiance Rami Hawash in the summer Gemma reunited with former fiance Rami during lockdown, seven years after breaking off their original engagement. The star admitted earlier this year they are now looking ahead to their wedding after he proposed for the second time, but is reluctant to make definite marriage plans with the businessman until his divorce from his first wife is finalised. Confirming her engagement to The Times, she said: 'Yeah, but we can't really come out and say anything yet because Ram was married before and his paperwork has not come through, so until that's officially signed, we've not said anything. 'They've not been together for two years. I know her, she's got a partner, she's as good as gold. There's a child involved, he's only three, obviously I love him to death. 'But until that paperwork's signed I can't come out.' She's known for turning heads on a night out. And Kimberly Garner yet again captured attention in a daring thigh-split LBD as she headed out to Loulou's private members club in London on Thursday night. The former Made In Chelsea star, 31, put on a seriously leggy display in the tight dress which showed off her enviable figure. Wow: Kimberly Garner put on a leggy display in a daring thigh-split LBD as she headed to Loulou's private members club in London on Thursday Kimberly proved she was not afraid to take a risk with her style as she oozed confidence in the classy number. She accessorised perfectly with a quilted cross-body Chanel handbag and wore a pair of classic black stiletto heels. Kimberley looked stunning as she wore her blonde locks loose with a centre parting and opted for her usual face of flawless makeup. Smooth: The model ensured to escape a wardrobe malfunction as she elegantly sat into a chauffeur driven Mercedes-Benz which was waiting for her outside the posh establishment The former reality television star looked every inch a part of the London elite as she exited the venue wearing a pair of oversize dark sunglasses despite it being nighttime. The model ensured to escape a wardrobe malfunction as she elegantly sat into a classy chauffeur driven Mercedes-Benz which was waiting for her outside the posh establishment. The blonde beauty stepped out solo on the night after recently retuning home from soaking up the sun in Miami, where she owns a coastal property. Incredible: The former Made In Chelsea star, 31, put on a seriously leggy display in the tight dress which showed off her enviable figure Flawless: Kimberly yet again captured attention in a daring thigh-split LBD Leggy! Kimberly showed off her incredible pins as she made her way to her awaiting car to head home after a night on the tiles Glamorous: Kimberley looked stunning as she wore her blonde locks loose with a centre parting and opted for her usual face of flawless makeup Despite now enjoying huge fame as a swimwear designer, Kimberley has previously revealed how she used to pretend to be an intern when she first started the business as nobody took her seriously. However, the property heiress insisted she's more than just the face of her line Kimberley London and is involved with every aspect of creating her sell-out swimwear range. She told MailOnline: 'I think people sometimes think that Im only the face, but I am responsible for every bit of the business. 'I was 18 when I started my first company - I came up with an idea, stayed up for days learning how to register the company and teaching myself. It became very successful overnight.' She explained: 'However, as I was only 18, no one ever imagined it was mine. I was a young blonde girl with a soft voice. No one would take me seriously or realise it was my company. So, I pretended to be the Intern! 'I handled all the meetings, phone calls, and emails for the company. When it became a success, I put all the revenues into starting Kimberley London.' The construction site of a mosque in Daegu is seen in this Feb. 14 photo. Korea Times file An appeals court ruled in favor of a group of Muslims seeking to repeal an administrative order suspending construction of a mosque in the southeastern city of Daegu, Friday, rejecting an appeal from residents complaining about noise and other issues. The Buk District office in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, had initially approved the construction of an Islamic mosque in a residential area of Daehyeong-dong in September 2020, but issued the suspension order in February last year following complaints from residents. The Muslims pushing for the construction filed a suit to get the suspension order canceled, and a district court ruled in their favor last year, saying the ward office issued the suspension order based on complaints rather than legal grounds. The district office did not appeal the decision, but residents took the case to the appeals court. Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh have received Freedom of the Town in Stratford-upon-Avon. The honour was bestowed on the acting royalty during a ceremony on Friday, which concluded with the pair walking sheep on leads, a day before William Shakespeare's birthday celebrations. The thespians received the Freedom of the Town for their contributions to Shakespeare, and exercised their freedom by herding sheep down Sheep Street. Congrats! On Friday, Dame Judi Dench, 87, and Sir Kenneth Branagh, 61, received Freedom of the Town in Stratford-upon-Avon, and exercised their freedom by herding sheep The Mayor of Stratford upon Avon Kevin Taylor conducted the ceremony in Stratford-upon-Avon, home of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Oscar winners are both considered Shakespearean actors, having graced the stage and screen in countless plays and films. Dame Judy, 87, looked stunning in a pair of rolled-up white trousers with a cami tucked in, while wearing a longline beige linen cardigan over the top. Adding a splash of pizzazz, the actress draped an embellished scarf over her shoulder, but stayed comfortable in camel hued slipper boots. Happy: The honour was bestowed on the acting royalty during a ceremony at the Town Hall Fun: The talented duo were clearly in good spirits throughout the proceedings, with Dame Judy throwing her head back in laughter as Sir Kenneth gave his speech Herding sheep! The thespians received the Freedom of the Town for their contributions to Shakespeare, and exercised their freedom by herding sheep down Sheep Street Momentous day! The Mayor of Stratford upon Avon Kevin Taylor conducted the ceremony in Stratford-upon-Avon, home of the Royal Shakespeare Company Sir Kenneth, 61, was suited a booted in a sleek navy blue three-piece with matching tie, while a bright blue shirt livened up his attire. The talented duo were clearly in good spirits throughout the proceedings, with Dame Judy throwing her head back in laughter as Sir Kenneth gave his speech. The pair looked equally amused as they stepped outside the town hall to walk a pair of sheep on leads. The honour comes after Sir Kenneth won his first Oscar last month, when he scooped the award for Best Original Screenplay for Belfast at the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood. Gorgeous: Dame Judy looked stunning in a pair of rolled-up white trousers with a cami tucked in, while wearing a longline beige linen cardigan over the top Speech time: Dame Judy watch as Sir Kenneth gave a speech to those in attendance Divine: Adding a splash of pizzazz, the actress draped an embellished scarf over her shoulder, but stayed comfortable in camel hued slipper boots Adorable: The duo held hands as they waved from the balcony of the Town Hall The film was based on his own experiences growing up in Belfast, with the filmmaker delivering a heartfelt speech at the Dolby Theatre. His victory, which saw him lead British winners at the ceremony, came after previously being nominated for an Oscar five times before this year, for Best Director and Best Actor for Henry V in 1990, Best Live Action Short Film for Swan Song in 1992, Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamlet in 1996 and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for My Week With Marilyn in 2011. Dame Judi Dench, made history with her Oscar nomination becoming the oldest nominee ever for Best Supporting Actress. The icon was up for Best Supporting actress for her role in Belfast, but was ultimately beaten by West Side Story's Ariana DeBose in the Supporting Actress category. Dapper: Sir Kenneth was suited a booted in a sleek navy blue three-piece with matching tie, while a bright blue shirt livened up his attire Unexpected: The pair looked equally amused as they stepped outside the town hall to walk a pair of sheep on leads Sienna Miller has admitted that playing the role of a cheated wife in her new series Anatomy of A Scandal has 'clear parallels' of her own experience of infidelity. The actress, 40, admitted playing the role of Sophie Whitehouse in the Netflix show was like 'free therapy' as she reflected on when her then-boyfriend Jude Law confessed to cheating on her with a nanny in 2005. Speaking to Willie Geist on NBC News' Sunday TODAY, Sienna admitted that she found certain aspects of the storyline, which sees Sophie's politician husband James is accused of sexually assaulting a young political aide, 'familiar'. Difficult: Sienna Miller has admitted that playing the role of a cheated wife in her new series Anatomy of A Scandal has 'clear parallels' of her own experience of infidelity She revealed that she felt 'drawn' to the drama series because of the parallels to her own life, saying she found it 'interesting' to put herself back into the situation of being embroiled in a cheating scandal. She said: 'I thought it was weird, as well, that I was kind of drawn to it. I think in a sort of psychological tourism way, it was an interesting thing to put myself back into a situation. 'It's very different, and it's a long time ago, but that did feel somewhat familiar, and to respond in a very different way to that. 'Maybe reclaiming something, or just reexploring something that was intense, and I was extremely young and Sophie's response to it is quite measured and contained. 'It's like free therapy': The actress, 40, reflected on when her then-boyfriend Jude Law (both pictured in May 2010) confessed to cheating on her with a nanny in 2005 'It's very strange our job, I often ask myself why I want to do these things but there is a sense of catharsis in doing that somehow.' The 21 Bridges star went on to admit that she feels 'bad' bringing up Jude's cheating on her, but said it was 'inevitable' due to the similarities between herself and Sophie. 'I feel bad bringing it up but there are so many, so many clear parallels between what I've experienced and what she goes through so I guess it's inevitable that we talk about it,' she added. Sienna said at first, she felt she shouldn't portray a role so close to home, but eventually decided it would be 'interesting', saying she finds herself drawn to roles where she can explore her own psychology. Based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Vaughan, the series follows Sophie (Sienna) and her husband James (Rupert Friend), a minister accused of sexually assaulting a young political aide named Olivia (Naomi Scott). Cheating: Based on the novel by Sarah Vaughan, the series follows Sophie (Sienna) and her husband James (Rupert Friend), a minister accused of sexually assaulting a political aide The series focuses on the trial and his attempts to prove his innocence, as Sophie struggles to consider her husband might not be the man she thought he was. And in her own life, Sienna famously faced public humiliation in 2005 when her then-boyfriend Jude Law confessed to cheating on her with his children's nanny Daisy Wright. Jude issued a public apology when it was revealed he'd cheated on her, and the pair eventually separated in 2006, before rekindling their romance between 2009 and 2011. Previously speaking about the breakdown of her relationship to Jude, Sienna revealed she can't remember the six weeks following their split. Scandal: Sienna, who is now dating Oli Green (pictured) faced public humiliation in 2005 when her then-boyfriend Jude confessed to cheating on her with his children's nanny Daisy Wright She told The Daily Beast: 'Theres a whole six weeks of that experience that I dont remember. I have no recollection of it.' Sienna said she blocked out a significant proportion of the period from her memory, and can't even recall meeting friends who said they saw her during that time. Looking back on how she was performing on stage in As You Like It, Sienna explained: 'That was one of the most challenging moments I hope I'll ever have to experience. 'Because with that level of public heartbreak, to have to get out of a bed let alone stand in front of 800 people every night, it's just the last thing you want to do. I was in so much shock over it all.' The full interview will air on NBC News' Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist Sunday, April 24. The cast of Vanderpump Rules showed up in force for the grand opening of Lisa Vanderpump's newest Las Vegas establishment, Vanderpump a Paris at the Paris Las Vegas. The star studded event marked the first for Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney since announcing their split last month after 12 years. Despite not walking the red carpet together, the former couple told DailyMail.com there is no awkwardness and Katie exclusively revealed that she is already 'open' to dating. Amicable as ever: Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney attended their first big event since revealing they were splitting up after 12 years at the opening of Vanderpump a Paris If fans are looking for the same drama they got with Lala and Randall or James and Raquel, they're going to be disappointed as Tom revealed he has nothing but love for his soon-to-be ex-wife. 'I have a deep love and admiration for her,' the star said. 'I love her with all my heart, I really do. I think it's as healthy of a separation as can be. That's kinda boring isn't it?' Tom, 39, walked the red carpet solo for the event in a slate blue blazer over a wacky printed short sleeve button down. Katie was a few paces behind in a perfectly Parisian inspired beige mini dress with black lace appliques and a high neck. 'I have a deep love and admiration for her,' the star said. 'I love her with all my heart, I really do. I think it's as healthy of a separation as can be. That's kinda boring isn't it?' 'I'm open to going on a date or flirting with a guy,' Katie dished to DailyMail.com. 'It's fine. We can move on and be peaceful about it. We're not really jealous people.' 'I'm open to going on a date or flirting with a guy,' Katie dished to DailyMail.com. 'It's fine. We can move on and be peaceful about it. We're not really jealous people.' The 35-year-old added that she won't have any reservations about getting into her next relationship with Vanderpump Rules cameras rolling but there is one caveat. 'Whoever we end up with has to be okay with us being in each other's lives.,' Katie said, adding that even though they're in the process of divorcing, she and Tom are still very much friends. 'We're at home together, we'll have lunch together, we'll hang out. It is best case scenario possible, honestly. He's my family, I'm always gonna love him,' she said. 'It just was sort of realizing that we're friends.' What is to come? Katie added that she won't have any reservations about getting into her next relationship with Vanderpump Rules cameras rolling Oui oui! Lisa arrived in style to the grand opening of the Vanderpump a Paris in a black velvet gown with a plunging neckline and silver beaded epaulettes Power couple! Lisa and husband Ken Todd posed for snaps with their beloved dog Puffy in tow at the grand opening of their newest hot spot In March, the former duo announced their breakup in personal statements shared on social media. Tom and Katie got married in July 2019 after learning that their first marriage in August 2016 was illegitimate due to a paperwork error. The pair were joined at the event by their Rules co-stars Lala Kent, Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, Scheana Shay, Brock Davis, James Kennedy and, of course the queen herself, Lisa Vanderpump. Lisa arrived in style to the grand opening of the Vanderpump a Paris in a black velvet gown with a plunging neckline and silver beaded epaulettes. She was flanked on the red carpet buy two French poodles who were ushered in by two shirtless and muscled men. Too cute! Rules couple Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix cozied up on the red carpet together Gang's all here! Vanderpump Rules co-stars Lala Kent, Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, Scheana Shay, Brock Davis and James Kennedy were all there to support Lisa La vie en rose: Lala Kent dressed on theme in a French inspired mini dress with rose and lace details The Bravolebrity invited her nearest and dearest to witness all the glitz and glam at her new Vegas hotspot. Beverly Hills housewife Garcelle Beauvais stepped out in a spangled mint colored suit and posed for snaps with one of the handsome waiters - who also happens to be her son Oliver. Instagram worthy cocktails were following at the grand opening - complete with smoke filled pyramids, gold flecked candy floss and mini perfume bottles. It is hard to pick a statement piece in the jaw-dropping new venue but the enormous revolving red rose floral arrangements hung from the ceiling above the diners cannot be understated. Lisa has once more partnered with designer Nick Alain to bring Paris to Vegas with her own signature flare. looking good! Brock Davis and Scheana Shay made quite the statement in a sparkling white suit and hot pink silk dress with fur details French twist! No detail was overlooked at the Vanderpump a Paris - which Lisa said might be her favorite space yet Smize! James Kennedy showed off his modeling skills with a smoldering gaze in his chic all-black ensemble Family affair: Beverly Hills housewife Garcelle Beauvais stepped out in a spangled mint colored suit and posed for snaps with one of the handsome waiters - who also happens to be her son Oliver 'If I think of something, he never says no. He's like 'we can do that'. So we collaborate together,' she said. 'Everything you see is built by us and as I say, it truly is a passion project.' No detail was overlooked at the Vanderpump a Paris - which Lisa said might be her favorite space yet. Delicate beads dangled from upholstered bar stools, crystal chandeliers popped up in unexpected places and rich fabrics warmed the space. Plans for the opening were side-lined by unforeseen circumstances like Lisa shattering her leg after a fall from a horse, a bout with COVID and one of their trucks full of bespoke decor going missing. The reality star restauranteur credited her 'extraordinary daughter' Pandora for taking the reins to get everything up and running smoothly. 'The most incredible creation Pandora has created in the middle of doing this cocktail menu would be my first grandchild,' Lisa gushed. Brandi Glanville isn't letting cruel jibes about her appearance stop her from having a good time. On Thursday, the ex Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star was pictured out enjoying a late-night dinner at posh eatery Craig's in West Hollywood, flashing a black lace bra underneath a pink suit jacket. The sighting comes as the 49-year-old faced a barrage of comments from fans about her appearance, as many called her out for being unrecognizable while recording her podcast, which is titled Unfiltered. Unfiltered: Brandi Glanville heads out for dinner at Craig's in West Hollywood on Thursday... as the ex-RHOBH star shrugs off cruel comments about her face Glam arrival: Brandi is pictured entering Craig's in West Hollywood after shocking fans with her changing appearance Best foot forward: The reality star was seen with a male pal on Thursday while heading out for dinner Earlier this week, fans flooded the comment section under a post from Brandi about the latest podcast episode, with some Instagram users pleading with her to stop using Botox and fillers. 'Brandi, love you, but please stop with the fillers,' one fan wrote, while another said: 'Oh Brandi what have you done to your beautiful face sweetheart.' 'Why mess with your face Brandy?' another wrote, while one person said: 'Dang girl I didn't even recognize you.' Visage: Fans reacted to Brandi's latest appearance on her Unfiltered Podcast Cruel jibes: Brandi's recent appearance on her Unfiltered podcast sparked a flurry of comments from fans Facing facts: The star appeared on her podcast earlier this week Ignore the haters: Brandi did not respond to any of the cruel jibes on her Instagram The star had reality TV personality Amber Portwood on that particular episode of the podcast, as they repaired their feud from appearing on Family Boot Camp together. Her next post was a defiant message, though it was not clear who it was aimed at or what triggered it. She posted a quote that read: 'My GIVE A F*** is still broken, but my GO F*** YOURSELF is fully functional.' Brandi has previously admitted to having 'a lot of Botox', breast augmentation and vaginal rejuvenation. In 2017, Brandi said: 'Ive had a fking lot,' when discussing her Botox habit on the UK version of Big Brother. However, she was adamant she has not had any surgery on her face, saying: 'Ive only had my boobs done and my vagina tightened, thats it.' Talking point: The star had reality TV personality Amber Portwood on that particular episode of the podcast, as they repaired their feud from appearing on Family Boot Camp together Tight visage: The star certainly appeared youthful on her most recent podcast recording Success: The Bravo personality has been doing her podcast for her over ten years And in her 2014 tell-all, Drinking And Tweeting, Brandi discussed her vaginal rejuvenation further, revealing that her ex-husband Eddie Cibrian unknowingly paid for the procedure. She said: 'This pretty intense surgery had an even more intense price tag: $12,000, she wrote. 'A brand-new vagina would be an Eddie-free vagina I decided that since Eddie had ruined my vagina for me, he could pay for a new one. I gave [the doctors office] Eddies credit card number.' Model looks: Brandi, pictured in 2009, looked naturally beautiful when she was aged 36 Kate Lawler has revealed she and her fiance Martin were in the 'worst possible place for a couple' as she details their relationship ahead of their upcoming wedding. In a candid new interview, the Big Brother winner, 41, admitted that she 'wasn't prepared for the seismic shift' in their relationship following the birth of their daughter Noa, 14 months. However, the star told how her first week since quitting Virgin radio had already seen things dramatically improve with her fiance and her daughter, with Kate and Martin now happily looking forward to their nuptials in June. Ups and downs: Kate Lawler has revealed she and her fiance Martin were in the 'worst possible place for a couple' as she details their relationship ahead of their upcoming wedding The 2002 Big Brother winner, presenter, DJ and author, had her first child Noa 1last February after insisting for a long time she never wanted to be a mum, while her partner of nine years Martin, known affectionately as Boj, was 'desperate' for kids. Speaking to Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast, Kate explained: 'Since we became parents our relationship has changed so much. I want to say for the better, but sadly we both know, and we're acutely aware of this, that we haven't prioritised our relationship at all and we know that we need to take steps to improve it. 'We're getting married in two months and we've actually had like the hardest year as a couple so far. 'But we know it's because we became parents and your life changes monumentally when you become parents.' Changes: In a candid new interview, the Big Brother winner, 41, admitted that she 'wasn't prepared for the seismic shift' in their relationship following the birth of their daughter Noa, 14 months She continued: 'I wasn't prepared for the seismic shift in our relationship. I thought it would change my life, me personally, but I didn't think about how much it would effect us as a couple even though I had friends giving me advice saying "look you're both going to say things you don't mean, you're both going to be more tired than you've ever been before". 'We went out for a curry the other night because I pointed out that since Noa was born a year ago we've only been out on our own on a date twice. It's not good enough. 'I can't be bothered to put on make-up and find something to wear. I want to sit in my pyjamas and read a book.' She went on: 'We'd only been out for our anniversary in June, four months after Noa had been born...and we spent most of it looking on the monitor like "ooh, is she ok?". His mum was babysitting. So the last week has been great. Improvements: However, the star told how her first week since quitting Virgin radio had already seen things dramatically improve with her fiance and her daughter, with Kate and Martin now happily looking forward to their nuptials in June 'We're talking, we're communicating. We're just better with each other.' Last month, Kate told how Boj, who proposed back in 2018, had brought them couples therapy in a bid to start their marriage on 'right foot'. Speaking about the effect it has had on their relationship, she said: 'It was Boj's suggestion that we start couple's therapy, and I can't recommend it enough because it's really helped us. She's given us tools that we've applied when it comes to that feeling when an argument is brewing and you know that you're going to go down a road that's going to lead to anger and shouting. 'I felt really bad saying this to Boj... but part of the reason I didn't want a kid was because I was so scared of what it would do to our relationship. I feel that he knew that when arguments were brewing over the last year and I'd say "this is why I knew we shouldn't have..." Honest: 'Since we became parents our relationship has changed so much. I want to say for the better, but sadly we both know, and we're acutely aware of this, that we haven't prioritised our relationship at all' Motherhood: I wasn't prepared for the seismic shift in our relationship. I thought it would change my life, me personally, but I didn't think about how much it would effect us as a couple' 'And I hate myself for saying that because it's horrible for him to hear it, for me saying "I knew that it would do this to us, I knew it would break us, I knew that we would end up resenting each other", and falling out and becoming like distant and being in the worst place possible for a couple who are about to get married. 'But we're coming out of the other side. We know what we need to do and we're trying to make sure that at the bottom of this, that us going into our marriage we want to start on the right foot which is why we decided therapy would be the best route for us. 'And we would just focus on spending more time together as a family, and less time on our phones and less time working in the evenings when we're supposed to be having that quality time together.' She added: 'I'm focusing on the wedding now. It's all about just spending the next two months, doing as little work as possible just to take a little breather and make sure that I'm happy on my wedding day. I don't want to feel like I've been feeling on my wedding day - I want to be a happy bride.' Better: But we're coming out of the other side. We know what we need to do and we're trying to make sure that at the bottom of this, that us going into our marriage we want to start on the right foot which is why we decided therapy would be the best route for us' The radio DJ's interview with Kate came after her first week of having time off after leaving Virgin, with the star noting that her partner noticed a difference in her. She said: 'I had therapy I think it was on Wednesday and she said to me "don't worry if you don't feel different straight away, it might take a bit of time for you to re-adjust to your new life with not doing the radio". 'But I can already, within a week, I know I feel better and that I feel like I can breathe, and I feel happier and me and Boj are better. I've just had such a great week with Noa, and I've not had any child care this week because Boj's mum has been on holiday. 'But even without childcare I've loved every minute. Six months ago I wouldn't have been able to say this because I was in such a mess and I never thought I'd be happy again and I never thought that I'd spend a day with Noa where I didn't cry. Main focus: 'I'm focusing on the wedding now. It's all about just spending the next two months, doing as little work as possible just to take a little breather and make sure that I'm happy on my wedding day' 'I was very naive in thinking that being a parent was not a full-time job. I used to mock my twin sister. I was so mean to her. She would say "I'm a full-time mum" on her Facebook page and I was like "you take your kids to the park". "I had no idea what being a parent entailed. I said 'oh you just sit at home and take your kids to the park'. But it is so full on and demanding. 'But I feel like it's paying off already because I've had a great week with Noa and I'm spending quality time with her.' She added: 'I was wrong about not enjoying hanging out with kids. I genuinely thought I would not enjoy being around Noa as much. I promised myself I would never go to a parent and baby group, and I went to one on Wednesday and I f***ing loved it.' Impending: Meanwhile, with her wedding fast approaching, Kate took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to share further details about her big day during a Q&A Exciting! The beauty revealed how she's tying the knot on June 11 at an East London venue, with her darling daughter acting as a bridesmaid Lovely: Kate also revealed that she's turned down a magazine deal, that they're having a non-religious ceremony as they're both atheists and that Noa and their dogs will be joining them on the second part of their honeymoon Meanwhile, with her wedding fast approaching, Kate took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to share further details about her big day during a Q&A. The beauty revealed how she's tying the knot on June 11 at an East London venue, with her darling daughter acting as a bridesmaid. Kate also revealed that she's turned down a magazine deal, that they're having a non-religious ceremony as they're both atheists and that Noa and their dogs will be joining them on the second part of their honeymoon. Elsewhere on Thursday, the mum-of-one proudly showed off her C-section scar and revealed she had no plans to remove it. Proud mum: Elsewhere on Thursday, the mum-of-one proudly showed off her C-section scar and revealed she had no plans to remove it Motherhood: Kate gave fans a glimpse of her scar after she wore special plasters to fade it slightly as it was raised, with the scar a proud reminder of 'what the female body is capable of' Kate gave fans a glimpse of her scar after she wore special plasters to fade it slightly as it was raised, with the scar a proud reminder of 'what the female body is capable of.' Alongside images, she wrote: 'On February 11th 2021, I gave birth to Noa and it was such a magical experience. It was a planned, abdominal birth and I felt completely calm throughout. 'The lights were dimmed, Boj was by my side, we had a playlist on of our favourite songs and the surgery went well with no complications. I was also very lucky to heal quite quickly, despite the multicoloured bruising, pain and discomfort for the first three weeks after birth. 'Im proud of my scar and will never remove it permanently as it reminds me of one of the most special days of my life. This tiny red smile that I catch a glimpse of every day in the mirror still makes me feel in awe of what the female body is capable of.' Message: Alongside images, she wrote: 'On February 11th 2021, I gave birth to Noa and it was such a magical experience. It was a planned, abdominal birth and I felt completely calm throughout' Lila Moss has spoken about her close relationship with her 'fun' mother Kate Moss as she revealed she carries an old polaroid of them together in her bag. The model, 19, opened up about their bond during a segment on Vogue's In The Bag YouTube series on Thursday, while revealing her handbag essentials. The daughter of catwalk veteran Kate, 48, spoke on the close bond she has with her mother, while showing fans a throwback polaroid picture from when she was a baby. Speaking out: Lila Moss has opened up about diabetes and close relationship with mother Kate during Vogue's In The Bag series Holding up the sentimental polaroid, Lila said: 'I think this was on my mother's 30th birthday, I could be wrong but I look quite young and she looks ready to go out. I think it's really cute' The blonde beauty went on to show their close bond by saying: 'If I could fit one person in my bag it would probably be my mum, she's fun and good at advice so I could ask her anything' Lila - who has type one diabetic - also revealed she carries sugar tablets and a device to control her blood sugar levels. While starring on Vogue's YouTube channel, she pulled out many items including ones to support her condition. She said: 'I have some sugar tablets, in case my blood sugar goes low' 'I'm diabetic so I have this which controls a pod on my leg, which gives me insulin. This is very important to keep in my bag, it comes with me everywhere' The star - worried her essential device could get lost - added: 'I even have an apple air-tag to follow it around with my phone' Mother and daughter: The 19-year-old daughter of catwalk veteran Kate, 48, spoke on the close bond she has with her mother, while showing fans a throwback polaroid picture from when she was a baby Simply stunning: Lila looked every inch the style icon in in a gold and white swimsuit with an elaborate pattern, while showing off her insulin pump as she strut down the catwalk at the Versace special event during Milan Fashion Week Lila has previously been praised for her ground-breaking decision to wear her insulin pump on the runway. Speaking about her condition, she told The Kit: "I think not many people know that I have diabetes. Its not visible from the outside, so no one would really know just by looking at you." She looked every inch the style icon in in a gold and white swimsuit with an elaborate pattern, while showing off her insulin pump as she strut down the catwalk at the Versace special event during Milan Fashion Week. What's in the bag: The model - who has type one diabetic - also revealed she carries sugar tablets and a device to control her blood sugar levels The beauty said: 'I'm diabetic so I have this which controls a pod on my leg, which gives me insulin. This is very important to keep in my bag, it comes with me everywhere' Lila has taken the next step on a path well trodden by her supermodel mother by landing her first ever cover shoot for global fashion bible Vogue. The young model was in familiar territory during the shoot, with Steven MeIsel a regular collaborator with Kate, who has herself covered Vogue on 43 occasions. Speaking about growing up in the spotlight, Lila confessed that she was shocked by the attention surrounding her mother, admitting that she was surprised her friends even knew who she was. Stunning: The model made a style statement from the provocative British heritage brand Loewe in a vibrant shoot, conducted by photographer Steven Meisel She explained: 'I went to secondary school and everyone was like, "Oh, your mums Kate Moss!" You dont really have a filter when youre that young and I was like, How do you know who she is? Shes old! Shes old and boring!"' Adding more about her relationship with her mother, Lila told the fashion bible: 'I was quite protective over my mum. 'All my mums friends say that I was so scary as a child. I was quite serious. But also, I would always copy her. She would always have her head down and not look at the camera, so Id always put my head down and not look at the camera. I still do it.' Adding more about her relationship with her mother, Lila told the fashion bible: 'I was quite protective over my mum Yet Lila revealed that with time she's come to realise just how influential her mother is in the fashion world, saying: 'In the last three or four years, Ive realised that her style is actually really cool. Im having to admit it now.' The teenager went on to note that while she steals Kates Saint Laurent coats and her Chanel 2.55 bags, her supermodel mother often swipes her Adidas tracksuits. Learnt from the best: Lila was in familiar territory during the shoot, with Miesel a regular collaborator with Kate, who has covered Vogue on 43 occasions (pictured in 1995) Lila explained: 'She doesnt have a good trackies selection. She only has pyjamas. She probably would hate me saying that. She doesnt want anyone to know she wears trackies!' Lila nabbed her first modelling gig at the age of 15 - nabbing a campaign for Marc Jacobs Beauty - at just a year older than her mother was when she entered the business. Yet despite her mother being one of the famous models in the business, Lila revealed that Kate was keen to deter her from following in her footsteps. 'My mum always put me off [modelling],' Lila said. 'She was always like, "If you wanna do it, you can, but I wouldnt recommend it."' Despite her mother's apprehension, Lila insisted that she doesn't feel anxious at the thought that modelling success could bring the fame from which her parents tried to protect her. She mused: 'Not really. Ive seen it first-hand, so Im much more able to cope with it. Ive had to say no to people. But Im always nice!' Lila's father is journalist Jefferson Hack, with whom Kate was in a relationship in the early Noughties. Jefferson and Kate - who dated from 2001 to 2004 with Lila being born in 2002 - have an amicable relationship and would ensure their daughter spent a regular amount of time with each of them in her childhood. Advertisement Charles Melton and Chase Sui Wonders confirmed their blossoming new romance while packing on the PDA outside a coffee shop in New York City. The couple, who first sparked dating rumors last month on a walk following his split with Riverdale costar Camila Mendes, were seen looking cozy as they shared a sweet kiss outside a cafe on Thursday. In addition to cuddling and locking lips, the Generation star, 26, rested her head on his shoulder as they chatted with a friend over warm beverages. Lovebirds: Charles Melton and girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders confirmed their blossoming new romance while packing on the PDA outside a coffee shop in New York City Melton, 31, and his girlfriend couldn't keep their hands off each other as he gave her a flirty piggy back ride before passionately making out on the sidewalk in front of their friends. For their laid-back outing, Melton wore a a blue NY Rangers cap, Oslo Coffee tote bag, tie-dye sweater, white trousers, and Nike sneakers. Meanwhile, Wonders sported a camouflage jacket, white flare trousers, black booties and a pair of black shades on her head. Steamy: The couple, who first sparked dating rumors last month following his split with Riverdale costar Camila Mendes, were seen looking cozy as they shared a sweet kiss outside a cafe on Thursday Casual: For their laid-back outing, Melton wore a a blue NY Rangers cap, Oslo Coffee tote bag, tie-dye sweater, white trousers, and Nike sneakers Trendy: Meanwhile, Wonders sported a camouflage jacket, white flare trousers, black booties and a pair of black shades on her head The duo were first romantically linked in mid-March on a stroll around the Big Apple after fans noticed that they were both posting photos from the same balcony on their respective social media. Earlier this year, the performers starred in the short film Wake, created in conjunction with Vogue China and directed by Chase. She teased it on Instagram in December, writing, 'Honored to work with VOGUEfilm & @voguechina to direct a little movie flanked by the most brilliant friends and collaborators. Going strong: The duo were first romantically linked in mid-March on a stroll around the Big Apple after fans noticed that they were both posting photos from the same balcony on their respective social media Becoming more than friends: Earlier this year, the performers starred in the short film Wake, created in conjunction with Vogue China and directed by Chase On-again, off-again: At the time of their breakup, a source told E! News: 'Cami and Charles have been separated for a few months now. They are taking a break from their relationship. Their relationship escalated very quickly and they are taking time now to focus on their work and themselves' 'Big love n big gratitude for this project and this squad--both close to the heart.' Before sparking a romance with Wonders Charles dated actress Camila Mendes for over a year before they called it quits. But the two sparked chatter of reconciliation after they were seen in public together twice last year. 'Nothing in particular happened, they just both felt busy and overwhelmed and it was a lot of pressure on them. They are still in touch and both understand they need to be cordial while on set and throughout press for the show,' the source added Connected on social media: Melton and Wonders both follow each other on Instagram They were seen out together in Los Angeles in both June and August. The former couple originally broke up at the end of 2019. At the time of their breakup, a source told E! News: 'Cami and Charles have been separated for a few months now. They are taking a break from their relationship. Their relationship escalated very quickly and they are taking time now to focus on their work and themselves.' 'Nothing in particular happened, they just both felt busy and overwhelmed and it was a lot of pressure on them. They are still in touch and both understand they need to be cordial while on set and throughout press for the show,' the source added. Becoming a household name: Melton is known for his roles as Reggie Mantle on The CW television series Riverdale and Daniel Bae in the film The Sun Is Also a Star Sean Penn and his estranged wife Leila George are officially divorced after just over a year of marriage. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, a Los Angeles judge finalized the 61-year-old actor and the 30-year-old Australian actress's divorce on Friday. The two-time Academy Award winner and the daughter of actor Vincent D'Onofrio dated for four years before tying the knot in July 2020. Officially over: Sean Penn and his estranged wife Leila George are officially divorced after just over a year of marriage. Seen in 2021 Last October, the Animal Kingdom star filed for divorce from the Mystic River performer. The former couple, who do not share any children together, first began dating in 2016. In a recent interview with Hollywood Authentic , Penn expressed that he isn't happy about the split. Split: According to court documents obtained by TMZ, a Los Angeles judge finalized the 61-year-old actor and the 30-year-old Australian actress's divorce on Friday. Seen in March 2022 The Gaslit star opened up about his relationship with George, and his continued charitable work in Ukraine. Penn was honest about their relationship issues going as far as saying he 'f----d up the marriage' because he was 'very neglectful.' 'There's a woman who I'm so in love with, Leila George, who I only see on a day-to-day basis now, because I f---ed up the marriage,' the Mystic River star said. 'We were married technically for one year, but for five years, I was a very neglectful guy.' Still loving: In a recent interview with Hollywood Authentic , Penn expressed that he isn't happy about the split. Pictured in 2021 He made it clear he never cheated or 'any of that obvious sh*t' but he 'allowed myself to think that my place in so many other things was so important, and that included my place in being totally depressed and driven to alcohol and Ambien at 11 o'clock in the morning, by watching the news, by watching the Trump era, by watching it and just despairing.' He heaped a lot of praise on his ex while also giving an inside look at the problems that plagued him during their relationship. 'And as it turns out this is going to shock you beautiful, incredibly kind, imaginative, talented young women who get married to a man quite senior to them in years, they don't actually love it when they get up from their peaceful night's sleep and their new husband is on the couch, having been up since 4, watching all of the crap that's going on in the world and has decided that 10:30 in the morning is a good time to neck a double vodka tonic and an Ambien and say, 'Good morning, honey. I'm going to pass out for a few hours and get away from all this sh*t,' he told the outlet. Taking the blame: Penn was very honest about their relationship issues going as far as saying he 'f----d up the marriage' because he was 'very neglectful' (pictured 2020) Not a cheater: He made it clear he never cheated, but he 'allowed myself to think that my place in so many other things was so important (pictured 2020) Penn went on to say that he 'doesn't know' what the future will hold for him and George, but he said he's worked on what he sees as the problems with himself during their relationship. 'Now, when I wash the dishes, I don't answer my phone,' he explained. 'If I'm with my wife for a day, I don't have my phone on, even though I'm juggling a lot of things. 'I don't juggle them better by taking more calls. I can have my phone off and not watch the news for 12 hours now. Age gap: George is more than 30 years Penn's junior. She celebrated her 30th birthday on March 20 while the Fast Times at Ridgemont High star turns 62 in August (pictured 2020) Familiar territory: Penn's split from George is the third time Penn has been through a divorce 'And even when I'm stressed, I'm never stressed the way I used to be. Because we've all had our heart broken at some point. ' Despite all this, the Milk said he still needs vodka and Ambien to sleep though he reiterated that he's no longer uses them 'to hide from the world now like I used to.' The acclaimed actor and director submitted a 'settlement package to the L.A. County Courts' on March 17, according to The Blast. It's unclear who received what in the split, but the couple did have an iron-clad prenuptial agreement that laid out specifics of their finances if they were to break-up. His split from George is the third time Penn has been through a divorce. He was previously married to Madonna from 1985 to 1989 and to The Princess Bride star Robin Wright from 1996 to 2010. Gaslit is now available only on Stan in Australia. Laura Whimore has defended herself against a former Love Island contestant who claimed she only got the hosting gig because of her husband Iain Stirling. The Love Island host, 35, fired back at the accusations saying she has 'worked in television for 14 years' on numerous jobs before landing the primetime role, which Rachel Finni insisted was only because she is married to narrator Iain, 34. Rachel recently spoke out about Laura when discussing the upcoming Love Island series on Murad Merali's YouTube channel, telling the host: 'I'm kind of gutted Laura Whitmore is hosting it though, I thought we'd get a Maya Jama or AJ Odudu.' Hitting back: Laura Whimore has defended herself against a former Love Island contestant who claimed she only got the hosting gig because of her husband Iain Stirling Awkwardly, Rachel, 29, appeared on the most recent series of the show last summer which Laura hosted, after taking over the role from the late Caroline Flack. Taking to her Instagram stories during a Q&A with her fans, Laura took the opportunity to hit back at Rachel's comments, in which she accused the star of not being a good presenter. Speaking to her camera as she enjoyed some down time ahead of the event, Laura said: 'I'm not going to give too much energy to it because there's always stuff like this and you kind of just brush it off but I think we need to be careful when we discuss women and their work. 'I've worked in telly for 14 years. I won a competition to be the face of MTV and have stayed working from job to job. Awkward: The Love Island host, 35, fired back at the accusations saying she has 'worked in television for 14 years' on numerous jobs before landing the primetime role, which Rachel Finni insisted was only because she is married to narrator Iain, 34 Out of order? Rachel recently spoke out about Laura when discussing the upcoming Love Island series on Murad Merali's YouTube channel, telling the host: 'I'm kind of gutted Laura Whitmore is hosting it though, I thought we'd get a Maya Jama or AJ Odudu' 'I've done incredible things all over the world, with the best teams, but I've never got a job because of a guy I dated.' She continued: 'And it's horrible when you see if coming from other women because for so many years women have talked about who they are going out with. 'They're only defined by who they are going out with, despite all the work and build up leading up to that and they are their own individual person, with their own experience.' Laura went on to add: 'It's a shame because I think we're never really going to have full power and empowerment as a sex if we keep doing that.' Laura's defence came as she attended the Pronovias event in Barcelona on Friday night, in a stunning red gown with a plunging neckline. Having her say: Taking to her Instagram stories during a Q&A with her fans, Laura took the opportunity to hit back at Rachel's comments, in which she accused the star of not being a good presenter Opinion: 'The benefits you get from being married to the narrator, cos let's be honest she's not a great host' Rachel spoke out about Laura when discussing the upcoming Love Island series on Murad Merali's YouTube channel, telling the host: 'I'm kind of gutted Laura Whitmore is hosting it though, I thought we'd get a Maya Jama or AJ Odudu. 'The benefits you get from being married to the narrator, cos let's be honest she's not a great host.' Murad added that it was 'straight up nepotism', continuing: 'I think she suits Countdown, I'm not trying to be rude. The Weakest Link. An afternoon game show at 2pm.' Rachel then went on to say: 'When you think Love Island you don't think Laura Whitmore', before heaping praise on the late former host Caroline Flack. Heidi Klum showcased her chic street style as she arrived on the set of America's Got Talent. The 48-year-old German supermodel doubled up the leather in a black cropped jacket and matching pants when she was spotted in Pasadena, California on Friday. The catwalk queen's endless legs were on full display in the clingy leather pants, which featured multiple silver-zippered pockets. Fashion forward: Heidi Klum showcased her chic street style as she arrived on the set of America's Got Talent A silver chain was attached between two belt loops of the pants, adding to the runway star's edgy look. Heidi wore a black t-shirt with a deep V neckline underneath her jacket and sported pointed-toe black pumps. She accessorized with massive gold hoop earrings and toted a black leather Dolce & Gabbana handbag. The blonde beauty wore her long locks in a sleek straight style and shielded her eyes with black shades to complete her stylish ensemble. Edgy look: The 48-year-old German supermodel doubled up the leather in a black cropped jacket and matching pants when she was spotted in Pasadena, California on Friday Svelte:. The catwalk queen's endless legs were on full display in the clingy leather pants, which featured multiple silver-zippered pockets The Vogue cover star beamed and struck a few poses before heading into the studio. The new season of America's Got Talent is set to premiere next month. Heidi is returning to the judging panel alongside actress Sofia Vergara, 49, comedian Howie Mandel, 66, and the show's creator Simon Cowell, 62. On Wednesday, the siren donned a bright green sequin pantsuit as she attended AGT's Season 17 Kick-Off red carpet at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Eye-catching: On Wednesday, the siren donned a bright green sequin pantsuit as she attended AGT's Season 17 Kick-Off red carpet at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium Heidi shared snaps on Thursday in which she flashed a smile while standing next to Sofia and Kelly Clarkson. The model was seen in a white and pink blouse as she posed with the Modern Family alumna, who wore a hot pink and orange top, and Kelly, 39, who donned a black turtleneck. The winner of AGT earns a grand prize of $1 million plus a headlining show in Las Vegas. Pennsylvania native and magician Dustin Tavella, 35, won season 16 of AGT last September. The 17th season of America's Got Talent will premiere on May 31 on NBC. Good times: Heidi shared snaps on Thursday in which she beamed as she posed on set with Sofia and Kelly Clarkson Having fun: The model was seen in a white and pink blouse as she posed with the Modern Family alumna, who wore a hot pink and orange top, and Kelly, 39, who donned a black turtleneck. Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak / Korea Times file Supreme Court Justice Roh Tae-ak was nominated Friday to head the National Election Commission (NEC), following the resignation offer by the current chairperson over the watchdog's mishandling of some ballots in the March presidential election. Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Meong-su picked Roh to replace Noh Jeong-hee, who tendered her resignation Monday following criticism over the mishandling of votes cast by COVID-19 patients during early voting for last month's election. Kim praised Roh as a legal expert with "a wide range of trial experience" and well versed in the theory and practice of law. The nominee began his judicial career in 1990 and joined the Supreme Court in 2020. The chief justice is expected to soon ask the National Assembly to hold a confirmation hearing for Roh. (Yonhap) Pere Aragones shared on Thursday examples of techniques used infiltrating the phones of dozens elected Catalan officials and activists. He said that these tactics led him unambiguously to Spain's National Intelligence Center (CNI) in Spanish. According to the leftist leader, CNI has not denied that it purchased controversial spyware from Israels NSO Group. Pegasus, an NSO program that silently infiltrates mobile phones to steal data and possibly turn them into spying tools on their owners, is called Pegasus. The user must follow a link in a targeted message to install it, but not all versions require a click. Aragones stated that they can be certain it was CNI. "Because they used the high level of information to infiltrate phones, it suggests that they had previously data of innocents targeted that was not known publicly," Aragones told foreign correspondents in Madrid. This included flight numbers they planned to take. He said, "It's massively political espionage, which, from our perspective, has a politically motivated motivation." Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research organization affiliated with the University of Toronto has revealed that at most 65 people were directly linked to the Catalan separatist group. They were also targeted with Pegasus and similar spyware only sold to government agencies to attack terrorists and criminals. Nearly all the incidents took place between 2017 and 2020 when attempts to create an independent state in northeastern Spain caused the country's worst political crisis in decades. The ex-Catalan Cabinet, which attempted to organize an illegal referendum on independence, was ousted. The majority of its members were held in prison before being pardoned. Half a dozen people fled the country. Pegasus and other difficult-to-detect spyware are not confirmed or denied by the Spanish government. Margarita Robles, Defense Minister, stated Wednesday that the laws protecting state secrets forbid the agency from disclosing information about the activities of the countrys intelligence services. Robles stated that it was impossible to create suspicion over an organization that can't defend itself. Robles also said that CNI's actions are under the supervision of judges. According to Citizen Lab Aragones' device was infiltrated. He stated that his leftist party had been crucial in supporting Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's leftist national coalition. Negotiations about the future of the wealthy Catalan area can't go on unless the Spanish government conducts an investigation and exonerates those involved. Aragones stated that if the CNI targeted espionage is confirmed, the accountability within Sanchez's administration will be determined by who knew, who authorized the actions, and who didn't. He told The Associated Press, "And when I talk about responsibility, I mean we'll have to see resignations." Although some progress has been made in resolving some long-term grievances by the separatists, the talks between Madrid's central government and Catalan regional authorities did not resolve the fundamental questions about Catalonia's place within Spain. Recent elections and polling show that Catalans support independence. However, they have remained divided since the financial crisis of last decade. Majorities recently fluctuated between those who favor or against separation from Spain. About 41,000 people will be invited to the inauguration ceremony of incoming President Yoon Suk-yeol, the preparatory committee said Friday. The inauguration ceremony will take place at a plaza in front of the National Assembly at 11 a.m. May 10, said Kim Yeon-joo, spokesperson for the preparation committee. Before the ceremony, Yoon will visit Seoul National Cemetery to pay tribute to fallen Korean heroes. The number of attendees was higher than originally anticipated as Korea lifted all social distancing rules, except a mask mandate. All attendees will be required to wear face masks at the ceremony, Kim said. Kim said the committee has been discussing a list of guests to be invited. One of those invited is former President Park Geun-hye. Yoon extended the invitation when he paid a visit to her earlier this month. In response, Park said she was not sure whether she could attend but would try to improve her health and make it to the ceremony. Asked whether Park would attend the ceremony, the spokesperson replied that Yoon invited Park and the chief of the inauguration preparatory committee will deliver a letter of invitation to Park if necessary. In line with tradition, family members of former presidents, including the wife of former President Roh Moo-hyun, will be invited, Kim said. The committee had received online applications from people who wish to attend the ceremony. After drawing attendees, the committee will send invitations by mail from May 2. The committee has said various foreign dignitaries have indicated their wish to attend the ceremony. The slogan for the ceremony will be "Again, the Republic of Korea! A new country of the people." (Yonhap) Ace your finals by dropping by Genuine Works Act it! Finals Prep anytime during business hours April 21st - May 4th for a reduced student rate of ONLY $10! Free on-site parking available. Studies show switching up your environment when studying will lead to increased productivity. Ace your finals by dropping by Genuine Works Act it! Finals Prep anytime during business hours April 21st - May 4th for a reduced student rate of ONLY $10! Genuine Work, Daytons premier community-focused coworking space, kicks off finals week for Daytons students by extending an invitation to Ace It! Finals Prep. Individualized study rooms and self-care amenities such as Meditation rooms and on-site Peloton bikes give students the opportunity to switch up their usual study spots, jumpstart their thinking, or tune out the world for a moment. Beyond the benefits the Genuine Workspace offers, students who visit have the opportunity to WIN a Finals Week Survival Kit that includes gift cards to local businesses. Genuine Work will be holding a stress relief puppy playdate courtesy of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton on April 28th from 2:30 4:30 PM where students will have the chance to relieve their finals stress with furry friends. Date: April 21st May 4th, 2022 Time: 9:30 5:00 PM Where: 15 McDonough St, Dayton, Ohio, on-site free parking available Skip to main navigation Youth Hunt For Wild Turkey The Youth Wild Turkey Hunt weekend will be held April 23-24, 2022. The Youth Wild Turkey Hunt is an excellent opportunity for junior hunters (ages 12-15) to spend time afield with experienced adult hunters gaining the necessary knowledge and skills to become safe and responsible members of the hunting community. We look forward to the great stories and pictures we receive from young hunters and their adult companions and wish everyone a safe and enjoyable hunt. Program Locations The Youth Turkey Hunt is open throughout upstate New York (north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary) and in Suffolk County. Some conservation organizations host specific events during the Youth Turkey Hunt weekend. Other details of the youth turkey hunting weekend are as follows: Eligible hunters are youth 12, 13, 14, or 15 years of age, holding a hunting license and a turkey permit. All youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult, as required by law for a junior hunter. Youth 12 or 13 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or person over 21 years of age, with written permission from their parent or legal guardian. Youth 14 or 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or person over 18 years of age, with written permission from their parent or legal guardian. The accompanying adult must have a current hunting license and turkey permit. S/he may assist the youth hunter (including calling), but may not carry a firearm, bow or crossbow, or kill or attempt to kill a wild turkey during the youth hunt. Crossbows may not be used by licensees who are under 14 years of age. The youth hunt is for spring turkey hunting only and is a two-day weekend hunt. The youth hunt will always precede the start of the regular season by at least 3 days. Check the turkey season page or the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide for season dates. The youth turkey hunt is open in all of upstate New York (north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary) and Suffolk County. Shooting hours are from 1/2-hour before sunrise to noon. The bag limit for the youth hunt is one bearded bird . This bird becomes part of the youth's regular season bag limit of two bearded birds. A second bird may be taken in upstate New York (north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary) beginning May 1st. . This bird becomes part of the youth's regular season bag limit of two bearded birds. A second bird (north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary) beginning May 1st. All other wild turkey hunting regulations remain in effect. China's newly commissioned amphibious assault ship Guangxi undergoes training (People's Daily App) 13:54, April 22, 2022 Aiming at the requirements of amphibious operations and high seas operations in the future, Chinas amphibious assault ship Guangxi of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy carried out training exercises on navigation, combat rescue and damage control. As the first domestically developed type 075 amphibious assault ships, the accelerated formation of combat capacity of the ships of Hainan and Guangxi is significant to the improvement of China's amphibious operating capability and combat system. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo / Yonhap Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo, his deputy and the chiefs of all six high prosecutors' offices nationwide offered to resign en masse Friday after the ruling and opposition parties agreed on legislation that would reduce and eventually scrap the prosecution's investigative powers. The unprecedented move came after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party reached an agreement on prosecution reform legislation in a breakthrough compromise that defused tensions over the DPK's push to strip the prosecution of its investigative powers. Prosecutors, however, strongly protested the agreement. The Supreme Prosecutors Office issued a statement saying it "firmly opposes" the proposal by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, arguing that it merely postpones the timing of the DPK's plan and contains "serious procedural problems." After Prosecutor General Kim offered to resign, Deputy Prosecutor General Park Sung-jin and the heads of all six regional high prosecutors' offices in Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and Suwon also tendered their resignations. Hyderabad: The Malkajgiri police on Friday arrested a temple priest for murdering a 57-year-old woman, who had been reported missing. Police said he was hiding the womans body in a plastic box inside the temple after beating her to death with an iron rod. He was unable to dispose of the body as a Missing poster released by cops with her face went viral on social media platforms. Anumula Murali Krishna, 42, priest at Sri Swayambhu Siddi Vinayaka Temple at Vishnupuri colony in Malkajgiri, allegedly murdered Gorthy Uma Devi, 57. The motivation is suspected to be to possess the 10-tola gold she was wearing. He sold it at the jewellery shop of Joshi Nanda Kishore, 45. He was also arrested, police said. We recovered from the priest two gold bangles, 1 lakh cash and cards given by the jewellery shop owner. We also seized six gold bangles cut into pieces and two gold chains from Nanda Kishore, the police said. The iron rod, a plastic drum and blood stains were recovered from the temple, police added. Police said that on April 18, they received a missing complaint from Gorthi Venkata Narayana Murthy, 60, stating that his wife Uma Devi went missing. He said she used to visit the Siddi Vinayaka temple every evening. She left her home at 6:30pm on April 18 and did not return home. The priest told the cops that she left the temple as usual. However, her footwear was found inside the temple. A missing complaint was registered and it was later altered to murder on Thursday, said the police. Based on credible information, the Malkajgiri police nabbed the temple priest and recorded his confession. He confessed that his plan was to sell the gold and settle his financial problems. On April 18, he used an iron rod to beat her to death, dumped the body in a plastic drum, closed it with a cap, cleaned the floor and kept it in the temple. He sold her gold ornaments at Maa Bhavani Jewellers. After two days, a bad odour started emitting. Following this, on Thursday morning, he took the drum containing the body to the back of the temple by rolling it and dumped the body in the thorny bushes between the railway track at the back of temple, explained the police. Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government has been sending out COVID-19 data regularly since 2020, said Health Minister Veena George rejecting the Centre's claims of not providing daily COVID reports. The state health minister called the claims "absolutely wrong". George explained that state government only stopped publishing daily bulletin in the state but has been sending it out to National Surveillance Unit in the format suggested by the Centre. The Centre on April 18 wrote a letter to the Kerala government stating that it is reporting COVID data after a gap of five days, which has impacted and skewed the status of India's key monitoring COVID indicators like the number of cases, deaths and positivity rate. "Allegations that Kerala government is not giving COVID data to the Centre are absolutely wrong. We've been sending data since 2020, and continue to do so. It's just that we have stopped publishing daily bulletin in the state; have been sending mails," George said a day after the letter was sent by Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal to Kerala's Principal Secretary of Health Rajan N Khobragade. Terming the claims as "unfortunate", George said, "We are giving daily (COVID) report to National Surveillance Unit in the format suggested by Union Government; quite unfortunate that a responsible person from Union Government is sending a letter to Principal Secretary stating that Kerala is not giving data to the Centre." "Daily and diligent reporting of data is critical to arrive at a meaningful understanding of the pandemic in districts, state and national level and ensure that any anomalies, surge or emerging trends can be captured in a timely manner," Agarwal stated in the letter. "It has been observed that Kerala has reported its state-level COVID-19 data after a gap of five days (since April 13). This has impacted and skewed the status of India's key monitoring indicators like cases, deaths and positivity. India has reported a 90 per cent increase in new cases and 165 per cent increase in positivity in a single day," he also said. While the GHMC has identified 125 dengue hotspots in GHMC limits and said that a 10-day medical campaign was started on April 19, many say the real issues are not addressed. (DC FIle Image) Hyderabad: Mosquito menace is making life miserable in the city. Complaints are that the GHMC is delaying the anti-larval operations every year. Open nalas and garbage piles seen across the city are the main breeding grounds for mosquitoes. "With no action being taken for years, the mosquito menace carries on," tweeted Ravi Kumar, a city professor. If there is no remedial action, "the flower market will be useful only to lay bouquets on bodies of people dying of malaria or dengue," read the tweet. While the GHMC has identified 125 dengue hotspots in GHMC limits and said that a 10-day medical campaign was started on April 19, many say the real issues are not addressed. Taking to social media, a person tweeted, "GHMC comes up to our doors to explain the life cycle of mosquitoes and this is (all) what happens." A shocking photo tweeted by Naresh Yamu shows a child sleeping inside a mosquito net filled with mosquitoes on its outer side. Respected ktr sir, We the localities of rambrahmanagar/neredimet corporation no.136 are facing huge mosquito manace. Children are bounded to sit inside nets. We are complained many times through ghmc app, but they are unable to do permenent solution.#KTRTRS , #GHMC_Malkajgiri pic.twitter.com/HIgvBJvdbw Naresh Yamu (@YamuNaresh) April 17, 2022 GHMC chief entomologist, Dr Ram Babu, said several awareness drives and fogging in all slum areas of the 125 hotspots would take place soon. However, people say this is wrong time. Shyam Prakash, a resident of Malkajgiri said, "Mosquitoes in Gautam Nagar, Malkajgiri, Hyderabad are never-ending. The GHMC fogging is for namesake. Hope they will do their duties as required, but not as per their wish." Vamsi Krishna said, "Something is seriously wrong with GHMC. They sent the mosquito fogging sprayer in our area in Saifabad at 5.35pm. In summer, when we haven't seen a mosquito, spraying a carcinogenic substance makes our life hell." Several others also felt their money is wasted on mosquito repellents that do not work. "Even the branded mosquito repellents are not effective. Hope fogging will be of some use," said a resident of Alwal. Ram Babu said, "We have started anti-larval operations in and around places with stagnant water. We are doing the fogging in lakes, using drones. We also started awareness campaigns," he said. He said that this year, no malaria case has been reported. A doctor from Government Fever Hospital said that there were very few cases of malaria this time. Advocate General B.S. Prasad brought to the notice of the court that this was the third petition on same issue which was filed by the same counsel after two unsuccessful attempts. DC file image Hyderabad: A division bench of Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Satish Sharma and Justice Abhinand Shavili on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the regularisation of services of contract employees in various departments in terms of Government Order (GO) MS 16 issued on February 26, 2016. The bench pulled up senior counsel Sarasani Satyam Reddy for repeat filing of petitions on the issue, as the matters were earlier dismissed. The court warned him that it will impose costs for filing the third petition. The CJ observed, "Because of respect that you are senior counsel, I am not imposing costs. If you keep arguing in the matter, I will impose exemplary costs." The bench was dealing with a petition filed by the Telangana Doctors Association that challenged the government decision to regularise the services of contract employees. It had also challenged recent proceedings issued by the government, calling for proposals from various departments to regularise the services of eligible persons. Advocate General B.S. Prasad brought to the notice of the court that this was the third petition on same issue which was filed by the same counsel after two unsuccessful attempts. Satyam Reddy tried to convince the court that there were grounds that had not been considered and the regularisation of contract employees was contrary to the Supreme Court judgment in State of Karnataka and others Vs Umadevi. In response, the CJ said that he should have filed a review petition. He asked counsel to go to the Supreme Court if he wanted to challenge the earlier orders passed by this court. Through this facility, the aim is to support the infrastructure development, create employment opportunities, and industrial development in Andhra Pradesh. DC Image Nellore: Panasonic Life Solutions India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation, announced on Thursday the opening of its new manufacturing facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. The facility aims to strengthen the companys presence in the Southern Region and develop market synergies by providing swift material deliveries to customers. The highly automated unit is spread over 133,584 sq mt and currently covers a floor area of 37,025 sq mt. This will be the companys first electrical equipment manufacturing base in Southern India and seventh in India followed by facilities in the north and west regions. The company will be making a total investment of Rs 600 crore in two phases, the first phase of Rs 300 crore has been made. Through this facility, the aim is to support the infrastructure development, create employment opportunities, and industrial development in Andhra Pradesh. Addressing the occasion, Mr Kawamoto, Business Unit Head Power Component Business, Panasonic Corporation, Japan. added that, India is on a growth trajectory and this growth will need tremendous support from the ECM industry for people to 'live their best.' Mr Kazuki Yao, Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd said, As a global leader in electrical construction materials, providing the most comprehensive electrical portfolio across the entire value chain, India being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world is an important market for PLSIND. NewsMinister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy will take part in the mourning program to be conducted at Zilla Parishad Centre by the BJP. (Representational image/By arrangement) Khammam: Bharatiya Janata Party planned to sustain the anger among the public over the suicide of Sai Ganesh with the police harassment for a long time by making the visits of party senior leaders and union ministers to Khammam. Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao and former BJP MLA from Nizamabad visited Khammam on Thursday and called the family members of Sai Ganesh. Both the leaders assured of all help from the party to the family of Ganesh. They met police commissioner Vishnu Warior and get the details of Sai Ganesh's suicide. Bapu Rao asked the commissioner why the police did not file FIR on the case. There is enough evidence to file a case against the Minister for Transport P Ajay Kumar. The police commissioner told the MP that they are seeking legal opinion on the case and higher officials were briefed about it. Babu Rao said, I will refer the suicide case in the Parliament and appeal the Central government to conduct enquiry with the CBI. The death of Sai is painful one, he said. Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy will visit Khammam on Friday and call the family members of Sai Ganesh. He will take part in the mourning program to be conducted at Zilla Parishad Centre by the BJP. Another central minister L Murugan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting for mourning will also come to Khammam to pay tributes to Sai Ganesh. BJP state president will also meet the family members of Sai after the completion of his Praja Sangrama Yatra. BJP state executive member G Vidyasagar said that they will continue party programs against the Minister for Transport P Ajay Kumar and TRS government and try to expose the police high-handedness in Telangana. The party senior leaders, former ministers, MLAs and MLCs were asked to visit Khammam and pay tributes to Sai. The party is trying to exert pressure on the government over the suicide death. Bharatiya Kisan Morcha state president K Sridhar Reddy said that the party legal cell will move a case in High Court on Sai Ganesh suicide case. He said that they will touch every wing to do justice to the Sai Ganeshs family members. The incident is highly condemnable and the people of Khammam are feeling insecurity with the police harassment. New Delhi: Hailing the contribution of the Indian sages and gurus in enriching the countrys heritage and traditions through their penance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur, who became Hind ki chadar and stood like a rock in front of Aurangzebs tyrannical thinking, has inspired many generations to live and die to protect the dignity of their culture, for its honour and respect. Asserting that the nation was following the ideals of Sikh gurus, Mr Modi said India had never posed a threat to any country or society and even today amid global conflicts it thinks of the welfare of the entire world. In a historic event to mark the 400 Parkash Purab of the ninth guru, a ceremony was held at Delhis historic Red Fort after sunset for the first time in independent India. The Red Fort is just 600 meters away from Sis Ganj Gurdwara, where the Sikh guru was martyred. The fort was chosen as the venue as it was from here that Aurangzeb had given orders for the execution of Guru Teg Bahadur in 1675. India has never posed a threat to any country or society. Even today we think of the welfare of the whole world. When we talk about a self-reliant India, we keep the progress of the whole world in front of that goal, the PM said. Mr Modi reached out to the Sikh community, who gathered at the venue, and all those following the event across the world over, and listed various initiatives by his government for the Sikh community and Sikhism. He noted how the Indian government brought Afghan Sikhs and swaroops of the Guru Granth Sahib after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. The PM also released a commemorative coin and a postage stamp on the occasion. The Modi government and the BJP has been reaching out to the Sikh community, which dominates Punjab, a state where the BJP has been desperately trying to increase its organisational strength, especially after its ally, Akali Dal, snapped ties over the now-repealed farm laws. Noting Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib is a symbol of the immortal sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur, Mr Modi said: This holy gurdwara reminds us how great was the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur ji to protect our great culture. At that time there was a storm of religious fanaticism in the country. India, which considered religion as a matter of philosophy, science and self-reflection, was facing people who committed violence and atrocities in the name of religion. The PM said the Red Fort is a witness that Aurangzeb and tyrants like him might have beheaded many people but our faith could not be separated from us. He added: Big powers have disappeared, big storms have calmed down but India still stands immortal and is moving ahead. Guru Tegh Bahadur's death anniversary is marked as Shaheedi Divas every year on November 24. The event saw performances by 400 Sikh musicians and a langar was also organised. National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug, center, poses with Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Park Hong-keun, left, and People Power Party floor leader Kweon Seong-dong after the floor leaders signed a bill on amending laws related to prosecution reform proposed by the National Assembly speaker, during their meeting at the speaker's office in the National Assembly, Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corps Unhappy prosecutor general again offers to resign By Nam Hyun-woo The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) each decided to accept a compromise version of a bill on reforming laws related to prosecutors' investigative powers, after spending a month at loggerheads. DPK floor leader Park Hong-keun said in a press briefing on Friday that the party has decided to accept the compromise bill proposed by National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug. "It is difficult to say that our intentions were fully reflected (in the compromise bill), but we decided to accept it and then complement its shortcomings later on," floor leader Park said. PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong also announced that the party will accept the compromise bill. "Under the National Assembly speaker's watch, the two parties will announce their official agreement, tune-up some articles of the bill and pass it at next week's plenary session," Kweon said. Despite strong opposition from the PPP and prosecutors, the DPK has been striving to pass a bill aimed at stripping prosecutors of their investigative powers through a number of amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act. The DPK has been pushing for this despite opposition in and outside of the party, claiming that the prosecution is abusing its power. The ruling party sought to pass the bill in the National Assembly plenary session, to achieve their goal before the May 10 inauguration of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the PPP, who is a former prosecutor general and said earlier that he would use a presidential veto powers even if the bill is passed. Due to the strong opposition, it is widely believed that the DPK is seeking to strip prosecutors of investigative powers to protect President Moon Jae-in and former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung from prosecutorial investigations after Yoon takes office. Independent lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja said in an interview that the DPK members tried to persuade her claiming that nearly 20 Cheong Wa Dae officials of the Moon administration would be sent to jail if the bill did not gets passed. As rival parties' confrontation paralyzes debates on other pending issues, National Assembly Speaker Park proposed his compromise plan, calling on the two parties to accept it. Currently, the Prosecutors' Office Act allows prosecutors to start investigations on six significant crime categories corruption, economic crimes, crimes perpetrated be public officials, election crimes, defense industry crimes and those related to catastrophes. Of those categories, Park's compromise plan strips prosecutors of powers to begin investigations on crimes involving public officials, elections, the defense industry and catastrophes. This will be effective four months after the bill passes in the Assembly. Also, the plan contains the DPK's proposal of establishing an investigative agency, which is similar to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. If such an agency is set up, prosecutors will lose their powers relating to their right to investigate corruption and economic crimes. Yoon's presidential transition committee also said it respects the agreement. Prosecutor General Kim Oh-soo leaves the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, Friday, after tendering his resignation in protest of rival parties' decision to accept a prosecution reform bill. Yonhap The government move has opened 1.32 lakh acres of catchment area covering 84 villages in the mandals of Shamshabad, Shabad, Rajendranagar and Chevella for business. Hyderabad: Realtors, ready with plans to add value to Brand Hyderabad, are eagerly awaiting guidelines following the revocation of GO 111. The government move has opened 1.32 lakh acres of catchment area covering 84 villages in the mandals of Shamshabad, Shabad, Rajendranagar and Chevella for business. This is a great opportunity for the government to make Hyderabad the smartest city by keeping in mind the environment aspect and carbon footprint, said Shekar Reddy, chairman of Indian Green Building Council and former president of CREDAI. "We are waiting for new regulations and to see what is possible. Considering the need for lung (green) spaces, a part of the land should also be reserved for this," he said. The Telangana Real Estate Developers Association (TREDA) has asked the government entities to plan development zones in such a way that the ecological balance is maintained. Gummi Ramreddy, vice-president of CREDAI, said big changes becon the western parts of the city, apart from changes within the catchment areas. "The place will hold huge real estate potential owing to their proximity to the IT corridors," he said. Srikanth from North Star Constructions felt it is too early to say. "A lot of cases filed by activists and agitators are pending. It will take at least 2-3 years to resolve them." Former Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy said the revocation of GO 111 should not give rise to a GO 222. "Environment protection and development must go hand in hand and GO111 was not protecting the lake. The new one has to be better," he said. Residents, however, were delighted. Now, not only will the price of land soar but there will be massive real estate development. "Hopefully, industries will come up here, as they did in Patancheru. Our children can get jobs," said Buchi Reddy of Aziznagar in Moinabad mandal. What about pollution? "What is the harm? Anyway water from the reservoirs is not being used for drinking," he said. The decision is a '50-50' deal; it will benefit the locals, but also cause pollution of the water bodies. "They will get polluted for sure, for where else will sewage from the apartments and factories go, said farmer Ashok Kumar. Hyderabad: Transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, who the opposition parties are accusing of being in the suicide of S Sai Ganesh, a BJP activist in Khammam, on Friday described the death as a small incident and appealed to all Kamma community members to stand by him. He said that these barbs were aimed at ending his political career. Sai Ganesh had alleged before his death (April 16) that Khammam police had filed 16 cases against him at the behest of the minister. He said he was taking the extreme step (April 15) as he was unable to bear the police torture. Speaking at a function after inaugurating a Kamma community kalyana mandapam in Wyra, the minister said people have joined hands to conspire against me just because of a small incident. The minister indirectly sought support from Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to get him out of the dicey situation. He said he was being targeted as he was from the Kamma community. Seeking to rally the community behind him, he said if our house is in order, then all of us will do well. While the BJP has been demanding a CBI inquiry into the suicide, Union home minister Amit Shah assured the victims family that there would be a full-fledged investigation into the suicide. Hyderabad: The TRS has stepped up its efforts to keep its leaders and cadre in good form in the wake of reports that some disgruntled leaders are planning to join the Congress or the BJP. This after the Congress formed a special committee under the chairmanship of senior leader K . Jana Reddy to decide who can be admitted to its ranks from other parties. Word also spread that a few TRS leaders and cadre may join the BJP during Union home minister Amit Shah's public meeting in Maheshwaram in May. The TRS leadership plans to check such attempts by offering nominated posts to its leaders. The internal bickering in the ruling party is evident in several districts as the Assembly polls near and many leaders are lobbying for nominations. The tussle is more in districts where the TRS had admitted leaders, especially MLAs, from Congress. Twelve Congress MLAs had defected to the TRS after the 2018 polls. The old-timers in the TRS who had lost to these Congress MLAs were not amused. With the ruling party promising tickets to all MLAs, the old-timers are reportedly planning to try their luck with either the Congress or the BJP. There are several disgruntled leaders in the TRS who could not secure nominated posts like MLCs, Cabinet berths, Rajya Sabha seats, posts of chairpersons of various corporations, besides tickets for the previous elections. The opposition parties are trying to lure such leaders. TRS sources said party president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao would try to stem the flow by announcing another round of appointments for nominated posts. Rao had already done five rounds of such appointments for the party and government, including as MLCs and chairpersons of various corporations, after the Huzurabad bypoll in November last. Still, dozens of nominated posts in the government, as well as the party, are vacant. The CM plans to distribute these to sidelined leaders to keep them with the TRS. There are three Rajya Sabha MP posts up for grabs by June, for which dozens of TRS leaders are in the race. There was a clash between groups of Hindus and Muslims near a mosque in Jahangirpuri in northwest Delhi on the evening of Sunday, April 17, as a Hanuman Jayanti procession called Shobha Yatra was passing by the mosque. There was stone-pelting. Some people were injured. The police used teargas, arrests were made and a First Information Report filed. The police says that permission was not given for the third procession of the day as the letter seeking permission for the procession came late. The details are hazy, as always. No one knows how the clash happened after the heated arguments. An FIR that was registered was by a policeman who was injured. People were arrested. On Wednesday, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation sent in its anti-encroachment squad with the bulldozers to the mosque area where the clash took place on Sunday, and a kiosk selling soft drinks was pulled down and a nearby spare parts shop was razed. An extra force of 1,250 Central Reserve Police Force jawans was deployed in the area prior to the demolition work. Senior Supreme Court lawyers like Dushyant Dave, Prashant Bhushan and Kapil Sibal brought the matter to the notice of the bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana. The court ordered that the demolition work should stop, and the status quo maintained. But the demolition continued because the municipal officials said that they did not receive the court orders. Mr Dave had to go to the Chief Justices court again and to tell him that the demolition was still continuing. Then the CJI directed the court registrar to emphatically communicate the orders to the officials concerned. One of the incidental aspects of the situation is that the demolition squad brings down structures owned by Muslims. The riot on April 17 occurred near a mosque. A determined BJP government at the Centre the municipal corporations come under the jurisdiction of the Union home ministry in the bizarre administration structure of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shouts from the rooftops, through the pro-Narendra Modi government television news channels, that the law was being followed and no one should object to encroachments being demolished. And once anyone mentions the word Muslim, the BJP representatives begin to cry out aloud that this is minority appeasement and pseudo-secularism. This is not an unusual situation. It would be foolish to be shocked by the fact that there was a clash between groups of Hindus and Muslims near a mosque as a Hindu religious procession passes by, and the reasons for the clash are not far to seek. The clash itself cannot be laid at the door of the barely-concealed anti-Muslim bias of the BJP and its other ideological affiliates. Communal clashes from the 1920s onwards have been a regular feature of modern Indias political life. BJP spokespersons are loud in their protestations that their party does not discriminate against Muslims and all that it wants to do is to preserve law and order, and that it is not the BJPs fault if the law is broken by Muslims, and it does not matter that they are poor Muslims, who are punished under the law. Of course, the high-handedness and the illegalities that can be committed under the guise of the law are too well-known to Indians. The BJP is not afraid or ashamed to target Muslims under the cover of the law because it is fetching the party rich electoral dividends. It would be stupid to speak about morality in politics. The BJP and its friends are only too eager to counter any criticism by saying that the Congress had pampered the Muslims, and this is payback time. What the Supreme Court does or does not do, what lawyers who want to defend the weak and the poor and of course if the weak and the poor happen to be Muslims, then they are committing a grave political sin and they deserve to be labelled and shamed. There is then an undeclared low-intensity communal war that the BJP is waging wherever it is in power, and it cannot be criticised or penalised because it is exercising the political freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. The political parties and civil society groups that are fighting against the BJPs communal politics carry a huge burden of acts of omission and commission, and the BJP unsparingly uses that ammunition. The question of whether the Hindu-Muslim animosity the BJP wants to keep simmering is good for the country seems unimportant because the electoral support that the BJP enjoys in Hindi-speaking north Indian states reveals that there is an undeniable undercurrent of hostility of Hindus towards Muslims. The BJP is tapping into it, and it cannot be faulted for taking advantage of the communal fault lines. The Muslims will survive the constitutional onslaught because no people can be trampled upon, and their self-respect razed to the ground. There will therefore continue to be outbreaks of communal violence. India, at the social level, divided by caste and religion, and there will be caste and communal violence. It is not enough to lament that the BJP has destroyed secular India. There never really was a secular India on the ground. Dr B.R. Ambedkar rightly observed in his closing remarks in the Constituent Assembly that creating a system of political equality will not be sufficient if there is deep-rooted social and economic inequality. And we must add that even if inequality is removed in all senses, caste and communal prejudices will continue to simmer and periodically erupt into spurts of violence. This violence needs to be contained to the extent possible and if the BJP governments want to live off communal violence, there is no remedy. In Europe, the religious wars between the Catholics and Protestants in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ended by the eighteenth century because the people were simply tired of sectarian violence. A majority of Hindus and the minority Muslims must wake up to the futility of hatred before communal violence can end. It may well take a long time, or they may continue to indulge in hatred. Of course, there will be many who will argue that one should not equate Hindus and Muslims over their hatred quotient. Hindu communalists believe Muslims are the culprits of communal violence, and the Muslim communalists believe that it is the Hindus. The clear political beneficiary of communal animosities is the Hindu-oriented BJP. INSACOG-attached labs have discovered two new Covid-19 mutants, BA.2.10 and BA.2.12, related to the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 in Bengaluru, according to a report in The New Indian Express. The transmissibility of the sub-lineages is yet to be ascertained as the data set is too meagre, sources told the paper. As per GISAID data, we have found BA.2.10 and BA.2.12, both sublineages of BA.2, in a few samples from Bengaluru. However, we need more samples and data to know more about this mutation. It is an alias of B.1.1.529.2.10, the lineage from Pango designation issue #496, explained a scientist attached to the lab. Also Read | INSACOG to meet to determine presence of new Covid variant in Delhi Special Commissioner BBMP (Health) Dr K V Thrilok Chandra said he had no knowledge of new mutations, but added that authorities have ramped up surveillance in the city. In 198 wards of the city, sewage surveillance will be conducted, so as to not miss any new variant. Bengaluru Urban has been clocking more than 300 cases in the last 7 days, and the district has 1,428 active Covid cases. Authorities are ramping up testing as well given the potential rise in Covid-19 cases. Randeep D, Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare, told the publication, We are being vigilant and will increase testing soon. As of now, though Karnataka still has a Test Positivity Rate of below 1 per cent, Bengaluru on some days reached 1 per cent, but that has not been consistent too. Check out DH's latest videos: The BJP on Friday hit out at the Congress for demolishing a 300-year-old Shiva temple in Rajasthan saying that hurting the faith of Hindus is secularism of the grand-old party. Amit Malviya, In-charge of BJP's national information and technology department, said that shedding tears on Karauli and Jahangirpuri and hurting the faith of Hindus is the secularism of Congress. "In the name of development a 300 years old Shiva Temple was demolished in Alwar, Rajasthan. Shedding tears on Karauli and Jahangirpuri and hurting the faith of Hindus is the secularism of Congress," Malviya tweeted. 300 - pic.twitter.com/2cUcSH6Ox2 Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 22, 2022 Malviya mentioned that on April 18 administration rolled out bulldozers on the property of 85 Hindus without giving notice. "On April 18, in Rajgarh town of Rajasthan, administration without notice rolled over bulldozers on the pucca houses and shops of 85 Hindus. Compared with Jahangirpuri. Are those shedding selective tears and calling the drive anti-minority admitting that Muslims are both encroachers and rioters," Malviya said. Also Read: Opposition says minorities targeted in Jahangirpuri razing; BJP calls it legal exercise The two parties are at loggerheads after North Delhi Municipal Corporation rolled out bulldozers to demolish illegal construction and encroachment in Delhi's Jahangirpuri after a communal clash broke out during Hanuman Jayanti procession last week. The Congress accused the Centre of undermining constitutional authorities after it failed to immediately follow the Supreme Court's order of a status quo on the demolition drive. Terming it demolition of Constitutional values, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared picture of preamble which is threatened by a bulldozer. Earlier Congress leaders had termed it brazen contempt and a very dangerous precedent of defiance by the civic agency and Delhi police. Watch the latest DH Videos here: There is hardly anything common between Cambodia, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Solomon Islands. However, they all need to be considered together if one is to think about China's growing global military presence. China has already established a military base in Djibouti since 2017 and was interested in establishing bases in the UAE and Equatorial Guinea. This week, China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands is an archipelagic country located in the South Pacific with a population of less than a million. China is already the most important economic partner for the tiny country, and the pact signals the deepening security partnership between China and the Solomon Islands. The pact has become controversial in the domestic politics of the Solomon Islands. The draft of the agreement was leaked before it was signed. According to the pact, the Solomon Islands may "request China to send police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement and armed forces" to "assist in maintaining social order, protecting people's lives, and property, providing humanitarian assistance." The pact also provides for logistical replenishment for Chinese ships in the Solomon Islands. It will significantly increase the reach and ability of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to operate in and monitor the South Pacific. China can also send "relevant forces" to "protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects". It means that China can intervene in the domestic affairs of the Solomon Islands on the pretext of protecting Chinese citizens and investments. The geopolitics of the South Pacific The signing of the pact and the willingness of the archipelagic state to engage with China signals the shifts in the geopolitics of the South Pacific. The US dominates the entire Pacific Ocean and maintains forward operating bases in the Western Pacific. Australia considers the region as its backyard, whereas France is an important player owing to its territorial possessions. The entry of China, initially as a significant economic player and now as a military partner, has upset the tranquil geopolitical waters of the South Pacific. As a result, the balance of power in the region is changing. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, the US is refocusing attention on the region. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the leaders of the Pacific Island states in February. Moreover, it had decided to re-establish the embassy in the Solomon Islands that was closed in 1993. Therefore, unsurprisingly, the news of China's pact with the Solomon Islands saw senior US officials visiting the South Pacific country, perhaps to convey US concerns and dissuade the island nation from signing. (In fact, the US officials had paid visits to Equatorial Guinea as well when the news of a likely Chinese base emerged.) Australian Response On March 25, Australian foreign minister Marise Payne and Zed Seselja, the country's minister for international development and the Pacific, stated, "We respect the right of every Pacific country to make sovereign decisions. We have regularly and respectfully raised our concerns with the Solomon Islands Government and will continue to do so. We would be particularly concerned by any actions that undermine the stability and security of our region, including the establishment of a permanent presence such as a military base." Australia has a long history of involvement with the Solomon Islands. As recently as November 2021, Australia had sent federal police to quell violent protests. The protests targeted Chinatown in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. The rivalry between China and Taiwan for diplomatic recognition was considered one of the primary reasons behind these protests. The Solomon Islands had switched recognition from Taiwan to China in September 2019 amidst the considerable domestic opposition. Therefore, the relations with China have emerged as a critical dividing factor in the domestic politics and foreign policy of the Solomon Islands. With the elections in Australia due in May 2022, the issue of the Solomon Islands is likely to feature prominently in the election campaign. Since 2020, Australia has been pushing back against the growing Chinese influence, and the foreign and defence policies are being recast. Australia has entered into a long-term defence partnership with the United Kingdom (UK) and the US, known as AUKUS, to counter China. The developments concerning the Solomon Islands would underscore the need for Australia to pay even more attention to the region. In a way, the dilemma for all regional powers in the face of the rising Chinese challenge is similar. They need to preserve their strategic supremacy in their backyard while competing with a formidable external player willing to fulfil smaller countries' (sometimes unreasonable) aspirations. India faces this dilemma in the Indian Ocean region. The signing of the security pact signals the sharpening of strategic rivalries in the South Pacific. There will be a response from the established powers (US, Australia, and France), and it will be interesting to see the unfolding dynamics in the region. The South Pacific has to be seen as an important strategic theatre in its own right and an important sub-region of the broader Indo-Pacific region. Therefore, whatever happens in seemingly far-off theatres from each other, like South Pacific, East Africa, and South Asia, does not remain confined to that particular theatre. It has strategic implications for the broader region. Consequently, the deepening relationship between the Solomon Islands and China is a wake-up call for the Indo-Pacific powers. (Sankalp Gurjar is a strategic analyst based in Delhi and specialises in Indo-Pacific security.) Watch the latest DH Videos here: Before the pandemic, Mauritius welcomed 1.4 million tourists annually, most of them from Europe. However, post-pandemic, the island nation has been forced to look closer home to keep its tourism industry floating. "Pre-pandemic tourism in Mauritius was very Eurocentric as the accessibility to Europe was relatively high," said Arvind Bundhun, the director of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority to DH. "But what Covid taught us was that we have to be resilient and that we need to diversify. That is why Asia, the Middle East and regional tourism have taken priority post-pandemic. Air Mauritius is also increasing flights to these regions to improve connectivity." These overtures have not gone unnoticed. From film stars to entrepreneurs to honeymooners and influencers, people from all over Asia have been flocking to the island destination and filling Instagram with white sand and blue ocean photographs. There is something for everyone on this volcanic island in the Indian Ocean, whether you want to feed the world's tallest animal, gaze at the endangered African mammals, or watch the native marine species. You may interact with endangered big cats at Casela Nature Park or marvel over the 100 different species of birds here. The Mauritius kestrel, Madagascar fody, red-whiskered bulbul, Mauritius parakeet, pink pigeon and zebra dove are among the exotic birds on the islands. Keep an eye out for Mauritius and Rodrigues flying foxes and Tenrecs, rusa deer, mongoose, and crab-eating macaques, among the native animals. It's not just the fauna in Mauritius that's wild, but even the land has its fantastic hues. The 18th-century Chamarel Geopark in southwest Mauritius is fascinating with its seven-coloured Earth tones. You can't help but be awed by the rainbow-coloured dunes collected in different strata. Chamarel's colourful Earth is a testimony to geological events like continental motions and collisions, volcanic eruptions, and formations. The most plausible explanation for this extraordinary phenomenon is the gradual degradation of volcanic lava or basalt into clay particles over 600 million years. Tourists can now experience the region's unique colourful dunes from several vantage points thanks to the installation of wooden barricades. On the grounds, a gorgeous curio shop hawks small vials and bottles of the Seven Coloured Earth sand as a souvenir; strictly forbidden to collect from the actual site. As far as food is concerned, Mauritius does not have a distinct Mauritian cuisine because the island was uninhabited until the arrival of the Portuguese. Over time, their cuisine became Creole. Mauritian foods include curries, Farata, coconut cakes, mine frites, and palm heart salad. Street food, however, is the preferred dining option on the island. When here, enjoy the tamarind-marmalade-coated pineapple, mango, guava and jambolana slices. Or the fresh-squeezed sugarcane juice with buttery bread. Towards the Northern coast, I also sampled the island's most popular snack: dholl puri. With the Maconde's heights, surrounded by stunning landscapes, or the various rum samplings that follow you throughout the island; getting high is never a problem. The coffee and coconut liqueur at the Chamarel Rhumerie is strongly recommended. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday kicked off the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) campaign in Karnataka and said his party will form its third government in the southern state after being elected to power in Delhi and Punjab. Speaking at a rally at National College grounds, Kejriwal sought the support of farmer organisations to topple the 40% government, a reference to the corruption allegations hurled at the BJP government by the Karnataka State Contractors' Association. "We have to close the 20% and 40% commission accounts of these governments," Kejriwal said, adding that a corruption-free government could offer several services for free to the people. Despite economic hardships faced in the last few years, five things are provided free for the people of Delhi - education, healthcare, power, water and transportation for women, he said. "How did we do it? It is because we are honest. We save money," he said. Also read | BJP settling Bangladeshis, Rohingyas in India to stage riots: AAP He recalled the Lakhimpur violence and an attack on his official residence at New Delhi as incidents that "hurt him" over the last few days. These goons then joined a party. All goons go to one party," he said, to which the audience responded saying 'BJP'. The BJP, he said, welcomed rapists and goons into their fold. "AAP, however, is a party of gentlemen, patriots and honest people," he said. Criticising instances of rioting reported in different parts of the country, the AAP leader said that people wanted to live in peace. "If you want riots, vote for them. If you want schools, vote for me," he said. Also read: The AAP impact in Gujarat Farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar joined AAP during the rally. He had earlier announced that the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha would strive to ensure that AAP emerged victorious in the next election. Earlier this month, former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao also joined AAP. Check out DH's latest videos; Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah on Friday stated that the government can ban organisations, "if it has the guts". "If they have the guts, let them ban SDPI, AIMIM, RSS and Bajrang Dal. We do not object," he said. "I condemn the violence that took place in Hubballi. All those who are guilty should be punished, but action should not be taken against innocent persons who were not involved in the incident," he added. Terming Home Minister Araga Jnanendra as "unfit and irresponsible", Siddaramaiah stated that Jnanendra should resign if he cannot give responsible statements as the home minister. In reply to Revenue Minister R Ashoka's allegation against the Congress regarding Hubballi violence, Siddaramaiah said, "Ashoka does not know anything about this incident. Is he an eyewitness to say that the Congress was involved in this?" Action should be taken immediately regarding the PSI recruitment scam and all the guilty should be arrested, he added. Commenting on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's statement about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contesting in next Assembly polls in the state, Siddaramaiah said, "Let them contest in the polls, and people will decide". Check out DH's latest videos: Unification Minister nominee Kwon Young-se on Friday called for a bipartisan policy on North Korea. "Only when a bipartisan North Korea policy is drawn up on the foundation of a national consensus will it be possible to pursue policies in a sustainable and consistent manner," he said at a seminar organized by the national unity committee under President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team. Kwon said the reunification of Germany demonstrated the need to pursue bipartisan policies in order to achieve the peaceful reunification of North and South Korea. "North Korea's complete denuclearization and the completion of peaceful reunification are the greatest tasks facing our people," he said. "We must break from the old dichotomy that conservatives are anti-North Korea and progressives are pro-North Korea and build a policy of unity," he added. (Yonhap) A republican armed group have tonight claimed responsibility for a shooting incident in a County Derry town at the weekend. Arm na Poblachta said it was responsible for a shooting in the Ard na Smoll area of Dungiven during the early hours of Sunday morning (April 17). Using a recognised codeword, the group told the County Derry Post that they carried out the attack following ongoing complaints over drugs issues in the Ard na Smoll and Rannyglas estates in the north Derry town. A spokesperson for the group, which was formed in 2017, said they are also 'monitoring a number of houses in the area' adding that 'there will be no more warnings'. A PSNI spokesperson confirmed they are investigating. Shortly before 12.50am on Sunday 17th April, police received a report of shots being fired at a property in the Ard na Smoll area of Dungiven, said the spokesperson. Searches were conducted by officers, however nothing untoward was found. Detectives are appealing to anyone who might have witnessed any suspicious activity in the area at the time, or who has any information which could assist, to contact them on 101, and quote reference number 89 of 17/04/21. A report can also be made online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Another war of words has broken out between the SDLP and People Before Profit (PBP) as the election for the Assembly draws near. SDLP Foyle candidate, Cllr Brian Tierney has said People Before Profit (PBP) have continually failed people in the North when it counts. However, PBP's own candidate for Foyle, Cllr Shaun Harkin, hit back by accusing the SDLP along with other parties as being responsible for runaway inequality in Derry. Cllr Tierney stated that PBP, who unveiled their election manifesto earlier this week, are good at making promises, but have continually failed to step up to the mark. He said: There were many promises made by People Before Profit at their manifesto launch in Derry, but its easy to promise people the moon and the stars when you know youll never actually be in a position to deliver on it. Instead of focusing on practical solutions and working with other parties to improve the lives of people across the North, in reality PBP offer nothing more than protest politics and hot air. SDLP candidate for Foyle, Cllr Brian Tierney Any time PBP have actually been in a position to make a difference, to contribute to the greater good they have failed spectacularly. This is the party that advocated strongly for Brexit in the full knowledge of the economic hardships it would cause for families in Derry and across the North. We warned it would have dire consequences, not just financially, but for community and international relations and yet they championed it all the way. The partys mask slipped once again earlier this month when the party failed to support tougher sanctions on the regime of Russian war monger Vladimir Putin who is committing horrific war crimes on the people of Ukraine. While the rest of us have come together in solidarity for the Ukrainian people, PBP have once again found themselves on the outside and their excuses just dont wash. Even at council level in Derry when PBP have had the chance to help families dealing with the spiralling cost of living they have been found wanting. When the SDLP voted against a rates increase for families who are already on their knees, PBP, the supposed defenders of the working class, couldnt even be bothered to turn up. This is the real PBP, a party that would rather be out protesting and rabble rousing than dealing with the issues impacting people in their everyday lives. Empty rhetoric wont put any food on the table or heat a single home, we need to put our faith in parties and politicians who are determined to put people first and deal with the issues that matter. Cllr Harkin of PBP launched a stinging rebuke to the SDLP insisting that the people of Derry are seeing through their say one thing, do another approach. He replied: The SDLP are part of the political establishment and are as responsible for runaway inequality in Derry as the other big parties. They don't like it when we and others make proposals challenging the cosy status quo they've propped-up for decades and the "do-nothing" response of the Executive over the last year of an unprecedented cost of living crisis. For all their dismissal of People Before Profit, they've spent more time in this election attacking us than they have the DUP, Sinn Fein or even the Tories - while at the same time appearing to emulate People Before Profit colours, slogans and policies. Cynical spin, lies and misrepresentation is how political establishment parties operate. But what else should we expect when they proudly parade Fianna Fail representatives, the architects of inequality and reaction in the South, around Derry in the middle of a hardship crisis? People Before Profit candidate, Cllr Shaun Harkin The SDLP and the rest of the political establishment needs to be held to account. They've promoted privatisation of public services for twenty years, they've lobbied with the rest of the Executive for massive tax cuts for big corporations and they've voted through pay cuts year on year for workers. In the last year the SDLP joined the DUP, Sinn Fein and the rest of the Executive to impose a Tory real terms pay cut on health and social care workers. That's just not on. Along with the DUP and Sinn Fein, the SDLP refused demands for the Assembly to declare a hardship emergency in December. That was well before the DUP recklessly collapsed the Executive. Where's the urgency? The SDLP voted for a cut to private rent costs and then joined the Executive parties to overturn it the next day. Come on. Despite the Executive's criminal inaction in response to the cost of living crisis, the SDLP led the way in blocking People Before Profit's proposal for Derry and Strabane Council to utilise 3 million of unspent Covid money for an emergency hardship fund. The SDLP's "say one thing, do another" approach has been the same when it comes to Black Lives Matter protests, equality for women, climate action and Palestine solidarity. As we've said before, not being the DUP or Sinn Fein doesn't equal being a real alternative to a system rigged for elites, corporations and the politically-connected. That's why People Before Profit are putting ourselves forward. We want to amplify demands ignored by Executive parties and encourage people power action to deliver the change all our communities deserve and desperately need. A popular County Derry jazz festival will not take place as planned later this year after the local Council refused to grant the organisers' funding application. The Danny Boy Jazz and Blues Festival, which is based in Limavady, announced this week that it would be 'unable' to run the festival in 2022. The organisers had requested 31,500 from the Council's Large Tourism Events Funding scheme, details of which were ratified at the full Council meeting on April 5. Stendhal Festival, SuperCupNI and the North West 200 were among the events awarded a share of a 356,979,000 funding pot. A score of 65% was required to qualify for funding, with the Festival's application scoring 50% on the scale. Running for over two decades, the festival had been due to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, and a spokesperson said they were seeking 'further clarity' from the Council. With regret, we, the Danny Boy Jazz & Blues Organizing Committee, have to announce that we are unable to bring the festival back as we had hoped in 2022, they said. Plans were well underway for a weekend in June, however we had held back from any announcement of dates, acts or venues until we had secured the funding necessary to hold a festival worthy of its name. Unfortunately, our local council has opted to turn down our application for funding this year. Our application for financial support has been successful in all of the festivals previous 23 years. The DBJ&B committee will be seeking further clarity from council as to how this decision has been reached. Regardless, to ensure the future of 'our wee festival', we hope to run some fundraisers later in the year and we hope you will be able to come out and support those events and the local acts and venues that will be participating. The festival simply does not happen without you. Once again, our apologies and we sincerely hope to see you all at a Jazz & Blues festival gig in the future. A spokesperson from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said the organisers did not provide enough evidence to meet the criteria. The Council's Tourism Events Grant Funding Programme is a competitive grant funding programme involving the assessment of the event, based upon information supplied by the applicant, they said. Council staff did meet members of the Danny Boy Jazz and Blues Festival prior to the programme opening, to support the development and writing of their application for grant funding. However, unlike the successful applicants such as the NW200, SupercupNI, Stendhal Festival, Armoy Road Races and the Foyle Cup, the Danny Boy Jazz and Blues Festival was unable to provide the necessary evidence to reach the minimum scoring criteria required to justify grant funding the event. Operator Vodacom Tanzania has reportedly signed a contract with the countrys National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) the government-owned fibre optic cable infrastructure system. The contract, said to be worth US$4.59 million, will allow the operator to use NICTBB to enhance connectivity in rural Tanzania. This Vodacom investment comes on top of an initial investment of US$6,223,500 in October 2021. NICTBB is managed and operated by the Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL Corporation) on behalf of the government through the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The aim of the infrastructure is to enhance the use of ICT applications for sustainable socio-economic development including implementation of e-government, e-learning, e-health, e-commerce and more, both locally and globally. NICTBB roll-out began in 2009. The deal, signed by TTCL Corporation Director General Mr Peter Ulanga and Vodacom Managing Director Sitholizwe Mdlalose, aims to improve Vodacom's voice and data traffic across the lake, central and southern regions of Tanzania. Tanzanian press reports quote the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry Of Information, Communication and Information Technology (Communication), Dr Jim Yonazi, as saying: The government's ICT vision is to get 80 per cent of the population to have access to broadband digital connectivity by 2025. The expansion of the national fibre backbone gets us closer to this goal." The Tanzanian Daily News says that Vodacom Tanzania has been a key stakeholder in the usage of NICTBB infrastructure since 2012. A capacity leasing contract worth US$50 million was signed in 2012. The NICTBB was in the news last November when the government announced plans to extend it to more countries in addition to its plan to have a 15,000-kilometre network by 2025. So far Tanzania has extended its backbone to landlocked countries and bordering points along Burundi, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique. Recent reports have suggested that the next target is to connect the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). WIOCC has landed Googles Equiano subsea cable in Lagos, Nigeria. From its starting point in Portugal, the cable will run more than 12,000km along the West Coast of Africa and initially land in Lome, Togo; Lagos, Nigeria; Swakopmund, Namibia; Ruperts Bay, Saint Helena and Melkbosstrand, South Africa; establishing a valuable new high-capacity connection between the African continent and Europe. With a design capacity roughly 20 times larger than any other cable currently serving the region, the Equiano subsea internet cable will have a direct impact on connectivity, resulting in faster internet speeds, reduced internet prices and improved user experience in Nigeria. Named after Nigerian-born writer and abolitionist, Olaudah Equiano, the Equiano cable will help support further digital transformation in Nigeria. An impact assessment study by Africa Practice and Genesis Analytics estimates that once the cable is fully operational, it will increase internet speeds in Nigeria six-fold, as well as lowering prices by as much as 21% and pushing up penetration by 6%. The study also anticipates that by 2025, the cable will boost Nigerias GDP by US$10.1 billion as well as assisting in the creation of 1.6 million jobs within this timeframe. In addition, it could help to reduce carbon emissions by as much as 2.8 million tonnes annually. Juliet Ehimuan, Director, West Africa at Google, said: Equiano is set to make an enduring contribution towards the development of Nigerias communications infrastructure and today marks another major step in its development. Chris Wood, Chief Executive Officer of WIOCC, stated: The Equiano cable will deliver improved internet quality, speeds and affordability to the people of Nigeria. However, for the benefits to be fully felt throughout Nigeria, hyperscale connectivity needs to be extended from the Lagos area to the rest of the country. To make this happen, WIOCC is also deploying a comprehensive, hyperscale national fibre network. The network will go live in phases, starting in June and continuing through to the end of the year. When combined with the Equiano cable this network will deliver transformational benefits across the country. Last month, the Equiano subsea cable made its first landing in Africa in Lome, Togo, as a confirmation of the commitment made at the Google for Africa 2021 event to help increase internet access across Africa. Where to Watch / Stream The Conversion Online Theatrical release - Not available on any OTT Platform right now. Advertisements The Conversion : Release Date, Trailer, Cast & Songs About The Conversion The Conversion was released on Apr 23, 2022 and was directed by Vinod Tiwari .This movie is available in Hindi language. Vindhya Tiwari, Prateek Shukla and Ravi Bhatia are playing as the star cast in this movie. The Conversion is available in Drama genre. The Conversion Storyline The Conversion is a story of a love triangle between a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy which is based in beautiful Banaras and shot in the mesmerizing ghats of the city. The movie explores the topic of religious conversion and shows a girl's dilemma of what happens in an inter-faith marriage that results in religious conversion. The love triangle is between Bablu, Dev and Sakshi and at the same time, the movie sensitively explores the dilemma of religious conversions that happen in love marriages in India. The movie focuses on the concept of Love Jihad, where a Muslim boy marries a Hindu girl by force. The girl falls in love with a Muslim boy, however, there is another boy who belongs to the girls religion who loves her and wants to marry her. However, the actress chooses to marry the Muslim guy and goes against her familys wishes. Later she faces a lot of problems and is treated miserably by her in-laws. Then the girl runs away from her husband's home and becomes a social activist who protests against the conversion of Hindu girls. The movie deals with a sensitive issue and has a relatable storyline. Disclaimer: All content and media has been sourced from original content streaming platforms, such as Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. Digit Binge is an aggregator of content and does not claim any rights on the content. The copyrights of all the content belongs to their respective original owners and streaming service providers. All content has been linked to respective service provider platforms.This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by Advertisements The Earth Day 2022 doodle presents the timelapse imagery of various Google Earth locations that are impacted by climate change. It is Earth Day 2022, which is the day of celebration for environmental movements and spreading awareness about the environment, climate change, and sustainability. Most Earthlings must have been reminded about it by the new eye-catching Google Doodle on the search giants homepages. The company does temporarily tweak its logo for commemorating some special events, holidays, etc. So, on this occasion, todays Google Logo is addressing one of the most pressing topics of our time: climate change. Google Earth Day 2022 Doodle: What it means? The Google Doodle for Earth Day 2022 is showing actual time-lapse visuals from Google Earth and other trusted sources. It reflects the adverse effects of climate change on four different locations in the world. They will be shown throughout the day and each scene would stay for several hours at a time and then change. The four Google Earth locales are: Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa Sermersooq Glacier retreat in Greenland Great Barrier Reef in Australia Harz Forests in Germany The time-lapse representation of these regions evidently shows the impact of climate change. The presented recordings range from a span of a few months to a stretch of 25 years. More the time, the more apparent is the considerable change that has happened to the vegetation and natural setting of that place. Looking at these Google Doodle time-lapses of our Earth, we recall the wise words of Sir David Attenborough, We are at a unique stage in our history. Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that. Surely we all have a responsibility to care for our Blue Planet. The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us." As for other news, reviews, feature stories, buying guides and everything else tech-related, keep reading Digit.in. Samsung Galaxy M53 5G price in India starts at 23,999. Samsung has brought the Galaxy M53 5G to India. It was an online-only affair like with the other recent Galaxy M and A series phones. While the brand underscored several key features of the device, those were things we already knew as they were revealed earlier this month. This includes the 120Hz display, 108MP quad rear camera setup, and the 5000mAh battery. The only thing under wraps was the Galaxy M53 5Gs price and availability details, and they are here now. On the front, Samsung Galaxy M53 5G has got a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ Infinity-O display with an FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone comes with a 32MP sensor for selfies and video calls. On the back, you get a 108MP+8MP+ +2MP+ 2MP quartet. Samsung has stowed in a Dimensity 900 chipset thats aided by up to 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 5000mAh battery. Even though the phone comes with 25W charging speed, there is no charger in the box. What Samsung delivers out of the box is Android 12 software with their proprietary OneUI 4.1 skin. You also get 2 years of software updates and 4 years of security updates. As for the other things in the mix, there is 5G support, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.2, up to 1TB microSD card expansion, Knox security, and a side-mounted fingerprint reader. Samsung Galaxy M53 5G Price in India and Availability Samsung has priced the Galaxy M53 5G at 23,999 for the 6+128GB model while the higher variant with 8GB RAM comes at 25,999 in India. These prices include the ICICI bank summer bonanza offer with a 2500 instant discount on credit cards and EMI transactions. As for other news, reviews, feature stories, buying guides and everything else tech-related, keep reading Digit.in. Subscriber content preview KENT Lake Meridian Shores, at 14200 S.E. 272nd St. in Kent , sold for $17 million, according to King County records. The seller was Lake Meridian Shores LLC, which acquired the property in 2002 for $6.1 million. . . . Subscriber content preview SEATTLE A restaurant building at 4822 California Ave. S.W. sold for slightly over $2 million, according to King County records. The seller was SB VIII LLC, which acquired the property in 1993 for $230,500. . . . More steps needed to protect rights of sexual minorities The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a military court's conviction of two male soldiers sentenced to suspended prison terms for their same-sex relationship. In a landmark ruling hailed by human rights groups, the top court opposed the punishment of the soldiers under the military criminal code as they engaged in consensual sex in private while off duty. The two men, a first lieutenant and a master sergeant, were indicted in 2017 under Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act for having sex in 2016. The court said punishing the men for the acts violates their "sexual autonomy" and infringes upon their rights to pursue equality and happiness as guaranteed by the Constitution. It referred the case to a lower military court. The court's ruling is meaningful as it judged that the same-sex relationship does not constitute an "indecent deed" that causes sexual humiliation and disgust as noted in the military code. We welcome the court ruling as it defies the pervasive discrimination and stigmatization faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in the country and the military, in particular, and supports their rights for equality and happiness. Human rights groups welcomed the verdict, describing it as a "triumphant victory" for sexual minorities. Article 92-6 has been a target of criticism as it subjects same-sex people who engage in sexual intercourse to a maximum two-year prison term, citing the need to protect morale and discipline in the military. It stipulates the punishment of relevant people regardless of a consensual relationship. It has been described as the most "archaic" law that discriminates sexual minorities in the military and infringes upon privacy. It is proper that the Supreme Court ruled that it is hard to believe the two men directly and specifically undermined military discipline with their sexual relationship. The court said many judges pointed out that same-sex relationships have been accepted as a natural inclination in Korea and other nations. Amnesty International also hailed the verdict, saying, "Today's ruling should pave the way for military personnel to freely live their lives without the threat of prosecution." In a statement, Amnesty East Asia researcher Boram Jang said the article of the military code was a "shocking violation of human rights." The United Nations called on the Korean government to abolish the article in 2012 through its Universal Periodic Review and renewed its recommendation in 2015 via the Human Rights Council. Yet, the Constitutional Court acknowledged the constitutionality of the article due to the need to safeguard military discipline and maintain combat capabilities in 2002, 2011 and 2016. Numerous petitions have been filed calling for the abolishment of the article. The suicide of a transgender woman who was expelled from the military after her gender-reassignment surgery last year also ignited debate over the rights of sexual minorities in the military. The article was enacted following the example of the United States. Yet the U.S. Supreme Court abolished it with a ruling in 2003, citing its unconstitutionality. We urge the Constitutional Court to make a wise ruling in view of the circumstantial changes. The National Assembly should also embark on efforts to do away with the outdated article. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award in Berlin, in this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo. Musk has lined up $46.5 billion in financing for a possible hostile takeover of Twitter and is "exploring" a direct tender offer to shareholders. AP-Yonhap Elon Musk has lined up $46.5 billion in financing for a possible hostile takeover of Twitter and is "exploring" a direct tender offer to shareholders, according to a securities filing released Thursday. Musk's filing pointed to a $13 billion debt facility from a financing consortium led by Morgan Stanley, a separate $12.5 billion margin loan from the same bank, as well as $21 billion from Musk's personal fortune. The Tesla chief, who has been rebuffed by the Twitter board, is "exploring whether to commence a tender offer... but has not determined whether to do so at this time," the filing said. Still, shares of Twitter did not rise significantly, suggesting skepticism that a deal will happen. The world's richest man launched an unsolicited bid April 14 to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, saying the influential microblogging platform had fallen short of free-speech imperatives. The following day, Twitter moved to defend itself against the $43 billion takeover effort, announcing a "poison pill" plan that would make it harder for the billionaire to get a controlling stake in the social media company. Despite Musk's great wealth, the question of financing had been seen as a potential stumbling block because much of Musk's holdings are in Tesla shares rather than cash. Shares of Twitter fluctuated Thursday, finishing at $47.08, up 0.8 percent but far below the $54.20 price in Musk's offer. That suggests investors remain skeptical a deal will happen, said Eric Talley, a professor at Columbia Law School specializing in corporate law and mergers. "I think a lot of people feel like either the board isn't going to start talking to Elon Musk, or that Elon Musk might just decide to chase a different rainbow the day after tomorrow, and this will all have been a big fever dream," Talley told AFP. The phone screen displays the Twitter account of Elon Musk with a photo of him shown in the background in Washington, April 14. AFP-Yonhap Analysts noted that Twitter's poison pill poses a big challenge to any effort not backed by the board. The defense established by Twitter kicks in if an investor buys more than 15 percent in shares without the directors' agreement. Musk holds 9 percent. The maneuver makes it harder for a buyer to build too big of a stake without board approval, by triggering an option that allows other investors to buy more of a company's shares at a discount. CFRA Research's Angelo Zino said Musk's effort still faces significant hurdles in light of the Twitter board's opposition to his proposal and the poison pill mechanism. "Despite the filing, we don't believe it puts Musk any closer towards reaching a deal," Zino said. "We think Musk could look to increase his stake closer to 15 percent to put additional pressure on Twitter, but we think he will ultimately need to have constructive conversations with the board to be successful." Musk's efforts have raised hopes about the commercial potential of Twitter, which has struggled to achieve profitable growth despite its influential spot in culture and politics. But the polarizing Tesla CEO's campaign also has sparked concern among technology and free-speech experts who point to Musk's unpredictable statements and history of bullying critics, which contradict his stated aims. Under Parag Agrawal, who took over as Twitter CEO late last year, the company has made progress on new monetization features, such as subscription products, said a note from Truist Securities, adding that "short-term, Musk's involvement at this stage runs the risk of disrupting those efforts." Talley noted that Musk thus far has not released a "creative revenue generation plan," adding that Musk may have such a document, "but he certainly hasn't unveiled it." (AFP) Half a million euro in funding has been awarded by Creative Ireland to eight creative industries across the country. The Creative Communities Economic Action Fund was launched today (Friday April 22) by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, who said it will provide "new creative opportunities" throughout Ireland. Minister Catherine Martin said, "The creative economy has no single definition. It is an evolving concept which builds on the interplay between human creativity and intellectual property, knowledge and technology. It is essential that new creative economic activities are nurtured and supported." Projects in Waterford, Donegal, Meath, Leitrim, Sligo, Cork, Galway and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown will benefit from the funding. Initiatives include immersive games development, traditional typography skills development and the design industry. According to the Department of Culture, projects will build on the creative and economic expertise of local authorities, local enterprise offices and other partner organisations. 551k will support the development of animation immersive games design industry typography skills & more The Creative Communities Economic Action Fund will arm Local Authorities with resources to nurture new creative economic activities https://t.co/TX3SGkh8nc pic.twitter.com/7TjbqM2gR3 Catherine Martin TD (@cathmartingreen) April 22, 2022 A project in Meath will establish a learning centre based on letterpress printing for third-level students, the print industry and tourists. A proposal in Waterford aims to develop the regional creative economy of the South East by utilising data gathered though a new online platform called GovLab run by WIT. This digital resource will maintain, analyse and disseminate data emerging from a live inventory of local culture and creative industry activity and will assess the impact of the creative industries on the region. Creative Coast in Donegal will explore and identify an appropriate cluster model to position the creative sector in all future development in Donegal. In Cork, the Munster Animation Forum aims to transform Munster into an internationally recognised powerhouse for animation, supporting the economic growth of the creative animation community across the province. An internationally renowned DJ, a pop hopeful and a comedian are just some of the guests lined up for Friday night's Late Late Show. The hosts of their ground-breaking podcast, Cork men, Timmy Long and James Leonard, otherwise known as The Two Norries will join Ryan Tubridy to share their personal stories of addiction and recovery, and what inspired them to start a podcast together. Internationally renowned DJ and former top BBC Radio host Annie Macmanus aka Annie Mac will talk about bringing clubbing back to life after two years of empty dancefloors, her new career as an author, and how the disappointment of not getting her first choice in the Leaving Cert was a blessing in disguise. Ahead of her support slot with her mentor Ed Sheeran in Croke Park this weekend in front of tens of thousands of music fans, new pop hopeful Maisie Peters performs her single 'Psycho' live in studio. Westmeath comedian Alison Spittle will be live in studio with Ryan to talk about the very unexpected inspiration behind her new show, why the English sausage is "a thing of horror", and her experience of hosting "the most 2022 hen party ever". Queen of ventriloquism Nina Conti will be surprising members of The Late Late Show audience with her hilarious match-making skills. Plus, Ryan will be joined by the cast of the musical Girl from the North Country, based on the music of Bob Dylan, who are also in studio for a live performance of a Dylan classic. The hit Broadway musical by Conor McPherson comes to Dublin's Olympia Theatre this June. This plus more will feature on The Late Late Show, RTE One, Friday, April 22nd at 9:35 pm St Colmcilles National School, Togher, Co. Louth, Parent Action Group have announced that they have decided to escalate their campaign to secure three additional Special Needs Assistants (SNA) posts for their school with a protest outside the Constituency Office of Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion, Ms. Josepha Madigan TD in Churchtown, Dublin 14, tomorrow 23 April 2022 at 12.00 noon. The Action Group say they will be organising further protests, at the Constituency Offices of both the Minister for Education, Ms. Norma Foley TD, and Minister Madigan, in the coming weeks if there is no progress on this critical issue. In a statement released today the group said: "The decision to escalate was taken after further engagement with officials from the Department of Education failed to make any progress. "The need for additional supports exists as there are 15 children, currently enrolled in the school, with only 1.83 SNA posts available to ensure they can fully integrate, enjoy and benefit from their mainstream education. "Phase two of the campaign, which follows an initial protest outside the Dail, in addition to these protests at Constituency Offices, will also involve the following: strong social media campaign; further engagement with other public representatives; and consideration to be given, and legal advice to be obtained, regarding a possible Judicial Review of the Departments decisions to date. "The school has consistently sought, through the review/appeals procedures open to it, to secure up to three additional SNA posts. "However, at every stage, the Department has rejected these requests without having observed, within each classroom, the support requirements of these children. "The Parents Group believe bureaucracy, combined with a flawed policy, has left children without the supports necessary to ensure their optimum progression through their chosen national school. Speaking on the issue the Action Groups Chairperson, Emmet Finegan, said: The Department, led by this Minister, has constantly spoken of ensuring every child can benefit from mainstream education thus ensuring their inclusion within their peer groups. However, the reality is that when a school strives to deliver on this promise they are left without the essential resource of Special Needs Assistants. "As parents we cannot, and will never, accept that our children are not given every opportunity to participate in their local mainstream school and enjoy the learning, whether that be educational, social or psychological, that intrinsically comes from inclusion and involvement. "This campaign will continue until our children are treated as full and equal citizens of this country and the government delivers on its often repeated promises. There has been a lot of discussion over the past week about the evacuation of Dundalk Military Barrack by the last remnants of the British Army garrison one hundred years ago last Wednesday, on Thursday April 13, 1922. This was highlighted last week by an enactment of the historic event, previewed by an article in the Dundalk Democrat last week, by members of the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Irish Defence Forces around 14.00 hours (2 pm.) on that date in which soldiers from that unit marched from the Point Road Gate of the Barracks, around through Quay Street to Barrack Street to enter by the old Barrack Street Gate where a sentry box stood guard up until about a century ago. The soldiers represented the units of the Royal Field Artillery that still occupied the Barracks in Dundalk up to that date as they left the Quay Street Gate, then the men of the 4th Northern Division of the I.R.A. who took over the Barracks on behalf of the Provisional Government at about noon on that day, as they returned. According to reports of that day a century ago there seems to have been about 217 soldiers of the Field Artillery left in Dundalk Barrack that morning, while about 50 men of the 4th Northern Division turned up for the handing over ceremony at about sometime in the early afternoon. There seems to have been great excitement in Dundalk on that day and, according to the Dundalk Democrat, great crowds had turned up at Barrack Street to watch the British Army leaving, while others were present at the Dundalk Railway Station at Carrack Road to watch for Irish troops from the Beggar's Bush garrison that were supposed to be arriving there that afternoon. It may be that many in Dundalk feared that there might be a violent clash between the two forces, because of the enmity that had existed between the two sides during the War of Independence that had only ended with the Truce in July of the previous year. As it turned out, it did not happen that way as no troops from Dublin arrived by train and the Barrack was taken over by a detachment of the 4th Northern Division under the command of Commandant General Frank Aiken, who slipped into the Barracks on foot to attend the handing-over of Flags ceremony. One of the interesting things about the ceremony was that Frank Aiken himself is not mentioned in the Democrat as being present and it may have been one of his subordinates that was in commanded of the I.R.A. contingent. This report states at a number of press photographers were present in Dundalk but I have never seen any pictures of the event. Aiken may not have actually turned up until later in the day to take charge of the Irish garrison and Frank McCoy from Mullaghbawn, his second in command, would have been in charge of the I.R.A. force at the flag raising ceremony. As it turned out the day passed peacefully enough with the British soldiers leaving Dundalk cheerfully and no clashes took place. Probably much to the relief of the ordinary citizens of Dundalk. Much worse was to follow, however, when the Civil War broke out within a few months and many people were to die and be wounded in the area that summer. The events of that day so long ago are extensively covered in two books about military activities in North Louth over three centuries. One is a Military History of Dundalk by the late Harold O'Sullivan who was himself a member of the unusual Cycle Division that were stationed in Dundalk Military Barrack during the World War Two Emergency. The other is called 'A Brief History of Dundalk Military Barracks' by two men who were also intimately involved in the Irish Defence Forces, Joseph Gavin and Stephen O'Donnell. Stephen, whom I knew very well and greatly admired, had served in the Irish Military Police, as did his father who had a taxi service at the Square for many years. Sadly, he passed away just over a year ago but has contributed much to the recording of local history in two books published by him. It was in this 'Brief History' that I spotted something that has intrigued me about the British evacuation of one hundred years ago! It is a chapter which quotes extensively from the report in the Dundalk Democrat of Saturday, April 15, 1922, in which it is stated - 'Then a lorry with stores of various kinds would come through the gate, to be followed by some vehicles carrying soldiers. "From the backs of these cars Union Jacks were flying. The soldiers were not downhearted, they waved farewell to their late neighbours and sang 'Paddy McGinnty's Goat'." Now I had known of a popular comic song by this name, sung by Val Doonican, that was popular about sixty years ago and I wondered why on earth would British soldiers of a century ago be singing such a a ditty when leaving Dundalk? When I researched its origins, I discovered that it had been written for a musical hall performance just a few years earlier in 1917 - but, although the introduction was the same, about a man named McGinty buying a male goat, the words, back in 1917, were World War One propaganda, mainly about a man named McGinty joining the Irish Guards and taking his pet goat to the Front Line on the Continent to fight the Germans. Then I further discovered that the song had become popular after the War in a version recorded by two Americans called 'The Two Bobs', Bert Lee and P.R. Weston, and distributed widely on vinyl records of the time. Yet I was still slightly puzzled as to why British soldiers should be singing it when leaving Dundalk? Then I spotted something in the Gavin/O'Donnell book which, I believe, gives a clue to the reason! This remarks that - 'Many (Dundalk) people who experienced their occupation would state that many squaddies (as they were often described) were a decent type and generally blended in with the local population.' This, in turn, reminded me, that back in the 1940s, not long after the Barracks evacuation, there were many stray goats, grazing along the grass of the Rampart area and that, perhaps, some of these 'Squaddies' when wandering around the Town in 'mufti', while on leave from the Barracks, would have spotted those stray goats and associated them with happier times for them in Dundalk? You see there was an institution in Barrack Street called the 'Sands Home', where many young English soldiers were welcome to spend their free time to keep them out of licensed premises and the local people must have become quite friendly with them! 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. A 43 year old north Louth man who did not respond when gardai asked him for his name, became abusive towards them and used offensive words, Dundalk district court heard last week. Alan Lenaghan with an address at Rassan, Hackballscross was before the court charged with being intoxicated in a public place, using threatening abusive or insulting behaviour and failing to provide his name and address to a garda on Park Street, Dundalk on March 20th last. The defence solicitor said her client was very embarrassed to be before the court and regretted his actions on the night. When Judge Deirdre Gearty asked if he had anything to say Mr. Lenaghan replied "I want to apologise". When he confirmed that he has children, the judge responded "It's not a great example to them is it?". After being told the defendant had 300 euro in charity, Judge Gearty struck out the charges and directed the money go to Little Blue Heroes. A Lotto winner from Louth had a memorable trip to Dublin this week to collect a cheque worth the life-changing amount of 1 million. The Wee County winner scooped the top prize in the Lotto Plus 1 draw on Saturday 9th April after purchasing their winning ticket at the Spar Cherrymount store on the Donore Road in Drogheda. The winner, who is from Drogheda and remaining anonymous, spoke of the overwhelming shock and joy he felt after checking his numbers. It was a normal day and I was just going about my usual routine when I decided to sit down with a cup of tea and check my ticket. "First, I saw I had three numbers and then four and then you can imagine the shock when I went through them all. "I couldnt tell you how many times I checked my numbers I was scanning with the ticket with my phone and then looking over the numbers myself to be fully certain. "I decided to give a family member a call then to get them to have a look as well. "Sure then the two of us were double checking! Its been nerve-wracking holding on to the ticket since the big night so Im delighted to finally be in the Winners Room to hand it over! "It still seems so surreal so Ill definitely be taking my time to decide what to do next. The Dundalk 0327 Branch of UNITE the Union have made a 10,000 donation to Ireland for Ukraine fundraising. Branch Secretary Willie Quigley got unanimous support for the donation when he raised the Ireland for Ukraine fundraiser which Irish Red Cross are involved in at the recent Branch AGM where he was re-elected to serve for another three year term. He spoke about the terror, torture, death and destruction that the people of Ukraine are suffering along with the thousands who are fleeing for their life to other countries like Ireland after their homes were bombed to rubble. UNITE 0327 Branch make donations annually to worthy causes and charities or organisations that cater for the youth. The needs of such groups have increased since the onset of the Covid pandemic. At Christmas gone by, the branch donated 13,000 across a range of these worthy causes which is separate from the Ukraine donation. UNITE General Secretary Sharon Graham has encouraged branches and members to support the stricken people of Ukraine. CJ CheilJedang's Hetbahn products / Courtesy of CJ CheilJedang By Kim Jae-heun CJ CheilJedang is seeking to continue its success story in the United States, after the successful launch of its dumpling, by introducing ready-to-eat rice "hetbahn" to American consumers in August, company officials said Thursday. Hetbahn, developed by CJ CheilJedang, is the best-selling pre-cooked rice product in the Korean market now in its 27th year. The company has been working on introducing a range of flavors that suit the American consumer palate for the last five years. "We first introduced Hetbahn in Korea when nobody thought they would purchase pre-cooked rice at a supermarket. We saw the potential with the pre-cooked rice market over 20 years ago and invested in the future food. Our Hetbahn product will become a global K-food product that will be enjoyed by people around the world under the new name of 'multigrain,' a CJ CheilJedang official said. The pre-cooked rice market in North America has been growing annually by an average of 14 percent in recent years to now reach a 640 billion won ($517.1 million) total value. The market is expected to grow to over 1 trillion won by 2025. CJ CheilJedang will first release four different types of Hetbahn in the United States that feature combinations of different rice varieties. Under blind testing conditions, American consumers gave an average of 4.2 points out of 5 for the multigrain variety last month. Major American retailers like Walmart and The Kroger Company have already signed a business partnership with CJ CheilJedang to sell Hetbahn products through their 4,000 stores in North America from August. Sinn Fein Councillor Pearse McGeough said he was sickened by the latest dumping of dead lambs near Dunleer. A passerby informed him of the grim discovery yesterday, Thursday afternoon, of at least ten dead lambs that had been unceremoniously dumped over the bridge onto land in the middle of the river, on the old Belfast / Dublin R132 Road, at Cappogue, near Dunleer. At the scene Cllr McGeough said: I am disgusted at this. No decent responsible farmer would carry out such an act. "I have reported it to Louth County Council and the Inland Fisheries have been informed to rule out any contamination of the river. "I have also talked to the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) for guidance. Cllr McGeough advised that there are procedures in place for farmers to dispose of dead animals". "The Fallen Stock Scheme facilitates the collection and responsible disposal of dead stock. "The maximum cost for a sheep would be 30. For anyone to dump their fallen stock like this is unacceptable and irresponsible not to say sickening and upsetting for the person discovering them. "I will be pressing for an investigation into this dumping and I really hope that whoever is responsible is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. In the meantime I would appeal to anyone who saw anything over the bridge area along the River Dee on the R132 to please contact the authorities. "The discovery was made on Thursday afternoon and based on the rate of decomposition, they would not have been there for very long, I would estimate anytime since the weekend. "So anything suspicious that you may have noticed should be reported. In the meantime, authorities will remove the carcasses and dispose of them responsibly although according to Cllr McGeough, that may prove difficult because of the location, they will be difficult to access. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his infrastructure agenda at the Portland International Airport, Ore., April 21. Biden pledged an additional $1.3 billion Thursday for new weapons and economic assistance to help Ukraine. AP-Yonhap President Joe Biden pledged an additional $1.3 billion Thursday for new weapons and economic assistance to help Ukraine in its strong but increasingly difficult battle against the Russian invasion, and he promised to seek much more from Congress to keep the guns, ammunition and cash flowing. The latest military aid, Biden said, will be sent ''directly to the front lines of freedom.'' ''Putin is banking on us losing interest,'' Biden said. The Russian president is betting that ''Western unity will crack ... and once again we're going to prove him wrong.'' The new package includes $800 million in military aid for much-needed heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition and drones for the escalating battle in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It builds on roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance that Biden previously approved. There's also a fresh $500 million in direct economic assistance to Ukraine for government salaries, pensions and other programs. That raises the total U.S. economic support to $1 billion since Russia's invasion began nearly two months ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the United States in his nightly address in Ukraine, saying the military aid was ''just what we were waiting for.'' Earlier in a virtual address to the World Bank meeting in Washington, he said his nation will also need up to $7 billion each month to make up for economic losses. With tens of thousands of buildings damaged and key infrastructure in ruins, Ukraine ''will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild,'' Zelenskyy said. Biden underscored a need for the United States and Western allies to remain resolved in their support for Ukraine amid signs that Americans may becoming more wary of the war. A poll published Thursday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows Americans' desire to get involved has waned somewhat. Some 32 percent say the U.S. should have a major role in the conflict. That's ticked down from 40 percent last month, though it's slightly higher than the 26 percent who said so in February. An additional 49 percent say the U.S. should have a minor role. The president also announced that Russian-affiliated ships would be barred from U.S. ports, though that appeared to be largely symbolic. Russian ships bring a tiny amount of the cargo unloaded in the U.S., and ''my guess is that ... a decent chunk of that was tankers transporting Russian oil which is now banned anyway,'' said Colin Grabow, a research fellow who studies trade at the Cato Institute. Overall, Biden said that $6.5 billion in security assistance that Congress approved last month as part of a $13.6 billion package for Ukraine could soon be ''exhausted.'' With the latest announcement, Biden has approved about $3.4 billion in military aid since Feb. 24. Congress' overall total also included about $6.8 billion in direct economic assistance to care for refugees and provide economic aid to allies in the region impacted by the war and additional funding for federal agencies to enforce economic sanctions against Russia and protect against cyber threats. ''Next week, I'm going to have to be sending to Congress a supplemental budget request to keep weapons and ammunition deployed without interruption,'' Biden said. Senator Mitch McConnell speaks at the Boyd County Courthouse in Catlettsburg, Ky., April 21. McConnell has expressed a willingness to consider more aid for Ukraine in recent weeks. Congress has signaled it is receptive to further requests and has been expecting there would be a need for further help for the Ukrainians. But the issue could become entwined with partisan fights over pandemic spending and immigration, complicating the pathway. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has expressed a willingness to consider more aid for Ukraine in recent weeks. ''I think we need to say we want the Ukrainians to win, and we're prepared to do everything we can to help them win,'' McConnell said Monday in Shelbyville, Kentucky. ''We want to do more,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters at the Capitol, during an appearance with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. She said lawmakers would learn more about Biden's latest funding request ''in the next day or so, to be taken up as soon as we can. Next week.'' Founded in 2016, OHM Energy is a technical company with green credentials, helping its customers find quality renewable energy solutions across Armenia. With support from the EBRD and the EU, the business recently underwent a rebrand, with the implementation of a new website and marketing strategy to help it grow. OHM Energys co-founders, Sevak Gevorgyan (CEO), Hrant Gnuni (CFO) and Gevorg Hakhverdyan (CCO), met in their student years in 2004 when they were just becoming acquainted with the nuances of the energy sector and beginning to realise how much work there was to do in the sphere. As post-graduates, confronted with the realities of climate change, they continued conducting laboratory research and writing scientific articles, mainly focusing on the renewable energy sector, and became specialists in the field. Fast-forward to 2016 and it was time to bring their practical scientific experience to the world of business through the establishment of OHM Energy. Among other things, the company implements solar power station installations, energy efficiency measurements and other electrical projects throughout the country. During a challenging 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, the company nevertheless managed to build the largest solar power plant in Armenia, with a capacity of 6 MW. Identity, influence and messaging In its bid to become a leader in the local energy market and persuade prospective customers of the merits of renewables, OHM Energys co-founders reached out to the EBRD for support. Having identified what was required to reach those goals, we facilitated a tailored marketing plan and sales strategy to solidify the companys commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles. The cornerstone of the project was to increase the accessibility of relatable and succinct information about solar energy and energy saving for the general population through the new website. This was an unmitigated success and, in Gevorgs words, led to a big increase in customer engagement, and consequently the growth and development of our business. Building on the newly developed marketing strategy, the company also invested in digital technologies including implementing automated systems for customer service and improving the company's workflow. The company name refers to the German physicist Georg Ohm, who discovered the fundamental law later named after him, where the ohm is the standard unit of electrical resistance. The logo uses the omega symbol , which often denotes the end of something in this case, of old energy systems. Visually, although unintentionally, it also looks like a depiction of the sun meeting a solar panel. The branding reflects the companys commitment to solar energy and communicates the virtues of solar over conventional energy systems. Green growth Armenia now allows excess electricity generated from solar panels to be sold to its electricity grid, and along with the EBRDs Green Economy Financing Facility, which helps Armenian businesses invest in high-performing technologies, there is plenty of potential to scale up the renewable energy programme in the country. Since the EBRDs intervention, OHM Energy has become one of the top five companies in its field. It has seen a dramatic increase in sales and turnover and its operations have profited greatly from tax and other benefits promoted by government energy efficiency measures, resulting in higher demand for its products locally. The company also acquired exclusive rights to represent the leading German solar panel manufacturer AE SOLAR in Armenia, which will help it stay competitive and achieve its green energy goals in Armenia and beyond. We have a number of developing programmes and envisage becoming an international Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, says Gevorg. We already have several agreements in Georgia and are starting to cooperate with a number of international companies. And that is not all: the company also wants to expand into the distribution of solar pumps in Armenia, to popularise the use of electric cars, and to move into the construction of smart houses. OHM Energys overarching vision is to ensure progress that will guarantee the sustainable development of present and future generations by harmonising and balancing environmental issues. In an increasingly crowded market, with government incentives and competition fuelling innovation and decreasing the costs to become more sustainable, there has been a sea change in peoples attitudes towards green technologies, and companies which are driving our shift to renewables, like OHM Energy, are essential in ensuring that a brighter future starts with today. FOR Jamie Roche and Clodagh OMahony, there was a connection at first sight, although things were a little complicated to begin with. Jamie said: The first time I met Clodagh was in August 2013. We were both on a night out with friends. We only spoke briefly, exchanged a handful of words. Clodagh shot me down before I got her name as she was with somebody else at the time. You couldnt blame me for trying though. She is a lovely looking girl. I had a lot of respect for her honesty to be fair. So I went home heartbroken without the shift, gutted but what can you do. A few months later, single and celebrating her first year Christmas exams, Clodagh was keen to pick up where they had left off when fate brought them together again. Clodagh O'Mahony and Jamie Roche. I was out celebrating with a friend. We had tried to get into a club that was for 19s and over but since I was 18 I was refused at the door. We made our way up to the only other club in town and went in there. It must have been about 12.30-1am when we were on the dance floor and I spotted Jamie! Clodagh admitted she had a serious crush on Jamie since meeting him a few months previous and taking her chance, she made her way over to him. Jamie said he was suspicious of Clodaghs intentions the second time round. A few months pass, I am out with some friends. Were back in The Light, a nightclub in Mallow. Someone catches my eye across the dance floor, but Im not falling for that again as this girl has a boyfriend. Now shes on the way over though, so my interest is piqued. A few more words exchanged, perhaps a sneaky shift whos to say. We go our separate ways, but at least this time I got her name. As with all true love stories then comes the stalemate. Jamie said he let a few weeks pass before getting up the courage to send a Facebook message after a night out. A couple weeks pass, and Clodagh is living rent-free in my head, but Im awkward and shy so I dont really know what to do about it. Next time Im out I have a bit of dutch courage, and send her a message on facebook. Sure what do you send to someone who youre not friends with on facebook at 5am, I just sent Hi. with a smiley face emoji Clodagh O'Mahony and Jamie Roche. Once the chat began, the conversation flowed. Clodagh said Jamie became the first person she would talk to in the morning and the last person she spoke to at night. However, despite all the communication, there is some confusion regarding their first date, which Clodagh maintains was a gig with most of Jamies family and Jamie adamant they went to the cinema just the two of them. Eventually, Jamie said, we planned our first date, a trip to the cinema, private, just us. Happy days. Two days before our cinema date, I had a spare ticket to a Walking On Cars gig in The Pav in Cork. I asked Clodagh to go. The cinema date was clearly not as memorable for Clodagh. Our first date was a Walking On Cars concert in the Pav in Cork City. I didnt know what Walking on Cars was so I thought we were literally going to walk on cars and I remember having to awkwardly ask what we were going to be doing. Pure mortifying like. Anyway, he failed to tell me the majority of his siblings would be in attendance also (I found out in the queue to the gig). But it was a great night all the same. We had many more dates after that (without his family). The pair have been together for over eight years and see a long and happy future together. Jamie said Clodagh brings out the best in him and allows him to be himself. One of the best things about being with Clodagh is she understands me more than anyone. Having someone who understands you, and wants the best for you is something that you could only hope to have, I have that tenfold with Clodagh. For Clodagh she just wants to thank the bouncer who wouldnt let her into the 19s club in Mallow all those years ago. The last few years have flown by and have been so much fun. We finished college, moved in together, have gone on great holidays and have grown with one another. We dont take anything too seriously, we just take each day at a time. Jamie is my best friend, biggest supporter and boyfriend all in one. I am extremely grateful to the bouncer that denied me entrance to the 19s club that night! A CORK debating team will debate Irelands neutrality in their bid to become all-island debating champions next week. Rosscarbery-based Mount Saint Michael will take on Athenrys Colaiste an Eachreidh in the Concern Debates final at noon on Thursday, April 28. Colaiste an Eachreidh will propose the motion that Ireland must remain committed to military neutrality while Mount Saint Michael will oppose it. The Rosscarbery team is made up of captain Lauren ODonovan (16), Orna OBrien (16), Ellie McCarthy (16) and Orla Tobin (16). The debaters were helped throughout the competition, which had more than 100 teams participating this year, by their researchers Ruby ODonovan, Nathan Hanrahan, Ewan Wrenne, Tara Nolan, May Kingston and Ollie OBrien. Their teacher and debating mentor, Lorraine Teevan, said they have been participating in Concern Debates for 12 years and reached the semi-final in 2010 and the quarter-final in 2020. We are both excited and immensely proud of our students who have succeeded this year in reaching the final of this competition, she said. Their dedication, hard work and determination to succeed have been a constant from the first debate. To have this rewarded by being in the final is a joy for all involved. We had a debating class of 10 pupils this year. Everyone had the chance to debate at least one motion and all worked as researchers on other motions. Being involved in Concern Debates has helped our students to become more confident. They developed skills such as critical thinking, public speaking, research and presentational skills. They learned how to structure their thoughts and how to think on their feet. These are skills that will last a lifetime. Concern said the motion is partly in response to the recent call by President Michael D Higgins for a well-informed debate about Irish neutrality. We always try to make sure motions are as current and topical as possible, said Concerns Head of Active Citizenship, Michael Doorly. In a polarised world like we have today, we have to find ways to engage better with one another rather than just shouting across the street and getting violent and that is what debating teaches us. The final will be live-streamed on YouTube by humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide, which runs the competition and will be available at www.youtube.com/c/concern worldwide. THE Cork Youth Orchestra has partnered with the Embassy of Ireland in Mozambique to release a special video for World Earth Day, which is taking place today. The video features the orchestras new collaboration with Mozambican rapper Dom Junior. The original piece was created especially for this years World Earth Day as a reminder of how a strong partnership can create a better future. I met with Nuala OBrien, the Irish Ambassador for Mozambique, recently and we wanted to work with young musicians in Mozambique. They have very few resources, theyre a very poor country, and we wanted to support them in any way we could and we landed on this project for Earth Day, said Tomas McCarthy, director of Cork Youth Orchestra. Tom Frost orchestrated it and we recorded it about a month ago and have been editing the track since. "We did the video with Chris Hurley and got it up today so were delighted. Its a very different track. The orchestras members had also been hoping to plant trees in Cork to celebrate the day, as they did in Tramore Valley Park in 2019, but were unable to meet due to the pandemic. Were hoping to do it again next year. We planted 1,000 trees a few years ago and they are now double the size, Mr McCarthy said. Earth Day comes around every year but the message is simple, as we highlight on this track. The message is that people can make simple changes to help climate change. The idea is that we should be aiming for the ideal world and one person can make a change on a daily basis to make the world a better place. Ms OBrien added: The Embassy of Ireland in Mozambique is proud to link young people in both countries in drawing attention to climate change and the need to work together in the shared objective of creating a safe, stable future for our people and for the planet on which we depend. The Cork Youth Orchestra is also preparing for a concert in Cork City Hall next month, which will mark their first time back on stage since the onset of the pandemic. Bridging the Gap will be performed on May 21 alongside True Tides. This is our first concert in two and a half years and we didnt think wed be back at City Hall before Christmas because of the vaccination centre, Mr McCarthy said. It will be a great concert. We worked with True Tides in 2019 as well and it was brilliant. We run a very professional group. We have very high standards and work with top international artists, including singers from the West End. "We really try to give our members the best possible experience in their few years with us. Florida is sinking. The Western states are drying out and catching fire. Is there anywhere in the U.S. that will still make a good home as the climate crisis continues? The answer is yes. There are cities referred to as climate havens because they are located in areas less likely to suffer from extreme weather events and because they are designed in such a way that they could welcome more residents. Tulane University associate professor of real estate Jesse Keenan provided CNBC with a list of potential climate havens Thursday, most of which are located in the East and Midwest. Keenan stressed that these cities could take steps today that would make it easier for them to welcome climate migrants in the future. This isnt were going to build a community for tomorrow, he told CNBC. Were going to build a community for today. And thats going to be the foundation for the building of a community for tomorrow. Keenans list is as follows: Asheville, North Carolina Buffalo, New York Burlington, Vermont Detroit, Michigan Duluth, Minnesota Madison, Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin Minneapolis, Minnesota Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rochester, New York Former National League of Cities program manager of climate resilience and sustainability Anna Marandi also suggested Ann Arbor, Michigan and Orlando, Florida. While Orlando might be a surprising choice, Marandi said its efforts to decarbonize meant it merited attention. Many U.S. residents have already been forced to move because of climate change. They include the people who left New Orleans permanently after Hurricane Katrina and coastal Native Alaskan villages like Shishmaref and Newtok that are being relocated because of storm surges and melting permafrost, as Yale Environment 360 pointed out. Florida State University assistant professor of sociology Matthew Hauer estimated that sea level rise will force 13.1 million U.S. residents to move by 2100. Keenan, meanwhile, estimated that 50 million people in the U.S. could relocate to more climate friendly regions. Temperate northern states will get the most inbound migration, he told Yale Environment 360. The Great Lakes region is considered especially attractive because it is spared both the storms of the East Coast and the wildfires of the West, and has no shortage of fresh water, Grist pointed out. Further, the lakes help moderate temperature extremes and global warming means that the regions infamous winters are getting less bitter. However, these potential climate havens need to actually prepare to receive more residents in a sustainable and equitable way. In some cases, its become more of an economic development slogan than the real detailed and robust planning that is going to be necessary to actually make these places a haven from climate change, University at Buffalo professor Nicholas Rajkovich told Grist. Steps cities can take include passing housing policies to guard against gentrification, planning for the climate impacts that will still occur such as increased flooding in the Midwest and reducing emissions through promoting renewable energy, public transit and denser housing. I see climate migration as an opportunity for these cities to avoid the mistakes of urban sprawl, Marandi told CNBC. They often have a vibrant, walkable downtown that might just need a little bit of revitalization. By Maria Trimarchi and Sarah Gleim If all the glaciers and ice caps on the planet melted, global sea level would rise by about 230 feet. That amount of water would flood nearly every coastal city around the world [source: U.S. Geological Survey]. Rising temperatures, melting arctic ice, drought, desertification and other catastrophic effects of climate change are not examples of future troubles they are reality today. Climate change isnt just about the environment; its effects touch every part of our lives, from the stability of our governments and economies to our health and where we live. Where would you go if, say, a flood devastated the city you live in? Millions of people around the world have been forced to answer this question. In 2017, 68.5 million people were displaced more than at any point in human history, according to the Brookings Institute. More than one-third of those were uprooted by sudden weather events, including floods, forest fires and intense storms. A 2018 report from the World Bank, which focused on three regions Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America found that without tangible climate action, more than 143 million people in just these three areas will be forced to move to escape the impacts of climate change by 2050. But more than 1 billion people worldwide will live in countries with insufficient infrastructure to withstand climate change by 2050. The Pacific Islands are expected to be affected especially hard. Sea level there is already rising at almost 0.5 inches per year. Eight islands have already been submerged and two more are close to vanishing. By the year 2100, experts fear 48 more islands in the Pacific will be completely underwater. So what about the people who live there? What do we call these people who will be displaced? Its actually complicated. Its difficult to determine what category these migrants should fall under because no global definition exists. Why does that matter? Without a standard method of classification, theres no way to track how many people are affected or displaced by an environmental or climate event. So the most commonly used term is environmental refugee. Experts credit the term and its definition to UN Environment Program (UNEP) researcher Essam El-Hinnawi, who in 1985 wrote the United Nations report titled Environmental Refugees. El-Hinnawi defined environmental refugees as: those people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural and/or triggered by people) that jeopardized their existence and/or seriously affected the quality of their life. This working definition has been the baseline for current debate. But according to the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion [source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]. Environmental refugees do not legally fall under this status. Why environmental refugees flee their homes is a complicated mixture of environmental degradation and desperate socioeconomic conditions. People leave their homes when their livelihoods and safety are jeopardized. What effects of climate change put them in jeopardy? Climate change triggers, among other problems, desertification and drought, deforestation, land degradation, rising sea levels, floods, more frequent and more extreme storms, earthquakes, volcanoes, food insecurity and famine. The September 2020 Ecological Threat Register Report, by the Institute for Economics & Peace, predicts the hardest hit populations will be: Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Chad, India and Pakistan (which are among the worlds least peaceful countries) Pakistan, Ethiopia and Iran are most at risk for mass displacements Haiti faces the highest risk of all countries in Central America and the Caribbean India and China will be among countries experiencing high or extreme water stress The report also suggests that developed countries like the United States and regions like Europe are not immune. The European refugee crisis in the wake of wars in Syria and Iraq in 2015 saw 2 million people flee to Europe and highlights the link between rapid population shifts with political turbulence and social unrest. Developed countries including Sweden, Norway, Ireland face little to no threat, the report found. Climate change does not impact all people and all parts of the world in the same way. While floods ravage some areas, deserts are spreading in others. Desertification and depleted resources, including shortages of water and fertile land, are long-term consequences of climate change. But one of the biggest threats will be food insecurity. Ecological threats and climate change pose serious challenges to global peacefulness, Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace said in the in the 2020 Ecological Threat Report. Over the next 30 years, lack of access to food and water will only increase without urgent global cooperation. In the absence of action civil unrest, riots and conflict will most likely increase. COVID-19 is already exposing gaps in the global food chain. The report suggests global demand for food will increase by 50 percent by 2050. That means if theres no increase in food supply, many people could starve or be forced to flee in search of food. Currently, more than 2 billion people around the world are already food insecure. When faced with the decision to flee, most people want to stay in their own country or region. Leaving a country requires money and could mean leaving behind family; simply relocating from a rural to urban area in search of work and resources may be easier. Plus, the chance to return and resettle back home is unlikely if a family leaves their country entirely. In instances when an area is temporarily inhabitable, like after a destructive hurricane, returning home may be an option. But when coastlines or entire islands are underwater, the possibility of going home is out of the question. The future impacts of climate change will disproportionately affect the worlds poorest but will also pressure countries around the globe through mass migration of refugees. Adaptation and resilience will be the key to reducing displacement risk both temporary and permanent in the forms of early warning systems and flood-defense infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and drought-resistant crops, as well as other protections. Two stories this past weekend highlight how coastal towns in Florida are bracing themselves against rising sea levels. The AP reports on a Miami-area startup that provides sea level rise assessment reports and advice on individual property parcels in vulnerable cities in South Florida. The firms services, which have included advising one homeowner on building a seawall out of view of her infinity pool, showcase how private homeowners and property managers are beginning to think about the future for their valuable coastal properties as city planners implement changes around them. Hundreds of miles away, across the state on the Gulf of Mexico and in the middle of a predominantly Trump-supporting county, the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting covers how the coastal village of Yankeetown is protecting its surrounding marshland to use as a buffer against rising seas. The Withlachoochee Gulf Preserve and the area around Yankeetown is perhaps the best place in the world to see the effects of sea-level rise, University of Florida forest ecologist Jack Putz told FCIR. You go from forest to salt marsh to mud flats and sea grass to open Gulf water all in the space of a mile, and its just a spectacular kind of place to see the whole process. This little town on the Gulf coast of Florida was one of the first in the country to develop such a detailed approach for dealing with the inevitable, of sea level rise, he added. Its remarkable that a small town is leading the charge. As reported by FCIR: Across the country, coastal communities are considering how to protect essential infrastructure from sea-level rise and climate change. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson this year, has doubted whether rising tides and more extreme weather events are threats, questioned whether human activity is speeding the Earths warming, and banned terms such as climate change and global warming from use in state reports and communications, as the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting revealed in 2015. The Sunshine States policy of denial has led to a lack of leadership on the impact of climate change and left communities on their own as they confront the dangers and infrastructure costs associated with more regular flooding and saltwater intrusion into underground drinking water supplies. Sea Level Rise Could Put 2.4 MIllion U.S. Coastal Homes at Risk https://t.co/WjKrpxfnoA @OneWorld_News @ClimateDesk EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) June 19, 2018 For a deeper dive: Startup: AP. Yankeetown: FCIR For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News. China has apprised Sri Lanka that it will allow few of its students, who have been stranded at home for more than two years, to return for their studies. This comes after Beijing had imposed a strict COVID visa ban on students from abroad. However, China is yet to announce their decision on allowing over 23,000 Indian students to re-enter the education frame. The Sri Lankan Embassy announced on Thursday, April 21, that it had been informed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry that the Chinese Embassy in Colombo had finalised two groups of students to return to China. The Sri Lankan Embassy said, Additional students are being processed to return to China." An update on the number of students was however not given. India has taken up the issue of allowing its students back in China with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar approaching his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during the latter's recent visit to New Delhi in March. Yi had reassured him that the return of Indian students was being managed and that their resumption of studies would not be a political issue. He said that "on the basis of ensuring sound epidemic prevention and control, it is coordinating arrangements for a small number of foreign students with actual needs to return to China, in light of the changing international epidemic situation and the characteristics of the students' majors. There are over 23,000 Indian students studying under Chinese institutions, mostly pursuing Medicine. Hence, access to clinical facilities and laboratories has been a key issue over the past two years. World Bank President David Malpass attends the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Britain, in this Nov. 3, 2021, file photo. Malpass said Thursday that physical damage to Ukraine's buildings and infrastructure from Russia's invasion has reached roughly $60 billion and will rise further as the war continues. Reuters-Yonhap Physical damage to Ukraine's buildings and infrastructure from Russia's invasion has reached roughly $60 billion and will rise further as the war continues, World Bank President David Malpass said Thursday. Malpass told a World Bank conference on Ukraine's financial assistance needs that the early estimate of "narrow" damage costs does not include the growing economic costs of the war to Ukraine. "Of course the war is still ongoing, so those costs are rising," Malpass said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a virtual address to the conference, outlined far bigger costs and financing needs. He told participants in interpreted remarks that Ukraine needs $7 billion per month to make up for economic losses caused by Russia's invasion of his country. "And we will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild all this later," Zelenskyy said. He said the global community needed to exclude Russia immediately from international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and others, and said all countries "must immediately be prepared to break up all relations with Russia." Disney employees protest against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, in Glendale, Calif., March 22. Reuters-Yonhap Florida lawmakers gave their final approval Thursday to a bill ending Walt Disney's designation as a self-governing entity in an apparent response to its opposition to a new state law limiting the teaching of LGBTQ issues in schools. Losing the designation may represent a big blow to Disney's sprawling Orlando theme parks, which for over half a century have managed to operate with a high degree of autonomy, with the freedom to control everything from road maintenance to building projects. Even so, experts say the financial impact of the legislation on the company and the state is still unclear. Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 Republican presidential nominee who fiercely backs the ban on classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for children under age 9, is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill would effectively strip Disney of a status that allowed the company to self-govern an area of roughly 25,000-acres in Central Florida where the Walt Disney World resort is located. The area called the Reedy Creek Improvement District covers four Disney theme parks, two water parks and 175 miles of roadway, and functions like a county government, providing services such as fire-fighting, power, water and roads within the Orange and Osceola counties. Disney, whose Florida resort is known the world over for its pristine streets, colorful rides and family-friendly image, in turn gets relief from taxes and fees. The special status also allows the district to issue bonds with tax advantages to pay for improvements and for Disney to avoid the process of obtaining building permits for some projects. The Florida Parental Rights in Education legislation is one of a series of moves by Republican-controlled states to enact new restrictions on public education in the run-up to the midterm elections later this year. Supporters say such measures give parents more control over their children's education, but opponents say they mostly unfairly infringe the rights of transgender and other marginalized students. Disney initially failed to publicly oppose the legislation, prompting criticism last month by many in the LGBTQ community and some employees. Later Disney condemned the law and said it would suspend political donations in Florida pending a review. In a surprise move, DeSantis asked the legislature to consider the bill to strip Disney of its status during a special session he called this week. It was filed and passed within just three days. The change would go into effect in June 2023. "By trying to bring California values to Florida, Floridians have said, 'All right, you're a guest in our state. Maybe you don't deserve special privileges anymore,'" state Representative Randy Fine, a Republican who is the lead sponsor of the bill, told CNBC. On Thursday, the Florida House of Representatives voted 70-38 to do away with the special tax district created by a 1967 law that allows Disney to self-govern the Orlando area. On Wednesday, the state Senate approved the measure by a 23-16 vote. DeSantis, an ally of former President Donald Trump who has also courted conservative voters on issues such as immigration and abortion, did not immediately comment on the bill's passage, nor did Disney. The newly painted Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is seen with the crest to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the theme park, Aug. 30, 2021, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Florida lawmakers gave their final approval Thursday to a bill ending Walt Disney's designation as a self-governing entity in an apparent response to its opposition to a new state law limiting the teaching of LGBTQ issues in schools. AP-Yonhap Disney is historically a major political contributor in the state. In the 2020 election cycle, the company donated $4.8 million in total, including campaign funds to more than 100 individual Florida legislative members, some of whom sponsored Thursday's legislation, state records show. The company also gave more than $900,000 to the state Republican Party and more than $550,000 to the Republican senatorial campaign committee, along with $300,000 to the state Democratic Party and $50,000 to DeSantis. But its opposition to the new law, dubbed "don't say gay" by opponents, set off a storm of condemnation against the company by many Republicans. It takes effect July 1 and also prohibits such teaching that "is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate" for older students. It is being challenged in court. It is unclear if the state or the company will be harmed most by Thursday's move, as Disney is a major local employer and contributor to the state's coffers, with around 70,000 staff. The Walt Disney Resort paid $780.3 million in state and local taxes in 2021, according to a fact sheet commemorating the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph said that legislation will punish local taxpayers more than Disney. "Yes, Disney pays a lot in taxes, but when you add up the numbers, it pushes a lot of the tax burden onto local taxpayers," he said of the bill. Disney already received many of the benefits from the special district in getting the park built and could come out ahead financially by shifting the cost of maintenance and services to the local jurisdictions, said David Ramba, executive director of the Florida Association of Special Districts. "They get to control the level of service versus leaving it to a county government," Ramba said. (Reuters) Amazon is pursuing the "aggressive geographic and use case expansion" of a scheme that sends injured warehouse workers to non-profits for light duty, according to The Financial Times. Under the scheme that's officially called Amazon Community Together, workers get their full salary instead of compensation benefits that typically only cover a portion of their usual pay. While the program sounds beneficial for both workers and local non-profits, workers' rights advocates argue that it's a tool Amazon uses to hide the real number of serious injuries at its warehouses. Participants in the Community Together program are sent to charities like Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity to do whatever work they're capable of with their injuries. Over 10,000 workers have been placed at non-profits since it the program launched in 2016, but Amazon had to scale back its operations during the pandemic. Amazon spokesperson Lisa Campos said the program is voluntary and that the company gets "overwhelmingly positive" feedback from participants and partner non-profits. Indeed, the workers The Times talked to said they're treated well at their placements, and partner non-profits are thankful for the "amazing amount of work" the workers do for them. As the publication points out, though, it also gives Amazon a way to reduce its Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR), which is a standard OSHA metric that gives authorities concrete data on the number of severe incidents in a facility. Based on figures from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Amazon's rate of injury is more than double that of the national warehousing industry average. And according to Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), a coalition of North American labor unions, there were 34,001 serious injuries at Amazon's US facilities last year, up 36 percent from 2020. (Company CEO Andy Jassy blamed that high injury rate to new workers in a letter to shareholders and in an interview with CNBC.) Amazon published its own report (PDF) in January that claims a 49 percent drop in LTIR in the US and a 43 percent drop worldwide in 2020. It didn't, however, mention the growing number of Community Together placements, which had reportedly gone up by 22 percent over the same period. Eric Frumin from SOC said the program "can create a good social environment for people," but "it can be highly abusive because the job could be contributing to the recurrence of the injury, or preventing recovery." U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the infrastructure investments made at Portland International Airport, at the Portland Air National Guard 142 Fighter Base in Portland, Oregon, April 21. AFP-Yonhap Asia's approval of U.S. leadership rose to its highest level in years in 2021, according to a survey released by pollster Gallup on Friday, jumping by 10 percentage points during the first year of the administration of President Joe Biden. The median approval rating of U.S. leadership across 33 Asian countries shot up from 31 percent in 2020 to 41 percent in 2021, the Gallup World Poll reported. The 2021 favorability rating is significantly higher than at any point during the administration of former president Donald Trump, the survey showed, but remained below a 2013 peak of 45 percent reached during the presidency of Barack Obama. A number of large swings were recorded by traditional American allies in the region, with South Korea jumping from 30 percent favorability in 2020 to 59 percent in 2021, Australia from 29 percent to 51 percent and New Zealand from 26 percent to 48 percent. Tiny Laos recorded the biggest gain, a 30-point swing from 4 percent approval in 2020 to 34 percent in 2021. Southeast Asian neighbor Vietnam also vaulted from 21 percent to 45 percent. At the same time, opinions of Chinese leadership across Asia continued a yearslong downward drift, as Beijing rattles many of its neighbors with an increasingly assertive military presence in the region. The country sank to a 27 percent approval rating in this year's poll, a new low. The report's authors highlighted that the U.S. rating was "based largely on data collected during or after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 and before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022." While the Ukraine crisis has dominated Washington's attention, the Biden administration is looking to return its focus to the Asia-Pacific region as it seeks to shore up support to counter China. President Biden will host a summit of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at a summit in Washington on May 12-13, the White House announced last week. Biden has also said that he will make his first presidential visit to Asia later in the month to attend a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting in Tokyo with Japan, India and Australia, expected to be held around May 24. South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Thursday that Biden will likely also visit Seoul during the trip and meet with newly inaugurated President Yoon Suk-yeol. On the Gallup poll, Iran held the lowest approval rating of U.S. leadership, at 7 percent. The Philippines, home to a strongly pro-U.S. population, recorded the highest favorability rating in 2021, at 71 percent. (UPI) News & updates The IT Co-operation programme covers an extensive range of tools and applications used by the EPO, national offices in member states and applicants. Further details are set out in Goal 4 and in Annex 2 of the EPO Strategic Plan 2023. Central to the programme is the creation, together with National Patent Offices and end user representatives, of a new generation of online filing tools providing a modern Front Office to all participating member states. This started with the successful launch of new EP (or NP) filing software solutions together with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) and the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania with Greece's national Industrial Property Organisation (OBI) becoming the third office to pilot the service since Jan 2022. Two further key milestones in the IT Co-operation programme have now been achieved in the form of the first EP Validation and PCT filings at national offices. On 6 April, Ms. Jurga Petniunaite from AAA Law filed the first online EP Validation request via the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania using the new Front Office filing software. The same day, a test of the end-to-end PCT application using the Front Office filing software was completed via the Spanish Patent Office (OEPM). The latter paves the way for subsequent live filings, once further fine tuning and testing of integration with OEPM systems is completed. Easy-to-use Front Office software is key to the successful uptake of online tools by applicants, which in turn helps national patent offices (NPOs) to deliver improved quality products and services. Both milestones reported here were achieved thanks to the intense collaboration between the national offices concerned, EPI representatives, EUIPO, and EPO teams. Further Information: Russian forces have continued their new offensive in the east of Ukraine, assaulting cities and towns along a front hundreds of kilometers long, in what could be a potentially pivotal battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. The Kremlin said it had launched a new phase of the invasion of Ukraine as fighting raged in the Donbas region and officials urged civilians to flee. Another phase of this operation is beginning and I am sure it will be a very important moment in this entire special operation, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the battle for Donbas began on Monday (18 April), as Russian attacks in the region escalated, and promised that Ukraine would put up fierce resistance to Russias push there. With the Russian offensive in eastern Donbas region escalating, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have promised military support for Ukraine. Seven planes carrying US weapons for Ukraine part of an $800m weapons package that the Biden administration recently authorized will be heading to Europe in the next 24 hours, a senior US defense official has said. Kyiv has called for additional weapons and support to stave off Moscows latest new offensive, where Russian forces have been amassing after their withdrawal from the Ukrainian capital area. In response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz later said Germany intended to supply Ukraine with anti-tank and air defense weapons, as well as long-range artillery weapons, while the UKs Prime Minister Boris Johnson also promised more artillery weapons as the conflict moved into a new phase. Meanwhile, Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against their NATO bid, as politicians in Helsinki on Wednesday (20 April) are due to start debating whether the country should seek membership in the military alliance. Russias invasion of Ukraine prompted a spike in political and public support in both countries for joining the transatlantic bloc. The parliament session comes despite warnings by Russia of a nuclear buildup in the Baltic should Finland and neighboring Sweden join NATO. I think it will happen quite fast. Within weeks, not within months, Finlands Prime Minister Sanna Marin said last week, referring to her country deciding on whether to apply for membership. The Nordic country, one of six EU member states, which traditionally has been militarily non-aligned, has been coordinating with Sweden that is also considering joining the military alliance. Nevertheless, the procedure in Sweden may be longer than in Finland with some expecting Stockholm to apply for NATO membership; such a move would expand the western alliance from 30 to 32 members. In a related but separate development, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised fears over a possible rise in crime and criminal activity in the EU, prompting its agencies to step up efforts. An internal EU document recently warned of the increased risk of human trafficking and sexual abuse, cyberattacks, infiltration of criminals, and circulation of weapons, drugs and illegal cigarettes. The EU also says there is a long-term risk that the flow of drugs to the EU will increase via Ukraine that is seen as a transiting country for heroin and other drugs like opium and methamphetamine from Afghanistan. Last month, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) raised concerns over the risks of trafficking in persons fleeing Ukraine. The UN body especially warned about a potential increase in sexual abuse since most of the people leaving the country are women and children. The joint EU police agency, Europol, has deployed officers to Moldova, Poland and Slovakia to monitor potential threats regarding migrant smuggling and arms trafficking. While Ukrainian refugees can be targeted at different stages of their journey, Europol said the highest risks concern the targeting of victims under the pretense of promising transportation, free accommodation, employment or other sorts of support. It is estimated that four million people have so far left Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. The results are out: incumbent Emmanuel Macron will face far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round on 24 April after securing 27,84% and 23,15% respectively. Polls are predicting a narrow victory for Macron, but the race will be tight and a Le Pen victory should not be discounted. There is no denying that a Le Pen victory would weaken the EUs unity, its cohesion and its international standing. The far-right candidate wants to drastically reduce the EUs decision-making power, to control who gets to travel freely inside the EU, and to withdraw from some of the EUs trade and energy arrangements. She could veto further sanctions against Russia and oppose any further military support to Ukraine. Its hard to see how the EU could adopt these reforms without gradually disintegrating. A Frexit, but unlike Brexit, a slow and disorderly withdrawal. Of course, it would be difficult for Le Pen to do any of this or even break EU rules without securing a parliamentary majority in the June elections. Some people have argued that it would be impossible for her to secure the numbers especially if the other parties come together to form a republican front. But there is no guarantee that would happen. Either way, the EU may find it has no choice but to accommodate some of Frances demands if it wants to avoid a breakdown or a break up in the future. LE PENS VIEWS OF THE EU HAVE EVOLVED OVER TIME - Le Pens views of the EU are not what they were when she first campaigned to become president in 2012. Many people in France are Eurosceptic today, but few want to leave the EU altogether. Thats probably why Le Pen after calling for a Frexit in 2012 and an exit from the euro in 2017 changed her tone on Europe. She knows she can get more votes if she talks about reforming the EU, rather than leaving it. Yet, when you look at her proposals carefully, its clear that they would mark the end of EU integration as we know it. Le Pen wants to replace the EU with a new, looser alliance of free and sovereign nations. Within this alliance, each member could choose what rules to apply, including when it comes to the application of the rule of law. She wants to transfer power back to national governments and organize a referendum, in order to give primacy of French law over EU law power. She would therefore abandon any notion of European sovereignty and put a halt to any further enlargement. Its also unclear how she plans to achieve some of the things set out in her program. For example, Le Pen isnt against the EUs trade deals, though she would like them to exclude agriculture. Its hard to see how the EUs trade partners would ever agree to this though the EU could be forced to pause ongoing negotiations, for example with Australia and New Zealand. She approves of EU strategic autonomy in the field of climate and environment, though she wants to take France out of the EUs Green Deal, which is designed to make the EU carbon neutral by 2050. She wants France to decide independently how to decarbonize, and which parts of the energy sector to invest in even if this means breaking the EUs state aid rules. She would also pull France out of the EUs electricity market. Similarly, Le Pen supports free movement but wants to limit it to EU passport holders rather than EU residents. At the same time, she wants France to have the power to stop migrants from outside Europe from using the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights to avoid deportation. She also wants to limit welfare benefits and council housing to French citizens. She also thinks EU countries should be in a position to reintroduce border checks within Schengen. LE PEN MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO BLOCK EU DECISIONS - If you want to get anything done in the EU, you need to get others to work with you. For Le Pen, this may be easier said than done. The far-right candidate has good relations with at least two member-state leaders: Hungarys Orban and Polands Morawiecki. There is no doubt that both leaders would bank on Frances support in their battle against the European Commission overrule-of-law proceedings. However, its hard to see how France, Poland and Hungary could block EU legislation outright. For starters, they arent all on good terms, with Poland recently threatening to freeze diplomatic relations with Hungary over its support for Russia. Likewise, Poland and Hungary who are net recipients of EU funds may not appreciate Le Pens proposal to drastically reduce Frances contribution to the EU budget. Whats more, most Council decisions i.e. between the 27 member states have decided to use the qualified majority voting rule. That means that France, Poland and Hungary would need to secure the support of other member states to block an EU proposal. BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN LE PEN CANT WEAKEN THE EU - There are, however, other ways that Le Pen could disrupt the EU from the inside. She could try to delay discussions and negotiations inside the Council in a bid to extract concessions. If that fails, she could kick up a fuss and publicly blame Brussels. To avoid this, member states like Germany would try to appease France by stretching out talks as much as possible. But EU divisions would start to appear, making it much harder for the EU to get things done. The pace of the EUs work would slow right down. Le Pen could also decide to break EU rules such as state aid limits or public procurement measures. The European Commission would almost certainly respond by launching infringement proceedings or withholding EU funds. The European Court of Justice could also become involved; but France could simply choose to ignore these rulings and decisions. As EU experts Bond and Springford note, France, unlike Poland or Hungary, has fiscal capacity to accept the freezing of EU budget and recovery fund money. Of course, Le Pens capacity for unilateral action would depend on how supportive her prime minister and the French government are. According to the French constitution, it is the French government that decides policy priorities, not the President (though in practice, the President does have a significant say). This is why the President usually appoints a prime minister who has the backing of a majority of MPs (as this makes it easier to pass legislation). If Le Pen secures a majority in the June parliamentary elections, then she will be able to appoint the prime minister she wants. If she fails, then she is likely to end up with a prime minister from a different party. If Le Pen ends up in this cohabitation, then it will be harder for her to take unilateral action in the EU. Experience of past cohabitations, like during the Mitterrand and Chirac presidencies, show that both the President and the prime minister have a say over Frances European policy. A LE PEN PRESIDENCY WOULD SLOW DOWN EU INTEGRATION - There are many other ways a Le Pen presidency could damage the EU. It would be a blow to the Franco-German axis. While Le Pen has not criticized Scholz directly, she has questioned the Franco-German relationship in the past, especially over their diverging industrial and military interests. She recently criticized Germanys pro-Atlanticist (i.e. pro-American) position and believes France should pull out of the NATO military command structure. With Macrons departure, Commission president von der Leyen would lose a key ally in the Council in her quest for a more geopolitical European Commission. Le Pen has already questioned the Commissions relevance, saying it has too much power and should be replaced with a secretariat that is directly accountable to the Council of the EU, the grouping of the 27 member states. A Le Pen victory would also galvanize support for far-right parties in the 2024 European Parliament elections. There are currently 19 MEPs from Le Pens party le Rassemblement National. They sit in the far-right parliamentary grouping Identity and Democracy together with Italys Lega and Austrias FPO, among others. MEPs from Orban or Morawieckis parties are part of different parliamentary groupings, though they did discuss with Le Pen the possibility of bringing all far-right parties together under one parliamentary grouping. EUROPE AS A WHOLE WOULD SUFFER - A Le Pen victory would also be damaging for Europes cohesion. She has already made clear that foreign policy should be about protecting a countrys sovereignty and its territorial integrity, even if this means erecting new trade barriers and physical borders. That is why she has lambasted Turkey on its handling of the 2015 migration crisis and is against Turkey ever joining the EU. Its also why she supports Ukrainian sovereignty, but opposes any more transfers of arms and military equipment. She is critical of any government that claims to defend liberal values. She also favors partnerships that serve Frances interests. She is willing to deepen relations with the UK, which she considers a key defense partner, though only if the UK shows itself more willing to buy French that is, French arms and weaponry. On Brexit, she has said that the UK would need to renegotiate license for French fishermen if it wants to continue accessing Frances electricity market. Finally, she wants to revisit the Le Touquet arrangements on migration that allow British border police to operate in Calais. The French election comes at a critical time for Europe. A Le Pen victory, while unlikely, remains possible. If Le Pen wins, this would have significant implications for France and Europe, even if her exact course of action remains hard to predict. An early indicator of her approach may be whether she uses Frances rotating presidency of the EU which ends at the end of June to slow down ongoing EU discussions. But even if she loses, France cannot afford to grow complacent. French citizens, like many across Europe, disagree on how the EU should evolve, and Frances role within it. In 2027, there will be no President Macron, and possibly no En Marche!, to defend the EU as a political project. The EU urgently needs a more nuanced debate about its future it should not wait on another close call to realize that. What a Marine Le Pen Victory Would Mean for Europe Article by Georgina Wright Institute Montaigne. The Article can be downloaded here Dillards has initiated a court battle with the owner of San Antonios Rolling Oaks Mall over ownership of the property the retailer occupies at the mall. Little Rock, Ark.-based Dillards wants a Houston bankruptcy court to grant the department store operator ownership of the 14.7-acre store property at 6909 E. Loop 1604 on the Northeast Side. In the alternative, Dillards wants a trial to determine the amount of damages it should receive. Dillards filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the bankruptcy court, where mall owner Washington Prime Group Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, and affiliates filed Chapter 11 reorganization in June. Dillards says it has repeatedly claimed exclusive ownership of the property but Washington Prime Group wont acknowledge the claim. By now refusing to confirm the transfer of fee simple title to the property to Dillards, Washington Prime is practically seeking to dispossess Dillards from the property, the retailer alleges in its lawsuit. A lawyer for Dillards declined to comment. A Washington Prime representative didnt respond to a request for comment. On ExpressNews.com: Ingram Park Mall on West Side sells for $100.7 million bid at foreclosure auction In the suit, Dillards says that in the late 1980s Simon Property Group, the previous mall owner, agreed to convey the land to a Dillards in exchange for the retailer opening a store at the mall. Dillards says it has had possession of the property since building the store in 1988. The Bexar Appraisal Districts website lists the department store at almost 174,000 square feet. The retailer says it invested $8.4 million to build the store. That works out to more than $20 million today. It has continuously operated the store since its opening and never paid rent to Simon, Dillards added. Dillards says it has paid all property taxes on the property since at least 1995. The Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collectors office was able to trace tax payments on the property from Dillards back to 1996. Dillards paid $157,898 on Jan. 31 for the 2021 tax roll year; it paid $175,320 in taxes for 2020. The decline followed a drop in the propertys assessed value to about $6.1 million last year from $6.8 million in 2020. The Docket: Local crime and courtroom news, delivered to your inbox weekly Dillards says it had multiple discussions about formalizing the conveyance of title to the property over the years. It never got done, however. Washington Prime spun off from Simon in 2014. Washington Prime, a real estate investment trust, held 98 retail assets. Simon transferred operations of Rolling Oaks Mall to Washington Prime two years later, the suit says. Simon conveyed an interest in the the mall to Rolling Oaks Mall LLC, a Washington Prime entity, in 2018, the suit adds. Washington Prime and 88 related entities, including Rolling Oaks Mall LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection in June. The REIT owned 102 shopping centers totaling 52 million square feet. It cited the shift to online shopping and the pandemic for contributing to the bankruptcies. SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox The debtors have never used the property and have clearly abandoned and acquiesced to Dillards use, enjoyment, dominion and control over the property, the suit adds. The suit also says that Simon, and now Washington Prime, breached a contractual obligation to Dillards by refusing to convey title to the property. Simon has not been sued, however. Washington Prime and related entities bankruptcy reorganization plan became effective Oct. 21. The suit says the bankruptcy court retained jurisdiction over the dispute for six months, or until Thursday. Dillards filed suit on the eve of the courts last day of exclusive jurisdiction. pdanner@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Rating: Solid neighborhood option In a previous life, the home of Broadway Delicatessen was a jewelry store, in case you couldnt tell from the black marble casements around the windows and the blue neon Gildemeisters marquee hanging in the dining room. The downtown building at 122 Broadway sells a different kind of gem these days: deli sandwiches inspired by owner Arnold Mendozas travels through the upper East Coast in his 20s, hitting the classic delis of New York and the surrounding region. Like the shop he runs now, the San Antonio natives lived a few past lives of his own, working as a FEMA contractor and running the late Bunz, Burgerz & More in Southtown and the Groove Lounge bar just east of downtown. Mike Sutter / Staff But Mendozas time on the East Coast cultivated the passion that drove him to open Broadway in September. My goal is to educate people on corned beef, pastrami and Italian beef, he said, a goal fostered by a menu of regionally named sandwiches and a build-your-own-sandwich roster of meats, breads, cheeses and spreads with permutation possibilities ranging into the thousands. In a shop that encourages people to create their own masterpieces, whats Mendozas go-to sandwich? Im a corned beef and pastrami guy, he said. And really, arent we all? On ExpressNews.com: Max & Louies New York Diner makes a Reuben worth a drive Mike Sutter / Staff Best sandwich: This clean, casual shop a block away from Travis Park also offers hot dogs, salads, soups and pizzas hand-tossed by Mendozas right-hand guy Chris Don, who multitasks as a good sounding board for the build-your-own sandwich adventure. Thanks to him, I felt comfortable combining the high-voltage twang of sauerkraut with the spicy, escabeche-style bite of giardiniera on a sandwich piled with a half-pound of razor-thin pastrami, a half-pound of old-school slick mortadella, melted mozzarella and spicy mustard on marble rye ($12.98) like a school-lunch brown bag if your mom worked at a deli. It was a decadent and hefty mix of salt, fat, tang, spice and satisfaction. Mike Sutter / Staff Other sandwiches: Mendoza was hesitant to admit that Broadways best-selling sandwich falls far west of the East Coast, a compilation called the Los Angeles ($11.99), built on toasted wheat bread with ham, turkey, bacon, provolone cheese, cucumbers, guacamole and jalapeno mayo. L.A. in S.A.? No way. But think about it: Those last two ingredients guacamole and jalapeno mayo are every bit as South Texas as they are West Coast. So really, this was like a San Antonio club sandwich, a club where were already members. On ExpressNews.com: Mike Sutters top 10 best coffee shops in San Antonio Mike Sutter / Staff A trio of sandwiches paid tribute to the Midwest and New England, starting with the Jersey City ($9.99), a variation on a Chicago beef dressed out with shaved roast beef and melted provolone cheese with a side of salty beef jus for dunking. Generations of Chicagoans would testify that thats all you need, but the Jersey City added giardiniera for sour-spicy street cred. The Boston sandwich ($11.99) got more fussy, with a three-meat layering of capicola, pepperoni and Canadian bacon with provolone on a chewy Italian roll. The fussy part came from lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives and red vinaigrette dressing that, taken as a whole, made it more like eating a salad than a proper Italian deli sandwich. Mike Sutter / Staff Leave it to Cleveland ($9.99) to bring things back into balance with a blue-collar buildout of corned beef sliced thin and piled high on sourdough with melted Swiss cheese and Russian dressing with a horseradish kick that said through gritted teeth, I dare you to call me Thousand Island. One. More. Time. msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking | Instagram: @fedmanwalking During an interview at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando less than a week before the March 1 primary, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gave his elevator pitch to voters. Weve got a 90 percent success rate against the Biden Administration, he said. I just want to go back and finish that fight. Even after earning the most votes of any candidate yet still not winning outright hell face off against second-place finisher, Land Commissioner George P. Bush, in the May 24 runoff Paxton has continued to trumpet this number. I'm proud of my office's winning record against Joe Biden's radical policies, he tweeted on March 22. I've filed 25 lawsuits against Biden's reckless administration & we've won more than 90% of these. The rate is closer to 71 percent including cases where judges temporarily blocked President Joe Bidens policies but a final resolution is still pending, according to a Hearst Newspapers analysis. On HoustonChronicle.com: AG Ken Paxton bills Texas taxpayers for his defense in frivolous suit to overturn 2020 election Most cases are still winding their way through the courts. Three of five cases that have been resolved swung in Paxtons favor. Paxtons spokesman Alejandro Garcia countered that the office has a 94 percent success rate including defensive cases in which the state has been sued by the federal government. Garcia did not respond to multiple requests for clarification. The second-term Republican attorney general has been a prominent national foil to Democratic presidents since now-Gov. Greg Abbotts days fighting the Obama administration. I go into the office, I sue the federal government and I go home, Abbott famously said in 2013. He sued Obama 28 times over about five years for an average of less than one case a month. Paxton has taken that mission to a new extreme. In about 14 months, he has averaged nearly two cases a month. So far, he's won or been granted injunctions in 10 cases and lost or failed to get an injunction in four. The remaining 11 are awaiting an initial ruling. President Biden represents a new and unprecedented threat to Texas and America, Garcia said. Paxton has no choice but to aggressively sue and winover and over again. The primary policy area that Paxton has attacked Biden over in court has been immigration, followed by COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. He has also sued on environment and economic issues. Robert Henneke, executive director and general counsel at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, said Biden has relied more heavily on unilateral executive orders, rather than typical agency rulemaking processes. This administration, for political reasons, lacks the patience to be able to go through the time required to follow the traditional administrative steps, Henneke said. In his haste to implement these political promises, he made his efforts legally vulnerable. But legal experts who have been critical of Paxton say he purposely files in courts that are likely to land before a Trump-appointed judge, a practice known as judge shopping. The majority of Paxtons cases are before judges appointed by former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Paxton in his re-election race. Its supposed to be a fundamental principle of our legal system that the plaintiff cant pick their judge, said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas. And yet, by filing in Amarillo, Lubbock, Galveston, and other places nowhere near where OAG is actually located here in Austin, OAG is repeatedly manipulating the system to try to pick not just courts likely to be sympathetic to its claims, but specific judges likely to be sympathetic. Its not just home-field advantage; its home-field advantage where the home team is also hand-picking the referee. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Texas has four federal judicial districts, and those are further broken up into four geographic divisions. Every court divides up caseloads differently, and thats what allows litigants to anticipate ahead of time which judge is most likely to receive their case. Paxton files most of his cases in the Amarillo division of the Northern District of Texas, which has two judges, but the court set up assignments such that one Trump-appointed judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, hears 95 percent of civil cases, court documents show. A 2018 paper published in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review found that there are at least 81 divisions, across 30 district courts in the U.S., in which one or two judges hear every case. It showed Texas had more divisions where one judge heard more than 50 percent of cases than almost any other state. While divisional judge-shopping is legal, Vladeck said it raises questions about the strength of the suits and also increases litigation costs, which ultimately come out of taxpayers pockets, by requiring the office to send its lawyers across the state. Henneke said thats a longstanding, across the board tactic used by attorneys on either side of the aisle to consider whether judges in a certain district might have the history or background to give expertise in a case. A case thats pending can still have tremendous impact when a judge blocks a policy from going into effect, even if only temporarily. Take the first case Paxton filed against the Biden Administration over the presidents 100-day moratorium on deportations, one of his top immigration pledges when he took office. U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump appointee, quickly barred the government from enforcing the policy through various court orders. In his first major victory, Paxton withdrew his suit in May after the policy expired, and the Biden Administration declined to extend it. In another consequential win for Paxton, the Biden Administration was forced in December to reinstate a Trump-era program that required many asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while waiting for their cases to be decided. That came after the Supreme Court ruled the federal government had to obey an order by Kacsmaryk, the Amarillo Trump appointee, who ruled that the administration had failed to explain its reasoning for ending the policy. The High Court will hear arguments on the merits of the case Tuesday. taylor.goldenstein.@chron.com Endangered great bustards make spring journey back to nature reserve in N China's Inner Mongolia People's Daily Online) 14:19, April 22, 2022 A national nature reserve in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has recently witnessed the peak season for the return of endangered great bustards and other migratory birds, which have made the long journey back to the nature reserve in recent days. With multiple wetlands, the Tumuji National Nature Reserve in Jalaid Banner, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia is a key natural habitat of the great bustards, a species under first-class state protection in the country, and an important stopover for migrant birds in Northeast Asia. "So far, more than 60 pairs of great bustards have been found nesting and reproducing at the nature reserve. There are over 260 great bustards at the nature reserve permanently and more than 300 in the spring and autumn," said Zhou Jingying, director of the research department at the nature reserve. Zhou added that the nature reserve is known as China's homeland for great bustards because so many of the endangered species of bird have been spotted there. Female great bustards fly southward to provinces such as Henan, Hebei and Shandong along with their young every autumn to overwinter while the adult males will stay behind at the nature reserve in the winter season. The birds begin to return to the nature reserve every April, explained Zhai Tiemin, a photographer who has taken photographs of the species for nearly eight years in the nature reserve. A great bustard flies over the Tumuji National Nature Reserve in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Photo/szb.northnews.cn) (Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun) Pope Francis stands up as he holds the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, April 20. Reuters-Yonhap Plans for Pope Francis to meet in June with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who has backed Russia's war in Ukraine, have been suspended, the pope has told an Argentine newspaper. Reuters reported on April 11 that the Vatican was considering extending the pope's trip to Lebanon on June 12-13 by a day so that he could meet with Kirill on June 14 in Jerusalem. A Vatican source familiar with the planning for the Jerusalem stop said on Friday that it had been at an advanced stage, with even the location for the meeting chosen. Francis told La Nacion in an interview that he regretted that the plan had to be "suspended" because Vatican diplomats advised that such a meeting "could lend itself to much confusion at this moment". It would have been only their second meeting. Their first, in Cuba in 2016, was the first between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism that split Christianity into Eastern and Western branches in 1054. Kirill, 75, has given his full-throated blessing for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a position that has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion that theologians and academics say is unprecedented. The 85-year-old Francis has several times implicitly criticized Russia and President Vladimir Putin over the war, using terms such as unjustified aggression and invasion and lamenting atrocities against civilians. Asked in the interview why he has never named Russia or Putin specifically, Francis was quoted as saying: "A pope never names a head of state, much less a country, which is superior to its head of state". Putin, a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, has described Moscow's actions as a "special military operation" in Ukraine designed not to occupy territory but to demilitarise and "denazify" the country. But Francis has specifically rejected that terminology, saying it was a war that has caused "rivers of blood". Francis said earlier this month that he was considering a trip to Kyiv, telling reporters on the flight to Malta on April 2 that it was "on the table". He has been invited by Ukrainian political and religious leaders. Asked in the Argentine interview why he has not gone so far, he said: "I cannot do anything that would jeopardize higher objectives, which are an end to the war, a truce or at least a humanitarian corridor. What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war continues the next day?" (Reuters) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PARIS (AP) No more Muslim headscarves in public. All schoolchildren in uniforms. Laws proposed and passed by referendum. Generous social services unavailable to foreigners unless they've held a job for five years. That's just a sampling of Marine Le Pen's vision for France if the far-right leader wins Sunday's presidential runoff election against incumbent Emmanuel Macron. In all things, France, and the French, would come first. Polls portray Macron as the front-runner in Sunday's vote, but a Le Pen win is possible an outcome that could rock Frances system of governance, strike fear among its immigrants and Muslims, jolt the dynamics of the 27-nation European Union, and unnerve NATO allies. Macron, 44, a centrist who is ardently pro-EU, has relentlessly blasted his adversary as a danger and framed their election showdown as an ideological battle for the soul of the nation. Le Pen, 53, views Macron as a progressive technocrat for whom France is just a region of the EU. She says she would retool the country's political system and the French Constitution to accommodate her populist agenda, putting the EU into second place and making France truer to its bedrock principles. I intend to be the president who gives the people back their voices in their own country, Le Pen said. Critics fear a threat to democracy under Le Pen, a nationalist who is cozy with Hungarys autocratic prime minister, Viktor Orban, and anti-immigrant far-right parties elsewhere in Europe. Le Pen met with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the 2017 French presidential vote that she lost to Macron in a landslide. The United States has long considered France its oldest ally, but a Le Pen presidency could pose a problem for the Biden administration by undermining trans-Atlantic unity over sanctions against Russia and by bolstering autocratic populists elsewhere in Europe. The National Rally leader also is wary of free-trade deals and would seek a more independent stance for France in the United Nations and other multilateral bodies. In a column Thursday in several European newspapers, the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal all backed Macron, raising a warning about populists and the extreme right who hold Putin as an ideological and political model, replicating his chauvinist ideas. They have echoed his attacks on minorities and diversity and his goal of nationalist uniformity, wrote German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Le Pens meeting five years ago with Putin has haunted her campaign amid Russia's war in Ukraine, even though she has condemned the Russian invasion without ambiguity. But if she were president, Le Pen said she would think twice about supplying Ukraine with weapons and would oppose energy sanctions against Moscow for the sake of French pocketbooks and for the Russian people. She also said she would pull France out of NATO's military command, weakening the Western military alliance's united front against Moscow, and that there should be a strategic rapprochement with Russia once the war is over, echoing the past position of Macron, who has tried his own outreach with Putin. Still, his government says it has sent more than 100 million euros ($108 million) in weapons to Ukraine since the war started, and France has been central to the West's ever-tougher sanctions against Russia. Le Pen has projected a nurturing image throughout her campaign, saying she would oversee France as the mother of the family. She has focused on the purchasing power of consumers while standing firm on emblematic issues that define the far right, such as immigration, security, national identity and sovereignty. To soften the blow of rising prices, Le Pen wants to slash taxes on energy bills from 20% to 5.5%. She promises to put 150-200 euros ($162-$216) per month back in consumers' pockets. Macron, a former French economy minister and banker, considers such measures misdirected and economically unviable. Le Pen insists her agenda addresses the France of the forgotten that he has ignored. She has proposed a referendum revolution as the centerpiece of her plan to help heal the democratic fracture that she says accounts for low turnout in recent French elections and growing social discord. Laws could be passed by referendum bypassing elected lawmakers - after supporters gather the signatures of 500,000 eligible voters, That was a demand of the sometimes violent yellow vest movement that challenged Macrons presidency two years ago. During my mandate, I count on consulting the only expert that Emmanuel Macron never consulted the people, Le Pen said this month. But there's a hitch. The French Constitution would need to be revised to give citizens such a direct voice in lawmaking. It would also need changing for another key Le Pen goal: giving a national preference for state housing and job benefits to French citizens before foreigners. Macron failed in his own bid to change the constitution, a complicated process requiring support from both houses of parliament. Le Pen wants to skirt that by using a special article in the constitution like Gen. Charles de Gaulle did in 1962 to allow for direct universal suffrage. She wants to dynamite liberal democracy by calling on the people, four constitutional law professors wrote in the newspaper Le Monde. Le Pen would use a referendum for other items in a controversial package to stop uncontrolled immigration. These include treating any asylum demands abroad, not in France, and systematically expelling migrants without residency papers, among others; and ending automatic citizenship for those born in France to foreign parents. She would also reinstate uniforms in all schools, and fortify police powers. Le Pen has called Muslim headscarves Islamist uniforms and proposed a ban on wearing them in public. Macron said in a debate Wednesday night that such a ban could lead to civil war in the country that has Western Europes largest Muslim population. But it was an elderly woman in a blue-and-white headscarf confronting Le Pen last week in the southern town of Pertuis who may have put a dent in her plan. What is the headscarf doing in politics? she asked Le Pen. After the pushback by the woman, Le Pen party officials moved into damage control, saying that banning headscarves in streets would be progressive and not target a grandmother of 70. Le Pen, nevertheless, said Friday on Europe 1 radio that their role of grandmother is to protect their little granddaughters, and I ask them to help me. - Follow APs coverage of the French election at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022 HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) Texas oldest death row inmate was executed Thursday for killing a Houston police officer during a traffic stop nearly 32 years ago. Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the June 1990 fatal shooting of Houston police officer James Irby, a nearly 20-year member of the force. The U.S. Supreme Court had declined a request by Buntions attorneys to stop his execution. I wanted the Irby family to know one thing: I do have remorse for what I did, Buntion said while strapped to the Texas death chamber gurney. "I pray to God that they get the closure for me killing their father and Ms. Irby's husband. RELATED: 12 Texans who narrowly escaped death row execution I hope to see you in heaven some day and when you show up I will give you a big hug. Buntion, joined by his spiritual adviser, began praying Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd... as the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began. He took a deep breath, coughed once, then took three less pronounced breaths before all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead at 6:39 p.m., 13 minutes later. Several dozen motorcyclists, showing support for the slain motorcycle officer, loudly revved their engines as the execution took place, the roar clearly audible in the death chamber. Buntion had been on parole for just six weeks when he shot the 37-year-old Irby. Buntion, who had an extensive criminal record, was a passenger in the car that Irby pulled over. In 2009, an appeals court vacated Buntions sentence, but another jury resentenced him to death three years later. I feel joy," the officer's widow, Maura Irby, said after watching Buntion's execution. I'm sorry someone died. But I didn't think of him as a person. I just thought of him as a thing, as a cancer on the face of my family. On ExpressNews.com: Convicted killer of 2 in San Antonio is off Death Row, resentenced to life in prison Before his slaying, James Irby had talked of retirement and spending more time with his two children, who at the time were 1 and 3 years old, Maura Irby, 60, said earlier. He was ready to fill out the paperwork and stay home and open a feed store, she said. He wanted to be the dad that was there to go to all the ballgames and the father daughter dances. He was a super guy, the love of my life. Leading up to his execution, various state and federal courts had also turned down appeals by Buntions lawyers to stop his death sentence. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday had rejected his clemency request. Buntions attorneys said he was responsible for Irbys death and deserved to be punished severely for that crime. But they argued his execution was unconstitutional because the jurys finding he would be a future danger to society one of the reasons he was given a death sentence has proven incorrect, and also his execution would serve no legitimate purpose because so much time has passed since his conviction. His attorneys described Buntion as a geriatric inmate who posed no threat as he suffers from arthritis, vertigo and needed a wheelchair. This delay of three decades undermines the rationale for the death penalty ... Whatever deterrent effect there is diminished by delay, his attorneys David Dow and Jeffrey Newberry, wrote in court documents. With his execution, Buntion became the oldest person Texas has put to death since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976. The oldest inmate executed in the U.S. in modern times was Walter Moody Jr., who was 83 years old when he was put to death in Alabama in 2018. On ExpressNews.com: From Death Row to gallery walls: San Antonio artist Mark Menjivar explores death penalty in two new exhibits Buntion was also the first inmate executed in Texas in 2022. Although Texas has been the nations busiest capital punishment state, it had been nearly seven months since it carried out an execution. There have been only three executions in each of the last two years, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic and delays over legal questions about Texas refusal to allow spiritual advisers to touch inmates and pray aloud in the death chamber. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court said states must accommodate requests to have faith leaders pray and touch inmates during executions. As Texas prepared to execute Buntion, officials in Tennessee canceled the execution of an inmate Thursday in what would have been the state's first execution since the start of the pandemic. Oscar Smith, 72, was scheduled to die for the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her teenage sons. Republican Gov. Bill Lee didnt elaborate on what issue forced the surprise 11th-hour stop to the planned execution. Texas prison officials agreed to Buntions request to allow his spiritual adviser to pray aloud and touch him while he was put to death. The adviser, Barry Brown, placed his right hand on Buntion's right ankle in the moments before the drugs began flowing and prayed for about five minutes. He said Buntion no longer was the hard-headed young man but had been humbled by the walls and cold steel of prison. While the execution stirred up painful memories for her, Irby said it also reminded her of her advocacy work in public safety after her husbands death, including helping put together legislation that allowed victim impact statements at trials. I still miss him, 32 years later, she said Thursday night. ___ Lozano reported from Houston. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 ___ This story has been corrected to show that Buntion, joined by his spiritual adviser, began praying Psalm 23. A man accused of assaulting a family member killed himself Thursday morning at the Bexar County jail, officials said. Emmitt Earl Byrd, 44, was discovered hanged and unresponsive at about 9:51 a.m., according to the Bexar County Sheriffs Office. A detention officer cut Byrd down from the ceiling and began life saving measures. Medical staff attempted to revive Byrd until first responders arrived and continued chest compressions, authorities said. On ExpressNews.com: 40-year-old inmate stabbed to death in the Bexar County Jail First responders pronounced Byrd dead at 10:17 a.m., officials said. Per standard procedure, the sheriffs office is conducting three concurrent investigations into Byrds death by the criminal investigations division, internal affairs and the public integrity unit. In accordance with the Sandra Bland Act, the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constables Office was notified of the death as an outside agency required to investigate. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards was also notified. So far, investigators said it appears that all policies and procedures were followed. On ExpressNews.com: Inmate dies of possible medical episode inside Bexar County Jail Byrd had been in jail since Sunday on charges of violation of a bond or protective order and assault of family by choking or strangulation, a second-degree felony. His bail totaled $19,000. Anyone who has suicidal thoughts or knows someone in need of intervention may call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. The lifeline is open 24/7 and provides free and confidential support for people in distress, as well as prevention and crisis resources. jbeltran@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Wearing a striped T-shirt that showed off his tattoos, Willyvaldo Nunez said he couldnt decide whether to keep them. On the one hand, removing some of the ones that alluded to his past might improve his chances of finding work. On the other, Nunez felt he shouldnt be pigeonholed as a criminal for his ink. They judge the book without even reading it, he said. Still, he had taken a flyer from SouthWest Tattoo Removal and Professional Skincare, which offers free and low-cost services through its nonprofit tattoo removal program. Since he left prison April 4 after serving 10 months for a probation violation, Nunez, 31, has been trying to reenter the workforce. But its been hard. Spooked by his criminal history, Nunez said, most hiring managers have blown him off, reluctant to take a chance on someone with a rap sheet. Society has stigma on those who have a record, and that stigma has really been very difficult to shake because we have vilified people who might just have made a mistake, said Bexar County Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert. So, discouraged by the stream of rejections, Nunez registered for the eighth annual Second Chance Job Fair. Held annually by the Bexar County Re-Entry Center, the Second Chance Job Fair connects people seeking employment, especially those who have been incarcerated, with nonprofit organizations, potential employers and providers of services such as resume editing and transportation assistance. In so doing, Calvert, who co-hosted the event, said, it helps former inmates land jobs, which, in turn, reduces recidivism. The fair has a direct effect on crime, Calvert said. Early Thursday afternoon, Nunez took the bus from the halfway house he is staying currently to the Freeman Coliseum. Rows of booths manned by representatives for charities, county programs, businesses and companies clogged the interior of the building. Most offered some sort of enticement to pique interest among passersby: fans, bandanas, doughnuts, water bottles, peanut butter cups, bags of Skittles, fun-size Snickers and Milky Way bars. By 12:30 p.m., around 300 people filled the stadium. Carrying a blue cloth bag filled with souvenirs, including the SouthWest flyer, Nunez said he was especially interested in working with cars. Before he was arrested Aug. 27, he made a living auto detailing. Two weeks after his arrest, his mother passed away from COVID-19, a loss he still feels keenly. He said he wasnt even able to attend her funeral. I came out to not having my mom no more, he said. Its not the same thing (as before). However, Nunez still has family in the area, including a wife, four kids and a brother who is studying to become a diesel mechanic and is pushing him to do the same. When he heard several mechanics were present at the fair, his face lit up. By the end of the day, he had secured an offer from the body shop MAACO Collision Repair and Auto Painting. caroline.tien@hearst.com Emma Straight Eight Oliver, whose unprecedented death sentence for a third murder embroiled Bexar County in a sensational legal fight almost a century ago, was the first Black woman sentenced to die in Texas. Oliver, an expert with a knife, slashed to death a woman and two men with her long, straight eight blade. You might also like: Welcome to your nightmare: 38 years ago, feds raided a Kerr ranch where hitchhikers were tortured Once declared one of the most feared women in San Antonio, Oliver was sentenced to die in the electric chair in 1950. Three years later, she died of cancer in Goree Prison Farm in Huntsville. She was 43. Olivers violence on San Antonios East Side spanned 20 years, according to the San Antonio Light. In 1934, Oliver killed Rosie E. Brown after an argument. Oliver thrust her knife into Browns chest. She received a five-year suspended sentence for the murder, according to the Light. For the next 12 years, Oliver was arrested numerous times for assault but was never prosecuted. In 1946, Oliver killed Jerry Ebrony. She was sentenced to five years but only served 18 months. A week after her release from prison, in the same bar where she had killed Embrony, Oliver plunged an ice pick into the shoulder, back and neck of Joseph Hamilton, according to the Light. Hamilton lived. On ExpressNews.com: River of urine: Visitors don't hold back in one-star reviews of top San Antonio-area swimming holes and water parks In 1950, Oliver stabbed Herman Cohn, 35, of Conroe, to death in her room in the 2300 block of E. Commerce, according to the Light. He was reportedly killed over a $3 debt. After a two-day trail before a packed courtroom, the jury deliberated for more than five hours before returning the death verdict on April 4, 1950. Oliver reportedly showed no emotion when Judge W.W. McCrory ordered her to die, according to newspaper accounts. She walked from the courtroom with her head up. Olivers request for a new trial was later denied by McCrory. The judge said he denied her a new trial in a deal with district attorney Bill Hensley, who later died in a plane crash. McCrory alleged Hensley agreed to later jointly seek a commutation of the death sentence to life. According to McCrory, Hensley reneged on the deal. Hearst newspaper archives The case was appealed on Dec. 13, 1950, but an appellate court upheld the death sentence. In February 1951, the court of criminal appeals denied a motion for a new trial. The death penalty was formally assessed on March 30, 1951, by McCrory, and the execution was set for May 30. On June 4, the board of pardons and paroles granted a 30-day reprieve to give the appellate court time to act on a writ of habeas corpus. That motion, as well as another motion for a new trial, was overruled. Oliver reportedly became religious while awaiting transfer from the Bexar County Jail to Huntsville, where state executions take place, according to the Light. I dont want you to get me out, Oliver reportedly told Dr. P.S. Wilkinson, pastor of New Light Baptist Church. I just want you to prepare me to meet my maker. Wilkinson recalled that he was having a weeklong revival at his church when Oliver requested to be baptized. Chief Deputy George Huntress took her to the church. On that Sunday, more than 2,000 people turned out to see it, according to news accounts. Wilkenson baptized her and offered a prayer that she be spared from being the first Texas woman to go to the electric chair at the state prison in Huntsville. When Oliver moved into her death cell on April 2, 1951, special quarters were prepared. At the time, the state prison had no facilities to care for a condemned woman. Only two other women were condemned to death after 1924. Both women had their sentences commuted before they reached prison. Just a week before Oliver was to die in the electric chair, Gov. Allan Shivers commuted her sentence to life in prison. Oliver was moved to the Goree Prison Farm. Eighteen months later, she became ill and lost more than 50 pounds. Shortly after midnight on Feb. 6, 1953, Oliver died of cancer. timothy.fanning@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Toysha Zuniga, 23, left her native Nicaragua in early February, determined to reunite with a sister along the Texas coast. Two months later, on April 3, she had crossed the Rio Grande and turned herself in to a Border Patrol officer in Brownsville. On Friday, the weary-eyed woman who had been through a kidnapping along the way in southern Mexico was delivered from Dilley by a government-contracted shuttle with more than a dozen other women to the Greyhound station in downtown San Antonio. I made it, she said, rubbing her eyes. It was hard, but in my country, its harder. An hour later, a white bus parked near the station, and 60 to 70 migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and elsewhere poured out. Some had manila envelopes or bundles of Mexican pesos in hand, asking immigrant advocates and other bystanders where they could exchange the money for dollars or buy cards for cellphone minutes. Some sought transportation to the airport to make flights leaving later that day for the Midwest and East Coast. Ernesto Sosa, 31, clad in bright yellow clothes and baseball cap, raised his hands to the sky, exultant that his two-and-a-half month trip from Cuba finally paid off after he, too, gave himself up to the Border Patrol. Finally! he exclaimed. I feel good because Ive made it to the land of happiness! The immigrants are among hundreds who passed through San Antonio this week after being processed for their initial asylum requests by Border Patrol agents at the Texas border. For some, their destination was San Antonio, but for many more, it was farther inland: North Carolina, Tampa, Fla., Miami, San Francisco, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Cleveland and other cities. The numbers of migrants were so high a month ago that Mayor Ron Nirenberg expressed his concern in a letter to federal officials that San Antonio was seeing an unsustainable increase in migrants and needed more funding to help shelter and feed them. City figures show that from January to April, the city served 55,068 migrants transitioning through San Antonio. Over 10 days in March, an average of 628 people were staying in local shelters, parks or at the airport, according to the letter, which the city released to CNN. The Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursed San Antonio $434,377 for migrant services through last September, with around $706,000 in additional reimbursements pending for the final three months of last year, city records show. The city said in a statement that it expects to spend $8.5 million this year to continue serving migrants. Nirenberg refused to be interviewed for this story. There might be some who are eager to politicize a change in federal policy, but in San Antonio we just want to ensure that the migrants passing through our city are treated as humanely as possible while guaranteeing that our local partners and resources are not stretched beyond their limits, a spokesman for Nirenberg told the San Antonio Express-News. As the Biden administration prepares to end a border policy called Title 42, the city and nongovernmental agencies have been quietly working behind the scenes to prepare for what could be a flood of many more immigrants in San Antonio. The scene could lead to a repeat of 2019, when 32,000 asylum-seeking immigrants from Central America passed through San Antonio and the city put up a welcome center across the street from the Greyhound bus station from March to October of that year. The citys Human Services Department operated the center, in coordination with other city departments, the San Antonio Food Bank, the Interfaith Welcome Coalition, Travis Park Church, Catholic Charities, and other nonprofits and community volunteers. The city said Friday that it has decentralized its migrant support this year and is partnering with the nonprofits at multiple locations. Title 42 policy was enacted under former President Donald Trump, allowing immigration authorities to turn away migrants, even those seeking asylum, at the border. It is named for a 1944 public health law to prevent the spread of communicable disease. With COVID-19 numbers down in the first quarter of the year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave notice that it is ending Title 42 on May 23. Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, his administration has quickly deported hundreds of thousands of migrants under the public health law. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration on Friday, arguing that it lacked authority to end Title 42. The Interfaith Welcome Coalition said it saw more than 300 immigrants daily at the Greyhound bus station in March, almost twice as many as the 150 to 200 it is seeing each day this month. At the airport, there were 300 to 500 a day. With those numbers, local nonprofits that help immigrants will be pressed because some are in need of volunteers. In March, we saw this humongous amount of people, said Tori Salas, coordinating director with the coalition, a nonprofit that assists asylum-seekers, refugees and other immigrants. We didnt understand where the rush was coming from. But we are in need of volunteers. Even before Title 42 comes to an end, she said, the Border Patrol has been processing some immigrants and some are ending up at Travis Park, near the bus station. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat whose district includes a portion of San Antonio, said he spoke with Homeland Security Department officials in Washington this week and asked if they were estimating 18,000 immigrants (coming in) once Title 42 goes away. They said, Well, its a little lower, its going to be only 10 (thousand) to 12 thousand people a day, Cuellar said. Whatever number it is, I mean, those are large numbers. And look, this used to be a border issue, but talk to your mayor. I talked to him. I saw the letter. Youve seen people being dropped off from Uvalde, from Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo down here at the Greyhound station and hanging around Travis Park or at the airport itself. Cuellar said that through a program he and Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas started in 2014 and remodeled in 2017, the federal government reimburses cities, counties and nonprofits for help housing immigrants who are permitted stays in the United States while seeking asylum. Recently, a supplemental funding bill added $150 million to that fund, Cuellar said. San Antonio gets money for reimbursements because otherwise they drop them off at the Greyhound station and theyre around Travis Park, Cuellar said. If the numbers come in the way we expect them, $150 million for the entire nation is not going to be enough. Cornyn said: The bottom line is that the federal government needs to do its job and step up, enforcing current laws and improving the laws that need to be fixed, like our broken asylum system, Cornyn said. guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Two City Council members and others will volunteer Monday to help San Antonio Ukrainians gather medical supplies to help troops and civilians caught up in the Russian invasion of their country. Adriana Rocha Garcia and Manny Pelaez will be on hand at UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive. Those wishing to donate can drop off supplies at the main entrance parking lot between 9:15 and 3:15 p.m. Former state senator Leticia Van de Putte has been moved to University Hospitals Reeves Rehabilitation Center, where she continues to recover after she was hit by a car and thrown through the air in the Orlando, Florida, area almost three weeks ago. The hospital reported she remained in good condition Friday. Van de Putte, 67, is going through physical therapy and occupational therapy in rehab and is in great spirits, her husband, Pete, said in a Facebook post. On ExpressNews.com: Witness: Van de Putte cartwheeled in the air, tossed like a ragdoll when hit by SUV in Florida All the prayers, flowers and cards have really encouraged her as she travels the long and painful journey to full recovery, Pete Van de Putte wrote. Please keep her in your prayers. They are working. The accident happened on the afternoon of April 3 when Leticia Van de Putte was walking in a designated crosswalk while she had a pedestrian signal indicating it was time for her to cross. While she was in the crosswalk, she was struck by a 2017 Nissan Armada driven by an Illinois man, who was making a right turn. Van de Putte was thrown a horizontal distance of at least 10 feet and landed on her head in a roadway, one witness told the San Antonio Express-News. She suffered fractures to her pelvic area, two broken ribs, compressed vertebrae in her lower back, a subdural hematoma of the brain and lacerations to her arms and legs. Van de Putte, a well-known Democrat, served 24 years in the Texas Legislature, both as a state representative and a state senator. She ran for Texas lieutenant governor in 2014, but lost that election. She narrowly lost an election for San Antonio mayor in 2015. pohare@express-news.net | Twitter: Peggy_OHare Molly Livesay was a rambunctious child, so her mother signed her up for local theater clubs, hoping to find an outlet for her energy. It was sort of just like daycare, not serious acting, but that is where I learned I liked performing, Livesay said. I didnt even understand, then, the concept of acting. I was just given lines and (would) just have fun. As a high school senior, she still has fun with it and as the first semi-finalist from San Antonio in the English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition set for Monday on Zoom, she has a chance to win $1,000 if enough people vote for her video turn as Lady Macbeth in the Peoples Choice part of it. Its not for the faint of heart, but anyone can view Livesays chilling performance from MacBeth, Act 1, Scene 7, online in which the ruthless wife of the title character tries to nerve her husband to kill his friend, the king, by describing how she would kill her own baby if she had to. (Bonus: She also recites Sonnet 138.) And anyone can vote for Livesay by texting NSC3 to 1-212-818-1200 before midnight Friday. As she grew up, Livesay gradually learned there are actual ways to go about acting and practicing it, she said. Her appreciation for Shakespeare started with Romeo and Juliet in her freshman English class at Great Hearts Monte Vista North, a charter school located on the campus of Trinity Baptist Church. That affinity is what carried her so far in the prestigious national competition, said Helen Potter, the theater teacher at Great Hearts. Livesay is the first San Antonio student to become a semi-finalist. Molly just really loves Shakespeare in a way that not a lot of young kids can really appreciate Shakespeare, or tend to, Potter said. And that love comes across in her performance. You really get the sense that shes not taking something that is foreign to her and trying to deal with it in an awkward, I dont know what this is way. She really understands what that character is going through. Livesay said she can recognize Shakespearean origins in the plot lines of modern-day movies and plays. Sam Owens, Staff Photographer / San Antonio Express-News It is fun if you give it the chance, Livesay said. A lot of people dismiss it, they say, Oh it is confusing so Im not going to try. Well, then, it is not going to be fun. She chose her contest role because she tends to be type cast as the clown in drama class. To Livesay, thats a compliment, because it means people find her funny, but she wanted to challenge herself to step into a different role and Lady Macbeth is anything but funny. I wanted to take on this really mean and twisted person, because I dont think Im like that in real life, Livesay said. This monologue caught my attention because the way she is performing it is this perfect balance of manipulating her husband, so she has to be kind, but there is also like a malicious look behind her eye the whole time. Sam Owens, Staff Photographer / San Antonio Express-News She won the Austin branch of the ESU contest in February, but didnt make the final cut of 12 national finalists. If Livesay wins the Peoples Choice award second place is worth $500 and third place wins $250, but the competition is tough the prize money will help her attend the American Shakespeare Center theater camp this summer. She went last year and it was probably the best summer of my life, she said. Livesay will be attending Loyola University Chicago in the fall and will minor in Shakespeare studies. Shes not exactly sure yet about her acting career, but she is confident that she wants Shakespeare to be a passion and a big part of her college experience. claire.bryan@express-news.net Joyce Packey Stein lived in an upper middle class home in a quiet section of Terrell Hills but was planning to move to Austin following her stormy divorce. The 39-year-old mother of two never got the chance to make that move. You might also like: This unsolved 1994 homicide of a MacArthur student is among the Texas Rangers' top cold cases On April 12, 1976, her ex-husband Stanley Stein and her boyfriend George Hanzi found her on the balcony of her two-story home in the 900 block of Eventide Drive with four .38 caliber bullets in her body. Stein, clad in a bloody white nightgown, was dead on the second-floor balcony overlooking the pool for 30 hours before she was found, authorities said. Forty-six years after she was killed, Stein's homicide remains unsolved. San Antonio Light The story of Steins untimely death fills hundreds of pages of reports in the Terrell Hills Police Department. According to the reports, her ex-husband was abusive and was ordered by a judge just weeks before Steins death to stay away from her. The reports also say she was dating two men at the time one who saw her hours before her death and another who knew how many times she was shot and where, as well as intimate details about her homicide that others questioned by police werent privy to. The reports, however, don't reveal why authorities never made an arrest. The case is now inactive. At least six neighbors told police they heard a volley of shots just after 1 a.m. Related: There are 88 unsolved homicides in San Antonio since 1970. Here are some of the notable cold cases. One neighbor remembered hearing the shots and thinking that it sounded like someone was really pissed off, according to the police report. Another neighbor thought she saw a man running north on a nearby street. No one called the police. Over the years, law enforcement officials have said they had a pretty good idea of who killed Stein but could not prove it. An ugly divorce Stein worked for a Ford dealership in Devine, about 35 miles southeast of San Antonio, and was awarded custody of her 11-year-old son, Eric, in an ugly divorce proceeding. Just months before her death, her oldest son, Stanley Jr., 21, died from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident. It was at the hospital where she met Dr. Gary Ferris, an osteopath and radiologist. Ferris told police and journalists that they were engaged to be married. He said they planned to move to Austin together. Stein's friends and family told police a different story. Steins mother described him to police as nutty. Stein allegedly told friends that Ferris was "an inexperienced lover," snored, ate his food too quickly, and burped loudly in public. San Antonio Express She preferred George Hanzi, her other boyfriend, friends told police. After a planned brief stint in Austin with Eric, her son, Stein was planning to move her family to Atlanta to live with Hanzi. Her marriage to Stanley Stein broke up a little over a year before she was supposed to make the move. Stein had filed for divorce in 1971 and again in 1972, but the suit was dropped, records show. Margaret Packey, Steins mother, told police that Stanley had beaten her several times. In 1972, he broke her nose so badly that she required surgery, Packey told police. In 1975, she followed through with the divorce. According to court records, she got the Terrell Hills home, valued at what was then $129,000. She was going to receive $15,000 from the sale of the home. You might also like: Thomas J. Henry, law firm among defendants in lawsuit filed by alleged sexual assault victim In the weeks before she died, a judge granted a restraining order against Stanley Stein. She also filed a motion with the district court asking that her ex-husband be found in contempt for allegedly failing to honor the divorce decree. In her motion, she alleged that Stein had failed to pay child support and that he had allegedly failed to sign any of the instruments necessary to consummate the sale of the property, as required by the divorce decree. Stanley Stein told investigators he had tried to contact her several times the day before he discovered the body, and became worried when she did not pick up their son, Eric. You might also like: San Antonio insurer USAA reaped unfair windfall from excessive premiums during pandemic Stanley Stein later took and passed a polygraph test. As did George Hanzi. After wrapping up a three-day garage sale, she invited Hanzi over for dinner on a Saturday night. Police said less than two hours later, she was dead. One bullet struck her in the left buttocks and another on her left side. Its possible Stein had been running toward the open second-floor balcony and the safety of the outside, according to the police report. But the gunman caught up with her and shot her two more times in the head. Glaring, eating rose petals Both Hanzi's and Stanley Steins alibis appeared to satisfy police. Ferris was the only person who didnt take a polygraph test. Police said he contradicted himself several times during his interviews with authorities. En route to a polygraph test in Austin, Ferris told a detective that he had not taken any medications, but then told the polygraph examiner that he had taken medications and was refused the test, records show. Ferris had been in a Bexar County hospital the night Stein was killed. A nurse told detectives that Ferris was awake all night and looked upset, which he attributed to his lack of sleep. The nurse also told police that he had an IV in his arm and was seen in his bed at 2 a.m. San Antonio News On the day Steins body was discovered, Ferris called her home three times, police said. On one occasion, he told Bexar County Sheriff's detective Bill White exactly where she had been shot. When asked later how he knew about the location of the multiple gunshot wounds, Ferris said he spent time in forensic science work and that these were the most common places to be shot, according to police reports. Ferris lawyer ended the conversation soon after. Shortly after Ferris learned of Steins death, he told her friend that he went to the scene to look around, according to the police report. He also told the friend that the police were not doing a good enough job. He also told the friend that Stein's ex-husband had threatened to kill her, police said. When the friend encouraged him to go to the police with the information, he said, What if I get an unfriendly policeman? according to police. Ferris was also dwelling on whether Stein really liked him, the friend told police. At Steins funeral, Ferris chewed on rose petals and glared at her ex-husband and her other boyfriend, who sat in the front row, friends told police. Ferris placed the remaining rose on the casket as it was being lowered into the ground. This case happened 10 years before I was born In 1977, a year after Stein was killed, Terrell Hills Police Chief W.C. Bill Madison told the San Antonio Light that new evidence had been uncovered and that he hoped to take the case before a Bexar County grand jury shortly. Madison, who had taken over shortly after several of the major investigators retired or left the department, said they had several prime suspects. But it appears this attempt, like much of the investigation, came up empty. Its unclear why the case never went before the grand jury. In 1986, Stanley Stein and his new wife, Sandi, died in a midair airplane collision over Southern California. Ferris moved to Culver City, California, where he ran an osteopathic practice. In 2005, Terrell Hills police ran a background check on Ferris. Five years later, the department announced that it was reopening the case. However, nothing appears to have come from it. Eric Stein, her son, died in 2012 at the age of 48. His obit did not say how he died. The Stein case is now listed as inactive, which means the case is still open but there is a lack of leads or information that would allow the case to be resolved. Detective Michael Guttierrez, a spokesman for the department, says he doesnt know why the case wasnt solved. This case happened 10 years before I was born, Guttierrez said. And without knowing the investigators themselves, I couldnt make an educated guess on what happened. He added: Anyone with information on this case can reach out, and I will reopen it. I am not in the business of letting things go unsolved for no reason. Information from Hearst Newspaper archives were used in this report. timothy.fanning@express-news.net Russia's defense ministry said Friday it was ready for a humanitarian ceasefire at Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the strategic port if Kyiv's soldiers surrender. Russia on Thursday said it had gained full control of the strategic eastern Ukraine city, except for its huge Azovstal industrial area. President Vladimir Putin ordered a blockade of the steelworks, where hundreds of civilians are reportedly sheltering with Ukrainian troops. "We once again declare that Russia is ready at any moment to introduce a regime of silence and announce a humanitarian pause for the evacuation of civilians," the defense ministry said in a statement. It added that the ceasefire would start with the "raising of white flags" by Ukraine's forces "along the entire perimeter or in certain areas of Azovstal". "If such signs are found in any part of the Azovstal metallurgical plant, Russia's Armed Forces... will immediately stop any hostilities and provide a safe exit," the ministry added. According to the ministry, civilians will be escorted to either territories controlled by Ukraine or to Russia, depending on their choice. The surrendered Ukrainian soldiers will be "guaranteed" their life, it said. "This statement will be continuously communicated to the Ukrainian formations at Azovstal on all radio channels every 30 minutes," the ministry said. (AFP) We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise, to scapegoat and deflect from the fact they arent doing anything to fix the real issues that impact peoples lives. And I know that hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen. We will not let hate win. With these words from an eloquent and righteously indignant speech last week, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow went viral. McMorrrow, a Democrat, was responding to a fundraising email from a Republican colleague claiming children were under assault from gender-bending indoctrination and race-based education. The letter accused McMorrow of being among progressives who are outraged they cant teach cant groom and sexualize kindergartners or that 8-year-olds are responsible for slavery. The accusations are lies and disgusting, aligning with the sick QAnon obsession with recklessly labeling political opponents as pedophiles and child traffickers. Hating is violence. This hatred, left unchecked, will lead to physical violence, one reason McMorrow was right to vow, We will not let hate win. RELATED: Clack: If Lucio is executed, no cleansing such a moral stain But lets not underestimate hates chances. Unlike Father Time, Uncle Hate isnt unbeaten but has chalked up a centuries-long record of wins and is remarkably durable. Of all the diseases that have inflicted humanity, hate is the oldest, most infectious and most virulent. Its also the most preventable since we choose if we hate. When its not prevented, called out and challenged, hate is a fuse that runs through history and leaves destruction in its wake. Hate doesnt have a political orientation but will happily go wherever its invited and stoked, and where it can blind its hosts to their own culpability of inviting it to stay. Hate deflects responsibility for its existence and projects its moral failings onto those were asked to hate. In George Orwells 1984, there is a period during the day when Party members gather for Two Minutes Hate in which they are driven into a frenzy by watching a film of the people who are supposed to be their enemies. Their frenzy rages until the image of Big Brother, their leader, appears on the screen to comfort them, followed by Party slogans: WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH MORE FROM CLACK: Clack: In these precarious times, precious Lord, take our hands Were living in a 24-hour news cycle of Two Minutes Hate. The mindset and tactics McMorrow spoke against encourage fear of critical race theory, transgender kids and immigrants, and glibly dismiss political opponents as woke, socialists and leftists out to destroy America. Its a mindset that sees other Americans as more worthy of contempt and condemnation than Russian President Vladimir Putin. To hate someone is to deny their humanity, their dignity, their right to exist. To falsely accuse someone of vile actions is to not only invite hatred but violence upon that person. This is why hate cant be met with hate, because it perpetuates. McMorrow demonstrated that refusing to answer hate and lies with more hate and lies doesnt mean running away. It means confronting the spewers of hate, looking them in the eyes and calling them out. Its not transgender kids or people who want a full and accurate teaching of our nations history who will ruin our country. Its those who make them objects to be feared and hated. Its those who shun and stereotype people who are different. Its those who want us to remain a nation of shadowboxers, sparring with images and reflections, while never having contact with what is real. RELATED: Clack: March until the day democracy is secure Its those who want to divide us, make us a nation of strangers to our history and the lives of others. And its those who incite us to be afraid of each other, to always be peeping around the corners of our fears. In Carlos Fuentes novella Constancia, a character asks, How long a vigil, I ask myself, does historical violence impose on us? The answer is, until we choose to end it, beginning with confronting those who want it to continue. cary.clack@express-news.net Lizelle Herrera must have been caught off guard by the media attention. Before this month, she was living out of the spotlight. She didnt want one of her most difficult, desperate decisions blasted in headlines and on social media. For every Lizelle Herrera, there are thousands of Texas women who get or need abortions and cant afford to travel out of state. They are suffering under the states so-called heartbeat bill, which is among the most restrictive abortion laws in our nation. Its a choice that shouldnt be decided by federal or state governments but increasingly is. Abortion is not a choice I would make. But imagine the isolation and desperation of women who believe their only option is abortion. None of us know the circumstances of others. No one knows another persons full story. And we dont know a lot about Herreras story. RELATED: After pursuing an indictment, Texas district attorney drops murder charge over self-induced abortion We know Herrera is 26 and lives in or near Rio Grande City on the U.S.-Mexico border where, over and over, people who should have helped and protected her didnt. Like women before the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that affirmed the constitutional right to abortion and is now on the ropes Herrera, according to statements and court documents, induced her own abortion. When something went wrong, she went to the hospital for help, but staff alerted law enforcement. Her April 7 arrest by the Starr County Sheriffs Office was for causing the death of an individual by self-induced abortion in January. Even before Herrera went to the hospital, she was failed. Herrera had strong allies in the Frontera Fund, South Texans for Reproductive Justice, Latina Institute Texas, ACLU of Texas, and other organizations and advocates who rallied for her. On April 9, the day her bail was paid, some of her supporters gathered outside Starr County Jail. They knew she was wrongfully charged with murder. We all knew. Even the sanctimonious politicians who profess family values then look away when women need help obtaining contraception, accessing health care and raising babies they cant afford. South Texans for Reproductive Justice said on Facebook it raised $1,250 for Herrera and called the victory bittersweet because it took national attention for charges to be dismissed: Everyone should be able to trust their health care providers without worrying about being criminalized. And most importantly: SOUTH TEXANS DO NOT STAND DOWN. WE WILL FIGHT BACK WHEN OUR RIGHTS ARE VIOLATED. Texas has among the most restrictive abortion laws in our nation. Senate Bill 8, enacted eight months ago, prohibits abortion as early as five to six weeks of pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant. Its a safe assumption this law kept Herrera from seeking a safe abortion in a health care setting. MORE LIKE THIS: Bexar DA joins four others to say: We wont prosecute women seeking abortions She would have had to travel to Oklahoma and New Mexico, like nearly 1,400 Texas women per month, according to a March study by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas at Austin. Its possible she couldnt afford the trip. Options are even fewer now that Oklahoma has banned most abortions. I wonder how Herrera felt when District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez said on Facebook he would immediately file a motion to dismiss the indictment against her. Was she relieved? Angry that so many failed her? Confused? The Washington Post reported Ramirez was remorseful and many believe his decision wasnt part of a broader anti-abortion strategy but a hasty error by a first-term Democratic district attorney. Though Roe v. Wade could be overturned or weakened by the Supreme Court this summer, no law in our state or nation criminalizes mothers yet. Herrera sat in jail on a murder charge that never should have happened. Many wonder what the future holds for other women if abortion rights are lost. We know that whats transpired has taken a toll on Herrera and her family, because Ramirez said so in his statement in which he also said Herrera did not commit a criminal act under the laws of Texas. It took him too long to figure that out, but this may be just at the beginning for Texas women. Nancy.Preyor-Johnson@express-news.net For more than 50 years, the Institute of Texan Cultures, or ITC, has played an important role educating Texans and others about the states unique cultural heritage. During that time, the landscape of Texas and San Antonio has changed. And with each generation, the states cultural dynamic evolves. Since 1973, the University of Texas at San Antonio has stewarded the ITC. In 2021, it launched the ITC Centennial 2068 Community Stakeholder Visioning initiative to gather community input while recognizing the important connection between the cultural history of Texas and a vision for momentum. Three task forces assembled a diverse group of more than 40 industry and community leaders, each with a distinct set of expertise and experiences, to lead the charge. The Museum of the Future Task Force envisioned a way for the ITC to provide engaging and distinctive learning experiences for visitors and schoolchildren. The Community Engagement and Sustaining Support Task Force focused on deepening engagement to enhance the ITCs impact. The Facility and Land Stewardship Task Force considered the optimal internal/external physical space and location of the ITC to enhance the programmatic experience. Despite being three different groups, we were surprised at the number of commonalities that surfaced. Through the process, we deliberated with subject matter experts, reviewed consultant reports, had robust discussions and sought community input. Each task force committed to a process that valued every voice. Though the possibilities for our recommendations could have been wildly different, we found many areas of overlap in the final recommendations we presented for community feedback and to the steering committee for the second phase of the visioning process. First and foremost, we recognize the need to create a revitalized and relevant ITC with interactive and immersive experiences, dining and retail options, and a strong brand to generate community pride. Accessibility for all ages and languages, to all spaces, to all exhibitions and community activities, and to all forms of transportation is essential. We envision an ITC that is a welcoming and stimulating presence for local visitors and a sought-after attraction to visitors from across the globe. We recognize the significance of the ITCs cultural festivals and recommend exploring more opportunities for cultural engagement activities that will bring additional visitors, revenue and exposure. Leveraging the ITCs pivotal role in education and strengthening the connection to UTSA faculty, programming and resources will open a wealth of possibilities for the community, and for UTSA students and faculty. Exploring partnerships and affiliations to celebrate cultural engagement will build a better ITC. Many of our discussions included talk of the facility known as the Texas Pavilion, the current home of the ITCs collections and the site of its cultural festivals for nearly 50 years. While the Texas Pavilion, built for the 1968 Worlds Fair, is renowned, it does not meet museum standards for the maintenance of exhibitions and archives. Nor does the facility have the technological capabilities to meet the needs of an immersive museum experience. The cost of meeting those needs is prohibitive. Establishing a modern, highly visible and appropriately designed museum facility with flexible space to accommodate multiple functions and high use is crucial to usher the ITC into the future. We believe the ITC should remain downtown. As ITC Centennial 2068 task force chairs, we are grateful for the time contributed by each task force member and subject matter expert, and we are grateful for their candor and their respectful, passionate exchange of ideas and perspectives. We are proud of their work and look forward to the next phase of the process as the steering committee synthesizes our recommendations, the community feedback and the expert resources to create feasible scenarios for the future of the ITC to present to UTSA leadership later this spring. Most importantly, we look forward to an exciting new future for the Institute of Texan Cultures. Matt Brown, Darryl Byrd and Chris Torgerson are ITC task force co-chairs. This commentary also reflects the views of Karl Miller-Lugo, UTSA vice president for development and alumni relations; Veronica Garcia Rodriguez, interim head curator for the UTSA ITC; and Veronica Salazar, UTSA chief financial officer and senior vice president for business affairs. Re: Change the trajectory, panel says of aging Institute of Texan Cultures, SA Inc., Feb. 27. We write to express our deep concern and offer a rebuttal to the views in this article, which summarized a report from the Urban Land Institute, or ULI, offering recommendations regarding the future of the University of Texas at San Antonios Institute of Texan Cultures, or ITC. In addition, an interview with one of the report authors on Texas Public Radios The Source on Feb. 23 is of concern. UTSA commissioned the report as part of the ITC planning process. It was done over a four-day period via Zoom or telephone interviews. The report argues the ITCs home is the leftover Texas Pavilion of the HemisFair 68, which was built as a temporary exhibit facility and is in poor and unsafe condition. The building does not meet standards for a museum, and the institutes programs and exhibits should be moved to one of five recommended Hemisfair locations. The building could be demolished to make room for other UTSA programs and the property monetized as a revenue stream for the university. We strongly disagree with the ULI reports recommendations and conclusions. The building housing the ITC was designed as a permanent facility to continue the mission of the Texas Pavilion after the fairs conclusion. Legislation appropriating funds to construct the building made this clear. Prominent architects in Texas were commissioned to design the building to last. The building is massive, structurally strong and sound. Its safety has never been challenged or cited by any relevant or appropriate agency. Interestingly, it is about the same age as UTSAs four original core buildings. The buildings design reflects Texas and the fairs theme, the confluence of cultures. The entire building reflects this theme, and three examples come to mind: Streams of water come together at the buildings entrance and flow into the pond under the entrance bridge, ending in Lake Texas with a fountain originally spouting water more than 25 feet. The exhibit featured the story of Texan cultures through a film commissioned for the fair. The film was mechanically projected onto a huge dome screen via 35 mm, slide and other projectors. The dome show has since been digitized, allowing for the flexible use of the dome theater made possible by a large gift of a former ITC advisory council member. The features and accouterments inside the building, such as marble, colors, paneling, flooring and furnishings, were chosen from Texas products or with Texas in mind. The building is eligible for placement in the National Register of Historic Places through the Texas Historical Commission. The commission granted this eligibility in a 2013 letter. The Conservation Society of San Antonio has been a consistent supporter and advocate of this effort, as have several reports and studies. A structure placed in the National Register acknowledges its historical significance and grants it protection from demolition or major external changes The condition of the building does require some remediation, but the cost mentioned in the report is questionable. An informal audit of the building by the American Alliance of Museums indicated that humidity controls were inadequate for a museum and was the sole issue for accreditation. Remediation could be achieved by installing air locks at all entrances to the exhibit floor and support units. The authors of the ULI report do not recognize that most of the museum features they envision at a new location are already available at the current location: education and community space; suitability for contemporary media; exhibit flexibility and innovation; and space to grow. In sum, the challenges presented by the condition of the building could be overcome. The San Antonio community has embraced the ITC as a museum for all Texans. This is the nature of our city. For more than 300 years San Antonio has cherished and heralded its history and culture. Part of our charm and sense of community emerges from our past. We preserve what we value. For more than 50 years, the ITC has been a gathering place that tells a story about all of us. We should be careful about what we protect and what we save, because doing so reminds us that we all belong. In 1968, we needed a place that told the history of Texas through its people. That need is greater today. A renovated ITC building must remain in place for the purpose intended a tribute to the people with their culture who came to Texas, and continue to arrive, and make it great. Leticia Van de Putte is a former Texas state senator who represented San Antonio. Jude Valdez, Ph.D., is a former University of Texas at San Antonio vice president. This commentary also reflects the views of Yvonne Katz, Alamo Colleges trustee; Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert; GP Singh, chair of the Institute of Texan Cultures advisory council; and Dr. David Cohen, Institute of Texan Cultures advisory council member. As music director of the San Antonio Symphony, I had the privilege to lead an organization that has compassion and a true sense of solidarity. The symphony was always underfunded and the musicians notoriously underpaid. But from day one, I was mesmerized by a spirit of commitment and talent that resulted in artistic excellence surpassing orchestras with budget levels three times higher. Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony, or MOSAS, was created by the musicians and their desire to be more involved and engaged in the community. It is a true demonstration of ownership and commitment. The Symphony Society has canceled almost the entire concert season due to conditions that forced the musicians to strike seven months ago. Compounding the societys draconian cuts has been its failure to build a foundation for the future. Yet the musicians whose expertise is performing music at the highest level, not fundraising or concert organizing managed to do what the society could not: join with community partners to return to the stage. This is historic, and surely an embarrassment for the management and board. When asked by the musicians to conduct, I agreed without any hesitation. The concerts are supported by the Symphony League, the Symphonys support group created in 1950. This is not a competing entity. This is basically the San Antonio Symphony. Its obvious that MOSAS concerts can only take place when the San Antonio Symphony is not performing. That is true for all the musicians, and its also true for me. My solidarity with the musicians is a given and unconditional. As music director emeritus, Im here to serve the community, our audience and the musicians. The Symphony Society should be grateful to the musicians and the league for keeping alive the mission to bring concerts to the community. Instead, they cynically quote a standard paragraph in a contract that is designed to protect an organization presenting an artist from competitors in the same market. Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony and the Symphony League are not competitors; they both represent the San Antonio Symphony family. My situation is just another demonstration of an irritating disconnect. The struggle and suffering, the violation and breaching of the contract the symphony had with the musicians is the true violation, the cause of this whole dilemma. The post-pandemic performing arts world needs a new vision for the future. These challenges should be on our minds. Only in solidarity can we rebuild a thriving symphony for San Antonio. Divisiveness doesnt lead anywhere. Lets start a constructive dialogue about the future of the performing arts in San Antonio with the symphony as its sociocultural and educational cornerstone. Im looking forward to being part of this dialogue on and off stage. Im not being terminated by anyone. Ill be back, but not as the terminator. Much love to all of you. Sebastian Lang-Lessing was the music director emeritus for the San Antonio Symphony. Omar Ornelas, MBR / Associated Press Weve never viewed Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller as a serious and conscientious public servant. Elected in 2014, Millers first official act as commissioner was to grant amnesty to cupcakes in schools. Miller is well known for posting false, insensitive and inflammatory statements and memes on social media. These are often sexist and racist, and sometimes get deleted. Hes called Hillary Clinton the C-word, honored Confederacy President Jefferson Davis during Black History Month, endorsed the atomic bombing of the Muslim world and accused an opponent of liking Nutella banana crepes. April is the Month of the Military Child, but Gov. Greg Abbotts policies dont support all military children. On Feb. 22, he ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to launch child abuse investigations against the parents of transgender children whove received gender-affirming medical care. The move against the widely accepted and sanctioned treatments resulted in lawsuits and vast criticism. Amid the backlash is a March 24 message the U.S. Air Force sent its members to remind them that the service has resources to help if theyre impacted by local laws. Various laws and legislation are being proposed and passed in states across America that may affect LGBTQ Airmen, Guardians, and/or their LGBTQ dependents in different ways, said the statement that highlighted assignment, medical, legal and other resources available to support Airmen, Guardians and their families. An aside, Guardians is the term for members of the Space Force, which is part of the Department of the Air Force. RELATED: Air Force vows to protect service families from states like Texas that target LGBTQ people San Antonio native and Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones said the health, care and resilience of Air and Space Force people and their families is not just our top priority its essential to our ability to accomplish the mission. Some may criticize the Air Forces message of support to its people as a sign of a woke military, but we see it as good leadership and necessary to maintaining national security, especially as the services recruiting numbers are down. It is also, quite simply, the right thing to do. Transgender children are people who are often bullied, ostracized and at higher risk of suicide. It is vitally important, and humane, for other people as well as institutions to offer affirmation, acceptance and support. Jones continued, We are closely tracking state laws and legislation to ensure we prepare for and mitigate effects to our Airmen, Guardians and their families. The Express-News recently reported that as of last week no members of the service had come under state scrutiny, but that doesnt mean Abbotts edict hasnt created stress and worry for military families with transgender people with orders to a Texas base or already assigned here. Beyond discrimination and cruelty, Abbotts policy will hurt the states diversity and inclusiveness, as well as its pocketbook. Some military families with transgender members may not volunteer for assignments, extend their tours or choose to remain in Texas after leaving the military. And with the militarys Exceptional Family Member Program, some families might curtail their Texas-based assignments or avoid the state altogether. The extra moves and personnel changes wont be free, and the Air Force should send the bills to the governor. MORE EDITORIALS: Editorial: Trans bills see imaginary dangers, not real children While Abbott claims to support the military, his letter is the latest in actions that say differently. Consider Operation Lone Star, his ill-conceived border security mission thats mobilized more than 10,000 Texas Guard members, many involuntarily. The operation has been plagued with suicides, accidents, pay issues, bad morale, poor living conditions, transparency issues and a high price tag. Then theres the confusion he sowed among his forces by undercutting Defense Department guidance for all military people to get the COVID vaccine. And he banned masks at schools, which created a conundrum for the schools on military bases where masks were required. The longer Abbotts decree targeting transgender families holds, the more the states reputation of military friendliness fades. The governors performative politics may also give senior military leaders pause in recommending new missions and make the state more vulnerable to base closures. Could San Antonio Military City, USA maintain that moniker if portions of the military population feel discriminated against by the state? Should we judge a soldier by their gender or a family members gender, or by their act of service? Abbott wont repeal his letter, but he should. We applaud the Air Forces message of support to its people and challenge the rest of the Defense Department and other federal agencies to do the same. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Alamo Colleges Districts five colleges serve more than 68,000 students. It is a vital part of our community, and so are its trustees. The nine-member board, elected to six-year terms, sets the districts tax rate and determines tuition rates. One Alamo Colleges seat is on the ballot. Early voting begins Monday. For the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees District 2 seat, we recommend incumbent Gloria Ray. As a native San Antonian, retired Air Force civil servant and longtime community volunteer, Ray offers experience and deep community connections. Prior to Rays 2020 election, she served for 13 years as the volunteer chair of the districts Citizens Advisory Committee for capital improvement projects across the districts five campuses. She faces Jakub Kosiba, a Polish immigrant whos spent most of his life in San Antonio. He works as a teacher, businessman, and appointed member of Kirbys building and structure committee. While Kosiba impressed us with his understanding of the office and passion for community college education, there is no need to replace a dynamic and thoughtful incumbent who serves with integrity and passion. In an Editorial Board meeting with both candidates, Kosiba raised concerns about difficulties transferring college credits, tuition increases and budget transparency. But Alamo Colleges District has made strides in transferring credits, and it continues to improve. Ray said the district has very aggressive transfer advising guides with four-year institutions locally and across the state that have reduced the number of problems with transferring from a community college to a four-year institution. She acknowledged that tuition has gone up three times since 2011 and pointed out the districts $17 million investment in a free textbook rental program. She also highlighted the districts workforce development efforts, as well as the Alamo Promise program that helps students from 47 local high schools with scholarships to attend the districts colleges tuition-free important efforts that can drive generational change. For the Alamo Colleges board of trustees, District 2, we recommend Ray. Residents stay in their yard during a COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown in the Jing'an District of Shanghai, April 21. AFP-Yonhap Stiffening their resolve after three weeks of a strict lockdown, the authorities warned Shanghai's 25 million frazzled residents Friday that their purgatory would go on until the COVID-19 virus was eradicated neighborhood by neighborhood. Offering a glimmer of light, the city government said on its official WeChat account that infections were showing a "positive trend" and that life could return to normal soon as long as people stuck to strict rules to curb the spread of COVID-19. Yet some Shanghai districts tightened restrictions on movement, and even in neighborhoods that met criteria for people to be allowed to leave their homes officials ordered them to stay put, fraying nerves in families who have endured weeks of isolation. "Our goal is to achieve community zero-COVID as soon as possible," the government said, referring to a target to stamp out transmission outside quarantined areas. "This is an important indication that we win this major, hard battle against the epidemic ... so that we can restore normal production and life order." Shanghai locked virtually all of its 25 million people into their homes at the start of April after infections began to surge. Residents have faced income losses, family separations and difficulty meeting basic needs. Health officials raised hopes for some return to normal by saying transmission had been curbed, only for city officials to pour cold water over such expectations as the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has proven hard to eliminate. Late on Thursday, Shanghai announced a new round of "nine major" actions, including daily city-wide testing from Friday, minimizing people movement and accelerating transfers to quarantine centers. Videos circulated widely on Chinese social media this week of busloads of people being taken to quarantine centers, at times outside Shanghai. Some residents complain that isolation orders are issued en masse and indiscriminately for the sake of speed and efficiency, with little consideration for individual circumstances. City authorities urged people to cooperate with the painful measures to make sure the progress made so far is not lost. Resident Zhang Chen, 30, told Reuters her four-year-old son and his 84-year-old grandmother were taken to a quarantine center Sunday, along with her in-laws and she was worried that the poor conditions in the facility may affect their health. She said meals lack nutrition breakfast is two slices of toast; the building is dusty and only partly renovated; there are no showers; and there are too few toilets. "They are patients, not criminals. But here it's like they're criminals, and being sent off to suffer," Zhang said. People in protective suits unload boxes labeled soy sauce from a truck, following the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, April 21. Reuters-Yonhap The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese financial hub reported 15,698 new local asymptomatic coronavirus cases, down from 15,861 a day earlier. New symptomatic cases stood at 1,931, down from 2,634. There were 250 new cases outside quarantined areas, down from 441 the day before. There is particular focus on cases outside quarantined areas as those could be the first places where restrictions are relaxed, if Shanghai follows the pattern of other cities that have been under lockdown. Eleven people infected with COVID-19 died in Shanghai April 21, authorities said, taking the tally to 36 all recorded in the past five days. But there are doubts over the official toll, as many residents have said that a family member had died after catching COVID-19 since early March, but the cases had not been included in official statistics. The Shanghai government did not respond to questions on the death toll. Businesses are beginning to reopen, though they have to operate under "closed loops," which entail living on site, daily testing and rigorous disinfection. Beijing last week published a list of 666 firms in Shanghai prioritized to reopen or keep operations going and the Shanghai government said Friday that 403 were doing so as of April 20, citing U.S. automaker Tesla as an example. Factories, however, face reduced trucking availability, fractured supply chains and a shortage of labor, and are far from resuming full production, economists say. (Reuters) By John F. Wasik, RealClearInvestigations April 21, 2022 When Sam Semilia toted up his retirement finances, he was pretty sure that he was due a pension from his time working as a steam engineer for the Diamond Crystal salt company four decades before. Salty is one way to describe the search for his money, a four-year odyssey filled with shredded paper trails and assorted dead ends, along with a brief history of modern American capitalism. These obstacles included the fact that while Diamond Crystal was still a familiar brand, it had been bought and sold by several companies through the years each one newly responsible for old pensioners. As he traced that snaking path, he found that his original paperwork may have no longer existed, as business records mostly went digital since he left the company in 1979. "I don't know how someone would do it without documents," said Semilia, 71. "I kept all of them, including a worksheet and cover letter, but it still wasn't good enough." Over the past several decades, as a wave of stock-market crashes, recessions, de-industrialization, and the pandemic have roiled U.S.-based companies, millions of workers like Semilia have been impacted by lost or terminated pensions. Many may not know how to claim the money they earned. While business owners are required to inform participants when a defined benefit plan shuts down or terminates, the process is often far from smooth especially when workers have moved. As a result, it is often supremely challenging to know where to look or whom to ask, even when pensioners have all their records. At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars from defined benefit (DB) pension plans the old-style, single-employer plans that used to guarantee lifetime benefits. More than 61,000 defined benefit plans have been terminated by employers over the past 30 years. These pensions used to guarantee payments at retirement, but now they are rarely offered to new corporate employees, although they are more often used in the public sector. But all is not lost. Many of these plans are backstopped by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Created by federal law in 1974, the PBGC is similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. A quasi-public insurance/regulatory entity, it monitors and insures trustee defined benefit pension plans. When companies fail, or they terminate their plans, these are taken over by the PBGC. It collects premiums from companies to cover beneficiary payments and administrative costs. All told, the PBGC is responsible for current and future pensions for workers in 4,200 single-employer and multiemployer pension plans. Yet trying to find out if youre entitled to unclaimed defined benefit pension payments is like entering a bewildering labyrinth. If you know the exact name of your plan or the current name of the company administering it (or if the PBGC is the trustee of a terminated plan), thats a start. One Mans Search As Semilia began searching for his pension in 2016, he was well prepared. He had documents verifying his benefits, a company cover letter, and even a statement of earnings from the Internal Revenue Service. He had called every agency from the U.S. Department of Labor to the many corporations that had acquired Diamond Crystal over the past four decades. He learned that Diamond had changed hands multiple times. As near as Semilia could figure, its convoluted string of owners included the multinational corporation AkzoNobel, and another major corporation, Cargill. Further complicating matters: As Semilia would come to discover, one of AkzoNobel's spinoffs Nouryon Chemicals was a custodian of relevant records. Complicating matters still further, MetLife had been retained at some point to administer the benefits. He hit a major roadblock when an AkzoNobel representative told him they had found his file but that it showed he had accepted a lump sum payment in 1990. This was not correct. Despite calling these various organizations every 90 days or so, he never received a payment. Neither the Social Security Administration nor the IRS could not warm his cold trail. In utter frustration, Semilia sought help. He connected with Jennifer Anders-Gable, a lawyer with Western States Pension Assistance Project, a nonprofit that helps people track down pensions. With her assistance, Nouryon located Semilias records. It paid him over $5,200 in retroactive benefits (including interest) and continued to pay him the monthly $81 benefit he earned many decades ago. He was surprised that things worked out so quickly after we got involved since he had been trying to initiate benefits for years on his own, Anders-Gable said. Semilias experience is not unusual, said Jane Smith, a policy analyst with the nonprofit Pension Rights Center, Unless you get lucky in an internet search, she said, a pension plan can be extremely hard to locate. The centers chief operating officer, Kyle Garrett, added, A lot of people are not internet savvy and they will hit a lot of dead ends. Dumping Pensions Defined benefit plans used to be the gold standard in private-sector retirement plans. Back in 1975, they covered more than 27 million workers; today it is fewer than half that number, according to the Congressional Research Service. Now 401(k)-style plans predominate in the retirement programs of private employers, covering more than 85 million employees. Companies have been accused of dumping pensions into the lap of the PBGC, which has financially struggled in recent years to keep up with terminations. When companies experience financial difficulties or choose to direct corporate capital elsewhere, they often underfund their plans. Under the most dire circumstances, they can terminate them, leaving the PBGC on the hook for billions in future benefits and shortchanging workers who were expecting those payments. If a plan terminates, the PBGC may not make a former employee whole on the entire benefit that was promised at retirement. It will pay an annuity based on the retirees age and employment duration. The maximum annual benefit the PBGC will pay depends on the persons age: The younger he or she is, the lower the monthly benefit. United Airlines, for example, shut down its pension plan as part of bankruptcy reorganization for 14,000 active and retired pilots in 2004. At the time, the severely underfunded plan had $2.8 billion to cover $5.7 billion in owed benefits, known as liabilities. The PBGC only covered $1.4 billion in future worker payments. It was the third-largest claim in the history of the PBGC at the time. Pilots saw their future pension payments reduced by thousands of dollars a year. The PBGC insures only defined benefit pension plans, which began to disappear in the 1970s. These are not to be confused with the 401(k)-style defined contribution (DC) plans now common in the private sectors retirement programs. Employers and professional fund trustees held and managed the assets of DB plans; employees never really owned or had direct access to them. By contrast, employees own and manage the money in their 401(k) plans and take it with them when they change jobs (although that doesnt always happen). Unlike defined benefit plans, however, 401(k)s do not make guaranteed payments and are not insured by the PBGC. The Spreadsheet From Hell Pension plan administrators and the PBGC are obligated to track down beneficiaries who have moved on, but the companies that originally provided the plans may have gone into bankruptcy, merged, been acquired, or moved. They are difficult to trace. Yet another wrinkle is that your employer may have terminated a plan after you left the company. The PBGC has a long spreadsheet list of terminated or trusteed plans that is available online, but its more than 5,000 lines long . . . and unalphabetized. Its not user-friendly unless you know what youre looking for and know the precise name of the company plan. You also need to know if you qualified for a benefit and how much that benefit would be, given your years of service. DB plans have various, often complex vesting periods that would qualify you for payments. To know if youre due a pension, you would need to know those rules at the time you signed up or have a summary document of those rules. The spreadsheet list, however, is only for single-employer plans that have shut down. It doesnt include multi-employer plans, the names of potential beneficiaries, or the vesting rules for those plans. Not everyone who worked for a company is eligible to participate in a plan and earn a vested benefit, the PBGC states. Typically, individuals must work at least five years and meet other requirements to earn a benefit. Ideally, one federal agency should have an easily searchable online portal to find lost benefits, but at present the information is dispersed in multiple places. The resources needed to help pensioners are sparse and scattered. Its easier to search for a restaurant near you or to order consumer goods online. Government Overwhelmed Considering the amount of money involved, and what an important source of income this is for retired Americans, it would be reasonable to expect that between the PBGC, the Department of Labor, and the IRS, the effort to locate pension recipients would be more robust. But thats not the case. The IRS, for example, used to notify beneficiaries that they were entitled to benefits. That service was discontinued in 2012, when the agency announced that it would no longer process requests to locate retirement plan participants or beneficiaries. Retirees were advised by the IRS to use an online search, a commercial locator, or credit reporting agencies to retrieve their pension benefits. A likely candidate to help beneficiaries would be the U.S. Department of Labor. While the DOL has a mountain of reporting requirements and vast enforcement capability, it doesnt offer a service to find lost pensions. (If a pension that you know you have is underfunded, the DOL can provide that information.) A PBGC Advocate office was set up to assist beneficiaries. This under-publicized unit has a staff of three people, and is led by Constance Donovan, who said her office only receives about 20 inquiries a year regarding lost pensions. She didnt know the current number of beneficiaries entitled to benefits, although her staff works with the PBGCs Missing Participant Program, a liaison with employers that was expanded in 2018 to locate beneficiaries of defined contribution plans (401[k]-type programs). In some instances, we find out that someone is entitled to a benefit, but the name of the plan may have changed or the assets have been sold to another company, Donovan said. She added: There is no system to track pensions. Its a developing problem. There are nonprofit resources that can help. The aforementioned Pension Rights Center provides free legal assistance and counseling. You can also enlist a commercial unclaimed assets search service. In addition, the PBGC provides some tips on looking for an unclaimed pension. Congress to the Rescue? A searchable, user-friendly pension registry listing all shuttered DB plans, companies, and ways to connect with lost benefits would make eminent sense, but it doesnt exist. Considering that the PBGC has been around since 1974, this essential service is painfully slow in coming. The PBGC Advocates office and the Pension Rights Center have been working on such a registry for years. Of course, after some due diligence, you may be able to track down benefits from searching the PBGCs unclaimed pensions pageif you have the name of the plan and other detailsbut there are a few hitches: The agency has to have insured the plan and taken it over. Not all DB plans are covered by the agency. And the agency lacks a tool that links a renamed insured plan to a former plan. The U.S. House of Representatives on May 4, 2021 passed the Securing a Strong Retirement Act, which would create a registry of retirement plans to be housed at the Department of Labor that would enable persons to find a current contact for their plans so that they may claim their benefits. The registry would also provide information on defined contribution plans. The Pension Rights Center, which supports the legislation, notes that the registry is not final yet and could be changed, or even eliminated, as the bill goes through all the committees and to the Senate. In the interim, Donovan of the PBGC Advocate office says her agency has a technical roadmap for the pension registry that its creating with the General Service Administrations Centers of Excellence. But its a multi-phased project, so there is no hard date for when the pension search service will be up and running. Sam Semilia said such reforms are long overdue. Reflecting back on the four-year hunt for the money he was owed, he wistfully noted, A pension search tool wouldve been nice. A new campaign by the Landworkers' Alliance (LWA) is seeking to put an end to the export of UK-manufactured pesticides that are banned for use in the UK. The group, which represents represents 1,700 small-scale farmers and farm workers, says the government authorised the export of over 12,000 tonnes of the herbicide Paraquat and others in 2020. They are currently banned for use in the UK due to the risks they pose to human health and the environment. But loopholes in international trade law are allowing for companies like Syngenta to continue manufacturing and exporting them to countries where their use is permitted. The LWA says that weaker regulations, untranslated user instructions and a lack of adequate PPE in many of the importing countries are putting farmers at dangerous risk. It points to a recent investigation by Unearthed and Public Eye, which revealed that the majority of the UKs banned pesticide exports are shipments of the herbicide Paraquat, manufactured by Syngenta. Since it was first put on the market by British firm Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in 1962, tens of thousands of people including many children have died from ingesting Paraquat, the LWA says. In 2007, the UK banned it. "The UK government is currently pushing for increased trade with Brazil a country where Paraquat use is permitted, and where it has caused more deaths in the past decade than any other pesticide permitted for use," the group said. "A new trade deal with Brazil could end up lowering UK import standards, meaning that not only would UK consumers be eating food laced with toxic pesticide residues. "But UK farmers would be undercut by lower import standards, while the deadly risks of pesticide use are exported onto food producers in other countries." The LWA added: "We want the UK government to stop authorising the export of these deadly pesticides, and to ensure that any future trade deals dont weaken the UKs food import standards with regard to toxic pesticide residue. "Were asking our members and supporters to use our online letter-writing platform to email the UK government with these demands." McDonald's and Kingston Maurward College have launched a pilot programme to inspire young people to consider careers in food and farming. Set over three days, the pilot programme Reframing Nature saw eleven students from St Thomas More School swap their classroom for the countryside. Taking place on Flagship Farm in Sherborne, Dorset, they learnt more about pursuing careers in the land-based sector, which included hands on experience. The pilot was hosted by Kingston Maurward College and McDonald's, which works with over 23,000 British and Irish farmers. The programme enabled students to be immersed in practical activities onsite at the college, providing them with the chance to learn more about food production, animal welfare and wildlife conservation. During the visit, students also heard from the McDonalds Supply Chain team and one of the brands long-term dairy suppliers to understand more about working in the food and farming industry, The programme is being piloted to help inspire young people from urban backgrounds, who may not traditionally consider a career in food and farming, to think about a role in the industry. The initiative is part of McDonalds pledge to kick-start over 100 careers in the industry for young people from diverse backgrounds, as announced in its Plan for Change last year, as the brand works to increase diversity in the agricultural industry. Chris Truscott, Dorset McDonalds Franchisee said: The food and farming sectors are a huge part of community life in my home of Dorset. "Therefore it was important to me to spearhead this initiative with McDonalds to show young people from other parts of the country what careers in this sector, and across the McDonalds supply chain, can look like. "The more young people we can engage in these careers, whatever their background, the stronger our industry will be in future from farm to front counter. Frances Jenkins, careers lead at Kingston Maurward College added: Encouraging young, diverse talent to consider land-based careers is so important for the future of this industry, which is why were proud to be involved in this Reframing Nature pilot programme. "To be able to provide students from urban backgrounds with an experience of the sector, and to shine a light on the sorts of careers available within it, is just brilliant. "We hope initiatives like this inspire more people to consider a role within land-based industries in the future. A new service is to be established to offer vital advice and urgent practical support to Ukrainian seasonal horticultural workers in Scotland. Ukrainian workers play a key role in soft fruit and vegetable production in Scotland, but due to the war they are facing a range of concerns about their work, their homes, and their futures. The new Worker Support Centre, run by Scottish charity JustRight Scotland, will provide key support to workers on these issues. It will also provide immigration advice to enable them to stay and work in Scotland while returning to Ukraine is still unsafe. The centre will serve as a first contact for Ukrainian farm workers in Scotland, and will be staffed with former horticultural workers who speak Ukrainian and Russian. Minister for Refugees from Ukraine Neil Gray said: The new Worker Support Centre, supported by 41,000 from the Scottish government, will provide guidance, information and, we hope, some peace of mind to those people from Ukraine working in Scotland whose lives are severely impacted by the war at home. Agricultural workers from Ukraine play a valued and important role in the production of soft fruit and vegetables in Scotland. We know that as a result of Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine, there are a wide range of pressing and often complex issues which are likely to be of great concern, and it is essential that they receive support to navigate these. Project advisor for JustRight Scotland Caroline Robinson said: This Worker Support Centre follows models used around the world to offer temporary migrant workers advice and support in times of crisis. In countries from Canada to Germany temporary migrant workers are offered a similar service - this support can help prevent workers ending up in situations of human trafficking and is an important step forward for Scotland." Of those granted a Seasonal Worker visa in the UK in the year ending June 2021, 74% were Ukrainian nationals. Lamb exports from the UK recovered to pre-Brexit levels in February, while imports jumped, according to the latest trade figures. Exports recorded a sharp year-on-year rise, as trade last year was disrupted due to the end of the Brexit transition period and pandemic related restrictions. In February this year, exports totalled 6,300 tonnes, up 37% (1,700 tonnes) year-on-year, the latest data from HMRC shows. In the year to February 2022, UK exports totalled 10,400 tonnes, up 2,200 tonnes on the year. Analysing the figures, the AHDB said this volume was similar to pre-pandemic and pre-Brexit levels, and the EU remained the main destination. Meanwhile, UK imports of fresh and frozen sheep meat grew 66% (1,900 tonnes) year-on-year to 4,700 tonnes. This puts import volumes at their highest level for a February since 2018. Although there was a small rise in shipments from New Zealand and Australia, the majority of the increase was recorded in shipments from Ireland, up 1,100 tonnes. AHDB said that traditionally, imports of legs have made up around 40% of UK imports during the early part of the year. However, over the past two years this volume has dropped sharply, and this February, less than a quarter of the growth in imports can be attributed to leg cuts. AHDB said it was expected that volumes would be higher than last year, reflecting the fact that the UK wasnt in lockdown and the foodservice sector was open for business. In the year to February total import volumes stood at 9,100 tonnes, up 2,300 tonnes compared to year earlier levels. Only subscribers with PAID Print or E-Edition subscriptions please enter here to gain access. If you are not already a Paid subscriber do not go through this portal. Please return to the subscription page to purchase one of our offers. Thank you! India has its fair share of young eco-warriors who, via unique and ingenious tactics, are leading the discourse about climate change and eco-friendly living. On this Earth Day, we bring the spotlight on India's eco-warriors who are assisting in the preservation of the globe. Garvita Gulhati Founder of the Why waste? Initiative, Garvita promotes water conservation in restaurants after learning that eateries worldwide waste over 14 million litres of water each year. Gulhati's #GlassHalfFull initiative encourages customers to use only as much water as necessary. Gulhati, who is known as the 'Water Girl of India,' has prevented the wastage of 10 million litres of water in five lakh restaurants during the last six years. Namrutha Ramanathan After nine years in the corporate world, Namratha left in pursuit of something more significant in life. That is when she decided to pursue entrepreneurship and founded a company dedicated to repurposing textile waste into everyday things. What began as a side venture to break up the monotony of corporate life has evolved into "Upcyclie," a social impact effort. Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan Sridhar had always desired to simply sit and observe elephants. He is fascinated by everything about them; having grown up in close proximity to elephants in Kerala, hearing stories about them, seeing them in temples, and conversing with mahouts, he developed an academic interest in them and pursued a Ph.d. At the moment, this wildlife researcher and elephant conservationist uses social media to raise awareness and to pique people's interest in elephant behaviour and environment. Suneha Jagannathan An independent marine biologist from Chennai, Suneha has a keen interest in human-nature interactions, environmental education, reef ecology and conservation issues. Having worked on marine habitat restoration and marine education projects across the South Indian coastline, Suneha currently works on Reeflog, which is Indias first citizen science program, to exclusively monitor marine ecosystems. Through this program, our aim is not only to collate open-source data on our marine resources, but also increase ecological literacy among the dive community. Sanju Soman Sanju Soman, in partnership with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, developed the first model wetland village (ATREE). Additionally, he has fought to safeguard the Vembanad lake, a Ramsar site, and to promote sustainable fishing and clam harvesting. Archana Soreng A member of Odisha's Khadia Tribal Community, Archana engages young people from tribal communities and forest dwellers in discussions and debates about climate change. She is also a part of the 'Adivasi Drishyam' programme, which curates films and songs about indigenous medicines and melodies. Also Read: #NextBigThing2022: Indias New Green Warrior, Vinisha Umashankar Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category This week marked the tenth anniversary of Ayushmann Khurrana's debut film, Vicky Donor, in the Indian film industry. The actor has been working on a number of projects, one of which is An Action Hero, which is set to be released soon. The film is supported by Bhushan Kumar's T-Series and Aanand L Rai's Colour Yellow Productions. The film's announcement came a while ago, and filming began in 2021. The filmmakers have set a release date for the film, which is currently in post-production. Ayushmann took to Instagram on Friday to announce the release date, along with a new poster. Ayushmann posted, Stay in the blur till 2nd of December 2022. When asked about An Action Hero, which will be released in theatres this year, producer Aanand L Rai stated,Colour yellow is always excited to bring newer stories to its audience. Happy to have two of my favourite actors Ayushman and Jaideep in this thrilling journey of An Action Hero". Bhushan Kumar, the film's producer, stated about the film's release date, The entire An Action Hero team has put in a lot of hard work into making this happen. We have achieved quite a lot in such a short span of time and we are waiting to watch the final product on screen just as much as everyone else! See you in cinemas on December 2! An Action Hero, with its slick action and offbeat, satirical sense of humour, is set to hit theatres on December 2. The film began production in January 2022, with the London schedule generating a lot of buzz on the internet. Jaideep Ahlawat recently completed filming for the film, and even as the film prepares for post-production, the countdown to December 2 has already begun. Aside from An Action Hero, Ayushmann has two major projects in the works. The actor will reunite with Anubhav Sinha for the thriller Anek. He is also working on Doctor G, in which he will play a medical professional. 4 MELBOURNE, Australia and LIEGE, Belgium, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: TLX, Telix, the Company) today announces agreements with Sociedade Avanco, Unipessoal, LDA (Avanco) and THP Medical Products Vertriebs GmbH (THP) for the distribution of Telix's prostate cancer investigational imaging product Illuccix (Kit for the preparation of gallium-68 (68Ga) gozetotide (also known as PSMA-11) injection) for the Portuguese and Austrian, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic markets, respectively. Under the terms of the new agreement in Portugal, Avanco, a specialist distributor of nuclear medicine, radiotherapy technologies and urology biopsy products, will be the exclusive commercial distributor of Illuccix in the Portuguese market for a period of three years from the national approval date. In Austria, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, this new agreement builds on the support THP, a specialist distributor of nuclear medicine products, has provided Telix in distributing 68Ga-PSMA-11 for magisterial use since December 2015. Under the terms of the new agreement, THP will be the exclusive commercial distributor of Illuccix for a period of five years from national approval. The signing of these agreements coincides with a recent update to the European Association of Urology (EAU) 'Guidelines on Prostate Cancer', which demonstrates an increasing recognition of the clinical utility of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging modalities (PSMA PET), including gallium-68 PSMA-11, in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.[1] Telix CEO EMEA, Richard Valeix added, "Telix is building an extensive distribution network across Europe, with high quality partners with a strong reputation and radiopharmaceutical experience. We are pleased to welcome Avanco and further reinforce our strong collaboration with THP for the Portuguese and Austrian, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic markets, respectively, as we prepare for the European launch of Illuccix. These are important markets for Telix and, with PSMA-PET imaging emerging as a standard of care having recently been included in latest European[1] and U.S.[2],[3] clinical practice guidelines, we look forward to bringing this product to men in need, upon receipt of regulatory approval." Telix now has European commercial distribution agreements in place in France (IRE ELiT), Germany (Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG), Italy (Radius R.r.l) Spain (NUCLIBER S.A.), and the UK and Ireland (Xiel Limited), (all EU5 countries), plus Austria, Slovak Republic and Czech Republic (THP), Greece and Cyprus (BIOKOSMOS S.A.), Poland (Synektik Pharma Sp. Zo. o), Portugal (Avanco), Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway (all S Ahlen Medical Nordic AB). About Sociedade Avanco Avanco is a company focused on the commercialisation of advanced diagnostic and therapy solutions dedicated to cancer care. Avanco works closely with its clients to provide the best solutions matching their needs and this agreement represents a milestone in the strengthening of its portfolio, by improving access to this very important diagnostic modality. About THP Medical Products THP is a distributor of radiopharmaceuticals and life science research products, founded in 2000 and based in Vienna. Expertise and commitment to outstanding service and customer relations has led THP to become a significant player in the nuclear medicine market in Austria. THP's pharmaceutical representatives/product specialists support nuclear medicine departments in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic as well as referring physicians (e.g. radiologists, oncologists, hepatologists, haematologists, urologists and neurologists). In addition to selling products, one of THP's goals is to be a reliable and high-quality service provider for customers and business partners. In order to offer competent advice in medical, technical and logistical matters, THP requires top personnel and continuous education and training. About Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited Telix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of diagnostic and therapeutic products using Molecularly Targeted Radiation (MTR). Telix is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia with international operations in Belgium, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States. Telix is developing a portfolio of clinical-stage products that address significant unmet medical need in oncology and rare diseases. Telix is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: TLX). For more information visit www.telixpharma.com and follow Telix on Twitter (@TelixPharma) and LinkedIn. Telix's lead product, Illuccix (kit for preparation of gallium-68 (68Ga) gozetotide (also known as 68Ga PSMA-11) injection) for prostate cancer imaging, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),[4] and by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).[5] Telix is also progressing marketing authorisation applications for this investigational candidate in Europe[6] and Canada.[7] Telix Investor Relations Ms. Kyahn Williamson Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited SVP Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Email: kyahn.williamson@telixpharma.com This announcement has been authorised for release by Dr. Christian Behrenbruch, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer. Legal Notices This announcement may include forward-looking statements that relate to anticipated future events, financial performance, plans, strategies or business developments. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "outlook", "forecast" and "guidance", or other similar words. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's good-faith assumptions as to the financial, market, regulatory and other considerations that exist and affect the Company's business and operations in the future and there can be no assurance that any of the assumptions will prove to be correct. In the context of Telix's business, forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about: the initiation, timing, progress and results of Telix's preclinical and clinical studies, and Telix's research and development programs; Telix's ability to advance product candidates into, enrol and successfully complete, clinical studies, including multi-national clinical trials; the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, manufacturing activities and product marketing activities; the commercialisation of Telix's product candidates, if or when they have been approved; estimates of Telix's expenses, future revenues and capital requirements; Telix's financial performance; developments relating to Telix's competitors and industry; and the pricing and reimbursement of Telix's product candidates, if and after they have been approved. Telix's actual results, performance or achievements may be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, and the differences may be adverse. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Telix disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or a change in expectations or assumptions. The Telix Pharmaceuticals name and logo are trademarks of Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited and its affiliates (all rights reserved). [1] European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines on Prostate Cancer. Limited Update Mar 2022. Available at: https://uroweb.org/guidelines/prostate-cancer. [2] Trabulsi EJ et al. J Clin Oncol. Jan 2020. [3] National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) Sep 2021. Available at: https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/category_1. [4] ASX disclosure 20 December 2021. [5] ASX disclosure 2 November 2021. [6] ASX disclosure 10 December 2021. [7] ASX disclosure 16 December 2020. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1775408/Telix_Logo.jpg CLICHY (dpa-AFX) - L'Oreal said that its Annual General Meeting adopted all the proposed resolutions. The AGM approved the parent company financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for 2021. The AGM decided on the distribution of a dividend of 4.80 euros per share. The dividend is increased to 5.28 euros for shares that have been continuously held in the registered form since 31 December 2019 at the latest and until the dividend payment date, i.e. Friday 29 April 2022. The AGM renewed the term of office as Directors of Jean-Paul Agon, Mr Patrice Caine and Belen Garijo for a four-year term. The AGM approved the related-party agreement regarding the repurchase by L'Oreal of 22,260,000 shares from Nestle representing 4% of the share capital. The AGM renewed the term of office of Deloitte & Associes and appointed Ernst & Young, as a substitution for PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit, as Statutory Auditors. The Board of Directors, meeting after the General Meeting, decided to renew the dissociation of functions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Nicolas Hieronimus performing the duties of Chief Executive Officer, and to renew the duties of Mr Jean-Paul Agon as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Thierry Hamel and Mr Benny de Vlieger joined the Board of Directors as new Directors representing the employees, appointed respectively by the CFE-CGC (the most representative trade union in L'Oreal for France) and by the Instance Europeenne de Dialogue Social (European Works Council), for a four-year term. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX LOREAL-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de SHANGHAI, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SUNMI, the Chinese loT technology company, officially released the Brand Film Section 3 globally. After "Priceless" and "Change," Thanonchai Sornsriwichai, the famous Thai director, cooperated with SUNMI again. Together with nearly a hundred ecosystem partners worldwide, SUNMI presented the new brand film TIME to reflect on the value of time and the meaning of connection. This short film evolves into six stories centered around time. -Convenience-Forgot the wallet when paying, what shall Ben do? -Health-Why Lucy and Paul argue at the grocery fruit store? -Efficiency-Why is everyone on the bus smiling during the rush hour? -Location-How does the library manager quickly locate the lost book taken by Bruno? -Companionship-On the way to visit his mom, what does Kenta see at the gas station? -Hope-How does Steve manage his store better under the epidemic? In these stories, SUNMI mobile, payment, desktop, and kiosks payments, together with the solutions contributed by partners from different industries, help businesses save time and help everyone seize more time from the life to love more, enjoy more! Nearly 100 partners from around the world, such as Mybus, VNpay, Yonoton, Flipdish, Welpet participated in the joint release and provided scene solutions in different fields such as transportation, catering, retail etc. Technology reconstructed and sublimated time. The essence of business creating a better life for humanity will not change, nor will SUNMI original intention to create a better life with technology. Under the guidance of altruism, SUNMI is committed to equipment commercial loT devices for all walks of life, bringing digitization into every business scenario, and working with global ecosystem partners to build an interconnected business world. By December 31, 2021, SUNMI App Store has become a top App Store for Business with 30,000 partners and over 16,000 Apps, and these Apps have been widely used in food delivery, restaurant, retail, tax control, checkout, and other scenarios. SUNMI 's IoT products and solutions have been used in more than 200 countries, regions, and territories, empowering merchants worldwide. For more information, please visit: https://www.sunmi.com/en-US/tvc3-time/ About SUNMI SUNMI is an IoT company with the core value "Altruism." We are committed to bringing businesses smart IoT devices and support integrated cloud services, to build an interconnected world and finally achieve Business 4.0. Zoe Yip tingting.ye@sunmi.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1798549/image_1.jpg TOKYO, Apr 22, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, "Hitachi") today announced that the acquisition of all the outstanding shares of Yungtay Engineering Co., Ltd. ("Yungtay"), a Taiwan-based subsidiary engaged in the manufacture, sale, and service of elevators and escalators, with a view to strengthening its elevator and escalator business base in the People's Republic of China ("China") and other parts of Asia. The acquisition has been implemented through a share exchange ("the share exchange") at TWD65.1 per share (approximately 285 yen(1)), making Yungtay a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi.Prior to the share exchange, Hitachi held 71.1% of the total number of outstanding shares in Yungtay, including those held by its wholly owned subsidiaries. The acquisition cost for shares acquired through the share exchange will be approximately TWD7.6 billion (approximately 33.3 billion yen(1)). Yungtay's shares had been listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and were delisted at the time of the share exchange.Moreover, at the Board of Directors meeting of Yungtay held today, Yungtay passed a resolution to change its company name to Hitachi-Yungtay Elevator Co., Ltd. ("Hitachi-Yungtay Elevator"). We are proceeding with the formalities to effect the company name change in June 2022.Yungtay was founded in 1966 and is the largest company in the elevator and escalator business in the Taiwan region. It is also one of the major suppliers of elevators and escalators in mainland China, mainly for apartment complexes. Yungtay has been a business partner of Hitachi for over 50 years since right after its foundation, with Hitachi's capital participation in 1968. In 2019, Hitachi made a tender offer for shares of Yungtay, acquiring shares equivalent to 28.0% of the total number of outstanding shares (excluding treasury shares), increasing its share ownership to 39.7%(2). Hitachi continued to acquire additional shares and made Yungtay a consolidated subsidiary in October 2020(3).The share exchange and delisting were approved at an extraordinary meeting of the shareholders of Yungtay held on November 16, 2021, and were implemented by Yungtay today after obtaining approval from the relevant Taiwanese authorities.Hitachi will accelerate its collaboration with Hitachi-Yungtay Elevator, strengthening Hitachi- Yungtay Elevator's product competitiveness and enhancing its preventive maintenance services by introducing digital technologies such as IoT, which is one of Hitachi's strengths, as well as environmental technologies. By maximizing the synergy of the two companies, Hitachi aims to become a global leader in the building solutions field, increasing the number of new elevator and escalator installations in China and other parts of Asia, and expanding the scale of preventive maintenance volume to improve profitability.(1) Calculation based on 1 TWD = 4.38 JPY(2) News release dated April 23, 2019 titled, "Results of Public Tender Offer for Shares of Yungtay, Elevator Company Based in Taiwan"(3) News release dated October 15, 2020 titled "Hitachi Acquired Additional Shares to Hold Majority of Shares of Yungtay, Elevator Company Based in Taiwan"bit.ly/3rKKz2lAbout Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, contributes to a sustainable society with a higher quality of life by driving innovation through data and technology as the Social Innovation Business. Hitachi is focused on strengthening its contribution to the Environment, the Resilience of business and social infrastructure as well as comprehensive programs to enhance Security & Safety. Hitachi resolves the issues faced by customers and society across six domains: IT, Energy, Mobility, Industry, Smart Life and Automotive Systems through its proprietary Lumada solutions. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2020 (ended March 31, 2021) totaled 8,729.1 billion yen ($78.6 billion), with 871 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 350,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. The Global City (TGC) project is oriented to be the luxury real estate developer that is sponsored and built by Masterise Homes in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - The Global City, known as the former Saigon Binh, an urban area, is Thu Duc city's luxurious "branded real estate" project. It is sponsored by Masterise Homes who is a reputable investor in Vietnam. It was developed in 2022. The Global City possesses a diamond position in the heart of the East. It is surrounded by arterial roads such as Do Xuan Hop, Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay Expressway., Lien Phuong route and busy Mai Chi Tho Avenue. Its location makes it easy to move to the city centre and nearby utility areas. The Global City To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8621/121339_ff7d48f2942d09db_001full.jpg The Global City is oriented to become an iconic destination, a "Downtown City of the whole Southeast Asia". Not only an ideal place to live, but The Global City also brings the privileges of experiencing a high-class lifestyle to citizens worldwide. LOCATION OF THE GLOBAL CITY The Global City project is in A Phu Ward, District 2, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. The project has the advantage of 3 road frontages: parallel roads to Long Thanh Dau Giay highway, Do Xuan Hop Street, and an extension of Lien Hop Road. The location is considered prime when it is in the centre of District 2 with a convenient arterial traffic system. Premium utilities system As evidenced by the previous successful projects of the investor Masterise Homes, it is not difficult to see that the high-class utility system is always perfectly designed and arranged in each project. With The Global City project being the next symbol of "branded real estate" in the East area, the investor also brings the most luxurious utility experiences to residents with expensive utility chains. With an area of 117ha, most of the project will be designed by the investor with many green areas, landscapes, and sidewalks, creating an airy space for residents' lives. Along with the philosophy of raising the point of view of the value of living space in luxury real estate, The Global City's internal utility system fully meets the needs of all residents. SOHO, THE GLOBAL CITY Soho, The Global City Townhouse, is also built by The Global City. SOHO Subdivision is located in the most vibrant central location of the project, directly connected to the Trade Centre and surrounded by the park's green area; SOHO townhouse is constructed according to global standards, bringing outstanding cultural and commercial value. At The Global City, residents will be facilitated with first-class amenities and experiences. Customers interested in the project can contact the sales department according to the form to receive the most accurate and complete information. Media Contact Details Company Name: The Global City Contact person: Mr. Trong Nhan Company website: https://duantheglobalcity.vn/ Email: sale@duantheglobalcity.vn Address: The Global City urban area, Do Xuan Hop Street, An Phu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. City: Ho Chi Minh Country: Vietnam PR Contact King Newswire To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121339 PARIS, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lancome inaugurates Le Domaine de la Rose, a one-of-a-kind site designed with a global agricultural and architectural approach. The sober, ecologically-minded estate created around the new Rose House, materializes the brand's concrete commitments to biodiversity through the respectful production of its raw materials. The public will be able to discover educational courses and the perfumery savoir-faire of the House starting in 2023. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/9036051-lancome-inaugurates-horticultural-site-domaine-de-la-rose/ At the heart of the Grasse region, Lancome has established Le Domaine de la Rose, an ecological horticultural site spanning 9.8 acres (4 hectares) purchased in 2020. The project was developed around two major areas: the development of agricultural activity with the cultivation of organic roses and perfume plants, as well as the restoration of the main house using local, recycled, and biosourced materials, and the preservation of the arboreal heritage. Lancome thus becomes the owner, producer, and protector of a complete agricultural and horticultural patrimony, a first for a selective beauty brand. This ecological project, which makes sparing use of resources and materials with restraint and a contemporary approach, reflects the brand's values and draws on the essence of its origins as a perfume house. What makes this estate special is a combination of various types of agronomical expertise that are applied to innovate and to develop the cultivation of perfume plants using sustainable, traceable, organic methods. Le Domaine has been farmed for approximately five centuries, and the former owners have been considered pioneers in organic rose and perfume plant cultivation for more than 50 years. The brand is following this approach, using agroforestry methods and protecting the estate's unique agricultural and architectural heritage, such as dry-stone walls*, water channels, and trees. No fewer than 163 species of plants are present on the estate, providing a habitat for 33 species of birds, 31 species of butterflies, 8 species of dragonflies, 12 species of bats, and other animals observed and recorded in a biodiversity audit** that serves as a guide for the brand's endeavors. This ecological site is an integral part of Lancome's corporate social and environmental responsibility strategy, which aims to reduce the overall ecological footprint of its products, from the cultivation and processing of the ingredients to the products' use and end-of-life. With LeDomaine de la Rose, the brand is taking care to limit its impact on biodiversity, since the decline in biodiversity is a phenomenon adversely affecting the preservation of the earth's ecosystems and their resilience to physical changes. Today, Lancome uses 99% organic roses in its skincare and makeup products. By 2025, the brand plans to use 100% organic roses, 60% of which will be grown in France. "The rose has always been important to Lancome. We are happy and proud of this purchase, which reinforces our presence in Grasse, the world birthplace of perfumery. The brand, which is already established in the region, particularly through a noteworthy exploitation of a rose field in Valensole for its skincare ranges, will continue growing its own proprietary roses as part of its responsible, traceable sourcing approach. Our aspiration was to restore the estate with respect for its agricultural vocation and the equilibrium of biodiversity, while integrating modern and sustainable renovation techniques. In an effort to pass along its expertise, Lancome also intends on sharing the traditional savoir-faire of the Rose with both internal and external audiences through the acquisition of this property," Francoise Lehmann, General Director of Lancome International. Lancome's clear intention to carry out this sober, sustainable project is as radical as its commitment. The project was executed by the architects Lucie Niney and Thibault Marca from the NeM agency, based on a passive bioclimatic design. The existing dry-stone walls** were conserved and restored according to the traditional method, and the new agricultural buildings are constructed in harmony with the appearance of those stone walls in order to blend in with the natural landscape. While the new Rose House was renovated in keeping with the size and architectural identity of the existing Provence-style home, it takes on a contemporary appearance using colors and materials true to the heritage and expertise of the Grasse region. As for the conversion of the principal building, the materials used for the outdoor cladding, roofs and carpentry are all pink, limiting the color scheme of the space to create a coherent whole. Pink is one of the local colors: it is naturally present in the flowers and plants of the region, and it often adorns the facades of houses in Grasse, in addition to reflecting the brand's image. In a spirit of energy conservation and ecological renovation seeking to reduce the environmental impact of its entire life cycle, the walls of the main house have been renovated and insulated from the exterior with a combination of lavender straw and wood fiber, coated with pink lime plaster. The ecological site features a water recuperation-and-reuse system, as well as an irrigation system that uses rainwater, that aims to ensure water self-sufficiency, and makes use of renewable energies. Moreover, its air conditioning is provided by a geothermal heat pump completed by the natural ventilation of a ground-coupled heat exchanger. These installations have enabled the project to gain the BDM (Batiment Durable Mediterraneen or Sustainable Mediterranean Building) Gold certification. LeDomaine de la Rose is also destined to become a spot for the transmission of professional expertise relating to perfume plants, and the specific perfume savoir-faire of Lancome, as demonstrated by the educational distillery and the perfume organ. Beginning in June 2022, the general public will have the opportunity to discover fragrance compositions produced using the new Rosa x centifolia grown at Le Domaine de la Rose: the new perfume La Vie Est Belle Domaine de la Rose and the fragrance Maison Lancome 1001 Roses. *Dry stone walls support fields grown along terraces, built to prevent landslides of cultivated hillsides. **An inventory of the biodiversity is conducted to develop the database of the Biodiversity Atlas of Grasse and is an integral part of the objectives of the Grasse Ecological Transition Contract (CTE). Carolina SCHMOLLGRUBER: Carolina.SCHMOLLGRUBER@loreal.com Hayat ZENATI: Hayat.ZENATI@loreal.com Olivier VAN DONSELAAR: Olivier.VANDONSELAAR@loreal.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1783299/Lancome.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1783298/Lancome_Logo.jpg Bon Aqua, Tennessee--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - American trio of brothers, Flat River Band, have just dropped a new track featuring The McCrary Sisters, a gospel quartet known for their unique style all across America. Consisting of three brothers that have been performing together for over 20 years, the Flat River Band, is an American country group which first began as a gospel band as well performing under the name of The Sitze Family. The band has performed at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, and Dollywood in East Tennessee and opened for Natalie Maines from The Chicks, Rhoda Vincent, Alison Kruass, and Ricky Skaggs among many others. They have also collaborated with Aaron McDaris from Rhonda Vincent Band, Stuart Duncan, and Johnny Hiland. After the relaunch as Flat River Band, the focus shifted to more of a country feel and the group gained major success through their cover, or more so remake, of the Gatlin Brother's 1977 hit "I Wish You Were Someone I Love" which the Gatlin Brothers got involved with as well and added vocals to the song. The band has since then worked on collaborations with a number of other artists including The McCrary Sisters with whom they've now released a track called "Shining Through My Window" along with the official music video. Another song of the trio "Every Dog Has His Day" has a combination of three-part harmonies. It was released two years ago and is featured exclusively on Billboard. Part of their seven-song project, the wild tunes are built around a common line that is surrounded by foot-stomping bluegrass frivolity. This song is surrounded by a fiddle and banjo beat, as well as thumping percussion and feel-good lyrics. Nashville Today with Devon O'Day, Ty Bentil Show, WSMV TV, and Fox 17 Rock & Review TV have all featured the Flat River Band on national television and their music has also been featured in films such as The Least of These - A Christmas Story. About Flat River Band The Flat River Band is an Americana Country Music Band that was formed in 2006 consisting of Chad, Denillo, and Andy Sitze. They've spent a major part of their lives in the music industry. Prior to moving to Nashville in 2004, they toured as The Sitze Family, a Bluegrass Gospel family band. They have topped the Bluegrass Gospel Charts several times over the years and have been featured on a number of platforms. In 2018, the Christmas film "The Least of These - A Christmas Story" starring Deborah Allen, Tayla Lynn, and Duane Allen, featured three of their songs. About The McCrary Sisters Influenced by Americana, blues, R&B, and classic soul, the band has a unique style of gospel. Consisting of all daughters of a former Baptist preacher and Reverend, the sisters have faith at the core of their music and have worked on a number of widely successful tracks and collaborated with a list of musicians. Media Contac: Flat River Band PO Box 207 Bon Aqua TN 37025 Contact: Denny Sitze Cell: 615.430.8430 Email: frbdates@gmail.com www.flatriverband.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121169 Netguru announces its new publishing initiative, promoting under-represented pioneers from the history of software, and authored by Steven Johnson We tend to worship great business leaders, but there are thousands of innovators whose ideas - from tiny features to complicated algorithms - have made our lives easier, healthier, safer, and more convenient. Meet Hidden Heroes, a new publication designed to tell their stories and pay them the tribute they deserve. NEW YORK, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Did you realize that the core principles of social media were invented while Mark Zuckerberg - the symbol of the social media age - was still in kindergarten? You rely on stable digital networks every day, but do you know the woman whose brilliant design several decades ago made reliable networks possible? "In the technology industry, there are a number of success stories of well-known tech CEOs who make billions of dollars. But there are many stories of pioneers who solved important problems but who worked outside of traditional tech startups or public companies: open source new architects, academic researchers, independent software designers. It's all a much more diverse mix of people as well. This series is going to finally give them the credit they deserve." - Steven Johnson. Hidden Heroes is the new publication created by Netguru and written by Steven Johnson, the well-known science and technology author, television host, and TED speaker. The series consists of eight stories paying tribute to those who shaped technology. Each story will reveal a Hidden Hero, carefully analyzed and described by Steven Johnson. The first story, presented today , reveals the Belgian-born computer scientist and renowned MIT professor Pattie Maes, and her contribution to laying the groundwork for the online social networks we know today. "From HOMR and collaborative filtering to the remembrance agent, her work is a powerful story that can inspire many generations to come. I'm excited that Pattie Maes is the first Hidden Hero we get to reveal to the world." - Steven Johnson. Marek Talarczyk, CEO at Netguru, the publisher of Hidden Heroes: "There are hundreds of thousands of tech individuals who, at some point, made a breakthrough invention. Their only problem was that they were not shiny enough to get noticed. They are the hidden heroes. We want to thank them by telling their stories to the world." Each month, one Hidden Heroes story will be revealed at hiddenheroes.netguru.com and available for free without any limits. Steven Johnson and Netguru hope that Hidden Heroes will help people better comprehend the society we live in, and connect the past with the future to inspire new generations of innovators, technologists, and software engineers. About Netguru Netguru is a leading global innovation consultancy company. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Poznan, Poland, Netguru operates globally, employing more than 900 people from all over the world. The brand has delivered more than 1,000 projects across 50+ countries over the last 14 years. Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1802117/Hidden_Heroes_Video_Teaser.mp4 JONA (dpa-AFX) - Holcim Group (HCMLY.PK), the world's largest cement-maker, on Friday reported record recurring EBIT and sales for the first quarter, and raised its full year sales guidance. For the first quarter of 2022, the Swiss firm reported a recurring EBIT of CHF 614 million, compared with CHF 528 million, reported for the same period a year ago. Owing to a steep rise in demand, the Zug-based company's operating profit for the period rose to CHF 574 million from CHF 484 million of last year. Despite persisting pandemic and geopolitical tensions related uncertainties, the company generated net sales of CHF 6.44 billion for the first quarter of 2022 compared with CHF 5.36 billion in the year-ago period. Looking ahead to full-year 2022, Holcim now expects net sales growth of at least 8 percent on a like-for-like basis and 10 percent in Swiss francs. Previously, the company was expecting growth in net sales of above 6 percent on a like-for-like basis. The company's net sales were CHF 26.83 billion for full-year 2021, up 11.3 percent on a like-for-like basis and 16.0 percent higher in Swiss francs, compared to the prior year. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Hyundai Motor to support Korean Pavilion of the 59th La Biennale di Venezia, the prestigious international art exhibitions following a year-long delay due to the pandemic This year, the Korean Pavilion to feature works by artist Yunchul Kim , who previously participated in the Hyundai x Elektra: METAMORPHOSIS in 2020 , who previously participated in the in 2020 The Gyre exhibition is the latest example of the company's continuing patronage of arts and culture that provides unique experiences to people around the globe SEOUL, South Korea and VENICE, Italy, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Company returns to the 59th La Biennale di Venezia ('Venice Biennale'), from April 23 to November 27, 2022, following a year-long delay, to support the Gyre exhibition at the Korea Pavilion at Giardini di Castello in Venice, Italy. As the main sponsor of the Korean Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia since 2015, Hyundai Motor has reaffirmed its longstanding support for the contemporary arts and culture with its fourth consecutive exhibition sponsorship, following shows in 2015, 2017 and 2019. This is the first Venice Biennale to open in three years due to the pandemic. Titled 'The Milk of Dreams' ('Il latte dei sogni'), this year's biennale focuses on three themes: the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses, the relationship between individuals and technologies, and the connection between bodies and the Earth. The Korean Pavilion's Gyre exhibition, commissioned by Arts Council of Korea and curated by Young-chul Lee, presents a series of interconnected and large-scale installations by artist Yunchul Kim, that will invite visitors into an alternative universe wherein objects, beings and nature coexist. The artist previously participated in the Hyundai x Elektra: METAMORPHOSIS exhibition held at Hyundai Motor Studio Seoul in 2020. "As a global society, one of the things we've missed the most during the pandemic is the joy of sharing cultural experiences, like this captivating and thought-provoking exhibition," said Thomas Schemera, Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Customer Experience Division of Hyundai Motor Company. "Through this partnership and others like it, Hyundai Motor will continue to support the creative experiment of arts and technology to provide unique experiences that help bring humanity together." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1801626/Photo_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1801627/Photo_2.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1761625/Hyundai_Motor_Group_Logo.jpg Hamilton, Bermuda April 22, 2022 Flex LNG Ltd ("Flex LNG" or the "Company") will release its preliminary financial results for the first quarter of 2022 on Wednesday May 11, 2022 on or about 07:00 CEST (1:00 a.m. EST). In connection with the earnings release, a webcast and conference call will be held at 15:00 CEST (9:00 a.m. EST) the same day. In order to attend the webcast and/or conference call you may do one of the following: Attend by Webcast: Use to the follow link prior to the webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/83zu5bq6 Attend by Conference Call: Applicable dial-in telephone numbers are as follows: Norway: +47 21 56 30 15 United Kingdom: +44 (0) 2071 928338 United Kingdom, local: 08444 819 752 United States: +1 646 741 3167 United States (toll free): +1 8778709135 Confirmation Code: 5170424 A Q&A session will be held after the conference/webcast. Information on how to submit questions will be given at the beginning of the session. The presentation material which will be used in the conference/webcast will be made available on www.flexlng.comand replay details will also be available at this website. For further information, please contact: Mr. Knut Traaholt, Chief Financial Officer of Flex LNG Management AS Telephone: +47 23 11 40 00 Email: ir@flexlng.com About FLEX LNG Flex LNG is a shipping company focused on the growing market for Liquefied Natural Gas This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. An independent French pure player producing green hydrogen from renewable energies An industrial facility already operating in France: the world's first facility producing green hydrogen for mobility that is directly connected with a wind farm A proven ability to win major projects such as the Danish GreenHyscale project, a 100 MW green hydrogen plant, one of the three most advanced projects in Europe with commissioning expected in 2025 A pipeline of 93 projects for +4.8 GW total capacity Targets 2024: 55 MW installed capacity by the end of 2024 2026: 200 million in consolidated revenues and Group EBITDA at breakeven, based on 200 MW installed capacity 2030: +3 GW total installed capacity Group EBITDA margin above 30% over the long-term An ambitious roadmap for green hydrogen production at sea: the world's first offshore pilot facility to be commissioned in September 2022 and target for an additional 3 GW offshore installed capacity by 2030-2035 A ESG maturity confirmed by a 71/100 EthiFinance rating - above average for the industry players sector - and 100% of the activities in full alignment with European taxonomy Nantes - April 22, 2022 - Lhyfe (the Company), an independent producer of green hydrogen for low-carbon industry and mobility, announces the approval by the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) of its Registration Document under number I. 22-009 on April 21, 2022. Approval of the Registration Document is the first step of Lhyfe's planned IPO on the regulated market of Euronext Paris, subject to market conditions and AMF approval of the IPO prospectus. Matthieu Guesne, President and CEO of Lhyfe: "As an energy source, hydrogen offers all the advantages of oil and gas without their drawbacks. In cutting CO 2 emissions, it constructs a major pillar in energy transition and contributes to the decarbonization of industry and mobility by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30%. As demand explodes in the next few decades, Lhyfe aims to become an independent European leader in green hydrogen production. Our strategy is based on the fast and massive rollout of production sites to allow us to develop plants of up to several hundred MW (producing hundreds of tonnes of green hydrogen a day) beyond 2025. Large projects have already been launched in France and abroad, especially in Denmark where we are developing one of the three most advanced projects in Europe. Our pipeline today comprises 93 projects for a total of over 4.8 GW installed production capacity (a production of over 1,615 tonnes of green hydrogen per day). We are aiming for 55 MW total installed capacity by 2024 and consolidated revenues of around 200 million with Group EBITDA at breakeven in 2026 based on 200 MW total installed capacity. We are targeting over 3 GW total installed capacity by 2030. Long-term, Lhyfe is targeting Group EBITDA margin of over 30%. I created Lhyfe because one day I had an idea that could have a huge impact on the future of our planet. This is every day's mission of all the 82 men and women who work for Lhyfe today. And I hope that soon it will also be the goal of all French and international shareholders who will invest in Lhyfe at its IPO on Euronext in Paris." Lhyfe, an independent French pure player in the production of green hydrogen to help decarbonize mobility and industry Started as a project in 2017 by Matthieu Guesne, the former head of CEA Tech Pays de la Loire et Bretagne, Lhyfe pioneers the production of green hydrogen from only renewable energies. Green hydrogen, which is produced from the electrolysis of water, is a major pillar of energy transition. It plays a key role in reducing CO 2 emissions and therefore in helping decarbonize industry and mobility by replacing grey fossil hydrogen and fossil fuels. Green hydrogen is produced by Lhyfe in decentralized local plants that are directly connected to renewable energy farms where possible. It is sold directly to end users, among which mobility players (conurbations, mobility companies, logistics platforms, etc.), chemical industries (ammonia and methanol), steel and glass. As a key player in the green hydrogen value chain, Lhyfe provides the link between renewable energies and the decarbonization of these sectors. Green hydrogen: an industrial answer to the challenges of energy transition With world demand forecasted to increase six-fold over 2020-2050[1] to reach 530 million tonnes by 2050, hydrogen is a major pillar in the decarbonization of many activities. But today 98%[2] of all hydrogen is made from fossil energy sources (oil, natural gas and coal) using a process that creates huge CO 2 emissions. Making hydrogen from fossil energies simply shifts the problem around. Green hydrogen made entirely from renewable energies is the only totally carbon-free solution able to replace fossil hydrogen (or grey hydrogen) in the industry and become the clean fuel of the mobility sector. Green hydrogen therefore lies at the heart of national decarbonization strategies. There are currently 522 green hydrogen projects2 worldwide, half of which in Europe. The EU's Horizon 2050 project will invest 180-470 billion out to 2050[3], while France's Plan de relance and its national strategy for decarbonized hydrogen will provide 7.2 billion in public support out to 2030 (plus an additional 1.9 billion announced in November 2021[4]). The world's first green hydrogen production facility directly connected to a wind farm In September 2021, Lhyfe opened the world's first industrial site with a direct link to a wind farm and seawater supplies for electrolysis. This has now started delivering its first few kilograms of green hydrogen. Located in Bouin in the Vendee (France), the site can already produce 750 kW or around 300 kg of green hydrogen a day. This is set to rise to 2.5 MW by 2023 (around 1 tonne per day) to meet growing demand. Bouin's green hydrogen is supplied to public and private clients in the mobility sector, including a hydrogen station owned by SYDEV (syndicat departemental d'energie et d'equipement de la Vendee) at La Roche-sur-Yon to fuel heavy vehicles (buses, household waste trucks, service trucks) and the hydrogen distribution stations on one of the Lidl distribution group's logistics platforms to fuel its maintenance trucks. A pipeline of 93 onshore projects[5] with over 4.8 GW total installed capacity Lhyfe has grown fast and its technical and commercial skills have won it a significant place on the market in just a few years. The Company is present in 10 European countries and has 82 employees, over 25 of whom are dedicated to business development. Thanks to its proven industrial ability to produce local, competitive green hydrogen, Lhyfe has already won many international calls for tender and is deploying many key green hydrogen projects: GreenLab & GreenHyScale projects (Denmark): Lhyfe's first international projects, GreenLab and GreenHyScale, aim to deploy gradually two green hydrogen production plants with 12 MW initial capacity by 2023 (around 4 t/day of green hydrogen) that will be raised to 124 MW by 2025 (around 38 t/day). The green hydrogen produced will be for industrial usage (methanol production) and mobility. GreenHyScale is one of the three most advanced projects in Europe[6] and been awarded with EU Green Deal funding. H2goesRail (Germany): Lhyfe was selected by Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national rail operator, to build a green hydrogen production plant with c. 30 tonnes annual production capacity for the hydrogen fuel cell train constructed by Siemens Mobility and operated by Deutsche Bahn. VhyGo (France): VhyGo (Vallee Hydrogene Grand Ouest) aims at building the first supraregional green hydrogen distribution infrastructure in France. The target is to have five plants producing over five tonnes of green hydrogen a day that will be delivered to c. 20 hydrogen distribution stations supplying up to 500 hydrogen vehicles a day by 2024. Storgrundet, Soderhamn (Sweden): Lhyfe and Wpd Offshore AB, one of the world's biggest developers of onshore and offshore wind energy, intend to build a green hydrogen production plant at Storgrundet and to connect it to the offshore wind farm to be built by Wpd in Soderhamn. The plant targets 600 MW (around 240 t/day) total installed capacity, Lhyfe's biggest project to date and one of Europe's most ambitious. The proposed site is to be constructed in phases, starting from 2025. On top of these flagship projects, Lhyfe embraces its development with a sound portfolio of 93 onshore projects[7] across Europe, corresponding to a total installed production capacity of over 4.8 GW (over 1,615 tonnes of green hydrogen/day) by 2028. Out of these 93 projects, 20 are at an advanced stage of development (in Tender ready, Awarded or Construction phases) and together represent 380.5 MW of total installed capacity. Major development partnerships: Plug Power, Mitsui, etc. In March 2022 Lhyfe signed an MoU with the objective to form a strategic alliance with Mitsui & Co Ltd., one of Japan's leading commercial and investment conglomerates, with an investment of about 10 million by Mitsui in convertible bonds (that will be automatically converted into shares if the Company is listed). Beyond this investment, the strategic alliance aims notably to support Lhyfe in its international expansion into new strategic markets. To foster its development, Lhyfe also initiated in October 2021 discussions with Plug Power Inc., a leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy, for the joint development of green hydrogen production sites across Europe. The objective would target a total hydrogen production capacity of 300 MW to be in operation by 2025. This objective is not included in 2026 Company's target (200 MW installed capacity) since the collaboration agreement is being finalized. Lhyfe, an integrated organization with a high visibility model As a major player in the green hydrogen value chain, Lhyfe is at the heart of the global ecosystem, working with the main independent producers of renewable energy and equipment providers (electrolyzers, compressors, etc.) to build and operate its production plants. With its first industrial site Lhyfe has proved that it has total command over the entire value chain thanks to an integrated model that covers all its operations and provides better control over the efficiency and costs of the industrial process: Development: origination, permits, design, project engineering; Construction: finance, engineering and project management; Operation: green hydrogen production, storage and facility maintenance; Sales: sales and delivery contracts. Lhyfe has put data and AI at the heart of its industrial process, through proprietary software and algorithms such as: Qualifhy, for designing virtual sites suitable for any situation: analysis of renewable energy farms (price/performance), green hydrogen production setups (based on intermittency, electrolyzer, etc.) and demand-based production forecasts; H 2 Management Systems, ensuring minimum energy consumption during the production process; and Management Systems, ensuring minimum energy consumption during the production process; and Loghystics, to optimize production based on customer consumption profiles, and to eventually create forecasting models based on AI algorithms. As at Bouin's site, c where production capacity will be increased to meet growing demand, the Company is developing modular sites that will make scaling up easy as demand grows. The green hydrogen production solution developed for Bouin can be scaled up for Lhyfe's future sites: initially by putting several electrolyzers together to form a cluster on a single site, then by gathering several clusters on the same site. A top-notch business development team supporting growth Lhyfe has a top-flight sales team with 30 international seasoned professionals combining sales and engineering backgrouns located across 10 countries. The team's strength lies in its ability to match the offered energy produced from available renewable sources with demand for green hydrogen, based on catchment area and potential customers. This team of experts, supported by Lhyfe engineers, understands the entire value chain and all electrolyzer technologies (alkalines, proton exchange membrane - PEM, pressurized alkalines, etc.). A high-visibility proprietary production model Lhyfe's business model is based on the sale of green hydrogen produced in industrial sites that are wholly or majority owned by the Company. Lhyfe relies on 3 to 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renewables producers located close to its own plants and, where possible, favours a direct connection to the renewable energy plants. Alongside the power purchase agreements, 3 to 15-year green hydrogen sales agreements are signed with clients using pricing models that vary depending on whether the plants are dedicated to mobility or industrial use. Lhyfe's revenues depend on multi-year contracts that offer the Company visibility on its revenues and long-term cash flow comparable to that of independent power producers (IPPs). A ESG commitment confirmed by a well above average non-financial rating (71/100) and full alignment with EU taxonomy Since its creation, Lhyfe has had ethics embedded in its DNA: ethics that relate to stakeholders, employees, environment and governance. Lhyfe's business is fully aligned with the European taxonomy for sustainable activities (hydrogen production): " Lhyfe's business falls entirely within the eligible sub-sector that European taxonomy identifies as contributing directly to the mitigation of climate change. The company's business also complies with listed selection criteria." EthiFinance - March 2022. The Company's commitment to ESG was confirmed in March 2022 when it obtained a non-financial rating of 71/100 (vs 46/100 average[8]) and an 'Advanced' maturity classification by EthiFinance, a non-financial rating agency: "Lhyfe's non-financial rating reflects an Advanced level of performance and promising ESG maturity that is already significantly greater than that of other companies with comparable workforces that operate in similar sectors." EthiFinance - March 2022. Becoming an independent European leader in onshore green hydrogen production To confirm its position as a major player in decarbonization of the heavy mobility and industrial sectors and to become an independent European green hydrogen leader, Lhyfe has developed a strategy of fast and massive rollout of onshore green hydrogen sites with plants capable of producing several hundred MW from 2025. Relying on its current pipeline comprising 93 projects , which together represent over 4.8 GW total installed capacity (over 1,615 t/day green hydrogen production), Lhyfe has defined a 2024 target of 55 MW total installed capacity entirely from onshore facilities. Based on the assumptions disclosed in the Registration Document and on 200 MW total installed capacity, Lhyfe's targets for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026 are: Consolidated revenues of around 200 million[9]; and Group EBITDA[10] at breakeven. By 2030, the Company intends to be positioned as a key player in the green hydrogen production industry and more specifically to have over 3 GW total installed capacity. Lhyfe targets a long-term Group EBITDA margin of more than 30%[11]. Lhyfe, a pioneer in offshore production: vital for the massification of green hydrogen production for industry with the launch of an operating pilot in 2022 Replacing fossil fuels in industry with green hydrogen will require massive production with huge quantities of renewable electricity. Offshore wind power, which is the most abundant, powerful, least intermittent, and therefore the most competitive source of renewable energy, offers the best solution to meet this strong demand and to allow for the massification of the production of green hydrogen for industrial use. Since its creation, Lhyfe has been running a major research program for green hydrogen production at sea, as close as possible to the offshore sources of energy. In September 2022, Lhyfe will commission the first pilot offshore green hydrogen facility to operate under real conditions. It will be the world's first floating electrolyzer (of 1 MW) and will be directly connected to a floating wind mill, making then of Lhyfe the only company in the world with offshore operating experience. Moreover, Lhyfe is also collaborating to develop various offshore green hydrogen production concepts: modular topsides with 50-100 MW capacity in partnership with Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique; offshore hydrogen production plants on existing oil rigs with the Aquaterra and Borr Drilling groups; and floating wind farms incorporating green hydrogen production systems with Doris, an offshore wind farm designer. By 2030-2035, offshore green hydrogen plants could represent for Lhyfe an additional 3GW of installed capacity. Access to the Registration Document Lhyfe's Registration Document approved by AMF on April 21, 2022 under number I. 22-009 can be downloaded from the Company's website (www.lhyfe.com) and from AMF (www.amf-france.org), or can be obtained free of charge on request from the Company's registered office at 30 rue Jean Jaures, 44000 Nantes, France. The Registration Document gives a detailed description of the Company, including its business, strategy, financial position, profits and losses and the relevant risk factors. Risk factors The Company draws your attention to Section 3 (Risk factors) in its AMF-approved Registration Document. Full details of Lhyfe's planned IPO at Lhyfe-finance.com About Lhyfe Created in Nantes in 2017, Lhyfe produces and supplies renewable green hydrogen for mobility and industry. Its production plants are designed to provide renewable green hydrogen in industrial quantities and to form part of a virtuous energy model benefitting the environment. Lhyfe is already present in 10 countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Spain and Portugal). It is a member of France Hydrogene and of Hydrogen Europe. Lhyfe inaugurated its first green hydrogen industrial production site in September 2021. It currently has 93 projects in its pipeline across 11 countries, with production beginning 2022-2028. A research program started in 2019 should also lead to the start of a test phase in real conditions for the world's first floating electrolyzer linked to a floating wind farm planned for fall 2022. For more information go to Lhyfe.com Contacts Investor relations ACTUS Mathieu Omnes +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92 lhyfe@actus.fr Financial press relations ACTUS Manon Clairet +33 (0)1 53 67 36 73 mclairet@actus.fr Business press relations Nouvelles Graines Clemence Rebours +33 (0)6 60 57 76 43 c.rebours@nouvelles-graines.com [1] International Energy Agency, Global Hydrogen Review, October 2021 [2] Hydrogen Council, McKinsey Company, Hydrogen for Net-Zero A critical cost-competitive energy vector, November 2021 [3] Les Echos, Brussels' plan for hydrogen takeoff in Europe, July 8, 2020 [4] National strategy for the development of decarbonized hydrogen in France, press pack, September 8, 2020 [5] Onshore production [6] European Commission, Horizon 2020 European Green Deal Call Funded projects, October 27, 2021 [7] According to the figures in the Registration Document, pipeline projects are at various stages of development. The Group uses the term 'pipeline' for operating purposes and not as a standard accounting term with a unique and generally accepted definition. The number of actually completed projects could be significantly lower than the pipeline number suggested at the date of the Registration Document. [8] Sample of 2022 ratings based on 2021 data for companies in the Renewables sector selected for size in terms of employee numbers (<100) [9] 2021 revenue: 197k [10] EBITDA: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization - EBITDA 2021: -5,411K [11] EBITDA margin: ratio of EBITDA to revenue Disclaimer This announcement does not, and shall not, in any circumstances constitute a public offering nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation"). The prospectus approved by the AMF is available on the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org) and Lhyfe's website (www.lhyfe.com). European Economic Area In France, an offer of securities to the public may only be made pursuant to a prospectus approved by the AMF. With respect to the member States of the European Economic Area other than France (each, a "Relevant Member State"), no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any Relevant MemberState. As a result, the securities may not and will not be offered in any Relevant Member State except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, or under any other circumstances which do not require the publication by Lhyfe of a prospectus pursuant to the Prospectus Regulation and/or to applicable regulations of that Relevant Member State. For the purposes of the provisions above, the expression "offer to the public" in relation to any securities in any Relevant Member State, means any communication to persons in any form and by any means, presenting sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the securities to be offered, so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for those securities in that Relevant Member State. These selling restrictions with respect to Relevant Member States apply in addition to any other selling restrictions which may be applicable in the Relevant MemberStates. United States of America This document is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and possessions, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia). This document does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, or otherwise invest in, securities in the United States. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States. United Kingdom This document does not constitute an offer of securities to the public in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, this document is only being distributed to, and is only directed at "qualified investors" (as defined in the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal)Act 2018) and who (i) are "investment professionals" falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the "Order"), (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.") of the Order, or (iii) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Article 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This document is directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. Any person other than a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this document or any of its content. Any investment decision to buy securities must be made solely on the basis of publicly available information regarding Lhyfe. This announcement cannot be used as basis for any investment agreement or decision. General This document may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Australia, Canada or Japan. ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: mmlraMick2edx26aYZpubJKYbW5ilmLHZpeXlpZxa5ycmWxkm5iUm5iWZnBllW5p - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-74093-lhyfe-cp-approbation-de-22042022-en.pdf LONDON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Spiritfilled, the expert whisky cask broker, launched its own series of independent bottlings in July 2021 and has already made a significant impact to the industry with its award-winning new expressions. 'Mythical Beasts' is Spiritfilled bottle brand, garnering critical acclaim with its highly accomplished single malt whiskies. Spiritfilled will launch 8 new single malt expressions in the next 12 months, as well as an exciting new blend which will be co-created with the Spiritfilled whisky community. Mythical Beasts Glenrothes Nyami, Nyami 15 year old is a stunning single malt from the heart of Speyside. This Scotch has been maturing in the same cask since its filling: a first fill sherry butt. As well as creating a wonderful golden colour, the sherry influence has also created a very special flavour - enhanced by the traditional Glenrothes profile. With a limited number of 588 bottles from this cask at 55% ABV, it's a beautiful addition to the collection. AWARDS NEWS- DOUBLE AWARD WINNER, THE GLENROTHES 15-YEAR-OLD The DB & SB- Spring 2022 Award- Gold, Scotch Whisky, Single Malt The second of the Spirits Business annual blind tasting competition saw the Glenrothes 15 year old win its second award- storming ahead of the competition and being highlighted by the Judges as 'best in class'. Emilia Wrelton, whisky single malt panel judge highlighted that Glenrothes 15 year old was the standout liquid in the category saying "it was distinguished among the others; it had a very good profile- treacle-like and woody" IWSC Awards- March 2022- Silver Winner- Scotch Whisky, Single Malt The IWSC sets the International benchmark for drink quality. Their judges comprise of global experts within the business such as buyers, producers, distillers, sommeliers, and influencers. They judge wines and spirits throughout the year. The Glenrothes 15 year old was awarded a Silver with 92/100 for its elegant nose and superb palate. Tasting notes for each expression are written by Ian Wisniewski, Spirits Writer and Broadcaster. TASTING NOTES Nyami Nyami Glenrothes 15-Year-Old THE SPIRIT BUSINESS, GOLD AWARD IWSC SILVER AWARD Nose: Rich apricot and orange marmalade extend with Brazil nuts. Then vanilla and lemon meringue appear, with a burst of maltiness and oak providing a spine. Palate: Soft, rich mouthfeel. Concentrated flavours embrace each other, apricots, apricot jam, juicy lemon freshness and indulgent orange marmalade. Gingerbread emerges and maltiness grows backed up by oak and underlying toasted notes, with a luscious finale of fruit compote and nutmeg. Finish: Tangy dryness grows with malty, oak notes, culminating in orange marmalade underlined by dryness. CONTACT Russell Spratley: russell@spiritfilled.co.uk Lisa McWillliam: lisa@spiritfilled.co.uk Website: spiritfilled.co.uk Social Media: @spiritfilledltd Phone: +44 (0) 208 126 1760 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1801980/Spiritfilled_Glenrothes.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1606179/Spiritfilled_Ltd_Logo.jpg Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. OSLO, Norway, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Annual General Meeting of Aker ASA was held today as a digital meeting with online participation. All proposals on the agenda were adopted, cf. the notice of the Annual General Meeting that was published on Oslo Stock Exchange on 30 March 2022. It was resolved to distribute a dividend of NOK 14.50 per share for 2021. The dividend is payable to shareholders holding shares in the Company as per 22 April 2022. The shares will be traded ex-dividend on Oslo Stock Exchange from and including 25 April 2022. The dividend will be paid on or about 3 May 2022. The General Meeting authorized Aker ASA's Board of Directors to adopt an additional dividend during 2022 based on the 2021 accounts. The General Meeting elected two shareholder-appointed directors to the board. Kjell Inge Rkke was re-elected as chair of the board for a period of two years and Kristin Krohn Devold was re-elected as director for a period of one year. The Board of Directors consists of: Kjell Inge Rkke (chair of the board) Frank Ove Reite (deputy chair) (deputy chair) Karen Simon (director) (director) Kristin Krohn Devold (director) (director) Atle Trany (director, employee-elected) Arnfinn Stens (director, employee-elected) Sofie Valdersnes (director, employee-elected) The complete minutes of the Annual General Meeting are attached to this release and are also available on www.akerasa.com. For more information, please contact: Investors: Joachim Bjrni, Head of Investor Relations Aker ASA Tel: +47 924 22 106 E-mail: joachim.bjorni@akerasa.com Media: Atle Kigen, Head of Media Relations and Public Affairs, Aker ASA Tel: +47 907 84 878 Email: atle.kigen@akerasa.com This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/aker-asa/r/aker-asa--minutes-of-annual-general-meeting-2022,c3550422 The following files are available for download: With international headquarters in Kyiv, Ukraine, we have more than 500 employees based in the region. While they are safe and bravely continue to work, they are experiencing the devastation created by Russia's unprovoked, ongoing attack firsthand, so since the beginning of the invasion on 24th February, our team has focused on fighting for the truth about the war. We have produced and delivered informative digital ad campaigns across the US and Europe to help spread the truth about Russia's attack and raise money for Ukraine's armed forces. We have also produced creatives, landing pages and articles for our employees and the wider industry to use and share, to help raise awareness and stop the spread of misinformation. MGID's efforts to counter Kremlin propaganda have also seen us join forces with a volunteer collective of more than 50 digital ad experts from companies such as the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation and IAB Ukraine. The group created ads when it was still possible targeted at websites and social platforms in Russia and its neighbor, Belarus, containing accurate updates about Russia's bombardment of Ukraine and what was happening to Ukrainian civilians. The digital ad campaigns run on MGID, Google, and Facebook were viewed 9,382,718,440 times, delivered 17,726,341 clicks, and reached 102,451,250 unique users. During this unprecedented time, collective action is critical, and we have been heartened by the support and generosity of the industry to help spread truthful information. MGID's senior leadership team will continue to actively engage with the global adtech community through relevant global media to fight for the truth, support efforts to stop this act of war and safeguard Ukraine's sovereignty. -ENDS - About MGID MGID is a global advertising platform helping brands reach unique local audiences at scale. It uses privacy-first, AI-based technology to serve high-quality, relevant ads in brand-safe environments. The company offers a variety of ad formats, including native, display and video to deliver a positive user experience. This enables advertisers to drive performance and awareness, and publishers to retain and monetize their audiences. Every month, MGID reaches 900 million unique readers, with 200 billion ad impressions, across 25 thousand trusted publishers. For more information, please visit: www.mgid.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220422005207/en/ Contacts: Josh Puttock, GingerMay: josh.puttock@teamgingermay.com ETC Group adds XRP backed investment product to its expanding digital assets portfolio of Exchange Traded Cryptocurrencies (ETCs) in Europe which include BTCE, the world's most traded crypto Exchange Traded Product (ETP) ETC Group (www.etc-group.com), Europe's leading specialist provider of institutional-grade digital asset-backed securities, announced today the listing of the XRPetc ETC Group physical XRP (Ticker: GXRP) on 22nd April on Deutsche Borse Xetra, Europe's leading exchange for digital assets. Ripple is a blockchain-based digital payment network and protocol with its own cryptocurrency, XRP. Since launching in 2012, Ripple has rapidly gained acceptance as a system for international money and security transfers by banks and financial middlemen dealing across geographies and currencies, with XRP currently ranked 6th by market cap of all cryptocurrencies.1 XRP will join the company's suite of institutional-grade crypto exchange traded products including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot, Litecoin, Avalanche, Cosmos, Polygon and Uniswap that trade on XETRA. The new ETC will be marketed and distributed by HANetf and available in EUR and USD. Bradley Duke, Founder and co-CEO at ETC Group said: "Ripple is rapidly becoming a leader in global payment systems with hundreds of financial institutions choosing Ripple to provide a better international payments experience for their customers, in real-time. By launching this latest ETC to our expanding portfolio of high quality, physically backed digital assets, we're continuing to grow our offering to investors, providing access to an increasingly wide range of digital currencies and assets especially those amassing large market caps. The market leading success of our products has been driven by our partnerships with world-class liquidity providers to deliver high liquidity and tight trading spreads." Hector McNeil, co-Founder and co-CEO at HANetf: "We are delighted to partner with ETC Group again to offer a new ETC backed by XRP. ETC Group, in partnership with HANetf, has established itself as a market leader in offering investment products focused on crypto assets. Interest in exchange traded cryptocurrencies has been booming, providing investors with a safer and more liquid way to gain exposure to digital assets. Ripple is a growing blockchain-based digital payment network that is gaining traction thanks to its rapid speed and reliability." Crypto ETCs provide investors with significant benefits over direct investment in digital assets, including: 1/ Easy way to invest Investors can buy and sell like any stock or ETF through their regular broker or bank. No need to engage with the technical challenges of setting up a cryptocurrency wallet, products have a ticker and ISIN and can be added to an investor's conventional stock portfolio. 2/ Institutional-grade asset custody The underlying digital asset is kept in cold-storage at a regulated custodian, and all assets are secured by an independent trustee, thus eliminating issuer default risk, a common feature for physical ETC structures. 3/ 100% physically backed option for physical redemption Investors are legally entitled to the underlying digital asset, and can redeem the ETC for the ?ryptocurrency, alternative to selling on exchange. Hence ETC products provide pure exposure to the underlying digital asset. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, and your capital is at risk. Disclaimer: https://bit.ly/etcdisc -ends- About ETC Group ETC Group (www.etc-group.com) develops innovative digital asset-backed securities including BTCetc ETC Group Physical Bitcoin (BTCE) and ETHetc ETC Group Physical Ethereum (ZETH) which are listed on European exchanges including XETRA, Euronext, SIX, AQUIS UK and Wiener Borse. ETC Group launched the world's first centrally cleared Bitcoin exchange traded product (ETP) in June 2020 on Deutsche Borse XETRA, Europe's largest ETF trading venue. ETC Group is continuously working on expanding its suite of institutional-grade cryptocurrency backed ETPs, providing investors the opportunity to gain exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana and other popular digital assets on major European stock exchanges. ETC Group's securities are marketed to professional investors by HANetf. About HANetf HANetf (www.hanetf.com) is an independent provider of UCITS ETFs, working with asset management companies to bring differentiated, modern, and innovative exposures to European ETF investors. Via our white-label ETF platform, HANetf provides a complete operational, regulatory, distribution and marketing solution for asset managers to launch and manage UCITS ETFs. 1Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/ data as at 12 Apr 2022 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220422005211/en/ Contacts: Media information Media Contact: Jemma Loman, Clarity PR for ETC Group etc.group@clarity.global Watch here, via YouTube (unlisted) Download here, via WeTransfer LONDON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Singaporean officials have scheduled the execution of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, an intellectually disabled Malaysian man sentenced to death in 2011 for carrying less than three tablespoons of diamorphine, for next Wednesday, 27 April. In a bid for mercy, Richard Branson, Stephen Fry and disability rights activist and Chair of the Special Olympics Timothy Shriver, have shared a personal plea to Singapore's authorities to spare Nagaenthran's life. Branson, Fry and Shriver join more than 100,000 people who have signed a petition calling on President Halimah Yacob to pardon Nagaenthran in light of his intellectual disability and amid growing opposition to the death penalty in Singapore. Those who have called for clemency include Malaysian King Abdullah Shah, United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the EU's Delegation to Singapore. Nagaenthran has an IQ of 69, below the internationally recognised threshold for intellectual disability, and his mental state is reported to have deteriorated during his imprisonment - to the point that he is not fully aware he faces execution. Referencing his condition in the video, Mr Fry states "Nagen doesn't deserve to die" and Mr Shriver refers to Nagen's mental state worsening during his imprisonment. Mr Branson highlights that "Singapore has always led from the front when it comes to the rights of people with disabilities and championing their inclusion in society", with Mr Fry adding that Nagen's execution "would cast a dark shadow on many of those commitments". Mr Branson also expresses concern to President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong that Nagen's execution would pose "a great risk to your country's reputation in the world - including its reputation in the world of business". Mr Shriver tells President and the Prime Minister that Nagen's life rests in their hands and the eyes of the world are on Singapore. Mr Fry echoes Mr Branson's appeal for a Presidential pardon, urging President Halimah Yacob to grant clemency "in the name of compassion and mercy". The plea to spare Nagaenthran's life follows Mr Branson launch of the Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty initiative, calling for an end to capital to capital punishment everywhere. The campaign has since been supported by hundreds of preeminent industry figures around the world. Commenting on the scheduling of Nagaenthran's execution and the publication of the video, Maya Foa, Reprieve's Director, said: "Nagen's case has sparked unprecedented levels of opposition to the death penalty within Singapore, and outcry across the world, from disability rights activists and the United Nations to celebrities and global business leaders. "Nagen's belief that he may be coming home and his excitement about being reunited with his family is heart-breaking evidence that he does not fully understand he faces execution in less than a week . Killing someone who clearly lacks mental competency will directly undermine Singapore's efforts to champion the rights of persons with disabilities. President Halimah, please do not deny Nagen the compassion and solidarity your Government has shown to people with disabilities like him. Grant him clemency or transfer him to Malaysia, where he may receive family support and care for his condition and his deteriorating mental state." Notes to editors: The execution is has been scheduled for Wednesday 27 April and is expected to take place at dawn on Wednesday morning, Singapore time. time. Nagaenthran meets the requirements for a prisoner transfer to Malaysia . Domestic laws permit Malaysia to negotiate a prisoner transfer and the conditions win the relevant legislation are all met in Nagaenthran's case. Malaysia has supported his case and pleaded with the Singaporean government for clemency on his behalf, including through a personal appeal from the King to the Singaporean President. . Domestic laws permit to negotiate a prisoner transfer and the conditions win the relevant legislation are all met in Nagaenthran's case. Malaysia has supported his case and pleaded with the Singaporean government for clemency on his behalf, including through a personal appeal from the King to the Singaporean President. Mr Branson is a long-standing opponent of capital punishment, and in March 2021 he spearheaded the launch of Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty in partnership with the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice. The campaign has already brought together more than 250 preeminent industry figures to call for a global end to this cruel, discriminatory and ineffective practice - including Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg , Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff , Unilever CEO Alan Jope and AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes . In a joint declaration these business leaders wrote: "As an irreversible and extreme form of punishment, the death penalty is inhumane, and it is irreconcilable with human dignity. Its worldwide abolition is a moral imperative that all of humanity should support." Nagen's family has been informed by Singapore authorities that the petition for clemency submitted by his mother on 3 December has been rejected. authorities that the petition for clemency submitted by his mother on 3 December has been rejected. The video can be viewed on YouTube here or downloaded via We Transfer here. This link can be used to embed the video in an article: Transcript of the video: SF: Dear President Halimah Yacob, dear Prime Minister Lee, TS: Please spare the life of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a young Malaysian man who has been living with an intellectual disability on death row in Singapore for more than a decade. RB: Only a presidential pardon can stop his execution, and I am joining many around the world in asking you to use your powers to grant Nagen clemency. SF: Nagen doesn't deserve to die. Nagen has been living with an intellectual disability as defined under international human rights law. TS: And Nagen's mental state has worsened during his imprisonment. RB: Singapore has always led from the front when it comes to the rights of people with disabilities and championing their inclusion in society. SF: Nagen's execution would cast a dark shadow on many of those commitments. RB: That's a great risk to your country's reputation in the world - including its reputation in the world of business. TS: Madam President, Prime Minister - with the eyes of the world on Singapore, Nagen's life rests in your hands. SF: In the name of compassion and mercy, please grant Nagaenthran Dharmalingam clemency. (Unaudited data) In thousands of euros 2022 2021 Variation at current exchange rates Variation at constant exchange rates France 77,055 51,518 +49.6% +49.6% Europe (excluding France) 34,476 20,039 +72.0% +74.2% North America 28,944 17,657 +63.9% +52.6% Other countries 5,305 1,958 +171.0% +160.0% Group total 145,780 91,172 +59.9% +58.0% In thousands of euros 2022 2021 Variation at current exchange rates Variation at constant exchange rates Non-proprietary Homeopathic Medicines 45,516 46,352 -1.8% -2.8% Homeopathic Specialties 67,100 39,430 +70.2% +67.0% Other health products* 33,164 5,390 +515.3% +514.6% Group total 145,780 91,172 +59.9% +58.0% * "Other healthcare products" include the non-homeopathic products (medical devices, nutritional supplements, cosmetics, phytotherapy) that were previously listed in the "OTC specialty" section. Changes in turnover During the 1st quarter of 2022, turnover increased sharply across all geographic regions due to: the base effect created by the steep drop in turnover during the 1 st quarter of 2021 (-41.8%) due to the pandemic, quarter of 2021 (-41.8%) due to the pandemic, growth in homeopathic specialty medicines, growth in other healthcare products, particularly COVID tests, which were not yet on the market in France during the 1 st quarter of 2021, quarter of 2021, our continued strategy of innovation, particularly with the launch of Varesol, a new homeopathic medicine indicated for chickenpox symptoms, during the first quarter of this year. Outlook The Group's sales may be affected by the current geopolitical situation. We are closely monitoring the situation and its impact as they develop and are taking all the necessary measures for the organization of our activities. However, we do anticipate increased turnover in 2022 and we continue to put all our energy and determination into the promotion of homeopathy in France and around the world. Laboratoires BOIRON Our next updates: The Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting will be held on May 19, 2022 at 10:30 am, at BOIRON headquarters, 2 avenue de l'Ouest Lyonnais, 69510 MESSIMY - FRANCE. June 3, 2022: after approval by the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting, payment of the proposed dividend (0.95 per share). July 21, 2022: after the close of the stock market, publication of the sales on June 30, 2022. Person responsible for financial information: Valerie Lorentz-Poinsot Contact for financial information: Fabrice Rey Investor relations: +33 (0) 4.37.41.84.01 - e-mail: boironfinances@boiron.fr ISIN Code: FR0000061129 (BOI) - Bloomberg: BOI FP - Reuters: BOIR.PA The group's financial information is online at: www.boironfinance.com ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: x5uclZeXZWeYnGmcZ5puaWdjnJySyGmWZmjGlmabYpqacJyVlW+WapaeZnBllW5v - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-74099-boi-210422-ca-t1-2022-gb.pdf Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B) will introduce its new Engine Component support solutions at the upcoming MRO Americas 2022 Conference in Dallas, TX, following the recent acquisition of Dublin, Ireland based TEAM Accessories Limited ("TEAM"). Moog and TEAM representatives will be at booth #6603 in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center April 26-28, 2022. TEAM is a leading aerospace and industrial engineering business specializing in the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) of engine and airframe components. The company's core business focuses on critical and high-value jet engine accessories used by global commercial airline and cargo carriers. It also provides services to the industrial gas turbine sector. The business will play an integral role in the Moog Total Support program, which includes Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul offerings for the Commercial Aftermarket. The program provides a comprehensive range of services and solutions for Moog and other OEM products, including inventory, reliability, maintenance support, and predictive maintenance solutions. With the addition of TEAM's capabilities, Moog expands its service offerings to provide engine accessory aftermarket solutions for airlines and other MRO customers. Mark Brooks, Moog Commercial Aftermarket Group Vice President, said: "The acquisition of TEAM Accessories is a key strategic step in the expansion of our Moog Total Support service offering to provide integrated engine component support solutions. We look forward to exhibiting our expanded services and solutions together with TEAM representatives during the MRO Americas 2022 show." Aviation Week's MRO Americas is the largest aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul event in the world with over 800 MRO solutions providers on the exhibition floor. The show focuses on critical industry issues and provides an extensive conference program with forecasts, analysis, industry outlooks, future prospects, and new products and technologies. For more information about Moog and TEAM Accessories at MRO Americas 2022, please visit: www.moog.com/mroamericas2022 About Moog Moog Inc. is a worldwide designer, manufacturer, and integrator of precision control components and systems. Moog's high-performance systems control military and commercial aircraft, satellites and space vehicles, launch vehicles, missiles, automated industrial machinery, marine and medical equipment. Additional information about the company can be found at www.moog.com and www.moog.com/careers. For more information on Moog's commercial aftermarket services visit www.moogtotalsupport.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220422005099/en/ Contacts: Ann Marie Luhr 716-687-4225 This transaction represents the first cross-selling purchase order through Aurora for Plurilock's high-margin proprietary DEFEND solution Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Plurilock Security Inc. (TSXV: PLUR) (OTCQB: PLCKF) and related subsidiaries ("Plurilock" or the "Company"), an identity-centric cybersecurity solutions provider for workforces, announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Systems Consulting, Inc. ("Aurora"), has received a purchase order from a California-based pension fund for the Company's Plurilock DEFENDTM continuous authentication solution. This transaction represents the first cross-selling purchase order through Aurora for Plurilock's DEFEND technology offering. Per the purchase order, the customer will pay a monthly subscription for the Company's continuous identity confirmation solution based on a fixed number of end-users. This order also includes ongoing maintenance support. All contracts and orders announced by PlurilockTM and its subsidiaries since January 1, 2022, including the latest orders, represent a combined total of roughly US$5.28 million in sales. "We are pleased to report the completion of our first cross-sale of Plurilock's cutting-edge DEFEND solution," said Ian L. Paterson, CEO of Plurilock. "This order highlights the strategy we developed following the acquisition of Aurora in April 2021, where we first acquire profitable cybersecurity companies with prominent customers, and then leverage those distribution channels to cross-sell our high-margin proprietary products. We will continue to identify new cross-selling opportunities and vigorously work towards signing new purchase orders for our advanced zero trust identity technology." This California-based pension fund is an existing Aurora customer that required an identity-centric cybersecurity solution to enhance their system's defense against potential cyber threats. Following a stringent evaluation, the customer selected DEFEND given its robust continuous identity analysis capabilities and zero trust architecture - Plurilock DEFEND's proprietary technology uses micro-patterns in a person's keystroke and pointer behavior to continuously confirm identity every 3 to 5 seconds, ensuring that the person using a device is the authorized user. Pension and retirement funds are at a heightened risk for a cyber attack as evidenced by instances like the September 2021 breach of a Missouri retirement system with 128,000 active members, where an employee's email account was compromised by an attacker that accessed files containing personal information.1 Additionally, 44% of surveyed Master Trust retirement-related funds reported they experienced a cyber attack between 2019 and 2020, underscoring the need for a zero trust identity solution that will secure access and halt credential compromise.2 About Plurilock Plurilock provides identity-centric cybersecurity for today's workforces. The Plurilock family of companies enables organizations to operate safely and securely while reducing cybersecurity friction. Plurilock offers world-class IT and cybersecurity solutions through its Solutions Division, paired with proprietary, AI-driven and cloud-friendly security through its Technology Division. Together, the Plurilock family of companies delivers persistent identity assurance with unmatched ease of use. For more information, visit https://www.plurilock.com or contact: Ian L. Paterson Chief Executive Officer ian@plurilock.com 416.800.1566 Roland Sartorius Chief Financial Officer roland.sartorius@plurilock.com Prit Singh Investor Relations prit.singh@plurilock.com 905.510.7636 Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") related to future events or Plurilock's future business, operations, and financial performance and condition. Forward-looking statements normally contain words like "will", "intend", "anticipate", "could", "should", "may", "might", "expect", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential", "project", "assume", "contemplate", "believe", "shall", "scheduled", and similar terms. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, actions, or developments and are based on expectations, assumptions, and other factors that management currently believes are relevant, reasonable, and appropriate in the circumstances. Although management believes that the forward-looking statements herein are reasonable, actual results could be substantially different due to the risks and uncertainties associated with and inherent to Plurilock's business. Additional material risks and uncertainties applicable to the forward-looking statements herein include, without limitation, the impact of general economic conditions, the success of the Company in obtaining new or extended contracts or orders; the Company's ability to maintain existing customers or develop new customers; the Company's ability to successfully integrate acquisitions of other businesses and/or companies or to realize on the anticipated benefits thereof; and unforeseen events, developments, or factors causing any of the aforesaid expectations, assumptions, and other factors ultimately being inaccurate or irrelevant. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are beyond the control of Plurilock. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as at the date hereof, and Plurilock undertakes no obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in its most recent Annual Information Form. They are otherwise disclosed in its filings with securities regulatory authorities available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. https://www.ai-cio.com/news/missouri-teachers-pension-hit-by-cyber-attack/ https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/-/media/thepensionsregulator/files/import/pdf/dc-research-summary-report-2020.ashx To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121304 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: PEX) (OTCQB: PEXZF) ("Pacific Ridge" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the previously announced "best efforts" brokered private placement (the "Financing") with M Partners Inc. and Red Cloud Securities Inc., co-lead agents and joint book runners ("Agents"), and raised a total of $7,431,200 through the issuance of 19,150,000 charity flow-through units ("CFT Units") at a price of $0.328 per CFT Unit and 5,000,000 common share units ("CS Units") at a price of $0.23 per CS Unit, including exercise in full of the Agent's 15% over-allotment option. Proceeds from the Financing are intended to be used for a planned 6,000-metre diamond drill program at Pacific Ridge's flagship Kliyul copper-gold project, increased from a planned 5,000-metre diamond drill program, for exploration on the Company's other projects, and for general working capital. "With the Financing closed we are well positioned to execute the largest ever diamond drill program at the Kliyul copper-gold project," said Blaine Monaghan, President & CEO. "We look forward to following up on last year's results with the goal of expanding the mineralized footprint at the Kliyul Main Zone laterally and to depth. In addition to further drilling at the Kliyul Main Zone, we will also test the Kliyul West and Kliyul East targets, which have never been drilled. We would like to thank our existing shareholders, including Crescat Capital, and welcome new shareholders. 2022 promises to be a very exciting year!" The CFT Units issued in connection with the Financing consist of one flow-through common share of the Company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). The CS Units issued in connection with the Financing consist of one non-flow-through common share of Pacific Ridge and one-half of one Warrant. Each Warrant will be exercisable to purchase one additional non-flow-through common share at an exercise price of $0.35 for a period of 24 months. In connection with the Financing, Pacific Ridge has paid the Agents an aggregate cash commission of $289,770 and issued the Agents an aggregate of 1,299,999 compensation warrants. Each compensation warrant is exercisable to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.23 for a period of 24 months. All securities issued in connection with the Financing carry a legend restricting trading of the securities until August 22, 2022. The Financing and payment of Agents' fees are subject to TSX Venture Exchange final acceptance. All proceeds received from the sale of CFT Units will be used to incur eligible expenses ("Qualifying Expenses") that are "Canadian exploration expenses", within the meaning of subsection 66.1(6) of the Income Tax Act (Canada), which will also qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures", within the meaning of s. 127(9) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and will be eligible for the BC 20% Flow-Through Share Tax Credit. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person or a person in the United States, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available. About the Kliyul Project Over 60 sq-km in size, Kliyul is located within the prolific Quesnel Trough in British Columbia, 50 km southeast of Centerra Gold Inc's Kemess mine and 5 km from the Omineca mining road in one of the most prospective areas for copper and gold porphyries in British Columbia (see Figure 1). The Project contains five main target areas: the Kliyul Main Zone ("KMZ"), Bap Ridge, Ginger, M39, and Paprika, each representing an interpreted porphyry centre over a 4 km northwest striking trend. KMZ is the most intensely explored of these, with 36 drill holes (7,068 m) drilled since 1974, most of which targeted a near-surface copper-gold+magnetite zone. Deeper drilling in 2006 and 2015 encountered porphyry copper-gold mineralization. Figure 1: Location of Kliyul To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5460/121317_45af1dd064696bf4_001full.jpg In 2021, Pacific Ridge completed 1,544 m in three diamond drill holes in the Company's first ever drill program at Kliyul. Every drill hole returned significant copper-gold mineralization (see Table 1). Hole KLI-21-037 returned 566.7 m of 0.48% copper equivalent (CuEq) or 0.76 g/t (grams per tonne) gold equivalent (AuEq), including 316.7 m of 0.75% CuEq or 1.17 g/t AuEq. Pacific Ridge's 2021 drill campaign at Kliyul successfully extended mineralization at KMZ to the west and at depth. Mineralization at KMZ remains open in all directions, and to depth. Pacific Ridge is planning to drill a minimum of 6,000 m at Kliyul in 2022 and anticipates that drilling will be underway by late June, early July. The focus of the drill campaign will be on expanding KMZ laterally and to depth. The Company also plans to test the Kliyul East and Kliyul West targets, which have never been drill tested. Both targets have high chargeability and moderate to high resistivity geophysical signatures, similar to KMZ. While the Kliyul West target is concealed under till cover, at Kliyul East there is outcropping porphyry-style alteration and encouraging geochemical pathfinders were encountered in surface sampling. In addition to drilling KMZ, Kliyul East and Kliyul West, an IP geophysical survey, possibly followed by drilling, is planned at Bap Ridge. Bap Ridge is one of five interpreted porphyry centres that occur along a 4 km northwest-striking mineralized trend. Pacific Ridge is also planning an airborne magnetic survey to help refine the understanding of the structure, geology and alteration over this highly prospective trend. The Project displays classic porphyry copper-gold deposit style alteration and mineralization patterns. Geological interpretation, supported by a variety of geophysical surveys, including IP, magnetics and magnetotellurics, suggest the potential to significantly expand the size of the Kliyul mineralized system. Table 1 2021 Kliyul Assay Results Summary Hole From(m) To(m) Width(m) Cu(%) Au(g/t) CuEq(%) AuEq(g/t) KLI-21-036 12.0 449.0* 437.0 0.22 0.60 0.61 0.96 Includes 12.0 65.0 53.0 0.22 0.83 0.75 1.17 And 12.0 33.0 21.0 0.34 1.30 1.17 1.84 And 47.0 65.0 18.0 0.22 0.89 0.79 1.23 Includes 143.3 435.0 291.7 0.28 0.74 0.75 1.18 And 294.0 435.0 141.0 0.36 1.11 1.07 1.68 KLI-21-037 12.3 579.0* 566.7 0.20 0.44 0.48 0.76 Includes 12.3 329.0 316.7 0.30 0.70 0.75 1.17 And 62.0 73.0 11.0 0.42 1.22 1.20 1.88 And 90.0 122.0 32.0 0.52 0.88 1.08 1.70 And 146.0 161.0 15.0 0.39 1.19 1.16 1.81 And 238.8 288.1 49.4 0.66 1.50 1.62 2.53 And 243.9 268.0 24.1 1.09 2.21 2.50 3.92 KLI-21-038 9.0 516.0* 507.0 0.15 0.39 0.40 0.63 Includes 9.0 351.0 342.0 0.17 0.50 0.50 0.78 And 9.0 43.0 34.0 0.27 0.72 0.73 1.15 And 108.0 136.0 28.0 0.21 0.60 0.59 0.93 And 153.1 186.0 32.9 0.24 0.78 0.73 1.15 And 261.0 349.0 88.0 0.26 0.84 0.80 1.25 * End of hole CuEq = ((Cu%) x $Cu x 22.0462) + (Au(g/t) x $Au x 0.032151)) / ($Cu x 22.0462) AuEq = ((Cu%) x $Cu x 22.0462) + (Au(g/t) x $Au x 0.032151)) / ($Au x 0.032151) Commodity prices: $Cu = US$4.00/lb and $Au = US$1,750/oz. Factors: 22.0462 = Cu% to lbs per tonne, and 0.032151 = Au g/t to troy oz per tonne. Recovery is assumed to be 100% - there has been no metallurgical testing on Kliyul mineralization Pacific Ridge has the right to earn a 51% interest in the Kliyul and Redton projects from AuRico Metals Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Centerra Gold Inc., by making cash payments totaling $100,000, issuing 2.0 million shares and spending $3.5 million on exploration by December 31, 2023. The Company then has the right to increase its interest in the properties to 75% by making additional payments totaling $60,000, issuing 1.5 million shares and completing an additional $3.5 million in exploration by December 31, 2025. About Pacific Ridge Our goal is to become British Columbia's leading copper-gold exploration company. Pacific Ridge's flagship project is the Kliyul copper-gold project, located in the Quesnel Trough, approximately 50 km southeast of Centerra Gold Inc's Kemess mine. In addition to Kliyul, the Company's project portfolio includes the RDP copper-gold project (optioned to Antofagasta Minerals S.A.), the Onjo copper-gold project, and the Redton copper-gold project, all located in British Columbia. Pacific Ridge will continue to search for projects that offer discovery opportunity in our regions of expertise. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Blaine Monaghan" Blaine Monaghan President & CEO Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. Corporate Contact: Blaine Monaghan President & CEO Tel: (604) 687-4951 www.pacificridgeexploration.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/pacific-ridge-exploration-ltd-pex- https://twitter.com/PacRidge_PEX Investor Contact: G2 Consultants Corp. Telephone: +1 778-678-9050 Email: ir@pacificridgeexploration.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The technical information contained within this News Release has been reviewed and approved by Gerald G. Carlson, Ph.D., P.Eng., Executive Chairman of Pacific Ridge and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 policy. Forward-Looking Information: This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling and other activities and events or developments that Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. ("Pacific Ridge") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the use of proceeds of the Financing, the planned 6,000 m drill program at Kliyul, the timing of the drill program, and the IP and airborne magnetic survey. Although Pacific Ridge believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, that the right to earn an interest in the Kliyul and Redton projects will be exercised, the ability of Pacific Ridge and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Pacific Ridge's proposed programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Pacific Ridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121317 LONDON, April 22, 2022magazine recently hosted a virtual panel discussion on the impact of global risks on countries with Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programmes. In the second chapter of the four-part series, the PWM Perspectives series delves deeper into due diligence practices undertaken by countries who offer CBI programmes with a specific focus on continuous monitoring - a key aspect of successful CBI programmes in the market. CBI Units in certain markets, especially those in the Caribbean, are raising the standard when it comes to due diligence processes due to their proactive stance. These jurisdictions are making sure that they are constantly ahead of issues arising in the international relations space and making proactive decisions that ensure the safety of applicants and citizens. Due diligence experts from major intelligence agencies including Karen Kelly, director of strategy and development at Exiger; Eddy Leviton, chief operating officer at Fact WorldWideand Heyrick Bond Gunning, chief operating officer at S-RM, gave their views on the matter in a panel discussion. The panel was moderated by Yuri Bender, editor in chief Professional Wealth Management magazine. With ongoing geopolitical tensions, special attention is now being given to jurisdictions who offer CBI programmes. The international community is concerned that these programmes may offer boltholes for suspect characters looking to evade the law. Karen Kelly, director of strategy and development at Exigerhighlighted the importance of ongoing monitoring as the reports given to country clients by intelligence firms are "only a snapshot in time." She noted the importance of continuous monitoring of past and current applicants from high-risk countries to check whether they are on sanctions lists or watch list hits - "that's something which I've seen happening especially in Caribbean countries who view continuous monitoring as a key pillar of their due diligence process." "The proactive countries, such as those in the Caribbean, are asking companies like ours to do a 'rescrub' of the likely problematic parties that could have been awarded citizenship and that is ahead of potential sanctions," added Heyrick Bond Gunning, chief operating officer at S-RM. Eddy Leviton, chief operating officer at Fact WorldWidesaid that the rigorous nature of due diligence processes in the Caribbean means that it is highly unlikely that persons trying to evade the law would choose these jurisdictions. "These countries are very keen to protect their integrity and value the investment that goes into their economies from these CBI schemes, most importantly the benefit to their people." In recent weeks, both the EU and the US made their intent clear to penalise Caribbean nations including Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia if they do not end their CBI schemes. In looking at the different jurisdictions, Leviton highlighted that some of the checks carried out in some EU countries are not as rigorous as those in the Caribbean, and more could be done on due diligence especially in-country and regarding background checks. "The due diligence standards in the Caribbean region are some of the most effective in minimising perceived and actual security risks," confirmed Leviton. When looking at the due diligence undertaken on applicants applying for the now cancelled Tier 1 Visa or the Innovator Visa, the process is nowhere near as stringent as the processes taking place in the Caribbean. Gunning noted that there has been, over the last few years, a tightening of checks in CBI programmes. "We as intelligence agencies will carry out checks, but applicants are also checked by the agents prior to them being put forward to the CBI units, this is then followed by in country and international security checks." This new layer of ongoing monitoring has become a key pillar of CBI Units in Caribbean jurisdictions, which are setting global best practices when it comes to advancements in due diligence processes. Funds from CBI programmes often provide a vital source of income for some countries, especially in times of crisis - as is often the case for Caribbean countries devastated by hurricanes - these countries value the investment that goes into their economies, and the benefits to their people. If it was not for CBI programmes, many of these nations would not be able to build back better and stronger. CBI is enabling many of these island nations to fulfil their true ambitions to become independent, developed, prosperous countries, as CBI monetary inflows are making a major difference in the government's performance for smaller countries who are using the revenue to build an insurance framework against natural disasters and debt reduction. "Caribbean countries who offer CBI programmes know the reputational risk to their brands and their programmes is so high, that they are making sure that due diligence is of the highest standards," comments Paul Singh, Director at CS Global Partners - a leading citizenship planning firm. "As custodians of the CBI industry, we are continuously supporting and guiding governments to be proactive when it comes to their due diligence processes as we believe this is the cornerstone of a successful CBI programme and prerequisite to gaining trust of the international community." Caribbean countries offer some of the most robust due diligence processes in the industry as some of their citizenship by investment programmes have been around for decades, as is the case with St Kitts and Nevis' Programme which was established in 1984 and that of Dominica which was established in 1993. Professional Wealth Management, from the FT Group, is the premier resource for private banking and mutual fund coverage in Europe, Asia and beyond. Watch the series here: https://video.pwmnet.com/ pr@csglobalpartners.com www.csglobalpartners.com +447824029952 DUBLIN (dpa-AFX) - Allegion Plc (ALLE), a provider of security products and solutions, Friday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Stanley Access Technologies LLC and assets related to the automatic entrance solutions business from Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (SWK) for $900 million in cash. When adjusted for approximately $90 million in tax benefits, the purchase price is $810 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The acquisition, which has been unanimously approved by Allegion's Board of Directors, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Following the close of the acquisition, Allegion expects to operate the Access Technologies business as part of the Allegion Americas segment. Access Technologies is a manufacturer, installer and service provider of automatic doors in North America. The company generated approximately $340 million in net sales in 2021. With the acquisition, Allegion expects to significantly expand its breadth of access, egress and access control solutions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Allegion intends to finance the transaction through a combination of cash, borrowings under its existing revolving credit facility and new debt financing. Further, in its trading update, Allegion business, on a standalone basis, is projecting first-quarter revenue of approximately $723 million and earnings per share of approximately $1.05, with an adjusted earnings per share of approximately $1.07. The company affirmed its previously reported standalone full-year 2022 outlook for earnings per share of $5.50 to $5.70 on a reported basis and $5.55 to $5.75 on an adjusted basis. Separately, Stanley Black & Decker said the net proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to fund its previously announced share repurchase program as well as debt reduction. The company expects to record Access Technologies as discontinued operations when it reports first quarter results on April 28. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX STANLEY BLACK & DECKER-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has announced an additional $800 million package of security assistance to Ukraine to further augment Ukraine's ability to fight Russian forces in the eastern Donbas region. This is in addition to another $800 million package that Biden pledged last week. Separately, Biden announced Thursday that the United States will provide an additional $500 million in direct economic assistance to the Ukrainian government. This brings the total U.S. economic support for Ukraine to $1 billion in the past two months. 'This is money the government can help use to help stabilize their economy, to support communities that have been devastated by the Russian onslaught, and pay the brave workers that continue to provide essential services to the people of Ukraine,' Biden said at a news conference after holding talks with the Ukrainian Prime Minister. Biden also announced a new program 'Unite for Ukraine' - to enable Ukrainians seeking refuge to come directly from Europe to the United States. This new humanitarian parole program will complement the existing legal pathways available to Ukrainians, including immigrant visas and refugee processing. It will provide an expedient channel for secure, legal migration from Europe to the United States for Ukrainians who have a U.S. sponsor, such as a family or an NGO. As part of Washington's latest measure to ratchet up the pressure on the Putin regime and further isolate Russia on the world stage, Biden announced that Russian-affiliated ships will be banned from entering U.S. ports. 'This is yet another critical step we're taking in concert with our partners in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada and - further to deny Russia the benefits of the international economic system that they so enjoyed in the past, ' Biden told reporters. The U.S. military package includes heavy artillery weapons including 72 Howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition to go with those Howitzers. It also includes new more tactical drone system designed by the US Air Force called the 'Phoenix Ghost.' Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry said in its latest update that 58 military targets in Ukraine were attacked overnight, and Russian forces captured 40 villages in east Ukraine on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian forces have taken control of the besieged southeastern port city of Mariupol, but ordered them not to storm the Azovstal steel plant, Ukraine's last stronghold in the city, where hundreds of Ukrainian troops are hiding out. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Projected transaction supports efforts to accelerate expansion of a diversified portfolio of high-quality microbial-based solutions for growers around the world by further enhancing Bayer's biologics strategy of tapping into the open innovation ecosystem Biologics segment expected to continue rapid growth for the next decade with potential to develop transformative solutions addressing the challenges of climate change, complementary to traditional chemistries Follow-on multi-year strategic collaboration with Ginkgo will focus acquired Joyn and Bayer technologies and expertise in nitrogen optimization, carbon sequestration and next generation crop protection; capitalize on success of Joyn Bio joint venture. Bayer today announced that the company is pursuing an agreement whereby Ginkgo Bioworks will acquire Bayer's West Sacramento Biologics Research Development (R&D) site and internal discovery and lead optimization platform. The contemplated transaction, projected to close before the end of 2022 pending final negotiation of the agreement terms and subject to regulatory approvals, would also bring Joyn Bio's nitrogen-fixing technologies to Bayer, successfully closing the joint venture created between Leaps by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2017. Ginkgo Bioworks will become a multi-year microbial strategic partner with Bayer in their work to develop biological solutions in fields like nitrogen optimization, carbon sequestration, and next generation crop protection. The transaction will enable Bayer to expand its leading biologicals position, strengthen its access to key enabling technology in synthetic biology, and maintain Bayer's role as the preferred research, development, and commercial partner in the biologics segment. "Bayer's work in the rapidly growing biologics space is an essential part of our commitment to sustainability and providing effective climate-smart products like nitrogen fixing and optimization technologies," said Bob Reiter, Head of R&D for Bayer's Crop Science Division. "Our work with Ginkgo will accelerate our biologicals pipeline by leveraging Bayer's expertise in bringing reliable and effective biological products to market against Ginkgo's synthetic biology research engine now enhanced by an expanded ag biologics research and development platform and help Bayer continue to expand our biologics product range to create tailored solutions for additional crops." This strategic shift to an exclusively external biologics research discovery pipeline with leading partners will activate the international open innovation ecosystem and equip Bayer to better leverage its proven capability in commercializing biologicals to create category-leading products that meet the growing need for climate-smart and sustainable options that complement traditional chemistries. "This is an exciting time for biologicals and Bayer understands that development of the next generation of biological products must be accelerated to help growers face the challenges of climate change and food security as well as to meet the demands of sustainability," said Benoit Hartmann, Senior Vice President and Head of Biologics, Crop Science Division. "Leading Bayer biologics products like Serenade and BioRise 2 are already being used by growers across the world to reduce their use of products associated with higher greenhouse gas emissions and improve yields. We expect that in the coming decade biologicals as an industry will continue to grow rapidly, and we are ready to leverage our expertise, experience, and resources to not only maintain, but expand on our leadership position in biologicals with a diverse set of leading partners." The R&D platform of Joyn Bio is intended to join forces with Ginkgo Bioworks along with Bayer's West Sacramento R&D platform through this transaction upon the projected close before the end of the year. Joyn's successful developments in the exploration of the potential of synthetic biology in nitrogen fixation and other projects will be brought together with Bayer's proven biologics development and optimization platform under one roof in order to strengthen biologicals discovery and development and enable accelerated work on sustainable breakthrough technologies for agriculture. "Ginkgo is an established and growing leader in synthetic biology and we are now bringing the success that we've demonstrated in other complex, regulated industries to agriculture through the acquisition of the Bayer Biologics West Sacramento Site along with its discovery and lead optimization platforms, and continuing to build on the work of our joint venture with Bayer, Joyn Bio," said Jason Kelly, CEO and cofounder of Ginkgo Bioworks. "We want agricultural biological development to be as simple and efficient as programming a computer, and by combining Ginkgo's expertise in biologics early discovery and development with Bayer and Joyn's platforms, we will be able to offer effective paths to market for Bayer's Biologics division." Bayer Biologicals offer benefits to growers through dependable tailored solutions both in organic and conventional grower operations. In addition to pest management capabilities, biological solutions can be used to improve soil, root, and plant health to provide increased yield and quality in many crops. The enhanced range of choices available to growers with biologicals provide complementary ways of managing pests and diseases together with traditional chemistries often while boosting crop efficiency making them a perfect fit in modern integrated agriculture management programs. About Bayer Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to drive sustainable development and generate a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com. About Ginkgo Ginkgo is building a platform to enable customers to program cells as easily as we can program computers. The company's platform is enabling biotechnology applications across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to industrial chemicals to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo has also actively supported a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including K-12 pooled testing, vaccine manufacturing optimization and therapeutics discovery. For more information, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com. About Joyn Bio Joyn Bio is a joint venture founded by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks developing probiotics for plants to provide growers with next generation solutions to their biggest challenges. Joyn Bio's first area of focus will be on engineering microbes that provide cereal crops with their nitrogen needs to reduce agriculture's reliance on nitrogen fertilizer and its environmental impact. Joyn Bio brings together microbiologists, synthetic biologists, plant scientists, and ecologists at its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and its plant research facility in West Sacramento, California. For more information, visit www.joynbio.com. Forward-Looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conformthem to future events or developments. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220422005009/en/ Contacts: Charla Lord, phone +1 314 343 7196 Email: Charla.Lord@Bayer.com Alexander Hennig, phone +49 175 3089736 Email: Alexander.Hennig@Bayer.com HOUSTON, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Petroleos Internacionales del Caribe ("PIC") and its operating division in Mexico Petroleos Internacionales del Caribe Inc., Sucursal Mexico ("PICMEX") and SeaOne Holdings, LLC ("SeaOne") jointly announced today the signing of a CGL Technology Pre-FEED (Front End Engineering Design) Agreement for studies by SeaOne to cover the design of the CGL production and export terminals and plants, receiving terminals and plants, and the CGL Carriers (CGLCs) that will be built to transport CGL to markets. Following completion of the project specific pre-FEED and the FEED studies by SeaOne and partners, PIC will make the Final Investment Decision (FID) which will allow PIC and its partners to move forward with construction and operation of the project. The SeaOne Compressed Gas Liquids (CGL) intellectual property is supported by 9 core U.S. patents, with supporting engineering and designs. The core CGL patents are the basis of 84 international patents, and 72 global trademarks that cover the composition of CGL (natural gas and natural gas liquids in a solvated solution) and methods for producing, storage, loading and unloading cargo containment systems in the CGLC, and associated onshore and offshore production and receiving terminals. The patents, designs and systems also include various transportation solutions that have been developed by SeaOne. "We are very enthusiastic about partnering with PIC," SeaOne's Chairman and CEO, Forrest Hoglund, said. "CGL increases access to affordable, lower emission fuels. These projects will provide Mexico, and other countries in Central and South America, and the Americas with affordable fuels and power, as well as significant carbon emissions reductions, a key component in achieving sustainability and balanced ESG goals." "We are excited to take this important Pre-Feed step with SeaOne," said Michael Hood, CEO of PIC. "Through this partnership, PIC and SeaOne will accelerate commercialization of CGL to help meet the fuel supply and electricity needs of PIC's customers in Mexico and throughout the Americas while substituting higher-emission fuels to continue driving down emissions." About Petroleos Internacionales del Caribe and Petroleos Internacionales del Caribe Inc., Sucursal Mexico Petroleos Internacionales del Caribe About SeaOne Holdings, LLC Houston-based SeaOne Holdings, LLC SAINT LOUIS PARK, MN / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2022 / The Saint Therese Board of Directors has completed its nationwide search for a new chief executive and named Craig W. Abbott as its incoming President & Chief Executive Officer. He will join Saint Therese in late May. Abbott will succeed Barb Rode, Saint Therese's current President and CEO, who will continue to lead the organization until late May. Rode is retiring after 21 years of exceptional and dedicated leadership that has guided the nonprofit organization through successful growth and maturation to become the Twin Cities' premiere provider of senior housing ranging from independent living to skilled nursing. Abbott's career began in non-profit aging services in 1993 with Volunteers of America National Services. He's also held operational leadership roles with other non-profit organizations including The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society and Minnesota Masonic Homes. Most recently, Abbott served as Executive Vice President of Health Dimensions Group (a privately held company based in Minneapolis), which provides third party management services and client consulting serves to clients across all 50 states. Over the last 17 years, Abbott has held a myriad of executive leadership positions at Health Dimensions Group. Throughout Abbott's career, his responsibilities have progressed from single-site skilled nursing facility leadership, to providing multi-site operational, consultative and executive leadership roles on a nationwide basis. He is a seasoned and highly respected industry leader and trusted strategic advisor, well versed and experienced in all aspects of aging care and services. In addition to working with existing communities, Abbott also comes to Saint Therese with experience developing, opening, managing, and expanding start-up senior living communities. "We are very enthusiastic about working with such an accomplished senior living professional," said Patrick Taffe, Chairman of the Board of the Saint Therese Board of Directors. "Transitions to new leadership in any organization are inevitable and involve both continuity and change. We believe Craig is uniquely qualified to continue to lead our efforts to successfully turn the many challenges facing the senior care industry, and more specifically Saint Therese into opportunities." These opportunities, Taffe added, include the changing needs and expectations of the metro area's diverse and growing older population, to dealing with the current workforce challenges, to repositioning the New Hope Campus project and the expansion of Saint Therese campuses to Corcoran. As a licensed Nursing Home Administrator in the State of Minnesota, Abbott was a previous recipient of the Kal Michaels Administrator of the Year Award, he has served on the Board of Directors for Leading Age Minnesota, has led multiple organizations that have received "Great Places to Work" designation, was appointed to Governor Pawlenty's Task Force for State Veteran's Homes and was recently named to Leading Age Minnesota's 50 for the next 50. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Hospital/Healthcare Administration from Moorhead State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College, both located in Moorhead. In addition, he holds an MBA Certification in Healthcare, Business and Quality Management from the University of St. Thomas, Center for Medical Affairs in Minneapolis. About Saint Therese: Founded in 1964, Saint Therese prides itself on its rich tradition of providing exceptional care for seniors in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul. It has locations in New Hope, Brooklyn Park, Woodbury, and a new location planned in Corcoran. These communities provide the full continuum of care from independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and transitional care. It also has a location specializing in hospice and palliative care in Shoreview and a rehabilitation company, Ascend Rehabilitation. It is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) senior care organization. Media Contact : Barb Hemberger, 612-669-0381 barbarah@sainttherese.org SOURCE: Saint Therese View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698387/Healthcare-Executive-Craig-W-Abbott-Named-President-CEO-of-Saint-Therese VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2022 / Sarama Resources Ltd. ("Sarama" or the "Company") (TSX-V:SWA) is pleased to advise that it has completed its equity raising in relation to its dual listing on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX") (refer to Sarama news release dated March 11, 2022). Following strong demand, the Company has raised gross proceeds of A$8,000,000 and issued 38,095,238 CHESS Depositary Interests ("CDIs") over common shares in the capital of the Company at an issue price of A$0.21 per CDI. Underlying each CDI is a newly-issued common share of the Company and each CDI therefore represents a beneficial interest in 1 common share of the Company. The Company has received conditional approval for admission to the ASX and expects that its CDIs will commence trading on the ASX on Monday May 2, 2022 (subject to satisfying ASX's conditions to admission). Leading Australian resources broker, Euroz Hartleys Limited, is the Lead Manager for the ASX listing process. Upon admission to the official list of ASX, Euroz Hartleys will receive 2,500,000 Broker options at an exercise price of A$0.273 each and expiring three years from the date of issue. It will also receive a capital raising fee of 6% of total gross funds raised, excluding any funds subscribed for under an agreed Chairman's list, for which a 2% management fee will apply, and a separate management fee of A$75,000. The net proceeds raised pursuant to the issuance of the CDIs will be primarily used to support and expedite an extensive and predominantly shallow drilling campaign across the Company's 100%-owned Sanutura Project (the "Project"). The planned drill programs aim to augment and upgrade the currently defined oxide and free-milling mineral resource and test high priority targets identified through previous grassroots exploration that have the potential to significantly impact project growth. The Project is an advanced-stage exploration project covering approximately 1,420km that hosts a significant, well-defined gold mineral resource base and a suite of exploration targets. As announced on November 16, 2021, the mining-shape constrained mineral resource estimate at the Project stands at 9.4Mt @ 1.9g/t Au for 0.6Moz gold (Indicated) plus 52.7Mt @ 1.4g/t Au for 2.3Moz gold (Inferred)(1). The combined oxide and transition component of the pit shell-constrained mineral resource totals 0.2Moz gold (Indicated) plus 0.8Moz gold (Inferred)(2). The large mineral resource base and suite of exploration targets provide significant optionality and leverage to the gold price and the Project remains key to the development of the southern Hounde Belt. Sarama's President and CEO, Andrew Dinning commented: "We are very pleased with the interest and strong demand shown in the IPO with applications well in excess of the $8 million upper limit and we would like to welcome our new shareholders. The funds raised will be put to work immediately as we pursue an aggressive exploration program focused on shallow and highly accretive material and look to grow the already significant oxide and near-surface gold resource and we look forward to updating the market with our progress." Investor Relations The Company announces that it has retained the services of Euroz Hartleys to provide corporate advisory and investor relations services to the Company post listing on the ASX. Services may include profiling and promotion of the Company, provision of advice on marketing strategies and arrangement of roadshow presentations to institutional and retail investors. The term of the engagement will be for twelve months at a rate of A$7,500 per month. Euroz Hartleys is a leading Western Australian diversified financial services company which has provided a wide range of financial services from stockbroking to corporate finance, funds management and wealth management since 1955. For further information on the Company's activities, please contact: Andrew Dinning or Paul Schmiede e: info@saramaresources.com t: +61 (0) 8 9363 7600 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. ABOUT SARAMA RESOURCES LTD Sarama Resources Ltd (TSX-V: SWA) is a West African focused gold explorer and developer with substantial landholdings in south-west Burkina Faso. Sarama is focused on maximising the value of its strategic assets and advancing its key projects towards development. Sarama's 100%-owned(4) Sanutura Project is principally located within the prolific Hounde Greenstone Belt in south-west Burkina Faso and is the exploration and development focus of the Company. The project hosts the Tankoro and Bondi Deposits which have a combined mineral resource of 0.6Moz gold (Indicated) and 2.3Moz gold (Inferred)(1). Together, the deposits present a potential mine development opportunity featuring an initial, long-life CIL project which may be established and paid for by the significant oxide mineral resource base. Sarama has built further optionality into its portfolio including an approximate 470km exploration position in the highly prospective Banfora Belt in south-western Burkina Faso. The Koumandara Project hosts several regional-scale structural features and trends of gold-in-soil anomalism extending for over 40km along strike. Sarama also holds an approximate 18% participating interest in the Karankasso Project Joint Venture ("JV") which is situated adjacent to the Company's Sanutura Project in Burkina Faso and is a JV between Sarama and Endeavour Mining Corp ("Endeavour") in which Endeavour is the operator of the JV. In February 2020, an updated mineral resource estimate of 709koz gold(3) was declared for the Karankasso Project JV. The Company's Board and management team have a proven track record in Africa and a strong history in the discovery and development of large-scale gold deposits. Sarama is well positioned to build on its current success with a sound strategy to surface and maximise the value of its property portfolio. FOOTNOTES Current mineral resource estimate for Sanutura Project - 9.4Mt @ 1.9g/t Au for 0.6Moz Au (Indicated) plus 52.7Mt @ 1.4g/t Au for 2.3Moz (Inferred), reported at cut-off grades ranging 0.2-1.6g/t Au, reflecting the mining methods and processing flowsheets assumed to assess the liklihood of the mineral resources to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The effective date of the Company's mineral resource estimate is November 16, 2021. For further information regarding the mineral resource estimate refer to the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Independent Technical Report Sanutura Project, South-West Burkina Faso", dated February 7, 2022 and prepared by Paul Schmiede, Rindra Le Grange and Fred Kock. Paul Schmiede is an employee of Sarama. Ms Le Grange and Mr Kock are employees of Cube Consulting Pty Ltd and Orway Mineral Consultants Pty Ltd respectivley and are considered to be independent of Sarama. The technical report is available under Sarama's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Oxide & transition component of the current mineral resource - 3.2Mt @ 1.6g/t Au for 0.2Moz Au (Indicated) plus 23.4Mt @ 1.1g/t Au for 0.8Moz Au (Inferred), reported above cut-off grades of 0.2g/t Au and 0.3g/t Au for oxide and transition material respectively. Karankasso Project current mineral resource estimate - the current mineral resource estimate for the Karankasso Project of 12.74Mt @ 1.73g/t Au for 709koz Au (effective date of December 31, 2019) was disclosed on February 24, 2020 by Semafo Inc ("Semafo", since acquired by Endeavour Mining Corp. "Endeavour"). For further information regarding that mineral resource estimate, refer to the news release "Semafo: Bantou Project Inferred Resources Increase to 2.2Moz" dated February 24, 2020 and Semafo: Bantou Project NI43-101 Technical Report - Mineral Resource Estimate" dated April 3, 2020. The news release and technical report are available under Semafo's and Endeavour's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The mineral resource estimate was fully prepared by, or under the supervision of Semafo. Sarama has not independently verified Semafo's mineral resource estimate and takes no responsibility for its accuracy. Semafo, and now Endeavour, is the operator of the Karankasso Project JV and Sarama is relying on their Qualified Persons' assurance of the validity of the mineral resource estimate. Additional technical work has been undertaken on the Karankasso Project since the effective date but Sarama is not in a position to quantify the impact of this additional work on the mineral resource estimate referred to above. The Government of Burkina Faso has processed the requisite documents to facilitate the grant of the new, full-term Tankoro 2 and Djarkadougou 2 Exploration Permits (the "Permits") and subsequently issued the invitation to pay the permit issuance fees (the "Fees") and the Fees were paid within the requisite 10-day timeline. Following the payment of the Fee, the issuance of the Permit's arrete and related paperwork becomes an administrative process during which time the Company may undertake work on the Tankoro 2 and Djarkadougou 2 Properties. The Company expects the arretes and related paperwork to be issued in due course. The properties, hosting the Tankoro and Bondi Deposits respectively, were formerly known as Tankoro and Djarkadougou, but have been renamed as part of the process of re-issuing the respective Permits. CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION Information in this news release that is not a statement of historical fact constitutes forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans and timing to list on the ASX, statements regarding the Company's future exploration and development plans and the use of proceeds from the offering of CDIs, the potential for the Sanutura and Karankasso Projects to host economic mineralisation, the potential to expand the present oxide component of the existing estimated mineral resources at the Sanutura Project, the potential for the receipt of regulatory approvals and the timing and prospects for the issuance of the arretes for the Tankoro 2 and Djarkadougou 2 Exploration Permits by the Government of Burkina Faso. Actual results, performance or achievements of the Company may vary from the results suggested by such forward-looking statements due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such factors include, among others, that the business of exploration for gold and other precious minerals involves a high degree of risk and is highly speculative in nature; mineral resources are not mineral reserves, they do not have demonstrated economic viability, and there is no certainty that they can be upgraded to mineral reserves through continued exploration; few properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; the actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. There can be no assurance that any mineralisation that is discovered will be proven to be economic, or that future required regulatory licensing or approvals will be obtained. However, the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration activities, the sufficiency of funding, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold and other precious metals, that the Company will not be affected by adverse political events, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain further financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Sarama does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws. QUALIFIED PERSONS' STATEMENT Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to the preparation of the mineral resource estimate for the Sanutura Project is based on information compiled or approved by Paul Schmiede. Paul Schmiede is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a Fellow in good standing of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Paul Schmiede has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Paul Schmiede consents to the inclusion in this news release of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to exploration activities at the Sanutura Project is based on information compiled or approved by Guy Scherrer. Guy Scherrer is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Guy Scherrer consents to the inclusion in this disclosure of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Scientific or technical information in this disclosure that relates to the quotation of the Karankasso Project's mineral resource estimate and exploration activities is based on information compiled by Paul Schmiede. Paul Schmiede is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a Fellow in good standing of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Paul Schmiede has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Paul Schmiede consents to the inclusion in this disclosure of the information, in the form and context in which it appears. Paul Schmiede and Sarama have not independently verified Semafo's (now Endeavour's) mineral resource estimate and take no responsibility for its accuracy. SOURCE: Sarama Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698449/Sarama-Resources-Completes-Equity-Raising-for-Dual-Listing-on-The-Australian-Securities-Exchange VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2022 / Core Assets Corp., ("Core Assets" or the "Company") (CSE:CC)(FSE:5RJ)(OTCQB:CCOOF) is pleased to announce results and interpretations from the 2021 Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetics (VTEM) Geophysical Survey completed at the Laverdiere Fe-Cu-Au Skarn-Porphyry Project (the "Project"), eastern Blue Property (the "Property"), Atlin Mining District of NW British Columbia. Highlights Core Assets' 2021 VTEM Geophysical Survey detects an extensive (5km x 4.2km) magnetic and corresponding resistivity high, coinciding with a causative, potassically-altered and Cu-Mo-bearing granodiorite located adjacent to the Fe-Cu-Au Skarn Target (Figures 1-3). (Figures 1-3). A large-scale and untested conductivity anomaly is coincident with the Llewellyn Fault Zone (LFZ), traceable along the entire length of Hoboe Creek (Figure 2). (Figure 2). Strongest conductivity highs residing along the LFZ persist to depths of up to 500m (Figure 2). (Figure 2). Cu and Au values in surficial rock samples collected from the Laverdiere Project, as well as the Cu content reported from historic drilling, show increases in overall grade with increasing proximity toward the North LFZ Conductivity Anomaly and the Llewellyn Fault (Figure 4). (Figure 4). High-grade Fe-Cu-Au skarn mineralization delineated from prospecting and historic drilling between the South and North adits at Laverdiere is currently traceable for 800m along surface, to 300m at depth, and remains open in all directions . delineated from prospecting and historic drilling between the South and North adits at Laverdiere is currently traceable for . The LFZ represents a regional, crustal-scale structure that remains untested by deep diamond drilling at Laverdiere, and is spatially and temporally related to porphyry, skarn, and epithermal-type mineralization along its entire length in NW BC (>170km). Interpretations of geophysical data from the Silver Lime Skarn-CRD-Porphyry Project is currently underway and details will be presented prior to drill mobilization to high priority targets there. Core Assets' President and CEO Nick Rodway comments, "The Laverdiere Project is what initially attracted us to the Llewellyn Fault area. We can see a clear correlation between geophysical data, historic drilling, and surficial geochemical data indicating the right geological ingredients are present for a major discovery at Laverdiere. We are very excited to begin drilling these large-scale geophysical anomalies along the Llewellyn Fault as part of our aggressive 2022 summer drill campaign across the Blue Property." Figure 1: Geological Map and Simple 3D Model of Fe-Cu-Au skarn mineralization and Cu grade at the Laverdiere Project highlighting the locations and orientations of historic drill holes and the current extent of the skarn body. Line A-B illustrates the location of both cross sections presented in Figure 3. Only location, depth, and orientation data are publicly available for hole DDH73-1, therefore it is excluded in the modelled Fe-Cu-Au Skarn. Figure 2: (Left) Map showing Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI) and the distribution of magnetic and overlapping resistivity anomalies at the Laverdiere Project; (Right) Map showing the distribution of conductive (hot colors) and resistive (cold colors) geological features in the subsurface at the Laverdiere Project. All data presented was obtained during the 2021 VTEM Geophysical Survey (TauSf/Conductivity). Line A-B illustrates the location of both cross sections presented in Figure 3. Geophysical Interpretation At the Laverdiere Fe-Cu-Au Skarn-Porphyry Project, a causative, potassically-altered and magnetite-chalcopyrite-molybdenite-bearing granodiorite intrusion resides in contact with a high-grade Fe-Cu-Au skarn body hosted in dolomitic limestone/marble. The mapped extent of this granodiorite intrusion correlates with an extensive magnetic high/resistive zone located along the western side of the Llewellyn Fault that measures approximately 5km in the north-south direction and 4.2km in the east-west direction. The disseminated nature of Cu and potassic alteration assemblage (K-feldspar, biotite, hematite, magnetite) observed in the granodiorite unit is interpreted as the cause of the strong resistive signature associated with the increased magnetic response. Because the potassic alteration assemblage in the granodiorite is magnetite-bearing (+Cu, Mo), the core of the target porphyry system could be associated with a strong magnetic response1. The related skarn body is defined as fine-to-coarse grained and locally massive high-grade Fe-Cu-Au Skarn (magnetite and/or magnetite-chalcopyrite-dominant bornite-tetrahedrite-molybdenite-pyrite-pyrrhotite) and its surficial exposure corresponds to a moderate conductive zone straddling the margins of the resistive intrusion. An increase in Cu and Au content is observed in surficial rock samples towards the most conductive zone of the North LFZ Conductivity Anomaly, whereas Mo values increase with proximity to magnetic and resistive granodiorite intrusion (i.e., toward a potential potassic core). This increase in Cu and Au values could indicate a gradational change from more magnetite-rich skarn with disseminated chalcopyrite, to more massive Cu-Au-bearing sulphide mineralization, including skarn, carbonate replacement, or vein-hosted occurrences. 1Mitchinson, et al., (2013): https://www.geosciencebc.com/i/project_data/GBC_Report2013-14/GBC_Report2013-14.pdf Figure 3: (Above) Cross Section Looking Northwest through the historic French Adit - highlighting historic drill results and Fe-Cu-Au skarn distribution with reference to local target lithologies; (Below) Cross Section Looking Northwest through the historic French Adit - highlighting historic drill results and Fe-Cu-Au skarn distribution with reference to the Apparent Resistivity Voxel Model obtained from the 2021 VTEM Geophysical Survey. Figure 4: (Left) Distribution of a) Cu, b) Au, and c) Mo grade in rocks at the Laverdiere Project. Consistency and overall grade of Cu-Au target mineralization increases with increasing proximity to the North LFZ Conductivity Anomaly, whereas Mo content increases toward the magnetic and resistive intrusion; Rock samples plotted on TauSf (conductivity = hot colors; resistivity = cold colors) map obtained from the 2021 VTEM Geophysical Survey; d) Interpreted position of the Porphyry Cu-Mo (-Au) and Fe-Cu-Au Skarn Targets at the Laverdiere Project within a simplified model of the Porphyry-Epithermal-IOCG environment (Modified after Wade et al., 2014 and references therein). Table 1: Historic Diamond Drilling Highlights from the Laverdiere Project. All reported value are length weighted averages and true widths are not known at this time. " - " indicates that no historic assays were available for the corresponding parameter. 1971 and 1973 drill core size = AQ; 1981 drill core size = BQ. Historical drilling data is considered Non-NI 43-101 compliant. About the Laverdiere Porphyry-Skarn Project The Laverdiere Project is characterized as a fine-to-coarse grained and locally massive Fe-Cu-Au-rich Skarn (magnetite and/or magnetite-chalcopyrite-dominant bornite-tetrahedrite-molybdenite-pyrite-pyrrhotite) hosted in dolomitic limestone and marble of the Devonian Boundary Ranges Metamorphic Suite. Dolomitic limestone is overlain by thin-bedded calcareous siltstone, quartzite, and schist - all of which are locally folded, dip moderately to the west, and are intruded by an Early Cretaceous post-accretionary granodiorite intrusion of batholith size (Coast Plutonic Complex). The granodiorite is locally foliated and exhibits potassic alteration in the form of secondary K-feldspar and shreddy biotite after hornblende along the Fe-Cu-Au skarn contact. The highest-grade skarn occurrences observed at Laverdiere are hosted in dolomitic limestone, near the siltstone contact and along the margins of the potassically altered intrusion. Disseminated and quartz-vein/fracture-hosted chalcopyrite, molybdenite, magnetite, and malachite have been observed in granodiorite outcropping along the Lewellyn Fault Zone (LFZ/Hoboe Creek) for up to 3.9km south from the main Fe-Cu-Au Skarn body (See News Release Dated April 6, 2022). An increase in disseminated and fracture-hosted chalcopyrite and molybdenite mineralization within the granodiorite unit at depth has also been reported in the deepest drill hole completed on the property to-date (DDH2-73). Lateral increases in Cu, Fe, and Au content of surficial rock samples are observed from the delineated skarn zone, located between the historic South and North Adits, moving NNE towards the North LFZ Conductivity Anomaly. The LFZ is a >170km long, crustal-scale, northwest-trending structural corridor that exhibits evidence of early ductile deformation (120 and 75 Ma), and late, brittle deformation that overprints early ductile fabrics. This late, brittle deformation event is constrained to 55-50 Ma - coinciding with Cordillera-wide strike-slip faulting. The LFZ remains untested by deep diamond drilling at the Laverdiere Project, and is spatially and temporally related to porphyry, skarn, mesothermal, and epithermal-type mineralization along its entire length. About the 2021 Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic Geophysical Survey The Versatile Time Domain Electro Magnetic (VTEM) system was conducted in the summer of 2021 by Geotech Ltd. of Aurora, Ontario. This state-of-the-art-system has a proven record of locating conductive anomalies, as well as mapping lateral and vertical variations in resistivity. Full waveform recording is employed to achieve very clean early-time measurements that can resolve near surface structures. It has a high-sensitivity cesium magnetometer for mapping geologic structure and lithology and a cesium magnetometer base station for diurnal correction. The radar altimeter has an accuracy of approximately one meter. The survey consisted of approximately 2,000-line km at 150m spacing across the entirety of the Blue Property. National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure Nicholas Rodway, P.Geo, (Licence# 46541) (Permit to Practice# 100359) is President, CEO and Director of the Company, and qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Rodway supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release. About Core Assets Corp. Core Assets Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of mineral projects in British Columbia., Canada. The Company currently holds 100% title ownership in the Blue Property, which covers a land area of109,994.4 ha (~1,010 km). The project lies within the Atlin Mining District, a well-known gold mining camp located in the unceded territory of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. The Blue Property hosts a major structural feature known as The Llewellyn Fault Zone ("LFZ"). This structure is approximately 140km in length and runs from the Tally-Ho Shear Zone in the Yukon, south through the Blue Property to the Alaskan Panhandle Juneau Ice Sheet in the United States. Core Assets believes that the south Atlin Lake area and the LFZ has been neglected since the last major exploration campaigns in the 1980's. The LFZ plays an important role in mineralization of near surface metal occurrences across the Blue Property. The past 50 years have seen substantial advancements in the understanding of porphyry, skarn, and carbonate replacement type deposits both globally and in BC's Golden Triangle. The company has leveraged this information at the Blue Property to tailor an already proven exploration model and believes this could facilitate a major discovery. Core Assets is excited to become one of Atlin Mining District's premier explorers where its team believes there are substantial opportunities for new discoveries and development in the area. On Behalf of the Board of Directors CORE ASSETS CORP. "Nicholas Rodway" President & CEO Tel: 604.681.1568 Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include the Company's future objective of becoming a premier explorer; that the Company's exploration model can facilitate a major discovery on the Blue Property; that the Blue Property is prospective for copper, zinc and silver; that Core Assets will undertake additional exploration activity, including drill testing, on the Blue Property; and that the Blue Property has substantial opportunities for a discovery and development; . It is important to note that the Company's actual business outcomes and exploration results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include that further permits may not be granted in a timely manner, or at all; the mineral claims may prove to be unworthy of further expenditure; there may not be an economic mineral resource; certain exploration methods, including our proposed exploration model for the Blue Property, that we thought would be effective may not prove to be in practice or on our claims; economic, competitive, governmental, geopolitical, environmental and technological factors may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices; our specific plans and timing drilling, field work and other plans may change; we may not have access to or be able to develop any minerals because of cost factors, type of terrain, or availability of equipment and technology; and we may also not raise sufficient funds to carry out or complete our plans. Additional risk factors are discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for its recently completed fiscal period, which is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com . Except as required by law, the Company will not update or revise these forward-looking statements after the date of this document or to revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events. SOURCE: Core Assets View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698395/Core-Assets-Identifies-Numerous-Large-Scale-Untested-Geophysical-Anomalies-at-the-Laverdiere-Project-Blue-Property TOKYO, Apr 22, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - As companies are emerging stronger from the Covid-19 pandemic, the need is to adapt to the changes in their business functions caused by a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. The way a company interacts with its clients has undergone substantial transformation leading them to seek innovations that can adapt to the current scenario.World CX Summit is an In-Person event taking place at Taj Lands End in Mumbai on 27 April 2022. The summit is hosting top Indian CX leaders and global experts, to explore the latest trends and address the most pressing challenges in the current CX ecosystem.Alongside World CX Summit, Trescon is introducing 'World CX Awards', in a bid to honour top-notch CX professionals across industry sectors in the country, who have revolutionized the CX landscape."When you serve stated needs of customers, you meet expectations. When you go beyond and serve unstated needs, you exceed expectations," states KV Dipu, Senior President - Head Operations & Customer Service at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, and one of the speaker at World CX Summit.Dharmender Narang, SVP - Chief CX Officer, at IIFL Securities stated, "Today, companies can regularly, and seamlessly collect customer interaction data from across financial, and operations systems, yielding deep insights about their customers. Those with an eye toward the future are boosting their data and analytics capabilities and harnessing predictive insights to connect more closely with their customers, anticipate behaviors, and identify CX issues and opportunities making CX as service differentiator in the industry. These companies can better understand their interactions with customers, even pre-empt problems in customer journeys and help company to improve customer loyalty & long relationship thus improving revenue per customer."World CX Summit will provide a wide spectrum of expert speakers and panelists such as:- Rekha Nair, Chief Customer Experience & Quality Officer, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd.- Neeraj Lal, Chief Operating Officer, Apollo Hospitals- Dharmender Narang, Senior VP, Chief Customer Experience Officer, IIFL Securities- Dharmarajan K, Chief Business Officer, Tata CLiQ- Chaitanya Chokkareddy, CIO, Ozonetel Communications Pvt Ltd- Nishant Shrivastava, Global Head - Centre of Excellence for Unified Communications and Collaborations, TATA Communications- Shradha Thapa, Regional Head - Govt & OTT Partnership, Infobip- Prakash Bharath, Director and Regional Head, Freshworks- KV Dipu, Senior President - Head Operations & Customer Service, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance- Ramakrishna M, Director - Contact Centre, CX and Outsource Operations, CoinSwitch Kuber- Indranil Nath, EVP - Operations, Shiprocket- Nitin Jain, Head of CX (CS&L and Sales) for India & Middle East and Africa, Mondelez International- Kumud Upadhyay, SVP - Customer Service, Motilal Oswal Financial Services- Hari Shankar Mishra, SVP - CX, Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited- Gaurav Sadana, VP & Head- CX & Central Retention, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company- Suraj Shetty, Head Of CX, Learning & Development, Kissht- Zeenat Mongal, DVP CX, ICICI Lombard- Aalok R Pradhan, Director - Customer Success, CoinDCXThe event will focus on topics such as: Digital Transformation with Customer-First Thinking; Customer Data: Designing for Transparency & Trust; CX Strategies for a Touchless World; Adopting Digital Omnichannel; Future of Chatbots & Virtual Assistants; Rise of the Flexible Workforce; Role of Cybersecurity in Building Customer Trust and much more."While digital transformation has become a necessity, business leaders must now face a new set of challenges. As businesses plan for long-term sustained growth, the top priorities are speed, agility, customer experience, and culture shift," stated Mithun Shetty - CEO, Trescon.World CX Summit - India is officially sponsored by Lead Partner - Ozonetel Communications; Platinum Partners - Gupshup, TATA Communications, Infobip; Silver Sponsor - Phonon Communications; Gold Partners - UserTesting; Freshworks; Bronze Partner - Haptik, NeoSOFT Tech, Yellow.ai.About TresconTrescon is a global business events and consulting firm that provides a wide range of business services to a diversified client base that includes corporations, governments and individuals. Trescon is specialised in producing highly focused B2B events that connect businesses with opportunities through conferences, road shows, expos, demand generation, investor connect and consulting services.About World CX SummitWorld CX Summit is a thought-leadership-driven, business-focused, global series of events that takes place in strategic locations across the world. As a part of the global series, the Indian edition will be gathering pre-qualified CX leaders "all under one roof" to discuss how the latest CX technologies and customer insights can be combined to transform CX with a new approachThe summit will also host a combination of insightful sessions, keynotes, case studies and panel discussions sure to deliver actionable insights that attendees can apply to their Customer Experience strategies.For further details about the announcement, please contact:Monith ShettyMedia, PR & Corporate Communications+91 81059 75937media@tresconglobal.comSource: tresconCopyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2022 / Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. ("Naturally Splendid") (TSXV:NSP)(OTC PINK:NSPDF)(Frankfurt:50N) is pleased to announce the Company has executed a National Food Service Broker Agreement with Vancouver based Tri-Elite Marketing Ltd. (Tri-Elite), to market the Company's plant-based entrees, PlanteinTM, across Canada. Tri-Elite will focus on securing food service listings across Canada for the Company's extensive line of plant-based, meat alternative entrees. Tri-Elite will be participating with Naturally Splendid at the Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) trade show this weekend, April 23rd and 24th, promoting the PlanteinTM line to its many existing clients and looking to make connections with new opportunities. Industry experts consider the CHFA trade shows the number one source of presenting new products to retailers doing business in Canada. Tri-Elite Marketing Ltd. was founded in 2000 servicing western Canada initially. In 2003, current President Aggie Christopher, joined Tri-Elite as a partner bringing her extensive experience, relationships and distribution background to the company. In 2009 Aggie assumed full ownership of the company and its direction, expanding Company operations across Canada. In 2018 Tri-Elite stepped into the national arena hiring territory managers for eastern Canada solidifying strong representation coast to coast. The Company has over twenty (20) full-time sales representatives across Canada dedicated to servicing Tri-Elite clients and expanding their distribution. The company has been built on hard work, loyalty, trust and finding the best sales candidates in each marketplace. Tri-Elite has been truly fortunate to have hired some of the best talents in the Food Service Industry and that has been the key to the success of the brands they represent and in turn, Tri-Elite's success. Tri-Elite President Aggie Christopher states, "Tri-Elite Marketing is a partner for the future, with lofty targets and goals to provide premium service for our business partners supporting them to build their business and ultimately succeed. Consumers are demanding plant-based products more now than ever before and we believe this category will continue to grow. We deploy a very strategic game plan with goals to grow our vendor partner's business, while in turn continuing to build Tri-Elite Marketing to be the strongest and most focused brokerage company in Canada. We look forward to implementing the systems and processes we've developed over our decades of doing business that have proven to be successful and look forward to working with the Naturally Splendid team to make the PlanteinTM brand a sensation in Canada." PlanteinTM is the brand name for Naturally Splendid's line of plant-based entrees (www.plantein.ca). Naturally Splendid has an exclusive manufacturing and distribution agreement for an extensive range of plant-based entrees with Flexitarian Foods Pty. Ltd., a division of Australia's largest plant-based manufacturer. The current roster of entrees that Naturally Splendid has initially launched under the PlanteinTM trademark, include a plant-based; Burger; Crunchy Burger; Crumbed Tenders; Sweet Chili Tenders; Nuggets; Schnitzel (cutlet); Garlic Kiev; and a Phishy Filet. Naturally Splendid CEO Craig Goodwin comments, "We are very pleased that our initial PlanteinTM launch and subsequent rollout strategy is being supported by an organization as successful as Tri-Elite Marketing. Their understanding and achievements regarding product launches and national distribution will significantly benefit our sales and distribution strategies. We look forward to working with the Tri-Elite team with our most exciting product launch to date." About Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. Naturally Splendid is a plant-based food manufacturing and technology company that produces and distributes nutritious and delicious plant-based commodity products. Founded in 2010, the Company operates a Safe Quality Food Level 2 certified food manufacturing facility located just outside Vancouver, BC in Canada, focusing on producing an extensive range of plant-based entrees. Naturally Splendid has an exclusive 10-year manufacturing and distribution agreement for Canada with a division of Australia's largest plant-based food manufacturer, Flexitarian Foods Pty. Ltd. In addition to producing the Company's own branded products, Naturally Splendid provides contract manufacturing services and private labeling for a variety of nutritional plant-based food products destined for multiple distribution channels. The Company has established healthy, functional foods under brands such as Natera Sport, Natera Hemp Foods, CHII, Elevate Me and Woods Wild Bar. The Company launched Natera Plant Based Foods, a line of delicious plant-based meat alternatives for the rapidly growing plant-based market segment. Naturally Splendid maintains a relationship Plasm Pharmaceutical, a company that has been approved for conducting a phase 2 clinical trial approved by Health Canada for the treatment of COVID-19. NSE has also developed proprietary technologies for the extraction of healthy omega 3 and 6 oils, as well as a protein concentrate from hemp. For more information e-mail info@naturallysplendid.com or call Investor Relations at 604-570-0905 x 101. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Mr. J. Craig Goodwin CEO, Director Contact Information Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. (NSP - TSX Venture; NSPDF - OTCQB; 50N Frankfurt) #108-19100 Airport Way Pitt Meadows, BC, V3Y 0E2 Office: (604) 570-0902 Fax: (604) 465-1128 E-mail: info@naturallysplendid.com Website: www.naturallysplendid.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Naturally Splendid cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Naturally Splendid's control including, Naturally Splendid's ability to compete with large food and beverage companies; sales of any potential products developed will be profitable; sales of shelled hemp seed will continue at existing rates or increase; the ability to complete the sales of all bulk hemp seed purchase orders; and the risk that any of the potential applications may not receive all required regulatory or legal approval. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Naturally Splendid undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE: Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698464/Naturally-Splendid-Announces-National-Food-Service-Broker-Agreement-With-Tri-Elite-Marketing First of several special-topic regulatory compliance webinars features Wolters Kluwer's Timothy Burniston, CFPB's Patrice Ficklin Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions' Timothy Burniston, Senior Advisor, Regulatory Strategy, will lead a question-and-answer session with Patrice Ficklin, Fair Lending Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as part of a webinar, "Special Purpose Credit Programs: Everything You Wanted to Know." The event, which will take place 2-3:30 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 26th, will also include a panel discussion with Kenneth Scott, Managing Director, Citi, and Pamela Perry, Vice President, Single-Family Equitable Housing, Freddie Mac. The event will be moderated by Anand Raman, Partner, Skadden Arps. In this two-part session, Patrice Ficklin will provide an overview of these programs and direction on recent interagency guidance. Industry experts will then provide a thorough guide to creating such a special purpose credit program, including how to document a program, what evidence is needed to support it, and under what circumstances the plan should be re-evaluated. The session will cover existing guidance and a discussion of how special-purpose credit programs can be combined with other efforts to expand lending to historically underserved groups. The event is the first in a series of "pre-Colloquium" virtual events designed to delve deeply into fair lending issues that are of high interest to lenders, regulators, and fair lending advocates. The 26th annual CRA Fair Lending Colloquium, hosted by Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, will be held between November 13th and 16th at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. banks, credit unions, insurers and securities firms. The business, which sits within Wolters Kluwer's Governance, Risk Compliance (GRC) division, helps these financial institutions efficiently manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business. Wolters Kluwer's GRC division provides an array of expert solutions to help financial institutions manage regulatory and risk obligations. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions' iLien for Lien Management, for example, enables lenders to manage and address risks in their entire UCC lien portfolio with analytics, visibility and automation. Compliance Solutions' eOriginal suite of purpose-built, digital lending offerings helps lenders digitize their transactions and features electronic signatures, collateral authentication and an electronic vault. Wolters Kluwer Finance, Risk Regulatory Reporting (FRR), meanwhile, is a global market leader in the provision of integrated regulatory compliance and reporting solutions. The division's legal solutions businesses are Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation and Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions. About Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk Compliance Governance, Risk Compliance is a division of Wolters Kluwer, which provides legal and banking professionals with solutions to help ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory and legal obligations, manage risk, increase efficiency, and produce better business outcomes. GRC offers a portfolio of technology-enabled expert services and solutions focused on legal entity compliance, legal operations management, banking product compliance, and banking regulatory compliance. Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2021 annual revenues of 4.8 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,800 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220422005013/en/ Contacts: Media Contacts for Wolters Kluwer GRC (Including Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions; Wolters Kluwer Finance, Risk Regulatory Reporting; Wolters Kluwer ELM Solutions, and Wolters Kluwer CT Corporation) Paul Lyon Global Corporate Communications Director Governance, Risk Compliance Division Wolters Kluwer Office +44 20 3197 6586 Paul.Lyon@wolterskluwer.com David Feider Corporate Communications Manager, Banking Regulatory Compliance Governance, Risk Compliance Division Wolters Kluwer Tel: +1 612-852-7966 David.Feider@wolterskluwer.com VERNON, BC, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Doseology Sciences Inc.. (CSE: MOOD) (FSE: VU7) ("Doseology" or the "Company"), a life sciences company focused on mental health and wellness, is excited to announce it has signed a Distribution Agreement with Peak Performance Products Inc. ("Peak") for the distribution of the Company's medicinal mushroom products across Canada. About Peak Performance Products Inc. Peak is a leading distributor of innovative and effective products that optimize health and wellness. Peak has a national sales team that solicits distribution to retailers across Canada. With a focus on sports, health, mass retail, e-tail, convenience, grocery, pharmacy, and specialty channels, Peak services over 3,500 locations. Corporate Update Doseology is also pleased to provide a corporate update and recap of its achievements following the appointment of Ralph Olson as Chief Executive Officer. Doseology to be showcased at CHFA West Vancouver Tradeshow The Canadian Health Food Association is Canada's largest trade association dedicated to natural health and organic products. CHFA's mission is to get more healthy living products into the hands of more Canadians, and their events reflect all the great products that Canadians are looking for. From April 23-24, 2022, Doseology is excited to have its line on display at Booth 1547 in conjunction with its national sales partner, Connect Brand Management. The tradeshow will provide access to leading retailers and distribution partners from across Canada and internationally, who will have the opportunity to learn about the benefits of the Company's medicinal mushroom line. Doseology Launches on Well.ca Well.ca is a Canadian e-commerce retailer based in Guelph, Ontario, that specializes in health, beauty, baby, home, and green and natural products. The company was named Best Mid-Size E-Commerce Retailer in 2013 by the Retail Council of Canada. The Doseology Canadian product line now available on Well.ca includes five medicinal mushroom products for cognitive health benefits. Each product is formulated and positioned to compete in both the medicinal mushroom and nootropics markets, and each addresses different market needs, including mood, energy, recovery, sleep and focus. Recap News Doseology Announces Management Change Press Release Ralph Olson was appointed interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Olson is a capital markets veteran with 35 years of experience and has helped raise significant capital for both public and private companies in Canada, the United States and Europe. Mr. Olson's extensive financial expertise and experience in mergers and acquisitions will help drive the business forward while navigating this exciting and emerging global sector. With aims to build a strong balance sheet and share price under his leadership, the Company will continue to grow and position its brand as a respected player in the functional fungi and plant-derived drugs sectors. Doseology Initiates Canadian Retail Sales Strategy Coast to Coast Signing with Connect Brand Management Press Release Doseology is excited to announce it has signed a Brand and Product Representation Agreement with Connect Brand Management, a national CPG firm specializing in sales and marketing for leading natural food and nutraceutical brands, to accelerate the Company's revenue and product rollout in Canada. Doseology Announces Frankfurt Stock Exchange Quotation Press Release The Company announced its common shares commenced listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on March 17, 2022, under the trading symbol VU7. The listing of Doseology shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange represents the first step in the Company's capital markets strategy to improve access and awareness of the Company's shares to global investors. About Doseology Sciences Doseology Sciences Inc. (CSE: MOOD) is building a progressive brand focused on mental health and wellness through cultivation, extraction and innovative nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. Doseology aims to make a meaningful impact on the mental health pandemic by utilizing and developing psychedelic and non-psychedelic compounds within the functional fungi and plant-derived drugs markets. With a vertically integrated approach, Doseology intends to process and distribute products at its facilities in Vernon, British Columbia, in accordance with applicable laws to ensure safe and high-quality production. Doseology's medicinal mushroom products, including tinctures, powders and supplements, are available on doseology.com For further information contact: Investor Relations: investor@doseology.com General Inquiries: hello@doseology.com Telephone: 236-349-0064 Website:doseology.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" or similar expressions. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects the Company's management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning the business of the Company's future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance, or achievements. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; decreases in the prevailing prices for products in the markets that the Company operates in; adverse changes in applicable laws or adverse changes in the application or enforcement of current laws; regulations and enforcement priorities of governmental authorities; compliance with government regulation and related costs; and other risks described in the Company's prospectus. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. The Company's securities have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of any person in the United States, absent registration, or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1802573/Doseology_Sciences_Inc_Logo.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Spearmint Resources Inc. (CSE: SPMT) (OTC Pink: SPMTF) (FSE: A2AHL5) (the "Company" or "Spearmint") is pleased to announce that representatives from Stantec Consulting Ltd. ("Stantec") have arrived on the property to conduct due diligence in preparation to complete an updated resource estimate and Technical Report for the McGee Lithium Clay Project in Clayton Valley, Nevada. The Technical Report will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101. The Stantec Qualified Person (Derek Loveday, P.Geo.) has direct experience in the Tonopah area, which includes visiting Albemarle Corp.'s Silver Peak mine and ioneer Ltd.'s Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project, and completing a resource estimate and Technical Report for American Lithium Corp. on the TLC Lithium Project. On March 2, 2022, Spearmint announced results from the phase III drill program on the flagship, 100-percent owned 'McGee Lithium Clay Project' in Clayton Valley, Nevada, directly bordering Cypress Development Corp. The phase III drill program discovered Spearmint's best drill results achieved to date. Frank Bain, P.Geo and a director of Spearmint Resources, stated, "These results have far exceeded our expectations of what we were hoping to discover on this phase III drill program, in the highest range of any reported drill holes in the history of Clayton Valley, Nevada." Results from the phase III drill program included: Hole-15, drilled at approximately 2,500 feet to the West of any previous drill hole, hit a high of 1,810 parts per million lithium (ppm Li) within 537 continuous feet averaging over 960 ppm Li, including 485 feet averaging 1,003 ppm Li. Hole-18, the farthest step-out hole to the West at approximately 3,700 feet from any previous drill hole, hit a high of 1,760 ppm Li within a substantial 652 continuous feet averaging over 895 ppm Li, including 455 feet averaging 1,004 ppm Li. Hole-17 hit a high of 1,390 ppm Li within 170 continuous feet averaging over 862 ppm Li, including 95 feet averaging 1,044 ppm Li. On June 11, 2021, Spearmint received the Technical Report on its 'McGee Lithium Clay Project' which included a maiden resource estimate of 815,000 indicated tonnes and 191,000 inferred tonnes for a total of 1,006,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). The Technical Report was prepared in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 by Stantec Consultant Ltd.'s qualified persons (Allan Turner, PGeol, and Derek Loveday, PGeo). Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Spearmint may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties. Clayton Valley ownership map To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4360/121237_42f37f3a74736b2d_002full.jpg Spearmint has received the drill results from the Perron-East gold project in Quebec. Drill hole SP-22-006 intersected a 2.9 m wide pyritechalcopyrite bearing vein system, related to deformed mafic intrusions within the Val-St-Gilles pluton stock. The location of the vein system corresponds to a north-south trending interpreted lineament and close to a gold-soil anomaly. Also, this kind of mineralization is comparable to other gold-rich settings (Rollmac and Lac Turgeon-Rive Ouest showings, Starr Peak Exploration) in the direct vicinity of the property. Assays on SP-22-006 did not return economic gold values but nugget effect is common in such systems. Overall, this vein interval is the first expression discovered of a potentially gold-bearing hydrothermal system on the property. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Spearmint may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties. Qualified Persons Mr. Frank Bain, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained within this news release regarding the McGee Project. Hugues Guerin Tremblay, P.Geo (OGQ No. 1584), an independent qualified person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101 standards, has reviewed and approved the geological information reported in this news release regarding the Perron-East project. The qualified person has not completed sufficient work to verify the historic information on the property and vicinity, particularly in regard to historical drill results. However, the qualified person believes that drilling and analytical results were completed to industry standard practices. The information provides an indication of the exploration potential of the property but may not be representative of expected results. References and disclosures Turgeon Lake and Rollmac Deposit: Globex website: https://www.globexmining.com/staging/admin/news_pdfs/2020-08-10%20%20EN%20Globex%20sells%203%20properties.pdf If you would like to be added to Spearmint's news distribution list, please send your email address to info@spearmintresources.ca Contact Information Tel: 1604646-6903 www.spearmintresources.ca "James Nelson" President Spearmint Resources Inc. The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121237 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSXV: BCM) (BVL: BCM) (OTCQX: BCEKF) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") announces that it has filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) a Technical Report (as defined in National Instrument 43-101) for the Company's recently acquired Mercedes gold-silver mine located in Sonora, Mexico. The Technical Report dated April 22, 2022 and entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mercedes Gold-Silver Mine, Sonora, Mexico" (the "2022 Mercedes Report") provides an independent audit of the Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources identified at Mercedes as of December 31, 2021 and was prepared on behalf of the Company by BBA Engineering Inc. and G Mining Services Inc. Anthony Hawkshaw, President and CEO of the Company, states, "We are very pleased to have now assumed ownership and operation of the Mercedes Mine. The 2022 Mercedes Report confirms the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates at Mercedes as of December 31, 2021 and supports our belief in the merits of this operation. Mercedes has a strong track record of reserve replacement over its operating history, which we believe will continue to be supported by the resource inventory." The following information is derived from the 2022 Mercedes Report. The total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at Mercedes, inclusive of Mineral Reserves, amount to approximately 3.8 million tonnes grading 4.73 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold ("Au") and 42.4 gpt silver ("Ag"), containing approximately 575 thousand ounces ("oz") of gold and 5.1 million oz of silver. The Inferred Mineral Resources total 0.9 million tonnes grading 4.50 gpt Au and 41.0 gpt Ag, containing approximately 128 thousand ounces of gold and 1.2 million ounces of silver. The Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves have been estimated using a gold price of $1,350 per ounce. Mercedes Mineral Resource statement (inclusive of Mineral Reserves) Mineral Resource Class Tonnes Grade Contained Metal (thousands) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Au oz (thousands) Ag oz (thousands) Measured 865 4.55 33.73 127 938 Indicated 2,914 4.79 44.93 449 4,209 Measured + Indicated 3,779 4.73 42.37 575 5,147 Inferred 884 4.50 41.02 128 1,167 The effective date of the 2021 Mineral Resource estimate is December 31, 2021. Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves have not demonstrated economic viability. The Mineral Resource cut-off grade of 2.0 gpt gold for Diluvio and 2.1 gpt for all other deposits was calculated using the following parameters: gold price $1,350/oz; metallurgical recoveries of 95.5% for gold; refining charges $8.48/oz gold; mining costs of $38.4 (Diluvio) and $43.3 (all other veins), processing costs of $19.8, and G&A costs of $15.6 per tonne of ore (all costs in US$). Calculations used metric units (metre, tonne). Any discrepancies in total amounts are due to rounding. Todd McCracken, P. Geo. is the qualified person for the mineral resource statement as defined by NI 43-101. The CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resource and Reserves (2014) have been followed. Mineral Resources exclusive of the Mineral Reserves have been tabulated by removing the mineral resource material located inside the Mineral Reserve mining shapes. The total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at Mercedes, exclusive of Mineral Reserves, amount to approximately 3.0 million tonnes grading 4.00 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold ("Au") and 36.4 gpt silver ("Ag"), containing approximately 384 thousand ounces ("oz") of gold and 3.5 million oz of silver. The Inferred Mineral Resources total 0.9 million tonnes grading 4.50 gpt Au and 41.0 gpt Ag, containing approximately 128 thousand ounces of gold and 1.2 million ounces of silver. Mercedes Mineral Resource statement (exclusive of Mineral Reserves) Mineral Resource Class Tonnes Grade Contained Metal (thousands) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Au oz (thousands) Ag oz (thousands) Measured 703 3.72 25.67 84 580 Indicated 2,282 4.09 39.72 300 2,916 Measured + Indicated 2,986 4.00 36.42 384 3,496 Inferred 884 4.50 41.02 128 1,167 The effective date of the 2021 Mineral Resource estimate is December 31, 2021. Mineral Resources are exclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves have not demonstrated economic viability. The Mineral Resource cut-off grade of 2.0 gpt gold for Diluvio and 2.1 gpt for all other deposits was calculated using the following parameters: gold price $1,350/oz; metallurgical recoveries of 95.5% for gold; refining charges $8.48/oz gold; mining costs of $38.4 (Diluvio) and $43.3 (all other veins), processing costs of $19.8, and G&A costs of $15.6 per tonne of ore (all costs in US$). Calculations used metric units (metre, tonne). Any discrepancies in total amounts are due to rounding. Todd McCracken, P. Geo. is the qualified person for the mineral resource statement as defined by NI 43-101. The CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resource and Reserves (2014) have been followed. Mineral Reserves are estimated by the application of mining shapes, governed by a minimum mining width of 3.5 meters, to the Mineral Resources shapes. Appropriate factors for planned dilution, unplanned dilution and ore recovery have been included as part of the estimate. Mercedes Mineral Reserve statement Mineral Reserve Class Tonnes Grade Contained Metal (thousands) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Au oz (thousands) Ag oz (thousands) Proven Underground 344 5.65 40.7 62.5 449 Probable Underground 1,873 3.40 26.9 204.5 1,620 Proven & Probable 2,217 3.75 29.0 267.0 2,069 CIM Definitions Standards on Mineral Resource and Reserves (2014) have been followed. The effective date of the 2021 Reserve Statement is December 31, 2021. Mineral Reserves are minable tonnes and grades; the reference point is the mill feed at the primary crusher. Mineral Reserves are estimated at a cut-off of 2.1 gpt Au, except Diluvio, which is estimated at 2.0 gpt Au. Cut-off grade assumes a price of gold of US$1,350 per ounce, a 95.5% gold metallurgical recovery; US$38.41/t (Diluvio) and US$43.26 (other deposits) mining cost, US$19.75/t processing costs, US$15.61/t G&A, and US$8.48/oz refining costs. A minimum mining width of 3.5 m was used in the creation of all reserve blocks. Bulk density for ore varies by deposit from 2.22 t/m3 to 2.57 t/m3 and 2.40 t/m3 for waste. Numbers may not add due to rounding. David Willock, P. Eng., is the qualified person for the mineral reserve statement as defined by NI 43-101. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Anthony Hawkshaw President and CEO For further information contact: Barbara Henderson - Investor Relations Direct: 604-628-1111 E-mail: barb@bearcreekmining.com Or visit www.bearcreekmining.com National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure The 2022 Mercedes Report was prepared by BBA Engineering Inc. and G Mining Services Inc. and authored by the following Qualified Persons ("QP", as defined in National Instrument 43-101): employed by the respective firms as at the date of the 2022 Mercedes Report: Colin Hardie, P.Eng., BBA Engineering Inc.; Todd McCracken, P.Geo., BBA Engineering Inc.; David Willock, P.Eng., BBA Engineering Inc.; Shane Ghouralal, P.Eng. MBA, BBA Engineering Inc.; and, Julie-Anais Debreil, P.Geo., G Mining Services Inc. Each of these individuals has read and consented to the use, public disclosure and filing of the scientific and technical information contained in this news release, and has read, certified their participation in and consented to the filing of the 2022 Mercedes Report. Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements related to future events or future performance and reflecting current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs about future events regarding the Mercedes Mine, and includes, without limitation, statements with respect to: the estimated amount of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources; the anticipated merits of the Mercedes Mine; projected exploration budgets; and anticipated future replacement of Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources. Certain of these forward-looking statements are contingent upon various assumptions, including that the cost estimates used in the 2022 Mercedes Report are reasonably accurate; and that there are no material adverse changes in the price of gold and silver and other metals or general economic and political conditions. This forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this news release and reflects current information, estimates, predictions, expectations, assumptions or beliefs regarding future events and is based on the Company's understanding and belief at the time the statements were made. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it the assumptions may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates used to make such forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect or that one or more risks described in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form come to pass. When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law. Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources The Company prepares its disclosure in accordance with the requirements of securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Terms relating to mineral resources in this news release are defined in accordance with NI 43-101 under the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves 2014 ("CIM Definition Standards"). The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has adopted amendments effective February 25, 2019 (the "SEC Modernization Rules") to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the SEC under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC Modernization Rules have replaced SEC Industry Guide 7, which has been rescinded. As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "Measured mineral resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral Resources", which are defined in substantially similar terms to the corresponding CIM Definition Standards. In addition, the SEC has amended its definitions of "Proven Mineral Reserves" and "Probable Mineral Reserves" to be substantially similar to the corresponding CIM Definition Standards. United States investors are cautioned that while the foregoing terms are "substantially similar" to corresponding definitions under the CIM Definition Standards, there are differences in the definitions under the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Definition Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any Mineral Resources that the Company may report as "Measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral Resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had the Company prepared the resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules. United States investors are also cautioned that while the SEC will now recognize "Measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral Resources", investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories would ever be converted into a higher category of Mineral Resources or into Mineral Reserves. Mineralization described by these terms has a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to assume that any "Measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources", or "Inferred Mineral Resources" that the Company reports are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. Therefore, United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the Inferred resources exist. In accordance with Canadian securities laws, estimates of "Inferred Mineral Resources" cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies, except in limited circumstances where permitted under NI 43-101. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121360 Dubai, United Arab Emirates--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Terminus Group, the leading global smart service provider, has appointed IEEE Fellow, Dr. Ling Shao, as its Chief Scientist and President of Terminus International, with a view to developing the company's international expansion, following the success of being an Official Premier Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai. As part of Terminus Group's dedicated global "Talents Plan", Dr. Shao will further enhance the strength of the company's R&D capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). With a wealth of professional and academic experience in AI, coupled to Terminus Group's international strategic business direction, Dr. Shao will spearhead the exploration of R&D, including the development of multi-mode, large pre-trained models in urban scenarios. The aim being: To see widespread deployment of the company's pioneering, proprietary technologies, and products across many application scenarios of AI, in various product lines, with a focus on the localized development within international markets. Dr. Ling Shao, Chief Scientist of Terminus Group & President of Terminus International To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8457/121359_c3b0ab08c47c68dd_001full.jpg In July 2021, Terminus Group officially announced its "Doctoral Talents Plan", which is expected to culminate in the recruitment of hundreds of top-level scientists and technology experts, with doctoral degrees in fields such as: Intelligent Operating Systems (IOS), AI, IoT, the Cloud and Big Data. The aim being to lay the foundation for the company's new R&D talent structure, so as to meet the demands of its strategic plans, across numerous technological projects, around the world. As a matter of course, the majority of managers and technical team members at Terminus Group are alumni of the world's top universities and well-known research institutions. These include, but are not limited to: Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Queen Mary University of London, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sun Yat-sen University, and many more. Reflecting on the specialized growth of the core talent team as having a direct impact on the performance and continuing rapid development of the company, Victor AI, Founder and CEO of Terminus Group, said: "Cutting-edge technologies will help us attract like-minded friends in the pursuit of pioneering excellence. With the ongoing development of Terminus Group's core business as a global smart service provider, more and more top talents have joined us and are now an integral part of developing the cities of the future - the AI CITY." "This is a virtuous cycle that fills us with much optimism and excitement for the future growth of the company. Therefore, in the future, we will continue to promote the 'Talent Plan' and further integrate global scientific research and the talents that drive it - helping realize a more collaborative future, for the betterment of all." Following his appointment as Terminus Group's Chief Scientist, Dr. Ling Shao commented: "After decades of development, AI has evolved from the computing and perception stage to what is now seen as the cognitive stage. It is noticeably clear to me, as I join such a pioneering company in this field, that the belief is that the next stage of achievement will be breakthroughs triggered from real-world industrial applications." "Terminus Group's efforts in promoting the research and development of AI applications was a key factor in me wanting to be part of such an exciting journey. Looking forward, the ambition is to work together and align AI research - from the laboratory - with product, service, and market demand. AI is no longer a concept or a buzzword; it is the future of civilization and is integral to the world's progress," said Dr. Ling Shao. Dr. Ling Shao is an internationally renowned AI scientist, an IEEE Fellow (2021), and also a Fellow of International Association for Pattern Recognition, the British Computer Society, and IET. Previously, he has served as CTO and Chief Scientist of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI), the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA). From 2018 to 2021, he was the founding CEO and Chief Scientist of the UAE's Inception Institute of Artificial Intelligence (IIAI). Dr. Shao is also the initiator of the world's first AI university - Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, for which he served as its founding Provost and Executive Vice President. He has published over 300 scientific papers at top AI conferences or journals, including ICCV, CVPR, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, TPAMI and IJCV. For four consecutive years, between 2018 and 2021, Dr. Shao was selected as a "highly cited researcher" by the Web of Science. As of March 2022, his articles have been cited more than 30,000 times in Google Scholar, and many of Dr. Shao's research findings can be applied to the fields of intelligent transportation, assistive/autonomous driving, intelligent interaction, robots, and more. Dr. Ling Shao received his doctorate in Information Engineering from Oxford University and served as a Senior Scientist at Philips Research, in The Netherlands, from 2005 to 2009. From 2009 to 2017, Dr. Shao was a senior academic at several British institutions including the University of Sheffield and the University of East Anglia, where his research areas focused on computer vision, deep learning/machine learning, and medical imaging. Kratos Fan 001-626-4568311 fan.lvwei@tslsmart.com United States www.terminusgroup.com ### To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121359 Les membres du gouvernement ont pris note que le National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre va organiser un atelier technique du 27 au 29 avril 2022, de la mise en place dun Air Quality Indexing System par le National Environmental Laboratory du Ministere de lEnvironnment entre autres. 1. Cabinet has taken note that the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, in collaboration with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre, would organise a multi-sector technical workshop in relation to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Mauritius, from 27 April to 29 April 2022. The workshop would focus on the following main objectives: (a) the Sendai Framework Monitor Refresher; (b) the Pilot Training on Target G: Multi-Hazard Early Warning System Effectiveness Custom Indicators for Mauritius; and (c) the Midterm Review for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The workshop would serve as a platform to bring relevant stakeholders together and obtain their respective contributions and inputs for the preparation of the national Midterm Review report for Mauritius ahead of its final submission by September 2022. The workshop would be conducted in hybrid format in order to comply with COVID-19 sanitary protocols. 2. Cabinet has taken note of the implementation of the Air Quality Indexing System by the National Environmental Laboratory of the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change which would, amongst others, involve the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with relevant public bodies in relation to the hosting of Fixed Ambient Air Monitoring Stations and Internet of Things sensors. 3. Cabinet has taken note that a Forensic Disciplines Exchange Event would be held in Mauritius from 16 to 20 May 2022. The Event would be organised by the Embassy of the United States of America in Mauritius, in collaboration with the United States of America Army, the Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF). The objective of the Event is to nurture and promote exchanges between SETAF-AF experts and law enforcement agencies of Mauritius on topics such as forensic laboratory techniques, crime scene techniques, documentation and transportation of exhibits and customs and borders security. The Event would enable participants to benefit from knowledge and skills sharing from the resource persons. Participants from the Mauritius Police Force, the Mauritius Revenue Authority (Customs Department) and the Forensic Science Laboratory would attend the Event. 4. Cabinet has agreed to the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security hosting the Training of Trainers Course on the flyway Approach to the Conservation and Wise Use of Migratory Waterbirds and Wetlands by the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, in early February 2023. The main aim of the training programme is to enhance the knowledge and understanding of flyway conservation, as well as to equip experts with the necessary skills and tools to design and deliver similar training courses at national level. Some 25 participants, including technical experts from Mauritius, Cabo Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Madagascar, Reunion and Mayotte as well as some relevant wildlife training institutions with a regional outreach in the target countries, are expected to attend the Course. 5. Cabinet has taken note of the status of road capital projects being implemented by the Road Development Authority as at 31 March 2022. For Financial Year 2021/2022, five projects have been completed, 11 projects are under construction, 13 projects are at design/procurement stage and one project is at conceptual stage. 6. Cabinet has taken note of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world. Some 507 million cases have been reported globally, of which 459.3 million persons have been successfully treated. With regard to Mauritius, as at 20 April 2022, there were 410 active cases of COVID-19, out of which 23 were admitted at the New ENT Hospital. Over the period 14 to 20 April 2022, one death was attributed to COVID-19. Cabinet has also taken note of progress in the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme including the administration of the booster dose in the Republic of Mauritius. As at 21 April 2022, 1,007,364 persons had received a first dose of vaccine (representing 79.6 percent of the population). 973,303 persons were fully vaccinated (representing 76.9 percent of population). 620,724 persons had received a first booster dose (representing 49 percent of the population). 2,166 persons had received a second booster dose. 76.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years had received a first dose of vaccine and 70 percent had received a second dose. 7. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised by the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change to mark Earth Day, celebrated on 22 April. The theme for this year is Invest in Our Planet. The following activities would be organised: (a) a Prize Giving Ceremony on 22 April 2022 relating to a poster competition which was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change in November 2021 among students of Higher Education Institutions on the theme Innovative Climate Solutions for Sustainable Lifestyle in Mauritius; (b) sensitisation of the general public through radio programmes and dissemination of a message through the website of the Ministry and the Government Email Service to increase environmental literacy; and (c) broadcast of adverts regarding the impacts of climate change on MBC TV and digital platforms, and airing of radio spots during peak times over the period 22 April to 13 May 2022. 8. Cabinet has taken of the activities being organised in the context of the Girls in ICT Day by the National Computer Board, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology. The event established by the International Telecommunication Union, would be celebrated on 28 April 2022 on the theme Access and Safety. The following activities would be organised: (a) four bootcamps involving a maximum of 50 girls students each from Grades 10 to 12, would be conducted over two days. The participants would be introduced to block coding, and robotics through hands-on exercises. These activities would take place during the Easter holidays; (b) a mini competition among the secondary schools would also be held at the end of each bootcamp. The competition would involve completing a semi-built robot from blocks and thereafter code the robot; and (c) the Finale of the Girls in ICT Day 2022 would be scheduled around mid-May 2022 and would culminate in an award ceremony. A video that portrays the various facets of ICT careers through interviews of role models of women actively working or pursuing studies in the ICT field would be showcased. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2022 / From a mission to revive and shed light on traditional Chinese culture, Shen Yun Performing Arts was born. Shen Yun consists of talented musicians and dancers who showcase a side of China most have never seen. The breathtaking performances feature ethnic, folk, and story-based dance, alongside beautiful orchestral accompaniment and solo performances. The word Shen Yun translates to, "the beauty of divine beings dancing." Like any type of art, Shen Yun helps people elevate and enjoy life by touching on one's humanity and spirituality. Who is Shen Yun In 2006, Shen Yun was founded by established artists who shared not only a love for traditional Chinese culture, but their spiritual practice, Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong). Falun Dafa's most visible aspects are five slow and gentle exercises, including a sitting meditation. Despite receiving praise from Chinese officials for its health benefits in the 1990s, Falun Gong was wrongfully branded as a 'cult' by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1999 to justify its persecution of the group. Shen Yun has also experienced a similar backlash from the CCP, who falsely named Shen Yun a 'cult' in 2015, resulting in Shen Yun's egregious misrepresentation in mainstream media. Shen Yun is a performing arts company, not a religion, so why is it labeled a 'cult'? The answer lies within their ties to a peaceful spiritual practice, Falun Dafa. Shen Yun's performances are influenced by China's long history of Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian traditions, creating a deeply spiritual performance that a million people enjoy every year. Guided by Falun Dafa's core principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance, Shen Yun's performers often meditate and study the teachings together, as they believe that cultivating the heart is the best way to create art that is " truly sublime ." Sharing China's Ancient Culture However, Shen Yun's performances are not aimed at converting people to their beliefs; Shen Yun simply wants to share China's culture with the world. Spirituality and religion are two entirely separate entities, and Shen Yun speaks on this by saying, "some people might assume that anything spiritual must be also religious in nature. But applying this line of thinking to traditional Chinese culture or art is not fitting, and that's because China's culture is inseparable from its spiritual heritage. There is a whole pantheon of divine beings, spiritual cultivators, and heavenly themes that show up throughout Chinese history and mythology, and they have shaped the substance of this culture over thousands of years." It may seem odd that a government would allocate effort to discrediting a performing arts show that does not even tour in China, but Shen Yun believes these actions have been an effort to make the world to forget the historical tragedies portrayed within Shen Yun's performances. Shen Yun, equipped with historical facts, continues to show the truth and wins the hearts of hundreds of thousands every year with their extraordinary performances. To learn more about Shen Yun, its history, and its one-of-a-kind performances, visit their site here . Media Contact: Denise C. Riley 979-554-1877 info@camdenmedia.net SOURCE: Shen Yun View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698481/Shen-Yun-Embodying-Truth-through-Art WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will release more than $385 million to states to help low-income families and individuals reduce their home energy costs. This is the final state-by-state allocation released through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). These funds are in addition to the $4.5 billion that the American Rescue Plan provided to LIHEAP and the first $100 million installment of a five-year, $500 million investment in LIHEAP from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Altogether, this year the Biden Administration is providing more than $8.3 billion in LIHEAP assistance to reduce heating and cooling costs for low-income Americans - the largest investment in a single year since the program was established in 1981. President Joe Biden on Thursday toured the Pacific Northwest, which saw record heat last year, where he highlighted actions he has taken to help lower costs for families, including home energy costs. Oregon will receive an additional $3.8 million, bringing the total for the state to $92.6 million in LIHEAP funding. Washington will receive an additional $6.5 million, bringing its total to $151.2 million. The President visited Portland, Ohio, on Thursday. He toured areas that benefited from his infrastructure bill. On Friday, Biden delivered Earth Day remarks at Seward Park in Seattle. He will then head to Auburn to discuss a plan to lower health care and energy costs. He will call on Congress to pass his plan to lower health care and energy costs, the White House said. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Regulatory News: NOXXON Pharma N.V. (Euronext Growth Paris: ALNOX) (Paris:ALNOX), a biotechnology company focused on improving cancer treatments by targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME), announced today its financial results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. The Annual Report 2021, as approved by the management and supervisory boards on April 21, 2022, is available on NOXXON's website (www.noxxon.com). "2021 has been a significant year for NOXXON. We have made outstanding progress in the clinic towards our goal of enhancing the way cancer is treated through our unique and highly innovative approach of targeting the tumor microenvironment. We reported particularly strong top-line results from our GLORIA Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating our lead asset NOX-A12 in brain cancer, including high tumor response rates in this very difficult to treat patient population bringing great hope to patients. We will continue to forge ahead this year with our expansion study of NOX-A12 to explore treatment options for patients who would not benefit from standard of care chemotherapy and then on to the start of our planned pivotal glioblastoma study. We are also preparing our pancreatic program to begin its Phase 2 study in collaboration with MSD, further demonstrating NOXXON's commitment to developing our assets in order to bring substantial benefit to an overwhelming number of patients who currently have no satisfactory treatment options," said Aram Mangasarian, CEO of NOXXON "Supporting NOXXON's clinical operations with consistent and reliable funding sources is of critical importance. We have made tremendous progress and are continually working to maintain an efficient capital structure and strengthen our financing program to support NOXXON's development in oncology. As stated in our Annual Report, NOXXON has financial visibility into November 2022. While current financing markets remain challenging for many biotech companies, we believe that financing opportunities will continue to be driven by compelling clinical progress. Exciting opportunities lie ahead and we are confident in our ability to capitalize on them successfully," said Bryan Jennings, CFO of NOXXON Business Highlights for 2021 and 2022 Year-to-Date NOXXON's goal is to become a leading biopharmaceutical group focused on cancer therapy providing tangible benefit to patients and creating long-term value for its shareholders. The Company's key objective is to exploit its highly innovative and proprietary technology that breaks the tumor protection barrier and blocks tumor repair by neutralizing chemokines in the tumor micro-environment (TME) in order to: Make its lead product candidate NOX-A12 a go-to combination agent for a wide range of cancer treatments by applying the NOX-A12 mechanism of action on the TME in combination with existing therapy classes, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and cell therapies as well as standard therapies such as chemo- and radiotherapy. Develop NOX-E36, NOXXON's second product candidate, as a TME-targeting agent for solid tumors. Partner its product candidates bringing additional expertise and financial resources to develop our products. Develop its lead product candidate and find suitable routes to commercialization. NOXXON's strategy to create long-term value for its stakeholders is based on its strong commitment to invest in clinical programs that will provide the most compelling scientific evidence in the shortest period of time and will allow to bring NOX-A12 to market as quickly as possible. NOXXON's product candidates are supported by highly compelling scientific rationale, as well as collaborations with world-renowned academic and leading pharmaceutical partners. The interest in and support of NOXXON's product candidates and approach was underlined by the appointments of top clinicians from the US and EU to NOXXON's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and industry experts to the Supervisory Board. Supervisory Board Three highly distinguished new members to the Supervisory Board were appointed in June 2021. Dr. Martine J. van Vugt, Senior Vice President Corporate Strategy and Development at Genmab, with 20 years of successful biotechnology industry experience, an inventor of two successfully commercialized cancer drugs (Darzalex and Tepezza ) and an expert in corporate transactional and licensing operations. and Tepezza ) and an expert in corporate transactional and licensing operations. Gregory Weaver, CFO of atai Life Sciences, with over 25 years in the life sciences industry ranging from start-ups to publicly traded commercial stage companies, has raised over US$1.5 billion in financing transactions, managed 3 IPOs, and has extensive M&A and business development experience. Susan Coles, General Counsel and Head of Finance at Vivet Therapeutics, is a specialist in corporate law with over 25 years of experience in international collaborations and corporate/commercial activities, including more than 15 years in the life sciences sector. Scientific Advisory Board: NOXXON appointed a SAB under the chairmanship of Dr. Jose Saro in February 2021. The SAB includes four leading pancreatic cancer experts: Dr. Elena Gabriela Chiorean, Dr. Eileen M. O'Reilly, Prof. Dr. Thomas T. W. Seufferlein and Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff. The formation and composition of the SAB, who have long-standing clinical expertise, cutting-edge scientific knowledge, and a track record of successfully developing new drugs, reflects NOXXON's clinical development strategy. Clinical Highlights for 2021 and 2022 Year-to-Date In 2021 NOXXON continued to develop its lead product candidate, NOX-A12, in brain cancer and pancreatic cancer. Brain Cancer (Glioblastoma, GBM) Positive top line data reported and details to be presented at ASCO 2022 NOXXON advanced its GLORIA Phase 1/2 dose-escalation study of NOX-A12 in first-line brain cancer patients in combination with radiotherapy conducted at six sites in Germany. The data generated to date have been very promising with a high percentage of patients achieving partial response or stable disease, in sharp contrast to what would have been expected from such a difficult to treat patient population. Interim data were presented at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting in November 2021 by the principal investigator of the clinical trial, Dr. Frank Giordano. Eight out of the 9 patients (89%) treated with NOX-A12 at the time of presentation showed tumor size reductions: 2 patients had a partial response (PR, >50% reduction in tumor size) and 6 patients achieved stable disease (SD, <50% reduction in tumor size), while only one patient progressed as a best response. This compared very favorably with the matched imaging control cohort for which 12 out of 13 patients had progressive disease and only 1 out of 13 patients (7.7%) achieved any tumor size reduction vs. baseline, underpinning the extremely poor prognosis of this patient population. More mature and very promising data were disclosed by NOXXON in March 2022 showing that the percentage of patients in the trial with >50% tumor size reductions improved considerably from previously disclosed 22% and confirming the excellent safety profile of NOX-A12. More details about these results will be presented in a poster presentation at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting taking place in Chicago, Illinois, US from 3-7 June 2022. The company also expanded the glioblastoma trial to include additional patients in the highest dose cohort, including patients to be treated with a combination of radiotherapy, NOX-A12 and either bevacizumab or a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor. Pancreatic Cancer Phase 2 in combination with Keytruda in preparation The final peer-reviewed data from the OPERA Phase 1/2 clinical trial of NOX-A12 combined with Merck's immune-oncology checkpoint inhibitor antibody Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with metastatic pancreas and colorectal tumors that do not usually respond to checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy (microsatellite-stable) was published in 2021 in the Journal for Immuno-Therapy of Cancer (Source: Suarez-Carmona, 2021). As a result of the encouraging safety, tolerability and overall survival data obtained, a Phase 2 trial in collaboration with MSD (European subsidiary of Merck Co) is being prepared in second-line metastatic pancreatic cancer patients to determine the best combination of NOX-A12 with Keytruda and chemotherapy to further pursue in a pivotal trial. 2021 Financial Summary For the reporting period, the Group NOXXON Pharma N.V. and NOXXON Pharma AG has not generated any revenues. The Group does not expect to generate any revenues from any product candidates that it develops until the Group either signs a licensing agreement or obtains regulatory approval and commercializes its products or enters into collaborative agreements with third parties. In 2021, the Group generated K82 in other operating income mainly from the sale of raw materials and services as well as other income. Operating costs increased by 129% to 13.5 million in 2021 compared to 2020, most of this increase being driven by an intensification of research and development (R&D) expenses, accounting for 79% of operating costs compared 68% in 2020. R&D expenses were up 165% in 2021 compared to last year as NOXXON continued to make progress with its clinical stage assets, including increased manufacturing costs ahead of clinical trial expansion and new clinical trials to start. General and administrative (G&A) expenses increased by 53% to support operational activities. These operating costs led to 12.4 million in net cash outflow from operations. The Group was successful in strengthening its balance sheet by raising a total of 11.5 million in net proceeds from multiple sources, including a private placement, exercise of outstanding warrants and their subsequent conversion to shares, and the Atlas Special Opportunities (ASO) financing vehicle. The flexible convertible bond agreement with ASO, initially disclosed on 23 April 2020, and amended on 14 October 2020, has been further amended on 29 December 2021 to expand its capacity by an additional 17 million in equity-linked securities. Subsequent to 31 December 2021, the Group raised further financing of 4.75 million from the ASO financing vehicle (nominal). The capital structure of the Company is now nearly free of warrants and other derivative-like structures other than the Company's Stock Option Plan. As a result, the Company's capital structure has become less complex and provides the needed flexibility to engage with investors. The changes to the capital structure also afford the Group additional flexibility in terms of the types of investors it can attract in the future. Outlook 2022 NOXXON believes the future of cancer treatment will rely on combination therapies, combinations of different drugs that have a synergistic benefit for the patient by fighting the cancer in multiple ways at the same time (Source: Mahoney et al., 2015). The company's lead product candidate and other clinical stage product candidate in its pipeline target the tumor microenvironment and are designed to be combined with other cancer targeting therapies. The TME is the space in which cancer cells exist in the body, which includes, amongst others, surrounding blood vessels, immune cells, fibroblasts and signaling molecules. The TME has been shown to have a critical role in almost all aspects of cancer biology (Source: Guo et al., 2015; Joyce Fearon, 2015, Huynh, et al., 2020). To prepare for future clinical trials necessary to secure the regulatory approval of NOX-A12, NOXXON has made investment commitments for the manufacturing of drug supply for clinical trials. The company's long-term strategic plans now include the following clinical trials, by indication, for NOX-A12: NOX-A12 radiotherapy in Brain Cancer: The completion of the six months dosing of NOX-A12 high-dose group was reported in March 2022 with a good safety profile and very encouraging efficacy data. Based on safety data and the analysis of tissue samples of patients, recruitment of expansion cohorts of patients testing the high-dose of NOX-A12 with radiotherapy and either anti-PD-1 immunotherapy or anti-VEGF therapy is underway to determine whether these combinations are safe and to potentially deliver stronger efficacy data than when used in combination only with radiotherapy. Following discussions with regulators and experts, initiation of a Phase 2/3 pivotal trial of NOX-A12 combined with radiotherapy and potentially either anti-PD-1 or anti-VEGF in 1st line glioblastoma patients vs. standard of care is planned, assuming ongoing Phase 1/2 trial data supports further development. As the company awaits more mature data from the expansion arms, the final design and timing may evolve. NOX-A12 immunotherapy chemotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer: Two-arm Phase 2 "pick the winner" trial testing NOX-A12 anti-PD1 antibody with two different standard of care chemotherapy regimens in second-line patients to determine the choice of regimen for the pivotal trial. Following the "pick the winner" trial, assuming one regimen warrants further development, NOXXON plans to initiate a pivotal trial of NOX-A12 combined with immunotherapy and standard of care in second-line pancreatic cancer vs. standard of care, which if positive would lead to the regulatory submission for marketing approval in the US and Europe in pancreatic cancer. NOX-E36 in Solid Tumors The Group's second clinical stage asset, NOX-E36 is a de-risked clinical stage asset ready for Phase 2 trials that has already been administered to 175 human subjects. NOX-E36 targets the tumor microenvironment (TME) by modifying the innate immune system, specifically highly immunosuppressive cells that contribute to the cancer's ability to evade the immune system. NOXXON plans to re-start clinical studies of NOX-E36 in a solid tumor indication in collaboration with clinical researchers as part of an investigator initiated trial (IIT). Developing this asset via IIT will preserve NOXXON resources while allowing to obtain clinical data. About NOXXON NOXXON's oncology-focused pipeline acts on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the cancer immunity cycle by breaking the tumor protection barrier and blocking tumor repair. By neutralizing chemokines in the TME, NOXXON's approach works in combination with other forms of treatment to weaken tumor defenses against the immune system and enable greater therapeutic impact. NOXXON's lead program NOX-A12 has delivered final top-line data from a Keytruda combination trial in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancer patients published at the ESMO conference in September 2020 and in July 2021 the company announced its Phase 2 study, OPTIMUS, to further evaluate safety and efficacy of NOX-A12 in combination with Merck's Keytruda and two different chemotherapy regimens as second-line therapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. NOXXON is also studying NOX-A12 in brain cancer in combination with radiotherapy which has been granted orphan drug status in the US and EU for the treatment of certain brain cancers. GLORIA, a trial of NOX-A12 in combination with radiotherapy in newly diagnosed brain cancer patients who will not benefit clinically from standard chemotherapy has delivered top-line data from all three dose-escalation cohorts showing consistent tumor reductions and objective tumor responses. Additionally, GLORIA has been expanded to assess the benefit of NOX-A12 with other treatment combinations, radiotherapy bevacizumab and radiotherapy pembrolizumab. The company's second clinical-stage asset NOX-E36 is a Phase 2 TME asset targeting the innate immune system. NOXXON plans to test NOX-E36 in patients with solid tumors. Further information can be found at: www.noxxon.com Keytruda is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp Dohme Corp. Visit NOXXON on LinkedIn and Twitter. About the GLORIA Study GLORIA (NCT04121455) is NOXXON's dose-escalation, phase 1/2 study of NOX-A12 in combination with irradiation in first-line partially resected or unresected glioblastoma (brain cancer) patients with unmethylated MGMT promoter (resistant to standard chemotherapy). GLORIA further evaluates safety and efficacy of NOX-A12 three additional arms combining NOX-A12 with: A. radiotherapy in patients with complete tumor resection; B. radiotherapy and bevacizumab in patients with incomplete tumor resection; and C. radiotherapy and pembrolizumab in patients with incomplete tumor resection. About the OPTIMUS Study OPTIMUS (NCT04901741) is NOXXON's open-label two-arm phase 2 study of NOX-A12 combined with pembrolizumab and nanoliposomal irinotecan/5-FU/leucovorin or gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in microsatellite-stable metastatic pancreatic cancer patients. Disclaimer Translations of any press release into languages other than English are intended solely as a convenience to the non-English-reading audience. The company has attempted to provide an accurate translation of the original text in English, but due to the nuances in translating into another language, slight differences may exist. Certain statements in this communication contain formulations or terms referring to the future or future developments, as well as negations of such formulations or terms, or similar terminology. These are described as forward-looking statements. In addition, all information in this communication regarding planned or future results of business segments, financial indicators, developments of the financial situation or other financial or statistical data contains such forward-looking statements. The company cautions prospective investors not to rely on such forward-looking statements as certain prognoses of actual future events and developments. The company is neither responsible nor liable for updating such information, which only represents the state of affairs on the day of publication. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220422005372/en/ Contacts: NOXXON Pharma N.V. Aram Mangasarian, Ph.D. Chief Executive Officer Tel. +49 (0) 30 726247 0 amangasarian@noxxon.com Investor and Media Relations: LifeSci Advisors Guillaume van Renterghem Tel. +41 (0) 76 735 01 31 gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com NewCap Arthur Rouille Tel. +33 (0) 1 44 71 00 15 arouille@newcap.fr Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares For immediate release 22 April 2022 FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC (the "Company") MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES The Company announces that it has today purchased 50,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 825.91p per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company. The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 9 February 2022. Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 1,987,684; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 223,003,619. The figure of 223,003,619 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. For and on behalf of Frostrow Capital LLP Company Secretary For further information, please contact: Victoria Hale Frostrow Capital LLP Tel: 020 3 170 8732 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2022 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of a new interview with Gamelancer on their latest news. The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives. Gamelancer (CSE:GMNG) begins trading under new stock symbol Gamelancer Gaming Corp. (GMNG) has commenced trading under its new name and stock symbol. Formerly Wondr Gaming, the company recently changed its name to Gamelancer Gaming At the opening of the markets on April 21, 2022, the company's common shares began trading on the CSE under the new stock symbol GMNG. CEO Jon Dwyer sat down with Shoran Devi to discuss the news. Gamelancer is a growing mobile-focused social media network in gaming, generating over 1 billion monthly video views across its 22 owned and operated channels. For the full interview with Jon Dwyer and to learn more about Gamelancer's news, click here. Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald. About The Market Herald The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets. DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. 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CONTACT: The Market Herald Brianna Anthony brianna.anthony@themarketherald.ca themarketherald.ca SOURCE: The Market Herald View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/698496/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-Releases-New-Interview-with-Gamelancer A 5,000 m contract with Atlas Drilling has been signed and drilling will commence as soon as conditions allow, likely in later June The initial target will be the Molloy Zone, a monzonite intrusion with porphyry-style quartz-chalcopyrite stockwork veins which averaged 0.35% Cu, 0.829 g/t Au and 4.15g/t Ag from 15 samples collected in 2021 Contracts secured with drilling, helicopter, geophysical and camp providers, fieldwork is scheduled to begin June 1, 2022 Sanatana has secured GeologicAI to assist with core logging by using infrared and x-ray scans to collected maximum information from drill core Private placement announced to raise gross proceeds up to $2.7 million Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Sanatana Resources Inc. (TSXV: STA) ("Sanatana" or the "Company") has completed the majority of the preparations required to carry out the 2022 exploration program on its Oweegee Dome project ("Oweegee"). Sanatana also announces a private placement that is expected to raise gross proceeds up to $2.7 million which will be used to fund the upcoming drill program at Oweegee. Peter Miles, Sanatana's CEO commented, "Sanatana is pleased to announce the 2022 exploration and initial drilling program at Oweegee. We have assembled an outstanding team for the 2022 exploration program and, with the funds we have on hand and with the strong endorsement from Teuton Resources' recent investment in the Company, we are well positioned for an exciting initial drill program at Oweegee. Porphyry copper gold deposits are company makers and our drilling and exploration at Oweegee will be closely watched by both investors and mining industry veterans alike." Oweegee Exploration Program Sanatana's management proactively began securing contracts for the 2022 exploration program for Oweegee in late 2021. The Company is pleased to report that all essential services have been secured for a 5,000 m drill program at Oweegee starting as soon as snow conditions allow. Field crews are scheduled to start on June 1, 2022. A 5,000 m drill contract has been signed with Atlas Drilling to provide a helicopter-portable drill rig capable of drilling in excess of 500 m hole length of HQ core. Drilling will initially focus on geochemical and geophysical targets at the Molloy monzonite which hosts the strongest Cu-Au mineralization identified to date, but has never been drill tested. Prior to drilling, field crews will be tasked with mapping and prospecting lower elevation areas of interest as well as preparing drill and helipad locations. Timbers for drill pad construction were delivered at the end of 2021 and are in position to be built at the first pad. Additional timbers have been pre-ordered and will be delivered throughout the summer. Geophysical Induced Polarization (IP) surveying is scheduled to start in early July 2022. The 2022 lines will expand on the previous year's 3 x 1.6 km survey area around the Molloy zone as well as multi-kilometre reconnaissance IP lines at the Glacier and Skowill prospects. Results from the 2021 3-D IP survey revealed several anomalies with the most interesting anomaly being a high chargeability halo surrounding the Molloy monzonite (see Figure 1 below) which is interpreted to be a pyrite halo, a common characteristic of porphyry deposits. Figure 1. IP chargeability at 200 m below surface and proposed 2022 drill pads The Molloy copper bearing monzonite outcrop indicated in dashed red To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2534/121400_b3d29688548e0b91_001full.jpg Sanatana will be using a core scanner from GeologicAI. The multi-scanner will log drill core in near real time with x-ray fluoresce (XRF), hyperspectral imaging and high definition core photos. The output is a consistent digital log and stripchart to be used to assist core logging geologists to identify alteration assemblages which are not visible to the eye as well as give immediate indications if economic minerals are present to aid efficient sample collection. Project Manager Jeff Kyba stated: "Oweegee contains the right ingredients for a potential significant deposit but never been fully explored. The identification of porphyry style veins (Figure 2) and multiple intrusive phases during the 2021 field program significantly upgraded the project. Considering the Molloy zone is only 8 km east of Highway 37 and the northwest transmission line, Oweegee is more accessible than many projects in the Golden Triangle and this summer we will test if the Cu-Au grades extend to depth. The porphyry has been found, now our job is to determine the size of it." Figure 2. Sample 420171: Typical Molloy monzonite stockwork - 0.36% Cu, 0.704 g/t Au, 2.25 g/t Ag To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2534/121400_b3d29688548e0b91_002full.jpg Private Placement Sanatana also announces a private placement (the "Private Placement") to raise up to $2.7 million through the issuance of up to 18,000,000 units (the "Units") of the Company priced at $0.15 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one share and one-half of a share purchase warrant, each full warrant exercisable at $0.20 for two years. Closing of the Private Placement is subject to prescribed conditions, including, without limitations, approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V"). The securities to be issued under the Private Placement will be offered by way of private placement pursuant to applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws. Securities issued under the Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period which will expire four months and one day from the date of closing of the Private Placement. The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used to fund the upcoming drilling and exploration of Oweegee and for general working capital purpose. The Company may pay a finder's fee on the Private Placement within the amount permitted by the policies of the TSX-V. The Private Placement is in addition to the $600,000 private placement announced with Teuton Resources Corp. (see the Company's news release dated March 1, 2022, a copy of which is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com). About the Oweegee Dome Project In July 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with ArcWest to option up to 80% of ArcWest's 31,077-hectre Oweegee Dome porphyry copper-gold project in British Columbia's Golden Triangle. The Oweegee Dome project is situated 45 km east of Seabridge Gold Corp's KSM-Iron Cap porphyry Cu-Au project. The agreement is subject to TSX-V approval. The Company can earn an initial 60% interest in the Oweegee Dome project by funding, over a four-year period, cumulative exploration expenditures of $6,600,000 and by making staged cash and share payments totaling $500,000 and 2,000,000 shares, respectively. Upon completion of the first option and receipt of the initial interest notice from Sanatana, Sanatana will have a 60-day period to elect to earn an additional 20% interest, for an aggregate 80% interest, or form a joint venture. The technical information in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Buddy Doyle B.App Sc Geology, MAUSIMM. Mr. Doyle is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this news release. About the Company Sanatana Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on high-impact properties in Canada. With an award-winning technical team and experienced management and board of directors, Sanatana is based in Vancouver and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V: STA). SANATANA RESOURCES INC. (signed) "Peter Miles " Peter Miles Chief Executive Officer For additional information on the Company, please contact Mr. Peter Miles, Chief Executive Officer at (604) 408-6680 or email investor@sanatanaresources.com . To be added to the email distribution list, please email ir@sanatanaresources.com with "Sanatana" in the subject line. Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements related to the Company's exploration program for Oweegee and the Private Placement. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "intends", "is expected", "potential", "suggests" or variations of such words or phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond Sanatana's control. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 , as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, US persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release will not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the securities in any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121400 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF) ("Choom"), announces today that Choom and certain of its subsidiaries (Choom BC Retail Holdings Inc., 2151414 Alberta Ltd., 2688412 Ontario Inc., and Phivida Holdings Inc., herein the "Subsidiaries", and together with Choom, the "Companies") have obtained an order (the "Initial Order") of the Supreme Court of British Columbia providing the Companies protection from their creditors pursuant to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) ("CCAA"). As part of the Initial Order, the Companies are authorized to enter into an interim financing term sheet (the "Interim Financing") with Aurora Cannabis Inc. (the "Lender") pursuant to which the Lenders has agreed to advance to the Companies up to an aggregate of $0.8 million to fund the Companies' ongoing operations and CCAA proceedings. CCAA Proceedings The Companies have obtained CCAA protection for an initial period of 10 days, expiring on May 2, 2022 and the Court has set a further hearing date of May 2, 2022 at which time an extension of the protection under the CCAA will be sought. Pursuant to the Initial Order, Ernst & Young Inc. has been appointed as monitor in the Companies' CCAA proceeding (in that capacity, the "Monitor"). While under CCAA protection, creditors and others are stayed from pursuing any claims or enforcing any rights against the Companies. The Companies are seeking creditor protection under the CCAA in order to permit the Companies to conduct a sale and investment solicitation process ("SISP") and facilitate a transaction that will allow the Companies to address their liquidity issues and stabilize operations. The Companies intend to operate in the ordinary course throughout the CCAA proceedings and while conducting the SISP. Management of the Companies will remain responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Companies, under the general oversight of the Monitor. The Companies' day-to-day obligations to employees and key suppliers of goods and services, from and after the filing date, is expected to continue to be met. All inquiries regarding the CCAA proceeding should be directed to the Monitor (Philippe Mendelson, 604-891-8491). Information about the Companies' CCAA proceeding, including all court orders and the Monitor's reports, will be available on the Monitor's website at www.ey.com/ca/choom. Interim Financing In order to fund the CCAA proceedings, the SISP and other short term working capital requirements, the Companies have executed a term sheet with the Lenders, pursuant to which the Lenders will advance an interim financing loan in the aggregate amount of $0.8 million (the "Loan"). A portion of the Loan is available immediately, with the balance available if approved by the Court following the May 2, 2022 hearing. The Loan accrues interest at a rate of 12% per annum, and matures, at the latest, on August 31, 2022. The Loan is secured against all assets of the Companies pursuant to the Initial Order. Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora") is a significant shareholder of Choom and is the Lender in connection with the Interim Financing. Each of the aforementioned parties is a "related party" of Choom and, accordingly, the Interim Financing constitutes a "related party transaction" of Choom under MI 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Related party transactions under MI 61-101 require a formal valuation and minority shareholder approval unless exemptions from these requirements are available. Choom will rely on the exemption from the formal valuation requirement contained in Section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 (Issuer Not Listed on Specified Markets) in respect of the Interim Financing and the exemption from minority approval requirement contained in Section 5.7(d) of MI 61-101 (Bankruptcy , Insolvency, Court Order) in respect of the Interim Financing. Choom did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the Interim Financing transaction, as the details of the transaction were not finalized until immediately prior to the closing and Choom wished to close the transaction as soon as practicable for sound business reasons. About ChoomTM ChoomTM is a retail cannabis company that has established an extensive store network across Canada. ChoomTM is focused on delivering an elevated customer experience through high quality service. The Choom brand is inspired by Hawaii's "Choom Gang"-a group of friends in Honolulu during the 1970s who loved to have fun and smoke weed-or as the locals called it, "Choom". Evoking the spirit of the original Choom Gang, our brand caters to the Canadian market with the ethos of 'cultivating good times'. For additional information contact: Chris Bogart, President and Director Telephone: 604-683-2509 investors@choom.ca Cautionary Statement on Forward-looking information This news release contains forward-looking information relating to Choom's proposed activities and other statements that are not historical facts, including the successful completion of the SISP. Choom's intention to operate in the ordinary course during CCAA proceedings and the expectation that Choom's day-to-day obligations to employees and key suppliers of goods and services will continue to be met. Forward-looking information relates to management's outlook and anticipated events or results and includes statements or information regarding the future or prospects of Choom. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "hope", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "believe", "should" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Although management of Choom has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. These factors include risks and uncertainties associated with or arising as a result of delays in obtaining or an inability to obtain required regulatory approvals, access to sufficient quantities of cannabis, the actions of third parties, the results of negotiations with third parties, developments in the cannabis sector, the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, reliance on key personnel, regulatory risks and delays and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of Choom's interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings, including those made with the CSE and applicable Canadian securities regulators. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121405 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2022) - Altan Rio Minerals Limited (TSXV: AMO) ("Altan Rio" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has granted an aggregate of 5,000,000 stock options (each, an "Option") to certain directors, officers, consultants and employees of the Company in accordance with the Company's current equity incentive plan. Each Option is exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") at a price of $0.20 per Share. The Options have a four year term and expire on April 21, 2026. The Options vested immediately on the date of grant. The Company initially announced the issuance of the foregoing options on February 10, 2022, however, the grants were not formalized at such time and have now been issued to the recipients. About Altan Rio Altan Rio is a West Australian-focused gold exploration company primarily focused on the Southern Cross Greenstone Belt, a prolific gold producing region. The Company is focused on applying world-class exploration technologies and experience to proven mineralised tenure to generate shareholder wealth through discovery and production. Altan Rio holds 15 granted Prospecting Licenses covering an area of 23.7 square kilometres, representing a large position in one of Western Australia's premier producing gold belts. Project tenure is centrally located within the greenstone belt and occurs adjacent to numerous high-grade past producers including Frasers, Golden Pig and Copperhead. To learn more about the Company, visit our website at https://www.altanrio.com/. On behalf of Altan Rio For more information contact: Paul Stephen Chief Executive Officer Email: ps@altanrio.com +61 9322 1788 Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Altan Rio to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements or information. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements, and Altan Rio undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121413 SwatchOn, a Seoul, South Korea-based provider of a sourcing wholesale fashion fabric aggregator, raised $10M in funding. The round was led by Pavilion Capital, Kakao Ventures, and TBT Partners. The company intends to use the funds to develop new initiatives, specifically with a focus on digital fashion. Led by CEO Will Lee, SwatchOn is a fashion technology platform that connects the South Korean textile industry to brands around the globe. The company has streamlined the fabric supply chain, allowing designers to search and access over 200,000 textiles from 750 different suppliers on its free, members-only website, SwatchOn.com. SwatchOns upcoming roadmap is set to include soon-to-be-announced initiatives in digital fashion, metaverse wearables, NFTs, digital fabric, AR, virtual experiences, and more. FinSMEs 22/04/2022 UPSIDE Foods Chicken Taco Upside Foods, a Berkeley, CA-based leader in cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood industry, raised $400M in Series C funding. The round was led by Temasek, and Growth Fund (ADG), with participation from Baillie Gifford, Givaudan, John Doerr, SALT fund, Synthesis Capital, Bill Gates, Cargill, Cercano Management, CPT Capital, Dentsu Ventures, EDBI, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest Venture Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, SOSV Indie Bio, and Tyson Foods. The company intends to use the funds to build a commercial production facility with a planned annual capacity of tens of millions of pounds of cultivated meat products. The facility will be able to produce any species of meat in both ground and whole cut formats, with an initial focus on chicken. Additionally, the funds will help build a strong supply chain for critical cell feed components that will reduce costs and enable greater scale. Other priorities for UPSIDE Foods include enhancing consumer education, investing in research and development for the next generation of cultivated meat products, and continuing to grow its 170+ person team. Led by CEO Dr. Uma Valeti, Upside Foods is developing a way to grow real meat, poultry and seafood directly from animal cells, without the need to raise and slaughter animals. These products are not vegetarian, plant-based or meat alternatives they are real meat, made without the animal. Pending regulatory review, UPSIDE Foods plans to be available to consumers in the U.S. later this year. FinSMEs 22/04/2022 Commentary: Four reasons why China's economy will disappoint naysayers, again Xinhua) 15:16, April 22, 2022 BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- As some Western media jump to talk about the "big blow" China's dynamic zero-COVID policy has dealt to the economy, they neglect one of its biggest characteristics -- its resilience. Naturally, all anti-epidemic measures come at a price, and there has been short-term downward pressure on the Chinese economy. But it would be shortsighted to believe that this will cripple the growth of the world's second largest economy. First of all, China has been careful to monitor the duration and scope of all anti-epidemic measures, and the vast majority of its people are still enjoying a normal life, free from the woes of the epidemic. Moreover, we can be certain that the financial hub of Shanghai will rebound from anti-epidemic measures, and this is also true for the rest of the nation. China has over two years of experience as well as a track record that speaks for itself in coordinating epidemic prevention and economic development. Second, with better-than-expected growth in the first quarter, China's economy is off to a steady start this year. It exceeded market expectations with year-over-year growth of 4.8 percent, well above 4 percent in the previous quarter. In the same period, China's total imports and exports of goods jumped by 10.7 percent year on year, while paid-in foreign direct investment (FDI) soared by 25.6 percent year on year. This rock-steady start only goes to show that the momentum of China's sustained economic recovery remains unhinged. China continues to draw from its array of strong economic fundamentals such as its industrial supply chains and its colossal consumer market. Thirdly, China has already rolled out a raft of supportive policies to counter the fallout of the COVID-19 resurgence. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced a 0.25 percentage point cut of the reserve requirement ratio from April 25, injecting 530 billion yuan (about 82 billion U.S. dollars) of liquidity into the market. The central bank, together with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, this week jointly released 23 measures to help businesses affected by the latest COVID-19 resurgence to improve domestic economic circulation and facilitate exports. In 2022, the 400 billion yuan inclusive re-lending fund that especially targets micro and small enterprises will continue to be used on a rolling basis, and the quota can be expanded if necessary. Other supportive policies included setting a quota of 3.65 trillion yuan for local-government-issued special-purpose bonds to fund construction projects, 2.5 trillion yuan worth of tax and fee cuts in 2022, and front-loading the construction of major projects. And last but not least, China is known for having an extensive policy toolkit it can use to stimulate the economy, such as the deep cash reserve held by commercial banks. There is still plenty of room to adjust monetary and fiscal policies, including the injection of more liquidity and more tax and fee cuts. Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun said, in an article published on April 16, that the proactive fiscal policy will be front-loaded and fully implemented. Policies need to be issued at the earliest possible date with funds allocated in a timely way to generate economic activities and stabilize the economy, Liu said in the article in the Qiushi Journal, a flagship magazine of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. All in all, any impartial eye can see that China is poised to overcome the challenges that lie ahead, achieve sustained economic growth, and make further contributions to world economic recovery. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Du Mingming) By Michileen Martin | 3 weeks ago Things have gone from bad to worse for Netflix. In a time when streaming services are more a part of our every day than ever, you would think the service that pioneered the concept would be on top. But due to a multitude of factors, the streamer has taken another massive hit in the stock market. As reported by Deadline, Netflix stock fell by a painful 20% today in after hours trading. The steep drop came after the company delivered surprisingly bad news in its first quarter report. Not only did Netflix fail to meet its comparatively modest projection of $2.5 million new subscribers, it actually went in the other direction. Netflix instead reported a loss of 200,00 subscribers, and is projecting it will lose another 2 million subscribers in the years second quarter. Deadline reports its the first time in over ten years that the streamer has posted an actual loss to its subscriber base. To put this in context, its worthwhile to remember what happened in January. Netflix stock plummeted by 22% in a single day after the streamer reported less growth than expected. Thats what happened after the streamer reported that it had missed its subscriber total by 200,000 totaling at 8.3 million rather than 8.5 million. If thats what happens when the streamer has less growth than expected, what happens now that their numbers have actually dropped? One of the factors that is clearly eating away at Netflixs lunch is a much more crowded marketplace. As reported by CNBC back in February, in particularly Disney+ and HBO Max continue to gain on Netflix, though the latter streamer is still far in the lead. Add to that Peacock, Hulu, Apple TV+, Paramount+, and more, and youve got plenty of competition that didnt exist when Netflix started streaming in 2007. Deadline says that in the wake of todays news, the lead streamer is finally beginning to openly acknowledge the impact of the other services. Among other factors, Netflix also blamed a back-end weighted content slate claiming that popular titles like the new season of Bridgerton and Ryan Reynolds The Adam Project came out too late in the quarter to have a significant positive impact on subscriptions. Theres also the impact of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Netflix, like most other streamers, stopped service in Russia, and the streamer estimates it lost around 700,000 subscribers as a result. But then there are contributing factors that Netflix may not want to admit to quite so loudly. Earlier this year, the streamers standard monthly subscription plan increased to $15.49 per month, already making it a less attractive choice compared to other streamers. Then in March, as reported by THR, the company announced it was using countries in South America to test a new subscription model that would charge subscribers extra for sharing their accounts with others. So, on top of making their most popular subscription plan the most expensive in the market, they announced plans to add yet another extra charge that none of the other streaming services have levied. And they expected growth? New York, New York, April 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Malta, an archipelago located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, is a paradise for beach lovers and environmentalists! This hidden gem is perfect for travelers looking for off the beaten path destinations that offer amazing beaches, including 12 Blue Flag beaches. The crystal blue waters of the Maltese islands with breathtaking landscapes, and a year round warm climate, appeal to a diverse group of travelers. With more than 7,000 years of history, Michelin star gastronomy, local wine and year round festivals, there is something for every visitor. The island of Gozo is prized for its charming rural landscape and idyllic setting. It is the second largest of Maltas three main islands. The coastline consists of long stretches of glorious sandy beaches and hidden coves where the locals go. Visitors can spend the day on a boat in Cominos Blue Lagoon famous for its clear azure waters and enjoy some of the worlds top-rated scuba diving sites. Blue Flag Beaches The Blue Flag is one of the worlds most recognized voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators. The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), awarded twelve beaches in Malta and Gozo Blue Flag status for 2022. Enjoy some of Maltas most gorgeous and environmentally sustainable beaches, with azure waters in secluded spots along the Mediterranean coastlines. Top Beaches in the Maltese Islands Maltas Blue Flag Beaches Gozos Blue Flag Beaches Ramla Bay Xaghra managed by Gaia Foundation Hondoq ir-Rummien Bay Qala managed by the Malta Tourism Authority Marsalforn Bay Marsalforn managed by the Malta Tourism Authority And more. -Ends- About Malta The sunny islands of Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, are home to a most remarkable concentration of intact built heritage, including the highest density of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in any nation-state anywhere. Valletta, built by the proud Knights of St. John, is one of the UNESCO sites and the European Capital of Culture for 2018. Malta's patrimony in stone ranges from the oldest free-standing stone architecture in the world, to one of the British Empire's most formidable defensive systems, and includes a rich mix of domestic, religious and military architecture from the ancient, medieval and early modern periods. With superbly sunny weather, attractive beaches, a thriving nightlife and 7,000 years of intriguing history, there is a great deal to see and do. www.visitmalta.com MTA US Editorial Contact The Bradford Group Gabriela Reyes/Amanda Marconi Tel: (212) 447-0027 Fax: (212) 725 8253 E-mail: VisitMalta@bradfordglobalmarketing.com Attachments * Shareholder Update Conference Call Scheduled for 5:00 pm EST, Friday April 22, 2022 New York, April 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PHI Group, Inc. ( www.phiglobal.com , PHIL), a diversified holding company currently engaged in PHILUX Global Funds, the Asia Diamond Exchange (ADE) project in Vietnam, mergers and acquisitions and investing in special situations (www.co2-1-0.io), is pleased to announce that the listing of CO2-1-0 (CARBON) CORP, a subsidiary of the Company, on DigiFinex Digital Assets Exchange (https://www.digifinex.com/en-ww/) will become effective at 11:00 AM Singapore time (GMT+8) on Friday April 22, 2022. CO2-1-0 (CARBON) CORP. (https://CO2-1-0.io) aims to provide a solution in disruptive new carbon market (voluntary and compliancy market) using blockchain-crypto technology, Internet of Things (IoT), and Six Sigma (6) methodology, which will empower the real environmentally sustainable projects (renewable energy, energy savings, heat recovery, industrial waste, agriculture, forestry, and many other new technologies), which projects have started in the USA, Vietnam, Indonesia, other ASEAN countries, and worldwide. It has a clear and systematic product development roadmap, and the ultimate milestones of the products. The solution, methodology, and improved TACCC (transparent, accurate, consistent, complete, and comparable) business process originally introduced by CO2-1-0 (CARBON) will bring full impact to better environment and life of millions. CARBON (CO2) is the most environmentally sustainable crypto on earth, developed under BEP-20 (BSC Mainnet) and has passed CertiK audit, which is #1 security audits for blockchain protocols, wallets, DApps, and smart contracts. CO2-1-0 (CARBON) CORP. is based in Wyoming, USA, with a fast-growing community named Carbonian" all over the world. While DigiFinex (https://www.digifinex.com) is a global top 15 Exchange (ranked by CoinGecko) founded in 2017, with Headquarter located in Singapore. DigiFinex is providing more than 400 digital currency trading pairs, credit card to crypto channels and crypto-related products such spot trading, margin trading, crypto fund and loans. With in-house developed security system and multiple fail-safe layers design, DigiFinex is giving customers a bank-graded protection and become the best option for one-stop digital management platform in Global. Along with the press release announced today, there will be some events in conjunction with the listing. These events start at 11:00 AM, April 22, 2022 Singapore time (GMT+8) and will be ended at 11:000 AM, also Singapore time, April 29, 2022 Event 1: REGISTRATION - Official invitation, reward 25,000 CO2 During this event, new users who register with official referral code: carbon, complete KYC and buy minimum of 100 CO2 will get a bonus of 5 CO2. Total rewards is capped at 25,000 CO2 which will be distributed in a first come, first served basis. Event 2STAKING - Stake CO2 to share 25,000 CO2 25,000 CO2 is available in candy box during this event and users can get interest by staking CO2 with daily rate of 0.1667 %. Rewards will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Event 3: NET BUYING Trading Competition, reward 50,000 CO2 During this event, ranking of net purchase (net purchase = purchases - selling) will be set up. Users who rank the top = 100 and meet the requirements will get the rewards. Mr. Choky YF Simanjuntak, CEO and Founder of CARBON, stated: We are very excited and enthusiastic to be listed in DigiFinex which is the top 15 volume crypto exchange in the world. With a proven exchange systems and strong investor communities, visit by 2.4 million users/ week and 24h volume of over US$ 2.3 billion, we believe it can attract many green investors to the market and accelerate the participation to heal our mother Earth. Mr. Oscar Or, Chief Commercial Officer of DigiFinex, Ltd, added: We are very proud and excited to announce the listing of the CARBON (CO2) project, founded by CO2-1-0 (CARBON) CORP which are the global key leader in the Carbon Credit transition solutions and leveraging with latest blockchain technology and cryptocurrency concepts. ESG and Climate Change are the most important topics in recent days. We are looking forward to the success of the Carbon team in bringing innovative solutions to improve the health of the Earth and become the most impactful leader in the industry. You are cordially invited to join a scheduled shareholder update conference: Topic: PHI Group Shareholder Update Conference Call. Time: April 22, 2022 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4177806661 Meeting ID: 417 780 6661 Passcode: phiglobal Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) Meeting ID: 417 780 6661 Passcode: 297730800 Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kY7nnVkvV About CO2-1-0 (CARBON) CORP. CO2-1-0 (CARBON) CORP. (www.CO2-1-0.io) aims to provide a solution in disruptive new carbon market system using blockchain-crypto technology, IoT, and enhanced with Six Sigma methodology which will be empowering environmentally sustainable projects (renewable energy/ waste/ agriculture/ forestry/ many more) starting in USA, Vietnam, Indonesia, other ASEAN countries, and worldwide. It has a clear and systematic product development roadmap, and the ultimate milestones of the products. The solution, methodology, and improved TACCC (transparent, accurate, consistent, complete, and comparable) business process originally introduced by CO2-1-0 (CARBON) will bring full impact to better environment and life of millions. CARBON (CO2) is the most environmentally sustainable crypto on earth, developed under BEP-20 (BSC Mainnet) and has passed CertiK audit, which is #1 security audits for blockchain protocols, wallets, DApps, and smart contracts. About PHI Group PHI Group (www.phiglobal.com, PHIL) primarily focuses on advancing PHILUX Global Funds, a group of Luxembourg bank funds organized as Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF) (www.philux.eu), and building the Asia Diamond Exchange (ADE) in Vietnam. The Company also engages in mergers and acquisitions and invests in select industries and special situations (www.co2-1-0.io) that may substantially enhance shareholder value. Safe Harbor Act and Forward-looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as may, future, plan or planned, will or should, expected, anticipates, draft, eventually or projected, which are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Contact: PHI Group, Inc. +1-714-793-9227 info@phiglobal.com DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Future Marketing Insights (FMI), the global digital forensics market is anticipated to rise at 11.2% CAGR during the forecast period from the year 2022 to 2030. With the rising technical advancements, cloud computing solutions are getting popular world-wide. Being cost-effective, easily maintainable, and convenient for data storage and retrieval, cloud computing and cloud security solutions such as cloud network and digital forensics are gaining traction across the globe. Despite having high demand, several factors such as lack of knowledge, budget constraints, unavailability of sufficient resources, and others, digital forensics solutions are confined in the SMEs. Furthermore, factors such as non-operational manufacturing units during lock down, decreased manpower, unavailability of raw materials, and others have slowed down the market growth which is expected to go on till the end of this year. FMI offers an unbiased analysis of the global market, its various growth drivers, restraints, and potential. Get Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3350 List of Key Players Covered in Digital Forensics Market are: FireEye Inc. IBM Corporation Micro Systemation AB Cellebrite Ltd. KPMG Ernst & Young PwC Deloitte AccessData Group, Inc. LogRhythm Binary Intelligence Technology Ltd. Increasing adoption of artificial intelligence in digital forensics coupled by the rising cyber threats is expected to steer the global digital forensics market growth during the forecast period, says an FMI analyst. Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/digital-forensics-market Some of the key takeaways from the report are highlighted below- Digital cloud forensics being most popular type of digital forensics solutions, is expected to witness highest growth of 14.7% CAGR during the forecast period The increasing cases of cyber threats and attacks in the government, law enforcement, and others sectors is resulting in higher adoption of digital forensics solutions over the world Component-wise software digital forensics solutions is set to register highest growth of CAGR 13.3% during the forecast period Among the end users, government & law enforcement sector will maintain the lead, followed by the legal services firms throughout the forecast period North America digital forensics market will lead other regions during the forecast period COVID-19 Impact Analysis The outbreak of novel coronavirus outbreak in the current year has negatively impacted the global digital forensic market. Various restraining factors such as closed manufacturing units, scarcity of raw materials, unavailability of labors, economic crisis, and others have declined the market growth. Despite facing decreased demand due to the ongoing pandemic, the global digital forensics market has high potential to grow further. According to FMI, the global market is expected to grow by both value and volume during the forecast period from the year 2022 to 2030. Order a Complete Research Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/3350 Regional Insights The U.S. digital forensics market is set to witness impressive growth over the coming years. The rising adoption of mobile devices for business continuity, such as cellphones, laptops, and USBs, has increased the incidence of cyberattacks in the United States. Digital advancements coupled with increased usage of cloud-based solutions are catering to the market growth in China. With the growing requirement of storing critical data and minimizing cybercrimes, the market in China is expanding fast. Digital Forensics Market by Region: North America Digital Forensics Market Latin America Digital Forensics Market Europe Digital Forensics Market East Asia Digital Forensics Market South Asia & Pacific Digital Forensics Market Middle East & Africa (MEA) Digital Forensics Market Detailed Table of Content: 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Global Market Outlook 1.2. Demand Side Trends 1.3. Supply Side Trends 1.4. Analysis and Recommendations 2. Market Overview 2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy 2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations 3. Key Market Trends 3.1. Key Trends Impacting the Market 3.2. Best Practices in Digital Forensics 3.3. Digital Forensics Innovation / Development Trends 3.4. Key Success Factors 4. Global Digital Forensics Market - Pricing Analysis 4.1. Pricing Analysis, By Component 4.1.1. Hardware Pricing Analysis 4.1.2. Software Pricing Analysis 4.2. Global Average Pricing Analysis Benchmark 5. COVID-19 Impact Analysis TOC continued..! Speak to our Research Expert: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-3350 Have a Look at Related Research Reports: Cloud ERP Market Sales Surpassing US$ 277 Mn by 2032 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI Customer Revenue Optimization (CRO) Software Market to reach US$ 18.2 Bn by 2032 | Customer Revenue Optimization (CRO) Software Industry Size, Share & Industry Analysis, and Forecast 2022-2032 Internet of Everything (IoE) Market Sales to reach US$ 3,335.1 Bn by the end of 2030 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI Mobile Augmented Reality Market projected to reach US$ 29.3 Bn by the end of 2031 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI AI in IoT Market is forecasted to reach US$ 142.4 Bn by 2032 - Comprehensive Research Report by FMI About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights (ESOMAR certified market research organization and a member of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) provides in-depth insights into governing factors elevating the demand in the market. It discloses opportunities that will favor the market growth in various segments on the basis of Source, Application, Sales Channel and End Use over the next 10-years. Contact: Future Market Insights Unit No: 1602-006 Jumeirah Bay 2 Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A Jumeirah Lakes Towers Dubai United Arab Emirates For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/digital-forensics-market LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp. (NEO: PWWR) (Frankfurt: 77R, WKN: A3CTYF) ("AFCP" or the "Company"), a company engaged in the development and production of alkaline fuel cell heat and power systems for residential, industrial and commercial markets worldwide, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition (the "Acquisition") of the combined heat and power (CHP) generation business (the "CHP Business") of AI Renewable 2018-I Limited Partnership, AI Renewable 2020-I Limited Partnership and 2191 Yonge Ltd. (collectively, AI), pursuant to the definitive agreements, previously announced on March 4, 2022. AI uses a clean and renewable single fuel source energy technology that generates both electricity and heat. The stable and efficient energy production results in cost savings to the customer and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Upon closing of the Acquisition, the CHP Business will provide the Company with immediate recurring, long term gross operating income from a current active account. The CHP Business also has a pipeline of projects, that once secured, will provide additional sources of gross operating income. Securing the pipeline of projects remain subject to mutual agreement with the potential accounts. AIs high efficiency CHP system provides reliable, sustainable and efficient, on-site energy 24/7. It can be adapted to not only residential but commercial and industrial customers. Furthermore, the Company has identified technology that will allow them to transition AIs current CHP systems to utilize hydrogen and the AFCP fuel cells allowing for AFCP to grow exponentially while generating revenue. AI's pipeline consists of over 30 potential CHP projects at various stages of development ranging from proposals, letters of intent and one power purchase agreement ready to begin the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase. The estimated capital investment to bring the pipeline of potential CHP systems into commercial operation within the next 24-36 months is estimated at $50,000,000. It is estimated that, based on the CHP system currently in commercial operation, when all of the potential CHP systems are in commercial operation, potential gross revenue could be up to approximately $16.61 million, potential EBITDA could be up to approximately $7.68 million and potential net income up to approximately $1.64 million. These estimates are forward-looking and are subject to the assumptions provided in forward-looking disclaimer below. Pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreements, the Company paid a purchase price (the "Purchase Price") consisting of 22,575,758 common shares of Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp. (the "Consideration Shares") and $3,000,000 in cash consideration. In connection with the execution of the definitive agreements, the Company advanced a $2,000,000 loan to the vendors, which was applied against the cash consideration on closing. The remaining $1,000,000 cash payment shall be paid no later than January 2, 2023. Early Warning Disclosure The Consideration Shares were issued to AI Renewable GP 2020 Ltd. ("AI GP 2020"), resulting in AI GP 2020 becoming an insider of the Company by virtue of owning 11.9% of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of the Company post-Acquisition. Prior to closing of the Acquisition, AI GP 2020 held no common shares or convertible securities of the Company. After giving effect to the Acquisition, AI GP 2020 owns and controls a total of 22,757,758 Consideration Shares, which represents 11.9% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis and up to 19.1% assuming that the Milestone #1 Common Shares and Milestone #2 Common Shares (as defined below) are issued and calculated on a fully diluted basis. AI GP 2020 acquired the Consideration Shares for investment purposes. AI GP 2020 intends to evaluate its investment in the Company and to increase or decrease its shareholdings from time to time as it may determine appropriate. A copy of the early warning report being filed by AI GP 2020 may be obtained by contacting the Company at 604-687-2038. The Consideration Shares are subject to a statutory hold period of four (4) months and one (1) day from the date of closing the Acquisition. In addition to the Purchase Price payable on closing, the Company shall pay to the vendors additional consideration upon the achievement of certain milestones described below: Milestone #1 If the CHP Business obtains Green Loans and/or government grants for the CHP Business and/or their customers of two million five hundred thousand ($2,500,000) dollars or more for the installation of CHP units in buildings within 18 (eighteen) months following the closing ("Milestone #1"), the vendors will be compensated with additional common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares") equal to the greater value of 1,000,000 Common Shares or the number of Common Shares worth one million ($1,000,000) dollars (each a "Milestone #1 Common Share"), the deemed value of each Milestone #1 Common Share being the five (5) day volume weighted average price (the "VWAP") of the common shares of the Company calculated from the date that the Milestone #1 payment has been earned. Milestone #2 If the CHP Business signs contracts to install CHP units in buildings containing not less than 2,000 additional residential units over a minimum of seven (7) buildings (excluding 2181 Yonge and 2191 Yonge) within twenty-four (24) month period following the closing (the "Milestone #2"), the vendors will be rewarded with additional Common Shares equal to the greater value of Common Shares worth two million ($2,000,000) dollars or 2,000,000 Common Shares (each a Milestone #2 Common Share). The deemed value of each Milestone #2 Common Share shall be based on the five (5) days VWAP of the Common Shares calculated from the date that the Milestone #2 payment has been earned. If issuable, the Milestone #1 Common Shares and Milestone #2 Common Shares will be subject to a 4-month plus one (1) day hold from the date of issuance, in addition to any applicable NEO Exchange policies and applicable securities laws. ABOUT ALKALINE FUEL CELL POWER CORP. The Company is focused on the development, production and commercialization of micro-combined heat and power (micro-CHP) systems based on alkaline fuel cell technology. A fuel cell is a clean electrical power conversion/generation system, akin to small power stations that provide electricity and an equivalent amount of heat for various purposes. Based on hydrogen powered alkaline fuel cell technology, our technology offers an energy source that generates zero CO2 emissions with pure water as the only by-product, making it ideally suited for residential and small- to medium-sized power markets. We believe Fuel Cell Power is well positioned to become a positive contributor to the global demand for clean energy, particularly in Europe where demand outpaces supply, and current technology remains inadequate to meet market needs. Further information is available on our website at https://www.fuelcellpower.com/ and we encourage investors and other interested stakeholders to follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Our common shares are listed for trading on the NEO Exchange (NEO) under the symbol PWWR and on the Frankfurt Exchange under symbol 77R and WKN A3CTYF. For further information, please contact: Matthew Fish Interim Chief Executive Officer +1 (604) 687-2038 info@fuelcellpower.com Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, believes or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might, occur or achieve. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Companys technology, intellectual property, business plan, objectives and strategy. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future, which are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Alkaline Fuel Cell Power Corp. Some assumptions include, without limitation, the assumptions provided in this news release, the assumption that the results of the current gross operating income generating CHP unit will be duplicated for the potential projects in the pipeline; statements regarding the successful integration of the AI business into the Company's business in a timely manner; management's ability to secure potential projects in the pipeline; management's ability to successfully develop the projects in the pipeline to generate operating income; management's ability to transition the combined heat and power technology to a clean zero-emission hydrogen powered energy solution; the global addressable market for zero-emission hydrogen powered energy production units; the effectiveness and timelines to deploy management's business strategy; the renewable energies sector and the Companys future plans. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. NEITHER THE NEO EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE NEO EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. PERTH, Western Australia, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perseus Mining Limited (PRU) wishes to provide a correction to the news release Perseus Completes Resource Drilling Programme at Nkosuo dated 20 April 2022. The updated release corrects a small number of typographical errors included in the data in Appendix 2. This announcement was approved for release by Perseus Mining Limited Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Quartermaine. Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) is pleased to report details of its recently completed resource drilling program at the Nkosuo prospect, located 7 km from its Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana. Preparation of a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for the deposit has begun and is due for completion by the end of the June 2022 Quarter. HIGHLIGHTS Perseus records further impressive drilling results from the Nkosuo prospect on the Agyakusu Prospecting Licence, located within comfortable trucking distance of the processing facility at the Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana. prospect on the Agyakusu Prospecting Licence, located within comfortable trucking distance of the processing facility at the in Ghana. Resource definition drilling over the northern part of the deposit is now complete and work has begun on the estimation of a maiden Mineral Resource estimate for Nkosuo. This is due to be completed by the end of the June 2022 quarter. Results continue to demonstrate strong potential for shallow, granite-hosted open-pitable gold resources, with: NKS0048RD: 2.5m @ 87.3 g/t Au from 250.5m NKS0056DD: 30.2m @ 1.68 g/t Au from 102.34m and 12.2m @ 8.03 g/t Au from 136.5m NKS0100RC: 9m @ 13.93 g/t Au from 15m NKS0117RC: 22m @ 3.92 g/t Au from 8m NKS0120RC: 16m @ 4.17g/t Au from 24m NKS0142RC: 10m @ 3.65 g/t Au from 36m NKS0153RC: 7m @ 6.05g/t Au from 33m and 14m @ 7.72g/t Au from 44m NKS0164RC: 6m @ 6.71g/t Au from 16m and 22m @ 1.48g/t Au from 28m NKS0170RC: 43m @ 2.55 g/t Au from 7m and 39m @ 2.97 g/t Au from 56m NKS0175RD: 5m @ 24.74 g/t Au from 131m NKS0178RD: 14m @ 9.14 g/t Au from 2m, 30m @ 1.14 g/t Au from 20m and 48m @ 1.06 g/t Au from 66m NKS0214RC: 10m @ 7.49 g/t Au from 26m Results further confirm that the Nkosuo prospect hosts near-surface, granite-hosted gold mineralisation similar to that mined in Edikans Fobinso and Abnabna (AG) pits. Mineralisation and granite host remain open to the south. Nkosuo discovery has the potential to extend Edikans mine life beyond forecast end in FY2026-2027. Perseuss Managing Director and CEO Jeff Quartermaine said: As Perseus works towards consolidating our position as a reliable 500,000oz per year gold producer, our near-mine exploration drilling programmes are consistently delivering results that are aligned with this aim. The drilling programme at Nkosuo has returned impressive results that demonstrate that the deposit has the potential to materially add to Edikans mine life. We are particularly encouraged by similarities between the Nkosuo deposit and the Fobinso and Abnabna deposits that weve already successfully developed, mined and processed at Edikan. While we are working towards completing a maiden Mineral Resource estimate for Nkosuo in the current quarter, we note that Nkosuo is just the first of several interesting targets located on the Agyakusu Exploration Licence. Perseus intends to continue exploring on each of the Agyakusu, Agyakusu-DML and Domenase exploration licence areas, all of which are under option to Perseus and all of which are located within comfortable trucking distance of our Edikan mill. NKOSUO EXPLORATION DRILLING Results from Perseuss recent exploration activities at the Nkosuo project adjacent to its Edikan Gold Mine (Edikan) in Ghana continue to confirm the outstanding potential to grow its gold inventory at Edikan through further drilling success. Perseus secured an option to acquire the 23.85km2 Agyakusu prospecting licence (Appendix 1 - Figure 1.1), currently held by Ghanaian company Adio-Mabas Ghana Ltd, in November 2019 (see New Release 4 November 2019). Exploration drilling commenced at the Nkosuo prospect on the Agyakusu PL on 1 July 2021, with the first highly encouraging results being reported last year (News Release dated 13 October 2021), and further updated in January 2022 (News Release 18 January 2022). Perseus has drilled a total of 36,895 metres in 97 Reverse Circulation (RC), 19 diamond (DD) holes and 103 RC pre-collared diamond holes (RD). Drilling was initially conducted on a nominal 80 x 80 metre grid to scope out the extent and overall geometry of the host granite and contained mineralisation, subsequently infilled to 40 x 20 metres over the main mineralised zones to provide the basis for a mineral resource estimate. Mineralisation at Nkosuo is hosted by an elongated NNE-trending granitic plug extending at least 1.2 kilometres in strike, with widths ranging from ~120 metres in the northern part to up to 160 metres in the southern part. The northern part of the intrusive body is dislocated by a sinuous NW-SE fault that offsets the northern 400 metres of the body ~160 metres to the northwest (Appendix 1 - Figure 1.2). The strongest mineralisation is contained in the offset northern part of the intrusion and the northern central section of the southern part of the intrusion, gradually waning to the southwest. The granite body dips at around 700 to the west in the northern part of the intrusion, steepening to near vertical towards the south. Mineralisation within the granite consists of variably intense quartz stockwork veining with associated quartz-carbonate-sericite alteration. The veining and alteration are accompanied by 1-2% disseminated and selvage pyrite and arsenopyrite, with better gold grades generally associated with higher concentrations of arsenopyrite. The granite remains open to the south, with indications from surface workings that mineralisation may strengthen within the southern apex of the intrusion, analogous to the situation in the northern apex. Better intercepts from the Nkosuo drilling between 8 January and the completion of drilling on 28 March 2022 are shown below in Appendix 2 - Table 1 and on Appendix 1 Figure 1.2, with a complete summary included in Appendix 2 - Table 2. Representative sections are presented in Appendix 1 Figures 1.3 to 1.5. Results available to date from the Nkosuo drilling confirm Perseuss previously declared potential for an Exploration Target of 10Mt to 15 Mt grading 0.9 to 1.1 g/t gold for 275 to 500koz contained gold (News Release dated 13 October 2021). Current indications are that the bulk of this resource will be at depths shallower than 150 metres. The Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and takes no account of geological complexity, possible mining method or metallurgical recovery factors. The Exploration Target was estimated to enable an early assessment of the discoverys potential to add to Edikans mine life. The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and therefore is an approximation. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in estimation of a Mineral Resource. The Exploration Target has been prepared and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code and NI 43-101. The Exploration Target is defined by: A wireframe of the host granite body used to limit the extent of interpreted mineralisation volume. Drill sample intervals composited to uniform 2 metre down-hole lengths with composite gold grades capped at 10g/t. Gold grades estimated by inverse distance squared weightings (IDW) into parent blocks with dimensions 20 metres east x 20 metres north x 10 metres elevation using a 50 metres east x 100 metres north x 100 metre elevation search ellipsoid with a minimum of four samples required to make an estimate. Estimates informed only by samples within the granite. Parent blocks sub-blocked against the granite wireframe and interpreted weathering surfaces using a minimum 5 metres east x 5 metres north x 2.5 metres elevation sub-block to reliably estimate the mineralisation volume. Densities for weathered, transition and fresh rock assumed to be 1.8, 2.1 and 2.7 tonnes per cubic metre. Sub-blocks grading greater than 0.4g/t gold and to a maximum vertical depth of approximately 170 metres. NEXT STEPS Results from the recent drilling will form the basis for a Mineral Resource Estimate to be completed during the June 2022 quarter. Metallurgical testwork is underway and geotechnical drilling has been undertaken to support studies into the Ore Reserve potential, expected to be completed early in the September Quarter of 2022. In anticipation that this work will lead to a positive outcome, Perseus has exercised its option over the Agyakusu permit, with the permit transfer currently awaiting Ministerial approval. Baseline studies to meet the requirements of the ESIA process have also commenced. Future drilling will focus on defining the southern extent of the granite and its contained mineralisation. Exploration more broadly at Edikan will investigate high-order prospects on the adjacent Agyakusu DML and Domenase permits where soil geochemical sampling has identified strong gold-in-soil anomalies associated with mineralised granites. This announcement has been approved for release by Perseuss Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Quartermaine. Competent Person Statement: The information in this report and the attachments that relate to exploration drilling results and the Nkosuo Exploration Target on the Agyakusu permit is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Dr Douglas Jones, a Competent Person who is a Chartered Professional Geologist. Dr Jones is the Group General Manager Exploration of the Company. Dr Jones has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves) and to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). Dr Jones consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information: This report contains forward-looking information which is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made by the Company regarding, among other things: the price of gold, continuing commercial production at the Yaoure Gold Mine, Edikan Gold Mine and Sissingue Gold Mine without any major disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, the receipt of required governmental approvals, the accuracy of capital and operating cost estimates, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used by the Company. Although management believes that the assumptions made by the Company and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Companys ability to carry on its exploration and development activities, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Perseus does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. ASX/TSX CODE: PRU REGISTERED OFFICE: Level 2 437 Roberts Road Subiaco WA 6008 Telephone: +61 8 6144 1700 Email: IR@perseusmining.com ABN: 27 106 808 986 www.perseusmining.com CONTACTS: Jeff Quartermaine Managing Director & CEO jeff.quartermaine@perseusmining.com Nathan Ryan Media Relations +61 4 20 582 887 nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au Claire Hall Corporate Communications claire.hall@perseusmining.com APPENDIX 1 - FIGURES Figure 1.1: Edikan Gold Project Regional Geology, Tenements, Deposits and Prospects https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d97a8b78-e6c1-4704-b580-ca5cd556ab3c Figure 1.2: Nkosuo Prospect Drilling and Selected Results. Locations of Sections 1-3 shown. https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4ddd353f-8627-4790-a0c4-d31e264368c8 Figure 1.3: Nkosuo Prospect Drill Section 1 20,160N Local Grid showing selected recent intercepts. https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/df2dbdd6-5f96-4b22-a004-031624b3bbf0 Figure 1.4: Nkosuo Prospect Drill Section 2 20,080N Local Grid showing selected recent intercepts https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2cc56935-145b-4f34-b907-5cf93acbd38f Figure 1.5: Nkosuo Prospect Drill Section 3 - 19,920N Local Grid showing selected recent intercepts https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/150cb3e2-eded-464a-8ee5-7a3afaffc860 APPENDIX 2 SIGNIFICANT INTERCEPTS Table 1: Significant Intercept Highlights from Agyakusu Prospecting Licence - Nkosuo Prospect (Based on lower cut-off of 0.5 g/t Au with maximum 2m internal waste <0.5 g/t) Hole ID From (m) To (m) Gold Intercept NKS0048RD 250.5 253 2.5m @ 87.30g/t NKS0056DD 102.34 132.52 30.18m @ 1.68g/t NKS0056DD 136.48 148.64 12.16m @ 8.03g/t NKS0058RD 204.1 215 10.9m @ 1.39g/t NKS0058RD 220 257.4 37.4m @0.72g/t NKS0061RD 65.1 83 17.9m @ 0.95g/t NKS0061RD 102 122 20m @ 1.35g/t NKS0062RD 104.23 141 36.77m @ 1.58g/t NKS0064RD 104 114 10m @ 1.9g/t NKS0064RD 117 136 19m @ 1.03g/t NKS0064RD 139 149.3 10.3m 1.78g/t NKS0065RD 280 286.5 6.5m @ 3.5g/t NKS0072RD 123 160 37m @ 1.73g/t NKS0074RD 293 300.5 7.5m @2.4g/t NKS0077RD 159 178.15 19.15m @ 0.89g/t NKS0078DD 67 71.3 4.3m @ 5.63g/t NKS0078DD 133.6 160.9 27.3 m @ 2.3g/t NKS0079DD 58 106 48m @ 0.91g/t NKS0079DD 113 128.33 15.33m @ 1.45g/t NKS0079DD 142.13 151.5 9.37m @ 2.93g/t NKS0080DD 94 108 14m @ 1.19g/t NKS0086RD 109 118 9m @ 1.67g/t NKS0087RD 135 159.52 24.52m @1.37g/t NKS0088RD 86 125.18 39.18m @ 2.11g/t NKS0094RC 64 78 14m @ 2.89g/t NKS0096RC 1 16 15m @ 1.36g/t NKS0098DD 61 84 23m @1.21g/t NKS0098DD 87 118 31m @ 1.42g/t NKS0099RC 28 46 18m @ 3.23g/t NKS0100RC 15 24 9m @ 13 93g/t NKS0103RC 0 28 28m @ 0.95 g/t NKS0103RC 44 60 16m @ 1.66g/t NKS0108RC 26 52 26m @ 1.1g/t NKS0110RC 21 34 13m @ 3.97g/t NKS0114RC 64 80 16m @ 1.79g/t NKS0116RC 36 62 26m @ 1.06 g/t NKS0116RC 68 76 8m @ 5.64g/t NKS0117RC 8 30 22m @ 3.92g/t NKS0119RC 38 62 24m @ 0.89g/t NKS0119RC 80 102 22m @ 0.74g/t NKS0120RC 24 40 16m @ 4.17 g/t NKS0121RD 28 42 14m @ 1.69g /t NKS0121RD 56 78.7 22.7m @ 1.48g/t NKS0121RD 148 171.2 23.2m @ 1.42g/t NKS0122RC 14 30 16m @ 1.22g/t NKS0123RC 9 12 3m @ 6.99g/t NKS0123RC 24 42 18m @ 1.96g/t NKS0123RC 48 60 12m @ 2.42g/t NKS0125RC 8 12 4m @ 4.8g/t NKS0125RC 40 68 28m @ 2.2g/t NKS0126RC 5 20 15m @ 1.04g/t NKS0126RC 24 34 10m @ 1.56g/t NKS0127RC 38 53 15m @ 3.88g/t NKS0130RD 60 64 4m @ 5.92g/t NKS0131RD 2 6 4m @ 1.52g/t NKS0131RD 12 52 40m @ 1.13g/t NKS0131RD 62 94 32m @ 1.23g/t NKS0131RD 116.2 123.9 7.7m @ 1.16g/t NKS0131RD 126.2 133 6.8m @ 1.33g/t NKS0131RD 209.7 213.8 4.1m @ 1.3g/t NKS0132RC 48 66 18m @ 0.9g/t NKS0133RD 10 36 26m @ 2.1g/t NKS0133RD 48 64 16m @ 1.27g/t NKS0133RD 80.2 113 32.8m @ 2.01g/t NKS0134RD 138 159.3 21.3m @ 3.39g/t NKS0135RC 1 78 77m @ 0.89g/t NKS0139RC 18 28 10m @ 1.5g/t NKS0139RC 34 52 18m @ 1.72g/t NKS0140RC 0 14 14m @ 1.47g/t NKS0140RC 18 52 34m @ 0.82 g/t NKS0140RC 58 72 14m @ 2.09g/t NKS0140RC 76 96 20m @ 1.25g/t NKS0141RC 24 44 20m @ 1.57g/t NKS0141RC 50 122 72m @ 1.12g/t NKS0142RC 36 46 10m @ 3.65g/t NKS0143RD 247 248.5 1.5m @ 14.65g/t NKS0144RC 22 50 28m @ 0. 92g/t NKS0144RC 56 102 46m @ 1.02g/t NKS0144RC 104 138 34m @ 0.94 g/t NKS0144RC 150 178 28m @ 1.02g/t NKS0145RD 34 50 16m @ 1.59g/t NKS0147RD 2 24 22m @1.4g/t NKS0147RD 143.56 145.5 1.94m @ 8.62g/t NKS0149RC 28 38 10m @ 4.31 g/t NKS0150RC 64 82 18m @ 1.58g/t NKS0151RD 115 133.5 18.5m @ 0.93 g/t NKS0153RC 33 40 7m @ 6.05 g/t NKS0153RC 44 58 14m @ 7.72g/t NKS0159RD 106.5 141.2 34.7m @ 1.35g NKS0159RD 145.7 157 11.3m @ 1.44g/t NKS0161RC 72 90 18m @ 0.94g/t NKS0164RC 16 22 6m @ 6.71g/t NKS0164RC 28 50 22m @ 1.48g/t NKS0165RD 114.50 147.00 32.5m @ 1.29g/t NKS0166RD 1 20 19m @ 1.17g/t NKS0166RD 130.50 132.50 2m @ 8.66g/t NKS0170RC 7 50 43m @ 2.55g/t NKS0170RC 56 95 39m @ 2.97 g/t NKS0171DD 76 78.05 2.05m @ 4.13g/t NKS0171DD 85 88 3m @ 4.13g/t NKS0173RD 54 77 23m @1.12g/t NKS0173RD 79.2 108.2 29m @ 2.62 g/t NKS0174RC 12 44 32m @ 2.95g/t NKS0175RD 131 136 5m @ 24.74g/t NKS0177RD 85 105 20m @ 1.2g/t NKS0178RD 2 16 14m @ 9.14g/t NKS0178RD 2 16 14m @ 9.14g/t NKS0178RD 20 50 30m @ 1.14g/t NKS0178RD 66 114 48m @ 1.06g/t NKS0180RD 163.5 177 13.5m @ 0.83g/t NKS0181RD 130.1 142 11.9m @ 1.28g/t NKS0182RD 6 26 20m @ 0.8g/t NKS0183RD 4 12 8m @ 1.24g/t NKS0183RD 22 30 8m @ 4.25g/t NKS0185RD 0 28 28m @ 1.17g/t NKS0185RD 123.00 125.00 2m @ 8.84g/t NKS0186RD 86 90 4m @ 4.68g/t NKS0186RD 119 146 27m @ 1.25g/t NKS0186RD 158 165 7m @ 3.42 g/t NKS0186RD 177 188.68 11.68m @ 21.07g/t NKS0189RD 98.90 103.50 4.60m @ 5.97g/t NKS0190RD 16 38 22m @ 0.81g/t NKS0191RC 56 74 18m @ 1.4g/t NKS0192RC 2 20 18m @ 1.32g/t NKS0194RD 40 46 6m @ 9.06g/t NKS0194RD 108 114.45 6.45m @ 2.8g/t NKS0194RD 133 139.4 6.4m @ 3.29g/t NKS0195RD 1 26 25m @ 1.54g/t NKS0196RD 66 78 12m @ 2.14g/t NKS0201RC 30 58 28m @ 0.83g/t NKS0202RC 76 86 10m @ 2.62 g/t NKS0206RC 4 30 26m @ 0.96g/t NKS0209RD 297 302.6 5.6m @ 1.14g/t NKS0210RD 143 145 2m @9.24g/t NKS0213RC 10 14 4m @ 3.83g/t NKS0213RC 18 36 18m @ 2.03g/t NKS0213RC 42 62 20m @ 1.49 g/t NKS0214RC 26 36 10m @ 7.49g/t NKS0215RC 16 54 38m @ 2.22g/t NKS0216RC 2 42 40m @1.35 g/t NKS0217RD 0 30 30m @ 1.62g/t NKS0217RD 36 54 18m @ 1.32g/t NKS0217RD 64 103.9 39.9m @ 1.09g/t NKS0218DD 24.3 62.5 38.2m @ 1.06g/t Table 2: Nkosuo drill holes and significant assays Hole ID East (mE) North (mN) Drill Type Azimuth () Dip () Depth (m) No of samples From (m) To (m) Width (m) Grade (g/t) NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 1 131.32 132 0.68 0.59 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 1 147.6 147.5 0.5 0.66 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 1 183 184 1 0.72 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 6 209 214.9 5.9 1.01 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 4 226 229.6 3.6 1.49 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 3 233.5 237 3.5 0.73 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 1 244.7 245.2 0.5 0.72 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 3 250.5 253 2.5 87.3 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 1 257 257.5 0.5 0.56 NKS0048RD 10835.13 19924.12 RD 119 -55 378.3 1 260 260.7 0.7 0.99 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 1 140.9 142 1.1 0.91 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 14 151 165 14 0.81 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 1 171 172 1 0.81 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 6 177.9 184 6.1 0.54 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 2 236 238 2 1.07 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 1 251 252 1 2.22 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 1 289 290 1 0.99 NKS0049RD 10957.08 19838.30 RD 119 -55 323 1 311 312 1 1.13 NKS0051RD 10998.13 19677.42 RD 119 -55 249.2 1 162.9 164 1.1 0.51 NKS0052RD 11073.80 19676.61 RD 119 -55 159.1 3 143 146 3 1.15 NKS0052RD 11073.80 19676.61 RD 119 -55 159.1 2 151.11 153 1.89 1.07 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 1 138 139.13 1.13 0.9 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 2 149 151 2 0.81 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 1 215.1 216.5 1.4 1.15 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 1 226 227.24 1.24 0.53 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 3 230.08 232.65 2.57 3.42 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 2 246.14 248.38 2.24 0.79 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 1 251.29 252 0.71 1.55 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 1 255 256.2 1.2 1.24 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 4 272.05 276.26 4.21 1.15 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 5 279 284 5 2.11 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 1 288 289.15 1.15 0.61 NKS0053RD 10954.67 19758.39 RD 119 -55 312 1 291.43 292.2 0.77 0.88 NKS0054RD 11036.39 19715.47 RD 119 -55 251.1 1 174.7 175.5 0.8 0.66 NKS0054RD 11036.39 19715.47 RD 119 -55 251.1 1 179.5 180.5 1 0.96 NKS0054RD 11036.39 19715.47 RD 119 -55 251.1 2 182.64 184.4 1.76 0.92 NKS0054RD 11036.39 19715.47 RD 119 -55 251.1 1 194 195.1 1.1 0.63 NKS0054RD 11036.39 19715.47 RD 119 -55 251.1 1 210.1 210.64 0.54 0.97 NKS0054RD 11036.39 19715.47 RD 119 -55 251.1 1 237.8 238.85 1.05 0.83 NKS0055RD 11032.26 19636.53 RD 119 -55 213 1 177 178 1 1.2 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 1 3.3 4.3 1 1.68 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 6 66.1 71.44 5.34 1.44 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 3 79 82 3 1.36 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 4 86.26 89.8 3.54 2.02 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 2 96.2 98.3 2.1 0.95 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 33 102.34 132.52 30.18 1.68 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 13 136.48 148.64 12.16 8.03 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 1 183.86 184.6 0.74 1.16 NKS0056DD 10852.81 20137.95 DD 119 -55 252.1 2 247.96 249.05 1.09 1.07 NKS0057RD 10957.68 19635.74 RD 119 -55 273.2 1 221.2 222.2 1 0.65 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 109 110 1 0.66 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 119 120 1 1.15 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 157 158 1 1.85 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 160 161 1 0.6 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 165.91 167 1.09 1.16 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 178.5 179.44 0.94 1.06 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 182 183 1 0.72 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 193.1 194.2 1.1 0.96 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 3 197.1 200.1 3 3.46 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 11 204.1 215 10.9 1.39 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 33 220 257.4 37.4 0.72 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 264 265.1 1.1 2.08 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 289 289.9 0.9 0.97 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 294 295.1 1.1 9.64 NKS0058RD 10955.28 19714.11 RD 119 -55 303.2 1 297 298.36 1.36 1.14 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 1 36.5 38 1.5 0.61 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 1 41 42.5 1.5 1.22 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 1 45 46 1 4.25 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 17 65.1 83 17.9 0.95 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 9 86 96 10 0.89 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 20 102 122 20 1.35 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 2 125 127 2 0.75 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 5 131 136 5 0.69 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 7 140 148.5 8.5 1.04 NKS0061RD 10893.36 20157.38 RD 119 -55 171.1 6 153 160 7 0.75 NKS0062RD 10857.38 20157.94 RD 119 -55 231.1 1 90 91 1 0.87 NKS0062RD 10857.38 20157.94 RD 119 -55 231.1 38 104.23 141 36.77 1.58 NKS0062RD 10857.38 20157.94 RD 119 -55 231.1 5 160 164.6 4.6 1.24 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 1 65.1 66.1 1 0.5 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 1 67 68 1 0.65 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 2 79 81 2 0.7 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 1 86 87 1 7.14 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 10 104 114 10 1.9 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 19 117 136 19 1.03 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 10 139 149.3 10.3 1.78 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 8 157 165 8 1.6 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 1 177 178.5 1.5 3.61 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 1 182 182.9 0.9 0.72 NKS0064RD 10874.77 20137.64 RD 119 -55 225.1 1 184.8 186 1.2 1.47 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 1 175 176 1 0.97 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 1 220 221.1 1.1 1.1 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 1 252 253 1 0.6 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 1 260 261 1 1.69 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 1 264.1 265.3 1.2 0.75 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 3 268 271.1 3.1 0.66 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 7 280 286.5 6.5 3.5 NKS0065RD 10957.63 19796.73 RD 119 -55 309 4 289 293 4 0.52 NKS0066RD 10995.92 19796.99 RD 119 -55 237.3 1 147 148 1 0.59 NKS0066RD 10995.92 19796.99 RD 119 -55 237.3 2 165 167 2 4.82 NKS0066RD 10995.92 19796.99 RD 119 -55 237.3 1 173.1 174 0.9 0.5 NKS0066RD 10995.92 19796.99 RD 119 -55 237.3 1 179 180 1 0.53 NKS0066RD 10995.92 19796.99 RD 119 -55 237.3 2 206.6 208.7 2.1 1.59 NKS0066RD 10995.92 19796.99 RD 119 -55 237.3 1 217 218 1 0.91 NKS0066RD 10995.92 19796.99 RD 119 -55 237.3 2 220 221.9 1.9 0.66 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 129.41 130.63 1.22 0.58 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 136.9 137.69 0.79 1.05 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 140.05 140.65 0.6 1.37 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 156.03 156.59 0.56 0.5 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 166 167 1 2.93 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 2 169.53 171 1.47 0.72 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 175.24 176 0.76 1.1 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 2 191 193 2 0.7 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 222.37 223 0.63 1.75 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 224.9 226.05 1.15 0.98 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 232.9 234.2 1.3 0.84 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 236.1 236.9 0.8 0.7 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 2 241 242.8 1.8 0.65 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 252 253 1 0.72 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 2 300 302.23 2.23 0.6 NKS0067RD 10954.10 19875.91 RD 119 -55 329.9 1 315.92 317 1.08 0.56 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 2 121 123 2 0.6 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 2 134 136 2 2.5 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 2 139 141 2 0.86 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 1 144 145 1 3.11 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 1 148 149 1 1.73 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 2 153.4 156 2.6 0.56 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 1 192.03 193 0.97 0.69 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 2 198.85 201 2.15 0.7 NKS0068RD 11037.15 19876.94 RD 119 -55 210.3 1 204.09 204.85 0.76 1.42 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 112 113 1 1.78 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 119 120 1 0.54 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 162 163 1 0.75 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 3 165 167.5 2.5 0.61 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 177.2 178 0.8 0.55 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 193.2 194 0.8 2.39 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 221.6 223 1.4 0.5 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 225.3 226.23 0.93 1.02 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 236 237 1 0.68 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 267.3 268 0.7 0.92 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 270 271 1 1.85 NKS0069RD 10918.09 19713.76 RD 119 -55 393.2 1 388.2 389.33 1.13 0.81 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 2 113.36 115.88 2.52 2.67 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 122.5 123.9 1.4 0.51 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 2 163 165 2 0.56 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 168.5 170 1.5 0.56 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 3 231.7 233.7 2 0.76 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 242.5 244 1.5 0.73 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 257 258 1 0.88 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 260 261 1 1.5 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 4 304.1 308 3.9 0.55 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 2 314.9 317 2.1 6.04 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 320 321 1 9.37 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 325 326 1 2.35 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 3 331 334 3 2.37 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 354.1 355 0.9 0.98 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 358 359.1 1.1 0.55 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 2 365 367 2 1.04 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 371 372.1 1.1 0.91 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 374 375 1 2.52 NKS0070RD 10880.29 19918.73 RD 119 -55 448 1 390 391 1 0.87 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 6 85.18 91.1 5.92 0.92 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 94.05 95.04 0.99 0.64 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 97.12 98.23 1.11 0.83 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 2 101.6 103.6 2 0.98 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 112.9 114 1.1 0.5 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 122 123.1 1.1 0.58 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 7 127.9 135 7.1 0.9 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 3 138 141 3 0.66 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 150.1 151.3 1.2 0.5 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 152.24 153 0.76 0.74 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 172 173 1 3.36 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 180.7 181.6 0.9 0.64 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 197.2 198 0.8 0.54 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 1 203.1 204.1 1 0.51 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 119 -55 363.5 3 209 212 3 1.41 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 216.7 217.5 0.8 1.19 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 252.5 253.5 1 0.68 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 3 256.2 258 1.8 2.31 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 274.5 275.2 0.7 0.87 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 307.2 308 0.8 2.85 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 312 313 1 2.96 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 322.82 324 1.18 2.6 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 327.8 328.7 0.9 8.34 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 334 334.8 0.8 0.54 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 336 337 1 1.36 NKS0071RD 10916.41 19880.39 RD 199 -55 363.5 1 345 346 1 0.73 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 199 -55 273.1 2 2 6 4 1.64 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 199 -55 273.1 2 12 16 4 0.8 NKS0072RD 11035.17 19914.27 RD 119 -55 231 2 116 118 2 1.24 NKS0072RD 11035.17 19914.27 RD 119 -55 231 36 123 160 37 1.73 NKS0072RD 11035.17 19914.27 RD 119 -55 231 1 162.1 163 0.9 0.58 NKS0072RD 11035.17 19914.27 RD 119 -55 231 1 169 170 1 0.65 NKS0072RD 11035.17 19914.27 RD 119 -55 231 1 197 198 1 2.45 NKS0072RD 11035.17 19914.27 RD 119 -55 231 1 217 218 1 1.15 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 5 149.2 154.2 5 1.36 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 2 165.3 167.4 2.1 1.19 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 3 170 173 3 0.55 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 2 182 184 2 0.66 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 187 188 1 1.53 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 197 198 1 1.89 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 203.5 205 1.5 3.05 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 221 222 1 0.79 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 260 261 1 1.58 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 264.1 265.1 1 0.81 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 329.1 330.2 1.1 1.14 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 343.9 344.6 0.7 1.96 NKS0073RD 10916.08 19799.00 RD 119 -55 427.2 1 384.7 385.7 1 2.08 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 133.8 134.68 0.88 0.56 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 8 170 177 7 1.17 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 2 184 186 2 0.68 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 193 194 1 2.31 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 226 227 1 0.91 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 257 258.1 1.1 0.54 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 268.5 269.4 0.9 7.63 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 2 283.2 284.8 1.6 1.43 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 7 293 300.5 7.5 2.4 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 303.2 303.9 0.7 0.95 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 310.9 312 1.1 2.22 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 332 333.3 1.3 0.96 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 339 340 1 0.63 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 343 344 1 0.63 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 364 364.7 0.7 1.57 NKS0074RD 10879.52 19797.03 RD 119 -55 474.3 1 402.8 403.3 0.5 0.65 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 1 206.9 207.46 0.56 3.66 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 5 226.1 231 4.9 1.02 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 2 234 235.5 1.5 0.77 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 1 240 241 1 1.74 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 6 301.9 307.4 5.5 0.61 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 1 309.1 310 0.9 0.68 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 17 320 335 15 0.99 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 1 354 355 1 0.61 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 1 448 448.7 0.7 3.17 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 1 454.5 456 1.5 4.23 NKS0075RD 10837.12 19879.27 RD 119 -55 495.2 1 466.58 467.1 0.52 1.75 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 199 -55 273.1 2 2 6 4 1.64 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 199 -55 273.1 2 12 16 4 0.8 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 119 -55 273.1 1 229.3 229.8 0.5 0.77 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 119 -55 273.1 1 234.7 235.24 0.54 0.81 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 119 -55 273.1 1 252 252.6 0.6 0.51 NKS0076RD 10998.52 19714.18 RD 119 -55 273.1 1 268.5 269.2 0.7 0.98 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 1 121 122 1 0.51 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 6 124 130 6 1.39 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 1 133 134.1 1.1 1 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 13 136 149 13 0.98 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 19 159 178.15 19.15 0.89 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 1 179 180 1 0.53 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 1 182 183.1 1.1 0.68 NKS0077RD 11030.35 19793.66 RD 119 -55 219.1 1 198.48 199 0.52 1.85 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 2 0 1.7 1.7 0.62 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 2.7 3.7 1 0.51 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 11.2 11.7 0.5 0.58 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 4 14.7 17.7 3 0.95 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 12 24.2 33.2 9 1.16 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 35.2 36.2 1 0.62 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 38.6 39.95 1.35 0.9 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 42.2 43.2 1 0.5 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 3 45.45 49.2 3.75 1.33 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 6 53.7 59.05 5.35 1.77 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 4 67 71.3 4.3 5.63 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 7 74 81 7 1.26 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 3 86.9 90 3.1 3.97 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 2 94 96 2 3.57 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 98 99 1 0.93 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 5 103.4 108 4.6 1.71 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 8 109.5 117 7.5 1.29 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 13 118 129 11 0.94 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 28 133.6 160.9 27.3 2.3 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 170 171 1 7.2 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 185.9 187.1 1.2 3.33 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 194 195 1 0.7 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 1 197.2 198.1 0.9 0.56 NKS0078DD 11079.72 19955.86 DD 199 -55 212.9 6 202 208 6 1.55 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 1 0 1.2 1.2 0.57 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 6 11.3 16.6 5.3 0.88 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 1 24.1 24.39 0.29 1.97 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 1 27.1 27.6 0.5 0.62 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 2 36.6 37.91 1.31 0.96 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 4 50.28 54.9 4.62 1.3 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 47 58 106 48 0.91 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 1 109.12 110.1 0.98 0.64 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 15 113 128.33 15.33 1.45 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 3 133.1 137 3.9 0.66 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 8 142.13 151.5 9.37 2.93 NKS0079DD 11035.17 19911.51 DD 119 -55 168.3 1 154 155 1 0.84 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 1 1.4 2.4 1 4.86 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 1 7.4 8.4 1 0.65 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 2 11.4 13.1 1.7 0.53 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 1 31 32 1 0.65 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 1 36 37 1 1.36 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 3 41.5 45 3.5 0.68 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 9 49.5 59.1 9.6 0.94 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 6 62.5 68.6 6.1 0.83 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 6 73.1 79.1 6 0.89 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 13 94 108 14 1.19 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 11 115 125.8 10.8 0.61 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 1 140.1 141.1 1 0.57 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 2 150.2 151.5 1.3 0.93 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 1 156 157 1 0.75 NKS0080DD 11052.60 19893.50 DD 119 -55 186.4 1 175.77 176.7 0.93 1 NKS0084RD 11054.32 19797.45 RD 119 -55 153.4 1 118 119.5 1.5 1.01 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 123 124.5 1.5 0.52 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 128 129 1 0.96 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 163 164 1 0.63 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 216 217 1 0.8 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 241.5 242.5 1 0.74 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 246 247 1 0.58 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 4 254 258 4 0.76 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 267 268 1 0.64 NKS0085RD 10973.22 19797.97 RD 119 -55 288.2 1 280.2 280.7 0.5 1.35 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 10 109 118 9 1.67 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 1 126 126.5 0.5 0.64 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 1 127.7 128.35 0.65 0.67 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 13 132 143.15 11.15 0.77 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 9 146.1 155 8.9 0.74 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 1 170 171 1 0.97 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 1 176.95 178 1.05 1.11 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 1 198.5 199 0.5 0.73 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 1 204.88 205.41 0.53 1.98 NKS0086RD 11078.04 19938.14 RD 119 -55 216.6 6 209.84 214 4.16 1.53 NKS0087RD 11036.71 19894.57 RD 119 -55 216.3 7 124 131 7 0.91 NKS0087RD 11036.71 19894.57 RD 119 -55 216.3 25 135 159.52 24.52 1.37 NKS0087RD 11036.71 19894.57 RD 119 -55 216.3 1 163.4 164.4 1 0.78 NKS0087RD 11036.71 19894.57 RD 119 -55 216.3 1 178.9 179.9 1 0.52 NKS0087RD 11036.71 19894.57 RD 119 -55 216.3 1 189.6 190.67 1.07 0.51 NKS0087RD 11036.71 19894.57 RD 119 -55 216.3 1 198.5 199.46 0.96 1.38 NKS0088RD 11097.11 20000.10 RD 119 -55 127.1 2 77 79 2 1.25 NKS0088RD 11097.11 20000.10 RD 119 -55 127.1 38 86 125.18 39.18 2.11 NKS0090RC 11035.57 20017.78 RC 119 -55 36 1 8 10 2 1.58 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 151 152 1 0.75 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 153 154 1 0.53 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 166.3 167.7 1.4 0.5 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 174 175 1 0.57 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 205.64 207.5 1.86 1.71 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 2 220.1 222 1.9 1.23 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 227.1 228 0.9 1.11 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 231 232 1 0.9 NKS0091RD 11013.63 19995.30 RD 119 -55 282.3 1 239 240 1 0.75 NKS0092RD 10933.02 20077.71 RD 119 -55 131.6 NSI NKS0094RC 10956.07 20057.91 RC 119 -55 82 3 6 12 6 0.93 NKS0094RC 10956.07 20057.91 RC 119 -55 82 8 22 38 16 0.79 NKS0094RC 10956.07 20057.91 RC 119 -55 82 1 50 52 2 1.09 NKS0094RC 10956.07 20057.91 RC 119 -55 82 8 64 78 14 2.89 NKS0095RD 10874.54 20075.53 RD 119 -55 213.1 1 61 62 1 2.67 NKS0095RD 10874.54 20075.53 RD 119 -55 213.1 4 66 70 4 3.24 NKS0095RD 10874.54 20075.53 RD 119 -55 213.1 1 132 133 1 0.73 NKS0095RD 10874.54 20075.53 RD 119 -55 213.1 1 150.9 152 1.1 1.38 NKS0095RD 10874.54 20075.53 RD 119 -55 213.1 1 170 171 1 0.68 NKS0095RD 10874.54 20075.53 RD 119 -55 213.1 1 179 180 1 1.9 NKS0095RD 10874.54 20075.53 RD 119 -55 213.1 1 184 185 1 0.65 NKS0096RC 11018.46 20037.94 RC 119 -55 42 8 1 16 15 1.36 NKS0098DD 10937.99 20117.93 DD 119 -55 123.6 2 19.4 22.4 3 4.37 NKS0098DD 10937.99 20117.93 DD 119 -55 123.6 1 26.73 28.4 1.67 0.55 NKS0098DD 10937.99 20117.93 DD 119 -55 123.6 1 35.1 36.2 1.1 0.91 NKS0098DD 10937.99 20117.93 DD 119 -55 123.6 3 43.4 47 3.6 0.73 NKS0098DD 10937.99 20117.93 DD 119 -55 123.6 1 52 53 1 0.75 NKS0098DD 10937.99 20117.93 DD 119 -55 123.6 24 61 84 23 1.21 NKS0098DD 10937.99 20117.93 DD 119 -55 123.6 33 87 118 31 1.42 NKS0099RC 10993.97 20116.79 RC 119 -55 56 9 28 46 18 3.23 NKS0100RC 10954.77 20197.87 RC 119 -55 24 5 15 24 9 13.93 NKS0101RC 11074.49 19717.74 RC 119 -55 133 1 14 16 2 0.52 NKS0101RC 11074.49 19717.74 RC 119 -55 133 1 20 22 2 2.38 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 48 50 2 2.28 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 124 126 2 1.17 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 134 135 1 0.57 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 136.1 137 0.9 0.61 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 150 151 1 0.53 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 154.9 156 1.1 0.56 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 191 192 1 2.05 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 209 210 1 0.84 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 253 254.1 1.1 1.55 NKS0102RD 10973.58 19837.31 RD 119 -55 294.2 1 291.35 292.1 0.75 1.02 NKS0103RC 11112.95 19915.23 RC 119 -55 97 14 0 28 28 0.95 NKS0103RC 11112.95 19915.23 RC 119 -55 97 4 32 40 8 0.71 NKS0103RC 11112.95 19915.23 RC 119 -55 97 8 44 60 16 1.66 NKS0103RC 11112.95 19915.23 RC 119 -55 97 6 64 76 12 1.46 NKS0103RC 11112.95 19915.23 RC 119 -55 97 3 80 86 6 0.78 NKS0103RC 11112.95 19915.23 RC 119 -55 97 2 90 93 3 0.81 NKS0104RD 11052.99 19916.20 RD 119 -55 192.2 2 148.3 150 1.7 0.89 NKS0104RD 11052.99 19916.20 RD 119 -55 192.2 2 153 155 2 0.57 NKS0104RD 11052.99 19916.20 RD 119 -55 192.2 1 164 165.1 1.1 0.5 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 1 123 124 1 3.47 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 1 126 127 1 0.55 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 1 140 141 1 0.53 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 1 143 144 1 1.6 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 1 150 151 1 0.54 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 1 155 157 2 0.78 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 5 160 165.05 5.05 1.48 NKS0105RD 11052.07 19755.88 RD 119 -55 183.1 6 169 176.66 7.66 1.18 NKS0106RD 10974.63 19760.15 RD 119 -55 275.8 1 58 60 2 1.07 NKS0106RD 10974.63 19760.15 RD 119 -55 275.8 1 98 100 2 0.56 NKS0106RD 10974.63 19760.15 RD 119 -55 275.8 1 102 104 2 0.78 NKS0106RD 10974.63 19760.15 RD 119 -55 275.8 11 243.4 256 12.6 0.75 NKS0106RD 10974.63 19760.15 RD 119 -55 275.8 5 260.1 265.2 5.1 0.87 NKS0107RC 10958.68 20076.98 RC 208 -50 130 1 1 2 1 1.52 NKS0107RC 10958.68 20076.98 RC 208 -50 130 3 20 26 6 1.36 NKS0107RC 10958.68 20076.98 RC 208 -50 130 4 30 38 8 1.11 NKS0107RC 10958.68 20076.98 RC 208 -50 130 1 44 46 2 0.67 NKS0107RC 10958.68 20076.98 RC 208 -50 130 2 70 74 4 0.86 NKS0107RC 10958.68 20076.98 RC 208 -50 130 1 90 92 2 0.9 NKS0107RC 10958.68 20076.98 RC 208 -50 130 1 96 98 2 5.92 NKS0108RC 11038.88 20034.40 RC 208 -50 80 13 26 52 26 1.1 NKS0108RC 11038.88 20034.40 RC 208 -50 80 2 74 78 4 0.95 NKS0109RC 10998.75 20161.97 RC 28.5 -50 40 3 11 16 5 0.62 NKS0110RC 10958.67 20179.41 RC 28.5 -50 80 6 21 34 13 3.97 NKS0111RC 10838.22 20078.98 RC 208 -50 130 NSI NKS0112RC 11038.83 20085.41 RC 208 -50 125 1 116 118 2 1.08 NKS0113RC 10918.56 20179.69 RC 28.5 -50 80 NSI NKS0114RC 11157.48 20036.38 RC 208 -50 80 1 36 38 2 0.98 NKS0114RC 11157.48 20036.38 RC 208 -50 80 8 42 58 16 0.77 NKS0114RC 11157.48 20036.38 RC 208 -50 80 8 64 80 16 1.79 NKS0115RC 11158.99 20078.32 RC 208 -50 75 1 74 75 1 2.64 NKS0116RC 11119.03 20036.06 RC 208 -50 80 1 16 18 2 1.28 NKS0116RC 11119.03 20036.06 RC 208 -50 80 5 22 32 10 0.92 NKS0116RC 11119.03 20036.06 RC 208 -50 80 14 36 62 26 1.06 NKS0116RC 11119.03 20036.06 RC 208 -50 80 4 68 76 8 5.64 NKS0117RC 10898.72 20130.51 RC 28.5 -50 100 11 8 30 22 3.92 NKS0117RC 10898.72 20130.51 RC 28.5 -50 100 1 64 65 1 1.33 NKS0118RC 11078.88 20075.19 RC 208 -50 120 4 66 74 8 1.07 NKS0118RC 11078.88 20075.19 RC 208 -50 120 7 78 92 14 1 NKS0118RC 11078.88 20075.19 RC 208 -50 120 2 112 116 4 1.64 NKS0119RC 11114.80 20075.32 RC 208 -50 120 1 14 16 2 0.81 NKS0119RC 11114.80 20075.32 RC 208 -50 120 12 38 62 24 0.89 NKS0119RC 11114.80 20075.32 RC 208 -50 120 2 66 70 4 1.3 NKS0119RC 11114.80 20075.32 RC 208 -50 120 11 80 102 22 0.74 NKS0120RC 10918.25 20158.78 RC 28 -50 110 4 24 40 16 4.17 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 1 6 8 2 0.59 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 1 12 14 2 6.99 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 7 28 42 14 1.69 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 24 56 78.7 22.7 1.48 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 2 87.5 89.2 1.7 6.35 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 1 93.8 95 1.2 1.65 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 12 101 110.3 9.3 1.32 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 1 113 114 1 0.64 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 1 126 127 1 0.97 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 8 128.5 136.2 7.7 1.23 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 7 139 145 6 0.93 NKS0121RD 10892.72 20076.69 RD 119 -55 174.2 29 148 171.2 23.2 1.42 NKS0122RC 10898.77 20157.41 RC 29 -50 60 1 10 12 2 1.26 NKS0122RC 10898.77 20157.41 RC 29 -50 60 4 14 30 16 1.22 NKS0123RC 10956.18 20156.95 RC 119 -55 78 2 9 12 3 6.99 NKS0123RC 10956.18 20156.95 RC 119 -55 78 9 24 42 18 1.96 NKS0123RC 10956.18 20156.95 RC 119 -55 78 6 48 60 12 2.42 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 1 4 6 2 0.53 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 3 18 24 6 1.96 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 2 64 68 4 1.65 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 2 99 101.1 2.1 5.55 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 1 142 143 1 1.45 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 1 161 162.5 1.5 0.61 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 2 170 172 2 1.45 NKS0124RD 10854.04 20074.96 RD 119 -55 242.4 1 235.86 237.3 1.44 0.54 NKS0125RC 10998.96 20097.51 RC 28.5 -50 120 2 8 12 4 4.8 NKS0125RC 10998.96 20097.51 RC 28.5 -50 120 1 18 20 2 0.7 NKS0125RC 10998.96 20097.51 RC 28.5 -50 120 14 40 68 28 2.2 NKS0125RC 10998.96 20097.51 RC 28.5 -50 120 1 74 76 2 1.29 NKS0125RC 10998.96 20097.51 RC 28.5 -50 120 2 84 88 4 0.89 NKS0126RC 11079.09 20031.40 RC 208 -50 60 8 5 20 15 1.04 NKS0126RC 11079.09 20031.40 RC 208 -50 60 5 24 34 10 1.56 NKS0126RC 11079.09 20031.40 RC 208 -50 60 2 40 44 4 0.83 NKS0126RC 11079.09 20031.40 RC 208 -50 60 1 52 54 2 1.32 NKS0127RC 10978.68 20076.27 RC 119 -55 60 1 24 26 2 2.52 NKS0127RC 10978.68 20076.27 RC 119 -55 60 1 32 34 2 0.8 NKS0127RC 10978.68 20076.27 RC 119 -55 60 8 38 53 15 3.88 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 60 62 2 0.83 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 66 68 2 2.43 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 2 126 128.5 2.5 0.77 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 138 139 1 0.88 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 140.5 142 1.5 0.54 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 2 151 153 2 1.235 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 155 156 1 0.73 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 3 163 166 3 0.61 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 167 167.7 0.7 0.52 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 2 170.5 173 2.5 0.94 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 2 188.2 189.6 1.4 1.2 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 222 223 1 1.19 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 272 273.1 1.1 0.76 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 277 278 1 0.59 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 288 289 1 3.03 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 302 303 1 0.63 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 322 323 1 0.58 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 2 327.9 330.1 2.2 1.25 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 334 335 1 1.42 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 336 337 1 0.54 NKS0128RD 10933.98 19837.56 RD 119 -55 354.1 1 338 339 1 0.59 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 4 5 1 1.5 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 62 64 2 0.5 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 82 84 2 1.2 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 4 112 120 8 0.7 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 133.5 134.6 1.1 1.24 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 2 145.9 148 2.1 0.55 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 5 155.6 160.6 5 0.72 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 229 230 1 6.61 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 10 234.4 243.85 9.45 0.8 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 4 246.95 251.2 4.25 0.67 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 255 256.1 1.1 0.54 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 261.2 262.4 1.2 0.56 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 4 266.1 270 3.9 0.76 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 5 273 277.61 4.61 1.01 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 3 280.45 283.12 2.67 0.91 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 292.2 293.1 0.9 2.69 NKS0129RD 10934.68 19759.00 RD 119 -55 300.2 1 296.1 297.02 0.92 0.55 NKS0130RD 11014.50 19756.77 RD 119 -55 219.2 1 24 26 2 0.53 NKS0130RD 11014.50 19756.77 RD 119 -55 219.2 5 44 54 10 1.14 NKS0130RD 11014.50 19756.77 RD 119 -55 219.2 2 60 64 4 5.92 NKS0130RD 11014.50 19756.77 RD 119 -55 219.2 1 110 112 2 2.17 NKS0130RD 11014.50 19756.77 RD 119 -55 219.2 5 191 195.54 4.54 1.42 NKS0130RD 11014.50 19756.77 RD 119 -55 219.2 1 211.4 212.7 1.3 0.82 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 2 2 6 4 1.52 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 20 12 52 40 1.13 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 1 56 58 2 0.81 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 26 62 94 32 1.23 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 5 99 104 5 0.91 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 4 111 114.55 3.55 0.71 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 8 116.2 123.9 7.7 1.16 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 7 126.2 133 6.8 1.33 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 1 145 146 1 4.45 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 1 174 174.9 0.9 1.9 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 1 185 186.05 1.05 0.82 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 1 192.95 194 1.05 0.75 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 1 203.45 204.5 1.05 1.04 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 1 207 208 1 3.19 NKS0131RD 11055.06 19955.94 RD 119 -55 240.4 5 209.7 213.8 4.1 1.3 NKS0132RC 10918.43 20083.23 RC 208 -50 130 4 6 14 8 0.73 NKS0132RC 10918.43 20083.23 RC 208 -50 130 1 40 42 2 0.87 NKS0132RC 10918.43 20083.23 RC 208 -50 130 9 48 66 18 0.9 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 13 10 36 26 2.1 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 1 42 44 2 1.03 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 8 48 64 16 1.27 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 3 74 77.5 3.5 0.79 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 33 80.2 113 32.8 2.01 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 3 116.5 119 2.5 0.65 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 1 133 134 1 0.53 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 1 144 144.5 0.5 9.1 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 5 149 153.9 4.9 0.7 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 1 156.7 157.8 1.1 0.5 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 3 161.9 164.5 2.6 4.32 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 1 168.05 169.1 1.05 0.68 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 1 174.1 174.9 0.8 0.69 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 1 179 180 1 0.64 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 2 184 186 2 1.09 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 2 196 197.5 1.5 2.25 NKS0133RD 11051.50 19999.56 RD 119 -55 216.5 2 201.91 204.12 2.21 0.71 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 80 82 2 0.69 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 88 90 2 1.84 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 3 100 106 6 1.58 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 2 112 116 4 1.45 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 2 122 126 4 1.29 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 8 127 135 8 1.12 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 22 138 159.3 21.3 3.39 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 2 164.7 167 2.3 0.64 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 7 172.1 179 6.9 1.09 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 182 183 1 0.57 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 275.63 276.4 0.77 0.66 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 296.1 297 0.9 0.58 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 300.7 301.2 0.5 1.27 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 306 307 1 1.1 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 321 322 1 0.6 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 327.1 328 0.9 1.44 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 335 336 1 1.96 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 11 338 349.1 11.1 0.9 NKS0134RD 10934.75 19918.73 RD 119 -55 375.1 1 369.1 370.13 1.03 0.5 NKS0135RC 11093.75 19837.59 RC 119 -55 90 39 1 78 77 0.89 NKS0136RD 10842.00 19837.11 RD 119 -55 501.4 1 32 36 4 1.35 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 199 -55 501.4 3 194.85 197.7 2.85 4.26 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 199 -55 501.4 1 208 209 1 1.23 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 199 -55 501.4 1 235 236 1 0.53 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 119 -55 501.4 1 289.5 290.4 0.9 1.12 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 119 -55 501.4 1 306 307.1 1.1 2.13 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 119 -55 501.4 3 306 309.05 3.05 1.26 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 119 -55 501.4 2 314.2 315.6 1.4 1.94 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 119 -55 501.4 1 322.4 323 0.6 0.72 NKS0136RD 10842.09 19837.11 RD 199 -55 501.4 1 470 471 1 0.68 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 42 44 2 0.54 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 3 64 70 6 0.73 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 2 86 90 4 0.88 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 143 144 1 0.81 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 153.25 154.2 0.95 2 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 184.9 186 1.1 0.59 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 190.15 191 0.85 1.26 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 203 204 1 1.36 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 215.2 216 0.8 0.52 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 223.05 224 0.95 0.5 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 2 228.6 231 2.4 1.33 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 234 235 1 0.96 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 251 252 1 1.75 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 2 269 271.4 2.4 1.07 NKS0137RD 10914.60 19598.01 RD 119 -55 342.1 1 290.5 291.6 1.1 1.09 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 112 116 4 1.54 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 10 124.5 135.16 10.66 1.24 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 142 143 1 2.03 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 149 150 1 2.77 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 2 153 155 2 0.76 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 2 158 160 2 0.96 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 164 165 1 7.51 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 172 173 1 0.59 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 203.5 205 1.5 2.89 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 228.5 230 1.5 0.56 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 238 239 1 0.87 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 3 253 256 3 0.7 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 260 261 1 0.83 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 312 313 1 0.65 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 321 322 1 1.32 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 349 350.1 1.1 3.59 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 359.1 360 0.9 0.96 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 362 363.5 1.5 0.63 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 375 376 1 0.67 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 379 380 1 0.72 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 388.5 392.1 3.6 0.66 NKS0138RD 10893.47 19918.30 RD 119 -55 405.4 1 395.9 397.4 1.5 1.25 NKS0139RC 11096.34 19757.16 RC 119 -55 96 1 0 2 2 0.89 NKS0139RC 11096.34 19757.16 RC 119 -55 96 1 6 8 2 0.61 NKS0139RC 11096.34 19757.16 RC 119 -55 96 1 10 12 2 0.5 NKS0139RC 11096.34 19757.16 RC 119 -55 96 5 18 28 10 1.5 NKS0139RC 11096.34 19757.16 RC 119 -55 96 9 34 52 18 1.72 NKS0140RC 11053.36 19834.25 RC 119 -55 134 7 0 14 14 1.47 NKS0140RC 11053.36 19834.25 RC 119 -55 134 17 18 52 34 0.84 NKS0140RC 11053.36 19834.25 RC 119 -55 134 7 58 72 14 2.09 NKS0140RC 11053.36 19834.25 RC 119 -55 134 10 76 96 20 1.25 NKS0140RC 11053.36 19834.25 RC 119 -55 134 1 112 114 2 1.04 NKS0140RD 11058.26 19835.26 RD 119 -55 158.7 1 132 133 1 4.06 NKS0140RD 11058.26 19835.26 RD 119 -55 158.7 1 137 138 1 0.52 NKS0141RC 11093.53 19915.84 RC 119 -55 132 4 0 8 8 1.12 NKS0141RC 11093.53 19915.84 RC 119 -55 132 3 14 20 6 1.41 NKS0141RC 11093.53 19915.84 RC 119 -55 132 10 24 44 20 1.57 NKS0141RC 11093.53 19915.84 RC 119 -55 132 38 50 122 72 1.12 NKS0142RC 11133.39 19916.70 RC 119 -55 54 1 16 18 2 0.58 NKS0142RC 11133.39 19916.70 RC 119 -55 54 1 20 22 2 0.5 NKS0142RC 11133.39 19916.70 RC 119 -55 54 5 36 46 10 3.65 NKS0143RC 10895.53 19838.45 RC 119 -55 414.4 1 96 98 2 0.6 NKS0143RC 10895.53 19838.45 RC 119 -55 414.4 1 108 110 2 0.98 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 2 125 128 3 1.37 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 130.25 131.25 1 2.15 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 181.5 183 1.5 0.6 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 2 190 192 2 5.69 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 206 207 1 0.64 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 247 248.5 1.5 14.65 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 4 275.9 280 4.1 2 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 2 285 287 2 0.84 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 294 295.5 1.5 0.56 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 3 298 301.5 3.5 0.64 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 309 310 1 1.22 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 312.9 314.3 1.4 0.58 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 315.5 316.5 1 0.54 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 324.8 325.9 1.1 2.58 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 342 343.1 1.1 0.79 NKS0143RD 10895.53 19838.45 RD 119 -55 414.4 1 368 371 3 1.57 NKS0144RC 11092.08 19955.79 RC 119 -55 178 4 1 8 7 0.71 NKS0144RC 11092.08 19955.79 RC 119 -55 178 14 22 50 28 0.92 NKS0144RC 11092.08 19955.79 RC 119 -55 178 23 56 102 46 1.05 NKS0144RC 11092.08 19955.79 RC 119 -55 178 17 104 138 34 0.94 NKS0144RC 11092.08 19955.79 RC 119 -55 178 1 142 144 2 0.55 NKS0144RC 11092.08 19955.79 RC 119 -55 178 1 150 178 28 1.02 NKS0145RD 10975.28 20117.71 RD 119 -55 130 1 10 12 2 0.67 NKS0145RD 10975.28 20117.71 RD 119 -55 130 3 16 22 6 0.77 NKS0145RD 10975.28 20117.71 RD 119 -55 130 1 28 30 2 2.4 NKS0145RD 10975.28 20117.71 RD 119 -55 130 8 34 50 16 1.59 NKS0145RD 10975.28 20117.71 RD 119 -55 130 1 54 56 2 1.62 NKS0146RD 10806.21 20117.48 RD 119 -55 165.2 NSI NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 11 2 24 22 1.4 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 1 32 34 2 1.38 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 3 38 44 6 0.81 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 1 56 58 2 0.73 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 6 83.6 88 4.4 0.98 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 1 90.9 91.4 0.5 17.76 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 1 99 99.7 0.7 2.21 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 2 139.5 140.75 1.25 0.82 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 1 141.35 142 0.65 0.53 NKS0147RD 10999.36 20000.19 RD 119 -55 150 3 143.56 145.5 1.94 8.62 NKS0149RC 10947.00 20056.20 RC 254 -45 50 4 10 18 8 0.81 NKS0149RC 10947.00 20056.20 RC 254 -45 50 5 28 38 10 4.31 NKS0150RC 10910.65 20078.48 RC 119 -55 90 1 18 20 2 0.55 NKS0150RC 10910.65 20078.48 RC 119 -55 90 6 48 60 12 0.95 NKS0150RC 10910.65 20078.48 RC 119 -55 90 9 64 82 18 1.58 NKS0151RD 10804.49 20159.27 RD 119 -55 165.2 17 115 133.5 18.5 0.93 NKS0151RD 10804.49 20159.27 RD 119 -55 165.2 5 145.5 150 4.5 0.67 NKS0152RD 10787.11 20118.58 RD 119 -55 165.5 1 131.5 132.5 1 0.63 NKS0152RD 10787.11 20118.58 RD 119 -55 165.5 3 133.5 137.5 4 3.07 NKS0153RC 10912.58 20197.44 RC 119 -55 80 3 33 40 7 6.05 NKS0153RC 10912.58 20197.44 RC 119 -55 80 5 44 58 14 7.72 NKS0154RC* 11022.34 20000.03 RC 229 -55 100 5 10 20 10 1.09 NKS0154RC 11022.34 20000.03 RC 229 -55 100 1 32 34 2 0.66 NKS0154RC 11022.34 20000.03 RC 229 -55 100 1 44 46 2 0.6 NKS0154RC 11022.34 20000.03 RC 229 -55 100 3 52 58 6 0.85 NKS0155RC 11109.66 19678.99 RC 119 -55 63 1 14 16 2 1.78 NKS0155RC 11109.66 19678.99 RC 119 -55 63 2 24 28 4 0.67 NKS0155RC 11109.66 19678.99 RC 119 -55 63 1 44 46 2 1.34 NKS0156RC 11156.94 19680.13 RC 119 -55 55 1 2 4 2 2 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 114 116 2 0.59 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 172 173 1 3.73 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 178.3 179 0.7 0.77 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 200.2 201.2 1 1.02 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 208.75 210 1.25 0.96 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 212 213 1 0.68 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 277 278 1 0.96 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 3 303 306 3 0.62 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 312 312.9 0.9 0.51 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 327.4 328.4 1 0.66 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 334 335 1 0.5 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 348.2 349 0.8 2.99 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 2 366 368 2 4.19 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 371.7 373.2 1.5 0.52 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 374.1 375.3 1.2 0.59 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 377.2 378.2 1 0.67 NKS0157RD 10873.10 19877.83 RD 119 -55 429.4 1 399 400 1 1.28 NKS0158RC 11132.45 19679.92 RC 119 -55 60 1 2 4 2 0.78 NKS0158RC 11132.45 19679.92 RC 119 -55 60 2 12 16 4 0.93 NKS0158RC 11132.45 19679.92 RC 119 -55 60 1 22 24 2 0.58 NKS0158RC 11132.45 19679.92 RC 119 -55 60 2 28 32 4 0.77 NKS0158RC 11132.45 19679.92 RC 119 -55 60 6 36 48 12 0.83 NKS0159RD 10820.51 20158.62 RD 119 -55 170.2 1 97.7 99.2 1.5 0.72 NKS0159RD 10820.51 20158.62 RD 119 -55 170.2 27 106.5 141.2 34.7 1.35 NKS0159RD 10820.51 20158.62 RD 119 -55 170.2 10 145.7 157 11.3 1.44 NKS0160RC 11092.03 19678.33 RC 119 -55 65 NSI NKS0161RC 11054.18 19717.55 RC 119 -55 90 1 66 68 2 0.85 NKS0161RC 11054.18 19717.55 RC 119 -55 90 9 72 90 18 0.94 NKS0162RC 11088.92 19718.49 RC 119 -55 100 NSI NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 1 66 68 2 0.89 NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 1 74 75 1 0.61 NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 1 80 81 1 2.6 NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 1 110.5 112 1.5 2.84 NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 1 117 118 1 0.64 NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 1 121 122 1 0.96 NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 1 133 134 1 1.26 NKS0163RD 10933.59 19798.93 RD 119 -55 140 3 137 140 3 1.41 NKS0164RC 11095.14 19797.81 RC 119 -55 50 5 0 10 10 0.62 NKS0164RC 11095.14 19797.81 RC 119 -55 50 2 16 22 6 6.71 NKS0164RC 11095.14 19797.81 RC 119 -55 50 11 28 50 22 1.48 NKS0165RD 10891.87 20118.22 RD 119 -55 180.1 1 4 6 2 2.87 NKS0165RD 10891.87 20118.22 RD 119 -55 180.1 1 20 22 2 2.14 NKS0165RD 10891.87 20118.22 RD 119 -55 180.1 4 26 34 8 1.03 NKS0165RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 1 55 56 1 1 NKS0165RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 1 74 75 1 3.42 NKS0165RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 1 83.5 84.1 0.6 1.63 NKS0165RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 2 88 90.5 2.5 1.38 NKS0165RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 1 105 106 1 1.03 NKS0165RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 32 114.5 147 32.5 1.29 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 10 1 20 19 1.17 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 1 30 32 2 1.65 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 1 36 38 2 0.51 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 3 82 85 3 0.9 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 1 96.95 97.9 0.95 1.13 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 1 126.5 127.5 1 1.74 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 2 130.5 132.5 2 8.66 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 1 134.5 135.5 1 1.34 NKS0166RD 10994.85 19997.73 RD 119 -70 160.9 1 151.6 152.5 0.9 0.8 NKS0167RC 10959.14 20197.46 RC 119 -55 54 2 8 16 8 1.54 NKS0167RC 10959.14 20197.46 RC 119 -55 54 1 18 22 4 1.24 NKS0169RC 10912.40 20197.46 RC 119 -55 50 1 20 24 4 1.47 NKS0169RC 10912.40 20197.46 RC 119 -55 50 1 37 39 2 0.87 NKS0170RC 10936.28 20157.35 RC 119 -55 95 22 7 50 43 2.55 NKS0170RC 10936.28 20157.35 RC 119 -55 95 20 56 95 39 2.97 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 44 45 1 0.95 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 47 47.8 0.8 0.5 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 53 54 1 0.53 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 55 56 1 0.54 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 2 76 78.05 2.05 4.13 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 81 82 1 0.68 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 3 85 88 3 4.13 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 97 98 1 0.51 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 99.1 100 0.9 0.71 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 103 104 1 1.42 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 7 109 116 7 0.54 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 5 118.1 123 4.9 1.02 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 5 126.3 130.9 4.6 1.07 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 140 141.15 1.15 1.67 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 145.3 146.2 0.9 0.5 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 168 169 1 0.98 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 1 201.9 202.9 1 0.54 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 2 207.2 208.7 1.5 0.97 NKS0171DD 11013.20 19797.35 DD 119 -55 216.4 2 210.6 212.77 2.17 0.64 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 45.1 45.6 0.5 6.76 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 4 61.5 65.1 3.6 1.15 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 3 70.8 73.7 2.9 1.54 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 76.5 77.5 1 0.66 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 89.8 90.8 1 0.74 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 91.8 92.8 1 1.13 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 2 94.8 97 2.2 0.93 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 98 99 1 5.31 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 2 102 103.6 1.6 0.67 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 4 106.6 110.2 3.6 0.76 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 2 114.2 116.5 2.3 1.11 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 119 120.5 1.5 0.58 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 2 127 129 2 1.99 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 3 131.9 134.5 2.6 0.5 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 136.5 137 0.5 4.57 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 4 158.35 162.4 4.05 0.75 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 165 165.9 0.9 1.86 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 2 178 180 2 1 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 204.5 205.5 1 1.29 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 4 221 225 4 1.04 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 2 227 229 2 2.68 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 4 233.5 237.5 4 0.57 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 240.95 241.5 0.55 0.79 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 259 259.8 0.8 0.62 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 2 283 285 2 1.05 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 289.5 290.5 1 0.91 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 294.5 295.5 1 3.33 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 299.5 300.5 1 0.57 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 301.35 301.9 0.55 1.05 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 307.7 308.7 1 0.61 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 310.65 311.65 1 4.51 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 315.5 316.5 1 0.56 NKS0172DD 10931.00 19877.66 DD 119 -55 336.4 1 318.5 319.5 1 1.19 NKS0173RD 11036.04 19916.74 RD 119 -70 140.4 1 0 2 2 2.83 NKS0173RD 11036.04 19916.74 RD 119 -70 140.4 1 18 20 2 0.7 NKS0173RD 11036.04 19916.74 RD 119 -70 140.4 8 34 50 16 0.93 NKS0173RD 11036.04 19916.74 RD 119 -70 140.4 15 54 77 23 1.12 NKS0173RD 11036.04 19916.74 RD 119 -70 140.4 30 79.2 108.2 29 2.62 NKS0173RD 11036.04 19916.74 RD 119 -70 140.4 13 112.2 124.9 12.7 0.69 NKS0173RD 11036.04 19916.74 RD 119 -70 140.4 11 128 139.2 11.2 1.29 NKS0174RC 10933.49 20247.73 RC 119 -55 55 16 12 44 32 2.95 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 1 0 1 1 0.58 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 1 74.3 75.4 1.1 0.62 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 10 95.8 106 10.2 1.46 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 2 117.4 119.2 1.8 0.67 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 5 131 136 5 24.74 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 1 163.5 165 1.5 1.42 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 2 175.4 176.8 1.4 0.64 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 2 194.3 196 1.7 1.03 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 1 198.7 199.7 1 0.82 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 1 202 203 1 0.65 NKS0175RD 10858.77 20117.67 RD 119 -55 249.7 6 236.4 241.8 5.4 1.75 NKS0176RC 11018.78 19716.22 RC 119 -55 85 NSI NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 1 14 16 2 0.72 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 6 30 42 12 1.46 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 1 46 48 2 1.16 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 1 56 58 2 0.94 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 16 65 82 17 0.89 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 20 85 105 20 1.2 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 7 107 114 7 2.03 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 5 116.75 122 5.25 0.87 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 1 131 132 1 3.89 NKS0177RD 11033.48 19916.60 RD 119 -80 135.4 1 131 132 1 3.89 NKS0178RD 11095.55 19918.97 RD 119 -55 135 7 2 16 14 9.14 NKS0178RD 11095.55 19918.97 RD 119 -55 135 15 20 50 30 1.14 NKS0178RD 11095.55 19918.97 RD 119 -55 135 1 52 54 2 0.72 NKS0178RD 11095.55 19918.97 RD 119 -55 135 1 60 62 2 1.07 NKS0178RD 11095.55 19918.97 RD 119 -55 135 2 66 70 4 0.68 NKS0178RD 11095.55 19918.97 RD 119 -55 135 46 66 114 48 1.06 NKS0178RD 11095.55 19918.97 RD 119 -55 135 5 116 121 5 0.57 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 2 4 8 4 0.65 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 36 38 2 0.59 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 44 46 2 0.51 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 50 52 2 3.34 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 8 55 63 8 1.86 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 65.1 66 0.9 1.42 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 5 77 82.3 5.3 0.54 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 6 86 92 6 1.21 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 5 98 103.2 5.2 0.85 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 107 108 1 0.76 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 111 112 1 0.6 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 10 117 127 10 1.03 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 133 134 1 1.8 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 3 137 139.9 2.9 2.55 NKS0179RD 11056.98 19876.60 RD 119 -55 155.1 1 145.3 146 0.7 0.67 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 288 3 32 38 6 1.3 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 288 1 50 52 2 0.82 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 288 3 56 62 6 0.58 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 288 6 66 78 12 0.77 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 288 4 82 90 8 1.53 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 2 91 93 2 2.28 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 6 100.2 106.9 6.7 1.3 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 1 127.5 129 1.5 0.53 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 3 147.7 150.8 3.1 1.4 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 14 163.5 177 13.5 0.83 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 1 179 180 1 3.07 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 1 215.1 215.6 0.5 1.23 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 1 218 219 1 5.61 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 4 233 237 4 0.51 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 1 240 241 1 4.23 NKS0180RD 10973.72 19878.21 RD 119 -55 291 19 256 274 18 0.65 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 3 56 61 5 1.84 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 1 71 72 1 0.59 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 1 74 74.9 0.9 2.83 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 1 79.1 80 0.9 2.25 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 1 87 88 1 1.4 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 13 93.6 106 12.4 0.96 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 3 116.3 118.6 2.3 1.98 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 12 130.1 142 11.9 1.28 NKS0181RD 10856.24 20119.31 RD 119 -55 170 1 162 163.5 1.5 0.74 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 299 -60 160.2 10 6 26 20 0.8 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 299 -60 160.2 2 32 36 4 0.9 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 299 -60 160.2 2 56 60 4 0.63 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 299 -60 160.2 1 68 70 2 2.61 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 299 -60 160.2 1 74 76 2 3.09 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 1 90 91 1 1.01 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 1 94.85 95.85 1 0.57 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 2 107 109 2 0.81 NKS0182RD 11041.35 20000.47 RD 304 -60 160.2 1 135.5 137 1.5 0.53 NKS0183RC 11007.98 20116.56 RC 119 -55 30 4 4 12 8 1.24 NKS0183RC 11007.98 20116.56 RC 119 -55 30 4 22 30 8 4.25 NKS0184RC 11115.83 19638.64 RC 119 -55 60 1 22 24 2 0.86 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 14 0 28 28 1.17 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 44 46 2 0.7 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 2 50 52 2 0.57 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 56 58 2 0.91 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 8 71.5 79 7.5 0.72 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 99 100 1 0.71 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 106.8 107.5 0.7 6.03 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 113.5 114.5 1 5.93 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 2 123 125 2 8.84 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 128 129 1 1.25 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 135 136 1 1.58 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 148 149 1 0.86 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 152.11 154 1.89 0.69 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 1 155.5 156.1 0.6 3.03 NKS0185RD 11016.07 19837.42 RD 119 -55 170 4 161 165 4 1.73 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 2 4 8 4 2.66 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 2 18 22 4 0.89 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 4 26 34 8 1.2 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 2 86 90 4 4.68 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 2 100 104 4 1.01 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 4 112.5 117 4.5 0.73 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 27 119 146 27 1.25 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 2 150 152 2 4.74 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 7 158 165 7 3.42 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 6 169 175 6 1.11 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 12 177 188.68 11.68 21.07 NKS0186RD 10895.91 20118.88 RD 119 -55 207.2 2 200.26 202 1.74 0.82 NKS0187RC 11100.10 19640.41 RC 119 -55 60 1 16 18 2 0.86 NKS0188RC 11080.99 19641.15 RC 119 -55 60 NSI NKS0189RD 10907.92 19879.88 RD 119 -55 185.2 5 98.9 103.5 4.6 5.97 NKS0189RD 10907.92 19879.88 RD 119 -55 185.2 1 107 108 1 1.49 NKS0189RD 10907.92 19879.88 RD 119 -55 185.2 1 109 110 1 1.2 NKS0189RD 10907.92 19879.88 RD 119 -55 185.2 1 127 128 1 2.05 NKS0189RD 10907.92 19879.88 RD 119 -55 185.2 1 130.4 131.6 1.2 1.52 NKS0189RD 10907.92 19879.88 RD 119 -55 185.2 1 139.86 141.2 1.34 0.93 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 4 2 10 8 1.4 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 11 16 38 22 0.81 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 2 42 46 4 0.95 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 1 54 56 2 1.12 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 1 77 78 1 0.59 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 11 84.2 94.1 9.9 1.1 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 10 96 105 9 0.89 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 8 108.1 115.72 7.62 1.01 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 2 126.4 128.1 1.7 1.46 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 1 133 134 1 2.64 NKS0190RD 11053.43 19956.95 RD 119 -75 155 1 151 152 1 0.81 NKS0191RC 11095.62 19878.84 RC 119 -55 85 1 26 28 2 0.79 NKS0191RC 11095.62 19878.84 RC 119 -55 85 2 36 40 4 1.65 NKS0191RC 11095.62 19878.84 RC 119 -55 85 1 50 52 2 0.63 NKS0191RC 11095.62 19878.84 RC 119 -55 85 9 56 74 18 1.4 NKS0192RC 11116.22 19876.96 RC 119 -55 36 9 2 20 18 1.32 NKS0192RC 11116.22 19876.96 RC 119 -55 36 1 30 34 4 0.8 NKS0193RC 11133.66 19877.86 RC 119 -55 24 1 3 4 1 0.83 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 1 2 4 2 0.61 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 1 30 32 2 0.99 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 3 40 46 6 9.06 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 3 54 60 6 1.33 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 1 72 74 2 0.56 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 7 78 92 14 0.68 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 7 108 114.45 6.45 2.8 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 9 117.4 126.5 9.1 1.22 NKS0194RD 10915.00 20057.04 RD 119 -55 144.2 7 133 139.4 6.4 3.29 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 0 -90 150.8 13 1 26 25 1.54 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 0 -90 150.8 1 34 36 2 5.76 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 119 -90 150.8 17 88 105.73 17.73 0.81 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 119 -90 150.8 1 107 108 1 0.7 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 119 -90 150.8 1 114 115 1.0 0.87 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 119 -90 150.8 1 118 119 1 0.89 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 119 -90 150.8 1 122 123 1 0.64 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 119 -90 150.8 1 129.2 130 0.8 1.71 NKS0195RD 11053.55 19960.06 RD 119 -90 150.8 1 135 136 1 0.73 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 25 29 4 2.66 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 36 38 2 0.72 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 54 56 2 0.86 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 8 66 78 12 2.14 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 84 85 1 0.52 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 87 88 1 1.16 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 90 91 1 1.01 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 3 108 111 3 0.73 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 144 145 1 1.61 NKS0196RD 10823.55 20078.05 RD 119 -55 165.4 1 149 150 1 1.12 NKS0197RD 10781.53 20080.44 RD 119 -55 165 1 141.7 142.2 0.5 0.93 NKS0197RD 10781.53 20080.44 RD 119 -55 165 2 159.5 160.7 1.2 0.66 NKS0198RC 11240.95 19924.91 RC 209 -55 114 1 32 36 4 0.51 NKS0198RC 11240.95 19924.91 RC 209 -55 114 1 110 112 2 0.64 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 6 1 12 11 0.6 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 5 16 26 10 1.09 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 5 36 46 10 0.61 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 1 60 62 2 0.69 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 1 72 73 1 0.64 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 13 90.68 103.2 12.52 0.87 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 2 107.3 110 2.7 3.89 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 2 118 120.1 2.1 1.21 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 1 124.2 125 0.8 2.2 NKS0199RD 10959.32 20044.69 RD 299 -75 155.5 1 142 142.9 0.9 0.62 NKS0200RD 11079.96 19803.16 RD 119 -55 165.6 4 75.95 79.25 3.3 3.32 NKS0200RD 11079.96 19803.16 RD 119 -55 165.6 1 116.8 118 1.2 1.35 NKS0200RD 11079.96 19803.16 RD 119 -55 165.6 1 157.75 158.75 1 1.49 NKS0201RC 10639.24 20057.82 RC 119 -55 60 1 8 10 2 0.61 NKS0201RC 10639.24 20057.82 RC 119 -55 60 1 12 14 2 0.63 NKS0201RC 10639.24 20057.82 RC 119 -55 60 14 30 58 28 0.83 NKS0202RC 11241.95 19967.87 RC 209 -55 90 4 76 86 10 2.62 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 56 58 2 1.01 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 2 61 64 3 0.84 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 123.5 124.17 0.67 1.86 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 160.5 162 1.5 0.7 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 178.05 179 0.95 3.26 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 2 206 208 2 0.98 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 210 211.5 1.5 1.16 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 215 216 1 2 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 223 224.1 1.1 0.55 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 229.1 230.1 1 0.64 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 243 244.05 1.05 1.54 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 1 248.5 249 0.5 0.5 NKS0203RD 10635.70 19926.55 RD 119 -55 339.1 3 325.7 328.15 2.45 1.34 NKS0204RD 11238.24 20002.41 RD 209 -55 132 NSI NKS0205RC 10796.98 20158.65 RC 119 -55 18 NSI NKS0206RC 10795.26 20117.99 RC 119 -55 44 13 4 30 26 0.96 NKS0206RC 10795.26 20117.99 RC 119 -55 44 1 36 38 2 0.75 NKS0207RC 10795.26 20117.99 RC 119 -55 44 1 2 4 2 0.66 NKS0207RC 10795.26 20117.99 RC 119 -55 44 1 80 82 2 1.81 NKS0207RC 10795.26 20117.99 RC 119 -55 44 5 116 126 10 0.5 NKS0208RC 10639.77 20113.07 RC 119 -55 88 NSI NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 1 124 125 1 1.94 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 2 139.5 140.9 1.4 0.56 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 4 142 145.5 3.5 0.88 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 2 169 171 2 1.21 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 1 179.5 181 1.5 1.36 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 1 251 252 1 0.52 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 1 254 255 1 2.27 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 2 260 262 2 2.05 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 1 270 271 1 0.63 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 2 281.1 283 1.9 3.45 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 6 297 302.6 5.6 1.14 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 1 315.5 317 1.5 0.51 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 1 319 320 1 0.99 NKS0209RD 10758.73 19898.03 RD 119 -55 485.1 2 388 390 2 0.72 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 3 4 10 6 1.59 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 7 14 28 14 0.92 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 1 50 52 2 0.57 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 1 54 56 2 0.5 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 1 80 81 1 0.77 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 2 85 87 2 0.86 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 3 111.8 115 3.2 0.91 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 1 121.1 122.1 1 1.04 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 4 132 135.8 3.8 2.44 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 2 143 145 2 9.24 NKS0210RD 11047.98 19958.40 RD 299 -62 170 1 156.4 157.3 0.9 1.14 NKS0211RC 11155.56 19917.29 RC 119 -55 24 3 4 10 6 0.76 NKS0212RC 11158.58 19920.94 RC 119 -55 50 1 1 2 1 0.71 NKS0213RC 11155.78 19958.45 RC 119 -55 66 2 10 14 4 3.83 NKS0213RC 11155.78 19958.45 RC 119 -55 66 9 18 36 18 2.03 NKS0213RC 11155.78 19958.45 RC 119 -55 66 10 42 62 20 1.49 NKS0214RC 11159.38 19938.36 RC 119 -55 50 1 16 18 2 0.7 NKS0214RC 11159.38 19938.36 RC 119 -55 50 5 26 36 10 7.49 NKS0215RC 11157.23 19978.47 RC 119 -55 84 3 4 10 6 0.95 NKS0215RC 11157.23 19978.47 RC 119 -55 84 19 16 54 38 2.22 NKS0215RC 11157.23 19978.47 RC 119 -55 84 1 58 60 2 1.24 NKS0215RC 11157.23 19978.47 RC 119 -55 84 4 72 80 8 0.69 NKS0216RC 11159.39 20000.99 RC 119 -55 45 20 2 42 40 1.35 NKS0217RD 11104.08 20000.89 RD 119 -50 118 15 0 30 30 1.62 NKS0217RD 11104.08 20000.89 RD 119 -50 118 9 36 54 18 1.32 NKS0217RD 11104.08 20000.89 RD 119 -50 118 29 64 103.9 39.9 1.09 NKS0217RD 11104.08 20000.89 RD 119 -50 118 2 108 110 2 0.7 NKS0217RD 11104.08 20000.89 RD 119 -50 118 1 112 113.4 1.4 0.55 NKS0218DD 11105.13 19758.76 DD 119 -55 81.5 1 4.3 5.8 1.5 0.55 NKS0218DD 11105.13 19758.76 DD 119 -55 81.5 11 9 20.3 11.3 0.56 NKS0218DD 11105.13 19758.76 DD 119 -55 81.5 11 9 20.3 11.3 0.56 NKS0218DD 11105.13 19758.76 DD 119 -55 81.5 36 24.3 62.5 38.2 1.06 NKS0218DD 11105.13 19758.76 DD 119 -55 81.5 3 64.9 68 3.1 0.66 NKS0219RC 11135.92 19960.78 RC 119 -58 105 6 16 28 12 0.68 NKS0219RC 11135.92 19960.78 RC 119 -58 105 4 32 40 8 0.9 NKS0219RC 11135.92 19960.78 RC 119 -58 105 1 46 48 2 1.21 NKS0219RC 11135.92 19960.78 RC 119 -58 105 2 52 56 4 0.94 NKS0219RC 11135.92 19960.78 RC 119 -58 105 1 64 66 2 0.99 NKS0219RC 11135.92 19960.78 RC 119 -58 105 13 70 96 26 1.77 APPENDIX 3: JORC TABLE 1 NKOSUO PROPERTY JORC 2012 Table 1 Section 1 sampling techniques and data (Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections) Criteria JORC Code Explanation Commentary Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (e.g. cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc.). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling. Other than for soil sampling and an airborne EM-magnetics-radiometrics survey conducted in 2020 there has been no previous mineral exploration at Nkosuo. The presence of gold mineralisation was first revealed by artisanal miners in 2019. Perseus commenced drilling in July 2021. Drilling completed 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022 is tabulated below. Drilling Type No. Holes RC metres DD metres Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used. Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report. In cases where industry standard work has been done this would be relatively simple (e.g. reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (e.g. submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. RC 43 3,166.00 0 Pre-collared DD 41 3,425.60 5,346.90 DD from surface 6 0 1,004.70 Totals 90 6,591.60 6,351.60 RC drilling used face-sampling hammers with 136mm hole diameter. Samples were collected at one metre intervals and logged visually for recovery, sample condition (dry, damp, wet) and contamination. Sample recoveries were measured by weighing bulk recovered samples. Diamond drilling utilised HQ triple-tube (61.1mm ) drilling in weathered materials and NQ2 (50.6mm ) diameter core in fresh rock. Diamond core recoveries were measured linearly per drill run. Core recoveries average 70% in weathered materials and 100% in fresh rock. Drilling techniques Drill type (e.g. core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc.) and details (e.g. core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc.). RC drilling used face-sampling hammers with 136mm hole diameter. Samples were collected at one metre intervals. Diamond drilling utilised HQ triple-tube (61.1mm ) drilling in weathered materials and NQ2 (50.6mm ) diameter core in fresh rock. Core in fresh rock was oriented using a Reflex ACT II device. Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed. RC drill samples were logged visually for recovery, sample condition (dry, damp, wet) and contamination. Sample recoveries were measured by weighing bulk recovered samples. Preliminary evaluation indicates that RC sample recoveries have averaged 19.3kg in weathered material and 29.3kg in fresh rock. 64 samples (3%) have been logged as being wet. Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples. Diamond core recoveries were measured linearly per drill run. Core recoveries average 70% in weathered materials and 100% in fresh rock. Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. The Competent Person considers that there are presently insufficient data available to permit a meaningful examination of potential relationships between sample recovery and gold grade. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies. Geological logs are available for the entire lengths of all drill holes. The logging is qualitative in nature. Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc.) photography. Sieved samples of RC chips from each metre of drilling were logged for colour, rock type, alteration type and intensity, vein quartz content, sulphide mineralisation, weathering and oxidation. The chips are stored in plastic chip trays and the trays photographed. The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. Diamond drill core was logged for geology, structure and geotechnical characteristics. Geological logging included colour, lithology, weathering, oxidation, vein type and vein volume percentage, sulphide species and their estimated percentage, alteration and alteration intensity. Structural logging included fault, fold, cleavage and joint orientation, lithological contacts and vein orientations. Drill core was photographed prior to cutting. Sub- sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken. RC drill samples were collected at drill sites over one metre intervals and manually split using multi-stage riffle splitters to produce assay sub-samples averaging around 3kg. All RC holes have been assayed in entirety. In weathered materials, diamond core was halved using spatulas or knives. In fresh rock, core was sawn in half using a diamond blade saw, with one half sent for assaying and the other half stored in core trays for reference. Samples were normally taken at 1 metre intervals. All diamond drill core has been assayed. If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc. and whether sampled wet or dry. Preparation of core and RC samples followed a standard path of drying at 105 degrees C for at least 12 hours, crushing the entire sample to 85% passing -2mm and grinding a 1.5kg split to 85% passing 75 microns. 300g pulp subsamples are selected by multiple scoop passes. For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique. Quality control measures adopted to confirm the representivity of samples from RC and diamond drilling include: Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples. Field re-splits of RC samples at an average frequency of around one duplicate per 20 primary samples respectively. Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in-situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling. Submission of coarse blanks at an average of around 1 blank per 20 primary samples Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. Use of pressurised air between every sample in crushing and pulverising equipment and quartz wash/prep blank every 25th sample Screening of approximately 1:20 crushed and pulp samples to check grind size Sample preparation techniques are considered appropriate to the style of mineralisation. Available information indicates that sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total. All RC and diamond core samples have been assayed by 50g fire assay with AAS determination by Intertek Testing Services Ghana at their Tarkwa assay laboratory. The technique is considered a total extraction technique. For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc., the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc. Quality control procedures include submission of coarse blanks (1:20) and certified reference standards (1:20). Nature of quality control procedures adopted (e.g. standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (i.e. lack of bias) and precision have been established. The available information indicates that the assaying of RC and core samples is free from any significant biases and is of acceptable accuracy. Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel. Numerous significant mineralised intersections have been checked against visual alteration and sulphide mineralisation in drill chips and core. The use of twinned holes. No holes have been deliberately twinned. Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols. Geology, structure and geotechnical logs are paper based. Sample intervals are recorded in pre-numbered sample ticket books. All logging, sample interval and survey data are manually entered to digital form on site and stored in an acQuire relational database. Data exports are normally in the form of MS Access files. Discuss any adjustment to assay data. Data verification procedures include automated checks to: prevent repetition of sample numbers prevent overlap of from-to intervals in logging and sample interval data ensure that total hole depths in collar, assay and geology tables match ensure that drill collar coordinates are within the projects geographic limits Down-hole survey data are examined for large deviations in dip or azimuth that may represent erroneous data or data entry errors and corrected on a case-by-case basis including estimates of dips and azimuths where the original data appear to be in error. Additional data checks include viewing drill hole traces, geological logging and assays in plan and section views. The Competent Persons independent checks of database validity included: Comparison of assay values between nearby holes, checking for internal consistency between, and within database tables, comparisons between assay results from different sampling phases. Additional checking included comparing database assay entries with laboratory source files. These checks showed no significant discrepancies in the database used for resource estimation Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation. Drill hole collars have been surveyed by qualified mine surveyors using differential GPS equipment with coordinates recorded in UTM grid, WGS84 Zone 30N datum. Specification of the grid system used. All RC and diamond core holes have been surveyed at 12m depth and at approximately 30m down-hole increments using digital compass instruments. Quality and adequacy of topographic control. A topographic surface has been established by a drone photogrammetric survey conducted in 2020. The topographic surface is expected to be reliable to +/- 0.2m. Topographic control is adequate for the current work being undertaken at Nkosuo. Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results. The Nkosuo prospect is delineated by regular drilling at 80m x 80m X-Y spacing in holes dipping at -55 degrees toward 160 degrees (UTM grid) azimuth. The drill pattern has been partially infilled to 40m x 80m in places. Drill coverage generally extends to about 150m vertical depth and to a maximum of about 280m depth. Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied. The data spacing has established geological continuity of the host granite but has not defined the continuity of mineralisation sufficiently to permit reliable estimation of Mineral Resources. Whether sample compositing has been applied. Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type. Drill holes are oriented approximately orthogonal to the trend of the granite body that hosts mineralisation. The orientation of mineralised structures within the granite is presently unconfirmed but there is no indication that exploration results to date are affected by a significant bias due to orientation. If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material. Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security. RC and core samples were delivered to the secure core yard compound at Edikan mine by Perseus personnel. RC field sample splits and samples of half diamond core were placed in numbered bags and those bags, in turn, placed into polywoven sacks that were closed with plastic cable ties prior to transport to the assay laboratory by laboratory personnel. Security guards were employed at drilling sites and at the Pune, India, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global beer market size is projected to grow from USD 768.17 billion in 2021 to USD 989.48 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 3.68% during the forecast period in 2021-2028. The growing alcohol e-commerce channel and rising personal disposable income levels are expected to magnify the markets growth in the forthcoming years. Fortune Business Insights has presented this information in its report titled Beer Market, 2021-2028. The market size stood at USD 743.84 billion in 2020. Alcohol has been used in social engagements historically, and the trend is still growing. 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The advent of consumer social status and growing diversified cultural consumer groups are expected to augment alcohol socialization and complement market growth. Lastly, the growing trend of alcohol e-commerce is anticipated to fuel the growth of the market. Online alcohol sales increased during the pandemic, which is expected to amplify the market growth in future. However, the strict laws and regulations regarding the advertising and marketing of alcohol in various regions may hamper the market growth. Regional Insights- Europe to Hold the Lions Share Due to the Presence of Several SMEs Europe is projected to attain the largest global beer market share. Beer is a crucial part of heritage, culture, and nutrition in Europe and is cherished across all European countries. Europe hosts several small and medium sized firms, including micro-breweries and the breweries functioning at regional, local, and national levels. The numbers of these breweries are increasing and are anticipated to favor market growth. Additionally, the rising inclination of consumers towards low-alcohol products is expected to boost the demand for the product and augment the market growth. Asia Pacific is anticipated to rank second in global market. The rising demand for premium alcoholic appeal and refreshing flavor profiles are expected to drive the markets growth. Additionally, the growing adoption of westernized patterns is predicted to favor the markets growth. North America is likely to attain the third rank in global market. The rising number of breweries and the evolving consumer preferences are expected to aid the market growth in the region. Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR 3.68% 2028 Value Projection USD 989.48 Billion Base Year 2020 Market Size in 2021 USD 768.17 Billion Historical Data for 2017 to 2019 No. of Pages 150 Segments covered By Type, By Application Growth Drivers Improving Disposable Income and Rising Westernization among Consumers Trigger Beer Consumption Increasing Prevalence of Alcohol Socialization among Consumers to Aid Market Growth COVID-19 Pandemic to Impact Market Adversely Attribute to Halt of Manufacturing Processes Pitfalls & Challenges Restricted Provincial Acts for Marketing and Advertising of Beer in Several Regions in the World Hamper Growth Competitive Landscape- Key Players Adopt Ingenious Growth Strategies to Acquire Growth The market is fairly consolidated and comprises several key players operating internationally and domestically. They adopt various growth strategies including new product launches, patents, partnerships, collaborations, and others to augment their consumer bases and enhance their market reach. For instance, Carlsberg Group A/S signed an agreement with Bitburger Braugruppe in October 2020 to acquire the Wernersgruner brewery in Germanys Vogtland region. Key Industry Developments- November 2020: Anheuser-Busch InBev launched Becks Ice Premium Lager in India. The super mild beer offers 3.5% ABV and paved a way for a new category in this industry. Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/beer-market-102489 Detailed Table of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Emerging Trends Key Insights Overview on the Global Alcoholic Beverages Market Market Dynamics of the Global Beer Market Supply Chain & Regulatory Analysis Recent Industry Developments - Policies, Mergers & Acquisitions, and New Product Launches Market Analysis and Insights (in Relation with COVID-19) Impact of COVID-19 on the Market Supply Chain Challenges due to the Pandemic Potential Opportunities to Support the Sales during the Calamity Global Beer Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Type (Value) Lager Ale Stouts Others (Specialty Beer, Pilsner) By Packaging (Value) Glass Bottle Metal Can By Distribution Channel (Value) On-Trade Off-Trade By Region (Value) North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa North America Beer Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Type (Value) Lager Ale Stouts Others (Specialty Beer, Pilsner) TOC Continued! Speak to Our Expert: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/beer-market-102489 Read Related Insights: Craft Beer Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Ale, Lager, Pilsner, and Others), By Distribution Channel (On-Trade and Off-Trade), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Wine Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Sparkling Wine, Still Wine, and Others), By Flavor (Red Wine, White Wine, and Rose Wine), By Distribution Channel (On-trade and Off-trade), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028 Organic Beverages Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Non-Alcoholic, Alcoholic), By Distribution Channel (Mass merchandisers, Convenience Stores, Online retails) and Regional Forecast, 2022-2029 About Us: Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 9th Floor, Icon Tower, Baner - Mahalunge Road, Baner, Pune-411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Connect us via Social Media Channels: Pune, India, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global protective gloves market size is predicted to reach USD 33.26 billion by 2029 and exhibit a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period. The swiftly expanding construction industry is anticipated to bolster the growth of the market. Fortune Business InsightsTM has presented this information in its report titled, Protective Gloves Market, 2022-2029. The market size stood at USD 21.39 billion in 2021 and USD 24.20 billion in 2022. Additionally, the growing workplace safety regulations across developing and developed countries are anticipated to create lucrative growth opportunities for the market. COVID-19 Impact- Increasing Demand for Disposable Gloves in Healthcare Industry during COVID-19 The novel coronavirus pandemic has upswing the demand for protective gloves. The need for personal protective equipment rose during the pandemic, which has expanded the markets growth. The increasing awareness for disease prevention in the healthcare sector and patient well-being is likely to boost the markets growth in the coming years. Furthermore, the unpredictable duration of the coronavirus pandemic is anticipated to propel the markets growth in the upcoming years. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/protective-gloves-market-103369 List of Key Market Players in the Protective Gloves Market are: Huihong (NANTONG) Safety Products Co., Ltd (China) Ansell Ltd. (Australia) Hartalega Holdings Berhad (Malaysia) Top Glove Corporation Bhd (Malaysia) 3M (U.S.) Superior Gloves (U.S.) KOSSAN Rubber Industries Ltd. (Malaysia) Kimberly-Clark Corporation (U.S.) DIPPED PRODUCTS PLC (Sri Lanka) Globus (Shetland) Ltd. (U.K.) Uvex Group (Germany) PIP Global (U.S.) Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.) Showa Glove Co. (U.S.) Towa Corporation (Japan) Supermax Corporation Berhad (Malaysia) ATG- Intelligent Glove Solutions (Sri Lanka) Lalan Group (Pvt) Ltd (Malwana, Sri Lanka) Jiangsu Hanvo Safety Product Co., Ltd. (China) QS Safety (China) Segments- On the basis of product, the market is divided into durable and disposable. On the basis of raw material, the market is segmented into leather gloves (durable), vinyl (PVC) gloves, polyurethane, neoprene gloves, nitrile gloves, and natural rubber gloves. On the basis of application, the market is categorized into mining, oil & gas, food & beverages, construction, manufacturing, healthcare & medical, and others. Geographically, the market is classified into Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. Report Coverage- It highlights detailed information on different market segments, products, raw materials, applications, and others. It includes an assessment of the COVID-19 pandemics impact on the market. It incorporates Porters Five Forces Analysis for precise market prediction. It addresses the latest developments witnessed in the market. It highlights the various restraints and drivers of the markets growth. Inquire Before Buying Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/queries/protective-gloves-market-103369 Drivers & Restraints- Swiftly Expanding Construction Industry to Stimulate Market Growth Increasing workplace safety regulations due to the escalating working population across manufacturing, food processing, oil & gas, healthcare, and chemical industries are anticipated to be major propellants for protective gloves market growth. The growing stringent regulatory norms across Europe and the U.S., particularly in the manufacturing industry, are expected to stimulate significant growth for the market. The swiftly expanding construction industry and the increasing number of workers in the industry are expected to result in an increased demand for protective gloves. The high exposure to several hazards on job sites requires protection, surging the product demand. Additionally, increasing emphasis of manufacturers on launching more sustainable protective gloves made from hemp, linen, and bamboo is expected to be a key trend fostering the growth of the market. However, allergic reactions and skin allergies due to latex may restrain the market growth during the forecast period. Regional Insights- North America to Gain Prominent Growth Due to Stringent Laws North America is predicted to attain a major protective gloves market share. The rising stringent laws mandating protective gloves use in various industries, coupled with the growing awareness for wellbeing are projected to bolster growth in North America. Additionally, the increasing instances of pandemics including swine flu, Ebola, COVID-19, and others are predicted to favor the regions market growth. Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness immense growth due to the rising innovations by several glove manufacturers, rising awareness for workplace safety, and rising raw material prices. Furthermore, the expanding healthcare industry in Japan, India, China, and Malaysia is expected to amplify the regions market growth. Europe is expected to witness substantial growth due to the policy framework set by the European Union that mandates the usage of gloves in compliance with the set norms. Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/protective-gloves-market-103369 Table of Content Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Market Trends Key Insights Key Emerging Trends For Major Countries Key Developments: Mergers, Acquisition, Partnership, etc. Latest Technological Advancement Insights on Regulatory Scenario Porters Five Forces Analysis Qualitative Insights Impact of COVID 19 on Global Protective Gloves Market Supply Chain Challenges Steps taken by Government/Companies to overcome this impact Potential opportunities due to COVID-19 outbreak TOC Continued! Competitive Landscape- Key Players Adopt Ingenious Strategies to Amplify their Growth Prospects The highly competitive and fragmented marketplace comprises several international and regional players such as 3M, Honeywell International, Top Glove, Ansell, and others. The major market players adopt various growth strategies such as new product launches, joint ventures, alliances, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to amplify their growth prospects. For instance, KOSSAN Rubber Industries Bhd donated nearly 2 million pieces of medical gloves in March 2020 to support the Malaysian authorities in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Key Industry Development- February 2020: Ansell Limited acquired 50% of the issued shares of Careplus (M) Sdn Bhd from Careplus Group Berhad for a total of USD 9 million. This acquisition will help Ansell to enter the business of surgical gloves and expand the business portfolio. Speak to Our Expert: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/protective-gloves-market-103369 Have a Look at Related Research Insights: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Product (Hand Protection, Eye & Face, Hearing Protection, Protective Clothing, Respiratory Protection, Protective Footwear, Fall Protection, Head Protection, and Others), By End-use Industry (Manufacturing, Construction, Automotive, Oil & Gas, Healthcare, Food, Chemical, Transportation, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2022-2029 Disposable Medical Gloves Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Application (Surgical and Examination), By Material (Latex and Synthetic), By Category (Powdered and Powder-free), By End-User (Hospitals & Clinics, Diagnostic/Pathology Labs, Dental Clinics, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2022-2029 About Us: Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 9th Floor, Icon Tower, Baner - Mahalunge Road, Baner, Pune-411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Connect us via Social Media Channels: English French German Italian Spanish GENEVA, Switzerland, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the world celebrates Intellectual Property on the 26th of April, Vaultinum launches Know Your Software IP AUDIT, an online IP assessment solution helping organisations improve their IP management and gain greater value from their intangible assets. IP increasingly determines the future of an organisation. Moreover, the importance of IP rights in the valuation of companies has created a fundamental shift in the way stakeholders assess value and protect business assets. In 1975, IP assets represented some 17% of market value of S&P 500 companies; by 2015 it had grown to 87%; in 2019, industries that make intensive use of IP rights generate 45% of GDP (6,6T) in the EU (The ICC Intellectual Property Roadmap, 2020). Today, with organisations amassing new technology in their quest to remain competitive in the digital economy, a solid IP strategy must consider the rights granted to different types of IP and also understand its ownership rights. Failure to do so may incur legal costs, loss of value and decreased revenue. The management of IP is no doubt one of the essential aspects of any modern business and its crucial to know which elements to consider. However, it requires expertise, experience, and insights that are best obtained from an independent expert. This is why Vaultinum developed Know Your Software IP AUDIT, an online assessment tool, analysing issues and providing insight related to IP management, Protection of IP rights and IP ownership risks, says Philippe Thomas, CEO of Vaultinum. Developed by a team of experts in IP risk management, Know Your Software IP AUDIT delivers a detailed report, highlighting the effectiveness of the current IP regime, identifying areas that could be further developed or remediated and providing a step-by-step action plan. To celebrate world IP Day, Vaultinum offers a 25% discount on the IP Audit from 26th of April. To know more: https://vaultinum.com/ip-assessment Vaultinum is a trusted independent third party specialised in the protection and audit of digital assets. Since 1976, Vaultinum has enabled thousands of digital businesses and investors secure their innovations by providing solutions to protect their IP, ensure the continuity of their business activity, and mitigate cyber and software risks. CONTACT Marine Yborra, CMO COMPANY Vaultinum EMAIL my@vaultinum.com WEB www.vaultinum.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/898ce6ed-8eee-4067-917d-3de4c11af43f Dublin, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Point of Care & Rapid Diagnostics Market by Product (Glucose, Infectious Disease (HIV, Hepatitis C), Pregnancy Test), Platform (Microfluidics, Dipsticks), Mode of Purchase (OTC, Prescription), End User (Pharmacy, Hospital, Home) - Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global point of care diagnostics market is expected to reach USD 72.0 billion by 2027 from an estimated USD 43.2 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2022 to 2027. Point-of-care testing (POCT) includes screening or diagnostic tests performed outside traditional laboratories. These tests are designed to be used at or near the site where the patient is located (such as at home, in an ambulance, at a physician's office, and other locations). POCT allows rapid and reliable diagnostic testing through which outcomes can be obtained instantly, helping physicians/patients to make decisions related to care remotely and as soon as possible. Market growth is mainly driven by the high prevalence of infectious diseases, supportive government policies and rising number of CLIA-waived POC tests. In addition, healthcare decentralization and greater investments and funding for product development are expected to offer growth opportunities for players in the point of care diagnostics market. POC tests can greatly improve the management of infectious diseases, especially in developing countries where access to timely medical care is a challenge and the healthcare infrastructure is antiquated and sparse. The high prevalence of infectious diseases, coupled with the inadequate healthcare infrastructural facilities in developing countries, is expected to drive the adoption of POC testing. The Glucose Monitoring Products segment accounted for the largest share of the point of care diagnostics market, by product type, in 2021 Based on products, the point-of-care diagnostics market is segmented into glucose monitoring products, cardiometabolic monitoring products, COVID-19 testing products, infectious disease testing products, coagulation monitoring products, pregnancy & fertility testing products, hematology testing products, tumor/cancer marker testing products, fecal occult testing products, urinalysis testing products, drug-of-abuse testing products, cholesterol testing products, and other products. In 2021, the glucose monitoring products segment accounted for the largest share of the point-of-care diagnostics market. This can be attributed to the growing diabetic patient population base, ongoing technological advancements, and the growing preference for home glucose testing. The Lateral Flow Assays segment accounted for the largest share of the point of care diagnostics market, by platform, in 2021 Based on platform, the point-of-care diagnostics market is segmented into lateral flow assays, immunoassays, microfluidics, dipsticks, and molecular diagnostics. The lateral flow assays segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2021. The widespread adoption of lateral flow assays in POC testing as a replacement for lengthy, conventional laboratory procedures is a key factor contributing to the growth of this segment. The OTC Testing Products segment, by mode of purchase, accounted for the largest share of the global point of care diagnostics market in 2021 On the basis of mode of purchase, the point-of-care diagnostics market is segmented into OTC testing products and prescription-based testing products. The OTC testing products segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2021. The growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases and the favorable reimbursement scenario for OTC testing products are the major factors driving the growth of this market segment. On the basis of End Users, Hospitals & Critical Care Centers segment accounted for the largest share of the global point of care diagnostics market, in 2021 The hospitals & critical care centers segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period, owing to the increasing adoption of POC devices offering reduced turnaround time. The clinical laboratories segment accounted for the largest share of the point-of-care diagnostics market in 2021. However, the home care and self-testing segment is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases (requiring long-term care and frequent monitoring), growing awareness about home care, and the increasing availability of user-friendly and advanced POC diagnostic products. The Latin America market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period In 2021, North America accounted for the largest share of this market, followed by Europe. The rising prevalence of lifestyle diseases, growing number of product approvals, and government initiatives to support the wider adoption of POC testing products are the key factors driving the growth of the North American point-of-care diagnostics market. On the other hand, the Latin American market is projected to register the highest growth during the forecast period due to government efforts to increase awareness about the early detection of diseases and regular health check-ups, further promoting point-of-care devices. As of 2020, the point of care diagnostics market is dominated by Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland), Abbott Laboratories (US), Siemens Healthineers (Germany), Danaher Corporation (US), Quidel Corporation (US). Other leading players are Becton, Dickinson, and Company (US), Biomeriux S.A. (France), and Chembio Diagnostics (US). Market Dynamics Drivers High Prevalence of Infectious Diseases Increasing Incidence of Target Conditions Supportive Government Policies Dearth of Skilled Laboratory Technicians Rising Number of Clia-Waived Poc Tests Restraints Pricing Pressure Owing to Reimbursement Cuts and Budget Constraints Stringent Regulatory Policies Opportunities Emerging Markets Healthcare Decentralization Increasing Provider Awareness About Novel Technologies Poc Tests with Multiplexing Capabilities Growing Investments and Funding for Product Development Challenges Lack of Alignment with Definitive Central Lab Methods Inadequate Adoption of Poc Devices in Professional Settings Reluctance to Change Existing Diagnostic Practices Premium Pricing of Novel Platforms Technology Analysis: Emerging Point-Of-Care Applications Sepsis Biomarkers Stroke/Cardiac Markers Thyroid Testing Dna Testing Endocrine Testing Respiratory Diagnostics Regulatory Landscape Industry Trends Related to COVID-19 Value Chain Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Prominent Companies Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises End-users Pricing Trend Analysis Porter's Five Forces Company Profiles Key Players Abbott Siemens Healthineers Ag Quidel Corporation Danaher Corporation Becton, Dickinson and Company Thermo Fisher Scientific Biomerieux S.A. Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. Ekf Diagnostics Trinity Biotech plc Instrumentation Laboratory (A Werfen Company) Nova Biomedical Pts Diagnostics Sekisui Diagnostics Other Players Lifescan Ip Holdings, LLC Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings Ag Fluxergy Prescision Biosensor, Inc. Acon Laboratories, Inc. A. Menarini Diagnostics S.R.L Orasure Technologies, Inc. Mankind Pharma Terumo Corporation Grifols, S.A. Diasorin S.P.A. Accubiotech Co., Ltd. Meridian Bioscience Biocartis Genestat Molecular Diagnostics, LLC. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dhsbvb Attachment Dublin, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Europe Tire Market, By Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, Light Commercial Vehicle, Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle, Two- Wheeler, and OTR), By Demand Category, By Tire Construction Type, By Rim Size, By Sales Channel, By Country, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The European Tire Market is anticipated to grow with a CAGR of 3.84% during the forecast period, 2023-2027, to achieve a market value of USD57,300.78 million by 2027. The market growth is majorly driven by the increasing sales of automobiles in European countries. The growing number of passenger cars and light commercial vehicle for regular transportation and commutes further drives the growth of the European Tire Market in the upcoming five years. Moreover, the surging demand for replacement tires for personal vehicles also supports the growth of the European Tire Market through 2027. End-use industries like agricultural industry, construction industry, logistics industry, etc., make use of tractors, trucks, commercial vehicles which is aiding the growth of the European Tire Market in the next five years. Demand for tires is also increasing due to adverse weather conditions, erratic currents of air moving over the Atlantic, ice-cold weather, and the wet springs increase the demand for all-weather tires across the continent, thereby substantiating the growth of the European Tire Market in the forecast years. Furthermore, increasing adoptions of green tires, with environment-friendly products that satisfy the tires' stringent regulations and automobile industrial standards, also aid the growth of the European Tire Market in the forecast period. The European Tire Market is segmented by vehicle type, demand category, tire construction type, rim size, sales channel, country analysis, and competitional landscape. The market is bifurcated on vehicle type into passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, medium & heavy commercial vehicles, two-wheelers, and OTR. Passenger cars are anticipated to hold the largest revenue shares of the market and dominate the market segment in the upcoming five years on account of the increasing sales of passenger cars. Surge in demand for personal vehicles and increasing demand for replacement vehicle parts further facilitates the growth of the segment along with the European Tire Market in the next five years. Competitive Landscape Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the European Tire Market Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin SCA Continental AG Pirelli & C. S.p.A. Bridgestone Europe NV/SA Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Kumho Tire Europe GmbH Nokian Tyres Plc. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co Europe Yokohama Europe GmbH Hankook Tire & Technology Co.,Ltd. Report Scope: Years considered for this report: Historical Years: 2017-2020 Base Year: 2021 Estimated Year: 2022 Forecast Period: 2023 - 2027 Europe Tire Market, By Vehicle Type: Passenger car Light Commercial Vehicle Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle Two- Wheeler OTR Europe Tire Market, By Demand Category: Replacement OEM Europe Tire Market, By Tire Construction Type: Radial Bias Europe Tire Market, By Rim Size: Up to 19'' 20"- 25'' Above 25'' Europe Tire Market, By Sales Channel: Offline Online Europe Tire Market, By Country: Germany Russia France Spain Italy United Kingdom Poland Netherlands Belgium Slovakia Hungary Romania For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/v6ycnw New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Europe Roofing Tiles Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271912/?utm_source=GNW However, the conditions started recovering in 2021, thereby restoring the growth trajectory of the market studied during the forecast period. Key Highlights Major factors driving the market studied are increasing demand from construction industry and growing favorable government policies for green buildings. Development of solar roof tiles is expected to offer various lucrative opportunities for the growth of market. In terms of the end-user industry, residential sector is expected to account for the largest share. Based on country, Germany is expected to dominate the regional market due to growth in the construction industry. Key Market Trends Consistent Growth of Residential Sector The increasing usage of roofing tiles for residential applications is because it can reduce the overall heat transfer into the attic space by almost 70%, as compared to an asphalt shingle roof. Roofing tiles are available for various types of residences, including single family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and apartment buildings. The installation of roofing tiles in residential applications is one of the most cost-effective choices, due to their long lifespan. The United Kingdom Government, under NPIF, is planning to invest GBP 23 billion in housing, science and innovation, transport, and a 5G network over the next five years, of which around GBP 7.2 billion has been allocated for the construction of new homes and GBP 4 billion for infrastructure. Furthermore, in United Kingdom, with the investment of USD 333 million, the construction of a 40-story residential tower and a 14-story office building at Albion Street in Central Manchester was commissioned in the third quarter of 2021, with estimated completion by 2024. According to the European Commission, the French government under its Housing First Plan (Le Logement Dabord) (2018-2022) announced tax waiver. Under the 2020 budget, the housing tax has been entirely removed for 80.0% of French households. With regard to the remaining 20.0%, the countrys wealthiest households, there was a gradual decrease in this tax rate from 2021, followed by a complete cessation of housing tax by 2023. According to Spains National Statistics Institute (INE), the net household construction is anticipated to increase at an average pace of around 135,000 units every year from 2019 to 2025. Thus , the residential construction is expected to grow significantly over the later periods of the forecast period. Owing to all the above-mentioned factors for roofing tiles in Europe, its market is expected to grow rapidly over the forecast period. Germany to Dominate the Market The German economy is the largest in Europe, and the fifth-largest in the world. With the rising construction industry in the country, the demand for roofing tiles is likely to increase in the coming years. In October 2021, the construction of a total of 29,597 dwellings was permitted in Germany. Building permits from January to October 2021 increased by 4.2% compared to the same period in the previous year. Additionally, as of December 2021, turnover in building completion work increased by 9.1% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the third quarter of the previous year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), in 2021, the construction of 380,914 dwellings was permitted in Germany, registering an increase of 3.3% or 12,325 building permits compared with 2020. Furthermore, the annual turnover in the main construction industry in 2021 was up 1.0% compared with the previous year. Furthermore, the new German Social Democrat government is focusing heavily on the housing crisis in the country. The government is creating an entirely new ministry to supervise its housing plans. The government has pledged more than 400,000 new housing units every year from 2022, 100,000 of which will be publicly subsidized. This is expected to fuel the demand for roofing tiles from the residential segment. Overall, all such factors are expected to drive the construction industry in the country, which, in turn, may drive the roofing tiles market through the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The Roofing Tiles market in Europe is consolidated, with the top five players accounting for major share of the market. The key players in the market (not in any particular order) include Wienerberger AG, BMI Group, Etex Group, IKO Industries Ltd., and Crown Roof Tiles. Additional Benefits: The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271912/?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. __________________________ Dublin, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Hybrid Cloud Management Platform Market 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report looks at popular providers in the market and offers information about their platform capabilities as well as about their level of potential for future growth and innovation. As enterprises increase their use of both cloud and physical infrastructures to support a digital business, they require tools that enable easy, efficient, and consistent management of all environments. As such, hybrid cloud management platforms have evolved to provide common functionality across infrastructures, architectures, and vendors. For platform providers, table-stakes functionality includes provisioning, orchestration, inventory classification, service enablement, monitoring and trouble alerts, workload migration, backup and recovery, identity, security and compliance, and cost and resource optimization. As businesses move further down the path of digital transformation, they seek increased automation of routine tasks, in terms of infrastructure management and also for functions "up the stack" - tasks like data management, cost management and optimization, security, and network management. Increasingly, businesses look for advanced intelligence capabilities to be embedded within the platforms to drive effective automation processes. Key Topics Covered: 1. Strategic Imperative and Growth Environment 2. Frost Radar Hybrid Cloud Management Platform Market Competitive Environment 3. Companies to Action Cisco CloudBolt CoreStack Lumen Red Hat Snow Software VMware 4. Strategic Insights 5. Next Steps For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/grnzmx New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Coated Steel Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271897/?utm_source=GNW The unfavorable conditions occur due to the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted the market but it is expected to recover in the forecast period. Key Highlights The primary factor, driving the coated steel market is growing demand from the electrical and domestic appliance industry. The construction and building components application is expected to dominate the global coated steel market over the forecast period. Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the coated steel market over the forecast period. Key Market Trends Growing Demand from the Construction and Building Components Application Coated steel finds various uses in the construction industry to create attractive and functional buildings that meet high environmental and quality requirements. The coated steel offers immense strength that makes it suitable for constructing buildings. In addition to this, coated steel possesses other characteristics, such as tensile, ductile, flexible, and cost-effective. The worldwide construction sector is predicted to reach USD 8 trillion by 2030, with countries such as India, China, and the United States driving the growth. North America and Europe are progressing in the construction sector. The country is also planning to develop a Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link Project, which includes the construction of an 18 km tunnel between Germany and Denmark. The project is estimated to attract an investment of about EUR 7.4 billion and is expected to be completed by 2028. Additionally, the construction sector in the Middle East and Africa region is expected to grow at the fastest pace in the upcoming years, as regional governments are investing in infrastructure projects. According to U.S. Census Bureau, total construction spending in January 2022 was estimated to be USD 1,677.2 billion on a seasonally adjusted yearly basis. Therefore, construction and building components application is expected to witness strong growth during the forecasted period. The Asia-Pacific Region to Dominate the Market The Asia-Pacific region represents the largest market and is also expected to be the fastest-growing market over the forecast period, owing to increasing consumption from countries like China, India, and Japan. The companies in the region provide manufacturing and assembling services to companies in Germany, France, and the United States. In China, in February 2022, the government agencies have proposed an NTD 180 billion (USD 6.47 billion) infrastructure development plan, as per the National Development Council (NDC), which includes that the proposed budget for the fourth stage of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program would be used from 2023-2024. Further, these companies are rapidly digitizing their business to achieve end-to-end integration of their operation. This is further encouraging the OEMs from Europe and North America to outsource their production to Asia-Pacific. Indias FDI in the construction development sector (townships, construction development projects, housing, and built-up infrastructure) accounted for USD 26.16 billion, and construction (infrastructure) activities accounted for USD 25.95 billion between April 2000 and September 2021. Coated steel is used in coatings of electric vehicle batteries. The production of electric vehicles in India is supported by government subsidies and favorable policies supporting manufacturing practices. The electric vehicles market in the country is majorly driven by the 2-wheeler segment, which accounted for over 48% in 2021. According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), 3,29,190 electric vehicles were sold in the country, representing an increase of 168% as compared with the sales in 2020. Thus owing to aforementioned factors, Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market for coated steel during the forecast period. Competitive Landscape The global coated steel market is fragmented in nature. Some of the major players include (in no particular order) NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION, PJSC MMK, JSW Steel, United States Steel, and ArcelorMittal among others. Additional Benefits: The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271897/?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. __________________________ LI Changfeng (21), a Chinese man who said that his name was Curtis Li (30), is an apparent fraud who is now awaiting deportation. LI Changfeng (21), a Chinese man who said that his name was Curtis Li (30), is an apparent fraud who is now awaiting deportation. Li, who claimed to had fallen in love with Bulawayos Old Luveve suburb, was about a fortnight ago arrested and charged with violating immigration regulations as he was in the country illegally. He is now awaiting deportation at Khami Prison after he was fined $10 000 by Bulawayo magistrate Mr Gamuchirai Gore. Li was found guilty of contravening section 36 (1) (h) of the Immigration Act, chapter 4:02 as read in section 23 (1) (b) of the immigration regulations act 1998. Presenting the case for the State, Mr Sehliselo Khumalo told the court that Li, who was employed by Dongxin Machinery Company, resigned on 4 October last year but did not notify the chief director of immigration. Mr Khumalo said interest on Li grew after he appeared in The Chronicle on 22 February this year. Bulawayo principal immigration officers Ncube and Kuvengwa instituted an investigation, after observing a Chronicle newspaper article indicating that there was a Chinese man who had fallen in love with Luveve suburb, said Mr Khumalo. He said on 11 April this year Li was summoned to the immigration offices to present his documents for inspection. . . . It was discovered that he had a valid temporary employment permit (00051232), which expires on 26 August 2022. The permit indicated that he was employed by Dongxin Pvt Ltd based in Kadoma. It was then discovered that Li tendered a resignation letter on 4 October 2021, said Mr Khumalo. He said Li chose to ignore and neglected to notify immigration officials of developments. In the article published by this paper in February this year it was stated that Li arrived in Zimbabwe last year. In the article Li identified himself as Curtis Li (30). Chinese man, Mr Curtis Li (and picture below)prepares his native food at his home in Old Luveve that he sells to residents in-and-around the suburb. Mr Curtis says he earns a living through the sale of Chinese food that he says sells like hot cakes When I arrived in Zimbabwe my intention was to live in a small city. So, my first port was in the capital, then Kadoma where I was to do consultancy work for a mining company, he said in tharticle. He alleged in the article that he experienced some issues and decided to move from Kadoma. It was there that I experienced some issues and decided to move. Thats how I came to this beautiful city, Li said. He said he had been in touch with a friend, Anele Mhlanga (24), whom he was staying with in Old Luveve. He convinced me to visit Bulawayo. At that time, I lived in Kumalo suburb and Ascot before I decided to move to Luveve. I had been visiting Anele at his house together with some of our other friends until I decided to stay in Luveve, he was reported saying. Chronicle Pune India, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zeolites market is anticipated to grow at a steady growth rate over the forecast period, owing to extensive demand for zeolites in detergent industry coupled with the rising concerns associated with the hygiene. Zeolites are the crystalline solids structures which is made of silicon, aluminum and oxygen. They are microporous, crystalline, hydrated aluminosilicates and are obtained from hydrothermal crystallization of aluminosilicate gels. They have a porous framework, making them suitable for employment in detergents, petrochemical, nuclear, refrigeration, and concrete among other end-user markets. Get Sample Copy of This Report @ https://greyviews.com/reports/global-zeolites-market/27/request-sample Key Insights & Findings: The natural segment led the Zeolites market and valued at USD 7.14 Billion in 2020. This is mainly due to huge adoption of natural zeolites in different end user industries such as wastewater cleanup, pet litter, and odor control along with the number of horticulture applications. The catalyst segment led the Zeolites market and valued at USD 5.98 Billion in 2020. Growth of the segment is mainly driven by increasing demand for zeolites as catalysts in hydrocarbon cracking (HC) and fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) applications. The Linde Type A segment led the Zeolites market and valued at USD 4.32 Billion in 2020. The Linde Type A are an alumino-silicate zeolite. Its rapid usage in the ion exchange-based application primarily drives growth of the segment. The 7A 10A segment led the Zeolites market and valued at USD 6.46 Billion in 2020. Growth of the segment is mainly driven by increasing usage of 7A 10A pore sized zeolites in industries as it enables greater absorption and better separation during any industrial application. The Construction & Building Materials segment led the Zeolites market and valued at USD 4.44 Billion in 2020. Ongoing demand for lightweight concrete material across the construction industry is projected to boost demand for natural zeolites, fuelling growth of the market. The detergent builders segment accounted for the largest market share and valued at USD 6.12 Billion in 2020. Improved cleaning characteristics of the zeolites primarily promotes usage of zeolites as builders in detergents, fueling growth of this segment. The regions analyzed for the market include North America, Europe, South America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. The Asia-Pacific region dominated the Zeolites market with the market revenue of 3.69 Billion in 2020. Growth of the Asia-Pacific Zeolites market is mainly driven by number of factors governments focus on environmental protection and ongoing emphasis on development of bio-based products. However, Europe region is likely to register the significant growth during the forecast period due to the strict government regulations for greenhouse gas emissions. Key players operating in the Global Zeolites Market are Albemarle Corporation, BASF SE, TOSOH Corporation, Arkema, Honeywell International Inc., Union Showa KK, Zeochem AG, KNT Group, Clariant, W.R. Grace & Co., Zeolyst International, Huiying Chemical Industry(Xiamen) Co., Ltd., Chemiewerk Bad Kostritz GmbH, NALCO India, and PQ among others. To enhance their market share in the global Zeolites market, the key vendors are now focusing on adopting the prominent strategies such as recent developments, product innovation, mergers & acquisitions, joint venture, collaborations, and partnership. For instance, in June 2021, Honeywell partnered with Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial ResearchIndian Institute of Petroleum (CSIRIIP), Government of India, to supply zeolites to accelerate setting up of Medical Oxygen Plants (MOP) in the country for addressing the ongoing pandemic. In April 2021, Clariant, a specialty chemical company announced the opening of a new production facility for process and light stabilizers. The facility is cooperatively owned by Clariant and Beijing Tiangang Auxiliary Co., Ltd. (Tiangang), a producer and supplier of light stabilizers in China. Enquiry Before Buying This Report @ https://greyviews.com/inquiry/27 Global Zeolites Market by Product type: Natural Synthetic Global Zeolites Market by Function: Ion-Exchange Molecular Sieve Catalyst Global Zeolites Market by Framework: Linde Type A Faujasite MFI Global Zeolites Market by Pore Size: 3A 7A 7A 10A Global Zeolites Market by End use: Construction & Building Materials Animal Feed Wastewater Treatment Soil Remediation Others Global Zeolites Market by Application: Adsorbents Catalysts Detergent Builders Others Global Zeolites Market by Region: North America U.S. Canada Mexico Europe Germany France U.K. Italy Spain Russia Asia-Pacific Japan China India Korea Southeast Asia South America Brazil Peru Middle East and Africa UAE South Africa Saudi Arabia About the report: This research report gives detailed data about the major factors influencing the growth of the Zeolites market at the national and local level forecast of the market size, in terms of value, market share by region, and segment; regional market positions; segment and country opportunities for growth; Key company profiles, SWOT, product portfolio and growth strategies. It studies the market essential sides such as top participants, expansion strategies, business models, and other market features to improve market insight. Buy Now Full Report @ https://greyviews.com/checkout/27/single_user_license Contact Us Rocky Shah GreyViews Pune India Phone: (+44) 162-237-1047 Email: sales@greyviews.com Web: https://greyviews.com/ Browse Related Reports: Global Metal Cleaning Market Size by Ingredients Type (Chelating Agent, Surfactant, Solvents, Solubilizers, pH Regulators, and Others), Cleaner Type (Aqueous and Solvent), End-Use Industry (Automotive & Aerospace, Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Others), Metal Type (Steel, Copper, Aluminium, and Others) and Regions, Segmentation and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-metal-cleaning-market/31 Global Ethyl Acetate Market Size by Application (Adhesives and Sealants, Paints and Coatings, Process Solvents, Intermediates, Pigments, and Other), End-user Industry (Food and Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Packaging, Automotive, Artificial Leather, and Others), Regions, Segmentation and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-ethyl-acetate-market/29 Global Zeolites Market Size by Product Type (Natural and Synthetic), Function (Ion-Exchange, Molecular Sieve, and Catalyst), Framework (Linde Type A, Faujasite, and MFI), Pore Size (3A 7A and 7A 10A), End-use (Construction & Building Materials, Animal Feed, Wastewater Treatment, Soil Remediation, and Others), and Application (Adsorbents, Catalysts, Detergent Builders, and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-zeolites-market/27 Global Biosurfactants Market Size by Type (Glycolipids, Lipopeptides and Lipoproteins, Phospholipids and Fatty Acids, Polymeric Biosurfactants, and Particulate Biosurfactants), Application (Detergents, Personal Care, Food Processing, Agricultural Chemicals, and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-biosurfactants-market/25 Global Castor Oil Derivatives Market Size by Product (Sebacic acid, 12HSA, Ricinoleic Acid, Undecylenic acid, Dehydrated Castor Oil, Hydrogenated Castor oil (Castor wax), and Others) and Application (Lubricants, Surface Coatings, Cosmetics & Pharmaceuticals, Biodiesel, Plastics & Resins, and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-castor-oil-derivatives-market/24 Global Natural Oil Polyols Market Size by Product (Soy Oil Polyols, Castor Oil Polyols, Canola Oil Polyols, Palm Oil Polyols, and Sunflower Oil Polyols), End-use (Furniture & Interiors, Construction, Electrical & Electronic Appliances, Footwear, Automotive, Packaging, and Others), Regions, Segmentation and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-natural-oil-polyols-marke/21 Global Bio solvents Market Size by Product (Lactate Ester, Soy Methyl Ester, Glycols, Alcohol, and Others), Application (Paints & Coatings, Printing Inks, Adhesives & Sealants, and Others), Regions, Segmentation and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-bio-solvents-market/20 Global Mining Chemicals Market Size by Product type (Frothers, Flocculants, Collectors, Solvent Extractants, and Grinding aids), Mineral Type (Base metals, Non-metallic minerals, Precious metals, and Rare earth metals), Application (Mineral Processing, Explosives & Drilling, Water & Wastewater Treatment, and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and Projection till 2028 https://greyviews.com/reports/global-mining-chemicals-market/13 Global Detergents Chemicals Market Size by Product (Surfactants, Builders, Enzymes, Fragrances, Bleaching Agents, and Others) and Application (Laundry Cleaning Products, Household & Commercial Cleaning Products, Dishwashing Products, Personal Cleaning Products, Fuel Additives, Biological Reagents, and Others), and End User (household and industrial & institutional) Regions, Segmentation and Projection till 2028. https://greyviews.com/reports/global-detergents-chemicals-market/12 Global Specialty Oleochemicals Market Size by Product Type (Specialty Ester, Fatty Acid Methyl Ester, Glycerol Ester, Alkoxylates, Fatty Amines, and Others), By Application (Personal Care & Cosmetics, Food Processing, Consumer Goods, Health & Pharmaceuticals, Polymer & Plastic Additives, Textile, Paints & Coatings, and Others), Regions, Segmentation, and Projection till 2028 https://greyviews.com/reports/global-specialty-oleochemicals-market/8 Global Pharmaceutical Processing Seals Market Size by Type (O-rings, Gaskets, Lip seals, D seals, and Others), Material (Metals, PTFE, Silicone, Nitrile Rubber, EPDM, FKM, FFKM, UHMWPE, and PU), Application (Manufacturing equipment and Others), Regions, Segmentation and Projection till 2028. GREENWICH, Conn., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: XPO), a leading provider of freight transportation services, has introduced a carbon-offset shipping option for customers of its truck brokerage business in North America. Launched on Earth Day, April 22, the companys Ship Net-Zero with XPO program gives shippers a way to negate the carbon footprint of their freight by purchasing carbon offsets for the sustainability project of their choice. Drew Wilkerson, XPOs president of North American transportation, said, We developed our Ship Net-Zero program to make a climate-positive impact today, while the transportation industry transitions to hybrid and zero-emission heavy vehicles over time. Ship Net-Zero gives our brokerage customers a meaningful, documented way to offset the emissions of their shipping activities. Carbon investing can reduce the carbon footprint of freight movements to zero by funding sustainability projects that align with personal values or corporate goals. How Ship Net-Zero Works XPOs truck brokerage services are asset-light and managed on the XPO Connect digital platform. The technology uses data science to source capacity from a pool of more than a million trucks, capturing the carbon impact data at the time a load is tendered. The shipper-friendly program automatically tracks carbon offsets to emissions calculations in the customers XPO account. Recipients of the carbon offsets range from global to community-based projects, giving shippers the flexibility to apply their carbon credits to: Alternative power (wind or solar) Gas capture (landfill or livestock) Industrial process emissions reduction Biomass fuels Energy efficiency Waste management Forestry management (or urban forestry) Ozone-depleting substances (destruction or replacement) And other eco-friendly initiatives For more information on Ship Net-Zero, contact the XPO Brokerage ESG Team . About XPO Logistics XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: XPO) is a leading provider of freight transportation services, primarily less-than-truckload (LTL) and truck brokerage. XPO uses its proprietary technology, including the cutting-edge XPO Connect automated freight marketplace, to move goods efficiently through supply chains. The companys global network serves 50,000 shippers with approximately 727 locations and 41,000 employees, and is headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., USA. Visit xpo.com for more information, and connect with XPO on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram and YouTube . New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Semiconductor Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Equipment Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271878/?utm_source=GNW Increasing demand for microelectronics-based consumer products, resulting in the faster growth of the semiconductor, LED, and storage device industry, strict regulations on the use of Cr6 for electroplating are primarily driving the growth of the CVD equipment market. Key Highlights Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process is often used in the manufacturing of semiconductors and in the production of thin films. In recent years, CVD synthesis has been reaching new heights with the precise manufacturing of both inorganic thin films of 2D materials and high-purity polymeric thin films that may be conformally deposited on various substrates. Precursor gases (typically diluted in carrier gases) are supplied into the reaction chamber at around ambient temperatures in semiconductor chemical vapour deposition equipment. They react or breakdown when they pass across or come into touch with a heated substrate, generating a solid phase that is deposited on the substrate. The temperature of the substrate is important because it can influence the reactions that occur. CVD is widely used in microfabrication techniques to deposit materials in a variety of morphologies, including polycrystalline, monocrystalline, amorphous, and epitaxial. Silicon (dioxide, carbide, nitride, oxynitride), carbon (fibre, nanofibers, nanotubes, diamond, and graphene), fluorocarbons, filaments, tungsten, titanium nitride, and a variety of high-k dielectrics are among these materials. Governments and business stakeholders are watching developments in the microelectronics industry closely because these technologies have the potential to disrupt and propel the Internet of Things market. Due to the increased adoption of virtual reality and augmented reality gadgets, R&D for microelectronics may also increase in response to the looming bandwidth constraint. They are making semiconductors. CVD setup can be complex and comes with huge costs. The foundries and Outsources Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) companies are likely to face increased pressure on capital expenditures as they continue to expand production to address the rising chip demand. The COVID -19 outbreak affected the overall semiconductor and chip fabrication market from the demand and supply sides. The nationwide lockdowns and closure of semiconductor plants have further fueled the supply shortage trend. However, these effects are likely to be short-term and temporarily affect the demand for CVD technologies. Moreover, government precautions globally to support automotive and industrial sectors could help revive foundry industry growth. Key Market Trends Increase in Demand for Microelectronics and Consumer Electronics to Fuel the Demand The rise in the sales of microelectronics and consumer electronics is expected to drive the demand for semiconductor ICs over the forecasted period. However, the increase in the demand for semiconductor ICs is expected to increase the production capacity of semiconductor device manufacturers, which may augment the demand in the chemical vapor deposition market. The integrated device manufacturer (IDM) includes logic, optoelectronics, sensors, discrete components, and others. (Excluding Memory Manufacturers). An integrated device manufacturer manufactures and sells integrated circuits (ICs) . A classic IDM owns its own branded chips, designs them in-house, and makes them in a fabrication factory. IDMs pursue node scaling beyond 10 nm to 5 nm and even 3 nm, while other manufacturers are renouncing planar architectures favoring sophisticated, three-dimensional (3D) structures for logic and memory. Thin-film deposition is a vital step in the manufacturing of integrated circuits (ICs). The most common approach for thin-film growth is CVD. Precursors and reactants are combined in a process chamber before being delivered in a steady state to form a film on the wafer in CVD. The market is witnessing the prensece of various IDMS undertaking diffrernt initiatives to gain a competitve advantage. For instance, the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC) is a facility that provides fabrication services, pre-commercial photonic devices, and photonic integrated circuit manufacturers. Design and modeling, epitaxy, fabrication, and test and characterization are among the fee-based services provided by CPFC. CPFC operates a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor for the research and fabrication of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP)-based devices. Also, governments and industry stakeholders are keenly following the advances in the microelectronics industry as these technologies might potentially disrupt and also boost the market for the Internet of Things. R&D for microelectronics may also increase with the impending bandwidth crunch due to the improved penetration of virtual reality and augmented reality devices. In September 2021, the government organized a conference with 50 representatives from the European and international semiconductor industries to persuade them to invest in Germany by offering them a help package. The German government plans to spend roughly USD 4.5 billion to recapture manufacturing locations across the semiconductor value chain. Asia Pacific as the Most Lucrative Market for Global Semiconductor CVD Equipment The Asia Pacific is a potential region with various manufacturing facilities for the development of consumer electronics and semiconductor-related products. The particular region is expected to occupy the largest market share in the semiconductor CVD equipment market in the coming years. The advancement of the electronics and semiconductor industries, particularly in China, is driving market expansion in the region. In growing economies like China and India, the expansion in industrialization and the number of end-user sectors and companies presented enormous undiscovered potential. Due to the sheer existence of growing economies and the development of the electronics industries, the region is predicted to propel at a significant rate over the forecast period. China has a very ambitious semiconductor agenda. Backed by USD 150 billion in funding, the country is developing its domestic IC industry and plans to make more of its chips. Greater China, which encompasses Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan, is a geopolitical hotspot. The US-China trade war is compounding tensions in an area where all the leading process technology is located, forcing many Chinese companies to invest in their semiconductor foundries. The rapid expansion of the APAC automotive semiconductor industry is expected to be fueled by the rising demand for electric vehicles. Automobile manufacturers must continue to innovate, create, and develop self-driving cars, which have already attracted a significant number of customers in key automotive manufacturing countries. India has emerged as one of the worlds fastest-growing economies due to its large population. According to projections, the automotive semiconductor market in the country will increase rapidly in the coming years. The Automotive industry is complemented by a strong semiconductor R&D infrastructure, which will open new potential for the semiconductor etch market in India in the forthcoming years. Competitive Landscape The market is fragmented with high competitive rivalry. Also, owing to their market penetration and the ability to offer advanced products, the competitive rivalry is expected to be high. Although the market comprises various players, only a handful are prominent in the market for their high standards and excellent quality. August 2021 - CVD Equipment Corporation, one of the key suppliers of chemical vapor deposition systems, announced that it had secured a production system order worth about USD 1.7 million from a large US-based electric car battery material producer. In the first quarter of 2022, the system will be delivered to the customer. July 2021 - ASM International N.V. announced the availability of Intrepid ESATM epitaxy equipment for 300mm applications in power and analog devices and epitaxial silicon wafers. The new ESA tool increases ASMs atmospheric epi capabilities with ASMs first 300mm atmospheric cluster tool based on the proven, high-volume manufacturing Intrepid platform. On-wafer performance with the Intrepid ESA. Additional Benefits: The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271878/?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. __________________________ VAUGHAN, Ontario, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Student Price Card (SPC) is celebrating their 30th anniversary of serving the student community. SPC is the longest-standing and most popular student loyalty program in the country. Since 1992, SPC has been connecting Canadian students to popular brands and giving them access to exclusive discounts on relevant products, services, and experiences. President and Founder of SPC, Dean Mazzariol explains, "The reason why I started SPC was because many students find themselves falling into financial hardships while in post-secondary. This program was created to not only help students save money but to also teach young people how to be financially responsible." SPC has saved current and former students millions of dollars over its 30 years in business. "I am proud of the relationships we have developed over the last 30 years, with both our partners and employees." states Mazzariol. In its 30 years, SPC has had the privilege of collaborating with top brands and forming strategic partnerships with financial institutions, like its current banking partner CIBC. With the retail industry being a victim of many COVID-19 lockdowns, closures, and staff turnover, SPC expanded their digital platform by offering more online discounts from partners. In addition to helping retailers, an increase in online discounts also benefited students who no longer had physical access to that retail environment. Students were able to continue to shop online for everyday needs, while still saving money. Above all, SPC's users have always been the focus. With many students dealing with the effects of the pandemic, it was important for SPC to support them as best as possible. "We work closely with a student panel to make sure our members are happy and getting the most out of their SPC experience. It also allows them to voice any suggestions, comments, and feedback. Their input is integral to our business," states SPC's Chief Strategic Planning Officer, Emanuel Barbosa. In celebration of 30 years, SPC is giving back to students that make the program possible. They invite their members to enjoy additional, limited-time discounts on their platform for select brands from April 24 to May 1. Members can expect extra savings on brands like Little Burgundy, Tommy Hilfiger, KOTN, Zaful, La Vie En Rose, Ardene, Chefs Plate, as well as regular discounts on popular brands such as Adidas, SHEIN, H&M, Bath & Body Works, American Eagle, Samsung, and hundreds more. Students can purchase an SPC membership at various retailers, online, and through their campus bookstore or high school to enjoy the many benefits of SPC and this bonus week of discounts. They can also get a free membership as an eligible CIBC student client! For more information, please email Shae-Lynn Schell at shae@spccard.ca or visit www.spcard.ca to learn more. ### ABOUT SPC Student Price Card provides Canadian students discounts up to 25% off on over 450+ brands including Adidas, Taco Bell, American Eagle, H&M, Samsung, Shein, Burger King and more. Their mission is to teach students how to be more financially responsible while also saving them money at the same time! SPC is a membership made for all student types including high school, college and university, trade skills colleges and more. Related Images Image 1: SPC Logo SPC Logo This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment RIDGETOWN, Ontario, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KSR International Inc., a global automotive manufacturer, has partnered with One Tree Planted to plant 1,400 trees worldwide. The 1,400 trees will assist reforestation projects in Canada, the United States, Denmark, Mexico, and the Philippines. The partnership directly aligns with KSR's commitment to reducing its global environmental footprint and ensuring a more sustainable planet for future generations. "The team members at KSR are committed to environmental sustainability and to fostering a healthy and clean environment for the generations of the future," said KSR's Chief Executive Officer and President, Dean Varley. The objectives of this new partnership include supporting global reforestation efforts, empowering consumers with sustainable actions and raising awareness about the importance of ecosystem restoration. Trees are essential to the health of our planet, biodiversity, and reducing the harmful effects of climate change. Reforestation is consistently identified by scientists as one of the top solutions to the climate crisis and the trees planted as part of this initiative will support the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. About KSR International Inc. Founded in 1948, KSR International Inc. is an industry leader in designing, engineering, and manufacturing driver interface systems of the future for Tier 1 OEM. KSR, now a global business, began as a small operation in Ontario, Canada. Working out of his Ridgetown, ON garage, founder A.J. Sales manufactured locks for Ford-built cars and trucks. Over the next decade, KSR expanded rapidly, developing a reputation for quality auto parts, and in 1957, it redefined the traditional fixed pedal business. Today, KSR is a privately held company with facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia. We set the industry standard for brake pedal modules as well as traditional fixed systems and advanced adjustable systems. With a rich history of reliable manufacturing, superior customer service, and continual improvement, KSR has become the go-to technology solutions provider for the automotive industry. About One Tree Planted One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. Their projects span the globe and are done in partnership with local communities and knowledgeable experts to create an impact for nature, people, and wildlife. Reforestation helps to rebuild forests after fires and floods, provide jobs for social impact, and restore biodiversity. Many projects have overlapping objectives, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. To learn more, visit www.onetreeplanted.org. Kristy Metcalfe Global HSEE Manager KSR International Inc. kmetcalfe@ksrint.com Related Images Image 1: One Tree Planted This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Insight Partners published the latest research study on Smart Card Material Market Forecast to 2028 COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Material [Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polycarbonate (PC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polyethylene Terephthalate-Glycol (PETG), and Others], Type (Contact Cards, Contactless Cards, and Multi-Component Cards), and Application (BFSI, Government, Telecommunication, Retail, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Others), and Geography. The projected growth of the market during the forecast period is attributed to significant growth of the telecommunications and healthcare sector, and rapid growth of various other end-user industries. Report Coverage Details Market Size Value in US$ 1324.57 million in 2021 Market Size Value by US$ 1,837.78 million by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 4.8% from 2021 to 2028. Forecast Period 2021-2028 Base Year 2021 No. of Pages 173 No. Tables 83 No. of Charts & Figures 60 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Material, Type, and Application Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Smart Card Material Market: Competitive Landscape A few of the players operating in the smart card material market include Eastman Chemical Company, PetroChina Company Limited, Solvay S.A., KEM ONE, SABIC, 3A Composites GmbH, Teijin Limited, LG Chem, BASF SE, and Westlake Chemical Corporation. Get Exclusive Sample Pages of this research study at - https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00026860/ In 2020, Asia Pacific held the largest share of the global smart card material market. The governments of various Asia Pacific countries are focusing on installing smart card systems in public transportation. Smart cards are highly used in the retail sector. Moreover, the growing use of smart cards in various applications, such as government and education sectors, is fueling the market growth in the region. Furthermore, the smart card material market players from the region invest heavily in R&D activities to introduce innovative products. Rapid Growth of Various End-User Industries Fuels Smart Card Material Market Growth Materials such as PETG, ABS, PVC, PC, and PET are used for the manufacturing of smart card bodies, and they provide the required thickness and durability to smart cards. These materials are widely employed to build smart cards used in sectors such as BFSI, government, hospitality, and retail. The increasing digitalization in the banking and financial services industry to make banking operations more convenient with efficient data management is propelling the demand for smart cards. In addition, growing digitalization in the retail industry for strengthening the payment infrastructure is augmenting the consumption of smart cards, further driving the smart card materials market growth. Burgeoning focus on enhancing hospitality services so to provide a delightful experience to end consumers is boosting the demand for smart cards, thereby contributing to the smart card materials market growth. The telecommunication segment held the largest share of the market in 2021. In the telecommunication industry, smart cards are used in two primary applications. Firstly, it is used as prepaid (stored value memory cards) telephone cards and as the microprocessor smart card-based subscriber identity module (SIM) or universal integrated circuit card (UICC) in mobile phones. Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00026860/ Smart Card Material Market: Segmental Overview Based on material, the smart card material market is segmented into polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene terephthalate-glycol (PETG), and Others. The polyvinyl chloride segment held the largest share of the smart card material market in 2020. It is the most common and strong type of plastic used for card manufacturing. Based on type, the smart card material market has been segmented into contact cards, contactless cards, and multi-component cards. The contact cards segment held the largest share of the smart card material market in 2020. Contact cards need to be inserted in card acceptor devices for completing payments. Pins attached to this reader make contact with pads on the surface of the card to read and store the information contained in the card's chip. They are used in applications such as network security, electronic cash transfers, government IDs, campus IDs, e-commerce, and health cards. Based on application, the smart card material market has been segmented into BFSI, government, telecommunication, retail, healthcare, hospitality, and others. The telecommunication segment held the largest share of the market in 2020. In the telecommunications industry, smart cards are used in two primary applicationsprepaid (stored value memory cards) telephone cards and microprocessor smart card-based subscriber identity module (SIM) or universal integrated circuit card (UICC) in mobile phones. Connect with Our Research Analyst on: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/speak-to-analyst/TIPRE00026860/ Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Smart Card Material Market The massive outbreak of the pandemic temporarily distorted the operations of industrial bases in the global market. Industries such as hospitality and retail were impacted by sudden disturbances in operational efficiencies and disruptions in supply chains owing to the shutdown of national and international boundaries. The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted the government sector as administrative offices and other activities came to pause during the lockdowns imposed in early 2020. The growth of the smart card materials market was hampered by the dwindling sales of smart cards due to the severe effects on the hospitality and modern retail industries. However, various countries reopened their business sectors in late 2020, which further propelled the demand for smart card materials in 2021. The contactless cards segment is the fastest growing segment in the global smart card material market during the forecasted period. Contactless cards are the smart cards with contactless credentials and have a size like credit cards or debit cards. The market for the contactless cards segment is growing due to its various benefits. Buy Premium Copy of this research report at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00026860/ The polyvinyl chloride segment held the largest share of the global smart card material market in 2021. Polyvinyl chloride is the most common and strong plastic material used for card manufacturing. The material is used for contact and contactless cards. The contact cards segment held the largest share of the market in 2021. Contact cards are the smart cards that have a size like conventional debit and credit card. Contact smart card contains a single, embedded, and integrated circuit chip that consists of either memory or memory plus microprocessor. In 2021, Asia Pacific held the largest share of the global smart card material market. The major factor driving the smart card materials market in the Asia Pacific region is the increasing use of smart cards in various applications such as government, transportation, retail, and education sectors. 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We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials. Contact Us: If you have any queries about this report or if you would like further information, please contact us: Contact Person: Sameer Joshi E-mail: sales@theinsightpartners.com Phone: +1-646-491-9876 Dublin, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Firefighting Foam Market by Type (AFFF, AR-AFFF, PF, Synthetic Detergent Foam), End-Use Industry (Oil & Gas, Aviation, Marine, Mining), Expansion, Material Type (Surfactant, Fluorosurfactant, Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)) & Region - Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The market size of firefighting foams is estimated to grow from USD 756 million in 2021 to USD 913 million by 2026, at a CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period. The firefighting foam market is on course for intense growth across different end use industries such as oil & gas, marine, aviation, mining, and other industries. Marine segment is projected to grow at a faster rate during the forecast period By end-use, marine segment is expected to grow at a highest CAGR during 2021 to 2026. In the marine industry, firefighting foams are used as a fire protection measure for various applications such as marine vessels and offshore drilling rigs. Synthetic Detergent Foam segment is projected to grow at a faster rate during the forecast period By type, synthetic detergent foam segment is expected to grow at a highest CAGR during 2021 to 2026. Synthetic detergent foam is made from a combination of hydrocarbon surfactants and solvents. This foam is ideally used for applications involving areas such as a basement, mine shaft, or a ship's hold where volume fire control is required. Middle East & Africa is projected to grow at a faster rate during the forecast period The Middle East & Africa region is expected to grow at a highest CAGR during 2021 to 2026. The firefighting foam market in the Middle East is majorly driven by its use in the oil & gas industry. AFFF is the largest segment of the firefighting foam market in the Middle East & Africa. AFFF is most suitable for the oil & gas industry. Since the demand for oil and gas is high in this region, this has subsequently improved the demand for AFFF in the region. Competitive Landscape Some of the key players operating in the firefighting foam market are Johnson Controls (US), Perimeter Solutions (US), Dr. Sthamer (Germany), National Foam (US), Angus Fire (UK), Kerr Fire (UK), Eau&Feu (France), and SFFECO Global (UAE). Premium Insights Firefighting Foam Market Projected to Witness Moderate Growth During Forecast Period Asia-Pacific to Account for Largest Share of Firefighting Foam During Forecast Period Synthetic Detergent Foam to be Fastest-Growing Segment Oil & Gas Accounted for Largest Share of Overall Market Market Dynamics Drivers Increased Fire-Related Accidents Leading to Casualties and Loss of Property Restraints Absence of a Standardized Regulatory Body Globally for Approval of Firefighting Foam Opportunities Upcoming Technologies to Mitigate Current Issues Related to Firefighting Foam Development of Fluorine-Free Foams Challenges Existing Lawsuits and Litigations Against Major Manufacturers Stringent Regulations for Production of Firefighting Foams Porter's Five Forces Analysis Ecosystem/Market Map Value Chain Case Study Analysis Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Foam Contamination and the Transition to Fluorine-Free Foams Technology Analysis Regulatory Landscape Price Analysis Patent Analysis Insight Legal Status of Patents Top Jurisdiction, by Document Top 10 Companies/Applicants with Highest Number of Patents List of Patents by Tyco Fire Products, Lp List of Patents by Jiangsu Suolong Fire Science and Technology Co., Ltd List of Patents by Dupont Top 10 Patent Owners (Us) in Last 10 Years Impact of COVID-19 on Firefighting Foam Market Oil & Gas Aviation Marine Mining Key Conferences & Events in 2022-2023 Companies Mentioned 3F Angus Fire Bioex Buckeye Fire Equipment Coffco Dafo Fomtec Ab Dr. Sthamer Eau&Feu Fireade Inc. Firechem Foamtech Integrated Fire Protection Private Limited J. F. Ahern Co. Johnson Controls Kerr Fire Kv Fire Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. Naffco National Foam Oil Technics (Fire Fighting Foam Products) Limited Orchidee Perimeter Solutions Profoam International Sffeco Global Viking Group Inc. Vintex Fire Protection Pvt. Ltd. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1hlfyo Attachment New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Cosmetic Packaging Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type, Material, and Application" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269986/?utm_source=GNW The growth of the cosmetic packaging market is driven by various innovative solutions, such as package printing technology.The manufacturers of cosmetic products use advanced and popular printing methods, such as hot stamp foil printing and flexography to create unique and eye-catching packaging for their products. Further, manufacturers are heavily investing in developing virtual and augmented reality websites to provide convenience to the consumers while selecting the products online. The rising influence of makeup trends on social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, further contribute to the growth of the cosmetic packaging market. Based on material, the cosmetic packaging market is segmented into glass, plastic, paper, metal, and others.The plastic segment accounted for the largest share, whereas the market for the others segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. The market for the others segment is categorized into bio plastic and stretch film.Bio plastics are made from plants or other biological materials instead of crude oil and natural gas. Bio-based plastics are made from renewable ingredients, such as sugar cane, corn, sawdust, or microbes.The primary advantage of using bio plastics is their capability to improve a products environmental impact. It helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the material is nontoxic and allergy-free. In contrast, stretch film is used to wrap products on pallets. It helps reduce product loss, discourage load tampering, and reduce worker injury. The films keep the product free of moisture, dust, and dirt. A wide variety of cosmetic packaging is made of plastic due to its convenience and hygienic qualities. Plastic packaging is flexible and adaptable, allowing manufacturers to customize its shape, size, and style as per their requirements. Also, plastic is often cheaper than other traditional packaging materials, such as glass and metal. The most common plastic used in cosmetic packaging is polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and acrylic. In addition, polyethylene is one of the most commonly used microplastics in cosmetic products, such as eyeliners, mascara, eye shadows, eyebrow pencils, lipsticks, face powders, foundations, skin cleansers, and skincare products. By region, the cosmetic packaging market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South & Central America (SAM).In 2020, Asia-Pacific held the largest share of the market and is estimated to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific consists of developing economies and is experiencing rapid digitalization.Many beauty influencers are launching video tutorials on creating different makeup looks and are gaining high popularity among consumers. Therefore, manufacturers of cosmetics products are collaborating with these influencers to promote their products, which are expected to open immense growth opportunities for the cosmetic industry in the coming years. Hence, the growth of the cosmetics industry in the region drives the cosmetic packaging market. ALBEA; APC PACKAGING; AptarGroup, Inc.; Berry Global Inc.; Gerresheimer AG; WWP Beauty; Silgan Plastics.; Huhtamaki; LIBO Cosmetics; and HCP Packaging are among the players operating in the cosmetic packaging market. These companies provide a wide range of product portfolio for the market. The companies have their presence in the developing regions, which provides lucrative opportunities for the cosmetic packaging market growth. The market players are developing high-quality and innovative products to meet the customers requirements. The overall cosmetic packaging market size has been derived using both primary and secondary source.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants to validate the data, as well as to gain analytical insights into the topic. The participants of this process include industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the cosmetic packaging market. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06269986/?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. __________________________ NEW YORK, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Metallika.Inc, a global company focusing on the decentralization of mineral mining, has announced the integration of blockchain technology to its mining operations. The processes involved in mining are made up of a lot of stages with enormous data. In order to make our mining projects available to all investors, no matter big or small, Metallika is launching its own utility token. The company is collaborating in a series of exploration projects that include the granite project (currently in the development stage), beach sand mineral project (feasibility stage), chrome mineral trading, and graphite project (discovery stage). All the mining projects have passed through the initial 4 to 5 stages of the mining lifecycle and can start production within a space of 2 years. The team has also created a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to facilitate fast, reliable, and transparent communication among partners in the exploration and mining cycle. The Metallika DAO The decentralized autonomous organization created by the Metallika team is a system designed to operate on the blockchain autonomously. It completely adheres to the rules encoded into the smart contract. Every financial transaction within the DAO and the software rules of the smart contract will be stored within the chain of the transaction blocks. The team deployed distributed database technologies, secure timestamps to organize a secure digital ledger of contracts, deeds, and records that ensure ownership for all the DAO participants. The major product of the DAO Metallika is cloud services. The Metallika DAO provides reliable and transparent communication between participants in the mining cycle with the cloud services. These participants are enabled to form partnerships and also obtain investments at every stage of the cycle. All members of the DAO can access the documentation stored in IPFS and manage approval processes for documentation generated during exploration. They can also issue digital commodity backend tokens that are backed by minerals. The Metallika Token It is a utility token that enables the operation of the Metallika DAO. The token guarantees access to the products and services of the DAO. One of the major properties of the token is that you can access it within the private Metalika DAO and other public blockchain networks like Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum. The team is currently working on expanding the number of public blockchains for the token. The total token supply is 300,000,000, and 50% (150,000,000) will be an ERC-20 compliant token, while the remaining half will be BEP-20. Upcoming Token Sale The first stage of the token sale will be for the 300 million tokens on the public blockchain networks (Ethereum and BSC). Once the Metallika DAO goes live, a liquidity pool of tokens will be created within the DAO. It will be equal to the total number of tokens already issued on the public blockchains. The price per Metallika token is $0.1. About Metallika.Inc Metallika.Inc is a blockchain-powered company that tokenizes the services of mining natural resources. Companies and individuals who hold the Metallika token will be granted access to the data about mineral resources. These token holders can be part of the exploration and extraction of these resources. Social Links Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Metallika.IO Telegram: https://t.me/+D8KLYFM1CrkyNzkx Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetallikaICO Media Contact Brand: Metallika.Inc Email: info@metallika.io Website: https://metallika.io/ SOURCE: Metallika.Inc New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market Research Report by Technology, Service, Diagnosis Type, Diagnostic Tool, Application, End-User, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06261719/?utm_source=GNW The Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market size was estimated at USD 801.15 million in 2021 and expected to reach USD 927.42 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR 15.93% to reach USD 1,945.62 million by 2027. Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Technology, the market was studied across Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neuroradiology, and Radiology. Based on Service, the market was studied across Others, Tele Monitoring, and Tele-Consultation. Based on Diagnosis Type, the market was studied across Cardiology, Neurology, and Radiology. Based on Diagnostic Tool, the market was studied across Automated Detection System, Medical Imaging Tool, and Others. Based on Application, the market was studied across Data Mining, Data Storage, Follow-up Plan, Image Acquisition, and Processing to Aided Reporting. Based on End-User, the market was studied across Diagnostic Laboratory and Hospital. Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict: We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States. This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia. This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Market Share Analysis: The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits. Competitive Scenario: The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service. Company Usability Profiles: The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market, including Aidoc Medical Ltd., Arterys Inc., Butterfly Network Inc., Caption Health, Inc., Enlitic, Inc., Freenome Holdings, Inc., Gauss Surgical Inc., GE Healthcare Inc., General Vision, Inc., Google Inc., Health Fidelity, Inc., IDx Technologies Inc., Imagen Technologies, Inc., Intel Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., MaxQ AI, Ltd, Medtronic PLC, Microsoft Corporation, Qure.ai, Siemens Healthineers AG, SigTuple Technologies Private Limited, VUNO Inc, and Zebra Medical Vision Ltd. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market? 6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market? 7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Artificial Intelligence In Medical Diagnostics Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06261719/?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. __________________________ A 32-YEAR-OLD Zimbabwean man, Andrea Imbayarwo has been slapped with two life sentences by a South African High Court for raping and killing a British businesswoman in Thabazimbi in Limpopo province. Imbayarwo who committed the offence in 2014, was convicted of committing the two crimes when he appeared at the Limpopo Division High Court this week. Limpopo police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Malesela Ledwaba confirmed the development. The accused, 32-year-old Zimbabwean national, Andrea Imbayarwo was sentenced to two life imprisonment for raping and killing Christine Robinson, who was the owner of Raditau Lodge in Thabazimbi in the Waterberg District. This horrendous crime was committed during 2014, he said. Imbayarwo, who committed the offense in 2014, was convicted when he appeared at the Limpopo Division High Court this week. The deceased was found in her bedroom on the morning of 30 July 2014 at about 07:30. The police were called and on arrival at the scene, the victim was found with the knife still stuck in her neck. She was certified dead by paramedics. Lt Col Ledwaba said investigations were carried out and it was then discovered that Imbayarwo had on the same day hired a vehicle to take him to Beitbridge Border Post with the aim to go to Zimbabwe when he committed the crimes. On 30 July 2020, he said the police got a tip-off about the accuseds whereabouts and they swiftly arrested him. He said further investigations revealed that the woman was also raped and robbed of some valuables. Chronicle (Oslo, 22 April 2022) Hexagon Purus ASAs first quarter results 2022 will be released on 10 May 2022, 07.00 CET. Hexagon Purus is pleased to invite investors, analysts, and other stakeholders to our presentation of Q1 2022 results and the Companys first capital markets day on 10 May 2022 from 09.00 CET to 12.00 CET. Hexagon Purus executive management will give a company update in conjunction with the presentation of Q1 2022 results, followed by Q&A. To attend the event, please register here . The presentation will be held in English and be virtual. A recording of the presentation will be made available on www.hexagonpurus.com after the presentation. For more information: Mathias Meidell, IR Director, Hexagon Purus ASA Telephone: +47 909 82 242 | mathias.meidell@hexagonpurus.com Dilip Warrier, CFO, Hexagon Purus ASA Telephone: +1 949-236-5528 | dilip.warrier@hexagonpurus.com About Hexagon Purus ASA Hexagon Purus, a Hexagon Composites company, is a world leading provider of hydrogen type 4 high-pressure cylinders, battery packs and vehicle systems integration for fuel cell electric and battery electric vehicles. Hexagon Purus enables zero emission solutions for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, buses, ground storage, distribution, maritime, rail and aerospace applications. Learn more at www.hexagonpurus.com and follow @HexagonPurus on Twitter and LinkedIn. English Lithuanian On 22 April 2022 the Vilnius District Court (hereinafter the Court) approved the settlement agreement concluded between AB Ignitis grupe (hereinafter the Group), a Prosecutor of the Vilnius District Prosecutor's Office (hereinafter the Prosecutor), who defended the public interest, and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania and dismissed the civil case on the incentive share options programme for the employees and executives of the Group (hereinafter the Programme). Under the settlement agreement, the Prosecutor has abandoned the claims brought against the Group and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania. The parties have also agreed under the settlement agreement to waive any current or future claims regarding the basis and subject matter of the case. The parties decided to resolve the dispute in the most reasonable and economic manner, considering the Groups decision to terminate the suspended Programme. In May 2021, the top executives of the Group terminated the concluded executive option agreements on their own initiative, and, in March this year, the collegial bodies of the Group annulled other documents disputed in the claim. The decision to abandon the suspended Programme was made because (i) the Programme was actually suspended and was not implemented; (ii) after the Programme was approved, the legislative changes have been initiated, causing too much uncertainty regarding the ability to implement the Programme in the future, and the Group aims to have an operating incentive programme ensuring the achievement of long-term objectives. The Groups Supervisory Board is planning to look for alternative measures to ensure the achievement of long-term objectives. It must be noted that, after the Programme was approved, the Audit Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania expressed a clear position and will eliminate any possibilities in the future to incentivise the employees and members of management bodies of state-owned enterprises by allocating shares of the company to them, and the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania, following the order, registered a draft amendment of the Law on Companies (hereinafter LoC) in December 2021, one of the objectives of which was to make sure that the provisions of LoC related to incentivising employees with share options do not apply to companies such as the Group. Despite the fact that the Programme has now been abandoned, the Group maintains its position that the incentive share options programme is in line with the best international practices, which are applied in the most advanced and best-governed companies in the world. It is a standard practice in the EU, applied both in state-owned enterprises and international energy companies. Meanwhile, there are few state-owned enterprises such as the Group in Lithuania that are listed (public companies whose shares or part thereof are listed publicly for trading in stock exchanges), therefore, the practice of incentivising with share options is still new in Lithuania and raises many questions for the authorities and the public. The Group intends to continue the discussion with the legislator, the authorities, and the public in order to clarify the principles and future legal regulation of such programmes. We hope that incentivising with share options will be successfully implemented in Lithuania in the near future, including state-owned enterprises that are listed publicly on the stock exchanges. For more information please contact: New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Augmented Reality in Retail Market Research Report by Technology, Offering, Device Type, Application, Retail Type, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06261649/?utm_source=GNW The Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market size was estimated at USD 2,463.93 million in 2021 and expected to reach USD 3,205.00 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR 30.25% to reach USD 12,032.92 million by 2027. Market Statistics: The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period. Market Segmentation & Coverage: This research report categorizes the Augmented Reality in Retail to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets: Based on Technology, the market was studied across Marker-Based Augmented Reality and Markerless Augmented Reality. The Marker-Based Augmented Reality is further studied across Active Marker and Passive Marker. The Markerless Augmented Reality is further studied across Image-Based Processing and Model-Based Tracking. Based on Offering, the market was studied across Hardware, Services, and Software. The Hardware is further studied across Cameras, Displays and Projectors, Semiconductor Components, and Sensors. The Semiconductor Components is further studied across Controllers and Processors and Integrated Circuits. The Sensors is further studied across Accelerometers, Gyroscopes, Magnetometers, and Proximity Sensors. The Software is further studied across 3d Modeling, AR Remote Collaboration, Documentation, Navigation, Visualization, and Workflow Optimization. Based on Device Type, the market was studied across Handheld Devices, Head-Mounted Displays, and Smart AR Mirrors. Based on Application, the market was studied across Advertising & Marketing, Information Systems, Planning & Designing, and Try-On Solutions. Based on Retail Type, the market was studied across Apparel Fitting, Beauty & Cosmetics, Footwear, Furniture & Lighting, Grocery Shopping, and Jewelry. Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. Cumulative Impact of COVID-19: COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market. Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict: We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States. This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia. This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for Augmented Reality in Retail market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response. Competitive Strategic Window: The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period. FPNV Positioning Matrix: The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Augmented Reality in Retail Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape. Market Share Analysis: The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits. Competitive Scenario: The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service. Company Usability Profiles: The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market, including Ads Reality Limited, Amazon.com, Inc, Apple Inc., Augment Corporation, Blippar, Flipkart, Google, LLC, Gravity Jack, Holition, IKEA, Imaginate Software Labs Pvt Ltd, INDE, Kudan Inc., Marxent Labs LLC, Microsoft Corporation, Obsess, PTC Inc, Sephora, Sothebys, Total Immersion, ViewAR, Visionstar Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, Wikitude, XZIMG, and Zugara. The report provides insights on the following pointers: 1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players 2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets 3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments 4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players 5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments The report answers questions such as: 1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market? 2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market during the forecast period? 3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market? 4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market? 5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market? 6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market? 7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global Augmented Reality in Retail Market? Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06261649/?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. __________________________ AVENTURA, Fla., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Life Clips, Inc. (OTC Pink: LCLP) (the Company) today announced its Belfrics Group subsidiary has received its exchange operational license in Poland. This exchange operational license granted to Belfrics Poland is Belfrics first license in the European Union (EU) and marks Belfrics entry into Europe. Belfrics Polands license will encompass the following types of services; exchange between currencies, virtual and media payment, and virtual brokerage in exchange. On November 1, 2021, Poland enacted legislation clarifying the status of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency trading. Mining, sales, and purchase of crypto instruments became a regulated field of business in Poland and requires mandatory registration of cryptocurrency companies with the Polish Cryptocurrency business Register (Rejestr walut wirtualnych). Belfrics Poland can be found on the Polish Cryptocurrency business Register at the following link. https://www.slaskie.kas.gov.pl/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=73ffde9b-0123-4594-8a94-a4d458218386&groupId=3559133 Belfrics is in the process of preparing its website for Belfrics Poland in Polish. The Company is also in the licensing process for other countries. About Us Life Clips is the parent company of Belfrics Global and Cognitive Apps Software Solutions Inc. Belfrics Global is a Malaysian based blockchain provider and cryptocurrency exchange and platform that is licensed and regulated by Labuan Financial ServTices Authority (LFSA), Malaysia. With 10 operational offices in 8 countries, Belfrics multi-feature trading platform offers digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and crypto derivative contracts to its clients. Belfrics blockchain has been recognized by Gartner as being a top 10 blockchain in terms of real-world projects and has received a patent for its Belrium KYC verification System (BKVS) by the Nigerian patent authority. Cognitive Apps is disrupting the space of mental health with its speech-based, AI-powered mental health analytics platform that empowers businesses to measure, understand, and improve the mental well-being of their employees, patients, and customers. Aiki delivers CBT and IPT therapies using a chatbot which and includes the voice analysis solution that takes in other health data from Apple and Google HealthKit to make a more accurate analysis of ones mental health. Aiki was developed to capitalize on the trend towards artificial intelligence platforms utilized by individuals and companies to raise awareness of employees mental health. Cognitive Apps is developed by a team of licensed psychotherapists that makes use of vocal biomarkers to screen for early signs of mental health conditions, such as stress and depression. Aiki is available on Apples App Store. For more information on Life Clips visit www.lifeclips.com For more information on Belfrics Global visit www.belfricsgroup.com For more information on Cognitive Apps Software Solutions visit https://cogapps.com Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be preceded by the words intends, may, will, plans, expects, anticipates, projects, predicts, estimates, aims, believes, hopes, potential or similar words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: (i) the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Companys research, manufacturing and other development efforts; (ii) the Companys ability to advance its products to successfully complete development and commercialization; (iii) the manufacturing, development, commercialization, and market acceptance of the Companys products; (iv) the lack of sufficient funding to finance the product development and business operations; (v) competitive companies and technologies within the Companys industry and introduction of competing products; (vi) the Companys ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; (vii) loss of key management personnel; (viii) the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its products and its ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; (ix) potential failure to comply with applicable health information privacy and security laws and other state and federal privacy and security laws; and (x) the difficulty of predicting actions of the government and its regulations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement unless required by law. For Media and Investor Relations, please contact: David L. Kugelman (866) 692-6847 Toll Free - U.S. & Canada (404) 281-8556 Mobile and WhatsApp dk@atlcp.com Skype: kugsusa https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkugelman/ Boston, MA, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SVN International Corp. (SVNIC), a full-service commercial real estate franchisor of the SVN brand, announces the addition of its new franchise office, SVN | Ascension Commercial Realty based in Toledo, Ohio. SVN | Ascension Commercial Realty is a full-service brokerage and facility management company serving the northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan commercial markets. Led by Managing Director and President Tim Schlachter, CCIM, the SVN | Ascension Commercial Realty team is disciplined in all commercial real estate market segments, including investment, retail, multifamily, medical, office, flex/warehouse, industrial, land sales, and business brokerage. The firm consists of five full time employees, twelve licensed advisors, a dedicated Facility Management Lead/Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with thirty years of property management and operations experience, as well as a Maintenance Superintendent who has been active in the maintenance field for twenty-five years. With SVN, we gain the opportunity to collaborate with a strong network of commercial real estate Advisors spread across the country, all of whom have highly specialized skill sets, says Schlachter. Joining SVN has already improved our ability to service our clients in a more in-depth and comprehensive manner. Through this strategic partnership, SVN | Ascension Commercial Realty looks forward to accelerating their growth within the next five years. With SVNs collaborative network, leading technology platforms and proven systems for success, Schlachter and his team anticipate doubling the square footage of commercial properties under management by Q4 2023, as well as expanding and establishing a physical office in southeast Michigan by Q2 2024. About SVN | Ascension Commercial Realty SVN | Ascension Commercial Realty is a full-service brokerage and facility management company based in Toledo, Ohio. Their team of Advisors is disciplined in all market segments including investment, retail, multifamily, medical, office, office/warehouse, industrial, land sales, and business brokerage. For more information, visit https://svn-acre.com. About SVN The SVN organization is a globally recognized commercial real estate entity united by a shared vision of creating value with clients, colleagues, and our communities. The SVN brand is comprised of over 2,000 advisors and staff in more than 200 offices across the globe in six countries. Our brand pillars represent the transparency, innovation, and inclusivity that enables all our advisors to collaborate with the entire real estate industry on behalf of our clients. SVNs unique Shared Value Network is just one of the many ways that SVN advisors create amazing value with our clients, colleagues, and communities. For more information, visit www.svn.com. All SVN offices are independently owned and operated. To learn more about becoming an SVN commercial real estate business owner, visit http://www.svn.com/franchising-opportunities/. LinkedIn: SVN International Corp. Instagram: @svninternationalcorp Twitter: @SVNic Facebook: @SVNIC Attachment Companies Profiled in Oxalic Acid Market are Mudanjiang Fengda Chemical Co., Ltd., Oxaquim, Merck KGaA, UBE Industries Ltd., Clariant International Limited, Indian Oxalate Limited, Shijiazhuang Taihe Chemical Co., Ltd., Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp., Shandong Fengyuan Chemical Co., Ltd., Penta s.r.o., and others NEWARK, N.J., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a recent Future Market Insights (FMI) study, the global oxalic acid market is expected to reach the valuation of US$ 1.19 Bn by 2028. Oxalic acid serves almost all major end-use industries, including water treatment chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and others. The industrial sector in Asia Pacific is growing at a substantial rate, thereby increasing the demand for oxalic acid in the region. Moreover, increasing concerns related to water treatment are expected to fuel the growth of the global oxalic acid in the foreseeable future. The Potential Impact of COVID-19 The novel coronavirus outbreak has been sweeping across regions and the global economic order. In line with this, the oxalic acid market is expected to witness dip in value creation due to price volatility, short-term market uncertainties, and decreasing adoption in majority of key application areas. Travel restrictions imposed by governments worldwide will hamper the market growth, especially business activities that require face-to-face meetings. Furthermore, logistical hurdles will remain a challenge, considering short-term growth projection of the market. The global healthcare landscape is changing rapidly, and people are spending more on their health-related needs. Factors such as changing lifestyles, food habits, sleeping habits, etc., are contributing to this change. With people getting more health conscious, the demand for pharmaceuticals is increasing across the globe, in turn, leading to the high consumption of oxalic acid. Request Sample Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1267 List Of Key Players Covered in Oxalic Acid Market are: Mudanjiang Fengda Chemical Co., Ltd. Oxaquim Merck KGaA UBE Industries Ltd. Clariant International Limited Indian Oxalate Limited Shijiazhuang Taihe Chemical Co., Ltd. Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp. Shandong Fengyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. Penta s.r.o Key Takeaways of Oxalic Acid Market Study Increasing concerns regarding the need for sterilization of pharmaceutical equipment is expected to propel the demand for technical/pharma grade oxalic acid over the forecast period. Standard grade holds a prominent share of the oxalic acid market; however, this share is expected to decline over the forecast period. The market in Asia Pacific is significantly diverse in terms of customer base, innovations, and geopolitical conditions, as well as regulatory scenario. The GDP of this region is expected to witness significant growth in the foreseeable future, and this is expected to propel the growth of the oxalic acid market. The oxalic acid market in Asia Pacific, including China, India, and Indonesia, is expected to gain traction in the foreseeable future, attributable to growing industrial activities and urbanization in the region. Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/oxalic-acid-market Market Landscape: Fairly Fragmented The global oxalic acid market is fairly fragmented, owing to a number of players holding small shares in the market space. The top ten established players account for more than half of the total supply. Manufacturers are focusing on strengthening their partnerships with end users and government entities. What Does the Future Hold? The global oxalic acid market is expected to grow at a moderate rate over the forecast period, on account of its increasing demand in the petrochemical industry in developing countries. Moreover, increasing awareness about the sterilization of medical equipment, in both, developed and developing countries, is further expected to fuel the growth in the market. Increasing awareness in these countries will help increase the adoption of the product in the foreseeable future. Want to Know More? Future Market Insights has published a market research report on the oxalic acid market that contains global industry analysis of 2013-2021 and opportunity assessment for 20222028. The report provides insightful analysis of the oxalic acid market through four different segments - grade, application, end use, and region. The oxalic acid market report also provides demand trends of different types across industry verticals, a comprehensive list of service providers in the market, various projects around the world, and a detailed overview of the parent market. Order a Complete Research Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/1267 Detailed Table of Content: Executive Summary Global Market Outlook Demand Side Trends Supply Side Trends Analysis and Recommendations Market Overview Market Coverage / Taxonomy Market Definition / Scope / Limitations Key Market Trends Key Trends Impacting the Market Product Innovation / Development Trends Key Success Factors Product Adoption / Usage Analysis Product USPs / Features Strategic Promotional Strategies Global Oxalic Acid Market Demand Analysis 20132021 and Forecast, 20222028 Historical Market Volume (Liter) Analysis, 20132021 Current and Future Market Volume (Liter) Projections, 20222028 Y-o-Y Growth Trend Analysis Global Oxalic Acid Market - Pricing Analysis Regional Pricing Analysis By Grade Type Pricing Break-up Manufacturer Level Pricing Distributor Level Pricing Pricing Mark-up Global Average Pricing Analysis Benchmark Global Oxalic Acid Market Demand (in Value or Size in US$ Mn) Analysis 20132021 and Forecast, 20222028 Historical Market Value (US$ Mn) Analysis, 20132021 Current and Future Market Value (US$ Mn) Projections, 20222028 Y-o-Y Growth Trend Analysis Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis TOC Continued! Speak to our Research Expert: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-1267 Have a Look at Related Research Reports: Ceramic Additives Market Insights: Top Players, Key Regions, Growth and Forecast To 2032 Acrylic Styrene Acrylonitrile Resin Market Size, Share, Development by 2032 Foundry Additives Market Global Outlook, Demand and Industry Outlook 2022 About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights (ESOMAR certified market research organization and a member of Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) provides in-depth insights into governing factors elevating the demand in the market. It discloses opportunities that will favor the market growth in various segments on the basis of Source, Application, Sales Channel and End Use over the next 10-years. Contact: Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/oxalic-acid-market LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs FORT COLLINS, Colo., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mobile Highway Advertising, a dakdan worldwide company announces the addition of Rapid Advanced Multi-Media (RAMM) powered by iSIGN Media Solutions Inc.s (iSIGN) (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF), newest HALO Technology, to generate impressions to mobile devices in proximity to its fleet of brand advertising display trucks and vehicles. This will be the first ever exclusive Mobile Highway Advertising addition to increase and validate advertising impressions to its customers. Mobile Highway Advertising is pleased to be the first mobile vehicle advertiser to add the addition of ubiquitous brand advertising to mobile devices to greatly increase shopper retention and ability to be directed to addition information of each advertised brand. Dan Kost, Mobile Highway Advertisings CEO is pleased to announce and confirm that the addition of mobile messaging of Mobile Highway Advertisings customers brands will increase and confirm their audience impressions and generate a greater ROI to current and new advertising customers. The new RAMM powered by iSIGNs HALO technology is cost effective and delivers the addition of real time data, GPS location and verification of consumer impressions for greater acceptance and accountability for each advertising campaign. Availability and delivery are expected within a few weeks, with installation commencing into the first few hundred fleet vehicles in the southeast United States. Alex Romanov CEO of iSIGN Media adds I am pleased that our reseller Dan Kost of Mobile Hwy Ads has worked with us to launch our newly acquire HALO technologies to customers like Mobile Highway Advertising and several others currently in process. We look forward to working with our resellers and their customers to launch and deliver our HALO and other technologies in the next quarter. About Mobile Highway Advertising Mobile Hwy Advertising, a dakdan worldwide Media Network provides a cost-effective worldwide advertising medium using Semi Tractor Trailer, ECO Friendly wind skirts, vehicle fleets, truck stops and service station. Rapid Advanced Multi-Media (RAMM) Worldwide, a dakdan worldwide company provides smart city initiatives and consulting services on wireless technology delivery, mobile message delivery and big data capture. www.mobilehwyads.com www.rammww.com About iSIGN iSIGN Media is a leading provider of interactive mobile proximity marketing and public security alert solutions, that on March 30, 2022 announced the signing of an exclusive worldwide Licensing Agreement in perpetuity with SIMBL Business Enablement Inc. for its Passive Historical Contact Tracing (PHACT) technology including HALO and underlying framework, including SPE Asset Management System for smart location analytics and monitoring Intellectual Property (IP). The PHACT IP provides smart location analytics and monitoring. Conceived as a contact tracing platform, the overall platform enables the monitoring of the movement, congregation behaviors, and general movements of individuals within a monitored space, while maintaining connectivity and compliance with all public privacy policies. PHACT provides real-time and historical information regarding individual movement, dwell, and crowd and public behavior. www.isignmedia.com Contacts Dan Kost, CEO Dan@MobileHwyAds.com MobileHighwayAdvertising.com RAMMww.com (970) 436-0580 Alex Romanov, CEO alex@isignmedia.com iSIGN Media www.isignmedia.com (416) 407-1035 ENDEAVOUR PROVIDES NOTICE OF SHAREHOLDER MEETING London, 22 April 2022 Endeavour Mining plc (LSE:EDV, TSX: EDV, OTCQX: EDVMF) (Endeavour or the Group or the Company) has today published notice of its 2022 Annual General Meeting (the Notice of AGM), which will be distributed to shareholders shortly. The Company's AGM will be held on Tuesday 24 May 2022 at 2 pm (London time) / 9 am (Toronto time) at the offices of Linklaters LLP, One Silk Street, London EC2Y 8HQ. A copy of the Notice of AGM is available at www.endeavourmining.com. Shareholders of the Company are encouraged to read the Notice of AGM in full. Shareholders should expect to receive the various meeting materials and forms of proxy by post on or after 22 April 2022. Proxy forms for the AGM must be submitted no later than 2 pm (London time) / 9 am (Toronto time) on 20 May 2022. The AGM will be held in a hybrid format conducted for those attending via the electronic platform as a live webcast. Shareholders can participate and vote online during the AGM by following the instructions set out in the Notice of AGM. Further information, including how to vote at or appoint a proxy in respect of the AGM, is set out in the Notice of AGM. In accordance with UK Listing Rule 9.6.1, a copy of the Notice of AGM has been submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and will shortly be available for inspection via the National Storage Mechanism. As announced on 16 March 2022, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan and Ian Cockerill will stand for election to the Board of Directors. Sofia Bianchi and Dr Carmen Letton have decided not to stand for re-election at the AGM and will therefore step down with effect from 24 May 2022. Michael Beckett, outgoing Chair, said: The Board is enormously grateful for the insights that Ms Bianchi has brought to the Board of Directors, and for the dedication she has shown in performing her many committee roles, as well as her extremely valuable contribution to the Companys governance processes while implementing its 2021 LSE listing, and in leading the search for my successor which has now reached a successful conclusion with the appointment of Venkat. I would also like to record the gratitude of the entire Board for the dedication and expertise that Dr Letton has contributed to the Board. She has impeccable credentials and expertise as an operational and technical mining professional, and the Board has benefited from her considerable experience. The Board wishes both Ms Bianchi and Dr Letton every success in the future. Chair Elect, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, said I wholeheartedly echo the Boards gratitude for Ms Bianchi and Dr Lettons contributions to the Company. I believe a Board of nine directors, with half the Board (excluding the independent Chair) comprising independent directors, appropriately balances size and compliance with UK corporate governance best practice. I look forward to working with the Board once I assume the Chair role. ABOUT ENDEAVOUR MINING CORPORATION Endeavour Mining is one of the worlds senior gold producers and the largest in West Africa, with operating assets across Senegal, Cote dIvoire and Burkina Faso and a strong portfolio of advanced development projects and exploration assets in the highly prospective Birimian Greenstone Belt across West Africa. A member of the World Gold Council, Endeavour is committed to the principles of responsible mining and delivering sustainable value to its employees, stakeholders and the communities where it operates. Endeavour is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, under the symbol EDV. For more information, please visit www.endeavourmining.com. CONTACT INFORMATION Endeavour Mining Martino De Ciccio Vice President - Strategy & Investor Relations +44 203 640 8665 mdeciccio@endeavourmining.com Brunswick Group LLP in London Carole Cable, Partner +44 7974 982 458 ccable@brunswickgroup.com Vincic Advisors in Toronto John Vincic, Principal +1 (647) 402 6375 john@vincicadvisors.com CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This document contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, statements with respect to Endeavour's plans and operating performance, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of future production, future capital expenditures, the success of exploration activities, , the completion of studies, mine life and any potential extensions, and, the future price of gold. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "expected", "budgeted", "forecasts", "anticipates", believes, plan, target, opportunities, objective, assume, intention, goal, continue, estimate, potential, strategy, future, aim, may, will, can, could, would and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements, while based on management's reasonable estimates, projections and assumptions at the date the statements are made, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to international operations; risks related to general economic conditions and the impact of credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future cash flows;; the completion of studies on the timelines currently expected, and the results of those studies being consistent with Endeavours current expectations; actual results of current exploration activities; production and cost of sales forecasts for Endeavour meeting expectations; unanticipated reclamation expenses; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; fluctuations in prices of metals including gold; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; increases in market prices of mining consumables; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; extreme weather events, natural disasters, supply disruptions, power disruptions, accidents, pit wall slides, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; delays in the completion of development or construction activities; changes in national and local government legislation, regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations and changes in the administration of laws, policies and practices in the jurisdictions in which Endeavour operates; disputes, litigation, regulatory proceedings and audits; adverse political and economic developments in countries in which Endeavour operates, including but not limited to acts of war, terrorism, sabotage, civil disturbances, non-renewal of key licenses by government authorities, or the expropriation or nationalization of any of Endeavours property; risks associated with illegal and artisanal mining; environmental hazards; and risks associated with new diseases, epidemics and pandemics, including the effects and potential effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Although Endeavour has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Please refer to Endeavour's most recent Annual Information Form filed under its profile at www.sedar.com for further information respecting the risks affecting Endeavour and its business. Attachment Grades And Mineralised Widths Confirmed Near Surface Mineralisation Identified VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Major Precious Metals Corp. (Major Precious Metals or the Company) (NEO:SIZE | OTC:SIZYF | FRANKFURT:3EZ) is pleased to provide an update on its 2021 diamond drilling program at its Skaergaard Project (Skaergaard) in eastern Greenland. The 2021 program at Skaergaard was designed to support and confirm the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) contained in the NI 43-101 compliant technical report titled "Technical Report on the Skaergaard Project Southeastern Greenland," prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd., effective April 15, 2021 and filed by the Company on SEDAR on May 25, 2021 (the Report) which outlined Indicated Resources of 5.5 million Palladium Equivalent Ounces (PdEq ounces) and a further 14.4 million PdEq ounces in the Inferred Resource Category. Highlights Assay results are announced for 11 holes out of 32 holes completed in three areas at Skaergaard in 2021, confirming Pd, Pt and Au results of historical drilling in these areas. Results confirm grades and mineralised lengths for Palladium (Pd), Platinum (Pt) and Gold (Au) in the four main mineralised horizons (H0, H3L1, H3 and H5) which comprise the MRE as outlined in the Report (Table 1). Precious metal mineralisation is also confirmed in 5 holes drilled in previously untested areas beneath the glacier (Table 1 and Figures 1 and 2). In addition, results from two holes drilled on the plateau area, located within the northern portion of the licence, showed mineralisation which may support the potential for open pit mining in the local area. Results from 2 more drill holes in this area are pending. Welcoming the results, Major's Precious Metal Chairman and CEO, Tony Williams commented: "These first results from 11 holes within the sparsely drilled priority areas affirm our earlier hopes to not only confirm and upgrade the existing MRE, but also may expand the MRE which already marks Skaergaard as a precious metals project of global significance. We hope to have all remaining assay results completed by mid-May 2022, and will continue with the economic evaluation of Skaergaard with our independent consultants SLR Consulting Ltd (SLR), updating the MRE and moving on to a Preliminary Economic Analysis (PEA) over the coming months." Skaergaard Drilling Program Technical Overview. A 32 - hole diamond drilling channel sampling program spanning 8,435 metres was completed in October 2021. A total of 11,600 core and channels samples were collected for Pd-Pt-Au testing, as well as assayed for Fe, Ti, V, Ga and other secondary elements which may provide potential credits pending further study. Drilling has prioritized the northern part of the Skaergaard intrusion beneath the Forbindelses Glacier (the Glacier), and two off-glacier areas to the north to determine the open-pit potential (Figure 1). Historically, these priority areas were not drilled at Skaergaard due to logistical challenges. Drilling Results Mineralised intercept results (Table 1) from the first 11 holes (out of 32) successfully completed within these priority areas confirm the potential to upgrade confidence and significantly expand the existing MRE for Skaergaard (refer to April 23, 2021 news release and News Release May 25, 2021). Assay results for the first 11 holes (Table 1) confirmed Pd, Pt and Au grades and mineralised widths are comparable to historical drilling in the four main mineralised horizons that define the existing MRE as detailed in the Report. The assay analysis was performed at Omac Laboratories Limited, Loughrea, County Galway H62 PN80,Ireland. Omac is part of ALS Global, which provides laboratory testing, inspection certification and verification solutions as an international accredited laboratory under ISO/IEC 17025 standards. The analytical protocol used is the Pt, Pd, Au 50g FA ICP-AES and the Four Acid ICP-AES multi-element package (48 elements). Base metals over limits have been finalized with Ore Grade Elements Four Acid ICP-AES. Available results from five holes completed as part of a NW-SE trending drill fence on the Forbindelses Glacier (Figure 2, Section A-A), with drill holes spaced approximately 300 metres apart, are showing continuity of Pd, Pt and Au grades and thicknesses (Table 1). Results of testing the mineralisation beneath the glacier are projected to allow the Company to not only upgrade the resource classification in this large area, but also to expand the MRE from the existing geological model further to the north. Hole MPD0012, one of four holes completed on a plateau in the area NE of the Forbindelses glacier (Figures 1 and 3. Section B-B), returned near surface Pd-Pt-Au mineralisation from a vertical depth of 35 metres along with some Ti and Cu mineralisation from surface. MPD015, a second hole drilled in the same pad as historical drill hole PRL11-57, but dipping south and designed to test the extension of and potential resource expansion of mineralised material, also confirmed the geometry and distribution of Pd-Pt and Au mineralisation in this area (Table 1). Pending assay results from the two holes nearby, and historical drilling, will be used to assess the open pit potential in this area as part of the PEA. Assay results for holes MPD001, MPD002 and MPD003 (Table 1 and Figures 1 and 4, Section C-C) also show the consistency of the mineralised Pd-Pt-Au footprint in the northwest area of the project. Note that the assay results in Table 1 also show the consistent broader halo of anomalous, and currently subeconomic concentrations of palladium, iron (Fe), titanium (Ti) and vanadium (V) in context of the mineralised H0, H3L1 and/or H3 horizons reported as Mineral Resources in the 2021 Technical Report. This lower grade mineralisation will be further evaluated as more results are received, aiming to test the economic potential for underground bulk tonnage mining in conjunction with potential credits for secondary elements. Figure 1 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8e008f94-ceb1-4096-8a75-030cec922717 Table 1: Mineralised Intercept Results HOLE ID Mineralised Horizon From (m) To (m) Length (m) Pd (g/t) Pt (g/t) Au (g/t) PdEq (g/t) MPD001 H5 137.5 140 2.5 0.73 0.06 2.03 2.98 including 137.5 138 0.5 0.39 0.04 6.4 7.4 MPD001 H3 to H0 Halo 149 174 25 0.92 0.08 0.09 1.07 including H3 149.25 151 1.75 0.86 0.06 0.32 1.25 including H3L1 155.75 158 2.25 0.64 0.05 0.13 0.82 including H0 163 168.25 5.25 2.2 0.16 0.07 2.38 including 163.75 166.5 2.75 2.93 0.2 0.08 3.15 MPD002 H5 46 47.75 1.75 0.18 0.02 2.21 2.61 MPD002 H3 47.75 52.25 4.5 0.83 0.05 0.67 1.6 MPD002 H3L1a to H0 Halo 58.5 89 30.5 0.75 0.07 0.09 0.9 including H3L1 58.75 63.5 4.75 0.74 0.06 0.19 0.99 including H0 77.50 82.25 4.75 1.81 0.16 0.12 2.05 including 78.5 80 1.5 2.66 0.21 0.19 3 MPD006 H5 322 324 2 0.84 0.06 1.47 2.49 including 322 322.75 0.75 0.39 0.03 2.06 2.65 including H3 324 326.25 2.25 0.83 0.04 0.25 1.13 MPD006 H3L1 to H0 Halo 328.5 341.75 13.25 1.08 0.09 0.07 1.22 including H3L1 329 331 2 0.82 0.06 0.11 0.98 including H0 335.75 339.5 3.75 2.31 0.19 0.11 2.56 including 337 338.25 1.25 3.26 0.24 0.16 3.6 MPD012 H3L1 to H0 Halo 33.25 42.75 9.5 1.22 0.11 0.28 1.60 including H3L1 33.25 35.75 2.5 0.22 0.04 0.21 0.47 including H0 35.75 42.75 7 1.58 0.14 0.3 2 MPD015 H3 184.25 194.5 10.25 0.05 0.03 0.22 0.31 MPD015 H3L1 to H0 Halo 214.25 246.25 32 1.11 0.09 0.18 1.38 including H3L1 214.25 222.5 8.25 0.47 0.04 0.17 0.68 including H0 226.5 242.25 15.75 1.75 0.13 0.24 2.09 including 228.75 234.25 5.5 2.99 0.19 0.24 3.37 MPD010 H5 148.25 150 1.75 0.67 0.06 2.32 3.24 including 148.25 149 0.75 0.42 0.05 3.93 4.73 MPD010 H3 to H0 Halo 159.25 187.75 28.5 0.84 0.07 0.1 1 MPD010 H3 159.25 159.75 0.5 0.87 0.05 0.37 1.3 H3 160 160.75 0.75 1.27 0.13 0.89 2.33 H3 161 161.75 0.75 0.76 0.03 0.17 0.97 including H3L1 168.25 170.5 2.25 0.61 0.05 0.12 0.78 including H0 176.5 181.5 5 2.06 0.15 0.12 2.29 including 177.5 179.75 2.25 2.85 0.19 0.17 3.16 MPD008* H5 340.75 343.5 2.75 0.9 0.06 1.78 2.89 including 340.75 341.25 0.5 0.3 0.04 5.51 6.34 MPD008* H3 to H0 Halo 350.5 375.25 24.75 0.89 0.08 0.08 1.03 including H3 350.75 352.75 2 0.82 0.08 0.23 1.13 including H3L1 353.75 355.5 1.75 0.08 0.06 0.14 0.95 including H0 363 368.5 5.5 1.91 0.15 0.11 2.12 including 364 366 2 2.83 0.19 0.17 3.14 MPD011 H5 288.5 292.75 4.25 0.79 0.05 1.36 2.31 including 288.5 289.25 0.75 0.28 0.04 4.04 4.7 MPD011 H3 to H0 298.25 322.5 24.25 0.88 0.08 0.08 1.03 including H3 298.25 300.5 2.25 0.85 0.09 0.29 1.23 including H3L1 300.5 304.25 3.75 0.58 0.03 0.09 0.7 including H0 310.5 319 8.5 1.48 0.13 0.07 1.64 including 311.25 313 1.75 2.72 0.18 0.17 3.02 including 318 318.5 0.5 2.35 0.14 0.07 2.51 MPD014 H5 251.25 258.25 7 0.62 0.04 0.93 1.66 including 251.25 252.25 1 0.16 0.02 2.75 3.17 MPD014 H3 to H0 Halo 263.5 284.25 20.75 0.89 0.08 0.1 1.05 including H3 263.5 266 2.5 0.95 0.09 0.31 1.36 including H3L1 267.75 269.5 1.75 0.71 0.04 0.12 0.87 including H0 275.5 280.5 5 1.75 0.15 0.1 1.96 including 276.5 278.5 2 2.43 0.16 0.15 2.71 MPD016 H5 212.5 216 3.5 0.62 0.05 1.32 2.09 including 212.5 213.25 0.75 0.2 0.03 3.5 4.04 H3 216 217.25 1.25 0.7 0.05 0.37 1.14 MPD016 H3L1 to H0 Halo 223.5 240.25 16.75 0.99 0.07 0.13 1.18 including H3L1 223.75 226.00 2.25 0.97 0.09 0.38 1.45 including 224.25 224.75 0.5 1.27 0.13 0.68 2.1 including H0 235.25 240.25 5 1.86 0.15 0.12 2.08 including 236.5 238 1.5 2.7 0.19 0.2 3.04 MPD003 H5 72 74 2 0.59 0.06 2.52 3.38 including 72.25 72.75 0.5 0.36 0.04 6.35 7.30 H3 80 85.5 5.5 0.83 0.05 0.35 1.25 including 81 83 2 1.15 0.08 0.68 1.94 MPD003 H3L1 to H0 Halo 91.5 110.25 18.75 0.94 0.09 0.12 1.07 including H3L1 91.5 97 5.5 0.51 0.03 0.09 0.64 including H0 98.75 103 4.25 2.16 0.16 0.12 2.4 including 99 101.75 2.75 2.56 0.17 0.16 2.85 Table 1 Notes: Assay results for 2021 drilling completed at SKG to date. Mineralised horizons defined in MRE are (from lower to upper) H0 (Pd dominant), H3, H3L1 and H5 (Au dominant). The table aims to show contextual grade results for interpreted mineralised horizons and haloes rather than economic viability. Interpretation may change as the geological and mineralisation models are updated. PdEq grades in this report were calculated using the same formula as the MRE, which is PdEq (g/t) = g/t Pd + (1.09 * g/t Au) + (0.672 * g/t Pt), which assumes metal prices of US$1,725/oz Pd, US$1,800/oz Au, and US$1,250/oz Pt, metallurgical recoveries of 89% Au, 86% Pd, and 80% for Pt, and standard commercial terms for a precious metals concentrate. Mineral Resources in the 2021 MRE were estimated at a cut-off grade of 1.43 g/t PdEq, which assumed underground mining costs of US$35/t, processing costs of US$20/t, and general and administration (G&A) costs of US$5/t. Lengths are downhole lengths and do not represent true width of mineralisation. General dip of drill holes in this program ranges between -65 and -90, except hole MPD015 which dips -55 to the south. Further assay results are pending for hole MPD008 (MPD008*) from 291 m to 337.5 m The anomalous, currently subeconomic grade halos over 0.5 g/t Pd, variably encapsulating H0 to H3 material, are shown to provide context for the H0, H3L1, H3 and H5 mineralised horizons: Wider Pd mineralised halo (> 0.5 g/t Pd) ( Halo ) named as H3 to H0 includes horizons H0, H3L1 and H3 whereas wider Pd mineralised halo H3L1 to H0 includes horizons H0 and H3L1. Figure 2 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fc1d24e1-91ff-4a0a-bc66-3cf9fd9172d3 Figure 3 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aa6991ae-2b5d-4b2a-be14-f3dbea2b3bbe Figure 4 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1d217f99-d972-42a6-843b-8b0d8266d722 Next steps The Company will continue to work with SLR to interpret remaining assay results, update the MRE and produce a PEA for Skaergaard over the upcoming period. SLR, represented by Senior Geologist Phil Geusebroek, P.Geo., and Senior Mining Engineer Murray Dunn, P.Eng., completed an independent site visit during the week of August 23, 2021. Both individuals are Independent Qualified Persons (QP) under NI 43-101. The QPs reviewed the Companys active diamond drilling, core logging and sampling facilities and confirmed that the Company was adhering to strict QAQC procedures and following CIM exploration best practices. SLR also assessed areas for access to potential mining operations and basic infrastructure requirements for future mining infrastructure and open pit and underground mining options which will form an integral part of the upcoming PEA. To sum up Tony Williams said: At a time when the geopolitical importance of identifying a secure source for critical metals such as Palladium has been highlighted by the Russian/Ukraine conflict, these results confirming Skaergaard as a significant and important precious metal resource are timely. Russia currently accounts for around 40% of the worlds mined Palladium. Our Company owns 100% of this large Palladium rich resource at Skaergaard in a safe mining friendly jurisdiction. The deposit also contains other potentially recoverable critical metals as well as having a significant gold content as set out in the MRE and Report. We look forward to reporting further results as we develop Skaergaard along the Mine Development Cycle. Qualified Person Statement All scientific and technical information contained in this news release was prepared and approved by Gustavo Delendatti, Ph.D., MAIG, Vice President Exploration of Major Precious Metals Corp who is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. On behalf of the Board of Directors MAJOR PRECIOUS METALS CORP. Tony Williams Chairman and CEO Suite 810 - 789 West Pender Street Vancouver, BC V6C 1H2 Ph: 1-877-475-0963 info@majorprecious.com About Major Precious Metals Corp. Major Precious Metals is a Canadian junior mining company listed on the Neo Exchange and its common shares trade under the ticker symbol SIZE. The Companys flagship project is the Skaergaard Project in Greenland containing one of the largest palladium and gold deposits outside the major PGM producing areas of Russia and South Africa. The Company is focused on accelerating the progress of the Skaergaard Project along the Mine Development Cycle and has recently initiated a further major work program of drilling and economic evaluation. Additional information relating to Major Precious Metals is available at www.majorprecious.com and SEDAR at www.sedar.com . The Neo Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Forward-looking Information Statement This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. When used in this news release, the words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, target, plan, forecast, may, schedule and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the development of a mineral resource estimate for the Skaergaard Project, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Companys current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. Washington, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced that it will host its first-ever Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Diverse and Emerging Fund Manager Forum on April 25. The event will feature the Honorable Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman and leaders across the institutional investor and private markets asset management community, offering viewpoints on the changing landscape of U.S. private markets, the next generation of asset managers, and the evolution of the SBIC Program. The event follows the release of the SBAs Equity Action Plan and reinforces the Biden-Harris Administration and Administrator Guzmans priority of advancing inclusive equity in all its programs and services. During the forum, participants will have the opportunity to hear from industry leaders and explore how the SBIC program and its national network of asset managers and fund investors are working to advance a more inclusive system of capital allocation. For more than 60 years, SBICs have provided over $100 billion in financing to support the needs of U.S. small businesses. The capital SBICs provide is often not in adequate supply from traditional sources, said Associate Administrator for the Office of Investment and Innovation, Bailey DeVries. As asset allocators exclusively financing U.S. small businesses, SBIC funds have a tremendous opportunity to drive reinvestment in America and construct a capital allocation system as diverse as our country. We look forward to a robust forum discussion on topics impacting how we build a more inclusive economy. Agenda: (1:00pm-1:05pm) Welcome and Introduction of U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman Speaker: Bailey DeVries, Associate Administrator Office of Investment & Innovation, U.S. Small Business Administration (1:05pm-1:20pm) Opening Remarks Speaker: The Honorable Isabella Guzman, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration (1:20pm-2:05pm) Session 1: The Future of Private Market Investing and Emerging Managers Moderator: Dana Johns, Director of Private Equity, Maryland State Retirement System Mina Pacheco Nazemi, Co-Head, Barings Fund and Co-investment Group Nate Kirk, Managing Director, Everside Andrea Auerbach, Global Head of Private Investments, Cambridge Associates Eleanor Hsu, Co-Chief Investment Officer, Kaiser Family Foundation (2:15pm-3:00pm) Session 2: Considering the SBIC Program? How Does it Work? Moderator: Alan Roth, Partner, Winston & Strawn Stacy Harmsen, Partner, Spell Capital Sengal Selassie, President, Brightwood Capital Advisors Della Clark, Principal, Innovate Capital Growth Fund Brian Matthews, Co-founder, Cultivation Capital (3:10pm-3:55pm) Session 3: How Are LPs and GPs Thinking About Diversity and ESG in Private Markets Investing? Moderator: Jason Lamin, CEO and Founder, Lenox Park Solutions Carl Jenkins, MD & Group Head of Corporate Finance-Community Investments, BMO Harris Damien Dwin, Founder, Lafayette Square Jason Powers, Chief of SBIC Licensing, U.S. Small Business Administration Stacey Wittelsberger, Principal, Patriot Capital (3:55pm-4:00pm) Closing Remarks Speaker: Bailey DeVries, Associate Administrator Office of Investment & Innovation, U.S. Small Business Administration ### About SBA Office of Investment and Innovation The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) leads programs that provide the high-growth small business community with access to two things: financial capital and R&D funds to develop commercially viable innovations. Our work is underpinned by public-private partnerships that help small businesses on their trajectory from idea to IPO. Learn more at www.sba.gov. About the U.S. Small Business Administration CHICAGO, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GAINSystems, a leading provider of cloud-based supply chain planning solutions for inventory and supply intensive industries, today announced its continued environmental, sustainability, and governance (ESG) commitment. The company is on track to achieve its goal to become carbon neutral by 2023, an initiative GAINS launched in 2018 which has already delivered a tangible impact, including the equivalent of 600 trees planted and over 68,000 pounds of CO2 emissions saved. "GAINS is passionate about giving back to the communities where we reside and taking actions to favorably impact our global economy through sustainability and social initiatives," said Bill Benton, Co-Founder of GAINSystems. "Our business is growing, and so is our investment in solar energy, Haitian student lunch programs, and water purification projects. In celebration of Earth Day 2022, we are pleased to announce that our initiative to be zero carbon footprint by 2023 is on track and already delivering an impact. This commitment is at the heart of our company." The GAINSystems Combined Emissions Offset and Community Center Energy Initiative is in its fourth year, having completed multiple solar arrays at community hosting locations in Chicago. Each site generates $6,000 annually in reduced energy costs and solar credits for the community. The first solar array funded and planned by GAINS was installed at the Wicker Park Community Center. As GAINS grows, the company's sustainability and social investments are accelerating through the following: GAINS increases its investment in solar arrays with every new subscribing customer. The datacenter energy consumed by each GAINS customer has been offset with installed solar arrays since 2018. For every new employee, GAINS provides lunch for another Haitian student through the Barco Nightingales Foundation. The company increased its global employee count by 44 percent in the last two years and has almost doubled its commitment. For more information about the GAINS environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and commitment to a better tomorrow, visit https://gainsystems.com/social-responsibility/. About GAINSystems At GAINS our quest is to democratize supply chain planning. The GAINS Supply Chain Performance Optimization Platform helps businesses large and small Move Forward FasterSM with greater agility, resilience, confidence, and sustainability. The GAINS AI-driven cloud platform delivers continuous cost and profit optimization via machine learning, proven algorithms, and actionable analytics for global manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service parts/maintenance operations. Innovative design combined with the GAINS Proven-Path-to-Performance (P3)SM methodology enables rapid onboarding and tangible results, including increased sales, inventory turns, and service levels at reduced operating costs in as little as 8 weeks. GAINS proudly provides digital supply chain planning expertise to industry leaders like Graybar, Honda Motors, Menards, Rockwell Automation, Stuller, and Textron Aviation. Visit www.gainsystems.com for more information. GAINS is a registered trademark, and Move Forward FasterSM and Proven-Path-to-Performance (P3) SM are service marks of GAINSystems. Other products mentioned in this document are registered, trademarked or service marked by their respective owners. Media Contact: Jenny Lacey, jlacey@gainsystems.com Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment JOAO PESSOA, Brazil, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HostDime has announced the start of construction of a solar power plant to support the entirety of its purpose-built data center in Joao Pessoa, Brazil. The $1.2 million (R5,500,000 BRL) investment in the solar power farm will be able to supply the entire current power infrastructure (1.2MW) of the data center, as well as the 30% expansion due to be completed this year. This first phase of development features an installation of over 2,000 photovoltaic modules (solar panels) of 540 Watt-Peak across 130,100 square feet on a 15-acre site acquired by HostDime in the state of Paraiba. The plant is expected to generate an average of 122,500 kWh per month, equivalent to the monthly consumption of over 800 Brazilian households. HostDime's engineering team adopted MLPE (Module Level Power Electronics) technology, which increases energy efficiency due to shading tolerance and mismatch elimination, as well as offering greater reliability and flexibility. The first-year savings from this project, expected to be ready by July, is estimated to be $35,000/month (R160,000 BRL). "A data center is a huge consumer of energy inherently due to the nature of the business. Being able to use 100% of this consumption from a clean renewable source is something HostDime is really proud of. We hope to be a technology company aligned with global sustainability goals. This solar plant will ensure our direct energy consumption is being done in a responsible way that we control. To say our entire data center in Brazil is powered by the sun is an impressive accomplishment." - Filipe Mendes, CEO of HostDime Brazil. HostDime Brazil's soon-to-be Tier IV rated facility (it is currently Tier III, but is being converted to Tier IV) is the most certified data center in Latin America, with seals that validate essential resources for excellence in mission-critical operations, such as infrastructure quality, availability, continuous improvement, redundancy, information security, continuity, data privacy management, and customer satisfaction. Continuing this trend, HostDime's solar farm solidifies to our staff, customers, and the marketplace that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles are held to the highest importance. Data centers account for an estimated 1% of worldwide electricity use, so the data center infrastructure industry must be conscious of its responsibilities. ESG considerations are extremely important when designing, constructing, and operating purpose-built data centers. Taking ESG issues seriously maximizes operational efficiencies and reduces overall risks. For instance, HostDime's Brazil data center has an average PUE of less than 1.5. PUE stands for Power Usage Effectiveness and it highlights how efficiently a data center uses energy. The PUE is specifically the ratio of total energy delivered to computing equipment. A quick example is if a facility uses 100,000 kW of total power of which 80,000 kW is used to power your IT equipment, this would equal a PUE of 1.25. The lower the PUE, the better. HostDime's purposeful use of the latest power-efficient electrical components, modular POD footprints, hot aisle containment, highest efficiency chillers, and renewable energy use all correspond to a large reduction in annualized PUE. While we achieve at or under 1.5 PUE in our constructed data centers, our competitors often have PUE in the 1.8 or higher range. Bringing PUE down as low as possible across the data center industry is an obtainable and worthwhile objective. In addition to the construction of the photovoltaic plant, HostDime has carried out additional actions to improve energy efficiency in its facilities. HostDime operates its purpose-built data centers in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and the USA. When a data center is built from scratch, it is specifically designed and engineered to provide maximum uptime, security, and usability. This allows for more sustainability measures in building facilities, such as steel frames and drywall composed of seven-layer walls, which generates energy savings in air conditioning. The majority of retrofitted data centers deploy older Tier II generators, which release smog-forming nitrogen oxides. HostDime's 2MW generators are Tier IV, which significantly reduce emissions with over 90% less nitrogen oxide and over 90% less particulate matter. These super clean air generators certified by the EPA will meet the high standards for hazardous air pollutants and will help our surrounding environment. Lastly, the rooftop on HostDime's upcoming flagship data center and headquarters in Orlando, Florida, will feature high-density solar panels; up to 25% of the facility will be powered by the sun. Taking advantage of the Florida sun and rooftop space will reduce operating costs, lock-in energy costs, and decrease our carbon footprint. "We are constantly evolving our data center designs and best practices to create energy efficiencies and promote ESG, so that we can build and operate facilities that positively impact the next generations." - David Vivar, VP of Global Engineering of HostDime Global. HostDime is a global native carrier-neutral data center infrastructure company operating purpose-built public data center facilities in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and our flagship facility in Florida, USA, and with owned networks in UK, India, and Hong Kong. HostDime offers an array of cloud-native infrastructure products and services, including physical bare-metal servers, cloud servers, colocation, and Hardware-as-a-Service in all global edge data center locations. HostDime also provides professional managed services on all core products globally. Press Contact: jared.s@hostdime.com Related Images Image 1: HostDime's Purpose-Built, Next Gen Brazil Data Center This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States BROSSARD, Quebec, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Charbone Hydrogen Corporation (Charbon Hydrogen) (TSXV: CH), is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced qualifying transaction resulting in the reverse takeover of Orletto Capital II Inc. (Orletto) by Charbone Corporation (Charbone) by way of a three-cornered amalgamation (the Qualifying Transaction). Following completion of the Qualifying Transaction, Charbone Hydrogen became the parent and sole shareholder of Charbone and thus will indirectly carry on the business of Charbone. The head and registered office of Charbone Hydrogen is located at 5005 Lapiniere Boulevard, Suite 1080, Brossard, Quebec, J4Z 0N5. Further details regarding the Qualifying Transaction can be found in the filing statement of Charbone Hydrogen dated March 31, 2022 (the Filing Statement), a copy of which is available under Charbone Hydrogens profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Qualifying Transaction Following completion of the Qualifying Transaction, the issued and outstanding 24,977,493 common shares of Charbone (the Charbone Shares) as of the date of the Filing Statement have been exchanged for 20,835,530 common shares of Charbone Hydrogen (the Common Shares). The issued and outstanding 6,800,000 common shares of Orletto (the Orletto Shares) have been exchanged for 6,299,999 Common Shares. A total of 11,270,000 Common Shares and 5,635,000 Common Share purchase warrants of Charbone Hydrogen (the Warrants) have also been issued in exchange of the 13,510,517 Charbone Shares issued under the private placement of Charbone closed on March 17, 2022 (the Private Placement) and the 6,755,258 Charbone Share purchase warrants (the Charbone Warrants) issued under the Private Placement. Charbone Hydrogen has also issued 7,864,650 Common Shares and 7,864,650 Warrants in exchange of the 9,428,171 Charbone Shares and 9,428,171 Charbone Warrants issued to the holders of debentures issued by Charbone under the Private Placement (the Charbone Debentures). Moreover, the 680,000 stock options of Orletto (the Orletto Options) have been exchanged for 630,000 stock options of Charbone Hydrogen (the Options). In addition, the 299,701 Charbone Shares have been exchanged for 250,000 Common Shares, the 149,850 Charbone Warrants have been exchanged for 125,000 Warrants and the 1,080,841 compensation options of Charbone have been exchanged for 901,600 compensation options of Charbone Hydrogen (the Compensation Options). Therefore, as of the date of this press release and following completion of the Qualifying Transaction, Charbone Hydrogen has 46,520,000 Common Shares, 13,624,650 Warrants, 630,000 Options and 901,600 Compensation Options issued and outstanding. Following completion of the Qualifying Transaction, all Common Shares and Warrants are freely tradeable Mr. Richard Provencher and Mr. Mena Beshay, both insiders of Charbone Hydrogen, have subscribed in the Private Placement of Charbone, respectively, for 50,000 subscription receipts of Charbone, entitling its holder to receive 50,000 Common Shares and 25,000 Warrants upon Completion of the Qualifying Transaction, and 62,500 subscription receipts of Charbone, entitling its holder to receive 62,5000 Common Shares and 31,250 Warrants upon Completion of the Qualifying Transaction. Marketing Services Agreement On February 15, 2022, Charbone entered into a marketing services agreement (the Marketing Services Agreement) with Hybrid Financial Ltd. (Hybrid Financial), pursuant to which Hybrid Financial shall provide marketing services to Charbone and assist Charbone in all aspects of a marketing campaign, including, but not be limited to marketing strategy, technology platforms and coordination with capital markets participants. Pursuant to the Marketing Services Agreement, Hybrid Financial shall provide the marketing services to Charbone from the start date for an initial period of 12 months. Upon expiration of the initial period, the Marketing Services Agreement shall be automatically renewed for successive six-month periods thereafter until written notice of termination is provided to Hybrid Financial by Charbone at least 30 days prior to the end of the initial term or the renewal term. As compensation for the marketing services, Charbone will pay to Hybrid Financial a monthly fee of $22,500 plus applicable tax. Hybrid Financial is a sales and distribution company that connects issuers to the investment community across North America. Using a data driven approach, Hybrid Financial provides its clients with comprehensive coverage of both American and Canadian markets. Hybrid Financial has offices in Toronto and Montreal. Issuance of Securities in Settlement of Interests Owed to Charbone Debenture Holders and Payment of Accounts Payable Shortly following completion of the Qualifying Transaction and prior to the listing of the Common Shares on the Exchange, Charbone Hydrogen intends to issue the following units in settlement of interests owed to holders of Charbone Debentures and payment of accounts payable: 548,838 units of Charbone Hydrogen (the Units ) at a price of $0.40 per Unit will be issued to certain Charbone Debenture holders. These Units will be issued in order to settle the interests owed on the principal amount of these Charbone Debenture in the amount of $219,535.44; and ) at a price of $0.40 per Unit will be issued to certain Charbone Debenture holders. These Units will be issued in order to settle the interests owed on the principal amount of these Charbone Debenture in the amount of $219,535.44; and 62,447 Units at a price of $0.40 per Unit will be issued in order to settle accounts payable in the amount of $24,978.61. Each Unit is composed of one Common Share and one-half Warrant. Each Warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.60 per Common Share, exercisable for a period of 18 months from the date of the issuance. The issuance of the Units is subject to the approval of the Exchange and the Common Shares and Warrants will be subject to a Canadian statutory hold period of four months plus one day from the date of their issuance. Escrowed Securities Following completion of the Qualifying Transaction, certain Principals (as defined in the policies of the Exchange) of Charbone Hydrogen holding an aggregate of 17,964,745 Common Shares and 66,667 Warrants are subject to escrow in accordance with section 6.2 of Policy 5.4 Escrow, Vendor Consideration and Resale Restrictions (Policy 5.4) of the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange). Pursuant to Policy 5.4, 10% of the escrowed Common Shares will be released at the time of the Final Exchange Bulletin, with an additional 15% released on each 6-month anniversary thereafter. In addition, following completion of the Qualifying Transaction, certain non-Principals of Charbone Hydrogen holding an aggregate of 2,325,642 Common Shares are subject to escrow in accordance with section 10 of Policy 5.4. Pursuant to Policy 10, 10% of the escrowed Common Shares will be released at the time of the Final Exchange Bulletin, with an additional 15% released on each 6-month anniversary thereafter. In addition, certain current and/or former shareholders of Orletto have entered into a CPC Escrow Agreement (the CPC Escrow Agreement) with the Exchange and TSX Trust Company (formerly AST Trust Company (Canada)), as escrow agent, in respect of 2,594,115 Common Shares and 630,000 Options. Under the terms of the CPC Escrow Agreement, 25% of the escrowed Common Shares will be released on the completion of the Qualifying Transaction, with an additional 25% released on each 6-month anniversary thereafter. Exchange Approval and Listing The Exchange has previously granted conditional acceptance in respect of the listing of the additional Common Shares resulting from the Qualifying Transaction, subject to receipt of final submission documents. Pending satisfactory review of such final materials by the Exchange, it is expected that the Common Shares, which were previously halted on July 30, 2019, will commence trading at the opening of markets on or about May 3, 2022 under the ticker symbol CH. Board of Directors and Management Following the completion of the Qualifying Transaction, the following individuals will comprise the directors and officers of Charbone Hydrogen: Dave Gagnon, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director; Daniel Charette, Chief Operating Officer; Stephane Dallaire, Chief Financial Officer, Head of Corporate Finance; Richard Provencher, Corporate Secretary; Mena Beshay, Director; Brigitte Chabarekh, Director; Frederic Lecoq, Director; and Francois Vitez, Director. Appointment of Auditors Concurrent with the closing of the Qualifying Transaction, KPMG LLP has been appointed auditors of Charbone Hydrogen. Year End Following completion of the Qualifying Transaction, the fiscal year end of Charbone Hydrogen shall be December 31. In accordance with applicable laws, Charbone will publish (i) its annual financial statements for year ended December 31, 2021 on or before April 30, 2022, and (ii) its unaudited interim financial statements for the three months period ended March 31, 2022 on or before May 30, 2022. About Charbone Charbone Corporation is a Canadian green hydrogen group established in North America. The Companys strategy consists in developing modular and expandable hydrogen facilities. Through the acquisition of hydropower plants in the United States of America and Canada, Charbone will be able to produce green dihydrogen molecules using reliable and sustainable energy to distinguish itself as a provider of an environmentally friendly solution for industrial and commercial enterprises. About Charbone Hydrogen Charbone Hydrogen is a capital pool company pursuant to the Exchanges Policy 2.4. Except as specifically contemplated in such policy, until the completion of its Qualifying Transaction, Charbone Hydrogen will not carry on business, other than identification and evaluation of companies, businesses or assets with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction. Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a capital pool company is considered highly speculative. Other Matters Trading in the Common Shares has been halted in compliance with the policies of the Exchange, and will remain halted pending satisfaction of the conditions of the Exchange for resumption of trading. Charbone has supplied all information contained in this news release with respect to Charbone and Charbone Hydrogen and its directors and officers have relied on Charbone for any such information. The securities described in this press release, and the securities into which they may be converted or exchanged, have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended) absent registration or an exemption from registration. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that are "forward-looking information" as defined under Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). These forward-looking statements are often identified by words such as "intends", "anticipates", "expects", "believes", "plans", "likely", or similar words. Specifically, this news release includes forward-looking statements regarding statements relating to satisfaction of Exchange requirements, the expected date the Common Shares will commence trading and the approval of the Exchange in connection with the issuance of the Units. The forward-looking statements reflect the Charbone Hydrogen and Charbone's respective management's expectations, estimates, or projections concerning future results or events, based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates considered reasonable by management at the date the statements are made. Although Charbone Hydrogen and Charbone believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, as unknown or unpredictable factors could cause actual results to be materially different from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially: whether they are able to satisfy the listing conditions for the listing of the Common Shares on the Exchange. The forward-looking statements may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of Charbone Hydrogen and Charbone. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Charbone Hydrogen and Charbone undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts For further information, please contact: RALEIGH, N.C., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The SECU Foundation has awarded a $40,000 grant to Stanton Hospitality House (SHH) in Fayetteville, N.C. to help them expand family house services. The funding will allow SHH to conduct feasibility studies, enable research, and develop fundraising plans for a new facility on the campus of Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. This is an exciting opportunity for us to help this organization move forward it is an initiative that is very close to our hearts, remarked Jama Campbell, SECU Foundation Executive Director. Hospitality house programs have become a vital service for patient families, especially at a time when the financial and emotional burdens of a loved ones illness or hospitalization can be overwhelming. We hope the Foundations grant will be an important building block to help SHH address the increased need for hospitality house services with a new and much larger facility. We are so grateful to the SECU Foundation for the $40,000 Mission Development Grant for our Hospitality House, said Martha Broadfoot Bock, Stanton Hospitality House Executive Director. The grant will help us study the feasibility of building a new facility, conduct research, and help us create solid plans for marketing and fundraising. Our mission is to provide a home away from home for families whose loved ones are hospitalized locally. We look forward to this exciting venture with SECU Foundation to help those in need. About SECU and the SECU Foundation A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for over 84 years. SECU is the second largest credit union in the U.S. with over $51 billion in assets and serves over 2.6 million members through 274 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Member Services via phone, www.ncsecu.org and a Mobile App. The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare, and human services. Since 2004, SECU Foundation has made a collective financial commitment of over $216 million for initiatives to benefit North Carolinians statewide. Contact: Jama Campbell, Executive Director Office: 919-839-5562 | secufoundation@ncsecu.org A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5ba29a90-82e5-4eb0-872a-06dd59ac3937 Ottawa, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The rising investments on the drug discovery and drug development owing to the surging prevalence of chronic diseases such as Alzheimers and cancer among the global population are driving the growth of the biobanking market. The rising popularity of the precision medicine, rising research studies related to genomics, growing trend of conservation of newborns cord blood stem cells, and rising needs of drug discovery are some of the prominent factors that are driving the global biobanking market. The rise in the government and corporate investments towards the research and development on the regenerative medicines is expected to augment the demand for the biobanking products and services in the forthcoming years. Furthermore, the rising number of biobanks across the globe along with the rising number of biosamples is contributing positively to the market growth. Get the Sample Pages of Report@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/sample/1641 Regional Snapshot Europe was the leading biobanking market in 2020. The Nordic countries in Europe are characterized with the presence of several well-established biobanks. Furthermore, approximately 40% of the population of Iceland had contributed their DNA, which is privately stored in the biobanks, as per the data published by Global Engage. This increasing volume of human biosamples are positively impacting the growth of the Europe biobanking market. The presence of several top pharmaceutical companies in drug discovery and clinical trials and the increased adoption of the virtual biobanks led to the dominance of Europe in the global biobanking market. Asia Pacific is expected to witness a significant growth during the forecast period, owing to the presence of several top research and medical institutions in countries like China and India. The surging government investments in the drug development and the rising demand for the precision medicine in Asia Pacific are expected to spur the growth of the Asia Pacific biobanking market. Scope of the Biobanking Market Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2021 USD 69 Billion CAGR 5.9% from 2022 to 2030 Human Tissues Segment Market Share in 2021 38% Drug Discovery & Clinical Research Share in 2021 38% Base Year 2021 Forecast Data 2022 to 2030 Companies Covered Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., BD, Tecan Trading AG, QIAGEN, Brooks Life Sciences, TTP Labtech, VWR International, LLC., Promega Corporation, Worthington Industries, Hamilton Company, Merck KGaA, Biokryo GmbH, Cell&Co BioServices, RUCDR Infinite Biologics, Modul-Bio Ask here for more customization study@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/customization/1641 Report Highlights Based on the product, the equipment segment accounted for a revenue share of over 75% and dominated the global biobanking market in 2021. The high costs associated with the acquisition of the biobanking equipment have resulted in the higher revenue generation. Furthermore, the rise in the number of biobanks across the globe in the recent times has fostered the growth of this segment. On the basis of service, lab processing is anticipated to be the most opportunistic segment. This is mainly due to the increased investments in the clinical research and clinical trials on COVID-19 infection and the higher engagement of various pharma companies in the development of drugs and vaccines against the COVID-19 disease. Based on the specimen, the human tissues were the leading segment and are expected to be the fastest-growing segment as well. The higher availability of the human tissues owing to the higher demand for it has fueled the growth of this segment. Depending on the biobank type, the virtual biobank segment is projected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. The rising adoption of the software, digital technology, and automation technologies in the biobanking industry has led to the rapid emergence of the virtual biobank segment. By application, the drug discovery & clinical research segment dominated the global biobanking market in 2021 with revenue share of 38%. This is attributed to the increased demand for the biosamples in the clinical studies and drug discovery activities. The recent outbreak of the COIVID-19 has fueled the number of clinical studies and research in 2020. Market Dynamics Driver Rising trend of conserving cord blood stem cells of newborns Cord blood is derived from the umbilical cord after the delivery of the baby and it is an abundant source of cord blood stem cells, which is highly used for clinical research. The demand for this cord blood stem cell is high in the field of biobanking. In 2020, Lund University launched the globes largest stem cell biobanking in Sweden with an intention to help the researchers to conduct studies on the diseases like Parkinsons and Alzheimers. Therefore, the rising demand for the cord blood stem cell for the clinical research is expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period. Restraint High costs associated with automation With the rise in the digital technologies, the virtual biobanks and the other digital technologies paved its way in the biobanking industry. The biospecimen storage tools are well-equipped with the advanced functionalities and hence the costs of acquiring it is higher. The high costs associated with the automation technologies in the biobanking industry presents a challenge for the market players to achieve sustainability. Opportunities Integration of software led to the rise of virtual biobanking The introduction of software in the biobanking industry has given rise to the virtual biobanking. The virtual technologies are facilitating the researchers to smoothly conduct their studies and reduce the time limitations. The rising investments in the development of software technologies are expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities to the market players in the virtual biobanking market in the foreseeable future. Related Reports Challenge Sustainability in long term Achieving sustainability in the long term is a major challenge for the market players. There is an insecurity related to the long term funding in the biobanking. To achieve sustainability a balance between the social, financial, and operational dimension is required. Therefore, sustainability is a need for remaining operative and effective in the long term in the global biobanking market. Recent Developments In April 2020, Fonds de recherche du Quebecand Genome Quebec together started Quebec COVID-19 biobank in Canada. In March 2021, UK Biobank added new data sets to their databaseabout measuring of the range of circulation metabolomics biomarkers. Market Segmentation By Product Equipment Consumables Laboratory Information Systems By Service Biobanking and Repository Validation/Qualification Lab Processing Cold Chain Logistic Others By Biospecimen Type Human Tissues Stem Cells Organs Others By Biobank Physical Biobanks Virtual Biobanks By Application Drug Discovery and Clinical Research Therapeutics Clinical Diagnostics Others By Type of Biobank Population-based Biobanks Disease-oriented Biobanks By Ownership National/regional agency Non-Profit Organization Universities Private Organization By Storage Manual Storage Automated Storage By Geography North America Europe Asia-Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa (MEA) Click Here to View Full Report Table of Contents Buy this Premium Research Report@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/checkout/1641 You can place an order or ask any questions, please feel free to contact at sales@precedenceresearch.com | +1 9197 992 333 About Us Precedence Research is a worldwide market research and consulting organization. We give unmatched nature of offering to our customers present all around the globe across industry verticals. Precedence Research has expertise in giving deep-dive market insight along with market intelligence to our customers spread crosswise over various undertakings. We are obliged to serve our different client base present over the enterprises of medicinal services, healthcare, innovation, next-gen technologies, semi-conductors, chemicals, automotive, and aerospace & defense, among different ventures present globally. For Latest Update Follow Us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/precedence-research/ https://www.facebook.com/precedenceresearch/ https://twitter.com/Precedence_R PASCAGOULA, Miss., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- All-domain defense and technologies partner HII (NYSE:HII) hosted U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman, R-Va.; Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.; and Trent Kelly, R-Miss., last week in a demonstration of immediate production capacity at Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of Americas largest shipbuilder. The lawmakers are members of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee, which is beginning its consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023. This shipyard has the talent, capability and capacity to build ships and is dedicated to doing everything to maintain it, Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. We have made the investments in the facility to be completely modernized, and we will continue to invest in our people so that they are ready to support current and future programs at Ingalls. The Ingalls and Navy team led congressional members on a shipyard tour, including visits aboard amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) and the guided-missile destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125). A high-resolution photo is available for download at: https://newsroom.hii.com/releases/ingalls-congress-visit-april-2022. As always, I was impressed by the important work conducted at Ingalls Shipbuilding in support of our Navy and Marine Corps team and our national defense, Wittman said. This was my first visit to Ingalls since the completion of their shipyard of the future project, and I was pleased to see the advancement of the shipyard's capacity and capability across four major classes of ships. I was especially pleased to tour Fort Lauderdale and receive an update on the transition between LPD Flight I and Flight II. These amphibious vessels are critical components of the force structure of the Marine Corps, and our shipbuilding plans for both LPD and LHA classes of ships must be fully resourced by Congress this year to secure the forcible entry capabilities of the corps, and strengthen our position in the Indo-Pacific as we confront the pacing challenge and enduing threat posed by China to our friends and global interests. I also toured Jack H. Lucas and received an update on the transition to Flight III production. The combat system and other upgrades to the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are critical to our Navys ability to project power around the world, and I look forward to supporting the next multi-year procurement of these essential platforms. Gallagher and Kelly echoed the sentiments of Wittman toward the important contribution of the shipbuilding team and the contributions they are making to national security. Gallagher added, We need all hands on deck to build a 355-ship Navy and beyond. Furthermore Kelly said, As Mississippi's largest manufacturing employer, this shipyard contributes significantly to my state's economy but also provides a wide range of ships in support of our Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. It was especially great to have Congressman Wittman and Congressman Gallagher see the significant investment made at Ingalls over the last several years. This investment was the result of the strong partnership between the state of Mississippi, the Department of the Navy and the company and will enable Ingalls to continue its fine tradition of supporting the Navy and Marine Corps team. HII is an all-domain defense and technologies partner, recognized worldwide as Americas largest shipbuilder. With a 135-year history of trusted partnerships in advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities ranging from the most powerful and survivable naval ships ever built, to unmanned systems, ISR and AI/ML analytics. HII leads the industry in mission-driven solutions that support and enable an all-domain force. Headquartered in Virginia, HIIs skilled workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information please visit: HII on the web: https://www.hii.com/ HII on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHII HII on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/wearehii HII on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearehii Contact: Danny Hernandez Danny.J.Hernandez@hii-co.com (202) 580-9086 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3ef824bb-188d-44ba-b744-cbeda0acbaed NORFOLK, VA, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following a national search with the engagement and expertise of Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Old Dominion University announces the selection of Nicola Ziady as its inaugural Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer. Nicola will begin her Monarch journey on July 11, 2022, following eight years of strong leadership and exemplary service as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the University of Cincinnati, a Research 1 urban university with more than 45,000 students. Nicola also has prior experience and proven success in the area of marketing at Case Western Reserve University, as well as St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland. This inaugural leadership position was established following the extensive review and detailed recommendations of a Branding, Marketing, and Communication Task Force that was convened by ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., and the University Communications Working Group that was formed following the Task Forces work to operationalize the recommendations. Yuping Liu-Thompkins, Ph.D., who serves in ODUs Strome College of Business as Professor of Marketing, Director of Loyalty Science Lab and E.V. Williams Faculty Fellow, shared the following based on her industry expertise, as well as significant contributions as a member of the Branding, Marketing, and Communication Task Force and University Communications Working Group. I am really excited about the prospect of a new chief marketing officer for Old Dominion University. ODU has grown significantly over the 20 years Ive been here. The recent move to an R1 institution is an example of this growth. ODU has a lot of great stories about our students, faculty and staff. We need a more unified voice to tell these stories. The candidates we interviewed all had deep experiences in this area. I look forward to seeing the new leader take the branding of ODU to a whole new level. Additionally, John B. Ford, Ph.D., who also serves in ODUs Strome College of Business as Professor of Marketing and International Business, Eminent Scholar and Haislip-Rorrer Fellow, highlighted the importance of this position and Nicolas selection when considering the current state and future direction of ODUs overall efforts. The position of Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer is a very important position for Old Dominion University. Ensuring the consistency of all communications and enabling and maintaining the essence of the ODU brand is a key component of our ever-increasing national recognition and prominence as an R1 institution. Nicola is the ideal candidate for this position. Her experience with St. Jude, Cleveland Clinic, and the University of Cincinnati give her an extraordinary understanding of brand image and communication. Her energy and insight will help ODU develop and enhance a significant national reputation. Dr. Fords assessment is grounded in his critical institutional leadership as part of the Universitys strategic planning process, specifically co-chair of the Branding, Marketing, and Communication Subcommittee, with significant industry leadership as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Advertising Research and Associate Editor (Advertising) of the Journal of Business Research. In announcing Nicolas selection, President Hemphill said, On behalf of Monarch Nation, I am honored to welcome Nicola to the ODU family. She brings deep experience to our institution. I am confident that she will provide the industry expertise and insight, as well as best practices, that are needed to advance our institution and expand possibilities now and well into the future. President Hemphill added, I must also express my deep appreciation for the Task Force and Working Group members who were dedicated to charting a visionary path forward. Their work was very thoughtful and has positively impacted the ongoing planning efforts in this critical area. The Search Committee went above and beyond in its significant effort to examine and engage with a top-quality applicant pool, which has resulted in Nicolas selection. All of these cross-functional campus groups answered the call to serve in a profound way that will be impactful for many years to come. Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Robert Wojtowicz, Ph.D., who chaired the Search Committee said, "Nicola brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position of Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer. As the head of a newly reorganized division, moreover, Nicola will be able to spread the good news about ODU more effectively to a wider audience than ever before." A software engineer by training, Nicola has a Bachelor of Science in Computing from Waterford Institute of Technology with additional training, including executive education experiences, at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Miami University, Oxford University, Harvard University and Case Western Reserve University. With a data-centric approach, Nicola is a published author and national presenter with a service history on industry review committees and advisory committees, as well as a volunteer for several organizations and recipient of numerous awards. In being selected for this important role, Nicola shared, Higher education is changing and evolving, and so is Old Dominion University. President Hemphill has an aspirational and ambitious vision for the future to break barriers, ceilings and new ground. I am honored to be chosen to serve this institution as it advances to new heights as one of the nation's leading public R1 universities. We have a wonderful story to tell in coastal Virginia and a singular purpose to give new vantage to the next generation of bold ideas and crowning achievers. I want to thank President Hemphill for the trust he has placed in me. I also want to thank the Search Committee and the campus community for the manner in which they welcomed me during my visit to campus, especially the University Communications and senior leadership teams. I look forward to collaborating with the outstanding students, faculty, and staff to propel the regional and national stature of Old Dominion University. Attachment SAN DIEGO, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Knockaround and Superfly are pleased to announce that Knockaround, the original, affordable sunglasses and lifestyle brand out of San Diego, will be the Official Eyewear sponsor of San Francisco's 2022 Outside Lands Festival. Held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands is the ultimate celebration of music, food, and Northern California lifestyle. This year, the 14th annual festival will be held from Aug. 5-7, 2022. As part of Knockaround's sponsorship, the brand will have a large activation presence where the legions of fans attending the festival can experience the Knockaround brand in fun, engaging ways and shop for their favorite sunglasses across the Knockaround assortment. The brand will also be debuting new products, launching just in time for the presence at Outside Lands. "We are beyond thrilled to be part of such an iconic San Francisco institution. Over the weekend there will be over 200,000 fans enjoying music and all the best parts of California culture, which makes it a perfect fit for Knockaround and all that we have to offer," said Adam Moyer, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Knockaround. Knockaround has evolved into a lifestyle brand with a broad assortment of non-prescription eyewear that includes polarized sunglasses, blue-light blocking glasses, ski and snowboard goggles, and a custom design eyewear program. Knockaround's focus on creativity and authenticity along with building a culture around the brand have established a loyal fan base, positioning the company to achieve accelerated growth and realize its vision of becoming the leading sunglasses brand for consumers and athletes everywhere. Outside Lands spans across three days from August 5-7 and continues to blaze new trails as a festival that's totally original and totally San Francisco. Aside from performances from artists across nine stages, the festival programming combines the eclectic lineup with world-class art, wine, food, cannabis, interactive activities, culinary experiences and more, which truly means there is something for everybody, just like at Knockaround. This year's lineup, just announced, features an incredible lineup including headliners Green Day, Post Malone and SZA with an extensive array of diverse performers. About Knockaround Knockaround is the original, affordable sunglasses company from San Diego, founded by Adam "Ace" Moyer in 2005. Centered around durable shades that are both practical and stylish, Knockaround provides high-quality sunglasses that won't break the bank. Knockaround has grown to offer numerous different frame styles in a wide range of colors as well as ongoing Limited Edition special releases, collaborations, and an interactive "design your own" custom sunglasses shop. Knockaround Sunglasses have been featured in GQ, US Weekly, and The Today Show, and have been worn by countless celebrities. For more information, visit Knockaround.com or follow (@knockaround) on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Media Contact: Tony Martinez tony@knockaround.com Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment WASHINGTON, April 22, 2022 Tennessee Brown Bag, LLC, a Hixson, Tenn. establishment, is recalling approximately 4,590 pounds of beef jerky products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The ready-to-eat beef jerky products were produced from January 2020 through April 2022. The following products are subject to recall [view labels]: 3.0 oz. and 1.5 oz. brown zippered packages containing TENNESSEE BROWN BAG ORIGINAL and Best by dates through April 2023. 3.0 oz. and 1.5 oz. brown zippered packages containing TENNESSEE BROWN BAG PEPPERED and Best by dates through April 2023. 3.0 oz. and 1.5 oz. brown zippered packages containing TENNESSEE BROWN BAG Spicy and Best by dates through April 2023. 3.0 oz. and 1.5 oz. brown zippered packages containing TENNESSEE BROWN BAG TERIYAKI and Best by dates through April 2023. 3.0 oz. and 1.5 oz. brown zippered packages containing TENNESSEE BROWN BAG HOTIYAKI SWEET HEAT and Best by dates through April 2023. 3.0 oz. and 1.5 oz. brown zippered packages containing TENNESSEE BROWN BAG DILL PICKLE and Best by dates through April 2023. 3.0 oz. and 1.5 oz. brown zippered packages containing TENNESSEE BROWN BAG JALEPENO DILL and Best by dates through April 2023. The products subject to recall do not bear the USDA mark of inspection because Tennessee Brown Bag, LLC is not a federally inspected establishment. The firm produced seven beef jerky varieties and sold the product directly to consumers nationwide through websites and through retail locations in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The problem was discovered when the Tennessee Department of Agriculture notified FSIS about the products. After investigation, FSIS determined that the beef jerky products did not have the USDA mark of inspection and were produced in an establishment that was not inspected by USDA. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider. FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers pantries or refrigerators. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase. FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls. Consumers and members of the media with questions about the recall can contact Christopher Petriccione, Tennessee Brown Bag, LLC, at 833-862-7696, ext. 701 or tnbrownbag@gmail.com. Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at Ask USDA or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/. DANBURY, Conn., April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ethan Allen, a leading global interior design company and renowned manufacturer and retailer of quality home furnishings, has just debuted its newest Design Center in Walnut Creek, CA. One of several openings, including a recent opening in Westport, CT, that the company has slated for 2022, the new Design Center showcases the timeless aesthetic of Ethan Allens vast product portfolio while fostering collaboration between the companys world-class interior designers and clients. Grounded in a unique vision of American style, the new Design Center empowers clients to work with its professional interior designers at fully equipped workstations, viewing both before-and-after photos and 3D floor plans of single rooms or even entire homes. Large, high-resolution screens bring digital design plans to life, so clients can preview an incredibly realistic version of their designed space before placing an order. Our new Design Center projects the variety of our styles of classic design with a modern perspective and rooted in our commitment to combining personal interior design service with 3D technology, said Ethan Allen Chairman and CEO Farooq Kathwari. Our design service is complimentary, and its offered in the Design Center, at clients homes, or via virtual appointment, from planning to ordering and delivery support. Mr. Kathwari also noted: "Because we make about 75% of our products in our own North American workshops, we can offer compelling value and competitive delivery, even in these challenging times." In addition to viewing aspirational room settings, clients can access the full breadth of Ethan Allens furniture and accent selections either in partnership with designers or via touchscreen for self-paced product research. Samples of fabrics, leathers, finishes, and other customized options are also on-site; from room plans to furniture details, each client enjoys a personalized experience. Located at 1450 Mt. Diablo Blvd., the Walnut Creek Design Center is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.6 p.m., and on Sunday, 11 a.m.6 p.m. ABOUT Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE: ETD) is a leading interior design company, manufacturer, and retailer in the home furnishings marketplace. The Company is a global luxury home fashion brand that is vertically integrated from product design through home delivery, which offers its customers stylish product offerings, artisanal quality, and personalized service. The Company provides complimentary interior design service to its clients and sells a full range of home furnishings through a retail network of design centers located throughout the United States and abroad as well as online at ethanallen.com. Ethan Allen owns and operates nine manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Mexico and Honduras, including one sawmill, one rough mill and a lumberyard. Approximately 75% of its products are manufactured or assembled in these North American facilities. For more information on Ethan Allen's products and services, visit www.ethanallen.com. CONTACT Geri Moran Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations 203.743.8374 geri.moran@ethanallen.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6bedd22d-56fd-4999-ad00-899997471810 Tokyo, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently Announced Report on Energy Storage as a Service Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, Regional Outlook, and Forecast 2022 2030. The customer energy management services segment hit market share of 31% in 2021 The utility segment is projected to witness at a CAGR of 11.3% from 2022 to 2030 The utility segment to garner growth at a CAGR of around 11.3% over the forecast period North America region led the market with 31% revenue share in 2021 Asia-Pacific is projected to witness at a CAGR of 12.7% from 2022 to 2030 Get the Sample Pages of Report@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/sample/1643 Growth Factors Energy, technology, grid access, analytics, and personalized services are all included in the energy storage as a service model. The growing use of energy storage as a service has been primarily for lowering building energy expenditures and lowering carbon emissions in order to preserve environmental balance. Rapid urbanization and industrialization raised energy demand, resulting in worldwide fossil fuel depletion. The rising energy consumption and need for power management in the industrial and residential sectors are driving the global energy storage as a service market. Furthermore, people all around the world are attracted to energy storage services because of their ease and cost effectiveness. As a result of increased urbanization and industrialization, the energy consumption is rising at a rapid pace. It has become vital to develop renewable energy on a worldwide scale to meet rising demand and the depletion of fossil resources. Solar and wind power plants cover a huge geographic region. The global investment in renewable energy capacity was around three times that of coal and gas fired power capacity combined. As a result, the energy storage as a service market will be supported over the anticipated period by increasing renewable energy potential and increased demand across various industries. Scope of the Energy Storage as a Service Market Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2021 USD 59.89 Billion Growth Rate CAGR of 8.9% Largest Market North America Fastest Growing Market Asia Pacific Base Year 2021 Forecast Data 2022 to 2030 Companies Covered Siemens Energy, Honeywell International Inc., ENGIE Storage Services NA LLC, Veolia, NRStor Inc., YSG Solar, Suntuity, Hydrostor Inc., Customized Energy Solutions Inc., Johnson Controls Report Highlights: Based on the services, the customer energy management services segment dominated the global energy storage as a service market in 2021 with largest market share. The segment is being driven by the increased demand for energy sustainability, new energy solutions, energy resources, and improvements in building efficiency, which helps to cut costs and maximize efficiency. On the basis of end user, the utility segment holds the largest market share the global energy storage as a service market in 2021. During the projected period, demand for energy storage as a service will be fueled by rising renewable energy generation and a growing desire to improve efficiency. Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing region in the energy storage as a service market. The battery energy storage system business is progressively becoming a hub in Asia-Pacific. Several nations in Asia-Pacific are projected to drive the energy storage as a service market during the forecast period due to rapid industrialization and the growing relevance of power generation through renewable energy sources. North America is the largest segment for energy storage as a service market in terms of region. Energy efficiency projects are being implemented by utilities in nations with the goal of lowering energy generation costs. Ask here for more customization study@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/customization/1643 Future of Energy Storage as a Service Market The growing investments in research and development are paving way for the growth of the global energy storage as a service market. The lack of electricity in underdeveloped regions is also creating lucrative opportunities for the market expansion during the forecast period. As a result, the global energy storage as a service market is growing at a rapid pace due to growing demand for energy. This will continue to grow in the near future. COVID-19 Impact Analysis: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the global energy storage as a service market. Thus, the COVID-19 epidemic had negative impact on the growth of the energy storage as a service market. The manufacturing units were halt for certain period of time, which has led to decline growth of the energy storage as a service market. Also, the energy storage as a service market saw a decline in the expansion due to decline in the energy industry. Nevertheless, the energy industry is expected to rebound because of the removal of the lockdown restrictions globally. Browse more related reports@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/industry/energy-and-power Key Developments in the Marketplace: Sonnen, a major operator in the sectors of smart energy storage systems and novel energy services for households was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell PLC in February 2019, increasing its product offerings of residential smart energy storage services. Renewable Energy Systems was given a four-year contract in the UK in September 2016 to offer frequency response services to the National Grid network using a 35-MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system. Engie Group and Google signed a deal in August 2021 to provide carbon free electricity in Germany. The arrangement will help Google meet its carbon free energy goals for its data centers, cloud regions, and offices throughout the world by 2030. Schneider Electric, a French multinational corporation that specializes in energy and digital automation solutions, announced a partnership with Huck Capital, an investment firm, in August 2020 to provide clean energy as a service to industrial and commercial building structures. Market Segmentation By Services Bulk energy services Ancillary services Transmission infrastructure services Distribution infrastructure services Customer energy management services Others By End User Utility Industrial, residential and commercial By Component Energy Storage System Control and Monitoring System Service Contract By Geography North America Europe Asia-Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa (MEA) Click Here to View Full Report Table of Contents Buy this Premium Research Report@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/checkout/1643 You can place an order or ask any questions, please feel free to contact at sales@precedenceresearch.com | +1 9197 992 333 About Us Precedence Research is a worldwide market research and consulting organization. We give unmatched nature of offering to our customers present all around the globe across industry verticals. Precedence Research has expertise in giving deep-dive market insight along with market intelligence to our customers spread crosswise over various undertakings. We are obliged to serve our different client base present over the enterprises of medicinal services, healthcare, innovation, next-gen technologies, semi-conductors, chemicals, automotive, and aerospace & defense, among different ventures present globally. For Latest Update Follow Us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/precedence-research/ https://www.facebook.com/precedenceresearch/ https://twitter.com/Precedence_R NEW YORK, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC (PSG) will host a webcast for Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund (NYSE: CEN) (the Fund) on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 3:00pm ET. PSG will provide an update on the Fund and on general market conditions. There will be an opportunity to ask questions about the Fund during the call. Questions may also be submitted ahead of the call by sending an e-mail to publicsecurities.enquiries@brookfield.com. Registration and Webcast Link: https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1542874&tp_key=f9db5f98f8 Audio Only Dial-In: 800-289-0720 (toll free) or 323-701-0160 (toll) Event Code: 8957537 A replay will be available via this link shortly following the webcast. A transcript of the call will also be available by calling 855-777-8001 or by sending an e-mail request to the Fund at publicsecurities.enquiries@brookfield.com . Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC (PSG) is an SEC-registered investment adviser that represents the Public Securities platform of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., providing global listed real assets strategies including real estate equities, infrastructure equities, energy infrastructure equities, multi-strategy real asset solutions and real asset debt. With over $20 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2022, PSG manages separate accounts, registered funds and opportunistic strategies for financial institutions, public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds and individual investors. PSG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $690 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2021. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com. Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund is managed by Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC. The Fund uses its website as a channel of distribution of material information about the Fund. Financial and other material information regarding the Fund is routinely posted on and accessible at www.brookfield.com. COMPANY CONTACT Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund Brookfield Place 250 Vesey Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10281-1023 (855) 777-8001 publicsecurities.enquiries@brookfield.com Investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Foreside Fund Services, LLC; distributor. China releases aircraft carrier-themed promotional video, hinting arrival of third one (People's Daily App) 15:20, April 22, 2022 To celebrate its 73rd birthday, the Peoples Liberation Army Navy on Friday released a promotional video on Chinese aircraft carriers. The video contains rarely seen frames of the training, the interior of Chinas two aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong and also details of the seamens work. The trailer of the video uses a subtle metaphor that a Navy soldier tells his mother that he plans to have a third child over the phone, hinting at Chinas third aircraft carrier. Joining the Navy in 2012 and 2019, respectively, Liaoning and Shandong have completed a variety of tasks as trailblazers in Navy transformation, contributors to Chinas army building and a witnesses to a stronger China. Now, they are ready to be joined by a third member. (Compiled by Chen Rui) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Max Verstappen has no reason to travel to the circuit unmotivated. Indeed, despite two dropouts in three races, Sebastian Vettel thinks that Red Bull Racing has the best car and Max is therefore still capable of becoming champion. Opportunity for Verstappen Verstappen is already facing a 46-point gap after three races. The Dutchman crashed out twice in the first three races and therefore saw Charles Leclerc already running far away. In Saudi Arabia, however, Verstappen won the race and at his dropouts he was driving in second place. According to Vettel, Verstappen therefore has little to worry about. ''In Max's situation you have no reason not to be motivated. He is in a great team and I think Red Bull has the best car. Rightnow they just don't have the best package yet,'' Vettel said according to De Telegraaf. The German believes that Verstappen should just live from race to race and will still have plenty of opportunities in his career. Read more F1 Social Stint | Predicted rain already in Imola Dream with Ferrari Vettel sees two old loves of his fighting for the title in 2022. With Red Bull Racing, Vettel won his four world titles and broke through in F1, where with Ferrari he tried to realize the dream of becoming world champion with Ferrari. In 2017 and 2018, he seemed to come close, but fell just short of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. ''I hope they can enjoy the success now longer than they did then. I am very happy for Ferrari. I still have a lot of contact with the people there and I know how tremendously hard they work and how committed they are'', concludes the Aston Martin driver who himself with his AMR22 will probably not even come close to the points. Three Formula One teams have broken the curfew at the Imola circuit for the time being. Mercedes, Red Bull Racing and Williams needed more time to make all preparations than is within the rules of the regulations. Penalties have not been handed out. Mercedes already broke the curfew on Wednesday, while Red Bull and Williams did so on Thursday. On Wednesdays, night work is allowed eight times per season, while on Thursdays it is six times. All teams committed their first "overrun" in Italy, so there is nothing to worry about yet. Read more F1 LIVE | Sprint qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola Breaking the curfew does not necessarily indicate problems that need to be fixed before the first free practice. It could also be that the cargo was slightly delayed, which meant that teams could only start unpacking and starting up all the equipment needed during a Grand Prix weekend later. FIA unveils crewfew breaks The Lincoln Star Concept made its global debut, hinting at the brands design language for its future electric vehicles. By mid-decade, Lincoln plans to deliver three new fully electric vehicles, meaning that more than half of its global volume will be zero emissions vehicles, and it will add a fourth by the end of 2026. As Lincoln moves toward an electric future, it is equally focused on keeping its current portfolio fresh and introducing new clients to the brand. Lincoln reported its best annual global sales in 21 years and plans to build on its momentum with the recent launches of the all-new Zephyr in China and the new Navigator in North America. As Lincoln enters the next chapter in our transition to a zero-emissions future, the Lincoln Star Concept will lead the way for our portfolio of fully electric vehicles. It is an excellent example of how we are redefining luxury for the next generation as we work to transform the vehicle into a third spacea true place of sanctuaryfor our clients. Joy Falotico, president, Lincoln Electrification is removing many traditional vehicle design constraints, allowing us to reimagine what a vehicle can be. The Lincoln Star is a study of experiences and themes that push the boundaries of Lincoln designand its just the start. Anthony Lo, chief design officer, Ford Motor Company The companys rear- and all-wheel-drive flexible battery electric architecture and next-generation Lincoln Intelligence System enable the new design thinking and connected experiences the Star Concept offers. The flexible architecture means engineers and designers could reimagine the additional interior space in new and exciting ways to create a unique Lincoln experience. The new Lincoln Intelligence System enables experiences such as connected vehicle-to-vehicle and infrastructure capabilities, as well as next-generation leading driver-assist features such as Help Me See and Park for Me. Two pan-European projectsthe ZEFER (Zero Emission taxi Fleets for European Rollout) and H2ME2 (Hydrogen Mobility Europe) projects, both funded by Europes Clean Hydrogen Partnershiphave deployed 100 hydrogen taxis in Copenhagen with app-based taxi company DRIVR. The Toyota Mirais run on green hydrogen from renewable energy, following the installation and opening of a new hydrogen refueling station (HRS) in the city. This latest deployment of taxis means the wider ZEFER project has achieved its full complement of 180 FCEVs in high-utilization, captive fleets across Europe with deployments in three capital cities (Paris, London and Copenhagen). The taxi deployment in Copenhagen will complement 60 taxis previously deployed to hydrogen taxi company Hype by STEP (Societe du Taxi Electrique Parisien) in Paris, and 60 other passenger cars in London deployed between private-hire firm Green Tomato Cars (50) and the Metropolitan Police (10). To date the 120 vehicles operated under the ZEFER project have driven more than 7 million kilometers (4.35 million miles) fueled only by hydrogen. This high mileage is achieved as the project deliberately targets the very long daily mileage applications which are most suitable to hydrogen vehicles. They have achieved this without major safety or reliability incidents and vehicle performance has been rated highly by drivers and fleet managers, with limited breakdowns or issues encountered relating directly to the hydrogen drivetrain. The Danish government has targeted all taxis to be zero-emission by 2030; DRIVR won the public tender to deliver ad-hoc taxi services in the City of Copenhagen. The 100 new hydrogen taxis will complement DRIVRs existing low-emission fleet, already comprising hybrid, battery-electric and hydrogen vehicles. A 49-year-old Wamsutter resident will be spending the rest of his life in prison following a sentencing hearing where he plead guilty to 58 criminal charges. Russell Jay Byrne was sentenced Monday to a prison sentence of 74-100 years by Third Judicial District Court Judge Suzannah Robinson for charges including the possession, manufacture and distribution of child pornography, as well as the sexual abuse of three children. According to the Sweetwater County Sheriffs Office, a joint investigation involving the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigations Internet Crimes Against Childr... CHEYENNE When President Joe Biden announced a new federal rule banning the manufacture of unserialized, privately made firearms on Monday, Sen. Anthony Bouchard, R-Cheyenne, went to social media to defend his Second Amendment protection bill that was killed in the 2022 budget session. Senate File 87 would have prohibited the enforcement of unconstitutional federal actions infringing upon Second Amendment rights, denied immunities for law enforcement and provided cause for civil action against officers who knowingly denied law-abiding citizens the right to bear arms. My bill, SF-87 RE... Blistering heat waves across the West helped spike wholesale electric power prices in 2021 as drought conditions sapped hydroelectric capacity. The extreme weather prompted utility giant PacifiCorp to file for rate increases this month across its six-state operating region. PacifiCorp, which operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming, has requested a 4% energy cost adjustment for its Wyoming customers, totalling $26.3 million. If approved, its average Wyoming residential customer would see his or her monthly bill increase by $1.97 beginning July 1, according to the utility. The Wyomi... Andrew Kneeland plays guitar and sings during the ribbon cutting and open house for Inside Connection, a local pregnancy resource center. Andrew is part of the newly-formed band "Greasewood Redemption" that performed in front of a crowd for the first time at the event last Saturday. Inside Connection, a local pregnancy resource center, has moved into a "new" Rock Springs location that is more than 100 years old. "This building is amazing," Inside Connection Executive Director Kim Seymour said during a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday. "It has history and it's beautiful. And it just is the perfect place for us because it's a little more private." The three-story stone building next to the former county hospital was originally used as the nurses' quarters when the hospital was in operation. Seymour said the land the hospital and nurses' building were built on was orig... This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) A Taliban official says a bombing at a mosque and religious school in northern Afghanistan on Friday killed at least 33 people, including students of a religious school. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's deputy culture and information minister, said the bombing in the town of Imam Saheb, in Kunduz Province, also wounded another 43 people, many of them students. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but Afghanistans Islamic State affiliate on Friday claimed a series of bombings that happened a day earlier, the worst of which was an attack on a Shiite mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif that killed at least 12 Shiite Muslim worshippers and wounded scores more. Earlier the Kunduz provincial police spokesman put the death toll at the Malawi Bashir Ahmad Mosque and madrassa compound in Imam Saheb at two dead and six injured. Mujahid later tweeted the higher casualty numbers, saying we condemn this crime ... and express our deepest condolences to the victims. Friday's bombing is the latest in a series of deadly attacks across Afghanistan. Mujahid called the perpetrators of the Kunduz attack seditionists and evil elements. The United Nations called the attack horrific. Deputy special representative to Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said in a tweet that the killings must stop now and perpetrators brought to justice. Since sweeping to power last August, the Taliban have been battling the upstart Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K which is proving to be an intractable security challenge for Afghanistan's religiously driven government. Last October the IS-K claimed a brutal bombing also in northern Kunduz province at a Shiite mosque that killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 100. In November the Taliban's intelligence unit carried out sweeping attacks on suspected IS-K hideouts in eastern Nangarhar province, where the deadly affiliate is headquartered. In a statement Friday, the IS-K said the explosive devise that devastated Mazar-e-Sharif's Sai Doken mosque was hidden in a bag left inside among scores of worshippers. As they knelt in prayer, it exploded. When the mosque was filled with prayers, the explosives were detonated remotely," the IS statement said, claiming that 100 people were injured. The Taliban say they have arrested a former IS-K leader in northern Balkh province, of which Mazar-e-Sharif is the capital. Zabihullah Noorani, information and culture department chief in Balkh province, said Abdul Hamid Sangaryar was arrested in connection with Thursday's mosque attack. The IS-K had been relatively inactive in Afghanistan since last November, but in recent weeks have stepped up its attacks in Afghanistan and in neighboring Pakistan, taking aim at Shiite Muslim communities reviled by Sunni radicals. Earlier this month two bombs exploded in Kabul's Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, killing at least seven students and wounding several others. The IS-K established its headquarters in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and have been blamed for some of the worst attacks in Afghanistan, including a vicious assault on a maternity hospital and at a school that killed more than 80 girls in 2021, months before the Taliban took power. The IS-K also took responsibility for a brutal bombing outside the Kabul International Airport in August 2021 that killed more than 160 Afghans who had been pushing to enter the airport to flee the country. Thirteen U.S. military personnel also were killed as they oversaw America's final withdrawal and the end of its 20-year war in Afghanistan. In recent months, the IS-K has also stepped up attacks in neighboring Pakistan, targeting a Shiite mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar in March. More than 65 worshippers were killed. The upstart affiliate has also claimed several deadly attacks against Pakistan's military . In Pakistan's central Punjab city of Faisalabad, the local police on Thursday issued a threat warning, saying it has been learned that IS-Khas planned to carry out terrorist activities in Faisalabad," advising people to "exercise extreme vigilance. The police warning did not elaborate. Meanwhile late on Thursday a Pakistani soldier was killed in southwestern Baluchistan province after militants raided a security outpost. No one claimed responsibility. The area has been targeted by both IS-K as well as the violent Pakistani Taliban militants known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also headquartered in neighboring Afghanistan. The safe havens of militant groups in Afghanistan has raised concerns for Pakistan which earlier this month carried out air strikes inside Pakistan, killing at least 20 children, according to the United Nations education fund (UNICEF). Pakistan has not confirmed the strikes but has warned Afghanistan's Taliban to stop its territory being used to attack across the border into Pakistan. In separate incidents, five children were killed Friday in northern Afghanistan's Faryab Province while playing with unexploded ordnance. In one incident, three brothers died when they found an unexploded device and tried to dismantle it. In a second incident in another village, two children, ages 7 and 8, were killed playing with a device, said Shamsullah Mohammadi, Faryab provincial information and culture head. After more than four decades of war, that included two invasions one by the former Soviet Union and one by the U.S.-led coalition Afghanistan is one of the heaviest mined countries in the world and is littered with unexploded ordnance. _____ Gannon reported from Islamabad. Associated Press Writer Tameem Akhgar in Islamabad, Asim Tanvir in Multan, Pakistan and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) Eight weeks into the war, the Biden administration's decision to dramatically ramp up delivery of artillery guns to Ukraine signals a deepening American commitment at a pivotal stage of fighting for the country's industrial heartland. It also brings into stark relief Moscow's warning that continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine would have unpredictable" consequences, suggesting that Russia sees the international wave of weaponry as a growing obstacle to its invasion as well as a Western provocation. We're in a critical window of time now, President Joe Biden said Thursday in announcing he had approved an additional $800 million in battlefield aid that includes 72 of the U.S. Army's 155mm howitzers, along with 144,000 artillery rounds and more than 120 armed drones that will require training for Ukrainian operators. This brings to $3.4 billion the amount of security assistance provided since Russia began its invasion Feb. 24. That is an extraordinary total of U.S. military aid for a country to which the United States has no defense treaty obligation. A look at the U.S. assistance and U.S. expectations for what it will accomplish: WHY IS ARTILLERY SO IMPORTANT NOW? Heavy weapons such as artillery are shaping up as a key feature of the unfolding battle for Ukraine's eastern region known as the Donbas. The relatively flat terrain is suited for what the military calls maneuver warfare the movement of tanks and other ground forces backed by long-range guns like the 155mm howitzer. The Russians have been deploying their own additional artillery to the Donbas region in recent days, along with more ground troops and other material to support and sustain what could be a long fight for terrain in Ukraine's industrial heartland. The howitzers the U.S. is sending to Ukraine will be the latest American model, known as the M777, used by the Army and the Marine Corps. Smaller and more maneuverable than the older model, the M777 can be deployed on the battlefield by heavy-lift helicopters and moved relatively quickly between positions by seven-ton trucks that also are being provided by the Pentagon. What makes it important is the kind of fighting that we expect in the Donbas. Because of the terrain, because it's open, because it's flat, because it's not as urban, we can expect the Russians to rely on long-range fires artillery in particular," said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. So we know that this is going to be part of the Russians' playbook. A senior U.S. defense official said the first of the 72 howitzers are expected to begin moving to Europe by this weekend. Of 18 other 155mm howitzers that Biden approved last week for shipment to Ukraine, an unspecified number already are in Europe, and U.S. howitzer training for Ukrainian personnel began Wednesday in an undisclosed country outside of Ukraine. WILL THIS BE ENOUGH TO HOLD OFF THE RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE? Probably not, and Biden said he already has asked the Pentagon to get to work on additional potential military assistance. Biden said this phase of Russia's invasion will be more limited in terms of geography but not in terms of brutality. He also acknowledged that he needs Congress to approve the funds necessary to continue providing key weapons to Ukraine beyond the latest $800 million package, which he said would ensure a steady flow of arms only for the next few weeks. U.S. officials say the Russians are trying to adjust their approach in Ukraine after early setbacks, suggesting the fight could be a long one. After failing to take Kyiv, the capital, in the early weeks of its multipronged invasion, Russia has since narrowed its objectives by focusing on the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014, and on a stretch of coastal territory along the Sea of Azov from Mariupol to the Crimean Peninsula. One Russian advantage is this regions proximity to Russian territory, which allows for shorter supply lines than earlier battles in Ukraines north. WHAT ELSE IS THE U.S. PROVIDING? In addition to the 72 howitzers and the vehicles required to move them around the battlefield, the new weapons package for Ukraine includes artillery rounds and armed drones from U.S. Air Force stocks. Still in the pipeline from a separate $800 million weapons package announced only last week is a wide range of articles, including radars used to enable the targeting of Russian artillery, as well as air surveillance radars and unmanned coastal drone vessels. Artillery and drones are the exact things Ukraine will need as Russia heads into its next campaign in the East and South, said Mark Montgomery, a retired Navy rear admiral who previously served with U.S. European Command in helping improve U.S.-Ukrainian military relations. Montgomery is now an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The drone included in the latest package is called the Phoenix Ghost, made by a U.S. company, Aevex Aerospace, which bills itself as a leader in full-spectrum airborne intelligence solutions. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, declined to describe the drone's capabilities beyond saying that it is used largely but not exclusively to attack targets. It also has onboard cameras. Kirby said the drones are especially well suited for the terrain on which the Ukrainians are fighting in the Donbas. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli police in full riot gear stormed a sensitive Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed. The renewed violence at the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, came despite Israel temporarily halting Jewish visits, which are seen by the Palestinians as a provocation. Medics said more than two dozen Palestinians were wounded before the clashes subsided hours later. Friday evening, Israel said Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets from the territory. One rocket landed in an open area in southern Israel and the other fell in Gaza. Palestinian media reported that two Gaza residents were injured from the rocket that landed short. There was no immediate comment from local health officials. In Jerusalem, Tens of thousands of Muslims took part in the main Friday prayers at midday, which were held as planned. Palestinians and Israeli police have regularly clashed at the site over the last week at a time of heightened tensions following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel and arrest raids in the occupied West Bank. Three rockets have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. The string of events has raised fears of a repeat of last year, when protests and violence in Jerusalem eventually boiled over, helping to ignite an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, and communal violence in Israel's mixed cities. Palestinian youths hurled stones toward police at a gate leading into the compound, according to two Palestinian witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. The police, in full riot gear, then entered the compound, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades. Israeli police said the Palestinians, some carrying Hamas flags, had begun stockpiling stones and erecting crude fortifications before dawn. The police said that after the rock-throwing began, they waited until after early morning prayers had finished before entering the compound. Video footage showed the police firing at a group of journalists holding cameras and loudly identifying themselves as members of the press. At least three Palestinian reporters were wounded by rubber bullets fired by police. Some older Palestinians urged the youths to stop throwing rocks but were ignored, as dozens of young masked men hurled stones and fireworks at the police. A tree caught fire near the gate where the clashes began. Police said it was ignited by fireworks thrown by the Palestinians. The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said at least 31 Palestinians were wounded, including 14 who were taken to hospitals. A policewoman was hit in the face by a rock and taken for medical treatment, the police said. The violence subsided later in the morning after another group of dozens of Palestinians said they wanted to clean the area ahead of the main weekly prayers midday. Those went ahead, with some 150,000 worshippers attending, according to the Islamic endowment that administers the site. After prayers, a small group of Palestinians waving Hamas flags marched in protest and tried to break into an empty police post inside the compound. The police used a drone to drop tear gas on them, sending crowds of people scattering across the esplanade. The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City is the third holiest site in Islam. The sprawling esplanade on which it is built is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of two Jewish temples in antiquity. It lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and clashes there have often ignited violence elsewhere. Palestinians and neighboring Jordan, the custodian of the site, accuse Israel of violating longstanding arrangements by allowing increasingly large numbers of Jews to visit the site under police escort. A longstanding prohibition on Jews praying at the site has eroded in recent years, fueling fears among Palestinians that Israel plans to take over the site or partition it. Israel says it remains committed to the status quo and blames the violence on incitement by Hamas. It says its security forces are acting to remove rock-throwers in order to ensure freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims. Visits by Jewish groups were halted beginning Friday for the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as they have been in the past. This year, Ramadan coincided with the week-long Jewish Passover and major Christian holidays, with tens of thousands of people from all three faiths flocking to the Old City after the lifting of most coronavirus restrictions. The Old City is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and considers the entire city its capital. The Palestinians seek an independent state in all three territories and view east Jerusalem as their capital. WARSAW, Poland (AP) New blasts at a Polish coal mine injured 10 rescue workers and forced authorities on Friday to suspend the search for seven coal miners and rescuers still missing after deadly methane explosions earlier this week, officials said. The initial explosion took place shortly after midnight early Wednesday and was followed by another one hours later, about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) underground at the Pniowek mine in Pawlowice, near the Czech border. Authorities said the two blasts killed five workers, left seven missing and injured dozens. On Thursday night, new explosions injured 10 rescue workers who were trying to create safe conditions for the search for the seven missing men. Authorities then decided to pull all rescue teams out and seal off the area of the repeated blasts at the mine, where the missing are believed to be, with a dam. Tomasz Cudny, the head of the mine operated by the JSW company, said it was a very difficult decision to halt the search but it was taken out of concern for the well-being of rescue workers. It would be very risky and very irresponsible to send them to such a dangerous area, Cudny said. Seven people were hospitalized after Thursday's blasts, three of them in serious condition. A dam is to be built within days to temporarily seal off the zone of the blasts from the rest of the mine for safety reasons, but also to help improve the atmosphere and the security conditions in that zone, a spokesman for JSW, Slawomir Starzynski, told The Associated Press. On Thursday, JSW said 25 people injured in the original explosions remained hospitalized, nine of them in very serious condition at a hospital that specializes in treating mine accident victims, especially those with severe burns. The deaths and injuries make it the worst incident in the history of the coking coal mine, which was built in the 1960s. Before the search for missing miners was suspended, JSW had said rescue crews were pumping air underground seeking to lower the methane levels and reduce the risk of further blasts. Poland relies on its own coal and coal imports for almost 70% of its energy needs, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental groups concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change. Most Polish coal mines are in the southern Silesia region. The Polish government has been scaling down the use of coal and recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May, part of Polands drive to reduce its dependence on Russian energy in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine. ___ Follow all stories on climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BEIJING (AP) Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade, while Hong Kong's government announced the end of a 2-year-old ban on non-residents flying into the city as its outbreak fades. Streets in Shanghai were largely empty despite an easing of restrictions that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes. Many residents still were barred from leaving their neighborhoods. A deputy mayor, Zhang Wei, promised every effort to resolve problems that prompted complaints about lack of food and fears the shutdown of China's most populous city might disrupt global trade. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government said non-residents who are vaccinated and have a negative virus test will be allowed to fly in again starting May 1. That eases one of the worlds most stringent travel bans, imposed in March 2020. An outbreak that infected some 1.2 million people in the city of 7.4 million and killed almost 9,000 appeared to be fading. Hong Kong Disneyland and museums reopened this week and restaurants resumed evening dining as new daily case numbers fell. On the mainland, Shanghai leaders are scrambling to ease the impact of a zero-COVID strategy that shut down most businesses starting March 28. Most factories and offices remained closed despite changes in anti-virus curbs since last week that have allowed 12.3 million people out of their homes. In one neighborhood, a woman rode a skateboard and a couple took a child's photo outside a park. Delivery drivers rode past on scooters while government employees in white suits sprayed disinfectant on trash bags. You can only walk the dog, said resident Isabella Kao, who cannot leave her apartment compound because nearby areas are quarantined. Theres no point in going out because all your stores are closed, right? On Friday, the government reported 11 coronavirus deaths and 17,529 new cases in Shanghai. All but 1,931 had no symptoms. Shanghai accounted for 95% of the 18,598 new cases on China's mainland, of which 2,133 had symptoms. China's infection numbers in its biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic in 2020 are low compared with other major countries. But the ruling Communist Party has suspended access to Shanghai and some other major cities to isolate every case, fueling public frustration and warnings about the rising cost. Truck drivers who bring food to Shanghai and goods to its port, the world's busiest, are hampered by multiple checkpoints and virus tests. That has led to long waits and reports that some shipping companies and drivers are avoiding Shanghai. Under the new system, drivers are allowed through if they have had a negative virus test within the past 48 hours, no fever and a green health code on their smartphone that shows they havent been to areas with outbreaks, according to Wu Chungeng, director of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation. All localities should directly release them, Wu said, according to news reports. Meanwhile, some 80,000 small enterprises in government-owned buildings in Shanghai will be given six months' free rent, the director of the citys commission for state-owned assets, Bai Tinghui, said at the news conference with Zhang, according to state media. The government has made 65 billion yuan ($10 billion) in support loans to Shanghai businesses and distributed other financial aid, the online news outlet The Paper reported, citing city officials. Officials said the Shanghai port is operating normally, according to news reports. But they cited daily cargo volume equivalent to 100,000 containers, down almost 30% from the normal level of 140,000 containers. Authorities are enforcing a three-tier system that allows residents out of their homes if their area has had no new infections in the past week. They can leave the neighborhood after two weeks without a case. Supermarkets and pharmacies are reopening. Some residents say they came close to being allowed out before a new case was found in a neighboring building and the wait started from scratch. Kao, 38, who runs a trading company, said she and her partner have spent most of the six weeks since March 11 in their apartment. She said they were allowed to go to other parts of the city for only four days during that time. Kao said her building is a control area, which means they are allowed outside, but around it is a closed area whose residents are confined to their homes. I feel the people of Shanghai are puzzled by the current anti-epidemic policy, Kao said. ___ AP researchers Chen Si in Shanghai and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) The Biden administration on Thursday warned the Solomon Islands that the United States will take unspecified action against the South Pacific nation should its recently concluded cooperation agreement with China pose a threat to U.S. or allied interests. The White House said the message was delivered directly to the countrys leadership by a visiting senior U.S. delegation. The delegation expressed concern that the deal with China raises questions about its scope and purpose, according to the White House, which also lamented transparency in the agreement and cast doubt on Solomon Islands' officials' claims that the deal was purely domestic. The visit came just days after China and the Solomons confirmed they had signed a security pact, a development that has alarmed neighboring countries and Western allies who fear a military buildup in the region. Solomon Islands representatives indicated that the agreement had solely domestic applications, but the U.S. delegation noted there are potential regional security implications of the accord, including for the United States and its allies and partners, the White House said in a statement. The U.S. delegation outlined clear areas of concern with respect to the purpose, scope, and transparency of the agreement, it said. If steps are taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power-projection capabilities, or a military installation, the delegation noted that the United States would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly. There was no indication of what the U.S. response might be. The White House statement noted that Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had assured the U.S. there would be no long-term Chinese presence on the islands and no power projection capability but stressed that the U.S. would follow developments closely in consultation with regional partners. A draft of the pact, which was leaked online, said Chinese warships could stop in the Solomon Islands for logistical replenishment and China could send police and armed forces there to assist in maintaining social order. The Solomons and China have not released the final version of the agreement. In a bid to deal with the matter, the U.S. proposed, and the Solomon Islands accepted, a proposal to launch a high-level strategic dialogue that would address mutual concerns. The U.S. delegation was led by Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator, and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. During the visit, the U.S. side also discussed its plans to reopen an embassy in the Solomons capital of Honiara, as it tries to increase its presence in the strategically important country amid growing concerns about Chinese influence. The embassy has been closed since 1993. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate For the first time in history, Staples High School will have three valedictorians: Julian Weng, Zachary Bishop and Natalie Bandura. After four years, the three members of the schools Class of 2022 had the same grade point averages, down to the hundredths of a decimal point. The trio will speak at the schools commencement ceremony, on June 16 at the high school. All three students are high achievers in the classroom, and each charted their own way through Staples. They also have a variety of passions, and each student has contributed in different ways to a host of extracurricular activities. Westport Police to host Feed the Need food drive The Westport Police Department, and the Westport Super Stop & Shop grocery store are going to host a Feed the Need, food drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, to benefit the Homes with Hopes food pantry and the Westport Human Services department. Westport police officers, and volunteers will accept non-perishable food items, and cash donations in front of the grocery store at 1790 Post Road East in town. No glass jars will be accepted. Suggested donated items are: apple sauce, barbecue sauce, boxed potatoes, canned soups, canned vegetables, canned fruit, canned stew, hot cereal, cold cereal, chili, coffee, Hamburger Helper, jelly, ketchup, macaroni and cheese, maple syrup, muffin mix, mustard, pasta, peanut butter, rice, Rice-a-Roni, taco dinner kits, tea, tomato sauce, and canned meats, tuna, chicken, spam, or corned beef hash. Visit https://www.hwhct.org or https://www.westportct.gov/government/departments-a-z/human-services for more information about the organization, or the human services department. Homes with Hope maintains an Internal Revenue Service 501-c3 status, so that all contributions that are made, are tax deductible. Booked for the Evening virtual tickets now available Virtual tickets for a livestream option for the Westport Librarys Booked for the Evening signature fundraising event are now available. The event will honor multimedia superstar Shonda Rhimes at 8 p.m. on June 1. Tickets to attend the event in-person are sold out. Virtual tickets can be purchased online through a link on the librarys website. No recording will be made of the program. The library honors an individual whose work reflects the purpose of the library to nurture the love of learning and to enhance our understanding of the world. Heart Walk returning to Sherwood Island The American Heart Association has announced the Fairfield County Heart Walk and 5K Run will return to Sherwood Island State Park on May 21 after being virtual the past two years. The event will start at 10 a.m. with check-in at 9 a.m. Anthony Scavo, director at PwC, will be the chair for the event. Organizers hope to raise $200,000 for the American Heart Association at the event. Visit fairfieldcountyheartwalk.org to join the 2022 Heart Walk movement. People can register for $35. Call American Heart Association Vice President of Development Todd Boe at 203-295-2941 for more information about participating, or to make a contribution to the events. Visit heart.org for more information about heart, and brain health. Westport Book Shop hosts guest exhibitor Internationally recognized artist Dale Najarian is the guest exhibitor at the Westport Book Shop through May 1. Several of her latest abstract landscapes on wood panels are on display in the shops Drew Friedman Art Place. The business is located at 23 Jesup Road. Najarian is also an advocate and philanthropist who currently serves on the executive board of the Artists Collective of Westport. She is also a board member and project manager for the #UNLOADusa.org non-profit organization, using the arts to drive conversation about gun violence in the U.S. Visit dalenajarian.com to see more of her artwork. The art exhibit is open to the public during the stores business hours. The art exhibits change monthly and are curated by the collective. All artwork on exhibit is available for purchase. Annual household hazardous waste day this weekend The Westport Department of Public Works is going to have its annual Household Hazardous Waste Day on Saturday, rain, or shine, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Greens Farms Railroad Parking Lot #1. The regional program is offered for free to residents of Westport, Norwalk, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich. It lets people safely dispose household hazardous waste items because products like cleaners, gasoline, and pesticides can pollute the environment, and jeopardize public health when they are disposed of improperly, according to information from the town. Some typical household hazardous wastes are: Gasoline, kerosene, spray paint, paint strippers, paint thinners, solvents, paints, stains, turpentine, varnishes, wood preservatives, degreasers, fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, bleach, charcoal lighters, cleaning chemicals, drain cleaners, mercury thermometers, moth balls, pet flea shampoos, photo chemicals, rug shampoos, spot removers, art supplies and paints. Residents should make sure the items are in their original labeled container and place leaky containers in clear plastic bags. People should place boxes in the trunk or in the back of vehicles away from passengers, drive directly to the collection site with windows open and leave pets and children at home. People should also never mix chemicals, and shouldnt smoke or eat while handling hazardous materials. Ammunition, flares and commercial hazardous waste is not accepted. Contact the Westport PublicWorks Department at 203-341-1793 with any questions. Motorola Moto G (2022) Exp. release 2022, May 19 204g, 9.4mm thickness Android 12 256GB storage, microSDXC 5.2% 67,478 hits 12 Become a fan 6.5" 720x1600 pixels 50 MP 1080p 6 GB RAM Dimensity 700 5000 mAh Li-Po Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct. Read more Samsung has been teasing the release of the Galaxy M53 in India for some time now and now the handset is finally official. The phone will be available for purchase through Amazon.in and Samsung.com. The device runs on the Dimensity 900 SoC paired with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The display is particularly impressive for its class - 6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ with 1080 x 2408px resolution and support for 120Hz refresh rate. Interestingly enough, the fingerprint reader is placed on the side of the frame, not under the display. Having a side-mounted fingerprint reader on a phone with an OLED display is a rare sighting. The camera setup is also more than decent. The main camera is 108MP, f/1.8 joined by the standard 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide unit and two more 2MP sensors - one is used for macro shots while the other is for depth sensing. The punch-hole on the display is reserved for a 32MP, f/2.2 shooter. All that hardware draws power from a 5,000 mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging, presumably over the Power Delivery 3.0 standard. The phone comes with One UI 4.1 pre-installed on top of Android 12. The Galaxy M53 is available in two colors Blue and Green. The 6GB configuration starts at INR 26,499, but early bird buyers can get one for INR 23,999. The 8GB version, on the other hand, will sell for INR 25,999 in the beginning and will ask INR 28,499 later on. The actual sales begin on April 29. Corrections and clarifications: A caption accompanying this story has been updated to reflect that Patricia Birosel is Adriano Pangelinans former wife. Known for his vivid watercolors, celebrated local artist and former University of Guam art professor Adriano Baza Pangelinan died early Thursday morning at the age of 81. Pangelinan, a cancer survivor, had been battling dementia and other health problems over the last five years, according to his son Carlos Pangelinan. Adriano Pangelinan is considered one of Guams pioneers in contemporary painters who began his prolific art career in the late 1960s when he was a student at George Washington High School, according to Guampedia. Barely 17, he was invited to participate in the Chautauqua Institute Art Exhibit in New York State. His watercolors immediately garnered media attention, and an article about him appeared in the New York Times. A year later he was invited to exhibit his work in a one-man show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, according to Guampedia. After graduating from Southern Illinois University with a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting in 1973, he returned to Guam and taught at the University of Guam until his retirement in 1993. He worked in watercolor and acrylic, and his paintings reflected a strong Eastern influence that depicted fond memories of island life on Guam, its people in harmony with the ocean and the land with its endless beauty and bounty, said his daughter, Marilyn Pangelinan Schofield. His work can be found displayed throughout the island in hotels, restaurants, government buildings and in the homes of local art collectors. Drawn to Adriano Pangelinans whimsical use of color, Guam Public Auditor Benjamin J. F. Cruz has six pieces displayed in his home. The pieces were given to him by Carlos Pangelinan when the latter worked for him during his legislative years. As the years passed, Cruz discovered that younger generations were unaware of Adriano Pangelinans work and legacy, and decided to put together a retrospective show in collaboration with Monica Guzman, executive director of Guam Unique Merchandise and Art, and former chair of the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities. I think its important to ... educate the young artists who are probably unaware that their use of watercolor may have come from Adrianos teachings (as a UOG professor) in the 90s and the early 2000s, Cruz said. He and Guzman are organizing a retrospective of his work at UOGs Isla Center for the Arts in late May or June, he said. They are currently in the process of identifying and accepting pieces by Adriano Pangelinan for the show. The retrospective will include Adriano Pangelinans three last paintings, which he worked on in anticipation of a final show. His goal was to create 30 paintings, Carlos Pangelinan said. Its kind of sad because even at that time, you could see that his his style was somewhat changing. ... My mother was the one that was kind of noticing it. ... She thought that perhaps it was the effects of dementia were already kicking in, Carlos Pangelinan said. My dad took a lot of pride in the work, in the art, he said. It was like the one thing he could always be proud of. Adrianos passing is a huge loss in the art community and would be felt especially amongst young emerging artists familiar with his installations and work around the island and older colleagues such as myself, said UOG art professor Ric Castro. He was highly respected and was looked at as one of the earliest CHamoru painters to earn an MFA (terminal degree) and make their mark, trail blazing for others who followed in his footsteps. His ultrabright palette and distinctive style in all mediums marked a turn in the art community toward a more modern and contemporary approach with other local artists, and even sparked my own incentive to return to school and earn my own MFA degree that allowed me to carry on his tradition of modern painting by a Pacific Islander. His work brought up the bar for many of us of whom took up the brush and easel as a permanent career and established somewhat of a regional sensibility for many painters who looked for something new coming out of the islands that could compete on a global arena. We are saddened that there will be no more expected work from this prolific individual who (became) somewhat of an icon in the artistic community and established a strong legacy through the many works that still can be seen around the island and in private collections. I will miss my conservations with him as I picked his brain on painting and anything art and culture but mostly his sense of humor as we exchanged memorable dialogue in the art halls of the university when I had the opportunity to work with him one year out of retirement. Adriano Pangelinan is survived by his wife, Sheila, and children Adrian, Marilyn, Carlos, Sean and Dano. Filomena Pangelinan Snow, his oldest child, died earlier. A 23-year-old Army soldier with a blood alcohol content of 0.332 faces multiple charges in connection with a four-car accident that sent two people to the hospital, according to police and court records. The crash occurred early in the morning of March 28 at the intersection of Pale San Vitores Road and Route 14A, also known as JFK Hill. Investigators determined that a 2002 Suburu WRX driven by Bryce E. Malloy struck the median and went airborne as it was traveling down JFK Hill and attempting to turn right onto San Vitores. The Suburu struck two cars that were stopped and waiting to turn up the hill, and another car that was in the outer lane of San Vitores Road. Investigators estimated Malloys vehicle was traveling at 50 mph. A woman in one of the cars told police she had just left a club in Tumon when she was hit, and the next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital. She suffered incapacitating injuries including cuts to her left hand, an injury to her left eye and a sprained right wrist. She was unable to use her right hand at the time of the interview, according to a magistrates report filed in Superior Court. A man in the car in the outer lane said between 1:50 and 1:55 a.m., he saw a silver car hit the front of his car. Airbags deployed and he lost consciousness, according to the complaint. The complaint noted that medical records indicated Malloys blood alcohol content was 0.332. It is illegal to operate a vehicle with a BAC of 0.08 or higher. Malloy was charged with two counts of vehicular negligence with bodily injuries as a third-degree felony, vehicular negligence BAC as a third-degree felony, driving while impaired as a misdemeanor, driving while impaired BAC as a misdemeanor, reckless driving with injuries as a misdemeanor and reckless driving while impaired as a petty misdemeanor. Haiti - Insecurity : The Senate victim of a major burglary On the night of Saturday April 16 to Sunday April 17, 2022, unidentified individuals robbed the Senate of the Republic located at the Bicentenaire (not far from the Village de Dieu and La Saline) without being worried by the 9 police officers and parliamentary agents on duty at the time of the robbery and in charge of the surveillance.. According to Joseph Lambert, President of the Senate, the thieves woulf have took 3 12-gauge rifles, computers, televisions, a water pump (worth US$10,000), 4 refrigerators, various other Senate materials and documents concerning the last meetings organized by the office with various sectors around a way out of the crisis... For Senator Lambert "There was an internal complicity" an obvious complicity so that these individuals could leave with a relatively large booty voluminous without being seen... Pending the legal action, administrative and disciplinary measures will be taken against the parliamentary police officers (9 of day and 9 of night). Some will be made available to the Central Directorate of Judicial Police, DCPJ, as part of an investigation, others will be made available. "The file will be transferred to the DCPJ for an in-depth investigation, in order to crack down with the utmost rigor on all those involved in this burglary," Lambert said. SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Tourism : Important academic exchange with the Dominican Republic Following the academic cooperation agreement signed between the "Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra" (PUCMM) of the Dominican Republic and the Maria Auxiliadora Hotel Management School of Port-au-Prince (EHMA), Monique Bellegarde, Director of the EHMA awarded a Plaque of Merit to the Dominican Ambassador to Haiti, Faruk Miguel Castillo in the presence of Gregorio Coca General Manager of the Hotel El Rancho, the sisters of EHMA, special guests and the media. "It is a privilege to grant this recognition to a Dominican Ambassador, who took the initiative to offer us the most important academic exchange we have received in the field of hospitality and tourism. This will be of great help in the short and long term for our students who come from very modest families in Port-au-Prince," said Ms. Bellegarde. The courses offered in Haiti by the PUCMM will be sanctioned by certificates from the Dominican University. The study plan also includes face-to-face internships for students at the NH El Rancho hotel in Petion-Ville. Let's remember that the EHMA was founded by Salesian nuns in La Saline in one of the most populated and needy areas of the capital. S/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... The Cesna 207 that crashed was operating illegally The Cesna-207 private plane that crashed on Wednesday 20 in a street in Carrefour https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36473-haiti-flash-a-small-plane-crashes-in-a-street-of-carrefour-11-victims.html operated illegally, it regularly provided the Port-au-Prince (West) / Jacmel (South East) connection without having a permit to carry out commercial flights, revealed Laurent Joseph Dumas, Director of the National Office of Civil Aviation (OFNAC). Textile workers soon on the streets At the call of several textile unions, workers in this sector intend to resume concrete work on May 1 and 2, dissatisfied with the 37% increase decided by the Government, bringing the daily minimum wage in this sector to 685 Gourdes https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36009-haiti-flash-minimum-wages-the-government-readjusts-upwards-final-version-official.html , after adjustment of the proposals made by the Superior Council of Salaries (CSS) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35994-haiti-flash-new-minimum-wages-proposed-by-the-superior-council-of-wages.html . The workers intend to claim again 1,500 Gourdes per day of work as well as the respect of the promises of the Government on the accompanying measures. FLASH : Video not to be missed Don't miss the performance of Nidger Paul, during the semi-final of the international eloquence competition at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University. You can watch this event live this Friday, April 22 on the University's YouTube channel. Ambassador Edmond visits New Orleans On Thursday April 21, 2022, the Ambassador of Haiti in Washington Bocchit Edmond, accompanied by the Consul General of Haiti in Miami Stephane Gilles, visited the "Xavier University of Louisiana" as part of a trip to New Orleans . This visit aimed to strengthen relations with the Diaspora and explore economic and academic opportunities with the authorities of this city which has a historic relationship with Haiti. They were received by the President of this University, Dr. Reynold Verret, of Haitian origin. A round table was then organized with leaders of the Haitian diaspora and students of this establishment to inquire about opportunities for cooperation. A possible collaboration with the State University of Haiti was at the heart of the discussions. REMINDER : All private aircraft owners prohibited from flying As part of the ongoing monitoring of private operators and to facilitate the conduct of the investigation into the CESSNA 207 (HH-FAH) aircraft accident that occurred in the commune of Carrefour, Haiti, on April 20 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36473-haiti-flash-a-small-plane-crashes-in-a-street-of-carrefour-11-victims.html the General Directorate of the National Office of Civil Aviation (OFNAC) advises owners and users of private aircraft that they are prohibited from flying until further notice. HL/ HaitiLibre Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Published on 2022/04/21 | Source New stills added and cast updated for the upcoming Korean movie "Next Sohee" (2022) Advertisement Directed by July Jung With Bae Doona, Kim Si-eun-I, Kim Woo-kyum, Song Yo-sep,... Started filming: 2022/01/16 Synopsis A work that deals with the incident experienced by So-hee, a high school girl who went on a field trip to a call center, and the story of Yoo-jin, a female detective, who doubts her. Release date in Korea : 2022 Page Content Kalani High School math teacher Tristan Nguyen was honored on Thursday with the 2022 state Teacher of Promise award. The Teacher of Promise award is granted annually by the Milken Educators of Hawaii a select group of Hawaii educators who have been recognized by the nationally renowned Milken Family Foundation to a classroom teacher for demonstration of outstanding commitment and potential during their first three years with the Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE). Nguyen was awarded a $2,000 reward for professional development purposes, sponsored by the HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union, in front of his colleagues and students during a surprise ceremony at Kalani High Thursday. Nguyen, who spent his first year in the classroom teaching math to special education students, is known to prioritize a strong teacher-student relationship. He openly communicates with his students, forming connections to help inspire and motivate them academically and challenges his students to connect classroom lessons to the outside world. His efforts help him to target the individual needs of his students, minimizing the need for outside disciplinary and motivational interventions. The way I see it, good teaching is about making the kids feel comfortable especially with subjects like math and science, it can be tough, Nguyen said after receiving his award. Its about making sure they feel welcome, that they are comfortable talking with me and are relaxed in my class so that way, when it comes to content, they are not afraid to speak up. Another notable attribute of Nguyens teaching style is the way that he embraces professional development and teacher collaboration to find innovative ways to increase the impact he has on student achievement. Over the course of his three years with the HIDOE, Nguyen has attended every district math teacher workshop offered. When his class transitioned to distance learning during the peak of the pandemic, Nguyen worked with his students to see what support they needed and evaluated how he could best provide it. In collaboration with other teachers in the math department, he designed a synchronous curriculum using an interactive whiteboard app on the iPad. Kalani High School Principal Mitchell Otani attributes much of Nguyens success to his character. Mr. Nguyen is a gem and a very valuable member of our staff, Otani said. He brings to the table friendship, loyalty, cooperation, industriousness and enthusiasm. The sky's the limit for this young man and I am looking forward to his continuous improvement as he builds his toolbox of strategies in support of his students and his colleagues. Beyond the classroom Nguyen is often seen going out of his way to provide extra support to students. He regularly helps to tutor students at school-wide study halls and extends his own assistance to students beyond school hours. He also plays an active role in the schools math department, helping to develop and conduct assessments where he gathers data on current practices, shares and provides strategies to achieve better results, and organizes data to help teachers to modify instructional practices to increase student achievement. Overall, Nguyens greatest motivation is his students. Ultimately, it's all about supporting the students and coming in and seeing the smiles on their faces, Nguyen said. Thats what really counts. Thats the most rewarding thing at the end of the day. Established in 2007, the Teacher of Promise award alternates annually between elementary and secondary teachers with the state winner selected from a group of HIDOE complex area honorees. Henderson County News Drug traffickers sent to prison Multiple drug dealers and drug traffickers pleaded guilty and were sent to prison in a term of Henderson County Superior Court April 27-29, District Attorney R. Andrew Murray announced. Read Story Hendersonville Your Town Speak now, if you harbor strong feelings about minigolf course If you have a strong attachment to features of the Laura E. Corn Minigolf Course at Boyd Park, the time has arrived to make them known. Read Story Henderson County Opinion DG MARTIN: Keep it short The next few weeks I bet you will be attending a graduation ceremony yours or a friend's or a family member's. Read Story Henderson County News 1880s Saluda Inn shows off its renovation The Saluda Inn will show off its newly renovated historic building with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Thursday followed by a community open house from 11:30 a.m. to 2 pm. Read Story South Africa: Nzuza assesses Home Affairs intervention in flood-hit KZN communities Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Njabulo Nzuza, will today visit KwaZulu-Natal to extend a helping hand to people who were affected by the recent devastating floods in the province. Together with the leadership of eThekwini Municipality, the Deputy Minister is expected to visit two emergency relief sites set up by the municipality to activate Home Affairs' enhanced emergency services. The department said part of the devastation that the people experienced is the loss of enabling documents. In a statement, Home Affairs said it is ready to assist with the replacement of documents at no cost to the communities. [We] will be replacing birth certificates and IDs of people affected by the disaster and also issue out temporary identity certificates. People will be allowed to apply for and collect documents from mobile trucks. This service is available only to people who have lost their documents during the disaster. Any person who lost their documents at another time will not be covered by this intervention. The department is working with the eThekwini Municipality and the district municipalities of Ilembe, Ugu, and Umgungundlovu to identify the people who need assistance. Local councillors are expected to verify the names of people supplied to the Disaster Management Operations Centre, and after approvals, the lists are forwarded to Home Affairs for processing. Services to some of these communities commenced on Thursday. Only Chatsworth Home Affairs is not currently operational due to flooding, and a mobile unit was deployed there to offer services. As peoples needs are continuously being established through various interventions, resources are being deployed, including dispatching mobile offices to help in receiving applications for enabling documents. This assessments of needs only relates to enabling documents, said the department. Home affairs is joining the government effort to alleviate the impact of the disaster. Without enabling documents, people cannot begin to rebuild their lives, Nzuza said. Home Affairs will take all the necessary steps to ensure corruption is avoided during the intervention. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Nepali President: Vision of building community with shared future for mankind and BRI proposed by Xi draw blueprint for global governance and development 15:41, April 22, 2022 By Zhao Yipu ( People's Daily Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari (right) unveils the Nepali edition of the second volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China at a grand event held at the Rastrapati Bhawan, the official residence of the President of Nepal Sept. 24, 2021. (Photo by Chinese Embassy in Nepal) When meeting with Peoples Daily reporter again in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari recognized the reporter immediately. I remember you. You interviewed me in 2019 before Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Nepal. China is a good friend of Nepal, and Im willing to answer the questions from Peoples Daily, Bhandari said. In the subsequent interview that lasted more than two hours, Bhandari recalled her meetings and communication with Xi. The Nepali people are proud to have a good friend like China, and the Nepal-China friendship across the Himalayas is always as firm as a rock, she said. China and Nepal have always stood alongside each other and supported each other in times of difficulties and challenges. Bhandari still vividly remembers her phone conversation with Xi in May 2021 when the COVID-19 situation in Nepal was grim. I told President Xi over the phone that Nepal faced a serious shortage of vaccine. Xi said China would provide much-needed medical supplies and vaccines for Nepal, share its experience in epidemic prevention and control as well as diagnosis of and treatment for the disease with Nepal, and continue trying its best to support Nepal. We talked for 45 minutes that time. President Xi showed his solicitude for the Nepali people just like an elder brother, Bhandari told Peoples Daily. After the phone conversation, the Chinese government soon sent COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies to Nepal. The timely support and help from President Xi and the Chinese people saved the lives of many Nepali people, Bhandari said. The entire nation has been deeply moved by Chinas selfless assistance, according to Bhandari, who said that with a good friend like China, Nepal dares to face up to any difficulties. President Xi is a sincere friend, Bhandari stressed. She disclosed that she and Xi have met, talked over the phone, and exchanged letters for many times and maintained close contacts and a sincere friendship. Even the high mountains and language barrier cant stop us from becoming friends, Bhandari said. Face masks, protective suits, ear thermometers, and other anti-epidemic supplies provided by the Peoples Government of Sichuan Province for Nepal arrive in its capital Kathmandu by a chartered plane sent by the Chinese side, May 19, 2021. (Photo by Chinese Embassy in Nepal) During the interview, Bhandari recalled Xis state visit to Nepal in 2019. She and her daughter Usha Kiran Bhandari welcomed Xi at the airport when he arrived, according to the Nepali President. I remember that after President Xi walked down the gangway ladder, my daughter presented him with a bouquet of flowers and we welcomed him like he was family. Almost all the senior officials of Nepal went to the airport to greet President Xi, Bhandari recalled, explaining that Xis visit was of great significance to Nepal, so the whole country took it very seriously. During that historic visit, President Xi and I jointly announced that China and Nepal had agreed to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership of cooperation featuring ever-lasting friendship for development and prosperity, Bhandari said. The first and second volumes of the Nepali edition of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China are among the books on the bookshelf in Bhandaris office. The book covers all aspects of the governance of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in China, said the Nepali President, who stressed that Xi has always put the people in the first place, adhered to the people-centered development philosophy and made great efforts to advance major undertakings, such as the fight against poverty, infrastructure construction, and ecological civilization construction, winning support and respect from the Chinese people. The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by Xi have drawn a blueprint for global governance and development, Bhandari pointed out. President Xi is one of the most influential leaders in the world. Under his leadership, China has made remarkable achievements in various sectors and seen its global influence grow with each passing day, Bhandari said. She has visited China four times since 1995, and has been to southwest Chinas Tibet autonomous region, and many Chinese cities including Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Xian, according to Bhandari. She has seen through these visits that China has both modern metropolis and villages with picturesque natural scenery, Bhandari said, who noted that China has achieved more balanced, coordinated, and sustainable development under the strong leadership of the CPC. I have a lot of interesting stories about and happy memories of each of my visit to China. I can talk about my love for China for days, and still cant fully express my deep feelings for the country, she said. The lofty Mount Qomolangma, which straddles the China-Nepal border, has witnessed the history of the friendly ties between the two countries. During the past 67 years since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Nepal, generation after generation of people committed to China-Nepal friendship have continuously scaled new heights in bilateral relations under the guidance of leaders of the two countries, finally making the China-Nepal relations flourish. China and Nepal are close neighbors linked by the same mountains and rivers and enjoy a long-standing friendship, Bhandari pointed out, stressing that the mutual trust and friendship between the two countries have withstood the test of time. Nepal is grateful to China for its long-term generous support and assistance, said Bhandari, who noted that Nepal will remain steadfast in upholding the one-China principle and supporting China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will definitely not allow any forces to carry out any activities against China on Nepali territory. Nepal supports the joint construction of the BRI and looks forward to accelerating the construction of a Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network across the Himalayas with China, which is an opportunity to bring a new look to the infrastructure of Nepal, according to Bhandari. I hope we will continue working together to elevate the Nepal-China friendship to a new height, she said. (Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun) Overseeing the corporate finance and accounting functions for both Timbers Company and operations at subsidiaries and joint ventures, Timbers welcomes Mark Roland as the new Corporate Director of Finance - Operations. In this role, Mark is responsible for leading the accounting team by implementing strategic direction, in addition to managing financial assets. Beginning his career as the Director of Finance at Hilton Hotels, Mark most recently served as the Vice President of Finance and Accounting with Kolter Hospitality. Timbers Company Winter Park, Florida United States Website Joining the team as Corporate Operations Manager, Justin Vining is responsible for the day-to-day operations and leads the strategic implementation of exceptional services across the Timbers Company portfolio. Before joining Timbers, Justin achieved considerable hospitality experience in both rooms and food and beverage as general manager of TWA Hotel in New York City and earlier as Director of Rooms at the Omni Atlanta CNN Center. Timbers Company Winter Park, Florida United States Website Royal Cliff Hotels Group announced the appointment of Douglas Glen as the group's new general manager with immediate effect Glen will lead the management team of the group's four properties comprising 1,020 rooms and suites and Pattaya's largest convention centre. A seasoned international hotelier his hospitality career spans the UK, Singapore, and Thailand, where he held senior management positions at The London Hilton on Park Lane, The Landmark London & Bangkok and Carlton City Hotel in Singapore. In his new role as the general manager of the Royal Cliff Hotels Group, he brings a team-focused and results-driven leadership style to the legendary property. View Douglas Glen's LinkedIn Profile Douglas Glen is a graduate of Glion in Glion-sur-Montreux - Switzerland Akshara Walia joined the PKF hospitality group in 2016 and is based in Vienna. In her present capacity as Director of Research, her responsibilities include heading research, benchmarking and knowledge development efforts for the PKF hospitality group. Prior to joining the PKF hospitality group, Akshara worked for Abroader Consultancy India for four years. She covered market research and business consulting across the tourism and leisure, media and gaming, private security manufacturing and food processing sectors predominantly for clients based in Europe. Akshara has a Master of Tourism Destination Management degree from NHTV University of Applied Sciences in Breda, Netherlands and a Bachelor of Business Studies from Delhi University. She has conducted exploratory tourism research in Australia, Thailand and Indonesia as part of her studies. Akshara is currently pursuing a PhD in business and socio-economics at MODUL University Vienna UNWTO has launched the second edition of its global flagship competition under the name of Awake Tourism Challenge. The competition will identify innovators who are advancing solutions to 6 different challenges, as well contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For the 2022 challenge, UNWTO will focus on specific areas that can help the recovery of the tourism sector in a disruptive way, and which deserve extra attention right now, namely: Community involvement : 80% of people living in extreme poverty live in rural communities while domestic, rural and eco-tourism have emerged as the most popular travel choices. : 80% of people living in extreme poverty live in rural communities while domestic, rural and eco-tourism have emerged as the most popular travel choices. Green and blue economies : Tourism can be a source of economic opportunities and at the same time protect natural ecosystems. : Tourism can be a source of economic opportunities and at the same time protect natural ecosystems. Ecological and Sustainable Capital Creation : Sustainable capital has the potential to optimize resource usage, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a competitive advantage for businesses. : Sustainable capital has the potential to optimize resource usage, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a competitive advantage for businesses. Tourism Tech for Good : Advancements in technology have revolutionized the sector, especially since the start of the pandemic. Artificial Intelligence, crypto, block chain, metaverse, NFTs are welcome in this category. : Advancements in technology have revolutionized the sector, especially since the start of the pandemic. Artificial Intelligence, crypto, block chain, metaverse, NFTs are welcome in this category. Tourism Education : Despite representing 10% of the worlds jobs, there is a need for updated data, and new tools for education and skills development. : Despite representing 10% of the worlds jobs, there is a need for updated data, and new tools for education and skills development. Women Empowerment: Women tend to be concentrated in the lowest paid and lowest status jobs in tourism. Startups with a gender focus can be an important contributor to equality. Organized in collaboration with Wakalua, the first global innovation hub for tourism, powered by Avoris, the competition also counts on the support of a number of major partners, including; SPARK, the Innovation Hub of Les Roches from the Sommet Education group, and Ankh Impact Ventures (AIV), an impact-driven venture capital investment platform with a gender and racial equity lens. It also counts on strong public and private sector backing, with Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism, Singapore Tourism Board, KPMG, MasterCard, Amadeus, IE University, Telefonica, Wayra, ClarkeModet, The FarCo, BBVA, MentorDay, Finnova, Google for Startups, The Valley Digital Business School, the Future Food Institute and the Inter-American Development Bank all on board. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashviki said: The return of tourism is a chance to awaken its potential to transform lives. UNWTO is calling on startups everywhere to put forward their ideas for meeting the biggest challenges our sector is facing and for making tourism a champion of the Sustainable Development Goals. Startups are invited to participate provided that they: Apply to 1 of the 6 challenges Include 1 or more SDGs Are innovative in nature and provide value-added solutions Are sustainability-driven Are scalable, with potential for international growth and potential to be applied in corporations and destinations (countries, regions) Are an Early Stage or Series A startups Have a tested pilot and business plan Have been accelerated before Have a full-time team already in place The 12 most disruptive startups (2 for each of the Challenges) will be given support to scale-up. UNWTO will present the best ideas to its Member States, Affiliate Members and investors, providing them with a unique networking opportunity. Additional benefits include the chance to pitch at a special UNWTO Demo Day and access to technological support and to the UNWTO Innovation network, as well as a curated mentorship programme with both one-on-one and group training sessions on key topics such as Intellectual Property, sustainability in business and leadership, possible seed funding for female Startup founders from Ankh Impact Ventures, and incubation for 3 months at the SPARK Innovation Lab. Applications are now open and will close 31 June 2022. The winning startups will be announced in October. To find out more and to apply, visit the webpage of the UNWTO Awake Tourism Challenge. The 2020 edition was supported by more than 25 partners from across the global innovation ecosystem and attracted over 10,000 participants from 150 countries. The winners had the opportunity to meet Ministers, corporations, investors at the Final Event in Madrid and they have been connected to funding opportunities and pilot projects. Since 2018, top startups have raised over US$214 million in funding through the UNWTO Innovation Network. RELATED LINKS About The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency fostering tourism as a vehicle for equal, inclusive and sustainable development. Working with its Member States, international organizations and the private sector, UNWTO promotes safe and seamless travel for all. UNWTO also works to make tourism the foundation of trust and international cooperation and a central pillar of recovery. As part of the wider UN system, UNWTO is at the forefront of global efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including through its ability to create decent jobs, promote equality and preserve natural and cultural heritage. Follow UNWTO on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin. UNWTO Communications Department +34 91 567 8100 UNWTO View source After two years of pent up travel frustration, new flight and hotel search data indicate that consumers are planning to travel in the spring and summer of 2022. This, despite lingering uncertainty in Europe after Russias invasion of Ukraine, and the ongoing unpredictability surrounding Covid-19 travel restrictions. Forward-looking flight and hotel search data from OTA Insights free Global Market Insight tool paints an optimistic picture, where we have seen an uptick in week-on-week demand for European destinations since the end of February, when the war in Ukraine started. As many as 3 in 4 Europeans are planning spring and summer vacations to destinations across Europe this year, and with high season fast approaching hotels across Europe have a chance to ensure they can maximise their bottom line, by targeting the right customer at the right time. Pre-booking data from Market Insight gives insights into the demand evolution of any given destination, providing a window of opportunity for hoteliers to make informed commercial decisions, based on real-time forecast projections. By implementing an effective commercial strategy at this early stage in the booking cycle, hoteliers have a unique opportunity to turn lookers into bookers, ahead of their competition, and still ensure they are selling their inventory at the optimum price. In Part 1 of this analysis, we looked at Amsterdam and Rome. In Part 2, we will examine flight and hotel search data for Barcelona, Berlin, London, Madrid and Paris. OTA and metasearch evolution Barcelona, Berlin, London, Madrid and Paris Source: OTA Insight Paris In Paris, flight search queries in April 2022 are 12.85 times higher than they were at the same time last year. Following an upward trend in searches from January 2022, they dropped by 21% between the 21st of February and the 28th of February, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Search queries have since increased by 53% from what they were on the 28th of February. While hotel searches saw a similar slump at the end of February, they have seen a slower resurgence. Despite this, they are still 9.7 times higher in April 2022 than they were at the same time in 2021, and GDS searches are 8.7 times higher than they were at the beginning of April 2021. In the last week 20% of hotel searches were from America, while 68% of flight searches were from within Europe, including the UK. After the relaxing of rules in parts of Asia, we are also seeing increasing flight searches from the Republic of Korea. In February just 5% of all flight searches were from Asia, but this has since risen to 16%.. There has been a clear shift in booking lead times, where consumers were either looking for quick getaways or dates well in advance. Search patterns show that 38% of hotel searches are for dates 29-90 days ahead, and 28% are for dates in the 8-28 day window - 10% more than at the beginning of March. In March 2021, 64% of searches were for dates more than 3 months away. Today, 27% of searches are for dates more than 90 days away. Other destinations in France, especially those along the southern coast, are also getting a lot of interest for the looming summer high season. Flight search data for Nice and Cannes show an 87% rise since the start of March, and 10 times more search interest than over the same period last year. In April 2021, just 8% of hotel searches were for dates in the 8-28 lead time window - 20% in April 2022. At the end of February, 16% of flight searches to Cannes were for dates in the 8-28 day window, but by the end of March, searches for dates within this window had surged to 28%. Flight search evolution Paris, Nice and Cannes Source: OTA Insight London The arrival of the Omicron variant in London at the end of 2021 saw a massive drop in hotel searches - to levels as low as they were in March 2021. But, with restrictions easing for both arrivals and departures to London, there has since been a steady uptick in searches for both flights and hotels. In fact, there have been 5 times as many flight searches as there were at the beginning of January, and OTA searches have increased 4 times since then. GDS searches have also picked up considerably, and are 7 times higher than what they were in January. The pickup in hotel searches from January gathered momentum quickly. However, like other destinations around Europe, the uptick was disrupted due to the conflict in Ukraine, leading to an instant 19% drop in flight searches at the end of February. Momentum resumed in the second week of March, and despite all travel restrictions falling away since then, the pick-up in hotel searches has not quite reached the same level as it had been before the war broke out. OTA and metasearch evolution London Source: OTA Insight Search lead times have also shifted since March 2021. At that time, 73% of searches were for dates more than 90 days in the future. A year later, 31% of searches are for that same booking window. Currently, 37% of all hotel search traffic are for dates that fall in the in the 29 - 90 day window, up from 22% in 2021. While 10% of OTA searches were for dates in the 8-28 day window. And, while 10% of searches were for dates in the 8-28 day window in 2021, 24% of hotel searches are for dates within that booking window in April 2022. Berlin Berlin, too, has seen a large increase in both flight and hotel searches since March 2021 - 9.72 times as many flight searches, and 7.3 times as many hotel searches. Since January, this upward trend has continued and we have seen a 4.79 times jump in flight searches, and a 3.89 times rise in hotel searches, despite a disruption in the trend at the end of February. Since January, searches also indicate a shift in the booking lead time windows to Berlin, where in the 8 - 28 day window, hotel searches went from 16% to 34%. In 2021, 11% of searches were for dates in the 8-28 day window, but this has increased to 34% a year later. 80% of Berlins flight search traffic is originating from within Europe, of which 15% are from the UK, 14% are from Spain, and 11% are from Italy. 85% of OTA and meta searches are also from within Europe, where 48% are from within Germany itself, and 10% of hotel searches are from the UK. Madrid and Barcelona In Madrid, both flight and hotel searches are 6 times higher than what they were in March 2021. 46% of hotel searches are from within Spain. 62% of all flight searches are from within Europe, and 32% are from the Americas. Of that, 11% are from Mexico, 10% from Italy, and 10% are from the UK. Just like comparable destinations, booking lead times are going back to more traditional patterns. 38% of hotel searches are for dates within the 8 - 28 day window, and 35% are searching for dates in the 29 - 90 day booking window. There is a similar pattern occurring In Barcelona, though flight searches to Barcelona are 11 times greater than what they were in March 2021. Hotel searches, too, are 8.7 times higher than they were at the same time last year. And, while there was a slight dip in searches at the end of Feb, by the 2nd week of March, hotel search volume had started to climb again. GDS searches have also seen quite a dramatic rise since the beginning of 2022, and are 5 times what they were at the end of March last year. 89% of the flight search traffic is coming from within Europe, of which 21% is from the UK, 13% from Italy, 12% from Germany. Summary There are clear indications that demand is on the rise for some of Europes major cities. Much of the search traffic comes from other European countries, but as restrictions in other regions start to ease, there will likely be more interest from further afield. While the war in Ukraine certainly affected consumers' immediate interest to travel, market intelligence data shows that this only lasted until the middle of March. It remains to be seen what the economic effects of the war will be on consumers, and how that could influence demand in the longer term. For now consumers are looking to break the shackles of two years of restricted travel. With the help of forward looking data from Market Insight and Global Market Insight, we can see the travel demand forecast is looking positive for Europe, and that the booking lead times are returning to the more traditional 30 - 45 day sweet spot. Armed with this data, hoteliers and their commercial teams can look to capture their fair share of the market by implementing a compelling pricing, marketing and distribution strategy, in the early stages of the booking journey. In a highly dynamic market, its more vital than ever to have a competitive advantage over your compset. Discover more destination insights! Get instant access here About Transparent OTA Insight empowers hoteliers to deliver smarter revenue, distribution, and marketing outcomes through its market-leading commercial platform. With live updates, 24/7 support, and highly intuitive and customizable dashboards, OTA Insight integrates with industry tools including hotel property management systems, leading RMS solutions, and data benchmarking providers. OTA Insight's team of international experts supports more than 55,000 properties in 185 countries. Winner of the Best Rate Shopping & Market Intelligence Solution, Parity Management Software, and Business Intelligence categories in the 2021 and 2022 HotelTechAwards, OTA Insight is widely recognised as a leader in hospitality business intelligence. The Business Travel Association (BTA) has today revealed that in the first week of April 2022, domestic and international business travel fell compared to the previous week. Data from Travelogix shows that travel slowed as business hours reduced for the Easter break. International and domestic business travel in the first week of April reduced by 46.10% of 2019 levels. Clive Wratten, CEO of the BTA said: we understand that growing to full capacity will take time and we are working with TMCs to ensure a smooth recovery process. The data also reveals that there has been a 2.80bn GDP loss associated to domestic and international travel* compared to the same week in 2019 due to a reduced number of business travel trips. The data shows that in the first week of April, the lower levels of business travel to: France have cost UK GDP 535 million have cost Germany have cost UK GDP 475 million have cost USA have cost UK GDP 348 million have cost Republic of Ireland have cost UK GDP 267 million , and have cost , and Singapore have cost UK GDP 203 million this week. The data also shows a noticeable reduction in active cases of Covid per 100k of population in 9 of the 10 countries followed by the Business Travel Tracker. The thirty seventh edition of the BTAs Business Travel Tracker can be found here. About Travelogix Travelogix is a leader in the world of travel data, reporting and analytics. Founded in 2011 by Chris Lewis and Gary Jones, Travelogix empower TMCs across the globe with accurate, accessible, real-time data that drives success. Travelogix are the standard for data analysis within travel and continue to craft and innovate their solutions to meet the demands of the industry. *Data from leading travel data provider Travelogix shows this decrease in business travel trips across ten key international destinations has cost UK GDP 2.20 billion, and an additional 598.97million from domestic business travel, equalling a total of 2.80 billion loss to UK GDP in the first week of April 2022. About the BTA The BTA is the authority on business travel. Working collaboratively across the industry and with the government to promote the integral role of business travel and events to the wider economy. Originally founded in 1967, the BTA has a diverse membership and roster of industry partners. It's TMC membership accounts for over 90% of UK expenditure on managed business travel, delivering value for money and great service to business travellers in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. The BTA focuses on delivering practical solutions to challenges and market changes, as well as supporting best practice, sustainability and the well-being of travellers. For more information on BTA please visit: thebta.org.uk or call 020 3657 7010. Victoria Naylor-Leyland Pembroke and Rye +44 (0) 7899 890 908 BTA (Business Travel Association) Subscription services have disrupted almost every industry, but the customer-focused model remains relatively nascent in the travel industry, observes GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that its popularity could rise as travel subscriptions, whereby travelers typically pay a monthly fee to receive benefits such as discounted prices and personalized travel content, represent a compelling way for businesses to build brand loyalty. Hannah Free, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: More and more businesses are moving away from the traditional product economy to the subscription economy. The subscription economy refers to the increasing presence of subscription-based businesses in today's ecommerce landscape as opposed to the traditional pay-per-product model. Subscription models have the potential to completely transform an industry that faces challenges such as seasonality and growth-decline cycles by ensuring a relatively stable revenue stream. One example of this would be Spanish travel company eDreams ODIGEOs Prime subscription which reportedly reached two million members just six months after hitting one million in May 2021. More niche and targeted subscriptions are entering the market from the likes of Inspirato, Regenerative Travel and Bidroom. Further demonstrating the shift from traditional loyalty points to subscriptions is increased patent activity for subscriptions growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.4% between 2017 and 21. According to GlobalDatas Travel and Tourism Patent Analytics, a total of 7936 patent publications related to subscriptions were made in 2021, with growth continuing even throughout COVID-19. Travel companies investing in subscription services will emerge from the pandemic in a strong position to attract the tech savvy and deal finding travellers. Source: GlobalData Plc Some companies integrate subscriptions to their mix of revenue streams, while others will go to market with it as a foundational offering. Regardless, COVID-19 has highlighted the need for more a predictable and recurring revenue stream for travel companies as the likes of Bookings Holdings and Expedia Group saw their revenues drop more than 50% YoY in 2020, when travel came to a virtual standstill. Free concludes: Subscriptions represent a compelling way for travel companies to create lasting relationships where engagement typically ends after a one-off transactional purchase. According to GlobalDatas Q1 2021 Consumer Survey, 35% of global respondents consider time-saving a key factor driving purchase, while 46% consider time-saving nice to have, but not essential. The subscription model is well placed to capitalize on increasing consumer demands for personalization, while the value and convenience enjoyed by members has the potential to outweigh a monthly subscription or membership fee. About GlobalData 4,000 of the world's largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData's unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData's mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors. GlobalData | LinkedIn | Twitter GlobalData Press Office +44 207 832 4399 GlobalData Plc Data from SiteMinders World Hotel Index is currently making two things clear: international bookings continue to accelerate globally, and as they do, historic seasonality trends are becoming less defined in more destinations. Twenty-six of the 42 countries on SiteMinders World Hotel Index (62%) have received a higher percentage of bookings from international guests so far in April than in any other month in the past two years. A list of countries that includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US. And as more international guests secure their overseas plans, availability, opportunity and pent-up demand are becoming more important factors than the prevailing weather conditions, or the time of year, resulting in traditional seasonality becoming more fluid. Locations such as Playa del Carmen, Barcelona, and even Perth, closer to home, have recently illustrated this point well. For Playa del Carmen, a coastal resort town in Quintana Roo, Mexico, booking volumes remain well above 120% of their 2019 levels as stays are locked in for May, historically a quieter month for the region, post-Easter. For the hotels of Barcelona, reservation volumes through March and April have also remained higher than at the same time in 2019, as travellers secure largely last-minute stays during whats traditionally a shoulder season for the city. And in Perth, highlighting the unpredictability of demand, booking volumes have at times extended beyond 125% of pre-pandemic levels this month, as travellers take the opportunity to visit Western Australia following almost two years of it being closed to the world. APAC hotels make further headway Looking more broadly across APAC, the loosening of restrictions reported in my March update continue to have positive impacts for hoteliers, further highlighting the flexibility and reactiveness of the modern traveller. Bookings to hotels in Malaysia (which scrapped quarantine rules at the beginning of April) are again above the global average, with the percentage of international bookers doubling compared to March. Thai hotels are accepting above 75% of 2019 volumes again, as trips are planned to Koh Chang, Hua Hin and Koh Samui. While booking momentum to Indonesian hotels is above 85% for the first time since the pandemic began. As usual, Ill be back next month to monitor all of the major trends found in the World Hotel Index. Until then, take care. To visit the live World Hotel Index or for direct access to my analyses, subscribe at siteminder.com/world-hotel-index. About SiteMinder SiteMinder Limited (ASX:SDR) is the world's leading open hotel commerce platform, ranked among technology pioneers for opening up every hotel's access to online commerce. It's this central role that has earned SiteMinder the trust of tens of thousands of hotels, across 150 countries, to sell, market, manage and grow their business. The global company, headquartered in Sydney with offices in Bangkok, Berlin, Dallas, Galway, London and Manila, generated more than 100 million reservations worth over US$35 billion in revenue for hotels in the last year prior to the start of the pandemic. For more information, visit siteminder.com. Luke McCabe Communications Manager SiteMinder View source It is well documented that the slowdown during the past two years resulted in positive environmental impacts such as reduced air pollution, improved air and water quality, and ecological restoration. Now, as travel restrictions continue to ease and travelers hit the road and skies once again flooding the market at levels not seen during the past two years we must balance the long-awaited return of travel with the growing importance of improving sustainability in the travel industry. Looking ahead, travelers will increasingly seek ways to have more meaningful and conscientious travel experiences, from searching for and booking more sustainable options to identifying opportunities to improve their impact on the destinations and communities they visit. We commissioned new custom research to understand what consumers consider sustainable travel, what tradeoffs they are willing to make to travel more sustainably, and where and how they are looking for information to make more mindful choices. Conducted in February and March 2022 by Wakefield Research, the study engaged 11,000 representative consumers in 11 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the UK, and the U.S. Here are some key findings for travel marketers on past and future attitudes, behaviors, and values around sustainability in travel. Consumers Are Looking for Sustainable Travel Options and Turning to Trusted Resources for Guidance Consumers around the world are already making more mindful decisions when traveling, such as visiting local cultural or historical sites (46%), using more environmentally friendly transportation options (43%), and traveling to smaller, lesser-known destinations (41%), and more want to do so in the future. Compared to prior trip behavior, intent to make these same choices on future trips increased nearly 10% on average, demonstrating the growing opportunity in sustainable travel. Spotlight On Sustainable Travel: Consumer Attitudes, Values, and Motivations in Making Conscientious Choices Photo by Expedia Group Media Solutions Nine in 10 consumers said they look for sustainable options when traveling, though 70% reported feeling overwhelmed by starting the process of being a more sustainable traveler. Many are turning to trusted travel resources and providers for inspiration and guidance to inform their decisions, including destinations, lodging providers, transportation providers, travel agencies, and booking sites. Spotlight On Sustainable Travel: Consumer Attitudes, Values, and Motivations in Making Conscientious Choices Photo by Expedia Group Media Solutions For travel brands, this indicates the importance of clarity in sustainability information. When spotlighting eco-friendly options or differentiators, travel brands should make it easy for consumers to understand. This includes clear and concise messaging, leveraging visually appealing formats, and showing the positive impacts of making responsible travel choices. The Price of Sustainable Travel Although most consumers said it costs too much to be more sustainable when traveling, there are opportunities to shift that mindset. Half would be willing to pay more for transportation, activities, or lodging if the option was more sustainable. And they are also willing to make tradeoffs to lessen their environmental impact. Nearly 70% of consumers said they would be willing to sacrifice convenience to be a more sustainable traveler. Spotlight On Sustainable Travel: Consumer Attitudes, Values, and Motivations in Making Conscientious Choices Photo by Expedia Group Media Solutions Making mindful travel choices goes beyond eco-tourism as well, with nearly 3 in 4 consumers stating they would choose a destination, lodging, or transportation option that is committed to supporting the local community and culture, even if it was more expensive. Consumers are willing to pay more for certain sustainable travel optionsand make tradeoffsso illustrating the value and positive impact of making more conscientious choices can help make the decision even easier. Furthermore, since consumers may be overwhelmed by the prospect of making their entire trip more sustainable, its important to communicate how one small change can make a difference. Opportunities in Sustainable Travel As broad consumer interest in sustainable travel continues to grow and many intend to make more conscientious travel choices in the future, its important to understand the types of information they want access to during the trip planning process, and the preferred formats. The leading sustainable travel information consumers want to see when planning a trip are recommendations for locally owned businesses and restaurants at or near a destination, and transportation options that have lower environmental impact (45%). Additionally, cultural resources are helpful during the trip planning process 43% of consumers want information on how to best engage with local cultures and communities at or near a destination. Spotlight On Sustainable Travel: Consumer Attitudes, Values, and Motivations in Making Conscientious Choices Photo by Expedia Group Media Solutions The good news for the planet, as well as all of us who market to travelers, is that the interest in sustainable travel is high and travelers are looking for a broad range of information on sustainable travel options. Whether youre a destination, a lodging, transportation or activity provider, a restaurant, or a local business, consumers are interested in learning more about eco-friendly offerings and recommendations. When it comes to viewing sustainable travel information during the trip planning process, listings or information pages on travel sites is the preferred format (54%), though video content, reviews from other travelers, and advertisements are valued by consumers, as well. Authenticity in Sustainability Commitments is Critical Consumer attention toward sustainable tourism has also resulted in higher expectations for destinations and travel brands. Seven in 10 consumers have avoided a destination or transportation option because they felt it was not truly committed to sustainable practices. This illustrates that authenticity and transparency around sustainability commitments and outcomes are of the utmost importance. Consumers want to know that travel brands are genuinely committed to sustainability, not just checking a box. Backing up sustainability practices and claims with proof points and data can help drive traveler consideration and minimize skepticism. For example, in our recent Discover Iberostar campaign, we educated travelers on the hospitality groups commitment to sustainability and Wave of Change initiative, while also surfacing inspirational and informative content on more responsible vacation experiences. Expedia Group Actions to Improve Sustainability In parallel to the increase in more mindful travel, Expedia Group is reaffirming its commitment to the planet by working across the industry and with a range of partners to shape a more sustainable travel and tourism sector. In addition to the UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge, Expedia Group joined the Travalyst Coalition in support of its mission to empower travelers with better information and encourage travel providers to improve the sustainability of their offerings. Expedia Group also signed the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism, which aims to align urgent climate action across tourism stakeholders to cut tourism emissions in half over the next decade and reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible before 2050. Download the full Sustainable Travel study for additional global insights on consumer attitudes, values, and motivations in making conscientious choices. In a couple weeks well also be releasing our latest quarterly Travel Trend Report, so stay tuned and subscribe to our blog for additional insights. Download the Study About Expedia Group Media Solutions Expedia Group Media Solutions, the advertising organization of Expedia Group, offers industry expertise and digital marketing solutions that allow brands to reach, engage and influence its qualified audience of travelers around the world. Through its vast network of leading travel brands and global points of sale, Expedia Group Media Solutions provides marketing partners with proprietary data-driven insights about traveler behaviors during every stage of the purchase journey, along with dynamic advertising solutions, to deliver strategic campaigns and measurable results. For more information, visit www.advertising.expedia.com. 2022 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners. CST: 2029030-50 View source This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Dr. Juliet Breeze was watching her four kids splash in the pool in their southwest Houston home, when she saw her son pop up from underwater and start screaming, clutching his ear. Breeze, a primary care doctor, recalls thinking, Oh, gosh, he blew his ear drum. It was Saturday and the pediatrician's office was closed, so she took him to a freestanding emergency room in a strip mall. She figured it couldnt be that expensive. Then, a few weeks, she was billed about $1,000 for a five-minute visit that would have cost $60 at her pediatricians office. I felt like there was something wrong happening. I realized patients like me, a mom of four, need to access medical care for non-life threatening things after work hours, Breeze said. But there wasnt a good, trusted place for me to receive that care. That experience inspired Breeze to create such a place and launch a network of urgent care centers where a visit can cost as little as an insurance copay and explore ways to deliver affordable health care. Since 2013, her company, Next Level Urgent Care, has grown from nine locations to 23, with plans to nearly double that number to 42 by the end of year. Next Level also has expanded into primary care, and last year, launched a new service, called Next Level Prime, in which employers pay a flat rate for membership and their employees can receive primary care services without charge at any Next Level Urgent Care. More than 30 businesses, employing from 10 to 2,500 people have enrolled in Next Level Prime, generally paying about $60 per employee per month. In the first year, member businesses saved an estimated 50 to 75 percent on basic medical services, such as doctor visits, lab work and other non-emergency care, according to Next Level. With just one year of data, its hard to say whether Breeze has hit upon a new model that could increase access to health care while lowering costs. Breeze is now in discussions with Vivian Ho, a health economist at Rice University, about a study to determine whether Next Level Primes approach has staying power and how much it might save employers in health care costs. Its really promising, Ho said. Its especially promising for the companies theyre trying to pitch to -- the ones that have middle class workers who are price sensitive, but want good health care. Breeze, 53, didnt anticipate shed find herself on the business side of health care. She moved to Houston in 1991 to attend Baylor College of Medicine and worked as a family practice doctor for 4 years. But when the office manager for her husbands orthopedic practice abruptly quit, she stepped in and received a crash course in the business of health care. In 2006, while managing her husbands practice, she began pursuing her own ventures. She teamed up with two former Accenture employees to develop a rehabilitation hospital, surgery center and medical office building. On HoustonChronicle.com: How mounting medical debt, bills affect patient health She has since sold those properties, but it gave her the experience and credibility to start her own company and raise $5 million to launch Next Level Urgent Care. At first, the new business was a challenge. With her husbands orthopedics practice, she could rely on referrals from other doctors. But patients typically use urgent care centers when they cant get to their doctors. They dont make appointments and they dont come back for follow-up visits. That meant making it count when patients came in short wait times, quality care, affordable costs and follow-up calls to check on how patients were doing. It is really important for us to make an impression that people would remember us, Breeze said, and want to come back. Change and opportunity The pandemic brought plenty of patients Breeze recalled lines around the block during the Delta surge in summer 2020 as well as big changes and new opportunities. Then, Breeze said, she and Next Level, got a lucky break. Breeze was serving on a charity board with Dr. Atul Varadhachary, the managing partner at Fannin Innovation Studios, a life sciences incubator in River Oaks. During a call with board members, he mentioned he was working on a saliva antibody test for COVID-19 and needed COVID patients. Next Level had no shortage of COVID patients, and Breeze offered to help. Varadhachary suggested clinical trials. Urgent care centers arent typical venues for clinical trials. Clinical trials require a great deal of documentation, including informed consent from patients, and that can take extra time, conflicting with the urgent care model of trying to treat patients as efficiently as possible. But Varadhachary became impressed with Breeze and her staff. I was struck with their responsiveness and engagement with us, Varadhachary said. That showed me they were a team worth taking a chance on. Next Level completed the trial for the antibody test and then did another one for Fannin Innovations Studios, this time for a drug to protect people from infection if they came in close contact with COVID patients. Both the test and the drug are still going through the approval process. Breeze recognized a chance to develop a source of revenues for the clinic drug companies pay fees to providers that host trials and help her patients. She and her team began writing to pharmaceutical companies Regeneron and Eli Lilly about holding trials at Next Level clinics for their monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19, citing the clinics previous experiences. Regeneron agreed. Eli Lilly soon followed. Both treatments were eventually approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Next Level is now conducting other clinical trials, including one for an Alzheimers drug developed by Eli Lilly. It's great for our patients. When there was nothing available to people for COVID, we had opportunities for people to not only advance science, but also possibly receive lifesaving medications, Breeze said. And luck of the draw, both Regeneron and Eli Lilly monoclonal antibodies worked. The pandemic also brought changes beyond health care, contributing to labor shortages as the stimulus-fueled economy rebounded with the lifting of public-health restrictions. Breeze saw another opportunity. Cutthroat competition In January of 2021, Breeze and her company launched Next Level Prime, using the membership model in which employers pay a flat rate to provide free primary care services to employees. She marketed the program not only as a way to lower health care costs, but also as a valuable benefit that could help companies attract and keep workers in the cutthroat hiring environment. So many companies are dealing with labor shortages, and there's a lot of competition in the labor market, Breeze said. Offering employees free, basic health care may make the difference between retaining an employee or not. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston safety net hospitals may struggle to treat uninsured as COVID funding shrinks Ho, the Rice health care economist, said Next Levels membership model could bring significant cost savings for employers. Under the fee-for-service model that dominates health care, providers get paid each time they do a procedure or run a test, providing incentives to do more of both regardless of their need or efficacy. Paying a flat fee eliminates that incentive, said Ho. If they perform multiple tests that have no shown benefit, theyll lose money, Ho said. In contrast, fee-for-service providers make more money if they run more tests and do more procedures. When health care services are more accessible and people use them, they are less likely to suffer costly illnesses down the line. But there is a flip side to the flat-fee models the incentive to hold down costs could lead providers to cut corners on testing, procedures and care. That makes it imperative for Breeze to track patient outcomes and customer satisfaction, Ho said. More employers have shown interest in Next Level Prime membership, but some have operations outside of Houston, where nearly all the clinics are located. They told Breeze they would sign on if she could serve employees in other cities. Next Level now has 14 urgent care centers under construction in San Antonio and Austin, plus six more in construction in Houston. Woman with purpose This ambitious expansion came as no surprise to Dr. Robbyn Traylor, Next Levels the chief medical officer, who recalled Next Levels inaugural year when Breeze opened nine clinics in nine months. She is a woman that moves with a purpose, Traylor said. Today, Breeze said, her purpose is to make her clinics services as accessible as possible. Im trying to take the complexity out of medicine, Breeze said. I think that the biggest problem with health care is that it's very fragmented. Everybody's trying to help patients, but they all are in these silos. I hope I can bring things together a little more. becca.carballo@chron.com This was originally featured in the Houston Chronicle's HouWeAre newsletter about race, culture and identity. You can sign up here. Ramadan. Many of us outside of the Islamic faith may think only of the fasting or may know it as Islam's holiest month, a time to show grace and support for Muslim friends, peers and family during their collective spiritual recharge. But Ramadan is a lunar cycle in which the core tenets of Islam are intended to shine in particular with acts of service. For Ismailis and other Muslims, giving is more than volunteering in a charity program; it is a way of life to pay it forward in perpetuity. "Ramadan puts a big emphasis on actionable aspects of our values as it relates to the faith and materializes in service," says Alim Adatia, who volunteers as the communications and publications member for the Ismaili Council for the Southwestern USA. Numbering in the tens of millions globally, Ismaili Muslims are a culturally diverse community living in over 25 countries around the world in Central and South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America and Australia who adhere to Shia Muslim values and traditions, the second-largest theological branch of Islam next to the Sunni tradition. Throughout its 1,400-year history, the Ismaili community has followed a living, hereditary imam, the Aga Khan, who claims direct lineage to the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The Greater Houston region is believed to boast the largest Ismaili community in the U.S., with six jamatkhanas, or places of worship, serving tens of thousands throughout the metro area from Clear Lake to Sugar Land. The Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center in Sugar Land is one of the most active in the U.S., hosting food drives, blood drives, interfaith programming and community initiatives year-round and playing a prominent role in civic spheres that uplift, educate and serve the community. In fact, Houston was chosen several years ago by His Highness the Aga Khan as the site of Americas first Ismaili Center, reportedly due to its active and thriving Ismaili community and the overall cultural diversity of the region, which Adatia says the Aga Khan nurtures with an overarching philosophy of pluralism that has become a "hallmark of the faith." "Over the years, the Aga Khan has ingrained pluralism in our faith," Adatia says. "We can all be members of different groups and come from different (racial, ethnic, religious) backgrounds and maintain those identities but at the same time come together as one civilization." Plurality is driven by Ismaili teachings of balance between the worldly and spiritual life, explains Adatia. The ethics of our faith, such as service and commitment to improve the quality of life for all, must permeate all aspects of one's being, he says. If you live in Houston, you've likely seen the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center's name and participation in everything from Hurricane Harvey and Winter Storm Uri recovery to COVID mobilization. It's hard to ignore the Ismaili community's strong bent toward collaboration not only with other community groups and other faith-based organizations, but perhaps most importantly, particularly during Ramadan, Adatia stresses with other brothers and sisters within the Muslim faith. As further proof of the community's commitment to connection, on Saturday, the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center will host a Sugar Land city council forum for candidates running for At-large Positions 1 and 2. The forum is open to the public and is a joint effort between the Ismaili Council for Southwestern USA, the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, and the League of Women Voters Houston and will be held at 10 a.m. at the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center at 1700 First Colony Blvd. "Our commitment to the ethic of service is, at the end of the day, the underpinning of the values of our faith," Adatia adds, "and really points us to improving the quality of life in the communities in which we live." In 2017 Adel Kuchyk briefly moved in with Melanie and Justin Vitovsky as a part of a foreign exchange student program, attending Bridgeland High School for the 2017-2018 school year before returning to her hometown in Melitopol, Ukraine. Five years later, 20-year-old Kuchyk is back in the Vitovsky home with her fiance Michael and her little brother Maxim. This time, Kuchyk is living with her former host family under circumstances neither she, nor they, could have seen coming. Kuchyk arrived in Cy-Fair April 9 after nearly a week of travel, hurriedly leaving her Russian occupied hometown of Melitopol with her fiance in order to escape the recent invasion. After leaving through Moldova and meeting her father at the border of Slovakia to take custody of her brother Maxim, the three set forth on their journey to Cy-Fair with one suitcase. Kuchyk refers to Melanie and Justin as Mom and Dad, considering them family since her stay in 2017. Before Kuchyk arrived in the states, the Vitovskys kept in contact and sent money to help her survive and make her way to safety. On HoustonChronicle.com: As war rages on, Houstons Ukrainian community upholds Easter traditions, raises money for relief I was so grateful that Mom and Dad (Melanie and Justin) did so much for us, just to make sure we were safe, Kuchyk said. Sometimes we feel like we couldnt take care of ourselves because of everything that happened. It felt so overwhelming. Mom said Once you come to our house we could do this thing together. I was very happy I could share this with somebody I love and somebody that close. Melanie Vitovsky said she and her family have kept in contact with Kuchyk since her stay with the family during the FLEX program in 2017, a state sponsored foreign exchange student program, and immediately tried to help her when news of the Russian invasion broke. Vitovsky said the decision was a no-brainer, since she considers Kuchyk one of her daughters. When the war broke out we were concerned, Vitovsky said. We were talking to her nearly every day throughout her journey. We were sending money and helping her. She was a college student, she didnt have a lot. Then, having to suddenly traverse five countries in just as many days trying to escape her city. After leaving Slovakia and gaining custody of her brother, Kuchyk eventually made her way to Mexico, specifically the Tijuana, Mexico and U.S. border with Michael and Maxim. The three were given advice to cross over the Mexicali, Mexico and Calexico, California border, which expedited their already long journey. The Vitovskys then helped the three arrive in Cy-Fair a day later. On HoustonChronicle.com: Ukrainian mother, daughter escape awful dream of Russian war to find refuge in Houston area As for her parents, Kuchyks mother was able to escape Ukraine while her father was not allowed to leave, due to a law being passed prohibiting men ages 18-60 from leaving the country. Kuchyk, Michael and Maxim traveled alone. Now, the goal is to help Kuchyk, Michael and Maxim adjust to American life for an undetermined amount of time, Vitovsky said. Although Kuchyk is fluent in English, Michael and Maxim are learning the language. Kuchyk and her fiance are also working through the process of obtaining employment authorization, which could take anywhere from six to eight months. The goal is to give them a safe place to live and work, Vitovsky said. They are learning, they are understanding a lot since theyve been here. Theyve grasped a lot more understanding because theyre surrounded by it. Maxim has lessons in English every day so they are learning English and that will help them reach a feeling of stability, if nothing else. Kuchyk said her brother Maxim was quick to realize something was wrong when she picked him up from the Slovakian border, but was unaware of how dire the situation was. When I got Maxim from the Slovakian border, he clearly didnt realize what was going on and he was talking about going back to school and how he would get back, Kuchyk said. Through time, he started to realize that there was an actual war going on in (our) hometown and our friends and families are not in town anymore. They all went somewhere. Kuchyk has said Maxims peers in the Cy-Fair area give her hope that he can adjust to American life easier after having to leave home so quickly. It is kind of depressing, even for an adult, she said. We were trying to do anything that we were supposed to do because me and my fiance kind of became parents for him. We did anything so he would feel safer than he felt before. While the Vitovsky home was more than happy to take in Kuchyk, Vitovsky said the household still needs help in order to feed everyone, including her own two teenagers, and help Kuchyk integrate into American society, including employment authorization. Vitovsky said she learned how complicated the immigration and refugee process is in the United States through Kuchyks journey, whether immigrants arrive legally or through other means. Vitovsky also received criticism for her helping Kuchyk, wanting to stress that Kuchyk is not a random Ukrainian refugee who needed help: she considers her family. Ive learned a lot about our immigration system through friends and people who have been there and crossed the border many years ago, Vitovsky said. Ive learned that its not what people think. Theres a lot of criticism even on comments from our previous stories. I know her. She is my family. While she thanks the community for helping Kuchyk reach Cy-Fair from California, Vitovsky said sustained help is needed to keep the family healthy and comfortable. Its a lot like when someone is expecting a baby and everyones excited and they send all of the gifts and the gift cards and then the baby comes and after that all of the support disappears, Vitovsky said. Itll be a challenge moving forward, but well do more lemonade stands. Well do what weve got to do. With Kuchyk and Michael attempting to gain employment and the general resources needed to feed the extra three family members, Vitovsky said she will accept donations, while also encouraging people to donate supplies to Ukrainian citizens in the warzone. To donate to the Vitovskys and Kuchyk, visit www.givesendgo.com/ukrainiandaughtersoftheheart. The Vitovskys are also raising money for Iryna, another Ukrainian foreign exchange student they hosted in 2013, who is still in Ukraine, and asking for help for Kuchyks friends. chevall.pryce@chron.com Pasadena Memorial High School alumna Lindsey Sharpless, who was crowned last summer as the first Miss Texas Volunteer, will compete May 1-7 at the 2022 Miss Volunteer America Pageant in Jackson, Tenn. A Miss Volunteer America app can be downloaded to allow fans to live-stream the May 4-6 preliminaries and the May 7 finals, she said. With representatives from 47 states divided into three groups for preliminary judging, Sharpless is No. 41 and will compete in Group C. Its contestants kick off their onstage competition with talent performances on May 4, including Sharpless tap-dancing to Aint Nothing Wrong with That by Robert Randolph and the Family Band. It's the same number that Sharpless performed at the Miss Texas Volunteer Pageant, where she won a $20,000 college scholarship. I am wearing the same talent outfit and the same evening gown, she said, describing her Sherri Hill white-beaded floral-lace straight dress with a U-slit. However, she has a new swimsuit thats turquoise. We are still searching for a new interview outfit and a red dress for the (West Tennessee Strawberry Festival) parade, she said. She and the contestants will ride in a nine-block parade during the festival May 1-7 in Humboldt, Tenn. During pageant week, I will room with another contestant, said Sharpless. Its really nice having a roommate because you feed off each other; when you get tired, you keep each other going. You have a built-in support system and you have a lot of fun trying to squish in both your wardrobes into a hotel closet. In the finals at Miss Volunteer America, the state winners will be narrowed to 16, then 12, then 10 as they compete in talent, swimsuit and evening gown categories. The top five will be asked an onstage question. Sharpless is the 26-year-old daughter of Charles and Lori Sharpless of Pasadena and a former Miss Pasadena and Miss Pearland in the Miss Texas-America pageant system. Becoming a state titleholder for the first time, Sharpless was surprised to learn how much more active her schedule is than a local queen. I am super busy, she said. I go to the gym in the morning, then come back to the apartment for interview practice. I make appearances and phone calls and do talent training at a dance studio. Her apartment, which is across from the Galleria in Dallas, is a perk that she didnt know would be part of the state winners prize package. There are a lot of great things they dont tell you about, said Sharpless. Ive been very blessed this year. If I could, I would keep doing this another year. Further information about the Miss Texas Volunteer system can be found at https://bityl.co/BuSC. Further information about the Miss Volunteer America program can be found at https://bityl.co/BuSF. Don Maines is a freelance writer who can be contacted at donmaines@att.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PROVO, Utah (AP) As Dewon Holt toured a Utah ballot counting center, she listened intently and questioned election officials about concerns circulating since the 2020 election about voting machines, people mailed multiple ballots and dead voters. Holt came away confident in the integrity of the vote count after the tour in one of the states Republican strongholds and even suggested election officials do more to publicize the tours. Because we had this national fraud thing going on, everybody thinks theres fraud here, the 76-year-old Republican said in Provo. I feel like Utah County is good. But I dont know if we have problems in the rest of the counties in the state. Distrust in elections continues to reverberate around the U.S. and subject election officials to new levels of scrutiny, even in Utah where universal mail-in voting has been widely embraced since the GOP-controlled Statehouse allowed counties to adopt the policy a decade ago. Pushed by constituents like Holt swept up in fears of widespread fraud, lawmakers made election security a central focus in the Statehouse this year, with 35 proposals considered. They ultimately passed laws tightening voter ID, requiring 24-hour surveillance at ballot drop boxes and making it easier for people to opt out of mail voting, but rejected more drastic proposals, including one to end universal vote by mail altogether. Despite a newfound focus on outreach and education from election officials, doubters remain. Opposition to the state's vote-by-mail policy has grown. Its completely upended the work that election officials do, said Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Utah's top election official said of election misinformation. What gets really problematic is when the fervor from a loud few in the in the populace gets to elected officials. And then the elected officials start saying Well, I got to address the concerns. Utah, where then-President Donald Trump won the last election by 20 percentage points, is the only Republican-led state to mail all active voters ballots each election. A decade before Trump called it the greatest scam in the history of politics, lawmakers championed the practice as a way to boost turnout and make voting more convenient in rural areas. Before 2020, the top concern voiced by election officials was parents of those serving missions for the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filling out their children's ballots. By 2019, every county in the state had opted into the state's policy allowing counties to mail all active voters ballots making Utah the fourth state to conduct all-mail elections. On Election Day, a limited number of polling places remain open. The practice was so popular that in Utah County where Holt toured the ballot center there was an outcry from residents after officials in 2018 decided against mailing ballots to all active voters, one year after implementing the policy for the first time. This is just blatantly wrong. It isnt the American way, a city official complained about the decision at the time. Dont we want high turnout? The county later reversed the decision. Fast forward several years: Mail-in ballots remain the overwhelmingly popular method for voting, with 92% using them in the 2020 general election. But disproven claims that they open the door for widespread fraud are transforming the policy discussion, provoking rancorous opposition and newfound skepticism. Opponents crowded five overflow rooms to listen to a legislative hearing on a proposal to abolish universal voting by mail earlier this year. Fresh off a failed effort to gather signatures and qualify a measure for the 2022 ballot that would end voting by mail in Utah, members of the anti-mail ballot crowd referring to themselves as We, the People, said they had heard of ballots mailed to voters who had died and urged lawmakers to require post-election independent audits. The proposal's sponsor, GOP Rep. Phil Lyman, claimed without evidence that certain precincts had recorded 300% voter turnout in recent elections. Were blanketing communities with ballots and assuming that the people that were sending them to are legitimate on the voter rolls whether they requested it or not. And what were finding in Utah and other places is that thats not always the case, he said. Opposition to mail-in ballots has also emerged in other Republican-led states that expanded their use before the 2020 election. In Nebraska, counties with fewer than 10,000 people may conduct all-mail elections. In Georgia, the secretary of state mailed absentee ballot request forms to every voter ahead of the 2020 election. In many of these places, a schism has emerged between veteran Republican lawmakers who considered election-related bills for years before they became politicized and ones who ascended to office during the Trump era. In Georgia, Republicans since 2005 have gradually expanded practices such as early voting and no-excuse absentee ballots. Ed Lindsey, a former state lawmaker who now serves on the Georgias election board, said he observed such a generational divide. Last year, veteran lawmakers, Lindsay said, were prepared to tweak rules to make ballots more secure, but fought efforts to end no-excuse absentee voting entirely. They certainly werent prepared to throw the baby out with the bathwater because theyd seen that this was something their constituents liked, he said. Georgia lawmakers ultimately kept no-excuse absentee voting but added provisions making it more difficult to request mail ballots. Election officials there and in Utah are unsure whether trends will continue showing more people choosing to vote by mail, or whether opposition will lead people to return to polling places and potentially long lines. In Utah County, the rancor contributed to the sitting county clerk's decision not to seek reelection. Unlike what he and others in the election office had grown accustomed to before 2020, officials are facing a constant barrage of scrutiny, Clerk Josh Daniels said. Its like playing a game of whack-a-mole, trying to respond to questions and concerns, records requests and things like that some of which are very interesting and bizarre," he added. Daniels' likely replacement, Republican Aaron Davidson, is a universal vote-by-mail opponent who told an applauding audience in a March debate he planned to petition the Legislature to end the practice. Davidson plans to follow state laws, which currently require he mail all active voters ballots. "But Im going to do everything I possibly can to make sure if were doing vote by mail, its going to be as clean as possible, he said in an interview. Rep. Steve Eliason, a Republican who sponsored the 2012 legislation allowing counties to implement all-mail elections, said its opponents were vocal, but still very much a minority. Regardless of the growing number of calls he may field about elections, after seeing all counties gradually switch to universal vote by mail over the past decade, he's confident it'll survive challenges, even in deep-red Utah. "We got ahead of the curve when it wasnt politicized," he said. It's largely been institutionalized. They're what people are used to. Its convenient." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is in the midst of her first visit to Alaska in that role, including to a community at the center of a long-running dispute over a proposed land exchange aimed at building a road through a national wildlife refuge. Residents of King Cove have seen a road as a life and safety issue. Haaland was in King Cove on Wednesday with Gov. Mike Dunleavy and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. King Cove residents have long sought a land connection through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge to Cold Bay, which is about 18 miles (29 kilometers) away and has an all-weather airport. The refuge is near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula and contains internationally recognized habitat for migrating waterfowl. Haaland, speaking to reporters from Anchorage on Thursday, she is still in a learning process regarding the issue and had no announcements to make about it at this time. The Interior Department said Haaland had committed to visiting the community early in her tenure, as part of her ongoing effort to hear directly from communities about the policies that impact them. Haaland, Murkowski and the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also visited Cold Bay and the refuge, the department said. A U.S. Justice Department attorney last summer said Haaland had not decided what position she would take on a proposed land exchange, saying Haaland planned to review the record and visit King Cove before making a decision. A planned trip to Alaska last year didn't materialize. In 2013, then-Secretary Sally Jewell visited King Cove to hear from residents. Jewell later issued a decision declining a land exchange, saying she supported a conclusion by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that building a road through the refuge would cause irreversible damage to the refuge and to wildlife that depend on it. Under the Trump administration, efforts to advance a land exchange faced legal challenges. But a divided federal appeals court panel last month reversed a decision by U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick that had set aside a proposed 2019 agreement that then-Secretary David Bernhardt had entered into with King Cove Corp., an Alaska Native village corporation. Sedwick had found in part that Bernhardt had failed to provide adequate reasoning to support a change in policy in favor of a land exchange and road. The appeals court ruling disagreed with that assessment. The choice to place greater weight on the interests of King Cove residents sufficiently explained the change in policy, the ruling stated. Bridget Psarianos, staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska, last month vowed continued efforts to "fight this illegal land exchange to protect Izembeks irreplaceable values and all of Alaskas protected public lands. Trustees for Alaska represented conservation groups that challenged the proposed land exchange. The Aleutians East Borough says flights from King Coves unpaved airstrip are delayed or canceled about 30% of the time, usually due to harsh weather conditions. The community often experiences gales, snow squalls or dense fog, according to the borough. It says the community of Cold Bay has a 10,000-foot (3,048 meter) paved runway at its all-weather airport. Della Trumble, CEO of the King Cove Corp., said she thought it was important that Haaland was able to hear from residents directly. At this point, we just do everything we can and continue forward and with the hope that we can put this all behind us and move forward and be able to have safe access between these two communities, Trumble said. Dunleavy, in a statement, said local residents deserve to be heard by the federal government. Haaland said she is being very thoughtful. I want the people to know that we care about their community. We care about a lot of things, she said. Melissa Schwartz, an Interior Department spokesperson, by email said Haaland's visit to Alaska includes meetings with Alaska Native leaders and elders, local, state and federal elected officials, and members of the conservation, outdoor recreation, and labor community to discuss sustainable economies, federal investments, and infrastructure needs. Haaland said she is scheduled to leave Sunday. ROME (AP) Pope Francis cleared his schedule Friday to undergo medical checks on his right knee, as his strained ligaments have made walking, standing and getting up from his chair increasingly difficult and painful. Francis mobility has been greatly curtailed of late, with his already pronounced limp from sciatica seemingly aggravated. The 85-year-old pope had to bow out of celebrating the Easter Vigil last weekend, struggled through Easter Sunday Mass and now frequently walks with a shuffle and the assistance of an aide. The Vatican spokesman said Friday that Francis was undergoing medical checks within the city state, not at an external hospital. Francis has had to cancel several appointments this year due to the ligament strain. After his recent visit to Malta, which saw him struggling to get out of his chair on several occasions, Francis said he thought it would get better. My health is a bit capricious, he told reporters April 3 en route home from Valletta. I have this problem with my knee which makes problems of mobility and walking. Its a bit painful. But its getting better. At least I can move. He revealed that a few weeks prior, he couldnt walk an apparent reference to the rest ordered up by his doctors that forced the cancellation of a trip to Florence and Francis participation in an Ash Wednesday procession. Well see if I go back (to that), he said. Theres some doubt because at this age, you dont know how itll end up. Well hope it turns out OK. Francis was hospitalized for 10 days last July to have 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large colon removed. He has said he has fully recovered. He also has long undergone regular sessions of physiotherapy to ease the sciatica nerve pain. The pope has a busy few months of scheduled travel coming up, which will surely test his health, mobility and endurance: The Lebanese presidency has announced he will visit in mid-June; the Vatican has confirmed a July 2-7 trip to Congo and South Sudan; and Francis himself has said he hopes to travel to Canada in late July to deliver an in-person apology to Indigenous peoples for the Catholic Churchs role in abuses at residential schools. There had also been media reports that Francis would meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in Jerusalem in June, presumably as an added-on leg to the Lebanon trip. But in an interview published Friday with Argentine daily La Nacion, Francis said the Vatican had suspended plans for the meeting. Kirill has seemingly endorsed Russias invasion of Ukraine as a metaphysical battle against the West. Our diplomacy understood that a meeting between us at this time could create a lot of confusion, Francis was quoted as saying. Francis also dampened suggestions he might travel to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, saying he wouldnt do anything that could complicate the greater good of ending the war or at least a creating a truce or humanitarian corridors. What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war continues the following day? he asked. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) Destructive fires in the U.S. Southwest have burned dozens of homes in northern Arizona and put numerous small villages in New Mexico in the path of danger, as wind-fueled flames chewed up wide swaths of tinder dry forest and grassland and plumes of smoke filled the sky. It's a very chaotic situation out there, Stewart Turner, a fire behavior analyst, said during a briefing Friday night on the edge of the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. We've had extreme fire behavior all day. Firefighters working to keep more homes from burning on the edge of a mountain town in northern Arizona were helped by some snow, scattered showers and cooler temperatures early Friday. But the favorable weather did not last and more gusts were expected to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend. Crews were tackling more than a dozen large fires Friday nationwide, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 1,600 firefighters were battling six blazes in New Mexico and three in Arizona that have consumed more than 100 square miles (258 square kilometers) of timber and brush. By Friday afternoon winds were howling across New Mexico,, gusting up to 75 mph (120 kph) near the Colorado line, shrouding the Rio Grande Valley with dust and pushing flames through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the north. Fire officials expected one blaze northeast of Santa Fe to overrun several communities before Saturday. A wall of smoke stretched from wilderness just east of Santa Fe some 50 miles (80 km) to the northeast where ranchers and other rural inhabitants were abruptly told to leave by law enforcement. Maggie Mulligan, 68, of Ledoux, a dog breeder, and her husband, Brad Gombas, 67, left with nine dogs and five puppies packed into an SUV and an old blue Cadillac. She said her dog Liam was a nervous wreck, when a sheriff came to their house Friday afternoon and told them to leave. They agonized over having to leave their horses behind as they drove 40 miles (65 km) north of Las Vegas, New Mexico, to a middle school turned into a Red Cross shelter. We don't know what's next. We don't know if we can go back to the horses, Mulligan said. Theres water in their pasture and theres hay so well see what happens. With no air support or crews working directly on the fire lines, there was explosive growth in a number of fires. San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez warned the situation very dangerous. Lena Atencio and her husband, whose family has lived in the nearby Rociada area for five generations, got out Friday as winds kicked up. She said people were taking the threat seriously. As a community, as a whole, everybody is just pulling together to support each other and just take care of the things we need to now. And then at that point, its in Gods hands, she said as the wind howled miles away in the community of Las Vegas, where evacuees were gathering. Another wind-whipped fire in northeastern New Mexico also was forcing evacuations while the town of Cimarron and the headquarters of the Philmont Scout Ranch, owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America, were preparing to flee if necessary. The scout ranch attracts thousands of summer visitors, but officials said no scouts were on the property. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed emergency declarations for four counties over the fires. In Arizona, flames had raced through rural neighborhoods outside Flagstaff just days earlier. A break in the weather Thursday allowed helicopters to drop water on the blaze and authorities to survey the damage. They found 30 homes and numerous other buildings were destroyed, with sheriff's officials saying over 100 properties were affected. That fire has burned close to 32 square miles (83 square kilometers) and forced evacuations of 765 homes after starting last Sunday. Authorities used alarms overnight Thursday to warn residents to flee evacuation areas, said sheriff's spokesman Jon Paxton. Howling winds muffled the alarms. Kelly Morgan is among neighbors at the edge of the evacuation zone who did not leave. She and her husband have lived through wildfires before, she said, and they're prepared if winds shift and flames race toward the home they moved into three years ago. Unfortunately, it's not something new to us ... but I hate seeing it when people are affected the way they are right now," she said. "It's sad. It's a very sad time, but as a community, we've really come together. Wildfire has become a year-round threat in the West given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall, scientist have said. The problems have been exacerbated by decades of fire suppression and poor management along with a more than 20-year megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. Fire danger in the Denver area on Friday was the highest it had been in over a decade, according to the National Weather Service, because of unseasonable temperatures in the 80s combined with strong winds and very dry conditions. New evacuations were ordered Friday west of Colorado Springs but there were no immediate reports of structures lost. ____ Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press writers Cedar Attanasio in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report. OnScene.Tv A fast-food worker was shot in the hand outside of an Aldine-area Jack in the Box Thursday night after an altercation over ranch sauce, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The worker was shot about 10:25 p.m. at a Jack in the Box at 3709 Aldine Mail Route Road near Fern Meadow Lane, authorities said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Complaints over noise caused by private motorcycle clubs and the behavior shown by a University of Texas-Austin professor during and after the execution of Carl Wayne Buntion surfaced on Friday, with Houston police union leaders calling her disrespectful and the scholar saying the same about the motorcyclists. In the minutes before Buntion started his final statement at the Huntsville Unit death chamber, several dozen retired and active law enforcement with the Thin Blue Line and Los Carnales y La Familia motorcycle clubs revved their engines in a parking lot along Avenue H, northeast of the prison. The engines roar, which started around 6:10 p.m., could be heard in the chamber, located in the northeast corner of the building. The revving took place about 200 feet away from the chamber and lasted at least five minutes. Buntion, convicted of killing Houston Police Department patrolman James Irby in 1990, was the oldest inmate on the states death row. He started his last statement around 6:21 p.m., according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records. He died at 6:39 p.m., about 13 minutes after the lethal dose began. University of Texas-Austin professor Barbara Laubenthal, who witnessed the execution as a personal witness for Buntion, took issue to the noise caused by the motorcyclists. She said on Thursday that she heard the engines loud and clear in the chamber. She lodged a complaint Friday with Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Bryan Collier about the stunt calling it harassment. Parts of law enforcement on motorcycles disrupted the execution of Carl Buntion and roared up their engines to a point that made it hard to hear what was said in the execution chamber, Laubenthal said in an email to Collier. It was a childish and spiteful show of power and revenge while a human being was dying. This show of disrespect should not have been allowed and I urge TDCJ to prevent this kind of harassment of witnesses and the condemned in the future, she continued. Following Laubenthals complaint, TDCJ spokesman Robert Hurst issued a statement on behalf of the state agency. Individuals have the ability to gather and express their views outside the facility. TDCJ has no authority or intention of impacting that ability, the statement read. By the time the execution ended, many of the motorcycle club members had left the unit. Laubenthal uttered a profanity as she left the unit and flipped her middle finger in the direction of where the motorcycle clubs had been. Standing between her and them was a group of uniformed HPD motorcycle patrolmen who did not participate in the engine revving, Chief Troy Finner and Irbys daughter. After the execution, Laubenthal joined about half a dozen anti-death penalty demonstrators at the northwest corner of the unit about 500 feet from the chamber. Her final gesture, which members of the Houston Police Officers Union also saw, sparked the ire of those leaders, who then sent at least two emails to the Austin university to complain. Ray Hunt, HPOU executive director, defended the revving of the motorcycle clubs and said that is often done at executions of convicted killers of police officers to drown out death penalty opponents. The protesters shouted down Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg at times and banged a drum. Laubenthal waved to the protesters as she entered the Huntsville Unit to witness the execution. Death penalty opponents are incredibly disrespectful at these events as they use bullhorns and speakers to holler at the prison officials, district attorneys, police, and others who show support for the surviving family members at these incredibly emotional events, Hunt said in an email to the Board of Regents and president. The noise was initially intended to drown out the protesters and has since become a tradition showing respect for the fallen officer. He called on the university to take action against Laubenthal for her finger gesture which in a later email he described as a violation of law. Legal experts regard Laubenthals gesture as protected speech. She had a right to speak or express a conduct, said James Alfini, dean and professor emeritus at South Texas College of Law. When courts deal with that kind of behavior, they generally characterize it as symbolic speech. The bird was her symbol. If the Texas Legislature wanted to address demonstrations at the Huntsville Unit during executions possible laws could address how close demonstrators on both sides can be to the death chamber and how loud, Alfini continued. Lawyers for Buntion battled his execution until the last minute, with the Supreme Court ultimately denying the motion. Justice Stephen Bryer issued a sympathetic statement to Buntions three decades on death row. This case illustrates a serious legal and practical problem with the death penalty as it is currently administered, Bryer said in a statement, going on to question the execution in light of Buntions two decades in solitary confinement. nicole.hensley@chron.com A man was shot early Friday after an apparent altercation over money in west Houston, authorities said. The man described in his late 30s was shot around 2:30 a.m. at the 2700 block of Crossview Drive near Westheimer Road. He had at least one gunshot wound to the chest, Houston Police Department Lt. Ronnie Willkens said. Witnesses told investigators the man and a woman were walking from a store when they were approached by a man and a woman, Willkens added. More on HoustonChronicle.com: Man who was extradited to the US last year pleads guilty to involvement with cocaine distribution "There was some kind of confusion about somebody owing somebody money," he said. "Our complainant ran up on the suspect, the suspect turned around and we got some good video just turned around and shot him. Our best witness said she heard three shots." No vehicles were involved in the incident, police said said, adding investigators know the identity of the suspect and are working to track him down. More from Joel Umanzor: Masked gunmen 'hunted for their victim' in deadly shooting at Houston motel, police said The victim was taken to a local hospital in serious condition and was in surgery this morning, HPD added. His current status remains unknown. Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Major Assaults & Family Violence Division at 713-308-8800 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477. No other information is available at this time. Joel.Umanzor@chron.com Fernando Vergara, STF / Associated Press A man who was extradited to the U.S. in connection to his alleged involvement in narcoterrorism and trafficking cocaine pleaded guilty Thursday morning to a lesser charge, admitting he was involved with distribution of cocaine for unlawful importation. Henry Trigos-Celon, who is also known as Moncho Picada," appeared Thursday morning in front of U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to enter the plea. During the proceeding, a translator spoke to Trigos-Celon using a headset. A woman faces child abandonment charges after her five children, the youngest 3 months old, were found unattended at a Greenspoint apartment, according to court documents. Katerin Torres Martinez, 25, is charged with abandoning a child with intent to return and endangering a child, court records show. Torres Martinez remains in Harris County Jail after Magistrate Judge Carol Carrier on Thursday night set bail at $25,000 for each charge, totaling $50,000. The apartment manager at the complex at 906 Greens Road notified authorities about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday that four young children and a baby were left alone, Houston police said. More on HoustonChronicle.com: Ex-flight attendant from Houston sentenced after flying with United for decades under fake name Officers found three children ages 1, 3 and 4 outside near the parking lot, as well as an 8-year-old who was taking care of a 3-month-old inside a crib in the apartment, Houston police added. Police then notified Child Protective Services. The 1-year-old was barefoot in the parking lot while the other children, 3 and 4, were playing unattended, according to court documents. Additionally, the 3-month-old boy was wearing a colostomy bag that was almost full. Torres Martinez returned to the apartment while authorities were at the scene, police said. More from Joel Umanzor: Man shot after apparent altercation over money in west Houston She told authorities she had left the children to get milk but officers had found four new cans of formula at the apartment, court records show. Police took her into custody. The children were taken to Texas Children's Hospital for food and evaluations and are now in CPS custody, according to authorities. Torres Martinez is expected back in court on Monday, according to court records. Joel.Umanzor@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A textbook company established at Rice University is the only publisher approved for general K-5 mathematics books in Florida after statewide efforts to crack down on instructional materials containing prohibited topics. Accelerate Learning was incubated at the Houston research university in 2010, according to private equity firm Carlyle Group, which acquired the company in December 2018. Its website still cites a partnership with the higher education institution. Floridas approved Accelerate Learning textbooks, STEMScopes Florida Math, are among the 59 percent of submitted textbooks for all grades the state found acceptable for use. The state commissioner of education last week issued a list of allowed mathematics instructional materials and said more than 50 submitted textbooks were impermissible with Floridas new standards or contained prohibited topics. Reasons for the rejections included references to Critical Race Theory (CRT), inclusions of Common Core and the unsolicited addition of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics. The Florida Department of Education has provided two examples of material that disqualified textbooks, according to the Associated Press. The state did not identify which textbooks the examples came from. One appeared to be from an advanced high school algebra or statistics textbook and begins with the phrase, What? Me? Racist? It has students work with data reported by an online test that researchers say uncovers hidden attitudes toward different races. The other example appeared to come from a teachers guide to a kindergarten or first-grade textbook. The lesson is entitled Social and Emotional Learning Building Student Agency. Students are told to work together as they put the numbers 1 to 5 in proper order so they can build proficiency with social awareness as they practice with empathizing with classmates. Critical race theory, a term first coined 40 years ago as an academic concept taught in law schools, teaches that racism is systematically entrenched in society and its institutions. State and national conservative leaders have taken steps to attempt to ban it from public education, saying it is divisive and teaches children to blame white people for the ills of society. Education advocates insist the theory is not taught in public schools and that the term is being applied to any lessons that focus on race. Social emotional learning involves giving children skills to manage their emotions and establish and maintain positive relationships. And common core standards are benchmarks adopted by more than 40 states to describe what students should know after completing each grade. Texas is not one of the states. Rice officials declined to comment. STEMscopes, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis office and the Florida Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests. On HoustonChronicle.com: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick plans to end tenure at state universities, cites critical race theory Accelerate Learning is based in Houston and publishes an array of online curriculum products designed for K-12 learning. The Texas State Board of Education uses STEMscopes textbooks for science but not math, according to the Texas Education Agency. Several articles published by Rice in the early 2010s reference STEMscopes and its heavy adoption in Texas for science instruction. Teachers wrote the textbooks, and Rice researchers reviewed the science content for accuracy, according to a 2012 newsletter. STEMscopes website displays a diversity statement referencing systemic racism a topic at the root of critical race theory. Our nations black communities have long faced the repeated, harmful effects of systemic racism within the justice and education systems, the statement reads. Recent events coupled with the Black Lives Matter movement have brought these issues to the forefront, causing individuals, companies and the nation as a whole to reflect on and examine their own role in the system. As a company, we support nonviolent actions to raise awareness and support systemic changes that correct these injustices. DeSantis recently has signed multiple bills into law dictating the teaching of certain topics in public schools. In March, the Republican signed the Parental Rights in Education bill, which prohibits public teachers in Florida from holding classroom lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity. Opponents call the law, Dont Say Gay. DeSantis on Friday also signed the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which bans any teaching that could make people feel responsible for the actions of their ancestors. Accelerate Learning is additionally connected to another governor who this year banned teaching inherently divisive concepts in classrooms, including critical race theory. Carlyle Group acquired Accelerate Learning in 2018 while Glenn Youngkin, now the Republican governor of Virginia, was the firms co-CEO. The governor and his office distanced itself from the publisher Friday. The governor left Carlyle two years ago and had no direct involvement with the partnership, Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement. Decisions by the Florida government are fully independent of Gov. Youngkin. Youngkin is also a 1990 Rice alumnus. He studied mechanical engineering and managerial studies while playing basketball for the school, according to Rices student newspaper, Rice Thresher. samantha.ketterer@houstonchronicle.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Carl Wayne Buntion, convicted in the 1990 slaying of a Houston police officer, was executed Thursday evening in Huntsville as lawyers battled until the last minute to stop his death, even if temporarily. Buntion, 78, gunned down motorcycle officer James Irby during a June evening traffic stop on a Northside street, with news reports at the time stating that he had vowed to avenge his twin brothers 1971 death at the hands of a police officer. Buntion, the first person in Texas executed in 2022, was the oldest inmate on the states death row, and his lawyers had reported he had mounting health problems. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice marked his death as 6:39 p.m., about 13 minutes after the lethal dose began. In his final remarks, he expressed remorse for killing Irby during what he described as a shootout. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who witnessed his statement and then his death, said that was not the case. There was no shootout there was a murder, she said as nearby anti-death penalty demonstrators denounced her name. She hoped that with Buntions death, Irbys family could find peace. Lawyers for Buntion appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay, but Justice Samuel Alito denied the motion. His colleague, Justice Stephen Bryer, addressed the decision. This case illustrates a serious legal and practical problem with the death penalty as it is currently administered, Bryer said in a statement, going on to question the execution in light of Buntions two decades in solitary confinement. Buntion has suffered under such conditions for decades, he wrote. When efforts to administer the death penalty produce results such as this, it raises serious questions about whether that practice complies with the Constitutions prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Amid the last minute filing of court documents, droves of HPD motorcycle officers parked in front of the brick Huntsville Unit. Inmates in white jumpsuits were visible peering out the windows at reporters across the street. Private motorcycle clubs consisting of active and retired law enforcement revved their engines before Buntion gave his final statement, which went on for five minutes. The noise was audible inside the chamber, where witnesses could hear. University of Texas at Austin professor Barbara Laubenthal flipped off police officers after witnessing the execution as a friend of Buntion. She decried the engine noise as disrespectful. We could hear it, loud and clear, Laubenthal said. The state of Texas got its punishment. But to rub it in and show this kind of revenge and disrespect while a human being is dying it was disgusting. Buntion had no family left, she said. Buntion thanked Laubenthal and others who stayed with him. To all of my friend (sic) that stuck with me through all of these years, I am not going to say goodbye. Just saying so long, Buntion concluded. I am ready to go to heaven, warden. A spiritual adviser touched his ankle and sang Psalm 23 for five minutes. Buntion mouthed the words until he could not because of the lethal chemicals. He took a deep breath, coughed and then gave out three breaths each more shallow than the last. Buntion was 46 and a recent parolee when Irby pulled over the heroin-toting Pontiac that he rode in, according to court records. He shot Irby, 37, in the head with a revolver as the officer spoke to the driver. He shot him again, twice, in the back after he collapsed to the ground. Buntion fled the traffic stop, firing gunshots at the drivers who witnessed the attack near the Interstate 45 feeder road. One bystander used Irby's radio to call for help. Authorities tracked Buntion to the nearby Pony Express warehouse, where he later surrendered. Irby was an 18-year veteran of the police department. He left behind a wife and two children, who were 3 and 1 at the time of the shooting. His wife, Maura, referred to Buntion as a cancer rather than a human. I felt like I took the deepest breath I was able to in the last 32 years, she said, clutching a cane. I felt joy. Police Chief Troy Finner joined the officers outside the unit, rather than witness the execution. His remarks following the death focused on supporting the family and the closure they must feel. Although Texas has been the nations busiest capital punishment state, it had been nearly seven months since it carried out an execution. Buntion filed a last minute motion to withdraw the execution date, which prosecutors opposed and called a Hail Mary pass to prevent this evenings scheduled execution. A medical expert declared Buntion may have pneumonia but prosecutors said a diagnosis for that and hematuria happened April 13 and he was prescribed medications and discharged. Recent oxygen levels, pulse and temperature were reportedly normal, according to court records. The applicant has received the due process he is due, wrote prosecutor Joshua Reiss, who oversees post-conviction writs for the district attorneys office. Judge Kelli Johnson, who in December signed the death warrant, rejected Buntions motion. nicole.hensley@chron.com State troopers ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott to inspect every commercial truck coming from Mexico earlier this month which clogged international trade with Mexico found zero drugs, weapons or any other type of contraband, according to data released by the Department of Public Safety to The Texas Tribune. Earlier this month, Abbott ordered troopers to thoroughly inspect every commercial truck coming from Mexicos four border states in what he described as an effort to stop illegal drugs and migrants from being smuggled into Texas. His order for increased state inspections was part of his response to the Biden administrations announcement that it will lift Title 42 the pandemic-era health order used by federal immigration officials to expel migrants, including asylum-seekers, at the U.S.-Mexico border. The expiration of the order is expected to increase the number of migrants seeking entry to the U.S. Over eight days, starting April 8, troopers conducted more than 4,100 inspections of trucks. Troopers didnt find any contraband but took 850 trucks off the road for various violations related to their equipment. Other truckers were given warnings, and at least 345 were cited for things such as underinflated tires, broken turn signals and oil leaks. DPS Director Steve McCraw said at a Friday news conference with Abbott that the reason troopers hadnt found any drugs or migrants in commercial trucks is because drug cartels dont like troopers stopping them, certainly north of the border, and they certainly dont like 100% inspections of commercial vehicles on the bridges. And once that started, weve seen a decreased amount of trafficking across bridges common sense. But Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, an advocacy group for human rights in the Americas, said its not likely cartels stopped the smuggling of drugs because of the states inspections. He said many illegal drugs smuggled into the United States are hidden in small compartments or spare tires of peoples vehicles going through international bridges for tourists. He said if smugglers were trying to hide illegal drugs in a commercial truck, its most likely federal immigration officials found them before the trucks were directed to the DPS secondary inspections. It just seems odd to me that DPS would be that much of a deterrent for smugglers deciding whether to bring something after already passing through the gauntlet of CBP, he said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection routinely inspects commercial cargo coming from Mexico for illegal drugs and people being smuggled as soon as truckers cross the international bridges. CBP called Texas inspections duplicative and unnecessary. The state inspections created a backlog of 18-wheelers on both sides of the border, with truckers reporting delays of several hours up to a few days, when it usually takes between 20 minutes and a couple of hours for commercial trucks to cross after theyve been inspected by CBP. The delays also resulted in rotten produce and lost business for grocers. The states inspections at eight commercial bridges that connect Texas cities with Mexican cities in Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas ended Friday after Abbott signed agreements with the four Mexican governors that they would increase security measures to prevent the smuggling of drugs and migrants. Abbott has said he would bring back the secondary inspections if the governors security initiatives dont decrease the number of migrants attempting to cross the border. Abbott said the deals with the four governors were historic, calling them an example of how border states can work together on immigration. But three of the four Mexican governors said they will simply continue security measures they put in place before Abbott ordered the state inspections. Mexico is among the United States largest trading partners. The total trade between the two countries amounted to $56.25 billion in February, according to recent government data. Texas biggest ports of entry Port Laredo, Ysleta, Pharr International Bridge, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Brownsville International Bridge and Del Rio International Bridge accounted for nearly 65% of the total trade between the U.S. and Mexico in 2021. Reporters James Barragan and Mitchell Ferman contributed to this report. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. A San Antonio doctor has been charged with illegally dispensing tens of thousands of painkiller pills that authorities believe contributed to the opioid epidemic. Court records show Paul M. Silva could not authorize medications because his medical license in Texas has been temporarily suspended. He allegedly continued to issue more than 500 prescriptions to himself, family members, dead people and fake patients for oxycodone, hydrocodone, tramadol and other controlled medications. A criminal complaint affidavit said Silva had diverted more than 40,000 dosage units before federal agents arrested him at the St. Anthony Hotel downtown on Friday. He remains in custody pending a bail hearing next week. Silva did his internship and residency at Harvard Medical School in internal medicine before working for medical facilities in San Antonio, according to Texas Medical Board records and his LinkedIn profile. Most recently, he ran Libertad Internal Medicine Group on Thousand Oaks Drive, according to the medical board and court records. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and San Antonio police had been investigating the case for several months. The affidavit said the prescriptions were issued between August and the end of March. People are paying more attention to the regulations, so its harder to get away with that, said retired DEA Special Agent Dante Sorianello, who ran the San Antonio DEA office for several years. Most physicians are good, ethical people who follow the (rules). These cases are a very, very small percentage. In a memorandum issued March 18 ordering the temporary suspension of Silvas medical license, the medical board said Silva has two investigations and legal cases for failure to respond to subpoenas and other requests for information; failure to keep his address on file with the board and failure to inform patients that his practice was closed or closing so they could obtain their medical records. Based on the evidence presented...the panel determines that respondents continuation in the practice of medicine would constitute a continuing threat to the public welfare, the board wrote in its suspension memo. guillermo.contreras@express-news.net Every year I tell my husband that Passover is my favorite holiday and every year he acts surprised. I cant blame him. I complain about not being able to find Kosher for Passover options at the grocery store including non-leavened lunch items for the kids school and about preparing for the Seder. But, complaining is my love language and Passover is indeed the most meaningful holiday to me. Maybe thats why I, along with many of our Chronicle readers, was less than thrilled to see a photo featured of a certain Jesus-following Messianic group doing its version of a Seder. The question of who owns the Passover Seder raises a number of thorny questions. How do we tell the difference between disingenuous borrowing and sincere engagement? Jews arent the only group to struggle with this question of who has a right to a tradition. In this instance, how can the story of the Israelites escape from Pharaohs bondage possibly mean the same thing to non-Jewish groups who participate in Seders each year? Or to anybody who believes that Elijah whom we Jews open the door for each Passover in anticpation of his heralding in the coming of the messiah is already out of work? The short answer: it cant. That doesnt mean it cant be meaningful in a different way. A lot of good has come from interfaith efforts. Seders themselves are often opportunities for Jewish families to welcome others into their homes. But this has to be done with care and perhaps as a rule of thumb here with some actual Jews. Each year, I laugh along with other Jews at the ham-fisted pun intended Passover greetings from brands and politicians that include pictures of challah (a no-no during Passover) or apples and honey (wrong holiday). For many reasons, I feel protective over the ritual dinner where we retell the story of the exodus. The family tradition I grew up with evolved to a near perfect comedy routine by the time my siblings and I were opinionated teenagers. A proper Seder can stretch on for hours and though we never approached any world records, it was always a burden to my father, a Cleveland-raised kid who has spent his adult life rebelling against his more conservative religious upbringing. When do we eat? hed moan, as if he didnt know exactly when the first bites were coming in the lineup. Our Seders were one part current events panel debate and one part Saturday Night Live writers room, which felt just perfectly and wonderfully Jewish to me. Passover for me will also always be associated with my familys encounter with the Holocaust. The day after the holiday began in 1944, my great uncle and his family were taken to a ghetto, and later, to the concentration camps. An older sister had already made her way out of Europe when they were rounded up. He was the only person in his family to survive the camps, something he credited, in part, to the shoes that he slept with under his head and that protected his feet during forced labor and marches. And then there is the broader significance of the Passover story itself, which has grown to encompass not just Jews exodus from Egypt but our whole history and meaning as a people. The texts we read during the Seder use direct language: you came out of Egypt. Our Haggadot plural for Haggdah, the text containing the story and prayers that lead us through the dinner appeal to us in our current moment: now we are slaves; next year we will be free. By doing so, the Seder becomes intertwined with thousands of years of history to reflect on the ways we have endured as a community, in an ongoing conversation. Each year, we read the story and the questions that story has inspired, and we reaffirm who we are. When we taste the spring vegetable dipped in salt water, we remember the tears of our ancestors. And we remember that, for us, life is a study in contrasts. We mix bitterness with sweetness, slavery with freedom, past with future, is how one reading from A Night of Questions: A Passover Haggadah put it. We live with contrasts because we know that no moment exists without a multitude of combinations sorrow and joy, pain and comfort, despair and hope. When we ask the four questions, we remember not only our responsibility to pass down the stories but to continue to seek answers. To ask questions is to acknowledge first and foremost that we do not live in isolation, that we need each other, offers the Haggadah we used this year. To ask questions is to signify freedom. This is the beauty of Passover; its something so specific and yet, honoring it connects us to the broader world. Its something old and constantly new ever relevant. Though some non-Jews who have Seders today consider it a way to explore their Christian roots or connect with Jesus, the Last Supper did not resemble the Seder as we know it today. Jesus would have celebrated Passover much more simply, likely with a lamb slaughtered at the temple and eaten at home. The home Seder was likely a Rabbinic era invention whose exact development is hard to date but was likely commonplace generations after Jesus death. Since then, the ritual has continued to evolve and respond to its moment. In the late 1960s, for example, the Freedom Seder brought together some 800 people, Black and white, Jewish and Christian. In a Washington D.C. church basement, All power to the people, rang out one year after Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination. That Seder, and the Haggadah authored by its organizer Arthur Waskow, helped link the ritual to contemporary struggles against oppression and inspire new interpretations of the holiday. Today, new Haggadot hit the market every year with different reflections and reading. Even the Seder plate changes, such as when Jewish Studies scholar Susannah Heschel added the orange to recognize gay, lesbian and other marginalized Jews. The Jewish author and food historian Michael Twitty filled his Passover Seder with food connected to African and African American histories, such as sweet potato for the karpas and pecans and molasses in the charoset. Blackness deserves a seat at the Seder, Twitty told the New York Times. I use food to guarantee not just a place, but a legacy to build on. At other times, this expansive vision of Passover can blur things too much, sometimes past recognition. Reflecting on her experience as a Black Jew, physics and womens studies professor Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, wrote about the not uncommon practice of Seders that include spirituals or readings from the Civil Rights era that include the word Negro that are often sung and read by white Jews in a way that, she argues, performs Blackness. Instead of leaning on someone elses culture, white Jews, she writes, should ask themselves whether this inclusion is a year-round commitment and what it means to them personally. You may find yourself feeling like you do not know how to ask. That is a fine place to begin the story. A fine place indeed for a night about questions. To non-Jews who borrow the Passover Seder, Id offer similar advice. There are deep reasons why its painful for many Jews to see Messianic groups at the center of Jewish traditions. Seders can bring people of many backgrounds into rich and meaningful conversations but they need to be undertaken with, well, good faith. Leah Binkovitz is a member of the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board and a senior editorial writer. In the mid-1960s, tugboats contracted by McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corporation regularly ferried barges of sludge and pulp from the Champion Papers, Inc. mill in Pasadena and dumped them into two 14-acre open pits along the San Jacinto River. Over the next four decades, the pits overflowed with so much sludge and runoff that the walls gave way and the whole toxic stew was inundated by the river. Dioxins including chemicals that federal authorities have said probably cause cancer were released into the water on the north side of the Interstate 10 bridge, where they settled deep into the sediment and surrounding waterways. Another portion of the pits is south of the bridge and still buried under dry land. This is the grim legacy of the San Jacinto Waste Pits: scores of pollutants contaminating soil and groundwater, all in an area of East Harris County that is home to unexplained clusters of skin, eye and brain cancer among children. If youve ever swum or fished near Pasadena, Deer Park, Channelview, Baytown or Highlands, theres a chance you were exposed to one of the more than 30 dioxin hotspots identified by University of Houston researchers decades after the pits were submerged. A temporary cap of fabric and concrete over one section of the pits is the only thing supposedly keeping the dioxins and PCBs combinations of chlorinated compounds frequently used in paints, plastics and other products from spreading further, though even that has required extensive repairs over the years to patch leaks. Why, then, has it taken so long for the pits to be cleaned up? Evidence of the pits having been inundated by the river was first discovered by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials in 2005. By 2008, the site was on the federal Superfund list. In October, 2017, the EPA ordered that the site be cleaned up, at a cost of about $115 million. The next year, it reached an agreement with International Paper Company the company that took over Champion and McGinnes on how to proceed. Nearly five years after the EPAs final action, Texans living near the toxic site are still waiting for the cleanup. The EPA has already granted the companies several extensions to take more soil samples to figure out how exactly to excavate the river bottom at this site, but in March the companies asked for yet another delay. On HoustonChronicle.com: From 2014: Jackie Young Medcalf From Houston Rodeo queen to environmental champion. In a March 24 letter, International Paper Co. and McGinnes officials told the EPA the latest soil samples show even more work is needed to clean the site. To its credit, the EPA refused to take the bait. Sure, the EPA said in a letter back, some details of the cleanup may have to be altered down the road. But thats no reason to delay completing the 90-percent design study for the remediation due June 26. No doubt, the costs of the cleanup are painful to International Paper Company and McGinnes, who are decades removed from the dumping that created the toxic mess. Theyve already paid $29 million in state fines, too. But they assumed the risk and liability associated with decades of legacy pollution left behind by industrial predecessors. And in 2018, they agreed to clean up the site. Chalk it up to the cost of doing business in a hazardous industry. The impact on local residents people has been severe, and not everyone seems to even be aware of the risks the chemicals continue to pose. Its not uncommon to see fishermen tending their lines or beachgoers lounging a stones throw from the waste pits. Delaying the cleanup further will only exacerbate the risk of exposure to potentially lethal chemicals. And as the EPA made clear years ago determining the cleanup was necessary, the site remains vulnerable to hurricanes or other large storms that could distribute chemicals now trapped in place all up and down the coast. To understand those risks best, just ask Jackie Medcalf, executive director of the Texas Health and Environment Alliance. Medcalf grew up two miles from the pits in the Highlands and dealt with health issues for years. She regularly had seizures and wore wrist braces for tremors and nerve pain. Family members and household pets were stricken with cancer. She eventually learned that many of her neighbors were also experiencing similar health problems. Few people can better speak to the urgency of getting the pits cleaned up. It cant happen fast enough, Medcalf told the editorial board. Had these companies just gotten to work when they were directed by the EPA and not had delay after delay, most of the time for the exact same reason, they should already being doing construction by now. Enough is enough. No more stalling tactics and flimsy excuses. The companies responsible for the toxic waste along the San Jacinto River need to get to work cleaning it up. Regarding Pitts: The Republican Party is a clear and present danger and Credibility gap, (April 17): I dont know if it was intentional, but Leonard Pitts column last weekend was the perfect response to the letters on the opposing page criticizing his previous column. And because you cant reason with a brick wall, Im sure it will spawn another volley of angry letters from those who are addicted to the false equivalence dispensed by conservative media. Sorry, but I dont see Democrats attempting a coup because they lost an election, then trying to whitewash a deadly insurrection as legitimate political discourse. I dont see Democrats boycotting presidential debates. I dont see folks at Democratic campaign rallies talking about arming themselves to take their country back by force. And I dont see liberal pundits leaving MSNBC in droves because it knowingly airs false information. This is not a both sides thing. Since Newt Gingrich was House Speaker, a cynical contingent of Republicans has been consolidating its power by making people angry, then leveraging that anger to demonize Democrats, along with any Republican moderates who question increasingly radical dogma. The conservative media has contributed to and profited from this arrangement, one in which there are few disincentives for spreading false information. With inherent flaws and biases, the press is fair game to criticism, but when you run out of credible arguments, you dont get to just make stuff up. I am constantly amazed at how easily manipulated people become once you tell them theyre too smart to fall for mainstream media. Robert Campbell, Katy I believe a newspaper columnists job is to offer readers his reflections, thoughts or viewpoints. It is opinion, except when coming from Mr. Pitts. In the Sunday column, he said America needs to face...the simple, chilling fact that the Republican Party is a clear and present danger. Other comments include that the party is steering the country to jagged rocks. The column is an outlier; its extreme, contemptuous and destroying any sense of a common American narrative. Trashing half the electorate and dripping spite, this column is the hallmark of hate and division, and is something that we should avoid. Bill Wood, Houston Texas City Disaster Regarding Texas City focused on rebirth on the 75th anniversary of deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history, (April 16): I was 11 years old and outside at recess with my class at Mae Smythe Elementary in Pasadena when we felt the explosion. My father, an employee in the foamite department of Humble Oil in Baytown, was transported with his whole staff of professional firefighters to Texas City. Without a telephone, it was a week before we knew where my father was, or if he and the others were even alive, since many more explosions took place after they arrived. Months later, dad took me and mother to Texas City to see the devastation. I still remember what impressed me the most: the dozens of imploded oil and chemical storage tanks because there was little else left to view. And now I find myself living where it all took place. Carol J. Rhodes, Texas City Foreign aid Regarding New life for extra vaccines from U.S., (April 18): The Chronicle republished a heartwarming story about a father and son, Dr. Victor Trevino, the Laredo Health Authority, and Victor Trevino Jr., collecting unused COVID vaccines in America and administering them in Nuevo Laredo. Mexican vaccine recipients take buses to the international bridge between the two cities. Health workers board the buses and administer the shots. This raises the vaccinated rate in Nuevo Laredo, a city of nearly half a million people, while also protecting people in Laredo. But on April 19, the vaccine story in the Chronicle was grim: Calls renewed to pass pandemic funding. To appease Republicans spending concerns, $5 billion for global vaccination was removed from Congress proposed pandemic aid package. Worldwide, the percentage of vaccinated people in wealthy countries is high, around 80 percent. In poor countries, its alarmingly low, an estimated 16 percent. Have we forgotten the dangerous variants that arose in unvaccinated people? Getting vaccines into as many arms as possible, worldwide, keeps us all safer. On average, 37,000 new cases are being identified daily here. Americans are still dying. When we protect others, were protecting ourselves as well. Nancy Perich Daly, Houston Regarding Opinion: Yemen truce is good news for the wider world, (April 20): Surprised to see Texas Childrens Hospitals full page ad in support of Ukraine. Funny, I dont recall seeing any hospital ads supporting Yemen, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq during their humanitarian crises. Guess you are not a worthy victim if your problems come from a U.S. gun or U.S. invasion. Steve Smith, Sugar Land My two oldest daughters have recently entered the workforce. One is pursuing her dream career in social services, while the other has landed happily in a high-stakes tech job in Silicon Valley. As dissimilar as their work lives will be, theyve both received, over and over, the same career advice: Put off children, or dont have them at all. So far, both are heeding this counsel, but for very different reasons. One because of the staggering financial cost of raising children, the other because of a 24/7 workplace culture. It doesnt have to be this way. Parents need more support, and fast. If we dont reorient society to provide it, even Texas wont be able to import enough people to keep its population growing or even stable. As the U.S. searches for its new normal in a not-quite-post-pandemic world, much attention has been paid to the dual crises of labor shortages and womens exodus from the workforce. We ought to be devoting similar thought to an equally pressing and indisputably related problem: our nations declining fertility rate and what were doing or not doing to reverse it. The U.S. birthrate is at an all-time low, with the pandemic exacerbating a downward trend. Fertility rates declined for the sixth straight year in 2020, and the birthrate for women in their 20s has fallen by 28 percent since its recent peak in 2007. Dana Suskind, MD Americans are having fewer children than the minimum of 2 needed to maintain a steady population, a pattern that is expected to remain true for the foreseeable future. In 1950, women had, on average, 3 children. Today women have, on average, around 1.8. In Texas, the birth rate is declining even faster than the national average, according to recent data, raising concerns among demographers and economists that the state will see significant labor shortages in the next two decades. While Texas is still the fastest growing state in the nation, that growth largely stems from net migration from other states namely California, New York, Illinois and Florida and other countries, including Mexico, China and India. Immigration alone wont be enough to offset the declining birth rate, Pia Orrenius, vice president and senior economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, recently told the Dallas Morning News. Immigration is never going to be the answer, Orrenius said. It can be part of the answer. For now, Texas low birth rate means fewer people buying homes and stocks, fewer nurses and in-home caregivers, fewer taxpayers to fund Social Security and Medicare. In Italy, rapid drops in fertility have led to closing hospitals and schools. The cost of babies Parenting has always been difficult but if you hear a young person complaining about how its gotten harder, believe them. Consider this: as of 2018, the cost of child care had already increased by 65 percent since the early 1980s and now costs more than college tuition or a monthly mortgage in many states. Its hardly surprising that my daughters are putting off having children. Young people dont want to have children in a country that leaves parents of young children utterly alone to navigate this cost. A national poll conducted by Morning Consult for the New York Times found that about a quarter of respondents who had children or planned to have children said they had fewer or expected to have fewer than they wanted. The largest shares said they delayed or stopped having children because of concerns about having enough time or money. . Further complicating matters, both work and parenting have become more demanding in recent years, making it more difficult than ever to balance the two. American parents spend more money and time on their children than any previous generation. Since the 1980s, the number of hours that parents spend on child care has risen, especially for college-educated parents, for whom it has doubled. In parallel, it has become increasingly expensive to pay for center-based child care providers. During the pandemic alone, the average price for child care center services in Texas increased by over 50 percent. It all takes a toll. Studies consistently reveal that parents are, on average, less happy than non-parents. When researchers looked at the happiness differential in close to two dozen countries, they found the United States has the biggest happiness gap between parents and non-parents. University of Texas sociology professor Jennifer Glass, who led the research, found the gap was entirely explained by the absence of social policies allowing parents to more easily combine paid work with family obligations. Of course, a drop in unintended pregnancies and an increase in womens autonomy also contributes to the overall decline in births. We can simultaneously celebrate these advances while taking steps to ensure that women and men who want to have children feel they can do so without sabotaging their emotional or financial well-being in the process. Go big for babies Government certainly has a role to turn the baby bust around but that wont be enough. It will take businesses leading the way. A number of European countries have introduced government incentives to increase birth rates, but few appear to be moving the needle. Italys fertility rate remains one of the lowest in the European Union 1.24 children per woman despite a program launched in 2015 that pays couples a generous stipend per birth. Perhaps what we need to learn from Europeans is to make a stronger business case for addressing the baby bust. Much has changed in the five decades since Milton Friedman, a University of Chicago professor like me, wrote his enormously influential New York Times essay arguing that the business of business is business that a companys sole responsibility is to return profits to its shareholders. Our best path forward is a reorienting of society especially at work around support for parents. Texas, with its population heft, its business acumen and its willingness to think big, could lead the way in reversing this trend. Platitudes about family-friendliness arent enough. Not when 77 percent of Americans working in the private sector lack paid parental leave and 1 in 4 mothers return to work 10-14 days after giving birth. Not when two-thirds of children under 6 live in homes where all parents work, and the U.S. is the only country among 41 nations that doesnt mandate any paid leave for new parents, according to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Our policymakers and business leaders lament the current labor shortages, but theyre doing little to usher in the social infrastructure necessary for parents to work: accessible, and high-quality child care, portable worker benefits, robust parental leave policies, and universal pre-kindergarten. It's past time for us to recognize parents for what they are: the guardians of our future well-being and prosperity. And we must help them in that critical endeavor. That means engaging business leaders as well as policymakers in the quest to get parents the support they need and deserve. First, the government must invest more in families and ensure parents have real choice when it comes to child-rearing. Parents who want to work outside the home should be able to, secure in the knowledge that their children will be cared for at an affordable, high-quality center. And parents who want to stay home should be able to, secure in their ability to cover their bills while they do the important work of bonding and building their childs brain in those early weeks and months. Second, the private sector must adopt family-friendly policies and a culture that encourages workers to use them. Im encouraged by early signs pointing toward businesses seeking and adopting ways to be allies for employees and their families. Kendra Scott, an Austin-based jewelry line now worth over one billion dollars, is a perfect example. Scott established a thoroughly family-first company culture, offering parental leave to everyone, including part-time employees; fertility and adoption assistance; and generous paid time off. Scott even established a family fund, supported by employee donations and by Scott herself, to help workers facing unforeseen financial hardship a home damaged in a hurricane, a family member with a sudden illness or injury. And because life happens in smaller ways as well, Scotts company also instituted a pass-the-baby policy. Babysitter sick? Child care center closed? No problem. Just bring your child to work. And starting this year, Kendra Scott is even making Mothers Day a paid company holiday. More and more companies are getting the memo. Im honored to be speaking at the Best Place For Working Parents Summit in Fort Worth in early May, where business leaders from across the country will gather to discuss what it means to be family-friendly, through workplace policies that benefit working parents and businesses alike. I believe theres a way to interpret Friedmans assessment of corporate responsibility that backs up more support for parents. A firms bottom line depends on both near-term and long-term profits. When a farmer fertilizes his crop in the spring, it raises costs and lowers profits in that quarter, but fertilizing ensures a plentiful harvest and profits in the fall. A literal interpretation of Friedmans focus on profits would call for a re-investment in todays family, not a further de-investment. And while such investments should center and celebrate parents, they shouldnt fall solely on parents to fund and maintain. As a pediatric cochlear implant surgeon, there is no greater joy than snuggling against my little patients as I walk them to the operating room something I take extra delight in now that my own children, all eight of them, tower over me. My husband and I are raising four daughters and four sons. The potential for a gaggle of grandchildren for me to snuggle against one day seems imminently promising, but we still need to assure young people that parenting is not just noble, but doable. I hope my oldest daughters and the rest of my children indeed, all young people can soon look around and see that society stands ready to support and celebrate them in one of lifes greatest endeavors. When it comes to helping America and its children meet their full promise, it doesnt just take a village: It takes a nation. Dana Suskind is professor of surgery, pediatrics and public policy (affiliated) and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago, and author of the forthcoming book Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child's Potential, Fulfilling Society's Promise. After police arrested Robert Carter in connection with six brutal Central Texas killings in 1992, they asked him if anyone had helped. Yes, he said, Anthony Graves. It was a lie. Graves, a distant acquaintance, had nothing to do with the crime, Carter later admitted, reiterating it in his last words when executed for the murders in May 2000. Graves was separately convicted and sentenced to death for the crimes in 1994. In 2010, he was released from prison when authorities determined he had been innocent. Prosecutors had withheld exculpatory evidence from his defense attorneys. The system stole 18.5 years of my life from me for a crime I knew absolutely nothing about, Graves, who later received a $1.5 million settlement from the state, said in an interview. But I would be naive to say I was the only one who was innocent in there. Texas relies on the death penalty far more than any other state, with 573 executions since 1982. Over the last 50 years, the modern era of the death penalty, Texas has executed more than the next six states combined, and more than a third of the national total. Executions across the country peaked in 1999 at 98, and have declined in recent years, with 17 in 2020 and 11 in 2021. On HoustonChronicle.com: More than 80 Texas lawmakers request reprieve for Melissa Lucio, scheduled for execution in April The practice has regained a spotlight in Texas as the state prepares to execute Melissa Lucio on Wednesday. She would be the first Latina put to death by Texas in the modern era and the first woman since 2014. A majority of both the Texas House and the Senate have called for a delay amid Lucios claims of innocence and questions around her conviction. Although capital crimes, or crimes punishable by death, make up a small portion of overall crime in the United States, death row exonerations occur with far more frequency than their share. The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonpartisan group that tracks research on the death penalty, estimates there have been 186 death row exonerations in the last 50 years, one for every eight executions. A 2019 review by the National Academy of Sciences found 4 percent of people on death row are likely innocent. In Texas, 10 people have been executed since 1989 despite strong evidence of innocence, according to the death penalty center. Thats half of all questionable executions it lists nationally. The center and other groups that track executions, some of which oppose the death penalty, have identified just under 20 Texans freed from death row after wrongful convictions, either due to innocence or lack of lawfully acquired evidence against them. Pressure for convictions Research suggests that courts are more likely to discover wrongful convictions in capital cases after the fact, that police and prosecutors are more likely to wrongfully convict people in the most serious cases, or both. In terms of whether we make more mistakes in the most serious cases, thats entirely plausible, said Barbara OBrien, a law professor and editor of the National Registry of Exonerations. If you go to the cops and you say somebody broke into my car and stole old CDs, unless they catch somebody in the act, theyre not going to investigate it Theyre not going to interrogate someone for 36 hours. Race may also be a factor. Nationally, Black people are sentenced to death disproportionately more than other races: 43 percent of those executed in the last 50 years have been Black, and more than half of those currently on death row are Black. Capital convictions are also more common when the victim was white. Researchers find the most common causes of exonerations are police or prosecutorial misconduct, followed by perjury and false accusations, shoddy forensic evidence, poor defense lawyers, mistaken witnesses, false confessions and finally DNA exonerations. Thats especially true in murder cases and cases involving the deaths of children. (Prosecutors and police) are much more likely to develop tunnel vision in (capital) cases because theyre emotionally invested in solving them. There are also political pressures that are involved, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the DPIC, noting that informant testimony is used more in capital cases, and perjury and false testimony appear more prevalent in those cases. Prosecutors feel a need to fill the holes, he said. They are more likely to fill the holes with unreliable testimony or false testimony. Graves, who now works as a community liaison for the Houston Public Defenders Office, said news coverage plays a negative role in high-profile cases. Once a suspect is named, their face and the allegations are pasted across headlines and TV screens, making them effectively guilty until proven innocent, he said. On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas DA stuns lawmakers as he refuses to stop Lucio execution, says he might do it later Others say the system is designed fairly and works when attorneys follow the law. Prosecutors are required to share evidence with defense attorneys, who then try to poke holes in it, and if theres a guilty verdict, the convicted have years to appeal to higher courts. Nobody nobody wants to convict an innocent person, said Lisa Tanner, a former prosecutor with the state attorney generals office who worked on homicide and sex crime prosecutions, including about a half-dozen capital cases. The whole system can be frustrating, and its designed to be that way and its supposed to be that way so nobody can run roughshod over anything. Wrongful convictions may be discovered at higher rates in capital murder cases because of the lengthy review processes before executions. Half of all death row wait-times have been longer than a decade. Defendants also get access to specialized federal public defenders, and high-powered law firms sometimes take them on pro bono, as well as groups dedicated to the work, such as the Innocence Project. People who are sentenced to death who are innocent are kind of lucky, OBrien said. Theres no way to spin that thats not terrible, but if youre sentenced to life without parole your chances of getting anyone to look at that are much lower. A coerced admission? Five of the jurors who convicted Lucio now say they regret it. Experts who have reviewed footage of Lucios admission during a long interrogation by police I guess I did it, Im responsible say it was coerced and twisted by prosecutors to make the case against her. And medical experts presented by Lucios lawyers have testified that the death of Lucios daughter Mariah was not the result of abuse, but rather consistent with a head injury sustained from a fall down the stairs days earlier. During a Texas House hearing on the case this month, the district attorney pressing for her execution dismissed questions many have raised over the evidence and the fairness of her trial. I dont agree with the conclusions that the so-called experts have reached, said Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, who asked the court to set the April 27 execution date. Saenz said its up to the appellate courts to weigh such matters; his office has resisted efforts from Lucios legal team for a re-trial or independent investigation of her daughters death. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Lucios conviction rested on medical testimony and her admission of responsibility for bruises on her daughters body, which psychologists and legal scholars have since suggested was coerced. Lucio was pregnant with twins at the time of the lengthy interrogation, and experts say her personal history as a survivor of domestic violence may have made her more psychologically vulnerable to a coerced confession. Saenz told lawmakers he may delay Lucios execution if there are still pending legal matters. But he said doing so could be unfair to others on death row, who he suggested sarcastically are also innocent. Graves said he met many death row inmates who did not claim to be innocent, and its important to listen when people do maintain their innocence. About one-tenth of those sentenced to death eventually drop their appeals. Dont get caught up saying, oh everybody says theyre innocent, Graves said. This thing is about human life, human dignity, and we shouldnt be taking it for granted. edward.mckinley@chron.com Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. 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. Lee Bank is set to begin construction on South Street location. Lee Bank to Start Construction on Second Pittsfield Location PITTSFIELD, Mass. Nearly six months after Lee Bank was given the OK to move forward with a second location on South Street, the bank intends to begin construction. The Community Development Board reviewed and approved the proposal's landscaping plan on Tuesday. This was the condition of a prior approval made last summer before the issuance of a building permit. "They are ready to begin construction, I signed off on the foundation permit after speaking to [Chair Sheila Irvin] last week just to allow them to get started," City Planner CJ Hoss explained. "But I think they are hoping to get a sign-off potentially as soon as tonight even if the board does have some outstanding concerns that would like to see addressed." The bank intends to build a mixed-use, two-story, 5,400-square-foot building that will consist of a first-floor bank with two drive-through windows and second-floor residential units located at the corner of South Street and Reed Street. In August, the board had passed two special permits and a site plan for the new build, one to waive loading zone requirements and a 25-foot setback exception was approved with the condition that the applicants submit a more detailed landscaping plan and have the bank's sign mounted on the building rather than on the lawn. The panel wanted to see a plan that resembles more of an urban plaza than traditional landscaping, Hoss explained. "This particular solution that we came up with was derived for a few reasons," project architect Anthony Allegrone said. "One, it incorporates green space or grass ways as a result of the desire to incorporate greenery into the setback condition, from our standpoint, both us and SK Design, urban doesn't necessarily mean entirely hardscape, it means sort of shaping the landscape between these buildings and assisting with softening the Reed Street overall, which partly was due to the reason as to why we wanted to pull the building back a bit along with gaining some daylight to that space." He pointed out that there was an original goal for the bank to have an outdoor space, which influenced the setback proposal. "And the setback condition at the corner is really meant to in part tie in with the new sidewalk scope of work as you move down Reed Street," Allegrone said. "So you can see there's landscape as you move down Reed Street that incorporates greenery and plantings as well and it's really meant to merge with that entire greenway to some extent, overall, and really tie in together for sort of seamless way to soften Reed Street in some ways." In October, the City Council passed a special permit application for the construction of a drive-through window service on the site with one condition -- requiring a raised right-turn median instead of a painted one at the intersection of the streets. To accommodate the drive-through, the first 290 feet of Reed Street from South Street will be converted to two-way traffic. The architect also addressed previously voiced concerns about the upkeep of the green space. He said that this influenced the planners to create a simplistic area with minimal maintenance to avoid it becoming overgrown. Allegrone's explanation was predated by some concern from Irvin and support from fellow board member Libby Herland. "As I recall, there was some concern, first of all about having that kind of non-urban green space in the first place, and from my perspective, it's still non-urban green space, it's just a couple of benches and some shrubs," Irvin said. "So on the part of the board, we need to know kind of what your assessment is of that green space as an urban green space and what advice or concern you want to relay to the applicant." Questions Sought for Williamstown Candidate Forums WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Residents are encouraged to submit questions for a pair of candidate forums in Williamstown on Tuesday. The Williamstown chapter of the League of Women Voters is hosting the forums for candidates running for two seats on the Select Board and one seat on the Planning Board. League member Jennifer Howlett will be the moderator. The forums will be held starting at 4 p.m. at Town Hall and will be taped by the town's community access television station, Willinet. The public is invited to attend in person. Candidates for the Planning Board will appear from 4-6 p.m., followed immediately by the candidates for the Select Board. Candidates will make opening and closing statements, and members of the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions. The candidates planning to attend are: for Planning Board, Carin DeMayo-Wall and Kenneth Kuttner; and for Select Board, Bilal Ansari, Randall Fippinger and Jane Patton. Either Kuttner or DeMayo-Wall will be elected on May 10 for a five-year seat on the Planning Board. There are two seats on the ballot for the Select Board. Incumbent Patton is running for another three-year term. The top two vote-getters among the three candidates on the ballot will be elected to the board. All questions submitted for Tuesday evening's forums should be addressed to all of the candidates running for a particular office. Questions can be emailed to Mary Lovvorn at zrobi@hotmail.com The League of Women Voters is tentatively planning an April 29 forum via Zoom for the five candidates running for four three-year seats on the Milne Public Library Board of Trustees. Incumbents Michael Manary, Bridget Spann and Timothy Cherubini are on the ballot along with Robin Lenz and Hale Polebaum-Freeman. Weekend Outlook: Daffodils & All That Jazz Berkshire County will be hosting a variety of indoor and outdoor events this warm weekend including festivals, dance parties, museum activities, and performances from world renowned performers. Daffodil and Tulip Festival Naumkeag, Stockbridge Naumkeag is kicks off its 4th annual Daffodil and Tulip Festival this weekend that will run throughout the months of April and May. The event will showcase more than 130,000 daffodil, tulip and minor bulbs across their 8 acres of land. The 48-acre estate will be decorated with "with a variety of blooms, containers, displays and decorations against the backdrop of stunning views of Monument Mountain and the Berkshire Hills," according to the Trustees of Reservations. Mixed bouquets, container plants, and a pre-sale of spring bulbs will be sold at a pop-up shop outside the greenhouse. Food and refreshments will be for sale at the outdoor snack shack. Admittance to the inside of the house will be permitted for self-guided tours of the first floor and to provide access to the museum's gift shop. Tickets to the festival must be purchased in advance and will not be sold on site. Visitors must arrive during their arrival window and cannot be accommodated if early or late. The museum requests visitors limit their stay to one hour due to the high number of participants. For more information on the Daffodil and Tulip Festival or to purchase tickets visit here ViewEscapes: George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture Naumkeag, Stockbridge Naumkeag will also be opening the "ViewEscapes: George Rickey Kinetic Sculpture exhibit this weekend which will run until Nov. 1. The exhibit showcases 12 large sculptures outside and eight more inside the "cottage" along with three works of art. This is not the first time Rickey has presented his work at Naumkeag. He had two exhibitions of sculptures, in 1994 and 1997. Naumkeag officials say the landscape blends well with the energy of his work in motion making it an ideal setting. Pittsfield City Jazz Festival 111 South St, Pittsfield The annual Pittsfield City Jazz Festival is returning this weekend after two years of absence because of the pandemic. Local and visiting artists will be performing jazz in many locations throughout Pittsfield. The festival kicks off Saturday with the Berkshire Jazz Jam at Mission Restaurant from 7 until 10 p.m. This event is the first form of "Jazz About Town." The second form is the Jazz Crawl, which is held next Saturday, April 30, at various venues in Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District. The festival runs from April 23 until May 1 as part of Jazz Appreciation Month thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Feigenbaum Foundation and sponsorships from Berkshire Bank, Greylock Federal Credit Union, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, and WETF, the jazz station. Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble The Common, Pittsfield Due to inclement weather the Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble was postponed to this weekend. This warm weekend is looking much more hopeful. The event will take place this Saturday morning from 10:30 until about 11:25. Families will get a chance to meet and take pictures with the Easter Bunny before he hops back to Easter Island. Balloon creations and a hunt for Easter eggs will also be taking place with a chance for children to win an award for each age group. Jack Ferver Gallery Pop-Up Mass MoCA, North Adams Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art will be hosting a performance by writer, choreographer, and director Jack Ferver at 4 p.m. this Saturday when he will be discussing and performing an excerpt of their new upcoming solo work "Is Global Warming Camp? and other forms of theatrical distance for the end of the world." The work will explore "the journalistic distance of the queer, weaponizing theatricality for vantage points ranging from intimate to cold in viewing our overwhelming global failures." Mass MoCA's website said. The performance will take place in Marc Swansons exhibition on a stage purposely built for Fever inside the installation. Swanson and Ferver have collaborated in the past including the "Chambre" performance in 2015 and the "Two Alike" performance in 2012. The performance is free with admission to the museum. Spring Break Weekend Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge The Norman Rockwell Museum will be hosting an indoor family event this Saturday at 10 until 4. The event will feature a children's guide throughout the gallery where kids will participate in a gallery scavenger hunt. There will also be drawing activities and a word game. At 11 a.m. and noon there will be a story time in the gallery during which Rockwell's only children's book, "Willie was Different," will be read. Children will take home their own stencil kit at the end. This event is free with admission to the museum. South Berkshire Concert: Francesca Anderegg Daniel Arts Center, Great Barrington Violinist Francesca Anderegg will be performing at Simon's Rock College of Bard this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with admission free and open to the public. Vaccination certificates and masks are required. Anderegg will be accompanied by pianist Matthew McCright. The program will include works by Clara Schumann, Gra'zyna Bacewicz, Hannah Lash, Jessie Montgomery, and also will include the Violin Sonata of Amy Beach. For further information, call 413-528-7212. Anderegg comes from a musical family in the Berkshires and studied at Harvard University for her undergraduate degree and earned her masters and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School. Grant Supports Ecological Restoration and Climate Resilience in the Berkshires PITTSFIELD, Mass. On behalf of the Berkshire Clean, Cold and Connected (BCCC) Restoration Partnership, the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) has entered into a three-year Cooperative Agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) to support healthy aquatic systems and address climate change in Berkshire County. The Cooperative Agreement is expected to provide approximately $350,000 in grant funding to support a new BCCC Restoration Partnership Coordinator position based in HVA's Stockbridge office, and further aquatic habitat enhancement projects like culvert replacement and stream restoration. Funds were awarded by DER through its new Regional Restoration Partnerships Program, which is aimed at helping nonprofits and Regional Planning Agencies increase their capacity to collaborate and advance ecological restoration work. "If we want to effectively conserve aquatic biodiversity in the Berkshires in a changing climate, we've got to build capacity within and collaboration between conservation practitioners already doing great work to right-size culverts, remove dams, and restore streams and wetlands. We also need to bring other partners in to make these projects successful in the long-term," said Mike Jastremski, HVA's Watershed Conservation Director. "These resources and relationships are absolutely critical for getting more of this important work done, and done well." The BCCC Restoration Partnership is a network of key stakeholders in Berkshire County organizations, agencies, and communitiesworking to keep the Hoosic, Housatonic, and Farmington River watersheds healthy and thriving. BCCC Restoration Partnership organizations include Trout Unlimited (TU), Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC), Hoosic River Watershed Association (HooRWA), Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA), and Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). "The natural environment and wild rivers are integral to the character of the Berkshires for residents and visitors alike. The Berkshire Clean, Cold, and Connected partnership is an excellent opportunity to support projects that enhance our natural assets holistically, regionally, and with all the partners at the table. This is invaluable as we look to address older infrastructure in the face of climate change," said Courtney Morehouse, BPRC's Environmental & Energy Program Senior Planner. Alison Dixon, HVA's Berkshire Watershed Manager, expects that other organizations will be included in and benefit from the BCCC Restoration Partnership as it gains momentum. "The idea is to create a framework that organizations, agencies and communities with a variety of different missions and priorities can plug in to. Aquatic habitat restoration projects can accomplish multiple objectives- conserving the natural heritage of the Berkshires, yes, but also reducing flood risk, protecting water quality and creating better opportunities for outdoor recreation," she said. "Our main goal is to work with everyone that has a stake in aquatic habitat restoration to find common ground among all those objectives. This support for collaboration is exactly what we need to get more good projects in the ground. We are so grateful to DER for the opportunity to be a part of this critical work that not only restores aquatic connectivity in ecologically sensitive areas but increases climate resilience in the natural and built environments of the Berkshires." In the first year, the BCCC Restoration Partnership will identify, develop, and prioritize aquatic habitat restoration opportunities to create a Restoration Partnership Action Plan for the region, which includes the Housatonic, Hoosic and Farmington River watersheds within Berkshire County. "As the new executive director of the Hoosic River Watershed Association (HooRWA), this collaborative project was a dream to walk into. And I am so grateful that, collectively, we will have a supported position to ensure our work gets accomplished effectively and efficiently," said Arianna Alexsandra Collins. The BCCC Restoration Partnership is one of three Regional Restoration Partnerships funded through this new DER program. Other funded Restoration Partnerships are associated with the Buzzards Bay watershed and the Merrimack River watershed. "Trout Unlimited is excited to participate in the Berkshire Cold, Clean, and Connected Restoration Partnership with HVA," Erin Rodgers, Project Coordinator for TU's Northeast Coldwater Habitat Restoration Program said. "This collaboration is a fantastic opportunity to build the region's capacity to become more flood resilient and improve our ecological and water quality. We look forward to working with the partnership on maintaining the health of our rivers and fisheries." Reading with Xi Jinping | The Old Man and the Sea 08:05, April 23, 2022 By Liu Ning, Yuan Meng, Su Yingxiang, Xu Xiangli, Zhang Wenjie ( People's Daily Online Under Ernest Hemingways pen, the novella The Old Man and the Sea tells the story of an aging fisherman who engages in an epic battle to catch a giant marlin. With simple yet powerful words, the American writers book struck a chord with Chinese President Xi Jinping. To experience both the inner world of Hemingway and the environment he was in when he wrote his books, Xi, during his two visits to Cuba, made a point of visiting the places Hemingway frequented. He made his first visit to the Latin American country during his time as an official in China's Fujian Province. During that time, he stopped by the pier where Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea. There he saw scenes from the novella, and dined at the hotel where Hemingway wrote his stories. When he paid his second visit to Cuba as Chinas Vice President in 2011, Xi dropped by the bar where Hemingway was a regular customer, and ordered a mojito Hemingway's favorite drink. Xi shared his appreciation of Hemingway with workers in China's cultural and art industry at the Symposium of Cultural and Art Work held October 2014 in Beijing. While delivering a speech at a welcoming dinner in Seattle on September 22, 2015, he once again lauded the literary giant and his timeless work of The Old Man and the Sea. Xi was captivated by the descriptions of howling winds, driving rain, roaring waves, the small boat, the old man and the sharks in The Old Man and the Sea. But Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated. Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated. The book is a true source of inspiration in showing us that when we face setbacks and failures, we must overcome ourselves first to secure a victory in the struggle against destiny. (Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Du Mingming) This years World Book and Copyright Day celebrated on 23 April comes at a crucial point in the conflict between authors and the internet giants as unions step up calls to ensure journalists are paid for the use of their work. The International and the European Federations of journalists (IFJ/EFJ) call on governments and civil society to ensure that internet giants do not control information and that journalists receive a fair share of the benefits collected when their works are being used by the tech corporations. The IFJ and EFJ have warned against the ongoing business models of big tech giants such as Facebook (Meta) and Google (Alphabet) making benefits by distributing words, images and sounds that others have authored and performed. "Facebook and Google between them have monopolised the worldwide advertising market, wreaking havoc on the financial foundations of independent news reporting," the federations say. In response, governments are seeking ways to make them pay. They are fighting back. Authors Rights In most of the world, the approach to ensuring that creativity is rewarded is to legislate Authors Rights which are at root rights of the individual human creator. Against that background, in 2019 the European Union adopted the Directive on Copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market which includes a measure granting news publishers a so-called neighbouring right to authorise for a fee re-publication of the content they put out. The Directive is not perfect. The IFJ and EFJ proposed that journalists should receive a minimum percentage of publishers revenues from the internet giants, distributed through collecting societies. The directive contains a general commitment that journalists receive an appropriate share of the revenues collected. "Many EU member states have missed the deadline to transpose the Directive into their national law," the federations regret. "Some have added undesirable law that isnt in the Directive such as a presumption that the work of employed journalists belongs to the publisher, as in the copyright system." In several EU member states Google in particular is trying to avoid the legal requirement to pay by bundling up offers to news publishers that include payments at its sole discretion under its News Showcase product. In the copyright system In the English-speaking world copyright is a property right. It presumes, for example, that the author of a work done under a contract of employment is the employer, not the human behind the creation. Against this background, in 2021 Australia passed a news code defying a threat by Google to withdraw all search services from the country. It operates under competition law, not intellectual property law: it allows news publishers to get together to negotiate with internet giants, without such collaboration being punishable as an anti-competitive cartel. It says nothing about a fair share for journalists even freelance journalists who retain copyright in their work. Here, too, the revenue it has produced for publishers is obscured by lumping in payments for the News Showcase with those for reproduction of articles in straightforward search and sharing. On 5 April a similar law received its first reading in Canadas Parliament again, with no provision for journalists to share in revenues. In the US, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act was introduced in 2021. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "It is journalists who need to be supported in the service we provide to society. The worlds populations cannot benefit from independent, professional journalism unless actual journalists can make an independent, professional living." EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutierrez said: "It is time for EU member states to transpose the directive and ensure their national legislation includes clear provisions to remunerate journalists for the use of their work. " Both federations urge governments to favor an EU approach which promises that journalists should receive a fair share of income received from internet giants. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has joined Low Carbon Patent Pledge (LCPP), an international platform that encourages sharing patents for low carbon technologies, to accelerate adoption of green technology and foster collaborative innovation by making nine key patents for green data center technology available for free to external parties. In keeping with its support for green initiatives, Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group also aims to have its global data centers running entirely on clean energy by 2030, starting with upgrades to five of its hyper-scale data centers in China. Alibaba Cloud aims to have its global data centers running entirely on clean energy by 2030 Joining the coalition of various pledgors from the international society, the initiative marks the first time that Alibaba Group has pledged to offer critical intellectual property broadly available on sustainability, which reinforces its long-standing commitment to achieving a low-carbon and sustainable future for the society through forging broader cooperation. The nine patents offered are parts of Alibabas green data center technologies including the unique "soaking server" cooling system Alibaba Cloud has deployed for its data centers since 2015. This non-mechanical cooling measure leads to energy savings of over 70% compared to traditional mechanical cooling. We believe technology innovation is a key driver in transitioning to the low-carbon circular economy of the future. As a pioneer and global technology leader, we are committed to taking broader social responsibility to use technology to level the playing field and to empower the wider social groups, creating long-term value. We are excited to join the pledge as a way to encourage a collective approach to build a sustainable and inclusive future for the society and environment through open collaboration, joint innovations and mutual inspiration. said Dr. Chen Long, Vice President of Alibaba Group and Chair of Alibabas Sustainability Steering Committee. Low Carbon Pledge Patent was launched on Earth Day 2021 by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Microsoft, and Meta with the mission of promoting low carbon technologies and fostering collaborative innovation. Professor Jorge Contreras, academic expert on patent pledges, notes The addition of these companies strengthens the Low Carbon Patent Pledge and reflects the reality that all sectors of industry can contribute to the effort to accelerate the transition to low carbon energy sources. Greening Data Centers with Technology As an infrastructure provider for a green economy, Alibaba Cloud is also committing to have its global data centers running entirely on clean energy by 2030 by employing cutting-edge green technologies in these facilities. Shanyuan Gao, General Manager of Alibaba Cloud Infrastructures Internet Data Center Division, said: Eco-friendly data centers are critical to Alibabas sustainable operations. We employs cutting-edge green technologies in its hyper-scale facilities, of which liquid cooling and renewable electricity storage make a considerable difference in reducing carbon emissions. For instance, In our Hangzhou data center, server clusters are submerged in specialized liquid coolant, which quickly chills the IT hardware, Alibaba Clouds Zhangbei data center employs the same method, which contributed to it earning a Green Power Consumption Certificate from the Beijing Electric Power Exchange Center in 2021, recognizing the facility as the first in China to use heat-pump technology. As Alibaba Cloud builds a secure and resilient global infrastructure network, it believes that the advanced technology housed within the data centers will become the new standard with liquid cooling being promoted throughout China and in more countries in the future. While clean energy solves many issues, its use brings its own set of challenges. The energy supply from solar and wind sources can be fickle, delivering full power when the weather is fair and windy but failing to produce when conditions change. To address that, Alibaba Cloud is assessing carbon management tools to help it better take advantage of energy trading schemes while also planning a more stable energy supply. Alibaba Cloud is also exploring other frontier technologies, like pumping water to store energy, a common way to conserve renewable energy until it is needed. To help cut electricity use further, Alibaba launched its first proprietary chip, the Yitian 710. The Yitian 710 can accommodate up to 60 billion transistors in each chip, translating into a 50% higher energy efficiency ratio compared with other models. This will make transitioning to clean energy easier as it reduces demand on unpredictable solar and wind energy sources. It's graduation season, and a new pool of talent is entering the market. Though these new candidates may be pickier about what they're looking for and what's going to make them want to stay at a job. Even before the labor market was turned on its head by Covid, hiring Gen-Z candidates had its challenges. But in a pandemic bounce-back year with a tight labor market, it's imperative for employers with aggressive hiring needs to figure out how to attract and retain these new candidates. Employers plan to hire 26 percent more new graduates from the class of 2022 than they did from the class of 2021, according to a November jobs report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), a nonprofit professional association for college career services. The survey took place from August 18, 2021, through October 1, 2021, including data from 157 employers of new graduates. Additionally, that hiring will likely take time, which means if you haven't already stepped up, you should start soon. It now takes an average of four weeks to fill entry-level positions, a 57 percent increase since before the pandemic, according to an April 4 survey of recent graduates and employers from jobs site Monster. The survey was conducted in two intervals including during March 2021 and March 2022. Here are the biggest takeaways from the Monster survey regarding what recent grads are looking for most: Diversity in the workplace and in leadership New grads want to make sure the people they surround themselves with come from a diversity of perspectives. When asked what their deal breakers are, 33 percent said they would not accept a job offer at a company without a diverse workforce. Additionally, 26 percent said they would turn down an offer at a company that didn't have women and marginalized groups in top leadership roles. Mental health support Having dealt with the emotional burden of the pandemic, grads want to ensure that their workplace is understanding and supportive of their mental health. The Monster survey found that an overwhelming 90 percent of college grads think it's important that they feel comfortable discussing mental wellness at work. Additionally, 84 percent of graduates agree that companies as a whole need to invest more in mental wellness resources to meet their expectations. Transparency If you're recruiting tech staff, money certainly talks. But it isn't the only thing. Compensation has been on the rise across industries, in light of the Great Resignation, but in the technology sector, especially, the pace has hit a fever pitch. Salaries for some key roles have surged by as much as 20 percent in the past two years. In particularly competitive markets, salaries can jump by 30 percent, compared with averages from 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing data from staffing firms and tech companies like AT&T and Cisco Systems. That salaries are surging is only part of the struggle. Competition for workers has also become fierce. During the first quarter of 2022, U.S. employers posted 1.1 million tech jobs, up 43 percent year-over-year, according to data the information technology trade group CompTIA published in March. But it's not impossible to hire--even if you're competing with giants. Recruiters for smaller tech firms that can't offer the same financial benefits as larger corporations are increasingly playing up non-monetary incentives like career-growth opportunities and helping further a company's social impact. Homing in on your business's impact can help. "Telling a story is very important," Vijay Raghavan, executive vice president and CTO of the Alpharetta, Georgia-based analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions told Inc.com in February. "To attract talent, we want to be articulate about what kinds of problems we solve. If a candidate just wanted to make more money, that's their prerogative--but we do get a lot of smart technologists who are more interested in what we actually do." As regulatory ambiguity, high tax rates, and bureaucratic hurdles discourage entrepreneurs and investors in the Indian virtual asset sector, Dubai is offering a safe haven with its facilitative policies, Web 3.0 ecosystem, equitable tax rates, and growing user base. Indias wavering and ambiguous stance on the legality of cryptocurrency in India, coupled with a high 30 percent taxation rate, is forcing thousands of developers, investors, and entrepreneurs from the Indian virtual asset sector, including Web 3.0 and crypto entrepreneurs, to leave India for friendlier jurisdictions like the UAE, US, etc. Reportedly, since November 2021, Indias Web 3.0 entrepreneurs who leverage machine learning, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology to achieve real-world human communication have started registering their businesses in Dubai, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, and Estonia. As per recent reports, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, which has clocked an impressive user base of 10 million in India, is also moving base to Dubai. The reports come as WazirX founders Nischal Shetty and Siddharth Menon have relocated to Dubai. Crypto experts estimate that between 30 and 50 Indian crypto entrepreneurs are running their blockchain and crypto startups out of Dubai. Why are crypto entrepreneurs moving out of India? Investors note that apart from regulatory uncertainty, the difficulty in doing business is a primary reason why Web 3.0 entrepreneurs and developers prefer relocating to more favorable jurisdictions. Bureaucratic hurdles, red tape, and official restraints like freezing of bank accounts, etc. are discouraging. Starting from the 2018 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular banning cryptocurrency to the latest government statement expressing uncertainty about its legality despite the new taxation rules, the Indian governments policy flip-flops have left Indian investors confused and agitated. Moreover, an unfavorable tax regime, taxing all virtual digital assets including crypto assets at 30 percent have added to their woes. Additionally, other taxation norms like one percent TDS (tax deducted on source) on transfers, no basic exemptions, no set-off on losses, no indexation benefits irrespective of the holding period, and taxation of gifts, have made India an unfavorable destination for the digital asset industry in India. Stakeholders have repeatedly flagged these tax provisions as aggressive, regressive, and detrimental to investor sentiment. They have also expressed concern about the imminent brain drain of the crypto industry out of India. India, which has a crypto user base of 105 million 7.90 percent of the total population, stands to lose from this policy stance. As per data from crypto research and intelligence business CREBACO, Indian crypto investments surged to over US$10 billion in 2021 and if the outmigration trend continues, India will miss out on the opportunity of becoming a crypto hub, hosting one of the largest user bases in the world. Why is Dubai emerging as the choice of destination for crypto entrepreneurs? Dubai, particularly, is well positioned to seize the opportunity as it offers a friendly regime for businesses operating in Web 3.0 and digital assets, including crypto currencies. Factors such as a well developed Web 3.0 ecosystem, transparent regulatory framework, growing user base, as well as an equitable tax regime with lesser compliance burden, are contributing to making Dubai the emerging crypto hub. According to a survey by Toluna, 33 percent of the UAE claim to have invested in cryptocurrencies, as against 30 percent whove invested in the asset class globally. Additionally, the survey revealed that UAE residents plan to allocate 26 percent of their investable assets to cryptocurrency, compared with 20 percent globally. This investor interest is equally complemented with business growth and a favorable policy landscape. As per reports, Dubai expects more than 1,000 cryptocurrency businesses to be operational by 2022, as it accelerates efforts to boost its digital economy. Digital asset regulation in Dubai As a part of its facilitative policy framework, Dubai recently adopted the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, aimed at creating an advanced legal framework to protect investors. It will enable virtual asset management, facilitate the exchange of cryptocurrencies, and prevent the manipulation of virtual asset prices. It will also provide international standards for virtual asset industry governance with the objective of promoting responsible business growth in the emirate. Under the new law, the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) will be established to regulate the digital asset sector throughout the emirate, including special development zones and free zones, but excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre. The VARA will also be responsible for licensing and will have legal and financial autonomy over the virtual asset sector. On Earth Day, NSE IFSC Ltd is pleased to announce the launch of an exclusive International Sustainability Platform, a first of its kind ESG platform in India, at GIFT IFSC. It is expected to get operationalised in the second half of 2022 subject to Regulatory approvals. The platform will facilitate listing and trading a variety of sustainability products including Green Bonds, Voluntary Carbon, Sustainable Bonds, Green REITs, Green Equity etc and channelize the flow of sustainable finance to India and other markets. Locating it in GIFT City will facilitate international investors to participate in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) transitions in India and other markets. Issuers listing on the platform will be expected to meet a minimum set of ESG standards, besides complying with the specific criteria defined by NSE IFSC for the sustainability products which they may wish to list. The platform expects a range of corporate bodies, including large corporates, small and medium enterprises and start-ups, as well as non-profits and social impact organizations, and government and quasi-government organizations to leverage and attract capital to achieve their climate and ESG goals. The platform will use Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) or Blockchain to ensure integrity, speed, tracking and traceability of transactions. A Sustainability Expert Group will offer guidance and counsel on ESG and other metrics. The Expert Group is led by Prof Nick Robins of the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics, with Prof Amit Garg of IIM Ahmedabad as co-chair. Other members include Ms. Anita George, Ms. Rachel Kyte, Dr. Prasad Modak and Mr. Shankar Venkateswaran. NSE IFSC is a 100% subsidiary of NSE. ECube Investment Advisors, an ESG-focused platform and Chainflux, a Blockchain products firm are working closely with NSE IFSC in operationalizing the same. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Injeti Srinivas, Chairman, IFSCA said, I am happy to note that NSE IFSC is proposing to establish an exclusive International Sustainability Platform at GIFT IFSC. The proposal is very much in line with our goal to promote GIFT IFSC as a global hub for sustainable finance and also as a gateway to channelize much needed foreign capital into the country to meet our commitments towards SDGs as well as NDCs under Paris Agreement. Apart from other things, it would encourage responsible conduct of business and enable corporates, Government bodies and social enterprises to raise sustainable finance from such a platform. Mr. Vikram Limaye, Managing Director and CEO, NSE said, We are committed to establish the International Sustainability Platform at GIFT City. Such a trading platform can play an important role in channelizing capital that will be required in ESG and sustainability transitions across the globe. The platform will encourage the issuance of new sustainability-linked financial products by a diverse group of organizations from around the world, including corporates, governments and social enterprises, this represents an important response to the challenge of resolving global environmental issues like climate change. Mr. Harish H V, Managing Partner, ECube said, Focus on Sustainability and ESG are critical to ensure that we have a climate friendly and just society in future and we believe this platform at NSE IFSC will promote these. Mr. Abhinav Ramesh, CEO, Chainflux said, "As a startup in the booming Indian web 3.0 ecosystem, we have been working on various Blockchain use cases around sustainability. We are thrilled to be a part of this Initiative." Several industry leaders have welcomed the setting up of the platform. Mr Sanjiv Mehta President FICCI and CEO & MD Hindustan Unilever Ltd said, The Indian industry welcomes and appreciates the joint initiative of NSE IFSC, ECube and Chainflux of launching the International Sustainability Platform, which will be hosted in GIFT city. India needs multi-billion-dollar investment every year to meet its SDG targets by 2030 and beyond. The financial sector is critical in enhancing investments and funding for green projects. Exchanges have always been associated with many pioneering initiatives and launch of a sustainability platform is one more such ground-breaking and evolutionary move towards promoting sustainable business. This platform will be a catalyst in achieving Honble Prime Ministers commitment on the target of Net-Zero by 2070. Mr. Harsh Mariwalla, Chairman, Marico said, Marico has experienced the enormous value which an ESG focus can bring to business. We welcome the establishment of this new sustainability focused trading platform which will encourage companies to more fully embrace ESG principles in their operations, and to develop new and much needed sustainability products for the market. Mr. Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mahindra Group said, The International Sustainability Platform is a pioneering initiative in the climate finance ecosystem. As more and more climate solutions become economically feasible, this will serve as a one-stop platform for multiple forms of climate finance and will catalyse the transition to net zero. Mr. Vivekananda H, Co-Founder and CEO, Bounce - a ridesharing platform which has launched 2 wheeler EVs, said, We would be super interested to explore this. We would look to raise low-cost capital, bonds and also sell carbon credits. Udaipur, Rajasthan-based Sah Polymers Limited, primarily engaged in manufacturing and selling of Polypropylene (PP)/ High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBC) Bags, Woven Sacks, HDPE/PP woven fabrics, woven polymer based products has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator, SEBI, to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO) with a fresh issue of 102,00,000 equity shares, with no offer for sale component. The issue has a face value of Rs10 per equity share for the proposed share sale. The Offer is being made through the Book Building Process, wherein not less than 75% of the Offer shall be available for allocation to Qualified Institutional Buyers, not more than 15% of the Offer shall be available for allocation to Non-Institutional Bidders and not more than 10% of the Offer shall be available for allocation to Retail Individual Bidders. The proceeds from its fresh issuance shall be utilised for manufacturing of new FIBC plant and expansion of production capacity & funding working capital requirements for new project, besides repayment/prepayment of certain borrowings. Sah Polymers is led by Asad Daud, and Hakim Sadiq Ali Tidiwala, with a combined expertise of approximately 20 years in the FIBC packaging sector. The Company provides tailored bulk packaging solutions to business-to-business ("B2B") producers in a variety of industries, including agro pesticides, basic drugs, cement, chemicals, fertilisers, food products, textiles, ceramics, and steel. It is also a Del Credere Associate cum Consignment Stockist (DCA/ CS) of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, as well as a Dealer Operated Polymer Warehouse (DOPW) of Indian Oil Corporations polymer division. The Udaipur-based company has two business division namely Domestic sales and exports. Based on sales, it has presence in six states and one union territory for its local market. Internationally, it supplies its products in six regions: Africa, the Middle East, Europe, The United States, Australia, and Caribbean. For the nine months ended December 31, 2021 and fiscal 2021, exports contributed 37.40 percent and 46.80 percent, respectively. Sah Polymers currently has one manufacturing site in Udaipur, Rajasthan, with an installed production capacity of 3960 mt p.a. The Company has made investments in its manufacturing infrastructure from time to time in order to strengthen its product portfolio and reach, and as part of its strategic expansion plans, it intends to establish a new facility with an additional installed capacity of 3960 m.t p.a. to manufacture different variants of FIBC products. The Company has recently acquired majority stake in Fibcorp Polyweave Private Limited. Kanpur Plastipack Ltd., Rishi Techtex Ltd., Gopala Polyplast Ltd., Jumbo Bag Ltd., SMVD Polypack Ltd., EMMBI Industries Ltd., and Commercial Syn. Bags Ltd. are competitors; however, the peers are not directly comparable due to the type, range of products/services, turnover, and size of the firm. Revenue from operations climbed 12.16 percent from Rs 49.10 crore in Fiscal 2020 to Rs 55.07 crore in Fiscal 2021, attributable to an increase in sales of manufactured goods which included HDPEC and LDPE bags. Revenue for the nine months ended December 2021 stood at Rs54.01 crore. The Consolidated Revenue of the Company for the nine months period ended December 2021 stood at Rs. 64.78 Crores. The Company clocked post-tax profits margin of over 6% as pert the nine months period financials. The India Packaging Market was worth USD 50.5 billion (Rs 3.85 trillion) in 2019, and is predicted to grow to USD 204.81 billion (Rs 15.63 trillion) by 2025, with a CAGR of 26.7 percent between 2020 and 2025. Packaging is one of India's fastest-growing businesses, growing at a rate of 22-25 percent each year and establishing itself as a favoured centre for the packaging industry. Pantomath Capital Advisors Private Limited is the sole book running lead manager to the issue and Link Intime India Private Limited is the registrar to the offer. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the Main Board of BSE and NSE. Alia Bhatt is busy shooting for Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani with Ranveer Singh and the duo's BTS pictures from the sets are doing rounds on the internet. Shared by actress Churni Ganguly who also has a role in the film, the pictures have left fans excited. Instagram In one of the pictures, Karan Johar can be seen in a candid conversation with the team. KJo is directing as well as producing the project. Instagram Sharing the pictures on Instagram, Churni Ganguly wrote, "Simply elated to share the floor with legends like Dharmendra ji, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi, and of course, Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, both exquisite actors and absolute sweethearts. #rockyaurranikipremkahani, directed by none other than the immensely warm @karanjohar, coming to you with much lovey-dovey aplomb, in 2023!" Alia Bhatt recently began shooting for the film after her wedding with Ranbir Kapoor. The actress was snapped in a blush pink suit at the airport, jetting off to the film's shoot location. She was seen waving to the paps and looked super cheerful after her fairytale wedding. Instagram Alia got married to Ranbir Kapoor in a small and classy ceremony on April 14. The wedding took place at the Kapoors' Vastu home and reportedly had only 28 guests. A lot of inside pics and videos of the bride and groom made their way online after Alia shared the official wedding pictures on her Instagram account. She had captioned the pics, "Today, surrounded by our family and friends, at home in our favourite spot - the balcony weve spent the last 5 years of our relationship - we got married. With so much already behind us, we cant wait to build more memories together memories that are full of love, laughter, comfortable silences, movie nights, silly fights, wine delights and Chinese bites. Thank you for all the love and light during this very momentous time in our lives. It has made this moment all the more special. Love, Ranbir and Alia." Ranveer, on the other hand, made headlines due to the trailer of his upcoming film Jayeshbhai Jordaar. Through humour and sarcasm, the film revolves around the sensitive issue of a certain section of people preferring a son over daughter being born in their homes. The film will release on May 13 and promotions are underway in full swing. (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.) 1. Pushpa Actor Allu Arjun Turns Down A Tobacco Commercial, Doesn't Want Fans To Harm Their Health TOI As per a Times Of India report, Allu Arjun was offered a commercial by a tobacco company worth a hefty amount. The actor, however, rejected the offer without a second thought because he is concerned about the well-being of his fans. Allu Arjun is not a consumer of tobacco and doesn't want his fans to develop the harmful habit of consuming the product after watching him in an advertisement, the report revealed. 2. 'Cheap Version Of Kanye West', The Internet Trolls Raj Kundra As He Hides His Face In Public Instagram Remember Kanye West's full-face covering outfit that had invited mixed reactions from his fans? Businessman and Shilpa Shetty's husband, Raj Kundra, reminded netizens of the same outfit when he was recently snapped at the airport. And people were not kind to him in the comments section. 3. Lights, Camera, Action! Alia Bhatt & Ranveer Singh's BTS Pics From Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani Go Viral Instagram Alia Bhatt is busy shooting for Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani with Ranveer Singh and the duo's BTS pictures from the sets are doing rounds on the internet. Shared by actress Churni Ganguly who also has a role in the film, the pictures have left fans excited. 4. Amrita Rao & RJ Anmol Reveal They Lost A Baby As The Surrogate Mother Suffered A Miscarriage Indiatimes The couple shared that they had been trying to have a baby since 2016 and tried everything from IVF to surrogacy. Recalling a tragic incident from their life, Amrita and Anmol recalled how they lost their baby in the past as their surrogate mother had suffered a miscarriage days after getting pregnant. 5. Vin Diesel Remembers Paul Walker In Emotional Post, Says There Could Be No Fast X Without Mia Twitter The Fast And Furious franchise will come to an end with two final films. The first film, titled Fast X, is in the works already. Vin Diesel aka Dom Toretto took to Instagram and revealed how he rejected the film's script initially because it excluded Mia (Jordana Brewster). Remembering his dear friend Paul Walker aka Pablo, Vin wrote that there is not a day when he doesn't wish to turn back time and stop him from heading back to LA. (For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.) The controversy surrounding Bollywood actors endorsing tobacco brands is far from over. Akshay Kumar joined the bandwagon but was soon forced to disassociate after his fans showcased their disappointment over the actor's reckless choice. Indiatimes Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Big B continue to draw flak for their association with tobacco brands. After a series of apologies, scrutiny, and fans demanding answers from Bollywood actors looks like the controversy has just begun. While fans continue to criticize the actors for minting money at the expense of their fans' health, an IAS officer now wants to show another side of the picture. Twitter Just two days After Akshay Kumar's public apology and Ajay Devgn's defense of his "personal choice" of starring in a tobacco brand's elaichi product ad, an IAS officer from West Bengal now demands answers from Bollywood actors SRK, Ajay, and Amitabh Bachchan. Screengrab IAS officer Awanish Sharan took to Twitter and shared a picture of one of the pillars of the iconic Howrah Bridge. He wrote in his tweet, "Kolkata Port Trust has said saliva laced with gutkha is corroding the iconic 70-year-old bridge. The Howrah Bridge is under attack from gutkha-chewers." Kolkata Port Trust has said saliva laced with gutkha is corroding the iconic 70-year-old bridge. The Howrah Bridge is under attack from gutkha-chewers. @shahrukh_35 @akshaykumar @ajaydevgn @SrBachchan Source: Google pic.twitter.com/sriVMIULig Awanish Sharan (@AwanishSharan) April 21, 2022 The sale of gutkha or paan masala (both tobacco products) is completely banned in West Bengal as per a notification by West Bengal's health department. The notification dated October 26, 2021, issued under the signature of Tapan K Rudra, commissioner of food safety, West Bengal, read, PTI "As per regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations 2011 made by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, in the exercise of powers conferred by clause (i) of sub-section (2) of section 92 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Central Act 34 of 2006) read with section 26 thereof, prohibits the sale of articles of food in which tobacco and/or nicotine are used as ingredients, as they may be injurious to health." In his tweet, the IAS officer also tagged actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Amitabh Bachchan because of their association with tobacco-related brands. (With agency inputs) (To get the latest updates from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.) WikiLeaks is a media organisation that specializes in the analyses and publication of censored or otherwise restricted documents. It disseminates original documents from anonymous sources. These documents are usually classified documents and the sources range from whistleblowers to leaks from different outlets. WikiLeaks was founded by its publisher Julian Assange in 2006. Since its inception, WikiLeaks has published more than 10 million documents and associated analyses. Is WikiLeaks similar to other media organisations? Yes and no. This question is always met with a divisive response. Reuters WikiLeaks apparently maintains a small paid staff composed of volunteers from around the world but their whereabouts are not known. One such figure is Sarah Harrison who was the section editor of WikiLeaks. At one point of time, they even had a P.O. box in Australia. In a similar fashion, the BBC also has employees and physical P.O. boxes. Some people agree that WikiLeaks resembles other media organisations. It has an interface accessible by the general public where it publishes these documents. Whereas, the other spectrum of people disagree by pointing out that, unlike the BBC, where the articles published are carefully edited and redacted if necessary to prevent damage to an individual or group, the documents published by WikiLeaks are unedited and published in their original form mimicking a facilitator instead of a journalist. Who is Julian Assange? AFP Julian Assange is an Australian-born computer programmer and activist. He founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He has been an active advocate for press freedom ever since. In 2010, he was accused of rape and sexual assault by two women in Sweden. He denied the accusations and sought extraterritorial asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy in June 2012 after an arrest warrant was issued against him in Sweden following which he would've also faced an extradition to the US for the charges against him under the Espionage Act of 1917. Extradition: Extradition is the formal process of one state surrendering an individual to another state for prosecution or punishment for crimes committed in the requesting country's jurisdiction. Extraterritorial asylum: Asylum granted outside the territory of the state itself. Espionage Act of 1917: This Act criminalizes the act of spying or aiding an enemy of the US. In Assange's context, the Act punishes people who, for any reason, divulge or share classified government information without permission. AFP He was granted asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London where he spent the next seven years until the Ecuadorean government revoked his asylum. He was immediately arrested, and since then he is in Belmarsh Prison fighting a case against his extradition to the US. Earlier, the Westminster Magistrates' Court denied his extradition but on April 20, 2022 the court reversed its decision. The final decision now rests upon UK Home Secretary Priti Patel. What does Julian Assange represent? Is Assange a 'journalist'? This question is at the heart of the argument. Assange virtually represents 'press freedom'. But how do you define press freedom? Does it entail complete transparency or should transparency wear the mask of ethics? For instance, when WikiLeaks published a trove of diplomatic cables leaked by whistleblower Chelsea Manning, known as Cablegate, WikiLeaks joined conventional media organizations like The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and The New York Times to carefully select and redact the cables before publishing them. But, Julian Assange went ahead and published it in its entirety. Agency Another instance is when WikiLeaks released unredacted emails from the Turkish party AKP, which also had in them the personal details of millions of Turkish women. This practice in the name of uplifting transparency and press freedom for the benefit of the public is a conundrum as it harms the very public it seeks to help. If Assange stands contrary to journalistic practices, does he really qualify as a journalist? And is it right to consider an attack on him as an attack on all journalists with reference to their freedoms? Removing Assange and focusing on the ideational relevance of the state's attack on press freedom as a threat to future journalism helps answer the question and clarifies the Assange supporters stance. References: Everything You Need to Know About Wikileaks. MIT Technology Review, 9 December 2010, Accessed 22 April 2022. Explained: Why Julian Assange was in Ecuadorian embassy & what happens nows. Business Standard, 12 April 2019, Accessed 22 April 2022. Gibney, Alex. Opinion | Can We Trust Julian Assange and WikiLeaks? (Published 2016). The New York Times, 8 August 2016, Accessed 22 April 2022. Longley, Robert. The Espionage Act of 1917: Summary and History. ThoughtCo, 31 August 2021, Accessed 22 April 2022. Masters, Jonathan, et al. What Is Extradition? Council on Foreign Relations, 8 January 2020, Accessed 22 April 2022. RT. Assange extradition order issued by UK court. Russia Today. Savage, Charlie. Assange Indicted Under Espionage Act, Raising First Amendment Issues (Published 2019). The New York Times, 23 May 2019, Accessed 22 April 2022. What is WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks, 3 November 2015, Accessed 22 April 2022. Whittaker, Francis. What Is WikiLeaks? Everything you need to know. NBC News , 30 April 2018, Accessed 22 April 2022 For more on explainers, news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Two Muslim girl students from Udupi in Karnataka who were among the first to protest against the hijab ban and challenged it in the court were denied entry into the exam hall on Friday after they insisted on wearing the headscarf. The two girls, Alia Assadi and Resham- arrived in an auto-rickshaw at the exam centre in Vidyodaya PU College wearing burqas. AP Authorities cite HC order But the college authorities denied them entry citing the High Court order. Tehsildar Archana Bhat personally spoke to them, but the two girls insisted that they should be allowed to write the exam wearing hijab. Subsequently, the girls returned home. According to the college authorities, the girls had not collected their hall tickets till Friday morning. AP Just before the examination, they collected their hall tickets and attempted to write the exam in hijab. The exam which began on Friday will go on till May 18. The first paper was Business Studies. Over 6.84 lakh students will write the exam at 1,076 centres across the state. Appeal to CM Last week, Aliya Assadi had appealed to the state chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to allow Muslim students to appear for exams wearing headscarves. "You still have a chance to stop our future from getting ruined. You can make a decision to allow us to write exams wearing hijab. Please consider this. We are the future of this country," she said in a tweet to the CM. AP Last month, following the Karnataka High Court order, which dismissed petitions seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms, Aliya who was one of the six petitioners, who started the protest had said that she would write exams only if they were allowed to were headscarves. "If we are allowed to write exams, they need to allow us with hijab. Otherwise, we will not attend classes. We will not go to college without hijab," Aliya had said. Hijab controversy in Karnataka She was one of the six girls who spoke out against the hijab ban in their college. The girls had alleged that they were denied entry into the campus for wearing hijabs. AFP The hijab ban later spread to more colleges in Udupi and subsequently across Karnataka. Karnataka HC order Last month the Special Bench of the Karnataka High Court had dismissed their petitions seeking permission to wear hijab and attend classes. It also mentioned that wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam. Following the order, the Karnataka government has banned the hijab in classrooms and announced that hijab-clad students and teachers will not be allowed inside the examination centres. For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. A Brazilian judge ruled Apples move for not packing a charger in its iPhone box as abusive and illegal. Unsplash Also Read: Apple Earned $6.5 Billion By Removing Chargers From iPhone Boxes, Says Report Reported first by Bloomberg, the court has ordered the Cupertino giant to pay compensation of $1,080 to a customer who made the complaint. Regional judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro from Goias state in central Brazil pointed out that the adapter is essential for the normal functioning of the iPhone and found that the manufacturer is violating local consumer law by omitting it from its packaging. It goes without saying that this move could turn more costly if more consumers complain to get compensated by the most valuable company in the world, or force it to include accessories once again. To the unaware, Apple stopped including a charging brick and headset with its smartphones starting iPhone 12 in 2020, claiming that it was doing its bit to reduce e-waste and was a move that would be better for the environment. The judge however rejected the argument. The claim that such a measure seeks to reduce the impacts of environmental issues is pointless since the defendant continues to manufacture such an essential accessory, but now sells it separately, Pinheiro said in a statement. Unsplash Also Read:iPhone 14 Could Get Faster Charging Speeds With Apples New Dual USB-C 35W Charger The judge also rejected Apples claim that it is using USB Type-C cable which wasnt exclusively compatible with Apples product and could be used with third-party chargers. He said that the device has a different design and cannot be used with any USB port. Itll be interesting to see if other courts around the world will see this in a similar light and force Apple to put chargers back into its phone packaging. Do you think Apple should offer chargers in the box once again? Tell us in the comments below and Keep visiting Indiatimes.com for the latest science and technology news. Germany has unseated Singapore as the most crypto-friendly country, according to a report by Coincub for the first quarter of 2022. Germany had ranked fourth on Coincubs list last year. videohive Also Read: Income Tax Department To Issue Notices To 700 Crypto Investors, Could Levy Penalty, 30% Tax & Interest The report ranked 46 countries based on a range of factors, including newly added categories such as the number of initial coin offerings (ICOs) in each country, fraud case prevalence and the availability of crypto courses by leading institutions. The three-place jump in Germanys rank comes after crypto exchange KuCoin had published a report last month showing that 16% of the German population between ages 18 and 60 own crypto or have traded it in the past six months. 41% of those investors intend to increase their allocations to the crypto space in the coming six months. German magazine Capital first reported in December 2021 that the countrys savings banks, which hold more than 1 trillion euros, were looking to offer a wallet to trade cryptocurrency. The Coincub report had called the decision a groundbreaking development that signals higher institutional acceptance of crypto, as per Blockworks. German stock market operator Deutsche Boerse has also listed more than 20 crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) on its digital exchange, Xetra, over the past few months. Others On The List shuuterstock Also Read: 2 More Countries Will Legalize Bitcoin In 2022, President Of World's First Country To Do So Predicts Singapore, which previously ranked number one on the list, dropped to second due to government decisions to restrict crypto services advertising and a clampdown on bitcoin ATMs, according to Coincub. The United States ranked third among crypto-friendly countries due in part to its decision to seek clearer crypto regulation, the report noted. The United Arab Emirates, which ranked 22, was a new addition to the list following its recent plans to become one of the worlds crypto hotspots. Crypto banning nation China remained at the lists bottom following its widespread ban on trading and mining crypto. As per Blockworks, Coincubs CEO said in a statement As events develop, we go beyond legislation or pure numbers and introduce new dimensions that are crucial for defining a countrys crypto friendliness or maturity. For the latest financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here. Until recently, the lithium space was mostly characterized by a notably small number of intermediaries and relied mainly on direct seller-buyer interactions. But the surge in the prices of lithium compounds, as well as the expected growth in demand across the lithium complex in the coming years, are creating new opportunities for intermediaries. This has been particularly evident in the domestic Chinese market, where spot liquidity has historically been more relevant than in other regions, with an established and active spot market. Market prices surged last year following the multi-year lows of 2020 the commodity entered a new bullish cycle supported by high demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This supported a price uptrend across the lithium complex, including technical grades, battery grades and spodumene concentrate feedstock. Fastmarkets price assessment for lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea, was $44-47 per kg on January 27 this year, rising by 574% from $6.00-7.50 per kg in January 2021. The assessment for lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH.H2O 56.5% LiOH min, battery grade, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea, was $41-43 per kg on January 27, an increase of 366% at the mid-point from $8.50-9.50 per kg a year earlier. The rally was triggered by a rapid change in direction in Chinese domestic lithium prices. The fast-paced growth of the market, together with underlying demand trends, led to carbonate overtaking hydroxide and trading at a premium. The growth story also highlights a market where traders can identify new business opportunities. This has been particularly noticeable in the carbonate market due to its larger share of the total lithium market (carbonate accounted for about 65% of total lithium production in 2021) compared with a smaller, but growing, hydroxide market (32% of total production in 2021, with other lithium salts making up about 3%). In previous years, the few intermediaries active in lithium used to limit themselves to handling spodumene. But with the entire complex poised for strong growth, commodity traders are increasingly interested in the downstream lithium chemicals market. Carbonate has fewer logistics complexities than hydroxide, sources in China acknowledge; this allows for it to be easily interchangeable among participants across the supply chain. Additionally, the booming carbonate market in China also led to material with low-grade specifications entering the battery supply chain for certain entry-level applications. In the market environment outlined, this means lithium carbonate as a product lends itself better to the intermediary activity of traders than hydroxide. This, however, is set to evolve while battery demand expands outside of China, where different battery chemistries and OEM strategies are likely to prompt growth of the overall size of the hydroxide market. Commoditization The increased presence of traders in lithium is one element in the "commoditization" narrative that was a topic debated a few years ago market participants and observers were split between those who considered lithium a pure speciality chemical or a commodity. While the industry has since moved on, that debate remains relevant to understanding the sector today and its continuing evolution. The lithium markets strong demand growth prompted a tightening of product specifications and brought about increasingly strict quality parameters in response to requirements by large consumers, such as OEMs. Supply of new compounds was established with those higher quality parameters - in effect, enforcing a new standard. In carbonate, that led to units being more homogenized in terms of product quality, making them more interchangeable across the market, with consumers less tied to one producers specifications. While the sector may continue to be considered a speciality chemicals business overall (including the speciality, non-battery grade applications), some components of the market have increasingly behaved like other commodities. Lithium carbonate has moved in this direction, attracting commodity specialists such as traders. "When a market is growing rapidly, when consumers are scrambling for material and prices are all over the place, then opportunities for traders emerge," William Adams, head of battery materials research at Fastmarkets, said. Some market participants suggest the involvement of traders has partially contributed to this years price rally in lithium in the domestic Chinese market, which eventually filtered through to other regions. "Through the past year this has been happening: there were traders withholding stocks and then releasing it to the market," one converter source said, adding that the current tightness means that strategy is now less evident. "Most of the traders that I work with have limited stocks on hand now," he added. "Commercial arms of big producers" rather than fully established traders have become more active in the past year, especially in China, a Europe-based trader suggested. "I dont think traders have been squeezing the market in China but [rather] big producers have been holding inventories [to support price growth]," he said. Traders engagement in lithium is showing instances of direct involvement with new projects, providing expertise and trade finance. In December, Traxys and start-up European Lithium said they will cooperate to develop the Wolfsberg Lithium Project in Austria, where the junior is seeking to set up a lithium hydroxide operation by the end of 2023. Around the same time, Traxys also signed a multi-year offtake agreement with Canada-headquartered junior miner Lepidico. The trader will provide sales, marketing, logistics and trade finance services for 100% of the initial phase of the companys lithium hydroxide production, which is expected to come online in 2023. The development of financial instruments such as derivative futures contracts, which have been launched by several commodity exchanges to provide tools to participants in the battery raw materials supply chain, to manage price risk, will also benefit traders. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is looking to launch four futures contracts for cobalt metal, cobalt hydroxide, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide in the first half of 2022 to provide new hedging instruments for market participants involved in energy transition, it said earlier this year. "The combination of fast-moving prices, concern about supply and the emergence of traders," Adams said, "is likely to increase the need for risk management tools such as exchange-traded futures." Fastmarkets price assessment for graphite electrodes, ultra-high power, fob China, was $4,250-4,560 per tonne on Thursday March 30, a rise of $620-790 (19.05%) since the market was first assessed at $3,460-3,940 per tonne on January 19, 2022. Similarly, Fastmarkets price assessment for graphite electrodes, high power, fob China, was $3,600-3,780 per tonne on March 30, an increase of $610-630 (20.20%) from $2,990-3,150 per tonne on January 19. Graphite electrodes are used in steel production and have been subject to a sharp rise in feedstock costs. The prices of needle coke and petroleum coke have been continuously rising since the start of the year. In China, the largest producer of synthetic graphite, coke prices have risen by 23.53% and 11.57% month-on-month, respectively, to around 8,000-13,000 yuan ($1,243-2,019) per tonne and 6,000-7,500 yuan per tonne, according to market sources. In addition to rising feedstock prices, the European Commission has imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese graphite electrodes, which has added to the upward pressure on prices for consumers in Europe. Synthetic graphite for the lithium-ion battery anode sector has faced the same feedstock cost rises as for graphite electrodes. Additionally, graphite electrodes and synthetic graphite for anodes can rely on the same graphitization processing. While the anode market has developed in China, it has increased competition for these graphitization facilities with the result that product availability has tightened significantly, raising costs and hindering production of both materials. There is an expectation that this tightness will continue this year, even if the worst has passed in China. "Graphitization capacity might get less tight in comparison to the second half of last year, when Chinas power crunch was at its height," a battery producer told Fastmarkets. "But we have to admit that there is still prevailing tightness in availability across the anode supply chain, be it for the synthetic raw material or graphitization." At the same time that feedstock prices have increased and graphitization has become more challenging, production in China has been hindered by restrictions to prevent the spread of the latest wave of coronavirus infections. "Aside from the rise in prices of raw materials, there is concern about availability among downstream consumers amid Chinas Covid-19 outbreak, causing transport interruptions for some producers in the north part of China," a second anode producer source said. Surging costs and tightening supply of raw materials and processing facilities have resulted in tighter availability of synthetic anode material for the rapidly growing electric vehicle sector, sources said. Shifting to natural graphite The combination of raw material and graphitization costs account for approximately 85% of the production cost of graphite anode material, according to sources. Therefore, the steep price rises in synthetic graphite are an incentive for battery manufacturers to increase the share of natural graphite in their anodes, which is estimated to be around 80% in China. Anode consumers prefer synthetic material due to its higher purity and the consistency of its specifications. Additionally, synthetic graphite offers a longer lifespan and faster charging. But natural graphite is about half the cost of synthetic, according to Fastmarkets research team. As a result, industry participants expect natural graphite to take a higher share of the anode market because of its lower cost profile and higher capacity. Emerging production in South Korea, Japan and Europe is already favoring a higher share of natural graphite than in China, sources said. Spherical graphite production is dominated by China, but other producers are starting to come on stream. Integrated natural graphite company Talga commissioned the first lithium-ion battery anode plant in Europe at the end of March. Synthetic graphite production is highly energy intensive, whereas natural material has a significantly smaller carbon footprint, which is another attraction for electric vehicles manufacturers marketing a sustainable product. Spherical natural graphite prices have also been rising in response to increased demand and limitations on supply. Fastmarkets price assessment for graphite spherical 99.95% C, 15 microns, fob China, was $3,500-3,800 per tonne on March 31, a rise of $1,050-1,200 per tonne (44.55%) from $2,300-2,750 per tonne on April 1, 2021. The production of natural graphite anode material in China has also been hit by supply-chain issues, such as strict anti-pollution controls in Luobei county and global logistics interruptions over the past two years, according to sources. Natural graphite maintains a strong cost advantage over its synthetic equivalent although feedstock costs for spherical graphite have also risen. Fine graphite flake prices surged following tightening supply from China and Africa, and a rise in demand. Fastmarkets price assessment for graphite flake 94% C, -100 mesh, fob China, was $830 per tonne on March 31, an increase of $285 per tonne (52.29%) from $545 per tonne on April 1, 2021. Cover Image Attribute: Hernandez was transferred to his extradition flight under heavy guard on April 21, 2022, Location: Coronel Hernan Acosta Mejia airforce base / Source: REUTERS On April 21, 2022, Juan Orlando Hernandez , a former president of Honduras, was extradited to the United States to face charges of assisting in importing hundreds of tons of cocaine to America and accepting millions of dollars in bribes. The 53-year-old, whose presidency from 2014 to 2022 was dogged by corruption allegations, faces the possibility of serving the remainder of his life in prison if convicted. Hernandez departed from Coronel Hernan Acosta Mejia airforce base on a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) plane bound for the United States. He is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron in the Southern District Court of New York on Friday. Hernandez is charged with facilitating the shipment of around 500 tons of cocaine primarily from Colombia and Venezuela into the United States via Honduras since 2004, well before assuming office. According to a US Embassy memo, he allegedly collected "millions of dollars in bribes... from several narcotrafficking organizations in Honduras, Mexico, and other countries." Hernandez was charged with three counts of narcotics and firearms offenses in a New York indictment. " Hernandez exploited his position as Honduras' President... to run the country like a narco-state," US Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters. Hernandez surrendered to authorities on February 15, less than three weeks after leaving office following the elections. A warrant for Hernandez 's arrest was issued at Washington's request. He was later detained in the capital Tegucigalpa at a police special forces facility. Throughout his term, Hernandez portrayed himself as an ally of the US war on drugs, assisting in the extradition of various narcotics kingpins. Washington even backed his 2017 re-election despite a constitutional term limit and allegations of voter fraud. However, some drug traffickers have since admitted to paying bribes to members of the president's inner circle. By the time Hernandez left office, US narcotics enforcers were prepared to move against him. Prosecutors in the United States allege that the previous president transformed Honduras into a "narco-state" by entangling the military, police, and citizens in drug trafficking to the United States. He is accused of receiving millions of dollars from a variety of drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel's former leader, El Chapo. Garland added that drug traffickers in Honduras were "free to operate with virtual impunity." Geovanny Fuentes Ramirez, an alleged Hernandez collaborator, was sentenced to life in prison and a $151.7 million fine in the United States in February for allegedly transporting tons of cocaine with the assistance of the ex-president. And in March 2021, his brother, former Congressman Tony Hernandez , was sentenced to life in prison in the United States for drug trafficking offenses in which Juan Orlando Hernandez was said to have been a co-conspirator. This month, a judge allowed the extradition of former national police commander Juan Carlos Bonilla to the United States on charges of supervising Hernandez's drug trafficking activities. Hernandez resigned on January 27 following the election of socialist Xiomara Castro as president of this country, with a poverty rate of at least 60% among its ten million residents. On March 28, the Honduran Supreme Court ratified Hernandez 's extradition. The 15-member court consists entirely of judges selected during Hernandez 's first tenure. The former president's family issued a statement protesting his "innocence" and claiming he was a "victim of vengeance by the drug dealers he extradited or pushed to flee to the United States." According to relatives, these individuals allegedly fabricated information about Hernandez to have their sentences lowered. NOTE: Hernandez is charged with three counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; (2) using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices during, and possessing machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine-importation conspiracy, which has a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and (3) conspiring to use and carry machine guns and destructive devices during and to possess machine guns and destructive devices in furtherance of the cocaine importation conspiracy, which has a maximum sentence of life in prison. The organizers of a two-day developer conference titled Devs For Ukraine, starting Monday April 25, want to raise $100,000 to support NGOs and charities operating in the war-torn country. Devs For Ukraine is the brainchild of developers at Remote, an international HR startup that offers global payroll, compliance and benefits management services for companies with far-flung employees. The event currently has 19 different sessions booked, nine scheduled for Monday and the remainder on the following day. Speakers include developers from Google, Meta, Stripe and Shopify, as well as several from Remote itself. Dan Abramov, of Meta's React team, will give a Q&A on Monday, and Jessica Janiuk, of Google's Angular Team, will discuss RESTful APIs on the same day. Tuesday will see Shopify senior staff engineer Aaron Patterson speak, as well as events headed by Remote employees like Tobi Pfeiffer and Vittoria Bitton. Cassidy Williams, head of developer experience and education at Remote and one of the organizers of the conference, said the original idea formed about two weeks ago, and was the brainchild of her and fellow Remote developer Sara Vieira. The two had been working independently to help victims of the Russian invasion, Williams by helping people find jobs and allow them to immigrate, and Vieira by helping to transport them out of the warzone. "She said 'What if we throw a conference,' and I said 'Yes, let's do it,'" Williams said in a phone interview. "Our original goal was to raise $15,000 and we beat that goal in 24 hours." Williams added that the company has been heavily supportive of the conference, devoting resources to helping get sessions produced and ready for the event formally kicking off on Monday. "It was really awesome to get help with this instantly," she said. Proceeds from Devs For Ukraine will be split evenly between eight charities and NGOs: Come Back Alive, which supports Ukraine's military forces, The Ukrainian Red Cross, Polska Akcja Humanitarna (Polish Humanitarian Action), which is providing support for civilians trapped in Ukraine, The National Bank of Ukraine, which is fundraising for humanitarian assistance, Insight, which is helping LGBTQ+ Ukrainians affected by the war, Razom, which is providing medical supplies and other assistance, Voices of Children Ukraine, And the Coalition to Support Black People in Ukraine. "We tried to be as intentional as possible with the organizations that we picked," said Williams. The conference sessions themselves will be free and streamed on Twitch, but donations to Devs For Ukraine can be made here further information about the event will be available via Twitter here. Auto insurance carriers and independent agents in New York have launched a campaign to eliminate what they say is an outdated requirement for the states auto insurance buyers. The group wants lawmakers to let auto insurance companies waive the vehicle photo inspection that is typically required to obtain collision or comprehensive coverage. An industry coalition, NY First, is supporting bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Neil Breslin (D-Albany) and Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-Rockland) that will make it possible for customers to obtain comprehensive and collision coverage, without the photo requirement The bill, called the Auto Insurance Consumer Relief Act (S.6028), has already passed the New York State Assembly with bipartisan support and now sits in the Senate Committee on Insurance. Currently, New York State law makes photo inspections mandatory in order to obtain comprehensive or collision coverage. The industry contends that the law, originally enacted in the late 1970s, no longer serves a purpose and unnecessarily inconveniences consumers and small business owners. If a buyer does not complete the photo inspection within a certain time frame, their collision and comprehensive coverage is terminated. Every year, auto insurers in New York are required to perform physical inspections of cars to address fraudulent damage to vehicles, resulting in higher premiums for New Yorkers, said Assemblyman Zebrowski. While this provision made sense at the time it was enacted, today we have better ways of preventing insurance fraud that are far more cost effective. It is time that insurance companies have the ability to put an end to this antiquated process and pass those savings on to drivers. The New York Department of Financial Services has not indicated its position on the bill. Topics Auto New York Market A former eBay Inc. security executive intends to plead guilty to federal charges that he planned a cyberstalking campaign that targeted a Massachusetts couple whose online newsletter was seen as critical of the e-commerce company. James Baugh, eBays former senior director of safety and security, had been awaiting trial in Boston with another ex-executive accused of helping harass the couple through Twitter and with disturbing deliveries like a bloody Halloween pig mask and live cockroaches. At the request of Baughs lawyers, a federal judge on Tuesday scheduled a hearing for him to instead plead guilty on April 25. A May 31 trial remains scheduled for his co-defendant, David Harville, eBays former director of global resiliency. William Fick, a lawyer for Baugh, declined to comment. Baugh is one of seven former eBay workers who were charged in 2020 with harassing the married couple in Natick, Massachusetts, behind the newsletter EcommerceBytes. They did so after two top executives, including former Chief Executive Officer Devin Wenig, expressed frustration with the newsletter, according to prosecutors and a lawsuit the couple, David and Ina Steiner, filed against eBay. Prosecutors said the Steiners in August 2019 began receiving anonymous, harassing private messages on Twitter and disturbing deliveries to their home that also included fly larvae, spiders and a funeral wreath. Prosecutors said Baugh planned the threatening messages and deliveries with employees and contractors who reported to him and traveled with some to Massachusetts to surveil the couple. After learning that Natick police were investigating, Baugh and others deleted messages from their social media accounts, and he lied to eBay investigators by denying that its employees were involved, prosecutors said. Five other former eBay workers have pleaded guilty. Wenig was not charged and has denied knowing about the scheme. eBay has said it is in settlement talks with the couple. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Grant McCool) Topics Massachusetts A Maine roofing and siding contractor willfully exposed its employees to fall hazards at a Hampden, Maine residential construction site on multiple occasions during the same inspection, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA has proposed a total of $501,376 in penalties for ARP Renovation LLC/A.R.P. Roofing & Siding LLC due to what it said was to the companies refusal to provide fall protection and other safeguards for their employees. The Maine company, A.R.P. Roofing & Siding LLC, operates as a single entity with Medford, New Jersey-based ARP Renovation LLC. The firms are owned and operated by Andrew Raymond Pollock, according to OSHA. OSHA said its inspectors found at least five employees exposed to falls of 10 to 18 feet to the ground and pavement below. OSHA standards require that employers provide fall protection for 6 feet or more above a lower level. OSHA said it repeatedly informed Pollock of the fall protection requirement. After the firm refused to correct this hazard, OSHA said it took the rare step of posting an imminent danger notice at the site. The agency cited the companies for three willful violations, which account for $435,081 of the total proposed penalties. OSHA also cited the employer for six other violations, carrying $66,295 in proposed penalties. OSHA said it cited this employer for fall-related hazards at New Jersey worksites in 2014 and 2021 and that this employer meets the requirements for OSHAs Severe Violator Enforcement Program. ARP Renovation has 15 days to comply or contest the findings. Source: OSHA Topics Workers' Compensation A Russian tanker impounded by Greece this week and reportedly carrying Iranian oil will be released amid confusion about sanctions on its owners. The coast guard has been ordered by the anti-money laundering authority to release the vessel, a Greek government official said, without providing further details. Update: Greece Seizes Russian Crude Oil Tanker as Part of EU Sanctions On Tuesday, Greek authorities impounded the 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, on the southern coast of the island of Evia. They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from its ports, with some exemptions, as it adopted new sanctions against Russia for what the Kremlin describes as a special military operation. The Pegas tanker was also among five vessels sanctioned by the United States on Feb. 22, 2022 two days before Russias invasion of Ukraine as part of broader sanctions against Promsvyazbank, a bank Washington described as critical to Russias defense sector. Promsvyazbank said it and its unit PSB Lizing were not the owners of the tanker as it was bought back by its owner in April 2021. Promsvyazbank did not name the new owner. PSB Lizing said the owner was TransMorFlot. TransMorFlot was not available for comment. A Greek sources close to the matter said that following checks there were no legal grounds to continue impounding the Pegas as the ship had recently changed ownership and its new owner was not on an EU sanctions list. Iranian Oil On Tuesday, U.S. State Department welcomed Greeces efforts to implement the sanctions initiated in response to Russias brutal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and said it was aware of reports that the tanker was loaded with Iranian crude oil. Eikon tanker tracking shows the Pegas has been floating around the Mediterranean since September 2021 after loading in the Gulf in August. Three industry sources said it had Iranian oil on board but struggled to sell it to a customer in Europe, which alongside the United States has a ban on Iranian oil. U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic, also said the Pegas loaded around 700,000 barrels of crude oil from Irans Sirri Island on Aug. 19, 2021. Prior to this load, the Pegas transported over 3 million barrels of Iranian oil in 2021, with over 2.6 million of those barrels ending up in China, according to UANI analysis. A Greek coast guard official confirmed it had received the decision made by the anti-money laundering unit, an independent authority, but said the order had not yet been officially served to Pegas. The Pegas, which was renamed Lana in March, had earlier reported an engine problem. It was headed to the southern Peloponnese peninsula to offload its cargo onto another tanker but rough seas forced it to moor just off Karystos where it was seized, according to the Athens News Agency. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; editing by Alison Williams, Kirsten Donovan and David Evans) Topics Russia Financially strong EU and UK reinsurers will finally see the end of collateral requirements for business they write in the United States changes that have been more than 20 years in the making. Effective Oct. 1, 2022, reinsurers, which have reciprocal reinsurer status, no longer will have to post consumer protection collateral equal to 100% of the risk assumed from U.S. insurers. Such collateral includes letters of credit issued by authorized U.S. financial institutions. Foreign regulators, politicians and reinsurers for many years have objected to the collateral requirement, arguing that it has put them at a competitive disadvantage because it reduces available capital, increases the cost of capital and ultimately results in higher premiums. To qualify for these special reinsurance measures, the Lloyds Market Association explained that an assuming reinsurer must meet certain conditions: A reinsurer has at least 226 million (US$245.4 million) of own funds or capital and surplus A central fund contains at least 226 million A solvency ratio of 100% solvency capital requirement (SCR) under Solvency II The assuming reinsurer provides consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of the U.S. (Lloyds does this centrally). The assuming reinsurer consents to the host supervisory authority as agent for process of service (Lloyds does this centrally). The change to the EU-U.S.-covered agreements was announced in 2017, while a separate UK-U.S. covered agreement was signed in 2018 after the UK decided to leave the European Union. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners began considering some changes 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, when international interests submitted a proposal to establish a list of approved reinsurers. After all, non-U.S. reinsurers reportedly paid 64% of overall claims from 9/11, a figure that has been attributed to Dowling & Partners. According to Swiss Re, insured losses for 9/11 (inflated to 2021 dollars) totaled US$28.7 billion. In February 2016, the U.S. government began negotiations with the EU, which concluded in January 2017. In October 2022, the rule changes are finally being enacted. In exchange for the changes to the covered agreements, the EU and UK agreed to not impose local presence requirements on U.S. firms operating in the EU, and effectively must defer to U.S. group capital regulation for U.S. entities of EU-based firms, said the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The elimination of collateral requirements is prospective only and will apply to contracts written on or after Oct. 1, 2022. Contracts of U.S. reinsurance written on or after Oct. 1 will no longer be funded in the U.S. Credit for Reinsurance Trust funds, which will be closed to new business and will begin to be run off. The LMA explained that contracts of U.S. reinsurance written prior to Oct. 1, 2022 will continue to be funded in the U.S. Credit for Reinsurance Trust Funds. Collateral will not be eliminated for existing U.S. reinsurance contracts existing collateral will continue to be adjusted on a quarterly basis as the Lloyds US Situs Credit for Reinsurance Trust funds run off. Further, the LMA said it is recommended that U.S. reinsurance contracts incepting on or after Oct. 1 make clear that the cedent is not a beneficiary of Lloyds U.S. Credit for Reinsurance Trust Funds and has no recourse to them. The suggested wording is: This agreement does not constitute an American Reinsurance Policy under the Lloyds U.S. Situs Credit for Reinsurance Trust Deed or the Lloyds American Credit for Reinsurance Joint Asset Trust Deed and the ceding insurer does not have recourse to those trust funds. Related: Topics USA Reinsurance Norges Bank Investment Management, one of the main institutional investors in Generali GASI.MI, backs the reappointment of CEO Philippe Donnet, a proxy voting record on the website of the company running Norways sovereign wealth fund showed. Shareholders in Italys biggest insurer vote next Friday to name a new board and settle a shareholder fight that has seen Donnets candidacy challenged by a group of leading Italian investors. Norges Bank Investment Management holds 1.39% of Generali, according to its website. In backing the Generali boards choice to keep Donnet at the helm, Norges is following the voting recommendation of leading international governance advisers Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. Smaller fund shareholders CalPERS, SBA Florida and CPP Investments have also said in proxy voting records they will back the outgoing boards slate of nominees. The rebel investors, led by construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, have put forward as CEO candidate Luciano Cirina, Generalis former head of Austria and central and eastern European countries. Donnet on Thursday told Reuters he was confident of delivering results pledged under the strategy through 2024 he presented in December. (Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Maria Pia Quaglia and Keith Weir) Related: Topics Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) Plc. An Australian court ordered Westpac Banking Corp. to pay A$113 million ($82.92 million) in penalties for multiple compliance failures across its businesses, after hearing the last of the six cases filed against it by the countrys corporate watchdog. The Federal Court fined Westpac A$40 million for one of the six cases, related to charging advice fees to over 11,800 deceased customers in the latest hearing, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on Friday. It was the biggest fine of all the six cases. ASICs legal actions that were initiated in November include the lenders compliance failures across its banking, superannuation, wealth management and insurance business over many years. Australias financial sector has faced intense scrutiny since a Royal Commission inquiry in 2018 found widespread shortcomings across the industry, with charging the dead among the most common and damaging revelations. Over the course of 13 years, more than 70,000 customers have been affected by these failures, either by being incorrectly charged or given the wrong information, ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said. Westpac said it acknowledged the court hearing of all six civil penalty proceedings commenced by ASIC and the penalty amount that was previously disclosed. These penalties have been substantially provisioned (together with anticipated legal costs) in Westpacs full-year 2021 results, the bank said. Westpac is scheduled to report its second-half results on May 9. ($1 = 1.3628 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; editing by Rashmi Aich) Related: Topics Australia The brother of former first lady Michelle Obama and his wife are suing a private Milwaukee school alleging it refused to allow their two sons to re-enroll after they voiced concerns that racism and inappropriate conduct at the school had not been satisfactorily addressed. In a civil lawsuit filed in Milwaukee County CircuitCourt, Craig and Kelly Robinson accuse University School of Milwaukee of terminating their 9- and 11-year-old sons re-enrollment contracts for the 2021-2022 school year after the couple complained that teachers treated students of color and socioeconomically underrepresented students unfairly. According to the lawsuit filed Monday, the school failed to provide the supportive and inclusive learning environment it had promised in its enrollment contracts with the Robinsons. The boys had attended the pre-kindergarten through grade 12 school for about five years, the Robinsons said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a trial by jury. USM said in a statement that the enrollment decision had nothing to do with their complaints of inequity or discrimination. The independent school, with a campus that stretches from Milwaukee to the nearby suburb of River Hills, enrolls about 1,100 students every year. The Robinsons allege the conduct their children experienced indicated a broader pattern of insensitivity by USM toward socioeconomically underrepresented students and students of color for years. Craig Robinson said the boys had been straight-A students at the school and never got in trouble. We raised issues and our kids got kicked out, he said. The school failed to address racial epithets and other inappropriate conduct on campus, the Robinsons said, without providing details. The Robinsons said when the boys were learning virtually at home because of the pandemic, they became aware that racial and ethnic stereotypes appeared in assignments. It gave the parents a birds eye view into learning, Kelly Robinson said. We were partnering with the school and we shared our concerns, how the school could be better with curriculum, communicating with families and to eliminating biases, she said. In a termination letter to the Robinsons, USM Head of School Steve Hancock told the couple they had repeatedly engaged in disrespectful and demanding communications with and about our teachers and administrators. In an April email, Hancock wrote that despite our continued efforts and requests, you continue to directly engage with USMs fifth grade teachers and administrators in a manner that is not consistent with the schools Common Trust and Core Values _ including via numerous emails, texts, and conversations that are disrespectful and deflating. The Robinson boys were in the fifth and third grades at the time. It has only become more evident that there has been a complete breakdown in your familys trust of and respect for USM, Hancock wrote. The boys have been traumatized by the loss of their relationships and friendships at USM, the only school they had ever attended, but are now in a thriving and supportive environment, Kelly Robinson said. Hancock released a statement Tuesday afternoon, but declined to take calls on the lawsuit. We regard highly the privacy and confidentiality of our community members and we cannot comment on the specifics of matters involving threatened or pending litigation. However, we can tell you that USMs enrollment decisions had nothing to do with complaints of inequity or discrimination and we intend to vigorously defend the school against anyclaimto the contrary. We cannot and will not tolerate persistently disrespectful, bullying, or harassing behavior directed at our devoted and hardworking teachers and administrators, he statement in part said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits K-12 Wisconsin Tesla is trying to turn a nightmare into a dream with Tesla Insurance, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said Wednesday. His final words during an earnings conference call that lasted more than an hour came as Musk and Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn addressed an analysts question about profit margins and take-up rates for the insurance program of the electric vehicle manufacturer. Kirkhorn said it is too early to share any details on the financial results of the insurance program. Instead, he focused his remarks on national and global expansion plans and the idea that Tesla Insurance is making U.S. roads safer where its available today. Then Musk chimed in with remarks about how Tesla improves the claims handling experience for customers. Kirkhorn said that Tesla expects to be the largest insurer of Teslas in the state of Texas by the end of the year. In addition to expanding its real-time insurance offering into Virginia, Colorado and Oregon this week, Tesla Insurance is working toward a goal of giving 80 percent of U.S. customers access to a Tesla Insurance product by the end of 2022, he added. After that, well pivot our attention to expansion outside of the U.S., the CFO said. Currently, Tesla Insurance is available in eight states, including the three added this week. With these three new states, the model is different because we are now the underwriter, and we are also now holding the risk, Kirkhorn said, contrasting an MGA model. In those states, we are a fully vertically integrated provider of insurance from systems and financials, he said. Referring to other states, Kirkhorn said, Texas is our longest-standing real-time insurance market. California is among the eight states where Tesla Insurance is available, but policies issued in California do not include real-time driving behavior in the calculation of insurance premiums. (Related Insurance Journal article, Teslas Musk Tweets Off on California Regulator Lara Over Car Insurance) Real-Time Insurance From Tesla In seven states where Tesla coverage is now available, the auto maker offers insurance using real-time driving behavior. A key factor in determining premiums for real-time insurance is a Tesla Safety Scoreessentially, a score that captures how safely the policyholder drives by monitoring forward collision warnings per 1,000 miles, hard braking, aggressive turning, unsafe following time and forced Autopilot disengagement (a measure of inattentiveness when using Teslas Autopilot advanced driver assistance system). While premiums are based on a mile-weighted average of the daily Safety Scores over the last 30 days, drivers get real-time feedback on their driving behaviors at the end of every trip, and their Safety Score will be updated. Based on the changes in your Safety Score, you will see an estimate of your next premium in real time, the website says. Other factors included in the Tesla Insurance premium calculation are the vehicle model, policyholder address, miles driven and coverage selected. Related article: Tesla, Other Car Makers Have Edge Over Incumbent Insurers: Moodys Its the real-time element of the premium calculation that had Kirkhorn and Musk talking about passions and dreams, which transcend top- and bottom-line results of the insurance operations. This has become a real passion program for us Its bigger than just the economics. Were trying to do a good thing here for our customers, save people money and make the roads a little bit safer, Kirkhorn said, after noting some social media buzz from customers in Virginia, Colorado and Oregon who say they saved money by switching to Tesla Insurance. Having real-time feedback for driving habits is actually resulting in Tesla owners driving the cars in a safer way, Musk asserted. They get real-time feedback on, OK, this is affecting my insurance rate or it isnt. And so, when people see itthey can see a real-time scorethey realize, oh, if I make the following changes in my driving habits, then I pay less in insurance, he said referring to a real-time feedback loop for driving and the incentive for safer driving that the pricing model creates. There is not just a feedback loop for drivers but for Tesla as well because we see if there is a crash, large or smallexactly what that cost. And then we think about how can we change the design of the car or the software in order to minimize the probability of that accident. Most accidents are minor, but how do you have those accidents occur less frequently? he continued. And how do we make the repair associated with that accident super fast? Aspirationally, it would be like a same-day repair of a collision, which is a night-and-day difference compared to sometimes having to wait for a month while insurance claims are settled and figured out, because Tesla is also doing collision repair, Musk said. It improves just overall macroeconomic efficiency, he said. Kirkhorn explained: We do claims management in-house. And so, we receive the notification that theres an accident; we work to prepare the estimate. Then we can, with the support of our customers, use our collision centers to do the repair. So, its full end-to-end visibility. And [with] all of that, to Elons point, we can then identify areas of cost inefficiency, feed those back to our engineering [and] software teams [to] actually improve the product, he said, referring to Tesla cars. This lowers the cost of insurance, improves reliability of the product. So, its a full circle. Added Musk, Basically, the customer experience is just vastly better because if theres an accident, theres no argument. Well repair it immediately. And this is as compared to arguing with an insurance company and then a claims adjuster and then a collision repair center. This can be a nightmare basically. So, were trying to turn a nightmare into a dream with Tesla Insurance, he said. Topics Claims Tesla Estee Lauders Burrell Joins GEICO as Chief Marketing Officer Insurer GEICO announced Damon Burrell has joined the company as chief marketing officer. Burrell will oversee all of GEICOs marketing efforts. Burrell reports to CEO Todd Combs. Most recently, Burrell served as CMO and senior vice president of Marketing, North America, at The Estee Lauder Companies. He was responsible for guiding the companies portfolio of brands and marketing campaigns and served as a key leader in the companys digital transformation. Prior to Estee Lauder, he held senior vice president of Marketing roles at Viacom leading the Nickelodeon and MTV brands. GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the second-largest auto insurer in the U.S. and a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies. Zurich North America Names Olson Head of Programs Denise Olson has been named head of Programs for Zurich North America. She succeeds Greg Massey, who is retiring. Olson is responsible for the executive management of Zurichs Programs business and fostering and maintaining strategic relationships with program administrators. Olson will report to Alex Wells, head of U.S. Middle Market, and she will continue as a member of the Zurich North America Leadership Team. Olson joined Zurich in 2003 and has held several leadership roles in underwriting, product development and actuarial. She most recently served as the technical director for Programs, working with the line of business and pricing and actuarial teams. She also continued her responsibilities for new program selection and the due diligence process. Donegal Names Hudnall as Senior VP of Commercial Lines The Donegal Insurance Group announced the hiring of Matthew Hudnall to lead the groups Commercial Lines business. In his new role as senior vice president of Commercial Lines, Hudnall will play a key role in developing and executing the strategy, overseeing underwriting well as operational effectiveness. Hudnall most recently served as senior vice president of commercial and personal lines underwriting at Preferred Mutual. Prior to that, he spent eight years with The Hanover in various underwriting leadership roles in small commercial and casualty underwriting. Hudnalls early career included underwriting positions with The Hartford and Travelers, leading specialization in industries including financial services and manufacturing. Donegal Insurance Group consists of Donegal Mutual Insurance Co. and the insurance subsidiaries of Donegal Group Inc. that offer property/casualty insurance in certain Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, New England, Southern and Southwestern states. Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance An arm of the U.S. Justice Department cast doubt on far-right radio host Alex Joness use of bankruptcy as three companies he once owned prepare for their first day in court Friday. The agencys bankruptcy watchdog, the U.S. Trustee, said the Chapter 11 filing raises numerous questions the answers to which may demonstrate these cases are an abuse of the bankruptcy system, according to court papers filed Thursday. The U.S. Trustee urged a federal judge in Texas to reject a request to appoint former judges to oversee a proposed victim compensation fund. Three small entities affiliated with Joness Infowars website are seeking to use bankruptcy to set up a trust to pay damages that may be won in court by relatives of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. The relatives of Sandy Hook victims won key court rulings in Connecticut and Texas against Jones after he called the shootings a hoax, and future trials will determine the size of the damages. This Motion to appoint the trustees for the Litigation Settlement Trust seems to be just the first step for Debtors to carry out Joness and FSSs scheme of avoiding the burdens of bankruptcy while reaping its benefits, the U.S. Trustee said in court papers. Settlement Trust The three units, including one that holds the rights to website Infowars, sought court protection in Victoria, Texas on Sunday. Chapter 11 filings allow a business to keep operating while working on a turnaround plan and pause pending civil litigation. Jones main holding company, Free Speech Systems LLC, didnt file for bankruptcy. In the Infowars bankruptcy, lawyers set up a trust that would pay people suing the companies, and Jones handed over his equity in the entities to the trust. The units in bankruptcy have no purpose other than to hold assets which may be used by other entities and their only liabilities are the litigation claims, according to court papers. The bankruptcy filing could hurt efforts by the Sandy Hook families to collect from Jones, said Patrick Jackson, a restructuring lawyer based in Delaware who has handled cases with similar legal disputes. The three units may try to force the families into negotiating with Jones in bankruptcy instead of allowing them to fight for a higher payout in court, he said. If Im a plaintiff, I dont trust any of this, Jackson, with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. There is a good argument here that these companies dont have any business in bankruptcy. Disputed Tactic By establishing a trust to settle legal claims in bankruptcy, Joness companies are following a controversial playbook used by other corporations facing significant lawsuits. Companies including opioid maker Purdue Pharma LP and youth organization Boy Scouts of America have sought Chapter 11 protection to settle thousands of cases and streamline payouts to victims claiming harm. On Tuesday, the judge overseeing a lawsuit against Jones in Connecticut state court said the case would be put on hold temporarily. The ruling appears to stop the case against Jones himself along with the three bankrupt units. Lawyers for Jones did not respond to requests for comment. Jones put $725,000 of his own money into the trust to cover the costs of the Chapter 11 filings. Additional funds, including $2 million cash, could flow into the trust as a result of the bankruptcy, according to court papers. Should a judge approve the trusts, two former bankruptcy judges Russell F. Nelms and Richard S. Schmidt would be overseeing the fund. The U.S. Trustee argues that its too early in the case to appoint Nelms and Schmidt or to approve the trust. Lawyers representing Jones and his businesses have said the Texas defamation lawsuit was strategically filed to silence their free speech on matters of public interest. They didnt immediately return a call for comment about the U.S. Trustees filing. Judges in Connecticut and Texas issued default judgments against Jones after he failed to turn over documents including financial information. Lawyers representing Jones have argued the plaintiffs probe into the financial ties between Jones and his various entities is akin to a collections action and a fishing expedition. The main case is InfoW LLC, 22-60020, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas. With assistance from Jeremy Hill and Rachel Butt. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Chandrika Brown, age 31, and Aisha Thompson, age 44, both of New Orleans, Louisiana, were sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, arising out of staged automobile accidents with tractor-trailers occurring in New Orleans. According to documents filed in federal court, Brown,along with her co-defendants, Doniesha Gibson (Gibson), of New Orleans, Louisiana; and Ishais Price (Price), of New Orleans, and a co-defendant driver conspired to commit mail fraud in connection with a staged accident with a co-defendant driver on October 15, 2015. Thompson, along with her co-defendants, Dewayne Coleman, Erica Lee Thompson (Erica Lee), Donisha Lee, Passenger A, and another individual, conspired to commit mail fraud in connection with a staged accident with the same co-defendant driver, occurring on September 6, 2017. Thus far, the total number of defendants convicted in Operation Sideswipe is thirty-six (36). Brown claimed that on October 15, 2015, she was a passenger in a 2014 Dodge Avenger owned and driven by Gibson that was hit by a Hotard bus while traveling on the I-10 near the flyover of the I-510. Also in the vehicle was defendant Price. In truth, a co-defendant asked Gibson to recruit Brown and Price to ride along as passengers and he then sought out a commercial vehicle to intentionally hit. After the staged accident, the co-defendant driver switched seats with Gibson, and they called the N.O.P.D. Gibson, along with the passengers, falsely stated that the Hotard bus illegally changed lanes and caused the accident. Thereafter, Brown, Gibson, Price, and the co-defendant driver each retained counsel and made demands against Hotards owner and insurer for personal injury damages. As a result of the claims, the insurer utilized the U.S. mails to send the settlement drafts to Brown, Gibson, Price, and the co-defendant drivers counsel. The total settlement for the Hotard bus accident was approximately $677,500. Similarly, Thompson falsely claimed that on September 6, 2017, on the I-10 near the Almonaster exit, she was a passenger in co-defendant Erica Lees 2015 RAV4 being driven by their former co-defendant, when he intentionally crashedinto a tractor-trailer owned by Averitt Express. After the staged accident, the driver exited the RAV4 and told Erica Lee to get behind the wheel of the RAV4 to make it appear that Erica Lee was driving the vehicle at the time of the staged accident. The defendants contacted the NOPD and falsely claimed that Erica Lee was the driver at the time of the collision. Passenger A falsely claimed to the NOPD that she was Thompson. Approximately one or two days after the staged accident, Coleman, Donisha Lee, Erica Lee, Thompson, and another individual went to an attorneys office for the purpose of collecting money from the insurance and trucking company. Thompson and her co-defendants sought medical treatment from doctors and healthcare providers, Thompson was treated despite not being in the RAV4 at the time of the staged accident. Thompson retained counsel and made a claim for damages. The total settlement for the Averitt accident was $30,000. On March 26, 2019, Coleman, Donisha Lee, and another individual each provided false testimony in depositions taken in conjunction with the Thompson Lawsuit. On April 9, 2019, Thompson provided false testimony in a deposition taken in conjunction with the Thompson Lawsuit. In these depositions, Thompson and her co-defendants lied about the September 6, 2017 accident including, but not limited to, who was driving the RAV4 and the extent of their injuries. United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced Brown to 3 years probation, 100 hours community service, restitution in the amount of $121,076.75, and a $100.00 special assessment fee. and Thompson to 18 months incarceration, followed by 3 years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service, restitution in the amount of $677,500.00, and a $100.00 special assessment fee. Source: U.S. Department of Justice Insurance company officials and attorneys have been known to complain when policyholders file suit before the parties have had a chance to settle a claim. In West Virginia, it was the insurer, Kinsale Insurance Co., that filed suit in federal court before it even notified the policyholder, a CBD oil extraction factory, that it would deny a fire claim. A federal appeals court said this week that Kinsales appeal was premature and that the lower court must first determine the extent of the claim. Though the district court resolved the key question of whether Kinsale was liable for providing insurance coverage for the damage caused by the fire at the JDBC facility, the court had not found all of the facts necessary to compute the amount of damages due, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeal said in a published opinion handed down April 20. The JDBC cannabidiol plant in Charles Town, West Virginia, erupted in flames on Halloween in 2019. The owners filed a claim the next day. Two months later, Kinsale, without notifying JDBC about whether its claim was accepted or denied, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, the appeals court explained. The Virginia-based insurer argued that it was not bound to provide coverage, based on the conditions and exclusions under the policy. The policys pollution exclusion bars coverage for increased losses and damages from hazardous chemicals, which Kinsale said the company was using to manufacture the oil. Nonetheless, the district court denied Kinsales motion for summary judgment and declared that the insurer was obligated to cover the damages. But differences remained over the amount of losses. JDBC said had asked for $7.25 million plus attorneys fees. Because of the remaining questions, the appeals court held that long-standing precedent and rules of procedure bar the appeal at this point. Because we find that the district courts partial summary judgment order is not a final decision under Rule 54(b) and because we find that certification exceeded the scope of the district courts discretion, we dismiss the appeal and remand for further proceedings, the appeals court panel of judges wrote. Without a final decision to review, we must dismiss the appeal before us and remand it for further proceedings so that all remaining claims and issues can be resolved. Topics Carriers Cannabis The South Carolina Insurance Reserve Fund, which insures state and local governments, has stepped in to settle a lawsuit brought by a man who claimed he was sexually abused by an instructor at the Citadel, a military college. The payout was for $275,000, according to a WCSC TV news report. The plaintiff was not named, but he had accused former Citadel instructor Kenneth Boes of plying him with alcohol and drugs and abusing him 40 to 50 times in 2017 and 2018. Criminal charges against Boes were dropped for reasons that prosecutors have not explained in court, according to news reports. Boes has denied the allegations. He resigned in 2018 after his arrest. The lawsuit argued that the Charleston-based Citadel, one of the oldest military prep schools in the country, facilitated Boes actions. The insurance fund is a division of the states Fiscal Accountability Authority. Its website notes that the fund acts as a governmental insurance operation with the mission to provide insurance specifically designed to meet the needs of governmental entities at the lowest possible cost. The Citadel is a public institution. The payout was made two years after a federal lawsuit was dismissed, according to news reports. The Citadel launched its own investigation of the colleges response to the allegations and produced a 180-page report in 2019. Photo: Building at the Citadel, via Citadel.edu Topics South Carolina The last stockpiles of a deadly chemical agent in the U.S. have been safely eliminated, according to Kentucky officials in charge of destroying the Cold War-era weapons. The final M55 rocket containing VX nerve agent was destroyed Tuesday at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent plant. Officials at the Kentucky plant began disassembling about 18,000 of the rockets and draining the VX agent in July, according to a news release from plant officials. Candace Coyle, the plants project manager, said Wednesday the nations entire stockpile of VX nerve agent is now completely destroyed. VX is considered the deadliest of the chemical agents that was produced by the U.S., much of it in the 1960s. It has a consistency similar to motor oil and even a tiny amount causes victims bodies to flood with fluids, producing a feeling of drowning before death. Officials in 2017 declared that assassins used VX agent to kill the brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a Malaysian airport. The Kentucky Army depot still has 277 tons of other chemical agents left to be destroyed, after beginning with more than 520 tons of VX, GB and mustard agent that was in storage for decades. Officials said it all should be gone by next year after it began eliminating its mustard agent stockpiles in 2019. After more than a half century of chemical weapons storage in central Kentucky, the final chapter at Blue Grass Army Depot will soon begin, said Col. Stephen Dorris, commander of the depot in central Kentucky, where the plant is located. The mustard agent campaign finished in September. The plant also destroyed 4,000 projectiles with GB nerve agent in the first half of 2020. Another 13,000 155mm projectiles with VX agent were destroyed from January to May 2021. The military had planned decades ago to destroy the weapons in Kentucky by burning them, but after concerns from residents and environmental groups, a plan was settled on to use water and chemicals to neutralize the agents. Chemical weapons also are being destroyed at an Army facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The stockpiles at the two sites accounted for the last 10% of an original stockpile of more than 30,000 tons of chemical weapons in the U.S. The Army used incineration methods to destroy the weapons at other sites. Photo: The detonation chamber at Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Plant near Richmond, Kentucky. (Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, U.S. Army via AP) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Agencies Chemicals Kentucky Its when the letter is mailed, not when it is received, that determines if a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case complied with Florida law on pre-suit notifications, the Florida Supreme Court decided Thursday. It is the timely mailing of the pre-suit notice of intent to initiate litigation, not the receipt of the notice, that begins the tolling of the applicable limitations period for filing a complaint for medical negligence, the court wrote in its William Boyle vs. Myles Samotin opinion. The decision aimed to clarify conflicting appeals court decisions, two of which had found that key date is the date the notice is sent, while the 2nd District Court of Appeal held that it is the day the defendant received the notice. State law gives plaintiffs two years after the alleged medical incident to send the notice if they intend to litigate, and provides a four-year statute of repose. Attorneys said the decision could potentially have an impact on court rulings on other pre-suit notice requirements required by Florida statutes, including those for property insurance claims litigation. Senate Bill 76, signed into law last year, requires that claimants give 10-day notice before filing lawsuits against insurers. But the wording of the statute reads only that such notice must be given, and does not address the mailed vs. received question. Insurers also have raised concerns that the law requires the notice to be sent to the Florida Department of Financial Services, but that the insurance company may not receive it until days later. In the Boyle case, the plaintiff waited until the last day to send the notice, via certified mail, to Dr. Myles Samotin, an orthopedic surgeon with offices in Orlando, Sarasota and Bonita Springs. Because Samotin did not sign the return receipt on the letter until after the time limit window had closed, the 2nd District court in 2020 stood on its previous decision and sided with the doctor. It held that the plaintiff had waited too late. But noting the conflicting rulings from the 4th and 5th Districts, the court asked the Supreme Court to settle the matter. We quash the Second Districts decision in Boyle, and we approve the certified conflict cases of Zacker and Baxter to the extent they are consistent with this opinion, the high courts opinion reads, citing the previous decisions that had led to the conflict. The justices added that the law and previous court rulings had indeed led to some confusion, but that Florida Statute 766.106 and rules of civil procedure are clear enough on the presuit notice requirement. The Florida Defense Lawyers Association had filed an amicus brief on behalf of the defendant doctor. Topics Lawsuits A Southern California school district has agreed to pay $13.75 million to settle civil lawsuits over a worker who admitted molesting elementary school students. The agreement was announced by attorneys for 10 former students from Liberty Elementary School in Riverside. The suits said the Riverside Unified School District ignored or covered up sex abuse allegations against Fernando Figueroa, a technology aide. Figueroa was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to lewd and lascivious acts involving 11 victims between 2014 and 2017. The children were molested when they were between 7 and 11 years old, according to Tuesdays statement from the law firm Manly, Stewart and Finaldi. School district officials didnt immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment on the settlement. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits California Education K-12 California workplace regulators are poised to extend mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022, more than two months after state lawmakers restored similar benefits through September. The decision again pits management against labor as the seven-member Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board renews revised workplace safety rules that would otherwise expire in early May. The proposal is a necessary recognition that the pandemic is ongoing, the future is unclear, and workplaces must remain protected and prepared, said Stephen Knight, executive director of Worksafe Inc., an Oakland-based worker advocacy group. Including sick pay and job protections for workers infected on the job and sent home is vital. But Rob Moutrie, a policy advocate with the California Chamber of Commerce, said business groups remain concerned about the cost and confusion of maintaining uncapped exclusion pay as part of the regulation, particularly in light of the Legislatures recent passage of COVID-19 sick leave legislation. Small businesses have particularly struggled with the obligation, Moutrie said. The Cal/OSHA rule applies in almost every workplace in the state, covering workers in offices, factories and retail businesses, while the state sick leave law applies only to companies with 26 or more employees. The debate comes as the highly transmissible omicron variant BA.2 becomes dominant in California and across the U.S., threatening a new wave of infections. The states case rate is up by one third and test positivity has doubled since late March. Hospitalizations and intensive care patients remain at or near their lows for the pandemic. But the states models predict hospitalizations will increase from fewer than 1,000 now to 1,500 in another month, while ICU admissions are expected to continue declining before beginning a slow increase by late May. The pending regulation requires employers to keep paying workers wages and maintain their seniority and other benefits for as long as they cant work because of a coronavirus exposure or infection, unless they receive disability payments or the employer can prove the close contact wasnt work related. It is important that employees who are COVID-19 cases do not come to work, Cal/OSHA said. Maintaining employees earnings and benefits as usual, when they are excluded from the workplace, is important to ensure that employees will notify their employers if they test positive for COVID-19 or have a close contact. The states sick leave law differs in that it provides employees with up to one week of paid time off if they get the coronavirus or are caring for a sick family member. They qualify for a second week off only if they or their family members test positive. Theres a troubling provision in the revised Cal/OSHA paid leave rules that isnt in current regulations, said Mitch Steiger, a legislative advocate for the California Labor Federation. Currently, an employee who has had close contact with an infected worker is also sent home, with pay. But the revised rules can keep them on the job until they test positive. The employer could force that person to stay at work and interact with co-workers, members of the public and immunocompromised people and whomever until that person tests positive, Steiger said. The more that we walk that back, the more space we give the virus to spread, he said. Nearly two-dozen agribusiness organizations said in a letter to the standards board that the new pending rule creates another problem: It actually rewards people for not getting tested, said Michael Miiller, California Association of Winegrape Growers government relations director, who wrote the letter. Employers would have two choices when dealing with an outbreak of three or more coronavirus cases if an employee comes in close contact, they said: The employee must either test negative, or be given a week off with pay if they decline to be tested. They also noted that employees who were infected in the past 90 days could show false positive test results. Despite their concerns, employee advocates want the board to approve the revised rules, while business groups are again urging the board to end specific regulations they say cant keep up with a rapidly evolving virus and public health rules. California has recently eased many masking and quarantine rules. Cal/OSHA says most of the revised regulations are consistent with recommendations and orders from the California Department of Public Health that employers are already following. Knight, the Worksafe executive director, is concerned that Cal/OSHA is now relying too heavily on recommendations for the general public instead of those designed specifically for workplaces. Theres a difference, he said, between families choosing to go out to dinner, and a family member having no choice but to clock in and stand shoulder-to-shoulder washing dishes. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California COVID-19 Commercial Lines Business Insurance News Global concrete water reducer market trend 2025-2029 Influences of Concrete Water Reducer on Different Kinds of Cement (1) by Newsintegra927 The purchasing pace at the demand end of the international thermal coal market continues to slow down and the international thermal coal price continues to decline. Prices for thermal coal at major international ports continued to fall last week as buyers in Europe slowed in recent days for April, coupled with weaker-than-expected import demand from End users in China. According to China Coal Market net monitoring: Australia Newcastle port thermal coal price index was 253 USD/ton, compared with 309.02 USD/ton, down 56.02 USD/ton, down 18.13%. South Africa's Port Richards thermal coal price Index was $264.5 / mt, down the US $62.72 / mt or 19.17% from US $327.22 / mt. The European ARA Tri-port thermal coal price Index was $281.8 / ton. Does the price of thermal coal in major international ports continue to decline to affect the price of the concrete water reducer? The water-reducing agent or concrete water reducer is a kind of concrete admixture that can reduce the water consumption under the condition of keeping the slump of concrete basically unchanged. It has a dispersive effect on cement particles, can improve its workability, reduce water consumption per unit, improve the fluidity of concrete mixture, or reduce the amount of cement per unit, saving cement. Because different cement has different mineralized compositions, in addition to the variety of mixed materials, the effect of admixtures for different types of cement is very different. In this article, we will talk about the problems when water reducer meets different kinds of cement and solutions. 1. High-alkali Cement Soluble alkali in cement is usually expressed as Na2O equivalent, which mainly comes from the clay and mixture of cement production. An appropriate amount of soluble alkali is conducive to promoting cement hydration and is more conducive to the early strength development of concrete. The results show that the fluidity of cement concrete increases with the increase of alkali content. However, when a certain amount of cement is reached, the cement will hydrate rapidly and the fluidity of cement slurry decreases greatly. Plasticizing effect decreased obviously after adding water reducing agent. When the water reducing agent is used in the construction of concrete and pumped concrete, the loss rate of slump increases. It is generally believed that alkali in cement promotes the dissolution of tricalcium aluminate (C3A). At this time, cement forms certain AFt crystals quickly with the help of coagulant CaSO4, which wraps on the surface of C3A, inhibits the direct hydration of C3A to form calcium aluminate, and improves the fluidity of cement slurry. However, if the alkali content in cement is too high, due to the formation of a large number of AFt crystals at the beginning, the fluidity will decrease, and the adaptability of water reducing agent to the above cement will inevitably decrease, for example, the water reduction rate is not enough, the plasticizing effect is poor, and the slump loss rate is high. For high alkali cement, the effect of the water reducing agent with low sulfate content is poor, while the use effect of higher sulfate content of water reducing agent (sodium sulfate content of more than 20%) will be significantly improved. Primarily, low water reducing agent CaSO4 is contained in the synthesis and production, it has good properties of water-soluble. Gypsum in cement before it a large number of soluble in water, dissolved when higher alkali to speed up the C3A dissolution, because the water has a large number of SO3, reaction with C3A, form the AFt, to prevent the liquidity caused by the formation of calcium aluminate. And the slump loss is reduced. It is not difficult to see, that the water reducing agent with high content of sodium sulfate can adapt to high alkali cement more. The PH value of many polycarboxylate water reducing agents is low, such as with citric acid and other acid retarder combined with high alkali cement is difficult to adapt. It is mainly because when acid admixture is mixed with cement of high alkali, it can produce acid alkali quickly neutralize exothermic reaction, temperature rises sharply, which not only make cement hydrate rapidly, heat of a large number of hydrate is put more can produce vicious circle, the concrete that place makes up not only fluidity is poor, slump falls to spend very likely disappear inside a very short time. Using other kinds of alkaline retarders can avoid these problems. Suppliers of Concrete Additives TRUNNANO is a reliable concrete additives supplier with over 12-year experience in nano-building energy conservation and nanotechnology development. If you are looking for high-quality concrete additives, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. (sales@cabr-concrete.com) We accept payment via Credit Card, T/T, West Union, and Paypal. Trunnano will ship the goods to customers overseas through FedEx, DHL, by air, or by sea. The World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) said in a statement that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine poses risks to global food supplies, and called on the international community to increase support for vulnerable countries and jointly address food security challenges. A few days ago, the Executive director of the World Food Program, the European Commission's commissioner in charge of crisis management, the French Foreign Minister of the ROTATING EU presidency, and other officials held a meeting in Rome, Italy, to discuss how to deal with the negative impact of the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine on global food security. One of the officials told a news conference after the meeting that the world was facing a food supply challenge that would "last for many years" as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine pushed up global food prices and disrupted the concrete water reducer will continue. Inquery us Products Global Iron Oxide Fe3O4 market trend 2023-2028 Iron oxide Fe3O4 is a commonly used magnetic material by Newsintegra927 The purchasing pace at the demand end of the international thermal coal market continues to slow down and the international thermal coal price continues to decline. Prices for thermal coal at major international ports continued to fall last week as buyers in Europe slowed in recent days for April, coupled with weaker-than-expected import demand from End users in China. According to China Coal Market net monitoring: Australia Newcastle port thermal coal price index was 253 USD/ton, compared with 309.02 USD/ton, down 56.02 USD/ton, down 18.13%. South Africa's Port Richards thermal coal price Index was $264.5 / mt, down the US $62.72 / mt or 19.17% from US $327.22 / mt. The European ARA Tri-port thermal coal price Index was $281.8 / ton. Does the price of thermal coal in major international ports continue to decline to affect the price of the Iron Oxide Fe3O4? Iron oxide Fe3O4 overview Iron oxide Fe3O4 is an inorganic substance with the chemical formula Fe3O4. It is a magnetic black crystal, so it is also called magnetic iron oxide. It cannot be regarded as "ferrous metaferrite" [Fe(FeO2)2], nor can it be regarded as a mixture of ferrous oxide (FeO) and iron oxide (Fe2O3), but it can be approximately regarded as ferrous oxide. A compound composed of iron and iron oxide (FeOFe2O3). This substance is insoluble in water, alkaline solution and organic solvents such as ethanol and ether. Natural ferric oxide is insoluble in acid solution, and is easily oxidized to iron oxide (Fe2O3) in the air in a humid state. Usually used as a pigment and polishing agent, it can also be used in the manufacture of audio tapes and telecommunications equipment. Application of iron oxide Fe3O4 Iron oxide Fe3O4 is a commonly used magnetic material. Specially made pure ferric oxide is used as raw material for recording tapes and telecommunication equipment. Natural magnetite is the raw material for iron making. Used for primers and topcoats. Ferric oxide is the main raw material for the production of iron catalyst (a catalyst). It is very hard and can be used as abrasive. It has been widely used in the field of automobile braking, such as: brake pads, brake shoes, etc. Ferric oxide has been recognized in the field of domestic welding materials, and the production of welding electrodes and wires is still in its infancy, and the market prospect is very broad. Due to its large specific gravity and strong magnetic properties, ferric oxide has shown good performance in sewage treatment. Ferric oxide can also be used as pigment and polishing agent. We can also use certain chemical reactions, such as the use of sodium nitrite, etc., to form a dense layer of iron tetroxide on the surface of steel to prevent or slow down the corrosion of steel, such as the bluing of firearms, saw blades, etc. blackened. Commonly known as "baked blue". Making special electrodes In the contemporary electrified and information society, magnetic materials are widely used. As a multifunctional magnetic material, ferroferric oxide magnetic material has been widely used in tumor treatment, microwave absorption material, catalyst carrier, cell separation, magnetic recording material, magnetic fluid, medicine and other fields. There are development prospects. Iron oxide Fe3O4 price The price of iron oxide Fe3O4 powder will change randomly with the production cost, transportation cost, international situation and the market supply and demand of iron oxide Fe3O4 powder. 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Technical Parameter of Iron Oxide Fe3O4 Powder Test item 01 2 Content Fe3O4 99 99 Moisture content 0.7 0.7 Water Soluble 0.4 0.4 Residue On Sieve(325mesh) 0.3 0.3 Oil absorption (ml/100g) 21 21 PH value 7 7 Tinting strength 99 99 The current international situation is highly uncertain, and its economic impact has not been able to be assessed properly. In addition, rising energy and commodity prices and supply chain disruptions are expected to push the price of the Iron Oxide Fe3O4 higher. Inquery us Vera Ruban always knew the day would come when she would have to flee Ukraine. And while the 31-year-old interior designer is currently safe in Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Co Cork, she is convinced Ukraine will win the war and she will get to return to her native land. Before fleeing, Vera and her husband Artem endured night after night of bomb attacks and air raids in and around their apartment in the city of Hostomel, northwest of Kyiv. Caroline Brelyan and her brother Kirill and their dog Liticia who had just arrived in Millstreet, Co Cork from Ukraine yesterday. Picture: Dan Linehan You could see the jets overhead all the time and bombs going off, and you could see fighting between our army and the Russians and some Chechnya forces, she said. I honestly thought that things would get better, but they just got worse, and before we decided to leave, we packed a rucksack and filled it with essentials like medicines, documents, and toiletries. "When the time came, I grabbed the bag, shoved some more clothes in and then just ran down the stairs and jumped into the car." She and her 48-year-old mother-in-law, Hanna Veselska, along with their two ginger cats, were driven by Artem to an area west of Ukraine near the border, and from there they took a bus to Warsaw. Julia and Marina Timofeeva with Alona Lyudmila Hassieieva at the Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan After a flight aboard KLM that took them to Dublin Airport via Amsterdam, Vera and Hanna finally arrived at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet on Wednesday night as part of a group of around 70 refugees. It is lovely, said Vera, who had to previously flee her native home in the Donbas region when fighting between Russian separatists and the Ukraine army started in 2014. You have no idea how very grateful we are for what you have done for us. I dont know how long myself and my mother-in-law will be here, but while we are, we want to work and pay our way and not just sit around in your Irish hospitality. Vera says she hopes to get a job working with horses or as an interpreter, while her mother-in-law would be happy to work as a cook. As to the future, she has no doubt in her mind about how the war will end. We will win, and of this I am certain, she said. However, where she will live when the war ends is playing on her mind. Lyudmila Mysenko with her mother Tatyna and children Peter, Julia, and Stanislav, heading back to their accommodation in the Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan Shortly after she fled, Russian soldiers bombed her home and then took over flats that were not damaged to use them as lodgings. She has seen a neighbours video showing the flat ransacked and the front door wrenched off its hinges. The whole thing is just surreal, she said. I still cannot believe what is happening and what that man Putin is doing to my country. Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said ministers have been ordered to examine ways of paying those who make properties available for use. Mr Martin said he has asked Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys to examine the issue. I spoke to the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Social Protection in particular, to look at various options, he said. There are issues that would have to be sorted out, but in the first instance, what needs to happen is those who have pledged (accommodation) we need to get through that process, perhaps more quickly - its more time consuming on all involved, he said. To date, just 159 Ukrainian refugees have been moved into housing pledged by members of the public. Mr Martin ruled out any suggestion of capping the number of refugees Ireland will take, notwithstanding the warnings of a lack of accommodation across the country. We are not looking at that right now, but its going to be very challenging, and well see how this pans out, he said. Asked if he would rule out putting a cap on arrivals, he then said that was not under consideration at all. Were looking at looking after people as they come into the country. But it means new options and different options, given that weve exhausted a lot of facilities already, but were consistently working at expanding our capacities. He said the Government is examining what can be constructed to accommodate refugees, but also what buildings could be reconfigured to make them suitable - and that this issue was being examined by a group of former local authority public servants working under the aegis of Minister for Housing Darragh OBrien. Unionists need to unite in opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol, Jeffrey Donaldson has said. The DUP leader addressed a rally against the protocol, in Castlederg in Co Tyrone on Thursday, where he stressed the importance of unionists working together. Speaking before the demonstration he said: Across Northern Ireland I am hearing a loud and consistent message that unionist voters want to see unionist parties standing and working together. When it comes to the benefits of the union and Northern Irelands position within the United Kingdom there is far more which unites unionist parties than divides us. There is a clear understanding of how important this election will be and how it will shape the future direction of Northern Ireland. When it comes to the benefits of the union and Northern Ireland's position within the United Kingdom there is far more which unites unionist parties than divides us When Sinn Fein place their focus on using the election to advance constitutional change we know exactly what that means. Should Sinn Fein win the election, then on May 6 the focus will be on advancing plans for a divisive border poll rather than fixing our NHS, helping working families or growing the economy. Mr Donaldson continued: No unionist elected representative supports the Northern Ireland Protocol. The progress made in bringing the EU back to the negotiating table was achieved through a united stance. It is only those who want to weaken unionism or who still want the rigorous implementation of the Protocol that have anything to gain from divisions within unionism. TUV leader Jim Allister told the rally that the Northern Ireland Protocol was furthering the objective of a united Ireland. All unionists must unite and resolutely oppose the iniquitous protocol He said: How could it be otherwise when, under the protocol, Great Britain is regarded as a third or foreign country in trade terms? The stark reality, as spelled out in the Court of Appeal judgment on the protocol, is that the protocol subjugates Article Six of the Acts of Union, which guarantees freedom of trade within and between the constituent parts of this United Kingdom. He said that checks on goods at Northern Ireland ports meant that freedom of trade had been fettered. Mr Allister added: All of this is with the political intent that once you create an all-Ireland economically, it is but a short step to a political all-Ireland. That is why all unionists must unite and resolutely oppose the iniquitous protocol. The Castlederg rally is the latest in a series which have been taking place across Northern Ireland outlining unionist and loyalist opposition to the post-Brexit protocol, which sees additional checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain. It is strongly opposed by unionists as a border in the Irish Sea. Protesters met at the Orange hall in the town before parading to the Diamond and then returning to the hall for speeches. The rally was also addressed by loyalist activist Jamie Bryson. Mr Bryson used his speech to call on Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie to rejoin the demonstrations. Mr Beattie has said he will not attend the rallies, which he said are raising tensions. Since then the window of his constituency office in Portadown was smashed, and one of his election posters was left with a noose around the neck outside an anti-protocol protest in Lurgan. Grannys knobbly hands worked with deft precision, kneading the mix of grated raw potatoes and flour to make boxty as the wireless overhead blared a heady mix of bereavement notices and country music. The light trickled in through the small kitchen window as she worked, the trusty Stanley range behind her blasting heat onto fresh batches of soda bread for the meitheal and the men. Even as a small blip of a young one, the neighbours coming together around the bog-run at home is one of those core memories people strive to capture using Instagram clips. For some, the clear recollection of it all is probably because they got burnt alive under the sun on the bog itself while they grimaced and stacked rows of peat to dry; for others it might genuinely be that intergenerational relationships were built with otherwise impenetrable fathers when it came to finding anything in common on a usual day. Sitting astride a teetering load of turf dreaming of a ham sandwich and red lemonade could put all the world to rights, at least for an hour. Theres a fierce nostalgia to it all now, particularly when grandparents or older people who were so close to that experience have passed on. Theres a particular affinity Irish people, particularly those in the midlands, have to the bog, to peat, to the land and its not just the obvious physical bit involving all of our roads constantly sinking into it. Its built into our DNA, in a way, the connection to each other, through family and tradition, of sustaining the households heat and life through collecting and burning peat. In Longford, people have grown up in houses built by Bord na Mona for their workers in Lanesboro. The very fabric of the towns and villages in the midlands reflect the impact of the power source we have relied upon for so long. But now, ironically, I cant help but feel that deep rooted connection is being exploited. The very last thing that will make you popular at home in the midlands is to criticise the burning of turf. With headlines in the local papers comparing proposals on ending the sale of turf to being akin to selling drugs on the street and local politicians practically buying their first megaphone to broadcast their disgust, its exactly the kind of distraction that uselessly sucks up the air were all supposed to be clearing of carbon. Its the kind of parish pump immaturity that only responds to the short-term impacts and not the longer term impacts on our local and rural communities if we dont support a transition to alternatives. If Fianna Fail and Fine Gael politicians were this concerned about saving rural Ireland, you would wonder where all the post offices or public transport routes went in the last few years. In a fortnight that produced another damning world climate report begging us to act, to invest, to wake up, Ireland instead spent its column inches and airwaves demonising the Green Party for even daring to cast an eye on a turf fire in concern, or allowing civil servants to consider how its operated. The most recent IPCC report set out clearly the evidence for rapid and deep greenhouse gas emission cuts, cuts that must be made this decade if we are to minimise our chances of exceeding a 1.5C temperature increase. The report also, rightly, calls for alternatives to be made available, and for supports to enable changing behaviours. And change behaviours we must. No one wants to hear this, least of all a Government strapped for cash, because the kind of investment will not be painless for the exchequer. Outrage, bluster, punny headlines, and angry Facebook status updates in a week of Sundays, did we just entirely miss the point? There was a burst of national politicians out quickly to condemn poor Eamon Ryan for casting aspersions over Irelands precious bog burning practices, from Leo Varadkar, the slickest of city TDs, to the personification of the rural TD, Barry Cowen. Press releases practically wrote themselves. But when you step back, what has really happened? Instead of having a worthwhile assessment of how were going to retrofit and upgrade every single fossil fuel-reliant home within timely fashion, this hullabaloo was made into a fake rural-urban war about the protection of the family hearth, when we should be looking at what is actually and urgently needed. We cant have our earth and burn it too. Bigger picture ignored I love the bog. I adore the traditions, I recognise, as any sane person would, that fuel security and spiralling prices are a major and genuine concern for every house in Ireland right now. But we also cant allow lazy political spin to foster the falsehood that it is acceptable every time we buy or use turf in our stoves. Governments two decades ago knew we were running out of commercial peat to fire our power stations. They knew, as did local authorities, that we should have been upgrading and ensuring our homes retained whatever heat we did put into them. Instead, were now told in 2022, with a resigned shrug, that the technology and alternatives arent ready, that the Greens are taking away our livelihoods, that environmentalists dont mind if we are left cold and destitute. The reality of the bigger picture has been ignored for years: Burning fossil fuels will impact negatively and equally on rural Ireland and beyond if we dont proactively change our ways, and while were all busy remembering the past, well wind up without much of a future to look forward to. Of course we have to keep ourselves warm in the meantime, but we owe it both to ourselves and those coming after us to demand better from the people in charge, and, where possible, to be accountable as individuals. Sure, you can blame China and the farting cows, but thats a distraction and a lame excuse for lack of planning and the firm investment in, and commitment to, change which is needed right now. The turf-selling debacle may be the latest in a string of poorly managed PR from our Environment Minister, which has made it easy to paint him as out of touch with real-life concerns, with his focus on shorter showers and slower speeds. But while that might make for a good Twitter rant, it doesnt fix the hot mess weve managed to get, and keep, ourselves in. Siona Cahill, 29, is a former president of the Union of Students in Ireland and a regular radio contributor on current affairs on radio Burma Engulfed with Mounting Resistance, Myanmar Junta Boss Calls for Peace Talks Myanmars coup leader Min Aung Hlaing during the Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March 2022. / Cincds Amid rising armed resistance against his rule in Myanmar, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has invited the leaders of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) for talks to end armed conflict. However, given his recent statement that his regime would not hold talks with the opposition, the shadow National Unity Government and its armed wing Peoples Defence Forces and other resistance forces are believed to be excluded. Min Aung Hlaings request for talks came as the regime faces the most difficulty since its coup last year and it cannot control the country. Furthermore, the armed wings of some powerful EAOs, like the Karen National Union (KNU) and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), are fighting alongside resistance forces against regime troops, inflicting heavy casualties. Some other EAOs are secretly supporting resistance forces. In his televised address aired on Friday, the junta chief, who is responsible for brutal killings, shelling, airstrikes and atrocities against civilians, said he had invited EAO leaders to mark the Year for Peace. I will see all of you personally. There will be more meetings if needed, he said, adding that he would talk to them openly and sincerely for the sake of the peace. The junta leader urged the EAO leaders to register for the meeting by May 9 and the meeting date will be announced later. Myanmar has around 20 EAOs and only 10 have signed the ceasefire agreement. Powerful organizations like the KIO and Arakan Army have not signed the agreement. The KNU is one of the signatories but its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, is fighting the regime. Phado Saw Taw Nee, the KNUs spokesman, told The Irrawaddy that the invitation for talks was hard to believe given the regimes ongoing offensive and heavy-handed responses, like airstrikes. We are not saying no to peace talks but given the previous experience, the norms they hold for peace dont work, he said, referring to the militarys refusals to consider troop withdrawals and a departure from politics. The junta leaders offer comes four days after he gave honorary titles to some EAO leaders, including Saw Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the KNU. However, some suggested that Min Aung Hlaing has attempted to drive a wedge by awarding the KNU chief as the KNU is engaged in fierce fighting with the regime. As of Thursday, junta forces have killed at least 1,779 and arrested more than 13,000 people, including elected leaders, students, activists, politicians and protesters, across the country. Burma Myanmar Junta Chief Excluded From US-ASEAN Special Summit Myanmar regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends the IX Moscow conference on International Security in Moscow on June 23, 2021. / AFP Washington will exclude Myanmar junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing from its special summit with leaders of Southeast Asian nations, because the regime has failed to make progress on a peace plan and has continued to escalate violence against the Myanmar people. United States President Joe Biden will host the leaders of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington on May 12 and 13 for a US-ASEAN Special Summit to demonstrate the USs enduring commitment to the regional bloc, according to the White House. While Myanmar is an ASEAN member, a US State Department spokesperson told The Irrawaddy that Washington supports ASEANs decision to invite non-political representatives from Myanmar to high-level ASEAN events in the absence of progress on the Five-Point Consensus agreed by Myanmar and ASEAN last year. That means that junta boss Min Aung Hlaing will be barred from attending the summit. Myanmar has been in turmoil since last years coup. Since then, over 1,700 civilians have been killed, mostly for resisting the military regime. In the aftermath of the coup and the juntas brutal crackdowns on anti-regime protesters, ASEAN adopted a peace plan the Five-Point Consensus that urged an immediate end to violence in Myanmar. However, the junta has failed to honor the plan and since then only non-political representatives from Myanmar have been invited to ASEAN meetings. Min Aung Hlaing was excluded from the regional summit in October last year, prompting a furious response from the regime, while the juntas foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin was sidelined from ASEANs meeting this February. As we plan for the US-ASEAN Special Summit, we will continue to follow ASEANs standard. The regime has failed to make progress on ASEANs Five-Point Consensus and continues to escalate the violence against the people of Burma, the State Department spokesperson said, referring to Myanmar by its former name. She added that the US will continue to promote accountability for the coup and the horrific violence, while pressing the regime to cease the violence, release all those unjustly detained, and allow unhindered humanitarian access to Myanmar. When asked if Washington has any plans to invite members of Myanmars shadow National Unity Government (NUG) to the meeting, the spokesperson said: We will also continue to support the NUG and all those working peacefully to restore Burmas path to democracy. On Tuesday, regime spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun told Radio Free Asias Burmese Service that the junta will not send any representative to the US-ASEAN summit next month if only a non-political appointee is invited. The White House said that the Special Summit in May 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 US-ASEAN relations. It will build on President Bidens participation in the October 2021 US-ASEAN Summit, which saw the President announce US$102 million in new initiatives to expand US engagement with ASEAN on COVID-19 recovery and health security, fight the climate crisis, stimulate broad-based economic growth, promote gender equality, and deepen people-to-people ties. You may also like these stories: EU Adds More Myanmar Companies, Regime Officials to Sanctions List Junta-Appointed Chief Minister Attacked For Sixth Time in Upper Myanmar Myanmar People Urged to Join Six Twos Revolution General Strike Against Regime Burma Myanmar Regime Murders NLD Officials Wife and Dumps Body on Street Mandalay District NLD vice chair U Ko Ko Lay and wife. / The Irrawaddy Myanmar junta forces killed the wife of the vice chairperson of the Mandalay District National League for Democracy (NLD) branch during interrogation and then dumped her body by the side of the road, according to members of the Mandalay District NLD. Mandalay District NLD vice chair U Ko Ko Lay has been in hiding since the military regime filed a sedition case against him. His wife Daw Soe Soe was not charged by the junta, but was hiding at someone elses house in Mandalay for security reasons. She was taken as a hostage and later killed after junta troops failed to find U Ko Ko Lay at the house where she was hiding, said sources. The body of 50-year-old Daw Soe Soe was found on Monday outside a fire service office near the New Mingalar Market on 35th Street in downtown Mandalay, one week after her arrest. Her body was dumped by the road. Local ward residents held a funeral for her. It appears that she was killed because she did not reveal the whereabouts of her husband, a Mandalay District NLD member told The Irrawaddy. On the night of April 12, junta troops arrived in five military vehicles at the house where Daw Soe Soe was sheltering. She was taken away as a hostage after they didnt find her husband in the house, according to eye-witnesses. Regime soldiers slapped Daw Soe Soe in the face during the raid, and beat and slashed her thighs with a knife. A source close to her said: I was concerned for her safety when I heard that she was slashed on her thighs. They [the junta] dont view humans as humans but kill people as if they were birds or chickens. They did this to instill fear in people. Family members are also concerned about the fate of U Thein Zaw, a brother of U Ko Ko Lay, who is also being held incommunicado by the regime. There have been reports that U Ko Ko Lay died suddenly of a stroke on Thursday evening while hiding in Shan State. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify those reports. At least 1,779 people have been killed by the regime since last years February 1 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. You may also like these stories: EU Adds More Myanmar Companies, Regime Officials to Sanctions List Junta-Appointed Chief Minister Attacked For Sixth Time in Upper Myanmar Myanmar People Urged to Join Six Twos Revolution General Strike Against Regime Burma Myanmar Resistance Threatens Chinese Mines Farmers protesting against the Letpadaung copper mining project in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region, on May 6, 2016. / The Irrawaddy China-backed projects in Myanmar are now under threat from resistance forces with 16 groups in Sagaing Region warning Chinese-run copper mines in Salingyi to halt operations. Salingyi is home to the Chinese-run Letpadaung, Sapetaung and Kyesintaung copper mines and resistance groups in Salingyi and Yinmabin have called on miners to down tools and join the civil disobedience movement (CDM) by May 5. The three mines are run by Wanbao Mining, Ltd. and its two subsidiaries, Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper, Ltd. and Myanmar Yang Tse Copper, Ltd. in partnership with the military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd. Wanbao is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned defense firm China North Industries Corporation. In July 2021, the US sanctioned Wanbao Mining and its entities for supporting Myanmars military regime. A report by Publish What You Pay Australia a coalition of 30 organizations campaigning for transparency and accountability in the extractive industries said Chinese-backed mines were financially propping up the junta. The report, How Chinese Mining Investment Funds the Myanmar Military, released in November last year, said the Chinese-run Letpadaung, Sapetaung and Kyesintaung and Tagaung Taung mines in Sagaing paid an estimated US$725 million to the military during the 2020-21 financial year. The resistance groups said they will not allow joint ventures between Myanmars military and Chinese companies to operate in the region while people are fighting to uproot the dictatorship. They said they will attack all sources of funding for the dictatorship with any means. In January, resistance fighters blew up electricity pylons supplying the China-backed Tagaung Taung nickel-processing plant in Sagaing Region, which forced production to halt. The Chinese copper mines in Sagaing have long been a source of public fury for destroying the environment and seizing peoples land. Since the coup, Chinese projects have been largely safe despite the resistance forces attacks on police and soldiers guarding some Chinese projects. But the collective announcement on Thursday was the first open warning to Chinese projects in the country. China has been seriously denounced in Myanmar for its failure to condemn the coup last year and its veto of UN Security Council action against the regime. While the regime is treated as an outcast by most western democracies, China has been one of the few countries to engage with the junta, as it is one of Myanmars top investors with many strategic infrastructure projects, including energy pipelines and a proposed Rakhine State port that would give China access to the Indian Ocean. Recently, the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told his junta-appointed counterpart that China was ready to work with Myanmar to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all areas, no matter how the situation changes. The remark prompted a warning from the civilian National Unity Government that any effort to build a partnership with the regime would be rejected by Myanmars people and could seriously damage Chinas international reputation. You may also like these stories: EU Adds More Myanmar Companies, Regime Officials to Sanctions List Junta-Appointed Chief Minister Attacked For Sixth Time in Upper Myanmar Myanmar People Urged to Join Six Twos Revolution General Strike Against Regime Alaska yogurt opens in the Galleria Key Biscaynes latest entry into an expanding field of yogurt shops is owned and operated by the four children of the Peruvian restaurateur, Carlos Semsch. Alyeska is the manager. A restaurant management graduate of Florida International University, she has two years experience in the business and will be supervising her three younger siblings. Alaska Yogurt and the Semsch childrens names recall Carlos love of Alaska. It seemed an appropriate name for a shop selling the cool treat that is rapidly growing in popularity in the US. The children put their heads together and discussed how they could improve the offerings they had sampled in other shops. They discussed colors and various combinations. They planned fruit salads, yogurt pie and cake, and yogurt crepes. Planet Ocean The Dade County School Board has completed its purchase of Planet Ocean for use as a magnet school from the University of Miami. The sale included 11.2 acres of land and 91,630 square feet of buildings. The selling price was $3.85 million. The site will be used as a Marine and Science Technology Academy serving 400 Dade County students who will study ecology, science, the cruise industry, and other maritime areas. Upon graduation, they will be prepared for college marine studies and jobs in shipping, the Navy, and the Coast Guard. Fashion Show The Key Biscayne Chapter of the American Cancer Society will sponsor a luncheon and fashion show at the Rusty Pelican Restaurant. Lobster expedition Bare bathers banned from beaches Cape Florida State Park rangers were waiting for directives from the Department of Natural Resources as to how to enforce the states controversial new ban on bare bottoms at state beaches. Its going to be confusing, to say the least, says Capt. John Frosbutter, park manager. DNR sought the ruling in order to ensure that the beaches remain family oriented. While nude or topless bathing has never been allowed, the new amendment would seek to define just how much covering is needed. One piece of attire that will probably be banned is the thong, a particularly revealing type of bathing suit for men and women. Rotary officers named Officers for 1990-91 were recently elected for the Key Biscayne Rotary Club. They are: Richard Figuera, president; Brice Cuthbertson, president-elect and treasurer; Fernando Figueredo, secretary; and directors Dick Gregorie, Charlotte Somarriba, Carl Carter, George Bradley, Dick Cromartie and Dick Maloy. The Rotary Clubs major fundraiser is the Key Biscayne Art Festival. Cocaine smuggling Five Miami men were arrested Monday for cocaine smuggling at 130 Knollwood Drive after the DEA confiscated more than a ton of the drug. DEA agents had the house under surveillance for the last month. The arrest was made after the agents noticed the men were moving about in dark clothing around the empty waterfront home. The men were loading the drug into a van from a 50-foot fishing boat docked on Pines Canal. There was no furniture in the home. Captains versatility When the phone rings for Captain Joan Vernon, she never knows what her customers will have in mind. Will they opt for snorkeling in a shallow water cove, sightseeing, a picnic on Elliot Key, or out to win the Met Tournament? Joan Vernon loves going out on her 25-foot open boat on the waters surrounding Key Biscayne. We live in a very beautiful place and the true beauty of what we have is best seen from the water. Thats why I enjoy taking people out and helping them enjoy what we have. One of the things that has been making her job more pleasant, says Vernon, is the improved water quality in Biscayne Bay in recent years. The ameliorated water quality has resulted in more sightings of sea turtles, manatees, and bottle-nosed porpoises. Kids especially get excited by what nature offers. Thats why it is so important to conserve what we have. All-in-one SME business software provider Odoo will open its first Australian office next month. Some 15% of Odoo's APAC customers are based in Australia, and the new office will allow the software company to provide them with local support. The new office will be led by Odoo Australia director Lisa Zhang, previously head of Channel Sales at Odoo APAC. SMEs are the bread and butter of the Australian economy," she said. "In the past two years, weve seen prices here skyrocket, and its more important than ever for businesses to make every dollar count and keep their teams happy and productive. Thats where Odoo comes in, and were here to help local businesses thrive. Zhang plans to recruit 50 local sales, operations, and IT services staff by the end of 2023, plus an extensive marketing program including roadshows and university collaborations. The story will be about providing value to SMEs through shorter implementations and ready-to-use customised features such as tax and accounting. "Currently, 70% of all Australian businesses use information and communication technology, particularly cloud technology, when running their day-to-day operations," said Odoo APAC director Matts Fievez. "This is a significant indicator that the market is open to the benefits products like Odoo can bring. It also tells us that it's the right time to step up our engagement on the ground." The Odoo applications most used in Australia are Inventory, Manufacturing, eCommerce, Field Services, and Accounting, with a majority of customers in the construction, ecommerce, and technology manufacturing sectors. The company's Australian team will work with local partners to help more users digitise their businesses with Odoo. Two Australian senators have called for WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange to be set free by the UK and brought back to Australia, following the issue of an extradition order for him to be sent to the US for trial. Independent Senator Andrew Wilkie and Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson made the call during a media conference in Tasmania on Thursday. The extradition order was issued on Wednesday by the Westminster Magistrates Court in the UK and sent to British Home Secretary Priti Patel for approval. 'Shame' is a word often deployed by the Sydney Morning Herald. But not for its own shameful censoring of Julian #Assange. Not a word has appeared in Australia's oldest newspaper since a London court ordered the Australian editor to be extradited for the crime of real journalism. John Pilger (@johnpilger) April 21, 2022 Assange's legal team has time until 18 May to submit its arguments as to why the order should not be implemented. Said Wilkie: "Now, its grim news that this final court appearance didnt put an end to this ridiculous issue of an Australian journalist, a real hero, being extradited, or ultimately just speaking truth to power and shining a light on us misconduct and war crimes. "But there is some good now in that its out of the courts, and politicians can stop it." He said it was now completely in the domain of the UK Government and its politicians. "...politicians, particularly Australian politicians, can stop hiding behind the excuse that the matter is before the court, because its now not before the courts," he said. This morning, I watched in court as a judge ordered one of the most consequential journalists of our time, Julian Assange, to be extradited from my country to the US to potentially face up to two centuries in prison. I never want to hear a word about our "free press" & democracy Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) April 20, 2022 "...theres now no excuse, no excuse whatsoever, for [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison, and [Opposition Leader] Anthony Albanese [not] to pick up the phone to the British Government, and to make the case in the strongest possible terms for Julian Assange, to be released and to be allowed to return to Australia." Wilkie was dismissive of the US assurance that if Assange was extradited and found guilty, he could be allowed to serve his sentence in Australia. "...during the court cases, assurances had been given by US officials, that he wouldnt be kept in high security, that he might be allowed to return to Australia and serve his prison sentence in Australia," he said. "But those promises are worthless. They have no value whatsoever, we have to deal in facts. The facts are Assange is facing a page full of charges for espionage. And if hes convicted of those, the facts are as I said at the moment, he will go to jail and die there. With Julian Assange on the verge of extradition to spend the rest of his life in a US prison, and the judge claiming he is "duty bound" some are questioning the United Kingdom's independence and sovereignty. Cartoon by @LatuffCartoons pic.twitter.com/K5diNbqJ5A MintPress News (@MintPressNews) April 21, 2022 "So this is effectively a death sentence on the table at the moment; how [could] any Australian prime minister and any Australian alternative prime minister allow this to go on and on and on with Julian whos been rotting in Belmarsh for years? Ive been to Belmarsh, its where they lock up the worst of the worst murderers, mass murderers, terrorists. And theres an Australian journalist as well." Whish-Wilson said: "What the [Australian] Governments not telling you today is that the ultimate decision now rests with the UK prime minister and the UK foreign minister and the UK attorney-general. It is a political decision from here on in and only politics can save Julian Assange. "If theres anything positive to come from the news... its that we can now make this an election issue. We have four weeks to go to get in there and fight for Julian Assanges freedom, and let both Anthony Albanese know and let Scott Morrison know that theyre complicit in this egregious abuse of power. "The worst abuse of power that Ive ever seen, where one of the greatest nations not just on the planet at the moment, but in the history of humanity, is throwing everything theyve got at one man for exposing their war crimes and embarrassing powerful people. Its got to stop." Wilkie said the reason why the Australian Government was acting this way was "simply because [it] puts our bilateral relationship with the United States ahead of all else". "The Australian Government thinks that our relationship with Washington is more important than the rights of Australian citizens. I think its that simple. And thats a really ugly situation to be in." Whish-Wilson said a few months ago it had been revealed that [former US secretary of state] Mike Pompeo and Morrison had each other on speed dial. "Now, Pompeo was the head of the CIA at the time. And he was the instigator of this political persecution of Julian Assange. And when the head of the CIA and the [Australian] prime minister have got each other on speed dial that just shows you how close this relationship is. "You know, its long overdue that we stopped being lickspittles for the US and actually stood up and had an independent foreign policy. By all means, we should be friends with our allies, as we have been for many, many generations. "But weve also got to be independent and weve got to think independent. And that means standing up for an Australian citizen, and this gross abuse of power and injustice thats been going on for way too long." Equinix says Singapore is ranked as the second data centre market globallytied with Silicon Valleyand tops the Asia-Pacific ranking for its robust ecosystem, excellent connectivity, consistent demand, and local presence of all major cloud services. To support demand, Equinix has decided to expand its operations in the country. The facility has a Green Mark Platinum certification awarded by the Singapore Building and Construction Authority for its sustainable design and practices. The certification is in line with the Singapore governments emphasis on energy efficiency in new data centre construction. "The expanded capacity of SG5 allows us to meet the rapidly increasing demand for digital infrastructure. Our digital infrastructure empowers public and private organisations with the capabilities necessary for innovation, participation, and success in the digital economy, Equinix South Asia managing director Yee May Leong says. This is crucial as enterprises in Singapore continue their drive towards digital transformation, solidifying Singapores status as Southeast Asias premier business and technology hub. The BCA Green Mark Platinum certification is a testament to our ability to build sustainable data centres, which is in line with the governments National Green Plan 2030 and Smart Nation agenda, Leong adds. Inligo Networks selected Equinix to establish a cable landing station for its Asia Connect Cable System (ACC1) subsea cable in Singapore. ACC1 will provide connection in Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and the United States. Equinix data centre campus in Singapore is connected to 14 key submarine cable systems, including ACC1. Equinix emerged as the partner of choice for us due to its entrenched global footprint, as well as its extensive ecosystems of major network and cloud service providers that facilitate the connectivity necessary to maximise outcomes in todays digital world, Inligo Networks chief revenue officer Simon Zettl says. Among the highlights of the new data centre in Singapore are: 1. The SG5 expansion adds more than 1,475 cabinets to meet the digital connectivity requirements of both current and new customers. This increases SG5s capacity to more than 2,950 cabinets with more than 83,000 square feet (more than 7,700 square meters) of colocation space. At full buildout, SG5 is expected to offer 5,000 cabinets, with a total colocation space of close to 129,000 square feet (approximately 12,000 square meters). 2. SG5 IBX is a nine-story facility located at the Tanjong Kling data centre park. It strengthens cross-island presence and location diversity, with all five of Equinixs current IBX data centres strategically spread across the island. 3. The BCA Green Mark is an internationally-recognised green building benchmarking scheme, which aims to achieve a sustainable built environment by incorporating best practices in environmental design and construction, and the adoption of green building technologies. 4. Supporting Singapores commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and achieving its goal of reaching net-zero emission by or around 2050, Equinixs data centres in Singapore achieved 100% renewable in 2020 and adopt energy efficient technology and energy savings initiatives, such as adaptive control systems and cold/hot aisle containment. SG5 leverages Equinixs bespoke and innovative surface cooling technology, known as the Equinix Cooling Array, supporting high density customers while reducing water and energy requirements. 5. Spanning a distance of approximately 18,000 kms, Inligo Networks ACC1 connects the regions of Southeast Asia (Singapore and Indonesia) with Australia, Timor Leste, Guam, and through to Los Angeles, California in the US. ACC1 design has been completed with construction to commence in 2022. 6. Equinix has the most network-dense data centres in Singapore that house more than 225 international and regional networks connecting South Asia. Its Singapore data centres are business hubs for more than 855 companies, including more than 315 enterprises. Customers can interconnect directly with other customers and partners in their digital supply chain and leverage direct connectivity to more than 255 cloud and IT service providers. Currently, Equinix has 240 IBX data centres in 66 metros across 27 countries around the world. In Asia-Pacific, it operates 52 IBX data centres in Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Korea. Today Mostly clear skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 58F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Tonight Mostly clear skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 58F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Tomorrow Mostly sunny skies. High 86F. WNW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 15 to 25 mph. Cold War mentality would endanger world's peace, says China's top leader President Xi Jinping proposed a Global Security Initiative on Thursday, calling on the international community to reject a Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation. In a speech delivered via video link at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, Xi stressed the importance of upholding a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and adhering to non-interference in internal affairs. "It has been proven time and again that the Cold War mentality would only wreck the global peace framework, that hegemonism and power politics would only endanger world peace, and that bloc confrontation would only exacerbate security challenges in the 21st century," he told an audience of world leaders and business executives. The forum this year brought together leaders including Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. In explaining the Global Security Initiative, the president said the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture should be built. He stressed the need to oppose the pursuit of one's own security at the cost of others' security, resolve differences and disputes between countries peacefully through dialogue and consultation, and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises. It is important to reject double standards, oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and maintain security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, he said, adding that the international community should work together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity. The initiative came on the heels of the Global Development Initiative, proposed by Xi at a United Nations event in September, to advance sustained global growth, economic recovery and narrow gaps between different nations. Xi mentioned challenges including the once-in-a-century pandemic, the emergence of new traditional security risks, the weak and faltering global economic recovery, and a widening development gap in his speech on Thursday. "Faced with the many challenges, we must not lose confidence, hesitate or flinch. Instead, we must firm up confidence and press ahead against all odds," Xi said. He stressed the significance of working together to defend people's lives and health, saying that countries must support each other, better coordinate their response measures and improve global public health governance. In promoting economic recovery, Xi underlined the need for greater macro policy coordination and to turn to science and technology for more growth drivers, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and prevent serious negative spillovers from policy adjustments in some countries. The international community has evolved so much that it has become a sophisticated and integrated apparatus, he said, adding that acts to remove any single part will cause serious problems to its operation. The president expressed his disapproval of unilateralism, the excessive pursuit of self-interest, the practices of decoupling, supply disruption and maximum pressure and attempts to forge "small circles" or to stoke conflict and confrontation along ideological lines, stating that such acts are doomed to fail. "It is particularly important for major countries to lead by example in honoring equality, cooperation, good faith and the rule of law, and act in a way befitting their status," he said. Xi called for efforts to strengthen the growth and development of Asia, saying that Asian nations should resolutely safeguard peace in the region, vigorously advance cooperation and jointly promote unity. He underscored that the fundamentals of the Chinese economyits strong resilience, enormous potential, vast room for maneuver and long-term sustainabilityremain unchanged, and the nation's faith in and commitment to reform and opening-up will not waver. Georgieva, the managing director of IMF, said in a prerecorded speech that China's actions to counter its slowdown and achieve its growth target are vital to global recovery. "But the solutions for the global economy go beyond any one country. Countering the far-reaching damage of these back-to-back crises, and the risks we face in a more shock prone world, requires stronger international cooperation," she said. FILE - House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., responds to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told other GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-President Donald Trump to resign, according to an audio recording posted Thursday night, April 21, 2022 by The New York Times. Lisa Carter, center, CEO of Ballad Health/Niswonger Children's Hospital with Johnston Memorial Hospital's Children's Resource Center Director Tara Chadwell, left, and center Health Promotions Coordinator Kayla Phillips. The center held its grand opening Wednesday but staff have already began various child safety education campaigns in Ballad's Southwest Virginia service area. Wise County Sheriff's Deputy Nathaniel Baker, center, receives a resolution from Appalachia Town Councilman Travis Anderson Thursday for his April 18 rescue of a woman from an April 18 apartment fire. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee delivers his state of the state address in the House Chamber of the Capitol building Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. Kostia Gorobets: Whats compelling and whats practical The crime of aggression is not very much a crime against particular people who are victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. It is primarily a crime against international law, against the prohibition of the use of force. From that point of view, it is of paramount importance that the prosecution and punishment of the crime of aggression is as international as possible. Because its not only about Ukraine, its not only about Ukrainians, its about the whole world. Its about something that needs to be rebuilt from scratch because the only case when the crime of aggression was punished was the Nuremberg trials. Many people in international law nowadays dismiss the Nuremberg trials as not an appropriate format. They instead kind of shift the focus on the contemporary forms [of international criminal justice] for instance, the Special Court for Sierra Leone. This is wrong, because all these newer formats werent about the crime of aggression at all. They were about crimes against humanity and war crimes, and these are different crimes. That is why the Nuremberg trials are the closest to what we might need. Of course, they were victors justice. Thats a bad thing, obviously, for moral and political legitimacy. The mechanism for the creation of such a tribunal must therefore be totally different. One trajectory is what we want to have; what would be the most appropriate, the most legitimate, the most compelling way of punishing this crime of aggression and preventing new crimes of aggression from happening. Another frame of thought or trajectory is how practically viable these solutions are or can be. I think we are just collapsing them into one another, and this is wrong. The design that we want to have, and its practical viability, are different things. I think we are at this point when practical viability, although it is crucially important, is not as important yet. We are now in the unique moment when there is enough momentum or at least there seems to be enough of a momentum to change something or at least to try to change something. But this momentum is being bogged down because this is impractical. It is an important critique because whatever the format will be and I am sure that at some point we will find some format that would work, that would satisfy all the parties it should be morally and politically legitimate. We need to differentiate the stages of our thinking about this tribunal for the crime of aggression because it is running in parallel with the prosecution of war crimes. We have the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the ICC has territorial jurisdiction. An alternative could be, of course, creating a super special tribunal with jurisdiction to cover both war crimes, possible crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. But this alternative would be a dilution of efforts because we have the ICC that has jurisdiction [on war crimes and crimes against humanity]. Such doubling of functions would be, of course, a huge mistake. Perhaps there is now this space for creating some model of an ad hoc tribunal specifically on the crime of aggression that could work in cooperation with the ICC. I find somewhat attractive the idea of creating it as a special chamber of the ICC, but I dont quite see how a special chamber of ICC could override the jurisdictional limitations of the mother institution [on the crime of aggression the ICC only has competence if both the aggressed state and the aggressor are ICC member states, and Russia is not]. So there are multiple streams here that could make such a tribunal attractive to a wider range of actors, even those who are trying to abstain from dealing with this conflict. I mean, if nothing is done now, how much longer do we have to wait? Carrie McDougall: The galvanizing effect of an international tribunal Aggression is, by definition, a leadership crime. I would imagine any prosecutor is going to be looking pretty seriously at Presidents Putin and Lukashenko. And then maybe the inner circle of defence and foreign ministers, at least in the first instance. The reality is that those individuals enjoy immunity before domestic courts. So I think it has to be international just because otherwise you leave yourself exposed to a successful claim to immunity. What Ive advocated is a model that would make it very clear there was no wanting to undermine the ICC. Any tribunal could conclude a relationship agreement, for example, just to underscore that its meant to be complementary, and that the jurisdiction would also be limited to Ukraine. We do have a crime of aggression at the ICC. We do need to try and revise the Rome Statute provisions, because theres a built-in review clause of them seven years after entry into force. I hope this discussion actually has a galvanising effect of reminding everyone how important the prohibition of the use of force actually is to international peace and security and the international rules-based order. The Nuremberg and Tokyo precedent is important because crimes against peace were really the centrepieces of those trials. It was all about those wars of aggression. When advocating for the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal, there are the immunity reasons, but also the legitimacy reasons. The broadest possible base of state support will strengthen your argument that it is a tribunal thats properly characterised as international. Now you can make an argument that it would be sufficiently international to have an exclusively European states established tribunal, that it is still a significant cross-section. But I think theres also good reason, including in terms of reinforcing commitment to the prohibition on the use of force, to have a cross-regional group of states. And I think the UN path should be tested. Its worth consulting and seeing if there would be sufficient support because that would be the clearest way of signalling international backing and that it is a truly international tribunal. But Im just not sure that states would be ready to sign up for that. The US, the UK, France have always been nervous about the crime of aggression. I dont think theyll be leading proponents of any international tribunal, even if they sort of close their eyes and let it get established. There are also many other smaller states that worry about accountability generally. You know, the heydays of Rome [when the ICC was created, in 1998] are gone. So I think no one would want to put forward a resolution that attracted anything less than, Id say, at least 100 votes. People tend to overlook that the crime of aggression in many ways is about protecting state sovereignty, and that is a very valuable notion still in the current era. I think Russia has struck out against the international order and is trying to reshape the world as it would like to see it. And so, the wrong being committed is much broader than anything that would be captured by very important prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In some ways, going back to Nuremberg, the harm done is quite different from the harm captured by other crimes. Francine Hirsch: Why Nuremberg resonates Nuremberg was a military tribunal that was held by the allied powers. It was held by the victors. It was understood as an extension of the war. I could imagine it being a model in terms of the historical record that it created, and I think that were going to need something like that; a really extremely detailed record. With the amount of disinformation that is happening now within Russia, this is going to be essential for educating the Russian people about what happened. If theres an opportunity to have a trial, even if this is something that is held in absentia, I still think it would be a valuable exercise. It seems, I guess, premature. The most important reason to be talking about this right now is for the collection of evidence. In [a recent] RIA Novosti article and many statements that Putin and his advisers have made, theyre calling for a Nuremberg. They love the Nuremberg verdict in Russia because Russia was not tried for the crimes against peace and war crimes and crimes against humanity that it carried out. I mean, none of the allied powers were. But Russia likes it because it doesnt include the invasion of the Baltic states. It doesnt include the invasion of Poland. So should Ukraine win, there should be a Nuremberg-type tribunal. But if Russia wins, in the territory that Russia conquers theyre going to be holding their own trials that theyre going to say are based on Nuremberg. And the international community has to be ready for that and ready to respond to it. Many [Russian] people think that they are fighting against the Nazis, that the Ukrainians are the inheritors of this Nazi tradition. And so when theyre calling for a Nuremberg in Russia now and they repeatedly are theyre calling for trials of Ukrainian leaders. I just see all of this coming down the line and its really disturbing. Its a replay in many ways of things from the 1940s and they are twisting it. So, a Nuremberg model of justice, should Ukraine win the war? Fantastic. Especially for establishing the historical record. Kevin Jon Heller: Doing what Ukraine wants Its interesting that once again, the international community is trying to figure out how to approach accountability for aggression. The big thing about Nuremberg was, of course, that they really, very deliberately, wanted to establish the criminality of aggression and to hold the Nazis accountable for aggression, even though they were operating on a fairly blank slate. Now once again, we see the international community trying to develop these mechanisms, but not exactly working on a clean slate because of course, we have Nuremberg as the most important precedent. The Nuremberg parallel is really important, too. The judges said that aggression is the supreme international crime; it is a crime that contains within itself all of the others. I think you can push that too far, but there still is a real grain of truth to that idea. Its not very common that one state invades another state and then, theres no bloodshed and no crimes committed. Normally, the invasion does lead to further atrocities. Obviously, that doesnt mean you dont prosecute the atrocities themselves. But there really is a very strong foundation to the argument that one of the reasons you criminalise aggression is precisely because of what it leads to or what follows from aggression. Why not cut it off at the source as opposed to just dealing with the aftermath? I dont think there is any fundamental difference between any of the forms that have been discussed in terms of their ability to ignore immunity. I mean, I do buy the argument that at a minimum it needs to have some kind of international component. How much of an international element is enough? That is very uncertain. Unfortunately, it probably does not reopen a discussion about aggression at the ICC. I dont think theres really any plausible way that we could ever really deal with aggression at the ICC. I wish that were true. But its not an accident that non-state parties are excluded from their jurisdiction [on the crime of aggression]. And I cant imagine that everything will align any of the powerful states to fundamentally change the Rome Statute. Maybe Im too pessimistic, but I think the smart money is on No, nothing will change. All my arguments start from the fundamental premise that it is Ukraine that has to lead the accountability process and that ultimately the preference of scholars or the preferences of NGOs or even, frankly, the preferences of more powerful states should be subordinate to what the Ukrainians wants. And so, if the Ukrainians get on board with a mechanism that I dont necessarily think is the best one, that doesnt matter. I do think a hybrid tribunal has a lot of strengths but the best way to set back the cause of the long-term viability of aggression is to not ask that Ukraine, the direct victim of the aggression, be front and centre. The long-term interest in building Ukrainian judicial capacity is a very important one and even though aggression might be different to other crimes, it still would be the training and the expertise and all of that that would be flowing into Ukraine. So, Im flexible in terms of the mechanism, but I think the more Ukraines judiciary can be front and centre, the better. What strikes me is that there is essentially no meat on the bones of the proposal for an international tribunal so far. In fact, no real guidance to what this tribunal would actually look like, who would support it, who would fund it, who would run it, who would choose the judges. Tribunals tend to be dominated by the powerful states and the idea that the U.S. or the UK would be a moving force behind that tribunal after the Iraq war strikes me as not a very good outcome for international criminal law. Kateryna Busol: The attraction and pitfalls of a new Nuremberg As an international lawyer, Im not starry eyed about the [Nuremberg] International Military Tribunal or about the idea of the specialised tribunal. The existing Western commentaries on the possible modalities of a tribunal are based on disillusionment about Nuremberg. And they are based on the lack of understanding of the region, especially the post-Soviet context, and the fact that for Russia and for Ukraine, Nuremberg has a great symbolic value. Nuremberg is usually perceived as the trial of all trials, the victory of the ultimate good over the ultimate evil. The Nuremberg model would have particular symbolism for Russia because we should think how the Russian society would accept the legacy of a potential trial of the Putin regime. For them to receive the indictments by a contemporary Nuremberg would be a very strong incentive to reflect on their own memory policy, memory politics, because they have been idealised so much in this [post-World War Two] trial. Distorting the narrative about WWII and about the International Military Tribunal is criminalised under Russias domestic legislation. So I think it would be a strong push for certain reflection; whether something that you have held so holy remains so holy, and whether you are ready to accept the legacy of potential contempt for a [21st century] Nuremberg which concerns the crimes of your regime and the crimes in which you might be complicit as a wider society, because we know that the approval rating of Putin and his policies in Ukraine is rising amongst the ordinary Russians. The international legal community, with a wealth of amazing analysis they have produced since February concerning Ukraine, could look a little bit more into the nuances of the country and of the region. Without this desire to dig deeper into the regional and domestic context, they will not get the full picture. There is also certain idealism about international proceedings domestically in Ukraine because they really see this aggression as the encroachment on their own national identity and indeed their sovereign right, as a nation and as a state, to exist. They also see this as an encroachment on the wider world, international world order and the rule-based order. What I sense from the society, from the ordinary non-lawyers, from the journalists, is that they would prefer a special tribunal.But this symbolism, this comparison with Nuremberg would always be there. Before this invasion, there had been a lot of domestic discussion about a possible hybrid tribunal in Ukraine. Domestic professionals stopped being that idealistic about the ICC the experience of the ICC shows that to investigate and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity can take years and indeed decades and they wanted more proceedings to take place domestically. They also saw that as a way to boost the expertise of domestic investigators, prosecutors, judges and defence lawyers. But that concerned the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated between 2014 and February 2022. Now, because the whole nation is so shattered by the level of violence, I think they really prefer something more international to send a strong message to the Russian society and to the world community that this is not an isolated incident concerning one nation, that this is an encroachment of the rule-based order, which we have been trying to build since 1945. Its also about building a narrative which is as inclusive as possible, and which is embraced by the future generations. UK police on Friday said they have received around 50 referrals relating to alleged war crimes linked to the Ukraine conflict in support of the International Criminal Court investigation. Referrals have been received from across the whole of the UK, and mostly relate to what appears to be attacks against civilians since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, said the Metropolitan Polices War Crimes Team, which is part of the Counter Terrorism Command. Since the start of the recent military activity in February, our officers have been proactively engaging with Ukrainian communities in the UK, said Dominic Murphy, head of operations for the Mets Counter Terrorism Command. Weve had around 50 referrals and we expect that number to grow over the coming weeks as more and more people who fled from Ukraine arrive here in the UK. Id also ask any households across the country who have volunteered to host Ukrainian people that should you come into contact with anyone who might have been witness to, or victim of possible war crimes, then you encourage them to contact us. The War Crimes Team is responsible for carrying out any UK enquiries into war crimes and is appealing for anyone who may have direct evidence of violations in Ukraine from November 2013 to present to come forward. Evidence gathered by the unit may then be shared with the ICC to assist with their ongoing investigation. The War Crimes Team launched an appeal for information on March 4, soon after the ICCs chief prosecutor announced an active investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine. Digital signs have been put up at UK airports, railway stations and ports asking for anyone who may have witnessed or been a victim of any possible war crimes or crimes against humanity to contact police. Police have asked for photographic or video evidence to be handed over, dating back to November 21, 2013 and the run-up to Russias annexation of Crimea. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Kyiv of refusing to allow Ukrainian troops to surrender in the besieged port city of Mariupol, as he spoke to EU chief Charles Michel. All servicemen of the Ukrainian armed forces, militants of the national battalions and foreign mercenaries who laid down their arms are guaranteed life, decent treatment in accordance with international law, and the provision of quality medical care, Putin told the European Council President, the Kremlin said. But the Kyiv regime is not allowing for this opportunity to be used. Ukraine says hundreds of its forces and civilians are holed up inside the sprawling Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and Kyiv has repeatedly called for a ceasefire to allow women, children and the elderly to safely exit the shattered city. During what the Kremlin called lengthy phone talks with Michel, Putin also said that numerous war crimes of Ukrainian forces have been ignored. Putin denounced the irresponsible statements of EU representatives about the need to resolve the situation in Ukraine militarily, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin did not provide details, but Putin appeared to be referring to a statement on Twitter by European Unions top diplomat Josep Borrell, who said that this war will be won on the battlefield. Putin also urged Brussels to pressure Ukrainian forces into halting mass attacks on settlements in eastern Ukraine and other crude violations of international humanitarian law. The Russian leader accused leaders of most EU countries of encouraging open Russophobia in culture and sport. The Kremlin reiterated that a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky depended on the results of ongoing talks and accused Kyiv of being inconsistent and not ready to look for mutually acceptable solutions. Russian President Vladimir Putin will next week hold talks with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Russia, the Kremlin said on Friday. The announcement was made on the 58th day of Moscows military campaign in Ukraine, with thousands killed and more than 12 million displaced people, in Europes worst refugee crisis since World War II. On Tuesday, April 26, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will arrive in Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti. He will also be received by Russian President Vladimir Putin. No other details were immediately provided. A UN spokesman said Wednesday that Guterres had asked to meet with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. The United Nations has been largely marginalised in the crisis since Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Guterres seeks to spur dialogue to end the conflict, the UN said. Putin has not taken Guterress phone calls, or had any contact with him, since the UN chief stated that Russias military campaign violated the UN charter. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Friday that Russian actions in Ukraine may amount to war crimes. Lee Jin Wook and Lee Yeon Hee return to the small screen as a soon-to-be-married couple in the upcoming Kakao TV series "Marriage White Paper"! Prior to its premiere, "Marriage White Paper" unveiled a glimpse of Lee Jin Wook, Lee Yeon Hee and more cast members in the first drama script reading, showcasing their synergy and charms. Lee Jin Wook, Lee Yeon Hee Flaunt Chemistry in 'Marriage White Paper' Script Reading Kakao TV's newest original rom-com series "Marriage White Paper" shared a glimpse of what happened in the drama's first script reading! "Marriage White Paper" follows the story of two 30-year-olds who plan to create a picture perfect family, not knowing the gravity and endless preparations for the wedding and married life. The drama stars Lee Jin Wook, Lee Yeon Hee, Song Jin Woo, Hwang Seung Eon, Kim Joo Yeon and more, actors with amazing skill sets who are all expected to deliver vivid performances. In the first script reading, Lee Jin Wook, who captured the hearts of women as a sweet guy in "Beauty Inside" and "A Year-End Medley," returns as Seo Jun Hyung. He is a groom-to-be who has an ideal perspective on marriage. Lee Jin Wook is expected to flaunt his show-stopping acting chops and versatility as a laid back man with a lot of love to give. Meanwhile, Lee Yeon Hee takes on the role of his fiancee Kim Na Eun. Unlike Seo Jun Hyung, she is a realist when it comes to serious things. She has a rational mind and impressive decision-making which obviously clashes with her fiance's "YOLO" personality. In particular, Lee Yeon Hee is expected to show off her natural and realistic acting as Kim Na Eun. In particular, the two actors' chemistry as a couple draws attention. Lee Jin Wook and Lee Yeon Hee, who work together for the first time, express their gratitude and comfortable feelings for each other. Lee Jin Wook said, "I visualized some parts [of the script] in my head. It's not very complicated, all thanks to Lee Yeon Hee." Meanwhile, Lee Yeon Hee stated, "I totally understand and relate Kim Na Eun's feelings in many parts of the script." As marriage is a family matter, the bride and groom's family doubled the fun. Seo Jun Hyung's parents Seo Jong Soo and Park Mi Sook, played by actors Gil Yong Woo and Yoon Yu Sun, respectively attended the script reading. Kim Na Eun's parents Kim Su Chan and Lee Da Ryeong, are played by Im Ha Ryong and Kim Min Kyung. They were also present. The two families opposing beliefs and perspective over their daughter and son's marriage are also a factor to anticipate in the drama. Actors Song Jin Woo, Hwang Seung Eon, Lee Soo Yeon and Kim Joo Yeon also showed their immersive acting skills as the two main characters' friends and colleagues. 'Marriage White Paper' Production Unit on New Drama and Lee Jin Wook, Lee Yeon Hee's Casting At the script reading site, the actors certainly left a strong impression, amplifying the tension and excitement. The production unit of the drama shared, "Marriage never goes the way we intended. That's the beauty of 'Marriage White Paper.'" "Many viewers - newlyweds, long-time couples as well as boyfriends and girlfriends who want to take things to the next level - will be able to find comfort and resonance in the drama," they added. In particular, the production team were all immersed in Lee Jin Wook and Lee Yeon Hee's performances, describing their chemistry as "romance between real-life couples." 'Marriage White Paper' K-Drama Details and What We Know So Far Kakao TV's "Marriage White Paper" will consist of a total of 12 episodes, falling under the mid-form drama category. Each episode will have a 30-minute running time, enough to hook the audiences and make them crave for more. YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS: Yook Sungjae Denies Dating Rumors With Non-Celeb Furthermore, "Marriage White Paper," directed by Song Je Young, is scheduled to air sometime in May. Watch Lee Jin Wook and Lee Yeon Hee in their first drama script reading here: KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. Whether the drama calls for it or not, some younger stars are paired up with a much older actor. More often than not, these K-Drama stars exude impeccable chemistry! Here are some eight beloved actors with wide age gaps that look so perfect together! 1. Yoon Kyung Sang and Kim Yoo Jung ('Clean With Passion for Now') In the 2018 rom-com drama, Yoon Kyun Sang and Kim Yoo Jung worked together to decorate "Clean With Passion for Now." Yoon Kyun Sang and Kim Yoo Jung were 31 and 18 at the time of the broadcast. Despite the 13 year age difference, the two actors exuded impressive chemistry that stole the hearts of many viewers. The drama follows the story of a mysophobic CEO (Yoon Kyun Sang) who meets his new employee (Kim Yoo Jung) who doesn't like to clean that much. Catch their endearing romance on Netflix and Viki! 2. Jang Ki Yong and Song Hye Kyo ('Now, We Are Breaking Up') The recently concluded melodrama "Now, We Are Breaking Up," Jang Ki Yong and Song Hye Kyo perfectly showed the process and consequences of falling in love. Did you know that the two actors are 11 years apart? However, it didn't hinder the Jang Ki Yong, then 29, and Song Hye Kyog, age 40, to deliver a gripping story and romance. Because of their impressive chemistry and unrivaled acting chops, the drama recorded solid viewership ratings throughout its run. "Now, We Are Breaking Up" is available for worldwide streaming on Viu! 3. Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun ('Goblin') Who would ever forget the smash hit series "Goblin"? Thanks to Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun's superb performances and enticing chemistry, the drama was highly loved and well-received in every part of the world. "Goblin" depicts the story of a 939-year-old Goblin (Gong Yoo), the protector of Souls, who ends up falling for the girl fated to end his immortal life (Kim Go Eun). The couple doesn't stray much from reality as Gong Yoo is 12 years older than Kim Go Eun. When the drama aired, the two were 38 and 26. Shocking, isn't it? Watch how the Goblin falls in love with his bride on Viu and Viki! 4. Lee Byung Hun and Kim Tae Ri ('Mr. Sunshine') The couple with the biggest age gap on this list is "Mr. Sunshine" actors Lee Byung Hun and Kim Tae Ri. Despite the 20 year age difference, they still successfully teamed up in decorating the period drama "Mr. Sunshine." The drama centers on a young, poor boy played by Lee Byung Hun who was 48, who travels to United States to escape slavery. He then grows up to become an American military officer. When he returns to South Korea, he falls in love with an aristocrat's daughter, played by Kim Tae Ri who was 28. The drama was a massive hit, and bagged numerous awards and Daesangs (Grand Prizes) at the APAN Star Awards, Asia Artist Awards and more in 2018. Watch Lee Byung Hun and Kim Tae Ri in "Mr. Sunshine" on Netflix! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Linda Silas, talks with reporters in St. Andrews, N.B. on Friday, July 20, 2018. Silas wants Canada's auditor general to find out how many privately contracted nurses are working for health authorities across the country, doing the same work as staff counterparts while being paid far more.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan NDP leader Jagmeet Singh meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. Singh says his party calls the pact he made with Justin Trudeau the "Anhad Accord" after his baby daughter. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Bob Rae, ambassador of Canada to the United Nations, speaks while holding a copy of the United Nations charter at the General Assembly hall, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. Russia has issued fresh sanctions against 61 Canadians including provincial premiers, military personnel, political staff and journalists, in response to Canada's actions against the country for its invasion of Ukraine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/John Minchillo 23 Shares Share Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Lorna Breen, MD, a New York City emergency room doctor, committed suicide following weeks of incredible stress she endured at work. Nearly two years later, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act was signed into federal law, providing federal grants to support programs and training on reducing health care worker burnout. While this legislation is an important step forward, it is not enough. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, one in five health care workers are quitting their jobs. Hospital employee turnover stands at 19.5 percent compared to 4.2 percent in the general U.S. workforce. Health care worker burnout has led to a workforce exodus. The number of health care workers who made a job transition in 2021 was up 34 percent from 2019. At these alarming rates, Americans will soon face a new public health crisis that there may not be enough health care workers available should they get seriously sick. I am a health care administrator and graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business who leads the Rush University System for Health employee and student wellness program. My job is to address this crisis: I am responsible for encouraging health care workers to preserve their mental health and well-being despite unrelenting pressures from a global pandemic by offering direct clinical support, programming, and other resources. I worked for nearly two years with our frontline clinicians, first rounding on COVID-19 units and managing a behavioral health clinic exclusively for our health care employees and students. If America is going to fix this crisis to ensure that the best and brightest are attracted to and retained in health care institutions to care for ourselves and our loved ones into the future it is time for action at state and federal levels to help hospitals prioritize health and well-being for not just their patients, but for their employees too. There are many headlines highlighting the pervasive mental health issues among American workers today, citing unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression, and social isolation. However, unlike other workplace settings, health care employee well-being literally has life-and-death consequences declining provider well-being has been shown to relate to poorer patient outcomes and increased costs. Consider what this may mean for you the next time you access health care services. Lower staffing levels and increasing burnout means your care team even with the best intentions is less able to care for you. Clinicians leftover are tired, overworked, and burned out. This is a crisis. While there is no immediate fix, state and federal policymakers can put into action changes that will address and correct health care burnout long-term. Policymakers need to support innovation in health care especially around workforce development through funded research and training. Hospitals and health care educators need dedicated time to understand better how recent technologies like telehealth, simulation labs or other virtual platforms can be leveraged to support clinical work and education. Similar to the funding provided by the Lorna Breen Act, hospitals need financial support to evaluate whether traditional clinical rotations and other licensure requirements can be reconsidered or even replaced by these platforms. First, hospitals cannot replace current workers if health care students cannot complete occupational requirements to work. Right now, low staffing levels mean that many hospitals do not have the capacity to support clinical rotations for health care students. Without these rotations, rising health care students cannot qualify to work. This crisis will only continue unless health care students are enabled to complete their training efficiently and effectively by studying how technology can help bridge these educational gaps due to capacity constraints. Next, policymakers should address the pay and flexibility gap between traditional hospital and agency roles by incentivizing hospitals to explore new care delivery models and regulating competition in the health care marketplace. Hospitals are in a losing battle against health care staffing agencies (especially for nurses) because of long-standing rigidity around schedules, pay, and benefits. It is difficult to retain your care team when an individual employee can get paid almost double and control their hours by taking an agency role in this current climate. Moreover, hospital workplace rigidity is especially frustrating for a predominantly female workforce who want the flexibility to support both their patients and their loved ones. If policymakers want to attract the best and brightest to health care, the U.S. government needs to simultaneously help hospitals create and sustain more expensive care models that allow for increased pay and flexibility and evaluate whether current staffing agency recruitment practices are predatory and harmful to the American health care system. Finally, policymakers need to promote health care employee well-being by formally evaluating hospitals. When hospitals are already balancing factors like safety, quality, and patient experience against the bottom line, it can be easy to forgo workforce well-being as a priority. However, according to a study by the American Hospital Association, 6 in 10 health care workers said pandemic-related stress had harmed their mental health. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service should consider rating hospitals on employee engagement and well-being, much like existing ratings on quality and safety. National ratings like these not only affect the bottom line but also affect the general perception of the hospital itself, two critical components to sustaining active engagement on this issue from hospitals. The current discussion around mental health spurred by the pandemic should be leveraged to address the coming health care crisis now. The American public will benefit from the improved care these happier clinicians provide. Investing in the health care workforce is an investment in ourselves. Eve Poczatek is a health care administrator. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Police in Northern Ireland have condemned an attack which saw a firefighter injured by a missile hurled while he responded to a call in Co Antrim. Officers said firefighters were attending a call in the Valley Park area of Newtownabbey last night (Thursday April 21) when they came under attack by a large group of youths throwing stones. It was reported to police at around 9.40pm that a firefighter received a shoulder injury when he was struck by an object. Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector Emma Spence said an investigation is under way and she appealed for anyone with information to come forward. We would strongly condemn this type of anti-social behaviour and nobody comes to work expecting to be assaulted, she said. This firefighter had been carrying out his duty and serving our local community in order to protect property, prevent danger to the public and reduce any further risk of injury. If you have information in relation to who was responsible for this incident, please have the courage to come forward and provide information. Our inquiries are continuing and we would appeal to anyone with any information or who may have footage of this incident to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 2017 of April 21. by Xin Ping BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- American Neorealism political scientist John Mearsheimer wrote in The Tragedy of Great Power Politics that "the U.S. has followed a 'buck-passing' strategy, remaining on the sidelines while getting others to bear the burden of deterring or fighting aggressors -- until it could no longer do so safely." The Russia-Ukraine conflict has exposed to the world America's dirty roles and textbook-style "buck-passing" tricks to use Ukraine to counter and contain Russia. While the Ukraine crisis is still unfolding, there are various indications that Uncle Sam is repeating the whole playbook and offshore balancing strategy in Asia-Pacific. But the target this time is China. With an evolving geopolitical landscape and the changing balance of power in Asia featuring a rising China and declining U.S. influence, it seems to the United States that a strong and stable Asia will no longer allow the America to seize power and wealth from the region. From the "Pivot to Asia" to the "Indo-Pacific Strategy," the United States has been teaming up its allies and regional countries to contain China, as it did by expanding NATO eastward against Russia. But the Cold-War and confrontational approach will only bring about conflicts and suffering to the Asian countries and their people. Security-wise, the United States has been beefing up its military presence in Asia and tried to turn Asian countries into its outposts encircling China. Since November 2011 when then President Barack Obama unveiled the "Pivot to Asia" strategy, the United States has carried out joint military exercises from time to time with regional countries and played up the issue of the East China Sea and the South China Sea to provoke China. Likewise, the United States deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea, and established QUAD and AUKUS, which has triggered a new round of arms race, and seriously aggravated tension and confrontation in the region. Don't forget Taiwan, a province of China, which has been turned into a political tool and military fortress by the United States to confront China. However, as it did in the Ukraine crisis, the United States is apt at fanning the flame without getting directly involved to put out the fire. Once the powder keg is detonated, it is the people of Asia who suffer, not the Americans 10,000 km away. Economically, Asian countries value economic cooperation with China as boosted by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, known as the "world's largest free trade area," among others. However, the United States tries to squeeze China out of the regional market with its own initiatives, first Obama's TPP and now Biden's Indo-Pacific economic framework, which focuses on forming a U.S.-led economic bloc excluding China. Without any more added value, this framework of the Biden administration is more like a "stick" than a "carrot" to regional countries which want prosperity rather than being forced to take sides in the U.S.-China competition, let alone becoming a "bridgehead" against China. As Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said, "People will ask about what is the point of it if the Indo-Pacific strategy does not bring economic benefits to the people?" When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. This adage is increasingly relevant today, as it reflects a sense of realistic anxiety of Asian countries. The people of Asia, who have suffered centuries of colonial plunder and oppression, are yearning for peace, cooperation and development, rather than bloc confrontation and a zero-sum game. That is perhaps the most valuable lesson from the Ukraine crisis for Asia. Visitors to the Korean Pavilion take photos of artist Kim Yun-chul's kinetic installation, "Chroma V" (2022), on display for the exhibition titled "Gyre" at the pre-opening of the 59th Venice Biennale in Italy, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol Satellite exhibition near Venice's cemetery island highlights Gwangju's spirit of resistance By Park Han-sol VENICE, Italy Reaching the cylindrical steel building of "Corea" in the Giardini, Venice's public parkland that is home to 29 national pavilions, required patience at the pre-opening of the 59th Venice Biennale on Wednesday (local time). After the world's longest-running international exhibition of contemporary art was postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, its return was met with overwhelming enthusiasm from art lovers flocking back to Italy's floating city en masse. A total of 80 national pavilions represented by each country's curator and artists either located inside the Giardini or throughout Venice's city center are participating this year to showcase a wide range of works in dialogue with the biennale's eager audience. Waiting in front of the park's entrance as early as an hour before the scheduled opening at 10 a.m. were a crowd of art collectors, gallery and museum directors, journalists and families with young children. Some were browsing through the biennale's brochure to strategize their routes or simply kill time, while others gazed in awe at the line of people behind them growing with each passing second. It was a glimpse of the pre-pandemic life that so many have been pining for especially with the outdoor face mask mandate lifted throughout the country since February. Dozens of the national pavilions sprawled across the green parkland soon became busy greeting visitors for the first time in three years. The door to the Russian Pavilion, however, remained firmly closed as its curator and team of artists resigned just two months before the biennale's opening following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A facade of the Korean Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale / Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol After hastening past the silent building and venturing further into the Giardini, visitors could turn to the right to face the Korean Pavilion, a white structure tucked away at the far end. Once inside, viewers immediately locked eyes with a 50-meter-long kaleidoscopic installation, tied in a special knot to resemble a distorted whale backbone. It writhes and twists as if alive on its own. "Chroma V" is the centerpiece among five kinetic installations and a wall drawing on display at the Korean Pavilion's exhibition this year, "Gyre," under the vision of artist Kim Yun-chul. It's another ambitious step taken forward by the creator known for his transdisciplinary practices spanning art, literature, mythology, philosophy and science. The show is curated by Lee Young-chul and commissioned by the Arts Council of Korea. Inspired by the Irish poet William Butler Yeat's "The Second Coming," where he used the concept of the gyre as an intense, chaotic force that brings irreversible changes to human history and ushers in a new era, Kim likened the present to another moment of gyre. "I believe we are experiencing that motion of the gyre at this very moment, marked by the postponed Venice Biennale following the global pandemic and war in Ukraine," Kim said at the pavilion's preview show. Some of the works themselves explicitly visualize a swirling vortex notably, "Chroma V." Artist Kim Yun-chul, left, and curator Lee Young-chul at the Korean pavilion / Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol Inside the fish scale-like cells that make up 382 joints of the writhing body is a substance specially designed by the artist's studio near-transparent laminate polymers. As the entire piece continues to wriggle, the polymer layers inside are subject to deformation and friction. To the human eye, they are what causes the gleaming changes in color and brightness. "Whereas other artists use dyes and pigments to express color, I use optics creating iridescent hues born from the light as it gets distorted while passing through a certain substance," he said, adding that one viewer commented that the piece looks like, "a cosmic painting." Its appearance alone is certainly more than enough to mesmerize the audience, with some standing for minutes in silence staring at the resplendent cells that twist and turn. But how can "Chroma V" be moving and behaving like an organic body? The answer lies in another spectacular work next door: "Argos The Swollen Suns." Kim Yun-chul's "Argos The Swollen Suns" (2022) / Courtesy of Arts Council Korea Emitting an eerie, pulsating sound and flashing light, the installation consists of 246 Geiger-Muller tubes capable of detecting invisible particles around us what are known as muons. Muons are created when high-energy particles called cosmic rays enter and collide with the Earth's atmosphere. "As soon as Argo's hundreds of tubes detect muons that are originally from space, they then send signals based on these particle's movements to other kinetic installations, like 'Chroma V' and 'Impulse,' triggering their movements," the artist said. "It's like receiving a direct message from a certain cosmological event. The reason why I chose to solely detect muons, and not other invisible particles around us on Earth, was because I wanted to expand the worldview offered by the piece extending beyond the world of humans and their art to outer space." Installation view of the special exhibition, "To Where the Flowers are Blooming," curated by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, at the Spazio Berlendis in Venice, Italy / Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale Foundation Revisiting 'Gwangju Spirit' in Italy's floating city A 30-minute walk from the Giardini across Venice's city center will take visitors to the Spazio Berlendis, an art space located in the neighborhood of Cannaregio, where a special exhibition dedicated to the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement is being held. Curated by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, "To Where the Flowers are Blooming" invites the works of 11 artists that either speak directly to the civil uprising carried out in protest of dictator Chun Doo-hwan's declaration of martial law or serve as metaphors for a larger historical narrative of resistance. While the show has toured around the cities of Seoul, Gwangju, Cologne and Taipei since 2020, what makes the Venice edition particularly intriguing is none other than the location of its venue. Straight across the nearest stretch of water from the exhibition hall lies San Michele, also known as the "Isle of the Dead" a burial ground for many Venetians since the early 1800s. And just around the corner from the venue stand casket-making workshops. Being close to the commemorative site for the deceased creates an unexpected, yet befitting atmosphere for the special exhibition, according to the foundation's project manager Park Bo-na, as the Gwangju Uprising was brutally suppressed by the government and left nearly 200 dead. Among the works on display is Choi Sun's "Butterflies," part of an ongoing project the artist has been engaged in since 2014. What looks like flying blue butterflies or petals from afar are, in fact, traces of human breaths blown into the wet ink. Traveling to different cities and countries, he captures and records the breaths of people from a wide range of ages and different nationalities, genders and religions on canvas. "We saw the artist's piece as a metaphor for the collective power of breath and the sacrifices made by nameless individuals," Park said. Choi Sun's "Butterflies" (2014-present) / Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale Foundation The Kori Unit 1 nuclear power plant in Gijang County, Busan / Courtesy of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power The leader of Greenpeace urged President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, Friday, to "reevaluate" his nuclear-focused decarbonization plan in a letter sent to him on the occasion of Earth Day. Yoon's transition team is pushing to modify the country's carbon neutrality plans of the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration, which have the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2018 levels by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The overhaul will likely include reversing Moon's nuclear phase-out policy and changes in the country's energy mix. "We urge you to reevaluate whether nuclear energy could be safe, fast, and affordable enough to achieve the 1.5 degree C temperature goal," Greenpeace International Executive Director Norma Torres said in the letter. She said, "Korea already has the highest nuclear power plant density in the world ... we wonder whether further nuclear expansion will be acceptable by the public." Torres also said, "The unsolved nuclear waste problem is also a major issue you need to consider in your nuclear focused decarbonization plan." Korea, instead, needs a new, ambitious energy transition strategy to employ more renewable energy coupled with an ambitious fossil fuel and nuclear phase-out plan, according to Torres. "Needless to say, your term from 2022 to 2027 is a critical time to decide whether Korea will pull its weight and therefore contribute to the global mission to prevent disastrous climate change in time or not," she said. (Yonhap) No Yes, a light case Yes, two or more light cases One serious case Two or more serious bouts Vote View Results Angolas water storage facility off of C.R. 300N at Hoosier Hill has added capacity to the Angola water distribution system that it can consider supplying water to Pokagon State Park, which is a little more than a mile away. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East The January 2021 civil lawsuit filed by former Linn Town Board supervisor Christine Jones against the Town of Linn has drawn to an apparent close, with Walworth County Branch IV Civil Judge David M. Reddy issuing an April 7 summary judgement in the towns favor. This was a civil case that was filed relating to Chris Jones challenge on her own behalf about the towns actions relating to the Harbor Commission..., town attorney James B. Duquette reported to the town board April 11. Ultimately what you have in your packet is an order, the judges decision, after this case was resolved at summary judgement, which procedurally is a short-cut to trial. It is an opportunity to resolve a case with written affidavits, the materials in the record, without the expense of witnesses and having a full trial. In this particular case ... the judge essentially said the town wins on summary judgement and the case was dismissed ... and the case is over. Duquette cautioned that there is an appeal period for Jones, as the petitioner, to appeal the courts decision For now the case is resolved, he said. The Lake Geneva Regional News reviewed open record Walworth County Circuit Court documents related to the case. On Jan. 28, 2021, Jones filed a petition against the Town of Linn for a writ of mandamus requiring the town return control of all public harbor facilities to the Town of Linn Harbor Commission, as well as other compensation. Jones alleged that at a June 29, 2020 special town board meeting an approved organizational chart awarded town administrator Jim Hurley authority over Harbor Commission employees and that Hurley interpreted the authority given to him to include exclusive authority to control all harbor activities. Jones alleged that the rights of the Town of Linn Harbor Commission to exercise exclusive control of the commercial aspects of the day-to-day operation of the public harbor and public facilties had been violated. In addition to a writ of mandamus requiring that the Town of Linn return control of all public harbor facilities to the Town of Linn Harbor Commission, Jones also sought award compensation for damages as a taxpayer, an award for her costs and fees including attorneys fees and disbursements, and an award for other and further relief as the court deemed just and necessary. On Nov. 1, 2021, the Town of Linn filed for a summary judgement in the case, maintaining that that neither the town nor Hurley exercises control over day-to-day commercial operation of the towns boat launch, that Wisconsin Statute 30.38 does not lend itself to a writ of mandamus, and that Jones petition to the court was moot given that she is no longer a representative of the town nor a member of the Harbor Commission, having been voted out of office. In his 10-page April 7 summary judgement, Reddy ruled the town demonstrated that is is entitled to summary judgement and therefore the motion for summary judgement was granted. In a follow-up interview, Hurley declined to elaborate on the lawsuit. The towns legal counsel provided a summary regarding the matter at last Mondays town board meeting, he said. Given the appeal period is still open, I have no further comments. Beach pass MOU approved Linn town supervisors approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Village of Williams Bay for 2022 beach passes. Approved by the Williams Bay Village Board on March 21, under the MOU the village would allow the Town of Linn to acquire up to two beach tags per town household at the non-resident rate to permit access to the village beach on Geneva Lake, with the village billing the town directly for tag purchases and receipt of town payment for beach tags required on or before Oct. 10, 2022. Mutual aid agreement approved On the recommendation of Town of Linn Police Chief Jon Albrecht, supervisors approved enteringing into a law enforcement mutual aid agreement with Suburban Mutual Assistance Response Team (S.M.A.R.T.). S.M.A.R.T. is a cooperative effort between regional southeastern Wisconsin law enforcement agencies in Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine, Walworth and Waukesha counties that allows for law enforcement mutual aid during a significant emergency or disaster including severe storms, floods, hazardous material incidents, transportation accidents, large fires, public disorders, major crimes, barricaded subjects, hostage situations, searches, traffic control, terrorist activities and other occurrences. S.M.A.R.T. can also be utilized for dignitary protection needs. S.M.A.R.T. is essentially a mutual aid agreement among law enforcement agencies ... for any larger-scale incident that would overburden the [requesting] agency as well as surrounding agencies, Albrecht explained. Were not obligated to provide assistance if were asked if we cannot provide the manpower due to resource allocation in the town. We can deny the request. On the flip side is the idea that if we need assistance in the Town of Linn for a large-scale incident, part of this agreement allow us to ask for that now. Prior to entering into the mutual aid agreement with S.M.A.R.T., the Linn Police Department was one of four law enforcement departments in Walworth County not participating in the program. Survey map changes approved Acting on the unanimous recommendation of the Town of Linn Plan Commission, supervisors approved a request from Marshall Smith and Susan Wisbey-Smith, N2375 Valley View Dr., for an affidavit of correction to terminate the access and utility easement from Valley View Drive as previously delineated on their certified survey map. Supervisors also approved their request to combine their two lots into a single lot. Other news In other developments at the April 11 meeting, the Linn Town Board: * Approved setting a blanket $1,500 annual boat launch pass fee for commercial boat shipping and transport services placing and removing watercraft in Geneva Lake. * Approved amendments of the room tax ordinance fee schedule, including an increase in the adverse suspension or revocation fee from $20 to $50 and an increase in the late filing fee from $2 to $20. * Approved a road resurfacing project change order with Waukesha-based Payne & Dolan at a cost not to exceed $55,124 for additional road patch work a various locations throughout the town, but largely targeted in the Woodstone subdivision and on South Lake Shore Drive and Zenda Road. * Approved the rebidding of proposed drainage improvement projects on Lake Drive and South Crest View Drive in the Maple Hills Subdivision. * Approved the bidding of culvert work on North Creekside Lane. * Approved amendment of the towns staffing agreement with the City of Lake Geneva. * Approved minor amendments to Article 9 of the Linn Fire Departments Fire and EMS bylaws, governing meetings and drills, as unanimously approved by department members. 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. Posted by Jay on at 09:01 AM CST Marvel has sent out solicitations for their July 2022 titles, including 7comics!CHARLES SOULE (W)ANDRES GENOLET (A)Cover by E.M. GISTACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVERBY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHERCHOOSE YOUR DESTINY VARIANTCOVER BY CHRIS SPROUSETHE PATH TO VICTORY! The Rebel Fleet is reunited at last, and Leia Organa, Mon Mothma and the other Alliance leaders send a strong message to the galaxy that the resistance to Palpatines rule remains as strong as ever. Meanwhile, Lady Qira of Crimson Dawn has activated her sleeper agents across the galaxy, instructing them to cause chaos for the Empire by any means necessary!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99(of 5)CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL (W) ALESSANDRO MIRACOLO (A) Cover by PHIL NOTOVARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLICHOOSE YOUR DESTINY VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSETHE BATTLE OF ABRION BRIDGE! While continuing to wait out a nasty sandstorm on Tatooine, Obi-Wan reflects on one of his most grueling experiences in the Clone Wars Its a memory full of pain and bloodshed, and one that has lasting consequences. The battle also reminds Obi-Wan of an age-old question he has long wrestled with throughout his life: what is a Jedis true purpose in war?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99ETHAN SACKS (W) PAOLO VILLANELLI (A)Cover by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLICHOOSE YOUR DESTINY VARIANT COVERBY CHRIS SPROUSEVARIANT COVER BY KEN LASHLEYBOUNTY HUNTERS VS.THE KNIGHTS OF REN! Dengar is leading Tonga's bounty hunter crew on a desperate attempt to break into the Crimson Dawns stronghold and hes also leading them into a trap! Meanwhile, Valance has found new purpose as Darth Vaders secret weapon. But how far will he be willing to go to protect an Imperial officer from assassins?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99GREG PAK (W) RAFFAELE IENCO (A)Cover by PAUL RENAUDVARIANT COVER BY ROD REISCHOOSE YOUR DESTINY VARIANT COVERBY CHRIS SPROUSE The Dark Lord of the Sith relentlessly tracks a corrupt Imperial governor. But is Vader still driven by his quest for order or has his encounters with shades from the past awoken new motivations? Meanwhile, few figures in the galaxy are more different than Sabe, handmaiden of Padme Amidala, and Ochi of Bestoon, assassin of the Sith. So when theyre forced to work together in Vaders ambit and the knives inevitably come out, whos still standing at the end? And what will that lonely soul have to say when Vader returns?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99MARC GUGGENHEIM (W) DAVID MESSINA (A) Cover by PHIL NOTOVARIANT COVER BY DAVID LOPEZCHOOSE YOUR DESTINY VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSELETS KEEP A LITTLE OPTIMISM HERE. But optimism is hard to come by with the Millennium Falcon gone and Han and Chewie in their toughest spot ever! Greedo is back and boy, is he mad! Featuring the returns of Marshal Buck Vancto and Khel Tanna. Which one is going to get their hands on Han first? All this and more in the rip-roaring conclusion of The Crystal Run.32 PGS./Rated T $3.99ALYSSA WONG (W) MINKYU JUNG (A)Cover by W. SCOTT FORBESCHOOSE YOUR DESTINY VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSEVARIANT COVER BY RICKIE YAGAWA SANA STARROS and her team are determined to rescue DOCTOR APHRA at any cost! But everyones keeping secretsand the SPARK ETERNAL has plans of its own!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99RODNEY BARNES (W) GEORGES JEANTY (A) COVER BY KAARE ANDREWSVARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLIVARIANT COVER BY SALVADOR LAROCCAVARIANT COVER BY JIM CHEUNG CONCEPT ART VARIANT COVER ALSO AVAILABLEBattle with the beastly Mudhorn! Having tracked down a valuable quarry, the Mandalorian must now contend with thieving bandits. Will the Mandalorian battle it out with the Jawas or is an alliance in the cards?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99 WATERFORD School officials are reassuring parents after law enforcement officers at Woodfield Elementary School found reports of students inappropriately touching each other and exchanging sexual text messages. School Administrator Ed Brzinski issued a statement Wednesday after the Racine County Sheriffs Office released records of an investigation that began March 18 with a report of a sexual assault at Woodfield, a K-5 school. In a statement issued after The Journal Times contacted him about the situation, Brzinski told parents that law enforcement has investigated and that none of the alleged wrongdoing involved adults. We would like to reassure you that your children are safe and have been, he wrote. RCSO records include allegations among Woodfield Elementary students of inappropriate touching, text messages with sexual content, and one child luring another into a bathroom for an inappropriate incident. Investigators reported uncovering a photograph of one student simulating sexual activity with a stuffed animal. In another instance, a student received a text message asking, Hey, bestie, want to flash? although the student later denied sending or receiving any nude photographs. RCSO records do not indicate any plans for seeking criminal charges. Instead, Racine County Child Protective Services was contacted and social workers there were following up on the situation. CPS officials could not be reached for comment. The police records are heavily redacted to remove references to any Woodfield students name, age or sex. Located at 905 Barnes Drive, Waterford, Woodfield Elementary serves about 300 to 400 children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Principal Jessica Grimm, who assisted investigators, declined to comment, referring questions to Brzinski. Brzinski said school officials are required by law to notify police when certain types of incidents are reported. He called the allegations unfounded, although he would not say whether that means no wrongdoing occurred or only that no criminal charges were filed. This is an issue between children, so we cannot comment on it, he said. The police have handled it. Child Protective Services has handled it. According to sheriffs records released under the states open records law, the situation began March 18 when the parents of a Woodfield Elementary student reported that their child had endured inappropriate touching at least five times by another student. The Waterford Police Department categorized the incident as a sexual assault report. The sheriffs department listed the incident type simply as administrative. Some of the alleged incidents, investigators reported, occurred during a before- and after-school program operated at Woodfield by Homestead Day Care Inc. Homestead owner Terry Nelson said she never spoke with police and did not have all the information about what happened. Nelson, however, said she felt the situation was being blown out of proportion. It was between two students, and nothing else, she said. Grimm told police about an incident in February 2021 when one student lured another into a bathroom. The incident was reported to both parents but police were not contacted, because a witness described only inappropriate conversation in the bathroom. RCSO reported finding several text messages, including one described as a group chat with multiple people. The texting included comments possibly sexual in nature, as well as others that were provocative in nature. The records show that investigators interviewed at least two sets of parents, plus one student who admitted to text messages that were inappropriate. However, the student reportedly said, despite ... talking about it, neither of them have either sent or received any nude or otherwise inappropriate photographs of each other. 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. Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 22 (ANI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday promised a "corruption-free" government in Karnataka and expressed confidence that the people of the state will vote for the Aam Aadmi Party in next year's assembly polls. "Ours is an honest government, we made it in Delhi then in Punjab now we'll form government in Karnataka. Even in Karnataka, there will be a corruption-free government," Kejriwal said addressing a rally here. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson on Jahangirpuri Demolition Drive, Says Always Raise Difficult Issues. The Delhi Chief Minister claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given him certificate of 'imandaar CM'. "PM made the CBI raid my residence, officials entered my bedroom but they couldn't find anything, eventually, PM gave me the certificate of 'imandaar' CM," he said. Also Read | Realme Q5, Q5 Pro Smartphones Launched in China; Prices, Features & Specifications. Kejriwal said a corruption-free government can offer several services for free to the people. He talked about the AAP government's work in education and healthcare and concessions to people in power, water and transportation. "This is because we are an honest government," he said. "Earlier hospitals and dispensaries were in a bad state in Delhi but now we have facilities that are equal to private hospitals. Government schools across the country are in a bad shape except in Delhi. Delhi's government schools are better than private schools. The students got 99.7 per cent results. Government schools have got swimming pools and lifts, even private schools don't have such facilities. What does the 'aam aadmi' want? They just need a good education", he added. The AAP leader said four lakh students came from private schools to government schools this year and "medical treatment for 2 crore people is free in Delhi". "Earlier, there were power cuts for eight hours, now people get electricity supply for 24 hours," he said. Farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar joined AAP during the rally. Kejriwal said that the recent communal clashes across the country had "pained" him. "Recent incidents in Delhi have pained me. Riots are happening all over the country. Who is behind it? The people in the country want peace. If you want riots, vote for them. If you want schools and hospitals, vote for us." Referring to the demonstration outside CM's residence, Kejriwal said, "Some miscreants tried to barge into my house but at that time neither me nor my wife or children were there at home, only my parents were at home. However, they were welcomed to one party. All goons go to 'one' party." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kokrajhar (Assam), Apr 22 (PTI) A day after a court in Assam's Kokrajhar district sent Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani to police custody, several opposition legislators rallied to his cause and met him on Friday, while the Congress staged a demonstration outside Kokrajhar Police Station, where the Dalit leader is being held. Also Read | Assam: ED Attaches Assets Worth Rs 6.28 Crore of Saradha Group of Companies for Running Illegal Ponzi Schemes. The lone CPI(M) legislator in the state also sat on a protest in front of the police station when he was initially denied permission to meet Mevani. Also Read | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to Attend Judiciary Conference in Delhi, Likely to Meet PM Narendra Modi. Opposing Mevani's "illegal arrest", members of Congress raised slogans against the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded Mevani's immediate release. Congress leaders also met him in custody. Mevani, an Independent MLA supported by the Congress, was apprehended from Palanpur town in Gujarat on Wednesday night after a First Information Report (FIR) under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act was filed in Kokrajhar Police Station over his purported tweet against the prime minister. According to the FIR, he had purportedly posted a tweet, claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi "considered Godse as God". Mevani was flown to Guwahati from Gujarat on Thursday morning and then taken to Kokrajhar by road, where he was produced at the chief judicial magistrate's court, which remanded him to three days' police custody. Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) working president and MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar, leading the protest, claimed that Mevani had been arrested to "thwart his influence" in Gujarat. "Narendra Modi's pride is going to take a beating when the BJP loses Gujarat soon. Mevani has great influence on people there. This has been done to keep him away," Sikdar claimed, who also met Mevani during the day. Another Congress leader said the Gauhati High Court will not be moved for bail for Mevani at the moment, and they will wait for the end of his police remand before taking recourse to any other legal means at this stage. A team of three lawyers, led by head of legal cell of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee Manoj Bhagawati, is representing the Gujarat MLA. CPI(M) legislator Manoranjan Talukdar, who was here with two other party leaders to call on Mevani, was initially denied permission to meet the arrested MLA. They sat on a protest in front of the police station and after that, only Talukdar was allowed to meet Mevani. Independent Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi, also here, alleged that Assam chief minister and the chief of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), of which Kokrajhar is the headquarters, are working in connivance in this matter. "Whatever they may be saying now, it looks like the chief minister and the BTC chief (Pramod Boro) have discussed among themselves and did this (arrest Mevani). It is nothing but an attempt to appease the BJP top brass," he claimed. "It is strange that a person from Gujarat is arrested by Assam Police for a tweet it's like opening an umbrella in Assam when it's raining in Gujarat," the Raijor Dal president said. He later also tweeted "met Jignesh Mevani at Kokrajhar police station. He is in pretty jovial mood and is in a fighting spirit. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had on Thursday claimed that he was not aware who Mevani was. Mevani had won as an independent MLA from Vadgam (SC) seat of Banaskantha in 2017 with Congress support. Though he is "ideologically" with the Congress, he has not joined the party officially. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Earth Day is about expressing gratitude to "Mother Earth" for her kindness and reiterating one's commitment to care for the planet. Earth Day is observed on April 22 every year to raise awareness about the need to protect the environment. Also Read | Shiva Temple Demolished in Rajasthan: Hurting Faith of Hindus is Secularism of Congress, Says BJP. Modi also posted a clip of his past remarks about India's traditional regard for the environment. In the clip, he said it is the responsibility of every generation to conserve the environment. (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 22: An encounter has broken out between security forces and terrorists in Jammu's Sunjwan area on Friday. "Encounter underway in Sunjwan area of Jammu. Details awaited," Jammu and Kashmir Police said. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson on Jahangirpuri Demolition Drive, Says Always Raise Difficult Issues. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the panchayats of the country from Palli, Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (April 24) on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Diwas. In 2018, terrorists stormed the Sunjwan army camp killing five security personnel and one civilian. Also Read | Realme Q5, Q5 Pro Smartphones Launched in China; Prices, Features & Specifications. Further details of the encounter are awaited. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Gurugram, Apr 22 (PTI) A man has been arrested for allegedly shooting dead a grocery store owner who had slapped him a few days ago, police said on Friday. Deepak (35), a resident of Bilaspur Khurd village, was shot five times at his grocery store by two bike-borne men on Thursday night, they said. Also Read | Realme GT 2 With Snapdragon 888 SoC Launched in India; Prices, Availability, Features & Specifications. One of the accused, Kailash (20), a resident of Rohtak district, was nabbed by the locals on the spot, police said, adding Deepak rushed to a hospital where the doctors declared him dead. A pistol, the motorcycle and seven bullets were seized from the accused, a police official said. Also Read | Realme GT Neo 3 India Launch Date Set For April 29, To Go on Sale From May 4, 2022. "Kailash used to live in the house of Deepak on rent. A few days ago, the two got into an argument and Deepak slapped Kailash. He killed Deppak to avenge the slap," said ACP, crime, Preet Pal Singh Sangwan. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bagalkot (Karnataka) [India], April 22 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the state has the tradition of working "unitedly" over the issues of farmers, land and water cutting across the party barriers. In his address after laying the foundation stone for the Kerur lift irrigation project at Ugalavata village in Badami, the Chief Minister said, "Cutting across party barriers Karnataka has the tradition of working unitedly over the issues of state's farmers, water and land. Development works should be completed within a fixed time. Action would be taken for clearing the second phase of Kerur Lift Irrigation project." Also Read | Realme GT 2 With Snapdragon 888 SoC Launched in India; Prices, Availability, Features & Specifications. Bommai further said that the Rs 528 crore irrigation project would bring water for 40,000 hectares of land which has been left out of the Upper Krishna Project. "We would not rest till the project is completed. Many irrigation projects are being bogged down due to disputes with neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra," he said. Also Read | Realme GT Neo 3 India Launch Date Set For April 29, To Go on Sale From May 4, 2022. The project would provide an irrigation facility for 13 lakh hectares. It would open the doors of prosperity for the people of Northern Karnataka, he said. Stressing that Badami is an international tourist destination, the Chief Minister said it needs to be developed further. Various programmes have already been chalked out in this regard. "A Renewed Master Plan would be drawn up for comprehensive growth of tourism in Badami," he added. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI): Maharashtra Member of Parliament, Navneet Rana, and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath were accorded armed VIP security cover by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), sources said. Rana was provided 'Y' category all India security cover on April 14 while Somnath was accorded 'Y+' category all India security cover on April 18. Also Read | Rajasthan Shocker: 21-Year-Old Girl Kidnapped, Gang-Raped by Four in Bharatpur District. Both Rana and Somnath were provided Central security cover after a threat analysis by the Ministry of Home Affairs in its recent VIP security meet. Rana, a former Indian actress who mainly acted in Telugu cinema, is an elected Member of Parliament from Amravati in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate. Also Read | Supreme Court to Hear Plea of Sarojini Nagar Slum Dwellers Facing Demolition of Jhuggis, No Interim Stay. Eminent aerospace engineer and rocket scientist Somanath, who also holds charge of secretary of the Department of Space for a joint tenure of three years, recently succeeded Kailasavadivoo Sivan as the new ISRO chairman. Somanath is an expert in a host of disciplines including launch vehicle design. He has specialised in Launch Vehicle Systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, integration designs and procedures, mechanism design, and pyrotechnics. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Jammu, Apr 22 (PTI) A multi-tier security setup has been put in place for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Samba on Sunday, officials said, hours after two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed during an encounter in Jammu. An alert has also been sounded along the border and a high degree of vigilance is being maintained at vital installations in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the visit, they said. Also Read | Apple iPhone 14 Pro Likely To Come With Rounded Corners: Report. Their remarks came after an attempt by banned terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to carry out a suicide attack ahead of the PM's visit was foiled as two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed in the encounter in Jammu. A CISF officer also died during the gunfight. "A multi-tier security setup has been put in place in Samba and adjoining areas as a part of foolproof security," a senior official told PTI. Also Read | Bulldozer Brings Down 300-Year-Old Shiva Temple in Rajasthans Alwar, Triggers Controversy. The venue of the public function has been made out of bounds for the general public and a three-tier security arrangement has been made after conducting a full-fledged anti-sabotage checking, officials said. The administration has been making arrangements for the participation of one lakh people in the programme. The officials said checkpoints have been raised on all the roads leading to the venue, and vehicles and people using highways and peripheral roads in the area are being thoroughly checked and frisked. They said they have made elaborate deployments and carried out area-domination in view of the visit. Alertness in border areas has been raised and vigilance on vital installations in the region enhanced by various security agencies, they said. Security establishment carried out several drills on Friday including landing of choppers and movement of vehicles, they said. Sources said there are inputs about a greater threat perception this time. Intercepts have also been received about possible threats, they said, adding one group terrorist was neutralised Friday. Some high-end surveillance equipment have been inducted into security setup to ensure fool proof security, they said. In Jammu and Kathua, security has been beefed up with frisking and checking of vehicles increased, they said. This will be Modi's first visit to Jammu and Kashmir other than his trip to borders post since the abrogation of the special status of J&K in August 2019. Modi is expected to launch industrial investments worth Rs 70,000 crore and inaugurate and lay foundation of some developmental projects including two power projects. (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 22 (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 curfew will continue till April 23, the police said. As many as 12 cases were registered in connection with the law and order situation in which 134 arrests have been made. Also Read | OnePlus Ace With MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max SoC Launched in China. Speaking to ANI, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Labhu Ram said, "The main case was registered in connection with April 16 night (stone-pelting) incident, while in connection with law and order situation, we have registered 12 cases in which 134 arrests have been made. Section 144 to continue till Saturday morning in South Sub-Division 5 PS limit." The commissioner further informed that a student who was in judicial custody in connection with a stone-pelting incident has been granted permission by the court to write the exam. Also Read | Mumbai: Woman Arrested for Threatening, Demanding Rs 10 Crore From Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde. "One student Abhishek who is in judicial custody has been granted permission by the court to write the exam. We will make arrangements accordingly," Ram said. A stone-pelting incident took place at Old Hubli Police Station on April 16 in which four policemen including one inspector injured. The mob which gathered outside the police station suddenly turned violent and started pelting stones at the police station and police vehicles. 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. Earlier on Sunday, the Karnataka Minister CN Ashwathnarayan condemned the incident and said strict action will be taken against those who violated the law. "The strongest possible action should be taken to send the right message to the people who time and again do not respect the law of the land. We condemn the incident. The people have been arrested," Ashwathnarayan said. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI): Services on the Blue Line of Delhi Metro were disrupted briefly due to a passenger on the track at Tilak Nagar, informed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Friday morning. After around 15 minutes, the DMRC announced that normal services have been resumed. Also Read | No.3 Seed #ArynaSabalenka Defeated #BiancaAndreescu in the Second Round of Latest Tweet by IANS India. At around 11.20 am, the DMRC announced that the blue line between Tilak Nagar and Karol Bagh was experiencing a delay in services. It also stated that normal services were available on all other tracks. "Blue Line Update, Delay in services from Tilak Nagar to Karol Bagh due to a passenger on track at Tilak Nagar. Normal service on all other lines" tweeted DMRC. Also Read | Andhra Pradesh Shocker: Mentally Challenged Woman Gang Raped in Vijayawadas Government Hospital. Earlier, on Thursday morning, the services between Dwarka Sector 21 to Noida Electronic City and Vaishali were affected which resumed after around 90 minutes, the DMRC announced on its Twitter handle. DMRC takes to its Twitter handle regularly to inform commuters about any delays and makes announcements pertaining to the metro system. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Cambridge, April 20: An international team of astronomers has discovered the most distant astronomical object of all time: a galaxy. Shining only about 300 million years after the Big Bang, it may contain the oldest stars in the universe or a supermassive black hole. The findings of the study were published in 'The Astrophysical Journal'. The team proposes two ideas: HD1 may be forming stars at an astounding rate and is possibly even home to Population III stars, the universe's very first stars -- which, until now, have never been observed. Alternatively, HD1 may contain a supermassive black hole about 100 million times the mass of our Sun. "Answering questions about the nature of a source so far away can be challenging," says Fabio Pascucci, lead author of the MNRAS study, co-author in the discovery paper on ApJ, and an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics. When Is Solar Eclipse 2022 in April? Know the Date, Time and Visibility of Year's First Surya Grahan in India and Other Places Around The World. "It's like guessing the nationality of a ship from the flag it flies, while being far away ashore, with the vessel in the middle of a gale and dense fog. One can maybe see some colours and shapes of the flag, but not in their entirety. It's ultimately a long game of analysis and exclusion of implausible scenarios." HD1 is extremely bright in ultraviolet light. To explain this, "some energetic processes are occurring there or, better yet, did occur some billions of years ago," Pascucci says. At first, the researchers assumed HD1 was a standard starburst galaxy, a galaxy that is creating stars at a high rate. But after calculating how many stars HD1 was producing, they obtained "an incredible rate -- HD1 would be forming more than 100 stars every single year. This is at least 10 times higher than what we expect for these galaxies." That's when the team began suspecting that HD1 might not be forming normal, everyday stars. "The very first population of stars that formed in the universe were more massive, more luminous and hotter than modern stars," Pascucci says. "If we assume the stars produced in HD1 are these first, or Population III, stars, then its properties could be explained more easily. In fact, Population III stars are capable of producing more UV light than normal stars, which could clarify the extreme ultraviolet luminosity of HD1." A supermassive black hole, however, could also explain the extreme luminosity of HD1. As it gobbles down enormous amounts of gas, high energy photons may be emitted by the region around the black hole. If that's the case, it would be by far the earliest supermassive black hole known to humankind, observed much closer in time to the Big Bang compared to the current record-holder. "HD1 would represent a giant baby in the delivery room of the early universe," says Avi Loeb an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics and co-author of the MNRAS study. "It breaks the highest quasar redshift on record by almost a factor of two, a remarkable feat." HD1 was discovered after more than 1,200 hours of observing time with the Subaru Telescope, VISTA Telescope, UK Infrared Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. "It was very hard work to find HD1 out of more than 700,000 objects," says Yuichi Harikane, an astronomer at the University of Tokyo who discovered the galaxy. "HD1's red colour matched the expected characteristics of a galaxy 13.5 billion light-years away surprisingly well, giving me goosebumps when I found it." The team then conducted follow-up observations using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to confirm the distance, which is 100 million light-years further than GN-z11, the current record-holder for the furthest galaxy. NASA Confirms Alien Footprints on Mars? Viral Photo of Martian Crater Gets Internet Excited. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the research team will soon once again observe HD1 to verify its distance from Earth. If current calculations prove correct, HD1 will be the most distant -- and oldest -- galaxy ever recorded. The same observations will allow the team to dig deeper into HD1's identity and confirm if one of their theories is correct. "Forming a few hundred million years after the Big Bang, a black hole in HD1 must have grown out of a massive seed at an unprecedented rate," Loeb says. "Once again, nature appears to be more imaginative than we are." (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 22 (ANI): Each year on April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day to create awareness about the vital need to protect our planet from pollution. By taking part in activities like picking up litter and planting trees, we can make our need to protect our planet from pollution. What was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, as a day of environment preservation in the US has now become a global day to promote a large-scale push for clean habitats around the world. Also Read | DC vs RR IPL 2022 Dream11 Team: Yuzvendra Chahal, David Warner and Other Key Players You Must Pick in Your Fantasy Playing XI. This was first started when peace activist John Mc Connell proposed to honour the planet and the concept of peace during a UNESCO conference in San Francisco. Earth day continues to grow as a worldwide event focused on promoting clean living and a healthy, sustainable habitat for all living beings. The day also reminds us how fragile our planet is and how it is important to save it from the global climate crisis that is worsening with each passing day. Also Read | IPL 2022: Mumbai Indians Need That Instinct To Finish Games Off, Says Mahela Jayawardene. The theme of Earth Day 2022 is to 'Invest in our planet', urging businesses to shift towards sustainable practices. As per Earth Day Organization, "We need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It's going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens -- everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet." On the occasion of Earth Day 2022, American tech giant Google also dedicated the artwork through its Doodle to raise awareness about climate change. The artwork showcases real time-lapse imagery from Google Earth Timelapse and other sources to showcase the impact of climate change across different regions. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chiba [Japan], April 22 (ANI): In the era of carbon neutrality, Idemitsu Kosan is trying to develop new industrial material. The company has rich experience in the chemical advanced fiber material field. Syndiotactic Polystyrene (SPS) is the company's original material which was industrialized in 1997. SPS has strong points of heat resistance, electric characteristics, and chemical resistance. Also Read | Indonesia to Ban Exports of Cooking Oil and Raw Materials to Reduce Domestic Shortages. "SPS is a crystal of common plastic. Compared to the original general-purpose polyethylene, SPS has a crystal structure and melting point. Its melting point is 275 degrees, and it changes into a material that melts at a very high temperature. SPS is a highly heat-resistant resin, and it is said that it was synthesized at Idemitsu Kosan's Central Laboratory in 1985," Masayuki Morikawa from Idemitsu Kosan said. "Currently, there is a group of highly heat-resistant resins called super engineering plastics that are used for industries, home appliances, daily necessities, and automobile parts. SPS has the characteristic of microwave penetration, so when you put the ingredients inside and heat them in the microwave, only the inside gets warm and the surrounding container stays cold," Morikawa explained. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi, Boris Johnson Set Diwali Deadline for India-UK Free Trade Agreement. "In this way, it is commonly used as a container for microwave. It is chopsticks used in the factory cafeteria. It was previously a wooden chopstick, but it has been changed to plastic. This material is used as a chopstick because SPS is highly hydrolytic and resistant to chemicals. The main target of the business is car parts. SPS is used for connectors that connect things with electricity, and it is also gaining recognition worldwide," Morikawa added. A factory to produce SPS is under construction in Japan's Chiba prefecture. Later this year, a new factory in Malaysia will be launched targeting export to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. "The main market is overseas, and the main areas are Europe, the United States, and Asia. Currently, a second plant for SPS production is under construction in Idemitsu Kosan's oil complex in Malaysia. We plan to start production of SPS within the fiscal year 2022," Morikawa said Idemitsu Kosan is developing technologies to reduce the harmful effects of carbon. For that, SPS could be transformed into various products to enrich lives. (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 22 (ANI): India is a great democracy and has constitutional protections for the communities, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the concerns of human rights groups. While responding to whether India discussed the human rights groups' concerns where Prime Minister Modi has presided over growing cultural Hindu nationalism in India, Johnson said, "On our relations with India and how we deal with the question about human rights group, Of course, we have these conversations (on human rights or democratic values). The advantage of our friendship is that we can have them in a friendly way. It's very important to realise that India has constitutional protections for communities." Also Read | China to Help Sri Lanka to Meet Crucial Needs of People, Says PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. He further said, "India is a very different country from autocracies around the world. It's a great democracy. It's a stunning, shining fact that 1.35 billion people live under a democracy. That is something we should celebrate as it offers us an opportunity for closer cooperation and partnership." Johnson also said that this doesn't mean that the UK won't raise the question of the human rights issues. Also Read | St. George's Day 2022: Date, History, Facts and Significance of Observing the Death Anniversary of the Patron Saint of England. The British PM was speaking at a press conference on Friday evening after his engagements with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Earlier, Johnson talked about India's democracy and said, "India is one of the world's oldest democratic countries and world's largest democracy, sticking together and confronting our shared anxieties about autocracies around the world and we are acting together to make the world safer and more prosperous." Johnson said that the new defence and security partnership will help India to strengthen the domestic defence industry. He also said their collaboration on energy security and the new UK-India Hydrogen Science and Innovation hub will help both the countries to reduce their excessive dependency on the 'Hydrocarbon'. Boris Johnson started his day in New Delhi by paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his Samadhi at Raj Ghat here. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Johnson and discussed bilateral ties and the implementation of the India-UK Roadmap 2030. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, April 22: Amid the visit of the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to India, the two countries signed a number of agreements including two government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on Nuclear Energy Partnership and Global Innovation Partnership. The MoU on Cooperation on Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership was signed between India's Department of Atomic Energy and the UK's Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. "The two leaders (PM Modi and PM Johnson) reaffirmed their desire to strengthen India-UK civil nuclear cooperation and welcomed the UK's renewed collaboration with Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) for jointly promoting research and training on nuclear energy studies, radioactive applications, nuclear security, and safety," a India-UK joint statement said. Another MoU on Implementation of Global Innovation Partnership between India's Ministry of External Affairs and UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was also signed. UK PM Boris Johnson Lauds 'Khaas Dost Modi' For Amazing India Welcome, Says Felt Like Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan. "Global innovation partnership is a novel development, cooperation initiative which India and the UK agreed to cofinance, up to USD 100 million to support the transfer and scale innovations to third countries that help deliver SDGs and climate-related goals and in the process make Indian innovations go global," Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla informed in a press briefing. "Other institutions to institution MoUs were also concluded in the margins of the visit, including the MoU on the establishment of a short term chair at Birmingham University, signed between the Indian Council of Cultural relations and Birmingham city university, and between the National Institute of Wind Energy and offshore renewable energy catapult," Foreign Secretary added. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in India on Thursday on a two-day visit, which included a day of visits and engagements in Gujarat, followed by a ceremonial welcome in New Delhi earlier today, which was followed by bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Warsaw, Apr 22 (AP) New blasts at a Polish coal mine injured 10 rescue workers and forced authorities on Friday to suspend the search for seven coal miners and rescuers still missing after deadly methane explosions earlier this week, officials said. The initial explosion took place shortly after midnight early on Wednesday and was followed by another one hours later, about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) underground at the Pniowek mine in Pawlowice, near the Czech border. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi, Boris Johnson Set Diwali Deadline for India-UK Free Trade Agreement. Authorities said the two blasts killed five workers, left seven missing and injured dozens. On Thursday night, new explosions injured 10 rescue workers who were trying to create safe conditions for the search for the seven missing men. Also Read | UK Sets Up Anti-Extremist Task Force Against Pro-Khalistan, Other Extreme Groups. Authorities then decided to pull all rescue teams out and seal off the area of the repeated blasts at the mine, where the missing are believed to be, with a dam. Tomasz Cudny, the head of the mine operated by the JSW company, said it was a very difficult decision to halt the search but it was taken out of concern for the well-being of rescue workers. It would be very risky and very irresponsible to send them to such a dangerous area, Cudny said. Seven people were hospitalised after Thursday's blasts, three of them in serious condition. A dam is to be built within days to temporarily seal off the zone of the blasts from the rest of the mine for safety reasons, but also to help improve the atmosphere and the security conditions in that zone, a spokesman for JSW, Slawomir Starzynski, told The Associated Press. On Thursday, JSW said 25 people injured in the original explosions remained hospitalized, nine of them in very serious condition at a hospital that specialises in treating mine accident victims, especially those with severe burns. The deaths and injuries make it the worst incident in the history of the coking coal mine, which was built in the 1960s. Before the search for missing miners was suspended, JSW had said rescue crews were pumping air underground seeking to lower the methane levels and reduce the risk of further blasts. Poland relies on its own coal and coal imports for almost 70 per cent of its energy needs, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental groups concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change. Most Polish coal mines are in the southern Silesia region. The Polish government has been scaling down the use of coal and recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May, part of Poland's drive to reduce its dependence on Russian energy in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (AP) (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 22 (ANI/Sputnik): The Organization of American States has voted 25 to 0 to suspend Russia's status as permanent observer at the organization, St. Lucia's Ambassador to the OAS Elizabeth Darius-Clarke announced after the vote. "The Permanent Council hereby declares the draft resolution Suspension of the Status of the Russian Federation as a Permanent Observer of the Organization of American States approved," Darius-Clark, whose country chairs the Permanent Council in the April-June period, said. Also Read | US Capitol Complex Evacuated as Cautionary Step Against Potential Air Threat, Says Police. The results of the vote were 25 in favor versus 0 against, with 8 abstentions and one nation (Nicaragua) being absent. Following the vote, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said he was denied the opportunity to speak during the meeting either before or after voting on the OAS document. Also Read | US Provides USD 800 Million Additional Military Assistance to Ukraine. At the time of publication, Sputnik did not get a response from the OAS on its request for comment about why Antonov was not allowed to speak. Antonov denounced the OAS decision and called it a grave mistake. (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) Islamabad, April 22: The newly appointed 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, in a well-thought political move, directed the authorities to provide tight security to the ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan during his rallies. Regarding the security offered to the ousted PM, The Interior Ministry, on the directives of PM Sharif, issued a letter to the authorities concerned to ensure foolproof security of Mr Khan, the report said further. According to Dawn, the Ministry sent an urgent letter to the home secretaries of four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as well as the IGP and chief commissioner of Islamabad, asking them to take strict security measures for Imran Khan. PM Sharif directed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to personally monitor the situation and ensure the implementation of the orders. "The authorities concerned are warned that no negligence would be allowed regarding the security measures, particularly during Imran Khan's public engagements and gatherings," the PM's directives said, adding to which he has been advised to avoid his appearance at rallies, according to reports. Furthermore, a bomb disposal squad has also been deployed outside the hilltop residence of Mr Khan in Bani Gala as a part of Khan's security arrangements. Pakistan's Deadly Air Strikes Inside Afghanistan Increase Tensions With Taliban. After the fall of his government, Imran Khan started a countrywide protest campaign. However, in view of "severe threat alerts", embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been asked to conduct rallies virtually. Meanwhile, the caretaker Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif also held separate meetings with the coalition partners amid reservations being aired by the government allies over the formation of the federal cabinet. Federal Minister Israr Tarin, Senators Anwarul Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti and Samina Mumtaz, MNAs Ihsanullah Reki and Rubina Irfan and MPA Bilawal Afridi attended the meeting, Dawn reported. A delegation of the Balochistan Awami Party, headed by Khalid Hussain Magsi and Jam Kamal Khan, called on PM Sharif and discussed the overall political situation with him. The delegation lauded the Prime Minister for putting the development of Balochistan among the government's priorities. However, both Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and Awami National Party (ANP) have refrained from becoming part of the cabinet and the PM tried to convince their leaders to join the cabinet. Pakistan: PM Shehbaz Sharif Orders 'Foolproof Security' for Imran Khan Ahead of His Lahore Rally. The PM also met ANP leaders Amir Haider Khan Hoti and Aimal Asfandyar and discussed the current political situation with them. In a tweet, the PM paid rich tribute to national poet Dr Allama Iqbal on his death anniversary and urged the nation to ensure unity and harmony to progress. 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 PM to be removed through the democratic process. (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 22 (ANI): Following the closure of girls' schools by the Taliban and the world voicing out for justice for women and their rights in Afghanistan, another cleric of Pakistan Mufti Taqi Usman calls out Taliban to reopen schools for Afghan girls. The eminent religious scholar of Pakistan, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani wrote a letter to the interim government of Afghanistan to reopen girls' schools for Afghan girls, reported Khaama Press. Also Read | Central Bank of Mexico Announces To Operate Digital Currency in 2025. The letter written to the supreme leader of the Taliban Mullah Hebtullah Akhundzada emphasized the importance of girls' education adding that the enemy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has used it as propaganda against the IEA, the report further stated. Girls' schools were scheduled to reopen across Afghanistan after months of closure due to steady unrest in the country because of war and covid, but Taliban announced that secondary schools and high schools for girls would remain closed until further notice. This decision was met with strong domestic and international reactions. Also Read | Pakistans Deadly Air Strikes Inside Afghanistan Increase Tensions With Taliban. "Women's education is necessary so the women deal with women's education, health, and welfare activities and to avoid the mixture of men and women", said the eminent scholar, adding to it, he also emphasised the need to dispel the impression that Islam is against women's education in the letter. However, it is necessary to make segregated arrangements for girls' education - separate from those for boys", wrote the scholar in the letter, Khaama Press stated. In the end, Mufti Taqi Usmani suggested different timings and different parts of the same buildings of schools so that girls and boys are segregated. Owing to the treatment of young girls and women and the violation of human rights in Afghanistan, majority of the countries have refused to formally recognize the Taliban. It has been over 200 hundred days since the closure of secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan. (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 22 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson on Friday laid emphasis on the need for a free, open, and rule-based Indo-pacific region with both sides agreeing to combat threats on air, space and maritime. "Shared interests in keeping the Indo-Pacific region free, open & rule-based. Agree to combat threats on air, space & maritime. Taking steps for sustainable homegrown energy," UK PM Boris Johnson said in a joint statement after holding talks with PM Modi at Hyderabad House. Also Read | Central Bank of Mexico Announces To Operate Digital Currency in 2025. "We invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. We stressed a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based Indo-Pacific region," PM Modi said. PM Modi also stated that the talks on the Free Trade Agreement are ongoing and both sides also held talks on defence cooperation. "Last year we (India-UK) launched a comprehensive strategic partnership. Work on FTA is underway. Talks were held on the defence sector, trade, climate, and energy. Talks were also held on free, open & rule-based Indo-pacific region," he added. Also Read | Pakistans Deadly Air Strikes Inside Afghanistan Increase Tensions With Taliban. PM Modi reiterated India's support for an inclusive government in Afghanistan and also stressed the need to choose dialogue, diplomacy, and immediate ceasefire to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. "We reiterated our support for a peaceful, stable, and secure Afghanistan and for an inclusive and representative Government. It is necessary that Afghan land should not be used to spread terrorism in other countries," he said in the joint statement. "We stressed dialogue and diplomacy in Ukraine for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem. We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries," PM Modi added, said the Prime Minister's Office. Speaking on the Global Innovation Partnership between India-UK, PM Modi said, "The conclusion of the implementation arrangements of the Global Innovation Partnership will prove to be a very important initiative between us today. This will further strengthen our development partnership with other countries." "Under this, India and UK will co-finance up to USD 100 million for the transfer and scaling-up of "Made in India" innovations to third countries," PM Modi added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the visit of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to India during 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' as historic. PM Modi and the British PM also witnessed the exchange of agreements between India and the United Kingdom. Both sides also expressed their commitment to fulfilling promises made during the last 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), PM Modi stated. PM Modi hailed UK PM's contribution to strengthening the ties between India and UK. "For past many years, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has played a pivotal role in strengthening India-UK relations," he stressed. Before the joint statement, PM Modi held talks with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson here at Hyderabad House and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between both countries. "Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @BorisJohnson held talks in New Delhi. They discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between India and UK," PMO India tweeted. Earlier today, UK PM Boris Johnson expressed his gratitude to PM Modi for his 'fantastic welcome'. PM Modi received UK Prime Minister with a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The UK Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to India, was given a Guard of Honour upon his arrival at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. "It is a very auspicious moment in India-UK friendship and two democracies, largest and one of the oldest. I do not think things have ever been so strong and good between India and UK as they are now," Johnson stated. Johnson arrived in Gujarat on Thursday, at the start of his visit to India to 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 cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. "They put on a fantastic welcome for us. It was absolutely extraordinary. I have never seen such a joyful reception," he said adding, "I would have not gotten the same reception anywhere else in the world. It was amazing to see your home state for the first time." The British PM earlier today laid a wreath at Raj Ghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar received Johnson at the airport here late Thursday. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Rome, Apr 22 (AP) Pope Francis cleared his schedule Friday to undergo medical checks on his right knee, as his strained ligaments have made walking, standing and getting up from his chair increasingly difficult and painful. Francis' mobility has been greatly curtailed of late, with his already pronounced limp from sciatica seemingly aggravated. Also Read | Worlds Longest Known COVID-19 Infection Lasted For 505 Days in UK Patient, Claim Researchers. The 85-year-old pope had to bow out of celebrating the Easter Vigil last weekend, struggled through Easter Sunday Mass and now frequently walks with a shuffle and the assistance of an aide. The Vatican spokesman said Friday that Francis was undergoing medical checks within the city state, not at an external hospital. Also Read | Central Bank of Mexico Announces To Operate Digital Currency in 2025. Francis has had to cancel several appointments this year due to the ligament strain. After his recent visit to Malta, which saw him struggling to get out of his chair on several occasions, Francis said he thought it would get better. My health is a bit capricious, he told reporters April 3 en route home from Valletta. I have this problem with my knee which makes problems of mobility and walking. It's a bit painful. But it's getting better. At least I can move. He revealed that a few weeks prior, he couldn't walk an apparent reference to the rest ordered up by his doctors that forced the cancellation of a trip to Florence and Francis' participation in an Ash Wednesday procession. We'll see if I go back (to that), he said. There's some doubt because at this age, you don't know how it'll end up. We'll hope it turns out OK. Francis was hospitalized for 10 days last July to have 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large colon removed. He has said he has fully recovered. He also has long undergone regular sessions of physiotherapy to ease the sciatica nerve pain. The pope has a busy few months of scheduled travel coming up, which will surely test his health, mobility and endurance: The Lebanese presidency has announced he will visit in mid-June; the Vatican has confirmed a July 2-7 trip to Congo and South Sudan; and Francis himself has said he hopes to travel to Canada in late July to deliver an in-person apology to Indigenous peoples for the Catholic Church's role in abuses at residential schools. There had also been media reports that Francis would meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in Jerusalem in June, presumably as an added-on leg to the Lebanon trip. But in an interview published Friday with Argentine daily La Nacion, Francis said the Vatican had suspended plans for the meeting. Kirill has seemingly endorsed Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a metaphysical battle against the West. Our diplomacy understood that a meeting between us at this time could create a lot of confusion, Francis was quoted as saying. Francis also dampened suggestions he might travel to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, saying he wouldn't do anything that could complicate the greater good of ending the war or at least a creating a truce or humanitarian corridors. What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war continues the following day? he asked. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Silchar, April 22: Two Ukrainians, who illegally entered India, were detained by Government Railway Police (GRP) at Badarpur in Assam's Karimganj district, officials said on Friday. The GRP personnel detained Chrisinsky Volodimir, 39 and Nazari Voznyuk, 21, while they were travelling through the Agartala-New Delhi (Anand Vihar) train on Thursday night. The GRP sources said that the Ukrainians were travelling without valid passports and other documents. Later, the detainees were handed over to Karimganj police. A police official said that they have contacted the Ukrainian embassy in India to verify records. "We are waiting for confirmation from the Ukrainian embassy in Delhi and then we will start the legal action against the duo," the police official told the media, refusing to be named. UK PM Boris Johnson Lauds 'Khaas Dost Modi' For Amazing India Welcome, Says Felt Like Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan. The police official, quoting the detainees, said that they had moved out of Ukraine before Russia's invasion of the country started. Assam police are yet to know how the Ukraine nationals entered Tripura before boarding the weekly Tripura Sundari Express. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2022 04:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Baghdad, April 22: Four militants of the Isl: amic State (IS) group were killed on Thursday in an Iraqi airstrike in a rugged area in Salahudin Province north of the capital Baghdad, the Iraqi government said. Acting on intelligence reports, the Iraqi armed forces launched an airstrike on abandoned houses in the al-Eith area in the eastern part of the province and killed the four IS militants, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement by the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency of the Interior Ministry. Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have mounted deadly attacks against IS militants to crack down on their intensified activities. Jammu and Kashmir: Top LeT Commander Among 4 Terrorist Killed in Encounter at Baramulla. The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the Iraqi forces defeated the IS in 2017. However, the IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2022 08:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). World Book and Copyright Day is an annual event that goes by names like World Book Day or International Day of the Book. The day is marked every year to celebrate and promote the enjoyment of reading books. If you are a bibliophile and love to read, then this occasion is the best time to share and explore new books. Books are seen as windows into the diversity of cultures, and new ideas and are used to exhibit dialogue. World Book and Copyright Day 2022 will be celebrated on Saturday, the 23rd of April across the world to promote the benefits of writing books, reading, translating, publishing and copyright. The yearly event is organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). From Raseedi Ticket to the Namesake; 5 Interesting Books by Indian Authors That Will Captivate the Restless Reader in You! World Book and Copyright Day 2022 Theme The prime idea behind the International Day of the Book is to spread the joy and pleasure of reading. With that in mind, this year's theme for the event is " Read, so you never feel low". The intention is to broaden the reading bandwagon and recognize the scope of books. Some of The Greatest English Books Ever Written, How Many Have You Read? History & Significance Of World Book and Copyright Day World Book Day is organised every year by UNESCO and was first celebrated on April 23, 1995. UNESCO has selected the date 23rd of April as World Book and Copyright Day to pay respect to renowned literary personalities including William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega who died on this day. But, the original idea was conceived in the year 1922 by Spanish writer Vicente Clavel Andres as a way to honour and remember the author Miguel de Cervantes. 5 Inspirational Books That Can Change Your Life. UNESCO and international organizations represent the three major sectors of the book industry at the event which are- publishers, booksellers and libraries. Moreover, each year on the day of World Book Day a poster is designed and distributed around the globe. The poster features pictures that are designed to inspire and push people, particularly children, to read books and appreciate and understand literature. There is also a logo for World Book and Copyright Day that has a circle, representing the world, and two books, one of which is open. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2022 02:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). The BJP on Friday hit out at the Congress for demolishing a 300-year-old Shiva temple in Rajasthan saying that hurting the faith of Hindus is secularism of the grand-old party. The Chinese smartphone brand Realme is set to launch the Realme GT Neo 3 in India on April 29, 2022. The company made this announcement through its official Twitter handle. As per details confirmed by the brand, the gaming-oriented handset will go on sale in India from May 4, 2022. It's worth noting that the GT Neo 3 was launched in the home market last month. Realme Q5, Q5 Pro Smartphones Launched in China; Prices, Features & Specifications. According to the Realme India microsite, the prices of the Realme GT Neo 3 will be announced during the launch event that is scheduled for 12:30 pm IST on April 29. The company is yet to reveal more details about the launch. If the recent reports are to be believed, Realme will offer the phone in three shades - Asphalt Black, Nitro Blue, and Sprint White. It is likely to come in three configurations 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 256GB. The Realme GT Neo 3 could be priced at a similar range as the Chinese variant, which starts from CNY 1999 (around Rs 24,000). Do note, that the phone in two models based on their battery capacities and charging speeds. And we expect both the models to arrive in the Indian market. 50% in just 5 mins. Unbelievable, right? This, and lots more in the #realmeGTNEO3 that will blow your mind! World's First 150W Charging Flagship launching at 12:30 PM on 29th April. Know more: https://t.co/tMkcbgTRKe pic.twitter.com/SXyOpqaLFn realme (@realmeIndia) April 22, 2022 The Chinese variant comes with a 6.7-inch 2K display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It offers a 1,000Hz touch sampling rate, HDR10+ and DC dimming support. There's a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 5G chipset under the skin which is paired with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage. It runs on Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0 on top. Realme GT Neo 3 (Photo Credits: Realme India) For photography, the handset packs a triple rear camera module housing a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary sensor with OIS and EIS. There's also an ultra-wide-angle lens with a 119-degree field of view and a macro shooter. Realme offers the phone in two battery options - 4,500mAh with 150W UltraDart Charging support and a 5,000mAh with 80W fast charging support. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2022 10:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Samsung India will officially launch the Galaxy M53 5G smartphone today in India. The company has been teasing the device on its official Twitter account, and today, the handset will make its way to the Indian market. The launch event will take place at 12 noon and will be streamed live via Samsung India's official YouTube channel. Users can also watch the live telecast of the event here by clicking on the below-embedded video. Samsung Galaxy M53 5G India Launch on April 22, 2022; Check Expected Price & Other Details Here. Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is likely to feature a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. The device will be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Samsung Galaxy M53 5G (Photo Credits: Samsung) For optics, the device will sport a 108MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth snapper. Upfront, there will be a 32MP selfie lens. The Galaxy M53 5G will be fuelled by a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging. It will run on Android 12 based One UI 4.2 out of the box. Coming to the pricing, Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is likely to be priced at around Rs 25,000. The final pricing will be announced by the company during the launch event. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2022 09:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). NAIROBI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Five African countries on Thursday resolved to deploy a regional force to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to fight a rebel insurgency in the country. The presidents from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, DRC, and Rwanda who met in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya for the second regional Heads of State conclave, directed that planning for such a force commence with immediate effect with the full consultation of relevant authorities in the region. The presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, Felix Tshisekedi of DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda represented by foreign minister, directed all armed groups in the DRC participate unconditionally in the political process to resolve their grievances. "That failure to do so, all Congolese armed groups would be considered as negative forces and handled militarily by the region," the leaders warned in a communique released at the end of the day-long meeting. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group linked to ISIL (ISIS), is considered the deadliest of dozens of armed militias that roam the mineral-rich eastern DRC. The leaders who took note of the situation in eastern DRC and of neighboring countries called on all foreign armed groups inside the DRC to disarm and return unconditionally and immediately to their respective countries. The meeting noted that a consultative dialogue between the president of the DRC Felix Tshisekedi and the representatives of local armed groups in the DRC is to take place at the earliest possible time. The meeting thus agreed that the DRC president will chair such a consultative meeting on Friday in Nairobi and that the Kenyan president agreed to host and provide logistical support for the consultations. The meeting further agreed that the president of the DRC would subsequently inform his colleagues of the outcome of the consultations at the next sitting. Along with millions of idealistic young men who were cut to pieces by machine guns and obliterated by artillery shells, there was another major casualty of World War I: traditional ideas about Western art. The Great War of 1914-18 tilted culture on its axis, particularly in Europe and the United States. Nearly 100 years later, that legacy is being wrestled with in film, visual art, music, television shows like the gauzily nostalgic PBS soaper Downton Abbey and plays including the Tony Award-winning"War Horse, concluding its run at the Ahmanson Theatre. It created an epoch in art, said Leo Braudy, a USC professor of English and author of From Chivalry to Terrorism: War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity. The question is, what was on one side and what was on the other? The simple answer as to what lay on the near side of World War I is Modernism, that slippery but indispensable term denoting a wide range of new sensibilities and aesthetic responses to the industrial age. Modernism took shape decades before World War I, but its clamorous arrival was vastly accelerated by the greatest collective trauma in history to that point. From the fiction of Hemingway, Virginia Woolf and John Dos Passos to the savagely critical paintings and etchings of George Grosz and Otto Dix, World War I reshaped the notion of what art is, just as it forever altered the perception of what war is. Although World War II racked up more catastrophic losses in blood and treasure, World War I remains the paradigmatic conflict of the modern age, not only politically but also culturally. Advertisement Of all the wars, that is the one that seems to explain us best, said Michael Morpurgo, the English author of the novel War Horse, about a Devonshire farm boys death-defying bond with his noble steed Joey, on which the National Theatre of GreatBritainsproduction is based. Particularly in his country, he said, World War I resonates louder than the even greater cataclysm that followed it 20 years later. The First World War for British people is very much a part of who we are, Morpurgo said during a visit to Los Angeles. Its so deep in us; the poetry, the stories, the loss, the suffering is there in every village churchyard. During and after World War I, flowery Victorian language was blown apart and replaced by more sinewy and R-rated prose styles. In visual art, Surrealists and Expressionists devised wobbly, chopped-up perspectives and nightmarish visions of fractured human bodies and splintered societies slouching toward moral chaos. The whole landscape of the Western Front became surrealistic before the term surrealism was invented by the soldier-poet Guillaume Apollinaire, Modris Eksteins wrote in Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age. Throughout Western art, the grim realities of industrial warfare led to a backlash against the propaganda and grandiose nationalism that had sparked the conflagration. Cynicism toward the ruling classes and disgust with war planners and profiteers led to demands for art forms that were honest and direct, less embroidered with rhetoric and euphemism. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene besides the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates, Ernest Hemingway wrote in A Farewell to Arms, his 1929 novel based on his experiences in the Italian campaign. Other artists clung to the shards of classical culture as a buffer against nihilistic disillusionment. These fragments I have shored against my ruins, T.S. Eliot wrote in The Waste Land (1922). In The Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fussell argued that the rise of irony as a dominant mode of modern understanding originates largely in the application of mind and memory to the events of the Great War. Irony and dissonant humor permeated the music of classical composers such as Alban Berg and Benjamin Britten, a pacifist who parodied marching-band pomposity in his Piano Concert in D. In his 1989 film War Requiem, based on Brittens non-liturgical Mass, British director Derek Jarman suggested a parallel between the indifferent slaughter of World War I and the neglect of AIDS-infected young men in the 1980s. The fear that powerful new machines invented to serve humanity might instead destroy it also took root around World War I, later spreading into science fiction and the debates surrounding todays aerial drone warfare. World War I definitely gives a push forward to the idea of dystopia rather than utopia, to the idea that the world is going to get worse rather than better, Braudy said. When war broke out in summer 1914, artists were among its biggest cheerleaders. Britain and France, Europes dominant 19th-century military and cultural powers, saw the war as necessary for reinforcing the continental status quo, while Germanyviewed it as an opportunity for purging Europe of political stagnancy and cultural malaise. War! We felt purified, liberated, we felt an enormous hope, Thomas Mann wrote in 1914. Only years later would the German author renounce his support of the war in his novels The Magic Mountain and Dr. Faustus, which depicted wartime Europe gripped by a mass psychosis. Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg initially drew analogies between the German armys assault on decadent France and his own assault on decadent bourgeois values and music, as the New Yorker music critic Alex Ross writes in The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. Now comes the reckoning! Schoenberg wrote to Alma Mahler. Now we will throw these mediocre kitschmongers into slavery, and teach them to venerate the German spirit and to worship the German God. For Morpurgo, the essence of how World War I stamped modern consciousness can be found in the works of a generation of English poets and writers such as Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon, all of whom served in uniform. In the conflicts opening months, Brooke penned the wistfully patriotic The Soldier, expressing hope that if he should die in combat he would be laid to rest in some corner of a foreign field/ That is forever England. Three years later, Owen, who like Brooke would not survive the war, wrote with blunt fury about the horrors of gas attacks and the obscene futility of battle in Dulce et Decorum Est. The ruinous carnage of the War to End All Wars has come to be regarded as emblematic of all misguided military action and the societies that support it. George Bernard Shaws 1920 play Heartbreak House and films such as Jean Renoirs classic The Grand Illusion (1937) and Peter Weirs Gallipoli (1981) dramatize the class-based interests and divisions that drove the war. Other movies such as Stanley Kubricks Paths of Glory, the peace-and-love hippie ethos of the 1966 King of Hearts and the grotesque music-hall choreography of the Vietnam-era Oh, What a Lovely War! (1969) underscore the notion that wartime signifies the taking over of the asylum by the lunatics. But possibly the wars most enduring legacy, and one of its few positive ones, was to emphasize not the strategies of kaisers and field marshals but the personal stories of the nontitled individuals who actually fought and died in it. The impulse to remember and honor the hardships endured by the ordinary foot soldier creates a direct link between Charles Sargeant Jaggers Royal Artillery Memorial at Londons Hyde Park Corner, with its bronze figure of a dead soldier covered by a blanket, and Maya Lins abstract, quietly dignified Vietnam Veterans Memorial inWashington, D.C. Amy Lyford, a professor of art history and visual arts at Occidental College, said that Surrealism developed partly from artists desires to depict the massive traumas the war inflicted on individual human beings. Meanwhile, she said, the ruling classes after World War I were trying to paper over those wounds with plastic surgery, both literally in the case of mutilated veterans, who were fitted with newfangled prosthetics, and culturally. There was a kind of aestheticization of trauma, said Lyford, author of Surrealist Masculinities: Gender Anxiety and the Aesthetics of Post-World War I Reconstruction in France. Today, Lyford said, some contemporary artists are exploring how stories of reparation and therapy are being used to paper over the actual and metaphoric wounds of 21st-century warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fragmentation is real, Lyford said. Its not just something you sew up with stitches and move on. reed.johnson@latimes.com Honduras' former President Juan Orlando Hernandez made his way to the U.S. on Thursday to face the drug charges slammed against him. According to Al Jazeera, Hernandez is facing three counts of drug and weapons offenses, which were filed by prosecutors from New York. The charges were announced the same day he was escorted on the way to the U.S. to be indicted. CNN reported that the former president of Honduras was taken from a police special forces prison to an airbase in Tegucigalpa, the country's capital. Hernandez was reportedly wearing a blue jacket and jeans and was escorted by more than a dozen police officers, a scene that was shown on Honduras' local television. The former president took off from Toncontin International Airport at around 4:20 p.m. local time. He is expected to land in New York. READ NEXT: El Salvador NGOs Strike Back on Pres. Nayib Bukele's Decision to Criminalize Gang-Related Messages in Media U.S. Presses Charges Against Honduras Ex-Pres. Juan Orlando Hernandez In a remark delivered by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the former president of Honduras was charged with participating in a corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of tons of cocaine into the United States from 2004 to 2022. CNN specified that the former official of Honduras was slammed with cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. "Hernandez abused his position as President of Honduras from 2014 through 2022 to operate the country as a narco-state," Garland said. Garland also highlighted that the former president allowed the drug traffickers in the country to operate with virtual impunity. The U.S. official also alleged that Hernandez corrupted legitimate public institutions in the country, including the National Congress, the police, and the military. Hernandez was also accused of receiving millions of dollars from multiple drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, and worked closely with other public officials to protect cocaine shipments bound to the United States. Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference on Thursday that Honduras became one of the most violent countries in the world during Hernandez's tenure as the president. Williams added that the charges made against Hernandez came after years of investigations made by his office and the DEA. Honduras Ex-Pres. Juan Orlando Hernandez Denies Involvement With Drug Traffickers Hernandez repeatedly denied any involvement with drug traffickers, arguing that the allegations against him were made up, according to The Guardian. "This is revenge from the cartels, it's an orchestrated plot so that no government will confront them again," Hernandez said n a letter. Juan Orlando Hernandez was arrested at his home on February 15 upon a request from the U.S. government. Last month, the Supreme Court in Honduras authorized the extradition of the former president, per CNN. Hernandez left his office in January after eight years of being Honduras' president. READ NEXT: Los Angeles: L.A. County Brings Back COVID-19 Mask Mandate in Public Transportation, Airports This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges - From TeleSUR English Elon Musk revealed on Thursday that he has the financial backing for his $46 billion Twitter takeover proposal and was exploring whether to launch a hostile takeover of the social media platform. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Musk noted that he planned to finance the bid with a mix of debt and cash, according to The New York Times report. In addition, the investment bank Morgan Stanley and a group of other lenders are offering $13 billion in debt financing, with $12.5 billion in loans against Musk's stock in Tesla. Musk is also seen to add around $21 billion in equity financing. Twitter has not directly addressed Musk's offer, which was initially announced at $43 billion. However, it recently approved a temporary "poison pill" measure to discourage hostile takeovers, according to an Engadget report. A Twitter spokesperson told the media outlet that the company has received the Tesla CEO's updated proposal. However, it is still conducting a "careful, comprehensive and deliberate review" of the offer. READ NEXT: Elon Musk Facing 1 Major Hurdle in Bid to Buy Twitter Elon Musk Twitter Takeover Plans Twitter shareholder, Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, called Musk's offer insufficient. It was shortly followed by the enforcement of poison pill, according to a CBS News report. Musk said in a filing that he is exploring whether to commence a tender offer, with the lack of response by Twitter. The Tesla tycoon started buying Twitter stock in February and has become the company's biggest shareholder this month. Musk noted that he aims to make the company private and has "no confidence in its current management." He said in his offer letter last week that the social media platform has "extraordinary potential" and that he will "unlock it." Ryan Jacob, chief investment officer at Jacob Asset Management, said that Musk's latest filing would prompt Twitter's board to respond. Jacob currently holds Twitter shares, according to a Reuters report. He said that Twitter had to consider the seriousness of the offer, and Musk's filing may do just that. Jacob added that it will be hard for the social media company to ignore it. Apollo Global Management Inc. is considering ways it can provide financing to any deal and is open to working with Musk or any other bidder. Meanwhile, Thoma Bravo has informed Twitter that it is exploring the possibility of setting up a bid. Steven Davidoff Solomon, a professor at the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, said that the recent filing is serious and that Musk is getting more professional about it. Solomon said that one does not do that "unless you're going to launch an offer." Other banks offering to lend Musk include Bank of America, BofA Securities, Barclays, MUFG, BNPP, and Mizuho. Drew Pascarella, a senior lecturer of finance at Cornell University, noted that many senior people at Morgan Stanley are responsible for the brand. Pascarella added that Morgan Stanley would not allow it to happen unless "there was some level of seriousness behind it." READ MORE: Twitter Net Worth 2022: How Much Is Twitter Valued After Elon Musk Made $43 Billion Offer? This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by Mary Webber WATCH: Elon Musk Isn't the First to Want to Buy Twitter | WSJ - from Wall Street Journal Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis traded words over a bill passed in the Sunshine State that dissolved the special self-governing status of Disney. On Thursday, the Colorado governor told Fox News about his thoughts on the Florida lawmakers' move in connection to Disney. "When government starts threatening private companies with retribution based on their free speech, that takes us down the road towards authoritarianism," Polis noted. Polis also said that a company's different viewpoint does not mean that the firm should be penalized by politicians. He noted that consumers could do that by choosing not to go to Disneyland or not buy the product. "But where it becomes inappropriate is where government leaders say we're specifically running laws that penalize your company because we don't like the way you've exercised your free speech," Polis said. Polis warned Florida lawmakers that if they continue to target specific companies with legislation to hurt them due to their political viewpoints, the state may witness "a mass exodus of companies." It was not the first time Polis spoke against Florida's measure against Disney. Earlier this week, Polis slammed DeSantis after the Florida governor threatened to revoke Disney's special tax status because Disney's CEO criticized the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, Deseret News reported. Polis tweeted that "Florida's authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away." The Colorado governor added that the state does not "meddle in affairs of companies" and invited Disney to put a "Mountain Disneyland" in Colorado. Floridas authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In CO, we dont meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney were ready for Mountain Disneyland and @twitter were ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are https://t.co/r7Vcvu20eb Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 19, 2022 READ NEXT: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Calls for Removal of Disney World's Self-Governing Status Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' Camp Hits Back at Colorado Governor Jared Polis In a Thursday email to Fox News, Ron DeSantis's office pushed back against Jared Polis's comments. DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw said most Floridians, especially those who have fled from socialist countries like Cuba and Venezuela, understand what socialism is. Pushaw then lectured Polis and other politicians about the meaning of socialism, a word used by the Colorado governor in criticizing DeSantis and other lawmakers. Pushaw said: "Socialism IS: an authoritarian system where the state controls the means of production and the entire economy." She added that socialism is not passing legislation to create a more even playing field for all businesses or selling shares of a corporation because of evidence that a corporation "is not acting in shareholders' best interests and therefore creates unnecessary risks to investors." Pushaw then defended DeSantis, claiming that the Florida governor "has consistently supported a more level playing field for all businesses in Florida." The spokeswoman further noted that DeSantis' move is "not retaliatory" as they only pass legislation that allows all companies to do business in a "fairer environment." Pushaw added that Disney gets too many privileges, such as serving as a regulator and a business at the same time, while other companies don't. Florida Senate and House Passed Bill to Remove Self-Regulatory Status of Disney The Florida Senate and the House passed the bill to remove the special district that allows the Walt Disney Company to self-govern its theme park in Orlando. The measure, which will be sent to Ron DeSantis for his signature, would dismantle Disney's special district, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, on June 1, 2023. House lawmakers passed the bill on Thursday in a 68-38 vote after the Senate's 23-16 vote Wednesday. DeSantis and Disney started to publicly call out each other last month after the company condemned the Parental Rights in Education law, which restricts discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, among many things. Disney earlier said its goal as a company is to repeal the law by the legislature or struck down in the courts. Ron DeSantis took aim at Disney as a response and described it as "woke" and sent a fund-raising email to supporters, saying it had "lost any moral authority to tell you what to do." Some Florida legislators then started threatening to revoke Disney World's special tax district. The "Independent Special Districts" bill quickly moved forward in the House and Senate shortly after the governor's announcement. READ MORE: Mike Tyson All Smiles While Taking Pictures With Fans on Florida After Punching a Man Who 'Harassed' Him on Plane This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Jared Polis Offers Disney, Twitter New Headquarters in Colorado - From 9News The administration of President Joe Biden has unveiled a new sponsorship program for Ukraine refugees that will make it easier for them to be resettled in the United States as Russia's war in their home country continues. In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) noted that the new "streamlined process" will let Ukrainians apply for humanitarian parole. Al Jazeera reported that a humanitarian parole status does not provide a way to residency or citizenship. However, it allows people to stay and work in the U.S. for two years. To be eligible in the program dubbed "Uniting for Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees must have been resident in Ukraine as of February 11, have a sponsor in the United States, and complete COVID-19 vaccinations. The DHS said they must also pass security checks. The program, which will be formally launched on Monday, came after Joe Biden said last month that the U.S. would take in up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war. READ NEXT: U.S. Increases Number of Ukrainian Refugees Allowed Entry With U.S.-Mexico Border Expecting More People to Come The United States on Russia-Ukraine War Aside from the new sponsorship program, the United States will also send a new $800 million weapons package to Ukraine and $500 million in direct financial support as Ukrainians try to fight off Russian attacks in the country's eastern and southern parts. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Western sanctions have been helpful in preventing Russia from deepening its invasion of Ukraine, CNBC News reported. Sherman noted that they have all tried to make sure that whatever they do hurts Russia's president Vladimir Putin. She said they were aiming for a strategic failure for Putin and the Kremlin, adding that they believe it was "already happening." So far, the deputy secretary of state noted that the U.S. and its allies had imposed sanctions on more than half of Russia's high-tech imports and more than 80 percent of assets in the Russian banking sector. The Russia-Ukraine War Vladimir Putin has claimed "success" in Mariupol but ordered Russian forces not to storm the site where the last line of Ukrainian resistance is holding out. According to NBC News, Ukrainian officials said an apparent mass grave in a village outside the city might have as many as 9,000 bodies. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko noted that the "biggest war crime of the 21st century" was done in Mariupol. Boychenko said the place was the new Babi Yar, where Hitler killed Jews, Roma, and Slavs. He noted that the Russian leader is now destroying Ukrainians. Officials in Kyiv have been looking for ways to evacuate the soldiers and thousands of civilians still trapped in the city without much food or aid. On Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris said Russia's attack on Ukraine will "prove to be a strategic failure for Russia." Harris' statement came the same day Russia's foreign ministry announced measures to ban her and some other U.S. officials from traveling to Russia. Joe Biden was already prohibited from entering Russia since last month. READ MORE: Russia-Ukraine Crisis: WHO Advises Ukraine to Destroy Health Lab Pathogens to Curb Spread of Disease This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Russia Invades Ukraine LIVE - From DW News The number of murders in Colombia seemed to be rising as several bodies wrapped in garbage bags appeared in Bogota city this past few weeks. According to Infobae, authorities were worried about the murders that had been taking place in Bogota this April. Some of these corpses wrapped in garbage bags reportedly have signs of torture and cuts on their throats, with their hands and feet tied. The Bogota Metropolitan Police is already investigating more than 10 cases since the start of this month after residents reported seeing the garbage bags with corpses. The bodies were reportedly disposed of like trash in public areas. The systematic murders worry the public about the possibility of a criminal group doing it or a serial killer. According to reports, two of these bodies were discovered in wooded areas of San Cristobal and Usme towns on April 2. Both victims, believed to be about 25 years old, have gunshot wounds to their heads. Police said they might have been murdered days ago before discovering the bodies. On April 12, a passerby reported seeing two black garbage bags that also contained corpses in Plaza Espana in the town of Los Martires. Authorities said one of the bodies was mutilated with knife wounds, while the other had bullet wounds. The four bodies packed in garbage bags all have signs of torture, with their hands and feet tied. On April 20, six more bodies appeared in the towns of San Cristobal, Teusaquillo, Usme, Engativa, and Kennedy. The corpses were also wrapped in black garbage bags and had cut on their throats. A similar scenario was also reported in Teusaquillo town on April 14, when a lifeless man was also found inside a black garbage bag. The victim's hands and feet were tied, and the body reportedly bore signs of torture. Reacting to these murders, the Secretary of Security of Bogota, Anibal Fernandez de Soto, said they would prioritize investigating criminal gangs and small drug trafficking groups that operate in the city. Fernandez de Soto added that they would provide a reward for anyone who could give information about these murders. READ NEXT: Colombia Cocaine Worth Nearly $400 Million Found Hidden in Banana Shipment in UK Murder Rate in Bogota in Colombia Bogota is the biggest city in Colombia and also the country's capital. Reports said poverty levels in the city are rising, pulling criminal activities along. Last year, the city of some 11 million people registered 754 murders and more than 65,000 robberies. In 2020, there were 1,031 recorded murders and more than 81,000 robberies. For the whole country, the National Police recorded 12,018 homicides in 2020, marking a murder rate of 24.3 per 100,000 people. According to Finance Colombia, it was down just over six percent from the total killings tallied in 2019. Antioquia accounted for most of the country's drop in homicides in 2020, but authorities continued to see active operations from various criminal groups. Travel Safety Tips for Your Trip in Bogota, Colombia Colombia has a poor reputation when it comes to the safety of travelers. According to the latest Global Peace Index, Colombia ranked 144th out of 164 countries, citing high levels of homicides, access to weapons, internal conflict, and displaced people. However, JTG Travel reported that Bogota is one of South America's safest urban areas. The city is generally safe for tourists as long as visitors exercise caution. Petty street crime is probably the biggest threat to tourists. Pickpockets are reportedly common in crowded areas and on public transport. So, tourists are advised to remain vigilant of their belongings at all times, stick to well-lit areas at night and take taxis rather than walk. Tourists should also avoid drawing attention to themselves by wearing flashy jewelry, using expensive smartphones, tablets, or cameras in plain view of others, or carrying large amounts of cash. If mugged, it is probably better not to resist. While no one wants to lose their possessions, it's still the safer option than risking angering a potentially-armed criminal. READ MORE: Colombia's Most-Wanted Drug Lord Dairo Antonio Usuga Arrested; Pres. Ivan Duque Likened It to Capture of Pablo Escobar This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Colombia: Troops Deployed in Bogota to Confront Crime Wave - From Al Jazeera English Hope for Haiti announced that Haitian-American celebrity Chef Gregory Gourdet (of Bravo TV's "Top Chef") will headline the organization's virtual cook-along celebration on Monday, April 25. The event is part of the organization's fourth-annual Hike for Haiti Challenge campaign, a feel-good global movement that helps fund Hope for Haiti's education and public health programs, and is supported by a number of brands and high-profile ambassadors. The cook-along will be hosted by culinary emcee and comedian, Billy Harris, and also features mixologist Vance Henderson, a special surprise guest, and a small live auction. READ NEXT: No-Cook Paris Hilton Teams up With Netflix for a New Cooking Show Hope for Haiti "We are cooking one of my favorite dishes growing up, Chicken in Creole sauce and a delicious easy treat, Shaved Coconut Ice with Spiced Pineapple," said Gourdet. "We'll have a great time cooking together in support of Hope for Haiti and the Hike for Haiti initiative!" All of the funds raised during the dinner + auction will directly benefit Hope for Haiti's school rebuilding efforts in southern Haiti, the epicenter of last year's devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake. In February, Hope for Haiti completed construction on one of the first schools to be built in southern Haiti post-earthquake. "We're honored to have Chef Gregory Gourdet lead this virtual celebration of impact and hope in Haiti," said Hope for Haiti CEO Skyler Badenoch. Complimentary access to the event will be provided to all registered participants or donors to the Hike for Haiti Challenge. Tickets for the general public are available on a "pay what you can" model here: http://give.hopeforhaiti.com/hikedinner. READ MORE: Haiti Earthquake Update: Death Toll Jumps to 1,297, Rescuers Continue to Search for Survivors A MAN was jailed for five months after a court heard he was caught driving just three months after being hit with a 15-year ban. Tullamore Circuit Court was told that Simonas Medeika, aged 42, was found to have no insurance when he was stopped at Dublin Road, Edenderry at 12.15pm on June 22, 2020. Sandra Mahon, Offaly state solicitor, told Judge Keenan Johnson that the tax on Mr Medeika's vehicle was out of date and he did not pay a fixed charge penalty notice. Gardai subsequently found that he was disqualified at the time having been banned for 15 years at Tullamore Circuit Court on March 6, 2020. He had also been convicted of having no insurance and drink-driving at Mullingar Circuit Court in May 2019 and more recently, in December 2021 at Naas Circuit Court, he received another 15-year disqualification. In all, he had up to eight convictions for driving without insurance. One of the worst records I've seen, commented Judge Johnson. Mr Medeika was back before the judge to appeal against the severity of a sentence imposed on him at Tullamore District Court. Defence counsel Suzanne Dooner said she was aware of the risks run by taking the appeal but added that the man had a very good work history since coming to Ireland in 2004. A father of one, he worked as a mechanic and the offence before the court was committed when he was carrying out a pre-NCT test on a car and and naively he had driven it outside the premises. Judge Johnson asked: How could it be naively with a record like that? Ms Dooner said the appellant was just outside the perimeter of the garage and she had explained to him that it was public property so he had no right to be there. Because of the very good working relationship he had with his employer they cleared some of the site so he can do the testing within the grounds. Letters of support were handed in to the court, including one from his wife. Ms Dooner said the man had spent a period in custody for road traffic matters and that meant he was away from his family. He had served one-and-a-half months and was on temporary release and he signed on at a garda station and at the prison. Ms Dooner added that he had pleaded guilty at an early stage in the District Court and he had saved 1,000. Judge Johnson said Mr Sedeikas had driven while disqualified, had at least eight previous convictions and had been the subject of a 15-year ban. I don't know what it takes to get the message through what it means to be disqualified, he said. When Mr Medeika, with an address at Tanara, Broadford, Co Kildare, was before Tullamore Circuit Court in March 2020, Judge Johnson was told he had served just four days of a two-month sentence which was previously imposed on him for drink-driving. You wonder what we're doing up here, really, remarked the judge. Judge Johnson learned about the short time served in prison when Mr Medeika, a native of Lithuania, was appealing against a six-month prison sentence which had been imposed for a drink-driving offence. The court was told then that the man had three convictions for drink-driving since 2017 and a 10-year ban had been imposed on him for the last one in October 2019. A nine-month suspended sentence was imposed. A Laois TD has hit out at the insistence by environmental group that peat harvested in Laois up to five years ago cannot be moved is illegal. Laois Offaly Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley has called into question the stance taken by Friends of the Irish Environment. He insists that their attempts to prevent the movement of harvested peat off the three bogs is "illogical and will damage the environment The TD continued: "The threats by an environmental group to challenge Bord na Monas right to have peat moved off Cashel, Coolnacart and Cul na Mona bogs just does not make sense. No new peat harvesting is planned, and the peat being moved is stock piled on these three bogs, some for up to five years. "Bord na Mona are being threatened with court injunction by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) who state they require planning permission to move the stockpiles of peat from the bogs, he said. He pointed to a deal struck by the former peat harvesting company. Bord na Mona have entered into a leasing agreement with an international company ICL to reopen the Cul na Mona plant and to use the existing stockpiles of peat over a three year period for horticultural use in Ireland. The plan is to transition to use other compostable sustainable raw material for the continuation of production. This provides an environmental solution to utilise harvested peat and will reduce the need for peat to be imported long distances from other countries which is causing a massive carbon footprint. If the company is prevented from doing so, there are a number of environmental consequences. As the peat is in already in stockpiles for over three years, the polythene covering will begin to disintegrate and cause environmental pollution. The second problem is, that finely milled peat in the huge stockpiles will enter water courses on the bogs and in their vicinity causing water pollution. "The third environment issue is that Bord na Mona plan to rewet these bogs so as to allow use for carbon sequestration. This is essential to reduce the amount of greenhouse emissions going into the atmosphere and causing global warming. This cannot happen if the stockpiles remain in place. "Those behind the threat of court action need to explain what is to be done with the milled peat and the huge amount of polythene covering it. The reality is they are preventing a publicly owned company from providing environmental and climate solutions and are also preventing the creation of a small number of badly needed jobs in the area," he said. The TD added that he has written to the Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan to have this matter addressed by Government. A councillor expressed her belief that individuals who seek Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are often discouraged or shamed for doing so by county councils across Ireland. The comments were made by Independent Cllr Fiona McLoughlin-Healy during a motion raised by Fianna Fail Cllr Suzanne Doyle at the latest Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District (MD) meeting on Wednesday, April 20. Cllr Doyle asked KCC in her motion to provide a report on the number of FOI requests received from 2019 to date that relate to the MD, in addition to the number of people these emanate from and the call on resources to service the same. During the motion, Cllr McLoughlin-Healy said that there seems to be a presence of 'FOI shame' in various county councils across the country. Cllr Fiona McLoughlin-Healy, Independent She also referenced a recent RTE Investigates programme, 'Council Chambers Secrets', which was broadcast on March 25 last. Cllr McLoughlin-Healy added: "It says something when an organisation charges for FOIs." She also called for a larger emphasis on webcasting council meetings. 'FRUSTRATING' Meanwhile, Cllr Doyle criticised the 'voluminous nature' of some of the FOIs, which she said she felt took up too much resources in certain cases "it is frustrating," she added. She explained that she felt that FOIs must be used in good faith, and referred to how criticism and scepticism of the government has increased in recent years. "Many of us are becoming addicted to outrage, and there is a culture of it here in this MD, which is affecting it. "There has to be a level of trust within us (as councillors)." Cllr Mark Stafford added that he agreed with Cllr Doyle, and asked Orla McGee, a Data Protection Officer present at the meeting, if an increase in FOIs processed by Kildare County Council (KCC) has occurred since 2019. RESPONSE Ms McGee confirmed that there was an increase, and pointed to the record of FOIs. In 2019, there were a total of 156, then 158 in 2020, then 160 in 2021. She added that, so far, 44 FOIs have been processed with KCC so far. Ms McGee also replied to Cllr Doyles critique of 'voluminous' FOIs, explaining: "Where FOI requests are considered too voluminous or would be considered to 'cause a substantial and unreasonable interference with or disruption of work (including disruption of work in a particular functional area) of the FOI body concerned', a FOI decision maker can apply an exemption to the request." In response to Cllr McLoughlin-Healys comments about charges for FOIs, Ms McGee said that legislation also mandates for the charging of fees where the FOI requests would take staff time for the search, retrieval and copying of records. Further information regarding FOIs in relation to KCC can be found by clicking here. One security forces personnel has been killed and four others have been injured in an ongoing encounter at Sunjwan in Jammu that started between terrorists and security forces on Friday, officials said. "One security force perosnnel has been martyred," Additional Director General Police Mukesh Singh told reporters. "It seems the terrorists are hiding inside a house. After first light a thorough search will be conducted." Earlier, sources said that an encounter has started at Sunjwan near the army camp between the security forces and the terrorists. Sources said two terrorists, both of them believed to be foreigners belonging to Jaish outfit, are trapped within the encounter site and firing exchanges have started there. The encounter started after an input was received about the presence of terrorists in Sunjwan. As the security forces zeroed in at the spot where the terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter. Friday's encounter has started in Jammu city two days ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to J&K. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the Palli village Panchayat in Samba district on April 24 to attend the Panchayat Raj Diwas. Funding from three Heritage Council schemes , which collectively help to conserve and restore built, cultural and natural heritage throughout the country, will be issued to grant recipients in Kildare this year. Work on these projects can begin immediately which will see hundreds of local communities enriched through initiatives, from the conservation of medieval town defence walls in our walled towns, to the digitisation of otherwise vulnerable materials, to supporting endangered wildlife to thrive in their natural habitats. The projects will all be completed by the end of the year. Following its call for applications, the Heritage Council received hundreds of proposals from those who care for our heritage, individuals, heritage volunteers, community groups, organisations and local authorities. Examples of projects that will receive funding: The Dunmanogue Graveyard Conservation Group in Kildare will use its 20,000 grant to implement a conservation management plan that will enable the local community to conserve and preserve the archaeological, architectural and natural heritage in this important historic graveyard. The Tea Lane Graveyard Restoration Committee in Kildare will receive 7,500 to carry out a feasibility study on the viability of opening up windows and to prepare a conservation methodology tender of drawings, specifications and schedule of works for windows at Tea Lane graveyard. As hundreds of projects like these reach completion, the resulting enrichment of life in Irish towns and villages will come into focus. The restoration of historically significant buildings, as well as the funding given to upgrade and update websites and accessibility, will attract more tourists; create greater footfall across the country to the benefit of local economies; and the preservation of habitats will allow wildlife to flourish. Last year, Heritage Council funding enabled a community heritage group to restore the World War II "EIRE 6" neutrality/aerial recognition sign on Howth Head. President Michael D. Higgins unveiled the sign, which acted as a navigation marker during World War II, on April 9. Before Heritage Council funding was granted, the sign had been completely buried but is now visible to flight passengers upon descent into Dublin airport. Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OBrien, TD, said: I would like to warmly welcome todays announcement by the Heritage Council. Funding of this nature is crucial in giving heritage volunteers and professionals the support they need to safeguard the built, cultural and natural heritage in our country. It is also a significant investment in this Governments commitments under the Programme for Government to promote and protect our heritage. Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, TD, said: It gives me great pleasure today as Minister of State for Heritage, to congratulate the hundreds of grant recipients whose important projects will benefit from these Heritage Council schemes. Looking at the details of these projects, I feel assured that our countrys heritage, in all its forms, is in safe hands and I am very much looking forward to seeing the results of the hard work done by our partners in the heritage sector. Chairperson of The Heritage Council, Martina Moloney, said: The range of projects funded mirrors the variety of our heritage and the commitment of the grass roots groups who do such important work in caring for our heritage. Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive of The Heritage Council, said: Individually, these projects will enrich local communities, preserving their history, safeguarding their local habitats. Collectively, they tell the story of a country where dedicated heritage professionals and volunteers understand the value of preservation, restoration and conservation. Full list of recipients under the Community Heritage Grant Scheme, Heritage Stewardship Fund and the Irish Walled Towns Network (IWTN) are available. Community Heritage Grants: https://www.heritagecouncil. ie/content/files/Community- Heritage-Grants-2022.pdf Heritage Stewardship Grants:https://www.heritagecouncil. ie/content/files/Heritage- Stewardship-Fund.pdf IWTN grants: https://www.heritagecouncil. ie/content/files/IWTN.pdf Aspal, a new digital platform for faith formation, is now available for the benefit of people who wish to engage with and learn more about their Catholic faith. It is the brainchild of the Adult Faith Development Group of the Diocese of Ossory in collaboration of Saint Patricks Pontifical University, Maynooth, and allows people to deepen their faith at a time of their convenience. The team behind the service has now made it possible to access to the best lecturers available throughout the island of Ireland. 'A DIGITAL JOURNEY' Launching the app, Rev Dr Dermot Ryan, director of the Ossory Adult Faith Development Group, said, "This is but the first step on our digital journey to serve the Church across Ireland by providing the very best faith formation to users and to do so in a way that makes learning more accessible by deepening our knowledge and love of God. "The past number of years have seen us migrate to the digital space to a much greater extent than heretofore. He continued: "Meetings, which once necessitated physical gatherings, have now moved seamlessly online. Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty "Using similar technology developed over the past two years, the team at Aspal have built an online platform to enhance our faith formation. "For anyone who wishes to deepen the faith and knowledge of Church teaching, I would encourage them to register on the Aspal app by logging on to www.aspal.ie and from there they can choose the course that they wish to follow. "A lot of the content on the app will be free, such as the upcoming course on the Synodal Pathway which will be launched in the coming weeks. "Where there is a charge, the cost of a course has been kept to a minimum." In commissioning the first Aspal students - now trained to undertake roles in their parishes and pastoral areas - Bishop Denis Nulty, Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Ossory, said: "In preparing you for ministry in your parish communities we are but restoring old practices - albeit by using very modern technology - whereby people lead each other in prayer. "In rural communities: were not animals and crops blessed by men and women who for years carried their Easter water home; were not prayers said as neighbours died; and, God spoken about in our domestic churches? Yours then is a future built on our strong past, yours is a baptism finding new life." Father Ryan added: "The Aspal team, in collaboration with Saint Patricks Pontifical University, including the inspirational cooperation of Professor Seamus OConnell, has delivered a weekly course on praying with the scriptures, lectio divina. "Over 200 people followed the sessions which were released each week during Lent to enable participants deepen their understanding of, and love for, the scriptures: these pre-recorded sessions were supported by a number of live sessions which allowed for interaction, reinforced learning and provided wonderful moments of prayer together." Fr Ryan also revealed that the Aspal team, through its collaboration with Saint Patricks Pontifical University, will offer all parishes and dioceses in Ireland an opportunity to offer faith formation to Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist within the next few weeks, thereby enabling those who help animate our liturgies to get the best possible preparation. "This can be done in a time and place that best suits people in busy lives," Fr Ryan said. FEEDBACK: According to Gemma Mulligan, who used the app to follow a Lenten Scripture course, "It was wonderful to have access to someone like Professor Seamus right in the comfort of our own home. "Even though participants were from all corners of Ireland, it really felt like we were together in a room. "It was a great way to learn, I will do more of this," She concluded. Over the forthcoming weeks of the Easter season, and in the context of exploring the synodal journey, the Aspal team will support a collaboration between The Irish Institute for Pastoral Studies (Mary Immaculate College, Limerick), and Saint Patricks Pontifical University, in a course which will involve the leading synodal minds in the Church, including from Sister Nathalie Becquart, the Undersecretary to the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will line up in the sky this week and could stay visible to the naked eye for a number of weeks. Skygazers will be treated to the sight from Wednesday all the way through to early May, and the four planets will be visible early in the mornings before sunrise. Experts say the best viewing window is between around 5am and 6am (BST) over the coming days, just after the planets rise above the horizon, but just before the Sun follows after them. The Moon will also join the line-up on April 23, with a fifth planet Mercury becoming visible from June 24. Despite appearing from Earth to be lined up, the planets will not actually be lined up in space. Jake Foster, an astronomy education officer at Royal Museums Greenwich, said: To view this event, all you require is a clear eastern horizon. No specialist viewing equipment is necessary. These types of alignments in our skies, sometimes known as planet parades, only occur from our perspective here on the Earth. The planets themselves are not physically aligned in space during these events, meaning that the perceived alignment is unique to our perspective as observers on the Earth. These events tend to happen once every few years, the last one taking place in 2020. This year, we are particularly lucky as we will witness an alignment of five planets visible to the unaided eye on June 24, with Mercury joining the other four visible planets as an added bonus. However, Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, said spotting Mars and Saturn in this line-up may be particularly difficult. He told the PA news agency: This is a nice conjunction, as the brightest naked eye planets are visible together in a line, with Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn from east to west. The event is best viewed at dawn, but not too late as the brightening sky will wash out Mars and Saturn in particular. From the UK and similar latitudes, and further north, this will be hard to see as the planets are very low down at sunrise and the sky will be very bright by then. Im not confident that Mars and Saturn will be visible at all from here, at least to the naked eye. He added: You can try to spot the planets with binoculars (use an online star chart to work out where to look) but you must only do that before sunrise as looking at the Sun with binoculars or a telescope can cause serious damage to your eyes as can looking at the Sun with your eyes alone. East Timor's elected president, Jose Ramos-Horta (left) in Dili, April 21, 2022. VALENTINO DARIEL SOUSA / AFP The victory of Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta in the East Timorese presidential election, on Tuesday, April 19, not only marks the return to office of the former head of state (2007-2012) of this small country located at a strategic crossroad between Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean and Oceania. The recent success of this major political figure, who won 62.09% of the vote, compared to 37.91% for the outgoing president, Francisco Guterres, could also allow China to advance a little further in this vast regional geopolitical game of Go, where it has become one of the leading players. The elected president of this island nation twice the size of Corsica, which shares its territory with the other half of the island belonging to Indonesia (West Timor), does not hide his pro-Beijing sympathies. He wants to see China continue its investments in Timor-Leste, the official name of the country. This includes the financing of an oil and gas mega-project off the southern coast, estimated to cost 18 billion U.S. dollars (17 billion euros). "China is not a threat, but an opportunity," Ramos-Horta insisted in September 2019, in an interview with Le Monde. "To think that we could end up the victims of the Chinese 'debt trap' is absurd!" he added. However, if the People's Republic of China were to become the main or sole financier of a project to develop some 141 billion cubic meters of natural gas and extract 226 million barrels of oil, East Timor with a GDP of $3 billion would be in danger of becoming heavily dependent on Beijing. "Even setting aside questions of cost and viability, Ramos-Horta seems ready to intensify the search for Chinese investment," two U.S. experts on East Timor confirmed this week on the Nikkei Asia Review website. "Ramos-Horta is certainly not anti-Western, but he has adopted a more pronounced pro-Chinese bias than other local political figures," said experts Parker Novak and Jack Mullan. The likelihood of some pro-Chinese shift on the island has the neighbor Australia, with whom East Timor has had a long and ambivalent relationship, seething. Relations between Beijing and Canberra have deteriorated considerably in recent years. Spokesperson for the resistance Jose Ramos-Horta, 72 years old, belongs to the first generation of resistance fighters who fought for a long time, both internally and externally, against the Indonesian occupation of the former Portuguese colony: The regime of the former dictator Suharto occupied Timor between 1975 and 1999 and withdrew his troops only after leaving a bloody trail on the red earth of the island: 1,400 people were killed by pro-Indonesian militias and Jakarta soldiers in 1999, before an Australian-led peacekeeping force intervened. East Timor will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its independence on May 20, 2002, a day that will mark the beginning of the five-year term of the new head of state of this semi-presidential system. You have 35.93% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. Ashley Hans Scheirl, "Investor's Marble Fever," 2017. Acrylic on canvas 170 250 cm. COURTESY GALERIE LOEVENBRUCK, PARIS The 2022 Venice Biennale opens on April 23 in La Serenissima. Getting to represent their country there is the Holy Grail for artists. Or simply to be among the 213 creators invited by the curator Cecilia Alemani to the large exhibition, held in parallel in both the Arsenale and the international pavilion, located under the foliage of the Giardini. Among the biennials, the Venice one stands out. Olympic Games, Davos Economic Forum, Cannes Film Festival, could compare: this high-level competition of talents from all over the world is a showcase for leading artists, a springboard for the youngest, and an opportunity to revisit those forgotten by history. For Parisian gallery owner Herve Loevenbruck, "an artist exhibiting in Venice scores points." And their profile is raised over three stages. "First, there is a surge of interest when the announcement is made, then consolidation if the exhibition goes well." And a final uplift if trendsetter collectors, whose every move is scrutinized, communicate that they have bought from the artist. Herve Loevenbruck is already rubbing his hands together with glee: two of his artists, Ashley Hans Scheirl and Jakob Lena Knebl, are representing Austria at the Biennale. And their pavilion, a joyful exploration of gender and identity, is among the most anticipated. "People who were wondering whether to buy their works have decided to do so," confided Herve Loevenbruck. But, he acknowledged, the market for this explosive duo is still "nascent". And the prices of their drawings, paintings and sculptures are still accessible, between 1,000 and 35,000 euros. Far from the 400,000 dollars (about 370,000 euros) that some sculptures by the American-Jamaican artist Simone Leigh, the first Black woman to represent the United States in Venice, can reach. The American pavilion's program includes the topics of identity and inequality that have rocked the country in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Photos and videos Current issues also appear in the French pavilion, featuring French-Algerian Zineb Sedira. While Algeria is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence, the artist is exploring her autobiography in Venice, but also the 1970s cinematographic avant-garde, including films produced with the assistance of Algeria. Born in Paris in 1963, the artist grew up in Gennevilliers (North of Paris) in the 1960s, at a time when the wounds of war were even more gaping than today. Through her photos and videos, Zineb Sedira has the gift of building bridges across seas, to address cultures that are intimately blurred. She is also known abroad. Her works are already in the collections of the Guggenheim in New York and the Tate in London. But for her Parisian gallery owner Kamel Mennour, who sells her works in the range of 25,000 to 150,000 euros, "the Biennale will paradoxically allow the French to discover her." Gallery owner Imane Fares expects a similar impact from the showing of Ali Cherri, 46, whom she has represented since his debut. The Franco-Lebanese artist, who is participating in the international exhibition in Venice and also exhibiting at the National Gallery in London at the same time, is no beginner. His works, which appear at the Centre Pompidou and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, sell for between 3,500 and 180,000 euros. In Venice, Ali Cherri is showing a film shot on the banks of the Nile in Sudan, in which he combines the story of local artisans with the myths of Gilgamesh and the Golem. Are private collectors shunning this medium? At Imane Fares, Ali Cherri recently exhibited some astonishing compositions of archaeological objects, vases and sculptures, which, when rearranged, take on a new meaning. Vera Molnar and Dadamaino The great Venetian gathering also shines the spotlight on women, often mistreated by the history of art and its market. Like Vera Molnar, a French artist of Hungarian origin born in 1924, who infused concrete art with lightness. The doyenne of French abstract art and a pioneer of digital art, this woman, who loves nothing more than to play around with circles and squares, didn't have her first major exhibition until 1999, at age 75, at the Credac art center in Ivry-sur-Seine (South of Paris). "The international market discovered Vera very late, about fifteen years ago," said Florent Paumelle, director of the Rennes gallery Oniris. But, he added, "the 'digital art pioneer' dimension has greatly accelerated recent interest in her". Her works have recently joined major public collections such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Tate Modern in London. However, her prices remain remarkably reasonable. Oniris offers drawings from the 1970s, similar to those presented at the Biennale, starting at 12,000 euros. More on this topic Subscribers only Paris's Quai Branly Museum showcases the originality and vibrancy of Cameroonian art The Venetian spotlight should also benefit Italian artist Dadamaino, who died in 2004. Despite being involved with important movements such as Lucio Fontana's spatialism, and following at a distance the research of the GRAV in France, she remains unknown. Whole and solitary, undoubtedly too political, above all unclassifiable. After a small posthumous flutter, her rediscovery was held back by murky forgery cases that have now been settled. "Since 2018, the market has picked up," confirmed Michele Casamonti, founder of the Tornabuoni gallery. But her prices remain derisory compared to her master, Lucio Fontana, whose record stands at $29 million and the smallest painting exceeds $1 million. More on this topic Subscribers only War in Ukraine: A painting from the Morozov Collection owned by a Russian oligarch will remain in France The starting price for Dadamaino's paintings is around 5,000 euros, while works from the 1960s go for between 60,000 and 100,000 euros. "With the Venice Biennale and her recent inclusion in the exhibition 'Elles font l'abstraction' at the Centre Pompidou, everyone will wake up," predicts Michele Casamonti. And he confided that he "already feels interest building." Venice Biennale, April 23-November 27, www.labiennale.org Roxana Azimi Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version. THE University of Limerick (UL) says its plans for a new economic zone in Clare will not come at the expense of its city centre campus project. It comes after Limerick Chamber expressed major concerns over the impact the multi-million euro project could have on the urban core of Limerick. The Chamber warned that the Strategic Economic Zone (SDZ) on the colleges north campus could possibly stifle and de-prioritise plans for Limerick city centre. They have urged UL to wait until there is a stronger city and region to bring its SDZ forward. But the president of the University of Limerick, Prof Kerstin Mey, says its plans for the new economic zone which could see up to 3,500 new jobs will take place hand in glove with its commitments to the city centre, where it has set up shop in the former Dunnes Stores building at Sarsfield Street. We have great ambition to grow our existing campus footprint and extend further into the city centre at the same time, Prof Mey told the Limerick Leader. The plans for the SDZ were dealt a blow earlier this month after the planning regulator recommended Clare Council removes the reference to the UL project from its strategy in a submission to the Banner Countys development plan. Now the Chamber, which is the biggest business representative group in the region, has said in its submission to Clare Council that the UL project must not detract investment from the centre. A college spokesperson said the application in Clare is distinct and does not impact on ULs stated commitment to develop its city centre campus, already in short-term use. ULs capital investment will be focused on the city centre campus in the long-term to develop a hub for hybrid and multi-model programme delivery of non-traditional, professional, applied and work-based learning for upwards of 3,000 students, they added. In its detailed submission, the Chamber said: Allowing mixed-use development to continue on greenfield sites will exacerbate the hollowing out of the city centre which will ultimately damage the economic potential of future projects. The Chamber said the new university town is contingent on the Northern Distributor Road, and if this is significantly delayed, it will lead to an increase in traffic in Castletroy. A NEW group tasked with reviving the fortunes of the Shannon Estuary has been named. Barry O'Sullivan, who formerly headed up Johnson and Johnson's VisionCare operation in Plassey will chair the group, which was put together following an intervention from Tanaiste and Trade Minister Leo Varadkar. A number of other locally well-known business people will also serve on the taskforce, which is expected to report back by October. This number includes the chief executive of the Shannon Group Mary Considine, Pat Keating, who heads the Shannon Foynes Port Company, and Dee Ryan, who holds the equivalent role with the Limerick Chamber. Joining them will be Siobhan Dolan Clancy of SDC Business Consulting, based in Ennis and Sean Hegarty of ESB generation and trading. From Limerick's academic institutions are Seamus Hoyne, the Dean of flexible and workplace learning of the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Mid-West, Prof Eamonn Murphy of the University of Limerick as well as Prof Luuk van der Wielen, the director of the same college's Bernal Institute. They are joined by Dr Brendan O'Donnell, a vice-president at the Munster Technological University, which serves Cork and Kerry. It's anticipated the group will assess the strategic strengths and comparative advantages of the Shannon Estuary and scope out potential opportunities for the area. The group will produce a report, specifying the actions which can be taken to create jobs and opportunities in the region. It will aim to come up with ways to develop industry and fully exploit the vast landbank around the Shannon Estuary. Green Party TD Brian Leddin has welcomed the establishing of the taskforce. He said: "We agreed in the Programme for Government a commitment to supporting the Shannon Estuary and surrounding area. The establishment of a taskforce to evaluate the potential of the Mid-West and determine how this potential can be realised, particularly in the deployment of offshore wind power and the new emerging green hydrogen sector, as Ireland seeks to become an exporter of clean energy. There is potential for thousands of new, high skilled jobs for the region. Mayor Daniel Butler added: "I'm delighted to see announced as something that will be of huge strategic importance not just to the region or Ireland but to Europe in the context of energy autonomy. Also, the economic benefits as we move forward as the leading green digital region will be of huge significance and will add to the great work already underway in the region." IRISH Rail has pledged to carry out a clean-up of a graffiti-hit bridge that is in its ownership in Limerick. Labour councillor Conor Sheehan sought an update at this month's metropolitan meeting on the removal of the vandalism from the railway bridge over the Park Canal, which links Lower Park and Rhebogue. He was told that while the council has a tender in place to appoint contractors to clean graffiti-ridden sites, the bridge cannot be included, as it's in the ownership of the semi-state rail provider. Hi @IrishRail could you please remove this graffiti from bridge UBE06 in Limerick? I have emailed several times since March and havent even received an acknowledgement pic.twitter.com/Xzj2tp1pge Cllr Conor Sheehan (@ConorSheehan93) September 27, 2021 The Limerick Leader contacted Irish Rail, with a spokesperson confirming an inspection of the bridge will take place this week to assess what needs to be done to eradicate the graffiti. Following this, a contractor will be put in place to undertake the works. Councillor Sheehan admits he is "incredibly frustrated" at constantly raising the matter both with the rail provider and the local authority. "This is not graffiti art. It's graffiti vandalism and it needs to be removed. It really takes away from the local area," he said. I It's a simple issue, cleaning it, and I shouldn't have to constantly be raising this. It's a simple ask, quite far from rocket science, and that's what frustrates me about it." A Northern Ireland minister has issued a fresh warning that the UK could unilaterally suspend elements of the deal with the EU governing post-Brexit trading arrangements with Northern Ireland. Minister Conor Burns refused to be drawn on a report by the Financial Times that ministers are preparing legislation giving them sweeping powers to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Withdrawal Agreement. The move, which is likely to inspire anger among EU leaders, comes less than two weeks before the Northern Ireland Assembly election on May 5. Unionist parties in the region have consistently declared their opposition to the protocol, which they argue cuts off Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. Mr Burns said it is clear the arrangements are not working in the way that was intended and the Government already has powers under Article 16 of the protocol allowing it to suspend elements of it. He told LBC radio: As far back as last July the Prime Minister said that we believed that the threshold for triggering Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol had been reached. There is significant societal disruption in Northern Ireland due to the way that the protocol is being implemented. I hope Brussels are listening to this conversation and other conversations. I hope they will come back to the table constructively to allow us to change the protocol to make it work in the way it was intended. If they dont hear that, then the Government reserves the right, as we have always said, as laid down in the protocol, to take remedial action. The UK Government has so far resisted calls from unionists and loyalists in Northern Ireland to trigger Article 16. Labours Peter Kyle condemned the reported plan, and questioned how Boris Johnson can negotiate a trade deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the same time. The shadow Northern Ireland secretary told Sky News: This is absolutely astonishing and incredibly damaging. Boris Johnson negotiated, his team drafted the Northern Ireland Protocol; they presented it to the EU, they negotiated it into the deal. It doesnt work as well as it can do, thats why the Labour policy is, you build on it we can improve the protocol, we can smooth it, and we can do so without breaking the law and breaking our international treaty we signed with the EU. If we just recklessly pull out of it unilaterally, how will any other country in the world sign a deal with us and think that we will honour it? How will Prime Minister Modi react today when Boris Johnson asks for a trade deal if he is pulling out unilaterally of the last trade deal he signed? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed assistance for Ukraine with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. a meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Thursday, the parties touched upon the issues of strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities, supporting Ukraine's integration into the European Union (EU) and the post-conflict recovery, the Ukrainian presidential press service was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying. After the talks, Zelensky said Ukraine is counting on Spain's and Denmark's military and financial assistance amid the conflict with Russia. "Ukraine's needs have been explained to our guests today. We are waiting for prompt aid from them," he said. For his part, Sanchez said that Spain has contributed 120 million euros (about $130 million) to the European Peace Fund and provided 31 million euros (about $33.6 million) in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. Besides, Spain has sent some 200 tons of ammunition and other materials for Ukraine, Sanchez said. He added that Spain will fully support Ukraine on its path to EU membership. Meanwhile, Frederiksen noted that Denmark has provided substantial political, financial and sanctions assistance to Ukraine since the conflict with Russia started. "The EU and global partners have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, and together we will do even more," she said. Frederiksen also announced that Denmark stands ready to participate in the post-conflict recovery of Ukraine's southeastern city of Mykolaiv. Sanchez and Frederiksen arrived in Kiev earlier in the day. Environment minister Eamon Ryan has urged people to use less electricity and gas at the peak time of 5 to 7 pm in an effort to curb energy use. A major new campaign is to be launched by the Government to promote energy use reduction in the coming days. Addressing a meeting of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday, the minister said that applying this action will have a positive knock-on effect in the form of sending less revenue to the Russian government. "Its not just the quantity of energy used, its the timing," Minister Ryan said. "It's a step in the efficiencies direction where we need to go anyway," he said, noting that countries cannot be "held to ransom" on energy supplies and costs as a result of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. His comments were reported on RTE. He added that if they can reduce the amount of energy consumed at peak times, then they would stop the need to turn on gas plants to deal with this surge. The Environment Minister previously spoke about the importance of energy efficiency to cope with rising fuel costs. In view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the national capital, the state government on Friday issued new guidelines to be followed by schools to curb the spread of infection among children. The government told schools to guide students to avoid sharing lunch and stationery items. Further, it said that students and staff should not be allowed to enter school premises without thermal scanning. Compulsory hand sanitisation should be imposed at the school entry gates, classrooms, labs and other public utility areas. It also asked teachers to enquire about Covid-related symptoms to students every day during the attendance. The school authorities have been asked to ensure physical distancing at all times and discourage any guest visit. In addition to this, they are required to have a quarantine room, in case of emergency. If any student or staff displays any of the Covid-19 symptoms, they should be moved away into an outdoor, well-ventilated space or the quarantine room, said the guidelines. It also said that parents should be advised to not send their children to school if they test positive for the coronavirus. The new guidelines come days after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) decided against shutting schools again and made the wearing of masks mandatory in public. "In the larger interest of students, in case of non-compliance or violation of SOPs, a penalty as deemed appropriate should be imposed for creating a deterrent effect," Lt Governor Anil Baijal said after a DDMA meeting. Officials said authorities have been asked to keep a close watch on social gatherings and ramp up testing in the national capital. Delhi logged 965 fresh Covid cases in the 24 hours ending on Thursday evening, with a positivity rate of 4.71%. A total of 20,480 tests were conducted in the city a day ago, according to data by the state health department. The city had reported one death and 1,009 Covid cases on Wednesday, the maximum since 10 February, with a positivity rate of 5.7%. VENICE - The Venice Biennale - art's forever fraught answer to the Olympics - provides a precious opportunity to take the culture's temperature and speculate on where things are headed. It's where the art world announces new talent, revives becalmed careers and, just as often, submerges dreams of stardom in lagoons of indifference. This year's version, which officially opens Saturday - delayed by a year because of the pandemic - feels reassuringly familiar on the surface. Yet it is a biennale unlike any I can remember. As the organizers entered the final stages of their preparations, Russian troops began massing on the Ukrainian border. A terrifying war has since broken out. The biennale, nonetheless, has opened on schedule, minus a few Russian oligarch collectors, and with a new, chastened sense of fragility. There is still a festive air (It's spring! It's Italy!), and as usual, a gleaming superyacht basks outside the leafy zone known as the Giardini, where part of the main exhibition takes place. But the Russia Pavilion stands empty and rebuked (one curator told me that workers preparing the other pavilions have used it to deposit their refuse). And nearby, in the very heart of the Giardini, a makeshift Ukrainian pavilion has appeared. Really a rudimentary pergola of light wood symbolically scorched by blowtorches, the space was still under construction as the media arrived at the beginning of the week (it was proposed only two weeks ago; Ukraine does not have its own building in the Giardini). It features a tall pile of white sandbags of the kind being used to protect monuments in Ukraine and some posters showing drawings from shelters in Mariupol. Meanwhile, adding to the sense of crisis, albeit on a different time signature, Venice continues to sink as sea levels rise. The miracle that is this fading city, with its dancing light and gray-green waters lapping at crumbling red brick, continues to stupefy, resisting the urge to turn it into a metaphor for our human predicament only by dint of its sheer, sensuous actuality. Overwhelming (but indispensable) even to art professionals, the Biennale comes in three parts: the main, curated exhibition; the national pavilions; and the "collateral events" - independent exhibitions in museums, churches and palazzos scattered throughout the city (which I'm still visiting, and will write about separately later). You need a day for part one, a day for part two and two days for part three. Even so, much will elude you. The always closely watched U.S. Pavilion, featuring figurative sculptures and a video by Simone Leigh, is one of the standout shows in the Giardini. Leigh's ceramic sculptures are beautifully textured with subtle, richly colored glazes. A few veer toward illustrational kitsch and the prevailing symmetry of their forms can begin to feel complacent. But even these grow on you. Rounded, resonant and enduring, they have a capaciousness evocative of generosity, ironic fatigue and endurance. Four of the previous 12 artists commissioned to fill the U.S. Pavilion have been African American. The same period has also included four women. But Leigh is the first Black woman to be selected. She has covered the pavilion itself with grass thatching - reviving (with scalding irony) the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition. That show presented the cultures of colonized peoples in Africa and Asia for the delectation of bourgeois westerners, spurring a profound counter-reaction among Asian and African intellectuals. The effect of the thatching - a discreet work in itself, called "Facade" - is startling and has drawn enormous online attention. (Leigh's exhibition, titled "Sovereignty" and curated by Eva Respini, will show in the United States after Venice, beginning at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art, the museum commissioned by the State Department to stage the U.S. presentation in Venice this year.) Two of Leigh's sculptures also bookend the main group show in the Arsenale. This exhibition, featuring 213 artists from 58 countries, occupies a long procession of galleries in the Arsenale and the warren of galleries that make up the Giardini's Central Pavilion. It was organized this year by Cecilia Alemani, an Italian who in the past has placed Leigh's work, to dramatic effect, on New York's High Line, where Alemani is director and chief curator. The good news about Alemani's main exhibition, titled "The Milk of Dreams," is that there's not an NFT in sight. It's filled instead with works that celebrate the idea of physical metamorphosis, conflating the body either with new technologies, cyborg-style, or old dreams of union with Earth and its various life-forms. Both kinds of work trigger timely questions about what it is to be human. Somewhere between 80% and 90% of the artists are women - an inversion of the biennale's first 100 years, when women made up less than one-tenth of the total (the fraction rises to merely a third over the past 30 years). I've been coming to the biennale since the late 1990s, and Alemani's exhibition is one of the most intelligent and ambitious I've seen. It's full of surprises, including, scattered among all the great stuff, (how to say this?) some of the most hideous, clumsy and uncongenial art I've seen in such a prestigious show. This is partly, I acknowledge, a question of taste. Alemani has been greatly inspired by Surrealism, my least favorite major strain of art. The show's title is taken from a story the Surrealist Leonora Carrington wrote for her children on the walls of their home in Mexico. (A suite of Carrington's paintings are included in a Surrealism show at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the Grand Canal). Surrealism petered out as a movement after the catastrophes of the Holocaust and Hiroshima. The world had lost interest in indulging the childlike unconscious, which no longer seemed so fertile and innocent. We are in yet another crisis today and might expect art of sobriety and austerity in response. But "The Milk of Dreams" refuses to meet that expectation. It is delirious, playful, phantasmagorical. It doesn't meet crisis with a taut ideological counterpunch. It greets us, instead, with intimacy, frankness and imagination. Alemani's presentation succeeds by making us consider Surrealism afresh - from both a female and a future-oriented perspective, with one eye on the past. The first work you see, installed under a giant dome decorated with art nouveau murals in blue and gold, is a green, life-size elephant on a plinth. The piece, by Katharina Fritsch, sets the tone for what follows: intensely physical (there is very little video art), colorful, outsize and improbable. Fritsch's elephant is followed by a small and poignant gouache called "Scarecrow," by the late Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko, who lived through polio, famine, Stalin and Chernobyl. Much of Prymachenko's work is held in the Ivankiv Museum in Kyiv, which was recently bombed by the Russians. "Scarecrow," a folky rendering of a hybrid fantasy creature in bright, decorative colors, was a late addition to the show, but it fits in perfectly - a reminder that wild imaginings and fairy tales are a legitimate response to crisis, war and destruction. My favorite room in Alemani's show features works by Cecilia Vicuna, a Chilean artist and poet who this year won, together with Fritsch, the Biennale's Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement. As a young woman, Vicuna left home to study in London. The coup that ousted president Salvador Allende prevented her return. Her "precarios" - little pieces of frayed rope, netting, twigs, flotsam and flayed fabric suspended by strings from the ceiling, are a hair's breadth away from being nothing. Yet they accumulate into something utterly bewitching. They are surrounded here by a suite of Vicuna's naive-looking paintings. One, "Bendigame Mamita," portrays the artist's mother, from whom she was separated when she left Chile. The mother is shown with a guitar. One of her eyes replaces the instrument's sound hole - as if to suggest the possibility of a perception synthesized and expanded by love. This, perhaps, is what is meant by Alemani's "milk of dreams" - a maternal, or feminine, take on Surrealism that draws the childlike, dreaming impulse away from self-indulgence toward something nourishing and sustaining. This vivid, life-loving view of the world is central to the show's success. You see it in the work of some of its strongest young artists, including Igshaan Adams, Tau Lewis, Sheree Hovsepian and Christina Quarles. Tempered by darker experience, it's there, too, in the work of such veterans as Paula Rego, Jacqueline Humphries, Charline Von Heyl, Charlotte Johannesson and Mrinalini Mukherjee. Alemani breaks up the run of contemporary works with discreet historical sections, each in a freshly designed display. These "time capsules," featuring works by earlier 20th century artists (most of them women only recently getting their due), establish dialogues and rhymes across generations. One has gold, velvet carpet, mustard walls and display cases with works by key artists associated with both Surrealism (Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Varo, Meret Oppenheim, Leonor Fini and Claude Cahun) and the Harlem Renaissance (Augusta Savage, Lois Maillou Jones). Farther in, there's an equally marvelous "time capsule" featuring a display of Ruth Asawa's hanging sculptures. The national pavilions at the biennale are independent of Alemani's curated show. Unconstrained by themes, the artists who present in them must nonetheless do battle with the buildings themselves and their often fraught political histories. This year, both Germany's Maria Eichhorn and Spain's Ignasi Aballi went to great lengths to deconstruct or "correct" their respective pavilions. The Nordic Countries Pavilion turned its attractive, open space over to a group show of indigenous Sami artists while France's enchanting pavilion, which explores the history of French Algerian cinema, was transformed by Zineb Sedira into a film set, nightclub, living room and movie theater. The three best pavilions are by Belgium's Francis Alys, Australia's Marco Fusinato (both in the Giardini) and Italy's Gian Maria Tosatti (in the Arsenale). Each provides an antidote of sorts to the prevailing strains of fantasy, colorful shape-shifting and technophilic. Alys's presents a video version of "Children's Games," Pieter Bruegel the Elder's great 16th-century painted inventory of games in Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. On a series of screens, Alys shows recent footage of games played by children all over the world. Examples include "Rubi," which involves thumbing marbles in a miniature arena, in the Democratic Republic of Congo; "Step on a Crack" in Hong Kong; "Espejos," a game that uses handheld mirrors to redirect sunlight at opponents, in Mexico; "Slakken," or snail racing, in Belgium; "Schneespiele," or "snow fun," in Switzerland, and "Papalote," or kite flying, in Afghanistan (where it was banned by the Taliban). In Alys's hands, the inventiveness of children, sometimes in dangerous environments, arouses more than just sentimentality. The pavilion's anarchic din feels as generous and resilient, in its way, as Leigh's serene and silent sculptures in the U.S. Pavilion. Fusinato presents a different kind of cacophony. His rapid-fire sequences of degraded black-and-white imagery downloaded from the Internet flash up on a giant screen. The imagery is triggered (via a computer program) by the artist's live, amplified electric guitar-playing. The sound is intense, the imagery stark but elusive, the overall effect, like a virtuosic heavy metal drum solo, urgent and austere. Fusinato will be performing the piece for 200 straight days. But it may be the Italian Gian Maria Tosatti's transformation of a sequence of rooms in the Arsenale into an empty and derelict factory that I remember most from this biennale. There are no VR headsets to don (as in the Greek pavilion); no pulsing, serpentine robots (as in the Korean pavilion), and no hyper-real sculptures of dead centaurs (as in the Danish pavilion). Instead, you walk, alone and in silence, from one abandoned room to the next in a melancholy daze, circling around redundant machinery, between rows of sewing machines and past old telephones and empty beds. There are no hybrid creatures, no vivid colors, no notes of fantasy or dreaming. The final space is utterly dark. As you walk out onto a pier surrounded by water with distant pinpricks of light flickering in front of you, your mind hovers between two questions: "Is this how things were?" and "Is this how it will end?" And then, you wander out into Venice. - - - The 59th Venice Biennale of Art runs Saturday through Nov. 27. Info at labiennale.org. Marjorie Taylor Greene is testifying under oath on Friday about her alleged role in the events of last Jan. 6. She isnt too happy about it. The court appearance follows U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenbergs ruling earlier this week that a case seeking to disqualify Greene from office for engaging in insurrection or rebellion could proceed. Greene has consistently and very publicly pushed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, while rilling up her supporters to descend on Washington, D.C., ahead of the elections certification last Jan. 6. Greene was confronted with several of her social media posts on the issue while on the stand, but she was hesitant to take ownership of the views shes pushed in the past. The conspiracy theorist from Georgia has long engaged with some of the most extreme corners of conservative media, pushing lies about Democratic colleagues, hate speech, and calls for violence, and on Friday she seemed well aware of how bad her record looks when its removed from the cesspool of right-wing demagoguery on the internet and laid bare in a court of law. Is it fair to say that from Election Night until January 6th, your personal opinion and your wish was that Congress not certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election? she was asked. No, thats not accurate, she replied. Question: Is it fair to say that from election night until January 6th, your personal opinion and your wish was that Congress not certify Joe Biden? Greene: No thats not accurate pic.twitter.com/9aKJqZkodl Acyn (@Acyn) April 22, 2022 Greene also flat-out denied that she said she believes in QAnon, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, or that she said House Speaker Nancy is a traitor to the United States, despite the fact that she has explicitly described her as such. Greene in media appearances earlier this week seemed worried that the media would zero in on specific clips and sound bites from her testimony on Friday. Theyre going to click and cut and paste so they can sell a lie on their networks every night, she said during an appearance on One America News. It stands to reason that she may been refraining from admitting to copping to her comments of fear that networks would click and cut and paste them for what they are. Greene ultimately said of Pelosi that by not securing the border that violates her oath of office, but declined to admit she called her a traitor. Fair enough, Ron Fein, the attorney representing Free Speech for People, which brought the case, replied. Im not interested in her oath of office. Im interested in that you said shes a traitor to our country. Question to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: "In fact, you think that Speaker Pelosi is a traitor to the country, right?" Greene: "I'm not answering that questionI haven't said that." Q: "Put up plaintiff's exhibit 5." Greene: "Oh, no. Wait. Hold on now" pic.twitter.com/hBHPAkUOaA CSPAN (@cspan) April 22, 2022 Rolling Stone reported in October that Greene was one of several Republican lawmakers who participating in the organization of the rally near the White House that preceded the Capitol attack. The topic came up on Friday, of course, and instead of denying her involvement, Greene repeatedly said she didnt recall any conversations she might have had regarding what was to come on Jan. 6. She was first asked if she talked to anyone in the government about whether there would be protests on Jan. 6. I dont remember, she said. We were mostly reading information about election fraud and people signed affidavits what theyd witnessed with voter fraud, and preparing to object. Thats pretty much all I remember. Pretty much, but your testimony as you sit here today under oath is that you didnt talk to anybody in government about the fact that there were going to be large protests in Washington on Jan. 6? Fein asked. I dont remember. She was asked if she talked to Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) I dont remember. She was asked if she talked to Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) Sorry, I dont remember. What about anyone in the White House? I dont remember. Did she hear anyone mention the potential for violence on Jan. 6? I dont remember. Greene also said she didnt remember calling the attack our 1776 moment on Newsmax the day before the attack on the Capitol. She may not have remembered the interview, but she seemed to feel the same about Jan. 6 in the months following the attack. Greene also alluded to history last October when she defended the Capitol rioters, referring to how the Declaration of Independence says to overthrow tyrants. Making History: The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past By Richard Cohen Simon & Schuster. 753 pp. $40 - - - When documentarian Ken Burns debuted "The Civil War" on PBS in 1990, columnist George F. Will declared the nine-part series a "masterpiece of national memory" in which "our Iliad has found its Homer." That was high praise for a 37-year-old New Hampshire filmmaker fresh out of the used-record-store business, and it was a bit demoralizing to me, a young U.S. historian fresh out of my PhD studies at Georgetown. With Burns's opus, my chosen profession had just pole-vaulted into the Golden Era of history film documentary, while I was still using library card catalogues and reading dead people's mail. Book writing, I feared, would be condemned to play second fiddle to "Ashokan Farwell," the haunting violin theme that packed such an emotional wallop in "The Civil War." Ironically, it's a new book - "Making History: The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past" by the British historian Richard Cohen - that has me thinking again about the magnificence of "The Civil War," and more broadly about the whole endeavor of my profession. Sprawling and wildly ambitious, idiosyncratic and also consistently readable and engaging, "Making History" dives deep into the way history-driven scholars and artists - from Burns to Shakespeare to Herodotus - have shaped the collective memory of humankind. Championing both famous and largely forgotten historians as well as storytellers, filmmakers and photographers, Cohen's volume offers memorable anecdotes and reasoned judgment as it explores themes including the foundational mythos of the Old and New Testaments, the Roman era, the contributions of history-maker historians from Julius Caesar to Winston Churchill, Black American history from George W. Williams to Ibram X. Kendi, historical works from medieval texts to the New York Times Magazine's recent "1619 Project," and the failure of Japan to prosecute war criminals after World War II. A former London publishing director and the author of "How to Write Like Tolstoy," Cohen clearly prizes narrative flow over ivory-tower historical analysis, stressing novelists' and playwrights' ability to conjure the atmosphere of past times and places instead of just recording facts. In that regard, he places Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" as the most vivid way to understand the Napoleonic Wars - a view that might have been shared by Tolstoy himself, who refused to call his masterpiece fiction while also denying that it was a historical chronicle. Cohen's valorization extends to more recent historical novelists such as Shelby Foote, Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison and Gore Vidal. He even creates the genre "History as a Nightmare" and anoints Soviet novelist and political dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn its master practitioner. To his credit, Cohen also quotes novelist Vladimir Nabokov dismissing the entire novelists-as-historians trope: "Can anybody be so naive as to think he or she can learn anything about the past from those buxom best-sellers that are hawked around by book clubs under the heading of historical novels?" Nabokov asked. "Certainly not. . . . The truth is that great novels are great fairy tales." To me, Cohen's core philosophy seems to echo novelist Hilary Mantel's 2017 declaration, which he quotes, that "history is not the past - it is the method we've evolved of organizing our ignorance of the past. . . . It's what's left in the sieve when the centuries have run through it." Somewhat lazily, the sieve that Cohen consults too often seems mined from the "History" section in "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations" - pithy epigrams from writers like John Lukacs, George Orwell and Leopold von Ranke. "Making History" doesn't shy from the fact that the sieve has massively favored male voices over female, a situation summed up by Jane Austen in her 1817 novel "Persuasion": "Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much a higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands." Discussing a Ranker.com list of "Famous Female Historians," Cohen writes that "only recently could such a listing even have been contemplated. For centuries, reading and writing were reserved for the power holders in what worldwide were patriarchal societies." Somewhat ironically, Cohen then holds up Chinese writer Ban Zhao (45-116) and Byzantine scholar Anna Komnene (1083-c.1153) as examples of underappreciated female historians - though both made their names supporting and writing about men: Komnene writing "The Alexiad," a history of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of her father, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos; Zhao completing her late brother's history of the Western Han Dynasty and penning the popular "Lessons for Women," which affirmed traditional gender roles while also advocating for women's education. Moving into the modern era, Cohen rightfully praises two-time Pulitzer-winning historian Barbara Tuchman for exhibiting no "fear in writing about men" and for being "a natural storyteller, providing lively narratives rather than delighting in fresh archival material." Having descended from two of the most prominent Jewish families in New York, Tuchman knew the world of politics and statecraft at an early age, but she wasn't "a historian's historian," Cohen says. Instead, she was something far worthier: "a layperson's historian" who made the past interesting. Anyone who has read Tuchman's descriptions of 14th-century life in "A Distant Mirror" would be hard-pressed to disagree. Among Cohen's strengths is his sheer enthusiasm for his favored writers, which has persuaded me to finally read Sir Walter Scott's "Rob Roy," to purchase Hilary Mantel's 1998 novel, "The Giant, O'Brien," and to make plans to delve into the writings of the classicist Mary Beard, whose BBC TV series "Meet the Romans" and "Pompeii: New Secrets Revealed" Cohen adores. Likewise, Cohen has also shamed me into realizing I've never read Leon Trotsky's "My Life," which is now on my to-do list. Toward the end of "Making History," Cohen assesses the impact of contemporary photography and film. There is a fine riff on how both the dastardly Joseph Stalin and the knighted Dwight Eisenhower had people cropped out of photographs - literally cutting them out of history to serve their political purposes. At the opposite pole, Cohen stresses how indelible images and video of the JFK assassination, the 9/11 tragedy and the murder of George Floyd have been vital to building collective memory. That's why Burns's documentaries are very much to Cohen's liking - they're a distillation of academic history into emotion and poetry, injected into the American bloodstream through the shared medium of TV. Fittingly, Cohen uses a line from the television series "The West Wing" to drive his point home. In the words of fictional president Josiah Bartlet: "Modern history's another name for television." - - - Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown chair in humanities and a professor of history at Rice University, and the author of "Cronkite." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Ten high school juniors from Laredo were selected to receive the first Legacy Scholarship of the San Antonio Area Foundation for $40,000 each to support their upcoming college studies. Students from Laredo ISD and United ISD gathered at Texas A&M International for an inaugural reception surrounded by their families, counselors and special guests. "When I began my essay for the application process, the first sentence I wrote was, 'Educate the masses,' as someone once told me," said Legacy Scholar Iracema Gonzalez, who plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in education. "With this scholarship, I'll be able to pay all, if not the majority, of my tuition. I'll be able to head out into the adult world ready to immediately focus on making my first impact on my community by becoming an English teacher." Iracema encouraged students to look for opportunities, assuring them there are endless chances for students to attend college with great scholarships. Fifty scholars were selected out of San Antonio and Laredo to receive this scholarship. The funds for the scholarship come from an anonymous donor who has contributed a total of $2 million to the selected future college students. Another selected scholar is Kaitlyn Mata, who attends Nixon High School and Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts. She wishes to study musical theatre at Texas State. "I've always been drawn to the arts since I was little," Mata said. "I started in middle school when I joined Drama Club and I started acting." Mata acted in school plays like One Act Plays and summer musicals. She said it was her counselor who informed her about the scholarship, and although she never imagined being selected -- as only 50 juniors were -- she was pleasantly surprised to be chosen. Mata plans to pursue her acting career in New York City after graduating and work in the musical theater industry. The San Antonio Area Foundation expects to continue providing 50 Legacy Scholarships each year and hopes to increase the number depending on future donors. "We make contact with counselors from the school districts here to help spread the word so students find out about this," said Hernan Rozemberg, the Director of Communications and Storytelling of the San Antonio Area Foundation. "It really went well. We had hundreds of applications from Laredo and thousands in San Antonio. "The anonymous donor made it very clear that they wanted students from Webb County, so our goal is to try and get as many applicants from Webb County as possible. ... We're really proud to be in Laredo and see the students' faces, it really makes us proud of our work." The scholarship is meant for junior students, so they go into their senior year with a scholarship secured and can focus on other important goals or to apply for more scholarships. The scholarship is divided for their four years of college, so students can go into their freshman year with $10,000 for their student fees secured. As the first-ever scholars, the selected students can now become ambassadors of the Legacy Scholarship and share it with generations to come so more students benefit from it. The entire list of Laredoans who received the Legacy Scholarship include: LISD Kaitlyn Mata. Alyssa Ramos. Itzel Rojo. Alejandro Trejo. UISD Iracema Gonzalez. Jose Jimenez. Cassandra Mireles. Alynna Montemayor. Andria Villanueva. Alexis Zaragoza. Applications reopen for next year's juniors in the upcoming fall semester at their website saafdn.org. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Another exotic animal has been discovered in Laredo. After finding an alligator-like creature in 2020, Laredo Animal Care Services announced on Friday that it has discovered a small tiger cub in the area. On Friday, Laredo Police Department and LACS officers confiscated a 3-month-old female tiger. They noted that the possession of these dangerous animals violates the dangerous wild animals ordinance. "It is also unlawful, a nuisance and public health threat to feed and harbor wild or feral animals -- except community cats -- in residential areas," LACS said in a statement. "We want to remind the public that it is illegal to own, possess, confine or care of a dangerous wild animal within the city." In photos from LACS, an officer carrying the exotic feline in what looks like a private residence. This case is similar to the 2020 case when a Schneiders Dwarf Caiman was found in the city. And while it was likely not a pet like the other two, Laredo Border Patrol also encountered a black bear north of Laredo in 2021 in another animal sighting. A similar situation to the tiger cub occurred in Houston last year. ABC13,reported at the time that a roaming tiger was seen in a Houston neighborhood, adding that they are not allowed within Houston city limits unless the handler is licensed to have exotic animals. Texas has lax limits on exotic animal trade and ownership. PETA chimed in on the 2021 Houston case and released a statement: "This close call shows why every American should support the Big Cat Public Safety Act: Until law enforcement cracks down on people who breed big cats, keep them in shoddy backyard cages, and sell photo ops with them, a loose tiger could be around any corner-and injuries and deaths could easily follow. PETA urges Texas authorities to crack down on the state's underground big-cat trade, track down this tiger, and get this animal into an accredited sanctuary, PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SEATTLE (AP) With a backdrop of flowering trees, it was a setting fit for the signing of major environmental legislation. Even Seattles notorious clouds parted as President Joe Biden stepped up to speak Friday. But when he sat down at a small desk with the presidential seal that had been set up for the occasion, there was no new law to sign, just an executive order directing federal officials to keep better track of trees in national forests. The gap between the scale of the global warming crisis and the presidents initiatives seemed wider than ever on Earth Day. Although last years infrastructure legislation had some climate policies, such as building more charging stations for electric cars, many of Bidens most ambitious proposals remain stalled in Congress. Biden seemed eager to be signing something other than his executive order. My pen is ready, Biden said in Seattles Seward Park. Get some of these bills to my desk. He criticized Republicans for opposing climate action and hinted at his frustration with Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, although he didnt mention them by name. Within the Democratic caucus, he said, theres only two senators who occasionally dont vote with me. The lack of unanimity among Democrats and the steadfast resistance from Republicans in the evenly divided Senate has blocked hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits for clean energy. Environmental advocates question whether the country can hit Biden's ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions without such policies, and scientists warn that the world faces extreme heat, drought and weather unless fossil fuels are phased out swiftly. With so much of his agenda in doubt, Biden instead drew a sharp contrast with his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, who often mocked climate change as he unraveled the countrys fight against global warming during his time in office. Weve reached the point where the crisis on the environment has become so obvious, with the notable exception of the former president, that we really have an opportunity to do things we couldnt have done two, five, 10 years ago, Biden said. Biden said he was staking his hopes on an up-and-coming generation. Every time I get a little down ... I just turn on the television or take a look at all the young people, he said. This younger generation is not going to put up with all this stuff. No, theyre not. Biden spoke to some of that generation at his second stop of the day, Green River College, just south of Seattle. The auditorium included scores of students, plus faculty and local elected officials, and Biden used the moment to promote an agenda that goes far beyond the environment. The speech was a collage of laws hes passed and what he still needs congressional support to achieve. He discussed college funding, health care prices, child care expenses, corporate taxes, high speed internet and the importance of nursing. Biden also warned that Republicans remain determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than a decade after it was signed into law by President Barack Obama. We need to keep this fight up, he said. Biden singled out the high cost of insulin for treating diabetes, which he wants to limit through new legislation. Theres no excuse. None, he said. Were not asking drug companies to do anything they cant afford. The executive order signed by Biden on Friday directs federal land managers to define and inventory mature and old-growth forests nationwide within a year. The order requires the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to identify threats to older trees, such as wildfire and climate change, and develop policies to safeguard them. Old-growth trees are key buffers against climate change and provide crucial carbon sinks that absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. The order does not ban logging of mature or old-growth trees, the White House said. Biden used his Earth Day events to reassert his environmentalist credentials when his administration has been preoccupied by high oil and gasoline prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Gas costs have been a drag on Biden's popularity and created short-term political pressures going into this year's midterm elections. Hes even encouraged more domestic oil drilling, angering some environmental activists, to compensate for the problem. At the same time, Biden has focused on wildfires that are intensifying because of climate change. Blazes that are intense enough to kill trees once considered virtually fire-proof have alarmed land managers, environmentalists and tree lovers the world over. A warming planet that has created longer and hotter droughts, combined with a century of fire suppression that choked forests with thick undergrowth, has fueled flames that extinguished trees dating to ancient civilizations. Timber industry representative Nick Smith said before the order was made public that loggers are worried it will add more bureaucracy, undercutting the Biden administrations goal of doubling the amount of logging and controlled burns over the next decade to thin forests in the tinder-dry West. The federal government has an urgent need to reduce massive greenhouse gas emissions from severe wildfires, which can only be accomplished by actively managing our unhealthy and overstocked federal forests, he said. But former U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Jim Furnish said wildfire risks and climate change would be better addressed by removing smaller trees that can fuel uncontrolled blazes, while leaving mature trees in place. For many years the Forest Service allowed older trees that are worth more to be logged, to bring in money for removal of smaller trees, Furnish said. But thats no longer necessary after Congress approved more than $5 billion to reduce wildfire risks in last years infrastructure bill, he said. The law includes money to hire 1,500 firefighters and ensure they earn at least $15 an hour. Timber sales from federal forests nationwide more than doubled over the past 20 years, as Republicans and Democrats have pushed more aggressive thinning of stands to reduce small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires. Critics, including many forest scientists, say officials are allowing removal of too many older trees that can withstand fire. A letter signed by 135 scientists called on Biden to protect mature and old-growth forests as a critical climate solution. "Left vulnerable to logging, though, they cannot fulfill these vital functions,'' the scientists wrote Thursday. Former Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck and Norman Christensen, founding dean and professor emeritus at Duke Universitys Nicholas School of the Environment, were among those signing the letter. ___ Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this story. Megerian and Daly reported from Washington. LONDON (AP) Taking aim at hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content online, the European Union is nearing agreement on a sweeping law that would force big tech companies to police themselves harder, make it easier for users to flag problems, and empower regulators to punish noncompliance with billions in fines. EU officials negotiated into the late hours of Friday night over the final details of the Digital Services Act, which would overhaul the digital rulebook for 27 countries and cement Europe's reputation as the global leader in reining in the power of social media companies and other digital platforms, such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. But midnight passed without an agreement announced, though several EU officials tweeting about the proceedings expressed optimism that things were getting close. The act would be the EU's third significant law targeting the tech industry, a notable contrast with the U.S., where lobbyists representing Silicon Valley's interests have largely succeeded in keeping federal lawmakers at bay. While the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have filed major antitrust actions against Google and Facebook, Congress remains politically divided on efforts to address competition, online privacy, disinformation and more. The EU's new rules, which are designed to protect internet users and their fundamental rights online, would make tech companies more accountable for content created by users and amplified by their platforms algorithms. The DSA is nothing short of a paradigm shift in tech regulation. Its the first major attempt to set rules and standards for algorithmic systems in digital media markets, said Ben Scott, a former tech policy advisor to Hillary Clinton who's now executive director of advocacy group Reset. Once agreed to in principle, the law would still need to be approved by the European Parliament and European Council, though that is not expected to be a major hurdle. It has not been decided when the law would go into effect. Negotiators had been hoping to hammer out a deal before the end of Friday, ahead of French elections Sunday. A new French government could stake out different positions on digital content. The need to regulate Big Tech more effectively came into sharper focus after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, when Russia was found to have used social media platforms to try to influence the country's vote. Tech companies like Facebook and Twitter promised to crack down on disinformation, but the problems have only worsened. During the pandemic, health misinformation blossomed and again the companies were slow to act, cracking down after years of allowing anti-vaccine falsehoods to thrive on their platforms. Under the EU law, governments would be able to request companies take down a wide range of content that would be deemed illegal, including material that promotes terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech and commercial scams. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter would have to give users tools to flag such content in an easy and effective way so that it can be swiftly removed. Online marketplaces like Amazon would have to do the same for dodgy products, such as counterfeit sneakers or unsafe toys. These systems will be standardized so that they will work the same way on any online platform. Companies that violate the rules face fines amounting to as much as 6% of their annual global revenue, which for tech giants would mean billions of dollars. Repeat offenders could be banned from the EU market. The tech giants have been lobbying furiously in Brussels to water down the EU rules. Google said in a statement on Friday that it looks forward to working with policymakers to get the remaining technical details right to ensure the law works for everyone. Amazon referred to a blog post from last year that said it welcomed measures that enhance trust in online services. Facebook didn't respond to requests for comment, and Twitter declined to comment. The Digital Services Act would ban ads targeted at minors, as well as ads targeted at users based on their gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. It would also ban deceptive techniques companies use to nudge people into doing things they didnt intend to, such as signing up for services that are easy to opt into, but hard to decline. To show they're making progress on limiting these practices, tech companies would have to carry out annual risk assessments of their platforms. Up until now, regulators have had no access to the inner workings at Google, Facebook and other popular services. But under the new law, the companies will have to be more transparent and provide information to regulators and independent researchers on content-moderation efforts. This could mean, for example, making YouTube turn over data on whether its recommendation algorithm has been directing users to more Russian propaganda than normal. To enforce the new rules, the European Commission is expected to hire more than 200 new staffers. To pay for it, tech companies will be charged a supervisory fee," which could be up to 0.1% of their annual global net income, depending on the negotiations. Experts said the new rules will likely spark copycat regulatory efforts by governments in other countries, while tech companies will also face pressure to roll out the rules beyond the EU's borders. If Joe Biden stands at the podium and says By golly, why dont American consumers deserve the same protections that Google and Facebook are giving to Europe consumers, its going to be difficult for those companies to deny the application of the same rules elsewhere, Scott said. But the companies aren't likely to do so voluntarily, said Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank. There is just too much money on the line if a company like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is restricted in how it can target advertising at specific groups of users. The big tech firms will heavily resist other countries adopting similar rules, and I cannot imagine the firms voluntarily applying these rules outside the EU, Meyers said. The EU reached a separate agreement last month on its so-called Digital Markets Act, a law aimed at reining in the market power of tech giants and making them treat smaller rivals fairly. And in 2018, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation set the global standard for data privacy protection, though it has faced criticism for not being effective at changing the behavior of tech companies. Much of the problem centers on the fact that a companys lead privacy regulator is in the country where its European head office is located, which for most tech companies is Ireland. Irish regulators have opened dozens of data-privacy investigations, but have only issued judgements for a handful. Critics say the the problem is understaffing, but the Irish regulator says the cases are complex and time consuming. EU officials say they have learned from that experience and will make the blocs executive Commission the enforcer for the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. __ AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story. New Zealand based integrated used automotive group NZ Automotive Investments Limited (NZAI / the Company) (NZX: NZA ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tim Cook as an independent director, effective from today, 22 April 2022. The appointment follows the resignation of Karl Smith and Michele Kernahan earlier this month. Interim Chair of NZAI, Charles Bolt said The Board is delighted that Tim has accepted an invitation to join the Company as an independent director, bringing with him a breadth of experience across a range of industry sectors. Tim Cook was a director and then Chair of Auckland City BMW, Mini and Rolls Royce between 2008 and 2015. He was previously an independent director of NZX listed companies including Charlies Group prior to the Asahi takeover in 2011, Plexure and Good Spirits Hospitality. He continues to hold a number of other directorships and is currently the Chair of Medsector Advisers Limited, The Heart Group and MyWave.AI. Tim Cook commented this is an exciting time to join NZAI as the country starts to emerge from Covid-19 and the opportunities that will present. Despite pressure on stock supply and increased retail financing costs, NZAI is very well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities ahead and I look forward to working with the Board and Senior Management to develop innovative strategies to enhance performance, growth and market share. Tim has been appointed by the Companys existing Board, as permitted under the Companys constitution. He will hold office until NZAIs 2022 Annual Meeting at which time he will offer himself for re-election by shareholders. The Board has determined under the Listing Rules that Tim is an independent director. In accordance with the announcement earlier this month, Karl Smiths resignation will take effect from today, 22 April 2022. 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Related News: 10th May 2022 Morning Report Chatham Commences Scoping Study for Phosphate Export Mine 9th May 2022 Morning Report CHI - Indicative Interest Margin for Bond Offer ARG - FY22 Annual Result Announcement Date and webcast Marsden Maritime Holdings commences due diligence MCK appoints Stuart Harrison as Managing Director CDI appoints Jason Adams as Managing Director 6th May 2022 Morning Report KPG FY22 annual results announcement date This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year and accusing an opposing lawyer of using chopped videos and twisting her words. Voters in the Georgia congresswomans district have said Greene helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that disrupted certification of President Joe Bidens victory, making her ineligible for reelection under a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment dealing with insurrection or rebellion. But Greene who, the day before the Capitol riot, proclaimed on TV that this is "our 1776 moment testified that she's never endorsed violence. Greene is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgias May 24 primary and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The administrative law judge who oversaw the hearing must present his findings to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then make the ultimate determination over whether Greene is qualified. Greene has repeatedly denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is itself unconstitutional. But Ron Fein, a lawyer for the voters who filed the challenge, said Greene took an oath and then broke it by engaging in an insurrection. While Greene wasnt on the steps of the Capitol, she nevertheless played an important role in stoking Republican fury ahead of the attack, Fein said. Unlike the Civil War and other insurrections that involved military uniforms and tactics, he said, The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. Andrew Celli, a lawyer for the voters, questioned Greene about posts on her social media accounts. She repeatedly responded, I don't recall," or I don't remember. When asked about the fact that her Facebook account had, in 2019, liked a post calling for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be shot in the head, Greene said she had no memory of that and said someone else could have been responsible. Whenever Celli suggested that she'd endorsed the use of violence to interrupt the certification of the electoral votes, Greene asserted she doesn't support violence and was encouraging peaceful protest. Celli played a clip of an interview Greene did Jan. 5, 2021, in which she said this is our 1776 moment. When Celli asked if she was aware some Trump supporters used that reference as a call to violence, Greene said that wasn't her intention and that she was talking about her plans to object to the certification of electoral votes. I was talking about the courage to object, she said. Celli appeared to grow frustrated at times when she didnt directly answer his questions and accused him of was speculating. Ms. Greene, Im just asking questions, he said. Im just answering, she responded. Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot sometimes seemed exasperated by repeated rephrasing of questions and at times told Celli to move on. He also repeatedly admonished Greene supporters for clapping or cheering during the proceedings. James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, said his client did not engage in the attack on the Capitol, and the challengers are making a very serious charge with significant ramifications. They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th District of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot, he said. At the time of the riot, Greene was in a dark hallway at the Capitol urging people via social media to be safe and remain calm, he said. Rep. Greene was a victim of this attack, Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger. Bopp said that Greene was engaging in protected political speech. He also argued that the administrative hearing process is meant to address basic qualification questions, not to evaluate major constitutional and federal claims. Dozens of Greene supporters attended the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and staunch Greene ally. The challenge to Greene's eligibility to run for reelection was filed by five voters who live in her district, and the procedure for such a challenge is outlined in Georgia law. The law says any voter who's eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge that candidate's qualifications by filing a written complaint. The secretary of state then has to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Beaudrot asked both sides to submit briefs by midnight Thursday, and said he would try to make a decision within a week after that. Once he submits findings, Raffensperger will be tasked with deciding the eligibility of Greene, a Trump loyalist, as he faces a tough primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed candidate. Raffensperger attracted Trumps wrath shortly after the 2020 election when he refused to take steps to overturn Trumps narrow loss in the state. The 14th Amendment says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it aimed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta on Monday declined a request from Greene to halt the challenge process. Greene is appealing that ruling. The Georgia complaint was filed on the voters' behalf by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group. The group filed similar challenges on behalf of voters in Arizona, where a judge on Friday ruled to keep three Republicans on the ballot, and in North Carolina against Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally that preceded the riot. A federal judge last month blocked the challenge against Cawthorn, writing that laws approved by Congress in 1872 and 1898 mean the 14th Amendment section cant apply to current House members. ___ Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed reporting. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The leaders of the rival Koreas exchanged letters expressing hope for improved bilateral relations, which plummeted in the past three years amid a freeze in nuclear negotiations and North Koreas accelerating weapons development. North Koreas state media said leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday received a personal letter from outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in and replied on Thursday with his own letter appreciating Moons peace efforts during his term. Pyongyangs official Korean Central News Agency said Friday their exchange of letters showed their deep trust. Experts say North Koreas announcement of the letters, which came as Kim possibly prepares for a nuclear test and other major provocations, is aimed at dividing public opinion in South Korea and discouraging Seouls new government from taking a hard line toward Pyongyang after its inauguration in May. KCNA said Moon told Kim he would continue to campaign for Korean reunification even after he leaves office next month, basing his efforts on their joint declarations for peace issued after their summit meetings in 2018. Kim and Moon shared views that inter-Korean relations would improve and develop as desired and anticipated by the (Korean) nation if the (North and the South) make tireless efforts with hope, KCNA said. Moons office confirmed the exchange of letters shortly after KCNAs report, but spent hours before releasing its version of what was said, which indicated that the North didnt coordinate with Seoul before announcing the exchange. KCNAs report wasnt published on the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, read by its domestic audience, showing that the message was intended for the South. According to Seoul, Moon in his letter to Kim acknowledged setbacks in inter-Korean relations but insisted that their aspirational vows for peace during their summits in 2018 and an accompanying military agreement aimed at defusing border area clashes remain relevant as a foundation for future cooperation. Moon also expressed hope for a resumption of nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang and for Kim to pursue cooperation with Seouls next government led by conservative President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, Moons spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. While sending a letter to the North's leader is a courtesy as the South's leaves office, analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the Souths private Sejong Institute said, the North publicized the personal exchange with an aim to create division in South Korea ahead of a government change. Considering indications that North Korea is preparing for its seventh nuclear test, its questionable whether it was appropriate for President Moon to send a letter to Chairman Kim to express his warm greetings, Cheong said. Yoon, who takes office on May 10, has harshly described Moons foreign policy for being subservient toward North Korea and said he wouldn't pursue talks for talks sake. He has vowed to strengthen South Koreas defense in conjunction with its alliance with the United States, which he says would include enhancing preemptive strike capabilities and anti-missile systems to deter North Korean attacks. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen since a series of North Korean weapons tests this year, including its first flight-test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 in March, reviving the nuclear brinkmanship aimed at forcing the U.S. to accept it as a nuclear power and to remove crippling sanctions. South Koreas military has also detected signs that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear testing ground it partially dismantled weeks before Kims first meeting with then-President Donald Trump in June 2018, a possible indicator that the country is preparing to resume nuclear explosive tests. Staking his single presidential term on inter-Korean rapprochement, Moon met Kim three times in 2018 and lobbied hard to help set up Kims meetings with Trump. But the diplomacy never recovered from the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019 in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Koreas demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility, which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Kim has since vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent to counter gangster-like U.S. pressure and sped up his weapons development despite limited resources and pandemic-related difficulties. North Korea also severed all cooperation with Moons government while expressing anger over the continuation of U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which were curtailed in recent years to promote diplomacy with the North, and Seouls inability to wrest concessions from Washington on its behalf. Analysts say North Korea is likely to escalate its weapons demonstrations in coming weeks or months to force a reaction from the Biden administration, which has been focused on Russias war on Ukraine and a rivalry with China. Bidens special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, traveled to Seoul this week for meetings with senior South Korean officials and said they agreed on the need for a strong response to counter North Koreas destabilizing behavior. After maintaining a conciliatory tone for years, Moons government objected more strongly to North Koreas weapons tests this year, criticizing Kims government for ending its self-imposed suspension of long-range missile testing and urging a return to diplomacy. Seoul has also accused North Korea of destroying South Korean-owned facilities at the Norths Diamond Mountain resort where they ran tours together until 2008. Kim in 2019 called the South Korean facilities there shabby and ordered them destroyed, though the work was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The J.W. Nixon High School Honors Winds will premiere Viva Fiesta, a new composition by retired band director and local composer-arranger Dennis Eveland. The new song will be premiered during the J.W. Nixon Honors Winds Recording Concert at the Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts Auditorium on Friday, April 22, at 7 p.m. The concert is free and is open to the public. Dennis Eveland is a distinguished member of American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, which includes such popular music composers such as, John Williams and Hanz Zimmer, who are currently active movie score composers. He has composed many selections for UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Contests in which bands from all over the world have performed. It is quite an honor for any high school music ensemble to be requested to perform for an opportunity as such, said Juan Gerardo Sosa, Nixon High School Band Director. The students are elated at the fact Mr. Eveland asked them to perform even though they already have a rigorous rehearsal schedule and difficult 6A level of music for the preparation of our TMEA Honors Band Recording Sessions. The recording will be used on the J.W. Pepper and composers personal website. The recording will be heard by band directors from around the world. During the concert, the Honors Winds will also have its final Texas Music Educators Association Honor recording session as it strives for that perfect recording to submit for the 2022 TMEA Honor Band Selection. The Regional Hearing are June 1, and the Area Hearings are the second week of June. At the Area Hearing they will compete with 6A programs including Brownsville Hanna, Brownsville Rivera, Harlingen, Harlingen South, Edinburg, Edinburg North, Mission, Alexander, United and United South High Schools. The Nixon High School honors Winds is under the direction of Juan Gerardo Sosa and has 42 members. The NHS Associate Director of Bands is Hector Navarro. The Percussion Director is Miguel Angel Rodriguez, and the Woodwind and Cologuard Instructor is Stephenie Gonzalez. The band has earned 37 sweepstakes and has four All-State members. The latter are freshman Angel Ramos, percussion; sophomore John Sosa, alto saxophone; senior Gustavo Luna, tuba; and senior Brandon Olmos, trumpet. The Honor Winds is rehearsing all week at the Nixon High School Band Hall Monday to Friday from 8-9:30 a.m. and 4:15-5:45 p.m. HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) Texas oldest death row inmate was executed Thursday for killing a Houston police officer during a traffic stop nearly 32 years ago. Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, was executed at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the June 1990 fatal shooting of Houston police officer James Irby, a nearly 20-year member of the force. The U.S. Supreme Court had declined a request by Buntions attorneys to stop his execution. I wanted the Irby family to know one thing: I do have remorse for what I did, Buntion said while strapped to the Texas death chamber gurney. "I pray to God that they get the closure for me killing their father and Ms. Irby's husband. I hope to see you in heaven some day and when you show up I will give you a big hug. Buntion, joined by his spiritual adviser, began praying Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd... as the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began. He took a deep breath, coughed once, then took three less pronounced breaths before all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead at 6:39 p.m., 13 minutes later. Several dozen motorcyclists, showing support for the slain motorcycle officer, loudly revved their engines as the execution took place, the roar clearly audible in the death chamber. Buntion had been on parole for just six weeks when he shot the 37-year-old Irby. Buntion, who had an extensive criminal record, was a passenger in the car that Irby pulled over. In 2009, an appeals court vacated Buntions sentence, but another jury resentenced him to death three years later. I feel joy," the officer's widow, Maura Irby, said after watching Buntion's execution. I'm sorry someone died. But I didn't think of him as a person. I just thought of him as a thing, as a cancer on the face of my family. Before his slaying, James Irby had talked of retirement and spending more time with his two children, who at the time were 1 and 3 years old, Maura Irby, 60, said earlier. He was ready to fill out the paperwork and stay home and open a feed store, she said. He wanted to be the dad that was there to go to all the ballgames and the father daughter dances. He was a super guy, the love of my life. Leading up to his execution, various state and federal courts had also turned down appeals by Buntions lawyers to stop his death sentence. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday had rejected his clemency request. Buntions attorneys said he was responsible for Irbys death and deserved to be punished severely for that crime. But they argued his execution was unconstitutional because the jurys finding he would be a future danger to society one of the reasons he was given a death sentence has proven incorrect, and also his execution would serve no legitimate purpose because so much time has passed since his conviction. His attorneys described Buntion as a geriatric inmate who posed no threat as he suffers from arthritis, vertigo and needed a wheelchair. This delay of three decades undermines the rationale for the death penalty ... Whatever deterrent effect there is diminished by delay, his attorneys David Dow and Jeffrey Newberry, wrote in court documents. With his execution, Buntion became the oldest person Texas has put to death since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976. The oldest inmate executed in the U.S. in modern times was Walter Moody Jr., who was 83 years old when he was put to death in Alabama in 2018. Buntion was also the first inmate executed in Texas in 2022. Although Texas has been the nations busiest capital punishment state, it had been nearly seven months since it carried out an execution. There have been only three executions in each of the last two years, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic and delays over legal questions about Texas refusal to allow spiritual advisers to touch inmates and pray aloud in the death chamber. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court said states must accommodate requests to have faith leaders pray and touch inmates during executions. As Texas prepared to execute Buntion, officials in Tennessee canceled the execution of an inmate Thursday in what would have been the state's first execution since the start of the pandemic. Oscar Smith, 72, was scheduled to die for the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her teenage sons. Republican Gov. Bill Lee didnt elaborate on what issue forced the surprise 11th-hour stop to the planned execution. Texas prison officials agreed to Buntions request to allow his spiritual adviser to pray aloud and touch him while he was put to death. The adviser, Barry Brown, placed his right hand on Buntion's right ankle in the moments before the drugs began flowing and prayed for about five minutes. He said Buntion no longer was the hard-headed young man but had been humbled by the walls and cold steel of prison. While the execution stirred up painful memories for her, Irby said it also reminded her of her advocacy work in public safety after her husbands death, including helping put together legislation that allowed victim impact statements at trials. I still miss him, 32 years later, she said Thursday night. ___ Lozano reported from Houston. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70 ___ This story has been corrected to show that Buntion, joined by his spiritual adviser, began praying Psalm 23. Cllr Martin Monaghan has called on Longford County Council to engage and work with LWETB on the Connolly Barracks site to work in delivering a state-of-the- art apprenticeship centre in the heart of Ireland. At last weeks meeting of Longford County Council, Cllr Monaghan said that Longford, with its prime location in the centre of Ireland, deserves a centre of excellence for apprenticeships. This is a no brainer. This would change the dynamic of Longford, he said. Were chasing factories, chasing businesses, chasing industry to come in here. This is a government department Im looking to get in here. LWETB own the guts of half the site of Connolly Barracks, we own the other half of it. Were in the middle of Ireland. We have an apprenticeship scarcity. I cant see the mentality of saying no to this. Were a provincial town that hasnt got what I think we deserve here. I hope to get the support of the members here that we do write to the to the ETB and the Department to make sure we do get our slice of the cake here in Longford. Because young people coming here to do apprenticeships will bring a financial gain to the town. The motion was supported by many of Cllr Monaghans council colleagues, with Cllr Seamus Butler promptly seconding it. Since the early naughties, I have been talking about getting an education establishment in Longford, said Cllr Butler. What it does for a town like Longford is it provides a level of income for rental of rooms and all of these things that come with a training establishment. (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of London-listed company director and manager changes announced on Friday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- Titon Holdings PLC - Colchester, Essex-based maker of ventilation systems and window and door hardware - Hires Alexandra French as chief executive officer, starting May 3. French joins from chemicals firm Johnson Matthey PLC, where she has worked for 20 years in a variety of commercial and technical roles. Back in April of last year, David Ruffell stepped down as Titon CEO after 33 years at the helm. Matthew Norris was hired to replace him and joined the company last May but then resigned and left this past February. Executive Chair Keith Ritchie stepped in as interim CEO. Earlier this month, Titon's founder & deputy chair, John Anderson, left the board but remains as company president. ---------- Atlantic Lithium Ltd - developing lithium mine in Ghana - Neil Herbert moves to executive chair from non-executive, while Non-Executive Director Stuart Crow is promoted to senior non-executive director. Notes the two changes follow the appointments of an interim chief executive and a finance director. "The company is at a critical stage of its transition from explorer to developer and producer," Herbert explains. "These changes complete the strengthening of our executive team and board as we go into the next stage of development of the company and accelerate our fully funded Ghana lithium project to production." ---------- Corero Network Security PLC - Buckinghamshire, England-based distributed denial of service cyber defense - Adds Chief Financial Officer Neil Pritchard to the board, effective immediately. Pritchard joined Corero back in 2020 from CML Microsystems PLC. ---------- By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - Petropavlovsk PLC on Friday said its first-quarter production has increased, despite the fallout from the war in Ukraine, but noted that it has seen sales fall as it searches for new buyers. Shares shot up 29% at 2.52 pence each on Friday morning in London. Petropavlovsk is a London-based gold mining company with operations in Russia. The miner said total gold production for the first quarter ended March 31 increased 8% to 103,000 ounces from 95,600 ounces in the same quarter a year before. Own-mined gold production dropped 3% to 80,200 ounces from 82,400 ounces, due to lower production at the Albyn and Malomir mines. Third-party concentrate gold production increased 73% to 22,800 ounces from 13,200 ounces, it said. Petropavlovsk said that it reached its production targets for the period and operated without disruption, despite the conflict in Ukraine and related sanctions that have led to "various challenges at the corporate level." It said that there are no direct sanctions on the company or any of its subsidiaries, due to the conflict. However, Petropavlovsk noted that it is prohibited from selling gold to Gazprombank, a lender to Petropavlovsk which had acted as the main off-taker for the company's production. Total gold sales dropped 6.1% to 89,800 ounces in the quarter from 95,600 ounces, but the average realised gold price in the quarter improved 4.6% to USD1,871 per ounce from USD1,789. "The group continues to explore options for the sale of its gold, including to other potential buyers, and has applied for a new licence to export gold," the company added. The miner continued: "In light of the above, as well as legal restrictions that limit the group's ability to transfer cash out of Russia, and keeping in mind the USD500 million 8.125% guaranteed notes 2022 issued by Petropavlovsk 2016 Ltd - of which USD304 million remains outstanding - maturing November 2022, the company has appointed AlixPartners UK LLP to assist the board of directors as it explores its options and determines the company's course of action in the best interest of all stakeholders, including creditors and shareholders." Petropavlovsk maintained its annual guidance for its own gold production of 345,000 to 365,000 ounces. However, the company lowered guidance for production from third-party concentrate to 30,000 to 40,000 ounces from 35,000 to 55,000 ounces, due to expected supply chain disruptions. Petropavlovsk's total annual gold production outlook, therefore, dropped to 375,000 to 405,000 ounces from the 380,000 to 420,000 ounces previously guided. "In this rapidly changing environment, we continue to monitor the situation to take all necessary steps to ensure the continuity of our business and compliance with sanctions, and to plan for contingencies that may adversely impact our operations," Chief Executive Denis Alexandrov said. By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - Pure Gold Mining Inc on Friday announced it signed an agreement with Toronto, Canada-based Sprott Resource Lending and its chief executive has stepped. Under the lending agreement, Pure Gold Mining will pursue an equity financing of at least USD5 million, the Vancouver-based gold mining company focused on Canada said. Furthermore, its lending partner Sprott has agreed to provide an additional first-priority non-revolving credit facility of up to USD6 million to Pure Gold. Sprott will also waive any existing defaults. Meanwhile, Pure Gold provided an executive and operational update. Chief Executive Officer Troy Fierro has stepped down in his role as CEO and president due to personal health reasons, but remains director. New interim CEO and president will be current Director Mark O'Dea. Reporting an operational update, the firm expects positive site-level cash flow by the third quarter. It plans to transition to a state of corporate free cash flow by the first quarter of 2023. "In addition, a new six-month mine plan is underway, which sees production growing steadily from April through September underpinned by 60,000 metres of definition drilling completed since November 2021," Pure Gold Mining added. Pure Gold Mining shares were 29% higher at 16.43 pence each in London on Friday morning. By Tom Budszus; tombudszus@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Sharecast News) - Africa-focussed Savannah Energy announced on Friday that its 80%-owned subsidiary Accugas has signed an addendum to its existing interruptible gas sales agreement with First Independent Power (FIPL), originally signed in January 2020. The AIM-traded firm said Accugas currently supplies up to 35 million standard cubic feet of gas per day to FIPL's Afam power plant. Under the terms of the addendum, FIPL would be able to increase the quantity of gas purchased from Accugas up to 65 million standard cubic feet per day, so as to also supply the Trans Amadi and Eleme power plants, in addition to the Afam plant. FIPL's power plants have a total generation capacity of 391 MW, with the Trans Amadi and Eleme plants having generation capacities of 136MW and 75 MW respectively. All three plants are located in Rivers State, Nigeria. Savannah said FIPL is an affiliate company of the international energy and infrastructure conglomerate, the Sahara Group. "Accugas has recorded growth in total revenues from gas sales for each of the last five years, with a realised compound annual growth rate of 15%," said chief executive officer Andrew Knott. "New contracts, such as this morning's announcement provide the basis for us to continue this growth into the future and we look forward to continuing working with the Sahara Group on this and potentially other projects in the future." At 1544 BST, shares in Savannah Energy were up 4.21% at 34.39p. (Alliance News) - Zinc Media Group PLC on Friday reported a narrowed loss for 2021 but said that revenue fell in the year, due to a Covid-19 impacted first half. The Edinburgh-based content creation company recorded a pretax loss of GBP2.6 million in 2021, narrowed from GBP4.1 million in the 18 months to December 31, 2020. This can be attributed to operating expenses that fell 29% to GBP9.1 million from GBP12.9 million. This was on revenue of GBP17.5 million, down 49% from GBP30.6 million in prior 18-month period. The company blamed this on a weak, Covid-19 hit first half, with lockdowns between January and April. "Covid was our biggest risk, it flattened TV," Chief Executive Mark Browning confirmed in an interview with Alliance News. "TV is a people business and if you can't access people, meet with people, and film in their communities, it is very, very difficult." In 2021, its television businesses represented roughly 83% of its revenue, Zinc added. However, the company said that the content market is improving from the Covid-19 inflicted decline. Looking ahead, it believes its opportunity is "significant." It expects future growth to come from pursuing organic and acquisitive opportunities and is optimistic that growth will accelerate in 2022 and beyond. "Revenue is growing again, our margin performance is outstanding, we are diversifying into new content markets, the business was cash generative in the second half and our pipeline shows the largest amount of advanced business in the last three years. Our balance sheet is strong, which will allow us to make further investments for long term growth," CEO Mark Browning added. Shares were down 3.3% at 118.00 pence each on Friday in London. By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Flex LNG - Invitation to Q1 2022 presentation and webcast Hamilton, BermudaApril 22, 2022 Flex LNG Ltd ("Flex LNG" or the "Company") will release its preliminary financial results for the first quarter of 2022 on Wednesday May 11, 2022 on or about 07:00 CEST (1:00 a.m. EST). In connection with the earnings release, a webcast and conference call will be held at 15:00 CEST (9:00 a.m. EST) the same day. In order to attend the webcast and/or conference call you may do one of the following: Attend by Webcast:Use to the follow link prior to the webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/83zu5bq6 Attend by Conference Call: Applicable dial-in telephone numbers are as follows: Norway: +47 21 56 30 15 United Kingdom: +44 (0) 2071 928338United Kingdom, local: 08444 819 752United States: +1 646 741 3167United States (toll free): +1 8778709135 Confirmation Code: 5170424 A Q&A session will be held after the conference/webcast. Information on how to submit questions will be given at the beginning of the session. The presentation material which will be used in the conference/webcast will be made available on www.flexlng.com and replay details will also be available at this website. For further information, please contact:Mr. Knut Traaholt, Chief Financial Officer of Flex LNG Management ASTelephone: +47 23 11 40 00Email: ir@flexlng.com About FLEX LNGFlex LNG is a shipping company focused on the growing market for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Our fleet consists of thirteen LNG carriers on the water and all of our vessels are state-of-the-art ships with the latest generation two- stroke propulsion (MEGI and X-DF). These modern ships offer significant improvements in fuel efficiency and thus also carbon footprint compared to the older steam and four-stroke propelled ships. During 2021, we have built up a significant contract backlog while maintaining market exposure to capture the opportunities in the growing LNG shipping market. Flex LNG is listed both on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE) under the ticker FLNG. For more information, go to: www.flexlng.com This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Phoenix Copper Limited / Ticker: PXC / Sector: Mining 22 April 2022 Phoenix Copper Limited ('Phoenix' or the 'Company') Phoenix Copper Invites New ESG Standards Phoenix Copper Limited (AIM: PXC, OTCQX ADR: PXCLY), the AIM-quoted USA-focused base and precious metals emerging producer and exploration company, is pleased to recognise Earth Day by celebrating the continued sustainability efforts of the Company's permitting and environmental, social and governance ("ESG") teams. The teams' commitments to environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic development guide Phoenix's mission to provide the critical and strategic minerals necessary for meeting global green energy goals, while protecting natural resources and boosting local economies. Copper, cobalt, and other metals are central to the world's transition to a clean energy future. Governments across the globe are taking action to move away from fossil fuels and accelerate the use of renewable energy. Industry experts have voiced concerns over how the fast-rising demand of metals needed for renewable energy technologies could create a shortage of the raw materials required to meet clean energy goals. Phoenix aims to support the growing need for clean energy materials by working toward development on the historically producing Empire copper mine and two cobalt exploration properties in Idaho, USA while setting new standards for ESG at every level of Company operations. Phoenix has committed to work with independent ESG disclosure and oversight platforms for the mining industry which offer a set of frameworks aligned to key global standards. All information disclosed will be independently verified. With robust, industry-specific reporting and disclosure of ESG metrics, the Company can better identify best practices, risks, and solutions. Catherine Evans, Non-executive Director and Chairman of the ESG & Sustainability Committee said: "From the top down, ESG is integrated into all of our activities. The Phoenix Copper team is eager to promote transparency and accountability into our programme. Not only do we wish to fully disclose our extensive ESG activities, but we would also like to develop potential solutions for unlikely events that could have an effect on our operations. We rely heavily on the trust and support of our community and wider stakeholders, and we regard independent verification of our ESG credentials as a key component of building on that trust. These opportunities for improvement, transparency, and accountability will allow us to create more sustainable projects both environmentally and economically." Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Phoenix is committed to meeting and exceeding the environmental standards required by law as a core value of the Company. The baseline environmental data collected to date will be used for furthering the permitting process, but as importantly, will be used as the building blocks for the Company's ongoing Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) platform, overseen by the Company's ESG & Sustainability Committee. Contacts For further information please visit https://phoenixcopperlimited.com or contact: Phoenix Copper Limited Ryan McDermott Brittany Lock Richard Wilkins Tel: +1 208 954 7039 Tel: +1 208 794 8033 Tel: +44 7590 216 657 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser) David Hignell / Caroline Rowe Tel: +44 20 3470 0470 Tavira Securities Limited (Joint Broker) Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield Tel: +44 20 7100 5100 WH Ireland (Joint Broker) Harry Ansell / Adam Pollock / Katy Mitchell Tel: +44 20 7220 1666 Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker) John Prior / Hugh Rich / Ailsa Macmaster Tel: +44 20 7886 2500 EAS Advisors (US Corporate Adviser) Matt Bonner / Rogier de la Rambelje Tel: +1 (646) 495-2225 BlytheRay(Financial PR) Tim Blythe / Megan Ray Tel: +44 20 7138 3204 Notes Phoenix Copper Limited is a USA focused, base and precious metals emerging producer and exploration company, initially targeting copper and zinc production from an open pit mine. Phoenix's primary operations are focused near Mackay, Idaho in the Alder Creek mining district, at the 80% owned Empire Mine property, which historically produced copper at grades of up to 8%, as well as gold, silver, zinc and tungsten, from an underground mine. Since 2017, Phoenix has carried our extensive drill programmes which have defined a NI 43-101 compliant PEA (preliminary economic assessment) for an open pit heap leach solvent extraction and electrowinning ("SX-EW") mine, which was updated in October 2020. The contained metal in all NI 43-101 compliant categories of resources, Measured, Indicated and Inferred, stand at 129,641 tonnes of copper, 355,523 ounces of gold, 10,133,772 ounces of silver and 58,440 tonnes of zinc. Phoenix updated its economic model in February 2021 to include the processing of all contained metals through a two phased approach. In addition to Empire, the district includes the historic Horseshoe, White Knob and Blue Bird Mines, past producers of copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead and tungsten from underground mines. A new discovery at Red Star, 330 metres northwest of the Empire Mine proposed open pit, has revealed high grade silver / lead sulphide ore, and from three shallow exploration drill holes a maiden resource of 103,000 tonnes containing 173.4 g/tonne silver, 0.85 g/tonne gold and 3.85% lead (1.6 million ounces silver equivalent) was reported in an NI 43-101 technical report published in May 2019. Additionally, the district includes Navarre Creek, a volcanic hosted precious metals target in a 14.48 sq km area. The Company's total land package at Empire comprises 8,034 acres (32.51 sq kms). At Empire, it is estimated that less than 1% of the potential ore system has been explored to date and, accordingly, there is significant opportunity to increase the resource through phased exploration. The stated aim of the Company is to fund this phased exploration through free cashflow generated by its initial mine. A Plan of Operations in respect of the initial open pit mine was filed with the relevant regulatory authorities in June 2021. Phoenix also has two wholly owned cobalt properties on the Idaho Cobalt Belt to the north of Empire. An Earn-In Agreement has been signed with Electra Battery Metals (formerly First Cobalt Corporation), Toronto, in respect of one of those properties. Phoenix is listed on London's AIM (PXC), and trades on New York's OTCQX Market (PXCLF and PXCLY (ADRs)). More details on the Company, its assets and its objectives can be found on PXC's website at https://phoenixcopperlimited.com/ END A German man has been charged in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007. "The defendant was constituted by the German authorities in execution of a request for international judicial cooperation issued by the Public Ministry of Portugal," according to a Public Ministry statement. The investigation, was carried out by the German authorities in collaboration with the UK and the Faro district office in the Portuguese city of Portimao. The suspect, who was identified by German media as Christian B. in 2020, is a 43-year-old sex offender with multiple convictions, including the sexual abuse of minors, according to Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office. In September 2017, Christian B, was sentenced to one year and three months in prison for possession of child pornography and the sexual abuse of minors, according Hannover Public Ministry spokesperson, Thomas Klinge. The Braunschweig Prosecutor's Office in Germany, which was investigating the suspects alleged connection to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, assumed in June 2020 that she was dead. But Police in the UK, who collaborated with the Portuguese and German authorities during the investigations, says Madeleines disappearance is still considered a missing persons case because there is no definitive evidence that she is dead. Madelaine McCann was just 3 years old when she disappeared from a holiday resort apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal. Years later, the German authorities claimed to have evidence that she had been murdered by Christian B, but lack of evidence prevented him from being prosecuted. A documentary about Madeleine will be broadcast on the AMC Crime Channel on Tuesday, the 15th anniversary of her disappearance. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee's governor on Thursday called off what would have been the state's first execution since the pandemic began, granting a temporary reprieve to the oldest inmate on death row for what was called an oversight" in preparations for the lethal injection. Republican Gov. Bill Lee didn't elaborate on what exactly forced the surprise 11th-hour stop to the planned execution of 72-year-old Oscar Smith. But Amy Harwell, an attorney with the federal public defender's office representing Smith, said her office received a notice that the issue dealt with "mishandling" of the drugs though no further specifics were provided to her office. The inmate had been scheduled to receive a three-drug injection only a short while later at a Nashville maximum security prison. Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol," Lee said in a statement promising further details once available. Kelley Henry, another attorney with the federal public defender's office, called for an independent entity to investigate, saying no execution should happen until questions are answered. Henry said the governor did the right thing by stopping the execution which would certainly have been torturous to Mr. Smith." Smith was convicted of the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her two teenage sons. Shortly before the governor intervened, the U.S. Supreme Court had denied a last-hour bid by Smiths attorneys for a stay. His reprieve is in effect until the beginning of June. Dorinda Carter, a Department of Correction spokesperson, said the state Supreme Court would need to reschedule the execution. She said Smith would be removed from death watch and returned to his death row cell. State officials declined to provide further information. Just before learning of his reprieve, Smith had received communion from his spiritual adviser, who was going to be allowed in the execution chamber. Hours earlier, Smith had been served what was supposed to be his last meal, including a double bacon cheeseburger and apple pie. Tennessee had planned for five executions this year, including Smiths. It has been seeking to resume its quick, pre-pandemic pace of putting inmates to death. Heading into Thursday, the five pending death warrants tied Tennessee with Texas for the most nationally this year, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. Texas, however, executed its oldest death row inmate on Thursday evening. Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, was put to death for the June 1990 fatal shooting of a Houston police officer, James Irby, during a traffic stop. Smith had initially been scheduled for a June 2020 execution, one of several dates delayed because of the pandemic. Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith and her sons Jason and Chad Burnett, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989. Smith has maintained he is innocent. In a clemency filing, rejected Tuesday by Lee, Smiths legal team claimed problems with the jury in his 1990 trial. His attorneys were earlier denied requests to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons. Tennessee has not conducted any executions since February 2020, when Nicholas Sutton died in the electric chair for the killing of a fellow inmate in an east Tennessee prison. Of the seven inmates Tennessee has put to death since 2018 when Tennessee ended an execution pause stretching back to 2009 only two died by lethal injection. Smith had earlier declined to choose between the chair and lethal injection, so lethal injection became the default method. Tennessee uses a three-drug series to put inmates to death: midazolam, a sedative to render the inmate unconscious; vecuronium bromide, to paralyze the inmate; and potassium chloride, to stop the heart. Officials have said midazolam renders an inmate unconscious and unable to feel pain. Expert witnesses for inmates, however, say the drugs would cause sensations of drowning, suffocation and chemical burning while leaving inmates unable to move or call out. The assessment has led to more inmates selecting the electric chair over lethal injection. Tennessee's moves to continue with lethal injections come amid shortages of execution drugs in other states. For one, South Carolina has cited its struggles to obtain lethal injection drugs in recent years -- a problem in many states because pharmacies and manufacturers have refused to supply their medications for executions -- as it forges ahead with plans for a rare U.S. firing squad execution. That execution has been delayed as well. Lawmakers in South Carolina have failed to pass the kind of law to keep its execution drug suppliers confidential that Tennessee has in place. In Oklahoma last October, an inmate executed using the same three-drug lethal injection convulsed and vomited after receiving midazolam. Oklahoma has carried out three lethal injections since, without similar reactions reported. Controlling people often appeal to violence when they don't get their way, just like Amber Heard has done with Johnny Depp throughout the duration of their relationship. As a controlling extrovert, the actress had control of these situations against introvert Johnny, who has always been more a lover than a fighter. Unable for many years to defend himself, Depp even took thing as far as self mutilation when he cut off part of his finger right after one of the heaviest arguments against his then wife. In her own testimony, Amber later admitted to hitting Johnny Depp in the past but Depp's account is the more revealign about her personality. Here's what Depp said on his second day testifying against his former wife: "She has a need for conflict. She has a need for violence. It erupts out of nowhere. The only thing I learned to do is exactly what I did as a child - retreat. I was suddenly just wrong about everything. It was astounding how wrong I was about everything I'd experienced, within the film industry or just life itself. I was sort of not allowed to be right. What enters your mind is you start to slowly realize that you are in a relationship with your mother in a sense. I know that sounds perverse and obtuse. Violence is unnecessary. Why would you hit someone to make them agree with you? I don't think it works. The constant haranguing breaks you down. I was more inspired by Ms. Heard to reach out for a numbing agent because of the constant clashes." So why did Johnny Depp stay with her despite her violence? As we've said, introverts have a difficult time with direct conflict or confrontations with extroverts. Especially those who tend to get violent during an argument, they are the ones who often commit crimes or mistakes they can't take back later. This testimony is quite revealing about Amber Heard's nature and it exposes her in a case she wants to win at any cost. But the reality is that she is losing spectacularly as Johnny Depp doesn't seem afraid to talk about his personal life with in front of a jury. With so many revelations about Heard, keeping her jobs in Hollywood seems almost impossible. The working week may have been slimmer but there was no shortage of stories in the post-Bank Holiday period including a new manager at Lagavulin, Guinness has been at the coffee, and Ballantines is doing something with video games. Its The Nightcap: 22 April edition! Welcome to another edition of The Nightcap, folks. Here in Kent, the weather is so glorious that weve had an idea. The alfresco Nightcap. Its the same collection of great boozy stories, only you read it on your phone outside and enjoy the sunshine while you do. With a Spritz of some sort. And snacks. Well provide the stories as usual. Speaking of which On the blog this week we enjoyed all kinds of cracking whisky, from a new exclusive courtesy of Lindores Abbey to some of the finest German spirit on the market from Stork Club. And not forgetting a new Whiskymakers Reserve from the Lakes Distillery. Its the best yet. We also made good use of Grand Marniers orangey, Cognac-soaked charm by whipping up The Grand Sour, celebrated the brands that are doing it for themselves, and pondered what the future holds for English whisky. Now, onto The Nightcap: 22 April edition! Lagavulin has a new distillery manager We reported back in February there was a distillery manager role going begging at Lagavulin with Pierrick Guillaume leaving to return to France. Well, they have found their man. Its Jordan Paisley, an Islay native, who is coming home to manage the distillery after an interesting career in the merchant navy where he helped tackle pirates off the coast of Somalia. Makes a change from managing the Port Ellen maltings. He commented: Coming from Islay, its a real source of pride to be given the chance to manage one of Scotland, and the worlds, most iconic distilleries. We wish him every luck in his role. And what a time to start, just before the madness of Feis Ile starts on the 28 May. In a nice touch, Paisley acknowledged his predecessor: Pierrick has been such a great source of knowledge and support since I joined Diageo. I cant thank him enough and wish him all the best as he embarks on his next chapter in France. And we can exclusively reveal that Guillaume will be joining the team at Remy-Cointreaus Le Domaine des Hautes Glaces whisky distillery in the foothills of the French Alps. Congrats to both whiskymen! Bladnoch Distillery wins prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise Bladnoch Distillery announced this week that it has been honoured with the Queens Award for Enterprise for its excellence in international trade. Only 226 organisations nationally receive the honour and winning businesses able to use the esteemed Queens Awards Emblem for the next five years. The Lowland distillery, which has the distinction of being both the oldest privately owned Scotch Whisky distillery and the first ever to be owned by an Australian (equally prestigious, were sure youll agree), has been revamping its whisky and image since David Prior acquired it in 2015. In export markets such as Germany, China and the USA it has grown over 100% in the last year alone. Bladnochs head of commercial, Will Pitchforth, remarked that the growth of the Bladnoch Distillery business has been a reflection of the dedication to quality and exceptional whisky making, combined with a philosophy, core to our way of working, to conduct business with integrity and fairness, recognised by our network of trusted distributors around the world. Oldest evidence of wine in Europe uncovered The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has discovered evidence of prehistoric wine consumption in Philippi, northwest Greece. In what is arguably the oldest evidence of wine in Europe uncovered, the findings of grape seeds and pomace were preserved in a house fire are dated to around 4300 BC (great vintage), give or take a century. While modern science can reveal an awful lot, a lack of written records does make it difficult to create a complete picture of drinking culture from this time. Right now, theres no telling yet if the grapes were foraged or cultivated, but the uncovered drink suggests wine was common in early-Bronze Age Greece. Maybe one day well be able to revive these vines from the preserved seeds. The question, of course, is not whether we could, but whether we should. Tamnavulin Distillery unveils White Wine Cask Edition When youre a distillery that has had great success finishing your whisky in red wine casks, the logical next step is surely to pop your spirit in white wine casks, right? Well, that appears to be thinking at Tamnavulin Distillery anyway, which is capitalising on the popularity of its Red Wine Cask Editions with its latest creation called, naturally, Tamnavulin White Wine Cask Edition. The single malt was matured initially in American white oak barrels, before undergoing its second maturation in Sauvignon Blanc white wine casks, a finish you dont see too often. The resulting whisky takes that distinctive mellow, sweet orchard fruit profile Tamnavulin spirit has and adds fresh, rich, and dry elements like, ripe honeydew melon, white peach, jasmine, cinnamon spice, ginger, and lime biscuits. All for a single malt that has an RSP of 32. When this one arrives at MoM Towers, we think its one to plump for. Guinness launches Cold Brew Coffee Guinness is lovely, isnt it? So is coffee, come to think of it. Why hasnt the brand merged the two? Oh, wait. It has. In the brands latest creation, ice-cold Guinness meets cold brew coffee in a 440ml can format that will be rolled out to consumers over the coming months. The coffee, which has been steeped in cool water for long periods of time instead of brewed with boiling water, is added to the draught stout alongside additional roasted barley flavours. Theres only 2mg of caffeine per can too, which is the same as a decaf coffee. We firmly believe we have created a taste experience truly unrivaled in the market and with over 95 million cups of coffee being consumed every day in Great Britain alone, now is the moment to offer a product that plays to an excitingly vast consumer space, says John Burns, Head of Guinness GB. There is already a natural connection with coffee notes in Guinness signature offerings like Draught and Extra Stout, so the creation of Guinness Cold Brew Coffee Beer was a perfect match. This move doesnt mean its ok to bring a can on the morning tube, though. Lindores Abbey launches another new whisky! You would think after launching one whisky this week, Lindores Abbey would sit back a little and enjoy the results. But theres no rest for the wicked at the Lowland distillery it would seem as the brand is following up its single sherry cask release with a whisky matured exclusively in STR wine barriques. The Spanish casks are one of the three core styles used at Lindores and have undergone the shave, toasted, and re-charred process pioneered by Dr. Jim Swan, who worked with the distillery before his passing. The new bottling is the second installment of the Casks of Lindores series and, as with all of its whiskies, the release is non-chill-filtered, of natural colour, and bottled on-site at Lindores Abbey Distillery at its unique limited-edition strength of 49.4% ABV. If you want to get your hands on this new release from the hardest working distillery around, then you wont have to wait long as it will be on the virtual shelves of MoM Towers very soon. The Gauldrons unveils first Limited Edition Release Douglas Laing & Co is expanding its award-winning Campbeltown Malt Scotch whisky brand The Gauldrons with its first-ever limited-edition expression. The Gauldrons Sherry Edition is a marriage of single cask single malt exclusively from Campbeltown that were then finished in Spanish sherry casks before being bottled at 46.2% ABV without colouring or chill-filtration. Experimenting with these exceptional-quality sherry casks has resulted in a classically Campbeltown dram with smoky sweetness balanced by rich spices, and we truly cant wait to share it with whisky aficionados across the globe, says Cara Laing, marketing director for the family brand. The run is strictly limited to no more than 2,125 bottles, so its one to get your hands on ASAP. Good thing its en route to MoM Towers Sake brewery employs adorable weeding robot What do you do when you want to remove unwanted weeds in a sustainable manner? If you said the words, use a robotic duck, youve earned yourself a free drink. Because thats exactly what Kojima Sohonten has done by putting the Aigamo Robot (named after the breed of duck which is known for ripping up weeds) to work across 12 hectares of rice fields. The robot, designed by an engineer who once made cars for Nissan, resembles a miniature hovercraft as it glides through the water-logged paddies, plucking out unwanted weeds while two ducks feet rotating rubber brushes on its underside oxygenate the water by stirring it up and prevent weeds from taking root. Its part of a programme of sustainability for one of the worlds oldest sake producers, which has also taken the unprecedented move for the sake industry to switch all electricity used for its production to renewable energy generated in its surrounding area. Thats not as fun as robot duck though, is it? We simply must have one. And finally Ballantines hires Borderlands video game character In news that frankly makes us here feel a bit old and cranky, Ballantines has announced a partnership with top computer game series Borderlands from Gearbox. This apparently entails appointing the non-player character (NPC) and bar mogul Mad Moxxi to the role of chief galactic expansion officer (CGEO) to help launch the worlds second-largest Scotch into the gaming stratosphere. The bar owner in the games setting, Pandora is better known for giving in-game missions to players, but now shes launching her very own limited-edition bottle of Scotch whisky: The Ballantines x Moxxis Bar Edition. Those who snag a bottle will get access to exclusive Borderlands 3 content, but will have to adhere to new ground rules in Moxxis Bar that promote responsible drinking via a special, personalised, cameo-filled message, encouraging visitors to her bar and beyond to drink and play responsibly. Sounds crazy! This is said to be the first step in a long-term partnership between the two, with more news to follow in 2022. Personally, were not sure how this managed to get past the Portman Group as there must be concerns about this encouraging underage drinking, new ground rules or otherwise. By Fang Xiaozhi Frances current president Macron will face off against Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Rally party candidate, in the second round of voting to be held on April 24. While Macron insists on having an integrated Europe, Le Pen is a strong supporter of nationalism, advocating an internal reform in the European Union (EU) and Frances exit from NATO. Their divergences in governance philosophy and policies have drawn close attention amid the current precarious security situation in Europe. Macron has been pushing for a united, independent European military force ever since he took power in 2017, but strategic independence of Europe is still more of a slogan now without making much substantial progress, and the social consensus that making the EU an adhesive agent of the continent is losing luster in face of multiple economic challenges. Le Pen envisions a more independent France thats no longer bounded by the EU framework. Announcing her election program on April 13, the female candidate said Paris should be freed from the fetters of Brussels and that the EU needs an internal reform. Her statements lent a heavy blow to the prospects of having an integrated Europe. Le Pens attitude toward Germany has also tilted the already subtle France-Germany relationship out of balance, exposing Europes future to many uncertainties. She once vowed to readjust the relationship with Germany if/when she was elected, including pulling off the support for Germany to become a permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Le Pen doesnt like NATO either, and had, in previous election rallies, more than once blasted the organization for destroying the stability in Europe, saying that she would not allow French troops to follow orders from a military command organization thats outside of Frances jurisdiction. While vowing to take France out of NATO if she were elected, Le Pen also said she wouldnt renounce the collective defense of NATO as that was vital for preserving security and stability on the continent. These seemingly contradictory statements show that if France were to leave NATO, it was because it was dissatisfied with its position in the organization, wanted to shake off the shadow of American hegemony and compete with it for military leadership in NATO, at least among its European members. In recent years, Washington has adopted several measures that have disgruntled France. Its transfer of nuclear submarine technology to Australia, which led to the latter canceling the gigantic conventional submarine deals with France, particularly infuriated Paris. Therefore, the noteworthy divergences between the two candidates running for the French presidency have not only revealed France's domestic problems, but also the more conspicuous rift across Europe, and the conflict between Europe's pursuit of strategic independence and America's hegemony. If these problems remain unsolved, the rift in European society is sure to widen in the foreseeable future. (The author is an associate professor from the College of International Studies, National University of Defense Technology) ADVERTISEMENT Post Title: Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Officer, MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience (MIHR) Project Number of Vacancies: 01 (One) Based in: Goma, North Kivu, DRC Reports to: Chief of Party Organizational Background JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) a nonprofit founded in 1979, exists to improve the health of underserved people and communities throughout the world, and to provide an environment where people of passion and commitment can pursue this cause. JSI works across a full range of public and community health areas, strengthening health systems to improve servicesand ultimately, peoples health. We partner with our clients to develop flexible, innovative approaches that solve complex public health problems. Strong management systems make our programs more effective, sustainable, and cost-effective. Position Description This position is for the MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience Project (MIHR) in DRC, implemented by IMA World Health, with JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., GOAL USA Fund, and Pathfinder International. The Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Advisor for DRC MIHR will work in close collaboration with the Chief of Party (COP) to ensure monitoring and evaluation (M&E), project collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA), and research strategies are sound and support the results and goals of the MIHR project in DRC. In collaboration with MERL MIHR core/HQ team and technical staff, s/he will monitor program results and be responsible for the quality and accuracy of technical results and reporting. The position will be based in Goma, North Kivu, DRC and will report to the COP, with guidance from MERL core/HQ. This position is contingent upon funder approval of key personnel and availability of funds. Key Responsibilities Lead the design and implementation of the projects MEL activities, including 1) the development and updates of the projects Activity MEL Plan; 2) development and monitoring of project indicators; 3) implementation of baseline and ongoing project monitoring studies; 4) oversight of data collection and analysis; 5) synthesis of data and study outcome reports; and 6) quality assurance and auditing of data Lead the design and implementation of the projects assessment and evaluation activities, which may include performance evaluations, surveys, formative research, qualitative studies, and rapid/special studies Oversee the dissemination of information on successful and promising approaches, lessons learned, and other project results to local, national, and regional-level intergovernmental bodies, donors, partners and other stakeholders Supervise and coordinate the work of other MIHR MEL staff in DRC Strengthen capacity of MEL MOH and NGO counterparts Promote forums that facilitate collaboration, learning, and action because of this information Ensure that data from the project is collected, analyzed and used among stakeholders for learning and policy development and on-going course correcting Build capacity of staff and partners in MEL, data collection and management, and research and learning methods Coordinate all research with MIHR core/HQ and ensure research implementation adheres protocols and human subject protection Contribute to work plans, quarterly and annual reports, financial reports, and other reports and papers summarizing project results and evidence Deliver presentations at professional meetings and conferences Other related tasks as required Qualifications * Education: Masters Degree in public health, demography, sociology, epidemiology, biostatistics, psychology, or a related field * Experience: Seven years senior-level experience in M&E and research related to large scale MNCH/FP/RH programs Experience working in one or more of the following areas is required: FP/RH, MNCH Strong experience in use of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies Strong experience in developing, implementing, and disseminating a learning agenda Demonstrated experience in target setting and reporting against USG health initiatives Demonstrated experience and familiarity with a range of qualitative and quantitative monitoring and research methodologies, such as, use of secondary data, behavioral surveillance surveys, etc. Experience conducting quantitative/statistical and qualitative data analysis, sampling methods Experience developing and implementing project monitoring systems in the DRC Experience monitoring projects, including setting indicators and tracking indicators against set targets; experience with USAID funded projects desirable Experience in assuring data quality and/or conducting data quality assurance (DQA) reviews * Knowledge/skills: Excellent knowledge of data collection protocols for quality data collection and verification Exceptional ability to analyze multiple sources of data to identify data trends and provide recommendations on project implementation Knowledge of USG health initiatives and related reporting requirements and funding parameters Proven ability to work as an effective team member Excellent oral and written communication skills in English Ability to work and travel within DRC Contact Interested candidates who meet the above conditions should submit an online application on our website at https://careers.jsi.com/JSIInternet/Careers/jobpostings.cfm and reference the job title Senior MEL Advisor MIHR DRC. Interested applicants should submit an application no later than May 6, 2022. Note: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Due to the urgency of this vacancy, JSI reserves the right to fill this position prior to the closing date. ------------------------------------------------------ AVIS DE VACANCE DE POSTE Titre du poste: Lagent principal de suivi, d'evaluation et d'apprentissage (SEA), Projet MOMENTUM de resilience sanitaire integree (MIHR) Nombre de postes vacants : 01 (un) Base a Goma, Nord Kivu, RD Congo Rend compte au: Chef de projet Contexte organisationnel JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), une organisation a but non lucratif, fondee en 1979, travaille pour ameliorer la sante des personnes mal desservis et les communautes dans le monde entier, et de creer un environnement ou les personnes passionnees et engagees peuvent poursuivre cette cause. JSI travaille dans une gamme complete de domaines de sante publique et communautaire, renforcant les systemes de sante pour ameliorer les services et, en fin de compte, la sante des personnes. Nous travaillons en partenariat avec nos clients pour developper des approches flexibles et innovantes qui resolvent des problemes de sante publique complexes. Des systemes de gestion solides rendent nos programmes plus effectifs durables et rentables. Description du poste Ce poste vacant est pour le projet MOMENTUM Integrated Health Resilience (MIHR) en RDC, mis en oeuvre par IMA World Health avec JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., GOAL USA Fund, et Pathfinder International. Le charge principal de suivi, evaluation et d'apprentissage pour MIHR au RD Congo travaillera en etroite collaboration avec le chef de projet (COP) pour assurer le suivi et l'evaluation (S&E), la collaboration de projet, lapprentissage et adaptation (CLA), et les strategies de recherche soient solides et soutiennent les resultats et les objectifs du projet MIHR en RDC. En collaboration avec lequipe de S&E du siege du MIHR aux Etats-Unis et le personnel technique, il/elle surveillera les resultats du programme et sera responsable de la qualite et de l'exactitude des resultats techniques et des rapports. Ce poste sera basee a Goma, au Nord-Kivu en RDC et reportera au COP avec des conseils du siege du MIHR aux Etats-Unis. Ce poste depend de l'approbation du bailleur de fonds du personnel cle et de la disponibilite des fonds. Responsabilites specifiques Diriger la conception et la mise en oeuvre des activites de SEA du projet, y compris 1) l'elaboration et les mises a jour du plan d'activites de SEA du projet ; 2) elaboration et suivi des indicateurs de projet; 3) la mise en oeuvre des etudes de base et de suivi des projets en cours; 4) surveillance de la collecte et de l'analyse des donnees; 5) synthese des donnees et rapports sur les resultats des etudes; et 6) assurance qualite et verification des donnees Diriger la conception et la mise en oeuvre des activites devaluation du projet qui peuvent inclure des evaluations de performance, des enquetes, des recherches formatives, des etudes qualitatives et des etudes rapides / speciales Superviser la diffusion d'informations sur les approches reussies et prometteuses, les enseignements tires et les autres resultats du projet aux organes intergouvernementaux locaux, nationaux et regionaux, aux donateurs, aux partenaires et aux autres parties prenantes Superviser et coordonner le travail des autres personnes de S&E en RDC Renforcer les capacites du SEA du ministere de la sante et des ONG homologues Promouvoir des forums qui facilitent la collaboration, l'apprentissage et l'action grace a ces informations Assurer que des donnees sont collectees, analysees et utilisees par les parties prenantes pour l'apprentissage et l'elaboration de politiques et actions correctrices continues Developper les capacites du personnel et des partenaires en SEA, collecte et gestion de donnees, et methodes de recherche et d'apprentissage Coordonner toutes les recherches avec lequipe de S&E du siege du MIHR aux Etats-Unis et assurer la mise en oeuvre de la recherche adhere aux protocoles et protection des sujets humains Contribuer aux plans de travail annuels, les rapports trimestriels et annuels, les rapports financiers, les autres rapports et publications resumant les resultats et les preuves du projet sur les realisations du projet Animer des presentations lors de reunions professionnelles et de conferences Autres taches connexes au besoin Qualifications * Formation: Master en sante publique (MPH) ou le Master en demographie, sociologie, epidemiologie, bio statistique, psychologie ou dans un domaine connexe * Experience: 7 ans d'experience principal dans le S&E et la recherche liee a des grands projets de planification familiale, sante reproductive, sante maternelle, neonatale et / ou infantile Experience de travail dans un ou plusieurs des domaines suivants est requise : planification familiale, sante reproductive, sante maternelle, neonatale et / ou infantile souhaitee Experience solide dans l'utilisation de methodologies de recherche qualitative et quantitative Experience solide dans l'elaboration, la mise en oeuvre et la diffusion d'un programme d'apprentissage Experience demontree de l'etablissement d'objectifs et de rapports sur des initiatives de la sante du gouvernement americain Experience demontree et familiarite avec une gamme de methodologies de suivi et de recherche qualitatives et quantitatives, telles que l'utilisation de donnees secondaires, les enquetes de surveillance comportementale, etc. Experience de l'analyse de donnees quantitatives / statistiques et qualitatives, des methodes d'echantillonnage Experience de developpant et mise en oeuvre de systemes de suivi de projet en RDC Experience de suivi de projets, y compris la definition d'indicateurs et le suivi d'indicateurs par rapport aux objectifs fixes ; lexperience avec des projets de l'USAID prefere Experience de lassurance de la qualite des donnees et / ou de la realisation d'examens d'assurance de la qualite des donnees (AQD) * Connaissances / competences: Excellente connaissance des protocoles de collecte de donnees pour la collecte et la verification de donnees de qualite Capacite exceptionnelle d'analyser plusieurs sources de donnees pour identifier les tendances des donnees et fournir des recommandations sur la mise en oeuvre du projet Connaissances des initiatives de la sante du gouvernement americain et les exigences rapportant et des parametres de financement La capacite prouvee de travailler comme un membre de l'equipe La capacite de parler et decrire en anglais est absolument necessaire La capacite de travailler et voyager dans RD Congo Informations sur la maniere de postuler Les candidats interesses qui remplissent les conditions ci-dessus doivent soumettre une candidature en ligne sur notre site Web a https://careers.jsi.com/JSIInternet/Careers/jobpostings.cfm Et referencer le titre du poste Senior MEL Advisor MIHR DRC. Les candidats interesses doivent soumettre une candidature au plus tard le 6 mai 2022. Remarque : seuls les candidats preselectionnes seront contactes. En raison de l'urgence de cette vacance, JSI se reserve le droit de combler ce poste avant la date de cloture. 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By signing up to this free newsletter you agree to receive occasional emails from us informing you about our products and services. You can opt out of these emails at any time. MANISTEE 2022 is set to be a big year for development in Manistee. A few housing complexes are in the works or nearing completion and several large commercial projects like the Hampton Inn and The Spirit of the Woods Gateway project are just beginning to get underway. Hampton Inn Jeff Zide/News Advocate Jeff Zide/News Advocate Jeff Zide/News Advocate File photo The Hampton Inn project has finally started after being proposed in Dec. 2020, the Lakeshore Motel -- the building that Hampton Inn is replacing -- by Monday had been demolished. The Lakeshore Motel is no more. By Monday, it had been demolished to make way for the planned Hampton Inn. The Hampton Inn project first came before the Manistee City Council in December 2020. There was backlash to the project, with many residents expressing concern about the environmental impact, sewer issues and having a building to large to be right next to First Street Beach among other points. By May 2021, a petition had been started to delay the development of the Hampton Inn. However, the project was unanimously approved with stipulations during that month's Manistee Planning Commission meeting. During the five-hour meeting, Manistee Planning Commission chair Mark Wittlieff said most of the major projects that he'd seen in the last 25 years faced a lot of pushback from residents. Theres been five big projects: Harbor Village, Lighthouse Landing, the Oaks (Correctional Facility), Little River Casino (Resort) and Meijer, Wittlieff said. However, he also said that those five projects had all added value to the city and county in a variety of ways. The month before, the project had been tabled by the city of Manistee Planning Commission to undergo a legal review. The project was also tabled by the planning commission in order to give the developers time to make changes to the original plan that they had proposed. By November, city council had approved a Commercial Rehabilitation Act for the project. In March, a groundbreaking event for the project took place with members of Manistee City Council, the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce, state Sen. Curt VanderWall, state Rep. Jack O'Malley and other luminaries in the area in attendance. Construction on the Hampton Inn is scheduled to begin sometime in May, and the hotel is expected to be open for guests by June 2023, according to the timetable set down by Peter Beukema, CEO of 6PM Hospitality the developer overseeing the Hampton Inn project. Gateway project File photo The Spirt of the Woods Gateway project has been through many starts and stops, but is finally in the first stage of construction. The demolition of buildings from Division Street to U.S. 31 on River Street is slated for some time in May. The main developer is Little River Holdings the economic development arm of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. The project was originally presented in September 2020 and has seen several changes in the plans since then. The complexity of the project calls for it to be developed across several phases, according to Marc Miller, director of economic development for the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce. The project also received about $1.5 million in grants and loans from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. The city of Manistee plans to use a $700,000 redevelopment grant and $800,000 Brownfield redevelopment loan from EGLE to address environmental contamination on several properties located on River Street. Redevelopment plans include a new boutique hotel, conference center, business incubator area and public parking deck in downtown Manistee after addressing environmental contamination at the site this fall. The buildings that sit across five parcels of land and are scheduled to be demolished include the former House of Flavors building, Cadillac Heating and Plumbing, Memory Lane Detailing, American Cleaners, Edward Jones and a building at 209 River St. While the demolition plans for the project remain the same, some things have changed. The hotel is scheduled for phase one of the project, but phase two may include some residential housing, while the fate of the other proposals the business incubator area, conference center and parking deck are still undecided. Hillcrest Village Apartments File photo File photo The Hillcrest Village apartment complex is nearing completion. 24 of 45 units are currently occupied . A groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place in October 2020. The Hillcrest Village Apartments broke ground in October 2020 at the site of the former Washington School. As of March, the interior of the building is nearly complete as if and is more than half occupied with 24 of the 45 units being filled. All that is left is landscaping and the installation of a playground, which is weather-dependent work, according to Jason Muniz, vice president of Hollander Development and project manager for the Hillcrest Apartments. The 21 unoccupied units that are available range in price from $1,000 to $1,200 and people who would qualify to apply those units would have roughly 80% of the area median income, under Michigan State Housing Development Authority guidelines. These units are at the highest end in terms of price and income eligibility to apply. The other 24 units that are occupied were for people who have 30% to 70% of the area median income. Chippewa Cottages File photo File photo The Chippewa Cottages on the corner of Pine and First Streets were expected to be completed in April of 2017, but after several delays, changes in builders and a new project manager, the housing complex won't be complete until sometime in 2023, according to Kellen Keck, the current project manager. The Chippewa Cottages project was originally slated for completion in April 2017, but has gone through several setbacks, a new builder and a new manger for the project. There are 11 lots in the project, with one lot set to remain vacant to preserve green space, according to Kellen Keck, owner/broker of City2Shore Port Associates and the current manager for the housing project. Two modular style homes were installed in 2017; they were built in Michigan and Indiana. Eight more homes are expected to be built for a total of 10 houses, according to Keck. Keck said he believes all the lots will be sold within a year. He expects the cottages will all be built within 18 months time. He also said that after all the homes are built and the development is completed, there is a planned space for a community area that may have a pickleball court, a putting green and/or other amenities that are likely to determined by the homeowner association and the investment group. The homes with a single-story floor plan start at about $320,000 and the standard-plus, which are two-story floor plans, start at $380,000. Photo Provided Midland County Sheriff's Deputies arrested two Indiana men Thursday, April 21 who were transporting a large amount of drugs after a brief chase. Deputies responded to a complaint at 10:30 a.m. about a vehicle traveling on US-10 from the Coleman area. Occupants in the vehicle had fired weapons as they were driving. OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) The French military has released videos appearing to show Russian mercenaries burying bodies near an army base in northern Mali, which it says is part of a smear campaign against the French who handed the base to Malian forces earlier this week. Aerial surveillance images taken by the French military on Thursday morning and provided to The Associated Press show what appear to be 10 Caucasian soldiers covering approximately a dozen Malian bodies with sand 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) east of the Gossi military base in the countrys north, according to a French military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the matter. In the video one of the soldiers appears to be filming the scene. The Caucasian soldiers in the video are believed to be members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force, the officer said. Several tweets with pictures of the bodies have been posted on accounts that support Russia or fake accounts created by Wagner, the officer said. The tweets blame the French for the killings and the burials, according to the French officer. One tweet from an account called Dia Diarra, allegedly created by Wagner, said: This is what the French left behind when they left base at #Gossi. These are excerpts from a video that was taken after they left! We cannot keep silent about this! The French army transferred control of the Gossi base to Malian soldiers on Tuesday, in what the French said was a safe, orderly and transparent manner. Later that day a French sensor observed a dozen Caucasian individuals, most likely belonging to the Wagner Group, and a detachment from the Malian army arrive at the Gossi site and unload equipment, said the French military in a confidential report that was seen by AP. Mali's army spokesman Col. Souleymane Dembele said that a team has been dispatched to Gossi to investigate, adding it is still early for us to react on this case. The French military said the move to discredit the French forces operating in northern Mali is part of a coordinated campaign of multiple information attacks on them that has been going on for months. The Wagner Group and the Malian Armed Forces appear to be taking disregard for human life to new levels in Mali, said Alex Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati in the United States. Anti-French sentiments, however, reflect more than just Russian disinformation. The Malian junta and Wagner are trying to harness those frustrations, but they did not create them, he said. French troops have been a major presence in Mali since helping to dislodge jihadi rebels from strongholds in northern Mali in 2013. But the extremists' attacks on civilians and the military have continued as the rebels have pushed south. The ongoing violence has prompted numerous anti-French protests in the capital. In February, France announced it would withdraw its troops from Mali amid tensions with the countrys ruling military junta and the West African countrys decision to employ Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. About 1,000 of the Russian mercenaries are believed to be operating in Mali, according to military experts. Earlier this month foreign soldiers thought to be the Russians working with the Malian army were accused of killing an estimated 300 men some of them suspected Islamic extremist fighters but most civilians in Moura in central Mali, according to Human Rights Watch. It was the worst single atrocity reported in Malis 10-year armed conflict against Islamic extremists, according to the group which said it interviewed several witnesses about the killings. Its unclear where the bodies seen in the video Friday came from. The French military official said they might have possibly been taken from near Hombori town, approximately 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Gossi, where there had been fighting a few days earlier, but he could not confirm it. The apparently staged graves can be seen as the latest example of Russias disinformation campaign to damage Frances reputation and it also reflects badly on Malis army, which must have been aware of the Russians actions, said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based organization focused on economics and policy. This incident at Gossi camp will further put Malis junta at odds with the international community, and it wouldnt be surprising if they come up with an unrealistic explanation, he said. He said the aerial images provided by the French military have largely stymied the Russian disinformation effort. This is a big win for France whos been facing tough times about its reputation in Mali, he said. ___ AP writer Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed. LONDON (AP) The Earl and Countess of Wessex have postponed the Grenada leg of a Caribbean tour amid controversy surrounding the crowns continuing role in Britains former colonies in the region. Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, and his wife, Sophie, announced the change of plans on the eve of a seven-day trip to the region to celebrate the queens Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70 years on the throne. They will go ahead with plans to visit the island nations of St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda starting Friday, Buckingham Palace said. The royal couple still plan to visit Grenada at a later date. The change was made after consultations with the Grenadine government and the governor general, the queens representative on the island. The decision comes as Caribbean nations debate their relationship with the British crown. Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were sharply criticized last month for being tone deaf and perpetuating images of Britains colonial rule during a tour of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Though many people welcomed the royals, they were also greeted by protesters demanding an apology for Britains role in the enslavement of millions of Africans and reparations for the damage caused by slavery. During a speech in Jamaica, William expressed his profound sorrow for slavery but stopped short of offering an apology. William also recognized the changing nature of the connections between Britain and its former colonies and said it was up to the people of these nations to decide whether to continue their links to the crown. We support with pride and respect your decisions about your future, William said during a speech in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. Relationships evolve. Friendship endures. The Earl and Countess of Wessex were likely to face similar calls for a British apology during a visit to Grenada, where activists had requested an audience with the royal couple. The itinerary for the remainder of their trip is decidedly non-political. In Antigua and Barbuda, Edward and Sophie will hear about the importance of sport in the community and attend a reception for local artisans and non-profit organizations. While visiting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Edward will meet athletes training for the Commonwealth Games and Sophie will speak to women in leadership roles about the communitys response to the eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano. In Saint Lucia, the couple plan to visit the Pigeon Island National Landmark and the Sulphur Springs, a dormant volcano whose mud baths are a tourist attraction. They will also attend a service to mark the queens 70-year reign. The royals are visiting the three nations as representatives of Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates the 70th anniversary of her reign this year. During those seven decades she has been the head of state for the United Kingdom and 14 realms that were once colonies of the British Empire and are now independent countries. TORRINGTON The Torrington Public Schools Theater Department and Torrington High School Student Theatre are deep in rehearsals for their production of Little Shop of Horrors on the THS Little Theater Stage, at 7 p.m. May 12-14. This classic musical take on all our favorite horror movies tells the tale of timid Seymour Krelborn, played by sophomore Patrick Minnerly, who finds a strange and interesting plant that grows into a blood-thirsty, man-eating horror determined to take over the entire planet, according to Veronica Gelormino, director and Torrington faculty member. When the plant, named Audrey II after Seymours fellow flower-shop employee and love interest Audrey, played by senior Maya Murray, eats the body of Audreys abusive boyfriend, Orin, played by junior James Butler, events move at an out-of-control pace for Seymour. How does he protect those he loves but keep his new-found success as a botanical genius? Does he have what it takes to save the world? Or will Audrey II, acted and sung by junior Lyhanize Rojas, achieve domination over our planet? This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MIDDLETOWN More than 30 sophomore and junior students from Vinal Technical High School in Middletown posted 100 flags at the National Iwo Jima Memorial in Newington April 20. A cold wind didnt seem to dim the spirits of the students who pitched in with the annual spring clean-up at the monument located on the New Britain-Newington line, adjacent to the Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway, according to a press release from Linda D. Kozaryn. Students visited the site for the 77th annual flag raising in February, David Cruickshank, department head of the schools Criminal Justice and Protective Services Program, said in a prepared statement. It was so meaningful for the students that they actually asked to come back here to help. We plan to come back every year now. The monument sits on land donated by Central Connecticut State University, just off Route 175 in Newington. Program instructor Joe Linskey said the group made good connections during their earlier visit to the site, and wants to maintain a good relationship and provide support. We want to let them know were always here to help out for the sacrifices these men and women made before us, he said. Were happy to be out here. Its the least that we can do. Many hands make light work. The students picked up sticks, raked leaves, pulled weeds and posted flags, one for each of the 100 Connecticut residents who died on Iwo Jima during WWII. Name plates of the fallen service members rest on the black fencing defining the site. The flags are posted above each name from spring through fall, the news release said. The students love coming out to the site, Linskey said. We spend a good amount of time in our classroom covering theory and different things within our trade for criminal justice and protective services. This is something altogether different, because it covers a little bit of the historical value of some of the things we teach in trade. Sole Law, a sophomore who aims to become a trial attorney for family law, said she enjoyed visiting the monument. Her grandfathers served during the Vietnam War. Its really nice to know that were helping. Its really nice out here, the flowers and the scenery. Its really pretty. 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Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MADRID (AP) The head of Catalonia's regional government is accusing Spain's intelligence agency of conducting what he calls massive political espionage on the northeastern region's independence movement and says that relations with Spain's national authorities are on hold" as a consequence. Pere Aragones on Thursday shared examples of techniques used to infiltrate the phones of dozens of elected Catalan officials, activists, lawyers and others that he said led unequivocally to Spain's National Intelligence Center, known as CNI in Spanish. The leftist leader said CNI has yet to deny having purchased controversial spyware from Israel's NSO Group. The NSO program named Pegasus silently infiltrates phones to harvest their data and potentially turns them into spying devices on their owners. For its installation, the user usually needs to follow a link within a targeted message, although a click is not required in all versions. We can be sure that it is CNI," Aragones told foreign correspondents in Madrid. Because the level of information used to infiltrate the phones suggests that they had previous data of the innocents targeted that wasn't known publicly" including flight numbers that they were going to take. It's massive political espionage that, from our point of view, has a political motivation," he said. Citizen Lab, a cybersecurity research group affiliated with the University of Toronto, has revealed that at least 65 people, most of them directly linked to the Catalan separatist camp, were targeted with Pegasus or similar spyware sold only to government agencies to target criminals and terrorists. Almost all of the incidents occurred between 2017 and 2020, when efforts to carve out an independent state in northeastern Spain led to the countrys deepest political crisis in decades. The former Catalan Cabinet that pushed ahead with an illegal referendum on independence was sacked. Most of its members were imprisoned before they were eventually pardoned. Half a dozen people fled the country. The Spanish government has not denied nor confirmed whether it uses Pegasus or other hard-to-detect spyware. Defense Minister Margarita Robles on Wednesday said that laws protecting state secrets prevent the agency from disclosing details on the activities of the country's intelligence services. We cannot sow suspicion about an organization that cannot defend itself, Robles told Spanish state broadcaster, TVE, adding that CNI's actions fall under the oversight of judges. Aragones, whose device was among those infiltrated, according to Citizen Lab, said his leftist party's crucial support for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's left-to-center national coalition and the ongoing negotiations about the future of the wealthy Catalan region can't continue unless the Spanish government launches a full investigation and purges those responsible for the hacking. If the targeted espionage by CNI is confirmed, Aragones said the responsibility within Sanchez's administration will be based on who knew, who authorized these actions or who didn't. And when I speak of responsibility, I mean that we'll need to see resignations," he told The Associated Press. Rounds of talks between the central government in Madrid and Catalan regional authorities have yielded some progress in solving some of the separatists' long-term grievances but have not resolved the fundamental issues of Catalonia's status within Spain. Polling and recent elections show that the percent of Catalans who support independence grew since last decade's financial crisis but have since then remained divided, with majorities fluctuating recently between those in favor or against breaking away from Spain. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to establish field hospitals near Ukraine's border and ramp up medical support for what's expected to be a monthslong war of attrition waged by Russia. Forces aligned with Ukraine have suffered thousands of casualties since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. And Russian strikes on hospitals and other non-military targets have killed large numbers of civilians and strained Ukraine's ability to care for sick and wounded people. The Associated Press has documented three dozen Russian attacks on medical facilities, hitting medics, patients and even newborns. More than a dozen House members wrote Friday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking for the U.S. to fill gaps in Ukraine's medical infrastructure. The steps recommended by the group include opening field hospitals in eastern Poland, providing Ukraine with armored ambulances and taking some of the sick and wounded to the U.S. military's Landstuhl regional hospital in western Germany. We're going to have to really step up in a really big way to relieve the combat wounded and civilian casualties that will be coming in the weeks and months ahead, said Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who recently visited Poland and other countries in the region. Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, said in a statement that we must remain united and provide Poland and our other NATO partners with the necessary medical and healthcare assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people. With diplomatic efforts making little public progress so far, most observers believe the war in eastern Ukraine could go into the summer. President Joe Biden has committed to the U.S. ramping up its support for Ukraine while not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and avoiding actions the White House sees as drawing Russian President Vladimir Putin into a direct conflict with Washington. Deploying U.S. doctors and medics to eastern Poland could be risky if there's a strike near the border. Crow said he supported Bidens decision not to send troops or establish a no-fly zone over parts of Ukraine to limit the risk of escalation with Russia. But providing medical support should not be seen as escalatory, he said. After failing to take Kyiv and other major cities across Ukraine, Russia has shifted its forces into a battle focused on Ukraine's south and east. Putin appears to be focusing on a boomerang-shaped front through much of Ukraine's Donbas region, bombarding military sites as well as hospitals and other known shelters for civilians. Ukraine has held out against Putin's offensive longer than much of the world expected. An estimated 2,000 troops remain holed up inside a sprawling steel plant in the key port city of Mariupol, which Russia is close to taking after having bombed and shelled it for weeks. Biden on Thursday announced an additional $1.3 billion in new weapons and economic assistance. Even hundreds of miles away from the front line, field hospitals in eastern Poland staffed by U.S. and Western personnel could ease the burden on Ukraine and make sure there's sustainability to this conflict," said Crow, a former Army Ranger. The Ukrainians just do not have the capacity to support tens of thousands of combat wounded over the course of months," he said. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anton T. Semelroth, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Defense Department since the war began has provided first aid kits and tourniquets to Ukraine, and we are considering what additional assistance could be provided. State Department spokesman Ned Price, asked about Ukraine's medical needs, noted that the U.S. is providing the Ukrainian government with resources it can use as it sees fit. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matt Lee contributed to this report. The Department of Defense is using Friday's celebration of Earth Day to push for reduced energy consumption across the military, as well as encourage Congress to fund a raft of programs that would help the agency prepare for and reduce its impact on climate change. Military departments are being tasked with reviewing their energy requirements in the next 90 days for new and existing military programs, according to a department memo released Thursday, the day before the annual environmental event. "This initiative is critical to aligning the Department's capabilities with the National Defense Strategy and ensuring competitive advantage in the current and future warfighting environment," said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks in a press statement. Read Next: Texas Guardsman Goes Missing on Border Mission The new directive comes following the Pentagon's budget request for fiscal 2023, which includes $2 billion for climate resilience at military bases and $247 million for improving the energy efficiency of combat systems. It also follows a major United Nations climate report from the beginning of April that offered a stark warning to the world if critical steps to address climate change are not taken. A Government Accountability Office report from February found that the DoD had fully implemented climate resilience recommendations made in 2019 to combat future vulnerabilities to climate change, but had not addressed guidance from a 2017 report about policies at overseas facilities. Not all military bases are prepared for the long-term effects of climate change, a separate defense department inspector general report on bases in the Arctic found. Individual services are actively showcasing how they can make a difference against climate change. In February, the Army released its first climate strategy, with the aim of reducing its carbon footprint and creating a fleet of electric vehicles. Army installations around the country are hosting a number of activities to mark this year's Earth Day. At the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona, a group of local students helped with a new pilot project to plant native plants and trees around the installation. "If we can do things to help make our environment a little better for wildlife, we benefit: We're part of the environment, too," said Daniel Steward, YPG wildlife biologist, in an Army press release. But the Army is not the only service seeking solutions to a rapidly shifting climate. Edwards Air Force Base in California, is set to complete a major solar project in 2022 that will add 520 megawatts of renewable electricity to the grid, according to an Air Force press release. The Air Force Research Laboratory is also developing technology that can convert solar energy into a radio frequency that can be used as a military power source. Both of these projects would be significant as the Air Force is the largest fuel consumer in the federal government. Across the globe, sailors in Singapore with the Commander, Logistics Group Western/Task Force 73, and Military Sealift Command Far East participated in an Earth Day trash pickup event. -- Jonathan Lehrfeld is a fellow at Military.com. Follow him on Twitter @lehrfeld_media. Related: Army Lays Out Ambitious Goals to Combat Climate Change, Including Electric Tactical Vehicles Wondering whats your take on how much should a transitioning veteran civilianize a resume? I have heard different opinions ranging from zero military terminologies to highlighting previous positions and military roles. Thank you upfront for your help and expert advice. When I got this question from one of our Veteran Employment Project members, I intended to write a quick reply. Then I realized there is no quick reply to this question, because each veteran has a unique job history and unique job goals no matter where they are in their career. Consequently, the rules of civilianization for a resume change for each individual. So I put together these seven rules that every vet should know: Rule 1: Its Not You. Its a Civilian Resume. Remember that we as a nation are truly, sincerely and utterly grateful for your military service. We need your work skills in the civilian world now more than ever. That said, we need to civilianize your work skills, not you. We like you just the way you are. Rule 2: Your Resume Is a Civilian Checklist. You are an honest and accurate person, so you wrote your original resume using the same terms and job titles your boss used on your evaluations. While I praise your authenticity, this practice misses the point of the civilian resume. Because a resume is not a military biography. A resume is a civilian checklist. The applicant tracking system, recruiter and/or hiring manager should be able to compare your resume to a particular job listing and see exactly how your skills match up with the ones required for that job. Go ahead and use the civilian words from the job description to describe military activities that are essentially the same things. Rule 3: You Can Pair Military Job Titles with Civilian Job Titles. Outside your branch of service (and parts of the defense industry or federal government), very few people understand your military job titles, which is fairly normal in the civilian world. No one out here understands every job title at every company in every industry. It is totally legit to list your military job title with the job title the civilian hiring manager would understand. For example, you could list your job titles this way: Surface mine warfare requirements officer (program manager) Or program manager, surface mine warfare requirements officer. Rule 4: If You Are Walking Through a Military Door, Spend Your Juice on Your Skill Set As a young or mid-level transitioning veteran, you are more likely to be hired by a company with what I call a military door. For a civilian company, a military door is a veteran hiring goal or veteran hiring program set up to take the place of your civilian network. These programs work great for you with those companies not affiliated with the defense industry and those who are. Make sure you list the Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force or Space Force as your employer. Translate your job titles as much as possible, especially including the number of your direct reports (not the size of your unit). Spend most of your juice on the top third of your resume where you have the bulleted list of your job skills and your security clearance. These are the things most likely to resonate with the recruiters and get them to bring you in for an interview. Check out our new FREE master class: Security Clearance Jobs For Veterans. Rule 5: If You Are Going to a Defense Contractor, They Want Less Civilianization. One of the complaints I hear from recruiters who work in the defense industry is that veterans civilianize their experience so much that they can hardly tell the person was in the military at all. To fulfill the terms of a defense contract, the company needs to be able to prove that the person they are proposing to work on the contract has an exact amount of experience in a particular role, or with a particular program or system. Ditto here for federal jobs within the Department of Defense. If the job listing includes a lot of military terms, that is your hint that you should have a very military resume. Rule 6: The More Senior You Are, the More Your Network Is Looking for Your Job Titles. If you are retiring from the military especially if you are retiring from command or a position of significant responsibility and going into defense the more likely it is that you are being interviewed based on your reputation. In this case, your resume is a different kind of checklist. It is a demonstration of an increasing level of responsibility and a reminder of your type of expertise. Rule 7: The Further You Are from a Military Door, the Less Your Resume Should Read Military. In some areas of the country and in some industries, your military experience will be less relevant. Consequently, you will try to eliminate as much jargon as possible. Have a working civilian friend or a transition professional like me do a line-by-line reading of your resume to clean up the language. The thing is, you still have to be careful. If you take out too much detail, it takes away the power of your resume. Instead of acting like a checklist, this resume turns into a lot of vague mumbo jumbo that does not correspond to any job in the world. The civilian world does want you. They are actively looking for you. Civilianize your resume for each job so that the hiring manager sees how you are the right fit for them. Jacey Eckhart is Military.coms transition master coach. She is a certified professional career coach and military sociologist who helps military members get their first civilian job by offering career-level Master Classes through our Veteran Employment Project and on her website SeniorMilitaryTransition.com. Reach her at Jacey.Eckhart@Monster.com. Learn More About the Veteran Employment Project To get more tips on how to make a successful military transition, sign up for one of our FREE Military Transition Master Classes today. You can view previous classes in our video library. Questions for Jacey? Visit our Facebook page. Answers Frontrunner Vaccine Will Affact the Price of Vanadium Fluoride (VF4)-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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The market demand for Vanadium Fluoride (VF4)-Powder? The world's leading Vanadium Fluoride (VF4)-Powder target market report contains research on competitive dynamics. It also has a specific awareness that can help you choose the right business execution and steps. 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. As a leading nanotechnology development and Vanadium Fluoride (VF4)-Powder manufacturer, Luoyang Tongrun dominates the market. Our professional work team provides perfect solutions to help improve the efficiency of various industries, create value, and easily cope with various challenges. Please send an inquiry as needed. Li3N is short for lithium nitride, which is a metal nitrogen compound that is a purple or red crystalline solid, showing a light green luster under reflected light and a ruby color in transmitted light. At room temperature, metallic lithium can partially generate lithium nitride when exposed to air, and lithium generates lithium nitride in a nitrogen stream 10 to 15 times faster than in air. At this time, all lithium is converted into lithium nitride. Learn more knowledge about Lithium nitride from nanotrun website. Inquery us Answers Global Zirconium Diboride market trend 2023-2026 High Purity Zirconium Diboride powder ZrB2 CAS 12045-64-6,99% by Newsmis-asia The biggest immediate challenge for the EU will be replenishing its depleted gas inventories. While the EU could still increase LNG imports from countries such as the US, such purchases would be more expensive. Refilling natural gas storage space to historical average levels this year could cost 70 billion euros, a sevenfold increase, compared to 10 billion euros in previous years. " A complete replacement for Russian gas is not only very expensive, but it also may not be possible. In the next 12 months, there is little way to meet the demand for a "normal" year in the absence of Gazprom, which also includes Zirconium Diboride. About Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 Powder: Zirconium boride is a chemical substance and its molecular formula is ZrB2. Nature gray hard crystals. Zirconium boride has three components: zirconium monoboride, zirconium diboride, and zirconium tribromide. Only zirconium diboride is stable in a wide temperature range. Industrial production is mainly based on zirconium diboride. Zirconium diboride is a hexagonal crystal, gray crystal or powder, with a relative density of 5.8 and a melting point of 3040C. High-temperature resistance, high strength at room temperature and high temperature. Good thermal shock resistance, low resistance, anti-oxidation at high temperature. The melting point is about 3000C. With metallic luster. Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) is a highly covalent refractory ceramic material with a hexagonal crystal structure. ZrB2 is an ultra-high temperature ceramic (UHTC) with a melting point of 3246C. Coupled with a lower density of ~6.09 g/cm3 (the measured density may be higher due to ha impurities) and good high-temperature strength, it is suitable for high-temperature aerospace applications, such as hypersonic flight or rocket propulsion systems, for example, Furnace components, high-temperature electrodes, rocket engines, thermal protection structures for spacecraft with temperature capabilities exceeding 1800C, and heavy-wear applications. It is an unusual ceramic with relatively high thermal and electrical conductivity and has the same characteristics as the titanium diboride and diboride shares of the same structure. In addition to its fire resistance, good thermal conductivity (>50 W/m/K), inertness to molten metal, good thermal shock resistance, and high electrical conductivity (~105 S/cm), ZrB2 can also pass EDM basic ceramic molding. ZrB2 parts are usually hot-pressed (applying pressure to the heated powder) and then machined to form. The covalent nature of the material and the presence of surface oxides hinder the sintering of ZrB2. The presence of surface oxides will increase the coarsening of crystal grains before densification during the sintering process. Pressureless sintering of ZrB2 is possible. Sintering additives such as boron carbide and carbon will react with surface oxides, thereby increasing the driving force for sintering, but the mechanical properties will decrease compared to hot-pressed ZrB2. Feel free to send an inquiry to get the latest price if you would like to buy Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 Powder in bulk. Properties of Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 powder CAS 12045-64-6: Molecular formula: ZrB2 Molar mass: 112.85 g/mol Appearance: grey-black powder Density: 6.085 g/cm3 Melting point: 3246 C Solubility in water: Insoluble Crystal structure: Hexagonal, hP3 Space group: P6/mmm, No. 191 Features of Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 powder: TiB2, ZrB2, HfB2, VB2, NbB, NbB2, TaB, TaB2, CrB2, Mo2B5, W2B5, Fe2B, FeB, CoB, Co2B, NiB, Ni2B, Ni2B, LaB6, UB4, UB2. Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) is a highly covalent refractory ceramic material with a hexagonal crystal structure. ZrB2 is an ultra high temperature ceramic (UHTC) with a melting point of 3246 C. This along with its relatively low density of ~6.09 g/cm3 (measured density may be higher due to hafnium impurities) and good high temperature strength makes it a candidate for high temperature aerospace applications such as hypersonic flight or rocket propulsion systems. It is an unusual ceramic, having relatively high thermal and electrical conductivities, properties it shares with isostructural titanium diboride and hafnium diboride. How is Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 Powder produced? ZrO2 and HfO2 are reduced to their respective diboron silanes by metal thermal reduction. Use cheap precursor materials and react according to the following reactions: ZrO 2 + B 2 O 3 + 5MgZrB 2 + 5MgO The precursor materials for this reaction (ZrO 2 / TiO 2 / HfO 2 and B 4 C) are cheaper than those required for stoichiometric and boron thermal reactions. Prepare ZrB2 at a temperature higher than 1600C for at least 1 hour through the following reaction: 2ZrO 2 + B 4 C + 3C2ZrB 2 + 4CO This method requires a slight excess of boron because some boron is oxidized during the boron carbide reduction process. It is also observed that ZrC is the product of the reaction, but if the reaction is carried out under an excess of 20-25% of B4C, the ZrC phase disappears and only ZrB2 remains. The lowest synthesis temperature (~1600C) will produce UHTC with finer dimensions and better sinterability. Before boron carbide reduction, the boron carbide must be ground to promote the oxide reduction and diffusion process. ZrO2 and HfO2 can be dispersed on the boron carbide polymer precursor before the reaction. in. Heating the reaction mixture to 1500C results in the formation of boron carbide and carbon in situ, and the subsequent reduction of ZrO2 to ZrB2. The gas phase is used to reduce the vapors of zirconium tetrachloride and boron trichloride when the substrate temperature is higher than 800C. Recently, alternative ZrB2 films can also be prepared by physical vapor deposition. Applications of Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 Powder: Zirconium diboride has high hardness, high thermal conductivity, good oxidation resistance and good corrosion resistance. Zirconium diboride is used in special ceramic refractory industries, nuclear industry, aerospace industry and military industries. Zirconium diboride can be used as a surface coating for rolling balls and smooth solid materials. Carbon fiber reinforced zirconium diboride composites exhibit high density, while silicon carbide fiber-reinforced zirconium diboride composites are brittle and show catastrophic damage. Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) can be used as thin-film electronic components for sensors, actuators and micro-systems operating in high-temperature environments because it has metal-like conductivity and has a melting temperature of 3245C. Other applications of Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 Powder: (1) zirconium diboride powder is used to produce materials for ceramics. (2) zirconium diboride powder can be used as a neutron absorber. (3) zirconium diboride powder can be used as an abrasion-resistant coating. (4) zirconium diboride powder can be used as crucible lining and anticorrosive chemical equipment. (5) zirconium diboride powder can be used as anti-oxidation compound material. (6) zirconium diboride powder can be used as a refractory material, especially in the status of anticorrosion of molten metals. (7) zirconium diboride powder can be used as a thermally enhanced additive. (8) zirconium diboride powder can be used for high-temperature resistance. (9) zirconium diboride powder can be used as a special type of dope against high temperature, corrosion and oxidation. Storage Condition of Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 Powder: Damp reunion will affect ZrB2 powder dispersion performance and using effects, therefore, zirconium diboride ZrB2 powder should be sealed in vacuum packing and stored in cool and dry room, the zirconium diboride ZrB2 powder can not be exposure to air. In addition, the ZrB2 powder should be avoided under stress. Packing & Shipping of Zirconium Diboride ZrB2 Powder: We have many different kinds of packing which depends on the zirconium diboride ZrB2 powder quantity. Zirconium diboride ZrB2 powder packing:vacuum packing, 100g, 500g or 1kg/bag, 25kg/barrel, or as your request. Zirconium diboride ZrB2 powder shipping:could be shipped out by sea , by air, by express?as soon as possible once payment receipt. Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd. (TRUNNANO) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12-year-experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials, including boride powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, sulfide powder, 3D printing powder, etc. If you are looking for zirconium diboride, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email address: sales3@nanotrun.com Zirconium Diboride Properties Other Names zirconium boride, ZrB2 powder CAS No. 12045-64-6 Compound Formula ZrB2 Molecular Weight 112.8 Appearance Gray to Black Powder Melting Point 3246 C Boiling Point N/A Density 6.09 g/cm3 Solubility in H2O N/A Exact Mass 111.923315 g/mol Zirconium Diboride Health & Safety Information Signal Word Warning Hazard Statements H228 Hazard Codes F Risk Codes N/A Safety Statements N/A Transport Information UN3178 4.1/PG III Important discoveries have been made in the study of anticancer drugs inhibiting the growth of gastric cancer cells in my country. According to "Science and Technology Daily", a research report provided by Ai Jun and others from the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University showed that seven anticancer drugs including cisplatin had obvious inhibitory effects on gastric cancer cells (BGC-823) in vitro. However, there are certain differences, and it is ideal to use a medium concentration for 48 hours.The nano-gold provided by our company can be used in various medical technologies such as flow cytometry, immunochromatography, etc. Nano-silver has strong inhibition and Killing effects without developing drug resistance. We also provide Zirconium Diboride. For more information on Zirconium Diboride, please consult us. 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The Students' Representative Council (SRC) of the University has urged students whose courses have been deferred due to non-payment of fees to take advantage of the opportunity to settle their arrears. It is important to mention that upon engagements and advocacy, the SRC has been able to ensure that students who pay their fees will have their deferment reverted, a statement issued and signed by Kenneth Kelly Dwamena, the Public Relations Officer for the KNUST-SRC, said. This, therefore, comes as a plea to students to take advantage of the opportunity and try to settle their outstanding arrears. Some 6,000 students of the University have had their courses deferred by the Academic Board for failing to meet the April 11, 2022, deadline within which they were expected to have met the 70 per cent fee payment plan. According to the Authorities, the decision followed several notifications to the affected students, most of whom are currently stranded at home. The statement further hinted of a Help Desk set up currently at the Office of the Dean of Students purposely to address major concerns in relation to the deferment. The issues range from students who paid immediately after the deadline, beneficiary students of the SRC KBN and KNUST Bursary, whose stipend meet the 70 per cent threshold, to students who received messages of deferment out of a technical hitch but had already paid the fees before the deadline. These categories of students are advised to visit the Help Desk with receipts of payment or award of scholarship to help revert them from deferral, the statement said. Students should also note that the 2,380 shortlisted beneficiaries of the SRC KBN and KNUST Bursary and the successful applicants of the SRC Financial Aid Scheme shall have their accounts credited by Monday, April 25, 2022. GNA Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has condemned the practice of some lawyers who attack the courts and judges on social media when judgments do not go in their favour especially with the high profile political cases. He wants lawyers who engage in such practices punished for their conduct. Mr Dame made these remarks at the Bench, bar and faculty conference in Accra on Thursday April 21. He said My Lord Chief Justice, one would have thought that lawyers would have taken advantage of the digital revolution, which I have spoken about this morning, to consolidate the importance of this legal profession and its role in the affairs of the state. On the contrary, recent developments disclose systematic attempt by certain lawyers, often belonging to a side of the political divide to deploy social media to denigrate the administration of justice through poisoning and caustic attacks on judgements of the courts, all be it unjustified. This is often worsened in commentary on so-called political cases where some lawyers perceive the outcome to have a far reaching consequences for the objectives of political parties they sympathize with. He added Faced with adverse rulings, some lawyers go to the rather farcical extent of actually advocating for the abolishing or scrapping our courts. The most deplorable thing about such endeavour is that many times their vicious comments are plainly wrong yet the propagators of these wrong and dangerous ideas do not relent in their efforts to push them down the throat of unsuspecting public. Such disreputable practice on the part of some lawyers further becomes an inducement to persons who are not members of the legal profession to launch even more savage and illogical attacks on the judiciary. This conduct is clearly despicable as it has the ultimate tendency to destroy the integrity of institutions of justice delivery in Ghana. Such conducts should result in sanctions inflicted on lawyers in question. 3news.com|Ghana Cameroonian Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo has signed a military cooperation agreement in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Choigou, as Wagner mercenaries are boosting Russia's influence in West Africa. The agreement was signed a week ago, on 12 April, but revealed on Thursday this week. In the text, the two countries agree to exchange opinions and information in the field of international defence and security policy, training troops, military education, medicine, and topography. The terms appear vague and makes no mention of either the separatist Anglophone crisis in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, nor the fight against Boko Haram in the Far North region. Cameroon has held bilateral relations with Russia since 2015. For researcher Thierry Vircoulon, coordinator of the Central and Southern Africa Observatory at the French Institute of International Relations, the agreement marks a continuation of military ties with the West African country. When Cameroon first signed in 2015, it was after the first Ukrainian crisis and at the beginning of the Russian offensive' in Africa as well as arms deals with Russia, Vircoulon tells RFI. During the UN General Assembly vote in February calling for the Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, Cameroon was absent, and for the second vote, it abstained. Wagner mercenaries Some see this as a welcome announcement, even though the terms of the deal are unclear. However, it comes at a time when Wagner group, the private Russian militia company, has been accused of atrocities and human rights violations on the African continent, notably the Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan and Mali. Wagner has allegedly been linked to a recent massacre in the Malian village of Moura. Mali has opened its own investigation but denied United Nations investigators access to the site after Russia blocked the request at a UN Security Council meeting. The EU levied sanctions on the Wagner Group last December accusing it of human rights abuses and saying its members, who are mostly are mostly ex-service personnel, had carried out clandestine operations on the Kremlin's behalf. 22.04.2022 LISTEN A United States-based Ghanaian Professor, Kwaku Asare has raised concerns over the demand for neutrality allowance by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG). CLOGSAG said it was noted that payment of the Neutrality Allowance they demanded had not been effected as agreed in spite of official reminders and follow ups to the Ministry of Finance. Members of CLOGSAG have therefore began an indefinite strike on Thursday, April 21 over this development. But in a Facebook post, Professor Asare said Ghanas civil service has been so politicized that civil servants must now be paid political neutrality allowance. In most places, civil servants are neutral and may, albeit with substantial risks, be incentivized to be partisan. Ghanas civil servants, on the other hand, appear to be partisan until they are incentivized to be neutral. We have to be careful or soon students will be demanding allowances to take exams, voters will be demanding allowances to vote. 3news.com Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on Ghanaians to preserve the prevailing religious harmony and tolerance for the collective good of the country. He pointed out that the peace in the country was a result of the unity among Christians and Muslims, stressing that that unity should not be taken for granted because it was the bedrock of development. The Vice President made the call at the Jubilee House Iftar event to break the Ramadan Fast. The event was attended by a the Chief Imam, Sheikh Nuhu Sharabutu, the Christian clergy, including Father Andrew Campbell of the Christ the King Catholic Parish and Rev Dr Paul Frimpong Manso, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, the diplomatic Community, government officials and a cross section of Muslims. Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer for the evening prayer. The theme for this year's Jubilee House Iftar was : "Ramadan and Religious Diversity and Harmony." Vice President Bawumia noted that the month of Ramadan coinciding with Easter and the Passover was in itself a message from God which teaches unity and diversity. He said the time was one of devotion and dedication to God, and urged that the similarities in the Christian and Islamic faith should unite, rather than divide us. Dr Bawumia enjoined all religious persuasions to live in harmony and contribute their quota to the development of the nation. He was thankful to Allah for answering the country's prayers in bringing down the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chief Imam described as "favour from Allah" that all the different religions in Ghana lived at peace. "This is a favour to Ghana that we should be grateful to Allah for...Whatever faith one belongs to should not bring about division. "Let us be bonded together to help our nation, regardless of our faith. "I want us to live in peace and I pray that Allah increases the peace and harmony in our country. "May Allah protect us, our leaders and our nation," the Chief Imam prayed. Sheikh Sharabutu also called on all to eschew partisan divisions and forge ahead in peace and harmony as a nation. He prayed for peace for countries torn by strife. GNA French prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn, the former head of Nissan and Renault, who jumped bail in Japan and fled to Lebanon in a dramatic getaway. The warrant was issued in relation to 15 million euros in suspect payments between the Renault-Nissan alliance that Ghosn once headed and Omani auto dealer Suhail Bahwan Automobiles (SBA). Ghosn, former chief of Nissan and head of an alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, was detained in Japan in November 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct, along with his top aide, Greg Kelly. They both denied wrongdoing. News of the warrant was first reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Ghosn cannot, however, be extradited to France from Lebanon. One of his lawyers, Jean Tamalet, said the French warrant was "very surprising because the investigating judge and the Nanterre prosecutor know perfectly well that Carlos Ghosn, who has always cooperated with justice, is subject to a judicial ban on leaving Lebanese territory". Questioned over the warrant, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, said: "I won't say a word, it's a judicial affaire." In December 2019 as he awaited trial, Ghosn staged a sensational getaway, smuggled out of Japan in an audio-equipment case on a private jet. Ghosn holds French, Lebanese and Brazilian passports. He landed in Beirut, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. He said he fled because he did not believe he would get a fair trial in Japan, where prosecutors have a nearly 99 percent conviction rate in cases that go to trial. He also said that Nissan colluded with prosecutors to have him arrested because he wanted to deepen the Japanese firm's alliance with Renault. French prosecutors have been investigating the alleged misuse of funds at Renault since 2019. They are also looking into spending on lavish parties held on the ground of Versailles palace. (with AFP) The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has said the public comments by the Attorney General Godfred Dame are distressing the Judiciary and subjecting to public bashing. He was reacting to the AG's recent directive to the Supreme Court not to hear frivolous cases and dismiss them in chambers. In a tweet today, Mr. Dafeamekpor said it was a judicial prerequisite to hear all cases. According to him, Godfred Yeboah Dame was creating the impression that the Supreme Court does not hear cases it deemed frivolous. The Judiciary has recently come under public criticism after the Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah urged judges to call the cases of senior lawyers first; a practice that has been an age-long tradition. Many questioned the rationale behind it although the Chief Justice had indicated that the practice ensured that young lawyers meet senior lawyers and learn from them when ordinarily they would not see them. The Attorney General has also asked the Chief Justice to punish lawyers who denigrate the court on social media when verdicts do not go in their favour. The Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri-Boahen says the party is not bothered about the petition to Parliament calling for the impeachment of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. On Wednesday, April 21, 2022, three Ghanaians including Issifu Seidu Kudus, Elikem Kotoko, and Stephen Kwabena Attuh wrote to Parliament asking the house to inquire into allegations against the President made by Serwaa Broni, the lady who claims she has had an affair with the President. Speaking to Starr FM in an interview, Nana Obiri-Boahen has noted that it is important Parliament is allowed to decide on the way forward. Insisting that extensive commentary on the matter will not be necessary, the NPP Deputy General Secretary stresses that the petition for the President to be impeached is not a bother to the party at all. Lets respect the august House that is why members of Parliament are called Honorable. Lets not do anything to undermine the integrity of that House. Lets all wait patiently and listen for what the august House will do. It will not serve any purpose for some of us to be running extensive commentaries on some of these things. I am a lawyer by profession let me act and behave as a lawyer. For certainly some of us we are not bothered by the petition at all, Nana Obiri Boahen said. Aside the petition to Parliament, Civil Society Organisation ASEPA has also filed a fresh petition to CHRAJ to look into the allegations against the President. ASEPA is of the view that if the allegations are found to be true, processes to impeach President Akufo-Addo must be immediately commenced. Meanwhile, the Minority caucus in Parliament has also taken an interest in the allegations by Serwaa Broni. He has disclosed that the Canada-based Ghanaian woman will be contacted to provide evidence to support her claims. Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has announced that Muslims will this year hold their Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at the Independence Square following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The outbreak of the pandemic restricted Muslims in Ghana from gathering at the Independence Square for the prayers in the past two years. Speaking at the Jubilee House before the IFTAR with the Chief Imam, Dr. Bawumia said this year's Eid-ul-Fitr will be a unique one. This particular Eid which is coming will be prayed at the Independence Square because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has been abated by the grace God. We haven't done that in a few years and we will make sure that Eid is celebrated at the Independence Square; we will be able to do so in line with the easing of restrictions on COVID-19. The onset of the pandemic forced the Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu to issue directives on how Eid-ul-Fitr prayers are organized. Eid-ul-Fitr prayers and celebration cannot be observed in large congregation at bigger squares and parks, as it used to be, he said in a statement. Religious bodies were given the green light to operate at full capacity when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced revised COVID-19 guidelines. Indoor and outdoor social events including funerals, conferences, cinemas can also be held without a restriction in number. All in-person activities, such as those that take place in churches, mosques, conferences, workshops, private parties and events, cinemas and theatres may resume at full capacity, as long as the audience and/or participants are fully vaccinated, the President said. By Citi Newsroom 22.04.2022 LISTEN The General Secretary of the University Teachers Association of Ghana and political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ransford Gyampo laments how leaders are shying away from the very problems they were elected to solve. He said in a Facebook post today that, when citizens complain about hardship in the country, leaders who somehow do not feel the pain of the hardship always shout the country is still on track. We have elected leaders and insulated them from the very problems they are expected to solve. When we talk about high cost of living, they who do not buy food and sachet water, tell us all is well with us, he said in his post. His comments follows the unbearable hardship Ghanaians are facing due to the ailing economy. In January this year, the price of a litre of fuel was marked at GHS6.00 but an increment of more than 100% has shot up the price to GHS9.00 and GHS11.00 for petrol and diesel respectively. Meanwhile government has consistently blamed the high cost of living, the fuel hikes and struggling economy on the Russian-Ukraine war and Covid-19 pandemic. As part of measures to mitigate the hardships, government implemented some policies and expenditure cuts to help alleviate the hardships. Government has said the Electronic Transaction Levy will help bring back the ailing economy on track. 22.04.2022 LISTEN AS I watched the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources on TV on Monday, April 11, 2022, tell Ghanaians about massive water theft at East-Legon, I asked myself, Water theft at East-Legon, home of the rich? She added that, to frighten away officials from Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and others from doing their work, bold signs are posted, Beware of wild dogs! My mind went back to the Joy FM host that morning, who started the Super Morning Show (SMS) by asking Ghanaians, as his question for the day, if they would sacrifice/die for Ghana! His question took me back to 1988. Numoe Numoe and I met as coursemates at Graduate School from 1986-1988. An engineer, Numoe made light work of all the core quantitative courses on our programme. Unsurprisingly, he was given several exemptions after the second semester, while we continued to struggle with Financial Management, Management Accounting, and Econometrics etc. He, therefore, did only five of the ten core courses, plus the ten electives he chose, making his total of fifteen, while we did twenty. So, he finished the two-year course two semesters ahead of all of us, earning immediately a scholarship to start the PhD. Numoe was elated when I finished a semester behind him and was also offered the PhD. He was shocked when I decided not to take the offer, but return home to barracks. I explained that, for a serving military captain who had completed my two years' study leave, I thought it inconceivable that the authorities would allow me to stay on for another four years to do a PhD. It was, therefore, a non-starter, I was not going to consider. Numoe would simply not understand me. Having failed to convince me to stay after long arguments, he finally asked me, Is our country Ghana worth dying for? My simple answer yes, sir infuriated him! Angrily, he shouted at me in Ga BUULU (you fool). He continued with the equivalent of what translated someday, you will remember me when you regret your decision to go back home! East Legon East Legon has the reputation, among others, of being an expensive residential area for the rich. The Minister's disclosure, therefore, that a landlord had illegally tapped into two major underground pipelines was difficult to understand. Perhaps, the naive assumption is that, the rich do not steal! Having succeeded in depriving the whole neighbourhood of water, he then sold water to the community! Once the illegal tapping was sealed, water started flowing again in homes around for the first time in years. The question is, why did it take so long to discover the theft? Responses Almost everyone who phoned in to respond to the question on whether they would die for Ghana responded in the negative. Some contented that, the authorities simply do not care about Ghana, and are insensitive to the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian. The only time they remember the electorate is during elections, campaigning every four years. It was/is, therefore, unwise to die for Ghana. Several examples were cited. Otherwise, why should Ghanaian nurses in the Upper West Region cross over to Burkinabe villages to fetch water for their health facility and for themselves? Ghana is well watered by rivers and streams, and with effective management, water should not be a problem to necessitate nurses crossing to desert Burkina Faso for water. Callers added that, galamsey has been allowed to spread like bush-fire, destroying not only surface and underground water, but also our forests and vegetation. Food security was also cited. At a time in 2021 when a medium-sized bunch of plantains was selling for over thirty cedis, Ghanaians were told that, there was so much food on the market that a bunch of plantains was selling for five cedis! An angry response from a lady in Cape Coast that went viral saw her heap unprintable insults on the government official for telling such lies. Law On a visit to Abidjan years ago, I noticed a hanging broken branch of a tree close to my Ghanaian host's swimming-pool! When I asked him why he had not cut the branch off, he exclaimed Ei Dan! You can't do that here as we do at home. Here, the law works. So, I have reported to the Ministry of Forestry! They will be here at 10am to do the needful. At exactly 10am, the forestry officials came in not only to cut the branch, but also carry it away! My host's words, here, the law works, saddened me, and reminded me of my colleague Ugandan General's statement in 2008, When people know they can get away with murder, they will murder with impunity. But if they know they will be killed for killing, they will not murder! An active citizenry which effectively polices its community will assist in law enforcement! However, so long as Ghanaians see Ghanaians/non-Ghanaians get away with galamsey and forest destruction, plus massive stealing of water at East Legon, Ghanaians will not die for Ghana. The converse is true, if they see effective leadership which enforces the law, irrespective of status and warnings at gates reading, Beware of wild dogs! Leadership, lead! Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP! BY Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (rtd) Former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association Nairobi, Kenya 22.04.2022 LISTEN Its unbelievable. Its incomprehensible. Its surreal if its true. Is it possible for a group of megalomaniacs and psychopaths to develop a coronavirus and a deadly so-called vaccine in order to depopulate humanity, collapse economies, devise a central bank, and rule the entire world? A complaint was filed at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands on December 6, 2021, by UK attorney and human rights activist Hannah Rose, Dr. Mike Yeadon, a qualified life science researcher with a degree in biochemistry in toxicology, a research-based PhD in respiratory pharmacology, and former Vice President and Chief Scientist of allergy and respiratory research at Pfizer, and others. Crimes cited include Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. The following are excerpts from the document: In May, 2018, the WEF partnered with Johns Hopkins to simulate a fictitious pandemic dubbed Clade X (Appendix 12) to see how prepared the world be if ever faced with a catastrophic pandemic. A little over a year later, the WEF once again teamed-up with Johns Hopkins, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to stage another pandemic exercise called Event 201 in October, 2019 (Appendix 13). Both simulations concluded that the world wasnt prepared for a global pandemic. A few short months following the conclusion of Event 201, which specifically simulated a coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared that the coronavirus had reached pandemic status on March 11, 2020. The next severe pandemic will not only cause great illness and loss of life but could also trigger major cascading economic and societal consequences that could contribute greatly to global impact and suffering Event 201 pandemic simulation (October, 2019). Since then, just about every scenario covered in the Clade X and Event 201 simulations has come into play, including: Governments implementing lockdowns worldwide. The collapse of many industries. Growing mistrust between governments and citizens. A greater adoption of biometric surveillance technologies. Social media censorship in the name of combating misinformation. The desire to flood communication channels with authoritative sources. A global lack of personal protective equipment. The breakdown of international supply chains. Mass unemployment; Rioting in the streets. After the nightmare scenarios had fully materialized by mid-2020, the WEF founder declared now is the time for a great reset in June 2021. The World Economic founder is Klaus Swab. How did the unthinkable happen? Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up and speak out, we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice. Robert Kennedy People are kept busy living their daily lives. Working and playing. Humans are either going into a problem situation, in a problem situation, or coming out of a problem situation. Many struggle to pay the bills. Credit card debt, vehicles payments, mortgages, health insurance, food, and all the necessary items keep us preoccupied. Individuals are busy seeking education, training, employment. Humans are partnering or marrying; having children, raising children, and aging. And the list goes on and on. Life is what we do between birth and death thats what were supposed to do. In America and other sovereign nations, we often leave national decisions to the politicians. The mistake is trusting the government too much. Blind trust is dangerous and citizens reap what is sown when those in power are allowed to gaslight, manipulate, and lie. Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited. Lord Acton The planet is constantly being ravished by war, poverty, and death. While the powerful kings rest on their safe thrones, the servants fight the battle. And it appears that myriad people have been gifted gold and silver in exchange for traitorship. Traitors to their own countries and traitors to humanity. Those who become drunk with power and have enriched themselves unlawfully while serving, will continue the same path, while they remain in power. R.J. Intindola What isnt mainstream media covering these unthinkable happenings? Wealth and monopolies. Fear of being fired, shunned, ridiculed, or worse. The promise of power and prestige. One of the recommendations calls for governments to partner with social media companies and news organization to censor content and control the flow of information. Censorship. Throughout 2020, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have been censoring, suppressing, and flagging any coronavirus-related information that goes against World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations as a matter of policy, just as Event 201 had recommendedOfficials have reinforced these controls by criminalising more categories of online expression and arresting journalists, activists, and members for public speaking about the governments performance. To suppress unfavourable health statistics, critical reporting and other COVID-19 content the UK government has blocked websites or forced users, social media platforms, or online outlets to delete information. Read more at https://filedn.com/lNcSErof1HQYvaQ3T6q9gBJ/DEC%202021/icc-complaint-7%20(1).pdf Citizens need to read this document in entirety. Blue Cat Media has a copy of this document on their website and other articles about the pandemic. Visit www.bluecat.media. Arm yourself with information, knowledge, results of current research studies, and alternative news sources. Read updated information and articles at Robert Kennedys website at ww.childrenshealthdefense.org. Watch Info Wars at banned video. Unite with other freedom-loving citizens and hold elected officials accountable. The heroes on the frontlines who are fighting the global elites are being called conspiracy theorists that spread misinformation and disinformation. But they are the superheroes of humanity. Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is a syndicated opinion-editorial columnist. She lives in USA. 22.04.2022 LISTEN The obvious cyclical 8-yearly rotation of power between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should not be seen as a done deal for NDC in election 2024 hence they can present any person for their presidential-candidate. No, surprises can happen as long as wonders never cease. Therefore, the NDC must present a credible candidate without blemish that appeals to the general Ghanaian public, especially, the floating voters. Former President John Dramani Mahama is known to be a man with many skeletons in his closet, although very popular with the NDC for their myopic reasons and personal greed by their top brass. Such a person without integrity and also, is friends with rude guys that have inherent desire to disrespect and lie about others, can no longer be the sure lotto banker to guarantee NDC the win they desperately crave in 2024 despite the seeming come to exist change of power between NDC and NPP every eight years. For Ghana to actually move forward in the best collective interest of the people and herself, a man of integrity, dedicated to the service of his people and nation, farsighted and competent, is required. Therefore, the NDC leadership and their national, regional, district and constituency delegates, should do themselves and the nation a great service by electing a candidate overflowing with the personal characteristics and qualities as are indicated above. Most, or all, of the above qualities, needed to facilitate the forward advancement of Ghana as a nation, are found in Dr Kwabena Duffour. Therefore, the NDC had better choose him as their flagbearer-cum-presidential-candidate going into election 2024. Ghanaians should not make a mistake to elect someone who thinks about acquiring great personal wealth at the expense of the nation. Ghanaians should have a long but not a short memory to avoid being always taken for fools. A person who not long ago teased you for possessing a short memory hence would never listen to whatever you said, regardless; often enjoying and dancing merrily to the lyrics of Yen ntie obiaa, in my candid opinion, is no longer fit to become the president of Ghana. Does the mere mention of John Dramani Mahama as the NDCs favourite presidential-candidate for election 2024 not jog your memory to recall his callousness towards the Ghanaian populace by his public assertion of not listening to anyone who has never become a president of a nation or Ghana before, as well as possessing the dead goat syndrome? To emphasise his unsympathetic feeling towards Ghanaians in all their public outcries to change course when the going became tough for the ordinary Ghanaians, he responded by saying, he is odwan funu, 3nsuro sikan, to wit, he is a dead goat that does not fear a knife or cutlass. When a goat is dead, does it care how you flay and cut it up using a sharp or a blunt knife? No! Will Ghanaians not rather be confirmed as fools, as he, John Dramani Mahama, already takes us for, if in the face of all his publicly expressed intentions and actions, we go ahead to vote to elect him as the next president of Ghana? Was he not a few weeks ago in a meeting of NDC supporters in the United States of America consenting to his partys intent to come back to power to amass personal wealth rather than seeking the collective welfare of Ghanaians? Was he not nodding happily to the pronouncements by his two senior lieutenants when they said, they, thus the NDC leaderships, will come to seek personal wealth and to cater only for the few those who will contribute immensely to bring them to power in 2024, other than seeking the interests of all Ghanaians? Why should a person of that selfish aspiration detrimental to the progress of the nation and Ghanaians as a people, be re-elected to rule Ghana again? Do our elders not admonish us against knowingly stepping into danger when one is visibly in front of you? They say in the Akan proverb that wani tua tum a, yen ntiea mu Ghanaians are very much aware of who John Dramani Mahama is. He is not farsighted. He does not have the ability to think of social interventions and long term programmes needed to advance the nation to enhance the capabilities and living standards of Ghanaians, unlike Nana Akufo-Addo or Dr Bawumia or Dr Kwabena Duffour does, The Ghanaian poor masses will be digging their own grave should they dare vote John Dramani Mahama as president if he were chosen as the flagbearer-cum-presidential candidate of NDC going into election 2024. He does not have the nation at heart. The world order is such that visionary leaders are required by any serious nation and people in order not to be left behind in this technologically advanced world. Dr Kwabena Duffour is a farsighted person with credible and time-tested policies and programmes to help advance Ghana same as Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia aka Mr Digital have. In the course of time, I shall give Ghanaians a hint of some of the credible policies Dr Kwabena Duffour intends to implement for the collective interest of Ghanaians and mother Ghana that I became aware of through his younger brother since almost twenty-five to thirty years ago, if he became the President of Ghana. Some of such his espoused policies are shared by the current president of Ghana, thus, adding value to our raw materials through industrialization before marketing them. Dr Kwabena Duffour, unlike John Dramani Mahama, thinks about the nation and the collective interests of Ghanaians. Such a person is the type that Ghanaians should clamour for to lead them but not the invariably incompetent, disrespectful, short-sighted and insatiably greedy person like John Dramani Mahama. Stay tuned for more info. Rockson Adofo Friday, 22 April 2022 A fuel tanker that sank in waters off Tunisia last weekend was empty, the government said on Friday, ruling out the risk of pollution. The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo was thought to have been carrying 750 tonnes of diesel when it went down en route between Egypt and Malta on Saturday. "The Xelo ship that sank in the Gulf of Gabes does not contain diesel and its tanks are empty," the environment ministry said. "It poses no immediate pollution risk." The authorities would now examine the possibility of refloating and towing the wreck at a later stage, it said in a statement. It did not explain the confusion behind its original statement last Saturday that the ship had been transporting 750 tonnes of diesel. The Tunisian judiciary opened an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. The ship's seven crew members were banned from leaving the country for two weeks, pending the outcome of the probe. 22.04.2022 LISTEN A five-year-old girl fell into a septic tank and died at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region on her birthday on Thursday. The body of Akyia Obeng has since been retrieved from the septic tank (popularly known as manhole) on Thursday, April 21, 2022. After four hours of searching for the girl by her family and neighbours, a search party found the body floating in the septic tank, which was partly covered with wood. Three square openings on the top of the septic tank had been covered with Wawa boards some of them were found broken and when the search party looked through that opening the body was found. It is suspected that the little girl was playing around the septic tank when she accidentally stepped on the wooden board and it gave way. According to the uncle of the deceased, Yaw Kitoa who spoke on a Kumasi based Silver FM, his nephew celebrated her birthday yesterday, April 21, 2022. He said the saddest and unfortunate thing is she died on the same day at about 10am. Narrating how the incident occurred, the uncle revealed that, the young girl together with her elder brother were playing around the wretched Septic. According to him, they went and stood on the weak wooden slabs on the manhole when the side of the wood in which the deceased stood, broke, leading to her falling into the pit. By the time we reached there, she had already drown in the faeces. Magots all over her nostrils, mouth, ear and other holes on the body, Yaw Kitoa added during the interview monitored by Filasconews.com. The body has since been removed from the pit and buried. The Lands Commission has denied claims that the state is using its powers to snatch lands from the chiefs and people in Mpehuasem in the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly. The Lands Commission, in a statement, noted that the said land is government property and, hence, it is doing everything possible to safeguard the land and prevent private developers from encroachment. The Commission assured the public that as the manager of public lands, it will continue to act in the interest of the state to protect all public lands, adding that any person who claims to have an interest in any part of the Mpehuasem public land should approach the Commission with his/her documents. Find below the full statement from the Commission: 20TH APRIL, 2022 PRESS RELEASE ALL MEDIA HOUSES RE: STATEMENT ON THE ABUSE AND USE OF STATE POWER IN THE DEMOLITION OF OUR PROPERTIES CAUSING THREAT OF DANGER AND PEACE IN OUR COMMUNITY DELIVERED BY NII TORGBOR OBODAI AMPAO VI, MANTSE OF MPEHUASEM ON 16TH APRIL, 2022. The attention of the Lands Commission has been drawn to a statement issued by Nii Torgor Obodai Ampao VI, Mantse of Mpehuasem on 16th April 2022, in respect of some lands in Mpehuasem in the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly. The facts of the matter are as follows: In 1974, Government, through the State Lands (Accra-Mpehuasem Site for Accra Training College) Instrument, 1974 (E.I. 72), acquired a parcel of land, originally measuring approximately two hundred and twenty-five point one eight acres (225.18 acres) as state land. Despite this acquisition, the pre-acquisition owners of the land continued to grant portions of the land to prospective developers, resulting in massive encroachment on the land. Following negotiations, the Government entered into an agreement with the pre-acquisition owners of the land, dated 16th December 2008, by which the Government agreed to release one hundred and fourteen point zero five five acres (114.055 acres) of the land to the pre-acquisition owners, and retain one hundred and eleven point one two five acres (111.125 acres), including about fifty acres which houses the Accra College of Education. By the said Agreement, the pre-acquisition owners, in consideration of the land released to them, renounced any future claims to the part of the land retained by the Government. Pursuant to the said Agreement, E.I. 72 of 1974 was revoked and replaced with State Land (Accra-Mpehuasem Site for Accra Training College) Instrument, 2009 (E.I. 16), which reduced the size of the land acquired by the Government from 225.18 acres to the 111.125 acres retained by Government and released the remaining 114.055 acres to the pre-acquisition owners. In accordance with Article 258(1) of the 1992 Constitution and section 5 of the Lands Commission Act, 2008 (Act 767), the said land has been under the management of the Lands Commission since it was acquired in 1974. No person, other than the Commission has the right to make valid grants of the lands retained by the Government under E.I. 16 of the 2009. Indeed, the Commission has, previously, issued public notices alerting prospective developers that the said land is state land, managed by the Lands Commission, and cannot be alienated by any stool, clan, family or individual. Any such grant is unlawful, void and confers no title on the grantee of the land. To ensure orderly development of the area, including the need to ensure a conducive atmosphere for academic work for both the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and the Accra College of Education, the Spatial Planning Committee of the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly, on 22nd June 2021, approved a local plan for the development of the place. To pave way for the redevelopment of the land in accordance with the approved local plan, the Commission under the auspices of the Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources has engaged the services of Aynok Holdings Limited with the assistance of the Ghana Police Service to recover the encroached portions of the land and protect the site from further encroachment. In accordance with the highest standards of transparency, the Commission, on 16th April 2022, issued a public notice, notifying occupants of the said area of the appointment of Aynok Holdings Limited and its intention to clear the area for the redevelopment of the land. It is the expectation of the Commission that any person who claims to have an interest in any part of the land will approach the Commission for verification. The Commission wants to assure the general public that as the manager of public lands, it will continue to act in the interest of the state to protect all public lands. Any person who claims to have an interest in any part of the Mpehuasem public land should approach the Commission with his/her documents. SIGNED EXECUTIVE SECRETARY LANDS COMMISSION Source: Classfmonline.com Antarctic ham radio station active for Children's Day May 5 The Japanese Antarctica Research Expedition(JARE) amateur radio station 8J1RL is conducting 'Special Operation of Children's Day' May 5, where elementary, junior high, and high school students in Japan get priority A translation of the JARL post says: In 2022, the 63rd Japan Antarctic Research Expedition at the Syowa Station plans to operate "Special Operation of Children's Day" as follows. When participating in the Special Operation of Children's Day, please be careful to take measures to prevent the new coronavirus infection by yourself, avoiding thorough hand washing, wearing a mask, ensuring social distance, sealing, denseness, and close action. In addition, if a state of emergency declaration, etc. due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection is issued, etc., if special operation is unavoidably canceled, JARL web will guide you, so please be sure to check when you participate. Date: Thursday, May 5, 2022, 5:00-18:00 JST Operating frequency: 21 MHz band SSB stations that prioritize communication: - association bureaus operated by elementary, junior high, and high school students in Japan - individual stations established by elementary, junior high, and high school students in Japan - individual stations where aerial power in Japan is licensed for 10W or less Source JARL https://tinyurl.com/IARU-Japan 22.04.2022 LISTEN In Slovenia, the year of 2022 has been dubbed super election year because parliamentary, local and presidential elections will be held in it. Ninth parliamentary elections since the declaration of independence of the Republic of Slovenia will he held on 24 April 2022. The elections will be organized according to the proportional electoral system in eight constituencies, comprising of 11 election districts. The total number of eligible votes if 1,699,433. Each constituency is assigned 11 representative mandates (one per district), which will subsequently be divided at the level of the constituency and the state level among political parties proportionally to the share of votes won. In addition to 88 representatives, separate elections are organized for two representatives of ethnic communities (Italian and Hungarian), which will be elected according to the majority system in two separate electoral units (so called ethnic community electoral units). Hence, members of ethnic communities will vote two times at the elections for the Slovenian parliament, which amounts to positive discrimination. The election threshold is 4%. All political parties whose lists get supported with signatures of three representatives or 100 voters at the state level and 50 at the constituency level, can run at the elections. The requirement for nonpartisan election lists is 1000 signatures of voters in each of the 8 constituencies. The following political parties, coalitions and lists will participate in the parliamentary elections: DeSUS Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia /Demokraticna stranka upokojencev Slovenije/ Homeland League /Domovinska liga Dom/ Resni.ca Movement /Gibanje Resni.ca/ Freedom Movement /Gibanje svoboda/ The Left /Levica/ Boris Popovic's List /Digitalizirajmo Slovenijo/ Marjan Sarec's List LMS /Lista Marjana Sarca/ Dr. Aleksandra Pivec's Party - Our Country /Nasa dezela/ Our Future and Good State /Nasa prihodnost in Dobra drzava/ Nonpartisan People's List Movement for a Sound Society / Nestrankarska ljudska lista Gibanja zdrava druzba/ New Slovenia- Christian Democrats /Nova Slovenija - krscanski demokrati/ Pirate Party of Slovenia /Piratska stranka Slovenije/ Let's Unite Slovenia /Povezimo Slovenijo/ (Concretely /Konkretno/, Green /Zeleni/, SLS, NLS, NS) Slovenian Democratic Party / Slovenska demokratska stranka (SDS)/ Slovenian National Party /Slovenska nacionalna stranka (SNS)/ Social Democrats SD /Socialnidemokrati/ Alenka Bratusek's Party SAB /Stranka Alenke Bratusek/ Vesna Green Party /Zelena stranka/ For People of Slovenia /Za ljudstvo Slovenije (ZLS)/ Alliance Lets Liberate Slovenia /Zaveznistvo osvobodimo Slovenijo ZOS/United Slovenia Movement/Gibanje zedinjena Slovenija (ZSI)/ and Party of Slovenian People /Stranka slovenskega naroda (SSN)/. Complicated situation on Slovenian political scene After the 2018 parliamentary elections, a minority government headed by Marjan Sarec (LMS) was established. Sarec made a strategic mistake when on 27 January 2020 he stepped down from the position of the president of the government. He calculated that his resignation could lead to early parliamentary elections, after which he would once again come to the position of the president of the government. Such a reckless move enabled Janez Jansa (SDS) to come to power and form a right-center government, together with the Modern Centre Party /Stranka modernega centra/ (now Concretely /Konkretno/), New Slovenia /Nova Slovenija/ (NSi) and Party of Pensioners /Stranka upokojencev DeSUS/. At the very beginning of the mandate, Jansa's government faced the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and attributed its unreadiness to cope with the pandemic the government to Sarec's government. Slovenia undertook rigorous measures in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. However, majority of the measures proved to be excessive, some even unnecessary, while many were illegal and unconstitutional. Furthermore, questionable and dubious spending, that is misuse of public money was also recorded during the pandemic. Despite the promises made that the government would unify the citizens and the announcements that the coalition parties will act as a corrective to the government headed by Janez Jansa and his Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), the practice was completely different. Janez Jansa is regarded as an ally and satellite of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Fidesz), who is Putin's key satellite in the European Union and NATO. This connection quickly became evident on the Slovenian political scene, particularly through the actions undertaken by Jansa's government and creation of an atmosphere in the society that had earlier also been typical of Jansa's rule. Analysts believe that this needs to be understood in the context of the fact that Budapest had become a center of The Internationale of Crime, while key actors in these financial (Russian) transactions have been identified as Putinians. A step further was made. A period of divisions and radicalization of the Slovenian society, establishment of Orban's model of rule and introduction of some different and alleged European values into the Slovenian social space begun. The suitable and obedient, but inexperienced, got appointed to positions. Pressure was put on the judiciary, while appointment of EU-delegated prosecutors was avoided. Pressuring and subordination of the media also became evident (most prominent cases include the RTV Slovenia broadcaster and the Slovenian News Agency - STA), as well sa untransparent use of budget funds and creation of a new social elite on the basis of personal criteria and preference of Janez Jansa. In fact, Jansa introduced in Slovenia an autocratic, chancellor-model of government in which all decisions are made by one single person Janez Jansa. The abuse of the repressive police apparatus and security-intelligence services, which keeps surveillance on opposition politicians, reporters and civil society, has also become evident. On many occasions Slovenian and foreign organizations dealing with human rights and status of democracy warned about the developments in the Slovenian society. Drops in ratings of Slovenia were also recorded in a number of areas. At the same time, during the rule of Janez Jansa, the speaker of the parliament, who is a member of an opposition party, served a major part of his mandate. This indicates that there is no clear parliamentary majority. Slovenia between Brussels and Budapest The close connection between the current Janez Jansa's government and the Visegrad group of states (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia), particularly Hungary and its Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is of no surprise. The credit for this connection can be attributed to the former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski (VMRO-DPMNE), to whom Viktor Orban has been providing refuge in Hungary for several years already, despite the international arrest warrant. What is typical for the Visegrad Group is that all member states are net receivers of European funds and, generally, as a rule, oppose the official Brussels on important issues, where it is necessary to demonstrate unity within the EU and adopt decisions on the future of the EU. The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party, who had already left the largest political group in the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EPP), are the most prominent actors in such activities. Viktor Orban is known as the main man of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the EU and NATO-u. Early last year, the so-called non-papers attributable to the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa were leaked to the public, which further deteriorated the very tense situation in the Western Balkans. The existence of the non-paper was confirmed also by the President of the European Council Charles Michel. Subsequent developments and tensions in the Western Balkans were in line with the contents of the respective non-papers. It is also worth noting that Slovenia, together with Hungary and Croatia, blocked the decision on EU sanctions to Milorad Dodik (SNSD), Member of the BiH Presidency, who is also known as Putin's satellite in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hence, it is obvious that Putin had launched his satellites into the orbit of European and Balkan politics. All the activities clearly show that the Slovenian foreign policy has directly or indirectly been in the function of Putin's policy within the EU and on the West Balkans, which is aimed at destruction of the unity within the EU and destabilization. Hence, it has been successful in completing the task so far. Therefore, the recent excursion of the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa to Kyiv is regarded in international circles with caution and suspicions. As a result of such a policy, Slovenia has lost the position it had enjoyed in the West Balkans, and due to the close connections with Victor Orban, as Putins satellite, international circles regard Slovenia with major reservations and utmost caution. In this context, it is important to understand that Jansa's engagement in Ukraine and the attempt to include Ukraine in the Slovenian election campaign is an experiment of improvision and unseriousness. It is crystal clear that a country of the size and stature in international relations, such as Slovenia, currently cannot resolve the burning global problem as is the Russian invasion on Ukraine. Furthermore, several years ago Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa slipped and insulted the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as US President Joseph Biden. Jansa's adventurism in foreign policy reflected also on his relations with China because of his solo stances on Taiwan, which triggered strong response by the Chinese authorities. Nevertheless, in such circumstances Jansa nominated Slovenia for the position of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2024-2025 period, which is an act of foreign-policy amateurism. One should also not neglect the fact that in the past Slovenia had already unsuccessfully applied for the position of a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2012-2013 period. A state that is a full-fledged member of the EU and NATO, as well as aspires to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council should pursue a more appropriate foreign policy engagement. Analysts believe that at the upcoming parliamentary elections the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia will decide on the future of their country. Specifically, will the future of their country be directed towards the very core of the EU and cooperation within EU institutions or towards Budapest and Victor Orban. Change of mindset of Slovenians The revision of Slovenian history by the current Slovenian government is aimed to present the defeated forces from World War II as the winners. This is a twisted act. Awakening of the defeated fascist ideologies has become a constant of the current government and it triggers strong reactions at social and political level. Slovenians as a nation are profound antifascists and very sensitive when it comes to falsification of history. Features of the autocratization process[2] are also apparent through the intensive attacks on the civil society, attacks on the reporters and censorship in the media. According to the report on the status of democracy by the University in Gothenborg, the states[3] with increased media censorship by the government are Mauritius, Poland and Slovenia. The countries that are most rapidly plunging into autocracy include Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Myanmar and Slovenia. According to the global Human Freedom Index, Slovenia has dropped to the 36th position, which indicates a descending trend. Furthermore, according to Gallup, Slovenia is among the top ten countries when it comes to anti-American sentiments. Analysts believe that just as he himself had announced, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa needs five years for the experiment of liberation of Slovenia. In this context, he naturally plans to change the mindset of Slovenians as a profoundly antifascist nation into something diametrically opposite. Slovenians need a vision for the future, not falsification of history. Slovenian mistrust in established political parties In Slovenia, in the fourth election cycle the voters showed mistrust in established political parties. This is a consequence of their actions so far, because they did not offer innovative political programs, new faces and a more certain future to the citizens. It needs to be emphasized that while in 2004, when it became an EU member, Slovenia was the leading country in the group of 10 newly integrated countries by all indicators, it is now in the middle of the rankings. As a politician and president of a political party, Janez Jansa is the only one in the EU with an almost 30-year mandate, which is a novum in democratic societies. This is an indicator of incapacitated democracy and leads to autocracy. Analysts believe that Slovenia is faced with a serious crisis of political elites, which commenced with the departure of prime minister and president of many years, Janez Drnovsek, from the political scene. As a result of such a situation, in each election cycle the voters seek new trustworthy individuals. At the current elections, they see Robert Golob as such an individual and his recently established Freedom Movement is the favorite in the parliamentary elections. Slovenia to face political changes The data presented by the Chair of the Commission for Prevention of Corruption (KPK) Robert Sumi[4] , according to which Slovenia is at major loss because of corruption and loses up to 3.5 billion Euros per year (which practically is the entire budget of the Republic of North Macedonia) offers an illustration of the situation in Slovenia. Public opinion polls indicate that the Freedom Movement has a lead, and is followed by the Slovenian Democratic Party. Namely, the parliamentary elections will factually be a contest between two main political contestants. Specifically, Golob's Freedom Movement and Jansa's SDS, which diminishes the chances of smaller parties to pass the election threshold. Analysts believe that Slovenia needs competent politicians with democratic capacity to achieve the much needed social consensus on the future. Slovenia needs a higher level of political culture, as in the current mandate of Jansa's government it had reached the lowest level since it gained independence. After the elections, Slovenia will need a conclave of key actors of the Slovenian state and society to decide on how is Slovenia to stop its further regression and ensure its future. The announced political changes in Slovenia also open the possibility of repetition of Trump's syndrome in the transfer of authority. It is possible that the current government will not recognize the results of the elections and bring into question the legality and legitimacy of the election process and in such a way try to justify the defeat at the elections to its voters. Parliamentary elections will also have a direct impact on the local and presidential elections scheduled to take place in the second half of 2022. Ljubljana, 22 April 2022 22.04.2022 LISTEN 1. Language is one of the most important parts of any culture. It is their heritage, the way by which they communicate with one another, build relationships, and create a sense of community. 2. Ga and Dangme is the language of the people of Greater Accra and the school is viewed as the main avenue for enhancing proficiencies in the spoken language and for the acquisition of reading and writing skills needed for continuous learning and personal development. 3. Greater Accra, which is the home of the Ga and Dangme people, also serves as the gateway to Ghana with an enviable vibrant capital city. It is densely populated and represents about one-third in contribution to the Countrys GDP. Greater Accra has accommodated the most diverse number of tribes mainly because it hosts the countrys major industrial and commercial centres. 4. Sadly, it is feared that a time is coming when the Ga and Dangme language would not be heard due to the phasing off of the Ga and Dangme language in most basic schools in Greater Accra Region which is contrary to the 2004 language policy in Education. 5. In January 2001, the Director General of the Ghana Education Service rationalized the Ghanaian policy as follows: The fundamental philosophy underlying the Ghanaian Language Policy in our schools is to enable the individual acquire a sense of cultural identity and make him/her literate in his/her own mother tongue. Another essential factor is that basic literacy in ones mother tongue or the local language enhances the childs ability to transfer and apply acquired learning skills in the local language to proficiency in learning English and other languages. (Signed by the Director General of GES, Jan. 2001) 6. A government white paper published after the submission of the Education Review Committees report accepted this recommendation. On the issue of the medium of instruction in P1 3, a section of the white paper reads: Government accepts the recommendation that the childrens home language and Ghanas official language, English, should be used as the medium of instruction at the kindergarten and primary level (2004, p.27). 7. In the same section, there was a caveat, which seemed to give some weight to the local language as follows: where teachers and learning materials are available and linguistic composition of classes is fairly uniform, the childrens first language must be used as the dominant medium of instruction in kindergarten and lower primary (p.27 &28). 8. Ghanas current language policy (2004 language policy in Education) mandates the use of the childs L1 as the language of instruction from kindergarten through Grade 3, with English as the L1 thereafter. English is taught as the subject in the lower primary grades, while Ghanaian languages become a subject of study from Grade 4 through grade 9. 9. Essentially, the Policy is that, instruction at the Lower Primary Level (Primary 1 3) will be conducted in the pupils mother tongue, or in the major Ghanaian Language of the local area, while English will be studied as one of the subjects offered at the Lower Primary Level. From Primary 4 onwards, class instruction will be conducted in English; and the Ghanaian Language will then be studied as one of the subjects offered. 10. However the phasing off of the Ga and Dangme language in the greater Accra region has raised a lot of concerns that needs to be addressed with immediate effect. 11. On 15th Feb. 2021, Nene Tetteh Waka III, Paramount chief of Prampram Traditional area in a letter to the Ministry of Education, bemoaned the Ministry to reinforce the teaching and learning of Ga and Dangme languages in all basic schools in the Greater Accra Region 12. In a Graphic online story dated 11th February 2021, the chief of Oyibi, Nii Bortey Frankwa also regretted the phasing off of the Ga and Dangme language and requested the Ministrey of Education to ensure the teaching of Ga and Dangme in all basic schools in the Greater Accra Region. 13. A Ghana News Agency story on February 24th also captured the anger of the Queen Mother of La, Naa Ju Yoo Tsofayelor I, demanding the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of education to review their policy of transferring and posting local language teachers outside their home region. 14. On March 4, 2022, Reverend Daniel Kpebitey, Superintendent Minister of the Kaneshie Circuit of the Methodist Church added his voice to the dissatisfaction with the eradication of Ga heritage through the phasing off of the Ga and Dangme language. 15. Citifmonline in a report on on 1st March 2021 also carried a story in which the Greater Accra Regional Minster designate Mr. Henry Quartey, during his vetting mentioned that he will prioritize the teaching of Ga in all greater Accra schools. 16. To improve the teaching of Ga and Dangme language in the Greater Accra Region, it is urgent that: the Ghana Education Service trains more Ga and Dangme teachers the Ghana Education Service aborts the transfer of Ga and Dangme teachers to other regions the Chiefs, assemblies, municipalities of the Greater Accra Region takes keen interest in the sponsoring of Ga and Dangmeteachers. 17. In conclusion, just as Twi is taught in the Ashanti Region and Ewe in the Volta Region, the teaching of Ga should never be phased off in the Greater Accra Region. Thank you Concerned Ga's of Tema. Abibinsroma Foundation calling on citizens to support the OPERATION CLEANS YOUR FRONTAGE as part of protecting Planet Earth. Background: Over the past few years, Accra has been battling with the issue of filth. Waste management has been a very key issue in Accra and immediate ways to curb that situation has been initiated by Mr Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister. Miss Beatrice Nana Tima Amoah, a 17year old environmental activist of AbibiNsroma Foundation expresses her worry about improper disposal and inadequate collection of waste or litter in the commercial capital city of Accra and it's environs. This is making lives uncomfortable for inhabitants of the city and this comes along with major risks like pollution which leads to the spread of diseases such as malaria, cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea, typhoid, respiratory infections among others. There's a saying that ....."Cleanliness is next to Godliness". Imagine living in a community filled with filth; will there be presence of God in that community? We all need to be each other's keeper. The Bible therefore asks us to be good stewards of the environment so if we fail to take good care of our environment or the Earth; it goes a long way to affect us in one way or the other. Ocean plastics pollution and indiscriminate burning of trash all affect the wellbeing of Earth, the only known habitat for human life. Climate change is harshly affecting our lives across the globe. As tidal waves continue to hit hard along the coastal stretch of Ghana such as Tema Manhean specifically the Sea Light electoral area and Abonko, lives and properties are threatened day and night. Vulnerable residents lose their livelihoods to the tidal waves, sea erosion and flooding. One major problem of filth in our communities is retardation of growth. The revenue earned by the government which would be used for developmental projects would rather be used to replace lost properties which have been destroyed and also to compensate families who have lost their loved ones. I therefore urge each and everyone of you to support the OPERATION CLEAN YOUR FRONTAGE initiative which is championed by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Quartey whose aim is to seek to make it obligatory for all individuals and cooperate institutions to be responsible for cleaning and greening of their immediate surroundings. The agenda of the Regional Minister is intended to instil discipline and enforce the laws of sanitation towards positive behaviour or attitude in order to achieve the cleanest city in West Africa. Call on every citizen to support the new drive by the government so together we can be proud of our investment in ensuring a safe clean city and to protect the Earth our only home. By Beatrice Nana Tima Amoah. 22.04.2022 LISTEN Building a culture of reading is fundamental to the success and growth of every society. Society and nations thrive on knowledge financial, sociological, technological, psychological, religious and cultural which is largely stored in books. Since books have always been the depository of knowledge, any tool that gives one the power or capacity to access their contents is to be much appreciated. Consequently, as the World celebrates the World Book and Copyright Day, which falls on April 23 of every year, it is important that we reiterate how reading and books have played immeasurable role in the building of nations and societies. Reading is a reliable tool that gives everyone - the rich, the poor, the weak, the strong, children, teenagers and the adult - unfettered access to the nuggets of gold stored in books. For this reason, anyone with the ability to read can delve into the belly of books to benefit from the rich and unquantifiable knowledge that books provide. Reading also gives a society access to facts and innovative ideas about life needed to fulfil the aspirations of every society. Not only that but also the love of reading has the ability to develop and hone the creative ability of individuals. This ensures a successful academic pursuits and acquisition of relevant skills needed for national development. Books all over the world carry the experiences and history of society, and they serve as a guide for people to chat the right path. Readers build a better character by learning from the negative experiences of characters in books who took wrong decisions which led to their downfall. Positive experiences that teach the importance of honesty, loyalty, hard work, endurance, patience, resilience and patriotism are also reinforced. In the same vein, when a child is put on the right path toward building a lifelong love of reading, that child is given one of the best investments to build the right character to function effectively in the society. This is because, right from the childhood stage, a child gets access to myriad of experiences as a result of reading a variety of books. The childhood stage is when habits are easily formed and habits that are desirable and worthy for nation building are reinforced. Reading also gives one the capacity to acquire specific knowledge needed to enhance ones personal growth and development. Today, with technological advancement, it has become easy for one to sit in the house and acquire knowledge in investment, insurance policies, computing, and anything that one needs to improve him or herself to function effectively in the society. Any society with the less endowed persons, such as school drop-outs, Kayayes, street children etc. can improve their lots by taking steps to ensure that its people are given the opportunity to learn how to read. Helping society to develop a culture of reading is akin to teaching the child how to fish. When a child acquires a skill in reading, that child can use the skill to acquire specific knowledge, facts and innovative ideas to enhance his or her personal growth and development in the future. For individuals and society to withstand the storms and hurdles of life, they require confidence in their ability to do so. The ability to read gives one confidence. This confidence is borne out of the knowledge one acquires, as well as a persons ability to read and write to express his or her thought to solve problems during challenging and critical situations. The COVID-19 pandemic required the use of science and data for the prevention and treatment of the disease. That required, to large extent, ones ability to read extensively to acquire knowledge that would help one to appreciate how the disease is contracted, prevented from spreading and the effect mitigated to save lives. On the back of the benefit of reading, as indicated above, on Monday, April 25, 2022, the Ghana Book Development Council, in collaboration with the Ghana Publishers Association, the Ghana Association of Writers, the UNESCO Ghana, the Copyright Ghana, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and other stakeholders in the book industry would commemorate the World Book and Copyright Day, under the theme, Reading to Develop Minds, to drum home the importance of reading to national development. The event which takes place at Omanyeaba Hall, Accra Metropolitan Assembly Head Office, will also be used to publicise Accra World Book Capital 2023 title. The World Book and Copyright Day is an important day celebrated by member states of the United Nations (UN). Among other reasons, the event is organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on the 23rd of April, every year, to promote reading, publishing and copyright. All over the world, books and reading are celebrated; and reading and its related activities are undertaken on the day by member states to celebrate the importance of books and reading. By Daniel Ofosu-Asamoah Literacy Promotion Manager Ghana Book Development Council Akwamufie glowed in rich culture and tradition on Thursday when Costa Rican Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr and Dr Natalia Kanem, UN Under-Secretary General, paid a courtesy call on Akwamuhene Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III. Their visit to the historic town tucked away on the banks of the Volta River, dubbed: "The Return Mission" was to advance and promote the rights of People of African Descent. Madam Barr, Costa Rica's first Black Vice-President, is the Champion of the rights of the People of African Descent in Latin America whereas Dr Kanem, an Afro-descendant herself, also the Executive Director, United Nations Population FUND (UNFPA), is the UN Secretary-General's Champion to further the agenda of people of African heritage. Odeneho Akoto in August last year led a delegation from Ghana to mark the first International Day for People of African Descent in Costa Rica. The Observance, spearheaded by the United Nations, aimed at promoting the contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent. As part of the Return Mission, a grand durbar was held at the Bogyawe Palace at Akwamufie in the Eastern Region on Thursday, April 21, 2022 in honour of the two dignitaries and to mark their triumphant return to their motherland -the origin of their African ancestors. The colourful gathering was awash with various shapes and types of Kente clothing, smock, and other elegant African apparel. The Atitrew Culture Group treated the gathering to scintillating cultural dance and music. Dr Kanem arrived at the durbar grounds wearing red traditional war regalia and a hand-woven traditional helmet. Madam Barr, who was beaming with smiles, wore a straight dress made from a traditional fabric and draped in colourful Kente scarves. The two dignitaries were given a hero's welcome at Akwamufie as the gathering cheered their arrival with singing, dancing, and appellations. To signify their full acceptance as citizens of the Akwamu State, Odeneho Akoto conferred on Dr Kanem and Madam Barr traditional names, which were affirmed at the durbar. Dr Kanem was renamed Obaatanpa Adwoa Okyerebea, which means bearer of the sacred pot. Madam Barr on the other hand, would henceforth be recognised as Nana Hemea Yaa Boamah Afrakoma (Daughter of the guiding beacon) in the Akwamu State. Odeneho Akoto explained that the affirmations of the names are a powerful reinstatement of your true identity. They are also a call to action, carrying a great responsibility to represent your heritage with dignity and purpose while being a visible part of helping to develop your people here at home and across the world, he said. Dr Kanem expressed profound gratitude to the Chiefs and people of Akwamu for the "magnificent reception." She said the surest way to ensure a healthy equal and prosperous future for African people and People of African Descent was to invest especially in the future of young girls in Africa to achieve their full potential in life. "This is the Return Mission. This is the reunification mission, and indeed it is wonderful to be with you, to reconnect with our African roots to experience the rich culture, the beautiful music, the art, the dance, the customs and the other expressions of identify and creativity that uplift the spirit and unite us all," she said. Madam Barr called for continuous collaboration and partnership between Africans and the People of African Descent to change the narrative and propel the development of the continent. The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent to ensure their full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights as well as their full and equal participation in all aspects of society. The theme for the International Decade is, People of African descent: recognition, justice and development. GNA A Somali man went on trial in Germany on Friday accused of stabbing three people to death and injuring several others, with prosecutors seeking to have him placed in psychiatric care. The suspect, an asylum seeker with a history of mental health problems, faces charges including murder and attempted murder before the Wuerzburg district court in Germany's southern Bavaria region. The attack took place in the city centre of Wuerzburg last June. The suspect stands accused of using a long kitchen knife in a random attack on people at a household goods store before running into the street. Three women were killed and nine people injured in the rampage. Prosecutors initially considered an Islamist motive but this suspicion was not confirmed in the investigation that followed. Two court-ordered experts have said the suspect suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The trial will seek to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for his actions. Munich prosecutors are not asking for a prison sentence, but want the man to be committed to a closed psychiatric facility. According to the prosecutors, the suspect has said that voices in his head told him to carry out the attack because he felt unfairly treated in Germany. The Somali arrived in Germany in 2015. Berlin took in more than a million asylum seekers in 2015-2016 at the height of Europe's migrant crisis. The influx was deeply divisive in Germany and fuelled the popularity of the far-right AfD party. 22.04.2022 LISTEN Children are primarily entrusted to biological parents and secondarily to society. As the most vulnerable group with no voice, the conscientious folks must try to minimize their suffering, beyond physical. Technology, laws, and lobby groups are sadly used in a very risky manner against children of our age, especially in the west. This does not mean African and other poor countries are not harming children in other ways, but the focus of this article is about upcoming new problems from the west to the world. The technology aided LGBTQ biological children and post menopause women should be closely studied, if not banned. When heterosexual parents offer children for adoption, it is wiser to give heterosexual parents a priority, but we cannot totally exclude fairly decent LGBTQ adults as resort option for children in need. Although I see LGBTQ as disposition, I do not believe society should kill or jail them, just educate and let God judge. Worse than unstudied adoptions by LGBTQ is helping them have children without studying the effects on the children. Even the LGBTQ friendly media admit they change partners more often than average heterosexuals. Reciprocal law asks if you were to reincarnate on earth, what types of parents will you prefer, tolerate, and/or rather wait? Growing through different parents can be challenging, and poorer black Americans are enough as example. Rappers rap about 'why am I seeing different uncles in the house every week', because children like stability and know sexual 'uncles' at times. Adopted children by LGBTQ parents was just in the thousands, and were suppose to be closely studied. With technology, new laws, and about 50 million+ rising LGBTQ, the world will see millions of children by LGBTQ and less likely any reasonable studying. Children and wealth are universal desires, thus many LGBTQ will opt for children when legally allowed. Western governments see it as financial opportunity, way to raise their declining population, and votes seeking opportunity against children. When a lesbian buys or take a sperm donation, the laws of many countries do not care about the child's right to know their actual parents. Whereas a five year old may not care much being surrounded by two women or men, the thirteen to fifteen year olds will have wet dreams or learn about sex in other ways. Suppose the teenager is heterosexual, it may be very hard to tell friends these 'two women' are my parents, one is my dad and the other is mum? Even within self it will be challenging, but some friends will make it harder. When parental tension rises, the heterosexual teenager may wonder if the parents sexual orientation is not part of the problem. If she cannot tolerate men, but lie she just don't prefer men, how will she manage a teenage boy without over molding him to be half a man? Imagine a heterosexual girl under lesbian parents? Sexual abuse is also going to be more likely in LGBTQ parenting, because they lack mental balance of emotions, including sexual emotions. Feel free to question my assumptions based on the thousands of under studied adoptions, but we are heading to millions and the next twenty years is when we can study adoption versus millions of technology aided children. My worries are largely psychological effects of such children beyond sex. Will they have more mental health problems, be more violent due to confusion or feeling neglect by government and society at large, etc. 'I want to know my sperm donor and not ready for lengthy bureaucracy.' Use drugs more to adjust to unanswered questions, etc. Menopause is not a punishment to women, but a natural favor to minimize orphans and the hard emotions of losing a parent. When a law allows women to store eggs and have children at seventy , ninety years old, then die. We can celebrate satisfying the raw desires of a woman, ask the child to be thankful for 'life', and be indifferent to the emotions of a grieving child with questionable empathy. There is life in hell, including some earthly life, so I refuse to call every life a blessing. I am thankful for enjoying over forty years with my parents, so I do not know how to say to a child to be happy for five years with parents, because a woman/man and state ignore the lessons of nature and gamble lives and emotions through technology. Society can bear the financial burden of such children with or without inheritance, but society have the responsibility to advise parents to be more realistic, be content, and learn from nature, instead of unnecessary and reckless defiance to nature and children. I know the so called feminists will argue how about the seventy year old man who have children with forty year old woman? Our responsibility is to tell men to avoid having children at late age. Not every natural 'can' or 'technology' aided 'can' concur with should or conscience. 'Can' does not mean 'should' nor 'want'. The women who voluntarily have children with very old men are 'partners in crime', especially in our age. Feel free to marry older men, but use safest birth control if they are too old, unless you are indifferent to children. Chapter 103 demands we 'exhort each other to truth and patience', so you have the right and responsibility to advise beyond your country or continent. Care does not know boundaries, but never impose where patience may be more ideal. The Africans who argue they brought LGTBQ to reduce our population are cowardly dummies. Wrong arguments will make them laugh at you, hang on to LGBTQ more, and make babies in risky ways. Instead, our task is to advise and make laws that protect third parties, not two guilty or questionable folks. Considering some of them think women need months to decide if they should stop the heart of a baby as 'my body', they may argue women need decades to decide on having children at late age. When LGBTQ wants the fruits of heterosexuals or questionable women argue they have the right to compete with questionable men, you and I must stand up where we can and should. Every power on earth is for testing purpose, meaning it can be used for varying level of good or bad, including technology. If we push for worldwide marijuana legalization, we may get more inspiration to separate truth from lies and illusions. May God bless Showlove Trinity: Let's learn, let's work, let's have fun. By Jarga kebba Gigo Activist and transformer 22.04.2022 LISTEN The Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) on Thursday, April 21, 2022, organized the 15th congregation for its graduating students. The graduands protested the institution's management's poor planning of the ceremony when the rain forced them to vacate the durbar. The fresh students who were also scheduled for lectures got disappointed when the security ordered them to stay outside under the mercy of the rains without any prior notice to them. This created a chaotic scene on campus as graduands demonstrate against management, family members crashing eachother for shelter and fresh students charged on security guards to force their way in. A student told this reporter, Before leaving home the weather was cloudy. So when I got to campus, I realized that some of the students were standing outside which were the freshers, the level hundred and diploma one students. I asked and they said they weren't allowed entry. We were asked to stand outside by the security. He said we can't enter. It is only the graduands and their families that are allowed to enter.NEven with that some of the graduands had friends with cameras but the security said if the camera is not approved or authorized they cannot send it inside. So it's either they leave the camera outside and enter, or they don't enter at all. That brought some kind of confusion. So one of the graduands had to come out there and then I ask the security, why they were doing that? What if his family came for the program and had a camera. They wouldn't allow it in? And he replied, yes, they wouldn't allow it. So people had to give their cameras to the security before they could be allowed to enter. We were still standing outside. Then there was some kind of commotion because some level 100 students were supposed to submit their assignments. It even got to a point they had to sneak in. Then it started raining, at that moment we all had to rush in but they were still holding us back and didn't allow us to enter. I can say we stood there for almost an hour. So when it started raining there was distortion everywhere and everyone was moving up and down, looking for shelter because the program was supposed to be held outside. Everyone was running inside the auditorium and the place became very congested from the 335 building to the main entrance of the school. Then finally we were allowed to enter, but when we were going, the place was so crowded that you had to push to find a way to go inside. The whole thing was something else. I saw the police around trying to put the place in order. So I went inside and I saw the Rector speaking and presenting awards. 22.04.2022 LISTEN The Cape Coast High Court (CCHC) Decision of July 28, 2021, in the Hon. Quayson case was inconsistent with the provisions of Article 94(3) of the 1992 Constitution. The CCHC ruled that at the time of filing his nomination forms, Hon. Quayson held Canadian Citizenship and was therefore ineligible to stand for election. Below are the provisions of Article 94(3): A person shall not be eligible to be a member of Parliament if he (a) is prohibited from standing election by a law in force in Ghana by reason of his holding or acting in an office the functions of which involve a responsibility for or are connected with the conduct of an election or responsibility for, the compilation or revision of an electoral register; or (b) is a member of the Police Service, the Prisons Service, the Armed Forces, the Judicial Service, the Legal Service, the Civil Service, the Audit Service, the Parliamentary Service, the Statistical Service, the Fire Service, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, the Immigration Service, or the Internal Revenue Service; or (c) is a chief. The operative word here is ELIGIBLE... to put yourself up to be voted for. Hon. Quaysons circumstances at the time of filing his nomination forms did not fall into any one of the categories listed in the above section of the constitution. So at the time of filing his nomination forms, Hon. Quayson was 100% eligible as per Article 94(3) of the 1992 Constitution even if he had dual citizenship. In fact, he was not excluded either by Article 94(3) of the constitution or PNDC Law 284. The decision of the High court thus was wrong and erroneous. Article 94(2)(a) is what comes close to Hon. Quaysons situation: (2) A person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he (a) owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana. On January 07, 2021, when Hon. Quayson became a Member of Parliament, however, was not a dual citizen and he had not been a Member of Parliament anytime in the history of Ghana until January 07, 2021. It was on January 07, 2021, that Article 94(2)(a) kicked in as far as Hon. Quayson was concerned, that is being a Member of Parliament. To judge Hon. Quayson in accordance with Article 94(2) in my respectful opinion amounts to a lack of understanding of the provisions of this Article, for he was a Parliamentary Candidate, not a Member of Parliament. If Hon. Quayson was not a Canadian Citizen at the time of filing for nomination but became a Canadian citizen on January 06, 2021, could he be qualified to be a member of Parliament the following day? If a candidate filed for nomination and this candidate is declared bankrupt on January 06, a day before Parliament opens, is this person qualified as a member of Parliament as per Article 94(2)(i) because he filed the nomination when he/she had not been declared bankrupt? How can someone who will be twenty-one years on January 07 of the year Parliament opens be disqualified because he/she was not twenty-one years on the day of filing nomination, which can be months away? The provisions of Article 94(1)(2)(4)(5) kick in on January 07. The provision of Article 94(3) kicks in at filing of nomination. Hon. Quaysons situation falls under 94(2)(a) and kicked in on January 07, 2021, when Parliament began thus when filing for nomination, he was eligible. It is very sad and unfortunate that The Supreme Court would, on April 13, 22, endorse this erroneous judgement. The Supreme Court can do Ghanaians a favour, as it is paramount, by interpreting Article 94 of the 1992 Constitution in its entirety. According to the CCHC, Hon. Quayson had his certificate of renunciation of Canadian Citizenship on November 26, 2020; eleven days before the elections and 42 days before entering Parliament hence, on entering Parliament as a member on January 07, 2021, Hon. Quayson in my opinion was qualified under Article 94(2)(a) The CCHC ruling is totally inconsistent with Article 92(3) of the 1992 Constitution since Hon. Quayson does not fall under the listed ineligible categories. There is no where in the constitution which states that before filing for nomination one should not have any other nationality. Prospective Parliamentarians are not Members of Parliament. Hon. Quaysons circumstances did not fall under the provisions of Article 94(3) and therefore, he is a subject of injustice. Adverse decisions and threats to prevent the diaspora from helping solve the countrys problems are not helpful. Written by Nana Osei Mensah Bonsu (Migration and Citizenship Consultant) French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen threw themselves into a final flurry of campaigning Friday, hoping to mobilise millions of floating voters before the weekend media blackout ahead of Sunday's run-off. The latest opinion polls show Macron the free-market centrist, pro-European incumbent leading his anti-immigration, eurosceptic challenger by between 10 and 14 points. This is well outside the margin of error, but the fact that nearly three in 10 voters say they will not vote or have not made up their minds means a surprise Le Pen win cannot be ruled out altogether. Four separate surveys published on Thursday and Friday put turnout at between 72 percent and 74 percent potentially the lowest for a presidential run-off since 1969. On Friday, both candidates fired off attacks in interviews before last-minute walkabouts and rallies. Le Pen insisted that opinion polls giving Macron the lead would be proved wrong. "Polls aren't what decide an election," she said after posing for selfies in the northern Channel town of Etaples. She again took aim at her rival's plan to push back the retirement age to 65 from 62, a reform the president was forced to put on ice after fierce protests two years ago. "With Emmanuel Macron, the French are going to get a life sentence," she said. Answers 'not viable' Macron, meanwhile, said Le Pen was trying to mask an authoritarian "extreme right" platform that stigmatises Muslims with a plan to outlaw headscarves in public, and to "abandon the founding texts of our Europe ... that protect individuals, human rights and freedoms". "Millions of our fellow citizens have moved towards her party and project because she gives the impression that she has an answer for the problem of purchasing power. But her answers aren't viable," he told France Inter radio on Friday. Macron also acknowledged that his attempts at economic and social reform had left many French angry and dissatisfied. Le Pen "has managed to draw on some of what we did not manage to do, on some of the things I did not manage to do to pacify some of the anger," Macron said, citing the concerns of low- and middle-income voters over law and order or loss of purchasing power. He later headed for Figeac in southern France ahead of a final TV interview this evening, while Le Pen gave a final rally in the picturesque town of Abbeville. Under French election rules all campaigning and opinion polling ends at midnight Friday through to 8:00pm on Sunday, when initial estimates of results start coming in. Low-turnout wildcard The biggest challenge facing both candidates is to capture floating voters who backed other candidates, in particular those on the left and the 7.7 million who voted for Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round. Melenchon came in third with 22 percent and has refused to urge his millions of followers to back Macron, a former investment banker. Analysts say abstention rates could reach 25 to 30 percent, in particular among left-wing voters unhappy with Macron's pro-business agenda including his tax cuts for businesses and top earners. Spring school vacations will also be in full swing across much of the country this weekend, increasing the chances that many voters won't cast ballots and adding a wildcard to the final outcome. The live TV debate between the two rivals on Wednesday does not appear to have changed much in voters' minds, with most showing intentions to vote for Macron at 53 to 56 percent against 44 to 47 for Le Pen. That would be a much closer result than in 2017 when Macron carried the day with 66 percent to 34 percent an indication that Le Pen's efforts to soften and "de-demonise" her party's image may have paid off. If he wins, Macron would be the first French president to be re-elected since Jacques Chirac in 2002. Should Le Pen win, she will be France's first far-right president and the country's first female head of state. Read our 2022 presidential election coverage here Spain's young radio hams to attend YOTA Camp Spain's national amateur radio society URE has announced it's intention to participate in this year's Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) camp A translation of the URE post says: As has been tradition,the URE intends to participate in the Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) camp organized by the IARU Region I. The Xth edition of YOTA camp will be held in the city of Karlovac, Croatia, 50 km from the capital Zagreb, and will take place in August. At YOTA Camp we will continue with the Train-The-Trainer (TTT) program as the main theme throughout the week. Participants will work on the future of amateur radio and participate in workshops where they gain skills to initiate similar amateur radio youth events upon returning home. As such, we aim to create a snowball effect, creating more and more YOTA events around the world, allowing other young people and newcomers to enjoy amateur radio. However, TTT will not be the only theme of the event. There will be time to operate state-of-the-art equipment both locally and remotely, build kits and visit the capital and beach! Since there are many nationalities visiting the camp, there will also be cultural activities: such as the intercultural evening, where participants can bring food and drink from their home country to be shared by all. To get a better idea of what participants are doing, check out the gallery and video clips from previous YOTA camps in . Each IARU R1 member society will participate with a team of maximum 4 people. There is a limit of 80 participants for all member societies. The final size of the team will depend on the number of total registrations. A team is made up of a team leader and team members. Team Captain: Ages 18-30, Since we focus a lot on a train-the-trainer program, it is preferred to select a youth coordinator or someone who is eager to organize youth ham events. A person who has already attended a previous YOTA Camp is preferable. Team Member: 15-25 years old, who has not been to previous YOTA summer camps. In any case, the member society will make the final decision. All participants, including the Team Captain, must participate in the entire program. When: August 6 13, 2022. Fee: 25 per participant. All other expenses (accommodation, food, activities) are covered. Teams will be picked up at the airport/train station and transported to the event venue, or must come with their own transportation. After the event, all participants are expected to actively participate in the IARU R1 TTT program and present their youth plans and programs. This will also be shared on the TTT website. All participating teams undertake to write an article about the event for their member society's magazine and/or website. If you are interested in joining the team that will represent Spain, contact youth@ure.es so that we can include you in the composition of the team. The registration period ends on May 5. The Board of Directors this year has established an aid per team member of 225 for travel aid. If you like radio, coexistence, teamwork and making friends, YOTA Summer awaits you this summer in Croatia. Are you going to miss it? Source URE https://tinyurl.com/IARU-Spain Many Ghanaian ladies say how nice and sweet their future husband's surname sounds will influence their decision to adopt it after marriage, according to a Ghana News Agency survey. A few others also said they would not want to completely discard their maiden names and would rather opt for double-barrelling. A double-barrelled name comes about when two different family names are joined together, usually after a marriage. The term 'double-barrelled name' first became popular in England's Victorian times referring to two-part last names but has since been narrowed down to 'surnames'. A sampling conducted with the Ghana News Agency on Thursday, the ladies said that notwithstanding, a man's surname, whether it sounded nice or not, would not deter them from settling with him provided they were in love. Miss Monica Cudjoe, a National Service Personnel, said she was not obliged to take up her husband's surname after marriage, adding that, her future husband should be able to understand and accept her decision. I have a nice surname and would not want to take up my husband's name if it does not equally sound nice. I am a Fante and I find Fante surnames to be very nice. Names like Harrison, Yankson, and all those Fante names ending with 'son' are nice names. Double-barrelling won't be a bad option either, she elaborated. She said the surname of a man would however not be a criteria for accepting marriage proposals since what really mattered was the love they had for each other. Miss Lawrenda Martison said she would not think twice about using her man's surname after marriage, due to the love and care the man showered on her. For her, using her husband's surname was her reward to him for making her feel loved and treating her properly as a woman. My fiance is one in a million and treats me well. He provides all my needs and gives me all the love and attention I deserve and gives me good sex. Even if he does not end up marrying me, I will still chase him wherever he goes, she emphasised with excitement. Ms Hamdiatu Ibrahim, a student at the Accra Technical University, said the stressful procedure involved in adopting one's husband's surname after marriage was a major deterring factor, as such, she would prefer to keep her maiden name. Just like other ladies, she said if she were to do away with her birth name for her husband's surname, it would mean that the man's name sounded nice and worth adopting. GNA The National President of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG), Mr Jonathon Dzunu, has expressed relief over the Government's decision to pay their allowance, which also caters for their feeding. He said it was heartwarming that the Government had intervened to salvage their feeding situation, considering the pressure that was mounting and the difficulties that the trainees would have faced. This comes after the Ministry of Education's announcement at a press briefing on Wednesday that the Government had released GHS67,942,652 to the Colleges of Education nationwide to cater for the payment of food supply. The National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education's (PRINCOF) in a press statement directed that teacher trainees should feed themselves(self catering) from May 8 due to non-payments of grants. This resulted in the inability of the Colleges to make payments for food items supplied to them for seven months, which forced suppliers to withdraw their services. Mr Dzunu told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that it was out of the allowance that they were fed, hence if the allowance delayed, it became difficult for them to be fed. ''The total amount of the allowance is GHS 400 every month, GHS 200 goes to the Principals for feeding of the students and the rest for students,' he added. The National President said the feeding of the trainees would have been rationed because the food stock of the Colleges could not have lasted to the end of the semester. Mr Dzunu said they were expecting the disbursement of the grant to be done soon in order for the trainees to receive their portion. He hoped that the payment of their allowances would not further delay for the trainees to find themselves in similar situations anymore. GNA 22.04.2022 LISTEN The Majority in Parliament is confident the application filed by the Minority to stop the implementation of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) wont go anywhere. Ahead of the implementation of the controversial levy by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on May 1, 2022, the Minority has run to the Supreme Court for an injunction, insisting that the levy was wrongfully passed. Speaking to the media in Parliament on Friday, April 22, 2022, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu described the decision by the Minority as a move in futility. Weve been told that they have filed an injunction, the Minority has taken the matter to the Supreme Court for the Court to rule on the supposed unconstitutionality on the votes that was taken on the E-levy. I will just say that the burden of proof lies with the Minority to go to court and prove their case. So if the representation of the House has taken a decision they can come with a motion on the decision. Why dont they want to do that? But as I said the burden of proof is on them. Now, finally, on the injunction, I dont want to pronounce anything but I guess you and I know that it is an exercise in futility, the Majority Leader stressed. Counsel for the three Minority MPs [Haruna Iddrisu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Mahama Ayariga] who filed the injunction application, Mr. Godwin Edudzi Kudzo Tameklo is expected to move the motion to injunct the GRA on May 4, three days after the expected start of the implementation of the levy. 22.04.2022 LISTEN Wonder Afetorgbor, a taxi driver at Adutor near Dabala in the South Tongu Municipality of the Volta Region has been jailed for indecently assaulting a 17-year-old boy. His action is contrary to section 103 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). The 33-year-old convict, popularly known as Paro was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment in hard labour by the Sogakofe Circuit on Thursday, April 21, 2022. He pleaded not guilty to the charges upon his initial appearance in court. However, after a full trial, the court presided over by his lordship, Isaac Addo, found him guilty of the offence of Indecent Assault. He was acquitted of a second offence of Abduction due to lack of evidence. Narrating the details of the case before the court, the Prosecutor, Chief Inspector Victor Somoah said the complainant is a 17-year-old motor rider who usually run errands for Wonder. He said on February 4, 2020 at about 11:30pm, the complainant who was in the company of his friends received a phone call from Wonder asking the complainant to go and pick his girlfriend from Dabala to him at Adutor. The complainant told the accused that his motorbike had developed a fault and suggested that the complainant uses one Mawusi's motorbike. Wonder refused and stated that Mawusi would charge him more because they are not in good talking terms. He then invited the complainant to his house and advised him to ensure his hair (dreadlocks) was well kept at all times and not to stay out too late in the night due to Police swoops and crime related arrests in the community. In the process of advising the complainant, the accused removed his dress and the complainant's dress and started making romantic advances at him. He touched him, kissed the complainant's mouth, armpit, and forehead, and sucked his breast. He asked the complainant to turn his back for anal sexual intercourse. The complainant started crying and when the accused realized the complainant's scream could attract neighbours, he asked him to wear his dress and leave. The accused then gave the complainant GH20.00, but he rejected it and left. While on his way, the accused called him (complainant) on phone and asked him not to tell anybody because he loved him. The complainant narrated the ordeal to his sister and father upon reaching home. The case was reported to the police and the accused person was arrested. He was then charged with Indecent Assault and Abduction. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, the court found him guilty of the offence of Indecent Assault alone and sentenced him to a prison term of 24 months in hard labour. The Judge, Isaac Addo in sentencing the accused person considered the fact that he was a first time offender and young. ---DGN online Rickshaw operators in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, have threatened to demonstrate against the police for arbitrary arrest and alleged extortion of money. The riders of the tricycles, known as Pragia alleged that the police in the Ashanti region charge them between GHC100 and GHC500 for any least traffic offence. They said failure to do so has ended most of their members being dragged to court. The aggrieved riders, numbering about 200, converged at the Manhyia Palace roundabout at Asawasi in the Asokore Mampong municipality on Friday, April 22, 2022, to strategize for their demonstration. Speaking to Otec News, the leader of the operators, Mohammed Alhassan, said they could no longer tolerate the harassment meted out to them, a situation they say can end their source of livelihood. The extortion of money by the police is too much for us, which we can no longer contain. They have been collecting between GHC100 and GHC500 for the least traffic offence, he alleged. He added that if government will not allow them to operate commercially, it should not have allowed them to register their tricycles in the first place. We have about 17,000 'pragia' in the region, if the police want to end our source of livelihood, do they want us to involve in illegal activities for our survival, Mohammed quizzed. He hinted that we are here to strategize a plan to mount a vigorous campaign against the Ashanti Regional Police Command to stop their illegal acts. We are going to petition the government either to commercialize our activities or we will defend themselves by any means against the harassment of the corrupt police in the region. The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has made a passionate appeal to Africans to open their doors to Afro-descendants and connect with the African Diaspora. Speaking at a High Level Diasporan Forum organised by the UNFPA in Accra on Friday, April 22, Dr. Bawumia stressed the unbreakable link between Africa and its descendants, their potential contributions to the development of the African continent, and the need to continue to open doors for them back to their roots. "Afro-descendants are Africans, no matter where they come from. As long as you are a Blackman or black woman, you are an African regardless of your nationality," Dr. Bawumia said, adding that to emphasise the representative relevance of Afro-descendants to Africa on a global scale, the African Union has taken a decision to recognize and regard Africans in the Diaspora as the sixth region of Africa. "To this end, people of African Descent living outside the continent irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union make up the 6th Region of Africa - North, West, East, Central, South and the Diaspora." "I urge all Africans to embrace people of African descent because we are one people by blood," Vice President Bawumia urged. While calling on Africans to extend hospitality to their brothers in the Diaspora, Dr. Bawumia highlighted the deep-seated racial discrimination Afro-descendants continue to face in their respective countries of birth and commended initiatives by bold Diasporans, who resist and speak out against such discrimination. "By virtue of the very chequered and multi-layered history involving slavery, colonialism, fleeing from oppressive conditions, our forefathers were forced out of the motherland. Their descendants, some of whom have returned today have evolved into a heterogeneous, albeit recognisable, group of people with a unique cultural history and heritage." "The very context for their existence has exposed this group of Africans to being intimately acquainted with the effects of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. People of African descent have a story only they can tell and should not be side-lined in discussions on the advancement of the protection of rights and demanding for equity." "These deep-seated biases still prevail in the world we live in, with Afro-descendants struggling to find a sense of belonging in a land where they were born, but which rejects them at every turn. Please join me while I salute every single Afro-descendant who bravely challenges the order of the day by continuing to resist all forms of racial discrimination." Dr. Bawumia noted that as a tribute to the "hard work and tireless efforts" of those who speak out to let the voices of people of African descent be heard, the world has seen a proliferation of several racial equality bodies on a national and regional level, which he said, "have guided the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to perform its mandate of studying the problems of people of African descent and proposing the solutions to this complex narrative." "Such solutions have included the commemoration of the First International Day for People of African Descent which took place on the 31st of August 2021 in San Jose, Costa Rica. I am proud to say that Ghana was well-represented at this historical event." GHANA'S ROLE Dr. Bawumia seized the opportunity to highlight to the forum, the role Ghana has played in promoting the relationship between Africa and Africans in the Diaspora. "In 2019, the Government of Ghana set up an initiative for Africans living in the diaspora dubbed the Year of Return that brought the global African family to the continent through Ghana as a gateway," the Vice President noted. "Subsequently, a ten-year project christened Beyond the Return: A Decade of African Renaissance, is being implemented by the Government. "It aimed to promote the recognition and respect for the diversity of the legacy, culture, and contributions of people of African descent to the development of societies, as well as deepen that bond through tourism and trade." Dr Bawumia affirmed the commitment of the Government of Ghana toward the objectives of strengthening and promoting ties with Afro-descendants. "I reaffirm Ghanas commitment to champion the objectives of the International Decade of People of African Descent as envisioned by the UN General Assembly. Even at the AU level, these issues will continue to be emphasised and with the urgency it deserves." "On a personal level, I remain available to contribute my quota in any way possible and I assure you the support of government and the support of the people of Ghana on this journey." The High Level Forum was graced by the Vice President of Costa Rica, Epsy Campbell Barr. Also present was Dr. Natalia Kanem, United Nations Under-Secretary-General & Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 22.04.2022 LISTEN The family of the Sissala West Constituency Nasara Coordinator of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) who was butchered by some unknown men at Gwollu is demanding justice. The 36-year-old coordinator, Iddrisu Walaika suffered multiple cutlass wounds in a gruesome attack alleged to have been orchestrated by some tags of the NPP. Speaking at a meeting with the Upper West Regional Minister on Friday, April 22, 2022, the spokesperson of the family, Abubakari Zakaria said the attack on their relative is an affront to the laws of Ghana, hence, their demand for swift action from the police. This issue should not be swept under the carpet. We demand that justice is served, and soon enough. The perpetrators should not escape. The family also denied reports that the victim suffered from the action after he was found trying to bury a talisma to influence the upcoming NPP constituency election for his preferred candidate. The Regional Minister, Hafiz Bin Salih assured the family of his commitment to work with security forces to apprehend the perpetrators of the crime. Meanwhile, four people have been arrested in connection with the incident, while two others had been invited for questioning. ---citinewsroom The Interregional Maritime Security Institute (ISMI) will on Monday, April 25, 2022, commence its regional cooperation programme on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. The Yaounde Declaration of June 25, 2013, laid the foundation for the Yaounde Architecture concept, designed to improve maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea. This construction, formalized by the creation of regional organizations at the strategic and operational levels, was intended to provide an integrated and structured response to the various threats identified in the subregion over the last two decades: piracy and brigandage, drug trafficking, illegal and unregulated exploitation of maritime resources and the seabed, maritime pollution, human trafficking, etc. Nearly ten years after this founding act, ISMI says it is only useful to take stock of the evolution of maritime threats in the region and to review the activity of the Yaounde architecture structures. The Institute believes the feedback from the experience could be shared as well as the perspectives for the development of the collaboration between the countries concerned. It is within this framework that the Interregional Maritime Security Institute is organizing a training action on the organization of structures resulting from the "Yaounde architecture" next week from April 25 to April 28, 2022. The training is being financed by the French cooperation via the Directorate of Security and Defense Cooperation (DCSD), with support from the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire. Some fifteen auditors, officers, and civil servants from the operational teams within the various structures of the Yaounde architecture are expected to take part in the training. The training will be provided by a French expert, specialists in the action of the state at sea as well as African experts from different centers. The course will take place at the Regional Academy of Sciences and Techniques of the Sea (ARSTM) in Yopougon, Abidjan. The Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has said Grade A Senior High Schools including Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC Legon) and Wesley Girls Senior High School in Cape Coast must be willing to accept students with aggregate 20 or 25 and make them first class students. He said the Grade A schools are best to handle students with such aggregates because they have the best teachers to deliver the work. Speaking at the University of Cape Coast on Friday April 22, the Bosomtwe lawmaker said Teachers are complaining that students with aggregate 20 are being accepted. I had a wonderful conversation with someone who is very high up, he called me one day and asked, why are you sending students with aggregate 22 to PRESEC? I said Sir, I think PRESEC has one of the best group of teachers in this country. And he said, it is true, PRESEC is his school and that they are examiners and very good. I said, so they are the ones who are good to teach students with aggregate 25. The idea that students with aggregate 25 should not go to PRESEC baffles my mind. They are the ones who belong to Wesley Girls where we have talented teachers. So, if Wesley Girls wants to prove to me that they are the best, they need to take these students with aggregate 20 and turn them around so that they can tell us that they are better than [other schools]. My story story is the story of education and transformation and so is the story of a number of you so we can look back and turn back on the poor. Once upon a time we were like them. ---3news.com Gov. of Akwa Ibom state, and presidential aspirant under the platform of the PDP, Emmanuel Udom, has said he has solutions to Nigeria's myriad of problems. Speaking yesterday while he met with the PDP National Working Committee in Abuja to inform them of his presidential ambition, Udom said he was running to solve problems that had proved intractable to the present administration. Udom likened Nigeria to a country at war on many levels, saying, we cannot leave our generals and best hands behind while we fight the war." He continued, "I am a bridge builder, I have the capacity, I understand the issues, I know the problems and I have the solutions. "Anywhere in the world, the economy is preeminent. As a trained, tried, and tested economist, I know what to do. Besides, I will not only tell you what to do but will also tell you how to do it. I performed in the corporate world, and I have also performed in government." Udom reminded the PDP chieftains that he has stood with the party through thick and thin and has not for once jumped ship. "With all modesty and due sense of responsibility, I have done so much for the party, and it is not too much for the party to stand by me now. One good turn deserves another. I am poised to lead the party to victory in the next election. "I have the solutions to our problems. I have the creativity, the ideas, and the capacity. I have demonstrated that in Akwa Ibom state with Ibom Air where Nigeria as a country does not even have a national airline. "I have also demonstrated that by moving Akwa Ibom to the second position on Foreign Direct Investment coming into Nigeria. "Today Akwa Ibom manufactures one of the best syringes in the world and these are in hot demand even by foreign countries. Our Kings Flour Mill is also world class," he intimated. The presidential aspirant then said he was running to bring hope to despondent Nigerians and restore the country's lost glory. "We aspire to inspire our people - the youth, women, the middle class, the corporate world and every other stratum of our society. Hope belongs to those who can see the future. I can. Here I am, send me." He was well received at the Wadata House headquarters of the PDP where the NWC was led by the PDP national chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu supported by other members of the PDP NWC. Ayu said he was impressed by Udom's presentation, his pedigree as well as track record of performance and his achievements as governor. He promised a level playing ground for all aspirants and enjoined them to let their campaign be issue-based. "We don't want aspirants running around stadiums. What the people are interested in are the problems bedeviling the economy and insecurity and how to solve them". HE Udom Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, and leading Presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP addressing the leadership of the party during an interactive session at the party national secretariat, Abuja Ayu expressed delight with Udom's understanding of these issues and his proposed solutions to them. He described APC as a "fragmented alliance; very soon they will disappear." National Secretary of the PDP NWC, Senator Sam. N. Anyanwu, described Udom as "one of the people Nigerians are waiting for. APC has collapsed. Nigeria is waiting for PDP". (L-R) HE Udom Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, National Chairman PDP, and HE Sen. Dr. Gabriel Suswam in an interaction at the partys national secretariat in Abuja. Governor Emmanuel was accompanied by HE Dr Gabriel Suswam, HE Col. Habibu Shuaibu, former Governor of Niger and Plateau States, Alh. Bala Buhari OFR former Minister and former National Treasurer of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, Immediate Past National Publicity Secretary, Hon. S.K Ude-Okoye, Immediate Past National Youth Leader of PDP, Obong Paul Ekpo, former state chairman PDP and current National Ex-Officio Member of PDP, Dr Moshood Fayemiwo, Bola Bolawole, Dr Victor Adoji and Comrade Ini Ememobong. Visit the place where the Voice of America began The Voice of Americas Bethany Relay Station sits alone in a field along busy Tylersville Road in northern Cincinnati, at the end of a long driveway. Few take the time to investigate its purpose. Why does this mammoth, government-funded art deco monument still remain? Why is it vital to radio technology, world peace and a free press? Walk inside for a tour and the first stop is a room full of ham radio enthusiasts and a docent who has all the answers. Off of the lobby inside Bethany, our guide explains the presence of WC8VOA a ham radio frequency tethered to the Voice of Americas first home. Most days here, hobbyists send shortwave communications all over the world, trying to connect with other shortwave transmitters. Clad with tire-sized headphones, twisting knobs on all sorts of archaic equipment, we finally make contact with Nova Scotia. Its a weather report. Basic ham fodder. Its mostly competition, one of them said. Seeing how far and how long we can talk. The only things we cant discuss are politics and religion. As such, its mostly weather, geographic coordinates and historical anecdotes. Theres also a real-time projection on a screen that shows when the International Space Station is within earshot. A little bit of shortwave goes a long way, said Leland Hite, curator and engineer at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. Even though not many people still have shortwave radios theres a message getting across. Theres still a need for this information, especially in countries like North Korea and Russia, where they try to jam us, but weve found ways around that. Hes not speaking for the remaining ham signals emitting from Bethany, of course, but for the larger mission of Voice of America when it began broadcasting in July of 1944. Thats the reason Bethany exists. And even though the station ceased its Voice of America relay to the world in 1994, its still in the air. There are still shortwave broadcasts of VOA jamming the jammers and spreading news where the internet is censored or completely decimated. Read the full article at: https://eu.columbusalive.com/story/entertainment/human-interest/2022/04/21/weekend-wanderlust-visit-place-where-voice-america-began/7393650001/ The 25th Chinese Peacekeeping Medical Contingent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) receives UN combat effectiveness inspection on April 20, 2022. KINSHASA, April 22 -- The 25th Chinese Peacekeeping Medical Contingent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) passed UN combat effectiveness inspection with high standards on April 20. A team led by the deputy director of combat effectiveness inspection office of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) conducted a two-day inspection in the MONUSCO Chinese Level-II Hospital run by the Chinese Peacekeeping Medical Contingent. The inspection team observed the contingent's drills on emergency response, medical treatment and evacuation, and firefighting, and designed a number of emergency scenarios to test the contingent's emergency response capabilities. The Chinese Peacekeeping Medical Contingent passed the assessment of all subjects with high standards. The full preparation and remarkable effectiveness of the Chinese Level-II Hospital was highly recognized by the inspection team. Since the first Chinese peacekeeping engineering and medical contingents were deployed to the DRC in April 2003, China has dispatched 25 batches of peacekeeping engineering and medical contingents with more than 3,000 peacekeepers to the MONUSCO mission areas in the DRC. Officials from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) conduct the combat effectiveness inspection to the Chinese Peacekeeping Medical Contingent on April 20, 2022. April 22, 2022 Ukraine - Gonzalo Lira, War Aims, Railway Supplies And Incoming Fire 1. Gonzalo Lira is alive Lira had been arrested on April 15 by the SBU, the Ukrainian Gestapo, but is now at some private place in Kharkov under a kind of house arrest. He is not allowed to leave the city. It seems that the public attention the case had caught has helped to hold back the nastier side of the Ukrainian authorities. Last night Alex Christoforou of The Duran published a short video talk with Gonzalo Lira (vid). 2. Russia's war aims In a talk at a defense industry meeting Major General Rustam Minnekaev, Deputy Commander of the Central Military District, named areas of Ukraine which Russia wants to secure (machine translation): "Since the beginning of the second phase of the special operation, it has already begun, literally two days ago, one of the tasks of the Russian army is to establish full control over the Donbass and southern Ukraine," he said. ... "This (control over the Donbass - TASS note) will provide a land corridor to the Crimea, as well as influence the vital facilities of the Ukrainian [military forces], Black Sea ports through which agricultural and metallurgical products are delivered to [other] countries," - said the deputy commander. "Control over the South of Ukraine is another way out to [Transnistria], where there are also facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population. Apparently, we are now at war with the whole world, as it was in the Great Patriotic War, all of Europe, the whole world was against us. And now the same thing, they never liked Russia," he added. The Russian ambassador to the U.S. again named the political aims: Russias special military operation in Ukraine is aimed at demilitarization and denazification of the country, and Moscow will ensure that the country has a non-nuclear and neutral status, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said on Thursday. 3. Military supplies Yesterday Russia attacked four railway crossing over the Dnjepr river. One in the Zaporozhye region and three in the area of Dnepropetrovsk. This cuts off Ukrainian troops on the Donbas front east of the river from all large scale supplies. The Ukrainian military, like Russia's, depends on railways for all long distance mass supplies as both have relatively few logistic trucks. The U.S. and others have said they would give the Ukraine dozens of 155mm towed artillery guns plus tens of thousands of shells with them. The U.S. guns come with one truck each to tow the gun. That is all manageable so far but now let's look at the logistics (especially without railways). A 155mm shell plus the powder needed to fire it weighs about 50 kilogram. A three axle military truck can carry 7.5 metric tons or 150 shells. That's about what one or maybe two guns will fire on a good day. The distance from the Ukrainian border with Poland to the Donbas front is about 1,200 kilometer (~800 miles). That is at least a two days drive with a truck. The daily supplies for one gun on the frontline will thus require constant traffic of at least 6 trucks plus all the fuel needed to run them. Adding maintenance and load/unload time means even more trucks. Now multiply that with the number of guns that are supposed to come in. This is very fast becoming a huge transport operation with lots of trucks the Ukraine does not have. So how will it get all those shells to the frontline? It won't. 4. Current operations Since the launch of phase two of its operation the Russia military has not started any larger offensive but has increased its artillery fire on the frontline. Here is a part of the 'clobber list' from this morning's Russian Defense Ministry briefing: Kalibr high-precision long-range missiles destroyed up to a battalion of enemy personnel with weapons and military equipment near Miliorativnoe railway station. High-precision air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 3 military assets of Ukraine. ... Operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 58 military assets of Ukraine. Among them: 4 command posts, 3 fuel depots, and 51 areas of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment concentration. Missile troops and artillery carried out 1,285 firing missions during the night. Destroyed: 9 fuel depots, 37 command posts. 1,221 strong points, areas of enemy's manpower and military equipment were hit. One artillery firing missions usually includes multiple guns (often 6) and multiple shells (3 to 10) fired per gun. This constant incoming artillery fire will be extremely demoralizing (and deadly) for the Ukrainian troops on the frontline. (I have experienced only one artillery onslaught, during officer training and in a safe bunker. It was still extremely violent. Some of us literally wet their pants.) The Ukrainian soldiers can only dig in, keep their heads down and hope to not receive a direct hit. Their artillery is gone. They have no way left to respond to the fire. After a few days of this the Russian troops will be able to roll them up with little difficulties. Posted by b on April 22, 2022 at 12:40 UTC | Permalink Comments next page MONROE, La. (AP) Several law enforcement agencies on Thursday searched for an inmate on a work release detail who stabbed and killed a co-worker at the job site and fled, state corrections officials said. Bruce Causey, 48, who is serving time at a facility in Union Parish for three charges including attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of cocaine and second-degree battery, stabbed a man at Foster Farms in Farmerville, Louisiana, the state Department of Corrections said in a news release. The man, whose name was not released, died from his injuries, said Ken Pastorick, a department spokesperson. Natnan Srisuwan/Getty Images Each week Texas Parks and Wildlife releases a series of fishing reports for regions across the Lone Star State. Captain Kent Terrill, with 3Ts Guide Service provides insights to TPWD for the West Texas- Big Bend region. Here's a quick look at the latest fishing report for the area as well as a few insights from Terrill on current conditions. Similar to the fishing reports across the state, last week's gusty winds, added challenges to what could have been better fishing days across the Big Bend region, according to the fishing report from the TPWD. Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is set to be executed on April 27. In 2008, She was convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. Here are 5 things to know about Melissa Lucio's execution, her capital murder case, death row statistics and more. If Lucio is executed on April 27, she would become the first Hispanic woman executed in Texas and the first woman on Texas death row to be executed since 2014. Texas leads the nation in the number of executions since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to data on the TDCJ website. According to TDCJ's Death Row Facts page, the average length of time spent on death row prior to execution is 11 years, the shortest time on death row prior to execution was 252 days and the longest time spent on death row before an execution was 31 years. The average age of inmates executed is 39 and the youngest man executed was at age 24. Information about prosecuting district attorney Lucio's case was held in Cameron County. During Lucio's trial, Cameron County, District Attorney, Armando Villalobos, was seeking re-election and came under scrutiny for failing to thoroughly investigate or prosecute more than 100 previous allegations of child abuse, stated a report from The Innocence Project. After the capital murder trial of Lucio, the former D.A. was convicted for his role in a bribery and extortion scheme and is now serving a 13-year sentence in federal prison. "Evidence presented at trial revealed that from October 2, 2006, through May 3, 2012, Villalobos and others were involved in a scheme to illegally generate income for themselves and others through a pattern of bribery and extortion, favoritism, improper influence, personal self-enrichment, self-dealing, concealment and conflict of interest," a portion of the press release from the U.S. Department of Justice states. Details involving Lucio's confession A report from the Texas Tribune stated that Lucio denied accusations and maintained her innocence for three hours and near the fifth hour of interrogation, Lucio confessed to the murder. Lucio has since maintained her innocence for the past 14 years while on death row. According to the report, after about three hours of denying accusations from multiple police investigators, Lucio began to agree with Texas Ranger Victor Escalon. "For about two more hours, Lucio conceded to Escalon," the report states. "She said she guessed she spanked Mariah out of frustration, a word police repeatedly suggested to her. She strongly denied responsibility for what Escalon believed was a pinch mark on Mariahs vulva, but the Ranger insisted she 'get it over with.'" Attorneys in the Lucio case argue she was coerced into giving a false confession with a lack of evidence that supported the crime and capital murder conviction. Clemency in Texas Three humanitarian grants of clemency have been offered by Texas governors. This includes clemency granted to Henry Lee Lucas in 1998 by Gov. George W Bush, clemency granted to Kenneth Foster in 2008 by Gov. Rick Perry and clemency granted to Thomas Whitaker in 2018 by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to Robert Dunham, Executive Director with deathpenalty.org. "The humanitarian grants of clemency does not include what we call 'administrative clemencies,' such as when Texas governors commuted groups of prisoners who became ineligible for the death penalty after the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to use capital punishment against juvenile offenders," Dunham explained via email. Execution and lethal injection drugs Lucio's execution date will include execution by lethal injection from the 13 doses, according to the lethal injection report published by the Texas Tribune. According to a Texas Tribune page tracking TDCJ lethal injection inventories, a total of 13 doses have been issued to the TDCJ and 11 of the 13 doses in stock have expiration dates that have been extended. "Texas has been able to keep an adequate supply on hand, but part of that is because the state has repeatedly extended the expiration date of doses in stock retesting the potency levels as the expiration date nears and then relabeling them," the report states. "The practice has drawn sharp criticism from death penalty defense attorneys, who say the old drugs are causing painful executions," the report continued. Kim Kardashian recently tweeted support for Lucio's clemency efforts Lucio's case has inspired protests and a petition urging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to offer clemency to the 53-year-old. Kim Kardashian recently used her social media platform to support Lucio's clemency efforts. Kardashian has also spoken out in support of criminal justice reform in Texas in Bastrop County with the death row case of Rodney Reed, according to a 2021 report from The Innocence Project. Kardashian also took action to support a case in Tennessee involving the Alice Marie Johnson case. Johnson was serving a life sentence on drug charges in Memphis. The 63-year-old was ultimately released from prison in 2018. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Voting rights groups sued Florida on Friday over a congressional map drawn by Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature, saying it will diminish the state's Black representation and benefit Republicans. Florida lawmakers approved the map Thursday as part of a contentious three-day special legislative session during which Black and Democratic representatives staged a sit-in on the House floor, prayed and sang We Shall Overcome" in protest. DeSantis, who is considered a top tier presidential candidate in 2024, signed the measure into law Friday. The League of Women Voters of Florida, the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, Equal Ground Education Fund and others filed the suit in a state court in Tallahassee. The case alleges the new map violates provisions of the Florida Constitution that prohibit districts from diluting the electoral power of minorities and from being drawn to benefit one political party over another. He wants to rig the state and he wants to do that by drawing lines that unfairly represent the state and our voting population, said Equal Ground founder Jasmine Burney-Clark in a phone interview. We also know that he has ambitions to become president of the United States, and creating a Congress that is more favorable to the issues he presumably would push in his administration makes it easier for him to do so. The lawsuit names as defendants Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee, Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Republican leaders of the House and Senate, among others. Their offices did not immediately return emails seeking comment. DeSantis took the unusual step of vetoing the map drawn by the Legislature earlier this year and proposing his own, calling lawmakers back into the special session to approve it. Democrats say the map strongly favors the GOP and would dismantles two districts currently held by Black members of congress. The governors office drew up a map it described as neutral on race and party affiliation, and which it said abided by both the state and federal constitutions. But even supporters have acknowledged that it is likely to draw legal challenges. Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon, who led the protest on the House floor, was expecting the lawsuit. The map is unconstitutional and its illegal and they knew it," she said in a phone interview. She said she's heard rumblings that she's going to be punished for her protest, but said it's minor in comparison to actions that civil rights leaders have endured to seek racial equality. I cried this morning, she said, with a trembling voice. I cried because I thought about what my grandmother went through, and my grandfather, and my ancestors who risked their lives to vote, to have a voice to be heard, to be respected. The Florida congressional delegation now has 16 Republicans and 11 Democrats, and the state is poised to gain one U.S. House seat based on the results of the 2020 U.S. census. Many political observers have said the DeSantis map could give Republicans a 20-8 advantage, though Floridas vast number of unaffiliated voters can swing elections. Such an advantage would help DeSantis, should he run for and win the White House in 2024. Of Floridas 14.3 million registered voters, about 36% are Republicans and 35% Democrats, while the overwhelming majority of the remainder have no party affiliation. Black Floridians currently serve in five of the states 27 districts, representing about 19% of the delegation. Four of them are Democrats; one of them is a Republican in an overwhelmingly white constituency. Black people represent about 16% of Floridas population. Previous maps had included a long, slim district spanning northern Florida that would have largely kept intact the constituency of Black Democratic Rep. Al Lawson. DeSantis has singled out that district, saying it violated guidelines for compactness. MRT file photo The average price of gasoline in Midland was within 2 cents of the state average Thursday, according to AAA Texas. The spread is the smallest in years, and it remains to be seen how long that spread will exist. AAA Texas reported an average of $3.79 in Midland. The state average was $3.77. While the average price across the state increased 7 cents, it increased by only 1 cent in Midland. The average in Odessa ($3.76) is actually below the state average. AAA Texas reports that Odessa was one of three larger metropolitan areas across the state to show a weekly decline. The principal and members of the faculty Officials of government Parents and Guardians Members of the Students Council Members of the Fourth Estate Other distinguished ladies and gentlemen Today, some students of this school will be inducted into office as leaders of the student council government of this school. Our country today is facing a serious problem with good leadership. But only good citizens can be good leaders of their country. Against this background, I want to speak to you briefly on the topic: The meaning of good citizenship. What is good citizenship? Good citizenship is being willing and happy to give more to your country than your country can ever give you. John F. Kennedy speaking to the citizens of America, once said, My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Good citizenship requires dedication to duty and honesty in whatever a citizen undertakes to do or is assigned to do for his country. A good citizen must always ask himself or herself the question, How can I make my country better, or what can I do to make my country become a better place for everyone who lives in my country? With such a mindset, if you are a tailor, you will strive to be the best tailor, and you will be proud to hear, for example, that Liberia has the best tailors in the world. In other words, a good citizen must always promote the good name of his country by doing what is good for his country. President Andrew Jackson of the United States once said, Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. And Nelson Mandela once said, What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. All of these quotations of these great men are about what each citizen can do for his country. A citizen guided by the principle of giving his best to his country will always do his best when he or she occupies any office in government. A good citizen will always do everything not to bring shame and disgrace to his country. No good citizen can ever be happy when his country is disgraced or made into shame by its leaders. Over the last few years, Liberia has been disgraced by the actions of its leaders. For example, the level of bad governance in Liberia has generated negative comments from officials of Liberias main partner, the United States of America. For instance, Congressman Chris Smith, speaking about the current nature of governance in Liberia said, President George Weah leads a kleptocratic government and begins his political corruption on the day he assumed office by depleting the government coffers for personal use while the people of Liberia suffer. This statement was made by the Congressman last year. This year, President Joe Bidens special representative at the Bicentennial Celebration of the arrival of the founders of the Liberian state, Ms. Dana Banks, cautioned the Liberian government and people in the following words, Too many of Liberias leaders have chosen their own personal short-term gain over the long-term benefit of their country. The expectation, sometimes, is that the United States and the rest of the international community will step in to solve Liberias long-term problems. So let me be clear. The United States is a proud and dedicated partner and friend of Liberia. But ultimately, only the Liberian Government and the Liberian people can tackle corruption, fight for accountability and transparency, and move this country forward. Linda Thomas Greenfield, former US Ambassador to Liberia and current US Ambassador to the UN recently said, I say this, as a true friend of Liberia, and Liberians know me for being that friend. Liberia has a serious problem right now, and thats taking on a number of issues, foremost among them is the issue of corruption. She went further to say, corruption, is government stealing from the people of Liberia, from the mouths of children. It takes away access to health care. It denies citizens their right to public safety. It stops the young people of Liberia from getting the education they deserve. It takes the future away from them. It prevents the country from having the healthy business environment that it needs to lift Liberians out of poverty. It has denied Liberia its place in history, a successful and prosperous country with so many resources to contribute to its peoples well-being. Further, the current US Ambassador to Liberia not long ago, said, Corruption prevents progress... These statements about the level of stealing in the Liberian government are a clear indication that President Weah and some top officials of his government are not demonstrating good citizenship. We the citizens, in our own best interest, should not allow this situation to continue. The evidence is clear that President Weah lacks the political will to fight corruption. In fact, he himself is corrupt. According to Congressman Chris Smith, he began his corruption on the day he assumed office by depleting the government coffers for personal use while the people of Liberia suffer. Today, Liberian people are suffering too much because they are getting poorer each day as a result of corruption by the Weah government. President George Weah has built more houses for himself than all the presidents of Liberia from Joseph Jenkins Roberts to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The evidence can be found on the Robertsfield highway opposite the Baptist Seminary, 9th Street, and other places. He did not build these houses before becoming president. If he says he is not corrupt, then I challenge him to show the Liberian people where he got money from to build these private buildings. Next year, we must vote Mr. Weah and his bunch of thieves out of the office to stop them from continuing to steal our money. Good citizens do not steal. Students, the day you are fortunate to occupy a government office, you should demonstrate good citizenship by not stealing from your country, but by serving your country with honesty, dedication, and dignity. I urge you to start practicing to be good leaders of Liberia tomorrow by being good leaders of the students of this school today. Government is a place to serve and not to steal. A better Liberia is possible with good citizens. Therefore, elect good citizens in the 2023 for a better Liberia. I thank you. UW Spring Faculty Meeting April 29 University of Wyoming President Ed Seidel invites all faculty members to the annual spring faculty meeting Friday, April 29, from 9-10:30 a.m. in the Wyoming Union Ballroom. Its the first in-person spring faculty meeting since 2019. The meeting also will be livestreamed; the link will be provided later. This is a wonderful chance to come back together in person to celebrate what weve accomplished through a difficult time and look forward to the great opportunities ahead of us, Seidel says. We hope everyone will come and participate. Those teaching classes at that time might consider bringing them along; those who cant make it in person are welcome to join online. The meeting will include updates from the Faculty Senate; Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman; and Seidel. Retiring College of Health Sciences Dean David Jones will be recognized as well. A question-and-answer session will follow. Coffee/tea and donuts/pastries will be served. For questions and additional information, call the Office of the President at 766-4121. Darren Iozia/Journal-Courier MOUNT STERLING Dot Foods has recognized two employees for their volunteer efforts within the community. Parcel lead Josh Stuckman of Golden and senior system support manager Greg Spohr of Quincy were honored, Stuckman for 2020 and Spohr for 2021. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Russia's massive, new offensive in eastern Ukraine reflects Moscow's hope to reverse its battlefield fortunes after a catastrophic seven weeks of war. Russian forces have sharply intensified artillery barrages and airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas. A look at the war in Ukraine so far: A FALTERING START Russian troops rolled to the outskirts of the capital of Kyiv days after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, but the offensive was quickly stymied by staunch resistance. The Russian military incurred heavy personnel and equipment losses, and the failed Kyiv offensive boosted the morale of the Ukrainian forces, allowing its leaders to rally vast international support and secure more weapons from the West. That raised the costs of war for Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin switched the focus to the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since 2014, after the Kremlins annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. After the retreat from Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and other areas in northeastern Ukraine, Russian forces pulled back to the territory of Moscow ally Belarus, as well as areas in western Russia to be rearmed and resupplied for the new offensive. Gen. Alexander Dvornikov was named the new commander for the campaign. At 60, Dvornikov is one of Russias most experienced officers, credited with leading Moscows forces to success in Syria in a ruthless campaign to shore up President Bashar Assads regime in a civil war that saw whole cities flattened and millions displaced. His appointment is seen as reflecting the Kremlins awareness to quickly improve poor coordination among various forces that hampered previous efforts THE NEW OFFENSIVE Ukrainian officials said the push began Monday in the Donbas, with Russia trying to press the offensive along an arc-shaped front line stretching for more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the northeast to the southeast. In what appeared to be a sharp increase in bombardment Tuesday, Russia said that in the last 24 hours, it struck 60 Ukrainian military facilities with its warplanes and 1,260 with its artillery, while attacking 1,214 troop concentrations. The claims could not be independently verified. The Pentagon described the stepped-up campaign as shaping operations setting the stage for a broader offensive. Justin Crump, a former British tank commander who leads Sibylline Ltd., a defense consultancy, said the Russians had escalated bombardments and appeared to be moving gradually to take chunks of territory, focusing mostly on the destruction of Ukraine's most capable forces in the Donbas. They are hoping to destroy effectively the largest part of the Ukrainian prewar regular army, the best Ukrainian forces, Crump told The Associated Press. THE RUSSIAN BATTLE PLAN Ukrainian and Western experts expect Russia to try to encircle Ukrainian forces with a pincer movement by advancing from Izyum in the north and Mariupol in the south. Once Russian forces crush the last remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance at a giant steel mill in Mariupol, they expect that will allow those forces to be freed up to enable the offensive to gain its full tempo. Some predict Russia also may try to use its forces north of Crimea to try to capture the industrial hubs of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro on the Dnieper River, effectively cutting Ukraine in half. During the eight years of fighting the separatists, the Ukrainian government forces have built multiple rows of trenches along the line of contact that the Russians have failed to penetrate. But Crump and other experts noted that Ukraine was running out of weapons and supplies. They are firing through a lot of supplies, he said. And part of the Russian strategy at this point is to keep probing, to keep searching for ways, keep shaping the battlefield, to get Ukraine to fire the missiles, to use things up, to fire its artillery so they have less supplies left when the bigger blows start to fall sequentially. Ukraine has pleaded with the West for warplanes, long-range air defense systems, heavy artillery and armor to counter the massive Russian edge in firepower. The Western allies have increased arms supplies and started providing heavy weapons, but it could take time for these to reach Ukrainian troops, which must then learn how to operate them. New equipment is great, really helpful in many ways, but the problem is youve got to learn how to use it, Crump said, adding that Ukraine may put the new weapons in areas away from the fighting to give troops some practice with them and redeploy Soviet-era weapons to the eastern front. CHALLENGES FOR THE RUSSIANS The Russian offensive will probably face the same logistical challenges its troops encountered early in the war. During the botched attempt to storm Kyiv, Russian convoys stretched along highways to the capital, becoming easy targets for Ukrainian artillery, drones and scouts. The operations in the east could be equally hard, especially as foliage sprouts with the arrival of spring and provides natural cover for guerrilla attacks. Crump said the Russians appear to have learned from their earlier mistakes and tried to avoid long supply lines. They also sought to ensure using railways instead of trucks to carry the bulk of their supplies. While the terrain in the east is flatter and easier for the Russians, Crump noted that rain has made it difficult for off-road movement, constraining maneuvering. That makes it very hard to be unpredictable and to use tanks to their advantage, Crump said, adding that Ukrainian defenses will be stretched as the ground dries, offering Russian armor more options to maneuver. While the Russians appeared to be making better use of their assets than at the start of the campaign, he said, theyve still got morale problems and many units "have been pushed together with little training. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said that while Russian forces may be able to gain ground through the heavy concentration of artillery and larger numbers, its eastern campaign is unlikely to be dramatically more successful than previous major offensives around Kyiv. It probably will be hampered by the same poor coordination, the inability to conduct cross-country operations and low morale that impeded prior offensives, it said. A PIVOTAL MOMENT After the botched beginning, Putin badly needs a victory in the east to boost the Russians' morale and to try to negotiate an end to hostilities on his terms. Bruised by Western sanctions, Russia lacks financial resources for a long fight. A protracted conflict will multiply the already heavy economic damage and fuel social tensions, eroding the Kremlins base of support. Russia already has put its most capable combat units in action, and continued fighting will likely force it to mobilize reservists and send fresh conscripts into combat moves that could bring broad public discontent. Putin probably hopes that routing Ukrainian forces in the east will allow him to force Kyiv to accept key Kremlin conditions for a halt in fighting the acknowledgement of Moscow's sovereignty of Crimea and the recognition of the independence of the eastern separatist regions, including areas that had been under Ukrainian control before the war. I think were at this pivotal point where we find out whether were going to get a peace, a pause or a protracted conflict, Crump said. - Associated Press writer Danica Kirka in London contributed. __ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Anastasiia Krivenok/Getty Images Jacksonville Area Museum is hosting a series of podcast about the history of Jacksonville from those who lived it or have direct knowledge of events. There are five podcasts available, each 10 to 30 minutes long: "Dr. E.C. Bone" with David Bone; "The Old Post Office" with Postmaster Russell Scofield; "Carnation (Nestle) Plant History" with Tom Shierl; "Ruth Linear, African American historian"; and "J Capps and Sons" with George Murphy. Schon/Getty Images Murrayville will have its annual villagewide cleanup Thursday through May 1. Dumpsters will be placed in the alley east of the park and are free to village residents. They will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. FAIRFIELD, Calif. (AP) A man allegedly bit and stabbed a police dog in Northern California as officers tried to take him into custody Wednesday, authorities said. The man appeared to be under the influence of drugs, according to Fairfield police. The dog, named Cort, was taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment and recovering at home with its handler. Officers were initially called to an elderly victim's home Wednesday afternoon on a report of a burglary, the police department said in a Facebook post. The department then received a report from an Amazon employee, who said the man had threatened to kill him and steal his delivery truck. Officers found the man, 44, running around inside the first victim's home. They tried and failed to get him to come outside. When police and the K9 dog went inside the house, the dog contacted the man; authorities did not provide further information about what occurred during the contact. The man then allegedly bit the dog in the face and stabbed the animal on its left side with a knife, police said. The man was treated at the hospital for unspecified injuries. It was not clear if the injuries were related to the dog or the alleged drug use. He was booked into the Solano County Jail on suspicion of carjacking, burglary, harming a police dog and obstructing or resisting a public officer. He also faces a parole violation, online jail records show. The city of Fairfield is nearly 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate As Russias war in Ukraine continues, human rights groups have gathered evidence of Russian atrocities against civilians including executions, rapes, and mass murder. These are war crimes, President Biden asserted recently, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be held accountable. Biden is right. Russias crimes in Ukraine clearly violate the laws of war enshrined under the Geneva Conventions as well as the UN Charter, which prohibits wars of aggression. The International Criminal Court has already opened an investigation into Russias alleged crimes in Ukraine. The U.S. wants to support the move, but theres one big problem: Like Russia, the United States itself refuses to join the court. And that could make it more difficult to get justice for Ukrainians. National courts would ideally prosecute the perpetrators of international crimes. But when states prove unable or unwilling to prosecute them including for political reasons the International Criminal Court has stood as the court of last resort. Established in 2002 by the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court has 123 member states where it can investigate and prosecute crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and state acts of aggression. (Ukraine has also not formally joined the court, but has submitted to its jurisdiction in the past.) International courts have long played an important role in pursuing justice and the larger fight against impunity under international law. After World War II, the prominent Nuremberg trials, led by the U.S. and allied powers, prosecuted Nazi war criminals. The U.S. has also backed international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, which have held high-ranking individuals accountable for terrible crimes. But what happens when a state is too powerful to be bound by international courts? The problem isnt the absence of law but rather its breakdown, when states refuse to comply and arent held accountable. This can further inflame conflicts. The resulting pattern of war, displacement, and rampant human rights violations were seeing in Ukraine has tragically become all too familiar. But its not just Russia. When President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute, he advised against U.S. ratification out of concern that the court could assert jurisdiction over U.S. officials and service members. President George W. Bush then famously unsigned the Rome Statute less than one year before his illegal invasion of Iraq. The Trump administration went so far as to sanction International Criminal Court prosecutors who were investigating possible U.S. crimes in Afghanistan. The U.S. now has an opportunity to reset its contentious relationship with the International Criminal Court and the global rule of law more broadly. A resolution now in Congress, introduced by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, calls for the U.S. to join the International Criminal Court. Another resolution would repeal a 2002 law that prohibits U.S. support for International Criminal Court investigations. Enacting both would bolster the courts effectiveness through greater U.S. involvement and show that the U.S. is serious about international criminal justice. Ultimately, no country should stand in the way of accountability and remedy for victims of conflict, whether in Ukraine, Palestine, Yemen, or elsewhere. That includes the United States, which must also reckon with its own crimes committed during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We cannot successfully cooperate with the rest of the world in establishing a reign of law, warned Robert H. Jackson, the chief U.S. prosecutor at Nuremberg, unless we are prepared to have that law sometimes operate against what would be our national advantage. Law alone wont deliver global justice. But if we want fewer wars, more diplomacy, and more international cooperation, then no country can remain above it. MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) An attack by suspected Islamic extremist rebels has killed nine people in northeast Nigeria, police and witnesses said Thursday, one of several deadly attacks this week in the troubled region. At least 15 people have been killed in attacks in northeast Nigeria this week. The suspected Boko Haram members stormed Geidam, a border town in Yobe State, and opened fire on residents, according to witnesses. Those killed include two women and a retired inspector of police, said Dungus Abdulkareem with the Yobe State Police Command. The militants came on foot and began to shoot, resident Babagana Umar told The Associated Press. We all thought it was soldiers shooting until we began to hear people screaming and running, Umar said. They burned down a school before storming a local alcohol and relaxation joint (where) the terrorists shot at some persons and then tied others hands from behind and slit their throats. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the Wednesday attack. The Islamic State group, however, claimed responsibility for an explosion in neighboring Taraba state that killed six people earlier in the week. That attack targeted a gathering of Christian disbelievers inside a crowded bar in Taraba, the group said. The group also said that its fighters killed five soldiers in a separate attack on an army post in Marte town in Borno State although the Nigerian army did not confirm this. Security has been beefed up in areas hit by the attacks, police have said. Nigeria, Africas most populous country with 206 million people, continues to grapple with a 10-year-old insurgency by Islamic extremists in the northeast carried out by Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province. The extremists are fighting to establish Shariah law and to stop Western education. More than 35,000 have died and millions have been displaced by the violence, according to the U.N. Development Program. On Wednesday, Nigerian leader President Muhammadu Buhari criticized the insurgents who have forbidden western education in parts of Nigerias north where they operate. God is justice. You cant kill innocent people and shout Allah Akbar (God is great). Its either you dont know that God at all, or you are simply being stupid, Buhari said. To say Western education is unacceptable is very fraudulent. ___ Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Maamoun Youssef contributed to this report from Cairo, Egypt. By HARUNA UMAR and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press French accuse Russian mercenaries of staging burials in Mali View Photo OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) The French military has released videos appearing to show Russian mercenaries burying bodies near an army base in northern Mali, which it says is part of a smear campaign against the French who handed the base to Malian forces earlier this week. Aerial surveillance images taken by the French military on Thursday morning and provided to The Associated Press show what appear to be 10 Caucasian soldiers covering approximately a dozen Malian bodies with sand 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) east of the Gossi military base in the countrys north, according to a French military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press on the matter. In the video one of the soldiers appears to be filming the scene. The Caucasian soldiers in the video are believed to be members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force, the officer said. Several tweets with pictures of the bodies have been posted on accounts that support Russia or fake accounts created by Wagner, the officer said. The tweets blame the French for the killings and the burials, according to the French officer. One tweet from an account called Dia Diarra, allegedly created by Wagner, said: This is what the French left behind when they left base at #Gossi. These are excerpts from a video that was taken after they left! We cannot keep silent about this! The French army transferred control of the Gossi base to Malian soldiers on Tuesday, in what the French said was a safe, orderly and transparent manner. Later that day a French sensor observed a dozen Caucasian individuals, most likely belonging to the Wagner Group, and a detachment from the Malian army arrive at the Gossi site and unload equipment, said the French military in a confidential report that was seen by AP. Malis army spokesman Col. Souleymane Dembele said that a team has been dispatched to Gossi to investigate, adding it is still early for us to react on this case. The French military said the move to discredit the French forces operating in northern Mali is part of a coordinated campaign of multiple information attacks on them that has been going on for months. The Wagner Group and the Malian Armed Forces appear to be taking disregard for human life to new levels in Mali, said Alex Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati in the United States. Anti-French sentiments, however, reflect more than just Russian disinformation. The Malian junta and Wagner are trying to harness those frustrations, but they did not create them, he said. French troops have been a major presence in Mali since helping to dislodge jihadi rebels from strongholds in northern Mali in 2013. But the extremists attacks on civilians and the military have continued as the rebels have pushed south. The ongoing violence has prompted numerous anti-French protests in the capital. In February, France announced it would withdraw its troops from Mali amid tensions with the countrys ruling military junta and the West African countrys decision to employ Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. About 1,000 of the Russian mercenaries are believed to be operating in Mali, according to military experts. Earlier this month foreign soldiers thought to be the Russians working with the Malian army were accused of killing an estimated 300 men some of them suspected Islamic extremist fighters but most civilians in Moura in central Mali, according to Human Rights Watch. It was the worst single atrocity reported in Malis 10-year armed conflict against Islamic extremists, according to the group which said it interviewed several witnesses about the killings. Its unclear where the bodies seen in the video Friday came from. The French military official said they might have possibly been taken from near Hombori town, approximately 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Gossi, where there had been fighting a few days earlier, but he could not confirm it. The apparently staged graves can be seen as the latest example of Russias disinformation campaign to damage Frances reputation and it also reflects badly on Malis army, which must have been aware of the Russians actions, said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Moroccan-based organization focused on economics and policy. This incident at Gossi camp will further put Malis junta at odds with the international community, and it wouldnt be surprising if they come up with an unrealistic explanation, he said. He said the aerial images provided by the French military have largely stymied the Russian disinformation effort. This is a big win for France whos been facing tough times about its reputation in Mali, he said. ___ AP writer Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed. By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press Alla Prohonenko, 53, touches a photo of her father Volodymyr Prohonenko during his funeral in a cemetery on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. Proponenko died during the Russian occupation. New blasts at Polish coal mine halt search for 7 missing View Photo WARSAW, Poland (AP) The search for seven people missing after methane explosions in a Poland coal mine killed five was suspended when more blasts injured workers taking part in the rescue operation, officials reported Friday. A decision to seal off the area of the Pniowek mine where the missing are believed to be was made after the Thursday night explosions injured 10 rescuers who were working to create safe conditions for the search. Tomasz Cudny, the head of the mine operated by the JSW company, said it was a very difficult decision to halt the search but it was taken out of concern for the well-being of rescue team members. It would be very risky and very irresponsible to send them to such a dangerous area,Cudny said. Seven people were hospitalized after the latest blasts, three of them in serious condition but conscious. Earlier Thursday, JSW said 25 people who were injured in the original explosions early Wednesday remained hospitalized, nine of them in very serious condition at a hospital that specializes in treating mine accident victims, especially those with severe burns. The deaths and injuries make it the worst incident in the history of the coking coal mine, which was built in the 1960s. Before the search for seven missing miners and rescue personnel was suspended, JSW had said rescue crews were pumping air underground seeking to lower methane levels and reduce the risk of further blasts. The initial explosion took place shortly after midnight early Wednesday about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) underground at the mine in Pawlowice, near the Czech border. Three hours into the rescue operation, a larger, second blast occurred. Communications were lost with some of the rescuers, and the operation was suspended. Preparations to resume the search were underway when Thursdays blasts ended them. Poland relies on its own and imported coal for almost 70% of its energy, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental organizations concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change. Most coal mines are in the southern Silesia region. Many are at risk of explosions from the sudden release of methane gas. The government has been actively scaling down the use of coal and recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May. The action is part of Polands drive to wean off dependence on Russian energy sources, but also comes in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine. Haiti grounds private flights amid probe into deadly crash View Photo SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Haitis National Civil Aviation Office announced Thursday that it is banning all private aircraft from flying during an investigation into the crash of a small plane that killed at least five people and injured several others. Authorities did not say when private flights could resume, adding that the measure is part of a review of private operators. The announcement was made a day after a Cessna 207 crashed into a truck transporting sodas in the crowded capital of Port-au-Prince. A police official told The Associated Press that five people died upon impact, including the truck driver. I heard a big boom, said Jean Felix Surin, a farmer who rushed out of his house to the scene of the crash. Everybody was in shock. Someone in the crowd said one of the victims asked for help while still on the ground but died shortly afterward. Hours later, firefighters used hoses to clean the site. Paule Robitaille, a Canadian politician, tweeted that one of the victims was Gamaniel Valcin and called on Canadas government to help repatriate his body. The Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported that the pilot died after being taken to a hospital. The pilot was identified as Amado Gutierrez from the Dominican Republic and carried a badge belonging to a Dominican flight school called Enalas. A secretary at the school said no one was immediately available for comment. Officials said the plane was en route to the southern coastal city of Jacmel and crashed shortly after taking off from Port-au-Prince. The crash comes four months after Haitis Civil Aviation Security Department issued a notice warning that several private operators it did not identify had been breaking rules by running commercial flights, among other things, without the required license. Last July, another small plane also en route to Jacmel crashed near the capital, killing six people, including two U.S. missionaries. Some people in recent months have opted to fly from the capital to Haitis southern region to avoid driving through gang-controlled areas that have seen a spike in kidnappings and killings. ___ Sanon reported from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP videographer Pierre-Richard Luxama in Port-au-Prince contributed to this report. By DANICA COTO and EVENS SANON Associated Press Fire in Burson - Calaveras Consolidated Fire Photo View Photo Burson, CA Fire caused devastation in the Burson area of Calaveras County. A home located in Burson off of Parsons Road was fully engulfed in flames when the firefighters arrived at around 2pm yesterday afternoon. The Calaveras Consolidated Fire Department reports that sadly the family lost their pet dog in the fire, so firefighters later buried it near the home site. A man at the home also received minor burns on his forehead. He was treated at the scene and released. The Red Cross is assisting all of the displaced residents. After the flames were knocked down, and mop-up was underway, a tornado warning was issued. The first responders took cover in their apparatus until the storm system passed through. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Other agencies that responded included CAL Fire, Clements Fire and Mokelumne Hill Fire. Death toll in Afghan mosque bombing rises to 33, Taliban say View Photo KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) A Taliban official says a bombing at a mosque and religious school in northern Afghanistan on Friday killed at least 33 people, including students of a religious school. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Talibans deputy culture and information minister, said the bombing in the town of Imam Saheb, in Kunduz Province, also wounded another 43 people, many of them students. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but Afghanistans Islamic State affiliate on Friday claimed a series of bombings that happened a day earlier, the worst of which was an attack on a Shiite mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif that killed at least 12 Shiite Muslim worshippers and wounded scores more. Earlier the Kunduz provincial police spokesman put the death toll at the Malawi Bashir Ahmad Mosque and madrassa compound in Imam Saheb at two dead and six injured. Mujahid later tweeted the higher casualty numbers, saying we condemn this crime and express our deepest condolences to the victims. Fridays bombing is the latest in a series of deadly attacks across Afghanistan. Mujahid called the perpetrators of the Kunduz attack seditionists and evil elements. The United Nations called the attack horrific. Deputy special representative to Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said in a tweet that the killings must stop now and perpetrators brought to justice. Since sweeping to power last August, the Taliban have been battling the upstart Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K which is proving to be an intractable security challenge for Afghanistans religiously driven government. Last October the IS-K claimed a brutal bombing also in northern Kunduz province at a Shiite mosque that killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 100. In November the Talibans intelligence unit carried out sweeping attacks on suspected IS-K hideouts in eastern Nangarhar province, where the deadly affiliate is headquartered. In a statement Friday, the IS-K said the explosive devise that devastated Mazar-e-Sharifs Sai Doken mosque was hidden in a bag left inside among scores of worshippers. As they knelt in prayer, it exploded. When the mosque was filled with prayers, the explosives were detonated remotely, the IS statement said, claiming that 100 people were injured. The Taliban say they have arrested a former IS-K leader in northern Balkh province, of which Mazar-e-Sharif is the capital. Zabihullah Noorani, information and culture department chief in Balkh province, said Abdul Hamid Sangaryar was arrested in connection with Thursdays mosque attack. The IS-K had been relatively inactive in Afghanistan since last November, but in recent weeks have stepped up its attacks in Afghanistan and in neighboring Pakistan, taking aim at Shiite Muslim communities reviled by Sunni radicals. Earlier this month two bombs exploded in Kabuls Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, killing at least seven students and wounding several others. The IS-K established its headquarters in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and have been blamed for some of the worst attacks in Afghanistan, including a vicious assault on a maternity hospital and at a school that killed more than 80 girls in 2021, months before the Taliban took power. The IS-K also took responsibility for a brutal bombing outside the Kabul International Airport in August 2021 that killed more than 160 Afghans who had been pushing to enter the airport to flee the country. Thirteen U.S. military personnel also were killed as they oversaw Americas final withdrawal and the end of its 20-year war in Afghanistan. In recent months, the IS-K has also stepped up attacks in neighboring Pakistan, targeting a Shiite mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar in March. More than 65 worshippers were killed. The upstart affiliate has also claimed several deadly attacks against Pakistans military . In Pakistans central Punjab city of Faisalabad, the local police on Thursday issued a threat warning, saying it has been learned that IS-Khas planned to carry out terrorist activities in Faisalabad, advising people to exercise extreme vigilance. The police warning did not elaborate. Meanwhile late on Thursday a Pakistani soldier was killed in southwestern Baluchistan province after militants raided a security outpost. No one claimed responsibility. The area has been targeted by both IS-K as well as the violent Pakistani Taliban militants known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also headquartered in neighboring Afghanistan. The safe havens of militant groups in Afghanistan has raised concerns for Pakistan which earlier this month carried out air strikes inside Pakistan, killing at least 20 children, according to the United Nations education fund (UNICEF). Pakistan has not confirmed the strikes but has warned Afghanistans Taliban to stop its territory being used to attack across the border into Pakistan. In separate incidents, five children were killed Friday in northern Afghanistans Faryab Province while playing with unexploded ordnance. In one incident, three brothers died when they found an unexploded device and tried to dismantle it. In a second incident in another village, two children, ages 7 and 8, were killed playing with a device, said Shamsullah Mohammadi, Faryab provincial information and culture head. After more than four decades of war, that included two invasions one by the former Soviet Union and one by the U.S.-led coalition Afghanistan is one of the heaviest mined countries in the world and is littered with unexploded ordnance. _____ Gannon reported from Islamabad. Associated Press Writer Tameem Akhgar in Islamabad, Asim Tanvir in Multan, Pakistan and Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report By KATHY GANNON and MOHAMMAD SHOAIB AMIN Associated Press COVINGTON, Ga. (AP) A small plane crashed in a parking lot near an industrial plant east of Atlanta on Thursday evening, sending a plume of black smoke overhead, authorities and local news reports said. Authorities said it appeared no one aboard the plane survived, according to local media. Police told news outlet WSB-TV that two people died. Crews had recovered one body as of late Thursday night, police told WAGA-TV. We are working on a lead to determine who the victims were in the crash, Covington Police Capt. Ken Malcom said. There were no immediate reports of any injuries to anyone on the ground. Covington police told local reporters the aircraft crashed in an isolated parking lot near an industrial plant just off Interstate 20, a major east-west artery in Georgia. That community about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of downtown Atlanta. Police said the aircraft was a Cessna twin engine plane, WSB-TV reported. The news outlet said the plane came down about 300 yards (meters) from an industrial facility into four empty tractor-trailers. According to witnesses, the plane had departed from Covington Municipal Airport around 6:45 p.m., police said, according to the outlet. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash happened near an industrial building around 7 p.m. We dont have additional information at this time, said the FAA statement. It said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The FAA added that more details would be released later after investigators verify the planes registration number at the scene. CHICAGO (AP) A judge on Friday threw out 44 more convictions tied to a notorious former Chicago police sergeant who regularly framed people for drug crimes they didnt commit, exonerations that victim advocates said would be among the last from one of the most disgraceful chapters in the departments history. The dismissal of the cases by Cook County Judge Erica Reddick was the result of petitions to do so filed by the victims attorneys with the support of the Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxxs office. In order to restore trust in the criminal justice system, as prosecutors, we must approach every case with an eye toward the facts, the evidence, and the law, Foxx said in a press release. The latest dismissals bring to more than 170 Black defendants who have seen their drug convictions tied to former Sgt. Ronald Watts and his tactical unit dismissed in recent years. Joshua Tepfer, an attorney with The Exoneration Project who has worked with many people convicted due to Watts and his crew, said that Fridays hearing would be the last of a number of similar hearings in recent years in which large numbers of victims have had their convictions thrown out. He said only a few cases remain. The announcement is the latest chapter in a story of corruption that led courts, starting in 2016, to toss out drug convictions of victims who were framed by Watts and his unit after they refused to pay him money, angered him in some way, or were targeted for no apparent reason. Watts, a Black sergeant, led a team that for nearly a decade until 2012 planted drugs or falsely accused residents of a public housing complex, others who were visiting or simply happened to be in the area. Watts and another officer pleaded guilty in 2013 to stealing money from an FBI informant. Watts received a 22-month prison sentence. In December, the police department acknowledged that 15 other officers associated with Watts and his unit were placed on desk duty pending an investigation. The department said the investigation is under the jurisdiction of the independent agency that investigates allegations of misconduct, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA. A spokesman for COPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Foxx has said that that her office does not call the officers involved in the Watts cases to testify in other prosecutions her office is handling. By DON BABWIN Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year and accusing an opposing lawyer of using chopped videos and twisting her words. Voters in the Georgia congresswomans district have said Greene helped facilitate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that disrupted certification of President Joe Bidens victory, making her ineligible for reelection under a rarely cited section of the 14th Amendment dealing with insurrection or rebellion. But Greene who, the day before the Capitol riot, proclaimed on TV that this is "our 1776 moment testified that she's never endorsed violence. Greene is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgias May 24 primary and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The administrative law judge who oversaw the hearing must present his findings to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then make the ultimate determination over whether Greene is qualified. Greene has repeatedly denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is itself unconstitutional. But Ron Fein, a lawyer for the voters who filed the challenge, said Greene took an oath and then broke it by engaging in an insurrection. While Greene wasnt on the steps of the Capitol, she nevertheless played an important role in stoking Republican fury ahead of the attack, Fein said. Unlike the Civil War and other insurrections that involved military uniforms and tactics, he said, The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. Andrew Celli, a lawyer for the voters, questioned Greene about posts on her social media accounts. She repeatedly responded, I don't recall," or I don't remember. When asked about the fact that her Facebook account had, in 2019, liked a post calling for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be shot in the head, Greene said she had no memory of that and said someone else could have been responsible. Whenever Celli suggested that she'd endorsed the use of violence to interrupt the certification of the electoral votes, Greene asserted she doesn't support violence and was encouraging peaceful protest. Celli played a clip of an interview Greene did Jan. 5, 2021, in which she said this is our 1776 moment. When Celli asked if she was aware some Trump supporters used that reference as a call to violence, Greene said that wasn't her intention and that she was talking about her plans to object to the certification of electoral votes. I was talking about the courage to object, she said. Celli appeared to grow frustrated at times when she didnt directly answer his questions and accused him of was speculating. Ms. Greene, Im just asking questions, he said. Im just answering, she responded. Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot sometimes seemed exasperated by repeated rephrasing of questions and at times told Celli to move on. He also repeatedly admonished Greene supporters for clapping or cheering during the proceedings. James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, said his client did not engage in the attack on the Capitol, and the challengers are making a very serious charge with significant ramifications. They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th District of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot, he said. At the time of the riot, Greene was in a dark hallway at the Capitol urging people via social media to be safe and remain calm, he said. Rep. Greene was a victim of this attack, Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger. Bopp said that Greene was engaging in protected political speech. He also argued that the administrative hearing process is meant to address basic qualification questions, not to evaluate major constitutional and federal claims. Dozens of Greene supporters attended the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and staunch Greene ally. The challenge to Greene's eligibility to run for reelection was filed by five voters who live in her district, and the procedure for such a challenge is outlined in Georgia law. The law says any voter who's eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge that candidate's qualifications by filing a written complaint. The secretary of state then has to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Beaudrot asked both sides to submit briefs by midnight Thursday, and said he would try to make a decision within a week after that. Once he submits findings, Raffensperger will be tasked with deciding the eligibility of Greene, a Trump loyalist, as he faces a tough primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed candidate. Raffensperger attracted Trumps wrath shortly after the 2020 election when he refused to take steps to overturn Trumps narrow loss in the state. The 14th Amendment says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it aimed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta on Monday declined a request from Greene to halt the challenge process. Greene is appealing that ruling. The Georgia complaint was filed on the voters' behalf by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group. The group filed similar challenges on behalf of voters in Arizona, where a judge on Friday ruled to keep three Republicans on the ballot, and in North Carolina against Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally that preceded the riot. A federal judge last month blocked the challenge against Cawthorn, writing that laws approved by Congress in 1872 and 1898 mean the 14th Amendment section cant apply to current House members. ___ Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed reporting. Associated Press Writer Convicted killer Ynobe Matthews attributes his plight to a lack of maturity. "As a boy, I was always rowdy," Matthews said recently. "Even at 24, I was still boyish. I had kids at 17 years old. I guess I never truly grew up." For Matthews, now 27, it was hardly a boyhood indiscretion that earned him a trip to death row and a scheduled Tuesday night execution. He was convicted of raping and strangling a 21-year-old woman, Carolyn Casey, at her College Station apartment 3 1/2 years ago, then setting fire to her body in an attempt to cover up the crime. It was one of at least two deaths he acknowledged. Testimony at his trial also linked him to at least three other rapes and two attempted rapes. "I argued to the jury that they operate under the assumption they were dealing with a serial (rapist)," Brazos County District Attorney Bill Turner, who prosecuted Matthews, said Monday. "My immaturity, alcohol," Matthews said from death row, trying to explain his actions. "You wouldn't give a child a loaded gun. I guess I had the wrong ammunition." Matthews, whose first name is "Ebony" spelled backward, asked that no additional appeals be filed on his behalf and volunteered for execution. "I wish there was something else going on but there's not," Kevin Dunn, Matthews' lawyer, said Monday. Matthews would be the first prisoner executed this year in Texas, where 24 inmates were put to death in 2003. The total was the highest in the nation but about average for Texas over the past decade. Firefighters responding to a call from Casey's apartment complex just before 5 a.m. May 28, 2000, found a small blaze smoldering around her body. She had been propped up in a seated position against a bed. Paper, pens and makeup brushes had been set on fire near her. Matthews was living with a friend at the same complex and had attended a party there the previous night. Questioned by police, he surrendered clothing, plus hair and blood and saliva samples to investigators. Matthews' DNA was found in scrapings taken from under the woman's fingernails and other forensics evidence tied him to the murder scene. Confronted with the information, Matthews acknowledged being at her apartment the day she was killed but contended the sex was consensual. He later told detectives there had been a fight, that he strangled Casey and set fire to her to eliminate evidence and cut a window screen to give the appearance of a burglary. "It's my fault that I'm here," he said from death row. "That's that." DNA evidence and fingerprints also connected Matthews to the May 1, 1999 rape and slaying of Jamie Hart, 21, whose death went unsolved for 14 months after her nude body was discovered on a rural Brazos County road, nine miles from where her abandoned car was left running with the lights on. Matthews confessed to forcing his way into her car and raping her. A month after he was condemned for the Casey slaying, he pleaded guilty to Hart's death in exchange for a life prison term. Jurors at his capital murder trial were told he had previous arrests for cocaine possession and cruelty to animals and was considered such a threat while in jail that he had to be escorted by two officers and placed in leg irons any time he left. "I think the most troubling part of his behavior was it appeared to me he toyed with his victims," said Turner, who called a rape victim to testify at Matthews' trial. "It was the one survivor who gave us a glimpse of what his state was," Turner said, recalling the woman telling how her attacker "would strangle her until almost unconscious and then let up. It would happen again and again." Authorities found marks of repeated choking on his other victims. Matthews, who fathered four children _ three sons and a daughter ranging in age from 3 to 10, said his decision to volunteer to die was difficult but made with them in mind. "Do you want to constantly remind them of the hurt and pain or do you want to give them a chance to move forward?" he said. "Now it's between me and God _ me and my creator. Whatever he sees fit for my punishment, it's something I can't refuse. That's the finality of the situation and I can accept it." KYIV, Ukraine Another mass grave has been found outside Mariupol, the city council and an adviser to the mayor said Friday. The city council posted a satellite photo provided by Planet Labs showing what it said was a mass grave 45 meters (147.64 feet) by 25 meters (82.02 feet) that could hold the bodies of at least 1,000 Mariupol residents. It said the new reported mass grave is outside the village of Vynohradne, which is east of Mariupol. Earlier this week, satellite photos from Maxar Technologies revealed what appeared to be rows upon rows of more than 200 freshly dug mass graves in the town of Manhush, located to the west of Mariupol. The discovery of mass graves has led to accusations that the Russians are trying to conceal the slaughter of civilians in the city. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Possible mass graves near Mariupol shown in satellite images EXPLAINER: Why the battle for Mariupol's steel mill matters EXPLAINER: Why Washington is boosting heavy arms for Ukraine UN rights chief sees horror story of violations in Ukraine US to welcome Ukraine refugees but no longer through Mexico Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: KYIV, Ukraine At least three civilians died and seven more were injured in shelling attacks in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Friday, as Russian forces continue to roll into the countrys industrial east, the governor of the region said in a Telegram post. Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko blamed the deaths of three more peaceful residents in a small town and two villages on Russian shelling. In a separate Telegram post earlier, Kyrylenko said that as of Friday afternoon, Russians had opened fire at 20 settlements in the region and destroyed or damaged 34 civilian infrastructure facilities. Also on Friday, the local prosecutors office in the northeastern region of Kharkiv said in a Telegram post that charred bodies of two residents were discovered near the city of Izyum that same day. The post accused Russian soldiers of torturing the residents and burning their bodies. ___ WASHINGTON The Pentagon says U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will convene a meeting next week in Germany of defense officials and military leaders from more than 20 countries to discuss Ukraines immediate and long-term defense needs. The Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, said Friday that about 40 nations, including NATO members, were invited and that responses are still arriving for the session to be held Tuesday at Ramstein air base. He did not identify the nations that have agreed to attend but said more details will be provided in coming days. The meeting comes as Russia gears up for what is expected to be a major offensive in eastern Ukraine. The agenda will include an updated assessment of the Ukraine battlefield as well as discussion of efforts to continue a steady flow of weapons and other military aid, Kirby said. It will include consultations on Ukraines post-war defense needs but is not expected to consider changes in the U.S. military posture in Europe, he said. ___ The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that one serviceman died, 27 more went missing and 396 were rescued after a fire on the flagship missile cruiser Moskva last week. The statement comes a week after the vessel sunk. Shortly after the incident, the ministry said the entire crew of the ship, which was presumed by the media to be about 500 people, had been rescued. The ministry did not offer an explanation for the contradicting reports. Ukraine said it hit the cruiser with a missile strike. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines security chief said Friday that the main battles in the country are taking place in the Donbas, the industrial heartland in the east, with Russia deploying more and more troops every day. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told The Associated Press that over 100,000 Russian troops are currently fighting in Ukraine, including mercenaries from Syria and Libya. Some of Russias elite military units have left the strategic Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which was declared liberated by the Kremlin on Thursday, and are now moving to the east of the country to participate in the fighting there, Danilov said. Danilov said a nighttime helicopter delivery brought weapons to Mariupols steel mill, the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the city. He urged Ukraines Western partners to speed up the delivery of weapons to his country. ___ UNITED NATIONS U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to meet Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press for fighting to stop in Ukraine. The U.N. chief will travel to Moscow for conversations with Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.N. spokesperson Eri Kaneko said Friday. She said discussions about a similar visit to Ukraine are under way. He wants to discuss with the leadership steps that can be taken right now in order to silence the guns, in order to help the people and in order to allow the people who need to get out to do so safely, she said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Guterres is due to meet Tuesday with Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and that Putin will also host the U.N. chief. Guterres asked to meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their respective capitals. Ukraine has welcomed the idea. Guterres had appealed for a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting leading up to Sunday, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter. ___ BUCHAREST, Romania The Moldovan government strongly criticized comments Friday by a Russian military official suggesting that Russia's forces are aiming to take control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern Ukraine as well, creating another way to the region of Transnistria in Moldova. Moldova's government on Friday called Rustam Minnekayev's comments not only unacceptable but also unfounded." The statement added that his words will lead to increased tension and mistrust in society. Minnekayev said at a defense industry event earlier Friday that broader control of Ukraine would open the way to Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Transnistria broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers have been stationed there since the civil war. Since Russia launched its attacks on Ukraine on Feb. 24, fears have grown that Moldova could be next in Russia's crosshairs. Moldova is not a member of the European Union or NATO. The war has prompted Moldovan officials to try to speed up the country's bid to join the 27-nation EU, which it applied to do last month. The process, however, will likely take many years. ___ MOSCOW Russias top diplomat says talks to end the fighting in Ukraine have ground to a halt, because Moscow hasnt received any response from Kyiv to its most recent set of proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference on Friday that right now, they (talks) have ground to a halt, because another proposal we passed on to Ukrainian negotiators about five days ago, which was drawn up with their comments taken into account, it remains without a response. Lavrov also charged that recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers suggest they dont at all need these talks, they have put up with their destiny. However, Vladimir Medinsky, President Vladimir Putins aide and Russias lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, confirmed reports that he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He didnt offer any details as to what was discussed or if any progress was made. ___ MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside a Mariupol steel plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive. The comments came during a phone call between Putin and European Council President Charles Michel, according to a readout of the call provided by the Kremlin. Putin also said the Ukrainian forces were offered decent treatment and medical care. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged, according to the Kremlin. ___ LVIV, Ukraine A city official in besieged Mariupol says Russian forces are continuing to bomb a massive steel mill where Ukrainian fighters are holed up. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor, told The Associated Press on Friday that every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, despite false promises not to touch the defenders. Andryushchenko added that fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. The Azovstal plant is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, which the Russians has blocked for nearly two weeks and declared victory over this week. Ukrainian authorities have estimated that 1,000 civilians are inside the plant along with the fighters. A day after satellite images came to light that indicated mass graves outside the port city in southeastern Ukraine, Andryushchenko said local residents reported that Russian forces were using mobile crematoria at two locations. Initial estimates said the apparent mass graves could hold up to 9,000 bodies, but Andryuschenko said there could be more. ___ BERLIN The International Atomic Energy Agency says its director general will visit the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant next week, on the anniversary of the 1986 disaster there. The Vienna-based IAEA said Friday that Rafael Mariano Grossi will head a team of experts from the U.N. nuclear watchdog that will be at Chernobyl on April 26, which is 36 years since the day a reactor at the plant exploded. The IAEA says the team will deliver vital equipment and conduct radiological and other assessments at the site, which Russian forces held for five weeks until they withdrew on March 31. The experts will repair remote monitoring systems that stopped transmitting data to the IAEAs headquarters at the start of the war. Grossi said in a statement that the Chernobyl visit will be followed by more IAEA missions to this and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine in the coming weeks. ___ WASHINGTON Pentagon press secretary John Kirby says assessments show Ukrainian troops are still contesting the southern city of Mariupol despite Russian President Vladimir Putins claim of victory in the battle for the city in Ukraines industrial heartland, home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Putin on Thursday ordered his troops not to storm a giant Mariupol steel mill where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainians remain holed up but to seal it off in an apparent bid to free up his troops for the broader campaign in the east. Kirby said it was unclear why Putin did that and Putins words need to be viewed with skepticism. They made this big show yesterday of him saying he wasnt gonna go into that plant and try to eradicate the people that are there, Kirby told CNN on Friday. I think we have to watch and see what the Russians actually do here. What we would tell you this morning is that we still assess that Mariupol is contested, that it hasnt been taken by the Russians and that theres still an active Ukrainian resistance. So they continue to fight for that city. ___ SEOUL, South Korea South Koreas Foreign Ministry says its trying to confirm intelligence that a South Korean citizen who had come to Ukraine as a volunteer fighter to defend the country against the Russian attack has been killed. The ministry said Friday it received the information from an unspecified foreign government but didnt immediately provide more details. The ministry said there were at least four South Koreans who went into Ukraine without government authorization. It pleaded them to quickly return home as the war escalates with Russias new offensive in eastern Ukraine. ___ COPENHAGEN, Denmark The three Baltic prime ministers want more sanctions against Russia. Latvian Prime Minister - Krisjanis Karins pointed out Friday that it is necessary to lessen Russias ability to finance its war in Ukraine, and this includes sanctions at the European Union level on all Russian banks and all energy resources, including natural gas and oil. His Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte stressed the importance of continuing to put pressure on the Kremlin by strengthening sanctions. Kaja Kallas of Estonia agreed. They spoke after a meeting of the Baltic Council of Ministers, the Baltic News Service said. The parliaments of Latvia and Estonia on Thursday adopted a statement on Russias war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. ___ BERLIN German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is defending his center-left partys record on relations with Russia against criticism following the war in Ukraine. Scholzs Social Democrats have long been proud of the legacy of Cold War rapprochement pursued by former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt. But critics accuse it of having clung too much to close relations with Russia, particularly over recent years. Scholz made clear in an interview with weekly Der Spiegel published Friday that he sees no need for the party to chew over its stance, and said that it doesnt have to accept the criticism. He argued that its policies of detente set the ground for overcoming Europes Cold War-era division, and said it always backed a strong German military and integration with the West. Scholz decried what he called distorting and defamatory portrayals of the Social Democrats policies toward Europe and Russia going back to West Germanys early post-World War II years. He did not, however, mention ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeders ties with the Russian energy industry, which Scholz has urged Schroeder to end. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A top Ukrainian official says no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations will be open in Ukraine on Friday because it is unsafe. In a post on the messaging app Telegram, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk asked people awaiting evacuation from war zones to be patient and hang in there. Vereshchuk said Russian forces offered to open a corridor for military surrender but not for an estimated 1,000 civilians sheltering at a steel mill that is the last Ukrainian stronghold in besieged southern city of Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said Moscow was ready at any moment to introduce a regime of silence for both the troops and civilians at Azovstal. But Ukrainian troops must raise white flags in determined areas around the plant before evacuations can begin, the ministry said. ___ LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. is looking at sending tanks to Poland to replace the Soviet-era T-72 tanks the Poles are shipping to Ukraine. Johnson made the comments Friday during a news conference in New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think perhaps what I havent said publicly before is were also looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians, Johnson said. So were looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they sending some of their T-72s to Ukraine. ___ LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the U.K. plans to reopen its embassy in Ukraines capital next week. Johnson announced the planned action on Friday during a trip to India. Diplomats from other European nations have returned to Kyiv since Russian troops withdrew from the capital region to focus on eastern Ukraine. Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv this month to show solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the time, the prime minister detailed a new package of financial and military aid, and Zelenskyy said the U.K. had pledged to help rebuild the city after the war. ___ BERLIN The U.N. human rights chief says that international humanitarian law appears to have been tossed aside in Russias war in Ukraine. The Geneva-based human rights office said in a statement Friday that Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure actions that may amount to war crimes. The office said its mission in Ukraine so far has verified 5,264 civilian casualties, including 2,345 deaths, since the war began on Feb. 24. It said that 92.3% of those were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet added that the actual numbers are going to be much higher as the horrors inflicted in these areas of intense fighting such as Mariupol come to light. She said that over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoya's funeral Friday: We want his name!" Sharpton's comments renewed demands by Lyoya's family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officer's name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. "How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Police reform requires evaluating many long-standing practices to ensure our actions are consistent with the best interests of the community and the individuals involved, Washington said. No timeline has been set for the discussions or a decision, spokesman David Green said, adding that Washingtons statement was intended to let city residents know we hear you and were willing to assess that practice and see if it works or not. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., putting Lyoya's death in the context of the national civil rights movement. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and ran into an America that we know too well. He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoya's killing. "We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name," he said. Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the district that includes Grand Rapids, said in a statement that his office and the FBI had offered help state investigators and local prosecutors and that the Justice Department can provide consultation, mediation or training assistance. He said his office will continue to review the facts to determine whether additional federal response is warranted. Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton has eulogized George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Crump also called for justice Friday, saying an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution. He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said. If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids. After the service, Crump told reporters: We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community, she said. And if I dont stand up, who will? Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. Bethlehem Shekanena, whose parents immigrated from Congo, said the Lyoyas came to the U.S. for life, liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. We are gathered here today because the promise given to all those who reside on this land, the very foundation of what makes America America it was broken the moment Patrick Lloya was killed in the streets." she said, adding: He did not deserve to die." Before the service, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officer's Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya was driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. How dare you pull your gun about some car tags? Sharpton said during his eulogy. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. ___ Forliti contributed from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asked the Legislature to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, the latest volley in a feud between the governor and the entertainment giant over what critics have dubbed the Don't Say Gay law. DeSantis, an ascendant GOP governor and potential 2024 presidential candidate, has battled with Disney over the company's opposition to the new law barring instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. On Tuesday, DeSantis raised the stakes. As lawmakers returned to the Capitol for a special legislative session on congressional redistricting, the governor issued a proclamation that allows the GOP-controlled statehouse to take up bills eliminating Disney's self-governing district. Republicans quickly filed proposals to do so. I am announcing today that we are expanding the call of what they are going to be considering this week. And so, yes they will be considering the congressional map, but they also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968, and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District," DeSantis said at a news conference, referencing the company's governing district without mentioning Disney by name. He did not elaborate. Disney representatives did not return an emailed request for comment on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear how the elimination of the district would affect the company or neighboring governments. The Reedy Creek Improvement District is a private government controlled by Disney World and set up by the state Legislature in 1967 that allows it to provide government services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure. The creation of the district, and the control it gave Disney over 27,000 acres (11,000 hectares) in Florida, was a crucial element in the company's plans to build near Orlando in the 1960s. Company officials said they needed autonomy to plan a futuristic city along with the theme park. The city never materialized, however; instead, it morphed into the EPCOT theme park. The push to punish the company comes after Disney announced it would suspend political donations in the state over the new Parental Rights in Education law. Opponents dubbed the law Don't Say Gay," arguing that barring lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades would marginalize LGBTQ people. Disney is one of Florida's biggest private employers: Last year, the company said it had more than 60,000 workers in the state. LGBTQ advocates who work for the company criticized CEO Bob Chapek for what they said was his slow response speaking out against the bill. Some walked off the job in protest. DeSantis has repeatedly lashed out at Disney and critics of the law, gaining considerable attention in conservative media spheres. He insists the policy is reasonable and says parents, not teachers, should broach subjects of sexual orientation and gender identity with children. Republican lawmakers appear receptive to punishing Disney, filing proposals that would dissolve the district by June 2023. DeSantis has been a powerful governor, effectively pushing his priorities in the statehouse, and both the GOP Senate president and House speaker support him on the Disney issue. Democrats were quick to criticize the governor's move as retribution for the company's stance on the education bill. Some pointed out that Disney has been a major economic driver in the state. What world are we living in right now? asked Democratic Sen. Audrey Gibson. Its the freedom state of Florida. If they disagree with the governor, he brings out the Gatling gun. Retired Rollins College political scientist Richard Foglesong, whose book, Married to the Mouse recounts the formation of Reedy Creek, said he thought initially that cooler heads would prevail in the war of words between DeSantis and Disney. I believe I was wrong. I overestimated or underestimated Gov. DeSantis, Foglesong said. I see it as a legitimate threat. ___ Associated Press writers Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee and Mike Schneider in Orlando contributed to this report. Click here to read the full article. Cynthia Albritton, a.k.a. Cynthia Plaster Caster, the legendary artist and recovering groupie renowned for the plaster casts she took of many top musicians erect penises and other body parts, has died after a long illness, her rep confirms to Variety. She was 74. Her collection included Jimi Hendrix, Wayne Kramer of MC5, Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks, Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys as well as female breasts from the likes of Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Sally Timms of the Mekons, Peaches, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and many others. She later expanded her subjects to include filmmakers and other artists and eventually amassed a collection of 50 plaster phalluses. Born Cynthia Albritton on May 24, 1947, she began her plaster-casting rock career while living in Chicago in 1968. After meeting Frank Zappa, who found her art concept both humorous and creative (although he did not participate), Albritton found in him something of a patron. He moved her to Los Angeles a goldmine for her line of art where she found multiple willing assistants to help prepare the subjects for her work. In 1971, after her apartment was robbed, Zappa and Albritton decided the casts should be preserved for a future exhibition and entrusted them to Zappas business and legal partner, Herb Cohen. However, artists declined to participate in the exhibition, and she made no casts between 1971 and 1980. In a surreal situation, she found herself having to go to court in 1993 in order to get the 25 casts she had left with Cohen returned; ultimately she got all but three of them back. In 2000, Albritton finally held her first exhibition of the casts in New York, and expanded her purview to include womens breasts. Her career was immortalized in the 2001 documentary, Plaster Caster, and she also participated in the 2005 BBC documentary My Penis and I, created by filmmaker Lawrence Barraclough about his anxiety over the size of his penis. She has been lauded in many rock songs including Kiss Plaster Caster and a television conversation between her and the Frank Zappa-sponsored group the GTOs was included on their 1969 album, Permanent Damage. In an intriguing career twist, in 2010, Albritton ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Chicago naturally, on the Hard Party ticket. 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 VENICE, Italy (AP) Simone Leighs sculptures are making a monumental impression at the Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition. The first Black woman to headline the U.S. Pavilion at the international show, the American sculptor installed a monumental 24-foot sculpture outside the Palladian-style brick building, which she topped with a thatched raffia roof on wooden columns. Leigh also sets the tone for the main Biennale exhibition. Her towering Brick House, a bronze bust of a Black woman, presides at the entrance of the Arsenale. Such double citations are rare at the 127-year-old art fair, the world's oldest and most important, opening its 59th edition on Saturday. Leigh titled her exhibition of bronzes and ceramics at the U.S. Pavilion Sovereignty. The name, she said, came out of a desire to point to ideas of self-determination" while tapping commonalities in Black feminist thought. One thing we all agree on, the real purpose of Black feminist thought is our desire to be ourselves. And to have control over our own bodies, the artist said during the official opening on Thursday. To that end, another bronze sculpture set in a reflecting pool, Last Garment, depicts a laundress at work. Leigh was inspired by a 19th century photograph of a Jamaican woman washing clothes in a river; the U.S. Pavilion exhibition notes say the photo represents the imagery that at that time supported stereotypes of the Caribbean. In this way, Leigh reappropriates a portrait initially depicted through a lens of colonialism, literally recasting it in bronze. The works in the pavilion refer specifically to the African diaspora. The raffia-topped facade covers the Palladian-style pavilion and its neo-classical columns, redressing an architectural style that recalls both Jeffersonian notions of freedom and the plantation homes of slaveowners. The shaggy roof and wooden columns imposed over the colonial style building were inspired by the Cameroon-Togo Pavilion at the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition in Paris, an event meant to display cultures under European colonial rule. "One doesn't obscure the other. It's really about their adjacency. It's about bringing together their two histories, problematic, troubled, and creating new meaning,'' curator Eva Respini said. The works from the U.S. Pavilion will follow Leigh back to the United States, where they will appear in Leighs first museum survey, set for next year at the ICA Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. This is just some of the recognition heaped on Leigh, 54, after two decades as an artist. Leigh also won the Studio Museum in Harlems $50,000 Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize in 2017 and the prestigious $100,00 Hugo Boss Prize, which included a solo show at New Yorks Guggenheim museum the following year. It is overdue like so much, and it is an overdue recognition of Black creativity, said ICA director Jill Medvedow, commissioner of the U.S. Pavilion. The main exhibition, which features a preponderance of female artists, is curated by Cecilia Alemani, who originally commissioned Brick House for The High Line park in New York City. The 5-meter (16-foot) sculpture of a woman whose torso is in the form of West African architecture originally overlooked Manhattan's 10th Avenue; it was installed in Venice two days before the Biennale opened for previews. She stands there with such majesty, and such beauty. She does not have eyes, but she has this very strong gaze,'' Alemani said. I am very happy to have that sculpture in the show and for Simone to finally get the deserved merit at the U.S. pavilion. The Venice Biennale runs through Nov. 27. Joel Pena for MySA.com Some might call San Antonio the taco capital of Texas. If you like controversy, you may even claim the world. So, it's only fitting that there's a massive local festival celebrating the almighty food in the city's downtown. Now in its third iteration, Taco Fest: Music y Mas will unfold at Travis Park on May 14 from noon to 11 p.m. Revelers will be able to dine on $2 tacos from major players in the local taco scene, including Vera's Barbacoa, Estellas Mini Tacos, Mi Frijoles, Tomatillos, and dozens more. Guests will also have the opportunity to vote on their favorites, judged by a learned panel of taco connoisseurs. Downtown San Antonio will soon be welcoming a new concept by a known local restaurant group and a Chick-fil-A at the Rand Building. Double Standard by Empty Stomach Group is expected to open in May. The chain chicken restaurant is slated for early next year. Both restaurants will be housed in The Rand building at 110 East Houston Street. Empty Stomach, led by Chad Carey, is the group behind other San Antonio spots including Hot Joy, Barbaro, Little Death, Midnight Swim, Paper Tiger, and more. Chef John Philpot is handling the Double Standard food menu, while Myles Worrell, formerly of The Esquire Tavern, is on the drinks. The restaurant will feature "American tavern fare, with strong drinks and fun vibes," the announcement says. The nearly 3,000-square-foot Double Standard will take over the former home of Rosella, which closed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kody Melton Weston Urban, the developer that took over ownership of the Rand Building in 2013 and is also behind Frost Tower, also confirmed details on a new Chick-fil-A which MySA reported in February. The location is expected to be a whopping 4,500-square-feet and will feature a drive-thru. The announcement was mentioned in the groundbreaking of 300 Main, another Weston Urban project which will bring a 32-story multi-family high rise to downtown that will will neighbor the Rand Building. Frost Tower, Weston Urban's most-recent development which changed the downtown San Antonio skyline, stands at 23 stories. The new building will have 6,275-square-feet of ground-floor retail space. It's unclear if more restaurants will be invited to occupy that space, but the new high-rise will be home to the Sky Lounge on the 25th floor with "breathtaking, unobstructed views" of the city. Completion of the tower is expected in the spring 2024. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said in a press statement that Weston Urban's projects are "critical" in making downtown San Antonio inviting to further investment and energy. Weston Urban co-founder and CEO Randy Smith says in a press statement that the mission has always been to build a city future generations are proud to live in. "Our mission has always been to help build the city our kids want to call home. 300 Main and the other projects were celebrating today are important steps in that effort," Smith says. I cant wait to welcome the first residents to 300 Main in a couple of years. Downtown is alive with activity and rich history, but a high-rise living experience in our citys beautiful core is something our community has waited 300 years for. Now there will be an option to live in a beautiful home and be able to walk to work, groceries, great restaurants, wonderful parks, and enjoy a truly vibrant urban lifestyle. Hays County expects to close on its purchase of the Sentinel Peak Preserve by April 29, a week after celebrating Earth Day. It's the first project funded under the 2020 Hays County Parks and Open Space Bond, according to a news release. The 530-plus acre property, just west of Wimberley, will serve as a Golden-cheeked warbler habitat preserve, a federally listed endangered species included in the Hays County Regional Habitat Conservation Plan. It also features a riverfront park along a one-mile stretch of the Blanco River. According to the release, the riverfront park will include low-impact swimming recreation and other activities to ensure the conservation and environmental protection priorities of the preserve. Arthur Morris/Getty Images "This couldn't have happened without the voters of Hays County," said Hays County Commissioner Pct. 3, Lon Shell in the release. "Its a great thing when residents across the county understand the need for and importance of conserving the beautiful Hill Country land and wildlife. Its something we're doing for the future generations of our community, and this is only the beginning." Hays County partnered with the Nature Conservancy in Texas (TNC) to acquire the Sentinel Peak Preserve in 2019. The Nature Conservancy will continue to hold the conservation easement after the county acquires the land. Photo by Christopher Zebo "The Nature Conservancy was very happy to partner with Hays County to protect this property that is not only significant for its conservation value but has also been so important to so many people over the years," said Jeff Francell of the Nature Conservancy in the release. "We are excited to see how it develops as a public park and natural area." As the park plan is implemented, Hays County will provide reservation-based, low-impact public access along the river and trails. This project will also preserve the condition of water quality and quantity for the Blanco River, San Marcos Springs and River, and the Trinity and Edwards Aquifers. Photo by Christopher Zebo The bond identified $6 million for the purchase of the Sentinel Peak Preserve, which will be combined with $7 million from the 2016 voter-approved Transportation Bond for environmental mitigation. The $75 million 2020 Parks & Open Space Bond was to establish parks, open spaces, conservation lands, and other recreational opportunities. In November 2021, the Parks & Open Space Advisory Commission (POSAC) provided project and funding recommendations to the Hays County commissioners court. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) A bill adding an exception to New Hampshires new abortion ban for cases in which the fetus has been diagnosed with abnormalities incompatible with life is heading to the desk of Gov. Chris Sununu, who has said he will sign it. Since Jan. 1, New Hampshire has outlawed abortion after 24 weeks gestation, with exceptions only for pregnancies that threaten the mothers life or health. Doctors who provide late-term abortions can face felony charges, and ultrasounds are required before any abortion. With nine Republicans joining all 10 Democrats, the Senate voted 19-5 in favor of a bill to limit the use of ultrasounds and add the abnormalities incompatible with life exception. The bill passed the House last month. Sen. Becky Whitley, D-Hopkinton, said she was grateful to women who shared heartbreaking stories, including a Brookline woman who learned 21 weeks into her pregnancy that one of her twins would not survive on her own after birth. We know that there are many more women who have these deeply personal stories who may not be comfortable attending a public hearing who can attest that, yes, these circumstances are rare, but they happen to real families, she said. The Senate rejected an amendment proposed by Sen. Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, who said she understood the desire to add an exception but felt the bill raised too many questions. Incompatible with life ... is it just minutes, is it days, is it weeks? We dont know that, she said. With the U.S. Supreme Court considering a case that could severely erode abortion rights, state legislatures across the country are taking up measures to either restrict the procedure further, or ensure access to it. New Hampshire lawmakers are considering at least eight bills on both sides of the issue. Among those that have passed the House are bills that would allow health care workers to refuse to participate in the delivery of contraception or abortion care, and another that would eliminate the safety zone that keeps protesters at least 25 feet (7.5 meters) away from abortion clinics. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW YORK (AP) CNN is shutting down its CNN+ streaming service less than a month after its launch, a spectacular flameout for a venture that had attracted stars like Chris Wallace and Alison Roman and was seen as a way to attract a new generation of news consumers. It had started March 29, shortly before CNN was taken over by new corporate parents. The new leaders of Warner Bros. Discovery quickly let it be known they considered CNN+ an ill-conceived idea. The subscription-based service will be shut down at the end of April. Executives said some CNN+ programming and employees will be absorbed into the television network and website but there will be layoffs. The head of CNN+, Andrew Morse, is leaving the company. In a memo to employees on Thursday, incoming CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht said consumers wanted simplicity and an all-in service rather than stand-alone offerings. Discovery had previously suggested that it wanted to merge the new companys separate streaming services, which include Discovery+ and HBO Max, into a single app. In a Thursday town hall, executives also said that the service's inability to show live breaking news was a crucial failing. Because of contracts with cable and satellite companies, CNN+ could not stream the CNN television network. It's a little bit like The New York Times subscription without The New York Times, said J.B. Perrette, head of Discovery's streaming services. Perrette said Discovery had learned from trying to launch its own news service in Poland, and in seeing the experiences of other paid streaming services in the United States like Fox Nation, that CNN+ could not expect to get near one million subscribers. Unlike CNN+, which was charging customers $5.99 a month, broadcast networks like ABC, CBS and NBC offer free news-streaming services. Those are the facts, Perrette said. We've learned from painful history, financially costly history. If the company is going to go in a different direction than CNN+, we can't let it go on one second more than it needs to, he said. There had been skepticism from outside CNN about whether the streaming service could succeed, particularly given the glut of streaming services already available. Even Netflix, the streaming pioneer, is feeling the competitive pressure. This is a service leveraging the CNN brand that is not delivering the type of content that the CNN brand is known for, the live impactful news content, said Parks Associates research director Paul Erickson. It was already a bit of a tricky proposition to begin with even without the change in corporate ownership. Under AT&T, there were $100 million in development costs and some 500 employees assigned to building out CNN+. Perrette told the employees they would have first dibs on some 100 jobs currently open at CNN. Licht's memo said there would be at least six months of severance pay for departing staffers. In the meeting, a CNN staff member wondered why AT&T, CNN's previous corporate owner, was allowed to develop and start the service with new management coming in that clearly had its reservations about it. But executives said they were not allowed, until the takeover was formally approved weeks ago, to be involved in meetings about the service. The executives said accountability for the rapid failure lies squarely with previous management. Would we have preferred to have this discussion six months ago, nine months ago? Perrette said. Couldnt do it. The CNN+ service's flagship was arguably Wallace's daily interview show, for which he left his previous job as Fox News Sunday host. Wallace did not immediately return a message seeking comment. It also featured programming from food-media star Roman, former NPR host Audie Cornish, ex-NBC News host Kasie Hunt, Jemele Hill, Rex Chapman and current CNN personalities Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. Some of the shows hadn't even started yet. Warner Bros. Discovery is led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who has his own vision for CNN and its Warner siblings. Licht said in his memo that the incredibly difficult decision to shutter CNN+ is the right one for the long-term success of CNN. It will allow leaders to refocus resources on the core products that drive our singular focus: further enhancing CNN's journalism and its reputation as a global news leader. On the television network, Licht is expected to increase CNN's emphasis on news coverage with less commentary. He told staff members that the decision was no reflection on the service that they had built. Licht acknowledged in the staff meeting that the experience with CNN+, at least initially, will have repercussions with personnel and those who might want to come there. We have to own the erosion of trust and build it back, he said. ___ Arbel reported from Phoenix. MOTT, N.D. (AP) A sheriff's deputy killed a man inside a North Dakota public school after the man refused orders to leave the building, officials said Friday. The Hettinger County Sheriff's Office said the deputy was responding to a report of a disturbance at Mott-Regent school about 3 p.m. Thursday when a man identified as Jeffrie Ray Glover Jr. attacked him. The sheriff's office said in a release it was a lethal force scenario but did not state how Glover was killed. 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. NEW YORK (AP) When Mahlet Berhanemeskel gets back to her New York City home from her 90-minute commute, she doesnt feel like cooking. So instead she orders food like BLTs, Cheez-Its and cookies from an app called Gorillas. It's affordable and takes 10 minutes. It's instant gratification, she said. Gorillas is one of several companies that venture capitalists have poured billions into in the latest pandemic delivery craze: companies that promise to get you a bottle of Tylenol, an iced coffee, hummus, a cucumber or a roll of paper towels in 30 minutes or even 15 minutes or less. They typically deliver from mini-warehouses in residential and commercial neighborhoods. Experts say they are unprofitable. Bigger companies are nonetheless muscling in. And officials in European cities and in New York, which has become the U.S. launching pad, have already started complaining about how they operate, saying it's bad for employees and residents. The problem I see is that quick commerce players, despite the huge valuations enjoyed and the seemingly unstoppable money flow that they get to grow, at some point they will have to find a path to profitability, said Bain partner Marc-Andre Kamel, the co-author of a recent report on the online grocery market. Services are already shutting down. One, 1520, closed in late December, and two more, Buyk and Fridge No More, shut down in March, apparently having run out of money. Buyk's Russian founders reportedly were not able to provide money due to restrictions put in place during the Ukraine war; it did not respond to questions. Fridge No More, in a tweet, said it was closing after two years due to growing competition and other industry related issues. Its founder did not answer questions. Other delivery companies are having growing pains. Gorillas dropped its 10 minutes delivery promise from its U.S. marketing now it's just in minutes. Gopuff recently laid off 3% of its workforce more than 400 people. It's not a sustainable business model, says Len Sherman, an adjunct professor at Columbia Universitys business school. There is going to be a lot of consolidation on some very painful terms." Getir, a Turkish company that operates in Europe as well as Boston, Chicago and New York, said the key to profitability is adding more mini-warehouses in the cities where it delivers. We're here for the long term, said Langston Dugger, Getir's head of U.S. operations. The company recently raised $768 million, valuing it at close to $12 billion, and plans to expand in the U.S. Customers range from people ordering a late night ice cream to somebody who is doing a full grocery shop for the week for a family and everything in between," he said. Lee Hnetinka, the founder of FastAF, a delivery company with a two-hour delivery model in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, said profitability is just not a priority right now as it invests in customer experience, saying their strategy is a long-term one and pointing to Amazons early beginnings when it too was unprofitable. There are new competitive threats from established restaurant delivery companies DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber and grocery delivery service Instacart that have noticed the appeal of the fast-delivery apps. DoorDash has three DashMarts in New York that promise delivery of groceries and convenience-store items within 15 minutes, and says more locations are coming; it also aims to deliver from Albertsons Cos. grocery stores in more than 20 cities in half an hour. But its president, Christopher Payne, said at a recent conference that it may not be possible to make 15-minute delivery profitable. Grubhub delivers items from 7-Eleven and other convenience stores, usually in under 30 minutes. Uber is partnering with Gopuff and FastAF, letting people choose those companies' items inside the Uber app. Uber also delivers from local grocers, although the delivery times are often over 30 minutes. And Instacart is planning 15-minute delivery, starting with customers of grocery chain Publix in Atlanta and Miami. It's unclear how fast the services could be outside of the densest U.S. cities, like New York, or the neighborhoods where they cluster in more sprawling cities. For this type of model to work 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, you name it you need density, right?" said Stanley Lim, a Michigan State University professor who specializes in supply chains. In a rural area, you can service these customers but not profitably. That's going to be a limit to the spread that these companies can go for." But in the bustling city, regulatory pressure may loom. New York City Council members have spoken out against the fast-delivery apps, saying they may be breaking zoning laws. The New York City Department of Buildings is working with other government agencies to explore the appropriate zoning districts for the mini-warehouses. The centers are not mentioned in existing city zoning regulations since they are a new type of business, said Andrew Rudansky, the agencys spokesperson. There are also worries about delivery apps offering discounts that will squeeze local businesses like bodegas and convenience stores as well as concerns about the safety of delivery people. Manny Ramirez, who works for DoorDash and a service called Relay and is an organizer for Los Deliveristas Unidos, which advocates for better conditions for app delivery workers, says he has been badly injured by a car while on his bike twice in the past year, and is still in physical therapy. And the bigger the order, the more dangerous it is for the rider. We don't have laws to protect bikers, he said. The lack of bike lanes throughout the city, time pressures and fear for their safety drives delivery workers onto sidewalks, advocates say. That leads to worries from city residents. Deborah Koncius, who lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side, said she feels like her neighborhood has gotten more dangerous with delivery people riding e-bikes on the sidewalk. Although neither she nor any of her family members have gotten hit, I kind of feel like its just a matter of time." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MIAMI (AP) For years after leaving Cuba, the mother of two tried to get her children and parents into the U.S. through legal channels. Finally, she decided she wouldnt wait any longer: She paid more than $40,000 dollars to someone to help them sneak in through Mexico. I said to myself, `Enough. I am going to risk everything,' said the 30-year-old woman, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from U.S. authorities. Her familys story is an example of what tens of thousands of Cuban immigrants looking to escape political and economic troubles are going through as more risk their lives and arrive illegally in the United States. It's a very different reality from years ago, when Cubans enjoyed special protections that other immigrants did not have. Her children and parents undertook a 20-day journey, starting with a plane ride from Havana to Managua, Nicaragua. From there, they took buses, vans and taxis across Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, until they arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border. I saw that other people were coming through the border and they were happy, and I, who had done things legally, was still waiting for my children, the woman said. ___ CUBA AND NICARAGUA U.S. border authorities encountered Cubans almost 32,400 times in March, according to figures released Monday. That was roughly double the number in February and five times the number in October. The increase coincided with Nicaraguas decision starting in November to stop requiring visas for Cubans to promote tourism after other countries, such as Panama and the Dominican Republic, began mandating them. After flying to Nicaragua, Cubans travel by land to remote stretches of the U.S. border with Mexico mainly in Yuma, Arizona, and Del Rio, Texas and generally turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents. The Biden administration has been leaning on other governments to do more to stop migrants from reaching the U.S., most recently during a visit this week to Panama by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The actions of Nicaragua, a U.S. adversary, complicates that effort. Cuban and U.S. officials met Thursday in Washington to discuss migration in their highest-level diplomatic talks in four years. The State Department said the meeting covered areas of successful cooperation on migration but also identified obstacles to ensuring safe, orderly and legal migration U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Cubans more than 79,800 times from October through March more than double all of 2021 and five times more than all of 2020. Overall, the Border Patrol stopped migrants of all nationalities more than 209,000 times in March, the highest monthly mark in 22 years. Cubans who cross the U.S. border illegally face little risk of being deported or expelled under a public health law that has been used to deny asylum to thousands of migrants of other nationalities on the grounds of slowing the spread of COVID-19. Barely 500 Cubans stopped in March, or about 2%, were subject to Title 42 authority, named after a public health law. The Biden administration plans to end Title 42 authority on May 23. Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, and other experts estimate the number of Cubans leaving could exceed other mass migrations from the island, including the Mariel boatlift of 1980, when more than 124,700 Cubans came to the U.S. There are several intertwined factors that have produced a perfect storm for the intensification of the Cuban exodus, Duany said. For one, Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of U.S. sanctions. Massive street protests on July 11, 2021, and the governments response also have played a role. Nongovernmental organizations have reported more than 1,400 arrests and 500 people sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for vandalism or sedition. Havana has not said how many Cubans have left and has accused the United States of manipulating the situation and offering perks that encourage departure. What hurts? That there are young people who find that their future plans cant develop in the country and have to emigrate, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said early this month. There are people who want to prove themselves in another world, who want to show they arent breaking with their country, that their aspiration is also to improve a little and later return. THE CUBAN FAMILY TIRED OF WAITING The 30-year-old woman who tried to bring her family to the U.S. through legal avenues had arrived in Florida in a raft in 2016. Under the wet foot, dry foot policy, Cubans could stay if they made it to U.S. land, but they were sent back if apprehended at sea. Former President Barack Obama ended that policy in 2017, and she petitioned for immigration for her children the next year. Every month, she sent her family $500 for medicine and food, along with boxes of clothes and other items, she said from her home in Tampa, Florida. Finally, she decided to pay $11,000 to smugglers for each relative -- her two children, ages 8 and 10, and her mother and father. Her parents sold everything, including their house and furniture, before embarking on the journey with both children, explained the single mother. In Managua, they met 200 other migrants -- Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans -- at a hotel. That same day they start a caravan by car, truck, or any kind of vehicle. In one night, they got into more than 10 different cars, the woman said. After 20 days, they arrived in Mexicali, Mexico, crossed the Colorado River at night and surrendered to Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona. They were separated. The grandparents, 45 and 62 years-old, were released in two days; their grandchildren were detained 11 days, the woman said. THE CUBAN MAN WHO FEARED FOR HIS LIFE Other Cubans say they left because they felt persecuted. Ariel, 24, worked doing blood tests at a laboratory in a hospital in Cienfuegos, on Cuba's south coast. During the pandemic, he led a protest demanding masks, gowns and disinfectants and criticized the government on Facebook for the lack of medical supplies. He told the AP in a phone interview that he decided to leave in November after receiving threats and being beaten. He requested that only his middle name be used because his mother and 14-year-old sister in Cuba could face reprisals. His whole trip was a nightmare, Ariel recalled, but he said that he was willing to do whatever it took lo leave Cuba. He made his way to Mexicali, with help from an aunt in Florida, and paid a smuggler $300 to take him across the Colorado River. He joined about 100 migrants, 90 of them Cubans, who boarded a truck at midnight, he said. The river was calm, but deep. Water covered his waist. He helped a Cuban mom by carrying her child on his shoulders. The smuggler gave them directions to a place where Border Patrol agents would pick them up. They waited two days at a migrant camp with 1,000 other people, eating bread and canned food. Border Patrol agents picked them up in groups of 12 and took them to a center in Yuma that Ariel said seemed like a prison. After his release, he called his aunt to let her know that he was ready to fly to St. Petersburg, Florida. LIVING IN THE U.S. Many Cubans who crossed illegally say they now feel like they are in limbo. The most difficult situation is going to be here, not when crossing (the border), said Dr. Raul Gonzalez, a Cuban American who owns a clinic that helps new arrivals with paperwork to receive assistance for a few months. They are like stranded here. It can take some time for asylum-seekers to obtain a work permit. At Gonzalezs clinic, Cubans lined up to secure one of the 20 appointments available each day. It is sad what they are going through, said the doctor. Many tell me, Dont give me food stamps, I would prefer that they let me work. - AP journalists Andrea Rodriguez in Havana and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. WASILLA, Alaska (AP) Sarah Palin isn't used to sharing the spotlight. In the nearly 14 years since she burst onto the national political scene, the former Alaska governor has appeared on reality television programs, written books, spent time as a Fox News contributor, formed a political action committee in her name and been a rumored White House contender. She more recently revived her status as a conservative sensation with an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit against The New York Times. Now, the first Republican female vice presidential nominee is vying for what could be considered a less glamorous role: a member of the U.S. House. Palin is among 48 candidates running for Alaska's lone House seat following the death last month of Republican Rep. Don Young, who held the job for 49 years. If successful, Palin would be one of 435 members in a chamber where ambition runs deep but legislating is tough, in no small part because of the populist politics that took hold in the aftermath of the 2008 election. Given those dynamics, it would be easy to dismiss Palin's candidacy as the latest headline-grabbing twist in an unconventional career. Some of her critics have sought to cast her as an opportunist seeking to bolster her brand. The opinion section of the website of Alaska's largest newspaper is dotted with letters to the editor urging Alaskans to reject her run. Some remind readers she left the last major job she had in politics, as Alaska's governor, with about 16 months left in her term. But in a recent interview with The Associated Press, Palin, 58, dismissed such critiques. She insisted her commitment to Alaska has not wavered and those who suggest otherwise don't know me. She said she is serious about seeking the House seat and doesn't need a launching pad for anything else. In fact, she said, her unique place in American politics would put her in a stronger position in Washington. Unlike other freshmen lawmakers, she said, she could pick up the phone and call any reporter and be on any show if I wanted to, and it would be all about Alaska. I love to work, and anyone who is around me, they know," she said. "What Im doing is applying for a job, for Alaskans, saying: Hey, you guys would be my boss. Do you want to hire me? Because if you do, Ill do a good job for you, and I wont back down. In Anchorage on Wednesday evening, Palin and the youngest of her five children, son Trig, attended the opening of her campaign office. She stopped to talk to reporters before entering the building, which had been the headquarters for Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Inside, Palin posed for photos with supporters and chatted with several before cutting and serving a cake that featured her campaign slogan, Sarah for Alaska. I mean, were going to just, you know, stick with the issues and stick with the plans that we have for Alaska, she told supporters at the event. Jobs for Alaskans from the states rich natural resources would be her first priority if elected, she said, and called the state "the Fort Knox of our great Union. There's only one former governor who is currently a member of the House Democrat Charlie Crist of Florida. Palin faces several hurdles to get there. One is navigating elections that will unfold in rapid order. A June 11 special primary will be the first statewide by-mail election. The four candidates who get the most votes will advance to an Aug. 16 special election, in which ranked-choice voting will be used. The winner will serve the remainder of Young's term, which expires in January. There also will be an August primary and November general election to determine who will serve a two-year term starting in January. Palin is one of 16 candidates so far to have filed for the regular primary. Some voters question Palin's decision to leave the governor's office, a move she has attributed to an onslaught of records requests and ethics complaints she said were frivolous and had become distractions. She has spent time out of the state but maintains a home in Wasilla, her hometown and where she got her start in politics. Well, I'm sorry if that narrative is out there because its inaccurate, she told the AP of the perception she had left Alaska behind. She said Alaska is her home and that she was shoveling moose poop in her fathers yard on a recent sunny day before calling a reporter. She has regularly voted in state elections since leaving office, according to the Division of Elections. Im still all about Carhartts and steel-toed boots and just hard work, Palin said, referring to a popular brand of outerwear. I just have been blessed with opportunities and a platform to get out there and tell and show other people the beauty of being an Alaskan. She mentions Alaskans hunting lifestyles and the importance of responsibly developing the states oil and gas resources. She said she plans to attend events, including this weeks state Republican Party convention. The contest in Republican-leaning Alaska will do little to change the balance of power in Washington. But the election is being closely watched as a barometer of Trump's connection to the GOP's most loyal voters. In Wasilla, Trump 2020 or Trump 2024 banners fly from several homes, the few political signs seen so far this election year. Palin said if Trump runs for president in 2024 and asks her to be his running mate, shed consider it, though she said he could choose anyone and they havent had such a candid conversation. Palin said Trump was among those who contacted her after Youngs death asking if she would be willing to run. She said this is a good time in her life to seek a return to office, politically and personally. Her family life has changed, she noted, with her four older children grown. Her youngest, Trig, is in middle school. Palin was divorced from Todd Palin, her husband of more than 30 years, in 2020. Palin said she feels like she has nothing to lose in running. After having her political and personal life in the media glare for so long, what more can they say? she said, adding later: To me, its freedom. Trump has endorsed Palin and has made the state's senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, one of his top targets this year after she criticized him and voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial. Even if Palin doesn't win the election, she could emerge as a high-wattage critic of Murkowski, who faces voters later this year. Palin said she disagrees with Murkowski on some of her positions, including her vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial. But on issues like resource development in Alaska, Palin said she believed they would be on the same sheet of music. Palin has perhaps the highest profile among a list of candidates that includes current and former state legislators, a North Pole city council member whose legal name is Santa Claus, and Republican Nick Begich, who got into the race last fall and has been working for months to rack up conservative support. Begich said he considers the Matanuska-Susitna region, a conservative hotbed that includes Wasilla, as one of his strongest areas. He said he is unaware of any of his supporters defecting since Palin joined the race. "Everyone that has come to support me remains fully supportive, and thats a strong statement because a lot has changed," he said. Tim Burney, who lives in Wasilla, said he supports Palin. He said she resigned for the good of the state" after her detractors came at her with guns ablazing. She just lives right down the road here, and, you know, she grew up here, he said while smoking a cigarette outside the Mug-Shot Saloon after finishing lunch on a recent day. Her hearts here in Alaska, and I think that shes good for Alaska, he said. Joe Miller, a former Republican and now Libertarian whom Palin endorsed in two of his unsuccessful Senate races, said Palin would be no ordinary House freshman and would have an extraordinary platform she could use to help Alaska. He said she's the only anti-establishment, truly conservative candidate in the race and that she could be the natural repository for voter angst over economic and other issues. Holly Houghton, who works as a pharmacy tech, is willing to hear Palin out. Houghton, who was eating a take-out lunch with her son outside a restaurant in Wasilla recently, said she has mixed feelings about Palin and is also considering Begich. Houghton said she doesnt like how Palin has carried herself in her personal life but also thought she was an excellent governor. Houghton said she thinks of the Begich family as Democrats and wants to look more closely at Begich. Begich's grandfather, Democrat Nick Begich, held the House seat before Young. His uncle Mark was a Democratic U.S. senator and his uncle Tom is the state Senate's Democratic leader. Jesse Sumner, a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly, said he thinks Begich is a good candidate. Sumner filed to run for the House seat as a joke at the filing deadline, on April Fool's Day. He later withdrew. He said he doesn't see Palin around town much and that Palin's run seems to be more like it's about the Sarah Palin show than about Alaska. ___ Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska. After two days of testimony, a San Antonio man has switched his not guilty plea mid-trial for a capital murder. Here's what you need to know. Jonathan Johnson, 28, plead guilty on Thursday, April 21 to the murders of Andre Rangel, 19, and Katrina Casarez,18. Johnson shot Andre and Katrina in March 2019, according to a news release. Johnson plead guilty after Angelica Rangel and Cynthia Hernandez testified. Both were injured in the shooting. Angelica identified Johnson during her testimony as the man who kicked her apartment door open and began shooting. Angelica's children were in the apartment at the time but were not injured. Angelica testified that she believed the shooting happened because she canceled phone service to lines that she said were fraudulently added to her account. It's not clear how these fraudulent phone lines were tied to Johnson. MySA reached out to the district attorney's office for comment. "This defendant traumatized these families first with the shootings, then again by making them relive this horrible crime in court. I know how long these families have waited for justice," said District Attorney Joe Gonzales in the news release. 226th District Court Judge Velia Meza sentenced Johnson to 40 years in prison in exchange for his guilty plea. He will be eligible for parole after serving half of his prison time. San Antonio chef fries up on Food Network Chef Ryan Rhys, the owner food truck of Satisfried, is appearing on a new Food Network show that will help whip his business back into shape. Read more here. Smoke Skybar owner arrested on list of charges After attending an anniversary party, the owner of Smoke Skybar was arrested early Thursday, April 21 on a list of charges including two felonies. Read more here. S.A. cities, school districts have bonds on May ballot San Antonio-area cities and school districts have over $2.7 billion in bonds on the ballot this May. Read a break down of the bonds here. Locals thirst over Mayor Ron Nirenberg's muscles San Antonio FC may have won over Austin this week, but it looks like Mayor Ron Nirenberg's arms may be the bigger winner. Read more here. Update: Friday, April 22, 1:48 p.m.: A Texas National Guard soldier has been reported missing during a mission-related operation along the Rio Grande at the state's border with Mexico on Friday, April 22, according to the Texas Military Department. The soldier has not been found, officials said. The Texas Military Department stated reports of a fatality are inaccurate. The Washington Post, Fox News and The Sun previously reported an officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the drowning. The Texas Military Department, Texas DPS and Border Patrol are working to find the soldier. More details will be released as they become available, officials said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Original story: A Texas National Guard soldier drowned while trying to rescue migrants struggling with swift currents in the Rio Grande River at the state's border with Mexico on Friday, April 22, according to a report from the Washington Post. The Texas Military Department public staff told MySA.com that the soldier has not been found. Lt. Christopher Olivarez of the Texas Department of Public Safety said the soldier was carried away by the current during the rescue attempt near Eagle Pass, a border city about 140 miles southwest of San Antonio. Olivarez told the Washington Post the Guard member was part of the border security initiative Operation Lone Star, which was launched by Gov. Greg Abbott in March 2021. DPS said river currents have resulted in 10 drownings this week alone. Officials said that in recent weeks they have seen an increase in crossings from Piedras Negras, Mexico, which is the city on the opposite side of the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass. It's unclear how many migrants the trooper was attempting to rescue. The soldier has yet to be identified. It's also unclear if the migrants survived as well. Read more from Priscilla Aguirre: - My search for San Antonio's secret reading nook at Bamberger Park - Purrsona anime, pop culture art gallery opens this weekend in San Antonio - 'Do not touch': Rare man-o'-war-eating species washing ashore on Texas coast Stay up to date on the latest stories from San Antonio and beyond by signing up for our newsletters here. Sadie Layher/MySA Texas Governor Greg Abbott slammed TikTok for allegedly allowing cartels to recruit teens in San Antonio and the surrounding areas in a recent meeting. Abbott called out the video-sharing app during his roundtable with local law enforcement in San Antonio on Thursday, April 21. "We're finding here in San Antonio, Texas, a proliferation of cartels advertising on TikTok recruiting teenagers to assist the cartels in their crimes, whether it be smuggling people, smuggling drugs or other crimes," the governor said during his roundtable. "That's something that must stop." KateLynn White graduated from Tennessee State University, where she was an editor of the student newspaper. She interned for The Tennessean and The Tennessee Tribune before joining the Nashville Post in 2022. She also contributes to the Nashville Scene. Follow KateLynn White 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 NANNING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regional congress was held in Nanning city from Thursday to Friday to elect the region's delegates to the 20th National Congress of the CPC. Xi Jinping, a candidate nominated by the CPC Central Committee and put to vote in the Guangxi electoral unit, was elected by a unanimous vote. The vote was cast on Friday morning. When it was announced that Xi was elected unanimously, a long and warm applause burst out. The unanimous vote of Xi represents the common will of over 2.5 million CPC members and 150,000 primary-level Party organizations in Guangxi, as well as the wholehearted support of the region's 57 million residents of all ethnic groups, according to the congress. It also shows the common wish and strong desire of the hundreds of millions of Chinese people to follow his lead toward national rejuvenation and strive for a brighter future. "General Secretary Xi always keeps in mind the people of all ethnic groups in Guangxi. I feel especially honored and proud to cast my vote on behalf of Party members working on the ground. On hearing that General Secretary Xi was elected by a unanimous vote, I was very excited and deeply inspired. It is my honor to witness this historic moment," said delegate Ya Hanwen, director of the Jianggeng Villagers Committee, also secretary of the Party branch of Jianggeng Village, Yuhong Township, Lingyun County. Ya vowed to lead his fellow villagers to develop local distinctive farming and breeding to contribute to the country's rural revitalization drive. General Secretary Xi always concerns himself with people's wellbeing. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the people have benefited substantially from favorable policies in various fields such as education, healthcare, housing and drinking water, said delegate Wei Liuchan, director of the Automation Office of the Sintering Plant, Liuzhou Iron & Steel Company, Ltd. "We believe that under the leadership of General Secretary Xi, we will lead a more rewarding and promising life. Only by working hard can we live up to Xi's expectations," said Wei. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Xi has attached high importance to the development of Guangxi and given important instructions for the region. During his April visit to Guangxi in 2021, Xi summarized distinctive features of the region in the country's overall development and called on the region to make progress on four fronts. He also urged Guangxi to devote efforts to four key areas of work and building the region into a majestic place under socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. "As we embark on a new journey in the new era, the leadership of General Secretary Xi will surely pool greater strengths of the times and steer China toward its great rejuvenation," the delegates said confidently. "The unanimous vote of the general secretary is what the people aspire for. Under the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, great changes have taken place in Guangxi," said delegate Xu Hua, Party committee secretary and vice principal of Nanning No. 2 High School. Xu said he will continue to perform his duties conscientiously and contribute to the development of education in ethnic minority areas. Delegates agreed that it is essential to acquire a deep understanding of the decisive significance of the establishment of both Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. They believed that Xi's core position must be firmly upheld, and so must the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership. They expressed the need to loyally support, uphold and protect the leadership core. We will turn Xi's caring and encouragement into concrete actions, set the stage for the 20th CPC National Congress with outstanding achievements, and forge ahead toward the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, they said. The Williamson County seal on a wall in the auditorium of the Administrative Complex in Franklin. The Tennessee Historical Commission has allowed the county to alter the image of the Confederate flag, which is draped over a cannon in the upper left quadrant. (Natural News) Project Veritas has dropped another bombshell proving that Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines are especially unsafe for people who are immunocompromised. In a December 2020 Zoom call, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot stated though it never got reported publicly that immunocompromised individuals should not take his companys injection, period. If you have an immune disease, lupus or some other immune condition, you cannot or multiple sclerosis you cant be vaccinated, Soriot said. So, there are millions of people in the world that will need a protection that cannot be coming from a vaccine. At the time, Soriot was promoting monoclonal antibodies instead, telling his staff that the longer antibody has enormous potential to support health. The long-acting antibody is quite unique because this is the only combination potentially will last more than six months, up to potentially 12 months and protect people for a long period of time, Soriot said. Early on in the plandemic, noted Project Veritas founder James OKeefe, monoclonal antibody treatment was widely promoted as being effective against the Fauci Flu. Only recently did that change. World Health Organization still pushing full two-dose regimen of AstraZeneca on immunocompromised It has been more than a year since Soriot made these statements, and yet the World Health Organization (WHO) is still pushing the full two-dose regimen of AstraZenecas Chinese Virus injection on the masses, including the immunocompromised. It is as if Soriot never even said these things, as the WHOs Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) is still recommending that severe and moderately immunocompromised persons should be offered an additional dose of vaccine. In other words, people who should not be taking AstraZenecas injection at all are being told by the WHO that they must not only take the standard dose, but also an additional dose. According to the Big Pharma CEO, the WHO is basically telling those who are at a higher risk of having an adverse reaction that they should take an extra dose of the experimental jabs, is how Kelen McBreen from Infowars puts it. Though the revelation applies specifically to AstraZenecas version of the shot, there is little reason to believe that it does not also apply to the other shots from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson (J&J). All of these injections have proven to be unsafe, not only for previously healthy people but also those with underlying health conditions or greater susceptibility to infection. Anyone dumb enough to trust Astra deathica jab deserves the clots and prions issues they have coming, wrote someone in the comment section at Infowars. [The jabs] are loaded with graphene as well; doctors in Europe tested it along with [Pfizers shots] The great culling has begun; only purebloods will survive. Another person suggested that perhaps even monoclonal antibodies are unsafe, though little is known about their long-term effects. These doctors have done nothing to actually help people with immune issues, and suddenly they get to virtue signal like they have something special for them yeah a special kill shot, this same person wrote. How many more we gotta bury before people stop falling for this senselessness? Another wrote that the medical industry is worse than terrorist groups and drug cartels. Modern medicine is little more than a death cult for profit, and most of the people involved with it cannot be trusted because they directly profit from the scam. Do we really need videos with Satans minions admitting vaccines are one among dozens of vectors currently in play to genocide all humans to know that it is happening? asked another. The latest news about the Fauci Flu can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: Infowars.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Forcing commercial airline pilots to get vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) in order to keep their jobs is a violation of federal law, says the California-based advocacy group Advocates for Citizens Rights (ACR). In a letter that was hand-delivered to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Transportation (DoT), the Department of Justice (DoJ), and the CEOs and legal counsel of major airline carriers including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, ACR presented data showing that the jabs are causing pilots to get sick and die, which puts passengers at risk. Last summer, by the way, we reported that four pilot deaths that occurred within the employee ranks at British Airways were also linked to the injections. The letter, which was sent back in December but that just now became public, outlines the fact that pilots everywhere, including in the military and general aviation, have suffered injuries and adverse events due to the injections, and in some cases have had to stop flying entirely. The following claims were also included in the letter: Federal regulations prohibit pilots who receive certain non-FDA-approved medical products, including covid injections, from flying. Covid injections cause abnormal health conditions such as heart damage and blood clotting, potentially leading to stroke or cardiac arrest, that are exacerbated at high altitudes. Some pilots have suffered serious injury or death after getting injected for covid. The health risks involved with jabbing pilots include potentially catastrophic events such as a plane crash, not to mention significant legal and monetary liabilities for the government, insurers and airlines. The federal government knows full well about all of these risks based on complaints filed with various agencies, but nothing has been done. The letters signatories include Childrens Health Defense (CHD) chairman and chief legal counsel Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; CHD general counsel Mary Holland; Peoples Court of Public Opinion attorney and co-founder Reiner Fuellmich; and numerous other doctors, medical practitioners and lawyers. Both civilian and military pilots who got jabbed are now suffering from health damage ACR attorney Leigh Taylor Dundas, the letters lead signatory, spoke with The Defender about the letter, revealing that products like covid injections that are authorized under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration are not fully approved, and thus cannot be mandated. Our government has a long history, even with approvals and releases of products of getting it wrong, Dundas explained. Witness thalidomide, DDT, all sorts of things like that. As a former environmental attorney and now staunch defender of basic human rights and civil liberties I get contacted a fair amount by concerned individuals from all walks of life. I was aware from things I had been hearing at conferences that the inoculation was presenting severe and sometimes fatal issues to those who took it. Dundas further claims that she has spoken to high-ranking surgeons and other personnel in the military who were seeing first-hand the severe incidents of injury that were occurring in pilots who got jabbed. Both military and civilian pilots, she discovered, are suffering the same horrific outcomes post-injection. And yet the official data is being manipulated or altered to make it seem like things are mostly normal. At the same time, I was becoming aware of similar incidents in the civilian pilot population, Dundas said. So, the combination of the two made me sort of pull the string and try to determine if not only was the vaccination causing an increase generally of disease and fatalities among those who took it, but if perhaps [these adverse reactions were] due to the unique combination of pilots being at altitude for long periods of time. The latest news coverage about covid injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources for this article include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The Biden administrations Department of Justice (DOJ) said it plans to appeal a federal court ruling that deemed Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) mask mandates for public transportation unlawful. The DOJs Office of Public Affairs confirmed the move in an April 19 press release. The DOJ and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district courts decision and will appeal, subject to [the] CDCs conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health. If [the] CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the publics health after that assessment, the DOJ will appeal the district courts decision, it said. The [Justice Department] continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the department will continue to work to preserve. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled on April 18 that the mask mandate for public transportation was unlawful and ordered that the rule be rescinded nationwide. She argued in her 59-page decision that the CDC failed to justify the mask mandate and refused to abide by proper rule-making procedures, which rendered the mask order fatally flawed. Mizelle, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, insisted that rescinding the mask mandate across the country was the only remedy as any limited remedy would be no remedy at all. (Related: White House RESCINDS mask mandate for public transportation following federal court ruling.) DOJ Public Affairs Director Anthony Coley later remarked that the department has filed a notice of appeal against Mizelles ruling. In light of todays assessment by [the CDC] that an order requiring masking in the transportation corridor remains necessary to protect the public health, the [DOJ] has filed a notice of appeal, he tweeted. White House laments while airports laud ruling The White House suspended the mask mandate hours after Mizelle released her decision. [The] court decision means that the CDCs public transportation masking order is not in effect at this time. Therefore, the TSA will not enforce its Security Directives and Emergency Amendment requiring mask use on public transportation and transportation hubs at this time, the Biden administration said in a statement issued on the evening of April 18. It added that the agencies involved are reviewing the decision and assessing potential next steps and that the CDC nevertheless recommends that people continue to wear masks in indoor public transportation settings. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki lamented the ruling at a press conference, telling reporters that this is obviously a disappointing decision. She also reiterated the CDCs recommendation for people to mask up inside public transportation. While Biden administration officials did not take too kindly to the decision, airlines rejoiced upon the issuance of the ruling. United Airlines would no longer mandate face mask for travelers on domestic flights and certain international flights, the carrier said in a statement. While this means that our employees are no longer required to wear a mask and no longer have to enforce a mask requirement for most of the flying public they will be able to wear masks if they choose to do so, it added. Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines also made similar announcements eschewing masks for travelers. One Delta flight received the news in mid-air, with the flights sleepy passengers suddenly cheering and applauding as a flight attendant announced the positive development. No ones any happier than we are, said the Delta flight attendant who broke the news. Were ready to give [the masks] up, so thank you and happy unmasking day. Pandemic.news has more stories about mask mandates on public transportation. Watch former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano commenting on Mizelles decision to strike down mask mandates for public transportation. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: White House reinstitutes COVID-19 mask mandate for federal buildings, even for fully vaccinated people. Federal judge strikes down national mask mandate covering airports, airplanes and other public travel. Biden wants to enact a federal a mask mandate immediately after inauguration. Group files suit over CDCs mask mandate for travelers. CDC issues nationwide mask mandate for travelers. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com Justice.gov Twitter.com ThePostMillennial.com APNews.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has framed civilians in a supposed plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. In the April 18 episode of Worldview Report with Brannon Howse, the host showed a clip from the Dinesh DSouza podcast saying that the Whitmer case fed the Lefts narrative of supremacist extremism while giving the FBI center stage to keep their huge budgets. In the Whitmer case, two of four men were acquitted in a conspiracy to kidnap the governor, motivated supposedly by their fury at her tough Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions early in the pandemic. The jury verdict against the men, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, was read in the federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. However, jurors said they couldnt agree on verdict against the other conspirators, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. Fox, Croft and Harris faced additional charges. Their two most serious charges, kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use explosives, both carry potential life sentences. Their defense attorneys portrayed the men as weekend warriors prone to big, wild talks often under the influence of drugs. They also said FBI undercover agents and informants tricked and cajoled the men into agreeing to a conspiracy. To counter the entrapment claim, prosecutors entered evidence that the men discussed abducting Whitmer even before the FBI sting began and that they went way beyond talk, including scouting the governors summer home and testing explosives. However, U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker acknowledged the struggle of the deliberations because decisions to convict or acquit them must be unanimous. The case had 10 charges: one against Caserta, two against Fox, three against Croft, and four against Harris. All men faced the main charge of kidnapping conspiracy, while other counts are related to explosives and firearms. (Related: Federal prosecutors indict their own FBI informant in alleged conspiracy to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.) Jonker said it is important to reach unanimity if possible. If you just cant see it, then thats what we need to hear eventually as your final answer, he told the jury. Moreover, a court employee handed over a large plastic bag of pennies as part of the evidence. Pennies that are taped to a commercial-grade firework were intended to act as shrapnel, according to investigators. A homemade explosive was also detonated during training in September 2020, about a month before the men were arrested. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said Croft wanted to test the explosive as a possible weapon to use against Whitmers security team, quoting the man saying that the pennies would be so hot, they could go right through your skin. FBI coercing civilians to commit crimes Prosecutors also offered testimony from undercover agents, a crucial informant, and two men who pleaded guilty to the plot. Moreover, the jurors read and heard secretly-recorded conversations, violent social media posts and chat messages with details of a plan to take down a tyrant. The defense lawyers, however, said any scheme that the men have made was the creation of government agents who were embedded in the group and had manipulated the men. According to defense filings, the FBI has deployed at least 12 informants and several undercover agents. Defense attorney Joshua Blanchard said there was no plan, no agreement and no kidnapping that took place. (Related: Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot a false flag operation hatched by FBI.) The defenses argument of FBI entrapment has drawn a long history of such cases post 9/11. Internal U.S. security agencies have focused on the existence of Muslim extremist plots and prosecutions that hinged on informants actively promoting a plot before turning would-be perpetrators over to the government on conspiracy charges. Activists and civil rights experts have argued that the FBI has frequently overstepped boundaries and has been known to egg people into participating in plots and locking up people for crimes that they never would have committed if not for the intervention of law enforcement. Mike German, an author of Disrupt, Discredit and Divide: How the FBI Damages Democracy, said counter-terrorism tactics have evolved because there wasnt a lot of international terrorism occurring on U.S. soil, but theres still pressure to make cases and thats caused the FBI to adopt this methodology of manufacturing terrorism plots. German explained that the problem now is that the FBI has been manufacturing crimes to make themselves look good. However, there is no legitimate government purpose in manufacturing a plot, as they are only essentially solving crimes they created in the first place. Follow DomesticTerrorism.com for more on this case. Watch the video below for more information about how the FBI has framed civilians for their own benefit. The Worldview Report with Brannon Howse airs on weeknights beginning at 9:00 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Bombshell Report: FBI plotted to kidnap Whitmer and then blamed it on conservatives. Michigan Gov. Whitmer (who loves to play VICTIM) displays symbols during live interview that call for assassination of President Trump. FBI informant was one of the most active leaders pushing crackpot Whitmer kidnapping plot: Defense. Defense counsel claims that clients for Whitmers kidnapping were military wannabes and big talkers. FBI now an entrapment agency, setting innocent Americans up in schemes like Capitol riot, Whitmer kidnapping. Sources include: Brighteon.com NPR.org TheGuardian.com (Natural News) Florida Governor Ron DeSantis submitted a declaration to legislators to review a law that allows Walt Disney World Resort to act as a type of local government. While the declaration did not explicitly name Disney, it did mention independent special districts established prior to November 5, 1968. It also noted that Floridas institution, which was revised in 1968, prohibits special laws that grant privileges to private corporations, although its earlier forms contained no such prohibitions. Reedy Creek Improvement District was developed by means of a private-public partnership launched in 1967 between the Walt Disney Company and the State of Florida. This partnership stated that Disney will have the same authority and responsibilities as a county government to develop the nearly 40-square-mile largely uninhabited pasture and swampland ten miles or more from the nearest power and water lines, as per the districts website. (Related: Disney in danger of losing copyright, special self-governing status in Florida amid fallout over increasingly woke agenda.) Disney built and maintained 134 miles of roadways and 67 waterways over the decades. It also achieved a six to eight-minute response time for fire and emergency medical services. It also logs in 250,000 daily guests and 2,000 vendors, suppliers and contractors to provide high-quality services for its visitors. However, DeSantis is putting Disney under review as a weeks-long feud dragged on with the company over its vow to pressure lawmakers and work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act, which was criticized as anti-LGBTQ. The bill, dubbed the Dont Say Gay law, disallows lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity among children in third grade and below, sparking arguments across the country. Disney maintained neutrality over the legislation until pressure from its employees, LGBTQ activists and woke allies forced them to reverse their stance and has since halted campaign donations to legislators behind the bill, saying that it never should have happened on the same day that DeSantis signed the bill into law. (Related: LGBT teacher defends gender education for children, insists that they are mature enough for it.) Appearing on Tucker Carlson, DeSantis rebuked Disneys leadership, saying they dont run the state and will never do so as long as he is governor. Florida lawmaker and DeSantis ally Spencer Roach also said legislators already met to discuss the prospect of dismantling the district that allows Disney to act as its own government. If Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting they should be regulated by Orange County, he said. Disney to lose millions in local taxes With the Florida lawmakers stripping Disney of its special status in measures that could potentially go into effect on June 1, 2023, the company could stand to lose millions in local taxes. Under the special districts deal, Disney can run the district as a local government. It collects taxes but also guarantees public services such as garbage collection and water treatment. The district is governed by a Board of Supervisors elected by its 19 landowners, the biggest and most influential of which is Disney World. However, it could also see two Florida counties saddled with a billion-dollar debt that is currently owed by Walt Disney World, which they may end up shouldering amid the fallout between DeSantis and the company over the Parental Rights in Education Bill. Senate Minority Leader Gary Farmer of Fort Lauderdale said the bill was not fiscally sound. Other counties would be in the same boat for the five other districts that the state will be dissolving, however, they do not have the revenue that Orange County and Osceola do. So this is not supposition, this is not conjecture, this is Florida law that says those 1.7 million people are going to have to pick up this bill, he said. Meanwhile, Colorado Governor Jared Polis offered Disney asylum in his state as he hit out at what he said are authoritarian socialist attacks from Florida. He tweeted: Floridas authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In [Colorado], we dont meddle in affairs of companies like Disney or Twitter. Follow BigGovernment.news for more information about special private governments and more. Watch the video below to know more about the Reedy Creek Improvement District and why DeSantis wants to strip away its special privileges. This video is from the SecureLife channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Video: DeSantis accuses Disney of sexualizing kindergarteners. Byline Anew: Luis Ruiz slams Disney, lauds Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for standing up against the TRANS agenda Brighteon.TV. 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: RT.com DailyMail.co.uk Brighteon.com (Natural News) Microplastics can pick up pollution in their travels and pose an even greater threat to human health, according to a new study. (Article by Krystal Vasquez republished from EHN.org) In the ocean, for example, toxic compounds can hitch a ride on plastic and make the material 10 times more toxic than it would normally be, according to the research published earlier this year in Chemosphere. Although the dangers of both microplastics and harmful compounds have been studied individually, few researchers have looked at their combined effect. This study is also unique in that the researchers tested these polluted plastic particles on human cells most previous research has focused on the impacts on marine life. Microplastics are tiny plastic particles formed when larger pieces of plastic degrade over time and they are ubiquitous, found everywhere from Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench. They can act as magnets for environmental pollution, transforming them into potentially toxic particles, Andrey Rubin, a Ph.D. student at Tel Aviv University and the first author of the study, told Environmental Health News. Previous research has found they can accumulate an array of harmful chemicals, including heavy metals, polychlorobiphenyls or PCBs, and perfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. The microplastics can then funnel these compounds into the bodies of marine organisms, which studies have shown can lead to neurotoxicity, an altered immune response, a reduced growth rate, and death. From there, the tainted microplastics can continue to make their way up the food chain, inadvertently exposing humans. Rubin and co-author Ines Zuker, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tel Aviv University, tested what would happen when human cells found along the intestinal tract were exposed to a pollution-plastic mixture containing one type of microplastic known as microbeads and triclosan, an antimicrobial ingredient that was banned in the U.S. in 2016, primarily due to health concerns. Triclosan, formerly found in mouthwash and hand sanitizer, is an endocrine disruptor that has also been linked to an increase in allergies in children. Even so, it still exists in some products, explained Rubin. A year ago, we saw triclosan in a toothpaste, which is sold here in Israel. Rubin and Zucker found that, alone, the microbeads werent toxic to human cells. Neither was triclosan. When combined, however, the two were very toxic toward the cells, said Rubinthe effect was an order of magnitude greater than the sum of its parts. Outside the lab, the cells the researchers used in their investigation are the same ones that act as a barrier between the inside and outside of the body. The plastic mixture can get into our bloodstream, explained Rubin, where the accumulated compounds will likely be released. Next, they hope to investigate how the mixtures toxicity changes when different plastics or pollutants are used. Controlled environments in a laboratory make it difficult to say how applicable these findings are in the real world, Tan Amelia, a Ph.D. student at University of Malaysia, Terengganu who was not involved with the study, told EHN. Conditions in the lab dont perfectly represent environment, and findings from microplastics research is often hard to replicate due to a lack of standardized methods. But Amelia said the study should spur more awareness of a global problem. Papers like those of Rubin and co-workers could help spread awareness regarding the severity of microplastics, which indirectly encourages the reduction of microplastics manufacturing and consumption, she said. Read more at: EHN.org (Natural News) There have been 150% more adverse vaccine events in just the past 15 months than there have been in the entire 32-year history of VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). The number of reports are at historical levels and more deaths and adverse events have been reported than ever before. (Article by Mac Slavo republished from SHTFPlan.com) The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has tried to minimize the news of these adverse events by putting out a disclaimer. According to the CDC: One of the main limitations of VAERS data is that it cannot determine if the vaccine caused the reported adverse event. This limitation has caused confusion in the publicly available data from VAERS WONDER, specifically regarding the number of reported deaths. There have been instances where people have misinterpreted reports of deaths following vaccination as deaths caused by the vaccines; that is not accurate. VAERS accepts all reports of adverse health events following vaccinations without judging whether the vaccine caused the adverse health event. Some reports to VAERS represent true vaccine reactions and others are coincidental adverse health events and not related to vaccination. However, also according to the CDC, VAERS is a national early warning system to detect possible safety problems in U.S. licensed vaccines. And, given the sheer volume of reports, alarm bells should be sounding everywhere, according to the Free Thought Project. Yet they are not; unless you are one of the ones who still hasnt been injected with the mRNA sauce. Propaganda is beginning to fail on those who can use their own minds as opposed to being order followers. The United States government has poured billions of your tax dollars (and other money the Federal Reserve just printed into existence) into the vaccine program. More than $9 billion dollars were given to vaccine companies for research and $22 billion dollars were then used to support vaccine distribution. The feds also shelled out another $10 billion to expand access and currently announced $3 billion more to spend on an ad campaign to combat vaccine hesitancy. The ruling class of the US has spent well over $130 for every man, woman, and child in America to push the COVID-19 vaccines, and yet over one-third of the country still refuses to get fully jabbed while nearly 70 percent refuse to take the booster. Why is that? And thats IF the rulers are not lying about the number of people who are injected. While the CDC assures us that its database is inaccurate, the volume of claims should be enough to raise some serious red flags. The most current numbers from the CDC came out on April 1, 2022. The most recent numbers consist of 1,446,252 total adverse events, including 49,535 reports of permanent disability post-vaccination, 30,032 life-threatening events, 147,361 hospitalizations, 1,030 birth defects, and 26,699 reported deaths. While we are told by officials not to be concerned with this data, if we compare it to previous data, the recommendation to ignore it becomes utterly asinine. Prior to the Emergency Use Authorization of the covid jabs in December of 2020, in the entire history of VAERS, there had only been 930,953 adverse events reported over the course of 32 years. In just 15 months, however, there have been a nearly 1.5 million reports a number that eclipses all previous reports and all of them are for the covid vaccines. Let that sink in there have been 150% more reported adverse events for a single vaccine in the last 15 months than have ever been reported in the history of VAERS for ALL vaccines. Free Thought Project The actions of the pharmaceutical companies (who bear no liability if their product injures or kills you) are alluding to the reality of this situation. According to recently released FDA documents from February 2021 hired 600 employees to process adverse events. According to the unredacted document released on April 1: Pfizer has also taken a multiple actions [sic] to help alleviate the large increase of adverse event reports. This includes significant technology enhancements, and process and workflow solutions, as well as increasing the number of data entry and case processing colleagues. To date, Pfizer has onboarded approximately 600 additional full-time employees (FTEs). More are joining each month with an expected total of more than 1,800 additional resources by the end of June 2021. Is it really becoming so surprising as to why so many people refuse to get these injections? The risk outweighs the reward, by far, especially considering more than 99.99% of people survive the disease they insist we need to be injected against and admit that the injection wont stop infection or transmission. Read more at: SHTFPlan.com (Natural News) The second phase of Russias operation in Ukraine has begun, and many military analysts and experts believe it will focus on eastern Ukraine and an assault on Ukrainian-held portions of the Donbas region. At the beginning of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces in the country immediately stretched themselves thin, deploying all over Ukraines southern, eastern and northern regions, even going so far as attempting an offensive on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. While these initial attacks dealt significant damage to Ukrainian military units, the Russian high command knew they had to strategically withdraw from many of the fronts they opened up, especially in Ukraines north, in order to reconsolidate their forces. Now, Russian forces have properly amassed their forces in Russian- and separatist-occupied eastern Ukraine and are launching an offensive to take over the disputed Donbas region, which Russia claims fully belongs to the two separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Another stage of this operation [in eastern Ukraine] is beginning and I am sure this will be a very important moment of this entire special operation, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, April 19. Even Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have admitted that this long-feared, full-scale ground offensive to occupy all of eastern Ukraine has begun. Officials noted that Russian forces have consistently attacked Ukrainian positions along a broad front over 300 miles long. Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time, said Zelensky on Tuesday in his nightly broadcast. A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive. This morning, almost along the whole front line of the Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv oblasts, the occupiers attempted to break through our defenses, said Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov. US, NATO rushing to give Ukraine even more military supplies As the situation becomes increasingly dire for the Ukrainian military, the West, led by the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is rushing to provide Ukraine with more munitions and heavy weapons, particularly long-range artillery systems, tanks, wide-area air-defense systems and combat aircraft. (Related: Has NATO clandestinely sent irregulars into Ukraine? Two Britons beg PM Boris Johnson to seek Ukraine prisoner exchange after being captured by Russians.) But the U.S. and its allies are just now beginning to respond to Ukrainian requests by providing them with heavier weaponry, as opposed to the earlier policy of only providing lighter weapons, including Javelin and NLAW anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. If we had obtained in the first week of the war what we are receiving today, it would have been much more useful for Ukraine and the cause of freedom in Europe, said Zelensky. And if we obtain now what some of our partners plan to transfer to Ukraine in coming weeks, it would help save the lives of thousands and thousands of people. Biden said Wednesday, April 20, that it is already working to provide Ukraine with even more military supplies. He is even considering getting another $800 million in taxpayer money for military aid to Ukraine. This would be on top of the over $2.6 billion in taxpayer money the administration has already allocated for military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion. Weapons and ammunition are flowing in daily, said Biden during a meeting with defense officials at the White House. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby said between eight to 10 planes filled with weapons and ammunition for Ukraine are landing daily at sites all over Europe, from where the equipment gets taken into Ukraine by road. One shipment, which for the first time includes heavy artillery, is set to be in Ukraine within days. This shipment includes 18 155 mm western-standard howitzers and 40,000 rounds of ammunition for the artillery pieces. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also promised to send heavy artillery. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would supply Ukraine with anti-tank and air defense weapons and long-range artillery systems. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. will also send artillery to Ukraine. This will become an artillery conflict, they need support with more artillery, that is what we will be giving them, he said. Watch this episode of Russia Truth as host Brian Berletic talks about the Russian operation to occupy all of the Donbas region. This video is from the Russia Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: First NATO country provides tanks, artillery to Ukraine as U.S. Senate v otes to resurrect World War II-era assistance program. The Ukrainian conflict is a U.S./NATO proxy war, but one which Russia is poised to win decisively Scott Ritter. US weapons package for Ukraine includes 100 KILLER DRONES. America is funding, arming and training Ukraines neo-Nazi Azov Battalion. DIRTY TACTICS: Ukraine claims without evidence that materials for DIRTY BOMB were stolen from lab near Chernobyl. Sources include: BlacklistedNews.com TheGuardian.com CBSNews.com ABCNews.go.com WSJ.com AlJazeera.com Brighteon.com Fort Polk, LA (71446) Today Clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. (Natural News) In the absence of any action by the Biden Administration, Twenty six states have formed an alliance to create a border strike force to secure the southern border. (Article by Steve Watson republished from Summit.news) The move was announced Tuesday in a press release and document from the office of Arizona governor Doug Ducey, who is heading up the alliance along with Texas governor Greg Abbott. The pledge has been signed on to by the governors of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Ducey commented What were doing in Arizona works, but this is not just an Arizona issue, its a national issue. If our entire southern border isnt secure, our nation isnt secure. The governor added that As dangerous transnational criminal organizations continue to profit from holes in the border and fill our communities with drugs, its no coincidence that were seeing historic levels of opioid-related deaths. The American Governors Border Strike Force will serve as a force multiplier in the fight against criminal activity directly tied to our border. The release also notes With record breaking migration leading to an overwhelming amount of apprehensions at the southern border, law enforcement is stretched too thin to effectively combat the cartels. This leads to more drugs entering the country, more dangerous individuals avoiding arrest, and more victims of human trafficking. Last month, former Obama Homeland Security head Jeh Johnson warned that unmanageable numbers of illegal immigrants will pour across the southern border when the Biden Administration lifts the Title 42 public health authority. The measure, which Biden intends to scrap in May, has effectively served as border control, allowing federal immigration officials to swiftly return around two million illegal immigrants to their home countries over the past two years. Without it, it is conservatively estimated that numbers of migrants reaching the border will increase three fold to 18,000 per day. The DHS estimates that 221,000 crossed in March, and noted that there are hundreds of thousands more just waiting for restrictions to ease. Hidalgo County, Texas Sheriff Eddie Guerra, interviewed during a recent NBC news report said that he has been warned to expect that the border could be overrun. Describing how he and his deputies are preparing, Guerra said Were talking about deputies dressed in their riot gear with their shields and their helmets and batons to keep the crowd at bay. Were asking them to reconsider, you know, lifting the Title 42, Guerra further stated. Watch: Arizona GOP Rep. Andy Biggs has also warned that numbers will be even higher than estimated, suggesting that 20,000 to 30,000 could surge the border every day. Right now, the [Department of Homeland Security] number is about 8,000 people a day, illegally entering our country, Biggs said during a podcast, adding DHSs number, they say its going to be 18,000 a day I personally think its going to be 20,000 to 30,000 a day. He explained, Cartels are already advertising to put together caravans to come across our communities are going to be overrun last year, 800,000 people illegally snuck into the country, they were not apprehended, they were the got-aways, we dont know who they are, where they are from, what their intentions are. Regarding lifting Title 42, Biggs said I think the rationale here is, theyre trying to get this open and bring in as many people as they can before they lose the majority [in] the House and Senate. I think this is a political ploy, its meant to happen. They campaigned on an open border, Biggs continued, warningIf you think its bad now, the tsunami thats coming is going to be overwhelming. Listen: SUBSCRIBE on YouTube: Read more at: Summit.news (Natural News) The sample collection procedure for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which is used to determine if someone is infected with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), has caused injuries to individuals subjected to it. The COVID Blog outlined two such incidents in the U.S. and Canada. The daughter of Ontario mother Kaylin Young was among those who suffered injuries while undergoing the procedure. Young posted a picture of her five-year-old daughter bleeding out of her nose and eyes. The bleeding occurred for 30 minutes, stopped for a short while and then started again. According to the mother from Casselman, Eastern Ontario, her daughter was subjected to a PCR test as a requirement to attend in-person classes. She added that the Eastern Ontario Health Unit gave three requirements for five-year-old children. They can either get the PCR test for COVID, isolate for 10 days or prove that whatever illness they have is not COVID-related. The health unit says this is normal and to monitor it. They said they may have hit a nerve, Young pointed out in a now-deleted Facebook post. How is this normal? How are you going to downplay the fact [that] you did this to my child. I expect the nurses doing these tests to be experienced and do these tests properly, not traumatize my child and possibly damage a nerve. Forty-year-old Angel Eisenmann of Tulsa, Oklahoma, meanwhile, suffered serious injuries from getting swabbed. The hospice worker and mother of three went to get tested on September 11, 2020. Eisenmann reported seizures, small tremors and facial paralysis after being swabbed. While doctors initially misdiagnosed her as having a stroke, a broken blood-brain barrier following the swab was eventually found to be the cause of her health issues. Im a victim of PCR COVID testing as a healthcare worker that went too far on Sept. 11, 2020. [I] broke my blood-brain barrier [and] ethylene oxide poisoning hit my central nervous system that collapsed, she tweeted on April 13. PCR test for COVID is flawed to begin with Laboratory staff conducts PCR tests by first obtaining DNA samples from the nose by means of inserting long cotton swabs in each nostril. The collected nasal swab samples are then sent to a laboratory for processing. Samples that return cycle threshold (CT) values within a certain range are then deemed to be from COVID-positive individuals while those that return CT values under the range are deemed COVID-negative. From 2020 until 2021, the PCR test was considered the gold standard for COVID-19 testing. But a July 2021 update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admitted the flawed nature of the test, citing its inability to distinguish between SARS-CoV-2 and the influenza virus. (Related: CDC, WHO admit RT-PCR tests ineffective in detecting COVID-19 virus.) The July 2021 update from the CDC said it would withdraw the request for the PCR tests emergency use authorization filed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after December 31 of that year. CDC is providing this advance notice for clinical laboratories to have adequate time to select and implement one of the many FDA-authorized alternatives, it said. CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Such assays can facilitate continued testing for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and can save both time and resources as we head into influenza season. Kary Mullis, the inventor of the PCR test, also denounced its use as an unreliable diagnostic tool. If you can amplify one single molecule up to something that you can really measure, which PCR can do, then theres just very few molecules that you dont have. That could be thought of as a misuse of it, just to claim that its meaningful, said Mullis, who died in 2019. It doesnt tell you that youre sick. It doesnt tell you that the thing you ended up with really was going to hurt you or anything like that. Pandemic.news has more stories about the flawed PCR test for COVID-19. Watch Kary Mullis talking about the PCR test in the clip below. This video is from the Contrainfo channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: FDA document admits covid PCR test was developed without isolated covid samples for test calibration, effectively admitting its testing something else. CLAIM: PCR test swabs may contain star-shaped microdevices that are secretly vaccinating the vaccine hesitant. SCIENCE FAIL: Portuguese court rules PCR tests are unreliable, unlawful evidence of alleged Covid-19 infections. The presence of a virus does NOT mean disease: PCR testing scheme EXPOSED as total science fraud. Sources include: TheCOVIDBlog.com CDC.gov YouTube.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Over the course of a single year, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published 73 studies about new drugs, and an astounding 82 percent of these were funded by Big Pharma. About 68 percent of the authors were also employees of the companies that produce the drugs, while 50 percent of the lead researchers accepted money from a drug company. What this shows, of course, is that the field of science is highly corrupted by the pharmaceutical industry, which also heavily influences the political realm. A 2013 study conducted by the University of Arizona College of Law found that even when drug companies are not directly funding research, company stockholders, consultants, directors, and officers are almost always involved in funding it, which ensures a correct outcome that promotes a new drug product as safe and effective. Another study published in 2017 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) further found that about half of all medical journal editors are on the dole of Big Pharma, with the average payment per editor clocking in at around $28,000. Keep in mind that these statistics are only accurate if researchers and editors are transparent about the payments they receive (hint: many of them are not, which means the true figures are likely much higher). The entire field of medicine is controlled by pharmaceutical interests More recently, a 2022 investigative analysis of two of the most influential medical journals in the world found that a shocking 81 percent of study authors failed to disclose millions of dollars in payments received from drug companies, despite being required to do so. Unfortunately, this trend shows no sign of slowing down, warns The Defender (a project of Childrens Health Defense). The number of clinical trials funded by the pharmaceutical industry has been climbing every year since 2006, according to a John Hopkins University report, while independent studies have been harder to find. And there are some serious consequences to these conflicts of interest. If the drug industry is successfully biasing the science on new drugs, then it suffices to say that doctors who rely on said science are also biased whether they want to be or not when making prescribing decisions. There is also a prolific problem of ghostwriting in medical journals where a doctors name gets slapped on a study when the true author is a Big Pharma hack paid off to promote a drug or medical device. Big pharma execs know citizens are way more likely to trust a report written by a board-certified doctor than one of their representatives, The Defender explains. Thats why they pay physicians to list their names as authors even though the M.D.s had little to no involvement in the research, and the report was actually written by the drug company. This practice started back in the 1950s and 1960s when tobacco executives were scrambling to come up with proof that cigarettes do not cause cancer. They commissioned doctors to put their names on research towards this end, even though the doctors had nothing to do with the research. It turns out that more than one in 10 articles today published in the NEJM is at least co-written by a ghostwriter. Only a very small percentage of medical journals have clear policies against ghostwriting, and technically it is legal regardless. The result of all this is that many drugs and medical devices currently on the market are actually unsafe and ineffective. But because the corrupted science suggests otherwise, the entire medical field is littered with these dangerous and often deadly products. So much for the idea of science being neutral. More related news can be found at Corruption.news. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Democratic U.S. Senator for Delaware Chris Coons wants American troops to be sent to Ukraine, claiming that it may be the only way to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin. During a discussion hosted by the University of Michigan (UMich), Coons suggested that American legislators need to be clear about how the United States should react if Russia uses chemical weapons or if some sort of accident or clash leads to Russia accidentally or intentionally killing U.S. service members in the region. He said the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine to face off with the Russian armed forces should be on the table. We are in a very dangerous moment where it is important that, on a bipartisan and measured way, we in Congress and the administration come to a common position about when we are willing to go the next step and to send not just arms, but troops to the aid in defense of Ukraine, said Coons, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is influential in crafting U.S. foreign policy decisions. (Related: Russia launches phase two of its invasion with the goal of occupying the disputed Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.) If the answer is never, then we are inviting another level of escalation in brutality by Putin, he added. Coons backtracks after doubling down on his pro-intervention comments During an appearance on CBSs Face The Nation following the UMich discussion, Coons was asked once again whether he would like to see American troops in Ukraine. I think those of us in Congress who have a critical role in setting foreign policy and in advising the president in terms of his decisions as commander in chief, need to look clearly at the level of brutality [being employed in the war], said Coons. This is a moment of enormous challenge for all of us. Coons added that the war crimes supposedly committed by Russian forces in Ukraine would justify intervention by NATO and Americas other allies in the Western world. If Vladimir Putin, who has shown us how brutal he can be, is allowed to just continue to massacre civilians, to commit war crimes throughout Ukraine without NATO, without the West coming more forcefully to [Ukraines] aid I deeply worry that whats going to happen next is that we will see Ukraine turn into Syria, he said. The American people cannot turn away from this tragedy in Ukraine. I think the history of the 21st century turns on how fiercely we defend freedom in Ukraine and that Putin will only stop when we stop him, Coons concluded. Coons initial comments, and his doubling down on them, led to significant backlash. President Joe Biden himself had to publicly rule out sending U.S. troops to Ukraine, a move that experts universally believe could risk opening a wider war that could turn nuclear. On his Twitter account, Coons claimed that he was not calling for U.S. troops to go into the war in Ukraine, despite saying on two different occasions that this possibility should not be taken off the table. The global community that has mobilized against Putins ruthless aggression in Ukraine must continue to work closely together to stop and deter him. Im not calling for U.S. troops to go into the war in Ukraine, he wrote. As the war evolves, we the global community that stands behind Ukraine must be willing to take more forceful steps, he continued. From more sustained and broadened sanctions to sending more advanced weapons to being prepared to respond if he escalates further in his war crimes against Ukraine. Learn more about the Russian invasion and possible American intervention at WWIII.news. Watch this episode of The American Journal on InfoWars as host Harrison Hill Smith reacts to Sen. Chris Coons suggesting that U.S. troops should be sent to Ukraine. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Ukraine abusing U.S. facial recognition technology by sending grotesque photos of dead Russian soldiers to their families. Has NATO clandestinely sent irregulars into Ukraine? Two Britons beg PM Boris Johnson to seek Ukraine prisoner exchange after being captured by Russians. NATO-allied countries exposed for running biological weapons programs in Ukraine. US weapons package for Ukraine includes 100 KILLER DRONES. America is funding, arming and training Ukraines neo-Nazi Azov Battalion. Sources include: Brighteon.com HuffPost.com TheHill.com Twitter.com (Natural News) Just as pandemic restrictions were starting to ease across the country, some areas have started to re-introduce mask mandates. Philadelphia was the first major city to do so last week. (Article by Adam Wilson republished from 100PercentFedUp.com) Now, Democrats in the state of Rhode Island want to impose a monthly fine of $50 for parents of unvaccinated children and double their state income taxes. The bill was introduced by State Senator Sam Bell, who even gets flak from his Democratic colleagues in the state legislature for being radical and divisive. Bell justified the bill by saying that there is support for vaccine mandates in the state, despite the fact that its a clear violation of civil liberties for the unvaccinated. With @DanMcGowan reporting that Rhode Islanders still strongly support a universal vaccine mandate, despite the McKee Administration pushing hard for the surrender policy, its time for us to pass my mandate bill. Cases are rising again. Surrender isnt working. pic.twitter.com/hxXkgF8bcG Sam Bell (@SamuelWBell) April 18, 2022 Rhode Island Democrats want to punish the parents of children who refused to submit to the COVID vaccine mandates. If passed, the bill will financially cripple individuals by doubling their personal income tax and requiring them to pay a monthly fine of $50. State Senator Samuel Bell is the lead legislator backing the bill, which mandates all Rhode Island residents, workers, and taxpayers receive a COVID-19 vaccine as well as any subsequent boosters that the states director of the department of health shall require. The bills text can be read here. The law will apply to every person of at least 16 years of age as well as every person under 16 years of age and over 10 years of age. In order to receive an exemption for a minor, an extremely strict requirement has been drafted into the bill. Parents will need to have three different doctors state on record that the child is not fit for immunization and the child themselves will have to place their signature on the form. Bell has taken to Twitter to complain that he is receiving hate messages after introducing a bill that would persecute unvaccinated people. Last July, Axios found that the vast majority of unvaccinated people are low income, with more than half having a household income of under $50,000 a year. Bell claims to be a progressive but wants to financially punish low income people for not getting the vaccine. Read more at: 100PercentFedUp.com (Natural News) Retired United States Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor doesnt want any piece of the Russia-Ukraine war. Im an American and Im not interested in being involved in this war. I dont think that we should involve ourselves in any way. I think waging a proxy war is what were doing right now, McGregor told The Dive host Jackson Hinkle. Feeding the fires in Ukraine is very dangerous, especially since Ukraine sits right next door to Russia. This is not Vietnam where the Russians could supply some things and we were both remote from our respective countries. This is a proxy war thats very dangerous because it sits right on the border with Russia. McGregor also stated that Americans havent seen the video tapes and photographs of alleged atrocities committed by Ukrainians because America has suppressed that information in the West. Now, weve seen something allegedly committed by the Russians. This may actually have been something a group of Russian soldiers may have committed, we dont know. And this is the problem: We tend to act on emotion, not rationality, the decorated combat veteran said. And now I run into people frequently that say, We have to punish the Russians. Well, thats interesting, as world policeman, were going to punish the Russians. Well then we might as well punish the Somalis, we might as well punish the Mexicans. We could punish lots of people but it makes no sense whatsoever. We dont know the facts. Macgregor said the world is looking at two groups of people fighting right now that hate each other. He added that the best thing America can do is try to bring an end to it. The president of the United States should use his influence not to postpone but put an end to the war. Not to lengthen it, not to make it worse, but to bring it to a close because the longer it goes on, the more potentially dangerous it becomes for us. (Related: Trump blasts Joe Biden over handling of Russia-Ukraine crisis, warns that world war is now very possible.) Russia-Ukraine war is an existential matter for Russia According to Macgregor, the Russia-Ukraine War is an existential matter for Russia because what happens in Ukraine is critical to the Russians. They dont want a foreign government running the show in Ukraine. They dont want us running the show in Ukraine. They want a government there thats preferably Ukrainian but not hostile to them. They dont want foreign forces on Ukrainian soil to threaten them. They dont want a foreign government on Ukrainian soil that puts missiles within a minute, a few minutes of flight time from their nuclear deterrent. These are all issues for them, Macgregor explained. From our standpoint, this is not existential. And I think people have made a mistake. They think, we can fight this war to the last Ukrainian and bleed the Russians and make them miserable and harm them. I think its going to backfire. I think it actually already has on the international level. But thats something we could talk about. The defense and foreign policy consultant believes that the Ukrainians are not in control of whats happening in Kyiv any more than most Americans are in control of whats happening in Washington. He also pointed out the unanimity in the American and Western media citing as an example the news about what happened in Bucha and the enormous explosion of hate and criticism against Russians that burst on the scene almost immediately all at the same time. Macgregor mentioned that he has become extremely suspicious and very skeptical of retired officials that come and say virtually all the same thing because he has seen it before during the Iraq War in 2002-2003. He also took note of the very sophisticated information campaign that is being run by America or the MI6 in London. The former senior advisor to the secretary of Defense during the Donald Trump administration said that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland are dedicated Russia haters. They really are. Its very strange. I havent seen anything like this that I can recall since perhaps the early 60s, maybe the 50s when we suddenly realized that wed been hoodwinked in World War Two and turned half the world over to Stalin. There were a lot of people who were extremely suspicious and reacted appropriately, Macgregor said. And now were seeing something thats similar to that, only were not dealing with communism. Russia is not remotely communist. Russia is a capitalist state. People say, Well, its fascist, which means essentially authoritarian. There are various forms of it. Well, most of the world, frankly speaking is run by authoritarian regimes. Macgregor noted that Russia is now the center and object of so much hate, attention and violence from the West, which the retired Army colonel said is really a mystery to him because he doesnt see it as falling in the same class as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalins Russia. Follow WWIII.news for more news about Russias ongoing war against Ukraine. Watch the video below to know how Colonel Douglas Macgregor debunked the Russia-Ukraine war lies. This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Resistance Chicks: Mainstream media is lying about Russia-Ukraine War Brighteon.TV. Global markets in state of chaos due to Russia-Ukraine War. Russia-Ukraine war will further worsen global food shortage as poor nations face starvation, unrest. The Ukrainian conflict is a U.S./NATO proxy war, but one which Russia is poised to win decisively Scott Ritter. Sources include: YouTube.com DouglasMacgregor.com Britannica.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Over the past month, at least five major food processors across four different states have burned down or had planes crash into them. Is it all just a big coincidence, or is something more nefarious going on? The most recent incident took place at Azure Standards joint headquarters and warehouse facility in Oregon, which mysteriously burned to the ground on the night of April 18. Azure Standard is the nations premier independent distributor of organic and healthy food. An email alerting affiliates to the damage explained that basically any liquid product, including honey, oil, and vinegar, will now be out of stock as a result. Azure Standard also lost its fruit packing and carob product facility, though the silver lining is that fruit harvesting season has not yet come so the losses are less than what they could have been. The blaze appears to have received almost zero media attention, only being covered in a terse rewrite of the press release by small town media outlet Columbia Gorge News and the Columbia Community Connection News (CCC) blog, reported Vision Times. A local county sheriffs log stated that the lights flickered at the time when the blaze started, followed by a pop. Officers went to check out the situation and noticed the fire. By the time emergency crews arrived, however, the blaze was large and bursting through the roof. The fire was also difficult to put out because the building was loaded with fuels including vegetable and nut oils made from canola, coconut and olives, the flames from which require foam-based products to smother. Is Americas food supply being targeted with malice? On April 13, less than a week prior, a similar incident occurred at Taylor Farms in California. Between 85-95 percent of the companys major food processing is now a total loss. Roughly 1,000 people worked at the facility, and while some parts of the building are still operational, the main processing facility, said Deputy Fire Chief Sam Klemek, is considered a total loss. Since 35,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia were being held on site at the time of the blaze, local residents were given a shelter-in-place order to avoid injury or death caused by a possible explosion. Taylor Farms is a major player in the food supply chain for both Canada and the United States, reported Vision Times. According to a company press release, the firm was recognized by Walmart as its 2022 Food Supplier of the Year in March. Then we have Gem State Processing in Idaho, which had an airplane crash into its main plant on the very same day as the Taylor Farms fire. No employees were injured, but the pilot of the plane died. Unlike the other two incidents, the Gem State Processing plant was mostly undamaged. A fire that occurred on March 28 at the Maricopa Food Pantry in Arizona, however, resulted in 50,000 pounds of food going up in smoke just 15 minutes after their food bank closed, reported CBS affiliate Arizonas Family. Company president Mike Connelly described the blaze as being 40-50 feet in the air and just pure black smoke (that) engulfed the entire neighborhood. There was also Shearers Foods, which about a week before that suffered a boiler explosion and subsequent fire that destroyed its potato chip plant in Hermiston, Ore. Several employees had to be hospitalized, and the official story is that the boiler was defective and installed in a hallway rather than in an enclosed boiler room. Other recent incidents include a fire at a Texas-based Rio Fresh onion processing facility on March 31, as well as a massive March 16 fire that mostly destroyed a Walmart fulfillment center in Plainfield, Ind. More related news about the attack on Americas food supply can be found at Evil.news. Sources for this article include: VisionTimes.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) A noted author claims in a new report that while Adolph Hitler is universally blamed for his Nazi objective of killing millions to create a blue-eyed, blonde hair master Aryan race, the concept was actually born in the United States decades before he came to power. Edwin Black, author of IBM and the Holocaust, and, War Against the Weak: Eugenics and Americas Campaign to Create a Master Race, writes that California eugenicists played an important, although little known, role in the American eugenics movements campaign for ethnic cleansing. Black goes on to note that eugenics is actually a racist pseudoscience that focuses on the elimination of any human beings who are deemed by its practitioners to be unfit, leaving only those who fit a Nordic stereotype. In the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Black writes, eugenics was practiced as national and local policies that included forced sterilization, segregation laws and marriage restrictions that were enacted in at least 27 states. For instance, in 1909, California was the third state to adopt those laws. Ultimately, eugenics practitioners coercively sterilized some 60,000 Americans, barred the marriage of thousands, forcibly segregated thousands in colonies, and persecuted untold numbers in ways we are just learning, Black writes. Before World War II, nearly half of coercive sterilizations were done in California, and even after the war, the state accounted for a third of all such surgeries. He added: California was considered an epicenter of the American eugenics movement. During the Twentieth Centurys first decades, Californias eugenicists included potent but little known race scientists, such as Army venereal disease specialist Dr. Paul Popenoe, citrus magnate and Polytechnic benefactor Paul Gosney, Sacramento banker Charles M. Goethe, as well as members of the California State Board of Charities and Corrections and the University of California Board of Regents. Black went on to note that the concept of eugenics would have devolved into harmless parlor talk were it not for extensive financing by several corporate philanthropies including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Institute and the Harriman railroad fortune. All of them were in cahoots with some of the most respected (at the time) American scientists who conducted work at the countrys most prestigious colleges and universities such as Stanford, Yale, Princeton and Harvard. These academicians espoused race theory and race science, and then faked and twisted data to serve eugenics racist aims, Black writes. David Starr Jordan, the president of Stanford University, was the originator of the race and blood theory as contained in his 1902 racist tome Blood of a Nation, which declared that human conditions and qualities like talent and poverty were passed along through blood. Two years later, the Carnegie Institute established a lab at Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island where millions of index cards on ordinary Americans were stored (an early paper version of the kind of info collected on Americans by electronic means these days). There, researchers carefully plotted the removal of families, bloodlines and whole peoples, Black writes. And from the same lab complex, he said that advocates for eugenics agitated in the legislatures of America, as well as the nations social service agencies and associations. It didnt stop there, though. The Harriman railroad fortune paid local charities, such as the New York Bureau of Industries and Immigration, to seek out Jewish, Italian and other immigrants in New York and other crowded cities and subject them to deportation, trumped up confinement or forced sterilization, Black contends., adding: The Rockefeller Foundation helped found the German eugenics program and even funded the program that Josef Mengele worked in before he went to Auschwitz. But did this grotesque racial concept simply die off with Hitler, or are we still seeing elements of it playing out today? Natural News founder and editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, takes a look at that very subject in his Feb. 18, 2022, Situation Update. Sources include: HistoryNewsNetwork.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) A company-wide Zoom call that was held on Dec. 3, 2020, revealed that AstraZenecas Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine was never intended to be injected into the bodies of immunocompromised people. James OKeefe and the team at Project Veritas obtained a recording of AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot explaining plainly that people with immune deficiencies should forego taking his companys injections, directly contradicting guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO not only wants immunocompromised people to get the normal course of injections, but also additional shots in the form of boosters. This, Soriot said more than a year ago, is dangerous and should be avoided. Instead of taking AstraZenecas shots, Soriot added during the call, immunocompromised people should instead seek out alternatives such as monoclonal antibody treatments, which are now being banned by the Biden regime across many states due to supposedly not being effective against the all-new BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron (Moronic) variant of the Fauci Flu. Like, if you have an immune disease, lupus, or some other immune condition, you cannot or multiple sclerosis, you cant be vaccinated, Soriot is quoted as saying (Related: AstraZenecas covid injections have caused so much harm that Italy was poised to sue the company last March). So, there are millions of people in the world that will need a protection that cannot be coming from a vaccine. So, the longer antibody has enormous potential, he further stated, adding that the long-acting antibody is quite unique because this is the only combination potentially will last more than six months, up to potentially 12 months and protect people for a long period of time. WHO insists AstraZeneca injection is safe and effective for the immunocompromised The WHO apparently knows better than AstraZeneca about the safety and effectiveness of the companys own vaccines, as the United Nations entity issued updated guidance on March 16 of this year claiming that the AstraZeneca jab is safe for immunocompromised people. It should be noted that the full two-dose regimen of this vaccine is believed to be more protective against variants of concern than a single dose alone, the WHO guidance states. Further to this, SAGE [Strategic Advisory Group of Experts] recommends that severe and moderately immunocompromised persons should be offered an additional dose of vaccine. In a statement, OKeefe asked why government around the world are continuing to endorse and force this injection on millions of at-risk people if the company itself already admitted more than a year ago that the shot is unsafe for people with pre-existing health problems. None of it makes any sense from a scientific perspective, but when has anything about the plandemic ever made any sense? It seems that everything is being implemented and enforced on a whim by deranged psychopaths in both government and the private sector who have a lot to gain from forced vaccination. No one should be given the vaccine as they are worse than useless, wrote someone at the Daily Expose (U.K.). There have been so many deaths and serious injuries. It is a total scam. Ive got stage 4 COPD, I have 8 percent lung capacity left, and they gave me AstraZeneca twice, wrote another. My mother is also now suffering really badly and Im unable to walk without my heart rate skyrocketing. Another pointed out that this is hardly a vaccine, but is rather a gene editing therapy being sold as one. I really do not have any words, and thats the truth, said someone else. They are just killing people. They will pay, if not in this world, then the next. The latest news about Fauci Flu shots can be found at ChemicalViolence.com. Sources include: DailyExpose.uk NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The Department of Defense is keeping footage showing two car-sized balls of light taken from the deck of a U.S. warship. The bizarre sighting, which has been marked as classified by Pentagon officials, was captured by the crew aboard the USS Kearsarge, a Wasp-class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault ship built for the U.S. Navy. Sources described the phenomenon as balls of light following around half a mile behind the ship and around 200 feet above the ocean in October 2021. Dave C. Beaty, the documentary producer behind the 2019 film The Nimitz Encounters, which talks about the famous 2004 U.S. Navy encounter with a Tic Tac object, claims to have knowledge of the video. Beaty told the Sun that the U.S. Marines on board the USS Kearsarge filed a report to the Pentagon, which is now allegedly keeping the video under wraps. Contact with UFOs causing strange physical side effects While the official position of the U.S. military is that it is improbable to present evidence of contact with aliens, one newly declassified document disclosed strange physical side effects from contact with unidentified flying objects (UFOs) hinting that aliens possibly exist and that they could pose a danger to humans. The 12-year-old report created by Bigelow Aerospace as part of a $22-million U.S. government contract described the injuries caused by anomalous advanced aerospace systems. It contains testimony from people who have seen or come in contact with UFOs and later reported a large number of physical illnesses, including headaches, temporary paralysis and what appear to be radiation burns. The U.S. Navy has admitted to having a top-secret video and slides from the USS Nimitz encounter in 2004. The information however will not be released as it could cause grave damage to national security. Researcher Christian Lambright submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Navys Office of Naval Intelligence for files relating to the 2004 sighting. It happens as the U.S. military starts to open up about the mysterious phenomenon, which is now being openly debated by military insiders and politicians. The U.S. Navy has formally updated its UFO reporting guidelines since 2019. It is understood that a message to the fleet was delivered elaborating these latest instructions and procedures. Documents issued recently explained the change, telling the U.S. Navys press office clearly not to use the term UFO. The latter term is intrinsically linked to the concept of extraterrestrials and the associated hysteria generated by the media that cover this topic, a document reads. This gives birth to the term unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). The UAP report issued last summer said that efforts are underway the standardize incident reporting across the U.S. military services and other government agencies. UAP reports continue to be filed as classified It is assumed that UAP reports will continue to be filed as classified. Ufologists are calling for more openness in the investigation of the topic, including opening up the files so they can be examined by civilian scientists. Beaty had earlier revealed deck logs that confirmed a UFO encounter by the USS Kidd when the American destroyer was swarmed by at least four UAPs in July 2019. And there has been a significant change in current years, after the shocking trio of U.S. Navy UFO videos named the Gimbal, Go Fast and Tic Tac. The videos triggered a new and more mainstream interest in UFOs. U.S. officials have now established a new office in the Pentagon that serves as the official reporting structure for UFO encounters the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF). (Related: Experts clarify the role of the Pentagons newest UFO task force.) It came after a historic report on the subject was issued last summer that confirmed dozens of unexplained encounters with UAPs. Defense insiders, intelligence officials, senators and former presidents have all gone on record acknowledging there is an unexplained thing appearing in the skies. Follow Unexplained.news to know more about UFOs or UAPs. Watch the video below about the Pentagons confirmation that UFOs do exist. This video is from the END TIME NEWS channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Secret documents show Pentagon investigated how to communicate with a possible 4,590 space civilizations. Pentagon UFO videos just tip of the iceberg, says former U.S. government agent. The Pentagon ADMITS to investigating UFOs to assess potential threats to national security. Sources include: DailyStar.co.uk Mirror.co.uk The-Sun.co.uk Brighteon.com (Natural News) Governments around the world are aiming to cut down the population, and they have done so by poisoning everyone and making them sick through air, water or food. And according to Dr. Bryan Ardis, the people behind the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) have been weaponizing water with snake venom found in SARS-CoV-2 itself. In the April 15 episode of Lets Talk America on Brighteon.TV, guest host Sondra Martin Hicks spoke with Ardis about a previous interview with the Health Ranger Mike Adams where they discussed, among other things, the snake venom component of SARS-CoV-2. While most people think COVID-19 came from China, Ardis said it was actually made in America with the gain-of-function research done at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Some of the weaponized venoms were sent to Wuhan, but some are apparently spread across the U.S. through the water system. Theyve been poisoning us with fluoride in our water for years. Its not weird to think they might be poisoning us with water, Ardis said. People working with special operations admitted as much. An unnamed source told Ardis that he was able to sit with the whistleblower from Wuhan during her legislative hearings in Washington, D.C., and she said they released the gain-of-function weapons into communities around China. The Chinese citizens were not told about these weapons, they were experimental subjects, and then they bring in antidotes to save them. And the delivery system, according to the source, was water. The weapon is frozen in water and cut up into ice and delivered to the communities for people to drink. They eventually get sick, and the government and Big Pharma save them with their antidotes. Ardis admitted that he didnt think of ice, but that it made sense for the bioweapons to be frozen. I need everyone around the world to look through a lens of venom, and you can answer every damn question about COVID-19, he said. (Related: VenomTech company announces massive library of SNAKE VENOM peptides for pharmaceutical development; nanocarriers stabilize snake venom in WATER.) Studies back up snake venom claims Chinese scientists have long dismissed the bat theory because at the beginning of the COVID outbreak the type of bats that were the source of the alleged virus were hibernating. Moreover, when a genetic sequence testing was done on sick patients in Wuhan, it was found that their genetic sequence matched two types of snakes: the Chinese Krait and the King Cobra not bats. A 2021 study connected the Chinese Krait and the King Cobra to the COVID-19 spike protein, which showed a superantigen-like motif in the S1 spike protein, as well as two other neurotoxin-like motifs that have peptide similarities to neurotoxins from these snakes. Ardis said hydroxychloroquine, which was used in the early stages of the pandemic, has been known to block nicotine receptors in the brainstem from being injured by cobra and viper venom. He also noted that remdesivir, the drug that medical and media establishments have approved for human use against COVID, looks shockingly similar to snake venom when stored for medical use. (Related: Covid vaccines are like deadly snake VENOM and the CDC functions as the ultimate snake oil salesman.) In summary, Ardis claimed: They are using Krait venom and Cobra venom, calling it COVID-19. Youre drinking it; its getting into your brainstem and its paralyzing your diaphragms ability to breathe. Follow Pandemic.news for more updates related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch below the April 15 episode of Lets Talk America with guest host Sondra Martin and Dr. Bryan Ardis. Catch new episodes of Lets Talk America on weekdays at 1-3 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: Big Pharma uses snake venom to develop drugs and vaccines: heres the proof. PHARMA SNAKES: Thirteen irrefutable FACTS about snake venom, Big Pharma and biological weapons. Dr. Bryan Ardis releases huge allegations: The covid-19 virus, vaccines and some treatments are all derived from SNAKE VENOM. VENOM FACTORIES: World Economic Forum celebrates new technology to SYNTHESIZE snake venom peptides using RNA advances for rapid venom drug development and deployment. Snake venom company Venomtech announces partnership with Charles River Laboratories, which ran Faucis secret island of medical experiments on monkeys and beagles. Sources include: Brighteon.TV InfoWars.com (Natural News) Investigative reporter Edward Szall claimed there is a massive coverup regarding the May 2020 murder of Dr. Bing Liu, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (Pitt Med). Szall made the claim in a recent episode of The Stew Peters Show. Liu had reportedly uncovered very significant findings about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) before his untimely death. A report by the Sun at the time said Liu, 37, was shot dead by software engineer Hao Gu multiple times in his home. The 46-year-old Gu then returned to his vehicle and shot himself. Law enforcement subsequently ruled the death as a murder-suicide stemming from a lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner. However, the former TruNews reporter believes there is something more to the story. If it was just a murder a double murder at that it would have required more than just a month worth investigating. This would be something that would have shattered the community; it would have been reeling from this for years, he told Brighteon.TV host Stew Peters. According to Szall, Dr. Bryan Ardis mentioned Liu in his Watch The Water documentary. The host of The Dr. Ardis Show on Brighteon.TV revealed the links between snake venom, the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccines to supposedly address it in the documentary. One paper Liu was working on prior to his death looked at the origins of COVID-19 and compared it with other diseases and molecular structures. (Related: Was covid researcher Bing Liu murdered because he was about to expose the truth about covids lab origin?) Now in relation to Watch The Water, Liu could have been comparing this to snake venom. He definitely had a lot of research in the field of animal molecules, said Szall. A memorial posted by Pitt Meds Department of Computational and Systems Biology remarked that the late researcher was on the verge of making very significant findings toward understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-CoV-2 infection and the cellular basis of the following complications. The department promised to complete what he started in an effort to pay homage to his scientific excellence. But Szall received a different answer when he called the office of Lius adviser Dr. Ivet Bahar, who oversees animal research. I called her and got in touch with her assistant [and] they were very quick to get off the phone. What they did confirm to me is that they dont have plans of publishing Lius research, he told Peters. Szall reveals several details about Hao Gu The investigative reporter also mentioned several details about Gu that mainstream media reports do not show. Lius murderer had apparently been working as a chief software architect at power management company Eaton, where he was assigned at that companys Moon Township, Pennsylvania facility. It turns out that Eaton, where Gu worked at, was actually working in partnership with Microsoft. Now Microsoft and Eaton appear to have been working on sequencing and predictive models. [Maybe these were] to announce where an infection was going to pop up based on research and surveillance findings. We know for one [that] there was sequencing that was happening from samples taken from the water. They can say Well, if theres a certain amount of spike proteins [or] other things in the water, we know that there may be an infection thats about to happen. Szall also zoomed in on alleged holes in the official story as mentioned in the police report he obtained. According to the police report, Liu had the doors open, had the patio open. Gu shot him 10 times on the head, the torso and the extremities. First of all, that sounds like an assassination, a hit. But also, it would be pretty loud. It would be very loud, depending on the caliber. Well, the police spoke to people [and] everyone says they didnt hear anything. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette [also] spoke to many of the residents, [who] said they kept to themselves. But on the day of the murder, no one heard anything. That might be understandable if the doors were closed, if everything was locked up and if a silencing device was used on the gun. Conspiracy.news has more stories about crimes being committed to conceal a bigger crime. Watch the full conversation between Stew Peters and Edward Szall about Dr. Bing Lius murder below. This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Body of CDC researcher Timothy Cunningham found in a river near Atlanta what did he know? Why was he murdered? Top Russian scientist Alexander Sasha Kagansky working on COVID-19 vaccine assassinated in St Petersberg. Whos murdering all the COVID scientists? Sources include: Brighteon.com TheSun.co.uk CSB.Pitt.edu Secret documents of government-funded research which became public in 2017 revealed the research priorities of the secretive Advanced Aerospace Weapons Systems Application Program (AAWSAP), which includes worm holes, anti-gravity devices, and invisibility cloaks. Since its existence was revealed, the U.S. government's now-defunct Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) has received various criticism from UFO disclosure advocates, activists, and journalists for non-transparency, Vice reported. The AATIP which was funded by the Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, has since insisted that they weren't working on secret UFO program, but former employees of the program say otherwise. The new documents which include nearly 1,600 pages have perhaps revealed the most intriguing collection of reports on "traversable wormholes, stargates, and negative energy", "high-frequency gravitational wave communications", "warp drive, dark energy, and the manipulation of extra dimensions", and many others, according to LiveScience. Many of these reports stress the impracticalities of implementing advanced technologies, including the alleged blasting through the lunar crust and mantle using thermonuclear explosives. Is Nuking the Moon Feasible? While the U.S. or other countries has not nuked the moon and currently shows no intention to do so, authors of a report on "negative mass propulsion" suggests that we can look for extremely lightweight metals in the center of the moon, which may be "100,000 times lighter than steel, but still [have] the strength of steel." Large amounts of negative masses have been trapped in gravitational potential wells for over billions of years. According to the authors, there are two possibilities to free negative masses hidden behind positive masses. First is the application of strong electromagnetic or gravitational fields or by high particle energies, and second, searching for places in the universe from which the negative masses can be mined. While the first of these two possibilities may not be attainable, the second could technically be feasible by making a tunnel through the moon, not possible for the deeper potential well of the earth. "Making a tunnel through the moon, provided there is a good supply of negative mass, could revolutionize interstellar space flight," the authors wrote. Also read: Weather Warning for Severe Thunderstorms Issued for Kansas and Oklahoma Contrary to NASA's Upcoming Artemis Missions Regardless of the possibility of nuking the moon for negative masses, rattling the Earth's only natural satellite with nuclear explosions would be contrary to NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission. It is the mission's ultimate goal to establish a sustainable human presence there for the first time since the Apollo era. Until now, the released documents of scientific research, contracts, presentations, briefings, and memos related to the program discussing a variety of exotic speculative technologies is unclear. However, as far as we know, none of these technologies ever seem to have gotten remotely close to being a reality, according to Vice. In fact, the AATIP and AAWSAP have not been doing much of in-house research, but relied largely on contract research conducted by a private company called Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Studies (BAASS), owned by eccentric hotel magnate Robert Bigelow. Bigelow, also a personal friend of late Sen. Harry Reid, who was responsible for the creation of AATIP, was awarded a $10 million contract for their first year of research for the program. Related article: A Swarm of Massive Sunspots Recently Visible Could Swallow Earth Whole A study of veterinarians in the United States and Canada reveals an increase in occurrences of cannabis toxicity in dogs, as well as new information about symptoms, treatments, and outcomes. On April 20, 2022, Richard Quansah Amissah of the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, and coworkers will publish their findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Cannabis poisoning to pets Pets exposed to cannabis, most commonly by ingestion, may exhibit varying degrees of severity of cannabis poisoning, also known as cannabis-induced toxicosis, as per ScienceDaily. While past research indicated that incidents of cannabis poisoning in pets are on the rise, the true scope of the problem, including typical pet outcomes, has remained unknown. Amissah and colleagues evaluated survey data from 251 veterinarians in Canada or the United States to gain a better knowledge of cannabis toxicity in dogs. The poll, which was conducted in 2021, asked participants about cannabis poisoning instances they had experienced in prior years. According to a statistical analysis of survey results, the number of cannabis poisoning cases increased dramatically in both the United States and Canada following the legalization of cannabis in Canada in 2018. The most common cause of poisoning was unattended ingestion of cannabis edibles, however, it was unclear what proportion of cannabis products had been purchased for human use versus medical usage by dogs. The authors highlight that the post-legalization increase might be attributed to increasing cannabis usage, but that greater reporting could also have had a role. Cannabis poisoning was most common in dogs, although it was also found in cats, iguanas, ferrets, horses, and cockatoos. While the majority of instances were benign, reported symptoms in dogs included urine incontinence, confusion, and an unusually slow heart rate. The majority of the animals were treated with outpatient monitoring, and virtually all of them recovered fully. Veterinarians reported that dogs died as a result of cannabis poisoning in a limited number of cases, while the researchers add that other potential explanations, such as underlying illnesses, could not be ruled out in the study. They advocate for more study on the effects of cannabis on dogs to assist improve veterinarian efforts and policies to keep pets healthy, as the usage of cannabis products continues to grow. Read more: Marijuana Legalization Leads to More Pets Getting High Monitoring your pets "I expected to observe poisonings in cats and dogs, but not in the other species," said Jibran Khokhar, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College. The amount of recorded animal deaths was also startling, he noted, "particularly because we don't know of any cannabis-related deaths in people." Sixteen animals died after taking cannabis, according to reports, but vets were unable to rule out other reasons, such as underlying diseases or other chemicals in the goodies. While Khokhar believes cannabis may have played a part in the fatalities, other elements, such as chocolate, which is deadly to dogs, are likely to have had a greater influence. In reality, the researchers' major objective was to define what cannabis-induced poisoning looks like in dogs so that they might concentrate on producing a medicine to counteract the symptoms. Urinary incontinence, confusion, and an unusually slow heart rate were the most commonly detected symptoms in dogs. The most typical intervention was to keep the pet at the vet for one to two days for monitoring. The next stage of the research will involve simulating cannabis poisoning in rats to better understand how the toxin affects the brain. The team then intends to utilize what it discovers to create a medicine that can reverse the effects and perhaps eliminate the need for monitoring. Related article: Colorado Golden Retriever Gets Sick Consuming Letfover Marijuana, Pet Owner Calls for Responsible Pot Use In AccuWeather's annual spring prediction, April was highlighted as a month to watch for severe weather. The forecast is coming true with several rounds of severe thunderstorms over the central United States in the coming days. Weather Development Wednesday began with a few minor storms over eastern Oklahoma and Arkansas, but more intense thunderstorms are expected to develop Wednesday evening and persist far into the night. "Spotty severe thunderstorms will form as a cold front interacts with the day's peak heating through Kansas, western Missouri, and northeastern and central Oklahoma," AccuWeather Lead Storm Warning Meteorologist William Clark noted. On Wednesday afternoon, temperatures in parts of the region rose into the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit. Before the storms started, Oklahoma City hit 90 degrees for the first time this year, hitting 92 degrees at 4 p.m. CDT. In addition to the heat, the humidity will soar as southerly breezes carry moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the area. Some of the storms will be accompanied by downpours due to the moisture. Although parts of the region are still experiencing drought, the rain might fall heavy enough to cause localized flash floods, which is only one possible hazard. "Downpours, big hail, and destructive winds will likely be the primary storm threats, but an isolated tornado is not out of the question," Clark warned. Also Read: April Snow Blanketed Over Spring Flowers This Season Temperature Changes The air will be cooler and less humid in northeastern Kansas and west-central Missouri, including Kansas City. Flooding, severe winds, and tornadoes will be less likely, but hail is still a threat. Severe storms are expected to remain into the evening before dissipating overnight. Thursday is expected to be similar to Wednesday, with scattered severe thunderstorms developing across Oklahoma, Kansas, and western Missouri. Storms will develop throughout the Interstate 35 corridor in the late afternoon and evening hours, with big hail and strong wind gusts being the main dangers. A handful of the fiercest storms might spawn tornadoes. Extreme Thunderstorms Severe thunderstorms will be a hazard throughout the central United States through the end of the week and into the weekend. On Friday, the chance of severe weather will grow dramatically. This threat will spread further north, maybe as far as eastern South Dakota. To begin the weekend, a vast area from Minnesota to Texas may be subjected to severe weather. Extreme Weather Due to Climate Change Unexpected, uncommon, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution-the range that has been witnessed in the past-are all examples of extreme weather or extreme climatic occurrences. Severe occurrences are frequently characterized as occurring in the most unusual 10 percent of a location's meteorological history. For the first time, climate scientists have been able to link recent extreme weather occurrences to the impacts of human activities on the planet's climate systems, marking a significant advancement in climate science. According to the researchers, the findings make it far more probable that we will soon - within the next few years - be able to determine whether the UK's very wet and freezing summer and spring this year are due to human factors rather than luck. Related Article: Exposure to Major Disasters Can Cause Long-Term Mental Health Problems For more climate and weather updates, don't forget to follow Nature World News! According to the broadest ever global examination of their impacts, national parks, and other protected areas have had mixed effectiveness in saving species. Analyzing Thousands of Data Scientists analyzed the patterns of more than 27,000 populations of wetland birds using data from 1,506 protected areas throughout the world. They discovered that improved support for the birds had not always benefitted. According to the researchers, the study, which was published today in the journal Nature, has significant consequences for the campaign to conserve 30% of the Earth for wildlife by the end of the decade. The findings suggest that park management is critical for protecting species and their habitats and that parks that lack such direction are more likely to be ineffective. "We know that protected areas may help minimize habitat loss, particularly deforestation," said lead author Dr. Hannah Wauchope of Exeter University's Centre for Ecology and Conservation. "However, we know less about how protected areas aid animals. Our research demonstrates that while many protected places are effective, many others are not. Also Read: Conservation Efforts Showed Success in Thriving UK Butterfly Populations Putting Emphasis "We need to put a greater emphasis on ensuring that regions are well-managed to support biodiversity." Governments are discussing biodiversity objectives for the coming decade, with dozens of nations agreeing to safeguard 30% of land and sea by 2030. Although this study only looked at waterbirds, experts say their abundance, ability to colonize and depart sites rapidly, and data quality made them a suitable proxy for other animals. In 68 nations, scientists analyzed waterbird population patterns before and after protected areas were established and the trajectories of identical waterbird populations inside and outside protected areas. Many of the data points were gathered by volunteers. "We're not arguing that protected areas are ineffective," Wauchope added. "The crucial point is that their effects vary dramatically. The most important factor is whether they are administered with species in mind - we can't expect protected areas to function without proper management." "It indicates that larger protected zones are preferable to smaller ones." "There are significant initiatives endorsed by Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, and others to expand protected areas to reach 30 percent of the earth by 2030," said co-author Julia Jones, a lecturer at Bangor University. But it's critical to determine if these protected places genuinely provide. Comparing Studies Only a few studies have examined whether protected areas can successfully prevent or reverse population reductions. It appears simple, yet it is rather tough to do. The research provides precious indicators of how conservation might be enhanced to yield better results for species. Waterbirds are an excellent example of a population confronting the repercussions of human behaviors that promote biodiversity loss, according to Thomas Brooks, the head scientist at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, who was not involved with the research. Birds All Over the World Waterbirds are found throughout the world. They are very migratory and nest at high latitudes, in Arctic tundra and wetlands, and across the rest of the planet. "They are subjected to various challenges at various phases of their lives, including the effects of unsustainable harvesting and climate change," he explained. He went on to say that the research has significant implications for conservation management. Related Article: UN Considering to Put Great Barrier Reef in Danger Despite Australia's Claim For more Environmental News, don't forget to follow Nature World News! The United Nations Environment Programme has appointed Sir David Attenborough a Champion of the Earth. The coveted prize honors the 95-year-dedication old's to sharing stories about nature and climate change. Sir David accepted the medal and stated that the world must act immediately to safeguard nature and the earth. The Green Planet and A Plastic Ocean are two of his well-known documentaries. According to Sir David, environmental success stories should offer us faith that change is possible. "Whales were on the verge of extinction fifty years ago, but people banded together, and now there are more whales in the water than any living person has ever seen," he said. "We know what the problems are and how to fix them; all we need is a coordinated response." Also Read: 5 Famous Environmental Leaders Devoted to Saving The Earth Honoring Sir David Attenborough The UN chose Sir David because of his dedication to broadcasting the natural world, according to UNEP Executive Director Inger Anderson. "It's because millions of us fell in love with the earth that he documented on video and in his voice that we have a chance of preventing climate and biodiversity breakdowns and cleaning up damaged ecosystems," stated UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. Sir David began working on natural history shows in the 1950s, and his programs, which were shot in far-flung locations throughout the world, were hugely popular. His warnings about the harm that climate change is bringing the world and mankind have gotten increasingly ominous in the last four years. Liked by Many Sir David is incredibly well-liked among youngsters and teens concerned about climate change. Greta Thunberg, a teen climate activist, described meeting the broadcaster as "indescribable" and added that everyone should want to be like him. When asked about Sir David, youngsters at the London Aquarium informed BBC News that they enjoy seeing him on television and even own books about him. "He does many things to help our earth and animals, and he says on his program that the natural world is in danger if we don't do anything," Raya, 10, adds. She is concerned about the environment, stating that "we need to stop using plastic, start driving more electric cars, and plant more trees instead of tearing them down." Benjamin, 13, said Sir David's shows had motivated him to pursue a career as a marine biologist. They've also taught him about the dangers of climate change and the loss of wildlife. "I want to be able to have a family, and I want them to live in a good world," he continued, "but if we all work together, we can conserve the natural world." Sir David's Impact Prof Rick Stafford, a marine scientist at Bournemouth University, told BBC News that Sir David's emphasis on success stories like bringing whales back from extinction is critical. "He pushed climate change and biodiversity loss to the forefront, and while optimism is vital, the primary challenges to be handled are economical and political," he stated. Related Article: 5 Best Recent Nature Documentaries Available for Streaming For more environmental news update, don't forget to follow Nature World News! In 2017, a lady from Texas was bitten by one of the world's most poisonous snakes, resulting in what many specialists consider the world's most severe condition. Bitten by a Snake Rachel Myrick, a 40-year-old realtor from Fredericksburg, was bitten by a copperhead snake four and a half years ago as she walked inside the LongHorn Steakhouse in Spotsylvania County. An 8-inch-long copperhead that had managed to sneak inside the restaurant's foyer bit Myrick twice on her toes and once on the side of her foot. The bites were so painful that she dropped her smartphone, wallet, and her son's hand, according to The Free Lance-Star at the time. Immediate Response Myrick underwent antivenom, commonly known as antivenin, therapy in Mary Washington Hospital as her foot and ankle swelled. The tale was picked up by the world's media and publicized worldwide. Even when media interest in the story began to wane, Myrick's anguish did not end there. Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a disorder where even a mild touch can cause agonizing agony. It can be caused by the bite, the antivenin needed to save her life, or a combination of the two. According to LMTonline, even a mild wind or a touch over her skin may be excruciating. "You feel like your skin is burnt," she explained to the news source, "so you grab sand or pieces of glass, depending on how horrible my moment is, and you just massage it into the top." "I'm in the greatest pain of my life, multiplied by ten." Also Read: Meet the King Cobra's Royal Family Pain The McGill Pain Index is a questionnaire that patients fill out to assess their pain level. CRPS is towards the top of the McGill scale, ahead of tooth fractures, chronic back pain, amputation of fingers and toes, and even delivery. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH), CRPS develops after an injury to an arm or leg. Additional symptoms include changes in skin color, warmth, and/or edema on the arm or leg below the injury site. It says that most CRPS injuries appear to be caused by nerve fibers transmitting messages to the brain that aren't functioning correctly. According to the NIH, the disorder, which produces "burning" or "pins and needles" sensations or the sense of the afflicted limb being squeezed, typically goes away over time as the nerve regrows. Severe instances, on the other hand, might result in long-term impairment. Treatment CRPS is difficult to treat because of the wide range of symptoms and the fact that they can alter over time, with diabetes and smoking, for example, having an inverse effect on therapy. As a result, there is presently no technique to treat CRPS quickly. Need Help Patricia DeWolfe, Myrick's mother, has created a Go Fund Me campaign to assist her in paying for treatments that aren't covered by her insurance and help her family pay bills and other expenditures. "She has been through 4 minor surgeries and two major surgeries, as well as dozens and dozens of doctors appointments, with the total of her medical bills, well exceeding 1.1 million dollars in this short time frame; with limitless bills to go ahead of her," DeWolfe writes on the fund-raising page about her daughter. Related Article:Caught on Cam: Everglades Mink Spotted Dragging its Big Meal, a Giant Snake For more animal news, don't forget to follow Nature World News! According to AccuWeather meteorologists, a powerful storm will sweep from the Rockies to the Canada border on Friday and continue into Saturday over the central United States. The extreme weather will endanger numerous major cities in the Midwest. The storm's enormous circulation will suck warm, moist air northward from the Gulf of Mexico, while powerful winds from the storm system will supply the energy required for storms to become intense. The same storm will bring blizzard conditions to regions of the Dakotas and Montana. Severe weather in the central US In regards to severe storms, Friday may be quite calm. However, when the earth heats up in April, thunderstorms will erupt and swiftly turn severe throughout the late afternoon and nighttime hours, according to forecasts. According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Randy Adkins, the greatest hazards from the severe weather from late Friday afternoon through Friday night will likely be huge hail and powerful wind gusts. Severe tornadoes, like any severe weather event, have the potential to spin up and inflict property damage. The greatest chance of several tornadoes will be in sections of eastern Nebraska, southern and eastern South Dakota, and western Iowa from late Friday to Friday evening, according to AccuWeather Director of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin, who added that this is where the most twisting winds in the atmosphere will be, as well as a surge of warm and moist air at the same time. On Friday evening, motorists should be prepared for shifting weather conditions as they drive along Interstates 29, 70, 80, and 90. The storms are expected to have a direct impact on the cities of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Grand Island, Nebraska, and Salina, Kansas. There will be an increased risk because the storms are expected to hit close to sunset or after dark on Friday. Also Read: Cyclone FIli: Storm Warnings for Heavy Rain and Severe Gales Issued for New Zealand There will be also a full-blown blizzard this Friday On Friday and Saturday, snow will be the primary weather story further north and west as a winter storm builds intensity over the area. According to USA Today, the storm may turn into a full-fledged blizzard, with travel-snarling snow and feet of snowfall in some regions. Winter storm warnings have been issued for parts of Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas due to the developing possibility of more than a foot of snow and whiteout conditions caused by significant snowfall rates and/or strong winds producing limited visibility, according to the Weather Service. Fire weather across the south Finally, exceptional fire weather is expected Friday in the southern Rockies, mostly in Colorado and New Mexico. Widespread 5% to 15% relative humidity and 30 to 40 mph winds (gusts up to 60 mph) will overspread dangerously dry fuels, the Weather Service predicted. The volatile mix will promote intense fire-weather conditions. Red-flag warnings have been issued for New Mexico, eastern Colorado, and the Texas Panhandle, as well as parts of Arizona, western Nebraska, and western Kansas. Fire conditions will deteriorate Thursday, especially in the Southwest, before spreading into the eastern Rockies and western Great Plains on Friday. The Weather Service cautions that the weather "will become suitable for fast fire development and unpredictable fire behavior" at that point. Related article: Intense Flood Hits Madagascar's Capital Due to a Month-Long Rain Archaeologists hunting for evidence of modern human migration from Asia to Australia discovered a tiny, relatively intact skeleton of extinct humankind on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003, which became known as Homo floresiensis, or more colloquially, the Hobbit, after the little, breakfast-guzzling critters from J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Hobbit." The species was assumed to have persisted until recently, approximately 12,000 years ago, when subsequent research pushed that period back to around 50,000 years. However, one retired anthropology professor at the University of Alberta believed that proof of the Hobbit's prolonged existence may have been ignored and that the Hobbit may still be alive at the time, or at least beyond living memory. The possibility of the human species in the forest of flores The discovery of remains from a rare species of hominid on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2004 shook the scientific world. Homo floresiensis, which dates from the late Pleistocene, was presumably a contemporary of early modern humans in this portion of Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, the small hominid resembled australopithecines and even chimps in certain ways. When I first started ethnographic fieldwork on Flores 20 years ago, researchers heard stories of human-like creatures, some of which were said to be alive but only rarely observed. The late Mike Morwood of the University of Wollongong in Australia, who led the H. floresiensis finding team, described these hominoids as "fitting floresiensis to a T," according to The Scientist. Gregory Forth wrote in the essay: "My goal in producing the book was to identify the best explanation that is, the most reasonable and scientifically supported of Lio interpretations of the species." These contain sighting accounts from more than 30 eyewitnesses, all of whom Forth interacted with immediately. With that, the expert came to conclusion that the easiest way to explain what he heard was that a non-sapiens hominid has persisted on Flores until now or very recently. He said that the local folk zoology of the island's Lio people involved legends about humans morphing into animals as they traveled and adapted to new settings, which he Compared to a sort of Lamarckism or the inheritance of acquired physical features, as cited by IFL Science. Also Read: Ancient Frieze Discovered by Archaeologist Showing 'Time Without Time' How natural scientists construct knowledge on living things Apes and humans also addressed broader issues, such as how natural scientists develop knowledge about living things. One issue is the relative importance of various sources of information about creatures, including animals that have yet to be thoroughly investigated in the research literature, and particularly data given by historically non-literate and highly technological simple neighborhoods, such as the Lio, whom anthropologists would have labeled primitive 40 or 50 years ago. To be fair, the Lio have nothing resembling the current evolutionary theory, with speciation fueled by mutation and natural selection. But, if evolutionism is basically concerned with how various species emerged and how differences are preserved, then the Lio people and other Flores islands have been asking about the same issues for a long time. What they say about the creatures, when combined with other types of evidence, is entirely compatible with a living hominin species, or one that went extinct within the previous 100 years. Related article: Ancient Transylvanian Turtle Fossil Discovered to be 70 Million Years Old The Nicaraguan government warns the public to continue to remain vigilant following the earthquake. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale erupted in the Pacific Ocean near a fishing village on Nicaragua's western coast recently. Geological authorities have not issued a tsunami warning but the Nicaraguan government claimed there is still a threat in the Central American nation. Massive Earthquake The quake initially occurred around 58 kilometers (36 miles) near the Nicaraguan coastal town of Masachapa, located southwest of the capital city of Managua, on Wednesday, April 20, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), as cited by ABC News. The USGS reportedly said the collision between the Cocos and Caribbean tectonic plates in the Central American region triggered the recent earthquake. Both local and international authorities have not reported any casualties or infrastructural damage. However, Nicaraguan officials have not ruled out potential threats. Also Read: Powerful Earthquake Strikes off El Salvador Coast Aftershocks and Tsunami Conflicting media reporting suggests that there was no tsunami threat, but Rosario Murillo, Nicaragua's vice president, and an official spokesperson told during a news conference that there is a tsunami alert but it does not mean that such an event will occur, as per Costa Rica's local media outlet The Tico Times. The media agency added that the major earthquake shook the country on Thursday, April 21, and cited a statement from the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) that occurred near the beaches of the coastal town with a tremor that lasted for several seconds. Following the earthquake, Vice President Murillo urged all Nicaraguan nationals to stay on alert for possible aftershocks or in case of a new earthquake. Murillo also emphasized exercising measures, such as going to exit routes of homes and prioritizing vulnerable groups like children and elderly people. Costa Rica and El Salvador Based on reported accounts from residents, "strong tremors" were felt in the Nicaraguan capital with no further details provided. The USGS said that the tremors were also felt in Nicaragua's Central American neighboring countries of Costa Rica and El Salvador, as cited by Reuters. There were also no immediate reports of human casualties or property damage so far in the mentioned areas. Ring of Fire Based on Murillo's precaution, further aftershocks or earthquakes are still possible as the said country is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horse-shoe or arc-shaped region in the Pacific Ocean wherein the movement of tectonic plates is prevalent. This causes frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the said underground region, affecting the western portions of the following countries in the Americas, including the United States, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru. Other countries, such as Tonga, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, and its surrounding regions in Southeast Asia and Oceania are prone to these seismic activities. Notable Earthquakes in Nicaragua The region near Masachapa was also a site of one of Nicaragua's strongest earthquakes in historical records where a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua in 1992 triggered a tsunami that resulted in widespread damage and a large number of casualties, including at least 100 deaths. The said earthquake was preceded by a stronger tremor with a magnitude of in 1972, also referred to as the Managua earthquake where between 5,000 and 12,000 people were killed in dozens of communities, as per the International Tsunami Information Center of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Related Article: Nicaragua's San Cristobal Volcano Calming Down Gary Beene, a third-generation San Joaquin Valley farmer, will plant barely half of his 1,200 acres this year. He may not have enough water for the second half of the bottle. They're focusing on survival and getting through this year more than anything else, said Beene, who grows a tomato, almond, cotton, and garlic with his sons and grandson on property his family settled in California in the 1930s after sharecropping in Oklahoma. Driest year in California California is experiencing its driest year on record. No one in West Texas has ever seen such a small amount of rain. The massive subterranean lake that feeds the Great Plains and contributes to the production of one-sixth of the world's grain is diminishing. This is a historic drought with not just a year or two or three of dry weather, but a famine of rain so terrible that some believe you have to go back to the 1500s to find a competitor, stretching from the Pacific coast to Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Illinois. This could not have happened at a worse moment. Food costs are already at an all-time high. Wheat prices have risen as a result of a scarcity caused by Russia's war in Ukraine, as per Forbes. Soybeans are at their greatest level in ten years. Avocado prices haven't been this high since the 1990s, and corn prices are approaching an all-time high. The drought in America will drive them and others higher. According to Mike Wade, executive director of the pro-agriculture California Farm Water Coalition, consumers would face higher pricing and fewer options, or imported substitutes. Despite higher pricing, drought has convinced farmers ranging from tomato growers to dairy producers to abandon their operations. According to Wade, the first decision point is whether or not they have water. This year, many farmers have received zero allocations. Also Read: "Catastrophic" Drought in the Horn of Africa Kills Over a Million Livestock Drought monitoring in San Diego People are becoming more conscious of climate change as a result of Earth Day. Even while people like to assume San Diego is always 70 degrees and sunny, that is changing. At Torrey Pines, Megan Parry from abc 10 News San Diego spoke with National Weather Service Meteorologist Alex Tardy to discuss the subtle shifts people are seeing each year that are now adding up. New climate normals are announced every 10 years, and the most recent normal, released in 2021, revealed that San Diego is getting warmer and drier. "Everywhere in the United States, except a tiny area of the northern plains, was warmer than their previous thirty-year norms," Alex Tardy added. In December, it appeared like they are going to fill up the reservoirs, as they had record snowfall at Lake Tahoe, the greatest snowfall ever recorded in December, almost breaking the all-time snow record of any month. While Southern California is in its second year of crisis, two-thirds of the state in Central and Northern California, where a significant portion of the state's water supply is kept, is in its third year of drought, with the current snowpack at only 38% of normal. "When there's more energy in the ocean, you're possibly going to get greater storms, atmospheric rivers, hurricanes," Tardy continued. However, it doesn't guarantee that it'll be wetter because they're also seeing longer droughts, more severe droughts, and recurrent droughts. There is yet hope, but it is up to us to make it happen. Everything we do or don't do has an impact on the natural cycle, so when we litter, squander, or aren't aware of what's around us, it all adds up, and it's not just about us; it's about the future generations. Related article: Global Scale Mega Drought Possibly Led to Fall of Ancient Empires 4,200 Years Ago Crows can identify themselves in mirrors, use tools, and prepare for the future, all of which are mental abilities found in humans and other mammals but not most other birds. This ability might be linked to the fact that they have a colossal number of brain cells involved in the processing of information. Felix Strockens and colleagues from Germany's Ruhr University Bochum examined the brains of common ostriches (Struthio camelus), brown warren fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus), racing homer pigeons (Columba livia domestica), and three members of the human species. Crow's intelligence Crows and ravens are well-known for their dark coloration and noisy "caw" sound. They are sophisticated birds who utilize tools to solve complicated abstract issues and communicate a lot. Their richness is paralleled by their ability to live in a variety of environments across the world. They are, in fact, one of the most common families of birds on the globe. Crows and ravens, which are members of the bird family Corvidae, which also includes jays and magpies, have seen fast worldwide expansion, in contrast to other members of the family, which have remained primarily within single continents. While their flying abilities were critical to their survival, according to research from Washington University in St. Louis, large bodies and big minds also played a part in crows and ravens surviving in the new climates they inhabited. When they think about processes of global diversification, it is crucial to examine not only the ability to reach new places but also the ability to withstand once there, said Carlos Botero, assistant professor of biology at Arts & Sciences. According to the findings, crows and ravens differentiated quickly and extensively because they were particularly adept in adapting to numerous environments, as cited by ScienceDaily. Also Read: Crows Are As Smart As A Seven-Year-Old Child, Researchers Find The convenient traits of a crow The neocortex is a compound found in the brains of sentient animals such as humans. This is meant to help with the analysis of detailed cognition. Corvids, for example, lack this framework. Instead, they have evolved tightly packed clusters of neurons that provide them with equivalent mental capacity, according to BBC Future. In the study led by Joan Garcia-Porta, a colleague in the Department of Genetics at the University of Barcelona, the authors demonstrated that crows' and ravens' incredible ability to hugely grow and expand from around the planet was influenced by a specific variety of symptoms. Using specimens from museums in Europe and the United States, the researchers discovered that they have longer wing lengths, larger body sizes, and larger relative brain sizes than other Corvids. Some animals may appear to be smarter than others, with humans at the top of the metaphorical food chain. To be sure, people rely far too heavily on intelligence to get through. However, this does not imply that we are the greatest at every mental endeavor. According to Dakota McCoy of Harvard University, chimps have stronger short-term memory than humans. While intellect may assist a species in doing things necessary for life in its own habitat, other creatures survive in different ways. Related article: Crows Find 'Pleasure of Accomplishment' and Show Positive Behavior After Utilizing Tools Ugandan security forces have detained a Congolese national after being accused of the unauthorized transport of 122 African grey parrots (Psittacus Erithacus) in the Kisoro town of Western Region, Uganda. The parrots were crammed inside small cages when he was confronted by the local officials. Joint Security Operation Following an intelligence tip-off that the parrots were being smuggled into Uganda from Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ugandan government initiated a joint security operation to arrest the suspected smuggler, according to Bashir Hangi, UWA spokesman, as cited by the Kenya news site The Star. The operation consisted of the Ugandan Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF), the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), and the Ugandan Police Force (UPF). The security forces arrested the alleged smuggler in the village of Kibaya, located near the border town of Bunagana on Thursday, April 21. Following the operation, the suspect by the name of Bob Mbaya Kabongo has been detained at the Central Police Station in Kampala, Uganda. Among the African grey parrots found in Mbaya's possession, three of the birds were already dead. The confiscated parrots have been transferred to the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC). The rare parrots were later on released into the wild. Also Read: Wildlife Trafficking Plummeted Amidst the Pandemic, Giving Perfect Opportunity for Long-Term Solutions Wildlife Trafficking UWA reportedly reiterated its commitment and determination to make Uganda a "dangerous route" for wildlife traffickers. UWA executive director, Sam Mwandha, stated that they will not allow Uganda to become a transit route and will continue to arrest and prosecute wildlife offenders, as per the Ugandan news site Daily Monitor. Uganda has recorded multiple cases of wildlife trafficking, including ivory horns from rhinos and elephants, as well as wildlife products from other animals. 80% of ivory trafficking occurs in the African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, according to Uganda's Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The organization also highlighted that criminal gangs use these horns to finance terrorism. Based on the WCS report, an estimated 96 elephants in Africa are killed daily for their horns, and 100 wildlife rangers are murdered while on duty each year. International Wildlife Trade Despite the notorious reputation of the East African country when it comes to wildlife trafficking, it is only reportedly preceded by other countries such as China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar in terms of being a hotspot for illegal wildlife trade and trafficking worldwide. However, these illegal activities go unpunished in accordance with the multinational agreement Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The CITES is a multinational agreement that governs how to handle smuggling wild animals and wildlife products between two or multiple countries. Endangered Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified African grey parrots as an endangered species under its Red List of Threatened Species, a vast database that includes animal species whose populations are declining or being monitored for conservation efforts. The endangered parrot species have faced habitat loss and destruction of large nesting trees, which have affected their numbers. Related Article: Norway 'Accused' of Killing Confiscated Wildlife Animals to Curb Smuggling Champaign, IL (61820) Today Partly cloudy. Windy. Low around 65F. SSE winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 20 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Windy. Low around 65F. SSE winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 20 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. Researchers at ISTA discover a crucial process that enables immune cells to get to where they are needed. Study published in Science. To get to the places where they are needed, immune cells not only squeeze through tiny pores. They even overcome wall-like barriers of tightly packed cells. Scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now discovered that cell division is key to their success. Together with other recent studies, their findings published in Science magazine give the full picture of a process just as important for healing as for the spread of cancer. Imagine a stone wall in the countryside. Tightly packed, one stone sits on top of the other filling the tiniest gaps. A seemingly unbreachable obstacle. On their way throughout the body to fight infections, immune cells face such barriers in the form of cell-dense tissues. To do their job as the body's rescue service, they need to find a way through. In a recent study, scientists from ISTA's Siekhaus group together with collaborators from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and three students from a local High School, took a close look at how this happens in fruit fly embryos. During the development of these tiny, transparent animals, macrophages, the dominant form of immune cells in fruit flies, infiltrate tissues. Using high-end microscopes, the scientists were able to follow their journey. "The macrophages arrive at the wall and look for the right place to enter," explains Maria Akhmanova, until recently a postdoc at Daria Siekhaus' research group and first author of the study. Breaking new ground Cues that guide the macrophages have directed them to the right spot. There, the pioneer macrophage, the first cell to move in, is waiting. Suddenly, a part of the wall starts to move. The cell right in front of the macrophage rounds up, preparing to divide a normal part of its cell cycle. "This is what the pioneer has been waiting for," says Akhmanova. Moving its cell nucleus ahead, the pioneer cell now pushes forward while all the other macrophages follow in its tracks. As the Siekhaus group also recently discovered, to break through the pioneer gets an extra boost of energy through a complex process governed by a newly discovered protein the scientists named Atossa. Furthermore, the scientists learned that to shield their sensitive nucleus from damage, the macrophages develop protective armor made from actin filaments. Cell division crucial for success By precisely inhibiting, slowing down, and speeding up the division specifically of the flanking tissue cells, the researchers were now able to prove that the crucial component that allows immune cells to enter is in fact surrounding cell division. As it rounds up to prepare for division, the tissue cell at the entry site loses some of its connection points to its surroundings, the researchers observed through live imaging. In collaboration with the De Renzis lab at EMBL, the researchers also artificially induced rounding through a cutting edge technique using light to induce genetic changes. This wasn't sufficient to get the macrophages to enter. But genetically reducing the amount of the cell connections was. It was very exciting to see how the macrophages were only able to enter the tissue when the tissue cell lost its connections." Maria Akhmanova, Study's First Author Powerful implications for cancer research "Cell division being the key process that controls macrophage infiltration is really a very elegant concept with powerful implications," Professor Daria Siekhaus enthuses. The same mechanism that helps macrophages enter tissues could also be essential for many other types of immune cells in vertebrates like humans. In the long run, the scientists are eager to learn if manipulating the connections or the divisions of the tissue cells could help increase immune cells' infiltration of tumors to fight them from within or help reduce immune cells' ability to attack tissues during autoimmunity. "Our findings will also affect any researcher who is working on any migrating cell in the context of the body," the cell biologist explains. For her study, the theoretical biophysicist and Lise Meitner fellow Maria Akhmanova delved deep into the world of microscopy. With the help of her mentor Daria Siekhaus, she learned everything she could about the fascinating and very helpful fruit flies. Three students from the Klosterneuburg High School were also part of the team. During a school trip to the Institute's laboratories, they discovered their enthusiasm for research. Consequently they helped Akhmanova with crossing and identifying fruit flies and even wrote an algorithm to speed up image analysis. "The success of this research project was made possible by joint forces from many scientists and enormous help from three motivated high school students!" says Akhmanova. A new study has prompted scientists to reconsider a once-popular yet controversial idea in stroke research. Neuroscientists believed that, in the aftermath of a stroke, calming overexcited neurons might prevent them from releasing a toxic molecule that can kill neurons already damaged by lack of oxygen. This idea was supported by studies in cells and animals, but it lost favor in the early 2000s after numerous clinical trials failed to improve outcomes for stroke patients. But a fresh approach has yielded evidence that the idea may have been discarded too hastily. The new findings are available online in the journal Brain. By scanning the whole genomes of nearly 6,000 people who had experienced strokes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis identified two genes associated with recovery within the pivotal first 24 hours after stroke. Events -; good or bad -; that occur in the first day set stroke patients on their courses toward long-term recovery. Both genes turned out to be involved in regulating neuronal excitability, providing evidence that overstimulated neurons influence stroke outcomes. There's been this lingering question about whether excitotoxicity really matters for stroke recovery in people. We can cure stroke in a mouse using blockers of excitotoxicity. But in humans we performed numerous clinical trials, and we couldn't move the needle. Every last one of them was negative. In this study, out of 20,000 genes, the top two genetic hits point to mechanisms involving neuronal excitation. That's pretty remarkable. This is the first genetic evidence that shows excitotoxicity matters in people and not just in mice." Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD, co-senior author, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology Every year nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. have ischemic strokes, the most common kind of stroke. Ischemic strokes occur when a clot blocks a blood vessel and cuts off oxygen to part of the brain, triggering sudden numbness, weakness, confusion, difficulty speaking or other symptoms. Over the next 24 hours, some people's symptoms continue to worsen while others' stabilize or improve. In the 1990s, Dennis Choi, MD, PhD, then head of the Department of Neurology at Washington University, performed groundbreaking research on excitotoxicity in stroke. He and others showed that stroke can cause neurons to release large amounts of glutamate, a molecule that transmits excitatory messages between neurons. Glutamate is constantly being released by neurons as part of the normal functioning of the nervous system, but too much all at once can be toxic. Efforts to translate this basic research into therapies for people did not pan out, and eventually pharmaceutical companies let their anti-excitotoxic drug development programs lapse. But Lee, who formerly worked on excitotoxicity with Choi, did not give up. He teamed up with genetics researcher and co-senior author Carlos Cruchaga, PhD, the Barbara Burton and Reuben M. Morriss III Professor of Neurology and a professor of psychiatry; first author Laura Ibanez, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry; and co-author Laura Heitsch, MD, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and of neurology, to tackle the question of what drives post-stroke brain injury. The team identified people who had experienced strokes, and they looked for genetic differences between those who naturally recovered substantial function in the first day and those who did not. As members of the International Stroke Genetics Consortium, the research team was able to study 5,876 ischemic stroke patients from seven countries: Spain, Finland, Poland, the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico and South Korea. They measured each person's recovery or deterioration over the first day using the difference between their scores on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Stroke Scale at six and 24 hours after symptoms first appeared. The scale gauges a person's degree of neurological impairment based on measures such as the ability to answer basic questions such as "How old are you?"; to perform movements such as holding up the arm or leg; and to feel sensation when touched. The researchers performed a genomewide association study by scanning the participants' DNA for genetic variations related to the change in their NIH stroke scale scores. The top two hits were genes that coded for the proteins ADAM23 and GluR1. Both are related to sending excitatory messages between neurons. ADAM23 forms bridges between two neurons so that signaling molecules such as glutamate can be passed from one to the other. GluR1 is a receptor for glutamate. "We started with no hypotheses about the mechanism of neuronal injury," Cruchaga said. "We started with the assumption that some genetic variants are associated with stroke recovery, but which ones they are, we did not guess. We tested every single gene and genetic region. So the fact that an unbiased analysis yielded two genes involved in excitotoxicity tells us that it must be important." In the years since anti-excitotoxic drug development was abandoned, clot-busting drugs have become the standard of care for ischemic stroke. Such drugs aim to restore blood flow so that oxygen -; and anything else in the bloodstream, including medication can reach affected brain tissue. Consequently, experimental neuroprotective therapies that failed in the past might be more effective now that they have a better chance of reaching the affected area. "We know that that first 24-hour period has the greatest impact on outcomes," Lee said. "Beyond 24 hours, there's diminishing returns in terms of influence on long-term recovery. Right now, we don't have any neuroprotective agents for that first 24 hours. Many of the original studies with anti-excitotoxic agents were performed at a time when we weren't sure about the best trial design. We've learned a lot about stroke in the last few decades. I think it's time for a re-examination." Despite having benefits for information exchange and patient safety, electronic health records (EHR) have had drawbacks for daily practice and the physician experience. Some studies suggest that physicians practicing in solo or physician-owned practices have lower burnout, but it's not clear how practice ownership influences doctors' experiences with the EHR. To answer this question, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and collaborators used data from the National Electronic Health Records Survey to examine the relationship between physician ownership of their practices and satisfaction with the EHR. Using a sample representing 301,603 physicians, they found that physicians working in physician-owned practices were significantly more likely to be satisfied with their EHRs (68.1 percent of those in physician-owned practices reported being satisfied vs. 58.5 percent of those in non-physician-owned practices). Those in physician-owned practices were significantly more likely to say that they had staff support for documentation (36.0 percent vs. 26.7 percent) and that time spent on documentation was appropriate (44.8 percent vs. 32.4 percent). These differences partially, but not completely, explained differences in EHR satisfaction for doctors practicing in physician versus non-physician owned practices. Our study suggests that multiple factors associated with physician ownership likely play a role in the greater EHR satisfaction seen among those practicing in physician-owned practices. Future work should examine the other cultural, practice structure, and EHR design factors that influence the differences in satisfaction we have identified. This is particularly important given data showing a relationship between time on the EHR and burnout and evidence that fewer doctors across the U.S. are working in physician-owned practices." Lisa S. Rotenstein, MD MBA, Division of General Internal Medicine A team of biologists led by UNIGE has discovered, for breast cancer, a factor that explains the spread of metastases to the bones. When cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and migrate to other organs, this is called metastatic cancer. The organs affected by these metastases, however, depend in part on their tissue of origin. In the case of breast cancer, they usually form in the bones. In an attempt to identify what determines the organs affected by metastasis, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with researchers from ETH Zurich, has identified a protein involved in this phenomenon. This discovery could lead to the development of therapeutic approaches to suppress metastasis. This work can be read in the journal Nature Communications. From the primary site of a tumor, cancer cells can invade their microenvironment and then circulate via blood and lymphatic vessels to distant healthy tissue to form metastases. In the case of metastatic breast cancer, the cancer cells primarily colonize the bones, but can also be found in other organs such as the liver, lungs or brain. Plasticity of tumor cells Although the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the different stages of the metastatic process are not yet fully understood, studies show that cellular plasticity plays an important role. This term refers to the ability of cells to change function and/or form. Thus, tumor cells that become metastatic change their shape and become mobile. The laboratory of Professor Didier Picard of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Faculty of Science is interested in the mechanisms that govern the metastatic processes related to breast cancer. His group collaborated with Professor Nicolas Acetos group at ETHZ to study these processes in mice. The biologists investigated the potential role of the protein ZEB1, known to increase cell plasticity, in breast cancer cell migration. Unlike in women, mice transplanted with human breast cancer cells develop metastasis to the lungs, not the bones. We therefore sought to identify factors capable of inducing metastasis in bone tissue and in particular tested the effect of the factor ZEB1. Nastaran Mohammadi Ghahhari, researcher, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and first author of the study Directing metastasis to bone In in vitro migration and invasion experiments, the scientists found that cancer cells expressing ZEB1 moved to bone tissue, unlike cancer cells that did not express it. These results were later confirmed when human breast cancer cells were transplanted into the mammary glands of mice. If the cancer cells did not express ZEB1, metastasis occured primarily in the lungs. In contrast, when ZEB1 was present, metastases also developed in the bones, as is the case in women. We can therefore assume that this factor is expressed during tumor formation and that it directs cells that have acquired metastatic characteristics to the bones, explains Didier Picard, the studys last author. This study confirms the importance of the plasticity of tumor cells during the metastatic process and could allow, in the long term, to consider new therapeutic approaches to prevent the appearance of metastases. In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, the researchers assessed the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) booster vaccine on the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The waning efficacy of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines has led to the administration of booster vaccines to protect against infection and disease severity. However, there is insufficient knowledge regarding the effectiveness of the booster vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 lineage. The study and results The researchers estimated the booster vaccine effectiveness and neutralizing activity induced against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 lineage in the present study. The team obtained blood samples from a total of 84 physicians practicing at the Kobe University Hospital, Japan. The eligible participants had received their second BNT162b2 dose seven months prior and their booster vaccine dose almost two weeks after the beginning of the study. None of the participants reported a history of COVID-19 infection. A serum neutralizing assay was performed against BA.2 using an authentic virus. The study results showed that the median age of the participating physicians was 44 years. Most of the participants had very low to no titer of neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2 lineage seven months after the primary vaccination with two BNR162b2 doses. However, the titer was observed to increase remarkably two weeks after receiving the booster vaccination. Conclusion The study findings showed that the COVID-19 booster vaccine sufficiently induced neutralizing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 BA.2 lineage. Furthermore, a booster dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine effectively elicited a significant cross-neutralizing response against other SARS-CoV-2 variants. Overall, this indicated that the booster vaccine could successfully curb the rampant transmission of BA.2 and activate memory B cells to stimulate further epitopes that identify neutralizing antibodies that are conserved in all SARS-CoV-2 variants. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers described how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomic sequencing efforts in Africa helped identify two of the five SARS-CoV-2 variants of concerns (VOCs), and their early analysis. Background Africa accounts for the lowest number of reported coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths globally, with only 2,45,000 reported deaths as of February 2022. However, the continent has played an important role in shaping the global public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the implementation of genomic surveillance. It is noteworthy that the sequencing effort for SARS-CoV-2 is the fastest for any human pathogen in the history of Africa and globally. Although the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has plagued Africa for years, only ~3,100 whole-genome HIV sequences have been shared publicly. However, the genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in Africa fetched 10,000 sequences in 2020 and an additional 90,000 sequences in the past year. For use in devising a public health strategy, sampling for genomic surveillance needs to cover both spatial and temporal factors, which required extending the geographic coverage of sequencing capacity to capture the genomic epidemiology in almost all the locations in Africa. In the present study, researchers directly compared the officially recorded cases in Africa with the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance. To this end, they accessed the global initiative on sharing the avian influenza data (GISAID) database until February 15, 2022, for a rough estimation of the contribution of different SARS-CoV-2 variants to cases. Study findings Scaling up sequencing efforts in Africa helped unfold multiple waves of SARS-CoV-2 infection across the continent. In North Africa, SARS-CoV-2 B.1 lineages and Alpha dominated the first and second pandemic waves; conversely, in West Africa, the B.1.525 sub-lineage caused a large proportion of infections in the second and third pandemic waves. In Central Africa, the B.1.620 sub-lineage caused most of the infections between January and June 2021 before being replaced by Delta and later by Omicron. SARS-CoV-2 A.23.1 sub-lineage dominated the second wave of infections in Uganda and the majority of East Africa. The Delta variant caused the highest impact on Africa between May and October 2021, causing ~38.5% of overall SARS-CoV-2 infections. The Beta variant stood second, causing an epidemic wave at the end of 2020, causing 15.7% of overall infections. Notably, Alpha accounted for barely 4.7% of total SARS-CoV-2 infections in Africa. Phylogenetic clustering identified Alpha in 43 countries in Africa, including Ghana, Gabon, Nigeria, Kenya, and Angola, with significant community transmission. The discrete state maximum likelihood reconstruction revealed around 155 introductions into Africa, with >97% of imports attributed to the United Kingdom (UK). Conversely, over 66% of imports into any particular African country were attributed to another African nation, suggesting substantial dispersal of the Alpha variant within the continent, ~71% of which originated in West African countries. In 2020, the majority of sequenced genomes in Africa belonged to SARS-CoV-2 B.1 or B.1.1 lineages; however, towards the year-end, more SARS-CoV-2 lineages, such as B.1.525, B.1.1.318, B.1.1.418, and A.23.1 started to appear in Africa. At the same time, the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron VOCs demonstrated similarities and differences in community transmission within the African continent. While Alpha and Beta were epidemiologically important only in some regions, Delta and Omicron sequentially dominated the majority of infections in the entire continent. State-wise phylogeographic inferences revealed 2,151 viral introductions of non-VOC lineages into African countries throughout the pandemic. Although initial viral introductions were from Europe, later, 62% (1319/1347) of the overall viral introductions were from another African country. The UK accounted for 38% of total foreign viral introductions in Africa; contrastingly, Africa imported SARS-CoV-2 to Europe, North America, and Asia. Sampling and molecular clock analyses suggested that the Beta variant originated around September 2020 in South Africa. Of the 900 introductions of Beta into African countries, only 108 were attributed to countries outside the continent, while ~50% were from South Africa. Beyond Southern Africa, most of the introductions back into the African continent were from France and other European countries. Following introductions from Asia in the middle of 2021, Delta rapidly replaced the other circulating variants in Africa. Accordingly, by June-2021, Delta was circulating at >90% frequencies in Africa. Similar to Beta, viral dissemination of Omicron within the continent mostly originated from Southern Africa. Foreign introductions of the Omicron back into Africa were dominated by the UK, United States of America, Australia, and New Zealand, at the rates of 47%, 33%, and 9%, respectively. Notably, Omicron reintroductions back into Africa occurred in countries outside the Southern African region. Africa also successfully optimized the overall proportion and frequency of genomic sampling. Therefore, while South Africa and Nigeria sequenced ~1% of aggregate COVID-19 cases, their genomic surveillance programs were considered successful because their representative temporally representative sampling enabled the timely detection of Beta, Eta, and Omicron variants. Most importantly, to maintain sequencing quality, the researchers examined genomes to determine aspects of the sequencing that needed improvisation in the future. For instance, they updated primer sets used in the sequencing to keep pace with SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Conclusions The local sequencing capacity in Africa was initially limited; however, it expanded after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs. They used low-cost Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) for over 50% of all SARS-CoV-2 sequencing in Africa. Accordingly, 52 out of 55 countries in Africa deposited SARS-CoV-2 genomes in the GISAID database. Yet, 16 countries had no local sequencing capacity, and many more had limited capacity for sequencing. During subsequent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic waves, regional sequencing networks, resource sharing within the African countries, and collaborations with foreign academic collaborators helped close surveillance blind spots. To summarize, the study demonstrated repeated dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 variants within Africa. Thus, there is an urgent need for more investment in SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance in Africa to remain prepared and respond on time to future infectious viral outbreaks. *Important notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Ziath Ltd has been awarded with a prestigious Queens Award for Enterprise (2022) in the International Trade category. Image Credit: Ziath Ltd This country is renowned for its entrepreneurial achievements and there is no greater showcase for it than The Queens Awards. It is vital we celebrate the success of our businesses and recognise the contributions they make to communities across the country. We are incredibly pleased and excited to have gained this award, which is personally approved by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second. The award recognizes Ziath as a premier exporter of scientific instruments that contribute to Life Science research success worldwide. From our Cambridge, UK, base we export 85% of our production which helps us serve the major drug discovery and life science communities around the world. Our dedicated offices in Maastricht, San Diego, Boston, and Tokyo together with a global Distributor network are poised to support our wonderful customers in forensics, diagnostics, biobanking and pharma who have contributed so greatly to our success. We will cherish this award and strive to produce even more innovative sample management products and software to ensure that Ziath customers always know exactly where their samples are stored. Steve Knight, Commercial Director, Ziath In a recently published article in the journal Cancer Cell, scientists have demonstrated the incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in cancer patients residing in Austria and Italy. The study reveals an induction in Omicron breakthrough infections in patients with hematologic and solid cancers. Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has been found to cause severe infections in immunocompromised patients, including cancer patients. Moreover, a relatively lower level of neutralizing antibodies in response to COVID-19 vaccines has also been observed in cancer patients, especially those receiving B cell-targeting therapies. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with improved immune fitness, such as delta and Omicron variants, has caused a sharp increase in breakthrough infections even in fully vaccinated individuals. However, the vaccines still show high protective efficacy against severe and fatal infections. COVID-19 vaccines have shown acceptable efficacy against severe disease, even in Omicron-infected cancer patients. However, the isolation and quarantine measures associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection may impair the routine administration of anticancer therapy, which can reduce the survival prognosis in cancer patients. In the current study, the scientists have assessed the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer patients throughout the pandemic. Study design The study included 3,959 cancer patients, of whom 77% had solid cancer, and 23% had hematologic cancer. About 69% of the patients did not receive any anticancer treatment at the time of COVID-19 vaccination. Regarding vaccine coverage, about 85% of the patients had received at least one vaccine dose, and 15% remained unvaccinated. The incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in these patients was assessed between February 2020 and 2022. Important observations SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected in about 24% of the patients during the study period. During the delta-dominated wave, vaccine breakthrough infection was observed in 43% of the patients. In contrast, a significantly higher percentage of breakthrough infection (70%) was observed among the patients during the Omicron-dominated wave. During both delta and Omicron waves, cancer patients receiving systemic anticancer treatment showed a significantly higher percentage of breakthrough infection than those not receiving treatment (83% vs. 56%). Regarding disease severity irrespective of vaccination status, a higher frequency of COVID-19-related hospitalization was observed during the delta wave compared to that during the Omicron wave. However, a relatively shorter duration of hospital stay was observed in vaccinated patients compared to that in unvaccinated patients. In addition, only 9% of patients with breakthrough infections were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). This highlights the protective efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against severe disease. Humoral immune response to vaccination To determine vaccine-induced antibody response against delta and Omicron variants, the scientists measured blood levels of anti-delta and anti-Omicron spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) antibodies in a total of 78 cancer patients. In the analysis, they also included 25 healthcare workers as controls. In response to vaccination, healthcare workers showed higher levels of total anti-spike antibodies compared to cancer patients. The lowest level of wildtype RBD-specific antibodies was observed in hematologic cancer patients receiving B cell-targeted treatment, followed by hematologic cancer patients not receiving B cell-targeted treatment and patients with solid tumors. A similar trend was observed for delta- and Omicron-specific spike RBD antibodies. The serum samples collected from hematologic cancer patients without B cell-targeted treatment and solid tumor patients significantly inhibited the interaction between wildtype/delta RBD and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2; host cell receptor for viral entry). However, a significantly lower level of inhibition was observed for patients receiving B cell-targeted treatment. Importantly, a marked reduction in inhibition of Omicron RBD ACE2 interaction was observed for all patients with solid tumors and hematologic cancer. Study significance The study demonstrates an increased incidence of vaccine breakthrough infections but a reduced disease severity among patients with solid tumors and hematologic cancer during the Omicron wave compared to the delta wave. The study also highlights that COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibody response is lower in cancer patients than in healthy individuals. The reduction in antibody response is highest among hematologic patients receiving B cell-targeted treatment. Overall, a significant impairment in vaccine-induced Omicron neutralization has been observed in cancer patients. (Newser) Update: The co-founder of the project to raise money for a border wall pleaded guilty Thursday in a case that once included Steve Bannon, who was an adviser to former President Donald Trump. Brian Kolfage admitted to pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the AP reports, while promising that all donations would go to the wall. Kolfage's plea deal specifies that he won't challenge his sentence, scheduled to be decided Sept. 6, as long as it's four to five years in prison. "I knew what I was doing was wrong and a crime," he told the judge Thursday in New York. Trump issued Bannon a pardon just before leaving office. Our story from August 2020 follows: "Folks, this really happened." So begins a now-viral tweet that includes footage of Steve Bannon joking about stealing money from We Build the Wallthe very thing he's accused of doing. Media Matters reports that Bannon and Brian Kolfagethe founder of the crowdfunding campaign to build a border wallare seen in the clip promoting a Wall-a-Thon to raise money for the cause. "Welcome back, this is Stephen K. Bannon and we're off the coast of Saint-Tropez in Southern France in the Mediterranean on a million-dollar yacht. Brian Kolfage, he took all that money from Build the Wall," says Bannon. "No, we're actually in Sunland Park, New Mexico." Mashable notes that Bannon was arrested Thursday on the deck of a $35 million yacht as he sipped coffee and read a bookthough the yacht was off the coast of Connecticut, not Saint-Tropez. In a Justice Department statement, Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett is quoted as saying the defendants not only lied "to donors, they schemed to hide their misappropriation of funds by creating sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and cover up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth." Bannon and Kolfage were charged along with two other men, Timothy Shea and Andrew Badolato. (See what President Trump had to say.) (Newser) A haunted house performer in South Carolina was shot Saturday for doing his job: scaring people, police say. The performer at the Zombie Experience at the Hollywood Wax Museum Haunted House in Myrtle Beach had scared a group of visitors before he was struck with a bullet to the shoulder, reports the New York Daily News. The suspected shooter fled the scene and was later apprehended in Charleston, Myrtle Beach Police wrote on Facebook. Officers said 39-year-old Keal Latrell Brown claimed to have shot the employee with a gun that he believed to be fake and part of the experience. Brown told police that the group fell to the ground in fright, at which point he felt a gun at his feet. He said he grabbed it and fired two shots, believing it was a prop. Police have charged Brown with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, alleging he knowingly gave the gun to a 15-year-old boy after the fact, per the Daily News. They are still investigating where the gun came from, but say additional charges are likely. The victim spoke at Brown's bond hearing Wednesday, saying the shooter looked at him before firing. The man also said he can't sleep, per the AP. Browns bond was set at $25,000 due to past offenses, including failures to appear, per WPDE. (Read more shooting stories.) (Newser) Facebook is looking into whether Sheryl Sandberg violated company rules by pressuring a news site to spike an article on her boyfriend, possibly involving her employees in the effort. Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Meta, contacted the website edition of the Daily Mail, a UK tabloid, in 2016 and 2019 about a temporary restraining order that had been granted against Bobby Kotick in 2014. Sandberg, whose nonprofit LeanIn.org advocates for women in the workplace, was concerned that the revelation would hurt her image, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sandberg dated Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, from 2016 to 2019. Her effort against publication of the story involved employees of Facebook and Activision, as well as outside advisers and lawyers, per the Journal. The restraining order was obtained by a former girlfriend of Kotick's who said he harassed her at her home. The order was dropped a few weeks later after the woman apparently said some of her allegations were exaggerated or false. Sandberg told the Daily Mail in 2016 and 2019 that the woman had withdrawn her accusations. One issue is whether Sandberg's communications with the Daily Mail appeared to be threatening. Colleagues doubted that Sandberg would threaten anyone directly, though they acknowledged that a call from the boss at Facebook could be received that way. The story never ran. Kotick told the Journal that was because the account wasn't true, and his girlfriend confirmed that to the Guardian. A spokeswoman for Meta, whose investigation was sparked by coverage late last year and isn't finished, said, "Sheryl Sandberg never threatened the MailOnline's business relationship with Facebook in order to influence an editorial decision." (Read more Sheryl Sandberg stories.) (Newser) A Florida dentist was arrested Thursday on charges that he hired hit men eight years ago to kill his sister's ex-husband, a prominent law professor, so she could move back to the Fort Lauderdale area from Tallahassee with her two children. Charles Adelson, 45, was being held Thursday without bond at the Broward County jail on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to commit murder after being arrested at his home by US marshals, the AP reports. His attorney said Thursday he is innocent. Adelson and other members of his family have long been cited by prosecutors and investigators as potential suspects in the July 18, 2014, killing of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel by two men in broad daylight outside his Tallahassee home. Markel, 41, had been married to Wendi Adelson, who had been unable to return to South Florida because Markel had joint custody of their young children after a highly contentious divorce. Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell said in a statement that Adelson was indicted by a grand jury after technicians were able to enhance the sound on an April 2016 video recording made secretly of him talking to a former girlfriend and employee, Katherine Magbanua. She was charged six months later with organizing the killing. Adelson had been under surveillance. This recording includes statements by Charles Adelson which can be heard clearly for the first time, Campbell said. Magbanua is scheduled to be retried next month on a first-degree murder charge after a jury hung in 2019. David Markus, Adelsons attorney, said his client is innocent and tied the arrest to Magbanuas retrial. Prosecutors have no new information that led to this arrest. The timing sure does stink, doesnt it? On the eve of a long-awaited trial of (Magbanua), this move has the smell of desperation, Markus said in an emailed statement. Prosecutors say Magbanua hired Sigfredo Garcia, the father of her two children, to commit the murder and that he enlisted the help of his childhood friend, Luis Rivera. Prosecutors said the two men drove from South Florida to Tallahassee to execute the plan, stalking Markel on the morning of the shooting as he dropped off his children at day care and stopped at the gym. When Markel returned home, Garcia shot him as he sat in his car talking on his cellphone. Garcia is serving a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder in 2019. Rivera is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for testifying against Garcia and Magbanua. (Click for more on the recorded exchange between Magbanua and Adelson.) (Newser) Attorneys for actor Amber Heard sought to undermine Johnny Depps libel lawsuit against her Thursday by spending hours in court focused on the actor's drinking, drug use, and texts he sent to friendsincluding one about wanting to kill and defile his then-wife, the AP reports. Heard's lawyers referenced Depps history of trashing hotel rooms and his smashing of a bathroom sconce during an argument with Heard. Depps lawsuit against Heard alleges that she falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser and ruined his lucrative acting career. But Heard's attorneys argue that Depp did indeed abuse Heard, both physically and sexually, and claim he cant deny it because he was often drunk and high to the point of blacking out. Depp's text messages only bolster his ex-wife's defense, her lawyers said. Details: I, of course, pounded and displayed ugly colors to Amber on a recent journey," Depp said in a text message to a friend, the actor Paul Bettany, in July 2013, which was shown to jurors. I am an insane person and not so fair headed after too much of the drink, Depp continued. Heard lawyer J. Benjamin Rottenborn focused on another exchange that year between Depp and Bettany in which Depp wrote: Lets burn Amber!!! Bettany responded: Having thought it through I dont think we should burn Amber. Depp texted: Lets drown her before we burn her!!! I will (expletive) her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure shes dead. Rottenborn also showed the jury one of Depps texts to Bettany in 2014 in which he referenced whiskey, pills and cocaine. The texts were written during a period in which Depp said he had stopped drinking. And they were sent around the time of a private flight from Boston to Los Angeles, during which Heard said Depp assaulted her while he was blackout drunk. Rottenborn presented texts that Depp sent to Bettany that said he drank all night before I picked Amber up to fly to LA this past Sunday Ugly, mate No food for days Powders Half a bottle of Whiskey, a thousand red bull and vodkas, pills, 2 bottles of Champers on plane Depp had previously testified that he took two oxycodone pillsan opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the timeand locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering. He also disputes that he was drunk on the flight, saying he drank only a glass of Champagne as he boarded the plane. But Rottenborn also showed the jury Depps expressions of contrition following the flight. Once again I find myself in a place of shame and regret, Depp wrote to Heard. Of course, I am sorry. I really dont know why, or what happened. But I will never do it again My illness somehow crept up and grabbed me I must get better. And I will. For us both. Starting today. I love you. Again, I am so sorry. So sorry. The jury also saw a written apology from Depp to Heard's father in which the actor said he (messed) up and went too far in a fight with Heard. But Depp noted on the stand that the message did not say the fight was a physical. Multiple audio recordings of the couple's conversations were played in court. In one, Heard told Depp he vomited in his sleep. In another discussion, it sounds as if Depp said he had head-butted Heard. I was using the words that Ms. Heard was using, Depp countered. But there was not an intentional head-butt. And if you want to have a peaceful conversation with Ms. Heard, you might have to placate just a little bit. Depp has previously apologized to the jury for the vulgar language in the texts and said that "in the heat of the pain I was feeling, I went to dark places. He made the same apology Thursday. Rottenborn's cross-examination of Depp lasted all of Thursday and is scheduled to continue Monday. (Read more Amber Heard stories.) (Newser) Portuguese prosecutors have identified a formal suspect in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Prosecutors in Faro, the main city of the Algarve region, said Thursday that a suspect had been formally identified a day earlier, per the BBC. Though prosecutors didn't name the individual, they said he had been identified by German authorities at their request. Since 2020, German authorities have been investigating 45-year-old German national Christian Brueckner, a child sex offender and convicted rapist, who was living in Algarve when the 3-year-old vanished from her family's vacation rental in the seaside town of Praia da Luz, per the Guardian. May 3 will mark 15 years since the abduction of Madeleine. Under Portuguese law, there is a 15-year statute of limitations for crimes with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years or more, meaning a person of interest would have to be named by this date to face charges. However, Portugal's office of public prosecutions denied time pressure was a factor, per the BBC, saying there are "strong indications" of a crime, despite the fact that no body has been found. Jim Gamble, an ex-police officer who led a 2010 review of the case in the UK, tells the BBC that a phone put Brueckner in the area of the disappearance. He also says the suspect burglarized area homes and had children's clothing in his Volkswagen camper van. Authorities are now focused on the camper van, which Brueckner reportedly used to move between Portugal and Germany, per Sky News. Brueckner's lawyer tells the Guardian that the suspect, now serving seven years in a German prison following a 2019 conviction for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old US woman in Algarve, has not been charged. But "I wouldn't be surprised if charges follow," says Gamble. This is the first time Portuguese prosecutors have identified formal suspects since naming Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, in 2007. The parents, who were dining at a nearby restaurant at the time of the disappearance, were later cleared of wrongdoing. (A search of a German property turned up a hidden cellar.) (Newser) Following a complaint of what media outlets are referring to as "inappropriate behavior on set" by Bill Murray, the production of Being Mortal has been suspended, sources say. Details beyond that are not yet clear. "Late last week, we were made aware of a complaint, and we immediately looked into it," the studio, Searchlight Pictures, said in a letter to cast and crew Wednesday cited by Variety. Sources tell Deadline that Aziz Ansari, who is writing, directing, producing, and starring in the film based on Atul Gawandes 2014 nonfiction book about end-of-life care, was not involved in the allegations, nor was Seth Rogen, who also stars in the film alongside Ansari and Murray. The complaint was filed last week and production was suspended Monday. It's not clear whether the ongoing investigation will affect the planned 2023 release date, nor what Murray's involvement might be moving forward. Just last summer, Lucy Liu for the first time addressed the reported feud between her and Murray on the set of Charlie's Angels. "I stood up for myself, and I don't regret it," after Murray berated her regarding a reworked scene, she said, calling Murray's behavior "inexcusable and unacceptable." The AV Club reports Murray, 71, "has had a long reputation for difficult, sometimes abusive behavior in the industryas well as accusations of domestic abuse and violence from his ex-wife, Jennifer Butler." The New York Post runs down a list of reportedly difficult behavior along those lines. (Read more Bill Murray stories.) (Newser) House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy might be in some hot water politically over a newly released audio clip. On Thursday morning, the New York Times reported that McCarthy told other House GOP leaders a few days after the Capitol riot that he would call then-President Trump and encourage him to resign. After the story surfaced, McCarthy flatly denied he ever said such a thing. But on Thursday night, reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns released an audio clip to Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show from a Jan. 10 call between McCarthy and party leaders including Rep. Liz Cheney. (She had not been banished yet.) Some highlights, as excerpted by Axios: Cheney: "Are you hearing that he might resign? Is there any reason to think that might happen?" "Are you hearing that he might resign? Is there any reason to think that might happen?" McCarthy: "My gut tells me no. I'm seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight. I haven't talked to him in a couple days. From what I know of himI mean, you guys all know him, too. Do you think he'd ever back away? But what I think I'm going to do is, I'm going to call him. ..." "My gut tells me no. I'm seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight. I haven't talked to him in a couple days. From what I know of himI mean, you guys all know him, too. Do you think he'd ever back away? But what I think I'm going to do is, I'm going to call him. ..." McCarthy: The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass [referring to the impeachment resolution], and it would be my recommendation you should resign. I mean, that would be my take but I dont think he would take it. But I don't know." The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass [referring to the impeachment resolution], and it would be my recommendation you should resign. I mean, that would be my take but I dont think he would take it. But I don't know." Other lines: The Times reports that on the nearly hourlong call, McCarthy also said of Trump, "I've had it with this guy" and What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that and nobody should defend it. Those lines are not in the 90-second audio clip. Audio: You can listen to the clip via the Times link, or via this video from Maddow's show. You can listen to the clip via the Times link, or via this video from Maddow's show. Trouble? The Hill notes that McCarthy is poised to become House speaker after the midterm elections, but this development could endanger that if Trump splits with him publicly, causing pro-Trump Republicans to buck McCarthy as well. The Hill notes that McCarthy is poised to become House speaker after the midterm elections, but this development could endanger that if Trump splits with him publicly, causing pro-Trump Republicans to buck McCarthy as well. Response: McCarthy has not commented since the clip surfaced. After the story (without the audio clip) first appeared, a spokesman said McCarthy "never said hed call Trump to say he should resign," per the Washington Post. McCarthy's office also said: "It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda. This promotional book tour is no different. If the reporters were interested in truth why would they ask for comment after the book was printed?" Reporters Martin and Burns detail all this in a soon-to-be-published book This Will Not Pass. McCarthy has not commented since the clip surfaced. After the story (without the audio clip) first appeared, a spokesman said McCarthy "never said hed call Trump to say he should resign," per the Washington Post. McCarthy's office also said: "It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda. This promotional book tour is no different. If the reporters were interested in truth why would they ask for comment after the book was printed?" Reporters Martin and Burns detail all this in a soon-to-be-published book This Will Not Pass. McConnell: The Times story says both McCarthy and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to be ready to break with Trump and try to push him out of politics in the immediate aftermath of the riot. "But within weeks both men backed off an all-out fight with Mr. Trump because they feared retribution from him and his political movement," per the story. (Read more Kevin McCarthy stories.) (Newser) Kim Jong Un had warm parting words for his South Korean rival, whose government North Korean officials previously called idiotic. The AP reports the North Korean leader thanked President Moon Jae-in for working to improve relations between the two countries over his single five-year term, which will end May 10, in a Thursday letter reported by the Korean Central News Agency. It was "a rare gesture of goodwill but one that analysts said may not be enough to head off growing tension," Reuters reports. South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party has indicated he will take a tougher stance on the North than his predecessor. Moon first wrote to Kim on Wednesday, per the New York Times, describing "moments of regret and memories of overwhelming emotions" with Kim over the course of his term, which included three friendly meetings in 2018. During one, Moon became "the first South Korean leader to address a North Korean audience," per the Times. "I believe that holding our hands together, we have taken a sure step toward changing the fate of the Korean Peninsula," Moon wrote. He urged Kim to use "dialogue to overcome the era of confrontation" and to resume dialogue with the US. The 69-year-old said he would remain devoted to building peace and reconciliation despite returning to "life as an ordinary citizen." "The exchange of the personal letters between the top leaders of the North and the South is an expression of their deep trust," KCNA reported Friday, per the Times. Yoon has said he is open to dialogue with the North but also sees the need to enforce sanctions to pressure the North to abandon its nuclear weapons program. In his letter, Kim said he "appreciated the pains and effort taken by Moon Jae-in for the great cause of the nation until the last days of his term of office," adding "inter-Korean relations would improve and develop as desired and anticipated by the nation if the north and the south make tireless efforts with hope," according to KCNA. (Read more Moon Jae-in stories.) (Newser) The mayor of Mariupol says 20,000 or more civilians could have died during Russia's long siege of the Ukrainian citybut Russia has been hiding evidence of war crimes and the true death toll may never be known. The Washington Post reports that satellite images show more than 200 new grave sites in the village of Manhush, around 12 miles west of Mariupol. Ukrainian officials say the sites are mass graves that could hold the bodies of up to 9,000 civilians. Russian troops "dug new trenches and filled them with corpses every day throughout April," Mariupol's city council said in a statement Thursday. "The invaders are concealing evidence of their crimes. The cemetery is located near a petrol station to the left side of a circular road," Mayor Vadym Boichenko said Thursday, per the Guardian. "The Russians have dug huge trenches, 30 meters wide. They chuck people in." Maxar Technologies, which collected and analyzed the satellite photos, said expansion of the grave site began in late March and continued in April, CNN reports. Boichenko said Russian forces have also been using mobile crematoriums to dispose of the bodies of civilians killed by shelling. Boichenko likened the site to Babyn Yar, a mass grave of 33,000 Holocaust victims near Kyiv, the Post reports. "The biggest war crime of the 21st century was committed in Mariupol," he said. "This is the new Babyn Yar. Then, Hitler killed Jews, Roma, and Slavs. Now, Putin is destroying Ukrainians." The mayor said around 100,000 residents remain in Russian-occupied Mariupol, 100,000 have escaped to other parts of Ukraine, another 40,000 have been forcibly deported to Russia, and some are being held in terrible conditions in "filtration camps" near the city. Russia said Thursday that Mariupol had been "liberated," though some Ukrainian forces are still holed up in a sprawling steel plant. (Read more Mariupol stories.) (Newser) A Russian commander made it clear Friday that Moscow isn't planning to stop the war in Ukraine anytime soon. State media quoted Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of Russia's central military district, as saying Russia plans to take full control of southern Ukraine as well as the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, Reuters reports. Minnekayev reportedly said Russia plans to hold southern Ukraine as a land bridge between Donbas and Ukraine, and as "another way to Transdniestria, where there is also evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed." Transdniestria is a breakaway pro-Russia republic in Moldova that has not been recognized by any UN member state, although Russia has a consulate and an estimated 1,500 troops there. Minnekayev was quoted as saying the occupation of southern Ukraine is a main goal of the second phase of Russia's "special military option" and will affect "vital objects of the Ukrainian economy," including Black Sea ports the country exports products from. His remarks contradict Vladimir Putin's claims that Russia isn't planning to permanently occupy Ukrainian cities, the Guardian reports. It's not clear whether Minnekayev's remarks were officially sanctioned, and the Kremlin has refused to answer questions on the subject. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Thursday night that Russia is planning to hold sham "independence" referendums in occupied parts of southern Ukraine. "Be very careful about what information you provide to the invaders," Zelensky said. "And if they ask you to fill out some questionnaires, leave your passport data somewhere, you should knowthis is not to help you." Zelensky also thanked President Biden for a new package of $800 million in military aid, saying the heavy artillery, drones, and ammunition were "just what we were waiting for, the AP reports. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) A man permanently blinded and almost killed in an alleged hate crime in Florida says he was attacked by his boyfriend's family, who he says believed he had turned their son gay. The 31-year-old victim told Broward County Sheriff's deputies that his boyfriend of nine months, 21-year-old Oleh Makarenko, told him in late July 2021 that his parents had learned he was gay, were unsupportive, and that "his mother was going to force him to marry a woman," according to an arrest warrant. The victim said Makarenko later asked for his address in Pompano Beach, which he found odd because Makarenko had a key to the apartment, per CBS Miami. Makarenko allegedly turned up with his parents, Inna and Yevhen Makarenko, and brother Vladyslav Makarenko on Aug. 6, 2021. All four suspects "began punching, kicking and hitting [the victim] all over his face, head and body," the warrant reads, per the Miami Herald. "Unfortunately, your son's gay," the victim said he told Inna before one of the attackers "grabbed an unknown object, and struck him in the face." He then fell to the floor, where "he pretended to be dead so they would stop beating him." Fourteen hours later, a deputy who noticed the apartment door was ajar found the victim on the floor surrounded by blood, per the warrant. The victim, who was on life support for three weeks and racked up $100,000 in medical bills, only divulged his account of the attack six months later, per CBS. Police said he had meant to protect Oleh. "This crime was a senseless and unprovoked attack done onto a homosexual man, just due to the mere fact that he was homosexual," Detective Conor Ryan wrote in the warrant. But a lawyer for the family says he's confident his clients had "nothing whatsoever to do with the apparently awful injuries the gentleman sustained," including brain swelling and multiple facial fractures. Oleh's fiancee, Christina Herman, agrees, per WPLG. She says her engagement ring is proof that the love of her life is not gay. All four are charged with attempted murder, battery, and kidnapping with a hate crime enhancement, meaning they face up to life in prison on each count, per the Herald. (Read more hate crime stories.) BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China has been widely acknowledged as one of the safest countries in the world, said a senior official on Friday at a press conference, citing the results of a national survey. Over the last decade, the country has been dedicated to reforming the political and legal sectors toward the goal of allowing the people to enjoy happy and safe lives, according to Jing Hanchao, a senior official with the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The survey, conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in China in 2021, showed that an overwhelming majority of people felt safe living in the country. Harnessing modern technology, China has made judicial services more accessible to the people, said Jing. Various litigation procedures from case filing to hearings can be processed online. Jing also said that over the past 10 years, more than 13,000 certification requirements were scrapped, saving the general public substantial time and energy spent on red tape. He said China has also expanded the coverage of legal aid, with legal aid stations set up in almost all detention centers and people's courts. (Newser) A college student who went to court in North Carolina for protection from another student who she said had sexually assaulted and stalked her did not receive it. She did get a lecture from the judge about "marriage and commitment," however. Kerry Sutton, the plaintiff's attorney, said afterward that "this was classic victim blaming. The judge was essentially saying, 'That is what you get for having premarital sex,'" the News & Observer reports. The plaintiff, who cried in the courtroom and said she had a panic attack after the lecture, said, "It felt very much like she was blaming me." "As I sit here, I'm reminded of the reason for marriage and commitment," Chief District Court Judge Patricia Evans told the female student, who's in her late teens. "Now those are the old-fashioned principles, but there is a rationale behind them because when we do things, because we have the opportunity or you have free choice, you can choose what you're going to do, but you cannot choose the consequences of those actions." The teenager, a student at Duke University, had testified that after she had gone to a male student's roomonce spending the nighthe bit her breasts and put his fingers inside her with consent. She brought photos that she said showed 10 to 20 bruises caused by his bites. Duke granted a consent no contact order and told the two students to avoid interaction if they found themselves in the same area. The male student, who has not been charged with any crimes, testified in the hearing that he received consent from the woman but stopped when she conveyed discomfort. The plaintiff failed to prove her case, the judge told her. Sutton said the teenager has not decided on a next step. (Read more judges stories.) We use cookies. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Read more in our privacy policy (Newser) Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows has made headlines in recent weeks after it was revealed he was registered to vote in two different states, Virginia and North Carolina. Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post's Fact Checker blog looked into all this and concluded the story isn't quite accurate: As it turns out, Meadows was simultaneously registered to vote in three states, with South Carolina the most recent addition. "The overlap lasted about three weeks, and it might have continued if revelations about Meadowss voting record had not attracted scrutiny in North Carolina," writes Kessler. Meadows, who has been stripped from the rolls in North Carolina and is under investigation for voter fraud there, remains registered in Virginia and South Carolina. Kessler points out that "it is not unusual for some overlap in voter rolls as people move across state lines, and many people do not bother to terminate their voting registration when they move." But Meadows' case is unique because he has emerged as a vocal advocate of election integrity laws championed on the right, including in his current position as senior partner at the Conservative Partnership Institute. Meadows did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment on his registration overlap. Earlier this week, he told the Post and Courier, "I am a resident of South Carolina," following the 2021 purchase of a waterfront home in the community of Sunset. (Read more Mark Meadows stories.) (Newser) There's a problem with canceling performances by Russian artists, which the Western allies have been doing since Ukraine was invaded. It's Vladimir Putin's kind of thinking, Kevin M.F. Platt writes in an opinion piece in the New York Times. That logic is reflected in Putin's rationale for the invasion, says Platt, a professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania: There are Russians living in Ukraine. Russians and their culture, wherever they're found, belong to the Russian state. Russians who decline the honor are traitors. The cancelations have been imposed with a broad brush, affecting "Russian" artists with no connection to the Russian president, such as soprano Anna Netrebko and pianist Alexander Malofeevboth of whom came out against the war. The result is division into distinct national cultures, Platt says, a concept tied to the rise of ethnic nationalist ideology in the19th century. "Even then, this idea didnt correspond to reality," Platt writes. "The forces of migrationas well as the more destructive means of war, conquest and colonialismhave insured the mingling of people, languages and cultures throughout history." Platt suggests supporting Ukrainian art and culture without canceling Russian contributions. For one thing, there's always been dissent in Russian art that will be missed if the rest of the world ignores its culture. That's a course that fosters antagonism between nations, resulting in closed borders and minds. "That is precisely the world that Mr. Putin seeks to create with his war," Platt writes. You can read the full piece here. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) The headline in Politico Playbook says it all: "Is Kevin McCarthy toast?" The reference is to the revelation made by the New York Times that McCarthy told fellow House GOP leaders he planned to call then-President Trump and recommend he resign in the aftermath of the Capitol riot. It's bad news for McCarthy because if Trump breaks with him now because of the story, it could doom the House minority leader's chance of becoming House speaker. However, the Washington Post reports that Trump and McCarthy have, in fact, spoken since the Times story broke on Thursday, and it appears all is well between them, at least for now. The key excerpt: "Trump was not upset about McCarthys remarks and was glad the Republican leader didnt follow through, which Trump saw as a sign of his continued grip on the Republican Party, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation," per the Post. Still, Trump has not made a public statement on the matter, and McCarthy's fate may well hinge on that. CNN, meanwhile, has more details from Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns. They say McCarthy told House members in a conference call soon after Jan. 6, 2021, that Trump admitted to bearing some responsibility for the Capitol riot. "Let me be very clear to you and I have been very clear to the President. He bears responsibility for his words and actions," McCarthy is quoted as saying. "I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened? Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needs to acknowledge that." (Read more Kevin McCarthy stories.) (Newser) Prosecutors have decided not to press charges against a Czech millionaire who drove a high-powered sportscar along a German highway at speeds of at least 257mph. Germany's dpa news agency reported Friday that prosecutors in the town of Stendal reviewed footage of the stunt and concluded that Radim Passer had not broken the law when he pushed his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds on a stretch of autobahn between Berlin and Hannover. In a post below the video, which was uploaded to social media, the tycoon wrote that the video was recorded last year on a six-mile straight section with three lanes and "visibility along the whole stretch," the AP reports. "Safety was a priority, so the circumstances had to be safe to go," Passer said. More than two-thirds of Germany's highway network has no speed limit, a feature that has attracted foreign drivers who want to drive at breakneck speeds not permitted in their own countries. German authorities can still prosecute drivers who drive in a way that is considered reckless, regardless of their speed. But Stendal prosecutors said they believed Passer had not endangered anyone because he had chosen the best time and conditions for the stunt. The recent rise in fuel prices and Russia's war on Ukraine have reignited a debate in Germany about imposing a universal speed limit to help the country wean itself from Russian energy, but the pro-business Free Democratic Party that runs the Transport Ministry has rejected the idea. Russia provides about 55% of the natural gas and 35% of the oil consumed by Germany, per the Washington Post. (Read more autobahn stories.) Military Sen. Sullivan cites treatment delays in military suicides Linda Hersey / Photo courtesy of the Office of Sen. Dan Sullivan In this July 2021 photo, Sen. Dan Sullivan is shown during a tour of Alaska military bases with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. This week Sullivan visited Alaska's Army bases in Fairbanks and Anchorage to learn about the reasons behind a high number of suicides among soldiers. Alaskas soldiers at risk of suicide sometimes wait two to five months to get mental health treatment, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said during a tour of Army bases in Fairbanks and Anchorage. Sullivan, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called military suicides among Alaska service members an epidemic that has totaled 40 in the past four years. This is a big issue for the military at large, but it is especially acute here in Alaska when you look at the Guard and Reserve, Sullivan said. Thirty-nine of the 40 deaths by suicide between 2018-2021 occurred in the regular Army and Alaska Army National Guard, according to Sullivan's office. Sullivan and California Rep. Jackie Speier, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, held a joint press conference during a visit to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks Thursday after touring Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The two said they spoke with Army service members, spouses and behavioral health providers. Sullivan said that he heard about treatment delays from military members and families, including spouses, who are candid in describing the challenges. The delays apply to USARAK, the military command of the U.S. Army in Alaska. It is the critical question we need to get to the bottom of; it should not be months but days, Sullivan said. Every meeting we have been going to, we hear that when people are asking for help, they are having to wait two, three, four and five months. Someone who is suicidal does not have months or even weeks to wait, Sullivan said. Particularly in Alaska, this is a code blue situation, said Speier, who noted that the number of suicides in the Alaska military doubled from 2020 to 2021. I just left a lunch with staff sergeants, all of whom have witnessed suicides within their teams, Speier said. The infrastructure that is necessary for behavioral health personnel is inadequate. Sullivan said work also needs to be done to take away the stigma around mental health care in the military. I think in my time in service, the amount of focus on trying to de-stigmatize this issue has increased but we are not fully there yet, said Sullivan, a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. Sullivan said he has raised this issue with the Defense Secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Troops have expressed concerns about seeking mental health care and the potential impact on their military careers, including for promotions, according to Military.com. Sullivan told reporters at a press conference Thursday that most services may disqualify men and women who want to serve if they disclose they have received mental health counseling and/or medication. Asked if the disqualification applies to serving in the military or in a specific capacity in the military, a spokesman for Sullivan's office said later that "it is to serve in the military generally." The visit to the military bases this week followed a letter to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth from Sullivan, Speier and Sen. Lisa Murkowski calling on the Army to do more to address service member deaths by suicide in Alaska. Earlier this week, Sullivan talked about the problem of military suicides in his annual address to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature. In that address, Sullivan recalled his own experience as a Marine Corps officer contacted by a troubled service member under his command. I told him, Dont worry, Marine, Ill see you in a few days. You and I can tackle this issue together, Sullivan recalled. My Marine didnt have a few days. I think about this tragic suicide a lot. What more could I have done? What more could the Marine Corps have done? We can do more, we know we can do more. We need to do more. Editor's note: This article was updated on April 22, 2022, with additional information from the Office of Sen. Dan Sullivan. Alaska Army National Guardsman Col. Robert Kurtz steps off a UH-72 Lakota helicopter at the Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Sept. 30, 2020. The 207th AVN Lakota helicopter systems can be used to provide aerial observation in missions coordinated by the Alaska National Guards Counterdrug Support Program and civilian agencies because of its communication and camera capabilities, and its small signature in the sky compared to other military airframes. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Seth LaCount) Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Cloudy with rain and snow showers. High 41F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Snow showers. Low near 30F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Bahrain airport customs arrested traveller with four kg of narcotics Bahrain airport customs arrested traveller with four kg of narcotics TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahraini customs officers have arrested a man suspected of smuggling narcotics hidden under his clothes through Bahrain International Airport. The man, an Asian national, the Head of the Muharraq Governorate Prosecution said, was caught while attempting to smuggle four kilograms of substance suspected to have mixed with narcotic substance. The Public Prosecution said they are investigating the case based on a report of the arrest by the Anti-Narcotics Department. The Prosecution said they had interrogated the suspect and ordered his pre-trial detention pending further investigation. Authorities said they are now awaiting lab reports on the products seized from the suspect for further action. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The Bachelor of Engineering Technology programme offered by the Bahrain Polytechnic (Bahrain Polytechnic) has received the Institute of Engineering and Technologys accreditation in Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. The achievement also brings the international accreditation received by the programme to four. The accreditation, the authority said, will enable Polytechnic engineering students to graduate with international qualifications, further enhancing their career potential. The Dean of the College of Engineering at the Polytechnic, Dr Christina Gorgantopoulou, said: Under IET, current engineering students will graduate as integrated engineers. In turn, the CEO of Bahrain Polytechnic, Professor Kieran OKahon, said: We are pleased to be the first to obtain international accreditation from IET in Bahrain and among the few institutions in the region. Our mission has always been to produce a workforce that meets the needs of the local, regional and international labour market, and this accreditation is a step forward towards achieving this mission. He continued, Providing the Kingdom with the necessary human and technical expertise is essential to strengthening the engineering sector in Bahrain, in line with our mission in line with Bahrain Vision 2030. The Polytechnic also recently added two new specializations in the Bachelor of Engineering programme: electromechanical engineering and communications and networks. WASHINGTON, D.C. A mother and daughter from Canterbury were sentenced Friday for breaking into the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot. U.S. Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell sentenced the mother, 57-year-old Jean Lavin, to 10 days of confinement over the course of five weekends. She was also sentenced to 60 days of home detention and 36 months probation. Her daughter, Carla Krzywicki, 20, received a more lenient sentence without a jail term. Howell sentenced her to 36 months probation and 90 days of home detention. Both Lavin and Krzywicki are required to pay $500 in restitution to the government for damage to the capitol building during the riot, which saw five people die - including one police officer - during or in the days after the attack. Lavin is also required to pay a $2,500 fine. Each pleaded guilty to a charge of to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building earlier this year. The charge carried a maximum penalty of a six-month prison sentence, a five year probation term and a $5,000 fine. Howell said the lighter sentence imposed on Krzywicki was because she accepted that Krzywicki may have been under her mothers influence at the time of the Jan. 6 riot. A prosecutor for the government argued Krzywicki should be sentenced to a period of incarceration, pointing to a Facebook post she made shortly after the riot. In it she wrote: this is history. we do not go burning down your city and stealing from your business, we come for the government officials that are ruining our country, according to a screenshot of the post included in the governments sentencing memo. We go straight to the source, change needs to happen. that is our house and you work for us, the post continued. It included a selfie of Kryzwicki and her mother standing outside the steps of the U.S. Capitol building, both smiling. The prosecutor argued the rhetoric in the post included the same sense of entitlement seen in other rioters that they had a right to be in the U.S. Capitol that day. The rioters missed the irony, he said, when they distinguish themselves from protests in 2020. He also noted that Lavin and Krzywicki only left the building after one of them fell, not because of what they had witnessed. Prosecutors also argued that in an interview with the FBI after the riot, Kryzwicki downplayed her role in the riot. Kryzwickis lawyer said the interview was conducted with Lavin present in their living room, and that her client wouldnt have said anything aside from what her mother did at the time. I do deeply regret what I did and Im sorry that it seemed like I minimized my involvement, because I was just as guilty as everybody else being there and on the grounds in the Capitol for as long as I did, Kryzwicki said, when asked if she wanted to speak on her own behalf. I know that without a doubt it would never happen again, I would never be in a situation like that again, she added. But Krzywickis defense attorney, Heather Shaner, said her client has had an awakening since the Jan. 6 riot. She said the day had been a major maturing event and conversion for Carla. Since she was a child she was reared by her mother who raised her in what I would consider to be extreme political views, Shaner told the court, including taking Krzywicki to demonstrations since she was a little girl. Before Carla came to Washington, she was not a critical thinker, Shaner said of her client. Since then she has distanced herself from her mother, and has turned off Fox News, she said. Politically, Shaner said, Kryzwicki now is probably closer to Bernie Sanders than Donald Trump. This is a young woman with no criminal history, with no political motivation, who came to Washington because she didnt want her mom to come by herself, Shaner said. She said her client is working as a manager at a fast food restaurant and going to school, where she now hopes to work towards becoming a therapist. Howell noted that the charge Kryzwicki had pleaded guilty to included parading, demonstrating or picketing but the events that day were not a protest. What occurred on Jan. 6 was a riot, she said. She called Krzywickis Facebook post afterwards fighting words, and that it seemed from footage captured inside the capitol that Krzywicki and her mother seemed as though they were having a really nice time. I know that youve adjusted, that you were potentially manipulated by your mother, Howell said, but said it was hard to reconcile that with what the video showed, and because Krzywicki is an adult. But Howell ultimately decided on a less severe sentence, citing Lavins potential influence on her daughters decision to go in the capitol that day. DANBURY The approval earlier this month of a proton therapy center in Wallingford is proof this novel treatment should come to the west side of the state, argues the company looking to bring it to Danbury. During a virtual appeal hearing Friday morning before the state Office of Health Strategy, Danbury Proton argued this treatment is badly needed in western Connecticut. The state rejected in late February the centers application to open an $80 million facility in the Hat City. The need for a second treatment room in the southwest corner of our state is clear, said David Hardy, the attorney representing Danbury Proton, which was announced almost exactly two years ago. Theres no downside risk to our state in approving Danbury protons certificate of need application. Theres only upside. The center aims to provide a noninvasive radiation technique used to treat cancer thats only available in about 40 facilities in the country, he said. The hearing came about two weeks after the Office of Health Strategy approved the states first proton therapy center in Wallingford. Hartford HealthCare, Yale New Haven Health and Proton International partnered on that $72 million facility, called Connecticut Proton Therapy Center. That facility isnt projected to open until 2025, and the nearest proton therapy facilities to Connecticut are in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. The decision about the Danbury center is before Victoria Veltri, executive director of the Office of Health Strategy, who chaired the hearing, where only Danbury Proton could speak. We will be back to you with a final decision or any questions we might have shortly, hopefully, she said at the end of the half-hour hearing. Need for proton therapy Hardy focused heavily on the need for proton therapy because the Office of Health Strategy had ruled in its denial that the company didnt prove theres a clear public need for the treatment. But Hardy said the office had agreed there was need for the Wallingford facility based on the same data on cancer statistics in Connecticut that Danbury Proton provided. The answer to the question of whether there is need for Proton Therapy in Danbury can now be definitively answered in the affirmative by looking no further than the decision thats been made and the finding thats been made in the Connecticut Proton Therapy Center, he said. About 1 million people live within 25 miles of the proposed Danbury Proton site, which is about the same as the number of people surrounding Wallingford, he said. However, 22 million people live within 75 miles of Danbury Proton. Not only is Wallingford is too far for many Fairfield County residents to travel for therapy, but that facility couldnt meet the need for the estimated number of patients requiring proton therapy, Hardy said. Data cited during the Wallingford facilitys approval estimated that 992 Connecticut patients a year would need proton therapy. That doesnt include patients that could travel from New York, Hardy said. The Wallingford facility could serve 487 patients annually once its fully operational, while Danbury Proton would serve 338 patients yearly, Hardy said. Thats 825 patients a year combined. We still will not be meeting the need for proton therapy in our state between the two centers, he said. When you combine the capacity of the two centers, we will be in a much better position to meet the needs of the state, both in terms of the total demand for proton therapy, but also in regard to the proportion of cancer types treated with proton therapy. Last summer, the facility earned the Danbury Planning Commissions approval to construct a 16,000-square-foot building on Wooster Heights Road, despite concerns from neighbors about increasing traffic in the citys booming west side. Hardy said the project is shovel ready and could open in 2024 with the state approval. The Office of Health Strategy questioned the financial feasibility of the Danbury Proton proposal. But Hardy said, when approving the Wallingford facility, the same office had determined cost of proton therapy would be relatively the same as the full cost of other treatments and side effects. Danbury Proton would agree to the same conditions, including those related to costs, that were imposed on the Wallingford center, Hardy said. There would be no question that improving a second center for which there is clear indication of need will improve the cost effectiveness of proton therapy treatment for Connecticut patients, he said. Having a monopoly on proton therapy controlled by the states two largest health care networks without any competitive pressure is simply a prescription for high costs. Annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change campaign contributes $6.8 million Includes $1 million corporate donation MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Food Banks Canada is very excited to announce Walmart Canada's 6th annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change national fundraising campaign in support of food banks across the country, contributed $6.8 million, the equivalent of 13.5 million meals to help feed families and individuals from coast to coast to coast. Walmart Canada matched customer donations up to $820,000 and provided an additional $180,000 for a total corporate donation of $1 million. "Our HungerCount 2021 report outlines the long-term trend of an increasing number of single-person households, people with disabilities, and seniors needed help from food banks to get by. With the rising costs of gas, housing, and food, this demand continues to escalate, and Food Banks Canada relies on their long-standing partnerships even more. Walmart Canada is a dedicated partner that continues to support our vision of a Canada where no one goes hungry." Kirstin Beardsley, Chief Executive Officer Food Banks Canada Canadians were invited to contribute to this year's campaign by adding a cash donation to their in-store and online grocery purchases, by purchasing products from participating brands: Campbell's, Mars Canada, KraftHeinz, Kellogg's, Conagra, Danone, Maple Leaf, General Mills, Dare Foods Ltd., PepsiCo, Mondelez, Ferrero Canada Ltd., Coca Cola, Unilever and Grupo Bimbo - and donating non-perishable food items in-store at their local Walmart store. Food Banks Canada supports a unique network of over 4,700 food-related organizations and agencies in every province and territory that assists Canadians making 1.3 million visits to food banks each month. Every Walmart store across Canada is paired with a local food bank in their community. All funds raised stay local and quality food reaches those who need it most. The provincial breakdown of meals is as follows: Alberta 1,810,000 British Columbia 1,625,000 Manitoba 530,000 New Brunswick 310,000 Newfoundland 245,000 Nova Scotia 450,000 Northwest Territories 46,000 Ontario 3,965,000 PEI 48,000 Quebec 1,115,000 Saskatchewan 439,000 Yukon 20,000 "We are thrilled with the success of our 2022 Fight Hunger. Spark Change campaign in support of Food Banks Canada," said Horacio Barbeito, president and CEO, Walmart Canada. "As we strive to become a regenerative company, we take our responsibility to give back very seriously and take great pride in creating strong communities. We are grateful to our associates, suppliers and customers who once again rallied together to help keep communities fed and provide an astounding 13.5 million meals across the country." Since the Fight Hunger. Spark Change campaign launched in 2017, Walmart Canada has raised 70 million meals for Canadians coast-to-coast, building on the more than 30 million pounds of food Walmart has donated to food banks across the country over many years. About Food Banks Canada Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network from coast-to-coast-to-coast. For 40 years, food banks have been dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. Over 4,700 food banks and community agencies come together to serve our most vulnerable neighbours who last year made 1.3 million visits to these organizations in one month alone, according to our HungerCount report. Over the past 10 years, as a system we've sourced and shared over 1.4 billion pounds of food and Food Banks Canada shared nearly $168 million in funding to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacity while advocating for reducing the need for food banks. Our vision is clear: create a Canada where no one goes hungry. Visit http://www.foodbankscanada.ca/ to learn more or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. About Walmart Canada Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, Walmart.ca, is visited by more than 1.5 million customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart is one of Canada's largest employers, a top diversity employer and is ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada was recently recognized as a LinkedIn Top Company of 2021 and was also named one of Canada's most popular brands (based on Google searches). Walmart Canada has made a commitment to regeneration focusing on equitable opportunity, sustainability, community, ethics and integrity. Since 1994, Walmart Canada has raised over $500 million to support communities across Canada. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca and on Walmart Canada's social media pages Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. SOURCE Food Banks Canada For further information: Jessica Rattray, [email protected] MONTREAL, April 22, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - National Bank of Canada (the "Bank") (TSX: NA) announced that all Director nominees listed in the Management Proxy Circular dated February 23, 2022 were elected as Directors of the Bank during the Annual Meeting of the Holders of Common Shares that was held today. The Board of Directors welcomes a Director elected for the first time, Lynn Loewen, who joins the Board today. Ms. Loewen is a corporate director, serving on the boards of Emera Incorporated and Xplornet Communications Inc. During her career, she held the position of President at Minogue Medical Inc. from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, she had held the position of Chief Operating Officer at the organization. She has also worked in the telecommunications sector, serving as President of Expertech Network Installation Inc. and as Vice-President of Financial Controls and Vice-President of Finance Operations at BCE Inc. She has been the Chancellor of Mount Allison University since 2018 and was a member of its board from 1998 to 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Mount Allison University. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Nova Scotia and has received the Institute of Corporate Directors, Director designation. "I am proud to welcome Lynn Loewen to the Bank's Board of Directors. Her impressive professional experience and her expertise in the fields of audit, financial controls, finance, as well as ESG will be a major asset for the Board," said Jean Houde, Chair of the Board of Directors. Here are the detailed results of the votes: DIRECTOR NOMINEE OUTCOME FOR % FOR WITHHELD % WITHHELD Maryse Bertrand Elected 188,387,729 99.54% 869,883 0.46% Pierre Blouin Elected 188,291,387 99.49% 966,225 0.51% Pierre Boivin Elected 188,402,916 99.55% 854,696 0.45% Yvon Charest Elected 188,070,423 99.37% 1,187,189 0.63% Patricia Curadeau-Grou Elected 188,168,697 99.42% 1,088,915 0.58% Laurent Ferreira Elected 188,879,043 99.80% 378,569 0.20% Jean Houde Elected 187,582,298 99.11% 1,675,314 0.89% Karen Kinsley Elected 186,731,955 98.67% 2,525,657 1.33% Lynn Loewen Elected 188,842,530 99.78% 415,082 0.22% Rebecca McKillican Elected 188,857,117 99.79% 400,495 0.21% Robert Pare Elected 188,148,137 99.41% 1,109,475 0.59% Lino A. Saputo Elected 188,498,873 99.60% 758,739 0.40% Andree Savoie Elected 188,182,196 99.43% 1,075,416 0.57% Macky Tall Elected 188,823,268 99.77% 434,344 0.23% Pierre Thabet Elected 188,484,570 99.59% 773,042 0.41% The results of the final votes regarding all matters subject to a vote during the Annual Meeting are available on the Bank's website as well as on SEDAR. About National Bank of Canada With $367 billion in assets as at January 31, 2022, National Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups. It has more than 27,000 employees in knowledge-intensive positions and has been recognized numerous times as a top employer and for its commitment to diversity. Its securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's activities at nbc.ca or via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. SOURCE National Bank of Canada For further information: Marie-Pierre Jodoin, Senior Manager - Public Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility, National Bank of Canada, [email protected], Tel: 514-394-4209 OTTAWA, ON, April 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Coinciding with Earth Day, NAV CANADA today announced its commitment to joining the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative. "Today, on Earth Day, we are reiterating our commitment to a sustainable future," said Raymond G. Bohn, President and CEO. "At NAV CANADA, we believe in strong corporate and social governance and forming partnerships to reduce aviation's environmental impacts. Our culture, governance and business practices are aligned with the principles of the UN Global Compact." The UN Global Compact provides an international framework for companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on environment, human rights, labour, and anti-corruption, and to take actions for a better, safer, more inclusive society for everyone. NAV CANADA's commitment to the UN Global Compact is a milestone in the development of its Environmental Social Governance (ESG) strategy. This initiative will guide how NAV CANADA measures and communicates progress, while shaping and leveraging best practices that will reduce environmental impacts and ensure social responsibility and strong governance. "We are committed to formally integrating the UN Global Compact and its principles into the culture strategy, and day-to-day operations," Bohn said. "We will engage in collaborative projects to advance the broader development goals of the United Nations, particularly in the area where we have the greatest potential for impact: sustainable development goals." As part of the framework, NAV CANADA commits to report on progress within one year of joining the UN Global Compact, and annually thereafter, according to the UN Global Compact Communication on Progress (COP) policy. "In conjunction with initiatives in NAV CANADA's Strategic Direction, our new ESG framework will not only drive operational efficiency of our customers, but also look at our own direct environmental footprint," Bohn said. NAV CANADA's new, long term Strategic Direction includes three core initiatives, including Airspace Modernization, Trajectory Based Operations and Digital Facilities. These interconnected initiatives will guide NAV CANADA into the future, transform how it delivers service over the long term and provides value for customers and stakeholders. These initiatives will help NAV CANADA create a more resilient and sustainable air navigation system, and drive efficiency benefits resulting in reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. About NAV CANADA NAV CANADA is a private, not-for-profit company, established in 1996, providing air traffic control, airport advisory services, weather briefings and aeronautical information services for more than 18 million square kilometres of Canadian domestic and international airspace. The Company is internationally recognized for its safety record, and technology innovation. Air traffic management systems developed by NAV CANADA are used by air navigation service providers in countries worldwide. SOURCE NAV CANADA For further information: Brian Boudreau, Manager, Media Relations, [email protected], Media Information Line: 1-888-562-8226 OTTAWA, ON, April 22, 2022 /CNW/ - The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create stress and anxiety for many Canadians, particularly those who do not have ready access to their regular support networks. Through the Wellness Together Canada online portal, people of all ages across the country can access immediate, free and confidential mental health and substance use supports, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. PocketWell, a free companion app to the WTC online portal, provides another way to help Canadians access online mental health and substance use resources, and measure and monitor aspects of their mental well-being. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) continues to monitor COVID-19 epidemiological indicators to quickly detect, understand and communicate emerging issues of concern. The following is a brief summary of the latest national trends. For additional COVID-19 data and analyses, the PHAC posts the following reports: With a shift to more targeted testing, a range of other indicators, from laboratory test positivity and wastewater surveillance to daily numbers of people in hospitals and critical care continue to be important for ongoing monitoring trends. Although provincial and territorial (P/T) reporting frequency and intervals vary, recent 7-day averages (ranging 7-days ending from April 16-21, 2022 across P/Ts) shows continued widespread activity across Canada. Nationally, laboratory test positivity during the latest 7-day period (April 13-19, 2022) remains elevated at 18%. Similarly, wastewater signals remain elevated in many areas of the country, however there is considerable variability from testing sites across the country. While there are early signs that transmission may be nearing a peak in some jurisdictions, it is still too soon to tell whether a possible increase in in-person contact rates during the long weekend could impact this trend. Although concerning, the recent rise of hospitalisation rates in several jurisdictions appears to be still manageable, with critical care currently trending at low levels. Given increased population immunity from high vaccine coverage and many recent infections, we could see less of an impact on hospitalisation trends than occurred during earlier waves of the pandemic. Nevertheless, keeping infection rates down remains key to protecting vulnerable populations, reducing severe outcomes and dampening the overall impact on the health system. As we expect the SARS-CoV-2 virus to continuously evolve, we are closely monitoring the domestic and international situation and preparing for new variants, including possible recombinant variants that can arise from genetic mixing during co-infection with two variants. Currently, the BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant accounts for over 70% of recent viruses sequenced in Canada and is steadily increasing. While BA.2 is even more transmissible than the BA.1 sub-lineage of Omicron, it appears to have a similar severity and symptom profile. Because the Omicron variant is immune evasive, two doses of COVID-19 vaccines offer less protection against Omicron than against previous variants. Fortunately, evidence shows that boosters can help increase antibody levels that wane over time after the second dose. Although vaccine effectiveness against infection decreases over time, evidence shows that two doses of mRNA vaccines generally maintain good effectiveness against severe outcomes across variants, and a booster further increases vaccine effectiveness to over 90% against severe outcomes. Thus health authorities continue to strongly recommend up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination for all eligible people, including for those who may have been previously infected . Currently, over 5.0 million eligible Canadians need one or more doses to complete their primary series and many others are eligible to get a booster dose to help improve protection that may have decreased since their second dose and to provide even better protection against severe illness from Omicron. In particular, getting a booster dose if you are eligible, and especially for those aged 50 years of age or older, is very important, given the risk of severe illness increases with increasing age. As of April 21st, over 18 million third doses have been administered to date. National data as of April 10, 2022 indicate that over 84% of seniors aged 70 years or older and 61%-75% of 50-69 year olds have received an additional dose. During the transition phase of the pandemic and beyond, our best advantage is to maintain caution and a state of readiness as we prepare our surge capacity for future response, while not forgetting the personal protective habits we have learned. At the individual level, this can be best achieved by keeping COVID-19 vaccinations up-to-date , including getting a booster dose (s) as recommended. At the same time, continuing to follow public health advice tailored to local epidemiology and circumstances can help guide your individual and family risk assessment and use of personal protective practices to reduce your risk of exposure and spreading the virus. In particular, properly wearing a well-fitted and well-constructed face mask , avoiding crowding , and getting the best ventilation possible in indoor spaces , are layers of protection that can reduce your risk in all settings. We can also stay healthier by getting up-to-date with other recommended vaccines and routine vaccines for children and adults . Vaccination is a cornerstone of public health responsible for saving more lives in the past 50 years in Canada than any other health intervention. Unfortunately, data show there are not only gaps in coverage for recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, but also gaps in coverage for other serious infectious diseases due to delayed or missed vaccinations during the pandemic. As tomorrow marks the beginning of National Immunization Awareness Week in Canada, let's be reminded of the importance of vaccinations in protecting our health throughout our lives. I want to personally take this opportunity to thank the millions of Canadians who are protecting themselves and others from serious infectious diseases by getting vaccinated. I also want to extend my thanks to Canada's healthcare workforce, immunizers, volunteers, community workers and researchers for all the work they've done and continue to do to build a healthier Canada through immunization. For additional information regarding vaccination in your area, reach out to your local public health authorities , healthcare provider, or other trusted and credible sources, such as Immunize.ca and Canada.ca , which includes information to help Canadians understand the benefits of being vaccinated against COVID-19 . Canadians can also go the extra mile by sharing credible information on COVID-19 risks and prevention practices and measures to reduce COVID-19 in communities . Read my backgrounder to access more COVID-19 Information and Resources on ways to reduce the risks and protect yourself and others, including information on COVID-19 vaccination . SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada For further information: Contacts: Media Relations, Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected] All demolition activities in North West Delhi's Jahangirpuri area have been halted by a Supreme Court bench led by Justices L N Rao and B R Gavai. All demolition activities in North West Delhis Jahangirpuri area have been halted by a Supreme Court bench led by Justices L N Rao and B R Gavai. The bench has stated that the court would take a serious view of all demolitions that took place after the Supreme Court decision was communicated to the mayor. The bench has also served notice on the NDMC in the Jamiat Ulama-i- Hinds petition requesting a response within two weeks. Following days of communal rioting after the demolition drive in Jahangirpuri, the BJP-led North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) dispatched seven bulldozers to the region in North West Delhi, razing parts of various structures, including the exterior gate of a place of worship. The demolition, however, lasted two hours despite Supreme Court orders to maintain the status quo. Meanwhile, four men in East Delhis Mayur Vihar allegedly shot and killed a local BJP party worker just outside his home on Wednesday evening. Later, Jitu Choudhary has been recognized as the suspect. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today to hold in-depth talks about the UK and Indias strategic defense, diplomatic, and economic partnership. The goal of this meeting is to strengthen close relationships and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, increasing security cooperation is a priority. As per recent updates, Johnson has arrived Rashtrapati Bhawan to attend a ceremonial reception which will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at Mahatma Gandhis Samadhi. Boris Johnson is on a two-day visit to India which started on Thursday with his arrival in Gujarat. However, on Thursday he met Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar who went to receive Boris at the airport. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will also meet with UK Prime Minister David Cameron. At roughly 1 p.m. today. The two parties will issue a joint press statement at Hyderabad House. According to a statement from the British High Commission, Johnson will use his visit to push forward with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, which began earlier this year and are expected to improve UK total trade by up to 28 billion pounds annually if a deal with India is reached by 2035 and improve revenues by up to 3 billion pounds across the UK. Kevin Rivera / Contributed Photo The Russian Lady first staked its claim in the heart of the downtown Hartford bar scene in 1976. While it closed in 1997, it came back by popular demand 14 years later. Now the cafe and nightlife venue has once again reintroduced itself. On April 21, the popular downtown bar unveiled its new name, "The Ukrainian Lady," by hanging a new blue and gold banner across its brick facade. Gov. Ned Lamont shared the name change to his official social media channels and called it a great name change, noting that Connecticut stands with Ukraine. The state Senate late Wednesday passed a bill to establish a task force to study the placement of registered sex offenders in long-term care facilities, following an incident last year in which a Massachusetts man allegedly sexually assaulted a nurse at an East Windsor facility. The task force is a compromise after the initial bill, proposed by State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, drew heated opposition at a public hearing. The initial bill would have required long-term care facilities to check if prospective residents have a criminal history or are on the sex offender registry before they are admitted. The task force will study the impacts of residents with such status for both their own and environmental health and well-being, Anwar said in a statement. Anwars district includes the Fresh River Healthcare Center, where the incident occurred last May. After the serious incident that occurred in an East Windsor nursing home last year, it is imperative that we take action to prevent and better understand the consequences of sex offenders in long-term care homes, Anwar said. There is a loophole in state law where registered sex offenders status is not reported if they are transferred to state long-term care facilities from other states. This is the first step toward closing this loophole and making these facilities safe for all residing there. Last May, Miguel Lopez, a convicted rapist and a registered sex offender in Massachusetts with a warrant out for his arrest at the time, allegedly locked a female employee in his room at the nursing home and tried to force her to perform oral sex. Fresh River officials sent Lopez back to Massachusetts the same day that the incident occurred. He was eventually arrested on a warrant by East Windsor police and charged with attempted first-degree sexual assault, third-degree sexual assault and first-degree unlawful restraint. He is being held on $300,000 bail. His next court appearance is April 29. Lopez wasnt known to local police at the time he was admitted to Fresh River Healthcare because of a loophole in Connecticuts sex offender laws, which do not require nursing home operators to inform state police when they admit a registered sex offender from another state into one of their facilities. The law currently places the burden on sex offenders themselves to register, but Anwars initial bill would hold the nursing home providers more accountable by requiring them to determine if any potential resident is a registered sex offender by seeking a criminal background check through the state Department of Public Health. Anwars initial bill would have barred long-term care facilities from admitting people with a disqualifying offense without a waiver. The disqualifying offenses listed in the bill ranged from assault, rape and kidnapping to burglary, criminal mischief and trespassing. But Anwars proposal drew criticism from several different organizations as a knee-jerk reaction to one incident. Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut, an association representing not-for-profit provider organizations serving older adults, told the Public Health Committee that from an implementation perspective, this proposal raises numerous concerns. It appears that the facility will be barred from admitting an applicant until it receives notification of the background check from DPH. It is unclear how long an available bed might need to be held open for the duration of a background check, Morelli said. Moreover, many applicants on waiting lists will need to be re-checked each time a bed becomes available, given that a prior background check only remains effective for one month. While there are exceptions for short term rehab admissions, or for conditional admissions of 60 days or less, these situations will be affected by the discharge and eviction limitations discussed above, Morelli said. It was Morelli who initially suggested the idea of a work group or task force to evaluate and address the concerns. At one point during the public hearing on the original bill, Anwar and Cindy Prizio, executive director One Standard of Justice, an advocate for restorative justice practices and a critic of the sex offender registry, got into a heated argument after she called it a public policy disaster in the making during her testimony. Please dont allow one sensational crime to turn good intentions into bad policy, Prizio said. We all want to protect our vulnerable populations. OSJ stands ready to provide help to the committee in developing an effective solution. Prizio said theres no need to create a new bill every time there is an isolated high-profile incident and that the bill is unfair to a class of people who already have had their rights sucked dry by the system. Prizio endorsed Morellis suggestion of convening a work group to study the issue. The new version of the bill orders that the task force will study the means of ensuring resident and employee health and safety with a resident appearing in state or national sex offender databases, including the impact they would have on the facility environment; the impact of offender registry databases on individuals; and any necessary legislative changes to ensure health and safety of all parties involved. The task force would need to release a report to the General Assembly by the end of 2022. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Hamden Rotary Club / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Hamden Rotary Club / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 * The Hamden Rotary Club has honored Mustafa Ather as its March 2022 Student of the Month. A good and generous friend to all, he is always willing to help others, according to the club. Pictured are Rotarian Betsy Gorman, teacher Jennifer Wassmer, principal Laura Rodriguez and fifth grade student Mustafa Ather. * Cecilia Torres was recently named 2022 Cheshire Academy 2022 Town Scholar. Torres and her family were greeted with a Congratulations, cheers, balloons, and a gift bag from Head of School Julie Anderson, the Cheshire Academy Admission team, and other members of the CA community when they visited campus on March 9. Torres was invited to campus to be officially named the 2022 Town Scholar, earning her a full four-year scholarship to Cheshire Academy. Originating in 1938, the Town Scholarship one eighth-grade Cheshire resident with the opportunity to attend Cheshire Academy throughout their high school career. WASHINGTON (AP) Two New York men pleaded guilty Friday to discharging chemical spray at police officers inside the U.S. Capitol during the January 2021 insurrection. Cody Mattice, 29, and James Mault, 30, each admitted to breaking through police barriers and entering the building during a trip to Washington they had planned for several days and prepared for by acquiring batons and pepper spray. Under plea agreements with federal prosecutors, each faces between 37 and 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony charges. Each also will pay $2,000 toward the cost of repairing the Capitol. Sentencing is scheduled for July 15. Mattice and Mault, both from the Rochester area, were indicted in October after authorities said they appeared in photos and videos spraying a chemical agent toward police officers in a Capitol building hallway. Mault was arrested in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he had been stationed with the U.S. Army. Mattice was arrested at his home in Hilton, New York. The two appeared at a joint hearing Friday before U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, Mault in person and Mattice remotely. Both acknowledged exchanging text messages in the days prior to the insurrection, with Mault telling Mattice and others in a group to bring batons, knives, ass-kicking boots and protective clothing. Once at the Capitol, Mault tried to convince police officers to join the rioters, assuring them they would still have jobs after we kick the (expletive) out of everyone," according to the plea agreement. What we're doing is right, he told the officers, or there wouldn't be this many ... people here." In exchange for their guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop additional felony charges. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SHELTON Sara Braca had her wedding day planned to perfection. That was until St. Lawrence Church, home to big event, caught fire only days before her nuptials. This was back in 2002. Bracas wedding ultimately took place at St. Josephs Church that year, but six years later, the marriage ended, leaving the longtime Shelton resident joining the single ranks once again. This led to my life motto: When God burns down the church, cancel the wedding, said Braca. This self-deprecating, comic storytelling is a staple in her first book, The Other Half of Single: A Memoir. Braca never liked writing, admitting she has spent most of her life avoiding the practice. But the change in her life brought with it a desire to tell her story and led her to spend her off hours writing the book she never expected to create. I felt like I had a message I needed to share, that I could uniquely help other single people see the joy in their lives, said Braca, who was born and raised in Shelton but now calls Siena, Italy, home. I wanted to empower them to live their lives fully, now, partnered or not. Braca whose Shelton roots remain strong, with her parents, Annette and Joe Braca, still living in the house in which she grew up said her book is a collection of her real-life adventures as she has re-found her joy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 28 percent of American households are single, up from 13 percent in 1960. Singles are a fast-growing demographic and yet, she said the stigma against singles persists. While there are many books out there telling single people how to find a partner, almost nothing suggests they celebrate where they are now, Braca said. Its about time we stop making single people feel inadequate and start celebrating the unique opportunities being single presents. I hope that it will encourage single people everywhere to live their lives fully, now, she added. Braca said she was inspired to write this book after coming across a book called The Opposite of Loneliness, by Marina Keegan a collection of short stories published posthumously after her untimely death at age 23. She was so talented, but silenced. In that moment, it seemed wrong to silence my own voice. So, I started writing, Braca said. Braca, the Shelton High Class of 1995 valedictorian, spent her younger years obsessed with math, avoiding writing at all costs. She said when the time came to write her college application essays, she was incredibly anxious. At the time, Dartmouth required applicants to choose the topic they wanted to write about, Braca recalled. My guidance counselor at Shelton High suggested that I write about how much I didnt like to write, so I wrote this very comedic essay, quoting some of my own term papers from English class. It was a huge hit at Dartmouth, and I was accepted. My book has a similar, slightly self-deprecating, comedic style. After graduating Shelton High, she attended Dartmouth and then the Wharton School for her MBA. She has been in marketing for years. She moved to Italy in June 2021, and thanks to the new remote working culture, she works for an American company from Tuscany. She is vice president of marketing for Beyond Better Foods makers of the Enlightened brand of lower-sugar ice cream and desserts and is responsible for all marketing strategy and communications. And now shes an author in her spare time. Ive been working on the book for almost four years, she said. I was working full-time while trying to write it, so just finding the time to write and be creative was a challenge. Also, as a former math major, I had a lot of impostor syndrome and self-doubt. One of my best memories in the publishing process was the day my editor said, Stop telling me about your math background. Youre a writer now, she said. In the book, she describes the transformative power of travel, and not surprisingly, most of the experiences that have influenced her today involve travel. Among the travels she writes about include her first solo trip to Amsterdam. While walking alongside a canal in the sunshine, admiring the citys famous flower market, she realized this was the moment she could choose her own path. I could choose to be happy despite what had happened, she added. Other experiences were to the cliffs of Santorini, the Greek island, and when her rental car broke down in Portugal on the way to the airport and she was stranded alone on the side of the road on a Sunday morning in a country where she didnt speak the language. In many ways, writing it was very cathartic, she said. The book is a collection of my real-life adventures, starting with the St. Lawrence Church fire and its impact on my wedding. Theres something about the act of writing that made it easier for me to see the patterns in my life more clearly and really come to terms with them, said Braca, adding that, for example, while she wishes her ex-husband had handled the split differently, she is grateful he left. It has become very clear to me how much happier I am when I am single, she said. The book can be purchased via IndieGogo through April 30 by visiting https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-other-half-of-single-by-sara-braca#/ . Her instagram address is @sara_braca_author brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com Alex Jones filed bankruptcy for Infowars, but not for himself, as trials neared to award damages in defamation cases he lost to Sandy Hook families because Jones feared he would lose credibility with listeners and product sales would suffer, his representative told a federal judge on Friday. InfoWars is a prominent trademark in the conspiracy theory community and Alex Jones is equally as prominent, said Jones representative Marc Schwartz in federal bankruptcy court in Texas on Friday. It would ruin his name and harm his ability to sell merchandise. Randy Williams, an attorney representing eight Sandy Hook families in Connecticut who are awaiting trial in August to see how much in defamation damages Jones will pay them, asked Schwartz in bankruptcy court Friday, How (would) that harm him? Putting him in bankruptcy would harm his trademark value in terms of cashflow, said Schwartz who was answering questions as the proposed chief restructuring officer for three Jones-controlled business entities that filed for Chapter 11 protection earlier this week. Schwartz, who said Jones name was the Coca-Cola of the conspiracy theory community said Jones counts on his name brand to sell merchandise to his audience base a business that brought in at least $76 million in the 2019 fiscal year. If you look at the impact of litigation in 2021, his estimated revenue based on merchant receipts is $56 million, or $20 million less, Schwartz said. Schwartz was referring to three defamation lawsuits Jones lost to Sandy Hook families last year after he called the 2012 massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School staged, synthetic, manufactured, a giant hoax, and completely fake with actors. To date, Jones has spent $10 million in legal fees, according to bankruptcy documents. Schwartz was called by federal bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez to answer informal questions after the judge decided Friday that he would not rule on two requests by Jones to begin the Chapter 11 process. Both requests were disputed by attorneys for the Sandy Hook families in Texas and Connecticut. An attorney representing the four parents of two slain Sandy Hook boys in the Texas cases called for the judge to dismiss the bankruptcy case. Let me tell you I think we have a sinister and unworthy purpose here, said Maxwell Beatty. Even if I am wrong, we dont have an actual intent to reorganize here. The first of two jury trials to award defamation damages to Sandy Hook parents in Texas was scheduled to begin Monday. The federal bankruptcy process has superseded the cases in trial court in Texas and Connecticut, at least for now. The bankruptcy judge ordered a status conference for April 29. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 HARTFORD The state Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved a wide-ranging $25 million legislative initiative to address the mental health issues that have emerged in Connecticuts children during the pandemic, including depression, anxiety and developmental delays. The bipartisan legislation, which was redrafted Friday morning to include several Republican initiatives and includes budget proposals made by Gov. Ned Lamont, next heads to the House of Representatives. If signed into law it will mandate an expansion of services in pediatrician offices as well. The bill passed 33-1, with conservative Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, the lone opponent. The bill includes new mobile units available around-the-clock assignments to schools throughout the state; new funding to treat trauma within the client base of the Department of Children and Families; mental health assessments and goals for high school athletes; job funding that had been proposed by Senate Republicans to help the employment pipeline; and a UConn study on the mental health effects of social media and computer use. Were looking at a comprehensive strategy of making sure that child care remains a robust industry in our state, said Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, co-chairman of the legislative Childrens Committee, who explained the dozens of sections of the bill. To the parents: we hear you, said Anwar, a physician. We are doing this because we want to make sure that our children, your children are safe and well. And to the children: Know that your power that you have and the love that people in our state have for you is significant, that every single person with all different perspectives, views and people who passionately disagree on different things agree on showing their love to you. It is companion legislation to a separate bill containing the proposed expansion of mental health services in schools that is awaiting action in the Senate, as well as a related bill in the House. In all, the trio of bills will be worth about $200 million. Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, one of the chief advocates this year for expanded programming, especially with the flow of federal pandemic relief funding into the state, said it was a major goal for lawmakers this year. I believe everybody can recognize that the past two years, under COVID, has been very difficult, but where we can really see it exacerbated is in the area of mental health, Kelly said during the Senates afternoon debate. Its an important issue that we recognize not only about those individuals involved, but as a community and a society recognizing that this is an issue that deserves our attention. Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, and Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, agreed that mental health issues are a major focal point of the 2022 session, which ends at midnight on May 4. This is not a Democratic issue, he said. Its not a Republican issue. Its an issue that impacts literally every single community in the state of Connecticut. We know there is a treatment gap, Looney said, pointing out the need for the mobile units. There are many times when there are acute episodes that young people are having and the parents are desperate and at a loss to get some professional counseling and care and assistance when they feel inadequate to deal with the situation. Isolation, alienation and untreated mental health problems and obstacles to care have become more obvious in the pandemic, Looney said, noting that in urban high schools, many athletes have dropped out because canceled seasons gave them little reason to attend school. State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, a top GOP lawmakers on both the legislative Insurance and Public Health committees, said the huge, expensive bill that is a major legislative priority and a testament to the states parents. There will be people that will criticize this for its cost, Hwang said. And the cost is an important consideration. But to me, the cost is out-weighed by the importance of mental health for our younger generation. COVID has created such an untenable burden on that community. The masking dilemma, the challenge of having their lives turned upside down that is beyond their control. Our children have suffered immeasurable challenges during this COVID pandemic. Also included is an increase in the number of kids that family daycare providers can host, from the current six to nine. Another provision from six kids to nine. The state Office of Early Childhood would also expanded staff under the legislation. The state Department of Consumer Protection would also be ordered to develop guidelines for the safe story of cannabis and prescription drugs. Hospice programs in private homes would also be required to safely dispose of drugs. We recognize that mental health care is part of health care, said Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, noting that more social workers would become available for children, as well as expanded telehealth counseling services. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) Nearly a week into a ransomware attack that has crippled Costa Rican government computer systems, the country refused to pay a ransom as it struggled to implement workarounds and braced itself as hackers began publishing stolen information. The Russian-speaking Conti gang claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Costa Rican government had not confirmed its origin. The Finance Ministry was the first to report problems Monday. A number of its systems have been affected from tax collection to importation and exportation processes through the customs agency. Attacks on the social security agencys human resources system and on the Labor Ministry, as well as others followed. The initial attack forced the Finance Ministry to shut down for several hours the system responsible for the payment of a good part of the countrys public employees, which also handles government pension payments. It also has had to grant extensions for tax payments. Conti had not published a specific ransom amount, but Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado said, The Costa Rican state will not pay anything to these cybercriminals. A figure of $10 million circulated on social media platforms, but did not appear on Contis site. Costa Rican businesses fretted over confidential information provided to the government that could be published and used against them, while average citizens worried that personal financial information could be used to clean out their bank accounts. Christian Rucavado, executive director of Costa Rica's Exporters Chamber, said the attack on the customs agency had collapsed the country's import and export logistics. He described a race against the clock for perishable items waiting in cold storage and said they still didn't have an estimate for the economic losses. Trade was still moving, but much more slowly. Some borders have delays because they're doing the process manually, Rucavado said. We have asked the government for various actions like expanding hours so they can attend to exports and imports. He said normally Costa Rica exports a daily average of $38 million in products. Allan Liska, an intelligence analyst with security firm Recorded Future, said that Conti was pursuing a double extortion: encrypting government files to freeze agencies ability to function and posting stolen files to the groups extortion sites on the dark web if a ransom wasnt paid. The first part can often be overcome if the systems have good backups, but the second is trickier depending on the sensitivity of the stolen data, he said. Conti typically rents out its ransomware infrastructure to affiliates who pay for the service. The affiliate attacking Costa Rica could be anywhere in the world, Liska said. A year ago, a Conti ransomware attack forced Irelands health system to shut down its information technology system, cancelling appointments, treatments and surgeries. Last month, Conti pledged its services in support of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The move angered cybercriminals sympathetic to Ukraine. It also prompted a security researcher who had long been surveilling Conti to leak a massive trove of internal communications among some Conti operators. Asked why Central Americas most stable democracy, known for its tropical wildlife and beaches, would be a target of hackers, Liska said the motivation usually has more to do with weaknesses. Theyre looking for specific vulnerabilities, he said. So the most likely explanation is that Costa Rica had a number of vulnerabilities and one of the ransomware actors discovered these vulnerabilities and was able to exploit it. Brett Callow, a ransomware analyst at Emsisoft, said he looked at one of the leaked files from the Costa Rican finance ministry and there doesnt seem to be much doubt that the data is legit. On Friday, Contis extortion site indicated it had published 50% of the stolen data. It said it included more than 850 gigabytes of material from Finance Ministry and other institutions databases. This is all ideal for phishing, we wish our colleagues from Costa Rica good luck in monetizing this data, it said. That seemed to contradict Alvarados assertion that the attack was not about money. My opinion is that this attack is not a money issue, but rather looks to threaten the countrys stability in a transition point, he said, referring to his outgoing administration and the swearing in of Costa Ricas new president May 8. They will not achieve it." Alvarado did allude to the possibility that the attack was motivated by Costa Ricas public rejection of Russias invasion of Ukraine. You also cant separate it from the complex global geopolitical situation in a digitalized world, he said. __ AP writer Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report. Sherman reported from Mexico City. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) Mwai Kibaki, the former Kenyan leader whose distinguished political career was tarnished when he won a second presidential term that was followed by deadly post-election violence, has died at the age of 90. Kibaki's death was announced Friday by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who said his passing was a sad day for the country and praised his predecessor as a great Kenyan and a statesman. The cause of death was not given, but Kibaki was in and out of hospitals in recent years as his health failed. Mwai Kibaki will forever be remembered as a gentleman in Kenyan politics, a brilliant debater and one who steered development in the country," Kenyatta said, declaring a period of mourning until his funeral is held. Kenyatta described Kibaki as a quintessential patriot whose legacy of civic responsibility will continue to inspire generations of Kenyans. Kibaki served two terms as president of the East African country, ruling from 2002 to 2013. But his reelection to a second term in 2007 put a dent in his reputation as his victory was disputed by his opponent, Raila Odinga. Odinga asserted that the election result had been rigged and that he had really won the poll. Hundreds of people were killed in weeks of ethnic violence that followed. Amid the stalemate, Kenya exploded into fighting along tribal lines that forced more than 600,000 people from their homes. The violence shattered Kenya's standing as a beacon of stability in East Africa. The international community led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan eventually brokered a fragile power-sharing deal between Kibaki and Odinga, who settled for a new role as Kenya's prime minister. But the International Criminal Court brought charges of crimes against humanity against Kenyatta, who had backed Kibaki, as well as William Ruto, the current deputy president. The ICC later dropped criminal charges against Ruto and Kenyatta, who had been charged for their alleged roles in the violence. They denied any wrongdoing. In the wake of the violence, Kibaki oversaw a new constitution for Kenya that was aimed at decentralizing powers and reducing persistent ethnic tensions that continue to flare up during electoral seasons. The new constitution was praised as having some of the most progressive human rights provisions in the world. Kibaki stepped down in 2013 at the end of his second term. Emilio Mwai Kibaki was born on Nov. 15, 1931, when Kenya was under British colonial rule. He studied at Uganda's Makerere University, where his teachers remembered him as a brilliant economics student. He continued his studies at the London School of Economics. Back home, he worked as a teacher before joining politics in a country buoyed by independence from colonial role in 1964. He became a lawmaker and served as finance minister, vice president, leader of the opposition roles that placed him among the most consequential Kenyans of his generation. Before winning the presidency in 2002, he had run for the top political job twice and lost. Although generally well-liked, there were often questions about his authority as allegations of corruption swirled around his government. Kibakis efforts to tackle official corruption with new legislation largely failed, according to political analysts. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Cesar Quintana agonized for weeks that his 2-year-old son wouldn't make it out of the battered Ukrainian coastal port Mariupol as Russian troops encircled the city. Thankfully, he did. But Alexander and his mother are now in Russia, where Quintana, who has full legal custody of the boy in California, is no closer to seeing him again. Quintana has been trying to bring his son back to the U.S. since his estranged wife took the child to Ukraine without Quintanas permission in 2020. He was working to get the boy returned through a Ukrainian court when the war broke out, and he lost communication with them. Last month, he finally learned that, unlike the millions of Ukrainians who fled to Poland or Moldova, the family and others from Mariupol escaped across the closest international border to Russia. Russia, however, is not a partner of the United States under an international treaty that governs the return of children abducted overseas by one of their parents, though Ukraine is. That has Quintana hoping the Ukrainian court will take his case back up and he can get Russian authorities to enforce any ruling in his favor. He said hes also trying to persuade his estranged Ukrainian-American wife, Antonina Aslanova, to return to California on her own. Im not giving up, and my sons not going to grow up in Russia, Quintana said. A WhatsApp message sent to Aslanova seeking comment was not returned. International parental child abduction cases are complex, and advocates say relatively few children taken from their countries of residence are promptly returned. More than 2,000 applications were filed in 2015 under the international treaty that puts in place a process for resolving these cases, and about 45% resulted in the children being returned, according to a report by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Many countries have signed the treaty, but it isn't in effect between the United States and Russia, which makes getting a child returned very difficult, said Melissa Kucinski, a Washington-based attorney who specializes in these cases. "With the child now sitting in Russia, my expectation is the father's California custody order will probably mean very little, Kucinski said. Quintana, 35, has been trying for more than a year to get his son back through the treaty process with Ukraine, since a California judge ordered that the boy should be returned to him. Quintana traveled to Ukraine, hired a lawyer and said he got Aslanova to agree to let him bring the boy to California. But he said her mother opposed and filed a complaint with police, which stopped him from doing so. Then, a critical court hearing in February was delayed to March and put off again because of the war. Since then, Ukraine has said it won't be able to uphold its treaty commitments during the war, according to the U.S. State Department's website. The U.S. embassy in Kyiv is closed, though the State Department said it can assist Americans with consular services once they reach another country. In Russia, the U.S. governments ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens is severely limited, a department official said. The war drove Quintana to desperation. He sent money to Aslanova when the invasion began, but communication was cut off as the city of Mariupol fell under siege. When he couldn't reach his son, Quintana asked Ukrainian officials for permission to travel to the war-torn country to find him. He was planning to buy a plane ticket to Europe when he said the State Department confirmed the boy, Aslanova and her family had escaped to Russia. Quintana said he spoke with Aslanova after she got out of Mariupol. He said she was considering coming back to California but was reluctant because she faces criminal charges for child abduction and also for driving under the influence in a case that prompted Quintana to seek the custody order in 2020. She is worried about jail, he said. Why does my son have to suffer because of her? Noelle Hunter, co-founder of the iStand Parent Network, said a voluntary agreement is typically the best option in these cases. She said Quintana has asked the district attorneys office to drop the abduction charge if Aslanova returns, but prosecutors have not committed to doing so. State Department officials have offered to expedite documents should Aslanova leave Russia and take the child to another country, she said. We cant just kind of sit on our hands, said Hunter, whose organization supports parents whose children were taken overseas. We have to be ready. The Orange County district attorneys office declined to discuss the case. Quintana and Aslanova were in the process of divorcing when she was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, according to a letter from Orange County prosecutors to Ukrainian officials. Quintana was granted a custody order and allowed Aslanova to visit the boy at his home in December 2020. While he was sleeping, she took him to the airport and boarded a flight to Turkey then another to Ukraine, he said. THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) Greek police said Thursday they rescued 64 asylum-seekers, including 10 children, who had been marooned by smugglers on a tiny islet in the river that runs along Greece's land border with Turkey. Police said the migrants were located Wednesday night after Greek authorities were tipped off to their presence, but that the group initially refused to accompany rescue teams into boats to take them to the Greek side of the Evros River. LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (AP) A judge has ruled that a lake at the heart of the affluent Portland suburb of Lake Oswego is a public resource. The city about eight miles southwest of Portland banned the public from entering the nearly 3-mile-long Oswego Lake from three parks in 2012, but a kayaker and swimmer sued. The plaintiffs argued the lake was public under a state law because it's a navigable body of water and had effectively been illegally privatized for wealthy, lakefront homeowners. The ruling Tuesday doesnt mean the public will immediately be able to use Oswego Lake. A second trial will determine if the city can limit public use of its three easily accessible swim parks due to liability concerns. Clackamas County Circuit Judge Ann Lininger will take up the second part of the case in July, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Nothing has changed, said Jeff Ward, general manager of the Lake Oswego Corporation, which has roughly 2,400 members who hold shares in the company or have easements on the lake. Theres been no ruling granting public access. The citys park rules are still in effect. Liningers 15-page ruling notes that Oswego Lake has been functionally privatized, as million-dollar homes surround nearly all of the lakes 2.9-mile-long shoreline and the city has installed signs and barriers preventing access at its three lakeside parks. City officials formally adopted a resolution banning public lake access at parks in 2012, citing liability issues, though signs prohibiting access had already been in place for some time. Activists Mark Kramer, a kayaker, and Todd Prager, a swimmer, sued the city, state and Department of State Lands that year in a bid to enshrine the public right to navigate Oswego Lake. The lawsuit took a winding path to the Oregon Supreme Court, which in 2020 sent the litigation back to Clackamas County Circuit Court to determine whether the lake was in fact owned by the state and held in the public trust. Nadia Dahab, a lawyer for the activists, said Wednesday that she was pleased with Liningers thoughtful decision. We still have a lot of work to do before anything changes at Oswego Lake, but the courts order recognizes, rightfully, that our states natural resources cannot be privatized they exist for the public, and must be protected for public use, Dahab said in a statement. The lake, which is home to some of the Portland areas pricest waterfront properties, was once much smaller. Residents nearly doubled the lakes size in the 1920s by blasting a basalt canal connecting a natural body of water, called Sucker Lake, to Lakewood Bay. Experts testified in court that the original lake had a maximum depth of 34 feet and was about 61% the size of today's lake, but was used extensively by the public and stocked with fish by the state. Lininger said the public trust doctrine applies to the entire body of water, even though the activists havent yet established that the state owns the land beneath the expanded portion of the lake. There is no meaningful way to segregate the public trust water from the other water in the lake: it intermixes and flows together, Lininger wrote in her ruling. The Oswego Lake Corporation opposes Liningers ruling and says it's about private property rights. NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) Scientists at MIT are proposing releasing hordes of genetically altered mice on the posh vacation destination of Nantucket to combat the growing scourge of Lyme disease. Researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab's Mice Against Ticks project explained their plan to residents of the island off Cape Cod at a recent meeting, The Boston Globe reports. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LOS ANGELES (AP) U.S. officials have repatriated 16 cultural items to the Peruvian government, including paintings, historical documents and stone axes. The FBI returned the items to representatives of Peru at a ceremony Friday in Los Angeles. These objects and the heritage they carry with them took an opaque journey into the United States and now have a clear path of return to Peru through proper diplomatic channels," Kristi K. Johnson, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said in a statement. The objects include historical documents, a 17th century painting stolen from a Peruvian church in 1992 and a painting stolen from a different church in 2002 that was hand-carried into the United States by an art dealer, sold to an art gallerist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and later sold in 2016 to a buyer in California, the statement said. These artifacts were voluntarily surrendered to the FBI, the statement said. In these instances, the people who bought these objects did the right thing. Once they realized they were stolen, they agreed to forfeit them, said Liz Rivas, a special agent with the FBI's art crimes team. For example, the person who had the historical documents said they were purchased as souvenirs in Peru and they were reselling them online to make money during the coronavirus pandemic, Rivas said. She said the person didn't know they were stolen, and in this case, the documents didn't meet the minimum value for a criminal case. The last four objects were stone axes seized in Indianapolis in 2014 from the collection of amateur archaeologist Donald Miller. Thousands of artifacts were taken from Miller's home and returned to dozens of countries spanning from China to Papua New Guinea. Authorities encourage art and artifact buyers to review the FBIs stolen art file before making a purchase to find out if the items were reported as stolen. __ This version of the story has been updated to correct the year that stone axes were seized from the collection of amateur archaeologist Donald Miller in Indianapolis. The year was 2014, not 2004. ISLAMABAD (AP) A committee of Pakistan's top political and military leaders said Friday that former Prime Minister Imran Khan's claims that he was ousted from power by a foreign plot are untrue. The statement issued by the National Security Committee aimed to put an official end to the claims by Khan, who has repeatedly said the United States conspired to oust him from power with the help of his political rivals. The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Friday declared 12 persons wanted for different crimes in Anambra State. The suspects are accused ... The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Friday declared 12 persons wanted for different crimes in Anambra State. The suspects are accused of conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, terrorism, kidnapping, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms. Others are burglary, malicious damage, and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace in Isu-Aniocha, Awka North Local Government Area. The names of those wanted include Edward Okoye (aka Stone); Donatus Okeke; Onyemazi Ngini; Onyebuchi Nwekeizu Okoye; Nonso Eboh; Chukwuka Onyibor. The rest are, Chukwujekwu Anaekeokwu; Chuka Ilodigwe; Chinedu Nwoye Okoye; Nonso Awusionwu Obinna; Cosmos Okonkwo and Chukwujekwu Okoye. The Police earlier secured a court order to declare them wanted, according to Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi. Their ages range between 25 years and 55 years old and are natives of Isu-Aniocha; heights between 1.5m to 1.7m. Edward Okoye, in conjunction with others, allegedly shot two men dead Ifeanyi Anazoba (aka Ichafu) and Chukwuebuka Amodo (aka Mutum). The incident occured at a burial function in Umuzuocha Town Hall, Awka South of Anambra State on January 19, 2019. The deceased were beheaded and their bodies burnt. beyond recognition. Okoye and others are also accused of kidnapping two persons and vandalizing two properties valued at over N1.2billion. The suspects also attacked and brutalized some mobile police officers detailed to restore calm to the community. The Police appealed to members of the general public to assist with useful information that would facilitate their arrest. Former governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, has said that all the roads constructed by his successors in Anambra have been washed away ... Former governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, has said that all the roads constructed by his successors in Anambra have been washed away because they were poorly done by inefficient contractors. The current Minister of Labour and Employment and 2023 presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress spoke on Thursday as a guest on Channels Televisions Politics Today programme. According to Ngige, all the roads constructed in Anambra by Peter Obi and Willie Obiano were of inferior quality except the ones he (Ngige) constructed as governor from 2003 to 2006. While Obi was Anambra governor between 2007 and 2014, Obiano was governor from 2014 until last month when he handed over to Chukwuma Soludo. Speaking on Thursday night about his short-lived time as Anambra governor before he was sacked by a court order, Ngige said, The most important thing was that I was a governor and I touched the lives of the people. It is not how long but how effective, what did the people benefit from me? When you get to that stage, you will know. All the notable roads there (in Anambra), are the roads constructed by Ngige between 2003 and 2006. Asked about the ones constructed by Obi, he said, They are all washed off; those ones are gone. They didnt last more than five years, they are gone. Asked also about the roads constructed by Obiano, the minister said, Those ones are also gone. Ngige said it was only the roads he constructed that are still standing because I used reputable contractors and I inspected the jobs myself with the commissioner for works. Both Ngige (of APC) and Obi (of the Peoples Democratic Party) are focal presidential aspirants from the South-East geopolitical zone. With the clamour for Southern Presidency after the regime of the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari, in May 2023, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as well as other stakeholders in the zone have demanded that the Presidency be zoned to the South-East. The zone has consistently alleged injustice, noting that other zones in the Southern region have had a piece of Aso Rocks pie since Nigerias return to democracy in 1999 but the two main parties APC and the PDP have ruled our zoning as they plan to hold their presidential primaries in May. Some Slidell residents were surprised this week when they went to early vote on the District Attorney's 1/7-cent tax proposal. That's because the runoff for the Slidell City Council District D seat, presumed to be complete nearly three weeks ago, was still on the ballots of voters in that area in west Slidell. Democrat Sean Morrison announced April 2 he was withdrawing from the race for District D seat after finishing a distant second in the four-person primary on March 26. Morrison collected 23% of votes to front-runner Nick DiSanti, a Republican who earned 47%. Independent Mark Daeumer and Republican Bonnie Vanney finished out of the runoff, with 17% and 12% of votes, respectively. The Secretary of State's Office didn't receive notice of Morrison's withdrawal, however, until Tuesday, 2 weeks after Morrison announced his intent to exit the race. A spokesperson with Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin's office said Wednesday the runoff was closed and DiSanti had been declared the winner. "Until we have the physical letter in our hands from the candidate saying they are withdrawing, (the election) is still active," said John Tobler, communications secretary for Ardoin's office. "Now that we do, (DiSanti) is considered elected. He's essentially unopposed." St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up It won't seem that way, however, when voters go back to the polls on April 30 to vote on the district attorney's tax proposal. Tobler said because ballots were programmed before Morrison's official withdrawal, it's too late to remove DiSanti and Morrison's names from the ballots District D voters will see. Any votes cast for either during either early voting or on election day will not be counted, Tobler said. Votes on the tax will be counted no matter what, Tobler assured. DiSanti said he's pleased his victory is official. "We want to focus on going to work for the people of Slidell," he said. "The new members of the council have been attending meetings and getting to know one another. We'll be ready to go July 1." DiSanti is one of four council newcomers that will be sworn July 1, joining Megan Haggerty, of District C; Trey Brownfield, of District F; and Jeff Burgoyne, who was elected as one of the city's two at-large members on the nine-person board. Xavier University of Louisiana, a historically Black Catholic university in New Orleans, is planning to open a medical school and graduate school of health sciences, a move it hopes will help diversify the medical field and curb a physician shortage, the university said this week. The school is researching what it might teach, who it might hire and how it might pay for its new program, officials said. Xavier is also talking to local hospitals who might admit its students for clinical rotations. The planning process will take at least three years, said Reynold Verret, Xavier's president. School administrators have been discussing the possibility for more than five years. "We're not in a hurry, because we want to do this well," Verret said. Xavier's pre-med program has been touted nationally for sending more Black students to medical school than nearly any other college. But the diversity gains in the medical field as a whole have been small, and Verret said a medical school could allow Xavier to have a greater impact. Despite a chronic health care shortage and some of the poorest health care outcomes, Louisiana faces a medical school and residency shortage that is also reflected nationwide. According to data published by the Association of American Medical Colleges last year, the U.S. could face a shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034. Another recent report by the AAMC noted that "Black or African American applicants, matriculants and graduates lagged behind other groups." 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 "It's important that we not only address the physician shortage but that we address the diversity of the physician population," Verret said. "As we learned throughout the pandemic but we knew beforehand trust and representation are linked. Trust is an important part of public health and also in addressing health disparities." Though more than a dozen historically Black medical schools existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, today, only four persist, according to the National Medical Association. Those are Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C., Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Meharry Medical College in Nashville and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California. The others, including the John D. Flint Medical College in New Orleans, closed due to a lack of funding or faculty. Those closures likely contributed to the physician shortage and the lack of diversity in the field, Verret said. Xavier's medical school would join four others in Louisiana: Tulane University School of Medicine, LSU Health New Orleans, LSU Health Shreveport, and Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), which will graduate its first class in 2024. Ochsner Health also has a partnership with University of Queensland in Australia in which students complete their first two years of study in Australia followed by clinical rotations at Ochsner in Louisiana. Xavier has founded other health professional programs in recent years, all in fields that have extremely low rates of representation of people of color. They include public health, speech pathology, pharmaceutical studies and health analytics, as well as a physicians assistant program in partnership with Ochsner Health System. "Xavier was founded with the mission of promoting the creation of a just and humane society through education, Verret said. The establishment of graduate education programs dedicated to the preparation of more black healthcare professionals is a natural extension of our foundress legacy, as we approach our second century of service. It is also where we are called to answer a critical need of our nation. Emily Woodruff contributed reporting. A bill that would put the first substantial limits on Louisianas largest but least-known commercial fishery could improve the health of the Gulf of Mexico but cripple the economies of some coastal communities. House Bill 1033 would cap the menhaden catch in Louisiana waters at 573 million pounds per year an amount that far exceeds the states combined annual catch of shrimp, oyster, crab and crawfish but falls far below the unrestricted hauls the menhaden industry has enjoyed for decades. The bill would also require menhaden fishing vessels to file daily reports on catch amounts and locations, creating a level of accountability that the bills proponents say has been sorely lacking. We owe it to our coast, our state and ourselves to understand and manage this fishery properly, David Cresson, CEO of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana. Right now we dont and its not. Still, industry officials say the bill could force the closure of the state's two menhaden processing plants, putting hundreds of people out of work in areas with few other job prospects. This bill is going to close us down in a couple years, and its going to have a direct impact on Plaquemines Parish, said Shane Treadaway, a fleet manager for Daybrook Fisheries in Empire. The bill passed out of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee by a 9 to 3 vote last week and will be debated on the House floor Tuesday. Taking food from 'Sportsman Paradise' fish Menhaden, also called pogies and bunker, are a tiny, oily fish used primarily in fertilizers and food for cats, hogs and chickens. Their oil is also added to cosmetics, soap, omega-3 fatty acid pills and other health supplements. Two foreign-owned companies Omega Protein of Canada and Daybrook of South Africa dominate the Louisiana menhaden fishery, which has produced an annual catch worth an average of $80 million since 2010. During that time, the yearly catch has ranged between 612 million and 1.1 billion pounds. With no catch limits, Louisiana has the Gulf's most lax menhaden regulations. Texas sets a catch limit and prohibits menhaden fishing within a half-mile of its coast, and Mississippi recently joined Alabama in enacting statewide 1-mile buffer zones. Meanwhile, Florida has a blanket ban on large-scale net fishing in its waters. Supporters say the bill is a long-overdue check on industrial-scale harvests of a fish that supports much of the Atlantic food chain. Whales, seabirds and dolphins eat menhaden, as do fish popular with anglers, like redfish, trout and bass. While Gulf menhaden populations appear stable, anglers blame the menhaden industry for the decline of prized catches in areas regularly swept over by 1,500-foot-long menhaden nets. If you do wholesale removal of menhaden, it takes away food from Sportsman Paradise species, said the bills sponsor, Rep. Joseph Orgeron, R-Larose. Environmental news in your inbox Stay up-to-date on the latest on Louisiana's coast and the environment. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up What's more, menhaden nets snag more than menhaden. The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has received an increasing number of complaints about menhaden bycatch and the trails of dead redfish and trout left in the wakes of menhaden ships, which sometimes come within a few hundred yards of the shore. With this indiscriminate type of take, everything is affected, Orgeron said. 'What jobs I have, I need' However, the menhaden industry has warned that the Louisiana bills restrictions may force the closure of the two large menhaden processing plants in Louisiana. Omega owns a plant in Abbeville, and Daybrook operates a plant in the small south Plaquemines Parish community of Empire. According to Daybrook, the Empire plant processes about 40% of the Gulfs menhaden catch. Rep. Mack Cormier, D-Belle Chasse, said Plaquemines cant suffer that loss. The parish has lost three large oil industry employers in recent years most recently the Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery, which had 470 employees and almost as many contractors. With about 300 workers, the Daybrook plant may now be the parishs largest private employer, Cormier said. What jobs I have, I need, he said. But those jobs have come at a price. The plant has pollution problems that parish health officials and environmental groups have been raising alarms about for decades. In a lawsuit last month, Daybrooks own safety and environmental manager charged that the plant willfully spews large amounts of fish waste into nearby waterways and has resisted taking basic precautions to avoid leaks and spills. Omegas Abbeville plant has been the source of odor complaints from as far away as New Iberia, about 20 miles east. Among its environmental violations was a $1 million fine in 2017 for twice dumping large volumes of polluted water into the Vermilion River. Other recent efforts to restrict the menhaden industry have been unsuccessful. In 2020, the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission rejected a proposed menhaden fishing "exclusion zone" extending one mile from Louisiana coastline. Last year, Orgeron crafted a bill that would have established half-mile exclusion zones, with wider buffers around some barrier islands. The zones were whittled down to a quarter mile by Senate leaders but the measure died amid negotiations in a House-Senate conference committee. Gov. John Bel Edwards administration has pulled a proposal that would have required Louisiana nursing homes to submit reports on their emergency responses to natural disasters, after it faced criticism for suggesting a secretive review process. The Edwards administration initially recommended those nursing home after-event reports be shielded from public release, but it dropped the obligation for a report altogether in a rewritten version of House Bill 933. There were some components of the bill that I was uncomfortable with, said Rep. Joe Stagni, R-Kenner, who is sponsoring the legislation. The bill was also amended to give the Department of Health responsibility for approving nursing home emergency response plans, an authority that no government agency claims to have. The House Health and Welfare Committee forwarded the legislation without objection Tuesday. The Edwards administration's health officials helped craft Stagnis bill in the wake of the botched evacuation of seven southeast Louisiana nursing homes to an old pesticide warehouse for Hurricane Ida. The Health Department ended up rescuing more than 800 elderly and medically vulnerable people from the site in September. Fifteen of them died in the aftermath, with at least five deaths attributed to the evacuation. Authority assigned The debacle raised questions about why the owner of the nursing homes, Bob Dean, had ever been allowed to move hundreds of residents to a warehouse in the first place. The Health Department has repeatedly responded to that criticism by saying it is required to review nursing home evacuation plans but is not responsible for approving them. Stagnis bill would make explicit that the Health Department is responsible for overseeing nursing home emergency plans. Under the legislation, health officials would be required to give nursing homes a letter stating their emergency plans had been approved or outlining changes needed for approval. If a nursing home did not make the required changes, the Health Department would issue a letter rejecting the plan, although the consequences for rejection are not spelled out in the legislation. Others may weigh in In addition to the Health Department, Stagni's bill would give an opportunity to raise concerns about nursing home emergency plans to the state fire marshal's office, Governors Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Department of Transportation and Development, Louisiana Emergency Response Network and local emergency operations officials in the nursing homes parish and the parish to which it is evacuating. Its unclear if anyone in government ever closely scrutinized the evacuation plans for Deans nursing homes. 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 Dean listed the warehouse, in Independence, as his evacuation site in documents he submitted to the Health Department in March 2021. Yet the warehouse didnt have a kitchen or enough bathrooms and cots to accommodate 843 people sent there for Hurricane Ida in August. Afterward, state inspectors found nursing home residents lying on air mattresses on the ground in smelly, overcrowded conditions. Many were in soiled clothing and didnt have enough to eat. Licenses revoked Victims and their families have filed lawsuits against Dean and the state government, and the Health Department in September revoked Deans seven nursing home licenses, an action he is fighting in court. Much of what a nursing home might be required to have at an evacuation site during a natural disaster remains to be seen. The Health Department is expected to create a new set of rules and regulations in the next few months based on recommendations from the Louisiana Nursing Home Emergency Preparedness Review Committee. Stagnis bill expands that committee from 17 to 24 members and increases the number of nursing home industry representatives from five to nine, giving the industry a more prominent voice on the panel. The Louisiana Nursing Home Association, which represents nursing home owners, has repeatedly declined requests for comment on nursing home bills filed this year in the Legislature. I dont comment on legislation, Mark Berger, the associations executive director, said after a legislative committee hearing Tuesday. $1.7 million price tag Stagnis proposed nursing home emergency plans review process is expected to cost the state $1.7 million for new Health Department technology to monitor nursing home emergency plans. The system would require an $175,000 maintenance fee annually, according to a legislative fiscal analysis. The Health Department also estimates it would have to spend $460,600 on four new employees to visit evacuation sites for 257 nursing homes twice each year. The Senate has unanimously moved two other pieces of legislation on nursing home emergency policies. They will now be taken up by the House: Senate Bill 167, from Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, empowers the state fire marshal's office to approve or reject evacuation sites for nursing homes in Louisianas 22 most hurricane-prone parishes. Senate Bill 33 , from Sen. Fred Mills, R-New Iberia, requires nursing homes to install generators that can power 50% of their air conditioning or heating system for 48 hours with fuel or electricity on site. The homes would also need contracts in place with fuel or electricity providers to service the generator for at least 168 hours after a disaster. The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization based in Baton Rouge. Up to 40% of Louisiana's university and college students apparently don't always get enough to eat, which is causing a level of alarm that would amuse earlier, more resilient, generations. The starving student, after all, is a stock figure in history and literature. Privation, moreover, is a character-building experience, they say, so the starving student stands to find himself both morally and intellectually improved on graduation. That was true when I was young back in the mists of time, but we were made of sterner stuff in those days. My friends and I took it in stride when we couldn't afford a decent meal toward the end of a semester. Unkind critics said that was only because we spent too much on beer earlier in the semester, but the voice of calumny is never silent. If starving students did not exist, we could have been deprived of such memorable fictitious characters as Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov was admittedly no role model, murdering an old woman pawnbroker after dropping out of law school because he was destitute, but the Western canon would be poorer without him. No, I am not really in favor of letting students go hungry. Just think how hard it must be for them to concentrate in remedial math or English class when their stomachs are growling. That may be a cheap shot, and no doubt Louisiana campuses are full of smart and hard-working kids. Still, of the 214,000 college students in Louisiana, 14,000 are taking remedial math, and 4,000 remedial English, so something must be done. Most students enrolled in remedial class will never graduate, and, if they do, will take years about it. Urgent action is needed if 60% of the working-age population is to hold a college degree by 2030, which is the official goal of the Louisiana Board of Regents. Increasing graduate numbers without diluting educational numbers is quite a challenge, if not a total impossibility, but the Regents have a plan. It involves phasing out remedial courses in the higher education system and replacing them with co-requisite teaching. What that means exactly, I can't say educators go in mortal terror of perpetrating plain English but Complete College America is among reformist organizations in favor of co-requisite teaching and prior learning assessments. Such an approach is apparently producing good results in other states that are trying it. We long ago abandoned any notion that universities should be the preserve of an intellectual elite, and more and more people will need degrees as the knowledge economy takes an even firmer hold. The pangs of hunger must be banished from campuses if society is to produce graduates at the desired rate. Relax. The state Legislature is working on it, with a bill that has already breezed through a House committee. The bill, by Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge. would enable higher education institutions to have their campuses declared hunger-free and qualify for state grants. They would do so by ensuring food is provided for students and holding at least one anti-hunger awareness event every year. Other requirements include establishing a hunger-free campus workforce to meet at least three times a year, setting up an emergency fund for hard-up students and notifying them of potential eligibility under the federal government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill should meet with the approval of all old women in the pawnbroking business. Email James Gill at gill504nola@gmail.com. If theres anyone who has followed pandemic guidance, its me. Stay inside. Wash up. Sleeves up. Avoid crowds. Social distance. Mask on. Ive done nearly everything since early 2020. Now Im being told I dont have to wear a mask when flying or taking a bus or a train in most places. When she hit send, a federal judge essentially lifted a national mask mandate for airlines and public transportation. In a matter of a few days, public transportation authorities and departments across the nation started allowing passengers to go maskless no matter who was sitting in front of them, behind them or next to them. Even Uber and Lyft made mask-wearing optional. I feel for the people who booked reservations thinking theyd be safe to travel with babies and toddlers not eligible for vaccinations, those with underlying conditions and those for whom vaccinations arent an option. Theres a reason masks have been required. They work. Theyre not 100% effective. But theres no question they reduce the likelihood of infection, especially if you wear a K95 or KN95 mask. Following indoor CDC guidelines, I dropped my mask to eat and drink and I caught COVID-19. Yes, Mr. COVID Conservative succumbed to Rudy Rona. Thank God Im vaccinated and boosted. On a recent Saturday, I felt queasy and a bit disoriented. I started coughing. I got chills. I was fatigued. There was more, but its not fit for a nonmedical journal. I went to sleep early and couldnt sleep through the night. I slept it off, getting up about 3 p.m. the next day. I tested because I wanted to be sure I wouldnt infect anyone by going to my first-ever New Orleans Pelicans game with friends that Sunday night. Negative. I was one of a few wearing a mask in all of the Smoothie King Arena. I did an interview with The Prof and O.T. on the Good Morning Show at WBOK the next morning and went to the office. I was on campus at Loyola University New Orleans that Tuesday. Symptoms were better but still with me. We had a family birthday party planned that night. My doctor sister suggested that I test just to be safe. Positive. The party was off. We frantically started notifying people with whom I might have been in contact. I followed the virus protocol at The Advocate and Loyola, where I teach. I asked others to help me with contact tracing. Unfortunately, at least three people with whom I had been in touch got COVID-19. I dont know that it was me for sure. I dont know who gifted me with the virus. I bet it was when I slipped and wore a cloth mask or when I took down a KN95 mask to eat some red beans and rice at one event, or when I was eating charbroiled oysters at another. Each place I ate, I talked. And laughed. As much as I tried to avoid this, my experience is proof that even the careful and cautious can get COVID-19. I am relieved to know that Im one of a few and not one of thousands suffering. Im pleased to hear from Dr. Joe Kanter, the state health officer, and New Orleans Health Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno that my experience is not that unusual these days. These days don't have the full force of the early days of the pandemic or the several surges weve had, but it is still dangerous. People are getting infected. People are asymptomatic and symptomatic. People are still dying. In Louisiana, only 53.3% of us are fully vaccinated and about 61% of new cases in the state are people who arent fully vaccinated. Hospitalizations are lower these days, but just earlier this month (April 5) the unvaccinated accounted for 80% of those in hospitals with COVID-19. In New Orleans, about 55% of those catching COVID these days are the unvaccinated and about 57% of those dying from the virus are unvaccinated. In recent days, weve had three, seven and 10 virus deaths on any given day. Thats nothing like the days when we dozens, scores and hundreds were dying. Still, any loss of life is too much. The pandemic isnt done with us yet, Avegno told me. We will continue to see waves ... hopefully they will be ripples rather than tsunamis. But just because today's variant is relatively mild does not mean that the next one will be. Don't throw away those masks and home tests just yet! DUNHUANG, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Loaded with 530 tons of asbestos, the freight train will exit China from the port of Mohan in Yunnan and travel to the Lao capital Vientiane before reaching Bangkok, Thailand. Compared with travel by sea and other means of transportation, the freight train could save 28 days, reducing logistics costs. The China-Laos Railway connects Kunming in Yunnan with Vientiane. Launched in December 2021, it helps boost trade between China and Southeast Asian nations. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Franciscan Health Michigan City created a new scholarship for high school seniors who seek to pursue a career in health care. The medical staff at the hospital voted unanimously to fund a scholarship of up to $5,000 for high school students in LaPorte who plan to go to college and study for a health care career. The aim is to honor the memories of the doctors who have given years of service to the community and to continue their legacy to the next generation. Franciscan Health Michigan City Hospital Medical Staff's scholarship committee hopes recipients may someday return to the hospital to serve the community's health care needs. The Franciscan Health medical staff has been caring for our community continuously since 1904. With this very generous scholarship fund to recognize and memorialize the contributions of past members, our medical staff once again demonstrates its care for the community in providing our high school students scholarships to pursue continuing education and training in healthcare careers, Franciscan Health Michigan City President and CEO Dean Mazzoni said. Doctors and medical staff at the hospital are funding the program with help from the Franciscan Health Foundation. All high schools in LaPorte County have applications in their guidance offices. Applications must be submitted by June 30. Any questions can be mailed to Franciscan Health Michigan City at 3500 Franciscan Way, Michigan City, IN 46360. For more information, visit franciscanhealth.org or call (219) 879-8511. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Illiana Heating & Air Conditioning again made a sizable donation to the Womens Diagnostic Center in Munster to help it battle breast cancer. The HVAC company in St. John has donated to the diagnostic center at Community Healthcare System's Community Hospital in Munster for the past 10 years as a way of giving back to the community. It holds an annual fundraiser and sets aside a portion of its proceeds from installs and services to help women detect breast cancer early. Illiana Heating & Air Conditioning general manager Kevin Frump and installation manager Dan Krygsheld recently presented a $4,750 check to Mary Nicholson, medical director of the Womens Diagnostic Center in Munster. The donation will help fund diagnostic imaging, which can help get patients life-saving treatment sooner. Early detected breast cancers can be treated very successfully, and this funding enables us to serve many with the care they need, Nicholson said. In these uncertain times, is more important than ever before to show support for those on a cancer journey so they know that they are not alone. Illiana Heating & Air Conditioning's support over the years has resulted in mammograms in which most than one woman tested positive for breast cancer after receiving diagnostic imaging she otherwise couldn't afford. The Womens Diagnostic Center at Community Hospital offers patients 3D mammography, delivering test results on the same day. Patients can start treatment after a positive diagnosis within a few days, resulting in more effective treatment and better outcomes. For more information, visit illianaheating.net or COMHS.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. HOBART The pandemic has changed the way people work, and employers must adapt to compete for talent, an author and consultant told a business crowd Thursday at Avalon Manor. Author, work futurist and international speaker Sophie Wade gave the first talk in the new Workforce Innovation Series of presentations the Center of Workforce Innovations is putting on. "Shift happens," Center of Workforce Innovations President and CEO Lisa Daugherty told those gathered for the breakfast event. "Tens of thousands of people are opting out of the workforce. Businesses are worried about whether we have the workforce in Northwest Indiana. Companies are competing for talent to an extent we've never seen before. These are serious challenges. Now, I've always seen challenges as opportunities." The Center of Workforce Innovations aims to help employers navigate an evolving labor market and find the skilled talent they need, Daugherty said. "Center of Workforce Innovations and our partners are stepping up to meet these challenges here in Northwest Indiana, starting by bringing this series to you to raise awareness and stimulate thought and new ideas," Daugherty said. "It's a chance to hear about changes and strategies that other businesses are implementing and that are working. Then we intend to engage and mobilize the entire system, which includes training providers, educators and community organizations. We're going to work collectively, not separately, to coordinate our efforts, our networks, our resources, our services to intentionally create accelerated pathways to jobs, your jobs, that are available. Together, we can raise up and expand the workforce to meet our needs." Other presenters and sponsors include WorkOne, the Northwest Indiana Workforce Board, Alverno Laboratories, Ivy Tech, NIPSCO, Purdue Northwest and The Times of Northwest Indiana. "It's very clear there's not a shortage of opportunities, job openings and career choices," Times President Thomas Schager said. "But there is a shortage of people and that's not going to get solved anytime soon. That creates an opportunity for everyone to think differently about how they're going to sell themselves and think about how they're going to face the marketplace." Wade, a workforce innovation specialist who founded the consulting firm Flexcel Networks, said a paradigm shift was underway in the workplace because of the coronavirus pandemic. "Future work is location independent. In many cases, there's multiple devices going on, there's time pressure, there's extraordinary flexibility, and it looks very different from what we're used to," she said. "There are different ways we all are experiencing future work in our daily lives." Technology is changing all kinds of workplaces, said Wade, who wrote the book "Embracing Progress: Next Steps for the Future of Work" and the forthcoming "Empathy Works: The Key to Competitive Advantage in the New Era of Work." People, for instance, are seeing doctors virtually, she said. Drones are being used at factories and farms. Business people are conducting meetings via Zoom. "Future work is technologically driven," she said. "It is a highly connected, digitalized business and work environment." Changes in the workplace are driven by technology but were accelerated by the pandemic, when more people started working from home and meeting clients online, she said. Active Zoom users, for example, went from 10 million in December 2019 to 200 million in May to 300 million in June. "We have to change and adapt," Wade said. "Think about how many changes have happened over the past two years. People now say, 'Oh, that was inevitable.'" Surveys have found that a majority of salespeople find virtual meetings to be just as successful interactions as in-person meetups, Wade said. She encouraged employers to give their workers more flexibility, such as by letting them work from home more or leave early to pick up their kids from school. "Providing flexibility and support for employees is more an attitude than an approach," she said. "Before it was command and control. Things were stable, linear and predictable. Instead of micromanaging, focus on people and how they can be doing their best work. There was a sign that said 'not accepting change' where someone wrote, 'change is inevitable deal with it.' There are enormous charges but that means enormous possibility. I'm excited for you all." Employers can attract and retain a workforce by adapting how they do business and working with their employees, Wade said. "Workplace flexibility means workers have more control over their lives," she said. "We all want to have self-control. We don't want to feel like robots. We want to be able to manage schedules in ways we couldn't before." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MICHIGAN CITY NIPSCO has started to work to close its coal ash ponds at the Michigan City Generating Station so it will comply with environmental regulations, but environmental groups say there's still a spill risk and the plan doesn't go far enough. The Merrillville-based utility plans to remove coal ash, a material left over after coal is burned to generate electricity. The industrial byproduct contains contaminants like mercury, cadmium and arsenic that pose a potential threat to the air and water, including sources of drinking water, if not properly managed. NIPSCO expects to remove the coal ash by the deadline of next year that's required by the federal Coal Combustion Residuals rule. It also plans to eventually retire the Michigan City Generating Station on the Lake Michigan lakeshore in Michigan City. The power plant known for its distinctive hyperbolic cooling tower that looms over the Michigan City skyline will be replaced with solar, wind and other sources of energy, including battery storage and spot purchases from the grid. Protecting and improving our communities is paramount, and Im excited to kick off this next phase of environmental stewardship in Michigan City, said Kelly Carmichael, vice president of federal government affairs, environmental and sustainability at NIPSCOs parent company NiSource. NIPSCO along with a team of nationally leading experts have been focused on assuring that our approach is protective and continues to improve our environment. The Hoosier Environmental Council has advocated for cleanup of the site for years, said Environmental Health and Water Policy Director Indra Frank. Frank said NIPSCO's plan was only to remove about 10% of coal ash on the site and that the other 90% still presented a spill risk. "As NIPSCO excavates and transports the ash, it can create a dust hazard. NIPSCO has a dust control plan, but they turned down the community's request for air monitoring during that process to track the degree of dust control. Just Transition NWI is working on a plan to do community air monitoring," Frank said. "The groundwater at Michigan City has been contaminated by the coal ash with arsenic, boron, lithium, molybdenum, selenium, sulfate, and thallium. It seeps from the site into Lake Michigan and Trail Creek. The drinking water pulled from Lake Michigan is more than a mile away and testing has not shown contamination getting into the drinking water. There has been only a limited assessment of what impact that has. At the request of HEC and our community partners, the EPA has started on a risk assessment for the site." NIPSCO plans to remove about 171,000 cubic yards of coal ash spread out over 11.4 acres along the shoreline of Lake Michigan between Washington Park and Mount Baldy Beach in the Indiana Dunes National Park. It will fill the Michigan City Generating Station's five onsite coal ash ponds with clean fill. The utility said it plans to "beneficially reuse" about 15% of the material, or roughly 14,5000 tons. It seeks to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's Coal Combustion Residuals Rule, which mandates the safe removal of coal ash from coal-fired electric plants without contaminating groundwater. NIPSCO also aims to retire all of its coal-fired electricity generation by 2026 and 2028. Susan Thomas, director of legislation with Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said the excavation plan does not go far enough. "In terms of water pollution, unfortunately, NIPSCO is only excavating 10% of the toxic coal ash at the MCGS. The remaining 90%, approximately 2 million tons of ash, is slated to remain on the lakeshore indefinitely, impacting drinking water for 10 million people in four states," she said. "If this toxic ash remains it will be a ticking time bomb ultimately giving way into the lake as the only thing holding it back is an aging, corroded sea wall past its life expectancy by decades. In this community video we produced with the Hoosier Environmental Council, Earthjustice, NAACP and the Northwest Indiana Ministers' Conference, the situation is clearly laid out." Thomas said her environmental group, which seeks to wean the Region economy off carbon, also has concerns about how safely the material will be transported. "In terms of the partial excavation, the most concerning issues at this point are air quality, worker and transportation safety," she said. "We've repeatedly asked NIPSCO to monitor the air during the excavation. Fly ash, inhaled even in the smallest amounts, is toxic to human health. They have refused this request. We'd like to know if they are going to fill the trucks completely sealed in a configuration known as the burrito wrap or simply with a loose tarp that allows fly ash to escape. "It is crucial they have monitors on worker protection gear as well to ensure the safety of those excavating the site. The community of Michigan City is an environmental justice community, with a large Black, brown and low-income population. They should no longer bear the brunt of toxic air, water and soil at the whim of NIPSCO and lakefront industry polluters." NIPSCO previously hauled 50,000 tons of coal ash a year from the Michigan City Generating Station to a landfill at the R.M. Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield. The utility worked with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to establish a dust control plan for when the coal ash is moved from the station. Contractor Charah Solutions, which has 30 years of experience with material handling, will remove the coal ash. It's previously handled more than 400 acres of coal ash removal. The work will continue through December. After the coal ash ponds are closed, NIPSCO plans to monitor the sites and continue to provide ongoing sampling to IDEM and EPA for review. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Talk about current events. Sandburg High Schools Global Issues and AP World History students headed to the schools Performing Arts Center throughout the day April 8 to hear a speech from Chicagos Caroline Brennan, who spent the month of March in Moldova. Moldova borders Ukraine, and many Ukrainians have tried to flee Russian attack to places including Moldova. Brennan works with Catholic Relief Services and was doing work in Brazil when she got the call to Moldova. I had shorts, sandals and tank tops, and I didnt even pack a sweater, she said. Moldova is even colder than Chicago. After a quick stop home, she found herself in Moldova helping some people who lost their homes and loved ones. It was a scene of exhaustion and people who left under extreme duress, Brennan said. They were carrying whatever they could. You would see kids carrying their bags. The crossing took several days. There were lines and lines of people in cars or on foot waiting days to cross. Some went through Moldova, a country she said is the size of Texas, to try to reach Romania. Once you get there, where do you go and what do you do? she said of Moldova. Ninety percent of those crossing are women, children and the elderly. There is also that factor about being among strangers. Its hard figuring out who to trust. Who can I trust here? Where can I get information? How can I get warm? How can I get food? How can I get any type of help to get to safer place? Brennan has been helping people internationally for years. The Austin, Texas, native has worked in Mozambique for the Cyclone Idai response; Bangladesh for the Rohingya refugee crisis; Uganda for the South Sudanese refugee crisis; Jordan and the Middle East for the Syrian refugee crisis; Greece and Bulgaria, where she chronicled refugees as they adapted to their new lives after receiving asylum; and Iraq, where she has documented the conditions facing Iraqi families uprooted by ISIS. She was in Nepal after a devastating earthquake in 2015, in Central African Republic at the height of the internal conflict in 2014, and in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Brennan was based in Delhi, India, for three years and covered the South and Southeast Asia regions, including during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; 2005 Pakistan earthquake; and programming across Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Her work documenting peoples pursuits to overcome adversity across 25 countries also included two years in rural, western Ethiopia as a teacher. Before spending the morning and afternoon speaking to Sandburg classes using dramatic photos as a backdrop, Brennan talked about what she hoped the students would get out of her talks. I hope its something of interest because I know news can be overwhelming with a lot of noise, she said. I hope they can see the human side. "Often we hear of war through the physical lens and the movement of people, the bombing and the destruction. I want to show this from the humanitarian side. How you help in a place like this? I also want them to learn about careers that are not just volunteers. There are architects, engineers and medical professionals needed. Throughout her talks, she remained upbeat though she has seen an experienced a lot of misery. It was very emotional in Moldova, and you never want to become numb. If that ever happens, Ill just make my exit, she said. But people are resilient creatures, and we have it in our DNA to survive. Im always inspired by how people are holding it together. Just being present and being there is something I want to be doing. You never want to have reasons to be in a place like that, but there is nowhere else I would rather be. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A parent presented a petition to bring back art, music and physical education teachers to Central Elementary at the Valparaiso school board meeting Thursday. Rebecca Tomerlin has a son at Central and feels that it would be too difficult for one teacher to handle every special class. Centrals website lists just one teacher as the specials teacher, rather than having a designated teacher for each special subject. There are currently over 100 signatures on the petition. According to the Indiana Department of Education, there are currently 135 students enrolled at Central. Although Tomerlin likes the teacher, she said that it is not fair, as many of the other elementary schools have a designated teacher for each subject. She thinks it would be difficult to handle every subject. For example, at Cooks Corners Elementary, there is a different teacher listed for art, music, STEM and P.E. on the schools website. Why is Central the one school in our elementary district that is like that? Tomerlin said. Several other residents supported Tomerlins petition during the public comment portion of Thursday's meeting. In other business, the school board approved several grants. Valparaiso High School will receive $15,000 for the Project Lead the Way engineering program, awarded in partnership with Ardagh Group as part of its Ardagh for Education initiative. Heavilin Elementary is receiving $2,500 to receive several percussion instruments. The VCS Backpack and Snacks program, which serves underserved students, will receive $2,150 to support the program. The board also approved a grant application for $443,508.95 for several improvements across the district, such as Chromebooks, MacBooks and STEM equipment such as flight simulation materials and other items. The school board also approved an amended 2022 bus replacement plan. The plan identifies buses scheduled for replacement in the next five years. The changed plan allows them to request approval to replace a bus prior to the normal 12 years. The plan has an estimated cost of $858,970, as there will be six buses replaced instead of five. 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. Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to fix equipment, pay a $3 million fine and donate land for the Indiana Dunes National Park to make amends for a chemical discharge from its Burns Harbor Works steel mill, then owned by ArcelorMittal USA, that resulted in a massive fish kill in 2019. The Cleveland-based steelmaker reached a consent decree with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Hoosier Environmental Council, the federal government and the state of Indiana. The environmental groups had filed a citizen enforcement lawsuit against ArcelorMittal USA after a 2019 discharge of ammonia and cyanide into the Burns Waterway leading into Lake Michigan that resulted in 3,000 dead fish and fears of contaminated drinking water. Cleveland-Cliffs bought most of ArcelorMittal USA's assets in late 2020 and agreed to the settlement, which also includes environmentally beneficial projects. The two sites jointly submitted the consent decree with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, which will weigh whether to accept it. This is a big victory for protecting Lake Michigan, safe clean water, and Northwest Indiana communities. The consent decree holds Cleveland-Cliffs accountable for its excessive pollution and Clean Water Act permit violations, and it underscores the value of citizen enforcement lawsuits, said Howard Learner, ELPCs executive director. Cleveland-Cliffs spokeswoman Patricia Persico said the incident occurred prior to Cleveland-Cliffs acquiring the mill. "In addition to agreeing to pay a monetary penalty, Burns Harbor has implemented new systems to prevent a recurrence of the event from 2019 and is committed to preserving these preventive measures. Burns Harbor is also making additional enhancements to its water treatment systems over the next several years," she said. "Environmental stewardship is one of Cleveland-Cliffs core values and an essential element of the companys business strategy. The company recognizes that all aspects of steelmaking must be accomplished in a responsible manner that minimizes impacts on the environment. Cliffs continues to focus on its environmental systems and performance across all its operations. Cleveland-Cliffs looks forward to working with the federal and state governments, as well as the citizen groups, on implementing the consent decree requirements." The Burns Harbor Works mill repeatedly exceeded Clean Water Act permit limits on cyanide and ammonia under the previous ownership in 2019. The chemical spills resulted in beach closures at the Indiana Dunes National Park, the death of thousands of fish and a threat to the main drinking water supply of Northwest Indiana and the greater Chicago metropolitan area. The steel mill's discharges flow from the Burns Waterway directly into Lake Michigan. Water utilities like Indiana American temporarily shut off nearby water intake as a precaution. Were heartened by this consent decree and were very hopeful that it will safeguard the extraordinary ecological treasure that is Lake Michigan from another toxic industrial spill, and elevate environmental protection across Northwest Indiana, which has several communities that have borne a special burden of environmental injustice for far too long, said Jesse Kharbanda, HECs Executive Director. The consent decree mandates that Cleveland-Cliffs will make "comprehensive operational and equipment upgrades" to the steel mill on the lakeshore so it doesn't violate cyanide and ammonia limits in the future. The steelmaker will pay $3 million in civil penalties that will be split between the state and federal governments. Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to do increased water monitoring this summer and next summer to watch for excessive discharges of pollutants like ammonia and cyanide. It also agreed to more quickly notify the public after ArcelorMittal delayed notifying public officials until days later and only after more than 3,000 dead fish were conspicuously floating in the lake, prompting beach closures. The steelmaker agreed to donate 127 acres of land valued at $2 million to the Shirley Heinze Land Trust. The preservation group will restore the property ecologically and eventually donate it to the neighboring Indiana Dunes National Park for public use. The land is on Boo Road just south of the Marquette Trail just west of the Indiana Dunes National Park and is not lakefront property, Learner said. It's currently vacant. "Cleveland-Cliffs has communicated that the land is not contaminated," he said. "We'll do a Phase 1 study to make sure it's clean and in appropriate shape to be restored. We hope it will be a valued addition to the National Park." 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. HAMMOND A former local union official, who was sentenced to 42 months behind bars for his role in a 2016 attack on nonunion workers, was denied a compassionate early release by a federal judge. Jeffrey R. Veach, 58, of Portage, cited health issues in seeking early release from the sentence he was given Sept. 23, 2020, a court document shows. Veach further argued that his good behavior behind bars supports his request. U.S. District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann, who sentenced Veach, said last month the defendant provided no evidence of claims of severity and risk of "an unfortunate and untimely demise" from diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and/or chronic back pain. "His motion fails to describe how his conditions affect his life in prison, and there is no indication that he has a diminished ability to provide self-care," the judge wrote. Veach further argued he has "performed admirably" while in prison, will being able to return to work as an ironworker upon his release and "has learned his lesson," Springmann said. "While the defendant's good behavior in prison and engagement with the Bureau of Prison programs is certainly commendable, this progress does not overcome the seriousness of the defendant's conduct," the judge wrote. Springmann also said she lacked the authority to grant Veach's request for home confinement. Veach had been president of the Portage-based Local 395 union of International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental, and Reinforcing Iron Workers. He resigned his union position and salary as required by his guilty plea Jan. 24, 2020 to organizing a violent attack against a non-union work crew that refused to join Local 395. Veach pleaded guilty to conspiring with Thomas R. Williamson, a former business agent for Local 395, to threaten and use violence to obtain union contracts from D5 Iron Works of Union, Illinois. A D5 Iron Works crew was installing steel framing for a school to be built for the Dyer Baptist Church the first week of January 2016. D5's owner refused Williamsons attempt to have union members work the Dyer job. Williamson allegedly returned to the construction site the next day, Jan. 7, 2016, with Veach, who recruited about a dozen rank-and-file members of Local 395 to surround the work site that afternoon. Local 395 members got out and began attacking D5 workers with fists, loose pieces of wood and steel-toe work boots, kicking some who had fallen to the ground, including one whose jaw was broken multiple times. Veach and Williamson have agreed to pay their victims $30,869 in restitution. The victims are seeking additional damages against the two defendants and the union through civil litigation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PORTAGE A 29-year-old Portage woman found slumped over the wheel of her car at a stop sign faces numerous criminal charges after testing positive for opiates and marijuana use, police said. The driver who discovered Ashley Chalabis shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Pan Am Drive and American Way said she had to open Chalabis' car door and shake her 10 to 15 seconds to wake her up, Portage police said. Chalabis reportedly denied being asleep and said she was "just thinking," according to police. Chalabis drove away and police said they caught up with her vehicle swerving with its hazard lights while northbound on Airport Road. Police said she appeared intoxicated, but she denied consuming alcohol or illegal drugs. She was arrested and faces several counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, including one accusing her of endangering others, police said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT A Lake Criminal Court magistrate appointed a public defender Friday to represent a mother accused in her 3-year-old daughter's death April 15 from child abuse. Tiarra Ashanti Renee Glenn, 28, of Gary, is accused of beating her daughter Xoey Glenn and allowing her boyfriend, Devan Loventa Allen, 29, of East Chicago, to abuse Xoey on April 12 until the child became unresponsive. Magistrate Kathleen Sullivan entered not guilty pleas on Glenn's behalf to murder, five felony counts of battery and two felony counts of neglect. Glenn's formal appearance before Judge Samuel Cappas was set for April 28. Allen was arrested last weekend in Lynwood, Illinois, and was being held at the Cook County Jail pending extradition to Lake County on similar charges, according to police and court records. Xoey was pronounced dead April 15 at University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, three days after Glenn called 911 because her daughter collapsed and began gasping for air during a beating, court documents state. Gary police arrived at Glenn's residence in the 300 block of Clark Road and found Xoey unresponsive, with bruises from head to toe. She was taken to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus, where medical staff noticed a bite mark on her abdomen, bruising in the shape of three fingers on her chest and belt marks on her legs, thighs and buttocks. Xoey had blood on her lips, redness around her neck, bruising on her feet, redness under her armpit and a bump or bruise on her forehead. After she was stabilized, she was flown to Comer Children's Hospital, where she underwent a craniotomy because of severe head trauma, documents state. Xoey died from multiple blunt force injuries as a result of child abuse, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. During two interviews with detectives, Glenn said Allen was angry with Xoey for not finishing her dinner April 11 after complaining of stomach pain. Allen served Xoey leftovers from dinner for breakfast April 12 and she ate the food, but Allen was still angry and made Xoey stand in a corner in a closet, court records state. Xoey's 5-year-old sister told police Xoey had to "make an X" standing in the corner, which involved spreading her feet and hands out against a wall to form an "X" and staying in the position for a long time. Xoey stood in the closet but began to cry, which made both Allen and Glenn angry, according to court documents. Xoey asked her mother to whip her with a belt and not Allen, because Allen was stronger, and she just wanted to sit down, records state. Glenn admitted she hit her daughter with a belt at least six times, but she was "disappointed" by Xoey's reaction so she made her 3-year-old go stand in the corner again instead of allowing her to sit down, records state. Xoey began crying again, so Allen began to hit the child with a belt, records state. At one point, Allen carried Xoey out to the living room because Xoey was hyperventilating, Glenn told police. Xoey's hands were tied behind her back, and Allen had tied a black scarf around her head that covered her eyes, nose and mouth, records state. The couple pulled the scarf up to expose Xoey's mouth and attempted to force her to drink water, but the child could not drink or calm down. Allen carried her back to the closet and struck her several more times, according to documents. Glenn told police she heard a loud thump come from the closet and Allen carried Xoey out to the living room. The child did not have a shirt on, still had her hands bound behind her back, had urinated and defecated on herself, appeared to be limp and was "staring into space" with open eyes, records state. Glenn told police Xoey was gasping for air, so she told Allen to lay the child on the couch and they changed her clothes. Glenn cleaned the house and waited about 20 minutes to Google "hyperventilation," then decided to call 911 for her daughter, documents state. The beating began about 8:20 a.m. and continued until about 11 a.m., records allege. Glenn told police she never intervened or told Allen to stop. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. VALPARAISO A 21-year-old woman, who pleaded guilty to her role in one of two armed robberies that took place more than five years ago at the former Simply Mac store in Valparaiso, will have to wait until June to find out if the deal she struck with prosecutors will be approved by a judge. Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer put off that decision Friday, explaining he needs time to clarify the timing included in the proposed plea agreement. Precious Walker, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last month to a reduced felony count of robbery, and prosecutors agreed to drop a second felony count of confinement, the proposed agreement states. The proposal calls for Walker to serve six years behind bars with credit for time already served, and she may be eligible to take part in a recovery program and later petition the court for a modification. Considering Walker had served 446 days in the county jail as of Friday, Clymer said he needs to clarify the timing of the recovery program and sentence modification option before accepting the plea. He continued Friday's sentencing hearing until June 3. Valparaiso police said at the time that the local Simply Mac store was robbed Dec. 10, 2016, and then again in a similar manner Dec. 17, 2016. During the Dec. 17 robbery, for which Walker was charged, a group of four men and a woman took a gun from a security guard and restrained all the employees in a backroom, police said. Police said at least one of the men was armed. Numerous items, valued at $70,000, were taken from the store, police said. During the Dec. 10 robbery, two masked men who were armed took several items, including a large number of iPhones. Police said about $50,000 worth of merchandise was taken during the first robbery. No one was hurt during either robbery. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 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. DOLTON Drivers looking for a cheaper than normal fill-up may want to head here Saturday morning. Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson announced Thursday on social media the locations for his third and latest gas giveway, which is scheduled for 7 a.m. Saturday. Through the Dr. Willie Wilson Foundation, Wilson plans to give away $1 million worth of gas at 16 stations in Chicago and 13 more in the south, west and north suburbs. Previous free gas events have led to traffic snarls and some drivers lining up hours before the scheduled start. In a tweet posted Thursday, Wilson urged motorists: "Please do not line up overnight." The Dolton giveaway location is the BP station at 667 E. Sibley Blvd. Other suburban stations taking part in the giveaway include a Citgo station at 11900 S. Marshfield Ave. in Calumet Park and BP stations at 5149 W. 79th St. in Burbank; 16701 Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park; and 450 S. Cicero Ave. in University Park. Among the Chicago locations are a BP station at 7600 S. South Chicago Ave. and a Super Save station at 11100 S. State St. A full list of stations participating in the giveaway is available on Wilson's Twitter account @DrWillieWilson. 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 defendant has had repeated psychotic episodes as a result of schizoaffective disorder and could be a risk to the community if released, a judge said. The case could have consequences for the trial of the five men at Guantanamo who are accused of conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks. Prosecutors in the case against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other defendants have withheld those details from defense lawyers in the death-penalty case for national security reasons. The defense lawyers want that information to seek the testimony of eyewitnesses to bolster their argument that the United States has lost the moral authority to execute prisoners who have been tortured. Mr. Zubaydah, a Palestinian man whose real name is Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, was captured in Pakistan in March 2002 and was initially thought be a high-level member of Al Qaeda. A 2014 report from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said the C.I.A. later concluded that Abu Zubaydah was not a member of Al Qaeda. The Bush administration transferred Mr. Zubaydah, who is 50, to the Pentagons wartime prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in September 2006, after more than four years in C.I.A. custody. He is held as a law of war detainee, whom interagency review boards have deemed too dangerous to release. He was granted access to a lawyer for the first time in his sixth year of U.S. confinement, but unlike the defendants in the Sept. 11 case, he has never been charged with a crime. It is undisputed that Mr. Zubaydah was subjected to brutal interrogations at one or more black sites. On 83 different occasions in a single month of 2002, he was strapped to an inclined board with his head lower than his feet while C.I.A. contractors poured water up his nose and down his throat, bringing him within sight of death, Mr. Zubaydahs lawyers told the justices. He was handcuffed and repeatedly slammed into walls, and suspended naked from hooks in the ceiling for hours at a time. He was forced to remain awake for 11 consecutive days, and doused again and again with cold water when he collapsed into sleep, they wrote. He was forced into a tall, narrow box the size of a coffin, and crammed into another box that would nearly fit under a chair, where he was left for hours. He was subjected to a particularly grotesque humiliation described by the C.I.A. as rectal rehydration. A complaint about inappropriate behavior by the actor Bill Murray has led Searchlight Pictures to suspend production of Being Mortal, a movie that was written and is being directed by Aziz Ansari, according to a person working on the production. Searchlight sent a letter on Wednesday to the cast and crew saying the suspension occurred because of a complaint but provided few further details. Late last week, we were made aware of a complaint, and we immediately looked into it, said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. After reviewing the circumstances, it has been decided that production cannot continue at this time. The letter did not provide any information on the nature of the complaint or who it involved, but the person working on the production, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details of the matter are being kept confidential, said that the movie was shut down because of what was described only as inappropriate behavior by Murray. Claire Foy won our hearts, and an Emmy, as the doughty young Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of The Crown. She returns to the small screen on Friday in a nasty bit of business called A Very British Scandal on Amazon Prime Video. As the Duchess of Argyll, a career socialite caught in a tawdry divorce, her technique is as flawless as ever. But if she wins your heart, you might want to have your valves checked. A Very British Scandal is from the producers of A Very English Scandal (2018), another three-hour Amazon-BBC mini-series that recounts a real-life tabloid firestorm among the British privileged classes. Very English, with Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw at the top of their forms, was wonderful (its also available on Prime), and that lineage along with the casting of two comparably fine performers, Foy and Paul Bettany, as the battling duchess and duke raised hopes for Very British. Those hopes, for this viewer at least, have been dashed, but your mileage may vary. If you were unhappy with the way the earlier show exploited the farcical humor latent in its characters outre and self-destructive behavior, then A Very British Scandal may be for you. The behavior is equally lamentable, but theres barely a shred of humor to be found. The duchess and duke are Margaret Whigham, the daughter of a rich Scottish businessman, and Ian Campbell, a captain in the British army in World War II who lucked into the Argyll title when a fairly distant cousin died without an heir. The series covers the 16 years of their relationship, culminating in their vicious and highly public divorce in 1963. Marina Ermoshkina, a Russian television host, typically fills her Instagram with glamorous selfies: couture clad on red carpets; bikini clad on Riviera beaches; smiling aboard yachts. But last week she decided to express her anger over Chanels new restrictions on sales to Russian nationals, by slicing up her pearl-gray leather shoulder bag worth about $8,000. In compliance with the European Unions current sanctions against selling luxury goods valued over 300 euros to Russians, Chanel not only closed all its Russian stores but also instituted a policy requesting Russian customers anywhere else in the world to sign a statement promising not to wear any new Chanel purchases within their home country of Russia. They could buy Chanel in Paris for example, but were asked not to wear it in Moscow or elsewhere in Russia. (Chanel recently clarified that the company was currently working on improving this approach. It also apologized for any misunderstanding this may have caused.) For her handbag-slicing video, Ms. Ermoshkina appeared to be in a luxury high-rise apartment, with floor-to-ceiling windows revealing the night skyline of an unidentified metropolis. Eric Bouvron and Benjamin Penamaria have crafted a zippy, low-tech stage biography, whose central highlight is live music, with two musicians and a singer onstage throughout. The artistic team clearly came to this story with good intentions. The Sykes-Picot Agreement, a secret 1916 treaty that outlined how the Ottoman lands would be divided between France and the United Kingdom, is explained and denounced. As in the film, Lawrence is made aware of the plan late, and disagrees with it. Yet this Lawrence of Arabia doesnt engage with the problems involved in representing Arab history and culture through the eyes of a British colonial-era hero. While the show includes some dialogue in Arabic, the frequent use of Allahu akbar as a war cry plays into Muslim caricatures, and a faux-Oriental dance is a low point. As the central character, Lawrence is depicted as a master strategist, without whom Arab leaders wouldnt have accomplished much. Lawrences close Arab friend, Daoum, speaks in cringeworthy pidgin French that highlights his lack of education and manners, and follows Lawrence like an over-excited puppy. It is difficult to understand why anyone would want to reaffirm these dated perspectives today, but Lawrence of Arabia is in many ways typical of the production style favored in Frances private sector. Its storytelling is relentlessly upbeat and fast-paced, with regular visual jokes and puns; the characters are brightly captured, yet often one-dimensional. The main goal, clearly, is entertainment, and two of the other nominees for best private-sector production are made of the same cloth: The Race of Giants, written and directed by Melody Mourey, and Lena Brebans production of Shakespeares As You Like It. At the Theatre des Beliers Parisiens, The Race of Giants (through May 29) dives into the 20th-century space race, efficiently weaving together history and fiction. Mourey invents a brilliant yet troubled astronaut, Jack Mancini, who makes it to NASA in the 1960s only to be betrayed by a secret Soviet agent. The production makes inventive use of video and very few props, which allows for fast transitions and jumps back and forth in time. Suddenly and without warning, Riley Ross, a lawyer for Ms. Young, said at a news conference in September, a pack of Philadelphia police officers wearing riot gear and wielding batons descended on the car, smashing multiple windows of the vehicle. The officers then violently yanked Ms. Young and her nephew from the vehicle and physically beat her, and him, in the street, causing significant injuries. According to a statement from the district attorney, Mr. Kardos is accused of pulling Ms. Young out of her sport utility vehicle by her hair, after which she was struck by fists, batons and a number of unknown objects. Ms. Young was never charged. After an internal affairs investigation, two officers including Mr. Kardos were fired and 14 were awaiting disciplinary proceedings through the departments Police Board of Inquiry, a city spokesman said in September. The Philadelphia police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Appearing at a news conference via Zoom on Thursday, Ms. Young said that she now gets nervous and scared every time theres a police officer in a car behind her. She had a message for Mr. Kardos: You could have talked to me. Im very easy to talk to. What you did to me, what you did to me in front of my son, was not acceptable. I dont wish this on my worst enemy, she added. Dealing with this has so far been one of the hardest things I had to do in life. A lawyer for Ms. Young, Thomas Fitzpatrick, said that the charges were a step in the right direction and added that a civil lawsuit against the Fraternal Order of Police was still pending. Ms. Youngs lawyers in September filed the case in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas against the national group for a since-deleted social media post it made that stated the child was wandering around barefoot in an area that was experiencing complete lawlessness. The post, which showed an officer hugging the child, stated, The only thing this Philadelphia Police Officer cared about in that moment was protecting this child. When Sarah Morgenthau entered the race for the open congressional seat in Rhode Island, she had to answer an age-old question in American politics: Are you really from here? She isnt the only one. Mehmet Oz, a leading Republican candidate for Pennsylvanias open Senate seat, grew up in Wilmington, Del., and has lived for many years in New Jersey. A mere two years before running, Oz invited People magazine for a photo shoot inside his 9,000-square-foot mansion overlooking the Manhattan skyline. He has since claimed his in-laws house in the Philadelphia suburbs as his residence, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Other out-of-state candidates like David McCormick, Ozs chief Republican rival in Pennsylvania, as well as Herschel Walker in Georgia have faced similar scrutiny this year. Morgenthau, a lawyer who left a top Commerce Department job to run for office as a Democrat, does have ties to Rhode Island. Although she grew up in Boston and New York, she notes in a video announcing her candidacy that she married her husband in the backyard of the Morgenthau familys summer home in Saunderstown, a village north of Narragansett. While work has pulled us elsewhere, Rhode Island is the place that has remained constant in all of our lives, she says. Ukrainian officials on Thursday met with leaders abroad to call for additional financial support as their country reels from devastating attacks from Russian forces and a disrupted economy. As Ukraine suffers from what he described as completely destroyed normal economic relations and widespread destruction, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the World Bank that his country needed up to $7 billion in support per month and that it would need hundreds of billions of dollars to recover from the war. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Mr. Zelensky said, Russian troops have destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of houses and more than 1,100 educational institutions, as well as hospitals and businesses. An initial analysis found that Ukraine has suffered $550 billion in losses, he said. Together we are able to implement solutions that will not only stop the aggressive intentions of the Russian Federation, not only support Ukraine in this war, but also inevitably show all the potential aggressors of the world that creating problems for other states, for other nations, means creating problems for themselves, Mr. Zelensky said, speaking virtually from Ukraine. Because if we do not do this, millions and millions of people in the world will repeatedly suffer from the aggressive actions of individual states. This seems to be a preoccupation for the Washington, D.C., native, who still lives in the area with his wife of over 35 years, Emily. At 65, Pelecanos still looks youthful, despite some gray in his beard and a bit of weather to his deep, lightly southern-accented voice. But more than once over the course of an hourlong interview, he wondered aloud whether he was running out time to get together with old friends and make television. This is perhaps owed partly to the fact that Pelecanos got a late start as a TV writer, just as he got a late start as a novelist. He attended the University of Maryland, initially studying then abandoning journalism because I felt hemmed in by all the rules. Inspired by what was happening in cinema in the 1970s, Pelecanos transferred to the film department, where I found my family, he said. He also took a class on crime fiction that set him on what would become the defining professional course of his life. After graduation, he got married and worked a series of low-wage jobs to pay the bills while pursuing his passion for detectives and mysteries, trying to learn how to be a novelist. I read like two novels a week for 10 years, trying to figure it out, Pelecanos said. I guess you could say I was adrift, he added. But while I cant claim that I knew it at the time, all the bars I was working in and the kitchens and the sales floors all that stuff gave me a hell of a lot of material that I continue to mine. At age 31, as the 1980s wound down, Pelecanos quit his job and got to work on his first novel, A Firing Offense, which introduced his amateur detective character Nick Stefanos. I was into the punk movement here in D.C. Pelecanos said. Those guys were making art and they didnt go to Juilliard. Why cant I write a book? The ultimate demonstration of inclusion, and the beauty of world languages, is A Is for Bee, by Ellen Heck. This lavishly illustrated multilingual alphabet book with colorful scratchboard drawings isnt about inclusion, it is inclusion. Rather than follow the Anglocentric pattern of apple, ball and cat, it looks across a wide variety of languages to create a new abecedarium. The cat is still here, dont worry, but its at G, with Spanish (gato), Ojibwe (gaazhagens) and Korean (goyangi) making appearances. The effect is kaleidoscopic and dizzyingly delightful. Any lover of language, or any child who likes new sounds, will be entranced. Also of note are the vast number of languages represented (69 in all), including many that dont often show up in English contexts Hausa, Quechua, Malayalam, Tlingit, Gujarati, Mongolian and some that are endangered. Of course, when writing about other languages in English, allowances have to be made. In her authors note, Heck, who was inspired by reading Lithuanian alphabet books to her son, explains how she decided on transliterations for words from languages that dont use the Latin alphabet, and how she decided which spellings to use for words that can be transliterated or spelled a number of different ways. Then theres the issue of how to pronounce these words. Ask anyone who has been frustrated that rough and through dont rhyme: We have trouble enough with English. How in the world are we to figure out how to pronounce a word like xoots (brown bear in Tlingit)? Putin prematurely claims victory in Mariupol Speaking from Moscow, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said Russia had gained control of the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, even as fighting continued. He publicly called off an assault on a final stronghold a sprawling steel mill where 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are said to remain in a stark display of the Kremlins desire to present a success to the Russian public. Follow the latest updates on the war. His call to blockade the plant so that a fly cant get through, as Putin put it, avoids, for now, a bloody battle in the strategic port city that would add to Russias growing casualty toll and tie down troops who could be deployed to the broader battle for eastern Ukraine. Ukrainians in the steel plant are holding firm, despite dire conditions. The fight for Mariupol carries enormous significance for both sides. It is the last pocket of serious resistance in the land bridge the Kremlin has created connecting territory it already holds in the eastern Donbas region with the Crimean Peninsula in the south. It is also home to much of Ukraines Azov Battalion, filled with far-right fighters who give a sheen of credibility to the Russian claim that Ukraine is run by Nazis. Devastation: Mariupol has been under siege for more than a month, with much of it lying in ruins. And satellite images show a growing mass grave on the citys outskirts. Roughly three-quarters of its residents have fled, and, according to Ukrainian officials, about 20,000 civilians there have been killed yet it is still not fully conquered. Mr. Ghosn, a onetime titan of the automotive industry who holds French and Lebanese passports, has been living as a fugitive in Lebanon since 2019, when he fled across the globe, traveling part of the trip hidden in a box, to escape what he called injustice and political persecution in Japan. The authorities there had arrested him in late 2018 on charges of financial misconduct, including underreporting his income to evade taxes while heading Nissan. An internal review by Nissan at the time found that from 2011 to 2018, Mr. Ghosn authorized over $30 million in discretionary payments to a business partner in Oman. Mr. Ghosns representatives have insisted that the payments were for business purposes only. Mr. Ghosns flight to Lebanon was strategic: The country does not have extradition treaties with Japan or France, meaning the authorities do not need to honor their arrest requests. France has been conducting its own investigation parallel to that in Japan, and prosecutors visited Beirut, Lebanons capital, twice in the past year to question Mr. Ghosn. He would need to travel to France to be formally indicted and to gain access to the details of the charges made against him. Mr. Ghosn, who has repeatedly said his arrest was part of a coup by Nissan to force him out, said Friday that he was surprised to learn of the French charges because he had been cooperating with investigators He added that he smelled something fishy about the timing of the arrest warrant, which was issued just two days before the French presidential election. An embargo on Russian natural gas could cause Germanys economic output to drop as much as 5 percent this year, the Bundesbank warned on Friday, potentially driving the country into a recession while pushing up already high consumer prices. The central banks predictions, largely in line with those of several economic institutes, also served as a warning of the danger that Europes largest economy could face if Russia decides to cut off gas exports to Europe. The central bank said its predictions were couched in uncertainty, given the unpredictable nature of the crisis surrounding Russias invasion of Ukraine. But its economic modeling showed that cutting off Russian natural gas, which before the war accounted for 55 percent of Germanys supplies, would cause gross domestic product for the year to shrink 2 percent instead of growing by 3 percent. Natural gas prices are likely to rise the most, as Russian deliveries are difficult to replace in the short term, the bank said. Roughly a third of all natural gas is used for industrial production, including steel and chemicals. Peer Pressures Do we have to follow our bosses on social media? I do (on two platforms, out of obligation I guess) and feel obligated to like all their posts. It is exhausting. Anonymous, Toronto You are under no obligation to follow your boss on social media. Your boss is not your friend. Now, some of us do follow professional colleagues on social media for a range of reasons. If you work in social media, for example, it might be necessary or beneficial to follow people you work with. Other times, you might be curious about a co-workers personal life or you might actually be friendly or even friends. When following a boss, though, there is a significant power imbalance and an added layer of pressure to engage with content. As you note, that sort of thing is exhausting. Its more work and few people are looking for more work. You also have to worry about your boss following you on social media, and perhaps knowing more about your personal life than is ideal. Boundaries start to blur and that can get messy, depending on how you handle social media. Do yourself the kindness of unfollowing your boss and dont give it another thought. Wanting to Be a Better Mentor Every few years, I opt to be part of a professional mentorship program. The programs vary, but the general structure tends to be matching people with the expectation of meeting regularly over the course of several months. Mentorship can be wonderful, and as a concept, is powerful and important. I feel terrible saying this, but Ive never felt like I give much to or get much value out of these structured programs as either a mentee or as a mentor. But I have found informal mentoring extremely helpful and rewarding. Help! What makes for good mentoring relationships? Anonymous A formal mentorship experience is only as successful as the people involved and the design of the program. Good mentoring relationships are active, mutual and always moving forward. I have found that mentoring experiences that are structured work best. In those experiences, there are clearly defined goals and outcomes. There are systems in place to create accountability, and theres flexibility to allow the mentoring relationship to evolve based on the mentees needs and the mentors expertise. Its helpful when there is a clearly delineated time frame and the possibility for informal mentoring to continue after the program is done. Its also really important for both parties to want to be involved. All too often, professionals are thrust into mentoring experiences without being given the opportunity to offer any input, without even being asked if they want to be mentored. If someone is not interested in mentoring, for whatever reason, even the most beautifully designed program will fail. It might be time for you to take a break from formal mentoring. Or perhaps you can offer some feedback about what is and isnt working in the current program. The real question here is why arent you giving or getting much value from these programs? And what, if anything, can be done to address your concerns? I wish you the best in finding more fulfilling formal mentoring experiences. That you care enough to ask this question lets me know you will figure this out. The clock is ticking on Trump Medias planned merger with Digital World Acquisition, a cash-rich blank check company that raised nearly $300 million in an initial public offering. If the companies do not complete their merger by Sept. 8 or agree to extend the deadline, Trump Media is in danger of losing out on that money. More significant, investors in a $1 billion private placement to support the merger can pull out if the deal is not completed by Sept. 20. Five months is precious little time to complete the merger while also dealing with an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulator that must sign off on the deal. Digital World disclosed the investigation just a few weeks after announcing the merger plans in October. The regulator is looking into unusual trading activity in the companys shares ahead of the announcement and seeking information about potential communications between representatives of the two companies before Digital World, a special purpose acquisition company, went public in September. The S.E.C. has requested numerous emails and text messages from individuals involved in the merger talks, said two people briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak publicly. The investigation has fueled growing skepticism about the deals prospects. Kerrisdale Capital, a prominent short-selling hedge fund a firm that specializes in betting on a stocks decline issued a 27-page report on Wednesday that predicted the S.E.C. would never sign off on the deal. Investor enthusiasm has also dampened: Shares of Digital World fell 17 percent this week, even after an 8 percent rally on Friday. The stock closed at $41, still less than half its $97.54 peak on March 4. In fact, the administration has shifted away from masks as critical to the pandemic fight for two months. President Biden and other top officials have increasingly presented masks as a matter of personal choice, not federal policy. The requirement to mask on public transportation, put in place soon after Mr. Biden took office in January, has been the exception. It was set to expire May 3, but with rising infections nationwide, the C.D.C. had left open the possibility of extending it again before the federal judge, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the Middle District of Florida, struck it down on Monday. Amid fluid deliberations about what to do, Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy White House press secretary, told reporters that the administration was appealing because the C.D.C. must have the essential public health authority to make critical decisions now and during future health crises. That is what is at stake right now, she said. Because the case turns in part on whether the C.D.C. was justified in enacting the mandate as an emergency measure that offered no room for public notice or comment, it is notable that the administration appealed the ruling while not seeking an immediate stay. The failure to try to keep the mask order in place could undercut the governments argument that there was an urgent need for the requirement; otherwise it would have tried to keep it in place, legal specialists say. If the government really wanted to fight its appeal all the way to a decision on whether to overturn Judge Mizelle, said Stephen I. Vladeck, a University of Texas at Austin law professor who specializes in federal courts, then they totally botched this, because its Thursday and the ruling was on Monday and they havent done anything about it yet. Furioza Stream it on Netflix. In the mobster crime thriller Furioza, warring gangs fight with their fists, not guns. The gang of the title is led by Kaszub (Wojciech Zielinski). But its his younger brother, Dawid (Mateusz Banasiuk), who interests a ruthless investigator (Lukasz Simlat) and his partner (Weronika Ksiazkiewicz). They want to take down Furioza, and they push Dawid (who left the outfit long ago to become a doctor) to infiltrate the group as an informant or risk his brother going to jail. Through its messages about the bonds of brotherhood forged in viciousness, the film by the Polish director Cyprian T. Olencki often recalls A Clockwork Orange. Kaszubs volatile best friend Golden (Mateusz Damiecki), for instance, begins to trust Dawid only once he proves himself in battle. The woodland brawl that ensues with the rival mob Antman features a mess of bodies punching, throwing and howling at each other. In this high-adrenaline movie about loyalty to your kin, Dawid questions what side hes truly fighting on, and wonders if the cops are the real thugs. Ucha Pind Stream it on Amazon. On the 50th anniversary of the heist, Buntons grandson, Christopher, 45, had the idea to tell his familys story. Inspired after reading his grandfathers plays, he drafted a script, he said in a recent video interview, and emailed 20 British production companies. He received six replies, including one from the producer Nicky Bentham. Richard Bean and Clive Coleman reshaped the script and Roger Michell (Notting Hill) signed on to direct, followed by Broadbent as the lead. I dont remember reading a script quite like it, said Broadbent, remarking on its old-fashioned quality. With a whimsical sense of humor softening its satirical bite, it reminded him of the films produced by Londons Ealing Studios in the 1950s, like The Lavender Hill Mob or The Ladykillers. When Bunton is tried in court, he addresses the jury as though they were the audience at a stand-up show. Broadbent has been honing his own comic instincts since childhood. He grew up in Lincolnshire to artist parents, and attended a Quaker school, where he would impersonate his teachers with studied accuracy, realizing that if he got it right, people would really laugh. I think thats what drew me into character acting, he said. The impressions werent just about mimicry, It was actually observing and nailing essential characteristics. His alert blue eyes and gawky 6-foot-1 frame lend themselves well to physical comedy, though his looks, he said, have facilitated a versatile career. I was never going to be the regular sort of good-looking, handsome chap, he said. From the word go, since I wasnt easily castable in any particular thing, I knew I had to cast my net very wide. If many doctors are unaware of these therapeutics or unsure how patients qualify for them, wheres the effective awareness and education campaign for health care providers? In the United States, such doctor outreach is often, sadly, left to pharmaceutical companies, which spend tens of billions of dollars each year marketing their drugs to physicians. This has led to heavily promoted drugs getting prescribed even when cheaper, effective alternatives exist. However, Paxlovid received an emergency use authorization, which means that legally, Pfizer cannot directly market it yet, so physicians dont get even this sort of outreach. This leaves individual doctors on their own for keeping up with new drugs and treatments, even in a pandemic and even when the drug is potentially lifesaving. Also, its not that easy to get a same-day appointment with ones regular physician, even for those who have great insurance. This makes catching the early treatment window harder. In most places, emergency rooms are always open, but besides being overloaded and understaffed, they are the last places where infected people should congregate or where the elderly or those at high risk should spend hours merely to get access to a crucial drug. A similar situation is underway for Evusheld, a Covid drug approved in December for the millions of immunocompromised people, like transplant patients and those on medications that can suppress the immune system for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. In trials, the drug reduced symptomatic infections by about 83 percent. This drug provides them with extra protection for six months as a prophylactic. Its been approved for months, and Biden also mentioned treatments for the immunocompromised in his State of the Union address. The federal government bought 1,700,000 doses, to be distributed free. So I guess this is where I should say, Stop me if you heard this before. In March, The New York Times reported that a whopping 80 percent of the doses were sitting unused as the Omicron wave washed over the country. A CNN investigation found desperate patients unable to find the drug, doctors unaware that it even exists and some pharmacies with hundreds of unused doses while others had none. Hospitals like the Mayo Clinic told CNN that they had only a few thousand boxes for the more than 10,000 patients who could benefit from it, while boxes were delivered to medical spas offering Botox or eyelash extensions (and sitting unused). The Detroit Free Press found supplies of Paxlovid and Evusheld unused because physicians werent prescribing them. A Kaiser Health News investigation found that government maps of supplies were missing many locations that had doses. This happened even as desperate patients waited for lotteries to allocate some to them. Social media is also replete with stories of despondent patients unable to locate doses or managing to do so after much effort and paying extra when they ended up out of their insurance networks. Meanwhile, at least one infusion center had so many unused doses that it ran out of refrigerator space and declined new shipments. What makes this all more troubling is that conditions like diabetes and uncontrolled high blood pressure increase the dangers of Covid and the United States has had a worse record on such health indicators than many other wealthy nations. Not having a regular relationship with a medical provider too common in the United States leaves these high-risk people open to confusion and misinformation, especially in the current political environment. People without insurance lagged in being vaccinated at all and will face more obstacles in getting antivirals. There are a lot of lies, Ms. Bernard said. Like that shes like her dad, in quotation marks, but shes totally the opposite. Her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, a former presidential candidate and the longtime leader of the far-right National Front party was completely racist. Shes not. She wants everyone to respect our ways. If you go to Africa, you respect African law. Her father just wanted to kick them all out. Such views are not uncommon, especially in small towns in France with little to no immigration. In fact, 15 years after her fathers last run for president, Ms. Le Pen has not significantly diverged from his views on immigration even though she renamed the party, in what has been seen as an attempt to distance herself from him and broaden the base. She wants asylum seekers to be processed abroad and has said her first act as president will be to propose a referendum on immigration. In La Roche-en-Brenil, a town of almost 900 people, I spoke to a 34-year-old mother of five, Chloe Odermatt, who was pushing a stroller with her 3-month-old baby. She said shed vote for Ms. Le Pen and liked that she proposed stricter controls on giving immigrants access to state services. A lot of them take advantage of the system and arent integrated in France, she told me. This election has further scrambled the traditional divide between left and right in France. Ms. Le Pen has managed to widen her consensus by combining far-right positions on immigration with a left-leaning defense of public spending and social welfare. Her message resonates, even with younger voters like Ms. Bernard she has promised to eliminate income tax for people under 30 and her once extreme positions appear less so now that the center right has also adopted much of the same rhetoric, especially on national-identity issues. Help came as well from Eric Zemmour, whose firebrand declarations made her seem more moderate. Across Burgundy, Le Pen voters kept telling me they wanted Mr. Macron out because prices kept going up and salaries werent keeping pace. In La Roche-en-Brenil, I asked a Le Pen supporter whether that was entirely Mr. Macrons fault. Well, its not mine, Thierry Chenier, 50, said. Weve tried the right; that didnt work. Weve tried the left; that didnt work. Maybe we need to try the far right, with a woman in power. Mr. Macron won the election in 2017 telling France it needed to change, pushing through labor reform that makes it easier for businesses to hire and fire. The unemployment rate fell to its lowest in 13 years, but Mr. Macron simultaneously signaled that jobs werent as secure as they once were. This heightened anxieties. The Le Pen voters I spoke with said they wanted change, but mostly they seemed to want preservation keeping their lower retirement age, raising pensions, lowering their cost of living. The change they want may actually be a status quo that Mr. Macron has said is no longer sustainable. And yet he has made great efforts to shore up the economy. During the pandemic, the Macron government pledged to spend whatever it costs to support businesses. He quickly started reopening schools and helped employers keep workers on furlough so that they could come back to work when the lockdowns ended. Still, it is hard to win saying, Imagine how much worse things could have been. Still, we often speak and treat one another as though each of us is the sum of all our past beliefs and actions, nothing added, subtracted or transformed. Elizabeth Warren, for example, long ago repudiated her Republican origins to become a leading progressive voice in this country. But in the 2020 presidential campaign, her past was thrown at her by people who saw it as a stain that wouldnt wash out or at least saw it as data to weaponize because they preferred other candidates. The left has many prison abolitionists and advocates for readmitting those whove committed crimes back into society, but that generosity is not always extended to people whove said something that may have been considered acceptable at the time but no longer is. Conservatives have their own version of this insistence that to fall from grace is to fall forever. When New Yorks Cardinal Timothy Dolan gave a homily last year about Dorothy Day, the social justice activist and Catholic convert who founded the Catholic Worker Movement, he saw fit to declare, shed be the first to admit her promiscuity. Promiscuous seems like a harsh and inaccurate word, and one that insists on her early life as a drag on any consideration of her selflessly heroic later life. Perhaps some of the problem is the passion for categorical thinking or rather for categories as an alternative to thinking. Some people evolve and change as dramatically as caterpillars turning into butterflies. Some might as well be carved from granite, carrying whatever beliefs and values they were launched with throughout their life. Some get better, some worse, some stay the same. Some shift as a result of societal changes, some for individual reasons and through individual effort. Recognizing this means having to think about each case and also means recognizing that sometimes we dont know enough to render judgment. Sometimes we do. Take Angela Davis. Her autobiography, written when she was a young woman just out of prison in the 1970s after shed been acquitted of all charges, has just been reissued. Her description of her time in jail in New York City is harsh about the lesbian relationships she witnessed there. I was a product of my time, she said recently. And it is very, I should say, inspiring to recognize how far we have come, not only in the way we talk about sexuality, but the way we talk about gender and the way we are constantly challenging binary notions of gender. And all of these transformations have happened as a consequence of the fact that people have dedicated themselves to struggle. Dr. Davis, who has long had a woman partner, credits a collective process for her individual evolution. Its a bold admission, and also a rare one, both in acknowledging past shortcomings and in acknowledging that broad social processes changed her mind. Many overlook that they are the beneficiaries of historical processes, assuming that they changed as individuals. That instinct tends to go hand-in-hand with a willingness to condemn people who existed before those processes questioned old assumptions and offered new views and values. Jewish culture, as my friend Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg points out, has clear processes for redemption and repair, in contrast to the mainstream of our society. Christianity pays more attention to forgiveness from victims, and its traditions of penance and confession tend to focus on making things right with God rather than with those theyve harmed. There are some new models, restorative justice chief among them, but for any of them to work, we have to believe in the possibility of transformation and to embrace the uncertainty it brings: People can change; some have; some insincerely profess to have done so; some wont or cant or will relapse. Asserting that someone has not changed may be as untrue, but perhaps it feels more like certainty, and it certainly requires less trust. Within days of the start of Russias invasion of Ukraine in late February, the canceling and boycotting of Russian cultural events in Europe and North America began. Cultural organizations broke ties with Russian performers and artists. Two of the worlds most revered Russian musical artists the conductor Valery Gergiev and the soprano Anna Netrebko had their performances in multiple countries canceled. The repercussions have reached artists and works with no direct connection to President Vladimir Putin or his agenda, like the 20-year-old Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev, who had openly denounced the invasion, whose debut concert tour in Canada was called off. The Polish National Opera even canceled performances of Mussorgskys Boris Godunov. The list goes on. In the heat of this moment as the depraved brutality of the unprovoked Russian invasion becomes more and more apparent these high-profile retaliations against anyone and anything Russian may be understandable, but they are far from reasonable. Russian art, music, painting and film do not belong to the Russian state. In fact, there is no one Russian culture there are many. It is profoundly ironic that those who react to the war in Ukraine by aggressively or indiscriminately canceling or restricting artists and artistic works simply for being Russian are reflecting the same kind of nationalist thinking driving the Russian invasion in the first place. Mr. Putin legitimates his war as an attempt to save Russians in Ukraine and reunite them with the Russian Federation. For him, there can be only one Russian culture and it can have only one homeland. Yet most Russians in Ukraine have no desire for Mr. Putins salvation and a great many have taken up arms to resist it. They have a different homeland. Now that is a demonstration of a distinct Russian culture. In Mr. Putins view, the only place Russian identity and culture like Russian people are safe is under the Russian state any territory in which Russians reside must therefore belong to the Russian Federation, and any Russian who rejects the protection of the Russian state is a national traitor. Ms. Netrebko herself is now being denounced as a traitor in the Russian Federation after making attempts to distance herself from Mr. Putin. The Biden administration deserves credit for laying the groundwork for multilateral sanctions, which are the only kind that have the hope of success. The greatest effects seen so far from the sanctions have been by unplugging Russia, if only partially, from the international financial system through moves like freezing billions of dollars in assets overseas and taking some Russian banks off SWIFT, the global messaging system for financial transactions. These far-reaching punishments, unthinkable even a few months ago, displayed a new sense of cooperation among the United States and the other Group of 7 countries. Even Mr. Putin acknowledged that they have achieved certain results. But focusing on helping Ukraine financially and with military equipment might prove more productive than thinking up new sanctions on Russia. The Biden administration appears to recognize this, at least in part, with its latest $800 million in military aid and $500 million in emergency funding announced on Thursday. Sanctions alone at least any sanctions that European countries would be willing to now consider will not bring Russia to its knees any time soon. As long as Europeans still depend on Russian oil and gas, Russia will be able to depend on significant income from that relationship. The spat over whether gas deliveries will be paid in rubles, as Russia has demanded, only highlights the bind that European countries find themselves in. The oligarchs who are losing their yachts and the people who are tightening their belts have little sway over the Kremlin. In Russia, with average citizens, Mr. Putin has grist for a loud I told you so about the Wests purported longing to bring down Russia. Will the sanctions imposed by the Group of 7 nations truly isolate Russia? No. A number of countries, including Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and, most significantly, China, remain on friendly terms with Russia. The fact that this list also includes archrivals Pakistan and India, as well as Iran and Israel, illustrates Mr. Putins influence as an arms dealer and a power broker in South Asia and the Middle East. The United States could tighten the economic screws on Russia by imposing secondary sanctions. U.S. officials already appear to be threatening as much in meetings and calls with officials in India and China. Secondary sanctions are a powerful tool to compel other countries to get in line with American policy. But the potential benefits need to be weighed against the risks and costs. The extraterritorial application of American laws can also incite deep resentment, even from European allies at times. Secondary sanctions should be used sparingly, and only after consultation with partners. Sanctions can have other unintended consequences as well. They can actually end up strengthening a dictators grip on power by tightening state control over the economy. Private businesses can have a hard time weathering the storm of sanctions, but authoritarian regimes and their state-owned enterprises often find ways to circumvent them. Sanctions also provide dictators with a credible external enemy to blame for the misery of their people. Instead of pushing people to rise up against their rulers, sanctions often inspire a rally-around-the-flag effect. After Western sanctions were placed on Russia in 2014, in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea, 71 percent of Russians saw them as an attempt to weaken and humiliate Russia, according to an independent poll. Ursula Bellugi, a pioneer in the study of the biological foundations of language who was among the first to demonstrate that sign language was just as complex, abstract and systematic as spoken language, died on Sunday in San Diego. She was 91. Her death, at an assisted living facility, was confirmed by her son Rob Klima. Dr. Bellugi was a leading researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego for nearly five decades and, for much of that time, was director of its laboratory for cognitive neuroscience. She made significant contributions in three main areas: the development of language in children; the linguistic structure and neurological basis of American Sign Language; and the social behavior and language abilities of people with a rare genetic disorder, Williams syndrome. She leaves an indelible legacy of shedding light on how humans communicate and socialize with each other, Rusty Gage, president of the Salk Institute, said in a statement. Dr. Bellugis work, much of it done in collaboration with her husband, Edward S. Klima, advanced understanding of the brain and the origins of language, both signed and spoken. Despite being raised on different continents and residing in different countries, Andrea Mendoza and Victor Aguilera were not deterred from pursuing a relationship after they met in Munich during Oktoberfest in September 2016. She was pretty, smart, interesting of course I had to keep in contact, even if the distance was huge, Mr. Aguilera said. We could talk a lot. It never got boring. Mr. Aguilera had taken a bus to Munich from Zurich, where he was living at the time. Ms. Mendoza, who was completing an architecture fellowship, flew from South Africa to the city, where she met Mr. Aguilera at a beer hall while on a 14-hour layover before flying to Brazil. Both of Mexican descent, they bonded over their shared heritage and love of learning about different cultures. We just had an instant connection, recalled Ms. Mendoza. On their first date at a San Francisco restaurant in April 2014, enough wine flowed and sparks flew between Elizabeth Krasney Berman and Richard Alan Fiedotin that the two soon found themselves giggling like teenagers at the bar, she said. I was immediately attracted to him from the start, added Ms. Berman, 42, the owner of LKB Consulting, a company in San Francisco that specializes in analytics and marketing strategy. He was handsome, super charming, incredibly talented, had a great sense of humor and was generous beyond belief. Set up by a mutual acquaintance, Mr. Fiedotin, 55, was equally impressed with Ms. Berman, who graduated summa cum laude from Yale, received an M.B.A. from Harvard and, like Mr. Fiedotin, was a fellow San Franciscan who had never married. When I first met Liz, my initial reaction was that she was beautiful, said Mr. Fiedotin, who graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received an M.B.A. from Stanford. I soon realized that her overall level of intelligence was completely off the charts. Hannah Cha and Anthony Kim Elfering met in quintessential rom-com fashion: They were seated next to one another at a wedding in January 2019, at which both also gave speeches; Ms. Cha as a friend of the bride, and Mr. Elfering as a friend of the groom. I looked over at him and two things stood out, Ms. Cha, 34, recalled. One was how calm Mr. Elfering seemed despite having nothing prepared for his speech. The other: He was wearing white Crocs at an otherwise very nice wedding in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, she said. I had never been to a beach wedding, Mr. Elfering, 38, said in explanation. No one told me that people were still dressing up like a normal wedding. They spent more time together as part of a smaller group that traveled to Tulum after the wedding. But when their time in Mexico ended, neither expected to see the other again anytime soon. In just the last few years, Europe has seen a sweeping law for online privacy take effect, approved far-reaching regulations to curb the dominance of the tech giants and on Saturday reached a deal on new legislation to protect its citizens from harmful online content. For those keeping score, thats Europe: three. United States: zero. The United States may be the birthplace of the iPhone and the most widely used search engine and social network, and it could also bring the world into the so-called metaverse. But global leadership on tech regulations is taking place more than 3,000 miles from Washington, by European leaders representing 27 nations with 24 languages, who have nonetheless been able to agree on basic online protections for their 450 million or so citizens. In the United States, Congress has not passed a single piece of comprehensive regulation to protect internet consumers and to rein in the power of its technology giants. Its not for lack of trying. Over 25 years, dozens of federal privacy bills have been proposed and then ultimately dropped without bipartisan support. With every major hack of a bank or retailer, lawmakers have introduced data breach and security bills, all of which have withered on the vine. A flurry of speech bills have sunk into the quicksand of partisan disagreements over freedoms of expression. And antitrust bills to curtail the power of Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, have sat in limbo amid fierce lobbying opposition. AT A TECHNICAL REHEARSAL the week before previews were to begin, the POTUS cast practiced on the rotating set for the first time. Under a bust of the suffragist Alice Paul, Dratch, wearing nude shapewear and a lace dickey, writhed on the floor in an inflatable pink inner tube as DeLaria stomped around in camo cargo shorts and a T-shirt that read SHUT UP, KAREN. Lilli Cooper, playing a White House reporter, was strapped to a portable breast pump affixed to bottles sloshing with milk; both Cooper and her character recently had a baby. As the set rotated, Suzy Nakamura, who plays the White House press secretary, raced among the rooms to hit her cue at the briefing room podium and stumbled over the presidents disembodied legs, which had accidentally been left splayed on the floor. The cast fell into laughter. When it gets toward this time of night, they get tired and they get hysterical, the director, Susan Stroman, said; it was 9 p.m. and nearing the end of the days second rehearsal stretch. Sometimes we laugh so hard that we cry and we have to stop. Stroman said that when she first read the play, she was startled to find a farce that put women not in secondary or tertiary roles but primary ones. I couldnt believe that it had all these things going for it, and that it was really funny, she said. Then she met the playwright, and I couldnt believe shes 28, said Stroman, a five-time Tony-winner who directed and choreographed The Producers. Shes an old soul. She carries the spirit of women who have come before her. If Fillinger were to play a POTUS character, it would be Stephanie, the type-A personal secretary who is always subverting her own self-doubt into an exacting performance of perfectionism. She knows that her early success means that she is leaving a very public trail of the emotional and intellectual state of her 20s. Early works are time capsules of you sometimes in a good way, she said. But they also hold all of your blind spots, and all of your little work-in-progress moments, all of your ignorance and all of your youth. Its so mortifying to have yourself, frozen at 22, out in the world, just being read. But thats been a gift, too: Ive been forced to become not so precious. As POTUS nears its opening, she is still tinkering. Ive been reworking the ending a lot to try to calibrate the tone, she said. POTUS drives frantically toward a shift among its seven women, who begin to question why they are working so hard in the service of male power. But how that change will shake out and what it will cost is somewhat open to interpretation. Fillingers relationship to optimism in her work, she said, is complex. As a young person and a woman, Im expected to perform hope for people, without having the luxury of expressing my rage, she said. But I feel like rage can be hopeful as well. HOUSTON A member of the Texas National Guard was missing and believed drowned in the Rio Grande on Friday while stationed along the river, as part of a mission ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott to help prevent illegal border crossings, according to two officials briefed on the matter. The Texas Military Department, in a brief statement, said the Guard member has gone missing along the river during a mission related incident as part of his assignment with the border mission, known as Operation Lone Star. The soldier has not been found, the department said, adding that an active search was underway. By the afternoon, helicopters, boats and divers were searching in and around the section of the river where he was last seen, an area known for frequent migrant crossings and dangerous conditions. The guardsman, who was not immediately named, had been attempting to rescue a migrant woman as she struggled in the water, according to one of the officials, Sheriff Tom Schmerber of Maverick County, which includes the city of Eagle Pass, where the incident occurred. Tensions came to a head this week when the foundation fired three staff members, including an executive vice president, prompting a rebuke by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which owns the property. The National Trust has been working to achieve a resolution to the very public dispute between the foundation and the Montpelier Descendants Committee, but these and other recent actions by the foundation lead us to question whether a resolution is possible under the current leadership, the trust said in a statement. Mr. Hickok said in a statement that the actions taken this week were for repeated and disruptive violations of our employment policies. He said the issues involved dated back more than 18 months and have to do with employees ignoring or violating the policies of the foundation and continually seeking to undermine the management of the foundation. The atmosphere at Montpelier had become untenable and toxic, aggravated by misleading public statements made by the M.D.C. and by bias demonstrated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Mr. Hickok said. Work was not getting done. Projects were being halted. Montpeliers leadership could not allow that to continue. Matt Reeves, who was fired as the director of archaeology and landscape restoration after 22 years at Montpelier, rejected that characterization. All of this is related to the board failing to recognize the partnership weve had with the descendant community for 20 years, Mr. Reeves said in an interview. Montpelier had worked with descendants to present a more accurate picture of Madison and to reconcile his legacy as a slaveholder with his reputation as a founding father. A 2017 exhibition called The Mere Distinction of Colour, for example, sought to illuminate the lives of enslaved workers at Montpelier and the political and economic factors that cemented slavery in the Constitution. The return to domestic matters was a sign of what is to come as the midterm season draws closer. Russia will remain a priority for the administration, Mr. Bidens advisers say, but it is one that has to be balanced with meeting the domestic challenges of rising prices and an unpredictable coronavirus pandemic. There is also the broader challenge of illustrating what the administration has done while trying to explain why more has not been accomplished on Mr. Bidens other promises, which include moving forward on voting rights initiatives, curbing prescription drug prices and combating climate change. Biden officials say the administration, from the president on down, understands the need to acknowledge the sticker shock the American public is feeling as the conflict in Ukraine continues. The White House wants to send the president into the country to promote his agenda more often as the midterm season begins in earnest with the worrisome caveat, they say, that the coronavirus and Russia could continue to pull him away. Presidents dont choose the circumstances under which they govern, the Democratic strategist David Axelrod said in an interview. You wake up every day with the knowledge that something unwelcome may happen. A lot of these situations are unsatisfying. One senior administration official said Mr. Biden would also need to draw more of a contrast with the Republican Party specifically its leader, former President Donald J. Trump as he begins traveling the country to solicit donations and assist Democrats in vulnerable districts. Mr. Biden said in three speeches during his trip that the Republican Party had morphed into one focused more on culture wars than what he called traditional conservative doctrine. Theres nothing conservative about deciding youre going to throw Disney out of its present posture because, Mickey Mouse? In fact, you think we should not be able to say, you know, gay? Mr. Biden said in Seattle, referring to a clash between the theme park and Florida lawmakers over a law that prohibits classroom instruction and discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in some elementary school grades. On Friday, he also called the Trump-era Republican lawmaker a different breed of cat from those he knew from his time in the Senate, a reference to Republican leaders who privately said Mr. Trump was responsible for inciting the deadly riot on Jan.6, 2021, and vowed to drive him from politics but have publicly sought Mr. Trumps favor. Mr. Bopp dismissed the case as precisely the opposite, asserting that the law was on the side of his client, who, far from engaging in insurrection, had been a victim during the riot scared, confused, and fearing for her life as Mr. Trumps supporters swarmed through the Capitol, where she was present just to do her job. He maintained that the entire Free Speech for People effort was designed to deny Georgia voters their rights, because the plaintiffs could not defeat Ms. Greene at the ballot box. This is not a candidate debate. This is not a place for political hyperbole. This is not a place for political smear. Its a court of law, Mr. Bopp said. At the heart of the case against Ms. Greene is the plaintiffs claim that the congresswoman is disqualified from seeking re-election because her support of the rioters who attacked the Capitol made her an insurrectionist under the Constitution, and therefore barred her under the little-known third section of the 14th Amendment, which was adopted during the Reconstruction years to punish members of the Confederacy. That section declares that no person shall hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution, had then engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. Similar cases have suffered setbacks in North Carolina, where a federal judge blocked a challenge against Representative Madison Cawthorn, another far-right Republican, and in Arizona, where the Superior Court in Maricopa County ruled on Thursday that it did not have the authority to block the re-elections of two other conservative Republicans, Representatives Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, and the candidacy for secretary of state of a state representative, Mark Finchem. A separate effort is pending against Republicans, including Senator Ron Johnson, in Wisconsin. But so far, only the case against Ms. Greene has been allowed to proceed. And on Friday, she was forced to answer questions under oath. Advisers to Mr. Trump said that the two had spoken on Thursday morning, after the story became public, and had what they called a good conversation. Another person familiar with the talks said that the two spoke again on Thursday night, after the audio was released showing that Mr. McCarthys denial had been a lie, and that Mr. Trump had not appeared to be rattled by the statements. Mr. McCarthys prime concern on Friday, according to a person familiar with the situation, was about Republicans he thought would be upset by his private criticism of Mr. Trump not those who might be alarmed by the fact that he had been exposed as a liar in denying it. As if to underline the point, Mr. McCarthy repeated the falsehood on Friday, telling reporters in Ridgecrest, Calif., I never thought that he should resign. There were few expressions of outrage from Republican members of Congress about their leader one who would be in line to succeed the president if he achieves his aspiration of being speaker of the House having been caught in a falsehood. They appeared to be following the lead of Mr. Trump. The former president probably realizes this is all being driven by the left and the mainstream media, said Jason Miller, an adviser to Mr. Trump, noting that it would work in Mr. McCarthys favor that the recording was first aired on an MSNBC broadcast hosted by Rachel Maddow, a frequent target of the right. The speaker battle will happen after we win back the majority. Mr. McCarthys private expressions of outrage most likely did not come as any surprise to Mr. Trump, who was irate when the congressman criticized him immediately after the Capitol assault in an unusually sharp House floor speech, saying he bears responsibility for the riot and proposing that he be censured. But Mr. McCarthy soon changed his tune after visiting the former president at his resort in Palm Beach, Fla. He walked back his condemnations, ultimately fought the creation of an inquiry and led an effort to purge Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, from her House leadership post for speaking out against Mr. Trump. The Tennessee General Assembly on Wednesday became what is believed to be the first state legislature to pass a bill that would require drunken drivers to pay child support if they kill the parent of a minor. The bill, named Ethan, Hailey, and Bentleys Law after children who lost their parents to intoxicated drivers, passed unanimously in the Senate on Wednesday and had passed unanimously in the House in February. The measure will be sent to Gov. Bill Lee, who will review the legislation before deciding whether to sign it into law, a spokesman for the governor said. As I promised, I will do what it takes to protect the future of our most valuable resources, our children, Representative Mark Hall, who introduced the bill, said in a statement. Tennesseans care for each other and we will do everything in our power to hold people accountable who chose to do harm, he added. KABUL, Afghanistan An explosion at a Sufi mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens of others, a Taliban official said, continuing a bloody week in Afghanistan that has been reminiscent of the past 20 years of war. The blast, at the Khanaqa-e-Malawi Sikandar mosque in Kunduz Province near the countrys border with Tajikistan, was the fourth major attack in Afghanistan in four days and stoked fears that the country may be heading into a violent spring when warmer weather has historically allowed militants to carry out offensives. No group immediately claimed responsibility. Details of the attack remained unclear Friday afternoon but videos showed a concrete wall reduced to rubble, shattered glass littering the floor and carpets covered in blood. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Talibans chief spokesman, said 33 people had been killed, children among them, and 43 wounded. Local residents feared the death toll would climb. WELLINGTON, New Zealand As China moves to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan and New Zealand have opened talks on an agreement for seamless sharing of classified information, a step that could strengthen Tokyos case to eventually join the Five Eyes intelligence partnership among English-speaking powers. An announcement of the negotiations, during a visit to Tokyo on Thursday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, came two days after the Solomon Islands said it had reached a security agreement with China, provoking unease among Western-aligned powers in the region. The deal, according to a leaked document, could allow Beijing to deploy troops to the Solomons, and perhaps even result in the first Chinese military base in the Pacific. The announcement speaks to both countries concerns about China, said Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in security studies at Massey University in New Zealand, which have been amplified over the past few weeks with the signing of the security agreement in the Solomons. Ms. Ardern and the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, made their concerns clear in announcing the proposed intelligence agreement. They emphasized growing strategic challenges in the Pacific and their opposition to unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo by force in the East and South China Seas. The latter appeared to be a reference to Chinese efforts to construct artificial islands for military use and its encroachment on disputed territories. SEOUL South Koreas departing president, Moon Jae-in, exchanged farewell letters with North Koreas dictator, Kim Jong-un, both governments announced on Friday, capping a checkered relationship filled with highs and lows and currently locked in a diplomatic stalemate. Mr. Moon, 69, who is barred by law from seeking re-election, will step down on May 10 after a single five-year term. In his letter sent Wednesday, he urged Mr. Kim to use dialogue to overcome the era of confrontation on the divided Korean Peninsula, according to Mr. Moons spokeswoman, Park Kyung-mee. The South Korean president asked Mr. Kim to resume dialogue with the United States to try to end the cycle of tensions caused by North Koreas nuclear weapons development and missile launches, which have led to international sanctions. There were moments of regret and memories of overwhelming emotions, Mr. Moon wrote in the letter of his relationship with Mr. Kim. But I believe that holding our hands together, we have taken a sure step toward changing the fate of the Korean Peninsula. Compared to the desolate scenes at Australias airports throughout most of the last two years, its a dizzying number of flights though still less than half as many as in 2019, when roughly 2,000 international flights touched down in Australia each week, bringing a total of 9.4 million visitors over the year. Bringing international tourists back is going to be hard work. Though the federal government recently announced that it would be putting 147 million Australian dollars, or about $108 million, toward supporting tourism, its small potatoes for an industry that lost almost 80 billion Australian dollars, or $59 billion, in visitor expenditure in 2020 alone, according to Deloitte. Add in the rising cost of just about everything, including airfares, and Chinas extremely restrictive border policies, and some analysts have forecast a recovery that might take years. Its the same story, if not more so, in New Zealand, which is yet to open to tourists from anywhere other than Australia. I dont know whether we will get back to pre-Covid levels, Margy Osmond, the chief executive of the Tourism and Transport Forum, told the Australian Financial Review earlier this year. Competition is fierce, she added: Every market in the world is now after the shy international travelers. Theres another knock-on effect. Australia issues working holiday visas to young people from around the world, who are also classified as tourists. The rough idea: You spend a year or so working, perhaps as a server or behind the bar, then take whatever youve managed to save to see a bit more of the country. Australias hospitality industry relies heavily on these young people for many customer-facing roles, especially in more rural or remote areas. Image Credit... International Herald Tribune Paris has had plenty of shocks from tourists, but it remained for the present invasion to scandalise Continental society absolutely. It was the advent of cigar-smoking women, not in the quiet corners of their homes, but in a public restaurant. Last night, while Ciros was filled to stifling with American visitors, even the waiters gasped when an elderly and matronly woman calmly called for a match, stuck a big black Havana into an amber holder and began to puff contentedly. A few minutes later, a blonde who persisted in talking about her Chicago experiences added to the excitement by borrowing the cigar from the elderly woman and smoking it to the very end. Then, apparently satisfied with the sensation they had caused, both women called for brandy night-caps and escaped from the crowd before their identity could be learned. The New York Herald, European Edition, April 22, 1922. Follow our live updates of the French runoff election between Macron and Le Pen. BONDY, France Abdelkrim Bouadla voted enthusiastically for Emmanuel Macron five years ago, drawn by his youth and his message of transforming France. But after a presidency that he believes harmed French Muslims like himself, Mr. Bouadla, a community leader who has long worked with troubled young people, was torn. He likened the choice confronting him in Frances presidential runoff on Sunday featuring Mr. Macron and Marine Le Pen, whose far-right party has a long history of anti-Muslim positions, racism and xenophobia as breaking your ribs or breaking your legs. Mr. Macron and Ms. Le Pen are now fighting over the 7.7 million voters who backed Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leftist leader who earned a strong third-place finish in the first round of the election. Were they to break strongly for one of the candidates, it could prove decisive. Nearly 70 percent of Muslims voted for Mr. Melenchon, the only major candidate to have consistently condemned discrimination against Muslims, according to the polling firm Ifop. Ukrainian officials acknowledged Friday that Russian forces had taken more than three dozen small towns in their initial drive this week to seize eastern Ukraine, offering the first glimpse of what promises to be a grinding brawl by the Kremlin to achieve broader territorial gains in a new phase of the two-month-old war. The fighting in the east along increasingly fortified lines that stretch across more than 300 miles intensified as a Russian commander signaled even wider ambitions, warning that the Kremlins forces aimed to take full control of southern Ukraine all the way to Moldova, Ukraines southwest neighbor. While it seemed unlikely that the commander, Maj. Gen. Rustam Minnekayev, would have misspoken, his warning still drew skepticism, based on Russias probable difficulty in starting another broad offensive and the generals relatively obscure role in the hierarchy. But his threat could not be ruled out. The broader war aims that he outlined at a defense industry meeting in a Russian city more than 1,000 miles away from the fighting would be far more ambitious than the downscaled goals set out by President Vladimir V. Putin in recent weeks, which have focused on gaining control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. ZAPORIZKA REGION, Ukraine The day after the war began, after their unit was nearly wiped out in a missile strike, Ukrainian Sgt. Oleksandr Gorvat presented his girlfriend and commanding officer, First Lt. Olena Petyak, a ring he had twisted together from wire and asked for her hand in marriage. Officially were not supposed to serve together, but we are not officially married, he explained on Friday, amid the whoosh of Grad rockets being fired at nearby Russian positions. That is for after the war. As soon as we win. Together with their unit, the 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade, the couple, both 25, were dug into a frontline position in the Zaporizka region of south-central Ukraine, east of the Dnipro River and only about two miles from where Russian forces were attempting to overrun more territory. Fierce fighting was underway on Friday across a band of southeastern Ukraine, in and around major towns like Polohy, Orikhiv and Vasylivka, which is on the banks of the Dnipro. It fell to the troops of the 128th to prevent Russian forces from pushing farther north toward the important industrial city of Zaporizhzhia, just 20 miles north of Vasylivka on the river. JERUSALEM Clashes broke out Friday for the seventh time in eight days at the holiest site in Jerusalem, foregrounding how the site sacred to both Jews and Muslims has become the newest focus of a monthlong spasm in tensions across Israel and the occupied territories. The skirmishes between Palestinians and Israeli police at the Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, followed a deadly wave of Arab attacks in Israel and an ensuing Israeli military crackdown in the West Bank. The clashes have prompted the fiercest exchange of rockets and missiles between Gaza militants and the Israeli armed forces since an 11-day war last May; militants fired two more rockets on Friday night. The clashes have also tested Israels emerging ties with parts of the Arab world, leading three countries that signed diplomatic agreements with Israel in 2020 to express rare criticism of the Jewish state, and undermining efforts to improve relations with neighboring Jordan. And they have deepened a government crisis within Israel, causing an Islamist party to suspend its participation in the governing coalition and increasing the chances of the opposition winning a majority in Parliament. In winter, Siberias Lake Baikal becomes the scene of a rare natural phenomenon known as Baikal Zen. Large stones balance on thin ice legs above the surface of the lake, making it seem like they are floating in the air. Lake Baikal is a fascinating body of water. Its so large it can easily be mistaken for a sea, it is also the deepest and oldest lake on Earth, as well as the largest freshwater lake by volume. But these are only the most well-known facts about Lake Baikal. There are other more mysterious things going on there, some of which give the place a mystical, almost magical aura. Take the phenomenon known as Baikal Zen, for example large, Zen-like pebbles balancing precariously on a thin ice pillar, above the frozen surface of the lake. Scientists have been studying this rare phenomenon for years, and we still dont have a unanimously accepted explanation for it. Photo Elena Vtorushina Photos capturing the Baikal Zen phenomenon started circulating online about four years ago, but people originally dismissed it as the result of digital manipulation. However, it was soon proven that the images were genuine and that such natural works of art can form on the surface of Lake Baikal, during winter, but only when certain conditions are met. View this post on Instagram A post shared by M a r i n a D u v i d z o n (@soulreflected) So what is Baikal Zen exactly? Well, it can simply be described as flat, Zen-like stones perched on thin slivers of ice, a few centimeters above the frozen surface of the lake. Its a stunning sight, to be sure, and one that scientists all over the world have been scratching their heads about for some time. It was actually the subject of a presentation by Team Ukraine at the 2018 International Physics Tournament. If you have 40 minutes to spare, and are curious to hear a scientific explanation of the phenomenon, you can watch the presentation below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by David Handler (@davidhandlermusic) It is believed that Baikal Zen occurs when these flat Zen stones freeze on the surface of the lake, and are then heated by the suns rays, to the point where the ice underneath them begins to melt. However, the heat is not the only cause of this phenomenon. If it were, the ice would melt uniformly, and there would be no ice pillar to rest on. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sebastian Klammer (@sebastianklammer) The strong winds that sometimes blow on Lake Baikal also plays a big part in the creation of Baikal Zen formations, as it prevents the melting of the central pillar of ice. So while most of the ice under the rocks melts from the heat, creating a concave surface, the central pillar remains as support. So the winds has to be blowing in order for this amazing phenomenon to occur. View this post on Instagram A post shared by grand deux (@twosecondsinaminute) But how do these Zen stones wind up on the surface of the lake to begin with? Well, according to Russian photographer Elena Vtorushina, who took some pics of Baikal Zen formations in 2018, they are blown on to the ice by the strong winds and wind up freezing in place. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Osservatorio Raffaelli 1883 (@osservatorioraffaelli) It is not clear if the poetically-named Baikal Zen occurs on other bodies of water, if the right weather conditions are met, but there are some who suggest that the clear water of the Siberian lake also influences the phenomenon somehow, as no photos of white ice pillars (water mixed with air) have been published so far. Finn Partners has inked a $1.3M six-month contract with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs for the United Arab Emirates to develop a communications strategy designed to bolster the image of the Gulf State. The contract, which went into effect Aug. 27, calls for Finn Partners to develop a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the current state of the UAEs image and soft power in terms of influence and impact on international affairs both regionally and globally. It will identify areas of improvement for the UAEs soft power strategies by looking at the use of it by the UK, Europe, North America, South America and the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman). Finn Partners will devise an image enhancement action plan that includes initiatives, objectives, stakeholder mapping, implementation and engagement strategy focused on priority countries of interest. The firm's fees are to be paid monthly and split into 70 percent retainer and 30 percent deliverables. Barry Reicherter, managing partner in Finn Partners global intelligence unit, handles the UAE work. Aric Caplan Executives in our industry want to change the world. Their level of ambition isn't eclipsed by recent college graduates or other professionals reinventing themselves and returning to the workforce. Frankly, I love my work fighting the good fight, countering threats in the public interest. For example, in April 2017, John OGrady, AFGE National Council president of EPA Locals #238, called declaring the EPA union was at an existential crossroads. Nearly 9,000 union members, all federal workers, had a target on their backs, OGrady said. White House adviser Stephen Bannon vowed to the deconstruction of the administrative state. During the ensuing 22 months, we fought to save the EPA by engaging national and local journalists and broadcasters and leveraging essential PR tactics with a measure of good luck. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, and later Andrew Wheeler, ignored the public interest and played favorites regularly with political elites and energy industry cronies. From the outset, political appointees intimidated, surveilled, and encouraged retirements upon thousands who were apolitical and known to serve customarily in nonpartisan roles. EPA bosses derided their own employees as nameless, faceless bureaucrats and drove untold numbers of career professionals to quit. We quickly messaged union leaders and prepared them to speak as private citizens who were expert scientists, engineers and lawyers. In 2017, saving the EPA addressed vulnerabilities after Hurricane Harvey triggered Texas chemical plants to leak and superfund sites to leech pollutants, requiring major EPA cleanups. Months earlier, government memos threatened to close laboratories in Houstons EPA Region 6 and San Franciscos Region 9, citing budgetary reasons. Pruitt and Wheeler reflexively alleged federal overreach by former EPA chiefs. Faithful to their free-market orthodoxy of blaming burdensome regulations, but antithetical to the established purpose of EPA, it was unclear exactly what avowed conservatives were conserving. Irresponsibly, they asserted a self-regulating type of honor system that profoundly jeopardized public health. Instead of applying rigorous science in policymaking, the proverbial fox guarded the henhouse all four years. Soon, the EPA acted ostensibly as a Business Environment Protection Agency. Unyielding, we portrayed authentic labor voices and the work of dedicated civil servants in news media to counteract widespread acrimony from EPA management. Frequent TV and radio news coverage, reporter briefings, public events, advertising, digital and social media strengthened their storytelling to save the EPA. Timely op-eds, for instance, identified the three women who stood up to protect the American people and lost their jobs. After the EPA union joined the effort to Boot Pruitt, one of the most scandal-plagued Cabinet officials ever, he resigned. Trump pressed on, advocating the L.E.A.N. management philosophy where Less Employees Are Needed. Several months before the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, 35 days, he tried union-busting. Despite that, our job was to cast a bright light on the integrity of the embattled union membership, whose morale working at EPA was sinking. On the surface, they seemed unflappable. Some brave federal employees among the 380,000 furloughed spoke out to mainstream media audiences, nationally and in local media about their plight, while 420,000 others worked without pay. Ultimately, the union prevailed. According to a major study into the role of PR firms in climate change politics, Brown University recently found many successful and renowned firms in the coal/steel/rail, gas, oil and utilities sectors continue to deny science and advance agendas for the fossil fuels industry. I say its time for PR to cut ties with fossil fuel clients. *** Aric Caplan is president of Caplan Communications, an agency he founded in 2004 to champion the conservation, environmental and renewable energy sectors. An Offaly farmer has been recognised as the Teagasc/FBD Student Dairy Farmer of the Year. The awards were presented by Charlie McConalogue TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Dublin on Thursday, April 21, 2022. Dave Moloney from County Cork was named overall 2021 Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year. Maria Keane, from County Offaly who completed the Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming at Gurteen Agricultural College, was presented with the Dairy Student Category Award. Dave Moloney completed the Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming in the Teagasc education centre in Macroom. He is very involved in the operation and running of the home farm, which has a beef system and is currently developing the animal housing and machinery aspects of the farm. Dave Moloney received the Drystock Student Category Award, before being named as the Overall Teagasc/FBD Student of the year. Dominic White, from County Limerick, studied for the level 6 Advanced certificate in Equine Breeding - Stud Management in Kildalton College, and received the Land based Enterprises Category Award. Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, congratulated all of the 18 finalists: Having young, dynamic, enthused and, most importantly, educated farmers is critical for Irish agriculture to continue to grow and to prosper. I am very pleased to be speaking with you this morning for this very important event in the education calendar, the presentation of the Teagasc 2021 Student of the Year Awards sponsored by FBD. "I would congratulate all of the finalists on their brilliant achievement. It is a proud day for them and their families to be recognised for their education achievements. This is a dynamic and exciting sector and it is a vital part of our balanced economy and the farmers graduating today will lead us through the next generation of sustainable growth. The other finalists in the competition were: Sean Og McCormack, Dunsany, Co Meath Brennus Voarino, Cape Clear Island, Skibbereen, Co Cork Jack Hickey, Freshford, Co. Kilkenny Cliona Beirne, Carrick on Shannon, Co Roscommon Tommy Dillane, Ardagh, Co Limerick Liam Higgins, Watergrasshill, Co Cork Donal O'Sullivan, Killarney, Co. Kerry Ronan McKenna, Trim, Co Meath. John Hughes, Shrule, Co Mayo Rachel Irwin, Calry, Sligo Rachelle Kennedy, Thurles, Co Tipperary April Fitzpatrick, Dunlavin, Co Wicklow Francis Hewitson, Letterkenny, Co Donegal Peter Kelleher, Kilkerley, Dundalk, Co Louth Philip Shortall, Ballyouskill, Attanagh, Co Laois The awards sponsored by FBD are being made to the top graduates of Teagasc Level 6 agricultural training programmes in 2021. Tomas O Midheach, Chief Executive of FBD Insurance said; FBD Insurance plc is committed to supporting each generation of Irish farmers and is pleased to sponsor the 2022 Teagasc / FBD Student of the Year awards. These finalists are wonderful representatives for Irish agriculture and as such, we can be sure that the future of Irish Farming is safe in their hands. On behalf of everyone at FBD, I would like to congratulate the finalists on their achievements and wish them all the very best in their future farming careers. Liam Herlihy, Chairman of Teagasc said: In 2021 over 3,500 students successfully completed training with Teagasc and were awarded a QQI certificate from across our colleges and regional education centres. The 18 students recognised through these awards will be the leaders in Irish agriculture in the future. I wish them well in their careers. I would also like to acknowledge the support of FBD Insurance, who have sponsored the Student of the Year Awards since their inception over three decades ago. To learn more about the winner and the other finalists visit: https://www.teagasc.ie/ education/going-to-college/ student-of-the-year/ LAST month Offaly County Council published an advert seeking a design consultancy service to prepare a framework document for the regeneration of Tullamore. This is a very welcome, though much overdue, initiative by the council. The framework will be expected to create a vision for the centre of the town up to 2040 and support the Government's Town Centre First policy released last year. It will include a public realm plan, regeneration proposals and a strategy for sustainable access to Tullamore. The aim of the Government's overall strategy is to create towns that are characterised by streets, spaces and parks and which are designed to invite people to meet, mingle and dwell. Like many other, if not the vast majority, of towns in Ireland, Tullamore's centre has been hollowed out due to a variety of factors over the past two decades. The development of a large retail park on the outskirts of the town led to major retailers either relocating or opening new premises there to the detriment of the town centre. The growth of online shopping resulted in the closure of many retail outlets and left the town centre's streets pockmarked with derelict and decaying units. The Government's Town Centre First policy envisagea that streets in the core of urban areas contain a variety of services and shops that provide employment opportunities, enable people to shop locally and meet the needs of the local community. It is also envisaged that town centres should provide a range of cultural, recreational and community spaces, including scope for periodic events and festivals, that bring together community members and attract visitors and tourists. As such it is heartening to see the long-awaited Tullamore Arts Centre nearing completion on High St as well as the redevelopment of a number of once thriving hospitality outlets such as the former Tullamore DEW Visitor Centre at Bury Quay. In the Town Centre First policy there is also an emphasis on reaching places by foot rather than by car. It stresses that a town should be well connected and accessible to sustainable modes of transport, enabling a high proportion of journeys to be made by foot and/or bicycle from the immediate hinterland - the 10 minute town concept. Traffic should also be managed within central areas so that streets prioritise vulnerable users, such as pedestrians and cyclists, enabling them to move about safely and in comfort. Towns should also provide a mix of housing types and tenures to cater for diverse communities in terms of age, income and mobility, the plan states. The plan recommends the utilisation of digital technology to enhance the experience of living and working in towns, enabling greater choices in terms of location and lifestyle. It also states that opportunities for the amenity, health and well-being of residents, workers and visitors must be prioritised. Central to the plan is major investment in remote working, a lifestyle change which has become a feature of many of our lives in this era of Covid restrictions on travel and social interaction. The policy promises investment for enterprise spaces, co-working hubs and remote working facilities in towns throughout the country, including Offaly and the wider Midlands. Every cloud has a silver lining and the switch to remote working during Covid has created a whole range of possibilities for Tullamore and other similar towns which could not have been envisaged a short time ago. Instead of being forced to move to cities young people now have a real chance to pursue careers in their home areas We have all witnessed the closure of post offices, garda stations, pubs, shops and other amenities in rural towns and villages over the recent past and this plan offers an opportunity to reverse this decline. But it is crucial that the Government follows through on the lofty aims contained in the plan with meaningful policy decisions over the coming years. The floods in Kwazulu-Natal Province have washed away homes and roads and left thousands without shelter, water and power. Prince Harry dodged a question about missing his Prince William and Prince Charles despite the royal expert's claim that the Duke wants to hire a mediator to help him reconcile with his brother. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in Mariupol and insisted his forces would blockade a steel plant there so that even a fly could not get through. But the defenders continued to hold out. Counter-terror police gathering evidence of potential war crimes in Ukraine have been struck by the "incredibly harrowing" material and eyewitness accounts from the front line. Observers say the governments will need to negotiate a peace agreement, despite a slew of failed talks. Prince Harry was joined by the Dutch king to cheer on athletes at the Invictus Games - after dropping into an Irish pub with friends the night before. Police say scores were injured when a bomb ripped through a mosque in Kunduz during Friday prayers. The attack came as an "Islamic State" affiliate claimed responsibility for several earlier bomb attacks. Boris Johnson is to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday as a investigation into whether he misled parliament about lockdown-busting Downing Street parties looms. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the sieged city of Mariupol despite thousands of Ukrainian military forces still holding up inside a giant steelworks facility in the region. The situation comes as the war between the two factions for control of the area has been going on for about a month. A record-setting rainstorm over Kaua'i, Hawai'i in April 2018 resulted in severe flash flooding and estimated damage of nearly $180 million. The deluge damaged or destroyed 532 homes, and landslides left people along Kaua'i's north coast without access to their homes. Atmospheric scientists have now revealed that severe supercell thunderstorms were to blame. Washington (AFP) April 21, 2022 The International Monetary Fund ended its semi-annual gathering of global finance chiefs without a consensus for the first time in its history on Thursday, a sign of the strains created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The war and the raft of sanctions on Moscow have endangered the global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and threatened global cooperation. "This meeting has obviously n Baghdad (AFP) April 21, 2022 Iraq's water resources have plunged 50 percent since last year, due to repeated periods of drought, low rainfall and declining river levels, a government official told AFP on Thursday. Oil-rich Iraq, despite its mighty Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is classified as one of the world's five countries most vulnerable to climate change and desertification. "Water reserves are far lower than w The government is hoping to put together at least R1 billion to aid the people of KwaZulu-Natal. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has been cornered in the provincial legislature as opposition parties raised doubt about the government's ability to spend flood relief funds without corruption. South Africa's military has so far deployed 400 of the 10 000 troops earmarked for emergency, relief and reconstruction operations in flood-stricken KwaZulu-Natal, a senior army officer says. South Africa: Nzimande pleased with progress on 4IR interventions Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, says he is pleased with the implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) interventions within the post school education and training sector. This follows recorded partnerships and progress by universities, colleges and Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) in advancing 4IR interventions within the sector. He said the Department of Higher Education and Training has collaborated with CISCO and Huawei to align the existing Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges curriculum with industry demands in the digital skills area. Under the CISCO agreement, at least 300 lecturers are being trained in our 50 TVET colleges to upgrade their skills on Information Communication Technology (ICT) related National Certificate Vocational NC (V) qualifications. Under the Huawei agreement, lecturers currently at 32 TVET colleges are being trained to support the introduction of subjects such as Routing & Switching, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, WLAN [wireless local-area network], and Security and Cloud Computing, Nzimande said on Thursday. Programmes aligned to ERRP priority sectors Nzimande said that colleges have identified occupational programmes to be introduced for the purposes of aligning to the priority sectors, as stipulated in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP). This is done in partnership with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and INDLELA (support centre for artisan development in South Africa). These programmes will be supported through funding from SETAs and the National Skills Fund (NSF), guided by research undertaken through the Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP) and Sector Skills Plans (SPPs), which highlighted the growing demand for digital and ICT skills across a variety of job roles. The Minister added that one of the provisions of the ERRP Skills Strategy is to ensure expanded access to short programmes and full qualifications required for the economic growth of South Africa. This demands that quality councils introduce greater flexibility in their approval processes to ensure faster turnaround for timely approval and accreditation of programmes to respond to changes and innovations in ICT related fields, he said. Demand led skilling model for global business services With support from the Presidential Employment Stimulus to the tune of R100 million, the Minister added that the NSF is managing the roll-out of a demand led skilling model for the global business services and ICT industries. This initiative is expected to be expanded in future years through insourcing funding from other public and private sector funders, the Minister said. Agriculture Sector Education and Training Authority Nzimande also highlighted that the Agriculture Sector Education and Training Authority (AgriSETA) utilised the 4IR interventions to prioritise occupations within the agricultural sector. 4IR interventions were introduced in the occupations which includes Industrial Mechanician, Planning Managers (Manufacturing), Processing Unit Managers, Plant Managers (Manufacturing), Engineering Managers, Agricultural Engineering Technicians, Agricultural Product Processing Engineering Technologists, Crop Production Mechanization Engineering Technologists, Environmental Protection Professionals and Conservation Scientists. These occupations are directly linked to 4IR where the integration of various technologies assist farmers in increasing efficiencies [and] form part of AgriSETA s priority occupations, and are prioritised in the 2022/23 financial year through funding of bursaries, graduate placement and learnerships, Nzimande said. Qualifications to address cyber security Meanwhile, Nzimande announced that the Banking Sector Education and Training Authority (BANKSETA) has developed occupational qualifications to address the growing need for formal qualifications related to cyber security. He said the qualifications will be registered with the QCTO. A training programme in cyber security was implemented and recently the SETA also started to train high school students on skills for the future which include Coding, Software Programming and Data Science. The BANKSETA allocated funds to re-skill and or upskill employees whose roles may be impacted by automation, artificial intelligence, and the increased need for data analytics. There is dedicated funding allocated to IT related skills and some of the programmes funded which include Data Management, Cobit 5 and Analysing Data, the Minister said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. President Uhuru Kenyatta (1st L) is seen during the unveiling of the first locally manufactured malaria rapid diagnostic kit in Kilifi County, Kenya, July 22, 2021. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua) More than one million children in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi have received one or extra doses of the world's first malaria vaccine as efforts to eradicate the disease in Africa gather steam, said the World Health Organization ahead of World Malaria Day to be marked on April 25. NAIROBI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- More than one million children in Kenya, Ghana and Malawi have received one or extra doses of the world's first malaria vaccine as efforts to eradicate the disease in the continent gather steam, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday ahead of World Malaria Day to be marked on April 25. WHO in a statement issued in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, said the malaria vaccine since its launch in 2019 has significantly reduced severe ailment and death among children in the three African countries. The first ever malaria vaccine called RTS, S/AS01(RTS, S) is expected to save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 African children annually, says WHO. Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kagwe speaks during the launch of the 'End Malaria Council' in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Feb. 17, 2021. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua) So far, more than 155 million U.S. dollars have been secured from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to facilitate the introduction, procurement and delivery of the malaria vaccine to endemic countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the WHO. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said that development of a safe and efficacious vaccine marked a milestone in efforts to eliminate the vector-borne disease in the continent. "This vaccine is not just a scientific breakthrough; it is life-changing for families across Africa. It demonstrates the power of science and innovation for health," said Ghebreyesus. He stressed there was an urgency to develop more sophisticated preventive tools in order to revitalize the war on malaria in Africa that accounts for more than 94 percent of the global malaria burden. At the General Audience on Wednesday morning, 20 April, Pope Francis continued his series of catecheses on the value of old age. He deviated from his prepared discourse to underscore the importance of teaching children and young people to always honour the elderly. If there is no other option than to send them to a nursing home, he said, please visit them and bring the children to see them. The following is a translation of the Holy Fathers catechesis which was given in Italian. Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! Today, with the help of the Word of God that we have heard, we open a passage through the fragility of old age, marked in a special way by the experiences of confusion and despondency, of loss and abandonment, of disillusionment and doubt. Of course, the experiences of our frailty in the face of lifes dramatic sometimes tragic situations, can occur at any stage of life. However, in old age they can produce less of an impression and induce in others a kind of habituation, even annoyance. How many times have we heard or thought: Old people are a nuisance But, these old people are always a nuisance; weve said it, weve thought it The more serious wounds of childhood and youth rightly provoke a sense of injustice and rebellion, a strength to react and fight. On the other hand, the wounds, even serious ones, of old age are inevitably accompanied by the feeling that, in any case, life is not contradicting itself, because it has already been lived. And so the elderly are somewhat removed from our experience: we want to keep them at a distance. In the common human experience, love as is said descends: it does not return to the life behind with the same force with which it pours out on the life that is still before us. The gratuitousness of love also appears in this: parents have always known this, the old soon learn it. Nevertheless, revelation opens a way for reciprocating love in a different way: that of honouring those who have gone before us, the way of honouring the people who came before us begins here: honouring the elderly. This special love that paves the way in the form of honour that is, tenderness and respect at the same time intended for the elderly is sealed by Gods commandment. Honour thy father and mother is a solemn commitment, the first of the second tablet of the Ten Commandments. It is not just about ones own father and mother. It is about their generation and the generations before, whose leave-taking can also be slow and prolonged, creating a time and space of long-lasting coexistence with the other ages of life. In other words, it is about the old age of life. Honour is a good word to frame this aspect of returning love that concerns old age. That is, we have received the love of parents, of grandparents, and now we return this love to them, to the elderly, to our grandparents. Today we have rediscovered the term dignity, to indicate the value of respecting and caring for the life of everyone. Dignity, here, is essentially equivalent to honour: honouring father and mother, honouring the elderly is recognizing the dignity they possess. Let us think carefully about this beautiful expression of love which is honour. Even care for the sick, the support of those who are not self-sufficient, the guarantee of sustenance, can be lacking honour. Honour is lacking when an excess of confidence, instead of being expressed as delicacy and affection, tenderness and respect, is transformed into roughness and abuse. This occurs when weakness is reproached, and even punished, as if it were a fault, and when bewilderment and confusion become an opening for derision and aggression. It can happen even in the home, in nursing homes, as well as in offices or in the open spaces of the city. Encouraging in young people, even indirectly, an attitude of condescension and even contempt for the elderly, for their weaknesses and their precariousness, produces horrible things. It opens the way to unimaginable excesses. The young people who set fire to a bums blanket weve seen this because they see him as a human reject, are the tip of the iceberg, that is, of the contempt for a life that, far from the attractions and impulses of youth, already seems to be a life to be cast aside. Often we think that the old are the refuse, or we put them in the trash; to despise the elderly and cast them from life, to put them aside. This contempt, which dishonours the elderly, actually dishonours all of us. If I dishonour the elderly, I dishonour myself. The passage from the Book of Sirach, which we heard at the beginning, is rightly harsh on this dishonour, which cries out for vengeance in the sight of God. There is a passage in the story of Noah that is very expressive in this regard. The elderly Noah, the hero of the flood and still a hard worker, lies unconscious after having had a few too many drinks. Hes already old, but hes had too much to drink. His sons, in order not to wake him up and embarrass him, gently cover him, looking aside, with great respect. This text is very beautiful and says everything about the honour due to an old man. To cover the weakness of the elderly, so they dont feel ashamed. This is a text that helps us a lot. In spite of all the material provisions that richer and more organised societies make available for old age of which we can certainly be proud the struggle for the restoration of that special form of love which is honour still seems fragile and immature. We must do all we can to support and encourage it, offering better social and cultural support to those who are sensitive to this decisive form of the civilization of love. And on this point, allow me to offer some advice to parents: please, bring your kids, children, young children, closer to the elderly, always bring them closer. And when the elderly person is ill, a bit out of their mind, always bring them closer: let them know that this is our flesh, that this is what has made it possible for us to be here. Please dont push the elderly away. And if there is no other option than to send them to a nursing home, please visit them and bring the children to see them: they are the honour of our civilization, the old people who opened the doors. And many times, the children forget this. Ill tell you something personal: I used to love visiting nursing homes in Buenos Aires. I went often, I visited each one... And I remember once I asked a lady: And how many children do you have? I have four, all married, with grandchildren..., and she started talking to me about the family. And do they come [to visit]? Yes, [she said,] they always come! When I left the room, the nurse, who had heard, said to me: Father, she told a lie to cover up for her children. Nobody has come for six months! This is discarding the old, it is thinking that the old are refuse. Please: it is a grave sin. This is the first great commandment, and the only one that says the reward: Honour your father and your mother, and you will have long life on earth. This commandment to honour the elderly gives us a blessing, which is expressed in this way: You will have long life. Please cherish the elderly. And [even] if their mind goes, cherish the old. Because they are the presence of history, the presence of my family, and thanks to them I am here, we can all say: thanks to you, grandfather and grandmother, I am alive. Please dont leave them alone. And this, looking after the elderly, is not a question of cosmetics and plastic surgery, no. Rather, it is a question of honour, which must transform how we educate the young about life and its stages. Love for the human person that is common to us, including honouring a life lived, is not a matter for the old. Rather it is an ambition that will bring radiance to the youth who inherit its best qualities. May the wisdom of Gods Spirit grant us to open the horizon of this true cultural revolution with the necessary energy. Thank you. Special Greeting I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in todays Audience, especially those from England, Myanmar and the United States. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. May God bless you all! Lastly, as usual, my thoughts turn to the elderly, to the sick, to young people and newlyweds. May the message that flows from the mystery of the Resurrection be for all a commitment to recognise that in the event of Christ the deepest truth about man is proclaimed and his destiny mapped out. My blessing to all of you. Thousands of young people from Italian Dioceses gathered in Saint Peters Square on Easter Monday, 18 April, to take part in a prayer vigil with Pope Francis. The event was promoted by the National Service for Youth Ministry of the Italian Episcopal Conference (cei) under the banner: Follow Me, and saw several teenagers share their experience of trials and faith and receive the Popes encouragement and blessing. The following is a translation of the Popes address. Dear boys and girls, welcome! T hank you for being here! This square has been waiting a long time to be filled with your presence, your faces, your enthusiasm. Two years ago, on 27 March, I came here alone to present to the Lord the plea of the world stricken by the pandemic. Perhaps that evening you were also in your homes in front of the television, praying together with your families. Two years have passed with the square empty, and what has happened to the square is what happens to us when we fast: we feel like eating and, when we go to eat after fasting, we eat more; that is why it has filled up more: the square has also suffered from the fast and now it is filled with you! Today, all of you are together, coming from Italy, in the embrace of this square and in the joy of the Easter we have just celebrated. Jesus has overcome the darkness of death. Unfortunately, the clouds that obscure our time are still thick. In addition to the pandemic, Europe is experiencing a terrible war, while injustices and violence that destroy man and the planet continue in so many regions of the earth. Often it is your peers who pay the highest price: not only is their existence compromised and made insecure, but their dreams for the future are trampled underfoot. So many brothers and sisters are still waiting for the light of Easter. The Gospel passage we have just heard begins in the darkness of the night. Peter and the others take their boats and go fishing and they catch nothing. What a disappointment! When we put so much energy into fulfilling our dreams, when we invest so much, like the apostles, and nothing comes of it.... But something surprising happens: at daybreak, a man appears on the shore, who was Jesus. He was waiting for them. And Jesus says to them: There on the right side are the fish. And the miracle of many fish takes place: the nets are filled with fish. This can help us to think about certain moments in our lives. Life sometimes puts us to the test, makes us experience our fragility, makes us feel naked, helpless, alone. How many times in this period have you felt lonely, far from your friends? How many times have you been afraid? You should not be ashamed to say: I am afraid of the dark!. We are all afraid of the dark. Fears must be voiced, fears must be expressed, so that they can be driven away. Remember this: fears must be spoken. To whom? To the father, to the mother, to the friend, to the person who can help you. They must be brought to light. And when fears, which are in the darkness, go into the light, the truth breaks out. Dont be discouraged: if you are afraid, bring it into the light and it will do you good! Darkness puts us in crisis; but the problem is how I manage this crisis: if I keep it to myself, to my heart, and dont talk about it with anyone, it doesnt work. In a crisis you have to talk, talk to a friend who can help me, to dad, mum, grandpa, grandma, to the person who can help me. Crises must be illuminated in order to overcome them. Dear boys and girls, you dont have the experience of adults, but you do have something that we adults have sometimes lost. For example: as we get older, we adults need glasses because we have lost our sight, or sometimes we become a little deaf, we have lost our hearing.... Or, many times, the routine of life makes us lose our nose; you have a keen nose. Do not lose this, please! You have a keen nose for reality, and that is a great thing. The instinct that John had: as soon as he saw that gentleman there who said: Cast the net on the right, his instinct told him: It is the Lord!. He was the youngest of the apostles. You have the instinct: do not lose it! The instinct to say this is true this is not true this is not right; the instinct to find the Lord, the instinct for truth. I wish you to have Johns instinct, but also Peters courage. Peter was a bit special: he denied Jesus three times, but as soon as John, the youngest, said: It is the Lord!, he jumps into the water to meet Jesus. Do not be ashamed of your outbursts of generosity: let your instinct lead you to generosity. Throw yourselves into life. Eh, Father, but I dont know how to swim, I am afraid of life!: you have someone to accompany you, look for someone to accompany you. But do not be afraid of life, please! Be afraid of death, of the death of the soul, of the death of the future, of the closure of the heart: be afraid of this. But not of life: life is beautiful, life is for living it and for giving it to others, life is for sharing it with others, not for locking it up in oneself. I do not want to say too much, I just want to say that it is important that you move forward. Fears? Shine a light on them, voice them. Discouragement? Overcome it with courage, with someone to give you a helping hand. And you have a nose for life: do not lose it, because it is a beautiful thing. And in times of difficulty, children call their mothers. We also call our mother, Mary. She take note was almost your age when she accepted her extraordinary vocation to be Jesus mother. Nice: your age, more or less... May she help you to answer with confidence: Here I am! to the Lord: I am here, Lord: what am I to do? I am here to do good, to grow well, to help others with my insight. May Our Lady, the mother who was almost your age when she received the Angels announcement and became pregnant, may she teach you to say: Here I am!. And not to be afraid. Courage, and onward! After the Blessing the Holy Father said: May the risen Jesus be the strength of your lives: go in peace and be happy, all of you! On Wednesday, 20 April, Pope Francis met with members of the Global Researchers Advancing Catholic Education Project (g.r.a.c.e) at the Vatican. G.R.A.C.E is an international project that brings researchers and educators together to offer global knowledge and integral human development to Catholic schools. Partner institutions include Boston College in the United States, the University of Notre Dame in Australia, Saint Marys University Twickenham in the United Kingdom, and Mary Immaculate College Limerick in Ireland. The Holy Father set aside his prepared speech and completely improvised his discourse, during which he told G.R.A.C.E members that educating requires walking alongside students and guiding them as they learn from their mistakes. He also emphasized the importance of combining rhetoric with reality. The following is a translation of the Popes improvised address, which he delivered in Italian. Thank you very much for visiting. I lived in Ireland, in Dublin, in Milltown Park, to study English, but I forgot, excuse me! I will speak in Italian. Thank you for your visit. I am please, especially after listening to you [referring to the group leader]. I understood almost everything, but you were going 100 an hour and at times I couldnt understand! But I liked that vision of education Ill say it with my own words in tension between risk and security. What you do is a beautiful thing. We must break that idea of education which holds that educating means filling ones head with ideas. Thats the way we educate automatons, cerebral minds, not people. Educating is taking a risk in the tension between the mind, the heart and the hands: in harmony, to the point of thinking what I feel and do; feeling what I think and do; of doing what I feel and think. Its a balance. But we must possess Ariadnes thread to get out of labyrinths... I think also about the labyrinth of life: the boy or girl who is growing, they dont understand many things; what is Ariadnes thread, which helps young people not get lost in the labyrinth? Walking together. One cannot educate without walking alongside the people being educated. It is beautiful when we come across educators who walk alongside boys and girls. And you [in the subtitle of the book you gave me] say something very beautiful: When Rhetoric Meets Reality. Educating is not saying purely rhetorical things; educating is making what is said meet reality. Girls, boys, they have a right to make mistakes, but the educator accompanies them along the journey to direct these mistakes, so that they dont become dangerous. The true educator is not frightened by mistakes, no: he or she accompanies, takes one by the hand, listens, dialogues. [An educator] doesnt get scared, and waits. This is the human education. As you can see, there is an abyss between the legacy of the macrocephalous education and education itself, which is this carrying forward and growing, this helping to grow. I thank you for this human approach to education. And onward, courage! The last thing to which you [speaking again to the group leader] referred: dialogue between young people and the elderly is important. This is very important. Even going over parents: not to rebel, but to search for the source. The roots, the roots. Because the tree, in order to grow, needs to have a tight relationship with the roots. Do not stay fixed at the roots, no, but in a relationship with the roots. There is a poet from my homeland who says something beautiful: Everything the tree has produced comes from what it has underground. Without roots, there is no moving forward. It is only through roots that we become people: not statues in a museum, like certain traditionalists, who are cold, stiff, rigid, who think that being prepared for life means living stuck to the roots. This relationship with ones roots is necessary, but we also need to move forward. And this is the true tradition: taking from the past to move forward. Tradition is not static: it is dynamic, aimed at moving forward. There was a French theologian from the fifth century, a monk, who wondered, talking about this, how dogma could progress without ruining the inspiration of ones own tradition, how it could grow without hiding from the past. And he said in Latin: Ut anni scilicet consolidetur, dilatetur tempore, sublimetur aetate: it progresses by being consolidated with the years, developing over time, sublimating with age. Consolidetur, dilatetur tempore, sublimetur aetate, this is tradition: we need to educate in tradition, but in order to grow. Thank you, thank you very much for your work. Thank you, thank you. And now I will give you my blessing, you who come from the Green Ireland. [Blessing] Let us allow the peace of Christ to enter our lives, our homes, our countries! said Pope Francis on Easter Sunday, 17 April, before imparting the Urbi et Orbi blessing. Speaking to an estimated 100,000 pilgrims gathered in a colourfully decorated Saint Peters Square, the Holy Father called for peace and reconciliation in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The following is the English text of his address, which he delivered in Italian. Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter! J esus, the Crucified One, is risen! He stands in the midst of those who mourned him, locked behind closed doors and full of fear and anguish. He comes to them and says: Peace be with you! (Jn 20:19). He shows the wounds in his hands and feet, and the wound in his side. He is no ghost; it is truly Jesus, the same Jesus who died on the cross and was laid in the tomb. Before the incredulous eyes of the disciples, he repeats: Peace be with you! (v. 21). 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. Could it be an illusion? A figment of our imagination? No, it is not an illusion! Today, more than ever, we hear echoing the Easter proclamation so dear to the Christian East: Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Today, more than ever, we need him, at the end of a Lent that has seemed endless. We emerged from two years of pandemic, which took a heavy toll. It was time to come out of the tunnel together, hand in hand, pooling our strengths and resources... Instead, we are showing that we do not yet have within us the spirit of Jesus but the spirit of Cain, who saw Abel not as a brother, but as a rival, and thought about how to eliminate him. We need the crucified and risen Lord so that we can believe in the victory of love, and hope for reconciliation. Today, more than ever, we need him to stand in our midst and repeat to us: Peace be with you! Only he can do it. Today, he alone has the right to speak to us of peace. Jesus alone, for he bears wounds 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 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. As we contemplate those glorious wounds, our incredulous eyes open wide; our hardened hearts break open and we welcome the Easter message: Peace be with you! Brothers and sisters, let us allow the peace of Christ to enter our lives, our homes, our countries! 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. 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. May they listen to that troubling question posed by scientists almost seventy years ago: Shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war? (Russell-Einstein Manifesto, 9 July 1955). 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. 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. Amid the pain of the war, there are also encouraging signs, such as the open doors of all those families and communities that are welcoming migrants and refugees throughout Europe. May these numerous acts of charity become a blessing for our societies, at times debased by selfishness and individualism, and help to make them welcoming to all. 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. May there be peace for the Middle East, racked by years of conflict and division. On this glorious day, let us ask for peace upon Jerusalem and peace upon all those who love her (cf. Ps 121 [122]), 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. May there be peace and reconciliation for the peoples of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and in particular for all the Christian communities of the Middle East. May there be peace also for Libya, so that it may find stability after years of tensions, and for Yemen, which suffers from a conflict forgotten by all, with continuous victims: may the truce signed in recent days restore hope to its people. 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. May there be peace for the entire African continent, so that the exploitation it suffers and the hemorrhaging caused by terrorist attacks particularly in the Sahel region may cease, and that it may find concrete support in the fraternity of the peoples. May the path of dialogue and reconciliation be undertaken anew in Ethiopia, affected by a serious humanitarian crisis, and may there be an end to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. May prayer and solidarity not be lacking for the people in the eastern part of South Africa, struck by devastating floods. May the risen Christ accompany and assist the people of Latin America, who in some cases have seen their social conditions worsen in these difficult times of pandemic, exacerbated as well by instances of crime, violence, corruption and drug trafficking. Let us ask the risen Lord to accompany the journey of reconciliation that the Catholic Church in Canada is making with the indigenous peoples. May the Spirit of the risen Christ heal the wounds of the past and dispose hearts to seek truth and fraternity. Dear brothers and sisters, every war brings in its wake consequences that affect the entire human family: from grief and mourning to the drama of refugees, and to the economic and food crisis, the signs of which we are already seeing. 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. Brothers and sisters, may we be won over by the peace of Christ! Peace is possible; peace is a duty; peace is everyones primary responsibility! NEW ORLEANS (AP) Alcohol and the powerful opioid fentanyl killed a student from South Carolina who was left at a hospital after watching parades 10 days before Mardi Gras, the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office reported Thursday. The family of Ciaya Whetstone is saddened by the information contained in the coroners report ... and distraught that their daughter may have been the victim of a spiked substance," said a statement by attorneys for the family of the Bamberg, South Carolina, student. Attorneys Justin Bamberg, L. Chris Stewart, Brandon DeCuir and Michael Adams said they need information about an Uber driver who reportedly drove the 21-year-old University of New Orleans student from Bamberg, South Carolina, to look for her car. They want to know what the Uber driver did as he witnessed a passenger dying, and why he never called 911 as he witnessed a medical emergency, the statement said. "Uber still has not released any information to the family, so we are forced to file our lawsuit. Uber said Thursday that it cannot comment on pending litigation. The company has given police requested information about the driver, vehicle and GPS trip data, according to emailed information from the company. The statement said police will decide whether to release that information to Wheatstone's family or the public. The company forbids contact with passengers after their trips, and its safety team has removed the drivers access to the app, the statement said. The coroners office said Whetstone died about 7 a.m. on Feb. 19 at a hospital in eastern New Orleans. That's on the other side of the city from suburban Metairie, where news outlets reported she had watched parades before going out with friends. Her roommate told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate in February that after returning home via Uber to check on her dog, she went back out with the same driver, saying she wanted to look for her car. This coroners report simply confirmed what we already suspected: she died of an overdose and her Uber driver failed to take appropriate action, the lawyers said. The statement continued, We are waiting for law enforcement and Uber to offer additional details that will provide this family with the real information they need. The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Collin Periatt. Wednesday, April 20 11:41 p.m. Deputies conducted a traffic stop at a Lee Township location. Deputies made contact with the 26-year-old driver. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the vehicle didn't have any insurance on it. The driver was issued a citation. 9:42 p.m. Officers investigated reports of a verbal domestic disturbance on Stark Road. 9:06 p.m. A deputy responded to a Hope Township residence to check the welfare of a 79-year-old man. The deputy spoke with the man and learned that he did not wish to speak to his 24-year-old granddaughter who was attempting to check up on him. The deputy notified the granddaughter of the results. 8:42 p.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Warren Township residence regarding a 43-year-old woman reporting a domestic assault. Deputies spoke with the woman and her 38-year-old husband. Neither party had any injuries and were separated for the night. 8:29 p.m. A deputy assisted the Michigan State Police with traffic control at a fatal traffic crash in Lincoln Township. 11:55 a.m. Deputies performed a traffic stop on a vehicle for an expired plate in Edenville Township. Further investigation by Deputies found the 27-Year-Old driver had a suspended license and the vehicle did not have insurance. The man was cited for driving while his license was suspended and had no insurance. 8:51 a.m. Deputy dispatched to a Lincoln Township location regarding an unknown vehicle almost causing a traffic crash. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) The United States unleashed some of its toughest actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin right after he rolled his troops into Ukraine. Polls in the U.S. find that people want Washington to do more. So whats left, financially, diplomatically and militarily, to step up the pressure? The U.S. could get strong results from any number of next steps, economists and current and former U.S. officials say. It could simply persist in pouring cash and potent weaponry into Ukraine a likely course. It could even commit to shutting down some of the inroads the Kremlin has made into U.S. political and financial systems, also conceivable. But the mightiest trigger the West can pull now on Russia, many experts agree, is the one on a gas pump nozzle. Cutting off Russian profits from oil and natural gas sales has become a main topic among world leaders looking at what else they can do to force Putin to end his invasion. It would be very useful to try to devise a way to reduce proceeds from those sales and that really is the proper objective, I think, of a ban, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a meeting of world finance leaders Thursday. But if we can think of a way to do that without harming the entire world from higher energy prices, that would be ideal," Yellen said. President Joe Biden already has ended the relatively minor U.S. imports of Russian oil and other fossil fuel products. But the U.S. would be central if allies move to cut the global flow of Russian fuel and punish nations and businesses that fail to comply. Global purchases of Russian oil and gas production account for at least 40% of government revenue for Moscow. Exports are keeping Russias economy afloat despite the sanctions enacted so far and financing the war. Cutting back further on Russian petroleum to the market would make a global supply crunch even worse, increasing prices for everyone, including in the United States. Republicans already are making gas price increases that stem in part from Russias war a top campaign point against Biden. Everybody wants a pain-free option, right? asked Daniel Fried, a former assistant U.S. secretary of state for Europe, and one of many urging the U.S. to take tougher action as Russia builds forces for a new phase of attacks in Ukraine. Yeah, they seldom exist. If anybody writes they can do this thing without some effect on gas prices, you know, without taking a hit youre crazy, because you cant, Fried said. The U.S. is already being asked to assure the world that U.S. producers can help make up for lost Russian supply, if Europe moves to cut the hose on Russian oil purchases quickly. The U.S. would likely be an administrator and enforcer in any secondary sanctions to penalize China or other nations or businesses if they buy from or enable Russias oil and gas industry. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said European nations have considered diverting their payments for Russian oil and gas into escrow accounts, similar to deals forced on Iran and Iraq as part of sanctions. A poll by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that more than half of respondents want Biden to be tougher on Putin. People in the U.S. may just be coming around to accepting that doing that could mean financial hardships for them. By 51% to 45%, respondents in the AP-NORC poll said the U.S. should focus on sanctioning Russia as effectively as possible more than on limiting damage to the U.S. economy. But ask Alan Gold of Potomac, Maryland, if he's willing to pay more for gasoline as part of any global move to starve Russia of money for the Ukraine war, and the answer you get is a growl. I'm paying $5 a gallon now, Gold said this past week at a strip mall gas station, jerking his head at the price tally rolling upward as he pumped gas into his vehicle. Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist of the Institute of International Finance, said Russia's war is boosting the price it gets for its oil and gas, driving the surplus in Russia's current accounts to nearly $60 billion, a recent high despite all the West's sanctions. Economists and policymakers have to decide next steps as part of the larger context of militaries at war, the risks of nuclear war and the cost of Ukrainian lives, Ribakova told an online panel with Princetons Bendheim Center for Finance this past week. This is the cost were thinking about when we think about sanctions ... not just about economics. Barring major shifts, the financial realm is the one where the next major U.S. actions against Russia will come from. Militarily, the U.S. is unlikely to send in many new, complex weapons systems, like U.S. tanks or fighter or bomber jets. Doing so would tie up Ukrainian fighters in training on unfamiliar weapons when they're needed for fighting, by the Pentagon's reasoning. Instead, the U.S. is expected to keep doing what it's doing militarily, only more so, pumping in more cash and basic battlefield weapons and resupplies. On Thursday Biden pledged an additional $1.3 billion for heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition and other aid. Further boosting U.S. intelligence-sharing to help Ukraine in the fight is an option. On the diplomatic front, the U.S. and likeminded nations are exploring ways Russia could be further isolated. Russia has already been suspended from the U.N. Human Rights Council and is facing a push at the world bodys educational, scientific and cultural organization to strip it of its UNESCO presidency and bar it from hosting a June meeting of its World Heritage Committee. Russia is unlikely to be suspended from the International Civil Aviation Organization, World Health Organization or Food and Agriculture Organization, however. Any attempt to remove it from the world bodys most powerful grouping the U.N. Security Council would fail on a Russian and likely Chinese veto. Talk of the U.S. officially designating Russia or Russian mercenaries as terrorists or supporters of terrorism hasn't gained traction. There is another big step the U.S. and its democratic allies should take, that doesn't get as much attention, argues Alex Finley, a former officer of the CIAs directorate of operations: Clean up their own act. We need to examine our own role, said Finley, who tracks seizures of Russian yachts and other Western penalties on Putin. She and others say lax regulation and enforcement in the West have allowed Putin and Russia to influence U.S. elections, park cash from corrupt enterprises in shell companies and offshore tax havens, and buy visas and passports to Western countries. It's all served to erode transparency and the rule of law in Western democracies, as Putin intended, said Finley. The West got lax because "we made money with it, Finley said. But we did it in a way that we sold ... part of the soul of democracy. ___ Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Robert Burns and Fatima Hussein contributed from Washington. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Michael Politte walked out of prison Friday, paroled after nearly two decades behind bars for a crime he says he didn't commit the killing of his mother. Politte, now 38, was released from the Jefferson City Correctional Center, two months after he was granted parole. He was greeted by hugs from relatives and friends. I never thought this day would come, Politte said. I don't see any barbed wire or any wire. It's all open. It smells different, looks different. It's amazing." Rita Politte died in a fire at the family home in the eastern Missouri town of Hopewell in 1998. Michael, 14 at the time, and a friend were also in the home but managed to escape the blaze. Politte's lawyers said the boys were awakened by smoke and scrambled to escape, before Politte found the burning body of his mother. Investigators said the fire was started with gasoline and determined that Rita Politte had also suffered blunt force head trauma. The investigation focused on her teenage son as the main suspect and four years later, he was convicted as an adult of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Midwest Innocence Project and the MacArthur Justice Center, which both work to overturn wrongful convictions, have sought to exonerate Politte, saying he was convicted based on debunked science and a biased investigation. A petition by Polittes attorneys last year faulted investigators who determined that the teen had gasoline on his shoes, which was the only physical evidence they said linked him to the crime. The findings were based on now-discredited fire investigation techniques, and the state has conceded that Politte did not have gas on his shoes, the attorneys said. The petition said investigators ignored other potential suspects, including Polittes father, who was going through a difficult divorce with Rita Politte at the time of her killing. Politte said his goals now that he's out are simple. I just want to live," he said. I want to get a job. I want to work. He also wants justice for his mother, whom he said is always in my thoughts, always in my mind. A friend, Mike Glore, was among those greeting Politte. He brought along two small bikes, similar to those they used to ride together before Politte was sent away. The men hopped on the bikes and rode off the prison parking lot together. An earthy-tasting vodka made from potatoes grown on a northern Michigan family farm, distilled in a Traverse City facility and inspired by the Manistee River has started one of its few production runs. It is available at about 100 locations statewide. North River Vodka is distilled in Traverse City through a partnership with Grand Traverse Distillery and is made from fresh potatoes grown in Kalkaska by Iott Seed Farms. The vodka founder Chris Iott grew up on Iott Seed Farms. "Its the first Michigan vodka produced that way." Chris Iott, founder of North River Vodka said. "Its Michigans True Spirit." The spirit that does truly embody the Mitten state is available for bars, restaurants and stores across Michigan to carry. You can see where North River Vodka is sold on its website northrivervodka.com. Another way to try North River Vodka will be at the Art Beer and Wine Festival in Jackson this June. "The name of our vodka is basically in honor of my dad, whose two favorite places on earth were the family farm and his home on the Manistee River, which remains in the family as a gathering place for my siblings and me," Chris said. His dad ran the farm and passed away about eight years ago. Photo provided/Chris Iott "I have a journalism background I worked in newspapers for more than 20 years and currently run my own social media/marketing business," Chris continued. "My wife and I own North River Vodka but both have other jobs." Co-owner Amanda Iott also grew up in Kalkaska and knew Chris' dad and spent some time on the farm, too. The Iott family has been farming in Michigan since the 1800s and has had the farm in Kalkaska since 1974. They grow roughly 22 million pounds of seed potatoes each year. "They grow them, harvest them and store them all winter, then sell them to other farms to be used as seed," Chris said. "Those farmers grow potatoes that are made into potato chips." Photo provided/Chris Iott Photo provided/Chris Iott North River Vodka started because Chris and Amanda thought it would be a cool business venture in honor of his late father. The potatoes that are too big or small to be used as effective seed potatoes are the ones used for vodka production. Traditionally, vodka was made from potatoes. But most vodka today is produced from grains such as sorghum, corn and rye since it's cheaper to produce, according to Chris. Because of its distillation process, vodka tends to have little-to-no flavor but it can have varying tastes determined by the different methods and ingredients used. "I think a lot of vodkas just strip all the flavor out of it and it's just clean. It's supposed to be tasteless, clear alcohol," Chris said. "And we really don't filter the life out of ours. You can taste a little bit of a sweetness or earthiness to it that isn't in a lot of vodkas. So it's a little bit different." Essential vodka info: Color: Water-white and clear. Region: Can be made anywhere - historically associated with Russia, Poland and the European 'vodka belt.' Made from: Commonly made from grains (sorghum, rye, rice, wheat) but can also be made from fruits and vegetables (grapes, apples, corn, potatoes). Translation: The name vodka comes from the Slavic word "voda," which is interpreted as "little water" in Russian, but also has connections to the medieval alcoholic beverage 'aqua vitae' which in Latin means "water of life." See More Collapse The business is small. North River Vodka usually does around one production run each year since its origin in Jackson, where Chris and Amanda live, in 2018. At first, it was distilled and served only at Grand River Brewery. North River Vodka started to distill vodka for a production run on Monday, April 18. Follow the company on Instagram and Facebook to see the process. "This run will probably be three weeks which will use 40,000-45,000 pounds of potatoes," Chris said. "Which is a lot. But it's nothing compared to what they grow." Photo provided/Chris Iott Iott Seed Farms and North River Vodka also donate one pound of potatoes to a food pantry in Michigan for every bottle sold. Those who have purchased North River Vodka have helped the company donate 9,300 pounds of potatoes to Michigan food banks. "We havent sold nearly that much vodka, so you have some catching up to do!" Chris wrote on the website for North River Vodka. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) A Republican Nebraska governor candidate who is backed by former President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit Friday against a GOP state lawmaker who accused him of groping her at a local party event in 2019. The campaign of Charles W. Herbster alleges in the lawsuit that state Sen. Julie Slama falsely accused him and hurt his reputation in an effort to derail his campaign ahead of the state GOP's hotly contested May 10 primary. The suit in state district court describes Herbster as the victim of a politically motivated and groundless attack by a political opponent, who resorted to false and malicious lies accusing him of scandalous behavior. Herbster is locked in a competitive race with University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen and state Sen. Brett Lindstrom, among other candidates. Pillen won the endorsement of prominent party officials, including Slama and multimillionaire Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has sharply criticized Herbster as unqualified for the job and has acknowledged that he has spent money on dark-money ads against him. Slama has said Herbster, a wealthy business owner and loyal Trump ally, reached under her skirt and groped her at the Douglas County Republican Party's annual Elephant Remembers dinner in Omaha when she was 22 years old. The Nebraska Examiner, an online, nonprofit news outlet, first reported the accusations, along with similar charges from seven other women. None of the others have been publicly identified and The Associated Press hasn't been able to confirm their accounts. Slama has publicly acknowledged her allegations against Herbster and previously alluded to the incident in a February floor speech, although she didn't name Herbster at the time. She later confirmed the Nebraska Examiner's reporting of the incident, saying she didn't want the attention but wasn't going to lie about it. Slama did not return a message late Friday seeking comment about the lawsuit. Her attorney, Dave Lopez, said Slama has not yet been served with the lawsuit. Lopez said Herbster's lawsuit will expose him to the full scope of civil discovery, in which he would be forced to answer questions about his behavior under oath. To be sure, any claim that calls into question Sen. Slama's well-corroborated account of her sexual assault by Charles Herbster would be categorically without merit and frivolous, Lopez said. Sen. Slama will vigorously defend herself against any such lawsuit. Lopez said Slama will stand strong against any attempt to weaponize the judicial process to scare victims from coming forward to share the truth. In the lawsuit, Herbster said the accusations lack even a shred of credibility and have damaged his reputation. Plaintiff has never and would never engage in this type of conduct of which he is accused," Herbster's attorney wrote. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Herbster is widely viewed as a top contender for governor and has flaunted the endorsement of Trump, who remains popular in Republican-dominated Nebraska. The accusations against him surfaced around the time Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. visited Nebraska to campaign for Herbster. The former president is also expected to visit the state Friday at an event featuring Herbster. ___ Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia shifted a dozen crack military units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and pounded away at cities across the region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, as the two sides hurtled toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Meanwhile, Russia reported that one serviceman was killed and 27 others were left missing after the fire on board the warship Moskva, which sank a week ago following what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack. Moscow previously reported everyone aboard had been rescued. The Russian Defense Ministry did not acknowledge an attack on the ship. It continued to say a fire broke out after ammunition detonated, without explaining how that happened. The loss of the guided missile cruiser the flagship of Russias Black Sea fleet was a humiliating setback for Moscow. In Mariupol, reduced largely to smoking rubble by weeks of bombardment, Russian state TV showed the flag of the pro-Moscow Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was the city's highest point, its TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at Mariupols besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. The Kremlin has thrown over 100,000 troops and mercenaries from Syria and Libya into the fight in Ukraine and is deploying more forces in the country every day, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. We have a difficult situation, but our army is defending our state, he said. Numerous cities and villages came under bombardment in the Donbas the industrial region in the east that the Kremlin has declared the new, main theater of war as well as in the Kharkiv region just to the west, and in the south, authorities said. Russian forces pummeled an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters holed up inside the sprawling Azovstal plant, the last known pocket of resistance in the strategic southern port city, the mayors office reported. Every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor. Fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the battle for Mariupol despite the steel-mill holdouts. He ordered his forces not to storm the plant to finish off the defenders but to seal it off instead in an apparent bid to force them to surrender. Mariupol has taken on outsize importance in the war. Capturing it would deprive the Ukrainians of a vital port and complete a land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin seized from Ukraine in 2014. It would also allow Putin to throw more of his forces into the potentially climactic battle for the Donbas and its coal mines, factories and other industries, or what the Kremlin has now declared to be its main objective. Danilov reported that some 12 to 14 of Russias elite military units have, in fact, left Mariupol and begun moving to the east to take part in the fighting there. It will now be difficult for our forces, because our guys in Mariupol were taking (those units) on themselves. It is their courage and feat, he said. Danilov also said Kyiv managed to deliver weapons via helicopter at great risk under cover of night to the Mariupol steelworks, which have been bombarded for weeks. Putin said Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside the plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive, and offered decent treatment and medical care, according to an account of a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel, provided by the Kremlin. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged. More than 100,000 people down from a prewar population of about 430,000 are believed trapped in Mariupol with little food, water or heat, and over 20,000 civilians have been killed in the nearly two-month siege, according to Ukrainian authorities. Most attempts to evacuate civilians from the city have failed because of what the Ukrainians said was continued Russian shelling. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations would be open in Ukraine on Friday because it was too dangerous. She urged civilians to be patient and hang in there. Days into the Russian offensive to take the east, the campaign has yet to become a full-out assault, with military analysts saying Moscows forces are still ramping up and have not achieved any major breakthroughs in the Donbas or gained any significant ground. But shelling attacks killed three civilians in a small town and two villages Friday in the Donetsk region, which is part of the Donbas, the regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, posted on a messaging app. Kyrylenko said the Russians opened fire on at least 20 of the region's settlements. In other developments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks between the two countries have ground to a halt because Moscow hasnt received a response from Kyiv to its latest proposals, the details of which have not been released. Putins lead negotiator at the talks, Vladimir Medinsky, said he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He gave no details. Also, Rustam Minnekayev, a senior Russian military official, publicly outlined Russian war aims that appeared to be wider than what the Kremlin has stated in recent weeks. He said Russias forces aim to take full control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern too. He said such a move would open the way to the nation of Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldovan officials are warily watching Putins actions in Ukraine. In his nightly video address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned: The Russian invasion of Ukraine was assumed to be just the beginning; further, they want to grab other countries. Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak added that Russia was always lying to everyone and that, in fact from the very beginning, it wanted stupidly to steal some of Ukraines territory to secure an outlet to Transnistria. Satellite photos released Friday by Maxar Technologies revealed what appeared to be a second mass grave site excavated recently near Mariupol. The site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 40 meters (131 feet) long, Maxar said in a statement. A day earlier, Maxar made public satellite photos of what appeared to be rows upon rows of more than 200 freshly dug mass graves next to a cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. That prompted Ukrainian accusations that the Russians are trying to conceal the slaughter of civilians in the city. This confirms again that the occupiers arrange the collection, burial and cremation of dead residents in every district of the city, Andryushchenko said on the Telegram messaging app. The Ukrainians estimated that the graves seen in the photos released on Thursday could hold 9,000 bodies. The Kremlin did not respond to the satellite pictures. The U.N. Human Rights office again condemned the Russian invasion. Over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said. ___ Fisch reported from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Inna Varenytsia in Kviv and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) Sri Lanka will receive $300 million to $600 million from the World Bank over the next four months to buy medicine and other essential items, the countrys finance minister said Friday, as the Indian ocean island suffers its worst economic crisis in decades. Finance Minister Ali Sabri, who is in Washington to negotiate a rescue package with the International Monetary Fund, said in a video conference that the talks with the IMF might take some time, and that the World Bank has agreed to provide support in the meantime. Neighboring India has also agreed to provide $500 million to purchase fuel, and negotiations are underway on an additional $1 billion from New Delhi, which has already provided a credit line of $ 1 billion, Sabri said. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly $7 billion of its total $25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods. Sri Lankans have endured months of shortages of essentials such as food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine, lining up for hours to buy the limited stocks available. Fuel prices have risen several times in recent months, resulting in sharp increases in transport costs and prices of other goods. There was another round of increases earlier this week. The government has announced it is suspending repayment of foreign loans pending the talks with the IMF. Scores of protesters continued to occupy the entrance to the presidents office for a 14th day Friday demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his powerful ruling family resign over the economic crisis. The protests have spread to several parts of the country, where people have blocked roads with vehicles. On Tuesday, one person was killed and 13 others were injured when police opened fire on a group of people protesting against the fuel price hike, in the first deaths since the protests began. The shooting has drawn wide condemnation and the government has pledged to conduct an impartial inquiry. Much of the anger expressed in the weeks of growing protests 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. Five other family members are lawmakers, three of whom resigned as Cabinet ministers two weeks ago. Sabri said the government is also reaching out to China, Japan and the Asian Development Bank for help. China has already pledged about $31 million in emergency aid, including 5,000 tons of rice, medicine and raw materials. It earlier said it was mulling a request for $2.5 billion in economic assistance including a credit line to buy essentials and a loan. The debt crisis is partly blamed on projects built with Chinese loans that have not made money. Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - A highly successful COVID-19 therapy must be made available to more people, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, calling for wider distribution and greater transparency surrounding its pricing Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) East African leaders have ended a Summit on the armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a decision to deploy a special armed force and a declaration for the start of peace talks to end the conflict in the troubled region Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Thursday that 45 illegal migrants were rescued or intercepted at sea and returned to Libya from 10 to 16 April Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) A teacher and refugee from Ukraine has set up a school for Ukraine refugee children in Bucharest, Romania. Anastasia Konovalova, 30, was a headteacher in Ostrovok Primary School in Odesa, Ukraine. However, when the war broke out due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Konovalova left the country and sought asylum in Romania, NPR reports. Sense of normalcy The teacher from Odesa, Ukraine, teaches English to young Ukrainian refugee children at an elite high school, the Mihai Viteazul National College. These children sport their UNICEF backpacks while their parents wait for them in the courtyard of Mihai Viteazul. When Konovalova decided to evacuate to Romania, she initially thought about her 2-year-old son. However, she decided to bring more school books than clothing later on. She admits that she could have been subconsciously thinking of opening a school or teaching upon evacuation. Bringing a sense of normalcy to the displaced Ukrainian children was vital to her, and she turned her attention to the well-being of these children. According to a report from the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies, she expressed that creating a safe and familiar environment for refugee children is critical. Opening a school or teaching refugee children in Romania is one of the ways to create a safe and familiar atmosphere for the displaced kids. Read Also: What is TikTok Brain, What Parents Need to Know About It, and How to Stop Kids From Having It? Space for Education: High School During the Day At the onset, Konovalova started asking around through refugee assistance hubs about classes for Ukrainian children. However, there were none. Due to the stress that these refugees were experiencing, teachers like Konovalova were having a hard time. They were willing to teach many refugee children, but they did not have the space to hold classes. Eventually, however, someone told her that there was a center for refugee children. It was not a school, but Konovalova and others started teaching there. Once the demand for space became greater, Konovalova talked with the Ministry of Education and sought help for a better place to teach. Konovalova and her colleagues now have an actual school as a space for teaching and learning. In the day, it is a high school. However, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., it becomes a Ukrainian primary school. There are already 227 students within the 4 to 11 age bracket and hundreds more on the waiting list. There are about 35 children per class, but the main challenge for these children, according to Konovalova, is the language barrier. Most of these children came from the Russian-speaking city of Odesa, while some speak Ukrainian. However, none of these children know Romanian. At present, Konovalova is trying to recruit teachers who can teach Romanian to the kids. Romania has never considered itself a haven. However, the war in Ukraine has changed that. Konovalova and these children are part of the considerable number that made Romania the country with the second-largest influx of refugees since the outbreak of war. BBC reports that Romania hosts around 662,751 Ukrainian refugees as of the first week of April. Related Article: Russian Invasion Prompts Around 4.8 Million Ukrainian Children to Leave Homes, UN says Photo: (Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) Los Angeles County supervisors approved a $1.85-million payment on Tuesday, April 19, to settle a whistleblower lawsuit brought upon by a former county social worker who made allegations that he had uncovered a pattern of systemic misconduct that endangered thousands of kids, records show. According to an amended civil complaint filed at the L.A. County Superior Court on June 23, 2020, Dennis Finn served as a social worker for the county's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for 24 years before he was fired on May 22, 2019. CityWatchLA reported that Finn was subjected to harassment, retaliation, and disability discrimination for blowing the whistle at DCFS. The complaint stated that Finn's suspicions of misconduct emerged following the death of 8-year-old boy Gabriel Fernandez. He died on May 24, 2013, two days after he was beaten in his home in Palmdale. Finn uncovers irregularities within the DCFS A review of confidential documents in the days after Fernandez's death showed that county social workers left the victim in the care of his mother and his mother's boyfriend despite the mom being investigated six times regarding abuse allegations over the previous decade. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, Gabriel's mother, was later sentenced to life without parole in 2018. Isauro Aguirre, Pearl's boyfriend, received a death sentence. Young Gabriel's murder case put the DCFS under intense scrutiny. Officials decided to assemble a Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection, which recommended a series of reforms for child welfare. Finn did not stop there, though, as he dug for more details surrounding Fernandez's case. According to the complaint, Finn had noted by the year 2016 ongoing issues similar to the inappropriate or delayed responses leading up to the death of Gabriel. According to the legal papers, Finn found out that calls reporting suspected child abuse, neglect, and exploitation, which should have warranted the authorities' immediate action, were being systematically delayed. The documents stated that Finn discovered that some calls were not entered until later dates, and other calls were put into DCFS systems under an improper code, listing them as consultations instead of emergency response referrals. Read Also: Parents on High Alert For Another COVID Outbreak as New Version of Omicron Gains Traction in the U.S. Finn became a whistleblower after authorities ignored initial efforts The complaint stated that instances of delays and miscoding resulted in deep systematic flaw[s] whereby kids suffered severe injuries, continued abuse, and other brutal acts due to a failure of the defendants to ensure that their intervention and reporting were being conducted properly and in a manner compliant with relevant regulations, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times. Finn initially reported the problems internally but later took his concerns to the union, the California Department of Social Services, hotline supervisors, representatives, and other county agencies. Court documents stated that Finn decided to take this course of action after his initial efforts were ignored or retaliated against by authorities. Related Article: Parents Hesitant to Get Their Kids Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Because of Lower Vaccine Efficacy Photo: (Photo : Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Police sources revealed that the murderer who stabbed Queens mom, Orsolya Gaal, left a 'sloppy' crime scene, suggesting the suspect did not plan the gruesome attack. The killer stabbed Gaal in a frenzy in her Forest Hills home, puncturing her torso, arm, and neck 58 times. He then stuffed Gaal's body in a duffel bag and dragged it less than a mile through the quiet neighborhood where she lived. The suspect then dumped the bag on the side of a road to be discovered the next day. Police sources told the Daily Mail that dragging the bag left a trail of blood that they followed back to Gaal's home. They even compared the blood evidence that they found to a trail of bread crumbs. Suspect left a blood trail five blocks from the home of Orsolya Gaal With crime scene investigators working through the scene, gathering tips, and processing DNA evidence, sources said it is highly likely that they will find a match to the suspect through what was left in the house. Sources added that the suspect left a blood trail five blocks from Gaal's home. Sources explained that is a clear indication that the murder was not planned at all, saying, "If you want to kill somebody, you try to make it a little cleaner, be a little more prepared. He didn't go with something to move her body. He took something from the house." A source also said that he is sure with that kind of blood, there's lots of DNA there. The source believes the killer's DNA has got to be in that blood as it is not a clean scene. New details have emerged regarding Gaal's murder, with a police source saying that the fugitive killer left behind a vital clue in the victim's home, a pair of blood-soaked boots. According to the New York Post, police are now running DNA tests on the boots that cops found in a trash can outside the garage of Gaal's Tudor-style house, where she was stabbed to death. Read Also: Starr County Officials in Texas Drop Murder Charge Against Lizelle Herrera Over Self-induced Abortion Gaal's handyman lover the focus of police investigation A handyman who did work at Gaal's Juno Street home is being sought for questioning in the murder case. Sources said he had a fling with Gaal, but cops have not yet publicly identified him as a person of interest or a suspect for the brutal killing. Sources have said that the 51-year-old victim went out to watch a show at Lincoln Center with her friends on Friday evening. NBC New York reported that Gaal then hung out at a bar in her neighborhood when she returned to Queens later that night. A manager at the Forest Hills Station House said that the married mother of two walked into the bar at 11:24 p.m. and had her usual Moscow mule. Gaal then left alone around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. Related Article: Orsolya Gaal Murder Mystery Deepens as Sources Say Killer Texted Her Husband After Brutal Killing Photo: (Photo : Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for Pepsi Stronger Together) Tennessee mom Loretta Clayton is accused of threatening to blow up her son's elementary school after his backpack went missing, with the 30-year-old allegedly telling school staff over the phone that "some kids will be missing." Action News 5 reported that Clayton was arrested after she placed those threatening calls to Getwell Elementary School in Memphis on Wednesday, April 20. According to court documents, a teaching assistant at Getwell allegedly told law enforcement that she took a call from Clayton, who phoned asking about her child's missing backpack. She then grew angry, with Clayton threatening to blow up the elementary school. According to an affidavit, the teacher claimed that Clayton went on to say in the phone call that "some kids will be missing." Loretta Clayton talked to the school principal about threats The irate mother ended that conversation, but she was not finished with her tirade. Clayton called the school back, reaching the principal this time around. According to the school principal, the woman identified herself as Loretta Treadwell, Clayton's maiden name, in the phone call. Fox 13 Memphis reported that the principal issued a warning to Clayton in their conversation, telling her not to call and make threats to the school. The principal alleges in the affidavit that Clayton claimed she never threatened to blow up Getwell Elementary School and only said that some children would go missing. The principal told law enforcement officers that Clayton had previously called the school earlier in the week inquiring about the missing backpack of her son. Investigators have verified the phone number of Clayton from the calls she made to the school. Clayton was taken into custody by police later in the day because of her threatening calls. Police officials did not say if Clayton had any weapons in her possession at the time of her arrest. Read Also: Indiana State Police Asks Public to Help Identify Boy Found Dead in Woods in Washington County Clayton charged with threat of mass violence on school property According to a report, she was charged with a threat of mass violence on school property or at a school-related activity, which is a misdemeanor charge. Clayton was ordered to appear in court on Thursday, April 21. She has already been arraigned, with the Tennessee mom being given a $4,000 bond. According to U.S. News, Getwell Elementary is a public school located in Memphis, Tennessee, which is in a large city setting. Getwell Elementary's student population stands at 523, with the school serving PK-6. At Getwell, 17 percent of their students scored at or above the proficient level for reading, and 17 percent scored at or above that level for math. The minority student enrollment at Getwell Elementary is 98 percent. The school's student-teacher ratio is placed at 19:1, which is worse than the district's. Getwell's student population is 51 percent male students and 49 percent female students. There are 27 equivalent full-time teachers at Getwell and one full-time school counselor. Related Article: Convicted 'Mom Killer' Ike Nicholas Souzer Recaptured By Police After Fleeing California Halfway House Photo: (Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images) The nephews of Michelle Obama, who are between the ages of 9 and 11 years old, were expelled from their former school in Milwaukee after their parents, Craig and Kelly Robinson, allegedly raised concerns about the treatment of students of color. Craig, the older brother of the former First Lady of the United States, said that their children were not allowed to go back to the University School of Milwaukee (USM), a well-known private school, as of the 2021 school year. In an interview with CNN, Craig said that they were shocked to receive a letter from the institution that effectively terminated the enrollment of their boys. He said that the school's action was a retaliation because he and his wife have been raising issues about the unfair treatment of students of color. Craig and Kelly said that they noticed these issues, such as the racial and ethnic stereotypes in classroom instructions or insensitivity toward the students' socioeconomic status, in the virtual learning sessions during the pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. However, despite informing the school about their concerns, Kelly said that the school officials "didn't want to confront the actual issue." Instead, the parents got a letter stating that their sons would no longer be accepted into the school. Read Also: Melania Trump Claims Rejection of Her Charity Donation for School Kids is 'Politically-motivated' 'This Needs to Stop' Craig and Kelly filed the lawsuit in April 2021 after their 11-year-old boy, who was in fifth grade, was expelled without any warning. After two months, they found out that their younger son, who was in third grade, would not be allowed to enroll in the next school year. According to People, the family received the official termination letter from USM in June 2021. It cited that the Robinsons violated the School's Common Trust as partners of the institution. The nephews of Obama started attending USM in 2016. Their father said they have been communicating their concerns to the school community, as they have done in the boys' previous schools, if they saw something that needs to be corrected. Reports cited that Kelly filed at least two complaints via the school's Bias Incident Reporting System. The school acknowledged the complaints, but the lawsuit stated that no action was taken to address the issues. The Robinsons filed the lawsuit because they want to hold USM accountable for their retaliation as they are not the only family affected by this decision. The father also said that there are members of the community who are against the school's decision. "This needs to stop and change and this will help all students at the University School of Milwaukee," Craig said. The Robinsons want a jury trial and also claim monetary damages. However, the parents said this will not be for their personal gain but to use the money for "initiatives designed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools." USM Issues a Statement USM issued a statement to address the lawsuit. While it refused to comment on the specifics, the school implied that Craig and Kelly were "persistently disrespectful, bullying, or harassing" the school teachers and administrators, per NPR. The school said they were forced to take action against the Robinsons for creating an unsafe school environment. It stressed that removing the first lady's nephews was not because of bias or unfair treatment. Relate Article: Michelle Obama Biography: Texas School District Declines Parent Who Asked to Remove Book From Its Library Photo: (Photo : SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images) Halifax mom Stephanie Norman is calling for more information and support for parents whose young kids have gotten COVID-19 after taking her own baby to the IWK Health Centre for treatment on Monday, April 18. Norman, also known as Raina the Halifax Mermaid, said that her eight-month-old son, River, began exhibiting symptoms over the weekend. She initially thought her infant's fever was due to teething, but a rapid test confirmed he was infected with COVID-19. Norman decided to take her child to the hospital once his symptoms - including febrile seizure, congestion, and a cough - worsened. Norman said that once they got there, the hospital told them that many young children had been coming through its doors and that her family was "not alone" in having babies with COVID-19. Hospital says more babies are sick with COVID Norman told CBC that they said to her that while the babies are not staying in the hospital overnight, they are treating a lot of babies for the same issues and that babies just seem to be having a hard time on the first day of COVID. According to Norman, at least ten other families in the designated COVID-19 area were waiting for care in the hospital when they got there. Norman noted that all the children appeared to be under two years old, and they looked very sick. Norman paid tribute to the nurses working that day in the hospital but said she could tell they were short-staffed. She said it took six hours for her child to be seen by a doctor, given the high number of cases at the time. Read Also: Parents Hesitant to Get Their Kids Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Because of Lower Vaccine Efficacy Hospitals short-staffed as COVID ravages doctors and nurses as well The IWK reported on Wednesday that 110 of its staff were off sick with COVID-19, and another 50 were in isolation. The IWK also said that there are fewer than five patients in the hospital with COVID-19. Dr. Kirstin Weerdenburg, a pediatric emergency doctor at the IWK, said that the hospital sees more patients than usual with COVID. Weerdenburg thinks this is just a reflection of how much more COVID they are seeing in the community, saying, "There are more adults that have it, but as a result, you know, the children are also getting it." To make matters worse for the hospital, it also sees cases of influenza and other viruses apart from COVID-19. Norman said the doctor, who spent about an hour with baby River, told her that she was right to bring her son to the hospital for treatment. Norman told Saltwire that they have been so careful about COVID that it did not initially enter their thoughts that it could be COVID. Norman said River was burning up by bedtime, so they gave him some Tylenol. He then had a fever-induced seizure, which according to Dr. Jeannette Comeau, is common in babies who feel sick. Related Article: Education Cannot Wait For Millions of Ukrainian Children Who Are Still in School Despite Russian Invasion This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions Following an international tender process, Sofia International Airport in Bulgaria has selected travel retailer Dufry to operate 13 shops over an eight-and-a-half-year concession contract. Dufry will take over the operation of the 1,4332 existing commercial space in June 2022 and will develop an 1,800m2 walkthrough shop and a 170m2 arrivals shop, both of which will be in Terminal 2. The contract includes the operation of 11 duty-free shops and two duty-paid shops. The airport expects to offer a product mix that will include international brands, exclusive products and new launches. There will also be a strong focus on local products, which will be showcased within the store in a Taste of Sofia area, to convey a sense of place. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> Commenting on the new contract, Alberto Iglesias, chief operating officer of Dufry in the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and Middle East, said, Dufry is proud to have been awarded this important new concession in Bulgaria. We would like to thank Sofia Airport for the trust they have shown in us. As the leading global travel retailer, we will use our extensive knowledge and expertise to take the airports shopping experience to an entirely new level for over seven million passengers who visit Sofia Airport each year. A key element of the new walk-through store will be the integration of digital technologies. Jesus Caballero, CEO of Sofia Airport, added, With the appointment of the professional duty-free and travel retail operator Dufry for the airport shops, we are a step closer to delivering the envisaged excellence to our passengers. Our travelers deserve a better commercial experience on the airport premises and Dufry is going to deliver it. Our expectations of the global travel retailer are in line with Sofia Airports major transformation aimed to rank the airport among its European peers. AZA Finance, Africas largest non-bank institution specialising in cross-border international payments, forex and treasury services, has joined the Business and Financial Times (B&FT) organised The Money Summit (TMS) 2022 as a key sponsoring partner. The Money Summit (TMS) 2022 is scheduled to come off at the Marriott Hotel on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at 9am. The invitation-only event seeks to bring together players in the financial sector including banking, payment, insurance, investment banking, fintechs and others, to discuss pertinent financial issues and proffer solutions for the industry. The 2022 edition, under the theme Africas Economic Growth - Facilitating Investment, Payments and Settlement Systems will focus on payments as a gateway to developing Africas financial systems on the back of the recently launched Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). AZA Finances Country Manager, Nana Yaw Owusu Banahene, in an interview ahead of the summit, at which he will join experts as part of the first plenary session, explained that The Money Summit 2022 is a key platform to help discuss the growing conversations around payments and financial inclusion on the continent with the recently launched PAPSS and the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA was launched a little over a year ago and a couple of months ago the PAPSS has been launched. The continent is on the cusp of something great and AZA Finance is here to help play its role in driving more and more financial inclusion and cross border transactions, he said. He added that AZA Finance would continue to work on ways to develop partnerships to grow and enhance cross-border international Payments, FX and Treasury with Licensed entities. Touching on the companys product offering, Mr. Owusu Banahene added that by leveraging cutting edge technology with our proprietary technology in our flagship products, AZA Finance is able to significantly lower the cost and increase the speed of business payments to, from and across African markets in partnership with licensed local players. Our partners utilise our hybrid financial infrastructure and deep local knowledge to manage liquidity and send payments to dozens of bank networks, mobile money operators and payments aggregators across Africa, he added. The Money Summit 2022 comes with two plenary sessions and presentations from the Bank of Ghana (BoG); Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS); PAPSS, and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). The first plenary session will see Dr. Settor Amediku, Head of Payment Systems at BoG; Afua Adubea Koranteng, Managing Partner at Koranteng & Koranteng Legal Advisors; Nana Yaw Owusu- Banahene, Country Manager at AZA Finance; Ato Okyir, Group Head, New Ventures (Technology Innovation) at Letshego Group; and Attah Yeboah Gyan, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Fidelity Bank discuss the topic Africas payment and settlement system; Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward. This session would be moderated by Prince Moses, General Manager at Asaase Radio. The second session on the topic Enhancing Investors Confidence: Critical Vehicle to Driving Economic Growth, will have Deborah Agyemfra, Deputy Director General at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Ekow Afedzie, Managing Director at the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE); Victor Asante, Managing Director at FBN Bank Ghana; Professor Mahmoud Abdulai Mahmoud, Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS). The session would be moderated by Josephine A Offei, a Business Consultant. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former Member of Parliament for the Ejisu- Juaben constituency, Akwasi Osei Adjei has reiterated that the free Senior High School policy has been the best under the ruling President, Akufo-Addo. The free SHS policy was implemented in September 2017 during the first tenure of the ruling New Patriotic Party. The policy seek to reduce the rate of unemployment and illiteracy in the country. The policy absorbs cost of textbooks for core subjects, tuition and admission fees, library, science centre, computer laboratory, examination, boarding and utility fees plus free meals for boarding students and one free meal per day for day students. According to the NPP Chairman hopeful, education is an essential element to a countrys development. In an exclusive interview with Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9 FMs Epa Hoa Daben socio-political talk show, Hon Akwasi Osei Adjei mentioned that education is undoubtedly the significant factor to the rise of most developed countries in the world. For Every country to prosper, they need educated people. Im not saying the less or no educated ones are not needed, they are. For a country to develop every child needs to be educated. Akufo-Addo has done remarkably well with that by introducing the free SHS. He has allowed every child to be given a chance to sharpen their God given talent and contribute to the countrys progress. They can become whatever they want in this era, a politician, an engineer, a security expert and so many of them because everyone now has equal opportunity. This was what helped Singapores upsurge to becoming a developed country, Malaysia, South Korea and China all included. Education when taken seriously makes progress rapid, he shared. Reacting to whether he believes the current state of the country has improved he indicated that things can only get better. Many may think Im from the NPP party so I wont know what the people go through. To me honest, one of the best things the President said that I like was him coming to build Ghana for a better future. To me, Ghana is on a good path becos of the free SHS. Although things cannot be done perfectly, the country will get better in no time. He is not building Ghana for his name but for the future, 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 It was the strong desire to contribute to youth development and empowerment that inspired Nana Akua Afriyie Boadu to move back to Ghana. After 25 years abroad, the Ghana-born Canadian returned home to pursue a life long dream of giving back to her motherland. Nana Akua spent her formative years in Ghana but life took an interesting turn when her family relocated to Canada at 12 years old. She considered herself fortunate to migrant to a country with an advanced economy, however life in Canada birthed a passion to return home and contribute her quota to Ghanas development. Her exposure to the western world reaffirmed the value of education in societal development. She identified the need for an alternative to tertiary education which enhances the abilities and skillset of the Ghanaian youth. The 3FE Training Institute was established in 2021 as a result of her passion to equip tomorrows entrepreneurs with skills and to offer an alternative to tertiary education which, otherwise, might not be accessible to all. The Institute currently has 10 fully qualified lecturers and offers courses in Fashion, Cosmetology, Hair Styling, Nails, and Make up. The 8 dormitory accommodation on campus which houses students will soon be expanded in and around Kronum Kwapra in Kumasi where it is located. With an accreditation from the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Nana Akua hopes to expand the Institutes campuses across other regions in the near future. What makes the school unique is the skilled tutors who have acquired all the necessary certification and high quality equipment used in delivery of courses. In addition, the Institute plans to award best graduating students with immediate employment with the institution and other sister companies in their field. 3FE Institute also has a very flexible enrollment and tuition installment payment system which makes the institute accessible to all classes of people. Nana Akua believes that various governments in the past have helped improve the narrative around vocational training but the negative bias can only be eliminated with continuous education and support from both public and private entities. As an entrepreneur of a young start up business, she has had her fair share of challenges but the vision for the future fuels her with strength to tackle every challenge. She encourages all entrepreneurs to continue to pursue their dreams of advancing Ghanas development. In the next 5 years, Nana Akua hopes the 3FE Institute will be the reference Vocational and Technical Institute in Ghana with branches across other regions, empowering thousands of future entrepreneurs. Her supportive family and upbringing have shaped her values and inspired her to be the woman she is today. Contact: Email: [email protected] Telephone: 055 918 4881 Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, the Chairman of the Order of St John Ambulance, said first-aid training and professional home healthcare as lifesaving responses are collective responsibilities of all to safeguard the health of citizens. Therefore, the St John Ambulance would establish a school for first aid training and home care in Accra to teach the public on how to care for injured persons and those who are unwell. Prof Akosa said this during the 85th Anniversary launch of St Johns Ambulance in Accra adding that it was the organisations goal to have schools in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Ho. He mentioned Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) administration, haemorrhage management (how to control bleeding), immobilisation (restricting the movement of a broken bone in the leg), and how to place casualties in the recovery position as some of the lifesaving skills to be provided. He expressed concern over many Ghanaians' inability to help in medical situations, which prompted the initiative, and urged the Health Minister, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, to lead the national advocacy on first aid and safety education. He expressed regret that at accident scenes, since people lacked the knowledge and skills to assist the victims, they prefer to take photographs of the situation. The advocacy by the Health Ministry would help every member of society to prepare for medical emergencies as and when they happened, whether at the workplace, school or community. He called for the strict enforcement of section 28 of the Factories, Offices and Shops Act, 1970 (Act 328), which called for a first aider and first aid kit in every factory, shop, or office. "If you are a boss and your staff are important to you, then you must ensure that during an emergency there are people there to assist," he said. Dr Martha Gyansa Lutterrodt, the Technical Coordinator, MoH, lauded the forebears of the Ambulance Service for their contribution to the well-being of citizens and challenged the current staff to emulate their example and carve a niche for themselves. Admitting that COVID-19 slowed down the work of St John Ambulance, she urged the staff to be proactive and continue to work hard following the lifting of the restrictions and pledged the MoH's support to the institution. Dr Kwame Apedzi, the Chief Executive Officer, St John's Ambulance, said the organisation operated as an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provider in first aid, ambulance, community health, and youth development, with over 6000 volunteers across Ghana. He said the staff had trained health and safety officers of almost all the mining firms in Ghana. "St John is the only firm in Ghana licensed by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority to offer first aid training to cabin crew and engineers of all the local airlines in Ghana," he said. "Particularly this year, we have offered first aid services to a mass gathering such as Osu Manste funeral, La Manste funeral and festivals such as Akwasi Dae and Damba to mention a few." On the theme: "First Aid Saves Lives: Learn First Aid Skills", the 85th Anniversary would see the training of fisher folks, blood donation exercises and offering of free CPR education to the public. Established on June 24, 1937, the St John Ambulance has the vision of being a front-line provider of first aid training and care services in Ghana, with a mission to reducing suffering and saving lives through first aid. 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 Nana Baffour Kwabena Baah, the Akwan Srahene (intermediary) of Kyebi Apapam, has commended the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, for helping to reduce the land-guard menace in the Akim Abuakwa Traditional Area. He said land-guards had been disturbing the peace of the area for the past years, forcefully taking over lands, engaging in sand winning and threatening the lives of farmers with guns and other dangerous weapons. However, Nana Baah said the IGP had been able to work with his team to reduce their activities to the barest minimum. Nana Baah, who is also the Second-in-Command of the Okyeman Land Protection Taskforce, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Nsawam after he had toured some communities within the Okyeman State in the Eastern Region. He mentioned some of the communities he visited as Kyekyewere, Suhum, Asuboi, Budu, Amanase, Coaltar, Adoagyiri, and Teacher Mante to interact with the chiefs to avoid engaging the services of land-guards. He said Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panyin, the Okyehene, was the sole owner of Okyeman lands, which stretched from Adoagyiri to Jejeti in the Eastern Region and needed entrepreneurs to invest in the land. The Okyehene, therefore, formed the Okyeman Land Protection Taskforce to ensure that the lands were protected from encroachers, especially land-guards, who derailed development efforts, he said. He urged the chiefs and the people to cooperate with the Okyeman Taskforce to drive away land-guards by reporting to the police any suspicious character. Nana Baah also the Chief Executive Officer of the Baah Vim Real Estate Construction Limited, called on estate developers, business entrepreneurs and companies to invest in Okyeman to help create employment opportunities for the youth. 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 Most of the Nigerians detained at camps in Poland after fleeing the war in Ukraine have been released, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has said. A total of 13 were released following the intervention of the Nigerian embassy, it said in a statement. Five other Nigerians had "unfortunately" applied for asylum and would not be released until Poland took a decision on their request or they withdrew it, the statement added. Africans repeatedly complained of racism while trying to leave Ukraine at the start of the war. There were numerous reports of Ukrainian security officials preventing them from catching buses and trains going to the border. 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 Professor Joseph Atsu Ayee of the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, has urged government to review the retirement age to tap into the experiences of the aged. He said there was a serious disconnect between the aged and national development in the country and to bridge the gap, the country needed to involve the aged in social issue by tapping into their wide experiences. The aged have become part of national development in other parts of the world because they have been made productive even at their age. Hence, we must move away from the mentality of retiring at 60 and becoming redundant. Speaking at the inauguration of the COMi Relief Foundation's Respite Facility dubbed The CRF Respite, an aged Day Care Facility, Prof. Ayee noted that aging was a global issue but unlike in other developed countries where states had made provisions for the aged, in Ghana aging has become a family issue without any institutional goals. He said there was the need to make aging an important issue, develop a support scheme for the aged and establish an institutional home where the aged could go in at any time for refuge. As a country, if we want productivity to improve among the youth, we must invest more in the aged so that the young ones will be motivated to go all out and work, having in mind they would be catered for in their old age. He commended the Foundation for the efforts made at supporting the aged across the country and encouraged them to engage proactively and in a coordinated manner with government agencies to receive the needed support. Liaise with other institutions also in the area of aging to have a critical mass to engage government. Dr Edward Danso, the Chief Executive Officer, CRF, said the aged have been seriously marginalized in the country and there was very limited support for them, hence the establishment of the Foundation eight years ago to see to the care of the elderly. He said, our Vision is to provide high-quality healthcare and supportive services to the aged in Ghana. Our mission is to promote, enhance and innovate healthcare and well-being of the aged. Our objective is to provide quality care in comfort, respect, and in dignity to the aged who suffer rejection and neglect. Dr Danso said the United Nations and WHO had informed developing countries about the growing concern of the ageing population and urged third world countries to plan and prepare to take care of them, hence the CRF had taken the lead role in providing innovative healthcare for the aged as the Ghanaian society was getting greyer. He said the Respite was established out of funds raised from the sale of some awards presented to the CRF, during its eighth anniversary celebrations. The Respite Facility will provide natural health solutions to the issues that affects the aged. We have a well resourced Clinic with non-evasive equipment, Care givers and Therapists handy for the comfort of the aged. Our integrated programme will provide maintenance day care, social activities, and rehabilitation on demand, and provide extensive respite care support for the aged to maintain their general, physical, and psycho-social well-being. The CEO reiterated that the CRF is committed to seeing the aged smile because of what we do for them. At the facility, the aged will participate in cognitive engaging programs and maintenance exercises that enable them to be more socially active. Physiotherapists, Nutritionist, and occupational therapy services will be provided at a minimal cost. This will include breakfast, and lunch, (depending on the schedule of Service for the day). He urged nonprofit organisations, corporate bodies and individuals with similar vision and mission to join them and support their efforts financially and materially while encouraging the public to take advantage of the facility and their services. Mr Daniel Nii-Noi Adumuah, the Adentan Municipal Chief Executive, pledged the Assemblys continuous support for the initiative to achieve its aim of providing care for the aged across the country. Some pensioners used the opportunity to appeal to government and other organisation to support their health and accommodation needs, saying aging is very expensive and so we cannot survive on our pensions, we need the support of both government and institutions like CRF. 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 Government has been commended for including the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) schools in the Free Senior High School Policy to widen the net for children interested in technical education to also benefit. As part of efforts to make formal technical training more accessible, the Government had expanded the Free SHS Policy to include 186 TVET institutions across the country. Madam Rebecca Quayson, a trader and mother, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said she had been able to send her daughter, Janet Badu, to the Akwatia Technical Institute, where she was doing well as a form one student. She said but for the implementation of the Free TVET she would have been saddled with an enormous financial burden of having to pay her childs school fees. "Last year 2020/2021 my elderly son could not be enrolled at the technical institute because of lack of school fees, she said. Madam Quayson commended the Akufo-Addo-led Administration for the initiative to support poor families to also give their children higher education. 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 elimination of child labour in Ghana requires a collective effort in a holistic manner by all stakeholders, Mr Paschal Ajongba Kaba, the Bono Regional Secretary of the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), said on Thursday. That would involve the strengthening of the legal frameworks for preventing child exploitation of all forms to secure the future of children, he said. Mr Kaba said this at a capacity building workshop, organised for the media in Sunyani by ActionAid Ghana (AAG), a non-governmental organisation, to facilitate the effective and successful implementation of its Modern Day Slavery Project. The project is being implemented in the Bono, Oti, Northern and Upper West regions. Thirty journalists from the Bono Region participated, which sensitised them on issues including modern slavery, child labour, forced labour, human trafficking and unfair contract practices. The training was to sensitise the media personnel to be decorous in their reportage on child labour related issues while providing the platform to form partnership with the AAG to contribute effectively to the campaign against modern slavery. Mr Kaba said about 39 per cent of the countrys 6.36 million child-population were involved in economic activities whereas about 1.59 million school children were still engaged in activities classified as child labour. The children were mostly engaged during weekends and holidays to assist their parents and guardians in weeding of farms, gathering and carrying cocoa pods to pod breaking points. About 76 per cent of all children involved in child labour lived with both parents, he said, and that 90 per cent of those children did domestic chores too. The 1992 Constitution guaranteed the protection of children from engaging in any work considered injurious to their health, education and development, Mr Kaba said. It also consecrated the rights of children to access education and not to be engaged in exploitative work. 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 Former NDC Central Regional Chairman, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has sung the praises of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, tagging him as the best man to rule Ghana after President Nana Akufo-Addo's term ends. Allotey Jacobs, speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' programme Wednesday morning, alluded to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia's recent address on the economy at a TESCON conference where he pointed out various interventions by the government towards the country's post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Dr. Bawumia was certain Ghana will bounce back into her best shape with President Nana Akufo-Addo and himself in charge of affairs. He tounched on the government's digitization scheme of the economy that is fast transforming Ghana as well as other indicators of development. According to Allotey Jacobs, Dr. Bawumia has silenced the opponents of the government after setting the record straight during the TESCON conference. He asked why the opposition is not responding to the facts he established in his speech but rather have resorted to attacking his personality. To him, the opposition cannot challenge the Vice President because ''Bawumia is the magic wand for the success of this country''. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs says the embattled Assin North Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson should blame the headquarters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the invalidation of his parliamentary membership. The Supreme Court has ruled that Mr. Gyakye Quayson should stop holding himself as an MP until determination of a case filed against the legitimacy of his election on grounds that he holds dual citizenship. He is said to have failed to renounce his dual citizenship, yet contested the 2020 Parliamentary elections and won to represent the Assin North constituency. The Apex Court, by a majority ruling, said; "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." Touching on the topic during Peace FM's panel discussion programme ''Kokrokoo'', Allotey Jacobs confirmed revelations by some members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) that Mr. Gyakye Quayson was disqualified by the NDC in 2016 when he filed to contest the party's primaries. Spilling the beans, Allotey Jacobs said Mr. Gyakye Quayson was rejected twice by the NDC, in 2012 and 2016, for same reasons that he hadn't renounced his dual citizenship. According to him, he was the Chairman of the party's Vetting Committee that rejected Mr. Quayson disclosing he had demanded that he (Gyakye Quayson) presents documents showing he was no longer a citizen of Canada but the sanctioned MP failed to do so. ''I disqualified him'', he stated, adding that Mr. Gyakye Quayson has refused to renounce his dual citizenship because of a game he is playing which is ''he didn't want to risk losing his Canadian citizenship because he was unsure of winning the Parliamentary elections. So, he was playing a safe game where if he loses the elections, he would still hold on to his dual citizenship''. Allotey Jacobs blamed the leadership of the NDC for urging Mr. Gyakye Quayson on for him to face another fiasco in his pursuit to become a Member of Parliament. ''The problem that Gyakye Quayson is facing currently, the National Chairman and General Secretary of the NDC should be blamed. When he sent a petition to them, did they accept that petition? Some of the members of the NDC in the constituency in Assin North sent the petition. Gyakye Quayson's father happens to be a comrade...and the father is highly respected in the Assin area of all the traditional areas'', he fumed. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ms Nana Yaa Jantuah, General Secretary of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), has proposed the formation of a committee for the monitoring of the proceeds that would accrue from the E-Levy and their disbursement. She told the Ghana News Agency in an interview, ahead of the commencement of E-levy collection May 4, 2022 that a Special account should be created for E Levy proceeds Ms Jantuah said composition of the committee should have representatives from selected Ministries, including the Ministries of Finance, Works and Housing, Education and Health. "The committee must also have financial experts as well as representatives from one or two political parties as members." Ms Jantuah called for the creation of a special E-levy account to facilitate monitoring of the proceeds. "We can look at the activities that E-Levy is supposed to support with this structure in place and if the project is outside the activities earmarked for the E-Levy, the committee would be able to kick against it", she said. She said, once the E-Levy ends up in the Consolidated Fund, there would be accountability challenges, just as there have been with some other public funds. "The E-Levy proceeds going into the Consolidated Fund, I do not think it is the right way to go", she argued. 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 Interim Superintendent of the Holy Apostolic Reformed Church of Ghana (HARC), Bishop Dr Thomas Okpoti, has urged Members of Parliament (MPs) to demonstrate unity in their dealings in the House on issues of national interest. He said in spite of the highly polarised political environment, politicians must learn to compromise when negotiating about policies bordering on the countrys future. The polarisation in Parliament is becoming so intense that some of us are so afraid that if we are not careful, this nation will be thrown apart but I believe some arguments are irrelevant when it comes to the future of Ghanaians and what is going on in Parliament is not helping anyone of us, he said in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Friday. Unity He explained that the COVID-19 pandemic knew no political or ethnic colour when it attacked the country hence the need for the country to be united in order to recover from the adverse effects of the pandemic. One thing we must understand is that a virus came upon us and attacked us, it came without any ethnic or partisan colour and so for us to overcome it, we do not need partisan colours, we have to be united. But if the people up there cannot give us an example of unity, then we will be divided against one another, he added. Exhortation In an exhortation on the theme: His Blood, Bishop Dr Okpoti, who premised his message on the book of John 19: 24, said Christians must learn to keep their inner self as clean and seamless as the inner garment of Jesus Christ who sacrificed his life for them. Ghanaians must become as seamless as the inner garment of Christ and lines of division should not be seen among us, he stressed. He further urged the government to formulate policies to help low income earners while calling on affluent Christians to help deprived individuals in their communities. 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 Director of Legal Affairs of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Lawyer Abraham Amaliba says the professional conduct of Attorney General and Minister of Justice leaves much to be desired. He claims Godfred Yeboah Dame is rather acting more in the interest of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) than working for the state. What he is doing as an Attorney General if more of an NPP work than a duty to the state, he said. His comment comes after Godfred Yeboah Dames assertion that lawyers who attack the courts and judges on social media when judgments are not in their favour, especially with high-profile political cases should be punished. He described the act of such lawyers are unfortunate adding, that their vicious comments are wrong. My Lord Chief Justice, one would have thought that lawyers would have taken advantage of the digital revolution, which I have spoken about this morning, to consolidate the importance of this legal profession and its role in the affairs of the state. On the contrary, recent developments disclose systematic attempts by certain lawyers, often belonging to a side of the political divide to deploy social media to denigrate the administration of justice through poisoning and caustic attacks on judgements of the courts, all be it unjustified. This is often worsened in commentary on so-called political cases where some lawyers perceive the outcome to have far-reaching consequences for the objectives of political parties they sympathize with, Godfred Dame said whiles addressing the bench, bar and faculty conference in Accra on Thursday, April 21. He added, the most deplorable thing about such endeavour is that many times their vicious comments are wrong yet the propagators of these wrong and dangerous ideas do not relent in their efforts to push them down the throat of an unsuspecting public. Such disreputable practice on the part of some lawyers further becomes an inducement to persons who are not members of the legal profession to launch even more savage and illogical attacks on the judiciary. This conduct is despicable as it has the ultimate tendency to destroy the integrity of institutions of justice delivery in Ghana. Such conducts should result in sanctions inflicted on the lawyers in question, the A-G added. But speaking to this, Lawyer Abraham Amaliba said the act of commenting on court rulings has been there from time immemorial. Even their lawyers do comment on such cases, he said on NEAT FMs morning show, Ghana Montie. He noted that the move is an attempt to gag NDC lawyers from expressing their sentiments on court-related issues. To him, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice is running the state office with self-pride, adding that his continuous apparent support for everything the Judiciary does threaten justice delivery in Ghana. He is arrogant, vindictive and quick-tempered, he told host, Akwasi Aboagye. 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 Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Charleston International's passenger count returned to pre-pandemic levels in March, and officials are hopeful a new record will be set by year's end. "We will continue to see that trend," said Helen Hill, chairwoman of the airport board and CEO of tourism agency Explore Charleston. She also predicted the passenger count will outpace the record set in 2019, when 4.87 million passengers traveled through the terminal. Hill pointed to new carriers landing in the Lowcountry, offering new destinations, along with existing airlines flying more routes with larger jets with more seating capacity. Last month, 437,066 arrivals and departures passed through the terminal, a rise of 7.5 percent over the same month in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 outbreak nearly grounded air travel. So far this year, volume is just under 1 million, about the same number from the January-through-March period three years ago. The first three months of this year saw more than twice as many travelers than last year's tally when people were still skittish to fly and coronavirus vaccines were first being offered. Airport officials believe the addition of two new carriers and the continued expansion of Breeze Airways' route schedule will bring a surge of traffic this year. Sun Country Airlines of Minneapolis started twice-weekly service in early April from its home base to the Lowcountry, while Houston-based Avelo Airlines will begin offering flights between Charleston and its East Coast hub in New Haven, Conn., in May. To boost travel demand, Avelo is offering a 30 percent discount off fares nationwide, but bookings must be made by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on April 24 for roundtrip travel between May 1 and June 22. The promotional code is SpendLess. Also for the first time, travelers from Charleston can fly nonstop to two West Coast destinations. Breeze Airways will launch cross-country flights to San Francisco in May and Las Vegas in August. It also will introduce three new East Coast routes in June. Airport CEO Elliott Summey has said the airport could surpass 5 million passengers for the first time this year. To reach that milestone, the terminal will need to pick up about 800,000 more passengers coming and going about 20 percent more than last year. "I think it will happen," Hill said. Emily Williams is a business reporter at The Post and Courier, covering tourism and aerospace. She also writes the Business Headlines newsletter and co-hosts the weekly news podcast Understand SC. American Airlines reported a loss of $1.64 billion in the first quarter, which was marred by thousands of flight cancellations. File/AP COLUMBIA Political activist Angela Davis declared South Carolina's plans to conduct a firing squad execution of a Black man an attempt to return to the nation's earlier era of racial violence. Speaking in Columbia on April 21, Davis said the execution method reeks of the violence that kept white supremacy in place. "That to me is kind of symbolic of efforts to turn back the clock." Davis, who became a worldwide symbol of radical defiance in the early 1970s, spoke at the Robert Smalls Annual Lecture commemorating the 50th anniversary of the University of South Carolina's African American Studies Program. She was welcomed to the stage by Darla Moore, USC's biggest benefactor who has been estranged from her alma mater in recent years. Moore came because of some opposition to Davis being brought to campus. In her introduction, Moore acknowledged the controversy of Davis' career, which included two stints as the vice presidential candidate of the Communist Party and an arrest in connection with a deadly shootout that landed her on the FBI's most wanted list but ended with her acquittal. "Personally, I recall as a young girl being told that Angela Davis was someone I needed to be scared of," Moore said. "You might imagine how surprised I was to later discover how much Professor Davis and I potentially have in common and how wise I believe some of her ideas about the future of America are." Moore, making her first appearance on campus in three years after disagreements with the board, said she believed conversations like the one Davis was holding with her longtime friend USC professor and noted poet Nikky Finney at the event were the way for real progress on racial issues could begin. "Why not at ground zero? Why not in South Carolina?" asked Moore, a Lake City financier. During the sold-out event, Davis reacted strongly to the potential firing squad execution of Richard Bernard Moore, a Black man who was convicted in 1999 of killing a convenience store clerk in Spartanburg. Moore's looming execution was put on hold by an S.C. Supreme Court stay issued April 20. He is the first death-row inmate to choose the firing squad since it became an option this year. To Davis, the execution plan is an attempt to move back to the past by those who are scared about the country's future. America's use of the death penalty far beyond other democracies is an object of curiosity in other countries, Davis said. "That is the most backward form of punishment," Davis said. Instead, she said, the country should seek justice that is not based on retribution and revenge. Davis also called the current political debate over critical race theory in education as fundamentally an attempt to move back to the past. The campaign is an effort to make sure that broad political movements like the one protesting the killing of George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis in 202,0 do not continue to grow in the future, she said. "That was proof that the basis for a mass movement in this country to dismantle structural racism really exists," Davis said. To serve as South Carolina State Universitys 13th president, a search committee has recommended hiring the alumnus currently doing the job. The board of trustees-appointed search committee met April 21 and unanimously voted to recommend retired Army Col. Alexander Conyers. He has served as president since July, when trustees ousted James Clark from the position. The search committees recommendation now goes to the full board for its approval. No date has been set for a vote, but the boards next meeting is May 4. The states only public historically Black university, S.C. State celebrated its 125th anniversary last year. It's a milestone the university very nearly didn't make. Among its chief challenges is enrollment, which was dropping even before the COVID-19 pandemic led to declines nationwide. With 2,374 students, the Orangeburg university is now the states second-smallest four-year college. Beyond enrollment, the university has faced other life-threatening problems. It was put on probation by its accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, in 2014 and didnt regain good standing until 2016. The accreditation woes stemmed in part from rocky finances threatening the university's ability to meet payroll. The Legislature has bailed out the university twice, giving S.C. State $18 million in loans and forgiving $12 million of it. In 2015, lawmakers proposed shutting the university down for three semesters. They ultimately backed off the plan amid outcry, but fired the entire board of trustees and replaced them with new appointees. Clark, hired after President Thomas Elzey was fired in 2015, was generally credited with stabilizing the universitys finances but criticized for not doing more to address declining enrollment, which Conyers is now tasked with. A native of Manning in Clarendon County, Conyers earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at S.C. State. He has a masters degree in corrections from the University of South Carolina and a master's degree in public administration from Troy University. Conyers spent most of his career in the Army, not academia. Before coming to S.C. State last year as vice president for strategic alliances and initiatives, Conyers served as the deputy assistant secretary of the Army overseeing the Army Review Boards Agency. Before that, he oversaw the Armys largest military police brigade. Sign up for our Education Lab newsletter. Email Sign Up! In his short time at the helm of S.C. State, Conyers has gotten praise from trustees, whove said hes been a strong leader. After the board changed his title from acting to interim, Board Chairman Rodney Jenkins said the title was earned because Conyers has put students first. He has proven himself to be a formidable leader as the university makes this very critical transition, Jenkins said in a statement in August. He could not be reached for comment about the search committees recommendation. One of the first things Conyers did after he was named to the post temporarily was use federal COVID-19 relief funds to clear the past-due balances of roughly 2,500 students. The university said that resulted in 320 students re-enrolling in the fall to finish their degrees. We must do everything in our power to lessen the obstacles that stand in the way of enrolling students and supporting them while they are in our care, Conyers said in a statement. We are committed to challenging their minds and setting them on a course to lead fruitful lives. Conyers also launched a $1.25 million fundraising campaign in conjunction with the universitys anniversary. He and his wife, also an alum, donated $25,000. In December, President Joe Biden gave the universitys commencement address. The search committee was created in February. Committee chair, Trustee Douglas Gantt, said he couldnt comment on the process or the panels selection. Sam Watson, a spokesman for the college, said the committee had surveyed faculty, staff and students for input on the search process but had not yet advertised the position. The committees meetings were all conducted in closed sessions, which is allowed for discussions about personnel. Its unclear if any others were considered for the position, but its not unusual for colleges to move forward with a single finalist. Federal wildlife officials nixed an attempt by a contractor for Charles River Labs to collect horseshoe crabs in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, the latest blow to the companys efforts to open more areas for its lucrative crab blood business. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services move comes amid another rejection from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. In DNR's case, the agency said no to a special permit that would have opened areas of the protected ACE Basin that previously were off-limits. Together, the federal and state actions, along with ongoing lawsuits, highlight the controversial nature of Charles River Labs horseshoe crab operation in South Carolina. Charles River collects an unknown number of crabs in late spring, extracts their bluish blood and then returns the crabs to the ocean. It uses the blood to make an extract that can detect deadly toxins, a life-saving substance used in vaccines and medical equipment. A gallon can fetch $60,000. Sam Jorgensen, a Charles River spokeswoman, said the company would continue to work with "relevant authorities to ensure that any horseshoe crabs it obtains are legally harvested by duly permitted fishermen." She said the company expects that its contractors "only harvest horseshoe crabs from areas in which their permits allow." Jennifer Koches, a spokeswoman with the Fish and Wildlife Service, confirmed on April 21 that the agency received a permit application. Officials deemed it "not appropriate," she said, explaining that harvesting in the refuge works against goals to protect seabird and shorebird populations. Cape Romain is a wide expanse of marshland and barrier islands north of Charleston and an important habitat endangered shorebirds, such as the red knot. The refuge's Marsh Island, for instance, is closed to the public from Feb. 15 to Sept. 15 to protect the birds. Bird Key is off limits from April to August. The horseshoe crab spawning season overlaps with these closures from April to June. "Entering horseshoe crab spawning areas during the closures would be trespassing," Koches said in an email. The Southern Environmental Law Center and Defenders of Wildlife filed a lawsuit in 2020, alleging that the Fish and Wildlife Service allowing harvesters to collect crabs in the refuge threatened endangered species. A judge ordered the practice stopped with an injunction, but eventually, federal officials decided to require permits for crab harvesting, and the lawsuit was dropped. Catherine Wannamaker, an attorney for SELC, said the Fish and Wildlife Service's latest decision "is even more to celebrate." The state and federal permit denials come in the wake of investigative reports by The Post and Courier Uncovered project, "Monkeys and Blood," and The State that exposed the secretive nature of Charles River Labs monkey-breeding and horseshoe crab businesses in South Carolina. Under state law, DNR claims it cant release basic information about how many horseshoe crabs Charles River Labs collects each year. Company officials, meanwhile, acknowledge that they dont have a full handle on whether horseshoe crab populations in South Carolina are in trouble. Earlier this year, The State newspaper reported how Charles River dangled $500,000 in front of DNR for a special horseshoe crab permit, an offer DNR eventually refused. All of this was done behind closed doors and without any public input. Because of such secrecy, Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, filed a bill earlier this month requiring DNR to release information about horseshoe crabs and other species that had previously been kept under wraps. The bill wasnt expected to pass this year because of timing and procedural issues, but Campsen said the bill likely prompted DNR to fend off the company's attempts to harvest in the ACE Basin, a coastal preserve south of Charleston. This story has been updated to clarify that red knots do not lay eggs at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Two days after the S.C. Supreme Court announced its final decision involving the ownership of 29 parishes that broke away from the Episcopal Church, the two bishops overseeing the involved dioceses talked about how the two groups might move forward. The two religious leaders Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanely of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and Bishop Chip Edgar of the disassociated Anglican Diocese of South Carolina are fairly new to their posts and haven't overseen the two dioceses for the majority of the legal dispute that began in 2012. But with the case being over, the two bishops, who met for the first time April 21, talked the next day at Grace Church Cathedral in downtown Charleston about how their two dioceses could work together following a bitter conflict that's brought about anger and frustration for both groups. "There's an imperative to explore whether we can't move forward in a very different sort of spirit than we have been in the past," said Edgar, who was consecrated bishop of the Anglican Diocese in March. Many questions loom on the horizon about the court's decision, which permits 15 parishes that left the Episcopal Church to keep their properties while ordering 14 breakaway parishes to give up the properties to the Episcopal group. However, the two bishops say they're committed to working together on the property transfers and other issues bound to arise in the coming months. They say they both are also open to partnering on ministries that can address the wide range of issues impacting South Carolinians. "I think we both have an appetite to move into a new season marked by a different tone and tenor between our two communities," said Woodliff-Stanley, who initiated the April 22 meetup that took place at the headquarters of the S.C. Episcopal Diocese. Woodliff-Stanley took the helm of the state's Episcopal Diocese in the fall. Neither Woodliff-Stanley nor Edgar said explicitly if they agree or disagree with the Supreme Court's decision, which also allows the Episcopal Church to maintain ownership of diocesan properties, such as Camp St. Christopher on Seabrook Island. The two bishops did acknowledge that some congregations rejoiced at the court's ruling while others are upset. Edgar pointed to the 14 congregations being forced to give up their worship sites. "All 14 of those churches think this is a terrible injustice," Edgar said. Woodliff-Stanley acknowledged also the heartbreak being felt by Episcopalians with ties to the 15 breakaway congregations that will stay with the Anglican Diocese. Some Episcopalians had hoped they could return to their home churches. But with the court's ruling, that won't be happening, Woodliff-Stanley said. To make its decision, the court looked at each individual parish's governing documents to determine whether the congregations had, at some point, expressly conceded to the Dennis Cannon after its adoption in 1979. The Dennis Canon is a church law that says all churches are held in trust by the national Episcopal Church. The court concluded that 14 of the parishes did agree to the ecclesiastical law, forcing those congregations to give up their church facilities. Fifteen congregations, however, did not concede to the canon and only pledged alliance to the national church and its affiliated South Carolina diocese, the court said. Edgar said he's not aware of another approach the justices' could have taken. But the bishop said he's still not exactly clear on how the justices distinguished whether each individual parish conceded to the church law. The language in each of the churches' bylaws often looks similar, Edgar said. "... I read it and I was like, 'I can't hardly tell the difference between what one (parish) said and the others.' So I don't know what was going on in the mind of the justices. It leaves unanswered questions," he said. The main question at hand is how will the 14 parishes that've been operating under the Anglican Diocese move forward. Edgar said some of those parishes had already been discussing building a new church facility. There will be other legal questions that come up as the two dioceses begin to work out the property transactions matters that might need to be addressed by the courts, Edgar said. "It may be that some of these questions go before courts again," he said. "We hope that doesn't happen. ... Nobody wants to be in the courts again." The two bishops may have moments of disagreement as this all plays out, but the religious leaders hope to discuss the matters absent any rancor. "We have a hope together that transition can occur in a way that reflects the highest ideals in the Gospel of Jesus Christ," Woodliff-Stanley said. Prior to the Supreme Court decision, the Episcopal Diocese which covers the eastern half of South Carolina reportedly contained 31 congregations with more than 7,000 members. Similarly, the Anglican Diocese had said it contained 53 churches with nearly 20,000 members along the eastern portion of the state. The controversy between the two groups boiled over in 2012 after years of arguments within the Episcopal Church over gay rights, scriptural interpretations and governance powers. Several churches broke off from the main church and later formed the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. The matter went before the state's Supreme Court in 2015. It was initially thought that the court had ruled in 2017 that 29 of the 36 parishes that broke away from the Episcopal Church were to hand over their properties. But the court holds it didn't make a final decision on the ownership of the properties, Justice John Few wrote in his April 20 majority opinion. The use of trademarks and emblems is currently on appeal in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court deferred to federal courts on those matters. GEORGETOWN Two of Gov. Henry McMaster's brothers were part of a large group of opponents speaking out against the rezoning of a Pawleys Island lot near a family creekfront home at a Georgetown County Planning Commission meeting on April 21. The commission received nearly 225 emails protesting a North Carolina company's request to build multiple homes on a 1.4-acre lot along Pawleys Creek. The site is near a Sea Dust Trail home that the McMaster family has owned for more than 80 years. Henry McMaster also is listed as the owner of a 1.3-acre lot just west of the family house. "When we moved in there, when we built our house, we trusted that the zoning was there for a purpose," John McMaster told the commission. "That it would stay the way it was, and that's the way it is now: one house, one lot. That's what we need. One house, one lot." Frank and John McMaster were among 14 opponents speaking during the one-hour hearing held before a packed council chamber. Micheaux attorney Dan Stacy told the commission there has been some confusion about the company's plans. He said "pretty bad" misinformation spread about the rezoning, including that six single-family houses were planned for the property on Marboeuf Court, work that would require construction of a road and a storm water system. "My client wanted to purchase this property for the specific purpose of one subdivision into two parcels," Stacy said. "There were already two structures on that property, there have been two homes on that property for probably three or four decades." The rezoning request would allow up to six homes on the lot. Stacy said the prospect of six lots on the property made for "good theater," but ultimately was not his client's plans. Planning Commission member Marla Hamby told Stacy that the county's comprehensive plan urged density not to increase on the Waccamaw Neck. "I don't understand why developers and attorneys and anybody else doesn't understand that or want to abide by it," Hamby said. "That's all I've got to say." After the ensuing applause died down, Stacy replied, "Then this should be perfect, Ms. Hamby, because there were two units there before, and I'm asking for two units now." Still, the commission voted 4-3 against the rezoning to applause from a packed chamber. The commission can only make a recommendation on the matter to the Georgetown County Council, which has final say. Stacy told Georgetown Times that he is not sure whether Micheaux will continue to push for the rezoning with the council. John McMaster told Georgetown Times that he doesn't believe the fact that the governor and his family were protesting the rezoning affected the commission's opinion. Gov. McMaster was not available for comment late April 21, his office said. Greenvilles collection of Mid-Century Modern residences includes the Myers House, built in 1952 by local architect Charles Potter, and strongly influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was included on the inaugural gvlMOD tour in 2019. The 2022 tour is scheduled for April 24. (gvlMOD/Provided) Ashley Pennington is retiring after 14 years as the 9th Circuit Public Defender, the capstone on a decadeslong career mostly spent representing some of the poorest residents in local courthouses. The public defender said he will be returning to private practice after he retires on Aug. 2, but he would continue to work to address some of the systemic problems that plague the state's criminal justice system. The 9th Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel, a five-member body elected by Charleston and Berkeley counties' bar associations, is reviewing applications from attorneys seeking to become the next public defender, Pennington said. The panel will refer a candidate to the S.C. Commission of Indigent Defense, which has final authority on the appointment. Pennington, 66, was appointed to serve as the 9th Circuit's first public defender in 2008 after state lawmakers passed the Indigent Defense Act, which created the new state office. Before then, each county was responsible for ensuring its indigent residents were represented in criminal cases. Pennington has been reappointed every four years since, managing an office of 40 attorneys that defend indigent men and women accused of crimes in Berkeley and Charleston counties. As the circuit's first public defender, he helped shape the position, emphasizing the importance of connecting defendants with social services that that can help them escape the cycle of arrest and incarceration. Pennington has also represented some of the most notorious defendants in the Lowcountry, including Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who killed nine people in 2015 at Emanuel AME Church, and Ryan Deleston, who gunned down 17-year-old Marley Lion in 2012 outside a West Ashley bar. Colleagues said Pennington's tenure as public defender was defined by hard work, sincerity and compassion. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said Pennington was an "honest adversary" who has the wisdom to help his clients see the big picture. He is a man guided by faith, as exemplified by the work he did on weekends helping formerly incarcerated men and women reintegrate into society, Wilson said. "The two of us could not be more different, but, in many respects, I consider him a mentor," she said. Defense attorney Andy Savage said Pennington handled some of the toughest cases in his office, and handled them well. Despite intense pressure, he is always collegial. Civility is his hallmark," Savage said. Kristy Danford, director of the Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, said Pennington has been a leader for the organization, which has worked to address jail overpopulation and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Pennington and his staff pioneered public defender representation in the bond court, a first for the county, and chaired the committee that rewrote the organization's bylaws, Danford said. He steps up to take on challenging issues, pushes debate where it is needed, and helps us find a way forward together," Danford said. "He is a remarkably good man who cares deeply about this community. Charleston attorney Mark Peper said Pennington would be "sorely missed." "His work ethic and ability to manage the office was evident, but his best attribute was his passion for people," Peper said. A career in public defense Pennington began his career in 1980 with the Richland County Public Defender's Office after earning his law degree from the University of South Carolina. He said at the time resources for indigent defense in the state were paltry he made $14,000 a year as an assistant public defender in 1980, or less than $50,000 in today's dollars. Pennington, a Catholic, said his faith helped lead him into public service. After Richland County, Pennington spent several years as a federal defender in Chicago. He and his wife, Robin, moved to Charleston in 1988 to be closer to family after their first child was born, he said. He worked for the Charleston County Public Defender's Office upon his return. He was named executive director of the office in 1991, a position he would hold until 2002. He went into private practice for five years after that but returned to the director position in 2007. The following year, he was appointed the 9th Circuit public defender. Pennington served as president of the S.C. Public Defender's Association from 1996 to 2000 after a five-year stint as vice president. He also previously served on the board of directors for the S.C. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and chaired the S.C. Bar Association's Criminal Law Council. Pennington's tenure has not been without controversy. In 2014, a former assistant public defender sued his ex-boss claiming he was fired for raising ethics concerns about Wilson and her office. Pennington denied the allegations and the lawsuit was settled last fall for $605,000. Neither side admitting wrongdoing, but the episode provoked strong feelings in the local legal community, while creating the perception, fair or not, that the public defender was too cozy with Wilson, his chief adversary in the courts. About the controversy, Pennington said that he has worked with a lot of prosecutors in his career, and many could not be trusted but Wilson wasn't one of them. Despite their philosophical differences, Pennington said the solicitor has always been honest and willing to address ethical concerns when he raised them. Some attorneys believed the fighting shouldn't end at the courtroom's doors, Pennington said, but constantly feuding officials won't be able to address the significant problems that hurt everyone in the criminal justice system, from clogged jails to the criminal case backlog. "I think I have always demanded that she perform at a high level of ethics and responsibility, and I believe that she's lived up to those expectations," he said. A 'holistic' defense Pennington said he doesn't believe public defense begins or ends in a courtroom; his office has taken a "holistic" approach to the work, not only criminally defending indigent men and women but also providing support so they can stay out of jail or prison, whether that is housing assistance, mental-health counseling or employment services. Pennington said public defenders should not only protect the innocent but also ensure that those who commit crimes are "not simply thrown away." He said rehabilitative work also empowers the younger attorneys in his office, who can feel like the criminal justice system is a revolving door. Pennington said he personally defended clients who faced the most serious consequences life in prison or death. But he has tried relatively few cases in his 41-year career he estimated about 100. He said he has viewed the public defender's job as an administrative and managerial one, helping to train the next generation of public defenders while working to address the complex social problems that landed his clients in jail in the first place. He said the next public defender's greatest challenge will be addressing the backlog of criminal cases, which was growing for years before the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to explode. After leaving his position, Pennington said he would continue to work to address problems he saw firsthand as public defender. He said an issue of particular importance was creating a better system for identifying and helping those with severe mental illness who continuously cycle through the criminal justice system. The state's mental health and probate laws also need to be strengthened to help families intervene when a loved one's mental illness poses a potential threat to others. Stephen Hughes and his family waited to board a flight at Charleston International Airport last month for a spring break vacation in Dallas when he slumped toward his wife. "I thought he was just trying to put his head on my shoulder," Mary Norvell Hughes recalled. The 47-year-old then fell forward. That's when his wife removed his face mask and noticed he was foaming at the mouth. She called for help and a nurse quickly came over and helped lower him to the floor. Hughes was having a heart attack. Others gathered around trying to help when airport police officer Pfc. Aaron Reed arrived and connected a defibrillator to Hughes. "Stand back," he shouted. With no response from the shock, Reed then began performing CPR. A group of women standing nearby began praying as Hughes' wife and children, William and Campbell, watched and waited while Reed performed CPR for the next couple of minutes. "He was literally turning purple," Hughes' wife said. "But as these women were praying, his eyes opened up. It was the most Christian thing I've ever experienced." Hughes was transported to Roper Hospital in downtown Charleston, where it was determined he had 80 percent blockage in an artery leading to the heart. After receiving a stint, Hughes was released three days later. He's now back at work in commercial real estate appraisals. "I'm very happy with Officer Reed for his quick thinking," Hughes said. "I will always owe him a huge debt of gratitude." Reed said he was just doing his job. "I started doing what I was trained to do," the officer said. "The training took over, and the next thing I knew he was revived." On April 21, Charleston airport Police Chief Chris Helms and Aviation Authority officials recognized Reed for his life-saving effort. Both he and Hughes received a standing ovation. Hughes, who used to run five times a week, is now going on a lot of long walks and short runs. He's on heart medication and feeling a lot better. And, of course, the family never made their vacation trip and haven't rescheduled it. "At some point, we will make it to Dallas," Hughes said. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C) speaks during a joint press conference following the emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Committee in charge of international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in Jerusalem, which is held in Amman, Jordan, on April 21, 2022. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua) AMMAN, April 21 (Xinhua) -- An Arab ministerial committee on Thursday slammed Israel's practices in Jerusalem as "blatant provocation," calling on the international community to stop such acts. The Arab ministerial committee in charge of international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in Jerusalem convened an emergency meeting in Amman, condemning the Israeli attacks against worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which resulted in the injuries and detentions of hundreds of worshippers, and damages to the facilities of the holy site. The committee warned that these assaults represent a blatant provocation to the feelings of Muslims, undermine the freedom of worship, and could fuel violence and threaten regional and global security and stability. The committee also expressed its full support for the Palestinian people, mainly their legitimate rights based on the two-state solution, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. The committee voiced rejection of all Israeli illegal practices to change the legal and historical status quo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and any attempts to impose spatial and temporal division at the mosque. The committee, chaired by Jordan, includes Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and the Secretary-General of the Arab League. The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has flared up in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the past few weeks when the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, the latter of whom call it the Temple Mount. Photo taken on April 21, 2022 shows the emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Committee in charge of international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in Jerusalem, which is held in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua) Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit speaks during a joint press conference following the emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Committee in charge of international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in Jerusalem, which is held in Amman, Jordan, on April 21, 2022. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua) Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki speaks during a joint press conference following the emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Committee in charge of international action to confront illegal Israeli policies and measures in Jerusalem, which is held in Amman, Jordan, on April 21, 2022. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua) Yup, its Earth Day today. (Also Lenins birthday, but I am sure it is just a coincidence.) I know you cant contain your excitement. But try. As always, today is a good day to check in with Mark Perrys list of 18 predictions made on the first Earth Day in 1970 that have all proven spectacularly wrong. My favorite: Peter Gunter, a North Texas State University professor, wrote in 1970, Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China, and the Near East, Africa. By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions.By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine. But the experts agreed almost unanimously! It was settled science. A consensus even. Even the left finds the day more than a little glum just now though thats because the world hasnt ended yet. Rememberend-of-the-world doomsday scenarios make environmentalists happy, so when the end of the world fails to arrive on schedule, they get the sads. Like The New Republic, which asks this week: The authors answer? More mass protest. Cue Greta Thunberg. And concerning that corporate Earth Day particpation, Ben Zychers annual Earth Day column, which, by his own admission, is snarkier than usual, takes note of this as well: And of course there will be the usual shameless groveling by a long queue of spineless corporate officials and public relations gasbags desperate to advertise their environmental bona fides so that the green alligators might eat them last. Consensus at last! Let me float a proposition that should not be controversial: if you care about race more than just about anything in the world, you are a racist. New York Times, Im looking at you. Steve Sailer notes a striking contrast in two news stories that appeared yesterday in the Gray White-Hot With Rage Lady. First, this article: White Connecticut Trooper Charged in Killing of Black Man During Stolen Car Chase. Well, there is no doubt about the moral we are supposed to draw from that story! But then there is thissame paper, same day: Man Charged With Hate Crimes After Violent Attacks on Four Jews. Hmm. What sort of man might that be? The headline doesnt tell us. But the attacks were undoubtedly anti-Semitic: Federal law enforcement charged a New Jersey man with hate crimes on Wednesday for a violent attack on four Jewish men, in which two were hit by a vehicle that had been carjacked from the first victim. The incident took place in and around Lakewood, N.J., which is home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States. According to prosecutors, Dion Marsh, 27, forced a Jewish man out of his car in Lakewood on April 8, then assaulted the man and stole his car. Later that day, Mr. Marsh used a different car to intentionally hit another Jewish man, breaking several of his bones. Shortly after that, he went back to the first car and used it to intentionally hit two more Jewish men in Lakewood and nearby Jackson Township, one of whom he also stabbed in the chest with a knife. It isnt just the headline that is silent: you can read the entire 20-paragraph Times story without learning the race of the criminal, Dion Marsh. But Sailer had no trouble finding his photo: Not specified in this New York Times article is Mr. Marshs race. Nor is he pictured, although ten seconds of searching found his mug shot: In contrast, the first word in the headline of the previous article is white and the eighth word is black. Weird how that works When are the races of perpetrators and victims of crimes relevant? The Times standard is obvious: they are relevant if it makes whites look bad, but irrelevant if it makes blacks look bad. (Asians dont figure, and anyway, they are nearly always victims.) In fact, when violent crimes involve blacks and whites, the black is the perpetrator and the white the victim in something like 80% to 85% of cases. I assume that most people know this through observation and experience, but maybe not. Maybe decades of misleading reporting by biased outlets like the New York Times have skewed perceptions of reality. That, in any event, is no doubt the Times objective. Przepraszamy! Ogoszenie na stanowisku: Order Fulfillment Specialist wygaso z dniem 2022-05-06 Ta propozycja bya zozona przez Genpact PL Mozliwe przyczyny wygasniecia oferty to: propozycja zamieszczona przez pracodawce zostaa wycofana z naszych zasobow ogoszeniodawca zakonczy proces rekrutacji uzyskujac odpowiednia ilosc zgoszen ogoszeniodawca zmodyfikowa tresc zlecenia i jest ono dostepne pod innym adresem url dostawca tresci usuna ogoszenie z bazy danych nieprawidowy adres url ogoszenia Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w branzy Logistyka / Transport / Zakupy, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Logistyka / Transport / Zakupy Jezeli poszukujesz pracy na stanowisku Order Fulfillment Specialist, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Order Fulfillment Specialist Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w miescie: Warszawa, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Warszawa Pamietaj, ze mozesz takze rozpoczac poszukiwanie pracy od strony gownej, kliknij tutaj. Inne ogoszenia, ktore mogy byc w kregu Twoich zainteresowan: There have been growing concerns over the involvement of young Nigerians in ritual killings in the last four months with many blaming Nollywood movies for the menace of money ritual. Concerned about the ugly trend, on February 9, the House of Representatives resolved to declare a national emergency on ritual killings in Nigeria. The House noted that while citizens of other countries are embracing science and technology, Nigerian youths are turning to ritual killings. Similarly, in February, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, directed the National Film and Video Censorship Board (NFVCB), to censor Nollywood movies to eschew money ritual content. This was the premise of an interview with a foremost Nollywood filmmaker and actor, Chris Iheuwa, on Thursday, in Lagos. Addressing the developments in Nollywood, the 51-year-old actor told PREMIUM TIMES that Nollywood movie storylines are derived from contemporary Nigerian societal issues. Nollywood storylines are dependent on what is trending at a particular point in time. If we take a look at the prevailing circumstances in Nigerian society, especially in recent times, we would discover the following; money rituals, abuse and insecurity are prevalent. Mr Iheuwa also said that these prevailing issues are also common in romantic movies, as they relate to reality. The thespian also said the scriptwriters are inspired by prevailing circumstances that are trending in society at a particular period. He said that some of the topical issues in our society today are money rituals, kidnapping, depression, bullying, and abuse amongst others, and filmmakers through movies address these societal menaces. Nollywood-now and then Mr Iheuwa is known for his stellar performance in movies such as Rattle Snake (1995), Phone Swap (2012), Joba (2019), The Second Bed (2020), La Femme Anjola (2020), and The Delivery Boy (2018), and more recently, Stranger (2022). As a Nollywood pioneer, he said he had paid his dues and risen through the ranks in over 25 years. Asked to rate the quality of Nollywood movies in the 1990s and now, he said: I disagree with the idea of movies then are better than what we have now, we have movies now that address contemporary matters. Scriptwriters do not write in a vague. They write based on what is happening at a particular point in time, and most of the scriptwriters we have now are younger writers, who write based on their understanding and exposure. Likewise, it would be too ambitious for writers in this civilisation to be writing a script on going to space. Storylines are built on what is trending, and available to them he further explained. According to Mr Iheuwa, he started getting paid for movie production in 1988. In the first movie I acted, I was paid N100. Then one would have to fill what was called a the pink form with the national television, through which you would be paid at the end of the month. He studied Theater Arts a degree from the University of Ibadan and an M.A from the University of Lagos. 2023 in view Speaking about how the movie industry affects the electorates decisions in the forthcoming elections, Mr Iheuwa said most filmmakers should henceforth shoot instructional movies. 2face did a song, E Be Like Say, and many other artists have done so many songs about the election, filmmakers should tow the same lane and create movies that sensitise the voters with the forthcoming elections, we have issues coming up with PCs, people often say that they are too young, all these issues should be properly explored. There are lots of ongoing campaigns to educate people on the need to participate in electoral processes, before you start complaining you have to clear your conscience and do the needful by voting. There should be more movies, skits and all the rest that talk about elections and how the youths should go about the electoral processes he said. Nigerias security agencies are not deploying adequate technology to combat insecurity because of its difficult procurement process, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, has said. The NSA stated this while briefing journalists at the State House in Abuja. He also attributed the non-deployment of adequate technology to its expensive nature. The comment by Mr Monguno, a retired major general, comes on the heels of heightened insecurity across the country. Challenges While highlighting the challenges faced while procuring technological devices to fight insecurity, Mr Monguno said the government is trying its best to meet up with its responsibilities. So the first question has to do with why is it so difficult to deploy technology. One, technology is expensive. Technology takes time to acquire these things since inherently we do not produce these very, very delicate equipment. Its not as if the government is not making any effort to acquire but we need to know who to acquire this technology from, where, when and there are certain processes. For now, I know we have but the plight is that there are inadequate, so to the government, its a continuous process. Thats what I can say about the issue of deploying technolog, he said. He added that one of the major causes of insecurity in Nigeria is the porosity of the countrys borders. He said government is working with neighbouring countries to ensure that illegal entry into Nigeria is curtailed. On the question on border security, obviously, we have very extensive borders, and Im not going to deceive anyone. All of us know that we have problems of infiltration by virtue of the fact that we have a very large economy. It attracts a lot of people from outside and they come in illegally, not just through the land borders, but also through the maritime waters. Of course, in the case of the maritime borders, most of things have been done in the last one year to secure the maritime.to domain up to the point that the International Maritime Bureau has acknowledged the fact that in 27 years, our maritime borders have not been as secure and peaceful as they were in the last one year. That is a fact, it is not a conjecture, I didnt cook up this thing. So we want to see how we can replicate that type of efforts put in the maritime domain on our land borders. That is something that council is looking into, he said. Insecurity in Nigeria Insecurity in Nigeria has worsened under the Buhari administration as the country witnessed some of the bloodiest attacks in its history. Almost every geo-political zone in the country suffers one form of attack or the other, notably from outfits such as Boko Haram/ISWAP, IPOB separatists and bandits. The country also witnessed the highest number of school children abductions and hostage-taking since 2014 when the Chibok schoolgirls were abducted. Besides, the country also witnessed the highest number of jailbreaks in a single year as no fewer than four prisons were affected last year. Also, bandits overshadowed the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists as they made some states in the North-west and North-central the epicentres of killings in the country. Although the President Muhammadu Buhari administration repeatedly claimed that Nigerians are more secure under it than under the previous administrations, this assertion has been disputed by facts on the ground. The police have declared 12 persons wanted in connection with various crimes in Isu-Aniocha, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The spokesperson of the force, Muyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement on Friday. Mr Adejobi listed the suspects as Edward Okoye (aka Stone), Donatus Okeke, Onyemazi Ngini, Onyebuchi Nwekeizu Okoye, Nonso Eboh and Chukwuka Onyibor. Others are Chukwujekwu Anaekeokwu, Chuka Ilodigwe, Chinedu Nwoye Okoye, Nonso Awusionwu Obinna, Cosmos Okonkwo and Chukwujekwu Okoye. He said the persons were declared wanted in connection with a case of conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, an act of terrorism, kidnapping, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms, housebreaking, burglary, malicious damage, and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace in Isu-Aniocha, Awka North LGA of Anambra State, Nigeria; The declaration by the police comes amidst a spate of violent attacks in the south-eastern part of Nigeria. Many police formations were recently attacked in the region, particularly in Anambra and Imo states. According to the police spokesperson, one of the suspects, Mr Okoye, had on January 19, 2019, in conjunction with others shot two men dead one Ifeanyi Anazoba (aka Ichafu) and one Chukwuebuka Amodo (aka Mutum) at a burial function in Umuzuocha Town Hall in Awka South LGA. He added that the suspects beheaded the duo and burnt their bodies beyond recognition, as well as kidnapped two others and vandalised two properties valued at over N1.2 billion. Mr Adejobi stated that the suspects also attacked and brutalised some mobile police officers detailed to restore calm to the community. The Nigeria Police Force, therefore, urges all well-meaning members of the general public to assist the police with useful information which would facilitate their arrest and ensure they are brought to justice, the statement said. Read full statement: PRESS RELEASE ISU-ANIOCHA KILLINGS: POLICE DECLARE 12 WANTED FOR CONSPIRACY, MURDER, ARMED ROBBERY, UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF FIREARMS, MALICIOUS DAMAGE The Nigeria Police Force hereby declare wanted the following twelve (12) persons in connection with a case of conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, an act of terrorism, kidnapping, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms, housebreaking, burglary, malicious damage, and conduct likely to cause a breach of public peace in Isu-Aniocha, Awka North LGA of Anambra State, Nigeria; i. Edward Okoye (aka Stone) vii. Donatus Okeke ii. Onyemazi Ngini viii. Onyebuchi Nwekeizu Okoye iii. Nonso Eboh ix. Chukwuka Onyibor iv. Chukwujekwu Anaekeokwu x. Chuka Ilodigwe v. Chinedu Nwoye Okoye xi. Nonso Awusionwu Obinna vi. Cosmos Okonkwo xii. Chukwujekwu Okoye The Police had earlier secured a court order to declare wanted the suspects, all male of Igbo extraction with ages ranging from 25 years to 55 years old, natives of Isu-Aniocha, Awka North LGA of Anambra State with heights between 1.5m to 1.7m. Edward Okoye (aka Stone), had in conjunction with others shot two men dead one Ifeanyi Anazoba (aka Ichafu) and one Chukwuebuka Amodo (aka Mutum) at a burial function in Umuzuocha Town Hall, Awka South of Anambra State on 19th January 2019, beheaded them and burnt their bodies beyond recognition; kidnapped two others, and vandalized two properties valued at over 1.2 billion Naira. The suspects equally attacked and brutalized some mobile police officers detailed to restore calm to the community. Advertisements The Nigeria Police Force, therefore, urges all well-meaning members of the general public to assist the police with useful information which would facilitate their arrest and ensure they are brought to justice. It further assures that justice would not just be done in the matter, but would be seen by all parties in the matter, to have been done as the police will leave no stone unturned in unravelling the ugly and criminal incident. CSP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI, mnipr, mipra FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER FORCE HEADQUARTERS ABUJA Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, have been chosen as northern consensus candidates for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The duo were shortlisted by northern leaders of the party ahead of its presidential primary on May 28. Their emergence was part of the recommendations made by a committee which is made up if northern leaders and presidential aspirants in the party. The recommendations were contained in a communique signed by former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Ango Abdullahi, Vanguard reports. The northern leaders said the decision to elect Messrs Saraki and Mohammed was based on certain criteria adopted in the assessment of the four aspirants who submitted themselves for the exercise. Besides the duo, Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto, and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen presented themselves for the election. It was resolved that a leading aspirant from the North-central and one from the North-east are to be presented as northern presidential candidates, Mr Abdullahi said in the communique. And the two would in turn be required to make further concessions so that in the end, one of them would be presented as the consensus candidate. Prior to the election, the four aspirants visited the former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, and and asked him to lead the process for a consensus. They also agreed to abide by the outcome of the decision. Phases of exercise The communique further explained the selection process and performance of aspirants. In phase one of the exercise called candidates assessment, the leaders sought the opinions of six persons from the three geo-political zones. They were asked to also cast their votes. At the end of this phase, Saraki and Gov. Mohammed scored 10 votes each while Tambuwal and Hayatu-Deen got seven and five votes respectively, the communique said. In phase two, zonal assessment, Mr Saraki got eight votes, while Messrs Mohammed and Tambuwal got seven and two votes respectively. And no vote was recorded for Hayatu-Deen. In the third phase, Mr Abdullahi said resort was made to the historical antecedents of the PDP with regards to previous northern aspiration and the following conclusion was reached. That the North-west has had the opportunity of contesting and even forming government in 2007. In 2011, a consensus was made among the four northern candidates, which North-east got but lost at the primaries. In 2019, it got the slot again though the party could not form the government. The panel also noted that the North-central has not had a single opportunity to get the PDP ticket since the inception of the current fourth republic. For the purpose of this exercise, it is hereby resolved that Gov. Bala Mohammad from the North-east and former Senate President Bukola Saraki from the North-central be presented as the northern consensus candidates for the moment. They therefore urged Mrssrs Saraki and Mohammed to foster understanding among themselves, and the PDP community to ensure a rancour-free primary in which all eligible delegates would be free to exercise their right. This announcement comes amid uncertainty regarding the partys final decision on zoning. Although the Governor Samuel Ortom-led committee had made recommendations to the PDP NEC weeks ago, the party has yet to take decision on the issue. While northern leaders want the party ticket to be thrown open, the southern leaders insist the position be zoned to the south. Advertisements Already 17 aspirants have joined the presidential race on the platform of the opposition party. The Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, has rejected an arrangement that produced Bukola Saraki and Bala Mohammed as the northern consensus candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for next years presidential election. Mr Tambuwal, in a statement by his campaign office, said the arrangement has failed and he is now prepared for a primary election. For the avoidance of doubt, Gov Tambuwal has submitted his Presidential nomination forms and now that the quest for a consensus candidate out of the four has clearly collapsed, will go ahead and face screening and indeed contest the PDP presidential primaries, his campaign office wrote. PREMIUM TIMES reported that a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, were chosen as northern consensus candidates of the PDP. The duo were shortlisted by northern leaders of the party ahead of its presidential primary on May 28. Their emergence was part of the recommendations made by a committee which is made up if northern leaders and presidential aspirants in the party. The recommendations were contained in a communique signed by former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Ango Abdullahi, Vanguard reports. Mr Tambuwal, however, says the announcement by Mr Abdullahi is false. Apart from Messrs Tambuwal, Saraki and Mohammed, PDP has other presidential aspirants like ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Anambra governor Peter Obi Read the full statement by Mr Tambuwals campaign office below. Consensus Drive Failed, Im Not Part of Any Agreement By Tambuwal Campaign Organization (TCO) The attention of Tambuwal Campaign Organization (TCO) has been drawn to a news item that former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Gov. Bala Muhammad of Bauchi state have emerged as consensus candidates from amongst the four of us announced at a meeting in Minna, Niger state. This is, to be candid and forthright, not correct. The correct situation is that the team met on Wednesday 20th April, 2022, at Bauchi Governors lodge in Abuja and had a review meeting; and, unanimously agreed that the consensus arrangement was not working. The team further agreed that Sen. Saraki should come up with a draft statement on how to communicate this decision to the Nigerian public. This was the last time that members of the team sat and mutually agreed on anything. The proposed meeting to review and vet the statement scheduled for 10 pm of the same day was aborted unilaterally by Sen. Saraki via a WhatsApp message. However, on Thursday, 21st, 2022, same Sen Saraki circulated yet another WhatsApp message suggesting that members of the team should head to Minna for a meeting on Friday, Gov. Tambuwal reached other members of the team and informed them that he stands by the decision of the team that the initiative is not working. This is the reason Gov. Tambuwal was absent at todays (Friday) meeting in Minna. As a result therefore, the outcome of the Minna meeting has no consequence or any implication on the aspiration of Gov. Tambuwal, who had earlier on informed his colleagues of maintaining their agreed position that the initiative has collapsed. Members of the public should be reminded that what was canvassed for was a consensus candidate and not consensus candidates. For the avoidance of doubt, Gov Tambuwal has submitted his Presidential nomination forms and now that the quest for a consensus candidate out of the four has clearly collapsed, will go ahead and face screening and indeed contest the PDP presidential primaries. This is in consonance with his acclaimed outlook as a pan-Nigerian candidate, with pedigree of national service as the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, life member of the Body of Benchers and now in his second and final term as Governor of Sokoto state. Nicholas Msheliza Director Organization and Mobilization for TCO April 22, 2022 Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on academics and members of other professional bodies to participate actively in the task of making Nigeria a better place for all. Mr Osinbajos spokesperson, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said the vice president received, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, a team of 13 professors who came to endorse and support his aspiration ahead of the 2023 presidential election. The top academics, drawn from the six geo-political zones, came under the aegis of the Progressive Intellectuals Advisory Group. The group was led by Shehu Adamu, a professor and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). These days, you find all sorts of pretenders claiming expertise in everything under the sun without any real expertise. So, it is important that academics do not vacate that space to allow all sorts of people to begin to postulate on practically every issue, he said. The vice president recalled his experience as an academic who became an Attorney-General. Mr Osinbajo welcomed the interest of the professors in the upcoming 2023 presidential elections. One of the most important things I recall when I served first as Attorney General of Lagos State was that it is so important for those of us who are in academics to participate because not only are we among the more knowledgeable groups, we have also done more work. The path that you have chosen is a very crucial one because in the future, more intellectual groups will take the responsibility that is really theirs. And I think that for those of us who are from the academic community, it is a privilege that we have being the intellectual creme de la creme of our society, and this comes with responsibility. The vice president appreciated the groups endorsement of his presidential aspiration. He said that if there was any sort of endorsement that had given him particular joy, it was the groups endorsement. Because if one is endorsed by professional colleagues, people who live their lives by critical analysis and evaluation; it is worth celebrating. These matters are not to be taken lightly. For a professor to say that he supports a political cause, it is a weighty matter indeed, because you are aware that a lot of reflections go into it. But when you have 13 professors all over the country saying that they are aligned to one cause; I am greatly humbled; it is one of those things that doesnt happen often. We will work together to make a significant difference for our country, Mr Osinbajo said. Earlier in his remarks, Mr Adamu said the visit was to intimate the vice president on activities and efforts of the group to support his aspiration to become Nigerias president. He said the academics were convinced of Osinbajos capability to lead a more prosperous Nigeria; hence their resolve not only to endorse him, but also offer their expertise and do what it would take to ensure that he emerged victorious. Mr Adamu said the group would engage in activities, including media engagements, community mobilisation, and partnerships with other professionals, among others, to shape public opinion in a manner that will lead to a successful run by the vice president in 2023. Another member of the delegation, Nasiru Musa Yauri, a professor and Vice Chancellor of the Al-Kalam University, Katsina, said members of the group had decided not to fold their arms. We will do whatever it takes to actualise the PYO 2023 project, he said. Moreso, Chukwuemeka Nwanegbo, a professor and Head of Political Science Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, said that members of the academic community would throw their weight behind the vice president. Advertisements We do not want to sit back and watch the political terrain disallow you from emerging. So, we want to work with you, other professionals and students to actualise your bid, he said. Aside Messrs Adamu, Yauri and Nwanegbo, the other academics at the meeting included Yahaya Baba, Usman Danfodiyo University in Sokoto and Mashood Omotosho, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Others were an Associate Professor, Philips Okolo, the director of the Institute of Peace and Security Studies, Niger Delta University; Shola Omotola, Federal University, Oye Ekiti; Danjuma Abubakar, IBB University, Lapai and Abdullahi Jibrin, Federal University Lafia. Associate Professor Atelhe George, University of Calabar; Saleh Mohammed, Federal University Kashere, Gombe State, Haruna Adama, University of Yola and Ike-Elechi Ogba, Ebonyi State University were also in the delegation. (NAN) A group, The Thursday Group (TTG), has petitioned the Ogun State House of Assembly over the pronouncement of the Minister of Transport that they have redirected the proposed Calabar-Lagos rail line. Kola Onadipe, the convener of the group, said in the petition that the ministers declaration was against the interest of the Ogun State economy. At the launch of the Ogun State Strategic Transport Master Plan and Flag-Off of Gateway Bus Pilot Scheme two weeks ago, Rotimi Amaechi, the transport minister, said President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the redesign of the Lagos-Calabar rail route. The initial design, approved by the Federal Executive Council, was for the route to pass through Ore in Ondo State, to Ogun State, and then end at Apapa in Lagos. But Mr Amaechi said because of the traffic congestion at Apapa, the project would now go to Lagos through Ore, Epe, and end at the Lekki deep seaport. Surprisingly, and perhaps ignorantly, every person seated as participants at the Gateway Bus launch, clapped for the minister [when he made the declaration], said Mr Onadipe. He said with the initial railway design in view, a lot of public and private investments had kicked off at the Ogun Agro-Cargo Airport. which hitherto has a train station at Iperu and the new dual carriage Ijebu Ode-Epe recently commissioned by the president. He said the latter was executed in advance to take secondary cargo from Lekki to the rail station earlier designed at Ijebu-Ode-Ilese. Same with the expected road construction to carry cargo from Olokola Free Trade Zone to link up with the train station at Alakuko on the now cancelled rail route from Ore-Kajola-Alakuko-Ijebu Ode-Iperu-Itori, which link the already commissioned Lagos-Ibadan Rail line. The petition said new towns, educational institutions, and industrial estates are already emerging along the rail routes in Ogun State in anticipation of the project. It accused the minister of political and economic ignorance by diverting or redirecting the rail routes from the established viable route as contained in the pre-Development and Feasibility Studies (as approved in 2012-13 by FEC). We are aware of many industries, educational institutions, and housing development companies that have applied and received respective state government land allocations along its route, to commence development based on citing Rail Lines/Stations in and around surrounding environments. The petition further stated that considering international economic parameters, some governments, and private sector players have based their feasibility and viability reports on the distance of these respective projects to the rail line and stations. Indeed Itori in Ogun Central Senatorial District, and which is located within 15 minutes drive from Ilaro in Ogun West Senatorial District, has advantageously positioned the railway station as major intersection Transport Hub from SE, SS, and NC, linkage to Lagos. This places Itori Railway Station as earlier designed, before the unilateral redirection by the Minister, in the league of Victoria Station in UK, where more than four railway lines converge for easy of movement of passengers and goods. The petition said instead of the federal government to redirect the rail route from Ore to Lekki, it could design and approve several T-off rail line to the already signed route, as later variation, at Ijebu-Ode-Ilese Station. It added that the people of Ogun State would mobilise against the cancellation of the Ore-Kajola-Ijebu-Ode-Iperu-Itori Rail route, if the government does not reconsider and reverse its decision immediately. The Forum of the States Chairmen of Social Democratic Party (SDP) has urged members of the party to disregard the purported suspension of its National Chairman, Olu Agunloye. The Forum made the appeal in a statement signed by its Chairman, Abubakar Dogara; Secretary, Wellington Odiong; and Leader of the Forum, Oke Idawene ; in Akure, Act on Friday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Agunloye, a former Minister of Power and Steel, was suspended by the Ondo State chapter of the SDP in a letter dated March 28, over alleged anti-party activities. In the suspension letter, Mr Agunloye was accused of bringing non-party members into the party to cause confusion and disturb the functions of the party executives at both state and local government levels. The party stated that Mr Agunloye was suspended from his ward (ward 10) in Akoko North-west Local Government area of the state, following a resolution after a meeting of the ward executives. According to the forum, those people who suspended the partys national chairman are not members of the party, not to talk of being officials of the SDP. Our attention was drawn to a publication credited to the Ondo State Chapter of our great party, the SDP, on the suspension of our National Chairman, Dr Olu Agunloye, by some attention seekers. They are rascals hired to distract the party as its so glaring that Nigerians have chosen SDP as an alternative political party to vote for in the next general elections. The official of SDP is intact and very law abiding. The constitution of the party 2018 as amended has its provisions on the processes of suspension and or expulsion of SDP financial and legitimate member from the party. And from the book of records available to the party, they are no more members of the SDP if ever been, it said. The forum chairmen, therefore, directed the newly elected officials of the party in the state to continue with the good work of mobilising people into the party, advising them not to be distracted According to the forum, the National Working Committee (NWC) is focused and do not have time for such shenanigans and desperados. Moreover, SDP has important activities to attend to, regarding strengthening the party such as implementation of our last NEC resolutions, sales of nomination forms to aspirants and congresses all inline with the Electoral act, INEC guidelines and the party constitution, the forum said. (NAN) Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has expressed concern over the use and abuse of drugs as well as rising insecurity across the country. The governors, in a teleconference meeting on Wednesday, restated their commitment to maintain logistical support to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). This was made known in a statement by the chairman of the forum and governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi. The NGFs committment to fight drug abuse and insecurity in the country was sequel to a briefing on Drug Abuse and Insecurity Relationship and New Perspectives by the NDLEA boss, Buba Marwa. Although details of Mr Marwas briefing were not stated, Mr Fayemi said the Forums re-committment is in furtherance to its March 2021 commitment to the agency when the NDLEA Chief first made such presentation to the governors. The NGFs concern and pledge comes about a week after Mr Marwa met with the FCT Minster, Mohammed Bello, who had expressed preparedness to continue to support the agency in its renewed war against drug abuse and trafficking of illicit substances in the country. Mr Marwa had said the NDLEA remains on the offensive against cartels in the capital territory with the arrest of 142 suspects; conviction of 53 offenders; 66 users counselled and rehabilitated and 760 kilograms of illicit substances seized, all within the first three months of the year. Besides pledging to maintain logistical support to the agency, the NGF also committed to providing additional opportunities for operational synergy, including bringing the agency into the States Security Council meetings, and providing land for barrack operations. Other matters arising The governors also received a presentation on Improving Health Financing and Universal Health Coverage from Eduardo Gonzalez-Pier, Senior Technical Advisor for Palladium. Palladium is an implementing partner for USAIDs Integrated Health Programme with a shared vision to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030 (SDG3). After this presentation, the Forum resolved to continuously release equity fund to cover the vulnerable population in all states and onboard civil servants not yet covered under any health insurance scheme. The governors also resolved to preserve the health sector spending amidst the current contraction in fiscal space for governments. Additionally, the NGFs Senior Health Advisor, Ahmad Abdulwahab, highlighted actions taken by state governors over the last month. This includes participation at the PHC Summit where the NGF committed to intensify collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to implement the Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge Fund for the actualisation of the Seattle Declaration. He also gave updates on health security issues. He highlighted outbreaks of lassa fever, measles, and cases of meningitis in some parts of the country as well as the ongoing immunisation campaigns by the NPHCDA against the diseases. He noted the need for states to release the requisite counterpart fund and strengthen their respective epidemic preparedness and response. Nigerias minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, has accused the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of trying to bully the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to certify the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) developed by the union as satisfactory, despite not meeting the set criteria. The minister said the suspension of the ongoing strike is solely at the discretion of the university lecturers. ASUU has been on strike since February 14, demanding among others, the deployment of UTAS to replace the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement between the union and the Nigerian government as minimum conditions to achieve peace. Shortly after declaring the strike, Mr Ngiges ministry set up a joint committee of ASUU members, officials of NITDA and independent IT experts to come up with the report of a joint review of UTAS. But ASUU accused the minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, and NITDA DG, Kashifu Inuwa, of deliberately frustrating the deployment of UTAS by constantly misinforming the public on the results of the tests carried out on the payment platform. NITDA has, however, consistently claimed that UTAS failed some tests even as ASUU wondered how a total pass of over 90 per cent amounted to failure. The lecturers union said it is convinced that the frustration of the process was due to its opposition to Mr Pantamis controversial professorial appointment. Ngige speaks However, seaking on Thursday while appearing on a programme, Politics Today, on Channels Television, Mr Ngige, the chief conciliator between the government and the striking lecturers, said ASUU has adopted the approach of bullying government agencies to meet its demands. He said; The solution is that ASUU has to come down from their high horse. You cannot go and be intimidating people at NITDA, and threatening the minister of communications and digital economy with revocation of professorship. and you go to ABU, saying you are going to withdraw the certificate of director of NITDA. Thats bullying, its not allowed in labour negotiations. On 2009 renegotiation Speaking further, the minister said the draft proposal by the dissolved Munzali Jibrils renegotiation team cannot be used, hence the constitution of the Nimi Briggs-led committee to come up with another draft in six weeks. The six weeks ends on Friday. Mr Ngige said the draft by Munzali Jubril, a professor, included a review of lecturers salaries by 180 per cent which, he noted, is not feasible for the government. He said: They finished it (the proposal) and said every side goes back to their principals with this proposal. But there are no signatures. Nobody signed. They (education side) came back and budget and planning, National Income, Salaries and Wages Commission, ministries of finance and education, National Universities Commission, were in that committee and they pointed out that this proposal will not fly in government because the government does not have the means to start adjusting salaries of university teachers by 180 per cent. How to end strike Mr Ngige, who said the power to call off the strike lies with ASUU, said the solution is for ASUU to cooperate with the Mr Briggs-led committee to come up with a workable proposal. They (ASUU) should go and meet the Nimi Briggs-led committee and look at what they are doing and make further inputs so that the work can be accelerated, he said. He added: They have refused to even go to the committee. They said the last proposal, as far as they are concerned, is the agreement. Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe. President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja urged entrepreneurs and investors to channel ideas and resources into areas of the economy that stimulate growth, with long-term effect on job creation and poverty reduction, assuring that fixing infrastructure remains governments top priority. Receiving the Chairman of Dangote Industries Ltd, Aliko Dangote, and Board members of the Group at the Presidential Villa, the president said the challenges in transportation and energy will continue to attract attention for a turnaround, while urging entrepreneurs in the country and foreign investors to focus on areas that will leave lasting legacies of transforming lives. Mr. Chairman, Let me again, thank you and your board for the courage and foresight that enabled you to embark on these mega investment projects which will have enduring benefits to generations of Nigerians. Entrepreneurs such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote are unique gifts to their societies and the institutions they build, and they often become the pillars of stable enduring prosperous economies. I, therefore, urge other Nigerians in the business sector to emulate this iconic entrepreneur by investing in such enterprises that will in time become worthy legacies as national assets which will continue to benefit their people for generation after generation, creating firm anchors of enduring prosperity for their citizens, he said. President Buhari told the delegation, which was on a courtesy visit, that reforms were already going on in the public sector to reposition it into a more effective and result oriented engine room that will encourage more investments. I am keenly aware of the many challenges in the business environment and the investment climate despite the sustained efforts by this government to bring about improvements. I want to assure you, however, that government will do everything possible to enhance the development in infrastructure, especially in energy and transportation sectors. We will also continue to implement needed reforms in the public service to significantly improve the ease of doing business, the president added. President Buhari lauded Mr Dangote for always investing in areas that bring the highest benefits to Nigerians. I recall, with great pleasure, my visit to the Dangote Free Zone just about four weeks ago, to commission the Groups new 3 million metric ton fertilizer plant. Let me, once again, congratulate you and your Board for a very successful commissioning ceremony. As I said at that event, the coming on stream of this plant was a huge opportunity to ramp up the productivity of our agricultural sector. It is, therefore, a most welcome booster to our governments strategy for achieving food security and reducing poverty. Given recent developments globally, especially the effect of the ongoing war in Europe on world-wide food supply chain, I must commend your foresight for bringing the plant into operation at the time you did. I note that market realities will bring pressure to bear on Dangote Fertilizer Limited in seeking to meet the demands of your export customers. However, given your groups well known patriotic vision, I am confident that your Board will continue to accord priority to meeting local demands of our farmers, the president noted. President Buhari also commended the Dangote Group for extending investments to other African countries, while highlighting the vision behind the refinery. Mr Chairman, I must specially commend you and your Board for the development of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical complex. I had a good view of this incredible city of steel and concrete when my helicopter circled over it during my visit for the commissioning of the fertilizer plant. In his remarks, the chairman of Dangote Industries Ltd said the board was at the State House to express profound appreciation to the president for the great honour to the Dangote Group when he commissioned the new 3m MTPD fertilizer plant, which was the latest subsidiary company of the Dangote Fertilizer Ltd. We also seize the opportunity to reiterate our immense gratitude for the sustained effort of your administration through various policy initiatives aimed at progressively improving the business environment and investment climate, despite some unprecedented challenges our economy has been confronted with over the past decade. We are also deeply grateful for your direct interventions at various times when our operations were challenged by some unintended consequences of economic policy positions. Your interventions have not only helped to resolve business challenges, but have been a source of great encouragement in our determination to continue to invest in our economy for the benefit of our country and our people, he noted. Mr Dangote said the board looks forward to the return of President Buhari to commission the oil refineries and petrochemicals project, which will transform the Nigerian economy. Through the outputs of our various businesses, our Group is proud to be making significant contributions to the diversification and growth of our nations economy, which is second only to Federal Government in the size of our workforce, he added. Advertisements The leader of the Dangote Group said with more investments in agriculture and oil and gas sectors, more impact will be made on the economy. Mr Dangote submitted that the group of industries will always hold on to the presidents mantra on the economy to produce what we consume and consume what we produce. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) April 22, 2022 Lafarge Africas net profit for the three months to March expanded almost twice as much as its bottom-line one year prior, and the cement maker is anchoring optimism for a similarly strong scorecard this quarter on sustaining a good demand momentum and cost control. The firm increased revenue by more than one-fourth to N90.6 billion, with its cement division to thank for the leap after accounting for 97.1 per cent of gross sales, its unaudited report showed on Friday. Khaled El Dokani, its chief executive, said in a separate document coming after our very strong FY 2021 results, our Q1 2022 performance confirms the continued growth trajectory of our business. Pre-tax profit for the period under review rose to N21.5 billion from N12.8 billion, while profit after tax accelerated 92.2 per cent. FBNQuest said this February in a forecast a volume growth of 10 per cent for the cement industry in 2022 to be stoked by demand for roads and real estate. By the merchant banks estimate, pre-election capital spending by the Federal Government is bound to force growth for Lafarge Africa and its much bigger rival Dangote Cement, with capex for 2021 seen accelerating by 61 per cent to N6 trillion on an annualised basis from the first 11 months of last year, not mentioning similar projects by lower levels of government. Profit margin stood at 19.4 per cent, suggesting the company realised a profit of N19.4 per cent on every N100 spent during the quarter. Swiss-based Holcim Limited, the worlds largest cement company, holds an 83.8 per cent interest in Lafarge Africa, which now operates only in Nigeria, having offloaded its South African asset roughly two years ago. Shares in Lafarge Africa were quoted at N25.55 per unit in Lagos at 11.55 WAT on Friday, trading up 2.3 per cent. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday visited the Olubadan of Ibadan, Olalekan Balogun, at his Alarere Palace in Ibadan. Mr Osinbajo left the palace around noon. He moved to the Ibadan Civic Center where he is currently meeting with his support groups and key members of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo state. The meeting observed a minute silence for three former governors of Oyo State: Lam Adesina, Abiola Ajimobi, and Adebayo Alao-Akala. Some of those who are at the meeting are Teslim Folarin, the senator representing Oyo Central; Niyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; Babafemi Ojudu, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters; and Isaac Omodewu, the Oyo State Chairman of the APC The vice president declared his intention to run for president on the platform of the APC two weeks ago. Details later. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has announced the redeployment of 46 senior officers including five assistant corp marshals. The announcement was made by the FRSC spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES. Ten states will now have new Sector Commanders , Mr Kazeem wrote. Read the full statement below. REJIGGING FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE: FRSC CORPS MARSHAL APPROVES STRATEGIC REDEPLOYMENT OF 5 ASSISTANT CORPS MARSHALS AND 41 CORPS COMMANDERS TO DIFFERENT FORMATIONS NATIONWIDE Pursuant to the recent approval of the promotion of senior officers by the Federal Road Safety Commission and the need to strategically reposition the officers for optimal performance, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi, has approved the redeployment of 46 Senior Officers, in the capacity of Assistant Corps Marshals and Corps Commanders who are all expected to report to their new Commands on or before Monday, May 2, 2022. According to Bisi Kazeem, the FRSC spokesperson, the redeployed senior officers are; Assistant Corps Marshal (ACM) Chidi B Nkwonta fwc, former Zonal commanding officer RS6HQ Portharcourt to take over as the Commandant Federal Road Safety Corps Command and Staff College (FCSC), Udi, Enugu State, ACM Chukwuma N. Njoku, formally Corps Commander Personnel under Admin and Human Resource Department at the national headquarters, to now head Manpower Development unit under Training Department, National Headquarters, Ocheja I Ameh fsi, former Sector Commander Ekiti, now posted to become the Zonal Commanding Officer Enugu, ACM UI Ojeamiren, former Deputy Commandant FRSC Academy Udi, now Zonal Commanding Officer Osogbo, while ACM Jonathan Aderole Owoade, the erstwhile Sector Commander Kwara, now heads Port Harcourt Zonal Command. Ten states will now have new Sector Commanders as follows; Corps Commander (CC) Kaugama M. Kabo, former Sector Commander Sokoto now Sector Commander Yobe, while CC DY Dio fsi is to proceed from Yobe to take over as Adamawa State Sector Commander. In the same vein, CC YK Nadabo is to hand over the helm of affairs as CC LGA Station Office at the Operations department of the National headquarters and assume duty as the Sector Commander Sokoto state; while Borno state gets CC IU Boyi as the new Sector Commander. Erstwhile Delta State Sector Commander, CC I Abubakar is now Benue state Sector Commander while CC Ubi Ushiet is to replace him as Delta State Sector Commander. Meanwhile, CC OE Joseph is to assume duty as the Sector Commander Ekiti State as CC FA Ogidan becomes Kwara State Sector Commander and CC SE Dawulung takes over the helm of affairs as Plateau State Sector Commander. FN Theman mnarc now becomes the Sector Commander Gombe State. In addition, Uchechukwu I. Wihioka former Corps Commander Admin in the FRSC Command and Staff College, is now Deputy Commandant Federal Road Safety Command Staff College, Corps Commander Joel I. Dagwa, the outgoing Registrar FRSC Academy, now appointed as the Deputy Camp Commandant FRSC Academy, while Corps Commander Shamsudeen A. Sale fwc, former Sector Commander Nasarawa State, is now Corps Commander Motor Vehicle Administration, in the Headquarters. He added that DA Barde, Former Corps Commander Logistics under the Technical Service Department in the Headquarters is now the Corps Commander Armament under the Operations Department at the Headquarters, Sector Commander Gombe, Ishaku G. Ibrahim, now Corps Commander National Road Safety Partnership FRSC Headquarters, and Solomon T. Agure psc, former Sector Commander Kogi, now heads Local Government Station Office under the department of Operations, FRSC Headquarters. More Corps Commanders were also redeployed including Ebenezer P. Guar fsi, former Head of Policy unit of Policy Research and Statistics Department to now head Corps Provost in the National Headquarters, and Olusola M. Ibirongbe former Corps Commander Cash Management Office under the Finance and Account Office, now Corps Commander Finance and Account Unit under the Finance and Account Department. Arising from the need to keep the redeployed Officers on their toes, the Corps Marshal implored the Officers to remain steadfast in their commitment and dedication to duties and to share in the FRSC vision of making Nigerian roads safer for all motorists. Oyeyemi further enjoined them to play pivotal roles to ensure that they contribute their quota in enhancing the safety of lives and properties of all road users. The Accountant-General of the Federations office has cleared a director and another official at the Federal Ministry of Justice accused of embezzling N104 million Duty Tour Allowance (DTA). The clearance, contained in a memo, exonerated Joshua Kadmi, Director of Finance and Account (DFA), and Abuh Danjuma, the project accountant, at the Federal Ministry of Justice, of the fraud allegations levelled against them by a civil society group, Integrity and Transparency Watch. No payment was made in the Ministry without the approval of the Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary, the report, dated April 1, 2022 and issued on behalf of the Accountant-General of the Federation, read, in part. Signed by C. N. Anamekwe, the Director of Treasury Inspectorate of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the report was addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, which requested the investigation into the allegations. Allegations The petitioner, Integrity and Transparency Watch, had, in its petition dated February 15, 2022, accused Mr Kadmi and Mr Danjuma of misappropriating N104, 842,800. They allegedly perpetrated the fraud through the private accounts of Mr Danjuma, the ministrys project accountant. The alleged accounts were given as 2064800888 and 0050341092 with United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Access Bank, respectively. The petitioner stated that DTAs ought to be paid to individual accounts in accordance with e-payment circular of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It added that instead, millions of naira transferred from Abuh Danjumas UBA account were traced to a Bureau De Change for conversion to foreign currency. It also stated that money was withdrawn from Mr Danjumas account and handed over to the DFA through Ghana-must-go bags. It said all the transactions occurred in the month of November and December, 2021 towards the financial year and when unspent funds were to be paid to the government coffers. According to the petitioner, the financial recklessness of the DFA led the hurried transfer of the internal Auditor, a deputy director, Adedokun Adebayo Abdusalam, who disagreed with the DFAs mode of operation. The petitioner called for an immediate investigation into the fraudulent activities which it claimed were grave to the nations economy. Following a request by the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, set up an investigative panel to conduct a special inspection and investigation into the allegations. Findings The panel, after concluding its investigations, cleared the duo of Messrs Kamdi and Danjuma of the alleged misappropriation, saying the payments by them were done with requisite approval of the approving authority. Contrary to the petitioners claim, the panel said Mr Danjuma, the project coordinator, maintained only a bank account in United Bank for Africa and none with Access Bank. It added that apart from the fact that all payments in the ministry were with the approval of the Solicitor-General/Permanent Secretary, All the payment vouchers were prepared according to the provisions of Financial Regulation i.e the PVs were checked, enter into the vote book and checked by the internal audit. The payment vouchers were posted accordingly into all relevant boos of content, it added. It also stated that the payment made through the account of the project accountant, Mr Danjuma, was due to the fact that the beneficiaries were not in the GIFMIS Employee Payable Module whose payment to such individuals could be possible only through an intermediary. On the allegation of hurried transfer of Adedokun Adebayo Abdulsalam whom the petitioner claimed opposed the transactions, the investigative panel said it was in good faith. This, the panel, said, was because the responsibility of posting pool officers (accountants and interval auditors) lies solely with the Accountant-General of the Federation and so was testified by the aforementioned officer. It also stated that Other allegations bordering on money in Ghana must go bags, Bureau De Change e.t.c could not be substantiated with facts by the petitioner and the team considered it null and void. But the panel faulted the appointment of Mr Danjuma as project accountant in the ministry, an action it said: was not in conformity with the provision of the Federal Treasury Circular Ref: No Try A7 & B7/2020 dated 23rd June 2020. Advertisements Recommendations Among other recommendations, the panel advised the Ministry of Justice to comply with all necessary guidelines regarding government expenditures. It added that the ministry must also ensure that the operating process/projects are perfected in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in strict compliance with the provision of Federal Treasury Circular and extant rules. In addition, it said, the petitioner should be advised to always verify facts before writing on matters relating to government expenditure and should be made to be aware of the consequence of wrong whistleblowing. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reiterated its determination to conduct the 2023 general elections despite the increasing security threat to the process. The commission chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the public presentation of the 2022-2026 strategic plan and the 2023 election project plan in Abuja on Thursday. This is coming barely a week after an INEC staffer was murdered by unknown gunmen Imo State while discharging his duties. The incident is one of the many attacks carried out by gun-wielding assailants against the commissions personnel and facilities in the last three years across South-east states. Mr Yakubu said INEC will continue to work with security agencies to safeguard staff, voters and election materials as he called for more support from other stakeholders. These are challenging times but we are determined that elections must be held in 2023. However, this is a shared responsibility. INEC plays a critical role but the commission alone cannot deliver the elections we all desire, he said, adding that its schedules of activities remained fixed. We have carefully listened to the demand of Nigerians for seamless processes, particularly about enhanced voter education, better distribution of voters to polling units, quality training of election personnel, the functionality of electronic devices, improved logistics, prompt commencement of polls, availability of assistive devices for persons with disability at polling units and greater transparency in result management, he further said. According to the newly launched project plan, the commission said it will deploy over a million permanent and non-permanent electoral officials across 176,846 polling units in 1,491 constituencies for the general elections. The elections are a presidential, 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal constituencies, 28 governorship and 993 state constituencies elections nationwide. With this projection, the commission has earmarked N239.2 billion from the N305 billion budget for the procurement of ballot papers, operational vehicles, ballot boxes, accreditation devices and other critical items ahead of the polls. When compared to N189bn earmarked for the 2019 General Elections the INEC budget has increased by 61 per cent. No less than N27.1 billion from the N239.2 billion has reportedly been set aside for possible run-off elections. Breakdown As reported, a whopping sum of N105.2 billion of the budget has been estimated for the purchase of accreditation devices while N23.7 and N23 billion will go into payment of an allowance for ad hoc workers and logistics respectively. Of the N239.2 billion budget, N20.6 and N12.7 billion will be spent on the printing of ballot papers and the procurement of non-sensitive materials while the printing of result sheets will gulp a total of N9.5 million. A total of N13.19 billion will go into the purchase of ballot boxes and another N3.9 billion for operational vehicles. A Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Yakubu Dogara from the House of Representatives and declared his seat vacant. Mr Dogara, who represents Bogoro/Dass Federal constituency of Bauchi State, was the Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2015 and 2019. The judge, D.U. Okorowo, on Friday, ruled that Mr Dogaras defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was wrong and meant he should vacate the legislative seat. Mr Dogara defected to the APC after winning his re-election under the PDP in 2019 His frosty relationship with his state governor, Bala Mohammed, was one of the main reasons he ditched the PDP which he joined less than five years ago. The Exit of Mr Dogara from the PDP Mr Dogara had on July 24, 2020 dumped the PDP and returned to his former party, the APC. Mr Dogara had earlier in 2018 dumped the ruling party for the main opposition platform after having political confrontation for about two years with the then governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar. In a letter of resignation addressed to the Bogoro C Ward Chairman of the PDP dated July 24, 2020, Mr Dogara cited a breakdown of governance in his native state of Bauchi under the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed whom he said he helped installed as a governor in 2019. The former speaker said he could not successfully ask questions about those issues without being accused of disloyalty if he were to remain in the PDP. He argued that if he abdicated this responsibility of telling the truth to power in Bauchi State, having done same under the administrations of former Governors Isa Yuguda and Mohammed Abubakar, he would be the most irresponsible and unprincipled politician in Bauchi State. Mr Dogara was elected speaker on the APC platform in 2015. He decamped, alongside dozens of other lawmakers, to the PDP in the build-up to the 2019 general election. He won his re-election as a lawmaker on the PDP platform but did not contest the speakers position as the APC won majority seats in the parliament. After his meeting with President Buhari on July 27, 2020, the head of APCs interim management committee, Mala Buni, who also attended the meeting, said Mr Buhari was pleased with Mr Dogaras defection. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday visited the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Olalekan Balogun, at his Alarere residence, in Ibadan, to seek the traditional rulers blessings on his presidential ambition. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the visit was in continuation of the vice presidents visitation to states ahead of the primary election of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in May. Mr Osinbajo said he came to pay homage and sought the traditional rulers blessings on his desire to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, after the completion of the current tenure. He said he decided to run for president when he realised the need to put into use all the experiences he gained in the last seven years under the tutelage of President Buhari. During these years, our president truly gave me every opportunity to know all that the government was doing, including very sensitive issues and I, felt it would be the right thing to do, to deploy all those experiences under me to the service of the country. Nigeria needs those who are willing to serve, to attain her potential. I have come to Ibadan to confer with the party delegates on my intention to run for the presidency, which I formally declared on April 11. Kabiyesi, I know that you are no more a politician. Though it is said that we are all political animals, your position as the father of all precludes Your Imperial Majesty from being active. So, I covet your prayers and want to assure Your Majesty, that wherever I may be, your highly respected position is guaranteed, Mr Osinbajo said. In his response, Mr Balogun wished the vice president good luck in his desire to contest the presidential race. We are proud of you and share your aspiration. Just let me hand you over to the Almighty Allah, to take total control and be with you and your entourage, he added. The royal father also prayed for the vice president and his entourage. (NAN) The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed all registered political parties to submit copies of their membership register to the commission in compliance with the new Electoral Act 2022, before their primary elections. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, gave the directive at the second regular quarterly meeting of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja, on Thursday. Mr Yakubu said the new Electoral Act made it mandatory for political parties to submit their registered members to the commission 30 days before their primaries. Let me also seize this opportunity to remind political parties that by the provision of Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2022; each party is required to maintain a membership register in hard and soft copy and to make such register available to the Commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for primaries, congresses and conventions. So far, only one political party has complied. It is a mandatory requirement of the law and all parties are required to comply. Doing otherwise is like going into an election without the register of voters. There can be no credible primary or general election without a credible register of voters, Mr Yakubu said. The INEC chairman also advised the RECs to thoroughly study the new Electoral Act, saying a credible election is anchored on the law. As you are aware, the Electoral Act, together with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and our Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, constitute the electoral legal framework for elections. As election managers, it is incumbent upon us to familiarise ourselves with the legal framework, he said. On the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), particularly the creation of additional centres to devolve the exercise beyond INEC State and Local Government offices nationwide, Mr Yakubu said a total of 2,673 centres had been activated nationwide. He disclosed that in the last week of the exercise, 405,587 eligible Nigerians had completed the registration at the various centres. This, according to him, represents about 31 per cent increase on the average figure of 125,000 weekly registrations since the ever commenced in June 2021. Mr Yakubu also said that while INEC expected a surge in new registrations as it approached its June 30 deadline, it was prepared for it. He, however, said INEC was concerned about the safety of prospective registrants, INEC personnel, equipment and materials, including the printed Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) made available for collection by registered voters. Mr Yakubu, who said recent incidents involving INEC staff and facilities were worrisome, recalled that following the unfortunate attack on INEC staff in Imo State last week, the Commission suspended the CVR in all the 54 additional centres in the State. The exercise is now restricted to our State and Local Government offices except Ihitte Uboma, Njaba and Osu where the exercise had been suspended for the time being. Similarly, based on the urgency of the situation in Anambra State, the CVR has been suspended in all the 42 additional centres and confined to our State and Local Government offices except Nnewi South and Ogbaru LGAs where the exercise had also been temporarily suspended. Furthermore, in Kaduna State, the exercise had been suspended in Jemaa and Kaura as well as large areas of Birnin Gwari and Giwa on account of insecurity in the four LGAs. In addition, two of our staff were abducted by bandits but later released in Isa LGA of Sokoto state while on voter registration duty, he said. Mr Yakubu said the commission would keep monitoring and reviewing the situation nationwide, always bearing in mind the imperatives of ensuring the safety and security of INEC staff and registrants. However, he said that in spite of the security challenges, INEC remained resolute in its determination to conduct the 2023 General Election as scheduled. He said: In doing so, every eligible Nigerian must be allowed to vote, including citizens despite Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Happily, the Commission has a standing policy on IDP voting which had been periodically reviewed. Advertisements In the light of the security challenges as guided by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, the Commission will immediately review the policy to ensure that no internally displaced Nigerian in any part of the country was disenfranchised. The issue of IDPs would be discussed at this meeting. The Commission is confident that our security agencies can deal with the security challenges ahead of the 2023 General Elections. Fortunately, we have started the preparation for the elections early. There is, therefore, ample time to deal with the current situation to enable all stakeholders to deploy nationwide for the elections. Mr Yakubu added that INEC would continue to work with the security agencies for peaceful electioneering and conduct of elections, including holding high-level meetings with the security agencies and consultations with stakeholders immediately after the forthcoming national holidays. .(NAN) The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Educational Institutions (NASU) have extended their four-week-old strike by another one month. This was contained in a statement issued by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the two unions on Thursday, April 21. The statement, which was signed by SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim, and NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, said the decision was taken following the Nigerian governments continued silence over the unions demands. They said the new development was a result of the directive to JAC by the members across the campuses nationwide. The statement read in parts: You will recall that the first warning strike of two weeks started on the midnight of Sunday 27th March 2021, while the extension of another two weeks that commenced on Sunday 10th April 2022 would expire on midnight of Sunday 24th April 2022. Unfortunately, the government has kept mute and remains indifferent o the demands of the JAC of NASU and SSANU. Deriving from the feedback received from our branches in respect of the resolutions conducted which supported fully the ongoing strike and other actions to be taken by the leadership of JAC, this is to inform members that the strike has been extended by one month to commence on midnight of Sunday, 24th April 2022 pending when the government would have change of heart and be favourably disposed to our demands as highlighted in our letters dated 1st March 2022 and 16th March 2022 to the representative of the government, the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment. Demands The national vice president of SSANU, Abdussobur Salaam, had listed the items in the said agreement to include the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, payment of earned allowances, usurpation of non-academic career positions by vice-chancellors, the inclusion of university staff school into the university community, non-payment of minimum wage arrears, and funding of state universities. He said university vice-chancellors had continued to defy a court order declaring that the teachers of universities staff schools are integral members of the university community. He added that the government has only paid less than N8 billion of the N30 billion it agreed to be paid to its members nationwide as allowances. The memorandum of understanding we had was that the renegotiation will be concluded within six weeks. And that was as far back as February 2021. And if you count six weeks from that time we will be talking about sometime in May or maybe April. But here we are, a year later, we have not even been invited for one meeting despite our reminders. he had said in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES. Complication The new development may have further dashed the hope of Nigerian university students to resume their studies soon. The unions academic counterpart- the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had commenced its strike on February 14, 2022, and has continued to roll it over with the latest extension scheduled to end on May 14. Theres, however, no hope that the union will return to classrooms in May as the union and the government have remained at loggerheads. Various stakeholders have continued to challenge the Nigerian government and the striking unions to find a middle ground and reopen the universities. But the continued silence by the education minister, Adamu Adamu, has also irked the public with many Nigerians using social media to call for his removal. Just imagine! If there was no Lailatul Qadr, the Noble Quran would not have been revealed to us. And, if Muhammad had remained a mere man like those around him, then Prophet Isa (Jesus), would have been the last Prophet. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful All praise is for Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own souls and the wickedness of our actions, whoever Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray, and whoever Allah allows to go astray, there is none that can lead him to the right path. I testify and bare witness that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth but Allah, alone, without any partners. And I testify and bare witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His Servant and Messenger. As for whats after: Dear brothers and sisters! The Ibadah (worship) of Iitikaf is a practice that goes back to all those who spend time in seclusion to reflect and ponder over their purpose in life and who want to achieve a higher stage of spirituality. Through their contemplation and reflection on the purpose of their existence, many have offered new and unique perspectives to their fellow humans, and many have achieved higher spiritual status. It is a practice that prevails in all cultures and religions. It inspires a human being to withdraw from the regular hustle and bustle of the world, even from his own family, and focuses on issues that he or she deems significant for oneself and society. The length of seclusion depends on the social rhythm of life in each culture and religion. Islam institutionalised iitikaf in the month of fasting through the practice of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him.) It is a communal obligation, and it means that if only one person observes it in a locality, it would be regarded as an obligation fulfilled on behalf of all. The fasting was declared obligatory for the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar in the second year of Prophets migration (Hijrah) to Madinah or in the fifteenth year of his Prophetic mission. Except for the first year of fasting, the Prophet is reported to have observed iitikaf as long as he lived. After him, his wives continued performing iitikaf in the mosque. He spent ten days in the middle of Ramadan in the mosque, but he advised his companions and followers to continue doing iitikaf in the last ten days. He once observed iitikaf for 20 days. Iitikaf is performed by those who are fasting. Both men and women did their iitikaf during the time of the Prophet (Peace be upon him). At Prophets mosque, special arrangements were made for women following this practice of the Prophet. During the Iitikaf a person doing iitikaf should spend the night only in the mosque where he/she is doing iitikaf, except if the tent is in one of the courtyards of the mosque. If the mosque does not have toilet facilities then the person doing iitikaf can go home to relieve. The person who wants to have iitikaf should enter the mosque before sunset with a clear intention. During his stay, his focus should not be his family, business, or work. However, he can delegate others to take care of these matters in his absence. If due to some unavoidable situation one has to abandon the iitikaf for intended days, he or she has to complete it later. Iitikaf is an act of Ibadah (worship) and it must be performed with full sincerity and intensity. Imam Malik said: A person doing iitikaf is not doing iitikaf until he avoids what someone doing iitikaf should avoid, namely, visiting the sick, praying over the dead, and entering houses, except to relieve himself. The best practice is to absorb oneself in prayers and recitation of the Quran, reflecting on its meaning and relevance in ones life. The Prophet in addition to doing this would also use the opportunity to reflect on the condition of Muslims and would discuss strategies to improve the quality of spiritual and social life. There are four things that are proven from the practice of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) during iitikaf: 1. Consuming less food. 2. Sleeping less number of hours. 3. Lesser engagement in conversation. 4. Lesser social interaction. Instead, he would focus on the following four: 1. Prayers. 2. Quranic recitation of the passages that were revealed until then. 3. Deeper reflections on the divine guidance of the existence of life. 4. Quietly helping others observing the iitikaf. In fact, iitikaf is once a lifetime opportunity to focus on ones life and purpose in relation to the creator and His creation. Respected servants of Allah! Zakatul-Fitr is also known as Sadaqatul-Fitr. The word Fitr means the same as Iftar which is breaking a fast. So, Zakatul-Fitr is the name given to charity which is distributed at the end of the fast of Ramadan. Zakatul-Fitr is the Wajib/obligatory or we can say it is a duty on every Muslim to pay Sadaqatul-Fitr before offering Eid prayer. However, it can be paid earlier than that to enable the poor to provide their needs for the Eid day. The main aim of Zakatul-Fitr is to provide the poor with their needs and make them happy on the blessed day of Eid-ul-Fitr. The intention of paying Zakatul-Fitr is to bring happiness to the poor on the day of Eid. And to do that we may pay it a little in advance as much as this is necessary to make it on time to the poor. Zakatul-Fitr is a seasonal payment that has a special time-related objective that is why it must stick to this time frame. Sadaqatul-Fitr becomes obligatory from sunset on the last day of fasting and remains obligatory until the beginning of Salatul-Eid. Zakatul-Fitr is an obligation which is due to the free or slave Muslim, male or female, young or adult. A man who is the head of a family pays for himself and for whomever he shelters, unless they have enough money of their own, to give out Zakatul-Fitr in Ramadan. A person has to be a Muslim to be required to pay/give and qualify to receive Zakatul-Fitr. It is stated in Hadith in these words: Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) made it incumbent on all the slave or free Muslims, male or female, to pay one Sai of dates or barley as Zakatul-Fitr. [Bukhari] The significant role played by Zakat in the circulation of wealth within the Islamic society is also played by the Sadaqatul-Fitr. But in the case of Sadaqatul-Fitr, each individual is required to calculate how much charity is due from himself and his dependents and go into the community in order to find those who deserve such charity. So, we can say that Sadaqatul-Fitr plays an important role in the development of the bonds of community. The rich are obliged to come in direct contact with the poor, and the poor are put in contact with the extremely poor which helps to build real bonds of brotherhood and love within the Islamic community. Ibn Abbas reported that: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) made Zakatul-Fitr compulsory so that those who fasted may be purified of their idle deeds and shameful talk (committed during Ramadan) and so that the poor may be fed. Whoever gives it before Salah will have it accepted as Zakat, while he who gives it after the Salah has given Sadaqat. [Abu Dawud] The amount of Zakat is the same for everyone regardless of their different income brackets. The minimum amount is one Sai of food, barley, grain or dried fruit for each member of the family. Paying Zakatul-Fitr is an act of worship, and all acts of worship are described through the Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). May Allah accept our fasts and give us the strength to complete them in a better way by paying Zakatul-Fitr. Ameen! Dear brothers and sisters! Many Muslims believe that 27th night of Ramadan is Lailatul Qadr, the Night of Power. But the scholars tell us that it could be any of the odd nights in the last 10 nights of Ramadan. And, Allah knows best. We all feel a special excitement as we anticipate this great Night, and we should therefore reflect on the words of Surah 97 in the Noble Quran: We have indeed revealed this [Message] in the Night of Power. And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand Months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allahs permission on every errand. Peace this until the rise of Morning! What is so special about Lailatul Qadr? Why does The Quran describe it as better than 1,000 months? What if this night had never actually happened? 1,411 years ago (solar calendar), Lailatul Qadr was the night that changed history. It was the night that Angel Gabriel (Jibril AS), brought the first Words of Revelation, the very first verses of The Noble Quran to a man sitting in a cave on Jabal Nur, the Mountain of Light. That man, Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, became the Last Messenger and Educator of mankind, Khatimun Nabiyyin, the Seal of the Prophets. There would be no new Messenger, no new Prophet after him. Just imagine! If there was no Lailatul Qadr, the Noble Quran would not have been revealed to us. And, if Muhammad had remained a mere man like those around him, then Prophet Isa (Jesus), would have been the last Prophet. As we all know, Prophet Isa spoke Aramaic and we have no complete and accurate version of his message (the Injil) in Aramaic. The Gospels of the New Testament were written at least 40 years after Prophet Isas time. The Gospel writers never met him, never heard his words directly nor did they ever see his face. St Barnabas lived in the time of Prophet Isa. His Gospel clearly foretold the coming of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). However, The Gospel of Barnabas was excluded from the Bibles New Testament. From the earliest days of Christianity, controversies raged over the nature of Prophet Isa (Jesus). The idea of the Trinity (3 in 1) God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, was only established at the Council of Nicea, 325 years after Jesus! It was the Noble Quran that came down to us, to clarify these controversies over Prophet Isa (Jesus). As we all know, the Quran we have today is exactly the same as the one revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and it is the only Scripture that has remained intact to this day, since it was revealed. Allah is its Protector. Even if all the printed Qurans were destroyed, millions have already memorised it by heart, and new printed versions can easily be produced with every word in its proper place. This amazing book, Allahs Sacred Word, The Noble Quran, is the real gift of Lailatul Qadr. Let us consider the world scenario on the day before Lailatul Qadr. Imagine the day before, when the man Prophet Muhammad was still deep in meditation, alone in a cave on a mountain near Makkah. His city was a playground for the rich. Might was right. The poor were oppressed. The Arabs worshipped idols made of wood and stone. Women had few rights. Newborn girls were often buried alive. Arabia was so backward that the Persian and Roman Empires didnt bother to invade. This land and these people werent even worth fighting over! As the day passed into night, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) became aware of a strange presence in that cave. It was the Angel Gabriel (Jibril AS) in the form of a man. Angel Jibril grabbed him and held him in an ever tightening embrace. Angel Jibril commanded him, repeatedly, to READ! Prophet Muhammad was terrified, and he kept saying I cannot read! But Angel Jibril persisted, squeezing the breath out of him until Prophet Muhammad almost lost consciousness. Then, slowly and painfully these majestic words emerged from his blessed lips: In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Read, in the Name of your Lord (and Educator}, who created! Created human beings out of a mere clot of congealed blood. Read, and your Lord is most Bountiful. He who taught the use of the Pen. Taught mankind that which he knew not! Outside the Christian and Jewish worlds, the Arabs were Pagans, praying to idols of their own making. They had desecrated the Kaabah with 360 idols, almost one for each day of the year. Arabia was in a hopeless state, and it seemed, doomed to a dismal fate. Then literally and metaphorically, out of the darkness of the Cave, and in the Arabs darkest hour, there appeared the first words of The Noble Quran, the first rays of light to dispel their spiritual darkness. That same sacred light (Nur) that filled the Cave during Lailatul Qadr, that filled the heart of our dear Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), has shone brightly down the ages, to fill our lives also. Year after year, for over 1,443 years, the light of Lailatul Qadr has brought hope and renewed faith, to a world that still finds itself stumbling around, trying to find its way, trying to find its soul in the spiritual darkness of our present times. Respected brothers and sisters! We all take great care that our homes have adequate gas and electric power. It is also important that we do not neglect our spiritual power. Let us plug our hearts and souls in to Lailatul Qadr and lets recharge our Iman (faith) batteries. The Muslim world today is once again in a sorry state. Now as ever, we need the Light, the Nur, of Lailatul Qadr, to help us find our way to Allahs Ridwan, Allahs Good Pleasure. Let us spend our Night of Power, in Zikrullah, remembering Allah Almighty, and offering thanks to Him, for his countless blessings that we enjoy each moment of our lives. Let us passionately seek Allahs help, Glorified and Exalted is He, to lift the burden of injustice and oppression from so many Muslim communities around the world. Let us beg Him to help us become the dynamic, disciplined and balanced community, the Ummatan wasatan, the Balanced People, and the Witness to the Nations, as described in the Noble Quran. Let us spend this historic night offering our most heartfelt pleas to our Lord and Educator, to help us become the model Muslims that our children and all future generations can love, respect and follow. Lailatul Qadr, The Night of Power has energised history. The brilliant and irresistible light of Allahs revelation illuminated the darkness of human ignorance. In the 7th Century, from an unlikely land of barren deserts and wandering Bedouin, Islam lit up the world. And despite many ups and downs, in communities large and small, Islam still lights up the darkness of human weakness, ignorance and evil today. What can we learn from the history of Islam that will help us build a better future for our children and grandchildren? We learn that wishful thinking doesnt work.. Our laziness wont solve problems. Unless we strive hard in the greater jihad to control our lower nafs, we are the loosers. We have to look inwardly into our hearts, take stock of ourselves and follow Allahs advice, our conditions wont change by themselves. In Surah Al-Rad, (13:11), we read: Truly, never will Allah change the condition of a people, until they change what is within themselves Allah will not change our condition, until we make the effort to turn away from what displeases Him, and we must strive, sincerely, to seek His pleasure. If we seriously want our conditions to change for the better, we must willingly sacrifice our time and effort to serve others out of love and gratitude to Allah. We must face all our difficulties and problems positively, relying on Allah to accept our efforts and to deliver good results. Remember that, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) started his Prophetic mission, as a minority of one. The challenge was enormous. Read his amazing life story. Family and friends later joined him. But he had to work hard, with sincerity, patience and perseverance, for his community to grow. He was determined, patient and persistent. He relied on Allah alone. In time, his Ummah grew in quantity and quality. By the end of his life he had unified a country of wild and warring tribes into a real brotherhood of believers. Within few years, the effect of that first Lailatul Qadr was that it transformed the weak and troublesome Arab tribes into a nation of Supermen. As one writer described it: It was as if the desert sand of Arabia had turned into gunpowder, and when the fuse of Iman (faith) was lit, the Muslims became an unstoppable, irresistible force. They exploded out of the Arabia, north, south, east and west. Even the Roman and Persian empires could not resist them. Dear brothers and sisters! That mystical and mysterious force that descends by the command of Allah Most High, during Lailatul Qadr, the Night of Power, has proven itself in history. Its clear evidence is there for all of us to see. It can change our lives, for the better, also. Remember that it was during Ramadan that some of Islams noblest and greatest victories were achieved, for example, the Battle of Badr, the Conquest of Makkah, the Conquest of Spain, and the Defeat of Genghis Khans Mongols at Ain Jalut. That same irresistible light hat guided our noble and illustrious predecessors can guide us also. The magic of Lailatul Qadr is none other than Allahs guidance in the Noble Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah. All over the world, millions are using the last 10 days of Ramadan to find the blessing, the barakah, of this Noble Night. Let us therefore rededicate ourselves and re-align our priorities. Let us try hard to be full-time Muslims, not just Jumuah Muslims or Ramadan Muslims or Eid Muslims. Allah will never accept divided loyalties. Our hearts must serve Allah alone! Dear servants of Allah! Why not let me, and you all here, make a commitment today, to serve Allah whole-heartedly, and to let our first love be our love for Allah. And for His sake alone, let us strive every moment of every day to purify and improve ourselves, in body, heart and soul. Anything less than this will be unworthy of us who choose to call ourselves Muslims and Believers. Only when we have purified our hearts from greed, vanity, cowardice, envy and malice, and we have filled that space with a love of truth, justice, beauty, generosity and mercy, can we expect Allah to change our condition. Once we have won this Jihadun-nafs, this battle against our Lower Self, we can deserve, and deserve, the help and Mercy of Allah. I pray that, during this historic time, in this blessed Month, on this Great Night of Power, when His angels are sent by His Command, that Allah Most Gracious will accept our commitment. May He also help us to purify our hearts, strengthen our faith, and enable us to meet every challenge, overcome every difficulty in our lives. May Allah allow us to serve Him in our work, in our leisure, in our study, in our business and professions and in our family life and social relations. And when the time comes for us finally to return to Him, may Allah admit us to the companionship of those whom He loves as His friends. Ameen. Lastly, I urge all of you to remember the whole Ummah in your precious Duas, especially in this blessed month and in the last 10 days of Ramadan. Allah surely knows best and he is the Lords of the universe and May his peace and blessing be on his Messenger, his family, his companions and those who follow them. I ask Allah, the Most High to grant us success and enable us to be correct in what we say and write, ameen. Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761. This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Ramadan 21, 1443 A.H. (April 22, 2022). Today, 20 years later, the Chavez movement remains the most popularly elected government of Venezuela. In the country, the people mark this victory with the Spanish slogan: El pueblo unido, jamas sera vencido! (The people, united, can never be defeated). I was invited by the Venezuelan Embassy in Abuja, along with some diplomats, civil society activists and journalists on Thursday, April 14, to watch a documentary on the aborted military coup in Venezuela, 20 years ago. And, how the populace, in their millions, marched on the coup plotters holed up in the Miraflores Presidential Palace. On hand to welcome guests was the Venezuelan Ambassador, David Vasquez Caraballo, who was part of the history and featured in the documentary. On April 11, 2002, when the coup was executed, he was the leader of the Communist youth and was one of the active mobilisers who organised the populace to storm the Presidential Palace, which served as the base of the coup plotters. Coup detat, the sudden and forceful seizure of power by illegal means, is often bloody. When on July 17, 1936, the military, led by General Francisco Franco, seized power in Spain, thousands of people were killed. In the three-year period ending March 28, 1939, when there was active resistance to the coup, over 500,000 people were killed. In the September 11, 1973 coup in Chile, organised by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), thousands of civilians were murdered. However, when the CIA organised a similar coup in Venezuela on April 11, 2002, it met more than its match in the ordinary people, who despite being shot in the streets by the police and military, marched on the Presidential Palace and military barracks. In an executive briefing to the Bush administration on April 6, 2002, that was five days before the coup, the CIA reported that disgruntled senior officers and a group of radical junior officers are stepping up efforts to organise a coup against President Chavez, possibly as early as this month. The brief also said that the coup plotters would exploit unrest stemming from opposition demonstrations slated for later this month or from planned workers strikes. The coup was executed by the National Federation of Trade Unions, CTV, the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Fedecamaras, the military hierarchy, the private mass media and the church. Their grouse was that the democratically elected President Hugo Chavez and the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), were spreading the countrys oil and gas wealth across the populace by heavily engaging in social projects, including mass housing, education, health and mass access to food. The coup followed the exact programme the CIA had reported to Washington. It began slowly on April 9, 2002, with a general strike. The Chavez government assumed this was a mere industrial action, unaware that it was the agreed trigger for the coup. Then the employers and opposition backed the strike by calling a mass anti-government rally on April 11. Chavezs supporters called a counter rally at the Presidential Palace. As both rallies gathered momentum, the anti-government one marched on the head office of the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) in the east of Caracas; then its leaders on cue, re-directed the rally towards the Presidential Palace, to attack the pro-government rally. As both tidal waves got closer, the military moved in-between to separate them. While the opposition agreed that the Chavez government should be toppled, they did not agree to the dissolution of other structures, as the opposition held a lot of seats in the Assembly and controlled a number of states. This led to a split in their ranks. The attempt to roll back the Chavez social programmes further enraged the populace, who poured into the streets. Then snipers emerged around the Llaguno Overpass and started taking down the pro-government demonstrators, while some of the latter, produced pistols shooting in the direction of the snipers and also the approaching anti-government demonstrators. Nineteen demonstrators from both sides were killed and 100 injured. As planned, the private mass media, without investigation or proof, announced that the Chavez administration was responsible for the deaths. Then the military High Command came on air to say that with the killings, it would no longer take orders from the government. Subsequently, soldiers surrounded the Presidential Palace and ordered President Chavez to resign or have the palace bombed. Later, the military chiefs, with their men, entered the palace. Chavez agreed to surrender as President Prisoner but refused to resign. He was then taken away and the Chambers of Commerce president, Pedro Carmona, was sworn in by the coup plotters as interim president. Then Carmona and the military hierarchy, led by Generals Lucas Rinco, Efrain Vasquez Velasco, Roman Fuemayor and Vice-Admiral Hector Ramirez Perez, made a great blunder; they announced the dissolution of not only the executive but also the National Assembly, state governments, the Supreme Court, as well as the abrogation of the 1999 Constitution. While the opposition agreed that the Chavez government should be toppled, they did not agree to the dissolution of other structures, as the opposition held a lot of seats in the Assembly and controlled a number of states. This led to a split in their ranks. The attempt to roll back the Chavez social programmes further enraged the populace, who poured into the streets. Thereafter, word went out that while President Chavez had been seized and taken into detention, he had, contrary to the claims of the military junta, not resigned. That early morning of April 13, 2002, the lights of an approaching helicopter illuminated the palace grounds and the crowds went into a frenzy. They were right, President Hugo Chavez had been found, rescued and returned to the Presidency. In 47 hours, the coup had collapsed and the usurpers, including the military chiefs, were on the run. So, he remained the legitimate president of the country. The populace then marched on the palace, which housed the interim government, and various military formations. The military saw Venezuelans in their millions and decided they could not shoot their fellow citizens; the coup had begun to collapse as one commander after the other refused to give the order to shoot. With this, the presidential guards, without firing a shot, retook the presidential palace, seized the leaders of the interim government and announced that they were sending paratroopers to locate and bring President Chavez back. Amidst the ensuing confusion, ministers of the Chavez administration began to find their way back into the palace to try to put together some government and restore order. Then, the Assembly Speaker appeared, which gave some legitimacy, as constitutionally in the absence of the president and vice president, he could be the acting president. Within hours, Vice President Diosdado Cabello, who was rumoured to have taken refuge in the Cuban Embassy, found his way into the palace and was immediately sworn in as the acting president. With that, order was restored and a functional government was put in place. That early morning of April 13, 2002, the lights of an approaching helicopter illuminated the palace grounds and the crowds went into a frenzy. They were right, President Hugo Chavez had been found, rescued and returned to the Presidency. In 47 hours, the coup had collapsed and the usurpers, including the military chiefs, were on the run. The next heard of some of them was that they were asking for asylum in the United States. Today, 20 years later, the Chavez movement remains the most popularly elected government of Venezuela. In the country, the people mark this victory with the Spanish slogan: El pueblo unido, jamas sera vencido! (The people, united, can never be defeated). Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, the current Minister of Transport in Nigeria recently declared his candidacy for the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). We believe that it is within his rights to do so. However, we must examine carefully the implications of an Amaechi presidency for Nigeria. Amaechi is one of the luckiest Nigerian politicians who have remained consistently in the corridors of power since the advent of the fourth republic in 1999. We have no grouse with that, but his activities as the Minister of Transport, especially his handling of Chinese contractors, needs intense scrutiny. Anybody who seeks to attain the presidency of Nigeria needs to be assessed on their track records so that candidates found to have sought the validation of a foreign power now or in the past should be dropped like a hot potato because this portends great danger to the development and future of the country. Such a candidate should be considered as not meaning well for the people and if he or she is inadvertently allowed to attain that position, then everyone should sit up to endure the worst sufferings and dehumanization in the history of this nation. It is our patriotic duty to serve notice of things to come if a candidate like Amaechi is allowed to take control of this nation. In 2020 when the National Assembly raised the alarm over the sovereignty clause in the Chinese loan agreements, Amaechis initial reaction was to vehemently defend the inclusion of that clause. He went further to ask is China our father that will give us money for free? The issue here is not about paying back the loans because it is a given that he who borrows is obliged to pay back, but our problem with Amaechis position is the vehemence with which he defended Chinas loan policy. That arouses deep suspicion that there could be something he is not telling us. Nigeria has a long history of taking loans from IMF, World Bank, the Paris Club, the London Club, etc but never should we accept the abridgment of our sovereignty under whatever guise. We must tread carefully before we sleepwalk this nation into another colonial bondage, this time under the very oppressive hands of the Chinese. If you are in doubt, ask the Tibetans who are today treated as second-class citizens in their own country. The Chinese administrative model is built around tyranny, deprivation of all freedoms, including press freedom, religious freedom, human rights, and democratic rights. We must learn from the recent experience of other countries. The Chinese have all but taken over the economy of Zambia, especially the copper mines and the transport infrastructure. To crown it all, if not for worldwide outrage Chinese policemen would have been operating freely in Zambia today. Still on the Zambian experience, recently about 51 Zambians died in a Chinese factory explosion as a result of poor working and safety conditions. In 2010 two Chinese nationals shot at Zambian workers who were protesting poor working conditions at a copper mine. All charges against the Chinese felons were later dropped and they walked away free. There are reported cases where Chinese restaurants on Zambian soil deny entry to Zambian nationals. Are these precursors to what China loans portend for Nigeria? Presently, there are very disturbing conversations in knowledgeable circles about China allegedly having interest in sponsoring a candidate for the office of president of Nigeria covertly. If this is true then we should all brace up for a repeat of our dark history where traditional rulers sold their people into slavery. Only this time the slave masters will be the Chinese in collusion with their fronts in government. Nigeria has passed through a lot of challenges in her chequered history, but all that will be childs play if the country is handed over to a puppet under the effective control of Chinese puppeteers. The South African Institute of International Affairs in a recent study made the following observations: It notes that debt to Africa provides business opportunities for Chinese contractorsthis creates a dynamic where Africa is getting into debt with China and China then pays herself through contracting. Some Chinese loans are resource or commodity-backed loans where the Chinese pay back themselves by exploiting the natural resources of debtor nations. We have examples of this currently happening in Zambia, Congo, etc. Advertisements The Niger State Government Thursday said it is not aware that civilians are living in Kurebe Community in Shiroro Local Government Area where residents said Nigeria Air Force (NAF) strike killed at least six children last week Wednesday. The states commissioner for local government, chieftaincy affairs and internal security, Emmanuel Umar, in a statement, said residents of the area are taking refuge in other parts of the state after the community was infiltrated by bandits. Gunmen, locally referred to as bandits, have infiltrated parts of Niger State in the North Central region. These gunmen who are also active in neighbouring Zamfara, and most parts of the Northwest region of the country, attack rural communities, rustle their livestock and crops, place protection levies and abduct residents and travellers across their area of operation. Some of the groups are affiliated with Islamist groups such as Boko Haram who are spreading their franchise to new areas away from the Lake Chad basin where they are mainly active. While Mr Umar did not deny that the military carried out the bombing in the area, he said bandits have forced the civilian populace of the area to flee their homes. The attention of the Niger State Government has been drawn to a report making the rounds on social media and other media platforms suggesting that some civilians were killed at Kurebe in Shiroro Local Government Area as a result of the ongoing Air and ground operations by the military and other security agencies in the state. The state government says there are no civilians residing in these areas for some time now due to the infiltrations and activities of the terrorists which forced the locals to seek shelter as IDPs in other parts of the state. The Niger State Government welcomes the ongoing intensified military operations in neighbouring states and in some local government areas in Niger state which include Shiroro, Munya and other LGAs which is aimed at neutralising of bandits/terrorist in these environments, the statement claimed. He said the military operations in the area have been successful as several bandits have been killed and their abductees freed. He said joint efforts by the state government in conjunction with security agencies have repelled bandits attacks in Shiroro and Munya LGA and rescued many abductees accordingly. While the state government appreciates the victories recorded during these operations, it also looks forward to a sustained operation to eradicate bandits from the state. These efforts will no doubt restore confidence in the communities within the area, which will enable them to return back to their farms. When reached for comments about the bombing, the NAF spokesperson, Edward Gabkwet, simply shared the Niger State governments statement and refused to provide further details. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the parents of two of the six children that were killed in an airstrike were killed by bandits two years ago. Residents said the six children were killed when a Nigerian Air Force jet bombed their residence in Kurebe, Shiroro Local Government of the state. Salis Sabo, the spokesperson of the Coalition of Shiroro Association (COSA), said the incident happened on the morning of Wednesday 13 April, as the children were returning from a motorised borehole in the community where they had gone to fetch water. The two other children who lost their lives in the incidents have for long lost their parents. One of them is a daughter of late Malam Isah Kurebe and the other is a daughter of late Malam Adamu Kurebe, who was killed by the terrorists two years ago. The innocent child he left over, has now been taken away by a similar fate. This is the second time this type of incident is happening, Mr Sabo said in a statement. A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Akwa Ibom State has said he would bring glory and sustainable prosperity to the state if elected governor in 2023. The aspirant, David Okpon, said this in Uyo on Monday when he spoke with reporters about his political aspirations. Mr Okpon, a pastor with Paul Adefarasins House on the Rock, said he was among the intercessors who prayed for the restoration of Lagos from a city filled with dirt and broken roads to one beautified with flowers, colours, orderliness, and prosperity. He said he is in the Akwa Ibom governorship race, under Gods instruction, to bring hope and real development to the residents. In Ojuelegba, there were refuse up to the sky. All of the roads were broken. Ikorodu Road was nothing to go by. All of the roads in the whole of Isale Eko, and even Awolowo Road, were broken there were potholes. Businesses of Nigerians were being swallowed up by businesses of foreigners, he said. In those days, all the roundabouts in Lagos, especially Lagos city, madmen used to live. We prayed at Palmgrove, we prayed in Ojota, we prayed in Oshodi. And when God started answering those prayers, things started happening that we did not know was possible that they would plant flowers in Oshodi and the flowers would stand till tomorrow morning. Spiritually, God changed the entire place. The first thing that started happening was that banks started taking (over the maintenance and decoration) of roundabouts. This is what we wanted, but we didnt know how it would happen. We prayed and anointed those places, and we chased away the madmen. Before you knew it, somebody like (Governor Babatunde) Fashola came and transformed the whole of Lagos. Continuing, Mr Okpon said: 2006, God spoke to me and said youve kept other peoples vineyards. Now its time for you to go and keep your own. By that, he said, God wants him to provide political leadership in Akwa Ibom. He said it is God, and not man, who would enthrone the next governor of Akwa Ibom. He said people in Akwa Ibom have prayed over the years and the spiritual foundation in the state has been excavated for God to enthrone the right political leadership. Why Africa is where it is A reporter told Mr Okpon that there are people who would likely see his comments as ridiculous. These things (the spiritual battles) in the land will disgrace your Harvard, Oxford, Yale degree. That thing does not respect degrees, it does not respect intellectual capacity, he responded. A reporter also asked him about Chinas advancement and achievements despite not being a Christian state. He responded by saying that the situation in every locality depends on the call of God for the people living in the locality. Africa is the only place that God has left to showcase His glory globally. Why? In other places, things are working. In America, the buses come on time, the telephone is one ring; they dont need faith for anything. God kept Africa deliberately as the last place faith would be needed, where He would do things that everybody would know that He did it, he said. Mr Okpon intermittently quoted bible portions to back his comments. On what has been his practical contribution to the people of Akwa Ibom, Mr Okpon said he once waved aside the mandatory registration of about N2 million at a petroleum depot for petroleum dealers in Akwa Ibom to register and lift petroleum products in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when he was overseeing the facility. He said he has also offered scholarships to several indigent Akwa Ibom students. Mr Okpon was born in Kano. His father was in the Nigerian military, so he grew up in various army barracks across the country. He studied industrial design at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later worked for a while in Italy before returning to Nigeria. Advertisements He joined politics in 2002 and contested the 2015 Akwa Ibom governorship election. Akwa Ibom has a predominantly Christian population. The Akwa Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel, said God revealed Umo Eno, a former commissioner in his cabinet, to him when he picked him as his preferred successor in the 2023 election. Mr Okpon said if God revealed Mr Eno to Mr Emmanuel, he would surely show up for him (Eno). Some prominent clerics, otherwise called fathers of faith, in the state have constituted themselves into a power bloc, and have endorsed the governors man, Mr Eno. Mr Okpon was asked if he had the backing of the fathers of faith in the state. They are church people, I am an intercessor. We are different, he responded. The police in Imo State said they have arrested a suspected bomb manufacturer for the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The 50-year-old suspect, Simeon Onigbo, is allegedly the brain behind the locally-made explosive devices used by suspected IPOB members to attack police and other government facilities in the South-east. The police spokesperson in Imo State, Michael Abattam, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. He said they arrested the suspect when police operatives raided an IPOB hideout at Uba Umuaka, Njaba Local Government Area of the state, on Wednesday. On the spot interrogation, the suspect admitted being the manufacturer of most of the improvised explosive devices used in attacking police stations in the state and outside the state, Mr Abattam said. He said the suspect has made useful statements and also mentioned members of his gangs outside the state who patronise him in the act. One already prepared improvised explosive device, 58 pieces of cannon steel pipe, two chisels, one Monday hammer, and a half bag of potassium nitrate, were among the items recovered during the operation, according to the police. Other items include 30 pounds weight of sulphur, 40 pounds weight of dry sand, 30 pounds weight of gunpowder, half bag of charcoal, 30 electronic motorcycle batteries and seven lengths of 40 meters iron rods. The police spokesperson said the commands Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit has taken over the recovered bomb for technical analysis and detonation. Mr Abattam said the command has launched an investigation into the incident and that efforts are on top gear to arrest other fleeing suspects. Police officers and personnel of other security agencies have been the target of deadly attacks mainly in the South-east by gunmen suspected to be part of Biafra agitation. Gunmen have been attacking several police facilities with improvised explosive devices across the South-east in recent times. On Wednesday, gunmen bombed Anaku Divisional Police Headquarters in Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra State. The improvised explosive devices used by the attackers destroyed three operational vehicles. On Thursday, the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali (IGP) ordered immediate deployment of additional operational assets in the South-east to quell rising insecurity in the region. The IGP also warned that the police would no longer tolerate the frequent attacks on officers and their facilities by gunmen in the region. The government accused IPOB of being responsible for the attacks in the region. But the outlawed group has repeatedly denied involvement in the attacks. The separatist group is leading an agitation for an independent state of Biafra to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria. The government is currently detaining Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the group, in Abuja where he is facing trial for alleged treason. PLDT Group announces landmark sale and leaseback towers deal of PHP 77 billion Major investment by international tower operators represents a strong endorsement of the country's recovery from the pandemic and its long-term growth prospects Significant efficiencies and improved connectivity to benefit all Filipinos Smart's customers to enjoy superior network quality, improved resilience, and even better customer experience Supports the Philippine DICT's goal of improving tower density MANILA, Philippines, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The country's largest integrated telco, PLDT Inc. ("PLDT") (PSE: TEL) (NYSE: PHI), announced today that its subsidiaries, Smart Communications, Inc. ("Smart") and Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., have signed Sale and Purchase Agreements in connection with the sale of 5,907 telecom towers and related passive telecom infrastructure for PHP 77 billion, a landmark transaction that is expected to have far-reaching benefits for all. This pioneer undertaking supports the Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology's goal of improving tower density which will lead to significant efficiencies and improved connectivity across the Philippines, thus benefitting the country and all Filipinos. The winning bidders, a subsidiary of edotco Group and a subsidiary of EdgePoint (the "TowerCos"), are backed by international groups with extensive experience in the telecom tower space. Both groups will bring to bear global best practices and technologies in operating the towers which should translate into better network quality, higher resilience and faster recovery from typhoons and other natural calamities. edotco Group manages over 54,000 towers across nine countries in Asia and is majority-owned by Axiata Group (KLSE: AXIATA), a major telecom operator across Asia. EdgePoint, on the other hand, owns approximately 10,000 towers across Indonesia and Malaysia and is backed by DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG), a leading global digital infrastructure investment firm with over US$ 45 billion in assets under management. Of the 5,907 towers being monetized, 2,973 towers located primarily in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will be acquired by ISOC edotco Towers, Inc. (subsidiary of edotco Group) and 2,934 towers located in Luzon by Comworks Infratech Corp. (subsidiary of EdgePoint). Concurrent with the execution of the Sale and Purchase Agreements, Smart has also entered into Master Services Agreements with the TowerCos whereby Smart has agreed to lease back the towers sold in the transaction for a period of 10 years. In addition to space, the TowerCos will also be responsible for providing operations and maintenance services as well as power to the sites. Smart has secured competitive terms as the anchor tenant on the towers and expects to benefit from operational and capital expenditure savings. The sale and leaseback will be complemented by a new tower build commitment of 1,500 towers in total over the next few years. This arrangement will further solidify Smart's superior network quality and enhance the best customer experience in the Philippines. The transaction price of PHP 77 billion makes this deal the largest ever acquisition of assets in the Philippines by international investors. In addition to the intrinsic value of the towers, the transaction price reflects the attractive business opportunities that the assets will provide to the winning bidders including the leaseback arrangement with Smart, the growth prospects from the towers acquired, as well as the new tower build commitment from Smart. Upon completion of the transaction, the winning bidders will become the largest common tower operators in the country. In addition to resulting in a significant gain on disposal for PLDT, the arrangement is also expected to be earnings accretive from the first full year post closing. Commenting on the transaction, PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said, "This partnership with experienced international tower companies represents another milestone in PLDT's strategic transformation. We expect to reap benefits in terms of a valuation uplift and capital reallocation with PLDT applying the proceeds to deleverage, further invest in the network, and return cash to shareholders via a special dividend." PLDT and Smart President and CEO Alfredo S. Panlilio added, "Our TowerCo partners, selected after a thorough process, will provide the Group with the infusion of global best practices and innovative solutions. PLDT is now even better positioned to continue our journey towards service excellence and best-in-class customer experience, making us the telco of choice in the Philippines." Adlan Tajudin, CEO of edotco Group, said, "This transaction presents a highly strategic acquisition for edotco as it diversifies and strengthens our pan-Asian platform with exposure to a nascent, high-growth market with strong governmental support. With an established platform in the Philippines, edotco can play an instrumental role in developing the nation's digital economy infrastructure while accelerating its organic and inorganic growth strategy." Suresh Sidhu, CEO of EdgePoint, concluded, "EdgePoint is delighted and honored by PLDT's faith in our capabilities. We look forward to working with PLDT in true partnership. We also look to bring to bear the vast experience of our local partners, Comworks Inc. and SMS Global Technologies Inc. We are committed to building a world class operation to expand next-generation connectivity solutions, bridging the digital divide in the Philippines and creating new job opportunities in the sector. The Philippines telecoms sector has tremendous potential, and we look forward to being part of its future." Closing of the transaction will be staggered based on number of towers being transferred, with the first closing expected in May 2022 and the last closing by Q4 2022. UBS AG acted as exclusive financial adviser to PLDT and Smart on this transaction. SOURCE PLDT Inc. Representatives from top multinational companies, buyers and trade media joined the event that connected two of China's national-level home furnishing industry clusters in Anxi (Fujian Province) and Shunde (Guangdong Province). China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC) also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the ASEAN Furniture Industries Council (AFIC), making AFIC the first partner of CFTC in the furnishing industry. Chu Shijia, Vice President and Secretary General of Canton Fair and Director General of CFTC, noted at the virtual promotion event that the Canton Fair is a key platform for China to carry out economic and trade cooperation with other countries and regions worldwide. "Furnishing is a major sector of the Canton Fair. This spring, there are 3,166 furnishing companies participating in the trade show, including top brands in RCEP markets. This promotion event is tailored for specific markets and industries, that through the partnership with international furnishing industry media and associations, it has covered all RCEP member countries and connected buyers with excellent suppliers," said Chu. Ernie Koh, Chairman of AFIC, remarked that the huge market of ASEAN is seeing steady growth in purchasing power, and the global furnishing industry is developing positively with the upward trend in trade volume. By establishing the partnership with Canton Fair, both organizations will achieve win-win cooperation and mutual benefit in various fields and jointly create a vibrant business environment to bolster foreign trade investment. CFTC has arranged 11 matchmaking groups according to specific sourcing needs to connect international leading companies including Kawan Lama, Eurosa Furniture and LULU with Chinese suppliers. Zhu Zhiwei, head of procurement of Kawan Lama, said that the group's annual purchase amount is around US$180 million, and the matchmaking event has supported their procurement layout, and they will add more high-quality Chinese products to the orders. "Canton Fair has been Kawan Lama's most important platform for global procurement. This event has introduced to us more excellent companies and new products that also reflected the cluster advantages of China's furnishing industry, which not only corresponds to the market trends, but also is in line with Kawan Lama's new procurement needs," said Zhu. In addition to the partnership with AFIC, the CFTC will also sign strategic cooperation agreements with industrial and commercial institutions in Laos and Vietnam, by then will achieve full coverage of RCEP member countries. As a comprehensive platform for opening-up, the Canton Fair has been actively engaged in RCEP's mechanism establishment, promoting the implementation of agreements in various fields as well as the development of regional economic and trade cooperation. Visit https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US/register/index#/foreign-email for more opportunities. SOURCE Canton Fair Acquisition brings MindX's innovative software technology and Blackrock's industry-leading BCI hardware under one roof SALT LAKE CITY, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackrock Neurotech ("Blackrock" or "the Company"), a leading implantable brain-computer interface ("BCI") technology backed by world-renowned investors Peter Thiel and Christian Angermeyer, announced today the acquisition of spatial computing software firm MindX, integrating the Company's innovative augmented reality ("AR") and artificial intelligence ("AI") technology with Blackrock's BCI hardware. MindX was created in 2017 by serial health-tech entrepreneur Julia Brown and Catalio Capital Management, a multi-strategy life sciences investment firm. The acquisition bolsters Blackrock's existing software portfolio and positions the Company to deliver full-stack, integrated BCI products with innovative capabilities. The move comes on the heels of Blackrock's exclusive neural decoder licensing deals with Stanford University and Columbia University. At the forefront of neurotechnology, implantable BCIs are currently being used to restore function in people with paralysis and neurological disorders. Blackrock Neurotech has long been the industry leader in BCI hardware and is responsible for the technology used by 31 of the 35 global human patients, with the longest chronic implant still active and lasting more than seven years. These implants have been shown to restore movement, communication, and touch, leading to increased independence and quality of life for these patients. Central to the clinical application of BCIs is the development of user-friendly software that decodes neural activity and translates brain signals into digital commands. With a focus on real-world applications, MindX's proprietary spatial neurocomputing technology is used to recognize and interpret the movement of objects in physical space, and in combination with decoded biological data, could unlock more meaningful levels of interaction between patients, their physical environments, and the digital world. This cutting-edge, integrated BCI platform aims to offer patients hope for increased quality of life, independence, and autonomy and deliver on the long-term promise of BCI. As part of the acquisition, Julia Brown, MindX founder and CEO, and her team will join Blackrock. Julia brings an extensive background in intelligent system design, neurotechnology, and the development of personalized medicine and digital health solutions, as well as her startup experience, which includes launching a series of successful health-tech ventures spun out of Johns Hopkins University. "MindX is home to fantastic engineers who are developing groundbreaking, cutting-edge software at the intersection of neurotechnology, AR and AI, and we are particularly pleased to partner in a deeper way with Julia Brown, who has been an insightful innovator and leader in this space," said Marcus Gerhardt, Blackrock co-founder and CEO. "By fusing our hardware DNA with their software DNA, we enhance our neural data analysis and enable flexibility and customization for a variety of BCI applications. Furthermore, the opportunity to broaden applications through spatial software and AR exponentially advances our commercialization aims." Blackrock, which anticipates releasing the first commercial BCI platform, MoveAgain, in early 2023, views the acquisition as a key step in the development of its patient-facing software, the expansion of its technology platform, and the seeding of a core capability in AI. While the initial aim is to help paralyzed patients interact with devices like keyboards, other applications such as restoring vision through human optical prostheses are also being explored. The acquisition is further expected to accelerate existing studies in speech restoration for aphasia patients. "Blackrock is the company advancing most rapidly toward making this technology commercially available to patients and doing so in a way that aligns with our values in neuroethics and our vision for the potential of BCI," said Brown. "I can't think of a better way to get this technology into the hands of patients who need it than by bringing two talented teams together and melding Blackrock hardware with MindX software capabilities." Though Blackrock intends to release the first commercial BCI platform in 2023, its technology has been involved in human clinical trials since 2004. The Company received a Breakthrough Designation from the FDA in 2021, which is expected to enable an expedited FDA review process of the MoveAgain platform so the product can be commercially available to a broader patient population. About Blackrock Neurotech Blackrock Neurotech, formerly known as Blackrock Microsystems, is dedicated to the clinical translation of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Blackrock, founded in 2008, is the world's leading platform company for BCI technology and the development of implantable solutions that improve human lives. Blackrock's precision electrode technology is at the core of many worldwide innovations in BCI, enabling dozens of early users (known as "BCI Pioneers") to SeeAgain, HearAgain, MoveAgain and more. For more information, visit www.blackrockneurotech.com. About MindX Corporation MindX has developed an innovative software platform, MindOS, that utilizes brain-computer interfaces for next-generation spatial computing applications in assistive medical devices and consumer electronics. This platform provides users with a hands-free, "look-and-think" interface for instantaneous access to the world around them using a combination of neurotechnology, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. The company was founded in December 2017 as a spinout from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory with a team of talented engineers devoted to creating new technologies that solve fundamental health and social issues and advancing those technologies from laboratory prototype to real-world products for every-day use. Media Contacts Karen Blondell / Ethan Raisel Lightspeed PR & Marketing [email protected] (917) 770-9435 SOURCE Blackrock Neurotech TAMPA, Fla., April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BoardPrep Recovery Center is proud to recognize Alcohol Awareness Month, an event that the National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence sponsors every year. This year, to recognize, BoardPrep Recovery Center is focusing on supporting working medical professionals battling alcohol addiction. A 2015 anonymous survey that appeared in the Volume 36 of the Substance Abuse Journal suggested that over 45% of nurses used alcohol or drugs at work. This action has the potential to affect the nurses themselves, as well as the individuals they treat and the organizations where they work. Consequently, supporting healthcare professionals with effective substance use disorder treatment can lead to better patient outcomes. Nurses are not the only medical professionals at risk. A research paper that appeared in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in July 2009, suggested that between 10 and 12% of physicians develop a substance use disorder during their careers. They may delay seeking treatment because they fear losing their license and livelihood. This Alcohol Awareness Month, the team at BoardPrep is reaching out to medical professionals in the Tampa area and encouraging them to get help. With the help of our private programs, medical professionals can get the care and support they need while also continuing to support themselves. Furthermore, because the treatment programs at BoardPrep Recovery Center are tailored for board-certified professionals, clients have the opportunity to work towards sobriety with others in the healthcare profession. The team implores nurses and physicians not to put off seeking treatment anymore. Instead, they should reach out to the addiction treatment programs for healthcare professionals at BoardPrep Recovery today. About BoardPrep Recovery Center: BoardPrep Recovery Center offers a health professionals program with private rooms based in Tampa, Florida. We specialize in providing private, highly effective behavioral health treatment programs for healthcare professionals. To learn more about our treatment programs, please reach out to us online or call 1.866.796.4720. SOURCE BoardPrep Recovery Center BERLIN, Conn., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. announces today that it has signed a new-product agreement with PTS Pharma, LLC. under which PTS will support a technology transfer to Towa Pharmaceutical Europe, S.L. of a complex "For Suspension" product developed by PTS. The remainder of development and commercialization will be performed at the Towa facility. According to industry sales data, the product and its generics had annual sales of approximately $75 million during the twelve months ending February 2022. The companies are actively negotiating and look forward to collaborating on additional complex formulations under the same business model. About Breckenridge: Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc., a subsidiary of Towa Pharmaceutical (Osaka, Japan), partners with manufacturers nationwide and around the world to bring quality, cost-effective generic pharmaceuticals to U.S. patients. With our dedication to customer service, on-time delivery, reliable supply and quality manufacturing, we improve the health and quality of life of the patients we and our customers serve. www.bpirx.com About PTS Pharma, LLC: PTS Consulting, LLC and PTS Pharma LLC., is a formulation development, clinical trial production, regulatory services and analytical control laboratory based in Kansas. PTS Consulting is actively involved in regulatory consulting services. PTS Pharma operations include the capability and expertise to develop complex formulations of tablets, capsules, granules, modified dosage forms, topical dosage forms, suppositories, film products, solution, and suspension formulations and sterile injectables, with involvement in multiple aNDA and NDA filings over the years. The activities are housed in dedicated GMP suites in the facility in Kansas City, USA. PTS Pharma is also involved in active raw material clinical production by fermentation technology processes. The firm was founded in 2003 by Paul Sudhakar, an industry veteran who is the Owner, President, and CEO of the firm. www.ptsglobalservices.com For further information, please contact: Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. Robert Gasparino, Associate Vice President Business Development Tel: 860-828-8140 E-mail: [email protected] *All brand names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SOURCE Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. Cacique's limited edition "Queso and Cocktails" kits include three Cacique Quesos (cheeses) Queso Blanco Queso Dip, Ranchero brand Queso Fresco and Oaxaca (pronounced Wah-HAH-kah) as well as all the ingredients needed to shake up signature margaritas designed by Erick Castro to perfectly pair with each: "The " Blanco de Mayo " features tequila, lime juice, grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup and angostura bitters and pairs beautifully with Cacique Queso Blanco Queso Dip one of the brand's real cheese dips made with fresh, high-quality ingredients, and no artificial preservatives. " features tequila, lime juice, grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup and angostura bitters and pairs beautifully with one of the brand's real cheese dips made with fresh, high-quality ingredients, and no artificial preservatives. The " Fresco-rita " features tequila, lemon juice, peach liqueur, orgeat and angostura bitters, which perfectly complements the milky, salty, fresh flavor of Cacique Ranchero brand Queso Fresco . " features tequila, lemon juice, peach liqueur, orgeat and angostura bitters, which perfectly complements the milky, salty, fresh flavor of . The "WOAH-aca-rita" features tequila, mezcal, lime juice, pineapple juice, grenadine and orange bitters, which is a delicious combination with Cacique Oaxaca a queso that's similar to mozzarella, but even meltier. "When it comes to Cinco de Mayo, we know people want delicious queso and great margaritas and, as one of the country's top authentic Mexican food brands, we're committed to infusing authenticity into these favorites," said Gil de Cardenas, CEO at Cacique Foods LLC. "Along with Family, Quality & Integrity, Authenticity is one of the core values our company is built and operated upon. We're pleased to partner with Erick Castro, a Mexican American expert in mixology, to upgrade Cinco de Mayo fans' celebrations by combining three of our favorite quesos with the outstanding margaritas he designed for the occasion." "I've enjoyed the staples of Mexican cuisine that Cacique Foods offered in my home my whole life, so I welcomed the opportunity to partner with the brand and shake something up that will take Cinco de Mayo celebrations to the next level," said Erick Castro, who spearheads groundbreaking cocktail programs at Raised by Wolves and Polite Provisions in San Diego and hosts the highly influential "Bartender at Large" podcast. For more than 45 years, Cacique Foods has remained a family-owned company dedicated to producing the highest-quality authentic products, including Mexican cheeses, creams, chorizos, salsas and yogurts. To learn more about Cacique Foods and find delicious recipes to enjoy with the "Queso and Cocktails" kit offerings such as enchiladas stuffed with Queso Fresco and tacos sprinkled with this fresh cheese, gooey quesadillas made with Oaxaca, and nachos topped with Queso Dip visit www.CaciqueFoods.com. About Cacique Foods LLC Family-owned and founded in 1973 on the principles of Family, Quality, Integrity and Authenticity, Cacique Foods LLC is now one of the country's top Hispanic food brands - the #1 producer of Hispanic cheeses, creams, yogurts, chorizos and salsas in the United States. Today, Cacique Foods LLC remains dedicated to producing authentic, fresh and high-quality Hispanic products. For more information about Cacique Foods LLC's line of products, please visit www.CaciqueFoods.com or call (800) 521-6987. About Cocktail Courier Cocktail Courier offers a cocktail delivery service that includes all of the fresh ingredients and instructions needed to shake or stir professional quality cocktails in the comfort of your own home. Cocktail Courier eliminates recipe and ingredient hunting by sending you a pre-packed kit along with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, turning you into a professional bartender in a matter of minutes, giving you access to some of the best cocktail recipes in the country. For more information about Cocktail Courier, please visit www.CocktailCourier.com. SOURCE Cacique Foods LLC VANCOUVER, BC, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Callinex Mines Inc. (the "Company" or "Callinex") (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is pleased to announce that it has closed its fully subscribed non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$6.24 million (the "Offering"). The Offering will be used to fund the ongoing drill campaign at the Rainbow Deposit, Pine Bay, Manitoba. Max Porterfield, President and CEO stated, "The Company is now fully funded and focused on the continued expansion and publication of a 43-101 resource estimate on the high-grade copper, gold, silver and zinc rich Rainbow Deposit at the Company's Pine Bay Project in Manitoba. We are grateful for the support from the new and existing shareholders in this financing which allows us to continue to execute on our long-term objectives." The Offering consisted of (i) 453,446 hard dollar units (the "HD Units") at a price of C$3.11 per HD Unit (the "HD Offering Price") for gross proceeds of C$1,410,217; and (ii) 966,000 Manitoba flow-through units (the "FT Units") at a price of C$5.00 per FT Unit (the "MB FT Offering Price") for gross proceeds of $4,830,000. Each HD Unit consists of one common share and one-half of one transferable common share purchase warrant (each whole such common share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each FT Unit consists of one flow-through common share and one-half of one transferrable Warrant to be issued on a non-flow-through basis. Each Warrant shall be exercisable into one additional common share (a "Warrant Share") for two (2) years from closing at an exercise price of C$4.75 per Warrant Share. The Warrants will be subject to an acceleration clause whereby if at any time the volume-weighted average trading price of the common shares exceeds C$6.25 for a period of 15 consecutive trading days, the Company is entitled, as its option, to accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by delivering written notice to the holders of the Warrants, to a date that is not less than 30 days after such notice is given. The securities issued under the Offering are subject to restrictions on resale expiring on August 22, 2022. The Company paid finders a fee totaling $167,165. The gross proceeds from the sale of FT Units will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Pine Bay Project, Manitoba. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the Flow-Through Shares effective December 31, 2022. The net proceeds from the sale of the HD Units will be used by the Company for working capital and general corporate purposes. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About Callinex Mines Inc. Callinex Mines Inc. (TSXV: CNX) (OTC: CLLXF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the rapidly expanding Rainbow Discovery at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. The second asset in the portfolio is the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc. The third asset, 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, is located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. Callinex prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), an pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead). Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete the proposed drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Callinex does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. SOURCE Callinex Mines Inc. Guests are invited to join in celebrating Iceland's iconic food, cocktails, music, film, literature, and more. DENVER, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired by Iceland, today announced the continuation of Taste of Iceland 2022 , an annual celebration of Icelandic culture in North America. The next stop on the tour is Denver, CO, where from May 12-15, locals can transport themselves to Iceland with a series of events inspired by, and in celebration of, the best of Icelandic culture through food and beverage, music, literature, films, art and more. Over the course of the four-day festival, and in partnership with local businesses in Denver, and Taste of Iceland's official partners, events will be hosted by Coohills , Globe Hall , Mercantile , Tattered Cover Bookstore , Landmark's Chez Artiste Theatre , and Ironworks . The schedule of events includes: All events, aside from the Icelandic Culinary Experience at Coohills, are free to the public. Attendees can register to receive ticketing information HERE . Seven days prior to each event, registered guests will receive an email to offer them early bird access to the ticket system to claim their ticket(s) for guaranteed entry. The following day, general tickets will be available. Those who register after capacity has been reached can sign-up for the wait list. 30 minutes prior to each event, waitlisted attendees will be granted access on a first-come, first-serve basis until maximum capacity has been reached Additional information found below. Icelandic Culinary Experience: Hosted daily starting at 5 p.m. from May 12 15 at Coohills , Icelandic Chefs Ingi Thorarinn Fridriksson and Arnar Pall Sigrunarson, will work in partnership with Tom Coohills to design a four-course menu of traditional Nordic fare, inspired by some of the most beloved dishes at Blue Lagoon's Lava Restaurant. The prix-fixe menu is $80 per person, with an optional wine pairing for an additional $50, per person. Reservations can be made on OpenTable or by calling (303) 623-5700. The menu includes: Arctic Char Icelandic wasabi, geothermal rye bread, cucumber, soya, skyr Icelandic wasabi, geothermal rye bread, cucumber, soya, skyr Icelandic Cod Langoustine, tomato, barley Langoustine, tomato, barley Icelandic Lamb White cabbage, caraway, carrots, mushroom sauce White cabbage, caraway, carrots, mushroom sauce Icelandic Provisions Skyr Liquorice, raspberries, mint, oat crumb Reykjavik Calling Concert: The Reykjavik Calling Concert will celebrate Icelandic music, with performances by Lon , RAKEL, Salome Katrin & ZAAR , and DJ Hermigervill . Having previously released EPs and albums independently, RAKEL, Salome Katrin & ZAAR came together for their 2022 collaborative album, While We Wait. This eclectic album marks a new creative era for each artist as they combine their styles for a new sound. The trio behind Lon bring together new Americana with their Icelandic roots for Nordic take on folk music. The Reykjavik Calling Concert event is free to attend and guests can sign up for lottery attendance at the link HERE . Drawing for tickets will take place on May 5, 2022 and winners will be notified via email. Secret of the Sprakkar with Eliza Reid with Iceland's First Lady, Eliza Reid : Celebrate Iceland's rich storytelling tradition with a talk hosted by First Lady of Iceland and co-founder of the Iceland Writers Retreat, Eliza Reid. Eliza will discuss her critically acclaimed book 'Secrets of the Sprakkar,' and how she explored the cultural roots of Iceland's attitude towards equality and examined how her home country can continue to progress. Secret of the Sprakkar with Eliza Ried is free to attend and guests can sign up for lottery attendance at the link HERE . Drawing for tickets will take place on May 6, 2022, and winners will be notified via email. Icelandic Mile High 5K With 66North: In partnership with Iceland's premium outdoor brand, 66North, attendees can get out and run the Cherry Creek Path. Runners will receive a 66 North running shirt before the 5K, and post run, will enjoy Icelandic drinks and flatbreads at Coohills restaurant. The Mile High 5K with 66North is free to attend and guests can sign up for lottery attendance at the link HERE . Drawing for tickets will take place on May 6, 2022, and winners will be notified via email. Boogie on The Bridge: DJ Hermigervill will welcome guests to boogie on the bridge to Icelandic music curated to keep your feet moving, while Olafsson Gin's Brand Ambassador, Tota, shakes and stirs Olafsson Gin signature cocktails. Guests must be at least 21 years old with a valid ID to attend and consume alcohol. Boogie on the Bridge is free to attend and guests can sign up for lottery attendance at the link HERE . Drawing for tickets will take place on May 6, 2022, and winners will be notified via email. Elemental Sound Bath and Snack Bar: Icelandic Energy Healer, Josa Goodlife, will take attendees on an elemental journey beyond time and space, with a deeply relaxing and uplifting program with healing sounds from nature that will leave guests feeling rejuvenated. Attendees will receive a yoga mat, courtesy of Icelandic Provisions , a facial towel and skincare, from Blue Lagoon , a blanket and eye mask, compliments of Icelandair and water from Icelandic Glacial . Following the Sound Bath, guests are invited to grab an Icelandic Provisions Skyr Can, which is an Icelandic yogurt that has sustained Icelanders for nearly 1,000 years! Icelandic Glacial water will also be available. The Elemental Sound Bath event is free to attend and guests can sign up for lottery attendance at the link HERE . Drawing for tickets will take place on May 7, 2022, and winners will be notified via email. Icelandic Cocktail Class: A two-hour Icelandic Cocktail Class hosted by Reyka Vodka, as well as Olafsson Gin's Brand Representative and Mixologist, Tota at Mercantile. DJ Hermigervill will welcome guests, and Reyka Vodka and Olafsson Gin representatives will then make four different cocktails using the different Icelandic spirits. Attendees must be at least 21 years old with a valid ID to attend and consume alcohol. The Cocktail Class is free to attend and guests can sign up for lottery attendance at the link HERE . Drawing for tickets will take place on May 7, 2022, and winners will be notified via email. Lamb Movie Screening: Guests can enjoy the directorial debut from Valdimar Johannsson, in this dark and atmospheric folktale. A childless couple in rural Iceland make an alarming discovery one day in their sheep barn and soon face the consequences of defying the will of nature. Lamb was considered for the 94th Academy Awards as the official submission of Iceland for the Best Foreign Film category. The Lamb Movie Screening is free to attend and guests can sign up for lottery attendance at the link HERE . Drawing for tickets will take place on May 8, 2022, and winners will be notified via email. Taste of Iceland's Wheel of Prizes: Presented by Icelandair, the Wheel of Prizes gives participants the chance to win a range of prizes, including Blue Lagoon skincare , an Icelandic Wool Blanket rom Icelandic Lamb, Wool Scarf from ISAVIA, a year's supply of Icelandic Provisions' Skyr, cases of sparkling and still water from Icelandic Glacial , a Reyka Vodka package, Olafson Gin Package, a Tindur Shearling jacket and Surtsey Knit Cap from 66North , Landsvirkjun's Nordic Wasabi Gift Box, or the grand prize, a trip for two to Iceland from Icelandair, including a stay at the Silica Hotel at the famed Blue Lagoon and a 72-Hour City-card from Visit Reykjavik! People can sign up for a chance to win 50 minutes before the spins take place at the times listed below: May 12 , sign up at 6 to spin at 6:50 PM , prior to the Reykjavik Calling Concert , sign up at 6 to spin at , prior to the Reykjavik Calling Concert May 13 , sign up at 6 to spin at 6:50 PM , prior to Boogie on the Bridge in front of Coohill , sign up at 6 to spin at , prior to Boogie on the Bridge in front of Coohill May 14 , sign up at 3 to spin at 3:50 PM , prior to the Cocktail Class , sign up at 3 to spin at , prior to the Cocktail Class May 15 , sign up at 11 to spin at 11:50 AM , prior to the Lamb Screening at Chez Artiste Taste of Iceland's 2022 events have previously been held in Washington D.C., and Boston, MA. The tour will continue in other North American cities including Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Chicago, IL, and Toronto, Canada. For more information on Taste of Iceland, Denver, please visit https://www.inspiredbyiceland.com/culture/taste-of-iceland-denver/ For media inquiries or to attend any Taste of Iceland events, please contact [email protected]. About Taste of Iceland Taste of Iceland is an annual festival that celebrates Iceland's vibrant culture. The festival is organized by Inspired by Iceland , a public-private communications platform owned and operated by Business Iceland that promotes Iceland, Icelandic products and services. It is presented in partnership with its members: Icelandair , Visit Reykjavik , Icelandic Trademark Holding , Reyka Vodka , Olafsson Gin , Blue Lagoon , 66North , Icelandic Provisions , Icelandic Lamb , Icelandic Glacial, Landsvirkjun , and Isavia Keflavik International Airport . To learn more about Business Iceland, please visit www.businessiceland.is . SOURCE Taste of Iceland DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Germany Tractor Market - Industry Analysis & Forecast 2022-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The German agriculture tractor market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.10% during 2022-2028 The study considers a detailed scenario of the present market and its market dynamics for 2022-2028. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The report offers both the demand and supply aspects of the market. It profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent ones operating in the market. GERMANY TRACTOR MARKET SEGMENTATION Tractors are the most profitable segment of agricultural equipment in Germany, accounting for nearly 80% of total revenue. In addition, Germany is the leading tractor exporter in Europe in terms of unit sales. Tractors manufactured in Germany account for more than two-thirds of all tractors produced in Europe. VENDOR LANDSCAPE The key players in the Germany agriculture tractor market are John Deere, CNH Industrial, AGCO, TAFE, and Kubota. In terms of units sold, John Deere and Fendt are the market leaders which accounted for more than 40% of overall German agriculture tractors market in 2021, and in terms of exports, Fendt emerges as the largest exporter of tractors manufactured in Germany, it is the largest manufacturer and seller in Germany. KEY HIGHLIGHTS Germany Agriculture Tractor Market is expected to grow significantly at a CAGR of 5.10% (by Volume) during the forecast period 2021-2028. 2-Wheel-Drive segment accounted more than 85% from the overall tractor market. 50-100 HP segment accounted for the largest market share is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.04% (by Volume) during the forecast period. Germany is the Europe's largest tractors market. The two biggest agricultural tractor markets in Europe - Germany and France , accounting for almost four agricultural tractors out of 10 registered in Europe . Agriculture tractors accounted for 93% of the overall German tractors market in 2021. is the largest tractors market. The two biggest agricultural tractor markets in - and , accounting for almost four agricultural tractors out of 10 registered in . Agriculture tractors accounted for 93% of the overall German tractors market in 2021. With approximately 80% share, tractors are the largest segment of agriculture equipment in Germany in terms of revenue. In addition, in terms of unit sales, Germany is the largest exporter of tractors across Europe . The number of tractors manufactured in Germany accounts for over two-thirds of the total number of tractors manufactured in Europe . in terms of revenue. In addition, in terms of unit sales, is the largest exporter of tractors across . The number of tractors manufactured in accounts for over two-thirds of the total number of tractors manufactured in . The German economy achieved excellent growth in 2021, and the growth rate is expected to sustain in 2023, supported by the rising employment rate and a monetary policy stance that will continue to support domestic demand. Consequently, 2022 is expected to witness a healthy increment of 4.5% in real GDP growth. The Government of Germany's schemes and initiatives to facilitate credit and improve agriculture-related operations are the major drivers that are contributing to the growth of the overall value chain in the German agricultural sector. schemes and initiatives to facilitate credit and improve agriculture-related operations are the major drivers that are contributing to the growth of the overall value chain in the German agricultural sector. Germany spent $1.4 billion of its official development assistance (ODA) on agriculture in 2021, making it the prime Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donor to agriculture in real terms. spent of its official development assistance (ODA) on agriculture in 2021, making it the prime Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donor to agriculture in real terms. Agriculture was one of the strategic priorities of the former Development Minister of Germany , Gerd Muller , launched 'ONE WORLD - No Hunger', a special initiative on food and nutrition security as well as rural development in 2014, which will most likely be carried forward in this legislative period (2021?2025) under the new Development Minister Svenja Schulze . KEY VENDORS John Deere CNH AGCO Kubota TAFE OTHER PROMINENT VENDORS SDF Action Construction Equipment (ACE) Iseki Deutz-Fahr Mahindra & Mahindra Yanmar Escorts Key Topics Covered: 1 Research Methodology 2 Research Objectives 3 Research Process 4 Scope & Coverage 4.1 Market Definition 4.1.1 Inclusions 4.1.2 Exclusions 4.1.3 Market Estimation Caveats 4.2 Base Year 4.3 Scope of the Study 5 Report Assumptions & Caveats 5.1 Key Caveats 5.2 Currency Conversion 5.3 Market Derivation 6 Market at a Glance 7 Introduction 7.1 Overview 7.2 Germany's Agricultural Incentives 7.3 Foreign Direct Investment 7.4 Advantage Germany 7.5 Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) & Eu Agricultural Expenditure 7.6 Cropping Intensity & Land Holding Structures 7.7 Role of Tractors in German Agriculture Sector 7.8 Import & Export Analysis 7.9 Technological Advancements 7.10 Impact of Covid-19 on German Agriculture Sector 8 Market Landscape 8.1 Market Overview 8.1.1 Major Labor Shortage in Agriculture Sector 8.1.2 Equipment Financing Structure 8.2 Market Size & Forecast 9 Horsepower 9.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 9.2 Market Overview 9.3 Less Than 50 Hp 9.3.1 Market Overview 9.3.2 Market Size & Forecast 9.3.3 Less Than 50 Hp Agriculture Tractor Market in Germany by Zones 9.4 50-100 Hp 9.5 101-150 Hp 9.6 151-200 Hp 9.7 201-300 Hp 9.8 301-400 Hp 9.9 Above 400 Hp 10 Drive Type 10.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 10.2 Market Overview 10.2.1 Market Size & Forecast 10.3 2Wd Tractors 10.3.1 Market Overview 10.3.2 Market Size & Forecast 10.3.3 2Wd Agriculture Tractor Market in Germany by Zones 10.4 4Wd Tractors 11 Zones 11.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 11.2 Market Overview 11.3 Zone I 11.3.1 Market Overview 11.3.2 Market Size & Forecast 11.3.3 Zone I Agriculture Tractor Market by Hp 11.3.4 Zone I Agriculture Tractor Market by Wheel Drive 11.4 Zone II 11.5 Zone III 11.6 Zone IV 12 Market Opportunities & Trends 12.1 Technological Advancements in Tractors 12.1.1 Self-Driving Tractors 12.1.2 GPS Technology 12.1.3 Growing Demand for Autonomous Tractors 12.2 Growing Farm Mechanization to Reduce Workforce 12.3 Increasing Use of Non-Conventional Fuel in Tractors 13 Market Growth Enablers 13.1 Financial Support to Farmers Through Loans & Subsidies 13.2 Growth in Agricultural Productivity & Exports 13.2.1 Agricultural Exports 13.3 Socio-Demographic Changes in Germany 13.4 Increasing Farmland Size 14 Market Restraints 14.1 Latest Type-Approval Regulations Hamper New Sales 14.2 Swelling Demand for Used & Rental Tractors 14.3 Fluctuating Commodity Prices 15 Five Forces Analysis 15.1.1 Threat of New Entrants 15.1.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 15.1.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers 15.1.4 Threat of Substitutes 15.1.5 Competitive Rivalry 16 Competitive Landscape 16.1 Competition Overview 16.1.1 Brand Loyalty 16.1.2 Sales & Exports For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gqmw7s Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Poly Alpha Olefin (PAO) Market - Global Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global poly alpha olefin market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4% during 2022-2027 This report considers the present scenario of the poly alpha olefin market and its market dynamics for 2022-2027. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The study covers both the demand and supply sides of the market. It also profiles and analyses leading companies and several other prominent companies operating in the market. Low viscosity PAOs accounted for the largest market share in the global polyalphaolefin market by type. This segment holds a 51.90% share and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% between 2021 and 2027. Europe dominated the global polyalphaolefin market with a share of around 42.71% in terms of revenue in 2021. The region is expected to witness a significant CAGR of 4.32% by revenue. The prime factor supporting the growth of the European region is the well-established automotive industry that consumes a major chunk of polyalphaolefins. In APAC, China represents a lucrative growth opportunity owing to the booming automotive industry and strong presence of manufacturing facilities. In addition, low cost of production and availability of raw material at a cheaper cost attracts global players to set up their manufacturing base in China. Key Highlights The major factor driving the growth of the market is the increasing demand for better performance engine oils that result in lower CO2 emissions and higher-performing lubricants for industrial equipment. However, being a synthetic base oil, it faces a major threat from bio-based lubricants, which are experiencing rapid growth. Europe dominated the global polyalphaolefin market with a share of around 42.71% in terms of revenue in 2021. The region is expected to witness a significant CAGR of 4.32% by revenue. Key Vendors British Petroleum Exxon Mobil Corporation Ineos Shell Other Prominent Vendors Addinol Croda International Chemtura ENI Fuchs Idemitsu Kosan Liqui Moly Lukoil Lubricon Labdhi Chemicals Mitsui Chemicals Naco Synthetics Novvi PetroCanada Penrite Oil Peak Lubricants Shanghai FOX Chemical Technology Sasol Tulstar Products Valero Key Topics Covered: 1 Research Methodology 2 Research Objectives 3 Research Process 4 Scope & Coverage 4.1 Market Definition 4.1.1 Inclusions 4.1.2 Exclusions 4.1.3 Market Estimation Caveats 4.2 Base Year 4.3 Scope of the Study 4.3.1 Market Segmentation by Geography 5 Report Assumptions & Caveats 5.1 Key Caveats 5.2 Currency Conversion 5.3 Market Derivation 6 Market at a Glance 7 Introduction 7.1 Overview 7.2 Manufacturing Process 7.3 Value Chain Analysis 7.4 Impact of Covid-19 8 Market Opportunities & Trends 8.1 Increasing Demand from Automotive Sector 8.2 Demand for Vehicles With Higher Fuel Economy 9 Market Growth Enablers 9.1 Growing Demand for Bio-Based Polyalphaolefins 9.2 Growing Demand from Electric Vehicles 10 Market Restraints 10.1 Volatility in Raw Material Prices 10.2 Increasing Competition from Bio-Based Pao Products 11 Market Landscape 11.1 Market Overview 11.2 Market Size & Forecast 11.2.1 Value & Volume 11.3 Five Forces Analysis 12 Polyalphaolefin Type 12.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine (Value) 12.2 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine (Volume) 12.3 Market Overview 12.4 High Viscosity 12.5 Medium Viscosity 12.6 Low Viscosity 13 End Use 13.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine (Value) 13.2 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine (Volume) 13.3 Market Overview 13.4 Automotive 13.5 Industrial 13.6 Others 14 Geography 14.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine (Value) 14.2 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine (Volume) 14.3 Geographic Overview For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/706sw6 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets 13th consecutive annual report provides an update on Greif's sustainability progress, performance and highlights in 2021, including significant milestones on climate, waste and circularity commitments DELAWARE, Ohio, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Greif, Inc. (NYSE: GEF, GEF.B) a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, announced today the release of its online 2021 Sustainability Report describing the Company's efforts to advance its environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities. This is Greif's 13th consecutive annual publication and details the Company's continued commitment to creating shared value for customers, stakeholders and the environment. "Protecting Our Future is one of the four key missions of Greif's Build to Last strategy. Sustainability is a critical component to this journey, and we made substantial progress in 2021 towards our vision for a sustainable future at Greif," said Ole Rosgaard, Greif's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited and proud to share that progress in this latest report and look forward to expanding upon our goals and commitments at our upcoming Investor Day on June 23, 2022." The online 2021 Sustainability Report features comprehensive information our strategic sustainability focus areas, ESG data and examples of how colleagues are supporting Greif in its commitment to sustainability and The Greif Way by delivering superior customer service; reducing our footprint; addressing risk; valuing our people; advancing the circular economy; financial performance; and profitable growth. Report highlights include: Updates on key milestones, such as Greif achieving >90% waste diverted from landfill at 149 facilities, including 50 facilities achieving our Zero Waste to Landfill target. Review of our 2021 Materiality Assessment, including identified material sustainability topics and progress made on each topic. Discussion of Greif Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts and key milestones achieved. Results from our 2021 Climate Change Workshop, including key opportunities identified and performance on those opportunities. Discussion of new key partnerships that will help further advance Greif's sustainability leadership and attain our 2030 Goals. Greif's has again been recognized as a leader in sustainability strategy by several key independent organizations: Awarded Gold Rating by EcoVadis for the 4 th consecutive year, demonstrating continued excellence in implementing sustainability solutions. consecutive year, demonstrating continued excellence in implementing sustainability solutions. Recognized by CDP with a score of B, demonstrating excellence in carbon management, governance, strategy and best practices, and outperforming the overall and North American average CDP score of C. Recognized as one of both Newsweek's America's Most Responsible Companies & Most Loved Workplaces. Obtained Sustainable Forestry Initiative Certification & Conservation Leadership Award for outstanding climate standards in our Land Management business. The report is prepared in full accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Application Guidance. It fulfills the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) annual Communication on Progress (COP). This is also our second report that aligns our climate-related disclosures with recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). About Greif Greif is a global leader in industrial packaging products and services and is pursuing its vision: to be the best performing customer service company in the world. The Company produces steel, plastic and fibre drums, intermediate bulk containers, reconditioned containers, containerboard, uncoated recycled paperboard, coated recycled paperboard, tubes and cores and a diverse mix of specialty products. The Company also manufactures packaging accessories and provides filling, packaging and other services for a wide range of industries. In addition, Greif manages timber properties in the southeastern United States. The Company is strategically positioned in over 35 countries to serve global as well as regional customers. Additional information is on the Company's website at www.greif.com. Contact: Matt Leahy 740-549-6158 [email protected] SOURCE Greif, Inc. The telliBot_ai software uses advanced intelligence and sensory technology to more accurately predict the remaining life of existing water heaters. This software provides customers with more efficient and reliable predictions while also reducing costs and helping the environment. Current telliBot_ai customers include Benihana Inc., the international restaurant chain, and RA Sushi. "Here at Intellihot, we pride ourselves on quality and innovation," said Intellihot founder and CEO, Sridhar Deivasigamani, who attended the Edison Awards in person. "To be recognized for that at the Edison Awards is an honor and helps us to position ourselves as a leading innovative clean technology company." "The expert Edison Award judges were impressed with Intellihot's telliBot_ai powered analyzer with its ability to assist consumers in achieving their sustainability goals, while improving the performance and longevity of their water heaters," said Frank Bonafilia, Executive Director of the Edison Awards. "The peace of mind Intellihot's telliBot_ai has given us has been invaluable," said JoDee Johnson, Senior Director of Design, Construction and Facilities at Benihana, Inc. "It offers us increased efficiency, reliability, and sustainability that is crucial to our day-to-day operations. We cannot afford the time, cost, or energy it would take to resolve unexpected water heater malfunctions but the telliBot_ai ensures that we will never have to." Intellihot's clean technology products are used across the country by large facilities including hotels, restaurants, stadiums, hospitals, and more. Current Intellihot customers include Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Benihana, and Levi's Stadium, home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. About Intellihot Founded in 2009, Intellihot creates transformative, next-generation technology solutions to transform the built environment, providing customers with increased efficiency, reliability, safety, and sustainability. Purpose-built for commercial applications, Intellihot's advanced technology solutions are carefully engineered to provide decades of reliable and predictable service, reducing water and energy waste as well as capital and operating costs for customers. To learn more about Intellihot, please visit intellihot.com and follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn . SOURCE Intellihot STOCKHOLM, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The shareholders in RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ), corporate identity no. 556322-6157, are hereby invited to the Annual General Meeting, to be held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. The Board of Directors has decided that the Annual General Meeting is to be held only through postal voting in accordance with temporary legislation applicable since March 1, 2022. This means that the Annual General Meeting will be conducted without the physical presence of shareholders, representatives or external parties and that shareholders will only be able to exercise their voting rights by postal voting in advance of the Annual General Meeting in the manner described below. Information on the resolutions passed at the Annual General Meeting will be disclosed on May 25, 2022, when the outcome of the postal voting has been confirmed. RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AND NOTICE A person who wishes to participate in the Annual General Meeting by postal voting must: be recorded as a shareholder in the presentation of the share register prepared by Euroclear Sweden AB concerning the circumstances on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 , and , and give notice of participation by casting its postal vote in accordance with the instructions under the heading "Postal voting" below so that the postal voting form is received by Euroclear Sweden AB no later than on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 . In order to be entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting, a shareholder whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee must, in addition to giving notice of participation in the Annual General Meeting by submitting its postal vote, register its shares in its own name so that the shareholder is listed in the presentation of the share register as of Tuesday, May 17, 2022. Such registration may be temporary (so-called voting rights registration), and request for such voting rights registration shall be made to the nominee in accordance with the nominee's routines at such a time in advance as decided by the nominee. Voting rights registrations that have been made by the nominee no later than Thursday, May 19, 2022, will be taken into account in the presentation of the share register. POSTAL VOTING Shareholders may exercise their voting rights at the Annual General Meeting only by postal voting in accordance with section 22 of the Act (2022:121) on temporary exceptions to facilitate the execution of general meetings in companies and other associations. A special form must be used for the postal vote. The form is available on the company's website raysearchlabs.com. A hard copy of this form will be sent to shareholders upon request. The postal voting form is considered as notice to participate in the Annual General Meeting. In order to be considered, completed and signed forms must be received by Euroclear Sweden AB no later than Tuesday, May 24, 2022. The completed and signed form must be sent by mail to RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ), "Annual General Meeting 2022", c/o Euroclear Sweden AB, Box 191, SE-101 23 Stockholm, Sweden or by email to [email protected]. Shareholders may also cast their votes electronically through verification with BankID via Euroclear Sweden AB's website https://anmalan.vpc.se/EuroclearProxy/. Such electronic votes must be submitted no later than Tuesday, May 24, 2022. If the shareholder submits its postal vote by proxy, a power of attorney must be attached to the postal voting form. Proxy forms will be provided by the company upon request and are also available on the company's website raysearchlabs.com. A power of attorney is valid one year from its issue date or such longer period as set out in the power of attorney, however not more than five years. If the shareholder is a legal person, a registration certificate or other authorization document listing the authorized signatories must be attached to the form. The shareholders may not provide special instructions or conditions to the postal vote. If so, the entire postal vote is invalid. Further instructions and conditions can be found in the postal voting form and at https://anmalan.vpc.se/EuroclearProxy/. SHAREHOLDERS' RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMATON The Board and CEO shall, if any shareholder so requests and the Board believes that it can be done without material harm to the company, provide information regarding circumstances that may affect the assessment of an item on the agenda, circumstances that may affect the assessment of the company's or its subsidiaries' financial situation and the company's relation to another company within the group. A request for such information shall be made in writing to the company no later than ten days prior to the Annual General Meeting, i.e. no later than Sunday, May 15, 2022, at RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ) c/o Board of Directors, Box 45169, SE-104 30 Stockholm, Sweden, or by email to [email protected]. The information will be made available on the company's website raysearchlabs.com, and at the company's head office, Eugeniavagen 18C, SE-113 68 Stockholm, Sweden, no later than Friday, May 20, 2022. The information will also be sent to the shareholders who requested it and stated their address. PROPOSED AGENDA Election of a chairman of the Annual General Meeting. Election of one or two minute-checkers. Preparation and approval of the voting list. Approval of the proposed agenda. Determination whether the Annual General Meeting has been duly convened. Presentation of the Annual Report and the Auditors' Report as well as the consolidated financial statements and the Auditors' Report for the consolidated financial statements for the 2021 fiscal year. Resolutions regarding the adoption of the income statement and balance sheet and the consolidated income statement and consolidated balance sheet; the disposition to be made of the company's profits or losses as shown in the balance sheet adopted by the Annual General Meeting; and the discharge of the members of the Board and of the CEO from personal liability. Determination of the number of members of the Board and deputies. Determination of the fees to be paid to the Board and auditors. Election of the members of the Board (including Chairman) and deputies. Determination of the number of auditors and deputies. Election of auditor. Resolution regarding approval of the remuneration report. PROPOSED DECISIONS ELECTION OF A CHAIRMAN OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (ITEM 1) Shareholders representing approximately 67 percent of the total number of votes in the company propose that Lars Wollung or, in the event he is prevented from participating, the person appointed by the Board, is appointed chairman of the Annual General Meeting. ELECTION OF ONE OR TWO MINUTE-CHECKERS (ITEM 2) Shareholders representing approximately 67 percent of the total number of votes in the company propose, Ossian Ekdahl, Forsta AP-fonden and Marcus Neckmar, Andra AP-fonden, or, in the event both or any of them are prevented from participating, the person(s) appointed by the Board, as persons to check the minutes. The assignment to check the minutes also includes checking the voting list and that the received postal votes are correctly reflected in the minutes of the meeting. PREPARATION AND APPROVAL OF THE VOTING LIST (ITEM 3) The voting list proposed to be approved is the voting list prepared by Euroclear Sweden AB, based on the general meeting share register and received postal votes, verified and confirmed by the persons elected to check the minutes. DISPOSITION OF EARNINGS (ITEM 7 B) As the company is currently in a phase of rapid expansion that requires access to capital, the Board and the CEO propose that no dividend be paid to the company's shareholders. The accumulated profit of SEK 139,190,000 is proposed to be brought forward and balanced in the new accounts. NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND DEPUTIES (ITEM 8) Shareholders representing approximately 67 percent of the total number of votes in the company propose that the number of Board members be six, with no deputies. FEES TO THE BOARD AND AUDITOR (ITEM 9) The above-mentioned shareholders propose that: remuneration to board members, who do not receive a salary from any Group company, shall amount to a total of SEK 2,340,000 for the period until the next Annual General Meeting, of which SEK 840,000 to be paid to the Chairman and SEK 300,000 to each of the other board members elected by the General Meeting and for the period until the next Annual General Meeting, of which to be paid to the Chairman and to each of the other board members elected by the General Meeting and for committee work, SEK 100,000 to be paid to the Chairman of the Audit Committee and SEK 100,000 to each of the other members of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee proposes that the auditor's fees shall be paid in accordance with approved invoicing. The above-mentioned shareholders have informed the company that they support the Audit Committee's proposal. ELECTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD (INCLUDING CHAIRMAN) AND DEPUTIES (ITEM 10) The above-mentioned shareholders propose that Carl Filip Bergendal, Johan Lof, Britta Wallgren, Hans Wigzell, Lars Wollung and Johanna Oberg be re-elected as Board members in the company and that Lars Wollung be re-elected as Chairman of the Board. DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF AUDITORS AND DEPUTIES AND ELECTION OF AUDITOR (ITEMS 11 AND 12) The Audit Committee proposes that there should be one auditor with no deputies and that the auditing firm Ernst & Young shall be re-elected as auditor until the close of the next Annual General Meeting (with authorized public accountant Anna Svanberg as auditor in charge). The above proposals are submitted by the Audit Committee as the company do not have a nomination committee. The above-mentioned shareholders have informed the company that they support the Audit Committee's proposals. APPROVAL OF REMUNERATION REPORT (ITEM 13) The Board proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolve to approve the Board's remuneration report, pursuant to Chapter 8, Section 53 a of the Swedish Companies Act, for the 2021 fiscal year. NUMBER OF SHARES AND VOTES AND INFORMATION ON HOLDING OF OWN SHARES The total number of shares in the company at the date of this invitation is 34,282,773, of which 8,454,975 are Series A shares, each carrying 10 votes, and 25,827,798 are Series B shares, each carrying one vote, which means that there is a total of 110,377,548 votes in the company. The company holds no own shares. AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS AND OTHER ISSUES Complete proposals are set out above. The Annual Report, the Board's Report in accordance with Chapter 8, Section 53 a of the Swedish Companies Act and the Auditor's Report in accordance with Chapter 8, Section 54 of the Swedish Companies Act are presented by being held available at the company's offices and on the company's website, www.raysearchlabs.com, no later than from and including May 4, 2022. The documents will be sent to shareholders who so request and state their address. Information about persons proposed as members of the Board are available at the company's website. The general meeting share register will be available at the company's head office, Eugeniavagen 18C, SE-113 68 Stockholm, Sweden. PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA For information on how your personal data is processed, see https://www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf. Stockholm, April 2022 Board of Directors For more information, please contact: Johan Lof, founder and CEO, RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ) Telephone: +46 (0)8 510 530 00, [email protected] Bjorn Hardemark, interim CFO, RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ) Telephone: +46 (0)709 564 217, [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/raysearch-laboratories/r/invitation-to-annual-general-meeting-2022,c3550957 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/1102/3550957/1567533.pdf RaySearch Press Release April 22, 2022 SOURCE RaySearch Laboratories MIAMI, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to support those impacted by the war in Ukraine, the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School will provide two full-tuition graduate scholarshipsone for the full-time MBA program and one for a Specialized Master's programbeginning as early as August 2022 to qualified graduate students. These Ukrainian Graduate Business Scholarships were made possible through the generous gifts of donors who want to remain anonymous. "The lives of many students with the potential to contribute innovative ideas and knowledge to the global business community have been disrupted," said John Quelch, dean of Miami Herbert. "And as an international business school with a sense of global responsibility, we welcome the opportunity to offer tangible help to two qualified graduate students displaced by the recent events in Ukraine." With the establishment of these scholarships, the donors hope to profoundly change the personal and professional trajectory of highly deserving international students. The scholarships are open to qualified graduate students, including those recently displaced by the war in Ukraine. To be considered for these scholarships, applicants must qualify for admission to Miami Herbert's Full-time MBA Program or one of its Specialized Master's Programs commencing August 2022. For further information about Miami Herbert's Specialized Master's Programs, click here. For information about the School's Full-time MBA Program page, click here. Those interested in applying for this scholarship or interested in supporting the Ukrainian Graduate Business Scholarship fund may contact Cecilia Sanchez ([email protected]), international relations manager at Miami Herbert. About Miami Herbert Business School Miami Herbert Business School is a leader in preparing individuals and organizations to excel in the complex, dynamic, and interconnected world of global business. One of 12 schools and colleges at the University of Miami, the School offers undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and executive education programs. With its location in a major center for international business, Miami Herbert Business School is acclaimed for its global perspective, student and faculty diversity, and engagement with the business community. More information about the Miami Herbert Business School can be found at www.herbert.miami.edu. SOURCE Miami Herbert Business School A new survey commissioned by Personal Capital, an Empower Company, finds that most adults prioritize a high salary (64%) as a top factor in building wealth. Here's where they may be leaving money on the table. GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Of Americans who don't currently consider themselves to have a "high" net worth, only 23% think they are likely to achieve this status, according to a new survey* of 2,209 U.S. adults commissioned by digital wealth manager Personal Capital , an Empower Company. The survey, fielded by Morning Consult, reveals perceptions around net worth in honor of National Financial Literacy Month, celebrated throughout April. "Your net worth is a powerful financial metric because it gives you a bird's eye view of your complete financial situation," says Michelle Brownstein, a certified financial planner and vice president of Personal Capital Private Client Group. "This month is a great occasion to set goals around growing your net worth." Americans say the top factors in achieving a "high" net worth are frequently tracking your finances (65%), having a high salary (64%), and earning from multiple sources (63%). But Brownstein advises looking beyond hustle culture to grow your net worth. "Making money is only part of how a person builds wealth," says Brownstein, who works with high-net-worth clients with at least $1 million in their portfolios. "It's also important to make sure your money is working as hard for you as you work to earn it." Although most survey respondents (59%) agree that it's important to maintain a diversified investment portfolio, fewer (46%) prioritize maxing out retirement accounts. This could be to their detriment. Retirement accounts like 401k plans and IRAs contribute 55% of the wealth of high-net-worth individuals, according to anonymized Personal Capital Dashboard data**. "Tax-advantaged retirement accounts are powerful investing tools," Brownstein says. "As your income increases, be sure to increase contributions to your retirement accounts don't let that incoming cash sit idle." She also suggests getting clear on what makes up your personal net worth; only 35% of Americans are confident they understand what "net worth" means, even though most (91%) have heard of it. "In many cases, you don't need to be a high-net-worth investor to achieve your goals and long-term retirement needs. The key is to make a plan and have a goal you're working toward," Brownstein says. "Most likely, this does entail setting a net worth goal that will allow you to sustain your lifestyle when you retire." Brownstein recommends Personal Capital's free net worth calculator , which aggregates a person's financial accounts for real-time net worth tracking. Personal Capital's free tools enable 3.3 million U.S. households to plan for long-term goals like retirement. A complete overview of survey results and insights from Brownstein can be found here . Track your net worth over time with Personal Capital's free financial tools, available at personalcapital.com . *Methodology This survey was conducted online within the United States by Morning Consult on behalf of Personal Capital from March 22-25, 2022, among a sample of 2,209 U.S. adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. ** as of April 1, 2022. Personal Capital does not independently verify the accuracy or ownership of the assets listed on an individual's dashboard. About Personal Capital, an Empower Company Personal Capital is a remote-delivery, industry-leading digital wealth management company that helps people transform their financial lives through technology and advisory services. The company's state-of-the-art technology provides consumers with a holistic financial picture and is used by over 3 million people to track $1.3 trillion in account assets (as of 1/31/22). Its wealth management advisors provide expert guidance, and customized strategies, based on a personal understanding of an investor's financial picture and goals. For more information, please visit personalcapital.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. Advisory services are offered for a fee by Personal Capital Advisors Corporation ("PCAC"), a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. You may lose money. PCAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Personal Capital Corporation ("PCC"), an Empower company. PCC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Empower Holdings, LLC. 2021 Personal Capital Corporation. All rights reserved. Contact Information Rebecca Rickert, Head of Communications [email protected] Related Links http://www.personalcapital.com SOURCE Personal Capital, an Empower Company WASHINGTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new scholarship program will provide free housing and a monthly stipend to support student journalists of color who plan to intern at news media outlets in Washington, D.C., beginning in 2023. The Lewis Scholarship has an estimated value of $10,000 and will be awarded to one undergraduate student journalist of color each fall, spring, and summer semester. The scholarship will provide a stipend of $1,000 per month and free housing provided through Washington Intern Student Housing for the duration of the student's internship, usually four months. The scholarship program was established on April 15, 2022, by the family of former Washington correspondent Robert "Bob" D.G. Lewis to honor Mr. Lewis's tenacity, dedication to investigative journalism, and involvement in leading journalism organizations. The Lewis Scholarship furthers Bob and Jacqueline Lewis's work to improve accessibility to experiential learning opportunities in the nation's capital for students of color. This partnership, administered through the National Press Club Journalism Institute, will extend the Lewis's commitment to increasing representation in Washington, D.C., to include news media, adding to their work founding and operating the Washington Intern Student Housing program and the HBCU National Center. "Experiential learning is so important to students gaining insight into the real world and workplaces outside of home and school", said Jacqueline Lewis. "We're so happy to create this program with the National Press Club to help young journalists who might not otherwise be able to gain access to internships in Washington, D.C. Getting people up on the ladder is the first step to a more representative workforce." Mr. Lewis was a longtime Washington correspondent for Michigan's Booth newspaper chain who retired as a senior editor at Newhouse. Lewis served as chairman of the National Press Club's Board of Governors from 1975 to 1977. He was president of the Society of Professional Journalists from 1985 to 1986 and chairman of its Freedom of Information Committee from 1978 to 1983. "We are so pleased that the Lewis family has selected the National Press Club as the home for this life-changing opportunity for students," said Jen Judson, NPC president. "Not only does the scholarship honor the work of a dedicated former Press Club member and investigative reporter, it pushes the industry forward in essential ways." The National Press Club Journalism Institute will begin accepting applications in fall 2022 for the inaugural award. That process will be announced on the Institute's website in early fall. The scholarship will be open to currently enrolled college students of color in their junior or senior year of undergraduate study who are at least 18 years old and have at least a 3.0 grade-point average. Graduating seniors may apply for this scholarship if their internship takes place in the semester immediately following graduation. Students must provide a letter of acceptance showing they have secured an on-site journalism internship in Washington, D.C. to take place during the semester they would receive the scholarship. If applying for a spring or fall scholarship, scholarship recipients also must be enrolled in online classes at their college or university during their time in Washington, D.C. The $4,000 scholarship will be awarded each semester to a student journalist of color who demonstrates a commitment to a journalism career in the nation's capital. WISH housing is valued at $6,000 per semester. "The Lewis family's commitment to supporting young journalists of color creates an incredible opportunity for students who feel like landing a dream internship or job in the nation's capital is impossible due to finances," said Gil Klein, National Press Club Journalism Institute president and Resident Director for the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Founded in 1908, The National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world. The National Press Club Journalism Institute , the club's non-profit affiliate, promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. Information: Contact Beth Francesco , National Press Club Journalism Institute deputy executive director SOURCE National Press Club Journalism Institute Timely International Forum on One Korea convened by Global Peace Foundation, One Korea Foundation, Action for Korea United, and the Alliance for Korea United USA WASHINGTON and SEOUL, South Korea, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Korea experts in the United States and South Korea said the election of Yoon Suk-yeol as the next president of South Korea, North Korea's reactivation of missile tests, and Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine underscored the need for a strong and credible international security architecture, a recommitment to the U.S.-ROK alliance, and robust support for a free and unified Korea as the ultimate solution for Northeast Asia regional peace and development. Policy Experts Call for Strengthening U.S.-ROK Alliance and Korean Reunification 'End Goal' for Regional Security Tweet this At a U.S. Congressional-ROK National Assembly Roundtable, leaders expressed support for the incoming administration and guarded hopes for advances in the complex process of reunification. Six distinguished members of the Republic of Koreas National Assembly urged China to support peace and create space for cooperation between the two Koreas, at the same time strengthening a multilateral security framework among allies who share the noble values of liberal democracy. The election of Yoon Suk-yeol as the next president of South Korea, North Koreas reactivation of missile tests, and Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine underscored the need for a strong and credible international security architecture, a recommitment to the U.S.-ROK alliance, and robust support for a free and unified Korea as the ultimate solution peace and security in Northeast Asia. U.S. and ROK military leaders, Korea experts, policy advisers convened at an April 22 international forum. Korea experts Dr. Ho-Young Ahn, Dr. Edwin Feulner, and Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon deliver remarks at an international forum calling for the strengthening of the U.S.-ROK Alliance and a re-examination of the approach and commitment of the ROK, U.S., and the global community to form a unified Korea that upholds fundamental human rights and values. "The Ukrainian crisis is a rude awakening that should be a catalyst for a bold new approach and clear strategic thinking across the Korean peninsula." U.S. Congressional leaders, ROK National Assembly members, Korea experts, North Korean defectors, and U.S. and ROK military leaders expressed support for the incoming administration and guarded hopes for advances in the complex process of reunification during an April 21 virtual forum. General Vincent Brooks, former commander of the combined Korean and United States forces in the Republic of Korea, called for a strong posture by the ROK U.S. alliance. "North Korea, China and Russia will seek to weaken the linkage between South Korea and the United States," Gen. Brooks told the forum. "They will do that by creating issues on matters that should otherwise be resolved [and]putting pressure on matters of security, matters of economy, matters of policy." Col. David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the president-elect must recognize that "the only acceptable durable political arrangement that will serve the Korean people and ROK and U.S. interests is the establishment of a United Republic of Korea that is secure and stable, non-nuclear, economically vibrant, and unified under a liberal constitutional form of government based on individual liberty, rule of law, free market economics and human rights as determined by the Korean people. In short, a United Republic of Korea." Six distinguished members of the Republic of Korea's National Assembly urged China to support peace and create space for cooperation between the two Koreas, at the same time strengthening a multilateral security framework among allies who share the noble values of liberal democracy. "Emerging and never-before-seen threats and challenges require even closer cooperation and more sustained partnership to ensure shared prosperity and security in the years and decades ahead," said U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. "This effort includes taking steps to deepen our trilateral cooperation with Japan, enhance plurilateral cooperation to keep the Indo-Pacific free, open, and inclusive, and strive towards the denuclearization of North Korea and a free and unified Korean Peninsula." Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Founder and Chairman Dr. Hyun Jin P. Moon condemned Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine and the toll of destruction and human suffering, while praising the courage and determination of the Ukrainian people and resolute international response. "The Ukrainian crisis is a rude awakening that should be a catalyst for a bold new approach and clear strategic thinking across the Korean peninsula," the GPF chairman said. "That should begin with the people of South Korea who enjoy freedom but have become indifferent." "A unified Korea that upholds fundamental human rights and values should become the clearly stated and actively pursued policy of ROK's new Yoon administration, as well as the U.S., allies, and the United Nations. This would provide a clear end goal for Korea policy and a framework for all negotiations with North Korea." The forum was convened both virtually and in-person in Seoul, Korea. Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Global Peace Foundation GLENDORA, Calif., April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwater Living, a real estate and property management company dedicated to the ownership, operation and development of high-quality senior living communities, today hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the sales office for Clearwater at Glendora, a 117-unit, luxury assisted living and memory support community currently under development in Glendora. Glendora Mayor Karen Davis was present at the ceremony and spoke about what the new senior living community will provide for residents. "Clearwater at Glendora provides a valuable option for seniors that has been missing in Glendora," said Karen Davis, mayor of Glendora. "We are looking forward to having this choice available for families in our community. Glendora strives to provide a high level of care, comfort and activities for seniors and appreciates the investment that Clearwater has made toward this goal." Construction on Clearwater at Glendora began in spring of 2021. The two-story, approximately 117,000-square-foot property is being built on nearly three acres just off the Foothill Freeway at 333 W. Dawson Avenue. When it is completed later this year, the senior living community will feature 88 assisted living and 29 memory support apartments with studio, companion and one- and two-bedroom layouts. The sales office is located at 123 W. Route 66 and is open Monday through Friday and by appointment on weekends to provide interested residents and their families with an opportunity to preview the array of amenities and services that will be available at the community. "Our goal is to provide impactful emotional, physical and social experiences that help senior residents live independent lifestyles for as long as possible," said Danielle Morgan, president and chief operating officer of Clearwater Living. Residents can look forward to artisanal chef-prepared food in multiple dining venues, club rooms, fitness center, a full salon, and several indoor and outdoor common areas. Additionally, assisted living and memory care residents will have 24/7 access to well-trained nurses and caregivers who will support the residents' daily activities. Joe Cina, president and CEO of the Glendora Chamber of Commerce stated, "The Glendora Chamber is excited that Clearwater at Glendora will provide a high-end assisted living community for residents to age in place. We look forward to seeing the development completed and celebrating another example of why Glendora is a great place to live, work, and play." Clearwater Living actively acquires, develops and operates a full range of senior housing communities throughout the western United States. Clearwater at Glendora is the company's sixth community in California and Nevada, with plans for additional developments in the pipeline. ABOUT CLEARWATER LIVING Clearwater Living is committed to providing the most superior customer service and living experiences that celebrate individual relevance, from our residents and their families to our family of associates. Clearwater is growing through strategic acquisitions, development and operational management of senior living communities throughout the western United States. Every Clearwater Living community includes cutting-edge technologies and care practices that improve the daily lives of residents. To learn more about Clearwater Living, visit ClearwaterLiving.com. Contact: Jennifer Franklin Spotlight Marketing Communications (949) 427-1385 [email protected] SOURCE Clearwater Living SACE won the "Best Trade Credit Insurance Brand - Italy, 2021" and "Excellence in Digital Trade Credit Solution- Italy, 2021. The felicitation ceremony will be held at the Palm Jumeirah Waldorf Astoria in early 2022 in Dubai. LONDON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Brand Awards is an annual event held by Global Brands Magazine (GBM), an international publication headquartered in the UK. The award aims to recognise global brands achieving excellence in performance across a broad range of sectors while keeping its readers updated on key trends surrounding the branding world. SACE was evaluated based on customer service, satisfaction, digital innovation, strategic relationships and new business development. Commenting on SACE winning the awards, ShivKumar (CEO of GBM) said, "Since its inception, SACE has supported Italian companies, especially SME's and helped them reach their growth targets in Italy and abroad. With the constant insurance and financial backing of SACE, Italian companies have managed to cross several barriers by diversifying their exports markets. Helping businesses expand overseas and digitizing its insurance-financial products, SACE has managed to retain its position as one of the most prominent Export Credit Agencies worldwide, and it is no doubt that they have managed to win not one, but two awards. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours and hope that they will continue to support businesses for years to come." About SACE SACE is the Italian insurance-financial company, controlled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, specializing in supporting businesses and the national economic fabric through a wide range of tools and solutions to support competitiveness in Italy and around the world. For over forty years, SACE has been the reference partner for Italian companies that export and grow in foreign markets. It also supports the banking system to facilitate access to credit for companies with its financial guarantees, with a role reinforced by recent extraordinary measures that have expanded SACE's mandate beyond the traditional support for exports and internationalization, adding important elements such as support for business investments on the domestic market and guarantees for green projects in the implementation of the Italian Green New deal. A new mandate that makes SACE an institution committed to promoting the development of the country system. With a portfolio of insured transactions and guaranteed investments of 166 billion, SACE serves over 33,000 companies, especially SMEs, supporting their growth in Italy and in around 200 foreign markets. Through its role as export credit agency, carried out for over 40 years, SACE supports Italian companies exporting to and expanding in foreign markets. Its wide range of insurance-financial solutions, increasingly digitized and mostly dedicated to SMEs, accompanies firms throughout the internationalization process: from the first stages in which it is essential to know and evaluate their counterparts, to highly specialized risk management tools such as credit insurance services and investment protection; from the guarantees necessary for participation in tenders to the financial guarantees to access liquidity; up to factoring and last resort services such as debt collection. The wide range of insurance and financial solutions, as well as the attention to the digitisation of its offer, earned SACE the first place in the Global Brand Award for the "Best Trade Credit Insurance Brand - Italy" and "Excellence in Digital Trade Credit Solutions - Italy" categories. SACE's mission has been expanded and strengthened in 2020 by a number of legislative measures in response to the global pandemic crisis and allows SACE to go beyond the traditional support to exports and internationalisation, also helping Italian companies on the domestic market, in both the emergency and recovery phases, playing a key role in the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Through this reinforced role SACE will play a key role in Italy's recovery, supporting Italian firms liquidity and the Country's green transition. About Global Brands Magazine (England) Global Brands Magazine (GBM) has been at the forefront, bringing news, views and opinions on brands shaping the future of their industry. The UK-based magazine provides its readers with the latest news and information on 'best-in-class brands across the globe. Each year, GBM develops a series of awards for companies that stood out, having a unique vision, exceptional service, innovative solutions and consumer-centric products among their industry leaders. About Global Brand Awards Global Brand Awards honours brands for their excellence in performance and rewards companies across different sectors for the quality of their services. The Brand Awards highlight accomplishments of organisations that have performed remarkably well in finance, education, hospitality, automotive, lifestyle, education, real estate, technology and several more. Global Brand Awards recognise vital players who progress towards excellence by providing a platform to acknowledge their efforts. In addition, GBM strives to create awareness concerning the significance of such organisations and rewards them for their notable efforts with the ultimate global recognition. Check out our social media shout outs by clicking the links below: Facebook: https://bit.ly/3K2KLjN Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3ENkuFr Twitter: https://bit.ly/3v3OB8k Instagram: https://bit.ly/3Ex4WFv SOURCE Global Brands Publications Limited Seva.Love's NFT artist, WhIsBe, and renowned wildlife photographer and filmmaker, Hamid Sardar, launch exclusive NFT collection to raise awareness. LAKE NONA, Fla., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Seva.Love, co-founded by well-being icon, Deepak Chopra, MD, and social impact and tech entrepreneur, Poonacha Machaiah, come together with Seva.Love's NFT artist, WhIsBe, world-renowned wildlife photographer and filmmaker, Hamid Sardar, and non-profit animal protection organization, Animals Australia, to launch the "The 3 Bears" rescue mission to highlight the ongoing global climate crisis and raise public awareness to climate refugees in the animal kingdom. The Seva.Love 'The 3 Bears' NFT launch will be ready for minting on April 28th at 8AM PT at https://3bears.seva.love/. While working on a documentary film project in Mongolia, Sardar witnessed and managed to save three juvenile bears, who had been part of a larger sleuth of brown bears that had traveled hundreds of miles escaping wildfires that were ravaging their home in Siberian Taiga in Russia. Arriving in the neighboring grasslands of Mongolia where they sought to prepare for winter hibernation, they sought out livestock - the only food source available to them in an unknown environment - leaving the local nomads terrified. The plight of these bears illustrates the predicament of countless animals in the world who are becoming climate change refugees - species driven out of their habitats because of destructive human behavior. The goal of The 3 Bears collaboration is to raise funds to cover all costs related to safely transporting and releasing the bears into a protected nature reserve. More broadly, this undertaking seeks to serve a deeper purpose: according to Sardar, "Our mission is to preserve the uniqueness of Mongolia's nomadic culture which is not just the vast grassland habitat or it's rare species of plants and animals," he continues, "It is the spiritual connection with the environment and animals that is an essential part of the Mongol soul, one which also belongs to the common stock of human consciousness." WhIsBe will be releasing a limited amount of his Vandalz project exclusive Good Karma Tokens (GKT) that will rally his community behind the mission. Sardar will be launching his first limited edition NFT photo collection which will be launched on Seva.Love (https://3bears.seva.love/) to raise funds for supporting the bear rescue mission. Of this work, WhIsBe shared "it is incredible to be able to use art with technology to help raise funding, awareness, and immediate relief to any situation in the world. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be of service for the greater good and to have a positive impact." Louise Bonomi, Director of Development at Animals Australia, also reflected stating, "we are proud to support work that embodies our vision: a world where kindness, compassion and respect extend to all beings. Local Head Ranger, Tumursuk's work in Mongolia to champion the protection of animals and their natural environment is reaching the generational changemakers and is dismantling the belief that some animals are less deserving of protection." Actor and humanitarian, Gabriella Wright, who was integral in forming this group's partnership, shares that, "great stories can only be inspired by an ensemble of great beings, learning from each other and recognizing each other's strengths. The social impact campaign championed by Seva.Love to rescue the bears, is an outstanding example of love in actions for sentient beings." About SEVA.LOVE SEVA.LOVE is a platform focused on igniting global action by galvanizing a community of mission-oriented artists, philanthropists, brands, and change makers around causes that matter. SEVA.LOVE enables artists to create social transformation within their communities by creating and promoting their own unique NFT collections. The funds raised from each NFT auction goes to the respective partner's foundation and can then be used in service of their cause. For more information please visit https://www.seva.love/ and follow us at twitter: @metaseva instagram: @meta.seva discord: https://discord.seva.love/ About Hamid Sardar Hamid Sardar is a writer, photographer, scholar, explorer and award-winning film-maker based in Paris/France who earned his Ph.D. degree at Harvard University in Sanskrit & Tibetan Studies. For over twenty years (2000-2020) he has dedicated his time to exploring Central Asia, bringing awareness to the plight of her various nomadic traditions through various cultural preservation projects. His articles, books, award-winning films and photography have appeared in prestigious publications such as National Geographic, Geo, Le Figaro and Paris Match. http://hamidsardarphoto.com/ About WhIsBe WhIsBe is a contemporary artist, who shares his work and message with a broad spectrum of viewers, spanning both street art and museum, gallery and public installations. His work is reflective and aims to create discussions and provoke socio-awareness. Known for his iconic Vandal Gummy series, which emphasizes the juxtaposition of common narratives and stigmas society has adopted. WhIsBe has previously worked with charities and corporations such as Coach, Red Bull, the Art Works Charity Foundation, and most recently created a rendition of his Vandal Gummy to aid efforts in helping those in Ukraine SOURCE Seva.Love New capability will increase safety on the fireground by providing insight into air tank levels ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Systems Definition, Inc. (SDI), a leading provider of fireground accountability solutions, today announced they have integrated self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) data from 3M Scott into their Advanced Personnel Accountability Application (APAA). This new capability will further improve fireground safety by providing air tank data and personal alert safety system (PASS) alarms to Incident Commanders on the fireground within the APAA software. "We have been working with the 3M Scott team to develop this strong addition to our current accountability solution. Having SCBA telemetry data and PASS alarms meshed into APAA has been a top priority for us. Combined with other radio and data resources, this enhancement will boost First Responder safety and accountability," said Brendan Adams, Senior Software Engineer at SDI. SDI's APAA enhances and improves firefighter accountability using a combination of radio messaging, push-to-talk actions, and aggregated sensor data along with Fire Department Unit and Firefighter data. This enables command personnel at incidents to rapidly determine firefighter status for accountability and safety activities. Headquartered in Alexandria, VA, Systems Definition, Inc. (SDI) provides innovative software applications for the First Responder community, as well as technical services and software engineering to Federal agencies, DoD contractors, public sector agencies, and commercial organizations. SDI supports initiatives for Defense, First Responder safety and accountability, aerospace, custom applications, and web technologies. Their comprehensive suite of fireground accountability applications is used daily by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and other fire departments across the United States. For more information, please visit http://www.firegroundaccountability.com/. Contact: Frank Briese President Systems Definition, Inc. 703-717-0222 ext. 114 [email protected] SOURCE Systems Definition, Inc. The growing demand for lightweight travel bags, increasing product brand promotions and marketing campaigns, and the rising online sales of travel and business bags will offer immense growth opportunities. However, the rise in labor costs and fluctuating raw material prices, the presence of counterfeit products, and stringent government regulations on the procurement of raw materials such as leather will challenge the growth of the market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Travel and Business Bags Market 2022-2026: Segmentation Distribution Channel Offline Online Product Travel Bags Business Bags Geography Europe APAC North America MEA South America Europe will account for 31% of the market's growth. In Europe, the primary markets for travel and business bags are Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. The market in this region will increase at a quicker rate than the industry in North America. The availability of a broad variety of designs in the travel and business bags market, as well as related accessories, will aid the expansion of the travel and business bags market in Europe. Learn more about the additional trends impacting the future of the market and the positive and negative consequences on the businesses., download the sample report: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR72414 Travel and Business Bags Market 2022-2026: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our travel and business bags market report covers the following areas: This study identifies the growing demand for travel and business bags with smart features as one of the prime reasons driving the travel and business bags market growth during the next few years. Travel and Business Bags Market 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market. Capri Holdings Ltd. DELSEY Hermes International SA IT Luggage Ltd. Kering SA LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE Osprey Packs Inc. Prada SpA Ralph Lauren Corp. Safari Industries ( India ) Ltd. ) Ltd. Samsonite International SA Strandbags Group Pty Ltd. Tapestry Inc. Targus Inc. Tods SpA United States Luggage Co. LLC Valigeria Roncato Spa VF Corp. VIP Industries Ltd. Wildcraft India Pvt. Ltd. Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read the latest Sample Report . Travel and Business Bags Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026 Detailed information on factors that will assist travel and business bags market growth during the next five years Estimation of the travel and business bags market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the travel and business bags market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of travel and business bags market vendors Do reach out to our analysts for more customized reports as per your requirements. Speak to our Analyst now! Related Reports: Online Children's and Maternity Apparel Market in MENA by Price, Application, Age Group, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Sports Sunglasses Market by Distribution Channel and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Travel and Business Bags Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.62% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 11.27 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 6.91 Regional analysis Europe, APAC, North America, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution Europe at 31% Key consumer countries US, China, Germany, France, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Capri Holdings Ltd., DELSEY, Hermes International SA, IT Luggage Ltd., Kering SA, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Osprey Packs Inc., Prada SpA, Ralph Lauren Corp., Safari Industries (India) Ltd., Samsonite International SA, Strandbags Group Pty Ltd., Tapestry Inc., Targus Inc., Tods SpA, United States Luggage Co. LLC, Valigeria Roncato Spa, VF Corp., VIP Industries Ltd., and Wildcraft India Pvt. Ltd. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table Of Contents : 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Product Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 09: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 10: Parent market Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 13: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2021 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026 Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 18: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2021 and 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 20: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 21: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 22: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 23: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 24: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026 5 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 25: Chart on Distribution Channel - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 26: Data Table on Distribution Channel - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel Exhibit 27: Chart on Comparison by Distribution Channel Exhibit 28: Data Table on Comparison by Distribution Channel 5.3 Offline - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 29: Chart on Offline - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Data Table on Offline - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 31: Chart on Offline - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 32: Data Table on Offline - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Online - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 33: Chart on Online - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Data Table on Online - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 35: Chart on Online - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 36: Data Table on Online - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel Exhibit 37: Market opportunity by Distribution Channel ($ million) 6 Market Segmentation by Product 6.1 Market segments Exhibit 38: Chart on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 6.2 Comparison by Product Exhibit 40: Chart on Comparison by Product Exhibit 41: Data Table on Comparison by Product 6.3 Travel bags - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 42: Chart on Travel bags - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 43: Data Table on Travel bags - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 44: Chart on Travel bags - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 45: Data Table on Travel bags - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 6.4 Business bags - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 46: Chart on Business bags - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 47: Data Table on Business bags - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 48: Chart on Business bags - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 49: Data Table on Business bags - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 6.5 Market opportunity by Product Exhibit 50: Market opportunity by Product ($ million) 7 Customer Landscape 7.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 51: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 8 Geographic Landscape 8.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 52: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 8.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 54: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 55: Data Table on Geographic comparison 8.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 56: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 57: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 58: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 59: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.4 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 60: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 61: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 62: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 63: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 64: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 65: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 66: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 67: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 68: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 69: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 70: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 71: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 72: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 73: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 74: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 75: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 76: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 77: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 78: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 79: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 80: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 81: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 82: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 83: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 84: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 85: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 86: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 87: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.11 France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 88: Chart on France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 89: Data Table on France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 90: Chart on France - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 91: Data Table on France - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.12 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 92: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 93: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 94: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 95: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 8.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 96: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 9.1 Market drivers 9.2 Market challenges 9.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 97: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026 9.4 Market trends 10 Vendor Landscape 10.1 Overview 10.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 98: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 10.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 99: Overview on factors of disruption 10.4 Industry risks Exhibit 100: Impact of key risks on business 11 Vendor Analysis 11.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 101: Vendors covered 11.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 102: Matrix on vendor position and classification 11.3 Capri Holdings Ltd. Exhibit 103: Capri Holdings Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 104: Capri Holdings Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 105: Capri Holdings Ltd. - Key news Exhibit 106: Capri Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 107: Capri Holdings Ltd. - Segment focus 11.4 DELSEY Exhibit 108: DELSEY - Overview Exhibit 109: DELSEY - Product / Service Exhibit 110: DELSEY - Key offerings 11.5 Hermes International SA Exhibit 111: Hermes International SA - Overview Exhibit 112: Hermes International SA - Business segments Exhibit 113: Hermes International SA - Key offerings Exhibit 114: Hermes International SA - Segment focus 11.6 IT Luggage Ltd. Exhibit 115: IT Luggage Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 116: IT Luggage Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 117: IT Luggage Ltd. - Key offerings 11.7 Kering SA Exhibit 118: Kering SA - Overview Exhibit 119: Kering SA - Business segments Exhibit 120: Kering SA - Key offerings Exhibit 121: Kering SA - Segment focus 11.8 LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE Exhibit 122: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE - Overview Exhibit 123: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE - Business segments Exhibit 124: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE - Key news Exhibit 125: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE - Key offerings Exhibit 126: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE - Segment focus 11.9 Samsonite International SA Exhibit 127: Samsonite International SA - Overview Exhibit 128: Samsonite International SA - Business segments Exhibit 129: Samsonite International SA - Key offerings Exhibit 130: Samsonite International SA - Segment focus 11.10 Strandbags Group Pty Ltd. Exhibit 131: Strandbags Group Pty Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 132: Strandbags Group Pty Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 133: Strandbags Group Pty Ltd. - Key offerings 11.11 Tapestry Inc. Exhibit 134: Tapestry Inc. - Overview Exhibit 135: Tapestry Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 136: Tapestry Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 137: Tapestry Inc. - Segment focus 11.12 VF Corp. Exhibit 138: VF Corp. - Overview Exhibit 139: VF Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 140: VF Corp. - Key news Exhibit 141: VF Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 142: VF Corp. - Segment focus 12 Appendix 12.1 Scope of the report 12.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 143: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 144: Exclusions checklist 12.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 145: Currency conversion rates for US$ 12.4 Research methodology Exhibit 146: Research methodology Exhibit 147: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 148: Information sources 12.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 149: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent survey of Post 9/11 Veterans, ages 21-44, find they outpace the general market in spending power, employment and purchasing. Refuel Agency, the largest provider of media + marketing services to reach military, teen, college, and multicultural consumers throughout the U.S., published their latest Refuel Agency Military Explorer Series with some surprising results about these unique consumers. There are 40 million people in the military communityincluding active duty, reserves, veterans, spouses, and their dependentsrepresenting 12% of the total US population. Of these, Post 9/11 Veterans alone wield $198.7B spending power, up $16.5B compared to 2020 (GfK MRI-Simmons). And with that purchasing power we see strong spending as online shopping increased 30%. Like their predecessors, the new veterans are loyal to brands that support the military community, and they are 21% more motivated by "Made in America". The Refuel study also found Post 9/11 Veterans are transitioning careers and locations. Refuel found a 34% increase into non-military careers including Business Operations, Architecture, Engineering, and Information Systems. Colorado Springs and Atlanta indexed the highest for new locations to live. As a result, there is a 47% increase in home furnishing and improvement planned spending. In the past year, Post 9/11 Veterans have leaned into Military-focused media outlets as their trusted source. Base access has increased for them whether with the new VHIC card or as Federal Employees on base. With this we have seen a 3X increase in influence by OOH ads among Post 9/11 Veterans. The study also showed year-to-year increase in connections to military associations and veteran service organizations. Liz Carmo, VP Military Market at Refuel Agency explains, "Post 9/11 Veterans are 32% more likely to be employed full-time so brands should be paying attention to this audience. Knowing how to creatively and authentically reach the military audience is key." To learn how brands can authentically reach military consumers, visit https://www.refuelagency.com/military-marketing-PR. About Refuel Refuel Agency is the largest provider of Media + Marketing services for brands and agencies to reach military, teen, college and multicultural audiences. Refuel is the agency for agencies and for over 35 years has worked with almost half of all Fortune 500 companies, as well as most top 100 agencies and hundreds of boutique agencies, reaching over $1.5B in total billings. Refuel is headquartered in Santa Barbara with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Princeton. SOURCE Refuel Agency This is the latest appearance of the Hopeful Project , initially created as public art sculptures to inspire optimism for Americans coping with political polarization and pandemic stress. Original Hopeful sculptures were sited in Hewitt's home state of Maine and has since expanded along the East Coast, including the subway station in Brooklyn, site of the tragic mass shooting earlier this month. "With horrors magnifying daily in Ukraine, I felt I had to do something," said Hewitt. I started Hopeful as a way to inspire optimism for Americans coping with political polarization and pandemic stress, and Hopeful has given me the opportunity to expand the platform to show support and raise funds for Ukraine. I am honored that Freedom House, a not-for-profit that I am so inspired by, has agreed to join me in the Philadelphia Hopeful project." After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Freedom House, a not-for-profit working to defend human rights and promote democratic change, with a focus on political rights and civil liberties, shifted its efforts to evacuate human rights activists and journalists in Ukraine out of harm's way and to improve the safety of activists and journalists who have remained in the country. To donate please click on the following link: https://freedomhouse.org/hopeful or visit the Freedom House website. Billboards in the Philadelphia area are on the Cottman Avenue/Academy Road exit ramp of I-95, Route 130 near the airport, and on Route 1 heading into Philadelphia from the south. If you are interested in bringing The Hopeful Project to your community, publicly or privately, please reach out to Charlie Hewitt Studio for more information. Hewitt is represented by Jim Kempner Fine Art in New York City. Instagram: @_hopefulproject. Charlie Hewitt Charlie Hewitt, b.1946, is an American painter, printmaker, and public artist. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, New York Public Library, and Library of Congress. He has also been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is the only artist to have a permanent public sculpture, "Urban Rattle," on the High Line in New York City. The Hopeful Project Artist Charlie Hewitt began The Hopeful Project, 2019-present, with a single lighted aluminum sculpture commissioned by Speedwell Projects for the roof of their headquarters in Portland, Maine. To date, the Hopeful message has spread with installations across six states at dozens of different sites, both public and private. Follow along on Instagram at @_hopefulproject and with the hashtag #sharehopeful. Jim Kempner Fine Art Jim Kempner Fine Art specializes in contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography, and works on paper, with a special emphasis on contemporary master prints and outdoor sculpture. Art inventory appeals to the established as well as beginning collector. The gallery works closely with art advisors, designers, corporations and museums to expand and enrich their varied collections. Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit organization founded on the core conviction that freedom flourishes in democratic nations where governments are accountable to their people. CONTACT: Juliana Ferre Barbara Wagner Barbara Wagner Communications Barbara Wagner Communications (787)-568-3876 (917) 751-4387 j[email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Hopeful Joining the coalition of various pledgors from the international society, the initiative marks the first time that Alibaba Group has pledged to offer critical intellectual property broadly available on sustainability, which reinforces its long-standing commitment to achieving a low-carbon and sustainable future for the society through forging broader cooperation.The nine patents offered are parts of Alibaba's green data center technologies including the unique "soaking server" cooling system Alibaba Cloud has deployed for its data centers since 2015. This non-mechanical cooling measure leads to energy savings of over 70% compared to traditional mechanical cooling . "We believe technology innovation is a key driver in transitioning to the low-carbon circular economy of the future. As a pioneer and global technology leader, we are committed to taking broader social responsibility to use technology to level the playing field and to empower the wider social groups, creating long-term value. We are excited to join the pledge as a way to encourage a collective approach to build a sustainable and inclusive future for the society and environment through open collaboration, joint innovations and mutual inspiration." said Dr. Chen Long, Vice President of Alibaba Group and Chair of Alibaba's Sustainability Steering Committee. Low Carbon Pledge Patent was launched on Earth Day 2021 by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Microsoft, and Meta with the mission of promoting low carbon technologies and fostering collaborative innovation. Professor Jorge Contreras, academic expert on patent pledges, notes: "The addition of these companies strengthens the Low Carbon Patent Pledge and reflects the reality that all sectors of industry can contribute to the effort to accelerate the transition to low carbon energy sources." Greening Data Centers with Technology As an infrastructure provider for a green economy, Alibaba Cloud is also committing to have its global data centers running entirely on clean energy by 2030 by employing cutting-edge green technologies in these facilities. Shanyuan Gao, General Manager of Alibaba Cloud Infrastructure's Internet Data Center Division, said: "Eco-friendly data centers are critical to Alibaba's sustainable operations. We employs cutting-edge green technologies in its hyper-scale facilities, of which liquid cooling and renewable electricity storage make a considerable difference in reducing carbon emissions. For instance, in our Hangzhou data center, server clusters are submerged in specialized liquid coolant, which quickly chills the IT hardware." Alibaba Cloud's Zhangbei data center employs the same method, which contributed to it earning a Green Power Consumption Certificate from the Beijing Electric Power Exchange Center in 2021, recognizing the facility as the first in China to use heat-pump technology. As Alibaba Cloud builds a secure and resilient global infrastructure network, it believes that the advanced technology housed within the data centers will become the new standard with liquid cooling being promoted throughout China and in more countries in the future. While clean energy solves many issues, its use brings its own set of challenges. The energy supply from solar and wind sources can be fickle, delivering full power when the weather is fair and windy but failing to produce when conditions change. To address that, Alibaba Cloud is assessing carbon management tools to help it better take advantage of energy trading schemes while also planning a more stable energy supply. Alibaba Cloud is also exploring other frontier technologies, like pumping water to store energy, a common way to conserve renewable energy until it is needed. To help cut electricity use further, Alibaba launched its first proprietary chip, the Yitian 710. The Yitian 710 can accommodate up to 60 billion transistors in each chip, translating into a 50% higher energy efficiency ratio compared with other models. This will make transitioning to clean energy easier as it reduces demand on unpredictable solar and wind energy sources. About Alibaba Group Alibaba Group's mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a good company that lasts for 102 years. About Alibaba Cloud Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com) is the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group. It offers a complete suite of cloud services to customers worldwide, including elastic computing, database, storage, network virtualization services, large-scale computing, security, management and application services, big data analytics, a machine learning platform and IoT services. Alibaba Cloud is China's leading provider of public cloud services by revenue in 2019, including PaaS and IaaS services, according to IDC. Alibaba Group is the world's third leading and Asia Pacific's leading IaaS provider by revenue in 2020 in U.S. dollars, according to Gartner's April 2021 report. SOURCE Alibaba Group Report details and reaffirms Company's commitment to ESG excellence American Homes 4 Rent builds for the future by supplying high quality housing, fostering strong communities and leading with integrity CALABASAS, Calif., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company") published its annual Sustainability Report, which provides transparency on the Company's performance and near- and long-term Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities. The report can be viewed and downloaded on the Company's website. "At American Homes 4 Rent, ESG considerations and objectives are core to our strategy of delivering long-term value to our residents, employees, communities and investors," said Carrie Leonard, Senior Vice President of Sustainability of American Homes 4 Rent. "With our outstanding operating results, bright prospects for continued growth, and meaningful advancements in our sustainability program, we look forward to making our organization more resilient and sustainable, while continuing to earn the trust and confidence of all of our stakeholders." Highlights of American Homes 4 Rent's 2021 Sustainability Report include: Building Sustainably and Operating Efficiently: American Homes 4 Rent designs and constructs new homes that reflect environmental sustainability best practices. As part of this effort, the Company undertook several important environmental initiatives, including implementation of an Environmental Management System; partnering with Elevation, an award-winning energy solutions company, installing solar panels at American Homes 4 Rent facilities; and obtaining Home Energy Rating System (HERS) ratings for each new home delivered by AMH Development in 2021. American Homes 4 Rent's newly built homes use less than half the energy of a typical American home, with our average HERS score being 62.8. American Homes 4 Rent designs and constructs new homes that reflect environmental sustainability best practices. As part of this effort, the Company undertook several important environmental initiatives, including implementation of an Environmental Management System; partnering with Elevation, an award-winning energy solutions company, installing solar panels at American Homes 4 Rent facilities; and obtaining Home Energy Rating System (HERS) ratings for each new home delivered by AMH Development in 2021. American Homes 4 Rent's newly built homes use less than half the energy of a typical American home, with our average HERS score being 62.8. Furthering Carbon Reduction Objectives: American Homes 4 Rent recognizes the importance of identifying, monitoring and mitigating the risks climate change poses to properties and residents. The Company is implementing a Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management Plan (IMP), to monitor and effectively report on our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. American Homes 4 Rent recognizes the importance of identifying, monitoring and mitigating the risks climate change poses to properties and residents. The Company is implementing a Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management Plan (IMP), to monitor and effectively report on our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Celebrating Diversity: American Homes 4 Rent champions diversity, equity and inclusion through initiatives rooted in its core competency of Values Differences. The Company initiated several new programs underscoring its commitment to promote a culture of belonging. These include the expansion of its unconscious bias training program, and the launch of Employee Resource Groups. American Homes 4 Rent champions diversity, equity and inclusion through initiatives rooted in its core competency of Values Differences. The Company initiated several new programs underscoring its commitment to promote a culture of belonging. These include the expansion of its unconscious bias training program, and the launch of Employee Resource Groups. Fostering Strong Communities: Amid a national housing shortage, American Homes 4 Rent's homebuilding arm provides a long-term solution designed with people and the planet in mind. With the delivery of the Company's 100 th new community in 2021, American Homes 4 Rent remains committed to responsibly supply housing in America and to foster strong communities for a sustainable society. Amid a national housing shortage, American Homes 4 Rent's homebuilding arm provides a long-term solution designed with people and the planet in mind. With the delivery of the Company's 100 new community in 2021, American Homes 4 Rent remains committed to responsibly supply housing in America and to foster strong communities for a sustainable society. Supporting and Investing in Employees: To strengthen the dedicated team that fulfills the Company's mission, American Homes 4 Rent launched an Employee Stock Purchase Program, a Tuition Reimbursement Program and a Workday Peakon Employee Voice survey. During the Company's annual Service Month in November, American Homes 4 Rent facilitated paid time off for its colleagues to volunteer in local community service. And, all together, the Company donated 400,000 meals to alleviate food insecurity nationwide through Feeding America. To strengthen the dedicated team that fulfills the Company's mission, American Homes 4 Rent launched an Employee Stock Purchase Program, a Tuition Reimbursement Program and a Workday Peakon Employee Voice survey. During the Company's annual Service Month in November, American Homes 4 Rent facilitated paid time off for its colleagues to volunteer in local community service. And, all together, the Company donated 400,000 meals to alleviate food insecurity nationwide through Feeding America. Responsible Governance Profile: American Homes 4 Rent has built its reputation for integrity in interactions with residents, employees, suppliers, investors and the marketplace. The Company has established a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to set out its principles, expectations and guidelines for appropriate business behavior and to promote American Homes 4 Rent's ongoing commitment to personal and business integrity. Additionally, the Company maintains a corresponding Vendor Integrity Code and expects contractors, vendors and suppliers to conduct their business interactions and activities in compliance with those policies. American Homes 4 Rent has built its reputation for integrity in interactions with residents, employees, suppliers, investors and the marketplace. The Company has established a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to set out its principles, expectations and guidelines for appropriate business behavior and to promote American Homes 4 Rent's ongoing commitment to personal and business integrity. Additionally, the Company maintains a corresponding Vendor Integrity Code and expects contractors, vendors and suppliers to conduct their business interactions and activities in compliance with those policies. Listening to Stakeholders: American Homes 4 Rent is committed to understanding its sustainability impacts and opportunities, which includes engaging extensively with its various stakeholders. To further this effort, American Homes 4 Rent engaged a leading third-party expert to survey relevant stakeholder groups to identify foundational, priority and emerging ESG components that will provide sustainability strategy and reporting. The Company is proud to have implemented its first third-party Resident Satisfaction Survey, complementing its existing series of move-in and maintenance satisfaction surveys. American Homes 4 Rent is recognized as a leader in its industry for its ESG policies and sustainability commitments. In late 2021, American Homes 4 Rent was recognized as a Top ESG Regional Performer by Sustainalytics, a Great Place To Work, and one of America's Most Responsible Companies 2022 by Newsweek and Statista. Additionally, in early 2022, American Homes 4 Rent was further named one of America's Most Trusted Companies 2022 by Newsweek and Statista, ranking third among its thirteen real estate industry peers on the list. About American Homes 4 Rent American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and resident satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of December 31, 2021, we owned 57,024 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states. Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at www.americanhomes4rent.com. Contacts: American Homes 4 Rent Megan Grabos Media Relations Phone: (805) 413-5088 Email: [email protected] American Homes 4 Rent Nicholas Fromm Investor Relations Phone: (855) 794-2447 Email: [email protected] SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent ASUS Debuts New ProArt Creator Display Lineup at NAB 2022 Including World's First OLED Monitor with Auto Calibration ASUS ProArt Display OLED PA32DC ASUS ProArt Display OLED PA32DC is a 31.5-inch (3840x2160) Pure RGB Stripe OLED monitor designed to meet the needs of creative professionals. It offers true 10-bit color, exceptional Delta E < 1 color accuracy, covers 99% DCI-P3 color space, and has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio to provide the deepest black hues and accurate highlights. OLED PA32DC targets the DisplayHDR 400 True Black specification and is the world's first OLED display to include auto calibration. The built-in motorized flip colormeter provides effortless calibration experiences to help ensure long-term color accuracy. The display includes a detachable hood designed to reduce reflections and incudes two different stand designs to fit diverse scenarios. ASUS ProArt Display PA147CDV ASUS ProArt Display PA147CDV is a 14-inch (1920 x 550) Full HD IPS touch screen portable monitor control interface that provides a wide range of tools for creators. Its innovative design includes a patented mechanical kickstand for versatile horizontal and vertical use, as well as the ASUS Dial a customizable tool that allows convenient access to many functions in creative apps like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom Classic or any application supported by Microsoft Surface Dial. PA147CDV is Calman Verified and factory pre-calibrated to Delta E < 2 color difference. The display features 10-bit color, 100% sRGB and 100% Rec.709 color gamut to provide users with great color accuracy and high-quality drawing and editing experiences. The PA147CDV supports Microsoft Pen Protocol 2.0, allowing users to sketch with the screen laid flat or video editing in a vertical orientation. The monitor also includes one standard HDMI port and two USB Type-C ports for a variety of connectivity options. ASUS ProArt Display PA348CGV ASUS ProArt Display PA348CGV is a 34-inch, 21:9 UWQHD (3440 x 1440) display that is pre-calibrated for Delta E < 2 color accuracy. It is Calman-Verified and features a 120 Hz variable frame rate with FreeSync Premium Pro to provide smooth fast- rendering and comfortable viewing experiences. The display's ergonomic design allows users to easily adjust the monitor for a better viewing angle. The PA348CGV includes a traditional monitor stand as well as a C-clamp desk mount[1] for users looking to maximize desk space. The PA348CGV features a DisplayPort, two HDMI ports, a full-function USB-C that offers signal, data transfer and 90-watt power delivery. The display itself can also double as a USB hub for extensive connectivity. ProArt Projector A1 The ProArt Projector A1 is the world's first Calman-Verified professional projector, providing users with vivid FHD visuals. Factory pre-calibrated to Delta E < 2 for exceptional color accuracy, the A1 covers 98% sRGB and Rec. 709 color spaces. The A1 includes a 3000-lumen LED light source, enabling bright and crisp FHD (1920 x 1080) imagery. The mercury-free RGB LED light source ensures gorgeous, fade-free projectors for up to 30,000 hours or 20 years of real-world use at an average of 4 hours per day. With the bundled USB WiFi dongle and wireless mirroring feature, the ProArt Projector A1 allows effortless content streaming from iOS, Android, or Windows 10 devices. NAB 2022 Availability The ProArt lineup will be displayed at the NAB 2022 show in Las Vegas from April 23-27 at the ASUS Booth (#N618). For more information about NAB-exclusive deals on ASUS products, please visit https://www.asus.com/us/site/nab2022/. MEDIA KIT: The ASUS NAB 2022 Media Kit is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/njriex3ykfdz8gu/AADTKAqw1sy5uSsH1w3O5hUAa?dl=0 AVAILABILITY & PRICING The ProArt Projector A1 is available for $1499 USD in North America is available for in The ProArt Display PA147CDV is available for media review and will release in Q2 2022 in North America is available for media review and will release in Q2 2022 in The ProArt Display OLED PA32DC will be available in Q3 2022 in North America will be available in Q3 2022 in The ProArt Display PA348CGV will be available in Q3 2022 in North America Notes to Editors ASUS North America News: https://www.asus.com/us/news/ ASUS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asus ASUS North America Twitter: https://twitter.com/asususa ProArt Display PA147CDV: https://edgeup.asus.com/2021/proart-display-pa147cdv-intro/ ProArt Display OLED PA32DC: https://edgeup.asus.com/2021/proart-display-pa32dc-intro/ ProArt Display PA348CGV: https://edgeup.asus.com/2022/proart-display-pa348cgv/ ProArt Projector A1: https://www.asus.com/us/Displays-Desktops/Projectors/ProArt/ProArt-Projector-A1/ ASUS NAB 2022 Landing Page: https://www.asus.com/us/site/nab2022/ About ASUS ASUS is a global technology leader that provides the world's most innovative and intuitive devices, components and solutions to deliver incredible experiences that enhance the lives of people everywhere. With its team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, ASUS is world-renowned for continuously reimagining today's technologies for tomorrow, garners more than 11 awards every day for quality, innovation and design, and is ranked among Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies. 1 C-clamp desk mount only available in some regions. SOURCE ASUS Computer International OVER 1,300 BOOTS PRODUCED IN ONTARIO FOR DONATIONS STONEY CREEK, ON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Baffin is proud to launch a new Citizenship Boot Project to provide cold-weather footwear to those in need. Produced with a mix of recycled materials and donated goods, over 1,300 boots were manufactured in Baffin's Stoney Creek, Ontario factory and will be donated to North American organizations. The Citizenship Boot Project uses regrind material from completed boots that did not meet quality standards and have been placed into a regrind machine to be recycled and used again. The Baffin facility works to repurpose as much rubber as possible to reduce waste. Baffin's regular production boots use 5% - 10% regrind materials, while the boots in this program are comprised of 50% regrind material. To supplement the regrind materials, Baffin's compound suppliers, Felix Compounds and Aurora Plastics donated 1,000 kilos of virgin materials to the program. The project, which was planned by Baffin's Corporate Citizenship Team, was executed by Baffin employees who donated their time over four days to manufacture and package the boots. "At Baffin, we understand the importance of having the proper footwear to conquer the cold and are acutely aware that many people living in cold climates do not have the means to properly outfit themselves to be protected by the elements," says Mark Hubner, Senior Vice President, Brand and Strategy. "We are thrilled to be able to use our expertise in footwear technology and the production of recycled materials to provide those in need with the warmth they deserve." Inspired by Baffin's existing insulated rubber boots HUNTER and LITTLE HUNTER, the boots from the Citizenship Boot Project are available for donation in men's, women's and kids sizing. The launch of this project is only the beginning. In F/W22 Baffin plans to launch this project commercially, allowing customers to purchase the products to be donated via Baffin, making the Citizenship Boot Project a true Baffin community effort. Baffin Ltd. is an innovative, leading outwear company based in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada with a core focus on technically advanced, innovative footwear and high-performance apparel. Baffin designs, develops, and field tests footwear in the most demanding environments on the planet and is focused on being a global leader in footwear and apparel within the Outdoor, Industrial and Hunt and Fish categories. Baffin Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Goose Holdings Inc. SOURCE Baffin Limited LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Beatdapp, an auditing and fraud detection service for music streaming, has announced the launch of an artist collective under the name Urban Outlaws. The collective, signed by Universal-backed label Daydream Records, is releasing five singles, all in different genres, over the next six months. The first song, "Drinkin' Drinks," will debut on April 22, 2022, written by country hitmakers Ryan Hurd, Nathan Spicer, Matthew McGinn, and Ryan Beaver. The track features local Nashville artist Kurt Steven and producers Jeff and Justin Johnson, who are well known for working with rising star Priscilla Block. Urban Outlaws Drinkin' Drinks Beatdapp Donates $500,000 in NFTs With over 1 million members combined, major artist fandoms have pledged to promote Drinkin' Drinks during the first week of its release. In concert with the fan engagement tool Renaissance, the fandoms have coordinated marketing efforts to maximize exposure. Cadence Music Strategies has signed on for the administration and promotional planning of the Urban Outlaws project. As digital natives, Beatdapp employees donated $500,000 in NFTs to Urban Outlaws for album covers and the online identity of every artist, with the album cover valued at $250,000. "Artists do 1,000 things to be successful. Our team at Beatdapp wanted to walk a mile in their shoes and better understand everything that goes into writing, producing, and distributing music before we get it for tracking royalties," said Beatdapp Co-CEO Andrew Batey. "After six studios, across four cities, in 2 countries, I think we learned just how hard creating one single song can be! It's been a constant learning process which we hope enables us to continue making world-class products for artists." Kiki Jaspal, CEO of Universal-backed label Daydream Records, said, "Urban Outlaws is a one-of-a-kind project, combining industry-leading music and tech resources in an increasingly fast moving industry to better understand audience consumption evolution and the impact on musicians - from recording to royalties. Once I saw the lineup of songwriters, producers, and artists backing them, you couldn't help but feel inspired. I couldn't be more excited for the release of the project!" "The Beatdapp team have always been supporters of artist rights, and this project shows the team's willingness to learn and understand their pain points. It's why we believe Beatdapp will have a positive impact on this space where music artists can bloom," Aly, Managing Partner of Blockchain Founders Fund, commented in support of its portfolio company Beatdapp. Drinkin' Drinks is the first single released by Urban Outlaws from their EP entitled "Undefined." The EP features five songs from 5 different genres: Country, Electronic, Rap, Alternative Rock, and Pop. About Beatdapp Beatdapp is the digital supply chain infrastructure for the streaming economy. Their proprietary blockchain technology, with over 30 patents in 6 countries, is building the platform and aggregate dataset to transform stagnant yet mission-critical activities like auditing, reporting, and fraud prevention for the benefit of artists, labels, and distribution platforms. Press Contact Andrew Batey | Co-CEO [email protected] SOURCE Beatdapp DUBAI, UAE, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Steered by a team of Seasoned Educationalists as the Board of Governors, with decades of experience, Britts Imperial University College boasts of a visionary leadership team from across the globe. Britts Imperial University College is accredited by various prestigious UK exam bodies and welcomes students from more than 31 countries. Britts Imperial University College, UAE is an Academic Center and Education Partner of top-tier globally recognized British and European universities and offers eager learners from all over the world Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctorate degree programs awarded by these universities. Britts Imperial University College ensures that students are Job Ready with the new-age skills that the industry wants with crafted majors in the fields of Business & Management, Engineering Management, AI & Data Science, Information Technology, Events & Sports, Hospitality & Healthcare Management and so on. Britts Imperial University College is a truly global platform for supporting students' global dreams and ambitions, with multi-national student and faculty diaspora , globally recognized degrees from prestigious top-ranking universities, and global mobility options. Top ranked university degrees accredited globally, parent university campus transfer to UK, Europe and USA with post study stay back and work opportunities, the ability to work while studying in UAE, hybrid teaching methodology coupled with scholarships and flexible payment structure, are the distinguishing factors at Britts Imperial University College. Mr Vinit Rughani, Director - Britts Imperial University College, said, "Britts Imperial College epitomizes transformation of society by empowering individuals through the magic of New Age Higher Education. We envision a community of Alumni of Britts Imperial, who will lead the new industrial revolution and channelise their ambition to shape a better world. Our vision is to be that premier institution of higher education and research that transforms Global Learners into Global Leaders." With the best academic facilities in the country, Britts Imperial University College is an excellent place to find your favorite academic interests and explore new ones. Partner Universities: Euclea Business School, France International University for Applied Sciences (IU), Germany + London South Bank University, UK (Dual Degree) Universidad Catolica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), Spain Contact us now: Britts Imperial University College N Block, Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, Sharjah- UAE +971 (06) 7675511 / +971 522161590 [email protected] www.brittsimperial.com SOURCE Britts Imperial University College Workers and Students Call on President Gabel and University Administration to End Opposition to Green Training Program MINNEAPOLIS, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today University of Minnesota (UMN) service workers represented by Teamsters Local 320 were joined at a rally by student and environment groups, including the Minnesota Student Association and UMN Students for Climate Justice. Together, they marched on the Offices of University President Joan Gable to deliver a petition calling on the state's largest university to pay living wages and stop greenwashing its waste reduction program. The service and waste workers who clean buildings, collect trash, maintain grounds and prepare and serve food at university campuses and research facilities held banners and distributed leaflets that read, "Living Wages, Living Planet." They also demanded that UMN end its opposition to H.F. 4539, legislation introduced by State Representative Heather Keeler (D Moorhead) that would create and fund a Green Training Program at UMN. On March 29, 2022 University of Minnesota Vice President for Human Resources Ken Horstman submitted a letter to the Minnesota House of Representatives Higher Education Committee in opposition to the Green Training Program. The Green Training Program would help train frontline employees and student workers on sustainability measures such as decreasing energy use and how to reduce and properly sort solid waste. The legislation would also help address staffing shortages and high rates of turnover that are currently hampering UMN's efforts to effectively implement its Climate Action Plan and waste reduction initiatives. The legislation would provide employees with an incentive to participate in the training program via an increase in hourly pay. Maddie Miller is the Chair of the Minnesota Student Association's Environmental Accountability Committee. "The university's waste reduction goals look good on paper, but we are concerned that a lack of proper training as well as chronic understaffing and high turnover due to low pay for student workers and service employees are preventing the university from effectively implementing sustainability measures," said Miller. "For example, right now these problems are adding to the large amounts of trash from UMN's Twin Cities campus that are burned in the garbage incinerator located at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, which is the 32nd largest greenhouse gas emitter in Minnesota." Sara Parcells is a UMN Building and Grounds Worker and Local 320 Trustee. "University administrators argue that they already provide sustainability training to employees and that the funding should be used to purchase equipment," said Parcells. "Unfortunately, reports from workers show that the training provided by UMN is inadequate and isn't offered in several key languages. Sometimes training isn't offered at all. Additionally, equipment isn't useful when there aren't enough employees to operate it." Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters. Contact: Gus Froemke, (612) 378-8732 [email protected] SOURCE Teamsters Local 320 Christopher H. Franklin elected as new independent director to the company's Board of Directors HOUSTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) announced the results of the voting by shareholders at its 2022 annual meeting held today. Shareholders approved the election of existing directors Wendy Montoya Cloonan, Earl M. Cummings, David J. Lesar, Raquelle W. Lewis, Martin H. Nesbitt, Theodore F. Pound, Phillip R. Smith, and Barry T. Smitherman to serve on the company's Board of Directors for one-year terms. Shareholders also elected Christopher H. Franklin as a new independent director to the company's Board of Directors for a one-year term. Since 1992, Franklin has served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Essential Utilities, Inc., formerly AquaAmerica, Inc., a public company providing regulated utilities, including water, wastewater and natural gas, to approximately 5 million customers in 10 states. He has served as CEO since 2015, and as Chairman since 2017. In addition to his service on the Board of Directors of Essential Utilities, Franklin previously served on the Board of ITC Holdings from 2011 to 2016. He is active in the Pennsylvania community where he serves on a number of nonprofit and higher education boards, including the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees and The Franklin Institute Board of Trustees. Franklin was named one of the Philadelphia Business Journal's Most Admired CEOs in 2017 and recognized by EY, formerly Ernst & Young, as an "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2019 for the acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Peoples and his many years of successful leadership in the utility industry. "We are very pleased to welcome Chris to our Board of Directors as CenterPoint Energy continues to refocus on its core regulated utility businesses," said Martin Nesbitt, Independent Chair of the Board. "We will benefit greatly from his extensive executive management experience, particularly with public regulated utilities, and his strategic leadership on major construction and capital projects. Chris' addition will further enhance the capabilities, experiences and skills we have represented on our Board." Regarding his appointment to the Board of Directors, Franklin said, "I am honored to serve as a director of CenterPoint Energy and look forward to working with my fellow directors and the company's management team. CenterPoint Energy continues to demonstrate a track record of execution and performance, with actions to align its interests more closely with those of its shareholders and customers. I also look forward to supporting the company's long-term strategy to position it as a premium utility with industry-leading growth." Franklin earned his Bachelor of Science degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from Villanova University. Shareholders also approved the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2022 and the adoption of the CenterPoint Energy, Inc. 2022 Long-Term Incentive Plan. The advisory resolution on executive compensation was not approved by shareholders. "We appreciate that our shareholders recognized CenterPoint Energy's Long-Term Incentive Plan is designed to attract and retain the talent to execute the company's long-term growth strategy, is consistent with its pay-for-performance philosophy, and aligns with the interests of all stakeholders," said CenterPoint Energy Board Member and Compensation Committee Chair Ted Pound. "We also value and respect the perspectives of our shareholders, and the Board will take their views on executive compensation into consideration as we evaluate an approach that will serve the company and our investors." About CenterPoint Energy As the only investor-owned electric and natural gas utility based in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned approximately $38 billion in assets with approximately 9,400 employees. CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com. For more information contact Media: Communications [email protected] Investors: Jackie Richert Phone 713.207.6500 SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc. "A founding figure of Native American modernism, George Morrison challenged prevailing ideas of what Native American art should be, arguing that an artist's identity can exist independently from the nature of the art he creates," said Steve Monteith, chief customer and marketing officer and dedicating official for today's ceremony at Grand Portage National Monument. "The Postal Service today is honoring Morrison with this pane of 20 stamps featuring five of his abstract landscapes." Critical success came early for Morrison, who had his first solo exhibition in New York City in 1948. This exhibition was followed by shows around the country. In 1952, he received a Fulbright scholarship and spent a year studying European art in France. In the decade following his return to the United States, he taught at several schools before joining the faculty at Rhode Island School of Design in 1963. Morrison remains a leading light of art in Minnesota and of U.S. modernism. In 2004, he was one of two artists featured in the inaugural exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, and a widely lauded retrospective of his work traveled the nation from 2013 through 2015. In 2018, a 200-piece granite mosaic pavement first created by Morrison in 1992 was restored and reinstalled at the popular outdoor shopping and dining mall Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis. The pane of 20 Forever stamps showcases five of Morrison's abstract landscapes: First row: "Sun and River," 1949, watercolor and crayon on paper. Second row: "Phenomena Against the Crimson: Lake Superior Landscape," 1985, acrylic on canvas. Third row: "Lake Superior Landscape," 1981, acrylic on canvas. Fourth row: "Spirit Path, New Day, Red Rock Variation: Lake Superior Landscape," 1990, acrylic and pastel on paper. Last row: Untitled, 1995, color pencil on paper. The selvage features a photograph of Morrison at Red Rock, his home and studio in Grand Portage, MN. The art director was Antonio Alcala. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #GeorgeMorrisonStamps. Background George Morrison was born on Sept. 30, 1919, in Chippewa City, MN, a now vanished fishing village on the north shore of Lake Superior. When he was 9 years old, doctors discovered that he had contracted tuberculosis in his left hip, which required surgery and more than a year of recovery, much of it in a full body cast. To pass the time during his long convalescence, he began to draw, displaying a considerable talent. This talent eventually led him in 1938 to the Minneapolis School of Art (now the Minneapolis College of Art and Design). Following graduation in 1943, he moved to New York City and continued his studies at the Art Students League. Throughout the 1960s, Morrison spent summers on Massachusetts' Cape Cod, collecting driftwood that he used to create large abstract collages he called "paintings in wood." Made from pieces of varying color and shape that he fitted together like an intricate puzzle, Morrison's wood collages are inspired not only by the New England landscape but also by his childhood home on Lake Superior. The knots and whorls of the weather-beaten wood evoke wind and waves, cloud formations, rocky beaches, and the sun or moon. Morrison chose the longest piece of wood to represent a horizon line. The horizon line represents the space where sky and water meet, marking the boundary between known and unknown. In 1968, one of Morrison's driftwood collages won the grand prize at the Fourth Invitational Exhibition of Indian Arts and Crafts in Washington, DC, marking a significant turning point in his career. Until then, his work had been rejected for juried exhibitions of Native American art because its style was, in Morrison's words, "not Indian enough." By the late 1960s, critical views of what constituted Native American art had begun to broaden, freeing Native artists from preconceived notions of what their work should encompass. Morrison left Rhode Island in 1970 to teach studio art and Native American studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The return to his home state coincided with growing interest in Native American identity across the country. It also contributed to Morrison's conscious awareness of his own Anishinaabe, or Chippewa, identity even as he continued to refine his modernist vision. By the mid-1980s, Morrison had retired from teaching and settled in a custom-built studio on the Grand Portage Reservation overlooking Lake Superior, not far from where he had grown up. Poor health prevented him from creating the large-scale pieces he had produced in years past. Nevertheless, he created an astonishing number of works of art in the 1980s and 1990s. Key among them was the Horizon series, a group of small, abstract paintings that capture the ever-changing moods of Lake Superior. Morrison kept working until he died in 2000 at his home on Lake Superior. Postal Products Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps , by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Please Note: For U.S. Postal Service media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube channel, like us on Facebook and enjoy our Postal Posts blog. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com. Contact: Tatiana Roy [email protected] usps.com/news SOURCE U.S. Postal Service In-Scope: SaaS: The adoption of SaaS helps enterprises in eliminating expenses and complexities associated with managing hardware and software required to run applications. Moreover, SaaS also enables easy access to IoT , data analytics , and AI platforms, which aids businesses in making business decisions. As a result, there will be a high demand for SaaS solutions. The growth of the SaaS market segment is expected to be significant during the forecast period. Out-of-Scope: IaaS PaaS Download sample report to gain further insights on the market contribution of various segments Moreover, the report also provides Value Chain Analysis which helps companies gain a competitive advantage in the market. The Value Chain of the Cloud Computing Market includes the following core components: Inputs Engineering phase Operations Marketing and sales Support activities Innovations Highlights- Segmentation- The report extensively covers market segmentation by Service (SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS) and Geography ( North America , Europe , APAC, South America , and MEA) The report extensively covers market segmentation by Service (SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS) and Geography ( , , APAC, , and MEA) Key Companies- Adobe Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., Salesforce.com Inc., and SAP SE among others Adobe Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., Salesforce.com Inc., and SAP SE among others Driver- Increased inclination toward cloud computing for cost-cutting to drive the market Increased inclination toward cloud computing for cost-cutting to drive the market Challenge- System integration issues will hamper the market growth Get Report Sample : for more additional information about the Cloud Computing Market Vendor Insights- The cloud computing market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as product development to compete in the market. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP - In March 2021 , HPE launched a new portfolio of AMD EPYC processor-based offerings and claimed #1 position in performance, energy efficiency, database analytic workloads, and Java applications. In , HPE launched a new portfolio of AMD EPYC processor-based offerings and claimed #1 position in performance, energy efficiency, database analytic workloads, and Java applications. International Business Machines Corp - In March 2021 , IBM announced a collaboration with the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) to provide skills-based training courses on the National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 2.0 platform. In , IBM announced a collaboration with the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) to provide skills-based training courses on the National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) 2.0 platform. Oracle Corp - In October 2020 , the company launched Oracle Cloud Observability and Management platform, which is a suite of services to enable better visibility and insight across both cloud-native and traditional technologies, whether deployed in multicloud or on-premises environments Download Sample Report to find additional highlights on the vendors and their product offerings. Learn More about the Key Driver & Challenge of the Market- Cloud Computing Market Driver: Increased inclination toward cloud computing for cost-cutting: SMEs have started opting for public solutions to scale up or scale down the hardware and resources. Apart from CAPEX reduction, cloud computing solutions can facilitate faster storage, processing, and communication lines. Clouds also enable the deployment of applications without the need for provisioning hosting capabilities. Cloud services provide security, facilitate optimum use of resources, and provide the reliability of a normal dedicated server and cloud resources. The above-mentioned factors are increasing revenue generation for vendors, contributing to the growth of the cloud computing market size. The increased inclination toward cloud computing for cost-cutting is one of the significant factors driving the market growth. Cloud Computing Market Challenge: System integration issues: The system integration issues will be a major factor challenging the cloud computing market. Various enterprises are adopting cloud computing services, such as IaaS , PaaS , and SaaS solutions, as they are cost-effective and an alternative to traditional IT deployments. However, there are challenges when implementing cloud services at an enterprise scale to ensure smooth integration of the new systems with the enterprises existing infrastructure. Some of the significant issues associated with system integration are, connecting to monolithic systems, different business units viewing data differently, and choosing the right tool for integration. In modern connectivity and IT infrastructure, an integration tool must support hybrid integration which allows on-premise applications to seamlessly integrate with cloud-based applications. Therefore, enterprises find it challenging to choose the right tool. Download sample report to find additional information about various other market Drivers & Challenges Didn't Find What You Were Looking For? Customize Report- Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time. Speak to our Analyst now! to take full advantage of every opportunity using competitive analysis created just for you. Here are Some Similar Topics- Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) market share is expected to increase by USD 9.99 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 30.07%. To get more exclusive research insights: Download Sample Report Public Cloud Services Market by Service and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022 -2026: The public cloud services market share is expected to increase by USD 221.84 billion from 2021 to 2026, at a CAGR of 19%. To get more exclusive research insights: Download Sample Report Cloud Computing Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 17% Market growth 2021-2025 $ 287.03 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 20.37 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 40% Key consumer countries US, China, UK, Germany, and Japan Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Adobe Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., Salesforce.com Inc., and SAP SE Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for forecast period, Customization preview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market 2.2 Market characteristics Exhibit 02: Market Characteristics 2.3 Value chain analysis Exhibit 03: Value chain analysis - Internet services and infrastructure 2.3.1 Inputs 2.2.2 Engineering phase 2.3.3 Operations 2.3.5 Marketing and sales 3. Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 3.5 Impact of COVID-19 on market and recovery from pandemic 4. Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Analysis Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 5. Market Segmentation by Application by Service 5.1 Market segments The segments covered in this chapter are: SaaS IaaS PaaS Exhibit 15: Service - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Service Exhibit 16: Comparison by Service 5.3 SaaS - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 17: SaaS - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 18: SaaS - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 IaaS - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 19: IaaS - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 20: IaaS - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 PaaS - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 21: PaaS - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 22: PaaS - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.6 Market opportunity by Service Exhibit 23: Market opportunity by Service 6. Customer landscape Technavio's customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers of price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rates and Key purchase criteria Exhibit 24: Customer landscape 7. Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation ??The regions covered in the report are: North America Europe APAC South America MEA In 2020, North America dominated the global cloud computing market, followed by markets in Europe, APAC, South America and MEA. Exhibit 25: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 26: Geographic comparison 7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 27: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 28: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 29: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 30: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 31: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 32: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 33: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 34: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-202 Exhibit 35: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) Exhibit 36: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 37: Key leading countries 7.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 38: Market opportunity by geography 8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.1.1 Increased inclination towards cloud computing for cost-cutting 8.1.2 Rise in adoption of cloud among SMEs 8.1.3 Control over data backup and recovery 8.2 Market challenges 8.2.1 System integration issues 8.2.2 Network connectivity issues and latency 8.2.3 Vendor lock-in and operational complexities Exhibit 39: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 8.3.1 Increased inclination for private cloud for enhanced data security 8.3.2 Strategic partnerships and collaborations between market participants 8.3.3 Increase in cloud orchestration and cloud management software 9. Vendor Landscape 9.1 Vendor landscape Exhibit 40: Vendor landscape 9.2 Landscape disruption The potential for the disruption of the market landscape was moderate in 2020, and its threat is expected to remain unchanged by 2025. Landscape disruption Exhibit 42: Industry risks 10. Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 43: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 44: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 Adobe Inc. Exhibit 45: Adobe Inc. - Overview Exhibit 46: Adobe Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 47: Adobe Inc. - Key news Exhibit 48: Adobe Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 49: Adobe Inc. - Segment focus 10.4 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Exhibit 50: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 51: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 52: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Key news Exhibit 53: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 54: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Segment focus 10.5 Alphabet Inc. Exhibit 55: Alphabet Inc. - Overview Exhibit 56: Alphabet Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 57: Alphabet Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 58: Alphabet Inc. - Segment focus 10.6 Amazon.com Inc. Exhibit 59: Amazon.com Inc. - Overview Exhibit 60: Amazon.com Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 61: Amazon.com Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 62: Amazon.com Inc. - Segment focus 10.7 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP Exhibit 63: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP - Overview Exhibit 64: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP - Business segments Exhibit 65: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP - Key news Exhibit 66: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP - Key offerings Exhibit 67: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP - Segment focus 10.8 International Business Machines Corp. Exhibit 68: International Business Machines Corp. - Overview Exhibit 69: International Business Machines Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 70: International Business Machines Corp. - Key news Exhibit 71: International Business Machines Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 72: International Business Machines Corp. - Segment focus 10.9 Microsoft Corp. Exhibit 73: Microsoft Corp. - Overview Exhibit 74: Microsoft Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 75: Microsoft Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 76: Microsoft Corp. - Segment focus 10.10 Oracle Corp. Exhibit 77: Oracle Corp. - Overview Exhibit 78: Oracle Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 79: Oracle Corp. - Key news Exhibit 80: Oracle Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 81: Oracle Corp. - Segment focus 10.11 Salesforce.com Inc. Exhibit 82: Salesforce.com Inc. - Overview Exhibit 83: Salesforce.com Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 84: Salesforce.com Inc. - Key offerings 10.12 SAP SE Exhibit 85: SAP SE - Overview Exhibit 86: SAP SE - Business segments Exhibit 87: SAP SE - Key news Exhibit 88: SAP SE - Key offerings Exhibit 89: SAP SE - Segment focus 11. Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.1.1 Market definition 11.1.2 Objectives 11.1.3 Notes and caveats 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 90: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research methodology Exhibit 91: Research Methodology Exhibit 92: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 93: Information sources 11.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 94: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Necessary Step in Response to Steel Partners' and Warren Lichtenstein's Continuing Refusal to Set a Date for 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders Committee Particularly Concerned By Lichtenstein's Filing of HSR Notice To Acquire Up to $1.0098 Billion in Aerojet Rocketdyne Shares If Elected at the Special Meeting, Independent Director Slate to Take a Fresh Look at Strategic Landscape and Continue to Seek to Maximize Stockholder Value EL SEGUNDO, Calif., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eileen Drake (Aerojet Rocketdyne's CEO) and Gen. Kevin Chilton (Ret.), Thomas Corcoran and Gen. Lance Lord (Ret.) (three of its Independent Directors) announced today that they will be commencing a solicitation of consents to call a special meeting of stockholders of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD). The special meeting will be proposed for June 21, 2022, to elect a new Board of Directors. This is a necessary step in light of Executive Chairman Warren Lichtenstein's and his associates' continuing refusal to agree to a date certain for the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders. Below is a copy of the letter issued to Aerojet Rocketdyne stockholders by Ms. Drake, Gen. Chilton, Mr. Corcoran and Gen. Lord on behalf of the Committee for Aerojet Rocketdyne Shareholders and Value Maximization: Dear Fellow Stockholders: For close to two months we have sought to establish a specific annual meeting date so that stockholders of Aerojet Rocketdyne get the opportunity to decide for themselves the composition of their Board of Directors. During this time Steel Partners, Warren Lichtenstein and their associates on the Board have actively thwarted that effort. The record is clear that Mr. Lichtenstein's desire to delay the 2022 annual meeting date only occurred after Ms. Drake delivered notice of an alternative highly-qualified slate of truly independent directors on February 28, 2022. Prior to delivery of the notice, Mr. Lichtenstein insisted that an annual meeting should occur in early June "at the latest." At the current pace, an annual meeting might not be scheduled until as late as August or September based on recent communications from Mr. Lichtenstein's advisors. While obstructing any and all efforts to set an annual meeting date, earlier this month Mr. Lichtenstein filed with antitrust regulators a notice of intent to acquire up to $1.0098 billion in Aerojet Rocketdyne shares, which would increase his ownership to over 30% of the outstanding shares effectively giving Mr. Lichtenstein and Steel Partners de facto control over your Company without any control premium. Given the deadlock in the Boardroom that he has created, and Mr. Lichtenstein's unwillingness to recuse himself notwithstanding the clear conflict of interest that exists, the Board is unable to respond to this situation. As a result of Mr. Lichtenstein's obstructionist behavior and ensuing deadlock, the Board has been unable to form a committee of independent directors to even begin to address his notice of intention to acquire a significant stake in the Company's shares. All facts that are conveniently omitted from his 13D beneficial ownership reports and proxy soliciting materials. Mr. Lichtenstein has also continued his campaign of pressing officers and employees to provide a high volume of company data, which we believe is only intended to facilitate his campaign and efforts to acquire control of Aerojet Rocketdyne without paying a premium. This imposes a significant burden on the Aerojet Rocketdyne team while they are hard at work operating the Company at this important time. No similar effort to educate himself about the Company was mounted by Mr. Lichtenstein in his long tenure at the Company. It is a testament to our employees' work ethics and commitment that they continue to deliver the services our customers expect in the midst of this situation, and we commend them for doing so. For the reasons described above we have decided to commence a solicitation to call a special meeting on June 21, 2022 so that stockholders can select a new eight-member Board of Directors and put an end to the costs and burdens Mr. Lichtenstein is inflicting on the Company with his zeal to pursue endless litigation against board members and related management distractions. Of course, we hope that Mr. Lichtenstein and his associates on the Board agree to hold an annual meeting earlier than that date, but we are compelled to take this step to ensure that stockholders have the ability to a make a choice and end a board deadlock that is not in the best interests of any of our stakeholders. We will need the support of holders of at least 25% of the outstanding shares to call the special meeting, and we look forward to engaging with our fellow stockholders to promptly complete this step that would allow stockholders to make a choice on the directors that will represent them on the Board. If elected at the special meeting in June, we are committed to work with our proposed slate of director nominees to take a fresh look at the strategic landscape as we continue to seek to maximize stockholder value. We thank you in advance for your support. Sincerely, Committee for Aerojet Rocketdyne Shareholders and Value Maximization Shareholders with questions can contact our solicitor: D.F. King & Co., (212) 269-5550 (collect) or via e-mail at [email protected]. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Richards, Layton & Finger, PA and Ballard Spahr LLP are legal counsel for the Committee for Aerojet Rocketdyne Shareholders and Value Maximization. Important Information This communication is being sent in our individual capacity, and not on or behalf of Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc (the "Company"). No Company resources were used in connection with these materials. Eileen P. Drake, General Kevin Chilton, USAF (Ret.), General Lance Lord, USAF (Ret.) and Thomas Corcoran (the "Incumbent Directors") will file a solicitation statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the solicitation of agent designations to call a special meeting of stockholders of the Company. The Incumbent Directors will furnish the definitive solicitation statement to its stockholders, together with a WHITE agent designation card. STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ THE SOLICITATION STATEMENT BECAUSE IT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Shareholders may obtain a free copy of the solicitation statement, any amendments or supplements to the solicitation statement and other documents that the Incumbent Directors file with the SEC from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The Incumbent Directors together with Gail Baker, Marion Blakey, Charles Bolden and Deborah Lee James may be deemed participants in the solicitation of agent designations from stockholders. Information about the participants is set forth in (1) the Company's Proxy Statement for its last Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 19, 2021 and (2) the definitive proxy materials filed by the Incumbent Directors on March 28, 2022. Both documents are available for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Contact : D.F. King & Co., Inc. Edward T. McCarthy / Tom Germinario [email protected] SOURCE Committee for Aerojet Rocketdyne Shareholders and Value Maximization IPLOOK's FWA solution enables Connect to deliver fast and reliable 4G LTE Connectivity to Residential and Enterprise Customers while significantly lowering TCO HONG KONG, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IPLOOK Technologies, the leader in end-to-end mobile network solution, announced it has been selected by Connect, one of the leading Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) in Liberia, to deploy 4G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solution, delivering ultra-fast connections and rich customer experience for residentials and enterprises. In the highly competitive Liberia market, the region has the demand for high-bandwidth services. As one of the leaders in telecommunications, Connect is committed to bringing state-of-the-art internet and intranet services to Liberia's people at a competitive price. After a range of full-scale and trusted validation, IPLOOK was successfully selected to deploy the full turnkey 4G mobile network solution, that will provide high-speed broadband service to areas where fiber is unavailable or very expensive to build. With IPLOOK's help, Connect delivered a fast and reliable LTE network offering to residential and enterprise customers, that will usher in a new phase of growth. Connect expects to significantly upgrade its 5G network in the near future and develop more advancing network services to better meet the requirements from its customers. "Connect Services Liberia is an instant high-speed wireless broadband internet provider, that allows you to get connected anywhere you go," said Jubran El Ayan, CTO of Connect. "We've selected IPLOOK as it is the best company capable of fulfilling our requirement for a scalable EPC (4G core network) platform. Moreover, they are pragmatic, flexible and with timely manner for service." "IPLOOK is honored to become the trusted partner of Connect. Our flexible FWA solution enables Connect to rapidly roll out 4G services to address their customers' needs and win in the marketplace. In the future, we will continue to support the upgrade of 5G network," said Frank Li, Sales Director in MENA Region at IPLOOK Technologies. Contact us: E-mail: [email protected] About Connect Services Liberia Connect seeks to keep delivering the latest broadband services in the field, preserving a true competitive advantage and meeting all customer expectations. Being connected with people, whenever and wherever they are in the fast-paced world, inspired Connect to deliver an extensive line-up that comprises Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), high quality high-speed wireless broadband access as well as data center and hosting solutions. About IPLOOK Established in 2012, IPLOOK Technologies is a leading vendor of 4G/5G networking solutions, offers a complete line of products for mobile operators, mobile virtual operators, service providers, enterprises and industrial markets. We help build, expand and optimize your networks to fulfill the growing connectivity needs, with a dramatically lower cost of ownership. Reach out more at https://www.iplook.com/. Follow IPLOOK on LinkedIn @IPLOOK Technologies SOURCE IPLOOK Technologies New RCM Product harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning PHILADELPHIA, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Data-Core Healthcare is pleased to announce that they will be exhibiting at the Emergency Department Practice Management Association's Premier Event, EDPMA Solutions Summit 2022, being held at Amelia Island, Florida from April 24th to April 27th. Data-Core Healthcare will be showcasing their "EOB-835 Converter", developed on Ruzivo which is Data-Core's proprietary AI/ML platform created specifically to gain valuable insights from healthcare Revenue Cycle data. Visitors at the Solution Summit can also learn how Data-Core Healthcare can help healthcare organizations optimize their revenue cycle by leveraging the company's extensive technical capabilities, infrastructure, resources, and quality processes. Attendees will also get a sneak peek into the upcoming AI/ML based Denial Manager Tool that leverages the inherent technological strengths of the Ruzivo platform to minimize denials and improve DSO. About Data-Core Healthcare Data-Core Healthcare is a division of Data-Core Systems, headquartered in the greater Philadelphia area. For over 23 years, Data-Core Healthcare has built its reputation on the timeliness, cost effectiveness, and quality of its services. With the Ruzivo platform, Data-Core Healthcare brings a world-class integration of AI/ML technology with proven RCM processes to deliver maximum value to the healthcare providers. For more information, visit www.datacorehealthcare.com. Contact: McDonald Ford, Business Development Manager; M: 267-449-3921, [email protected] SOURCE Data-Core Healthcare Dunn Paper Holdings, Inc. (Dunn Paper or the "Company") obtains forbearance related to its missed March 31, 2022 interest payment from senior lenders. interest payment from senior lenders. New money financing provides liquidity to continue operating the business in the ordinary course, including maintaining valuable relationships with customers and suppliers, and runway to complete a comprehensive financial restructuring to reduce the Company's debt to a sustainable level Wade Kemnitz appointed to Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and is now both President and CEO. appointed to Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and is now both President and CEO. David Coles of Alvarez & Marsal appointed as Chief Restructuring Officer ("CRO") to assist with the financial restructuring process, enabling the remainder of the Company's officers to focus on operating the business in the ordinary course. of Alvarez & Marsal appointed as Chief Restructuring Officer ("CRO") to assist with the financial restructuring process, enabling the remainder of the Company's officers to focus on operating the business in the ordinary course. The Board of Directors expands with the addition of two independent directors, Leslie Lederer and Timothy Pohl . Mr. Lederer and Mr. Pohl will join Michael Zendan on the Company's Transaction Committee, which will oversee the Company's recapitalization efforts to ensure its capital structure and liquidity position the company for long-term success ALPHARETTA, Ga., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dunn Paper, a leading paper, tissue, and packaging products manufacturer announced today that it has obtained a new credit facility in order to facilitate the financial restructuring necessary to strengthen its balance sheet and position the Company for future success. The Company has also obtained a forbearance from its senior lenders related to its missed March 31, 2022 interest payment. Wade Kemnitz, President and CEO of Dunn said, "Today is an important first step toward a more sustainable capital structure. The new credit facility and the support shown by our lenders demonstrate the underlying value of our business as we execute our business plan and continue operating in the ordinary course with our customers and suppliers." The proceeds of the new credit facility, together with cash generated from daily operations and cash on hand, will be used to fund operating and recapitalization-related expenses. Dunn's management team will continue to manage both the U.S. and Canadian businesses. The Company expects to use the time afforded to it under the forbearance to negotiate the terms of a value-maximizing transaction that will result in a more sustainable long-term capital structure. Mr. Kemnitz stated, "The current and recent business environment for pulp and other key inputs has led to declining profitability. These factors, together with supply chain disruptions and contractions in trade credit, have resulted in elevated leverage. Dunn's focus has always been on serving its customers, acting as a valued partner to its suppliers, and providing a safe, engaging environment for its employees. Once our recapitalization efforts are complete, I'm confident the Company can return to profitable growth in the various segments in which we excel and where our customers rely on us to serve their packaging and absorbent tissue needs. I'd like to thank our valued customers and suppliers who have supported us over what has been a challenging last twelve months. We intend to continue honoring their ongoing support throughout this process and beyond." In order to help facilitate the Company's financial restructuring, Dunn Paper's Board of Directors has named David Coles as Chief Restructuring Officer. Mr. Coles is a seasoned financial restructuring expert and a Managing Director of Alvarez and Marsal, a leading restructuring firm. The expansion of the Board augments the Board's capabilities with seasoned paper industry experience and additional restructuring expertise. The three-person Transaction Committee is tasked with negotiating and promptly implementing a financial restructuring that will position the Company for future success, while causing limited to no disruption to operations. About Dunn Paper Dunn Paper is a leading manufacturer and supplier of advanced paper, tissue, and packaging products for use in food, medical, and specialty markets. The company operates 7 paper mills across the United States and Canada and focuses on eco-friendly specialty paper and tissue. Dunn Paper also works with top converters allowing their sustainable paper products to have thousands of potential applications. The company's first mill opened in 1924, and in 2016 the company was acquired by Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm with a focus on premier companies in food, beverage, and related industries. Forward Looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to our new money credit facility and related matters. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, among other things: (i) the ability of Dunn Paper to develop, prosecute, confirm and consummate a restructuring; (ii) the ability of Dunn Paper to comply with the terms of the new money credit facility; (iii) Dunn Paper's ability to obtain additional financing, as necessary; and (iv) Dunn Paper's ability to retain key management and employees. Other factors and assumptions not identified above are also relevant to the forward-looking statements, and if they prove incorrect, could also cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based. Contact: Jerry Long, CFO [email protected] SOURCE Dunn Paper New capital secures growth acceleration in services for small to medium sized biopharmaceutical companies and further enhancement of quality control and innovative power OSS, Netherlands, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BioConnection, an independent CDMO (Contract Development Manufacturing Organization) based in Oss, The Netherlands, specialized in GMP-certified manufacturing of sterile drug products in vials and syringes, today announced the completion of a new capital raising led by the European investment company Gimv, and supported by existing shareholders Pharming Group N.V., Mibiton and BioConnection's own management. Financial details were not disclosed. Brabant Development Agency (BOM), one of BioConnection's founding investors, chose to divest its shareholding. The proceeds of this fresh funding will be used to help accelerate BioConnection's new growth by further strengthening of its organization and infrastructure, and enhancement of production capacity, quality control and innovative power. In addition, BioConnection will be able to leverage Gimv's vast network within the life sciences industry. Over the years BioConnection has developed into an all-round CDMO, perfectly scaled for servicing small to middle sized biopharmaceutical companies in the development and manufacturing of both larger volume one size-fits-all treatments, but since recently also targeted precision therapies or personalized medicine. In 2021, BioConnection was granted GMP Certification for production of sterile drug products on its brand-new large scale filling line, significantly increasing its annual production capacity up to 40 million vials for liquid products and up to 4 million vials for freeze-dried products. The new production line is validated as per the EMA and US-FDA quality guidelines. The pharmaceutical industry is evolving towards targeted drug delivery platforms, complex molecules such as biologics and niche indications, all of which require a wider range of development capabilities and manufacturing capacity to ensure accelerated speed to market. As a result, pharmaceutical companies, both large and small, look for strategic, integrated partners like BioConnection, that can seamlessly deliver on multiple verticals, thereby reducing complexity of their supplier network. In order to establish this next level in services, capacity, quality and to remain fully compliant with the constantly increasing regulatory demands, BioConnection foresees significant investments over the coming period. This will further increase the company's flexibility in production and will enable the insourcing of additional critical capacities such as formulation, analytical testing, and packaging. Elderd Land, Partner Health and care at Gimv the Netherlands, states: "We are impressed by the progress and positioning of BioConnection over the past decade. The quality of the facilities, the ability to serve and grow in the pharma and biotech sector and contribution to the overall development in the pharma space (i.e. personalized medicine) is unparalleled in this size bracket. We very much look forward to support Bioconnection through its next stage of growth and keep further building this already leading company focusing on small to medium biopharmaceuticals worldwide." BioConnection's CEO Alexander Willemse adds: "We are excited to welcome investment company Gimv as one of our new cornerstone investors. With the new shareholding structure BioConnection will be able to fund and further develop its human equity, infrastructure and service offering. This enables us to fulfill the needs of innovative (bio)pharmaceutical companies by meeting the highest quality CMO market requirements." About BioConnection BioConnection, based in Oss, The Netherlands, is a contract manufacturer for the GMP production of sterile drug products (in vials or syringes) for clinical trial programs and commercial purposes. Its state-of-the-art GMP manufacturing facility is EMA and US-FDA certified, the company has more than fifteen years of experience and serves a global customer base. BioConnection offers complete drug product service packages, including filling and freeze drying, technical transfer, scale-up, process validation, analytical support, stability studies, label & pack (incl. serialization) and final batch certification to clinic or market. Delivering from four aseptic filling lines (class A), BioConnection can match quantities that are required for personalized medications, clinical trial programs and commercial purposes. Learn more at www.bioconnection.eu About Gimv Gimv is a European investment company, listed on Euronext Brussels. With 40 years' experience in private equity, Gimv currently has EUR 2 billion of assets under management. The portfolio contains around 55 portfolio companies, with combined turnover of EUR 2.8 billion and 15,000 employees. As a recognized market leader in selected investment platforms, Gimv identifies entrepreneurial, innovative companies with high growth potential and supports them in their transformation into market leaders. Gimv's four investment platforms are Consumer, Health & Care, Smart Industries and Sustainable Cities. Each platform works with an experienced team across Gimv's home markets of Benelux, France and DACH, supported by an extended international network of experts Further information on Gimv can be found on www.gimv.com Contacts: BioConnection, Oss, The Netherlands Alexander Willemse, CEO T: +31 (0) 412 637 937 E: [email protected] Gimv Elderd Land, Partner Head of Gimv the Netherlands & Partner Health & Care T +31 70 3 618 600 E: [email protected] For Media: LifeSpring LifeSciences Communication, Amsterdam Leon Melens T: +31 6 538 16 427 E: [email protected] Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1697425/BioConnection_Logo.jpg SOURCE BioConnection Thoughtfully designed with the environmental footprint in mind, the Icon-Impact Collection features three styles which adapt the iconic look and feel of UGG. The Fluff Yeah Terry , Fuzz Sugar Terry Slide, and Fuzz Sugar Terry Cross Slide are crafted from low-impact materials with offsets purchased for the small number of emissions they create making the materials carbon neutral. Adapting the brand's signature look and feel, this textured terry twist on a few fan-favorite UGG styles feature a looped blend of Responsible Wool Standard-certified wool and TENCEL Lyocell sourced from responsibly-harvested trees. Adding SugarSole outsoles made with renewable sugarcane, it delivers all the ease expected from UGG in three standout sandals that help the wearer feel good in more ways than one. The latest update in the brand's ongoing FEEL GOOD initiative, the Icon-Impact Collection available now at UGG.com, UGG stores, and select retailers nationwide is just one way UGG is working to make positive strides for the planet. To maximize the brand's positive impact until April 29, 2022, UGG will once again partner with One Tree Planted to plant trees across the globe 3,950 in the USA Pacific Northwest and 10,000 in England which will create the potential to absorb six million pounds of carbon dioxide or more over the next two decades. UGG is on a journey toward a more regenerative future, and materials are a key area where it can reduce impact. The brand is working to integrate innovative, sustainable materials throughout its product line, using capsule collections like its Icon-Impact Collection to highlight these changes, and seeking better alternatives for conventionally used materials. Recently, UGG has pursued the use of preferred materials that lessen the environmental footprint when compared to conventional materials this is what the brand means when it says, "Soft on you, softer on the planet." For example, the brand's SugarSole foam is made with ethylene derived from renewable sugarcane, offering the same cushioned wearing experience as conventional EVA foam without relying upon fossil fuel-based ethylene. Additionally, the brand's signature UGGplush Terry is made from responsibly-sourced wool blended with plant-based TENCEL Lyocell from FSC-certified regenerated wood pulp with a recycled polyester backer delivering the same soft feel with a material that's softer on the planet. Finally, UGG is committed to finding more sustainable alternatives to its core fibers and maximizing its use of recycled, repurposed, regenerated, renewable, and certified or preferred natural fibers. This Earth Day, the global theme is 'Invest in Our Planet.' UGG is doing so by making its signature materials better for the Earth, pursuing regenerative farming programs that help restore soil, which creates greater biodiversity and opportunities to sequester carbon while preserving lands for future generations. Known as regenerative agriculture, this methodology of holistic land management ensures that farming is conducted the way nature intended, benefitting biodiversity and carbon sequestration. UGG is committed to finding solutions that benefit the environment and lessen impact on the Earth's resources. Building on the UGG brand's commitment last Earth Day to restore one million acres of farmland by 2025, the brand is proud to share its progress this Earth Day and will use the opportunity to tease a first-ever of its kind for the brand: the dual-gender Classic Mini Regenerate. Comprised of twinface sheepskin sourced from farms that practice regenerative agriculture, the Classic Mini Regenerate will be available in all sizes, for all ages and will be debuting in fall 2022. For more information on the UGG brand's sustainability mission, please visit FEELGOODFUTURE.UGG.COM, and for additional details on the Classic Mini Regenerate, see the brand's microsite. About UGG Founded in 1978 by an Australian surfer on the coast of California, UGG is a global lifestyle brand renowned for its iconic Classic boot. First worn by Hollywood royalty, fashion editors and then the world, UGG designs and retails footwear, apparel, accessories, and homewares with an uncompromising attitude toward quality and craftsmanship. UGG is an environmentally and socially conscious brand which strives to be socially just, economically inclusive, and environmentally restorative. Delivering more than $1.5 billion in annual sales, UGG partners with the best retailers globally and owns concept and outlet stores worldwide in key markets including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing. For more information, please visit www.ugg.com @ugg #FeelGood About FEEL. Launched in Autumn/Winter 2020, FEEL. is a product and brand truthuniquely ownable by UGG. It will be the unifying theme within which we execute brand stories and creative each season. About One Tree Planted One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. Their projects span the globe and are done in partnership with local communities and knowledgeable experts to create an impact for nature, people, and wildlife. Reforestation helps to rebuild forests after fires and floods, provide jobs for social impact, and restore biodiversity. Many projects have overlapping objectives, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. To learn more, visit onetreeplanted.org. HIGH-RES CONTENT Credit: UGG Press Contact: UGG Matty Magnin PR Manager Office: (212) 247-8552 x2772 Mobile: (917) 842-2391 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE UGG WASHINGTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- America's mayors continue to lead the fight against climate change through innovative policies and programs that are building climate resiliency, promoting the use of clean energy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in cities across the country. In recognition of the 52nd Earth Day, U.S. Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez released the following statement: "As mayors, we have a responsibility to protect our environment, our residents and our economies today and for future generations. In cities of all sizes, mayors are setting ambitious climate goals and making their cities cleaner, healthier, more resilient, and more equitable. This is a challenge on a global scale, requiring action across all levels of government, but it is mayors who are leading right now. With so much energy, enthusiasm and commitment at the local level, I am confident that together we can tackle the great challenge of our generation." Here are just a few examples of climate plans and initiatives from cities across America: Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler Austin has set a goal for all power in the city to be 100% carbon-free by 2035. To get there, the city has begun transitioning the city's fleet to electric vehicles, a step that will save the city an average of $1,300 per vehicle, or an estimated $3.5 million over the next ten years. Beverly, Massachusetts Mayor Michael Cahill Beverly has begun transitioning its school fleet to fully electric vehicles and is rapidly building electric vehicle charging infrastructure throughout the city. The city also recently opened a new police station heated and cooled by geothermal energy and has performed energy efficiency work in all schools and most city buildings. Charlotte, North Carolina Mayor Vi Lyles Charlotte has begun installing electric vehicle chargers throughout the city and converting the city's bus fleet to electric vehicles. In addition, the city is working to improve the efficiency of the public transit system, including by building new bicycle paths and greenways. Columbus, Ohio Mayor Andrew Ginther Columbus has developed a Climate Action Plan that aims to reduce emissions by 45% before 2030 and create a completely carbon neutral city by 2050. To meet this goal, the city has partnered with local electricity providers to launch the Clean Energy Columbus initiative, which will provide residents and businesses with affordable, Ohio-based renewable energy. Los Angeles, California Mayor Eric Garcetti Los Angeles has more than 500 megawatts of local solar power installed, enough to power over 140,000 homes. The city is also expanding its renewable portfolio with the Eland Solar and Storage Center, the largest solar and battery storage facility in the country, and the Red Cloud Wind Farm. Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles Mesa has set ambitious goals in its climate action plan, including attaining carbon neutrality and 100% renewable energy by 2050. To get there, the city recently purchased the first electric firetruck in the U.S. and is beginning to replace its entire fleet of light-duty trucks with electric vehicles. The city has also partnered with Arizona State University to put its wastewater to work by using algae-growing membranes to remove carbon dioxide and create oxygen, healthy biomass and biofuel. Honolulu, Hawaii Mayor Rick Blangiardi In 2016, Honolulu launched a new Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency. Since taking that step, the city has committed to being carbon neutral by 2045 and has quintupled its production of solar energy. Honolulu has also been upgrading city facilities through an Energy Service Company partnership, bringing electric vehicles into the city fleet and measuring energy and water usage in city facilities. Houston, Texas Mayor Sylvester Turner Houston recently transformed a former landfill into one of the largest urban solar farms in the country through the Sunnyside Landfill Solar Project. Tens of thousands of solar panels will soon produce enough energy to power 5,000 homes, meaning cleaner energy for the city and lower power bills for Sunnyside families. Phoenix, Arizona Mayor Kate Gallego Phoenix has been investing in public charging stations to incentivize people to purchase electric vehicles and recently unveiled 20 new charging stations at the Phoenix Zoo. The city is also committed to addressing heat issues, which is why the city launched a new Heat Response and Mitigation Office and an initiative to plant more trees, particularly in low-income communities. Sacramento, California Mayor Darrell Steinberg Sacramento is encouraging water conservation by offering rebates up to $1,500 for homeowners to replace their lawns with landscaping that will require less water to maintain. More than one million square feet of grass has been replaced since the program began, and the city has received more than 1,000 applications from residents who want to upgrade their irrigation systems, install smart irrigation controllers and replace their toilets. San Diego, California Mayor Todd Gloria Cities account for an estimated 70% of global CO2 emissions. In San Diego, Mayor Todd Gloria is exploring decarbonization strategies that would not only make the city more sustainable, but would create good-paying jobs in the process. His office recently released a study of building decarbonization policies to gauge impacts on the San Diego workforce via an ongoing clean-energy transition. Carmel, Indiana Mayor Jim Brainard Since 1997, Mayor Jim Brainard has installed more than 140 traffic roundabouts more than any other American city to reduce the city's carbon emissions. Since modern roundabouts don't have red lights where cars sit and idle, they don't burn as much gasoline. It's estimated that each roundabout saves about 20,000 gallons of fuel annually. San Jose, California Mayor Sam Liccardo Last year, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo pledged to make the city carbon neutral by the end of the decade, becoming one of the largest cities in the United States to have set the goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. And, under Mayor Liccardo's leadership, the City launched a community choice energy program that offers all San Jose residents cleaner, cheaper power than PG&E, with the option to upgrade to 100% renewable energy. The program reduces GHG emissions by more than 30%. Additional stories of mayors' innovation on climate action including Wichita, KS Mayor Brandon Whipple; Denver, CO Mayor Michael Hancock; New Orleans, LA Mayor LaToya Cantrell; Cambridge, MA Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui; and Miami, FL Mayor and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Francis Suarez are included in the U.S. Conference of Mayors' latest climate report: "Cities Advancing Climate Action: Leveraging Federal Funds for Local Impact A Resource Guide." This report was created by the Conference's Alliance for a Sustainable Future chaired by Salt Lake City, Utah Mayor Erin Mendenhall. About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors The first (RE)FORM Collection empowered by Looptworks will feature three bag styles, including a Bucket Bag, Hip Pack and Tote Bag, in four colorways made from damaged mineral wash cotton sweatshirts. "We're so excited to partner with a fellow Pacific Northwest-based company that aligns with our brand's sustainability goals," said Damien Huang, Eddie Bauer CEO. "Together with Looptworks, we can help minimize waste through new innovative means." To create the (RE)FORM Collection, damaged mineral wash cotton sweatshirts were sent from Eddie Bauer stores and warehouses to the Looptworks workshop in Portland, OR where they were deconstructed and transformed in to upcycled bags. Each bag is hand sewn and maximizes the use of the fabric elements, avoiding over 1600 pounds of waste, 277 metric tons of carbon emissions and saving over 1.6M gallons of water giving the mineral wash material a second life as stylish and functional bags. "Looptworks is pleased to bring our circularity solutions to Eddie Bauer," said Looptworks Founder and CEO, Scott Hamlin. "We look forward to partnering with Eddie Bauer to help them achieve their sustainability goals." About Eddie Bauer For more than 100 years, outdoor brand Eddie Bauer has been inspiring, enabling, and empowering people to live their adventure with products that are built to last. Their performance outerwear, apparel, footwear, accessories, and gear are available at eddiebauer.com and more than 200 stores in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Japan, and other international markets. About Looptworks Founded in 2009, Looptworks is a champion of the circular economy. A certified B Corporation and 2021 Best for the World award winner, Looptworks places as much value on protecting people and our environment as they do on growing a profitable business. Their mission to transform the world's excess textile materials into premium upcycled goods, recycled fibers and downcycled goods aims to eliminate global textile waste while inspiring people and businesses to reduce their impact on the planet. Looptworks embodies the philosophy to use what already exists, employing unique circular design principles to create their limited edition upcycled products. Their partnership provides zero-waste to landfill solutions for some of the world's biggest brands including Eddie Bauer, Adidas, SHEIN, the NBA, Alaska, Delta, and Southwest Airlines. Looptworks is based in Portland, Oregon. For more information about Looptworks and its additional partnerships, visit www.looptworks.com. SOURCE Eddie Bauer Through the solar-powered centers, eye care nonprofit Orbis is providing services benefitting over 2 million people in rural communities Five of the centers are women-run, promoting gender equity NEW YORK, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Earth Day, Orbis International announces the recent opening of 18 Green Vision Centers that are making quality eye care services more readily available for children in rural communities in India's Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal states. Each Center has been designed for minimal carbon impact and is strategically located to serve a population of over 100,000. Fourteen of the Centers opened with support from USAID and the Lavelle Fund for the Blind. All 18 Centers are run in coordination with Orbis local partners. Five of the new Green Vision Centers are run by women-led management teams receiving training from Orbis. Tamanna (right) is among 10 newly trained vision technicians. I want to take the learning I have gotten from the Vision Technicians course to greater heights," she says. "I want to use my skills to help people in need. I also want to add that possibilities from here on are limitless." Green Vision Centers are an innovative approach that not only improves the quality of eye health in communities that have traditionally lacked access to care, but also operates with sustainability at the forefront. The Centers run on solar power, a solution that is environmentally friendly and helps to overcome challenges caused by frequent power outages, ensuring that eye care remains uninterrupted regardless of access to electricity. Outreach teams at the Centers also leverage electric scooters while conducting local school and door-to-door screenings and creating awareness among the community. "More children are blind in India than in any other country, and in over half of cases, sight could be restored with early intervention and treatment," said Dr. Rishi Raj Borah, Country Director for Orbis India. "Ensuring that families can access their children's care close to home is critical to overcoming this challenge. That's why I'm so proud of the Green Vision Centers in operation today with all the potential they represent for children, for rural communities and for our planet." At the Green Vision Centers, children have free access to eye screenings, glasses and other eye care services. The centers also provide uninterrupted primary eye care services to the community. Routine eye screenings are critical to ensure that conditions are caught early, when they are most likely to be treatable. For complex cases in which more advanced care is needed, each center is connected with an existing hospital for referrals. Staff also conduct screenings and provide glasses to children in schools and day care centers located in the communities surrounding the centers. Five of the Green Vision Centers in West Bengal also address a variety of traditional barriers for women and girls. Orbis trained women-led management teams to run the centers, empowering women in the community through job creation and increasing their financial independence. Ten vision technicians and five community health workers have already been trained and employed to work in the new facilities. An added benefit of having female staff is that many women in rural communities in India are more likely to seek eye care for themselves and their children when it is administered by other women. [Learn more about the Green Vision Centers, community outreach on electric scooters and training for women here.] India was one of the first countries where Orbis established a local office, and the organization has made far-reaching impact for children in particular over the past two decades. When Orbis began working in India, pediatric ophthalmology was not yet seen as a distinct specialty in India, and there was only one eye care center for every 100 million children across the country. Over the years, Orbis has developed a comprehensive network of 33 Children's Eye Centers across 17 states, with one eye care center for every 20 million children. In total, Orbis has conducted more than 17.5 million pediatric eye screenings, provided medical and optical treatment to 1.6 million children, performed 103,000 surgeries on children and organized 180,000 ophthalmic trainings completed by doctors, nurses, community health workers and others in India. The 18 new Green Vision Centers, among 22 that Orbis established across India to date, are run in collaboration with local partners: the Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Center, Sitapur Eye Hospital, Poona Blind Men Association's HV Desai Eye Hospital, Little Flower Hospital and Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital. About Orbis International Orbis is a leading global non-governmental organization that has been a pioneer in the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness for four decades. Orbis transforms lives by delivering the skills, resources and knowledge needed to deliver accessible quality eye care. Working in collaboration with local partners, including hospitals, universities, government agencies and ministries of health, Orbis provides hands-on ophthalmology training, strengthens healthcare infrastructure and advocates for the prioritization of eye health on public health agendas. Orbis operates the world's only Flying Eye Hospital, a fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft, and an award-winning telemedicine platform, Cybersight. For the past ten consecutive years, Orbis has achieved Charity Navigator's coveted four-star rating for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency, placing Orbis in the top 3% of U.S. charities. In 2021, Orbis earned GuideStar's platinum Seal of Transparency. To learn more, please visit orbis.org. MEDIA CONTACT Orbis International Kristin Taylor [email protected] SOURCE Orbis International Holmes Murphy subsidiary looks to position, support, and align clients with Environmental, Social, and Governance standards and regulations WAUKEE, Iowa, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ethOs, a member of the Holmes Murphy brand family, announced the launch of a new, important, and timely offering called ESG Consulting Services. For many companies, the term ESG may be relatively new but growing in popularity with organizational leadership teams. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, and investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risk and growth opportunities. "Ready or not, the ESG era is already upon us and growing in emphasis, and ethOs understands the importance of helping companies prepare for changes," said Ali Payne, President of ethOs. "In fact, 2020 and 2021 were historic years for global regulation related to sustainability disclosure. In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission is placing a large emphasis on climate change, human capital, board diversity, cybersecurity risk, and ESG funds as key issues for policies and rulemaking. And, as we all know, the global pandemic has brought to light the importance of the WHOLE employee, their experience with a company, and their overall wellbeing. Companies are going to need to address each area of ESG sooner rather than later to support their internal employees, as well as to be competitive, and we're excited to say we have the experts on hand to help." ESG covers everything from a company's energy use; water usage; waste; and pollution to its labor; diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; employee health, safety, and wellbeing; pay equity; data integrity and cyber security; and internal controls and audits, just to name a few areas. As part of its ESG Consulting Services, the ethOs team can help companies learn how to leverage ESG as part of their purpose, people, culture, brand, and overall value proposition while also ensuring they're properly positioned to be competitive. "While ESG is still evolving and quite dynamic, the good news is that many companies are already excelling with certain components of ESG. They may simply just not know it," said Payne. "Through a 7- step process, our goal will be to highlight those, help companies expand upon them, identify any new opportunities or challenges to address, and assist them with the development of an enterprise strategy that aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)." EthOs has a team of experts with more than 30 years of ESG experience who can consult with companies, position them to be ready and aligned with future ESG regulations, and highlight their ESG efforts to support the organizations, stakeholders, suppliers, communities, and the investors they work with. To learn more about ethOs' ESG Consulting Services, please visit: https://www.yourethos.com/environmental-social-and-governance-consulting-services/. About ethOs EthOs works with organizations to enhance the employee experience by empowering their employees to bring their best self to work every day and fully engage in the organization's purpose. Our approach is to bring together all areas of wellbeing to look at the whole employee and how we can impact their wellbeing. Culture is strongly tied to organizational wellbeing and employee engagementour opportunity lies in building a culture that supports the behaviors which will lead to a healthy and engaged workforce. For more information, visit us on Facebook and LinkedIn at @yourethos or Twitter at @ethosengagement Contact: Adam Scheurenbrand (515) 205-4080 [email protected] SOURCE ethOs DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "European Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Growth Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The study will help firms to identify growth opportunities and formulate go-to-market strategies that improve competitiveness in the nascent European military UAV market as it navigates changes, including the need to counter Russia and the growing US expectation for increased European involvement in the global war on terror. Recent developments in the European military UAV space are impacting the region's defense market, its competitive landscape, and its military posture. The European defense establishment supports the emerging trend of military drones due to evolving national security threats, especially the Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. In addition, the Biden administration's strategic focus on China boosts NATO's interest in military UAVs to counter near-peer adversaries, thereby pushing the region to increase RDT&E and procurements efforts in this defense domain. During the forecast period, the European military UAV market is expected to evolve due to the emerging indigenous market, the rising military demand for different types of military UAV platforms, UAVs' focus on ISR and offensive tasks, and specific budget and project allocations for UAV platforms and subsystems. This research service explores the trends in the European military UAV space and examines the impact of the changing geopolitical landscape, US and Israeli dominance, and emerging military doctrine to confront modern battlefield challenges. The study investigates the future of European military UAVs, and it takes into account global perspectives and forecasts. It focuses on 5 important European countries, that is, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. The study also examines Eastern Europe's growing demand for military UAVs, which could be used as a solution to counter Russian military aggression and mitigate some of Moscow's quantitative and qualitative military edge in the region. Future expectations covered in the study include the prioritization of UAV armed drones, the proliferation of tactical, small, and mini drones, and the US impact on the market. The study also highlights EU and NATO activities and initiatives in the region and their impact on the competitive landscape, RDT&E initiatives, and national efforts in terms of military drones. Key Topics Covered: 1. Strategic Imperatives Why is it Increasingly Difficult to Grow? The Strategic Imperative The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on the European Military UAV Industry Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine 2. Growth Opportunity Analysis What You Need To Know First Trends Challenges European Military UAV's Evolving Concept of Operations (ConOps) Growth Drivers Growth Driver Analysis Growth Restraints Growth Restraint Analysis 3. Market Overview Market Segmentation Key Competitors Leading European Military UAV Platforms (Based on Categories) European Military UAV Projection 4. Leading European Military UAV Country Profiles Turkey The United Kingdom France Germany Italy Military UAV Country Outlook - Eastern Europe : 2022-2025 : 2022-2025 NATO and the EU in the Military UAV Domain Military UAV Joint Nation Programs - Europe : 2021 : 2021 Military UAV Multiyear Programs - Europe : 2021 5. Growth Opportunity Universe Growth Opportunity 1: Proliferation of Armed Drones to Meet Operational Needs Growth Opportunity 2: Tactical, Small and Mini Drones to Drive Market Growth Growth Opportunity 3: M&As as the Dominant Business Model to Shift the Competitive Landscape in the Market Growth Opportunity 4: Acquisition of Low-cost Operational Capabilities Against Internal and External Threats 6. Appendix NATO Military UAV Classification For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dxqrrf Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Last January, Civitas committed to plug 42 oil and gas wells that were orphaned by previous operators in and around Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert, Larimer, and Weld counties of Colorado, an effort in line with the nonprofit's mission of leveraging oil and gas knowledge to assist with environmental cleanup for future generations. Orphaned wells are often of older vintage and left in poor condition, and can emit greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide, which amplify the effects of climate change. The state of Colorado would have been responsible for plugging these abandoned wells without Civitas' commitment. "We are excited to award Civitas with our first Environmentalist of the Year award. Our nonprofit is committed to recognizing those in the oil and gas space doing their part to ensure a clean and healthy environment for future generations. We believe it is important that operators like Civitas leverage their expertise and resources to address the unfortunate legacy of orphaned wells and we call on other operators to follow this example in charitable cleanup efforts." Staci Taruscio, Co-Founder + Board Chairman, Fellow Environmental Partners "We are proud to be recognized for our recent commitment to voluntarily plug orphaned wells within our operating areas on the Front Range of Colorado," said Brian Cain, Chief Sustainability Officer at Civitas Resources. "We believe this is a significant commitment because it covers all orphaned wells known to the COGCC as of January 1 throughout the Front Range where most of the Colorado's population is located. We encourage our peers in the oil and gas industry to make similar commitments to voluntarily plug orphaned wells located near their current or legacy operations to ease this burden on taxpayers and demonstrate our desire as an industry to leave our areas of operation in better shape than we found them." Civitas Resources, Inc Civitas Resources is joined by Project Canary, a Denver based climate technology company, who is deploying its continuous emissions monitoring technology to monitor and verify emissions using its TrustWell environmental assessment services for all 42 wells in the orphan well project. Project Canary's technology will ensure the wells are properly plugged and not emitting greenhouse gases. "If orphaned wells are left unplugged they can emit dangerous greenhouse gasses like methane and VOCs. As a B-Corp, accountability is part of our DNA and we're proud to partner with Civitas to drive real, measurable change. Responsible environmental stewardship means improving upon the past while keeping our eyes firmly on the futureas a part of our Project Canary: Impact program we are committed to continuing these outreach programs across the United States." Chris Romer, CEO, Project Canary To select a recipient for the first inaugural Environmentalist of the Year award, Fellow Environmental Partners, made a nationwide call for nominations. Submissions were received via an online application on fellowenviro.org during the 2022 application period and were voted on by a committee. Additional awards program information, can be found here. About Fellow Environmental Partners (FEP) is a 501(c)(3) founded in April 2021 by a team of volunteers dedicated to leveraging energy expertise to research and reclaim orphaned oil and gas wells, bridging the gap between the past and solutions for a sustainable future. Fellow's first field project was completed in 2021 with other work including educational events https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7vu8xiPb4MJxXvPFkSt0AQ, authorship of a carbon credit methodology with American Carbon Registry, Infrastructure Law collaboration at state and federal levels, having built a database prioritizing US inventory, inspection, measurement and impact of orphan wells. FEP is celebrating their first anniversary with transparent communication of work done and data in place to justify it at FEP's core. In its second year, FEP is focused on maximizing the impact of orphan well plugging work. Fellow Environmental Partners Brooke Swain 918-524-9717 [email protected] SOURCE Fellow Environmental Partners, Inc. HENDERSON, Ky., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Field & Main Bank, was just named one of the top extraordinary banks in the United States by The Institute for Extraordinary Banking. Field & Main was recognized with two awards; the Institute's Banky Award for its commitment to strong community banking and the prestigious Thank God It's Monday Banky Award for demonstration of creating a culture where people bring their best selves to work to make an impact on their customers and communities. The award is the top culture award as judged by a panel of industry experts whose scores were combined with the bank's scores from a validated culture survey. "We believe that our culture is the bedrock of Field & Main's achievements. It is the foundation of our success, a key differentiator from competitors and the inspiration for us to become even better. It is a great honor for Field & Main to be recognized for our commitment to strong community banking and receiving the Extraordinary Banking Award", Scott Davis, Field & Main Bank CEO. The Extraordinary Banking Awards highlight the vital yet often overlooked role that local community banks play in our nation's economy. Without a vibrant local banking industry, our small businesses and families often lack the have-your-back support of a true community bank that makes communities really thrive. The Extraordinary Banking Awards recognize the best of what community banks offer to our cities, towns, and nation: a true commitment to the success of the small businesses and local community they serve. Roxanne Emmerich, Chair and Founder of The Institute for Extraordinary Banking, proclaimed during the awards ceremony: "Community banks are the backbone of America. They are what keeps a community thriving. When a community bank leaves a community, small businesses often struggle to stay, and jobs leave. Every robust community has a strong community bank that understands how to help that community thrive and grow." Field & Main Bank is a Kentucky-chartered community bank dedicated to serving Kentucky and Indiana with strong leadership, convenient banking facilities and modern craft banking. Learn more at www.fieldandmain.com. Member FDIC. Contact: Sarah Bryant [email protected] Phone: (270) 831-1598 Mobile: (270) 832-8698 SOURCE Field & Main Bank Combined with extensive investments in local marketing campaigns and the international release of multiple heavy-hitting models, the Chinese carmaker is creating a strong blueprint for Chinese brands looking to go global. Global Marketing, Long-term Development GAC MOTOR's international development has been highly visible through many high-level of cooperation and marketing activities in the first quarter. In Nigeria, for example, the brand has partnered with the Lagos State Government on the public ride-hailing project Lagride, providing a hefty 1000 vehicles to support the project. Lagride launched with the goal of upgrading transport system in Lagos with a world-class e-hailing platform. The scheme encourages local employment and socio-economic growth, further strengthening GAC MOTOR's brand reputation in Nigeria. In addition to building long-term ties with the local government through economic support, this collaborative transport project will bolster GAC MOTOR's reputation as a highly reliable vehicle supplier. The brand has also been displaying its newest and most exciting products at auto shows around the world, including the EXPOCRUZ 2021 in Bolivia , the Manila Auto Show 2022 and Riyadh AutoVille 2022, one of the most influential auto shows in the Middle East. The impressive lineup put on display included the GS8, GS5, All New GS4, and other popular models. The Key is in Strong Products In the past, GAC MOTOR has been consistently delivering high-performing models to markets overseas. The brand will continue to introduce popular models to new markets, including the ALL NEW GS8. This powerful SUV, a highly successful model in China, will be ready for launch for GAC MOTOR fans across the Middle East in May and June. The model embodies the "spirit of craftsmanship" that has become central to GAC MOTOR's mission and brand. The brand says that it aims to redefine Chinese car manufacturing through a series of high-quality, innovative, and technologically advanced vehicles and attentive service. GAC MOTOR looks forward to delivering a better mobile life to customers around the world with the power of innovation and craftsmanship. SOURCE GAC MOTOR NEW YORK, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Document Management Software Market Sourcing and Intelligence Report, provides key information about the market. For instance, the Document Management Software Market will grow at a CAGR of 13.08% by 2026. Key Players in the Document Management Software Market Sourcing and Procurement Market Include: Adobe Inc., Open Text Corp., and Dropbox Inc DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Remote Patient Monitoring Market - Global Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. In-depth Analysis and Data-driven Insights on the Impact of COVID-19 Included in this Global Remote Patient Monitoring Market Report The global remote patient monitoring market to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% during 2021-2027. Remote patient monitoring is achieved by using digital technologies to monitor and capture medical health-related data from patients and electronically transmit the information to healthcare providers for assessment, and, when necessary, recommendations and instructions are provided. RPM reduces the number of readmissions in the medical requirement, hospitalizations, and duration of stay in the hospital, which leads to improved quality of life and contain costs. In August 2020, Stasis Labs introduced a mobile-connected remote patient monitoring technology in hospitals and outpatient settings in the US. The company's Stasis system monitors important vital parameters in its functioning. In July 2020, Philips and BioIntelliSense teamed together to improve remote patient monitoring systems for at-risk patients from the hospital to their homes. Philips has added the BioIntelliSense sensor to the device for remotely usage. Market Segments The Devices and Software segment accounted for the largest share in the global remote patient monitoring market. With the emergence of connected cardiac implants, cardiology was one of the first specialties to incorporate RPM. Cardiology practices are now particularly well-positioned to gain the short and long-term benefits associated with the progression of RPM services, technology, and regulation. The cardiac monitoring market is further propelled by innovative product characteristics, as well as the increased need and demand for virtual care solutions in the COVID-19 era. The cardiac monitor segment accounted for the maximum share in the remote patient monitoring market. For instance, according to CDC, 30.3 million US adults were identified with heart disorders in 2018. Thus, the high prevalence of cardiac disorder is expected to drive the segment. Geographic Overview North America accounted for a significant 40% of the global market for remote patient monitoring market share in 2021. The presence of substantial competitors and their growth strategies are the main factors driving the North American market. The industry is driven by rising healthcare spending and increased awareness about the benefits of sickness prevention. An increase in heart ailments, sedentary lifestyles, and the deployment of e-health in some rural areas of North America is expected to drive the market growth. Competitive Landscape With many top companies in the global market and several small players in regional markets, the global remote patient monitoring market is somewhat fragmented. The major competitors in the market are focusing their efforts on reducing the size of the remote patient monitoring market. These companies are also attempting to increase their market share by launching new goods and forming collaborations with other market participants. As a result, these factors are expected to propel the remote patient monitoring market growth. Top Players Medtronic Philips Healthcare ResMed Other Prominent Players Resideo Honeywell LST (LifeScience Technologies) Coforge Withings MedM iHealthUnifiedcare Qardio 100-Plus A&D Abbott AltumView Systems Biotronik Boston Scientific Bardy Diagnostics Cardiomo Cardiologs Dragerwerk AG Hoffmann-La Roche GE Healthcare GrandCare Masimo Corporation Medopad Nihon Kohden Omron Healthcare OSPLabs Smiths Medical Spacelabs Senseonics TeleMedCare VitalConnect Vitls Modicare Hillrom Vivify Health ACL Digital Dexcom iRhythm Technologies Vivalink Biobeat CareValidate Biofourmis CAREMINDr Datos Health Key Topics Covered: 1 Research Methodology 2 Research Objectives 3 Research Process 4 Scope & Coverage 4.1 Market Definition 4.2 Base Year 4.3 Scope of the Study 5 Report Assumptions & Caveats 5.1 Key Caveats 5.2 Currency Conversion 5.3 Market Derivation 6 Market at a Glance 7 Introduction 7.1 Overview 7.1.1 Covid-19 Impact on Remote Patient Monitoring Market 8 Market Opportunities & Trends 8.1 Increasing Role of IoT in Remote Monitoring & Healthcare Applications 8.2 Paradigm Shift Toward Home-Based Healthcare Devices 8.3 Telemedicine Ushering New Opportunities in Remote Monitoring 9 Market Growth Enablers 9.1 Aging Population Vulnerable to Chronic Diseases 9.2 Rising Wearable Medical Technology Innovations 9.3 Growing Use of Rpm to Proactively Monitor & Improve Patient Engagement 9.4 Increased Demand for Remote Monitoring Due to Covid-19 10 Market Growth Restraints 10.1 Low Awareness of Remote Monitoring in Developing Countries 10.2 Lack of Data Accuracy 11 Market Landscape 11.1 Market Overview 11.2 Market Size & Forecast 11.3 Five Forces Analysis 12 Component 12.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 13 Devices & Software 13.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 13.2 Market Overview 13.3 Cardiac Monitoring Devices 13.4 Electrocardiographs (Ecgs) 13.5 Cardiac Monitors 13.6 Blood Pressure Monitors 13.7 Other Cardiac Monitoring Devices 13.8 Respiratory Monitoring Devices 13.9 Apnea Monitors 13.10 Pulse Oximeters 13.11 Other Respiratory Monitoring Devices 13.12 Blood Glucose Monitors 13.13 Fetal & Neonatal Monitoring Devices 13.14 Other Rpm Devices 13.15 Services 14 Application 14.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 14.2 Market Overview 14.3 Cardiology 14.4 Pulmonology 14.5 Endocrinology 15 End-User 15.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 15.2 Market Overview 15.3 Hospitals & Specialty Clinics 15.4 Homecare Settings 15.5 Ambulatory Surgical Centers 15.6 Long-Term & Acute Care Centers 16 Geography 16.1 Market Snapshot & Growth Engine 16.2 Geographic Overview For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3ti13s Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets LAS VEGAS, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GNCC Capital, Inc. (GNCP.PK) ("The Company", "GNCC" or "GNCP") acknowledges the innumerable E Mail from our shareholders. We recognize that our shareholders appear very eager to receive an update on a number of issues including the completion of our new corporate website and interim exploration strategy for our recent transaction of "Silverpeak"; those being the Lithium and Uranium Properties in Nevada. Your Directors are preparing an update to address these issues and will disseminate a detailed Press Release. Shareholders are asked to please respect that your Directors have been inundated in work pertaining to the new website, detailed Reports and the exploration planning for "Silverpeak". Exploration planning for the "Silverpeak" Project is complex and we are retaining both a Geologist and a "turnkey" exploration company that both specialize in both Lithium and Uranium Exploration and Extraction and in that area of Nevada. The same Geologist and firm are currently dealing with our partners exploration work in the same geographical area; which was one of our main attractions to close these transactions as we successfully achieved. Shareholders are encouraged to E Mail issues of concern or of interest to ourselves. If pertinent, we will address in this Update. We will also be addressing and will dispel a number of false rumors being disseminated on the Internet Stock Chat Forums that are serving to mislead and to sow confusion amongst our shareholders. We trust that this will provide clarity and reassurance to our shareholders. Forward Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "should," "intend," "estimate," "projects," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file with the OTC Markets Group. Contact Information: GNCC CAPITAL, INC. Telephone: (702) 990-0156 Investor Relations Contact: E Mail: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/gncccapital SOURCE GNCC Capital, Inc. VANCOUVER, BC, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Green Impact Partners Inc. ("GIP" or the "Company") (TSXV: GIP.V) today announced the filing of its fiscal 2021 year end results on SEDAR. GIP is pleased to present a year of growth and execution with its financial results and operational updates. Through 2021 GIP continued its focus on stakeholder return. Although there was substantial business risk from the start stop scenarios and action taken by Government to manage health risks, GIP made tremendous progress with positive results on all fronts. "The drive to provide value and results for all our stakeholders is shown through our balanced approach and ability to grow our EBITDA," said Jesse Douglas, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Green Impact Partners. "We have substantially grown our best-in-class development portfolio, and mitigated risk by expanding our senior leadership team to prepare for the anticipated substantial and sustained increases in our top line revenue, EBITDA and net earnings as our portfolio achieves operational status." Key highlights and accomplishments for 2021 include: Colorado RNG project fully funded and under construction: The GreenGas Colorado Project is approximately 35% complete with gas production at full capacity anticipated for early 2023. The project is fully funded with project-level debt financing secured in 2021. Currently developing North America's largest carbon negative RNG project: During the year a partnership was formed for the development of Future Energy Park, and when the project proceeds GIP will control and operate. Engineering is well advanced, and GIP is in the process of obtaining permits, approvals, and financing. Additional RNG projects ready for construction: Two other RNG projects in Iowa and Southern Alberta have been secured and are in the late stages of development. Development pipeline expanded: Including the more advanced RNG opportunities above, the Company has assembled a portfolio of over $2 billion in clean energy initiatives focused on RNG. $30 million corporate revolver: Available capital was further enhanced by establishing a new $30 million corporate revolver that will be used to fund initial costs on new RNG projects until project-level financing is secured. "We have made tremendous progress in our first year as a public company and I am extremely proud of our team as they continue to advance our RNG projects to make GIP a leader in clean energy and scalable RNG," added Jesse Douglas, CEO and Director of GIP. "We are a young company with ambitious goals, and we are well-positioned to capitalize on the incredible growth in this sector. With over $2 billion of projects in our growth pipeline and more on the horizon, GIP is deeply committed to building a more inclusive, green and sustainable economy through clean energy with a focus on RNG, driving superior returns to all our stakeholders." For more details on what we are doing, please read our CEO's annual letter to GIP's stakeholders, sharing his thoughts on the value GIP has created over the past year and the immense opportunities that lie ahead for the Company. The letter is available at: https://www.greenipi.com/investors/. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (in thousands of dollars, except per share data) For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 (audited) For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 (audited) IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES Revenue 128,972 95,818 NON-IFRS MEASURES Adjusted EBITDA1 3,550 3,110 1 SeeNon-IFRS Measures below Revenue: Revenues increased to $129.0 million for fiscal 2021 from $95.8 million in the prior year. $27.7 million of this increase was a result of increased revenue in the existing business. The prior year experienced a greater impact than fiscal 2021 of the downturn in industry and society activity. An incremental $5.4 million of revenue was added with the acquisition a US business in May 2021. Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA increased over the prior year due to increased gross margin. As the company expanded the team and increased the base of RNG development, increased Salaries and Wages and Selling, General and Administration and Share-based compensation expenses offset the prior year increase in EBITDA. For a more detailed discussion on GIP's results for the year ended December 31, 2021, please see the Company's financial statements and management's discussion & analysis, which are available at: https://www.greenipi.com/investors/ and on the Company's SEDAR page at www.sedar.com. Green Impact Partners has also provided its first Impact Overview. The document is available at https://www.greenipi.com/investors/. Strategic Investments for Its Near-Term RNG Portfolio GIP has engaged J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets as lead financial advisors in order to accelerate the completion of its near-term RNG portfolio, including the Iowa RNG Project and Future Energy Park. GIP's Board of Directors has authorized the Company to explore funding alternatives, including strategic partnerships. Partnership opportunities may include a strategic investment in any or all of the GreenGas Colorado Project, the Iowa RNG Project and Future Energy Park. A potential transaction is expected to provide the capital to complete these projects and advance the Company's remaining portfolio, while still maintaining significant long-term cash flows for the benefit of GIP's shareholders. GIP Launches New Website GIP has launched its new website as a central resource for engaging with the Company's stakeholders. The new and completely redesigned website offers stakeholders a richer insight in the Company's business and exciting growth opportunities. About Green Impact Partners Green Impact Partners is focused on creating a sustainable future and inclusive planet by developing clean energy, with a near term focus on RNG projects. GIP acquires, develops, and builds RNG projects, with the intention of building, owning and operating a portfolio of RNG facilities, and participates in a wide range of zero-carbon opportunities during any stage of the project lifecycle from idea generation through to operations. GIP has a growing portfolio of RNG projects under development, representing over $2 billion in capital expenditures over the next three years. In its pursuit of net zero earth impact, GIP is positioned to be a leading producer of decarbonizing energy in North America. GIP's shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GIP.V. For more information about GIP and its projects, visit www.greenipi.com. Non-IFRS Measures EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure, calculated by adding back the impacts of income tax, finance costs, depreciation and amortization to net income (loss) for the period. EBITDA does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and is not necessarily comparable to similar measures provided by other companies. Management believes EBITDA is an important performance metric that measures normalized recurring cash flows before changes in non-cash working capital. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA adjusted for certain non-operating, non-recurring and non-cash items. Adjusted EBITDA is used by management to evaluate the earnings and performance of the Company before consideration of capital, financing and tax structures that may vary from company to company. Prior period Adjusted EBITDA has been calculated and presented in accordance with the current period calculation and presentation. Cautionary Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and/or forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. When used in this release, such words as "would", "will", "anticipates", believes", "explores" and similar expressions, as they relate to GIP, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of GIP with respect to future events, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause GIP's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any expected future results, performance or achievement that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the impact of general economic conditions in Canada and the United States, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; industry conditions including changes in laws and regulations and/or adoption of new environmental laws and regulations and changes in how they are interpreted and enforced, in Canada and the United States; volatility of prices for energy commodities; change in demand for clean energy to be offered by GIP; competition; lack of availability of qualified personnel; obtaining required approvals of regulatory authorities, in Canada and the United States; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; many of which are beyond the control of GIP. Forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are encouraged to review and carefully consider the risk factors pertaining to GIP described in the filing statement of GIP dated May 17, 2021, which is accessible on GIP's SEDAR issuer profile at www.sedar.com . The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date of this release, and except as may be expressly be required by law, GIP disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. Management of GIP has included the above summary of assumptions and risks related to forward-looking statements provided in this release in order to provide shareholders with a more complete perspective on GIP's current and future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. GIP's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits GIP will derive therefrom. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction. SOURCE Green Impact Partners Inc. GURNEE, Ill., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Illinois Gastroenterology Group, PLLC ("IGG") is providing notice of a recent incident that may affect the security of certain individuals' information. On October 22, 2021, IGG discovered unusual activity within its computer network. IGG immediately launched an investigation, with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity specialists, to determine the nature and scope of the event. On November 18, 2021, the investigation determined that an unauthorized actor gained access to certain IGG systems and that information contained in those systems may have been viewed or taken by the unauthorized actor. IGG reviewed the information contained within the systems to identify if any individuals' personal information or protected health information was potentially impacted. On March 22, 2022, IGG determined personal information of individuals including the following types of information that IGG maintains in its systems and that were, or may have been, impacted by this incident include: name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license, Passport, financial account information, payment card information, employer-assigned identification number, medical information, and biometric data. To date, IGG has not received any reports of fraudulent misuse of any information potentially impacted. IGG takes this incident and the security of personal information in its care seriously. IGG moved quickly to investigate and respond to this incident, assess the security of its systems, and notify potentially affected individuals. In response to this incident, IGG augmented its policies and procedures addressing network security. IGG accelerated the implementation of an enhanced managed Security Operations Center including the deployment of an endpoint detection and response platform in response to this event with policies enabled specially for ransomware. IGG immediately reset passwords and employees with privileged access to sensitive systems were enrolled into our multifactor authentication platform. IGG is also notifying potentially affected individuals so that they may take further steps to protect their information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so. IGG established a dedicated assistance line for individuals seeking information regarding this incident. Individuals seeking additional information may call the toll-free assistance line at 1-833-559-1331. This toll-free number is available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding major U.S. holidays. Individuals may also write to IGG at Illinois Gastroenterology Group, PLLC, Attention: Chief Operating Officer, P.O. Box 7630, Gurnee, IL 60031. Potentially affected individuals may also consider the information and resources outlined below. IGG encourages potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against identity theft and fraud by reviewing their account statements, credit reports, and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity and to report any suspicious activity promptly to their bank, financial institution, insurance company, health care provider, law enforcement, or their state Attorney General. Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report. Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a one-year alert that is placed on a consumer's credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If an individual is the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should they wish to place a fraud alert, they may contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below. As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a "credit freeze" on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer's express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in an individual's name without their consent. However, individuals should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, an individual cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals will need to provide the following information: Full name (including middle initial, as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.); Social Security number; Date of birth; Addresses for the prior two to five years; Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill; A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, etc.); and A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft. Should individuals wish to place a credit freeze, they may contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below: Equifax Experian TransUnion https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit- report-services/ https://www.experian.com/help/ https://www.transunion.com/credit-help 1-888-298-0045 1-888-397-3742 1-833-395-6938 Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016 Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094 Additional Information Individuals may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with it. Individuals can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Individuals have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, individuals will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and their state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement. SOURCE Illinois Gastroenterology Group, PLLC PITTSBURGH, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KOP), an integrated global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds, today announced that it plans to release its financial results for the first quarter of 2022 before the market opens on Friday, May 6, 2022, and discuss its outlook on a conference call later that day at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Presentation materials will be available at least 15 minutes before the call on www.koppers.com in the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Interested parties may access the live audio broadcast toll free by dialing 1-833-366-1128 in the United States and Canada, or 1-412-902-6774 for international, Conference ID number 10166495. Participants are requested to access the call at least five minutes before the scheduled start time to complete a brief registration. The conference call will be broadcast live on www.koppers.com and can also be accessed here. An audio replay will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the call at 1-877-344-7529 for U.S. toll free, 855-669-9658 for Canada toll free, or 1-412-317-0088 for international, using replay access code 2412339. The recording will be available for replay through August 6, 2022. About Koppers Koppers, with corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an integrated global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals, and carbon compounds. Our products and services are used in a variety of niche applications in a diverse range of end markets, including the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction industries. We serve our customers through a comprehensive global manufacturing and distribution network, with facilities located in North America, South America, Australasia, and Europe. The stock of Koppers Holdings Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "KOP." For more information, visit: www.koppers.com. Inquiries from the media should be directed to Ms. Jessica Franklin at [email protected] or 412-227-2025. Inquiries from the investment community should be directed to Ms. Quynh McGuire at [email protected] or 412-227-2049. For Information: Quynh McGuire, Vice President, Investor Relations 412 227 2049 [email protected] SOURCE Koppers At the heart of the Grasse region, Lancome has established Le Domaine de la Rose, an ecological horticultural site spanning 9.8 acres (4 hectares) purchased in 2020. The project was developed around two major areas: the development of agricultural activity with the cultivation of organic roses and perfume plants, as well as the restoration of the main house using local, recycled, and biosourced materials, and the preservation of the arboreal heritage. Lancome thus becomes the owner, producer, and protector of a complete agricultural and horticultural patrimony, a first for a selective beauty brand. This ecological project, which makes sparing use of resources and materials with restraint and a contemporary approach, reflects the brand's values and draws on the essence of its origins as a perfume house. What makes this estate special is a combination of various types of agronomical expertise that are applied to innovate and to develop the cultivation of perfume plants using sustainable, traceable, organic methods. Le Domaine has been farmed for approximately five centuries, and the former owners have been considered pioneers in organic rose and perfume plant cultivation for more than 50 years. The brand is following this approach, using agroforestry methods and protecting the estate's unique agricultural and architectural heritage, such as dry-stone walls*, water channels, and trees. No fewer than 163 species of plants are present on the estate, providing a habitat for 33 species of birds, 31 species of butterflies, 8 species of dragonflies, 12 species of bats, and other animals observed and recorded in a biodiversity audit** that serves as a guide for the brand's endeavors. This ecological site is an integral part of Lancome's corporate social and environmental responsibility strategy, which aims to reduce the overall ecological footprint of its products, from the cultivation and processing of the ingredients to the products' use and end-of-life. With Le Domaine de la Rose, the brand is taking care to limit its impact on biodiversity, since the decline in biodiversity is a phenomenon adversely affecting the preservation of the earth's ecosystems and their resilience to physical changes. Today, Lancome uses 99% organic roses in its skincare and makeup products. By 2025, the brand plans to use 100% organic roses, 60% of which will be grown in France. "The rose has always been important to Lancome. We are happy and proud of this purchase, which reinforces our presence in Grasse, the world birthplace of perfumery. The brand, which is already established in the region, particularly through a noteworthy exploitation of a rose field in Valensole for its skincare ranges, will continue growing its own proprietary roses as part of its responsible, traceable sourcing approach. Our aspiration was to restore the estate with respect for its agricultural vocation and the equilibrium of biodiversity, while integrating modern and sustainable renovation techniques. In an effort to pass along its expertise, Lancome also intends on sharing the traditional savoir-faire of the Rose with both internal and external audiences through the acquisition of this property," Francoise Lehmann, General Director of Lancome International. Lancome's clear intention to carry out this sober, sustainable project is as radical as its commitment. The project was executed by the architects Lucie Niney and Thibault Marca from the NeM agency, based on a passive bioclimatic design. The existing dry-stone walls** were conserved and restored according to the traditional method, and the new agricultural buildings are constructed in harmony with the appearance of those stone walls in order to blend in with the natural landscape. While the new Rose House was renovated in keeping with the size and architectural identity of the existing Provence-style home, it takes on a contemporary appearance using colors and materials true to the heritage and expertise of the Grasse region. As for the conversion of the principal building, the materials used for the outdoor cladding, roofs and carpentry are all pink, limiting the color scheme of the space to create a coherent whole. Pink is one of the local colors: it is naturally present in the flowers and plants of the region, and it often adorns the facades of houses in Grasse, in addition to reflecting the brand's image. In a spirit of energy conservation and ecological renovation seeking to reduce the environmental impact of its entire life cycle, the walls of the main house have been renovated and insulated from the exterior with a combination of lavender straw and wood fiber, coated with pink lime plaster. The ecological site features a water recuperation-and-reuse system, as well as an irrigation system that uses rainwater, that aims to ensure water self-sufficiency, and makes use of renewable energies. Moreover, its air conditioning is provided by a geothermal heat pump completed by the natural ventilation of a ground-coupled heat exchanger. These installations have enabled the project to gain the BDM (Batiment Durable Mediterraneen or Sustainable Mediterranean Building) Gold certification. Le Domaine de la Rose is also destined to become a spot for the transmission of professional expertise relating to perfume plants, and the specific perfume savoir-faire of Lancome, as demonstrated by the educational distillery and the perfume organ. Beginning in June 2022, the general public will have the opportunity to discover fragrance compositions produced using the new Rosa x centifolia grown at Le Domaine de la Rose: the new perfume La Vie Est Belle Domaine de la Rose and the fragrance Maison Lancome 1001 Roses. *Dry stone walls support fields grown along terraces, built to prevent landslides of cultivated hillsides. **An inventory of the biodiversity is conducted to develop the database of the Biodiversity Atlas of Grasse and is an integral part of the objectives of the Grasse Ecological Transition Contract (CTE). Carolina SCHMOLLGRUBER: [email protected] Hayat ZENATI: [email protected] Olivier VAN DONSELAAR: [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1783299/Lancome.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1783298/Lancome_Logo.jpg SOURCE Lancome 30th Food Drive Will Help Feed Needy Families in All 50 States WASHINGTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will conduct its annual national food drive on Saturday, May 14. NALC's food drive, which was first held in 1983, helps feed millions of Americans. The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, the country's largest one-day food drive, provides residents with an easy way to donate food to those in need. Customers simply leave their donation of non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday, May 14. Letter carriers will collect these food donations on that day as they deliver mail along their postal routes, and distribute them to local food banks, pantries, shelters and churches. The Letter Carriers' food drive is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Hunger affects 1 in 8 Americans, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans. In the 30 years since it began, the food drive has collected about 1.82 billion pounds of food for struggling residents. The need is as great as ever, given the pandemic-caused economic dislocations of the past two years. The traditional food drive is returning this year after a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, it was replaced by NALC's donor drive, in which those wishing to help made online donations to local food pantries. "Letter carriers are a part of every neighborhood in the nation," NALC President Fredric Rolando said, "and we see the growing need for food assistance in our communities. On Saturday, May 14, NALC invites everyone to participate in the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Together, we can help stamp out hunger in America." The timing is important, with food banks, pantries and shelters running low on donations from the winter holidays and with summer approaching, when most school meal programs are suspended. On May 14, as they deliver mail, the nation's 200,000 letter carriers will collect the donations that residents have left near their mailboxes. People are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, canned meats and fish, pasta, rice or cereal next to their mailbox before the regular mail delivery on Saturday. The food donations stay in each community, going to help local residents. Several national partners are assisting NALC in the food drive: the U.S. Postal Service, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, Vericast, United Way Worldwide, the AFL-CIO, Valpak, the Kellogg Co. and CVS Health. This year's effort includes a public service announcement featuring letter carriers and NALC President Rolando: https://youtu.be/dhfHDGkdUsQ. People who have questions about the drive in their area should ask their letter carrier, contact their local post office, or go to https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive, facebook.com/StampOutHunger or twitter.com/StampOutHunger. ******** The 294,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country's oldest labor unions. SOURCE National Association of Letter Carriers Statewide $2 billion solar investment. Three of six energy storage sites completed. More than 600 electric vehicle chargers installed. 250,000 extended power outages avoided thanks to smart, self-optimizing grid technology. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Florida is celebrating Earth Day by sharing key milestones as part of its clean energy transformation and commitment to the environment, customer affordability and reliability. "As the energy needs of customers and communities in our state change, we must be ready to meet those needs," said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president. "We believe generating electricity from renewable resources and expanding innovative technologies will play an important role in delivering energy that's reliable, affordable and increasingly clean." In Florida, Duke Energy continues to execute its strategy on renewables, electric vehicles (EVs) and grid investments to benefit customers. Solar generation commitment With a combined investment of more than $2 billion, Duke Energy Florida's solar generation portfolio will include 25 grid-tied solar power plants, which will benefit all Florida customers and will provide about 1,500 megawatts (MW) of emission-free generation and approximately 5 million solar panels in the ground by 2024. The company is well on its way to a major milestone by placing its 17th solar project in operation by the end of 2022. The first 10 large projects are projected to lower the emission of global warming gases such as CO 2 at an average rate of over 700,000 tons per year, based on the equivalent reduction in generation from fossil fuels. Additionally, Duke Energy Florida leads the state in the amount of customer-owned or leased renewable interconnections, which includes processing more than 1,300 customer applications per month. Duke Energy Florida currently has over 400 MW and more than 46,000 customers with solar generation at their home or business that are relying on the power grid. Battery energy storage systems Duke Energy's battery energy storage plays a significant and evolving role in how electricity is delivered to customers now and in the future. Through energy storage and microgrids, the company can enable the integration of more renewables onto the grid and help improve reliability and security while keeping costs as low as possible for customers. Earlier this month, Duke Energy Florida announced the completion of three battery projects in Gilchrist, Gulf and Highlands counties. The new sites are part of Duke Energy's commitment to have six battery sites, totaling 50 MW, operating in Florida this year. Electric vehicle (EV) charging In addition to expanding its battery storage technology and solar investments, Duke Energy Florida is investing in transportation electrification to support the growing U.S. adoption of EVs through the addition of 627 EV charging stations, including 52 DC fast chargers (the fastest EV charging option available) and a modernized power grid to deliver diverse and reliable energy solutions to best serve our customers. To find EV chargers near you, visit the Greenlots app. Grid improvements Duke Energy Florida is committed to building a stronger, better protected and smarter electric infrastructure that is more resistant to disruptions from severe weather, as well as physical and cyber threats. The company continues to invest in enhancements such as self-optimizing grid technology, utility pole and power line upgrades, and targeted undergrounding of outage-prone power lines to reduce power outage frequency and duration during extreme weather events and to enhance overall reliability. In 2021, smart, self-optimizing grid technology in Florida helped avoid more than 250,000 extended customer power outages and saved more than 283,000 hours of total lost outage time. Learn more about these programs at https://www.duke-energy.com/our-company/florida-future. Duke Energy Florida Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,300 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida. Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people. Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com . The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter , LinkedIn , Instagram and Facebook . Media contact: Audrey Stasko Cell: 315.877.3031 Media line: 800.559.3853 SOURCE Duke Energy One of the first panels of the day included survivor leaders Kara Robinson Chamberlain, activist and author; Tanya Gould, director at the Virginia Office of Attorney General; and Suzie Skirvin, Malouf Foundation advisory board member. Each panelist shared their lived experiences and pathways to healing. "A big part of my healing is learning about myselfwho I am and where I'm going," Gould shared in the panel discussion. "What empowers me on my healing journey will look different for someone else because we're all different. Every survivor has their own story and I value their experiences." The survivor panel was moderated by Ashley Flowers, founder of Audiochuck and host of Crime Junkie podcast. Flowers is an advocate for survivors and is passionate about spreading awareness of abuse and trauma. "As someone who works in the true crime space, I've seen firsthand how prevalent and heartbreaking sexual exploitation can be and the need for survivor resources," Flowers shared. "I'm thrilled to have participated in this year's Malouf Summit in order to bring attention, education and resources to a community of survivors and those looking to better support them." Malouf Foundation advisory board member and survivor leader Julie Whitehead also shared her story at the Summit. She introduced the event's business panel and shared how business has intersected her experience as a trafficking survivor. Whitehead participated on a survivor panel at last year's Summit at Malouf headquarters in Logan, Utah. "Business leaders have a tremendous impact on their communities and have an opportunity to make a difference in the anti-trafficking and anti-exploitation space," Whitehead shared. "The man who helped me escape my trafficker is a business owner and is committed to bringing awareness to this cause. He says getting involved has unified their employees and has helped them create a stronger work culture." Members of the business panel were Scott Anderson, chief executive officer at Zions Bank of Salt Lake City; Kelly Gage, director of advancement at Nomi Network based out of New York; and Erika George, director of Tanner Humanities Center at University of Utah. Each leader highlighted their organization's philanthropic efforts and how others can influence the causes they care about. Salt Lake City Chamber President Derek Miller moderated the panel. Miller also serves on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Task Force to Eradicate Human Trafficking. "At Zions Bank, we endeavor to be actively engaged in making our communities better and helping provide creative solutions to community needs," Anderson said. "Philanthropic engagement goes beyond merely the giving of dollars, it also includes deploying all available resourcesinfluence, voice, reach, time and moreto enable meaningful change." The afternoon session of the Summit started with leaders of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). NCMEC is the nation's comprehensive reporting center for all issues related to the prevention and recovery from child victimization. For nearly 40 years, NCMEC has been working with families, victims, private industry, law enforcement and the public to make a difference. At the Summit, Michelle DeLaune, NCMEC president and chief executive officer, and Lauren Coffren, NCMEC director of the Exploited Children Division, spoke to the realities, revictimization and response in child sexual abuse material (CSAM), or child pornography. "The COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected every aspect of life across the globe including how much time everyone spent online. Last year, in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children saw a 35 percent increase in the number of CyberTipline reports related to suspected child sexual exploitationthat amounts to around 80,000 reports every day," DeLaune said. "The number is staggering and almost too big to comprehend, but it's important to talk about. Online enticement and online grooming are on the rise and we at NCMEC believe that action and education are vital components to combating this horrific crime." DeLaune and Coffren were joined by Team HOPE consultant Nicole (last name omitted for privacy reasons). Team HOPE is a group of peer-support volunteers who have lived experience with missing and exploited children's issues. Nicole is the mother of a survivor of CSAM and spoke to the realities of that experience, sharing her unique perspective as a caregiver and as a support to others with similar lived experiences. The final panel focused on connecting with elected officials. Panelists Blake Moore, United States congressman of Utah's First District; Angela Romero, Utah House representative for the 26th District; and Ron Welch, Muskingum County, Ohio prosecuting attorney discussed how individuals can get involved with elected officials at every level to support survivors of abuse through policy and legislation. Former National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien introduced the panel. "We all have unique areas of influence, which means we have the power to make a difference in our communities," said Kacie Malouf, co-founder and board chair of the Malouf Foundation. "We hope attendees take what they learned today and take actionthat they find a cause they're passionate about and fight for it." To watch this year's Summit, or for more information about the Malouf Foundation, visit malouffoundation.org . About Malouf Foundation Formalized in 2016 and operating out of Logan, Utah, the Malouf Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to confronting child sexual exploitation, specifically sex trafficking and online abuse. The Foundation fulfills their mission by providing education through OnWatch and Smart Defense; promoting healing through the Juniper Scholarship, Rooms Restored, and restorative care centers; and advocating for survivors through Heroes Landing and the "We Believe You" campaign. In January 2022, the Elizabeth Smart Foundation officially became a part of the Malouf Foundation to broaden the impact of both organizations. Supported by the network of Malouf Companies, the Malouf Foundation gives 100 percent of its resources on behalf of the people it serves. For more information or to make a donation, visit malouffoundation.org . PR Contact Alicia Richmond 801-599-1794 [email protected] SOURCE Malouf Foundation Rafael Grossi (top C), Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), briefs the press after his arrival at the Vienna International Airport, in Vienna, Austria, March 5, 2022. (Photo by Georges Schneider/Xinhua) While negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna stalled a year after they began, Tehran and Washington have ramped up their rhetorical war, demanding political decisions from the other side to bridge the final gap. TEHRAN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- At a time when the Iranian nuclear talks are about to reach an agreement, Iran and world powers have adjourned their talks, mostly over whether the United States will remove Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from its Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list. While negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna stalled a year after they began, Tehran and Washington have ramped up their rhetorical war, demanding political decisions from the other side to bridge the final gap. FIRM STANCE Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Thursday that his country "does not pay attention to excessive demands nor will it retreat from its red lines." Iran has so far insisted on its position with no signs that it may budge any time soon, said Iran's English daily newspaper Tehran Times, adding that "in fact, the odds are currently against any change in Iran's position." Such a firm approach to Vienna talks has recently been praised by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who "expressed his satisfaction with the resistance of the negotiating team to the other sides' aggression and avarice," according to his official website. "The other side withdrew from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and broke its commitments. Now they feel helpless and have reached a dead end," Khamenei said, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal. According to the reports provided by Amir-Abdollahian and Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, "the red lines of the system have not been crossed in any way in the Vienna talks," Jalil Rahimi Jahan Abadi, a member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying last week. "The United States not only has not achieved anything since leaving the JCPOA, but even Iran's position has become stronger and more coherent in recent years than when the United States was present in the JCPOA," the Iranian lawmaker pointed out. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (R) shakes hands with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, on March 5, 2022. (Iranian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua) "U.S. INACTION" In the United States, following media reports that President Joe Biden's administration has considered dropping the IRGC terrorist designation, more congressmen have voiced opposition to any potential deal with Iran. It would be politically untenable to make such a concession to Iran, Biden's advisers suggested. "If Iran wants sanctions-lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they'll need to address concerns of ours that go beyond the JCPOA," U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday. "If they do not want to use these talks to resolve other bilateral issues, then we are confident we can very quickly reach an understanding on the JCPOA and begin to reimplement the deal itself," he said. Iran believes that the Trump administration's move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization was "politically motivated and designed to make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Biden administration to resuscitate the JCPOA," according to Tehran Times. Washington "does not seem to be ready to take the initiative in terms of concluding the Vienna talks. Quite on the contrary, it keeps sending signals that it is not ready to make the kind of political decisions Iran demands," the newspaper said in a recent op-ed titled "U.S. inaction could doom Vienna talks." "The U.S. has halted progress for a nuclear deal. Biden is weak in dealing with political opponents," Mohammad Marandi, an adviser to Iran's negotiating team in the Vienna talks, tweeted recently. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (3rd L) meets with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi (2nd R) in Tehran, Iran, on March 5, 2022. (Iranian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua) DIPLOMACY STILL OPEN Despite the war of words, "the diplomatic path is working properly, and we have not gone far from a good and lasting deal," Amir-Abdollahiann said. Meanwhile, Price said Washington is also prepared for a return to full JCPOA implementation, while EU's mediators continued to send messages and work to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. "Tehran and Washington are close to a deal, but both sides need to give and take to achieve the wider benefits" of a renewed JCPOA, Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow and deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an article. It would be "foolish for Washington to jeopardize the opportunity to contain Tehran's nuclear program over the lifting of what is a largely symbolic designation of the IRGC," while for Iran, delaying the return to the nuclear deal comes with a high price tag in terms of opportunities lost for its economy, she said. According to Geranmayeh, "a number of reasonable compromises are in circulation." One option reportedly under review is to remove the IRGC's FTO designation but keep on the list its elite Quds Force, which carries out operations in the Middle East. Also, a group of nuclear nonproliferation experts and former government officials on Thursday urged the White House to complete negotiations to restore compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that "a prompt return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA is the best available way to deny Iran the ability to quickly produce bomb-grade nuclear material." "Repeating the failed strategy pursued by the Trump administration is misguided, irresponsible, and dangerous as it would increase the danger that Iran would become a threshold nuclear-weapon state," they warned. Photo taken on March 11, 2022 shows an exterior view of the Palais Coburg hotel, the venue for Iran nuclear talks, in Vienna, Austria. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks, during which Iran and the United States have negotiated indirectly, have been held in Vienna to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, which former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to drop some of its nuclear commitments. DENVER, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC) announced that its subsidiary, Richmond American Homes of Tennessee, Inc. ("Richmond American"), has entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the homebuilding assets of The Jones Company of Tennessee, LLC ("Jones"). Jones closed over 370 homes in fiscal year 2021 in the Nashville area with an average sales price of $564,000, generating revenues of $209 million. MDC expects the transaction to close near the end of the second quarter of 2022, and it is expected to add approximately 10 selling communities, 1,700 controlled lots and 150 units in backlog to the operations of Richmond American. Consummation of the transaction is subject to the approval of the MDC board of directors and customary conditions. David D. Mandarich, MDC's President and CEO, said, "Howard, Ken and the Jones team have built a tremendous homebuilding organization in Nashville over the past three decades. We are excited to welcome the Jones team into the Richmond American family and look forward to growing our footprint in one of the country's best housing markets. We believe that this transaction, combined with the organic land pipeline we have secured since starting in Nashville about 12 months ago, has the potential to launch Richmond American into a leadership position in the Nashville market." Ken Stricker, Jones' CEO, said, "I am extremely proud of the business we have built in Nashville over the last twenty-seven years. My priority in identifying a purchaser for this transaction was to provide our people with the opportunity to continue to grow well into the future. The Richmond American Homes companies have a proven track record of growth. Richmond American will be looking to the Jones team to build its operations into one of the largest homebuilders in Tennessee. I am grateful to Howard Chilcutt for his vision and ongoing support after establishing our operations in Nashville with Bob Jones nearly 30 years ago." Whelan Advisory Capital Markets served as exclusive M&A advisor to Jones in the transaction. About MDC M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1972. MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries, which operate under the name Richmond American Homes, have built and financed the American Dream for more than 220,000 homebuyers since 1977. MDC's commitment to customer satisfaction, quality and value is reflected in each home its subsidiaries build. MDC is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Its subsidiaries have homebuilding operations across the country, including the metropolitan areas of Denver, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Riverside-San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Orlando, Jacksonville, Seattle, Portland, Boise, Nashville, Austin and Albuquerque. MDC's subsidiaries also provide mortgage financing, insurance and title services, primarily for Richmond American homebuyers, through HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company, respectively. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC." For more information, visit www.mdcholdings.com . About The Jones Company of Tennessee The Jones Company story began in 1927 with the founder of The Jones Company, John E. Jones. In 1961 John's son, Bob, purchased The Jones Company from his father. Bob Jones and his partner, Howard Chilcutt, led The Jones Company to much success, growing the company and building homes for over 15,000 families. In 2003 Centex Homes purchased The Jones Company's St. Louis division from several shareholders. In 2005, Howard founded Consort Homes in St. Louis. Ken Stricker, who was former President of The Jones Company in St. Louis, now serves as CEO of Consort Homes in St. Louis and The Jones Company of Tennessee in Nashville. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the anticipated closing of this transaction, its timing, the impact of the transaction and Richmond American's position in the Nashville market, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include matters over which MDC has little or no control. Additional information about the risks and uncertainties applicable to MDC's business is contained in MDC's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and the risk that actual results will differ materially from expectations expressed in this press release will increase with the passage of time. MDC undertakes no duty to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. "We are on a journey to revolutionize impact, and this includes setting meaningful ESG goals," said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Chief Executive Officer, Neiman Marcus Group. "The fashion industry must take steps toward a commitment to ESG and transparency to consumers, stakeholders, and the government. We are proud to join hands with our brand partners and other organizations to increase awareness and inspire action within our industry. As we move closer to our 2025 goals outlined in our recent ESG report, we look forward to continuing the momentum we've made to minimize the impact of how we serve our clients through our digital channels, stores, and supply chain, as well as the experiences we create and the products we sell." As part of its efforts to reduce Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 50% by 2025 and procure 100% renewable energy use by 2030, this month, NMG partnered with Trane by Trane Technologies to replace natural gas-powered chillers with two new 500-ton water-cooled Trane chillers at their iconic Bergdorf Goodman's Women's Store, located in the heart of New York City's famed retail district. This installation utilized innovative, energy-efficient decarbonization technology that enabled the retailer to eliminate natural gas use, electrify the building, and procure a new renewable energy contract to power the store's operations. The move will contribute to New York City's goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while keeping shoppers cool and comfortable. Meanwhile, Neiman Marcus stores across the U.S. are driving progress toward the company's goal to partner with customers to raise an additional $3,000,000 for Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation grantees through point-of-sale (POS) fundraising. In March, the retailer began a POS fundraising campaign for the Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) that invites customers and associates to donate in-store and online through April 30. Proceeds from the campaign will fund creating a new NMG x FSF scholarship for students aspiring to careers in sustainable and ethical fashion. The effort has raised enough money to fund at least seven NMG x FSF scholars in the partnership's first year. As NMG seeks to increase revenue from sustainable and ethical products by 2025, it is also proud to announce the upcoming launch of the new 'Fashioned for Change' and 'Conscious Curation' edits at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. These edits will identify items with preferred product attributes made with sustainable materials, including bio-based vegan leathers, as well as products that are responsibly manufactured, give back philanthropically, are made by diverse-owned brands, or promote enhanced transparency through digital product passports from groups like EON. Products from participating brand partners will be highlighted on NeimanMarcus.com and BergdorfGoodman.com and will be considered for exposure in highly visible placements via in-store and digital channels. To explore the new 'Fashioned for Change' edit at Neiman Marcus, visit here. The 'Conscious Curation' edit at Bergdorf Goodman will launch in the upcoming months. NMG will be hosting and sponsoring a variety of speaking events throughout the month to socialize the efforts above with associates, customers, and the broader fashion industry. To build on last year's conversation with Elizabeth Cline, author of 'The Conscious Closet,' NMG is hosting an all-associate event on April 26 with Aja Barber, author of 'Consumed.' This talk will take a deep dive into Barber's book, which explores the intersection of climate change, colonialism, and consumerism in the fashion industry. Customers near Neiman Marcus Northbrook in Chicago will also be invited to attend a panel discussion on social and environmental issues facing the fashion industry and its next generation of talent with industry trailblazer Eileen Fisher and Melissa Gamble, a professor at Columbia College of Chicago an FSF member school. Finally, to continue educating and amplifying the call for sustainable practices in the broader industry, NMG is excited to sponsor the Women's Wear Daily Sustainability Summit and the Sustainable Fashion Forum fireside chat, which will be held this month. NMG executives will host panels and fireside chats about topics surrounding circularity in fashion, fur and leather alternatives, the role of technology in sustainability, and more, along with innovators in the space from pioneering organizations like FASHIONPHILE, Prota Fiori, and EON. To purchase tickets for the Sustainable Fashion Forum fireside chat, please visit the Sustainable Fashion Forum website here. Read more about NMG's 2021 ESG report at www.neimanmarcusgroup.com/ESG . About The Neiman Marcus Group, LLC Neiman Marcus Group is a relationship business that leads with love in everything we do for our customers, associates, brand partners, and communities. Our legacy of innovating and our culture of Belonging guide our roadmap for Revolutionizing Luxury Experiences. As one of the largest multi-brand luxury retailers in the U.S., with the world's most desirable brand partners, we're delivering exceptional products and intelligent services, enabled by our investments in data and technology. Through the expertise of our 9,000+ associates, we deliver and scale a personalized luxury experience across our three channels of in-store, eCommerce, and remote selling. Our NMG|Way culture, powered by our people, combines individual talents into a collective strength to make life extraordinary. Our brands include Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus Last Call, and Horchow. For more information, visit www.neimanmarcusgroup.com . About Trane Technologies Trane Technologies is a global climate innovator. Through our strategic brands, Trane and Thermo King, and our portfolio of environmentally responsible products and services, we bring efficient and sustainable climate solutions to buildings, homes, and transportation. We have also set bold 2030 Sustainability Commitments for ourselves and our customers. Through our Gigaton Challenge, we have committed to reducing our customers' carbon emissions by one gigaton or, one billion metric tons by the year 2030. For more information, please visit tranetechnologies.com About Trane Trane by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator creates comfortable, energy-efficient indoor environments for commercial and residential applications. For more information, please visit www.trane.com. SOURCE Neiman Marcus Holding Company, Inc. SUGAR LAND, Texas, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) today announced plans to report financial results for the first quarter 2022 on Monday, May 2, 2022, after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company's press release will be available on the Noble website at www.noblecorp.com. Noble will host a conference call related to its first quarter 2022 results on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Central Time. Interested parties may dial +1 929-203-0901 and refer to conference ID 31391 approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Alternatively, a live webcast link will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. A webcast replay will be accessible for a limited time following the scheduled call. About Noble Corporation Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. The Company owns and operates one of the most modern, versatile, and technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry. Noble and its predecessors have been engaged in the contract drilling of oil and gas wells since 1921. Currently, Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 19 offshore drilling units, consisting of 11 drillships and 8 jackups, focused largely on ultra-deepwater and high-specification jackup drilling opportunities in both established and emerging regions worldwide. Noble is an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability with registered office at P.O. BOX 309, Ugland House, S. Church Street, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104. Additional information on Noble is available at www.noblecorp.com. Forward-looking Disclosure Statement Investors and others should note that we may announce material information using Securities and Exchange Commission filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts, and the "Investor" section of our website. In the future, we will continue to use these channels to distribute material information about the company and to communicate important information about the company, key personnel, corporate initiatives, regulatory updates, and other matters. Information that we post on our website could be deemed material; therefore, we encourage investors, the media, our customers, business partners and others interested in our company to review the information we post on our website. For additional information, visit www.noblecorp.com or email [email protected] SOURCE Noble Corporation The list honors a select group of North American IT solution providers. MIDDLETON, Wis., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- OneNeck IT Solutions Earns Recognition on the 2022 CRN Tech Elite 250 List Greenwood Village, CO, April 21, 2022 OneNeck IT Solutions today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, will feature OneNeck IT Solutions on its 2022 Tech Elite 250 list. This list recognizes solution providers across the U.S. and Canada that have earned the highest level of technical certifications from leading technology suppliers such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell Technologies, Cisco and more. Companies chosen for the Tech Elite 250 list have distinguished themselves as dedicated and passionate solution providers willing to go above and beyond for their customers by ensuring they have the training and technical know-how necessary to provide expert-level service. "It's rewarding to be named to CRN's 2022 Tech Elite 250 list for the 8th year in a row, said Terry Swanson, President and CEO, OneNeck IT Solutions. "Our team proactively invests in our vendor certifications and partner qualifications to ensure we have the skills and knowledge to support our customers from on-prem to the cloud." "CRN's annual Tech Elite 250 list recognizes solution providers that have earned top-level certifications from key technology suppliers and proven their ability to consistently meet the high standards of their customers and partners," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Solution providers featured on this list have maintained a consistent focus on innovation and have built a comprehensive understanding of the ever-evolving technologies and practices that enable ongoing success in the IT channel. We're proud to honor them in this manner." Coverage of the Tech Elite 250 will be featured in the April issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/techelite250 About OneNeck IT Solutions OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., employs 450 people throughout the U.S. The company offers multi-cloud solutions, combined with managed services, professional IT services, hardware and local connectivity via top-tier data centers in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin. OneNeck's team of technology professionals deliver secure, modern platforms and applications for organizations embracing data-driven transformation and secure end-to-end solutions. Visit oneneck.com. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS], a Fortune 1000 company, provides wireless; cable and wireline broadband, TV and voice; and hosted and managed services. TDS has approximately six million connections nationwide through its businesses U.S. Cellular, TDS Telecom, OneNeck IT Solutions LLC and TDS Broadband Service. Recently, TDS has been named to three Forbes lists: America's Best Employers for Diversity, Best Large Employers, and Best Employers for Women. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, TDS employs 9,400 people. Visit tdsinc.com. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Follow The Channel Company: Twitter , LinkedIn , and Facebook . 2022. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. SOURCE OneNeck IT Solutions DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Air Freshener Market (2022-2027) by Product, Customers, Application, Distribution Channel, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Air Freshener Market is estimated to be USD 13.05 Bn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 16.68 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.03%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Air Freshener Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in Air Delights Inc., Airwick, Ambi Pur, Balev Corporation Ltd., Beaumont Products, Inc., Dabur India Ltd., Dr.Marcus International, Febreze, etc. Countries Studied America ( Argentina , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Mexico , Peru , United States , Rest of the Americas) , , , , , , , , Rest of the Americas) Europe ( Austria , Belgium , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Russia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom , Rest of - Europe ) ( , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Rest of - ) Middle-East and Africa ( Egypt , Israel , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , United Arab Emirates , Rest of MEA. and ( , , , , , , Rest of MEA. Asia-Pacific ( Australia , Bangladesh , China , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Thailand , Taiwan , Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Air Freshener Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Rise in Demand for Indoor Air Care 4.1.2 Change in Lifestyle and Spending Habits 4.1.3 Regular Bad Odor in Hospitals or Healthcare Centers 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 Availability and Volatile Prices of Raw Material 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Rising Investments in R&D Activities 4.3.2 Technological Advancements in new product development 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 High Cost of Production 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Air Freshener Market, By Product 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Sprays/Aerosols 6.3 Electric Air Fresheners 6.4 Gels Air Fresheners 6.5 Candles Air Fresheners 6.6 Other Air Fresheners 7 Global Air Freshener Market, By Customers 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Individual Customers 7.3 Enterprise Customers 8 Global Air Freshener Market, By Application 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Households 8.3 Corporate 8.4 Automotive 8.5 Car 9 Global Air Freshener Market, By Distribution Channel 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Supermarkets/Hypermarkets 9.3 Convenience Stores 9.4 Pharmacies 9.5 Other Distribution Channels 10 Americas' Air Freshener Market 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Argentina 10.3 Brazil 10.4 Canada 10.5 Chile 10.6 Colombia 10.7 Mexico 10.8 Peru 10.9 United States 10.10 Rest of Americas 11 Europe's Air Freshener Market 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Austria 11.3 Belgium 11.4 Denmark 11.5 Finland 11.6 France 11.7 Germany 11.8 Italy 11.9 Netherlands 11.10 Norway 11.11 Poland 11.12 Russia 11.13 Spain 11.14 Sweden 11.15 Switzerland 11.16 United Kingdom 11.17 Rest of Europe 12 Middle East and Africa's Air Freshener Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Egypt 12.3 Israel 12.4 Qatar 12.5 Saudi Arabia 12.6 South Africa 12.7 United Arab Emirates 12.8 Rest of MEA 13 APAC's Air Freshener Market 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Australia 13.3 Bangladesh 13.4 China 13.5 India 13.6 Indonesia 13.7 Japan 13.8 Malaysia 13.9 Philippines 13.10 Singapore 13.11 South Korea 13.12 Sri Lanka 13.13 Thailand 13.14 Taiwan 13.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Competitive Quadrant 14.2 Market Share Analysis 14.3 Strategic Initiatives 14.3.1 M&A and Investments 14.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 14.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 15 Company Profiles 15.1 Air Delights Inc. 15.2 Airwick 15.3 Ambi Pur 15.4 Balev Corporation Ltd. 15.5 Beaumont Products, Inc. 15.6 Dabur India Ltd. 15.7 Dr.Marcus International 15.8 Febreze 15.9 Glade 15.10 Godrej 15.11 Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company 15.12 Jelly Belly UK 15.13 Mangalam CamPure 15.14 Odonil 15.15 Pinnacle Horizons Pty Ltd 15.16 Rexair LLC 15.17 Rubaru 15.18 Scott's Liquid Gold 15.19 Solimo 15.20 Vanesa 16 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4epjte Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Health Insurance Market (2022-2027) by Plan Type, Duration, Application, Coverage, Type, Age Group, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Health Insurance Market is estimated to be USD 2.76 Tn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 4.46 Tn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 10.08%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Health Insurance Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Company Profiles The report provides a detailed analysis of the competitors in the market. It covers the financial performance analysis for the publicly listed companies in the market. The report also offers detailed information on the companies' recent development and competitive scenario. Some of the companies covered in this report are Aetna Inc., Centene Corporation, CNP Assurances, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd., Prudential plc, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd., etc. Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Ansoff Analysis The report presents a detailed Ansoff matrix analysis for the Global Health Insurance Market. Ansoff Matrix, also known as Product/Market Expansion Grid, is a strategic tool used to design strategies for the growth of the company. The matrix can be used to evaluate approaches in four strategies viz. Market Development, Market Penetration, Product Development and Diversification. The matrix is also used for risk analysis to understand the risk involved with each approach. The analyst analyses Global Health Insurance Market using the Ansoff Matrix to provide the best approaches a company can take to improve its market position. Based on the SWOT analysis conducted on the industry and industry players, the analyst has devised suitable strategies for market growth. Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Health Insurance Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's competitive positioning tool. Key Topics Covered: 1 Report Description 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.1.1 Increased Cost of Healthcare 4.1.2 Demand Increase with Pandemic 4.1.3 Introduction of Mandatory Health Insurance 4.1.4 Private Organisations Providing Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Plans 4.2 Restraints 4.2.1 Varied Insurance Regulations across the Globe 4.2.2 Eligibility Regulations 4.3 Opportunities 4.3.1 Rise of Insurtech 4.3.2 Increased Demand for Quality Private Care 4.4 Challenges 4.4.1 Some Healthcare Services and Medical Expense Not Covered 4.4.2 Lack of Awareness in Emerging Countries 5 Market Analysis 5.1 Regulatory Scenario 5.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Ansoff Matrix Analysis 6 Global Health Insurance Market, By Plan Type 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Medical Insurance 6.3 Critical Illness Insurance 6.4 Family Floater Health Insurance 6.5 Others 7 Global Health Insurance Market, By Duration 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Life-Time Coverage 7.3 Term Insurance 8 Global Health Insurance Market, By Application 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Direct Sales 8.3 Brokers and Agents 8.4 Bankers 8.5 Others 9 Global Health Insurance Market, By Coverage 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Preferred Provider Organizations 9.3 Point of Services 9.4 Health Maintenance Organization 9.5 Exclusive Provider Organisation 10 Global Health Insurance Market, By Type 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Group 10.3 Individual 11 Global Health Insurance Market, By Age Group 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Senior Citizen 11.3 Adult 11.4 Children 12 Americas' Health Insurance Market 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Argentina 12.3 Brazil 12.4 Canada 12.5 Chile 12.6 Colombia 12.7 Mexico 12.8 Peru 12.9 United States 12.10 Rest of Americas 13 Europe's Health Insurance Market 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Austria 13.3 Belgium 13.4 Denmark 13.5 Finland 13.6 France 13.7 Germany 13.8 Italy 13.9 Netherlands 13.10 Norway 13.11 Poland 13.12 Russia 13.13 Spain 13.14 Sweden 13.15 Switzerland 13.16 United Kingdom 13.17 Rest of Europe 14 Middle East and Africa's Health Insurance Market 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Egypt 14.3 Israel 14.4 Qatar 14.5 Saudi Arabia 14.6 South Africa 14.7 United Arab Emirates 14.8 Rest of MEA 15 APAC's Health Insurance Market 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Australia 15.3 Bangladesh 15.4 China 15.5 India 15.6 Indonesia 15.7 Japan 15.8 Malaysia 15.9 Philippines 15.10 Singapore 15.11 South Korea 15.12 Sri Lanka 15.13 Thailand 15.14 Taiwan 15.15 Rest of Asia-Pacific 16 Competitive Landscape 16.1 Competitive Quadrant 16.2 Market Share Analysis 16.3 Strategic Initiatives 16.3.1 M&A and Investments 16.3.2 Partnerships and Collaborations 16.3.3 Product Developments and Improvements 17 Company Profiles 17.1 Aetna Inc. 17.2 Allianz SE 17.3 Anthem, Inc. 17.4 Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. 17.5 Aviva plc 17.6 AXA S.A. 17.7 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 17.8 Centene Corporation 17.9 China Life Insurance (Group) Company 17.10 China Pacific Insurance (Group) Company, Ltd. 17.11 CNP Assurances 17.12 Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. 17.13 Humana Inc. 17.14 Japan Post Insurance Company, Ltd. 17.15 Kaiser Foundation Group of Health Plans 17.16 Legal & General Group Plc 17.17 Life Insurance Corporation of India 17.18 MetLife Inc 17.19 MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. 17.20 Munich Reinsurance Company 17.21 National Mutual Insurance Federal Agricultural Cooperation 17.22 Nippon Life Insurance Company 17.23 People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd. 17.24 Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd. 17.25 Prudential plc 17.26 State Farm Group 17.27 Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. 17.28 United Health Group Incorporated 17.29 Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. 18 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/85kqw9 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets HELSINKI, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Outokumpu will publish its JanuaryMarch 2022 interim report on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at approximately 9.00 am EEST. A live webcast and conference call to analysts, investors and representatives of media will be arranged later on the same day, at 3.00 pm EEST at https://outokumpu.videosync.fi/2022-05-05-q1, hosted by President and CEO Heikki Malinen and CFO Pia Aaltonen-Forsell. To participate via conference call and to ask questions, please dial in the call 510 minutes before the beginning of the event: Finland: +358 9 8171 0310 UK: +44 333 300 0804 US: +1 631 913 1422 PIN: 61980159# All the interim report materials, a link to the webcast and later on its recording are available at: www.outokumpu.com/en/investors. For more information: Investors: Linda Hakkila, Head of Investor Relations, Tel. +358 400 719 669 Media: Paivi Allenius, VP Communications, Tel. +358 40 753 7374 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/outokumpu-oyj/r/outokumpu-publishes-its-q1-2022-interim-report-and-arranges-a-webcast-on-may-5--2022,c3550869 SOURCE Outokumpu Oyj Vendor Insights Peat Market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying various organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. The growing competition in the market is compelling vendors to adopt various growth strategies such as promotional activities and spending on advertisements to improve the visibility of their services. Some vendors are also adopting inorganic growth strategies such as M&As to remain competitive in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market vendors, including: AB Rekyva Aswini Multiagro Industries Pvt Ltd. Berger Bord na Mona Coco Coir Global. Cocogreen Ltd. Compaqpeat Global Peat Ltd. HQPower Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH Kumaran Fibres Lambert Peat Moss Mikskaar Neova Oy Oulun Energia Oy Premier Tech Ltd Sai Cocopeat Export PVT Ltd. Sri Jayanthi Coirs Sun Gro Horticulture Ventspils SIA Find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by vendors and their product offerings, Read our Sample Report. Geographical Market Analysis Europe will account for 70% of the market's growth. The primary European markets for peat are Finland, Ireland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The market in this region will grow at a slower pace than the markets in Europe and North America. Over the projection period, Europe's peat market will benefit from the abundant supply of peat. Furthermore, countries such as the US, Finland, Ireland, Germany, and the UK are expected to emerge as prominent markets for Peat Market during the forecast period. Know more about this market's geographical distribution along with a detailed analysis of the top regions. Download Detailed Sample Report. Key Segment Analysis The fuel and energy segment's peat market share will expand significantly. For cooking and heating, peat was used instead of fuel. Peat's domestic applications have begun to dwindle since the advent of gas and oil. However, because peat is used to fuel enormous power plants, the demand for electricity has kept it in use. Concerns over the depletion of fossil fuels like oil and natural gas have kept peat in demand. One of the most important applications of peat in the worldwide peat industry is as a fuel. During the projection period, increased consumption of fuel and energy will drive peat market share growth. View Sample Report : to know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years. Key Market Drivers & Challenges: One of the main drivers of peat market expansion is the increase in demand for electricity generation. Another trend that is helping to market expansion is peatland restoration. However, one of the problems impeding the peat market's expansion is the harmful impact of peat on the environment. Download Sample Report for highlights on market Drivers & Challenges affecting the Peat Market. Customize Your Report Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about this market report. Our analysts can also help you customize this report according to your needs. Our analysts and industry experts will work directly with you to understand your requirements and provide you with customized data in a short amount of time. Do reach out to our analysts for more customized reports as per needs. Speak to our Analyst now! Related Reports: Bonded Abrasives Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Oxygen Free Copper Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Peat Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 2.55% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 140.3 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 1.98 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution Europe at 70% Key consumer countries US, Finland, Ireland, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled AB Rekyva, Aswini Multiagro Industries Pvt Ltd., Berger, Bord na Mona, Coco Coir Global., Cocogreen Ltd., Compaqpeat, Global Peat Ltd., HQPower, Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH, Kumaran Fibres, Lambert Peat Moss, Mikskaar, Neova Oy, Oulun Energia Oy, Premier Tech Ltd, Sai Cocopeat Export PVT Ltd., Sri Jayanthi Coirs, Sun Gro Horticulture, and Ventspils SIA Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Application Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 09: Parent market Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 12: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2021 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026 Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between2021 and 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 18: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 24: Chart on Application - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 25: Data Table on Application - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Application Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Application Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Application 5.3 Fuel and energy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 28: Chart on Fuel and energy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 29: Data Table on Fuel and energy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Chart on Fuel and energy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Fuel and energy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Agriculture and horticulture - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chart on Agriculture and horticulture - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 33: Data Table on Agriculture and horticulture - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 34: Chart on Agriculture and horticulture - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Agriculture and horticulture - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 36: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 38: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.6 Market opportunity by Application Exhibit 40: Market opportunity by Application ($ million) 6 Customer Landscape 6.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 41: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 42: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 43: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 44: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 45: Data Table on Geographic comparison 7.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 46: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 47: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 48: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 49: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 51: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 52: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 55: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 56: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 57: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 59: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 60: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 62: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 63: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 64: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 65: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.8 Finland - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 66: Chart on Finland - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 67: Data Table on Finland - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 68: Chart on Finland - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 69: Data Table on Finland - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.9 Ireland - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on Ireland - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 71: Data Table on Ireland - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 72: Chart on Ireland - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 73: Data Table on Ireland - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 75: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 76: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 77: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.11 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 79: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 80: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 81: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.12 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 83: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 84: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 85: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 86: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges 8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 87: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026 8.4 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 88: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 9.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 89: Overview on factors of disruption 9.4 Industry risks Exhibit 90: Impact of key risks on business 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 91: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 92: Matrix on vendor position and classification 10.3 Berger Exhibit 93: Berger - Overview Exhibit 94: Berger - Product / Service Exhibit 95: Berger - Key offerings 10.4 Bord na Mona Exhibit 96: Bord na Mona - Overview Exhibit 97: Bord na Mona - Product / Service Exhibit 98: Bord na Mona - Key offerings 10.5 Coco Coir Global. Exhibit 99: Coco Coir Global. - Overview Exhibit 100: Coco Coir Global. - Product / Service Exhibit 101: Coco Coir Global. - Key offerings 10.6 Cocogreen Ltd. Exhibit 102: Cocogreen Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 103: Cocogreen Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 104: Cocogreen Ltd. - Key offerings 10.7 Compaqpeat Exhibit 105: Compaqpeat - Overview Exhibit 106: Compaqpeat - Product / Service Exhibit 107: Compaqpeat - Key offerings 10.8 Global Peat Ltd. Exhibit 108: Global Peat Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 109: Global Peat Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 110: Global Peat Ltd. - Key offerings 10.9 Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH Exhibit 111: Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH - Overview Exhibit 112: Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH - Product / Service Exhibit 113: Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH - Key offerings 10.10 Lambert Peat Moss Exhibit 114: Lambert Peat Moss - Overview - Overview Exhibit 115: Lambert Peat Moss - Product / Service - Product / Service Exhibit 116: Lambert Peat Moss - Key offerings 10.11 Neova Oy Exhibit 117: Neova Oy - Overview - Overview Exhibit 118: Neova Oy - Product / Service - Product / Service Exhibit 119: Neova Oy - Key offerings 10.12 Ventspils SIA Exhibit 120: Ventspils SIA - Overview Exhibit 121: Ventspils SIA - Product / Service Exhibit 122: Ventspils SIA - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 123: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 124: Exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 125: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology Exhibit 126: Research methodology Exhibit 127: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 128: Information sources 11.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 129: List of abbreviations About Us: Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Philippines Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Philippines Data Center Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% during 2022-2027. The report considers the present scenario of the Philippines' data center market and its market dynamics for the forecast period 2022-2027. It covers a detailed overview of several growth enablers, restraints, and trends in the market. The study includes the demand and supply aspects of the market. KEY HIGHLIGHTS Philippines has gained traction in data center development over the last few years, owing to factors such as internet adoption driven by COVID-19, increasing popularity of CDNs and gaming, a thriving BPO industry, and a strategic and connected location. Manila is the most preferred location by data center operators, with 12 unique third-party data center facilities contributing to over 75% of the existing power capacity in the country. Other upcoming cities include Cebu, Clark, Mindanao, and Laguna, among others. In April 2021, the Philippines launched the CREATE Act, with one element being a reduction in corporate income tax from 30% to 25% for companies with a net income of over $95,000, and 20% for MSMEs with a net income of under $95,000 and assets below $1.9 billion. Data center operators are partnering with local operators to operate in the Philippines market. In March 2022, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres constituted a joint venture with Globe Telecom and Ayala Corporation for data center development in the country. The National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) in the Philippines targets to achieve over 37% of renewable energy by 2030 and over 55% by 2040 in terms of the overall share of power generation. WHY SHOULD YOU BUY THIS RESEARCH? Market size available in the investment, area, power capacity, and colocation revenue. An assessment of the investment in the Philippines by colocation, hyperscale, and enterprise operators. by colocation, hyperscale, and enterprise operators. Data center investments in terms of area (square feet) and power capacity (MW) across cities in the country. A detailed study of the existing market landscape, an in-depth industry analysis, and insightful predictions about the size of the data center market in the Philippines during the forecast period. during the forecast period. Snapshot of existing and upcoming third-party facilities in the Philippines Facilities Covered (Existing): 20 Facilities Identified (Upcoming): 5 Coverage: 2+ Cities Existing vs. Upcoming (Data Center Area) Existing vs. Upcoming (IT Load Capacity) Data center colocation market in the Philippines Market Revenue & Forecast (2022-2027) Retail Colocation Pricing Classification of the Philippines data center market investments into multiple segments and sub-segments (IT, power, cooling, and general construction services) with sizing and forecast. data center market investments into multiple segments and sub-segments (IT, power, cooling, and general construction services) with sizing and forecast. A comprehensive analysis of the latest trends, growth rate, potential opportunities, growth restraints, and prospects for the industry. Business overview and product offerings of prominent IT infrastructure providers, construction contractors, support infrastructure providers, and investors operating in the industry. A transparent research methodology and the analysis of the demand and supply aspects of the industry. VENDOR LANDSCAPE Factors driving the Philippines data center market include the increasing gaming population, a booming Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, and the increasing popularity of Content Delivery Network (CDN) and online streaming. MARKET ENABLERS Cloud Adoption driving Data Center Demand Increased Investments in Data Center in Philippines Increased Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Philippines Data Localization and Processing Law in Philippines IT Infrastructure Providers Atos Broadcom Cisco Systems Dell Technologies Fujitsu Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Huawei Technologies IBM Lenovo NetApp Oracle Data Center Construction Contractors & Sub-Contractors Arup Aurecon Group Comfac Data Center Design Corporation (DCDC) First Balfour PRONET Support Infrastructure Providers ABB Caterpillar Cummins Cyber Power Systems Eaton Fuji Electric KOHLER Legrand Mitsubishi Electric Rolls-Royce Power Systems Schneider Electric Vertiv Group Data Center Investors Beeinfotech Bitstop Network Services Converge ICT Solutions DITO Telecommunity ePLDT Space DC YCO Cloud Centers Globe Telecom Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Existing & Upcoming Third-Party Data Centers in the Philippines 20 Unique Data Center Properties Data Center It Load Capacity Data Center White Floor Area Space Existing Vs Upcoming Data Center Capacity by Cities Cities Covered Manila Other Cities Chapter 2 Investment Opportunities in the Philippines Data Center Investments Investment by Area Investment by Power Capacity Chapter 3 Data Center Colocation Market in the Philippines Colocation Services Market in Philippines Retail Colocation Colocation Pricing (Quarter Rack, Half Rack, Full Rack) & Add-Ons Chapter 4 Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Trends Market Restraints Chapter 5 Market Segmentation IT Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Electrical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Mechanical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast General Construction Services: Market Size & Forecast Chapter 6 Tier Standard Investment Tier I & II Tier III Tier IV Chapter 7 Key Market Participants It Infrastructure Providers Construction Contractors Support Infrastructure Providers Data Center Investors Chapter 8 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jxbo06 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Political Organizations Global Market Report 2022 by Organization, Scope and Services, Mode of donation, Organization Location" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global political organizations market as it emerges from the COVID-19 shut down. Reasons to Purchase Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 12+ geographies. Understand how the market is being affected by the coronavirus and how it is likely to emerge and grow as the impact of the virus abates. Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis. Identify growth segments for investment. Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market. Understand customers based on the latest market research findings. Benchmark performance against key competitors. Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing. Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis Major players in the political organizations market are Democratic Party, Republican Party, Communist Party of China, Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Justice and Development Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Workers' Party of Korea and United Russia. The global political organizations market is expected to grow from $3.94 billion in 2021 to $4.14 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $4.77 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 3.6%. The political organizations market consists of revenue generated through political services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that are engaged in promoting the interests of national, state, or local political parties or candidates. This market includes political groups organized to raise funds for a political party or individual candidates. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. The main types of organizations in political organizations are national, regional. The national political organizations involve the persons engaged in national level political activities to achieve political goals. The different modes of donation include online, offline. The organization locations can be domestic, international and are segmented by scope and services into campaign organizations, constituency associations, local political organization, political action committees (PACS), political campaign organizations, political organizations and clubs, political parties, riding association. Asia Pacific was the largest region in the political organizations market in 2021. North America was the second largest region in the political organizations market. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The initiatives taken by political organizations to improve the support from businesses in the region drive the market. For instance, the Bhartiya Janata Party government in India has promoted reforms that may boost the economy helping small and medium enterprises to expand their businesses. It launched the Make in India initiative to bring in businesses into the country to boost the economic activity and create jobs. These initiatives will help businesses to expand their revenue streams and in turn, encourage businesses to support the political organizations by funding them. Social media platforms are increasingly being used by political organizations for campaigning. The utilization of social media is viable in reaching out to young voters. There are various ways by which a political party can conduct social media campaigns such as engaging with the public through live video, asking questions on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, being active on social platforms by posting daily updates of their political work, and many more. The countries covered in the political organizations market are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Political Organizations Market Characteristics 3. Political Organizations Market Trends And Strategies 4. Impact Of COVID-19 On Political Organizations 5. Political Organizations Market Size And Growth 5.1. Global Political Organizations Historic Market, 2016-2021, $ Billion 5.1.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.1.2. Restraints On The Market 5.2. Global Political Organizations Forecast Market, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 5.2.1. Drivers Of The Market 5.2.2. Restraints On the Market 6. Political Organizations Market Segmentation 6.1. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Organization, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion National Regional 6.2. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Scope and Services, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Campaign Organizations Constituency Associations Local Political Organization Political Action Committees (PACs) Political Campaign organizations Political Organizations And Clubs Political Parties Riding Association 6.3. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Mode of donation, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Online Offline 6.4. Global Political Organizations Market, Segmentation By Organization Location, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion Domestic International 7. Political Organizations Market Regional And Country Analysis 7.1. Global Political Organizations Market, Split By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion 7.2. Global Political Organizations Market, Split By Country, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/anv3zt Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Gainesville, Ga. poultry vaccine site has received carbon neutral certification, becoming the company's first U.S. animal health manufacturing plant to announce carbon neutrality DULUTH, Ga., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boehringer Ingelheim U.S. Animal Health today announced that its poultry vaccine site in Gainesville, Ga., has received carbon neutral certification, the first of its U.S. sites to earn this designation. The site, which produces nearly 60 billion poultry vaccines every year, is Boehringer Ingelheim's first major manufacturing facility site in the U.S. and its third site globally to become carbon neutral. "Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to making the company, surrounding communities, and the world more environmentally sustainable, now and for future generations," said Randolph Legg, President and Head of Commercial Business at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc. "Our Gainesville site's achievement inspires our entire worldwide team as we make progress toward our goal to become carbon neutral in all company operations by 2030 (Scope 1 and Scope 2)1." The Gainesville site has been working toward more sustainable operations since 2017, when they noticed emissions were equal to more than 1,000 homes. Electricity is one of the biggest emission producers onsite, so the site team began participating in several Georgia Power renewable energy programs to help power the site in a more sustainable way and eliminate nearly 80% of carbon emissions. To reach carbon neutral status, the site team made additional changes that included: Installed solar panels over the parking lot to harness the power of the sun, Replaced fluorescent lightbulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs, Installed dimmer switches and occupancy sensors that turn off the lights when rooms are not in use, Purchased an electric vehicle for use around the site and installed a charging station, Installed smart meters to measure electrical consumption, which helps identify energy savings, and Replaced insulation on equipment to reduce heat and energy loss. To offset the few remaining carbon emissions, the company purchased environmental project carbon credits from Climate Seed. Employees at the site chose to invest in the Noles South Avoided Conversion Forest project in North Carolina and a reforestation project in Kasigau Corridor in Kenya. With these changes, the company contracted with Germany-based TUV, an independent third-party certification services company, to review and certify the site for carbon neutrality. The company received the carbon neutral certification on April 11. The certification process confirms that the site has reduced and offset greenhouse gas emissions for 2021. The certification must be reviewed annually and is based on the previous year's emissions. "We are excited that the updates we've implemented at this facility and the support from our employees have earned us the certification for carbon neutrality," said Andy Brehm, Site Director at the Boehringer Ingelheim Gainesville facility. "It's important to us and everyone at the site that we work toward a more sustainable future, for our communities and the people and animals we serve." "This move to carbon neutrality helps protect the environment we live in," said Lara Sheeley, head of the U.S. swine and poultry divisions at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. "And when the environment is healthy, people and animals are healthier." Boehringer Ingelheim sites across the U.S. are making significant progress toward carbon neutrality as part of Boehringer Ingelheim's Sustainable Development For Generations initiative. The site at St. Joseph, Mo., operates on wind energy. In North Brunswick, N.J., the site has purchased green power. In Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, the site will use natural gas to generate electricity, which will create steam and hot water that can be used in everyday operations. The U.S. Corporate and Human Pharma headquarters in Ridgefield, Conn., runs on renewable energy. About 'Sustainable Development For Generations' Boehringer Ingelheim operates to serve the needs of human and animal health. This makes the company's position unique in addressing intersecting sustainable development challenges. The 'Sustainable Development For Generations' framework has three pillars: 'More Health,' 'More Green' and 'More Potential.' Through these pillars, Boehringer Ingelheim implements 20 initiatives around the globe to drive the company's contributions and impact. These are in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To succeed in reaching these goals, the company has renewed its committed approach to working in partnership, calling for the multi-stakeholder collaboration needed to tackle complex global challenges. About Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is working on first-in-class innovation for the prediction, prevention, and treatment of diseases in animals. For veterinarians, pet owners, producers, and governments in more than 150 countries, we offer a large and innovative portfolio of products and services to improve the health and well-being of companion animals and livestock. As a global leader in the animal health industry and as part of the family-owned Boehringer Ingelheim, we take a long-term perspective. The lives of animals and humans are interconnected in deep and complex ways. We know that when animals are healthy, humans are healthier too. By using the synergies between our Animal Health and Human Pharma businesses and by delivering value through innovation, we enhance the health and well-being of both. Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health has deep roots in the U.S. From a start in St. Joseph, Missouri, more than 100 years ago, it has grown to encompass seven sites. Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health's portfolio contains widely used and well-respected vaccines, parasite-control products and therapeutics for pets, horses and livestock including NexGard, Heartgard, Pyramid Presponse, VAXXITEK, CircoFLEX and Prascend. Learn more about Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA at bi-animalhealth.com Reference Scope 1 All direct emissions from activities of the company and under the control of Boehringer Ingelheim. Scope 2 Indirect emissions created through purchased energy and used by Boehringer Ingelheim for company operations. SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc. "Guests who expand their flavor horizons with an Impossible Beef entree this Earth Day will excite their taste buds and be one step closer to reducing their carbon footprint," said Keith Guilbault, CEO of QDOBA. "This tasty and craveable option gives red meat eaters, flexitarians and vegetarians alike a nutritious, sustainably sourced protein option they can feel good about. Guests are encouraged to level up their Impossible entrees by adding one (or more!) of our free signature salsas, sauces and toppings from our delicious Flavor Bar." In addition to always seeking quality and flavor-packed ingredients from suppliers that adhere to sustainable farming and production techniques, the company follows many earth friendly practices in its restaurants and throughout its supply chain. For instance: In 2021, QDOBA reduced its supply chain emissions by 70%. 80% of the ingredients QDOBA serves will meet the company's clean label pledge by the end of 2022. All of QDOBA's protein suppliers are encouraged to comply with The Five Freedoms of Animal Well-Being. QDOBA serves GMO-free rice that's sustainably grown in the U.S., supporting both American farmers and the economy. GMO-free sustainably Eco-friendly packaging options are regularly integrated into restaurants. This year, to reduce plastic consumption, QDOBA is increasing its use of sustainable packaging with the addition of: recyclable cutlery and chip bags; compostable bowls made from sugar cane; strawless lids; recyclable paper bags; and recyclable/reusable plastic bags for carryout orders. QDOBA compostable strawless Efforts around waste, energy and water usage are conducted through QDOBA's partnerships with leading industry experts. "We're dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint by minimizing resource consumption and growing our sustainable packaging over time," said Guilbault. "Whether it's through the products we use or the work we do with third-party organizations to improve our waste, energy and water usage, QDOBA continuously strives to be environmentally conscious." According to a recent report by Grand View Research, Inc., the global plant-based meat market is projected to reach $24.8 billion by 2030. Impossible Foods, a leader in the field, is on a mission to make products that are better for you, better for the planet, and taste better than animal meat. Impossible Beef has 0 mg cholesterol, 40% less total fat (13 g v. 23 g total fat), 33% less saturated fat (6 g v. 9 g saturated fat), and as much iron and protein as a comparable 4 oz serving of 80/20 ground beef from cows. Impossible Beef also uses 92% less water, 96% less land and produces 91% less greenhouse gas emissions than ground beef from cows. For more information about QDOBA, their earth-friendly menu items, practices and more, please visit www.QDOBA.com . *Please visit www.qdoba.com/earth-day-2022 for terms and conditions. About QDOBA Mexican Eats QDOBA is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant with more than 740 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Committed to bringing flavor to people's lives, QDOBA uses ingredients freshly prepared in-house by hand throughout the day to create delicious menu options. Guests can experience QDOBA's delicious flavors by enjoying one of its chef-crafted signature eats for convenience and ease, or by creating their own burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and salads to suit their personal tastes and cravings. For four years running, QDOBA has been voted the "Best Fast Casual Restaurant" as part of the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards. Backed by 25 years of proven success in the United States, and recently Canada, QDOBA is prioritizing franchise growth in key markets such as Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Pennsylvania. For additional information about the QDOBA franchise opportunity, visit www.qdobafranchise.com . Discover more at www.QDOBA.com or on the QDOBA app, which is available for download on the iTunes App Store or Google Play . Fans can also connect with QDOBA on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram , and TikTok. SOURCE QDOBA LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Collaboratively, Grit & Gravel Marketing, a consumer and employer branding agency, and Incipio Workforce Solutions are locating, hiring, and retaining top talent across multiple industries through combined employer branding, human resource efforts, and applicant recruiting efforts. Grit & Gravel is positively branding each employer while Incipio is equipping each company to live their brand daily. Together, they are increasing each client's position as the organization of choice for potential new hires. We asked Kaleb Scharmahorn, CEO of Grit & Gravel Marketing, why he considers employer branding to be important? He answered, "A well executed and communicated employer brand is a crucial part of any company's overall brand impression." He mentioned that branding is too commonly associated with winning sales. When a company is determining if employer branding is an avenue that they should take, one may be curious about the misconceptions associated. Kaleb said, "A common misconception of employer branding is that if your company looks like a great place to work to the potential candidate, then it will be a great place to work." Telling your brand story effectively is crucial to organizational success, but it requires much more attention. Together, Incipio and Grit & Gravel come across situations where employer brand marketing doesn't match the actual employee experience. So through their partnership, they are uniquely positioned to help companies, not only look the part through strategic employer branding efforts, but help them professionally equip their teams to positively control their brand perception, increase retention, and create an infectious culture that top talent and top clients want to be a part of. Kaleb said, "The nature of brand growth is a systematic, consistent, and intentional approach of marrying the pragmatic nature of where you are with the vision of where you want to be. We help clients define their vision for their employer brand and understand their current status and perception. Then we develop, monitor, and measure the necessary brand building activity that has to happen to get the brand where we need it to be." About Grit & Gravel Marketing Grit & Gravel is a full-service content marketing and employer branding agency. Learn more . About Incipio Workforce Solutions Incipio offers professional services in Workforce Alignment, Applicant Recruiting, Employer Branding, and HR. Learn more . Molley Ricketts Incipio Workforce Solutions 502.544.3706 SOURCE Incipio Workforce Solutions Machine Learning (ML) algorithms using Computer Vision (CV) data provide a key tool for exploiting the rapidly expanding capability and content of Earth Observations (EO) collection and analytics companies around the world. Rendered.ai provides a platform as a service (PaaS) for data scientists and CV engineers to scalably produce large, configurable synthetic CV datasets in the cloud for training Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ML systems. The DIRSIG model produces a range of simulated output representing passive single-band, multi-spectral, or hyper-spectral imagery from the visible through the thermal infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. DIRSIG is widely used to test algorithms and to train analysts on simulated standard imagery products. The Rendered.ai team has built simulators for visible light and synthetic aperture radar (SAR), however DIRSIG's breadth of capability and ongoing investment by granting agencies will provide qualified Rendered.ai customers a much wider range of field-tested and production-quality sensor modeling technology. "DIRSIG has been providing synthetic imagery to expert customers for decades," said Scott Brown, Ph.D., principal scientist and project lead. "Our collaboration with Rendered.ai enables us to bring our proven capability to a wider audience at a time when satellite and other forms of remote sensing data collection are rapidly expanding." The initial project with DIRSIG and Rendered.ai is being developed for a confidential lighthouse customer with the goal to make the basic integration available for organizations through a synthetic data channel, a purpose-built synthetic data application, within the Rendered.ai framework. "Expansion of the Earth Observation market is not only increasing the diversity of data types and frequency of data collection available to government and commercial users, but it is also driving the need to find new and faster automated techniques for extracting knowledge from massive streams of imagery," said Nathan Kundtz, Ph.D., CEO of Rendered.ai. "We built our platform to put rapid generation of synthetic data at customers' fingertips for innovation and experimentation. We're happy that the DIRSIG team has partnered with us to bring to our users the best simulated content possible." Rendered.ai and RIT will announce details and requirements for accessing DIRSIG on the platform at a future date. Both the Rendered.ai and DIRSIG teams will be represented at the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's (USGIF) 2022 GEOINT Symposium in Aurora, Colorado, from April 24-27 and would be happy to share more information about the collaboration. About Rendered.ai Rendered.ai is a Platform as a Service for synthetic data generation that puts physically accurate sensor modeling and a closed-loop data engineering workflow in the hands of data scientists and innovators. Founded by physicist Nathan Kundtz, Rendered.ai has created and powers the first-ever developer framework for synthetic data, turning simulation tools into synthetic data capabilities which includes scenario generation, 3D model libraries, asset management, compute management, annotation, metadata management and more. Rendered.ai is a privately held company based in Bellevue, Washington. For more information on the company and to sign up for a free account, please visit: www.rendered.ai. You can also visit Rendered.ai at GEOINT 2022 in booth #835. About DIRS Laboratory at RIT The Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing (DIRS) Laboratory focuses on the development of tools to extract information about the Earth from aerial and satellite imaging systems with an emphasis on the application of science and engineering to solving end-to-end remote sensing problems using a systems engineering approach. The DIRS Laboratory, formed more than 30 years ago, is housed within the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science, an academic unit within RIT's College of Science, and has about 40 graduate students conducting research who are supported by six faculty and 17 full-time research and administrative staff. DIRS also has on-going research partnerships with multiple federal agencies, large and small companies, and other academic institutions. Visit us on the web at https://www.rit.edu/dirs/. SOURCE Rendered.ai BEIJING and HANGZHOU, China, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Roan Holdings Group Co., Ltd. ("Roan" or the "Company") (OTC Pink Sheets: RAHGF and RONWF), a comprehensive solution provider for industrial operation and capital market services, today reported its financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. All amounts are in U.S. dollars. Fiscal year 2021 Highlights: Net income increased to $0.76 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from a net loss of $0.85 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 . increased to for the year ended from a net loss of for the year ended . Net earnings per share increased to $0.01 for the year ended December 31, 2021 from a net loss per share of $0.07 for the year ended December 31, 2020 . increased to for the year ended from a net loss per share of for the year ended . Net commission and fees on financial guarantee services was $0.40 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 , as compared to $0.29 million for fiscal year 2020, reflecting an increase of 37.93% for business development. and was for the year ended , as compared to for fiscal year 2020, reflecting an increase of 37.93% for business development. Operating expenses in total decreased by $0.81 million , to $3.30 million for year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $4.11 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 . The decreases were primarily the result of the Company's cost control strategies. For fiscal years ended December 31 ($ millions, except per share data, differences due to rounding) 2021 2020 % Change Net revenues of services $0.79 $2.13 (62.91%) Net commission and fees on financial guarantee services $0.40 $0.29 37.93% Total interest and fees income $2.41 $2.48 (2.82%) Operating income $3.61 $4.90 (26.33%) Net income $0.76 ($0.85) N/A Net earnings per share Basic and Diluted $0.01 ($0.07) N/A Mr. Junfeng Wang, Chairman of the Board commented, "We are pleased to conclude fiscal year 2021 with sound financial performance. Although the external environment is full of challenges, through our service and extensive cooperation experience and resources accumulated over the past 10 years and with more than 500 customers and partners in various industries, the Company further optimized its strategic planning and business layout in 2021, and is in process of reforming operation structure, optimization of management team, integration of market resources, establishment of new business entities, and upgrading of our business services and products to meet Roan's future development needs. As a result, the Company not only achieved substantial improvement in financial performance in 2021, but also turned from a net loss of $0.85 million in fiscal year 2020 to a net profit of $0.76 million in fiscal year 2021. At the same time, Roan has successfully expanded its business into the field of new energy, new materials, and semiconductor related industries, and we obtained our first $0.14 million industrial operation service fee income." "In the future, through our strategic business layout in industrial operation and capital market services, the Company plans to obtain long-term operation rights for new-generation technologies, products, and services in the fields of new energy, new materials, semiconductors, culture, tourism, and health so as to position ourselves to generate income from our services and products in order to share further the upward trend of these industries," Mr Wang said. Mr. Wenhao Wang, Chief Financial Officer of Roan, commented: "In 2021, in line with our expectations, we became profitable, turning around from last year's losses. We grew our annual net income by $1.61 million to $0.76 million. We boosted our business development by upgrading our business ecosystem, and we applied cost-efficient strategies that helped us save $0.81 million in operating expenses for the past year. We also have a positive working capital balance of $51.94 million as of December 31, 2021, which makes us believe that the efforts we put in place and the strategic development we are taking will bring us significant improvements to profitability, creating long-term value for our shareholders." Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results Services Revenues The following table sets forth a breakdown of our revenue by services offered for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020: ($ millions, differences due to rounding) For the years ended December 31, Variance 2021 2020 Amount % Management and assessment service $ 0.44 $ 0.02 $ 0.42 2100% Consulting services relating to debt collection 0.21 2.11 (1.90) (90.05)% Industrial operation services 0.14 - 0.14 100.00% Revenues from services $ 0.79 $ 2.13 $ (1.34) (62.91)% Management and assessment services Revenue from management and assessment services was $0.44 million ended December 31, 2021, which was increased 0.42 million or 2100% compared with $0.02 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was caused by the new contracts of management and assessment services brought significant revenue and cashflow to the Company. Consulting services relating to debt collection Revenue from consulting services relating to debt collection was $0.21 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, a decrease of $1.90 million, or 90.05%, as compared to $2.11 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, which was mainly due to the negative impact of the COVID pandemic. We had less contracts for debt collection service during the year ended December 31, 2021. Industrial operation services On December 31, 2021, Hangzhou Zeshi investment partnership ("Zeshi investment"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into an agreement with ZhongTan Future New Energy Industry Development (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. ("ZhongTan"). Revenue of $0.14 million was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2021 after the target customer was located, due diligence and initial negotiation was completed, and requirements of ZhongTan were met. Revenue for commission and fees on financial guarantee services Commission and fees on financial guarantee services was $0.46 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $0.08 million, or 21.05% as compared to $0.38 million for fiscal year 2020, reflecting an increase for business development. The provisions for financial guarantee services are related to financial guarantee service business as per the requirement of local government. Provisions for financial guarantee services was $0.06 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $0.09 million for last fiscal year. Interest and fee income Interest and fee income primarily consisted of interest and fee income generated from loans due from third parties. Interest and fee income was $2.41 million, a decrease of $0.07 million, or 2.82% for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $2.48 million for fiscal year 2020. The decrease was mainly due to a decrease of $0.02 million in interest income from loans due from third parties and a decrease of $0.05 million in interest income on provision deposits with banks. Operating expenses Operating expenses in total decreased by $0.81 million, or 19.70% to $3.30 million for year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $4.11 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The decreases in these expenses were primarily the result of our cost control strategies. Net income As a result of the foregoing, we had a net income of $0.76 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to a net loss of $0.85 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents were $1.95 million as of December 31, 2021, reflecting a decrease of $2.98 million from $4.93 million as at December 31, 2020, primarily because of the repayment of bank loan of $2.94 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. Working capital Our working capital was $51.94 million as of December 31, 2021. Recent developments On February 28, 2022, the Company signed a five-year industrial operation cooperation agreement with Jiushang (Hangzhou) Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. ("Jiushang"). The Company will provide Jiushang with financing and operation services, and cooperate in the transformation and industrialization of Jiushang semiconductor's new technological achievements in the Chinese market. On December 16, 2021, Hangzhou Zeshi invested RMB 2 million (approximately $0.31 million) in Medium Carbon Future New Energy Industry Development (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. ("Medium Carbon"), and held 2% its equity. Future New Energy invested RMB 20 million (approximately $3.10 million) and held 20% its equity. The registered capital of Medium Carbon is RMB 100 million (approximately $15.49 million). On November 24, 2021, Hangzhou Zeshi, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company invested RMB100,000 (approximately $0.02 million) in Hangzhou Future New Energy Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) ("Future New Energy") and held 1% of the equity of Future New Energy. The registered capital of Future New Energy is RMB 10 million (approximately $1.55 million). About Roan Holdings Group Co., Ltd. Founded in 2009, Roan Holdings Group Co., Ltd. (OTC Pink: RAHGF and RONWF) is a comprehensive solution provider for industrial operation and capital market services. Adhering to the platform strategy of "cross collaboration, technology empowerment, sustainability and stability, and combination of operation and finance resources", the Company's services focus on the new energy, new materials, and semiconductor industries. At the same time, the Company focuses on the application of innovative technologies in the consumer industry with respect to financial consumption, cultural and tourism consumption, and great health ecosysystem. Roan aims to provide comprehensive solutions and supporting services for diversified institutuional and local government clients across the entire industry chain. Roan has offices in Hangzhou and Beijing and subsidiaries in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Tianjin. For more information, please visit: www.roanholdingsgroup.com. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to, among others, the consummation of the proposed transaction, and can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations of the consummation of the proposed transaction, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors are included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law. IR Contact: At the Company: Katrina Wu Email: [email protected] Phone: +86-571-8662 1775 Investor Relations Firm: Janice Wang EverGreen Consulting Inc. Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 571-464-9470 (from U.S.) +86 13811768559 (from China) ROAN HOLDINGS GROUP CO., LTD. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS As of December 31, 2021 and 2020 (Expressed in U.S. dollar, except for the number of shares) December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020 ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,947,142 $ 4,932,048 Restricted cash 29,693,689 25,875,556 Accounts receivable, net 6,929,529 6,939,352 Inventories 33,598 30,348 Loan receivables due from third parties, net 23,751,471 17,670,652 Due from related parties 5,941 94,023 Other current assets 70,910 3,502,550 Other receivables, net 656,835 3,545,753 Total current assets 63,089,115 62,590,282 Pledged deposits 48,752 462,835 Property and equipment, net 77,073 65,073 Intangible assets, net 3,123,394 3,977,867 Right of use assets 37,313 346,017 Goodwill 267,331 261,087 Total non-current assets 3,553,863 5,112,879 Total Assets $ 66,642,978 $ 67,703,161 LIABILITIES Customer pledged deposits $ 7,846 $ 7,664 Unearned income 72,523 130,772 Reserve for financial guarantee losses 651,341 579,364 Dividends payable 480,000 480,000 Tax payable 2,614,257 1,767,214 Due to related parties 123,117 281,369 Warrant liabilities 16,998 13,977 Operating lease liabilities, current portion 65,498 191,643 Accrued expenses and other liabilities 1,155,903 1,642,060 Bank loans 5,961,460 8,826,054 Total current liabilities 11,148,943 13,920,117 Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent portion - 102,767 Deferred tax liabilities 544,355 793,848 Total non-current Liabilities 544,355 896,615 Total Liabilities $ 11,693,298 $ 14,816,732 Commitments and Contingencies - - Shareholders' Equity Ordinary Share, no par value, unlimited shares authorized; 25,287,851 and 25,287,851 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively - - Class A convertible preferred shares, no par value, unlimited shares authorized; 715,000 and 715,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively $ 11,711,727 $ 11,025,327 Class B convertible preferred shares, no par value, unlimited shares authorized; 291,795,150 and 291,795,150 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively 31,087,732 31,087,732 Additional paid-in capital 3,312,189 3,312,189 Statutory reserve 362,797 202,592 Accumulated deficit (14,805,802) (14,330,288) Accumulated other comprehensive income 3,128,086 2,310,369 Total Roan Holdings Group Co., Ltd.'s Shareholders' Equity $ 34,796,729 $ 33,607,921 Noncontrolling interests 20,152,951 19,278,508 Total Equity 54,949,680 52,886,429 Total Liabilities and Equity $ 66,642,978 $ 67,703,161 ROAN HOLDINGS GROUP CO., LTD. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) For the Years Ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 (Expressed in U.S. dollar, except for the number of shares) For the Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Revenues from services $ 793,291 $ 2,128,153 $ 639,220 Revenues from healthcare service packages - 55,301 - Cost of revenues - (50,774) (8,080) Net revenues of services 793,291 2,132,680 631,140 Commissions and fees on financial guarantee services 456,944 375,471 8,797 Provision for financial guarantee services (57,417) (89,865) (5,008) Commission and fee income on guarantee services, net 399,527 285,606 3,789 Interest and fees income Interest and fees on direct loans - - 1,153 Interest income on loans due from third parties 2,113,918 2,131,447 34,707 Interest income from factoring business - - 2,782,332 Interest income on deposits with banks 300,749 348,389 64,636 Total interest and fee income 2,414,667 2,479,836 2,882,828 Interest expense Interest expenses and fees on secured loans - - (2,218,815) Net interest income 2,414,667 2,479,836 664,013 Provision for loan losses - - (2,244,601) Net interest income (loss) after provision for loan losses 2,414,667 2,479,836 (1,580,588) Operating income (loss) 3,607,485 4,898,122 (945,659) Total operating expenses Salaries and employee surcharges (1,054,509) (1,116,482) (512,314) Other operating expenses (2,241,069) (2,995,098) (1,385,259) Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities (3,021) 5,961 530,863 Total operating expenses (3,298,599) (4,105,619) (1,366,710) Other income (expenses) Deconsolidation gain (loss) 490,283 (1,953,248) - Interest income (expenses), net (267,184) - - Other income (expense), net 554,167 76,406 - Total other income (expenses) 777,266 (1,876,842) - Income (Loss) before income taxes 1,086,152 (1,084,339) (2,312,369) Income tax (expenses) recovery (328,851) 229,733 (244,741) Net income (loss) from continuing operations 757,301 (854,606) (2,557,110) Net income from discontinued operations, net of income tax - - 26,846,018 Net income (loss) 757,301 (854,606) 24,288,908 Dividend convertible redeemable Class A preferred share - - (686,400) Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests (386,210) (838,048) (76,108) Net income (loss) attributable to Roan Holding Group Co., Ltd.'s shareholders $ 371,091 $ (1,692,654) $ 23,526,400 Other comprehensive (loss) income Foreign currency translation adjustment 1,308,444 3,461,980 1,435,262 Reclassified to net gain from discontinued operations - - 2,691,969 1,308,444 3,461,980 4,127,231 Comprehensive income 2,065,745 2,607,374 28,416,139 Other comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests (488,233) (1,334,101) (97,733) Dividend convertible redeemable Class A preferred share - - (686,400) Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests (386,210) (838,048) (76,108) Total comprehensive income attributable to Roan Holdings Group Co., Ltd.'s shareholders $ 1,191,302 $ 435,226 $ 27,555,898 Weighted average number of ordinary share outstanding Basic and Diluted* 25,287,887 25,287,887 25,287,887 Earnings (Loss) per share Net earnings (loss) per share Basic and Diluted $ 0.01 $ (0.07) $ 0.93 Net earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations - Basic and Diluted $ 0.01 $ (0.07) $ (0.13) Net earnings per share from discontinued operations - Basic and Diluted $ - $ - $ 1.06 ROAN HOLDINGS GROUP CO., LTD. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS For the Years Ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 (Expressed in U.S. dollar, except for the number of shares) For the Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Cash Flows from Operating Activities: Net income (loss) $ 757,301 $ (854,606) $ 24,288,908 Less: Net loss from discontinued operations - - 26,846,018 Net loss from continuing operations 757,301 (854,606) (2,557,110) Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: Depreciation and amortization expenses 1,134,738 1,102,298 55,498 Provision for credit losses 48,518 316,014 - Provision for loan losses - - 2,244,601 Provision for financial guarantee losses 57,417 89,865 5,008 Deferred tax expenses (265,421) (1,001,372) 57,674 Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities 3,021 (5,961) (530,863) Net gain from disposal of fixed assets (33,246) (136,682) - Gain from lease modification (603) 22,257 - Accretion of finance leases 7,605 14,757 - Gain (loss) from deconsolidation of subsidiaries (490,283) 1,953,248 - Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable (7,495) (3,116,533) (206,442) Inventory (3,250) (30,348) - Interest and fees receivable - - (149,013) Other current assets 3,431,640 (3,215,702) (289,694) Other receivables 2,425,003 (3,268,571) - Pledged deposits and other non-current assets 414,265 359,202 - Advances from customers (58,249) 7,915 (6,702) Tax payable 847,043 1,029,919 273,589 Accrued expenses and other liabilities 449,971 (727,211) 28,875 Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities from Continuing Operations 8,717,975 (7,461,511) (1,074,579) Net Cash Used in Operating Activities from Discontinued Operations - - (26,564) Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities 8,717,975 (7,461,511) (1,101,143) Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Repayment of loans from factoring customers - - 107,833,488 Proceeds of loans from third parties 20,499,442 - - Loans disbursement to third parties (26,100,286) (3,467,607) - Loans disbursement to factoring customers - - (43,422,881) Purchases of property and equipment (54,569) - (833) Acquisition of a subsidiary - - (427,318) Acquisition of cash from acquired subsidiary - - 21,442,122 Proceeds from disposal of discontinued operations - - 504,713 Net inflow related to deconsolidation of subsidiaries 788 61,121 - Redemption of short-term investment - 8,690,374 - Due to (from) related party (70,169) 210,774 - Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 40,305 837,969 - Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Investing Activities from Continuing Operations (5,684,489) 6,332,631 85,929,291 Net Cash Provided by Investing Activities from Discontinued Operations - - 35,765 Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Investing Activities (5,684,489) 6,332,631 85,965,056 Cash Flows from Financing Activities: Borrowing from a related party - - 279,020 Proceeds from bank loans 5,889,179 8,341,311 - Repayment of bank loans (8,927,555) - - Proceeds from secured loans - - 43,422,881 Repayment of secured loans - - (107,833,488) Repayment of third-party loans - (280,268) - Repayment of lease liabilities (76,102) (207,891) - Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities from Continuing Operations (3,114,478) 7,853,152 (64,131,587) Net Cash Used in Financing Activities from Discontinued Operations - - (7,251) Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities (3,114,478) 7,853,152 (64,138,838) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash in banks 914,219 1,937,807 119,326 Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash in banks 833,227 8,662,079 20,844,401 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash in banks at beginning of year 30,807,604 22,145,525 1,301,124 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash in banks at end of year $ 31,640,831 $ 30,807,604 $ 22,145,525 Supplemental Cash Flow Information Cash paid for interest expense $ 269,400 $ - $ - Cash paid for income tax $ - $ - $ - Noncash investing activities Acquisition of a subsidiary by issuance of Class B Preferred Shares $ - $ - $ 31,087,732 Receivable from disposal of discontinued operations $ - $ - $ 940,829 Right of use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease obligations $ - $ - $ 615,000 The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the statement of financial position that sum to the total of the same amounts shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows: December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020 Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,947,142 $ 4,932,048 Restricted cash in banks 29,693,689 25,875,556 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 31,640,831 $ 30,807,604 SOURCE Roan Holdings Group Co., Ltd. Salem's founders created the school with the bold and then-revolutionary idea that girls and women deserved the same education as men. An institution that has created generation after generation of leaders, Salem continues to educate, thrive, and innovate from its original location. Salem Academy is the nation's only all-girls, boarding and day high school located on a college campus with a STEAM focus. An undergraduate liberal arts college for women, Salem College is the nation's only college exclusively dedicated to creating the next generation of women leaders in health. "Celebrating a 250th anniversary is a formidable achievement in the history of American education," Salem Board of Trustees Chair Elizabeth Denton Baird said. "Consistently, through all 250 years, Salem has continued to push boundaries for women and girls at every juncture. The graduates of Salem Academy and College are innovators, visionaries, changemakers, and problem solvers." "Graduates of Salem Academy and College will be ready to shape their own futures and that of the communities around them by making bold impacts locally, nationally, and globally," Baird added. "For the next 250 years, Salem will continue to be a powerful force and change the world for the better." To celebrate the 250th milestone, Salem is holding a multi-day commemoration called RISE that began with a Health Leadership Forum on April 21, which featured panel discussions focused on diverse career options, emerging issues in health leadership, and collaboration across disciplines. Salem's Health Leadership Forum included remarks by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and a keynote address by Mayo Clinic Health System's President Dr. Prathibha Varkey. In conjunction with its 250th Anniversary Founder's Day Convocation, Salem held the inauguration of its 22nd president, Dr. Summer McGee, PhD, CPH. During her inaugural address, Dr. McGee reflected on history but also set the tone for the future of Salem Academy and College. "Salem Academy and College are institutions with a rich history of boldness and innovation. Our founding was based on disruption, pushing the boundaries of what education was and who could access it," Dr. McGee said. "Had our Moravian forebearers accepted the status quo and not aspired to reach everyone, Salem would have never been founded. "Looking to the future, Salem will reach new student populations, develop new programs and expand opportunities to grow our student body," she said. "Our goal is to reach new audiences and tell the story of Salem that includes brilliant students and engaged faculty. Salem will secure and ensure its place not just as the first educational institution of its kind but as the finest." On April 23, RISE continues with Salem's Reunion Weekend for alumnae, the 250th Lovefeast and Candle Service Celebrating the Founding of Salem Academy and Collegea tradition in Salem's Moravian heritage communityand a special celebration for the Salem College Class of 2020. In addition, Salem introduced a new book called "Journey to Salem" during RISE. The book chronicles the story of a group of Salem alumnae, staff, and friends who left Bethlehem, PA on September 28, 2021 to recreate the historic 500-mile Journey to Salem, NC that resulted in Salem's founding in 1772. About Salem Academy and College Salem Academy and College, celebrating 250 years and built upon a foundation of empowering and preparing girls and women from all around the world to affect change, shatter expectations, and lead. Exclusively focused on developing tomorrow's health leaders and change agents in STEAM fields and beyond. Salem Academy and College is located in Winston Salem, North Carolina, a vibrant college town known for arts and innovation. For more information about Salem Academy, please visit salemacademy.com . For more information about Salem College, please visit salem.edu . News media contact Steve Bumgarner Capture Public Relations & Marketing 336.722.9660 or [email protected] SOURCE Salem Academy and College Over 900 native plants placed by employees during Environmental Champions event honoring Earth Day HOUSTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Infrastructure, a subsidiary of Sempra (NYSE: SRE) (BMV: SRE), announced today a $50,000 contribution to Memorial Park Conservancy in support of the organization's ongoing efforts to enhance environmental infrastructure, stormwater management and establishment of resilient ecologies in Houston's largest urban wilderness and recreation park. "We are excited to continue supporting Memorial Park Conservancy in its beautification and restoration activities for the second year," said Brian Lloyd, regional vice president of external affairs and communications for Sempra Infrastructure. "We are proud to be a part of Memorial Park Conservancy's transformational efforts to restore and build a resilient ecosystem within the park so that everyone can enjoy it for years to come." Additionally, more than 50 employees and their families contributed approximately 100 hours of volunteer service and joined the Park's staff to plant over 900 native grasses and plants to help preserve, restore and enhance the Park during the Environmental Champions event in honor of Earth Day. "Memorial Park Conservancy is proud to work with Sempra Infrastructure, a founding member of our Corporate Partners Program. Its commitment to community and sustainability strengthens our mission of preserving, restoring and enhancing Memorial Park for all Houstonians," said Shellye Arnold, Memorial Park Conservancy President and CEO. "Sempra Infrastructure's dedicated volunteers and financial support make a real and immediate impact." Sempra Infrastructure's participation in this event and the company's contribution are an extension of the ongoing relationship announced last year. In 2021, Sempra and Sempra Infrastructure contributed a total of $150,000 to Memorial Park Conservancy. Located in the heart of Houston and less than five miles from Sempra Infrastructure's new Houston headquarters, Memorial Park spans 1,500 acres. Memorial Park Conservancy's mission is to preserve, restore and enhance the park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow. About Sempra Infrastructure Sempra Infrastructure delivers energy for a better world. Through the combined strength of its assets in North America, the company is dedicated to enabling the energy transition and beyond. With a continued focus on sustainability, innovation, world-class safety, championing people, resilient operations and social responsibility, its more than 2,000 employees develop, build and operate clean power, energy networks and LNG and net-zero solutions, that are expected to play a crucial role in the energy systems of the future. For more information about Sempra Infrastructure, please visit www.SempraInfrastructure.com and Twitter. About Memorial Park Conservancy Memorial Park Conservancy is a non-profit organization created to restore, preserve, and enhance Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow. Now celebrating its 22nd year, the Conservancy's vision is to implement the principles of world-class park management and stewardship in partnership with the Houston community. Memorial Park Conservancy is responsible for managing 1,100 of the Park's 1,500 acres. SOURCE Sempra North American Infrastructure The Next Generation of ServiceTitan's Operating System for the Trades Helps Contractors Harness the Power of their Data to Predict Outcomes, Automate Tasks, and Embrace Digital Transformation LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pantheon 2022 - ServiceTitan , a leading cloud-based software platform built to power the trades, today announced the launch of Titan Intelligence (TI) , a suite of AI solutions for the trades. These new features provide home and commercial service providers with actionable insights and recommendations, enabling them to optimize, automate, predict, and innovate across every aspect of their business by harnessing the power of data. Natively built into ServiceTitan, Titan Intelligence will deliver trade-specific AI capabilities across its entire suite of new data products and feature enhancements. With aggregated intelligence and insights, and educational content products on data and analytic literacy, Titan Intelligence will evolve into powerful AI solutions that supercharge trades businesses and empower contractors to reach the level of success they deserve. The trades industry is at an inflection point as trends in data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence are changing how the world operates. With Titan Intelligence, businesses on the ServiceTitan platform will be able to unlock the power of their own data to help automate repetitive and simple tasks, improve customer experience, predict outcomes, lower costs, and stay competitive in a world run by data. Over 7,500 ServiceTitan customers will have the equivalent of their own personal consultant built directly into the platform, helping contractors connect the dots throughout their business to extract meaningful and actionable insights. "Titan Intelligence is bringing the power of data and AI to the trades on a scale that has never been seen before," said Vahe Kuzoyan, co-founder and President of ServiceTitan. "This industry will no longer have to wait years, or even decades, to take advantage of modern technology innovations. The launch of Titan Intelligence represents a giant leap forward for the trades, and another example of ServiceTitan's commitment to provide contractors with access to the best technology to fuel their business." Several new ServiceTitan product updates and features powered by Titan Intelligence were also announced today at Pantheon 2022 , including: Smart Dispatch (Beta) is ServiceTitan's new dispatch tool, which uses machine learning to analyze job data and assist in assigning technicians for jobs based on factors such as geographical zones, skills, drive time, and technician's sales performance to help save time and maximize revenue. is ServiceTitan's new dispatch tool, which uses machine learning to analyze job data and assist in assigning technicians for jobs based on factors such as geographical zones, skills, drive time, and technician's sales performance to help save time and maximize revenue. Price Insights is a feature delivered through ServiceTitan Pricebook Pro, allowing contractors to easily see average pricing in their region, enabling them to competitively price their services based on the average cost for similar services locally. is a feature delivered through ServiceTitan Pricebook Pro, allowing contractors to easily see average pricing in their region, enabling them to competitively price their services based on the average cost for similar services locally. Marketing Pro Ads (Beta) enables home service marketers to lower their cost per lead and maximize ROI. By leveraging Google Ads' measurement tools and dynamic call tracking features, ServiceTitan customers are able to see the true impact of their Google Ads budgets and then optimize and automate the flow of key revenue, job, and audience data back into Google. "The trades industry is undergoing rapid digital transformation, and we want to equip our customers with the trades-specific tools and valuable data-driven insights they need to meet this critical moment head on," said Ara Mahdessian, co-founder and CEO of ServiceTitan." We believe that all tradespeople deserve not only the best, but also the most innovative technology available to power their businesses that power our lives." To learn more about Titan Intelligence and all of ServiceTitan's new tools and features visit: https://www.servicetitan.com/features/titan-intelligence About ServiceTitan ServiceTitan is a cloud-based software platform built to power trades businesses. The company's end-to-end solution gives contractors the tools they need to run and grow their business, manage their back office, and provide a stellar customer experience. By bringing an integrated SaaS platform to an industry historically underserved by technology, ServiceTitan is equipping tradespeople with the technology they need to keep the world running. ServiceTitan is backed by world-class investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, ICONIQ Growth, Index Ventures, Tiger Global Management, and T. Rowe Price. SOURCE ServiceTitan Portfolio value of SOSV Climate Tech 100 doubles to $11B and includes 5 unicorns. PRINCETON, N.J., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global venture capital firm SOSV announced today the release of its second annual SOSV Climate Tech 100 list, a selection of the firm's top deep tech companies combating climate change. SOSV disclosed that in the past year, the aggregate valuation of the firms on the list had doubled to $11 billion and the total capital raised also doubled to hit $3.8 billion. SOSV releases Climate Tech 100 list for 2022value of SOSV CT100 portfolio doubles to $11B and includes 5 unicorns. Tweet this Unicorns of the SOSV Climate Tech 100 list, 2022. SOSV releases Climate Tech 100 list for 2022. The portfolio has doubled its valuation and includes five unicorns: Upside Foods, Perfect Day, NotCo, Formlabs, and GetAround. "SOSV has been deeply committed to climate tech for more than a decade. We find and fund pre-seed startups that are inventing a better future. The performance of the Climate Tech 100 in the past year is an encouraging sign that more investors are taking this vital sector seriously," said Sean O'Sullivan, Founder and Managing General Partner of SOSV. The venture data company Pitchbook has ranked SOSV the #1 investor in climate tech since 2018 , and SOSV's Climate Tech 100 list included five unicorns: Upside Foods , Perfect Day , NotCo , Formlabs , and GetAround . According to the research firm HolonIQ , there are currently 50 climate tech unicorns in the global startup ecosystem. Caption: SOSV's Climate Tech 100 2022 Unicorns Most of the companies on the SOSV Climate Tech 100 originated in SOSV's IndieBio (life sciences) or HAX (hard tech) startup development programs, and they cover a broad array of climate categories, including food (51), manufacturing (25), transport (9), energy (8), building systems (4) and circular economy (3). The companies on the SOSV Climate Tech 100 come from 19 countries, some 42% have a founder with a Ph.D., and 38% of the companies have at least one female founder. IndieBio operates in San Francisco and New York City, and HAX has programs in Newark, NJ, Shenzhen, and Tokyo. SOSV invests only in companies that participate in its pre-seed programs, but it continues investing post-program as its portfolio companies advance to later rounds. After initial backing by SOSV, the companies on the list won backing from hundreds of investors including SoftBank, Temasek, Tiger Global, New Enterprise Associates, DBL Partners, Foundry Group, Sequoia Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Khosla Ventures, Future Shape, The Engine, Prelude Ventures, and Future Ventures. SOSV will host the second annual SOSV Climate Tech Summit on October 25 and 26, registration for the virtual event is now open. About SOSV SOSV is a global venture capital firm headquartered in Princeton, NJ. The firm has more $1.2 billion in assets under management and specializes in the early stage development of deep tech companies focused on human and planetary health. SOSV operates the startup development programs HAX (hard tech), IndieBio (life sciences), Chinaccelerator and MOX (cross-border growth) and dlab (blockchain). Sean O'Sullivan, a serial entrepreneur and technologist, is the founder and managing general partner of SOSV. The firm has 9 general partners and a 130-person staff across eight locations in the US, Europe and Asia. To learn more, contact SOSV . https://sosv.com/ https://sosvclimatetech.com/ SOURCE SOSV Transaction Advances Stanley Black & Decker's Portfolio Transformation and Sharpens Strategic Focus on its Core Businesses NEW BRITAIN, Conn., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of its automatic doors business, Access Technologies, to Allegion plc (NYSE: ALLE) for $900 million in cash. The Access Technologies business generated approximately $340 million in revenue in 2021 at a mid-teen adjusted EBITDA margin. James M. Loree, Stanley Black & Decker's CEO, stated, "The sale of Access Technologies at an attractive valuation demonstrates our commitment to maximizing value for our shareholders through active portfolio management and will help fund our substantial return of capital. With a more focused portfolio comprised of our Tools & Outdoor and Industrial segments Stanley Black & Decker is positioned to capitalize on compelling opportunities for multi-year growth, margin expansion and long-term value creation for shareholders. "On behalf of the entire Stanley Black & Decker organization, I want to thank our Access Technologies team members for their valuable contributions over the years. Allegion is a leader in the industry and I am confident the organization and the business are positioned for a great future of growth and success under their ownership." Access Technologies patented the first hands-free door operator in 1931 and grew to become an industry leader providing state-of-the-art and fully integrated automatic door solutions. Access Technologies was the remaining piece of Stanley Black & Decker's Security segment following the definitive agreement entered into in December 2021 to sell its Commercial Electronic and Healthcare Security business lines to Securitas. Net proceeds from the sale are expected to be used to fund Stanley Black & Decker's previously announced share repurchase program as well as debt reduction. The Company's overall capital allocation strategy reflects its commitment to generating substantial capital returns, maintaining strong investment grade credit ratings and pursuing opportunistic value-creating M&A. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. The Company expects to record Access Technologies as discontinued operations when it reports first quarter results on April 28, 2022. About STANLEY Access Technologies STANLEY Access Technologies invented the automatic door and continues to lead the industry with state-of-the-art door solutions and with a passion for innovation and low total cost of ownership. Today, the business manufactures, installs and services sliding, swinging, folding, transit/metro and revolving door systems, as well as an array of sensors, controls and security options. Learn more at www.stanleyaccess.com. About Stanley Black & Decker Headquartered in the USA, Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) is the world's largest tool company operating nearly 50 manufacturing facilities across America and more than 100 worldwide. Guided by its purpose for those who make the world the company's more than 60,000 diverse and high-performing employees produce innovative, award-winning power tools, hand tools, storage, digital tool solutions, lifestyle products, outdoor products, engineered fasteners and other industrial equipment to support the world's makers, creators, tradespeople and builders. The Company's iconic brands include DEWALT, BLACK+DECKER, CRAFTSMAN, STANLEY, Cub Cadet, Hustler and Troy-Bilt. Recognized for its leadership in environmental, social and governance (ESG), Stanley Black & Decker strives to be a force for good in support of its communities, employees, customers and other stakeholders. To learn more visit: www.stanleyblackanddecker.com. Investor Contacts: Dennis Lange Vice President, Investor Relations [email protected] (860) 827-3833 Cort Kaufman Senior Director, Investor Relations [email protected] (860) 515-2741 Media Contacts: Shannon Lapierre Chief Communications Officer [email protected] (860) 259-7669 Debora Raymond Vice President, Public Relations [email protected] (203) 640-8054 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Stanley Black & Decker makes forward-looking statements in this press release which represent its expectations or beliefs about future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements are identifiable by words such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "will," "may" and other similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements made in this press release, include, but are not limited to, statements concerning: consummation of the Access Technologies sale transaction; the company's ability to maximizing value for shareholders through active portfolio management and the impact of the transaction to fund substantial return of capital; the Company's ability to capitalize on compelling opportunities for multi-year growth, margin expansion and long-term value creation for shareholders; ; and the Company's capital allocation strategy and share repurchase program and the amount, timing and results in terms of shareholder value therefrom. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events and involve risks, uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that may cause actual results and performance to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the failure to consummate, or a delay in the consummation of, the Access Technologies sale transaction for various reasons; (including but not limited to failure to receive, or delay in receiving, required regulatory approvals and meet customary closing conditions); the failure to undertake or complete, or a delay in the timing of, the share repurchase program; and failure to realize the expected benefits of the Company's capital allocation strategy and share repurchase program. Forward-looking statements made herein are also subject to risks and uncertainties, described in: Stanley Black & Decker's 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K, its subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q; and other filings Stanley Black & Decker makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, actual results could differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Stanley Black & Decker makes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring or existing after the date of any forward-looking statement. SOURCE Stanley Black & Decker WASHINGTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Senseware , an industry leader in real-time indoor air quality monitoring technology has partnered with Toxic Suppression , a firefighter safety company to launch Sentinel IQ. Sentinel IQ is the first monitoring system specifically designed to track and alert first responders to the threats of airborne contaminants. First responders are routinely exposed to many harmful contaminants in the line-of-duty including volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and contagious pathogens. Cancer caused 66 percent of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from 2002 to 2019, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). Toxic Suppression's vision is to provide a safer working environment for first responders against the multiple unseen hazards they are exposed to. "For the first time, the unseen hazards can be visualized real-time to alert to unsafe working environments. Designed and tested in station and emergency vehicles, the Sentinel IQ is a future-proof solution with unlimited applications including custom sensor packages." said Scott Hacker, VP of Sales and Marketing of Toxic Suppression. The Sentinel IQ monitors air quality and sanitization performance including, VOC's, CO2, PM 0.3-1.0, PM 2.5, PM 10, CO, and offers the only real-time cloud-based ion sensor on the market. Coupled with the Sentinel Purifier, The Sentinel provides the only mobile air and hard surface sanitization system where the performance can be validated in real-time. "Our technology was invented from Parkinson's Disease research and has evolved to help people understand the health of their environment. With over 1M firefighters in the United States risking their lives, we are proud to support Toxic Suppression in providing assurance and peace of mind to our heroes." said Serene Almomen, CEO of Senseware. About Senseware: Senseware is a first of its kind sensor-based technology platform with 43 patents. It provides real-time assurance into critical areas such as indoor air quality, energy consumption, risk of water leaks, equipment status, and more. Senseware is the only customizable indoor air quality monitoring solution on the market. Visit: www.senseware.co About Toxic Suppression: Toxic Suppression has a core mission to educate and protect first responders from the dangers and long-term effects of repeated exposure to carcinogens and other hazards. Toxic Suppression offers solutions for a safer working environment, including Sentinel IQ an accurate real-time cloud-based air quality monitoring system that alerts you on the level and nature of pollution in your air. Visit: https://www.toxicsuppression.com/ Press/Media Contact: Rosy Khalife 571-766-6443 SOURCE Senseware About the Jessie Rees Foundation The Jessie Rees Foundation is the legacy of 12-year-old Jessica Joy Rees, better known as "Jessie." Jessie was one of 400,000 children worldwide diagnosed with cancer each year. During her courageous ten-month fight with two brain tumors, Jessie created JoyJars, fun-filled gifts of joy to share with her peers who were fighting cancer. Jessie personally stuffed and sent out 3,000 JoyJars to children fighting cancer in homes and hospitals, encouraging them with her motto "NEGU" Never Ever Give Up! Although Jessie lost her fight with cancer in 2012, she left behind a legacy of love. As of 2022, the Jessie Rees Foundation has sent over 385,0000 JoyJars to children in all 50 states and 50 different countries and has provided thousands of families with access to resources, encouragement, and support, and will continue to care until there is a cure. To learn more about the Jessie Rees Foundation, visit https://www.negu.org About Smart Circle International Smart Circle helps clients and independent sales companies grow by designing versatile face-to-face marketing and customer acquisition campaigns that can be executed inside retailers, businesses and through door-to-door canvassing. Our expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and versatility help the world's biggest brands and Fortune 500 companies drive sales and build new customer bases. To learn more about Smart Circle, visit https://www.smartcircle.com. SOURCE Jessie Rees Foundation In addition, Bulleit joins forces with Street Art for Mankind on a new nationwide initiative to raise Tree Equity awareness SHELBYVILLE, Ky., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bulleit Frontier Whiskey met its goal of planting one million trees in partnership with forestry innovation leader, American Forests , three years ahead of schedule. Together, Bulleit and American Forests have successfully restored more than 2,000 acres of forest landscapes in several states preserving the forests' ability to mitigate climate change, clean water and provide home for wildlife. As reforestation efforts continue to push forward, Bulleit is embarking on a new mission to improve Tree Equity within economically disadvantaged communities and help ensure that all people have access to the benefits of trees. Simply put, Tree Equity is about making sure everyone can experience the benefits of trees, no matter their income or where they live. Trees help fulfill our basic needs breathing fresh air, drinking clean water and finding relief from the heat. Much like streets and sewer lines, trees are critical infrastructure for improving overall quality of life and play an integral role in mitigating climate change. Bulleit is committed to its shared mission with American Forests to advance Tree Equity and ensure tree cover in cities is equitably distributed. A map of the tree cover in the U.S. is all too often a reflection of income disparities in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods where trees are often more sparse, while tree cover is much more prominent in wealthier, suburban communities. To invoke actionable change, Bulleit will plant and maintain trees in five cities utilizing American Forests' Tree Equity Score technology that helps measure the tree canopy needs in urban areas to determine which neighborhoods need trees the most. For Bulleit, recognizing the value of trees, healthy forests and sustainability are issues that hit close to home. To produce Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, barrels are integral to aging the award-winning liquid. And to make barrels, white oak trees are a necessity. Through their reforestation efforts, Bulleit continues to advance the long-term health and resilience of white oak forests for years to come. "Our commitment to a greener future does not stop with how we make our whiskey or our recent reforestation efforts. There is much more we can do especially with our invaluable friends at American Forests," said Ricky Collett, global brand director, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey. "While trees are a necessity for our award-winning bourbon, the benefits trees provide our communities are undeniable. Bulleit was built on the foundation of community and advancing Tree Equity is a way for us to give back to those who have given us so much." To raise awareness of its Tree Equity mission, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey will work with Street Art for Mankind, a nonprofit organization that sparks social change through the power of art , to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration with a multi-city mural project to raise awareness of its collective vision a world where all people have access to the benefits trees provide, no exceptions. In collaboration with prominent artists, Bulleit will bring to life the importance of Tree Equity through large scale, visually impactful murals, in five American cities in the next three years. The first sponsored mural will be unveiled this fall, alongside a tree planting celebration to further amplify the #GenerationRestoration movement to provoke action around ecosystem restoration and climate change reversal by 2030. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Bulleit Frontier Whiskey in its mission to raise awareness for Tree Equity. Together, through the power of art, we are aiming to inspire the public to reflect on challenges our current ecosystem faces and take action," said Audrey and Thibault Decker, co-founders of Street Art for Mankind. Since its inception in 2020, our partnership with American Forests has resulted in the planting or protecting of one million trees with projected environmental benefits that include: Carbon Sequestration: 645,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide stored over the next 100 years*, equal to the removal of emissions from driving 140,000 cars in one year.** 645,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide stored over the next 100 years*, equal to the removal of emissions from driving 140,000 cars in one year.** Air Purification: An average of 74,000 pounds of air pollutants eliminated per year.*** For fine particles like dust, this is equal to removing 1,000 cars from the road.** An average of 74,000 pounds of air pollutants eliminated per year.*** For fine particles like dust, this is equal to removing 1,000 cars from the road.** Water Conservation: An average of 75 million gallons of runoff conserved per year, *** equal to the volume of water stored by 114 Olympic-sized swimming pools. An average of 75 million gallons of runoff conserved per year, *** equal to the volume of water stored by 114 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Vital Wildlife Habitat: Roughly 2,000 acres of critical forest restored across multiple states in the Eastern U.S.**** "We are proud to have met our goal of planting or protecting one million trees to advance the growth and restoration of oak forests alongside our Bulleit partners," says Jad Daley, president and chief executive officer at American Forests. "As our partnership continues to thrive, we look forward to joining forces again to extend a shared commitment to Tree Equity and urban forestry across the country in years to come." Bulleit recognizes the importance of sustainability at home and, to usher in the next phase of efforts, the award-winning Kentucky whiskey is hosting an Earth Day celebration on April 22 at the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville, KY. The event will include a planting of native oak trees and the unveiling of artwork by local Kentucky artist, Braylyn Stewart, using only eco-friendly materials, from paintbrush to paint. Sustainability continues to be an important mission for both Bulleit and its parent company, Diageo, which announced 25 purposeful and ambitious goals in its 'Society 30: Spirit of Progress' sustainability action plan . The ten year plan includes a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the company's direct operations, which is supported by the recent opening of its first carbon neutral distillery in Lebanon, KY where Bulleit Bourbon is being produced . As it continues to work towards a more sustainable future, Bulleit reminds consumers to drink and live responsibly. For more information and to stay up-to-date on its sustainability efforts follow @Bulleit on Instagram and Facebook . *Estimates on carbon storage derived from USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data for Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee **EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator ***Estimates derived from an average tree planting throughout the brand's planting region using iTree County ****Estimate by American Forests based on previous plantings and average trees planted per acre ABOUT BULLEIT FRONTIER WHISKEY Bulleit, founded in 1987, is one of the fastest-growing whiskeys in America. The brand attributes that growth to bartenders and cultural partners who have adopted it as their own. The Bulleit Frontier Whiskey portfolio is distilled and aged in the Bulleit family tradition, using a distinctive high rye recipe, which gives them a bold, spicy, yet distinctively smooth taste. The award-winning Kentucky whiskey most recently won a Double Gold medal for Bulleit 10 Year Old and Gold Medals for Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2017, Bulleit celebrated its 30th anniversary with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art distillery located in Shelbyville, KY. Constructed with a focus on sustainable practices including natural habitat protection, water conservation and local ingredient sourcing, BDC received the Highly Commended award for Sustainable Distillery of the Year at the 2020 Icons of Whisky Awards from Whisky Magazine. In 2019, a Visitor's Centre at the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville opened to share our modern, technological and sustainable approach to making great whiskey. In 2021, Diageo opened its first carbon neutral whiskey distillery in Lebanon, KY with Bulleit being the first and leading brand being produced at the site. supplementing existing production at the Bulleit Distilling Co. For more information, visit www.bulleit.com or follow @Bulleit on Instagram. ABOUT DIAGEO NORTH AMERICA Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO ) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE) and their products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, their people, brands, and performance, visit www.diageo.com . Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com , for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Follow on Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA. About American Forests American Forests is driven by the power of forests. They are instrumental to addressing two of the most pressing issues of the day: slowing climate change and advancing social equity. Forests also provide habitat for wildlife and a clean, abundant supply of water for people. Since our founding in 1875, American Forests has been the pathfinders for creating healthy forests from coast to coast. For example, we championed creation of the U.S. Forest Service and have persuaded Congress to provide stable funding for fighting and preventing forest fires. Our deep knowledge of forests and track record of collaboration position us to build a reforestation movement in America. From cities to large natural landscapes, we create healthy and resilient forests that deliver essential benefits for climate, people, water and wildlife. We advance our mission through forestry innovation, place-based partnerships to plant and restore forests, and movement building. American Forests envisions a world in which the significant environmental, societal, and economic benefits of forests are fully realized and equitably available to all people. To learn more about American Forests, visit www.americanforests.org About Street Art for Mankind Street Art for Mankind (SAM) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization working with prominent street artists to create large murals all around the world. Its goal is to raise awareness on social justice and environmental issues, and to give the public the means to become actors of change. SAM is recognized for its mural series with the United Nations, the Department of State, but also for its Art Walk Murals with Cities across the world to bond communities together, create a sense of belonging and increase foot traffic. Learn more at StreetArtMankind.org. MEDIA CONTACT [email protected] SOURCE Bulleit Frontier Whiskey "Our technology was invented from Parkinson's Disease research and has evolved to help people understand the health of their environment. With over 1M firefighters in the United States risking their lives, we are proud to support Toxic Suppression in providing assurance and peace of mind to our heroes." said Serene Almomen, CEO and Co-Founder of Senseware. About Toxic Suppression: Toxic Suppression's core mission to educate and protect first responders from the dangers and long-term effects of repeated exposure to carcinogens and other hazards. Toxic Suppression offers solutions for a safer working environment, including Sentinel IQ an accurate real-time cloud-based air quality monitoring system that alerts you on the level and nature of pollution in your air. Learn more:www.toxicsuppression.com About Senseware: Senseware is a first of its kind sensor-based technology platform with 43 patents. It provides real-time assurance into critical areas such as indoor air quality, energy consumption, risk of water leaks, equipment status, and more. Senseware is the only customizable indoor air quality monitoring solution on the market. For more information visit: www.senseware.co or follow on LinkedIn SOURCE Toxic Suppression, LLC Campuses celebrate Skilled Trades Day by welcoming prospective students, graduates and employers PHOENIX , April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Technical Institute (UTI) and its network of UTI and MIAT campuses nationwide1 will be celebrating Skilled Trades Day on Wednesday, May 4, by opening its doors to the community, and showing prospective students the career opportunities available to graduates who've trained in the skilled trades. The "Open Doors" event will simultaneously be held on most of UTI's campuses and online, making it accessible to anyone interested in learning more about UTI's training programs, including automotive, diesel, motorcycle and marine technician training, welding, and CNC machining. Through its recent acquisition of MIAT College of Technology in Canton, Mich. and Houston, Texas, training is also available in aerospace maintenance, robotics and automation, HVAC, energy technology and wind power and industrial maintenance. Participating UTI and MIAT campuses will be open to the public from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m local time. UTI campuses are also teaming up with local automotive dealerships, manufacturers and other industry partners to showcase the need for highly-skilled trades professionals. "The Open Doors Event' is the largest event of its kind that UTI has hosted, and we're expecting thousands of guests to join us on May 4," said UTI EVP of Campus Operations, Sherrell Smith. "We are extremely thankful to our employment and industry partners for taking the time to help us emphasize the role these new students can have in vital industries, and the hiring incentives they may offer, such as tuition reimbursement. With more than 146,000 combined job openings[2] in the automotive, diesel and welding industries projected annually through 2030, now is the time to introduce students to the educational experience UTI can provide, and training programs that can be completed in as little as 36 weeks." Additionally, participating campuses will provide their own unique live demonstrations and hands-on experiences in their state-of-the-industry labs, such as automotive dynamometer runs and virtual welders. For more information about UTI/MIAT, and to find a campus near you, visit www.uti.edu or www.miat.edu. About Universal Technical Institute , Inc. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Phoenix, Universal Technical Institute's (NYSE: UTI) mission is to serve our students, partners, and communities by providing quality education and support services for in-demand careers. Approximately 250,000 students have graduated from one of UTI's 14 campuses located across Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Texas. UTI's campuses are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), while its employer-aligned technical training programs are offered under four brands: Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute / Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology. For more information and a complete list of all programs offered, please visit www.uti.edu or follow on LinkedIn @UniversalTechnicalInstitute and on Twitter @news_UTI. 2 Source: www.bls.gov National 2020-2030 projection; includes net employment changes and net replacements. UTI is an educational institution and cannot guarantee employment or salary. 1 All campuses with the exception of UTI-Austin and MMI Phoenix will be open to the public. Media Contact Alanna Vitucci [email protected] 480.710.6843 SOURCE Universal Technical Institute, Inc. Toyota wins the most awards of any brand. WASHINGTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, a nationally recognized publisher of consumer advice and information, today announced the 2022 Best Hybrid and Electric Cars. U.S. News evaluated 82 vehicles and named winners across eight categories. Toyota had the most wins of any brand, winning the Best Hybrid Car award with the Toyota Prius and the Best Hybrid SUV award with the RAV4 Hybrid . The Kia EV6 won the Best Electric Vehicle award, and the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid won the Best Plug-In Hybrid award. "There's been a significant increase in the demand for electric vehicles, and they have more appeal than ever as gas prices rise and consumers look for cars with a low carbon footprint," says Jim Sharifi, managing editor of U.S. News Best Cars. "The winners of the Best Hybrid and Electric Car awards deliver a rewarding ownership experience, as well as low emissions and fuel costs." The 2022 Best Hybrid and Electric Car winners are based on a combination of the cars' overall score from the U.S. News Best Car Rankings, starting price, Level 2 charging rate, and fuel economy and range data from the EPA. U.S. News analyzed data for 82 luxury and mainstream hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric cars. Within each of the eight categories, the vehicle with the highest composite score is named the winner in that category. ABOUT U.S. NEWS BEST CARS Since 2007, U.S. News Best Cars, the automotive channel of U.S. News & World Report, has published rankings of the majority of new vehicles sold in America. Each year, U.S. News also publishes the Best Cars awards, including Best Vehicle Brands , Best Cars for the Money and Best Cars for Families . U.S. News Best Cars supports car shoppers throughout the entire car buying journey, offering advice for researching cars and finding cars for sale near you. U.S. News Best Cars had more than 73 million visitors over the past year, with the majority actively shopping for a car. More than 70% of active shoppers reported that U.S. News influenced their car-purchasing decision, saying that they trust its advice to be unbiased and that they would recommend its site to others. About U.S. News & World Report U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A multifaceted digital media company with Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S. News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism, consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C. SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P. MANILA, Philippines, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- At the closing session of its Global Summit in Manila today, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announced that its 22nd event will take place in Riyadh, capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from 29th November to 2nd December this year. In Manila, more than a thousand delegates, including the world's foremost business leaders, government ministers and key decision-makers from across the global Travel & Tourism sector gathered together, to discuss how to build upon the continuing recovery. In her farewell address Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: "It has been a privilege to bring together so many leaders from across the global Travel & Tourism sector to the beautiful city of Manila. "This Summit is living proof that nothing beats getting together, sharing ideas, debating the challenges, and finding consensus. "We still have a lot of work to do to bring down post-pandemic barriers, open economies and harmonize health data for seamless travel. But the future looks bright, and the next decade is there for the taking. "We look forward to our 22nd Global Summit later this year in Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to mark the next chapter in the sector's ongoing recovery." Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and Board Member of the Saudi Tourism Authority, said: "We are excited to welcome the world to experience the excitement and the energy of Saudi. We promise you that the next summit will be fresh, inspiring, and rewarding." Under the theme of 'Rediscovering Travel', tourism ministers and Travel & Tourism leaders from around the world reinforced their determination towards greater cooperation and alignment between the public and private sectors. At WTTC's Global Leaders Dialogue session they explored how the sector will continue to adapt to COVID-19 and emerge resiliently from the pandemic. WTTC's latest Economic Impact Report also revealed the Travel & Tourism sector was expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs within the next decade and Travel & Tourism's contribution to GDP could reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023. WTTC's major 'Hotel Sustainability Basics' sustainability initiative was launched at its Global Summit, providing a starting point to drive sustainability throughout the hospitality sector to power the momentum toward responsible Travel & Tourism. The global body also launched its new cyber resilience report, 'Codes to resilience', with Microsoft, for the global Travel & Tourism sector, which outlined pillars to strengthen cyber security for businesses around the world. British adventurer Bear Grylls was the conference keynote, alongside other major speakers, including American film producer Lawrence Bender, Singapore-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels Kevin Kwan and Indonesian/Dutch environmental activist Melati Wijsen. SOURCE World Travel & Tourism Council 'Hotel Sustainability Basics' provides a starting point to drive sustainability in hospitality Criteria include 12 actions which are fundamental to hotel sustainability LONDON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Travel & Tourism Council ( WTTC ) has launched its 'Hotel Sustainability Basics,' a globally recognized and coordinated set of criteria that all hotels should implement as a minimum to drive responsible Travel & Tourism. The initiative was launched today at its prestigious Global Summit being held in Manila this week and will help every hotel address and improve their environmental impact. Developed by the industry for the industry, it highlights 12 actions which are fundamental to hotel sustainability and will help raise the base level of sustainability across the entire hospitality industry by providing every hotel a starting point on their sustainability journey. The initiative has already gained support from major global groups such as Jin Jiang International (Holdings) Co., Ltd. including their affiliates Jin Jiang Hotels, Louvre Hotels Group and Radisson Hotel Group, Accor, Barcelo Hotel Group, Melia Hotels International, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), as well as key hotel associations around the world like the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), the Hotel Association of India (HAI), Huazhu Hotels Group, and many more. Collectively, this represents more than 50,000 hotels around the world. WTTC's 'Hotel Sustainability Basics' provides the global hospitality sector with a baseline of positive actions to be taken to ensure they meet at least the minimum sustainability requirements. However, this is just the beginning of their journey, and WTTC urges the sector to seek constant improvements beyond the 12 basic criteria so that every hotel, whether an individual business or part of a larger group, moves on to more advanced frameworks and greater sustainability. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: "We are launching the Hotel Sustainability Basics to ensure no hotel, however small, is left behind in the drive to introduce a basis sustainability measures within a minimum level the next three years. "Sustainability is non-negotiable but not every small hotel has access to the science on how to make a difference. This gives everyone access to a global standard and provides consumers to travel with conference. "WTTC wants the hospitality industry to lead by example so that sustainability becomes the basic requirement used to drive change forward for this generation and the next." The criteria, developed by WTTC in close collaboration with leading global brands and industry associations, focus on actions which are fundamental to hotel sustainability and address tourism's impact on the planet across a spectrum of critical issues. These criteria include actions to measure and reduce energy use, measure and reduce water use, identify and reduce waste, and measure and reduce carbon emissions. It also includes a linen reuse program, use of green cleaning products, the elimination of plastic straws, stirrers, and single-use plastic water bottles, the implementation of bulk amenity dispensers, as well as measures to benefit local communities. WTTC is now calling upon hotel operators, owners, associations, and investors around the world to officially support the initiative and work across their networks to implement the criteria over the coming three years. Wolfgang M. Neumann, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance Chair, said: "Every industry must do its part to ensure the future of our planet and its people. While many companies are taking great strides and leading the way, others are only now taking their first steps. "By offering an understanding of the simplest steps hotels can take to become more sustainable, the Hotel Sustainability Basics will help to raise the base level of sustainability across the entire hospitality industry. "This initiative acts as a steppingstone to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance's Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality which will enable every hotel to take a strategic and progressive approach to achieving a positive environmental impact, whatever their starting point." Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, said: "These Hotel Sustainability Basics are an excellent way for hotels to take the first step on their journey to sustainability. "The GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels serve as the global standard for sustainable hospitality and the Basics map to eight of those that have been frequently mentioned by our global partners as essential first steps. As such, GSTC supports the application of this program and we encourage users that do not comply to them currently take steps to move quickly to do so." On stage at its Global Summit in Manila, Julia Simpson told delegates that hotel groups, brands, and operators, in addition to owners which represent a number of hotels, can become WTTC recognized supporters by endorsing the initiative and completing the Green Lodging Trends Survey (GLTS) to benchmark their performance and keep track of progress. Initially, eight of the 12 criteria are mandatory, whilst others can be committed to and covered within the first three years. This provides a clear starting point for all stakeholders and will ensure the minimum level of sustainability is achieved across the global hotel industry. To read more about the Hotel Sustainability Basics initiative, please click here SOURCE World Travel & Tourism Council GUANGZHOU, China, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Yatsen Holding Limited ("Yatsen" or the "Company") (NYSE: YSG), a leading Chinese beauty company, today announced that the Company has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 22, 2022. The annual report is available on the Company's investor relations website at ir.yatsenglobal.com and on the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov/. The Company will provide hard copies of the annual report, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon written request. Requests should be directed to Investor Relations Department, Yatsen Holding Limited, Building No. 35, Art Port International Creation Center, No. 2519 Xingang East Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510330, People's Republic of China. About Yatsen Holding Limited Yatsen Holding Limited (NYSE: YSG) is a leading player in China's beauty market with a mission to create an exciting new journey of beauty discovery for consumers in China and around the world. Founded in 2016, the Company has launched and acquired multiple color cosmetics and skincare brands including Perfect Diary, Little Ondine, Abby's Choice, Galenic, DR.WU (its mainland China business), Eve Lom and Pink Bear. The Company's flagship brand, Perfect Diary, is one of the top color cosmetics brands in China in terms of online retail sales value. Leveraging its digitally native direct-to-customer business model, the Company has built core capabilities which enable it to launch and scale multiple brands quickly while offering a wide selection of products to a growing variety of customers. The Company reaches and engages with customers directly both online and offline, with expansive presence across all major e-commerce, social and content platforms in China. For more information, please visit http://ir.yatsenglobal.com/ . For investor and media inquiries, please contact: In China: Yatsen Holding Limited Investor Relations E-mail: [email protected] The Piacente Group, Inc. Emilie Wu Tel: +86-21-6039-8363 E-mail: [email protected] In the United States: The Piacente Group, Inc. Brandi Piacente Tel: +1-212-481-2050 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Yatsen Holding Limited First of its kind research will help to understand and save native bee species LEHI, Utah, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Young Living, the world's leading provider of essential oils, announced it has partnered with Dr. Joseph Wilson, author of "The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America's Bees," on a critical research initiative to learn more about native bee populations. The research project, which will start at Young Living's farms in Mona, Utah and Simiane-la-Rotonde, France, will study native bee species at both locations and provide much-needed insights to help these bee populations thrive. With learnings from this research, Young Living will be able to make landscaping changes at its farms to better suit these native bee species. "We feel extremely passionate about this partnership with Dr. Wilson as we dive into this research on local native bee species," said Deven Patten, director of sustainability at Young Living. "Native bees are so important because they pollinate native plants, many of which can't be pollinated by introduced bees. This research will be extremely useful as we dive in and begin to make our lavender farms a sanctuary for many different bee species, continuing Young Living's commitment to serving our planet." The initial research phase will begin in Utah, with Dr. Wilson conducting research into which native bee species are currently habitating Young Living's Mona farm and estimating plant and flower visitation rates. Since many native pollinators are picky eaters, or as the science community refers to as specialists, many of these bees will only visit certain kinds of plants or flowers. As Young Living acquires this information and data, the company will then begin taking steps in order to diversify, protect, and improve the lives of the bee communities on its farms, starting with making adjustments to landscaping. In addition, the company will be conducting similar research at its lavender farm in Simiane-la-Rotonde. This allows for both projects to compare the farms' bees and identify the role that the lavender farms play in the diversity of bees. This research is some of the first of its kind, paving the way for additional research to help save native bee populations for years to come. The research projects in Mona and in Simiane-la-Rotonde will provide data on how many different kinds of bee species lavender and other native plants can help support. Once Young Living determines which species are present additional research will determine the needs of those species, which native plants they are drawn to, and what nesting habitats are needed. "This pioneering research goes beyond just Young Living and its farms. For years people have conducted research on honey bees but little is known about the over 1000 species of native bees. Before we can begin to save the bees, we will need to know which bees are located at each lavender farm," said Dr. Wilson. "The data that we collect will be incredibly important to the bee and science communities as a whole. We are delighted that Young Living has chosen to place their efforts into this research, and that they have chosen us to partner with." About Young Living Essential Oils Young Living Essential Oils is a world-leading essential oils company based in Lehi, Utah. Founded in 1994, the company provides the highest quality essential oils and oil-infused products available. Young Living's essential oils come from corporate-owned farms, partner farms, and certified suppliers and are rigorously tested for safety and quality. The company's products support a healthy lifestyle and provide opportunities for independent brand partners to share the unique benefits of essential oils with millions of customers worldwide. For more information, visit YoungLiving.com, follow @youngliving on Instagram, or like us on Facebook. SOURCE Young Living Essential Oils Former Lyft VP, Jules Flynn , returns to Australia to join Zoomo as Chief Operations Officer - overseeing expanding operations in seven countries Alan Wells , joins Zoomo from Cruise (General Motors autonomous vehicles division) and Uber as VP of Product Ex Bain & Company consultant, Michelle Crocker , also joins as Zoomo's first VP of People & Culture The key executive hires support Zoomo's continued global expansion, with the team nearly tripling to more than 400 over the past 12 months NEW YORK, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Zoomo , the world leader for electric last-mile delivery vehicles, today announced the appointment of three new additions to its executive leadership team as the business continues to accelerate its growth globally. New hires include Jules Flynn, Chief Operation Officer, Alan Wells, Vice President of Product and Michelle Crocker, Vice President of People & Culture. Jules and Alan both previously held senior executive roles at top tier mobility companies in the United States, showing the increased ability of Australian tech startups to lure top talent from the US tech hubs. The new senior appointments come off the back of Zoomo's recent Series B US$80M funding round, with each addition set to support a specific need for the business' global growth. Jules Flynn, COO, Zoomo, brings over seven years of experience in the micromobility industry, including running micromobility programs such as New York's famed Citi Bike program and Lyft's bike and scooter program across the United States. Jules also currently sits on the board for the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy ( ITDP ), a global non-profit organisation that focuses on sustainable and equitable urban transportation. With his experience, Jules will oversee Zoomo into the next level of its growth, specifically focusing on driving excellence within business operations. He is based in Melbourne. "Zoomo is at the forefront of a powerful movement to electrify and right-size urban logistics for the benefit of our cities and our planet, and I'm thrilled to be joining the outstanding team at Zoomo in that work. I look forward to bringing my experience working in large scale transportation operations to this exciting stage of Zoomo's growth," Jules commented. Jules will take on the role previously held by Co-Founder Michael Johnson, who will progress into a newly created Chief Revenue Officer role. As CRO, Michael will be responsible for cultivating and growing customer relationships, building deeper connections with existing and prospective partners and securing new deals to drive Zoomo's top line. "Our new hires offer an incredible opportunity for me to dedicate my focus on building out our enterprise sales, which drives over half of Zoomo's revenue, and working with existing customers to create the most compelling offer and ensure their success in this rapidly growing space. Zoomo's B2B offering is a function of business that I've helped develop closely over the past year and half, and I look forward to continuing that momentum," says Michael. Michelle Crocker, VP of People & Culture, Zoomo, brings over eight years of experience working with businesses to solve strategic and operational challenges and opportunities. With this experience, Michelle will lead the maturation and growth of Zoomo's HR function globally as the business continues to scale at a rapid pace. In addition to her experience at Bain & Company, Michelle was previously a lawyer at King & Wood Mallesons. Michelle is based in Sydney. "I'm so excited to be joining Zoomo at a time of significant growth to support the continued evolution of Zoomo's people and culture strategy. People are at the heart of Zoomo's e-bike products. It's people that are re-imagining what bikes can do and it's people choosing to ride them or rely on them for last-mile deliveries. I look forward to bringing my experience in organisational design and future of work strategy, to help grow Zoomo's ambitious people mission," said Michelle. Alan Wells, VP of Product, Zoomo, has 15 years of product management and engineering experience in the automotive, technology and micromobility sectors. He has previously held product leadership positions for self-driving technology at both Uber ATG and Cruise, and served on the leadership team for the JUMP e-bike and scooter business. With this experience, Alan will be responsible for crafting and managing Zoomo's global product portfolio strategy and will lead the businesses hardware and software function to deliver high-quality products and experiences for Zoomo's wide-ranging customer segments. Alan is Zoomo's first San Francisco based executive. "Light electric vehicles are already transforming the way we move people and goods around cities, and yet we're only just scratching the surface of what is possible with a fully integrated hardware and software solution purpose-built for urban logistics. Zoomo is the clear leader in this market, and I'm excited to bring my experience working on software, vehicles, and advanced technologies to help build the future of sustainable transportation for cities," said Alan. The new senior appointments speak to the increasing maturity and acceptance of Zoomo's unique business model. Since the business was founded in 2017, Zoomo has expanded its operational presence to 16 cities in seven countries across the world. In 2021 alone, Zoomo grew 4X globally and launched in three new countries (France, Spain and Germany). Zoomo currently has more than 400 employees across the globe. About Zoomo Zoomo is a full-service utility micromobility platform founded by Mina Nada and Michael Johnson, with the mission of turning the world's delivery fleets electric using e-bikes. Zoomo's vertically integrated platform encompasses custom delivery oriented e-bikes, a physical servicing and maintenance network, a software platform for efficient vehicle management, and a finance offering. Zoomo currently operates in Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe. Zoomo vehicles are used by major players in the food and grocery delivery segment including UberEats, Doordash, JustEat Takeaway, Deliveroo, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Gopuff, Gorillas, Getir, JOKR, Zapp, Milkrun, Cajoo and more. SOURCE Zoomo Washington, April 22 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has reiterated India's call for transfer of low-cost technology and increased funding to developing countries to fight climate change at the International Monetary Fund plenary and, separately, reaffirmed India's commitment to combating money laundering and terrorism funding. Sitharaman on Thursday emphasised both the "importance of the multilateral approach to combat climate change and the importance of transfer of climate finance and low-cost technologies from developed to developing countries", the ministry of finance posted on Twitter. India has long argued that developing countries urgently need climate finance and transfer of low-cost technology to enable them to do their bit to combat global warming and developed countries must bear larger responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and must do more. The finance minister, who is participating in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group that includes the IMF, also pushed the multilateral body for greater equality among its 187 members. Some member countries have a larger say in its functioning and decisions-making based on their historically outsize status and a system of quotas that determine member countries' relationship with the organisation, including the value of their voting power. Sitharaman pressed the body on the "need for timely completion of 16th General Review of Quotas to address the under-representation of the Emerging and Developing Market economies", according to the finance ministry. The minister also noted at the plenary that at the projected growth rate of 8.2 per cent for 2022-23 by the IMF, India is still the fastest growing among developing economies. "India has continued to implement key structural reforms aimed at enhancing productivity and employment," she said according to the finance ministry. The new rate is 0.8 percentage points lower than the fund's previous projection of 9 per cent for the same time period. Separately, at a meeting of the finance ministers of the 37 member countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog on money laundering and terror funding, the minister reaffirmed India's "political commitment to fighting Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing. Also appreciated the work of FATF on Beneficial Ownership Transparency, the role of FATF global network in safeguarding (the) global financial system". Sitharaman also extended India's support for FATF's "strategic priorities and reiterated India's commitment to provide necessary resources & support to FATF in its endeavor as a global alliance against money laundering, terrorist financing & financing of proliferation of WMDs". In a separate statement FATF said the ministers "committed to take swift and decisive action to improve the effectiveness of measures to fight money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing". This includes, it added, promptly implementing the FATF's global beneficial ownership rules, which were strengthened earlier this year, to stop criminals from hiding their illicit activities and dirty money behind anonymous shell companies and other corporate structures. The minister continued her bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings with counterparts from around the world and corporate leaders. She met Raj Subramanian, the president and incoming CEO of FedEx on Thursday. Subramanian told the minister "he is positive on India & has significant expansion plans, including in skilling", the finance ministry said in a tweet. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Meerut, April 22 : The family of the meat smugglers who were killed in an ambush by 'militants' in Assam, has alleged that the two were 'murdered as part of the police conspiracy.' Peeru Banjara, the father of Akbar Banjara and Salman, told reporters, "It was a conspiracy by the police to trap my sons and kill them. They weren't doing anything illegal and the extortion case in which Meerut police arrested them was also a fictitious one. They had no case against them here or in Assam." The bodies of Akbar and Salman reached Meerut's Falawda village on Thursday evening where their funeral took place in the presence of a large crowd. Akbar, 40, allegedly ran an international syndicate of meat supply chain and carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head in Assam, the police said. He and his two brothers were arrested in an alleged extortion case in Meerut on April 12. Two days later, Assam police reached Meerut with a warrant against Akbar and Salman and took them away. They were produced before a magistrate in Assam's Kokrajhar and put behind bars. According to local police, the two were remanded in police custody on Monday. Later in the night, while they were being taken for 'further investigation' inside Raimona National Park near Bhutan border, in Kokrajhar and a 'gunfight' took place with militants in which both the accused were killed and four cops sustained bullet injuries, police claimed. Jammu, April 22 : One security forces personnel has been killed and four others have been injured in an ongoing encounter at Sunjwan in Jammu that started between terrorists and security forces on Friday, officials said. "One security force perosnnel has been martyred," Additional Director General Police Mukesh Singh told reporters. "It seems the terrorists are hiding inside a house. After first light a thorough search will be conducted." Earlier, sources said that an encounter has started at Sunjwan near the army camp between the security forces and the terrorists. Sources said two terrorists, both of them believed to be foreigners belonging to Jaish outfit, are trapped within the encounter site and firing exchanges have started there. The encounter started after an input was received about the presence of terrorists in Sunjwan. As the security forces zeroed in at the spot where the terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter. Friday's encounter has started in Jammu city two days ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to J&K. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the Palli village Panchayat in Samba district on April 24 to attend the Panchayat Raj Diwas. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Kiev, April 22 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed assistance for Ukraine with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. At a meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Thursday, the parties touched upon the issues of strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities, supporting Ukraine's integration into the European Union (EU) and the post-conflict recovery, the Ukrainian presidential press service was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying. After the talks, Zelensky said Ukraine is counting on Spain's and Denmark's military and financial assistance amid the conflict with Russia. "Ukraine's needs have been explained to our guests today. We are waiting for prompt aid from them," he said. For his part, Sanchez said that Spain has contributed 120 million euros (about $130 million) to the European Peace Fund and provided 31 million euros (about $33.6 million) in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. Besides, Spain has sent some 200 tons of ammunition and other materials for Ukraine, Sanchez said. He added that Spain will fully support Ukraine on its path to EU membership. Meanwhile, Frederiksen noted that Denmark has provided substantial political, financial and sanctions assistance to Ukraine since the conflict with Russia started. "The EU and global partners have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, and together we will do even more," she said. Frederiksen also announced that Denmark stands ready to participate in the post-conflict recovery of Ukraine's southeastern city of Mykolaiv. Sanchez and Frederiksen arrived in Kiev earlier in the day. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Lucknow, April 22 : Three persons were killed and 34 injured after a balcony and a wall collapsed at a wedding venue in Bijnor area in Sarojini Nagar police circle, late on Thursday night. The deceased include 5-year-old Shraddha. The victims, the four of whom are critical, have been admitted to a nearby hospital. The incident took place around 11.30 pm when wedding rituals had ended, and guests had just begun eating. "Suddenly, the wall and a balcony collapsed, and all was over in a few minutes," said Aniket Singh, an eyewitness of the incident. Rome, April 22 : Italy "could start being almost totally independent" of Russian gas imports by the second half of 2023, Italian Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani was quoted by local media as saying. That would be a rapid change for Italy, which imported more than 40 per cent of its gas supply from Russia before the Ukraine crisis. Along with other European Union countries, Italy issued widespread sanctions against Russia for its military operation in Ukraine. But the sanctions does not include gas imports, Xinhua news agency reported. In his remarks, Cingolani said the government would dramatically reduce gas imports from Russia by maximizing imports from existing suppliers, signing new gas deals, and increasing the country's capacity for regasification, a process that converts liquified natural gas back into its usable gaseous form. In recent weeks, Italy has signed a gas supply deal with Algeria, and penned smaller gas deals with Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, and Angola. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, April 22 : The University of Bath, UK organised a panel discussion on poet-diplomat Abhay K.'s poetry collection 'The Alphabets of Latin America' on Thursday, April 21. The topic of the discussion was 'New Alphabets: Building a Poetic & Critical Dialogue between Latin American and South Asian Thought'. The participants included Jessica Sequeira, a scholar at the University of Cambridge and Jorge Heine, research professor, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University, and former Chilean ambassador to India and poet-diplomat Abhay K. Jessica Sequeira commenting on the discussion said: "We take Abhay K.'s recent book of poems 'The Alphabets of Latin America: A Carnival of Poems' (Bloomsbury India, 2020) as a starting point to discuss possibilities and challenges of intercultural conversation between Latin America and India. How to go beyond the clichA of 'building bridges', avoiding pitfalls of orientalism, exoticism and facile universalisms, and including both appreciative and critical elements? What are the possibilities of poetry to explore culture? Abhay K.'s book of poems, with its lyrical travelling 'I', evokes places, people, religious traditions and politics in Latin America." Prof. Jorge Heine shared: "Octavio Paz, the Mexican Nobel Prize winner, is in that category as well. Both Paz and Neruda (who are on the cover of The Alphabets of Latin America) had a strong connection with India, and Paz's book, 'In Light of India', is an extended meditation on Indian civilization." Abhay K. said that he was delighted that his poetry collection 'The Alphabets of Latin America' is receiving global attention. The book has already been translated and published into Italian and has been reviewed in leading global literary journals such as World Literature Today, Agenda UK, Beltway Poetry USA among others. The book has been translated into Spanish and Malayalam as well. New Delhi, April 22 : The New India Foundation announced the three awardees of the inaugural NIF Translation Fellowships, chosen from across 10 Indian languages for the research and translation of three historically significant non-fiction texts originally published in Bangla, Kannada and Marathi. Instituted to promote non-fiction translations from various Indian languages to English, the Translation Fellowships are envisioned to create an expansive cultural reach for works that have thus far been confined to those who understand the original language of their composition. The awardees of the inaugural round of the NIF Translation Fellowships are Venkateswar Ramaswamy (literary translator) & Amlan Biswas (statistician), who will translate Nirmal Kumar's 'Diaries 1946-47' from Bangla, NS Gundur (academician and literary historian) who will translate DR Nagaraj's 'Allamaprabhu Mattu Shaiva Pratibhe' from Kannada and Rahul Sarwate (academician and historian) who will translate Sharad Patil's 'Marxvad: Phule-Ambedkarvaad' from Marathi. Awarded for a period of six months with a stipend of Rupees 6 lakhs to each recipient/team, the Translation Fellowship offers the opportunity for direct mentorship under the Language Expert Committee and the NIF Trustees, apart from providing financial, editorial, legal, and publishing support. There are no constraints on genre, style, nationality of the translator, or ideology of the material chosen for the Translation Fellowships as long as they are published after 1850 and illuminate the development of modern and contemporary India. The Jury for these fellowships included the NIF Trustees: political scientist Niraja Gopal Jayal, historian Srinath Raghavan, and entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal alongside the Language Expert Committee in all 10 languages, comprising bilingual scholars, professors, academics, and literary translators. Speaking on this initiative, Niraja Gopal Jayal, Trustee of New India Foundation said, "The Translation Fellowships of the New India Foundation have been awarded for the translation of three books that span the genres of personal memoir, philosophical dialogue, and critical theory, by three towering intellectuals of their time: Nirmal Kumar Bose, DR Nagaraj, and Sharad Patil. Written in Bangla, Kannada and Marathi respectively, each book is a fine contribution to the rich intellectual tradition in these languages. We are excited that this work will be introduced to readers through annotated translations and hope that the English editions of these books will spark conversations about the relevance of their ideas today." Washington, April 22 : Who funded US Congresswoman Ilhan Omars visit to Pakistan and then Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK)? Her office refused to answer. "Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately, we don't have an official comment on this right now, but will let you know if anything changes," Jacklyn Rogers, press secretary and digital director in Representative Omar's office said on Thursday in response to a series of mails sent seeking details of her plans - the first mail was sent before she landed in Pakistan - and whether she would visit PoK and the funding of the trip. Pakistan sponsored the trip. And it was all legitimate, dotted all the 'Is' and crossed all the 'Ts' in US Congress' ethics rulebook for members and their staff. So why not just confirm it? Or deny it? The State Department was more forthcoming. "As I understand it, Representative Omar is not visiting Pakistan on US government-sponsored travel, so I'd need to refer you to her office for questions on her travel," Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday Price was responding to a question from a Pakistani reporter at the State Department daily briefing that whether Omar is representing President Joe Biden's administration in Islamabad and if she met former Prime Minister Imran Khan to "clear the air" that the US had any role in his ouster, as he has alleged. Omar, who is the first Muslim woman member of the US House of Representatives along with Rashida Tlaib, has been an outspoken critic of the Narendra Modi-led government and has slammed its policies on Kashmir among other issues related to minorities in India. And she was unexpectedly blunt about it during a visit to PoK on Thursday. "I don't believe that it (Kashmir) is being talked about to the extent it needs to in Congress but also with the administration," Omar told reporters after visiting the de facto border dividing the disputed territory between Pakistan and India, according to a report from the region by Reuters. US lawmakers are allowed by Congressional ethics rules to accept all-expenses-paid invitations by foreign countries at the invitation of their governments under Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (MECEA), a law that allows sponsored visits to and from specified countries. Pakistan is one of them, and so is India. It's curious then that Omar's office would be cagey about the sponsorship of her visit to a disputed area of a region that has been described as the world's most dangerous neighbourhood, with two nuclear weapons countries that have fought three and a half wars (1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999) and don't get along. India has expressed displeasure with Omar's visit to PoK. "She visited a part of Jammu and Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan. If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home that may be her business, but violating our territorial integrity in its pursuit makes it ours," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a press briefing. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Bhopal, April 22 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be arriving to Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal on Friday to attend several programames, including the forest produce collectors' convention. He will reach at Raja Bhoj Airport here at 10:30 am. Initially, Shah will inaugurate the 48th All India Police Science Congress (AIPSC) at Lal Parade ground here and then proceed to participate in the forest produce collector's convention at Jamburi Maidan. The AIPSIC is organised every year by Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) to provide a common platform to various police forces, units, social scientists, forensic experts and other departments to celebrate on selected themes of topical interest to the Indian police. The Home Minister will address the forest produce collector's convention organised by the state government, which would the second mega show at Bhopal's Jamburi Maidan in a span of six months. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed the convention for tribal communities on October 15 at Jamburi Maidan. Shah will also have an informal interaction with the BJP leaders and workers at party headquarters. Several other Union ministers including Jyotiraditya Scindia will also be visiting the city along with the Home Minister. Bhopal district police have already issued high alert in the city and security has been strengthened. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reviewed the prepartion. Chouhan said it would be a special occasion as several schemes would be announced for the tribal people. Moscow, April 22 : Ukrainian authorities said that between 3,000 to 9,000 citizens of Mariupol may have been buried in a mass grave in Manhush, a village occupied by Russian troops and located less than 20 km away from the strategic port city. Citing satellite images by Maxar Technologies, which collects and publishes satellite imagery of Ukraine, the Mariupol City Council said in a social media post on Thursday night that the "size of the mass grave in Manhush is 20 times that of the one in Bucha", Ukrayinska Pravda reported. "The Russians dug new trenches on the outskirts of Mariupol and filled them with bodies every day throughout April." Mariupol City Council sources have said that in such graves, the bodies are placed one on top of the other. Also on Thursday, Maxar Technologies said its images showed an expansion of graves that began at the end of March, adding there were four sections of linear rows about 85 metres long, reports the BBC. Local estimates have put the number of civilians killed by the Russian army in Mariupol at 22,000. In a statement, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said: "The gravest war crime of the 21st century has been committed in Mariupol. This is the new Babyn Yar. Hitler killed Jews, Roma people and Slavs back then. Right now, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is destroying the Ukrainian people. "He has already killed tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol. This demands a powerful reaction from the entire civilised world. We need to do whatever it takes to stop the genocide." Babyn Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. According to the City Council, Russian troops have dug several mass graves in Manhush and they trucks to transport the bodies of murdered Mariupol residents there. By mid-March, Mariupol municipal services had buried nearly 5,000 people all across the city and on its outskirts. Earlier this month, Maxar images of the town of Bucha outside Kiev appeared to show bodies of civilians lying in the street nearly two weeks before the Russians left the town as part of a withdrawal from northern Ukraine. Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk had said that least 300 civilians were killed in the town. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Chennai, April 22 : A special team of the Tamil Nadu Police will continue questioning the AIADMK's former interim General Secretary, V.K. Sasikala on Friday in the Kodanad murder and heist case. The six-member team led by Western Zone Inspector General, R. Sudhakaran, and comprising of five other officers, had questioned Sasikala at her T-Nagar residence here for more than six hours on Thursday. Sasikala, who was the close aide of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, told reporters on Thursday evening that she would speak to the media in detail after her questioning on Friday. The probe is in connection to the murder and heist at the 906-acre Kodanad estate located in the Nilgiris district that took place on April 24, 2017, four months after the passing away of Jayalalithaa. Sasikala was serving a jail term at the Bengaluru central prison in a case related to a disproportionate asset case during the burglary and murder at the Kodanad estate. The estate is jointly owned by the Jayalalithaa and Sasikala. Eleven people were arraigned in the case with Kanagaraj, the driver of the late leader, as the main accused. Five days after the incident at the estate, Kanagarj was killed in a road accident on Salem-Chennai highway, and on the same day the second accused, Sayen, and his family met with a road accident at Palakkad in Kerala. While Sayen escaped, his wife and daughter were killed. A computer operator in Kodanad estate, Dinesh Kumar was found hanging from his residence a few months after the heist thus taking the total deaths following the burglary at the estate to five. Three of the accused who were in jail, including Sayen, had demanded a reinvestigation into the case and appealed to the court that allowed the plea. The accused wanted Sasikala and her close associates be questioned, as well as setting up of a special team to probe the case . The team has already questioned Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman. Kiev, April 22 : While addressing a virtual World Bank session, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listed out "five steps" required immediately in the wake of Russia's continued war against Kiev. In his address to the session on Thursday, the President said the first step was immediate support for Ukraine, "so that the Russian leadership knows that the war will not allow them to realise any of their aggressive goals". "Second, Russia must be immediately excluded from all international financial institutions," he said. In the third step, Zelensky said Ukraine needed a special tax for the war, adding that "Russia, and after it any other aggressor, must pay for violating global stability". "Fourth, every country in the world needs to prepare now for the possible complete severance of any relations with Russia. And fifth, significant assets of the Russian state and representatives of the Russian elite have already been blocked," the President added. The Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of threatening global food supplies with its invasion. Russia's blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea port cities has made it impossible for the country to export food supplies such as wheat, the BBC quoted Zelensky as saying. The President added that Ukraine now needs approximately $7 billion per month due to severe "economic losses" caused by the war -- an increase from the $5 billion Kiev previously said was needed each month. "Russian military are aimed at destroying all objects in Ukraine that can serve as an economic base for life. That includes railroad stations, food warehouses, (and) oil refineries." Due to the war, food prices have skyrocketed in places that rely on grain exports from the country, such as Northern Africa. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text New Delhi, April 22 : British Prime Minister Boris Johnson termed his India visit as "auspicious" and told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the ties between the two countries are strong and good. "Don't think things have ever been so strong or good between us as they are now," Johnson told Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He also thanked Prime Minister Modi for a "fantastic" welcome and said his India visit was an auspicious moment in the friendship with India. He also thanked the people of Gujarat for putting up a grand welcome at Ahmedabad. "I have never seen such a joyful reception. I wouldn't get that necessarily anywhere in the world," Johnson further said. The UK Prime Minister was given a ceremonial reception and a Guard of Honour at Rashtrapati Bhawan where he was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After his reception, Johnson visited Rajghat to lay a wreath on the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. The British Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to India, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the day for talks on the UK and India's strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership, aimed at bolstering close partnership and stepping up security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. First, he will be holding a meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at Hyderabad House and later will have bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi. Johnson reached Delhi late on Thursday night and was received by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the Airport. The British Prime Minister arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday, where he was accorded a grand welcome there. The UK and Indian businesses are going to confirm more than one billion pounds in new investments and export deals in areas from software engineering to health, creating almost 11,000 jobs across the UK, the British High Commission said in a statement. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed New Delhi, April 22 : Two persons sustained minor injuries after a security guard posted at Rohini Court fired a shot on the ground to stop a fight between three people outside the Court premises in the national capital on Friday morning. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini district) Pranav Tayal said around 9.40 a.m. a quarrel took place between two advocates Sanjeev Chaudhary, Rishi Chopra and a public person Rohit Beri outside the Rohini Court. "During the scuffle they entered Court's Gate no 8, where they were thrashing each other," the DCP said. At this time, a Constable of Nagaland Armed Police, deployed at the gate, intervened in the situation and a shot was fired pointing towards the ground. Two people sustained minor injuries due to the concrete projectiles as a result of fire, the official said. Meanwhile, North Delhi lawyers Association General Secretary Advocate Vineet Jindal termed the incident as 'really unfortunate' and demanded strict legal action against the security personnel. "It is really unfortunate that a security officer at District Court Rohini premises opened fire on an advocate from his gun. The security officers are here to safeguard court premises and the stakeholders, not to harm them," he told IANS. The work has stopped at the Rohini Court and the lawyers are planning to go on a strike. Tegucigalpa, April 22 : Former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez has been extradited to the US, where he will face charges of drug trafficking. On Thursday, Hernandez, who had been in custody since his arrest on February 15, was transferred by helicopter from the Los Cobras police headquarters on the outskirts of the Honduran capital to the Hernan Acosta Mejia airbase in Tegucigalpa, where agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) were waiting for him, reports Xinhua news agency. The 53-year-old's transfer was accompanied by a strong police ground and air operation. Honduran Judge Edwin Francisco Ortez granted the extradition request on March 16, after evaluating evidence presented by the Court of the Southern District of New York and Hernandez's lawyers. Hernandez faces charges of "conspiracy to import a controlled substance into the US"; manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance with the intent and knowledge that substance would be illegally imported into the US; and with the intent to distribute a controlled substance aboard an aircraft registered on American soil. He is also charged with weapons violations. DEA head Anne Milgram called Hernandez "a central figure in one of the largest and most violent cocaine trafficking conspiracies in the world". Hernandez's family said on Wednesday night a team of lawyers was hired in the US to defend the former President, who was elected in 2014. In a video posted on his wife's Twitter account, the former leader denied the allegations, saying: "I am innocent. I have been subjected to an unfair trial." Since 2014, Honduras has extradited to the US some 32 people linked to drug trafficking. San Francisco, April 22 : A shelter-in-place order at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, which lasted more than four hours as police investigated a "credible campus-wide threat", has been lifted. "All clear - the situation has been resolved. Thank you for your patience," UC Berkeley police said on Twitter late Thursday, adding that based on investigation, it was "appropriate to end the shelter in place", reports Xinhua news agency Police said the buildings would remain locked and in-person classes would be cancelled. When UC Berkeley police issued the shelter-in-place order, people were asked to stay indoors and away from windows due to an unspecified emergency on campus. In-person classes were cancelled and campus services were closed. "Please leave the campus in a safe and orderly way via the closest route available," campus police tweeted. The shelter-in-place order was issued at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday morning. At 10.18 a.m., police said in a tweet that there was not an active shooter on campus, what they were searching for was a person "who may want to harm specific individuals". It was unclear if police has found the person they had searched for. In response to the threat at UC Berkeley, the Berkeley Unified School District temporarily placed eight of its schools on a soft lockdown, according to local media. Late Thursday night, Chancellor Carol Christ issued a statement in which she said that regular i-person classes and campus operations will resume on Friday. New Delhi, April 22 : In celebration of the holy month of Ramzan, Jaipur Rugs and Bangladesh's leading furniture brand ISHO have come together this to bring out an exclusive handmade carpet celebrating the shared Mughal heritage of the two countries. In a world-first for the design community, ISHO along with Jaipur Rugs has developed an artistic representation of Bangladesh and India's shared Mughal culture and architecture, depicting this in a unique design that will be woven by Jaipur Rugs' expert artisans in rural Rajasthan. The rug, launched during Ramzan, serves as a perennial piece designed to suit the dimensions of a modern home and executed using the timeless craftsmanship of Jaipur Rugs. The rug is displayed at ISHO's curated exhibition space in Dhaka, where one can walk in and experience moments of Mughal history unfold before their eyes. The exhibition highlights prominent Mughal rulers and their contributions including famous examples of Mughal architecture in Bangladesh. One of these historic landmarks is the Lalbagh Fort, the inspiration behind the design of this exclusive new rug. As one of the region's most innovative new furniture brands, ISHO strives to collaborate with fellow market leaders, brands and makers that are skilled at their craft and demonstrate creative originality. Working with Jaipur Rugs presented an opportunity to bind both cultures, religions, crafts and teams together in celebration of so many similarities, a shared history and a love of beautiful design. Yogesh Chaudhary, Director, Jaipur Rugs, said, "India and Bangladesh share a cultural history that goes way back in time. Through our collaboration with ISHO we got an opportunity to express our shared heritage through design and propagate our rich crafts and traditions to a newer audience. At Jaipur Rugs we like to give our artisans global platforms to take their craft and their stories to the world. It is always a delight to find new partners like ISHO and be able to tell the stories of the unique and simple lives of our artisan and their ancestral know-how through them." Rayana Hossain, Founder and MD of ISHO, further added, "This collaboration between ISHO and Jaipur Rugs is symbolic of our shared values and cultural unity. We believe in partnering with like-minded entities that are entrepreneurial, sustainable and innovative and it's this strategy that is propelling ISHO's growth in Bangladesh and across borders to India and the Far East. Through this collaboration, we are proud to demonstrate the commercial, cultural and creative benefits of empowering local artisanship and helping traditional crafts to thrive and find resonance in homes around the world." (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in) New Delhi, April 22 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday called on visiting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and discussed the expansion and implementation of the India-UK Roadmap 2030. Taking to Twitter following their meeting, Jaishankar said: "Delighted to call on UK PM Boris Johnson during his India visit. Discussed our expanding partnership and implementation of the India-UK Roadmap 2030." Johnson arrived in India on a two-day visit on Thursday. On Friday morning, he was given a ceremonial reception and a Guard of Honour at the Rashtrapati Bhawan where he was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Talking to the media later, Johnson called it a very auspicious moment in the relationship and friendship between India and UK. He said the bilateral ties have never been as good or as strong as they are today. Johnson also visited Rajghat and laid wreath at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. This is his maiden visit to India as Prime Minister of the UK. The two nations enjoy a long and historical relationship that was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the India-UK Virtual Summit last year. The multi-dimensional relationship ranges from trade and economy, health, science and technology, defence and security, climate change to close cooperation on multilateral issues. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Boston/Bangalore, April 22 : PTC and ITC Infotech on Friday announced an agreement to accelerate customer digital transformation initiatives, focused on the adoption of PTC's industry-leading Windchill product lifecycle management (PLM) software as a service (SaaS). ITC Infotech will acquire a portion of PTC's PLM implementation services business and create a new business unit of ITC Infotech, called DxP Services, that will combine PLM professional services experts from both companies. Together, the two companies will work together to deliver "in-flight" Windchill implementation services for a broad set of existing PTC customers while also enabling a growing number of customers to move from their existing, sometimes highly-customised on-premises implementation of Windchill to next-generation, best-practice SaaS. Across all aspects of business, digital transformation and SaaS adoption have gone mainstream, with more than half of all commercial software expected to be sold as SaaS this year. In the manufacturing industry, the SaaS adoption curve is accelerating, driven in part by the COVID pandemic. To meet this fast-emerging market need, PTC is investing heavily to bring its entire product portfolio to the cloud via its PTC Atlas SaaS Platform. With this new agreement, PTC and ITC Infotech will bring together professionals from both companies into a unified team dedicated to creating, and jointly offering, the tooling and methodologies required to expedite a smooth transition to SaaS. "As a global technology services and solution provider, ITC Infotech shares a common goal with our partner PTC - to enable customers to embrace SaaS as a cornerstone of their digital transformation strategies," said Sudip Singh, Managing Director and CEO, ITC Infotech. "PTC and ITC Infotech have a proven and trusting alliance formed over 20 years working together for the benefit of our mutual customers. The creation of DxP Services will take our relationship to a whole new level and will enable PTC customers to transform the way they adopt technology in the distributed, secure, and agile workplace of the future." ITC Infotech has successfully partnered with customers and helped them transform the way they consumer technology, including embracing SaaS. The firm's deep understanding of the innovation and value which is realised at the intersection of technology, domain, and industry, makes them the partner of choice to their customers. Increasingly considered the backbone of digital transformation, PLM implementation for industrial companies is one of ITC Infotech's core competencies, with the firm having successfully delivered hundreds of global PLM engagements. Such depth of domain expertise, the longevity of collaboration between the two companies, and the fact that many PTC PLM implementation experts will be joining DxP Services will help provide a smooth transition for customers as the new business unit commences operations. Over time, DxP Services expects to expand the range of services it provides. "It has long been PTC's strategy to build a partner ecosystem that brings to bear the expertise and capacity of systems integrators to drive business transformation and technology adoption across our global customer base," said Jim Heppelmann, President & CEO, PTC. "Together with ITC Infotech, we are creating a specialised team to unlock the potential of our Windchill services business and accelerate manufacturers' ability to realise the benefits of SaaS, such as accessibility, security, and a lower total cost of ownership." Further accelerating PTC's embrace of SaaS as a business paradigm, the company will focus its own services professionals on thought leadership related to digital thread value realisation. PTC's services experts are unique in their understanding of the value that can be created at the intersection of the technologies that drive an enterprise digital thread strategy - CAD, PLM, Internet of Things (IoT), and Augmented Reality (AR). PTC will apply that expertise to continue driving digital transformation across the manufacturing landscape. PTC will continue to lead implementation services for customers with unique requirements, such as U.S. federal government security protocols, while also continuing to collaborate with its global partner ecosystem to drive digital thread initiatives and enable more customers to benefit from PTC's next generation SaaS solutions across the company's technology portfolio. "This new agreement with ITC Infotech will allow PTC to realign its own professional services experts to a unique thought leadership role in the industry in enabling digital transformation for industrial companies across engineering, manufacturing, and service," added Heppelmann. "PTC is investing heavily in next-generation SaaS solutions across our portfolio, and this expert team will develop the roadmaps our customers need to increase the value they realize from technology, and enable them to completely redefine the way work gets done." Subject to applicable closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed in PTC's fiscal Q3. Management plans to discuss the expected impact of the agreement on PTC's financial and operating metrics during its fiscal Q2 quarterly earnings call on April 27. Kiev, April 22 : A top official in Kiev has claimed that the Russian top brass had plans to deport a large proportion of Ukrainians to concentration camps in western Siberia to be used as forced labour to build new cities. Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, said that on September 6, 2021, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu published an article entitled 'New Cities of Siberia', Ukrayinska Pravda reported. "Few people paid any attention to this publication, but we pay attention to such things," he said. "After reading it carefully, we realised that their desire to build up Siberia at the expense of our citizens and our country, as has already happened time and again, will never go away." Danilov said that Shoigu explicitly announced this plan to build three to five large cities with populations of between 300,000 and 1 million and, "consequently, this has to be (done by) Ukrainians". "All the reports that our partners' intelligence was giving us were about concentration camps, filtration camps, and physically eliminating the Ukrainian president and top political leadership as the number one priority." He further said that Shoigu hinted in the article that Ukrainians were to work as forced labour and that citizens from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) should be brought in to do the work. However, Danilov insisted that other CIS countries did not have a sufficient number of physically able citizens to accomplish such an ambitious city-building scheme. In February this year, some Western publications published intelligence reports from their sources stating that Russia was preparing filtration and labour camps for Ukrainians, to which dissenters would be deported following the invasion. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Kolkata, April 22 : The all-women fact-finding team of Trinamool Congress on Jahangirpuri violence might be stopped from reaching the spot of purported communal violence, apprehended members of the team before leaving for Delhi on Friday morning. Initially, it was decided that the team will have five members, but on Friday morning four Lok Sabha members -- Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Shatabdi Roy, Aparupa Podder and Sajad Ahmed -- left for Delhi from Kolkata airport. They were accompanied by the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay, who expressed the apprehension at the Kolkata airport that the party's fact-finding team might be stopped from reaching the spot of purported communal violence at Jahangirpuri. "I am not a part of the party's fact-finding team. I am just accompanying them to oversee the entire development. We were told that leaders of non-BJP political parties are being stopped from reaching Jahangirpuri. We apprehend that the members of our fact-finding team might also be stopped from reaching the spot," said Bandopadhyay. Thespian-turned politicians and former Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member of Trinamool Congress also accompanied the team. Members of the fact-finding team are scheduled to reach Jahangirpuri at around 2 p.m., talk to the local people and soon submit a detailed report on this count to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. This initiative is perceived as a counter to a recent fact-finding team that BJP had sent to West Bengal in connection with the rape of a minor girl, who died later at Hanskhali in Nadia district. The BJP had also sent another team to West Bengal on the carnage at Bogtui in Birbhum district that killed nine persons on March 21. BJP's national president and Lok Sabha member Dilip Ghosh, on Friday, once again ridiculed the Trinamool Congress's decision of sending a fact- finding team to Jahangirpuri saying that the only mission of the team is to aggravate communal violence and malign the Union government. Mumbai, April 22 : As 'Nil Battey Sannata' completes six years of its release on Friday, its producer Aanand L Rai, who is known for directing movies such as 'Raanjhanaa' and 'Tanu Weds Manu', shared that the film's script was so powerful that he had no choice but to bankroll it. While talking about 'Nil Battey Sannata', Aanand said, "The moment I read the script, I knew I had to make it because the emotions behind it were so pure! I must say Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (the director) and Swara Bhasker did a fantastic job to bring such a beautiful story alive on the screen. Even after six years of its release, 'Nil Battey Sannata' has the same resonating value." Released this day in 2016, 'Nil Battey Sannata', directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, tells the story of a single mother, who works as a maid with big ambitions for her daughter. The sensitive drama, starring Swara Bhasker, dissected the relationship between a mother-daughter. Meanwhile, Aanand L Rai is gearing up for multiple releases under Colour Yellow Production. The filmmaker-producer has 'Raksha Bandhan', 'An Action Hero', 'Gorkha' and 'Good Luck Jerry' in the pipeline. Sanaa, April 22 : A commercial flight is set to depart from Yemen's capital city Sanaa after a gap of six years, a UN spokesman said, adding that it was an essential step in the ongoing two-month ceasefire. The flight will head to to Amman, Jordan, Xinhua news agency quoted Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying. "The UN thanks the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for its support in bringing about this achievement, and the Government of Yemen for its constructive role in making this happen." The world body counts on all parties involved to ensure a successful flight, Dujarric said. The flight is an important element of the truce between the government and the Houthi militia reached earlier this month through the mediation efforts of Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen. The spokesman expressed the hope that parties to the accord will continue facilitating the flights as terms of the truce agreement. The Sanaa International Airport, presently controlled by the Houthi militia, has been effectively out of service since the Saudi offensive on Yemen in 2015. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa. Vijayawada, April 22 : The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday suspended two police officers for dereliction of duty after a mentally-challenged woman was gangraped by three contract employees of a government hospital in Vijayawada. The Circle Inspector and Sub-Inspector of Nunna Police Station in the city were suspended after Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took serious note of the shocking incident and the negligence shown by the police officers. The chief minister also ordered the health department to take action against the officials of Government General Hospital (GGH), where the 23-year-old victim was confined to a room for 30 hours (April 19-20) and three accused sexually assaulted her. The Chief Minister also announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the victim. He also ordered the officials to ensure stringent action against the accused. All three accused have been dismissed from service. The victim's parents alleged that the lack of quick response from the police on their missing complaint led to the ghastly crime. The woman's parents themselves went to the hospital on the night of April 20 and to their horror found a youth sexually assaulting her. They caught hold of him and handed over to the police. Police have arrested Dara Srikant, Chenna Babu Rao and J. Pawan Kalyan. According to police, Srikant had befriended the woman and promised to marry her and provide her a job. On April 19, he took the woman to GGH, where he was working as a contract employee in the pest control department. He kept her in a room, where he sexually abused her the whole night. The next day, Srikant's friend Pawan Kalyan went to the room and raped the victim. On the morning of April 20, the victim's parents approached Nunna Police Station and lodged a complaint that their daughter has been missing since April 19 evening. The victim's parents alleged that the police did not act swiftly though they provided the mobile number from which they had received a call from their daughter. The police asked them to come in the evening. When the victim's parents went to the police station in the evening, they were told that they have identified the mobile number. It belonged to GGH employee Srikant. When police called and questioned Serikant, he said he saw her in the hospital premises and asked her to go home in an autorickshaw. The complainant alleged that police believed Srikant's statement and made no effort to trace her. The victim's parents then went to the hospital to search her and to their utter shock found her tied in a room with a youth sexually abusing her. They caught hold of him and handed over to the police. He was identified as Babu Rao and he told the police that Srikant and Pawan Kalyan also raped her. Police commissioner Kanti Rana Tata said all the three accused have been arrested. The victim has been admitted to a hospital. Leaders of opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Jana Sena and Left parties staged a protest outside the police station against the alleged negligence by the police. Meanwhile, tension prevailed at GGH when Andhra Pradesh Women's Commission chairperson Vasireddy Padma was stopped by TDP workers when she reached there to call on the victim. Raising slogans against the government, the TDP workers demanded that Padma should go back. TDP president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited the hospital and called on the victim and her family. He demanded that the government set up a special court and ensure that all the three accused get capital punishment. The leader of opposition demanded Rs 1 crore compensation, a job and a house for the victim. He announced Rs 5 lakh for the victim from TDP. The TDP president said the chief minister should visit the hospital and call on the victim. Panaji, April 22 : A Mumbai-based Youtube rapper was arrested by the Goa Police, along with a woman from Delhi, and MDMA, a banned synthetic drug, valued at Rs 7 lakh seized from their possession, police said on Friday. According to Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Shobhit Saxena, the rapper has been identified as 25-year-old M.C. Kurban, alias Kurban Shaikh, a resident of Borivali in Mumbai. "During our investigation it has come out that Kurban Shaikh is a habitual peddler of drugs in Mumbai and Goa. We are also tracking down further sources of Kurban Shaikh. We have found in our investigation that he is a youtube rapper, who goes by the name of M.C Kurban," Saxena told reporters here. "He tries to get into events due to his identity as a rapper and there he peddles his drugs. So that is the MO that he is following. It is a new modus operandi that has come to our light and we are tracking down further sources," Saxena also said, adding that a 29-year-old woman associate from Delhi, who is presently residing in the coastal village of Siolim in North Goa has also been arrested. Mumbai, April 22 : Bollywood actor Sikandar Kher, who is working with Jackie Shroff in 'Chidiya Udd', has showered praise on the veteran star, calling him one of most benevolent human beings. After the 2019 thriller 'Romeo Akbar Walter', 'Chidiya Udd' will mark Sikandar's second outing with the 'Parinda' actor. Elaborating on the same, Sikandar says, "There are some people who impact one's life very deeply and emotionally and Jaggu Dada is one such person for me. Having known him since my childhood, I have always had a very special bond with him. He is one of the kindest, most honest and benevolent human beings that I have ever met in my life. It's inspiring to see how he is and how he treats everyone around him." Lauding Jackie's humility, Sikandar said, "He talks with everyone with utmost respect and I think that is the reason why everyone loves working with him. As an actor as well, I have always been a huge fan of his work and for me, even today, sharing screen space with Jaggu Dada and doing a scene with him is a wonderful feeling! Having him around on the sets of 'Chidiya Udd' was a great learning opportunity for me and the entire team." Sikandar was last seen in the second season of 'Aarya' on Disney+ Hotstar, which starred former Miss Universe and actress Sushmita Sen in the lead role. Thiruvananthapuram, April 22 : For the second successive day, angry protesters in Kannur were seen engaging in a war of words with police and K-Rail officials, when they tried to lay the marking stone for the social impact assessment study of the project. "We do not want this as already we have been badly affected when our land was taken for a by-pass. They did not even give us a notice and had it not been for the local temple festival, no body would have known about it," said angry housewives at the outskirts in Kannur. On Friday, the Kerala government decided to invite Alok Varma, RVG Menon and Joseph C.Mathew for a meeting. All the three are often seen on TV channels on debates and have been vehemently opposing the project. The government has asked top Science and Technology official K.P.Sudheer to coordinate the meeting which will also include three others who are batting for the project. But the Action Committee group who have been waging strong protests for close to a year now expressed ire over its representative not being invited. Meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF has decided to intensify its protests and warned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan not to underestimate them as they will go to any extent to oppose the project. "We are willing to go to jail and we will pull out each and every marking stone that will be laid," said an angry KPCC President K. Sudhakaran. If completed, the K-Rail project will see a 529.45 km corridor connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod with semi - high speed trains covering the distance in around four hours. Both the Congress and the BJP say that this project is not needed for Kerala given the massive cost which will be in excess of Rs 1.50 lakh crore and would be an environmental and economic disaster and would be a huge burden for the next generation. Hyderabad, April 22 : A youth slit the throat of a girl with whom he was in love in Hanamkonda town of Telangana on Friday. The 23-year-old victim was admitted to MGM Hospital in Warangal, where her condition is stated to be stable. According to police, the incident occurred in front of the victim's house under Subedari police station limits in the town. The accused, identified as Azhar, used some sharp object to slit the girl's throat after an argument. Hearing her screams, neighbours rushed her to a hospital. Since the injury was superficial, the girl's condition was stated to be out of danger. Police launched a hunt for the accused, who escaped after attacking the girl. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused and the victim have been in a love affair for one year. The victim had come to Hanamkonda Friday morning from Hyderabad, where she has been staying for a year after completing her MCA to prepare for a competitive exam. Both the accused and the victim wanted to meet. The couple apparently had an argument over some issue leading to the attack by the accused. The victim was reported to be reluctant in sharing details of the accused but police identified him as Azhar. Police were trying to ascertain what transpired during the meeting between the accused and the victim which led to the incident. Silchar, April 22 : Two Ukrainians, who illegally entered India, were detained by Government Railway Police (GRP) at Badarpur in Assam's Karimganj district, officials said on Friday. The GRP personnel detained Chrisinsky Volodimir, 39 and Nazari Voznyuk, 21, while they were travelling through the Agartala-New Delhi (Anand Vihar) Tripura Sundari Express train on Thursday night. The GRP sources said that the Ukrainians were travelling without valid passports and other documents. Later, the detainees were handed over to Karimganj police. A police official said that they have contacted the Ukrainian embassy in India to verify records. "We are waiting for confirmation from the Ukrainian embassy in Delhi and then we will start the legal action against the duo," the police official told the media, refusing to be named. The police official, quoting the detainees, said that they had moved out of Ukraine before Russia's invasion of the country started. Assam police are yet to know how the Ukraine nationals entered Tripura before boarding the weekly Tripura Sundari Express. New Delhi, April 22 : The Supreme Court on Friday initiated a suo moto case to develop guidelines to be followed by courts across the country, while considering matters which involve death penalty. A three-judge bench of Justices U.U. Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat, and P.S. Narasimha sought assistance from Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, and also issued a notice to the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The bench indicated that it would lay down guidelines to be followed by courts across the country in connection with cases involving death sentences. The bench noted that convicts are at a stage where the litigation assistance is bare minimum. The Attorney General concurred with the bench that the system -- to deal with issues pertaining with death sentences -- needs to be institutionalised. During the hearing, amicus curiae advocate K. Parameshwar cited a policy in Madhya Pradesh under which public prosecutors are given increment based on the number of sentences awarded in matters prosecuted by them. Senior advocate Siddharth Dave is also an amicus curiae in the matter. The bench said this policy should be brought on record and scheduled the matter for further hearing on May 10. Last month, the top court initiated suo moto proceedings for revamping the manner in which death sentences are handed down by the courts. It noted that the process should have more objectivity. The top court registered the case to examine how the courts, which deal with death sentence matters, can develop a comprehensive analysis on the nature of the crime and the accused. It also pointed at the mitigating circumstances, which the concerned court can look into, while deciding whether a death sentence should be awarded or not. The top court initiated the process after an application was filed by anti-death penalty body, Project 39A of National Law University, Delhi. The application complained about alleged inadequacies in the existing system of preparation of reports by the probation officers and other officials from the jail administration. The top court was hearing a plea by one Irfan challenging the trial court that awarded him death sentence, which was later confirmed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Mumbai, April 22 : The first ever Ladakh International Music Festival is set to be held at Leh's Sonam Wangchuk Stadium starting from April 30. The four-day event will feature performances by popular rock bands, a rock band competition among the local talent and a special tribute to the Indian Army at one of world's highest war memorials, Rezang La. Bands like 'Indian Ocean', 'The Yellow Diary', 'Parashara', 'Tetseo Sisters' from Nagaland, EDM DJ Ali Burrni and DJ Anna are some of the names that will enthral the audience at the festival. All performances from April 30 to May 2 will be held at Leh's Sonam Wangchuk Stadium. In addition, the event will be graced by the frontline warriors of the Indian Army and Bollywood artistes Richa Chadda and Darshan Kumar. In its second half, the Ladakh International Music Festival will pay a special tribute to the martyrs of Galwan and war veterans of the Indian Army at Rezang La (18,045 ft) in the afternoon on May 4 by launching the Rezang La anthem. The maiden Ladakh International Music Festival will be hosted by Picturetime in collaboration with the Indian Army. Music composer Joi Barua and his band will be performing the new anthem with Picturetime in metaverse / VR format for the Rezang La memorial. Commenting on the occasion, music Composer, Joi Barua who is also Program Director, LIMF, says "I am so honoured to bring this festival & my music to the sacred land of Ladakh. I am aware of its special history in the context of Rezang La. This is our tribute to the spirit of Ladakh & the Indian Army . This festival will be proud to showcase the rich musical talent of Ladakh to the rest of the world. As a 1st time initiative I am so excited to see what surprises are in store". GOC-in-C Northern command and LG, UT Ladakh will likely grace the event and also launch the Rezang La Anthem. The anthem will also soon be telecast abroad. On the Indian Army playing such a pivotal role in the festival, Major General Akash Kaushik, Chief of Staff, Fire & Fury Corps, says, "The Indian Army has a rich musical tradition and a penchant to assist the local populace. Bringing these two aspects together we decided to organise this music fest with a twin-fold aim, to give an opportunity to the young population of Ladakh to enjoy an international music festival as also to showcase the talent of young Ladakhi musicians to the country at large." He further said, "With this aim in mind we decided to ask bands from the rest of the country to work with us and all have obliged. Picturetime and Sky2ocean are two companies with similar ideals and it was natural for us to merge on these ideas and create a marquee event that shall resonate in the minds of the people for a long time." Sushil Chaudhary, Founder & CEO, Picturetime, member of the founding committee, LIMF, says "Ladakh International Music Festival brings local Ladakhi music bands an opportunity to play with nationals bands. And the Indian Army is setting an example to justify unity in diversity by not just being the perfect host but also providing a musical piece at Rezang La to enforce the ethos of our defence forces." "It is an honour and proud moment for us to be a part of a new original musical dedicated to our braves from Rezang La", Sushil concluded. Hyderabad, April 22 : Kannada star Yash, who is overjoyed with the overwhelming response to 'KGF: Chapter 2', posted a video on social media in which he expresses his gratitude for the biggest win in his theatrical career. Yash recounts an anecdote in the video, saying, "There was a small village that had been facing a drought situation for quite some time so, the villagers decided to have a prayer meet and people turned out in large numbers but there was one boy." "He was the only one who appeared with an umbrella. Some called it overconfidence, but it was - faith", Yash said. The 'Googly' actor continued, "I am like that little boy who believed he would witness this day, and I am in a position where thank you is sufficient, but I would like to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart." Yash's emotional speech concluded as he said, "I'd like to express our appreciation on behalf of the entire KGF team. I hope you're enjoying the film and will continue to do so. Finally, I'd like to say that your heart is my tent!" 'KGF: Chapter 2' was released nationwide on April 14, 2022, destroying a few records and creating some new ones. Helmed by Prashanth Neel, 'KGF 2' stars Yash as Rocky Bhaai, an underdog who rises as a super powerful don. London, April 22 : Authorities in Shanghai have said they will tighten the enforcement of lockdown measures, as surge in Covid cases continues in China's financial capital, BBC reported. The new measures include placing electronic door alarms to prevent those infected from leaving, as well as evacuating people to disinfect their homes. Earlier this week, hundreds were forcibly evacuated from their homes to allow for buildings to be disinfected. The restrictions will take Shanghai's lockdown into its fifth week, BBC reported. Shanghai city officials said that all the infected patients and close contacts will be transferred to government-run centralised quarantine. In addition, disinfection measures will be escalated in some of the city's worst-hit areas. This will likely mean some residents will be forced to move out temporarily -- including those who have tested negative. The move comes days after people in two other Shanghai communities - Beicai and Pingwang - were ordered to leave their residences for temporary accommodations. In Beicai, an official notice issued to the residents told them to pack their belongings and leave their wardrobe doors open, BBC reported. They were also told to leave open the front door of their home and their pets behind. Images on social media of people queuing with packed suitcases at night-time showed the scale of the operation. Noida, April 22 : A court here has refused to grant interim bail to Rudra Group of Companies promoter, Mukesh Khurana in a case registered against him over allegations of duping home buyers. Dismissing the interim anticipatory bail petition moved by Khurana, Judge Ashok Kumar of the District and Sessions Court of Gautam Buddha Nagar said: "Considering the facts and circumstances of this case and nature of the offence, there is no sufficient ground to enlarge the applicants/accused on interim bail. Hence, the interim anticipatory bail application of applicants/accused is liable to be rejected." "It is prima facie explicit from the FIR that these accused were proprietors of Messrs Rudra Buildwell Projects Pvt Ltd with whom informant entered into an agreement," read the order dated April 20. In the order, the court observed that the case of bail application of the other accused -- his wife Babita Khurana and son Rudra Khurana is different. As per the FIR, Nitin Dua, the director of the company is also an accused in connection with the crime. In November 2020, Noida Police recently arrested Khurana, the promoter of Rudra Group after an FIR was registered against him over charges of allegedly duping the home buyers. Mukesh Khurana, Promoter of Rudra Group of Companies, who has several projects in Delhi-NCR, was arrested on an FIR registered by a home-buyer Sunita Singh in relation to Pavo Real Project of M/s Rudra Buildwell Realty Pvt. Ltd. Khurana is facing several proceedings as even earlier various complaints have been filed by various home buyers for delay in delivery of Rudra's Serra Bella/Pavo Real Housing Project in Indirapuram. The Delhi Police had investigated his role in this and a charge sheet was filed against him. Hyderabad, April 22 : The Telangana High Court on Friday issued notice to the Central and Telangana governments, state Transport Minister P. Ajay Kumar and others on a PIL seeking CBI probe into a BJP worker's suicide in Khammam. The court ordered notice be issued to Union Home Ministry and state Home Department, the Transport Minister, Khammam Police Commissioner, Station House Officer (SHO) of III Town Police Station in Khammam and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader Prasanna Krishna and Circle Inspector Narsaiah were also issued the notice. The respondents have been directed to file their replies in two weeks. The court issued the notices on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer R. Krishnaiah, seeking directions for CBI probe into the suicide by Sai Ganesh. The BJP has alleged that harassment by police allegedly at the behest of the minister and local TRS leaders drove Ganesh to suicide. Ganesh had consumed pesticides in front of the police station in Khammam on April 14. He was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad, where he succumbed on April 16. BJP state President Bandi Sanjay alleged that 16 false cases were booked against Ganesh and unable to bear the harassment, he ended his life. He said the police did not even record the dying declaration of Ganesh. The BJP has demanded resignation of the Transport Minister, blaming him for the party worker's suicide. The party also submitted a memorandum to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on the issue, demanding a CBI probe. Bhubaneswar, April 22 : The survey work for the new Malkangiri-Bhadrachalam railway line project in Odisha is likely to be completed by June, officials said on Friday. During his visit to Malkangiri district, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday reviewed the progress made on Malkangiri-Bhadrachalam rail line project with railway officials, and public representatives, in Malkangiri. The 173.416 km long Malkangiri-Bhadrachalam rail line project was sanctioned by the Railway Board in September 2021 with an estimated cost of Rs 2,800 crore. This project will have 213 bridges including 48 major and 165 minor bridges, the officials said. This proposed project will have stations at Malkangiri, Badali, Kowasiguda, Rajanguda, Maharajpalli and Lunimanguda in Odisha, and Kannapuram, Kutugata, Pallu, Nandigama, Bhadrachalam and Pandurangapuram in Telangana. Estimated cost for conducting survey Rs 307.64 lakh was sanctioned in January, and the contract was awarded in February at a cost of Rs 231 lakh. After studying various aspects of this project, the alignment has been finalised. The survey works will be completed by June, 2022, they said. "The Prime Minister is asking us (the ministers) to visit the remote and distant places, which are yet to see the development and see whether the schemes and programmes of the Union government are reaching to such places or not," Vaishnaw said while addressing a public meeting in Malkangiri. During his last visit in August 2021, the Minister said there was public demand for development of the railway line from Malkangiri- Bhadrachalam. "Soon after reaching New Delhi, I have started working on the project and the survey work will be completed soon and then after, land acquisition process will be started," he said. During the visit, the railways minister inaugurated Malkangiri district headquarters post office. He also inaugurated the Salapada sub post office in Keonjhar district, Manamunda sub post office in Boudh district and Gopalpur sub post office in Balasore district through video conferencing mode. Previously, these post offices were functioning in rented buildings. Under the Central government short and long term schemes, departmental buildings are being built for post offices and made available to the public. By ensuring the completion of construction of Malkangiri post office, the minister has fulfilled his promise as made earlier during his last visit to Odisha. Bengaluru, April 22 : The Karnataka government is all set to strictly implement the law in connection with Azaan. The move is likely to add to the existing social unrest in the state. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the state DG and IGP Praveen Sood made it clear on Friday that everyone should follow the law in this regard. Meanwhile, Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik has stated that he has launched a "Azaan se Azadi" campaign in the state. He had demanded that the government should ensure implementation of the law on violation of rules while performing Azaan in mosques. Instructions have been issued for resolving the Azaan issue harmoniously through holding peace committee meetings at the police station level. The process is going on. Everyone should follow the law, Bommai said. There is a High Court order on Azaan. A circular has already been issued in accordance with that. The rule also specifies the decibel level. The DG has already issued the circular, he stated. IGP Praveen Sood had stated that as per the rule, notices have been issued to mosques and other places where speakers are used. "We will not allow violation of the High Court rule at any cost. The police have issued notices across the state. We will not allow any violation," he stated. "We will not let peace be disturbed in the state," he said. Sources in the police department, however, said that any action against a mosque or a temple for use of speakers would result in chaotic consequences for the state. Moscow, April 22 : Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a list of US figures, including tech honchos, who are now prohibited from entering the county for an indefinite period. According to TechCrunch, the list includes high-profile US politicians such as Vice President Kamala Harris, tech leaders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and LinkedIn chief Ryan Roslansky, as well as journalists and others who it says are promoting a 'Russophobic' agenda. The announcement is also an extension of Russia acting to shut down or restrict access to several Western platforms that are not complying with its regulations on information dissemination, specifically for trying to limit pro-Russian messaging. These shutdowns have included snapping access to Facebook and Instagram, limiting access to Google News and issuing warnings about YouTube. Meanwhile, Apple, Google, Microsoft and many other tech giants have shut down or paused operations in Russia. The list also includes Brian Thomas Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and George Stephanopoulos, host on the ABC television channel, among others. According to The Moscow Times, the US and European Union have personally sanctioned some Russians including, President Vladimir Putin, his daughters and oligarchs seen as crucial to the Russian leader's power. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Thiruvananthapuram, April 22 : The All India Students' Federation (AISF) of the CPI on Friday accused the CPI-M's Student Federation of India (SFI) of displaying "fascist" tendencies. This was mentioned in the AISF's report presented at their ongoing meeting, being held ahead of the CPI State Conference. It also said that the SFI is following fascist's tendencies of the ABVP. Responding to it, K.M.Sachin Dev, the youngest member of the present Kerala Legislative Assembly and State secretary of the SFI said it's unfortunate that the AISF is resorting to such things. "At several places the AISF candidates win because of the support of the SFI and knowing this very well, it's not in the finesse of things to level such allegations," said the 28-year-old Dev. The CPI is the second biggest ally of the ruling Left Democratic Front and there are times when either the CPI is at war with the CPI-M or the youth wings of these two parties- AIYF (CPI) and the DYFI (CPI-M) are at loggerheads and hence the present wrangling between the student wing will die a natural death. Kolkata, April 22 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be going to New Delhi to attend the "Chief Ministers-Chief Justices' Conference on Judiciary", to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 30. Speculations are rife on what observations Banerjee is likely to make at the event against the backdrop of so many orders of the Calcutta High Court - that have gone against the state government - for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiries on various issues. Highly placed sources from state Secretariat, Nabanna confirmed that the Chief Minister will be attending the conference, where issues like vacant posts is are impacting the progress of cases "The Chief Minister might also try to have a one-to-one meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss various issues related to the state. These issues include the huge amount of dues that the state government is supposed to receive from the Union government under various heads like that of GST and MGNREGS. However, that probable one -to-one meeting, which the Chief Minister will definitely try to have, is yet to be confirmed," said an influential member of the state cabinet who refused to be named. It was initially decided that the Prime Minister will be attending the opening session of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) 2022 on April 20. However, it did not happen because of the Prime Minister's busy schedule in his own home state of Gujarat. The last time Banerjee and Modi had a one-to-one meeting was in New Delhi in November last year. It was precisely then that the Chief Minister invited the Prime Minister to be present at the inaugural session Of Bengal Global Business Summit 2022. Trinamool Congress leaders are, however, tight-lipped on the other meetings of the Chief Minister during her Delhi visit, especially with leaders of other opposition parties, including the Congress. Los Angeles, April 22 : The 40-square mile of an Orlando district governed by Disney, called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, may soon slip out of the studio's control as Florida Legislature has voted to terminate Disney's governance on the district. The move is seen as a retaliation for the company's resistance to the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, reports 'Variety'. As per 'Variety', The House of Representatives approved the bill on a vote of 70-38, a day after the measure passed through the state Senate. The bill is expected to be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has taken aim at "special privileges" for Disney, since the company announced its opposition to the Parental Rights in Education law last month. The bill forbids classroom discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade, and it mandates that all discussion in later grades be "age appropriate." Parents are also given the power to sue school districts over alleged violations. Disney came out against the law after an uprising from its own employees, who faulted the company for staying silent in the face of an anti-LGBT agenda. The legislature created the Reedy Creek district in 1967, giving Disney almost total control over zoning, public services and utilities at the Walt Disney World Resort and its three other Orlando theme parks. Post the hand over of governance, Orange and Osceola counties would likely have to assume responsibility for public services in the area. The government would also inherit the district's debt, which currently stands at nearly $1 billion. Scott Randolph, the elected Orange County tax collector, tweeted on Wednesday that eliminating the district would cost the county $163 million per year for services and debt payments. The move could well face legal challenges. Disney did not issue a comment. The legislature also passed a bill to remove a special carve-out for Disney from the state's social media "censorship" law. The law is intended to regulate social media platforms, but it's on hold pending a federal lawsuit. Just before it was approved last year, legislators created an exemption for any company that owns a theme park in the state, in a move to protect Disney+. Islamabad, April 22 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday chaired a National Security Committee (NSC) meeting to discuss the alleged 'threat letter', media reports said. The meeting is being attended by the services chiefs and federal ministers. Sources privy to the matter said that former Pakistani ambassador to Washington Dr Asad Majeed Khan will brief the NSC over his diplomatic cable that carried the alleged threat sent to the PTI government last month by US officials, Geo News reported. The Pakistani diplomat, sources said, has reached Islamabad and will attend the NSC meeting convened by Shehbaz Sharif at PM Office to discuss the "threat letter". Former Pakistna premier Imran Khan, who was voted out through a no-confidence motion, brandished a "threat letter" on March 27 at a public gathering before his ouster, claiming that his government had been threatened by the US and the Opposition was involved in the conspiracy. The PTI has claimed that the Imran Khan government was toppled because of the independent foreign policy and most recently due to the PM's Russian visit. The US has rejected the allegations and said there is no truth in them. Not only this, DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar had also rejected the perception of a foreign conspiracy behind the no-trust motion. Addressing a press conference on April 14, the military spokesperson had clarified that the word "conspiracy" was not used in the statement issued after a meeting of the NSC last month. Jammu, April 22 : A wreath laying ceremony was held at District Police Lines (DPL) Jammu to pay tributes to ASI S.P. Patel of CISF who lost his life in a terror attack at Sunjwan Jammu in the wee hours of Friday. Director General Police J&K Dilbag Singh, Additional Director General Police Jammu Zone, Mukesh Singh and other senior civil, police officers and security forces laid floral wreaths on the mortal remains and paid rich tributes to the martyr for the supreme sacrifice made in the line of duty. Two Pakistani terrorists and the CISF jawan were killed in a pre-dawn encounter at Sunjwan in Jammu between terrorists and security forces close to a military installation just two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. Terrorists targetted a CISF vehicle drawing swift retaliation from the CISF jawans and security forces. The firefight continued for several hours and ended with the killing of two heavily armed Pakistani terrorists. CISF ASI S.P. Patel was also killed in the line of duty. "We pay our rich tributes to the martyr for his supreme sacrifice made in the line of duty and stand by his family at this crucial juncture," police said. London, April 22 : A bloated Vladimir Putin has been seen gripping a table whilst slouching in his chair during a televised meeting with his defence minister amid rumours the Russian strongman is battling cancer, the media reported. In a rare live appearance, Putin claimed Russia had 'liberated' the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, as he savagely ordered Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to seal off all routes out of the Azovstal steelworks where defiant Ukrainians are holed up 'so that even a fly cannot pass through'. But Putin's poor posture and his apparently bloated face and neck sparked speculation about the Russian leader's health, which has reportedly been in decline since his invasion of Ukraine, the Daily Mail reported. Video showed Putin speaking to Shoigu whilst gripping the edge of the table with his right hand - so hard that it appears white - and tapping his foot consistently, Daily Mail reported. Shoigu does not appear to have fared any better in the eight weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, with the defence minister slurring his words and reading from his notes following an apparent heart attack. Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and former adviser to Ukraine and Russia, said the video showed both Putin and Shoigu 'depressed and seemingly in bad health'. "Shoigu has to read his comments to Putin and slurs badly, suggesting that the rumours of his heart attack are likely. He sits badly. Poor performance," Daily Mail reported. Prof Erik Bucy, a body language expert from Texas Tech University, told The Sun Online: "It's astonishingly weakened Putin compared to the man we observed even a few years ago. "An able-bodied president would not need to keep himself propped up with a hand held out for leverage and would not be concerned about keeping both feet planted on the ground." Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Chennai, April 22 : Environmentalists and social activists in south Tamil Nadu are up in arms against the police for allegedly turning a blind eye towards trucks overloaded with minerals. The activists are upset that the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 1988 is not being implemented in the case of trucks overloaded with minerals, causing a loss to the state exchequer. Sudhakaran Raja, an activist in Tenkasi district of south Tamil Nadu, told IANS, "The police seems to have turned their back on the trucks overloaded with minerals and going to neighbouring Kerala state. The trucks that are overloaded should be penalized and a minimum fine of Rs 20,000 should be collected and an additional Rs 2000 per extra tonne also levied as fine. However, the policemen are just penalizing them Rs 2000 as per the old clause in the Motor Vehicles Act." The social activists said the police are implementing proper fines for drunken driving according to the amended Act. An amount of Rs 10,000 is levied as fine which is on the basis of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 1988. An activist told IANS that 1000 trucks are plying to Kerala from Tenkasi district alone and most of them are overloaded with minerals. Instead of a minimum fine of Rs 20,000, the policemen are collecting only Rs 2000 as fine and that means a minimum loss of Rs 18000 per truck. The activist said that the state government is losing a huge amount of money by way of fines and alleged corruption at the highest level in the police regarding transportation of minerals from the state. Former MLA Raviarunan said that the police is biased towards mineral transporters and the state government is losing heavily by this. He said that he had already petitioned Chief Minister M.K. Stalin about this corruption. However senior police officers told IANS that they are yet to receive any intimation from the state government to collect the fine according to the amended Motor Vehicles Act. N. Raghavan of the environmental group, Sraddha told IANS, "There is corruption in the transport of minerals and also during loading, and political parties and police are hand in glove in this. The state is losing heavily but the police don't care. Our concern is that there is environmental violation in the transport of each truck and we are planning a series of public protests against this." New Delhi, April 22 : British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday hailed India's Covid-19 vaccine and said that he took the vaccines produced by India that benefited him. "I have the Indian jab (Covid-19 vaccine) in my arm, and it did me good. Many thanks to India," Johnson said during a joint media address with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In May 2021, India and Britain agreed to expand and enhance their existing partnership on vaccines, besides making commitment to work together to reform and strengthen the World Health Organization (WHO) and the global health security system to strengthen the pandemic resilience. The British Prime Minister who is in India on a two-day tour, held talks with his Indian counterpart on Friday on various bilateral issues, and the current global security situation. "We also discussed the developments taking place at the regional and global level. We emphasised on maintaining the Indo-Pacific region based on a free, open, inclusive and rules-based order. India welcomes the UK's decision to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative," Modi said. The Prime Minister further said: "During our talks, we stressed on dialogue and diplomacy in Ukraine for an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the problem. We also reiterated the importance of respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all countries. "We reiterated our support for a peaceful, stable and secure Afghanistan and for an inclusive and representative government," Prime Minister Modi added. He also said that the Afghan land should not be used to spread terrorism in other countries. Amaravati, April 22 : More than two years after senior IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao was suspended by the Andhra Pradesh government for alleged irregularities in the procurement of surveillance equipment, the Supreme Court on Friday revoked his suspension. The apex court dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the state government challenging the Andhra Pradesh High Court's order which had set aside the suspension of the former intelligence chief. The Supreme Court made it clear that the suspension could be for a maximum of two years as per the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Amendments Rules, 2015. It said since the two year period was over, the suspension could no longer be in place. In February 2020, the state government had placed Venkateswara Rao, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of 1989 batch, under suspension for his alleged misconduct and irregularities in purchase of security equipment from an Israeli firm. The officer was working as Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) during the previous government of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Considered close to then Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Rao was removed as the intelligence chief after Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed office in May 2019. He was waiting for a posting when he was suspended. The police officer had approached Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had set aside the suspension on May 22, 2020. After the Supreme Court upheld the High Court order, Rao spoke to media persons in Delhi. "To make which psycho happy and for the pleasure of which sadist, I was suspended and all this was done to me," he asked. Rao said while he used the legal recourse to challenge the suspension, the government spent a huge amount of money to fight the case. He said the government paid Rs 20 lakh as fee to senior counsel Prakash Reddy when he challenged the suspension in the Central Administrative Tribunal. "Subsequently, the case went to the High Court. I don't know how much was paid for the case in the High Court. In the Supreme Court a team of lawyers was hired. I don't know how many crores were spent on this," he said and demanded that the government pay him for the legal expenses at par with the money it spent on fighting the case. He recalled that he was suspended on the basis of a forgery memo given by a DGP and a wrong report given by a ADG CID. He said the higher-ups and the Chief Secretary, without going through the report, signed the suspension order within 24 hours. Last month the state government had issued show cause notice to Rao for speaking to media on Pegasus row without prior permission of the government. Venkateswara Rao had addressed a press conference after Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram announced that a House Committee will be constituted to probe the Pegasus issue. The House Committee announcement came on the demand by members of ruling YSRCP who wanted a thorough probe in the light of reported claim by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the TDP government headed by Chandrababu Naidu had purchased spyware from Pegasus. Rao told a news conference that neither the intelligence wing nor any other government department had procured or used the Pegasus spyware till April 2019. Rao said all allegations leveled against him regarding the procurement by the intelligence department and charges of treason against him were far from the truth. "I have worked for 30 years in the service of the nation. Allegations have been made that I resorted to treason and shared secrets with other countries. None of the allegations made against me was made part of the charge memo issued against me," he had said. He also wrote a letter to the state government seeking permission to file defamation case against MLA Chevireddy Bhaskara Reddy, chief public relations officer in the chief minister's office and others for making baseless allegations against him causing damage to his image. New Delhi, April 22 : The Delhi Police is likely to write to WhatsApp and Facebook to retrieve the last three years' data of the IDs belonging to Mohammed Ansar Sheikh, the prime accused in the Jahangirpuri violence. Sources privy to the investigation revealed that mirror image of the WhatsApp data will be retrieved by them with the help of FSL officials. They are likely to get the FSL report within a week. During the probe the crime branch learnt that Ansar was running a Facebook account with the name of Raj Malhotra. Now, the officials want the deleted data of last three years of his ID. "This will be crucial to know who he was chatting with. Why he was keeping a Hindu name. Also, if he was in touch with gangsters or any terror outfit, we will be able to know. This data will play a crucial role in unearthing the entire conspiracy. "With WhatsApp data we will be able to know who he was chatting with mostly, had he planned such things earlier or not. The WhatsApp data will reveal about his network which is also crucial," said a source. The police said that they are also checking how many numbers he changed during the last three years. The sources said that if possible they will write to other social media sites, if they come to know that Ansar was active on their platforms. On April 16, clashes broke out between two groups belonging to different communities, during a Shobha Yatra on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area. As many as eight police personnel and a civilian sustained injuries in the violence. The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested Ansar and he is currently in police remand. The Crime Branch is trying to unearth how deep rooted was the conspiracy behind the Jahangirpuri violence. (Atul Krishan can be reached at atul.k@ians.in) Islamabad, April 22 : Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC) said on Friday that there was no foreign conspiracy to topple the Imran Khan-led government, according to a statement released after the body met, media reports said. "The NSC discussed the telegram received from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington. Pakistan's former ambassador to the US briefed the committee on the context and content of his telegram," it stated, Dawn reported. The meeting of the NSC, which is the highest forum for coordination on security issues, was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It was attended by former Pakistan ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed, ministers for defence, energy, information and broadcasting, interior, finance, human rights, planning, development and special initiatives, joint chiefs of staff committee, services chiefs, and senior officers. According to the statement, the NSC examined the "content of the communication" shared by the ambassador and "reaffirmed the decisions of the last NSC meeting". "The NSC was again informed by the premier security agencies that they have found no evidence of any conspiracy," the statement said, adding that the meeting concluded that "there has been no foreign conspiracy", Dawn reported. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan first spoke of the cable and brandished it at a public rally on March 27. He said it carried details of the ambassador's meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs, Donald Lu, in which the latter allegedly threatened Pakistan. Imran Khan and his party linked the purported threat with the no-trust move against him in the National Assembly that led to his ouster from the top office. Majeed, in the cable, reportedly said that Lu had warned that Imran's continuation as the Prime Minister would have repercussions for bilateral relations. The US, Khan claimed, was annoyed with his "independent foreign policy" and visit to Moscow. New Delhi, April 22: In a major achievement for the Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces, the longest surviving and the most dreaded Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) commander, Mohammad Yusuf Kantroo, has been killed in a fierce gunbattle in which a group of seven terrorists got trapped on the border of Baramulla and Budgam districts. Kantroo's killing serves as a morale booster to the security forces, imparting them with a psychological edge in the new phase of countering militancy in Kashmir. Kantroo's slaying has been followed up by another encounter. Two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists from Pakistan have been killed in an encounter with security forces in an area next to the sprawling Sunjwan military station in Jammu early on Friday. According to senior police officials, the Budgam District Police developed specific information regarding the presence of Kantroo and six of his associates at a hideout in Malwa village in the area of Police Station Kunzar. The hideout had been established in a house on the forest hillock bordering Baramulla and Budgam districts in Central Kashmir. In the wee hours on Thursday, troops swooped on the identified hideout. The holed-up militants opened fire and made repeated attempts to escape. Five personnel of Police and army sustained minor injuries. Kantroo, who had the history of escaping from cordoned areas, got killed in the beginning of the encounter. By the evening, two more of his associates died. The Police and army made sustained attempts to get a 17-year-old fresh recruit Faisal Hafeez Dar of Aripanthan out of the encounter site unharmed but did not succeed till late on Thursday. They managed to establish contact on telephone with one holed up militant, namely Hilal, who revealed that seven militants, including two foreign terrorists, had got trapped. Faisal's mother and other family members were seen crying loudly that "scoundrels and pickpockets" had waylaid the 'innocent boy'. "Three terrorists have died and three more plus the teenager are still holed up. We have stopped the firing for the night. If they try to escape, we will open fire. But our priority is to get Faisal out unharmed. He wants to come out but the terrorists are not allowing him to escape", said an officer from the site of the encounter. According to Police, Kantroo, a resident of Budgam's Chak Kawoosa village, had joined militancy as an over-ground worker (OGW) of Hizbul Mujahideen around 20 years back. Residents said that his father, also an OGW with HM, had died in custody at Magam Police Station and his brother was appointed in Police. Kantroo was arrested in 2005 but released on bail in 2008. Subsequently in 2017, Kantroo returned to his militant fold and started killing innocent civilians, policemen and political workers. Later he joined the LeT. In the LeT, he handled everything from receiving the infiltrating militants in Babarishi area of Gulmarg and fanning them in Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Anantnag districts. He also planned and executed civilian killings and attacks on security forces. He escaped from cordon-and-search operations at Palhalan, Chewdara and six other places. His role was significant in recruitment of the fresh cadres. According to the Police records, Kantroo was involved in dozens of civilian killings and attacks on the Police and security forces and he was booked in over a dozen FIRs. In recent times he had shot dead Bhupinder Singh, Chairman of Block Development Council Khag on 23 September 2020. On 7 March 2022, Kantroo and his associates kidnapped and killed the Territorial Army soldier Sameer Ahmad Malla at Khag. His body was found buried in a ditch on 10 March. On 21 March 2022, Kantroo shot dead a local army helper Tajamul Mohiuddin Dar at his home in Gotapora, Budgam. On 15 April 2022, Kantroo shot dead Sarpanch Manzoor Ahmad Bangroo in an orchard at Goshbug, Pattan. On 26 March 2022, Kantroo and his associates shot dead SPO Mohammad Ishfaq Dar and his brother Umar Dar at Chattabug, Budgam. He was also involved in the killing of a National Conference Block President at Natipora Srinagar, killing of Gulzar Ahmad of Lawaypora at Narbal, killing of Tanveer Zargar of Chewa at Narbal, killing of Nazir Ahmad Dar of Warihama at Warihama. Kantroo was also wanted for killing CRPF head constable Riyaz Ahmad Rather of Nowgam Anantnag in a grenade attack at Kanihama on 23 December 2017, abduction and killing of Constable Mohammad Ashraf Rather of Archanderhama Magam, killing of SPO Mohammad Altaf during an encounter at Peth-Zanigam and killing of ex-SPO Naseer Ahmad Khan of Buchipora Kawoosa Khalisa. Moreover, he was also involved in looting 4 AK rifles from the residence of ex-MLC of Congress Muzafar Parray at Government Quarters Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, on 30 December 2018. According to the Police records, Kantroo's terror associate Nadeem Abrar killed 3 CRPF personnel in an attack on his direction on the highway at Lawaypora Srinagar on 25 March 2021. Later, Nadeem Abrar was killed along with a Pakistani terrorist in an encounter at Maloora, Shalteng, on 29 June 2021. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative London, April 22 : Russian troops are being 'ritually humiliated' in Ukraine, but they are still in a position to win the war, Western officials cautioned, Daily Mail reported. In their bleakest assessment of the campaign since the very first days, they admitted that Vladimir Putin's forces were gaining territory and presently outnumber the defenders by three soldiers to one. Moscow's troops failed in their initial invasion objectives, with Ukraine inflicting a series of humiliating defeats on them. The turnaround has come after a general known as 'The Butcher', who is a veteran of the Syrian campaign, overhauled the performance of the Russian advance, Daily Mail reported. Western officials credited the reversal in Russia's fortunes to General Aleksandr Dvornikov, who was made overall commander a fortnight ago. His takeover followed Russia's failure to seize any major cities, its retreat from Kiev, and the loss of 30,000 troops and hundreds of aircraft and tanks. Since then its use of drones, rocket systems and electronic warfare has been transformed -- potentially providing Putin with a platform to claim victory. "This is a new chapter of the campaign, and despite his previous failures, Putin is still in a position to win," an official said, adding: "Russia has concentrated sufficient force, which, if used intelligently, should be able to destroy a large part of Ukraine's forces." Officials now believe that with such a numerical advantage, and more effective leadership, the Russians will be difficult to dislodge from the territory they have won, Daily Mail reported. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Kolkata, April 22 : India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has changed tack when it comes to dealing with illegal Bangladeshi immigrants nabbed by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the country's eastern border with Bangladesh. Instead of apprehending such persons, the BSF has been directed to hand them over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) as a goodwill gesture. This reduces complications later on. Several hundred Bangladeshi nationals are housed in prisons across India (most of them in West Bengal) after being charged under the Foreigners Act. An illegal immigrant can face a sentence of up to five years under this Act. "Earlier, the BSF would apprehend all Bangladeshi nationals attempting to cross the International Boundary (IB) between India and Bangladesh and hand them over to the police. They used to land up in jail. Nowadays, the BSF is simply checking whether an illegal immigrant has been involved in any crime in India. If not, the person is being handed over to the BGB. In many cases, Bangladeshi nationals caught while attempting to return home after spending several years in India are also being turned over to the BGB. Many of them are victims of trafficking. The touts involved are being apprehended though," a senior MHA official said. What used to happen in the past was that such people would be prosecuted and spend years behind the bars (including women and children) in Indian prisons. Most of them try to enter India in search of a better livelihood, working as rag pickers, domestic helps or bar dancers and sex workers in far off places like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and even Srinagar, despite Bangladesh's claim that its economy is growing faster than India's. "In many cases, Bangladeshi nationals continue to languish behind the bars after serving their sentences as their country refuses to take them back. In West Bengal -- with the largest number of Bangladeshi nationals in prison/ such people are called 'Jaan Khalash'. Ultimately, the courts intervene and order the BSF to 'push them back' across the IB. This becomes difficult and another long drawn process starts involving the consular services of both countries. The BSF has to get involved and this compromises on its primary task of border management. Nowadays, any Bangladeshi national attempting to enter India or trying to leave -- even for a short visit home -- who has not been involved in any criminal activity, is handed over to the BGB," a senior BSF official said. A few years ago, authorities in Karnataka sent several Bangladeshi nationals to West Bengal with armed guards, directing the BSF to send them across the IB. "This took some doing. After all, Bangladeshi authorities aren't ready to acknowledge that their citizens enter India illegally in search of livelihoods. It is better now. Anybody we apprehend along the IB is immediately handed over to the BGB. There is also a humanitarian aspect involved. We do not want an innocent person, even if he is not an Indian national, to languish in jail just because s/he was on the lookout for a job," a senior official of the BSF's South Bengal Frontier said. Nitish Kumar reached at Rabri Devi residence in Patna to celebrate Iftar party. He is sitting along side Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. Image Source: IANS News Nitish Kumar reached at Rabri Devi residence in Patna to celebrate Iftar party. He is sitting along side Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. Image Source: IANS News Nitish Kumar reached at Rabri Devi residence in Patna to celebrate Iftar party. He is sitting along side Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. Image Source: IANS News Nitish Kumar reached at Rabri Devi residence in Patna to celebrate Iftar party. He is sitting along side Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. Image Source: IANS News Patna, April 22 : The Iftar party, hosted by the RJD at the official residence of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Friday, attracted attention of every political party in the state. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accepting the invitation sent to him by Rabri Devi, and her sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, walked from his 7 Circular Road bungalow to her 10 Circular Road residence - a mere bungalow away. He was seen meeting Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav. Nitish Kumar's meeting with Tejashwi Yadav has a big message for BJP top leadership - coming it is a day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state. Sources have said that Nitish Kumar is coming closer to the RJD especially at a time when its supremo Lalu Prasad has been granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in a fodder scam case. It will be interesting to see the next move of Nitish Kumar. In the recent past, the relation between his Janata Dal-United and the BJP is not so healthy in Bihar. The leaders of both parties are at loggerheads over power sharing. Recently, there was a buzz that going to Rajya Sabha would be ideal for Nitish Kumar. He himself, in an unofficial conversation with media persons, claimed that he has not served in the Rajya Sabha, while some leaders termed him an ideal candidate for the Vice President's post. Nitish Kumar, however, later clarified that he will not go for the Centre. Nitish Kumar's visit to Rabri Devi's house for an iftar party will increase his bargaining power with BJP. There is also a possibility that JD-U may inch closer to the RJD and Nitish Kumar might replicate his 2016 act where he separate the JD-U from the Mahagathbandhan and formed the government with the help of the BJP in Bihar. This time, there is a possibility that Nitish Kumar may leave the NDA and join Mahagathbandhan to form a government in Bihar. Holding mid-term polls would be his second choice. Meanwhile, apart from a large number of RJD supporters, Congress leaders like state chief Madan Mohan Jha, and Awadhesh Narayan Singh, BJP leader and Industry Minister Shahnawaz Hussain, Assembly Speaker Vijay Sinha and leaders of other parties were also present. The latter included LJP (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan, VIP President and recently sacked minister Mukesh Sahani. Chirag Paswan said that his father Ram Vilas Paswan always visited the residence of Lalu Prasad when he was organising the Iftar party. "I am glad that the high court granted bail to Lalu Ji in alleged fodder scam case. He is like my father. I am praying to god that he will recover from his illness very soon. We will work together in future," he said. Sahani went a step ahead, saying that truth may fall into trouble but it cannot be defeated. "I am glad that he came out on bail and he will be here among us. He is a symbol of social justice and equality in the country and I will learn from him. Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav Ji and Tej Pratap Yadav Ji invited me for the Iftar party," he said. Bhubaneswar, April 22 : In a heartwarming gesture, the Odisha police conducted the marriage ceremony of two surrendered Maoists in Kalahandi district. The marriage was solemnised in a temple at the Reserve Police Ground in Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district on Friday in the presence of Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao, D.I.G of police (south-west range) Koraput, Saravana Vivek M, SP Kalahandi and Biblab Sarkar, Commandant CRPF 64th Battalion. The marriage was solemnised with full fanfare and a feast was also organised by the police in the temple premises in which the family members of the bride and the bridegroom participated along with the police and mediapersons. According to the police, groom Ramdas, a native of Chhattisgarh state, surrendered before the Kalahandi police in 2020 while bride Kalamdei is originally from Kalahandi and surrendered in 2016. After the surrender, Ramdas was given Rs 3.98 lakhs and Kalamdei was given Rs 2.98 lakhs as per the government's rehabilitation policy. Both of them were also given vocational training as per their choice, the police officials said. Ramdas was a member of the banned CPI (Maoist) Kalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division for almost nine years before surrendering. He was from a poor family from Bijepur district of Chhattisgarh. He has two sisters and one brother whom he did not meet for more than ten years till the Kalahandi police facilitated their meeting after his surrender. Kalamdei was a member of the Bansadhara-Ghamsar-Nagabali (BGN) division of banned Maoists for almost a year before her surrender, they said. Earlier, the Kalahandi police had arranged Ramdas father's cataract surgery and during his recovery, both Ramdas and Kalamdei's family met and decided to go ahead with their marriage. The Kalahandi SP took the initiative to arrange their marriage in Bhawanipatna. "It is a matter of happiness for us that two surrendered Maoists have tied the knot today," said the SP. The newlywed couple thanked the police for their help and support due to which they returned to the mainstream of society. Dharamsala, April 22 : Himachal Pradesh headed by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has ensured the state emerged as a frontrunner in development and this is possible with a 'double engine government', BJP national President Jagat Prakash Nadda said on Friday. Addressing the largely attended 'Abhinandan Rally' organised in his honour at Nagrota Bagwan in Kangra district, Nadda said 9.37 lakh farmers of the state are being provided Rs 6,000 per year under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna. He said over 8.37 lakh water connections were provided in the state under the Central government's Jal Jeevan Mission in two years. However, in the last 40 years, only 8 lakh water connections were provided in the state. He said over 5.40 lakh people were registered under the HIMCARE and over 18,000 patients registered under Sahara Yojna. While thanking the people of Kangra district for according him rousing welcome, Nadda, who belongs to this state, said the BJP government is committed to come up to the expectations and aspirations of the people as it is a proactive government. He said that the Centre is committed to make India a 'Vishwa Guru'. Apart from providing over 185 crore free vaccines to the people, vaccines were exported to several countries. He also appreciated the efforts of the state in becoming the first in the country in administering first and second doses of coronavirus vaccine. The BJP national president said the Central government provided free ration to over 80 crore people in the country. Also, the Centre succeeded in bringing back over 24,000 students stranded in Ukraine, out of which about 430 students were from Himachal Pradesh. He said even students of Pakistan were rescued from Ukraine by hoisting Indian Flag on their vehicles. This was the picture of changing India and was possible only due to the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added. Nadda was accorded rousing welcome en-route from the airport in Gaggal, near here, to the venue of the rally at Nagrota Bagwan. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Thakur said the state was fortunate that the son of the soil was heading the largest political party of the world. He said almost every party worker has a sweet memory of working with the BJP national President. A common man from a humble background can lead the biggest political party of the world could only happen in the BJP, as all other parties are confined to a particular family or region. Thakur said it is fortunate for the people of the state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers Himachal Pradesh as his second home and is always considerate towards the developmental needs of the state. He said during the pandemic the national leadership ensured that no one in the country was deprived of food, masks, sanitisers and other essentialities. Party workers of the state also did commendable work during the pandemic by providing over 50 lakh masks to the needy. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Chennai, April 22 : The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (Tangedco) has floated tenders for the transportation of coal from Odisha to tide over the power shortage in the state. The power company has called for bids to transport coal from Mahanadi Coal Fields Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. The bidding will close on April 27. According to sources in Tangedco, the state is purchasing 2.6 lakh tonnes of coal from the Mahanadi Coal Fields Ltd (MCL) and requires transportation contractors for the same. The coal will be transported from the mines to the ports by rail and then through sea routes to the discharge ports at Ennore, Karaikal and Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. The coal will be moved from MCL mines at Hingula, Ananta, Garjanbahal, Lakhanpur and Kulda in Odisha. A senior Tangedco official told IANS, "The movement of coal will commence from May and will continue till June-end." In the tender, Tangedco has made it clear that the bidder must have experience in moving a minimum of 65,000 tonnes of coal from the mines through road or rail on behalf of any power utilities in the public or private sector. The transporting company should have transported coal in the years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 and should have an annual turnover of Rs 20 crore in any of the above financial years. Tamil Nadu requires coal to the tune of 72,000 tonnes a day for producing power, but the supply now is only 48,000 to 50,000 tonnes. On March 29, Tamil Nadu witnessed an all-time high power demand of 17,196 MW. New Delhi, April 22 : Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Friday went to the Crime Branch's sector 18 Rohini Branch and interrogated Jahangirpuri violence main accused Mohammed Ansar Sheikh himself. The Delhi Police Commissioner grilled Ansar for hours. According to sources, Asthana reached the Crime Branch office at around 12 p.m. to question Ansar. He also directed the officials to prepare a detailed interrogation report of Ansar. This report is likely to be submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). When IANS tried to contact Asthana, he was not available for any comment on the matter. On April 16, clashes broke out between two groups, belonging to different communities, during a Shobha Yatra on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area. As many as eight police personnel and a civilian sustained injuries in the violence. The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested Ansar and he is currently in police remand. The Crime Branch is trying to unearth how deep rooted was the conspiracy behind the Jahangirpuri violence. (Atul Krishan can be reached at atul.k@ians.in) New Delhi, April 22 : The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the challenge against the constitutional validity of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) (MPID) Act, as it upheld the attachment of properties of 63 moons Technologies by the Maharashtra government. A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Bela M. Trivedi said: "Having discussed the judgments of this court on the constitutional validity of the state legislations governing financial establishments offering deposit schemes, including the MPID Act, there is no reason for us to reopen the question. This court has held that the MPID Act is constitutionally valid on the grounds of legislative competence and when tested against the provisions of Part III of the Constitution." The bench said the validity of the MPID Act was specifically dealt with in two decisions of the top court, and in both the decisions, this court upheld its constitutional validity in view of the earlier decision in the case of Bhaskaran. "In Soma Suresh Kumar v. Government of Andhra Pradesh, a two-judge bench of this court upheld the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act 1999 following the earlier decisions in Bhaskaran and New Horizons Sugar Mills Ltd," said the bench. 63 moons Technologies Ltd. had challenged the constitutional validity of the provisions of the MPID Act before the high court on the ground that it is arbitrary. However, the high court, in its judgment, did not deal with the constitutional validity of the provisions and left the question open. The top court also upheld the decision of the Maharashtra government to attach the company's assets under the MPID Act in connection with the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) case. The bench set aside Bombay High Court judgment, which quashed the notifications by the state government against 63 moons. The Maharashtra government had moved the top court challenging the high court judgment. "We allow the appeals and set aside the impugned judgment of the Bombay High Court dated August 22, 2019. The impugned notifications issued under Section 4 of the MPID Act attaching the properties of the respondent are valid," said the top court, in its 75-page judgment. The Maharashtra government had issued attachment of assets notices for allegedly defrauding over 13,000 investors. In July 2013, about 13,000 persons who traded on the platform of NSEL claimed that other trading members had defaulted in the payment of approximately Rs 5,600 crore. NSEL issued a circular on 31 July 2013 suspending its spot exchange operations. The Economic Offences Wing registered cases against the directors and key management personnel of the NSEL and 63 moons and against trading members and brokers of NSEL under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the MPID Act. 63 moons moved the Bombay High Court. In its judgement in 2019, the Bombay High Court had said: "NSEL is not a financial establishment within the purview of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) in Financial Establishments Act (under which attachment was made). Hence, we decline the prayer (of the state)." The high court held that NSEL was not a financial establishment since it did not accept any deposits, as defined under the MPID Act. It noted that NSEL was a commodities exchange where commodities were traded between willing buyers and sellers acting through their brokers. Agartala, April 22 : All the northeastern state capitals would be connected with the national capital by railway network by 2024, Minister of State for Railways, Raosaheb Patil Danve, said here on Friday. The minister, who is on a three-day visit to Tripura, said that ever since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, the Centre has taken up an ambitious project to extend the railway network in the northeastern region in a mission mode. "To connect the state capitals of all the northeastern states by railway network with the national capital, projects are under implementation. Over 60 per cent work on these projects have already been completed and the remaining 40 per cent work would be completed by 2024," Danve told the media. Guwahati (adjoining Assam capital Dispur), Tripura capital Agartala, and Arunachal Pradesh's Naharlagun (adjacent to state capital Itanagar) are already connected with Delhi by rail. Danve also said that by December this year, the work on the Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) railway project would be completed in the Indian territory. "Once the Agartala-Akhaura railway project is commissioned, people of the northeastern states, especially Tripura, can go to Kolkata by rail saving 22 hours of travel time. Currently, the people of the region, especially those in Tripura and its adjoining areas, go to Kolkata via Guwahati by rail, spending more than 38 hours," the minister pointed out. Earlier on Friday, Danve visited the under construction 12.24 km Agartala-Akhaura railway project on the outskirts of Agartala. The Agartala-Akhaura railway line would facilitate ferrying of goods to and from both the countries and greatly benefit India's land-locked northeastern states. Officials in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said that the journey time between Agartala and Kolkata, via Bangladesh, would be reduced by a third, from 1,613 km through the northeastern states via Siliguri, to a mere 514 km. The NFR is the nodal agency of the Rs 1,000 crore Agartala-Akhaura railway project, which was finalised in January 2010 when Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina met then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during her visit to New Delhi. Of the 12.24 km India-Bangladesh railway line, 5.46 km railway tracks are being laid in India (on the outskirts of Agartala), while 6.78 km railway tracks will be laid on the Bangladesh side. New Delhi, April 22 : As 'bulldozer politics' is heating up in the national capital after a communal clash broke out in Jahangirpuri last week, the BJP's central leadership has started monitoring party affairs in Delhi in the wake of future polls. Two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Delhi BJP leaders, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday discussed the political situation in the national capital with the party's city unit leaders. The sudden meeting of Shah and Pradhan within two days with the Delhi unit of BJP has created a lot of buzz in the party circles, with sources saying the development shows the central leadership is keenly monitoring party affairs in the city. "Earlier, it was said that the central leadership is more interested in bigger and politically important states and Delhi comes bottom of their priority list. But recent back to back meetings by Shah and Pradhan shows that central leadership is taking keen interest in party affairs in Delhi," a party insider said. Four leaders including Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta were present in the meeting with Shah, while about 10 leaders were present in the meeting with Pradhan. Gupta, two Lok Sabha members, two MLAs, and few office bearers were present in the meeting with Pradhan. A senior party functionary present in both the meetings told IANS that party functioning and political situation were discussed in both the meetings. "Functioning of the party was discussed and Shah has asked us to intensify the attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and highlight the Delhi government's failure," he said. It was further learnt that preparation for upcoming Rajendra Nagar assembly by-polls and municipal polls, whenever held, will be discussed. A party central leadership will hold regular meetings with Delhi BJP to review the functioning and discuss future plans. "As per our knowledge, Pradhan will be keeping a regular tab on functioning of Delhi BJP. He was also present in the meeting with Shah," a senior functionary said. Sources said that both Shah and Pradhan discussed issues concerning Delhi like unification of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the BJP city unit, and gave "valuable suggestions" to improve the functioning of the party. Chennai, April 22 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday said that his government would set up 600 'village secretariats' in the state to help implement its schemes in rural areas. Speaking in the Assembly, he noted that these village secretariats would have internet connections, room for Panchayat Presidents, Secretaries, and village administrative officers, as well as meeting halls and facilities for basic amenities. The village secretariats will be constructed at a cost of Rs 40 lakh each and would also coordinate efforts to implement schemes operated by the Departments of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Revenue, Social Welfare, and Farmers Welfare. The Chief Minister also said that Gram Sabha meetings will be held six times a year instead of the present four times a year. Presently, these are held on Republic Day (January 26), Independence Day (August 15), Labour Day ( May 1), and the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (October 2). Grama sabhas will now also meet on World Water Day (March 22) and Local Governance Day (November 1). Stalin also said that the sitting fee for the elected representatives of the district panchayats and the panchayat unions will be increased by ten times on the day when the meetings are held. The sitting fee of the Presidents and members of Village panchayats will be increased by five times on the day of the sitting. This was following several representations from the members of the district panchayats, panchayat unions, and village panchayats, he said. He also said that vehicles will be provided to the presidents of the panchayat unions. Stalin said that the then Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi had in 2008 granted vehicles for the presidents of 385 panchayat unions but they were not purchased in the past ten years. He said that the vehicles for panchayat presidents would be purchased immediately. The Chief Minister said that his government would resume conferring the Uthamar Gandhi Village Panchayat Award to the best performing village panchayat on 10 parameters. The award will carry a cash component of Rs 10 lakh and one village panchayat will be selected from the 37 districts of the state. He also said that the AIADMK government that succeeded the previous DMK government had discontinued the award that was instituted by the DMK government in 2006. New Delhi, April 22 : With an eye on Russia, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday offered help to India giving 'know-how' for making its own fighter jets and a licence for faster deliveries of defence equipment, especially when the West is trying to wean India away from Russia. During bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Johnson discussed the ways to boost trade and security ties with India, which buys more than half of its military hardware from Russia. Johnson has offered support for new Indian-designed and built fighter jets, offering the best of British know-how on building battle-winning aircraft. Both leaders agreed to transform defence and security cooperation as a key element of India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed opportunities for defence collaboration including co-development and co-production for meeting the needs of armed forces of both the countries. The two leaders had also detailed discussion on co-production and defence technology, particularly in electric propulsion and modern defence aircraft's jet engines and other complex defence equipment, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Both sides issued a joint statement for further intensifying co-operation on Cyber Security particularly in the areas of cyber governance, cyber deterrence and safeguarding critical national infrastructure. They also agreed to closely cooperate on countering the persistent threat of terrorism and radical extremism. The two leaders also discussed the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. Prime Minister Modi also expressed deep concern at the mounting humanitarian crisis and reiterated his call for immediate cessation of violence and return to direct dialogue and diplomacy as the only way forward. "The world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty," Johnson said in a statement on Thursday after visiting Gujarat. Srinagar, April 22 : Two non-local labrouers were injured at Nowgam in Srinagar district on Friday after terrorists fired upon them, officials said. The victims, both from West Bengal, were rushed to the SMHS hospital in Srinagar, where the condition of one is stated to be critical while the other is stable. "Terrorists fired upon two non-local labourers in the Nowgam area on the outskirts of Srinagar. The area has been cordoned off and a search operation is underway to nab the miscreants," the police said. New Delhi, April 22 : The Congress dissident group 'G-23' is preparing for another round of face-off with the party leadership as it waits for the outcome of the top brass meet with political strategist Prashant Kish or. Sources in the group say that party leadership is overlooking and ignoring in-house talents and relying on somebody who is not loyal to the party and is a professional consultant. They say that what all PK, as Kishor is popularly known, is telling the Congress leadership have been raised by the group in their letter to interim President Sonia Gandhi and in subsequent meetings. PK is suggesting a non-Gandhi President, revival of parliamentary board, end of nepotism, and turning party into an election machine - all these issues have been raised by the group and this can happen only when the party goes for election from the grass root level to the CWC level, said a source. The Congress leaders may disagree to the suggestions of some outside the Gandhi family leading the party but sources indicate that Kishor has suggested a massive revamp of the party. The final decision is likely to be taken by Sonia Gandhi, after she goes through the report submitted by the sub-group she set up to examine his recommendations. However, the G-23 is upset at not being consulted for the ongoing discussions on the proposals given by Kishor as roadmap for the 2024 general elections. On Wednesday, two Congress CMs, Ashok Gehlot from Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel from Chhattisgarh, were called to Delhi to discuss the proposals. While a host of Congress leaders were present for the discussions, ever since the formal consultations began on the proposals, G-23 leaders were not made party to them, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is one of the seniormost party leaders. However, Veerappa Moily, who was one of the signatories of the letter written to Sonia Gandhi by the G-23, has welcomed the move to rope in Kishor. The Congress is now more focused on Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which will go to the polls later this year, as success in state polls will be crucial going to the general elections in 2024. In total, there are six big state Assembly elections ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Bengaluru, April 22 : A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Karnataka's Udupi on Friday termed the attempt of two girl students to attend the Class 12 exams wearing hijab as a deliberate attempt to seek media attention. "Legal action will be initiated and a criminal case would be filed against these students, if they try to create a scene on Saturday," he said. Alia Assadi and Reshma, the students who came to appear in the exam, insisted that they should be allowed to wear the hijab. The students were turned out after they refused to heed to the authorities' request at the Vidyodaya PU College examination centre to take off their hijab. "It has been proved that it's a conspiracy. We had called them to collect hall tickets by Thursday evening. They came to college at 9.30 a.m. Since the principal had told them that they would get hall tickets only after removing their hijab, they collected hall tickets without hijab and later, they have created a drama at the examination centre, insisting on hijab," he said. "I have spoken to the district administration and the police department. I have directed them to lodge a contempt case against them if they indulge in any drama tomorrow to allow them to wear hijab. Are they trying to be playful here? They are not innocent students, they are petitioners of hijab cases," he added. The legislator further said their intention is to spoil the atmosphere of the college and destroy peace in the society. "Are these students above the High Court? We will not tolerate if they create drama tomorrow (Saturday). They don't want exams, other students are disturbed by their actions. Parents of other children are worried over the developments and questioning us on controlling them," he said. There is no sympathy for these girls, they are doing all this to get media attention. "Till now, I thought they were girl students and innocents. We will initiate legal action," Bhat said. The Special Bench of the Karnataka High Court had earlier dismissed the petitions submitted by students seeking to allow them to wear hijab and attend classes. It also mentioned that wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam. Following the order, the Karnataka government has banned hijab in classrooms and announced that hijab-clad students and teachers will not be allowed inside the examination centres. New Delhi, April 22 : A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking a nation-wide ban on Halal certified products and also withdrawal of Halal certification. The plea, by advocate Vibhor Anand, said: "That the present petition is being filed by the petitioner on behalf of 85 per cent citizens of the country for the enforcement of their fundamental rights provided under Article 14, 21 of the Constitution of India as the same are being infringed and violated. It is being seen that for the sake of 15 per cent of the population, rest 85 per cent people are being forced to consume the Halal products against their will." The plea said people who may not be comfortable with halal meat, or for people with religions where only jhatka meat is allowed, no longer have any choice in the matter. The plea contended that because the acceptance of Halal certification by private organizations like Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and few others mean that the existing government certification like ISI and FSSAI on consumer products are not enough. "Because the Halal certification of products is discriminatory towards other communities and imposes a religious belief on the non-followers too," it alleged. It said that by allowing the demand of one community of Halal certification by the private organisations gives rise to the apprehension to come up the other communities' demand for similar certification on the basis of their religious belief. The plea contended that the Muslim minority, which is 15 per cent of the population, wants to consume 'Halal' meat, it is being forced upon the rest 85 per cent of the people. "Now, this 'Halal' certification is not restricted to meat, but it has been extended to even food items, cosmetics, medicines, hospitals, housing societies and malls. It includes snacks, sweets, grains, oils, cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, nail polish, lipsticks, etc," added the plea. The plea urged the top court to issue direction to the Central government to declare all the certificates issued by various organisations as null and void and also direct the Centre to impose a ban on all products which have been Halal certified. New Delhi, April 22 : The Election Commission of India has said that its contemplating postal ballots for overseas voters, an official statement said on Friday. During his recent visit to South Africa and interaction with the members of the Indian community there, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra urged the community to register as overseas voters as the present numbers are abysmally low. He also shared with the members that extension of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) facility to overseas voters is being contemplated. The Election Commission delegation, led by the CEC, visited South Africa and Mauritius from April 9-19. During this visit, a series of meetings were held with the Election Commissions of South Africa and Mauritius as well as interactions with the large NRI community in the two countries. Both Election Management Bodies are also MOU partners with ECI. The three countries share a relationship which is fundamental, unique and rooted in the collective experiences and cumulative strength of their people, the statement said. As the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), which provides a unique platform for exchange of knowledge and information between its members, completes 10 years of its foundation and steps into a new decade, the meeting was positioned at the right juncture wherein it was time to reflect on the way forward for A-WEB as an organisation, it said. "During the meeting, it was acknowledged that this umbrella organisation had EMBs with a lot of experience and expertise which could assist and advise those EMBs who were looking for further development and upgradation of their systems. It was felt that the focus must now be on increasing membership and enhancing the sense of belonging of the members. More avenues must be explored so that the members can interact and meet more often," the CEC said. Sushil Chandra said that South Africa has made big strides in democracy and would be hosting the next General Assembly of AWEB in October 2022. India has a very intense and active association with AWEB and both it and South Africa are its founding members. Jaipur, April 22 : A Class 12 question paper of Rajasthan Board has gone viral on social media, creating an uproar, as a few questions asked in the paper were reportedly aimed at 'glorifying' the Congress. This is probably the first time that questions related to the Congress have been asked in the political science paper of the board exam in Rajasthan, which was held on Thursday, officials said. The BJP has criticised the Ashok Gehlot-led state government, demanding that officials preparing such question papers be suspended. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, meanwhile, said that the question paper might have been drafted by a Congress worker. BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma said that Congress should not play with the future of students. "This is the first time that so many questions have been asked about a political party. The basic agenda of this question paper is to glorify the Congress," he added. Meanwhile, one question each has also been asked about the Communist Party of India and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Some of the questions asked in the paper were: 1. Briefly discuss the social and ideological alliance of Congress 2. The era of one-party dominance and the Congress system -- challenges and restoration? 3. How many seats did the Congress win in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections? 4. Which party dominated the first three general elections in India? 5. Under what circumstances did the Congress contest the 1967 general election and what was its mandate? Please discuss. 6. In the general election of 1971, there was an election for the restoration of the Congress. Explain it. 7. Who gave the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao'? 8. After the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, there was a broad consensus among most of the parties on many important issues. Elaborate two out of them. The BJP alleged that it was attempt to politicise board exams. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Education Minister, B.D. Kalla, clarified that the board is autonomous, and it has the right to prepare question papers. New Delhi, April 22 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for successfully organising the COP 26 held in Glasgow in 2021. During the bilateral talks held here at Hyderabad House, both leaders reiterated the commitment to ambitious climate action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and in implementing the Glasgow Climate Pact. "They agreed to enhance cooperation on rapid deployment of clean energy including off-shore wind energy and green hydrogen and work closely for early operationalisation of the Global Green Grids-One Sun One World One Grid Initiative (OSOWOG) under ISA and the IRIS platform under CDRI which were jointly launched by India and UK at COP26," India's Ministry of External Affairs said here. Through the Global Innovation Partnership, India and the UK have agreed to co-finance up to 75 million (British) pounds to support the transfer and scale up of climate smart sustainable innovations to third countries. The novel GIP Fund created under this Partnership will also aim to raise additional British pound 100 million from the market to support Indian innovations. During the talks, Modi also said that India has shown its commitment to fulfil the commitments made in COP-26 in Glasgow and decided to further enhance the partnership for climate and energy. "I invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission and express my gratitude for setting up Strategic Tech Dialogue between the two countries," Modi said. The two Prime Ministers also exchanged views on the two MoUs on implementation of India-UK Global Innovation Partnership and on the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP). He also invited Johnson to India in 2023 for the G20 Summit under India's presidency while Johnson reiterated his invitation to Modi to visit the UK, and he accepted the British Prime Minister's invitation. New Delhi, April 22 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed a chargesheet against two accused, including a Pakistani national, in connection with the Andhra Pradesh espionage case. The accused, Altafhussen Ganchibhai alias Shakil and Waseem, the Pakistani national, were chargesheeted for their alleged involvement in conspiracy and espionage activities with an intention to wage war against India. The NIA chargesheeted them under the relevant sections of the UAPA and IT Act. Initially, a case was lodged in this regard by the counter-intelligence cell of Andhra Pradesh police in 2020 before the NIA took over the probe in 2021. The accused were allegedly hatching a criminal conspiracy to carry out anti-national activities involving Pakistani agents for obtaining crucial and sensitive information pertaining to defence establishments from the armed forces personnel by engaging civilians as their agents using social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram etc. "The investigation has revealed that Ganchibhai, on the directions of Pakistan-based handlers, had clandestinely activated WhatsApp by passing on OTPs received on Indian SIM cards to his handlers in Pakistan for collection/transmission of sensitive information pertaining to Indian defence forces and establishments. "These SIM cards were subscribed in the name of Indian fishermen from Gujarat who were earlier arrested by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency in 2020 when they were fishing in the high seas. The SIM cards were illegally routed back to India to Ganchibhai, who activated seven such SIM cards on the directions of his handlers in Pakistan. He was arrested in 2021," the chargesheet read. The NIA said that Waseem had routed money using online cryptocurrency exchange platforms to Indian agents for eliciting sensitive and classified information pertaining to vital Indian defence establishments. He is currently absconding. Chennai, April 22 : AIADMK's former interim General Secretary V.K. Sasikala, who was a close aide of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, on Friday called for stringent action against the accused in the Kodanad estate murder and heist case. In a statement after two days of quizzing by the special police team investigating the case, she said that she was interrogated on April 21-22, had answered all the questions and cooperated fully with the police. "Kodanad may be an ordinary place for others, but for me and the members of AIADMK, it is a temple as my sister (Jayalalithaa) loved the place very much and stayed there. The place had given her a lot of happiness and peace." "In addition, to the murder of our guard Om Bahadhur, a mother and child also lost life in an accident which is suspicious. My request to the police is that they conduct a proper investigation and whoever is involved must be given stringent punishment. I demand justice for the death of our guard Om Bahadhur and the child and the mother." The 906-acre summer residence of Jayalalithaa, the Kodanad estate at the Nilgiris, was jointly owned by Jayalalithaa and Sasikala. On August 23, 2017, four months after the passing away of Jayalalithaa, burglars broke into the Kodanad estate and murdered the guard. Another guard, Krisha Thapa was several beaten and his hand and foot tied and the burglars decamped with ten watches and a crystal memento of Rhinoceros costing Rs 42,000. The first accused in the case Kanagaraj, who was the former driver of Jayalalithaa, died in a road accident at the Salem-Chennai highway five days after the heist. On the same day in another accident at Kerala's Palakkad, the second accused Sayan's car met with an accident in which he escaped but his wife and daughter were killed. A few months later in June 2017, Dinesh Kumar, a computer operator at the estate, committed suicide at his residence. The case had turned murkier after three accused moved court demanding interrogation of Sasikala, former Chief Minister Palaniswami, the then District Collector of the Nilgiris, and the then-District Superintendent of Police. A special team under the Western Zone Inspector General of Police, R. Sudhakar, and five other officers quizzed Sasikala at her T- Nagar residence on April 21 and April 22. New Delhi, April 22 : Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has snubbed UK Labour Party MP Naz Shah, asking her not to convert her prejudiced agenda of 'India Phobia' into 'Islamophobia'. "Please, don't convert your prejudiced agenda of 'India Phobia' into 'Islamophobia'. Every Indian citizen including Minorities is safe and secure in India. 'Co-existence' is our commitment and 'Inclusivity' is our culture," Naqvi said in a tweet tagging Naz Shah. Naqvi's remarks came in response to a tweet by Naz Shah that said: "My message to @BorisJohnson on his visit to India is that our nation's foreign relations must not just be based on trade & internationalism but also on human rights. My plea to the @10DowningStreet is to raise the growing issue of Islamophobia with the Modi Government." "The rising tide of everyday hate & mob lynching against Muslims in India is becoming worrying," Shah had said. Earlier on Thursday, India had strongly condemned the visit of US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir on April 20. Responding to a question in the weekly media briefing, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, had said that New Delhi has taken note of her visit to a part of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which is currently illegally occupied by Pakistan. "If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home, that may be her business. But violating our territorial integrity and sovereignty in its pursuit makes it ours. This visit is condemnable," Bagchi said while briefing the media. Patna, April 22 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who on Friday walked over to the neighbouring bungalow of former Chief Minister Rabri Devi for her iftar party, came close to the RJD to an extent that has not been seen in the last 5 years. Now, the key questions that this has evoked is what exactly happened between him and the top leadership of ally BJP in the last few weeks. The political pundits of Bihar believe that Nitish Kumar does not do anything without any motive. His move to come closer to Tejashwi Yadav and the RJD just before the visit of BJP's number 2 leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has a big political message which he is trying to convey to the BJP leadership. To understand the motive of Nitish Kumar in attending to the Iftar party at Rabri Devi residence, we have to understand his USP. His biggest motive is to create fear among the BJP's top leadership that he may go again with the RJD to form the government in Bihar. Amit Shah, who is coming to Bihar on April 23 for the celebration of the anniversary of 1857 freedom fighter Babu Veer Kunwar Singh in Jagdishpur in Bhojpur district, is coming to the state for the first time after the swearing-in ceremony of Nitish Kumar in 2020. However, as per his schedule, he will participate in the BJP programme but not meet Nitish Kumar. Political experts believe that Nitish Kumar considers himself as a leader in the rank of PM Narendra Modi and if Amit Shah is coming to Bihar but not meeting him, he will take that as a political insult to him. However, BJP sources believe that the political status of Nitish Kumar has reduced after the 2020 Assembly election when his JD-U managed to win only 43 seats. Still, the BJP gave the post of Chief Minister to him as they feared his volatility, and he could approach the RJD camp any time. BJP's top leadership knew that Bihar is an important state in the context of 2024 Lok Sabha elections - with 40 seats, which may be vital then. At present, the BJP is holding power in big states like Uttar Pradesh (80 Lok Sabha seats), Madhya Pradesh (29), Karnataka (28), Gujarat (26), while among the others, Assam has 14, Haryana 10, and Uttarakhand 5. Hence, the BJP cannot afford to lose a major state to fall in a tight situation where the magical figure of 272 in Lok Sabha becomes a distant dream for it in 2024. At current positions, the BJP would not reach even the 200 figure mark on the basis of states where it is in power. Of the opposition-ruled states, West Bengal is having 42 Lok Sabha seats, Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have 25 and 11, respectively, Maharashtra 48, Jharkhand 14, Kerala 20, Telangana 17, Tamil Nadu 39, Punjab 13, and Andhra Pradesh 25. So the opposition parties rule bigger states where BJP leaders cannot influence the government machinery for the political benefits during Lok Sabha election 2024. Then, political strategist Prashant Kishor seems to be associating with the Congress. On the other hand, he has good relations with Nitish Kumar as well as his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Telangana's K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and others, and if he could bring these leaders on one platform, they could easily challenge the BJP in 2024. Nitish Kumar, probably, knows that BJP is currently under huge pressure which may be an ideal time for him to open his cards. He is not pleased with the recent aggression against a particular community in BJP-ruled states and Delhi where the state police is in the control of the Union Home Minister. Hence, he has organised an Iftar party at his residence and also visited the residence of Rabri Devi to give a clear message that he will stand with the minority community. He publicly said that he does not allow aggression against any community in Bihar. With these developments, there is buzz of "Khela Hobe" by Nitish Kumar but will he go with the RJD is the million dollar question. Sources have said that a section of JD-U is in touch with Tejashwi Yadav. Even Nitish Kumar reportedly sent messages to Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav but the latter did not agree to his proposal. The RJD was wanting the CM post for Tejashwi Yadav while Nitish Kumar was wanting the support of the RJD but he wanted to retain the Chief Minister's post for himself. United Nations, April 22 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will ramp up his mediation efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war by going to Moscow for a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 26, the UN announced on Friday. Guterres' associate spokesperson Eri Kaneko said that he will "be received by Putin" and "will have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov". "He (Guterres) wants to discuss with the leadership what steps can be taken right now in order to silence the guns to help the people and in order to allow the people who need to get out and have safe passage," Kaneko said. Guterres had written to both Russia and Ukraine, asking to visit their countries in an effort to end the conflict. Kaneko said that the UN is still working with Ukraine on scheduling his visit there. Guterres cancelled a planned trip to Nigeria next week to visit Russia. His visit to Moscow comes as Russia has intensified its assault in the face of stiff resistance by Ukraine. His call for an Easter ceasefire this weekend has been rejected by Moscow. (Some of the Orthodox Christian churches celebrate Easter on Sunday as they follow a separate calendar from the Western churches which observed the feast last Sunday) Kaneko said, "The Secretary-General is not so much disappointed that his own personal call was unheeded, but more that there has been no truce, that civilians cannot leave besieged areas and that the aid that the UN and our partners are ready to deliver to these besieged areas cannot go in." But she left open a window of optimism, saying: "We operate with the currency of hope." Guterres had appointed Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths as his mediator who had visited both Moscow and Kiev. However, he tested positive for Covid-19 this week ahead of a scheduled trip to Turkey to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is hosting talks between Russia and Ukraine. Kaneko said that Guterres hoped to further the discussions Griffiths and others have had. Representatives of the two countries have been holding talks in Belarus, Turkey and online. Russian news service Tass quoted Lavrov as saying on Friday that there was "slow progress in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations". The UN is deadlocked on the Russian invasion of Ukraine because of Moscow's veto powers in the Security Council. The General Assembly has condemned the invasion and demanded that Moscow end the conflict. But unlike the Council, the Assembly is powerless to implement its decisions. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War New Delhi, April 22 : A special NIA court in Ernakulam, Kerala, awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment to a man accused in the ISIS-Omar Al Hind module case. The court awarded the jail term to Sidhikhul Aslam alias Abu Sireen, a resident of Kerala, and also slapped a fine of Rs 60,000 on him. Aslam was convicted on April 20 by the court under the relevant sections of IPC and UAPA. The case was registered suo-motu by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on October 1, 2016, based on information regarding the conspiracy and formation of the ISIS Daish-inspired terrorist module, Ansarul Khilafa-KL, by the youth from southern India with the intention of furthering the objectives of ISIS. After investigation, the NIA had filed chargesheets against 10 accused persons. Earlier, six accused were convicted in 2019 and one accused was convicted on 2020 in this case. Mumbai, April 22 : Around 116 accused in the attack on NCP president Sharad Pawar home on April 8, including lawyer Gunratan Sadavarte, were granted bail by the Mumbai Sessions Court, here on Friday. Besides Sadavarte, the others nabbed included 109 employees of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, and other accused from Pune and Mumbai, were in judicial custody. Sadavarte alleged to be the mastermind of the attack, was granted bail of Rs 50,000, and all others shall be released on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. The development came on the final day of the Bombay High Court deadline to the MSRTC employees - on strike since October 28 2021, to resume duties and they would not face disciplinary action. However, the state government had later said those MSRTC workers who took part in the attack on Pawar home would face dismissal from service, sending shockwaves among the 95,000 employees. According to available information, more than 95 per cent of the employees have rejoined duties across the state but have vowed to continue their agitation seeking a merger of MSRTC with the state government. Jaipur, April 22 : The Rajasthan BJP on Friday constituted a five-member committee to probe the demolition of a 300-year-old Shiva temple in Alwar district. The saffron party also accused Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of following the footsteps of Mughal rulers Babar and Aurangzeb for bulldozing the temples 'in the name of removing encroachments'. The BJP constituted the five-member panel to probe the demolition of a Shiva temple at Sarai Mohalla in Rajgarh in Alwar district on Friday. The committee, formed under the chairmanship of Sikar MP Swami Sumedhanand, will visit Rajgarh in three days, prepare a factual report, and hand it over to Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia. Poonia, meanwhile, said that the temple demolition was carried out on the instructions of Gehlot and the state government. "Demolishing a 300-year-old temple is the result of Ashok Gehlot giving liberty to his MLAs," Poonia said. BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena also slammed the Rajasthan Congress for demolishing the temple and accused them of discrimination and appeasement politics. Deputy Leader of Opposition, Rajendra Singh Rathore, said while addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here that by destroying the 300-year-old temple in Alwar, the Rajasthan government has disturbed communal harmony. "The Congress government has been continuously hurting religious sentiments for the last three years. Earlier it had demolished the Ram Darbar welcome gate on the Salasar-Sujangarh road in Churu district," Rathore said. He also slammed Rajgarh MLA Johri Lal Meena and said that his son Deepak Meena is accused of rape, but instead of taking action, the police gave him clean chit. "Now he has got a bulldozer to erase temples misusing his power," he said. Rathore added that on February 8, the Rajgarh municipality had come up with a proposal that the temple located on this road should not be broken in the context of the Gaurav Path scheme. It was not mentioned anywhere in the proposal of the municipality that the 300-year-old temple should be demolished in the name of removal of encroachment. As evidence, Rathore showed the minutes of the general body meeting of the municipality held on February 8. While showing a viral video of MLA Johri Lal Meena, Rathore said that in the video, Meena himself is admitting that if 34 councillors accept Congress membership, he can stop the action. This clearly shows that Congress MLAs are misusing their power by pressuring public representatives, Rathore alleged. Colombo, April 23 : Facing mounting demands to step down by protestors for three weeks continuously, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has said China has assured help to solve the urgent economic crisis in the country. Rajapaksa on Friday said in a telephone conversation with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, who assured him that China will support Sri Lanka for economic and social stability. "Had a very productive conversation with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. I reiterated #SriLanka's gratitude to #China for the longstanding friendship and for assuring support to address some of the crucial needs affecting peoples' livelihoods and well-being in these difficult times," the Sri Lankan Prime Minister tweeted following the telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister's Office said the Chinese Premier made this comment in a phone conversation with Rajapaksa on Friday. The Prime Minister's Office issuing a statement said Li Keqiang has noted that China understands the difficulties and challenges that Sri Lanka was facing, and it will do its best to uplift the livelihoods of the people of Sri Lanka. "We understand the difficulties you are going through. We will work together to avoid these difficulties," the Prime Minister's Office added. Chinese Prime Minister has guaranteed that both the Sri Lankan and Chinese governments will work together in solving the urgent financial issues, the Prime Minister's Office said. The two leaders also discussed on further talks on the Free Trade Agreement, reducing Sri Lanka's trade deficit, and attracting more Chinese tourists to the country. Chinese leader's assurance comes in the wake of Beijing's pledge on Thursday of an urgent emergency humanitarian aid of RMB 200 million which would be provided to Sri Lanka, China International Development Cooperation Agency had announced that the humanitarian aid will include rice, medicines, production materials and other essentials, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Friday. However, China has been keeping mum on the request of Sri Lanka, one of the members of 146 Belt and Road initiative, for debt rescheduling and $2.5 billion assistance. Tehran, April 23 : At a time when the Iranian nuclear talks are about to reach an agreement, Iran and world powers have adjourned their talks, mostly over whether the US will remove Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from its Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) list. While negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna stalled a year after they began, Tehran and Washington have ramped up their rhetorical war, demanding political decisions from the other side to bridge the final gap, Xinhua news agency reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday said his country "does not pay attention to excessive demands nor will it retreat from its red lines". Iran has so far insisted on its position with no signs that it may budge any time soon, said Iran's English daily newspaper Tehran Times, adding that "in fact, the odds are currently against any change in Iran's position." Such a firm approach to Vienna talks has recently been praised by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who "expressed his satisfaction with the resistance of the negotiating team to the other sides' aggression and avarice," according to his official website. "The other side withdrew from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and broke its commitments. Now they feel helpless and have reached a dead end," Khamenei said, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal. According to the reports provided by Amir-Abdollahian and Iran's Chief Negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, "the red lines of the system have not been crossed in any way in the Vienna talks," Jalil Rahimi Jahan Abadi, a member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying last week. "The United States not only has not achieved anything since leaving the JCPOA, but even Iran's position has become stronger and more coherent in recent years than when the United States was present in the JCPOA," the Iranian lawmaker pointed out. In the United States, following media reports that President Joe Biden's administration has considered dropping the IRGC terrorist designation, more Congressmen have voiced opposition to any potential deal with Iran. It would be politically untenable to make such a concession to Iran, Biden's advisers suggested. "If Iran wants sanctions-lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they'll need to address concerns of ours that go beyond the JCPOA," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday. "If they do not want to use these talks to resolve other bilateral issues, then we are confident we can very quickly reach an understanding on the JCPOA and begin to reimplement the deal itself," he added. Iran believes that the Trump administration's move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation was "politically motivated and designed to make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Biden administration to resuscitate the JCPOA," according to Tehran Times. Washington "does not seem to be ready to take the initiative in terms of concluding the Vienna talks. Quite on the contrary, it keeps sending signals that it is not ready to make the kind of political decisions Iran demands," the newspaper said in a recent op-ed titled "US inaction could doom Vienna talks". "The US has halted progress for a nuclear deal. Biden is weak in dealing with political opponents," Mohammad Marandi, an adviser to Iran's negotiating team in the Vienna talks, tweeted recently. Despite the war of words, "the diplomatic path is working properly, and we have not gone far from a good and lasting deal," Amir-Abdollahiann said. Meanwhile, Price said Washington is also prepared for a return to full JCPOA implementation, while EU's mediators continued to send messages and work to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. "Tehran and Washington are close to a deal, but both sides need to give and take to achieve the wider benefits" of a renewed JCPOA, Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow and Deputy Head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an article. It would be "foolish for Washington to jeopardise the opportunity to contain Tehran's nuclear program over the lifting of what is a largely symbolic designation of the IRGC," while for Iran, delaying the return to the nuclear deal comes with a high price tag in terms of opportunities lost for its economy, she said. According to Geranmayeh, "a number of reasonable compromises are in circulation." One option reportedly under review is to remove the IRGC's FTO designation but keep on the list its elite Quds Force, which carries out operations in the Middle East. A group of nuclear non-proliferation experts and former government officials on Thursday urged the White House to complete negotiations to restore compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that "a prompt return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA is the best available way to deny Iran the ability to quickly produce bomb-grade nuclear material." "Repeating the failed strategy pursued by the Trump administration is misguided, irresponsible, and dangerous as it would increase the danger that Iran would become a threshold nuclear-weapon state," they warned. Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks, during which Iran and the US have negotiated indirectly, have been held in Vienna to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, which former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to drop some of its nuclear commitments. Whereby partners with Plan A for Earth Day 2022 "Our vision at Whereby is a world in which anywhere works. The climate crisis threatens the very existence of that world, and as an ethically ambitious company, we want to play our part in protecting our planet." - Jessica Zwaan, COO at Whereby. Today, on Earth Day 2022, video conferencing company Whereby announces the beginning of their decarbonization journey, working with corporate carbon accounting, decarbonization, and ESG reporting platform, Plan A. One of Wherebys key values is to be ethically ambitious, and today they are beginning to put this into action to find practical solutions to reduce the companys impact on the planet. Whereby COO, Jessica Zwaan said: "Our vision at Whereby is a world in which anywhere works. The climate crisis threatens the very existence of that world, and as an ethically ambitious company, we want to play our part in protecting our planet. From today, we're making a company-wide commitment to reduce our carbon emissions by partnering with Plan A. We can't wait to get started!" Plan As ground-breaking software will allow Whereby to measure and monitor their carbon footprint across all aspects of the business and provide an action plan to guide them on their sustainability journey. CEO and Co-founder of Plan A, Lubomila Jordanova, commented: Plan A is beyond thrilled to welcome Whereby to our net-zero family! We were incredibly impressed by their existing internal engagement with the sustainability topic and willingness to change in order to become a sustainability leader in their industry. We look forward to translating this commitment into impact for the planet! This will be an ongoing partnership with more details about Wherebys carbon reducing action plan to be announced. About Whereby: Built in Norway by privacy-friendly Europeans, Whereby is video calling wherever you want it. No apps, downloads, or hassle. Simply start a Whereby Meeting right from your browser or embed Whereby directly into your product, app, or website. Whereby's proprietary video call API is quick to set up and easy to maintain because we do the heavy lifting for you. Our technology allows you to connect with customers, patients, students, and coworkers with the touch of a button. Whereby is ranked as the Easiest to Use video conferencing platform by G2 and is recommended by The New York Times Wirecutter. Its used by millions of users around the globe. About Plan A: Plan A is a leading corporate carbon accounting and decarbonisation software solutions provider. The German company has developed a SaaS platform that combines cutting-edge technology and the latest scientific standards and methodologies (certified by TUV Rheinland). The end-to-end software solution automates CO2 emissions calculation, carbon reduction planning, and ESG reporting for businesses. Founded in 2017, the company has already received several awards, most recently Generalis SME EnterPRIZE Award 2021 and the prestigious The Europas Award 2021. Plan A closed a Series A funding round of USD 10 million in November 2021 (HV Capital and Keen Venture Partners, joining Demeter, coparion, and Softbank as investors). Plan A is a B Corp certified business and adheres to strict social and environmental standards. Read more about the announcement on Wherebys website here. Petition follows the nationwide filing of nearly 20 lawsuits based on physical and/or economic injuries allegedly caused by the recalled formula. On Thursday, April 14, 2022, Bryan F. Aylstock, Sam Geisler and Caitlyn Miller of Pensacola-based Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz law firm filed the first petition to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) for the entry of an order transferring all present and future federal-filed cases involving Abbotts recalled powdered baby formula to United States District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida. On February 17, 2022, the FDA warned consumers to not use recalled Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered infant formulas produced in Sturgis, Michigan, referencing the FDAs investigation of four hospitalizations and two deaths of infants reported to have ingested Abbotts powdered baby formula from its Sturgis, Michigan plant. Three of the infants were infected with Cronobacter sakazakii and one with Salmonella Newport. The mortality rate of infants contracting Cronobacter is reported to run as high as 80%. Infections can lead to sepsis, severe meningitis and/or death. The FDA released reports documenting the Agencys observations following several inspections of Abbotts Sturgis plant, including that: Cronobacter Sakazakiiwas present in the Sturgis plant[1] Abbott failed to adequately test for Cronobacter in its powdered infant formula,[2] and Abbott failed to ensure numerous controls were in place sufficient to prevent contamination of its Sturgis powdered infant formula line.[3] Mr. Aylstock advocates for centralization and consolidation of the matters before Judge Bloom due to her considerable experience overseeing complex litigation matters, including class actions, as well as her efficient management of the earliest-filed recalled formula lawsuit which has been set for jury trial on May 8, 2023. These families deserve their day in court sooner rather than later, stated Mr. Aylstock. Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC is a Pensacola-based law firm specializing in complex litigation on behalf of consumers injured by defective products, drugs, and medical devices. [1] FDA.gov, March 18, 2022 Form 483, available at https://www.fda.gov/media/157073/download (last accessed on April 13, 2022). [2] FDA.gov, Sept. 24, 2019 Form 483, available at https://www.fda.gov/media/156748/download (last accessed on April 13, 2022). [3] FDA.gov, Sept. 24, 2021 Form 483, available at https://www.fda.gov/media/156747/download (last accessed on April 13, 2022). Media Contact: Sam Geisler (850) 202-2218 sgeisler@awkolaw.com Case Name: IN RE: Recalled Abbott Infant Formula Products Liability Litigation Case Number: MDL No. 3037 TreeRing, a digital yearbook software company, recently hosted a contest for their dedicated users to showcase their custom design pages and tell their stories behind a yearbook spread. The contest lasted two weeks and offered enticing incentives including Amazon and Spa gift cards, and a spotlight on their online blog! The contest was split into two groups, one for their end-users - parents, and one for school chief editors. 14 total winners were chosen across 8 different states throughout the country. Winners were chosen based on the quality of their submitted yearbook design and story and spanned across elementary, middle, and high schools. One of the chief editor winners shared a heartfelt story behind their layout as her school combined with another school following the pandemic this last year. Her layout was inspired by blending two very different school cultures into one school family. Two small public-school populations combined into one: a Mandarin school, and a parent co-op school, called Orion Alternative. Using the TreeRing cosmic theme with custom images, the contents are arranged in the shape of the Orion constellation, while floating Chinese lanterns soar into the night sky. Many of the winners also shared their stories behind their custom pages and how they were able to savor their memories, inside and outside of school. TreeRings custom pages are one of the incredible highlights behind the software. They offer inclusivity to every student, allowing an opportunity to highlight personal accomplishments and memories. One of the winners, a father, used his custom spread to showcase a series of first-day-of-school photos taken by the same tree each year, to show not only his sons growth over the years but also his memories and interests at each age! TreeRing is a company that specializes in the design, creation, and printing of quality yearbooks. The traditional yearbook only includes a few photos of each student. In today's smartphone world student's have thousands of photos of themselves and their friends. This makes the traditional yearbook a lot less relevant. TreeRing brings the yearbook into the internet generation with custom pages, online signatures, and more while operating at zero cost to schools, only printing books parents decide to purchase. Slavery and human trafficking are still with us. We cant escape that reality. To understand why this is so, we must look to the past to make sense of modern slavery. Ten years ago, author and activist David Lohan encountered the issue of modern slavery and human trafficking. Now he is announcing the release of his latest book At Freedoms Crossroads: Making Sense of Modern Slavery. Penned from detailed research conducted over many years, At Freedoms Crossroads starts with an exploration of historical slavery in the antebellum United States. It draws upon the wisdom of former slaves such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs (Incidents in the life of a slave girl), and Solomon Northup (12 Years A Slave); as well as abolitionists such as Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Toms Cabin) and Theodore Dwight Weld (American slavery as it is); and even slaverys past advocates such as Edmund Ruffin and David Christy; to present a single perspective of slavery and its slaves. The book then extends its range to include present-day realities, before using what has been learned to challenge the governmental approaches adopted by Sweden (Nordic Model), the Netherlands (legalization), and New Zealand (decriminalization) to combat sex trafficking in their prostitution sectors. During Womens History Month 2022, At Freedoms Crossroads attained No.1 New Release on Amazon.com under History of Women in the American Civil War. Dr. Nusha Yonkova, a well-recognized expert in human trafficking, migration, and gender-based violence at Irish and European Union (EU) levels, describes the book as: An exceptional read for those working on human trafficking and all people interested in this phenomenon. Dr. Salome Mbugua of AkiDwa observes how: The authors holistic approach to the subject provides a good foundation for anyone looking to gain insight into the concept of human trafficking in general, a form of slavery which continues through new labels. JP OSullivan of MECPATHS, an organisation working in partnership with the hospitality sector to prevent child trafficking, states: An insightful and incredibly well researched book, At Freedom's Crossroads is highly recommended to anyone wishing to learn more about slavery, its construct and the worlds around us which profiteer from it, facilitate it and governments who choose to ignore it. Dr. Maria Decker, of SOLWODI Deutschland e.V. notes: This is a must-read for all who want to gain a deeper understanding of modern slavery, its root causes and the conditions under which it thrives, how and why perpetrators benefit from it. Mia de Faoite LLM, Coordinator of the Beyond Exploitation Campaign, Ireland describes it as: An exceptional book which helps the reader make valuable connections between the wrongs of the past and what is currently happening in the world today. At Freedoms Crossroads: Making Sense of Modern Slavery is available in hardback, paperback, and eBook formats. The eBook is available from Amazon Kindle. Other formats may be purchased online from Book Despository, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, AbeBooks, Waterstones, and many others. It is available to order in-store at all good bookshops everywhere. David Lohan is a native of County Galway in Ireland. He lives in County Cork. His primary degree is in the field of engineering. He has post-graduate diplomas in education, arts, software development, and a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Politics. His website at https://www.davidlohan.com highlights the plights of modern slaves and victims of human trafficking. David Lohan is available for speaking opportunities. Alesia Visconti, CEO & President of FranServe Inc. Franchising helps people change their lives and take control of their future. A brand that makes our annual FRAN-TASTIC 500 list shows that it values a fun and rewarding lifestyle and emphasizes people fulfill their dreams of business ownership. Wisdom Senior Cares brand quickly joined the ranks of the International Franchise Association strongest and most dedicated advocates supporting and defending the franchising business model. Wisdom Senior Care is a franchise organization growing on the core values of Faith, Compassion, Commitment, Integrity, and Loyalty. Through sharing its system with like-minded and compassionate individuals in the family of Wisdom Business Owners, Wisdom Senior Care today has served more than 500 seniors in the state of North Carolina. As a franchisor, the Wisdom Senior Care franchise was established in 2016 with the vision to create a network of successful Wisdom Business Owners in the home care industry. Wisdom Senior Cares team firmly believes that our older population is full of Wisdom and deserves to be kept in the comfort of their homes with compassionate care. This mission is achievable with the Faith of sharing proven systems. Wisdom Senior Care is driven by the quality of its franchisees, striving to keep more seniors happy in the comfort of their homes. Carolyn Thurston always invites women to follow their calling in healthcare and carry out their mission. Recently retired Air Force Master Sergeant (MSgt) Michael Feggans Im excited about meeting the residents of the new 97th House District, tackling the challenging issues at hand through compassionate leadership, and continuing to serve this vibrant community with steadfast commitment, said Michael. Retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant (MSgt) and local cybersecurity entrepreneur Michael B. Feggans announced his candidacy today for the newly created 97th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. A Virginia Beach resident for more than 30 years, Feggans is the proud product of the Virginia Beach Public School System. After graduating from Tallwood High School, Feggans immediately enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, being drawn to the commitment of service to his country and expanding his educational opportunities. While in the Air Force, Feggans served in a variety of technical, supervisory, and leadership positions from hospital Group Practice Manager, Expeditionary Communications Instructor, Squadron Superintendent, and Deputy Chief Information Officer, to name a few. Feggans is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Good Conduct Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, and the Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border. He has deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013-14 to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. He led aeromedical evacuations operations for injured service members and helped establish a computer library with the Department of State. Feggans also provided on-the-ground deployment leadership to the Republic of Korea in 2018-19 as the medical Senior Enlisted Leader for the Gimhae Contingency Hospital project, helping to re-establish a $50M infrastructure project to support 500 potential casualties. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration from Park University, MO, in 2010, a Graduate Certificate in Information, Policy & Society from Virginia Tech in 2014, a Master of Science in Cybersecurity from Norfolk State University in 2019, and most recently the Political Leadership Program from the Sorensen Institute at the University of Virginia-Weldon Cooper Center in 2021. Feggans is currently the CEO and owner of Outerbridge Technical Solutions, a startup that focuses on cybersecurity, technology, and veteran workforce development headquartered in Virginia Beach. In 2012, Feggans successfully petitioned the Department of the Air Force and became one of the first active-duty Air Force enlisted members to work in Congress and was assigned to U.S Senator Mark Warner. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of Operations for the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, elected to the Second Congressional District Committee, a member of the Hampton Road African American Leadership Society, and the Vice President of the Tidewater Chapter of the Air Force Association. Im excited about meeting the residents of the new 97th House District, tackling the challenging issues at hand through compassionate leadership, and continuing to serve this vibrant community with steadfast commitment, said Michael. Michael plans to lean into education and close gaps for students within the district by focusing on educator pay and retention, strengthening entrepreneurship programming and workforce development in underserved communities, creating safer and stronger communities through comprehensive measures, and working to enhance opportunities for veterans in the region. Find out more at http://www.MichaelFeggans.com Twitter: @MikeFeggans Instagram: @MikeFeggans Facebook: /MichaelBFeggans Esmeralda Pena Esmeralda is dedicated to nurturing the most important asset of our organization: our people, said Dorene C. Dominguez, Vanir Chairwoman and CEO. I applaud her continued commitment to building a culture of engagement, innovation and opportunity..." Vanir, a leading provider of program, project and construction management and real estate services, today announced the promotion of Esmeralda Pena to the position of Vice President of Human Resources (HR). This promotion recognizes the invaluable contributions she has made since joining Vanir in 2017. Esmeralda is dedicated to nurturing the most important asset of our organization: our people, said Dorene C. Dominguez, Vanir Chairwoman and CEO. I applaud her continued commitment to building a culture of engagement, innovation and opportunity for our employees and the many clients and communities we serve. Pena has more than 15 years of hands-on HR and management experience and is responsible for overseeing the planning, implementation and management of all of Vanir's HR operations. Her accomplishments include implementing a comprehensive strategic plan and design of HR operations to improve effectiveness in staff recruitment, retention and professional development. She has shown great leadership in several areas, including Vanirs corporate and regional response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Ive greatly enjoyed being part of Vanir and I look forward to serving in my new role and contributing to the continued success of the Vanir team, Pena said. It is exciting as an HR leader to have the opportunity to serve as Vice President for Human Resources and I am fully committed to a transformational process. I look forward to partnering with HR colleagues, leadership and all other members of the community to make the process a success, as well as to focus on other strategic priorities related to recruiting and retaining exceptional talent and supporting our operations and employees. Pena holds both a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelors Degree in Human Resources Management from California State University, Sacramento. After graduation, she focused on HR because she wanted to understand all aspects of a workplace and support the people whose talents and commitment are essential to the success of an organization. Pena serves on the board of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as the co-chair of the board for the Latino Economic Council of Sacramento and is an active member of other community-based organizations. She has mentored scores of HR professionals at all career stages as well as many young aspiring professionals in many industries. I just want to be a part of efforts to help people, business operations and communities thrive, Pena said. About Vanir Vanir is a national leader in program, project and construction management and real estate development. Ranked as a top firm by Engineering News-Record for more than three decades, our award-winning team provides a full range of services to public and private sector clients in the education, healthcare, justice and essential services, state and local government, technology, transportation and water markets. Founded in 1964, we have delivered $25.8 billion in construction value to hundreds of clients nationwide. Our tremendous repeat business rate, which stands at 85%, is a testament to our teams ability to provide high-quality, innovative solutions that result in successfully executed programs and projects. We currently have offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas and Washington, with over 350 employees working on projects nationwide. Having Steve, Ken and Todd on our board help to position our company for strong organic revenue growth over the next several years, Shawn Lucht, CEO, Apple Roofing. Apple Roofing (https://appleroofingllc.com/), a roof repair and replacement company with support centers in Plano, TX and Lincoln, NE, today announced three advisory board members who will help guide the companys strategic goal to become the nations leader in roofing and insurance restoration. Steve Grimshaw, Executive Chairman, Caliber Collision Steves extensive experience in a parallel industry, collision repair, will be invaluable to Apple. He was the President and CEO at Caliber for 12 years and is currently the Executive Chairman. During his tenure, Caliber Collision grew from $280MM to over $4B and is currently the largest collision repair company in the world. Ken Rosen, President, Rosen Consulting Solutions Ken Rosen has deep experience in the P&C industry focused on P&C claims. Prior to his current role, Ken was the Chief Claims Officer at Allstate and before that USAA. His passion is leading teams and assisting other businesses that provide services to the P&C industry in facilitating an exceptional customer experience while driving an efficient operation. Todd Santiago, Chief Revenue Officer, Vivint Smart Home, Inc. Todds vast experience leading Vivint Smart Homes fast growth through innovative marketing and sales programs will add significant value to Apples strategy moving forward. Before joining Vivint, Todd was President and Chief Executive Officer of 2GIG Technologies. Apple Roofing is literally where Caliber was when I joined the board, said Steve Grimshaw. The quality and integrity of the leadership team and sponsor made it an attractive opportunity. The fact the roofing industry is ripe for consolidation by a company such as Apple that can deliver operational consistency and industry-leading customer satisfaction made it a no-brainer to join. Im very proud to be part of their journey, said Grimshaw. Speaking from an insurance industry perspective, Ken Rosen said, Spending over 30 years in the Property and Casualty arena, one blind spot that would show up time and time again was a lack of qualified roofers across the country. On joining the company board of directors, Rosen said, When Apple Roofing approached me with the consolidated roofing concept, one consistent process for homeowners and insurers across the country, I was hooked. Working with Shawn, the founders, board members and Gauge Capital has been an awesome experience. Im excited for what the future holds for Apple Roofing. Im proud to join this team of exceptional leaders board members and executives in helping to realize Apples vision and plan to position itself as the nations premier provider of roof repair, replacement, and roofing claims services, said Todd Santiago. To say this will represent a sea change in the roofing claims process is an understatement this is going to be big, Santiago continued. Having Steve, Ken and Todd on our board help to position our company for strong organic revenue growth over the next several years, said Apple Roofings CEO, Shawn Lucht. Their experience in working with insurance carriers will help us optimize and make the roofing claims experience more seamless for both customers and carriers. About Apple Roofing (http://www.appleroofingllc.com) Established in 2011, Apple Roofing currently ranks as one of the largest roof repair and replacement companies in the United States. Recently, Crest Exteriors, LLC merged with Apple under the Apple Roofing brand and now operates with support centers in Plano, TX and Lincoln, NE. Apple Roofing provides roof repair and replacement services to residential and commercial customers through its branch locations in 10 states. The company is focused on providing best-in-class customer service and optimizing policyholder/carrier claims experience. Rigdon and Combs Team with Engel & Volkers Jacksonville Being around other highly productive advisors is refreshing. The boutique atmosphere is perfect for us, considering we were previously amongst more than 500 agents, many of which were part-time. Engel & Volkers Florida today announced Keith Combs and Dylan Rigdon have joined Engel & Volkers Jacksonvile as real estate advisors; together they co-lead the Rigdon and Combs Team. Combs and Rigdon bring with them more than three decades of combined experience in real estate throughout Northeast Florida. The duo spent the last 9 years with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty. We decided to make the move to Engel & Volkers after many years at a different brokerage to take advantage of the fresh marketing and unique perspective of real estate in our area, said Rigdon. Were excited about the global exposure and domestic attention our listings will receive as part of the Engel & Volkers network. The ability to connect our outbound clients with a professional whose part of our network almost anywhere in the world is incredible. The luxurious look and feel of the Engel & Volkers marketing experience is next-level, and were thrilled to bring this to our clients. The Rigdon and Combs Team was ranked the top team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty in 2019 and 2020. They have represented more than 200 transactions in the span of 5 years; $45-million worth in the last 24 months alone. Considering the median sales price in Northeast Florida is $370,050, the pair typically works in the luxury segment of the market. Being around other highly productive advisors is refreshing, said Combs. The boutique atmosphere is perfect for us, considering we were previously amongst more than 500 agents, many of which were part-time. We are full-time advisors, and we feel our clients deserve the very best, so we have to continue improving our offering to meet their expectations and needs. To achieve the next level in our career and deliver outstanding results for our clients in an ultra-competitive market, we needed to align ourselves with a brokerage that shared the same objective. A Jacksonville native, Combs has a particular specialization in historic homes; he has participated in the restoration of nearly 15 homes in the Avondale and Riverside area of Jacksonville . He was awarded Best Historic Renovation by Jacksonville Mayor, John Peyton for the restoration of a Mediterranean revival home on Saint Johns Avenue in Avondale. The Rigdon and Combs team joining Engel & Volkers Jacksonville is another example of the continued acceleration of the top agents in Jacksonville deciding that Coreys brokerage is the place to align with like-minded, full time professionals, said Peter Giese, CEO Engel & Volkers Florida. We are excited for them and all the top advisors who have joined our brand to see what the future holds for them with our global platform. Prior to partnering with Engel & Volkers to open his first brokerage, Corey Hasting consistently ranked among the top residential real estate agents of Northeast Florida and was awarded numerous accolades while previously with Keller Williams Realty. He has since grown his regional presence to include 4 Engel & Volkers shops, located in Amelia Island, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, and Neptune Beach. Hastings group comprises 94 full-time advisors, who are on pace to close $950,000,000 in sales and over 1,750 transactions in 2022. ### Press contact: Linzee Werkmeister, Junior Vice President, Marketing & Franchise Support Email: Linzee.Werkmeister(at)evrealestate.com Tel: (239) 348-9000 About Engel & Volkers: Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1977, Engel & Volkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a personalized client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process for today's savvy homeowner. Engel & Volkers currently operates approximately 263 shop locations with 5,000 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the brand's global network of over 15,000 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate, yachting and aviation. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit http://www.evrealestate.com. About Engel & Volkers Florida: Engel & Volkers Florida is the Master License Partner of the global luxury real estate brand Engel & Volkers in the state of Florida. Recognized for uniquely recruiting, training and equipping some of the top professionals in the real estate industry, Engel & Volkers Floridas exclusive business model positions its franchisees at the top of the premium market to gain market share and support their bottom line. The company represents franchise locations in 42 markets: 30A Beaches, Amelia Island, Belleair, Boca Raton, Bonita Springs-Estero, Cape Coral, Clermont, Delray Beach, Destin, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Downtown, Gainesville, Islamorada, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jupiter, Madeira Beach, Marco Island, Melbourne Beachside, Melbourne Central, Melbourne Downtown, Miami Coconut Grove, Neptune Beach, Ocala, Olde Naples, Orlando, Orlando Downtown, Orlando-Winter Park, Palm Beach, Palm Coast, Pompano Beach, Sarasota, South Tampa, St. Augustine, St. Pete, St. Pete Beach, Stuart, Tampa Water Street, Venice Downtown, Vero Beach, Wellington, and Windermere. Engel & Volkers Florida is continuing to strategically strengthen and expand its presence in premium real estate markets across the state of Florida. If you would like to know more about the Engel & Volkers brand or how to join its global networkwhich is known for demonstrating competence, exclusivity and passion, feel free to call our corporate office, located at 633 Tamiami Trl N, Suite 201, Naples, FL 34102 USA. Tel: +1 239-348-9000. For more information about Engel & Volkers Florida, please visit http://www.florida.evrealestate.com Young Ukrainian child comforted during medical transport to Shriners Children's in Boston. Shriners Childrens stands ready to care for more children from the region who can benefit from our specialized care, said Jerry Gantt, chairman of the Shriners Children's board of trustees. Two severely burned children from Ukraine have arrived in Boston for highly specialized surgeries and treatment at Shriners Childrens pediatric burn center here. Shriners Childrens Boston, one of four of the systems burn care facilities for children, is the only verified pediatric burn center in New England. The children were transported by air ambulance, and arrived in Boston late on Wednesday, April 20. One parent is accompanying each child. Shriners Childrens is not able to share additional information regarding the children or their medical conditions at this time (information is provided below on a planned media availability). Due to the current state of affairs in Ukraine, the countrys medical infrastructure is understandably challenged, said John McCabe, executive vice president of the Shriners Childrens healthcare system. We are uniquely positioned to help these children from Ukraine, because our physicians, nurses and therapists have extensive experience in providing care for children who suffer life-threatening burn injuries, including in natural disaster or other urgent situations. Our team members are using the most current researchbased treatments in pediatric burn care. The burn service team at Shriners Childrens Boston, directed by Robert L. Sheridan M.D., provides multidisciplinary care in all aspects of burn care, which includes surgery, treatment, rehabilitation and psychological support. Shriners Childrens has a long history of providing urgent and long-standing consistent care to the children of Ukraine, thanks to relationships with trusted humanitarian and government organizations. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, D.C. and the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York, along with the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security, were integral to our efforts to help the children. The Shriners Childrens healthcare system has provided medical help to Ukrainian children dating as far back as the 1990s for children affected by the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Shriners Childrens stands ready to care for more children from the region who can benefit from our specialized care, said Jerry Gantt, chairman of the systems board of trustees. In the last decade we have established medical go teams from our hospitals to be available any time there is a disaster or need for emergency care for children. Shriners Childrens care is sought out throughout the world for complex pediatric burns cases because our physicians and care teams have contributed to most of the significant advancements in acute and reconstructive pediatric burn care. We provide comprehensive multidisciplinary care to children with burn injuries and cutaneous conditions anywhere in the world. As we learn more about the children and have permissions to share their information, Shriners Childrens will provide updates to the public. Officials have scheduled an initial media availability on Friday, April 22. 11 a.m. (EDT) Friday April 22 Shriners Childrens Boston, 51 Blossom Street in Boston, MA Auditorium, First Floor Masks are required For those interested in supporting Shriners Childrens mission to be a global force for kids, please click the link below. Donate to Help International Children: https://donate.lovetotherescue.org/give/186496/#!/donation/checkout About Shriners Childrens Shriners Childrens is changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research and outstanding medical education. Our multiple locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico provide advanced care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate. All care is provided regardless of the families ability to pay. Shriners Childrens has treated more than 1.5 million children from more than 180 countries over the last 100 years. For more information on the care provided by Shriners Childrens, go to shrinerschildrens.org Shriners Hospitals for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and relies on the generosity of donors. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. We are proud to be the recipient of the prestigious iF design award. H Robotics, experts in developing, manufacturing, and distributing state-of-the-art rehabilitation solutions, is excited to announce they are the recipient of the iF Design Award for their rebless smart rehabilitation device! The iF DESIGN AWARD is one of the most sought-after design prizes in the world. It provides organizations with a platform to showcase quality and creativity in design, communication, packaging, service design and concepts, architecture, and interior design, as well as UX and UI. "We are proud to be the recipient of the prestigious iF design award. We are focused on building the next generation rehabilitation robots that are effective, welcoming, and easy to use for patients and clinicians. Design plays a major role in this." - Andrew Chang, Head of US Business Most rehabilitation devices tend to be big, bulky, and intimidating to use, but as robotics and software technology continues to advance, companies like H Robotics are making it their mission to bring rehabilitation devices to patients homes. With at-home devices, design is more important than ever to ensure reduced risk and increased approachability. To ensure the design is optimized for the user, H Robotics delivers top notch design with their smart rehabilitation devices and software. Winning this award is an important acknowledgment for H Robotics as they work towards bringing rehabilitation devices to patients homes to help them improve movement for a happier, healthier life. rebless is an FDA-registered, first-of-its-kind robotic therapy device for both upper and lower extremities, providing motion to the elbow, wrist, ankle, and knee joints. With multiple operating modes, rebless allows for passive, active-assisted and resisted exercise, and range of motion measurements. For more information on this award and the rebless robotic device, contact info@hroboticsus.com. About iF Design Award Since 1954, the iF DESIGN AWARD has been a globally recognized trademark when it comes to excellent design. The iF brand is internationally recognized as a symbol of design excellence. The iF DESIGN AWARD is one of the most important design prizes in the world. It honors design achievements in all disciplines: product, packaging, communication and service design, architecture and interior architecture, as well as user interface (UI), user experience (UX) and professional concept. All the award-winning entries are presented on http://www.ifdesign.com and published in the iF Design App. About H Robotics H Robotics is one of the fastest growing robotics companies with its main corporate offices in South Korea and the U.S. The company develops, manufactures, and distributes state-of-the-art rehabilitation solutions, including medical robots and data-driven telemedicine offerings for people who suffer from neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. rebless, the company's at home and clinic use rehabilitation robot, received CES Innovation Award 2021, 2022, Good Design Award and iF Design award 2022. It is time for America to prioritize Black-led innovation, said Dr. Kelly Burton, Executive Director of Black Innovation Alliance. Today, the Black Innovation Alliance (BIA) announced that in response to their advocacy, Congress has approved the Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation (CBI). The Caucus begins Tuesday, April 26 beginning with a press conference at 10:00 a.m. on Capitol Hill. Co-chairs of the Caucus U.S. Representatives Stacey E. Plaskett (VI), Marilyn Strickland (WA) and Ritchie Torres (NY), along with BIA founder, Dr. Kelly Burton, will lead the charge to engage key policymakers and stakeholders in exploring necessary policy solutions that enable the emergence of an equitable future economy. In a day-long event that also includes a briefing, afternoon reception, and learning exchange, the Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation will identify the policy needs of Black entrepreneurs, creatives, and innovators; address the educational and programmatic gaps pursuant to creating real pipelines toward viable innovative careers; and explore strategies to repair inequity in funding, resources, and accountability related to entrepreneurial growth and sustainability. It is time for America to prioritize Black-led innovation, said Dr. Kelly Burton, Executive Director of Black Innovation Alliance. With the Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation, our goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with leveraging innovation to advance racial equality, while demonstrating the importance of achieving economic equality for our nations long-term viability and global competitiveness. During the caucus, with Representatives Plaskett, Strickland and Torres giving remarks, discussions on Black innovation, financial futures and the new frontiers in Black tech will take place. History has shown that the contributions of Black innovators and founders have been integral to Americas economic growth and our creativity and advancement as a nation, said Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett (VI). Presently, the potential and driving force of Black innovators and founders is presently being stymied by signicant barriers and disparities, including inadequate access to capital, inequitable legislation, and regulatory hindrances, along with limited support by philanthropy. As co-chairs and members of the CBI, I and my colleagues will work to show that when Black founders and innovators are treated equitably, EVERYONE wins. The Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation is the kick-off to BIAs Decade of Black Innovation, a culture-shifting campaign that will engage policymakers, business leaders, funders, activists, and community experts to reclaim innovation, intellectual property, ideas, and ingenuity. I am honored to serve as a co-chair of the inaugural Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation with Reps. Plaskett and Torres with support from the Black Innovation Alliance, said Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10). We must acknowledge and address the barriers Black innovators face in our economy from limited access to capital to undue and discriminatory regulatory burdens. I am excited to work with my colleagues and industry as we craft legislation to achieve a more equitable and inclusive economy. For more on the inaugural Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation, please visit https://blackinnovationalliance.com/cbi. About Black Innovation Alliance (BIA): Founded in 2020, Black Innovation Alliance (BIA) is a national coalition of 65 innovator-support organizations (ISOs) in service to more than 300,000 Black business owners, startup founders, and creative technologists. Our member organizations are based in more than two dozen cities, and our work has national reach. Our mission is to increase fair and equitable access to the innovation economy for the purpose of achieving Black prosperity As demonstrated and witnessed day in and out of the pandemic, working in healthcare allows individuals the opportunity to improve health outcomes and change lives. Increasing access to primary and behavioral health care has greater importance during the pandemic. AltaPointe Health expanded access to care in 2021 by opening new clinics and the momentum shows no signs of slowing down in 2022. To fill the need for access to healthcare AltaPointes Human Resources launched a targeted campaign to attract, hire and retain a staff of highly qualified nurses across its continuum. COVID required our recruiting team to think outside of the box to fill open positions, said Katie Miller, AltaPointe Health Human Resources recruiting manager. Identifying candidates and hiring staff amidst ever-changing COVID mandates challenged us to be creative in our recruiting efforts. Drive-thru job fairs, virtual interviews and conferences, and Facebook Live became staples of the recruiting process. In-person events are slowly making a comeback. Thursday, April 28, AltaPointe plans to hold a hiring event at its headquarters at 5741 Southland Drive in Mobile, AL 36693. Participants could walk away with a job! Recruiters will be on-site conducting interviews for all positions, especially nurses. As demonstrated and witnessed day in and out of the pandemic, working in healthcare allows individuals the opportunity to improve health outcomes and change lives. Recruiters say the statement holds for AltaPointe Health in addition to other benefits. We are an approved site for loan repayment options via the National Health Services Corps (NHSC), also known as the Nurse Corps, said Miller. Plus, the areas we have the greatest need for nurses staff offer an 8 5 schedule with paid holidays, no weekends, and paid time off. Miller adds specific clinics under the AltaPointe umbrella are searching for candidates with lab experience, while other AltaPointe clinics are interested in new nurses starting their careers. For more information on open positions, please visit altapointe.org/careers. A ltaPointe Health is an extensive healthcare system providing primary and behavioral healthcare. Each year it provides more than 1 million services to 45,000 patients across Alabama. A national leader in behavioral health for more than 60 years, AltaPointe expanded its service array in 2018 to include primary care. Now focusing on the patient's whole health, it operates Accordia Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center with five clinic sites. Rounding out the continuum, AltaPointe operates two psychiatric hospitals serving children and adults and 22 outpatient behavioral healthcare clinics. A/V Radio DJ booth on the Eastside Trail curated by Ree de la Vega. Photo by The Sintoses. Since 2010, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) has brought visual and performing arts to its parks and trails throughout the city. Art on the Atlanta BeltLine has grown to be the largest temporary exhibition of its kind in the south, creating an outdoor, public gallery over 12 linear miles. Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.s Arts and Culture Department has published a call for artists for the thirteenth year of the Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibition. Artists across all mediums and at any stage of their careers are invited to participate via visual and performance art, sculpture, and the residency program. Since 2010, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) has brought visual and performing arts to its parks and trails throughout the city. Art on the Atlanta BeltLine has grown to be the largest temporary exhibition of its kind in the south, creating an outdoor, public gallery over 12 linear miles. The Atlanta BeltLine seeks equity and inclusion across all programmatic elements and is committed to paying artists a living wage for their work and to providing arts and culture jobs in the local economy and beyond. Artists, art collectives and organizations are invited to submit their Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) for one or any of the following exhibition categories: BeltLine Public Art Residency Program The Atlanta BeltLine residency program is designed to offer real-world exposure operating within the realm of public art and infrastructure. Unlike collegiate or gallery residencies that operate within the structure and stricture of those prescribed spaces and audiences, the public realm presents many unique challenges including, but not limited to: responsibilities to multiple audiences simultaneously, community place keeping and empowerment, space and environment, and the many components of the civic system including permitting, ordinances, and governmental offices. The program seeks qualified individuals or artist to fill the following roles: Scholar-in-Residence Curator-in-Residence Artist-in-Residence BeltLine Walls Volume 5 (Murals) Artists are invited to submit their qualifications to create a mural along the BeltLine. Artists will work on their walls for the duration of a few weeks in October, culminating in a grand reveal and community celebration at the end of the festival. BeltLine Flow (Performance Series) Artists are invited to submit qualifications to perform along the Atlanta BeltLine corridor during the exhibition season. These performances are not limited in number of times the performances may occur, nor are they subject to any specific dates on which performances must occur. These performances are designed to act as a pop-up style event to creatively activate and celebrate the corridor in many locations. These events are acoustic in nature, self-sustaining and do not require outside power sources, a sound engineer or technical support. BeltLine Spaces (Sculpture Exhibition) Artists are invited to submit their qualifications in 3D, monumental, installation, pre-fabricated, site specific or land art sculptural work. BeltLine After Dark (Festival) This annual festival celebrates the communities and spaces along the BeltLine trails. Artists are invited to submit their qualifications to activate the parks and greenspaces around the corridor. Previous seasons have included concerts, ballet, theater, opera and interactive roving performances. Lantern Parade Musicians who wish to be included in the 2022-2023 Lantern Parade should contact Chantelle Rytter directly at chantellerytter@gmail.com. Interested artists should first review the Request for Qualifications and then prepare to submit their Statement of Qualifications through Vendor Registry by downloading and following the SOQ template. A jury will review all responses to ensure certain qualifications and requirements are met and to provide ABI with a short-list of artists best qualified to participate. The short-listed artists will then be asked to submit a full proposal for Art on the Atlanta BeltLine. Once all proposals are received, they will be posted on art.beltline.org where the community will be invited to give feedback on each piece. Once all feedback is received, final selections will be made and artists notified. Art installations, performances, and activations will take place between July 2022 and June 2023. Additionally, the exhibition is seeking volunteer jurors to assist in reviewing artists credentials and qualifications and selecting those who will be invited to submit a full proposal. Jurors are asked to apply by June 1 by submitting a letter of interest and a CV to Miranda Kyle, Arts and Culture Program Manager, at mkyle@atlbeltline.org. Applications are due by 3 p.m. EST on June 13, 2022. All applicants must sign up and submit Statements of Qualifications electronically through Vendor Registry, ABIs procurement system. Information and a video explaining the process are available at art.beltline.org/opencall. Stay abreast of Art on the Atlanta BeltLine announcements and events at art.beltline.org, or follow us on social media: Facebook: ArtontheAtlantaBeltLine Twitter: @atlantabeltline Instagram: @AtlantaBeltLine and @AtlantaBeltLineArt The 2021 2022 Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibition is presented by Northside Hospital and WarnerMedia. Additional sponsors include Kroger and Ponce City Market at the Gold level; Edward Jones at the Silver level; and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta at the Patron level. The 2022 2023 Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibition is presented by Northside Hospital. Additional sponsors include Ponce City Market at the Platinum level; Cox Enterprises and Empire Communities at the Silver level; and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta at the Bronze level. The Art on the Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade is sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and Ponce City Market at the Platinum level; The Coca-Cola Company, Cox Enterprises, and REI at the Gold level; and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta at the Silver level. This program is supported in part by the City of Atlanta Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs. Major funding for this organization is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. This program is supported in part by Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia Council for the Arts also receives support from its partner agency the National Endowment for the Arts. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit http://www.arts.gov. About the Atlanta BeltLine Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.s vision is to be the catalyst for making Atlanta a global beacon for equitable, inclusive, and sustainable city life. As one of the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs in the United States, the Atlanta BeltLine is building a more socially and economically resilient Atlanta with our partner organizations and host communities through job creation, inclusive transportation systems, affordable housing, and public spaces for all. For more information on the Atlanta BeltLine, please visit http://www.BeltLine.org. About Art on the Atlanta BeltLine Art on the Atlanta BeltLine is largest temporary public art exhibition in the history of Atlanta. It showcases the work of hundreds of visual artists, performers, and musicians along the Atlanta BeltLine corridor. This spectacular project places working professionals alongside emerging artists and draws residents and visitors into some of the most unique public spaces in the City of Atlanta, providing powerful perspectives on the city and its vibrant neighborhoods. The exhibition showcases how art strengthens and beautifies current and former industrial areas and creates signature spaces exemplifying the transformation of the city through the Atlanta BeltLine. Art on the Atlanta BeltLine touches almost 20 intown communities. More information about Art on the Atlanta BeltLine is available at art.beltline.org. Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Anaheim, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. The Los Angeles employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Anaheim, LLC alleging the company violated Labor Code 2699, et seq. seeking penalties for DEFENDANTs alleged violation of California Labor Code 201, 202, 203, 204 et seq., 210, 221, 226(a), 226.7, 510, 512, 558(a)(1)(2), 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198, 1198.5, and 2802. The lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Anaheim, LLC is currently pending in the Orange County Superior Court, Case No. 22PSCV00242. To read a copy of the Complaint, please click here. According to the lawsuit filed, Prime Healthcare Anaheim, LLC allegedly failed to fully relieve Plaintiff and other Aggrieved Employees for their legally required thirty (30) minute meals breaks. Employees were also allegedly required, from time to time, to work in excess of four (4) hours without being provided the legally required ten (10) minute rest periods. The California Supreme Court defines off-duty rest periods as time during which an employee is relieved from all work related duties and free from employer control. PAGA is a mechanism by which the State of California itself can enforce state labor laws through the employee suing under the PAGA who do so as the proxy or agent of the state's labor law enforcement agencies. An action to recover civil penalties under PAGA is fundamentally a law enforcement action designed to protect the public and not to benefit private parties. The purpose of PAGA is not to recover damages or restitution, but to create a means of "deputizing" citizens as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. For more information about the lawsuit against Prime Healthcare Anaheim, LLC, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today. Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is a labor law firm with law offices located in San Diego County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, Sacramento County, Santa Clara County, Orange County and San Francisco County. The firm has a statewide practice of representing employees on a contingency basis for violations involving unpaid wages, overtime pay, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination and other types of illegal workplace conduct. ***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT*** Purchase the 2022 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition at Capital Honda. Currently, the Capital Honda inventory houses a 2022 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition priced at a sale price of $55,450. The vehicle is powered by a 3.5L 24-valve, Direct Injection, SOHC, i-VTEC V6 engine producing 280 horsepower and an Intelligent Variable Torque Management (i-VTM4) AWD system. With a towing capacity of 5,000lbs., the 2022 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition possesses exterior features such as 18-inch Black aluminum-alloy wheels, a Black bumper skid garnish, a gloss black chrome front grille bar, a Black Edition grille emblem, and black heated power door mirrors. The vehicle also features safety and driver assistance features like auto high beam, rear cross-traffic monitor system, forward-collision warning system, lane departure warning system, lane-keeping assist system, brake assist, hill start assist, SmartVent side airbags, HondaLink Assist Automatic Emergency Response System, and dual-stage multiple-threshold front airbags. Customers interested in the 2022 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition can schedule a test drive of the vehicle at the dealerships website at http://www.capitalhonda.com. Buyers can also drop in at 40 Lower Malpeque Road in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, or call 902-566-1101 for further information regarding the 2022 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition. Mercy College President Timothy L. Hall Dr. Timothy L. Hall announced today that he will retire from his position as President of Mercy College in June 2023 after nine years. Hall joined Mercy College in 2014 from Austin Peay State University where he served as the President. His tenure at Mercy College is cemented by his tireless efforts of service to the College through student success initiatives, academic excellence, fiscal stability and commitment to establishing impactful relationships within the communities in which the College serves. The Board and I express our sincere gratitude to Tim for his years of dedication in helping to erase the equity gap for all students at Mercy College, his financial acumen in ensuring Mercys financial stability and his dedication to transforming the lives of our students, said Joe Gantz, Mercy College Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In the coming weeks we will share more details on the selection process for the next College President and I hope you will all join me in celebrating Tim for his unwavering service and dedication to Mercy College. Recognized as New Yorks largest, private, nonprofit Hispanic Serving Institution, Hall is lauded for continuing the 72-year legacy of Mercy and for his steadfast leadership through the unprecedented and ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic. He is responsible for many impactful initiatives including increasing retention and graduation rates, improving career success outcomes, ensuring financial stability with a robust endowment and an A financial rating from Standard & Poors, solidifying the agreement with the College of New Rochelle to teach-out 1,800 students and launching the Division of Workforce Credentialing and Community Impact. Additionally, under his leadership, the College was recognized by the White House in 2015 as a Bright Spot in Hispanic Education. After nearly eight years of service at Mercy College, my wife and I are announcing our intent to retire in a little more than a year. As has happened to us before, we relocated to New York in 2014, expecting to undertake a new job and discovering instead a new home, said Tim Hall, Mercy College President. We have come to love the students, the faculty, the staff, and the alumni of Mercy College, with their wonderfully different hopes and dreams and histories, all finding shelter among the academic structures established by the Sisters of Mercy nearly three-quarters of a century ago. We wish the College a prosperous and meaningful future, continuing its mission of being consumed in service. Highlights of President Halls service to Mercy College include: Student Success Paramount to his work at Mercy, President Hall established a series of scalable, evidence-based strategies to increase rates of achievement for all students and especially for students of color known as the Mercy Success Toolkit. He expanded the nationally recognized PACT Mentoring Program designed to provide student mentorship and counseling. Through these efforts, there has been a 5.2 percentage point improvement in retention and an 18.8 percentage point improvement in six-year graduation rates. Narrowing the Equity Gap Through his dedication to erasing the equity gap among all students, especially students of color, President Hall has worked to bring awareness to systemic racism within higher education with numerous Op-Eds in national publications. Teach-Out Agreement with the College of New Rochelle In 2019 Mercy finalized a teach-out agreement with the College of New Rochelle (CNR) to provide a seamless pathway to graduation for more than 1,800 students facing uncertainty when CNR closed. Centered on the shared mission of service, the agreement also ensured the preservation of CNRs 118-year-old history and through the establishment of a CNR Legacy Fund and alumni program dedicated to its 50,000 alumni. Strong Financial Standing In 2021 Mercys A credit rating was reaffirmed by Standard & Poors Rating Services shining a spotlight on Mercys keen fiscal management as well as the Colleges leadership in addressing the needs of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic Impact President Hall serves on the board of the Westchester County Association and under his leadership, Mercy has been an economic driver in the community with a total economic impact of more than $400 million. MercyManhattan Campus Expansion In 2018 Mercy expanded and fully renovated its MercyManhattan Campus in New York Citys famed Herald Square to 95,000 square feet to include enhanced academic space for students and faculty, state-of-the-art classrooms, contemporary living room spaces and Dorm 34. Donor Supported Scholarship Programs One of the scholarship programs established under President Halls leadership was the Mercy Scholars Program developed with lead donors to enable high-achieving students to graduate with little to no debt. Recognition and Distinctions Through President Halls tenure, Mercy has been federally recognized as both a Hispanic Serving Institution and a Yellow Ribbon School for Veterans and awarded the Best College in Westchester by Westchester Magazine in 2019 and 2020. President Hall has been recognized for his leadership by City & State Magazine in their Power 100 List for Westchester and New York City, awarded the Individual Changemaker Award by Nonprofit Westchester, the Effective Leadership Award by The Latino Center on Aging and the Distinguished Leader Award by Education Update. More information on plans to celebrate President Halls lasting impact will be shared in the coming months. If you would like to schedule an interview with President Hall, please contact Laura Plunkett at lplunkett@mercy.edu or 914.674.7736. About Mercy College Founded in 1950 by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy College is an independent, coeducational college that offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs within five schools: Business, Education, Health and Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The vibrancy of the College culture is sustained by a diverse student body from around the region. The College has campuses in Dobbs Ferry, Bronx and Manhattan as well as online offerings. Drivers can sell their old cars for cash at Gale Toyota in Enfield, Connecticut, by following a simple process. Drivers who are looking to sell their current vehicles for cash can do so at Gale Toyota, an automotive dealership in Enfield, Connecticut. The dealership follows a straightforward process for buying vehicles which includes three simple steps. To start the selling process, customers must visit the dealerships website to fill in details about their vehicles. Individuals must inform the dealership about their cars condition and specific features. After the drivers share that information, the dealership will give an instant cash offer which will be valid for seven days. Within those seven days, customers must visit the dealership with the vehicle they want to sell. The dealerships team of experts will verify the condition of the vehicle and then start the buying process. At the dealership, drivers can also trade in their old vehicle for a new one. Whether they sell or trade their vehicles, the offer value will remain the same. Interested parties can contact Gale Toyotas team by dialing 860-269-3608 to start the selling process. Moreover, they can visit the dealership at 50 Palomba Drive in Enfield, Connecticut, for further information. GenEon's 10th Anniversary Celebration Sustainability and a concern for health, wellness, and the Earth have moved from a "nice-to-have" solution to a must-have for every industry. Anyone who spends time indoors wants to see that there's a genuine concern for their health and those around them. GenEon Technologies, a provider of healthy and sustainable cleaning, degreasing, sanitizing, and disinfecting products, is thrilled to be celebrating its 10th anniversary during Earth Day as well as the industry recognition and reputation they've built over the years. GenEon offers cleaners, degreasers, sanitizers, and disinfectants that are made on-demand using nothing more than water, electricity, and natural minerals; GenEon's proprietary disinfecting product is registered to kill the human coronavirus and is on the EPA List N registration (91112-2). The company's products utilize Electrochemical Activation technology (ECA), which is more effective and safer than traditional chemicals and disinfectants. Additionally, GenEon helps organizations in all industries meet and exceed health and safety standards since the company's products do not leave behind harmful chemical residues or produce harsh fumes. The company continues to innovate with products that are simple, safe, sustainable, and smart the four qualities that make their on-site generation cleaning systems accessible for everyone. GenEon has become recognized as the premier leader in offering safe cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting solutions for professional and consumer markets. Some notable mentions of the organizations that GenEon has worked with are: Georgia Tech, Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Spelman College (Atlanta), Fresno Yosemite International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, West Point Military Academy, and more than 150 Cortland communities nationwide have benefited from what the company has to offer. GenEon has provided its products and solutions to many educational institutions and districts in California, such as Fresno State College, Harvey Mudd College, and the unified school districts of Natomas, Kings Canyon, Elk Grove, and Fresno, to name a few. Pat Hill is the Supervisor of Housekeeping Services at Spelman College, and here's what she had to say about GenEon. "I love using GenEon's Instaflow because it's easy to use, no harsh chemicals that could affect the staff, and I'm extremely happy with the performance of the product in how it degreases, cleans, sanitizes, and disinfects." Hill then said switching to GenEon's products helped reduce absenteeism on campus, allowed her campus to reach its sustainability goals, and drastically cut the yearly costs of purchasing cleaning and disinfecting solutions from roughly $60,000 to $1,200 in just one year. Hearing success stories similar to Hill's is not uncommon for the company, and there are more testaments like it on their testimonials page. Georgia Tech reduced its budget for buying chemical cleaning products by 90.7%, saving an estimated $300,000 a year after its custodial staff switched to using GenEon's safe and sustainable products. Larry Smith, VP of Sales at GenEon, said, "Sustainability and a concern for health and wellness have moved from a 'nice-to-have' solution to a must-have in every industry. Anyone who spends time indoors wants to see that there's a genuine concern for their health and those around them while preserving the health of our planet at the same time." Smith is a firm believer that sustainability and improving profitability can, and often do, go hand-in-hand. GenEon and its network of distributors are helping communities live and exist in healthier and more hygienic spaces every day. They're proud to work together and bring their ground-breaking cleaning solutions to customers across the country. The recognition they've earned throughout the years and the various industries, communities, and educational organizations they've helped during the pandemic is a cause worth celebrating, especially when their anniversary as a sustainable company symbolically falls on Earth Day. Per Syd Williams, GenEon's VP of Client Services, the company plans to release an additional lineup of products that generate cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting solutions on-site, without waste or plumbing required. GenEon's mission is to develop products, systems, and solutions that help clients and business partners transition to a world where sustainable cleaning is the new norm for safe, superior, and cost-effective results. Whether a client needs products to clean or to eliminate harmful germs and create a healthier environment, GenEon Technologies has the solution. The company has more updates in the pipeline as they celebrate 10 years of providing eco-friendly and sustainable products, so visit GenEon Technologies or call 866. 217.0205 to learn more about their innovative solutions. Cold Chain Federation and Star Refrigeration Webinar Several useful tools and techniques have been developed in recent years to identify where there is scope for improvement and then continue to monitor performance to ensure that the benefit is long-lasting, not temporary Cold Chain organisation representing temperature-controlled businesses across the UK will host a webinar spotlighting the importance of implementing energy efficiency control measures to reduce refrigeration systems' energy consumption and carbon emissions. The Cold Chain Federation invited Dr Andy Pearson, Group MD at Star Refrigeration, to present findings from industry research he has carried out over the past years on improving the energy efficiency of temperature-controlled storage facilities. Dr Pearson will raise awareness of the importance of harnessing data from refrigeration systems to drive energy costs savings and carbon reductions. The topic is now more critical than ever if the industry is to meet the recently revised Climate Change Agreement energy efficiency targets of 6.67% by the end of 2022 against the 2018 baseline. Dr Pearson said, With the existing challenges of raising energy prices only set to intensify, the demands placed upon the sectors operating profits are substantial. Despite this, recent research has shown that there is a massive variation in the energy use of cold storage buildings, with some buildings requiring up to ten times more electricity than others of similar size and throughput. Several useful tools and techniques have been developed in recent years to identify where there is scope for improvement and then continue to monitor performance to ensure that the benefit is long-lasting, not temporary. Star Refrigeration has a long-standing relationship with the Cold Chain Federation, having worked with many of its members for the last decade, and it is always an honour to be able to share Stars innovations and expertise at their events. Dr Pearson has been tracking energy performance developments since the 1990s and has been at the centre of several of Stars recent innovations in this area. He will review that recent work, showing how some very simple measures can be used to identify, achieve and maintain energy improvements in the long term. Star Refrigeration has recently launched a Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) benchmarking app, which temperature-controlled storage facilities can use to measure site energy output against industry best practice guidelines and competitor performance. SEC can also be used to forecast future energy usage as well as a predictor of the effectiveness of planned improvements to cold stores and it will be welcomed by the sector, as increased costs put the squeeze on operators and pressure to lower harmful emissions builds. The company is set to expand its current work on the monitoring of cooling equipment by combining digitalisation and people intelligence to unlock the power of data to accurately identify inefficiencies in cooling equipment and forecast the business performance of temperature-controlled storage facilities. A Chartered Engineer, Dr Pearson has contributed to many industry organisations in the UK, Europe and North America, including terms served as President of the Institute of Refrigeration, a member of ASHRAEs Refrigeration Committee and as a director of the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration. He is currently chair of the British Standards Institutes committee on refrigeration safety and environmental issues and represents UK interests in CEN and ISO committees and working groups. The Cold Chain Federations Connect webinar is part of a series of online conferences designed to keep cold chain professionals up to date with developments that affect the industry. Dr Pearsons webinar will be held on 26th April 2022 from 12:30 pm -1:15 pm. To attend the free event, register at https://www.coldchainfederation.org.uk/event/harnessing-the-data-from-your-refrigeration-systems-to-drive-energy-cost-savings/. A recording of the session will also be available online after the event via the Cold Chain Federations website. To find out more about the Cold Chain Federation and the Climate Change Agreement, go to https://www.coldchainfederation.org.uk/. To find out more about Stars Refrigeration advancements in energy efficiency and data monitoring of refrigeration systems for the cold chain sector, visit https://www.star-ref.co.uk/service-categories/data-monitoring/. Blockchain for the automobile industry Blockchain has been a reliable option for efficient data storage guaranteeing accuracy, permanence, and security. Autonomous driving technology can leverage blockchain for real-time decentralized data along with enhanced system security against hackers. International blockchain development company HashCash Consultants announced their collaboration with a major Japanese automobile company. The US-based company will be working on building a prototype that optimizes data security in the upcoming autonomous driving sector, powered by blockchain. Major global players in the automotive and manufacturing industry segment are looking forward to blockchain incorporation for multiple advantages. While the inherent traits of blockchain are ideal for supply chains, ride-sharing, and in-vehicle payment systems through crypto, the possibilities are limitless, owing to its seamless integration with other technologies, and real-time transparent immutable data-sharing. HashCash CEO and noted blockchain pioneer Raj Chowdhury acknowledged blockchains revolutionary potential, stating Blockchain has been a reliable option of efficient data storage guaranteeing accuracy, permanence, and security. Autonomous driving technology can leverage blockchain for real-time decentralized data along with enhanced system security against hackers. Ensuring the safety of autonomous vehicles requires very large-scale data which in turn needs processing, analysis, and shifting to the concerned sectors. The entire process must also be completed quickly and securely. Blockchain is the ideal solution for expediting the development of Level 4 and Level 5 automation, as its architecture prevents single-point entry for cybercriminals. The blockchain working mechanism allows organizations to leverage opportunities in markets, innovation, disruption, R&D, and many more. HashCash continues to reach over newer frontiers with a dedicated commitment to innovations and delivering excellence, stated Chowdhury, who had previously spoken against EU Crypto laws and advocated for the inclusion of cryptocurrencies in 401(k) plans. HashCash-designed products have been deployed in over 26 countries around the world. The company has been awarded top honors in global blockchain development, contributing to UAEs crypto transformation and partnering up with a US metaverse company. The use of blockchain in automotive industries is venturing into deeper territories with the technology propelling research in autonomous driving vehicles. Institutions and enterprises can leverage the benefits of blockchain implementation for a competitive edge, better work optimization, and new business opportunities. About HashCash Consultants: HashCash is a global software company. HashCash Blockchain products enable enterprises to move assets and settle payments across borders in real-time for Remittances, Trade Finance, Payment Processing, and more. HashCash runs a US-based digital asset exchange, PayBito & digital asset payment processor, BillBitcoins. HashCash offers exchange and payment processor software solutions, ICO services, and customized use cases. HashCash propels advancement in technology through Blockchain1o1 programs and its investment arm, Satoshi Angels. HashCash offers solutions in AI, Big Data, and IoT through its platforms, products & services. HashCash solves the toughest challenges by executing innovative digital transformation strategies for clients around the world. National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) is pleased to host the 30th annual National VOAD Conference at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, from May 2-5, 2022. The National VOAD Conference brings together disaster response and recovery professionals from across the United States for a week of networking and coordination. National VOAD members and partners will use their time in Baltimore to learn and discuss how they can continue to respond effectively, efficiently, and equitably this coming year to communities impacted by disasters. As we reflect on the important work conducted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing billion-dollar disasters, we must ensure communities impacted by disasters have access to equitable programs and resources coordinated throughout the VOAD Movement and the ability of our cooperative efforts to adapt to new realities, said April D. Wood, President & CEO of National VOAD. With that in mind, the theme of this years National VOAD Conference is Empowering Resiliency. National VOAD, with support from Walmart, is excited to announce the inaugural Walmart Diverse Outreach Scholarship Program for the National VOAD conference to support engagement for first time attendees from diverse organizations. This unique opportunity connects organizational leaders dedicated to serving underrepresented communities with other disaster experts from across the nation to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in service delivery, policy decisions and programmatic development. "Walmart is intentional about imbedding equity and inclusion in all of its philanthropic investments," said Brooks Nelson, program officer for disaster preparedness and response at Walmart. "By sponsoring this scholarship program, we aim to help community leaders get ahead of disasters and focus on equity in response so that all people can recover and be better served when a disaster strikes." In recognition of the dedication and hard work of the voluntary sector, The UPS Foundation is hosting an awards dinner and ceremony highlighting such accomplishments as Innovative Program of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. As a long-standing partner of National VOAD, The UPS Foundation provides long-term recovery programming support and innovative approaches to disaster relief to meet the needs of communities impacted by disasters. This year, the National VOAD Conference will feature industry leaders, such as FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell; Operation Hopes CEO, Chairman John Hope Bryant; and, Senior Fellow at Tulane Universitys Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy, Monica Sanders. In addition, conference attendees can take advantage of hearing from more than 115 disaster experts spanning 40 workshops, and network with National VOAD members and exhibitors throughout the week representing voluntary agencies, government, and the private sector. For more information on the weeks activities or to join us, please contact info@nvoad.org or visit our website at https://www.nvoad.org/nvoadevents/2022-national-voad-conference/ About National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) National VOAD, an association of organizations that mitigate and alleviate the impact of disasters, provides a forum promoting cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration; and fosters more effective delivery of services to communities affected by disaster. The National VOAD coalition includes 75 of the country's most reputable national organizations (faith-based, community-based and other non-governmental organizations) and 56 State/Territory VOADs, which represent Local/Regional VOADs and hundreds of other member organizations throughout the country. For more information visit http://www.nvoad.org or follow http://www.facebook.com/NVOAD, http://www.Twitter.com/NationalVOAD and https://www.instagram.com/nationalvoad. By securing a new .Earth domain, it can provide a platform for sharing how your organization is actively countering climate change, said Jacob Williams, Interlink General Manager of Domain Services. Interlink Co., Ltd., the official operator of the .Earth domain registry, announced today that its registrar partners are offering a special promotion on new .Earth domain registrations for Earth Day 2022. The theme for Earth Day 2022 is Invest in Our Planet, which focuses on how businesses, governments, and citizens need to invest in a partnership for the planet with everyone being accountable. This years Earth Day theme reinforces the need for Climate Risk Disclosures, where companies have to disclose the risks and opportunities from climate change to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Earth Day 2022 theme puts a spotlight on how the private sector needs to take the lead and invest in sustainable practices and using an .Earth domain is the foundation for communicating these disclosures. To help achieve this, the .Earth domain and its registrar partners are offering special pricing for one-year registrations of standard .Earth domain names starting at under $10.00 USD from April 22, 2022 to July 31, 2022. While there is still time to solve the climate crisis, we need to act now and invest in our planet for ourselves and future generations, said Jacob Williams, Interlink General Manager of Domain Services. By securing a new .Earth domain, it will signal that your organization is committed to enhancing the betterment of life for all, and it can provide a platform for sharing how your organization is actively countering climate change. In addition to GoDaddy, many other global domain registrars are participating in the promotion. Since its official launch in November 2015, the .Earth domain users have evolved into a large tribe of environmental organizations, geospatial companies, trade organizations, travel companies, engineering firms, new technology innovators, authors, artists, and much more. For more than five years, the .Earth domain has played a major role in uniting and healing the planet. The .Earth domain creates a safe place on the Internet which allows organizations to elevate their brands to enhance overall awareness, revenue generation, as well as expand their memberships, and grow their donor bases. To learn more about the .Earth domain, visit Voices.Earth. In addition, many organizations and individuals are sharing their voices about the benefits of a .Earth domain in our Voices.Earth podcast series. About Interlink Co., Ltd. Interlink Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo-based technology company founded in 1994. Interlink runs a successful Internet service provider (ISP) business and offers a wide range of Internet-related services. The company has been developing the .earth top-level domain (TLD) since 2011 and secured the rights to the TLD in 2014. Interlink executed a contract with ICANN, the governing authority of the global domain name system (DNS) in December 2014, allowing the company to operate the ".earth" TLD. Learn more about .earth at http://domain.earth. Afinis Board Members guide a strategic body of thought leaders and technologists who collaborate to identify the APIs the industry needs and bring them to market, said Nacha Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives and Network Development, George Throckmorton. Nachas Afinis Interoperability Standards, a membership-based organization focusing on the rapid delivery of application programming interfaces (APIs) and other financial services standards across the United States, announced its new Board of Directors. A representative mix of industry stakeholders that is responsive to the needs of its members and the broader financial services ecosystem, the Board brings together diverse voices from large and small financial institutions, fintechs, solution providers and businesses. Afinis Board Members guide a strategic body of thought leaders and technologists who collaborate to identify the APIs the industry needs and bring them to market, said Nacha Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives and Network Development, and Afinis Interoperability Standards Executive Director George Throckmorton. We warmly welcome our newest Directors, an impressive group of experts dedicated to transforming the industry through standardization. New Directors include: Alex Yang, Bank of America David Chance, Fiserv Camellia George, Koxa Anita Brady, Oracle Orlando Santos, Valley Bank The Afinis Board guides the organizations strategic direction by prioritizing the development of standardized APIs, enabling intelligent innovations to advance efficiency, surety, security and interoperability throughout the financial services industry. These APIs are shaping the evolving payments industry by helping financial institutions effortlessly communicate with one another. For example, APIs developed by Afinis provide a standardized way for businesses to submit payment instructions and check on the status of payments, retrieve information about accounts and enable senders of payments to verify that accounts are valid. Returning Board Directors include: Roy Taylor, Commerce Bank George Throckmorton, Nacha Christina McGeorge, NCR Rahul Desai, TD Bank Deborah Canale, Wells Fargo Afinis membership is open to all organizations interested in developing standardized payment-related APIs, regardless of size, type or location. Afinis standardized APIs are currently utilized by seven organizations. To join or learn more about how Afinis enhances the efficiency and security of todays modern financial industry through API standardization, visit https://afinis.org. About Nacha Nacha governs the thriving ACH Network, the payment system that drives safe, smart, and fast Direct Deposits and Direct Payments with the capability to reach all U.S. bank and credit union accounts. More than 29 billion ACH Network payments were made in 2021, valued at close to $73 trillion. Through problem-solving and consensus-building among diverse payment industry stakeholders, Nacha advances innovation and interoperability in the payments system. Nacha develops rules and standards, provides industry solutions, and delivers education, accreditation, and advisory services. Cahoot E-Commerce Fulfillment Network At its heart, Cahoot makes ecommerce and shipping greener. Ground shipping produces 85% less CO2 emissions and costs up to 50% less than air cargo. Its a win-win for the planet, the merchant, and the end consumer whenever we optimize an order! Cahoot, the leading ecommerce fulfillment provider, announced today that it is partnering with Neighborhood Forest for the second straight year to efficiently distribute trees to children around the U.S. for Earth Day. Neighborhood Forest is a non-profit that seeks to give every child the priceless joy of planting and watching trees grow. By doing so, they help beautify neighborhoods, put a dent in our carbon footprint, and instill a sense of magic, wonder, and love for the planet in our little ones. They have helped children plant over 100,000 trees since their inception in 2010, but this year will be special: theyre gearing up to give out a record 50,000 trees across 46 US states, including Canada. Cahoot is an innovative ecommerce fulfillment provider that enables online sellers to meet the demands of modern consumers while minimizing their emissions. Neighborhood Forest and Cahoot share a critical goal: they both seek to battle climate change and improve our environment. Reducing emissions from the transportation sector is critically important to the worlds ability to combat climate change. According to the EPA, the transportation sector is the single biggest contributor to US greenhouse gas emissions, creating 29% of the 6.6 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent emitted in 2019. Globally, DHL estimates that worldwide freight transport accounts for 8% of total carbon emissions. Unfortunately, ecommerce is a key driving force behind large and rising transport emissions. Consumers cant get enough of emissions-intensive just-in-time delivery. In fact, the World Economic Forum expects demand for last-mile delivery to soar by 78% globally by 2030. According to logistics professor Alan McKinnon, last-mile deliveries are the most energy-intensive stage of the delivery footprint. With last mile needs set to explode, emissions from ecommerce will rise further in the coming decade. If the world cant reverse growing emissions from ecommerce, it will be hard pressed to reach its environmental goals. Brands that take Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) seriously need to grapple with the impact of their transportation emissions - and carbon credits wont cut it. Studies administered by the UN suggest that up to 70% of carbon credit offsets do not represent valid greenhouse gas reductions. Eco-friendly fulfillment services such as Cahoot should be on the shortlist for ecommerce brands that recognize the importance of reducing emissions. Cahoots innovative nationwide fulfillment network dramatically cuts down the distance that packages need to travel for their final mile shipping, the least efficient part of the logistics process. By strategically placing inventory across the country, businesses and non-profit organizations alike can deliver items quickly while using sustainable and low-cost ground shipping. This makes Cahoot the perfect partner for Neighborhood Forest, because they minimize the cost and emissions of distributing trees for Earth Day. Cahoot Founder and CEO Manish Chowdhary elaborates, At its heart, Cahoot makes ecommerce and shipping greener. Ground shipping produces 85% less CO2 emissions and costs up to 50% less than air cargo. Its a win-win for the planet, the merchant, and the end consumer whenever we optimize an order! With more than twice as many Neighborhood Forest trees set to go out this year than last year, those emissions savings add up quickly. Vikas Narula, Founder of Neighborhood Forest, added, We are thrilled to partner with Cahoot. Together, were enabling even more families across the US to make the world greener with the additional fulfillment capabilities that Cahoot brings. Best of all, were doing it affordably and sustainably with ground shipping. Want to get involved with a fantastic organization thats dedicated to helping make our planet greener? Go to https://www.neighborhoodforest.org/ ABOUT CAHOOT Cahoot provides eCommerce order fulfillment services that power nationwide 1-day and 2-day deliveries at the lowest cost by design. Cahoot offers lower fulfillment fees because it enables merchants to fulfill for other merchants. Despite the low price, Cahoots service offers the highest SLA in the industry thanks to its top-class merchant fulfillment partners and robust software. Contact Cahoot to learn more about how they can boost your stores profitable growth. ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD FOREST Neighborhood Forest was founded in 2010 by Vikas Narula. When he was a college student in the early 1990s at Maharishi International University (Fairfield, Iowa), he learned of a free tree project started by David Kidd of Ohio. Vikas and his college friends adopted the program and gave away tens of thousands of trees to schoolchildren across southeast Iowa. What began with four schools in Minneapolis has grown to over 800 schools, libraries, and youth groups in 46 states across America and Canada. Neighborhood Forests goal is to reach every child in North America and, eventually, the world. Roland DGA Corporation will be displaying recently launched products from its eco-solvent and UV printer families at ISA International Sign Expo 2022, May 4-6, in Atlanta, Georgia. The latest additions to our lineup, such as the new TrueVIS Series printer/cutters, are elevating digital imaging performance to a whole new level. We cant wait to show visitors to our booth all the amazing things these machines can do. Andrew Oransky, Roland DGA President and CEO Roland DGA Corporation, a leading provider of large-format inkjet printers, printer/cutters, and other advanced digital devices, will be demonstrating its latest digital imaging technologies at the upcoming ISA International Sign Expo, May 4-6, in Atlanta. Visitors to the Roland DGA booth (#3131) can be among the first to see Roland DGAs newest and most innovative products in action, including the recently launched third-generation TrueVIS VG3 and SG3 wide-format printer/cutters. In addition to getting a firsthand look at the new TrueVIS Series inkjets, attendees can check out the new VersaUV LEC2 S-Series UV flatbed printer, new VersaUV LEC2 Series roll-to-roll UV printer/cutters, new introductions to the VersaUV LEF benchtop UV flatbed family, and more. The company will also be conducting live, in-booth vehicle graphic, apparel decoration, and other application demonstrations daily. This year, Roland DGA will also be sponsoring the ISA Sign Expo 2022 industry party ISA Rocks which will take place Wednesday evening, March 4 (5:30 pm to 8 pm EDT) at Atlantas renowned Restaurant Row, after the first day of the show concludes. ISA Rocks will create an opportunity for ISA Sign Expo attendees to socialize and enjoy great food and drinks served up by four top local restaurants. We are really excited to be able to interact personally with show-goers once again and allow prospective customers to get a firsthand look at our exciting product introductions, said Andrew Oransky, Roland DGA President and CEO. The latest additions to our lineup, such as the new TrueVIS Series printer/cutters, are elevating digital imaging performance to a whole new level. We cant wait to show visitors to our booth all the amazing things these machines can do. To learn more about the products Roland DGA will be displaying at ISA International Sign Expo 2022, get a free pass to the show, and register to attend the ISA Rocks industry party, visit https://www.rolanddga.com/shows. For more information on the entire ISA International Sign Expo event, or to view the complete show schedule, visit https://www.signexpo.org. About Roland DGA Corporation Roland DGA Corporation serves North and South America as the marketing, sales, distribution and service arm for Roland DG Corporation. Founded in 1981 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Roland DG of Hamamatsu, Japan is a worldwide leader in wide-format inkjet printers for the sign, apparel, textile, personalization and vehicle graphics markets; engravers for awards, giftware and ADA signage; photo impact printers for direct part marking; and 3D printers and CNC milling machines for the dental CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, part manufacturing and medical industries. To learn more about Roland DGA Corporation or the full Roland DGA product line, visit https://www.rolanddga.com. Dr. McQuitty The partnership with Smile Brands will allow us to continue to grow the practice by adding associates and expanding our hygiene care while maintaining our current culture. Smile Brands, one of the nations leading dental support organizations (DSO), is pleased to announce its new affiliate partnership with Radiate by McQuitty in Santa Fe, NM. Dr. Patrick J. McQuitty leads a team of 10 from his growing Santa Fe location. Consistently voted in the Top 3 Dental Practices in Santa Fe for over 10 years, the teams goal is to provide innovative dentistry in a comfortable and compassionate environment. The office provides general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and emergency dental services to patients in Santa Fe and the surrounding area. When looking to partner with a DSO, it was important for me to find an organization that shares our passion for quality dentistry and genuine care for our patients and community, said Dr. McQuitty. The partnership with Smile Brands will allow us to continue to grow the practice by adding associates and expanding our hygiene care while maintaining our current culture. Smile Brands will provide administrative support and services to the practice including purchasing, payroll, accounting, IT, billing, facilities management, and marketing. The business will continue to operate under the Radiate by McQuitty name and the existing staff will remain with the office. The team at Radiate by McQuitty has built an impressive reputation in the Santa Fe area, said Steve Bilt, co-founder, and CEO of Smile Brands. We are thrilled to partner with them to support their practice growth goals and streamline their day-to-day operations. About Smile Brands: Smile Brands, based in Irvine, California, is one of the largest providers of dental support services in the United States. The company supports nearly 700 affiliated practices, with more than 7,500 dedicated team members across 30 states. Smile Brands supports a portfolio of over 75 brands including well-known regional brands: Bright Now! Dental, Castle Dental, Merit Dental, Midwest Dental, Monarch Dental, and Mondovi Dental. The company provides comprehensive business support services through exclusive long-term agreements with affiliate dental groups, allowing affiliated practices to spend more time caring for patients and less time on the administrative, marketing, and financial aspects of operating a dental office. The organization receives frequent recognition for its award-winning culture and has been on Glassdoors Best Places to Work for three consecutive years. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA. Visit smilebrands.com for more information. SPECIFIC REVEAL Rapid AST System Weve performed preclinical work with Reveal for over two years now, agreed Dr. Robert Tibbetts, Associate Clinical Microbiology Director at Henry Ford, and our team has been very pleased with its performance and ease-of-use. Specific Diagnostics today announces acceptance and publication of a peer-reviewed manuscript reporting the performance of the Reveal Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) system for blood infection samples, led by co-authors Drs. Linoj Samuel and Robert Tibbetts at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. The study, titled Performance of the Reveal rapid AST system on Gram-negative blood cultures at a large urban hospital assessed the performance of Reveal compared to VITEK 2 and Sensititre, and reported 98.0% Essential Agreement, 96.4% Categorical Agreement, just 1.3% very major error, and a less than 5 hour time-to-result, averaged across all 104 strains and 24 antibiotics tested. Quality of results is one of the most important aspects we assess, but how the technology fits with our workflow is also paramount. The Specific Reveal system was easy to use, low skill and required less than three minutes of hands-on time. Equally important the system covers more antibiotics than either one of our current methods, said Dr. Samuel, Division Head, Clinical Microbiology at Henry Ford Health System. Weve performed preclinical work with Reveal for over two years now, agreed Dr. Robert Tibbetts, Associate Clinical Microbiology Director at Henry Ford, and our team has been very pleased with its performance and ease-of-use. Antimicrobial stewardship in the form of rapid escalation or de-escalation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy is crucial to circumvent the current rise in resistant bacteria, and rapid and reliable susceptibility results will go a long way to facilitate this. We are pleased to have performed the first preclinical validation of this potentially important new system. We have very much valued the clinical partnership we have had with Drs. Samuel and Tibbetts and their laboratory team at Henry Ford, said Dr. Paul Rhodes, CEO of Specific. This highly successful preclinical validation was performed with the very first Reveal instruments we produced, and now there are well over 100 deployed in Europe under CE-IVD as well as on an RUO basis in the US. With our 510k studies nearing completion we will move to FDA consideration so that with the Agencys clearance we are able to offer rapid susceptibility results to patients in the United States, said Dr. Paul Rhodes, CEO of Specific. Specific will be demonstrating the Reveal Rapid AST system at its exhibit at the 32nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon, Portugal April 23-26 and ASM Microbe June 9-13 in Washington, D.C. About Specific Specific Diagnostics has developed in vitro diagnostic systems based upon a unique, patented metabolomic signature technology that enables rapid detection and identification of microorganisms as they grow in culture. Its first commercial application applies this fundamental new platform to the rapid determination of antimicrobial susceptibility directly from positive blood cultures, as well as isolate dilutions. The SPECIFIC REVEAL Rapid AST System is not yet cleared by the FDA for use in diagnostic procedures in the United States. The SPECIFIC REVEALTM is CE Marked and available for use in Europe and in other jurisdictions outside the United States for which regulatory clearance is based upon the CE Mark. Specific is based in San Jose, CA, with subsidiaries in Ireland, France and the UK. For press inquiries, please contact: press@specificdx.com This 150th Arbor Day is especially meaningful, as its also the 50th anniversary of the Arbor Day Foundation. We're grateful we get to celebrate alongside Kimberly-Clark who has shown a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental action. - said Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation During the week of the 150th Arbor Day celebration (April 2229), the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one tree for each Instagram, Twitter or Facebook post that uses the hashtag #ArborDay, up to 75,000 trees. In celebration of their own corresponding 150th anniversary, Foundation partner and global personal care company Kimberly-Clark will provide matching funds to bring the maximum total to 150,000 trees planted. The social media campaign is designed to engage the public in learning, sharing, and celebrating trees and tree planting efforts that have a positive impact on the environment. The goal is to educate people on the benefits that trees provide to both forested ecosystems and local communities, and to raise awareness around how nature-based solutions like trees can help in the fight against climate change. This years 150th Arbor Day is especially meaningful, as its also the 50th anniversary of the Arbor Day Foundation, said Dan Lambe, Chief Executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. We are so grateful we get to celebrate alongside a partner like Kimberly-Clark who has shown a strong commitment to sustainability and environmental action. We cant wait to engage with them and their customers to create a healthier environment that strengthens forests and communities. For the past 50 years, the Arbor Day Foundation has worked to plant nearly 500 million trees around the world. Through a global network of partnerships, the Foundation facilitates projects that empower organizations of all sizes to reach their environmental and sustainability goals through measurable, impactful work. We recognize the Arbor Day Foundation as leaders in efforts to strengthen our planets forested ecosystems, said Ori Ben Shai, Kimberly-Clark President of North America Family Care. With our shared goals of making a positive contribution to the people we serve around the globe to support a healthy planet and strengthening forest dependent communities, were proud to partner with them on this campaign and into the future. The partnership will extend beyond the holiday, with Kimberly-Clark's commitment to planting 1.5 million trees with the Arbor Day Foundation by 2030. The donated trees will be designated for U.S. and Canadian forests of need. The projects will focus on reforestation in those regions. The 150th National Arbor Day celebration will be held on April 29, 2022. Many states celebrate their own Arbor Day at various times throughout the year typically during seasonally ideal planting periods but the national holiday has been traditionally held on the last Friday of April since the late 19th Century. About the Arbor Day Foundation Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters and valued partners. Since 1972, almost 500 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival. As one of the world's largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation, through its members, partners and programs, educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. More information is available at arborday.org. About Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people's most essential needs, we create products that help individuals experience more of what's important to them. Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Neve, Plenitud, Sweety, Softex, Viva and WypAll, hold the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in 80 countries. We use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build stronger communities, and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company's 150-year history of innovation, visit kimberly-clark.com. # # # A sampling of imagery from the United Methodist Interagency Just and Equitable Net-Zero Coalition first progress report. (Image courtesy of United Methodist Communications.) From energy efficiency interventions in offices to integrating sustainability practices into our many expressions of ministry, we are determined to shrink the climate impact of our ministries in the short-term and eliminate it in the long term. On Earth Day 2021, a group of United Methodist general agencies and commissions announced a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their ministries, facilities and operations and to do so through a lens of justice and equity. The coalition is working together as they learn to measure greenhouse gas emissions generated through their ministries and identify emission reduction strategies that support the flourishing of all communities. Training opportunities in 2021 included an overview of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol reporting framework, training on how to use EnergyStar Portfolio Manager (a tool that tracks energy use and emissions from buildings) and an exploratory discussion on how to center equity and justice within efforts related to net-zero. Education, training and skills development will continue in 2022. While net-zero emissions is a long-term goal, the agencies will individually set short- to medium-term targets to track progress. Initially, coalition members are setting baselines to understand the sources and quantity of emissions. This knowledge will guide the creation of interim goals and emission-reduction strategies. Ongoing tracking over time will help identify whats working and where to focus next. Because each agency generates emissions differently, the scope and focus of those strategies will vary. Leaders within each agency are actively engaged in identifying effective strategies and systems for measurement and implementation. The progress report includes summaries from each agency on their current efforts. As we set up systems for measuring and tracking the emissions we generate, were developing strategies to reduce them, said the Rev. Jenny Phillips, senior technical advisor for environmental sustainability at Global Ministries. From energy efficiency interventions in offices to integrating sustainability practices into our many expressions of ministry, we are determined to shrink the climate impact of our ministries in the short-term and eliminate it in the long term. As agencies and commissions develop plans to reduce emissions, they will also identify ways to seek to address systems that reinforce and maintain injustice. Simply attaining net-zero emissions could perpetuate the burden on communities that are suffering from our systems of extraction, production and waste, states the report. Supporting a just and equitable transition that advances racial and gender equity begins with assessing how physical facilities and current practices are connected to communities and ecosystems. For example, how do energy sources impact neighbors near and far and how should that impact determine the choice of alternative energy sources? Black, Indigenous and people of color communities, low-wealth communities, and areas of the world least responsible for climate pollution have already been disproportionately burdened by our current energy economy, says Elizabeth Chun Hye LEE, executive for economic and environmental justice and climate justice lead at United Women in Faith. As United Methodists, we reject the narrative that we must get to net-zero at any cost. As agencies, we have the opportunity to work with communities most impacted and to invest in solutions that dismantle existing structural barriers to racial and gender equity in order to build resilient flourishing communities. One note that came through clearly from agency responses is that the pandemic has transformed workplaces. The shift to hybrid or remote work creates new challenges and opportunities in emissions management. Over the past two years, many agencies and commissions have experienced emission-reducing transitions, including selling and consolidating office space. Some that share office space are considering how to work together on tracking emissions. In addition, as travel and in-person events begin to resume, agency leaders are looking at integrating emission reduction strategies into their planning. Net-zero is an important goal that will require collaboration and innovation within the broader church and beyond, said Wespaths Director of Sustainable Investment Stewardship, Jake Barnett. Our agencies look forward to continuing to partner and learn from each others differentiated expertise as we work to bring about the systemic change that will support a just and equitable net-zero future. For more information, visit http://www.resourceumc.org/net-zero-commitment. I am excited to continue to provide our community with excellence in plastic surgery at our new office location, says Dr. Mark Mitchell Jones. As of May 3rd, 2022, Atlanta Plastic Surgery Specialists, P.C. will be seeing patients at their new clinic in the Paces Pavilion medical office building at 3193 Howell Mill Road, Suite 302 in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Mark Mitchell Jones of Atlanta Plastic Surgery Specialists is a pioneer in his field with over 30 years of experience. He is an internationally educated, world-class trained and double board-certified (plastic surgery and ENT) surgeon. Dr. Jones is widely known for his ability to perform procedures with a skilled and artistic hand, offering a variety of premier plastic and reconstructive services, aesthetic procedures and the correction of complex genetic deformities. Some of his most popular services for patients include body contouring and breast surgery, facial plastic surgery, ear surgery and a full array of non-surgical procedures to help patients look and feel their best. Dr. Jones unmatched skill and mastery of both the aesthetic and the functional sides of surgery have helped him become one of the most successful plastic surgeons in the Atlanta area. I am excited to continue to provide our community with excellence in plastic surgery at our new office location, says Dr. Mark Mitchell Jones. More About Dr. Mark Mitchell Jones: Dr. Jones received his medical degree from The Medical College of Georgia and also attended the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and Oxford University Medical School in England. He completed his residencies at Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University and was selected for a Fulbright fellowship, training under world-leading plastic surgeons in Paris, France. Dr. Mark Mitchell Jones has been recognized for his surgical innovations and skill in enhancing both the aesthetics and functionality of the body. He is a scholar and a teacher in his field, contributing to medical journals and presenting at numerous conferences and events. Dr. Jones has often been featured on various television programs and in publications across the country. For more information, please contact Atlanta Plastic Surgery Specialists, P.C. at (404) 355-3566 or visit http://www.atlantaplastic.com. If you would like to know more about the Autonomous Labs lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. The Los Angeles labor law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a class action complaint against Autonomous, Inc. Which Will Do Business In California As Autonomous Labs Inc. (hereinafter, "Autonomous Labs") for allegedly failing to provide employees with legally compliant meal and rest periods. The Autonomous Labs class action lawsuit, Case No. CIVSB220474, is currently pending in the San Bernardino County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here. According to the lawsuit, Autonomous Labs allegedly violated California Labor Code Sections 201, 202, 203, 204, 221, 226, 226.7, 246, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 1198, and 2802 by failing to: (1) pay overtime wages; (2) pay minimum wages; (3) provide required meal and rest periods; (4) provide accurate itemized wage statements; (5) provide wages when due; (6) reimburse for required business expenses; and (7) unlawful deductions. The lawsuit also alleges Autonomous Labs violated the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of Autonomous Labs' conduct. PAGA allows aggrieved employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. An "aggrieved employee" is defined as "any person who was employed by the alleged violator and against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed." Cal. Lab. Code section 2699(c). PAGA allows aggrieved employees to become deputized as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. If you would like to know more about the Autonomous Labs lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are labor and employment law firms with offices located in California that dedicate their practices to fighting for employees who have been wronged by their employers due to unfair employment practices. Contact one of their attorneys today if you need help with workplace issues regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, and harassment. -THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT- Tae Keller is an Asian American author and winner of the 2021 Newbery Award for When You Trap a Tiger. Her latest novel, Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone, follows Mallory, who has always followed the rules of fitting in. But when she meets Jennifer, someone who isnt concerned about her image but has since disappeared, Mallory is forced to confront her own feelings and the truth of why Jennifer may have run away. Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone takes a hard look at bullying, through the eyes of the bully instead of the one being bullied. In your authors note you write about how you were bullied like Jennifer Chan and discussed why some bullies may act the way they do. How did you decide that this was something that you wanted to write about? When I was in middle school and I was being bullied, I gravitated towards books about bullying. What I found was a lot of books about kids who were being bullied, which was really helpful for me. But I also kept looking for books about other points of view. I was looking for a way to make sense of it, to try to understand what other people were thinking, and how this happened. I was thinking, whos the victim, whos the mean girl, whos the sidekick, the follower, all of the labels that we put onto kids and situations. In hindsight, that wasnt the healthiest way to process something. When I was writing Jennifer Chan I really wanted to be intentional. Were not just one thing. Its possible to make a mistake in a situation or to do something bad, but not be a bad person. One mistake wont define us forever. If you hurt someone, youre not just a bully for life. And that really became clear when I reached out to the kids who had bullied me. I did that because I started to write from Mallorys point of view and I really struggled because I had a lot of those emotions from when I was in middle school. I was trying to open up and think about the broader context, but I realized that I didnt have the broader context. Then I started reaching out to people and hearing from them. This idea [formed] that we all are struggling and were all trying our best and were all making mistakes and trying to fix them. That became clear when I started to talk to people as an adult. It was hard. Some conversations were really healing. Other conversations didnt go as well. That was something where I had to say, OK, maybe this person isnt at a place in their life where they want to talk about middle school. Thats fair. There were of course people who werent really interested in talking, but I also found people who were. People said things I still think about and who, I found, were also looking for a way to move forward and heal from what had happened when we were kids. This story also features interesting facts about space and extraterrestrial theories and, most prominently, aliens. Have you always been interested in aliens? Do you believe in aliens? Ive started to get this question a lot for Jennifer Chan, which Im really excited about, because its so different from the questions that I would get for When You Trap a Tiger. I didnt really think much about aliens before I started to write this book. If you had asked me before if I believed in aliens, I wouldve just said, Yeah, probably. Now I feel a bit more hesitant to give an answer just because so much of the research that I was doing about is not just about life in the universe, but the universe itself. At one point, I dove into astrophysics, which totally made my brain hurt [laughs]. Not my area of expertise at all! All of my research led me to this feeling that its not possible for us to know right now. And that is actually very exciting, letting go of this idea of certainty and absolutes. Its really freeing to be able to say, Thats a huge question and we dont know the answer. There are actually a few times where I was doing research and was like, Why arent people talking about this? so I put it in the book. One of the things is the WOW signal, which became a major plot point in the book. Basically, in a research lab, a radio telescope picked up a signal that was 72 seconds long. It was so unusual and couldnt be explained by regular space happenings, that the person on duty in his notes wrote wow, with an explanation point next to it. I did a lot of alien conspiracy research. Last year when the Pentagon released that UFOs are real, that was a big thing. When that happened, I had basically finished writing Jennifer Chan and I thought, Oh my gosh, the whole premise of my book is wrong because theyre bullying this girl for believing in UFOs and now the U.S. government has said UFOs are real. There is a powerful question that the main character, Mal, asks her mother: Do you think I am Korean? And its something Im sure a lot of immigrant and biracial kids ask themselves. What was your thought process behind that? All three of my books so far have been about biracial Korean characters coming to their identity from a different place. And all of those places have been points along my journey. Thats not a question I had as a kid growing up in Hawaii, because there was a whole community of biracial people. When I left that community and I was surrounded by mostly white people, that was a question that kept coming up for me. Where do I fit into this community? Where do I fit into the world? Since this book is so much about where do we fit into the world and how do we fit into our communities, I felt like that point on the journey made a lot of sense for Mallory. I really wanted to bring the tension between and her and her mom into the book because I think that their personalities conflict in some ways, but theres also that identity element that leads to the tension between them. Im quite close with my mom, but I know for myself and for a lot of my biracial friends, there is that feeling about being biracial, where theres this part of you thats almost afraid of disappointing that parent because you feel like you dont want them to see you moving away from their culture. That was a really interesting part of their dynamic that I wanted to bring in. Im always excited to see books by different POC authors, [about] different identities, different experiences. I am most excited for books that arent exclusively about the pain of being a person of color. There are all the different types of stories that were used to seeing about white people, [but there should be stories] letting people of color shine in the main world because that is life, not people of color going around just being sad. I also think its so important for white kids to get to read these books and grow up hearing stories about people who dont look like them, [to understand that there are] so many different types of people and recognize that were all people. What are you working on these days? I actually have a book coming out the week after Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone thats in the She Persisted series (Philomel). It is the biography of Patsy Mink, who was the first woman of color congressperson. That was really fun to write because I had grown up hearing about her and not really knowing what she did, just knowing that she was from Hawaii. Getting to research her and talk to her family and hear about all of her accomplishments was a great experience. I also have a book called Mihi Ever After (Henry Holt), which is the first book in a younger fantasy series about a Korean American girl who is able to travel into the world of Western fairy tales and kind of update these fairy tales. Its shamelessly the kind of book that I really would have loved [as a kid]. I started writing it in lockdown and it was really this escapist fantasy book that I needed to write at the time, so it was a lot of fun. Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone by Tae Keller. Random House, $17.99 Apr. 26 ISBN 978-0-593-31052-6 PEN America is expressing concern about a new bill passed by the Kentucky legislature this month, which critics say will politicize county library boards. In a move that has alarmed library supporters, SB 167which came back from the dead last week with a dramatic veto overridewill, according to the Lexington Herald Leader, empower local politicians to appoint whomever they want to library boards," as well as potentially "block major library spending. The bill appeared to be dead after Kentucky governor Andy Beshear vetoed it, and the Kentucky House of Representatives fell short of the necessary votes to override. But in a surprise maneuver last week, the override measure was revived. Given a second shot, the Kentucky House narrowly voted to override Beshears veto, carrying the measure into law. The law is scheduled to take effect in January 2023. "Though often unheralded as such, public libraries are the beating heart of democracy, making access to the universe of knowledge and information open and equitable for all," said Summer Lopez, senior director of free expression programs at PEN America, in a statement. "At a moment when book bans are sweeping the nation, this effort to hand power to politicians to wield vast control over libraries in Kentucky should be viewed as a massive alarm bell. These attempts to politicize decisions about what information the public can access and what books they can or cant read, pose a direct threat to the freedom to read. John Chrastka, executive director of EveryLibrary, an organization that supports local libraries, agrees. "This bill breaks with more than a tradition or practice of non-political library appointments. It breaks faith with the citizens of Kentucky to have no fear or favor in how decisions are made to provide access through libraries," Chrastka told PW. "The provisions in the bill to allow libraries to buy property and lease it for educational purposes is the dark heart of this legislation. There is something very troubling about it and Kentucky voters should pay attention to who championed this legislation, and why." Chrastka went on to describe 2022 as the worst year for proposed and passed state legislation in generations. And he singled out the Kentucky bill. "The political chicanery that was used to pass this bill, after the Governor's veto was legally and procedurally sustained, is a raw example of how a political minority is railroading their anti-access, anti-education, and anti-library agendas through." Kentucky Republicans told reporters the issue is fiscal accountability, pointing out that most of Kentuckys public library boards can levy taxes and should therefore answer to someone elected by voters. But critics say the bill is in fact a blatant effort to politicize library boards, and give unprecedented control over library operations to politicians. According to the Lexington Herald Leader, library directors in the state are concerned that vesting power in a single partisan political leader will lead to partisan-skewed boards with ideological interests in the material on library shelves as well as in terms of programs, services, and library buildings. "Whenever you have political control, its going to benefit that politician and their backers, Pike County library director Louella Allen told the Herald-Leader earlier this month. Its not going to be for the benefit of all the population and the needs of the entire population. As 2022 began, the U.S. trade publishing business was dominated by what has been called the Big FiveSimon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan. Before the PenguinRandom House merger in 2013, that group was referred to by PW as the Big Six; if a court battle between PRH and the Department of Justice allows PRH to acquire S&S, a deal that the government blocked in November 2021, it could shrink to the Big Four in late 2022. The shape of trade publishing in 2022 began forming just weeks before PW turned 125 in 1997. In December 1996, the Penguin Group, backed by parent company Pearson, acquired the Putnam Berkley Publishing Group from its parent company, MCA. Pearson paid $336 million for Putnam, which had sales of $276 million. With that acquisition, Penguins trade revenue hit $871.5 million in 1997. Simon & Schuster: Setting the stage In 1998 two other huge deals set the stage for the future of trade publishing in 2022. In PWs 125th year, Simon & Schuster was at the height of its publishing power. Through years of acquisitions that began in 1984, supported by parent company Gulf+Western (which was renamed Paramount Communications in 1989), S&S had grown into a publisher with revenue of more than $2 billion; the company was a major player in the trade, education, professional, and reference publishing segments. That all changed in 1998 when its new parent company, Viacom, sold all but S&Ss trade subsidiary to Pearson and the equity firm Hicks, Muse, Tate. (Pearson paid a total of $4.6 billion for the S&S assets, and sold the reference, business, and professional groups to Hicks, Muse for $1 billion, leaving Pearson with a bill of $3.6 billion for the school, higher education, and international groups.) The S&S trade group, which had sales of about $650 million in 1998, moved to CBS when Viacom split its operations into two separate companies, Viacom and CBS in 2006. In 2020, when Viacom and CBS reunited, S&S became part of the newly formed ViacomCBS, which quickly put the publishing house up for sale. Looking at PWs coverage of the breakup of S&S in 1998, there were questions even then whether S&S would fit within a company whose focus has ranged from growing its advertising businesses to expanding its streaming services. The sale of S&S was put on hold for years when S&S became part of CBS, but its divestiture became inevitable once CBS and Viacom merged for a second time. From the time it became a standalone publishing company at Viacom in 1998 and being sold by Viacom in 2020, S&S made only a select number of acquisitions, buying its Canadian distributor, Distican, in 2002; the Christian press Howard Publishing in 2006, and the independent publisher Adams Media in 2016. Rather than acquisitions, S&S has focused its growth efforts on internal initiatives, including starting a host of imprints, international expansion, and broadening its distribution business. In 2021, it had sales of $993 million. PenguinRandom House: Shifting strategies S&Ss strategy in the 1980s and 90s of building a publishing powerhouse in different industry areas fit into a tactic embraced by a number of companies in that eraa strategy that gradually fell out of favor as publishers, or the parent companies that owned them, decided to focus on individual segments. In 1996, HarperCollins sold its educational properties to Pearson. In 2012, Pearson itself chose to leave the trade market when it agreed to merge Penguin with Random House, selling its final stake in PRH in 2020. In 2021, HC took advantage of Houghton Mifflin Harcourts decision to focus on the learning technology space by acquiring HMHs trade division for $349 million. The creation of HMH was the result of one of the most tortured acquisition processes in recent publishing history. Before 2007, HM and Harcourt Brace (which for many years had been known as Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) were separate companies with large educational publishing businesses and smaller trade operations. In 2006, investor Barry OCallaghans Riverdeep company bought HM, and a year later OCallaghan paid $4 billion to acquire the educational and trade publishing assets of Harcourt Brace to form HMH. In 2012, with OCallaghan gone from the company, HMH filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Shortly after HMH emerged from bankruptcy, it went public in 2013 and had its share of problems navigating the changing educational publishing marketplace. It came as no surprise when HMH decided to put the trade division up for sale in late 2020, nor was it surprising that HC bought it in May 2021. Bertelsmann steps up The other seminal deal in 1998 was in March, when Bertelsmann astounded the industry by announcing its intention to acquire the U.S.s largest trade publisher, Random House, from Advance Publications, owned by the Newhouse family. Bertelsmann had been slowly but steadily building its book business in the U.S. and through a number of acquisitions was the owner of Bantam Doubleday Dell (as well as the Doubleday Direct book club business) when it bought Random House. No purchase price was disclosed, but the two companies were estimated to have had combined revenue of $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion that year. News of Bertelsmanns intention to acquire RH brought similar reactions to those in 2012 when the RH-Penguin deal was announced and later in 2020 when PRHs plans to buy S&S were announced. According to PW in its Mar. 30, 1998, issue, amid an initial reaction of shocked disbelief, a flurry of concerns were raised, particularly by authors and agents, who feared a diminution of the competitive marketplace, a watering down of the Random groups role as one of the more literary, tradition-minded publishers, and an even tougher time ahead for quality midlist titles, as opposed to high-budget glamour books with targeted readerships. There were also fears expressed, particularly among staff members of the two huge houses that will now be merged, over likely duplication of functions and resulting job losses. We would like to play a role in shaping the future of the book publishing industry. Peter Olson, following Bertelsmanns purchase of Random House in 1998. In response, Peter Olson, who would lead the new RH, told PW the editorial autonomy and independence of the various imprints, on which the Random group in particular had always prided itself, would be maintained. Olson also noted that as other large media companies abandoned trade publishing or books altogether, Bertelsmann would be increasing its commitment. The book business has been and always will be a core business for Bertelsmann, be it through direct marketing, online retailing or trade book publishing, he said, adding, All three businesses will be run at arms length from each other. Olson noted that Bertelsmann planned to continue investing in the book business; We would like to play a role in shaping the future of the book publishing industry, he declared. Though Olson left RH in 2008, Bertelsmann has indeed played a key role in creating the modern American trade publishing market, under the leadership of Markus Dohle. In 2012, Bertelsmann and Pearson announced their plan to combine Penguin and Random House in a deal that would give Bertelsmann a 53% stake in the new publisher while Pearson would have a 47% stake. The deal was completed on July 1, 2013, and over the next several years Bertelsmann gradually bought out Pearsons PRH share. In 2021, PRH had worldwide revenue of more than $4.5 billion, with about $2.6 billion generated in the U.S. Prior to the Penguin deal, Random House had made a series of smaller acquisitions in the U.S., acquiring the audiobook company Listening Library in 1999, the childrens book publisher Golden Books in 2001, Rough Guides in 2002, the religious press Multnomah in 2006, and Ten Speed Press in 2009. Following the Penguin deal, PRH bought Sasquatch Books, a distribution client, in 2017, acquired the assets of Rodale Books in 2018, and in 2019 took a 45% stake in the independent publisher Sourcebooks. HarperCollins emerges The move that was the major catalyst to allow HarperCollins to grow into the U.S.s second-largest trade publisher occurred in 1987 when News Corp bought Harper & Row. A year later, H&R became a major factor in religion publishing in the U.S. with its purchase of Zondervan. In the next major event, in 1989, News Corp bought U.K.-based William Collins, and the following year H&R and William Collins were merged to form Harper- Collins. Over the course of the last 25 years, HC has added companies in both the U.S. and U.K., as well as making acquisitions in some other countries as well. Bolstered by those deals, HCs total revenue was over $2 billion (including about $23 million coming from the HMH May 2021 purchase), with an estimated two-thirds of its revenue coming from the U.S. In the U.S., HC made three major acquisitions between 1997 and its purchase of the HMH trade division last year. In 1999, the company acquired Morrow and Avon from the Hearst Corp., a deal that added roughly $210 million and propelled HC into its current status as the countrys second largest trade publisher. Also in 1999, HC added two other companies, the pioneering African American publisher, Amistad Press, plus the literary house Ecco Press. Its next major move came in 2011 when HC secured its place as the countrys largest religion book publisher with the purchase of Thomas Nelson for $200 million. The deal did not actually close until 2012, after a government review of the purchase, which examined how large a share of the religion publishing market the combination of Zondervan and Nelson would command. The deal was approved without HC needing to make any divestitures. In a surprising move, in 2014 HC acquired Harlequin for C$455 million. Headquartered in Toronto, but with offices in many overseas countries, Harlequin had sales of about C$400 million in 2013. HC CEO Brian Murray noted that with one deal, we have greatly expanded our international footprint. From AOLTWBG to Hachette Todays Hachette Book Group began to be formed in 19891990 when Time Inc., the parent company of Little, Brown (as well as the since closed Time-Life Books, and Book-of-the Month Club, which was sold), merged with Warner Communications, parent company of Warner Books. When the mammoth deal was completed, the book operation was combined into the Time Warner Trade Publishing group. On Jan. 1, 2002, the book groups name was changed to the AOL Time Warner Book Group following the merger of AOL and Time Warner, a deal considered one of the worst in corporate history. The merger generated a huge amount of debt that AOLTW tried to pay down, in small part, by looking to sell its book publishing properties in 2003. No deal materialized then, but in April 2006 the French conglomerate Lagardere bought the Time Warner Book Group for $537.5 million (TWBG had estimated 2006 sales of $510 million). Since it has become part of Lagardere, the Hachette Book Group has made six significant acquisitions, beginning in 2013 with the purchase of about 1,000 adult titles from Disneys Hyperion imprint. In 2015, the company added Black Dog & Leventhal, followed in 2016 by the purchase of the publishing division of the Perseus Books Group, which had sales of about $100 million. In 2018, HBG acquired the Christian book house Worthy Publishing, and added more than 1,000 childrens titles in a deal with the Disney Book Group in 2020. In 2021, HBG made its biggest acquisition, buying the Workman Publishing Group, which had 2020 sales of $134 million, for $240 million. In 2021, the U.S. and Canada accounted for 28% of Lagarderes 2021 revenue of 2.6 billion ($2.9 billion at current exchange rates). Holtzbrinck Becomes Macmillan The final member of what is still the Big Five, Macmillan Publishers, has largely stood pat in terms of acquisitions over the past 25 years. Macmillan is owned by the German media company Holtzbrinck, which first entered the American trade market in 1985 when it acquired Holt, the trade division of Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Nine years later, it upped its presence in the U.S. with the purchase of the prestigious literary house, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Its biggest move in terms of size, however, came in 1995, when it acquired the Macmillan Group, which included St. Martins Press, Tor, Nature, Macmillan, and the U.K.s Pan Macmillan. Its lone major acquisition in the trade area since 1997 was the 2001 purchase of Audio Renaissance, a deal that moved Macmillan into the audiobook publishing business. Holtzbrinck augmented its lean acquisition strategy by backing internal growth, particularly in expanding its presence in childrens publishing through the Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group. On the adult side, it has added important imprints including Flatiron Books in 2014 and Celadon Books in 2019. Though its U.K. trade business has always operated under the Macmillan brand, in building its trade publishing business in the U.S., Holtzbrinck placed its companies under the Holtzbrinck label since the Macmillan name in America had been owned by Pearson following its 1998 purchase of the Simon & Schuster educational and professional group, which included various Macmillan properties. In fall 2007, Holtzbrinck acquired rights to the Macmillan name in the U.S. for both its trade and college businesses. Below, more on the top publishers in the industry. Publishing's Big Five Today (But Do Stay Tuned) A steady flurry of mergers and acquisitions has dominated the book publishing sector since the 1990s, although for the moment, the next big M&A movePRH purchasing S&Sis on pause. The campus community is invited to the Convergence Center Connections networking event at 2-6:30 p.m. today (April 22), hosted by the College of Agriculture, College of Engineering, Office of Industry Partnerships and Purdue Research Foundation. A keynote discussion on the "Future of Where Agriculture and Engineering Best Intersect" will be held at 4 p.m. with Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, and Mung Chiang, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. Mitch Frazier, CEO of AgriNovus, will act as moderater, and Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity, will provide opening remarks. The event also will feature poster networking sessions by the College of Agriculture, College of Engineering and Institute of Food Technologists Indiana Section and the "Fermentation Frenzy," a celebration of the various forms of fermentation from home-fermented vegetables to breweries and distilleries to industrial fermentation. Food and beverage trucks will be available; attendees receive a coupon for a free beverage or food item. Attendees may register for the free event in the Convergence Center foyer. Activities will be held in tents east of Convergence Center, and free parking is available south of the building. For more information, contact Torbert Rocheford at torbert@purdue.edu or 217-417-5093. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/22/2022 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. alum Maurissa Gunn has dished about her breakup with Riley Christian and how it was "a difficult situation" pretty much right when they left the beach in Mexico.Maurissa, who first competed on Peter Weber 's The Bachelor season in 2020 before getting engaged to Riley on 's seventh season in Summer 2021, said "it takes two to tango" and make a relationship work, suggesting that Riley may not have done his part.Following weeks of breakup speculation, Riley and Maurissa confirmed their split in a joint statement on January 24, three months after their engagement aired on 's October 2021 finale."Clearly you guys saw me on the beach all the time, like, breaking down, thinking he was not as into me as I was him," Maurissa said on a recent episode of Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti 's "The Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous podcast."Maurissa, 25, continued of when her relationship with Riley began going south, "I was all in, so in love from Day 1, you know? And that's kind of where it started -- like that feeling that I had there in Paradise was kind of the feeling that just continued to go on."Maurissa suggested she had ignored the warning signs and red flags with the New York-based attorney and fitness enthusiast."I get upset with myself, [like], 'You knew it right then and there, but you were just trying to like work through the circumstances,'" Maurissa revealed, adding how she was thinking at the time, "Oh, you're kind of being a little nuts, like, he's so into you."Maurissa also said Riley's feelings for her were pretty apparent on the show when watching it back on TV."[I thought], 'He's not into anyone else or doing anything [wrong].' And for me, the feelings still carried over throughout our whole relationship," Maurissa explained.In late February, The Bachelor alum Demi Burnett appeared to suggest Riley may have been at fault for the split, and Maurissa "liked" the tweet."Y'all got the Maurissa and Riley break up SO WRONG ," Demi tweeted on February 3, adding, "I'm mad at the BS being portrayed!... I don't want to talk about it bc it's stressful and not my business to tell! BUT LOOK DEEPER LISTEN TO UR INTUITION."And several weeks later, Maurissa appeared to slam Riley by retweeting two of The Bachelor alum Deandra Kanu 's Twitter posts that were also seemingly aimed at Riley, 32."I'm not an inherently messy person, but when I see things in real time and then see someone skew that perception for social media it's very scary," Deandra wrote at the time."It's not okay by any means to be the catalyst of your own demise and then go onto socials and ask for the publics sympathy," she added in a second tweet. "There are always two sides to a story."While Deandra didn't name Riley directly, her tweets came only one day after Riley posted a lengthy statement on Instagram about how he was trying to "heal" and bounce back from his breakup with Maurissa.Maurissa initially sparked the Riley breakup rumors in early January when she'd post cryptic messages such as "don't worry, be happy" and began slowly removing photos of Riley from her Instagram account, seemingly taking jabs at her ex-fiance.Maurissa also shared a video without her engagement ring and a cryptic quote that read, "All that glitters is not gold," which suggested Riley may not have been all that he was cracked up to be.Maurissa, however, told Ashley and Ben that she doesn't think Riley went on with bad intentions, looking for something other than love."I think that being in the circumstances we were in, it became reality, like, coming off of the show, you know?" Maurissa said."And sometimes who you meet on the show is not who they are after the show, if that makes sense. I'm not trying to shade in any way. Everything we [went through] -- our whole relationship was legit, of course. I loved him from the bottom of my heart, I'm sure he loved me back. But it just didn't work out. There's no shade."She added, "I was kind of going down to make this person happy rather than meeting [in the middle] or helping each other grow."But Maurissa advised future contestants to trust your gut, be true to yourselves, and know what you deserve and really want."Make sure you're compatible with how you want to raise kids, how you want to have family, things like that, where you want to live. I made the mistake by trying to sacrifice everything going into it for love," said Maurissa, who moved from Atlanta , GA, to New York to be with Riley after the show."But I mean, I don't think it was really a sacrifice -- when you're in love, that's what you do... I'm still questioning it myself."Maurissa, who is originally from Montana, is now back in Atlanta after the breakup."I clearly want love, I want marriage. I want babies," Maurissa shared.Maurissa actually went on a date recently -- which apparently didn't work out -- and revealed, "I'm dating. I'm trying to date... I'm older, I'm more mature now. I've been here and I know what I want in a man. I think I was unsure going in [to The Bachelor franchise]."Maurissa also said she'd keep an open mind about potentially returning to again.As for what she's looking for in an ideal partner, Maurissa disclosed, "I'm looking for someone that knows what they want, and doesn't just say they know what they want.""They're very ambitious. Someone that wants the same things I want... I know the right questions to ask, you know? I know not to just fall in love with somebody right away that says, 'Oh, you're pretty... and I want to take you on a date.'"Maurissa confessed that's "the mistake" that she made before."I feel like I was just so ready for love that I would take anything at that point. And now I found myself -- I've done a lot of, like, help. I've been through therapy, a lot of things like that," Maurissa said."And I just know my worth and myself now. Because at first, I feel like I was kind of going down, like, to make this person happy rather than meeting or making each other grow."Back in October 2021, Maurissa told People that she was planning to have a "wedding and then some babies" with Riley.When Maurissa accepted a pear-shaped diamond engagement ring from Riley on the beach in Mexico in Summer 2021, the pair became the franchise's first-ever Black couple to get engaged.Riley and Maurissa fell head over heels in love with each other in Paradise, but Riley was still a little unsure as to whether he was going to pop the question after the pair's overnight Fantasy Suite date.Riley assured People last year that it "was never a thought" to leave the resort alone but he had to take a moment or two to reflect on the idea of potentially making Maurissa his fiancee."[I thought to myself], 'This is everything that you've ever wanted -- having a fiancee and being able to start a family.' I knew where I was already leaning towards," Riley explained at the time."It's just like, 'This is a big decision, take some time to think about it. Okay, you thought about it.' It didn't take that long. 'And now, go propose and get your lady.'"Riley proceeded to call himself the "luckiest" man in the world to have Maurissa by his side.Prior to appearing on , Riley competed on Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams ' edition of The Bachelorette in 2020.Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group Karol G and Bad Bunny were the biggest winners at Thursday night's 2022 Latin American Music Awards. ADVERTISEMENT Karol G took home a total of six awards including Artist of the Year, Favorite Artist -- Female and Favorite Artist -- Urban as well as Album of the Year and Favorite Album -- Urban for her record KGO516. Bad Bunny, who entered the night leading the field with 10 total nominations, ended with five victories including Favorite Artist -- Male and Song of the Year for his collaboration with Jhay Cortez "Dakiti." The awards were held at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for the first time and broadcast live on Telemundo featuring hosts Rafael Amaya, Jacqueline Bracamontes and Cristian de la Fuenta. The Black Eyed Peas opened the show with a bilingual performance of their 2003 hit "Where is the Love" as they were joined by 20 artists including Ozuna, CNCO, Prince Royce, Sofia Reyes and Ukrainian artist NK, who waved the flag of the nation that was invaded by Russia in February. Other big winners Thursday night included Aventura who were voted Favorite Duo or Group, Selena Gomez who won Favorite Artist -- Pop. Favorite Album -- Tropical winner Romeo Santos and The Weeknd who was named Favorite Crossover Artist. Mexican artist Christian Nodal was honored with the Extraordinary Evolution award recognizing " a young performer who haas demonstrated change and accelerated growth as an artist, to reach the pinnacle of success in a short period of time." After receiving the award he performed a medley of his songs including "Adios Amor," "De Los Besos Que Te Di," "Probablemente," "Ya No Somos Ni Seremos" and he was also joined by Gera MX for their joint hit "Botella Tras Botella." With music and the smell of food filling the air, people pop in and out of different booths that dot the land at the outdoor Brattleboro Area Farmers Market that opened for the season on Saturday, May 7, 2022, and will run every Saturday until Oct. 29. You are the owner of this article. Ashley Hescock, a second-grader teacher at Dover Elementary School, removes the plastic cover on a Plexiglas window inside the divider was put on each students desk during the early days of the pandemic. Ed Baker is a retired licensed alcohol/drug counselor of 30 years, resides in Burlington and has been in recovery from addiction for more than 37 years. Jay Diaz is general counsel for the ACLU of Vermont and lives in Williston. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate CAIRO (AP) When the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins, a battle rages in Habiba Khanoms mind: If she goes without food or drink, is she doing it for God or because of her anorexia? Deep down she knows the answer, and it saddens her. If I did fast, it would be for my eating disorder, said Khanom, a 29-year-old London resident. The religious duty that many Muslims find soul-nourishing can, in her case, offer permission ... to fall back into my old habits and lose weight and kind of not get judged for it because everyone is doing it. A time of worship, contemplation and joyous gatherings with family and friends, Ramadan is also a month when food plays a central role, from the ritual daytime fasting to celebratory iftar meals to break the fast. For Muslims grappling with eating disorders, navigating those religious and social rituals can pose unique challenges. Its a struggle that they and the specialists treating them say is often largely invisible to broader society, which at times can make it all the more difficult. Understanding of eating disorders in general is minimal, said Ghena Ismail, director of the eating disorders program at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon. People are just beginning to appreciate mental illness. Fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, which this year started in early April, is a religious obligation, one of the Five Pillars or fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam. The faith allows for exceptions, however, such as for young children and sick adults. The advice Ismail gives to Muslims with eating disorders depends on each individual's stage of treatment. For those with severe symptoms, she recommends not fasting. She holds one-on-one discussions about the purpose of fasting and alternative ways to feel connected to the faith, such as reading the Quran and focusing on the charitable giving element of Ramadan. Self-compassion is key. I reframe that as part of their actual duty toward themselves and toward the relationship to the Creator, that you could not engage in any kind of ritual at the expense of your own health, Ismail said. This becomes an occasion for helping them recognize their eating disorder as a clinical condition with medical, psychological and interpersonal consequences, she continued. As for Khanom, she faces potential triggers in both the fasting and feasting elements of Ramadan. She is in recovery after developing as a teen anorexia, which typically involves severe undereating and can be fatal if not treated in time, and also bulimia, which involves the consumption of large quantities of food followed by purging. Ubiquitous conversations about food stress her out, and being invited for iftar without knowing what will be served can also be overwhelming since she prefers to plan her meals as a health measure. When I see a lot of food, Im scared Id get tempted to eat so much and then Id start purging again, she said. It was a big, big achievement to stay away from that. Since Ramadan is also the one time of the year when her family eats together, she worries that puts her under a microscope as loved ones may scrutinize whats on her plate or offer her more food. This Ramadan she has approached it on a day-by-day basis. Some days she fasted; others, she didn't. Some evenings she ate her iftar meal alone; others, with family. In a personal triumph, Khanom found herself more at peace with her decisions: Its OK if I still eat when others arent, because I am looking after myself. Recently, Beat, a U.K. charity supporting people with eating disorders, held an online discussion via Instagram about navigating Ramadan, in which Omara Naseem, a London-based psychologist specializing in such conditions, reminded anyone feeling guilty about not fasting that medical exemptions are explicitly allowed under Islam. Naseem, who has developed Ramadan guidelines for people with eating disorders, also advised them during the event to turn their attention to activities that can help them relax and feel good, while also remembering other ways of observing the holy month. In a separate Instagram post, Beat offered tips for self-care during the Christian holiday of Easter, which similarly can cause anxiety due to an increased emphasis on food and dietary routine changes. Any celebration, whether its religious or not, that centers around food can have its challenges, said Edward Emond, deputy director of services at Beat. We find a lot of people ... approaching us for support around here in the buildup to those moments. Dr. Rania Awaad, director of the Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab at Stanford University, said discussions of eating disorders and Ramadan fasting come up frequently in medical circles. When clinicians turn to her for religiously and culturally sensitive guidance, she tells them to take each case individually and consider factors such as a person's treatment stage and whether other medical conditions are involved. Dont make a blanket statement, Awaad said. Halima Said, an associate professional clinical counselor in San Diego, recently decided to create a safe space for Muslims who cannot fast because of an eating disorder. Through an organization she co-founded, virtual support groups formed that drew people from the United States and beyond, in Australia, Canada and England. From the initial plan of one session each Sunday during the month, Said doubled that due to demand. Participants found mutual support and bonded over shared struggles such as anxiety over iftar meals and dealing with comments about their bodies from family members and misunderstandings about their illnesses. The last thing that they would need pressure on is being shamed for not fasting when theyre sick, Said said. Eating disorder is an illness, and its a very manipulative illness. ___ 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. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HARTFORD The Senate has approved S.B. 117, which improves transparency and establishes standards for the removal of trees and shrubs that constitute an immediate public hazard at state parks and campgrounds, according to state Sen. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, and state Rep. Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, both members of the Environment Committee. The bill was developed based on the DEEPs hazard tree removal process at Housatonic Meadows State Park in Sharon that began on or about Nov. 12, 2021, Miner and Harding said in a release. This process resulted in the agencys removal of 120 trees absent public notice, stakeholder outreach or public hearing, they said. According to Miner, between the fall of 2021 and winter of 2022, the lawmakers twice wrote to DEEP to request information, and ultimately a public informational meeting with agency staff was held. When you take 120 trees out of a small parcel of property, it is significant. You must have a plan and you must let the public know what that plan is, while remaining open to stakeholder and expert input, Miner said. In this case, this measure is a first step to showing the people of Litchfield County that their voices were heard. It is also the best balance between transparency with DEEPs activities and safety at our state parks. Residents complained to Miner about the tree cutting at Housatonic Meadows State Park. In January, the Council on Environmental Quality reviewed the states process for removing hazardous trees and developed a list of criteria for the DEEP to consider for future projects. Primarily, the council asked that if certain tree removal operations qualify as actions that may significantly affect the environment in an adverse manner, they should be subject to a public input process of the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act, according to minutes from the Jan. 26 council meeting. If a large stand of pine trees is marked for cutting, such as those that were cut down at Housatonic Meadows, the DEEP could explain why it chose to remove them, according to the council. Trees with extensive insect infestation or damage are often marked for removal during a hazard tree project, according to the DEEP. The DEEP is not required by law to notify anyone before it begins a project. But Miner, Harding and residents in the area said it should be, and that the procedures the agency follows should be changed to include that notification. During the hearing with the DEEP in January, officials were given testimony by landscape and arbor experts who questioned how the agency decides what constitutes a hazardous tree. They also discussed the impact of removing trees along the riverbank, which can cause unwanted erosion and possible contamination. Much of that testimony was reiterated at the Jan. 26 meeting. This is a positive first step in addressing the wrongs that occurred at Housatonic Meadows State Park this past fall. It was an honor to work with Senator Miner and my other Environment Committee colleagues in crating this bill towards passage in the Senate. I look forward to advocating and championing its passage in the house, said Harding. Miner represents the 30th Senate District communities of Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, Warren and Winchester. Harding represents the 107th General Assembly District communities of Brookfield, Bethel and Danbury. TORRINGTON Musicians from 12 or more area churches are performing to aid Ukraine in Torrington and Lakeville. The performances will have instrumental and vocal solos, duets and ensembles, and choral selections from the groups at two separate events starting this weekend. We will be sharing our hopes and support for Ukraine through music, said Pastor Joy Veronesi of Lakeville United Methodist Church. The first concert will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 24 at Lakeville United Methodist Church, Main St. Lakeville. The second concert is set for 6 p.m. May 1, at First United Methodist Church of Torrington, 21 Fern Drive, Torrington. At each event, a free will offering will be taken. For those who are unable to attend, donations can be mailed to the First United Methodist Church, 21 Fern Drive, Torrington, CT 06790. The funds will be donated to UMCOR, or the United Methodist Committee on Relief. As the humanitarian relief and development arm of The United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Committee on Relief assists United Methodists and churches to become involved globally in direct ministry to persons in need, according to its website. UMCOR has volunteers helping refugees from Ukraine who are coming into Slovakia, Romania, Czechnya, Hungary and Poland. For more information, call Pastor Joy at 860-459-9006, the Rev. Sun Joo Lee at 860-618-2233, or Ken Beyer at 860 496 1289. Both churches are following current COVID-19 guidlines. Masking is optional by choice and comfort, according to a statement. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont's gross adjusted income for three of his four years in office totaled nearly $26 million, according to tax records released Thursday in a gubernatorial rematch between two wealthy candidates. Lamont's earnings came mostly from interest, dividend income and capital gains from investments. The former cable television entrepreneur has not taken the state's annual $150,000 salary for the job of governor since he was first elected in 2019. Lamont's reelection campaign released a summary of Lamont's adjusted gross income, effective tax rate, total charitable contributions and state and federal taxes he paid for tax years 2018-2029. Reporters were also allowed to review redacted details of his returns. The governor, who files his taxes separately from his wife Annie, a successful venture capital consultant, did not release his 2021 returns. His campaign said he requested a filing extension from the IRS. Both Lamont and his probable Republican opponent, businessman Bob Stefanowski, are relying on millions of dollars of their own money for their campaigns. A recent filing showed Stefanowski has so far loaned $10 million to his campaign coffers, money he could theoretically recoup. About $2.6 million has already been spent. Lamont, meanwhile, has so far written two checks totaling $1.15 million to his campaign which will not be reimbursed. Jake Lewis, the communications director for Lamont's reelection campaign, called on Stefanowski to release his returns, as well as a list of clients he retained since his last run for governor. Stefanowski said he plans to release his and his wife's joint tax returns, including for the 2021 tax year, but did not say when they will be made available. Stefanowski criticized the governor for not releasing more information, calling his attempt at transparency" laughable. The Governor released a one-page summary of his income taxes. There is no itemization, no disclosure, and nothing to report Mrs. Lamont making millions from taxpayer-funded COVID contracts, said Stefanowski, in an apparent reference to Annie Lamont's venture capital firm, where she is the co-founder and managing partner. Oak HC/FT invested in Stamford-based Sema4, a one-time COVID-19 testing partner with the state. Lewis called Stefanowski's comments completely and wittingly false" and accused the Republican of trying to distract voters from his own record as a former executive of a payday loan company. Neither Mrs. Lamont nor the Governor has profited from SEMA4 and any claim to the contrary is a lie, Lewis said in a written statement. According to a tax summary provided by Lamont's campaign, the total percentage of state and federal taxes the governor paid in 2018 was 31%; 30% in 2019; and 25% in 2020. He paid more than $5.5 million in federal taxes over the three years and more than $1.8 million in state taxes. The campaign also released a list of varied charities that received some of the $3.1 million in donations Lamont made over the three tax years. The list includes Yale University, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, Foodshare Inc., CT Against Gun Violence, The Aspen Institute, the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, Boys and Girls Clubs of Hartford, the Greenwich Library, the American Museum of Natural History, the Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Legal Services, the Greenwich International Film Festival, Catholic Charities of Fairfield and 4-CT, a charitable organization Lamont helped to organize during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emily M. Olson / Hearst Connecticut Media TORRINGTON City engineers are developing plans to reconstruct various roads in the south end of town. The project will include road reconstruction: paving, new curbing, replacement of sidewalks and associated miscellaneous work, which will provide for safer vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle travel, according to a statement. The project is financed with city-bonded funds, and is expected to begin this summer. TORRINGTON With a moratorium on cannabis businesses still in effect through September, officials on Wednesday agreed to draft potential zoning regulations, then hold a series of hearings in July and August for residents. Speaking at a special meeting Wednesday evening, City Planner Jeremy Liefert said many municipalities have already decided to either ban or approve the businesses. The decision to approve the businesses, he said, is likely driven by the fact that theyll be required to give 3 percent annually of their sales to the town or city. Torringtons moratorium on applications for marijuana sales or manufacturing has bought the city time to develop regulations and an ordinance on public use of marijuana. The ordinance has been written and is under review by the City Council. Theres still a lot of towns under moratorium, Liefert said at the meeting, which was called by the Planning and Zoning Commission but also included the Board of Public Safety, the City Council and Mayor Elinor Carbone. Its pretty much a split between banned and approved, and its like that statewide. Only two towns have held a referendum to decide on allowing the retail businesses and manufacturers or growers, Liefert said. Most are just saying no, or sending the decision to their planning and zoning boards for regulation amendments. Carbone shared what she said was an interesting tidbit about Stonington, which in 2021 voted to ban the businesses. In response to that vote, residents petitioned for a referendum to overturn the towns decision and voted 2,106 to 1,816 to approve the cannabis establishments, according to a story on wtnh.com. The voters overturned the towns decision, the mayor said. I found it interesting; very few are having a vote, and then, in this one town, the voters exercised their right to get it on a ballot and decide for themselves. Carbone said Torrington could reasonably expect to receive money from the new businesses with the 3 percent requirement. We consulted our resident experts, the Still River dispensary on Winsted Road, and they gave us methodology that based on a study, roughly 8.5 percent of the population over 21 are consumers of marijuana, she said, adding that the average person spends about $300 a month on marijuana. For a 35,000 population of in a town like Torrington, that means 2,975 people, Carbone said. So if we looked at $300 per month, about $3,600 a year, that comes to $12 million; and 3 percent of the sales tax on that would bring in about $310,000. That being said, the mayor went on to report that towns in Massachusetts, which legalized marijuana sales in 2016, has reported that towns like Pittsfield, with a population of about 45,000, brought in a little more than $1 million from the sales tax. Police Chief William Baldwin said he did his own research on crime statistics at the Planning and Zoing Commissions request, and said any increase in crime in areas that allow cannabis sales has been minimal, according to local police chiefs and law enforcement officials he spoke with. In Great Barrington, they had a robbery in a parking lot in the early stages, but based on the crime statistics, criminal incidents are very minimal, the chief said. The only issues were traffic and parking in the beginning, and towns hired an officer for the first several months to assure a smooth flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Dealing with drugged driving and penalizing a person who is driving under the influence of marijuana is a big challenge, the chief said. Drug Recognition Expert training is needed to help officers better detect drivers who are impaired. The training also includes a device that should be brought to an accident scene. The Torrington Police Department has one of them so far, but the state has required the department to have four or five of them, Baldwin said. Baldwin also brought up the revenue, saying Massachusetts has received significant monies after legalizing marijuana. It was more than $1 billion last year, he said. They have 200 retail locations, so the revenues from those are split up between the towns that have those retailers. Towns that said no are starting to backtrack, and bring dispensaries into their towns. (But) Massachusetts is getting customers from Connecticut and New York. Once Connecticut goes online, the revenues in Massachusetts are going to come down. There are also strict rules about how the revenue can be spent it must go back into the community with streetscape improvements for the areas of the new businesses, programs for mental health and substance abuse prevention, and civic engagement programs, Carbone said. The broad descriptions of these requirements could allow the city to build a fund for a special project. She said the city would serve as a billing agent with the businesses. The state statute says that monthly sales are reported by the retailers or the cultivator, to the Department of Revenue Services, Carbone said. Then they report it back to the municipality, and we send a bill. So were the billing agent; well have to determine how we chase them if theyre delinquent on their payments. Officials said the hearings they intend to have in July and August are to ensure residents understand the impact of allowing cannabis businesses, the revenue component and where the businesses would be located. Those hearings could be more informative, said zoning member Greg Perosino. If we do that, there will be a lot more conversation. Theyll get the background information. I want it so the public is as highly educated as possible. The boards plan to use the towns website for updates for the public and to mail information in the next round of tax bills. Board of Public Safety member Darlene Battle said people will want to know how the revenue would be used. Its very important for you to explain that, she said. Show what effect it has had on other communities. This page requires Javascript. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Boeung Tamok Lake is home to scores of poor Cambodians who make a living by fishing and aquaculture farming. Cambodias autocratic Prime Minister Hun Sen has doled out at least 900 hectares of land reclaimed from one of the last large natural lakes in Phnom Penh, with his sister, an allied tycoon, and top military officials all benefiting from the largesse, according to a domestic land rights organization. The privatization and filling of Boeung Tamok Lake, also known as Beoung Tumnup Kabsrov, has picked up during the past few years, with little left of the body of water on the northwest side of the capital city. The lake spans six communes in Prek Pnov and Sen Sok districts and is home to a diverse ecosystem of birds and fish. It is also home to 300 families and 1,000 people, many of whom earn a living through fishing, aquaculture farming and home-based businesses, according to the Cambodian NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT). Most of the families live in dilapidated and poorly built housing, with 30% residing in makeshift shelters. The lakes boundaries were officially demarcated in 2016 when the Cambodian government declared Boeung Tamoks original 3,240 hectares as state public property, according to an April 2021 report by the NGO. As part of a land privatization drive, the government granted dried-out parts of the lake to ministries authorized to resell the land for urban development projects and to oligarchs and cronies close to the government, STT reported. In more than four years, the government has issued more than 40 directives to reclaim parts of the lake or to give away the land, according to STT, which assists poor communities to protect their rights to land and housing. As of late 2021, the government had reclaimed more than half of the lake area, or about 1,670 hectares. Hun Sen-approved land giveaways that went to 11 government ministries and institutions, including the Interior, Justice and Health ministries, Phnom Penh City Hall and the National Police, according to STT and to reports by VOD, a local independent media outlet. The Ministry of Interior, for instance, sold the allocated land to finance the construction of a new building headquarters on the old site. In addition, 22 individuals also received reclaimed lake land from Hun Sen. Among those who have benefited are his sister, Hun Seng Ny, who received 20 hectares of land. Vong Pisen, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces; Sao Sokha, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces; and other senior military officers each received more than 36 hectares, VOD reported based on information in subdecrees signed by Hun Sen. Kok An, a wealthy tycoon close to the prime minister, received 155 hectares of land. Hun Sen also handed over 100 hectares to Chheng Thean Seng, the younger sister of wealthy real estate businesswoman Chheng Sopheap, also known as Yeay Phu, who has been implicated in several land grab scandals in Cambodia. Say Sophea, wife of Phoeung Phalla, a two-star general of the Special Forces Parachute Unit, received 75 hectares, VOD reported Environmental activist Thon Ratha, who was jailed for criticizing the governments reclamation of Boeung Tamok, said he fears that the lake could soon disappear, like other natural lakes in Boeung Tumpun and Boeung Choeung Ek districts. The fact that individuals close to Hun Sen received parcels of the restored land raises a suspicion of corruption, he said. Whether to sell or rent, how much to sell for, or whether to rent it and for how long we seem to have no information about these questions other than the decision to give parts of the lake to this person and that person, he told RFA. Thats why Im still skeptical. Were worried that there may be a systematic conspiracy or corruption. A map shows Phnom Penh's Boeung Tamok Lake and the Tompoun/Cheung Ek Wetlands. Credit: RFA graphic 'It belongs to the state' Government spokesman Phay Siphan said that those who acquired land bought it from the original owners. He also said that before the government offered the land for sale, state institutions assessed the impact on local communities living there, though he did not know if the reclamations had forced some residents to leave their homes. They bought it from the people in two stages, during which they asked for a [subdecree] to cut away part of the land from the lake, he said. Seang Muy Lai, director of the Housing Rights and Research Project at Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, said that Boeung Tamok should be kept for the benefit of the public. More than 200 poor families living on the lake face eviction, Seang Muy Lai said. It is unreasonable to give away parts of the lake that are two to three meters deep, he said. There should be no one occupying it. It is illegal to allow anyone to occupy the lake because it belongs to the state. The environmental watchdog group Mother Nature Cambodia has urged the government to stop the development of reclaimed areas of the lake because of the negative impact on communities that rely on the body of water for their livelihoods and significant flooding in the city as the result of runoff during heavy rains. Lim Kean Hor, Cambodias minister of water resources and meteorology, has clashed with Hun Sen over the issue for expressing growing concern over the encroachment on the riverbanks and waterways that are properties of the state and has warned that warned that flooding is connected to landfilling developments such as Boeung Tamok. The bank of the river, the river, the creek, the canal, and the lake, these are all public properties, so all provincial authorities and governors must take measures to facilitate the prevention of abuse from dumping land which is not in compliance with the law, he said in a May 2020 letter issued all municipal governments and provincial authorities. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Sat Pha fled after a threatening note was posted to her door, she says by the countrys ruling party. Cambodian activist Sat Pha (C) takes a nap in a jungle in Thailand where she is hiding out after being threatened in Cambodia, April 18, 2017. A prominent Cambodian activist who fled her country in a six-day journey through the jungle safely arrived in Thailand, where she plans to seek asylum with the U.N. In Cambodia, meanwhile, government officials said they would not call foreign officials as witnesses in a treason case against another critic of the countrys ruling party. Sat Pha, who has supported the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), told RFA that she fled after a hand-written threat, which she believed was from the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, saying she could be disappeared was tacked to her door. Authorities know how to assault, arrest and imprison [activists], she told RFAs Khmer Service. Opponents of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) have been targeted in a 5-year-old crackdown that has sent leaders of the CNRP into exile and landed scores of its supporters in prison. Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP in November 2017 in a move that allowed the CPP to win all 125 seats in Parliament in a July 2018 election. Sat Pha is one of the many Cambodians who has become disenfranchised in land disputes with the government or developers. She has also protested the detention of former CNRP politicians, and, she says, been beaten by governmental officials. The authorities attacked me until my legs were injured. Has the government arrested any authorities? As a leader [Hun Sen] he doesnt protect citizens. He knows how to assault, arrest and imprison. Killers are never brought to justice, she said. Sat Pha said she became ill in her journey but is now in a safe location in Thailand. She said she is in the country illegally and is running low on food. She plans to request asylum from the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) office in Thailand. Sat Pha was released from prison in Cambodia six months ago after serving a year in detention for inciting social unrest during a peaceful protest in front of Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh. RFA was unable to contact Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesman San Sok Seiha for comment. However, Cambodian People Party spokesman and lawmaker Sok Ey San told RFA that he believes Sat Pha fabricated her story to earn sympathy. Police have a duty to look for the suspects. There is a need for cooperation between the victim and the police. It might be a personal dispute, he said. Sok Ey San previously denied that the threat came from CPP leadership. Sat Pha has the right to ask NGOs for help when she doesnt have any confidence in the authorities, Soeung Seng Karuna, spokesperson for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association told RFA. It is normal for a victim who is threatened to seek asylum, he said. Kem Sokha Trial In the treason trial of CNRP leader Kem Sokha in Phnom Penh, prosecutors on Wednesday refused to summon representatives of any foreign governments that he is accused of colluding with. The prosecution citied the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international agreement that codifies diplomatic immunity. Defense lawyer Ang Odom told RFA after Wednesdays session that the convention does not forbid representatives of foreign governments from testifying, adding that the prosecution told the defense they could ask the foreign governments to testify. They need to do it, but they asked us to instead, he said, adding that the defense plans to officially request that the prosecution summon foreign government representatives to testify in next weeks session, scheduled for April 27. All relevant parties will help the court seek the truth. They need to speak the truth about the alleged collusion to commit treason, he said. The government claims Kem Sokha was in league with Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Australia, the United States, Canada, the European Union, Taiwan and India in plots to commit treason against Cambodia. The government may have a legitimate point regarding the Vienna Convention, Cambodian American legal analyst Theary Seng, who is herself on trial in Phnom Penh for treason and incitement, told RFA. Rarely do I have the opportunity to agree with this regimes political tool [the court], but in this instance it is right to deny the defenses request. First, there is clear international custom and provision enshrined in Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that gives diplomats immunity from criminal proceedings as a charged person or a witness, she said. Second, it is not politically feasible that any country, especially a superpower, would give way to an incendiary charge as treason in another countrys court system, as that carries countless criminal and political implications, she said. Theary Seng said that putting a diplomat on trial would be a loss of face for the country he or she represents. It is understandable that Kem Sokhas lawyers will look to influential figures or countries to come their clients defense in denying this most serious charge of treason. But it is a dead-end road. Rather, the defense lawyers should place the onus on the prosecutors and court in demanding why the regime did not expel the diplomats or close down the embassy, making the diplomat persona non grata or communicating to the sending state the extremely serious nature of the change, she said. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. A Hong Kong university has evicted a student newspaper and radio station, after another cut ties with its student union, amid an ongoing crackdown on freedom of speech on university campuses in the city. The student newspaper and radio station at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), which cut ties with the student union last year after it played a key role in recent pro-democracy protests, "CUHK Campus Radio moved out of Room 302 of the Benjamin Franklin Centre on ," the radio station said in an announcement on its Facebook page on . "[We] started broadcasting in 1999, 23 years ago, and now we have reached the end," the statement said. Students running the CUHK Student Press were also told to move out of the club room by university management on the same day, so repairs could be carried out. Asked if they could return after the work was completed, management declined to reply. The newspaper had been running since 1969, and hosted a huge archive of former news and features produced by students, the more historically valuable of which were sifted out and removed by student journalists before they vacated the space, local media reported. No mention was made of the eviction on the paper's Facebook page, and no stories had been posted since , when the paper reported on a compulsory vaccination program for students. The evictions came after the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) cut ties with its student union. CUHK Campus Radio, which has been evicted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is the latest casualty in an ongoing crackdown on freedom of speech on university campuses in the city under a draconian national security law imposed by Beijing. Credit: CUHK Campus Radio. Campus protests Both CUHK and PolyU were besieged by riot police during the 2019 protest movement, and saw days of pitched battles between protesters and riot police in November of that year. Rights groups hit out at the Hong Kong police for 'fanning the flames' of violence, as desperate protesters were trapped for several days inside the PolyU campus, while hundreds more waged pitched battles with riot police on the streets of Kowloon. The U.S.-based group Human Rights in China condemned police action in and around Poly U as "trapping students, journalists, and first aiders, and reportedly handcuffing the latter group." "[We] received an email from the Student Affairs Office on the evening of [April] 14 ... [in which] the union was officially ordered to drop Hong Kong Polytechnic University from its name," the Poly U student union said in a Facebook post. "All organizations linked to the union are required to move out of the PolyU campus on or before , 2022," it said. "The union has been trying to negotiate ... with the university for years, but has been unable to reach a consensus," the statement said. "The university will stop providing all venues and other support [previously] provided to the student union." The post called on students to pay attention to the move. "A student union is not just a student organization, but also an expression of collective consciousness," it said. "We hope PolyU students won't give up their right to protect themselves." Meanwhile, the Law Society of Hong Kong served notice on a prominent human rights law firm, which will be forced to close in June after representing an 18-year-old woman who accused several police officers of gang-rape during the 2019 protest movement. Vidler & Co. also represented Indonesian reporter Veby Mega Indah, who lost vision in one eye after being hit by a non-lethal projectile fired by police while covering the protests, although she later terminated her instruction of the firm. Firm founder and senior partner Michael Vidler told RFA he wouldn't be able to comment on the reasons for the Law Society's order to cease practicing until , owing to a legal injunction in force until that date. Vidler has also worked with other high-profile Hong Kong dissidents including Joshua Wong, and in 2013 assisted a trans woman -- in W V. Registrar of Marriages -- to win the right for any transgender person in the city to marry as their affirmed gender. In January, the Education University of Hong Kong became the latest of the city's universities to cut its student union loose, amid an ongoing clampdown on public speech, under a draconian national security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The university said it hadn't "authorized" the union. Hong Kong student unions have provided various types of activities and benefits for students for decades, receiving funding and premises to do so, as well as participating in the formulation of policy by sending elected representatives to sit on university committees. But since the national security law took effect on , 2020, they have been increasingly criticized by officials and denounced in the CCP-backed media, often a harbinger of official reprisals. Media reports said the University of Hong Kong (HKU), CUHK, City University, Polytechnic University, Lingnan University and Baptist University have all stopped collecting student union dues since the start of the current academic year. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The Jakarta-Bandung project has seen a cost increase of nearly $2 billion, officials say. Workers lay the first section of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway track at the Tegalluar depot in West Java, April 20, 2022. Indonesia will ask the China Development Bank to finance 75 percent of the nearly U.S. $2 billion cost overrun for the construction of a Beijing-backed fast train project linking the capital Jakarta with Bandung, a project official said Thursday. The cost of the rail line, which is now projected to be completed next year, has swelled to nearly $8 billion. The project is part of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinas $1 trillion-plus program to finance and build infrastructure projects across the globe. Obviously the first one to be offered is CBD [China Development Bank], the lender financing 75 percent of the project, said Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi, president director of the consortium, PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), according to a report by Tempo, the Indonesian news outlet. Dwiyana said the Indonesian government had proposed that the same financing structure apply to the cost overrun, with the consortium covering 25 percent. KCIC is a joint venture of a consortium of four Indonesian state-owned companies KAI, Wijaya Karya, PTPN VIII, and Jasa Marga and a consortium of Chinese companies. The Indonesian consortium controls 60 percent of KCIC, while China Railway Engineering Corp. and other Chinese companies control the rest. The 89-mile (143.2-km) Jakarta-Bandung rail line is expected to slash travel time between the Indonesian capital and Bandung from three hours to 40 minutes, officials have said. In January, President Joko Jokowi Widodo said the project was expected to be operational by June 2023. The contractor, meanwhile, said the project was 82 percent complete. Since construction began in 2017, the project has been dogged by criticism about its impacts on surrounding areas as well as concerns about rising costs. On Wednesday, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi witnessed the laying of the first section of track for the rail link in West Java. Last October, Jokowi decided to allow the government to share the cost of the railway project, contradicting an earlier pledge and decree in 2015 that prohibited the use of state funds for its construction. A presidential spokesman said Jokowis directive would allow the project to be completed. A month later, the finance minister told a parliamentary panel that the government had decided to inject 4.3 trillion rupiah ($299 million) into the project. Critics had expressed concern that the move could deplete state coffers and lead Indonesia into a debt trap. Yusuf Rendy Manilet, an economist at the Indonesian Center for Reform of Economics, a private think-tank, said renegotiating funding for the project is necessary. The government should also look at whether the risks [to state coffers] remain the same or there are adjustments or additional risks, Yusuf told BenarNews. The economist said potential overruns should have been agreed upon during the projects planning stage. This needs to be especially noted considering that China will become one of Indonesias main economic partners in the next few years, Yusuf said. Now, the government and other stakeholders need to recalculate the cost because of the overrun, he said. Knock-on effects from capital move In February, the consortium said the high-speed rail service was expected to become profitable 40 years after completion not 20 as earlier projected partly because plans to move the national capital from Jakarta to Borneo could sharply reduce the number of riders. Moving the seat of government away would cut the projected number of passengers using the railway connecting Jakarta to Bandung in West Java nearly in half because many government employees are expected to relocate to the new capital, a company spokesman said. An AidData study released last year noted that Indonesia owes $17.28 billion in hidden debt to China, more than four times its $3.90 billion in reported sovereign debt. Nearly 70 percent of Chinas overseas lending is directed to state-owned companies and private-sector institutions and the debts, for the most part, do not appear on government balance sheets, said the U.S.-based international development research lab. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service. A Chinese national living in the Netherlands and his family in China have been harassed by Chinese police over posts to social media he made while out of the country, including voicing support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion, RFA has learned. Gao Ronghui, who hails from Pingtan county in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, provided audio recordings of phone calls with police from Suao police station in Pingtan county, who have also visited his parents and elderly grandmother, he said. "Did you take part in the demonstration?" the officer is heard asking Gao, who had told him he supports Ukraine. Gao replies: "I saw the demonstration in the square." "As Chinese citizens, we don't take part in demonstrations," the police officer tells him, repeating: "You can't take part." In another section of the audio file provided to RFA, the police officer asks him if he wrote "reactionary comments" on Twitter. "Let me tell you this: the internet is wide open. Just because you're in a foreign country, doesn't mean that China doesn't know what you're doing," the officer warns him. "We know everything, do you understand?" The officer then orders Gao to "delete everything you wrote online, and on Twitter." "This has to be deleted immediately and we can pretend we never saw it and all will be forgiven," the officer says, before threatening his family. "If there is a problem with your political stance, it will affect your family for generations, if you have kids, where they go to school, anything you want to do. Politics is a massive thing." High blood pressure Gao told RFA that he had shut down his Twitter account temporarily after the phone call. "My grandmother had high blood pressure because of this, and my mother was depressed for two or three weeks, and spent about three days in hospital on a drip," he said. "I feel very confused and helpless right now," Gao told RFA. "I feel that the CCP is depriving me of my freedom even here in the Netherlands." "I want to tell them that the only person responsible for their actions is the person doing them ... [but] they have silenced me. They, the system, they're the ones who should change, not me. It's the 21st century," he said. Gao said he fled China after police raided his family home in over social media posts he had made, then summoned him for questioning. "I walked to the police station from a friend's house that day. It took 20 minutes, and during that time I deleted everything on my phone," he said. "I knew I couldn't have committed any crime other than just spreading the truth." "When I got to the police station, I was severely beaten and abused, and they forced me to sign a guarantee that I would support the [ruling Chinese Communist] Party (CCP) line, and not post anything that would endanger national security," Gao said. "From that day on, I started planning to leave the country." 'Feel the iron fist' Gao said he finally felt free after arriving in the Netherlands, and began expressing his political views freely in public, supporting practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which has been heavily suppressed by the CCP inside China, and showing solidarity with Ukraine. "[I even] sprayed the Chinese embassy with paint to vent my anger," Gao said. "I knew this was wrong, and I went to the police station and turned myself in, but the Dutch police told me it was okay." "Around that time, I started to criticize the CCP again on Twitter, in solidarity with the suffering Chinese people. I know that if I don't speak up for them , no one will speak for me ," he said. But Gao wasn't as free as he had hoped he would be, and the long arm of Chinese law enforcement has succeeded in controlling his actions by threatening his family. He said he hoped public anger over the recent lockdowns in Shanghai and other parts of China under the CCP's draconian zero-COVID policy would fuel political opposition back home. "I think some Chinese people are going to wake up because of the Shanghai lockdown, as they feel the iron fist themselves," Gao said. "We should stand united to change China." Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. China already has two aircraft carriers in operation, named Liaoning and Shandong, and a third one is being built A screengrab from a video to mark Chinas Navy Day on April 23, 2022, jointly produced by the Propaganda Bureau of PLA Navy's Political Department and the official Weibo and WeChat accounts of the Chinese military. A newly released military propaganda video suggests that the third aircraft carrier of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) could be launched soon, Chinese media and experts said. A six-minute video, produced by the PLA Navy Political Publicity Bureau and the army broadcaster, was posted on Friday. It provides a glimpse into Chinas aircraft carrier program and how the PLA carriers and personnel operate. China already has two aircraft carriers in operation, named Liaoning and Shandong. The third is being built and the promotional video seems to give a hint that its launch is imminent. At the end of the video, timed for China's Navy Day which falls on Saturday, an officer is shown taking a call from his mother who appears to urge him to have the third child, to which the man replies: Thats being arranged. The camera then moves to two photos of a carriers flight deck an apparent reference to the first two aircraft carriers before shifting to a blank screen and closing credits. This bizarre hint nevertheless got some Chinese media excited. The state-run tabloid Global Times wrote: This is a very clear implication that the countrys third aircraft carrier is coming soon. The Global Times quoted Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, as saying that the third carrier, known as Type 003, could be launched in the second half of 2022. The paper said the carrier may be named Jiangsu, after the province in eastern China. A file photo showing China's aircraft carrier Liaoning taking part in a military drill of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in the western Pacific Ocean, April 18, 2018. Credit: Reuters. Covid lockdown From the video, it does seem that the third Chinese carrier would be launched in the near future, said Sheu Jyh-Shyang, a military expert at the Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research (INDSR). The U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report last November that the launch could be as soon as February 2022 but it has been delayed several times as China is struggling with the Covid pandemic. Recently severe lockdown measures have been imposed in Shanghai, home of the Jiangnan Shipyard where the Type 003 is being constructed and where the Covid situation has disrupted shipping and may have caused delays in arrival of components for the vessel. Compared to the first two carriers, the Type 003 appears to be larger, and it has some new important components including catapult systems, used for launching aircraft from the ship. It is the first CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery) carrier that China has, said Sheu from INDSR. CATOBAR carriers have much better capabilities, but they still need to have enough operating experience, he added. The CSIS report last November also said that after launch, it would still be years before the Type 003 is commissioned into the PLA Navy and achieves initial operating capability. China already has the biggest naval fleet in the world, according to the US Office of Naval Intelligence. But the U.S. has far more aircraft carriers: 11 compared to China's two. A screengrab from a video to mark Chinas Navy Day on April 23, 2022, jointly produced by the Propaganda Bureau of PLA Navy's Political Department and the official Weibo and WeChat accounts of the Chinese military. Credit: Global Times. Vulnerable as the Moskova Taiwans Ministry of National Defense, which is watching Chinas military developments closely, said in a report published earlier this year that the Type 003 would enable the PLA Navy to project power past the first island chain. The first island chain, conceptualized during the Cold War, commonly refers to the major archipelagos that lie off the East Asian mainland coast. The chain stretches from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the northeast to the Malay Peninsula in the southwest, and includes the territory of U.S. allies Taiwan and the Philippines. Taiwanese observers also pay attention to the PLAs plan to procure new warplanes for the Type 003. The first two (aircraft carriers) have only J-15 fighters and maybe some helicopters but the third one may have some airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) KJ-600 aircraft, military analyst Sheu said. The Xian KJ-600 is said to accurately detect and track other airplanes and so greatly increases the effectiveness of carrier-based combat aircraft. Meanwhile, Taiwanese media have been looking at the sinking of Russias flagship Moskva, reportedly by Ukrainian Neptune missiles, last week. Russia said it was damaged in an unexplained fire. The missile cruiser Moskva was built in the same Black Sea Shipyard Mykolaiv in Ukraine as Chinas first aircraft carrier back in the Soviet days. Beijing bought the ship, then called Varyag, and renamed it to Liaoning. The Liaoning regularly patrols the Taiwan Strait and may be deployed in the event of armed conflict with the self-governing island. China considers Taiwan a breakaway province that shall be united with the mainland. Taiwanese newspaper Liberty Times quoted an analyst as saying that Taiwan has a bigger and more powerful anti-ship missile arsenal than Ukraine. The Chinese aircraft carriers could be as vulnerable as the Moskva to Taiwans anti-ship missile, it said. A letter from U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae who was imprisoned in North Korea, to his mother, Myunghee Bae, pictured at Myunghee Bae's home in Lynnwood, Washington August 7, 2013. The North Korean military is harshly punishing soldiers for divulging sensitive information including their location or units size in letters back home, sources in the military told RFA. In most of the worlds militaries, especially during wartime, soldiers are typically forbidden from relaying certain facts about their deployment. But in secretive North Korea, which is still technically at war with South Korea, even honest mistakes can bring consequences that last a lifetime. One soldier was recently punished when censors found that a letter he wrote revealed where the unit was located and the name of the battleship he served on, a military source from Sinpo, a city in the eastern province of South Hamgyong, told RFAs Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons. The soldier was arrested and interrogated by the State Security Department for nearly two months and was eventually separated from the service with a dishonorable discharge, he said. If you fail to fulfil your military service time and are punished and discharged this way, thats the end of any prospect for a good life. Every North Korean male serves about seven years in the armed forces, according to South Korean intelligence. All the mail that they write is read and censored. Soldiers are supposed to use military postcards to write to their families or sweethearts to make it easier for censors to identify offending passages. But postcard supplies are down, so soldiers are sending more letters written on ordinary paper, in makeshift envelopes, according to the source. That affords more opportunities for mistakes. Military mail takes more than a month or two for the letters to come and go, and the soldiers are never able to write down everything they want to say on the postcard, the source said. If letters containing sensitive information are caught by censors, the person who delivered the letter to the post office can be punished alongside the sender, he said. Earlier this month, an East Coast squadron naval unit in the city of Sinpo held an educational session on how not to divulge military secrets in letters, the military source said. The session pointed out how soldiers have been sending letters to civilian addresses with confidential information that the public should not know. The soldiers were warned not to reveal the location of troops, details about combat missions and troop movements. These are acts of treason and in violation of the military oath, he said. Another soldier who was caught by censors was sent to work in a coal mine, a resident of the South Hamgyong province told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely. My friends younger brother, who enlisted to the army, was punished and separated from the military with a dishonorable discharge earlier this year. He bragged about his units arms equipment in a letter to a friend at home who couldnt join the military due to his physical condition, and this was caught in postal censorship, said the second source. My friends brother was then deployed as a coal miner in a rural county. If you are discharged from the military for a mistake, you are placed in the most difficult areas of society and will be excluded from all personnel appointments. This includes membership in the Workers' Party, commendations and university recommendations, she said. Party membership unlocks certain privileges like better education, housing and food rations perks no longer available to the former soldier. Mining work is difficult and dangerous, so my friends parents tried to get their son out of the mine any way they could, but it didnt work, the second source said. My friends parents found out that there was a note in their sons discharge document, saying He must be assigned as a coal mine worker at the toughest coal mine. He should never be transferred to another company, she said. Though a market economy has begun to emerge in recent years, North Koreans still must report to their government-assigned jobs. Toiling away in the mine provides no opportunity for the former soldier to earn money on the side. What I know about my friends younger brother is that he was bright and active. Now he is quiet and rarely speaks. He doesnt meet his friends and he is very lonely. His parents are so sad, she said. It seems excessive to impose a lifetime of punishment on young soldiers for inadvertently bragging about information related to military secrets. The fact that every letter we send and receive is inspected by the state security department is also terrifying, she said. Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. The head of the COVID-19 virus vaccination program of Myanmars ousted government has been sentenced by the military junta to three years in prison with hard labor for actions to resist the army takeover, according to the countrys Anti-Corruption Commission. Dr. Htar Htar Lin, a former director of Myanmars Public Health Department, was arrested in Yangon in June 2021, four months after the army overthrew the elected government, along with other senior medical figures who had acted in support of the Civil Disobedience Movement, a campaign of professionals resisting junta rule with work stoppages and other actions. The physician allegedly ignored ministerial orders when she returned a vaccine and immunization grant of 168 million kyats (U.S. $91,000) from UNICEF and the World Health Organization on Feb. 10, 2021, nine days after the coup, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported Thursday, citing junta-controlled newspapers. The same day, the commission also sentenced retired Dr. Soe Oo, former director-general of public health, to two years in prison for failing to investigate Htar Htar Lin. The juntas Anti-Corruption Commission set up set up a team on April 20 to investigate Htar Htar Lin and other officials of the Ministry of Health and Sports. Since June 2021, junta authorities have charged Htar Htar Lin with three more charges that carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison, including high treason and incitement and under the Unlawful Associations Act for allegedly assisting the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), which the junta has designated as a terrorist group, The Irrawaddy reported. The military regime has targeted medical professionals, killing some, arresting dozens of others, and driven hundreds more into hiding since it overthrew the elected government more than two years ago, undermining the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, doctors in Myanmar told RFA in a September 2021 report. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Families fleeing fighting fear their children are at greater risk of diseases that are preventable in normal times. Children whose families have fled fighting in Myanmars conflict zones are being deprived of essential immunizations due to lack of access to health care, refugees and medical professionals said Thursday. From infancy to 18 months of age, children are required to receive 12-13 routine immunizations to ensure healthy growth and protection from disease. They include vaccines designed to protect against tuberculosis, measles, hepatitis B, diphtheria, chickenpox, tetanus, polio, meningitis, severe pneumonia, Japanese encephalitis, rubella, severe diarrhea and cervical cancer. But doctors told RFAs Myanmar Service that regular injections are often not an option for families caught in fighting between junta troops and the armed opposition in the nearly 15 months since the military seized power in a coup. They said small children especially those in the war-torn remote border areas of Kayin, Kayah, and Chin states and Sagaing region have been most affected by the failure to immunize, which can lead to stunted growth, severe illness and even death from otherwise treatable medical conditions. A refugee mother from Kayin state sheltering near Myanmars border with Thailand told RFA that she was recently forced to flee her village with the baby girl she had given birth to only days earlier. I had to leave my village with my two-week old baby, and she hasnt received any vaccines yet, she said, speaking on condition of anonymity. We had to sleep on the other side of the river [in Thailand] because of the fighting and the baby got sick as the weather was very cold for three or four days. I was so worried for her. The medics tending the refugees here gave us some Paracetamol and she got better, but I wish we could get her vaccinated. Parents have described a similar situation in Sagaing region, where the military has been burning homes to the ground in raids on villages, they say have provided haven for anti-junta Peoples Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries. A woman from Sagaings Yinmabin township Chinbon village said she has been on the move with her young child since her home was recently targeted by military airstrikes. We've been running from place to place, so there is no medication, no vaccines for these children, said the woman, who also declined to be named. Many children in the area suffer from poor health, and we just have to give them whatever we can find. There is no proper medicine. We dont have clinics or hospitals around. My baby is now 15 months old and hasnt been vaccinated because weve been on the run all this time in the jungle. Lack of medical care since coup Before the coup, Myanmars regional Ministries of Health under the democratically elected National League for Democracy government organized routine immunizations for children through hospitals, clinics and rural health centers. In some towns and villages, children were vaccinated by health workers at administrative offices and churches. But since the takeover, many parents in Myanmars conflict zones told RFA that their children have never received a full medical exam or routine immunizations. Than Naing Soe, the director of the Health Awareness Center under the juntas Ministry of Health, rejected claims that families lack access to immunizations for their children. Weve been providing vaccinations for children constantly at hospitals and clinics. We can do that, he said. Public health services are also being administered in wards and villages, while hospital-based immunization activities are gaining momentum. But a mother in Chin states Tedim township, where anti-junta resistance is strong, alleged that vaccines are not being delivered to health facilities in the region. In Chin State, no health services or medicine has been available since the coup, she said, noting that many midwives in rural clinics have joined the [anti-junta] Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), while those who didnt have no supplies. We havent received anything since the coup. Medical supplies stopped coming in a long time ago. What were we supposed to do? We have had to do whatever it takes to care for our children. Rebuilding the country A doctor in the CDM, who gave her name only as Olivia, said children are at risk of developmental conditions if they do not receive their required immunizations within a specified age range. During the 18 months after birth, the baby should be vaccinated in a timely manner. ... Only then will they have a chance to fully develop mentally and physically, she said. If not vaccinated, their health and safety is at risk. ... Losing children means losing key human resources needed to rebuild the country. The United Nations Childrens Fund said in February that nearly 1 million children in Myanmar are deprived of access to routine immunizations, while around 5 million are at risk of contracting disease due to a lack of vitamin supplements. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Official are investigating why a Rohingya man died at detention center hours before riot. Rohingya men who had escaped a detention center after a riot sit in a Malaysian Immigration truck after being recaptured in Penang, April 20, 2022. Malaysian police have detained two Rohingya they suspect of having instigated a riot and mass breakout at a detention center that led to six escapees being fatally struck by vehicles on a highway in the middle of the night, authorities in northern Kedah state said Friday. Eighty-eight Rohingya remained at large, including nine women and eight children, according to police chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad, who urged local people not to help them. Sheltering people who violate immigration laws is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, he said. Its been three days. These people are hungry, barefoot. They will not be able to last, with children in tow. We ask the public to immediately report to the police if any refugees seek help from them, he said. A total of 287 officers in three states Kedah, Penang and Perak have been mobilized to look for the remaining escapees, Wan Ahmad said. Meanwhile, amid ongoing updates about the manhunt, a Malaysian media advocacy group urged local officials and media not to use language that could foster hatred or fear of Rohingya people. Publishing authorities comments that label Rohingya detainees as highly dangerous or that they may also act out of control to survive presents the detainees as violent and irrational, said a statement by the Malaysia-based Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ). Reporters should interrogate the root causes behind the breakout, and not sensationalize the issue by framing it as a crime, it said. While we understand the need for balanced and accurate reporting, there is a fine line that could potentially trigger increasing xenophobia and discrimination, CIJ executive director Wathshlah Naidu she told BenarNews. Death hours before riot being investigated On Thursday, Kedah Criminal Investigation Department chief G. Suresh Kumar said the riot occurred hours after a detainee died at the Sungai Bakap Temporary Immigration Depot. For the record, there was a death involving a detainee in his 30s late at night, hours before the early morning rioting took place. We are conducting a post-mortem on the body and until we have the autopsy report, I wish to call on everyone to refrain from speculating, he said. So far, what we know is that the escapees only wanted their freedom and it was not because they were unhappy with the camp management, he said. No serious injuries were reported in the riot early Wednesday, officials said then, adding that security personnel on duty were quickly overwhelmed as 528 people escaped. Two children were among the six later struck and killed on a highway about six km (3.7 miles) away. Most of the escapees have since been captured and taken to a detention facility in Semenyih, Selangor, about 350 kilometers (218 miles) from the place they escaped. We have taken statements from 420 Rohingya detainees and also took their fingerprints for record. [The riot occurred] probably due to congestion and having been in detention for too long, Wan Ahmad, the police chief, said Friday. On Wednesday, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin had said the Rohingya who broke out of the detention center were brought there after being apprehended in Langkawi, off the coast of Kedah, in 2020. But the Kedah police chief on Friday said the main instigator of the unrest had been there three years and was transferred there from another immigration facility. He was transported here from Semenyih Depot three years ago, Wan Ahmad said. As of now, we believe his main motivation in orchestrating the riot was to create an opening to flee from the depot, he said of the 34-year-old suspect. Kedah Police Chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad (right) and colleagues shows images of four Rohingya men accused of instigating a riot at an immigration depot two days earlier, Bandar Baharu, Kedah, April 22, 2022. Two of the four have been captured. Credit: BenarNews. Hamzah, the home minister, said Thursday that the reason the Rohingya had been detained for more than two years at immigration centers was because the Myanmar government did not recognize them as citizens. If we want to send them back, where do we want to send them to? This is our problem, he told reporters. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw a sharp rise in negative sentiment toward Rohingya people in Malaysia, with increased hate speech directed at the group. Dozens of NGOs spoke out against the treatment of Rohingya refugees during health-related government round-ups of immigrants and by citizens who took to social media to post views that included threats and dehumanizing language and images. The tragic events on Wednesday drew international attention, along with calls for a probe of what led to the unrest and for transparency about Malaysias secretive immigrant detention centers, where people are held indefinitely and incommunicado. Jerald Joseph, a member of Malaysias Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), called on immigration authorities to allow representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to meet with the detainees. The Immigration Department has to give access to UNHCR so they can determine whether the ones detained were really Rohingya. If so, they should be freed like the 150,000 Rohingya who are here in the country, he said. While Malaysia allows refugees to enter the country, it has not signed the U.N. Refugee Convention. Those caught by the authorities, including children, are often detained in immigration detention centers indefinitely. Close to 1 million Rohingya who have fled persecution in Myanmar are living in crowded refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh, but many undertake perilous sea journeys in search of a better life in Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service. Ababekri Abdureshid was arrested in early 2018 after returning to Xinjiang. A Uyghur academic who studied in Germany has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to a security officer at a university where the man worked. The officer who spoke with RFA did not give the reason for the imprisonment of Ababekri Abdureshid, a lecturer at Xinjiang Normal University in Urumqi (in Chinese, Wulumuqi). He was sentenced for 13 years in prison, I believe, the security officer said, adding that Abdureshids family would know the reasons behind his arrest and imprisonment. We dont know anything about this mans case, he said. The scholar, who studied for a year as a visiting scholar in Germany in 2012, was apprehended in early 2018 after returning to Xinjiang, according to his friend and former colleague, Husenjan, who now lives in exile in Norway. Husenjan said he heard through social media from sources in Xinjiang that Abdureshid had been sentenced. I got the news from a very close colleague of Ababekri Abdureshid that he was sentenced to over 10 years in prison, Husenjan told RFA. [He] published academic articles on Uyghur culture and literature in both regional and national magazines. Abdureshid, a university lecturer on philology, the study of languages, faced a difficult choice between staying in Germany or returning to Xinjiang. He decided to return home even though Uyghur higher education had been deteriorating, Husenjan said. When RFA contacted officials at Xinjiangs Education Bureau for information about Abdureshids incarceration, they suggested calling judicial authorities. In an earlier report, RFA confirmed Abdureshid, who had been missing since 2018, was in captivity, although it was unknown whether he had been sentenced to prison. Abdureshid was born in 1981 in Qaraqash (Moyu) county, Hotan (Hetian) prefecture, the second-largest county in Xinjiang by population with more than half a million Uyghurs. He was admitted to the Xinjiang University in 2006 to pursue a masters degree in modern Uyghur literature. From 2009 to 2012, Abdureshid studied for a doctorate at Minzu University of China in Beijing. During this time, he was a visiting scholar in Germany for a year. While in Germany, Abdureshid once visited Turkey and met with colleagues there to exchange views on research topics, according to Husenjan, who added that the scholars connections to colleagues and friends in Germany and Turkey were a further reason for his detention by authorities in Xinjiang. Officials at Xinjiang Normal University have consistently refused to comment on Abdureshids imprisonment when contacted by RFA. But a Chinese judicial official in Korla (Kuerle), capital of Bayingholin Mongol (Bayinguoleng Menggu) Autonomous Prefecture, told RFA that the Chinese government had sent people who returned from studies in foreign countries to re-education centers. After he had returned to Xinjiang, Abdureshid married and began working at the university in 2013. He was interrogated by Chinese police multiple times for refusing to drink alcohol. Chinese authorities have arrested numerous Uyghur intellectuals, businessmen, and cultural and religious figures in Xinjiang as part of a campaign to control members of the mostly Muslim minority group and, purportedly, to prevent religious extremism and terrorist activities. More than 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities are believed to have been held in a network of detention camps in Xinjiang since 2017. Beijing has said that the camps are vocational training centers and has denied widespread and documented allegations that it has mistreated Muslims living in in the region. The purges are among the abusive and repressive Chinese government policies that have been determined by the United States and some legislatures of Western countries as constituting genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs. Translated by RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. The sniping began when US Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield called for the issuance of a report on abuses in Xinjiang. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks to reporters during a news conference at UN headquarters in New York, March 1, 2021. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield sparked a social media spat with her Chinese counterpart on Wednesday after she called on the head of the U.N. Human Rights Council to release an overdue report on rights abuses in Chinas Xinjiang region. In a tweet, Thomas-Greenfield urged Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, to release the report on Xinjiang, which Bachelet previously said would be finished in September 2021. And lets be clear: any visit by the High Commissioner to China must have unhindered and unfettered access, Thomas-Greenfield tweeted, referring to Bachelets upcoming visit to China. Bachelet announced in March that she had reached an agreement with the Chinese government for a visit foreseen to take place in May to China, including the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). No dates have been announced. In response, the spokesperson of Chinese mission to the U.N. tweeted that, China welcomes the visit by @mbachele including a trip to Xinjiang. This is a normal exchange between two sides. There is no place for political manipulation and malicious pressure. Such indiscreet remarks only reveal the US intention to set up obstacles to disrupt the visit. A second tweet said, To some U.S. politicians who are obsessed with making lies: STOP turning a blind eye to the human rights violations in your own country. Save your own people from desperate racism, violence and inequality. Smearing and defaming China cannot cover or divert your failure. Bachelet first announced that her office sought an unfettered access to the Uyghur region in September 2018, shortly after she became the U.N.s top human rights official. But the trip has been delayed over questions about her freedom of movement through the region. International rights groups have said that Bachelets visit to Xinjiang must be independent and unhindered to be credible. Bachelets office is under pressure from rights activists to issue the overdue report on alleged serious rights violations by Chinese authorities who target Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in the XUAR. In March, about 200 human rights groups urged Bachelet to make the report public without delay. Up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and others have been held in a vast network of internment camps operated by the Chinese government under the pretext of preventing religious extremism and terrorism among the mostly Muslim groups. The U.S. government and the legislatures of several Western countries have declared that Chinas maltreatment of the Uyghurs and other minority Muslims in Xinjiang constitutes genocide and crimes against humanity. A political pawn Thomas-Greenfields tweet followed a meeting on Wednesday with the family Gulshan Abbas, a Uyghur physician detained for more than three years in an internment camp in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region. Just met with the family of Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a Uyghur medical doctor who's been unjustly detained in China, Thomas-Greenfield tweeted. The U.S. will continue to push for her safety and release and speak out against PRC [Peoples Republic of China] atrocities toward Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups. On Sept. 11, 2018, Chinese police took Gulshan Abbas, now 59, from her home to one of the regions camps. Her family, including her sister, Rushan Abbas, a Uyghur American activist who is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Campaign for Uyghurs based in Washington, D.C., later learned that Gulshan had been sentenced in March 2019 to 20 years in prison on false charges. Rushan has said that her sister was detained on trumped-up terrorism charges after she spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party (CPP). Gulshans daughter, Ziba Murat, told RFA on Thursday that her mother was a nonpolitical, kind, generous person and gentle grandmother with chronic health issues. As a health care provider, she devoted her life providing medical treatments for people suffering from illnesses/disease, Murat said. The CCP defiled my mothers name as if she is a political pawn. My mother is a law-abiding and caring human being, deserving of dignity. In response to the Thomas-Greenfields tweet, the Chinese mission account tweeted: Q: Who is Gulshan Abbas? A: a criminal sentenced to jail for crimes of participating in a terrorist organization, aiding terrorist activities. It is common sense to respect the rule of law. Time to stop making yourself a laughing stock. That prompted Rushan Abbas to join in the exchange: Did I make my sister up or is she in prison? Your claims have 0 credibility. 1st #China denied the existence of my sister (see) & called me a liar, saying I stole images of others. Now they falsely link her to terrorism. In reference to the upcoming visit to China by Bachelet of the U.N., 56 civil society organizations on Tuesday issued a statement laying out certain conditions that must be met in order for the visit to be credible, including the release of the overdue report on serious human rights violations in Xinjiang. They also demanded that Bachelet meet with independent civil society groups, human rights defenders and diaspora groups before leaving for China and to set up unsupervised meetings with human rights defenders and others who have been forcibly disappeared or who have been arbitrarily detained. The groups also said they were concerned that Bachelet has remained silent on the human rights crisis in Tibet, in contrast with her predecessors. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a Germany-based Uyghur activist group that signed on to the statement, said Bachelet also has a responsibility to meet with Uyghur groups and survivors to hear directly from them before her visit to China. Engagement with the affected communities must be a priority for her and her office, WUC president Dolkun Isa said in a statement. Meanwhile, the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Thursday issued a letter to Claude Heller, chair of the U.N. Committee Against Torture, urging him to release a review of Chinas actions. The human rights situation in China has demonstrably worsened since the committees last review in 2015, particularly in the XUAR, which prompted the United States government and policymakers of multiple countries to determine that Chinese authorities have committed genocide or crimes against humanity against Turkic Muslim and other minorities in the region, the letter says. Vietnamese independent journalist Le Trong Hung and his wife Do Le Na are shown in an undated photo. A Vietnamese journalist who has been serving a five-year sentence for livestreaming videos on hot-button social and political issues lost his appeal of the conviction this week, said his wife, who only learned of the decision days later. Le Trong Hung was arrested on March 27, 2021, after declaring his candidacy for a seat in the countrys National Assembly in a challenge to the ruling Communist Party. He was charged with creating, storing, disseminating information, materials, items and publications against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. On Dec. 31, 2021, after a trial that lasted less than four hours, he was sentenced to five years in prison. On Tuesday, authorities watched Hungs house but didnt inform her of the appeal, his wife Do Le Na told RFAs Vietnamese Service. On April 19, I had no reason to go out of the house, and had no idea that my house was being watched. At 11 a.m., my son came home from school and told me that someone was watching our house, she said. After lunch, a friend of Hungs messaged me to ask if the appellate trial was being held that day, Na said. Hungs friend told Na that his house was also under watch on April 19 and a security agent told him that the reason was because Hungs appellate trial was on that day. Na then searched for news about her husband online but could not find anything. It was not until Friday, when she came to the prison where her husband is being detained, that she was able to confirm news of the trial. Hung, 79, is a former teacher and founder of CHTV Television, which formerly livestreamed videos on controversial social and political issues. He was accused of violating Article 117 of Vietnams Penal Code, which has been widely used by authorities to arbitrarily detain journalists and critics. The case against Hung was based on four videos posted to his Facebook page covering sensitive issues, including a deadly Jan. 9, 2020, police crackdown during a land dispute in Dong Tam Commune. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong. President Vladimir Putin has justified Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine as a necessary move for "defending the motherland," a claim Britain said mirrored the fascism and tyranny that sparked World War II, as Russian forces pressed ahead with their offensive in the east and south of the country. In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised his war-ravaged nation that Ukraine will soon have two Victory Days, as the last Ukrainian defenders at the besieged Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol vowed to fight to the end against Russian troops who have surrounded them. Putin, who presided over a military parade in Moscow's Red Square to mark the Soviet Union's role in the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, reiterated his accusation that NATO was creating threats right next to its borders and claimed that the invasion of Ukraine was a necessary preemptive action. 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. He also addressed soldiers fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which Russia has pledged to "liberate" from Kyiv. "Defending the motherland when its fate is being decided has always been sacred," he said. In his own speech marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, Zelenskiy on May 9 likened the Allies' fight against Hitler with his nation's struggle to repel Russia's aggression. We will never forget what our ancestors did in World War II, where more than 8 million Ukrainians died. Every fifth Ukrainian didnt return home, Zelenskiy said, adding, Soon there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine. And someone will not have even one left. We won then. We will win now, too,'' he said. Meanwhile, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace called out the "absurdity of Russian generals -- resplendent in their manicured parade uniforms and weighed down by their many medals," saying they were "utterly complicit in Putin's hijacking of their forebears' proud history of...repelling fascism." "All professional soldiers should be appalled at the behavior of the Russian Army," as they not only have "engaged in an illegal invasion and war crimes, but their top brass have failed their own rank and file to the extent they should be court-martialed," he said in a speech at the British National Army Museum. "Through the invasion of Ukraine, Putin and his inner circle of generals are now mirroring the fascism and tyranny of 77 years ago, repeating the errors of the last century's totalitarian regime," he added. U.S. President Joe Biden on May 9 signed largely symbolic legislation to reboot the World War II-era lend-lease program that helped defeat Nazi Germany. Before signing the bill, Biden said that Putins war was once more bringing wanton destruction of Europe, drawing a reference to the anniversary of the allied victory in 1945. Although there had been speculation that Putin might officially declare war on Ukraine, his 11-minute speech offered no assessment of progress in the war and gave no indication of how long it might continue. Russian forces have so far failed to complete the occupation of the strategic Sea of Azov port of Mariupol, where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters continue to resist in the sprawling network of underground tunnels and bunkers of the Azovstal steel mill. Azovstal has achieved a symbolic value in the conflict, as Russian forces sought a celebratory win ahead of May 9. Zelenskiy warned of more intense attacks against the remaining defenders, who vowed to fight to the end. The complete capture of Mariupol would also deprive Ukraine of a vital port, allow Russia to complete a land corridor to the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, and free troops up for fighting elsewhere. On the battlefield, intense fighting raged in Ukraine's east, the port of Odesa in the south came under missile attack, and Russian forces sought to finish off the Ukrainian defenders of the steel plant, who have vowed to fight to the end. The Odessa City Council said late on May 9 that three missiles were fired from an aircraft, destroying five buildings. Two people were injured and taken to hospital, a statement from the council said. According to the City Council, rescuers managed to save a dog from under the debris. "This is how they celebrate their Victory Day. Apparently, the only thing the occupiers have won is common sense and humanity," said Maksym Marchenko, head of the Odessa regional military administration. Russian troops earlier on May 9 fired four missiles into the Odesa region from occupied Crimea. The missile strike occurred as European Council President Charles Michel visited the city. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said there had been indications that Ukrainians have been taken against their will into Russia." Asked about statements from Kyiv that more than 1 million Ukrainians were being sent to Russia and placed in camps, Kirby said: "I can't speak to how many camps or what they look like." He called these actions "unconscionable" and "not the behavior of a responsible power." On May 8, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) commemorated the anniversary of the end of World War II by pledging to "spare no effort" to hold Putin and the architects "and accomplices of this aggression," including the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Belarus, accountable for their actions. The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States said Putin's actions "bring shame on Russia and the historical sacrifices of its people." WATCH: Fighting continues to rage near Vuhledar, a city in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Because of the ongoing, unpredictable shelling by Russian forces, many people are living in basements. The buildings have been cut off from electricity, water, and gas. Civilian casualties are buried in an improvised cemetery. The United States after the meeting announced sanctions against three Russian television stations and executives from Gazprombank along with a ban on Americans providing accounting and consulting services to Russians. Zelenskiy also told the G7 leaders that 60 civilians had died in the bombing of a school on May 7 in the eastern Luhansk region. "They were hiding from shelling in the building of a regular school, which was attacked by a Russian air strike," he said. British officials announced an extra $1.6 billion in military aid for Ukraine, while Britain's Defense Ministry said in its regular bulletin on May 9 that Moscow's invasion "has revealed shortcomings in its ability to conduct precision strikes" on a large scale and has shown utter disregard for the lives of civilians. "Russia has subjected Ukraine's towns and cities to intense and indiscriminate bombardments with little or no regard to civilian casualties," the ministry said. With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and dpa Irans parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf is facing calls to resign after members of his family were reported to have gone on a recent shopping spree in Turkey. The familys reported splurge has triggered widespread outrage in Iran, where many are struggling to make ends meet in a decimated economy that has been crushed by crippling U.S. sanctions and years of mismanagement. Social media reports suggested that Qalibafs wife, daughter, and son-in-law returned from Istanbul to Tehran on April 19 with excess luggage that included baby clothes and accessories, including a crib and stroller. Iranians have accused Qalibaf of hypocrisy. The former Tehran mayor has pledged to serve underprivileged Iranians and in the past condemned Iranian officials who travelled abroad on shopping trips. The 60-year-old has not publicly reacted to the uproar. But his son has said his father had opposed the trip. Those comments have done little to curb the tide of criticism directed at Qalibaf, who became the speaker of Iran's parliament in 2020. 'Moral Collapse' During protests in dozens of Iranian cities and towns on April 21, Iranian teachers demanding better pay and work conditions appeared to chant slogans against Qalibaf. Let go of the layette, cure our pain, teachers were heard chanting in amateur videos posted on social media. In an April 21 editorial that appeared on its front page, the reformist daily Aftab-e Yazd called on Qalibaf to step down. At a time when Iranians are barely managing to survive, the parliament speakers wife and daughter visited Turkey to buy a layette, the daily wrote. The conservative news site Khabaronline.ir said the trip highlighted the moral collapse of governance in the Islamic republic, where government functionaries often claim to live modest lives. In recent years, amid the deteriorating economic situation, officials have called on Iranians to resist Western pressure and tighten their belts. Buying baby accessories from Turkey or any other country is not a crime or a sin, Khabaronline.ir said in an April 21 editorial. But lies and hypocrisy are ugly, and this is what has devastated Iranian politics and power. Tehran-based analyst Abbas Abdi, commenting on Twitter, said the controversy is so important and devastating that [Qalibaf] has to resign. In a bid to highlight Qalibafs apparent hypocrisy, Iranian social media users have widely shared videos of a TV presidential election debate in 2017, during which he blasted a minister for reportedly traveling to Italy to buy baby clothes. Our education minister buys baby clothes from Italy. Do you think that will help our economy? Never, Qalibaf said during the debate in a public show of support for domestic production. Iranian activist Vahid Ashtari, who has revealed details of the Qalibaf familys trip to Turkey, said on Twitter that it was inconceivable for a sitting official who has given speeches about domestic production to then send his family to Turkey to buy a layette." The reformist Shargh daily said the controversy highlighted why parliament, which is dominated by hard-liners, has been pushing for a draconian Internet bill that could increase online censorship and further restrict Internet access. The free flow of information is not something [authorities] like, the daily wrote in an editorial. If, contrary to their promises and slogans, their family travels to Turkey to buy a layette then photos and videos are posted online in a second, exposing them to the public eye. 'Unforgivable Mistake' In a post on Instagram, Qalibaf's son, Elias, called the trip an unforgivable mistake and claimed that his fathers opposition to the trip had been ignored. This trip amid the current economic conditions was definitely wrong, he said, denying reports that the family had purchased a layette. He said social media reports contained inaccuracies and exaggerations. Mohammad Saeed Ahadian, Qalibaf's political and media adviser, accused the parliament speaker's critics of exaggeration and said that a father cannot be blamed for his childs deeds. Mahmud Razavi, Qalibafs cultural adviser, claimed the uproar over the trip had been orchestrated. No one knew about the pregnancy of Qalibafs daughter and there was no way to find out other than intelligence gathering, he said. Qalibaf -- a one-time aerospace commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and a former Tehran police chief -- faced allegations of corruption during his tenure as mayor of the Iranian capital from 2005 to 2017. He has denied any wrongdoing. An audio file leaked to RFE/RLs Radio Farda appeared to suggest that, during his stint as mayor, Qalibaf had offered to sign a phony contract with the IRGC to cover up an 80 trillion-rial (about $2 billion at the time) shortfall discovered during an audit of the Cooperative Foundation. The foundation is one of the many opaque state-funded trusts in Iran that the IRGC, a branch of the Iranian military, employs to exert significant influence on the domestic economy. Issa Sharifi, Qalibafs former deputy, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in March 2021 and fined for financial fraud over the same case. Qalibaf has not faced any charges. BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev has resigned. Presidential spokesman Erbol Sultanbaev told RFE/RL on April 22 that Kazakbaev stepped down but did not give any details. Kazakbaev, 55, had served as the Central Asian nation's foreign minister since October 14, 2020. It was his second time in the post after serving from 2010 to 2012. He was elected as a lawmaker in 2015. ASHGABAT -- Consumers in Turkmenistan may pay a lot more than money for their daily bread after officials warned that anyone found buying more than their allotted share of the staple could be jailed. RFE/RL correspondents from the energy-rich Central Asian nation's capital, Ashgabat, said that police have begun monitoring lines at state grocery stores, taking pictures and filming customers to prevent them from returning to buy extra bread. As they studied the crowds, police warned that anyone found buying more than their allotment of bread will face a penalty of up to 15 days in jail, the journalists said. The authoritarian government in Turkmenistan has been forced to tighten controls as poverty and economic hardship grow across the country despite its wealth of energy resources. Lines are commonplace as people rush to state shops when they open at 5:30 a.m. in an attempt to get subsidized bread, which is about a tenth of the price of what is found at bazaars and private bakeries. Earlier in February, police were detaining those who tried to buy more bread than their ration, including children, but released them shortly afterward. The amount of bread allotted to a person varies from region to region, and can be up to three pieces a day. Despite being home to the world's fourth-largest proven natural-gas reserves, corruption and chronic mismanagement of resources have led Turkmenistan into an economic tailspin. The situation has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which the Turkmen government officially denies. The country has seen a dramatic increase in the number of individuals who rely on subsidized food as prices at state grocery stores rise. A senior Russian military official's comments that Moscow plans to take full control of the eastern Donbas region and southern Ukraine during its new offensive has drawn a sharp reaction from Kyiv as Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces had increased attacks along the whole front line in the east. Rustam Minnekayev, acting commander of the Central Military District, was quoted by official Russian state media outlets on April 22 as saying that full control of southern Ukraine was a strategic goal to allow access to Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniester, which borders Ukraine. Minnekayev said Russian speakers were oppressed in Transdniester. Moldova and Western leaders say that is untrue. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. The comments by Minnekayev were the most detailed description yet of Russia's goals in the second phase of its invasion of Ukraine, and were highlighted by Kyiv as a sign that the Kremlin has been lying in previous statements that said it had no territorial ambitions. "They are not going to stop. The command of the Russian central military district announced the next victim of the Russian aggression. After gaining control over the southern Ukraine, Russia plans to invade Moldova, where they say Russian speakers are being 'oppressed,'" Ukraine's Defense Ministry said on Twitter. "They stopped hiding it," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in another tweet. Russia "acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is." To achieve the goals Minnekayev laid out, Russia would have to push hundreds of kilometers westward beyond current lines and past the major Ukrainian cities of Mykolayiv and Odesa. A Russian occupation of the territory would cut off Ukraine's entire Black Sea coastline. Kyiv has warned several times that Transdniester could be used as a staging area for Russian operations against Ukraine or Moldova, which shares a border and a common history with NATO member Romania. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address late on April 22 that Minnekayev's comments showed Moscow wants to invade other countries. He also said allies were finally delivering the weapons that Kyiv had asked for, adding the arms would help save the lives of thousands of people. "We will defend ourselves as long as possible...but all the nations who, like us, believe in the victory of life over death must fight with us," he said. Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces increased attacks along the front line after shifting troops away from the southeastern port of Mariupol. The Mariupol mayor's office said that Russian forces had been pummeling an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters holed up inside the plant, the last known pocket of resistance in the city. "Every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal," said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's mayor. "Fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop." The Russian Defense Ministry said it was ready for a cease-fire to allow trapped civilians a chance to get out but only if Ukraine's soldiers surrendered. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that "there is a possibility" a humanitarian corridor out of the besieged port city of Mariupol could be opened up on April 23. "Watch the official announcements tomorrow morning. If all goes well, I will confirm," she said in an online address to people waiting to be evacuated. Zelenskiy said Russia had rejected a proposed truce in Mariupol over Orthodox Easter this weekend. In the Kharkiv region, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had captured a large arms depot. It also reported hitting dozens of targets in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions on April 22. But a senior NATO official who briefed reporters on April 22 said Kharkiv had turned out to be "an incredibly difficult challenge" for Russian forces. "Ukrainian citizens in Kharkiv have shown great ability to defend themselves in several counterattacks. The fighting there was extremely powerful," the official said, adding that the Ukrainians hold the city. The official also said that Russia is expected to send more than a thousand mercenaries from the Vagner Group, a private military company, to fight in eastern Ukraine. "We have already seen that the Russian private military company Vagner operates in eastern Ukraine, and we expect that they will send more mercenaries, including high-ranking members of the organization," the official said at the briefing. Moscow is recruiting mercenaries, including foreign fighters, to make up for losses within its army, but it is unclear which of these groups will be integrated into Russian units in Ukraine and how this will affect their combat effectiveness, the official said. Russia's current actions in the Donbas, where its troops are trying to advance towards Kramatorsk, point to even more aggressive operations in the future, the official added. With fighting intensifying, the Russian government and the United Nations announced that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week in an attempt to discuss bringing peace to Ukraine. Before the announcement Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said discussions had stalled, but Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide and Russia's lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, confirmed reports that he had held several lengthy conversations on April 22 with the head of the Ukrainian delegation, but he did not elaborate. The Russia's Defense Ministry admitted late on April 22 that one crew member died and 27 are missing as a result of a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser last week. The remaining 396 crew members were evacuated to other ships of the Black Sea Fleet, Interfax said, citing a statement from the ministry. Russia acknowledged on April 14 that the Moskva had sunk, attributing the disaster to a fire that caused ammunition on the ship to detonate. Ukraine and the United States said the ship sank after Ukrainian forces hit the vessel on April 13 with at least one Neptune missile. Russia initially claimed that the entire crew of 500 was evacuated from the ship. Meanwhile, the United Nations human rights office in Geneva said there was growing evidence that Russia's actions in Ukraine may amount to war crimes. In the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, a UN mission has documented that 50 civilians had been killed there, including by summary execution, it said. Russian officials have denied that their soldiers killed any civilians there and accused Ukraine of staging the atrocities. With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak Reuters, AFP, CNN, BBC, and AP The last Ukrainian fighters in the besieged Azovstal steel plant in the strategic port of Mariupol vowed on May 8 not to give up as they face a bloody final showdown with Russian invaders after the evacuation of civilians. "We will continue to fight as long as we are alive to repel the Russian occupiers," Captain Svyatoslav Palamar, a deputy commander of Ukraine's Azov Regiment, told an online news conference. 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. "We don't have much time. We are coming under intense shelling," Palamar said, pleading with the international community to help to evacuate wounded soldiers from the plant. Officials on both sides said the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal had been completed. Eight buses carrying 174 Mariupol civilians, including 40 evacuated from the steelworks, arrived in Ukrainian-controlled Zaporizhzhya on May 8, AFP reported. Azovstal, with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian defenders holed up in its sprawling network of underground tunnels and bunkers, has achieved a symbolic value in the conflict, with the Russian forces seeking a celebratory win ahead of the Victory Day holiday on May 9. The conquering of Mariupol would also give Moscow a land bridge between the Crimean Peninsula, which it illegally annexed in 2014, and regions run by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders of the Group of 7 (G7) countries on May 8 that 60 civilians died in the bombing of a school on May 7 in the eastern Luhansk region. "They were hiding from shelling in the building of a regular school, which was attacked by a Russian air strike," he said during a virtual meeting. Serhiy Hayday, the governor of the Luhansk region, told reporters earlier that Russian forces had bombed the school in Bilohorivka where about 90 people were sheltering, triggering a fire that engulfed the building. Hayday said 30 people were rescued from under the rubble. Bilohorivka is an urban settlement about 10 kilometers west of Lysychansk, which is under heavy Russian bombardment. Zelenskiy denounced Russia's heavy shelling in the east of the country, saying Russia has "forgotten everything that was important to the victors of World War II" a day before Moscow commemorates the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany. WATCH: In the first stage of the operation to evacuate civilians from the Azovstal steelworks, which is under attack by Russian forces in Mariupol, over 150 people were brought out by bus. Those who got out told harrowing stories on May 3 of bodies strewn around the plant. After Zelenskiy met with the G7 leaders, the group condemned Russias "unprovoked, unjustifiable, and illegal military aggression" against Ukraine and its "attempts to replace democratically elected Ukrainian local authorities with illegitimate ones." The G7 leaders commemorated the anniversary of the end of World War II by pledging to "spare no effort" to hold Putin and the architects "and accomplices of this aggression," including the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Belarus, accountable for their actions. The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States said Putin's actions "bring shame on Russia and the historical sacrifices of its people." The United States after the meeting announced sanctions against three Russian television stations and executives from Gazprombank along with a ban on Americans providing accounting and consulting services to Russians. Ahead of the virtual meeting, British officials announced an extra $1.6 billion in military aid for Ukraine. The funding includes 300 million pounds of military equipment promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This includes radar systems to target Russian artillery, GPS jamming equipment, and night-vision devices. Earlier in the day, Zelenskiy met with the president of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, Baerbel Bas, who traveled to Kyiv by train, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced new weapons and equipment for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russian individuals and entities connected with the invasion. He also said the Canadian Embassy would reopen. Zelenskiy said securing the Bundestag's approval of heavy arms deliveries to help Ukraine fend off Russian attacks was one of his country's top priorities. The visit came after a major shift in German policy to send heavy weapons to Ukraine, including self-propelled howitzers and Gepard anti-aircraft systems, also known as the Cheetah system. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced increasing criticism over Germany not doing enough to help Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. But Scholz's government reversed course last month and pledged to export heavier weapons to Kyiv. On May 6, Zelenskiy called on Scholz to take a "powerful step" and visit Kyiv on May 9 -- the date that Russia commemorates as the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. There was no immediate word on whether Scholz had agreed. The German chancellor emphasized Germany's historical responsibility in supporting Ukraine against Russia's war in a televised speech he was to deliver to mark the anniversary. "We have learned a central lesson from our country's catastrophic history between 1933 and 1945," Scholz said, according to a transcript of the address quoted by dpa. "Freedom and security will triumph -- just as freedom and security triumphed over violence and dictatorship 77 years ago," he said. On the battlefront, Russia's Defense Ministry said on May 8 that it had destroyed a Ukrainian Navy ship near Odesa in an overnight missile strike. The ministry's statement added that Russian air defenses also shot down two Ukrainian SU-24 bombers and a Mi-24 helicopter over Snake Island in the Black Sea at night. The reports could not be independently verified. The head of Ukraine's regional military administration said Russian troops launched a series of missile strikes in the Odesa region during the day on May 8. According to Maxim Marchenko, the attacks took place beginning early in the day, and Ukrainian air-defense units shot down four missiles, but an apartment house was hit, wounding a young girl, and a substation was destroyed, knocking out power in six neighborhoods. On May 7, the Ukrainian military said it had destroyed a Russian landing ship near Snake Island, hitting it with an armed drone. There was no immediate comment from Russia. Russian forces launched a new offensive last month along most of Ukraine's eastern flank, with some of most intense attacks and shelling taking place recently around Popasna in the Luhansk region. There has also been fierce fighting around Popasna in recent days amid a sustained Russian assault, and Hayday said Ukrainian forces had been pulling back and that the town had been destroyed. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said his troops had taken control of most of the town. With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and dpa NOTE TO READERS: The Week In Russia will next appear on May 6. A Russian flagship sinks and President Vladimir Putin stays silent. More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine, where evidence of atrocities mounts while Putin sets its sights on the east and south. Meanwhile in Moscow, fears that Putin's war on Ukraine will leave Russia's "economy crippled, its security compromised, and its global influence gutted" are growing, a report says. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward. August 2000 "It sank." That's what Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September 2000, when CNN's Larry King asked him what had happened to the nuclear-powered submarine Kursk, which had sunk in the Barents Sea on August 12, killing all 118 crewmen. More than 22 years later, the Russian military has said little more than that about the loss last week of the missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, which Ukraine says it hit with a pair of Neptune missiles fired from the shore. And Putin, so far, has said nothing at all. The near silence of the Kremlin and the military has left families of sailors who were aboard the Moskva scrambling to find out what happened to them -- and meeting more silence, in some cases. In the days since the warship sank on April 14, a day after Ukraine said it was hit, dramatically different depictions of the situation have emerged from the state and some of the parents desperately seeking to find out whether their sons are dead or alive. The most substantial piece of information disseminated by the Defense Ministry -- a video it said showed the commander of the navy meeting members of the Moskva's crew in Sevastopol, the Crimean port where the fleet is based -- is one that may have raised more questions than it answered. Up to about 150 sailors could be seen in the video -- all seemingly unhurt and showing no signs of ill-effects from the fiery incident at sea days before it aired. The ministry has said that crew members were evacuated from the Moskva, which it said sank while being towed in a storm following a fire on board caused by the detonation of unspecified ammunition -- suggesting that the cause was an accident. But it has said nothing about casualties aboard the vessel. 'Where Are The Others?' So even though the number of men lined up in the video looked far short of the more than 500 sailors who were believed to have been on board the Moskva, a viewer watching the placid scene on a windy spring day in Sevastopol might be led to believe that all was well -- that the warship was lost but its crew survived. Contrast that with the words of Irina Shkrebets, who has been trying to find her son, Dmitry, since she and her husband learned that the Moskva had sunk. One place they looked was a hospital in Sevastopol, where she said some 200 wounded sailors were being treated. "We looked at every burned child. I can't tell you how hard it was, but I couldn't find mine. There were only 200 people [at the hospital] and there were more than 500 on board the cruiser," she said. "Where are the others? We looked in Krasnodar and everywhere else, we've called everywhere, but we can't find him." The searches by parents contained faint echoes of the journeys that Russian women and men made to the Chechnya region during the first war there in the 1990s, filled with hope and dread as they risked their lives to search for their sons -- but in this case, they are weaving through a bureaucracy, not a war zone. And the demise of the Moskva bears a far greater resemblance to the sinking of the Kursk, even though that tragedy took place in peacetime and was caused by accidental explosions on board, despite elaborate efforts to pin blame on the West. The Kursk disaster was a major setback for Putin, who had started his first presidential term three months earlier and faced fierce criticism over his handling of the crisis and its aftermath. Critics said he and the military were slow to start rescue operations -- with several crewmen surviving in the stern compartment of the stricken submarine for several hours at least after the blasts -- and rejected foreign assistance until it was too late. Lesson Learned? It tested Putin's ability to handle public pressure and revealed an adamant desire to avoid blame -- to the point where he suggested, falsely, that grieving widows and sisters of crew members were prostitutes hired to harm his reputation. In another Russia, or another country, the lessons of the Kursk might have led to more openness and transparency -- to greater accountability of those in power to the citizens they serve, and not the other way around. The virtual silence over the sinking of the Moskva suggests that Putin has moved steadily in the opposite direction in the years since. And the state has taken numerous steps to prevent the public from getting accurate information about developments in the war on Ukraine. The number of deaths among the Moskva's crew is unknown, as is the number of deaths of Russian soldiers in Ukraine since Putin launched the large-scale invasion on February 24 -- after nearly eight years of war between Kyiv's forces and Moscow-backed separatists in the eastern region known as the Donbas. In Ukraine, meanwhile, the suffering from the unprovoked invasion seems incalculable. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and more than 5 million people have fled the country -- with more than 7 million others driven from their homes but still in Ukraine. Evidence of war crimes continues to mount, both in the areas around Kyiv and Chernihiv that Russian forces devastated before retreating a few weeks ago and in numerous cities, towns, and villages in the east and south, including besieged Mariupol, Izyum, and Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv. The Donbas and regions relatively nearby are now the main focus of the fighting. After failing to topple President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government or capture Kyiv following what are widely believed to be major miscalculations about what the Russian invasion could achieve and how fast, Putin now seems determined to seize control of at least the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and probably also swaths of territory nearby, including a "land corridor" from the Russian border to the isthmus that links mainland Ukraine to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia occupied and seized in 2014. 'Years Of Isolation' If that is the plan, whether the Russian military can achieve it is unknown and may hinge heavily on the volume and variety of military aid the West provides to Ukraine. In Russia, meanwhile, there are rumblings of dissatisfaction and concern in circles close to Putin -- though maybe not within the very small circle of hawkish associates who seem to have had his ear more than ever in the last year or two. Citing 10 people "with direct knowledge of the situation," Bloomberg News reported that "with military losses mounting and Russia facing unprecedented international isolation, a small but growing number of senior Kremlin insiders are quietly questioning his decision to go to war." "The ranks of the critics at the pinnacle of power remain limited, spread across high-level posts in government and state-run business," the April 20 article says. "They believe the invasion was a catastrophic mistake that will set the country back for years." Mark Galeotti, an author and political analyst who is an expert on Russia's intelligence and security services, wrote on Twitter that he had been hearing that, too -- "and it is certainly not confined to technocrats [and] businesspeople." "Even within the security structures, there's growing alarm and dismay at the invasion, the way it was mishandled, and Putin's apparent refusal to appreciate the long-term dangers," he wrote. At the same time, the Bloomberg article says that "support for Putin's war remains deep across much of Russia's elite, with many insiders embracing in public and in private the Kremlin's narrative that conflict with the West is inevitable and that the economy will adapt to the sweeping sanctions" imposed by the West. And while "more and more top insiders have come to believe that Putin's commitment to continue the invasion will doom Russia to years of isolation and heightened tension that will leave its economy crippled, its security compromised, and its global influence gutted," it says, there is "no sign that Putin is yet ready" to cut it short or make "the serious concessions needed to reach a cease-fire." "Putin is determined to push on with the fight, even if the Kremlin has had to reduce its ambitions from a quick, sweeping takeover of much of the country to a grueling battle for the Donbas region in the east," Bloomberg reported, citing its sources. "Settling for less would leave Russia hopelessly vulnerable and weak in the face of the threat seen from the U.S. and its allies, according to this view." Mr. Phan Van Mai, Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, along with several leaders and heads of relevant departments and business sectors, held high level meetings during the investment promotion week with three leading corporations in Asia, namely the Van Thinh Phat Group of Vietnam, the ORIX Corporation of Japan, and the CK Asset Holdings Limited Group of Hong Kong, calling for strong investments in Ho Chi Minh City after the Covid-19 pandemic. Van Thinh Phat Group The Van Thinh Phat Group is a private economic corporation, being mainly a domestic investor, with more than 30 years of operation in the field of real estate with several outstanding projects. This company operates under a motto that puts the task of promoting and protecting its national brand first. The Van Thinh Phat Group company is not only a pioneer in economic development but also in the field of charity, community development, and social welfare across the country. In the recent battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, the Van Thinh Phat Group left an indelible mark by practical and meaningful humanitarian activities by supporting the State and the community with 25 million doses of vaccines, and establishing three field hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City with 7,500 beds, with fully equipped medical facilities, along with a supply of thousands of essential food items. During the adaption phase back to a new normal way, the Van Thinh Phat Group has once again pioneered efforts to call worthy leading investors such as ORIX Corporation, and CK Assets Holdings Limited to look towards Vietnam for further investments. The hope is that these companies will cooperate in investment and development in key areas in Ho Chi Minh City such as finance, infrastructure, real estate, technology, and renewable energy. There is need now more than ever to improve the quality of social infrastructure, and the quality of life in the post-pandemic reconstruction phase. Ms. Truong Hue Van, General Director of the Van Thinh Phat Group, said that his corporation is deeply attached to the development of Ho Chi Minh City for more than thirty years. His company has been steadfast in supporting the Party and the State to build a rich, beautiful, civilized and progressive city. Despite going through many challenges, the Van Thinh Phat Group still wholeheartedly maintains an identity in its business philosophy, which is a firm commitment towards long-term and sustainable development, and always putting the prestige of the corporation and the country above all else. The Group always wants to connect all resources, open all investment capital for the country, bring in new opportunities, and all available potential for proper development of the highest quality and stature to the City that has been named after Uncle Ho. ORIX Corporation The ORIX Corporation is a global corporation with a long history of nearly 60 years in construction and development in Japan. Currently, ORIX has bases in 31 countries and territories, more than 888 subsidiaries, and 134 affiliated companies. The ORIX Corporation is one of the world's largest renewable energy groups with more than 3GW installed worldwide, and a leading investor in the finance, insurance, and real estate industries. By the end of 2021, the ORIX Corporation was managing assets of upto USD 400 bn, almost 33,000 employees, revenue of more than USD 13.5 bn, total assets of USD 91 bn, and equity of USD 24 bn. Mr. Li Hao, Deputy Leader of the East Asia Business Headquarter of ORIX Corporation, and Chairman of Orix Asia Capital Ltd., affirmed that they were looking forward to finding a common platform to work with the Ho Chi Minh City government in developing financial infrastructure that is firmly connected to the international market, serving as the foundation for attracting more investment and developing real-value assets. This is also in sync with the ideals of the Van Thinh Phat Group as well. CK Asset Holdings Limited The CK Asset Holdings Limited is one of the largest investment groups in Hong Kong in the field of real estate and infrastructure founded by billionaire Ly Gia Thanh, with many investment achievements in Hong Kong, China, and many other countries around the world. This group has a history of more than 70 years, with total assets of around USD 80 bn, equity of more than USD 50 bn, and revenue in 2020 reaching more than USD 9 bn. Mr. Justin Chiu, CEO of CK Asset Holdings Limited, said that in each country, their investment decisions start with two prerequisites. First, government support and second, having a worthy local partner who understands the locality and has the ability to connect with the world market. At the investment conference, leaders of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City welcomed and appreciated the investment efforts of the Van Thinh Phat Group and its partners. At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City also committed to supporting investors, promptly removing difficulties, and creating favorable conditions for businesses, in order to position Ho Chi Minh City as the economic locomotive of the country and as a typical city of the region offering innovative, elite and breakthrough investment programs. Mai Phuong A group of residents of the Harmony Grove area west of Escondido, where two housing developments totaling about 800 homes were recently approved by the county, warned Tuesday that a fire evacuation tragedy like that which happened during the Camp Fire in Paradise could happen here. Standing just off Country Club Drive where one of two housing developments, was approved in July by the Board of Supervisors, members of the Harmony Grove/Elfin Forest Town Council made their point. Many on the council have joined in a lawsuit against the county challenging the approvals, primarily on the fire danger and evacuation issue. This area has burned many, many times, including the Cocos fire (May 2014), said JP Theberge, chair of the council. In a dead-end bowl like this, there should be at least two ways out. Our Fire Authority and our supervisors have approved these projects without that secondary egress. Advertisement Theberge and others said when evacuations are ordered, far too many people will be bottle-necked along Country Club Drive and other roads in the community. They are not designed to handle anything close to the kind of traffic that will happen when flames and smoke are threatening the community. Those of us who live in these communities all over the unincorporated area, weve taken that risk, Thebarge said. We know we live in a fire zone and we are prepared to evacuate. But when you put another 800 houses on two-lane roads with only one way out there is a mathematical impossibility of getting people out in a limited amount of time. The point of the news conference, said Jacqueline Arsivaud, a member of the council and a candidate earlier this year for county supervisor, was to bring community awareness to the problem, to raise funds to help support their litigation, and perhaps to influence the courts when a judge decides whether the approval should be reversed. She and others rejected the idea that they were exploiting the recent fire tragedy in Northern California where at least 79 people have died and nearly 13,000 homes have been destroyed in the Camp Fire, the most deadly and destructive wildfire in state history. Many who perished were stuck in traffic while trying to flee. During the supervisors hearing on July 25, when the Harmony Grove Village South and Valiano projects were approved, fire and law enforcement officials assured the supervisors that an orderly, controlled evacuation of the area was possible should wildfire threaten the area. The supervisors said they were satisfied with precautions taken by the developers and stressed the need for more housing in the county. But several people said yesterday an orderly evacuation is not possible when people are afraid they are going to die. Scott Sutherland, vice chair of the Elfin Forest Harmony Grove Town Council, said studies show that at key intersections in the area only 500 cars can get through in an hour. During an evacuation, no matter how much law enforcement tries to control it, thousands will clog the roads all at once putting everyone at risk. The group said their warning also applies to other large housing projects that have either been approved or are awaiting approval in the unincorporated areas such as Newland Sierra north of Escondido, Lilac Hills Ranch in Valley Center and Warner Ranch near Pala. jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones (Photo : Kindel Media from Pexels) University of Sheffield scholars carried out a study that gives further insights regarding how meningitis spreads. The authors expect that the new findings from the condition could be utilized to improve solutions against meningitis that are available today. Through the extensive observation of meningitis, researchers found that a fungus called Cryptococcus neoformans induces the impact of the infection to influence the state of the human body. The fungus helps meningitis to spread in a patient by disrupting the natural process of blood vessels, including blocking and even bursting these pathways. Global cases of meningitis rise up to 2.5 million per year, EurekAlert reports. The latest meningitis research, according to the authors, could also open studies relating to other conditions that involve blood vessels, including many neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Meningitis and Cryptococcus neoformans Cryptococcus neoformans microbes were identified to lodge abnormally in blood vessels whenever meningitis occurs. This blockage prevents the standard blood flow from being passed on to specific parts of the body. These microbes could even burst the affected area due to the high blood pressure. They can materialize as well in small blood vessels, allowing an easier and more critical burst that produces other infectious substances to internal organs such as the brain. Meningitis is commonly a product of a separate infection that manifests in the spinal cord and the brain. The inflammation could be severe if left untreated and likely result in a life-threatening situation due to how fast it spreads. Sheffield's Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease expert Simon Johnston, who also led the paper, explained that the brain organ contains a complex structure that has the capacity to ward-off microbes effectively. However, their team has singled out an approach that is utilized very easily by microbes in escaping the intense blood flow on the vessels and reaching the brain, Johnston added. ALSO READ: Plant-Based Solutions Are Key To Combating The Risks Of Heavy Metals In Infant Nutrition Microbes Blocking and Bursting Blood Vessels Previous meningitis studies presented how these particular microbes can disrupt the protection of the brain and even utilize immune cells to infiltrate the brain. The latest analysis, on the other hand, demonstrates how the microbes evade the immune cells and how the same, effective microbes damage pathways and travel straight to the brain. The study was made possible through the collaboration of the University of Queensland and Singapore's Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A-Star). The experiments on how the fungi work with meningitis were conducted through zebrafish larvae. From the subjects, the team found the exact activities that meningitis carries out across blood vessels. Johnston said that the research is inspired by the puzzling damages in the blood vessels that were recorded in many meningitis patients. The meningitis-inducing infections can be treated with the available solutions developed today. However, these antimicrobials can be rendered ineffective when a lot of damage by meningitis was already inflicted on an individual. Current challenges include the increasing global cases of antimicrobial-resistant infections. The study was published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, titled "Blood vessel occlusion by Cryptococcus neoformans is a mechanism for haemorrhagic dissemination of infection." RELATED ARTICLE: Experts Weigh Benefits and Disadvantages of Plant-Based Fake Meats Check out more news and information on Medicine and Health in Science Times. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Arian Royeens orange-yellow-and-green scarf flapped behind her as she sprinted around the baggage carousels and pulled her mother, Gul Makai Royeen, into a long embrace. Both women wept. It was nearing midnight inside San Francisco International Airports Terminal 3 and they had waited eight months for this moment. I have so much excitement and happiness that my heart is beating so hard, Gul Makai said in Dari, translated by her son-in-law, Ismail Rahimi. Arian, 28, arrived after a 24-hour journey from a U.S. military base in Qatar, via Kosovo and Washington, D.C., landing in San Francisco on Wednesday night. Arian couldnt contain her excitement, laughing, chatting and hugging her siblings. I am very happy, she said in Dari. So happy. Then she told her sister, Sadaf Royeen, how the flight attendant gave her extra chocolates. It was mid-August when Gul Makai last smelled her daughters hair, caressed her cheek and held her hand. She had prayed for this moment ever since Arians hand slipped from hers outside the Kabul airport gates during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gul Makai was put on an evacuation plane and eventually made it to her other adult children in San Jose. But she never stopped looking for her lost daughter. Arian has an intellectual disability and struggled to understand why she was separated from her mother all these months. Its a nightmare that Gul Makai replays over and over, she said. The day the two were separated began like any other. A call came from Gul Makais daughter in Dubai that the Taliban was taking over Kabul and she and Arian needed to evacuate the city. Mother and daughter locked their home and hurried to the airport. The familys ties to the U.S. military made them potential targets. Two of Gul Makais children worked with the U.S. military during its years in Afghanistan. As Gul Makai and Arian battled the crowds outside Kabul airport, gunshots sounded. Arian tugged her hand from her mothers to plug her ears. The crowd surged, pushing Gul Makai to the other side of gates that slammed shut. The terrified mother pleaded with guards to let her out to find her daughter, but was put onto a departing plane. Days later, a cousin found Arian disheveled and disoriented. Arians siblings in San Jose and Dubai mounted an international rescue mission, lodging missing persons reports, calling elected officials and pleading with the State Department to evacuate Arian from Afghanistan, to little avail. It fell to a volunteer, Lynne Schneider, to find Arian and her cousin a path out of Afghanistan. An Army reservist who served two tours in Iraq and was volunteering her time to help allies escape, Schneider organized their passage into Pakistan under the cover of darkness and then worked her connections to try to get Arian to her family in San Jose. Yet she kept encountering obstacles. Arian languished in a hostel in Islamabad with her cousin, unable to understand why her mother had not come to get her. After The Chronicle asked the State Department about Arians case, she was flown in February to a U.S. military base in Qatar, where she spent the next two months. 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. Every Afghan will, at a minimum, undergo a rigorous and multi-layered screening and vetting process before they are permitted to enter the United States, State Department spokesperson Cameo Cheung told The Chronicle in an emailed statement. When asked how Arians disability was being accommodated, Cheung said, when a traveler with a disability or other vulnerability is identified, we make every effort to ensure necessary accommodations are made to ensure their safe travel, arrival, and care. On Tuesday night, Schneider was elated that Arian and her cousin were finally coming. Its been a long walk since their rescue (from Kabul) in August, she texted The Chronicle. I am grateful they will have a new life here. Long after the baggage carousel was empty, after many more hugs and tears, Gul Makai cradled her daughters waist and they walked, Arian chattering excitedly about her journey. At the car, Rahimi turned on his stereo and blared a traditional Afghan folk song. Rahimi said that when Arian would cry over the phone, he would try to cheer her up. I said, Dont cry. When you get to the airport, I will put music and we will dance. As a new day began in the airport parking garage, the Royeen family clapped and spun around, performing the attan dance, one of Arians favorites. Gul Makai watched her children. They were finally together again. Deepa Fernandes is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: deepa.fernandes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @deepafern The Castro in San Francisco is one of the foremost gay neighborhoods, or gayborhoods, in the United States, a place where activism, culture and new ideas about sexuality and gender expression all converge before disseminating into the world. Today, its a safe space for the LGBTQ community, but to get there it has weathered unauthorized police raids, the assassination of San Franciscos first openly gay supervisor, the AIDS epidemic and numerous campaigns to limit queer equality. Sponsored by But amid these challenges, a spirit of defiant fabulousness has defined the neighborhoods character. Its evidenced in the plateglass windows at Twin Peaks Tavern, grassroots landmarks like the Hibernia Beach memorial corner and most of all, in the ethos of those who come to the Castro to be accepted as their true selves. Hear these stories and more on Over the Rainbow in the Castro: A Tour of San Franciscos Preeminent Gayborhood. Reported and hosted by Chronicle Arts & Culture Writer Tony Bravo, the tour is an inside look at the storied neighborhood, from the battles of the past to the vibrant present. Were excited to have you join us, queen! Over the Rainbow in the Castro is one of The Chronicles new audio tours, created by Chronicle journalists and published on the VoiceMap app, which uses GPS, so the narration moves with you as walk. The tour through the Castro includes destinations like the historic Twin Peaks Tavern, the beloved Castro Theatre, Harvey Milks former Castro Camera shop and below-the-radar-but-no-less-beloved community art spots like murals, mosaics and an anatomically generous doll display. Your guide will be along for the walk, spilling tea and sharing stories in your headphones, while keeping you on track as you navigate the blocks ahead. Share your photos from the tour on social media tagging @tonybravosf, and be sure to check out The Chronicles other audio tours, Secrets of Golden Gate Park with Culture Critic Peter Hartlaub and Columnist Heather Knight, and Unfolding the Financial District: Design adventures in San Franciscos Hub with Chronicle Urban Design Critic John King. Each tour is available for $7.99 and for Chronicle subscribers $5.99. To purchase the tour, visit www.sfchronicle.com/audiotours. For the best tour experience, youll need your most fabulous walking shoes, a well-charged phone and a pair of headphones. Be sure to bring sun protection, since this is a tour best taken during the day, and layers, since this is San Francisco. Check out a few highlights from Over the Rainbow in the Castro: Sarah Feldberg / The Chronicle Serge Gay Jr.s Gear Up mural at Moby Dick: The mural Gear Up by artist Serge Gay Jr. on the side of neighborhood bar Moby Dick features wardrobe staples of different queer subcultures like a leather jacket, Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers, a red bandana, black Christian Louboutin high heels and a sailor cap. Among the patches and pins on the jacket are tributes to icons of the queer community, including James Baldwin, Keith Haring, Marcia P. Johnson, Harvey Milk and the Black Panthers. When you see it, try and spot more tributes on the jacket. Harvey Milks Castro Camera: San Francisco Landmark #227 is the former home of Castro Camera, the business opened in 1972 by pioneering gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who also lived upstairs with his partner Scott Smith. On the second floor, a mural by artist Josef Norris depicts Milk gazing out a window at the neighborhood. In Milks lifetime, the store was a center for activism and the headquarters for his political campaigns. This location also famously appeared in the 2008 Oscar-winning biopic Milk. Milk was affectionately known as The Mayor of Castro Street for his role as a community leader. No tour of the neighborhood would be complete without a visit. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle 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. Rainbow Honor Walk: Like a Hollywood Walk of Fame for queer heroes, the Rainbow Honor Walk started in 2008 to celebrate accomplished LGBTQ people. Among those honored are writers Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf and James Baldwin, mathematician Alan Turing, entertainers Freddie Mercury and Josephine Baker, artists Frida Kahlo and Keith Haring and activists Del Martin, Jose Sarria, Bayard Rustin and Harry Hay. Chronicle writer Randy Shilts, author of the book And the Band Played On, which documented the early days of the AIDS epidemic is a local legend honored on the walk, as is disco queen Sylvester, best known for the hit song You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), now in the Library of Congress collection. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle Gay Doll Window: This window isnt on any official landmark list, but its a longtime favorite of community members. The dolls in the window include several Gay Billy dolls a line that began in 1997 to celebrate aspects of the LGBTQ experience. Other dolls in the windows are tarted-up Barbies and Kens, with a few limited edition Tom of Finland figurines for good measure. Its a landmark other tours might miss, but that residents and frequent visitors to the neighborhood love to point out. Bronte Wittpenn/The Chronicle Castro Theatre: The neighborhood movie house with the marquee and blade neon signs was opened in June 1922 by the Nasser brothers, whose family still owns it today. Famed San Francisco architect Timothy L. Pflueger designed the building in Spanish Baroque or California Churrigueresque style with an ornate stucco facade and grand auditorium. Film festivals like Frameline the oldest LGBTQ film festival in the world SFFilm, Noir City and the Silent Film Festival have all called the Castro home, as well as community events and drag queen-hosted screenings of camp film classics. Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TonyBravoSF In a case from San Francisco, a federal appeals court asked the California Supreme Court on Thursday whether a workers spouse who contracts COVID-19 can sue the workers employer an answer that seems likely to be affirmative, based on the state courts past actions. The suit was filed by Corey Kuciemba and her husband, Robert Kuciemba, an employee of Victory Woodworks, a furniture construction company in San Francisco. After the city imposed COVID health restrictions on workplaces in May 2020, they said, the company brought in workers from an infected site, disregarded the restrictions and required Robert Kuciemba to work near them. Kuciemba had no coronavirus symptoms at the time, but his wife contracted the disease in mid-July, was hospitalized with severe respiratory problems for more than a month and was kept alive by a respirator, the couple said in their suit. They said they had followed all health care precautions and that the infection must have come from the workplace. Their suit, accusing Victory Woodworks of negligence, was filed in San Francisco Superior Court but transferred at the companys request to federal court, where it was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney. Under California law, she said, an employee who suffers work-related injuries is limited to claims under workers compensation, which covers medical costs, lost wages and related expenses but does not provide general damages for negligence for the worker or family members. On Thursday, however, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said California law exempts some workplace cases from workers compensation limits. The three-judge panel asked the states high court whether employers owe a duty to the households of its employees to exercise ordinary care to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The panel noted that a state appeals court in Los Angeles, on essentially identical facts, had ruled in December that the family of a man who died from COVID-19 that he caught from his wife, who was exposed at work, could sue her employer, Sees Candies, for damages. In that ruling, the appellate court said workers compensation limits apply only to work-related financial losses suffered by the injured worker and family members, and that others harmed by an employers conduct, including a spouse, can sue for damages. An appeal by Sees Candies, supported by business groups, was denied review by the state Supreme Court last week, leaving the appellate ruling as a binding precedent for trial courts statewide. The Ninth Circuit panel also cited the state Supreme Courts unanimous 2016 ruling that said employers that use asbestos can be sued for damages by employees family members who suffer illnesses from asbestos fibers the workers bring home in their clothing or gear. But the appeals court also said in Thursdays order that no California court has decided, apart from legal questions, whether public policy favors creating an exception for employers who negligently infect their employees family members with COVID-19. The court put the Kuciemba case on hold until the state Supreme Court addresses it. 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. Martin Zurada, a lawyer for the couple, said the case gives the state court a chance to decide whether an employer has an obligation to exercise ordinary care to protect the members of an employees household from work-based COVID transmission that an employee brings home. Victory Woodworks lawyer, William Bogdan, said he was confident the state court would reject employer liability. He said the appeals court, in another part of Thursdays order, properly noted the economic significance of holding employers responsible for the spread of the coronavirus. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Former San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who lost to Supervisor Matt Haney in a San Francisco Assembly seat runoff this week, confirmed to The Chronicle Friday that he will not run again for the office in June even though his name will appear on the ballot. I am not running in June though the name will appear on the ballot due to timing of filing, Campos confirmed Friday in a text message to The Chronicle. He is unable to remove his name from the ballot. This weeks election was a runoff between Campos and Haney, who were the top finishers in a four-candidate Feb. 15 election to serve the remainder of the Assembly term of David Chiu, whom San Francisco Mayor London Breed appointed to be city attorney last year. The winner of this weeks runoff will have to run again in June in the statewide primary in pursuit of a full Assembly term that begins in 2023. Complicating matters is that Campos name will likely appear on the November ballot, too, if he finishes in the top two in June unless he asks to have it removed. Campos said he will take some time to recover from the bruising campaign before deciding when he will return to his job as chief of staff to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. On Thursday, Campos, who is vice chair of the California Democratic Party, tweeted that he called Haney to congratulate him, and wish him the best in Sacramento. San Francisco needs a champion in the legislature, and I look forward to working with him and assisting however I can as he advocates for our city and our communities. Haney told The Chronicle Friday that I appreciate Davids call and his decision, and I look forward to working with him. Im ready to get to work in Sacramento and focus on delivering for San Franciscans. Haney received 62% of the vote in Tuesdays race to represent the eastern part of San Francisco. He is expected to be sworn into the Assembly on May 3. Breed will name someone in the coming weeks to fill Haneys seat on the Board of Supervisors until voters elect someone to another four-year term in November. Whoever Breed appoints would have to run for election in November if they want to continue representing District Six on the board. Haney is supporting his chief of staff, Honey Mahogany, who would be the citys first transgender supervisor. 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. Insiders told The Chronicle earlier this week that other possible appointees include Bilal Mahmood, an entrepreneur who won 22% of the vote in the Assembly primary in February and afterward endorsed Haney; Vikrum Aiyer, a deputy director with the American Civil Liberties Union who formerly worked for Postmates and under the Obama administration and now serves on the mayors Workforce Investment Board; Matt Dorsey, strategic communications director at the San Francisco Police Department; and Rachael Tanner, a Breed appointee to the Planning Commission who now serves as its president. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli A jail inmate who escaped from a work crew and was caught nearly a month later can sue a Stockton police officer for allegedly punching him and turning a dog loose on him while he was prone and handcuffed, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated part of a lawsuit by Corey Hughes claiming he was the victim of excessive police force. Hughes actions and his criminal record entitled officers to use some level of force, including dog bites, to take him into custody, but would not legally justify such violence after he was subdued and cuffed, the court majority said. Hughes, then 27, was serving a 165-day sentence for misdemeanor gun possession in San Joaquin County when he walked away from a highway work crew in November 2017, the court said. Officers learned 25 days later that he was hiding at a friends home in Stockton and sent a team of two city police officers and two state agents to the home. After they ordered him to come out through a loudspeaker, one police officer, Michael Rodriguez, entered the home with a dog. Accounts differed from that point. Hughes said he had been sleeping, woke up, shouted he was coming out and emerged with his hands up, only to be attacked by the dog and Rodriguez, who punched him in the face and head while the others piled on. But the officers said Hughes made no audible reply, did not put his hands up and attacked Rodriguez. They also denied that any blows were struck after he was handcuffed. The court said Hughes claims that he verbally surrendered and held his hands up were contradicted by the officers body-camera video. But the cameras were turned off before he was punched, and the court majority said there was no conclusive evidence as to whether the blows and dog bites continued after Hughes was cuffed. Beating a handcuffed convict violates the Eighth Amendment, the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, said Judge Carlos Bea in a decision partially overruling a federal judges dismissal of Hughes damage suit. Bea said the officers knew Hughes had a criminal record, feared he might be armed and were entitled to use force and a police dog to take him into custody. But while the other three officers could claim legal justification for their actions in aiding Rodriguez, Bea said, a jury can decide whether Rodriguez used excessive force after Hughes was prone and defenseless. Judge Ronald Gould joined Beas opinion. In dissent, Eric Vitaliano, a federal judge from New York temporarily assigned to the appeals court, said a police audio recording captured the whir of handcuffs snapping shut after the struggles and dog bites had ended, refuting any claim of excessive police force. Bea, however, said he did not hear that whir in the recording and even if he could, the chaos of the struggle and Hughess cries of pain render it impossible to hear individual punches and whether they were thrown before or after Hughes was in handcuffs. After his arrest, Hughes pleaded no contest to an escape charge, officers said. He said in a court filing that he still has scars and feels pain from the dog bites. His trial lawyer, David Helbraun, said Hughes served his sentence, including additional time for the escape, and has found employment and gotten married since his release. 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. Matt Kita,.Hughes appellate lawyer, said he was gratified the court had required police to provide conclusive video evidence to dismiss accusations of excessive force. We are obviously also pleased that the court acknowledged that when the police have restrained a suspect, the law is clearly established that they may not continue to hit or allow a canine to bite the suspect, Kita said. The city attorneys office could not be reached for comment. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko The volunteers redrawing San Francisco supervisor districts narrowly approved a new set of boundaries, moving the city closer to resolving an unusually tumultuous process that is poised to impact local politics for years. Members of the citys Redistricting Task Force voted 5-4 late Thursday in favor of a final draft map that includes the most controversial change the group considered in recent weeks: breaking up the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods. The Tenderloin moves into District Five while SoMa remains in District Six under the new map, which built off another map that the task force rejected last week. The nine-member panel backed off a proposal that would have put the Bayview and Potrero Hill into different districts, a plan that also drew a large amount of community backlash. Both neighborhoods are now set to stay in District 10, along with the Dogpatch. New boundaries for the 11 supervisor districts are set once every decade to account for population changes, ensuring that each supervisor represents a similar number of people. The citys population growth between the past two censuses was concentrated in the citys eastern side, requiring significant changes to some district lines as a result. Two more public hearings are required by law before the task force can grant final authorization to the map, and minor boundary changes are still allowed. Those meetings are expected to be held on Monday and Thursday next week. If finally adopted, the new map could influence the political balance on the Board of Supervisors as soon as November, when five of the 11 seats are on the ballot. One of them is District Six, which is being vacated by Supervisor Matt Haney due to his election this week to the state Assembly. Whomever District Six voters pick for another four-year term this fall would not represent the Tenderloin and could not count on its votes if the new map is put in place. The task force entered its latest meeting under legal pressure to approve a final draft map promptly since the group had blown past a city charter deadline to have new districts in place before April 15. City lawyers had said the task force could not delay any longer, and three people filed a lawsuit asking a judge to intervene. One plaintiff, Todd David, said Friday that a hearing has been scheduled for April 29 in San Francisco Superior Court, but the suit likely wont move forward if the task force finalizes the map before then. In the meantime, the suit remains a backstop in case things fall of the rails again, David said. San Franciscos redistricting process has been consumed by weeks of controversy and acrimonious debate over the way certain neighborhoods stood to be shuffled around. Some of the citys most outspoken progressive leaders and community groups decried changes such as the break up of the Tenderloin and SoMa as part of a power grab that would dilute the political influence of low-income communities of color with deep historical connections and shared interests. Similar concerns were expressed within the task force itself. Member Chema Hernandez Gil said at Thursdays meeting, before a failed 4-5 vote to move the Tenderloin back to District Six, that keeping the neighborhood linked with SoMa was a pretty obvious moral and legal issue. At this point, I have to throw out the g-word, Hernandez Gil said. To me, it smacks of gerrymandering, of trying to crack vulnerable communities and split them. ... Were literally talking about dozens of communities to be looked over, to be dismissed. At the end of the meeting, Hernandez Gil said the approved map represented political devastation for some of the citys most vulnerable residents. Many of these San Franciscans really truly live in very precarious conditions, Hernandez Gil said. They live in some of the most dense census blocks in the western United States. They are the essential workers that we were all cheering two years ago. Folks that bike and take transit to get to work. They are the children that walk to school across some of our most dangerous streets. They are the monolingual elders going to their community centers. For years, they have lived in conditions that really has forced them to struggle for anything resembling fair and effective representation by the mere fact that they lived in such an overpopulated district. The changes to District Six split the citys Transgender District, which spans part of the Tenderloin and SoMa, putting it under the purview of two different supervisors. Other SoMa organizations representing LGBTQ people and Filipino residents, among others, have also consistently decried the change, saying their communities and close connections to the Tenderloin and needed to stay together. Keeping the Tenderloin and SoMa together would have required the task force to remove some other area from District Six in order to balance the population. That likely would have entailed moving the East Cut into District Three, but that move did not have enough support to move forward. The task force has to redraw the map to make districts roughly equal in population size, with some more variation allowed to keep neighborhoods together. In setting the new boundaries, the task force specifically had to account for population surges on the east and southeast side of the city, where Districts Six and 10 had grown to about 30% and 9%, respectively, above the target population of about 80,000 people. 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. But in hundreds of public comments, along with a flurry of rallies and news conferences, critics have said the task force was reaching too far in responding to those population changes, needlessly splintering neighborhoods and hampering progressive voting power. Leave the Tenderloin alone, District 10 advocate Cheryl Thornton told the task force Thursday. Leave that transgender community alone. Theyve been harmed enough. Shame on you. You cannot prioritize rich over poor. Everybody deserves to have a voice in this city. Curtis Bradford, co-chair of the Tenderloin Peoples Congress, said the splitting of the Tenderloin was malicious, its cruel, its immoral and its unjust. Other speakers, however, said it was time for the city to move forward with the new maps and said the panel has faced impossible expectations and standards. The task force took a series of close votes during Thursdays meeting. In addition to the unsuccessful vote to move the Tenderloin back to District Six and the successful vote to keep Potrero Hill and the Bayview in District 10, another proposal to put the Chase Center in District 10 failed on a 4-5 vote. Previous dramatic incidents at the task force included a walkout by four of its nine members before an earlier version of the final draft map was approved. That map was then voted down 5-4 last week, before it could be finalized. The task force members who voted in favor of the latest map were the chair, Rev. Arnold Townsend, along with members Lily Ho, Chasel Lee, Ditka Reiner and Matthew Castillon. Townsend, Ho and Castillon were appointed to the task force by Mayor London Breed. Lee and Reiner were appointed by the city Elections Commission. Chronicle staff writer Lauren Hernandez contributed reporting. J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The United States is facing a maternal health crisis, with the highest maternal death rate among wealthy nations and particularly high rates among Black women, Vice President Kamala Harris said during a visit to UCSF medical facilities in San Francisco on Thursday. The country must make solving the crisis a national priority, she said. It is real and it is impacting so many women and their families and communities, Harris said after touring UCSFs perinatal care program for Black families, called Embrace, located at the medical centers Mission Bay campus. A big factor that contributes to these outcomes is system inequities, the differences in how people are treated based on who they are or where they live. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause compared to white women, according to federal health estimates. Native American women and women who live in rural areas also have much higher pregnancy-related mortality rates compared to white women. These differences create significant disparities in how women experience the health care system, Harris said. Disparities that are often a matter of life and death. Speaking to an indoor crowd of dozens of people, including UCSF employees, Harris touted the work of UCSFs Embrace program, which she called a model for culturally competent care. Embrace offers holistic prenatal and postpartum care to Black women, addressing socioeconomic issues that affect pregnancy and providing postpartum care for up to one year after birth. You have brought together a staff that reflects the community and understands the community you serve, Harris said. Our administration will continue to do everything in our power to make sure these intervention strategies are adopted far and wide. UCSF nurse and former Embrace patient Adrienne Gorrell, who introduced Harris, said the program had helped her overcome postpartum anxiety and depression. I shouldve slipped through the cracks, she said. But my support group was there. They caught me time and time again. Embrace has supported me mentally, emotionally, even financially. The vice president has advocated for policies that would address inequities that lead to worse health outcomes for women of color. In December, she led the White Houses first Maternal Health Day of Action to announce investments from companies and nonprofits to reduce maternal mortality. During the UCSF tour, Harris met with health care workers and patients, including expectant parents, to discuss perinatal and maternal care. 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. Women are the pillars of so many families and so many communities, Harris said. And when women receive the care they need, by extension, it makes families and communities stronger. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure also spoke at the event. Brooks-LaSure highlighted the Biden administrations American Rescue Plan Act option for states to extend postpartum care for low-income women from 60 days to one year. This is going to change lives, she said. A third of (pregnancy-related) deaths are one week after birth, to one year. Making sure we have continuity of coverage is going to be helpful for mother and baby. Catherine Ho (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat_Ho Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly described the name of UCSFs Embrace maternity program as an acronym. This version has been revised. California workplaces will see some minor changes to coronavirus prevention procedures under new rules that will last until year end. Many of the rules are now tied to California Department of Public Health guidelines, giving them more flexibility because that agency can be more nimble in adapting to changing conditions. The Cal/OSHA Standards Board, a seven-member body appointed by the governor to oversee workplace regulations, approved the streamlined regulations Thursday. The board convened in person for the first time in two years at a hybrid meeting where people who wished to give public comments could do so either in person or by video conference. Defaulting to health department rules on challenging issues is a reasonable approach to keep up with the rapid pace of developments and changes, Pamela Murcell, president of the California Industrial Hygiene Council, said during public comments. Her group advocates for the industrial hygiene profession. Ben Ebbink, a partner at management law firm Fisher & Phillips, speaking after the meeting, said the real significance lies in the fact that the state will continue to have emergency temporary standards for workplaces through the end of the year. Since California dropped most masking requirements, the most visible pandemic restriction, many businesses were tempted to feel as if COVID were over, he said. The rules remind them that they still have to take steps to keep workplaces compliant. The timing is fortuitous. In the past two weeks weve gotten more calls about outbreaks than in previous months, Ebbink said. Were back to employers seeing more positive cases and having to remind themselves what to do in outbreak situation, with the fluctuating nature of this virus. California is averaging about 2,700 new cases a day, or 6.9 per 100,000 people, while the death rate averages 20 cases a day, according to state data. Changes in the new standards include: There are no distinctions between treatment of vaccinated and unvaccinated employees. Requirements for barriers, partitions and physical distancing were axed in favor of a focus on improved air supply, ventilation and air filtration. Requirements for surface cleaning and disinfecting were removed. Face covering requirements were relaxed, with no requirement that unvaccinated workers wear them. As per health department guidelines, masks are required only in emergency shelters, cooling/heating centers, health care settings, correctional facilities, homeless shelters and long-term care. Face coverings are no longer required on employer-provided transportation either. Using at-home tests is now easier as workers just have to provide a time-stamped photo of test results rather than a video. Employees can now return to work five days after they test positive if they wear face coverings for another five days. The most controversial aspect of the latest regulations is that employers maintain exclusion pay continuing an employees salary and benefits if they have to stay home because of a workplace exposure even though lawmakers have approved supplemental sick leave until September. Several employer representatives said the wording of the regulation, which says that exposed employees should receive exclusion pay until they test negative, could encourage workers to refuse tests so they would receive more paid time off. This incentivizes employees to refuse testing after exposed because they will receive more exclusion pay, said Rob Moutrie, policy advocate at the California Chamber of Commerce. There should not be a perverse incentive to refuse testing, said Megan Shaked, an attorney representing California Employers COVID-19 Prevention Coalition, a business group. However, labor and worker advocates hailed the continuation of exclusion pay. Guaranteed exclusion pay for positive COVID cases is necessary for worker safety and health, said AnaStacia Nicol Wright, an attorney at Worksafe, which advocates for worker safety. As time goes on, the burden for exclusion pay will become minimal. As the pandemic fades, there will be fewer cases, so exclusion pay wont be as relevant. Eric Berg, Cal/OSHA deputy chief of Health and Research and Standards, said that other state regulations allow employers to mandate tests for workers as a job necessity, meaning that workers should not be able to refuse tests. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid To mask or not to mask? On public transportation, that divisive question continues. As airlines lifted mandates even welcoming back passengers previously blacklisted for disobeying masking rules Los Angeles said it would continue requiring masks on mass transit. Cal/OSHA moved to update and streamline its workplace rules surrounding the pandemic, even as Californias Supreme Court will have to decide whether a workers spouse who contracts COVID-19 can sue the workers employer. And how would you like to have had COVID for almost a year and a half? One patient in the U.K. was sick for 505 days, confounding doctors not used to such persistent cases. Latest updates: Vaccines may have averted nearly 20,000 California deaths last year: During the first 10 months after their introduction in 2021, COVID-19 vaccines may have prevented more than 1.5 million cases, 72,000 hospitalizations and nearly 20,000 deaths in California alone, according to a study carried out by UCSF and the California Department of Public Health and published Friday in the JAMA Open Network. The collaborative research project modeled the impact of COVID vaccines by tallying cases and illness from before the shots were available and extrapolating the probable impact if they hadnt been administered. The projection provides evidence of the public health benefit of COVID-19 vaccination in the United States and further supports the urgency for continued vaccination, its authors said. A separate study from the Commonwealth Fund estimates that vaccines have saved 2.2 million American lives between Dec. 2020 and the end of March, 2022. S.F. to drop mask mandate for indoor meetings on Monday: Starting April 25, masking will be recommended but no longer required during in-person meetings in public commission or board hearing rooms in city facilities. Indoor masking requirements had already been dropped for City Hall and other city facilities as of March 18, but were maintained for public hearing rooms, as well as in high-risk locales such as hospitals, health care facilities and jails, regardless of vaccination status, according to state law. Individual members of the public and employees who wish to continue to wear masks in indoor settings are encouraged to do so, San Francisco said in its public statement. Should local conditions change, masking requirements and other health precautions may need to be re-imposed. Afraid to fly with unmasked passengers? Airlines weigh options for COVID cautious customers: Some airlines may offer refunds or credits for people worried about flying now that other passengers arent required to wear face masks. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told NBC on Thursday that his airline will be flexible with people who have a weak immune system or are concerned about mask-optional flying for any other reason. We are working with those customers...to find another option, give them a credit, or if they just dont ever want to fly again, (we are) actually willing to give them a refund, Kirby said. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told the Associated Press that his airline hasnt fielded many refund requests. But like we do in all these events, we are taking a look at our policies and...asking them to get in touch with our reservations office, and we will make sure that we accommodate them in an appropriate fashion, Isom said. A Delta Air Lines spokesman said customers who wish to cancel a trip should contact the airline. Decisions about how to handle those requests are made on a case-by-case basis, he said. Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue, Spirit and Frontier did not reply to inquiries. Mask mandates return to U.S. college campuses as cases rise: The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections, the Associated Press reports. Colleges in Washington, D.C., New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Texas have reimposed a range of virus measures, with Howard University moving to remote learning amid a surge in cases in the nations capital. Mandates were shed widely in the wake of spring break as case numbers dropped following a winter surge fueled by the omicron variant. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant continues to rapidly spread throughout the U.S. Oakland weighs mask mandate for large indoor events: An Oakland councilmember will introduce an ordinance next month that requires people to wear masks at large indoor gatherings of 1,000 people or more. The ordinance would drop the citys current requirement that people must show proof of vaccine to enter bars, restaurants, gyms and other businesses, though theyd still have to show proof of vaccine entering senior centers and assisted care facilities. Changing the rules would be done partly to align Oakland with neighboring cities, San Francisco and Berkeley, which have also abandoned proof of vaccination requirements in some situations. Read the full story. COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2021: COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the United States in 2021, according to a pair of reports published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It marks the second consecutive year that coronavirus fatalities have ranked behind heart disease and cancer, with one report showing the overall age-adjusted death rate for all causes increased by nearly 1% from 2020 to 2021. S.F.s COVID-19 test positive percentage tops too high rate of 5%: The coronavirus test positive rate in San Francisco hit 5% on Friday, according to the citys public health data. The higher a regions percent positive is, the more worrisome, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The citys official figures are from April 14, but preliminary data shows the number rising above 7% by April 17. By comparison, Californias statewide test positive rate is 2.6%. The last time the city reached 5% was days before the winter omicron surge. Read the full story. Philadelphia to end mask mandate, days after reinstating it: Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, which went into effect Monday amid a sharp increase in infections. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, the Associated Press reports. Acting health commissioner, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, told the Board of Health at a public meeting Thursday night that hospitalizations had unexpectedly gone down 25% in a matter of days. California launches WhatsApp chatbot to combat vaccine misinformation: The California Department of Public Health on Thursday announced it has created a chatbot tool on the messaging app WhatsApp aimed at dispelling misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines, particularly in the Latino community. The free tool is in English and Spanish and gives users information about vaccine safety and how to book vaccination appointments. The state partnered with Facebook owner Meta, which also owns WhatsApp, to create the tool. It can be accessed by scanning a QR code or texting hola to 833-422-1090. 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. Pregnant Coachella performer cancels second weekend set due to COVID-19: Bishop Briggs has canceled her second weekend set at the Coachella music festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio this weekend due to COVID-19. The singer-songwriter, who performed at the festival last Friday, posted on her social media Thursday that she has COVID-19. Ive taken multiple tests and they are all positive, Briggs said. In order to keep you guys, my band and crew safe I wont be able to make my Coachella set tomorrow. I am beyond bummed and fighting back tears as I write this. Los Angeles retains mask mandate for public transportation: Los Angeles Countys public health department said on Thursday that it would continue requiring masks in all public transit and indoor transportation hubs despite Californias announcement that it would drop the mandate in alignment with the CDC. Health officials cited rising case rates as the reason behind the updated order. Public Health will reassess the indoor masking requirement when COVID-19 community transmission in Los Angeles County drops to the moderate level, or the CDCs assessment is that an order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is no longer necessary for protection of the publics health, or within 30 days of this order, whichever occurs first. Los Angeles County is reporting 8 cases per 100,000 residents, less than half the figure reported in San Francisco. California streamlines workplace pandemic rules: California workplaces will see some minor changes to coronavirus prevention procedures under new rules adopted Thursday that will last until year end. Many of the rules are now tied to California Department of Public Health guidelines, giving them more flexibility since that agency can be more nimble in adapting to changing conditions. The Cal/OSHA Standards Board, a seven-member body appointed by the governor to oversee workplace regulations, approved the streamlined regulations Thursday. Read the full story. Evusheld cuts the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 up to 83%, study finds: In a randomized trial of about 5,200 patients, AstraZenecas monoclonal antibody treatment Evusheld (composed of tixagevimab and cilgavimab) reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 infection by 83% compared to those who received a placebo, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Evusheld is an injection drug for those who cannot get vaccinated or do not mount an immune response to vaccination. It is currently authorized for people over 12 years old who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, such as organ transplant recipients, or people on chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Patient had COVID-19 for 505 days straight, study shows: A patient with a severely weakened immune system had COVID-19 for almost a year and a half, according to a report from researchers in the U.K. The scientists said they did not know if it is the longest known case of coronavirus infection, but at 505 days, it certainly seems to be the longest reported infection, Dr. Luke Blagdon Snell, an infectious disease expert at the Guys & St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, told the Associated Press. His team will present its findings among studies of other persistent COVID-19 cases at a global infectious diseases meeting in Portugal this weekend. Persistent COVID-19 is rare and different from long COVID. In long COVID, its generally assumed the virus has been cleared from your body but the symptoms persist, Snell said. With persistent infection, it represents ongoing, active replication of the virus. Can an employees spouse who contracts COVID sue the employer? In a case from San Francisco, a federal appeals court asked the California Supreme Court Thursday whether a workers spouse who contracts COVID-19 can sue the workers employer an answer that seems likely to be affirmative, based on the state courts past actions. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said California law exempts some workplace cases from workers compensation limits. The three-judge panel asked the states high court whether employers owe a duty to the households of its employees to exercise ordinary care to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Read the full story. The coronavirus test positivity rate in San Francisco hit 5% on Friday, according to new city data. The percentage of tests that are coming back positive a key indicator of pandemic trends is rising sharply and has passed a level that public health officials consider worrisome. A rule of thumb among infectious disease experts is that 5% is considered too high, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. San Franciscos current seven-day average is from April 14, the most recent day with confirmed data, but preliminary figures show the number tipping over 7% in the next few days. By comparison, Californias statewide test positive rate was 3.1% Friday, up from 1.3% on April 1. The last time San Francisco reached 5% test positivity was in the days before the winter omicron surge that blew up in December. San Francisco is the county with the highest coronavirus infection rate in the state, as of Friday, reporting an average of 22 cases per 100,000 residents. That is up from about three per 100,000 a month ago. And that number is likely an undercount since many people now rely on at-home tests that dont usually get reported or added to official case counts. California overall is reporting about 11 cases per 100,000 residents. Nearly all the Bay Area counties including San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara, Alameda, Napa, Sonoma, and Contra Costa, along with Santa Cruz County are reporting higher case counts than the statewide average. But officials at the San Francisco Department of Public Health said they are not alarmed by the rapidly rising rate of infections. While case rates have been a key measure of the viruss spread, we also look to indicators of severe disease such as hospitalizations and deaths to inform public health decisions and to make decisions on how to best deploy resources to meet the needs of highly impacted communities, the agency said in a statement to The Chronicle. Coronavirus hospitalizations in the city have remained stable over the past four weeks, with about 30 patients in total, after plunging rapidly following the winter surge. Statewide, there are 972 Californians hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday, up from 965 on Tuesday, according to state data. The number of hospitalizations fell below 1,000 last week for the first time since June. 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. With the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant of omicron taking hold across the region and masks coming off in most public settings including airplanes and schools hospitalizations may yet rise, since in previous surges they lagged cases by a few weeks. An average of 50 people are dying with COVID daily in California, down from the seven-day average of 97 just a month ago, according to state data analyzed by The Chronicle. The Bay Areas high vaccination levels may be preventing the most severe outcomes, but studies show that vaccine-induced immunity against infection, including from booster shots, wanes over time. People are now confronting the question of whether or not to obtain second boosters and when. The World Health Organization has previously said that a regions percent positive rate should remain below 5% for at least two weeks before governments scale back COVID-19 mitigation measures. Aidin Vaziri (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com There was a time when the principal at Meyer Elementary School thought noise was the biggest problem from the airport next door. But last year, Victor Guendulains frustration with the near-constant roar of planes taking off in east San Jose was joined by a much more troubling concern. A peer-reviewed study found worrisome levels of lead in thousands of young people living near Reid-Hillview Airport, where planes have spewed leaded fuel emissions for decades. Lead can hinder brain development, resulting in cognitive issues and even behavioral problems, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children have a lower threshold for lead toxicity than adults, and no level is considered safe. Guendulain wondered what the findings meant for students struggling at his school. Although Im not making a direct connection, I strongly believe there could be one, Guendulain said. In a grim but, officials and residents say, necessary acknowledgment of the dangers of lead, Santa Clara County supervisors voted Tuesday to offer testing for young people who go through Juvenile Hall and another facility called William F. James Ranch. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle If a blood test yields concerning results, officials intend to offer the child available treatment medications and therapies can help, the CDC says and inform their family so that any other children in the house can be monitored for exposure. Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who sponsored the plan to do the testing, said the lead study showed that children near the airport had elevated blood-lead levels and are thus at greater risk of behavioral problems that could find them at juvenile hall. We know that lead causes neurological damage that can lead to poor impulse control, poor decision-making, Chavez said. Messages left with airport administrators werent returned. The average daily population at juvenile hall and the ranch was 73 last year. Chavez initially proposed testing all children at the facilities, but after county staff raised questions about blanket screening, she asked the board to consider offering tests to those who want them. At this time, clinical standards do not recommend universally screening adolescents and young adults, the report, prepared by the Custody Health Services Department, said. Additionally, there is no public health or other guidance that specifically recommends screening incarcerated or detained populations, specifically justice involved youth. Among the supporters of the testing was Dr. Stephen Harris, a pediatrician of three decades at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Lead poisoning is a silent threat, Harris wrote to supervisors, asking them to approve the proposal. The poisoning may be silent or cause developmental delays and lowered IQ. In older children, adolescents, and adults, it may cause lifelong problems, including ADHD and conduct disorder (e.g. delinquency). Santa Claras juvenile jails population have reached historic lows in recent years. The county staff report said lead levels in children countywide arent high. The study analyzed 17,000 blood samples from children under the age of 18 who had lived within 1.5 miles of the airport from 2011 to 2020. Children within a half-mile had blood-lead levels 10% to 11% higher than those who lived between one-half and 1 miles away. The study found blood-lead levels approaching 2 micrograms of lead per deciliter in children close to the airport. The CDC considers 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or higher as the benchmark to recommend further testing or treatment. But whats concerning to residents is that childrens blood-lead levels increased with proximity to the airport. Childrens levels increased with the volume of piston-engine airplane traffic at the airport, researchers found. The levels even went up with the amount of aviation gasoline sold at Reid-Hillview. Since the study, leaded fuel sales have stopped at the airport, though pilots can still fly in with it. Reid-Hillviews supporters favored banning the use of leaded aviation fuel, but it could be hard to guarantee private aircraft owners or outside airports would switch to unleaded, county staff explained last year. Guendulain said hes still trying to understand the impact of the lead on students. State education data shows that students at the school test lower than the countywide average in math and English, though suspensions are rare. At Bowers Elementary on the other side of town, for instance, students do somewhat better in math and English, and suspensions are also low. To Guendulain and many others, the issue is one of racial and social justice because the neighborhoods around Reid-Hillview are largely Hispanic and low-income. People in higher levels of government have been afraid of calling it that, but thats exactly what it is, said Guendulain. Its systemic racism, because we would not see this in some of the most affluent (and white) communities of San Jose. Efforts to close Reid-Hillview have failed to gain traction so far. In December 2018, county supervisors voted to stop accepting federal grants for the airport. Supervisors voted in August 2021 to speed up closure of the airport, but the Federal Aviation Administration must approve such a plan. The FAA hasnt given approval though representatives have been in ongoing talks with the county, Chavez said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Existing grants could to allow operations to continue until 2031. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle Reid-Hillview Airport, open since 1939, sees steady traffic 208,000 takeoffs in 2019 despite its small size. Its used by private plane owners, pilots fighting wildfires and students from flight schools including San Jose State Universitys aviation program. Many private airports are located farther from residential neighborhoods, but Reid-Hillview is within a mile and a half of 52,000 people. Twelve-thousand of those people are children. There are 21 schools and day cares near the facility. The county also has San Martin Airport, another small facility that is located in a less populous part of Santa Clara. Our community deserves better, said Maria Reyes, a community activist whos lived near the airport in a neighborhood she loves for 51 years. We cannot have a future with children who do not have the mental capabilities to function properly. Reyes wants the airport closed and for residents to get a say in how the land is redeveloped. Mayra Pelagio-Munoz, executive director of Latinos United for a New America, is also among those pushing to shutter the airport. She said she is happy to see the county testing children. She wants to see more done, though. Working with the community, she said her nonprofit comes across many families who say their children have learning disabilities. A lot of children arent getting the help that they need, she said. Joshua Sharpe is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: joshua.sharpe@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joshuawsharpe KYIV, Ukraine Another mass grave has been found outside Mariupol, the city council and an adviser to the mayor said Friday. The city council posted a satellite photo provided by Planet Labs showing what it said was a mass grave 45 meters (147.64 feet) by 25 meters (82.02 feet) that could hold the bodies of at least 1,000 Mariupol residents. It said the new reported mass grave is outside the village of Vynohradne, which is east of Mariupol. Earlier this week, satellite photos from Maxar Technologies revealed what appeared to be rows upon rows of more than 200 freshly dug mass graves in the town of Manhush, located to the west of Mariupol. The discovery of mass graves has led to accusations that the Russians are trying to conceal the slaughter of civilians in the city. ___ KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: Possible mass graves near Mariupol shown in satellite images EXPLAINER: Why the battle for Mariupol's steel mill matters EXPLAINER: Why Washington is boosting heavy arms for Ukraine UN rights chief sees horror story of violations in Ukraine US to welcome Ukraine refugees but no longer through Mexico Follow all AP stories on Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ___ OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: KYIV, Ukraine At least three civilians died and seven more were injured in shelling attacks in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on Friday, as Russian forces continue to roll into the countrys industrial east, the governor of the region said in a Telegram post. Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko blamed the deaths of three more peaceful residents in a small town and two villages on Russian shelling. In a separate Telegram post earlier, Kyrylenko said that as of Friday afternoon, Russians had opened fire at 20 settlements in the region and destroyed or damaged 34 civilian infrastructure facilities. Also on Friday, the local prosecutors office in the northeastern region of Kharkiv said in a Telegram post that charred bodies of two residents were discovered near the city of Izyum that same day. The post accused Russian soldiers of torturing the residents and burning their bodies. ___ WASHINGTON The Pentagon says U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will convene a meeting next week in Germany of defense officials and military leaders from more than 20 countries to discuss Ukraines immediate and long-term defense needs. The Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, said Friday that about 40 nations, including NATO members, were invited and that responses are still arriving for the session to be held Tuesday at Ramstein air base. He did not identify the nations that have agreed to attend but said more details will be provided in coming days. The meeting comes as Russia gears up for what is expected to be a major offensive in eastern Ukraine. The agenda will include an updated assessment of the Ukraine battlefield as well as discussion of efforts to continue a steady flow of weapons and other military aid, Kirby said. It will include consultations on Ukraines post-war defense needs but is not expected to consider changes in the U.S. military posture in Europe, he said. ___ The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that one serviceman died, 27 more went missing and 396 were rescued after a fire on the flagship missile cruiser Moskva last week. The statement comes a week after the vessel sunk. Shortly after the incident, the ministry said the entire crew of the ship, which was presumed by the media to be about 500 people, had been rescued. The ministry did not offer an explanation for the contradicting reports. Ukraine said it hit the cruiser with a missile strike. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines security chief said Friday that the main battles in the country are taking place in the Donbas, the industrial heartland in the east, with Russia deploying more and more troops every day. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told The Associated Press that over 100,000 Russian troops are currently fighting in Ukraine, including mercenaries from Syria and Libya. Some of Russias elite military units have left the strategic Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which was declared liberated by the Kremlin on Thursday, and are now moving to the east of the country to participate in the fighting there, Danilov said. Danilov said a nighttime helicopter delivery brought weapons to Mariupols steel mill, the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the city. He urged Ukraines Western partners to speed up the delivery of weapons to his country. ___ UNITED NATIONS U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to meet Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press for fighting to stop in Ukraine. The U.N. chief will travel to Moscow for conversations with Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.N. spokesperson Eri Kaneko said Friday. She said discussions about a similar visit to Ukraine are under way. He wants to discuss with the leadership steps that can be taken right now in order to silence the guns, in order to help the people and in order to allow the people who need to get out to do so safely, she said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Guterres is due to meet Tuesday with Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and that Putin will also host the U.N. chief. Guterres asked to meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their respective capitals. Ukraine has welcomed the idea. Guterres had appealed for a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting leading up to Sunday, when Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter. ___ BUCHAREST, Romania The Moldovan government strongly criticized comments Friday by a Russian military official suggesting that Russia's forces are aiming to take control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern Ukraine as well, creating another way to the region of Transnistria in Moldova. Moldova's government on Friday called Rustam Minnekayev's comments not only unacceptable but also unfounded." The statement added that his words will lead to increased tension and mistrust in society. Minnekayev said at a defense industry event earlier Friday that broader control of Ukraine would open the way to Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Transnistria broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers have been stationed there since the civil war. Since Russia launched its attacks on Ukraine on Feb. 24, fears have grown that Moldova could be next in Russia's crosshairs. Moldova is not a member of the European Union or NATO. The war has prompted Moldovan officials to try to speed up the country's bid to join the 27-nation EU, which it applied to do last month. The process, however, will likely take many years. ___ MOSCOW Russias top diplomat says talks to end the fighting in Ukraine have ground to a halt, because Moscow hasnt received any response from Kyiv to its most recent set of proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference on Friday that right now, they (talks) have ground to a halt, because another proposal we passed on to Ukrainian negotiators about five days ago, which was drawn up with their comments taken into account, it remains without a response. Lavrov also charged that recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers suggest they dont at all need these talks, they have put up with their destiny. However, Vladimir Medinsky, President Vladimir Putins aide and Russias lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, confirmed reports that he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He didnt offer any details as to what was discussed or if any progress was made. ___ MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside a Mariupol steel plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive. The comments came during a phone call between Putin and European Council President Charles Michel, according to a readout of the call provided by the Kremlin. Putin also said the Ukrainian forces were offered decent treatment and medical care. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged, according to the Kremlin. ___ LVIV, Ukraine A city official in besieged Mariupol says Russian forces are continuing to bomb a massive steel mill where Ukrainian fighters are holed up. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor, told The Associated Press on Friday that every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, despite false promises not to touch the defenders. Andryushchenko added that fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. The Azovstal plant is the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, which the Russians has blocked for nearly two weeks and declared victory over this week. Ukrainian authorities have estimated that 1,000 civilians are inside the plant along with the fighters. A day after satellite images came to light that indicated mass graves outside the port city in southeastern Ukraine, Andryushchenko said local residents reported that Russian forces were using mobile crematoria at two locations. Initial estimates said the apparent mass graves could hold up to 9,000 bodies, but Andryuschenko said there could be more. ___ BERLIN The International Atomic Energy Agency says its director general will visit the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant next week, on the anniversary of the 1986 disaster there. The Vienna-based IAEA said Friday that Rafael Mariano Grossi will head a team of experts from the U.N. nuclear watchdog that will be at Chernobyl on April 26, which is 36 years since the day a reactor at the plant exploded. The IAEA says the team will deliver vital equipment and conduct radiological and other assessments at the site, which Russian forces held for five weeks until they withdrew on March 31. The experts will repair remote monitoring systems that stopped transmitting data to the IAEAs headquarters at the start of the war. Grossi said in a statement that the Chernobyl visit will be followed by more IAEA missions to this and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine in the coming weeks. ___ 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. WASHINGTON Pentagon press secretary John Kirby says assessments show Ukrainian troops are still contesting the southern city of Mariupol despite Russian President Vladimir Putins claim of victory in the battle for the city in Ukraines industrial heartland, home to coal mines, metal plants and heavy-equipment factories. Putin on Thursday ordered his troops not to storm a giant Mariupol steel mill where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainians remain holed up but to seal it off in an apparent bid to free up his troops for the broader campaign in the east. Kirby said it was unclear why Putin did that and Putins words need to be viewed with skepticism. They made this big show yesterday of him saying he wasnt gonna go into that plant and try to eradicate the people that are there, Kirby told CNN on Friday. I think we have to watch and see what the Russians actually do here. What we would tell you this morning is that we still assess that Mariupol is contested, that it hasnt been taken by the Russians and that theres still an active Ukrainian resistance. So they continue to fight for that city. ___ SEOUL, South Korea South Koreas Foreign Ministry says its trying to confirm intelligence that a South Korean citizen who had come to Ukraine as a volunteer fighter to defend the country against the Russian attack has been killed. The ministry said Friday it received the information from an unspecified foreign government but didnt immediately provide more details. The ministry said there were at least four South Koreans who went into Ukraine without government authorization. It pleaded them to quickly return home as the war escalates with Russias new offensive in eastern Ukraine. ___ COPENHAGEN, Denmark The three Baltic prime ministers want more sanctions against Russia. Latvian Prime Minister - Krisjanis Karins pointed out Friday that it is necessary to lessen Russias ability to finance its war in Ukraine, and this includes sanctions at the European Union level on all Russian banks and all energy resources, including natural gas and oil. His Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte stressed the importance of continuing to put pressure on the Kremlin by strengthening sanctions. Kaja Kallas of Estonia agreed. They spoke after a meeting of the Baltic Council of Ministers, the Baltic News Service said. The parliaments of Latvia and Estonia on Thursday adopted a statement on Russias war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. ___ BERLIN German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is defending his center-left partys record on relations with Russia against criticism following the war in Ukraine. Scholzs Social Democrats have long been proud of the legacy of Cold War rapprochement pursued by former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt. But critics accuse it of having clung too much to close relations with Russia, particularly over recent years. Scholz made clear in an interview with weekly Der Spiegel published Friday that he sees no need for the party to chew over its stance, and said that it doesnt have to accept the criticism. He argued that its policies of detente set the ground for overcoming Europes Cold War-era division, and said it always backed a strong German military and integration with the West. Scholz decried what he called distorting and defamatory portrayals of the Social Democrats policies toward Europe and Russia going back to West Germanys early post-World War II years. He did not, however, mention ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeders ties with the Russian energy industry, which Scholz has urged Schroeder to end. ___ KYIV, Ukraine A top Ukrainian official says no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations will be open in Ukraine on Friday because it is unsafe. In a post on the messaging app Telegram, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk asked people awaiting evacuation from war zones to be patient and hang in there. Vereshchuk said Russian forces offered to open a corridor for military surrender but not for an estimated 1,000 civilians sheltering at a steel mill that is the last Ukrainian stronghold in besieged southern city of Mariupol. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said Moscow was ready at any moment to introduce a regime of silence for both the troops and civilians at Azovstal. But Ukrainian troops must raise white flags in determined areas around the plant before evacuations can begin, the ministry said. ___ LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. is looking at sending tanks to Poland to replace the Soviet-era T-72 tanks the Poles are shipping to Ukraine. Johnson made the comments Friday during a news conference in New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think perhaps what I havent said publicly before is were also looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians, Johnson said. So were looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they sending some of their T-72s to Ukraine. ___ LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the U.K. plans to reopen its embassy in Ukraines capital next week. Johnson announced the planned action on Friday during a trip to India. Diplomats from other European nations have returned to Kyiv since Russian troops withdrew from the capital region to focus on eastern Ukraine. Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv this month to show solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the time, the prime minister detailed a new package of financial and military aid, and Zelenskyy said the U.K. had pledged to help rebuild the city after the war. ___ BERLIN The U.N. human rights chief says that international humanitarian law appears to have been tossed aside in Russias war in Ukraine. The Geneva-based human rights office said in a statement Friday that Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure actions that may amount to war crimes. The office said its mission in Ukraine so far has verified 5,264 civilian casualties, including 2,345 deaths, since the war began on Feb. 24. It said that 92.3% of those were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet added that the actual numbers are going to be much higher as the horrors inflicted in these areas of intense fighting such as Mariupol come to light. She said that over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside. Im afraid the erroneous decision to strike down the federal mask mandate by an inexperienced, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Kathryn Mizelle who was given an American Bar Association evaluation of not qualified will doubtless condemn perhaps thousands of Americans to death from the coronavirus omicron BA2 subvariant. Her ruling in part was based on an interpretation of the 1944 Public Health Service Act, which mentions sanitation but doesnt define it. She opted to select cleaning something as a definition, and because wearing a mask doesnt clean anything, she ruled the government overstepped its authority. As a biologist whos taught bacteriology, virology and biotechnology at high school and university levels, and who was involved in doing DNA research at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, I know of no actual expert who would not agree that wearing a good KN95 or similar mask isnt one of the best tools available for preventing transmission of aerosol-spread viruses. Larry Lack, Novato Earth still has a chance When Earth Day was first organized in April 1970, there was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act, no Endangered Species Act. There were no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. Earth Day helped lead to these changes. Now its estimated that over a billion people participate in Earth Day, making it the largest secular observance in the world. With the climate radically changing, the world needs Earth Day now more than ever. There are events everywhere this weekend. Please consider attending one near you to learn about and celebrate our only home. We boomers thought we were going to change the world, but sometimes life got in the way. Just know its not too late to change climate change. We can all still choose to leave this place a little better than we found it. Our grandchildren will thank us. Gordy Burton, San Carlos Professor inspires work Regarding Peter Keane, rabble-rousing S.F. attorney and champ of good government, dies at 79 (sfchronicle.com, April 20): When I received the sad news that my favorite law professor, mentor, ally and friend Peter Keane had died, I was walking into the office of the San Francisco district attorney. Thats where I now work every day to investigate public corruption in the city of San Francisco and I am busy. I do this challenging work because Peter encouraged me to with his gravel-voiced wisdom, his sterling example of ethical authenticity and his stories that grounded theory with reality in evidence, and his constitutional law class. I thought about Peter, walked to my desk and got back to work for the people of San Francisco. I can think of no better way to honor him. Jon Golinger, San Francisco Follow traffic laws Regarding S.F. streets may see 20 mph limits (Bay Area & Business, April 19): Lowering the speed limit will accomplish nothing until there is enforcement of traffic laws. Spending $6 million on new signage, etc., is a waste. San Francisco can designate more slow streets, construct more speed bumps and more bulb outs, but this will solve nothing until drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians stop behaving as if they are the only ones using our streets and start observing traffic rules. Catherine Sarlatte, San Francisco Its OK to say gay Regarding Why ban the word GAY when you can ban a whole book? (Datebook, April 20): Thank you, Kevin Fisher-Paulson, for the column on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed a law that states A school district may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity. Its sad in this day and age that individuals are still so ignorant. Two years into the pandemic, states, counties and cities have largely eased or eliminated their mask mandates. With the recent decision by a federal judge to strike down the federal transportation mask mandate, its increasingly feeling as though life is inching closer to a pre-pandemic state. Last month, President Biden urged Americans in his State of the Union address to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again, adding that, people working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office. But just because people can go back to the office, doesnt mean they want to. Google recently announced its new post-pandemic work policy, requiring employees work in the office for at least three days a week. But a survey of over 1,000 Google employees showed that two-thirds feel unhappy with being forced to be in the office three days a week and many intend to leave. A similar fallout is happening at Apple, which imposed its own hybrid work policy. Googles leadership has defended its requirement of mostly in-office work for all staff as necessary to protect the companys social capital, or its peoples connections to and trust in each other. Its a justification echoed by leadership at Apple. In an email to employees about returning to the office, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote about the irreplaceable benefits of in-person collaboration. But not all of Big Tech is following suit. By contrast, plenty of large tech companies, such as Amazon and Twitter, are offering employees much more flexibility with extensive remote work options as are many non-tech companies, such as Nationwide, Deloitte and Applied Materials. Are these companies giving up on social capital? Not at all. Two years of pandemic life has taught us that hybrid and even fully remote work arrangements dont automatically lead to losing social capital. Rather, what matters is how remote work policies are implemented. For example, shoehorning traditional, office-centric methods of collaboration into hybrid and remote work doesnt work. According to research published in Harvard Business Review, companies that transposed existing pre-pandemic work arrangements onto remote work during the lockdowns lost social capital. Yet experts say there are best practices for hybrid and remote work that, if adopted, can boost an organizations social capital. One of those best practices is virtual co-working in which members of small teams work on their own individual tasks while on a videoconference call together. By replicating the experience of a shared cubicle space, team members can ask questions of their colleagues and get them answered quickly, just as they would in person. Another effective tool for a hybrid or fully remote format is the virtual water cooler, which provides employees the space to chat more conversationally with colleagues as they might in a break room or while passing in the hallway. By having teams establish a channel in their collaboration software such as Slack or Microsoft Teams that is dedicated to personal, non-work discussions, colleagues can have a similar opportunity to get to know one another in the way random run-ins in the office allow for. Every morning whether they come to the office or work at home all team members send a message answering the questions: How are you doing overall? Whats been interesting in your life recently outside of work? Whats going on in your work; whats going well, and what are some challenges? What is one thing about you or the world that most other team members do not know about? Employees are also asked to respond to at least three other employees who made an update that day. Such questions and mutual responses humanize team members to each other, ultimately building up social capital. Critics may argue that such techniques are not the same as in person interactions. Thats almost certainly true. But given Pew Research found that 61% of people are choosing to work from home even though their offices are open, it is clear that for many workers, their preference or need is to stay remote. Just as forcing traditional work methods in virtual settings is ineffective, so too is forcing employees to come back to the office. Two years of remote work has proven its possible to be productive and to build social capital from home for employees that wish to stay virtual. Companies that ignore this reality do so to their own detriment as top talent has options to move to more forward-thinking companies that understand how to meet their employees needs and preferences while maintaining productivity. With the Senate moving to take away some of Google and Apples competitive advantage through regulatory controls, it is more critical than ever that these companies listen to their people. Retaining talent may increasingly be the most important competitive advantage a company can get. Gleb Tsipursky is behavioral scientist and CEO of the future-proofing consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. He is the author of Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage. What can we do to save small business in San Francisco? Fun Police podcasters Manny Yekutiel and Sharky Laguana join Total SF hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight to talk about the present and future of San Francisco, and how lessons learned from a worldwide pandemic can help independent business in the future. They also talk about their first time visiting S.F., their favorite burrito shops and offer a salute to the Pointer Sisters. ANAHEIM Californias top GOP official is standing behind Rep. Kevin McCarthy as the Bakersfield Republican is facing a firestorm in the national media over comments he made harshly criticizing Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection. California Republican Party chair Jessica Millan Patterson, a longtime McCarthy ally, said Friday that desperate Democrat politicians just dont get it. People are suffering from soaring inflation, record-high gas prices, a border and homeless crisis and spiking crime. America cant wait for Leader McCarthy to become speaker of the House with a Republican majority who will put our country back on track. McCarthy, the House Republican leader, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address Saturday at the three-day state party convention in Anaheim that begins Friday. He is the most prominent Republican official in a state where Democrats hold all the statewide offices, a supermajority in the Legislature and a roughly two-to-one advantage in voter registration. The California GOPs loyalty to McCarthy an ally whom Trump has referred to as my Kevin for his fealty is a telling look at how Trump remains the leader of the Republican Party even in a deep blue state like California. On Thursday and Friday, New York Times reporters released audio recordings of comments McCarthy made decrying Trump over the events of the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trumps supporters. Those recordings corroborate passages from their book that said McCarthy discussed seeking Trumps resignation and expressed furor with Trump over the events. After an excerpt of the book recounting those conversations was published by the New York Times on Thursday, McCarthy released a statement calling them totally false and wrong. But later that evening and the following morning, the reporters, Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, released the recordings on MSNBC and CNN, showing that McCarthy made such statements, hinting at more to come, as they promote their book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for Americas Future. In one recording from a call with House Republican leaders on Jan. 10, 2021, shared with CNN, McCarthy said: Ive had it with this guy. What he did is unacceptable. Nobody can defend that, and nobody should defend it. The next day, he told the broader House Republican conference, Let me be very clear to you and I have been very clear to the president. He bears responsibility for his words and actions. No ifs, ands or buts. ... He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And he needs to acknowledge that. And in a clip released Thursday on MSNBC and by the New York Times, McCarthy said he would tell Trump, I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign. The audio also reinforces what many Americans watched in real time. In the hours and days after the violent attack on the Capitol that interrupted the counting of 2020 election results in a failed attempt to install Trump over the winner President Biden, McCarthy was publicly critical of the events and acknowledged Trumps role in stoking the flames before the riot. But as time progressed, McCarthy sought to reconcile with Trump and has spent the months since downplaying the events of Jan. 6. The new recordings paint a fuller picture of that transformation, and show McCarthy was dishonest in denying the initial reporting. McCarthy has yet to respond further, and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Chronicle. But not all of the Republicans at the GOP convention in Anaheim Friday shared the state organizations support. Eric Early, who is running for attorney general, told The Chronicle that it does not surprise me to hear that. Kevin McCarthy said those things. ... Im not a big fan of Kevin McCarthy. I absolutely want to see the Republicans take control of Congress in the next election, said Early, who is a Trump supporter. But Kevin McCarthy would not be my choice for leader of the Congress. He said hed prefer Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. But McCarthys short-lived break from Trump, and return to the fold, is in line with the trend of Republican politics the past year. The Washington Post reported Friday that after the first audio was revealed, Trump and McCarthy already reconciled. Punchbowl News, another D.C. media outlet, reported that McCarthy was calling House Republicans on Friday to assure them Trump was still in his corner. And despite the broader California electorates decided repudiation of Trumpism in last years gubernatorial recall election, the success of Larry Elder among the outnumbered Republican voters of California showed that the Trump brand still governs in the GOP. Self-branded moderate Republican candidates, meanwhile, languished in the field. But at least one Republican candidate could break that trend. In a bright spot for the GOP heading into this weekends convention, former Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio presidential policy adviser and Stanford University scholar Lanhee Chen is running a strong campaign for state controller, and earned the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times editorial board this week. Chen, a Mountain View resident and child of Taiwanese immigrants who has never run for public office before, has steadfastly declined to discuss Trump while on the campaign trail. He wont say whom he voted for in 2016 and 2020. I understand this question is going to get asked, I understand why its getting asked, Chen, who worked in the George W. Bush White House, said on The Chronicles Its All Political podcast last year. Im not going to define my candidacy through the prism of the former president. Tal Kopan (she/her) is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent and Joe Garofoli is the senior political writer. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com, jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan, @joegarofoli Californias Highway 49, also known as the Golden Chain Highway, connects a series of small, offbeat towns that boomed during the Gold Rush and now attract visitors as the gateway into some of Californias best natural scenery. The mostly two-lane highway also hugs the shores of remote lakes and rivers on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada and runs along the outskirts of Yosemite National Park, which is a great place to begin a road trip on the western slopes of Californias great mountain range. First of all, reservations are required to enter Yosemite, even if youre just driving through. If you want to camp or stay in the park, youll need to book those accommodations well in advance. Otherwise, stay outside the park for a less congested experience. Highway 49 has striking sights, historic landmarks, low-key state parks and hiking trails aplenty with a fraction of the crowds youll find inside Yosemite. But why stop there? Keep the road trip going south to make your way into Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks two California gems that tend to be less crowded than Yosemite. Start your trip in Angels Camp, home to a famous annual frog-jumping jubilee inspired by a Mark Twain story. Today, you can descend a staircase into the same caves that miners worked in back in the 1850s. Book a guided tour at Moaning Caverns in Vallecito (from $22) to explore the largest single-chamber cave in the state. Yi Ren/Special to The Chronicle After picking up a BLT at the Pickled Porch Cafe, a beloved deli in what used to be the towns visitors center, head south on Highway 49 to reach Columbia State Historic Park (entrance is free), a preserved mining town that still looks the way it did when the miners lived here. After grabbing dinner in downtown Sonora, tuck in for the night at the Royal Olive Manor), a three-room bed-and-breakfast that opened in 2019 in a historic home downtown. Each room is named after a woman who once lived in the house. Youll wake up just an hour from the entrance to Yosemite. Take a detour to see the sights in Yosemite Valley or continue south 55 miles to the Old West-style town of Mariposa, where Sticks Coffee is great place to start your morning. Learn about the history of rock climbing which became an Olympic sport for the first time at the recent Olympic Games in Tokyo at a new museum in Mariposa. The Yosemite Climbing Museum, a project spearheaded by climbing pioneer Ken Yager, opened last summer and features historic photos, gear and information on the men and women who established Yosemite Valleys soaring granite walls as a playing field of the sports elite. The space is in the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. For another taste of history, dont miss the county courthouse in Mariposa, which was built in 1854 and remains the states oldest courthouse. Lunch could be a bowl of noodles nearby at the Little Shop of Ramen. Pick up a bottle of wine for later from the Local Grape, the wine shop also on site. In the afternoon, take a detour on Highway 140 to spot wildflowers on the hike out to Hite Cove, near the entrance into Yosemite, then go for a swim in one of the many swimming holes in the Merced River, accessible from various trails near El Portal. Or, if youd rather take it easy, stop by Sierra Cider, a local apple farm and cidery that offers orchard tours, hard cider tastings and apple picking. That night, rest your head in a shiny Airstream-turned-hotel-room at AutoCamp Yosemite near Midpines. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Left: Highway 49 snakes back and forth above the Merced River in Bagby. Right: Hikers transverse the wildflower-lined Hite Cove Trail in El Portal. Photos by Jessica Christian / Special to The Chronicle Top: Highway 49 snakes back and forth above the Merced River in Bagby. Above: Hikers transverse the wildflower-lined Hite Cove Trail in El Portal. Photos by Jessica Christian / Special to The Chronicle Day three brings you farther south to the Yosemite gateway town of Oakhurst, where you can rent a mountain bike from Pedal Forward to ride Goat Mountains dirt roads or single-track. Follow that up with a refreshing plunge in nearby Bass Lake. Lunch is served at the Southgate Brewing Co., which has pub fare and craft beer. The whole family will enjoy the steam train rides and gold panning at Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, a worthy detour just outside of Yosemites gates with historical tours through former logging forests. Spend the night in a quaint cabin on a gorgeous 1,300-acre property at Sierra Meadows Resort, where tiny homes come with access to free loaner bicycles and board games. Spend your last day exploring Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, about two hours south of Oakhurst. This is a good place to mark the southern terminus of your four-day journey or stay longer if youve got more time. General Sherman, the worlds largest tree by volume, which shoots 275 feet into the clouds, was threatened by wildfire last year and was wrapped in a protective foil, but the tree and its surrounding grove recently reopened for public viewing. Walk the accessible 1.4-mile-long Big Trees Trail nearby for an up-close glimpse of more giant sequoias. Scramble to the top of Moro Rock, a massive granite dome in Sequoia National Park with nearly 400 stone-and-concrete steps up to a vista of the Great Western Divide at the top. Cap off your trip in a lodge room or cabin at the Buckeye Tree Lodge in the riverfront gateway town of Three Rivers. There youll find a food truck, Ol Buckaroo, and diner that serves American food at picnic tables outside alongside the Kaweah River or in the towns revamped original saloon, dating back to the 1940s. From here, its four hours back to San Francisco. With all of his belongings stowed in two small bags, Brian Edward Jones boarded a bus from South Carolina to Birmingham, Alabama March 27, making his way to the small Jefferson County suburb of Bessemer. Once he arrived, he stood outside the Bessemer police station mustering up the will to confess to the unsolved murder of Bay Area woman Janet Luxford 21 years earlier. Up until Jones confession, all that was known of Luxfords disappearance was reported in 2002 by her daughter. Luxfords daughter told Napa police that her mother had left her residence in Jacksonville, Florida in September 2001 and was last seen at a motel in Bessemer with a trucker. Bessemer Police Lt. Christian Clemons, who described the case as a once-in-a-career type situation to WBRC in Birmingham, explained the events leading up to Luxfords murder. So 21 years ago, Mr. Jones was here working as a day laborer, Clemons said He and Ms. Luxford were boyfriend-girlfriend. She wanted to get money to go back to home, which is California, to see her folks and from that, an argument started to which he described got out of hand and he ended up hitting her with a club in the throat. Jones told police that the murder was accidental, but he packed her corpse inside a green suitcase taking it to a remote area just by a nearby creek. Days later, on March 29, Jones took Bessemer police to the site near the creek where he dumped the suitcase, according to the Birmingham News. Police found skeletal remains still inside the suitcase, WBRC reported. The remains have yet to be confirmed as Luxfords, a process that could take up to nine months. But Bessemer police have charged Jones with Luxfords murder and the abuse of a corpse, according to WBRC, and is being held on a $765,000 bond. As for why Jones waited so long to confess to the murder, he explained to Bessemer police that he did not want to disappoint his parents. His parents died in 2021. He seemed enormously remorseful and appeared to be someone who had been carrying weight of this around for a long time and was relieved to have it over, Clemons told the Birmingham News. WARSAW, Poland (AP) New methane explosions rocked a coal mine in southern Poland late Thursday, injuring 10 rescuers who were preparing to search for seven people missing since two blasts killed five a day earlier, officials said. The new explosions raised to 32 the number of people hospitalized from injuries in blasts at the Pniowek mine since Wednesday. The state Supreme Mining Authority said the latest explosions caused no fatalities. Reporters at the mine saw an airborne ambulance and other ambulances come to the site. Head of the regional ambulance service, Lukasz Pach, said seven people were hospitalized after the new blasts, three of them in serious condition but conscious. Three others received medical care on the spot and were sent home. Earlier Thursday, the JSW company that operates the mine had said rescue crews were pumping air underground seeking to lower methane levels and reduce the risk of further blasts in the area of the search. It said then that 25 people who were injured in the explosions Wednesday remained hospitalized, nine of them in very serious condition at a hospital in Siemianowice Slaskie that specializes in treating mine accident victims, especially those with severe burns. Seven miners and rescue personnel were missing from the blasts Wednesday. The initial explosion took place shortly after midnight early Wednesday about 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) underground at the mine in Pawlowice, near the Czech border. Three hours into the rescue operation, a larger, second blast occurred. Communications were lost with some of the rescuers, and the operation was suspended. Preparations for the search to resume were suspended after Thursday's blasts, JSW said. Poland relies on its own and imported coal for almost 70% of its energy, drawing criticism from the European Union and environmental organizations concerned about CO2 emissions and climate change. Most coal mines are in the southern Silesia region. Many are at risk of explosions from the sudden release of methane gas. The government has been actively scaling down the use of coal and recently announced it would end coal imports from Russia by May. The action is part of Polands drive to wean off dependence on Russian energy sources, but also comes in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine. In the 1990s, Earth Day was the one day a year school faculty from around the country got to dust off their daisy crowns, peace medallions and tie-dye without (much) ridicule and the hippie kids handed out homemade Earth-shaped suckers in the quad. In class, theyd roll in the strapped-down TV/VCR combo to watch this Jimmy Buffett-esque tribute to the rainforest and an ecologically sustainable blockbuster like "Bio-Dome" would be the featured attraction. Every year, April 22 takes me back to that era of non-urgency and my sophomore year biology class, where one Earth Day report featured the Rainforest Cafe as an example of heightened environmental awareness making its way into mainstream culture. Earth Day is no longer at the forefront of public consciousness and gatherings, but it still has a strong hold, and the alarm bells are ringing louder than ever at institutions established to protect the environment. AP One neednt look further than UC Santa Barbara, the epicenter of the Earth Day movement, to see what has changed. Today, theyve been learning about the environment since they could walk, since preschool, so by the time they get to college, these students are pissed, said Eric Zimmerman, UCSBs environmental studies program student affairs manager, which, according to the schools Instagram, is the same age as Earth Day. They say, tell us what we can do to reverse this damage. Theyre kind of beyond the learning phase and are more give me the tools to go out and reverse environmental degradation. How can we get renewable energy, now? How can return some of these places to biological diversity? The first Earth Day: A national teach-in Earth Day was the brainchild of Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin, who was shocked and dismayed after flying over the footprint of the oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara in February 1969. He saw firsthand the devastation in the wake of the estimated 100,000 barrels' worth of crude oil stretching out on the coastline, spanning 35 miles from Goleta to Ventura. Up to that point, it was the single-largest spill in U.S. history and stirred an existential panic in the senator. Nelson returned to Washington and immediately drafted a plan to create a national day of observance and education that became known as Earth Day. Lisa Werner/flickr Editorial/Getty Images I am convinced that the same concern the youth of this nation took in changing this nations priorities on the war in Vietnam and on civil rights can be shown for the problem of the environment, he said during a speech in Seattle in September of that year. That is why I plan to see to it that a national teach-in is held. His idea took off. And on April 22, 1970, more than one in 10 Americans participated in 12,000 Earth Day-related teach-ins and events, most of them in secondary schools and on college campuses. Twenty million participated in the inaugural event in 1970, the largest single-day protest in history. Congress took the day off as well and, in a now unheard-of bipartisan effort, most spoke at Earth Day-related events in their districts. In Santa Barbara, the Community Environmental Council kicked off the towns Earth Day Festival with a block-long peaceful protest, near the same spot where President Richard Nixon had spoken in solidarity with environmental efforts following the spill in March 1969. The Santa Barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people, he said. David F. Smith/AP Nixons support and the surprise success of the Earth Day movement led to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the passage of bi-partisan legislation like 1970s Clean Air Act, 1972s Clean Water Act and 1973s Endangered Species Act. Once Nixon resigned, Gerald Ford took up the mantle and the early 70s were marked by back-to-back Republican administrations establishing national policy on air and water pollution. But then, the GOPs long, politically divisive, corporate lobby-funded and science-free pivot marked the nations approach to environmental policy, resulting in defeat after defeat in environmental legislation and eventually in the Republicans gutting the very agency they spun up to protect and preserve the environment for future generations. Perry Gerenday/Getty Images The most recent major defeat is 2010s halt of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which would have drastically limited carbon emissions, due to lack of support in the Senate by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. That was followed by the Trump administrations rollback or elimination of major climate policies. A 2020 New York Times study found more than 100 environmental regulations were reversed or rolled back. This is a very aggressive attempt to rewrite our laws and reinterpret the meaning of environmental protections, Hana V. Vizcarra, a staff attorney at Harvards environmental and energy law program, said. This administration is leaving a truly unprecedented legacy. Will the next generation save us? While Earth Day still exists (hint: Its today!) and events at the movements epicenter at UC Santa Barbaras campus and elsewhere around town are still happening, the overall momentum and power have shifted, UCSBs Zimmerman said. And thats created a more aggressive mood among those affected most by the trials of life on a dying planet: young people. Ive been here long enough to see different generations of students come through, including my own, and the unifying theorem is weve got to do better, he said. This newest generation, theyre pointing fingers. Theyre calling people out. Theyre inheriting a mess. Photo by Rod Rolle/Newsmakers) Zimmerman notes the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22, 2020) happened during a pandemic itself the result of a planet succumbing to globalization, global warming and the collapse of working ecosystems but even in this, he says he takes a glass half full approach. These students are tackling the issue of how do you make sure that everyone has equal chance for resources, he said, noting that the UCSB environmental studies program has graduated more than 8,000 alumni and more than 40% of current enrollees are from diverse backgrounds, a massive demographic shift from a quarter century ago when he was a student. Were far from solving the problem but at the same time, theres progress. Youve got to pick the battles take the wins when you get them and not just doom and gloom because if you do, it can be damned depressing, Zimmerman concluded. Were not dying tomorrow as a species. But the question may be to what extent are we going to suffer and whos going to be doing the suffering. When KPIX viewers learned that Yo Yos restaurant at 318 Pacific Ave. was in danger of serving its last orders of comforting udon and unctuous beef curry due to an unexpected rent increase, the surrounding neighborhood stepped forward this week with an appetite big enough to save the mom-and-pop from closure. The neighborhood helped us a lot, Yo Yos co-owner Joseph Lee told SFGATE. He said that he and his wife, Lydia, received a letter from their landlord who lives in Florida, seeking retroactive rent repayment dating back to last year during a time when many restaurants, including Yo Yos, still struggled to make ends meet amid the pandemic. The letter also stated if the couple wanted to sign a new lease starting April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, rent would also increase. Blair Heagerty / SFGate Lydia was one of the first employees hired at Yo Yo's back when it first opened in 1988. She later bought the restaurant in 1997 after its Japanese matriarch, Kazuko Yuge, retired. Lee said after they received the notice, the couple thought about closing the favored lunch spot, as good foot traffic and lunchtime crowds run sparse these days in the surrounding Financial District. He described empty office buildings as more employees work from home, and also said some companies have even packed up and relocated to Oakland seeking cheaper business space. But as KPIXs story aired earlier this week, an overwhelming wave of customer support showed Joseph and Lydia just how much people enjoy their recipes and what comfort they bring to a neighborhood theyve served since 1988. One time, a customer came in and he only ordered the udon and he gave us $100 and said, You guys dont close, OK? Lee said. He comes like two, sometimes three, times a week. There are a lot of good people in this world still. Lee told SFGATE that Yo Yos rent is increasing by 6%, but the landlord is no longer seeking retroactive rent repayments tied to last year. Why Yo Yos landlord had a recent change of heart remains to be seen, but Lee thinks it must have had something to do with the KPIX story and the show of customer support that followed. Blair Heagerty / SFGate For now, customers can continue to enjoy this tiny grab-and-go shops sought-after Japanese noodle dish for just $9, or its beef curry special for $13, which Lee says is just as popular as their udon. Were very, very happy, he said. Were OK. We will stay open, thank God. Yo Yo's is at 318 Pacific Ave. Open Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-3 p.m., closed Saturday and Sunday. San Franciscans rejoice the Old Clam House restaurant, located at 299 Bayshore Blvd., is reopening sometime in May, new owner Filomena Florese told SFGATE. I want to keep everything the way people remembered it, she said. Thats good news for folks who have missed the 161-year-old restaurant during the last two years. Cherished dishes such as the cioppino, the clambake and the clam chowder are all returning, as well as the interior filled with San Francisco memorabilia adorning the walls of this storied restaurant. People see me on the street and they ask, Are you still going to have the clams? Yes I am, Florese laughed. Florese, along with her family, have deep roots in San Francisco. She moved here from Italy when she was 10 years old and grew up in the Excelsior District, attending Visitacion Valley Junior High. She first went to the Old Clam House, which opened in 1861, when she was maybe 19. As a young kid, I really didn't eat much fish, she recounted. But my favorite [at the Old Clam House] was the clam chowder with the bread. Liz D. via Yelp The previous owners, Jerry Dal Bozzo, Jennifer Dal Bozzo and Dante Serafini announced last May that the restaurant was up for sale. Florese, who runs the Mona Lisa, knew Dal Bozzo, who used to own the Stinking Rose and retired in 2021, through their ties as restaurant owners in North Beach. At first, Florese wasnt sure if she wanted to take up another restaurant venture. But that quickly changed when Dal Bozzo gave her a tour of the restaurant. I walked through and saw the history of the place and I said, Oh wow. Yea, Im going to do this, she said. The decor and the tradition of the place will remain intact. However, Florese, along with new chef Valentino Luchin, will add some Italian dishes to the menu. Were an Italian family, so were going to bring some of our items to the menu, she said. Florese is also trying to track down former employees of the restaurant and would like to bring them back, if they are available. They are part of The Old Clam House tradition, she said. I want to keep everything that The Old Clam House is known for. People love to throw around the phrase I could smell it coming from a mile away, but when youre talking about a volcano, its actually true. Driving the winding roads in the town of Volcano on Hawaiis Big Island, through the gateway into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the smell got stronger and stronger. Its hard to describe the precise aroma. It smelled like a campfire, like a massive charcoal grill, like something is burning that isnt supposed to be burning like the ground beneath my feet. I dont really know what I expected the erupting Kilauea Volcano to be like, but I know I definitely didnt expect it to smell so good. Barbara Alper/Getty Images I also didnt expect myself to be hiking 3 miles in the dark to see it, either, but despite my aversion to hiking, that particular trek is one I would repeat on any day of my life. Of all the things I didnt know to expect, I especially didnt foresee having my heart cracked open by the arresting beauty and immense power of nature. I grew up going to national parks, so driving up to Volcano House, with its rustic 1930s cabin-style architecture, very much felt like coming home. The rough-hewn log building could have been in any national park anywhere in the country, down to the wooden rocking chairs in front of the stacked stone fireplace in the lobby. But keep walking just a few more steps toward the back of the building, and youll quickly realize that it couldnt be anywhere else in the world. The entire back wall of the building is expansive, floor-to-ceiling glass, its windows looking out onto the crater of an active volcano. Not just any volcano, but Kilauea, the most active volcano on the island of Hawaii and reportedly one of the most active in the world. But when I got there, I was mostly interested in having dinner. The restaurant at Volcano House is the kind of place dreams are made of. The dining room overlooks the smoking caldera of the volcano and serves a menu of what I would later discover is almost exclusively fresh fish, just caught off the Kona coast an hours drive away. Volcano House is in such high demand, you cant just walk in and get a table. (I should have known, as I tried, unsuccessfully, to book a hotel room a month earlier.) There were definitely echoes of the one does not simply walk into Mordor meme there and throughout the park, especially when I was walking over lava fields that did, in fact, feel like I was walking into Mordor. "Try back in a couple of hours," the kindly hostess said to us. "Maybe we can take you toward the end of service." Fine with us. We had a volcano to see. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images When I say I hiked to see the volcano, what I really mean is that I walked 2 paved miles, and another mostly paved mile, along flat pathways of the Crater Rim Trail that were clearly marked and maintained with government money. If it was a challenge, it was only a challenge because my friends and I didnt plan well for a night walk through tropical foliage. We could have thought, just spitballing here, to bring some bug spray, or a flashlight. But thats what iPhones are for, right? Remind me to say thank you to Steve Jobs ghost for that flashlight feature if I ever meet him. As we walked, it got darker and darker, and it crossed my mind a few hundred times that we probably should have prepared better if we were going to walk over lava fields, thousands of miles from any family who would ever come take care of us if we ended up in a hospital in Hawaii, in a full body cast from tumbling down the side of a mountain or falling into an erupting volcano. But then I saw the glow in the distance, red and orange in the darkness, the blue purple sky above dotted with twinkling stars. Mario Tama/Getty Images Some moments that change your life you dont realize until later, after theyve come and gone. Some, you stand there, taking in what you know is fundamentally altering your world view as it unfolds in front of you. Watching the lava eruptions, the intense heat creating waterfalls of 2,000 degree molten rock, I found a new level of wonder at the magnitude of natures force, and a deep sense of peace that came from being in the presence of something simultaneously so beautiful and so powerful. The islands of Hawaii were created by volcanoes, by the very thing I was witnessing at that moment. In Native Hawaiian lore, Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and calls Kilauea home. Maybe thats what I was feeling: the weight of creation, the energy of the ages, the kind of power that can only emanate from such a sacred and dynamic place. I stood there feeling incredibly small, but in the best possible way, like there were solemn and protective forces all around me, like there was ancient power flowing. Giles Clarke/Getty Images Its the kind of feeling that has me desperate to book another trip back, even though I still have a tan from the visit Im writing about right now. Even if you cant visit soon, you can get a part of the experience for yourself. The current eruption, which has been happening since September of last year in the Halemaumau crater, is visible on a series of live cams from the National Park Service. When you visit Kilauea, remember to do so respectfully, the NPS website says. In Hawaiian tradition, it is customary to ask permission from Pele to travel through her land and this sacred landscape. I think I did. I know, for sure, that what I took away from the experience was a lot more than what I left behind. San Franciscos real estate market is like no other. Often listed as the most expensive city to buy a home in America, with a single square foot of SF property setting you back around $1,000, its also one of the priciest markets in the world. Bay Area bargains are hard to come by, unless youre willing to buy a house that needs to be moved to a new address or a plot of land underwater (it sounds foolish, but some of the most expensive blocks in the city were built on shipwrecks). With that in mind, we thought it may be interesting, or maddening, to find the most expensive and least expensive residential properties sold in the city limits over the last month. Compass According to Redfin, 641 properties were sold in the city between March 15 and April 15. The most expensive, 2973-2975 Jackson St., sold on April Fools Day for a cool $8.3 million. The six-bed, 7,400-square-foot duplex in Pacific Heights, two blocks from the prestigious Gold Coast stretch of Broadway, was sold by agent Arline Klatte of Compass. Compass In the heart of Pacific Heights, behind an understated facade, a spacious modern masterpiece is ready to blow your mind, the blurb reads. Part New York loft, part traditional, this huge space ... offers creative people plenty of flexible options for glamorous entertaining as well as cozy, intimate gatherings. It also includes site-specific art pieces to woo dinner guests, who can park in the buildings five-car garage. This place is special, concludes the description. Compass The $8.3 million sale price could be seen as a great deal, with the Redfin estimate clocking in at $13.4 million. The home was listed at $7,495,000 and previously sold for a hair under $7 million in 2006. At the bottom of the San Francisco real estate ladder, which often feels like its missing the first few rungs, we find a very small studio downtown. Apartment seven at 520 Natoma St. sold for $280,000 last week. The 330-foot tenancy in common unit is on the third floor of a pretty blue Edwardian property built in 1911. Google Street View The description says that the building was remodeled in 2018, and the sunny south facing studio offers bamboo floors and bay windows, though no parking is available. While its the cheapest sale in recent weeks in the city, its small size means that the price per square foot is still $848. The studio previously sold for $425,000 four years ago. A dig in the archives shows that when first offered in 1912, the building was sold as the finest apartments South of Market. In 1959, the apartment was available for rent for $25 a month, but only men need apply. BEIJING (AP) An American man has been sentenced to death in China for fatally stabbing a 21-year-old woman who tried to break off their relationship. Shadeed Abdulmateen was sentenced Thursday after a trial in the Intermediate Peoples Court of Ningbo, a city in Chinas eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Abdulmateen met the victim, identified only by her surname, Chen, in 2019 and entered into a romantic relationship with her. When she attempted to break off relations, Abdulmateen arranged to meet her at a bus stop in Ningbo, then stabbed her to death on the night of June 14, 2021 with a folding knife he had brought with the intention of killing her, Xinhua said. The trial was attended by more than 20 people, including government officials and members of the public. Xinhua said the court ruled that the facts surrounding Chen's murder were especially heinous and resulted in serious consequences. It said Abdulmateen had been provided with a defense, translation services and consular visits, but gave no details on his hometown or how he came to reside in China. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said the Embassy was aware of the sentence and monitoring the situation, but for privacy reasons, could not offer further comment. China is believed to lead the world in executions, but exact figures are considered a state secret. A woman screams in horror next to the body of a 15-year-old boy killed during a Russian attack in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Another woman is held by a friend as she collapses in grief next to the body of her father, lying on the ground after being killed in an assault on the city. Across Ukraine loss was palpable all week, as strangers helped recover bodies of civilians from mass graves and relatives grieved over their beloved dead. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) A state trooper's shooting of a Walpole man in December was justified after the man pointed what appeared to be semi-automatic handgun at a police officer, the New Hampshire attorney general has announced. Trooper Zachary Bernier and a Walpole police officer were responding to a Dec. 4, 2021 call from a woman who said her son was suicidal. They encountered the 25-year-old man in the driveway and during a conversation he pulled out the what appeared to be a gun and pointed it at the Walpole officer, the attorney general's office said Thursday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Thousands of members of an Islamist group rallied in Bangladeshs capital on Friday to protest recent violence in Sweden involving an anti-Muslim far-right group and fresh clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque. Protesters from the conservative Islami Andolon Bangladesh group, which supports the introduction of Islamic law in the Muslim-majority secular country, carried banners and placards reading Sweden Police, Shame, Shame! and Stop Brutality in Aqsa Mosque." Many also carried the flags of Bangladesh and Palestine during a procession. Bangladesh does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel and supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The protesters marched peacefully through streets of Dhaka outside the countrys main Baitul Mokarram Mosque following Fridays weekly prayers. The conservative group has in the past organized similar protests to denounce Frances president and his staunch support of secular laws that deemed caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad protected under the nations freedom of speech. On Friday, Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalems Old City, the third holiest site in Islam, after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed. The renewed violence at the site, which is also sacred to Jews, came despite Israel temporarily halting Jewish visits, which are seen by the Palestinians as a provocation. Last weekend, violence broke out in southern Sweden despite police moving a rally by a far-right group, which was planning to burn a copy of the Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure. Moulana Imtiaz Alam, leader of the Islami Andolon Bangladesh, urged the Bangladeshi government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to officially denounce such acts. He also demanded the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to raise its voice. We ask the OIC and the Muslim countries to play an effective role against the misery of the Muslims and defamation of the Quran, he said. If the Bangladesh government does not take any steps in the OIC and the United Nations, we will conclude that they are working on behalf of Israel, he said. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) More than two years after he started work on it, Gov. Tom Wolf is set to enact the centerpiece of his plan to fight climate change, making Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy but it might be a short-lived victory. One lawsuit is already challenging Wolf's regulation and more are expected. And the term-limited Democratic governor has eight months left in office and may be replaced by a successor who is hostile to it. On Saturday, a legislative agency is set to publish Wolf's carbon-pricing rule in the official record of state agency actions, authorizing Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate consortium that sets a price and declining limits on planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. It comes after a long regulatory vetting process and fights with a hostile Legislature controlled by Republicans who are historically protective of Pennsylvania's coal and natural gas industries. Heavily populated and fossil fuel-rich Pennsylvania has long been one of the nations biggest polluters and power producers, and the jury is out on whether the carbon-pricing program on power plants will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mark Szybist, a senior attorney for the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said joining the consortium nicknamed RGGI is the farthest-reaching step being taken in Pennsylvania to fight climate change, and policymakers there should be asking themselves what else they can do. RGGI will do more than any other policy on the books in Pennsylvania right now to drive down emissions, Szybist said. Wolfs administration estimates that joining RGGI will reduce Pennsylvania's carbon dioxide emissions by 97 million tons to 225 million tons through 2030. That compares to its estimate that Pennsylvania emitted 269 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2018. Under the cap-and-trade program, owners of fossil-fuel power plants with a capacity of 25 megawatts or more must buy a credit for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. As a result, roughly four dozen power plants fueled by coal, oil and natural gas in Pennsylvania must buy hundreds of millions of dollars in credits annually that the state could then spend on clean-energy or energy-efficiency programs. That gives fossil fuel plants an incentive to lower their emissions, and makes non-emitting plants such as nuclear plants, wind turbines and solar installations more cost competitive in power markets. Pennsylvania would be, by far, the biggest emissions state in the consortium. Wolf administration officials say the consortium's quarterly auction in September should be the first in which Pennsylvania's power plant owners participate, and money could start rolling in to the state's coffers shortly after that. Still, whether Pennsylvania's membership in the consortium will survive for even that long is anybody's guess. One lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania's participation in the consortium is already in the courts. In that suit, a court briefly barred the publication of the regulation before lifting the order. And more lawsuits are expected. In this year's gubernatorial campaign, energy is a constant theme for candidates vying for the Republican nomination to succeed Wolf. We have a governor that wants to put us in a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that will literally eliminate gas in Pennsylvania, Republican candidate Lou Barletta told a forum in Erie last month. So the first thing Im going to do for energy is withdraw Pennsylvania from RGGI. Barletta's claim that it will eliminate gas is baseless: even some operators of higher-efficiency gas plants support the move. Still, Barletta's sentiment that he would end Pennsylvania's participation in the consortium is echoed by other Republicans. It is also opposed by coal- and natural gas-related interests that fear higher input costs, industrial and business groups that fear higher electricity bills and labor unions that fear its workers will lose jobs maintaining power plants, building gas pipelines and mining coal. Critics and even independent analysts say it will drive at least some business and carbon dioxide emissions to gas- and coal-fired power plants in neighboring Ohio and West Virginia, where input costs are lower and there are no emissions caps. Pennsylvania may not stay in the consortium even if Wolf's successor is Democrat Josh Shapiro, the party's presumed nominee who is endorsed by Wolf. Last October, Shapiro broke with Wolf, with his campaign telling The Associated Press that it's not clear that the cap-and-trade program meets Shapiro's test to address climate change, protect and create energy jobs and ensure Pennsylvania has reliable, affordable and clean power for the long term. Gene Barr, the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, which opposes the regulation, said the big questions are how the state's Supreme Court will rule it has a Democratic majority and what Shapiro will do, if elected. It is hard to guess, Barr said. But regardless of what happens this year, theres both legal and implementation challenges to RGGI. ___ Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/timelywriter. GANGES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) A western Michigan fisherman who went missing in 2000 has been identified through DNA testing on a jaw bone that washed up on a beach 14 years later, police said Friday. The DNA Doe Project, working with the Michigan State Police, determined the jaw bone belonged to Ronald Wayne Jager of Fruitland Township. The DNA Doe Project is an all-volunteer, California-based group whose mission is to identify John and Jane Does and return them to their families. BOSTON (AP) Boston's mayor released a plan Friday timed with Earth Day to address extreme heat caused by climate change in disadvantaged city neighborhoods. The Heat Resilience Solutions for Boston plan presents a number of strategies that Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu says will help build a more just, equitable, and resilient Boston." The plan focuses on five so-called environmental justice communities that experience greater burdens as temperatures rise: Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, and Roxbury. It also includes citywide strategies that Wu says her administration will pursue, such as distributing pop-up cooling kits that include a hose, misters, and a tent to community organizations that have public events this summer. Wu said her administration will also launch a design challenge for heat resilient cool bus stops and educate property owners on the benefits of installing so-called cool roofs that increase energy efficiency. And a new Boston Extreme Temperatures Response Task Force will help coordinate the city's efforts as it's faced more hot days and nights over the last decade than any decade in the previous 50 years, Wu said. The heat plan is a part of Climate Ready Boston, the citys ongoing efforts to prepare for sea level rise, coastal storms, extreme precipitation, extreme heat and other climate change impacts. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAO PAULO (AP) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued a pardon Thursday night for a recently convicted ally, setting off backlash from adversaries claiming the president is overstepping his constitutional bounds and once again undermining the Supreme Court. Brazils Supreme Court on Wednesday convicted lawmaker Daniel Silveira by 10 votes to 1 for inciting physical attacks on the courts justices as well as other authorities. He was also stripped of his seat in Congress and barred from running for any office in Octobers elections. Bolsonaro said during a live broadcast his decision is necessary for the nation to walk on the paths determined by the constitution. Freedom of speech is an essential foundation of our society, the Brazilian president said. Later, his decree insisted Silveira was convicted unduly. Supporters of the president have repeatedly asked him to defend Silveira from what they see as political persecution. The president has had a fractious relationship with the top court's justices since he took office in January 2019. More recently, he has targeted those who also lead the countrys top electoral authority, claiming without any evidence that the Brazilian electronic voting system could be rigged. Bolsonaro is trailing former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in early polls, and many politicians and analysts see his confrontations with the court and electoral authorities as indicative he may not concede the election if he loses. Bolsonaro has just transformed the institution of pardons into an institutional disgrace, Ciro Gomes, who has polled third below 10%, said on Twitter. He is trying to accelerate in his march toward a coup. But he will not be successful. Gomes and other politicians promised to take Bolsonaros decree to the Supreme Court, arguing the president cannot make such decision based on personal interests. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York state Democrats engaged in gerrymandering when drawing new congressional district boundaries for the next decade, a panel of five mid-level appellate judges ruled Thursday. In a divided 3-2 ruling, the majority found the congressional map was unconstitutional a decision that, if upheld, would block the use of those district lines for the upcoming midterm elections in November. The court found Democratic lawmakers acted within their power to approve the maps, after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to do so earlier this year. But the judges ruled the 2022 congressional map itself was drawn to discourage competition and favor Democrats. Democrats attorneys had argued the maps were fair to Republicans, who lost their decadeslong control of the state Senate in 2018 but have won some swing districts. Democrats said the new maps protect minority voting rights and reflect population loss in upstate communities once considered Republican strongholds. Republicans represent about 22% of registered New York voters, and currently hold eight of the states 27 seats in Congress. But New York now gets one less seat following the 2020 Census, and the new maps would have given Democrats a strong majority of registered voters in 22 of the states 26 congressional districts. The GOP lawsuit cited computer simulations by election analyst Sean Trende, who found the maps were gerrymandered. The court relied on that analysis in its ruling. Trende was accepted by the parties as an expert in elections analysis with particular knowledge of redistricting. His direct testimony and his expert reports also were received in evidence without objection, the judges wrote. Former Republican Congressman John Faso, an advisor to the petitioners who brought the lawsuit, said he's happy with the ruling and said the congressional map was an egregious, unconstitutional gerrymander. Legislative leaders indicated they would appeal the decision to the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court. Mike Murphy, a spokesperson Democratic Senate Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said he was pleased the court affirmed that the Legislature acted within its power to approve the maps. The newly-drawn (state) Senate and Assembly maps are now valid," he said. "We always knew this case would end at the Court of Appeals and look forward to being heard on our appeal to uphold the Congressional map as well. The Court of Appeals is expected to hear the case soon, potentially by next week. So far this election cycle, courts have intervened to block maps they found to be Republican gerrymanders in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and a Democratic gerrymander in Maryland. Such decisions have led to delayed primaries in North Carolina, Ohio and Maryland. REYNOLDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) Two Southern Illinois University-Carbondale graduate students and a Missouri woman died Thursday after their vehicles collided on a highway, police said. The crash that occurred about 4:15 a.m. on Illinois Route 3 in Union County killed Marie A. Meunier, 32 of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and students Pavan Swarna and Vamshi K. Pechetty, both 23, of Carbondale, state police said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON (AP) Cuba and the United States took a tentative step toward thawing relations and resuming joint efforts to address irregular migration, a senior Cuban official said following the highest-level talks between the two countries in four years. There were no major breakthroughs, but the mere fact that the U.S. was holding substantive talks was a sign relations might be looking better under President Joe Biden after going into deep freeze under his predecessor, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said Friday. They seem committed. They ratified that they are committed to the agreements in place," Fernandez de Cossio said. "So we have no reason to mistrust what theyre saying, but time will tell. The talks did not focus on broader U.S.-Cuba relations but more narrowly on restoring adherence to previous agreements that were intended to curtail the often-dangerous irregular migration from the island to the United States. These talks helped both of us to understand the nature and the magnitude of the problem were facing," the deputy foreign minister said in an interview with The Associated Press at the Cuban ambassador's residence outside Washington. U.S. officials want Cuba to resume taking back flights of deported migrants, which it stopped doing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuban authorities, meanwhile, want to see the U.S. follow through on its plan to restore consular services in Havana, so people can once again get visas to legally come to the United States, as well as change other policies that it believes encourage irregular migration from the island. They asked us to renew the flights because it was an important element of deterrence," he said. "We said we agree that is an important element of deterrence. We explained that we needed to do in an integral manner, and they understood this. It was a more detailed rundown of the talks than what was provided by the U.S. a day earlier. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the meeting underscores our commitment to pursuing constructive discussions with the government of Cuba where appropriate to advance U.S. interests. The talks take place against the backdrop of relations that sharply deteriorated under President Donald Trump and amid a sharp increase in the number of Cubans seeking to enter the U.S. along the Southwest border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Cubans more than 79,800 times from October through March more than double all of 2021 and five times more than all of 2020. Overall, the Border Patrol stopped migrants of all nationalities more than 209,000 times in March, the highest monthly mark in 22 years. Cubans who cross the U.S. border illegally face little risk of being deported or expelled under a public health law that has been used to deny asylum to thousands of migrants of other nationalities on the grounds of slowing the spread of COVID-19. Asked why so many Cubans are fleeing their country, Fernandez de Cossio blamed tough economic conditions in his country and widespread knowledge among Cubans that they will be granted asylum and legal residency in the U.S. Life is difficult for Cubans. Its a developing country like any other country in the region," he said. They leave for economic reasons, like most migrants around the world. Cubans are often granted asylum after they assert what's known under U.S. law as credible fear of persecution, typically for political or religious reasons. The deputy foreign minister is, not surprisingly, skeptical of such claims. When they reach the border, they claim that they have a credible fear if they if they are returned, he said. "But then theyre accepted, and once they get residence the first thing they do is get a passport and move back to Cuba. Cuba wants the U.S. to stop routinely granting asylum, end the economic embargo and take other measures that it says encourage migration and to restore consular activities so people can legally travel back and forth from the island with visitor visas. Operations at the U.S. embassy in Havana were severely curtailed beginning in 2017 after the emergence of unexplained health problems among some employees. Cases of what became known as Havana Syndrome became a major issue during the Trump administration, which rolled back the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba that had been initiated by former President Barack Obama. Fernandez de Cossio said the Trump administration curtailed visas as part of its maximum pressure against Cuba, contributing to the irregular migration occurring now and he welcomed the Biden administration's commitment to restore visa operations. It needs to be done so that people in Cuba can find that theres a legal normal way to migrate to the United States, which has been lacking since 2017," he said. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A check of Iowa's online court system shows a unique name for the prosecutor in hundreds of cases: The Easter Bunny. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that on April 4, online docket sheets for hundreds of Polk County cases were revised to indicate the prosecution had been transferred from an assistant county attorney to Easter Santa Bunny. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Gov. Tony Evers on Friday signed an executive order creating a new office of environmental justice, announcing the move on Earth Day. Republicans last year removed the office from Evers' proposed budget. But the Democrat up for reelection this November got around them by creating it through an executive order. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) A former Alabama prison officer has been indicted on federal charges of assaulting three inmates and then submitting a false statement about the incident, prosecutors said Friday. Lorenzo Mills, who worked as a sergeant at Draper prison in Elmore County, was charged in an indictment with violating the civil rights of the men by hitting them with a wooden baton in October 2020, according to court documents and a statement from the Justice Department. BERLIN (AP) German prosecutors have decided not to press charges against a Czech millionaire who drove a high-powered sportscar along a German highway at speeds of at least 414 kilometers per hour (257 mph). Germany's dpa news agency reported Friday that prosecutors in the town of Stendal reviewed footage of the stunt and concluded that Radim Passer had not broken the law when he pushed his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds on a stretch of autobahn between Berlin and Hannover. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Business owner Tim Michels filed paperwork Friday to run in the Republican primary for Wisconsin governor, arriving late to a crowded field, but with the personal wealth to back a campaign. Michels, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate 18 years ago, joins former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, former U.S. Marine Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Tim Ramthun in the race to be decided Aug. 9. The winner will advance to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. NEW YORK (AP) Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez made a virtual appearance Friday in federal court in New York to face drug trafficking and weapons charges after he was arrested in Honduras and extradited overnight to the United States. Hernandez, who has denied any wrongdoing, was not required to enter a plea at the 12-minute initial hearing before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron in Manhattan. A plea will occur at his next hearing on May 10 before Judge P. Kevin Castel, who would preside over a trial if it were to occur. His lawyer, Raymond Colon, said he agreed at least for the moment to let Hernandez remain behind bars rather than attempt to convince a judge to set bail. During Friday's hearing, a relaxed-looking Hernandez, wearing a blue jacket with a button-down shirt beneath it, sat in a chair as he listened to the judge and lawyers through a black corded phone he held to his ear, letting Aaron know he could hear and understand the proceeding. Yes, your honor, I am listening to you through an interpreter, said Hernandez, who could be seen taking several sips from a can of Coke before the hearing started. As Aaron read him his rights, Hernandez nodded. The magistrate judge then read a brief description of the charges he faced, telling him he was alleged to have received millions of dollars between 2004 and 2022 for his role in a drug trade that brought hundreds of thousands of kilos of drugs to the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elinor Tarlow said Hernandez, who boarded an airplane Thursday in Honduras with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration just three months after leaving office arrived in the New York area at 12:50 a.m. Friday. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has accused Hernandez of abusing his position as president of Honduras to operate the country as a narco-state. Hernandez, who served as president of the Central American nation from 2014 through 2022, was charged in court documents with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. Hernandez was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa in February at the request of U.S. authorities. Honduras Supreme Court rejected his appeal of a judges decision favoring extradition. His court appearance Friday in New York was virtual because of COVID-19 protocols, authorities said. Hernandez has denied any wrongdoing. In a video message released Thursday, he said, I am innocent; I have been and I am being unjustly subjected to prosecution. TOKYO (AP) Japan describes four islands whose ownership it disputes with Moscow as illegally occupied by Russia in the latest version of a diplomatic report released Friday, using stronger language to describe the territorial flap than other recent versions and underscoring the chilled relations between the two sides amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The description in the 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook, an annual report on Japan's foreign policy issued by the Foreign Ministry, uses that phrasing for the first time in nearly two decades. Japan, which is struggling to improve ties with Moscow to regain control of the Kurils, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories, had previously described the dispute in a softer tone. The Northern Territories are a group of islands Japan has sovereignty over and an integral part of Japans territory, but currently they are illegally occupied by Russia, the ministry said in the report. The dispute over the Russian-held islands, which the former Soviet Union seized from Japan at the end of World War II, has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their war hostilities. The report last used a similar expression in 2003 but had toned down its phrasing until last year, when it described the dispute as the greatest concern between Japan and Russia and noted that Japan has sovereignty over the islands. In another territorial dispute, the ministry said the island that Japan calls Takeshima is illegally occupied by Seoul, which calls it Dokdo. South Koreas Foreign Ministry protested Japans repeated inclusion of unjust sovereignty claims over Dokdo, calling the island an integral part of South Korean territory. It said Tokyos repeated claims are in no way conducive to efforts to establish a future-oriented relationship between the two sides. Japan-South Korea ties have been also badly strained by historical issues. Japan has joined other Group of Seven countries in imposing a series of sanctions against Russia. Tokyo is taking a greater role in the international effort against Russia because of its concerns about the impact of the invasion in East Asia, where Chinas military has grown increasingly assertive. Japan has already faced reprisals from Russia, which recently announced the suspension of talks on a peace treaty with Tokyo that included negotiations over the disputed islands. Japan also seeks to bolster its defense capability and budget as part of a key revision to Japans national security strategy expected later this year. ___ AP writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report. HELENA, Mont. (AP) A Montana judge on Thursday temporarily blocked enforcement of a law that required transgender people to have undergone a surgical procedure before being allowed to change their sex on their birth certificates. The law was part of a growing list of Republican-controlled states including Alabama that have moved to restrict transgender rights as they gain more visibility in culture and society. In Montana, District Judge Michael Moses of Billings ruled the law is unconstitutionally vague because it does not specify what surgical procedure must be performed. The law also required transgender people to obtain a court order indicating they'd had a surgical procedure. Because he could grant the temporary injunction based on the vagueness issue, Moses said he did not further analyze the constitutionality of the law. We are thrilled that the court recognized the substantial and unnecessary burdens this law places upon transgender individuals in violation of their constitutional rights, said Akilah Lane, staff attorney at the ACLU of Montana. The plaintiffs Amelia Marquez of Billings and a transgender man who is not identified in court records wanted to change the sex on their birth certificates without undergoing costly surgical procedures. Both argue having a birth certificate that does not match their gender identity puts them at risk of embarrassment, discrimination, harassment or violence if they are asked to provide their birth certificate. Marquez has undertaken hormone therapy and legally changed her name. Having a birth certificate that does not match her gender identity puts her at higher risk of harassment, hostility and discrimination, the lawsuit said. Plaintiffs provided unrebutted evidence describing that neither gender-affirming surgery nor any other medical treatment that a transgender person undergoes changes that persons sex, Moses wrote. Instead, gender-affirming surgery aligns a persons body and lived in experience with the persons gender identity, which already exists. The temporary injunction remains in place until the full case is decided. Before the 2021 Legislature passed the challenged law, transgender residents seeking to change their birth certificate needed only to provide an affidavit to the state health department. The temporary injunction puts that process back in place. Republican state Sen. Carl Glimm, who sponsored the legislation, has argued that the health department overstepped its authority in changing the designation on a birth certificate from sex to gender and then setting rules for how it could be changed. The office of Attorney General Austin Knudsen, which is defending the state in this case, did not immediately respond to an email seeking to learn if the state planned to appeal the injunction. NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) A judge rejected a proposed plea agreement for a suspended Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in 2016 and instead set a trial date for the cleric Thursday. Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Michael Casati threw out the deal that would have allowed David Marcotte to plead guilty to one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minor in exchange for the state dismissing charges of child solicitation and vicarious sexual gratification. CHICAGO (AP) A judge on Friday threw out 44 more convictions tied to a notorious former Chicago police sergeant who regularly framed people for drug crimes they didn't commit, exonerations that victim advocates said would be among the last from one of the most disgraceful chapters in the department's history. The dismissal of the cases by Cook County Judge Erica Reddick was the result of petitions to do so filed by the victims' attorneys with the support of the Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office. In order to restore trust in the criminal justice system, as prosecutors, we must approach every case with an eye toward the facts, the evidence, and the law, Foxx said in a press release. The latest dismissals bring to more than 170 Black defendants who have seen their drug convictions tied to former Sgt. Ronald Watts and his tactical unit dismissed in recent years. Joshua Tepfer, an attorney with The Exoneration Project who has worked with many people convicted due to Watts and his crew, said that Friday's hearing would be the last of a number of similar hearings in recent years in which large numbers of victims have had their convictions thrown out. He said only a few cases remain. The announcement is the latest chapter in a story of corruption that led courts, starting in 2016, to toss out drug convictions of victims who were framed by Watts and his unit after they refused to pay him money, angered him in some way, or were targeted for no apparent reason. Watts, a Black sergeant, led a team that for nearly a decade until 2012 planted drugs or falsely accused residents of a public housing complex, others who were visiting or simply happened to be in the area. Watts and another officer pleaded guilty in 2013 to stealing money from an FBI informant. Watts received a 22-month prison sentence. In December, the police department acknowledged that 15 other officers associated with Watts and his unit were placed on desk duty pending an investigation. The department said the investigation is under the jurisdiction of the independent agency that investigates allegations of misconduct, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA. A spokesman for COPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Foxx has said that that her office does not call the officers involved in the Watts cases to testify in other prosecutions her office is handling. CARLYLE, Ill. (AP) A Kentucky man who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the December shooting death of an Illinois sheriff's deputy was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole. Ray Tate, who was originally charged with 36 counts, including first-degree murder, aggravated vehicle hijacking and felony possession of a firearm, pleaded guilty to the one count of first-degree murder last month in the slaying of Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Riley. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped the other charges. Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against a prominent opposition activist and remanded him in pre-trial detention Friday for allegedly spreading false information about the countrys armed forces. A court in Moscow ordered Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. held in detention until June 12. Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told reporters that the false information case against Kara-Murza cited a March 15 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives, in which he denounced the war in Ukraine, as the basis for the latest charges. The activist rejects the accusations. Russian media reported that similar charges were being drawn up against outspoken tech executive Ilya Krasilshchik, the former publisher of Russia's top independent news site, Meduza. The moves against the two Kremlin critics are part of a widening crackdown against individuals speaking out against Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading false information about its military shortly after its troops rolled into Ukraine in late February. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Human rights advocates so far have counted 32 cases targeting critics of the invasion. Kara-Murza is a journalist and a former associate of late Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015, and oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for years in Russia. Kara-Murza himself was hospitalized with poisoning symptoms twice, in 2015 and 2017. Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers denounced the Russian government's moves against Kara-Murza. I am deeply disturbed over news reports regarding the arrest and political persecution of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza," Bowers said in a statement. Dont forget about these freedom fighters, like Vladimir Kara-Murza. We must remember names!" Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted: Kara-Murzas brave opposition to Putin has inspired us all. Arizona will always stand for freedom. And we will support those like Kara-Murza who take a stand against oppression. Krasilshchik, the tech executive who left Russia in early March, told Meduza that he had learnt about the case against him from news reports, which by Friday evening remained unconfirmed. Russian media have linked the charges to an Instagram post, featuring what Krasilshchik said was the photo of charred human remains in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. You cant recover after seeing the images from Bucha, the photo caption read. You feel that the army of this country of ours, its capable of anything and so is the country. That were just an order away from mass executions. Also Friday, veteran Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov said in an online statement that he was temporarily leaving the country. Ponomaryov, a former State Duma lawmaker who had helped found Russias oldest human rights organization in the 1980s, has been a vocal opponent of Russias attack on Ukraine, and initiated multiple public petitions against it. In his statement Friday, he claimed to be allowing himself to take a vacation to look after my health , but also think through the difficult situation in which we all find ourselves, and plan further (campaigning) activities, which we cannot stop by any means. I doubt my time away will be long, he added. In a separate move Friday, the Russian justice ministry added Kara-Murza and several other prominent Kremlin critics to the registry of foreign agents. The designation implies additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations that can discredit those on the list. The new additions to the registry included Leonid Volkov, top ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Alexei Venediktov, former editor-in-chief of Russia's oldest critical radio station, Ekho Moskvy. The station was taken off the airwaves shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. ___ Associated Press writer Bob Christie in Phoenix contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A lawsuit says the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville mishandled a report about allegations that a priest sexually abused a parishioner. The lawsuit filed in Sevier County says Father Antony D. Punnackal locked an adult female plaintiff in a room on Feb. 17, 2020, and fondled her, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported. Police allegedly informed the diocese about the allegations against Punnackal before he was indicted by a grand jury, but no action was taken until the indictment, the complaint states. The woman rebuffed Punnackal but he continued his assault, until he unlocked the door, according to the complaint filed in March, but sealed until recently. Punnackal was suspended from his role as pastor of St. Marys Catholic Church in Gatlinburg after being indicted in January on charges of sexual battery and sexual battery by an authority figure, according to records included with the lawsuit. The diocese declined to comment on pending litigation. It would be inappropriate for the diocese to comment on allegations raised in an ongoing civil lawsuit, spokesperson Jim Wogan told the newspaper. Punnackal, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, said in a court response that he was alone with the woman for a grief counseling meeting, but he denied any allegations of assault. It's the second lawsuit filed this year against the Knoxville Diocese over its handling of sex abuse claims. A complaint filed in February in Knox County alleged the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville and its bishop did not properly investigate claims of sexual abuse against an assistant to Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika. PARIS (AP) As France elects a president, Paris-based artist Vincent Aitzegagh is going to ground, escaping to a bucolic village to avoid what for him and millions of other left-wing French voters is a painful, even impossible, electoral choice. For the first time in his life, the 65-year-old has decided to not vote at all in the decisive ballot this Sunday. I am fleeing," he says. "Because it stinks. Disgruntled voters like Aitzegagh whose favored candidates were knocked out in the elections first round on April 10 are the wild cards in the winner-takes-all runoff. How they vote or don't vote on Sunday will in large part determine whether incumbent Emmanuel Macron gets a second five-year term or cedes the presidential Elysee Palace to far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen, a seemingly unlikely but not impossible outcome that would be seismic for France and Europe as they deal with the fallout of Russia's war in Ukraine. With the stakes high, never has the decision been so difficult for leftist voters who view both Macron and Le Pen as anathema a choice that some describe as between the plague and cholera." It's horrible, enough to make one cry. I have spent sleepless nights in tears not knowing what to do," says Clek Desentredeux, a disabled and queer artist and live-streamer who voted for hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon in round one. With 7.7 million votes, Melenchon finished just 420,000 votes shy of the runoff, in third place behind Le Pen. Le Pen and Macron have since expended much time and energy trawling for support in Melenchon's now orphaned and disappointed reservoir of voters. It is an uphill battle for them both. Generally speaking, many leftist voters resent Macron for having dynamited France's political landscape with his get-things-done middle-way method of governance, siphoning ideas, supporters, government ministers and political oxygen away from mainstream parties on both the left and right. His pragmatism is too vanilla and opportunistic for many leftist voters hungry for a sharper and more ideological political divide. More specifically, many describe the 44-year-old former banker as friend to the rich and oppressor of the poor. Some also blame him for Le Pen's rise, saying that in trying to undercut support in France for the extreme right, Macron swerved too far right-ward himself. Macron's saving grace, however, is also Le Pen. After years of drum-banging about immigration and Islam's influence in the country with the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, the 53-year-old is reviled by many on the left as a racist xenophobe, too dangerous for France's stated principles of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity to ever vote for. In conceding defeat in round one, Melenchon said his backers must not give a single vote to Madame Le Pen" repeating the exhortation four times. But he stopped short of asking his electors to shift their votes to Macron, instead leaving them to wrestle alone with what Melenchon described as a choice between two evils. Some will deliberately spoil their ballots, even putting toilet paper in the voting envelope instead of a candidate's name to show how dimly they view the options. Some won't vote. Some will cast ballots with no name. They include 22-year-old Emma Faroy in Paris. Im going to vote because some women died for my right to do so, she said. "But Im going to cast a blank ballot because I dont want to choose between either of them. Others will, almost literally, hold their noses and vote for Macron to keep out Le Pen. Some will back Le Pen, in a poke at the president. Multiple polls indicate that Macron, who won round one, is now building a significant runoff lead, larger than the polling margin of error. Melenchon voters from round one appear to be shifting in greater numbers behind him than Le Pen. But the outcome remains uncertain because many have yet to choose. Ill decide at the last moment, said retired power worker Pierre Gineste. Having voted Melenchon in round one, round two for him is the dilemma of a ballot for Macron, a blank ballot or not voting. He said he won't vote Le Pen. The choice is so difficult and divisive that friendships and families are being tested. Aitzegagh voted for the green party candidate in round one; his daughter chose Melenchon. She then told her dad that she might vote Le Pen in the runoff because she cannot stomach Macron. Aitzegagh said he responded by warning: If you vote Le Pen, I will repudiate you. In 2002, when Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie, stunned France by advancing to the runoff, Aitzegagh was among the 82% of voters who came together behind conservative Jacques Chirac, in a powerful rejection of the extreme right. In 2017, Aitzegagh voted for Macron in the run-off once again solely to be a barrage against a Le Pen, this time Marine. Macron won handily 66% to 34% but in the knowledge that many of his votes were simply ballots against her. The same will be true on Sunday. In a first for him and with sadness and disgust, Aitzegagh will abstain, because Macron's first term has been five years of cholera, five years of crap, five years of destruction and Le Pen isn't an option for him. I dont want to be a barrage any more, he said. "I have had enough. Desentredeux, who uses the gender-neutral pronoun they, agonized long and hard over their choice and then decided that Le Pen's presence again in the runoff left them with no choice at all. This is the first presidential election that Desentredeux has been old enough to vote in and it will end with a reluctant vote for Macron. Macron winning would be a catastrophe, but Le Pen getting through would be criminal, Desentredeux said. I don't want to do it but I feel obliged. ___ Associated Press journalist Alex Turnbull contributed. ___ Follow APs coverage of the French election at https://apnews.com/hub/french-election-2022 LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A 26-year-old Wichita man who spent two years in prison before a rape case against him was dismissed is suing the state of Kansas for wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Albert Wilson filed the lawsuit this month in Douglas County District Court, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. "I don't want my vote or anyone else's to be disenfranchised. . . . Do you realize how inaccurate the voter rolls are, with people just moving around? . . . Anytime you move, you'll change your driver's license, but you don't call up and say, 'Hey, by the way, I'm re-registering.'" - Mark Meadows, then White House chief of staff, in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Aug. 16, 2020 - - - After Donald Trump lost the presidential election, falsely claiming election fraud, Meadows became senior partner at the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), which promotes "election integrity" efforts. The organization's "citizen's guide" urges activists to determine that the registrations of their neighbors are legal by checking on "whether voters have moved, or if the registrations are PO Boxes, commercial addresses or vacant lots" and then "obtaining evidence: photos of commercial buildings? Vacant lots?" and "securing affidavits from current residents that a registered voter has moved." Voter-list maintenance is one of the dividing lines in American politics. Republicans argue that if voter-registration records are not regularly purged and updated, election fraud can take place. Democrats push back that too many voter-list purges are conducted haphazardly, removing eligible voters who don't learn they are no longer listed until they show up to vote. Now it turns out that until last week, Meadows was simultaneously registered to vote in three different states - North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina - according to state records obtained by The Fact Checker. The overlap lasted about three weeks, and it might have continued if revelations about Meadows's voting record had not attracted scrutiny in North Carolina. Meadows is still registered in Virginia and South Carolina. This is the latest in a series of revelations about election-related behavior by Meadows that appear to contradict his and his party's rhetoric on election integrity. Meadows, in fact, was the keynote speaker at a CPI Election Integrity Summit in Atlanta on Feb. 19. "What you're doing is investing in the future of our country and making sure only legal votes count," Meadows told attendees. He said he had just gotten off the phone with Trump, who he said had told him: "We cannot give up on election integrity." About three weeks after that speech, the New Yorker reported that Meadows had registered to vote at a home where he did not reside. Meadows and his wife, Debra, had submitted voter registration forms that listed as their residential address a 14-by-62-foot mobile home in Macon County, N.C., with a rusted metal roof that sold for $105,000 in 2021, even though they did not actually own it or live there. He then voted in the 2020 election via absentee ballot. North Carolina officials announced last month that, as a result, Mark Meadows is under investigation for potential voter fraud. On April 11, his voter registration was removed by Macon County officials, the North Carolina State Board of Elections said last week. The state cited the fact that Meadows had voted in Virginia during the 2021 gubernatorial election that elected a Republican, Glenn Youngkin. Meadows and his wife had registered to vote in the state in September, his and her voter registration applications show, even though they were still registered in North Carolina. About two weeks after publication of the New Yorker article, Meadows registered to vote in South Carolina, state election records show. In July 2021, Meadows had purchased a three-story waterfront home of more than 6,000 square feet in South Carolina for nearly $1.6 million. But until this year, he also owned a townhouse in Alexandria that he had purchased in 2017. It is not unusual for some overlap in voter rolls as people move across state lines, and many people do not bother to terminate their voting registration when they move. In contrast to Meadows, however, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo canceled his voter registration in Kansas just a few months after selling his home in Wichita and moving to McLean when he became CIA director. South Carolina and Virginia are members of the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit that provides member states with reports on voters. If Meadows had listed his Virginia voter registration while registering in South Carolina, the state would have notified Virginia. Angie Maniglia Turner, Alexandria's general registrar and director of elections, said Thursday that there has been no change in the voter registration status in Virginia of either Mark or Debra Meadows. Ben Williamson, a spokesman for Mark Meadows, declined to comment. At the time Meadows registered to vote in North Carolina in 2020, using the mobile home address, he no longer owned a home in the state. In March 2020, Meadows sold, for $370,000, a house in Sapphire, N.C., that his mother had lived in. Meadows's mother, Mary Gail Garwood, had lived at and voted from the Sapphire property in 2012, 2014 and 2016. She then registered to vote in Georgia on Sept. 12, 2018. Meadows listed the property for sale the next day. Garwood did not respond to a message left for her at the retirement community where she now resides. Meadows, as of 2018, had been registered to vote from the Sapphire property. Gerry Cohen, a North Carolina election official, said that under state law, it was OK for Meadows to use his mother's property for his voter registration if he stayed there at least one or two nights a year. In fact, he said that under a little-known provision of state law, Meadows could have continued to use the Sapphire address for voting even after he had sold the property because he was engaged in "government service" in D.C. The law says the last address in the state "at the time of that person's removal [from North Carolina] shall be considered and held to be the place of residence." Thus, Meadows would not have needed to register to vote six months later using the address of the mobile home. The same courtesy, however, would not have been extended to his wife because she was not in government service. Voter registration records show Debra Meadows was also registered in three states at the same time. North Carolina initially did not take action to remove Debra Meadows from the voting rolls at the same time as her husband. But state records now show her voter registration was ended by Macon County officials as well. "The Macon County Board of Elections administratively removed the N.C. voter registration of Debra Meadows under N.C.G.S. 163-57(6) on April 21, upon receipt of documentation that shows she registered to vote and voted in Virginia during the 2021 election," said Patrick Gannon, a spokesman for the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Debra Meadows did not respond to a message sent to her email address at Right Women PAC, where she is executive director, or to a text message. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MEXICO CITY (AP) The haunting story of a young woman left on the side of a highway late at night in northern Mexico ended in sorrow, with her decomposing body found in a subterranean water tank at a motel. Assistant Public Safety Secretary Ricardo Mejia said Friday that the woman's body apparently unrecognizable after what may have been nearly two weeks in the water had a crucifix necklace and clothing that Debanhi Escobar was wearing the night she disappeared. Despite what authorities in the border state of Nuevo Leon described as a massive search for her, the story ended the way it often does in Mexico: when her body was found by local people. The alert was sounded by hotel workers, because of the fetid odors coming from the area, Mejia said. State prosecutors later said they had confirmed the body was Escobar's. Escobar's case made headlines because of a haunting photo taken by a driver who was supposed to take her home that night. It was not clear why she got out of the car, but her father, Mario Escobar, said prosecutors told him that surveillance camera footage suggested the driver inappropriately touched his daughter. I suppose that my daughter did not put up with the harassment, the father said. The driver has been questioned, though his full name has not been released. Mario Escobar said while the driver may not have killed her, he was responsible for his daughter's death. The driver, who worked for a taxi app, took the photo to show Debanhi, 18, got out of his car alive April 8 on the outskirts of the city of Monterrey. There she was, a young woman standing alone at night on the side of a highway, wearing a skirt and high-top sneakers. The image seemed to speak of the tremendous vulnerability, and the self-assuredness or desperation of the young woman. Nobody saw her until late Thursday, when investigators managed to pull her body from the 12-foot (4-meter) deep water tank near a pool at the roadside motel. Mario Escobar said The prosecutors didn't do their job correctly. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday the case has caused, logically, a lot of worry, a lot of concern among Mexicans. Critics are disturbed by the fact that even when authorities are spurred to act by public outcry, investigations are seldom very timely or efficient. During the week that investigators said 200 personnel used drones, search dogs and reviews of security camera footage to look for Debanhi, her body was actually lying not far from where she had been last seen. Killings of women have increased in recent years in Mexico, rising from 977 cases in 2020 to 1,015 in 2021. And those were just cases classified as feminicides a legal term used in Mexico when women are killed because of their gender. Killings of women overall are much higher. Disappearances of women are also high, with about 1,600 reported missing so far this year. Officials say 829 of them are still listed as missing, and 16 were found dead. Just before Debanhi Escobar disappeared, another women was slain in Monterrey, Maria Fernanda Contreras, 27. A suspect apparently, a friend or acquaintance of the woman has been arrested. During the week authorities were searching for Escobar, local media reported that the bodies of five other women and girls had been found in the state. The victims had all been reported missing around the same time as Debanhi. Four were 16 or younger. Later, the head of the state Search Commission, Mary Balderas, said the reports were wrong. She said all five young women had been found alive. Angelica Orozco, who leads the relatives group United Forces for Our Disappeared in Nuevo Leon state, said the problem is not only that authorities are slow to investigate and do it badly, but that they also tend to blame the victims. The first thing is that they don't carry out diligent investigations or searches, and the second thing are the statements issued by authorities, in some cases linking them to illegal activities, Orozco said. She was particularly disturbed when the Nuevo Leon state prosecutor, Gustavo Guerrero, said Thursday that most women disappear voluntarily, or as an act of rebellion. The main reason for the disappearances of women is because of a lack of communication with their families, because of disputes with them, because of the rebellion of young people, Guerrero said. The range of age of most of the women who disappear is from 14 to 25, but it's not due to a crime, but rather is a voluntary situation." That view was disputed by Maria de la Luz Estrada of the activist group National Feminicide Observatory, who said it has become a depressing pattern that when women disappear, they turn up dead. It's very serious and lamentable, Estrada said of Escobar's case, but that has been the pattern in recent years, disappearances become crimes like feminicide. Nor is the problem limited to Nuevo Leon. Authorities in another border state, Sonora, have so many disappeared women and men that state prosecutors there announced they are sending mobile labs to three cities to collect mass DNA samples from relatives of the missing to help identify bodies found there. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoya's funeral Friday: We want his name!" Sharpton's comments renewed demands by Lyoya's family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officer's name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. "How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Police reform requires evaluating many long-standing practices to ensure our actions are consistent with the best interests of the community and the individuals involved, Washington said. No timeline has been set for the discussions or a decision, spokesman David Green said, adding that Washingtons statement was intended to let city residents know we hear you and were willing to assess that practice and see if it works or not. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., putting Lyoya's death in the context of the national civil rights movement. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and ran into an America that we know too well. He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoya's killing. "We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name," he said. Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the district that includes Grand Rapids, said in a statement that his office and the FBI had offered help state investigators and local prosecutors and that the Justice Department can provide consultation, mediation or training assistance. He said his office will continue to review the facts to determine whether additional federal response is warranted. Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton has eulogized George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Crump also called for justice Friday, saying an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution. He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said. If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids. After the service, Crump told reporters: We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community, she said. And if I dont stand up, who will? Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. Bethlehem Shekanena, whose parents immigrated from Congo, said the Lyoyas came to the U.S. for life, liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. We are gathered here today because the promise given to all those who reside on this land, the very foundation of what makes America America it was broken the moment Patrick Lloya was killed in the streets." she said, adding: He did not deserve to die." Before the service, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officer's Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya was driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. How dare you pull your gun about some car tags? Sharpton said during his eulogy. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. ___ Forliti contributed from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya BANGKOK (AP) The leader of Myanmars military-installed government offered Friday to participate personally in proposed peace talks with ethnic minority groups that have long sought greater autonomy through armed struggle. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said in a brief broadcast on state television that he wants to meet the leaders of all ethnic armed groups in person to negotiate an end to armed conflict across the country this year. Spokespeople for two major ethnic minorities, the Kachin and the Karen, indicated no immediate interest in the offer. Both groups are actively resisting attacks by the army, including by air and artillery. Min Aung Hlaings proposal is the latest in a series his administration has made to armed ethnic organizations since the military seized power in February last year from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. None has shown any progress, The central government has for decades battled the armed groups, which hold loose control of border regions where their ethnic groups predominate. There have been occasional cease-fire agreements but the armed groups seek permanent and comprehensive political solutions in response to their demands, something no Myanmar government has accepted. The military had generally been able to contain fighting to ethnic-controlled areas, but has faced a broader challenge since its takeover last year. Popular nonviolent protests against military rule were put down with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that has now become what some experts call a civil war, extending violent conflict to previously peaceful areas of the country. Despite an overwhelming advantage in weapons and manpower, the security forces have been unable to quash the resistance, and now face a loose alliance of ethnic minority forces with newly formed militias opposed to military rule. Min Aung Hlaing has urged the ethnic armies not to support the groups opposed to army rule, which his administration has designated as terrorists. In his remarks Friday, which lasted less than three minutes, he said he wanted to meet with ethnic leaders for peace talks in order for Myanmars people to enjoy the essence of peace and development. He said he wants to meet with them in person, and that every leader could bring two other members with them. He appealed to the ethnic armed groups to submit names of participants by May 9, and said a date would be set for the actual talks after negotiations. I urge all of you to collaborate for the benefit of all the people of the Union, Min Aung Hlaing said. He has previously made clear he will not talk with the National Unity Government, an umbrella group resisting army rule, and its armed units, which call themselves Peoples Defense Forces. On Armed Forces Day last month, he vowed that the military would annihilate the Peoples Defense Forces. Col. Naw Bu, head of the Information Department of the Kachin Independence Army, a major ethnic armed group from northern Myanmar, said it is too early to comment on Min Aung Hlaings remarks. He told The Associated Press his personal opinion is that Min Aung Hlaing proposed the talks because his administration faces a military and political crisis. Padoh Saw Taw Nee, head of the Foreign Affairs Department of the Karen National Union, a major ethnic armed group in southeastern Myanmar, said no one from his organization would attend peace talks unless its demands were met. He said these include the militarys withdrawal from politics, implementation of federal democracy and acceptance of international involvement in solving the countrys crisis. He said he believes Min Aung Hlaing made the offer of peace talks because the military government was failing in many respects, including in its battlefield offensives. ___ This story corrects Col. Naw Bus title to head of the Information Department of the Kachin Independence Army, BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger has approved the formatting of a petition for a proposed ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in the state. The sponsoring committee behind the petition must obtain 15,582 valid signatures by July 11 for the measure to be placed on Novembers ballot. That figure amounts to 2% of North Dakotas population. If supporters miss that deadline but obtain the signatures by April 21, 2023, the measure could be placed on the June 2024 ballot or come to a vote if a special election occurs before then. A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts: ___ Posts spread fictional tale of Ukrainian beauty who blew up 52 tanks CLAIM: Photo of woman in a military uniform shows Ukrainian beauty who blew up 52 invading Russian tanks. THE FACTS: The woman in the photo is a military doctor, not a combat soldier, according to news reports, posts on her Facebook account and messages from her mother. A misrepresented photo of a trauma doctor in Ukraine is the latest example of false propaganda and disinformation that have overwhelmed social media in response to Russias war on Ukraine over the past seven weeks. The widely-shared photo showed a young woman in a camouflage jacket decorated with medals and pins, including one with a Ukrainian flag. Twitter posts touted her as a combat hero, responsible for destroying Russian military vehicles. This Ukrainian beauty blew up 52 invading Russian tanks, read one tweet that was shared more than 9,000 times. Retweet if you think shes a HERO, another Twitter user added. But the information is incorrect. A reverse-image search found the photo of the Ukrainian woman, Maj. Victoria Palamarchuk, appeared in an article about her work as a military doctor. The article was published in March 2021 by ArmyInform, an information agency of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. The article described Palamarchuk as a traumatologist who began working for the Ukrainian military in 2014. ArmyInform said in 2021 that she was a senior resident of the traumatology department who operated on patients with gunshot wounds, performed amputations and carried out other surgeries at a military medical clinic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The Associated Press used Facebook to locate Palamarchuks mother, Tatyana Palamarchuk, who confirmed the claims she blew up 52 tanks were false. About tanks - its a fake! Victoria is a military doctor, trauma surgeon, the elder Palamarchuk wrote in a Facebook message in Ukrainian. She does not need false merits. She has something to be proud of and rightly so. Tatyana Palamarchuk said her daughter was too busy with work to respond to the false claim, but shared her daughters Facebook account, which corroborated her residence in Dnipro and her work as a trauma doctor. When Palamarchuk learned about the false claims spreading about her, she reported them to Ukraines state security service, the SBU, her mother said. A wider internet search found Palamarchuk was featured in other media reports, including various interviews published on YouTube and a feature story on her participation in a military motorcycle club. Associated Press writers Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report with additional reporting from Arijeta Lajka in New York. ___ Private gift shop, not White House, selling coins honoring Zelenskyy CLAIM: The Biden administration dedicated two commemorative coins to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. THE FACTS: The White House Gift Shop, which is a private company and not part of the federal government, is selling the coins. The White House-themed shop recently began selling two coins focused on Zelenskyy one honoring him, the other commemorating his address to Congress. But social media posts in recent days have wrongly claimed that it was the White House itself behind the coins. The US Presidential Administration dedicated two commemorative coins in the Historical Moments series to Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reads one tweet, which included a screenshot of the coins from the White House Gift Shop. But that shop, despite its name, is not operated by the federal government. Its a private company. While the store was associated with the White House when it was founded in the 1940s as a flower fund for the families of White House police officers, that is no longer the case. The White House Gift Shop is privatized, Anthony Giannini, CEO and executive director of the shop, told the AP. Giannini said he officially acquired the shop in 2012 from the now-defunct U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division Benefit Fund. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records show that White House Gift Shop is trademarked by Giannini Strategic Enterprises, a Pennsylvania company. The shop used to operate in Washington, D.C., but no longer has a physical location. It operates online and has a distribution center in Rochester, Michigan, near Detroit, Giannini said. Separately, the nonprofit White House Historical Association operates two retail shops, including one at the White House Visitor Center. Associated Press writer Angelo Fichera in Philadelphia contributed this report. ___ Fake BBC tweet spreads fabricated Macron quote CLAIM: The BBC tweeted that French President Emmanuel Macron said France needs to be prepared to take up to 60 million refugees from Africa and the Middle East over the next 20 years because sanctions against Russia will cause economic collapse in Africa. THE FACTS: The BBC never tweeted this, and Macron has not argued that France, a country of 67 million people, needs to prepare for 60 million refugees. As French citizens prepare to vote in the April 24 runoff election that will decide the countrys next president, social media users are sharing an image made to look like a BBC tweet to push a false narrative about the incumbent candidate. Frances President Macron tells re-election audience, Europe needs to be prepared to take up to 60 million refugees, over the next 20 years, from Africa and the Middle East, as he warns that sanctions on Russia are leading to economic collapse in Africa, which imports vast amounts of Russian wheat, the fake tweet read. It was manipulated to look like a screenshot of a post from the account @BBCWorld on April 11. The doctored image included a photograph of Macron with BBC News branding in the bottom left corner. But the tweet was not posted on any BBC account, nor does it reflect any real story published by the broadcaster, the BBC press office confirmed to the AP in an email. This isnt a BBC article and we encourage audiences to visit the BBC News website if theyre unsure if a story is real, the BBC press office wrote. The office also reposted an April 17 tweet from BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh pointing out the misinformation. The Internet Archive saved a snapshot of the @BBCWorld Twitter profile less than five hours after the tweet was allegedly posted and showed no evidence of the post. The text in the fake tweet also was too long for Twitter, exceeding the platforms 240-character limit. The quote attributed to Macron in the tweet is not real, Macrons office confirmed to the AP. While France is a major destination for asylum-seekers, Macrons centrist government expels thousands of migrants every year who dont qualify for asylum and has toughened immigration policy. His rival in Sundays presidential runoff election, nationalist Marine Le Pen, would sharply curtail immigration if elected, and her supporters have sought to paint Macron as soft on the issue. Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report with additional reporting from Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris. ___ Cloud seeding hasnt caused flooding in Australia CLAIM: A rain-enhancing process known as cloud seeding caused historic flooding in Tasmania, Australia, in 2016 and along Australias southeastern coast this year. THE FACTS: Theres no evidence to suggest that cloud seeding played a role in either flood, and an atmospheric research expert told the AP that cloud seeding would not change the dynamics of a cloud enough to cause massive flooding. In recent months, Australias southeastern coast has experienced some of its worst flooding in more than a decade, leading some social media users to highlight a previous instance of flooding and spread false theories about what caused it and other floods over the years. Twitter users are sharing a clip from a 2016 news broadcast about flooding in Tasmania to claim it proves that cloud seeding which involves spraying fine particles of silver iodide and dry ice into a cloud system to enhance precipitation provoked the heavy rainfall. In the 2016 clip from the Australian TV network 7News, a journalist says, Residents in southern Tasmania are demanding to know why cloud seeding was conducted over the Derwent River catchment the day before the worst floods in 40 years. One social media user shared the old clip Tuesday with a caption claiming that cloud seeding made flooding worse. But a probe by the Tasmanian government into the 2016 flooding has since been completed, and investigators found that cloud seeding by Hydro Tasmania, a government-owned generator of renewable energy, did not contribute to or worsen the heavy rains. Hydro Tasmania (HT)s cloud seeding activities on 5 June had no impact on precipitation, with this conclusion having a solid scientific basis, stated the June 2017 independent report. Hydro Tasmania also denied that its flights were to blame and said in a statement that the operation had no measurable impact on rainfall on that day. A Hydro Tasmania spokesperson told the AP that it has since stopped cloud seeding. Sarah Tessendorf, a project scientist at the Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research, said cloud seeding "does not have the ability to suddenly produce all kinds of heavy rain and snow. She said the process would not dramatically worsen clouds that are already forecast to produce severe weather, either. Everything from wind speed, air movement and updraft, or a current of rising air, can affect a storms strength, Tessendorf added. A really strong storm, she explained, will already have a very strong updraft and wind flow characteristics that help create the cloud to begin with. Were not altering the updraft of the clouds. We dont have that technology, she said. This type of microphysical response is very unlikely to produce such an overwhelming change in the cloud. Social media users are also sharing a separate example to baselessly claim that cloud seeding played a role in deadly flooding that happened throughout February and March in Queensland and New South Wales. One widely shared post singled out the aviation company Handel Aviation to make the unfounded claim that it ran a cloud seeding flight that was contributing to large-scale flooding in Lismore. Handel Aviation posted a statement in response calling the claims misinformation and denying that it conducts cloud seeding flights, stating that it only operates an aerial photography aircraft. That aircraft was capturing images of the flood damage at the time, according to the statement. Nearmap, which analyzes and distributes the companys photos, confirmed in a statement to the AP that the claims associating Handels recent flight with cloud seeding are false. The aerial images were commissioned after the flooding and were used to document the impact on property and infrastructure, according to the statement. Archives of Handel Aviations website dating back to 2008 show that cloud seeding services have never been mentioned or offered. Associated Press writer Sophia Tulp in Atlanta contributed this report. ___ Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck ___ Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-President Donald Trump to resign, according to audio posted Thursday night by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show. In the recording of a Jan. 10 House Republican Leadership call, McCarthy is heard discussing the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office and saying he would tell Trump, I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign." Its unclear whether McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker if Republicans gain control during the fall midterm elections, followed through on his thinking or was merely spit-balling ideas shared privately with his colleagues in the aftermath of the deadly Capitol assault. In the same conversation, McCarthy told his colleagues he doubted Trump would take the advice to step aside. That would be my recommendation, McCarthy is heard saying in response to question from Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who would emerge as a staunch Trump critic. I dont think he will take it, but I dont know. Earlier Thursday, after the Times published its initial story describing the conversation, McCarthy released a statement calling it totally false and wrong. His spokesman, Mark Bednar, had told the paper, McCarthy never said hed call Trump to say he should resign. Bednar did not immediately respond to questions late Thursday night after the audio's release. Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the tape. The audio threatens to badly damage the relationship between McCarthy and Trump, who remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party, despite his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection and his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. And it could threaten McCarthy's standing with House Republicans aligned with Trump, whose support he will need for votes to become House speaker next year. The audio depicts a very different McCarthy than the one who has been leading House Republicans over the last year and a half and who has remained allied with Trump even after delivering a speech on the House floor shortly after Jan. 6, during which he called the attack on the Capitol un-American." At the time, McCarthy called the assault among the saddest days of his career and told his fellow Republicans that Trump bears responsibility for the violence. Even after the violence, though, McCarthy joined half of the House Republicans in voting to challenge Joe Bidens election victory. Since then, the California Republican has distanced himself from any criticism of Trump and has avoided directly linking him to what happened. Within weeks of the siege at the Capitol McCarthy said he did not think Trump provoked the attack, as other prominent Republicans said at the time. Instead, McCarthy has cozied up to Trump, visiting him at the former presidents Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago as he relies on the former presidents brand for campaign support this fall. McCarthy indicated during an interview with The Associated Press this week in California that Trump will motivate voters to turn out for the party in this fall's midterm elections. Hell motivate, get a lot of people out, McCarthy said at a GOP event in Fresno. The Times report Thursday was adapted from an upcoming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for Americas Future, by Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. In the audio, Cheney, who eventually lost her No. 3 leadership position after voting in favor of Trump's impeachment, can be heard asking McCarthy about a 25th Amendment resolution calling for Trumps ouster and whether Trump might resign. Ive had a few discussions. My gut tells me no. Im seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight, McCarthy is heard saying. What I think Im gonna do is Im gonna call him. I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign," he later adds. I mean, that would be my take but I dont think he would take it. But I dont know. McCarthy, 57, has been strategically charting his own delicate course as he positions himself to try to take over as speaker if Republicans retake the House. He has begun to build out his leadership team and last summer tasked several groups of Republican lawmakers with drafting proposals on the partys core legislative priorities in hopes of making a fast start in 2023. But even as he inches closer to leading the chamber, McCarthy is well aware of the downside of power in recent months as hard-right members of the conference have created headaches with inflammatory actions and statements. There was little immediate reaction Thursday night from fellow Republicans who could determine his future. To be sure, no other Republican leader in the House has amassed the standing to challenge McCarthy for the leadership position. McCarthy has recruited the class of newcomers bolstering GOP ranks and raised millions to bolster Republican campaigns. He has drawn his closest rivals into the fold even as he works to shore up the votes that would be needed to become speaker. An outside group aligned with McCarthy has led fundraising ahead of the midterm elections, and rank-and-file Republicans working to regain the House majority are unlikely to be critical of the leader ahead of November. Still, McCarthy has also been a person of interest for the House committee investigating the storming of the Capitol on Jan 6. The select committee, which Cheney vice-chairs, requested an interview with McCarthy in mid-January, hoping to learn more about his conversations with Trump before, during and after the riot. They had also sought information about McCarthys communications with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days before the attack. Hours after the request was made, McCarthy issued a statement saying he would refuse to cooperate because he saw the investigation as not legitimate and accused the panel of abuse of power. The committee has been especially focused on McCarthys communications with Trump and White House staff in the week after the violence, including a conversation with Trump that was reportedly heated. Without his cooperation, it remains unclear whether the panel will be able to gain testimony from McCarthy or any other congressional allies of Trump. While the committee has considered subpoenaing fellow lawmakers, they have so far avoided doing so as it would be an extraordinary move and could run up against legal and political challenges. PALO ALTO, Calif. - Former president Barack Obama issued a stark call on Thursday for technology companies to "redesign" themselves to protect the public from the scourge of disinformation. In a lengthy speech at Stanford University, located in the heart of tech-heavy Silicon Valley, the former president spoke about the ways that tech platforms have helped to polarize the public and erode trust in democratic institutions, leading to the rise of autocrats such as Russian leader Vladimir Putin and unnecessary deaths from the coronavirus. "People are dying" because of disinformation on social media services, he said. Companies, he said, are not being transparent with the public about how their algorithms work. "Algorithms have evolved to the point that no one on the outside of these companies can accurately predict what they'll do . . . and sometimes the people who built them aren't sure . . . That's a problem," he added. In his speech, Obama said that when he was president, he didn't realize "how susceptible we had become to lies and conspiracy theories, despite having spent years being a target of disinformation myself," saying he still harbors regret to this day. Despite keeping a relatively low public profile during his post-presidency, the former president in recent months has started to turn disinformation into a signature issue for his public life after office, embarking on a campaign to warn the public about the harm caused by falsehoods online and the social media algorithms that spread them. Disinformation emerged as a major issue during the 2016 presidential election. Reports surfaced about Macedonian teenagers pushing out sensational fake news on online services such as Facebook, along with stories that Russia was attempting to tilt the election toward Trump. It was around this time that Obama pulled Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg aside at a conference in Lima, Peru, to issue a private warning about the scourge of disinformation and fake news, The Washington Post reported. The following year, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter acknowledged the results of internal investigations showing that Russian operatives circulated misleading and polarizing narratives to millions of Americans in the run-up to the 2016 election. Russia never stopped trying to influence the U.S. political landscape, but during the Trump years, Silicon Valley companies got savvier about cutting off disinformation operations on their services, even as a disinformation-for-hire industry proliferated around the world. Tech companies' efforts to fight disinformation and other social ills have led to accusations from conservatives, including former president Donald Trump, that they were censoring free speech. The attacks have caused the companies to be more cautious about what they remove, and in the case of Facebook, to allow content from people on the right even when it broke the rules, according to reporting in The Washington Post and other outlets. During the 2018 midterms, the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 presidential election, domestic sources of online falsehoods - and the role it played in causing societal polarization - became an even bigger threat to democracy than efforts by foreign powers, say researchers and experts. Anti-vaccine activists, extremists affiliated with QAnon and others twisted basic facts about public health during the pandemic. Supporters of Trump, backed by online supporters and powerful influencers, pushed the falsehood that the election was stolen. The disinformation campaign helped fuel the Jan. 6 insurrection last year. But Obama has kept relatively quiet on these issues and others - until now. Speeches have been relatively rare from Obama, who was lauded for his oratory skills as president, since he left the White House. During the presidential elections that followed his presidency, he urged voters to participate in the effort to defeat Trump and elect Joe Biden, who had served as his vice president. For the most part, Obama has used social media to highlight the issues that he wants citizens in the country he presided over for eight years to focus on most. But on Thursday, Obama provided some insight into why he decided to speak out on disinformation now. "If we do nothing, I am convinced that the trends we are seeing will get worse," Obama said, describing how new technologies can make disinformation more sophisticated. "Without some standards, the implications of this technology for our elections, for our legal system, for our democracy, for rules of evidence, for our entire social order, are frightening and profound." In his speech, Obama connected Russia's war in Ukraine and the rise of autocrats around the world to public skepticism of democratic institutions fueled in part by the splintering of information and audiences online. But he offered both hope and solutions, arguing that the United States needs to create regulations for the tech industry and that the companies should be required to be more transparent. He said the current predicament could be changed, but not without strong and immediate action from lawmakers, tech companies and the public. "Very specific choices" by tech companies, he said, "intentionally or not, have made democracies more vulnerable." SEATTLE (AP) The parents of a man killed by Auburn police have filed a federal wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit alleging an officer shot Enosa Strickland Jr. in the back of the head while he was lying in a parking lot. The lawsuit also contends officer Kenneth Lyman has an extensive history of using force and was carrying an unapproved and illegal dagger that he later claimed Strickland had grabbed and refused to drop during a struggle, The Seattle Times reported. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, alleges that Lyman and another officer identified only with the initials DM, responded to a domestic disturbance in an apartment parking lot around 1 a.m. on May 20, 2019, where a woman had apparently rejected Strickland's romantic overtures. EJ was not engaged in any illegal activities or violating any laws, according to the complaint. EJ was unarmed. EJ was not arrested. The officers, concerned that Strickland, 26, had had too much to drink, allowed him to call his mother, Kathleen Keliikoa-Strickland. They spoke and she agreed to come pick him up, according to the claim. The lawsuit alleges that the interaction between the man and the officers became strained and Lyman struck him in the face. According to the lawsuit and the familys attorney Edward Moore, No warnings, admonitions or cautions were issued" before Lyman hit Strickland. The lawsuit alleges the officers then tackled Strickland, who wound up facedown on the ground, and one minute later Lyman shot him. Strickland's mother and father arrived four minutes later. Moore said the complaint is based on police reports, witness statements and dash-camera audio and video. Tiffany Lieu, a spokeswoman for Auburn, said the city was aware of the lawsuit but otherwise declined to comment. The case was referred for review to Snohomish County, where prosecutors determined Lymans actions were legal. Earlier this year, Auburn resident Peter Manning sued Lyman and the city, alleging the office crashed a SWAT van into Mannings work truck, injuring him, and then fled the scene. An internal investigation found Lyman guilty of misconduct, according to the Auburn Reporter newspaper, its unclear whether he was disciplined. A former Stanford University employee and her brother were sentenced to federal prison terms this week for their roles in a scheme in which hundreds of laptop computers were ordered on behalf of the university but sold for private gain thefts that cost the institution millions of dollars over several years. The woman, Patricia Castaneda, 38, who worked at Stanfords School of Humanities and Sciences, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of California said in a statement Monday. Her brother Eric Castaneda, 37, who helped sell hundreds of the laptops, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $2.3 million in restitution. Starting in 2009 or 2010, Patricia Castaneda used her position to buy new Apple MacBook laptops that she claimed were for faculty and staff members, according to a plea agreement filed last month. In fact, prosecutors said, she sold the laptops for cash after they were delivered to Stanford. Until 2016, they said, she sold them to a person she met on Craigslist. Later, she began giving them to her brother to sell, the U.S. attorneys office said. It was not clear how or when the siblings were caught or what specific position Patricia Castaneda held at Stanford. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorneys office said Wednesday that she could not provide additional information. Patricia Castaneda, of Redwood City, California, pleaded guilty last month to a charge of federal program theft, for which the maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the plea agreement. Her lawyer, Robert M. Holley, did not immediately return emails or phone calls Wednesday, but he wrote in a sentencing memorandum that his client truly did not understand the gravity of her actions. It was not clear when Patricia Castaneda stopped working at Stanford, but Holley wrote that she worked there for 12 years and later worked as a restaurant host throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Patricia Castanedas brother, also from Redwood City, pleaded guilty last month to a charge of conspiracy to transport stolen property and had faced a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to his plea agreement. Eric Castaneda sold around 800 of the laptops to Philip James, 35, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to selling stolen MacBooks that he had purchased from Eric Castaneda and several others, according to the U.S. attorneys office. Eric Castanedas lawyer, Joseph J. Wiseman, declined to comment Wednesday afternoon. Kresta Daly, a lawyer for James, said in a statement Wednesday night that her client deeply regrets his conduct. Representatives for Stanford did not immediately return emails or phone calls seeking comment Wednesday. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) When he visited Ukraine last month with two other European leaders, Prime Minister Janez Jansa of Slovenia was looking to show solidarity with the war-stricken nation and to attract support at home ahead of what is expected to be a close parliamentary election. The election set for Sunday is taking place amid heightened political divisions in Slovenia. Observers say the vote will determine whether the small Alpine nation of 2 million people slides further into right-wing populism under Jansa or returns to its traditionally moderate balance. Recent opinion surveys showed Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party in a tight race with the Freedom Movement, a newly formed liberal-green political party. The party is led by a U.S.-educated expert, Robert Golob, who has promised to unite centrist and left-oriented groups in a future coalition government. Both parties appeared to have voter support hovering around 20%. Polls showed several smaller left- and right-leaning groups trailing in the race for seats in Slovenias 90-member national legislature. Some surveys suggested 20% of the electorate remained undecided. With no single party likely to secure enough votes to form a government on its own, analysts predicted Golob would have a better chance than Jansa at cobbling together a post-election coalition. The 63-year-old Jansa, a veteran politician, took over as head of government at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, succeeding a liberal who resigned. While the prime minister has boasted of economic successes during tough times, critics have sounded alarm over his increasingly authoritarian course. The race is tight, Jansa told a preelection convention of his party. We will fight for every ballot. Known as a nature-loving nation of stunning scenic beauty, Slovenia was long regarded as a post-Communist success and one of the most stable countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Slovenia was among 10 countries that joined the European Union in May 2004, the blocs largest single expansion. But it has come under EU scrutiny as Jansa has forged close relations with fellow populist, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic another right-wing regional leader recently scored sweeping reelection victories. Since he became the Slovenian Democratic Party's leader in 1993, Jansa has served as both defense minister and prime minister multiple times, faced a corruption trial and engaged in constant spats with journalists. He denies recurring allegations that he has moved to give his party control over public media, intimidate critics and install loyalists in key positions at state institutions. Fractured left-wing groups failed to mount a serious challenge to Jansa in more than two years despite simmering popular anger that fueled street protests and clashes with police. An array of civic movements have joined protests, seeking to galvanize public discontent and create a wider movement. Golob, 55, has emerged as a new face, appealing to Slovenians who are disillusioned with the political mainstream. Under the slogan We deserve a better state, he has promised a green transformation and sustainable development to contrast with Jansa's strong nation narrative. For Andraz Zorko, a public opinion analyst at the Valicon agency, the current pre-election campaign has been marked by a grassroots effort and tireless field work, designed to animate the new generation of Slovenia's youth to vote. Trends are now in favor of the Freedom Movement," Zorko said. Political analyst Zenel Baragelj, however, told the AP election outcome is impossible to predict," due to fluctuating loyalties and several parties teetering near the threshold line of 4%. Observers say Jansa's similarities with Hungary's Orban can be spotted in their anti-liberal rhetoric and governing styles, as well as their financial dealings. Orban's associates have invested in Slovenia's pro-government media and companies. A formerly pro-Jansa political magazine, Reporter, recently urged Slovenia's voters to "ask yourself if you want to live in a country such as Orbans Hungary. A group of prominent intellectuals and public figures warned in a petition that Sundays election was of historic importance and the last chance to stop the authoritarian tendencies of Janez Jansa. Jansa has dismissed criticism as a leftist plot to undermine his government and promised voters stability and continuity in uncertain times. To polish his image, he distanced himself from Orban during the campaign and took a tough line against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In an attention-grabbing move meant to display regional leadership within Europe, Jansa traveled to Ukraine's capital with the prime ministers of Poland and the Czech Republic in mid-March. Shortly after the trip, Slovenia's government reopened the country's embassy in Kyiv and urged other EU nations to do the same. Surveys indicate that citizens' concerns center more around domestic issues such as social equality, environmental protection and the rule of law rather than the war in Ukraine. Jure Mocivnik, a resident of Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, said he expected high turnout and strong voter interest in the election. Asked about the outcome, Mocivnik said: I don't have a clue, everything is possible. LOS ANGELES (AP) The father of three children who were allegedly killed by their mother last year has filed a lawsuit against the city and county of Los Angeles, accusing police and social workers of failing to intervene to protect his young daughters and son before their deaths. Erik Denton filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, more than a year after the children were found dead in a Los Angeles apartment. Denton's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his children, Liliana Carrillo, fled to Tulare County, nearly 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of the scene. Carrillo, later told KGET-TV that she wanted to protect her kids from alleged abuse amid a bitter custody battle. She admitted to drowning her daughters, 3-year-old Joanna and 6-month-old Sierra, and her 2-year-old son, Terry, in the jailhouse interview. Carrillo is charged with three counts of homicide and her case remains ongoing, according to online court records. She is scheduled to return to court next month and is being held in jail on more than $6 million bail. The public defender's office, which is representing Carrillo, did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. Denton sought custody of his three children last year, citing what he said was their mothers erratic and unstable behavior and mental health issues. Fearful for their safety, Denton petitioned the court for custody, alleging Carrillo was delusional and had taken the kids and refused to tell him where they were. Carrillo then filed a restraining order against Denton and claimed he was an alcoholic who may have sexually abused their eldest child. As the case wound through family courts in Tulare and Los Angeles counties, the parents traded accusations in dozens of pages of documents. Police were called, social workers were consulted, alarming text messages and Facebook posts were saved as legal exhibits. Within weeks, the children were dead. Denton's lawsuit alleges that Los Angeles Police Department officers and social workers from the county's Department of Children and Family Services repeatedly ignored warnings about Carrillo's behavior and failed to investigate and cross-report their findings to other agencies as required under state law. The murders of Eriks three children would have been prevented if law enforcement officers and child welfare workers did what they were required to do by law, which is to step in and protect children who are at risk of abuse or neglect, said David S. Casey, Jr., who is representing Denton, in a statement. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services declined to comment on the allegations, citing the pending litigation and confidential records, but offered the agency's condolences to the Denton family. Our mission to protect children is one we share with our partners in law enforcement and the community, the department said in a statement. We remain fiercely committed to strengthening our community partnerships to enhance the safety net for children and families. The Los Angeles city attorney's office said it will review the lawsuit and declined further comment. Representatives for the Los Angeles County counsel and LAPD did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit on Thursday. BRIDGEPORT Awkward. Confused. Played with. Degraded. Overwhelmed. Suicidal. Brandon Roberts used several words to describe his feelings during a brief, on-again off-again relationship with Emily Todd, the 25-year-old Bethel homicide victim Roberts is on trial for allegedly killing on Dec. 8, 2018. But, he said from the witness stand, he still cant explain exactly why he took a pistol from his waistband as Todd walked along a narrow strip of sand near the public boat launch on Seaview Avenue, raised it to the back of her head, and pulled the trigger despite, he testified, thinking she might be pregnant with his child. I really didnt know why, he said of the shooting during questioning from Assistant Public Defender Tracy Jo Mathis. And I had no explanation. He said police interviewing him following his arrest six days after the homicide put words in his mouth about needing money, so he agreed with them. I knew that would give some type of justice so I went with that, he said. I honestly didnt know. I had no explanation and no reason at all. Mathis asked him to explain what happened the night he shot Todd. I was overwhelmed with a lot of things due to my current living situation, he said, describing himself as homeless, and unsure about plans the two had discussed about moving to the Boston area. He said he was also unsure if Todd was pregnant, and if so, whether or not she would have an abortion. And he had no one to talk to about the emotions involved. Did some or all of those things influence your behavior that night? Mathis asked. Yes, Roberts said. Roberts lawyers also introduced explicit texts Todd had sent to Roberts, some of which used the N word. Roberts said he felt awkward and a little degraded by the messages. While cross-examining Roberts, States Attorney Joseph Corradino pointed out the sexting was not a one-way street, citing examples Roberts had sent to Todd. The prosecutor repeatedly noted Roberts didnt have a gun to his head. You could have gotten into your car, and you could have driven eight hours back to Ohio. And you never would have had to shoot her in the head? the prosecutor asked Roberts. Correct, Roberts replied. Corradino disputed Roberts testimony that he had been suicidal, after which Roberts asserted he had been at least a couple times, but said something stopped me, referring to a higher power. Thank God that it did, Corradino said. But a higher power didnt stop you from shooting Emily in the back of he head, did it? Of course not, Roberts. I apologize for that. Toward the end of the 45-minute cross-examination, Corradino quoted a text Roberts sent to Todd saying that a hot moment has a cold ending, referring to their turbulent relationship, which he said was based on lust. Things that begin hot end cold, right? Corradino said, showing a close-up of Todds blood-streaked face taken before police moved her body from the beach. It was pretty cold when you created that, wasnt it? Roberts paused. That is a cold way, he said. Roberts trial began Monday in state Superior Court in Bridgeport before Judge Alex Hernandez. After he left the stand, Public Defender Joseph Bruckmann rested his case, and the judge dismissed the jury until closing arguments Monday. On Tuesday, Todds mother took the stand for roughly three hours and recounted her daughters brief relationship with Roberts, which police said Todd ended soon after it began. On Wednesday, Corradino played video of Roberts confession to police following his arrest at his fathers house in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Corradino rested his case Thursday. If jurors are convinced Roberts was acting under extreme emotional distress they could find him guilty of a lesser manslaughter charge. He is also charged with felony murder, first-degree robbery and carrying a pistol without a permit. Todds death sparked debate about numerous issues, including Connecticuts gun laws and Bridgeports response to a 911 call from Todd about a week before the killing. LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) Jurors in north-central Idaho convicted a 17-year-old boy of first-degree murder after about three hours of deliberation on Thursday. Demetri Ewing and his father Clyde Ewing were both charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 8, 2021, shooting death of Samuel Johns, The Lewiston Tribune reported. Clyde Ewing has pleaded not guilty and his trial is scheduled to begin May 16. Ewing, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult and could face up to life in prison when he is sentenced in June. During Demetri Ewing's nearly two-week trial, Nez Perce County prosecutors said the father and son were in the midst of a family dispute over a missing gun and an Army bag that had belonged to Clyde Ewing's late father. Prosecutors said the pair believed the bag had been left at Johns' home, so they left their motel in Clarkston, Washington, and rode bicycles to Johns' residence in the neighboring town of Lewiston, Idaho. Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman said the Ewings used zipper-style cable ties to bind the hands of a woman in the home, and that one of them shot and killed Johns. Under Idaho law, prosecutors are not required to prove which defendant killed someone, only that a person was killed in the process of another planned felony like a burglary. It means it doesn't matter who pulled the trigger, Coleman told the jury during closing arguments. Demetri Ewing is guilty of first-degree murder." Demetri Ewing's attorney Lawrence Moran told the jurors that the prosecution didn't meet the required burden of proof to find his client guilty. He noted that the woman who called 911 after the shooting told investigators the crime was committed by a man and a woman, and described the woman as much taller than Demetri Ewing and as having an hourglass figure. He also said the alleged motive didn't make sense. He's not a woman with an hourglass figure, Moran told jurors. Demetri Ewing was a 16-year-old kid who couldn't care less about an Army bag. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to receiving more than $600,000 in COVID-19 aid and using it for himself, a federal prosecutor's office said. George Thacker, 59, of Spring City, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Thursday, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) Three of the 23 defendants in a lawsuit filed after a University of Missouri fraternity party left a student with serious brain injuries have reached a settlement. The attorney for the family of Daniel Santulli, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, filed a motion Wednesday to approve settlements with Collin Clark, Chris Palermo and Jeffrey Wagoner, the Columbia Missourian reported. CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) Three people, including a young child, are injured after a suspected car thief crashed the vehicle while being chased by police. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the crash happened just before 9 a.m. Friday in St. Louis County. The chase began when officers spotted a Dodge sedan that had been stolen in St. Louis city overnight, possibly in a carjacking. BERLIN (AP) The United Nations' human rights office on Friday pointed to what it said is growing evidence of war crimes since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, declaring that humanitarian law appears to have been tossed aside. Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said that our work to date has detailed a horror story of violations perpetrated against civilians. Her office's mission in Ukraine so far has verified 5,264 civilian casualties, including 2,345 deaths, since the war began on Feb. 24. It said that 92.3% of those were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory. The office uses strict methodology and has long acknowledged that its confirmed figures are far short of the real numbers. The actual numbers are going to be much higher" as more details emerge from places such as Mariupol where there is intense fighting, Bachelet said. Over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside, she added. Her office said in a statement that Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure actions that may amount to war crimes. It added that the U.N. mission also has documented what appears to be the use of weapons with indiscriminate effects, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects, by Ukrainian armed forces in the east of the country. Bachelet said that the scale of summary executions of civilians in areas previously occupied by Russian forces is emerging. On April 9, U.N. human rights officers visiting Bucha documented the unlawful killing, including by summary execution, of some 50 civilians, her office said. The U.N. mission has received more than 300 allegations of killings of civilians in previously occupied towns in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions. Russian officials have denied that their soldiers killed any civilians in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv from which they retreated three weeks ago, and accused Ukraine of staging the atrocities. The U.N. rights office said its mission also has recorded 114 attacks on medical facilities although the actual figure is likely to be considerably higher. We estimate that at least 3,000 civilians have died because they couldnt get medical care and because of the stress on their health amid the hostilities," Bachelet said. "This includes being forced by Russian armed forces to stay in basements or not being allowed to leave their homes for days or weeks. The U.N. mission so far has received 75 allegations of sexual violence against women, men, girls and boys by Russian soldiers, most in the Kyiv region. The human rights office said detention of civilians has become a widespread practice in areas controlled by Russian forces and affiliated groups, with 155 such cases reported so far. It said it also received information about alleged arbitrary and incommunicado detentions by Ukrainian forces or people aligned with them. And it pointed to videos put out by both sides apparently showing the intimidation, interrogation, torture or killing of prisoners of war. ___ Follow all AP stories on Russias war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine IN SUMMARY A Democratic bill would no longer treat stillbirths as "unattended deaths," investigated by coroners. But anti-abortion activists fear the change would legalize "infanticide" after babies are born. By Nigel Duara CalMatters A bill that would abolish the requirement that coroners investigate stillbirths passed the Assembly Health Committee on an 11-3 vote late Tuesday, while hundreds of anti-abortion activists protested against the proposed change on the Capitol steps. Under current law, all fetal deaths at or after 20 weeks, with the exception of abortions, are treated as "unattended deaths" in California, requiring a coroner to investigate. In 48 of 58 California counties, the sheriff is also the coroner, which means that law enforcement becomes involved and the person who is pregnant could face potential prosecution. That, say groups representing obstetricians and gynecologists, is dangerous and could make pregnant people less likely to seek medical care. "Fear of jail or fear of having their child removed leads people to physically avoid and emotionally disengage from prenatal care," said Sarah Roberts, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, testifying Tuesday in favor of the bill. She said the application of the law is unequal. Roberts said her research shows that while white and Black people use alcohol and drugs at about the same rate during pregnancy, pregnant Black people are four to five times more likely to be reported to authorities. Between 2017 and 2019, two Kings County women were charged with murder and imprisoned after they delivered stillbirths and tested positive for methamphetamine. Both have since been released from prison, and one woman had her charges dismissed last year. The other, Adora Perez, was interviewed by a Kings County sheriff's deputy serving as a coroner 90 minutes after her stillbirth in December 2017, according to medical records shared by her legal team with CalMatters. Her case was referred to the local police department one hour later. She was arrested as she was being discharged from the hospital. In January, Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a legal alert instructing prosecutors and police not to pursue charges against people who miscarry or deliver stillbirths, calling out the Perez case by name. Fetal deaths after 20 weeks are called stillbirths. Before 20 weeks, they are referred to as miscarriages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The loss of a pregnancy at any stage is a physically and emotionally traumatic experience that should not be exacerbated by the threat of being charged with murder," Bonta said in January. Kings County District Attorney Keith Fagundes, who prosecuted both Kings County women, has told CalMatters that he will continue to file murder charges against people who miscarry or deliver stillbirths and test positive for drugs if he feels the cases warrant prosecution. Abortion rights advocates believe the Kings County cases have broad implications for abortion access in California, potentially opening the door to criminal prosecutions of people seeking to terminate pregnancies. One aspect of the proposed bill challenged by anti-abortion activists is its treatment of perinatal infant deaths. The Right to Life League and the California Family Council define the perinatal period as a month or more after delivery. The National Center on Health Statistics defines the perinatal period as between 28 weeks of gestation and seven days after birth. The Right to Life League contends that one section of the bill, which exempts mothers from civil and criminal liability if an infant dies during the perinatal period "due to a pregnancy-related cause," would essentially legalize the killing of newborn babies. "A mother, her boyfriend or, for that matter, the babysitter, can starve or beat or shake a 3-week-old baby to death and no one can investigate because under AB 2223 it is a 'perinatal death,'" wrote vice president of legal affairs Susan Arnall on the Right to Life League website. It's unclear whether any of the causes of death Arnall mentioned would be classified as "pregnancy-related." Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, called this argument "disinformation." "These same groups that are trying to ban abortion across this country and imprison people for stillbirths have manufactured a disinformation campaign using disturbing and violent imagery that is not grounded in medical science or the actual text of the bill," Wicks said. Arnall argues that the bill would effectively nullify a 1995 law that mandates that infants born prematurely in the course of an abortion must be treated the same as infants delivered in a live birth. She also criticized the bill's proposed $25,000 fine for a person who violates the proposed law, or "aids, incites, or conspires in that denial," saying that instruction would have a chilling effect on investigations of fetal deaths. "This is a hill for moral people to die on," said Jack Hibbs, pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, testifying against the bill on Tuesday. "As citizens, we must hold you accountable." 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. An off-duty Pasadena police officer who crashed into the back of a stopped Houston police cruiser earlier this month is now charged with driving while intoxicated. Houston police filed the misdemeanor charge against Elias Vega on Wednesday, about a week after police said he slammed into the back of an officer's patrol SUV in the 6000 block of the S. Sam Houston Parkway frontage road around 2:45 a.m. on April 14. Vega resigned from the Pasadena Police Department the same day he was charged, according to a press release from that agency. A Houston police spokesperson said Vega was not yet in custody as of Thursday afternoon. Lawmakers in Florida have voted to strip Disney of its ability to operate as an independent government in the area around its Orlando theme park following a high-profile spat between the company and Gov. Ron DeSantis over an education bill. While the Florida Legislature first took up the measure, California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted, "THIS is what 'business friendly' means? (thinking face emoji) We protect free speech in California. We help our businesses grow, thrive, and invent the future. Punishing businesses for speaking out against hatred is the move of an authoritarian regime." Newsom had previously called on Disney to reverse a move to relocate 2,000 workers from California to Florida. His office did not return multiple requests for comment asking whether the governor has had recent conversations with Disney executives on the matter. Meanwhile, DeSantis' office bristled at being called an "authoritarian regime" and returned fire on Newsom. "It is not 'retaliatory' to pass legislation that allows all corporations to do business in a fairer environment," DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw wrote in an email. "In fact, getting rid of crony corporatist carve-outs is antithetical to authoritarian systems. More broadly, its ironic that a governor whose lockdowns forced Disney and other parks to remain closed for 13 months is suddenly accusing an anti-lockdown, anti-mandate governor of 'authoritarianism.'" Disney's special district has existed since 1967, and exempts the company from many state and local regulatory measures. Florida historian Richard Foglesong told CNN that Disney sought this special status after routinely tussling with the local government in Anaheim over issues related to Disneyland. DeSantis is expected to sign the legislation, and broader implications are unclear. Some legislators and experts warn that because Disney currently provides municipal services in the special district, counties would have to begin providing those services themselves should the special status be revoked. Those experts warn that such a change would create a new $105 million tax burden that would fall on local taxpayers. They also warn of an even bigger possible problem: the transfer of bond liabilities from Disney to local governments. These liabilities could range anywhere between $1 billion and $1.7 billion, and would again fall on local taxpayers. You can read more on the possible fallout here. During an especially fraught hearing over Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Greenes candidacy for re-election, the controversial lawmaker struggled to answer questions about past remarks on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Greene's challengers are seeking to disqualify her for running for re-election under a clause in the Fourteenth Amendment that states that politicians who takes an oath to uphold the Constitution are barred from holding future office if they "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof." The challengers are bringing this suit given Greene's role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Ms. Greene, youve had your disagreements with Speaker Pelsosi, isnt that right? Ron Fein, the lawyer for the challenge, asked. After a terse back-and-forth, in which Greene reiterated that the claim is correct "politically speaking." Fein finally pressed her: In fact, you think Speaker Pelosi is a traitor to the country, right? She refused to answer after a brief pause. Im not answering that question, its speculation. Its hypothetical," she said. Fein then told the court to put up plaintiffs exhibit 5. Oh no, wait, hold on now, Greene interjected. I believe by not upholding securing the border, that that violates her oath of office. Exhibit 5, in question, is a CNN article published on Jan. 26, 2021 titled Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated support for executing prominent Democrats in 2018 and 2019 before running for Congress. The article draws from posts Greene made before she was elected to office, in which she posted far-right conspiracy theories and seeded resentment against Democratic officials such as Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama. She denied posting these herself, saying that shes had teams of people manage my pages in a tweet just before the article was published. Fein, shortly after, pressed her on a key linchpin of the story Greene liked a comment about assassinating Pelosi. You understand that on social media posts like Facebook, one of the things you can do is like someones post, right? And when you like someones post, thats a way of signifying that you agree with or admire or think the post is correct, right? he asked. I dont know, I dont agree with your phrase of questioning. Its true though that you liked a post that suggested that A bullet to the head of Nancy Pelosi would be a quicker way to remove her as Speaker of the House than impeachment,' right? Now youre using a CNN article, which, CNN has lied about me multiple times and youre using a CNN article as evidence. Greene then reiterated the message from last years tweet, saying that many people have managed her social media account, and that she herself may not have liked that post. The Georgia lawmaker's response to the follow-up question also suggests she was not unaware of the events of the Capitol insurrection, including rioters' entry into Pelosi's office. By the way, you know one of the places inside the United States Capitol building that was invaded by people who were doing violence was Ms. Pelosi's office, right?" Fein asked. I was inside the chamber on January 6, so I do not know all the places where those people went. Are you telling us that in the more than one year since these events occurred you have not become aware that one of the offices that was invaded by people who were illegally in the capital was Nancy Pelosi's office? Ive seen that on the news, and I dont know that for sure. I havent investigated all that. Gov. Greg Abbott has reportedly sent a total of 10 buses carrying undocumented migrants to Washington, D.C. in April, with the latest arriving Thursday. However, despite the Republican leader lauding the initiative, the number of transported migrants doesn't appear to be that impactful for Texas. Abbott's office told the New York Post Wednesday that, so far, only 152 migrants have been transported to Washington, D.C. from the Lone Star State, amounting to an average of 19 migrants per bus. Each bus has been said to have the capacity to hold up to 40 migrants, though Abbott's office did not confirm how many migrants traveled during each trip. During a roundtable Thursday with local law enforcement in San Antonio, Abbott admitted that he doesn't actually know the total number of migrants that have been bused to D.C. so far. He also did not specify how many migrants have traveled on each bus, but says the number has been as high as 28 migrants and as low as nine. "The number of people on the buses varies because it depends on how many people are in these local communities that are just standing around that the local community has us put on the bus," Abbott said. "We will transport as many people we can and this is going to be an ongoing process." Three buses arrived at the nation's capitol today, Abbott said, adding that buses have been sent daily. The 152 migrants is a small figure compared to the number of those attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border this year. Customs and Border Protection recorded 221,303 migrant encounters in March, according to a monthly report released earlier this week. In addition, U.S. border authorities arrested 210,000 migrants in March, the highest monthly total in two decades, according to Reuters. This number marks 24 percent increase from the same month in 2021 when 169,000 migrants were arrested at the border. The number of migrants on each bus to D.C. also appears to be on the decline. While Abbott previously said there were 24 passengers on the first bus that arrived on April 13, the second bus carried only 14. The fourth bus, which arrived on April 16, carried less than 10 migrants, according to Fox News. Abbott's office declined to tell the Post how much the bus trips are costing taxpayers. Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze told the Post that the state legislature has appropriated billions of dollars for border security. "As they do with all disaster response costs, (the Texas Division of Emergency Management) will be submitting expenses for reimbursement from funds previously appropriated by the legislature for border security efforts," Eze told the Post. "Associated costs will be dependent on bus use. Abbott announced his bus plan in response to the Biden administration ending Title 42 expulsions. The migrants, who volunteered to take the buses, hail from the countries of Angola, Brazil, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, according to Abbott's office. The catalyst for the measure stemmed from discussions Abbott had with border officials who claimed the Biden administration was dropping off "dozens, if not hundreds" of migrants into their communities, he said. "Some of those local communities were putting people on buses sending them right here to San Antonio," Abbott said. "I said 'I have a better idea. Let's not send them to San Antonio. Let's send them to Washington, D.C.'" When asked about some migrants expressing gratitude for getting a free ride to D.C., Abbott responded his intent was to "alleviate the strain put on border communities." Abbott also claims that President Biden has not once visited the border during his presidency. "If he will not come to the border, I'm going to take the border to President Biden," Abbott said. "He will see by these daily flows of buses what it's going to be like, what Texans are dealing with and he and members of Congress are going to have to deal with it directly." Abbott's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how long he plans to continue his bus initiative. However, appearing on Fox News this week, the Republican leader indicated that he is considering busing migrants to President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware next. LATEST April 22, 6 p.m. Former President Donald Trump officially-officially shattered dreams of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's political demise when he told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that his relationship with the California Republican remains in a good place despite a recording of McCarthy that leaked Thursday. "I heard the call," Trump said. "I didnt like the call. ... But almost immediately as you know, because he came here and we took a picture right there you know, the support was very strong. April 22, 11:25 p.m. On Thursday morning, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy strongly denied privately plotting to remove Donald Trump from office in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. "This Will Not Pass," a new book from New York Times political correspondents Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns, alleges that McCarthy, while speaking to GOP colleagues, discussed the viability of using the 25th Amendment and also said that he would press Trump to resign once Trump was impeached in the House of Representatives. The California Republican denied saying either, but on Thursday night, MSNBC obtained a tape of McCarthy talking to Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney about ... the 25th Amendment and asking Trump to resign. Once the tape was released, a host of political commentators were eager to proclaim McCarthy a dead man walking for being caught on audio crossing Trump. "Kevin McCarthy has reached the end of his political career," tweeted Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt. "He will never be the Speaker of the House. He has been undone by his cynicism, lying and stupidity. He is a checkers player who has been undone by a chess player." "I think there would be no more fitting end to Kevin McCarthys dream of becoming speaker than the 'scandal' of him being exposed as privately believing the right and moral thing,'" mused prominent "Never Trump" Republican Jonah Goldberg. Meanwhile, some members of the MAGA world also sharpened their knives for McCarthy. "House @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy conspired with Liz Cheney to remove Trump from office," wrote pro-Trump commentator John Cardillo. "This guy cannot be Speaker. Hes a doormat. Trump must immediately rescind his endorsement." All eyes were on Trump to see how he'd react. Then, on Friday, the former president crushed both MAGA and "Never Trump" dreams of McCarthy's political career imploding. "Trump ... was not upset about McCarthys remarks and was glad the Republican leader didnt follow through, which Trump saw as a sign of his continued grip on the Republican Party," the Washington Post reported. The saga isn't quite over yet: the Post reports that GOP members are waiting for a "firm statement" from Trump on McCarthy. However, given the fact that the former president was reportedly "not upset," it seems Trump would be unlikely to directly call for his ouster. "If Trump comes out and says [McCarthy] lost my faith and cant be speaker, that is bold," a Republican congressional aide told the Post. "That will move people. If he puts out a statement complaining he complains about McConnell all the time and hasnt threatened his position in leadership." Could the Republican caucus itself try to remove McCarthy even without Trump calling for it? Probably not, as best explained by the Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman: "The idea leaked audio will hurt McCarthy's speaker chances is silly for the same reason that's been true for years: scores of House GOPers have long believed Trump was/is unfit for office but must say the opposite publicly to survive, and sympathize with McCarthy," he tweeted. "In addition," he continued, "this 'bombshell' is likely to have about the same newsworthiness/impact in the Republican conference/ecosystem as incriminating leaked audio of a Dem House leader would have on that side if it were revealed on Hannity." This week in "Get a Room," SFGATE's roundup of hotel and accommodations news, room service is revamped by automation thats designed to avoid awkward eye contact after dropping off a spare toothbrush to your room; a boutique hotel in Sonoma is starting to grow its reputation as a California destination; and the lengths certain accommodations will go to in order to satisfy the everyday demands of guests, including sharing their cars. The Campbell-based tech company Savioke sells robots to the services industry, and no other facet has embraced the technology quite like hotels. Across California, hotels have slowly augmented their workforce with automation. The Axiom Hotel near Union Square has been using a room service drone for the past couple of years, drastically reducing the wait time for guests in need of a fresh towel. Hotel Trio in Healdsburg called it a transition from "novelty to necessity" when it brought on "Rose" the robot, a 3-foot drone that delivers pillows, pet treats and groceries to guests. Elsewhere in the state, Savioke robots are popping up in hotels across Los Angeles from the AC Hotel in Beverly Hills to the Embassy Suites by the Los Angeles International Airport. LAX has even adopted its own robotic assistant called Wally. Savioke robots are incapable of accepting tips for their services and lack that genial attitude to ask about the flight or feign interest in our response. Sonoma County property lands on Travel + Leisures annual best new hotels list After overseeing the temporary closure of the Kimpton Buchanan Hotel in San Francisco during the pandemic, Emily Glick switched gears for the North Bay. Emma Morris She and her husband acquired the then-dormant Applewood Inn and spent the first half of 2021 fully renovating the hotel to become the 21-room Stavrand. Surrounded by redwoods and fruit orchards, the lavish Mediterranean-style hotel with blue-trim windows is merely minutes from Guerneville. The hotel's unique neologistic name combines the Norwegian word for church (stav) with hill (rand). Only in its second year, the Stavrand is luring travelers with tiled fireplaces and private cedar hot tubs. Non-immune to its charm was Travel + Leisure, which praised the Stravand as Sonoma County's hottest boutique retreat in its latest list. Prices for a night range from $385 on weekdays up to $725 on some weekends. Baby you can drive my car The hotel industry is a business of saying yes, so it was only inevitable wed arrive at the can I borrow your car phase of accommodation. The Pendry, a hotel in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, offers guests a ride and drive program that rents out a Cadillac for up to four hours. Moreover, the gold-plated chic hotel also offers complimentary use of their personalized Sector 9 longboards for cruising California. NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images As if these loaners werent enough, the Pendry has announced a stay and strum program where guests can rent out a Taylor guitar to either jam in their rooms or take out to the pool in an effort to woo. No word yet if the room service robots are programmed to halt and listen as Hotel California is played for the umpteenth time that week. WFO SACRAMENTO Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Thursday, April 21, 2022 _____ TORNADO WARNING The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a * Tornado Warning for... Northeastern San Joaquin County in central California... Northern Stanislaus County in central California... West central Calaveras County in northern California... Southwestern Amador County in northern California... * Until 515 PM PDT. * At 435 PM PDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Rancho Calaveras, or 12 miles southwest of Paloma, moving northeast at 15 mph. HAZARD...Tornado. SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation. IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely. * This dangerous storm will be near... Wallace around 440 PM PDT. Rancho Calaveras around 450 PM PDT. Campo Seco around 505 PM PDT. Valley Springs around 510 PM PDT. Paloma around 515 PM PDT. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO NEW YORK CITY Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Friday, April 22, 2022 _____ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT Special Weather Statement National Weather Service New York NY 518 AM EDT Fri Apr 22 2022 ...ELEVATED RISK OF FIRE SPREAD TODAY... The combination of relative humidity values dropping to 25 to 30 percent and frequent wind gusts between 20 and 25 mph will contribute to an elevated risk of fire spread today. For New York residents, the annual statewide burn ban is in effect until May 14. No burn permits are issued. Listen to NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio or visit our website at http://weather.gov/okx for further details or updates. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather WFO LUBBOCK Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Thursday, April 21, 2022 _____ SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING The National Weather Service in Lubbock Texas has issued a * Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... Western Dickens County in northwestern Texas... Southeastern Crosby County in northwestern Texas... * Until 1015 PM CDT. * At 936 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 5 miles southeast of White River Lake, moving north at 20 mph. HAZARD...Ping pong ball size hail and 60 mph wind gusts. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, and vehicles. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding, and trees. * Locations impacted include... Spur, Dickens, White River Lake and Mcadoo. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building. _____ Copyright 2022 AccuWeather Page Content Mexico is poised to take on an even greater role in the ongoing global supply chain rearrangement. Companies that are relocating some or all of their production to Mexico need to be aware of what is legally required to hire local staff in Mexico. This article lays out the basics of Mexican employment law related to hiring employees: what constitutes an employment relationship in Mexico, the types of employees you can hire and the importance of having an appropriate Mexican employment contract with your Mexican employee. The article also describes the basic provisions your Mexico employment agreement should contain. Mexico's Labor Environment Mexico's employment laws' main goal is to balance production factorsthe economic unit that produces or distributes goods and serviceswith social justice. Consequently, employees are deemed to be in the same position as the employer and the rights of each bear the same weight, and if they do not, the law will support employees. Always. Types of Employees in Mexico Mexico's employment laws do not differentiate between blue-collar and white-collar employees. However, they do make some distinctions as to employee type, such as the following: Employees in positions of trust (empleados de confianza). These are employees who perform general management, inspection, supervision and oversight tasks. The nature of an employee's tasks is what determines their category, not the employee's job title or position. Employees of any nationality who render services outside of Mexico for a Mexican company. Specific categories of employees and employees in specific industries or sectors of the economy, like women; minors; farmers; miners; air, sea or land transportation crews; artists; those working in the tourism industry; doctors; and teachers. The Employer-Employee Relationship in Mexico What constitutes an employment relationship in Mexico? Basically, any rendering of personal services to a person who gives instructions and secures services in exchange for payment is deemed to be in an employment relationship. This means that if you have local staff that follow what you say, you are their employer and you are required to give them all the employee benefits mandated under Mexican law. This is true even if no employment contract is signed and even if you pay them in cash. Mexican law recognizes several types of employment relationships: (i) For a specific task (obra determinada). (ii) On a fixed term (por tiempo determinado). (iii) Seasonal (por temporada). (iv) For an indefinite term (por tiempo indeterminado). In turn, the employer-employee relationship may be subject to a qualification period (prueba) or initial training (capacitacion inicial). As a general rule, the type of work to be performed by your Mexican employee determines the type of employment relationship you will have with them. Bear in mind, absent an express agreement to the contrary, the employment relationship is understood to be for an indefinite term. Basic and Required Terms in an Employment Agreement in Mexico Your employee's working conditions must be set forth in an employment agreement if there are no applicable collective bargaining agreements. Mexican employment agreements should be executed in at least two copies, one for you and one for your Mexican employee. This employment contract must contain the following minimum requirements: Name, nationality, age, sex, marital status, Unique Population Registry Code (Clave Unica de Registro de Poblacion), Federal Taxpayer Registry and address of the employee and the employer. Type of labor relationship and whether the employee is subject to a qualification period. The specific service or services to be rendered by the employee, which shall be determined as precisely as possible. The place or places where the work is to be performed. The duration of the employee's workday. The form and amount of the salary. The day and place of payment of the salary. If and how the employer offers employee training. Other working conditions, such as rest days, holidays and others agreed upon by the employer and the Mexican employee. Designation of beneficiaries for payment of wages and benefits accrued and not collected upon the death of the employee. Mexico, like most countries, has gotten very good at enforcing its labor and employment laws against foreign companies. Therefore, if you are going to be hiring individuals in Mexico to help your company there, it is essential you do so correctly, because not doing this will invariably cost you a lot in the long term. Again, remember that an employment relationship in Mexico is not dependent on the existence of an employment contract, which is considered the employer's obligation. Adrian Cisneros Aguilar is an attorney with Harris Bricken in Mexico City and Los Angeles. 2022 Harris Bricken. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology. Page Content Maryland's recent elimination of a four-year college degree as a job requirement for thousands of the state's jobs is shining a spotlight on the value of alternative credentials and experience. The aim of the state initiativewhich the governor's office says is the first of its kind in the U.S.is to ensure that "qualified, non-degree candidates are regularly being considered for these career-changing opportunities," Gov. Larry Hogan said in a news release. More than 38,000 people work for the state, according to Hogan's office, and the state's Department of Budget and Management (DBM) estimated more than half of those jobs can be performed by people whose experience, training and/or community college education can substitute for a four-year college degree. Maryland estimated that nearly half of the 2.8 million workers in the state47 percentare workers who are "Skilled Through Alternative Routes" (STARs) and have learned their skills through apprenticeships and other certification programs. "There are over 1 million Marylanders who do not have bachelor's degrees but do have skills for jobs that are in demand by both the state of Maryland and other employers," said Byron Auguste, CEO and co-founder of Opportunity@Work, in a news statement. His Washington, D.C.-based workforce development organization will work with the DBM to identify Maryland STARs ages 25 and older who have the skills to work in IT, administration and customer service. Lynn Happel, SHRM-SCP, landed a newly created HR position at her organization many years ago despite not having the four-year degree or equivalent education and experience required. She had, though, graduated from a two-year business school and earned certification as a professional secretarya credential now known as Certified Administrative Professionalthat exposed her to HR duties such as benefits enrollment and onboarding. "My entry into HR was 'backdoor' inasmuch as my original profession was secretary and administrative assistant," recalled Happel, who has retired as director of HR for the Housing Authority of the city of Annapolis, Md. Over the years, she furthered her education by attending hundreds of seminars and educational courses, including some college classes. "I totally understand there are positions that, due to their specialty or complexity, would require a four-year degree or higher," she said. "However, there are plenty of positions that hard work and continual learning would meet the qualifications and requirements." John Mauck, SHRM-SCP, vice president of HR at Library Systems & Services in Rockville, Md., was hired years ago as an HR director at another organization based in West Virginia, despite not having an undergraduate degree. "I actually worked my way up through HR without my degree," he said. "I was hired based on my skill and experience. This may have slowed down my opportunity to move further in my career because employers did require it and would not hire me even though I was highly qualified." Mauck eventually earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree in business administration and several certifications. He is currently working on his doctorate. He also is president and owner of West Virginia-based Mountain State Human Resources. What Are Alternative Credentials? Nationally, nearly half (45 percent) of all U.S. workers possess some form of an alternative credential, according to research the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the SHRM Foundation conducted with executives, supervisors, HR professionals and employees. Alternative credentials focus on specific skills, can be earned consecutively or "stacked," can be verified, frequently are earned digitally, and often are aligned to industries, according to the SHRM report Making Alternative Credentials Work: A New Strategy for HR Professionals. The majority of such credentials take a shorter time to earn than a four-year degreealthough some apprenticeships take longer than four years to completeand are signified by: Professional certification, such as the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP for HR professionals. Individuals can earn certifications by completing apprenticeships or programs such as Grow with Google, which emphasizes digital skills. Since 2017, more than 7 million people have completed Grow with Google, providing them with the skills to work in IT support, data analytics, user experience design and project management. Virtual badges. These signal that the individual has demonstrated specialized knowledge in continually evolving topic areas, such as the SHRM U.S. Employment Immigration Specialty Credential and other specialty credentials. Schools such as Georgetown University and the University of Maryland embrace badge programs for their students, according to Columbia Business Monthly. Micro-credentials. These are earned through shorter programs of study focused on specific skills in a chosen field. [SHRM members-only resource: How to Address the Skills Gap] Page Content Maryland will soon be the tenth state to offer paid family leave to employees, continuing a trend that is expected to roll across the country in the next few years. This comes after the Maryland Legislature's April 9 vote to override Gov. Larry Hogan's veto of the legislation. Under the new law, eligible employees will receive up to a weekly maximum of $1,000 for up to 12 weeks of leave on an annual basis. Additionally, employees taking leave will receive job protection for taking advantage of the paid leave benefits. The payroll tax to fund the program will take effect on Oct. 1, 2023, and paid leave will be available on Jan. 1, 2025. Here are a series of FAQs to assist employers with your compliance obligations. Which Employers Are Affected? Any entity that employs at least one individual in Maryland across the public and private sectors. Who Can Receive Paid Leave? An employee who has worked at least 680 hours over the 12-month period immediately preceding the date on which leave is to begin is eligible to receive paid leave. This applies to part-time and full-time employees. What Are the Benefits? There are two main benefits: paid leave and job protection. Paid leave The law offers up to 12 weeks annually of paid time off to take care of a new child, one's own medical problems, or a family member's serious illness or military deployment. A parent could get up to 24 weeks if medical leave is needed during pregnancy, followed by parental leave after childbirth. The law offers up to 12 weeks annually of paid time off to take care of a new child, one's own medical problems, or a family member's serious illness or military deployment. A parent could get up to 24 weeks if medical leave is needed during pregnancy, followed by parental leave after childbirth. Job protectionEmployers cannot discharge, demote, or otherwise discriminate or take adverse action against an individual who has filed for, applied for, or received benefits under the new law, inquired about rights and responsibilities under the new law, communicated an intent to file a claim, complaint, or appeal under the new law, or testified or intents to testify in a proceeding under the new law. How Will the Benefit Be Funded? This paid leave will be funded for a payroll tax that will be split between employees and employers (with 15 or more employees). The payroll tax will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2023, at a yet to be determined rate. The tax collected will fund the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund. How Will Employees Receive the Benefit? Eligible employees have to submit an application for benefits to the administering agency. This is similar to the process for receiving unemployment benefits. How Much Will Employees Receive? The benefits will replace 90 percent of weekly wages for the lowest-income workers and a smaller percentage for higher-paid workers and are capped at $1,000 per week. What If the Employer Already Offers Greater Paid Leave? If the employer already offers greater benefits through a collective bargaining agreement or an existing policy, the new law does not diminish the employer's existing obligations. The employee has to exhaust all employer-provided leave before receiving benefits under the new law. Are There Any Exemptions for Employers? If an employer satisfies the requirements of the new law through a private employer plan consisting of employer-provided benefits, insurance, or a combination of the two, and if the private employer plan is offered to all eligible employees and meets or exists the benefits under the new law, the employer is exempted from the requirements of this new law. Employers will have to submit their private employer plan to the Maryland Department of Labor for approval. Is There a Notice Requirement? Yes, employers must provide written notice to each employee of the rights and duties under this law. This includes the right of an eligible employee to receive benefits under the new law, the procedures for filing a claim for benefits, the employee's responsibilities during the leave, the employee's right to file a complaint for alleged violations, the employee's right to job protection, and a description of prohibited acts and related penalties. Will There Be a Poster to Satisfy Posting Requirements? The Maryland Department of Labor will likely roll out a suggested poster in the near future. When Does the Law Go into Effect? The payroll tax will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2023, and paid leave will be available starting on Jan. 1, 2025. What Steps Must Employers Take? There are three basic steps employers should take in the near future: Review and update current policies. Take a look at your current policies. If you offer greater benefits than the new law provides, your analysis pretty much ends here. If you do not, determine whether you would like to make any changes to the policies to claim exemption from the new law, with enough time to submit your policies to the Maryland Department of Labor before the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund payroll tax goes into effect on October 1, 2023. Take a look at your current policies. If you offer greater benefits than the new law provides, your analysis pretty much ends here. If you do not, determine whether you would like to make any changes to the policies to claim exemption from the new law, with enough time to submit your policies to the Maryland Department of Labor before the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund payroll tax goes into effect on October 1, 2023. Follow developments. If your policies are such that you will be participating in the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund, follow the Maryland Department of Labor for information on the payroll tax, the exact amount, and the exact employer-employee split. If your policies are such that you will be participating in the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund, follow the Maryland Department of Labor for information on the payroll tax, the exact amount, and the exact employer-employee split. Be ready to take action. If your policies are such that you will be participating in the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund, be ready to implement the payroll tax on Oct. 1, 2023, and timely give required notice to your employees regarding their benefits, rights, and obligations. If your policies are such that you will not be participating in the Fund, be ready to submit your policies to the Maryland Department of Labor. Setareh Ebrahimian and Daniel E. Farrington are attorneys with Fisher Phillips in the Washington, D.C., metro area. 2022 Fisher Phillips. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission. World is celebrating International Mother Earth Day today, 22nd of April. In the 1970s, Senator Gaylord Nelson founded the day to endorse ecology and increase awareness of the concerns surrounding the earth. Like every year, more than 195 nations have observed the day, and they commemorate Earth Day to speed efforts to save the planet from harmful impacts such as climate change, global warming, and so forth. Presently, just being aware of the rampant increase in pollution and other activities that eventually harm the environment and result in the destruction of the planet will not be sufficient to protect our planet. Several challenges such as pollution and smog became primary reasons for environmental damage and are behind the day's existence. The day also highlights the solutions that people can take to prevent the planet. Several events and campaigns are being held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The year 2022 marks the 52nd anniversary of the annual celebrations. A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children. John James Audubon Googles doodle to exhibit climate change on Earth In the era of digitalization, the tech giants addressing the challenges is vital in making any change effectively. On the occasion of the annual event, Google preached the pressing challenge of climate change through its doodle. Acting now and together to live more sustainably is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change, the company stated. Todays Google Doodle uses real-time-lapse imagery from Google Earth Timelapse and other sources to showcase the effect of climate change across different regions. Talking about the animations, Google will depict the real imagery from Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. This highlights the glacier retreat at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro from December 1986 to December 2020. On the other hand, the following animation showcases the glacier retreat in Sermersooq, Greenland, from 2000 to 2020. The third animation will depict the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, emphasizing the coral bleaching on Lizard Island from March to May 2016. Finally, the fourth animation is of the Harz Forests in Elend, Germany. This animation depicts the forests destroyed by bark beetle infestation due to rising temperatures and severe drought from 1995 to 2020. Throughout the day, the doodle images will change to represent different locations of the earth and the impact of global warming in these areas over the years. Each image will remain on the homepage for several hours at a time. Theme of Earth Day 2022 As citizens of the world, just one-day effort would not be enough to save the planet. It is the responsibility of every person to nurture and conserve the bountiful gifts of nature, its resources, the environment, and the atmosphere. No matter how small it is, a pledge taken in this direction will lead a long way in the refinement of Mother Earth, causing it a better place to live in for generations to come. The Earth Day Organisation has assigned a theme on the occasion of the 52nd Earth Day, which is Invest In Our Planet. It seeks to improve the climate and the planets health in every way possible. Its central motto is to perform a sustainable future through growing green, ethical, and profitable businesses and corporations. To inspire global citizens for a more optimistic future, the Earth Day official website states, Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods together, we must Invest In Our Planet. Because a green future is a prosperous future. Every initiative counts. Building on this premise, the organization suggests people act boldly, innovate broadly and implement equitably. This cannot be done by just a handful of people or a few passionate climate change activists. It will need the efforts and support of all. On this auspicious day Cisco shared its idea, "This year's theme for Earth Day "Invest in Our Planet" truly resonates with Cisco, as we believe what's good for the planet is good for business. It is a call to action encouraging individuals, enterprises, and governments to create sustainable communities, countries, and economies. And for decades, Cisco has been evolving and expanding the way it positively impacts people and the planet. We recently announced our commitment to reaching net zero for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all scopes by 2040. The goal includes reaching net zero for all global Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2025. We also maintain an enterprise-wide circular economy program that focuses on designing out waste, extending the life of products and materials, and regenerating natural systems. Moreover, our Bangalore campus is primarily powered by renewable sources. We also maintain a comprehensive water management system at our campus, including a rainwater harvesting system, an evaporative cooling system, and two sewer treatment plants. These initiatives have helped us envisage our future, make it more sustainable, and ensure a liveable planet for all." Calculate Measures for sustainable and optimistic future Invest In Our Planet aims to promote a more sustainable future. Along with popular support, private companies can become active volunteers of Earth Day and work towards a healthy and sustainable life. Smart innovations and adopting a green economy are vital to remaining profitable, scoring strong financials, improving stock performances, and keeping employees happy. Investing in cleaner forms of energy, adopting sustainable fashion, cutting down on carbon footprint, and taking conscious steps as corporates and citizens to minimize waste, air pollution, and use of plastic are some elements the Earth Day theme taps into. Besides, by providing incentives to green businesses and encouraging firms to create good Environment Social Governance (ESG) standards, governments will be able to make the eco-friendly option a more lucrative one as well. Planting trees, switching off electronics during the Earth Hour, imparting climate education, and opting for a simpler and more sustainable lifestyle are the hour's requirement and can be done at individual levels, too. The youth has the power to bring about environmental change by opting for sustainable and ethical brands that are investing in healing the planet. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Well, thats a relief. Labor and the unions are claiming we have a problem with increasing casualisation and job insecurity, but The Australian Financial Review has looked up the official figures and discovered that, if anything, the proportion of casual workers has been falling. So, the problems a furphy? Sorry, aint that simple. Strictly speaking, the Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force survey doesnt measure casual employment, and certainly makes no attempt to measure whether jobs are secure or insecure, precarious or solid as a rock. Job insecurity is growing. Credit:Matt Davidson What it does do is ask the workers it surveys whether their job entitles them to annual and sick leave. Were left free to assume that those who say no must be casuals, whereas those who say yes must be permanents. It is true that, by this measure, the proportion of all workers who are casuals grew strongly in the decades before 2000, but then was little changed until the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Creating visual art is one of the defining characteristics of the human species, and is practised in some form by almost all human cultures. Yet, our current understanding of drawing, especially in the West, has us believing that only a lucky few have an inherent talent for it and that the only instance one should draw is when one can do it professionally (read: for money). Drawings from Life in the Gutter by Swinburne University of Technologys Dr Darren Fisher. Credit:Darren Fisher Swinburne University of Technologys Darren Fisher has recently published a paper looking at the way we, as a modern society, relate to drawing. He argues that instead of classifying people into those who can draw and those who cant, we should reframe our understanding of drawing as another method of communication, and not just another means to a productive end. We communicate ideas through story building, and that doesnt have to be just words, he says. Drawing is a powerful tool of communication; it helps build self-understanding and can boost mental health. A disability organisation has apologised for the death of an 11-year-old boy, after an inquest heard he was hit by a train when he managed to escape through an unsecured window and run to a railway station. Alex Raichman was killed on the evening of April 22, 2018, when he absconded from a property at Oatley in Sydneys south where he had been receiving temporary respite care while his family travelled to Melbourne. Alex Raichman died after being hit by a train on April 22, 2018. This week, an inquest heard his mother had informed staff that Alex who had autism spectrum disorder and a developmental delay was a profound absconding risk and the windows would have to be secured with locks. However, this essential maintenance was not done. During Alexs stay, he managed to escape into the yard and in response screws were installed in the windows, which meant they could only be opened about 9 centimetres. An ensuite window was not altered, the inquest heard, and it was through this window that Alex escaped at about 6.45pm on April 22. A mother-of-two murdered by her partner on New Years Eve was subjected to drawn-out terror after his unexplained eruption into lethal rage, a NSW Supreme Court judge has said, jailing her killer for at least 20 years. Angela ODonnell was murdered by Petero Baleinapuka in her Woonona home. Credit:Facebook Petero Baleinapuka, 58, was found guilty by a jury of the murder of Angela ODonnell, 51, who was stabbed at least 14 times inside her Woonona property on December 31, 2019. It was savage, relentless and evidently carried out with intent to kill, Justice Desmond Fagan said in Wollongong on Friday. [He] subjected her to drawn-out terror and realisation of helplessness and impending death. She wouldve suffered physical agony from the many wounds in her final moments. A fourth man has been charged as part of a police investigation into two missing men, one of whom was found encased in concrete. Andrew Walshs body was found encased in concrete at Coopers Plains. Credit:Nine News Lachlan James Griffiths, 35, who lived at various hotels in the Brisbane area, was reported missing by his family on January 26. His body has not been found, but his disappearance has been linked to an investigation into a Coopers Plains business, where the body of Andrew Christopher Walsh was found encased in concrete. Walsh was last seen alive in November in Slacks Creek. On Friday, police charged a 39-year-old Thagoona man with one count of murder in relation to Griffiths. Queensland will end the COVID-19 isolation requirement for household contacts, bringing the state in line with NSW and Victoria. Under the change, to come into effect at 6pm on Thursday, April 28, close contacts of a COVID-positive person would not have to isolate, as long as they followed Queensland Health rules, which include taking a test every second day and wearing a mask. Health Minister Yvette DAth with Chief Health Officer John Gerrard. Credit:Matt Dennien The easing in quarantine requirements clearly changes the need for Wellcamp, acting Premier Steven Miles said of the purpose-built quarantine facility in Toowoomba leased by the state government. Today is another exciting day in our journey towards living with COVID, Health Minister Yvette DAth said. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size For American writer Delia Ephron, like her late sister Nora, life has always offered a rich supply of copy. Bad hair, heartbreak, chocolate pudding almost anything could be mined for a book, a screenplay, a newspaper column. Then when she was 72, a time you might reasonably expect the flow of good material to slow down, life dished up her biggest story yet, one she so nearly didnt survive. The result is a memoir, Left on Tenth, A Second Chance at Life, part love story, part medical drama, addictive and recklessly truthful. We connect on Zoom and here she is on my screen: petite, wavy brown hair, silk shirt. I have just opened the window in my office for the first time in months, she says. Spring has arrived in New York, you can smell it and its so gorgeous. The new book is, if not the pinnacle, then a major landmark in four decades worth of whip-smart, sweet and funny writing. What was the beginning of all this? Her parents Phoebe and Henry Ephron were successful Hollywood screenwriters, the names behind 1950s films such as Desk Set starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Theres No Business Like Show Business with Marilyn Monroe, and many others. They believed their four daughters all had destinies, Ephron, the second of the four, tells me. At the dinner table, if you said something funny my father would shout, Thats a great line, write it down. Both parents drank heavily: I was on hyper-alert as a child, Ephron recalls. Were they going to drink tonight, would they have a fight? I didnt have any sense of happiness between couples. Growing up in Hollywood, the girls all duly became writers: Nora the eldest would become famous for her romantic comedies such as Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally; she also directed, wrote plays and a memoir. Hallie, number three daughter, is a crime and thriller writer and the youngest, Amy, writes childrens books, novels and essays. Advertisement Nora was first to write, says Ephron. She was shot out of a cannon, knew where she was going from the start. I began in my late 20s, Hallie in her 30s and Amy in her 40s. It was a big mountain to climb. Delia, left, with sister Nora, at an event in 2010 in New York City. Credit:Getty Images Delia Ephron studied history at New Yorks Barnard College, then in 1969, at the age of 25, married academic Dan Brock. They moved for his job to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. I married him because he asked me, she says. I wasnt that confident, I guess. With a friend, she ran a small business selling crocheted purses and belts, and published her first book, The Adventurous Crocheter: It wasnt really writing, she admits, it was directions. But I said to my husband, I think I want to be a writer. You know how important it is to say your dreams out loud? He said, I dont want you to be a writer. Why? I asked. Because you might become famous. I dont want you to be famous. Obviously, I had to leave him. He said, I dont want you to be a writer. Why? I asked. Because you might become famous. I dont want you to be famous. Obviously, I had to leave him. She moved back to New York with enough money to support herself for two years while she practised her craft. My aim was to get published in The New York Times, because I knew that was where you got launched. Then one day I was down to my last $500, sitting in my apartment eating a chocolate pudding my way: I made a little hole in the skin and scooped the pudding out from underneath and I thought, Oh my god, Im eating like a child. The New York Times published her essay, How to Eat Like a Child, and the next day she was offered a publishing contract for a book of the same name, which became a best-seller. More books followed, along with essays and film scripts. In 1982, she married the screenwriter and film producer, Jerome Kass: I would bring my work home and he would teach me everything. Advertisement She and Nora co-wrote a play, Love, Loss and What I Wore, which ran off-Broadway for more than two years to mostly female audiences, who readily identified with the link between clothes and lifes emotional crises. It played in cities around the world. [In Australia] we opened in the small theatre [the Playhouse] at the Sydney Opera House, says Ephron. It was one of the most magical experiences: everyone was so nice to me, the city so beautiful. An Australian performance of Love, Loss and What I Wore in 2010 (starring Magda Szubanski, second from right). Credit: In 2006, Nora was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. Ephron had her bone marrow tested to see if she was a match for her sister; she wasnt, but the results showed enlarged red blood cells, a sign that she, too, was at risk for the same disease, and would need regular blood tests. Then her husband Jerry was diagnosed with prostate cancer: The two people I loved most were ill; I was carrying so much pain around, and was so full of fears. Nora died in 2012 aged 71, Jerry, at 78, three years later. Ephron was 71 when he died, and theyd been together for 35 years. I was very lost, she says. Id never really had someone who was on my side like Jerry was. I felt completely displaced. I would sit in his office where we used to hang out: Jerrys CDs were there, his photos were there but he wasnt. In the northern spring of 2020, she would sit down at her desk to write an account of what happened next: a story of miraculous late love played out in the shadow of a life-threatening illness. Five months after Jerrys death, Ephron made her first decision to move on: she shut down his landline. The internet also disconnected on her own line and she spent hours and days trying to get the phone company to fix it. Then she wrote about it for The New York Times. Advertisement The column, laced with her signature wit, was read by Peter Rutter in California; he was 72 and also recently widowed. Later that year, just two days after the anniversary of her husbands death, Ephron got an email from Rutter: he told her they had dated once when they were students, set up by Nora. She had no memory of it but Googled him he was a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst and author. She waited a couple of days, then replied. What followed was courtship by email, then phone calls lasting hours between east and west coasts, the increasingly intimate exchanges now shared by Ephron in her book and wonderfully romantic to read, a kind of sanctioned voyeurism. Did she check with Rutter if he was okay with her sharing them? Im not sure, she says, Hell be here later, we can ask him. Loading They were falling in love and Ephron was scared. After wed talked half the night, Id call my friend Jessie and say, I cant be doing this. I cant start over again. And the main reason was that when youre 72, death is everywhere, so close you can touch it. I had been through so much loss, I didnt want more. Peter came to visit, we had dinner and we arranged to meet in the park the next day: I called Jessie and said I have to get out of this, I cant do it. She said, You can, get over to the park. Did she tell him then that she could have the same illness as her sister? I told him early on I was being tracked. I said, If I get sick you dont have to go through with this. Just leave me. He said, I could never do that. That was pretty amazing, I say. She nods: Love is a very strong force and there was no stopping us. Four months into the relationship she was diagnosed with leukaemia, a similar aggressive strain to the one that had killed Nora. Not the same, her doctor insisted gently, You are not your sister. She called Rutter: I have leukaemia, she told him. We will get through this, he said. It was March 2017 and Ephron was booked in for treatment with a new chemotherapy drug, CPX-351. Rutter put his psychiatry practice on hold and moved to New York. On the eve of her treatment, they were married by the hospital chaplain. A few close friends were invited, lemon meringue pie was served. Then we were in hospital together, she says, and I barely knew him; just four months and now he was on a cot next to me. He always stayed awake until I went to sleep. Advertisement After five weeks of therapy, the disease went into remission and they went home to her apartment. Rutter would treat his patients over Zoom from New York. Ephron had kept her illness a secret from all but her closest friends: I had to protect my hope, she explains. If it got out that I had the same disease as Nora people would say, Well, shes going to die, too. But the double life didnt suit me: Id go out to dinner with a girlfriend and not talk about what was going on. Ephron with her husband, Peter Rutter. Four months into their relationship, she was diagnosed with the same disease that had killed her sister, Nora. Credit:Elena Seibert Back at her desk at home she wrote a column for The New York Times with the headline, After 54 years we fell in love. After five months I got leukaemia. I was so relieved when I went into remission, she says. It was perfect, I could release it this way, everyone got the news at the same time, two bits of good news. And you know what? There were so many letters and comments to The Times and most of them were about love. They held a party to celebrate their marriage and bought a ping pong table. Two months later, Ephron was on tour to promote the paperback of her last book when she got a call to say her dog Honey had cancer, was in pain and needed to be put to sleep. She couldnt get home to New York in time so made a video call and sang to Honey over the phone, saying goodbye. Of all the horrible things that happened this was the hardest thing to write in the whole book, Ephron admits. I just couldnt do it, not for a long time. In November the same year, eight months after her marriage to Rutter, the leukaemia returned: her only option was a bone-marrow transplant which, she learnt, at age 73, had a 20 per cent chance of success. Without it she had four, maybe four-and-a-half months left. Thus began a long battle for survival: first another round of chemotherapy to clean the bone marrow of any trace of leukaemia, then the transplant, followed by a gruelling narrative of high stakes and complications, multiple meds, infusions and transfusions, blood counts up and down. Her head was shaved; the woman for whom a blow-dry is a non-negotiable essential. The terrors of childhood returned; she could not eat, was thin as a child: This is rough, she whispered to a doctor. This is war, he said. Her book gives a no-holds-barred account of that war, utterly absorbing and sensationally frank. Brave, too. She nods: If you tell the story, you have to tell the whole thing. My rule was I had to tell the truth. It took a while: when she finally left hospital for good after three months of treatment, relapse, readmission and complications, she was weak as a kitten, her former life seemed alien and she couldnt imagine writing again. But old habits die hard. She gave all her messages, emails and notes to a researcher: She came back with six loose-leaf binders in chronological order, says Ephron. Then there were 6000 pages of medical notes. What happened was that once I started to write, I had to understand my illness much more than when I had it, to make it simple so readers could understand. I showed it to my doctors to check and I had an amazing copy editor who is an emergency-room physician; she caught lots of things. Advertisement If you didnt know the bloke from his picture in countless property and tabloid stories over the past 30 years Bar tsar continues pub shopping spree; Playboy throws wild staff party with model girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel you might be hard-pressed to pick him as Australias 97th wealthiest person, according to last years Financial Review Rich List. Its the kind of placement a $1.2 billion fortune will earn. The Merivale Group head says he thinks his company weathered two years of the coronavirus extremely well under the conditions, but acknowledges that were also fortunate that were of a scale where we can afford to support our staff. We offered as many jobs as we could and started new businesses just to employ people and keep the wheels turning. However, I know COVID has been horrible for a lot of businesses because they just didnt have that ability. Fried rolls filled with a molten mixture of scallop and prawns hit the table, about 1000 degrees too hot to eat. We decide to give them a few minutes of alone time. Hemmes is champing at the bit to talk about why Australia needs more migrant workers anyway. Staff shortage is the biggest issue in hospitality right now, and while Hemmes has been largely supportive of government actions through COVID, he says the Department of Home Affairs needs to make the pathways to immigration much easier. Bill, please: Lunch at MuMu, Ivy Precinct, 330 George Street, Sydney. Credit: Two years ago, the term visa was on the nose. There was an impression that overseas workers were taking the jobs of Australians. Well, weve just gone through the most relevant case study you could ever engage in where weve shut off visa workers, but we cant fill the roles with Australians, he says. Were talking about hospitality roles that Australians just dont want to do, such as the back-line stuff the chopping and the peeling. Australians want to be at the front of the kitchen where the action is. But we also need to bring in more skilled workers, which are a big part of the hospitality education system. Sommeliers and sushi chefs, for example staff become excited to learn from these people. By bringing them in, it creates more employment, education, income and tax revenue, and therefore a more buoyant economy. Its a no-brainer. Skilled overseas workers should be given automatic permanent residency, he says, while unskilled workers can be put on a probation period. We want to incentivise them we want them to bring their families and set up shop here. So many industries are crying out for staff to work in roles they cant currently fill, so lets let more people in. I honestly believe our population should be 40 million. John and Merivale Hemmes in their Pitt Street boutique in 1972. Credit:Herald archives Hemmes late father John was born in Indonesia to Dutch parents. He met Merivale Brennan, a milliner from Burwood, on a return sea voyage to Holland via Sydney in 1954, and the couple were engaged by the time they reached Europe. The married pair soon returned to Sydney, where Merivale made chic hats in her parents garage, and the dapper Mr John would sell her creations to upmarket retailers between shifts as a waiter. They opened a retail outlet of their own in 1957 and launched the first House of Merivale fashion store two years later in Castlereagh Streets Theatre Royal building. It would expand into a chain of three stores in Pitt Street, one in Canberra and one in Melbourne. When their son opens his first Melbourne restaurant later this year working closely with his sister Bettina Hemmes, who is pivotal to the groups venue design it will be right near the original site of Merivales Victorian fashion temple. Its literally 15 metres from where my parents had their first Melbourne shop, says Hemmes of the seven-storey Flinders Lane building he bought for a reported $40 million last April. The site has the potential to house several eateries. Taiwanese-born chef Jowett Yu, who has spent the past seven years leading acclaimed Hong Kong restaurant Ho Lee Fook, will helm one of the kitchens, although the opening is at least a year away. I remember going to the Melbourne store as a kid and catching the tram with Dad. He always used to say the best fertiliser for a farm is the sole of the farmers shoe, meaning he was always walking the shops and very involved in sales and the daily running of the business. Meanwhile, Mum was the creative one. Shes a creative genius. Loading In the early 90s, Hemmes took the inner-Sydney property portfolio of his parents and began parlaying it into a hospitality empire. A ground-level bar at Angel Place came first (just behind where were eating char-grilled pork with a zippy Thai herb salad), followed by the multi-level and more ambitious Hotel CBD on the corner of King and York streets. I was probably 22 when Dad bought the CBD building with plans to renovate it. We worked with a local architect and Mum had a lot of involvement with the design while I came up with the multifaceted concept. Dad had a tenant lined up, but they got cold feet they thought it was too ambitious so he said to me, Well its your bloody idea, you run this one. Hemmes worked on the site for two years as a brickies labourer before launching Hotel CBD as the hottest new bar of 1995. I worked with the brickies, the cranes, the sparkies and the plumbers. It was wonderful to learn about those trades, he says. To this day, my favourite part of the job is being on site and working with builders resolving problems and finding better ways to do things. I fell in love with the complexity of construction first, and running the pub later. Creating a party and watching people enjoy your craft that set the path for the future. Merivale is currently defending a class action brought by workers who are claiming alleged underpayments of up to $129 million. The Federal Court ruled a WorkChoices-era agreement was never validly approved, but Merivale says it passed the fairness test and structured its business around the agreement. Hemmes lawyers say the regulator was at fault. Diners at the newly opened MuMu. Credit:Wolter Peeters The class action and COVID seem to have done little to curb Hemmes recent pub-buying spree. More than $150 million has been spent acquiring new venues over the past 18 months, including the two Victorian sites and four venues in Narooma on the NSW far south coast. Hemmes says he is more ambitious than ever, although when asked if he is trying to turn Narooma into the new Byron Bay, the publican fires back absolutely not. I have a house in Narooma, and its my home away from home. [Operating venues] around the town makes living down there more interesting, while supporting local employment. It also means I can take visitors out to lunch and I dont have to do the cooking and the cleaning, he laughs. But how does Hemmes think the sunny, relaxed and altogether very Sydney vibe of Merivale will go down in black-clad Melbourne? It will be no different from opening new venues in different suburbs around Sydney such as Rozelle, Coogee and Enmore. Theyre all unique communities. Our offering at Vic on the Park in Marrickville is very different to Mimis, which is very different to what we do in Manly at Queen Chow. Were not trying to copy anyone in Melbourne, which already has very good operators. Well just do our thing and tailor it to the community and who we think the guests will be. Like his father, Hemmes regularly walks his venues, which means a trip through Tottis after lunch where he spends two minutes fixing a painting so it hangs straight. I tell him that one of the best pieces of career advice my mother gave me was never to ask anyone to do a job you couldnt do yourself. Hemmes nods. Dad used to say the same thing. Loading He will spend the coming weekend in Narooma with his own children, daughters Alexa, 6, and Saachi, 4. I give them 100 per cent of my time whenever Im with them, Hemmes says. Police have accused a Melbourne school teacher of a string of disturbing child sex abuse offences at schools and public places across the city. Elisa Errichiello, 50, from Sunbury, fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday charged with 26 historic offences, including multiple counts of sexual and indecent assault over a four-year period more than two decades ago. Documents released to The Age show police allege Errichiello, who was teaching at Rosehill Secondary College in Niddrie as recently as this year, is charged with sexually assaulting a child under-16 at both Keilor Downs Primary School and Catholic Regional College in North Keilor between 1997 and 2001. The accused is also charged with sexually penetrating a child under-16 inside a school darkroom and at a school playground, alongside St Kilda beach, the Peanut Farm Reserve, a hotel and a house. Court documents show that alleged offending in public places, such as St Kilda beach, the victim was said to be under the accuseds care, supervision or authority. A 47-year-old businessman will likely plead guilty to hundreds of child sexual abuse charges after police allegedly uncovered 3.8 million images and videos, some of which show him drugging and raping 24 children. The man from the southern suburbs, whose name the court has suppressed, allegedly committed the offences between 2015 and 2021 against children aged between three and 13, known through family and friends. Police have alleged the man committed the offences against 24 child victims. He appeared via video link from Hakea Prison in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday to face 424 charges. They included indecently dealing with a child under 13, indecently dealing with a child who was a lineal or defacto relative, recording them, possessing and producing child exploitation material and stupefying to commit an indictable offence. Sidelined Labor leader Anthony Albanese campaigned from the confines of Marrickville home on Friday, down but not out with COVID-19, zooming in for a flurry of TV interviews as his senior frontbenchers hit the ground in must-win marginal seats. After a stumbling start to the federal election campaign, Albanese had just found momentum when the plague caught up with him on Thursday night, forcing him into isolation and knocking him off the hustings for a week. Labors campaign spokesman Jason Clare says the party will rely on key frontbenchers while Anthony Albanese is isolating. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen As the Oppositions campaign war room scrambled to implement its contingency plans, frontbencher Jason Clare took the reins in a deftly-handled press conference that managed to inject calm where there was chaos, venturing so far as to suggest Labor would benefit from the hammer-blow diagnosis through the over-exposure of its rival. Well the boss has got the bug, so youve got me, Clare quipped, as he assured the public that Labor had planned for this for months. Voters and Liberal Party members were kept waiting more than 45 minutes to meet controversial candidate Katherine Deves on Friday night as advisers schemed for her to avoid the media waiting at the Forestville RSL. The event, with Liberal MP for Mackellar Jason Falinski, was billed as a politics in the pub style evening where journalists would ordinarily be welcome, but reporters and photographers were informed Deves would not enter the room under any circumstances if the media was present. Liberal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves enters the Forestville RSL for an event on Friday night. Credit:James Alcock A compromise of sorts was reached: Deves could be photographed outside the RSL, where she would pause momentarily to make a statement and perhaps take one or two questions. That was quickly downgraded to a short statement only. Veteran journalist Brad Norington, an associate editor at The Australian, made his displeasure known to Falinskis adviser. Is this an open democracy? he asked. Is she a candidate or not? This is a joke. Surinder Jain has a dream: to normalise the swastika in Australia. Not the hate symbol that featured on the Nazi flag and is still waved by far-right racists today. Jain is referring to the ancient icon that plays a central role in the religious practice of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Surinder Jain, national vice president of the Hindu Council of Australia, has joined forces with NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark to promote awareness of the sacred swastika. Credit:Kate Geraghty For us, it is a symbol of peace and prosperity, not an evil symbol of destruction, Jain, the vice president of the Hindu Council of Australia, said. But he says many Australian Hindus, including himself, are afraid to display the icon in public because of its superficial similarity to the hakenkreuz the Nazis hooked cross. The Premier did not have to say what he did; he is merely doing what the right always accuses critics of doing; that is, piling on with comments surely harmful to young people who are already struggling. Yes, he is entitled to his opinion, but voicing something hurtful from such a senior position is merely supporting the PMs dog whistling to bigots. Remember, not one sporting body has raised this as an issue. Michael McMullan, Avoca Beach Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: All these men opining about transgender participation in womens sport: maybe they should just butt out and leave it to those specifically affected to comment on and solve. Alicia Dawson, Balmain The Prime Ministers comment that he and Jenny are blessed to have two healthy children has been misunderstood (Children a blessing: autism mum, April 22). He was clearly sidestepping the question by using a favourite tactic: dragging his family into the debate. Morrisons comment was effective in avoiding Catherine Yeomans question about the future of the NDIS, an ominous sign for all parents of children who may need NDIS assistance. Sure, he took a bit of flak for misspeaking but his ploy worked: whatever hes got up his sleeve for the NDIS, we, the voters, are none the wiser. Merona Martin, Meroo Meadow Deep bench steps up Anthony Albaneses COVID diagnosis might be a blessing for Labor (COVID puts Albaneses campaign plans on hold, April 22). In Penny Wong, Tanya Plibersek, Jim Chalmers and others, he has a credible, passionate, articulate and principled team who will have no trouble stepping into his shoes while hes isolating. As a bonus, voters will become familiar with a welcome alternative team to replace Scott Morrisons dodgy ministerial offerings. This time, Morrison might just miss out on being blessed by Albaneses misfortune. Pam Timms, Suffolk Park Now well hear more from Albaneses band of senior shadow ministers. This broader input is how it should be for all parties, as well be voting for a governing team that is in no way adequately represented when primarily spruiked by the leader of a party. Anne Ring, Coogee It will also reinforce the fact that the solidarity in Labor is due in large part to Albaneses skill in bringing together a party that was somewhat fractured during its last stint in government. Mary Lawson, Marrickville Can we now, please, let some Labor women into the limelight? Carla Gillis, Hallidays Point Albanese tests positive to COVID, election campaign goes viral. Jenny Stephenson, Wollongong Free ferry rides just the ticket but demand outstrips supply Free public transport on public holidays and certain off-peak periods is a great idea for stimulating economic activity and giving more opportunities for people to enjoy a good day out (Fare-free scheme sparks rush on off-peak public transport, April 22). However, the combination of ballooning weekend demand and a finite supply of ferries has left some people stranded at intermediate wharves because ferries are too full to pick them up, while other people have had plans for the day disrupted as they spend long periods in queues. If the transport minister wishes to introduce more fare-free periods he needs to float a proposal that better matches supply and demand on the water. Doug Walker, Baulkham Hills Our grandchildren were disappointed that two off-peak ferries failed to stop and pick us up because they were full last week, and we ended up driving instead. However, this was not due to the current free services, it has been happening for years. When will those managing NSW transport realise that demand often exceeds supply during public and school holidays and put on extra ferries? Margaret Grove, Abbotsford Looking at the photo which includes three maskless people on a train, Im not sure if I agree with the Transport Minister that free public transport will assist in recovery from the pandemic. Geoffrey Williamson, Woollahra Aid cuts prove costly The PM and defence minister are thumping their chests, telling Australians how strong and successful they have been in protecting our interests in the Pacific (Bipartisan stance is vital to address Pacific security, April 22). The facts tell a different story. Solomon Islands thumbed their nose at Australia and signed a deal with China. Perhaps, just perhaps, it may have something to do with the Coalition slashing our foreign aid budget at a time when China was baring its claws in the Pacific? Jon Jovanovic, Lenah Valley (TAS) Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: Thanks for calling out the ongoing shame of our falling aid budget as one possible reason the Solomon Islands government is not listening to us (Solomons failure began with Abbott in 2014, April 21). Our aid ranking among the OECDs top 22 economies has dropped from eighth in 2012 to nineteenth. The federal governments weak 2030 emissions reductions targets also sits at odds with the existential threat being faced by many Pacific Island nations. It looks like a case of reap what you sow. Maree Nutt, Newport It is sickening to hear the PM talk about our Pacific family. He and his party have continually cut our foreign aid to the Pacific, so why would they want to be part of a family that shows them so little care, especially when China comes along to attend to their needs and fills the gaps that Australia has created? The Liberals claim to be better on defence and keeping us safe has gone right out the window. Ruth Holmes, Crows Nest Readers were quick to criticise the government for failing to act sooner in the Solomons crisis (Letters, April 22). We werent the only ones who were caught flat-footed. New Zealand also has a considerable interest in the islands, and even the usually infallable Jacinta Arden was caught unawares Ross MacPherson, Seaforth The opprobrium being heaped on Scott Morrison is misdirected. We all know that when the Solomon Islands are overrun and terrorised by the Chinese regime, as they will be, to whom will they turn? The Americans, the British and the Australians, of course. George Fishman, Vaucluse While Morrison was stopping leaky fishing boats the Chinese navy sailed past him. Says it all really. Michael Britt, MacMasters Beach Pay fair A small business in Bathurst had no problems finding a worker to fill its casual position of 25 hours at $27.95 per hour (Eateries want staff flown in cheaply, April 22). Perhaps some businesses want overseas workers, international students and backpackers because they may be willing to work for less. Skilled migration may be one solution, but paying an award rate under regulated and fair working conditions is another. A business that relies on cheating its workers is akin to a sweatshop and probably not viable. Michael Wheatley, Rock Forest Priced out Its insulting to young people to be told their discretionary spending is to blame for housing unaffordability (Letters, April 22). The ratio of the average Sydney house price to the average Sydney salary has grown from 6 to 15 since 1970. Responsible lenders believe borrowers shouldnt exceed a ratio of 2.5. Cutting smashed avocado and streaming isnt the solution. However, cutting negative gearing is. Anne Matheson, Gordon Anzac lesson Anzac Day is a time to reflect. When we look at the reasons for past and present wars, inevitably, they could all have been resolved in a thousand peaceful ways (Anzac Day 2022: Everything you need to know, smh.com.au, April 22). No destruction, no innocent civilians or children killed, no expensive weapons deployed and no need for brave soldiers to die or be traumatised. Killing is the first resort of fools and the last resort of the wise. Wars are based on the simplistic logic of killing; that killing more of the enemy than they kill, will solve a problem. However, that logic is flawed. Killing only creates more hatred, which leads to a never-ending cycle of killing and more killing. All that is necessary to prevent all future wars is for politicians to abandon the logic of killing and to embrace the logic of reason. If only Vladimir Putin had done so. Tom Orren, Wamberal Heights Having four days of legal two-up debases Anzac Day and insults the lives, deaths and memories of the diggers. Instead of Anzac Day being a reunion, sharing stories and memories of fallen comrades, a few drinks and a game of two up, it has now evolved into a four-day gambling event. John Cregan, Mona Vale Million dollar baby Is this what is meant by value added exports (Australia spent a million dollars training me and now Im leaving, April 21)? Well done us. Franz Weiss, Maroubra Ad shock Even though I know its coming when I see the first flash of bold yellow, it is still a shock to my morning system to come face-to-face with an almost life-size picture of a politician of dubious repute (Advertisement, April 22). Is there any chance this ad could be placed in a sealed section with a warning label? Richard Keyes, Enfield Poplar choice Travel southwest to Tumut, where the town celebrates its poplars autumnal display in the appropriately named Festival of the Falling Leaf (Leaves something to be desired, April 22). Lyn Langtry, East Ryde Word nerds unite I can cope with most new uses, incorrect uses and creative uses of words, and even most newly minted mashups (Letters, April 22). But please, lets have fewer instances of less and more sightings of fewer when were discussing numbers, and fewer sightings of fewer and more sightings of less when were discussing volume. The constant misuse of these words is very affecting, or should I say impacting? Prue Nelson, Cremorne Point Postscript The choice is now much simpler: the one who cant recall statistics or the one who is sensitivity bereft, according to Trevor Somerville of Illawong. Letter writers this week moved on from commenting about Anthony Albaneses first-week campaign trail gaffes to criticising Scott Morrisons continued support of his captains pick in the seat of Warringah. Katherine Deves views were deemed to be offensive and divisive by correspondents, some marvelling at her naivety at finding herself to be the latest weapon in the Morrison culture arsenal. In fact, the coming election is crucial not just for France but for the broader democratic world and it would be a disaster for Australia if Macron loses to his opponent, the far-right Marine Le Pen . Yet Morrison would be the first to say that Macrons understandable anger at a decision that hurt him politically is not a sign of hostility to Australia. The French are usually well known for their diplomacy but there was nothing subtle about Macrons response . Asked by the Herald whether he thought Morrison had lied to him, Macron replied in his perfect English: I do not think, I know. Macron has his faults, such as the arrogance evident in his putdown of Morrison, but he has come to play a vital role in the European Union, especially since Brexit and the departure of Angela Merkel as German chancellor. He is the only leader with the authority to overcome the 27-country blocs competing commercial interests and make it focus on the big global picture. Macron has played a key role in the EUs support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and in standing up to Chinas growing power, including by sending French warships to assert freedom of navigation in the disputed waters in the South China Sea. His role in balancing Chinas influence in the Pacific will be crucial in future given the strategic position of French territory New Caledonia on the border of Solomon Islands. Domestically, his centrist ideology has helped heal French society after the horrific Bataclan terror attacks and the influx of migrants in 2015. His free-market reforms have boosted the French economy, with unemployment at a 13-year low. In contrast, Le Pen represents a shift towards isolationist populism that could be just as damaging to western unity as Donald Trump was in the US. She is not as bad as she was when she ran against Macron in 2017; she has at least renounced the anti-semitism which made her father, who she succeeded as leader of the far-right National Front a decade ago, unelectable. But her plan to ban the wearing of the veil in public is not so much a dog whistle as a call to arms for Islamophobic racists. She is dubious about climate change and wants to ban wind turbines. While she now says she will keep the euro common currency, her policies are still a recipe for the gradual break-up of the EU, whose laws she says she will ignore if it is convenient. Some Australians, influenced by Britains Eurosceptic press, might have doubts about the value of the EU with its protectionist Common Agricultural Policy. But in the current unstable geopolitical environment, if the EU falters, it will just make it easier for Russia and China to divide and conquer. No one cares about the soldiers, he said, and the restrictions put on non-governmental organisations means it is now virtually impossible for them to do the tracing work, he said. Putin said repeatedly that conscripts, who serve a year in the military, would not be deployed in Ukraine, a statement contradicted by battlefield casualties. The Union of Committees of Soldiers Mothers of Russia, which dates back to the Chechen wars, confirmed it is receiving requests to search for missing soldiers. The organisation declined to comment further, citing a law against sharing information about soldiers with foreign organisations. The cruiser Moskva in port Sevastopol in Crimea on April 7, 2022. Credit:Maxar/AP Parents of crew members on the Moskva, named after Russias capital, have expressed outrage at what they described as an official runaround. We, the parents, are interested only in the fate of our children: Why did they being conscripted soldiers end up in this military operation? said Dmitry Shkrebets, whose son Yegor, 19, worked as a cook on the Moskva. Loading In an interview, Shkrebets was reluctant to talk further, but on Sunday, he posted far harsher statements on VKontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook. Initially, officers told him that Yegor was among the missing, he said. Guys, went missing on the high seas?!!! he wrote. I asked directly why you, the officers, are alive, and my son, a conscript soldier, died? Shkrebets has since started collecting testimony from other families who cannot locate their sons. The more we write, the harder it will be for them to remain silent about what is happening, he wrote Wednesday. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlins spokesperson, said he was not authorised to release any information about missing sailors, and he referred questions to the Defence Ministry. The ministry did not respond to requests for comment. It released a video on Saturday that purported to show Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, commander of the Russian navy, meeting with men described as the crew of the Moskva lined up in formation and wearing uniforms. It was not clear how many survivors of the attack were there and nothing was stated about any casualties either in the video or in accompanying social media posts. One indication of the official position came on Sunday night, during Vesti Nedeli, the weekly news summary on state television. The three-hour show dedicated about 30 seconds to the sinking, without mentioning casualties. Not all Kremlin mouthpieces have been quite so reticent, however. Vladimir Solovyev, a talk-show host, on Saturday demanded an explanation on how the ship was lost. Savin said the family could not reach any officers from his brothers unit by phone. His mother texted one number and got a response that her son Leonid was missing. Later, the family received a series of calls from a man who seemed to have served with Leonid and who kept changing his story. First, the man said that Leonid had died while dashing to save a friend, Savin said. On the second call, he said that there had been no rescue involved, but that Leonid had been caught at the site of an explosion. The third time, he called to say that he had been mistaken, and that Leonid was missing. It looks like the officers are trying to make everyone shut their mouths, Savin said. Numerous reports of missing conscripts first emerged on social media. One woman wrote that her brother had been at work in the engine room and was listed as missing, but she was certain that he was dead. Loading Anna Syromaysova, the mother of a missing conscript, told the independent Russian news agency Meduza that she had been unable to see any official documents related to casualties. There are no lists, she said. Were looking for them ourselves. They dont tell us anything. Reached by telephone, she declined to speak to a foreign news organisation. Tamara Grudinina told the Russian language service of the BBC that her son, Sergei Grudinin, 21, had been assigned to the ship right after basic training. When she heard that the ship had sunk, Grudinina said, she called a Defence Ministry hotline for relatives and was told that her son was alive and healthy and would get in touch at the first opportunity. Loading Soon after, a man who identified himself as the Moskvas commander got in touch and told her that her son had basically sunk together with the ship, according to the BBC. After the war started on February 24, the Savin family contacted naval officers to inquire about the ship and were told that it was not taking part in military actions and was due back in port soon, Maksim Savin said. Calls from Leonid had stopped, but after speaking with the officers, they got a letter from him saying that he anticipated coming home soon, Savin said. Kabul: A Taliban official says a bombing at a mosque and religious school in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 33 people, including students of a religious school. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Talibans deputy culture and information minister, said the bombing in the town of Imam Saheb, in Kunduz Province on Friday night (AEST), also wounded another 43 people, many of them students. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at a press conference in 2021. Credit:AP No one immediately claimed responsibility, but Afghanistans Islamic State affiliate claimed a series of bombings that happened a day earlier, the worst of which was an attack on a Shiite mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif that killed at least 12 Shiite Muslim worshippers and wounded scores more. Earlier the Kunduz provincial police spokesman put the death toll at the Malawi Bashir Ahmad Mosque and madrassa compound in Imam Saheb at two dead and six injured. Mujahid later posted the higher casualty numbers tweeting we condemn this crime ... and express our deepest condolences to the victims. If Elon Musk is able to take over Twitter, his biggest promise is to transform it into a platform for free speech with few restrictions - something he calls essential to a functioning democracy. But Musk, who is famously sensitive to criticism, has a mixed record on championing the cause. Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk. Credit:AP Photo/Susan Walsh The 50-year-old billionaire has donated over $8 million to the American Civil Liberties Union in the last five years, making him one of its most substantial donors, and hes discussed free speech on numerous occasions with the organisations executive director. But in his tweets, public remarks and policies at the businesses he runs, Musk shows little tolerance for speech thats unflattering to him or his companies, or reflects employee criticism of the workplace. At Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has a long track record of silencing or punishing anyone who goes public with criticism of a project or practice. Workers must sign nondisclosure agreements and arbitration clauses that prevent them from taking their employer to court. Meanwhile, Musk uses his Twitter account, where he has more than 80 million followers and a fan base he can ignite, to publicly mock others, from a local health official during the early days of the pandemic to Parag Agrawal, Twitters current chief executive officer. Kiribati is a case in point the Micronesian country joined Solomon Islands in 2019 in switching recognition from Tapei to Beijing and signing onto Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. Like Solomon Islands, Kiribati had been promised significant financial aid. China had also managed to secure the support of the countrys President, Taneti Maamau, just as it won the backing of Prime Minister Sogavare in the Solomons. News emerged last year that China was supporting the Kiribati government with a feasibility study for an airfield upgrade on remote Kanton atoll, at the strategic mid-point between the East Asian and American coastlines. The local opposition expressed alarm, and the Kiribati government insisted that this project aimed only to boost transport links and tourism. As in Solomon Islands, it is possible that the authorities genuinely believe that Beijing intentions are benign. Vanuatus debt Vanuatu, directly south of Solomon Islands in the Melanesian chain, is one of Beijings most significant debtors in the region. Concessional Chinese loans support transport and other infrastructure there. Vanuatu also has solid links with Australia, which remains the largest provider of grant aid, but there have been tense periods in the relationship over time. Ni-Vanuatu political figures can be very quick to rise if they feel that the nations sovereignty is being disrespected. Vanuatu attracted headlines in 2018 amidst speculation that a Chinese-funded wharf had been developed with the option of converting it to military use. More persistent concerns have been expressed about the local authorities willingness to follow Beijings lead in its approach to local media freedoms. A Vanuatu-based journalist was barred from re-entering the country in 2019 after reporting on the secret deportation of Chinese citizens escorted by the Chinese police. Meanwhile, media executives and journalists are courted assiduously by the Chinese authorities, who put public outlets under significant pressure to carry content. This pattern is reproduced elsewhere in the region. The information war in the Pacific Loading The information war underway in the Pacific is essentially a battle between two value systems, and it deserves serious attention from any incoming Australian government. China has reportedly spent about $9 billion since 2009 strengthening its worldwide media presence. It assumed control of Radio Australias Pacific shortwave frequencies when the ABC service was shut down in 2017. Chinas national television service is steadily expanding its broadcasting services across the region and Australias equivalent, the ABC Australia service, is described by many as a sadly depleted version of what it once was. Papua New Guineas Bougainville problem Papua New Guinea, the largest country in the region, has been heavy going for China. Its business interests have been frustrated as they have tried to build influence among the political elite, and Australia has managed to counter its campaign to control the sensitive telecommunications sector. China is a relatively small donor and lender in PNG. But the ever-widening expectation gap between the national government and the people of Bougainville about their troubled regions future status could lead to tensions that might be manipulated by China. A scenario in which Bougainville lost patience and declared independence could create significant opportunities. Australias rich network of links across the Pacific provide a firm basis to work on, but if there is one lesson from the agreement between Honiara and Beijing, it is to avoid becoming self-satisfied. Aid and influence Until recently, there was almost a sense that Australias position in Solomon Islands was unassailable it had, after all, led the highly successful regional assistance mission to stabilise the country following the conflict of the early 2000s, and was the first to be called on to help when violence returned to the country last year. The scale of Australias grant aid dwarfs that of any other, including Chinas just as it does across the rest of the region. But aid programs do not buy influence that comes only with the patient nurturing of relationships and trust. And to focus on the size of Australias development assistance is to ignore these countries aspirations. Most Pacific governments would rather focus on economic integration and market access in talking about the relationship with Australia areas where they feel they can be on more of an equal footing. Loading Equally, Australia should not convince itself that, with the comparatively significant resources it deploys in the region, it should try to do this on its own. Success will require an even more integrated approach with like-minded allies including Japan, the United States and even France, and it will need to draw on the voices of the several Pacific countries that share Australias concerns. Many regional leaders understand that there are dangers for their fragile nations in Beijings hunger for resources, its growing military engagement across the region, and the scale of its lending patterns. In all this, Australia will also need to work harder to avoid the impression that its focus on the region has been motivated only by an impulse to counter Chinas reach. There have been some mis-steps here. Several regional figures expressed concern after the AUKUS announcement about what they saw as a lack of forewarning and the impact of growing strategic competition. PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will sit in a Central Committee meeting on Friday, April 22, 2022. The Central Committee meeting, which was adjourned on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, will be reconvened on Friday, 10.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. Mr. Dennis Richardson and Ms. Nathalie Tackling will be present. The agenda point is: Presentation by experts regarding the pros and cons of the draft consensus Kingdom Law Caribbean Reform and Development Agency (IS/547/2021-2022 dated February 11, 2022) Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations. All persons visiting the House of Parliament must adhere to the house rules and all health and safety protocols, including the wearing of a mask. The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg. The parliamentary sessions will be carried live on TV 15, SXM Bulletin (Cable TV 120), via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, and the audio via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, and www.pearlfmradio.sx PHILIPSBURG:--- On Thursday 21st April 2022 Member of Parliament Ludmila Duncan submitted a proposal for action to Parliament two days after hosting the first-ever expert panel discussion on the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The MP has deemed the event a success. As Chair of the Committee for Constitutional Affairs and Decolonization, Duncan initiated the idea of hosting a high-level roundtable in 2021. With multi-partisan approval, a subcommittee comprising MP George Pantophlet, MP Raeyhon Peterson, and suspended MP Claudius Buncamper proposed several themes and constitutional experts. The roundtables objectives were to provide the public with historical information on the Kingdom Charter, and for Members of Parliament to receive recommendations on designing an approach to amending the Charter. The Charter remains the foundational constitutional framework and regulation for the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the last changes to the Charter taking place in 2010 when the Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist. The discourse during the panel discussion, I believe, assisted members in putting several concepts into perspective and devising a roadmap towards improved political relations within the Kingdom. The public tuned in and the feedback received on all ends was extremely positive. I would like to thank my fellow Committee members, the Secretary-General of Parliament and Dr. Nilda Arduin, Mr. Reynold Groeneveldt, Professor Gerhard Hoogers, and Mr. Julio Romney, for their, presence, position papers, and recommendations, said the MP. Duncans new proposal to the Committee for Constitutional Affairs and Decolonization following Tuesdays panel discussion includes the execution of a self-assessment in which the Committee evaluates the various actions that have taken place over the last year in order to create multi-partisan priorities moving forward. Its perfectly normal for each faction to have a different stance on how we should move forward during these challenging times. What can we all agree to achieve together? Thats the question I am asking my fellow colleagues; to look at what we have said and done over the last two years and agree on at least a couple of action points. The proposal also recommends the creation of technical subcommittees to work on legislative review and amendments as well as civic engagement and public relations. After the panel discussion, a few MPs have already agreed that there are some necessary amendments to the Charter to work on while other MPs will be diving deeper into the recommendations of Dr. Arduin as it concerns a process to inform and transform the people. The Committee has an obligation to be more transparent and accountable and there is much more work to be done at the local, kingdom, and international levels, noted the MP. Kingdom relations, at this moment, are of national significance, especially during the current deliberations on the Caribbean Reform Entity (COHO). St. Maarten is in a vulnerable position. The Committee for Constitutional Affairs and Decolonization was established during historic times to do historic work. I believe this group of MPs truly want to make a positive impact on the country, across party lines, so I am looking forward to the next year and making some strides. I have requested a meeting of the Committee to discuss the proposal further, concluded Duncan. The position papers of the panelists are available for download on the website of Parliament. Maple Gold Provides Exploration and Corporate Update Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: MGM) (OTCQB: MGMLF) (FSE: M3G)A (\Maple Gold\ or the \Company\ https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/maple-gold-mines-ltd/ ) is pleased to provide an update on winter drilling activities and upcoming exploration plans across the Company\-s district-scale 400 kmA property package in Quebec, Canada. Approximately 10,000 metres (\m\) have been drilled to-date this year and the Company expects to keep at least one rig active throughout 2022 with total drilling currently anticipated to reach up to 30,000 m. \The Company entered the year with ~C$22M in cash and ~C$14M in additional partnership funding (through 2024) to advance our joint venture and 100%-controlled Quebec gold projects,\A stated Matthew Hornor, Maple Gold\-s President and CEO.A \Two drills have been active since Q4/2021, with one at Douay and another at Eagle. Our strategic goals in 2022 are to demonstrate the potential for a larger mineralized system at Douay and define extensions of higher-grade mineralization along the entire past-producing Eagle-Telbel mine trend by drilling more aggressive step-outs and testing greater depths at all three of our projects.\ Eagle Mine Project Maple Gold has an option to earn an undivided 100% interest in the Eagle Mine Project (\Eagle\) (see news from July 27, 2021). The Company completed 3D modelling, targeting and permitting and subsequently commenced a 4,200 m Phase I drill campaign (see news from January 17, 2022). The Phase I campaign (now complete) included eight (8) drillholes designed to test a possible secondary shoot of mineralization adjacent to the main shoot that was historically mined at Eagle starting in the 1970\-s during a significantly lower gold price environment. An additional deeper hole (up to 960 m) is now being drilled and three additional deeper sites (up to 1,350 m) are currently being permitted (see Figure 1). Initial drill core observations are encouraging, with multiple drillholes intersecting semi-massive-pyrite iron-carbonate (see Plate 1) as well as other styles of mineralization known to carry gold. The Company is sending Eagle samples to a new lab to expedite turnaround times. Initial assay results from the Phase I program at Eagle are expected to be released in Q2/2022 and the Company is in the process of permitting sites corresponding to an additional ~4,000 m Phase II program that will include deeper drillholes (up to 1,400 m) to test the main mine trend at depth below the historical mine workings (see Figure 1). Douay Project Approximately 5,500 m has been drilled to-date this year, including the two deepest holes ever drilled at Douay (DO-22-322: 1,036 m at the Nika Zone and DO-22-324: 1,161 m at the Douay West Zone). Drilling in 2022 (current and planned) at Douay includes more aggressive lateral step-out, discovery and deeper drilling that is designed to test multiple favourable horizons with the aim of making new discoveries and achieving significant resource gains. While there is limited drilling to-date in the Taibi Group sediments north of the Casa Berardi North Fault, significant opportunities exist as highlighted by several zones hosted largely or entirely in Taibi Group sediments (NW, Central and Main Zones). The Company has recently completed two (2) holes from the same collar (DO-22-325/326: the latter drilled north-to-south) as part of the JV\-s ongoing pursuit to discover sediment hosted mineralization along the northern flank of the resource area (see Figure 2). The current phase of drilling at Douay includes an additional ~800 m drillhole at the 531 Zone (in progress) that is designed to test the intersection of easterly-plunging mineralization from the Porphyry Zone (east) and the westerly-plunging mineralization from the 531 Zone. Follow-up drilling at the NE IP Discovery Target (sediment-hosted target located about 5 km northeast of the resource area) is also planned, where a large sulfide system with gold showings was encountered during 2020-2021 drilling. The average vertical depth of drilling at Douay is roughly 350 m and significantly deeper drillholes (1,500 2,000 m) are in the planning stages for subsequent phases of drilling in 2022. The Company has also received preliminary results from the recently completed high-resolution airborne magnetic and electromagnetic (\Mag-EM\) survey, which covered the western half of Douay where a series of base metal and gold-rich VMS targets were previously defined. The results and corresponding regional targets generated from the survey at Douay will be released once final interpretations are completed. Joutel Project Initial targets for Phase I drilling in the Telbel mine area at Joutel have been defined and permitting is now underway. Phase I drilling at Telbel is expected to include up to three (3) step-out drillholes designed to test for potential extensions of the main mine trend at depth. Mining at Telbel was primarily focused on the exploitation of a single zone between the 600 1,000 m levels and the Company\-s digitization and 3-D modeling work indicate the potential for gold mineralization to extend well beyond the footprint of the past producing Telbel mine. Drilling at Telbel can be completed year-round with Phase I anticipated to commence in 2022 once permits are received. The regional Mag-EM survey will further support drill targeting across the entire Joutel Project including the main Eagle-Telbel mine trend, interpreted subparallel target trends, as well as the regional Joutel Deformation Zone West (\JDZ West\) trend. Upcoming Corporate Events Maple Gold will be exhibiting/presenting at the following investor events and conferences: Noble Capital Markets\- 18thA Annual Investor Conference April 19-21, 2022 Hard Rock Guitar Hotel, Miami, Florida Vancouver Resource Investment Conference May 17-18, 2022 Vancouver Convention Centre THE Mining Investment Event of the North June 19-21, 2022 Fairmont le ChAteau Frontenac and Voltigeurs de QuAbec Armoury, Quebec City Precious Metals Summit Beaver Creek September 13-16, 2022 Beaver Creek Resort 121 Mining Investment Conference London November 22-23, 2022 ETC. Venues County Hall, Riverside Building, Belvedere Road For more information and to sign up for free conference passes please visit the Company\-s upcoming events page here:A Maple Gold Mines Calendar of Events. Qualified Person The scientific and technical data contained in this press release was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Fred Speidel, M. Sc., P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration of Maple Gold. Mr. Speidel is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Speidel has verified the data related to the exploration information disclosed in this press release through his direct participation in the work. About Maple Gold Maple Gold Mines Ltd. is a Canadian advanced exploration company in a 50/50 joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited to jointly advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in Quebec\-s prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt. The projects benefit from exceptional infrastructure access and boast ~400 km2A of highly prospective ground including an established gold resource at Douay (SLR 2022) that holds significant expansion potential as well as the past-producing Eagle, Telbel and Eagle West mines at Joutel. In addition, the Company holds an exclusive option to acquire 100% of the Eagle Mine Property. The district-scale property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55 km strike length of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the project ripe for new gold and polymetallic discoveries. The Company is well capitalized and is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow resources and make new discoveries to establish an exciting new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi. For more information, please visitA www.maplegoldmines.com. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains \forward-looking information\ and \forward-looking statements\ (collectively referred to as \forward-looking statements\) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation in Canada, including statements about exploration work and results from current and future work programs. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management\-s best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company\-s expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Maple Gold Mines Ltd.\-s filings with Canadian securities regulators available onA www.sedar.comA or the Company\-s website atA www.maplegoldmines.com.A The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visitA https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121125 Kuya Silver Announces Non-Brokered Private Placement Kuya Silver Corporation (CSE: KUYA) (OTCQB: KUYAF) (Frankfurt: 6MR1) (the aCompanya or aKuya Silvera https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/kuya-silver-corp/ )) announces that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement of up to 2,000,000 units (aUnitsa) at a price of $1.00 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000 (the aPrivate Placementa). The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement for general working capital purposes. Each Unit will consist of one (1) common share (each, a aCommon Sharea) in the capital of the Company and one-half of one (1/2) transferrable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a aWarranta). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $1.40 per Common Share until the date which is two (2) years from the date of issuance. The Company may pay certain finders a fee for introducing eligible participants to the Private Placement. All securities issued under the Private Placement, including securities issuable on exercise thereof, are subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the date of issuance. The Private Placement is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration under U.S. federal and state securities laws or an applicable exemption from such U.S. registration requirements. About Kuya Silver Corporation Kuya Silver is a Canadian?based mineral exploration and development company with a focus on acquiring, exploring, and advancing precious metals assets in Peru and Canada. For more information, please contact the Company at: Kuya Silver Corporation Telephone: (604) 398?4493 info@kuyasilver.comA www.kuyasilver.com In Europe: Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch Reader Advisory This news release contains statements that constitute aforward-looking information,a including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words amay,a awould,a acould,a awill,a aintend,a aplan,a aanticipate,a abelieve,a aestimate,a aexpect,a amust,a anext,a apotential,a aprogress,a and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Investors are cautioned that statements including forward-looking information are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Companya?s future business activities may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including but not limited to fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market and business conditions. There can be no assurances that such forward-looking information will prove accurate, and therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. A Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAWS. Tarachi amends option agreement and reduces future cash obligations Tarachi Gold Corp. (CSE: TRG) (OTCQB: TRGGF) (Frankfurt: 4RZ) (aTarachia or the aCompanya https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/tarachi-gold-corp/ ) is pleased to announce that the Company has amended the option agreement terms with Minerals de Tarachi (aMineralesa) resulting in a significant reduction in future cash obligations. The mineral concessions included in the original option agreement with Minerales de Tarachi are included in the Companya?s Tarachi project in Sonora, Mexico. After preliminary exploration work across the Tarachi Project, Tarachia?s exploration team has identified certain mineral concessions optioned from Minerales with low potential for discovery of commercial-scale gold deposits. Management was successful in negotiating with Minerales in recent months to drop those mineral concessions from the option agreement in exchange for a reduction in future cash option payments totalling $1,300,000 USD. A comparison of the original and amended option terms can be found in the table below. The amended terms will allow Tarachi to continue focusing exploration efforts and expenditures on the most favorable concessions including Jabali, San Javier, Juliana and La Texana while reducing both near- and medium-term cash obligations. As a result of the amendment, the Tarachi project, including other concessions optioned from Exploradora Cobre de Bacanoras (see press release dated September 3, 2020), now totals approximately 2,623 hectares. About Tarachi Gold Tarachi Gold is a Canadian-listed junior gold exploration company focused on exploring and developing projects in Mexico. Tarachi acquired the Magistral Mill and tailings project in Durango, Mexico in 2021. Magistral includes a 1,000 tpd mill and access to a tailings deposit with Measured and Indicated resources of 1.26 million tonnes at a grade of 1.93g/t Au. The Company expects to bring the asset into production in early 2023. The Company is also exploring on their highly prospective mineral concessions in the Sierra Madre gold belt of Sonora, Mexico in close proximity to Alamos Golda?s Mulatos mine and Agnico Eaglea?s La India mine. Contact Information: For more information and to sign-up to the mailing list, please contact: Cameron Tymstra, CEO Email: cameron@tarachigold.com In Europe: Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release includes certain aForward?Looking Statementsa within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and aforward?looking informationa under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words aanticipatea, abelievea, aestimatea, aexpecta, ahopea, atargeta, aplana, aforecasta, amaya, awoulda, acoulda, aschedulea and similar words or expressions, identify forward?looking statements or information. These forward?looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the participation of Ausenco and certain insiders in the Financing, future exploration programs, development of mining assets, securing project funding, acquisition of additional resources, future production, future cash flows, and the completion of drill holes; and receipt of assay results. Forward?looking statements and forward?looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, timing of completion of reports and studies, enhanced value and capital markets profile of Tarachi, future growth potential for Tarachi and its business, and future exploration plans are based on managementa?s reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on managementa?s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of silver, gold and other metals; no escalation in the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; Tarachia?s ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms. These statements reflect Tarachia?s respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward?looking statements or forward-looking information and Tarachi has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the Company\-s dependence on one mineral project; precious metals price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company\-s mining activities in Mexico; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company\-s management team and outside contractors; risks regarding mineral resources and reserves; the Company\-s inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company\-s interactions with surrounding communities and artisanal miners; the Company\-s ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified under the caption aRisk Factorsa in Tarachi\-s management discussion and analysis. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward?looking statements or forward-looking information. Although Tarachi has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Tarachi does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward?looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. New York (United Nations) 22 April 2022 (SPS)- Polisario Front Representative at the United Nations and coordinator with MINURSO, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, affirmed in a Press Release today, that the Polisario Front will never accept the fait accompli that the occupying state of Morocco seeks to impose by force in the occupied areas of the Saharawi Republic people, and that it will continue to use all legitimate means to defend the sacred rights of the Sahrawi people and their national aspirations for freedom and independence. The statement issued in reaction to the Security Councils closed meeting last 20 April, on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which listened to a briefing from Mr Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, and Mr Alexander Ivanko, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINURSO. Following is the full text of the Press Release: Frente POLISARIO Representation at the United Nations Press Release [New York, 22 April 2022]: On 20 April, the Security Council held closed consultations on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The Council was briefed by Mr Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, and Mr Alexander Ivanko, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINURSO. The Consultations were held in line with resolution 2602 (2021; OP 10), adopted by the Security Council on 29 October 2021, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to brief the Council on a regular basis, and at any time he deems appropriate during the mandate period, to include within six months of this mandates renewal. The strong positions expressed during the Security Council consultations regarding the need to achieve a peaceful, just, and lasting solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara on the basis of relevant UN resolutions is a clear response to those who seek to maintain the status quo and to promote dubious solutions based on expansionism and violation of basic norms of international law. The concerns voiced by some Member States regarding the deteriorating situation of human rights in the Occupied Western Sahara bear greater testimony to the urgent need for the establishment of an independent and permanent UN mechanism for the protection of human rights in the Territory. The Frente POLISARIO reaffirms that it will never accept the fait accompli that the occupying state of Morocco is seeking to impose by force in the Occupied Territories of the Sahrawi Republic (SADR), and that it will continue to use all legitimate means to defend the sacred rights of the Sahrawi people and their national aspirations for freedom and independence. The Frente POLISARIO reaffirms once again that the only viable and practicable way forward to achieve a peaceful, just, and enduring solution to the decolonisation of Western Sahara is to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise freely and democratically their inalienable and non-negotiable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the precepts of international legality and relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the African Union. The time has come for the United Nations and the international community to match their stated commitment to international law and UN resolutions with concrete actions to bring about the decolonisation of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa. Dr Sidi M. Omar Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations Coordinator with MINURSO." (SPS) 090/500/60 (SPS) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate STAMFORD As the engineering investigation into Stamfords biggest developer pushes forward, efforts from city Representatives to force a stop on the companys construction projects didnt survive the night. Public Safety Committee Chair Jeff Stella, D-9, and board President Jeff Curtis, D-14, at a Board of Representatives meeting Wednesday floated the possibility of suspending all projects spearheaded by dominant Stamford developer Building and Land Technology until engineers complete their investigation into the partial collapse at one of its high rises. The citys attorney said that kind of regulation wasnt possible. In terms of a legal mechanism for this to happen, I'm not aware of one, Law Department head Doug Dalena told the board Wednesday. Part of a fifth-floor outdoor terrace at Allure a 23-story waterfront high-rise that opened in 2019 caved in to the parking garage in February. Engineers hired by the city concluded that missing structural supports within one of the garages concrete slabs caused the concrete to fall. The city has yet to complete its investigation into Allure and, after extending its reach, other Harbor Point properties. Despite the ongoing investigations from independent engineers, Stella in particular pushed to have something more done. It makes me a little fearful that the same people ... might be building something now and still putting Stamford at risk, he said. Rep. Bobby Pavia, D-17, a teacher with Stamford Public Schools, agreed, drawing a parallel to his own profession. If I'm under investigation, I'm not allowed to teach no matter what I'm being accused of until the investigation is cleared, he said. BLT is actively building two developments in the South End Opus and the yet-unnamed Parcel 6. Between the two structures, the developer has 360 units pending. And the companys footprint in the neighborhood is poised to grow still more. After winning a years-long battle through Connecticuts court system, the developer will build 714 apartments across two buildings on the former B&S Carting site. Yet, despite any concerns city Representatives may have moving forward, their options are slim, according to Stamfords chief lawyer. The board cannot outright ban a business from legally operating and putting in place a moratorium for a single developer could trigger emergency legal action by that developer to challenge the citys actions, Dalena said. City representatives have flirted before with a building moratorium. Former Rep. Carl Franzetti, a District 14 Republican, in 2017 proposed a citywide moratorium on building permits for multifamily development. The Law Department's special counsel James Minor shot down the ordinance. Minor argued that the ordinance sought to govern zoning regulations, something that only the Zoning Board can do. However, the zoning board has "the power to impose a moratorium that is limited in scope and time," according to Minor. Even a temporary stop order for one or two months like Stella suggested, comes with legal limitations, according to Dalena. If the developer challenged a potential action from the Board of Representatives in court, the board would have to prove that stopping BLT construction was the best option. Dalena said that courts would likely ask two questions: Was such a broad and sweeping measure justified based on what you know and the concerns you had? and What other options did you have available to address that concern? Given the citys ongoing investigation into the infrastructure at Allure and other structures built by BLT, Dalena argued that other actions underway are sufficiently thorough. Going to court is something the city should avoid, Rep. Mary Fedeli, R-17, argued. I think we should wait for the full investigation to be had, she said. If the city sees the need to stop BLTs construction projects after the findings are released, then action would be more appropriate. I just don't want to jump the gun and make the city liable in any way to get sued on the other side of it, she said. Despite the skepticism from some board members, BLT spokesperson Rob Blanchard said in a statement that the company continues to work closely with the city on both their inspection of Allure and any further inspections they require. Both the third-party engineers hired by the city and by BLT have agreed on the cause of the issue at Allure, believe it is isolated, and have found no other issues in the building, he wrote. Attorney Dalena indicated that the city plans to go the extra mile and inspect some of our other buildings and we are working closely with the city to facilitate this. veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Gov. Andy Beshear revealed plans Thursday for a review of medical marijuana, signaling he's considering whether to take matters into his own hands to legalize medical cannabis in Kentucky. The Democratic governor said he'll seek grassroots input as his legal team explores his potential options to make medical marijuana legally accessible. He made a direct appeal for Kentuckians to offer their views, It came a week after the latest bill to legalize medical cannabis died in the state Senate after the House passed it. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers. I want to be clear, I am for medical cannabis, Beshear said at his weekly news conference. I want it done in the right way. And were going to be looking at our legal options very closely. And at the same time, we want to hear from you. During much of the pandemic, the governor aggressively wielded his executive powers to order restrictions to try to curb the virus' spread. Those actions eventually triggered strong pushback from Republican lawmakers, who reined in the governor's emergency powers. A top lawmaker and the attorney general warned Thursday that the governor risked overstepping his authority by taking executive action to unilaterally make medical marijuana legal. The General Assembly is the policy-making body of this state, and weve seen the problems that result when the governor tries to circumvent the legislature and make unilateral policy decisions," Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a statement Thursday. Republican Senate President Robert Stivers said Kentuckians should be concerned that the governor thinks he can change statute by executive order. He simply cant legalize medical marijuana by executive order; you cant supersede a statue by executive order because its a constitutional separation of powers violation, Stivers said. Beshear faulted lawmakers for failing to get the job done, saying he'd prefer that the legislature pass a measure legalizing medical marijuana. He said such legislation has strong statewide support, and that Kentucky has fallen behind the majority of states that made medical cannabis available as an alternative to opioid medications. I believe its my obligation to see whats possible, given the will of the people and their desire to move forward on this, the governor said. Beshear said he has instructed the legal team in his office to analyze potential options for executive action that could create a framework to make medical cannabis available for people suffering from certain medical ailments. In other states, he said, people battling Alzheimers, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy and seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder can consult their health care providers to gain access to medical cannabis to help treat their symptoms. Beshear said he was establishing a medical cannabis advisory team, which will travel across the state to gather public input. Kentuckians also will be able to express their views directly to the governor's office by sending an email to GovMedicalCannabisAdvisoryTeam@ky.gov. The governor said the review will span the next couple of months. Its got to be done right," he said. "And I believe that we have an opportunity to set up the right regulatory framework where we dont see abuse. And this gives us a chance over the next couple months to be thoughtful. But we will be looking at action and a culmination into some form of action depending on our legal options. Cameron said later that it would be premature to comment on the validity of any potential executive action on medical marijuana until the governor disclosed the specifics of his intended action. Before the GOP-led legislature ended its 60-day session last week, lawmakers gave final passage to a bill to create a cannabis research center to study the use of cannabis to treat certain medical conditions. It was offered as an alternative to the stalled bill legalizing medical marijuana. The legalization bill would have strictly regulated the use of cannabis for a list of eligible medical conditions including cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy and chronic nausea. BANGOR, Maine (AP) A Maine man charged with lying to receive $60,000 from the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program has been arrested again after he allegedly violated the terms of his bail by applying for rental assistance. Nathan Reardon, 44, was arrested on Wednesday on a motion to revoke his bail. AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) An Augusta man who was shot while assaulting a Federal Protective Service guard is facing federal charges, officials said Thursday. Derik Broox Wight, 41, held a knife to the throat of a security officer contracted by the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service before being shot Wednesday by another officer at the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declined to provide any new information Friday explaining his decision to call off the state's first scheduled execution since the start of the pandemic, but said more details will likely be provided next week. The night before, the Republican governor had issued a statement saying there had been an oversight in preparation for lethal injection as he granted a temporary reprieve to 72-year-old inmate Oscar Smith. An attorney for Smith, Amy Harwell, later told reporters that her office had been told there had been a mishandling of the drugs. I granted a temporary reprieve because of a technical oversight," Lee told reporters on Friday. "I have high expectations for our departments, and the death penalty is a serious matter that requires attention to detail. We are digging into this, and I expect we will have more to report next week. Smith was convicted of the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her two teenage sons. Shortly before the governor intervened, the U.S. Supreme Court had denied a last-hour bid by Smiths attorneys for a stay. The inmate had been scheduled to receive a three-drug injection at a Nashville maximum security prison and was preparing for his final moments with his spiritual advisor when he received the news, according to Harwell. He had already had what was to be his last meal and was finishing communion before he was to be escorted to the death chamber. When the wardens walked in, the spiritual adviser very graciously said, I have consecrated more communion, would you guys like to join us? And the warden said, No, I need to give Oscar some news. Theres not going to be an execution tonight,' Harwell told The Associated Press. Smith slumped with relief, Harwell recalled, and both he and the Rev. Matthew Lewis praised God. Our prayers have been answered, Harwell remembered the two saying. Lewis said Smith was stunned by the news and had been fully preparing to die in the next hour. Smith's reprieve is in effect until the beginning of June, but in the interim, attorneys and death penalty watchdog groups are already calling for an independent investigation into the matter. I think that it is imperative that there be an independent evaluation of what happened, said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. And the reason I say that is because our experience across the country has been that departments of corrections hide the truth. Dunham said what happened in Tennessee adds a new chapter to a long history of states struggling to follow their own rules and procedures when carrying out executions. He noted that these processes are often shrouded in secrecy and paranoia that only increase the risk of mishaps. In 2021, Texas officials determined that new personnel and procedures along with insufficient oversight led to reporters not witnessing the state's first execution in nearly a year. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice later said the incident was preventable and inexcusable. In Oklahoma, the state's use of a new drug combination in 2014 led to a botched execution where the inmate writhed and clenched his teeth on the gurney before eventually dying from a heart attack. Nearly two years later, a grand jury found that the top lawyer for then Gov. Mary Fallin urged prison officials to go forward with a planned execution of Richard Glossip despite receiving the wrong drug. The report found the deputy attorney general told prison staff to Google it to confirm if the wrong drug could be used. Then last year, an Oklahoma man convulsed and vomited during his lethal injection in an execution witnessed by an Associated Press reporter. Correction officials later said the execution was carried out without complication. And in 2015, Georgia prison officials were forced to halt an execution at the last minute when the lethal injection drug turned cloudy, a circumstance state officials struggled to explain, according to court documents. States can manufacture reasons for being incompetent, but there is no excuse for being incompetent, Dunham said. Tennessee uses a three-drug series to put inmates to death: midazolam, a sedative to render the inmate unconscious; vecuronium bromide, to paralyze the inmate; and potassium chloride, to stop the heart. Officials have said midazolam renders an inmate unconscious and unable to feel pain. Expert witnesses for inmates, however, say the drugs would cause sensations of drowning, suffocation and chemical burning while leaving inmates unable to move or call out. The assessment has led to more inmates choosing the electric chair over lethal injection, which is an option for some in Tennessee. Lethal injection drugs have been a challenge to obtain for some states as many pharmacies and manufacturers refuse to supply the medications for executions. Most recently in South Carolina, officials decided to forge ahead with plans for a firing squad after it struggled to find the necessary drugs. That execution has since been delayed as well. ___ Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise contributed to this report. Frank Polidora presented guests at breakfast with a timeline and a request to help refine a history that he is compiling about Butler Twp. where he is a supervisor. What we would like to see is something almost like Wikipedia, where you give an article. No ones going to censor it, but people could argue. The whole idea, well be able to get closer and closer to the truth, Polidora said Thursday when sharing the microphone with fellow Supervisor Michael Reich during a Red Carpet Breakfast of the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce in the Butler Twp. municipal building. Of the Butler Twp. history timeline, Polidora said, A lot of its accurate, and some of it isnt. Consider how Butler Twp. got its name. The townships website says the name comes from Zebulon Butler, commander of Connecticut forces that repulsed an attack by Pennsylvania troops in the Wyoming Valley in 1775 during the second of two Pennamite wars between the colonies. Then again, a British commander whom Polidora said played a minor role in the Wyoming Massacre of colonists by Iroquois allied with the Redcoats at Forty Fort in 1778, was named John Butler. When this occurred, people were outraged. The colonists are outraged. So this almost became like a Remember the Maine, and we became a cry for patriotism and martyrdom for your country. So I think thats where it came down to, Polidora said. Polidora said the townships population has doubled to nearly 10,000 residents since he settled there some 40 years ago, which led him to share a quote from poet Robert Browning that speaks to his view of growth: Progress, mans distinctive mark alone, Not Gods, and not the beasts: God is, they are, Man partly is and wholly hopes to be. Polidora said in his opinion too much urbanization, and crime that comes with it, makes people into beasts. If we can continue to develop things in, lets say, a rational, ordered fashion and maintain the beauty of this wonderful township, thats why people move here, Polidora said. Reich said growth offers a way that all the supervisors agreed could benefit the township. By hiring a building inspector instead of using a third-party inspector, the township will keep more fees from building permits. The supervisors dont always agree, said Reich, who took office this year after what he called a contentious election. Theres been some sharp disagreements. But thats the way democracy is supposed to work. Youre supposed to have that dialogue, he said. Reich said he respects Polidoras intelligence and ability of Supervisors Chairman Charles Altmiller, who said the Pledge of Allegiance at breakfast, to keep calm. But that doesnt mean that necessarily Ill vote for them the next time they come up for election, said Reich, drawing laughs. They didnt vote for me. Reich kept his talk lighthearted when he brought up a writing of one of the nations founders, Alexander Hamilton. You remember him, right? Reich said to Polidora. In Federalist Paper No. 70, Hamilton wrote that the energy of an executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. The energy you bring to the job, I think, could make a difference, Reich said. So thats what I intend to do over the next 5 years. ST. LOUIS Anheuser-Busch InBev wants out of its joint venture doing business in Russia. The worlds largest brewer said late Thursday it is in active talks to sell its stake to its partner in the venture, Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes. A-B, which has its North American headquarters in St. Louis, said it is also writing off $1.1 billion in assets related to the venture. The move follows decisions by fellow brewers Heineken and Carlsberg to begin exiting the Russian market last month. A-B previously said it would forfeit all financial benefit from the venture and ask the controlling stakeholder to suspend the production and sale of Budweiser in Russia. That request will also be part of any potential sale, the company said. A-B has a 24% stake in Anadolu Efes, part of its 2016 purchase of its next largest rival SABMiller. They formed the AB InBev Efes joint venture in 2018, combining their respective Russian and Ukrainian businesses. The joint venture has 11 breweries in Russia, employing 3,500 people, and three breweries in Ukraine, employing 1,800. Carlsberg is the leading Western player in Russia, followed by AB InBev. The Danish brewer said on Thursday its decision to sell its business in Russia would result in a write-down of about $1.39 billion. Dutch rival Heineken has said its Russia exit would amount to related charges of about 400 million euros ($434 million). AB InBev also said it had introduced Chernigivske, Ukraines most popular beer brand, to many countries, including Britain, Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. All profits from the sale of Chernigivske will go to support humanitarian relief efforts and AB InBev is guaranteeing at least $5 million of support from this humanitarian initiative, it said. The Reuters news service contributed to this report. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A smart thermostat can turn up the heat in your home before you roll out of bed. A smart speaker can play your favorite podcasts with a voice command. A smart lightbulb can be turned on or off from across the room. But smart-home devices arent just about convenience. Because some of them can help keep your home safe and secure, they could also earn you a discount on your homeowners insurance. Discounts NerdWallet reached out to a dozen insurance companies and found that most of them offer discounts to homeowners with smart-home devices designed to prevent water damage, fire or theft. In our research, we found companies advertising homeowners insurance discounts up to 13%, depending on the device and where you live. Among the companies we surveyed, the smart devices most commonly eligible for discounts were water leak sensors, security cameras and smoke detectors. However, insurers like Farmers and Lemonade also offer savings for smart locks, while Amica and Farmers give discounts for motion sensors. If you already own a smart-home device, ask your carrier whether youre eligible for a discount. Some insurers have partnered with smart-home technology companies to make the devices more affordable or even provide them for free. For example, State Farm policyholders in most states can sign up for three years of free Ting service. Ting provides a plug-in that monitors your home for electrical problems that could cause fires. Hippo, a homeowners insurance startup, gives policyholders in eligible states free smart-home monitoring kits from partners such as Kangaroo and SimpliSafe. As long as the policyholder installs the devices and keeps them active, they can save up to 13% on their homeowners insurance. Amica policyholders can save when buying select smart-home devices from Moen, Guardian or Kangaroo, while Nationwide offers nearly 50% off the purchase of Notion smart sensors. These savings are in addition to the homeowners insurance discounts the companies will give you once you install the devices. Why? Insurance companies offer discounts for smart-home devices because the technology can help catch problems early, potentially preventing expensive claims. Say you have a smart water sensor next to your water heater, and the appliance springs a leak. The device could sound an audible alarm and send an alert to your phone, enabling you to take immediate action. (Some devices even have an automatic water shut-off feature.) Without the sensor, you could end up filing a claim, paying a big deductible and having contractors in your basement cleaning up damage, says Brett Sobol, senior growth initiatives lead at Hippo. But with the sensor, the damage might be so limited that you wouldnt need to make a claim at all. The best experience is one where theres no claim, says Sobol. Buying The cost of smart-home technology can add up quickly. If you want to invest in a protective device but arent sure which ones are worth the money, consider your homes unique risks, says Karen Collins, assistant vice president of personal lines at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. For instance, if your home has older plumbing, water sensors might be worth buying, Collins says. But if you live in a neighborhood with high crime rates, your money might be better spent on a home security system. For many homeowners, water sensors are a good bet, according to Sobol. Water damage is by far the most common claim that smart-home devices can help prevent, Sobol says. Putting sensors in bathrooms, in basements and under appliances can (keep) small claims from turning into big ones. Ask your insurer whether the devices youre considering would qualify you for a homeowners insurance discount. Depending on the amount of the discount and the cost of the devices, they might pay for themselves within a few years. Keep in mind that the benefits of smart-home technology could go beyond insurance savings. Investing in smart-home technology can offer customers peace of mind, Sobol says, knowing that their home is better protected. FRIDAY A Violin & Life Celebration When 7:30 p.m. April 22 Where Skip Viragh Center for the Arts, 425 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Creve Coeur How much $15-$30 More info 314-421-3600; stlphilharmonic.org Violinist Helen Kim joins the St. Louis Philharmonic for the fourth concert of its season, A Violin & Life Celebration. Kim made her debut onstage at age 8 and has performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Reno Chamber Orchestra and Aspen Festival Orchestra. The program includes Vaughan Williams The Wasps Overture, Beethovens Violin Concerto in D Major, Rimsky-Korsakovs Capriccio Espagnol and the St. Louis premiere of Lunga Pandemia (Long Pandemic) by the Philharmonics music director Darwin Aquino, who will conduct. By Daniel Durchholz Peace in the Prairie When 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. April 22 Where Worlds Fair Pavilion, 1904 Concourse Drive, Forest Park How much Free More info eventbrite.com The St. Louis Story Stitchers Artists Collective presents Peace in the Prairie, an event that explores the juxtaposition of urban life experienced by members of the Black community living in St. Louis and in Missouris endangered prairies. Vendors and groups such as the Audubon Center at Riverlands, the Missouri Prairie Foundation, Moms Demand Action and Womens Voices Raised for Social Justice will offer outreach and education. Performances and demonstrations will be held throughout the day. The St. Louis Story Stitchers will shoot a music video for Whos Ready? (4-6 p.m.). By Valerie Schremp Hahn Renee Elise Goldsberry When 8 p.m. April 22 Where Sheldon Concert Hall & Art Galleries, 3648 Washington Boulevard How much $40-$60 More info metrotix.com While Hamilton continues through May 15 at the Fox Theatre, Renee Elise Goldsberry, one of the smash musicals original stars, is just around the corner with her own show. She visits the Sheldon to perform Broadway tunes and soulful renditions of timeless classics. Goldsberry is a Tony, Grammy and Drama Desk Award winner who has appeared in The Lion King, Rent and Peacocks Girls5Eva. By Kevin C. Johnson Samantha Fish, Django Knight When 8 p.m. April 22 Where The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard How much $25-$35 More info ticketmaster.com Samantha Fish is back with her seventh album, Faster. Its the follow-up to Kill or Be Kind. The whole record has a theme of taking charge and taking the reins, in a relationship or in life in general, she said in a statement. I really thought that after 2020 Id end up with a really dismal, bleak album, but instead we came up with something thats sexy and fun and so empowering. By Kevin C. Johnson Chelsea Handler When 8 p.m. April 22 Where Stifel Theatre, 1400 Market Street How much $46.50-$166.50 More info ticketmaster.com The title of Chelsea Handlers latest tour says it all: Vaccinated and Horny quite an unrelated pair of things but very much in the comedians style. Expect a wild night of frank material that only Handler can deliver. By Kevin C. Johnson Lil Tecca, BabySantana, Yvngxchris When 8 p.m. April 22 Where Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Boulevard How much $32-$40 More info ticketmaster.com Rising rapper Lil Tecca makes his St. Louis headlining debut when his Tecca Loves You Tour visits Delmar Hall. The New York rappers most recent album, We Love You Tecca 2, features Gunna, Trippie Redd, Chief Keef and Lil Yachty. By Kevin C. Johnson Keyon Harrold When 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. April 22-23 Where Ferring Jazz Bistro, 3536 Washington Boulevard How much $36-$41 More info jazzstl.org Jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold, the creative adviser for Jazz St. Louis, performs his second series of shows at Ferring Jazz Bistro this weekend. He will perform with his band: drummer Chally Mikes, keyboardist Shedrick Mitchell, keyboardist Jahari Stampley, guitarist Randy Runyon and Boom Bishop on bass. Harrold, a Ferguson native who lives in New York City, was recently seen playing at Maxwells concert at Chaifetz Arena and has performed with everyone from Jay-Z to Erykah Badu to Common. He was also seen performing with Nas this month at the Grammys. By Kevin C. Johnson Prokofievs Fifth Symphony When 10:30 a.m. April 22, 8 p.m. April 23 Where Powell Hall, 718 North Grand Boulevard How much $15-$117 More info 314-534-1700; slso.org Prokofievs Symphony No. 5 is the primary focus of this concert by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, but not to be overlooked is Alberto Ginasteras Harp Concerto featuring principal harpist Allegra Lilly as soloist. Also on the program is Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadehs Nagillar (Fairy Tales). And get ready to say this three times fast: Kirill Karabits conducts. By Daniel Durchholz SATURDAY Parenthood When Reception 5-7 p.m. April 23; on view through May 19 Where Art St. Louis Gallery, 1223 Pine Street How much Free More info 314-241-4810; artstlouis.org Artists from across the area contribute more than 50 works of art dealing with Parenthood for the latest exhibition organized by Art St. Louis. Jurors David Dolak and Erica Popp chose work that include drawing, mixed media, painting, printmaking, sculpture and more. Artists live within a 200-mile radius of St. Louis. By Jane Henderson Young Artist Showcase When 3 p.m. April 23 Where Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church, 11645 Benham Road How much Free More info 314-652-2224; bachsociety.org The first event of the Bach Societys 2022 Bach Festival is the organizations Young Artist Showcase. Recipients of the 2021-22 Young Artist Awards present a free community concert highlighting their talents. A wide selection of music from operatic and oratorio repertoire will be performed. By Daniel Durchholz Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Justin Champagne When 7 p.m. April 23 Where Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, St. Charles How much $61-$226 More info ticketmaster.com Family Arena in St. Charles isnt well known for booking hip-hop acts, but this weekends must-see show is none other than Snoop Dogg. The legendary rapper is the definition of omnipresent, currently seen on American Song Contest with Kelly Clarkson. By Kevin C. Johnson Masterpieces When Screening at 1 p.m. April 23 Where Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Boulevard, Forest Park How much $15 More info flwrevivalinitiative.org/events Frank Lloyd Wright was the most important American architect, and a new documentary by Michael Miner explores why. Masterpieces takes a look inside literally inside; it shows the interiors a number of Wrights most notable creations, including Fallingwater, Cedar Rock and the Johnson Wax Headquarters. The filmmaker will answer questions after the screening. For the full experience of being inside a Wright building, you can then attend a reception in and a tour of the Wright-designed Theodore A. Pappas House and talk to historian Esley Hamilton and members of the Pappas family who lived there (5 p.m. April 23; 865 Masonridge Road; $150). By Daniel Neman St. Louis Earth Day Festival When 11 a.m.-5 p.m. April 23-24 Where Festival & Parking Plaza and Muny grounds, Forest Park How much Free More info earthday-365.org/festival The St. Louis Earth Day Festival returns to a traditional, live event, and visitors can buy from and learn about environmentally friendly businesses, take in performances by aerialists, dancers and jugglers, and enjoy food from restaurants and food trucks that are all Green Dining Alliance members. If you drive to the event, a free shuttle is provided from St. Louis Community College-Forest Park. By Valerie Schremp Hahn Brad Paisley, Kevin Nealon When 8 p.m. April 23 Where Chaifetz Arena, 1 South Compton Avenue How much $49-$109 More info ticketmaster.com Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre reopened for concerts in July 2021 with country star Brad Paisley, who also had played a 2020 show in the parking lot. Paisley is back for his third appearance in three years, this time switching venues for a show at Chaifetz Arena with his buddy comedian Kevin Nealon. Proceeds from the concert benefit Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital. By Kevin C. Johnson SUNDAY SoundLab Live When 3 p.m. April 24 Where Powell Hall, 718 North Grand Boulevard How much $9-$19 More info 314-534-1700; slso.org An educational program hosted by Alicia Reve and conducted by St. Louis Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor Stephanie Childress, this SoundLab program features music by Mozart, Brahms and Beethoven, with lessons about sound waves and how our favorite tunes keep us connected. Activities beginning an hour before the concert include a musical scavenger hunt. By Daniel Durchholz Soprano Angel Blue, pianist Douglas Sumi When 7 p.m. April 24 Where 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Avenue, University City How much $15-$40 More info 314-935-6543; 560.wustl.edu Last year, soprano Angel Blue performed the role of Destiny/Loneliness/Greta in the Metropolitan Operas production of Terrence Blanchards Fire Shut Up in My Bones, which notably was the Mets first production by a Black composer. Of course, Fire is the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera commissioned by Opera Theatre of St. Louis that premiered here in 2019. Through that and other performances, Blue is emerging as one of the most important sopranos on the world stage. Pianist Douglas Sumi joins Blue on the program, which includes works by Rachmaninov, Debussy, Schumann, Strauss and Gershwin. By Daniel Durchholz MONDAY Its Still All About You When 7:30 p.m. April 25-26 Where Sheldon Concert Hall & Art Galleries, 3648 Washington Boulevard How much $39 More info 314-534-1111; thesheldon.org Earlier this month, Chamber Music Society performed Its Still All About You, Part 1, the program for which was voted on by patrons, friends of the group and radio station Classic 107.3. Now comes Part 2; selections include Dvoraks Piano Trio No. 4 and Brahms Clarinet Quintet. The April 25 concert will be recorded for virtual presentation May 3. By Daniel Durchholz WEDNESDAY Lettuce When 8 p.m. April 27 Where The Big Top, 3401 Washington Boulevard How much $25-$50 More info metrotix.com The Lot at the Big Top series continues with the band Lettuce, performing in advance of its upcoming album, Unify, featuring the single Gravy Train. The bands Adam Deitch says dealing with the pandemic, being in separate places, trying to survive without our best friends, without touring, not to mention the political divide in this country, we really needed to unify. By Kevin C. Johnson Mark Sparks, Peter Henderson When 8 p.m. April 27 Where Sheldon Concert Hall & Art Galleries, 3648 Washington Boulevard How much $10-$30 More info metrotix.com; 314-534-1111 Mark Sparks, recently retired as principal flautist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, will perform Bohuslav Martinus first Sonata for Flute and Piano and Robert Schumanns Sonata in A Minor (transcribed for flute and piano by Sparks). Also on the program are Richard Strauss Romanze, Robert Schumanns Funf Stucke im Volkston and Franz Dopplers Rondo for Two Flutes and Piano. A new work by Mizzous Robyne Sieh will be performed by pianist Peter Henderson and Isabella Saldana. Saldana, of OFallon, Ill., is a student of Sparks and a member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. The Sheldon Classics program was originally scheduled for Feb. 2 but was postponed due to inclement weather. By Daniel Durchholz THURSDAY St. Louis Literary Award When 7 p.m. April 28 Where Sheldon Concert Hall & Art Galleries, 3648 Washington Boulevard How much Free; proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative test required More info slu.edu/library/library-associates Theres still time to register to see Arundhati Roy receive this years St. Louis Literary Award. The free event celebrates the Indian author of The God of Small Things, which won the Booker Prize 25 years ago. Roys first novel was followed by extensive writing on political and environmental issues until Roy published The Ministry of Utmost Happiness in 2017. Shes an exceptional writer whose work has made a profound impact culturally, socially, and politically, said Edward Ibur, award director. Established in 1967, the literary honor has gone to writers including Tennessee Williams, Joan Didion and Chinua Achebe. Last given to Zadie Smith in the fall, the award ceremony is expected to continue now as a spring event. By Jane Henderson MADISON COUNTY One person was found dead inside a home engulfed by fire early Friday in the Metro East. The fire was reported about 1 a.m. Friday in the 1200 block of Franko Lane, near Old Alton Road. Fire officials in Madison County confirmed that one person was found dead after the fire was under control. The person's name has not been released. The Illinois state fire marshal is investigating. The cause of the fire hasn't been determined. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS A St. Louis jury could not return verdicts Thursday evening for a Florissant man who shot and killed a former neighbor in 2015 and was charged separately with killing his wife the next year. Jurors deliberated for more than eight hours over two days before returning without verdicts on first-degree armed criminal action for Peter Chafin. Circuit Judge Theresa Burke declared a mistrial. In September 2015, Chafin, 47, shot Dominic Smith, 36, four times with a shotgun in a backyard in the 4200 block of Delor Street in the citys Bevo Mill neighborhood. In closing arguments Wednesday, Assistant Circuit Attorney Chris Desilets called the killing vigilantism, saying while Smith was a convicted felon who associated with undesirables and was a problematic neighbor, it didnt justify hunting someone down and executing him. Chafin testified that he discussed killing Smith with his wife, got the gun and ran after Smith before shooting him once. That shot knocked both men to the ground. Chafin told jurors that he fired three more times as Smith held up his hand and said, Please. I didnt want to do it, Chafin said, adding that he believed both he and his family were in danger. He also said he knew if he left the house, he would be putting himself in danger. I cant run out there and not kill him, Chafin said. Chafin said he thought Smith would return the night after trying to hit him with a piece of concrete, fueled by drugs. His heroin was his Popeye spinach, Chafin said. But he acknowledged that he never called 911 or sought an order of protection against Smith. Chafin later put Smiths body in a bag used to hold a double bass musical instrument that Chafins wife had played, drove Smiths body to the Mississippi River and dumped it. He also tried to retrieve the shotgun shells. He partly disassembled the shotgun and encased it in concrete before leaving it in an alley. Defense lawyer Travis Martin said Smith, a white supremacist who associated with racist gang members, had threatened to rape and kill Chafin and his wife, who was Black, as well as their son. Martin said Smith had returned to Chafins neighborhood before the killing in search of the gun hed hidden, suggesting he was planning to use it on the Chafin family. Two weeks after the killing, police found Smiths decomposing body snagged on a barge. Police released photos of his tattoos to help identify him, and investigators linked the blood found in the backyard to Smith. But the case went cold until Chafin called police on Dec. 15, 2016, and said he had strangled his wife, Kiera Chafin, 22, in their home on Apache Court in Florissant. Chafin also took police to the concrete block holding the shotgun that he had used to kill Smith. Charges in that case are pending. In 2018, Chafin was found mentally unfit to stand trial but was treated and founded competent to proceed in January of 2019. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Robert Patrick Robert Patrick is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Robert Patrick 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 JEFFERSON CITY Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden on Thursday suggested Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is running for U.S. Senate, went a little out of his way for political purposes in his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Would I say that schools handled everything just right? Absolutely not, the Republican from Columbia told reporters Thursday. Would I say that probably the attorney general went a little out of his way for political purposes? Yeah, probably. Rowdens comments followed a Springfield Republicans move Wednesday night in the Senate Appropriations Committee to cut $500,000 the House had added to Schmitts office budget. The money was for five additional attorneys in the solicitor general unit. The pushback is evidence of the uproar caused after Schmitt sued more than 40 school districts over mask rules in January but budget negotiations are far from over, with lawmakers required to finish work on it by May 7. Rowden was careful to couch his comments, saying Schmitt had every right to sue public entities. Clearly, there were a lot of unprecedented things that happened in and around COVID and in response to COVID, Rowden said when asked if he thought Schmitts lawsuit against Columbia Public Schools, which Rowden represents, was a good use of resources. He said theres probably blame to go around on both sides. Rowden said he couldnt predict whether any move to reinstate the increase would prove successful. Well see what the will of the body is, he said. Senate Budget Committee Vice Chairman Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, said Thursday he didnt know why the attorney generals office needed the money and said he had received numerous complaints about lawsuits targeting local governments. Ive just had a lot of complaints from folks back home saying, I dont know why our attorney general is meddling in everyone elses policies, Hough said Thursday. I havent talked to the attorney generals office, so I dont know what their justification is for adding a half-million dollars to their budget, he said. Generally were conservative Republicans, and we like smaller government. Chris Nuelle, spokesman for the attorney generals office, didnt say whether the attorney generals office asked House lawmakers for the increase. The House added that money into their budget, he said in a text message. We will continue to fight government overreach at all levels with whatever resources the Legislature gives us. House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday that Schmitts office had originally asked the House for the boost last year in anticipation that they would have many issues with the federal government under the Biden administration. That is the same this year, Smith said. They did approach us. Smith said, I do think that we feel like its important that the attorney general in the state of Missouri has the resources needed to protect the rights of Missouri citizens against federal government overreach. Smith said Gov. Mike Parson vetoed the similar funding Schmitts office asked for last year. In his veto letter, Parson said $505,000 for additional lawyers wasnt part of his original budget blueprint and that Schmitt had sufficient core funding. Schmitts office in March announced an end to dozens of lawsuits he had filed against school districts with mandatory masking policies. He also dismissed his lawsuit against the city of St. Louis, where masking rules had expired amid falling COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations. Schools widely criticized Schmitts lawsuits, saying local districts had the authority under state law to require masks. I think Senator Hough is making a point, said Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan. Hes a little dissatisfied with the tactics that the attorney general has used. Schatz is one of five major Republicans running against Schmitt in the Aug. 2 primary for U.S. Senate. I think its well within the rights of the attorney general to go down that path, Schatz said. I think the attorney general has made it adamantly clear that he has has done some things that I think that draws attention, Schatz said. And so I think this is something that draws a little bit of attention as well. Democrats had taken the lead in poking Schmitt for his tactics. In February, Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, asked Schmitt during a House Budget Committee hearing whether schools could require shoes, if they couldnt require students to wear masks. Id have to look at dress code issues, Schmitt said. Its not anything Ive looked at. Sen. Doug Beck, D-south St. Louis County, filed legislation that would require the attorney generals office to pay school districts and other political subdivisions for costs due to state legal actions, if a lawsuit is terminated in the local governments favor. The proposal had yet to gain traction as of this week. Originally posted at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON St. Louis County officials said Thursday they dont expect to make any major decisions about spending $83 million in federal pandemic aid for at least another week, now that a monthlong effort to get public input on spending priorities has ended. Most decisions over the money, left over from $193 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated last year to the county, were paused in February when the county launched a public survey and a series of town halls to get public feedback. The county on Thursday posted the results, gleaned from 3,346 responses, which identified public health, youth services and infrastructure as top priorities. That input will have to be squared with a list of proposals before the County Council, some of which were introduced late last year. And the legislative body is expected to review further recommendations from County Executive Sam Pages administration for as much as $57.8 million, which Page said Monday was based on the public input from a recent survey and several town halls. Meanwhile, some of the countys proposed federal aid spending, Page and Council Chair Rita Days, D-1st District, have said, could be reallocated if the Missouri Legislature matches county funding for some projects, including demolition of Jamestown Mall. All of these things will come together before we make any decisions, Days said. Im of the opinion we need to come together with a full scope of the monies we have and the proposals we have in front of us. Councilmen Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, and Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, who each sponsored large spending proposals that have been up for a final vote for weeks, said Thursday that they expected to revise their bills to reduce the amount theyre seeking. Fitch, a former county police chief, has three bills that together would spend $29 million on the police department, including $15 million to build a new Central County precinct and evidence storage facility, $10 million to build a real-time crime surveillance center, and $3.8 million to buy 50 patrol vehicles. The bill for the surveillance center, which currently calls for $15 million, will be revised after Chief Kenneth Gregory said he would apply for federal grants for the other $5 million, Fitch said. Trakas said Thursday he is paring his request for projects in his south St. Louis County district from $30 million to $25 million at the request of other council members. But he says his district, which is mostly unincorporated, deserves at least that because other parts of the county benefit from $133 million in ARPA funds shared by the countys 88 municipalities. Both Republicans plans could come up for a final vote as early as Tuesday. The council also could vote on Councilwoman Shalonda Webbs bill to put $6 million toward the demolition of Jamestown Mall in north St. Louis County. The 4th District representative is working with state Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, to secure state funding for the project. Webb said Thursday, during a meeting of the St. Louis County Port Authority, that her bill will guarantee that demolition happens. Pages office on Wednesday emailed the council with his administrations recommendations, which he outlined in a news conference Monday, including $15 million for subdivision road repairs in unincorporated areas, $10 million to support nonprofits providing social services, $7.5 million to support small businesses, and $5 million for improvements to the MET job training center in Wellston. But it remains to be seen how much of the proposal gets support from the seven-member council amid long-running discord between Page and a bipartisan majority of his critics, including a controversial vote in 2020 to cede federal aid spending to the executive branch. Over objections from Republicans, a council majority of Democrats had voted to give Pages office wide discretion to spend $173.5 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, arguing the legislative body wouldnt move quickly enough in an emergency. Federal regulations, at the time, required the money be spent by the end of the year. Unlike the CARES Act money, the County Council has retained authority over the ARPA funds, granting some requests from Pages office over the year, including using $84 million to replace revenues slashed during the pandemic. But Fitch said Thursday that he considered the remaining ARPA dollars to be the councils to appropriate and wouldnt consider Pages proposals. His recommendations mean nothing to me, Fitch said. Page spokesman Doug Moore said Fitch was discounting a plan based on the voices of St. Louis County residents. If Mr. Fitch decides to ignore those thats his prerogative, but hes elected by the people so I would think he wants to listen to the residents, Moore said. Days voted in 2020 to give Pages office spending authority before becoming one of his main critics. She said Thursday that she hadnt reviewed Pages recommendations, but supported funding for the MET Center, which is in her district. Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, said the council had outlined major priorities for CARES Act spending and had further input from a series of hearings. Now, she said, the council has no real coordination over how to spend the ARPA dollars. Weve got a lot of disjointed proposals on our agenda, and it appears were kind of throwing things on a wall to see what will stick, she said. Updated at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21. 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. ST. LOUIS Advocacy groups are looking at next steps for the residents of four St. Louis homeless encampments ordered by the city to close. Organizers said they planned to go to the encampments over the weekend to ask the residents how they would like to proceed. Ultimately, were going to do whatever they want, said Alex Cohen, co-founder of Tent Mission STL. The city on Thursday evening posted flyers at tent encampments by the riverfront and under the Interstate 44 overpass near Cole Street, warning residents that they must vacate within 10 days. In a statement provided by the mayors office Friday, interim Public Safety Director Dan Isom said the city had received reports of poor health conditions and numerous calls for service in the riverfront area, both related to the encampment and the surrounding community. Isom said the city estimates that about 25 people in total were staying at the encampments that received notices. The city did not respond to a question about whether there is enough shelter space in the city, should all of the occupants choose to go to shelters, but Isom said the city is evaluating all of our available options. The encampments include one near the riverfront where around 20 people have been staying. Though the city has offered to find temporary housing, some have said they dont want to stay in homeless shelters. And advocates say theres not enough room in shelters anyways. Shelters, said Ramona Curtis, founder of UnhousedSTL, are not going to be a real solution for this community. Its just really going to be about us scrambling to get them somewhere else, temporarily, she said. Organizers are gathering supplies such as tents, food and water in case they need to help people relocate. Cities move encampments all the time, leaving the homeless residents dispersed but not disappeared, Curtis said. Cohen agreed. The same thing will keep happening, Cohen 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. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoya's funeral Friday: We want his name!" Sharpton's comments renewed demands by Lyoya's family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officer's name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. "How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Police reform requires evaluating many long-standing practices to ensure our actions are consistent with the best interests of the community and the individuals involved, Washington said. No timeline has been set for the discussions or a decision, spokesman David Green said, adding that Washingtons statement was intended to let city residents know we hear you and were willing to assess that practice and see if it works or not. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., putting Lyoya's death in the context of the national civil rights movement. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and ran into an America that we know too well. He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoya's killing. "We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name," he said. Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the district that includes Grand Rapids, said in a statement that his office and the FBI had offered help state investigators and local prosecutors and that the Justice Department can provide consultation, mediation or training assistance. He said his office will continue to review the facts to determine whether additional federal response is warranted. Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton has eulogized George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Crump also called for justice Friday, saying an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution. He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said. If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids. After the service, Crump told reporters: We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community, she said. And if I dont stand up, who will? Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. Bethlehem Shekanena, whose parents immigrated from Congo, said the Lyoyas came to the U.S. for life, liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. We are gathered here today because the promise given to all those who reside on this land, the very foundation of what makes America America it was broken the moment Patrick Lloya was killed in the streets." she said, adding: He did not deserve to die." Before the service, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officer's Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya was driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. How dare you pull your gun about some car tags? Sharpton said during his eulogy. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. Forliti contributed from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan. Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not appeal a federal district judges ruling that ended the nations federal mask mandate on public transit unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the requirement is still necessary. In a statement released a day after a Florida judge ended the sweeping mandate, which required face coverings on planes and trains and in transit hubs, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said officials believe that the federal mask order was a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. He said it was an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve. Coley said the CDC had said it would continue to assess public health conditions, and if the agency determined a mandate was necessary for public health, the Justice Department would file an appeal. As of Tuesday, the agency hadnt made a determination, officials said. The federal judge's ruling did away with the last major vestige of federal pandemic rules and led to a mishmash of new locally created rules that reflected the nations ongoing divisions over how to battle the virus. Major airlines and airports in places like Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City quickly switched to a mask-optional policy. Los Angeles County dropped its mandate for mass transit and a train conductor in New Jersey told commuters of their masks Tuesday: Feel free to burn them at will." New York City, Chicago and Connecticut, however, continued to require masks for travelers. The ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber announced on their websites Tuesday that masks will now be optional while riding or driving. Even Walt Disney World in Florida on Tuesday announced it was lifting its mask requirement for its monorail, buses and sky gondola. For many, the news was welcome. A video showed some passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight cheering and applauding as they removed masks upon hearing the announcement they were now optional. One man happily twirled his mask on his finger. However Brooke Tansley, a television producer and former Broadway performer, was incensed after boarding a flight with her 4-year-old and 8-month-old baby neither old enough to be vaccinated only to learn the mask mandate had ended mid-flight. Very very angry about this, she said in a tweet, noting her baby was too young to wear a mask. President Joe Biden went all-in on flexibility Tuesday when asked if Americans should mask up on planes. Thats up to them, Biden declared during a visit to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But the White House continues to require face coverings for those traveling with him on Air Force One, citing CDC guidance. In Portland, Oregon, transit employees immediately began taking down mask required announcements and signs, but said it would likely take several days to remove everything. The city joined Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Missouri, and two of Alaska's largest cities, Anchorage and Juneau, in making masking optional on mass transit. Some passengers at Chicagos Union Station said the rules were confusing. Amtrak dropped its requirement. The Chicago Transit Authority and Metra, the regional commuter rail service, kept the requirement at first but dropped it late Tuesday. Its like this patchwork of different rules and enforcement of it, said Erik Abderhalden, who wore a mask as he waited for a Metra train to his home in suburban Naperville. I mean, its like Swiss cheese ... theres no uniformity and it seems pretty laissez-faire. Subway rider Cooper Klinges was pleased that New York Citys public transit system wasnt following the trend and planned to keep its mask requirement in place. As he waited at a Brooklyn train station, he said he canceled a flight earlier this year over concerns about the virus. I dont think we are out of the woods yet, said Klinges, a teacher, citing concerns about the BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus. It is still around. We have to still stick it out. The CDC had recently extended the mask mandate, which was set to expire Monday, until May 3 to allow more time to study the subvariant, which is now responsible for the vast majority of U.S. cases. But the court ruling puts that decision on hold. After a winter surge fueled by the omicron variant that prompted record hospitalizations, the U.S. has seen a significant drop in virus spread in recent months that led most states and cities to drop mask mandates. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in hospitalizations in recent weeks, leading Philadelphia to bring back its mask mandate. Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Crawford from Chicago. Associated Press writers David Koenig in Dallas, Michael Balsamo and Will Weissert in Washington and Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Mark Meadows a former chief of staff to President Donald Trump who was removed from North Carolina voter rolls earlier this month is still a registered voter in two other states, according to officials and a published report. Chris Whitmire, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Elections Commission, told The Associated Press the former Republican congressman and his wife registered as voters in the state in March 2022. Thats when he became active, Whitmire said, noting that neither Meadows had yet cast a vote in the state. From our perspective, it just looks like any new South Carolina voter. The South Carolina registration was first reported by The Washington Post, which noted that Meadows had been a registered voter simultaneously in three states the Carolinas and Virginia until North Carolina removed him from its rolls earlier this month. Meadows remains a registered Virginia voter, the paper reported. An email sent by The Associated Press to the Virginia Department of Elections was not immediately returned Friday. Mark and Debra Meadows bought a home on picturesque Lake Keowee for $1.6 million in July, according to records for the property, which was listed on their South Carolina voter registration records. The former North Carolina congressman appeared in South Carolina earlier this week with members of the state Legislatures newly formed Freedom Caucus, an offshoot of a similar conservative group that Meadows helped found on the federal level while serving in the U.S. House. A representative for Meadows declined to comment Friday on the South Carolina voter registration. Public records indicate Meadows had been registered to vote in Virginia and North Carolina, where he listed a mobile home that he never owned and may never have visited weeks before casting an absentee 2020 presidential election ballot in the state. Trump, for whom Meadows was serving as chief of staff in Washington at the time, won the battleground state by just over 1 percentage point. Last month, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Steins office asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate. About a year after he registered in North Carolina, Meadows registered to vote in Alexandria, Virginia, just weeks before Virginias high-profile governors election last fall, the records indicate. Meadows frequently raised the prospect of voter fraud before the 2020 presidential election as polls showed Trump trailing now-President Joe Biden and in the months after Trumps loss, to suggest Biden was not the legitimate winner. Judges, election officials in both parties and Trumps own attorney general have concluded there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Experts point to isolated incidents of intentional or unintentional violations of voter laws in every election. Whitmire, the South Carolina elections spokesman, said that when he registered with South Carolina, Meadows should have notified any other jurisdictions of his new status. Through the Electronic Registration Information Center, a consortium through which states exchange data about voter registration, Whitmire also said officials periodically pull voter lists and remove those who have more recently registered in a new state. Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoya's funeral Friday: We want his name!" Sharpton's comments renewed demands by Lyoya's family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officer's name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. "How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Police reform requires evaluating many long-standing practices to ensure our actions are consistent with the best interests of the community and the individuals involved, Washington said. No timeline has been set for the discussions or a decision, spokesman David Green said, adding that Washingtons statement was intended to let city residents know we hear you and were willing to assess that practice and see if it works or not. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., putting Lyoya's death in the context of the national civil rights movement. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and ran into an America that we know too well. He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoya's killing. "We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name," he said. Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the district that includes Grand Rapids, said in a statement that his office and the FBI had offered help state investigators and local prosecutors and that the Justice Department can provide consultation, mediation or training assistance. He said his office will continue to review the facts to determine whether additional federal response is warranted. Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton has eulogized George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Crump also called for justice Friday, saying an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution. He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said. If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids. After the service, Crump told reporters: We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community, she said. And if I dont stand up, who will? Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. Bethlehem Shekanena, whose parents immigrated from Congo, said the Lyoyas came to the U.S. for life, liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. We are gathered here today because the promise given to all those who reside on this land, the very foundation of what makes America America it was broken the moment Patrick Lloya was killed in the streets." she said, adding: He did not deserve to die." Before the service, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officer's Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya was driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. How dare you pull your gun about some car tags? Sharpton said during his eulogy. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. Forliti contributed from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan. Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) Destructive fires in the U.S. Southwest have burned dozens of homes in northern Arizona and put numerous small villages in New Mexico in the path of danger, as wind-fueled flames chewed up wide swaths of tinder dry forest and grassland and plumes of smoke filled the sky. It's a very chaotic situation out there, Stewart Turner, a fire behavior analyst, said during a briefing Friday night on the edge of the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. We've had extreme fire behavior all day. Firefighters working to keep more homes from burning on the edge of a mountain town in northern Arizona were helped by some snow, scattered showers and cooler temperatures early Friday. But the favorable weather did not last and more gusts were expected to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend. Crews were tackling more than a dozen large fires Friday nationwide, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 1,600 firefighters were battling six blazes in New Mexico and three in Arizona that have consumed more than 100 square miles (258 square kilometers) of timber and brush. By Friday afternoon winds were howling across New Mexico,, gusting up to 75 mph (120 kph) near the Colorado line, shrouding the Rio Grande Valley with dust and pushing flames through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the north. Fire officials expected one blaze northeast of Santa Fe to overrun several communities before Saturday. A wall of smoke stretched from wilderness just east of Santa Fe some 50 miles (80 km) to the northeast where ranchers and other rural inhabitants were abruptly told to leave by law enforcement. Maggie Mulligan, 68, of Ledoux, a dog breeder, and her husband, Brad Gombas, 67, left with nine dogs and five puppies packed into an SUV and an old blue Cadillac. She said her dog Liam was a nervous wreck, when a sheriff came to their house Friday afternoon and told them to leave. They agonized over having to leave their horses behind as they drove 40 miles (65 km) north of Las Vegas, New Mexico, to a middle school turned into a Red Cross shelter. We don't know what's next. We don't know if we can go back to the horses, Mulligan said. Theres water in their pasture and theres hay so well see what happens. With no air support or crews working directly on the fire lines, there was explosive growth in a number of fires. San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez warned the situation very dangerous. Lena Atencio and her husband, whose family has lived in the nearby Rociada area for five generations, got out Friday as winds kicked up. She said people were taking the threat seriously. As a community, as a whole, everybody is just pulling together to support each other and just take care of the things we need to now. And then at that point, its in Gods hands, she said as the wind howled miles away in the community of Las Vegas, where evacuees were gathering. Another wind-whipped fire in northeastern New Mexico also was forcing evacuations while the town of Cimarron and the headquarters of the Philmont Scout Ranch, owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America, were preparing to flee if necessary. The scout ranch attracts thousands of summer visitors, but officials said no scouts were on the property. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed emergency declarations for four counties over the fires. In Arizona, flames had raced through rural neighborhoods outside Flagstaff just days earlier. A break in the weather Thursday allowed helicopters to drop water on the blaze and authorities to survey the damage. They found 30 homes and numerous other buildings were destroyed, with sheriff's officials saying over 100 properties were affected. That fire has burned close to 32 square miles (83 square kilometers) and forced evacuations of 765 homes after starting last Sunday. Authorities used alarms overnight Thursday to warn residents to flee evacuation areas, said sheriff's spokesman Jon Paxton. Howling winds muffled the alarms. Kelly Morgan is among neighbors at the edge of the evacuation zone who did not leave. She and her husband have lived through wildfires before, she said, and they're prepared if winds shift and flames race toward the home they moved into three years ago. Unfortunately, it's not something new to us ... but I hate seeing it when people are affected the way they are right now," she said. "It's sad. It's a very sad time, but as a community, we've really come together. Wildfire has become a year-round threat in the West given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall, scientist have said. The problems have been exacerbated by decades of fire suppression and poor management along with a more than 20-year megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. Fire danger in the Denver area on Friday was the highest it had been in over a decade, according to the National Weather Service, because of unseasonable temperatures in the 80s combined with strong winds and very dry conditions. New evacuations were ordered Friday west of Colorado Springs but there were no immediate reports of structures lost. Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press writers Cedar Attanasio in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Tennessees governor has called off what was to have been the states first execution since the start of the pandemic. Republican Gov. Bill Lee issued a statement Thursday saying he was granting a temporary reprieve to 72-year-old inmate Oscar Smith, Tennessee's oldest death row inmate. He cited an unspecified oversight in preparations for a lethal injection that was to have been given Smith on Thursday evening. An attorney in the public defender's office says they were notified of mishandling of execution drugs, though no further specifics were provided Smith was convicted of the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her teenage sons. It would have been the first execution since the pandemic began. Regarding "Missouri House passes bill on race, parents' roles in school" (April 20): I wonder how the descendants of American slavery feel when our politicians refuse to allow any discussion of critical race theory. We should remember Winston Churchill's quote when he paraphrased George Santayana: Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Birthday celebrations honoring individuals usually dont attract the attention of Congress. But the 200th birthday of Ulysses S. Grant has sparked the U.S. Grant Bicentennial Recognition Act, sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Ballwin), which awards him the rank of General of the Armies of the United States, an honor given to George Washington when he was posthumously promoted in 1976. Besides the promotion, theres talk of striking a commemorative silver half-dollar coin and creating a postage stamp in honor of Grants bicentennial. However, one of the best ways to pay homage to Grant during this bicentennial year is to visit the places Grant called home. The Birthplace Set near the confluence of Indian Creek and the Ohio River is an unassuming white frame, two-room cottage in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Its where Jesse and Hannah Grant welcomed their first child, Hiram Ulysses on April 27, 1822. Due to a mistake on his West Point application, he was later known as Ulysses S. Grant. The birthplace story is more about Grants parents, Jesse and Hannah, said Greg Roberts, vice president of Historic New Richmond, which manages the birthplace in partnership with Ohio History Connection. Grant lived here for about a year and a half before the family moved to Georgetown, the location of the new county seat. After the Grants moved, the cottage was expanded from the rear, which in essence kept the look of the front of the house looking pretty much as it did when the Grants lived here. After Grant died in 1885 interest in the birthplace spiked. Its enterprising owner, Michael Hirsch, figured he could make a quick buck by placing it on display. He loaded the cottage on a barge and moved it down river for display at the Ohio Valley Centennial Exposition. After the expo it was moved to the Ohio State Fair Grounds in Columbus, where it remained until interest for its return to Point Pleasant began during Grants centennial. Successful fundraising efforts during Grants centennial year raised enough cash to pay for the return, restoration and reconstruction of the cottage on its original foundation. It reopened to the public in 1936. For a small museum we have some interesting and unique artifacts. The corner cupboard is the only original piece left that the Grants owned. It was a wedding gift from Julias parents, said Roberts, noting other eclectic assortment of artifacts on display. We have one of Hannahs night gowns, a lock of Grants hair and the kid-gloves Grant wore at his first inaugural ball in 1869. We also have his strong box he carried his presidential papers in, and the wallet he carried when he was general. More info: Admission is $3, $2 for seniors and $1 for kids. usgrantbirthplace.org The Boyhood Home and Schoolhouse Jesse and Hannah Grant moved to Georgetown, Ohio, the new county seat, when Ulysses was 1 in hopes of establishing a successful business. Jesse figured there would be lots of people who would need bridles, saddles, harnesses and shoes. He figured right, said Nancy Purdy, docent at the Grant Boyhood Home and Schoolhouse. He was successful. As soon as Jesse arrived, he started his tannery and built the two-story brick house across the street. The home is the place where Grant lived for 16 years, longer than he would live anywhere else in his life. He left for West Point at 17. Before West Point, Grant, who hated the tannery, made a deal with his father to do any of the work needed involving horses. As a result, Grant became an expert horseman with a lifelong passion for the animals. Before Grant left for West Point in 1839, he received his primary education in a one-room subscription school, located catty-corner from his house. The schoolhouse has been restored along with a reconstructed classroom that features a few period furnishings, hand-hewn wooden benches, desks and books. A few pieces on display have been reported to have been used by Grant. Grants boyhood home recently underwent a $1.4 million restoration. Additions to the house were made to better reflect how it looked when the Grants owned the property. Period carpet and wallpaper were researched and installed. And an interpretive exhibit with an animatronic Grant as a 14-year-old boy was added. To activate the teenage Grant simply touch one of the items that rests on a table placed in front of the display. Each piece triggers the robotic Grant to begin a short monologue related to the item, such as a wallet, one of the items made from the leather goods produced at his fathers tannery. Grants birthplace, boyhood home and schoolhouse are three of the 17 sites featured on the Land of Grant Tour, a free mobile audio tour and app that makes finding each Grant site in Clermont and Brown County easy. The first 200 people who complete the Land of Grant Tour will receive a bicentennial General Grant commemorative coin. The Land of Grant Tour app can be downloaded at DiscoverClermont.com/Grant. The site provides links and calendar listings of bicentennial events and programs. Beyond Aprils birthday events, the birthplace, boyhood house and schoolhouse are open from May through October. More info: Admission for a ticket that covers the boyhood home and schoolhouse is $5 for adults, $3 for kids. usgrantboyhoodhome.org White Haven, St. Louis White Haven, the 850-acre plantation located south of St. Louis, was owned by Col. Frederick Dent and is where Grant met his future wife, Julia. He was invited there in 1844 by Julias brother, Fred, who had been Grants West Point roommate and was now stationed with Grant at nearby Jefferson Barracks. White Haven is where Grant began his relationship with Julia, says Nick Sacco, park ranger at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, as White Haven is now known. It was the place I view as a new beginning for Grant after resigning from the army after 11 years of service to come to White Haven to be with wife and kids. It was the first time the Grant family lived under the same roof. This park is unique because we talk so much about Grants personal life and characteristics that defined who Grant was as a person. We can talk about the Civil War and the presidency but fundamentally its about life with his wife and kids here in St. Louis. Grant and his family lived at White Haven for five years while he farmed and worked side by side with his father-in-laws enslaved African Americans, before moving to Galena, Ill., in 1860 shortly before the start of the war. Julia would return to White Haven for periods during the war. After the war, Grant would buy White Haven. His plans were to retire to the farm and raise horses. White Haven today is preserved as the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, where the life and legacy of Grant, Julia and the lives and struggles of White Havens enslaved are interpreted. The park includes the main house, winter and summer kitchens, a chicken house, icehouse and the 1872 stable, which Grant designed and which now serves as the parks museum. Our site is unique because there are so many ways to learn about American history through the experiences of the people who lived here, said Julie Northrip, manager for interpretation, education and volunteer programs. We feel its our responsibility as a federal agency to do something big for Grants 200 birthday. This is the perfect opportunity to educate the public about our history and Grants legacy. The Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site will commemorate Grants bicentennial throughout the year with a variety of exhibits, in-person programs, concerts and special events. On Grants actual birthday, April 27, the park will host activities and events throughout the day, including a free evening concert by the Independent Silver Band, whose members play 19th century period instruments. More info: Entrance to the site is free, as are tours of the main house. nps.gov/ulsg/index.htm Home in Galena After a less-than-successful attempt at farming, Grant and his family moved from St. Louis to Galena, Ill., in 1860. Grant would work there in his fathers leather shop operated by his two brothers until the war broke out, after which he rejoined the Army. Grant wouldnt return to Galena until after the war, in August 1865 . Galena welcomed Grant home as the victorious general, gifting him with a fully furnished 3,300-square-foot Italianate two-story house. The home was purchased and furnished for Grant as a thank you gift for winning the Civil War, says Terry Miller, Grant Home site superintendent with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division, which also oversees the Old Market Place in downtown Galena. The Old Market Place features a collection of more than 1,500 artifacts and Grant memorabilia including rare coins, toys, commemorative plates and promotional election souvenirs. Grant spent two years off and on at the house. The longest time he and his family stayed at the home was during 1868. The year of the Republican convention in Chicago. Galena wasnt far from Chicago, which made the trip to and from the convention easier, Miller said. Following his 1868 election to the presidency, Grant visited only occasionally. In remarks made during his 1873 visit Grant reportedly said, although it is probable, I will never live much time among you, but in the future be only a visitor as I am at present. Grant retained his Galena home until his death in 1885, always keeping it furnished and stocked much as it appears today. As a result, the home became a time capsule. As Miller explained, 90 percent of the furnishings in the house are original, a rarity for any museum house. Grants last visit to Galena and the home was in 1881. After Julias death in 1902, the children deeded the house in 1904 to the city of Galena. The city ran it until 1931, when they gave it to the state of Illinois. More info: Admission to the home is $5 for adults and $3 for kids. The Old Market House, while currently closed, is expected to reopen by late spring. granthome.org Bicentennial events begin with Grants birthday weekend (April 29May 1), when the Grant Home will sponsor evening lamplight tours and Civil War encampments. For a list of Galena bicentennial events, go to visitgalena.org/Event/US-Grant-200th-Anniversary. Since the 1990s India has more energetically sought to develop a domestic weapons development and production capability. There has not been a lot of progress so the government made it more difficult to import needed weapons that Indian firms were unable to develop and build. As part of that effort, since 2020 the Ministry of Defense has released three negative import (now called positive indigenization) lists containing 310 items that must be obtained from Indian firms within three to five years. The lists also specify thousands of components for military equipment that must be obtained locally. Indian military procurement over the next five years is estimated to be about $130 billion and the government is trying to address the structural problems that have prevented commercial firms from developing military equipment and do it in record time. India is also trying to reduce the power of government weapons development and production operations that have never been able to compete with foreign defense manufacturers. The indigenization lists are supposed to be mandatory but, based on past experience, failure to meet government demands for locally made equipment means the military will continue to do without or be forced to accept inferior weapons and equipment. The positive indigenization list is less a solution than another part of the problem. The major goals of local procurement are to decrease reliance on Russia, which is still the largest supplier of military equipment. At the same time India is the second largest (after Saudi Arabia) importer of weapons in the world and the largest customer for Russian military exports. India has been buying less from Russia since the 1990s. Since the 1960s Russia supplied more and more, often over 80 percent, of Indian weapons imports. In the last decade that has fallen to fifty percent and continues to decline. The second part of the program to reduce weapons imports is to make it easier for Indian firms to meet the needs of the Indian military. To move that along India has issued the Positive Indigenization Lists identifying specific weapons and items of military equipment that must be procured locally. Most items must be obtained locally within a year while others have several additional years. By the end of 2025 none of the items can be imported without special permission from the government and that does not come without cost. Making it mandatory to buy locally has been tried before and led to some spectacular failures, so much so that the government authorized the emergency FTP (Fast Track Procurement) procedures in 2004. With FTP the military could unilaterally buy some items from foreign suppliers. It was assumed that FTP would eliminate the most embarrassing problems with getting the military weapons desperately needed. It was also believed that government efforts to clean up the corruption and other problems with the military procurement process would soon make FTP unnecessary. That has not happened. FTP is still around to allow the immediate purchase of essential military items without the usual political and procurement delays that can add years, sometimes a decade or more, to obtaining needed items. FTP is still needed because the current confrontation with better equipped Chinese forces on the northern border makes it obvious that all the Chinese weapons and equipment is Chinese-made and clearly more modern. Why has China developed a world-class weapons development and production capability in the last few decades while India has not? Mainly its about corruption and decades of India making it difficult for Indians to start and operate profitable firms that could produce consumer goods as well as military equipment. The United States became the largest economy in the world over a century ago by encouraging this entrepreneurship. Many other nations, including those in Europe and East Asia (Japan, South Korea and China) followed that example. While making it difficult for Indian entrepreneurs, India tried to use government owned weapons development efforts and defense manufacturers. These state-owned organizations were epic failures and continue to develop second-rate weapons or weapons that dont work at all. Recent examples include assault rifles, helicopters and jet fighters. The only successes have been with privately owned firms and that is what the government wants more of. The Indigenization Lists and new rules and laws to reduce restrictions on commercial firms are meant to encourage less dependence on imports. As with previous efforts in this area, the goals tend to be more aspirational than actual. Indian government bureaucrats and procurement agencies have become quite effective at protecting their own interests at the expense of commercial firms and the needs of the military. This is a problem in all industrialized nations because that is the nature of government; to use their power to expand. Nations like China and Israel are notably different because China did not begin undergoing the industrial revolution until the 1980s. As usual, that produced spectacular results, which will be eroded over the years as the government expands, often at the expense of successful new firms. That is already happening in China, where the communist government fears the potential political influence of the largest and most successful firms. Israel is a special case because they have been under constant attack by their Moslem neighbors since Israel was founded in 1947. For Israel it has always been a matter of succeeding at developing new weapons or being wiped out. India is different because it adopted a local form of socialism instead of free-enterprise when modern India was formed in 1948. As a result, India has always had to import most of its weapons. Efforts to change this have failed so far, mainly because of corruption and unwillingness to tolerate competitive and efficient defense industries. That corruption that has been pervasive in India for thousands of years and makes imported weapons from nations willing to pay bribes to Indian government officials more attractive than allowing competitive Indian firms to develop and provide cheaper locally made equipment. One bit of good news is that this form of corruption has been under heavy attack for more than a decade because of the Internet. Political parties could control mass media and much local news, but not the Internet. Fighting corruption has become enormously popular with voters, who learn that most Western countries supplying weapons to India are often very anti-corruption themselves and much more successful at it. When Russia was supplying over 80 percent of weapons imports you had a supplier that was a dictatorship quite comfortable with bribes and payoffs. For more than a decade Russia has been losing sales to Western firms. The culture of corruption still exists in Indian defense procurement, but it is under heavy attack. Even if no bribes were involved when buying foreign weapons, that would not fix the inability to create a competitive Indian weapons industry. The reason for that has to do with why, for most of the last half century, most Indian weapons came from Russia. There were several reasons for that; politics, price and practicality. The policy was a decision by Indian politicians to be non-aligned during the Cold War. This conflict began just as India became independent from the British Empire. Still resentful towards Britain and the West for two centuries of colonial domination, India officially refused to take sides during the Cold War. Yet its relations with Russia (a communist dictatorship) were much warmer than with the Western democracies. Although India clung to democracy, the educated classes were infatuated with the promise of socialism. For several decades Indians abhorred the Russian form of government (a dictatorship) but admired their socialist approach to running their economy. It wasnt until the 1980s that most Indian politicians admitted that the Russian economic model was all a fraud and not working. For India, this set-in motion the sort of free enterprise policies that China had employed since the 1980s. By then it was too late for India. Decades of attempts to impose government regulation and guidance of the economy had created a huge bureaucracy that could not be easily dismantled because many of these jobs were used by politicians to reward supporters and get reelected. Then there was the price of Russian weapons. They were cheaper than Western equivalents. This meant more could be spent on bribes and payoffs. Finally, there was practicality. Indias main foes were Pakistan and China. Pakistan had a much smaller population, economy and defense budget than India. Russian weapons were adequate for Pakistan. China was also poorly equipped, until quite recently, and separated from India by the Himalaya Mountains. Under those conditions Russian weapons were just fine for Indian needs. Since the Cold War ended in 1991 all this has changed. Indian politics has changed and now officially wants to clamp down on the corruption, which everyone admits cripples the economy. Price is still important, but its been noticed that Russian weapons have slipped in quality and effectiveness since the Soviet Union collapsed. Pakistan is even less of a military threat, because Pakistan is even more corrupt and economically crippled than India. China, however, is another matter. China has managed to build a powerful and productive arms industry. All those Russian weapons India has no longer provides any degree of superiority. India needed Western quality arms to maintain a competitive military for confronting China. But Western weapons are more expensive. Its possible to make them in India under license, but the Indian industry has not been able to master high tech sufficiently to make this practical. In short, its no longer practical to tolerate an inefficient domestic defense industry. Efforts to create domestic defense industries have been crippled by specific portions of the bureaucracy. The worst of these is the DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization). Alas, DRDO became a monumental example of bureaucratic inefficiency, wasting billions of dollars and decades of effort on weapons systems that never quite became operational or when they did, they really weren't. DRDO was created in 1958 to provide government support and guidance for defense related research. But the network of research and manufacturing facilities DRDO established since then were more about patronage and plundering the taxpayers than in actually creating competitive defense industries. Even DRDO efforts to create low-tech weapons (like assault rifles and other infantry equipment) were failures, with sloppiness and inefficiency resulting in very uncompetitive weapons. Worse, many major DRDO weapons development projects have failed because bad politics ensured that bad ideas kept getting funded, and those efforts rarely produced anything the military found acceptable. For example, the 5.5-ton Dhruv helicopter was in development for two decades before the first one was delivered in 2002. Since then, domestic and foreign users have expressed dissatisfaction. A series of crashes indicated some basic design flaws, which the manufacturer insisted did not exist. Similar situation with locally developed Tejas jet fighter. Indian politicians still cite these two aircraft as examples of successful Indian developed tech. The Indian military has been equally quick to cite these two aircraft as unacceptable and has often succeeded in avoiding accepting more than a token number. Export customers did not exist. Then there is the effort to develop and build a tank. Many of the problems with the Arjun tank project had to do with nothing more than government ineptitude. The Ministry of Defense was more interested in putting out press releases about how India was becoming self-sufficient in tanks than in attending to the technical details needed to make this happen. The Ministry of Defense crowd has done this sort of thing many times. Moreover, if it isn't incompetence screwing things up, then it's corruption. Efforts to develop missile systems have also been a long running failure. Work on indigenous missile designs, under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP), managed by DRDO has gone on for decades, with no useful weapons to show for it. The most common problems were apparently caused by inept software development. While India has a lot of local talent in this department, creating this kind of specialized military software is very difficult and the best programmers tend to join the growing number of new companies that sell their services or software products to foreigners. Many other Indian engineers and scientists migrate to countries where it is easier to put their skills to good use. The one exception has been ballistic missiles. Curiously this was seen as a really, really important project and the politicians eventually backed off and let the engineers get on with it. India has world class engineers and scientists, but too many of them have to go overseas to do what they do best because the government does not tolerate being told what works and what doesnt by people who know what they are talking about. India is determined to develop the capability of designing and building high-tech weapons, something few countries can do. India is following in the footsteps of China and Russia, two nations that still had most of their population living in poverty, while the state concentrated resources to create the technological base needed to build modern weapons. Russia and China have gone farther than India in developing and manufacturing modern weapons. Not as far as Western firms, if only because of the corruption and lawlessness in both those nations. But Russia and China had an advantage of having authoritarian governments. Decisions could get made quickly and decisively. India is a democracy and democracies are messy. Important decisions tend to get kicked down the road rather than taken care of. Chinese leaders openly boast of this as a major reason China has succeeded while India fails. There have been some new ideas and opportunities. One of the most alluring is the growing number of private firms in India that can handle defense work. Currently non-government Indian firms get about a quarter of the contracts. Foreign defense firms can make deals with these private firms who can then go after Indian defense contracts. But standing in the way are the Indian defense officials. The Indian bureaucrats have a well-deserved reputation of gumming up the works and preventing needful things from getting done. This makes it difficult for private companies, especially when the main customer is the government. Getting rid of DRDO and its 30,000 employees is difficult. Over 20 percent of them are scientists and engineers unable to compete in a free market economy with many of the rest are obstructionist bureaucrats that cripple the efforts of commercial firms competing with DRDO. Eliminating DRDO is extremely unpopular with most politicians. Yet in the last few years senior elected officials have made some decisive moves to end the bureaucratic deadlock. This involved something as simple as ending the ban on former military personnel taking key jobs in the Defense Ministry and shutting down state-owned arms factories with long records of failure. This situation is tragic and a growing number of Indians realize it. India, a regional superpower and the worlds largest democracy, with a population of over a billion, now finds itself in a very rough neighborhood and military efficiency is becoming a necessity, not just a worthy goal. To deal with that, India has always maintained large armed forces and one of the largest armies (a million troops) on the planet. But keeping these troops equipped, for what is expected of them, has proved to be very difficult. The army keeps falling behind in replacing aging weapons (like artillery) and obtaining new technology (missiles, smart munitions, night vision). Getting the money from the government has been the least of their problems. The biggest hassles are with corruption and failed efforts to develop local weapons production. The latest government moves to change all that are not revolutionary, but evolutionary. As has long been observed, democracies always do the right thing, but often only after trying everything else. India still has not reached the end of the everything else list. April 22, 2022: While the Mali military government has forced French counterterrorism forces out of the country, they would prefer to keep the UN peacekeepers that maintains government control over the rebellious north. The UN threatens to withdraw its peacekeepers because Mali is paying for a growing force of Russian mercenaries (Wagner Group military contractors) in Mali as well as buying weapons from Russia, which is banned from selling weapons to foreign nations. Russia is under severe economic sanctions because of its recent Ukraine invasion but Mali can get around that by paying Russia in gold. Mali is a major producer of gold and Russia has a large gold stockpile. In response to the sanctions Russia recently put its currency (the ruble) on the gold standard. Russia now offers one gram of gold for 5,000 rubles. This stabilized the purchasing power of the ruble inside Russia and made some foreign trade practical. This cozy relationship with Russia threatens to end most foreign aid, including the 13,000 AU (African Union) peacekeepers that have policed the north since 2013. This is where most of the Islamic terrorist and ethnic conflict has always been found. Since 2018 a lot of the violence has moved south to central Mali and the three-border area where the Mali army and tribal militias take most of the casualties. Being a peacekeeper can be a dangerous job, especially in Malii where peacekeeper casualties since mid-2013 were over 500 dead and wounded. Mali is the most dangerous peacekeeping operation the UN operates. Losses were much heavier among the Islamic terrorists. Part of this was due to the efforts of the separate French Barkhane counterterrorism force which is now gone from Mali. The 5,100 French counterterrorism troops were always separate from the UN Mali peacekeepers because the French force deals with Islamic terrorism throughout the region and has a license to kill. UN peacekeepers mainly defend and are rarely given permission to search and destroy. Since 2018 popular support for Barkhane in France declined and that led to efforts to get other nations to replace the French force completely or partially. Because of all this, the official end of Barkhane is not surprising. It was not a matter of if, but when. Western nations have long contributed small contingents who operate transport helicopters and surveillance UAVs. Sometimes they send small teams of special operations troops. The growing Russian presence is what threatens the continued presence of the peacekeepers. This is because the UN presence also enables investigations of alleged atrocities committed by Mali soldiers or police. This has been a problem for decades and led to the 2011 rebellion in the north that led to a military coup in Mali and the military intervention of France to keep the north part of Mali. The UN peacekeeper presence means the UN is able to investigate the growing number of incidents where the army is accused of terrorizing civilians in Central and northern Mali, usually because the civilians were suspected of supporting Islamic terrorists or tribal militias that had clashed with soldiers. The military government can now block some of those investigations because Russia will use its UN veto to block certain investigations. The military government has also forced the French ambassador out and caused economic sanctions to be imposed. The officers running the military government seem unconcerned because they have access to income from Mali gold mines. Mali has become a major producer of gold. Mali also has rich farmland in the south and exports a lot of food. There is a desert and semi-desert area north of the Niger river that has less than ten percent of the population and causes a disproportionate number of problems. Most of the northerners are Tuareg and a smaller number of Arabs. Both of these groups are ethnically different from the 90 percent of the 20 million Malians living in the well-watered south. The only reason the ethnically different north is part of Mali is because, when France organized its Mali colony, it incorporated the northerners because to the north of Mali were Arab majority nations that did not want more of those troublesome Tuaregs. The black African Mali majority does not want to cut the north loose, as many Tuareg want, because the northerners would still be a problem for Mali. The northerners are better fighters and have defied southern control since Mali became independent in the 1960s. Historically the Tuareg were responsible for many raids on the more populous and prosperous south. This northern problem kept Mali from achieving peace and prosperity. In 2021 the situation got worse when there was another military coup. This one was an internal dispute among army officers upset about corrupt civilian members of the interim government and the prospect of the army losing power after new elections. Since the May 2021 coup foreign donors have warned that most of the foreign aid will stop coming if Mali does not carry out a significant reduction in corruption, government ineffectiveness and overall instability. None of these three military takeovers were about corruption, but rather anger at the corrupt politicians stealing money meant to finance operations against Islamic terrorist and separatist minorities in the north. The colonels running the current military government are unwilling to step down and are trying to make it on their own, despite the large number of UN peacekeepers and French troops dealing with the Islamic terrorist problem up north. The May 2021 coup was led by the army colonel who had earlier been appointed deputy head of the CNT (National Transitional Council). The colonel replaced the civilian who originally held the job as CNT leader. After that the military-dominated CNT rapidly replaced many existing CNT officials with army officers or civilians known to be pro-military. When foreign donors, including France, criticized this, the army threatened to seek financial aid elsewhere. For countries dependent on foreign trade and foreign aid, ignoring what the trading partners and aid donors think is a no-win situation. The trade partners can take their business elsewhere, where there are fewer problems. For the foreign aid groups, they are faced with a global situation where need far exceeds the aid available. That has led to triage, in which recipient nations or regions that use the aid less effectively, usually by diverting much of it to corrupt rulers or rebel leaders, get less. A military coup is usually a sign of problems and threat of damaging triage. By 2022 most foreign aid was gone and Mali was bankrupt, but the military government was not. The threats from the military said a lot about their motives, which was mainly about maintaining their power and helping themselves to a portion of foreign aid. The coup leaders did have one source of wealth, the Mali gold mines. In late 2021 protestors tried to block access to one of the largest mines but that effort only lasted a few days before the security forces cleared the roads. In 2021 the Mali military government proposed spending $10.8 million a month to hire a thousand Wagner Group military trainers. These trainers will also accompany some Mali troops into combat zones but will not operate as combat units unless paid for that and the combat surcharge is more than what Mali is paying for training. Wagner Group had been busy during the last decade and still has, or recently had contingents in Libya, Syria, Central African Republic and Mozambique. Against poorly armed and trained local irregulars the Wagner personnel are effective, but against professionals. like Turks in Libya and Americans in Syria, they take heavy losses and back off. Wagner Group is unique among military contractors in that it was created by Russian president Vladimir Putin and reports directly to him. Putin asked a veteran spetsnaz (special operations) officer to organize and run the operation whose name comes from the radio call sign its commander once used. Wagner does not work for free; every customer has to pay and several African governments are doing so. Since Wagner Group personnel must get paid, they are largely unaffected by the new economic sanctions on Russia. Travel to and from Russia is now more difficult, time-consuming and expensive because of most nations closing their airspace to Russia. The banking sanctions made it more expensive for Wagner Group members to send money back to families or bank accounts in Russia. This makes Wagner Group more affordable because Wagner is currently on its own. Even with more affordable Russian mercenaries, the Mali military government is losing several thousand Western troops who handled training as well as counterterror operations. A thousand Wagner Group men will not replace all the expelled Western troops and will definitely not replace the 13,000 UN peacekeepers maintaining Mali control of the north. Wagner personnel began arriving in December 2021 and their first task was to build a base near the airport outside the capital. The Wagner personnel flew in on transports operated by the Russian military. By the end of February, when the Russia air travel restrictions began, Wagner personnel were still arriving but the total number was about 500, not the thousand the Mali military government wanted. Wagner coped with the new situation as Russia preferred to be paid in gold, which Mali had plenty of. This has meant more Wagner mercs and Russian military equipment arriving by air. Wagner Group also provides media and political support to local governments that hire them. An example of this is Russia and the Mali coup leaders both accusing the French of sustaining colonial rule. This angle serves the coup leaders and Wagner because it makes it patriotic to expel some contingents of European troops. Wagner is also foreign, but they have been hired by the coup government and thus considered serving Mali, not practicing some form of colonialism. French and foreign donor efforts against corruption are portrayed by the corrupt coup leaders as another example of French colonialism. This may seem absurd to outsiders but the coup government controls most mass media to justify attacks on hostile demonstration and protection of supportive ones. The Russian presence is not the only problem the military has to deal with. At the start of 2022 Mali defaulted on more of its foreign debt. So far Mali is unable to make payments on $180 million in debts. This is partially due to the reductions in foreign aid because of the ongoing corruption and refusal of the military government to hold elections. The best the military government could do was promise elections in five years. That was answered with major cuts to foreign aid. Islamic terrorists are a growing problem in Mali. A decade ago, most were in the north but now most of them are south of the Niger river and few are Arabs or Tuareg. African Islamic terrorists believe a religious dictatorship will solve the problem but that has never worked either. Captured Islamic terror group records always include complaints about corruption, and that occasionally makes the news when a terrorist leader absconds with a large amount of money. Islamic terrorism is another form of civil war, by religious zealots against an elected government or, more likely, a dictatorship or military government. April 19, 2022: In central Mali (Mopti) am army patrol was attacked by Islamic terrorists using a roadside bomb and gunfire. The troops and one of the Wagner Group Russian military contractors returned fire and over a dozen of the attackers were killed. One of the Wagner Group men died, the first Warner Group fatality in Mali so far. Many Islamic terrorist groups are active in the area, most of them affiliated with al Qaeda and attacks on convoys occur at least once a month. More frequent attacks are directed at local civilians who will not cooperate with the terrorists. Further north (outside of Gossi) France turned over its military base in the three borders area, where the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet. This area has been a terrorist hotspot since 2018 because Islamic terror groups can just cross the border to escape heavy counterterrorism efforts. For that reason, this area has been called the Menaka Region. Previously this area was just part of the larger Gao Region, centered on one of the few cities in the north. Menaka has become ungovernable because so many Islamic terrorists and bandits now operate here. The counterterrorism forces, especially the French Barkhane unit, search for and attack specific targets. The government is unable to maintain sufficient security forces here to provide a measure of law and order found in the rest of the country. To make matters worse French and other European counterterrorism forces are leaving the area, at the request of the Mali government. April 18, 2022: Another shipment of Russian military equipment arrived by air. This shipment included two Mi-35 helicopter gunships and at least one 59N6-TE mobile radar system. The 59N6 is a new (since 2016) Russian truck mounted 3-D surveillance radar which can track aircraft up to 400 kilometers distant. Most of Africa has no ATC (Air Traffic Control) radar coverage and control. This makes it possible for anyone, including the currently heavily sanctioned Russia, to continue flying in anything and anyone it wants. This included April 16, 2022: In central Mali (Mopti region) the government carried out two airstrikes that killed over a dozen Islamic terrorists, or unarmed civilians as some people in the area claim. The government claims to have killed over 200 Islamic terrorists in late march but many of the dead were apparently unarmed civilians. Russia used its UN veto to block efforts by the UN to investigate what has become known as the Moura Massacre. April 14, 2022: In central Mali, the government claimed that three Islamic terror groups were crippled in the last three weeks as soldiers killed at least 19 armed men, wounded many others and captured weapons and equipment. The military government has banned foreign journalists from covering these operations or their aftermath. This is also useful to limit reporting on Wagner Group operations in Mali. April 12, 2022: Germany warned the Mali military government European nations would not cooperate with the defense of Mali as long as the military government continued doing business with Russia. April 11, 2022: The EU (European Union) suspended some of their military training efforts in Mali due to the presence of Russian Wagner Group military contractors. Mali insists there are no Wagner Group personnel in Mali. March 24, 2022: In the northeast (south of Gao) French counter-terror forces detected a group of IGSS (Islamic States in Greater Sahara) ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) members near the Niger border and attacked with air and ground forces, killing fifteen if them. Gao is near where the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet. March 22, 2022: In the north (outside Gao) a Mali Mi-35 helicopter gunship fired rockets that landed near British peacekeepers. There were no Islamic terrorists in the vicinity. Most of the Mali Russian helicopters are flown by Russian pilots with a Mali co-pilot who is learning how to operate the new helicopters. In response to this incident the UN threatened to withdraw all peacekeepers, who are essential to keeping the north under government control. March 21, 2022: In northeast and central Mali several clashes between soldiers and Islamic terrorists left 16 soldiers and 37 Islamic terrorists dead. Another 18 soldiers were wounded. An unknown number of wounded Islamic terrorists got away as well as the bodies of some of those killed. Some of the dead terrorists were ISIL while other were al Qaeda affiliates. March 18, 2022: In the south (the Mali capital) the Russian Defense Minister and the commander of the Russian Air Force secretly visited to discuss further aid to Mali and cooperation in maintaining security in Mali under the current military government. ELIZABETH CITY, N.C., April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for the family of Andrew Brown Jr. released the following statements today memorializing one year since Brown was shot and killed by deputies with the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office. The family's attorneys include nationally renowned Civil Rights attorneys Ben Crump (Ben Crump Law), Bakari Sellers (Strom Law Firm) and Harry Daniels (Law Offices of Harry Daniels). "We want to remember Andrew Brown for his kindness and easy smile, his commitment to his family and his unshakable faith in his children. But it's hard to remember his life while there is no justice for his death. One year ago today, Andrew Brown's death left a hole in all of us and there's only one way to fill it." - Bakari Sellers, Strom Law Firm "We need not imagine Andrew Bown in death beyond what he was in life. He was like any of us, just a man. But that makes what happened to him so terrifying because, until his killers are held responsible, what happened to him can happen to any of us too." - Ben Crump, Ben Crump Law "How do you explain to a child why he never got to meet his grandfather? How do you explain to sons that they will never laugh with their father again? How do you tell a community that they'll never know that smile again and that, one year later, no one has been held responsible? No one can replace this loss. But we can find answers. We can and we will." - Harry Daniels, Law Offices of Harry Daniels The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened an investigation into Brown's killing in April and the family's attorney's filed a federal lawsuit seeking more than $30 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The attorneys declined to comment on either the lawsuit or the investigation, however, as both are ongoing. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/attorneys-release-statement-on-anniversary-of-andrew-browns-death-301530704.html SOURCE Strom Law Firm, LLC - Funding is part of $400,000 monthlong campaign focused on sustainability, environmental efforts across Palmetto State. - Grants will support projects by South Carolina State Parks, The Nature Conservancy, Palmetto Trail and Foothills Trail. GREENVILLE, S.C., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Earth Day, the Duke Energy Foundation is awarding $100,000 in grants to organizations that maintain critical access to parks and trails across South Carolina, ensuring future generations enjoy the immeasurable benefits of the natural resources of the Palmetto State. This effort is part of a monthlong initiative by Duke Energy to highlight organizations and programs that enhance and promote a sustainable future for South Carolina. This campaign will provide nearly $400,000 to numerous nonprofits and governmental agencies and highlight global efforts like Earth Day and Arbor Day at the local level. To celebrate Earth Day, the company is providing $25,000 grants to four organizations that will use the funding to improve trail access in natural areas under their care: South Carolina State Parks: Funding will improve handicap accessibility to Lake Placid at Paris Mountain State Park. The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina : Grant will help build a new 20-mile stretch of trail at Jones Gap State Park called the Gap Creek Extension. Palmetto Trail : Funding will also support the Gap Creek Extension as well as updated trail signage , a trailhead kiosk and future trail planning efforts. signage trailhead Foothills Trails : Grant will help replace existing wooden footbridges throughout the Foothills Trail and upgrade equipment used to manage the trail. Earlier this month, Duke Energy kicked off the initiative by providing PalmettoPride $100,000 to support the programs in local communities managed by the 37 Keep South Carolina Beautiful affiliate organizations, who focus on litter pick up and beautification throughout their areas. The campaign continued by highlighting TreesUpstate and the Energy Saving Trees Program. Since 2016, Duke Energy Foundation funding has supplied more than 15,000 free trees through the Energy Saving Trees Program, and most recently provided $78,000 in grant funding to support expanding the program through outreach to underrepresented Hispanic communities and translating materials into Spanish. Duke Energy employees and retirees are also volunteering their time and efforts throughout the month with these and other organizations to support programs in their local communities. Quotes "Duke Energy is an incredible partner to South Carolina State Parks," said Paul McCormack, director of South Carolina State Parks. "Accessibility improvements between the Visitors Center and Lake Placid at Paris Mountain will increase opportunities for users with mobility impairments to access a beautiful part of the park, and the Jones Gap Trail extension will help expand some of the best hiking trails in the state. Duke Energy's support helps us protect more treasured places and as importantly it helps ensure we can share those places with more visitors." "Five years ago, the Duke Energy Water Resources Fund generously supported The Nature Conservancy's purchase of a 955-acre property to expand Jones Gap State Park," said Dale Threatt-Taylor , executive director for The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina. "Today, this additional $25,000 investment from the Duke Energy Foundation will support the design of more than 20 miles of trails that will traverse throughout that property. Providing more outdoor recreational access for South Carolinians to enjoy is an ideal way to celebrate Earth Day, and we're excited to have the foundation's continued support in protecting and stewarding special landscapes in the Upstate and beyond." "The Palmetto Trail believes in the power of partnership and is pleased to join the company of South Carolina State Parks, Foothills Trail and The Nature Conservancy in efforts to expand and maintain nature-based trails in the Upstate," said Mary Roe, executive director of the Palmetto Conservancy. "We appreciate Duke Energy's continued support of the Palmetto Trail project and together we are providing more cross-state trail access for all South Carolinians. "We appreciate the continued support of the Duke Energy Foundation to help us share the wonder of the Foothills Trail with countless visitors each year," said Heyward Douglass , executive director of the Foothills Trail Conservancy. "This grant will ensure that hikers who come from all over the United States, and all over the world, will have a safe and enjoyable experience on the trail." "We think it's important to work alongside our community partners to ensure all of the beautiful places in South Carolina can be enjoyed for years to come," said Mike Callahan , Duke Energy South Carolina state president. "The organizations these funds support will aid in the protection of the environment and provide communities with much-needed resources to promote good stewardship of the natural beauty around us." Duke Energy Foundation The Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders. Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people. Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Media contact: Ryan Mosier800.559.3853 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/duke-energy-celebrates-earth-day-with-100-000-in-grant-funding-to-improve-access-to-south-carolina-parks-trails-301531244.html SOURCE Duke Energy VANCOUVER, BC and BOSTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagin Medical (CSE: IME) (OTCQB: IMEXF) (Frankfurt & Stuttgart Symbol: DPD2) ("Imagin" or the "Company") today announced today that, pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan, an aggregate of 472,187 shares have been granted to certain employees, board members and consultants as incentive stock options at an exercise price of $0.28 USD per share. The options are exercisable for a period of five years, ending on April 22, 2027. About Imagin MedicalImagin Medical is a surgical imaging company focused on advancing new methods of visualizing cancer during minimally invasive procedures. The Company believes its first product, the i/Blue Imaging System, with its proprietary optics and light sensors, will greatly increase the efficiency and accuracy of visualizing bladder cancer for better resection. The Company's initial focus is bladder cancer. Learn more at www.imaginmedical.com. Forward-Looking Statement Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward- looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Specifically, there is no assurance the Company's imaging system will work in the manner expected. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Contacts: Jim Hutchens, President & CEO[email protected] John Vacha, CFO[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/imagin-medical-announces-stock-option-grants-301531159.html SOURCE Imagin Medical, Inc. Teams were searching Friday for a Texas National Guard soldier who has gone missing while working along the Rio Grande as part of a mission to secure the states border with Mexico, the Texas Military Department said. The states military officials said the soldier was on-duty when the incident occurred Friday in Eagle Pass, but they did not provide a time or the circumstances of the disappearance. The soldier has not been found, and teams from the Texas Military Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol are working to find the soldier, the Guard said. We are aware of reports of a fatality, although those reports are inaccurate, the Guard said. Officials confirmed the soldier was assigned to the states border security mission, Operation Lone Star, at the time of the incident. About 10,000 troops are assigned to the mission, with about 6,500 of those working along the border with Mexico, Guard officials told state lawmakers earlier this month. Eagle Pass, which is located about 150 miles southwest of San Antonio, sits on the Rio Grande with views of the adjacent Mexican city of Piedras Negras. It has become a common place for migrants to attempt to cross illegally from Mexico into the U.S. because the Rio Grande is shallow in many areas there. Officials said they would release more details about the search as they are available. SAGAMI GENERAL DEPOT, Japan Capt. Quinetta Forby beamed as the commander of U.S. Army Japan, Maj. Gen. Joel B. Vowell, pinned the Expert Soldier Badge to her tunic on Friday. Forby, 30, a native of Shady Dale, Ga., was one of 23 soldiers, and the only woman, to earn the badge and the title by demonstrating their knowledge of all things Army, from weaponry to land navigation to combat medical procedures. The four-day competition, the first ever for U.S. Army Japan, began Monday with a field of 121 from across Japan and Guam. The competing troops spent a week starting April 18 training for the tests they would face. I wanted to get out here and push my soldiers just as much as they push me, Forby, the commander of Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, told Stars and Stripes on Friday. As a leader, it is good for me to see what they actually have to do. She was also one of five soldiers to earn a perfect score at each station on the course, a feat that earned a second accolade, a perfect edge. Those five soldiers were also awarded an Army Commendation Medal. The Army approved the Expert Soldier Badge in 2019 as a way for soldiers in occupations other than infantry and medical care to prove their combat readiness, Vowell said during the awards ceremony. The competition started at Camp Zama, the U.S. Army Japan headquarters, and included events at Sagami General Depot and Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji. Wheeled-vehicle mechanics, human resources specialists and musicians, among others, took part in the competition. Throughout the week, they faced 30 warrior tasks in physical fitness, weapons proficiency, land navigation, patrolling and medical comprehension. Pfc. Felix Rosario Acosta, 21, a human resources specialist with 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Sagami General Depot, also earned the Expert Soldier Badge. He said the competition was the first time hes touched any of the weapons or performed any of the life-saving techniques. Nobody sees a human resources person trying to get this badge, because we are paper workers, Rosario Acosta, a native of Lares Morovis, Puerto Rico, told Stars and Stripes on Thursday. I want to represent human resources. His father, Guillermo Roserio Nieves, retired after 20 years as an Army human resources specialist. I want to make my dad proud, Rosario Acosta said. Soldiers competed against themselves rather than each other. For each task, each soldier must meet or exceed the score set by the Army to advance to the next round. By Thursday, the day devoted to testing the soldiers medical skills, just 25 competitors remained. The medical competition involved 10 tasks, such as calling for a medevac, providing care under fire and performing first aid for an open head wound in a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear environment. The competition isnt just about physical strength, but mental acuity, as well, Rosario Acosta said. He was most concerned about the test on treating a casualty for a spinal injury on Thursday. It has a lot of steps in order to do it and if you skip a step thatll be a no-go, he said. Yesterday I had to memorize 11 lines of steps. It is all about memorization. Forby said she competed as a soldier, not just as a woman. I can push just as hard as you can, she said. I can push just as far, if not as farther as the males can. Any female soldier looking at it like I cant do it, I am the prime example of, Yes, you can. You just have to put in the work. Next year, members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force will take part in the competition, U.S. Army Japan Command Sgt. Maj. Jerry Dodson Jr. said Thursday at Sagami General Depot. Any soldier can do this, but soldiers who have attention to detail, are resilient and physically fit, will always be more successful, he said. WASHINGTON The Department of Veterans Affairs has open applications for a new grant program that will allow the agency to provide funds for community-based suicide prevention efforts. The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program will allow the Veterans Health Administration's Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to fund organizations. The program is designed to help meet the needs of veterans and their families through outreach, suicide prevention services, and the VA and its community resources. Organizations can apply for grants up to $750,000 and apply yearly throughout the three-year program. The VA said it will award grants to organizations that provide or coordinate services for veterans at risk of suicide and their families. There is about $51.75 million available in suicide prevention grants. "We're excited about the recent news regarding the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox suicide prevention grant," Matthew Miller, VA's suicide prevention program executive director, said last week. "We believe that this will contribute meaningfully and significantly to our broader community-based intervention approach, which is new to the VA over the last five or so years, and will further enhance the partnerships and collaborations we have at the local community level." Miller said the agency believes the grant will send a strong message regarding its three core tenets of suicide prevention. "Number one, suicide is preventable," he said. "Number two, it will require a public health approach, which in essence means moving beyond just the clinical setting. And then number three, it's going to require all of us and now we're able to back those up with specific funding through this grant." Qualifications include outreach to those at risk of suicide, education on suicide risk and prevention, clinical services for emergency treatment, assistance with VA benefits and emergent needs related to health care services. Miller said if an organization receives a grant one year, it doesn't guarantee the group will receive a grant the following year. "There's an evaluation period that occurs and that evaluation period includes reporting on very specific data," he said. The program is named after Army veteran Parker Gordon Fox. Fox joined the Army in 2014 and was a sniper instructor at the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga. Fox died by suicide on July 21, 2020. He was 25. The grant program is part of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019, which became law in October 2020. The measure intends to give $174 million to state and local organizations that provide suicide-prevention services to veterans and their families during the next five years. The grant also aligns with the VA's National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide 2018-2028. The agency's strategy aims to provide a framework for identifying priorities, organizing efforts, and contributing to a national focus on veteran suicide prevention. In 2019, 6,261 veterans died by suicide 399 fewer than in 2018 and the fewest veteran suicides in a single year since 2007, according to VA's 2021 annual report on veteran suicide prevention, which is released every September. The average number of veteran suicides decreased slightly from 17.6 each day in 2018 to 17.2 in 2019. The latest report does not contain any data relevant to the coronavirus pandemic. The VA said it has not yet observed any increase in suicides among VA patients because of the pandemic. "This is a small but insufficient step in the right direction in fulfilling promises made in the John Scott Hannon Act," AMVETS said in a prepared statement. "We are hopeful that VA starts to take more seriously the need to support an array of nontraditional, unique services that many community programs and organizations provide." The veterans organization also said it was concerned the grant process is overly onerous in its requirements. "In many ways, the onerous reporting requirements appear to be an effort by those opposed to this effort, to kill it by way of a million paper cuts that local community providers will have difficulty achieving," AMVETS said. "Further, these requirements are not required for the billions spent on ineffective VA approaches to mental health, though Congress should seriously consider applying these same standards to the VA programs and services. We are hopeful that Congress immediately starts looking into this rollout to ensure that the program achieves its initial intentions." The VA will host a technical assistance webinar for grant applicants on April 29 at 2 p.m. EST. The deadline to register is April 28. Webinar registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DtPsGkxLTEWBdFeWyiDKWA The U.S.-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has completed its purchase of the Subic Bay shipyard in the Philippines, laying to rest concerns of a possible sale to interested Chinese companies. The completion of the Subic Bay shipyard will redound to benefits for the country, bring jobs to the local communities, increase economic activity, and at the same [time] fortify our strategic security measures, Jose Manuel Romualdez, Philippine ambassador to the United States, said in a news release Thursday. Working with the United States on this project will help ensure that we are able to protect our interests not only for our country but the whole region, he said. The sale of the former U.S. Navy base is an important example of U.S.-Philippine public-private partnership, Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said in a tweet Wednesday. Great to see the completion of the acquisition of Hanjin shipyard in Subic Bay by a U.S.-based firm, he wrote. The date and purchase price of the sale were not included in the news release. Agila Naval Inc. will operate the shipyard, according to reports last month in Philippine media. Further information on Agila was unavailable Friday. Reuters reported last month that Cerberus was buying the shipyard for $300 million. Cerberus did not respond Thursday to a request for comment from Stars and Stripes. Several Chinese companies were among eight parties that expressed interest in 2019 in buying the shipyard, which holds strategic importance because of its deep-water port and proximity to the contested South China Sea. The Subic Bay shipyard had been operated by Hanjin Philippines, a South Korean firm that defaulted on loans of $1.3 billion in 2019, according to Reuters. Hanjins shipbuilding activity employed about 20,000 workers. Cerberus, based in New York, has approximately $55 billion in assets in credit, private equity and real estate, according to its website. A potential partner in the deal, Australian shipbuilder Austal, was not involved in the final agreement and is no longer a tenant at the shipyard, according to a March 9 report in Maritime Executive. The purchase by a U.S. firm represents a full circle in American-Philippine military relations. The U.S. occupied the Philippines in 1898 after defeating Spain in the Spanish-American War. Naval Base Subic Bay and the nearby Clark Air Force Base became key strategic hubs for the U.S. through the end of combat operations in the Vietnam War in 1973. A growing tide of Philippine opposition to Americas military presence as well as the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 that decimated Clark led the U.S. to leave both bases by the end of 1992. The two countries, however, have continued bilateral training exercises in the decades since then. That military relationship has become more crucial in recent years as the Philippines and China have clashed over competing claims of sovereignty on portions of the South China Sea. TOKYO Six Russian ships, three of them military vessels, steamed near the southern Japanese island of Kyushu and through the Tsushima Strait this week, Japans Joint Staff said Wednesday. The Russian vessels three commercial ships along with a Utaloy-class destroyer, an Altay-class replenishment oiler and a Silva-class rescue tug passed through the 63-mile-wide strait around 9 a.m. Tuesday en route to the Sea of Japan, according to a Joint Staff news release. The ships were spotted around 9 a.m. Tuesday, approximately 50 miles off the coast of the uninhabited Danjo Islands, which lie about 130 miles southwest of Sasebo Naval Base, the release said. Japan claims less than 12 miles of territorial sea in the strait to maintain a high seas corridor, according to a 1998 U.S. State Department report. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed a P-1 patrol aircraft from Atsugi Air Base and the guided-missile destroyer JS Shirataka from Sasebo to monitor the ships passage. Japan also monitored a Chinese vessel moving off its coast this week. A Chinese navy reconnaissance ship was spotted 9 a.m. Wednesday about 100 miles off Amami Oshima, one of Japans southwestern islands, according to the Joint Staff. Later, the surveillance vessel traveled east between Amami Oshima and Yokoate island, about 175 miles northeast of Okinawa. A P-1 and the replenishment ship JS Hamana monitored their passage. The three Russian commercial ships are affiliated with Gazprom, the Russian natural gas producer, and the military vessels were likely acting as escorts, Kyodo News reported Wednesday. A combination of military and commercial vessels traveling together near Japan is very rare, according to James Brown, an international affairs expert at Temple Universitys Japan campus. I can't think of another example in which Russian naval and energy vessels have operated together in the vicinity of Japan, he told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. Russian maritime traffic around Japan has increased in recent months. Six Russian warships sailed through Soya Strait, which separates Japans northern island of Hokkaido and Russias Sakhalin Island, on March 14. On March 15 and 16, four Russian amphibious ships traveling in pairs were spotted off the coast of Honshu, the largest of Japans four main islands. Russian naval activity near Japan can at times be practical, as Russian sometimes moves military assets through Japans straits toward Ukraine, Brown said. However, much of the naval activity is symbolic, he said. The purpose is two-fold. First, Russia wants to show that, despite its war in Ukraine, its capabilities in the Far East remain undiminished. Second, it is a show of force in the hope of deterring Japan from introducing further sanctions. A healthy alliance between South Korea, Japan and the United States is crucial to Asia's stability, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Thursday. But, he added, Seoul and Tokyo need a third-party mediator like Washington to help them work out their differences. "Since World War II, the network of U.S. alliances and partnerships has been at the core of a stable Indo-Pacific, Harris said during a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Relationships matter and alliances matter. To address North Koreas provocations and ensure stability in the region, South Korea and Japan must put aside the bad history between them, he said. Historical divisions often mar relations between two of the regions most powerful and successful democracies. For decades, the two countries have bickered over ownership of a cluster of small islands in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea. The islands, which Seoul and Tokyo call Dokdo and Takeshima, respectively, have prompted the two nations to create government websites dedicated to their claims. When then-South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the islands in 2012, Japans government recalled its ambassador in Seoul and described the visit as "unacceptable. South Korea and Japan also argue over whether Japanese troops forced Korean women into prostitution during World War II and what reparations those comfort women are due. Harris said it is crucial that the two countries and the U.S. work together to enhance security cooperation and preserve the international rules-based order. The reality is that no important security or economic issue in the region can be addressed without South Koreas and Japans active involvement, he said. But, Harris said, he believes Tokyo and Seoul are unable to work out their differences by themselves and that they need a mediator, like the U.S., or a strong, common existential threat, such as North Korea or China. Harris, a retired admiral who also led U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Pacific Fleet, represented U.S. interests in South Korea from 2018 to 2020. Growth between the two countries plateaued during Harris tenure. Then-President Donald Trump demanded that Seoul pay more for stationing of U.S. troops in the country and South Korean President Moon Jae-in undertook a passive approach to diplomacy with North Korea. Despite several groundbreaking summits between Trump, Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, diplomatic progress between the three countries stalled and have now regressed to sharp rhetoric and more weapons tests from Pyongyang. President Joe Biden is expected to visit South Korea and meet with President-elect Yoon Seok-youl in May, according to multiple news reports. Yoon, a member of the conservative party, is scheduled to take office May 10 and has signaled closer ties with Japan and the U.S. at the expense of relations with North Korea. Harris said he was optimistic about Yoons stated outreach to Japan: The stakes are too high to take any other course. KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will discuss the war in Ukraine with his counterparts from NATO and partner nations at Ramstein Air Base on Tuesday, the Pentagon said. The goal (is) to bring together stakeholders from all around the world for a series of meetings on the latest Ukraine defense needs and ensuring that Ukraines enduring security and sovereignty over the long term is respected and developed, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. The latest battlefield assessment of the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine and ways to ensure security assistance continues to flow to Ukraine will be discussed, Kirby said. The list of participants hasnt been finalized but is expected to include some representatives from non-NATO nations. Austin also wants to talk about Ukraines defense needs in a postwar environment, Kirby added. (Austin) believes that its not too soon to begin to have a longer-term discussion with allies and partners about what Ukrainian sovereignty needs to look like going forward, he said. At least 30 countries have provided Ukraine with military assistance since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country on Feb. 24. Russia has doubled down on its efforts to seize control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, following unsuccessful attempts to conquer the capital of Kyiv. The Pentagon announced Thursday an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, to include 72 155 mm howitzers and 72 tactical vehicles to tow them. The U.S. also will send 144,000 artillery rounds for the howitzers and 121 Phoenix Ghost tactical drones. The attack-focused drones were developed for a set of requirements that very closely match what Ukraine needs to fight in the Donbas region, Kirby said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to continue shipping weaponry to Ukraine, though insisted that he aimed to avoid an open conflict with Russia that could lead to nuclear war. Scholz has come under intense pressure to increase military support to Ukraine, including sending heavy weapons such as tanks, and expand European Union sanctions against Russia to include oil and natural gas imports. "We need to do everything to avoid a direct military confrontation between NATO and a heavily armed superpower such as Russia, a nuclear power," Scholz told Der Spiegel magazine in an interview published Friday. "I will do everything to avoid an escalation that could lead to World War III - there can be no nuclear war." Scholz reinforced his rejection of an immediate EU gas embargo, saying such a move wouldn't end the war in Ukraine -- and would instead trigger a "dramatic economic crisis" in Europe, leading to the loss of millions of jobs. Economists are at odds over the severity of the impact. The Bundesbank estimates that the German economy is at risk of shrinking nearly 2% this year if an embargo on Russian coal, oil and gas leads to restrictions on power providers and industry. A joint forecast by the country's leading economic institutes projected the total damage of a sudden loss in Russian energy supplies at 220 billion euros ($240 billion), or about 6.5% of national output. Risks are high that Russia's escalation of attacks on Ukraine will trigger aggravated sanctions and counter-sanctions. A complete ban on energy would have the biggest impact. Scholz pushed back against the assertion that Germany was doing too little to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia. He added that Germany was in talks with the Slovenian government over a deal in which the Balkan nation would send Soviet-era military equipment, such as tanks, to Ukraine and in exchange for more modern hardware from German industry. "We're supplying weapons and many of our allies are doing the same. This is not about fear, rather about political responsibility," Scholz said. "Avoiding an escalation involving NATO is the highest priority for me. So I'm not peering over at polls or allow myself to be irritated by shrill calls." The chancellor called on President Vladimir Putin to stop the attacks and pull back Russian troops from occupied territory in Ukraine. "There must be a peace agreement that will allow Ukraine to defend itself in the future," he said. "We will equip them in such a way that their security is ensured -- and we're available to guarantee that. There will be no dictated peace of the kind that Putin had long dreamed of." He insisted that sanctions will remain in place at least until there's a deal between Russia and Ukraine. "A cold peace that isn't sealed with an agreement will not free Russia from the sanctions regime," he said. Speaking to reporters in Vilnius, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany and its EU allies were working together on a phased-in import ban for Russian oil, but this won't happen overnight. She pushed back against the assertion that it was mainly Germany holding up measures targeting Russian energy, saying nearly all other EU member states were also opposed to an immediate import ban for oil and natural gas because of concerns about the impact on consumers. The bloc's import ban for Russian coal, which is being phased in over four months, was a first step in the EU's plan for a complete and irreversible exit from Russian energy, Baerbock said. "That's why we have a plan to phase out oil by the end of the year at the latest -- together with all European countries," she said. "If we take this step now to make ourselves independent of Russian fossil imports, then this step must be for good." LVIV, Ukraine - Train 750L was running nearly an hour behind schedule when it rumbled into the western Ukrainian hub of Lviv one recent afternoon. The delay meant extra time for the dozens of nervous passengers waiting at the depot to ask themselves: Is this a bad idea? The families huddled on the platform that day are part of a wave of Ukrainians who fled Russian attacks to the safer, western part of the country but are gambling on a return to the capital, Kyiv, now that Russian forces have withdrawn from the area. Ukrainian officials say about 50,000 people a day are going back, despite warnings from Kyiv's mayor to stay put and continued airstrikes around the city. Drivers report traffic snarls at entrances to the capital. Trains that until recently were full only in one direction - away from Kyiv - are now busy on the return leg, too. The passengers of 750L said the decision to go back was agonizing. They held family meetings to hash out pros and cons. They obsessively watched Telegram channels for reports of violence. They prayed. And then they bought their tickets, the pull of the familiar beating out the uncertainty of war. "I can't wait to take a shower, see my bedroom, hug my husband. I'm going home," said Liudmyla, standing on the platform with her teenage daughter. Her excitement was tempered by fears so deep that she asked that her last name not be published for security reasons. "No one knows what's going to happen. It's all so unsure," she said. Other passengers standing in the cold at the ornate, century-old depot expressed that same blend of anticipation and dread, but said it was time to go. They had elderly parents or pets to check on. They'd run out of money or felt they were overstaying their welcome with host families in Lviv. Some had fled so quickly in February and March that they wondered whether their homes would smell of rotten food; one joked that his fridge was a "biological weapon" by now. Several said they wouldn't unpack for a week - just in case. "It's a little quieter now. People say it's still not a great time to be there, but it's our home. Our walls will heal us," said Tanya Morozova, 40, whose husband and elder son were still in Kyiv, along with the family's beloved dog, Jack. Jack was the main draw for Morozova's younger daughter, 7-year-old Varvara. Her 9-year-old son, Hlib, said he missed his toys. The return was more complicated for Morozova's elder daughter, Sasha, 20, a college student whose dreams of studying in Spain were interrupted by war, forcing her into a parental role when the family escaped to Lviv. "It's really difficult," Sasha said. "I started helping my mom more with the kids. I was looking forward to maybe going to university abroad but . . ." Sasha's voice broke and tears streamed down her cheeks. She wiped them off as her mom gave her a hug. "I can't leave them now," Sasha said through sobs. "So we'll go back home and then we'll see." Lviv, which has seen only sporadic Russian attacks, has become a haven for civilians, diplomats, journalists and aid groups because of its relative safety and proximity to the Polish border. Residents here have opened their homes to strangers, sheltering displaced compatriots in their living rooms and basements. Volunteers at the train depot direct new arrivals to services and housing. Shops, cafes and churches are open. The calm is a welcome luxury for families fleeing bombardment, but one that also brings a sense of guilt. Returning to Kyiv, many said, would make them feel a little closer to the front lines. "The good side will always win, so we're going back to Kyiv to fight on that side," said Volodymyr Ushakov, 35, an event director who said he's been working with online networks in the "cyberwar" countering Russian propaganda. Anton Bobryshev and Sasha Pomazan, a couple in their mid-20s waiting on the platform, said they used to marvel at accounts from World War II and the 1930s Holodomor - the intentional starvation of millions of Ukrainians under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin - in which people who had fled returned to help others. "We watched all these films regarding wars years ago, thinking, 'Why are people coming back? It's dangerous,' " Pomazan said. "And now we understand why. Because it's our home, it's our place." The couple said they had tried to settle into their hotel in Lviv but couldn't stop thinking of all they'd left behind in Kyiv. Family. Friends. Their pet tarantula. A brand-new Honda Accord. Pomazan's brother is an emergency medic who stayed in the capital to treat people wounded in Russian strikes. Worried about her brother, her parents also stayed in place, just nine miles from the suburb of Bucha, which occupying Russian forces turned into a slaughterhouse. "It's a very horrible feeling when you understand your parents might be killed," Pomazan said. Bobryshev's parents, meanwhile, have stubbornly refused to leave Zaporizhzhia, home to a humanitarian operation for families coming out of the devastated southern port city of Mariupol. His parents' daily reality is so different from theirs in Lviv, he said, that it's hard not to feel the pressure to return. "We can eat anywhere, we can drink anywhere, we're in a safe place," Bobryshev said. "We had a very tasty dinner here yesterday, sitting in a cafe, drinking wine, and somebody in Mariupol is dying," Pomazan said. "For us, we can forget about it for 15 minutes, for half an hour, and then we start to remember and the guilty feeling starts to kill you." As boarding began, not everyone on the platform left. Nadia Kobryn, 45, watched her friend board the train, take a seat and wave to her from the window. Kobryn had planned to leave, too, she said, but lost her nerve with reports of new airstrikes that morning. "We weigh it each week - to go or not to go," she said. Train 750L, its cars painted in the national colors of blue and yellow, started down the tracks, carrying its anxious passengers back to unknown futures. Kobryn said that, deep down, she wished she and her family were on board. "We want to go, too," she said. "But we're just not ready yet." Two months into the invasion of Ukraine, a Russian military commander suggested Friday that Moscow aims to establish a corridor through southern Ukraine to Transnistria, a breakaway republic in eastern Moldova. "Control over the south of Ukraine is another way out to Transnistria, where there are also facts of oppression of the Russian-speaking population," said Rustam Minnekaev, acting commander of Russia's Central Military District, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. It was unclear whether Minnekaev's statement reflects the official Kremlin line. The comment surprised some analysts, since Russia tried and failed in the early weeks of the war to advance on southwestern Ukraine - the area it would need to secure to reach the border with Transnistria. Nonetheless, it sparked global conversation about the separatist enclave and represents the most direct challenge to Moldova to date. Moldova summoned Russia's ambassador later Friday to express "deep concern" over Minnekaev's comments. "These statements are unfounded and contradict the position of the Russian Federation supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, within its internationally recognized borders," the Moldovan foreign ministry said in a statement provided to The Washington Post. Analysts say it's unlikely that the Russian military, embroiled in a fight to take eastern Ukraine, is capable of carving out such a path. And even though Transnistria is backed by Moscow and hosts Russian troops, that may not mean its residents want to get involved in the war. Here's what to know about the breakaway republic. What is Transnistria? The small Eastern European country of Moldova, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, used to be part of Romania. It was integrated into the Soviet Union in 1940. The collapse of the Soviet Union five decades later triggered a civil conflict in the early 1990s between the newly independent Republic of Moldova and separatists in Transnistria, who wanted to maintain Soviet ties. Transnistria, a thin strip of land that runs along Moldova's border with Ukraine, has a population of about 500,000. No country - not even Russia - recognizes the territory as independent. But it functions as a separate nation, where Moldovan authorities admit they have no control. Russian troops have been stationed in the area for decades as "peacekeepers," with an estimated 1,500 there today. Moldovans make fun of the sliver of land as a backwater stuck in the Soviet era, where Lenin statues remain, international bank cards don't work and a monopolistic company, Sheriff, controls virtually everything. The nonprofit Freedom House rates Transnistria as "not free," citing increasingly restricted political competition, the political dominance of powerful local business interests and crackdowns on dissent. Why might Russia be interested in Transnistria? The idea of Russia seeking to establish a geographic link to Transnistria has been "in the discourse since at least the 1990s," said Anton Barbashin, a political analyst at Riddle, an online journal of Russian affairs. Russia has long sought to maintain pockets of influence in Eastern Europe. Moscow continues to support pro-Russian Transnistria with free natural gas and pension supplements, keeping the separatist republic afloat. Minnekaev, the Russian commander, expressed a desire to establish a path to the Russian-speaking population there, which he suggested, without evidence, was experiencing "oppression." Russia has repeatedly invoked Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine to justify its assault on the country. When Moldova began its application for European Union membership in early March - a week into the invasion of Ukraine - Transnistrian leaders said they had no intention of doing the same and demanded once again to create "two independent states." But the area itself doesn't have a lot of strategic value for Moscow, Barbashin said. Sending troops there would "create more problems than it solves" for Russia, likely triggering additional international sanctions and destroying Moscow's relationship with Moldova, which is constitutionally neutral and has said it will not join NATO. Still, the war in neighboring Ukraine and the reality of the Russian troop presence in a slice of Moldova has made Moldovans jittery, and worried that Russia could attack them next. The Ukrainian government has also claimed that Russian forces stationed in Transnistria could be used to attack Ukraine. The Russian commander's comments Friday added to global concern about Moldova's vulnerability. How likely is a Russian advance toward the region? Not very, analysts say. Russia has reoriented its military efforts on gaining control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, after attempts to seize Kyiv, the capital, and broader swaths of Ukraine failed. The Russian military has sustained heavy losses during its two-month assault and significant battlefield reversals that surprised many observers and exposed its weaknesses. "The conversation about Transnistria is a complete canard," said Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization in Arlington, Va. "The Russian military has no capacity for this kind of offensive. It's very likely that they will be a spent force after the offensive in Donbas." Kofman said the statement from Minnekaev, the Russian commander, that Moscow intended to take control of southern Ukraine wasn't new. "They literally tried this in phase one," he said. Russian attempts to advance beyond the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv made little headway, leaving southwestern Ukraine under Kyiv's control. Moldova's foreign minister, Nicu Popescu, said at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund in Washington this week that the situation in Transnistria is "more or less calm" and that Moldova had not seen signs of any unusual military activity there. Mihai Popsoi, a Moldovan member of Parliament, said authorities have seen no intelligence indicating that Russian troops could move in the direction of Transnistria. "The facts on the ground are basically that the fighting in Donbas is the key area to monitor at the moment, and Russia certainly does not have the capacity to do this and do the south of Ukraine as well without a large-scale mobilization," Barbashin said. The Russian commander's statement may have been an off-the-cuff remark, he added - and in a war, and particularly one waged by Russia, "everything should be taken with an extra grain of salt." Still, Moldovan and regional politicians are taking the threat seriously, Popsoi said. He speculated that at the very least, Moscow intended to scare Moldova and other countries in the region. "You cannot help but take these kinds of threat seriously and we have been taking them seriously from the very beginning of this monstrous war," he said. The Moldovan government put out a statement Friday refuting the commander's assertions that Russian speakers in Transnistria faced persecution. But even if Russian troops were to march toward Transnistria, they may not be welcomed with open arms. Though residents of the breakaway republic rely on support from Moscow, some hold Moldovan passports and most of Transnistria's exports go to the E.U. Transnistrian authorities have offered neither public support nor condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Transnistria shares deep ties with its neighbor, and about 100,000 residents hold Ukrainian citizenship, de facto foreign minister Vitaly Ignatyev said this month. "We stand exclusively for the peace and security of all people who live in" Transnistria, he said. The breakaway republic has taken in more than 27,000 Ukrainian refugees, he said. Transnistria appears to be holding back from supporting Russia in the war and instead is using its hosting of Ukrainian refugees as a means of garnering international legitimacy, analyst Keith Harrington wrote in a blog post. "Our reading of the situation and what we get from the region is that there are very few people in that region who are wanting to trade their existing situation for becoming part of a war zone," Popescu told reporters in Washington on Tuesday. "Having said that, we cannot predict how things will evolve. We cannot speculate and we have been preparing from November and we continue to be very alert to the full spectrum of threats." - - - The Washington Post's Chico Harlan contributed to this report. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide health alert Thursday about an unusual cluster of serious hepatitis cases in young children for which the cause or causes is not known. Federal health officials and the Alabama Department of Public Health are investigating nine cases of hepatitis in children 1 to 6 years old who were hospitalized between October 2021 and February 2022 with significant liver injury. All of the children were previously healthy, officials said, and two required liver transplants. There are no reported deaths. CDCs alert is to notify physicians and public health authorities nationwide to be on the lookout for symptoms and report suspected cases. None of the children were hospitalized because of a coronavirus infection, officials said. The children were from across the state and officials have found no epidemiological link connecting them. North Carolina also had two cases in school-aged children, neither of whom needed a liver transplant and subsequently recovered, STAT reported. A spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. cases come after European counterparts reported an unusual outbreak of severe hepatitis in dozens of previously healthy children -- also without a known cause. Symptoms of hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-colored stools, joint pain and jaundice. Officials are investigating a possible association between pediatric hepatitis and adenovirus, a family of viruses that causes a range of infections, most commonly respiratory illnesses. At this time, adenovirus may be the cause for these, but investigators are still learning more, including ruling out other possible causes and identifying other possible contributing factors, the CDC said in a statement. All nine children in Alabama tested positive for adenoviruses, which are spread by respiratory droplets and touching infected people or virus on surfaces. Adenoviruses most commonly cause respiratory illnesses, but they can also cause inflammation of the stomach. The virus rarely causes hepatitis. In Europe, the United Kingdom has reported 108 cases; 79 cases are in England. The first case was in January in Scotland. Spain has confirmed three cases and Ireland is investigating a handful of cases, according to the World Health Organization. European health authorities have also reported cases in Denmark and the Netherlands. In the U.K., eight children have undergone liver transplants, according to the UK Health Security Agency. No deaths have been reported. Adenovirus has been confirmed in some of the European cases, but not all, the CDC said. Several of the U.K. patients also had coronavirus infections, the WHO said. None of the children in the U.K., who were all under age 10, had been vaccinated against coronavirus, according to the U.K. Health Security Agency. Hepatitis can be triggered by a variety of factors, from toxic chemicals to autoimmune disorders and viruses that cause chickenpox and the common cold. The most common causes of viral hepatitis are the hepatitis A, B, and C viruses. Those common causes have been ruled out in the Alabama children, the CDC said. They have also been ruled out in the U.K. children, authorities there said. Alabamas first cases were identified in October 2021. Five children were admitted to a childrens hospital with significant liver injury, including some with acute liver failure. There was no known cause. All tested positive for adenovirus, the CDC said. After further investigation, the hospital identified four more cases, all of whom had liver injury and adenovirus infection. Five of the nine tested positive for a specific type of adenovirus, adenovirus 41, which more commonly causes pediatric acute gastroenteritis, said Karen Landers, a health officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health. Symptoms typically include diarrhea, vomiting and fever and can often be accompanied by respiratory symptoms, the CDC health alert said. While there have been case reports of hepatitis in immunocompromised children with adenovirus infection, adenovirus type 41 is not known to be a cause of hepatitis in otherwise healthy children, the health alert said. CDC is asking physicians to consider adenovirus testing for pediatric patients with hepatitis of unknown cause and to report any such cases. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Childrens Hospital in Cleveland, said that with mild cases of hepatitis parents and children may not even know there is an issue and it will resolve itself. More serious cases will be very obvious, she said, with a child becoming increasingly fatigued or jaundiced with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The main thing parents may be wondering is, What if my kid has hepatitis and I dont know it? But if you dont know it, the child has such mild symptoms, it does not matter, she explained. If its a bad case, there will be symptoms. Edwards said shes following news about the outbreaks closely, but at this time Im not particularly concerned and I dont think parents need to be concerned. With the lifting of mask mandates and social distancing restrictions, children may be more susceptible to infections after being isolated from one another for a long time. Now that COVID is down, viral interference has been released and I think we are going to see a lot of old pathogens coming back and maybe some new ones, which worries me too, said Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco. At Childrens Mercy Kansas City, physician Ryan Fischer said his area has not seen an increase in hepatitis cases similar to what has been seen in Alabama. The hospital typically sees 1-3 cases of pediatric liver failure needing transplants annually or close to it. This year, there have been 4 patients and two of those patients also had coronavirus, Fischer said. Its really interesting and incredibly difficult to try to figure out why they have it, said Fischer, who is chief of the section of hepatology and transplant medicine. First and foremost, having acute liver failure is exceptionally rare, even in this time of heightened awareness, he said. This is the first time in his career that hes heard of clusters of liver failures in different countries like this in children. SAN DIEGO,CA (Tribune News Service) The trial of five former naval officers charged with taking bribes from the military contractor known as Fat Leonard abruptly ground to a halt this week with accusations that prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence that casts doubt on an alleged sexual tryst between a prostitute and one of the defendants. Prosecutors admitted in court Thursday that they messed up: Federal investigators interviewed the prostitute in question last month but did not write up a timely report on the interview. Defense attorneys contend prosecutors committed a much more egregious offense by violating the Brady Rule, which requires exculpatory evidence in the governments possession to be turned over to the defense a transgression that one lawyer said undermines the integrity of the whole case. The controversy could change the course of the trial, now in its eighth week. On Monday, the prosecution team and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents who conducted the interview will be under scrutiny as the judge holds a separate evidentiary hearing outside the presence of the jury to get to the bottom of the issue and determine how it may affect the case going forward. It is so totally disturbing, U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino told the prosecution team. Sex with prostitutes is among the key bribes that Leonard Glenn Francis nicknamed for his girth is alleged to have plied U.S. Navy officers with in return for their military intelligence and official influence. Francis Singapore-based husbanding company serviced visiting Navy ships in ports across Southeast Asia for years, and he counted on the loyalty of strategically placed Navy officers to help line his pockets with millions in contract dollars. The governments 78-page indictment is chock full of allegations of naval officers including the five on trial embarking on corrupt escapades on Francis dime, from high-priced hotel suites to lavish dinners to parties with prostitutes. The allegation at issue here is against former Capt. David Lausman, who in 2007 was commanding officer of the 7th Fleets command ship, the Blue Ridge, and later the aircraft carrier George Washington. Prosecutors have said that he received the services of a tall prostitute named Ina at Francis expense in May 2008 at the Makati Shangri-La hotel in Manila, Philippines. But when Lausmans private investigator in late February tracked down the sex worker her name correctly spelled Ynah she denied having sex with Lausman, according to a motion filed late Wednesday by one of his defense attorneys, Laura Schaefer. Ynah told the investigator that while Francis had hired her to entertain and have sex with a man known as Too Tall Lausmans nickname that he did not want to and went to bed early, Schaefer said. Ynah said she asked if she could still go to his room with him, so she would still get paid, and he agreed; she slept on the couch and he in his bed, Schaefer said. Ynah said she later lied to Francis, telling him that she and Lausman had had sex, to ensure she got paid, Schaefer said. NCIS agents made contact with Ynah two weeks later once the trial had already begun and she told them a similar, but vaguer, story over the phone and in text messages, according to agents. She didnt identify who the man was or give a date or location of the party, according to the agents summary. Ynah later contacted Lausmans investigator to say that she had talked to government agents. However, the agents did not disclose the March 8 interview, or write a report about it, until Wednesday night more than a month later when the defense brought it up the judge in a motion. The motion seeks to prohibit testimony from former Cmdr. Stephen Shedd, who has already pleaded guilty to bribery. He was expected to tell jurors that he saw Lausman leave the party in the hotels presidential suite with Ynah, that she spent the night in his hotel room, and that Lausman adamantly denied the next morning having sex with her, defense attorneys say. The prosecution seeks to introduce Mr. Shedds testimony to prove that Mr. Lausman accepted the services of a prostitute from Mr. Francis as a bribe, notwithstanding that the prosecution is in possession of very reliable information from the source, Ynah, that establishes that Mr. Lausman did not accept the services of a prostitute, Schaefer wrote in her motion. Mr. Lausmans statements, which the government characterizes as false and self-serving, are the truth, she continued. But the government has no interest in the truth; it wants a conviction, at any cost. The U.S. attorneys office said the failure to create a report on the interview was an inadvertent oversight and acknowledged that the agents and prosecution team dropped the ball. However, prosecutors argued that they did not violate Brady, a rule named after the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brady v. Maryland. Thats because the evidence was already in the possession of the defense team, and because Ynahs statements to the government were so vague that they werent exculpatory, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Chu argued in a motion. Id be very concerned if I was in your position, going full bore on this prosecution with the agent having dropped the ball in this fashion, Sammartino chided the prosecutors Thursday. The angst that this causes on the defense side. ... Theyve got a lot of concerns about things falling through the cracks, and appropriately so. Jurors were sent home Thursday without hearing any testimony and told to return Tuesday or later, with the judge telling them the court had to sort out an unspecified legal issue in the case. 2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Wichita, KS (Tribune News Service) A Wichita man has been ordered to serve 27 1/2 years in prison in a 2019 shooting that left a 20-year-old South Carolina airman stationed at McConnell Air Force Base dead and hurt three others. Authorities say Markeithen E. Red McClaine, 28, fired at least six shots into a crowd of people who had gathered in the parking lot of Horizons East Apartments, 505 N. Rock Road, on July 27, 2019, following a party celebrating an upcoming Air Force deployment. McClaine had gone to the address with a woman to pick up a friend when a fight broke out in the parking lot. Authorities say some members of the crowd surrounded the car but eventually let it drive away. McClaine reportedly ordered the driver to stop after the vehicle was in the clear, got out and fired a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun after any threat was already over. Airman First Class Chancelor J. Williams, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was hit in the neck by one of the bullets and died at the scene. Two other people suffered gunshot wounds to their upper right legs and a third was shot in the abdomen, according to court records. McClaine told police in an interview that he fired warning shots into the air before shooting toward the crowd because he was scared after a man pulled him out of the car. He pleaded guilty in February ahead of his jury trial to second-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder. Sedgwick County District Judge Kevin OConnor imposed the 330-month sentence Thursday. This story was originally published April 22, 2022 9:44 AM. (c)2022 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.) Visit The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.) at www.kansas.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON A retired three-star Army general has been appointed to the National Security Council to manage military shipments to Ukraine as the embattled country braces for a new Russian offensive, the White House confirmed Friday. Retired Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff will coordinate military assistance sent to Ukraine by the United States and its partners, including the $800 million weapons package that President Joe Biden authorized Thursday, a White House spokesperson said. The appointment follows a letter sent last week from a group of bipartisan senators to Biden urging him to name a security assistance coordinator for Ukraine to speed up deliveries. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said they were pleased the Biden administration heeded their calls. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also signed the letter. Providing assistance to Ukraine is an ongoing national security priority we need someone at the top, Shaheen wrote on Twitter. Glad to see LTG Wolff take this on. Wolff has experience working at the Pentagon and with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the State Department and the National Security Council a group of senior officials that advises the president on military and foreign policy matters. Wolff commanded at every level from platoon to armored division during his 34-year military career. He spent nearly 10 years in Germany beginning in 1983, serving with the 1st Armored Division, the 37th Armor Regiment and the 3rd Infantry Division. In 2005, Wolff became the deputy commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, Colo. He completed three tours in Iraq, commanding the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team and the U.S. Division-Center of the 1st Armored Division. After retiring in 2014, Wolff helped represent the U.S. in an international coalition to defeat the Islamic State. He has worked as director of the Pentagons Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies since 2019. Senators had said the person tasked with coordinating aid will need to assess Ukraines defense needs, eliminate overlapping work between the Defense Department and the State Department and liaise with the defense industry. This person would also serve as the chief liaison between the United States government and our allies and partners abroad in matters relating to the transfer of existing stocks and assessment of partner capabilities, such as aircraft, heavy tanks and sophisticated weapons that could be made available to Ukraine, they wrote to Biden. The latest security assistance moving to Ukraine includes dozens of howitzers, tactical vehicles to tow them, 144,000 rounds of ammunition for the cannons and 121 tactical drones. Biden said Thursday that he plans to ask Congress next week to approve a supplemental funding package to keep the aid flowing to Ukraine. Russia is expected to launch a fierce assault on Ukraines southern and eastern regions with the aim of conquering the Donbas, a territory partly controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014. A White House spokesperson said Friday that the administration has nearly exhausted funds to supply Ukraine that Congress granted it for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. About $3.25 billion of the $3.5 billion that lawmakers allocated for pulling weapons and equipment from U.S. inventories for Ukraine has already been used, the spokesperson said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pledged to take up the legislation as early as next week. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Friday also called for urgency. "When Congress returns next week, we must immediately turn to writing an aggressive supplemental for Ukraine that responds to the military and humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people," he said. "The war is changing in the east, and the Ukrainians need much more to win and roll back Russian aggression. We'll need to get creative." Although speculation is rife over who may have purchased Onepu Park in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, there is a sense of relief that the new owner will allow continued public access. Tenders closed last week on Knights forest, the 72-hectare property that is mostly planted in pine forest but also home to protected wetlands and extensive walking and mountain-biking tracks that have been open to the public since 2011. At that time, an agreement was made between community groups that use the park and its owners, Norske Skog Tasman. When the Norwegian pulp and paper company put the property on the market recently, after closing the paper mill in June, park users and volunteers were dismayed at the idea of losing access to the park. Property Brokers rural agent Phillip Berry says a significant factor in the decision-making process on the part of the vendor is the continuation of public access to the site. He was not able to disclose the identity of the purchaser except that it was a family trust. While they live outside the district, they have a strong family connection to the area. They see the property as a community asset and focal point and have indicated their intention to maintain the current public access arrangement into the future. Park founder Bill Clark, who had previously suggested the property would be a smart purchase for Whakatane District Council or even the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, is happy that the park has been sold to someone who intends to keep it open to the public. Theres much intrigue and speculation around Onepu as to who that might be because its been said theyve got family here. People wonder if its someone they know. He says he's not too disappointed that the park didn't sell to a council, as it would have been a double-edged sword. I thought it would have been a good opportunity for the council but at the end of the day, its business as usual. Since the park started it has had a very good relationship with a private owner. Once wed established the ground rules there was almost no interference at all from Norske. There would have been certain security, going forward, if the district council, or even the regional council, had decided to purchase it, but it may have been encumbered with bureaucratic regimes, which may have destroyed or impacted on the volunteer culture of the place. Whakatane Mountain Bike Club president Richard Hamer says he has been told that the new owner is very warm to the community and the club having continued use. That was a great relief actually hearing that, says Richard. The next thing will be speaking with the person about formalising an agreement like we had with Norske. Just so that we can ensure that everyone is kept safe and we know what the parameters are for continuation. Weve held back on doing any major new work but theres some little things we have planned to make the place nicer and safer. -Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air The RSA is commemorating 100 years since the first Poppy Appeal in New Zealand, which first began on April 4, 1922. This years Poppy Day is taking place on Friday, April 22. Tauranga president of the womens section at the RSA, Veronica Egan, has been organising the annual Poppy Appeal since 1985 a total of 37 years. Veronica says that her background has allowed her to organise the Tauranga Poppy Appeal for so long. My father was a policeman and I married a serviceman. After he passed, my partner was a serviceman too. Its just embedded in me. Ive been so fortunate, Ive had a great team behind me, and thats what you need when youre organising something, Veronica says. During the lead up to the annual Poppy Appeal, Veronica says she can sometimes be at the RSA for more than eight hours a day. I ring up businesses and ask them if they would like to put poppies on their counter for people to donate, as well as take calls and organise orders that people may have for boxes. We start setting up at the end of February, it is a very busy few months. Former president of the Tauranga RSA, Heather Waldron, says that the Veronicas yearly effort is nothing short of amazing. She puts in a tremendous amount of work. We are very fortunate to have her. She does an excellent job of organising everything, says Heather. Veronica says that usually her team would consist of a few hundred people. This year however, they have had to downsize due to Covid-19, and work in a team of around five people. Last year was quite similar circumstances. I didnt want people to be out and about on the streets selling poppies so we have mainly kept them to the countertops in businesses, says Veronica. We are so fortunate that the businesses are backing us and allowing us to have poppy boxes on their countertops. Veronica also says along with schools not being able to help this year due to Covid-19, they have not been able to deliver to a lot of rest homes. We have actually sold more boxes this year. This is due to less people selling poppies on the street. Its required a bit of a different approach. There havent been as many people out on the street, and not as many people carry cash nowadays. Businesses have been more inclined to buying the whole boxes instead of selling poppies individually to their staff. Both Veronica and Heather say that they have lots of fond memories of organising the Poppy Appeal. We have lots of laughs when we all get together to count the donations, Heather says. National RSA Womens Association president Diane Wilson says that the focus this year is on supporting younger veterans just as much as the older ones. We want to recognize the young veterans too. When people think of the Poppy Appeal they tend to think of the older veterans who were involved in World War One or World War Two. We need to support and not forget about the veterans who may have more recently returned that need looking after, says Diane. National RSA president BJ Clark says that other measures have been taken place this year in order to support veterans for the next 12 months. We have put the poppy boxes out early this year, and they will be available for the full month of April. We are also modernising the RSA by allowing more options for online donations. This is being done in the hopes to further fundraise for our veterans, and look after those who may be suffering from post-traumatic stress injury or PTSI, says BJ. Heather Waldron also shared a quote about the significance of the Poppy from the RSA. The Poppy is an emblem of sacrifice, a symbol of a life spent in the service of ones country. It also serves as a link between our late comrades, and those of us who remain. We place/wear it here in remembrance. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed two renewable energy initiatives that highlight the growing partnership between Japan and New Zealand as both countries work towards a greener future. New Zealand, like Japan, is embarking on a journey to become carbon neutral by 2050, says Ardern. We need to significantly transform our economy to get there, and Japan is a natural partner for us to achieve that in areas like geothermal energy and transport. The Prime Minister was joined by the head of Toyota NZ Neeraj Lala in Tokyo today as he announced the launch of an innovative hydrogen-powered car-sharing scheme in Auckland. The scheme will feature the Toyota Mirai which uses zero emission fuel cell technology in partnership with eight major New Zealand companies. Hydrogen powered-vehicles are one way we can reduce the emissions of our car fleet, says Ardern. New Zealands hydrogen-powered fleet will only grow, and hydrogen vehicles of all sizes need infrastructure to support them. "Im proud my Government is already supporting the roll-out of a series of refuelling stations to be used by heavy freight hydrogen trucks through $20 million from the Covid-19 Response and Recovery fund. These hydrogen-refuelling stations will begin to appear in the North Island later this year, built by New Zealand company Hiringa, together with Japanese partner Mitsui & Co. Hydrogen infrastructure is also being developed in New Zealand by Japans Obayashi Corporation, which in partnership with Tuaropaki Trust opened New Zealands first-ever green hydrogen power plant. Obayashis investment in New Zealands hydrogen sector continues to grow through a partnership with Ports of Auckland to develop a green hydrogen production facility and refuelling infrastructure. Electric vehicles are also key to meeting our climate change targets and I encourage Japanese manufacturers to take advantage of the significant incentives we have in place to accelerate the uptake of EVs in New Zealand. The Prime Minister is in Tokyo on the second leg of a Trade Mission to Singapore and Japan, accompanied by Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien OConnor and a business delegation. The mission is supporting businesses to rebuild their in-person relationships within Japan New Zealands fourth-largest trading partner following the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an event at the iconic Tokyo Tower today, the Prime Minister was also joined by GNS Science chief executive Ian Simpson as he celebrated a New Zealand consortium opening an office in Tokyo to develop geothermal energy technologies in Japan. GNS has operated in Japan for more than 30 years, and the consortium will bring new geothermal expertise into Japan, including technology which extracts lithium for car batteries in the future. The Ministry of Health is today reporting 9,390 community cases of Covid-19, 522 hospitalisations and 13 deaths. A Ministry of Health spokesperson says today we are sadly reporting the deaths of 13 people with Covid-19. The deaths being reported today include people who have died over the past seven days. Delays to reporting can be associated with people dying with Covid-19, rather than from Covid-19, and Covid-19 being discovered only after they have died. These deaths take the total number of publicly reported deaths with Covid-19 to 646 and the 7-day rolling average of reported deaths to 11. Of the people whose deaths we are reporting today, one person was from Northland, six from the Auckland region, one from Waikato, one from Lakes, one from Whanganui, one from the Wellington region and two from the Canterbury region. One person was aged between 10 and 19, five were in their 70s, six in their 80s, and one person was over 90 years old. Four were male and nine were female. This is a very sad time for whanau and friends and our thoughts and condolences are with them at this time. Out of respect we will be making no further comment. There are currently 522 people in hospital with Covid-19, with 45 in Northland; Waitemata: 84; Counties Manukau: 72; Auckland: 80; Waikato: 34; Bay of Plenty: 28; Lakes: 10; Tairawhiti: 1, Hawkes Bay: 12; Taranaki: 9; Whanganui: 2; MidCentral: 11; Wairarapa: 4; Hutt Valley: 12; Capital and Coast: 12; Nelson Marlborough: 11; Canterbury: 66; South Canterbury: 5; West Coast: 1; Southern: 23 The average age of current hospitalisations is 59 and there are 15 cases in ICU or HDU. The Ministry of Health is reminding people that if you are going away this ANZAC 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. So 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 long weekend. Firstly be up to date with vaccinations, including a booster if youve not yet had one. If you are planning to be away, 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. Vaccinations administered in New Zealand Vaccines administered to date: 4,026,345 first doses; 3,977,233 second doses; 31,680 third primary doses; 2,618,571 booster doses: 260,756 paediatric first doses and 107,988 paediatric second doses Vaccines administered yesterday: 44 first doses; 133 second doses; 27 third primary doses; 1,518 booster doses; 74 paediatric first doses and 894 paediatric second doses People vaccinated All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,056,189 first dose (96.4%); 4,006,471 second dose (95.2%), 2,615,277 boosted (71.2% of those eligible) Maori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 520,867 first dose (91.2%); 503,829 second dose (88.2%), 233,219 boosted (55.2% of those eligible) Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 281,768 first dose (98.3%); 276,834 second dose (96.6%), 138,952 boosted (57.3% of those eligible) 5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 258,196 first dose (54.2%); 105,486 second dose (22.1%) 5 to 11-year-olds - Maori: 40,692 first dose (35.2%); 11,985 second dose (10.4%) 5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 23,411 first dose (47.4%); 5,821 second dose (11.8%). 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 (67.9%) Auckland DHB: first dose (99.2%); second dose (98.3%); boosted (72.9%) Counties Manukau DHB: first dose (96.2%); second dose (95%); boosted (66%) Waitemata DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95.6%); boosted (70.8%) Waikato DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.6%); boosted (66.8%) Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.4%); boosted (66.3%) Lakes DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91.4%); boosted (66.7%) MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (72.3%) Tairawhiti DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (91%); boosted (66.1%) Whanganui DHB: first dose (91.9%); second dose (90.4%); boosted (71.7%) Hawkes Bay DHB: first dose (97.2%); second dose (95.5%); boosted (70%) Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.6%); second dose (93.3%); boosted (68.4%) Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95%); boosted (73.1%) Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.8%); boosted (79.5%) Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.6%); second dose (95.7%); boosted (75.1%) Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (73.6%) West Coast DHB: first dose (92.7%); second dose (91.3%); boosted (71.9%) Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.7%); second dose (98.8%); boosted (74.7%) South Canterbury DHB: first dose (94.8%); second dose (93.8%); boosted (74.7%) Southern DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.4%); boosted (73.3%). *Partially and second doses percentages are for those 12+. Boosted percentages are for 18+ who have become eligible 3 months after having their second dose Percentages are based on 2020 HSU data - a health-specific population denominator. As the population continues to change over time, coverage rates can exceed 100%. Hospitalisations Cases in hospital: total number 522: Northland: 45; Waitemata: 84; Counties Manukau: 72; Auckland: 80; Waikato: 34; Bay of Plenty: 28; Lakes: 10; Tairawhiti: 1, Hawkes Bay: 12; Taranaki: 9; Whanganui: 2; MidCentral: 11; Wairarapa: 4; Hutt Valley: 12; Capital and Coast: 12; Nelson Marlborough: 11; Canterbury: 66; South Canterbury: 5; West Coast: 1; Southern: 23 Average age of current hospitalisations: 59 Cases in ICU or HDU: 15 Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (57 cases / 21%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (5 cases / 2%); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (79 cases / 29%); Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (128 cases / 46%); unknown (7 cases / 3%) Cases Seven day rolling average of community cases: 8,166 Seven day rolling average (as at Friday last week): 8,683 Number of new community cases: 9,390 Number of new community cases (PCR): 290 Number of new community cases (RAT): 9,100 Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (399), Auckland (2,241), Waikato (731), Bay of Plenty (340), Lakes (179), Hawkes Bay (316), MidCentral (353), Whanganui (128), Taranaki (266), Tairawhiti (108), Wairarapa (117), Capital and Coast (537), Hutt Valley (282), Nelson Marlborough (317), Canterbury (1,610), South Canterbury (224), Southern (1,116), West Coast (121), Unknown (5) Number of new cases identified at the border: 56 Number of active community cases (total): 57,138 (cases identified in the past 7 days and not yet classified as recovered) Confirmed cases (total): 867,907 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): 2,707 Number of Rapid Antigen Tests reported total (last 24 hours): 17,337 PCR tests rolling average (last 7 days): 1,915 Number of Rapid Antigen Tests dispatched (last 7 days as of 22 April 2022): 629,000 Tauranga City Councils four commissioners have been reappointed and will remain until the election in two years time. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced the reappointment of commission chair Anne Tolley and commissioners Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood and Shadrach Rolleston today. As the council continues to face substantial infrastructure and funding challenges, it is clear that ensuring certainty for Tauranga is more important than ever, says Mahuta. The reappointment of the current Tauranga commissioners will provide crucial continuity and stability as they work across the city and wider Bay of Plenty region. Selwood told Local Democracy Reporting he is really pleased to have been reappointed for the extended term. He says this will enable continuity in the work programme that the commissioners have put in place over the last 14 months. When asked what goals he was hoping to achieve, Selwood says, they have a wide range of initiatives under way. Priorities include addressing the city's affordable housing supply needs, catching up on the deficit in infrastructure, CBD development and community facilities, he says. We will now be able to see many of these initiatives through to fruition and set up a strong platform for the newly elected council in 2024. Wasley says it will be great to continue working with his fellow commissioners, that have a range of complementary skills and experience. His goals include continuing to have a council that was outwardly people focussed and the development of community partnerships to assist with delivery of various initiatives. Walsey also wants to see: A increased focus on environmental sustainability including greening of the city and completion of the 2023/24 long-term Plan. Rolleston agrees that the commission had orientated the council as an organisation to be more outward focused and engaged with its community. He says they have delivered an ambitious long-term plan and restored positive working relationships with community stakeholder organisations. Tolley lists some achievements as an increased focus on quality urban design and maintaining excellent project management and procurement. As well as bringing the infrastructure impediments for housing and transport to the forefront of discussions with central government. Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell. Supplied image. Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell says the reappointment will provide the governance stability and continuity required to implement key elements of the citys workplan. The work the commissioners have done in the last 14 months has helped restore confidence in the councils governance, after an extended period of dysfunction, he says. They bring a high level of professionalism to their roles and their complementary skills and experience have supported the council management team and staff in bringing together the range of initiatives required to begin addressing the citys housing supply issues, urgent infrastructure needs and inadequate community facilities. The commissions term will allow them to deliver the 2024-34 long-term plan and tackle crucial issues affecting the availability of land for housing and commercial development, says Grenfell. Taurangas historic underinvestment in infrastructure is responsible for many of the problems we face today. The commissioners have quickly come to grips with the citys issues and their openness to engaging with a wide cross-section of the community has ensured a high level of support for measures which elected councils have struggled with in the past, he says. Western Bay of Plenty District mayor Garry Webber told Local Democracy Reporting extension of the commissioners term was appropriate in the short term to the enable the long-term plan to be embedded. Getting through one more long-term planning cycle, is critical for the future of the city and the wider Western Bay region, he says. Western Bay of Plenty District mayor Garry Webber. Photo: John Borren/SunLive. Webber says the SmartGrowth strategy that was formed in the mid-2000s was now being taken into reality under the commissioners. They have a commitment to the wider strategy, the SmartGrowth strategy, he says. To getting the congestion under control, getting the housing opportunities moving forward quickly rather than, calling for more reports, which we saw a lot of prior to the commissioners coming in place. Webber says the working relationship was better with the commissioners than it had been with previous councils. SmartGrowth was formed in 2004 to provide a unified direction for the Western Bay of Plenty. It is a collaboration between Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, tangata whenua and other key organisations. Webber says: a democratically elected council should return in the mid-term. Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby. Photo: Supplied. Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby says LGNZ disagreed with the extension of the commissioners over an elected council. Now the decision has been made to retain a commission, it makes sense that the current commissioners are retained, he says. The commission was appointed by Mahuta following an independent review in November 2020 which identified significant governance problems. In March 2022, the minister announced she was extending the commissions term past October, when the election would have occurred. The commissioners have been in place since February 2021 and will remain until July 2024 when elections occur. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Bay of Plenty As the companies Dispatch Coordinator, you will be in a busy, varied role and will be in charge of the below:* Customer service... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz 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. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. What just happened? Activision Blizzard has one fewer lawsuit to deal with after a US District Court judge dismissed a case brought against the company by a group of investors. However, the relief could be short-lived as the plaintiffs can file another complaint within 30 days. Following a two-year investigation, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) opened a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in the summer of 2021 over claims it fostered a "frat boy" culture where harassment and discrimination ran rampant. It resulted in the company's president and several designers leaving the firm, and Activision games such as Call of Duty and Overwatch losing sponsorships amid the bad publicity. The revelations led to another lawsuit being launched against Activision Blizzard, this one by a group of investors who claimed that between August 4, 2016, and July 27, 2021, "purchasers of the securities of Activision Blizzard" were misled as the company never revealed the ongoing investigations into its workplace culture. Know there's a *lot* going on today but I am on Blizzard Way at the employee walkout. The state of CA is suing Activision Blizzard for a pattern of pay/gender discrimination and sexual harassment. Employees found company's response to the lawsuit "abhorrent." pic.twitter.com/qEx59FiydS Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) July 28, 2021 But US District Judge Anderson has just granted Activision's motion to dismiss, noting that the investors offered "a speculative conclusion without sufficient details about Defendants' conduct to raise a strong inference of scienter [knowledge of wrongdoing]." "To the extent plaintiffs allege that defendants must have known sexual harassment and discrimination were endemic by virtue of their respective positions at the company, the [first amended complaint] does not establish the requisite facts to support such a conclusion," the judge added. Additionally, judge Anderson said the plaintiffs' claims relied too much on "temporal facts" that were "insufficient to support a claim of securities fraud." Activision said it was "pleased" with the court's ruling. The door hasn't been closed on any further action. The group can file another complaint within 30 days addressing the issues highlighted in the dismissal. The decision comes just a month after a judge approved an $18 million settlement Activision Blizzard reached with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last year in a case separate from the one filed by the DFEH, which is still pending. But the company was hit with another sexual harassment lawsuit a few days before the settlement was made official. What just happened? With so many Western companies pulling their services from Russia, creator platform OnlyFans had been one of the few holdouts. But now the site, which is mainly used by those producing adult content, has paused accounts in the country, though it is only doing so because of tighter payment restrictions rising from sanctions against Russia. OnlyFans did temporarily block access for Russian creators in February, showing users a message that read, "Please be informed that your country is not supported for payouts," but the functionality was quickly restored. The UK-based company at the time confirmed that it would not be terminating or suspending creator accounts based on their location and that the accounts would continue working normally "as long as we continue to have payment methods to support them." [Part 2] Punishing content creators, for their citizenship only, is actually racism. I am angry about what is happening too. But you are not hitting those responsible. It is injustice. Please stop that. -An EU citizen and enemy of racism and injustice. Lickinggood (@Whippasion) February 27, 2022 Now, Motherboard reports that further clampdowns on payment services for those in Russia have resulted in OnlyFans being forced to cut off Russian creators. "OnlyFans is a creator first business. Over the past few months we have explored several options to continue providing our services to creators impacted by the Russia / Ukraine war. However, due to a further tightening of payment restrictions to and from Russia, OnlyFans can no longer properly serve our Russian creator community," the company said in a statement. "As a result, we are taking steps to temporarily pause accounts where payments are received in Russia. We have asked impacted creators to contact support@onlyfans.com who can help address any queries regarding their accounts." Last month saw Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal all announce that they were suspending their operations in Russia over the country's invasion of Ukraine. It followed sanctions that limited or removed Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, cutting them off from communicating with the rest of the world via the network. OnlyFans shocked its content creators and subscribers last year by announcing that the platform would prohibit the posting of any content containing sexually-explicit conduct starting October 1, 2021. While the site isn't entirely adult-only material, few people, if any, instantly think of fitness and cookery videos upon hearing its name. The company said that the banks behind its payment processing systems were pushing for the decision, but it took just one week before OnlyFans suspended the planned policy change amid user outrage. Image credit Mehaniq In brief: The economic restrictions against Russia have led to an increase in the amount of Bitcoin trading in the country. As such, the US Department of the Treasury is now targeting Russia's crypto miners in its latest round of sanctions. "By operating vast server farms that sell virtual currency mining capacity internationally, these companies help Russia monetize its natural resources," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a press release earlier this week, via CNBC. Russia has been slammed with international sanctions since it invaded neighbor Ukraine at the end of February, but cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have helped offset the damage caused to the country and its economy. Now, the US Treasury has added BitRiver and ten of its Russia-based subsidiaries to the sanctions list. The company, which operates Bitcoin mining farms using hydroelectric power, is headquartered in Switzerland and has 200 full-time staff in three offices across Russia. It also has a full-time presence in China, Japan, UAE, South Korea, Switzerland, Germany, and USA. "Russia has a comparative advantage in crypto mining due to energy resources and a cold climate. However, mining companies rely on imported computer equipment and fiat payments, which makes them vulnerable to sanctions," reads the Treasury's statement. According to Cambridge University, Russia is the third-largest miner of Bitcoin in the world with an 11.2% share of the global hashrate, sitting behind leader the US and second-place Kazakhstan. Its weekly crypto transactions doubled in the month following the invasion of Ukraine, while the number of Russian Bitcoin wallets has increased from 39.9 million to 40.7 million, writes Tom's Hardware. BitRiver founder and CEO Igor Runets responded to news of the sanctions with, "These US actions should obviously be viewed as interference in the crypto mining industry, unfair competition and an attempt to change the global balance of power in favor of American companies." He added that BitRiver "has never provided services to Russian government institutions and has not worked with customers already targeted by Washington's sanctions." In other Russia news, adult-focused content creator site OnlyFans has said it is pausing Russian accounts due to a tightening of sanctions on the payment services used by the company. In context: While cookie dialogs are supposed to help users protect their privacy, companies usually make it harder to reject tracking cookies than to accept them, as they ultimately benefit their own advertising business. After getting fined for this earlier this year, Google has finally announced a change in its practices. A few years ago, the EU implemented some laws that required websites to ask for user consent before setting non-essential cookies. While these regulations were well-meant, they didn't do much to improve privacy as people routinely accepted these cookie dialogues without reading them. The European Center for Digital Rights claims that over 90% of users click to accept all cookies, but only 3% actually want them. Earlier this year, Google got fined for deliberately designing a confusing user interface. People could easily accept all tracking cookies with one click, while rejecting them required sifting through various menus. To fix this, Google is introducing new options for European users to reject tracking cookies more easily. Google's new cookie dialog now has a third option, allowing you to turn down all of these cookies quicker with just a single click. This new menu will soon appear to anyone in Europe visiting Google Search and YouTube while being signed out or in Incognito Mode. It's available in France right now, and it'll become available later on across the rest of the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland. While this is a step in the right direction, most people still don't want to waste time with pesky cookie pop-ups on every website they visit. That's why there's an appropriately named browser extension that will get rid of them for you. The European Parliament is also planning to enact a law that establishes USB-Type C as the standard connection port on most electronic devices, including iPhones. Why it matters: Meta is jumping head-first into something called the metaverse, hoping to carve out its place in what could be a massive marketplace for digital goods and services. The problem is that it's going through an identity crisis, and employees aren't sure how their roles fit into the company's new strategy. The metaverse is a controversial subject for many people, mainly because the companies looking to build it have different definitions of what it will entail. Pundits who closely follow its development believe it's much like the internet a technological evolution that will take years to materialize fully and whose impact on our lives will become more apparent in time. Many of the opinions and predictions about the internet during its early days have turned out surprisingly wrong. Some people rightly pointed out the dangers of a hyperconnected world where information is quickly disseminated. Still, not even the pioneers could predict how deeply the internet would permeate into pretty much all aspects of our lives. The Metaverse: What Is It, and Why Should You Care? The metaverse is just one of many buzzwords currently thrown around. Some only see it as a fancy term for virtual and augmented reality gaming. However, for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it's important enough that he went as far as to rename his company to make it clear he's all-in on the concept. Zuckerberg wants his company to be a pioneer in building this hypothetical new space, but not everyone who works for him is aligned with his vision that we'll all soon spend most of our waking hours in the metaverse. According to a report from Business Insider, some current and former Meta employees are fed up with his newfound obsession and the chaos it's creating across the company. One executive who recently left Meta explained that "the only thing Mark wants to talk about" lately is the metaverse. Furthermore, the company is betting big on the idea with investments totaling $10 billion, and it's doing so when other social platforms like TikTok are chipping away at its user base. Both investors and employees are worried that Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has reached a growth ceiling and is now experiencing an identity crisis similar to the Yahoo of yesteryear. On the one hand, people are excited about the possibilities. On the other, they're confused with the new direction and the sudden shift in strategy. The company's marketing is seen as smoke and mirrors for projects that will take several years to materialize, and the details have yet to be communicated to the relevant teams. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg told investors that "although the direction is clear, our path ahead is not yet clearly defined." Investors seem to have mixed feelings about it, as Meta stock is down almost 60 percent since the name change. Zuckerberg says this year is about executing on that new vision, so we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. Surveys so far suggest there is some consumer interest for it, despite how few people own AR/VR hardware. In brief: Netflix is reportedly looking to rein in spending on original content after losing subscribers for the first time since 2011. Sources familiar with the company's strategy told The Wall Street Journal that after turning out over 500 original programs in 2021, the company is looking to reduce its output and focus more on producing quality programming. Specifically, Netflix will revamp production deals to limit risk and prioritize productions with the greatest return, not the biggest reach. What's ironic is that Netflix is largely responsible for the current state of streaming. Years ago, the industry was far more consolidated as several studios simply licensed their content to Netflix for digital distribution. Then, Netflix decided to get into the original content game, but with no track record, they had to overpay to win bids for high-profile shows. "That was the cost of entry, the cost of doing business," Bela Bajaria, the head of global TV for Netflix, said in a recent interview. It wasn't cheap, but it worked. Early originals like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black helped grow the service, and soon enough, licensing partners wondered if they could replicate Netflix's success on their own. Disney took the plunge, pulling its movies from Netflix and launching its own streaming service called Disney+. Others with sizable media libraries would also test the waters with exclusive streaming platforms. That has led to a lot of fragmentation in the market, with services like Paramount+, Peacock, Hulu, HBO Max and others all vying for your monthly sub. Netflix has continued to invest heavily in original content, and this year will be no different. The company expects to spend more than $20 billion on content creation in 2022. Stranger Things 4, due out next month, reportedly cost $30 million per episode to film. The main difference nowadays is Netflix is spending money not only to grow and maintain its subscriber base but fend off competition that didn't exist before. Video streaming is seemingly at a crossroads. Continued fragmentation even more services vying for your money doesn't seem sustainable for anyone involved. Perhaps consolidation is the answer? As for Netflix, more focused spending could help. The streaming giant is also open to cheaper subscription tiers and is exploring how to monetize shared accounts. Also, if the industry does consolidate, perhaps Netflix could strike up new licensing deals and reduce spending on expensive originals. One thing appears obvious - further price hikes while already on unstable ground don't seem like a good idea. In the near future, however, things are likely to get worse before they get better. Netflix said it anticipates losing another two million subscribers in the second quarter, thanks in large part to its withdrawal from the Russian market. Image credit Venti Views, Mason Kimbarovsky Startup success isn't easy. The Small Business Administration describes 90% of startups as failing. So, what does it take to be in the 10% that succeed? If you're considering a metaverse startup, the Limitless team has some advice on what it takes to join the ranks of the successful. What is the metaverse? The metaverse is an online space where users can create and share experiences with others. It's often described as the future of the Internet. There are many advantages to being involved in the metaverse, and Limitless is looking to help 300 new startups join in the next five years. "We'll provide them with capital, development and marketing resources and help them scale to initial traction at record speeds," says David Taylor, co-CEO at Limitless. "Both startups and established businesses will be able to enter the Metaverse and scale their revenues in a plug and play process - the Limitless way." "We're in a race to create a digital human experience and naturally opposed to large corporations that have been trying to conquer the digital avatars of their users - as we've seen from large social media and gaming corporations in the last few years," adds Mike Vitez, co-founder and co-CEO at Limitless. "Limitless is a force to bring a decentralized Metaverse to life by helping over 300 companies launch and start providing services within the next five years. This will generate critical mass, creating the first generation of metaverse businesses." So, what does it take to launch a successful project in the metaverse? According to Vitez, it's all about starting from scratch and being a pioneer. "It's like being in the early 90s in the web1 world," he says. "And for example, if we look back, of course it was a huge innovation, but we will have made an algorithm to index the information on the Internet. This is a very simple use case." Vitez also stresses the importance of being part of a team that is committed to building something from the ground up. "I think that our big success story will be Limitless in this world because it will create this whole network that needs to be done by somebody," he says. Top Tips for Launching a Successful Metaverse Startup Success for any startup boils down to three key things: a great idea, execution, and team. These tips from the Limitless team will help you get started on the right foot. 1. Believe in your Idea This may seem obvious, but it's worth reiterating. If you don't believe in your idea, no one else will. Your conviction will be essential in getting others onboard and keeping the team motivated through the inevitable ups and downs of startup life. 2. Find a Great Team A great team is essential for any startup. In the metaverse, you'll need a team of experts who are passionate about building something from the ground up. Not only will they be able to help you execute your vision, but they'll also be invaluable in helping you navigate the often-complex world of Web3 technology. 3. Get Started The metaverse is still in its infancy, which means there's a lot of opportunity for early movers. If you're considering launching a metaverse startup, now is the time to get started. The sooner you can get your project off the ground, the better positioned you'll be to take advantage of this emerging market. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Pentagon said that the U.S. needs to learn from SpaceX Starlink's recent Russian cyberattack shut down. Dave Tremper, the electronic warfare director for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, shared this detail during the C4ISRNET Conference, which happened on Wednesday, Apr. 20. Recently, SpaceX's used its Starlink internet service to help Ukraine. However, the space agency was concerned since Russia's cyberattacks could affect the internet connection they provide to Ukrainians. Because of this, Elon Musk decided to make efforts to ensure that their Starlink services in the country would not be interrupted. Pentagon Says US Needs To Learn From SpaceX Tremper explained that SpaceX's ways of handling online attacks are somehow more efficient than the U.S. government's methods. Also Read: Pentagon Says Chinese Rocket Expected to Crash to Earth This May 8: Expert Says Don't Panic "The way that Starlink was able to upgrade when a threat showed up, we need to be able to have that ability," he added via IFL Science. On the other hand, Dave explained that the Pentagon's common method of preventing cyberattacks (problem identifying and solution development) is not really effective. He added that this method takes a long time compared to the technique that Elon Musk used for his SpaceX Starlink internet connection in Ukraine. Now, what did Elon Musk do that is so effective in preventing Russia's online attacks? What Elon Musk Did Breaking Defense reported that Elon Musk sent his Starlink terminals to Ukraine in February. The billionaire was already aware of the possible Russian cyberattacks. And he is right since experts claimed that Russians attempted to jam the Starlink satellites using electromagnetic attacks. However, SpaceX was able to reconnect its cube sats using online a single line of code. Thanks to this fast anti-cyber attack effort of the space agency, the Starlink internet services were able to operate uninterrupted in Ukraine. Meanwhile, rumors claim that Pentagon plans to explore AI. On the other hand, the Pentagon's JEDI cloud contract was allegedly discontinued. For more news updates about Pentagon and other related cybersecurity topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Pentagon-Linked Defense Contractors and Subcontractors Targeted by Russian Hackers, US Intelligence Says This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Photo : unsplash/NASA) Rover A new technique that allows astronauts in orbit to control rovers exploring the planetary surfaces has been discovered. A research team introduced the said technique from ESA, the German Aerospace Center DLR, and European academia and industry, culminating in a rover session commanded from the International Space Station or ISS. The research team published their detailed paper in the Science Robots journal. New Technique Lets Astronauts Control Rovers This is the first time that the astronaut in space can control a robotic system on the ground in an immersive, intuitive manner, according to Aaron Pereira of DLR. Pereira said that their six-degree of freedom control interface incorporates force feedback so that the astronaut can experience what the rover feels, even down to the cohesion of the rocks that it touches in space and its weight. Also Read: Crew-2 Astronaut Thomas Pesquet Jokes About What He Did NOT Miss While in Space Pereira added that this helps compensate for bandwidth limitations, poor lighting, or signal delay to give a sense of immersion. This means that the astronaut feels like they are at the scene. The Robots Take the Strain Thomas Krueger, a robotics engineer and head of ESA's Human Robot Interaction Laboratory, said that robots could be given limited autonomy in known and structured environments, but for systems carrying out the exploratory tasks like sample collection in unknown and unstructured environments like a human-in-the-loop oversight becomes essential. However, the direct control has not been feasible due to the inherent problem of signal delay, with transmission times, constrained by the speed of light. Krueger said that they have been working towards the concept of humans staying safely and comfortably in orbit around Mars, the Moon, and other planetary bodies, but being close enough for direct oversight for rovers on the surface, together human flexibility and improvisation with a robust robot on the spot, can help carry out the commands precisely. A research team from ESA's HRI Lab and DLR's Robotics and Mechatronics Center collaborated on a series of complex tests, first on Earth and then into the space's orbit, according to Phys.org. Krueger added that in the end, they needed to perform feasibility experiments from space because the previous research shows that weightlessness can degrade human performance during force and motion tasks. This and the other environmental factors meant that the Earth-based simulations would not be enough. Their efforts were gathered in the first part of the Analog-1 experiment in 2019. Astronaut Luca Parmitano aboard the ISS operated the ESA Interact rover in a mock lunar environment inside a hangar in Valkenburg, the Netherlands, to survey rocks and collect some samples. The two-hour space-to-ground test was a massive success, overcoming a two-way signal delay averaging more than 0.8 seconds and a data packet loss rate of around 1%, according to Autoevolution. Solving the Technique's Time Factor Pereira explained that even though the ISS is in orbit 400km overhead, its signals are relayed to Earth through geostationary telecom satellites, then to Europe straight from Texas through a transatlantic cable. The DLR team had to design a control algorithm that could function on a stable basis despite a time lag. Since there is a delay in the force feedback received by the operator, they might move the robot further even after it has hit a space rock. In 2016, an ESA astronaut was able to capture an amazing timelapse of lightning striking the Earth. In early April, ESA announced its support for cultured meat studies to ensure meat supply for astronauts. Related Article: ESA Testing New Device That Could Save Lives In Future Moon Missions This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. CDC issued a new health advisory for the rare liver damage in children. The latest warning against unexplained hepatitis was announced so that public health authorities would be more cautious. The international health agency released the new Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory on Thursday, Apr. 21. As of writing, CDC identified nine rare liver damage cases in Alabama. On the other hand, dozens of cases were detected in the United States, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. CDC Issues Health Advisory for Rare Liver Damage in Children According to NBC News' latest report, the rare liver damage is actually well-known hepatitis. However, the cause of the latest cases is unknown. Also Read: CDC's First Batch of COVID-19 Tests are Flawed? Internal Investigation Reveals Possible Contamination "This Health Advisory serves to notify US clinicians who may encounter pediatric patients with hepatitis of unknown etiology," said CDC via its official health advisory. The agency also urges health experts to consider adenovirus testing since some of the individuals who have acute liver failure were tested have the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added that medical facilities need to disclose the data they acquire from patients with rare liver damage. Symptoms and Other Details CDC explained that the rare liver damage condition could lead to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. If your children experience some of these symptoms, it is advisable to bring them to the nearest doctor to be observed. On the other hand, the health agency also provided its suggestions that health experts are highly encouraged to follow: Health facilities need to consider conducting adenovirus testing. Pediatric experts are advised to conduct NAAT. CDC explained that whole testing blood via PCR is more effective than testing plasma. But, if the hepatitis patients don't have the rare liver damage condition, PCR plasma testing can be considered. If you want to see more details about CDC's latest health advisory, you can visit this link. Recently, the distribution date of the updated Moderna COVID-19 Omicron vaccine has been confirmed. Meanwhile, the new COVID-19 breath test was finally approved by FDA. For more news updates about CDC and other related health topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: CDC Warns US About New Incurable Superbug Fungus; Can It Spread From Patient to Patient? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's Perseverance rover for Mars has filmed a stunning footage of a tiny Martian Moon bypassing the face of the sun, an observation that will aid scientists to better understand the moon's orbit and its gravitational pull that shapes the planet's crust and mantle. With the help of Perseverance's next-generation Mastcam-Z camera, a camera system that has the ability to zoom in, focus, and take 3D pictures and videos at high speed, captured the scene on April 2, which is 397th Marian day, or sol (Solar day), of the mission. "I knew it was going to be good, but I didn't expect it to be this amazing," said Rachel Howson, one of the camera's operators from San Diego's Malin Space Science Systems, in a NASA statement. The Phobos eclipse lasted for over 40 seconds which is relatively shorter than the average solar eclipse that involves the Earth's Moon. Read Also: NASA Perseverance: Mars' Speed of Sound Calculated Using Rover, Is It Different from the Earth? A Moon on a Slow Death Spiral Phobos, when compared to our planet's Moon, is about 157 times smaller and the other Martian moon Deimos is even smaller, according to NASA. In perspective, Earth's Moon has an average radius of 1,737 kilometers. The Martian Moon is distinguished by a sequence of streaks across its surface as well as a 9-kilometer-wide crater that is called Stickney. Scientists believe that these two lumpy bodies may have been former asteroids that were captured by Mars' gravity. However, according to Space.com, Phobos is on a slow "death spiral." A study suggests that the moon's orbit of Mars is "gradually degrading over the eons, brings it through charged molecules (ions) of oxygen, carbon, and argon which points out that Mars has been shedding from its atmosphere for billions of years." Hence, NASA is closely studying Phobos orbit because the clues for the Red Planet's atmosphere could be found on the surface of the tiny moon. "As Phobos circles Mars, its gravity exerts small tidal forces on the Red Planet's interior, slightly deforming rock in the planet's crust and mantle. These forces also slowly change Phobos' orbit," NASA wrote on their website. "Latest in long history" The time-lapsed images are the latest in NASA's long history of filming solar eclipses on Mars. The Twin NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity took the very first video of Photos while it was passing by the Sun's face back in 2004. However, Perseverance has provided a higher quality, more zoomed-in footage of a Phobos solar eclipse at its highest frame yet ever since it landed in February last year. The camera served as a zoomable upgrade for Curiosity's Mastcam. "It feels like a birthday or holiday when they arrive. You know what's coming, but there is still an element of surprise when you get to see the final product," said Howson when they receive captures from the rover. Unlike other cameras, Mast-cam Z's color features make this version of Phobos solar eclipse special. It also has a solar filter that reduces light intensity in order to see the details of the Martian Moon, such as its shadows, ridges, and bumps. Scientists are well-aware that Phobos is doomed since it is closely getting to the Red Planet's surface and is bound to crash into the planet in tens of millions of years. However, NASA said that the eclipse observations from Mar's surface conducted over the last two decades are helping scientists to improve their knowledge of Phobos' slow death spiral. Related Article: Mars Colonization: New Space Study Claims Humans Can Breathe on the Red Planet With Bacteria's Help This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Popular social media platforms remain a hotbed of fake news from climate change deniers, according to a recent report. The report comes from environmental nonprofits Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace USA, and Avaaz, Gizmodo wrote. They took a closer look at the content being shared on Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook and concluded that climate crisis denial remains rampant despite these companies' concerted efforts to combat the misinformation. As per their report, Twitter takes the cake as the absolute worst social media platform to get your info about climate change. It is followed by TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, in descending order. An exciting takeaway, however, is that Pinterest is the relatively better choice for accurate information. However, this could just be chalked up to the platform's purpose as an online imageboard. Here's a statement from Rebecca Lenn, the author of the report (which you can check out in full) and a senior advisor at Avaaz, about the findings of their analysis: "This leaves researchers, advocates, and lawmakers powerless to judge whether the social media companies are acting responsibly in building and regulating their own platforms. They are largely leaving the public in the dark." How The Analysis Worked To come to their conclusion, the environmental nonprofits judged the five social media platforms on a 27-point assessment system. 27 is the highest rating and therefore means that the platform always shares accurate information about the climate. Read also: Fake News: Here's Why People Believe Them, According To Science The assessment system (which is public on Google Docs) was comprised of yes or no questions. Each question asks whether the company has implemented specific rules and regulations to combat climate-related fake news and whether the company has been transparent enough to provide relevant content to researchers, policymakers, and the general public to help track and curb the spread of these misinformed posts. Twitter only managed a measly 7 points, followed by TikTok's 7, and Facebook's 9 points. Both YouTube and Pinterest managed 14 points in comparison. The Growing Problem Of Social Media Being Used For 'News' Gone are the days when accurate, trustworthy information could only be sourced from peer-reviewed sources, established news networks, and the like. Now, people are content with - and readily believe - what posts on social media say. A report by Pew Research revealed the scope of the problem, and it is alarming. Around half of Americans get their "news" from Facebook, Twitter, and any other social network platform, with no intention of checking whether the information they get is factual or not. Another alarming thing is that the percentage of these users who get their news from the aforementioned sites hasn't gone down since 2020. This was one of the most critical times for online misinformation, too, considering it was during the height of the US presidential elections and the first outbreak of the pandemic. While the likes of Facebook have said they're doing what they can to solve the problem, things really haven't changed much. Even a Facebook (now Meta) executive blames the users themselves for the spread of fake news on the site, which has garnered understandable backlash. Related: Social Media Companies To Be Held Accountable For Spread Of Fake News By Newly Filed NY State Bill This article is owned by Tech Times Written by RJ Pierce 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The longest COVID-19 infection might have been recorded. This patient, who wanted to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, received proper health care and checkups. The patient was even treated with antiviral medicines so that the deadly COVID-19 virus can be neutralized. Despite these efforts from medical experts, the individual still tested positive for more than 16 months. The anonymous individual is one of the participants in a large, long-lasting COVID-19 study, which is handled by the King's College London, as well as the Guy's and St. Thomans' NHS Foundation Trust. Longest COVID-19 Infection? According to News.Com AU's latest report, the man, who was infected with COVID-19 for exactly 505 days, died in 2021. Experts stated that the man being immunocompromised is one of the main reasons why he got infected for a very long time. Also Read: FDA Approves COVID-19 Breath Tests Using InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer for Emergency Use Aside from this, he also suffered from other health conditions, which might have worsened his COVID-19 infection. The study stated that their findings show that immunocompromised individuals are highly susceptible to the novel coronavirus. Dr. Luke Blagdon Snell, one of the doctors involved in the long-lasting COVID-19 research, revealed something alarming about the rare long-duration coronavirus infections. Why Long-Duration COVID-19 Infections are Alarming Dr. Snell explained that COVID-19 infections lasting more than the common duration could lead to new variants. "The virus is still adapting to the human host when people are infected for a long time. It might provide an opportunity for Covid to accrue new mutations," said the health expert. He added that some of the patients they observed showed mutations similar to some of the concerning COVID-19 strains. This alarming detail also happened to a South African woman with untreated HIV. Based on the study titled "Persistent SARS-CoV-2 Infection with Accumulation of Mutations in a Patient with Poorly Controlled HIV Infection" revealed that the woman had more than 20 additional mutations. If you want to see more details about this other research, you can visit this link. Recently, a new study revealed that COVID-19 remote work could also lead to negative effects. On the other hand, a new COVID-19 test kit is claimed to detect infection more efficiently and faster than the existing kits. For more news updates about COVID-19 and other health topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Updated Moderna COVID-19 Omicron Vaccine Distribution Date Now Confirmed This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Key announcements for the tech sector during PMs visit to India On Thursday, the Prime Minister Johnson started a two - day visit to India to strengthen security, defense and economic cooperation between both countries. The visit also intends to drive progress in negotiations on the UK-India free trade agreement. Negotiating teams will hold their third round of formal talks in India next week. Last year, the Prime Minister Johnson and Prime Minister Modi agreed a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than 530m in investment into the UK and committing to double bilateral trade by 2030. 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 years G7 in Carbis Bay. Key announcements made during the visit: A set of investment and export deals worth more than 1 billion. Announcement on new science and tech collaboration, including a Digital Health partnership and a joint investment fund for Indian deep-tech and AI start-ups, supported by the UK and Indian governments. New AI scholarships for Indian students jointly funded by the UK Governments Chevening programme and Indias Adani Group. During the visit, both Prime Ministers said that trade deal could be concluded by October 2022. Can we acheive a comprehensive digital trade agreement by the end of 2022? India has taken a protectionist approach to international trade, regularly blocking deals in the World Trade Organization. New Delhi has a trade deal with Switzerland, but not the EU or US, and trade talks with Australia and New Zealand have generated an MoU but not a FTA. Enabling cross-border data flows with adequate personal data protection frameworks is one of the key asks of the tech sector for any future FTA. It is one of the core principles of digital trade and can significantly facilitate business growth in digital and tech. Jury is however still out on Indias data protection policy. Indias Data Protection Act (previously Personal Data Protection Bill-PDPB) has been discussed in Parliament since 2017. After multiple extensions, the Joint Parliamentary Committee tabled its report on the bill, and proposed various changes to the 2019 version changing it to the Data Protection Bill, 2021. In March 2022, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that they are studying the JPCs recommendations and that they aim to pass the data protection law by the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament (July/August 2022). The bill classifies four categories of data- personal data, sensitive personal data, critical personal data, and non-personal data. Critical personal data must only be processed in India. Sensitive personal data (SPD) may be transferred outside India but must remain stored in India. SPD can only be transferred outside India, under certain circumstances, such as under a contract or an intra-group scheme which is approved by the authoriity in consultation with the central government, or after an adequacy decision, or for emergency/public interest purposes. The government can compel entities to share non-personal data for framing any policy on the digital economy and for better delivery of public services. The government could require businesses to share vital datasets under these provisions, if this extends to proprietary data sets, it could be a cause for concern for businesses. It will be challenging to achieve a comprehensive FTA for our industry by the end of 2022 without having a full understanding of what the DPA entails and when it will be enforced. Given that the UK and India both thrive on digital and other advanced technologies, and that there is such an important flow of skilled talent between both countries, there are real opportunities for both countries to partner to accelerate and solidify a world-leading role in developing and commercialising new technologies that can not only create commercial opportunities, but also solve societal challenges. techUK has been calling for a future UK-India FTA including strong provisions for cross-border data flows with an adequate data protection regime, increased mobility of talent and investment whilst also reducing barriers to business growth. An FTA can establish frameworks for regulatory cooperation and harmonization of standards but is not the only vehicle to drive cooperation and trade in the fast-developing tech industry. Both governments need to explore other ways of working towards interoperability of regulatory regimes to drive the UK-India digital trade and tech partnership. Dozens of Future Syria Party members gathered to make a statement by party leader Ibrahim Al-Qaftan. Its text stated: "The Turkish occupation state is still continuing its hostile and aggressive approach to northeastern Syria. For several days, the Turkish occupation has intensified its attacks on the areas of Tal Tamr and Zarkan in northeastern Syria, taking advantage of the world's preoccupation with the Russian-Ukrainian war. It is also working to promote a new military operation towards our regions." The statement pointed out, "The Turkish escalation falls under one framework, which is to strike any democratic experiment wherever it is found, as it fears these models. Therefore, for several days it has been carrying out intense air bombardment and ground attack on the legitimate defense areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq with the aim of occupying the north of Iraq to annex it to Turkey and extend its control." The region and its expansionist Ottoman ambitions, thus violating all human and moral values, working to sever ties between the peoples of the region, in clear cooperation with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and pressure on the Iraqi government to build the isolation wall around the Shingal region. He explained, "Turkey's goals are the same in both Iraq and Syria, and this has become clear through the Turkification in Afrin, Jarablus and Al-Bab in northern Syria, and it has worked to transform the leaders of the Syrian opposition into mercenaries to act with them as it pleases, thus eliminating the Syrians' dream of achieving freedom and dignity. The statement added, "its blatant interference in Iraq and the Kurdistan region comes with the aim of striking security and stability in the region and extending its control and hegemony in the Middle East." He stressed, "We in the Future Syria Party appeal to all the peoples of the region and the world powers to be one hand against the Turkish army's attacks in northeastern Syria and northern Iraq." He called "the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq not to be drawn into the agendas of the Turkish occupation state, and we also appeal to the United Nations and human rights organizations to pressure the Turkish occupying state to curb its colonial policies in the region and the world." A ANHA Who will be the next new force to be eliminated when Yundu Automobile, which was second only to Weilai, goes to the end? Yellow crime scene tape wraps a section of a building where woman was killed in a shooting at the OYO Hotel Baton Rouge East on Gwenadele, early Thursday, April 21, 2022. Baton Rouge Police Dept. officers responded to a shooting there around 1:40 a.m., BRPD spokesperson Don Coppola said. A woman with multiple gunshot wounds was pronounced dead at the scene. Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Reese Jenkins, left, and Cpl. Russell Williams, right, escort a suspect, Earl Lee Johnson, Jr., 35, center, to a BRPD unit parked outside the Violent Crimes Unit headquartered at Louisiana State Police headquarters, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. He is a first degree murder suspect in the killing of Janice David, 34, who was found was found in a car in the parking lot of Sherwood Tower, 3636 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd. shortly before 10 p.m. on Monday night. A Facebook Live video made during the assault on David, who was choked, beaten and stabbed, helped lead police to Johnson's arrest. Production has been suspended on the film Being Mortal following a complaint lodged against Bill Murray for inappropriate behaviour. The film, based on Atul Gawandes book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, was to be directed by Aziz Ansari, who was also set to star alongside Murray and Seth Rogen. The 71-year-old actor is reportedly being investigated for inappropriate behaviour on set of Being Mortal. Credit:AP Neither Ansari nor Rogen have been named in the complaint. Deadline was the first to report news, explaining that the complaint was filed last week, leading to the suspension of production this week. According to Deadline, a letter was sent out to the cast and crew by Searchlight Pictures on Monday informing them about the incident. They are reviled by most, feared by many and are a source of fascination for some. Now, one of Australias infamous cane toads has been spotted in Sydneys west, with the City of Canterbury Bankstown council warning residents to be alert for further sightings. A council spokesperson said the toad had been spotted at WH Wagener Oval in Ashbury on April 19 and their teams would now search for it and make sure it was the only one. The invasive cane toad. Credit:Steven Zozaya / Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre We believe there have been sightings in other areas of NSW due to the recent, extreme weather conditions, the spokesperson said. While there is no broadscale method to control the cane toad, its important we maintain awareness by reporting any sightings. The pests are not the only animals that have likely been displaced due to extreme weather: bush rats, funnel webs, bats, mosquitoes, owls and turtles are other creatures that have been spotted in unusual places. A two-hectare waterfront park and buildings up to 22 storeys high are planned for the first stage of a prized area abutting the old White Bay power station in Sydneys inner west, internal documents show. The leaked draft plans, seen by the Herald, show the tallest towers proposed for the first stage of the area at Rozelle will be between 12 and 22 storeys and setback from the waterfront near the motorway ramps to the Anzac Bridge. Internal documents show the tallest buildings in the first stage of Bays West will be near the western ramps to the Anzac Bridge. Credit:Steven Siewert The tallest building in the first stage of the 77-hectare area, known as Bays West, will be about four storeys higher than the power stations two chimney stacks, under the draft master plan which has yet to be signed off by the government. In what will be the most significant reshaping of a Sydney harbour-front area since Barangaroo, the two-hectare park planned for the first stage of Bays West will centre on the power station, which the government began a $14 million remediation of in February. Amazonian Dystopia, Para, northern Brazil. Credit:Lalo de Almeida Amazonian Dystopia, Para, northern Brazil Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Members of the Munduruku community line up to board a plane to Brasilia on June 13, 2013, to protest the construction of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu river, in northern Brazil. The Munduruku tribe inhabits the banks of another tributary of the Amazon, the Tapajos River, several hundred kilometres away, where the government has plans to build further hydroelectric projects. Despite opposition from several fronts, the Belo Monte project was completed in 2019. This image is part of a series documenting the social, political and environmental realities of life in Brazil under President Jair Bolsonaro. The series won the World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award. Lalo de Almeida, for Folha de Sao Paulo/Panos Pictures Endless War, north-east Srinagar, Kashmir. Credit:Dar Yasin Endless War, north-east Srinagar, Kashmir Kashmiri women cross a stone wall on December 14, 2021, to join the funeral of Constable Rameez Ahmad Baba who, according to Indian police, was on a bus that was attacked by militants in the Ganderbal district of Indian-administered Kashmir. At least 11 people were reported injured and three killed in the attack. Violence and unrest continues in Kashmir as a result of the dispute between India and Pakistan that dates back to independence from Britain and partition of the region in 1947. Advertisement Dar Yasin, for The Associated Press The People Who Feed the United States, South Dakota, US. Credit:Ismail Ferdous The People Who Feed the United States, South Dakota, US Jose worked in a meatpacking plant until contracting COVID-19 in April 2020. He was in hospital on a ventilator for five months, and still uses an oxygen cylinder. Here, hes pictured at home on September 6, 2020, with his sister, Sara, who took care of him during his illness. Sara also worked at the factory; while meatpacking plants remained open during the pandemic, COVID spread quickly among its workers, more than a third of whom are immigrants. She left the industry to become a house cleaner. Ismail Ferdous, for Agence VU Evia Island Wildfire, Greece. Credit:Konstantinos Tsakalidis Evia Island Wildfire, Greece Advertisement Evia Island resident Panayiota Kritsiopi, 81, cries out as a wildfire approaches her house on August 8, 2021, following the hottest weather Greece had experienced in 30 years. Konstantinos Tsakalidis, for Bloomberg News Ukraine Crisis, Mariupol, south-east Ukraine. Credit:Guillaume Herbaut Ukraine Crisis, Mariupol, south-east Ukraine Women make camouflage gear for snipers at the Novy Mariupol Centre, an organisation that collects equipment for Ukrainian soldiers, on September 26, 2014. This image is part of a project documenting almost eight years of the lead-up to the current war. Guillaume Herbaut, for Agence VU Kamloops Residential School, British Columbia, Canada (Winner: World Press Photo of 2022). Credit:Amber Bracken Advertisement Kamloops Residential School, British Columbia, Canada (Winner: World Press Photo of 2022) Dresses hung on crosses along a roadside on June 19, 2021, commemorate children who died at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, an institution created to assimilate Indigenous children, who were frequently taken from their homes by force. More than 200 potential unmarked graves have been detected at the site of the school, which closed in 1978. Amber Bracken, for The New York Times Afraid To Go To School, Zamfara state, north-west Nigeria. Credit:Sodiq Adelakun Adekola Afraid To Go To School, Zamfara state, north-west Nigeria A mother cries at her home on February 27, 2021, the day after her two daughters were abducted from their high-school dormitory in the middle of the night. They were among 279 girls snatched by gunmen. The first mass school abduction in Nigeria took place in 2014, when members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 girls from a government boarding school in the countrys north-east. The abductions some conducted by jihadist groups to oppose Western secularism, others to gather ransoms or collect hostages to bargain for gang-member prisoner-swaps have continued, and now extend to boys, too. Sodiq Adelakun Adekola, for Agence-France Presse Advertisement As Frozen Land Burns, Siberia, Russia. Credit:Nanna Heitmann Loading As Frozen Land Burns, Siberia, Russia People walk along Russias Buluus glacier on June 16, 2021. The area is a popular retreat in summer, when temperatures in the regional capital can reach the high 30s. Permafrost beneath the glacier keeps at least part of it frozen through the hottest months, but local scientists have reportedly said that glacial melt in the region has sped up over the past decade. Nanna Heitmann, for Magnum Photos The World Press Photo Contest celebrates the best photojournalism and documentary photography each year. Mags King, photographic editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, was a member of the 2022 jury for the South-east Asia and Oceania region. To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times. Advertisement A friend of war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith has denied colluding with the decorated former soldier and three other former comrades about the evidence they would give in his defamation case. Person 5, whose identity cannot be revealed for national security reasons, is a former Special Air Service patrol commander who served in Afghanistan with Roberts-Smith. Ben Robert-Smith leaves the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday. Credit:James Alcock The men are close friends and Person 5 is the first SAS witness to give evidence for Roberts-Smith in his Federal Court defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times. Nicholas Owens, SC, acting for the newspapers, put it to Person 5 on Friday that the reason he spoke to Roberts-Smith and former comrades dubbed Persons 29, 35 and 38 in the weeks before their written outlines of evidence were due in the case was to collude to produce a coherent version of events about a key mission in Afghanistan in 2009. NDIS has been an immense and positive life changer for so many disabled people. However, it has also been a huge frustration and hindrance to a number of individuals hoping to live the life they deserve. I have two severely disabled, adult sons with very complex needs. One could not cope in the group home he had been forced to live in, but trying to persuade the NDIS of this has been a time-consuming and stressful task. We have provided NDIS with endless documents from specialists, incident reports etc to prove that he is a danger to others and himself when he has other people around constantly. Able-bodied people have a choice of how they live and I thought with NDIS a disabled person would have the opportunity to make that decision as well. The government can afford to help first home buyers, but is unable to fund adequate housing for many disabled people. Surely that is discrimination. My husband and I looked after our sons at home for many years and, therefore, saved the government a lot of money. In fact, it cost us, as I was never able to get help so that I could work full-time and have a career. I have been an unpaid carer for the most part of 40 years. All I ask now is that my sons have their needs adequately met and that I get a break, too. Elisabeth Appelgren-McIntyre, Mount Martha THE FORUM Well do it our way Re Andrews defends higher cost of new trams (The Age, 22/4). Melbourne does not need to incur large infrastructure costs to modify tram stops to make trams accessible to those in wheelchairs. When I was Victorias director-general of transport in the 1980s, I visited Grenoble in France. There the trams were fitted with ramps which slid out from under them, making them accessible to wheelchairs. That this innovation was not adopted in Melbourne is another example, like the ticketing system, of the not invented here syndrome being alive and well among Victorias transport planners. John King, Kew More frequent, faster While free public transport (Letters, 22/4) may sound like a good idea, it is unlikely to have any significant impact on car usage unless it is also fast and frequent. Public transport usage is already very high in Melbournes inner suburbs where it is only a short walk to a tram stop or train station which offers frequent services. It is a different matter in the outer suburbs or regional areas where there may only be one bus every hour, which follows a slow, circuitous route to its destination. Free public transport will not make such a service any more attractive. Funds which could be allocated to free public transport would be better spent on providing more frequent and faster public transport. James Proctor, Maiden Gully Ill stick to the suburbs Lord Mayor Sally Capp wants us to return to the city. I did that this week and parked off St Kilda Road to catch the tram in. However, the previous, easy to use parking system app put in the area code, press start when you arrive, stop when you leave and you are charged for the exact time you are there has been replaced by one with a full-screen spinning wheel and incomprehensible instructions. Having done my best, when I got home I checked the app to find I had not been successful and there was no record of my stay and no charge. And, worse, the price information discloses that the provider charges the user (me) 10per cent of the fee as commission. Luckily I did not get a parking ticket, but it is back to the suburbs for me. Heather Barker, Albert Park Proud to be blessed I have a wonderfully creative, curious and loveable child who identifies as non-binary. I am not sure that Scott Morrison would agree but my wife and I consider ourselves to be blessed. Jeff Jackson, Box Hill North But you cant say that Oh foolish biological specimen that I am. For years I have been broadcasting how fortunate and blessed I am to have four sisters. I obviously had no idea that this was insulting to those who did not have sisters. If you are looking for fault you will always find it. We live in such a nanny situation these days that I am scared to crack a joke or discuss just about anything without finding myself politically incorrect. Congratulations on the death of free speech. Barb Kingston, Mount Waverley Were guilty of neglect Re China, the Solomon Islands and Australia: If my wife leaves me for another man, I would ask myself if there was anything I could have done. If that man was Chris Hemsworth, then no. If not, then I would have a serious look to see if I had given her enough love, support and respect to make sure she was not tempted by another. Cao Phan, Glen Iris Another added danger With the prospect of a Chinese naval base in the Solomon Islands, how are we to access our strategic oil reserves held in the United States in the event of a conflict with China? This is yet another reason for a rapid uptake of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. David Robertson, Wheatsheaf A bug would have helped If only ASIS had installed listening devices in the Solomon Islands government offices like it did in Timor-Leste in 2004, Prime Minister Scott Morrison might have avoided the embarrassment he now faces over Chinas security deal. Ed Veber, Malvern East If only wed listened Last November, when there were protests in Honiara against the Solomon Islands government and its increasing closeness to China, our prime minister saw it as opportunity to look tough. He deployed Australian defence personnel and the military police. To maintain stability and security. What a different situation we would be in today if he had seen that a robust democracy is necessary for stability and security. It requires listening to alternative voices. Kate Kennedy, Coburg Our Pacific failure Thirty years ago while I was in Singapore on business, an American asked me why our government ignored Australias huge potential with the Pacific island nations. I replied that with three year-term governments, there was limited time between elections to produce mature policies. I might add the calibre of current politicians and lack of career diplomats does not fill one with confidence. Shirley Videion, Hampton The freedom to speak out Anthony Albanese contracting COVID-19 may yet save the ALPs faltering election campaign. Now the oppositions talented frontbench will be able to talk to the issues. After all, these are the people who will be part of the the government if the Coalition is turfed out. Bernard Towson, Brunswick Give us your policies The era of the Ikea election has arrived. A big box of ideas and promises arrives at the door. Due to unclear instructions, we must assemble the platform ourselves. As usual when we have finished skinning our knuckles on the Allen key, we are left searching for the missing bolt or nut. Will somebody please state what they stand for, not what they do not. Robert Price, Preston Libs traditional values Your correspondent (Letters, 22/4) suggests the Teal independents look like Labor stooges as they campaign on climate change, tackling only Liberal-held seats. The independents do have other policies in common including the fight against government corruption, while the Greens campaign strongly on climate in many Labor seats. Look at the backgrounds and policies of the independents and you realise they represent traditional values of the Liberal Party now lost with the insurgency of conservatives. Bob Menzies said his was to be a progressive party, in no sense reactionary. Maybe after the federal election a few more of those conservatives will have the moment of realisation that struck Craig Kelly and George Christensen, and they will join the parties of Clive Palmer and Pauline Hanson. James McDougall, Fitzroy North Where my money goes In recent years, the government has done its best to restrict charities from engaging in political debate. It now appears the rules do not apply to Josh Frydenberg. It is most unfortunate that in his determination to retain his seat, he has been prepared to jeopardise the charitable status of Guide Dogs Victoria, Inclusion Foundation and Scouts Victoria by incorporating them into his campaign (The Age, 22/4). As a Kooyong resident who donates to a number of charities, I do not want money I donate to be diverted to political advertising. Frydenbergs actions mean I will look elsewhere to send my money. Is this what he wants? Alison Harcourt, Kew Dont punish the needy While some of your correspondents say they will no longer donate to Guide Dogs Victoria with one saying he will only resume his support when the chief executive resigns and Josh Frydenberg loses his seat (Letters, 22/4) the need for trained guide dogs remain. Joanna Wriedt, Eaglemont Time for an interval Perhaps the entire nation could have a half-time break from the campaign while Anthony Albanese isolates. Kevan Porter, Alphington AND ANOTHER THING Election Pigeons could deliver a better campaign than both these twits Eric Kopp, Flinders The UAP has changed the colour of its ad to blue (22/4). At least, its a relief for our eyes. Dorothy Galloway, Mentone In accordance with caretaker-mode protocols, I assume cabinets prayer group isnt working overtime. Moray Byrne, Edithvale I dont want my elected representatives ascribing my wellbeing or the outcome of an election to their religious beliefs. Maurice Woolcock, Frankston South I wonder if Morrison feels blessed he had COVID-19 before the campaign? Lesley Black, Frankston It was a merciful relief not to watch Albo debate ScoMo. Sky News can keep it. James Lane, Hampton East Economic managers who ignore the biggest threat to the economy climate change are poor economic managers. Graeme Perry, Skye World Putin hailing Russias liberation of Mariupol recalls Chinas liberation of Tibet. Susan Caughey, Glen Iris Wimbledons ban on Belarusian and Russian players is unfair. But theres nothing fair about Russias invasion. Peter McGill, Lancefield The Solomon Islands, now thats a place Id like our man in the Hawaiian shirt to visit. Don Stewart, Port Fairy Money talks, so I wonder what Australia offered the Solomons. Not nearly as much as China, it seems. Mark Kennedy, Sebastopol Furthermore The hospitality industry wants the government to provide cheap flights for foreign workers. In return, it promises to pay cheap wages. Sergio Diaz, Fitzroy North A Perth woman has been charged after allegedly stealing more than half a million dollars from her employer and using the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included overseas flights, jewellery and artwork. The 61-year-old woman, from Wanneroo, was a staff member at a southern suburbs medical clinic and allegedly took advantage of her access to her employers credit card and bank account, spending $560,000, including more than $415,000 worth of bank transfer transactions between 2011 and 2020. The woman allegedly spent more than $150,000 on her employers credit card. Credit:Mayu Kanamori She allegedly transferred money into bank accounts owned by herself, her family members or companies that provided a product or benefit to her or her family members. The offences allegedly included transferring money to a finance company to put towards a personal car loan, putting money towards a loan in the name of a family member, and partially paying for carpet to be installed at the womans home. The second week of the election campaign is coming to a close, which means there are 29 days left until Australians head to the polls. There were fewer gotcha moments but, in a strong first debate, Anthony Albanese came out on top, with 40 audience members voting for the Labor leader and 35 for Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Katherine Deves and Solomon Islands were two of the controversial topics in week two of the campaign. Anthony Albanese becoming ill with COVID-19 has thrown a spanner in the works for week three of his campaign. Credit:Illustration: Monique Westermann Albanese embraced his cool at Bluesfest while Morrison drilled in his ties to mining in Perth. Lets put your knowledge of the second week to the test with our quiz below: Deves was Morrisons pick. In one of the long-delayed preselections in the NSW Liberal Party she was chosen by a committee of three, including NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former Liberal Party federal president Chris McDiven. Morrison wanted women in as many of these seats as possible. He later said he wasnt aware of Deves transphobic posts, which is extraordinary given they were recent, numerous, rumoured within the party, and basic vetting would have found them. Although Pauline Hanson (pictured) had been disendorsed by the Liberal Party by the time she was elected to federal parliament in 1996, party leader and prime minister John Howard welcomed her right to free speech. Credit:Andrew Meares One theory has been Morrison believes Deves views on keeping women and girls from having to compete against transgender people in sport will resonate in certain seats. The flip side would be that he is dismissing the possible cost of her offensive tweets in teal seats where Liberal incumbents face high-profile independents. If he does think she brings wider advantage, it would be an appallingly cynical calculation, and a risky political judgment. In his defence of Deves, Morrison is framing the issue in a misleading way on several fronts. It is not a case of critics wanting to cancel her. It is a question of whether she is a suitable candidate for the Liberals. People have the right to express all sorts of unsavoury views. But to be accepted as a candidate by a major party, a person should have to pass a much higher test because, by endorsing them, the party is telling the electorate their values align with its own. Morrison also tried to frame Deves tweets as insensitive. They went way beyond insensitive they were downright offensive. He suggested she was expressing herself badly on her issue of protection women and girls in sport. But in fact her tweets went far wider. As the days passed, more and more posts emerged. Sam Maiden this week on news.com.au reported Deves posting in 2021: Surrogacy is a human rights violation. Womens bodies are not vehicles for a vanity project. In another post reported by Maiden, Deves said of people who didnt fight moves towards gender fluidity, I have no doubt these people would imagine themselves to be part of the French Resistance in WWII but no, they are the villagers who watched the trains go by, ignored the clouds of soot and smoke and joined the Party to get good jobs. They are complicit. Morrison says Deves apologised for her posts. But was that the easy way out? Its a bit hard to see this as a major change of heart, given the posts were multiple and recent. The row over Deves could have major implications, in particular, for the fights in two Liberal Sydney seats, North Sydney (Trent Zimmerman) and Wentworth (Dave Sharma), where there are high profile teal candidates. Deves came up in the debate between Sharma and teal independent Allegra Spender on Thursday. Liberal MP Dave Sharma and independent rival Allegra Spender shake hands at this weeks debate in the seat of Wentworth. Credit:Richard Dobson Also, its hard to see how she can campaign effectively in Warringah, held by independent Zali Steggall. The Liberals were never expected to have much chance of dislodging Steggall now she is considered a shoo-in. It is instructive to compare Morrisons obduracy over Deves and his reaction when he came under attack after Wednesdays peoples forum over saying he and and his wife Jenny had been blessed to have children who did not have autism. He was answering a question about the NDIS from the mother of an autistic child. His remark got a strong reaction on social media, including from Dylan Alcott, disability advocate and Australian of the Year. Woke up this morning feeling very blessed to be disabled I reckon my parents are pretty happy about it too, Alcott tweeted. Loading Morrison swung into action with a public apology, and was in contact with Alcott. I meant no offence by what I said last night, but I accept that it has caused offence to people, he said. He said he had been simply saying it was tough and these were hardships he and Jenny hadnt had to deal with. That indeed, was the interpretation many people would have taken from Morrisons remarks (especially as he has often spoken of his brother-in-law, who has a disability). Others would see the line as insensitive and out of touch, especially in todays context of how we discuss disability. The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute has given up $3.4 million in grants as it continues to count the cost of a scandal involving Professor Mark Smyth. Smyth, who was the institutes head of immunology in cancer and previously worked at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Victoria, stands accused of research misconduct. Professor Mark Smyth, the former head of immunology in cancer at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. Once considered one of Australias top cancer researchers, Smyth was last year referred to Queenslands Crime and Corruption Commission for a fraud investigation, and his work has been the subject of several reviews, including an ongoing probe by former Federal Court judge Bruce Lander QC. The institute has already acknowledged that an independent panel, led by retired Appeals Court judge Robert Gotterson, found Professor Smyth had seriously breached codes relating to the responsible conduct of research and the use of animals in research. The son of former Victorian Liberal premier Ted Baillieu has slammed his fathers party, saying its commitment to small-l liberal values have collapsed because of greed and infighting. Rob Baillieu, 24, is now working as a volunteer campaign manager for independent candidate Monique Ryan, who is running against the incumbent, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, for the seat of Kooyong. Rob Baillieu, son of former premier Ted Baillieu. Credit:Simon Schluter Ted Baillieu is known as a moderate Liberal, who was Victorian premier between 2010 and 2013. He is a Kooyong resident and is volunteering for Frydenbergs campaign. Rob Baillieu explained why he has abandoned the Liberal Party in an opinion piece for The Age, responding to an article by his father published on Friday. The former premier wrote that the bizarre mission of independents, including Ryan, was to replace some of Australias most capable, energetic and experienced MPs. Sailors partake in the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif., on April 22, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) 2022 Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.Sailors were greeted with strong winds upon a white-capped ocean at the start of the 74th Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race on April 22, 2022. On Newport Beachs Balboa Pier, people gathered outside Rubys Diner to watch the start of the race. Sailors partake in the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif., on April 22, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race (N2E) is one of our communitys signature events, and a key part of Newport Beachs nautical heritage. the citys Mayor Kevin Muldoon said in a statement. We are honored to be part of the 74th race and to co-host the race once again with our friends in Ensenada, Mexico. As sailors made their ships complete a sharp turnaround just North of the Balboa Pier, one woman gasped as a ship looked as if it were to capsizeonly to even off and point the ship southward toward Mexico. Sailors partake in the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif., on April 22, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Race crews signing up for the yacht race were given instructions on sailing into Mexican waters and provided with a list of documentation required by Mexican customs, which included vessel documentation, passports, a Temporary Import Permit (TIP), a COVID health inspection, and a vaccination card (if vaccinated). Sailors partake in the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif., on April 22, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The 2022 race, which lasts from April 2224, had 167 entries and memberships with over a dozen various yacht clubs throughout California. File photo of an ambulance outside an Accident and Emergency Department (Dominic Lipinski/PA) 3 in 5 England Hospital Patients With COVID-19 Primarily Treated for Other Illnesses Less than two in five COVID-19 hospital patients in England are being treated primarily for the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, according to the National Health Service (NHS). The latest figures show that there were 13,645 patients with COVID-19 in NHS Englands acute trusts on April 19, around 39.8 percent (5,434) were primarily treated for the disease, the lowest portion since the figures were published in June 2021. The percentage of COVID-19 patients primarily treated for the disease was at almost 80 percent in June 2021. It remained largely stable until December 2021, with the figure dropping to around 75 percent, before starting a steep fall at around the same time the more infectious less severe Omicron variant was found in the UK. In London, the percentage of COVID-19 patients primarily treated for the disease dropped to 26 percent on April 19 from almost 84 percent at the beginning of October last year. The figure on April 19 was around 31 percent in East England, 33 percent in the Midlands, 47 percent in the North East and Yorkshire, 43 percent in the North West, 47 percent in the South East, and 60 percent in the South West of England. All hospital patients who have tested positive for the CCP virus need to be treated separately from those who do not have the virus, regardless of whether they are in hospital primarily for COVID-19 or not. But the growing proportion of patients who are in hospital with COVID-19 rather than for COVID-19 shows how the current wave of the virus has not led to the same sort of pressure on critical care as in previous waves. A total of 296 patients in all hospitals in England were in mechanical ventilation beds on April 19, compared with 773 at the start of Decemberand well below the 3,736 recorded at the peak of the second wave on Jan. 24, 2021. Separate figures published by NHS England on Thursday show that average daily admissions to hospitals of people testing positive for COVID-19 stood at 1,507 on April 19, down 21 percent week-on-week and the lowest number since March 14. Admissions have fallen week-on-week in all regions. According to NHS England, hospital trusts were asked to provide the for and with [COVID] split on a best endeavours basis as the differences are not always clear. For example research has shown that people with COVID are more likely to have a stroke (Stroke Association); in these cases, people would be admitted for the stroke, classified as with COVID despite having had a stroke as a result of having COVID, it noted. PA Media contributed to this report. Freedom Rider Catherine Burks-Brooks held onto her wooden cane while sitting on the couch at her Birmingham home. The cane looks like its been through a history like hers. She is a striking woman with big eyes and a bigger smile, and her wrinkled but graceful fingers are loaded with big silver rings, each telling a once-upon-a-time tale. Her gaze is sharp, and her speech determined. Catherine may be 82, but she might as well be ageless. The life of Catherine could be summarized with two words: hope and reconciliation. She has held onto those qualities ever since spending a youthful year riding a bus across the Southern states to protest segregated transportation laws. (Karim Shamsi-Basha for American Essence) My story begins with that ride out of Nashville when I was 20. I was a student at Tennessee State [University], and I had always wanted to do something. Things werent right, and I knew to be outspoken, but in a peaceful way. Catherine peered at a mugshot taken when the police arrested her in Jackson, Mississippi, for refusing to get off the bus. The photo is a reminder of what had to happen to a few, so that the many can enjoy todays freedoms. I spent about a month in jail, and I remember when they took this picture. The man held the camera, and a big flashbulb went off, Catherine said. I was arrested several times over the year I rode the bus, but it didnt scare me. I wasnt going to stop. Someone had to tell the world we werent treated right. The Freedom Rides of 1961 took place from May to September, with more than 60 rides across the South. Around 400 black Americans traveled along with whites to protest Jim Crow laws that segregated people by race on public transportation and in other public settings. There were hundreds of arrests of peaceful protesters riding buses. Eventually, with pressure from President John F. Kennedy, Southern states stopped the segregation laws, and the Federal Interstate Commerce Commission outlawed segregation on interstate mass transit. (Karim Shamsi-Basha for American Essence) Dorothy Walker is the site director of the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. What the Freedom Riders did in 1961 changed how American citizens get to travel throughout the country, and many people do not know this story. The Freedom Rides were a watershed event in American history and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, she said. Catherine reflects on that period with the same grace that carried her through those tough years. Every time she spoke of her journey, she did with resolve while gazing into the distanceperhaps still looking for the destination of the bus. Im glad that we played a role in changing history. Things are better now, and my daughter doesnt have to sit in the back of the bus, you know? Catherine said. She doesnt have to drink from a separate water fountain, and she doesnt have to wait in a separate waiting room. It was all worth it. Theres still work to be done. (Karim Shamsi-Basha for American Essence) Changing history did not come cheap. When the first Freedom Ride arrived in Anniston, Alabama, on May 4th, 1961, angry protesters attacked the bus, busting the windows and slashing the tires. There were several other attacks in different cities, but the Freedom Riders continued their journey toward equality. I grew up in that mess, Catherine said. I had to walk farther to school and take two buses. I never liked it, so when the Freedom Rides happened, that was my chance to be part of history. Catherine appreciates the outcome of the Freedom Rides. Black people realized they could organize and do things. They found out they could change history. We never thought that before, but after the bus rides, good things started happening. Catherine lowered her gaze at her hands holding her worn-out wooden cane. Then, she rubbed her wrinkled fingers together. All the results of the Freedom Rides, all the history-changing, and all of the arrests and sacrifices have led to two things we sure are enjoying today: hope and reconciliation. A man fills in his ballot, in Lansing, Michigan, on Nov. 3, 2020. (John Moore/Getty Images) A Record 10 Republicans File Petitions Vying for Nomination to Take on Whitmer Ten GOP candidates for governor of Michigan filed nominating petitions to place their name on the Aug. 2 primary election ballot. All 10 Republican hopefuls turned in signatures in excess of the 15,000 required by the April 19 filing deadline. Three of the original 13 declared candidates have dropped out of the race. If the signatures survive examination for validity by state officials and the challenges of opposing campaigns, the field of 10 will set a record in Michigan for the most candidates within a single party filing for the nomination for the office of governor, according to Michigan Information and Research Services. The winner of the Aug. 2 primary will earn the right to run against Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, in the Nov. 8 general election. State GOP communications director Gus Portela told The Epoch Times, Our large field is a real advantage for us. It speaks volumes about our enthusiasm level that starts with the grassroots on up. We have filled rooms on the county convention level. There is an evident enthusiasm gap between us and the Democrats. Our polling shows Whitmer cant even beat a generic Republican. She is vulnerable. We are excited about our chances to unseat her in November, he said. Whitmer, who has no primary opponent, has amassed more than $10 million for the fall election campaign in which she hopes to win a second and final four-year term. Michigan law limits a governor to two four-year terms. Candidate Kevin Rinke, a suburban Detroit car dealership magnate, has pledged to spend $10 million of his own money to secure the GOP nomination and defeat Whitmer. Multi-millionaire Perry Johnson, a suburban Detroit businessman and quality control expert, also brings a formidable personal war chest to his campaign. Candidate Garrett Soldano, a southwest Michigan chiropractor, gained statewide notoriety as a co-founder of the activist group Stand Up Michigan. The group successfully opposed Whitmers misuse of emergency executive powers during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. These four freedom-loving nuns turned out to stand against the medical tyranny of forced vaccinations at a protest rally on the grounds of the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan on August 6, 2021. (Steven Kovac/Epoch Times) Former Detroit police chief James Craig, the man credited by many with keeping Detroit from burning during the unrest in the aftermath of the 2020 killing of George Floyd by police, has been leading in the polls and in fundraising. He recently told The Epoch Times that he is beating Whitmer among independent voters. Tudor Dixon, one of two women in the GOP primary race, is a conservative news anchor and media personality from west Michigan. Dixon has been endorsed by the American Conservative Union and former Trump administration official Rick Grinnell. Trump rally in Macomb County, Michigan, April 2, 2022. (Steven Kovac/Epoch Times) Dixons campaign received a boost at an April Trump rally in Macomb County, when the former president called her out by name from the podium. Trump has not yet formally endorsed any of the 10 candidates, but Dixon was the only candidate in the race for governor he mentioned during his speech. Businesswoman and Trump supporter Donna Brandenburg, small business owner and radio host Michael Markey, Pastor Ralph Rebandt, conservative activist and former township planning commissioner Ryan Kelley, and Michigan State Police captain and former county commissioner Michael Brown are also running. Brandenburg, who describes herself as a constitutional conservative, has been endorsed by General Michael Flynn. Michael Brown is the only candidate who has served in elective office before. He has the endorsement of Michigan rock icon Ted Nugent. Pastor Ralph Rebandt of Oakland County told The Epoch Times, My approach has been to highlight God and our founding principles I will boldly stand behind the rule of law in our society My assessment of the morality of the times is that we are at the lowest point in our countrys history. The polls show that just about anybody could beat Whitmer right now. I have won more straw polls in Wayne County than any other candidate, said Rebandt. Wayne County is the most populous county in Michigan. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announces new restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Lansing, Mich., on Nov. 15, 2020. (Michigan Office of the Governor via AP) Michael Markey is trying to stake out the middle ground, telling The Epoch Times through a spokesman, A moderate is the best choice. Trump won Michigan that way in 2016. Markey said in a statement on his campaign website, I believe we are all brothers and sisters and neighbors were more alike than different. Its time to come together, work together, and legislate together. Candidate Ryan Kelley stated in an email to The Epoch Times, I had the boldness and courage to stand up to Whitmer in 2020 and be a voice of freedom for Michigan. I bring that same boldness and courage in my gubernatorial run. Other candidates are moderates or want to work the middle. That is where Republicans go to let the left run the show and get their RINO badge, said Kelley. SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites in the sky from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark on April 21, 2020. (Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via Reuters) Amazon, SpaceX Snag NASA Space Communications Contracts WASHINGTONAmazons satellite venture, SpaceXs Starlink network, and other satellite firms on Wednesday won a combined $278.5 million in contracts from NASA to demonstrate communications in space as the U.S. space agency moves to replace its current satellite network in orbit with privately-built systems. NASA is increasingly looking to rely on private space companies for its operations and wants to stimulate more commercial activity in areas from space communications to sending humans to orbit. Amazons Project Kuiper, a planned network of over 3,000 satellites built to beam broadband internet to remote regions, won $67 million, while SpaceXs Starlink venture, a larger satellite-internet network with some 2,000 satellites in space already, received $70 million. NASA uses its current system, called the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite network, to communicate with spacecraft in orbit, such as SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule when it ferries astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The goal here is really to get industry to kick in with us and develop these capabilities for customers that are not just NASA, but other space-based customers as well, hopefully bringing down our costs, Eli Naffah, the head of NASAs Communications Services Project, told Reuters. Each company is expected to complete the development and demonstrations of their satellites under the contract by 2025, NASA said in a statement. The other awardees include Inmarsat, SES, Telesat, and ViaSat. Competition is fierce primarily among Elon Musks SpaceX, Amazon, and Telesat to provide broadband internet from space, a costly commercial endeavor that could generate billions in revenue once fully operational, analysts say. Starlink, while not yet completed, has thousands of customers in various countries. Amazon, further behind, aims to launch its first two prototype satellites in late 2022. By Joey Roulette A detailed view of the altarpiece shows Saint Ignatius of Loyola writing the Spiritual Excercises at the Cave of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in Manresa, Spain, on May 2, 2013. (David Ramos/Getty Images) Americas Left-Dominated Universities Are Crushing Liberty and Destroying Our Children Commentary On a recent April evening, I made my way across the campus of Loyola University in Baltimore to address a group of Turning Point USA students on the topic Reclaiming the Providence for America. Along both sides of the pathways that crisscross the center of the campus were small flags representing the many genders that exist in the minds of many academics and their students in the nutty and destructive world of todays radicalized academia. Ignatius Loyola is one of three revered founders of the Jesuit movement, which was at the center of the Catholic counter-reformation in the 16th century, and his name is often found on educational institutions established by the Catholic Church. The Maryland university, the fourth such Catholic university in America, was founded by Jesuits in 1852. As I walked between the rows of weird flags, I had to wonder: Why is a Catholic university promoting the agenda of a movement bent on the destruction of faith and traditional families? Loyola Maryland was one of several campuses where I, usually with a colleague, Victor Jessop, have been invited to speak. The young people weve met have told us that openly conservative students face a very hard time on most American campuses today. They belong to a very small minority willing to stand up for what they believe in since doing so subjects them to attacks by radical groups such as Antifa, the Young Democratic Socialists of America, and the Black Student Union, as well as hostile pressure from administrators and faculty members. Given the extreme leftist bias of university faculty and administrators today, students have good reason to fear that their grades and graduation might be put in jeopardy if they speak up for their values. Favorite epithets thrown at them by radical leftists are racist, Nazi, and white supremacist. The students we met couldnt have been further away from such hateful descriptions. Many but not all were Christians, but all believe in free speech. Emily Talento, a field representative for Turning Point, told me that her group couldnt find a single faculty member (out of 2,700) willing to sponsor their club at Stony Brook University in New York. (A sympathetic administrator eventually stepped in to help them set up the club.) Members of several conservative campus organizations have told me that finding a faculty member willing to sponsor a conservative campus organization is an almost universal problem in Americas academia today. This is shocking. This country was founded by people who escaped religious oppression in Europe to be able to establish a life of liberty, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence. A Turning Point member at Stony Brook (26,000 students in all) told me she was just one of two openly conservative members on the 30-person rowing team. Because of harassment for their beliefs from other team members, they have learned to keep their views to themselves as much as possible. At Rutgers, an overzealous flier advertising our event stirred a minor uproar. Several Turning Point members received threatening personal messages, and radical groups promised to demonstrate in opposition. The public event was canceled, and Victor and I delivered our messages online from an undisclosed location. So much for free speech! The Turning Point field representative for Rutgers, Abbey Wigton, is a veteran of attacks by the left. Getting her start in conservative activism at age 16, she has had her literature table turned over, members from Antifa and other leftist groups screaming in her face with abusive language, and has suffered other attacks meant to intimidate and silence her. Not only from fellow students. Her worst experience was a faculty member pushing her against a tree and spitting in her face. She has only been getting stronger and more determined. Merriam-Webster defines a university as an institution of higher learning providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant academic degrees. Indeed, this is what universities should be. But in America today, few are. Will Donahue is the chairman of California College Republicans (CCR), about to graduate from LMU in Los Angeles, where I spoke in March. He described the difficulties that CCR chapters face: The wars on our campuses are being fought on multiple fronts. Were facing disengagement across the board because our college Republicans fear that they will be doxxed, penalized in classes, and ostracized from their organizations. Faculty, likewise, are unwilling in most instances to back conservative student organizations, especially College Republicans, because their livelihoods are on the line. Progressive biases have infected every facet of the education system, even our religious institutions. At our LMU chapter, the school has a black-only student space (re-segregation), allowed a Planned Parenthood fundraiser to occur on campus, removed a statue of Junipero Serra because the students complained he was a colonizer, have mandated a CRT [critical race theory] and diversity training core curriculum, allowed professors to punish students for not listing their pronouns and referring to God as He, and placed female product dispensers in male restrooms. The blatant heresy that has been, and continues to be, displayed by the LMU administration is completely unacceptable, and were doing everything we can to fight back. Heres another Catholic university in name only. Not only has it abandoned Christian values that were of fundamental importance to Americas founding and its role as champion of freedom in the world, but its also forcing students to embrace an atheistic, family-destroying, anti-American agenda. Parents are being betrayed by these institutions. To paraphrase one parents lament: On returning from the education you have purchased for them, the children you have raised to love God, family, and country come home as atheists believing they belong to a newly discovered gender and hating you as a racist or member of the despised patriarchy. Further, they believe their country is an imperialist empire thats responsible for most of the worlds ills. Indeed, in todays America, academia is dominated by leftist faculties and administrations. Together, they create an environment thats toxic for any person who has sincere faith, is committed to creating a traditional family, and who loves our country. It takes guts to buck this oppressive pall of political correctness and cancel culture. Getting your degree as a student or securing a good teaching position or tenure as faculty depends on whether or not you appease the leftist mob with its groupthink. Most American universities today are taking tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars from parents to educate their children, but are completely failing to fulfill their fundamental responsibility to provide an environment in which the students in their care can enjoy honest and open discourse that embraces all points of view. The leftist ideologies dominating academia today (Marxism and the Neo-Marxism of the Frankfurt Schoolthink Herbert Marcuse, Wilhelm Reichand Postmodernismthink Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida) have been responsible for the destruction of faith- and justice-based societies, and in the last century, the death of tens of millions at the hands of totalitarian regimes. Its time to take back our institutions of learning from the soulless and heartless leftists who are destroying our children. The brave young people standing up for liberty and justice on campuses across the country deserve the support of all good people. Speaking for students under assault, Phil Donahue cries out: We need help! We must listen and we must act. Parents must get universities (and all other leftist educational institutions) to change course, or consider ending payment for education thats destroying their children. There are some alternatives (such as Hillsdale), and many more will have to be created if the established institutions remain on a destructive course. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A copy of the U.S. Constitution is seen in Washington on Dec. 17, 2019. (Andrew Harnik/Pool/Getty Images) Are Constitutional Amendments Coming? Commentary The website Politico recently ran a feature by two academic commentators who think constitutional amendments are on the horizon. They tell us: Weve studied the history of the amendments to the U.S. Constitution and found that most of them come in waves after long periods of constitutional inaction. Whats more, those short bursts of activity typically have followed periods of deep division and gridlock like ours. In fact, history suggests that periods of extreme political polarization, when the normal channels of legal change are blocked off due to partisan gridlock and regional divides, can usher in periods of constitutional reform to get the political system functioning again. The authors are politically liberal, and they seem to anticipate amendments that centralize American governance furtherby, for example, abolishing the Electoral College or granting Congress more authority over elections. The authors are correct that new amendments may be imminent. But they are very wrong about the probable nature of those amendments. Far from authorizing more federal power, amendments almost certainly will reduce federal prerogatives and edge us toward decentralization. Global Trend Toward Local Control Short-term political eddies slosh back and forth, but for more than three decades, the global tide has been toward more local control. One way to see this is to compare the map of the world in 1990 with that in 2022: What was once the Soviet Union has split into 15 separate nations. The territory of Yugoslavia has become, successively, five nations, then six, and now seven. The former Czechoslovakia is now two nations. So is the former Sudan. Among countries remaining intact, political pressures have created more regional autonomy. Within Canada, the provinces have won wider prerogatives. Within the United Kingdom, Scotland and Wales have obtained their own Parliaments, and the entire country has withdrawn from the European Union. Even the communist Chinese bosses, recognizing the impossibility of directing a modern economy from the center, have permitted some free-market reforms. This mega-trend toward decentralization is an astounding repudiation of the former academic consensus: For much of the 20th century, academic orthodoxy was that more social complexity requires more central control. Yet we have learned that the more complex life is, the more difficult it is to govern well from the center. An all-powerful elite may do some good in a place such as ancient Egyptbut not in a modern state. American Centralizers Buck the Trend For 150 years after the American Founding, the United States was the exemplar of local control: As I observed in a previous essay, before 1940 the federal government had little involvement in the daily lives of most people. Since 1940, however, the trend toward concentrating power in Washington, D.C. has been relentless. The American trend has been astonishing for at least two reasons. First, it has bucked the global tide. Second, the practical results of centralization have been obviously dysfunctional to any impartial person who pays attention. For example, the bitter political divide among Americans is largely the result of centralized decision-making, which imposes uniform outcomes on the entire country, irrespective of local preferences and local needs. This dysfunction shows up in opinion polls, which reveal that few Americans believe that Congress, the president, or the federal government are doing a good job. In an effort to enjoy the ever-shrinking zone of freedom, Americans are emigrating en masse from states and localities controlled by the Democratic Party to the growing supermajority of regions controlled by Republicans. The Drive for Constitutional Amendments State legislatures have the power to force Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments. Legislatures do so by adopting resolutions called applications: When two-thirds of the state legislatures (34 of 50) pass applications for a convention on the same topic or topics, Congress must call one. Examining the number of current applications is a way to gauge support for amendments in general. As of today, there are applications from a clear majority of the states. Moreover, because state lawmakers nearly always demand a convention limited to addressing specified problems, tallying the subjects addressed is a good way to ascertain the kind of amendments popular enough to be ratified. This examination is something the authors of the Politico article should have done, but did not. What Kind of Amendments Are Popular? In years past, legislative applications often reflected dissatisfaction with state government or the private sector. Today, however, they all derive from dissatisfaction with the federal government. Recently adopted applications show multiple state support for four categories of amendments. They are as follows: requiring a balanced federal budget; extending term limits from the president to include members of Congress; a standard application from the Convention of States Project for amendments reducing federal authority and imposing term limits on federal officials; and campaign finance reform. Observe also that all of the first three categories necessarily would reduce federal prerogatives. A campaign finance reform amendment might increase congressional power (by giving Congress authority to pass a reform law), but it would not necessarily do so. But as we shall see, the mere possibility that a campaign finance amendment might give additional authority to Congress makes it the least popular of the four. The Relative Popularity of Different Amendments Now, lets examine how the four have been performing in the state legislatures. Heres a snapshot showing the current tally for each kind of application: Balanced budget amendment (BBA): 26 states Congressional term limits: 5 states Cut federal power and adopt wider term limits (CoS): 19 states Campaign finance: 4 states As you can see, over 92 percent of current applications call for amendments necessarily imposing more restrictions on federal functionaries. When you go from a snapshot to a motion picture, you can see two distinct trends. The first is that the campaign finance total is stalled. It topped out at five last year, but then the New Jersey legislature repealed its application, reducing the number to four. Even though campaign finance reform is very popular, very few state legislatures favor any measure that could increase congressional power. The second trend is this: The Convention of States momentum has been growing at the expense of the much older movements for a BBA and congressional term limits. The BBA total recently dropped to 26 from 27, and congressional term limits growth has been very slow. By contrast, the number of legislatures signing onto the wider CoS proposal has jumped to 19 from 15 just this year. Both a balanced budget amendment and congressional term limits remain popular with the American people. However, the federal government has become so abusive, wasteful, and dysfunctional that many citizens no longer believe those proposals are sufficient. When the BBA and congressional term limits movements began decades ago, they looked like proportionate responses. But now that the feds are approaching bankruptcy and the arrogance of the federal elite is greater than ever, people seek more comprehensive solutions. Many staunch BBA supporters, for example, have pivoted to supporting a much wider fiscal responsibility amendment. What the Numbers Tell Us Some liberals and leftists persist in promoting centralizing amendments, and some conservatives have worked themselves up into a lather about the possibility. But its not going to happen. Few state legislatures support more centralization, and many support decentralization. If Congress were to propose a measure increasing federal power, theres virtually no chance the states would ratify it. The more likely scenarioespecially if the 2022 elections increase the Republican supermajority control of the state legislaturesis that a convention will propose amendments limiting federal power. Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant (3rd ed., 2015) and The Law of Article V (2nd ed., 2020). He is the nations most published scholar on the constitutional amendment process, and has advised several groups favoring an amendments convention. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A participant stands near a logo of the World Bank at the International Monetary FundWorld Bank Annual Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 12, 2018. (Johannes P. Christo/Reuters) At World Bank Climate Talk, Speaker Floats End of Conventional Vehicle Sales Stern of London School of Economics claims world on track for 3 degrees of warming In remarks to the World Banks Financing Climate Action event on April 21, Baron Nicholas Stern, one of the worlds most influential climate economists, spoke about what he sees as necessary global actions on climate change, including the sale of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. The right kind of policies have to be put in place, including the abolition of fossil fuel subsidies, the advancement of carbon pricing, but clarity on timescales for decentralization of the grid, clarity on timescales for stopping the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles, and so onmaking sure the sense of direction is clear in those ways, said Stern, who served as chief economist for the World Bank from 2000 through 2003. The World Banka multilateral group founded in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and headquartered in Washington, D.C.lends to poor and middle-income countries. Its private-sector lending is coordinated through a subsidiary, the International Finance Corporation. The discussion was part of the annual spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. Stern chairs the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Economics at the London School of Economics, founded by members of the socialist Fabian Society in the 1890s, thanks in part to a bequest from a wealthy Fabian for propaganda and other purposes. In his 2006 publication, The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, the British economist argued that climate change is the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen. Stern was also asked about Russias invasion of Ukraine, which has contributed to rising energy prices in the United States and around the world. The right thing to do is to move away faster and harder from fossil fuels, he said, later adding that making that move entails much bigger capacity for electricity. Both Stern and current World Bank President David Malpass, who also participated in the virtual summit, spoke of moving away from coal power, including in developing countries the World Bank works with. Were at the point now where we have to be very concrete in how to close a coal-fired power plant in South Africa or Indonesia. And those proved to be really difficult challenges because of the large cost and the long lifespan of the project, said Malpass, who served in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Trump administrations, during a conversation with Indonesias Minister of Finance Mulyani Indrawati. We have to put in place a big transition, and we have to do it now. And of course, exiting coal, moving away from coal, [is an] absolutely core part of thatits the lowest-hanging fruit, Stern said. Were headed for something closer to three degrees than two degrees Celsius of global warming, saying of recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that each one that comes through is more worrying than the one before. Yet the most recent IPCC physical science report projects that the highest emission scenarios and greatest warming are unlikely. This suggests that even those scientists who credit carbon dioxide with large-scale global warming may not anticipate the sort of warming that Stern describes. The report states: Studies that consider possible 17 future emission trends in the absence of additional climate policies, such as the recent IEA 2020 World 18 Energy Outlook stated policy scenario (International Energy Agency, 2020), project approximately 19 constant fossil and industrial CO2 emissions out to 2070, approximately in line with the medium RCP4.5, 20 RCP6.0 and SSP2-4.5 scenarios. The SSP2-4.5 scenario wouldnt yield three degrees Celsius of warming, as shown by the IPCCs own assessment results for 20-year averaged change in global surface temperature, on page TS-31 of the executive summary for the 2021 physical science report. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 13, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) Audio Shows McCarthy Would Have Told Trump to Resign If Impeached McCarthy originally denied the report House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was captured on audio saying he would recommend that then-President Donald Trump resign if impeached during the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Im seriously thinking of having that conversation [about resigning] with [Trump] tonight, McCarthy said during a phone call, a recording of which was released by the New York Times on April 21. This, this is what I think, McCarthy said later. We know [the impeachment resolution will] pass the House. I think theres a chance itll even pass the Senate, even when hes gone. I dont want to get into any conversation about Pence pardoning [Trump]. The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign. I mean, that would be my take, but I dont think he would take it. But I dont know. The call was said to have taken place with colleagues on Jan. 10, 2021. Statements from the call were originally reported in a recent article by The New York Times that promoted a book by the authors. A spokesman for McCarthy on Thursday responded to the report, saying that the minority leader did not say that. The spokesman has not responded to a request for comment on the audio. In the aftermath of the Capitol breach, McCarthy also allegedly suggested that Twitter should remove the accounts of some Republicans who had expressed any support for the Jan. 6 rally. McCarthys spokesman also rejected that claim, saying that McCarthy never said that particular members should be removed from Twitter. After the audio was released, some suggested that the source was Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who has been cut off from the national Republican network because she accepted a seat on the House committee investigating Jan. 6. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) picked Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and rejected members nominated by McCarthy, including Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). While I was rallying in Wyoming against Liz Cheney, Kevin McCarthy was defending Liz Cheney among House Republicans, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said on Twitter. While Liz Cheney was secretly recording Kevin McCarthy for the New York Times. @GOPLeader you should have trusted my instincts, not your own. A spokesperson for Cheney denied the claim, saying that Cheney did not know how the tape had leaked. The select committee has asked Kevin McCarthy to speak with us about these events but he has so far declined. Representative Cheney did not record or leak the tape and does not know how the reporters got it, the spokesperson told news outlets. McCarthy, despite his comments, has maintained a more cordial relationship with the former president than has Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has quarreled with the president openly since the January 6 rally. The New York Times report alleged that McConnell told other Republicans shortly after the breach that the Democrats are going to take care of the son of a [expletive] for us. If this isnt impeachable, I dont know what is, he allegedly added. McConnell nor his office have publicly commented on the report. The office didnt respond to a request for comment. Despite their relatively icy relationship, McConnell has said that he will support Trump if he is nominated again in 2024, but past comments suggest that he hopes that this is not the case. Looking closer to this years midterms, McConnell has also said that loyalty to Trumps policy agenda should not be a deciding factor in choosing a GOP nominee for tough Senate battles. I dont have an ideological test, for example how you feel about former President Trump is irrelevant, McConnell told Punchbowl News on March 30. There are ways of measuring a credible candidate and thats what I want, this is not an ideological litmus test or how you feel about the former president, its can you win in November. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) is also mentioned in the report, allegedly said in the wake of the breach that Republicans should start thinking about a post-Trump Republican House. Scalise did not respond to a request for comment. The New York Times article also targeted National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). According to the report, Emmer suggested censuring Trump after the Jan. 6 rally. NRCC communications director Michael McAdams rejected the reporting: This is fake news. Chairman Emmer never insinuated or suggested censuring President Trump. People will write anything to sell books. Australia Pledges Millions to Build Defence Sovereignty The Australian government has offered Adelaide University $50 million (US$36.7 million) in a major collaboration between industry and academia to develop and build up the countrys sovereign defence industry in increasingly uncertain times. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the partnership, which is the second under the governments Trailblazer program, promises to design 100 new defence technologies and products, earmarked to create 1,000 new jobs over the next four years. Through our Trailblazer program we will now back in Australias brightest and best to develop new defence industry technology and products, Morrison said in a statement. Trailblazer is a $270 billion investment designed to utilise Australias research power toward the countrys manufacturing priorities. Morrison also said the investment is aimed at getting more women into defence jobs, particularly through its defence industry internship program which has a 40 percent female participation target. But I want us to do better than that, the prime minister told reporters. What I think is really important is people can get those opportunities, working in these advanced defence industries, advanced manufacturing businesses. The centre-left Labor opposition has accused the incumbent centre-right Coalition government of the largest foreign policy failure since World War II after the Solomon Islands entered into a contract with China under his leadership. Morrison said that he would continue to stand up against Chinese coercion. Were not going to have a submissive relationship with China and I dont think its in the interests of Pacific nations to have a submissive relationship with China, Morrison said. The prime minister has regularly noted Labors poor track record with defence spending, citing cuts to the sector under Labor when last in government. Curtin University was the first to be selected in the Trailblazer from a two-stage competitive assessment process where universities had to submit expressions of interest as well as detailed business cases. Acting Minister for Education and Youth Stuart Robert said that this Trailblazer funding means more jobs in Australia, a stronger economy and stronger national defence. The investment of industry partners, and especially by the 35 partner small businesses, shows that our homegrown defence firms are hungry to innovate and to help secure Australia in the increasingly uncertain Indo-Pacific strategic environment, Robert said. This project will help harness the cutting-edge defence research being done in our top universities, and ensure that our defence forces have access to defence technology at the global cutting-edge, including applications of quantum materials, hypersonics, and robotics. Deputy Leader of the Opposition Richard Marles addresses a media conference in the press gallery at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on December 07, 2020 (Sam Mooy/Getty Images) Australian Oppositions Support for Beijings Pacific Ambitions Comes to Light Just months before Beijing signed a contentious security deal with the Solomon Islands, the Australian Labor Partys deputy leader, Richard Marles, it has been revealed, advocated for the Chinese regimes involvement in the Pacific. The comments from Marles, who is the former parliamentary secretary for Pacific Islands Affairs, were unearthed by The Australian newspaper on April 22 and comes as the opposition centre-left Labor Party ramps up its attack on the governing centre-right Coalition for its handling of Pacific relations. Beijing has recently concluded a security deal with the Solomon Islands government that will allow the Chinese regimewith the consent of the Solomonsto dispatch police, troops, weapons, and even naval ships to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in the Solomon Islands, based on leaked pages from the document. Experts have warned the deal could open the door for rapid militarisation of the region, and extend the reach of the Peoples Liberation Army from the South China Sea to the South Pacifica strategically critical position just 1,700 kilometres (1,050 miles) from the northern Australian city of Cairns. Police stand guard outside parliament in Honiara, Solomon Islands on Dec. 6, 2021 (Mavis Podokolo/AFP via Getty Images) In a mini-book published in August, Marles wrote that any action Australia took to deny Beijing access to the Pacific on strategic grounds would be a historic mistake. Australia has no right to expect a set of exclusive relationships with Pacific nations, he wrote in Tides that Bind: Australia in the Pacific. They (Pacific island nations) are perfectly free to engaged on whatever terms they choose with China or, for that matter, any other country, he wrote. In a 2019 speech to the Beijing Foreign Studies University, Marles said he was aware of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) growing role in providing aid to Pacific nations. Let me be crystal clear: that was and has been a good thing. The Pacific needs help and Australia needs to welcome any country willing to provide it. Certainly the Pacific Island countries themselves do, he said. To define China as an enemy is a profound mistake. To talk of a new Cold War is silly and ignorant, he also said. The deputy leaders speech was delivered at the height of the Trump administrations U.S.-China trade war and followed the decision by the Australian government under former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to block Huaweis participation in the 5G network in 2018. Australia was also coming to grips with several incidents of CCP-backed foreign interference, which contributed to the downfall of then-Labor Senator of New South Wales Sam Dastyari. Current Prime Minister Scott Morrison has seized on the comments. The person who would want to be deputy prime minister in a Labor government, Richard Marles, actually was advocating for the Chinese government to do exactly what they are doing, he told Channel Nine on April 22. I find it outrageous that Labor would criticise us when their own deputy leader was actually advocating what the Chinese government has been seeking to do in our region. Marles himself stood by the comments, saying it did not contradict Labor Party policy. Deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party, Richard Marles at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on March 29, 2022. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images) Well its a statement of fact, but the point here is this: Australia needs to earn the right to be the natural partner of choice, he told Nines Today show. We are in a strategic contest with China. We win in the Pacific and we win that by earning the right to be the natural partner of choice. The Labor Party has blamed the current Australian government for the situation in the Solomon Islands, however, Peter Jennings of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said it would be of little consequence which party was in power. This is not a problem of Australias making, he told Sky News Australia. It is the making of Prime Minister (Manasseh) Sogavare of the Solomon Islands, who I think many people would agree, appears to have been co-opted by the Chinese. Theres a lot of speculation around Honiara that there is a great deal of Chinese money washing around the elites in the country, and I dont think that thats unconnected to the agreement thats now been struck. Corruption has plagued the national government, with Erin McKee, the U.S. ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, warning in December against the misuse of aid funding following violent protests that saw the Chinatown precinct in Honiara razed. I ask you to decide for yourself what type of development and future you want for you and your families. Do you want aid that benefits one person, one party, and one bank account? she said in a statement. The protests were the culmination of ongoing dissatisfaction with the Sogavare government over issues such as poor service delivery, bribery, and weak economic development. Natural resources are removed from our islands, and our people are poorer after that, according to a statement from Matthew Wale, opposition leader of the Solomon Islands. No tangible sustainable development has resulted from this exploitative economy. The countrys wealth goes overseas through unrestrained transfer pricing, aided, and abetted by the countrys leaders. Police on April 21, continued to investigate an arson attack on the family home of a pastor in Victoria, B.C.. (The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito) BC Police Probe Whether Arson Attack on Home of Ukrainian Pastor Was a Hate Crime The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has called on police in Victoria to investigate an arson attack on the home of a religious leader as a hate crime. Gasoline was poured through the mail slot of the family home of Father Yuriy Vyshnevskyy, pastor of the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, the congress said in a statement on Thursday. Five people were in the home early Wednesday when the fire broke out. All made it out alive, although one child was injured and a woman needed to be rescued from a window ledge by fire crews, said Victoria police. Const. Cam MacIntyre said Victoria police are investigating whether the arson was hate-motivated, but have yet to establish a motive. Thats something we will be looking at, MacIntyre said in an interview. Were alive to the connection here between the family and the Ukrainian church. Its very early in the investigation to be drawing conclusions of that nature. The motive is unknown but it is an arson. We obviously believe this fire was intentionally set. Police on Thursday released 16 seconds of video showing a vehicle passing through the area near the fire. Investigators want to identify and speak with the driver and occupants. The congress called the fire an attack on Vyshnevskyy, his wife and their three daughters, and called on police to thoroughly investigate. Given that Father Vyshnevskyy is a dedicated community leader, who through his work is strongly supporting the Ukrainian people and their defence of their homeland from Russias genocidal war, we call on local authorities to investigate this attack as a hate crime. Premier John Horgan offered his sympathies to Vyshnevskyy and his family during a news conference Thursday. We dont know yet, as the investigation unfolds, whether it was directed at peoples faith, peoples ethnicity, we dont know, he said. But, what we do know is that all British Columbians stand with the Vyshnevskyy family today, in unison, saying with one voice, were with you and were here to help. By Dirk Meissner Biden Misspeaks, Giving Mask Mandate Answer to Title 42 Question President Joe Biden misspoke while fielding questions from reporters Thursday, giving an answer on a topic unrelated to the question posed and forcing White House staff to once again issue a correction on behalf of the president. Following a live address April 21 on renewed military aid to Ukraine, a reporter asked Biden whether his administration is considering delaying the end of Title 42the public health policy that limits immigration and is set to end next month. Biden, 79, then proceeded to give an answer conflating the Title 42 issue with that of federal mask requirements on planes. No, he began. What Im considering is continuing to hear from my, my First of all, theres going to be an appeal by the Justice Department (DOJ), because as a matter of principle, we want to be in a position where if, in fact, it is strongly concluded by the scientists that we need Title 42, that wed be able to do that. The Justice Department is not appealing the decision to end Title 42a call that was made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)but the DOJ is appealing a ruling by a federal judge this week that the CDCs mask requirement for public transportation is beyond its legal authority. Biden finished his answer by returning to the issue of Title 42 saying, there has been no decision on extending Title 42. Following the press conference, White House staff issued a statement to reporters on behalf of President Biden: I want to clarify that, in comments at the conclusion of my remarks this morning, I was referring to the CDCs mask mandate and there is no Department of Justice action on Title 42. The White House has had to clarify the presidents comments after the fact many times in recent months. During a press conference in January, as Russia was massing troops along Ukraines border in preparation for an invasion, Biden said that Russia might face fewer penalties from the United States for a minor incursion into Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by saying there are no minor incursions on small nations. And White House press secretary Jen Psaki released a statement seeking to clarify Bidens comment by saying the president was clear with the Russian President: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, thats a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response. About two months later, during a press conference in Belgium, Biden said that the United States would respond in kind if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine. National security adviser Jake Sullivan later had to make clear to reporters aboard Air Force One that the United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstance. While on the same European trip, Biden told a group of Army paratroopers in Poland that they would witness the bravery of Ukrainian civilians defending their country when youre there. The White House had to mop this up as well, releasing a statement saying, the president has been clear we are not sending U.S. troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position. Also in Poland, Biden ended a speech by saying Putin cannot remain in power, causing confusion as to whether the United States was seeking to topple the Russian regime. White House staff again had to clarify saying Biden was not discussing Putins power in Russia. Biden, himself, later said he is not walking [the statement] back but sought to add context by saying I was talking to the Russian people and that its more an aspiration than anything he shouldnt be in power. California Lawmakers Approve Bill Limiting Indoor Water Consumption SACRAMENTOAmid Californias ongoing drought, state lawmakers moved forward with a bill that will mandate indoor residential water conservation, despite pushback from water districts. The state Senate voted 289 on Senate Bill 1157 to lower the indoor water use from the current standard of 55 gallons to 47 gallons per person per day beginning 2025, and 42 gallons beginning 2030. This kind of water policy is what we like to call raging commonsense. As we stare down potentially endless, worsening cycles of drought in California, our water policy must match and support efforts to conserve, said Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Los Angeles), the bills author. However, the bill must go through the Assembly prior to becoming officially enforced. While Hertzberg and other lawmakers applauded the conservation efforts, water districts in charge of enforcing the regulation say the bill would increase costs of operation and managementespecially since water districts currently dont keep track of indoor and outdoor water use, according to Interim General Manager of Yorba Linda Water District Doug Davert. Water districts are going to find themselves with a tab, Davert told The Epoch Times. Davert said if homeowners do not abide by the lower water usage, the cost will likely fall onto water districts as they figure out the logistics behind recording and reducing indoor water usage, he said. How much prying do we have to do, Davert said, adding that the only way to determine water consumption per household and per person is to find out how many people are in each household. Davert said that the financial impacts of the bill havent yet been concluded, but he expects the impact to be high. To address the drought, Davert instead recommends investing money and effort in water storage systemssuch as reservoirs. Southern California, through the Metropolitan Water District, has done a pretty good job over the last 50 years, developing storage [through] lakes and reservoirs, he said, adding that Northern California lacks the same infrastructure while Southern California holds enough water in its reservoirs to last a couple of years. If we expand what Metropolitan has done statewide, we could really address the effects of the drought, Davert said. Canada Eases Border Rules Again for the Fully Vaccinated and Children Border restrictions will be further eased on April 25, the federal government said on Friday, with the changes relating to children and fully vaccinated travellers. The Public Health Agency Canada says that children aged 5 to 11 who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and who are accompanied by a fully vaccinated person will no longer require a pre-entry COVID-19 test. Also, fully vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to submit a quarantine plan upon entry into Canada, and neither will children aged 5 to 11 accompanied by a fully vaccinated person or travellers with a COVID-19 vaccine medical exemption. Fourteen days after arrival, fully vaccinated travellers will also no longer be required to mask in public spaces, monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms, quarantine if another traveller in the same group develops symptoms or tests positive, or maintain a list of close contacts and locations visited. While most of Canadian provinces and territories have lifted most if not all COVID-19 restrictions, the federal government has taken a slow and incremental approach to lifting restrictions under its purview, and so far only regarding border rules. On March 17, Ottawa announced that fully vaccinated travellers would no longer require a pre-entry test, with the rule coming into effect on April 11. Vaccine Mandate Larger issues, like the vaccine mandate for federally regulated modes of transportation which, combined with U.S. vaccine border rules, prevent millions of unvaccinated Canadians from leaving the country, have no end in sight so far. Dr. Howard Njoo, Canadas deputy chief public health officer, was asked about the mandate on April 22 during a routine COVID-19 briefing and he implied that mandatory vaccination for travel is kept in place as a means to push people to get vaccinated. I think everyone is in agreement that vaccines are still our major tool, a major layer of protection, and so both inside Canada, for all Canadians, but also for travel purposes, I think its important to stress the point that the higher our vaccine coverage is, the better we all are overall, in terms of protecting against serious consequences of COVID 19, he said. As we move forward, certainly, well continue to look at the evidence, the data, and adjust as necessary. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam also said the definition of what constitutes being fully vaccinated will be examined, with the current definition meaning a primary series of two doses of Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines, and more recently the newly authorized vaccines by Novavax and Medicago, or the single-dose DNA vaccines of Johnson & Johson and AstraZeneca. In terms of an actual requirement [to get a booster] thats a policy that needs to be examined, and it will be examined by our decision-makers, the ministers in charge, she said. Get a booster, Tam said repeatedly. Data from Ontario and Quebec currently suggests that individuals who received a booster dose are getting infected at much higher rates, but are less likely to be admitted to hospital. In Ontario, the seven-day average for cases among the not fully vaccinated is 12.71 cases per 100,000, whereas its 25.88 cases per 100,000 for the boosted. In hospitals for or with COVID, 225 individuals out of 1,292 are unvaccinated (17.4 percent), whereas they count for 10 percent of the vaccine-eligible population of the province. In Quebec, the seven-day average for cases among those not vaccinated or vaccinated with one dose within 14 days is 16.50 cases per 100,000. For the boosted, its 44.51 cases per 100,000. In hospitals over 28 days, the admission rate for or with COVID for boosted individuals is 69 per 100,000, whereas its 85 per 100,000 for the unvaccinated or vaccinated with one dose within 14 days. Masking Tam also addressed the masking requirement in airplanes. I think it is prudent to continue to require wearing a mask, she said when asked if the requirement for wearing a mask on airplanes will be soon removed like in the United States. Wearing a mask is an additional layer of protection and can reduce transmission, she said. The usefulness of masks is not a foregone conclusion, with some detractors saying theyre ineffective at stopping transmission due to the virus being aerosol and minuscule enough to pass through even N-95 masks, considered the most protective option available for common people. Its a respiratory virus, its going to go through the air. Are masks going to be effective? Not the types of masks that were seeing here. Theres no evidence for that, said Dr. Richard Urso in an interview aired April 21 on EpochTVs American Thought Leaders. Urso is the co-founder of the International Alliance of Physicians and Medical Scientists and works in operating rooms doing viral lesions, which releases viruses in the air, and he says its always been known that surgical masks dont offer protection. Im not going to wear that [surgical] mask, because it doesnt work against viruses and Ive known that forever, he said, mentioning other protective means needing to be used. All the scientific studies [on masks] that have been done with randomized control trials have proven not to be effective, except that one which had very low scientific rigour [the so-called Bangladesh study], he said. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman gives a joint press conference with Morocco's foreign minister following their meeting in Rabat on March 8, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images) China Regime Undermining International Order by Seeking a System Where Might Makes Right: US Deputy Secretary of State The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is intentionally disrupting and undermining the international system that made it a global power, according to Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. The United States and its allies, she said, were prepared to compete vigorously to counter the effort, and to heavily sanction it for support of Russia. The United States has been clear that we will compete, and compete vigorously, with [China] where we should, including on trade and the economy, technology and innovation, and other areas, Sherman said at a meeting of the Friends of Europe think tank in Brussels on April 21. We have also been clear that we are committed to managing this competition between our countries so that competition does not veer into conflict. To that end, Sherman said that the United States would cooperate with China where it was in its interest to do so, and contest the CCP when its actions ran counter to American and allied interests or otherwise undermined the rules-based international order. Sherman said that the international order as such was the largest driving factor in Chinas rise, and that the Chinese CCP was one of the biggest beneficiaries of that rules-based international order over the last half-century. Today, however, Beijing is seeking to undermine the very system that they benefited from, to return instead to a system where might makes right, and big nations can coerce smaller countries into acting against their own interests, Sherman said. Sherman singled out the CCPs aggression towards Lithuania, noting how Beijing weaponized its economy to lock Lithuania out of market access as retaliation for the opening of a Taiwan representative office in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. She also underscored the CCPs targeting of American companies including H&M, Adidas, and Nike, which received severe backlash in the country after taking a stand against forced labor in Xinjiang, where the Chinese communist regime is accused of carrying out a genocide against the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities. Perhaps most importantly, Sherman also reiterated on Thursday President Joe Bidens promise of consequences on the CCP regime should it continue to grow its de facto alliance with Russia. She condemned the Feb. 4 announcement between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, which declared a no limits partnership between China and Russia that would know no forbidden areas. Since that announcement, Chinas tacit support of the Russian war effort has drawn international condemnation. International intelligence reports have further suggested that CCP officials knew about Russias invasion plans in advance and requested that the war be postponed until the conclusion of the Beijing Winter Olympics. New reports from Ukraine also suggest that state-backed hackers in China conducted a massive cyberattack on vital civilian and military infrastructure in Ukraine the day before the Russian invasion. This, despite the fact that China previously signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Ukraine, in which it vowed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of the threat of a nuclear attack. Chinese propaganda has also worked tirelessly to parrot Russian state misinformation, going so far as to censor social media posts that called the war in Ukraine an invasion and parroting Russian claims that NATO expansion caused the war. Ukraine was not being considered for NATO membership and, even if it were, would be denied on the grounds that it does not maintain territorial integrity in Crimea. I could give dozens of examples of [Chinas] actions that seek to undermine nations political autonomy, to coerce businesses decision-making, and more, to literally steal intellectual property and trade secrets, to hunt down and silence human rights defenders and members of ethnic and religious minorities who have left [China], to bend the rules of the international system to suit their interests at the expense of the rest of the world, Sherman said. The comments appeared to reference a series of high-profile espionage cases announced by the Justice Department over the past month, including alleged plots by Chinese agents to violently interfere in an army veterans Congressional bid in New York, and to stalk and intimidate an American Olympic figure skater and her father. Sherman said that the continued competition between the West and China went beyond support for Russia or mere anti-Americanism, however, and represented a contest over the very character of the future world order. It was a struggle, she said, between the values of representative government and pure authoritarianism. Heres the bottom line, Sherman said. The question all of us face in the United States, in Europe, and in nations around the world, is a simple one. What do we want the world to look like? What do we want our future to be? Do we want to have societies where people are free to speak their minds, to call a war by its name and to peacefully protest, or societies where governments are free to crack down harshly on anyone who contradicts the party line? Do we want to have governments that are transparent and accountable to their people, or governments that exist to consolidate their own power and control their people in turn? A rocket launches from missile system as part of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile test launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia on Dec. 9, 2020. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) China Would Support Russia Even If It Used Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine War: Former Defense Official The Chinese Communist Party would continue to support Vladimir Putins regime in Russia in the event that it used tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to former Assistant Secretary of Defense Graham Allison. The answer is yes, Allison said when asked if China would continue its support of Russia regardless of escalations by Putin. Even if it comes to Putins use of tactical nuclear weapons on a target in Ukraine. Allison, a professor at Harvard University, delivered the remarks as part of an April 19 lecture on the strategic situation between China, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States at the Institute for International and Strategic Studies, a security-focused think tank. He warned that the United States and China were headed towards a catastrophic outcome, due to their increasingly antagonistic rivalry, and that Chinas burgeoning alliance with Russia complicated international security given increasing fears that Russia could deploy a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. Allison, who has been a member of the Secretary of Defenses Defense Policy Board since 1985, cautioned that tensions would continue to worsen due to a lack of understanding in Washington about Chinas strategic thinking vis-a-vis Russia. Expect things to get worse before they get worse, Allison said. Most people in Washington still cannot accept the fact that Xi has built with Putins Russia a functional alliance that is operationally more significant than most of the U.S. treaty alliances. The budding alliance between Xi and Putin was solidified on Feb. 4, with the announcement of a no-limits partnership, which China later reaffirmed amid Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Allison said that the greatest challenge would now be to manage the worlds fiercest rivalry between the Chinese regime and the United States without a catastrophic war. It was a point that U.S. military leadership has itself warned of, now that the United States must strategically consider the combined nuclear power of both China and Russia in the event of military hostilities. To that end, Allison said that policymakers should expect Russia to become locked into China as a dependency, and that Xi had done brilliantly in manipulating and managing Putins ego as a now-junior partner in the arrangement. An arrangement, Allison argued, that could now outlive both leaders. Xi has done this but this will institutionalize Russias role as a vassal state, basically providing natural resources for [China], Allison said. Allison said that what Chinese communist leadership wanted most was benign inattention from the international community, which would allow it to continue to expand its nuclear arsenal and economic coercion with less interference. As such, he said that China would use Russia to keep the international communitys eyes averted from its own actions, and would not interfere with any of Russias aggressive actions. When asked if China could actually leverage its partnership with Russia to displace the United States as the worlds greatest power, Allisons response was less than optimistic. Is that conceivable? Allison said. Unfortunately, it is. The Chinese study war way, way, way more seriously than we do. Signage is seen at the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, on Aug. 29, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) Chinese National Sentenced to 52 Months in Prison Over $20 Million Pandemic Fraud Scheme A Chinese national has been sentenced to more than four years in prison over a scheme to fraudulently obtain $20 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief loans that were meant for distressed small businesses. New York resident Muge Ma, 38, falsely claimed to have hundreds of employees at two phony companies he controlledNew York International Capital (NYIC) and Hurley Human Resources (Hurley)to which he said he paid millions of dollars in wages monthly, according to federal prosecutors. In reality, Ma, who also goes by the name Hummer Mars, was the only employee at both companies, which he admitted were based in his luxury condo building in Manhattan. To obtain the funds, he submitted doctored and fraudulent financial records to the Small Business Administration and at least six banks between March and May 2020, according to prosecutors. He had made loan applications for relief under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. Links to the websites he provided in the loan applications described the companies as global. The NYIC website casts the company as a Blue-blooded AMERICAN Worlds Leading Cloud Investment Bank that could connect clients with more than 5,000 strategic partners in less than two weeks. Ma also lied that he was a U.S. citizen when he was, in fact, a permanent resident of the United States. He also used the name and identity of another person in one fraudulent loan application. He lied that NYIC was representing New York state to procure COVID-19 test kits and personal protective equipment, according to prosecutors. Before the discovery of the scheme, the Small Business Administration approved a $500,000 EIDL to NYIC and another $150,000 loan for Hurley. It made at least a $10,000 loan advance to NYIC. A bank also separately gave about $800,000 PPP loan funds to Hurley, which have been frozen under the probe. Justice Department filings show that Ma spent a portion of the $10,000 at a consumer electronics store and a department store. Several banks ultimately denied his application because of concerns of potential fraud. Ma was arrested in May 2020 and pleaded guilty last June. He had since withdrawn his loan applications and returned the funds, according to prosecutors. Ma came to the United States in 2011 on a student visa. At a sentencing hearing in Manhattan on April 21, he repeatedly expressed remorse for his deeds. I love America, Ma said, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Im very, very sorry to my country, America. He complained about the jail conditions over the past two years as dirty, harsh, extremely cruel. I detest myself so much, Ma said. The self-reproach reached such a point that U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, who announced his prison sentence, interrupted Ma, telling him: Mr. Ma, I dont have any doubt about how sorry you are. Im not seeking blood from you, the judge said before he urged Ma to stop dwelling on his crimes and focus on how he can be successful in the future, according to AP. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams noted that Ma had exploited the opportunity within days of Congress authorizing billions of dollars to help small businesses struggling under the pandemic shutdowns. Muge Ma saw it as an opportunity to enrich himself by applying for millions of dollars in funds to pay wages to hundreds of employees that never existed, he said in an April 21 statement. The headquarters building of China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) in Beijing, on July 29, 2016. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) CNOOC Surges in Shanghai Debut; Chinese Oil Giant to Leave US, UK Projects China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC, soared as much as 44 percent in its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on April 21. After hitting the daily upper limit, trading was suspended amid enormous fluctuation. The stock pared its gains to end the session up 28 percent. Investors jumped at the first opportunity to gain exposure to skyrocketing crude oil and natural gas prices, allowing the Chinese energy giant to raise $4.41 billion and become the nations 11th-largest public stock offering. Traders have been looking for alternatives to Chinas state-owned PetroChina and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), which operate refining facilities and sell fuel. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, is up 37 percent year-to-date, trading at about $107 per barrel on Londons ICE Futures exchange. Chinas biggest offshore driller for oil and gas was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange after U.S. sanctions in October 2021. Its mainland debut was the worlds fourth-largest so far in 2022. Logos of China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) are displayed at a news conference on the companys interim results in Hong Kong, on March 23, 2017. (Bobby Yip/Reuters) We will take this opportunity to make full use of domestic and overseas financing channels to promote the high-quality and sustainable development of the company, Chairman Wang Dongjin said in a statement. Can CNOOC sustain the momentum? It has been a challenging year for initial public offerings (IPOs). About one-third of the roughly 100 companies listed this year in Shanghai and Shenzhen slumped below their IPO price, according to data compiled by East Money Information. Additional figures put together by Bloomberg noted that about two-thirds of IPOs that raised at least $100 million with issuance slipped below their offer price. Market analysts have been bullish on the stock, forecasting an increasing market capitalization for Chinas chief offshore oil and gas producer over the next several years. CNOOC represents historic investment opportunities due to high oil prices, low valuation, and consistent high dividend yields, Chen Shuxian, an analyst at Cinda Securities, wrote in a research note. But as CNOOCs debut captures business headlines, market experts have monitored other recent corporate developments. CNOOC Flees the West? CNOOC is reportedly planning to withdraw from operations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom over concerns that Chinese assets could become targets of Western sanctions, industry sources told Reuters. At the same time, the energy firm is seeking to purchase new assets in Latin America and Africa, while also emphasizing the development of potentially lucrative projects in Brazil, Guyana, and Uganda. The Chinse energy giant controls considerable stakes in several crucial assets, including immense Canadian oil sand projects, fields in the North Sea, and operations in the Gulf of Mexico. However, CNOOC is looking at selling marginal and hard to manage assets in those foreign markets, senior industry sources say. In March, it was reported that CNOOC had hired Bank of America to launch a formal sale of its North Sea assets, possibly raising more than $3 billion. That follows less than a decade after acquiring Canadian producer Nexen for $15 billion because of its assets in the sea, which is situated between the UK, Norway, Denmark, and Germany. The acquisition was the firms largest foreign takeover at the time. Critics argue that CNOOCs primary objective was to determine the publics comfort with a Chinese entity attaining operational responsibility for key oil and gas ventures in a Western nation. Overall, this is part of CNOOCs recent decision to initiate a global portfolio review. In its prospectus prior to the latest IPO, the company noted that it would be unable to predict if the company or its affiliates and partners will be affected by U.S. sanctions in the future, if policies change. The United States has reiterated its position that China could endure repercussions if it were found to be assisting Russia in averting sanctions. Beijing has refused to condemn Moscows invasion of Ukraine, choosing to maintain its strategic trade relationship with the Kremlin. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump and his administration focused on multiple Chinese companies that the United States alleged were owned or controlled by the nations military. Wang recently confirmed that it would be premature for CNOOC to talk about new investments in Russia, noting that the company will decide what to do as the UkraineRussia conflict evolves. There had been speculation that CNOOC would increase its presence in the Eastern European market after the likes of BP and Shell divested from Russia. CNOOC currently possesses a 10 percent stake in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) venture in the Russian Arctic. Shell is reportedly discussing with several Chinese energy firms, including CNOOC, to sell its 27.5 percent position in a vast Russian LNG project called Sakhalin-2. A registered nurse stirs a nasal swab in testing solution after administering a COVID-19 test at Sameday Testing on July 14, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Company Reaches $22.5 Million Settlement With LA City for Allegedly Forging COVID Test Results Los Angeles reached a $22.5 million settlement with Sameday Healtha COVID-19 testing company the city alleged forged hundreds of coronavirus test results and conducted insurance fraud, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced on April 21. The complaint filed by Feuer and District Attorney George Gascon accused Sameday and its CEO Felix Huettenbach of promising to deliver test results to consumers within 24 hours when it didnt have the capacity to do so. They also alleged that Sameday forged hundreds of COVID test results in its second weekend of operation when consumers complained of delay. Its beyond outrageous that anyone would falsify COVID tests, as we allege happened here, Feuer said in a statement. The victims of this alleged scheme [who received fake negative test results] might unknowingly have spread COVID to others or failed to receive timely and appropriate care themselves. Sameday, a Venice-based company, was founded in September 2020 to make fast, reliable, Covid testing available to everyone, according to a company statement emailed to The Epoch Times. It currently operates 55 COVID testing locations nationwide, with 16 of them in Los Angeles County and five in the city. The company stated that it has emerged from the problems that occurred amid high demand for COVID testing two years agowith corrected and compliant operations now. In the early days, amidst the chaos of massive surges in demand for services, and shortages in supplies, we failed to meet the standards for excellence our customers deserve, the statement read. We have corrected the problems that arose back in 2020 and have made significant investments in compliance and systems to ensure that we meet our customers expectations. According to the statement, the settlement would allow the companys employees to place their focus on providing top-level service to the communities we serve. As a part of the settlement, Huettenbach personally is prohibited from accessing any test result or medical record belonging to any of Samedays customers. To ensure that consumers receive reliable test results, Sameday is also required to hire an independent monitor, according to the city attorneys office. Feuer also reached a $3.9 million settlement with a Los Angeles doctor, Jeff Toll, for allegedly engaging in insurance fraud as a partner of Sameday. The complaint stated that Sameday charges the so-called medical consultations fee from the insurance companies when the company steered consumers to this doctor for unnecessary consults. According to the complaint, Sameday was accused of submitting tens of thousands of claims to insurers for such medical consultations, allegedly making millions of dollars from insurance claims in California in a year. Toll did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attorney representing Toll told the Los Angeles Times, We settled the matter, but we do not believe that Dr. Toll did anything that was unethical. The settlement requires the defendants to pay restitution and civil penalties and prohibits them from participating in the activities alleged by the citys complaints, according to the city attorneys office. Feuer referred to the settlement as [the citys] most significant consumer protection case to emerge from the pandemic, which will stop this alleged scheme, give restitution to consumers and insurers, and impose severe penalties [on responsible parties]. Robby Mook, campaign manager for Democratic presidential nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaks aboard the campaign plane while traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Oct. 28, 2016. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Court Filings Draw First Statements From 3 Key Democratic Players in Sussmann Case A blizzard of petitions, motions, and counter-motions have been filed in response to special counsel John Durhams April 6 request for documents from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign withheld from federal investigators under claims of attorneyclient privilege. Durham is seeking communicationsprimarily 38 email exchanges between the DNC, Clintons campaign, law firm Perkins Coie, and Fusion GPS, the opposition research contractor that circulated debunked claims of an alleged secret server link between the Trump Organization and a Russian bankin his case against Michael Sussmann. Sussmann, who worked for Perkins Coie, goes on trial on May 16 in U.S. District Court in Washington on one count of making a false statement. Hes charged with lying when he claimed to be acting as a concerned citizen instead of representing the DNC and Clintons campaign on Sept. 19, 2016, when he gave FBI general counsel James Baker documents that purported that the Trump Organization maintained clandestine communications with Russia-based Alfa Bank. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty. Since April 18, the DNC, Clinton Campaign, Fusion GPS, and Perkins Coie have all petitioned to intervene in the case to challenge Durhams motion to turn over communications that they claim are attorney-client privileged or beyond the scope of the charge against Sussmann. After an April 20 hearing that waded through Sussmanns petitions to restrict testimony about the veracity of the claims and the way the data was collected, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper set April 22 and April 25 deadlines for all parties to file responses to all petitions and motions in anticipation of an April 27 in-person hearing. The petition to intervenefiled by Clintons campaign, Hillary for America (HFA)features declarations from three key players that, until April 18, had been much-speculated about, but little heard from in the 18-month investigation. They include former Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, campaign manager Robby Mook, and Marc Elias, the Perkins Coie attorney who has served as lead counsel for the DNC and assorted Democratic candidates since 2009. All say that the communications between the law firm, Fusion GPS, the DNC, and the campaign that Durham seeks should remain withheld as privileged because they were all related to legal services and legal advice. In his three-page declaration, Podesta said that, to his knowledge, Perkins Coie has consistently maintained the confidentiality of documents and information covered by the attorney-client privilege and the attorney-work-product doctrine. The now-defunct campaign asserts its attorney-client privilege and the attorney-work-product protection and opposes the governments motion to compel, he wrote. In his two-page statement, Mook said that in April 2015, HFA hired Elias and Perkins Coie as its general counsel. By April 2016, it was apparent that Trump would be the likely Republican nominee to challenge the heavily favored Clinton that November. One of the topics about which Perkins Coie provided legal services and legal advice to HFA involved fact-finding and research that the campaign conducted regarding candidate Donald Trump, Mook wrote. He noted that he didnt know that the law firm had hired Fusion GPS to conduct the opposition research. Although I was not aware during the campaign of any contractors that Perkins Coie engaged to assist it in providing legal services and legal advice regarding this work, I did believe throughout the campaign that whatever work Perkins Coie performed, either through its own professionals or through any contractors it may have engaged to assist it, the work was done for the purpose of providing legal services and legal advice to HFA, Mook wrote. In his seven-page affidavit, Elias wrote that Fusion GPS was hired as a preemptive resource to amass data and details that could be used in thwarting legal challenges from the notoriously litigious Trump. My recollection is that those claims resulted in threatened and actual litigation, Elias wrote. Accordingly, in my and the firms capacity as general counsel for the Clinton Campaign, I expected to encounter similar claims and litigation risks from the opposing candidate, political party, and their supporters. Noting that Trump had filed more than 7,000 lawsuits either personally or through his businesses, he wrote, Trump had been involved in an exceptionally high number of lawsuitsranging from slip-and-falls to complex bankruptcies and restructuringmore than I recall ever previously encountering on behalf of a client in the political arena. I also generally remember being aware that he had used the threat of defamation litigation for tactical advantage and had filed and threatened meritless claims of defamation in the past. Elias, who had chaired Perkins Coies political law group since 2009, established the law firm Elias Law Group in September 2021. Therefore, he wrote, conversations between Fusion GPS and its clients, even if it didnt directly involve attorneys, are all related to why it was hiredto provide ammunition in response to anticipated litigation from Trump. Crypto Crimes on the Rise in Australia Australian cyber authorities have warned people and local businesses to take precautions against cybercriminals as they have become more sophisticated in using digital currencies and other methods in their exploit schemes. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), which is responsible for detecting, deterring, and disrupting criminal abuse of the financial system, has released two new guides to help local businesses deal with ransomware attacks and avoid being targeted by criminals using cryptocurrencies, or crypto for short. AUSTRAC Chief Executive Nicole Rose said lenders should make a report when they suspect that somebody is using digital currencies to launder money, finance terrorism, cash in on scams or pay ransoms. The Australian government is trying to keep pace with rising threats from Russian-linked hackers and the fast-changing digital economy. At the same time, criminals are making use of the increasing popularity of crypto to commit crimes and evade law enforcement detection. Australia and other Five Eyes intelligence partnersthe United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealandhave issued advice on enhancing cybersecurity to defend against Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructures, including power grids, and hospitals. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has also released new guidance requiring financial institutions engaging in activities associated with crypto-assets to have a better understanding of the potential risks and apply robust risk control management. Apart from the highly volatile nature and the material risk of crypto, APRA chair Wayne Byres also warned financial institutions of the underlying investment and credit risks when they increase their exposure to crypto-assets. A photo shows some cryptocurrencies. (Pixabay) Meanwhile, cybercriminals are using crypto to facilitate schemes such as romance, investment, and job scams. Government agency Scamwatch received more than 286,000 scam reports during 2021, which resulted in over $323 million (US$238 million) in financial losses. In March 2022, Australian cyber victims, of whom 87 percent are male, lost $95 million to scams, the largest monthly amount ever recorded. Cyber experts at Proofpoint, an enterprise security company, said that mobile app scams were the leading cybercrime threat in March, with men aged 25 to 34 most likely to hand over personal and banking information. Company emails are another weak spot, where criminals use fraudulent messages known as phishing to infiltrate networks to steal private information and deploy bugs. Proofpoint vice president Crispin Kerr said crypto had given criminals another means to target Australians. Cybercriminals have become more sophisticated, even setting up fake cryptocurrency exchange platforms to carry out crypto-jacking, tricking people into using their computers and mobile devices to mine cryptocurrency against the users will, he said. Blockchain Australia CEO Steve Vallas said businesses needed to be better aware of and protect themselves from the risks of ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that locks out devices or personal data and demands users to make payments to regain access. The use of crypto has made ransomware harder to track. Around 500 ransomware attacks were reported in the 2020-2021 financial year, an increase of 15 percent compared to the prior year. According to Defence Minister Peter Dutton, Conti, operated by a Russian criminal gang, is the most active ransomware in Australia. Dartmouth College Demands $3,600 Security Fee for Republican Student-Hosted Online Event Dartmouth College has demanded its Republican students pay a $3,600 security fee for an online event they hosted earlier this year featuring independent journalist Andy Ngo. The Jan. 20 event, titled Extremism in America, was originally planned to include an in-person panel discussion with Ngo, who has long been a target of harassment and violent attacks because of his coverage of left-wing extremist groups such as Antifa. Also invited to the event was Gabriel Nadales, a former Antifa member-turned-critic of Americas left-wing political activism. Two days before the event, an anonymous group called the Dartmouth Anarchists declared online that it would coordinate with Northeast Antifa and other outside organizations to stage a protest inside the event venue. Dartmouth took the threat seriously and worked with local and state law enforcement agencies to arrange for increased security in and around the venue. According to Ngo, there were bomb-sniffing dogs brought in as the police conducted their security sweep ahead of the event. The college later clarified that there wasnt a bomb threat. Despite the fact that none of the calls to disrupt the event materialized, Dartmouth administrators ultimately forced the organizers to move it online just two hours before it was set to begin, citing concerning information from local police department. The Ivy League school now tells the College Republicansthe student group that invited Ngo and Nadales to speak on the Hanover, New Hampshire, campusthat it must pay $3,600 in security fees for the event where no protester showed up. It also said that until the bill is paid, the club will be ineligible for any more funds from college for future events, including an April 20 visit by Project Veritas founder James OKeefe, who has become a household name for his undercover journalism. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), an advocacy group focusing on First Amendment rights on college campus, complained on behalf of the Republican students, arguing that the security fee charge is unjustified and only serves as an excuse to shut down future speech administrators deem controversial or undesirable. By forcing the College Republicans to pay $3,600 in security fees as a condition of holding its event and citing an arbitrary lack of good standing for refusing to grant additional funding, Dartmouth has impermissibly affixed a price tag to the groups expression, FIREs Sabrina Conza wrote to Dartmouth President Philip J. Hanlon. Students who may hold controversial viewpoints will be chilled from expressing them as Dartmouth provides them only bad options: incur excessive security fees, self-censor expression that may anger others, or speak but face threats of deplatforming or censorship, she added. Conza also pointed to the 1992 case Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, in which the U.S. Supreme Court found it unconstitutional for government to charge a more-than-nominal permit fee for people to assemble in public places just because they express views unpopular with bottle throwers. Although Dartmouth is a private institution, the principles set forth in Forsyth apply on a campus that promises students expressive rights coextensive with the First Amendment, according to Conza. Meanwhile, a Dartmouth spokesperson said in a statement that the event organizers themselves had expressed safety concerns and were aware of the possibility that the event might need to be adjusted to address those concerns, adding that the school supports freedom of expression and dissent. A leader of Dartmouth College Republicans disagrees, claiming that the school doesnt honor freedom of expression in the first place. To say that Dartmouth supports free speech on campus is simply not true, Chloe Ezzo, the vice president of the Republican club, wrote in an email to FIRE. At a college with an $8.5 billion endowment, the fact that the Dartmouth administration is trying to burden us with these security fees says everything you need to know about how much they prize the expressive rights of their students. People wear masks as they pass through a pedestrian subway as cases of the infectious coronavirus Delta variant continue to rise in New York City, New York, on July 26, 2021. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) Delta Gives Update About Mask No-Fly List After Travel Mandate Lifts Delta Air Lines will maintain its ban on some individuals who would not comply with a COVID-19 mask rule on Delta flights, although the company also revealed that it plans to restore flight privileges to about 2,000 customers who were barred from flights. With masks now optional, Delta will restore flight privileges for customers on the mask non-compliance no-fly list only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior when flying with us, spokesperson Anthony Black told news outlets this week. But individuals who demonstrated egregious behavior and are already on the permanent no-fly list remain barred from flying with Delta even after the travel mask mandate was lifted by a Florida judge earlier this week, Black continued. About 2,000 people will see their Delta flight privileges restored, the airline told Reuters. About 1,000 people will remain permanently banned from flying with Delta, the firm added to the news agency. Deltas announcement follows a similar decision by United Airlines on Tuesday to allow some of the roughly 1,000 people who have been banned for not wearing masks to return to flights on a case by case basis. Chicago-based United said those people would be allowed to return to flights after ensuring their commitment to follow all crewmember instructions on board. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle wrote in an order that the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) rule that mandated mask-wearing inside airports, airplanes, and other public transportation violated federal administrative law. The Department of Justice later said in a statement that it plans to appeal the ruling on behalf of the CDC. In light of todays assessment by [the CDC] that an order requiring masking in the transportation corridor remains necessary to protect the public health, the department has filed a notice of appeal in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc., et al., v. Biden, et al, Anthony Coley, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said in a statement on Wednesday. After the ruling was handed down, major airlines such as United, Delta, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and more announced they would make masks optional for customers and passengers. Before Mizelles order, the CEOs of those airlines called on the Biden administration and CDC to end the rule, which was implemented in January 2021. The Epoch Times has contacted Delta Air Lines for comment. COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Reuters contributed to this report. Delta to Restore Flight Privileges to Passengers Barred Over Mask Violations WASHINGTONDelta Air Lines said on Wednesday it plans to restore flight privileges to about 2,000 customers who were barred from flights after failing to comply with mask rules. The Biden administration on Monday said it would no longer enforce a U.S. mask mandate on public transportation and airlines after a federal judge struck down the directive as unlawful. Atlanta-based Delta told Reuters it will restore passengers only after each case is reviewed and each customer demonstrates an understanding of their expected behavior when flying with us. Any further disregard for the policies that keep us all safe will result in placement on Deltas permanent no-fly list. The change will not impact Deltas separate list of about 1,000 people who demonstrated egregious behavior and are already on the permanent no-fly list. Deltas announcement follows a similar decision by United Airlines on Tuesday to allow some of the roughly 1,000 people who have been banned for not wearing masks to return to flights on a case by case basis. Chicago-based United said those people would be allowed to return to flights after ensuring their commitment to follow all crewmember instructions on board. The Justice Department said Wednesday it plans to appeal the order that forced the government to halt enforcement of the mask mandate. The Federal Aviation Administration said separately on Wednesday that it plans to make a zero tolerance policy for unruly passengers adopted in January 2021 permanent. By David Shepardson Confronted by a stray driver traveling the wrong way on the interstate, a sheriffs deputy in Colorado put his life on the line by placing his cruiser between the reckless motorist and the rest of the traffic on the highway. The subsequent collision likely saved lives. The Adams County Sheriffs Office first received a call from Colorado State Patrol around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12. They were informed of a vehicle headed westbound in the eastbound lanes of the I-70, at mile marker 328, the sheriffs office stated. Deputies headed to the scene and were able to stop eastbound traffic at mile marker 310 in hopes of preventing a crash. Positioning himself between the dozen or so stopped vehicles and the wayward driver traveling at high speeds, one deputy bravely put himself and his vehicle in harms way, stated the sheriffs office, and allowed himself to be struck in order to protect the other motorists. The officer and the driver collided. The impact sent both vehicles careening more than 140 feet and into the front of a parked semi-truck. Neither the deputy, the driver, nor anyone else on the interstate suffered any major injuries, the sheriffs office stated. Both the officer and the wayward motorist received precautionary medical attention. The sheriffs office posted photos from the scene to their Facebook page, showing the wrecked vehicles having sustained considerable damage from the collision, and lauded their deputy for his selfless act. We are thankful that the only casualties were the vehicles involved, Adams County Sheriffs Office captioned. There is no doubt that without the deputys quick action and bravery several vehicles would have been struck at high speeds and lives would have been lost. Facebook users responded in droves, hailing the officer for his courage and praising law enforcement in general. Thank you sir for putting yourself in harms way to protect others, Rebecca Shields commented. I for one appreciate all our brave men and women in uniform do on a daily basis. So very grateful you were not seriously injured, or anyone else too, and that you made it home safe. They protect and serve their community, wrote Jeanette Arnoldi. God Bless you Deputy praying for a speedy recovery. Blue Lives Matter. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter House Republicans are asking Twitters board to keep all records related to Elon Musks offer to buy the company. Is this a hint they want to investigate Twitter in the future? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a bill stripping Disney of its self-governing status. What could it mean for local taxes? We hear the inspirational story of Antonio Sustiel, also known as the Flooring King, who is an American immigrant from Israel. How did he go from only having $400 to his name to being a self-made millionaire? Amazon is sharing its Prime benefits with third-party sellers, meaning you wont have to shop on Amazon to get those benefits. A luxury car show in London features some of the most expensive cars from past and present. We take a look at some of the stars of the show. Whether or not China plans to invade Taiwan now, it is time for the United States to ditch decades of misguided policy. Among other things, Washington should, on an emergency basis, begin arming the island with the weapons it urgently needs. Pictured: Taiwan Air Force pilots stand next to Mirage fighter jets at Hsinchu Air Base on Jan. 16, 2019. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) Deterring China: US Should Arm Taiwan to the HiltNow Originally published by Gatestone Institute Commentary Wrong signals. That is what the Eastern Theater Command of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army said on April 15, referring to Washingtons encouragement of Taiwan. That day, the Chinese military sent fighter and bomber aircraft as well as frigates near the island republic. Chinas exercises, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, were a countermeasure to the U.S. negative actions recently, including the lawmakers visit to Taiwan. Beijing, he said, would continue to take strong measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. As he spoke, six American lawmakers, led by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and other senior officials of the self-governed island. They arrived on a U.S. Air Force plane, a not-so-subtle signal to Beijing. The two-day visit was unannounced, sneaky, in the words of Chinas Defense Ministry. The Global Times, a tabloid controlled by Chinas official Peoples Daily, was even more direct. It said the drills were not only a warning to other lawmakers planning to visit the island but also went beyond deterrence by preparing for potential, real actions that would resolve the Taiwan question once and for all when necessary. Real actions? Whether or not China plans to invade Taiwan now, its time for the United States to ditch decades of misguided policy. Among other things, Washington should, on an emergency basis, begin arming the island with the weapons it urgently needs. The Peoples Republic of China reserves for itself the right to use force to annex the Republic of China, Taiwans formal name. Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory, the Eastern Theater Command declared in a statement. There is no room for any foreign interference on the Taiwan issue. Many analysts have surmised that the heroic Ukrainian resistance to Russian invaders has made Chinas invasion of Taiwan less likely. For various reasons, few if any outsiders know how the Chinese leadership in fact views the situation. Unfortunately, Xi Jinping, the extraordinarily ambitious and bold Chinese ruler, may feel encouraged by recent events in Eastern Europe. As Wang Dan, a Tiananmen Square-era student leader, wrote late last month, We should not expect rational decision-making from dictators and totalitarian regimes. Xi could very well decide that the Ukraine war shows he now has a green light to invade Taiwan. After all, the United States, the 27 nations of the European Union, and Great Britaincombined, these 29 states had an economy more than 25 times larger than Russias last yearcouldnt exercise their power to deter Vladimir Putin, so Xi may feel they will similarly fail with regard to China. Moreover, the sanctions placed on Moscow after the invasion were not comprehensive, and they are, incredibly, still not comprehensive. Xi, therefore, could believe that no nation would dare impose meaningful costs on his magnificent state. Finally, Xi might think Putins invasion has created enough chaos and distraction that others would be in no position to oppose his acts of aggression. Chinas leaders give the impression they have been emboldened by recent events. As Kabul was falling last year, for instance, Beijing was pushing the point that the United States was incapable. The Global Times asked how America could stand up to mighty China when it couldnt even deal with the Taliban. The semi-official tabloid also stated this, referring to America: It cannot win a war anymore. Moreover, Communist Party propaganda talked about Taiwan as Kabul fell. In an editorial in August, the Global Times declared that once a war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, the islands defense will collapse in hours and the U.S. military wont come to help. None of this is to say China will invadethere are many reasons why it wouldntbut nowhere is deterrence now more important than in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan, after the fall of Afghanistan and the invasion of Ukraine, is considered around the world as the test of American credibility. The United States for decades has had a policy of strategic ambiguity, not telling either China or Taiwan what it would do in the case of imminent conflict. Ambiguity worked in a benign period, but, especially after the Ukraine invasion, the world is no longer in a benign period. Chinese leaders say America no longer deters them. Washington has to take them at their word, which means the United States must now adopt measures once considered extreme. As U.S. policymakers consider what to do, they must remember that three decades of misguided Taiwan policy have left them with no risk-free options. To prevent a Chinese invasion, President Joe Biden should publicly declare that America will defend Taiwan. In addition, the United States should work with allies Japan and Australia and offer a multilateral defense treaty to Taipei. Moreover, as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proposed last month while visiting Taipei, the United States should recognize Taiwan for what it is: a sovereign state. Recognition of Taiwan would require a change in Americas one-China policy. Pursuant to that policyoften confused with Beijings one-China principlethe United States recognizes Beijing as the legitimate government of China. In other words, Washington has pronounced the Communist Party the winner of the Chinese Civil War. Nonetheless, America does not, like Chinas one-China principle, accept Beijings position that Taiwan is part of the Peoples Republic. The United States merely acknowledges that Beijing makes that claim. The United States instead takes the position that Taiwans status remains unresolved and that the resolution of the status must be peaceful, in other words, with the consent of Taiwans people. To make sure the resolution of Taiwans status is peaceful, the Biden administration should start shipping weapons to Taiwan, especially long-range missiles that can hold Chinas regime hostage. Moreover, America and friends, to back up their words, should base forces on the island. Deterrence is the best guarantee of peace. The United States didnt send sufficient weapons to Ukraine before the Feb. 24 invasion, thereby failing to maintain deterrence in Eastern Europe. By openly bolstering Taiwans defenses, Washington would be declaring that America was no longer afraid of offending Beijing. That is transmitting the right signal for Chinese leaders to ponder. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Guests wear masks as required to attend the official reopening day of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla, on, July 11, 2020. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Disney Stock Tumbles Amid Fallout From Florida Controversy Disney stocks have tumbled so far in 2022 as the company waded into Floridas political arena while Republicans in the state voted to revoke the firms self-governing status in the central portion of the state. The stock hit all-time highs in March 2021, trading at $200 per share. But since then, its dropped more than a third to about $119 per share as of April 22, putting the media conglomerate on track to its lowest close in 17 months. As of April 19, Disneys stock reached $131.90 but since then, its dropped more than $12 per share as of Friday. The firm has faced targeted criticism in recent weeks after issuing a statement opposed to a bill backed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that prohibits teachers to instruct on sexual orientation and gender identity in children in the third grade or younger, or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards. Disney at the time criticized the bill and affirmed its support for the LGBT movement. As a result, some parents groups said they would organize a boycott of the companys products, movies, theme parks, and shows. On Thursday, the Florida House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would revoke the companys special governing and tax status in central Florida, where it operates a 25,000 square-acre parcel of land that includes Walt Disney World and other tourist attractions. A day earlier, the state Senate voted to approve the measure. DeSantis, a Republican, now has the option of signing the bill into law. In recent weeks, the governor has accused Disneys corporate office of adopting a woke ideological framework, adding that Disney is sullying its reputation. When you have companies that have made a fortune off being family-friendly and catering to families and young kids, they should understand that parents of young kids do not want this injected into their kids kindergarten classroom, he said in March. The Republican-passed bill drew criticism from Democrats, including President Joe Biden. I respect conservatives. Theres nothing conservative about deciding youre going to throw Disney out of its present posture because, Mickey Mouse? In fact, do you think we should not be able to say, you know, gay? Biden said Thursday evening at a Seattle fundraiser, although the bill makes no mention of the word gay. He also claimed that I dont believe its where the vast majority of the American people are, without providing evidence. The Epoch Times has contacted Disneys corporate office and Walt Disney World for comment. Meanwhile, some analysts have noted consumers are cutting back on streaming services, including ones pushed by Disney, Netflix, and others. Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ have the scale and management conviction to over time be a massive global streamer, said JPMorgan analyst Philip Cusick in a report Tuesday. But he added that this isnt necessarily as good a business as Disney used to have in TV. The market appears to be moving past rewarding media companies, as it did in 2020 and 2021, simply for their forecast of future streaming subscriber growth, MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson last month in reference to streaming service Disney+ and others. Now it seems that investors are looking further down the income statementand also, finally, digging through the cash flow statementto try to determine the underlying steady-state profitability of the pivot to Direct-to-Consumer content delivery, Nathanson added. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. Disney Stock Provides Meat for the Bears: Heres Where to Watch for the Bounce Walt Disney Co was trading about 1% lower on Thursday after falling in sympathy with Netflix, Inc on Wednesday, which plunged almost 40% after printing its first-quarter earnings. Disneys decline on Wednesday began to pick up at 11:30 a.m. in reaction to a bear flag the stock had settled into on the four-hour chart. The bear flag pattern is created with a steep drop lower forming the pole, which is then followed by a consolidation pattern that brings the stock higher between a channel with parallel lines or into a tightening triangle pattern. For bullish traders, the trend is your friend (until its not) and the stock may continue to rise upwards within the following channel for a short period of time. Aggressive traders may decide to purchase the stock at the lower trendline and exit the trade at the higher trendline. Bearish traders will want to watch for a breakdown from the lower descending trendline of the flag formation, on high volume, for an entry. When a stock breaks down from a bear flag pattern, the measured move lower is equal to the length of the pole and should be added to the highest price within the flag. A bear flag is negated when a stock closes a trading day above the upper trendline of the flag pattern or if the flag rises more than 50% up the length of the pole. The Disney Chart The measured move of the break of the bear flag is about 7%, which indicates the stock could fall toward the $117 level. The break from the flag came on higher-than-average volume, which indicates the pattern was recognized. Disney has been trading in a fairly consistent downtrend since March 29, when the stock topped out at the $144.46 mark. The most recent lower high was printed on Tuesday at the $133.19 level and the most recent confirmed lower low was formed at $126.85 on April 18. Eventually, Disney will print another lower low and then bounce up to print a lower high, which could give bearish traders who are not already in a position a solid entry. The stock is likely to bounce soon because Disneys relative strength index (RSI) has reached the 30% level. When a stocks RSI reaches or falls below that level, it becomes oversold, which can be a buy signal for technical traders. Disney has resistance above at $126.53 and $129.42 and support below at $120.61 and $115.76. By Melanie Schaffer 2022 The Epoch Times. The Epoch Times does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday appealed Mondays ruling by a federal judge in Florida that struck down the Biden administrations mask mandate for public transport. Legal experts say the move could backfire if the case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday appealed Mondays ruling by a federal judge in Florida that struck down the Biden administrations mask mandate for public transit. The news followed a statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued at the DOJs request, recommending the continued use of masks on planes, trains and other public transportation. The CDC said: It is CDCs continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. CDC will continue to monitor public health conditions to determine whether such an order remains necessary. CDC believes this is a lawful order, well within CDCs legal authority to protect public health. The DOJ filed the appeal in the U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, and said it may ask the court to stay the judges injunction while the case proceeds. For now, the Florida ruling vacating the mandate stands. Prior to filing the appeal, the federal government sent mixed signals regarding its willingness to appeal the April 18 decision of U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, Politico reported. In her ruling, Judge Mizelle stated the CDC failed to justify its decision to impose the mandate and failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures for implementing it. The nonprofit Health Freedom Defense Fund filed the lawsuit that prompted Mondays ruling against the mandate. The DOJ on Tuesday announced it would appeal the Florida ruling only if the CDC deemed the mandate necessary for safeguarding public health: The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district courts decision and will appeal, subject to CDCs conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health. The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve. If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the publics health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district courts decision. The DOJ statement came after significant debate within the Biden administration, Politico reported: The Justice Departments announcement comes after hours of deliberation, with some Biden administration officials insisting that an appeal is essential to preserve the governments public health authorities while others argued a fight would have relatively little political benefit or practical effect for the broader Covid response. Detractors also expressed concerns about the fallout if the government were to lose an appeal. Politico characterized the DOJ statement as suggesting the agency was divided about whether to continue the mask mandate, stating the DOJ announcement ultimately leaves next steps in the hands of the CDC, where there have been divides over how to proceed on a mandate that was already set to expire in early May. There is growing consensus among White House and public health officials that an appeal would be impractical, two people with knowledge of the deliberations told Politico. President Biden, after the Florida ruling, said its up to them meaning individuals whether to wear masks when traveling. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki later clarified Bidens remark, stating, The president was answering the question quite literally, which means we are not implementing the mask mandate because of the court order. Psaki added, We want to preserve that authority for the CDC to have in the future. Our focus here was seeing what power we had to preserve. The growing consensus within the White House and federal government may also be indicative of a growing push, encouraged by polling firms and advisers close to the Biden administration, to declare a political victory over the virus by lifting highly restrictive COVID-related measures and mandates. Health Freedom Defense Fund, responding to the DOJs statement that it would appeal the decision if directed to do so by the CDC, said: DOJs statement is perplexing to say the least and sounds like it comes from health policy advocates, not government lawyers. The ruling by the U.S. District Court is a matter of law, not CDC preference or an assessment of current health conditions. The CDC on April 13, just one week before the Florida ruling, extended the federal mask mandate for transportation but only for two weeks. DOJ Appeal Could Backfire If Case Goes to Supreme Court Part of the Biden administrations indecisiveness following the Florida court ruling also appears to be related to uncertainty, on its part, regarding the likelihood of success of an appeal, according to Politico: Officials are still worried about the fallout if the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Florida, upholds the ruling. That could prove a politically embarrassing loss and set a precedent that could hamstring future public health crisis response efforts, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said. The appeals court is made up of a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents, including six installed by former President Donald Trump, and its unclear which three of those judges would hear the legal challenge. According to Politico, the Biden administrations strategy for this case will have implications for future public health battles. Politico quoted Celine Gounder, MD, an infectious disease expert who served on Bidens COVID advisory board during the transition and is now a senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health at the Kaiser Family Foundation and Kaiser Health News, who said: On the one hand, theyre going to want to preserve CDCs powers to reimplement if theres another crisis. On the other hand, they may think its too risky and that if this were to go all the way to the Supreme Court that this Supreme Court would not uphold CDCs power to require masks. Legal experts, including those who criticized the Florida judges decision to vacate the mandates, said Wednesday before the DOJ filed its appeal that the Biden administration would face a grave risk if it appealed the ruling, The Hill reported. I think that [the Florida ruling] is fairly radical administrative law, Michael Dorf, a professor at Cornell Law School, told The Hill. But its really radical administrative law for which there might be five votes in the Supreme Court. What Will States Do? Without a federal mask mandate for transportation, it is unclear whether state and local health authorities will ultimately opt to maintain such mandates of their own. According to Kaiser Health News, the states, not the federal governments CDC, have the broadest authority over public health efforts to control disease: Their public health agencies, or elected officials, have a range of authorities, including the ability to require masks in schools or businesses. Governors can issue stay-at-home orders during public health emergencies. And health departments routinely track outbreaks of communicable diseases and inspect restaurants for pathogens or vermin. States, however, dont have authority over interstate commercial flights. While Philadelphia, on April 11, brought back a mask mandate applicable in public indoor spaces throughout the city effective April 18, most state and local jurisdictions in the U.S. have, in recent weeks, been lifting such restrictions. For instance, Hawaii, the last state to have a mask mandate in place, lifted it on March 26. At least one lawsuit has already been filed challenging Philadelphias reinstated mask mandate. As further indication of the move away from mask mandates by state and local governments, several public transportation systems in major U.S. cities, including Chicago and Washington, D.C., immediately lifted their mask requirements for passengers following the Florida ruling. Conversely, New York Citys Metropolitan Transit Authority has opted to maintain the mask requirement for now. The lifting of the transportation mask requirement has, for many, been most closely associated with air travel, however. Following the U.S. District Court ruling, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced it would not enforce a mask mandate in facilities under its purview, such as airports. Most major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Jetblue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines, also removed mask requirements for their passengers following the court ruling in Florida. A group of 10 commercial air pilots from several of the aforementioned carriers filed a lawsuit in March against the CDC over the transportation mask mandate. Their lawsuit claims that the policy was adopted despite countless scientific and medical studies and articles showing that face masks are totally ineffective. Since March, several U.K. air carriers, including British Airways, Jet2, and TUI, have made face masks optional on their flights, after the UK government lifted its remaining COVID-related restrictions. No adverse public health effects appear to have followed the elimination of the mask mandate for air travel. Also of note, Sweden, which never mandated masks for transportation or for any indoor or outdoor spaces, has recorded fewer COVID-related deaths per million people than the U.S. and 53 other countries, as of this writing. Amtrak has also announced the lifting of mask requirements for its passengers. A USA Today report following the Florida court ruling quoted passengers expressing elation at the decision with one air traveler stating he could breathe better. Videos circulated online showed elated passengers removing their masks mid-flight upon hearing the requirement was struck down in court. Institutional media, and individuals quoted by such outlets, expressed a different view, however. Politico, claiming the Florida judges decision spooked public health and legal experts, quoted Wendy Parmet, faculty co-director at the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University, who stated: So many people are sick of masks. But its not about that. Its about who makes our public health policy. The judiciary a 35-year-old unelected judge or the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services? There was no apparent comment about why the judges age is of relevance to her ruling, or about the fact that public officials in the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services are also unelected. Originally published on Childrens Health Defense 04/21/22 Childrens Health Defense, Inc. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of Childrens Health Defense, Inc. Want to learn more from Childrens Health Defense? Sign up for free news and updates from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the Childrens Health Defense. Your donation will help to support us in our efforts. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A modified Tesla Model X drives in the tunnel entrance before an unveiling event for the Boring Co. Hawthorne test tunnel in Hawthorne, Calif., on Dec. 18, 2018. (Robyn Beck/Pool Photo/AP) Elon Musks Boring Company Moves from Los Angeles to Texas Elon Musks tunnel boring operation has moved its headquarters from the Los Angeles area to Texas and is pursuing several new tunnel projects in the Lone Star State. The Boring Company, formerly in Hawthorne, Calif., is now based in Pflugerville, a suburb near Austin, Texas. Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce President Patricia Donaldson said the move happened sometime in the past year. The company announced on April 21 it had raised $675 million in new funding and is now valued at nearly $5.7 billion. Musk founded The Boring Company in 2016 to solve traffic. The company has since completed its first transportation tunnel in Las Vegas and has many more in the planning stages. Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging, Musk wrote on Twitter in 2016 before starting the company. The company creates safe, fast-to-dig and low-cost transportation, utility, and freight tunnels, and has spent the last five years building technologies designed to mitigate traffic and beautify cities, according to its website. A plan for the company to build a tunnel system within the city of Los Angeles appears to have stalled. The privately funded transit system was designed to allow travel from Westwood to LAX in just six minutes, said Musk at a TED Conference in 2017. Another project, the Dugout Loop, was planned to connect L.A.s Dodger Stadium to an undetermined terminal and has also not made progress. The system would have transported fans in a few minutes via a tunnel under Sunset Boulevard and Vin Scully Avenue. The Los Angeles Dodgers organization was not available for comment about the status of the project, and the Boring Company has since removed the project information from its website. The company also opened a 1.7-mile tunnel at the Las Vegas Convention Center in April 2021. The $5.2 million tunnel network is designed to shuttle about 4,400 passengers an hour. Several additional tunneling projects may be in the works for the company in Texas. The Boring Company is communicating with officials about potential tunnels at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to connect the terminal to downtown Austin, according to local news reports. Company officials have also met with City of Austin officials to discuss a possible underground transportation tunnel from the new Tesla Gigafactory in the city, according to KXAN. Musk is also CEO of SpaceX, a reusable rocket company that remains based in Hawthorne, Calif., CEO of the electric vehicle company Tesla, and co-founder of Neuralink Corporation, a neurotechnology company developing brain implants to help people communicate and to assist with paralysis. The Boring Company and SpaceX didnt respond to a request for comment by press time. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), joined by members of the House Freedom Caucus, speaks at a news conference on the infrastructure bill outside the Capitol Building in Washington, on Aug. 23, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Falun Gong Adherents Who Sought Religious Freedom in China Give Courage to Millions: Rep. Perry A peaceful gathering of about 10,000 religious adherents in communist China more than two decades ago continues to give courage to millions around the world who seek an end to Beijings repression, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said on April 21. Perry was referring to an appeal by adherents of the spiritual group Falun Gong at the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) headquarters in Beijing in 1999, describing it as the largest peaceful protest in modern Chinese history. The adherents were appealing for the release of around a dozen practitioners who had been arrested days earlier and for authorities to lift their suppression of the spiritual practice. The bravery of the Falun Gong that day continues to give courage to millions around the world who believe in and yearn for an end to CCP repression, Perry said in a statement to NTD, an affiliate of The Epoch Times. Perrys statement came days ahead of the peaceful appeals 23rd anniversary, when overseas Falun Gong practitioners will gather in cities and towns around the world to commemorate the event and protest the CCPs ongoing persecution of the faith group. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, consists of five meditative exercises and moral teachings focused on the core values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It gained popularity in China during the 1990s, with estimates putting the number of adherents at 70 million to 100 million by the end of the decade. The Peoples Republic of China soon began to view the intense popularity of this non-party movement as a threat to its control of the country, Perry said, referring to the official name of the Chinese regime. In July 1999, the CCP launched a sweeping persecution campaign seeking to eliminate the practice. Since its inception one hundred years ago, the Chinese Communist Party has dedicated itself to the promotion of a murderous, cultural Marxism that has contributed to the deaths of tens of millions of innocent people, Perry said. By nightfall on April 25, 1999, the gathered adherents had left the CCP compound, after receiving news that the arrested practitioners had been released and assurances from then-Premier Zhu Rongji that Falun Gong could be practiced freely. Many thought the matter had been resolved. But three months later, the CCP, led by then-General Secretary Jiang Zemin, initiated what has become one of the longest-running persecutions against a faith group in China. Perry described this move as the act of malfeasant cowards. Since the launch of the persecution, millions of adherents have been detained in jails, detention centers, and labor camps, where theyve been subjected to torture, organ harvesting, and other forms of abuse, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center. Some experts have characterized the CCPs campaign against Falun Gong as a genocide. The Epoch Times previously reported that even while trying to contain the pandemic in China, the communist regime has continued to persecute Falun Gong adherents, according to a leaked internal document. According to a report from Minghui.org, a U.S.-based website that tracks the persecution of Falun Gong in China, 5,886 arrests and 10,527 cases of harassment of practitioners were confirmed in 2021. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responds to questions during a congressional hearing in Washington in a file image. (Greg Nash/Pool via Reuters) Fauci: CDC Airplane Mask Mandate Ruling Could Set Dangerous Precedent White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci criticized a federal judges ruling that rescinded the federal governments mask mandate for travel and claimed that judges with no experience in public health shouldnt make such decisions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has the capability, through a large number of trained epidemiologists, scientists, to be able to make projections and make recommendations. Far more than a judge with no experience in public health, Fauci told CBS News on Thursday. He also said that the ruling could set a dangerous precedent, without elaborating. During the interview, Fauci did not address the substance of U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelles argument against the mask mandate. Mizelle, a Trump appointee based in Florida, wrote that the CDC violated various aspects of federal administrative law when it crafted its mask mandate for airplanes and other forms of public transportation in early 2021. After the order, the Biden administration on Wednesday moved to appeal the decision after a request from the CDC. Days before the order was handed down, the CDC said it would extend the mask mandate until at least May 3, although its not clear how long the agency would continue to keep the rule intact after that date passed. That was a very appropriate decision based on the evolving nature of the situation, Fauci told CBS of the extension. Right now, masks are important when youre having an increase in the kinetics of the outbreak as were seeing right now. As of April 20, COVID-19 cases are far below the numbers that were seen in mid-January, when the seven-day average for cases exceeded 800,000. Currently, the seven-day moving average is around 42,000, according to the CDCs tracker. Republicans have ramped up their criticism of Fauci in recent months and have portrayed him as the face of a federal bureaucracy that has handed down COVID-19 rules and recommendations with little-to-no public comment or consideration for voters. Following the Monday court decision, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote that Fauci lost and freedom won, while Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on Thursday wrote that Faucis huge ego has led him to believe that his opinion is above our nations courts. Paging Dr. FauciThats not how America operates. The Constitution applies to you too, Doc! wrote Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) on Thursday after Faucis interview with CBS was published online. Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ken.), who previously said he hasnt flown on a plane since the mask mandate started, wrote that travelers are happy with the judges order. The fact that 95%+ travelers took off their masks as soon as the mandate was invalidated should be a wake-up call to democrats and republicans who played along with them for the past two years, he wrote on Twitter this week. COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Federal Body Asked to Investigate Canadian Companies Alleged Use of Uyghur Forced Labour A coalition of human rights organizations is asking a federal body to investigate several Canadian companies for allegedly sourcing products created by forced labour in Chinas Xinjiang region. In a letter submitted to the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) on April 10, the coalition, which consists of 28 groups, alleges that the Canadian companiesmany of which are subsidiaries of U.S. multinationalsare complicit in human rights abuses in Xinjiang, with their supply chains being tainted by Uyghur forced labour outside of Canada. It is well-established at this point that atrocity crimes, including genocide, and human rights abuses are being committed by the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] against the Uyghurs. The crimes and abuses documented include surveillance, arbitrary detentions, torture, forced sterilization, forced organ harvesting, and forced labour, says the letter signed by lawyers Sarah Teich and David Matas, and human rights campaigners Aliya Kahn, Mehmet Tohti, and Dean Lavi. The letter says multiple industries are using Uyghur forced labour, including garment and mining, noting that China produces 22 percent of the worlds cotton with 84 percent of that coming from Xinjiang. The Uyghurs are a Turkic Muslim minority in western China. Canadian MPs have said the human rights violations they are subjected to amounts to genocide in a motion passed in the House of Commons in February 2021. The British House of Commons adopted a similar motion in April 2021. The motions came a few months after the United States called the abuses a genocide in the last days of the Trump administration in January 2021. The Biden administration made the same declaration after taking office. Some of the 28 groups in the coalition filing the complaint with CORE are Canadians in Support of Refugees in Dire Need, Alliance Canada Hong Kong, Canada Tibet Committee, and the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP). CORE was established in 2019 and is responsible for reviewing complaints about allegations of human rights abuses by Canadian companies abroad in the garment, mining, and oil and gas sectors. In an April 21 online briefing on the complaint, Teich said it is COREs raison detre to investigate the Uyghur forced labour issue, to ensure that Canadian companies operating abroad respect human rights. If they do not, and if they are complicit in are responsible for human rights abuses, they can and they should be held accountable. Mehmet Tohti of URAP told The Epoch Times that CORE has acknowledged receipt of their complaint but it hasnt indicated yet if it will investigate. CORE does not have authority to take action if it finds a Canadian company abused human rights, but only makes recommendations to end the abuses. Hunter Biden attends his father Joe Biden's inauguration as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2021. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Reuters) Federal Prosecutors Sought Every Record From Hunter Bidens Paternity Suit, Including Tax Records: Attorney Federal prosecutors investigating Hunter Biden in a tax probe served a subpoena to obtain financial documents from a paternity lawsuit involving President Joe Bidens son, according to attorney Clint Lancaster. Lancaster, who represented Lunden Roberts, an Arkansas woman who filed the lawsuit in 2019 alleging Hunter Biden was the father of her daughter Navy Joan Roberts, told CBS News that They wanted every record relating to Hunter Biden we had. The paternity case was settled in 2020. It happened in the fall of 2021, when Lesley Wolf, and at least one FBI and one IRS agent, went to his law office in Arkansas, Lancaster said. Their meeting lasted about half a day, when he and Roberts answered questions about Hunter Biden and his business dealings, including those involved in Rosemont Seneca Partners. Hunter Biden co-founded U.S. investment and advisory firm Rosemont Seneca Partners in 2009, along with Chris Heinz, the stepson of former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and Devon Archer, one of Hunter Bidens business partners. A 2020 Senate report found that there was potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals, while Joe Biden was vice president during the Obama administration. The report pointed out how Hunter Biden made questionable transactions with Chinese nationals connected to the Chinese regime and military. Lancaster added that Hunter Biden had supplied an affidavit of financial means during the paternity lawsuit. A financial affidavit is generally a statement showing peoples income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. Additionally, he said the tax records he and Roberts provided overlapped during the same time period as Hunter Bidens foreign business activities. Lancaster previously told media that Roberts testified before a grand jury in Delaware in February, where U.S. Attorney David Weiss is currently investigating Hunter Biden for possible tax violations. CBS News obtained a December 2020 subpoena from the U.S. Attorneys office in Delaware. The subpoena required all documents regarding [Hunter] Bidens income, assets, debts, obligations, and financial transactions and all personal and business expenditures for the period between January 2017 to the present. The subpoena was very specific in requesting documents related to Hunter Biden. All federal, state, local and foreign tax documentation related to Biden, the subpoena says, including but not limited to, IRS Forms 1099, income and payroll tax returns, state tax returns, and amended tax returns. Another subpoena obtained by CBS News was also issued by the U.S. Attorneys office in Delaware. The 2019 subpoena requested all records, documents and accounts pertaining to all financial/banking transactions between 15 business entities and four individualsHunter Biden, the presidents brother James Biden, and two business partners. White House officials and Biden have repeatedly denied that he was involved with Hunter Bidens business activities. On April 10, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) took to Twitter, calling Congress to take action. Joe Bidens story that he knew nothing about Hunters dealings with China and other foreign clients is getting impossible to believe, the lawmaker wrote. He added: Since this White House wont come clean, Congress should be getting at the truth right now. According to legend, the Miao peoples mythical King Chiyou was defeated by the Yellow Emperor, who as the crypto-historical Huangdi, supposedly established Han supremacy throughout China. Even if you had not heard it before, you will hear it many times throughout this documentary. The unspoken message to the Miao is clear: They are a conquered people. They will also be an exploited people when a local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official turns a 100-year-old local A-Hmao-speaking Christian choir into a novelty act in New York-based Chinese filmmaker Chen Dongnans documentary Singing in the Wilderness. Scene from Singing in the Wilderness. (Thessaloniki Film Festival) For years, the Miao people in the southern Yunnan village of Little Well have eked out a hardscrabble subsistence living as farmers. Their main solace comes when they raise their voices to celebrate God during Christian services. Regionally, their acclaim is such that the local Party propaganda boss, Zhang, decides to co-opt them. Initially, he builds them into an ethno-sociological curiosity for Han tourists, very much like the patronizing and culturally insensitive Xinjiang tourism sites the CCP points to when it tries to deflect charges of cultural genocide waged against the Uyghurs. Excising the Soul However, boss Zhangs plans go further when he decides to take the act nationally. Suddenly, their praises to God are gone. Instead, they are singing ABBAs Mamma Mia on a Chinas Got Talent-style show. It is no exaggeration to say that the Party does its best to excise the communitys soul. Chen literally shows it happening. There is no talking-head commentary to explain the events that unfold to the audience, because none is needed. This is dramatically reflected in Ping, a mildly liberated young woman in her 20s, and Sheng, a shepherd who aspires to preach. Both have an ardent Christian faith that will be profoundly challenged when they are forced to leave the choir after unhappily marrying. A scene from Singing in the Wilderness. (Thessaloniki Film Festival) Viewers can also see how Long, the choirmaster, is bullied into compliance and silence by Zhang and the Beijing experts who mold the chorus into a secular chorale group. Simultaneously, shady developers swoop in with big plans to turn Little Well into a Xinjiang-style tourist attraction, but their promises quickly turn to dust. Han Supremacy Singing in the Wilderness is a vital and timely documentary, because what it records happening in Yunnan is already being perpetrated on a much greater scale in Xinjiang and Tibet. It exposes the Han chauvinism that has led to an Apartheid-like system for the Uyghurs, who are denied the right of movement enjoyed by ethnic Han Chinese in their own homeland. Han Supremacy ought to be a familiar term in news reports. Chens film captures the mindset in action. Yet, throughout the film, she is scrupulously honest and fair in the way she documents her subjects. Each shot is always long enough to give full context, without interruptions or voiceovers. Nobody tells the audience what to think, but we can clearly and keenly see how every Little Well villager feels. Communist Shame Perhaps the greatest shame of Zhangs schemes is musical. The truth is, the Little Well choir is genuinely stirring when they are allowed to do what they do best, praising the Lord. Their rendition of How Great Thou Art will lift your spirits, precisely because it is so simple and heartfelt. Yet, it is their honest faith that makes them a threat to the CCP. Scene from Singing in the Wilderness. (Thessaloniki Film Festival) It is also clear throughout Chens documentary that the Party has other tactics besides outright censorship that are often more insidious. Arguably, by corrupting, perverting, and subverting the Little Well choir, Zhang and his fellow Party members did more damage to their spiritual unity and conviction than if they had explicitly opposed them. Indeed, the evidence is right there in the film. Regardless, just in cinematic terms, Singing in the Wilderness is pretty compelling stuff. It captures some very real personal drama, involving serious issues of faith, art, and real estate. Very highly recommended, it screens on April 24 at the Museum of Modern Art and April 26 at the Walter Reade Theater, as part of this years New Directors/New Films. Singing in the Wilderness Documentary Director: Chen Dongnan Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes Release Date: April 24, 2022 Rating: 4 out of 5 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at The Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 24, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Florida Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill to Dissolve Disney Worlds Private Government Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a legislature-passed bill to dissolve Walt Disney Worlds self-governing status in central Florida. The law would eliminate the 55-year-old Reedy Creek Improvement District and several similar districts by June 2023. The measure allows those districts to be reestablished under circumstances. It could have significant tax implications for Disney, which operates a series of theme parks in its 25,000-acre district. Dont worry, we have everything thought out, DeSantis said during a press conference in Hialeah. Dont let anyone tell you that somehow Disney is going to get a tax cut out of this, theyre going to pay more taxes as a result of that. It came after Disney issued a critical statement about a DeSantis-backed bill, the Parental Rights in Education bill, that prohibits teachers from instructing about sexual orientation and gender identity topics to children under the third grade. Proponents of the measure said that teaching young children about such topics is inappropriate and tantamount to grooming. I truly believe we are an infinitely better and stronger company because of our LGBTQ+ community. I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count onand I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility, and opportunity you deserve, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement in reference to the law several weeks ago. Disney also said the bill should never have passed and should never have been signed into law, as the firm said it has a goal to get the law struck down or repealed. A crowd along Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on March 12, 2020. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) The Florida Senate passed the legislation on Wednesday, and the Florida House passed the bill a day latermostly along party lines. Democrats, including officials in the White House, say they are opposed to the measure. I was very clear about saying, You aint influencing me. Im standing strong right here, DeSantis said on Friday, making a reference to Chapeks statement that Disney would work to repeal the bill. So it doesnt matter. No big deal. We signed the bill. Incredibly, they say, we are going to work to repeal parents rights in Florida, he said in reference to Disneys corporate leadership. And Im just thinking to myself, youre a corporation based in Burbank, California, and youre going to marshal your economic might to attack the parents of my state. We view that as a provocation, and were going to fight back against that. DeSantis also said that Disney has said little or nothing about the Chinese Communist Party, one of the greatest violators of human rights in the world, even as it operates theme parks and sells products in the country. Also on Friday, DeSantis signed a separate bill known as the Stop WOKE Act, which he said is designed to block critical race theory and other forms of activism from workplaces and classrooms across the state. Disney has not responded to a request for comment. Georgia DA Upset After Suspect Accused of Shooting Officer 6 Times Granted Bond Authorities in Georgia were infuriated after a Fulton County judge initially granted bond, which has since been increased, to an alleged gang member who has been accused of shooting an Atlanta police officer six times in the line of duty. Christian Eppinger shot David Rodgers, an 11-year veteran officer of the Atlanta Police Department, in early February while he was trying to take the suspect into custody on an outstanding warrant, police said. Rodgers survived the flurry of gunshots but is still in recovery. The 22-year-old suspect has a long criminal history and was out on probation at the time of the police shooting. He received a 10-year sentence, four in custody, following an armed robbery he committed in May 2016. He was 16 years old at the time. It is the position of the state that that individual should not have been given bond, based on his historybased on where he was in the process here at Fulton County, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said at a news conference on Wednesday. It is something that has upset my law enforcement partners, and also me as the district attorney. Eppinger was initially denied bond during his first court appearance after the Feb. 7 shooting of Rodgers, but a Fulton County judge granted him a $395,000 bond earlier this week, WSB-TV2 reported. The move was quickly followed by a response from Willis and Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant, who held a news conference on Wednesday to criticize the judges decision. The district attorneys office also filed an emergency motion asking the court to reconsider his bond. At a Thursday hearing, Fulton County Judge Alexandra Manning upped the suspects bond to over $2 million cash. Willis said the judge could sentence Eppinger to up to 60 years in prison. I want to be very clear for the public, though. Mr. Eppinger is not getting out of jail, Willis said. There is a hold on him from the Fulton County Jail as a result of that [probation] revocation. We want to make sure that, in my lifetime, he never sees society again, Willis concluded. Rushondra Davenport, a Fulton County prosecutor, told a court that Eppinger is a documented member of YSL street gangwhich stands for Young Slime Life. During Wednesdays press briefing, Willis and Bryant showed a video of the police shooting, calling it an assassination attempt. He shot one of Atlantas finest and he shot him six times. He really attempted to assassinate him. Just by the grace of God, this officer lived, Willis said. A fundraiser for Rodgers has already raised more than $35,000. Police said he still has a long recovery ahead but the injured officer is doing well and is exhibiting positive energy. From NTD News If you are getting caught in a repeating pattern, it might be time to stop running from your shadow All that we are arises with our thoughts.Buddha Its been hailed by business gurus, professors, psychologists, marriage counselors, and even scientists for the lessons it contains. While, at first glance, it may appear to be just another Bill Murray comedy, the movie Groundhog Day is filled with some surprisingly deep messagesso much so that it has inspired philosophical discussions, and even college courses, on the meaning of life. Written by Danny Rubin and directed by Harold Ramis, this 1993 movie also sparked the interest of religious circles with its universal themes. According to Ramis, At first, I would get mail saying, Oh, you must be a Christian, because the movie so beautifully expresses Christian belief. Then rabbis started calling from all over, saying they were preaching the film as their next sermon. And the Buddhists! Well, I knew they loved it, because my mother-in-law has lived in a Buddhist meditation center for 30 years and my wife lived there for 5 years. So just what is it about Groundhog Day that has resonated with so many? Maybe its that we get a glimpse of another human being uncovering the true meaning of life, while, at the same time, showing us that the path to true salvation lies in letting go of our selfishness and truly thinking of others, something we instinctively know to be true. The Surface Story Imagine living the same day overand overand over, again. (After COVID lockdowns, it may not be such a stretch!) Thats exactly the predicament Phil Connors, an egotistical, self-centered weatherman, with a desire to get ahead at any cost, finds himself in. Phil begrudgingly heads to the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where, along with his producer Rita and cameraman Larry, he goes to cover the Feb. 2 event of Groundhog Day. Phil believes the people of Punxsutawney to be simple-minded and pathetic, and the event to be ridiculous and beneath him. After half-heartedly covering the event, hes eager to escape the small town, but finds himself trapped by a snowstorm. The next morning, Phil awakens to the sound of his clock radio playing the same program, and to the same people walking to Gobblers Knob. Confused, Phil heads down the stairs of his bed-and-breakfast only to discover that everyone he encounters is saying and doing the exact same thing as yesterday. As the day, and, ultimately, days, wear on, Phil discovers that hes trapped, reliving the same despised day endlessly, in a sort of supernatural time loop. Phil goes through a range of emotions, attitudes, and understandings. Its as if hes going through mini reincarnations of himself, only he can remember each one clearly. Initially, hes rude, cynical, and arrogant. He thinks only of himself, and takes advantage of others without giving it a second thought. Then, as he realizes there are no consequences for his actions, he happily indulges himself. From stealing money, to seducing women, to gorging on junk food, he attempts to satisfy his every desire. But these desires eventually lose their appeal. Phil grows bored, and begins to fear that he may never escape his fate. With no hope in sight, he becomes angry, depressed, and frustrated. Despondent, he then tries to kill himselfin every way he can think of. But no matter what he does, Phil awakens to the same radio host saying the same thing every morning. OK, campers, rise and shine, and dont forget your booties cause its cold out there. For Phil, its cold every single day. Phil has been trapped for years, possibly decades. Through it all, he tries to win over his producer Rita, a sweet, kind, and generous person. She is everything Phil is not. At first, Phil uses manipulation and deceit to try to seduce her, but she sees his true intentions, and he never succeeds. Finally, in desperation, he confesses his plight to her. After spending the day with him, Rita has her own take on things, Sometimes I wish I had a thousand lifetimes. I dont know, Phil. Maybe its not a curse. Just depends on how you look at it. And suddenly, a lightbulb goes off. Phil begins to see his situation as an opportunity. He becomes sincere as a reporter, an accomplished pianist, learns to speak fluent French, and even becomes a master ice sculptor. He starts thinking of others and his daily routine is laid out by a series of people he saves from tragedy: an elderly homeless man freezing in the cold, a boy falling boy from a tree, and the towns mayor choking at a restaurant. And as Phil changes, he begins to genuinely care for Rita. A Look at the Shadow Its no accident that Phil the weatherman shares a name with Phil the groundhog. And while the groundhog has a very small personal story, its known above all else for one thinghiding from its shadow. Its something many of us do. This shadow symbolizes the hidden part of ourselves, the part that we dont want others to see, the part that we may try to ignore or may even be hidden from us. Its the thing we may flee by watching television, drinking, or keeping ourselves so busy we are never left alone with our thoughts. But seeing our shadow offers a chance to do something about it, and therein lies our hope. It is only by uncovering and acknowledging our shadow that we start to change the undesirable parts of ourselves. When we look inside ourselves and examine our underlying motivation, we may find that we are full of things that dont align with who we truly want to be. For example, is our motive for helping another person genuine and pure? Or are we doing it because we want to be viewed in a positive light, or perhaps be rewarded in some way? Or maybe our motivation is to ultimately make things easier and more comfortable for ourselves. These things can be hard to distinguish, because while, on the surface, we appear to be doing something good, we may be full of underlying intentions that are meant to serve ourselves. Self-deceit is often the hardest deceit to recognize. To Change Your World, Change Yourself As Phil begins to see that his external reality cannot be changed, he comes to realize that the only thing he can change is himself. But this realization only happens after a very long and rather painful process of surrendering to what is. As he comes to understand that his pursuits are meaningless, Phil finally lets go of his own self-interest, and begins to genuinely think of others. While we all have the ability to make some changes in our lives, our external realities are also fixed in many ways. Though the details vary, most of us have a job or school we must go to, a family to tend to, we must sleep, and we must eat, among other things. How we choose to conduct ourselves, and respond to whats around us, is often the only thing we really have control over. And our thinking and our actions can have a powerful impact. I once had a job where a co-worker and I sometimes butted heads. We both wanted to control certain aspects of things, and we would vie and compete to have things go our way. Eventually, I began to dislike going to work. I felt stuck and powerless as the same issues happened over and over again. Then, one day I thought, I have to go to work either way, so I can go to work and be happy, or I can go to work and be miserable. Its all up to me. With that thought, the situation changed. As I let go of my competitiveness and combativeness with her, and my concern for how others saw me in the office, and replaced it with a cooperative and pleasant demeanor, I was amazed at how quickly my surroundings changed. Just like Phil, when I continually looked outward, blamed, and tried to change others, I was stuck in a loop of negative results. In an act of mindful intention, where I decided to focus on the good and let go of the bad, I experienced a moment of enlightenment, and began to look at life differently. Its All About Perspective Ive always found it interesting that two people can witness the same exact event, and walk away with two totally different stories about what had happened. Perhaps its because how we view the world has more to do with our perspectives and perceptions, and less to do with what goes on around us. Its a matter of where we place our attention, something known as mindfulness. As Rubin points out, Every person who Phil encountered contained within them an infinity of negative characteristics (boring, stupid, smelly, poor speller, etc.) and an infinity of positive ones (funny, wise, loyal, pretty, etc.). These are all within the same person. So, which characteristics does Phil pay attention to? Again, we shape our own experience of the world far more often than we realize. What we choose to focus on says a lot about who we are. In dealing with my co-worker, I realized that the things that annoyed me about her were actually reflections of things within myselfthe shadow things that I didnt like to look at, and that I really wasnt aware of on the surface. It was an opportunity for me to examine and improve myself. Had I kept focusing on the need for her to change, rather than myself, I would have missed this opportunity for improvement. By default, we usually take the perspective of wanting to have our difficulties end as soon as possible. We view them as bad things, in which case, we might ignore them, run away from them, respond unkindly toward others, harbor resentment, feel angry, or a host of other unhelpful responses. When we come to understand that our greatest lessons come through our greatest hardships, we start to see our difficulties differently. When we stop pushing them away, in an attempt to avoid pain and feeling uncomfortable, and instead search our hearts to see where we need to improve, we discover the lesson we are meant to learn. Redemption Phils is a story of selflessness through hardship, good deeds bringing reward, and ultimately, a spiritual journey toward enlightenment. As Phil comes to realize that he cannot do anything to help himself, he becomes interested in seeing if he can help others. His thoughts, values, attitudes, feelings, and behaviors all shift. With this pivotal change in his thinking, he chooses a path of redemption, and ultimately, frees himself from his own prison. As Rubin says, The absolute worst day of Phils life took place under the exact same conditions as the absolute best day of Phils life. Its not the town that changed, not the people, circumstances, or events. The only thing that changed is Phil, himself. But to arrive there wasnt easy. Phil had to learn that life is not something to be fought against or controlled, but yielded to, like a willow tree in a storm. Phils story is a process of change, but it took a certain type of changethe change of becoming a person who helps others without selfish pursuit. The brilliance of the time loop is it proves that when all external factors are accounted for, and made null by remaining the same, the only factor that can truly bring about change is to change ourselves. I read that when Harold Ramis was making the film, he originally imagined that it would take Phil 10,000 years of reliving the same day to get it right. Ultimately, Ramis settled on somewhere around 40 years. None of us knows how many years we have to work on getting right. Perhaps theres a theme or difficulty in your own life that keeps repeating, in its own never-ending time loop. And maybe, just maybe, its trying to get your attention, to give you an opportunity to look at yourself so you can get past what limits you today so you can become someone better tomorrow. Dont let it go to waste. Flowers and tributes to victim Max Chirila are seen outside his fire damaged home at Clayfield in Brisbane, Australia, on April 19, 2022. (AAP Image/Darren England) Health and Safety Laws: Safe but Not Harmless Commentary People in Queensland, and throughout Australia, watched in horror when they saw television images of a burning house in Clayfied, Brisbane in which a six-year-old boy, Max Chirila, died during a horrific blaze, likely caused by an electrical fault. As the roof of the house had collapsed, it was not immediately possible to ascertain whether smoke alarms had been installed in the house, which potentially could have alerted the boy to the grave danger. The Queensland Parliament adopted strict new laws on smoke alarms, which owners-occupiers of a dwelling must comply with by 2027. In enacting the legislation, the parliament responded to, or anticipated, tragedies like the one which happened in the early hours of Easter Monday when Chirila was consumed by the ravenous flames during the conflagration. History reveals that each time a tragedy occurs, legislators are spurred into action and can be expected to adopt new measures to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs in the future. These measures are examples of paternalistic legislation, which is often expensive for homeowners to implement, but may also have salutary effects. Indeed, most paternalistic interventions have led to the adoption of useful and life-saving laws, for example, laws that imposed an obligation on homeowners to fence swimming pools, and on car owners to use seat belts in vehicles. However, the demand, typically made by distraught victims and compassionate or calculating politicians that legislation be adopted to ensure that tragedies will never happen again, is, while understandable, sometimes disingenuous. This is because, even common sense suggests that disasters, like the blaze that killed Max Chirila, will likely occur again in the future, even if the authorities were to adopt and enforce relevant paternalistic legislation targeting these disasters. Mankind is powerless to permanently eradicate tragedies, but it may be able to reduce their incidence by the adoption of targeted and well-considered legislation. For example, consider the case for the installation of sophisticated smoke alarms in all dwellings. Since Jan. 1, smoke alarms are compulsory in rented properties or homes for sales in Queensland. These smoke alarms must be interconnected and photoelectric. A smoke detector in a home in Lyon, France, on Feb. 26, 2015. (Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP via Getty Images) The smoke alarm legislation also imposes an obligation on all owner-occupiers of homes to install interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in every bedroom, in hallways, and on every level by 2027. Specifically, the legislation requires that smoke alarms in the dwelling must be less than 10 years old, operate when tested, and be interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling so all activate together when smoke is detected in any part. Thus, interconnected alarms ensure that when one alarm is activated, all alarms will sound, thereby giving sufficient time for occupants of the house to escape from the ensuing conflagration. Photoelectric smoke alarms are required because they are responsive to smouldering fires and dense smoke, which is the most common type of household fire. Paternalistic legislation has a long history in Australia. For example, Victoria was the first Australian state to make the use of seat belts by all vehicle passengers and drivers compulsory in 1970. The installation and use of belts is credited with the subsequent reduction in road deaths. The salutary effect of paternalistic laws should, however, not mask the reality that some safety laws and regulations are bad laws. This would be the case if legislative interventions could, or should, have been taken by the people themselves. Bad laws are those that emanate from the state acting as a Nanny State that treats people as inmates in a nursery. The intrusive intervention of the health bureaucracies and compliant businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic into the lives of law-abiding citizens reveals that governments have shamelessly embraced a punishing version of paternalism as a principle of legislation. The implementation of this principle results in the imposition of invasive health decisions, which individuals should be making themselves. These bureaucracies and politicians are, in effect, embracing the Nanny State, which seeks to achieve its objectives, by prescriptively controlling, prohibiting, or compelling the behaviour of individuals. Often, new legislation is promoted by legislators as an appropriate response to a calamitous incident, repetition of which will be eliminated or reduced by the adoption and enforcement of a relevant law. However, this rule-making frenzy overlooks the fact that statistically, calamities will inevitably occur in any society over time, and that legislation, while it may temporarily reduce these incidences, has the inherent capacity to itself cause serious disruptions in the life of a civilised society. The fire damaged home of victim Max Chirila is seen at Clayfield in Brisbane, Australia, on April 19, 2022. (AAP Image/Darren England) This claim is not fanciful. By way of example, it is useful to consider the United Kingdoms adoption of safety legislation that prohibited emergency rescue workers from entering water above their ankles. This legislation, which followed the drowning of a rescue worker, caused the death of a man who suffered an epileptic seizure and fell into a shallow pond. It prevented rescue workers from entering the pond and from the security of dry land, they watched the man drown. Hence, paternalistic legislation should only be adopted after a thoughtful consideration of the consequences of its implementation. In this context, the Queensland requirement that interconnected smoke alarms are needed to alert occupants of a dwelling of a fire, seems unreasonable. This is because the noise generated by an unconnected smoke alarm would surely reverberate throughout the dwelling and would be heard by everyone in it. Also, common sense suggests that it would be more expensive to install and repair an interconnected alarm, rather than replace an existing unconnected alarm. Ultimately, it is the care taken by, or the vigilance of, people that will avoid disasters like the tragic death of Max Chirila, who had a future ahead of him before it was extinguished in that horrific fire during the long Easter weekend. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Heart Inflammation More Prevalent Among Vaccinated Than Unvaccinated: Study Heart inflammation requiring hospital care was more common among people who received COVID-19 vaccines than those who did not, according to a new study of tens of millions of Europeans. Rates of myocarditis or pericarditis, two types of heart inflammation, are above the levels in an unvaccinated cohort, pegged at 38 per 100,000 after receipt of a second dose of a vaccine built on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in males aged 16 to 24the group studies have shown are most at risk of the post-vaccination conditionresearchers with health agencies in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway found. These extra cases among men aged 1624 correspond to a 5 times increased risk after Comirnaty and 15 times increased risk after Spikevax compared to unvaccinated, Dr. Rickard Ljung, a professor and physician at the Swedish Medical Products Agency and one of the principal investigators of the study, told The Epoch Times in an email. Comirnaty is the brand name for Pfizers vaccine while Spikevax is the brand name for Modernas jab. Rates were also higher among the age group for those who received any dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, both of which utilize mRNA technology. And rates were elevated among vaccinated males of all ages after the first or second dose, except for the first dose of Modernas shot for those 40 or older, and females 12- to 15-years-old. Researchers pulled data from national health registers, analyzing 23.1 million people aged 12 or older. The analysis was of data from Dec. 27, 2020, to incidence of myocarditis or pericarditis, or the end of the study time period, which was Oct. 5, 2021. The risks of myocarditis and pericarditis were highest within the first 7 days of being vaccinated, were increased for all combinations of mRNA vaccines, and were more pronounced after the second dose, researchers wrote in the study, which was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association following peer review. Moderna and Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment. Some previous studies have indicated that the risk of heart inflammation is higher from the companies vaccines, or certain doses of the vaccines, than from COVID-19 itself. Others have concluded the opposite, including a recent non-peer-reviewed study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though that is one of the papers that has estimated a higher rate of post-vaccination heart inflammation. Authorities in the United States and many European countries continue recommending vaccination for virtually every eligible person, regardless of age, health condition, or prior infection. The Nordic countries, however, halted use of Modernas vaccine in 2021 for youth and young adults due to concerns over post-vaccination heart inflammation. Ljung said he could not answer whether the results mean some people should consider only a single dose, or no doses, of a COVID-19 vaccine because the Swedish Medical Products Agency doesnt give those types of recommendations. In a press release promoting the study, researchers said that occurrence of the heart inflammation is very rare and claimed that the benefits of these vaccines to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and death outweigh the risks of side effects. Dr. Peter McCullough, the chief medical adviser for the Truth for Health Foundation and a cardiologist who is seeing patients with post-vaccination heart inflammation, disagreed. In cardiology we spend our entire career trying to save every bit of heart muscle. We put in stents, we do heart catheterization, we do stress tests, we do CT angiograms. The whole game of cardiology is to preserve heart muscle, McCullough told The Epoch Times. Under no circumstances would we accept a vaccine that causes even one person to stay sustain heart damage. Not one. And this idea that oh, were going to ask a large number of people to sustain heart damage for some other theoretical benefit for a viral infection, which for most is less than a common cold, is untenable. The benefits of the vaccines in no way outweigh the risks. House Republicans Tell Twitters Board to Preserve All Records About Musks Bid to Buy Company All Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee on April 22 ordered Twitter board members to preserve all records regarding Elon Musks effort to buy the technology company. As Congress continues to examine Big Tech and how to best protect Americans free speech rights, this letter serves as a formal request that you preserve all records and materials relating to Musks offer to purchase Twitter, including Twitters consideration and response to this offer, and Twitters evaluation of its shareholder interests with respect to Musks offer, Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and the other Republicans told board members in the letters. You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that is or may be potentially responsive to this congressional inquiry, they added. Republicans are in the minority in the current term but hope to flip the chamber in the upcoming midterm elections. If they do, they can subpoena documents and otherwise probe Twitter board deliberations. The lawmakers expressed concern over what they described as an attack by Twitter and other large tech platforms against free speech, alleging that Big Techs eroding commitment to free speech prevents informed public discourse and undermines First Amendment principles. As proof, they cited, in part, posts made on Twitter by Musk, founder of SpaceX and Tesla. Lawmakers also said decisions regarding how Twitter is run in the future could give rise to renewed efforts to legislate to ensure free expression online and noted how board members have fiduciary duties to the companys shareholders. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reps. Steve Chabot, Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Mike Johnson, Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Gregory Steube (R-Fla.), Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.), Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), and Burgess Owens (R-Utah) also signed the letters. Some analysts have painted Twitters refusal to sell to Musk, who made what the company described as an unsolicited offer, as reneging on those duties. Musk offered to buy Twitter for about $43 billion, but the company triggered a so-called poison pill plan instead of accepting the offer. Twitter said the move was made to protect stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics. Musk has since said hes exploring buying shares directly from stockholders to gain control of the company. There are three broad approaches to mediating the ruin of risky choices: inform people (like using labeling), nudge people (for example, by offering financial incentives), or directly intervene to make the activity less harmful. Which do you think prevented more car fatalities: mandating driver education, labeling cars about crash risk, or removing the human element altogether by just making sure air bags are installed? There are public education nutrition campaigns, from sugar pack ads on public transit informing consumers how much sugar there is in soft drinks, to Hot Dogs Cause Butt Cancer billboards, educating about the link between processed meat and colorectal cancer. But is there a way to make products nutritionally safer in the first place? The ban on trans fats offers a useful lesson. In 1993, the Harvard Nurses Study found that high intake of trans fat may increase the risk of heart disease by 50 percent. Thats where the trans fat story started in Denmark, and it ended a decade later with a ban on added trans fats there in 2003. It took another 10 years, though, before the U.S. even started considering a ban. All the while, trans fats were killing an estimated tens of thousands of Americans every year, resulting in as many years of healthy life lost as conditions like meningitis, cervical cancer, and multiple sclerosis. If so many people were suffering and dying, why did it take so long for the U.S. to even suggest taking action? One can look at the fight over New York Citys trans fat ban for a microcosm of the national debate. Opposition came down hard from the food industry, complaining about government intrusion, likening the city to a nanny state. Since trans fats can be naturally found in meat and dairy, the livestock industry echoed the Institute of Shortenings everything-in-moderation argument. Critics styled such proposals as the rise of food fascism. But, it was the restaurant and food industry that limited consumer choice by so broadly fouling the food supply with these dangerous fats. If food zealots get their wish in banning added trans fats, another argument went, whats next? Vested corporate interests tend to rally around these kinds of slippery slope arguments to try to distract from the very real fact that people are dying. I mean, what if the government tries to make us eat broccoli?! This actually came up in a Supreme Court case over Obamacare. Chief Justice Roberts suggested Congress could start ordering everyone to buy vegetables, a fear Justice Ginsburg dubbed the broccoli horrible. Technically, Congress could compel the American public to eat more plant-based, Justice Ginsburg wrote, yet one cant offer the hypothetical and unreal possibilityof a vegetarian state as a credible argument. As one legal scholar put it, Judges and lawyers live on the slippery slope of analogies; they are not supposed to ski it to the bottom. New York City finally won its trans-fat fight, preserving its status as a public health leader. For example, New York banned lead paint 18 years before federal action was taken, despite decades of unequivocal evidence of its harm. Comparing stroke and heart attack rates before and after the rollout of the trans fat ban in different New York counties, researchers estimate it successfully reduced cardiovascular death rates by about 5 percent. This then became the model for the nationwide ban years later. How was the public health community able to triumph when attempts in the past to regulate the food industry failed? If you would have asked me about the odds of a national trans fat ban, I would have said, Fat chance. In Denmark, as a leading Danish cardiologist put it, Instead of warning consumers about trans fats and telling them what they are, weve simply removed them. But were Americans! As they say here: You can put poison in food if you label it properly. If people know the risks, the argument goes, they should be able to eat whatever they wantbut thats assuming theyre given all the facts, which isnt always the case given the food industrys model of systemic dishonesty, as one health ethics professor put it. Given the predilection for predatory deception and manipulation, government intervention was deemed necessary. But how are you going to get it passed? First, there was a labeling requirement. Manufacturers had to start adding trans fat content to products nutrition facts labeling. This is ostensibly to influence consumers, but may have had a bigger impact on producers. Now that they had to divulge the truth, companies scrambled to reformulate their products to gain a no trans fat competitive edge. Within years of the mandatory disclosure, more than 5,000 products were introduced touting low or zero trans fats on their labels. Kentucky Fried Chicken went from being sued for having some of the highest trans fat levels to running an ad campaign where mom tells dad in front of kids that KFC now has zero grams of trans fat, and the father yells, Yeah baby! Whoooo!! and begins eating fried chicken by the bucketful. That was the secret to passing the ban. Once the major food industry players had already reformulated their products and bragged about it, once there wasnt so much money at stake, then there was insufficient political will to block the ban, and added trans fats were taken off the playing field. Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida (second right), talks with New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern (third left), during a meeting at his official residence in Tokyo, Japan on April 21, 2022. (Kimimasa Mayama/Getty Images) Japan, New Zealand Boost Defense Cooperation Amid Unprecedented Challenges New Zealand and Japan agreed Thursday to strengthen defense cooperation and initiate formal negotiations toward an information-sharing pact as the world faces unprecedented challenges from the Russia-Ukraine war. Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for the first time on Thursday since his election last year. In a joint statement issued after the talks, the two leaders said they agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas like political ties, defense and security, as well as trade and economic growth. They also agreed to commence negotiations on an information-sharing agreement to enable closer engagement on international security issues. Ardern described Japan as one of New Zealands most important partners in the Indo-Pacific region, with which it shares common values and approaches to the challenges facing the region. Japan and New Zealand will work together to support economic recovery from COVID-19, combat climate change, promote peace and stability in our region and uphold the global rules-based order, she said in a statement. Kishida and Ardern strongly condemned Russias illegal aggression against Ukraine, saying it constituted a serious threat to the rules-based international order, with ramifications far beyond Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. They demanded an immediate withdrawal of Moscows forces in Ukraine and vowed to continue implementing economic sanctions against Russia. Their talks also covered the East and South China Seas, where Beijing has increased its military presence. The two leaders said they strongly opposed unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo by force and escalate tensions in the disputed seas. Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of resolving maritime disputes in accordance with international law, calling on relevant parties to adhere to the final and legally binding July 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea. Kishida said that Japan and New Zealand will not tolerate any attempts to alter the status quo by force and oppose them in the East and South China seas or any other regions, Japans media Kyodo News reported. Japan and New Zealand also pledged to cooperate in supporting the Pacific island nations security and resilience, and condemned North Koreas ongoing development of nuclear weapons. The meeting comes on the heels of the Solomon Islands and China officially signing a security treaty that will allow Beijing to station armed police and troops on the Pacific island. On April 18, the United States convened a meeting with officials of Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, during which they expressed concerns about the Solomon-China deal. The White House said that Washington was concerned by the lack of transparency and unspecified nature of the agreement. A Japan Air Self-Defense Force aircraft sits on the tarmac at Tonga's Fua'amotu International Airport, near Nuku'alofa, on Jan. 22, 2022, to deliver aid after an undersea volcano eruption. (Japan Joint Staff Office via AP) Japan Says India Denied Permission for Military Plane to Collect Ukraine Aid Japan will reconsider its plan to transport humanitarian aid to Ukraine, a government official said April 21, after India refused to allow its military plane to pick up aid supplies in Mumbai. The government will consider various possible support, but nothing specific has been decided at the moment, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. Indias Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India had received Japans request to land in Mumbai to pick up aid supplies for Ukraine, but has permitted only the use of commercial aircraft. We also received the request separately for overflight clearance using Japanese SDF aircraft carrying humanitarian cargo for Ukraine. This was also processed as per established norms, Bagchi told reporters during an April 21 news conference. Japans government had planned to dispatch a Self-Defense Force (SDF) aircraft to collect aid supplies from a United Nations agency in India and the United Arab Emirates, and deliver them to Ukraines neighboring countries of Poland and Romania. Aid delivery was scheduled to begin in April following approvals from Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on April 21 and the cabinet on April 22. SDF aircraft must obtain permission from a country to enter its territory. The plan has now been delayed as India refused to allow SDF aircraft to pick up supplies in Mumbai. The acceptance of SDF aircraft was rejected by India, the point of loading, LDPs policy chief Sanae Takaichi said in an April 21 meeting. An unnamed Japanese government official claimed that Japan had obtained working-level permission from India to allow its SDF plane to land in Mumbai, but that consent was abruptly withdrawn on April 20, Kyodo News reported. When asked whether India had given consent to Japan, Bagchi said he was hesitant to comment on somebody elses comment that I may not have fully seen. India is one of the few major countries that has not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, taking a neutral diplomatic stance on the conflict. Analysts say this posture is due in part to New Delhis need to maintain ties with its major arms supplier Moscow, especially amid rising tensions with Beijing. Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2022 and conveyed to him the urgent need for a clear response to the RussiaUkraine war, which had shaken the foundation of international order. The two leaders issued a joint statement after the talks in which they stated that any unilateral change to the status quo by force cannot be forgiven in any region and called for peaceful resolutions of disputes based on international law. Venus Upadhayaya contributed to this report. Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, on March 22, 2022. (Patrick Pleul/Pool via Reuters) Judge Rejects Gag Order for Elon Musk Elon Musk will not be subjected to a gag order preventing him from discussing a lawsuit claiming he defrauded Tesla Inc. shareholders by tweeting in 2018 about taking his electric car company private, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco agreed with Musk and Tesla that the proposed temporary restraining order appeared overbroad because it prevented Musk from speaking to anyone about the case. Chen also found no proof that letting Musk, the worlds richest person according to Forbes, talk publicly posed a clear and present danger or serious and imminent threat to a trial. But the judge also said he plans to tell jurors at the scheduled January 2023 trial he had already ruled that Musks Twitter posts were false, and made with sufficient knowledge they were false. Shareholders sued over losses resulting from volatility in Teslas shares after Musk tweeted on Aug. 7, 2018, that he had funding secured to potentially take Tesla private at $420 per share, and that investor support is confirmed. Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer for the shareholders, in an email said he was pleased that jurors will be instructed that the Twitter posts were false and were made fraudulently by Elon Musk. He said the primary remaining issue is the amount of damages owed. Lawyers for Musk and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The April 15 request for a gag order came one day after Musk told the TED conference in Vancouver that he had lined up funding to privatize Tesla, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued him for fraud anyway over his post on Twitter. Musk and Tesla said the proposed gag order evokes a level of censorship that could not be reconciled with the U.S. Constitutions guarantee of free speech. They also said an order could block Musk from communicating with Tesla shareholders, discussing his proposal to buy Twitter Inc., and trying to end his consent decree with the SEC, which requires Tesla lawyers to vet some of his Twitter posts. Musk has said he would never lie to shareholders. He has offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share. The case is In re Tesla Inc. Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-04865. By Jonathan Stempel [Durham] now has Clinton world burying Michael Sussmann, the defendant in this case. Clinton campaign affiliates are throwing former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann under the bus, says Kash Patel. And in a last-ditch effort to protect themselves, they are trying to hide evidence behind attorney-client privilege, he argues. Kash and Jan break down special counsel John Durhams latest filing and the significance of the flurry of responses from Clinton campaign affiliates, including former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, campaign manager Robby Mook, campaign lawyer Marc Elias, opposition research firm Fusion GPS, and tech executive Rodney Joffe. According to Durhams filing, the CIA knew in early 2017 that the Alfa Bank allegations tying Trump to Russia were likely false. At the same time, the FBI intentionally avoided coming to conclusions on the veracity of these allegations, Kash argues. We discuss all this and more in this episode of Kashs Corner. Below is a rush transcript of this American Thought Leaders episode from Apr 22, 2022. This transcript may not be in its final form and may be updated. Kash Patel: Hey everybody, and welcome back to Kashs Corner. Jan Jekielek: So Kash, on Easter Friday, John Durham decided in the wee hours of the morning, put up a really significant filing. I mean, we jumped on it right away and that actually precipitated a whole flurry of responses to that filing. So lets break it down. Whats going on? Mr. Patel: Well, I think we need six straight episodes to do it, but well try to get it done in one. The Friday pleading is basically the only filing from John Durhams side of the case. Its the United States versus Michael Sussmann. John Durham issues is basically called a responsive pleading saying these are the reasons why all the defenses positions on 404(b) on this type of evidence on that witness and that witness theyre all wrong, this is why Im right. Very substantive pleading. Fast forward to this week. In the evening hours of this week, the defense Sussmann plus a whole host of other individuals that have been named throughout this case filed 14 or 16 pleadings in the matter of 24 hours. It was very, very, very unusually and well break that down and get into what the defense sides pleadings are and how they actually used other pleadings of nonmembers that is non parties to the litigation came in and air mailed in their own pleadings. So its very interesting. Its very rare, but I think it shows one of the most significant things to date in the John Durham investigation, is that hes got Clinton world scrambling and on the run. Mr. Jekielek: Theres one particular sentence in here. Its actually in parentheses bizarrely. That struck me as the sort of, kind of the critical element in this pleading. But maybe before we go there, just kind of give me an overview of- Mr. Patel: Yeah. Mr. Jekielek: Yeah. Mr. Patel: There are a couple of key things thats one of them. But some of that more housekeeping items, pretrial litigation motions in limine weve talked about on previous shows is John Durham wants to submit certain types of evidence against Michael Sussmann in the governments case in chief, and theres been back and forth litigation on it. And what some of that type of evidence has been this argument over these things called privileged logs, which well keep coming back to. What happens is we found out that John Durham has issued multiple grand jury subpoenas to many parties, not just Sussmann, but the likes of Fusion GPS, Rodney Jaffe, the tech executive and all these other folks, Marc Elias, Perkins Coie, and all these people in Clinton world that weve been talking about for long, who Ive said are part of this giant criminal conspiracy. John Durham is using that information as he sees fit to advance his indictment, which is Michael Sussmann lied to the FBI. The defense in that case has largely been well, we dont believe he lied, but if he did it was not material. And without getting into details of law, theyre just saying they the defense for Michael Sussmann are saying, so what, thats literally what theyre saying. Doesnt matter. No one cares, not material, didnt alter the route of the investigation. John Durham saying, since you brought that up, Im going to look at the privilege logs. And I dont want the privilege logs because the privilege logs are just metadata that just says, had meeting, had left meeting. So and so was in meeting. He wants the substance of the meeting. He wants the substance of the communications. And thats what a lot of this back and forth is in the pleading John Durham saying, well, I want the communications between Michael Sussmann and Rodney Jaffe. I want the communications between Michael Sussmann and Fusion GPS. I want the communications between Marc Elias and the Hillary Clinton campaign, because all of that shows the materiality of Michael Sussmanns lie. And what John Durham has requested is not everything in the whole universe of privilege, and I think well lay out why later, Clinton world is over broadly using this attorney, client privilege, work product exception to hide wrongdoing. But what I believe John Durham smartly doing is saying, we dont want everything, I just need, you raised it, you the defense said, its not material. I, John Durham now have a duty to prove it is material, and this is how Im going to do it. So we asked the judge and youll probably seen this phraseology in there to go ex parte in camera. And what that means is John Durhams like, look, judge, you are supposed to be the neutral arbiter of the law in these matters. These questions have been raised without putting them into the public domain, the public pleading sphere. You, the judge look at the substance of what Im asking you to look at behind the privilege logs. And then you make the call as the referee to say, well, actually this is relevant. This is domain and the prosecution should be able to lose it. And what it means is in camera just means in chambers, ex parte just means alone. So itd be the judge and the prosecution team going through these documents and saying, yes, no, maybe and the like. So thats the substance of the rest of this lengthy pleading by John Durham. Mr. Jekielek: So, I have to say this right off the bat, and I know you want to go through the initial pleading a bit more. But as youre just speaking, I cant help think of some of the responses to the pleading. And just the idea that what is being stated in a number of these responses goes against what people like Sussmann have actually said under oath previously, which just trying to figure out whats going on, is this a hail Mary plea? I just dont know whats going on. Mr. Patel: I think youre exactly right. From a defense perspective, Ive always said the defense has overreached on this case and weve outlined our past shows why theyve done that procedurally and subsequently along the way of this prosecution. Now, what has happened is, I hearken back to my time running the Russiagate investigation under then Chairman Nunes when I was a chief investigator. And I told Devin at the time, I said, look, we are now unraveling what we thought was the biggest case of misconduct and fraud and conspiracy during a presidential election and the FBIs use of the FISA court and its corruption. And I said, Devin, what you have to do is you have to take the facts, and then since youre in the middle of the facts, because youre saying FBI, you messed up and youre also saying Clinton world, you messed up by feeding them and youre in the middle doing this trying to adjudicate the facts. I said, lets get their documentation so its not our words and then lets step out of the middle and let them fire at each other. When they start doing that, you know youve won your argument, your position with the facts. And that is what John Durham has methodically done here. He now has Clinton world burying Michael Sussmann, the defendant in this case. And well walk through why with their numerous pleadings or basically missiles at Michael Sussmanns head because they are now all literally covering their own rear end and dont want to be charged. And they now see how much information John Durham has, so what do they do? They bring up the last ditch effort you can only bring up in a federal criminal prosecution procedure. Theyre saying, judge procedurally we have a complaint. Theyre not saying the information John Durham is presenting is false. Theyre not saying the information John Durham is presenting is not relevant. Theyre just saying he cant have it because of attorney-client privilege. And Ill tell you why that fails later on. But what I will note is during the Russiagate investigation, and this is the highlight between the difference between an Article III federal judge in the judicial branch versus an Article II investigation in Congress of the legislative branch. When they brought up and they did, if you look at our 60 some deposition that I took of interrogated these witnesses, including Sullivan and Sussmann and Elias and Podesta, who will talk about today, they would come in and say, attorney-client privilege, nothing to see here. In Congress theres no mechanism to force that adjudication. If they raise that you have to creatively get around it, use documentation and further your investigation, but theres no real force mechanism, not in federal court. The power of the department of justice and the power of an Article III judge, who literally is more powerful than a president because they can overturn a presidents decision, has now been asked to decide the issue of privilege. And I believe that this judge, because the law demands it will come down on the side of John Durham say, you basically cant use privilege as a pretense. You cant go out and get a relationship and then do some unlawful activity and say nothing to see here, its privileged. And I think thats what theyre doing and the judge is going to see through it. Mr. Jekielek: Lets go back to what I was talking about earlier in Durhams original pleading. Im going to read the whole thing because I find theres so many elements to this. This is on page 20, for those that have these pleadings around Durham writes. For example, 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, agency two thats the CIA, concluded in early 2017 that Russian bank, one data and Russian phone provider one data was not technically plausible, did not withstand technical scrutiny, contained gaps, conflicted with itself and was Was user created and not machine tool generated. And then theres also the special counsels office has not reached a definitive conclusion in this regard. Now, Durham is saying that the CIA believed that what was being provided by Sussmann was false information essentially. Mr. Patel: This is huge. This is massive. This is what we uncovered when we were interrogating Sussmann when I was taking his deposition under oath in Congress in December, of 2017. We knew he went to both the FBI and another government agency at the time we were limited in what we could say. And we knew what he was doing was hawking this fake Russia bank, Alfa Bank server information amongst other things to them. What Durham John has now put in full force in a federal pleading, in a federal indictment, in a federal prosecution is hes come out and said the CIA who Michael Sussmann went to with thumb drives and gave them this Alfa Bank information, evaluated that information and said on their own, this is basically bogus intel, and we, the CIA dont want anything to do with it. Now my question is that was in 2017, early 2017, after President Trump had come in. An investigation that rises to the level of the office of president United States has to, by regulation and law go to the directors office, the Central Intelligence Agency and at the time that was Mike Pompeo. So I have a lot of questions for why Mike Pompeo did not provide with a White House or Congress, his former committee, the house intelligence committee, which was running this investigation with that conclusion then because we did not have it then, I can say that definitively. And either he knew about that information and sat on it or it was withheld from him, but thats something the American public need to know right away. On the FBI part, to me thats a little more shocking and also shows the FBIs motives of operation for the entire Russiagate fraud that they helped perpetuate. They did the same thing. In this case, Michael Sussmann takes its on drive to the FBI and talks to his buddy, the FBI General Counsel James Baker and gives them a bunch of information. What do they do? Per John Durhams pleading, they do not come to a definitive conclusion as you put in there. Now as a former federal prosecutor, thats absurd. You, the Federal Bureau of Investigation who have been supposedly provided information about a criminal conspiracy by the president of the United States, dont come to a conclusion. The only way that happens is if the FBIs leadership comes in and says, dont further that investigation. So we can go to the FISA court and say, weve received information, we are evaluating it and we dont have any fidelity on it. That is a total con job in my opinion, by the FBI. They did the same thing with the Steele dossier. Remember, Steel dossier, same characters, Sussmann, Elias, Fusion GPS, Hillary Clinton campaign, Bruce Ohr, all those guys comes in with the Steele dossier paid for by the Clinton campaign and what do they do? They take it to the FISA court. What the FBI says to the court and what our investigation unearth was the FBI intentionally stopped short of coming to conclusions on the evidence presented by Christopher Steele so that they could go to the FISA court and say, well, we havent finished our assessment, but this is what we think happened judge. We think Donald Trump is conspiring with the Russian government and his campaign is doing so, so we believe were in the right to get this investigation. And I asked agents of the FBI and lawyers of the FBI under oath when I interrogated them, why did you stop short? Because I as a former national security prosecutor, wouldve forced the FBI to come to a determinative conclusion before taking it to a judge to use a secret surveillance warrant on a president in his campaign. And they had no answer for me. And if you recall the Nunes memo where we called them out on that, put on full display the FBIs intentional shortcomings. And I believe theyve done exactly that in this instance. And at the time, I think it was still James Comey was still is in his director, and of course, Andy McCabe, who I believe is responsible for almost all of this along with James Comey, had to have known again, presidential investigation goes right to the top. So the order had to have come in from somewhere to say, we are not coming to the assessment. The reason John Durham put that in there seems like a meaningless paragraph, but to me as a federal prosecutor and former public defender, its one of the most important paragraphs in the entire pleading. Hes saying the FBI intentionally stopped short. And hes also saying the CIA knew the information was bogus. So why wasnt that information given to Congress? Why wasnt that information provided the FISA court? Why wasnt that information given out to the public when requested. Mr. Jekielek: Another thing that was interesting in this pleading to me and there was some debate about this among our analysts and you and me, it turns out that Sussmann was actually hired by Rodney Jaffe. Mr. Patel: Directly so and now its look, this stuffs complicated and I probably had a different eye of looking into these things as a guy who did these prosecutions and defenses. So what youll see in these pleadings, not just Durhams, but the response pleadings is you will see repeatedly over and over again, tech executive one who we believed to be Rodney Jaffe, is an individual that was a client of Michael Sussmann and Perkins Coie, and Marc Elias who are working at the behest of the DNC in Hillary Clinton campaign. It is literally spelled out by John Durham and by the pleadings from Clinton world. So if theyre both saying it to a federal judge, are we now going to believe that hes not a client. And Ill well get into why thats necessary for them to say for the privilege argument that theyre making, John Durham. He also issued a lot of nuggets of information that were not previously public how long people have been under grand jury subpoena and who still a subject of the investigation. The defense in this case said, no, no, these people cant other folks like Jaffe and company, cant be the subjects of the investigation because the statute of limitations has run. John Durham comes in his pleading and says, well, thanks for raising that. You, the defense have no idea what evidence I John Durham have, and Im going to tell you in this pleading, which he spells out that this individual, Rodney Jaffe was a subject of the investigation before the grand jury indictment, during the grand jury indictment and after the grand jury indictment. Thats what John Durham says in the pleading to eliminate the statute of limitations argument, which a lot of our audience has been curious about. And what hes effectively saying is, you the defense cant tell me that the statute of limitations is over. You dont know what evidence I have. You dont know who else I put in the grand jury. You dont know what other information I have. You dont know what other targets I have. And by the way, this guys still a subject just so you know. That is pretty powerful for a federal prosecutor come in and say that, you dont do it lightly. So it was one of the startling things to me in this pleading that sort of an overlooked, but in more to come. Mr. Jekielek: So Kash, and in this big pleading in Durhams pleading, he also references Christopher Steele curiously. So Im going to read this now and Im going to substitute the references that are in the actual document with what we believe are the correct names and so forth. According to the U.S. government records and public information, Christopher Steeles dossier included a report about Alfa Banks relationship with Vladimir Putin. The relevant report dated September 14th, 2016, just five days before the defendants meeting with the FBI was titled Russia U.S. presidential election. Kremlin Alfa Bank group corporation. Separately in October, 2016, Christopher Steele also provided Rodney Jaffe this allegations regarding a purportedly secret server between Alfa Bank and the Trump organization to U.S. state department official at a meeting in Washington, D.C. All of this evidence is highly probative in so far as establishes that the defendant one represented and worked for the Clinton campaign in connection with its broader opposition research efforts. Two, took steps to integrate the Alfa Bank allegations into those opposition research efforts. Three, coordinated with Christopher Steele, Fusion GPS and Rodney Jaffe in connection with the Alfa Bank allegations. And four, carried out his September 19th, 26th meeting with the FBI in order to among other things, further the interests of the Clinton campaign with assistance from Fusion GPS. Mr. Patel: Jan, if our audience takes away nothing else from every show weve ever done, these two paragraphs are the Russiagate investigation that we proved when we, Devin and I were running the Russiagate investigation in Congress. John Durham has just more succinctly than I have ever could before laid out the entire criminal conspiracy. And heres why/ the cast of characters and groups he just outlined in those two paragraphs, john Durham has literally proven what we have been saying this entire time. Remember our parallel efforts by the Clinton campaign first was the Steele dossier, the other was the Alfa Bank server. And I said they were all related and occurring at the same time, by the same corrupt people, thats exactly what John Durham just said. He said, while Christopher Steele hired by Fusion GPS, paid by Perkins Coie and Marc Elias there, who were their clients went forward with the Steele dossier information at the same time that entire cast of characters met in Washington, D.C., before the filing of the first FISA to talk about the Steele dossier and Russia Alfa Bank server. And by the way, it happened to be the same week that Michael Sussmann, the lawyer for the Clinton campaign who was in the meeting with Fusion GPS, Christopher Steele, and others went to the FBIs general counsel and said, heres information from Russia Alfa Bank. What John Durham is saying is what weve been saying all along. It is impossible to believe anything the Clinton world has put out regarding Russiagate and theyre denying any involvement in it. He John Durham has literally put Fusion GPS, the money, the lawyers, Christopher Steele, Rodney Jaffe, the tech executive in one meeting right before the filing of FISA and then right after that, Michael Sussmann, the lawyer who has all these clients runs to the FBI and says, Ive got information regarding Russian collusion and Trump, to me that is the biggest thing to come from this pleading. Mr. Jekielek: And hes doing it as a good Samaritan. Mr. Patel: Right. Hes doing it as a good Samaritan. And Im going to do something I never do Jan, Im going to now read a sentence from a pleading. The fact that FBI headquarters received on the same date, both sets of information involving the same political campaign, the Clinton campaign, the same law firm, law firm one, Perkins Coie, and the same investigative firm Fusion GPS makes UK person one Christopher Steeles involvement in these matters relevant. Its also strong evidence concerning the materiality of the defendants alleged false statement that he was not acting on behalf of any client. Thats the case. And its put brilliantly in those couple of paragraphs. And I think theres only one other matter that Id like to highlight in this Durham motion before getting to the others. Mr. Jekielek: Okay. Jump in. Mr. Patel: So Jan, as we were saying, as you know and I think well put up on the screen a link for our audience to go and look at all this 60, some 70 transcripts of the interrogations I took of people under oath, because its directly relevant to the Sussmann indictment and the cast of characters hes talking about. We depose Fusion GPS, and Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritz. We deposed Marc Elias. We deposed people in Clinton, world, Jake Sullivan, John Podesta, and all these people that are going to come up. So Id like our audience to check that out at their convenience. Because one of the things the defense in this case Sussmanns attorney has asked is, judge, please preclude the government from introducing any Congressional testimony under oath, in the case in chief, which is shocking. Why? Theyre basically saying my client and all these witnesses were going to use swore under oath to statements to Hash and the investigation he was running, and those statements dont work for our defense here so please preclude them. Basically, what theyre saying is these guys said ex on day one, when they were deposing Congress, and theyve said, Y the opposite since. Its pretty shocking and what they do is they take it to the extreme. And this sort of shows you why I believe they are out of ammunition, all rounds expense as we say in DoD. They, the defense for Sussmann ask a federal court to immunize tech executive one, Rodney Jaffe, and his testimony. First of all, the law doesnt allow that. Only the United States government and the Department of Justice as an Article I executive authority grants immunity to witnesses and subjects in criminal proceedings. The defense never does that because they do not have the lawful right to do so. Its the governments decision. So why would the defense ask for something thats unlawful? Because one, most Americans probably dont understand the legal gymnastics in there, but two its so they could go out to the media and say, this tech executive one, actually hes got good stuff for us the defense, but he needs immunity. Why does he need immunity? What did he do wrong? He was a client of Michael Sussmanns. He was the guy that got access to the White House, the sensitive agreement. He was the guy that went and obtained the Alfa Bank information. He was the guy that told his team under him, even when he, Rodney Jaffe was informed that there was no information connecting Donald Trump to Russia and Alfa Bank and whatnot. He went back to them and said, get me something that shows a narrative and an inference. Now the defense for Michael Sussmann wants Rodney Jaffe immunized, granted immunity in court so they, the defense can bring him in and have him say whatever they want to support their defense in their case for Michael Sussmann. To me subsequently if its not the most important thing weve talked about, its probably the second most important thing, because now they are playing parlor tricks with the judiciary. And John Durham responded quite succinctly saying the law doesnt allow you to grant immunity and I judge dont have to give anyone immunity. I dont want to. And by the way, this guy is still a subject of my investigation so hes not getting immunity. Its pretty powerful. Mr. Jekielek: No, its fascinating. But of course, Im not surprised that they might want to exclude all that sworn testimony that you took and so forth, because already in these response pleadings, all these different groups are basically saying things that counter what the sworn under oath testimony said. So this is the part that kind of blew my mind a little bit and made me think this is a hail Mary pass. And what are they actually trying to do here? Mr. Patel: I think this is a perfect segue into the second part of the show. And yes, we have a third part, well finish with a bang. But the second part of the show is to help the audience develop out all the other pleadings, not the one by John Durham, not the one by Michael Sussmann, but all the other ones. Basically Clinton world has invited themselves to the party in federal court. And what theyve done is the lawyers for the Hillary Clinton campaign, the lawyers for John Podesta, the lawyers for Marc Elias, the lawyers for Rodney Jaffe, the lawyers for Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson have all come in separately and filed notices in saying, judge, we have something to say. Normally thats just unheard of, but in this very unique case, when this conspiracy was so big, these parties they are coming out of the wood works forcing themselves into a public pleading in court and saying, we judge have to be heard on our clients behalf. Some of it went to and the judge I think rightfully so gave them permission to do so. So they cant just come in. They have to have leave of court, as we say, and the judge immediately granted them leave of court because I think he wants to adjudicate this matter properly. So three sworn declarations come in immediately after the judge grants them permission to do so. Marc Elias, John Podesta and Robby Mook. And why are these guys providing sworn testimony in a federal criminal case when they themselves could be subjects of John Durhams investigation. And theyre doing so I believe because they have collectively focused their efforts not on behalf of Michael Sussmann, but to almost make Michael Sussmann the scapegoat. Mr. Jekielek: And thats a fascinating perspective, except it hadnt occurred to me, but I guess thats what happens when you run out of arguments. Mr. Patel: No, its what happens when you run out of the truth. So lets remind our audience, John Podesta, right? Chairman of the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016, one of the biggest positions in the political landscape. Robby Mook, campaign manager for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign, maybe the second biggest position in the political landscape. These two lobbed in declarations. What that means is swore in writing under oath to a federal judge under the penalty of perjury, the following, and the sum substance of what they said was, and their pleadings are only about a page or too long is judge, Perkins Coie, our law firm for the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee hired out contractors in groups as their clientele to do the work of the campaign. Well, who are those people and why would they bring this up? Specifically Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson, and they sub out Christopher Steele, and then Rodney Jaffe and his tech executive team, what are they doing? They are setting up their argument, as we talked about top of the show to hide behind attorney-client privilege and work product. What theyre saying is no, no, these guys were definitely clients of ours and they were doing work thats protected under the attorney-client privilege, I swear judge. Its their last ditch effort to procedurally block the substance of the information that were talking about and then John Durham is trying to get to, because he has seen the emails. He has seen the communications and he wants to use them in his case in chief to show that Michael Sussmann did in fact lie to the FBI. And now Clinton world is rounding the circles and saying, while we dont disagree with the sum and substance of the scenario that John Durham has laid out, were hiding by procedure, its a pretext in my opinion. Sometimes there is a lot of valid attorney, client privilege claims to be made. As a defense attorney, I made them frequently, and they were righteous because you need that in order for due process to actually survive in our court system. This is a political stunt. Its a last ditch effort by them to say, dont let the world see this. Mr. Jekielek: Its just kind of dawning anyway, but theyre effectively saying that Sussmann was lying, right? By saying that providing sworn testimony that this is the case and it doesnt square with the sworn testimony from Congress that you took. Isnt that what theyre saying? Mr. Patel: Yeah. And to me, I think thats exactly what theyre saying. Because they could have taken if they had the truth and the facts on their side, which I dont think they do, they could have said he didnt lie and these are the reasons why he didnt lie. We were in these meetings with them, were going to waive privilege. Were going to talk about the communications that happened, where it shows Michael Sussmann went to the FBI and said X. They didnt do any of that. They just came in with procedure and said, attorney, client privilege, nothing to see here. And talk about throwing off the American people, thats exactly what theyre doing. What theyre saying indirectly and I agree with you is you Michael Sussmann lied to the FBI, were making a last ditch effort to get Clinton campaign world out of there. And if I was Sussmann, Id probably start dealing right about now. But I think hes too far down the rabbit hole to do that. The third declaration filed was on behalf of Marc Elias. Marc Elias was then Michael Sussmanns partner, the chairman of the Perkins Coie political law group and head of the Clinton campaign in terms of legal positions. And he comes in and he actually files a declaration thats almost entirely redacted. Its blocked. We cant see it. So what Marc Elias does talk about that we can see is how his job was to counteract all of the statements that then candidate Trump was making about going after people and suing them for defamation, which as you fast forward turns out President Trump was right. People were defaming him by talking about colluding with Russia, by validating the Steele dossier, by allowing the FISA court information to be put out into the ether when the FBI and everybody knew it was false. What he Marc Elias is saying is basically recycling this hot garbage in this declaration to say, well actually we were hired to do this work to counteract President Trump. What Im more interested in is, why is it redacted? Youre not a government official, theres no classified information there. You didnt have access to classified information. What have you got to hide? If youre coming in voluntarily making a submission on behalf of supposedly your former law partner, why dont you let the whole world see it? And he didnt. He blocked it. And I think theres a reason for that because he doesnt want the world to know that the substance, they dont have it. They dont have the truth, they dont have the facts. And what theyre going for is this hard nose approach to attorney-client privilege by saying, no, no judge that was my client. Perkins Coie did hire Fusion GPS as a client. Perkins Coie did hire Rodney Jaffe as a client. Michael Sussmann did go to these individuals and hire them as clients so attorney-client privilege must stand, but where they fail is the legality of it, which we wont get into, its in John Durhams pleading outline pretty brilliantly is that you basically cant use attorney-client privilege to hide corrupt conduct. And thats what theyre doing. Mr. Jekielek: Well, and theres this last piece that we really have to talk about, which is Fusion GPS, theres a whole pleading for Fusion. And again, quite remarkable what theyve got in there, we were discussing a bit earlier. Tell me what you see here. Mr. Patel: Yeah. Look, Fusion GPS to me has always been at the center of the Russiagate scandal. Fusion GPS has identified in John Durhams pleading as U.S. investigative firm one, quick summary was the group hired by Perkins Coie, paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign in the DNC to go out and collect opposition research against then candidate Trump, and tie him to Russia and do the Alfa Bank nonsense. And if you remember, Fusion GPS hired Christopher Steele who authored the Steele dossier. So theyve been at the center of this. I deposed the heads of Fusion GPS when I was running the Russiagate investigation. And one of the questions that I asked Glenn Simpson under oath was, how long have known people like Bruce Ohr, and other folks at the FBI and what exactly were you doing? And the reason I bring up his deposition is not necessarily for those, while its interesting on those points, because I believe Glenn Simpson lied about his relationship to Bruce Ohr and was caught in our deposition doing so. But he goes through great lengths in the deposition to pat himself on the back about his investigative firm Fusion GPS, who is hired to do opposition research against Donald Trump hired by the Clinton campaign through Michael Sussmann and Marc Elias, the lawyers at Perkins Coie. Well, everyone knows that. Why is that a big deal? Enter Fusion GPSs lawyers in these rounds of pleadings that were talking about. So now Fusion GP comes in through their lawyer in assessment in case and says, we have something to say, judge give us permission to say it and the judge did and now theyve said it. What they are now saying completely destroys credulity. What they are saying is their lawyer has filed a pleading that says Fusion GPS was not performing opposition research. It goes back to what we were talking about earlier. Its their attempt to hide behind privilege and bury information they dont want out there. Because if they can show that Fusion GPS was just doing this opposition research, apparently now they dont do anymore according to themselves, then they want the judge to find that theres an existing attorney, client relationship there. And on top of that Fusion GPS was performing work as a client to Perkins Coie, therefore it was not opposition research and therefore the communications regarding the meetings that Fusion GPS had with Michael Sussmann, with Christopher Steele, with Perkins Coie and the FBI, and the media, all of that substantive information should be blocked from being able to be used by John Durham in his case in chief. It is a complete 180 by Fusion GPSs own legal team in a federal pleading. And Im kind of shocked, but maybe not shocked that they did it because these guys cant seem to see past yesterday or tomorrow. And I just hope people go out there and maybe John Durham will go look at our deposition of Glenn Simpson, the head of Fusion GPS under oath, where I believe he says otherwise repeatedly. Mr. Jekielek: Well, and so this is the question, right? Doesnt this put Glenn Simpson in jeopardy to this kind of legal ploy thats, I mean, this is the part that Im having difficulty fathoming. Mr. Patel: Well, I think youre right. And Ive always said Glenn Simpson should be charged with lying to Congress. And Ive also said, Glenn Simpson is if not the lead conspirator in this largest scale criminal conspiracy that I call it ever effectuated. And what John Durham puts in his pleading, or excuse me, what Fusion GPS actually puts in their pleading is they actually highlight the dates that John Durham issued grand jury subpoenas against Fusion GPS, which is shocking. As a prosecutor you never reveal that information. Grand jury information is secret, its to be kept confidential, and its never to be revealed without leave of court. Fusion GPS on their own says weve been under grand jury subpoena by John Durham for over a year. And he asked us to provide responsive documents to that grand jury subpoena. Fusion GPSs lawyers and their team took it upon themselves to say, nope, we are not going to provide you John Durham, the special counsel for the Department of Justice, with responsive documents, pursuant to a federal grand jury subpoena. What we are going to provide you is privilege logs. Again, were back to this privilege log thing. And all that is a little metadata that says, meeting here on this date with so and so. Meeting here on this date with so and so. And information was passed on this date from so and so, but none of the substance of the meeting, none of the substance of the information. So what Fusion GPS is saying is we have all that information and we are withholding it from the United States government, I think unlawfully because its pursuant to a grand jury subpoena and you, the judge must now say that what Fusion GPS performed and was paid millions of dollars for as opposition research is no longer opposition research, but information that was being collected in anticipation of litigation for purposes of being a client to a law firm. This is the Daisy chain that Marc Elias is pleading. John Podestas pleading, Robby Mooks pleading and Fusion GPS is pleading in the Michael Sussmann place is trying to get the judge on board with, and I think theyre going to fail at multiple points in that chain. But fusion GPS is the, I dont want to say its startling because their conduct from the has been I believe completely not only unlawful and unethical, but theyve lied repeatedly about their dealings with Congress, with Christopher Steele, with the Democratic Party, the Clinton campaign, Marc Elias, Perkins Coie, Michael Sussmann and the like. And a little vignette Id like to pull from Fusion GPSs pleading is that one of their employees they actually identified as a witness for John Durhams case in chief. Why would Fusion GPSs lawyers out one of their own employees as a cooperating witness for John Durham? If you recall, in our last show or the show before, we talked about John Durham had identified someone at Fusion GPS as a cooperating witness. Mr. Jekielek: Right. Mr. Patel: Fusion GPS pulls her name and identifies her by name and their pleading. And they take it one step further. They say this individual, and Im not going to name her name, but its out there for everybody to see, this individual and her communications with tech executive, Rodney Jaffe, who weve talked about. Those communications between Fusion GPS employee and Rodney Jaffe employee are an example of what should be hidden behind privilege and not unveiled, and we should not have to give that to John Durham. To me thats it, thats the bullseye. Why is Fusion GPS asking a federal judge to prevent the information from one of its own employees that she passed on to Rodney Jaffe, the tech executive. Because they want to make a claim of attorney-client privilege and they want to hide more information. And I remind everyone in our audience that this is the same firm, Fusion GPS that we had to use a congressional subpoena for, to go out and prove to the world that they were paid by the Clinton campaign millions of dollars, north of 10 million and they in turn hired Christopher Steele. And if you remember Jan, they took us to federal court to preclude the information about their banking records from ever coming out. We won that case in federal court. And what did it show? Fusion GPS paid Christopher Steele to do opposition research for the Clinton campaign to be utilized in FISA warrant against then candidate Trump and subsequently President Trump. If they did that then and we took them to federal court and won, and we broke through their same attorney, client privilege arguments there, what are they hiding now? Thats the kicker and I believe John Durham knows the answer, and its not good for them. Mr. Jekielek: Well, this has been quite the exploration of all these filings. And frankly, Im really looking forward to what happens next. I guess its time for our shout out. Mr. Patel: Youre right Jan, its time for this weeks shout out. And it goes to Charles Denton, who wrote a very kind and generous note to you and I about last weeks episode, operation eight- 14. Thanks for your heartwarming words and your kind appreciation to our program. And we encourage everybody to post commentary, to participate in the live chat and to tell all your friends about Kashs Corner. And well see you next week, on Kashs Corner. Download EpochTV Ebook for free. Follow EpochTV on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV A man walks with a bicycle in central Mariupol on April 12, 2022. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images) Kremlin Official Reaffirms Goal of Taking Donbass-Crimea Land Corridor from Ukraine A Russian defense official reaffirmed that the goal of the Russian military operation in Ukraine is to control the land corridor connecting Donbass and Crimea. Both areas are de facto controlled by separatists or Russia. This [control over Donbass] will enable us to establish a ground corridor to Crimea and to gain influence over the vitally-important Ukrainian [military] facilities, the Black Sea ports, which service deliveries of the agricultural and metallurgical products to other countries, Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russias central military district, reportedly said at a meeting in the Sverdlovsk region. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on Minnekayevs remarks on the goal of Russias military goal in Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Ministry denounced Russias goal as imperialism. They stopped hiding it. Today, the command of Russian looters, rapists, and murderers acknowledged that the goal of the second phase of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is, the ministry wrote in a social media post. Rescuers work at a residential building damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 19, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo/Reuters) The Russian generals comments came after Moscow claimed that Mariupol, a key Ukrainian city connecting Crimea and Donbass, has been taken by the Russian armed forces. The city has been taken definitively and completely. The strategically important administration building of the Azovstal plant has been taken under control, and all adjacent territory has been cleared, Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic said in his telegram channel. Some so-called Ukrainian nationalists are still blocked under a thick layer of concrete and steel inside the plant, he added. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, which the Kremlin calls a special military operation. The United Nations said that as of April 21, 2,345 civilians had been killed and 5,264 injured in Ukraine since Russias invasion, and more than 5.1 million people had fled the country. Russian forces recently shifted focus to the south and east of Ukraine where the separatist or disputed territories are located. The Kremlin is apparently intending to occupy the corridor connecting Crimea and Donbass, with Mariupol being a key city along the corridor. Minnekayevs comments reaffirmed Putins statement in early April. Putin said that Russia is demanding Ukraine recognize Crimea as Russian and the so-called Donbass republics as independent. He emphasized that these two points are the key topics that the two sides have made no progress on, Russian state media RT reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged in early April that the intention of Russias military operation is to occupy the corridor connecting Crimea and Donbass including Mariupol. Donbass, and the south of Ukraine, and the corridor to Crimea, and the Kherson region, and the Zaporizhzhia region, he said. We basically understand what they are doing. A map by the UK Ministry of Defense shows the troop locations of Russia and Ukraine as of April 22. (UK Ministry of Defense) The two sides have been at an impasse in the ceasefire talks for weeks as Ukraine refused to accept the proposal by Kremlin. Peskov said on Wednesday that they have sent Ukraine a draft ceasefire agreement. However, the Kremlin didnt receive any answers from Kyiv, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Friday. Cannabis samples at Calalyst Cannabis in Santa Ana, Calif., on Feb. 18, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Laguna Woods to Vote on Cannabis Tax LAGUNA WOODS, Calif.The Laguna Woods City Council voted 41 on April 20 to move forward a tax on cannabis businesses, despite the citys existing ban on retail cannabis. Mayor Carol Moore, who is up for reelection this year, was the dissenting vote. The ordinancewhich will need final approval from the city council at its May 18 meetingwould place a measure on the November ballot to tax cannabis businesses in the city. Such an ordinance would not lift the citys ban on retail cannabis, but it would place regulations on cannabis businesses if the city were to lift the ban in the future. The ordinance proposes maximum tax rates on cannabis businesses in the citysimilar to Santa Anaand would allow the council to increase rates over time. Retail businesses would pay 4 to 10 percent on their total revenues, with non-retail businessessuch as indoor cultivation and distributionpaying between 1 to 10 percent. This would generate roughly $750,000 for the city annually, according to the city. The ordinance was first introduced in September 2021, when the council agreed to draft the provision. These efforts followed Measure Vapproved by a narrow margin in 2020in which a majority of residents voted in support of allowing cannabis dispensaries, both medical and recreational, to operate commercially in the city. Similar efforts were made in Huntington Beach, another city prohibiting cannabis businesses, in early March. The Laguna Woods City Councilors did not respond to requests for comment. A former army medic organizes his syringes before giving out the next dose to a local resident at Central Falls High School in Central Falls, R.I., on Feb. 13, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images) Lawmaker Pushes Bill With Harsh Recurring Fines for Unvaccinated Rhode Islanders Rhode Island state Sen. Sam Bell has urged the state to pass his COVID-19 vaccine mandate that would fine residents in the state who choose not to get the shot. Bell cited a poll by a Boston Globe columnist showing 64 percent of Rhode Islanders support a universal vaccine mandate, adding that he believes its time for us to pass my mandate bill. The legislation (pdf), first introduced by a group of Democratic senators in March, states that all eligible citizens in Rhode Island over the age of 16 who reside, work, or pay personal income taxes are required to get the shot or face two different civil penalties. Under the policy, those who are eligible for the jab and are under the age of 16 would also be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine with the responsibility for ensuring compliance falling on all parents or guardians with medical consent powersmeaning parents or guardians of non-compliant minors are mandated to force children into taking the shot. Anyone who would violate the order will face a $50 monthly fine and shall owe twice the amount of personal income taxes as would otherwise be assessed, the bill states. In addition, employers who fail to require proof of vaccination from workers and knowingly violate this rule will be forced to pay a penalty of $5,000 per month for each violation. Its really important that we take all of the precautions we can to make sure that everyone in Rhode Island is vaccinated, Bell told WPRI. Plenty of people break all sorts of rules and if they get caught they pay a fine. Its not a particularly severe penalty. The legislation has drawn a lot of opposition since it was first introduced last month by a group of Democratic senators: Tiara Mack, Jonathon Acosta, Kendra Anderson, James Seveney, Cynthia Mendes, and Bell. Republican Rhode Island state Sen. Jessica de la Cruz expressed her view on the bill after people across the state had asked her about it, explaining she believes it unfairly penalizes residents over a personal medical decision. In a letter to her constituents, she said the legislation has extraordinary financial penalties and she would never support legislation that penalizes a person for making personal medical decisions. I have not, nor will I ever support, legislation that coerces Rhode Islanders into making medical decisions or face steep financial damages, De La Cruz said. I hear my constituents and others around the state loud and clearthis is dangerous legislation and sends the message that our government doesnt trust you to make the right choice for you and your family. Bells legislation has been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee for consideration, though de la Cruz said it likely wont pass. This is an unconscionable overreach of legislative powers, de la Cruz said. The good news is this legislation has little chance of passing. I wont rule it out, but I dont believe it will pass, that said, Im not taking it for granted, and neither should you. From NTD News Satellite image of more trenches dug into land outside Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 15, 2022. (Maxar Technologies via Reuters) RussiaUkraine War (April 22): Satellite Imagery Purports to Show 2nd Cemetery Near Mariupol The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, April 22. Click here for updates from April 21. Satellite Imagery Purports to Show 2nd Cemetery Near Mariupol Satellite imagery released on April 22 by Maxar Technologies purported to show freshly dug trenches in a cemetery east of Mariupol. An image taken from space on March 29 appeared to show newly dug trenches along the perimeter of the cemetery. Another image taken on April 15 showed more parallel trenches said to be around 40 meters (130 feet) long in the same area of the cemetery. The site lies around 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from Mariupol and outside the village of Vynohradne. Mariupol has been at the center of a ferocious, weeks-long battle between Ukrainian government forces and Russian soldiers and pro-Russian fighters. Ukraine said thousands of people had died in Mariupol in nearly two months of Russian shelling, and that 120,000 civilians were still unable to leave the city. Russia denies targeting civilians and says its military operation is aimed at liberating the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk and Luhansk from Ukrainian nationalists. ___ UN Chief to Visit Moscow on Tuesday, Will Meet Putin United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Moscow on Tuesday, and will meet with Russias President Vladimir Putin following the countrys February invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for the U.N. chief said. Guterres will also have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Eri Kaneko, Guterres associate spokesperson, told a press briefing in New York on Friday. He hopes to talk about what can be done to bring peace to Ukraine urgently, Kaneko said. The secretary-generals office is also working with Ukraines government on scheduling and preparations for a visit to Russias southern neighbor, the spokesperson said. ____ Ukraine Security Chief: Main Battles Taking Place in Donbas Ukraines security chief said Friday that the main battles in Ukraine are taking place in the Donbas, the industrial heartland in the east, with Russians deploying more and more troops every day. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told The Associated Press that over 100,000 soldiers are fighting for Russia in Ukraine, including mercenaries from Syria and Libya. He said more troops keep coming in. We have a difficult situation, but our army is defending our state, Danilov said. He called the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv regions the main hot spots of the fighting. Battles were also being fought in the south of Ukraine, but at a lower intensity, he said. Some 12 to 14 of Russias elite military units have left the strategic port city of Mariupol, which was declared liberated by the Kremlin on Thursday, and are now moving to the east of the country to participate in the fighting there, Danilov said. ___ Ukraines Postal Service Hit by Cyberattack After Sales of Warship Stamp Go Online Ukraines national postal service Ukrposhta said it had been hit by a cyberattack on Friday after sales of a postage stamp depicting a Ukrainian soldier making a crude gesture to a Russian warship went online. Queues formed to buy the stamp when it went on sale at the postal headquarters in Kyiv last week following the sinking of the flagship of Russias Black Sea fleet. Kyiv said it had hit the cruiser Moskva with missiles. Russia said the ship sank while being towed in stormy seas after a fire caused by an explosion of ammunition. Ihor Smilianskyi, Ukrposhtas director general, issued an apology to customers for what he said was a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack but did not say who might be behind it. We are really doing everything, together with internet providers, to restore both the online store and other Ukrposhta systems that are also temporarily not working due to a DDoS attack on our systems, he wrote on Facebook. ____ UN Refuses to Back Ukraine Genocide Claims The U.N. has declined to support accusations by Kyiv and Washington that Russias actions during its military offensive in Ukraine have amounted to genocide. Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), was addressed on the issue by journalists on Friday. No, we have not documented patterns that could amount to [genocide], she responded. Shamdasani pointed out there were a lot of these legal qualificationscrimes against humanity and genocideat the end of the day would be for a court of law to determine. According to the U.N.s own definition, genocide includes acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. ____ Putin Tells EU to Discourage Ukraine From Shelling Donbass Brussels could encourage Kyiv to refrain from massive shelling of Donbass and from committing other gross violations of international law, Russian President Vladimir Putin told European Council President Charles Michel on Thursday. During a lengthy phone call, held amid the ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine, the two leaders discussed the latest developments on the ground, including Putins decision to call off the assault on Azovstal plant in Mariupol and Russias efforts to protect civilians, the Kremlin said in a statement. Among other things, Putin brought Michels attention to the irresponsible statements of the E.U. representatives about the need to resolve the situation in Ukraine by military means, apparently referring to the recent controversial statement by the top E.U. diplomat Josep Borrel. It was noted that Brussels could influence the Kyiv authorities in order to force them to stop the massive shelling of Donbass settlements and other gross violations of international humanitarian law, the statement reads. The Russian president also criticized E.U. officials for allegedly ignoring the purported numerous war crimes of the Ukrainian security forces, as well as for openly supporting Russophobia. In his own readout of the call Michel said that he strongly urged for immediate humanitarian access and safe passage from Mariupol and other besieged cities, especially ahead of the Orthodox Easter, which will be celebrated on April 24. Firmly reiterated the E.U.s position: support for Ukraine and her sovereignty, condemnation and sanctions for Russias aggression. Our unity, principles, and values are inviolable, the head of the E.U. Commission wrote. ____ Russia Ramps Up Oil Shipments: Report Russian exports of crude oil have soared despite efforts to ban energy purchases from the country by the United States and its allies, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing data from TankerTrackers.com. Shipments of crude from Russian ports have surged to about 1.6 million barrels per day over the course of April compared to 1.3 million barrels per day recorded in March, up by 300,000 barrels per day, the data shows. Meanwhile, similar data from Kpler, another commodities data provider, revealed that the exports rose to 1.3 million barrels a day in April from a million barrels per day in mid-March. The tankers leaving Russian ports were reportedly heading to destinations unknown, and European oil traders have been buying it up under the radar. In April so far, more than 11.1 million barrels were reportedly shipped by tankers without a planned route, which is up from almost none before the launch of Russias military operation in Ukraine. _____ Russia Makes Another Offer on Besieged Azovstal Ukrainian troops and members of the neo-Nazi Azov battalion, who remain besieged in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, can still surrender to the Russian military, the Defense Ministry said on Friday. A day earlier, Russia announced the capture of Mariupol, with President Vladimir Putin calling off the assault on Azovstal, which remains the last holdout of the Ukrainian forces in the strategic port city. Russian troops should seal the area so that a fly cannot get through, Putin ordered. In its fresh statement, the Defense Ministry pointed out that the offer to surrender to those inside the facility remained in place. At any given moment, Russia is ready to introduce a ceasefire and announce a humanitarian pause in order to stage the evacuation of civilians (if theyre really staying in the underground structures of the steel plant) and troops of the Ukrainian armed forces and nationalist battalions. President Vladimir Putin also said Friday that Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside a Mariupol steel plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive. The comments came during a phone call between Putin and European Council President Charles Michel, according to a readout of the call provided by the Kremlin. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged, according to the Kremlin. Meanwhile, a city official in besieged Mariupol says Russian forces are continuing to bomb a massive steel mill where Ukrainian fighters are holed up. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor, told The Associated Press on Friday that every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, despite false promises not to touch the defenders. Andryushchenko added that fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. ____ Russian Defense Institute Engulfed in Flames Amid Reports of Chemical Plant Fire Seven people were killed on Thursday after a fire broke out at a defense research institute in the Russian city of Tver, emergency services officials said in state-run media. Other officials told state-run TASS that about 25 people also sustained injuries, with many jumping out of the windows of the three-story building while the fire was raging. An Ambulance crew spokesman told state-run TASS that some of the victims inhaled smoke, others had bruises and injuries, as people fled the fire and jumped from windows. The fire occurred at the Aerospace Defense Forces Central Research Institute, which operates under the Russian Defense Ministry, officials said. Online, video footage showed a fire raging and thick smoke emitting from the building. Read the full article here ____ Russias Lavrov Says Ukraine Talks Stalled Russias top diplomat says talks to end the fighting in Ukraine have ground to a halt, because Moscow hasnt received any response from Kyiv to its most recent set of proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference on Friday that right now, they (talks) have ground to a halt, because another proposal we passed on to Ukrainian negotiators about five days ago, which was drawn up with their comments taken into account, it remains without a response. Lavrov also charged that recent statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisors suggest they dont at all need these talks, they have put up with their destiny. However, Vladimir Medinsky, President Vladimir Putins aide and Russias lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, confirmed reports that he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He didnt offer any details as to what was discussed or if any progress was made. ____ Russia Says It Plans Full Control of Donbass and Southern Ukraine Russia plans to take full control of Donbass and southern Ukraine during the second phase of what it calls its special military operation, the deputy commander of Russias central military district said on Friday, Russian news agencies reported. The Interfax and TASS news agencies cited him as saying that full control of southern Ukraine would improve Russian access to Moldovas pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniestria, which borders Ukraine and which Kyiv fears could be used as a launchpad for new attacks against it. Kyiv earlier this month said that an airfield in the region was being prepared to receive aircraft and be used by Moscow to fly in Ukraine-bound troops, allegations Moldovas defence ministry and authorities in Transdniestria denied. Control over the south of Ukraine is another way to Transdniestria, where there is also evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed, the TASS news agency quoted Minnekayev as saying at a meeting in Russias central Sverdlovsk region. He was quoted as saying that Russia planned to forge a land corridor between Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula which it annexed in 2014, and Donbass in eastern Ukraine. Minnekayev was cited as saying by Russias RIA news agency that media reports of Russian military setbacks were wide of the mark. The media are now talking a lot about some failures of our armed forces. But this is not the case. In the first days the tactics of Ukrainian units were designed to ensure that, having pulled ahead, individual groups of Russian troops fell into pre prepared ambushes and suffered losses, RIA cited him as saying. But the Russian armed forces very quickly adapted to this and changed tactics. ______ UK Could Backfill Polish Tanks Being Sent to Ukraine; Planing to Reopen Its Embassy in Kyiv British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. is looking at sending tanks to Poland to replace the Soviet-era T-72 tanks the Poles are shipping to Ukraine. Johnson made the comments Friday during a news conference in New Delhi, where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think perhaps what I havent said publicly before is were also looking more at what we can do to backfill in countries such as Poland who may want to send heavier weaponry to help defend the Ukrainians, Johnson said. So were looking at sending tanks to Poland to help them as they sending some of their T-72s to Ukraine. Johnson also says the U.K. plans to reopen its embassy in Ukraines capital next week. _____ Britain, India Call for Immediate Ceasefire in Ukraine India and Britain have urged Russia to declare an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced steps to help move New Delhi away from its dependence on Russia by expanding economic and defense ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told reporters their meeting Friday focused on the situation in Ukraine, underscoring the importance of diplomacy and dialogue. While India has condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine, it has so far not criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin. India abstained when the U.N. General Assembly voted this month to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. ____ UK Explains Russias Decision in Calling Off Plan to Storm Mariupol Plant Britains defense ministry says Russias decision to end its effort to take a staunchly defended steel plant in the city of Mariupol is an effort to free up troops for deployment in other parts of eastern Ukraine. In an intelligence update posted Friday morning, the ministry says that a full ground assault by Russia on the plant would likely incur significant Russian casualties, further decreasing their overall combat effectiveness. The ministry says that heavy shelling and fighting continues in the Donbas region as Russia seeks to advance on the settlements of Krasny Lyman, Buhayikva, Barvinkove, Lyman, and Popsana. ____ American Ghost Drones for Ukraine Designed for Attack, Pentagon Says Newly disclosed Ghost drones that are part of Americas latest arms package for Ukraine were developed by the U.S. Air Force for attacking targets and are destroyed after a single use, the Pentagon said on Thursday (April 21). The United States and its allies have ramped up arms shipments to Kyiv ahead of Russias announced offensive in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow tries to salvage its nearly two-month old campaign. Ukrainian forces have used Western weapons including Stinger and Javelin missiles along with drones, like the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and U.S.made Switchblade, effectively to target Russian positions. The White House said earlier on Thursday that over 121 Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems would be provided to Ukraine as part of the new arms package. The Pentagon said the Ghost drones are well suited for the coming fight in Ukraines Donbass region, which officials have described as flat terrain reminiscent of the U.S. state of Kansas. In discussions with the Ukrainians again about their requirements, we believed that this particular system would very nicely suite their needs, particularly in eastern Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, without elaborating. Little else is known about the drones, including their range and precise capabilities, and Kirby declined to offer more details about them. Still, he did say they were designed mainly for striking targets. This unmanned aero-system is designed for tactical operations, in other words, largely but not exclusively to attack targets, he added. A small number of Ukrainians have been trained in the United States on how to operate Switchblade drones, single-use weapons that fly into their targets and detonate on impact. Kirby said training for the Ghost drones would be similar to the training on the Switchblade. But he declined to detail training plans or say how many Ukrainians would be trained on the new system. The Ghost drones have not yet been delivered to Ukraine. Earlier on Thursday, Kirby said the drones had been rapidly developed for Ukraine. But later, at a news conference, he clarified that development had started before the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. Kirby also mentioned U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host Ukraine-focused defense talks with allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on April 26, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Kirby did not say how many allies would participate. _____ Scholz Says Top Priority Is Avoiding NATO Confrontation With Russia NATO must avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia that could lead to a third world war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with Der Spiegel when asked about Germanys failure to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine. Scholz is facing growing criticism at home and abroad for his governments apparent reluctance to deliver heavy battlefield weapons, such as tanks and howitzers, to Ukraine. Asked in an extensive interview published on Friday why he thought delivering tanks could lead to nuclear war, he said there was no rule book that stated when Germany could be considered a party to the war in Ukraine. Thats why it is all the more important that we consider each step very carefully and coordinate closely with one another, he was quoted as saying. To avoid an escalation towards NATO is a top priority for me. Thats why I dont focus on polls or let myself be irritated by shrill calls. The consequences of an error would be dramatic. This was a departure from his previous statements on the topic, focusing on the fact that Germanys own militarys stocks were too depleted to send any heavy battlefield weapons while those the German industry has said it could supply could not easily be put into use. Asked why he would not explain his governments reluctance with the threat of nuclear war, he said such simplifications were not helpful. Separately, Scholz defended his decision not to immediately end German imports of Russian gas in response to what Russia calls a special military operation in Ukraine. I absolutely do not see how a gas embargo would end the war. If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin were open to economic arguments, he would never have begun this crazy war, he said. Secondly, you act as if this was about money. But its about avoiding a dramatic economic crisis and the loss of millions of jobs and factories that would never again open their doors. Scholz said this would have considerable consequences not just for Germany but also for Europe and the future financing of the reconstruction of Ukraine. _____ Yellen Says US to Give Ukraine Another $500 Million to Keep Government Running The United States will give Ukraine another $500 million in to help its government continue critical government operations, doubling the $500 million aid pledge by President Joe Biden in March, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday. Yellen told a news conference that she shared the aid plans during a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday. The needs of Ukraine are urgent, and we plan to deploy this direct aid to Ukraine as soon as possible, Yellen said. We know this is only the beginning of what Ukraine will need to rebuild, and Im committed to working with Congress and our international allies and partners to build on this support in the medium and long term. The new aid will help Ukraine pay government salaries, pensions, and fund social programs necessary to avoid a worsening of the humanitarian crisis caused by Russias invasion of its southwestern neighbor. Yellen said the $1 billion in direct aid will require the Biden administration to make a supplemental budget request to Congress and she was committed to asking lawmakers for further help for Ukraine. The Treasury officials statement came after G7 finance ministers on Wednesday announced that they had provided and pledged additional support to Ukraine exceeding $24 billion for 2022 and beyond, and vowed to do more as needed. _____ Ukrainian Troops Begin Training in Britain A small number of Ukrainian troops are being trained in Britain for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion as Prime Minister Boris Johnson steps up his military support to help Ukraine fight off its neighbor. The troops began training with armored patrol vehicles donated by Britain this month, Johnsons spokesman said. Britain is providing Ukraine with 120 armored patrol vehicles, including the Mastiff, which can be used as a reconnaissance or patrol vehicle. The spokesman said Britain, in conjunction with its allies, was providing new types of equipment to Ukrainian soldiers that they may not have used before. Members of the Ukrainian government visited a military camp in April on Britains Salisbury Plain where they were shown demonstrations of equipment, followed by discussions on how the government can supply weapons. Britains military has been training Ukrainian forces since 2014. They were withdrawn in February to avoid direct conflict with Russian forces and the possibility of NATO being drawn into the conflict. The United States military is also training Ukrainian troops on using howitzer artillery while Britain is training Ukrainians in Poland to use anti-aircraft weapons. ____ Satellite Images Allegedly Show Mass Grave Near Mariupol New satellite images from near the besieged southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol released on Thursday (April 21) were said to show scores of freshly-dug graves. The images from Maxar Technologies purport to show the gradual creation of a mass grave site next to an existing graveyard on the edge of Manhush, a town located around 20 km (12 miles) west of Mariupol. The company said the images, taken between March 19 and April 3, 2022, show around 200 new graves covering an area of around 85 square meters (approx. 914 sq ft). ___ Mariupol Mayor Appeals for Full Evacuation as Ukrainian Safe Corridors Falter The mayor of Mariupol appealed on Friday for the full evacuation of the devastated southern Ukrainian city which President Vladimir Putin says is now controlled by Russian forces. We need only one thingthe full evacuation of the population. About 100,000 people remain in Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on national television. Boichenko, who is no longer in Mariupol, did not provide any update on any fighting in or around the port city on the Sea of Azov. Putin said on Thursday that Russian troops had liberated Mariupol, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands since the start of what Moscow calls a special military operation. But a contingent of Ukrainian fighters are still holding out in the underground bunkers of the Azovstal steel complex, alongside hundreds of civilians in desperate conditions, according to Ukrainian authorities. Despite Boichenkos appeal, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine was not attempting to establish any humanitarian corridors for civilians on Friday due to the danger on the routes. To all those waiting to be evacuated: be patient, please hold on! she wrote on Facebook. Hopes of evacuating more civilians from the eastern town of Rubizhne, where there has been heavy fighting, were dashed by Russian artillery fire, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai claimed. Russia did not immediately comment on the remarks by Vereshchuk or Gaidai. Moscow has denied targeting civilians and blames Ukraine for the repeated collapse of efforts to arrange humanitarian corridors for civilians. ____ World Bank Estimates Ukraine Physical Damage at Roughly $60 Billion So Far Physical damage to Ukraines buildings and infrastructure from Russias invasion has reached roughly $60 billion and will rise further as the war continues, World Bank President David Malpass said on Thursday. Malpass told a World Bank conference on Ukraines financial assistance needs that the early estimate of narrow damage costs does not include the growing economic costs of the war to Ukraine. Of course the war is still ongoing, so those costs are rising, Malpass said. ____ Lithuanias President Calls for More NATO Troops NATO should increase its deployment of troops in Lithuania and elsewhere on Europes eastern flank following Russias invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanias president told Germanys foreign minister during a meeting in Vilnius on Friday. NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence Battalion should be transformed into at least the size of a brigade, while air defences should be improved, President Gitanas Nauseda said in a statement. He also called for a reinforcement of the Baltics only overland connection to the rest of the European Union, a narrow strip of land between Belarus and Russias Kaliningrad enclave known as the Suwalki corridor. ____ Australia Targets Putins Daughters, Russian Senators in Fresh Sanctions The Australian government has imposed sanctions and travel bans on two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovs daughter, it said in a statement on Friday. It follows similar measures undertaken by other Western nations including the United States and Britain, and takes the total number of people and entities in Russia subject to Australian sanctions to nearly 750. It did not name the two Putin daughters but the Russian president is known to have two adult daughters, Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova. The statement added President Putin and Lavrov were added to the sanctions list on Feb. 27. The fresh round of sanctions also targets 144 Russian senators who provided support to President Putin by approving the illegitimate recognition as independent the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine on Feb. 22, Australias foreign ministry said in its statement. ____ One Killed in Transport Plane Crash in Southern Ukraine: Local Authorities One person was killed and two were injured when a Ukrainian AN-26 transport plane crashed during a technical flight in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine on Friday, local authorities said. The Zaporizhzhia regional administration said that, according to preliminary and unconfirmed information, the plane hit an electricity pole and the engine caught fire. ____ Mariupol Mayor Says Lives of Citys Trapped Residents Are in Putins Hands Russian President Vladimir Putin alone can decide the fate of the 100,000 civilians still trapped in Ukraines war-torn Mariupol, Mayor Vadym Boichenko told Reuters on Thursday, saying that satellite images of a mass grave site were proof Russians were burying bodies to try to hide the death toll. Earlier Putin claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol after nearly two months of siege that has led to the most intense battles of the war and its worst humanitarian catastrophe. Under heavy bombardment, citizens who did not flee have suffered without electricity, heating, or water. Its important to understand that the lives that are still there, they are in the hands of just one personVladimir Putin. And all the deaths that will happen after now will be on his hands too, Boichenko said in an interview. Putin on Thursday said Russian troops had liberated Mariupol, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands since the start of what Moscow calls a special military operation. Russia denies targeting civilians. There were no plans to liberate the city. It was a plan of destruction, Boichenko said. He estimated that 90 percent of the southeastern port city had been damaged or destroyed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Today at all levels, we only talk about one thingthat we need a ceasefire, we need a full evacuation of the 100,000 Mariupol residents who are prisoners of Russian forces and we need to free all the people who are at Azovstal. ___ Ukraines Zelenskyy Urges World to Send More Heavy Weapons Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday his war-ravaged country needed more heavy weapons to defend itself from Russias invasion that threatened Ukraines very survival, and he asked Western nations to impose further sanctions. In 57 days of war, more than 1,000 Ukrainian towns were occupied by invaders who continue to destroy our cities, he said. Millions of people had to flee it is as if the whole of Portugal was forced to leave. He said the Russian army had committed atrocities, including in the port city of Mariupol, which has faced heavy bombardment. We are fighting not only for our independence, but for our survival, for our people so that they do not get killed, tortured, and raped, Zelenskyy said. The Russians have already kidnapped more than 500,000 people who were deported to the most distant regions of Russia, in remote camps. Moscow, which describes its actions in Ukraine as a special military operation, denies targeting civilians and rejects what Ukraine says is evidence of atrocities, saying Kyiv has staged them to undermine peace talks. The Ukrainian president asked Portugal to support a global embargo on Russian oil and to back Kyivs desire to join the European Union. Shortly after Zelenskyys speech, Portuguese parliament president Augusto Santos Silva said: Your countrys fight for freedom is Europes fight for freedom. European Council President Charles Michel said on Wednesday the EU would look for more ways to respond to Russias invasion. Jack Phillips, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report. Transit passengers wear masks as they ride a light rail train in Los Angeles, California, on July 16, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images) Los Angeles County Issues New Order Requiring Mask-Wearing on All Public Transit Los Angeles County has reinstated its mask mandate on public transport, meaning that people will again be required to wear face coverings at all indoor public transportation hubs, including airports and bus terminals, officials have said. The order, which will take effect on Friday, dictates that individuals aged 2 and older, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, must wear face coverings on public transit within the county. This includes mask-wearing on buses, trains, taxis, subways, and ride-hailing service vehicles. Masking continues to be also required in indoor transportation hubs including airport and bus terminals, train and subway stations, seaport or other indoor port terminals, or any other indoor area that serves as a transportation hub. The mandate does not apply to passengers onboard planes, however, they will be required to wear them once they have disembarked from their flight. Earlier this week, major U.S. airlines and other travel companies dropped mask requirements on planes, trains, and other forms of public transportation after a federal judge struck down the CDCs mask mandate. The Justice Department has said it is appealing the ruling. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told reporters during a briefing Thursday that the new order is based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions assessment that mask-wearing in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health. That resonates with us, Ferrer said. We think and agree that public transit settings and public transportation hubs that are indoors are places where A) Theres a lot of mingling; B) Theyre often crowded; and C) In some of those settings, its really hard to have adequate ventilation. As soon as CDC determined that it was important to keep this masking requirement in place, we went ahead and aligned with the CDC, she added. The Los Angeles County Public Health said it will reassess the indoor mask-wearing requirement when community transmission of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County reaches a moderate level, or when the CDC decides that mask-wearing on public transport is no longer necessary, or within 30 days of the order being issues, whichever occurs first. Prior to the new masking order, LA Metro announced this week that masks on all Metro bus and rail lines in LA County would be strongly recommended, but no longer required. On Thursday, LA Metro said it will comply with the new order starting on Friday. The latest decision in Los Angeles County comes after a World Health Organization official on April 20 said the health body recommends that people continue to wear face coverings in public, even if there are no mandates in place. Dr. Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies at the WHOs Pan American Health Organization, said at a briefing with reporters and other WHO officials that masks are highly effective at reducing transmission of COVID-19 and wearing them is still recommended. He added that the WHO advises that the general public should wear a nonmedical mask indoors, or in outdoor settings where physical distancing of at least one meter cannot be maintained. A person fills out a form after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination dose in New Orleans, La., on Aug. 14, 2021. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Louisiana House Passes Bill to Ban State, Local COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Louisianas House of Representatives has passed legislation to ban state and local governments from requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccine to enter public areas and private businesses, or to receive services and goods from them. The measure now moves to the states Senate after a vote of 6431 in the House late on Wednesday. According to the text of the legislation, House Bill 990 (pdf), the ban does not apply to any COVID-19 vaccination mandate that is required in accordance with federal law or regulation. State Rep. Thomas Pressly, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said the measure doesnt interfere with businesses own decisions on whether they would require proof of vaccination. State Rep. Beryl Amedee had offered an amendment (pdf) to the bill to remove a provision that reads: Nothing in this Part shall be interpreted or construed to prohibit or otherwise impede the rights of a private business or other private entity wishing to implement any policy, procedure, or requirement regarding COVID-19 vaccinations. She said removing it does not impact the overall intent of the bill and that keeping that section is problematic because it greenlights, endorses, and promotes religious and medical discrimination in the private sector, reported The Center Square. The amendment failed by a vote of 2171. Amedee voted against the bill although she was supportive of the overall measure. Her amendment would have also inserted the words valid and enforceable in referring to federal laws, in Section B of the bill. The section currently reads: The provisions of this part shall not apply to any COVID-19 vaccination mandate that is required in accordance with federal law or regulation. The amended version would have read: The provisions of this part shall not apply to any COVID-19 vaccination mandate that is required in accordance with valid and enforceable federal law or regulation. Amedee said that the federal government delegated enforcement of the vaccine mandates to private businesses, and the mandates are now being overturned, reported The Center Square. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards had last year vetoed legislation regarding vaccine mandates. It is unclear whether he would veto Presslys bill if it passes the state Legislature. Man Named Formal Suspect in Case of Madeleine McCann LISBONPortuguese prosecutors said on Thursday a man had been formally identified as a suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 15 years ago. It is the first time Portuguese prosecutors have identified an official suspect in the case since Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleines parents, were named suspects in 2007. They were later cleared. Madeleine disappeared from her bedroom on May 3, 2007 during a family holiday in the Algarve region while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the resort of Praia da Luz. Parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann, Kate (L) and Gerry McCann (R) pose with an artists impression of how their daughter might look now at the age of nine ahead of a press conference in central London on May 2, 2012. (Leon Neal/AFP/GettyImages) Prosecutors in Faro, Algarves main city, did not publicly name the man but said in a statement he was identified as a suspect by German authorities at its request. German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead and that convicted child abuser and drug trader Christian Brueckner was likely responsible for it. But, since then, Brueckner, 45, has not been charged with any crime related to the disappearance. He is behind bars in Germany for raping a woman in the same area of the Algarve region where Madeleine went missing in 2007. Brueckner has denied being involved in the disappearance of McCann. Prosecutors said the investigation has been carried out with cooperation from British and German authorities. Brueckner lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007 and burgled hotels and holiday flats, according to court documents seen by Reuters in 2020. He also falsified passports and was caught stealing diesel from a Portuguese harbor. Portugals Judiciary Police handed over documents with hundreds of names related to Madeleines case, including Christian Brueckner to British authorities in 2012, according to the force. A picture of Madeline McCann is placed at Lisbon airport in Portugal on May 8, 2007. (Nacho Doce/Reuters) German police received their first tip-off linking Brueckner to the Madeleines case in 2013. The reasons that led Portuguese prosecutors to identify a suspect now are not clear but it could be related to Portugals 15-year statute of limitations for crimes with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years or more. Next month will mark 15 years since Madeleine disappeared. By Catarina Demony A U.S. Army soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his military working dog jump off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior 2011 on March 1, 2011. (Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez / U.S. Air Force) Military Focus on Equity Strives for Mediocrity Commentary The U.S. militarys tradition of excellence and achievement faces strain amid the push for racial, sexual, and gender equityaka mediocrity. In line with President Joe Bidens directive, the 2022 Department of Defense Equity Action Plan, released this month, shows where its priorities are: labeling minority-owned defense contracting companies as disadvantaged instead of based on individual merit and mainstreaming transgender service personnel despite ample evidence of their poor deployability. Is it inequitable to say that age or obesity standards are racist or discriminatory, considering that statistics show that black Americans are 51 percent more likely to be obese than whites? Studies have shown that equity via multiculturalism can result in stereotyping and in some sense prototypical members of their constituent groups as more representative of that group than people who are non-prototypical members (just as people perceive a robin as more of a bird than an ostrich is). The military has standards for a reason. Failing to live up to those standards is a life-or-death matter. These high standards have given lower-income individuals from historically discriminated groups, such as blacks and Hispanics, a way out of their disadvantage. The late Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Colin Powell, exemplifies this tradition. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State Colin Powell is seen at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 4, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Powell strove his way up the ladder via hard work and determination in the face of racism and poverty at home. He lived the best traditions of the U.S. military by refusing to blame others, having a vision, ignoring naysayers, showing optimism, and not letting others control his destiny. He was a living example of meritocracy in action. [R]esearch indicates that blinding practices may be more effective at combating gender bias than racial and ethnic bias, said a 2021 RAND Corporation report on equity and diversity in the U.S. Air Force. Biden appears to put politicization of the military at a higher priority than modernizing the force, which he seems intent on curtailing through budget cuts to the Navy and Air Force. This takes place during Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Chinas military buildup in East Asia, amid which the administration appears intent on ceding advantages to Americas enemies. The drive for equity in the military accomplishes the exact opposite. It works to blame others for ones shortcomings. It also refuses to acknowledge that certain persons arent cut out for the military. Should people who are math-challenged such as this writer be allowed into the military or be allowed to rise into math- and engineering-intensive positions they arent qualified for? Equity ideologues rely on overly broad statistics without quantifiable alternative explanations, apart from ideological ones, that presume discrimination is behind everything. Thats known as the logical fallacy of begging the question. I always wanted to join the Navy, but that wasnt to be. I tried signing up, but my command of advanced mathematics wasnt up to par, and I bombed the officer candidate test in 2006. Equity says that had I been a black or Hispanic man, or a woman, I might have been admitted even though I wasnt qualified. Vice President Kamala Harris said in a post on her Twitter account during the 2020 presidential campaign that minorities are in need of an artificial hand-up due to historical discrimination. Equity works to keep others down to achieve its artificial construct. Our young service personnel should strive to the standard shown by General Powell. We shouldnt dumb down testing or standards so that unqualified individuals can compete on a playing field they werent qualified to be on in the first place. It places an asterisk in the minds of young minority service personnel, saying, Did I get the job because of my talent or because of the box I fit into? Were individuals, not a collective whose futures are etched in stone by virtue of the color of our skin or our genitalia. Equity results in lowered standards and the promotion of mediocrity at the expense of excellence. Reduced physical fitness standards for women in the U.S. Army are one such example. In combat situations, being physically and mentally fit is a matter of life or death. Equity may sound like equality, but in the hands of Biden, his team, and the professoriate dictating the terms from the faculty lounge, it has become its functional opposite. This drives a dagger into any hope of unifying around the foundational principle of equality, Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez wrote. Equality calls for government to treat Americans equally, a standard that, when aspired to, has solved many vicissitudes, but when ignored, has led to calamity. Equity, under the corrupted new meaning, calls for government to dispense unequal treatment in order to achieve equal outcomes. Thus, the Biden administrations pursuit of equity increases racial prejudices instead of reducing them. The push for equity looks at the lack of equality of outcome in the military. It assumes its due to racial or gender bias instead of a lack of aptitude among the applicants from the communities being studied. The push to minimize the difference between males and females falls into the ideological trap of refusing to acknowledge that men and women are different. Males and females respond to situations differently and shouldnt be shoehorned into situations based on statistics rooted in arbitrary ideological constructs of academia. Merit combined with the needs of the armed forces to successfully defeat Americas adversaries are the only criteria that should matter. Equity should be called what it is: enforced mediocrity. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Chinese leader Xi Jinping and New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern shake hands before the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on April 1, 2019. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Pool/Getty Images) New Zealand PM Stands Firm on Mature Relationship With Beijing New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stood by her governments relationship with Beijing, saying that there was still a need to work together in areas of mutual interest, despite its growing assertiveness in the region. China is a very important trading partner for us, but its also a mature relationship for us, Ardern told the BBC. Where there are areas we can work together, we willbut there will always be areas in which we will not necessarily agree and when those areas arise, we are very forthright and clear on our position. Ardern questioned the need for the Solomon Islands security deal, which has given the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) grounds to establish a military presence in the region. Australia and New Zealand both have heeded the call of the Solomons for support during recent disruption, she said. And weve again highlighted that should any extended need exist, we are there to help and support. So what gap remains that requires such an agreement with China? Ardern also said she didnt believe the security deal was a wake-up call because she had been pointing out that they were in a highly contested region for some time. The world is changing around us and our region is a manifestation of that, she said. On our specific relationship with China, we have a fiercely independent foreign policy and Im proud of the position New Zealand takes. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promotes the COVID-19 booster vaccine at the new vaccination centre at the Cloud in Auckland, New Zealand on Feb. 4, 2022. (Goodall/Getty Images) Ardern has faced criticism for her failure to speak strongly on opposing the Chinese regime on issues such as Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and the military expansion in the South China Sea. Chen Weijian, an editor with U.S.-based pro-democracy publication, Beijing Spring, previously said New Zealand had tried to walk a tightrope between the West and the CCP. It attempts to maintain a strong trade relationship with Beijing while keeping its values of respecting human rights, Chen told The Epoch Times, noting that this would not work. The termshuman rights abuse or genocideare no different to the Chinese Communist Party; they both mean New Zealand is no longer on its side. Under the former Labour coalition government, New Zealand had a stronger public stance against the Chinese regime. Winston Peters, the former foreign minister and leader of New Zealand First, the centrist party that formed a coalition with Labour, was consistently outspoken on Beijings transgressions, including its takeover of Hong Kong, its expansion into the South Pacific, and foreign interference. However, following the 2020 landslide victory for the Labour Party, which saw New Zealand First party ousted, the government has shifted in its position. Ministers from other nations in the Five Eyes alliance described New Zealand as being an ethical mess for their soft stance on Beijing. While Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta warned its exporters in 2021 to diversify away from China, the Ardern government upgraded its free trade agreement with China in January. Daniel Y. Teng and Dorothy Li contributed to this article. Parents and students gather in protest of a school district's policies at the Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District offices in Placentia, Calif., on Jan. 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) North Carolina Foundation Lobbies State Legislature to Enact Parental Bill of Rights A parental Bill of Rights has been drafted in North Carolina to give parents more authority over their childrens public school education as well as to encourage legislative action. The John Locke Foundation (JLF)a nonprofit research institute in Raleigh, North Carolina, that examines issues of freedom, personal responsibility, and limited constitutional governmentwrote the potential contract between parents and school boards to sway lawmakers who could guarantee parental collaboration with school boards through legislation. The proposed agreement comes in the wake of two years of antagonistic school board meetings that began during the pandemic, not only in North Carolina but also throughout the United States, as parents discovered that many boards had approved indoctrination curricula that veered off the path of teaching basic math, science, and English skills, while simultaneously imposing medical policies such as mask mandates that hampered childrens learning progress. The pandemic produced an unexpected but welcome parental rights revolution in education, and were seeing that in North Carolina and nationwide, Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education (CEE) with JLF, told The Epoch Times. JLF wrote the Parental Bill of Rights to supplement parents with resources and information on ways to become better advocates for their children, Stoops said. Because for many years, parents were told to leave education to the so-called experts rather than to taking an active role, he said. What we wanted to do at the John Locke Foundation was to articulate at a very basic level the rights parents should have in order to be an effective advocate for their children. Its goal in publishing the document, Stoops said, is to sway lawmakers into incorporating the framework of the document into law. We will call upon the North Carolina General Assembly to affirm their commitment to families by ratifying a parents Bill of Rights that retains some or all of the rights outlined, Stoops said. Bob Luebke, a senior fellow with the JLFs education arm, told Carolina Journalthe nonprofit news arm of JLFthat parents have become frustrated with what they see and dont see in the classrooms. They are tired of being marginalized, Luebke said. Parents are standing up and reminding everyone of their right to control their childs education and their commitment to working alongside teachers and administrators to give their children the best possible education. Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Courtesy of the John Locke Foundation.) The Bill of Rights There are six rights listed in the document that assert the parents role in their childrens education. According to the bill, a parent should have the right to direct their childs physical, mental, and emotional health and how and where their child is educated. In addition, a parent should have the right to transparency in schools, the document states, and a safe and nurturing classroom and school environment. The parent should be able to be actively engaged in their childrens education, as well as have the right to recourse and accountability of school districts, administrators, and teachers. Stoops said the document corresponds with the intent of previous legislation Republicans had proposed in the North Carolina General Assembly in 2021, which was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. Conspiracy-Laden Politics In 2021, Cooper vetoed House Bill 324, which would have prohibited teachings in the K12 school system that are contrary to the equality and rights of all persons. Cooper called the bill calculated, conspiracy-laden politics, echoing many Democrats at the time who alleged that critical race theory (CRT) didnt exist. Though CRT is a Marxist philosophy that claims society is a class struggle between oppressors and the oppressedspecifically labeling white people as the oppressors and all other races as the oppressedfor many teachers and parents the phrase has come to encompass a more expansive trend that incorporates not only issues of race but also themes of sexuality. Legislators prioritized this last session but didnt get it passed because of our Democratic governor, but I believe were going to see in the upcoming session a revival of the legislation that wasnt able to pass last year, as well as new legislation to help North Carolina parents, Stoops said. Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a former state superintendent of schools, vetoed a parental rights bill on April 15 that would have, among other things, given parents authority over their childrens pronouns and access to education-related information regarding the child, Fox News reported. During that time, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, vetoed proposed parental rights legislation that would have granted parents similar protections, 41 KSHB reported. Earlier in April, Georgia lawmakers approved a parental rights bill that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign. Many of these bills were propelled by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signing of the Parental Rights in Education Act in March 2022, whichin addition to prohibiting discussions on complex sexual topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity in Kindergarten through third gradegives parents more of a voice in their childrens education. In other states such as Iowa and Indiana, similar bills have been proposed. Parental Bill of Rights in other states have tended to be tailored to those states needs, Stoops said. While we certainly took into consideration what other states are doing, this was really written with North Carolina parents in mind. I Havent Given the Government the Right to Co-Parent Kelly Mann, grassroots outreach coordinator with the JLF, met with parents and noted their concerns to provide input to Stoops and Luebke, who wrote the Bill of Rights using the feedback provided. Mann, a parent herself, said she shared in the frustration with the other parents because, before she worked at JLF, she had already been advocating for parental rights in education after witnessing the unchecked power school boards were exercising over parents and children that came to light during the pandemic. I havent given the government the right to co-parent with me, nor do I intend to, Mann told The Epoch Times. Mann said the Parental Bill of Rights is the fruition of months of meetings with local community advocates like Stephanie Mitchell, who leads the parental rights advocacy group Take Back Our Schools in Guilford County. The Parental Bill of Rights comes as many parents who have never before run for office have begun running for local school boards, including in Guilford County, where Mitchell leads an effort that has brought parental rights candidates into the race. We all started talking about what we are most discouraged about before deciding that it needed to be put into a public statement for elected officials to know that as parents, these are our concerns because our rights are being infringed upon across the state, Mann said. Mann said parents were especially fired up when the National School Boards Association (NSBA) wrote a letter to President Joe Biden comparing parents at school board meetings to domestic terrorists committing hate crimes, a letter which days later prompted U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to issue a memo directing federal law enforcement to investigate the alleged disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against teachers and school leaders. Following this, several state school board associations discontinued membership with the NSBA despite its apology and rescinding of the letter. We felt like our voices had been smothered and discredited, Mann said. For parents who feel theyve been marginalized, Mann said she hopes the Parental Bill of Rights renews a feeling of support and validation for the struggles theyve had over concerns largely chastised as conspiracy theories in many media outlets. Here is something we can all get behind that will improve the situation, protect our rights as parents, and protect our children in the coming future, Mann said. Kelly Mann, grassroots outreach coordinator for the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Courtesy of the John Locke Foundation.) Ohio Jury Finds Doctor Not Guilty of Murder in Fentanyl Case: Columbus Dispatch An Ohio jury on Wednesday found Dr. William Husel, who had been accused of giving patients lethal doses of fentanyl, not guilty of 14 counts of murder, the Columbus Dispatch newspaper reported. Husel, a former doctor with the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System, was accused in Franklin County of purposely causing the death of 14 patients between 2015 and 2018. He faced 15 years to life in prison for each count. The jury, which initially could not come to an agreement, deliberated for a week after the seven-week trial ended. Husels defense attorneys argued that the doses of fentanyla potent painkillerthat he administered to patients was intended to comfort them and that death for critically ill patients was imminent, the Dispatch reported. Prosecutors told the jury that Husels actions hastened the death of the patients. Husel faces more than 10 civil lawsuits from the families of patients who died while under his care, while several families have settled suits worth millions of dollars, the Dispatch reported. Husel was part of a wave of U.S. doctors charged for their role in a public health crisis that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said led to a record 47,600 U.S. opioid-related overdose deaths in 2017. The CDC reported that more than 75,000 people died from opioids overdoses in the 12-month period ending in April 2021. Fentanyl, often given for intense pain associated with cancer, is 100 times more powerful than morphine. By Brendan OBrien Palestinian protestors walk around during clashes with Israeli security forces at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City April 22, 2022. (Ammar Awad/Reuters) Palestinians Clash With Israeli Police at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, 57 Injured JERUSALEMAt least 57 Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli police at Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday, Palestinian medics said, the latest outbreak in a recent upsurge of violence at a site revered by Muslims and Jews alike. Israeli police said they intervened when hundreds of people hurled rocks and fireworks and drew close to the Western Wall, where Jewish worship was underway. A policewoman was injured by a stone and a tree was set alight by the fireworks, police said. Reuters witnesses said police entered the compound after the morning Ramadan prayers and fired rubber-tipped bullets and stun grenades at a crowd, some of whom were throwing rocks. Police also used a drone to drop tear gas, the mosque director said. An upsurge of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in recent weeks has raised fears of a relapse into a broader conflict, like last years Gaza war. Since March Israeli forces have killed at least 29 Palestinians in West Bank raids, the Palestinian health ministry said, and a series of deadly Arab street attacks have killed 14 people in Israel, Israeli police and medics said. Last Friday, more than 150 Palestinians and several Israeli police officers were injured in similar clashes at Al-Aqsa, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said. Tensions this year have been heightened in part by the Muslim month of Ramadan coinciding with the Jewish celebration of Passover, which brings more Muslim and Jewish visitors to the compound, the holiest in Judaism. Palestinians accuse Israel of restricting Muslim worship at Al-Aqsa mosque, situated at a compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount, while not doing enough to enforce a long-standing ban on Jewish prayer there. Israel rejects this accusation. As in previous years, Israel is halting Jewish visits during the final days of Ramadan, starting Friday, an Israeli official said. Traditionally, Muslim attendance at the compound increases during the final days of the fasting month. Al-Aqsa compound sits atop the Old City plateau of East Jerusalem, which Israel captured and annexed in a 1967 war. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a state they seek to establish in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Police make an arrest on the 21st day of the trucker protest against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, in downtown Ottawa on Feb. 17, 2022. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Parliamentarians Were Working Behind the Scenes to Repeal State of Emergency Order: Senator A movement by MPs and senators was underway to have the public order emergency to end the trucker protest repealed before the Liberal government revoked it on Feb. 23, says Sen. Marilou McPhedran. Just to point out that the day on which the declaration was ended by the government, there was already a movement among a significant number of senators and MPs, including some Liberals, to come up with the requisite signatures to begin the process of ending the declarations and that we didnt end up having to do that, McPhedran said on April 14. The government was well aware that we were fairly far along in creating that joint letter that was required under the particular section, and instead there was the decision to suspend. Under section 59 of the Emergencies Act, a motion signed by at least 10 senators or 20 MPs can be brought before Parliament and, if adopted, the emergency is revoked. The Senate was in the midst of debates on the invocation of the act after the motion was adopted with NDP support in the House of Commons on Feb 21, in what was essentially a vote of confidence for the government. McPhedran, who was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016, made the remarks at the end of a panel discussion with human rights activists and experts on Parliament Hill marking the 40th anniversary of adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canadian Sen. Marilou McPhedran in Ottawa on Nov. 16, 2016. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) The Liberal government used the Emergencies Act to clear the Ottawa protest demanding the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, with the result that some charter rights were violated, including the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure due to the unprecedented freezing of financial accounts of protesters without a court order. McPhedran commented on the governments Feb. 14 invocation of the Emergencies Act after one of the panelists addressed a reporters question as to why none of the panelists had raised the issue of the first-time use of the act, especially given that a civil liberties group is taking the government to court. It did strike me as a kind of extraordinary thing to occur that it was not invoked in circumstances that may have merited and then was invoked, law professor John Packer, director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa, said during the panel discussion. I would characterize it more as a kind of political reaction at a very last moment circumstance, and then as you know, actually withdrawn even before it was properly debated in Parliament. Packer said he welcomes the invocation of the act being challenged in court by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, noting that Canadians need a better understanding of their charter rights. Its very core in human rights to rebel against excessive abuse of authority as a result, or a combination of a number of freedomsfreedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of movementand understanding the relation of these and the very notion of freedom is something that clearly not enough Canadians understand, neither in our government nor in the public square, he said. I do welcome if there is more specific articulation from the judiciary on this. By the time the government invoked the act on Feb. 14, the border blockades in Surrey, B.C. and Windsor, Ont. had already been cleared by police or dispersed without police action shortly afterward, as in the case of Coutts, Alta., and Emerson, Man. The powers obtained through the invocation of the act were only used on the weekend of Feb. 18 to clear the civil disobedience protest involving hundreds of trucks parked in downtown Ottawa when the government compelled reluctant towing companies to remove vehicles, swore police in en masse, and designated some areas as no-go zones. By the end of the weekend, downtown Ottawa was cleared. At a press conference on Feb. 21, Trudeau was asked why he was maintaining the emergency. We dont want to keep it in place a single day longer than necessary. But even though the blockades are lifted across border openings right now, even though things seem to be resolving very well in Ottawa, this state of emergency is not over. There continues to be real concerns about the coming days, he said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson arriving for a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London on March 29, 2022. (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Partygate: Boris Johnson to Be Investigated Over Alleged Contempt of Parliament A third investigation will be launched in relation to lockdown-breaching gatherings in the center of the UK government as MPs voted to refer Prime Minister Boris Johnson to a parliamentary committee on Thursday. The motion, proposed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and six other opposition parliamentary party leaders, asked the House of Common to note that some of Johnsons assertions in the House on the party allegations appear to amount to misleading the House, and to refer the matter to the Committee of Privileges so it can consider whether Johnsons conduct amounted to a contempt of the House. The privileges committee is also asked not to begin substantive consideration of the matter until an ongoing police investigation into 12 of the gatherings is concluded. The motion was passed without opposition after the government withdrew its own motion proposing a delay to the referral until after the police investigation and a Cabinet Office internal investigation into the matter. Johnson has been mired in the so-called Partygate crisis since Dec. 1, 2021, after it was reported rule-breaking parties had taken place in Downing Street in 2020 during CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus lockdowns. Johnson assured Parliament that no CCP virus rules were broken before more partying allegations dripped through media headlines and led to two investigations into gatherings in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, angering the public, many of whom couldnt visit their family members in hospitals or nursing homes or attend funerals of family or friends due to the lockdown rules. Johnson was allegedly present at six gatherings and has so far been fined once by the police over a birthday get-together for him, along with his wife Carrie Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. Starmers motion cited several examples of Johnsons assertions in Parliament, including one made on Dec. 1, 2021, when the prime minister said all guidance was followed in No. 10, and assertions he made a week later saying he had been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken, and that the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times. Chris Bryant, the Labour chair of the privileges committee, said he will recuse himself from the inquiry because he had previously commented on the matter. Bryant said he would have refrained from making comments but he didnt expect the matter would be referred to either of the two watchdog committees he chairs. Bryant said that he believes Parliament had been misled by Johnson as it got a false impression from his assertions, but the question is whether that was intentional. He later told MPs that its important non of the other six committee members are pressured by their colleagues in Parliament. Since he received a fine on April 12, Johnson has repeatedly apologised to Parliament and the public, saying it didnt occur to him that a gathering in the Cabinet Room just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy could amount to a breach of the rules. But MPs from opposition parties and one MP from the Conservative Party insisted on Tuesday that he should resign. The Metropolitan Police on Thursday said it will not provide updates on any further Partygate fines until after the local elections, which are set to be held on May 5, but Downing Street has indicated that it will still say whether Johnson or the Cabinet secretary are fined before the local elections. A Number 10 spokesman said: Weve committed before to being transparent and to letting people know if that were the case. That hasnt changed. But specifically, the announcement made todayits clearly a matter for the Met Police, its their investigation and its an independent matter for them. He said that he was not aware of any conversations between Downing Street and Scotland Yard preceding the Mets announcement. PA Media contributed to this report. Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez announces a new expert advisory group on online safety as a next step in developing legislation to address harmful online content, during a press conference in Ottawa on March 30, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Peter Menzies: Twitter Joins Wave of Opposition to Liberals Attempts to Regulate Internet Online harms consultations shrouded in secrecy Commentary Canadas first efforts to create an Online Harms Act were described by Twitter as alarmingly similar to those employed by China, North Korea, and Iran. The proposal by the government of Canada to allow the (proposed) Digital Safety Commissioner to block websites is drastic, states Twitters 2021 response to the Department of Heritages proposed legislation. People around the world have been blocked from accessing Twitter and other services in a similar manner as the one proposed by Canada by multiple authoritarian governments (China, North Korea, and Iran for example) under the false guise of online safety, impeding peoples rights to access information online, it continued. Further, there are no checks or balances on the commissioners authority, such as the requirement of judicial authorization or warnings to service providers. The government should be extremely mindful of setting such a precedent if Canada wants to be seen as a champion of human rights, a leader in innovation and in net neutrality globally, it must also set the highest standards of clarity, transparency and due process in its own legislation. Twitters response was one of many that Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez and his officials were trying to keep secret, but were obtained by law professor Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa through an Access to Information request. What he found was a far more expansive condemnation of the governments plan than had previously been assumed based on the what we heard report posted by the Heritage Department earlier this year. The governments determination to keep the consultations submissions secret until compelled to disclose them by law eviscerates its claims to support open, transparent government, Geist, the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, wrote on his blog. There is simply no good reason to use secrecy as the default for a government consultation. The proposed legislation was based on recommendations made in a 2021 Public Policy Forum report funded by the Department of Heritage, then under the guidance of Steven Guilbeault, who is now environment and climate change minister. Calling itself the Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression, it recommended the establishment of a new regulator to oversee content on the internet. The Digital Safety Commission it envisioned would have patrolled the internet for content it deemed to be offensive and had the ability to impose 24-hour takedown notices and swiftly order internet service providers to block access to websites. The pushback on the recommendations was very close to being unanimously negative, as it turns out. And, while several cabinet ministers including Rodriguez, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly continue to express concern regarding what they believe is widespread disinformation spread on the internet, the submissions from tech companies indicate the problem may not be as severe as the government believes. Using the first quarter of 2021 as an example, TikTok stated in its submission that less than 1 percent of videos posted violated its community guidelines and 91.3 percent of those were removed prior to anyone filing a complaint. Michele Austin, Twitters public policy manager for Canada and the USA, made the point that sometimes censorship of content deemed problematic simply draws more attention to it. Actioning some content can cause it to spread not just on its own terms, but through other channels such as traditional media in their coverage of the actioned content, Austin wrote in the preamble to Twitters submission. Once this content is amplified out in the wild it can take on a life of its own, where individuals may come to believe it based on their personal beliefs rather than whether or not it is true. Sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing. As sensible as that approach might be, its unlikely the Trudeau governments obsession with speech and the internet is going to fade away quickly. It has already introduced an Online Streaming Act that grants the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) dominion over the global internet and authority to regulate all audio and visual content on it, including posts on social media. An act to amend and broaden the nations hate speech law and give the Canadian Human Rights Commission authority over internet speech is already underway, and an Online News Act that brings news organizations of which the government approves within the scope of the CRTC was tabled in the House of Commons two weeks ago. And, undaunted by the wave of opposition, the online harms legislation is still being worked on. This time, Rodriguez has formed yet another expert panel tomy words, not hishelp him find a way to suppress speech without anyone noticing. Hopefully theyll come up with something a little less North Korean than the previous panels recommendations. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Raquel Rosario Sanchez, 32, had claimed the University of Bristol had failed to protect her from harassment by trans rights activists. (Rod Minchin, PA) PhD Student Loses Trans Activist Bullying Legal Case Against Bristol University A feminist PhD student has lost her legal case against a university after claiming she suffered harassment and bullying from trans rights activists. In February, Raquel Rosario-Sanchez announced that she was suing Bristol University after claiming she was subjected to a two-year hate campaign over her involvement with the feminist campaign group Womans Place UK. She said both her mental health and her academic performance suffered as a result of online attacks that began in February 2018. Sanchez, 30, who is from the Dominican Republic, had been doing a Ph.D. on women and violence at Bristol Universitys Centre for Gender and Violence Research. According to the judgment, the case was concerned with whether the University owed Sanchez a duty of care to protect her from the actions of trans rights activists who disagreed with her decision to Chair a meeting of gender critical feminists and whether the University owed her a duty of care in the operation of its complaints and disciplinary policies. Activists had protested against a talk she gave and had labelled her a terf, a controversial term meaning trans-exclusionary radical feminist. The acronym TERF has been thrown at the author JK Rowling after she made comments deemed transphobic for her views on sex and gender. The hearing heard that one student, known only as AA, faced disciplinary proceedings for alleged harassment. But the disciplinary proceedings were later dropped due to AAs worsening mental health in 2019. In one social media post, AA wrote: Im gonna eat pizza in bed. And with every bite my solid mass of queerness will grow denser. all the better to punch them terfs with. Another social media user suggested throwing eggs at those attending the meeting and slapping an attendee on the face. However, the disciplinary proceedings were later dropped in spring 2019 due to AAs worsening mental health. Judge Alex Ralton dismissed Sanchezs claim and said that his ruling focused on the universitys managed complaints rather than gender rights. Generally, it is not for me, in this case, to pass judgment on the acceptability of the things said and done and whether the line beyond acceptable free speech was crossed but I do observe that the threat or use of violence such as the threat of throwing eggs or a punch obviously crosses that line and amounts to abhorrent and deplorable conduct, said Ralton. The university accepts that Ms. Rosario Sanchez was the victim of unacceptable behaviour, particularly in the form of AAs threat of violence. However, it was apparent in evidence that Ms. Rosario Sanchez perceived behaviour as unacceptable to her which may nonetheless be permissible in the form of free speechalbeit offensive and rudesuch as the use of the acronym terf, he added. The judge added that Sanchez was not carefully informed and guided about the disciplinary process and the information was delivered in somewhat piecemeal fashion. Ms. Rosario Sanchezs complaints could have been progressed in a much better fashion, and this has already been recognised by the university, but there is no evidence of any malice on the part of any member of staff of the university towards Ms. Rosario Sanchez and there is no evidence to support any inference of a strategy to close Ms. Rosario Sanchez down rather than AA, said Ralton. A Bristol University spokeswoman said: From the outset, we have sought to remain neutral in our management of this conflict and to follow our internal complaints procedure. While we are pleased the judge found this to be the case, dismissing all claims made against us, we acknowledge that this has been an incredibly challenging period for everyone involved. While I have known the truth all along, I cannot emphasise enough how at peace I feel knowing that this dark cloud that has hung over my head every day is now gone, said Sanchez. I did not deserve years of intimidation for daring to chair a feminist meeting or for defending sex-based feminism. Nobody does, she added. PA Media contributed to this report. A sign on a door asks people to wear masks in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 15, 2022. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Philadelphia to End Indoor Mask Mandate Days After Reinstating It Philadelphia city health officials announced a reversal of an indoor mask mandate that recently went into effect in the city. The Philadelphia health department said the Board of Health voted on Thursday to rescind the mandate, which city officials say will be lifted Friday morning. Due to decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts, the city will move to strongly recommend masks in indoor public spaces as opposed to a mask mandate, a department spokesperson said in a statement late on Thursday. Given the latest data, the [Board of Health] voted to rescind the mandate. The department said more information would be provided on Friday. The citys acting health commissioner, Cheryl Bettigole, told the Board of Health at a public meeting Thursday night that hospitalizations have decreased by about 25 percent in recent daysfrom 82 patients to 65 patientsreported 6 ABC. According to a transcript of the meeting seen by the outlet, Bettigole said that the situation is good news. She said she was really very happy to say it appears that we no longer need to mandate masks in Philadelphia and that we can actually move to simply a strong recommendation. Philadelphia had previously announced it was reinstating the indoor mask mandate on April 11, citing rising cases of COVID-19. The temporary emergency order (pdf), which went into effect on April 18, made Philadelphia the first major U.S. city to reimpose indoor mask requirements. Officials had said the order came amid a more than 50 percent rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city compared to the previous 10 days. In response, several businesses and residents on April 16 filed a state court lawsuit to overturn the mandate. Philadelphia, which has about 1.5 million residents, had ended its earlier indoor mask mandate March 2, amid a decline in cases after the Omicron variant wave in January. Most cities and states in the United States have recently been loosening restrictions, including mask mandates, despite new COVID-19 variants. Some business owners and residents in Pennsylvania are suing to end the mask mandate reinstated by Philadelphia health officials. (William Huang/The Epoch Times) Philadelphias Indoor Mask Mandate Going in Wrong Direction: Attorney King Seventeen plaintiffs including local businesses and residents filed a lawsuit on April 16 in Pennsylvanias Commonwealth Court, seeking to overturn Philadelphias renewed indoor mask mandate. The citys health officials reinstated indoor masking on April 18, after previously ending the policy on March 2. Attorney Thomas W. King III, who represents the plaintiffs, told The Epoch Times that he believes health officials dont have the authority to impose such a mandate. They met in a room in the board of healthcare, and they came up with their own standards. So theyve invented some standards. And theyve gotten rid of the CDC. And when they did that, in our opinion, they didnt follow the law, King said. Philadelphia is going in the wrong direction with the rest of the world. Philadelphia health officials say they want to renew the indoor mask mandate to halt a surge in COVID-19 infections. According to their plans, the mask mandate will only be lifted when two of three conditions are met: The average daily case count of reported COVID-19 cases for the prior 7 days is less than 100, hospitalizations related to COVID-19 cases are under 50, the average daily case count for reported COVID-19 cases has not risen by more than 50 percent in the prior 10 days. Last week, Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate, with the citys top health official saying she wanted to forestall a potential new wave driven by an Omicron subvariant. Philadelphia is the only city in the state and the region with an indoor mask mandate. Philadelphia has developed this mask mandate on their own. Its contrary to everything thats being said, across the country, about reopening the country and keeping it open, and allowing businesses to thrive, and getting back to normal, King said, adding that the law requires Philadelphia officials to work cooperatively with the rest of the state of Pennsylvania. Attorney Thomas W. King III (courtesy of Thomas W. King III) Theyre going backward while everyone else is going forwards, he said. On Monday, a federal judge in Florida threw out the mask mandate with respect to the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) which overseas transport across the country. The SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) buses are no longer subject to the federal mandate to wear masks. But at the same time, Philadelphia has decided to impose this mask mandate. The restaurant industry in Philadelphia says its opposed to the new mandate. The businesses are buckling under it. The people in the small business in Philadelphia have had a terrible time during the pandemic, King said. I was on the news this morning with a gentleman who owns a restaurant in Philadelphia, who said that his income gets cut by 50 percent. Every time they have a mask mandate, that affects all the people who work for him. It affects the food purveyors who sell the food, it affects the whole city. King said that business people have told him while they can establish that there are substantial and irreplaceable losses to these businesses, theres nobody to sue over this to recover the money when your business is going down the tank. Ive had calls from lots of people telling me lots of stories from people who suffer extreme anxiety on airplanes; we were involved with several public school districts, kids who physically cant wear a mask; Ive had teachers tell me that the socialization of their kids with them and with other students is greatly inhibited by the wearing of masks; Ive had teachers telling me that its very difficult to teach children to pronounce words correctly, or to speak correctly when theyre wearing masks, he said. This is big brother saying that they know whats best for people in Philadelphia and saying that the people of Philadelphia cant make their own decisions as to whether to wear masks or not, King said. This is socialist agenda at its worst, and its really something that we hope to put an end to. King added that he worries that the mask mandate sets a dangerous precedent, as the next step could be a vaccine mandate or a lockdown. King emphasizes that he is not opposed to anyone wearing a mask if they want to. But the rest of the world has to go on, and so thats what this case is about, he said. The plaintiffs in this case are also asking the mayor to intercede to end the mask mandate. King said Philadelphias mask mandate makes no sense whatsoever because none of the other counties around Philadelphia have anything similar to this mandate. COVID doesnt stop at a citys boundaries. So you have people coming and going in and out of Philadelphia, they live outside of Philadelphia. Businesses in Philadelphia can suffer as a result of that as people can go outside of Philadelphia and go to places where they dont have to wear masks. King concluded: I hope Philadelphia comes to its senses, its City Council and its Mayor come to their senses and get rid of this. If they get rid of it, this case will go away. But if they dont, this case is not going to go away. Kings law firm has already fought a number of these kinds of cases, including Corman vs. Wolf. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last December ruled to end the Wolf administrations school mask mandate. In another case, County of Butler et al. v. Wolf et al., Kings firm won the case, forcing the governor to lift the shutdown orders and business closure orders. The Epoch Times contacted Philadelphias health commissioner for comment on the case, and the mayors office of communications replied: We are unable to comment on this particular case. Philadelphians Views on Mask Mandate Some Philadelphian residents shared their opinions on the citys mask mandate with The Epoch Times. Local small business owner Ravinder Bedi said masks can protect the individual as well as those around them. Middle and high school teacher Ari Nestlebaum said he thought the wider city-wide mask mandate should end, except for some people who have medical needs. Its been going on long enough, he said. And the cases have been declining and theyre manageable when they do catch [COVID], and I think at this point, we need to start working towards unmasking. St. Josephs University students Julie Kleinot and Annie Winkler feel that while wearing a mask is a little bit annoying, it can keep other people safe. Temple University student Naoual said she thinks people should be allowed to make their own health decisions: They should leave it to the peoples choices. Update: Philadelphia ended its COVID-19 indoor mask mandate less than a week after reinstating it. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, according to the citys health department. The City will move to strongly recommending masks in indoor public spaces as opposed to a mask mandate, the health department said in a statement. King applauded the new decision Thursday night, telling The Epoch Times: Philadelphia rescinded its mask mandate tonight! Powerful Arguments to Keep Trans Ed Out of Schools Commentary School districts are embroiled in a battle over whether to teach children from kindergarten to third grade about being transgender. Advocates recommend teachers read their young students Introducing Teddy, a book about a boy teddy bear who transitions to become a girl, calling it a heart-warming story about being true to yourself. Trans advocates make changing genders sound like a cakewalk. Its easier for teddy bears than for people. For honest answers on what belongs in public schools, follow the science and the U.S. Constitution. First, the science: A staggering 99 percent plus of the population dont have the physical traits that cause someone to become transgender. People with gender dysphoriaa condition that causes extreme distressdeserve empathy and respect. But only 0.6 percent of the adult population have it, according to UCLAs Williams Institute, an LGBTQ advocacy group. A classroom lesson proposed for New Jersey 6-year-olds called Pink, Blue and Purple says children should be taught: You might feel like youre a girl even if you have body parts that some people might tell you are boy parts. No matter how you feel, youre perfectly normal. Normal, no. Its a rare condition. Most gender dysphoria manifests in early childhood, according to a 2020 study at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, so guidance counselors and teachers should be trained to offer families help. But theres no reason to incorporate it into the curriculum, inviting children to choose their pronouns and confusing the 99 percent who dont have the condition. The Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ+ advocacy groups ignore this science and insist that someone with boy parts can become a girl and vice versa. These groups are teaming up with the National Education Association to steamroll schools into disseminating this false claim, even designating national reading days when school kids are indoctrinated with lessons about transgender characters like those in the books I Am Jazz or Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope. Scientists are still debating actual causes, but a consensus is emerging that people with gender dysphoria have a brain structure that doesnt match their genitalia at birth. Transgender individuals process the sex hormones estrogen and androgen differently from other people. According to Exeter University researchers, gender dysphoria is caused by androgen insensitivity syndrome, where the testosterone receptor is mutated and faulty, and thus cannot function. The LGBTQ community is adamant that this condition not be labeled mental illness. When the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual used by American psychiatrists was updated in 2013, gender identity disorder was changed to gender dysphoria. Trans advocates want greater acceptance. But instructing young kids that its normal for boys to become girls and vice versa is going too far. Parents rightly fear their kids are being groomed. In the past two decades, the proportion of minors saying theyre transgender has soared to 1.8 percent. Gender dysphoria used to be a condition experienced primarily by young boys. Now, it has suddenly shifted to teenagers born female. Brown Universitys Lisa Littman calls this social contagion, meaning teenage girls are mimicking their friends and claiming to be transgender, without displaying the classic signs of gender dysphoria that emerge in early childhood. Children need to be protected from gender hysteria and moving headlong into transitioning. What does the Constitution say? We have the freedom to practice our own religion. Many Christians and Jews believe God created man and woman. They dont want their kids indoctrinated in a belief system that claims a person born with boy parts can become a girl. Parents in Ludlow, Massachusetts, are suing to stop the public school from teaching transgenderism. Theyre likely to win. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled on March 30, 2021, that Ohio couldnt force a public university teacher to address transgender students using their chosen pronouns contrary to the teachers Christian beliefs. Transgender advocates have a right to their views, but they dont have a right to force them on everyone. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Shadow NDIS Minister Bill Shorten poses for photographs ahead of a speech by Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation on Day 3 of the 2022 federal election campaign, in Melbourne, Australia on April 13, 2022. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) Public Health Spending Not Sustainable, Says John Howard-Era Advisor A former health advisor to the federal and Victorian state governments is calling for honesty on the sustainability of Australias public health system, warning it was impossible to grant every wish around funding. Healthcare reform has been one of the hot topics in the current federal election cycle, with the centre-left opposition Labor Party promising to expand aged care services, and shake-up the $30 billion (US$22.03 billion) NDIS programan ambitious scheme introduced under the Labor government in 2013 to pay for disability services. Among reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), shadow minister for the program, Bill Shorten, announced that the Labor Party would lift staffing capspotentially adding another 380 staffand crack down on waste in the program. Meanwhile, the Australian Greens have proposed to offer free dental to all by bringing it under the Medicare programthe countrys universal healthcare scheme. Terry Barnes, former senior advisor to two Howard-era government health ministers, said the major parties were not looking at long-term solutions to addressing public healthcare, and were simply looking at short-term spending boosts. Its always, We can spend a billion here, a billion there, or we can do this, we can do that, he told The Epoch Times. It doesnt really look at the totality of our health care. We dont take a holistic look at it. Barnes said part of the problem was that the voting public had become accustomed to seeing healthcare in terms of quantity, not quality, and that political parties were reluctant to engage in tough debates on the issue. To have a discussion about that implies blame and responsibility and nobody really wants to go down that path, he said. Theyd rather have voters sip the Kool Aid and keep reassuring them that whatever happens we can afford it. One example is the costing of the NDIS, where Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted during the Peoples Forum debate on April 20 that it was more expensive than Medicare but maintained that it was worth investing in. Because every single person who has a disability is different you need to tailor the programs to each and every single individual, he said. The program, which covers the support services for 500,000 Australians, is staring down a budget of $33.3 billion by 202425 despite being in operation for less than 10 years (Medicare will cost $31.4 billion in 2022-23)an NDIS Financial Sustainability Report estimates costs to reach $60 billion by 2030. The program, while assisting disabled individuals, has been criticised for design flaws that have exacerbated the costs including uncapped funding grants, a widening list of disabilities (including mental health), and a vast scope of services including access to sex worker services for disabled individuals. This has forced the centre-right Coalition government to introduce reforms to streamline NDIS and make it financially sustainable. The moves have triggered criticism from Jean Cotchin, campaign manager of Every Australian Counts. People with disability want the same opportunities as everyone else: to have safe and secure homes, jobs, access to the company of the people in our communities, as well as dignity, security, and hope for the future, she said in a statement. Cotching said the program was facing death by a thousand cuts. Every single day we hear more and more stories from people who have had their NDIS funding cutwith no reasonable explanation, she added. Barnes said dealing with the growing need for healthcaredue to the ageing populationdid not mean expanding the public health system. Youve actually got to make it worthwhile for people to put their own money into private healthcare, he said. But I think thats been undermined by successive governments for the best part of 10-15 years. There is this prevailing ideological mentality that every dollar spent in private health care is one dollar not spent in public health, he said. Barnes proposed making sure the cost of private health surgery and treatments were capped or driven down, to ensure health funds would be able to cover it. There needs to be structural reform of whats covered, he said. That includes looking at the credentials and making sure insurers are in good shape to pay and ensuring that theyre not over provisioning. Peace activists wearing masks of Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden pose with mock nuclear missiles in front of the U.S. embassy in Berlin on Jan. 29, 2021, in an action to call for more progress in nuclear disarmament. (John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images) Putin Funds Fake Protests, Rattles Nukes Commentary Fake protests throughout the world and threats of nuclear warin 2022 we witness a violent echo of 1983s Kremlin-orchestrated frauds. Ill address the nuke threat first. On Feb. 27 Russian President Vladimir Putin played drama king and put Russian nuclear forces on high alert. His war in Ukraine already failing, Vlad added nuclear pucker factor. Translation into emotional propaganda: world beware, or Ill start Armageddon. In 1983 the Russians worked a reserve psychology propaganda trope using nukes. See, the United States was the threat to launch a nuclear war in Europe, even though the Kremlin had physically created the conditions for nuclear war. In the 1970s the Russian Empire, in the guise of the Soviet Union, started deploying SS-20 ballistic missiles to eastern Europe. The missiles threatened western European cities with quick destruction. NATO responded to Russias escalation with a dual track policy pushed by President Jimmy Carters hem and haw administration. NATO would negotiate to remove the SS-20s but, should the Russians refuse to withdraw them, NATO would deploy equivalent systems. The Kremlins chess players snickered. They saw their end game: Negotiations would fail. Leveraging anti-American tropes (Adolf Hitler dismissed Americans as cowboys), Moscows propagandists would portray NATOs response to the SS-20s as the aggressive act. To frightened Europeans, Americas promise to protect Europe with its nuclear umbrella would morph into an American nuke threat to Europe. The chess geniuses argued this propaganda judo could shatter NATO. Moscows 1983 geniuses were totally wrong. The Reagan administration rebuffed the Soviet Unions calculated ploy to divide NATO. As for fake protests1983s were far more convincing than 2022s. In mid-1983, NATO confirmed it would deploy U.S. cruise missiles to Britain and Italy and Pershing 2 missiles to West Germany to counter the SS-20s. Immediately, concocted by Moscow, The Great Political Panic Crisis to stop NATOs counter-deployment began in full media fury. Western peace organizations, pacifists, Communist sympathizers and academic idiots demonstrated throughout Europe and the United States, their protests motley yet synchronized. In October 1983 the demonstrations intensifieda crescendo. The hysterics in leftist media howled about Reagans nuclear war. On Nov. 22, West Germanys parliament approved the missile deployment. The next day, U.S. missiles arrived in Europe. Point No. 1: Nuclear war didnt erupt. Point 2: Kremlin chess masters were checked. Eighteen months later, Mikhail Gorbachevs reformist Kremlin regime accepted a deal U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the cowboy nuclear warmonger, had offered prior to the Crisisno SS-20s, no U.S. missiles. Now back to our 2022 and the Kremlins latest fake protests. Perhaps the most telling example occurred in the Central African Republic (CAR). Its a pitiful place of violence just north of Congo. I paraphrase StrategyPage.coms March 5 update. In the CARs capital of Bangui a hundred protestors held a demonstration to support Russias invasion of Ukraine . They waved Russian and CAR flags. Why? StrategyPages answer: Russia provides the CAR with weapons and Wagner Group military contractors. The Wagner Group, which reports directly to Russian president Vladimir Putin, is active in several African countries. The Wagner Group are mercenaries. Fake protest? Bet on it. However, only outfits like Reuters and AFP cover the CAR. Not so the coordinated pro-Putin protests elsewhere, especially the coordinated media displays in Europe. On April 3 pro-Russian protests occurred in Athens, Greece and Berlin, Germany. The Germany protests outraged Berliners. April 10: The London Times reported hundreds of flag-waving nationalists paraded through Dublin, Hanover, Frankfurt and Limassol (Cyprus) supporting Russia. According to The Times, some of the Frankfurt protesters held banners reading: Truth and diversity instead of propaganda. Read that as projection of the evilest sort. Serbia has had the only believable demonstrations. On April 15 several hundred protesters marched through Belgrade chanting No NATO and Serbians and Russians are brothers. Serbia has yet to impose sanctions on Russia. Big support for Putins genocide? No. The London Times and other media reported Rossotrudnichestvo, a Kremlin agency in contact with expatriate Russians, may have been coordinating the protests. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Quebec Judge Favours Mothers Wish to Have Son Vaccinated for COVID Without Fathers Consent Judge also bans the father from taking his son to participate in COVID-19 protests A Quebec judge has ruled in favour of a mother who wants to have her son to receive COVID-19 vaccination without the fathers consent, and has also banned the father from taking the child to participate in COVID-19 protests. In a ruling dated April 12, Superior Court Justice Nathalie Pelletier sided with the 10-year-olds mother, who said the father told the child to lie about his age to avoid wearing a mask in public places. The mother also said the childs father took him to the February trucker convoy protests in Ottawa, claiming he wanted to instill democratic values in the boy. She was against it and argued that such protests were dangerous for children. For his part, the father said protests against pandemic restrictions arent risky for children and he had the right to hold a different view about COVID-19 vaccination. Pelletier said she found the evidence the father submitted in court in defence of his view about the vaccines not corroborated by health experts. She ruled that getting the shots would be in the boys best interest, and also that the father should not take him to participate in COVID-19 protests. The issue of COVID-19 vaccinations has become a point of contention between parents. In early December 2021, Michael Jackson, a divorced father from the town of Carievale in Saskatchewan, went into hiding with his 7-year-old daughter to prevent her from receiving the vaccine that his ex-wife wanted. The childs mother has primary residence and medical authority in the joint custody arrangement. Jackson was arrested in Vernon, B.C., on Feb. 24. In an exclusive phone interview with the Western Standard from the Regina Correctional Centre in March, Jackson said his daughter was doing fine during the whole process. I could say that my journey was incredibly peaceful, and I had no issues on it whatsoever. Sarah was absolutely fine, he said. But the father said he may not have access to his daughter anytime soon. They didnt even let me say goodbye to her when they arrested me, nothing, he said. Jackson said he hoped to find a good lawyer who has ethics and believes in God to represent him. A dispute by another couple over vaccination saw the father losing his visitation rights to his child. In his ruling on Dec. 23, 2021, Quebec Superior Court Justice Sebastien Vaillancourt denied the father on grounds that he was unvaccinated and deemed him a risk to his double-vaccinated 12-year-old son. The father told the court he did not get the shots due to his reservations about the COVID-19 vaccines. He added that he has respected the provinces public health measures and has hardly left his house. Vaillancourt called the father a conspiracy theorist based on his Facebook posts, and said the Court has strong reasons to doubt that he respects health measures as he claims to do in his written statement. The ruling concerning vaccination took a turn in February when an Ontario judge ruled in favour of a mother who refused to let her two children be injected with the COVID-19 shots, noting in his ruling that government pandemic policies kept changing. In his ruling, the first of its kind regarding pandemic-related litigation in Canada, Ontario Superior Court Justice Alex Pazaratz said his decision was based on the best interests of the children and legitimate concerns from the mother that the COVID-19 shots could have side effects. Its very hard to fault a parent for being worried about such an ominous list of potentially very serious side effects, wrote Pazaratz in his ruling on Feb. 18, referring to an eight-page fact sheet issued by Pfizer last June on the possible risks associated with its COVID-19 vaccine, which was submitted by the mother in her affidavit. Pazaratz characterized the attempt to base a ruling on COVID-19 policies enacted by all levels of government as trying to make a judgement based on a moving target. How can you take judicial notice of a moving target? During the past two years of the pandemic, governments around the worldand within Canadahave constantly changed their health directives about what we should or shouldnt be doing. What works and what doesnt, he wrote. Judicial notice refers to recognizing certain facts as so notorious or generally accepted as not to be the subject of debate among reasonable persons, according to Canadian law when it comes to weighing evidence. But how can judges take judicial notice of facts where theres no consensus or consistency? The Canadian Press and Lee Harding contributed to this report. A Surete du Quebec police car is seen in Montreal on July 22, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson) Quebec Man Who Killed Family of Four in Drunk Driving Crash Sentenced to 16 Years A Quebec man who killed four members of the same family in a car crash last September in Quebec City has been handed one of the toughest sentences ever given in the province for a drunk driving conviction. Quebec court Judge Jean-Louis Lemay sentenced Eric Legare today at the Quebec City courthouse to 16 years in prison. James Fletcher, 68; his daughter, Shellie Fletcher-Lemieux, 44; and her two children, Emma Lemieux, 10, and Jackson Fortin, 14, were all killed in the crash, and two other people in a separate vehicle were injured. The Crown had sought a sentence of between 18 and 20 years for Legare, while his lawyer had countered with a 10-year prison term. Legare, 44, had pleaded guilty to several charges last Dec. 14, including impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death. Lemay noted in his judgment that Legare was driving at least 130 kilometres an hour in a 70 km/h zone in the citys Beauport district. The level of alcohol in his blood was nearly three times the legal limit, and he also had a high amount of cannabis in his system. Legare had admitted to spending the afternoon in a bar consuming seven glasses of wine and three shooters before getting behind the wheel. Lemay said video captured Legare stumbling to get inside his car and striking parked vehicles while pulling out of the parking spot. Another video taken from a municipal bus showed him missing a stop sign and driving erratically. He had previously been convicted of drunk driving in 2017 and had also been cited for excessive speed eight times between 2007 and 2020. Legare had repeatedly expressed his remorse for the crash, noting that his consumption had increased during the pandemic. With time already served, Legare will have 15 years and 15 days left in his sentence. He is banned from driving for 25 years. Ranked-Choice Voting Measures Vying for 2022 Ballots in Missouri, Nevada Proponents are gearing up for stretch-run petition drives to secure signatures needed to get prospective constitutional amendments implementing ranked-choice voting on 2022 ballots in Missouri and Nevada. The Missouri Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative would give voters the option to pick from both Republicans and Democrats during open primaries and vote in all general elections for either a number one choice, or rank picks from the four highest-vote-getting primary candidates. Sponsor Better Elections Missouri needs 160,000 signatures by May 8 to get its proposed ranked-choice voting (RCV) measure on the states Nov. 8 ballot. After the Missouri Republican State Committee adopted a resolution opposing RCV as a confusing system that eliminates one persons fair and honest voting method, the House passed House Joint Resolution 131 in a partisan vote. If adopted by the Senate before the legislative session adjourns on May 30, HJR 131 would be a rival prospective constitutional amendment on Missouris ballot that would ask voters to choose only one candidate for each office, as they do now. Under the prospective Nevada Top-Five Ranked Choice Voting Initiative , the top five vote recipients in open primaries would advance to RCV general elections. Sponsors Nevada Voters First and the Institute for Political Innovation need 135,561 valid signatures by June 21 to get onto the ballot. Not all RCV proposals are the same, but generally, unlike winner-take-all elections, under the system, all primaries are open with the top X number of vote recipients advancing to the general election. In RCV general elections, voters arent limited to picking one candidate, and a winner is not declared until one candidate receives over 50 percent of the votes. If no candidate receives 50 percent, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated, and the votes are counted again. If a voters top choice was eliminated, that vote is given to that voters second-choice candidate. The process is repeated until one candidate tops 50 percent. Supporters, such as Maryland-based FairVote and The Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center in Goldsboro, North Carolina, maintain that election winners should have more than 50 percent of the electorate and that RCV limits the spoiler effect of minor-party candidates, and chips away at incumbents advantages. Opponents include those incumbents, who say the process is too cumbersome, leads to more electoral stalemates, and would require a significant investment in technology to upgrade voting systems to allocate and reallocate votes. RCV was first adopted on a statewide basis in the United States in 2016 by voters in Maine for state Legislature and governor elections. In November 2020, voters in Alaska adopted Ballot Measure #2 , a constitutional amendment sponsored by Alaskans for Better Elections , to implement RCV for all elections, beginning with this years elections. That same year, voters in Massachusetts rejected an RCV measure, and a petition effort to get an RCV proposal on North Dakotas ballot fell short. As of April 1, only Maine and Alaska had RCV statewide, but 46 citiesincluding New York City, San Francisco, and Minneapolisacross ten states had adopted the process. In Utah, 23 cities, including Salt Lake City, are participating in a 201925 pilot program that allows municipalities to use RCV. RCV has been adopted at the local level but not implemented in seven states, including Florida, Oregon, Vermont, and Tennessee, where lawmakers in February adopted Senate Bill 1820 , which precludes RCV in state-level and local elections. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), since 2021, 49 RCV bills have been introduced in 22 state legislatures, but none other than several technical type measures, such as one in Utah tweaking its pilot program, have been adopted. According to FairVotes bill tracker, twenty-four proposed RCV measures across 15 states propose implementing the tiered voting scheme in local elections. In the last two years, six bills in five states proposed RCV for primary elections; none have been adopted. One failed measure in one state called for RCV only in presidential elections, while there are stymied bills in Illinois and Kentucky seeking to adopt the system for all state elections. One Vermont bill and three Hawaii bills that would make all elections RCV was introduced in 2022 and remain technically alive. Three 2021 Minnesota bills proposing RCV for all elections failed to advance. Lawmakers in New Jersey are likely this year to adopt a proposal to create a commission to study RCV, while a smiler proposal in Rhode Island 2022 was set aside by the House State Government & Elections Committee for further study. A California bill seeking to end RCR voting in the seven cities across the state that have adopted the system, including one where it will be implemented in 2023, has failed to advance and is unlikely to do so. A burnt out defense research institute in the city of Tver, Russia, in a photo obtained by Reuters on April 21, 2022. (Reuters) Russian Defense Institute Engulfed in Flames Amid Reports of Chemical Plant Fire Seven people were killed on Thursday after a fire broke out at a defense research institute in the Russian city of Tver, emergency services officials said in state-run media. Other officials told state-run TASS that about 25 people also sustained injuries, with many jumping out of the windows of the three-story building while the fire was raging. An Ambulance crew spokesman told state-run TASS that some of the victims inhaled smoke, others had bruises and injuries, as people fled the fire and jumped from windows. The fire occurred at the Aerospace Defense Forces Central Research Institute, which operates under the Russian Defense Ministry, officials said. Online, video footage showed a fire raging and thick smoke emitting from the building. Preliminary reports said that the fire may have been triggered by an electrical wiring malfunction in the building. There was no official cause given for the blaze, while Russias Ministry of Defense has not issued a comment on the matter. Around the same time, a fire also reportedly broke out at a chemical plantthe Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant in Kineshmalocated about 330 miles away from Tver that made chemical solvents, officials said Thursday. Few details have been given about the chemical plant fire amid video footage that was uploaded of the purported incident on Thursday. Ukraines Defense Ministry on Thursday claimed that the research institute in Tver allegedly developed Russias Iskander missiles. Corruption and irresponsibility in russia (sic) has dealt another insidious blow to its war efforts. In Tver, a research institute that develops russias Iskander missiles and systems for SU-27 and TU-160 bombers, which have been destroying peaceful Ukrainian cities, has burned down, it wrote on Twitter. The incident occurs as the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains ongoing about two months after Moscow launched an invasion on Feb. 24. On Friday, Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russias central military district, was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying Moscow aimed to seize the entire eastern Donbass region, link up with the Crimea peninsula, and capture Ukraines entire south as far as a breakaway, Russian-occupied region of Moldova known as Transnistria. Ukraines general staff said Russian forces had increased attacks along the whole frontline in the east and were trying to mount an offensive in the Kharkiv region, north of Russias main target, the Donbass. Russia said on Thursday it had won the wars biggest fightthe battle for the main port of the Donbass, Mariupolafter a nearly two-month siege. President Vladimir Putin said he had decided not to try to root out thousands of Ukrainian troops still holed up in a huge steelwork factory there, but to barricade them inside instead. Top White House officials dismissed Moscows claims on Thursday, with Pentagon press secretary John Kirby telling CNN that we have to watch and see what the Russians actually do here. We still assess that Mariupol is contested, Kirby added, that it hasnt been taken by the Russians and that theres still an active Ukrainian resistance. The Russian Defense Ministrys website says the Tver institute focuses on research related to air and space defense systems, including the development of anti-aircraft systems. Reuters contributed to this report. Lt. j.g. Aaron Fowler, 29, in his U.S. Naval Academy uniform. (U.S. Navy/TNS) San Diego Special Operations Sailor Dies Training With Marines in Hawaii By Andrew Dyer From The San Diego Union-Tribune SAN DIEGOA San Diego-based explosive ordinance disposal and dive officer died Sunday during training at a Hawaii Marine Corps base, the Navy said Wednesday. Lt. j.g. Aaron Fowler became unresponsive during training and was pronounced dead at a hospital, the Navy said in a statement. Fowler, 29, was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 1 at Naval Base Point Loma. Our deepest sympathies go out to Aarons family and friends, and we join them in remembering and mourning this brave warrior, said Rear Adm. Joseph Diguardo Jr., the commander of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, in a statement. His decision to join this elite special operations community was a testament to the dedicated and selfless character he embodied and his legacy will endure in our ranks through those he inspired by his service. No details about the training Fowler was engaged in when he became unresponsive were immediately available Wednesday. However, he was in the third phase of the Marine Corps Reconnaissance Leaders Course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, according to Lt. Cmdr. David Carter, a Navy Expeditionary Combat Command spokesperson. A Marine spokesperson sent the following statement to the Union-Tribune in response to a request for more information about Fowlers death during training: The Marine Corps offers its deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Aaron Fowler, who died while participating in the final phase of the Marine Corps Reconnaissance Leaders Course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kanehoe Bay, said 1st Lt. Phillip Parker. Investigations into the circumstances and cause of death are currently under way. The Reconnaissance Leaders Course lasts eight weeks and teaches planning, briefing and leading teams in patrolling, ground reconnaissance and amphibious operations, Parker said. During the course, trainees spend time at Camp Pendleton and the Yuma, Arizona, Marine Corps Air Station before completing the final three weeks of training in Hawaii, according to the Marine Corps website. In Hawaii, trainees learn clandestine amphibious and jungle operations. Parker did not immediately respond to the Union-Tribunes follow-up questions about which training evolution was underway Sunday. Fowler was originally from Oklahoma and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2018, according to his Navy service biography. He attended graduate school at Georgetown University before entering the Navys dive and EOD schools in 2020. He reported to his San Diego unit in November. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating Fowlers death, the Navy said. Fowlers death marks the second of a San Diego-based Navy special operations trainee this year. In February, Seaman Kyle Mullen, 24, died immediately after completing Navy SEAL trainings notorious Hell Week at Naval Base Coronado. While EOD sailors routinely deploy with and assist SEALs conducting special operations, training is administratively handled by separate command structures, said Lt. Cmdr. Kara Handley, a Naval Special Warfare spokesperson in Coronado. Mullens death is still under investigation, Handley said. 2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. #NotMeSD volunteers and program leadership stand with San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson at Lemon Grove Rod & Gun Club in Alpine, Calif., on April 2, 2022. (Courtesy of Supervisor Joel Andersons Office). San Diego Women Empowered by Firearms Training, Education As violent crime rises across the state, a volunteer-run program is arming women in San Diego County with the knowledge and confidence to defend themselves. The San Diego County Gun Owners #NotMeSD movement is offering women firearms training, education on how to purchase a firearm, and assistance with obtaining a CCW (Carry Concealed Weapons Permit). The program, created by women for women, was founded with the mission of putting an end to sexual assault and domestic violence. #NotMeSDs volunteer ambassadors recently received special recognition from San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson for empowering local women by teaching them lifesaving skills. #NotMeSD is equipping women across San Diego County with the proper tools and training to protect themselves and their families. It is an outstanding program, and I am grateful to their volunteer ambassadors who are giving their time and expertise to empower women and make our community a safer place, Anderson said. The #NotMeSD volunteers in action at Lemon Grove Rod & Gun Club in Alpine, Calif., on April 2, 2022. (Courtesy of Supervisor Joel Andersons Office) Each volunteer received a County Certificate of Recognition, along with San Diego County Gun Owners CEO, Wendy Hauffen, and #NotMeSD Project Manager, Desiree Desi Bergman. We have not only helped women become more knowledgeable about firearms and better trained, but we have also helped women grow in self-confidence and self-empowerment, Hauffen said. Over the past three years, more than 500 women have completed the program. Bergman has found that while many women have an interest in guns and gun ownership, it is not always easy to figure out where to start. #NotMeSD offers a one-on-one experience with a personal ambassador that guides individuals at every step. Ambassadors can accompany the participant to the firing range, provide individual or classroom trainings, and even help find a reputable, licensed dealer when she is ready to purchase a firearm. Confidence is something you can never take away, confidence in their own safety, Bergman said. Empowering women to be their own protector, thats what we do. Sharlene Charlie D Angelo, one of their volunteer ambassadors, explained how she is making a difference: Sharing my seven years of experience in firearms training, I am able to support women at any skill level, no matter the age, who wants to learn how to use a firearm. While #NotMeSD can help women at any experience level, the program is especially valuable in helping beginners feel comfortable when taking on a daunting task. When you walk into a gun shop or range, 8 of 10 employees are male and can be intimidating for women, Bergman said. #NotMeSD inspires women to flourish in an often male-dominated space by providing support, community, and a sense of empowerment. Training at a #NotMeSD group event at Lemon Grove Rod & Gun Club in Alpine, Calif., on April 2, 2022. (Courtesy of Supervisor Joel Andersons Office) Designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April is an especially important time to raise awareness of sexual assault and domestic violence by highlighting resources available for victims and taking preventative action. I was a victim of gun violence and I never want to feel like a victim again, ambassador Sasha Travassos said. #NotMeSD is giving women back their power. San Diego County residents interested in learning more about #NotMeSD can visit the programs website at sandiegocountygunowners.com/notmesd. #NotMe programs are also available in Orange County and Inland Empire. For more information, visit orangecountygunowners.com/notmeoc/ or inlandempiregunowners.com/notmeie/. Cristian Roman is a legislative intern at San Diego Supervisor Joel Andersons office. Shanghai as a Front Line in Chinas New Civil War Commentary Chinas new civil warwith Xi Jinpings ultra-Maoists pitted against the moderates of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the free-wheeling private sectoraccelerated with Xis lockdown of Shanghai beginning in March. The lockdown of Shanghai (population of 25 million) was supposedly carried out to suppress a COVID-19 outbreak. In reality, it was nothing of the sort. As with the zero-COVID excuse to lock down the city of Xian (population of 13 million) for a month beginning on Dec. 22, 2021, Shanghais lockdown was designed to bring the locals to heel, ending the expectation of free movement and economic prosperity, ensuring that Xis political faction would not be challenged. The deaths from the now-prevalent omicron variant of COVID-19 have been insignificant in China and elsewhere, especially compared with deaths in the tens of thousands from deliberately-induced widespread starvation in Xian, Shanghai, and elsewhere in mainland China. Starvation was used by Mao Zedong and Josef Stalin to control and reduce populations. Residents of major cities have engaged in widespread hoarding of food to protect themselves in the event that they are locked into their residences. Shoppers rummage through empty shelves in a supermarket before a lockdown as a measure against COVID-19 in Shanghai, China, on March 29, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images) Widespread videos from Xian and Shanghai show significant numbers of people protesting from apartment balconies in high-rise buildings, calling for food after being sealed into their apartments for weeks and more. One report received by the International Strategic Studies Association indicated that as many as 240,000 people may have died in Xian alone during the December 2021-January 2022 lockdowns. Significantly, Shanghai, apart from being a city known for its free-wheeling entrepreneurial population, is home to former Party leader Jiang Zemins faction, which is the major impediment within the CCP to the total domination of the Party and the country by Xi. The moderates within the senior CCP structure are represented mostly by Jiangs faction, as well as those anti-Xi and anti-Mao CCP members, many of whom will not make themselves known until it appears there is a critical mass sufficient to outvote the Xi faction. Moreover, Xi is aware that the growing economic decline in Chinaand the civil unrest it has been provokingmust be disguised in the run-up to the 20th Party Congress in Beijing in October 2022. At that event, Xi hopes to be reelected as CCP General Secretary for an unprecedented third term. At that point, he would have enhanced powers to suppress his internal Party opposition even more than he now does, and he would be able to also quell civil unrest more effectively. Jiangs faction knows that this is a critical time for them. (LR) Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with former Chinese Communist Party leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, attend a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on Sept. 3, 2015. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images) Three weeks into the Shanghai lockdown, which began in late March, the Party under Xi had begun replacing or supplementing the omnipresent police and white-clad COVID medical enforcers with elements of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) brought in from outside Shanghai. PLA Air Force Xian Y-20 heavy transports airlifted the troops into Shanghai in a mass operation during the second week of April. Perhaps to calm fears of military suppression of the population, state-run Chinese tabloid Global Times published a report on March 8 quoting Feng Wei, a deputy to the National Peoples Congress, suggesting more infrastructure to support the Y-20s at civil airports so that the PLA Air Force could better support the population. The Global Times noted: Since 2020, the Y-20 has carried out a number of military operations other than war, highlighted by the fight against the COVID-19 domestically then across the border, transporting medical personnel and vital anti-epidemic equipment and vaccines. It would be very important if civil airports across the country can provide more logistics support to the Y-20 in these missions in the future, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times. The Party newspaper cited a military expert as an anonymous source. There was a message here: when the air armada of Y-20s brought PLA forces into Shanghai in mid-April, they were combat troops and not medical personnel. They arrived at the time when the pushback by Shanghai citizens was gathering momentum against the forced roundups of the population and the breakup of families and homes. In a report, titled The New Civil War in China, published in The Epoch Times on Aug. 17, 2021, this writer noted the following: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has plunged into its own civil war. Its between the ultra-Maoists around CCP leader Xi Jinping and the liberals. The outcome will be massively disruptive for the Chinese population and for nations that depend economically on China. The ultra-Maoists are in the ascendant, leading China toward a new era of isolation from the world, possibly worse than the Mao Zedong era from 1949 to 1976. The battle lines have been drawn over the direction of the country between the ultra-Maoists within the CCP leadership and the more market-oriented liberals. This growing polarization mirrors the nationalist-globalist split seen in many Western societies in recent years, but with Chinese characteristics, different causes, and the probability of violence. The ultra-Maoists around Xi recognize that China has already depleted its foreign exchange reserves as well as its control over food and water. Hard currency holdings are believed to be at around Saudi Arabian levels. There are other assets, such as U.S. debt holdings (for which there is a limited market), but the question becomes how best to utilize its resources. While growing urbanization, the Maoists have discovered, may have been essential for Chinas economic and strategic growth, it became the source of great unrest as the fortunes of most Chinese people began to be shaken, their security and happiness evaporating. The CCP placed mainland China into a new lockdown in early August 2021, ostensibly over the surge in cases of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, but this may not have solely been the case. More likely, the CCP placed the country in lockdown to prevent a growing movement toward protest and challenge from the grassroots level. This unhappinessactually widespread angerhas been stimulated by the failure of the CCP to respond adequately to widespread natural disasters such as massive flooding in some areas, and drought in others. The CCP initially claimed, for example, that there were only a handful of deaths in some of the recent flooding in Henan Province, when the actual number of deaths was certainly in the tens of thousands. Xi has been steadily reining in the private sector of Chinas economy, the source of the Chinese economic miracle. Instead, he favors dependence only on the sluggish and unproductive state-owned enterprises (SOE) that contributed little or nothing to the economic miracle. What could this mean, other than a preparation for China to return to a closed economy, autarkic and reliant only on what CCP theorists are calling an internal circulation economy? The overwhelming use of the COVID threat to the population has enabled the Party to disguise the suppression of the private sector and all opponents of Xi. The gradual ramping up of the use of PLA personnel to fight those opposing the Partys efforts to save society has led to a situation where PLA personnelespecially if they are not called up for action in their home areasare induced to see dissidents as a danger to the entire population and are, therefore, fair targets to be attacked. This process is called pseudospeciation: the transformation of an adversary into a species less than human and, therefore, someone who cannot be pitied or supported but, rather, killed. Thus, the PLA is now firmly back in the business of fighting the Chinese people at the behest of the CCP. And, after all, the PLA is not the army of the Chinese nation; it is, very specifically, the army of the Party, just as the Waffen SS was the army of the German Nazi Party in the 1930s and 1940s. Meanwhile, Shanghais death count rises from engineered starvation. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. David Limbrick, an Australian Senate candidate and former state MP for the Liberal Democrats, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, on April 22, 2022. (NTD) MELBOURNE, AustraliaDavid Limbrick, the lead Liberal Democrats Victorian Senate candidate in the upcoming Australian elections, and a former state MP, said he had a magnificent experience at Shen Yun Performing Arts. Mr. Limbrick was excited at the chance to enjoy a night out at Melbournes Palais Theatre on April 22, saying it was the first time hed been to the theatre in years because of the pandemic lockdowns. I think its really important that performances like Shen Yun are able to continue in Australia and throughout the world, he said. New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company, which features a live orchestra with Shen Yuns original music and a unique, patented digital projection technology that extends the stage limitlessly, often taking the stories into other realms. This aspect of the production struck Mr. Limbrick, who said it was a magnificent performance. Id recommend it to anyone. The amazing dancing and special effects, and integration with the history and modern projections that they did, and the special effects was just really amazing. Mr. Limbrick praised the Shen Yun dancers, saying they were some of the most skilled dancers Ive ever seen, and he encouraged people to come along and see them. He also as praised the Shen Yun Orchestra, which is the first in the world to blend classical Western and traditional Chinese instruments. The orchestra, the music was absolutely amazing, and we got to hear some traditional instruments as well, he said, referring to the solo two-stringed Chinese erhu performance. It was a really great experience. Should Be On Your Bucket List Tina Tran, a commercial analyst, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with her family at Palais Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, on April 22, 2022. (Henry Jom/The Epoch Times) The Tran family, who love going to the theatre and have seen many performances, also attended Melbournes opening night of Shen Yun. I think this is one of the best that weve seen, said Tina Tran, a financial analyst. It should be on your bucket list must, must do, she added. Ms. Tran said that in addition to feeling thankful to the company for showcasing the richness of authentic Chinese culture, she was mesmerised by the productions choreography, its colourful costumes, and all of its design elements. She said it was also nice to see Chinese culture showcased on stage in Shen Yun. Everything about it was so beautiful, she said. Ive always loved ballet. But this just brings it up to that next level. I think it brings people closer to China this highlights the arts, you know. The art form at the heart of Shen Yun is classical Chinese dance, which has been developed over thousands of years to become one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world. Shen Yun has a mission to revive Chinas 5,000 years of traditional culture, which was all but destroyed by the modern communist regime when it took power and launched political revolutions to do away with the old and bring in the new. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Companys curtain call at Melbournes Palais Theatre, Australia, on April 22, 2022. (Ming Chen/The Epoch Times) This year, Shen Yuns world tour is bringing to the stage China before communism. Ms. Tran remarked on how phenomenal Chinas history was, prior to becoming known as a developing nation under communism. But she lamented that its rich history and culture was not appreciated as much around the world. Being of Vietnamese heritage, Ms. Tran said she understands the oppression faced by many Chinese people under the tyranny of a communist regime. Everything is still quite restricted [in China]. As we know, for example, social media or internet, everything is tracked, whereas in Australia, or non-communist countries, [you have] freedom. The Tran family went to see New York-based Shen Yun as a surprise from Mr. Tran. My husband surprised us today with the show, Ms. Tran said. Reporting by NTD, Henry Jom, Melanie Sun, and Caden Pearson. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. A Starbucks logo is pictured on the door of the Green Apron Delivery Service at the Empire State Building in the Manhattan borough of New York, on June 1, 2016. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters) Starbucks Accuses US Union of Intimidating Workers Starbucks Inc. on Wednesday filed complaints with a U.S. labor board accusing a union organizing cafe workers across the country of bullying and intimidating workers and customers in violation of federal law. Starbucks in two complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board said the union, Workers United, engaged in unlawful conduct during demonstrations at stores in Phoenix, Arizona, and Denver, Colorado. Workers United has filed petitions to represent Starbucks workers at about 200 U.S. locations, and has won about two dozen elections since December. Starbucks in the complaints said union organizers have blocked store entrances and exits, made threats, and yelled profanities during demonstrations. The conduct of Workers United and their agents has jeopardized physical safety, caused severe emotional distress, and unlawfully interfered with business operations, the company said in the complaints. Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement that the complaints are a reflection of Starbucks desperation as an increasing number of workers seek to form unions. Workers United has filed more than 80 complaints with the NLRB accusing Starbucks of illegal union-busting tactics, including threatening and firing pro-union workers. Starbucks has denied wrongdoing. Rossann Williams, Starbucks executive vice president, in a letter to employees obtained by Reuters said the company filed the complaints to protect the physical safety and emotional wellbeing of our partners and to make it very clear that the behavior were seeing from some union organizers is not acceptable and we wont tolerate it. The nationwide campaign to unionize Starbucks stores is part of a larger surge in union election petitions filed over the last six months in the United States. Unions are also organizing Amazon.com Inc. warehouse workers and Apple Inc. retail employees for the first time. By Daniel Wiessner South Africa: SA records 4 406 new COVID-19 cases South Africa has recorded 4 406 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the overall number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 750 830, said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Thursday. This rise reflects a 15.8% positivity rate. There may be a backlog of COVID-19 mortality cases reported due to the current audit effort by the National Department of Health (NDoH). Today, the NDoH reports 65 fatalities, with five occurring during the last 24 48 hours. This puts the overall number of fatalities to 100 276, the NICD said. The majority of new cases are from Gauteng (49%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (22%). The Western Cape accounted for 15%; Eastern Cape 5%; Free State, Mpumalanga and North West 2% each; Limpopo and Northern Cape 1%. A total 24 262 108 tests have been conducted in both public and private sectors. The public should exercise caution in interpreting these data, as there may be changes in test patterns. An early warning indicator, the Wastewater Detection surveillance, shows an increase in Gauteng, said NICD Executive Director, Prof Adrian Puren. The report summarises and interprets findings from the detection, quantification and sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases Centre for Vaccines and Immunology from influent (untreated) wastewater in 17 wastewater treatment plants from five provinces. Puren said there is currently no evidence that the Omicron variant of concern is being displaced as the dominant circulating variant. In a statement on Thursday, the NICD said it continues to monitor various data sources related to the evolving nature of South Africas COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, there has been an increase of 66 hospital admissions in the past 24 hours, with evidence of small increases in COVID-19 hospitalisation in Gauteng, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. However, we have seen no increases in COVID-19 hospital deaths, said Dr Waasila Jassat, lead of the DATCOV COVID-19 National Hospital Surveillance at the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response. The DATCOV hospital surveillance platform monitors COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital in all provinces. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A health care worker displays a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card during a vaccine and health clinic at QueensCare Health Center in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 11, 2021. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Teachers Under Investigation for Allegedly Using Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Cards New York City teachers and other education staff have been placed on unpaid leave for allegedly using fake COVID-19 vaccine cards, according to a teachers union. The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) union told local media on Friday that about 70 of its members are being accused of using falsified vaccine cards and were told they would be placed on unpaid leave. The UFT general counsel, Beth Norton, decried the allegations saying that it is wholly improper for the [Department of Education] to unilaterally remove UFT members from the payroll based on mere conjecture that vaccination documentation is fraudulent, according to a letter that was sent to the Department of Education. During a news conference, New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed the controversy. Allegations about fake vaccine cards are under investigation, he said. Im really disappointed to learn that there were fake vaccination cards, Adams, a Democrat, said in response to a question about the incident. Not only is that illegal, it undermines our entire trust. So my understanding is its being investigated, and were going to see the outcome of the investigation. Former Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for school staff and other city employees in the fall of 2021, triggering several legal challenges. The Department of Education did not give an exact number for how many teachers and school staff were placed on leave. Fraudulent vaccination cards are not only illegal, they also undermine the best line of protection our schools have against COVID-19universal adult vaccination, said Nathaniel Styer, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, according to the New York Post. We immediately moved to put these employeesfewer than 100on leave without pay, he said Thursday. Michael Kane, who heads Teachers for Choicea group that opposes COVID-19 vaccine mandatessaid that such regulations cause people to get desperate. Its not surprising when peoples entires lives are threatened that they get desperate, he told the New York Post. Its a shame that these individuals names arent Kyrie Irving or someone else whos in a more powerful position, because it really seems like these mandates are turning into a class war, he continued, referring to Adams recent exemption for unvaccinated professional athletes and performers. About two months ago, approximately 1,430 New York City workers who did not comply with the citys mandate were fired, according to the mayors office. About 64 percent of those employees worked for the citys education department. The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Education for comment. COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Students walk to their classrooms at a public middle school in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 10, 2021. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Tennessee Bill Would Allow Teachers to Use Students Biological Sex Rather Than Preferred Pronoun A bill introduced in the Tennessee legislature seeks to allow teachers not to use a students preferred pronoun if it is inconsistent with their biological sex. Introduced last month by State Sen. Mike Bell (R-Riceville), the bill, SB 2777, would apply to all employees of public schools and local education agencies (LEA) and absolve them of civil liability for doing so. A teacher or other employee of a public school or LEA is not required to refer to a student using the students preferred pronoun if the pronoun does not align with the students biological sex, the bill states. The bill also states that a teacher or employee would be waived of civil liability and adverse employment action if they chose to refer to a student using the pronoun aligned with the students biological sex rather than their preferred pronoun. The Tennessee General Assemblys Fiscal Review Committee said in a Feb. 16 note (pdf) that if the bill is found to be in violation of federal law, it could jeopardize federal funding for the 2022-23 school year and subsequent years. The note referred to a June 2021 letter by the U.S. Department of Education that said that the department views sex discrimination prohibited under Title IX laws to include discrimination based on gender identity. The committee also referred to a June fact sheet issued by the U.S. Department of Education entitled Supporting Transgender Youth in School, which calls on schools to adopt policies that respect all students gender identities, such as the use of the name a student goes by, which may be different from their legal name, and pronouns that reflect a students gender identity. If passed, the legislation could limit the ability of the states Department of Education Office for Civil Rights to develop corrective action plans that compel schools to require their staff to use students preferred pronouns, the note stated. The committee concluded that this law could be in violation of Title IX and thus mean federal funding could be pulled as a result. The state received more than $5 billion in federal funding during the 2021-22 fiscal year, according to the note. The bill has been referred to the states Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee where it is due to be discussed on April 26. Tennessee First State to Pass Bill Making Drunk Drivers Pay Child Support If They Kill a Parent Lawmakers in Tennessee this week approved a bill that would force drunk drivers who kill a parent to pay child support to the minor children they leave behind. Families who lose loved ones can already pursue the avenue through civil cases, but House Bill 1834 would enable criminal courts to order a defendant to pay restitution with similar guidelines as child support. This legislation takes the shackles off of the [district attorney] and the judges, state Rep. Mark Hall, a Republican who sponsored the legislation, said on the House of Representatives floor before its passage. I wish wed have thought of it years ago because there are children growing up all over this state that dont have a parent to tuck them in at night, to pay for their food and lodging, to help care for them throughout their childhood due to the selfish, selfish decisions of someone else, added state Rep. William Lamberg, a Republican. I think its extremely appropriate that they should have to pay child support for the child whose parents they took. The state House passed the bill 930 on Feb. 28 and the state Senate approved it unanimously on April 20. A spokesperson for Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, told The Epoch Times in an email that the office is waiting for the legislation to be discharged and make it to the governors desk before reviewing it. Under the bill, a judge can only order restitution if a drunk driver who kills a parent is convicted of committing vehicular homicide or aggravated vehicular homicide while intoxicated. The bill states that a judge shall determine a payment that is reasonable and necessary for the maintenance of the victims child after considering all relevant factors, including the financial needs and resources of the child and the standard of living to which the child is accustomed. The bill was inspired by legislation introduced in Missouri earlier this year. It is named for Bentley, whose father and mother were killed by a drunk driver in 2021, the boys grandmother told KY3. Before passing the bill, senators in Tennessee amended it to add two additional names, Hailey and Ethan. They are the children of Chattanooga police officer Nicholas Galinger, who was killed by a drunk driver who was later sentenced to 11 years in prison. The addition of the names came on the request of the family, according to state Sen. Mike Bell, a Republican. Tennessee Governor Temporarily Delays Execution of Convicted Killer Due to Oversight Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday issued a temporary reprieve to the execution of convicted killer Oscar Franklin Smith due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection. The states governor called off the execution just an hour before it was scheduled to go ahead at 7 p.m. Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight, Lee said in a statement on social media. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol. Further details will be released when available. Lee, a Republican, did not provide further details regarding the oversight which led to the execution of the 72-year-old inmate being delayed. It is the first time Lee has intervened in a capital case, The Tennessean reported. Earlier the Tennessee Department of Correction issued a statement that Smith received his final meal at 4:12 p.m. He selected a double bacon cheeseburger, deep-dish apple pie, and vanilla bean ice cream for his last meal, the statement said. Smith, the oldest inmate on death row, had been scheduled to be killed by lethal injection on Thursday evening at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, having initially been scheduled to be executed in June 2020 which was delayed due to the pandemic. He was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife Judith Smith and her sons Jason and Chad Burnett, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989. A Davidson County jury sentenced him to death the following year. Smithwho would have been the first inmate to be executed in the state since the COVID-19 pandemic beganhas maintained he is innocent. Prior to the governors announcement on Thursday, Tennessees Court of Criminal Appeals last week denied a motion bought by Smiths lawyers to reopen his case and motion to have a DNA analysis review of the case after a new type of DNA analysis discovered the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons. The Tennessee Supreme Court also denied hearing his appeal on Monday. Smith has argued he should be executed by firing squad, reasoning that it is less painful than Tennessees two options: the electric chair or lethal injection, which utilizes a three-drug series to put inmates to death. His lawsuit was denied. His execution would have marked the first of five planned by Tennessee this year as the state looks to resume its pre-pandemic pace of putting inmates to death. Tennessees five death warrants mean its at a tie with Texas for the most nationally this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. However, his execution also comes at a time when some states are struggling to secure lethal injection drugs because drug companies are refusing to supply their medications for executions until the law is changed to protect their identities from anti-death-penalty activists. Kelley Henry, an attorney with the federal public defenders office, which represents Smith, told WTVF-TV that there needs to be an immediate independent review into what happened on Thursday. The governor did the right thing by stopping what was sure to be the torture of our client, Henry said. A thorough investigation should immediately take place by an independent entity. The decision to halt Smiths death in Tennessee came just a day after the South Carolina Supreme Court issued a temporary stay preventing the state from carrying out what would have been its first-ever execution by firing squad. Richard Bernard Moore, 57, was scheduled to be executed on April 29 but lawyers for the convicted killer have argued that he is being forced to choose between cruel and unusual punishment after prison officials failed to obtain lethal injection drugs. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Pandemic Lessons Learned: The Clear and Present Danger of Politicizing Medicine Commentary For the past 20 years, medical practitioners (nurses and doctors) were ranked the most trusted professions by the Gallup Honesty and Ethics poll. When a patient visits a doctor, he or she can assume that the doctor will only consider treatments benefiting the patient. This is because hundreds of years of medical practice have established a tradition of trust in which the patient believes that the doctor adheres to the ancient Hippocratic Oath (first do no harm) and the modern-day Declaration of Geneva, the ethics of medical practice published by the World Medical Association. The Declaration of Genevas Physicians Pledge states in part: I will not permit considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient. Political affiliation should not be a consideration when a doctor sees a patient. Of course, things are seldom as simple as they seem. Politics and medicine have been around as long as human civilization, and the two have been intermingled at the individual level since ancient times. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the Western world particularly, we have started to see the politicization of medicine at the institutional level, and this should worry us all. A sign on a door asks people to wear masks in downtown in Philadelphia, Penn., on April 15, 2022. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) About 1,800 years ago, in ancient Chinas Three Kingdoms era, warlord Cao Cao invited renowned doctor Hua Tuo to treat his chronic headaches, thought to be caused by a brain tumor. Hua wanted to open up Caos skull to remove the tumor, but Cao suspected that Hua was hired by his political enemies to kill him, so he had Hua imprisoned. Eventually Hua died in prison, and Cao died from the tumor that Hua had sought to remove. When politics intersect with medicine, the trust between doctor and patient breaks and both parties suffer. Fast forward to 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) became the ruling regime in China. Under the CCP, suspicion such as Caos became policy, and everything was politicized. They took control every aspect of peoples lives, from the cradle to the grave. Amid COVID, authorities in the West have been making medical decisions for millions of its citizens, some even without solid scientific support. As a Chinese Canadian who grew up in communist China, I would like to warn people of the dangers of this unprecedented approach. My Body, the CCPs Choice The CCP even makes a womans womb political. In the 1950s and 1960s, when Mao wanted to increase the Chinese population so that he would have more people to fight American imperialism, women were encouraged to have more babies. I was born during that time, the ninth child in my family. But in the 1970s, the CCP decided that Mao was wrong, and China had too many people, so they implemented the brutal one-child policy, with forced abortions killing millions each year. That went on for four decades. Then in 2016, when the regime saw population decline as a threat to Chinas economy and to its own power, it wanted women to have more babies again and changed the one-child policy. The CCPs flip-flop family planning practice is not only inhumane, it failed to achieve the intended goal in some ways. In my case, I was born as part of Maos desire to have more people fighting the Americans, but here I am siding with the Western democracies against the CCPs authoritarian policies. COVID: a Political Opportunity for the CCP Similarly, when SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, the CCP immediately treated the outbreak as political. Facts became irrelevant; Beijings political narrative was paramount. On Dec. 30, 2019, when Dr. Li Wenliang took to his personal social media platform to alert a few friends and colleagues about this new pneumonia he was seeing in Wuhan, he was punished by the authorities as what he wrote was not politically correct. He later tragically died from COVID-19 himself. The politically correct narrative at that time was that the new pneumonia cases in Wuhan did not exist. A couple of weeks later, when the CCP could not deny the existence of the cases, they told everyone, including the World Health Organization, that the virus was not transmissible from human to human. Then, from late January 2020 to March 2020, the CCPs lies became so crazy that their narratives would contradict one another. On one hand, they locked down Wuhan and prevented domestic travel from the city to the rest of China; on the other hand, they continued to allow international travel from Wuhan to the rest of the world, while accusing anyone suggesting a travel ban from Wuhan as being racist. Many now believe it was the CCPs political intention to spread the virus to the rest of the world while trying to control it in China. The question must be asked: If an international travel ban had been implemented, could the virus have been contained inside Wuhan, thereby avoiding the pandemic and the deaths of more than 6 million people worldwide? In any case, the CCPs behavior cannot be explained scientificallyit only makes political sense. And it was aligned perfectly with the regimes global view. The pandemic could serve as an opportunity to prove to the Chinese people and the world that the CCP system is superior to Western democracy. Through stringent and even draconian lockdowns, and through lies and total media control, the CCP was able to convince the Chinese people that it had stopped the spread of the virus in China. At the same time, the media played up the inefficiency of western democracies as being incapable of controlling the spread of the virus, leading to millions of deaths. Zero Omicron, Lots of Xi It has been two and a half years since the start of the pandemic, and during that time the CCP has boosted its model of pandemic control. Up until last month, it seemed that the CCP was able to control the spread of the viruseven with the fast-spreading Omicron variant and holding a big international event like the Beijing Winter Olympics. Xi Jinping claimed that the achievement was made possible under his personal vision and leadership. The core of his strategy is zero COVIDeliminate the virus with all of the mighty power of the CCP. Empty streets are seen during the second stage of a COVID-19 lockdown in the Yangpu district of Shanghai on April 1, 2022. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) Then late last year, COVID appeared in Xian, a city of 13 million people. The city was locked down from Dec. 23, 2021, to Jan. 24, 2022, with a total of only 2,053 COVD cases detected. Although there is no official statistics on the deaths caused by the lockdown, individual cases of death were reported due to lack of access to health care. It was clear that the damage of the lockdown was more severe than the disease itself. In early March 2022, COVID arrived in Shanghai, Chinas biggest city. As no deaths were reported at that time, top scientist Dr. Wenhong Zhang, head of the citys COVID task force, advocated coexistence with the virus. Given the lessons learned from Xian, one would think a lockdown, with all the hardship it brings for people, would not be implemented in Shanghai. Unfortunately, the whole of China is under Xis personal leadership, and Shanghai is no exception. Starting April 3, more than 20 million residents in Shanghai were barred from exiting their homes, leaving many struggling to obtain food, water, and medical care. Stories of deaths occurring as a result of the hardline measures were circulated online. By April 12, at least 15 million residents were still being locked in their homes. We have no way of knowing how many lives were lost due to the lockdown, but its probably in the thousands given the size of the population. Here is one example. Professor Larry Hsien Ping Lang, a Wharton graduate, well-known economist, and TV host in Shanghai who openly endorses Marxist ideology, could not help his mother. She died outside a hospital as she waited for hours for her COVID test result, which she needed to enter the hospital for her routine treatment. The brutal lockdowns affect everyone, including the CCP elites. Just as Maos policy didnt succeed in forcing me to become a CCP-loving anti-American soldier, Xi Jinpings lockdowns lack common sense given that the measure has now proven to be useless in fending off Omicron. As a result, we are witnessing another man-made catastrophe happening in Shanghai and possibly other Chinese cities. One can only hope that the zero-COVID lockdown madness stops before more people die. The Chinese people have suffered enough. Stop Politicizing Medicine in the Free World With most of the population vaccinated or naturally immune from having been infected by SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 has become a manageable disease in the United States and Canada. Although it can still be deadly, this now-endemic flu-like disease could be managed with minimal deaths, while society returns to normal life. In some jurisdictions and sectors, however, masking and vaccination are still mandatory. But why? It doesnt make any sense at this stage of the pandemic. People take part in a protest on the day the Dutch authorities introduce a mandatory corona pass, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result, to enter bars, restaurants, and cultural events in the country, in The Hague, Netherlands, on Sept. 25, 2021. (Eva Plevier/Reuters) In fact, it was the CCPs tactics that fueled the politicization of COVID, not only in the United States and Canada but pretty much worldwide. This led to the lockdowns, dividing people against one another, governments strong-arming their mandates, and public health officials having far too much control. We also had the Donald Trump factor. Americans seemed to be divided into two opposing camps: Trump supporters and never Trumpers. With the legacy media in the never Trumper camp, anything Trump supported became controversial, particularly advocating for drug therapy to treat COVID-19. How far are we from the CCPs complete politicization of everything in our lives? Warlord Caos suspicious approach was passed on to generations of Chinese, but it never became an institutional practice to completely destroy the trust between doctor and patient. When the CCP took control, however, they proceeded to politicize everything and destroyed the doctor-patient trust in just a few short years, because they did it with state power. If the authorities in the West make politicizing medicine a policy, it could quickly destroy the doctor-patient trust beyond repair. We should never allow what the CCP did in China happen in the free world. We still have some time. We should remain aware and be willing to fight to preserve the integrity of modern medicine. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Libs of TikTok Story Is a Damning Story, All RightDamning to Journalism Commentary It happened just like that. On April 19, The Washington Post decided to doxxto reveal the identity ofthe hitherto anonymous female manager of Libs of TikTok, the hugely popular, but hated-by-liberals Twitter account that reposts with scathing commentary the selfie videos that purple-haired, bizarrely pierced schoolteachers post of themselves standing in their classrooms and boasting about how they work sexual proclivities and transgender identities into their lessons for 5-year-olds and 10-year-olds. Then, as the rest of the mainstream media glommed onto the story, it morphed overnight into a story about something else: the right-wing (mainstream media-speak for people they dont agree with) internet furor over the doxxing, which was done by Post reporter Taylor Lorenz, whose journalistic beat is supposedly technology, but actually seems to center around exposing to censure and possibly cost the jobs of people she doesnt like. In her article, Meet the Woman Behind Libs of TikTok, Secretly Fueling the Rights Outrage Machine, Lorenz provided none of the standard newspaper-profile materialbiography, personality, friends, intereststhat might enable her readers to meet the woman in question. The only interviews she conducted were with the LGBTQ program director for the Hillary Clinton-shilling Media Matters and a so-called media strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union. Instead, Lorenz simply handed her readers the womans name, as well as a link to her real-estate license number (shes apparently a current or former real-estate saleswoman in Brooklyn) and an office or possibly home address (the Post later deleted that link). She also mentioned (quite gratuitously) the womans religion, Orthodox Judaism, which is the branch of Judaism that, in the minds of liberals, its acceptable to be anti-Semitic about since Orthodox Jews tend to vote Republican. None of this information was the product of any real reporting by the Post reporter. As she admitted in her Post article, it had been fed to her by Travis Brown, a software developer who busts internet accounts to track hate speech for a nonprofit funded by the German government. Lorenzs contribution was to drive to and knock on the door of a residence belonging to one of the womans relatives. Lorenzs Kleenex-thin justification for using Browns material to destroy the womans anonymity was that [Libs of TikTok] has emerged as a powerful force on the internet, shaping right-wing media, impacting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and influencing millions by posting viral videos aimed at inciting outrage among the right. Translation of these Media Matters talking points: Libs of TikTok has a lot of followers. Lorenz all but said: Hey, New York State Real Estate Boardand Twitter: Cancel this woman right now! Its not surprising that conservatives were angry, along with leftist gadfly Glenn Greenwald, who wrote on Twitter: Is it now permissible for journalists to investigate and expose the real identity of any anonymous social media user? Or is it just permissible if the anonymous social media user has a certain kind of politics? But mainstream journalisms position seems to be that the Libs of TikTok lady deserved it. On April 21, NBC News contributor and Hofstra University journalism professor Kara Alaimo argued that Lorenz wasnt really engaging in doxxing because, well, it was all for a good cause. The [Libs of TikTok] account has called for teachers who come out to their students to be fired on the spot, called people who dont conform to traditional gender identities mentally ill, and accused people who teach children about LGBTQ identities of abuse, Alaimo wrote. Now you, dear readers, might be saying to yourselves: Actually, why shouldnt teachers be fired on the spot for coming out in classthat is, using the taxpayer-subsidized time when they should be teaching fractions and spelling to talk about their own sexual tastes instead? Maybe supposed professionals who make videos of themselves at their places of business sporting trans-rights T-shirts and half-shaved heads really are mentally ill or at least somewhat mentally off. Maybe the masturbation-focused Kentucky woman who runs a sexy sex camp for 12- to 18-year-olds and whom Lorenz featured in her lead as a Libs of TikTok victim really is a kind of predator. And news flash to the journalism professor: The vast majority of Americans dont want young children to be taught in school about LGBTQ identities or any other kind of sex-related matters. Some states have even made that against the law. Even more fatuous has been the stance of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, which prides itself on its supposedly neutral fact-checking operation and its ethics classes for aspiring journalists. In an April 21 column, Poynter staffer Tom Jones maintained that Lorenz had simply been doing her job by retailing Browns hand-fed material, functioning as a mouthpiece for Media Matters, and pounding on the doors of her targets kin. (The phrase shoe leather to defend Lorenzs reporting style has turned into a meme for Twitters blue-check crowd.) This is Journalism 101, Jones wrote. Has there ever been a journalist who hasnt knocked on a door at least once in their career? Ever see All the Presidents Men? Speaking of which, while the mainstream medias reaction to Lorenzs article might be one more nail in the coffin of public respect for journalists, the real culprit is The Washington Post itself. Which Post editors approved the posting of a thinly reported story whose only purpose was to reveal the name of someone its author had clearly targeted for cancellation? Who at the Post decided that it was all right to quote only two decidedly biased sourcesand then use their assertions nearly verbatim as a justification for demolishing the anonymity of a private citizens Twitter account? (Media Matters has practically trademarked the phrase right-wing outrage machine.) Who gave the go-ahead to the initial link to the Libs of TikTok ladys real estate license number and an address that might have been her homea clear instance of doxxing? Why are Taylor Lorenzs Washington Post editors continuing to insist that she did nothing unprofessional? The Libs of TikTok story isnt a story about investigative reporting or angry conservatives who dont like it. Its a story about the debasement of journalism itself these days. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Dr. Paul Fedena and family attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, New York, on April 21, 2022. (Lily Yu/The Epoch Times) NEWARK, N.J. Three generations of the Fedena family were delighted when they finally saw Shen Yun Performing Arts, after waiting two years for COVID restrictions to be lifted. Grandfather Paul, a retired pastor, his daughter Amy, who works in risk management, and granddaughter Taylor, a graphic designer, were all at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center watching the world-renowned Chinese traditional dance and music company perform. It was inspirational. The costumes are beautiful, the message was amazing, said Amy. The choreography was outstanding. It was all perfection, she said. Amy praised the synchronicity of the music, the dancing, and the special effects. She also appreciated Shen Yuns mission to revive Chinas traditional culture which has been all but destroyed by the ruling communist regime. The performance clearly distinguished the differences between traditional Chinese culture and China as it is today where, under the rule of the Communist Party, there are Chinese people being persecuted, she said. I like traditions. I like older cultures, so I enjoy seeing that portrayed, said Amy. I really liked the fact that [Shen Yun] exposes communism for what it is, said Dr. Paul. He praised the synchronicity and skill of the dancers and the beautiful costumes. [The performers have] obviously have practiced and practiced and practiced, he said. The portrayal of spiritual messages was well done. Dr. Paul gave his interpretation of one of the messages. The message is that the end times are on us and that something better happens, or we are going to be destroyed and I think thats true from the Biblical standpoint as well. So, I think that message is getting out to the public and thats good, he said. Connected With Traditions Stanley Butler and Ted Keane, investment property managers from Boston, drove during the night to see Shen Yun in Newark. They both agreed that the performance was spectacular. And its well worth the trip, said Keane. The animation was amazing. Shen Yun was also inspirational, educational, and beautiful, he said. Butler felt connected to the traditions expressed by Shen Yun. He said he had always believed in the values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. I think its valuable for everyone no matter what their religion, these are the values that all people can agree on, he said. And I think everyone has that same belief that theres a higher power and that we are all part of that, said Keane. He was uplifted by the pieces that portrayed the spiritual side of ancient Chinese society. The two friends agreed that the music played by Shen Yuns orchestra was euphoric. The orchestra is unique, blending traditional Chinese and classical Western instruments. The music gave a feeling of being transcended into another spiritual world, Butler added. Reporting by LilyYu, Weiyong Zhu 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. Trump-Appointed Federal Judge Blocks Kentuckys Abortion Bill, Planned Parenthood CEO Claims Win A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking Kentucky authorities from enforcing the HB 3 bill that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and requires women to submit to an examination by a doctor before receiving abortion pills. The abortion law contains reporting requirements and restrictions that Planned Parenthood said it couldnt comply with immediately as officials have not put key procedural requirements in place. As per the law, noncompliance can attract felony penalties, fines, and even revocation of facility and physician licenses. In her ruling on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, a Trump appointee, sided with Planned Parenthood, pointing out the state has yet to establish clear guidelines about the law. Providers of legal abortion services cannot comply with HB 3 until the Cabinet creates the required forms and promulgates the necessary regulations and HB 3 includes no language excusing compliance during the 60-day promulgation period, according to the court decision. Because Plaintiff cannot comply with HB 3 and thus cannot legally perform abortion services, its patients face a substantial obstacle to exercising their rights to a pre-viability abortion. Jennings also indicated that the law, in its present state, potentially violates a Supreme Court precedent that approved a womans right to abortion prior to 24 weeks of fetal viability. Absent any new development in the litigation, the temporary order is scheduled to expire in two weeks. During this time, the judge is expecting to hold a hearing on the issue. The temporary restraining order restricts the egregious abortion ban from blocking a person from exercising their constitutionally protected right to basic care, Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, and Kentucky, said in an April 21 statement following the court decision. Heather Gatnarek, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kentucky, praised Jennings for recognizing what she terms as blatant unconstitutionality of the abortion law. Daniel Cameron, the Republican attorney general of Kentucky, vowed to fight for the law if the lawsuit proceeds. We are disappointed that the court chose to temporarily halt enforcement of HB 3. This law is constitutional, and we look forward to continuing to defend it, Cameroon said in an April 22 tweet. Kentucky Governor Democrat Andy Beshear had vetoed the bill earlier this month. But the Republican-controlled House and Senate overrode his decision last week. Beshear had earlier argued that HB 3 would make it difficult for a child victim of incest or rape from received abortion services in certain areas of the state. Speaking to CNN, the bills Republican sponsor, state Representative Nancy Tate insisted that the bills intent is to make sure the judicial system gets involved in case a minor is affected by rape or incest. The abortion laws requirement that women be examined by doctors prior to receiving abortion pills was hotly debated. Roughly half the abortions carried out in Kentucky are usually the result of medication rather than surgery. The bill will prevent at-home, pill-by-mail, do-it-yourself abortions that leave women to fend for themselves if medical complications arise, Republican state Senator Ralph Alvarado said. There were 4,381 abortions conducted in Kentucky in 2021, which is 277 more than 2020. Elon Musk's twitter account is seen on a smartphone in front of the Twitter logo in this photo illustration taken on April 15, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters) Twitter Needs White Knight Investor to Thwart Elon Musk Buyout: Tech Analyst One of the few ways in which Twitter can avoid Elon Musk taking over the company is to find a friendly investor or a white knight, according to tech analyst, Dan Ives. Ives, an analyst at investment firm Wedbush, told Fortune that a white knighta financial term used to describe a friendly investor that sweeps in when a company is on the verge of being taken over by an unfriendly investor and prevents the takeover from happeningcould be the social media platforms last chance of avoiding the billionaires buyout. Businessman Musk has offered to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share in cash, which would amount to $43 billion. Musk revealed on Thursday that he has secured the required $46.5 billion in financing to purchase Twitter. According to a new regulatory filing, Musk is also exploring a tender offer to buy shares directly from stockholders. Ives noted that the tender offer made by Musk is an alternative way to put pressure on the board after the company announced it was adopting a limited duration shareholder rights plan, a tactic known in the financial world as a poison pill to fend off Musks potential buyout. The so-called poison pill will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders, Twitter said. Effectively, the move makes it more financially challenging for the potential acquirer, hinting at the boards opposition to Musks bid. In the next 48 to 72 hours, they are either going to have to officially decline the bid or come up with a second offer, Ives said. According to Fortune, Elliott Investment Management, a hedge fund that already counts itself as a Twitter, PayPal, and software company Oracle shareholder, could be a potential white knight option for Twitter. Earlier this month, billionaire investor Mark Cuban suggested that Twitter might be communicating with a potential white knight to buy out the company. Every major tech company, Google, fb, et al is on the phone with their anti trust lawyers asking if they can buy Twitter and get it approved, Cuban wrote on Twitter on April 14. And Twitter is on the phone with their lawyers asking which can be their white knight. Gonna [sic] be interesting, he added. Musk has secured $25.5 billion in debt financing from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, including Bank of America, Barclays, and Mizuho, according to Thursdays regulatory filing. He has also committed to providing $21 billion in equity financing, The richest man in the world is seeking to negotiate a definitive agreement with the board for the acquisition of Twitter. However, Twitter hasnt responded to the proposal, the document states. Given the lack of response by Twitter, Musk is exploring whether to commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares at a price of $54.20 per share. He has not determined whether to do so at this time, the filing states. The Epoch Times reached out to Twitter and a Musk spokesperson for comment but received no response. U.S. Supreme Court Sides With La Mesa Resident in Nazi-Looted Painting Suit LA MESA, Calif.The U.S. Supreme Court revived on April 21 a lawsuit brought by a La Mesa resident who claimed he and his family should have ownership of a French Impressionist painting looted from their ancestor by the Nazis. The dispute over Camille Pissarros Rue Saint-Honore, Afternoon, Rain Effect stems from a lawsuit filed by now-deceased La Mesa resident Claude Cassirer, who alleged he and his family should retain ownership of the painting rather than the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, an entity controlled by the Kingdom of Spain. Cassirers grandmother, Lilly Cassirer, inherited the painting but surrendered it to the Nazis in 1939 in order to obtain an exit visa and escape Berlin. The painting exchanged hands over the decades and was eventually sold to the foundation, which placed it in its museum in Madrid. Claude Cassirer later discovered the painting was hanging in the foundations museum and after undergoing attempts to have it returned, sued to regain it. While lower courts ruled that Spanish property law should govern the paintings ownershipresulting in a ruling awarding the piece to the foundationthe high court unanimously ruled that the case should return to a lower court and California law should be applied to determine the paintings ownership. The path of our decision has been as short as the hunt for Rue Saint-Honore was long; our ruling is as simple as the conflict over its rightful owner has been vexed, Justice Elena Kagan wrote in an opinion on April 21. The familys attorneys say they will prevail because California law does not allow purchases of stolen goods even if the buyer makes the purchase in good faith. Britain's Health Secretary Sajid Javid arrives for a cabinet meeting at Number 10 Downing Street in London on Jan. 25, 2022. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images) UK to Ban Modern Slavery Goods and Services From National Health Service The UK is set to pass a new law targeting modern slavery in NHS supply chains such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) made from cotton sourced in Chinas Xinjiang region. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Friday that he wants the landmark amendment to be a turning point in the UKs mission to eradicate slavery and human trafficking in supply chains around the globe. As the biggest public procurer in the country, the NHS is well placed to spearhead this work, Javid said. The amendment said the health secretary must make regulations with a view to eradicating the use in the health service in England of goods or services that are tainted by slavery and human trafficking. The regulations may include the process to be followed by public bodies in excluding a supplier from consideration for the award of a contract, the steps public bodies must take to assess and address the risk of slavery and human trafficking, and requirements regarding procurement contracts for the health service in England, the amendment said. The amendment is subject to a vote in the House of Commons on Monday, but its expected to be a formality. It was proposed in lieu of an amendment from the House of Lords that mandates government ministers to assess if there is a serious risk of genocide in the sourcing region of goods and services procured for NHS England. The government previously said it would address the issue in an upcoming Bill that will cover all government procurement, but proposed the amendment on Thursday following cross-party pressure. Speaking in the House of Lords on April 5, former Conservative chief whip David Maclean, Lord Blencathra, who proposed the original amendment, said the government would always have a better Bill coming along in the future, but the right time is right now and the right legislation is this Bill. Lord Blencathra said the government had procured billions of pounds worth of medical equipment sourced in whole or in part from Xinjiang in recent years despite widespread reports of forced labour in that region. On Friday, Conservative Party MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been pushing for the Lords amendment in the House of Commons, said he welcomes Javids significant move. A founder and Co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), Duncan Smith said IPAC members had campaigned hard for such a change, and its good to know this will now happen. He also urged all government departments to do the same and quickly. We will be sending the most powerful signal to those around the world who exploit and terrorise those weaker than themselves; the swords of justice are on their trail, he wrote on Twitter. Another lead campaigner on the issue, CEO of anti-slavery charity Arise Luke de Pulford praised Javid and his department for being way out front on human rights. This is, by some distance, the biggest advance in modern slavery legislation since the Modern Slavery Act 2015. In fact, its much more significant in that it raises the bar massively for government procurement, de Pulford told the Politico. Speaking to the same publication, Rahima Mahmut, UK director of the World Uyghur Congress, said it means so much to my people that people in other countries are standing up to the Chinese regime. For too long the UK has pretended that its possible to increase trade with China while denouncing their human rights atrocities. I hope this is the beginning of the end for Chinas trade impunity, and wish to thank Sajid Javid personally, who I met the other night, and who I believed when he told me he would do all he could for the Uyghur people, Mahmut said. The passing of the modern slavery amendment will mark another major win of parliamentarians advocating for human rights in China. On March 30, an amendment to the same bill was passed with the aim to stop British people from participating in forced organ harvesting in China. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with his British Prime Minister Boris Johnson before a meeting in New Delhi on April 22, 2022. (Prakash Singh /AFP via Getty Images) UK to Help India Build Fighter Jets to Reduce Its Reliance on Russia: Johnson Britain will support India to build its own fighter jets in a bid to reduce its reliance on Russian weapon supplies, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday on a visit to New Delhi. Johnson also said Britain was also creating an India-specific open general export license to slash delivery times for defence items. Only the European Union and the United States currently have such licences. But he stopped short of putting pressure on his Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen his position against Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine. On his first visit to India as UK prime minister, Johnson discussed with Modi ways to boost security ties with India, which buys more than half of its military hardware from Russia. India abstained from a vote in the United Nations condemning the invasion and has not imposed sanctions on Moscow. Johnson said after meeting Modi it was unlikely India would end its long-standing ties with Russia. The position on Russia that the Indians have historically is well known. They are not going to change that, of course, thats true, he told a press conference on the final day of his two-day trip. But they can see what is going on and there is an increasing appetite to do more with the UK, he said. Johnson sought to downplay Indias neutrality, saying Modi had asked Putin what on earth he thinks he is doing in one of several interventions. Johnson said India and Britain must deepen cooperation to counter the increasing autocratic coercion and keep the Indo-Pacific open and free, in an apparent reference to the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime. Johnson spoke with his counterpart for around 45 minutes in the Hyderabad House government building, devoting up to 15 minutes on Ukraine, Downing Street said. Indias foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said Johnson put no pressure on Modi over his position on Russias invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Johnson shared his perspective on it, Prime Minister Modi shared ourswhich is that the Russia-Ukraine war should end immediately, Shringla told reporters. There was no pressure of any kind. Johnsons official spokesman said Modi asked Johnsons perspective on the Russian invasion, particularly in light of his recent visit to the capital of Kyiv. But the spokesman said Johnson was not there to talk to another democratic country about what actions they should take. At the press conference, Johnson said the two countries achieved progress on a post-Brexit free trade deal, and said the deal could be wrapped up by October. Johnson conceded there would be difficult issues ahead, including on tariffs, particularly whisky. He was also open to accepting higher levels of migration from India to take skilled jobs in Britain. He said an FTA would allow Delhi to lift tariffs on British machinery, and in turn, the UK could lift tariffs on Indian rice and textiles. PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a press conference in New Delhi, India, on April 22, 2022. (Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images) UK to Reopen Embassy in Ukrainian Capital Kyiv Next Week: Johnson Britain is set to reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv next week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced. Johnson made the announcement at a press conference in New Dehli where he has been holding talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (R) and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shake hands before a meeting, as Russias attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 9, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters) He told the news conference that the improving security situation around Kyiv means that Britain will be able to reopen its embassy there. But he accepted a Western intelligence assessment that the conflict could continue for most of the rest of the year, potentially ending with a victory for President Vladimir Putin. The prime minister said the situation in the region remains unpredictable, underlying the need to maintain support for Ukraine. He said Britain is looking to send tanks to backfill in Poland so Soviet-era T-72swith which Ukrainian crews are familiarcan be released to Ukrainian forces. In addition to immediate military support, Johnson said Western allies are preparing to offer Ukraine a series of security guarantees which should make the country impregnable to a future Russian invasion. While he said it will not be the same as the NATOs Article 5 guaranteein which an attack on one member state is considered an attack on allhe hoped it would offer deterrence by denial. What the Ukrainians wantand I think are now going to getis a collection of guarantees from like-minded countries about what we can do to back them up with weaponry, with training, and with intelligence-sharing, he said. It will, I hope, enable the Ukrainians to offer deterrence by denial and make sure their territory is so fortified as to be impregnable to further attack from Russia. That is what we need to do. The UK initially moved the embassy to the western city of Lviv in February shortly before the Russian invasion began. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss then announced in early March that ambassador Melinda Simmons had left the country altogether due to the serious security situation. The UK Foreign Office said on Friday that the embassy premises in Kyiv are currently being made secure before staff return, starting with Simmons. In a statement, Truss said: The extraordinary fortitude and success of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in resisting Russian forces, means we will shortly be re-opening our British Embassy in Kyiv. I want to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of the Embassy team and their work throughout this period. PA Media contributed to this report. A Mastiff armoured vehicle is seen during a military exercise on Salisbury Plains near Warminster, England, on July 23, 2020. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) Ukrainian Troops Training in UK to Use British Armoured Vehicles Ukrainian troops are being trained on UK soil to use British armoured vehicles, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed. I can say that were currently training Ukrainians in Poland in the use of the anti-aircraft defences and actually in this country [the UK] in the use of the armoured vehicles, he said on Thursday to reporters travelling with him in India. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson disembarks the plane having arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, on April 21, 2022. (Ben Stansall WPA Pool/Getty Images) Johnsons press secretary said a couple of dozen Ukrainian soldiers are currently in the UK for training. We are moving in conjunction with our allies providing new types of equipment that perhaps the Ukrainians wouldnt have had previous experience on. So its only sensible that they get the requisite training to get the best use of it, said the prime ministers official spokesman. The spokesman downplayed concerns the move could be seen as escalatory by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Were always conscious of anything thats perceived to be escalatory but clearly whats escalatory is the actions of Putin and his regime, he said. Were simply working together with our allies to give Ukraine the tools to defend themselves. Also on Thursday, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK is helping Ukrainians develop new capabilities with NATO weaponry. Speaking during a visit to The Hague for the Invictus Games, Wallace told reporters: The Ukrainians need, first and foremost, they need long-range artillery and artillery shells. They use currently Russian Soviet stocks and the calibres are different from what the West holds, so not only are we trying to help them source those calibres so that they can immediately be used, but at the same time helping them explore developing new capabilities with what would be called NATO calibres so that if they choose to shift to that we can all help them with supply. The UK on Thursday announced new sanctions against Putins war leaders, who Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said had Ukrainian blood on their hands. The key leaders in Russias army targeted as part of the new wave of sanctions include Lt. Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, a commanding officer with involvement in the alleged Bucha massacre, the Foreign Office said. He has been dubbed the Butcher of Bucha, as his unit occupied the Ukrainian city where they have been reports of war crimes, with the death toll reaching almost 350, it added. Also sanctioned by the UK are Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov, commander of airborne forces; Major General Valery Flyustikov, commander of special operations forces; and Colonel General Nikolay Bogdanovsky, first deputy chief of the general staff. PA Media contributed to this report. University of Pittsburgh Contacted NIH to Help Respond to Criticism of Fetal Organ Experiments The University of Pittsburgh reached out to top National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials to help it respond to criticism of experiments using fetal organs, according to newly released emails. Calls for a probe were triggered after documents showed the government, including the NIH, awarded millions to the school for a program that used aborted baby organs for experiments, such as grafting fetal skin onto rodents. In response, the school said in September 2021 it was tapping a law firm, Hyman Phelps & McNamara, to conduct a review to make sure the schools handling of fetal tissue complied with state and federal laws. Shortly after the probe was announced, Jeremy Berg, an associate senior vice chancellor at the university, wrote to then-NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins to enlist the assistance of top NIH officials, according to the new emails (pdf). Berg gave the officials background on the situation and said that the university believed the laws were followed while highlighting how the review triggered fresh complaints, with questions raised about possible conflicts of interest and a limited scope. We have been discussing these issues and it seems that this is an organized attempt to delegitimize science based on fetal tissue rather than to identify misbehavior (although, of course, any misbehavior does create opportunities for outrage), Berg wrote. In light of this, we feel that the scientific community would benefit if more institutions could stand together to take some of the power out of the one-at-a-time strategy that appears to be operating. Berg said the universitys chancellor, Pat Gallagher, who used to direct one of the national institutes, wanted to meet with Collins or other appropriate individuals at NIH. Collins added additional officials, one of whom added Renate Myles, a spokesperson for the office of the NIH director. Dr. Lawrence Tabak, who replaced Collins in late 2021, floated that he and Dr. Michael Lauer, a deputy director at the NIH, could meet with Gallagher. The response, from another NIH official, was redacted. yes please, Tabak said in return. The following day, Tabak informed Berg that Lauer would be meeting with the universitys vice president and based upon the outcome of that meeting, Mike and I are willing to meet with your chancellor if that is still desired. Lauer told the team he was meeting with the vice president on Zoom. Its not clear which of the scheduled meetings actually took place. The university, Collins, Lauer, and Myles didnt respond to requests for comment. Collins remains employed at the NIHs National Human Genome Research Institute. The emails were obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, filed after the nonprofit said the NIH didnt properly act on their FOIA request. The group previously obtained government documents that showed the NIH and its parent agency spent nearly $3 million to support the University of Pittsburghs effort to ramp up experiments on fetal tissue. These documents expose the collusion between the University of Pittsburgh and the NIH over the fetal organ chop shop in the University of Pittsburgh paid for with federal tax dollars, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. Hyman, Phelps & McNamara concluded its review in late 2021 (pdf), finding that the university met state and federal laws and NIH policy. As we have stated in the past: Fetal tissue research plays a critical role in advancing life-saving discoveries. We remain committed to maintaining robust internal controls and to extending our record of compliance at the state and federal levels, and we take these responsibilities seriously, a university spokesperson said at the time. But at least some lawmakers who had urged (pdf) the Biden administration to investigate the school over possible violations of federal law remained unconvinced, and several said the newly disclosed emails emphasize the need for a probe. These startling revelations that were just released show that we need an actual investigation into the University of Pittsburghs fetal tissue research, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) told The Epoch Times via email. Im disgusted these researchers may have harvested the organs of babies who were born alive. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) added that the NIH must appropriately investigate these allegations of misconduct and remind the university of its responsibilities as a federal grantee to the American people. The university is not above the law simply because its an academic institution. If the University of Pittsburg is truly innocent of wrongdoing, it should have nothing to hide and should not attempt to divert attention from the issue at hand, Westerman said. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) speaks at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs/Rules and Administration Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 3, 2021. (Shawn Thew/Pool via Getty Images) Vulnerable Democrats Breaking With Biden on Immigration Democrats facing tough reelection battles have begun to openly break with President Joe Biden in recent weeks over his plan to reverse Title 42 restrictions on entry into the United States through the southern border, highlighting fears among vulnerable Democrats that the issue could turn the tide in November. Since taking office, Biden has sought to overturn Trump-era immigration rules, placing a moratorium on the construction of the wall along the southern border and ending the highly successful Remain in Mexico policy, which required illegal immigrants to stay in the care of Americas southern neighbor until their asylum applications are approved. Even as rates of illegal immigration have skyrocketed, with Border Patrol agents overwhelmed amid unprecedented rates of illegal immigration, the White House has sought to avoid labeling the situation a crisis, but recently some Democrats in the Senate are starting to call it that. Especially controversial is Bidens plan to overturn President Donald Trumps implementation of the Title 42 immigration rulewhich ensures that many illegal immigrants apprehended along the southern border are turned backnear the end of May. As immigration rates continue to climb, and as many Democrats face tough reelection bids in battleground states, some Democrats have begun to join Republicans in calling for Biden to reverse his decision and to focus on reinforcing defenses along the southern border. Sen. Hassan Trying to Rebrand as MAGA Maggie: GOP Strategist Despite having opposed efforts by Republicans to strengthen the border during the past six years, voting against every Republican border security proposal that made it to the Senate floor, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) has apparently changed her mind on the issue in recent weeks, and has on several occasions called for tougher border security and more funding. One GOP strategist told The Epoch Times that the change in position was so pronounced that Hassan has been trying to rebrand herself as MAGA Maggie moving into this years midterms. Republicans have had their eyes on Hassans seat since 2016, when Hassan just barely squeaked out a victory over Republican Kelly Ayotte by a 0.16 percent margin, boiling down to around 1,100 votes. In 2022, many Republicans have suggested the GOP is in a far better position to take back the state. David Carney, who serves as the general consultant for GOP frontrunner Chuck Morse in the New Hampshire Senate race, agreed in a phone interview that the race is a prime opportunity for the GOP to make advances in the Senate this year. Its one of the top prospects for our side to pick up a seat, no question, Carney said. Bolstering GOP prospectsand painting a grim picture for Hassans prospectsis the polling performance of President Joe Biden in the state, Carney noted. President Bidens job approval is underwater by a net 9 points and 51% of voters disapprove of the job that he is doing, Morses campaign noted in a press release, citing a poll conducted by the Phillips Academy. Later, Carney turned to Hassans track record on border security, which he said had hurt New Hampshire residents by allowing for an influx of highly-dangerous fentanyl into the state. Maggie Hassan has voted against every border security bill since shes been in office, Carney said. And yet, she was on the border this week with a video about how we need to have a strong border and put the wall up. The video in question was posted by Hassan to Facebook and other social media platforms on April 11 after she visited the border. I just spent two days at our southern border, and its clear we need to make more investments in personnel, technology, and physical infrastructure to secure our border, Hassan said in the videos caption. It is very clear that we need a lot more personnel, it is very clear that we need a lot more technology, so we can really understand whats happening at the border, she said in the video. I mean, [Hassan] is flipping so much that shes giving people a headache trying to track where she is on policies, Carney said. She is worse than a windmill. Shes just going with the wind. Shes trying to become MAGA Maggie, he joked. Its crazy. Its unbelievable. Her April 11 post wasnt the only comment that saw Hassan pushing for a stricter approach to immigration. While visiting Arizona Hassan told a local New Hampshire station that had accompanied her: Our front-line personnel need significant additional numbers, people on the ground at the border. They need more technology. They need access roads and, in some places, they need physical barriers. The administration really needs to step up here, develop a plan and get more resources to the southern border, Hassan added. Hassans comments indicate a substantial shift in her attitudes toward the situation as it has garnered more and more attention from Republicans and independents alike, who could make or break her bid for reelection later this year. In a statement to the Epoch Times, T.W. Arrighi, national press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) argued that rather than helping Hassan, this attitude shift would only worsen her prospects. MAGA Maggie is burning her base and earning zero new votes in the process, Arrighi said of Hassans apparent shift. Hassan could not be reached for further comment on the issue by press time. Lifting Title 42 Is Going to Be a Crisis: Sen. Mark Kelly Hassan is not the only Democrat who has seemed to buck the official White House position on immigration. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), whose position in the previously red stronghold of Arizona remains tenuous, has long taken a more middle-of-the-road approach to immigration. As early as April 2021, well before levels of illegal immigration had reached their peak, Kelly called the developing situation along the southern border a crisis, rejecting the White Houses more optimistic portrayal of the issue. Around the same time, Kelly vowed that he would continue holding this administration accountable on border security. Now, Kelly is re-upping his challenge to the Biden administrations immigration policies. Following a recent visit to the border, Kelly warned reporters that if Biden lifted Title 42, Its going to be a crisis. In the Senate, Kelly has joined Sens. Hassan, Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in putting forward legislation that would delay the end of Title 42 for at least 60 days. Still, Kelly has not taken quite as hardline stance against immigration as Hassan. Rather, he has called for the White House to ease strains on the immigration system by putting forward a plan to increase the number of judges available to hear asylum claims and to bus and house immigrants entering the country, though it is not clear whether this would apply only to those legally allowed to be in the country. In addition, near the beginning of the 117th Congress, Kelly joined his colleagues in helping to introduce the For the People Act, a voting bill that the nonpartisan Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) told The Epoch Times would shield and excuse fraudulent voting by illegal aliens through its relaxed security measures. Kelly has seemed to veer toward the middle on immigration policy, hoping to satisfy both his Democrat primary constituents and the general Arizona population, but as an influx of illegal aliens continues to pour into Arizona, its unclear how voters will take Kellys immigration stance. Arrighi warned against giving too much weight to Kellys pretensions of being strong on border security. Mark Kelly has voted against border wall funding, and voted to support sanctuary cities and even to cut checks to those in the country illegally, Arrighi said. His concern over the current crisis that he helped exacerbate is worthless. More frustrating is the constant delay from Mark Kelly. He has made it his political calling card to not give a position on something until everybodys already taken a position on it, Arrighi added. Kelly uses a lot of words, but takes very little action when it comes to border security. Kelly did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who is also considered a target by the NRSC, has suggested that she agrees with Kellys concerns about lifting Title 42. I think its just wrong to do it without a detailed plan. We always know right around summer theres a surge, Cortez Masto said. Dem Reps. Spanberger, Slotkin Pen Letter to Mayorkas Decrying Title 42 Reversal On April 19, Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) joined their Senate colleagues in decrying the plan to reverse Title 42 in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Given our backgrounds in national security, we know the Executive Branch is accustomed to planning for contingencies, and it is for this reason that we submit to you the below requests for actions to be taken before the administration lifts the Title 42 order, so that we prevent a humanitarian and security crisis, the duo wrote. We are concerned about how DHS will contend with an increase of people that will more than triple the departments capacity without ample and robust planning, the letter continued. And while the administration gave itself two months to prepare, what has been shared with us to date seems like too little, too lateespecially when the removal of Title 42 will occur at the same time that a spike in seasonal migration occurs. Still, the White House has given no indication that it will accede to bipartisan pressure to reverse the Title 42 decision. And some have suggested that Democrats expressed concerns over illegal immigration are little more than political theater in preparation for the upcoming midterm battles, which are expected to see heavy Democratic losses in the House and will put Democrats in the Senate on the defensive. In a statement to The Epoch Times, FAIR government relations manager Preston Huennekens suggested as much, noting Democrats poor track record on border security until recently. These Democratic officials only care about the lifting of Title 42 because they understand it will be a political disaster for Democrats, Huennekens said. None of these Senators cared about the administrations destruction of immigration enforcement in this country, he continued. None of them protested the new ICE guidance that makes it nearly impossible to arrest and deport illegal aliens. None of them complained about the ending of the Remain in Mexico program, which successfully ended the 2019 border crisis. None of these Senators cared about the situation at our Southern border until it became politically expedient for them to do so. A case in Idaho around baby Cyrus being taken from his family by Child Protective Services (CPS) is bringing attention to the financial incentives and extralegal powers states have when taking children from their parents. We spoke with the family and a lawyer involved in the states seizure of baby Cyrus and found that in such cases, parents lose basic legal protections including the right to a jury and the burden of proof, and that families are often placed under gag orders to prevent them from speaking. Diego Rodriguez, grandfather of Baby Cyrus, said, This truly is state-subsidized child trafficking. Theres no way to whitewash, this is exactly what it is. We also discovered the financial incentive given to states in cases involving the taking of children. Rodriguez said, In this case, the federal government is paying Idaho to steal, kidnap, abductwhatever term you want to usebabies from peoples families, innocent families. And we discovered this is an issue that isnt limited to just Idaho. Its an issue found throughout the United States. Attorney Colton Boyles said, I really think this is going to resound across the United States when people realize that this can happen to anyone. Subscribe to the new Crossroads newsletter and stay up-to-date! Follow EpochTV on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV Parler: https://parler.com/#/user/EpochTV * Click Save button below the video and you can watch it later on My List John Durham speaks at a conference in New Haven, Conn., on Sept. 20, 2018. (Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut) Where Things Stand With John Durhams Probe Cases handled by special counsel John Durham have produced a flurry of notable discoveries that shed more light on the sprawling yearslong investigation. Durham so far has three indictments and one guilty plea under his belt, with some indications that there may be more in the pipeline. Durham was tasked around March-May 2019 with reviewing the 2016-2017 FBI investigation of alleged nefarious ties between candidate and later President Donald Trump and Russia. In October 2020, then-Attorney General William Barr appointed Durham a special counsel. In February 2021, Durham resigned his position as a federal prosecutor after 35 years with the Department of Justice (DOJ), where he handled some of the most prominent investigations of FBI misconduct. At age 72, his current job may just be the last chapter and culmination of his career. The investigation has led Durham into some of the deep recesses of the D.C. political machine. As the current record indicates, multiple federal agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, were sicced on Trump and his associates by operatives tied to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the presidential campaign of former State Secretary Hillary Clinton. The FBI launched a sprawling investigation into Trumps campaign with some of the FBI officials most deeply involved in the probe privately expressing strong animus against Trump and preference for Clinton. A stream of leaks from the federal bureaucracy facilitated an avalanche of misinformation that to this day has many Americans convinced that Trump was secretly in cahoots with Moscow. The pale of the media frenzy as well as the FBI probewhich was taken over in May 2017 by a special counsel, former FBI head Robert Muellerhamstrung Trumps foreign policy toward Russia. The repercussions are still felt today, some experts have argued. Mueller ultimately concluded that no Trump-Russia collusion to sway the 2016 election could be established. Durham is looking at both the origin of the Russia probe as well as how it was conducted before Mueller took over. In stark contrast to the Mueller probe, theres been a dearth of leaks from Durhams team. As far as the reports go, Durham has enlisted assistance of the governments of the United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia. Hes interviewed dozens of individuals, including former CIA Director John Brennan, and subpoenaed thousands of documents. His first indictment, in August 2020, targeted former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith for altering a CIA email to say that former Trump campaign aide Carter Page was not a source, when in fact he was providing information to the agency. The message was then used as a part of an application to extend surveillance of Page. FBI Director Christopher Wray later admitted that the surveillance was illegal. Clinesmith pleaded guilty and in January 2021 received a year of probation and 400 hours of community service. Prosecutors demanded six months in jail. His license to practice law in D.C. was reinstated after less than a year. In September 2021, Durham indicted Michael Sussmann, a lawyer who in 2016 represented the Clinton campaign, for lying to the FBI. Sussmann approached then-FBI General Counsel James Baker in September 2016 with information about a supposed secret communications channel between Trump and a Russian bank, which, it turned out, was false. Sussmann allegedly told Barker he wasnt there representing any client, when in fact he was billing the time to the Clinton campaign. Sussmanns lawyers attacked the indictment for relying on a single witness, Baker, but then Durham revealed an email from Sussmann to Baker explicitly saying Sussmann was reaching out not representing any client. In November 2021, Durham indicted Igor Danchenko, a Russia analyst formerly with the Brookings Institution, for lying to the FBI. Danchenko was paid to collect dirt on Trump by former British spy Christopher Steele, who was in turn hired (through intermediaries) to collect dirt on Trump by the Clinton campaign. As it turned out, much of the resulting Steele dossier was fabricated. Danchenko told the FBI some of the information came from Belarus-born real estate agent Sergei Millian, which was false, Durhams indictment said. In fact, Millian never spoke with Danchenko. A significant portion of what Danchenko collected appears to have been provided to him by longtime Clinton operative Charles Dolan, who himself has deep ties to Russia. The information, laced with fabrications, was then folded by Steele into his dossier. Dolan admitted to the FBI that he provided (and fabricated) some of the information. Recent filings in the Sussmann case revealed that the lawyer, formerly with the DOJ, peddled to the CIA data that showed supposedly suspicious existence of a Russian-made phone in Trumps vicinity. The CIA assessed the data was user-created, possibly fabricated, and contradicted itself, according to Durhams team. Earlier this week, Sussmann, the Clinton campaign, the DNC, Sussmanns former employer and law firm Perkins Coie, Fusion GPS (retained by Perkins Coie to research Trump), and several Clinton operatives asked the court to prevent revelation of certain emails and documents that they say are protected by attorney-client privilege. They largely argue that Perkins Coie was hired by the Clinton campaign to provide legal services and the research on Trump was done to support those services and is thus covered by the privilege. The Durham team disputes that. The trial is scheduled for mid-May. The Durham team in recent court documents hinted at an assertion that there was a conspiracy between the various operatives tied to the Clinton campaign. Criminal conspiracy is a federal crime, but it needs to be tied to an underlying crime. Two or more people have to agree to break a federal law and then take at least one overt acteven if innocuous on its ownto carry out the plan. Durham has so far brought no conspiracy charges. John Ratcliffe, the former director of national intelligence under Trump, said last year he believes there will be many indictments based on the intelligence that I gave to John Durham and that I have seen. All three current cases of Durhams have highlighted the tight-knit nature of the federal judicial and law enforcement community in the D.C. area. The judge in the Clinesmith case, James Boasberg, sits on the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that approved spying on Page based primarily on the Steele dossier and partly on the false information provided by Clinesmith. The judge in the Danchenko case, Anthony Trenga, presided over the Mueller-brought case against former business partner of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump. Trenga threw out the conviction in that case for a lack of evidence. The judge in the Sussmann case, Christopher Reid Cooper, used to be a colleague of Sussmanns at the DOJ. His wife, Amy Jeffress, is a lawyer for Lisa Page, formerly a high-level FBI attorney whos now suing the DOJ. Page was deeply embedded in the Russia investigation. She was also a mistress of Peter Strzok, former head of FBI counterintelligence operations and a point man in the Russia probe. Cooper and Jeffress also have close ties to the Democratic Party. Cooper served on the 2008 transition team of President Barack Obama, Jeffress spent 20 years at the DOJ and was a national security counselor for Obamas Attorney General Eric Holder, and their wedding was officiated by Merrick Garland, the current Attorney General. Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the time frame when Michael Sussmann met James Baker. Court documents say they met in September 2016. The Epoch Times regrets the error. The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, on Jan. 18, 2017. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Why Has Elon Musk Blamed Netflix Slump on Woke Mind Virus? Tesla and SpaceX CEO and prospective Twitter owner Elon Musk has addressed the recent slump in Netflixs stock, apparently blaming the decline on the proliferation of woke content on the platform. The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable, Musk posted on Twitter Tuesday in reply to a report that Netflix shares had cratered in response to the companys most recent quarterly earnings report. Musks comments arrive on the heels of a major downturn for Netflixs stock, which has undergone a dramatic fall from grace in recent months owing to low subscriber growth. The latest earnings report attested to what many investors believe is a dire sign for the platform. For the first time in over ten years, Netflix reported a net decline in paid subscriptions to the platform, with about 200,000 fewer Netflix users than indicated by the previous quarterly report. In the beginning, Netflix was a platform that facilitated the delivery of DVDs by mail, allowing subscribers access to a wide inventory of new and old titles on the physical medium. Reflecting changes in the home movie industry, Netflix launched its streaming service in 2007, which quickly became the main priority of the business (in 2011, the DVD service was split off from the streaming service). In 2013, Netflix began its pivot to original content with the companys first in-house series, the wildly successful House of Cards, paving the way for future hits such as Tiger King, Stranger Things, and Bridgerton. A family watches the TV series Stranger Things, on Netflix at their home in Queens, New York, on Dec. 6, 2017. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times) This evolution was wildly profitable for the streaming platform, which became the best-performing stock of the 2010s with a 3,726.2 percent return over the span of the decade. The companys stock received an additional boost in the spring of 2020 when the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus lockdowns begat an emphasis on at-home movie consumption, and Netflix reached its peak at $691.69 per share on Nov. 17, 2021. However, it seems that Netflixas the companys stock performance in recent months seems to suggesthas fallen victim to its own hype. The value of Netflix stock has declined 63.47 percent YTD as of writing, with the most severe drop occurring on April 20 in response to the companys aforementioned quarterly report. In recent years, Netflix has increasingly emphasized progressive ideological messages in its original content, giving priority to movies and television series focusing on identitarian grievances. Amid the fire and tumult of the 2020 George Floyd riots, Netflix added a Black Lives Matter section to its genre tab, slotted snugly in the alphabetical list between Anime and British (the Black Lives Matter genre has subsequently been renamed Black Stories). However, Netflix has also elicited criticism from social progressives for some of these Black Storiesnamely, the black stories told by African-American comedian Dave Chappelle in his recent Netflix-exclusive specials. Chappelle drew particular criticism for his recent release The Closer, in which the comedian critiques certain features of gender ideology and LGBT culture. A counter-protestor holds a sign voicing support for a Dave Chapell comedy special airing on Netflix gather in front of Netflixs Vine Street offices in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 20, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The controversy over The Closer was followed by numerous company leaks from disgruntled employees and calls to boycott the platform. The controversy prompted Jaclyn Moore, transgender co-showrunner of the racially-focused series Dear White People, to leave the company, citing the ostensibly blatantly and dangerously transphobic content featured on The Closer. However, the company ultimately stood by the special, refusing calls to remove The Closer and other Chappelle content from the Netflix library. The premise which underlies Musks pronouncements is summarized by the widely circulated maxim, Get woke, go broke. The thinking goes that such propagandistic fare is alienating to consumers, who are prone to reject brands that attempt to moralize to them about social and political issues. One looking for a counter-example to Musks remarks might point to the success of Netflixs Bridgerton, a Regency-era period drama with an implausibly diverse cast of multiracial English aristocrats. However, though woke programming may succeed on an individual level, this does not necessarily entail that the dominance of such ideological fare has alienated audiences. Netflix has alternative ideas to explain its declining membership: The company placed the blame on its withdrawal from Russia in protest of the countrys recent invasion of Ukraine, which it claims was responsible for the loss of 700,000 Russian subscribers. Why Is CDC Trying to Put a Mask on Your Face Again? Commentary We know the wicked truth about Chairman Maos Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom. He said this in 1957 while inviting anyone to criticize the Communist Party. There were cheers all around and the criticisms were unleashed. This lasted six weeks, after which many of the biggest critics were shot. It was a bait and switch. Its a brilliant tactic for evil regimes. Ferret out the enemy and then make them go away. Thats not exactly what happened this week, but the analogy works. A judge in Florida this week struck down the Biden administrations transportation mask mandate. The opinion was highly technical and turned entirely on issues of administrative law. The judge ruled that the Public Health Service Act of 1944, the first ever to give quarantine power to the federal government, didnt authorize the imposition of universal mandates on what is really an article of clothing, in the name of sanitation. Instead, what appeared to happen here was entirely arbitrary. The Biden administration wanted masks and the CDC imposed them, including with criminal penalties. For a full year, travelers have been hectored and threatened at every turn. After the court decision, a hundred flowers bloomed in the form of air-born celebrations from coast to coast. Will it last? Not if our rulers in D.C. get their way. But lets be clear about something. Its about masks, but more. The mask is a metaphor for all the controls, restrictions, impositions, mandates, closures, and resulting wreckage of the past two years. People hate them because theyre so personal. More precisely, theyre depersonalizing, which is precisely how the lockdown period of American history has felt the entire time. We are our faces, to others and ourselves. Take that away and what are we? Were tools. Were pawns. Were lab rats for their experiments. Masks are dehumanizing because theyre supposed to be. The mask has a very long history as a tool of subjection and enslavement. We all know this intuitively. Therefore, the opportunity to throw it off was glorious. One evening, an entire nation of travelers celebrated. Celebrating even more were the airline staff, flight attendants, and pilots. They have lived two years in these ridiculous things, which have nowhere been proven to work to crush a virus. Emancipation from them was a welcome relief. So too for workers around the country, whose interests have been consistently disregarded. We found ourselves in the position of caste-like scenes in restaurants around the country: customers dining happily while being served by masked workers. This is inconsistent with the democratic and commercial ethos. All the airlines as well as Amtrak announced it quickly, perhaps as a way of making it impossible for the Biden administration to roll it back. Even Biden himself said that the new rule is that everyone should do what they want. I guess he didnt get the memo. Hold on just one minute, someone in the administration said. We need to find out what the Department of Justice says. Then the Justice Department immediately kicked it to the CDC: They are in charge of The Science, and so well wait. The Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) disagree with the district courts decision and will appeal, subject to CDCs conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health. The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is a valid exercise of the authority Congress has given CDC to protect the public health. That is an important authority the Department will continue to work to preserve. If CDC concludes that a mandatory order remains necessary for the publics health after that assessment, the Department of Justice will appeal the district courts decision. Whats this about? The plaintiff Health Freedom Defense Fund issued a sharp statement: DoJs statement is perplexing to say the least and sounds like it comes from health policy advocates not government lawyers. The ruling by the US District Court is a matter of law, not CDC preference or an assessment of current health conditions. In the early days of the Biden administration, the PR decision at the top was that it would always follow the science, a statement that the new president said many times. This was supposed to be different from the Trump administration, at least after the summer of 2020 when the CDC lost control over the political side of the executive state. On one hand, following The Science sounds good. However, if the science really means the bureaucracies and hence this slogan is just another way of passing the buck, theres a problem. The bureaucracies are unaccountable, and typically default to the safest and changeless route to preserve their power over the population. Even so, following the DOJs announcement, there must have been moments of panic at the CDC. They had the hot potato and didnt know what to do with it. Finally they settled on the usual strategy: They threw it to an anonymous committee. Then the committee came out with a statement unsigned by anyone in particular. Instead of citing The Science, or claiming they knew for sure that masks were great for people, the statement started with the following: To protect CDCs public health authority Notice that it doesnt say to protect public health. In any case, the decision was made. The CDC has asked DOJ to proceed with an appeal. Ah, there we go: Throw that potato back at a different agency. The CDC has merely asked! So now the DOJ will appeal, as forced by the sloganeering of the Biden administration and deference to the CDC. The results will certainly be terrible for the administration because the next court will agree with the previous court that there was never any legal basis for the mandate in the first place. They could also issue a stay. That would be catastrophic for the Biden administration. Public anger would be out of control. Mao got away with this because he had total power. Biden does not. In fact, his poll numbers are awful. Ive personally never seen an example of a sadistic government that is simultaneously politically masochistic. In other words, not only do these people not understand whats good for the country, but they dont even know whats good for themselves! The words of the CDC statement are the chilling part. They care about their own authority first and foremost, even only. This seems to be the view pervasive in Washington today, as a Cold Civil War heats up among the states and with Washington. Every day grows more intense. Every day, the conflict becomes more raw and brutal. There seems to be no end in sight because there will be no rollbacks, no apologies, no regrets, no admission that their authority was an overreach all along. Will governments have learned their lessons? Look around! We live in a world burdened by extremely arrogant and immovable public agencies that have lost public trust. The administrative state is right now as angry as the public is at them. Theres a peaceful solution here, but it doesnt seem to be on the table. If Ive learned anything new over the past two years, its about the strange way in which the ruling class is impervious not only to actual research but also to the will of the people, even when it shows up in devastating polls. They seem to regard the celebrations after the judges decision not as a corrective but as a challenge to overcome. Its all about authority. Not public health but public-health authority. Who is in charge? Thats whats really at issue. They say them and we say us. WATCH: Dr. Fauci tells me on #TheSourceKasie "This is a CDC issue, it should not have been a court issue." @CNN pic.twitter.com/rZZyHnFqJ5 Kasie Hunt (@kasie) April 21, 2022 In an interview with @LesterHoltNBC from last night's broadcast, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, addressed a judges decision striking down the CDCs travel mask mandate. pic.twitter.com/7t31y9BSEX NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) April 22, 2022 From the Brownstone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate PHOENIX (AP) The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the state's voters do not have the right to reject a massive income tax cut approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey last year. The decision means a tax cut is in effect that will hit nearly $2 billion when it is fully in place and mainly benefits the wealthy. The high court overturned a lower court judge who ruled in favor of education advocates who collected enough signatures under the state's referendum law to block them from taking effect until voters could weigh in in November. Lawyers for the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, a conservative pro-business group that pushes for lower taxes and regulations, argued the state constitution does not allow referrals for measures that provide for the support and maintenance of state government and that the tax cut bill falls into that category. The Supreme Court agreed in a brief order issued just two days after it heard arguments in the case. The order signed by Chief Justice Robert Brutinel does not explain the court's reasoning, saying a full opinion will be released later. The lower court judge had said that the constitutional provision only blocked referendums on bills that appropriate money, and since the tax cut bill does not do that, it is subject to voter review. Ducey, a Republican who pushed for an expansion of the court in 2016 that has allowed him to appoint six of the seven justices, hailed the decision. This ruling is another big win for our states taxpayers and it couldnt have come at a better time, he said in a statement. With inflation hitting Arizonans hard, this decision ultimately means more of their hard-earned dollars can stay in their wallets. Most residents won't see much help, because the vast majority of the tax cuts go to the wealthy. The Legislature's budget analysts said the average Arizonan earning between $75,000 and $100,000 will save $231 a year in state income taxes. Meanwhile, the average taxpayer earning between $500,000 and $1 million a year will save more than $12,000, according to the Legislatures budget analysts. The coalition of progressive groups that backed the referendum slammed the Supreme Court for stripping the rights of everyday Arizonans, in an attempt to protect the rich. "The ballot was Arizonas last line of defense from the Ducey-packed Supreme Court today that defense has fallen," said the statement from two groups backing Invest in Arizona. Despite the explicit and strong language of the Arizona Constitution granting the people a co-equal right to legislate, they have been shut out." The Arizona Center for Economic Progress and the Children's Action Alliance said voters have repeatedly backed measures that boosted school funding, child care and other progressive causes, only to have them blocked by the high court or erased by the Legislature. Earlier this year, a Supreme Court decision led to the demise of a tax on the wealthy designed to fund schools that voters approved in 2020. That came after lawmakers passed a law during last year's session that would have cut the expected $900 million in funding by more than half. Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi called the Supreme Court ruling a big win for taxpayers. "Invest in Arizona and out-of-state special interest groups need to accept this reality and stop making a farce of the referendum process, Mussi said in a series of tweets. Arizona's constitution lets voters block newly enacted laws by collecting signatures from 5% of qualified voters. If they do, the law is put on hold until the next general election. Lawmakers at the Capitol were split along party lines, just as they were last year when majority Republicans who hold bare majorities in the House and Senate enacted the tax cuts with no Democratic support. House Majority Leader Rep. Ben Toma said the decision provides clarity and certainty, and means tax historic relief is not in effect. Sen. Rebecca Rios, who leads minority Democrats in her chamber, said she was disappointed to say the least. A true Democracy should have no problem allowing this to go before the voters of Arizona, Rios said in a statement. Republicans continue to attack our schools, teachers and students, despite a majority of Arizonans making it clear time and time again that they want meaningful investments in our public schools. Republicans were planning on getting around the referendum by repealing the tax cuts and enacting larger ones, but that will no longer be necessary. Under the new law, rates for most taxpayers would drop to a flat 2.5%, and revenue would be cut by $1.9 billion once the tax cuts are fully in place. Thats down from a range of 2.59% to 4.5%. Arizona's state budget this year. Arizona's current budget is $12.8 billion. NEW CANAAN A report of a stolen Land Rover this week turned out to be a repossession, according to local police. Officers were dispatched to a home on Horton Lane for a reported stolen vehicle. The owner told police that they last saw their vehicle, a 2015 Range Rover HSE, parked in the driveway the evening before. The owner told police that they believed the car was left unlocked and their wood grain watch valued at $700 was left inside. Police later determined that the car was not stolen, but was repossessed. Along with addressing the report of a stolen car, police are reminding residents to set their alarm systems, lock their vehicles and secure their valuables after an attempted burglary and mail theft this week. After returning from vacation, a New Canaan resident noticed a window on the second floor of their Turtleback Road home was open. They then discovered another window was broken and a wooden bench outside had been moved and placed on its side, providing access to both windows, according to the New Canaan Police Department. Police were called to the home around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday for the attempted burglary. They later determined that the suspects never made it into the home and nothing was missing. About an hour later, police were called to a home on Old Norwalk Road for a report of stolen mail. Police said the homeowner used the United States Postal Services informed delivery feature, which allows recipients to preview the mail that is scheduled to come in. The feature said the homeowner was supposed to receive two checks, an EZ Pass and a letter. They were all missing from her mailbox, police said. The next morning, Police are encouraging residents to always set their alarm system, lock their vehicles, take their keys with them and secure valuables. NEVER leave valuables in your vehicle, the police department said in a statement. Often, identity theft occurs when drivers licenses and credit cards are stolen. In 2021, the New Canaan Police Department reported 44 thefts from motor vehicles, 39 motor vehicle thefts, 14 instances of identity theft and nine burglaries, according to crime data from the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALKWhile a federal judge in Florida struck down the nationwide mask mandate for public transportation, and Gov. Ned Lamont followed suit, Norwalk residents will still be required to mask up. In Norwalk, passengers at both Metro-North stops will be required to wear masks on the trains, as per the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the state Department of Transportation said it lifted the mandate for CTTransit buses, Hartford Line and Shore Line East trains, as well as their services and facilities in Connecticut. But masks are still required on Metro-North trains, under rules from New York State. Gov. Ned Lamont said at a press event Wednesday morning it was time to make masks optional for the states travelers. Youve got to keep it simple. Youve got to be clear. This judge out of Florida made it unsimple and unclear, Lamont said. I think in the interest of clarity its time to end the mask mandate for our piece of the transportation system. The governors decision followed a ruling by a federal judge in Florida on Monday evening that overturned the nationwide mask mandate to protect against COVID-19 on public transportation. Initially, on Tuesday, the state decided to keep the mandate place, but changed its decision Wednesday. For Norwalk transit riders, masks will still be required on all Norwalk-operated transportation, Norwalk Transit CFO Matt Pentz said. Right now were hanging on, not going to make any changes and going to stick with the masks, Pentz said. We are going to monitor and see how it goes. Pentz said the mask mandate has rarely been an issue in the past and the district plans to keep the mandate in place for the time being. We are continuing the mandate because its best for the community right now, Pentz said. Were fortunate we havent had a lot of issues. Riders are considerate and if they dont have a mask we provide them one. The decision to keep the Norwalk Transit mask mandate in place is a result of the rising COVID-19 case rate in the city, Pentz said. We looked at whats happening out there and felt with the positivity rate increasing, it wasnt the time, Pentz said. Through much of the last week, test positivity rate in Connecitcut has remained above 7 percent. Between March 31 and April 15, Norwalk saw 232 new cases, 127 of which occurred in the last week, according to DPH data. The nationwide decision was made by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, according to the AP. Kimball Mizelle said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rule-making procedures that left it fatally flawed. While masks will still be required on buses in Norwalk, many of the states airports lifted the mask mandates following the federal ruling. Tweed New Haven Regional Airport will no longer require masks inside the terminal, but does still recommend passengers wear masks when at the airport, according to a Tweed statement. The Connecticut Airport Authority, which operates five airports across the state, lifted the mask mandates at all of its airports, the authoritys Manager of Customer Experience Ryan Tenny said. For Norwalkers heading into New York for their flights or travel, masks are still required at Port Authority Bus Terminal, George Washington Bridge Bus Station, World Trade Center Oculus Transportation Hub, LaGuardia Airport, JFK International Airport and New York Stewart International Airport, according to a Port Authority statement. abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) South Carolinas highest court on Wednesday issued a temporary stay blocking the state from carrying out what was set to be its first-ever firing squad execution. The order by the state Supreme Court puts on hold at least temporarily the planned April 29 execution of Richard Bernard Moore, who drew the death sentence for the 1999 killing of convenience store clerk James Mahoney in Spartanburg. The court said in issuing the temporary stay that it would release a more detailed order later. Attorneys for the 57-year-old inmate had sought a stay, citing pending litigation in another court challenging the constitutionality of South Carolinas execution methods, which also include the electric chair. Moores lawyers also wanted time to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether Moores sentence was proportionate to his crime. It has been more than a decade since the last firing squad execution in the U.S. The state of Utah carried out all three such executions in the nation since 1976, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. The most recent was in 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner faced a five-person squad. The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday also set a May 13 execution date for Brad Sigmon, 64, who was convicted in 2002 of the double murder of his ex-girlfriends parents in Greenville County. A state judge agreed last week to examine a legal challenge brought by Moore, Sigmon and two other death row inmates who have mostly exhausted their appeals. Their lawyers argue that both electrocution and the firing squad are barbaric methods of killing. The prisoners attorneys also want the judge to closely examine prisons officials claims that they cant get hold of lethal injection drugs, citing executions by that method carried out by other states and the federal government in recent years. South Carolinas last execution was in 2011. State officials have attributed the decadelong hiatus to an inability to secure lethal injection drugs after the states last batch expired in 2013. Efforts to contact manufacturers and compounding pharmacies have proved unfruitful, Corrections Department officials have repeatedly said. A 2021 law intended to solve that problem made the electric chair the default execution method instead of lethal injection, and also codified the firing squad as an alternative option for condemned inmates. Moores execution date was set after corrections officials disclosed last month that they had completed renovations on the states death chamber in Columbia to accommodate the firing squad and also developed new execution protocols. Though Moore elected execution by firing squad earlier this month, he maintained in a written statement that he was forced to make a decision by a deadline set by state law and still found both options unconstitutional. Moore is also separately asking a federal judge to consider whether the firing squad and the electric chair are cruel and unusual. South Carolina is one of eight states that still use the electric chair and one of four including Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah to allow a firing squad, per the Death Penalty Information Center. Moore has spent more than two decades on death row after he was convicted in 2001 in the fatal shooting of convenience store clerk James Mahoney. Prosecutors said at his trial that he entered Nikkis Speedy Mart in Spartanburg looking for money to support his cocaine habit. He then got into a dispute with Mahoney, who drew a pistol that Moore wrestled away from him. Mahoney pulled a second gun, and a gunfight ensued, with Mahoney shooting Moore in the arm and Moore shooting Mahoney in the chest. Moores lawyers have said Moore couldnt have intended to kill someone when he entered the store because he didnt bring a gun with him. JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Indonesia will ban exports of cooking oil and its raw materials to reduce domestic shortages and hold down skyrocketing prices, President Joko Widodo announced Friday, a day after hundreds of people protested in the capital against rising food costs. The ban begins next Thursday and will continue for an undetermined length of time, he said. I will continue to monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy so that the availability of cooking oil in the country is abundant and at an affordable price," Widodo said in a statement. The announcement came three days after the Attorney Generals Office announced a corruption investigation involving a senior Trade Ministry official and three palm oil executives. Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin said the ministry official is suspected of issuing export permits for crude palm oil and its derivative products that resulted in domestic shortages and sharply higher prices for cooking oil. The government issued a policy earlier this year obligating all palm oil exporters to ensure that adequate supplies are available in the domestic market and that costs do not follow sharply rising international prices. Hundreds of people marched in Jakarta on Thursday to protest soaring food and oil prices. They demanded the government reduce prices of fuel and basic foods, including cooking oil. Indonesia and Malaysia are the worlds largest exporters of palm oil, which plays an important role in their economies. They account for 85% of global palm oil production. The Niger state government has said no civilian casualties were recorded during military operations in Shiroro local government area of the state. Recall that residents in Kuregba had accused the military of killing no fewer than six children whose ages range between 5 and 12 years during the air strike in the community. However, according to the state government, it said there is no civilian casualties in the concerned areas. In a statement, the government said: The attention of the Niger State Government has been drawn to a report making the rounds on social media and other media platforms suggesting that some civilians were killed at Kurebe in Shiroro Local Government Area as a result of the ongoing Air and ground operations by the military and other security agencies in the state. To the best knowledge of the state government, there is no civilians residence in these areas for some time now due to the infiltrations and activities of the terrorists which forced the locals to seek shelter as IDPs in other parts of the state. The Niger State Government welcomes the ongoing intensified military operations in neighbouring states and in some local government areas in Niger state which include Shiroro, Munya and other LGAs which is aimed at neutralising off bandits/terrorist in these environments. The efforts of the joint operations have yielded a lot of success which the state is happy as many bandits/terrorists have already been eliminated in the affected LGAs. Similarly, as part of joints efforts by the State Government in conjunction with security agencies have repelled bandits attacks in Shiroro and Munya LGA and rescued many abductees accordingly. While the State Government appreciates the victories recorded during these operations, it also looks forward to sustained operations to eradicate bandits from the state. These efforts will no doubt restore confidence in the communities within the area, which will enable them to return back to their farms." The issue of cost of running for an elective position in Nigeria as a politician has once again kept tongues wagging, as Nigeria races towards the much awaitedgeneral election come 2023. There is no denying the fact that it takes money to run for an elective position, right from the stage of purchasingnomination form, getting votes from delegates during the primaries and obtaining supports of the electorates during campaigns. At this juncture, it is expedient to opine thateach election is more expensive than the one before. The administrative machinery calls for great resources, and the parties and candidates are also expected to spend money to guarantee success at the polls. It cannot be pooh-poohed that Nigerians are once again heading to that point where politicians are seen to be throwing a lot of figures around. Though some may at that point be seen running a modest campaign, while others who dedicate themselves to a lavish run will be required to expend many tens or hundreds of millions of naira. That the forthcoming election would be costly to run to the detriment of good governance, most especially as the schedule of fees for expression of interest and nomination forms released by the National Working Committee (APC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) shows thatPresidential is N100m, governorship is N50 million, Senate N20 million, House of Representatives N10 million, while state House of Assembly aspirants would purchase theirs at N2 million. As gathered, the N100 million for Presidential nomination form is over 100 per cent increase from the amount the ruling party sold the form for the same office in 2018 at N45 million; and nearly 200 per cent hike from N27 million it sold forms in 2014. The N100 million fee is also more than double the fee of the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which fixed its Presidential nomination form at N40 million. Also as gathered from an analytical view expressed in theonline edition of the Guardian newspaper of today, April 22, 2022, The N100 million set by the APC for aspirants seeking to run for president is far higher than the four-year salaries of President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo. With the current salary of the President, which is put at N14.058 million yearly or N1.171 million monthly, according to a breakdown by the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, it means that the N100 million APC nomination form is the salary of the President for about 85 months or seven years. For the Vice President who currently earns N12.126 million yearly or N1.01 million monthly, the N100 million nomination form is his salary for 99 months or eight years and three months. The cost of running for an elective position is not just about the purchase of nomination forms as electioneering calls for money to conduct polls, feed supporters, transport them to meeting venues, set up meetings, and hand outmonetary gifts to party favors, while taking care of advertising and other activities. Where does all that money come from? Most persons who enter politics are not wealthy individuals, so they have to raise money to fund their campaigns. Here's where it can get interesting: If donors are criminals or big businesses intent on hijacking the politician, he or she will forever be trying to repay them for donations made. To a large extent, doling out money to supporters while in office on account of their supports during campaign makes bad governance inevitable. Then, looking at the foregoing scenarios, will anyone be surprised that most needful things that ought to be done by politicians while in office are not done as they struggle to pay the debts they incurred right from the point of purchasing nomination forms, seeking tickets at the primaries level and carrying out campaigns? Without any iota of exaggeration, it cannot be out of place to opine that several new entrants to competitive politics usually face difficulties in raising funds and the great demands they face in seeking to win over a constituency.This has even being made worse as the APC has given 50 per cent reduction in nomination fees for women and youths. Despite that, how may youths with legitimate source of income can be able to dole out such huge amount of monies as the release made by the partys NWC regarding the price of presidential nomination form clearly shows that N50 million remains higher than the 2019 Presidential aspirant fee, which was N45 million. In fact, a democracy depends on the votes of citizens to survive. In the Nigerian context, a certain apathy has developed towards elections and politicking. This has manifested itself in a marked decline of persons making the trek to the polling both. Could this apathy have something to do with the fact that so many persons think politicians do not really care about them and are intent on feathering their own nests? In fact, civic-minded individuals feel that this apathy could be reversed if there was meaningful campaign reform to make the electioneering process more transparent. Ostensibly pricked by conscience, and probably conjecturing that his constituents may wonder how hemanaged to buy nomination form, Nigerias Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has said he had planned to spend N50 million on the presidential nomination forms ahead of the 2023 general elections. His budget has no doubt being disrupted after the APCfixed the price for presidential forms at N100 million. He, however, said his supporters will raise the money. To my understanding on this, he is literarily taking his political company to the stock market where his supporters, investors in this case, will buy shares of the company, and by the grace of God, if eventually he becomes Nigerias president, will begin to earn their dividends. With this kind of monetize politics, why will Nigeria not be experiencing bad governance from one political dispensation to another? Mr. Ngige, who joined the presidential race few days ago, during an interview on Channels TV said he will not crucify his party for putting the price for presidential nomination forms at N100 million. It does not matter whether I am happy with the price or not. That is what my party NEC fixed, I wont crucify them, he said. The presidential hopeful also attempted to justify the partys decision regarding the price of forms. The price, he said, was placed so because, after elections, many candidates fail to contribute to the party. This is even as he commended the party for providing discounts for the youth. When asked by the anchor of the programme, SeunOkinbaloye, if he is willing to raise N100 million and purchase the form, Mr. Nigige bragged about having supporters who would willingly do so. I was budgeting N50 millionI have supporters, dont worry about me. They will contribute. While he admitted that the race for the partys presidential ticket will be a tough one, the minister was convinced that the best man will win. At this juncture, it is expedient to say that the brand of politics that can be likened to Cash and Carry which is now been played is by each passing political dispensation making the attainment of good governance impossible as people now see politics as an investment option rather than as an opportunity to serve the people towards the betterment of their country, Nigeria. At least, 12 persons have been declared wanted on Friday by The Nigeria Police Force over attacks in the Awka North LGA of Anambra State. The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, stated that the 12 suspects were guilty of conspiracy, murder, armed robbery, terrorism, kidnapping, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms. The suspects listed include; Edward Okoye, Donatus Okeke, Onyemazi Ngini, Onyebuchi Okoye, Nonso Eboh, Chukwuka Onyibor, Chukwujekwu Anaekeokwu, Chuka Ilodigwe, Chinedu Okoye, Nonso Obinna, Cosmos Okonkwo and Chukwujekwu Okoye. In a statement titled, Isu-Aniocha Killings: Police Declare 12 Wanted For Conspiracy, Murder, Armed Robbery, Unlawful Possession Of Firearms, Malicious Damage Police noted it had secured a court order to declared the suspects wanted. The statement read in parts: The Police had earlier secured a court order to declare wanted the suspects, all male of Igbo extraction with ages ranging from 25 years to 55 years old, natives of Isu-Aniocha, Awka North LGA of Anambra State with heights between 1.5m to 1.7m. Edward Okoye (aka Stone), had in conjunction with others shot two men dead one Ifeanyi Anazoba (aka Ichafu) and one Chukwuebuka Amodo (aka Mutum) at a burial function in Umuzuocha Town Hall, Awka South of Anambra State on 19th January, 2019, beheaded them and burnt their bodies beyond recognition; kidnapped two others, and vandalized two properties valued at over 1.2 billion Naira. The suspects equally attacked and brutalized some mobile police officers detailed to restore calm to the community. The police therefore appealed to members of the general public to assist with useful information which would facilitate their arrest and ensure they are brought to justice. It further assures that justice would not just be done in the matter, but would be seen by all parties in the matter, to have been done as the police will leave no stone unturned in unravelling the ugly and criminal incident. COVID payouts close to B60bn at end of March BANGKOK: Total payouts from COVID-19 insurance lump-sum claims rose to almost B60 billion at the end of March. CoronavirusCOVID-19 By Bangkok Post Friday 22 April 2022, 01:05PM A hospital staff dressed in personal protection equipment administers an antigen test to a teacher to check for the coronavirus in Muang district of Pattani province on Mar 11, 2022. Photo: AFP The Thai General Insurance Association (TGIA) expects the total value to reach B100bn at the end of June, which marks the expiration date for all COVID insurance policies with lump-sum payment in the system, reports the Bangkok Post. According to data from the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC), the accumulated value of COVID insurance claims with lump-sum payments jumped from B52bn as of Mar 15 to nearly B60bn at the end of the month as the Omicron strain continued to spread after most economic activities resumed. According to the Public Health Ministry, the average number of daily new infections, including those found through antigen test kits, exceeded 40,000 per day in March. Arpakorn Panlerd, assistant secretary-general at the OIC, said total premiums received from COVID insurance stood at B11bn as of Mar 15. The total number of COVID insurance policyholders is 42 million, he said. Mr Arpakorn said the accumulated value of claims has been steadily rising from B43.3bn at the beginning of the year to B47.5bn in Feb and B52bn on Mar 15. Anon Vangvasu, president of TGIA, expects the number to reach B70bn to B80bn by the end of April and exceed B100bn at the end of June. He said the current liquidity crisis offers a valuable lesson for the insurance industry to prepare for emerging diseases and pandemics. Mr Anon said 16 insurance companies out of a total of 52 offered COVID insurance with lump-sum payment. Six to seven of the 16 firms recorded massive policy sales and four of them - Asia Insurance, The One Insurance, Southeast Insurance and Thai Insurance - have been forced to shut down because they did not have sufficient premiums and capital reserves to pay out the claims. He said another company is now receiving a high number of requests for claims, but TGIA expects the company will be able to find a solution through a capital increase or finding new partners. Mr Anon said the liquidity shortage arose from the OICs decision to prohibit insurance companies from cancelling policies. He expects the roughly B100bn in claims distributed to policyholders will help stimulate the economy to some extent. Syn Mun Kong Insurance (SMK) reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand its 2021 operating results suffered a loss of B4.75bn, down 728% from the same period last year. This loss resulted from a spike in COVID insurance claims, which jumped from B11.6mn in 2020 to B7.63bn in 2021. Family vanishes amid Songkran trip SUKHOTHAI: Police are investigating the disappearance of four family members who have lost contact with relatives since Apr 10 amid a Songkran trip. police By Bangkok Post Friday 22 April 2022, 09:52AM Narumon (centre) and Nirut are seen with their two children. Photo: Sri Samrong Rescue Nirut, 41, and his wife, Narumon, 41, left their home with two children, 12 and 7, in a grey pickup truck with a Bor Phor 3053 Sukhothai licence plate on Apr 6 for the holiday, reports the Bangkok Post. The couples eldest daughter, 19, who studies in Chiang Mai, did not travel with them. She and relatives who live in another district were unable to reach any of the four after Apr 10, prompting them to file a report with Ban Rai police for an investigation into the matter. The familys disappearance has drawn public interest after their pickup truck turned up at a used car dealership in Udon Thani and their phone numbers were cancelled in Bangkoks Lat Krabang district. The fate of the four is still unknown. Police said that after receiving the report, officers checked road accident reports during the Songkran period. Agents tried contacting them on their phones and found the numbers were out of service, police said. When the pickup truck turned up at the dealership, officers tracked the transaction and found the vehicle had exchanged hands four times before ending up at the location, police said. The car was registered in Ms Narumons name, who apparently sold it on Apr 7 before it was handed over to a buyer at a gas station in Phitsanulok. Police said they are now looking into the couples background to find information that could shed light on their disappearance. Pol Col Sayan Chanchaem- krachang, chief of Ban Rai police station, said that before the disappearance, the couple raised a huge amount of funds from villagers, saying the money was for a business investment which they did not disclose. That might be why they did not want to contact anyone, police said. Pol Col Jamorn Andee, superintendent of Muang Udon Thani police, yesterday (Apr 21) led officers to examine the vehicles document at the used car dealership. According to police, the dealer purchased the car from a 33-year-old man, a resident of Loei, for B422,000 on Apr 9. Noppadol Polraksa, owner of the dealership, said the pickup truck was legally purchased using proper documents. The person who bought the truck from Ms Narumon reportedly transferred B385,000 to her account at 3:40pm on Apr 7. She told the buyer she wanted to sell the car due to loss of income in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. No COVID-19 tests on arrival for vaccinated travellers from May 1 BANGKOK: The Test & Go process for foreign arrivals will be terminated at the end of the month and vaccinated travellers will require only self-antigen tests for COVID-19 from May 1, to stimulate tourism and the economy, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday (Apr 22). Friday 22 April 2022, 03:24PM Travellers pass through Suvarnabhumi airport during the Songkran holiday last week. Controls on travellers from overseas will be further relaxed on May 1, with the end of the Test & Go process. Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul / Bangkok Post "Tourism is recovering and antigen tests will be more convenient and faster for visitors," Gen Prayut said after chairing a meeting of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) at Government House, reports the Bangkok Post. Many countries are relaxing travel restrictions significantly and our country depends considerably on tourism to support our economy, the prime minister said. CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin later said that from May 1 there would be no Test & Go entry scheme. The government would have different measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated foreign arrivals by air, he said. Vaccinated visitors would not be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival anymore. It would be recommended they self-test using antigen kits during their stay. If they tested positive, they could enter their COVID-19 insurance process or take care of their own treatment, he added. Unvaccinated travellers would be welcomed if they presented proof of a negative RT-PCR test no more than 72 hours before their trip. They would be quarantined for five days, with another RT-PCR test on day 4 or 5. They would also be advised to do self-antigen testing during their stay. High-risk visitors would be quarantined for five days. The minimum COVID-19 insurance coverage for all foreign arrivals would be US$10,000. The compulsory tests under the Test & Go entry scheme could be lifted because statistics showed a very low infection rate among foreign arrivals, only 0.46%, through Test & Go this month, Dr Taweesilp said. For arrivals by land, visitors who intend to stay no longer than two days must be fully vaccinated and pass self-antigen tests. Otherwise, they could not enter the country. For visitors who intend to stay longer, vaccinated travellers would not be quarantined if they pass antigen tests, while unvaccinated travellers would be quarantined for five days. The CCSA on Friday (Apr 22) also acknowledged the Public Health Ministrys decision to relax disease controls nationwide from May 1, ending control (orange) zones in 20 provinces. As a result, the number of close surveillance (yellow) zones would rise from 47 provinces to 65 provinces, Dr Taweesilp said. In addition, the number of tourism pilot (blue) zones would increase from 10 provinces to 12 provinces, with Songkhla and Rayong the new additions. Old Phuket Prison to provide Twilight Zone ecotourism experience PHUKET: The old Phuket Prison in Phuket Town is to be transformed into an eco-tourism attraction that has been touted to provide a Twilight Zone experience for people to appreciate what it was like there in the past. tourism By The Phuket News Friday 22 April 2022, 12:26PM The project was announced at an all-star press conference held at The Pago Design Hotel on Rassada Rd in Phuket Town yesterday (Apr 21). Headlining the press conference was Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, joined by Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam and Chief Administrative Officer of the Phuket Provincial Office (Palad) Somprat Prabsongkhram. Also present were Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong and Rear Admiral Kanokpol Pimthong, Deputy Director of the Phuket branch of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), the Thai militarys internal security organisation. Joining the ranks were Phuket City Mayor Saroj Angkhanapilas and Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO) Vice President Anupap Wechvanichsanong, as the two organisations will be overseeing the funding for the project. Phuket Commerce Chief Woranit Aphiratjirawong and Communicable Diseases Division Chief at the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) Dr Kusuma Sawangphan completed the line-up, along with Krisana Thipayachon, currently Director of Chanthaburi Prison but also now Acting Director of the Phuket Department of Corrections Office, and hence the current Chief Warden at Phuket Provincial Prison. Mr Krisana explained that the move to transform the old prison into a tourism attraction came under the direction of Ayut Sinthapphan, Director-General of the Department of Corrections. Built some 120 years ago, the prison remains one of the oldest remaining prisons still standing in the country, Mr Kisana said. The prison covers just over 41 rai, with much of the site undeveloped as the buildings clustered close to Damrong Rd, he said. By designating the development of the Old Phuket Prison area in Phuket Town for public use to become a green area, it will become the lungs of Phuket Town, Mr Krisana said. Currently, this Phuket Prison is not used for inmates control missions, but it is worth preserving for future generations to learn about the wisdom of the craftsmen in the past, both in architecture and the tools and materials used in construction, he said. People generally cant see or touch such real things from the past; some people call it Twilight Zone, he said. Developing the Twilight Zone to be an eco-tourism attraction and a live museum learning centre will give tourists and local people a learning experience about correctional work in the past, Mr Kirisana continued. The prison will also serve as a source of education for those interested in correctional work and will be used as a professional training venue for inmates who are undertaking vocational training before release, he added. The prisoners who will be allowed at the old prison are those who are undertaking pre-release vocational courses to learn how to provide traditional massages, how to operate a stall selling coffee and other drinks, and those learning embroidery, Mr Krisana said. Phuket City Mayor Mr Saroj said that as the old prison, which has the official address of 11 Damrong Rd, is within the Phuket Municipality area, the municipality will be supporting the project. Along with supporting plans to improve the area to bring the prison back to life and allow people to continue to use them together, he said. PPAO Vice President Mr Anuparp said that the PPAO is ready to support the budget for the project to renovate the former prison as an eco-tourism destination to provide a public space that people can use together in a sustainable way. However, Mayor Saroj and Mr Anupap did not reveal any estimates of how much money will be spent on the project. For nigh two decades the old Phuket Prison was notoriously overcrowded, spurring the move to spend B789 million on building the new Phuket Provincial Prison in Srisoonthorn, Thalang. The new prison opened in December 2020. The old prison, however, most recently served as a Covid Care Center, where COVID-19 patients not sick enough to be admitted to hospital where required to stay for the health and safety of their neighbours in the community during the height of the Delta outbreak last year. Phuket to host Joint Trade Committee meeting with Bhutan PHUKET: Government officials in Phuket are preparing to welcome a ministerial delegation from Bhutan to the island as part of a Joint Trade Committee (JTC) next week as the two countries strive to establish a preferential trade agreement (PTA) on selected goods and tariffs. cultureeconomicsreligion By The Phuket News Friday 22 April 2022, 02:43PM Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew hosted a press conference at 10am yesterday (Apr 21) at the Pago Design Phuket Hotel on Rassada Rd in Phuket Town to detail the 4th Thai-Bhutan JTC meeting which will take place at the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket on Apr 27-29. Joining Governor Narong at the meeting were Deputy Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam, Permanent Secretary of Phuket Province Somprat Prabsongkram, the Deputy Director of Internal Security Phuket Province Rear Admiral Kanokpol Pimthong, the Commander-in-Chief of Phuket Provincial Police Maj Gen Sermphan Sirikong, and Deputy Prime Minister of Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) Anupap Wechvanichsanong. Also present were Mayor of Phuket City Saroj Angkhanapilas, Woranit Aphirat Jirawong from Phuket Provincial Commerce Office, the Head of Communicable Diseases Group from the Phuket Provincial Prison Office Dr Kusuma Sawangphan, and Mr Krishna Tipayachan, Commander of the Phuket Prison. Ms Woranit explained the upcoming JTC meeting is being organised by the Department of International Trade Negotiations and will convene Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers from both countires with Thai Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit serving as chairman. The objective of the two-day meeting is to establish a PTA between the two countries and to negotiate tariff reductions based on an exchange of various goods of varying quantities. Ms Woranit further emphasised the strong traditional ties between Thailand and Bhutan that is evident from the respective Royal families of the two countries all the way down to the people of each nation. She highlighted connections of a cultural and religious nature that strengthens relations between the two countries, adding that as host for the meeting Thailand will ensure a secure and comfortable stay for the attendees from Bhutan. She further explained that additional activities have been scheduled for the Bhutanese guests during their stay, such as a visit to the Phuket Pineapple Plantation that has been certified by the Thai Geographical Indication Product Standard as the pineapple is regarded as the symbol that represents Phukets identity. Ms Woranit concluded by saying she hopes all Phuketians will join together to serve as respectful and accommodating hosts to create the right impression to the overseas guests and to ensure the JTC meeting is an overwhelming success. Firefighters had to rescue a woman who fell into to a vault toilet recently in good ol' America. The 40-something-year-old woman was at the top of Mount Walker in Washington, USA, when her cellphone dropped into the loo. She reportedly tried to dismantle the toilet by taking off the seat to get to her phone, and used her dog's leashes to help her. Aaaaand then she slipped in, head first. She slid down the toilet, and after 15-20 minutes of being stuck in there, she retrieved her phone to make a call to the fire brigade. The firefighters were able to pull the woman out, and she didn't sustain any injuries. The firefighters said she was washed down and given a Tyvek suit to wear, and was encouraged to seek medical attention after being exposed to human waste, Kiro 7 reports. What a shit situation. Weirdly enough, a kind of similar situation occured last Sunday in Britian, when a woman got stuck beind a couch at a bottomless brunch and had to be rescued by a couple of young workers. Today Showers and a possible thunderstorm during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 31F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Tonight Showers and a possible thunderstorm during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 31F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Tomorrow Mostly sunny skies. High 66F. ESE winds shifting to WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SRINAGAR, India (AP) Six suspected rebels and an Indian paramilitary officer were killed in two separate clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Friday, two days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the disputed region. A gunfight broke out on the outskirts of southern Jammu city early Friday after police and soldiers spotted a group of militants in Sunjwan, a garrison town, police said. Two militants and a paramilitary officer were killed, and at least two soldiers and two police officials were wounded in the ensuing fighting, police said. Troops were searching the area, which saw a major militant attack in 2018 that left at least five soldiers and one civilian dead. Dilbag Singh, director-general of police, told reporters that the slain militants were planning a major attack. Some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Sunjwan town, Modi is scheduled to speak Sunday in his first public event in the disputed region since New Delhi stripped it of its semi-autonomous status in 2019 and divided it into two directly governed territories. The region has remained on edge since, as authorities put in place a slew of new laws that critics and many residents fear could change majority-Muslim Kashmir's demographics. Modis two previous visits after Kashmir's status was changed were to military camps to celebrate a Hindu festival with soldiers. Singh said the slain militants were a suicide squad from Pakistan" and their infiltration was likely part of a conspiracy to sabotage" Modis visit. But timely action by our alert forces have foiled the bid, he said. The police chief did not offer any evidence to back up his claim. Separately, government forces for a second day battled a group of militants who were holed up in Malwah, a village northwest of the regions main city of Srinagar, leaving four rebels dead, police said Friday. The firefight began on Thursday after counterinsurgency police and soldiers raided a cluster of civilian homes in Malwah. At least four soldiers and a policeman were also wounded, a police statement said. Police identified one of the slain militants as Yousuf Kantroo and said he had been the longest surviving rebel commander in Kashmir. There was no independent confirmation of the incidents. As news of the killing of the rebel commander spread to his village, scores of young people protested and clashed with government forces, witnesses said. A teenage boy drowned in a stream after police chased a group of protesters in the western Magam area, residents said. Police said in a statement that they were investigating the incident. Late Friday, unidentified men shot and injured two Indian workers on the outskirts of Srinagar. Police blamed militants fighting Indian rule for the attack. India and Pakistan both claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety. Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhis rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict. Americas long-standing partnership with Saudi Arabia has become a deal with the devil. But the devil isnt holding up his end of the bargain. Its time we gave up on it too. Its never been a good look for the United States, a self-proclaimed champion of democracy and human rights, to be the security guarantor of an abusive monarchy that treats women like property and long placed policing in the hands of an extremist religious faction. And yet we justify this close partnership largely in the name of security our secure access to oil, to be more specific. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that this access isnt there. Saudi Arabia holds the second largest oil reserves in the world and, more importantly, an unmatched capacity to increase supply at times of crisis. Saudi Arabia has also been key to maintaining the global trade of oil in U.S. dollars, which helps keeps our currency in high demand and stabilizes its value. The partnership was also considered essential to counter anti-American sentiment in the region, specifically from Iran. This justification has always been a double-edged sword, however, since Saudi Arabia helped foment anti-American sentiment, too, to the tune of billions of dollars it spent to promote Wahhabism, the radical and intolerant strain of Islam that laid the foundation for terrorist organizations like al-Qaida and ISIS. In return for these supposed benefits, the United States has been the kingdoms security guarantor, providing not only a military presence but also military technology, advice, and a flood of arms and hardware. From 2009 to 2020, U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia amounted to more than $100 billion. We have delivered hundreds of aircraft, dozens of Patriot missile defense systems, thousands of armored vehicles, four frigate warships and tens of thousands of missiles. The United States also has thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia still. Even if you thought the trade-off of supporting the repressive state was once worthwhile, its hard to make the case today. Saudi Arabia has become an even worse actor than before, both at home and abroad. Advocates of maintaining the relationship might point to modest reforms under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, who took the de facto leadership position in 2015 when his father acceded to the throne. Those reforms, however, were rapidly undermined by brutal crackdowns on dissent and opposition. MBS was lauded for permitting women to drive, but then promptly jailed many female activists as if to remind them that he retained full control. In 2017, he purged competition within the royal family when he had hundreds of potential rivals and opponents detained for months, some reportedly tortured. The murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 was a particularly grotesque display of MBSs brazen assault on critics. MBS has also championed a more aggressive and problematic foreign policy. Rather than helping secure our interests in the region, our military support emboldened the Saudi state to act uncompromisingly in a dangerous neighborhood. If it was ever a stabilizing presence there, that no longer appears to be the case. Saudi Arabias role in Yemens civil war since 2015 has exacerbated the conflict. The kingdom often strikes civilian targets, including school buses and hospitals, and since the United States has been Saudi Arabias primary weapons supplier, we are guilty as accomplices in these crimes. Saudi Arabias continued blockade of the country has caused severe human suffering. Despite President Joe Bidens campaign commitments to end our support for the war, the United States has continued to provide weapons that help Saudi Arabia maintain its brutal fight. Saudi Arabia has also been an ever-present spoiler of U.S. efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, including recent attempts by the Biden administration to restore the defunct deal. While it might be in Saudi Arabias interest to keep Iran under the yoke of a strict sanctions regime, the U.S. interest is clearly in a diplomatic solution. Successive U.S. administrations have tolerated Saudi Arabias foul play on the promise that, one day, the kingdoms capacity to deliver oil to the world market would insulate the United States from dire economic and security harm at just the time we would need it most. That time has come. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February, gas prices have surged. Europes dependence on Russian oil and gas remains the main obstacle to Europe joining the United States in banning Russian energy imports. This means Europe continues to provide Russia with resources to fight its war, to the tune of nearly $1 billion a day. Saudi Arabia, however, has quite literally failed to answer Americas call. When faced with a clear opportunity to assist its security guarantor on a matter of the gravest importance by pumping more oil to help supply Europe and take the pressure off world gas prices, Saudi Arabia has declined. As recently as March, the United States answered Saudi Arabias pleas for additional Patriot missiles to help it fend off attacks from rebels in Yemen. But that failed to persuade Saudi Arabia to grant Americas request to pump more oil. If Saudi Arabia cant side with the United States against Russia in the face of its indefensible aggression against Ukraine, its high time the U.S. asked what this partnership is good for. Our support of Saudi Arabia has never paid off, and thats never been more clear than now. Elizabeth Shackelford is a senior fellow on U.S. foreign policy with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She was previously a U.S. diplomat and is author of The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age. Chicago Tribune EDWARDSVILLE The awarding of more than $1.05 million in annual grants for multiple park and recreation projects throughout the county was approved at this weeks Madison County Board meeting. Park Enhancement Program grants totaling $1,058,411 to 31 separate municipalities, townships and park districts were OKd. The grants ranged from $15,000 to $107,000 and included multiple projects ranging from pickleball court and playground equipment to fencing, lighting and bottle filling stations. The money comes from sales taxes generated by a special tax approved by voters in 2000 for the then-newly created Metro East Park and Recreation District. Half of the money raised by the tax goes to Madison and St. Clair counties to be distributed locally, with the remainder going toward larger regional projects. Since its establishment the funds have been used to improve parks and recreational facilities across the county, Prenzler said. In the programs 22 years, municipalities, townships and park districts received more than $24 million in funding. The grants can be applied for on an annual basis. In addition to benefiting taxpayers, the grants fund improvements that can bring in outside visitors and also attract new residential and business development. This helps contribute toward the countys economic development, he said. It enhances the quality of life throughout the county. The board also took action on a number of other financial issues. More than $1.3 million in emergency appropriations used to allow the expenditure of unexpected monies received by the county after the budget is formally approved in November were OKd by the board, including three for the Health Department $1.1 million for COVID-related expenditures and to deal with drug overdoses, $180,000 for preliminary work on renovations to the Madison County Courthouse elevator system, and $500 for the countys Self-Represented Litigant Coordinator program. Also approved were resolutions dealing with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. One authorized payment of $700,000 in ARPA funds for local water district projects; the other adding $3.5 million to Community Developments Home Investment Partnership American Rescue Plan program. Also approved was the bid for Community Developments Illinois Home Weatherization Program. RP Lumber was the winning bid for the home weatherization program. The money includes $50,000 each for the Meadowbrook Public Water District and Bond Madison Water Company; and $100,000 each for the Mitchell, Moro, NE (NorthEast) Central, Pontoon Beach, Three County and Tri-Township water districts. The board also approved the low bid of 37,300 to Technology International of Lake Mary, Florida, for the purchase of a new medical waste incinerator. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALTON Food trucks will soon flock to Flock. During Alton Main Streets quarterly information exchange called Whats Up Downtown, Laura Windisch, operator of Flock, announced that official opening day is set Thursday, May 12. The Flock food truck park, 210 Ridge St., is situated between Broadway and Landmarks Boulevard and adjacent to Jacoby Arts Center. The culinary destination will offer a variety of cuisine choices. Windisch will operate Flock with her husband, Matt, and it will initially host up to six food trucks at any given time for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. Sunday hours and menus will focus on brunch. The couple moved to Alton from St. Louis in 2018. They also own and operate Stacked Burger Bar, a St. Louis restaurant. When they were approached with the opportunity for a food truck park, they jumped at the chance. "We are very excited about doing something," Windisch said. "It really shows what we love about Alton: the community, gathering and all of those things." But the food truck park is currently in phase one. AltonWorks' Dennis Hyland said plans are in the works for phase two. In the second phase, Flock will be surrounded by a public park and infrastructure for possible outdoor events and concerts. "The food truck park will be a place to emphasize the food culture in Alton," Hyland said. As of now phase two is still in the pricing phase, he said. Hyland also spoke about the recent addition of much of Altons Downtown Historic District being listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Previously Alton had three historic districts: the mostly residential areas of Middletown, Christian Hill and Upper Alton. The expanded area of the Middletown District includes 134 properties covering 11 blocks in the downtown area, stretching from State Street to Ridge Street along 3rd Street, Broadway and Front Street/Landmarks Boulevard. In addition, River Bend Yoga will be moving to a larger location this month, but still Downtown. Currently at 202 State St., it will relocate to 100 W. 3rd St. in the former Tony's banquet center at the corner of Piasa and 3rd streets. Owner and certified yoga instructor Vicky Delaney said that the business is almost moved in. "We're going to have our first yoga classes there on May 1," she said. The business will host a grand opening for the public Saturday, May 7. The move will allow River Bend Yoga to have three rooms to conduct three classes at one time, providing more space for the popular 6:30 p.m. time slot. Delaney also will move her River Bend School of Yoga, now in a leased space at Mineral Springs Mall, into the 3rd Street space. Additionally, Delaney will be collaborating with The Old Bakery Beer Co. to host a fundraiser screening of "Mission Joy: Finding Happiness in Troubled Times" Sunday, May 29. The yoga studio's old space won't be empty for long. Delaney's son, Mike Weller, is opening his business AP Cigar Co. at the location. This will be Weller's second location, the first being in Rosewood Heights, which he has owned for six years. "It's been an absolute pleasure trying to save this downtown Alton building," Weller said. An opening date is to be announced later. Alton Mayor David Goins spoke about river boats coming to Alton this year, including the American Queen Voyages and American Cruise Lines (ACL). He also mentioned Viking Cruise Lines docking this year. With these dockings, Goins said the city is looking into creating an Alton River Port. Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau President/CEO Cory Jobe told Illinois senators in a testimony that a Mississippi River cruise port in Alton is critical to economic development in the Riverbend, along with high speed rail. "We must quit thinking of our waterways as only highways for commodities and freight," Jobe said last month. "The cruise ship industry is poised and ready to ramp up cruise experiences on Illinois waterways. ACL and American Queen Voyages combined expects to spend 30 weeks in the Riverbend, bringing up to 400 visitors to Alton, according to a Great Rivers and Routes report. On Thursday, the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway was appropriated $10 million in the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget for a grant within the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, through the efforts of state Sen. Rachelle Aud Crowe, D-Glen Carbon. Goins also mentioned the upcoming Riverfront Development Commission. The commission will help guide planning for Alton's Mississippi River frontage. Commission members will be appointed by the mayor with advice and consent of the city council. The commission would be tasked with providing suggestions, options and feedback to further develop Alton's riverfront. It also would engage with the public and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for ideas on development and land use to ensure residents have an opportunity to participate in the riverfront's future. A "What's Up Downtown" guest asked Goins about the repair of Riverview Park. Alton Alderwoman Besty Allen, of Ward 1, in which the park is located, answered the question. She said that two construction firms have been identified and they are in the bidding process with each firm and one should be identified by June. WOOD RIVER -- State Sen. Rachelle Aud Crowe, D-Glen Carbon, has been nominated for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Crowes 56th District includes her old native hometown of Wood River, as well as Alton, part of Godfrey, Edwardsville and areas south in Madison County. She would be up for re-election in November. The nomination must be approved by the U.S. Senate. Im honored to be nominated for the position of U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Crowe said. I am looking forward to the nomination process. Crowe has served in the Illinois Senate since 2019, representing much of Madison County and parts of St. Clair and Jersey County. She is the chairwoman of the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee, and she has also chaired the Illinois Elder Abuse Task Force and the Special Committee on Opioid Crisis Abatement. From 2006-2018, she was an assistant states attorney in the Madison County States Attorneys Office, most recently in the Violent Crimes Unit and as trial supervisor. Before that, she served in the General Felony and Juvenile Abuse Sections. She was also an attorney with Carmody MacDonald from 2004-2006, the Riezman Berger Firm from2002-2004 and with Hoagland, Smith, Fitzgerald, Smith and Pranitis firm, of Alton, from 2000-2002. Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois established three screening committees to review candidates for the job. The committee was made up of former judges, prosecutors, defenders, litigators, academics, legal aid attorneys and law enforcement leaders. Durbin and Duckworth have interviewed the finalists, reviewed their records and consulted each other regarding their qualifications, according to a news release from the senators. 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 One Media iP and its catalogue of golden oldies hit all the right notes this week, with its shares climbing 13 per cent to 6.9p. Annual revenues up 10 per cent and earnings by 11 per cent to 4.4million impressed investors as its portfolio of song rights (that now include some of Take That's catalogue) again proved the old tunes are the best, even for today's streaming listeners. Michael Infante, chief executive, said: 'We welcomed some high-profile names to our stable, including some of Take That's highest profile hits through the acquisition of their producer's royalties, as well as music by Kid Creole, Culture Club and, in our largest acquisition to date, country music star Don Williams.' Big stars: One Media iP owns the rights to songs by some of Britain's most famous musical acts, including Take That and Culture Club (pictured) Pure Gold Mining was another shining star on the AIM market, soaring 51 per cent to 16.4p as Sprott, one of Canada's biggest mining investors, underlined its support. The Canadian junior has set up a US$6million credit facility with Sprott Private Resource Lending, with the finance house waiving any defaults under existing agreements. As part of the arrangement, PureGold will undertake an equity financing for net proceeds of not less than US$5million before May 15. Chris Haubrich, chief financial officer, said the additional cash will help with the 'positive momentum of the operational turnaround.' That plan has already seen reductions in headcount and equipment, while optimised underground development should lead to a 30 per cent reduction in costs in the second quarter Elsewhere, Itaconix, the plant-based polymer firm, soared 22 per cent to 5.2p after a positive update that stated trading was well ahead of the same period last year. Volex also powered ahead, climbing 20 per cent to 286.6p, with results at the supplier of power leads and electric vehicle chargers expected to beat market forecasts. On the downside, Osirium Technologies dropped sharply after reporting increased losses saying it will turn to the market to raise funds. Shares fell 14 per cent to 12p over the course of the week as operating losses rose from 2.87million to 3.23million. The cloud-based cybersecurity software business saw full-year bookings flat at 1.6million, with an uncertain economic environment hitting customer sentiment. Elsewhere, Oxford Biomedica fell 13 per cent to 567p after announcing production of its AstraZeneca vaccines would stop. Baron Oil shares slipped 6 per cent after the wildcat oil and gas exploration specialist said it would relinquish its licence in Peru and leave the country. According to a statement, it failed to meet four key requirements in order to access the area and carry out the project, including attracting a local farm-in operating partner and failure to receive drilling authorisation. Chief executive Andy Yeo said the company was making progress on its other projects which had good potential. Across the market, the AIM All-Share Index was slightly weaker, down 0.41 per cent, or four points, to 1,052 points over the last five days. The FTSE 100, or simply Footsie, experienced a flat week, down 0.22 per cent, or 16 points, to 7,564. HomeServe shares soared on Friday after the home improvements firm confirmed it had been approached over a possible takeover bid. Last month the company acknowledged that it had been the subject of interest from private equity group Brookfield, one of the world's largest alternative investment managers with around $690billion in assets. Since that time, it said has received a number of conditional offers from the Canadian financial giant, which its board has 'carefully considered.' Boom: HomeServe has been a significant beneficiary of the Covid-19 pandemic as lockdown rules made people spend more time indoors and reliant on home repair services Brookfield had been given until 5pm yesterday by the City Takeover Panel to either declare a potential offer for HomeServe or walk away, but that deadline has now been extended to 19 May. Following the announcement, HomeServe shares climbed 14.9 per cent to 980.5p on Friday, making it the highest riser on the mid-cap FTSE 250 Index. Headquartered in the West Midlands town of Walsall and founded by Jeremy Middleton and current chief executive Richard Harpin, HomeServe has been a significant beneficiary of the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdowns across the world encouraged many to engage in home renovation, as did the extra savings built up by consumers and the stamp duty holiday that the UK Government introduced in the summer of 2020. For the 2021 financial year, HomeServe's revenues grew 15 per cent year-on-year to 1.3billion, mainly due to sales in its American market increasing by a fifth, although pre-tax profits dived by two-thirds. Demand for its services has continued to be strong, with its most recent trading update stating it had made 'very good progress' in the last fiscal year. Growth: For the 2021 financial year, HomeServe's revenues grew 15 per cent year-on-year to 1.3billion, mainly due to sales in its American market increasing by a fifth The firm said its home experts division had posted its first-ever profit on a 12-month basis thanks to an exceptional performance by its Checkatrade subsidiary, where the level of paying trades jumped to 47,000, and average revenue per trade rose to 1,200. Alongside this, HomeServe revealed there had been greater retention rates in its North American heating, ventilation, and air conditioning business, as well as a boost in affinity partner households. Following a positive trial in New York State, it recently launched 'HVAC As A Service,' which allows patrons to get heating and air conditioning replacements, plus a yearly tune-up and breakdown cover in return for a monthly payment. Apart from the UK and the United States, the firm has operations in France, Spain, and Japan, where it has a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation, the country's largest trading company. Aside from partnerships, HomeServe has been expanding through a series of acquisitions, including home emergency assistance group CET Structures, and Merseyside-based domestic gas boiler service John Wilkinson. Yet despite the large growth in business, the firm's share price has plunged by 20 per cent in the past two years. Andrew Brooke and Karl Green, analysts at RBC Europe, believe HomeServe's current stock price is 'too inexpensive,' given that they expect the company to report decent full-year results next month. They added: 'We can see the attraction of taking the business private and investing for growth behind closed doors, especially for founder, CEO and largest shareholder Richard Harpin. 'This would be a shame in our view but is reflective of the current way the UK market is valuing stocks - stocks that have opportunities to invest for long-term growth seem to get penalised, whilst those that buy back stock at high valuations get applauded.' Nissan's former boss has reacted with shock after French authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. Carlos Ghosn was first detained in Japan in 2018 on charges of misconduct after allegedly underreporting his pay for five years as head of the car giant, which at the time was in an alliance with rivals Renault and Mitsubishi. He denied any wrongdoing. The 68-year-old staged a daring escape from the country as he awaited trial. Shock: Carlos Ghosn's lawyer told the BBC the warrant was 'surprising' given that the businessman had 'always co-operated with the French authorities' He crossed the streets of Tokyo in disguise before being bundled into a music equipment case and fleeing to his native Lebanon to avoid extradition. But France has now issued five international arrest warrants for the businessman as part of a separate investigation. The probe is focused on allegations of suspicious payments involving Renault-Nissan's distributor in Oman and from a Dutch subsidiary to consultants as well as lavish parties held at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris. Ghosn's lawyer told the BBC the warrant was 'surprising' given that the businessman had 'always co-operated with the French authorities'. U.S. banks are at it again. Inflation is at its highest level in decades. At the same time, interest rates on deposits at the Fed, Treasury ... The main hospital in Ethiopias war-ravaged region of Tigray has sent home 240 patients after food supplies ran out last week, officials said. The decision by Ayder Referral Hospital in Tigrays capital Mekelle underscores how little food aid is reaching the region despite the governments declaration in March of a unilateral truce to allow aid deliveries. One hospital official, who asked not to be named, said about 360 patients remained who were able to purchase their own food. New patients without food or money were being turned away, he said. Those who had to leave included babies with meningitis and tuberculosis and a 14-year-old boy with HIV, two nurses told Reuters. Tedros Fissehaye, a pediatrics ward nurse, said patients and their families went hungry on Thursday April 14. On Friday April 15, he had to tour the wards and tell them there would be no more meals. Ten patients left. Nobody cried. We have finished our tears for months now. But every nurse was so sad, he told Reuters. The families said, pray for us, instead of dying here lets go home and die there. Another pediatric nurse, Mulu Niguse, said the hospital had run out of 90% of medication, but last month had received some HIV pills and tried to treat other diseases with any antibiotics they could scrounge. The discharged children would likely die, she said. Ethiopias Minister of Health Lia Tadesse and Mitiku Kassa, head of the National Disaster Risk Management Commission, didnt respond to requests for comment. Conflict erupted in November 2020 between the central government and Tigrays rulers. Since the military pulled out of Tigray in July following months of bloody battles, only a tiny trickle of food aid has entered. The United Nations has said 100 trucks of aid are needed daily. But convoys have struggled to pass, partly due to fighting and partly due to bureaucratic delays. Since the governments ceasefire announced on March 25, 71 trucks have made it in, said Michael Dunford, regional head of the United Nations World Food Programme. A third convoy had been cleared by federal government and WFP is negotiating with regional authorities for safe passage, he said. Its essential that these convoys move and that they move now. If not, then we will see a spike in hunger related deaths, he told Reuters. More than 90% of Tigrays people need food aid. Staff in Ayder have not been paid since July and were themselves relying on the hospital for food. Nurse Mulu said her children ate once a day. One doctor said that since the food ran out, hed discharged two cancer patients waiting for operations; hed operated on a third this Tuesday who had only been able to afford milk. The hospital has no cancer drugs, the doctor said, sharing pictures of a 2-year-old girl, her eye disfigured by a bulging tumour, and a 14-year-old boy hooked up to a drip because nothing else was available. If you come to the hospital it is so empty, he said sadly. Source: Reuters Octavio Jones | Getty Images Florida legislature passed a bill on Thursday that would dissolve Disneys current legal arrangement that grants it governmental authority over the districts in and surrounding the theme park. The bill seems to come in part as retaliation in response to Disneys voiced opposition to the states Parental Rights in Education Law coined by some as the Dont Say Gay bill. Disney CEO, Bob Chapek, announced that the company would cease any political donations to Florida in response to the bill, which prompted acute dismay from DeSantis himself. Disney and other woke corporations wont get away with peddling their unchecked pressure campaigns any longer, DeSantis wrote in a fundraising email. If we want to keep the Democrat machine and their corporate lapdogs accountable, we have to stand together now. WASHINGTON (AP) House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy had a positive call with Donald Trump and appeared to be suffering little political blowback Friday from the release of audio in which he suggested the president should resign shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. McCarthy worked swiftly to shore up support among Republicans, calling and texting many lawmakers about his conversation with Trump as he rushed to contain the fallout. Trump himself told The Wall Street Journal that he has had a very good relationship with McCarthy. In the audio, first posted Thursday by The New York Times and aired on Rachel Maddows MSNBC show, McCarthy is heard discussing with House Republicans the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office after the president's supporters stormed the Capitol. In the recording of a Jan. 10, 2021, discussion, McCarthy says he would tell Trump, I think it will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign. McCarthy released a statement Thursday calling the report totally false and wrong. His spokesman, Mark Bednar, told the newspaper, McCarthy never said hed call Trump to say he should resign. But on Friday, the Times released another recording, this time of a Jan. 11, 2021, Republican conference call. In the audio, McCarthy can be heard telling his caucus that he had asked the former president if he felt responsible for the deadly insurrection and that Trump acknowledged some responsibility. I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened? McCarthy says on this recording. Does he feel bad about what happened? He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened and hed need to acknowledge that. In his first public statement since the audio was released, Trump told the Journal late Friday: Ive had actually a very good relationship with McCarthy. "I like him. And other than that brief period of time, I suspect he likes me quite a bit. He made a call. I heard the call. I didnt like the call, Trump said. But almost immediately, as you know, because he came here and we took a picture right there you know, the support was very strong." When asked about the Jan. 11 recording, Trump told the Journal: No, thats false. I never claimed responsibility. The release of the audio could threaten the Republican House leader's hold on power. McCarthy is in line to become speaker if Republicans win control in the fall's election, and he is heavily reliant on Trump's support to get there. But a person familiar with McCarthy's Thursday call with Trump described it as positive. I'm not mad at you," Trump told McCarthy in a call Thursday afternoon, according to a second person familiar with the conversation. Both people were granted anonymity to discuss the call. McCarthy and his office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the Trump call. Trump and McCarthy had a strained relationship immediately after the Capitol attack, but mended their alliance after the GOP leader flew to the former presidents resort in Florida to patch up their differences. The Times report Thursday was adapted from a coming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for Americas Future, by reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. There has been no indication that McCarthy actually told Trump he should resign. In the same conversation, McCarthy told his colleagues he doubted Trump would take the advice to step aside rather than be pushed. That would be my recommendation, McCarthy is heard saying in response to a question from Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who would emerge as a staunch Trump critic. I dont think he will take it, but I dont know." The crowd that attacked the Capitol marched there from a rally near the White House where Trump had implored them to fight to overturn the election result. However, he has strongly denied responsibility for the violence. Trump remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party, despite his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection and his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. McCarthy indicated during an interview with The Associated Press this week in California how important Trump remains to his party and its prospects for winning control of the House this fall. Hell motivate, get a lot of people out, McCarthy said at a GOP event in Fresno. President Joe Biden, asked about McCarthy's situation Friday, said: This aint your fathers Republican Party." Biden suggested Trump's grip on the GOP is strong. This is a MAGA party now, he told reporters, referring to Trump's Make America Great Again slogan. 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 audio depicts a very different McCarthy from the one who has been leading House Republicans over the last year and a half and who has remained allied with Trump even after delivering a speech on the House floor shortly after Jan. 6, during which he called the attack on the Capitol un-American." At the time, McCarthy called the assault among the saddest days of his career and told his fellow Republicans that Trump bears responsibility for the violence. Even after the violence, though, McCarthy joined half of the House Republicans in voting to challenge Bidens 2020 election victory. Since then, the California Republican has distanced himself from any criticism of Trump and has avoided directly linking him to what happened. Within weeks of the siege at the Capitol, McCarthy said he did not think Trump provoked the attack, as other prominent Republicans said at the time. Instead, McCarthy has cozied up to Trump, visiting the former president at his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago. McCarthy, 57, has been strategically charting his own delicate course toward the speaker's gavel, well aware of the support he'll need from hard-right members who have created headaches with inflammatory actions and statements. No other Republican leader in the House has amassed the standing to challenge McCarthy for the leadership. McCarthy has recruited the class of newcomers bolstering GOP ranks and raised millions to bolster Republican campaigns. He has tried to temper his closest rivals, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, even as he works to shore up the votes that would be needed to become speaker. So long as Trump continues to back McCarthy, whom he had once fondly called My Kevin, the job is the Californians to lose. Several Republican lawmakers came out in force Friday to defend McCarthy and reiterate that his road to speakership is still on track. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, tweeted that months from now, Republicans will win back the majority and and Kevin McCarthy will be Speaker of the House. On a Fox Business show, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina said she supports McCarthy 100%. Still, McCarthy has also been a person of interest for the House committee investigating the storming of the Capitol on Jan 6. The select committee, which Cheney vice-chairs, requested an interview with McCarthy in mid-January, seeking information on his communications with Trump and White House staff in the week after the violence, including a conversation with Trump that was reportedly heated. McCarthy issued a statement at the time saying he would refuse to cooperate because he saw the investigation as not legitimate and accused the panel of abuse of power. ___ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Chris Megerian contributed to this report. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Tennessee would become the latest state to impose harsh penalties on doctors who violate new, strict regulations dictating the dispensing of abortion pills under a proposal headed toward Republican Gov. Bill Lee's desk. The proposal mirrors similar proposals introduced in Republican-controlled states seeking to clamp down medication abortion access. It's a coordinated nationwide effort spearheaded by anti-abortion groups upset over the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations recent decision to remove a rule that required women to pick up the abortion medication in person. After Tennessee's GOP-controlled House approved the measure last week, Senate Republicans on Thursday signed off on sending the proposal to the governor. Lee hasn't publicly weighed in on the measure, but he has yet to veto a bill while in office and frequently stresses his opposition to abortion. According to the bill, delivery of abortion pills by mail would be outlawed and anyone who wanted to use abortion pills would be required to visit a doctor in advance and then return to pick up the pills. The drugs may be dispensed only by qualified physicians effectively barring pharmacists from doing so. Violators would face a Class E felony and up to a $50,000 fine. The original version of the bill would have also required doctors to inform patients that drug-induced abortions may be halted halfway, a claim medical groups isnt backed up by science and there is little information about the reversal procedures safety. That part was quietly removed through an amendment. Lawmakers also deleted a provision that would have banned abortion pills from being provided at secondary schools, colleges and universities in the state. 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 in-person requirement had long been opposed by medical societies, including the American Medical Association, which said the restriction offers no clear benefit to patients. Medication abortion has been available in the United States since 2000, when the FDA first approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancies up to 10 weeks. Taken with another drug called misoprostol, it constitutes the so-called abortion pill. In the U.S., about 40% of all abortions are now done through medication rather than surgery and that option has become more pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic. POESTENKILL One person is dead and another has been charged with vehicular manslaughter after a crash late Thursday on state Route 355, the Rensselaer County sheriff's office said Friday. Deputies responded shortly after 10:30 p.m. to the two-vehicle collision. The driver of a 2008 Honda Civic with significant front-end damage was trapped inside the vehicle. Deputies said they also saw a 2018 GMC pickup truck with heavy front driver's-side damage and the driver outside of the vehicle. While witnessing the current battle for racial justice, a tension that has remained incessant in America for generations, Martin Luther King III advocates for his fathers mission against what he deemed the three evils of society: poverty, racism, and violence. It almost feels like in one regard, we could be going backward, said King, speaking of legislation that makes it more difficult for people of color to vote and attempts to erase their history in the country. But oftentimes, progress takes time. Its not a sprint, it becomes more of a marathon. King said one of the biggest issues facing America now is the act of minimizing, or completely diminishing, aspects of history while passing legislation that blatantly disregards the injustices suffered by people of color. I think that the biggest problem today is that people are denying history, King said. "No matter how painful or tragic it may be, its important for people, all people, to know the history. One of the ways you correct mistakes of the past is you have to know that they exist. King spoke to the Times Union recently as he prepares for a May 3 lecture at Siena College. He will be the third member of the family to speak at the college. His speech, Strengthening the Bonds of Racial Justice, begins at 7 p.m. It is open to the public but those wishing to attend must register by Tuesday, April 26, through the college website. As the country was roiled by racial tension throughout the pandemic, King continued to speak across the country about voting rights, homelessness, racial discrimination and other issues. His constant advocacy has gained him six honorary degrees in the span of 20 years. He accepts them all, humbly. Everything that I ever present, I just hope people are really listening and hearing what Im saying, King said. I believe that if were open to doing that, then we as a collective can create the kind of society to move forward. In 1988, Siena College created the annual Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Lecture on Race and Nonviolent Social Change (or MLK Lecture Series for short). It was created to "preserve the nonviolent human rights movement" as expressed by Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King. King III was scheduled to be the keynote speaker for the series in January of this year, but it was postponed due to issues stemming from the pandemic. King III is the third member of his family to speak at Siena College. His mother spoke there in 1986 and received an honorary doctor of laws degree. Her daughter, Bernice, spoke at the college in 2002. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Not only will he speak at a forum that honors the legacy of his family, but he will also receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Siena. Every appearance I take very seriously, and Im certainly honored to be able to come to the college where my mother and my sister have already spoken, King said. Its a great honor to be able to receive an honorary degree and Im looking forward to the interactions with the students.' King continues to use his fathers teachings in his advocacy for racial justice. Currently, he serves as chairman of the board for the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, a civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1962. Part of our mission is to help eradicate those triple evils that my dad coined: poverty, racism and violence," he said. "And we believe that the values of peace, justice and equity set the groundwork to be able to abolish those ills in our society. So that's going to always be a foundational part of the message that I present. King described how his message is consistent and unapologetic for all of his speaking engagements, and he enjoys creating dialogue among the audiences about the problems that people of color face in their everyday lives. You listen with your ears, but you hear with your hearts because thats when you have the capacity to make change. he said. And it doesnt mean we have to agree on everything. My dad showed us how to disagree without being disagreeable. He coined that mechanism. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) The Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that authorities publicly identify the Michigan officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man and native of Congo who was fatally shot in the back of the head after a struggle, saying at Lyoya's funeral Friday: We want his name!" Sharpton's comments renewed demands by Lyoya's family members and activists. He told the roughly 1,000 people gathered that authorities cannot set a precedent of withholding the names of officers who kill people. Police in Grand Rapids have said they would withhold the officer's name unless he is charged with a crime, which they describe as a long-standing practice that applies to the public as well as city employees. Every time a young Black man or woman is arrested in this town, you put their name all over the news. Every time were suspected of something, you put our name out there, Sharpton said. "How dare you hold the name of a man that killed this man? We want his name! Mourners at Renaissance Church of God in Christ, many wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts bearing Lyoyas picture, stood and applauded. In a statement Friday, City Manager Mark Washington acknowledged the demands and said he would discuss the matter with the police chief and human resources officials. Police reform requires evaluating many long-standing practices to ensure our actions are consistent with the best interests of the community and the individuals involved, Washington said. No timeline has been set for the discussions or a decision, spokesman David Green said, adding that Washingtons statement was intended to let city residents know we hear you and were willing to assess that practice and see if it works or not. Sharpton noted that Lyoya was killed on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., putting Lyoya's death in the context of the national civil rights movement. He said Lyoya came to America in search of a better life and ran into an America that we know too well. He urged those gathered to continue to fight for justice, and called for a federal investigation into Lyoya's killing. "We cant bring Patrick back. But we can bring justice in Patricks name," he said. Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney for the district that includes Grand Rapids, said in a statement that his office and the FBI had offered help state investigators and local prosecutors and that the Justice Department can provide consultation, mediation or training assistance. He said his office will continue to review the facts to determine whether additional federal response is warranted. Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Lyoya family, have frequently joined with mourners to speak at the funerals of Black people killed by police. Sharpton has eulogized George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked a national reckoning on race; Daunte Wright, who was shot during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis; Andre Hill, who was killed in Columbus, Ohio; and Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed in North Carolina. Crump also called for justice Friday, saying an unnamed police officer escalated a simple misdemeanor traffic stop into a deadly execution. He said the issue is one of humanity, and he called on federal lawmakers to pass reforms aimed at curbing systemic racism in policing. World leaders cant condemn Russian soldiers shooting unarmed citizens in the back of the head in Ukraine, but then refuse to condemn police officers shooting unarmed Black citizens here in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said. If its wrong that you do it in the Ukraine then its wrong that you do it in Grand Rapids. After the service, Crump told reporters: We believe the whole world is watching Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoyas body lay in a white, open casket inside the church before the service began. Once the funeral started, the casket was closed and the flag of Congo was draped over it. Below the casket, a sign bearing an image of the American flag and a photo of Lyoya said: Its our right to live, in both English and Swahili. Lyoya's mother, Dorcas, sobbed as mourners filed in to pay their respects, and tears ran down her cheek as music played and a choir sang. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Michigans only Black member of Congress, read a proclamation saluting Lyoyas memory, saying he was an American of great distinction, whose life and legacy would not be forgotten. This is personal to me. This is my family. You are my family. This is my community, she said. And if I dont stand up, who will? The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Other elected officials, such as Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, were also in attendance. The funeral program was printed in English and Swahili, and a portion of the service was led by leaders in the Congolese community. Bethlehem Shekanena, whose parents immigrated from Congo, said the Lyoyas came to the U.S. for life, liberty and the ability to pursue happiness. We are gathered here today because the promise given to all those who reside on this land, the very foundation of what makes America America it was broken the moment Patrick Lloya was killed in the streets." she said, adding: He did not deserve to die." Before the service, mourners were given T-shirts that read Justice For Patrick Lyoya on one side and Its our Right to Live! on the other. Some men removed their suit jackets and slipped the shirt on over their dress shirts. Lyoya, who was unarmed, was face down on the ground when he was shot April 4. The officer, whose name has not been released, was on top of him and can be heard on video demanding that he take his hand off the officer's Taser. Earlier, the officer is heard saying Lyoya was stopped because the license plate did not match the car Lyoya was driving. Lyoya, a 26-year-old father of two, declined to get back into the vehicle as ordered, and a short foot chase ensued before the deadly struggle. How dare you pull your gun about some car tags? Sharpton said during his eulogy. State police are investigating the shooting. The agency will forward findings to Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker for consideration of any charges. He has told the public to not expect a quick decision. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have said they believe video collected and released by police shows Lyoya was resisting the officer, not fighting him. His parents have called the shooting an execution. ___ Forliti contributed from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan. ___ Find the APs full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya Update: Charges have been dismissed. HALFMOON A Halfmoon teenager charged earlier this week with striking a sheriffs deputy after police tackled her autistic younger brother in a local Target store is facing new felony charges of stabbing another teen. The latest charges that State Police lodged against the 17-year-old girl immediately raised skepticism from her defense attorney, Jasper Mills, who noted that no witnesses have said they saw his client commit the alleged stabbing, and from the judge presiding over a Thursday court appearance, who threw out a weapons charge against the teen. "I am not sure who actually stabbed me because it happened to the side of me," the victim told police, according to court documents. The victim and her sister told police they did not even realize the victim had been stabbed until they were driving away from the home of the accused, where the two sisters ended up in a brawl with a group of teens. At the defendant's arraignment, Town Justice Joseph V. Fodera dismissed a misdemeanor weapon charge against the teenager. Fodera allowed a second-degree assault charge, a felony carrying up to seven years in prison upon conviction, to stand. Mills, a former Albany County prosecutor, said if there was not sufficient evidence to support the weapon charge, it also did not support the assault charge. "There's nothing there," Mills told Fodera, a retired New York City detective who is not registered as an attorney. This is exactly why the laws were created to allow for dismissals." The judge released the defendant into Mills' custody. Troopers still handcuffed the teenager and drove her to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation. Her mother, Chante Ware, told the Times Union that her daughter made a passing remark to police that if she were dead they would not be able to bother her family anymore a remark that might have prompted the evaluation because of its intimation of self-harm. Ware said police ransacked her home Thursday while her daughter was in court and left with her daughter's cellphone and some bleach. "This is being done as a scare tactic," she said, suggesting the officers' conduct following Thursday's incident was related to criticism law enforcement received after the Target episode was reported Tuesday. Mills told the Times Union he knew of no video evidence implicating his client. "The victim stated that she does know how she was cut and no one is on paper stating that they observed my client with a weapon," Mills said. "Furthermore, this is a situation where two girls went to my client's home to assault her, and she is being punished for defending herself." Mills' client was charged with felony assault after the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office alleged she hit a deputy with a soap dish during a confrontation over her brother's detention by a deputy Monday at a local Target. The 14-year-old boy was not charged. So far, no charges have been brought against anyone else involved in the Thursday morning incident. Documents in Halfmoon Town Court indicated the latest charges against the accused teen were related to ongoing tensions over a teenage boy who is dating the 17-year-old defendant after a recent breakup with the alleged stabbing victim. In a statement to police, the alleged victim, also 17, said the defendant had been "trying to get me to fight her for a while." More for you Mom: Autistic son tackled on video by deputy in Target is victim of racial profiling On Wednesday about noon, she told police, she went to her ex-boyfriend's apartment to pick something up. While there, the defendant and her sister showed up, and they exchanged words. As the day went on, the angry rhetoric continued on Facebook and Snapchat. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. On Thursday about 12:15 a.m., the alleged victim told police that she and her sister drove from Albany to the defendant's home for what she expected to be a "one-on-one fight." Instead, she said, the defendant was outside her home with three or four siblings. She said she and the defendant squared up to fight, and that the defendant and her sister "mentioned having a knife." The defendant's group allegedly had bleach in a can. She and the defendant fought as multiple people recorded the incident using cellphones. The defendant fell, at which point the victim was jumped by the defendant's siblings, she said. The alleged victim said her sister came to her aid. They got in their car and left, then realized their vehicle's right front tire had been slashed. While in the car, the victim realized she had been stabbed in her right shoulder, she said. Mills reminded the judge that the stabbing victim sought his client out for a physical confrontation. He questioned why his client was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, when she is not older than the girl who was stabbed. Mills also said the stabbing victim had earlier that day tried to break into his client's home to confront her and the ex-boyfriend. "I would like to know what the police are doing with those allegations," he said. Mills asked Fodera to release the defendant; Assistant District Attorney Sam Maxwell asked the judge to order the defendant held without bail. The prosecutor noted she had been charged Monday in the incident at Target with assaulting a police officer. In that incident, the defendants 14-year-old brother, who has autism, was tackled by a sheriffs deputy during a confrontation in a Clifton Park location of the chain store. The scuffle, which was caught on video, showed the 17-year-old defendant in Thursday's incident screaming at police, What the (expletive) are you doing? Get the (expletive) off my brother! and He has autism; he has autism. The defendant was charged in Monday's incident with felony assault after she allegedly used a soap dish to strike a deputy in the face, requiring the deputy to need medical treatment. State Police Trooper Kerra Burns, a spokeswoman for Troop G, said in an email regarding the Thursday incident, "We feel the charges are appropriate. This is an ongoing investigation and we are not going to comment further at this time." It was as if nature was sending us humans a nudge this week when a late April snowstorm cut power to nearly 200,000 utility customers across New York just days before the world was set to mark Earth Day. No, it wasnt so trivial as, Thatll teach you to put your snowblowers away before June. It was much more serious, along the lines of, Youve got a lot of work to do if youre going to save civilization. Its troubling that a storm which, other than timing, was hardly extraordinary, took out power for so many just as New York is talking seriously about phasing out fossil fuels and moving to an all-electric era. Those big goals stem from the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New Yorks blueprint for doing its part to address global warming. The 2019 act calls for reducing carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and by 85 percent by 2050, and generating 100 percent of the states electricity from clean energy by 2040. One component of that is to mandate full electrification of new buildings including for heating, cooking, and hot water, things many now get by burning oil, natural gas or propane. Pending in the Legislature is the All-Electric Buildings Act, which would mandate this statewide starting in 2024, just 20 months away. Not surprisingly, there is pushback on the bill from politicians and special interests who scoff at global warming and suggest that anything New York does wouldnt be enough to solve a planetary problem. Though theyve shifted strategies instead of denying global warming outright, they question the cost benefits of saving the planet and future generations from catastrophe their agenda is as transparent as ever: to keep fossil fuel interests in business as long as possible. Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter. But theyre not the only ones to see a problem here. More sincere and legitimate concern is coming from businesses and other interests that dont dispute the grave seriousness of the problem but want to be sure New York does this right. Its entirely fair to ask if green energy like wind, hydro, and solar will provide all the power New Yorkers need around the clock, and if not, what other sources of energy will be employed? And when a fairly unspectacular snowfall kills the power for almost 200,000 people, its fair to ask, too, what the state and utilities will do to ensure that the grid stays up and running in the future. Yes, there are alternatives to the grid and back-ups for emergencies such as heat pumps and generators but those cost money. For the many people who cant afford them, the state and utilities must make substantial investments in hardening an electricity network that this week proved to be less than up to the task for hundreds of thousands of people. Were not saying dont do this; global warming is too urgent a problem to hit the brakes over every question. But if New Yorkers and people everywhere else are going to buy into a new era, those leading the way need to assure them they didnt forget any essential provisions. ALBANY The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's effort to keep secret the psychological treatment records of suspected pedophile priests was rejected Thursday by a state appellate court in a ruling that could affect thousands of Child Victims Act cases in New York. The appellate panel also upheld state Supreme Court Justice L. Michael Mackey's decision ordering the diocese to turn over the personnel records of at least 48 priests whom the church determined had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse over a period stretching from 1946 to 1999. The appellate court also upheld Mackey's decision ordering the diocese to turn over the reports and other notes from investigators hired by the diocese some of them retired FBI agents who had investigated sexual abuse allegations against priests and other employees. The ruling will potentially impact the pre-trial discovery evidence in hundreds of cases filed against the Albany diocese. It is also significant because there was little legal precedent in child abuse litigation prior to the enactment of the Child Victims Act three years ago that temporarily lifted New York's statute of limitations and enabled thousands of alleged victims to seek recourse against the individuals or institutions potentially liable for their abuse. The appellate division case in Albany was centered on a lawsuit in which the attorneys for an alleged abuse victim sought records outlining the "sexual deviancy" treatment received by the Rev. Edward Pratt and other priests. Pratt is a former vice chancellor who was once ex-Albany Bishop Howard J. Hubbard's second in command. The alleged victim in that case, Michael Harmon, said he was abused in the 1980s by Pratt, including inside the chancery in a room across the hall from where Hubbard lived. Harmon has said that while Hubbard never abused him, the bishop was aware that the boy would spend multiple nights each week in Pratts bedroom. The diocese had argued that the psychological treatment records of the priests were subject to patient-physician privileges, but Mackey had ruled that privilege was waived when the priests' medical records were shared with Hubbard. At that point, the court ruled, they fell into the realm of business records subject to disclosure to the plaintiffs. "As Supreme Court correctly found, Pratt waived any privilege with respect to the psychologist's report by consenting to its release to the bishop, and defendants failed to establish that the authorization under which the psychologist communicated with the bishop was limited in any way," the appellate panel's ruling states. "The report from the psychologist was directly addressed to the bishop, and any arrangement between those two does not create a psychologist-patient relationship." The diocese also had fought against the release of information about alleged victims of suspected abusive priests or others. Attorneys for plaintiffs have argued that information on other alleged victims is critical to their ability to show what the diocese knew about abusive priests including many who were returned to ministry after receiving treatment only to commit abuse again. Michael L. Costello, the diocese's attorney, had argued that any evidence of other alleged sexual abuses would be "prejudicial." "The varying nature of the allegations in each case, as well as the varying histories of the priests involved and the weighing of credibility as to the allegations are all factors that must be taken into consideration in determining a response to sexual abuse claims," Costello had argued. Mallory C. Allen, an attorney for Harmon, told the appellate division that the records, including the treatment files on Pratt, should be turned over. "They may show the diocese knew Father Pratts treatment was unsuccessful; they may show the diocese was warned that Father Pratt was a pedophile who would continue sexually abusing children, like Michael, if given access to them," Allen wrote in a memorandum filed with the court. "They may show Father Pratt admitted to abusing children; and/or, they may show Father Pratt discussed the fact that the diocese was aware that he was abusing children, including before or during Michaels abuse, and did nothing." Although the diocese has publicly supported the Child Victims Act after years of the Catholic church lobbying against its passage and attested to its efforts to help alleged victims, its legal team has also waged a fierce battle in court to prevent the release of many of the records that documented the abuse and their internal handling of it. "The claims of the victims-survivors remain the highest priority of the diocese," the diocese said in a statement Thursday evening in response to the appellate division's ruling. "The guidance and orders provided by the courts are respected and followed with compliance." Last month, Mackey also ordered the release of a lengthy deposition of Hubbard that took place a year ago when the former bishop was questioned for four days by attorneys representing dozens of individuals who filed claims under the Child Victims Act. During the deposition, Hubbard testified under oath that he and the diocese systematically concealed incidents of child sexual abuse and did not alert law enforcement agencies when they discovered it, saying their actions were, in part, intended to avoid scandal and preserve "respect for the priesthood." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY A mid-level appeals court on Thursday ruled that New York's Democrat-drawn redistricting maps were put together with partisan intent and need to be redone. The decision by the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division in Rochester sets up a major a legal battle before the Court of Appeals, which is expected to hear the case next week. The ruling could substantially influence how many Democrats and Republicans represent New York in Congress, which could also factor significantly into the balance of power in Washington. The ruling does not, however, affect the new state political boundaries established for the state Senate and Assembly. The court battle is unfolding as ballots for the June 28 primary are due next month. In a 3-2 decision, the court said the redistricting maps, an effort undertaken every decade after the U.S. Census count, were "drawn to discourage competition and favor Democrats." The Legislature has until April 30 to draw a new congressional map, according to the ruling. The majority of justices found that computer simulations from an expert brought forward by Republican voters showed clear gerrymandering, although they acknowledged in the ruling that "circumstantial evidence" was not enough to prove partisan intent. The computer simulations do not account for "communities of interest," which redistricting is legally obligated to consider and was the primary input the state's Independent Redistricting Commission received during its public hearings. Two justices, Gerald J. Whalen and Joanne M. Winslow, issued a partial dissent saying the congressional maps were not gerrymandered. They agreed with three other justices that the Legislature has the right the draw the maps after the commission deadlocked along party lines. Only one justice, John M. Curran, agreed with the lower court ruling out of Steuben County that said the Legislature did not have the authority to draw the maps after the commission failed to agree. During oral arguments Wednesday, Curran referred to the commission as "useless." John Faso, a former GOP congressman who has spoken on behalf of the petitioners challenging the redistricting process, hailed the decision. "We are pleased that the appellate division confirmed what all New Yorkers know: The congressional map that the Democrats in the Legislature adopted is an egregious, unconstitutional gerrymander," Faso said. Democrats said they are looking forward to the case going before the Court of Appeals. "We are pleased the court upheld the Legislature's process and the right for the Legislature to enact these maps," said Mike Murphy, a spokesman for the Senate's Democratic majority conference. "The newly drawn Senate and Assembly maps are now valid. We always knew this case would end at the Court of Appeals and look forward to being heard on our appeal to uphold the congressional map as well." ALBANY Two state Department of Labor workers allegedly conducted a massive identity fraud scheme to steal more than $1.6 million in unemployment benefits during the pandemic using co-conspirators they enlisted through an ad on Craigslist as well as "friends and acquaintances," according to federal court records. The pair, Wendell C. Giles, 51, a former Buffalo resident living in Albany, and 33-year-old Carl J. DiVeglia III of Albany were snared as part of investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor. Both have been terminated from their jobs, according to state comptroller's records. DiVeglia pleaded guilty on April 13 in U.S. District Court in Albany to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, admitting in a plea agreement that he reaped about $225,000 in the 15-month-long scheme that began in May 2020 and ended in August. Giles, whose partner, Shawna M. McDaniel, 51, is director of the Office of Equal Opportunity Development at the labor department, was arrested by federal authorities Friday and charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury. McDaniel, who remains in her $106,000-a-year job, is not accused of wrongdoing. The state Department of Labor issued a statement confirming that both Giles and DiVeglia had been terminated. "The unemployment insurance system is designed to help New Yorkers during their greatest time of need," the agency said. "Stealing from this lifeline, especially during a global pandemic, is an especially egregious crime." According to DiVeglia's plea agreement, he and Giles had work duties that included "processing unemployment insurance claims and distributing state and federal unemployment insurance benefits to eligible New Yorkers." That work gave them access to the department's computer systems, which they used to enter the fraudulent claims and to instruct the systems to release the benefits. The plea agreement also said that DiVeglia "used other people's identifying information, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, to fraudulently create and approve unemployment insurance applications." Sometimes he would make up the information in required fields in the applications which include information such as the maiden name of an applicant's mother or their work history. In many instances, the pair would make agreements with the individuals whose identities were used to file the fraudulent applications to share the payouts, which often were in the tens of thousands of dollars. The payments were issued through debit cards in the name of banking institutions, including KeyBank, and mailed to the addresses in the unemployment applications. DiVeglia used his computer access to release partial payments "to secure his share of the fraud proceeds before releasing the remainder of the funds due on the claims." It's unclear whether any of the individuals alleged to have taken part in the scheme by allowing their identities to be used for the fraudulent applications will face charges. DiVeglia faces more than 20 years in prison but will receive credit for his guilty plea and cooperation in the investigation. He faces a minimum of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft conviction. He agreed to pay $1.66 million in restitution to the state, as well as a $225,000 judgment. Giles pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court on Friday afternoon and was released. "As alleged, Wendell Giles breached the publics trust by taking money from government programs designed to help out-of-work New Yorkers during a global pandemic," U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman said. "The integrity of government benefits programs depends on the honesty of the people who help to administer them. We continue to prioritize COVID fraud prosecutions to maintain public confidence in these programs and to hold accountable those who have abused the system." The charges mark one of numerous criminal prosecutions targeting people who used fraudulent means, including stolen identities, to dupe the state Department of Labor into doling out unemployment benefits during the height of the pandemic, when many of the safeguards for applications had been lowered. The Times Union, citing a review of internal labor department correspondence and interviews with employees on the front lines of the overwhelmed call center, reported in September 2020 that the lowering of the safeguards by the administration of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was enabling widespread fraud. That fraud including paying benefits to people not entitled to receive them including an inmate just released from prison, people who had not worked in at least 18 months and others who filed unemployment applications in multiple states. In February, two state prison inmates pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges that they had conspired to defraud the state-administered unemployment insurance program from inside a Franklin County correctional facility. The state Department of Labor has faced scrutiny for its susceptibility to fraudulent unemployment insurance claims since the onset of the pandemic, when Cuomo's office had directed the agency to expedite benefits for people who reported losing their jobs during the health crisis. The ensuing increase in applications for unemployment benefits "crashed on New York like a wave, pushing our systems to the brink," according to testimony from state labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon in August 2020. The Times Union reported that key security protocols for identity verification were dropped in the face of the urgent situation. In the final quarter of 2020, the state had reported more than $68.3 million in payouts to New Yorkers ineligible to receive money, in a mixture of fraudulent schemes or claimants unaware of their ineligibility. Law enforcement officials also reported a high rate of identification-theft cases involving individuals whose information was used illegally by others to file false claims. In response to this and other pandemic-related increases in fraudulent activity, the U.S. attorney general formed a COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force last May to "bolster efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors," according to the Department of Justice. An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the relationship of Wendell C. Giles and Shawna M. McDaniel. They are not married, according to the state Department of Labor. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY Attorney General Letitia James, despite allegations by her Republican opponent Michael Henry, gave away to charity most of the campaign contributions that she had received from a Harlem real estate developer who was recently indicted on campaign finance charges. James' campaign, in which she was running for governor before abandoning that bid, told the Times Union in November it planned to return all of the money developer Gerald Migdol and his family contributed to her statewide campaigns. The comments came after Migdol was arrested in connection with an alleged straw-donor campaign scheme connected to former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who also has been indicted on federal charges. The criminal charges relate to Benjamin's failed election bid for comptroller of New York City. Although it appears James only returned $9,000 out of $35,250 her campaigned received from Migdol, his wife Sheryl and his son Aaron, the campaign clarified Thursday that the remaining money, $26,250 was donated to charity. James' campaign returned $4,000 it received from the Migdol family in 2021 that it received when James announced her candidacy for governor, according to state Board of Elections records. In January 2020, James returned a $5,000 donation made in December 2019 by Migdol; the check had bounced, according to the campaign. The money that was donated to charities, $8,750 to each of three organizations, had been received in filing periods prior to James announcing her brief run for governor. The money was given to: New York Cares, which focuses on volunteering for social issues; Little Essentials, which provides assistance for children in poverty; and God's Love We Deliver, which provides meals to people who are too sick to cook. Henry, a New York City Republican, told reporters Thursday in Albany that in November, following Migdol's indictment, she did not "return a dime of the corruption cash." "I'm calling on the Attorney General Letitia James to publicly, if she has not already, return all of the funds that she received from Gerald Migdol, his family and his organization and to have a public accounting to the public to see exactly how much money she's received from him over the years," Henry said. Henry also questioned why James did not open an investigation into the matter relating to Migdol. "Why did she accepted this money from Gerald Migdol? And why did she not call for any investigations?" Henry said. About five months after Migdol's indictment, federal prosecutors indicted Benjamin earlier this month on bribery and campaign finance charges. The indictment led to Benjamin's resignation, although he has pleaded not guilty and indicated he will fight the charges. Migdol and his family contributed $111,100 to 25 campaigns since 2006, according to state records. Most of the money has been given since 2013. James received the most of the money and Harlem Assemblywoman Inez E. Dickens, received $17,250. Since 2020, outside of James, Dickens and Benjamin, the state Senate Democratic campaign committee received $15,000, which was noted in the federal indictment of Benjamin; Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg received $1,000. A monthly payment of 400 to households who take in Ukrainian refugees is being considered by the Government. Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs told RTE news there is a cost associated with housing refugees "even for the most generous people". "Whatever decision is taken next week will need to reflect those costs while supporting the generosity which people have shown with their arms open over the last few months," Minister Byrne said. It is understood that the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners have been asked to draw up plans to pay households who take in refugees, but the exact details of how much they will be paid and which households will be eligible are still being worked out by officials. A formal government decision is then expected within the next fortnight and possibly as early as next week. The amount could be up to 400 a month, senior government figures have confirmed. The Department of Children and Equality will have responsibility for determining who is eligible for the payment and how much will be paid. The payment will be administered by the Department of Social Protection, it is believed. With just over two weeks to go until Tire Technology Expo 2022 gets underway in Hannover, Germany, the shortlisted nominations for this years Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence have been revealed. The awards are decided by the votes of a panel of experts from the tire industry and academia. The winners will be announced during the Expo during a drinks reception on May 18. ') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> Materials innovation is once again at the heart of this years shortlist as the tire industry addresses the often-conflicting challenges of better tire performance and reduced environmental impact. As such, there are several nominations for new materials initiatives by tire makers and expert suppliers in the Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year, Tire Technology of the Year and Environmental Achievement of the Year categories. In the Tire Technology of the Year category, materials technology also dominates, plus there are developments in the testing and development arenas. And as always, the Tire Manufacturer of the Year award will be closely fought between leading international tire makers. In the last year, these manufacturers have publicly ramped up efforts to improve the sustainability of their products as well as refreshing their offerings to cater for an increasingly automated and electrified vehicle market. The shortlist in full: Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year Bekaert BeCoFree VMI Revolute Herrmann Durable Tire Cutting (DTC) Sonotrode Color Service Automatic Bag Delivery Environmental Achievement of the Year Bridgestone, Arlanxeo and Solvay Techsyn Continental ContiRe.Tex The Tyre Collective Tire wear particle capture Kumho Petrochemical Eco-friendly biosilica DRI Rubber Sustacom Synthos Bio-butadiene for sustainable rubber Color Service Anti-Dust Kit Tire Technology of the Year SRI HSBR Yokohama HAICoLab MegaRide VESevo Dufournier Ai3T Tekna Vision Tire System 3D Tire Industry Supplier of the Year Mesnac Black Donuts Engineering Uzer Makina Comerio Ercole HF Group Tire Manufacturer of the Year Goodyear Continental Michelin Apollo SRI Nokian In addition, the 2022 Young Scientist Prize and Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented on the night. These two prizes are subject to separate judging processes. The awards are coordinated by Tire Technology International magazine, which is published by UKi Media & Events, the organizer of Tire Technology Expo. For full details of 2020s winners, click here. For more information on Tire Technology Expo 2022, head to www.tiretechnology-expo.com. Destructive U.S. Southwest fires have burned dozens of homes in northern Arizona and put numerous small villages in New Mexico in the path of danger, as wind-fueled flames chewed up wide swaths of tinder dry forest and grassland and plumes of smoke filled the sky A "transit" and "green space" effort debuted today . . . A brief insight: It's probably never gonna happen and if it does, it's not going to live up to the hype. Yes, yes . . . There is "funding" in place . . . But let's not forget that this "news" is coming from the same cowtown that has an unfinished flood control project near one of its most elite and iconic shopping district. Either way . . . You'll forgive our skepticism and lack of excitement over yet another homeless park for downtown Kansas City . . . Here's a peek at the plan hatched by many dudes wearing smart Dockers and glasses . . . The 5.5 acre park will cover I-670 and stretch from Wyandotte Street on the west to Grand Boulevard on the East. Today is an exciting day in Kansas City as we announce significant progress made to build a lid over I-670 as part of our efforts to continue building our downtown corridor for residents, visitors, and businesses, Mayor Quinton Lucas said. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Plans unveiled for $160M park covering I-670 in downtown Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Several key officials gathered in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Friday to announce a $160 million park over Interstate 670 in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Watch a replay of the news conference: Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas, Sen. Roy Blunt (R - Missouri), Rep. Officials drawing up plans to create large park over I-670 in downtown Kansas City, Missouri Officials on Friday announced funding plans to design and engineer a new park that will vastly change the landscape of downtown Kansas City, Missouri.The idea: Build a park and green space over Interstate 670 on the south side of the downtown loop.Officials including Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and Rep. After years of chatter, Kansas City will finally build a park over a stretch of I-670 downtown Officials on Friday unveiled plans for a four-block-long deck and park over Interstate 670 in downtown Kansas City that promises to transform downtown and spark further development just south of the downtown loop. Kansas City unveils plans for $160M 'South Loop Link' park over I-670 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Part of downtown and Interstate 670 will look at lot greener in the near future. Kansas City leaders and Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt announced plans Friday for a $160 million park that will be built over I-670, bridging downtown and the Crossroads District. Special thanks to this hype article which offers even more reporting and convinces us that all of this hype might just be vaporware . . . KC's own $160M 'urban oasis' park: Private funders greenlit to put a 5.5-acre lid over I-670 If realized, the project could boast such amenities as playgrounds, dog parks, and arts and amphitheater programming. The design process is expected to last between 12 and 18 months. State and federal partners have shown strong interest in funding construction. Developing . . . Today, a great deal of online discourse among pudgy local hipsters lamented impending destruction on Main Street in order to make way for the new toy train. Reality check . . . The building is nice but it's vacant. Apropos for #TBT . . . Old school residents might remember when it housed on of the better clubs in Midtown that was, of course, shut down after a spate of gunfire. Anyhoo . . . Historic KC set off the alarm via social media and THAT sparked a great deal of slap fighting amongst angry amateur urban planners. Again, longtime residents realize that Historic KC's involvement typically precedes the demolition of most memorable local buildings. Nevertheless, here's a peek at the sitch . . . Historic Kansas City has learned that the Jeserich building, 3041-45 Main, built in 1888, and 3035-37 Main, built in 1905, identified by a KC Streetcar federal study as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, are scheduled to be demolished beginning Wednesday, April 20th. These historic resources tell a unique and important story, define the development history of the community, and provide tangible reminders of the past that create a unique sense of place. Listed on Historic Kansas Citys Most Endangered Places List since 2019, these historic structures are located at the corner of 31st and Main, where a half-dozen properties were acquired by an entity controlled by PRICE BROTHERS of Overland Park. In 2016, PRICE BROTHERS razed the Green Gables apartment buildings designed by architect Nelle Peters west of the Country Club Plaza over the objection of HKC and the community. That site remains vacant. Historic Kansas City has been in contact with the UNION HILL NEIGHBORHOOD, who over the past weekend learned of the planned demolition. At this point, scant information is available. The developer, Price Brothers, has not met with the neighborhood to discuss the demolition or any plans for redevelopment on the site. The UNION HILL NEIGHBORHOOD supports future development and improvements in the area of 31st and Main, but would like to see as much of the original corner preserved as possible, especially the Jeserich Building which ties in with the predominantly Victorian aesthetic of the adjacent residential area. Incorporating any portion of the original building into any future project would lend authenticity to any newer development and visually connect the neighborhood better to its future streetcar stop. From developers . . . The acquisition means developers have now snapped up strategic corners at four of the six streetcar stops between downtown and the Country Club Plaza: 31st, Armour, 39th and 45th streets. Its another key intersection in Midtown and its another streetcar stop with a ton of potential. If Price Brothers could develop a more transit-oriented project that would be fantastic at that corner. The fate of the existing buildings at the corner is unknown. The Jesserich building, which opened in 1905 as a corner drug store, does not have local or federal historic designation to protect it from potential demolition. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Historic KC: Upcoming Demolition of Historic Buildings at 31st And Main by the Price Bros. Historic Kansas City has learned that the Jeserich building, 3041-45 Main, built in 1888, and Lutfi's Fried Fish, 3035-37 Main, built in 1905, identified by a KC Streetcar federal study as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, are scheduled to be demolished beginning Wednesday, April 20th. Another Key Corner Acquired Along Streetcar Extension Route By Kevin Collison Another key corner along the planned Main Street streetcar route at 31st street has been acquired by a developer including the 115 year-old Jeserich building and an adjacent building housing Lufti's Fried Fish. Developing . . . Right now we catch up on a great deal of local crime reporting, police action, court cases and info from throughout our community . . . Check TKC news gathering . . . Kansas City police investigate shooting near 62nd, Tracy shooting near 62nd, tracy SOURCE: KMBC Kansas City police are investigating a shooting Thursday night near 62nd Street and Tracy Avenue.Police were called to the area about 9:25 p.m. and found one person with critical injuries.No other details have been released. Refresh this page for updates. Kansas City police work standoff with possible shooting suspect KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Police in Kansas City, Missouri, were in a standoff with a person believed to be a suspect in a shooting on Thursday evening. According to KCPD public information officer Leslie Foreman, the shooting occurred in the 8100 block of Wayne Avenue. Kansas City police try to reunite owners with property stolen from storage units Kansas City police said one man single-handedly stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of items. Now, authorities said they are struggling to return all those items. In three bays of the police department's Metro Patrol garage, people are digging through boxes, suitcases, electronics, and plastic containers. Man charged in deadly shooting at Kansas City gas station KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A 31-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man is accused of shooting and killing another man last week at a gas station, then filling his car with fuel before leaving the scene. Those are new details from court documents, which are giving more insight to FOX4's breaking news last Friday. Deputy Chief Joseph Mabin to be sworn in as KC's interim police chief Deputy Chief Joseph Mabin will be sworn in as the Interim Chief of Police of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. Mabin will be stepping into the role held by the current chief, Rick Smith, when he retires on Friday, April 22. The swearing-in will be at 9 a.m. Man wanted in connection with Independence homicide taken into custody in KC FUTURESCAN'S. BREAKING NEWS IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI. A MAN WANTED IN CONNECTION TO A HOMICIDE IS WANTED AFTER BARRICADING HIMSELF INSIDE A HOME. POLICE TELL US DARREL MAGGARD IS FACING CHARGES OF SECOND DEGREE MURDER, MED ARCRIMINAL ACTION, AND UNLAWFUL POSESSION OF A FIREARM. Albert Wilson sues Kansas for wrongful conviction after rape case dismissed LAWRENCE, Kan. - A former University of Kansas student whose rape conviction was dismissed last year is now suing the state. Albert Wilson has filed a lawsuit in Douglas County District Court against the state of Kansas for wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Kansas man gets probation for role in Capitol insurrection A 32-year-old Kansas man has been sentenced to two years of probation for participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Mark Roger Rebegila, of St. Marys, Kansas, was also sentenced Wednesday to 30 days of home detention, a $2,000 fine and 60 hours of community service. 'It's not over': Family, sheriff expect more charges in KCK father's killing at park KANSAS CITY, Kan. - After more than 8 months of searching for justice for a father of two killed at a local park, one Kansas City, Kansas, family is a little closer to justice - but not all the way there. 'It is 4/20': Driver spills 500 pounds of marijuana on Missouri highway A move to make marijuana legal in Missouri may be gaining momentum. Until then, it is still very much illegal to traffic hundreds of pounds of marijuana across Missouri highways. It was a lesson learned the hard way for a driver that crashed a truck on I-70 Wednesday. Northland prosecutors take action against illegal THC vape cartridges KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For some, April 20, or 4/20, is a marijuana holiday. But police and prosecutors see it another way. Prosecutors and the Kansas City Police Department's Vice Unit are reminding the community about illegal vape cartridges being sold at some gas stations and smoke shops. Protection order granted against Jackson County deputy accused of domestic violence A deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office is on unpaid leave after an order of protection was granted against him in a case brought by a former romantic partner claiming she was the victim of domestic violence. A request for a protection order was filed against Deputy Anthony Uredi on Nov. Cybersecurity expert reacts to Unified Government of KCK cyber attack The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas is still trying to get to the bottom of a cyberattack, that hit its data centers Monday. Burton Kelso, a cybersecurity expert, said there's not much you can do when your information is leaked in a large-scale data breach like this.The data breach affected at least seven different services within the UG. Man fatally shot Kansas City gas station customer, then went inside to pay: police A man charged in the fatally shooting a 33-year-old outside a Kansas City gas station in broad daylight last week was seen by cameras and witnesses walking back inside to purchase gasoline before fleeing the scene, according to court records. Justin J. Raytown police ask for help in finding missing 22-year-old man Police in Raytown are asking for help in finding a 22-year-old man.Authorities said they were notified Thursday that Gabriel Carter has been missing since Wednesday.Police said Carter left a home in the 10300 block of East 63rd Street and did not return.Authorities ask anyone who has seen Carter call the Raytown Police Department at 816-737-6020. Northland skating rink holds celebration of life for teen fatally stabbed at school A Northland skating rink held a celebration of life Thursday for 14-year-old Manuel Guzman, who was stabbed to death April 12 at Northeast Middle School.The rink dedicated a skate night in honor of Guzman.Friends of Guzman say some of their best memories happened at Winnwood Skate Center. Kansas City police locate missing woman KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Update | KCPD said Camerillo has been located and is safe. Original story | The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is asking for the public's help in finding a woman last seen Thursday morning. Denise M. Camerillo, 61, was last seen at her home in the 6800 block of Bellefontaine Avenue at around 6:30 a.m. Developing . . . To conclude #TBT this evening we direct readers toward the conclusions of local old school journalist turned blogger Jim Fitzpatrick who offers his two cents on Chief Smith's 34 year career in law enforcement. JimmyC has many opinions but there's no denying that he has found some support with his criticism of Kansas City police . . . Here's a sample and his summation of the top cop's tenure . . . His nearly five years as chief have been a certifiable disaster. Consider The departments reputation has slipped badly on his watch - He has unconditionally supported rogue and reckless officers. - He has ignored Kansas Citys east side and worsened the divide between the department and the Black community. - He has refused to cooperate with Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker on internal affairs cases where officers deserved to be scrutinized for possible criminal violations of peoples rights. On this points . . . * It's the Chief's prerogative regarding how he manages his department . . . It's important to note that some critics of the Chief argue that he didn't offer much vocal endorsement during a recent trial. Moreover, later in JimmyC's post he conflates KCPD controversy with the George Floyd murder which kind of reveals his "angle" and bias. * The argument that KCPD has "ignored" the east side is spurious at best. For better and worse, this part of KCMO has garnered more resources and attention from law enforcement than any comparable swath of land. On any given night police and law enforcement are dedicating a great deal of time and energy toward the East side whilst other parts of this cowtown (like the Northland) are left nearly unguarded. * Cooperation works both ways . . . Moreover, picking sides in the slap fight betwixt police & the prosecutor's office is a losing proposition . . . Our objective bloggy contention is that a 12th & Oak political impasse sparked by GARBAGE partisan culture war talk show & social media politics has coincided with KC's recent delve into historic violence. Still . . . We invite readers to check out his side of the story and his bonus criticism of other beleaguered local institutions . . . Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . At last, Rick Smith is leaving...Plus, my exchange with Nick Haines In a world full of bad news, we have some good news locally: Tomorrow is Police Chief Rick Smith's last day in office. I can't wait to see him in the rear view mirror -- and then not see him ever again. Let's hope he doesn't end up with some cushy job like president of... Further reading . . . Outgoing Kansas City police chief reflects on his tenure, Plaza protests Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith's last day on the job is Friday. He has spent the last 34 years protecting and serving the community. As Smith prepares for retirement, he reflects on his time as Kansas City's top cop in an exclusive interview with KMBC's Lara Moritz.The last five years have not been easy for Smith. You decide . . . A new HQ for the Democratic Party politico might work more efficiently but it's not a good look. Rep. Davids going corporate is yet another sign that she doesn't have a lot in common with people from her district . . . Or at least that'll be an easier argument for her critics to make. Take a peek . . . With the help of Mayor Curt Skoog and the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, Davids and her staff celebrated the office opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony in February. The purpose of the space is to help residents who are having issues with the federal government, such as backlogged veterans benefits, Social Security and Medicare issues, stalled tax refunds and passport issues. According to Davids, since taking office, she has closed over 3,000 constituent cases and returned more than $6.2 million to residents in the form of overdue tax returns, earned benefits and more. The facility is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on the weekends. Davids also has an office in Kansas City, Kansas . . . Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . By all accounts, KCMO is exceptionally lucky that the very best candidate for the job was sworn in today AND he's not part of the highly politicized search moving forward. A quick peek . . . "Mabin said he's committed to fighting violent crime and building relationships with the Kansas City community." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Kansas City Police send off Chief Rick Smith, swear in Joseph Mabin as interim chief Joseph Mabin, a deputy police chief with the Kansas City Police Department, was sworn in as the interim chief of police on Friday following the official retirement of Rick Smith. Mabin, a 22-year veteran of KCPD, will lead the department as the city looks for a permanent police chief. Interim KCPD Chief sworn in It's official. Kansas City Missouri, Police Department deputy chief Joseph Mabin was sworn in this morning by Circuit Judge Kevin Harrell. Mabon replaces outgoing chief Richard Smith after Smith served in the position for five years, culminating a 34-year career with the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. Joseph Mabin sworn in as KCPD interim chief Friday KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department Deputy Chief Joseph Mabin was sworn in as the Interim Chief of Police Friday morning. KCPD held the swearing-in ceremony at 9 a.m. "I want to thank the Board of Police Commissioners for placing this trust in me as we wait and select the permanent chief. More listening sessions added as Kansas City searches for its next police chief The Kansas City Chamber of Commerce added to more listening sessions Friday as the city searches for its next permanent police chief.Pastor Darron Edwards has helped facilitate each of the six listening sessions. More than 500 people have spoken at those sessions in different areas across the metro. Developing . . . Exploring the Indigenous soul of Australia: From Uluru to Alice Springs, a road trip through the Red Centre offers a sacred experience Whether you live in Niagara or North Bay, we've got you covered. An image of a white 2019 or newer Mercedes AMG GT convertible with a red interior and convertible top that was reportedly involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash on April 14 in the Fashion District. - Toronto Police Services photo Drive-by shooting that seriously injured 5 men outside Scarborough mosque not hate motivated, say police Investigators looking for dark-blue, 4-door sedan with distinct rims they believe was involved in April 16 drive-by Victim was choked until they lost consciousness, then had their belongings removed, say Toronto police Meanwhile, Shangai has only reported 25 coronavirus deaths despite an outbreak that has spanned nearly two months and infected hundreds of thousands of people in the worlds third-largest city. Toronto police 'humanely' euthanize deer whose leg got impaled on a fence in north Etobicoke neighbourhood Local wildlife, especially deer, are often spotted in this area just south of the Humber River Kapsch TrafficCom is to provide a barrier-free toll system for heavy vehicles on multiple high-capacity roads in the Basque region of Biscay in northern Spain. The system allows tolls to be managed automatically without the vehicle having to stop at the collection point, contributing to safer, smoother and more comfortable traffic flow for users. ') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> The 12.5 million project, which was awarded by the public company Interbiak, will be carried out as part of a joint venture with Construcciones Amenabar over a period of about 20 months. Kapsch TrafficComs Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) technology collects and processes toll data electronically and automatically and improves the flow of traffic on roads. All the sensors and equipment that make up the toll collection point can be incorporated in a single gantry. The system can identify and record the front and rear number plates, continuously track all vehicles and electronic payment devices (TAGs) that circulate through the toll collection or control point and send them to Interbiaks Central System for processing. The collection point system is designed to manage payment with the TAG device, while those vehicles that do not have this electronic payment device will be able to associate their number plate with a means of payment authorised by Interbiak. Our technology eliminates the traditional booths and barriers to maintain traffic flow and contributes to reducing emissions as the vehicle does not have to stop and start again in the collection area, similar to the technology applied in the M50 project in Ireland, says Steve Parsons, sales director at Kapsch TrafficCom. In addition, the entire system is flexible and scalable in functionality and capacity, so that as new needs are identified, they can be implemented without excessive changes. The opposition is calling for an audit of the Childrens Authority before any more funds are allocated to it. Speaking at the UNCs weekly Sunday press conference, Senator David Nakhid condemned the revelations of the investigation into reports of child abuse at childrens homes. Russian invaders continue to forcibly deport Ukrainians from temporarily occupied territories to Russia, as Nazi Germany once did. Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya said this at a meeting of the UN Security Council, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "Filtration camps are an integral element of their transfer. At least 20,000 Ukrainians are kept in filtration camps on the Manhush-Nikolske-Yalta line, about 5,000-7,000 people in the filtration camp in the village of Bezimenne, Donetsk region," he said. According to available information, citizens of Ukraine are sent to the economically depressed regions of the Russian Federation, including the northern regions and the island of Sakhalin, Kyslytsya said. He also added that Ukrainians receive documents banning them from leaving Russian regions for two years. In total, he said, more than 500,000 Ukrainians, including 121,000 children, have already been forcibly transferred to Russian territory. Such actions by the Russian invaders can be qualified as kidnapping and require a resolute response by the international community, primarily from the relevant UN agencies, Kyslytsya said. "Every time it seems that we have already got accustomed to the ignoble methods of Russian warfare. And every new piece of news from Mariupol and dozens of other hotspots proves that Russians are still able to hit new lows," he said. The UN Security Council on Tuesday discussed the humanitarian situation in Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion. Russias refusal to establish an Easter truce shows how its leadership actually treats the Christian faith. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Unfortunately, Russia rejected the proposal to establish an Easter truce. This shows very well how the leaders of this state actually treat the Christian faith, one of the most joyful and important holidays. But, we keep our hope. Hope for peace, hope that life will overcome death, Zelensky told. In his words, tomorrow is Good Friday for Eastern Christians, the most sorrowful day of the year. A day when everything you can do in life will weigh less than prayer. Except for one... Defending the Homeland, defending brothers-in-arms in battle, the President of Ukraine stressed. A reminder that, on April 19, 2022, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the Russian Federation and Ukraine to declare a four-day humanitarian ceasefire during the Easter holidays. The Ukrainian side agreed to take a four-day pause. Photo: Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine mk Russian troops continue to make every effort to talk about at least some victories, but this will not help Russia in the war against Ukraine. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. In the south and east of our country, the occupiers continue to do everything to have a reason to talk about at least some victories. They are accumulating forces, driving new battalion tactical groups to our land. They are even trying to start the so-called mobilization in the occupied regions of Ukraine, Zelensky told. In his words, none of these steps will help Russia in the war against Ukraine. They can only delay the inevitable, i.e. the time when the invaders will have to leave Ukraines territory. Meanwhile, the President of Ukraine is doing his best in the international arena to ensure that the world provides support for Ukraine. On April 21, 2022, Zelensky addressed the Parliament and the people of Portugal. This was the 26th address by the President of Ukraine to the parliaments of partner states. After that Zelensky addressed the participants of the special spring session of the World Bank. During the day, the President of Ukraine also met with the Prime Ministers of Spain and Denmark. I can say that each of these speeches really gives us additional support. Brings the decision to provide assistance to Ukraine, including defensive one, closer. And most importantly, each of these addresses helps establish a direct emotional connection between what we are experiencing in Ukraine and what the political class is experiencing in the partner countries, Zelensky noted. According to the President of Ukraine, the United States has announced a new package of support worth $800 million for Ukraine. We are grateful for that. This package contains very powerful defense tools for our military. In particular, it is artillery, shells, drones. This is what we expected. I am grateful to the partners for their help and call for further acceleration of the supply of weapons to Ukraine so that we can bring peace closer, Zelensky added. A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages, torturing and murdering civilians. mk Over the past day, the anti-aircraft defense units of the Land Forces and the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed 15 enemy air targets. The relevant statement was made by the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The 21st of April was a fruitful day for the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense units, as they destroyed 15 enemy air targets, including nine Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The anti-aircraft missile units of the Land Forces shot down six Orlan-10 UAVs. Two Orlan-10 UAVs were hit by the Air Assault Forces with man-portable air-defense systems, and one more was downed by the anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force, the report states. Meanwhile, in the Izium direction, the anti-aircraft missile units of the East Air Command destroyed two Russian planes. According to the preliminary data, they were Su-34 and Su-35. The Air Assault Forces also shot down Russias Su-25 aircraft and Mi-8 helicopter. One more Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed by the Ukrainian marines. In addition, the National Guard of Ukraine reported on shooting down Russias Ka-52 Alligator helicopter. mk In the Izium direction, the enemy deployed up to 25 battalion tactical groups to conduct combat actions. According to Ukrinform, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced this on Facebook. As of 06:00 on April 22, in the Slobozhanskyi direction, the enemy, with forces of up to seven battalion tactical groups from Russias 6th General Army, coastal troops of the Baltic and Northern Fleets, continues to partially block the city of Kharkiv, launches attacks on Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure facilities. "In the Izium direction, the enemy deployed up to 25 battalion tactical groups from the 1st Tank Army, the 20th and 35th combined arms armies and the 68th Army Corps of the Eastern Military District, and airborne troops of the Russian Armed Forces, the report says. In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, the invaders intensified hostilities along the entire line of combat on April 21. The enemy carries out assault operations in the area of the settlement of Zarichne and tries to advance in the area of the settlement of Rubizhne. Defensive battles with the enemy continue in the direction of the settlements of Novotoshkivske and Popasna. The enemy, using artillery, continues attempts to carry out assault on Marinka. At the same time, Russian forces strengthen the regrouping of troops in the Zaporozhzhia direction. Measures for the logistical support of troops are underway. In the Southern Buh direction, the enemy continues to fire on units of the Defense Forces, tried to conduct reconnaissance in the battle near Trudoliubivka, suffering losses, and retreating to previously occupied positions. In the Volyn and Polissia directions, the enemy did not take active actions, no signs of the formation of offensive groups were recorded, iy U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has confirmed that the United States is working with Ukraine on collecting evidence regarding war crimes committed by Russian troops since Moscow launched a full-scale military invasion into Ukraine. Ukrinform reports this with reference to The Hill. We have now been in contact with the prosecutor general of Ukraine, and we are assisting they [Ukrainians] have collected a group of international allies to assist, and so we are helping in the collection of evidence and the preservation of evidence relating to possible war crimes [in Ukraine], Garland said at a press briefing. In is noted that in late March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the assessment was based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources. Earlier this month, Iryna Venediktova, Ukraines prosecutor general, told CNN in an interview that the PGO was investigating 5,800 cases of crimes and crimes against humanity carried out by Moscow. As reported, the European Union's Advisory Mission (EUMC) in Ukraine announced that it would involve an additional 54 international advisers to investigate war crimes iy Russia had a plan to use Ukrainians, deported from the occupied territories, to build three to five big cities in the remote region of Siberia. This was stated by Secretary of the Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov in an interview with the Ukrainian Pravda outlet, Ukrinform reports. An article by (Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei - ed.) Shoigu, entitled On the New Cities of Siberia, came out September 6, 2021. Few took note of that article, but we do pay attention to such things. After reading it carefully, we understood that they will never give up the intention to develop Siberia at the expense of our citizens, our country, as they have repeatedly done before," he said. According to the secretary of the Security Council, Shoigu directly announced the plan to build from three to five large cities with a population of 300,000 to a million, and, accordingly, it was Ukrainians who were supposed to build them. Danilov confirmed that this is where the idea of camps, which the Western media reported before the invasion started, came from. "Shoigu wrote in his article that the citizens of the CIS countries would be building all that. If you look at the citizens of the CIS nations, who else, besides our nation, is to be involved? Other nations do not have the capacity, they have no such numbers physically that would be enough to implement such projects," the top security official stressed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes the Ukrainian heroes are now defending the sacred things: their homeland, fellow citizens and the state. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address posted on Instagram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The 58th day since we have started to fight. Good Friday. Usually, nobody works on this day. Except our heroes. Our defenders, our volunteers, our medics they have to [work Ed.], as they defend the sacred things: our land, our people, our state. Glory to Ukraine, Zelensky said. In his words, Good Friday is the most sorrowful day of the year. A day when everything you can do in life will weigh less than prayer. Except for one... Defending the Homeland, defending brothers-in-arms in battle, the President of Ukraine stressed. A reminder that Eastern Christians are marking Good Friday today. mk Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov believes the Western response to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been too slow. The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in the WSJ Opinion column, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The Western response to the invasion has been too slow. As President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, the global response to a crisis of this sort should be immediate, within 24 hours, not after weeks or months, Reznikov noted. In his words, any aggressor must face irreversible punishment through a mechanism of preventive measures, the so-called deferred sanctions that can be approved in peacetime and take effect automatically. According to Reznikov, Russias aggression against Ukraine has created almost four million refugees. We are on the brink of a global food crisis that could destabilize Africa and the Middle East. Until Russia is stopped, the crisis will only grow, pulling in neighbors and contributing to the collapse of economies, Reznikov stressed. A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages, torturing and murdering civilians. mk Russia uses the territory of the Republic of Belarus to conduct all types of reconnaissance over the territory of Ukraine. Oleksandr Motuzianyk, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry, said this at a briefing, when informing on the situation in Volyn, Polissia and Siversk operational zones. Separate units of the Republic of Belarus continue to carry out tasks to strengthen the section of the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in Brest and Gomel regions. It should be noted that Russia is currently using the territory of the Republic of Belarus in full to conduct all types of reconnaissance, Motuzianyk said. As reported, from the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion into Ukraine, Belarus provided its territory for Russian army bases. iy Russias plans to seize the southern part of Ukraine to gain a corridor to the border with Moldova only confirm the assumption that invading Ukraine was Russias first step on the path of capturing other countries. Thats according to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who delivered a video address to the nation on Friday, April 23, Ukrinform reports. Today, with reference to the Russian military, the news was spread that their task now is allegedly to establish control over the south of Ukraine and reach the Moldovan border. And allegedly there, in Moldova, the rights of Russian-speakers are violated.() Well, this only confirms what I have said many times: the Russian invasion of Ukraine was intended only as a beginning, then they want to capture other countries, said Zelensky. The president has stressed that the Ukrainians will defend themselves as long as necessary to break this ambition of the Russian Federation. At the same time, he noted that all nations have to help Ukraine because the country is the first on Russias path. And who is next? If anyone who can become next wants to stay neutral today so as not to lose anything, this is the riskiest bet. Because you will lose everything, he said. In the context of the so-called protection of Russian speakers, claimed by Russian officials, Zelensky noted that the territory where the Kremlin should really protect their rights is Russia itself. Where poverty thrives and where human life is worthless. To the extent that they come to us, go to war to steal at least something that resembles a normal life. You know they used to talk about their biggest dream: to see Paris and die. And their behavior is now just shocking. Because their dream now is to steal a toilet and die, the president added. As reported earlier, acting commander of the Central Military District forces Rustam Minnekayev said that one of the goals pursued by the Russian army during the second phase of the war is establishing full control of the east and south of Ukraine. He noted that controlling the south would allow Russia to gain access to the self-proclaimed Transnistria, where the rights of Russian speakers are being allegedly violated. Photo: The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has held a meeting with Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland in the United States, during which he thanked the Canadian people for their great and warm support. According to Ukrinform, Shmyhal reported this on Telegram. "In the United States, I met with a true friend of Ukraine, Chrystia Freeland. We discussed with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada the support for our state and the Ukrainian people in their fight against the Russian invader," Shmyhal wrote. According to him, Canada was the first country to transfer CAD 1 billion to the IMF's special administrative account, which was created to help Ukraine. "I personally thanked them for that. We feel extremely great and warm support from all the Canadian people," Shmyhal said. Shmyhal is on a working visit to Washington on April 21-22. French President Emmanuel Macron has once again called on the Russian Federation to allow residents to leave Mariupol. Thats according to Macrons tweet, Ukrinform reports. "In Mariupol, the situation is only getting worse. Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped. I once again call on Russia to respect international humanitarian law, to allow residents out of town, to allow humanitarian aid in, Macron tweeted. In turn, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that France is particularly concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Mariupol. "We continue to call on Russia to end this siege and, in particular, to allow the free movement of civilians who wish to flee, in complete safety and in the direction of their choice, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid to the city by local humanitarian organizations," the French Foreign Ministry said. As Ukrinform reported earlier, on April 21 the evacuation effort stopped short over heavy shelling that hit a meeting point in Mariupol. On April 22, Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, said there would be no humanitarian corridors opened soon due to a shelling threat. Photo: Ukrainian Presidents Office Consultations on Ukraine's security guarantees with potential guarantors could be completed within a week. Mykhailo Podoliak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks with the Russian Federation and adviser to the head of the President's Office, made the statement on the air of the national telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "As for potential security guarantors, today at the level of political advisers under the leadership of (Head of the Presidents Office Andriy - ed.) Yermak, consultations are underway with countries that have publicly stated that they agree to discuss the guarantees they can undertake. Of course, there will be different package guarantees. Whats important for us is arms supplies, a no-fly zone, military consultations, and money that will be needed to quickly purchase additional weapons. All this is being discussed at the level of advisers. I think these consultations can be completed within a week at the most," he said. Podoliak has stressed that Ukraine seeks to obtain such security guarantees so that in the event of re-escalation, the partners stand with Ukraine on the issue of protecting the country. Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that representatives of seven nations the United States, Great Britain, Turkey, Poland, Germany, France, and Israel - expressed readiness to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. | By School of Medicine Office of Public Affairs After years of hard work and steadfast perseverance, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) medical students gathered at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on March 18, 2022, to take part in this years Match Day ceremony. In this annual ceremony, graduating medical students from UMSOM and around the country discover where they will begin their careers as physicians. This year was especially significant because it was the first in-person celebration with families and friends since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The long-awaited day was worth the wait as students were finally able to reflect and celebrate their milestone accomplishment. This years ceremony signals a slow but steady return to normal. Whatever lies inside those golden envelopes will open a whole new world of possibilities for each student, said Kerri Thom, MD, MS, associate dean for student affairs at UMSOM. Our students medical education was disrupted, and they entered the clinical space at the height of uncertainty. The entire practice of medicine has changed, and these students are on the forefront of what lies ahead, but I am certain they are prepared to rise to any challenge. Kerri Thom, MD, MS The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) has reported that the national 2022 Main Residency Match was the largest in NRMP history, with 39,205 total positions offered and 36,277 first-year (PGY-1) positions offered, an increase of 3.1 percent over last year. Kelly Bridgham, MD 22 This year, 145 UMSOM senior students matched at 69 health care facilities in 25 states, compared to 68 hospitals in 25 states in 2021. A full 24 percent (35 of 145) of the Class of 2022 will stay in Maryland for their residency training, compared to 59 percent (84 of 142) in 2021. Among UMSOMs graduating students is Kelly Bridgham, MD 22. She arrived at UMSOM after spending a year doing research at Johns Hopkins University. It just so happened that I interviewed here at UMSOM first, but I knew right away that it was the right fit for me. Looking back at the last four years, I could not have asked for a better institution for my medical training, she said. Bridgham plans to pursue a career in academic medicine that will foster her passion for teaching, leadership, and research. She matched at Thomas Jefferson University in otolaryngology. Jordan Tutnauer, MD 22 Jordan Tutnauer, MD 22 initially developed an interest in medicine after volunteering at local hospitals during his undergraduate studies. I observed how doctors interacted with their patients; I instantly gravitated toward it and knew practicing medicine was something I wanted to do, he said. For me, I love the fact that I will be helping to make life better for someone else. Tutnauer plans to work with the underserved patient population. He will be headed to Temple University Hospital for an internal medicine residency. This summer, he plans to travel internationally and focus on planning his wedding with Bridgham. They were engaged in October 2021. Serge Tzeuton, MD 22 For Serge Tzeuton, MD 22, his calling to medicine was very personal. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer during the time I was completing my undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. From that moment, I felt inspired to work hard to get accepted into medical school, he said. After seeing what my mom battled, I decided that I wanted to be the person who helped other peoples parents heal and recover from chronic illnesses. Tzeuton plans to pursue his research interests and immerse himself in community outreach opportunities, specifically in underserved communities. He will remain in Baltimore at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) for an orthopedic surgery residency. Ashling Zhang, MD 22 Ashling Zhang, MD 22, began her undergraduate education planning to major in chemistry; however, she was quickly drawn to global health studies. I had the privilege of studying and assisting with global health research abroad, during which I realized that my interest alone was not enough to make any impact. Knowing this, I became determined to pursue a career in medicine so that I could become part of a solution to the issues I had studied so much, she said. I am so grateful to the university for believing in the potential of the hopeful student I was four years ago and for giving me the opportunity to start this journey in medicine. Zhang will begin a general surgery residency this summer at UMMC. She plans to continue working on trauma outcomes research and contributing to public and global health projects. Natalie Hesselgrave, PhD 20, MD 22 As a nontraditional medical student, Natalie Hesselgrave, PhD 20, MD 22, maintains an active life outside of medicine and science. She is a loving wife and proud mom to three active children. Balancing her studies all while raising a young family has been no easy feat. I am incredibly grateful for the help, love, and support my husband has given me for the past nine years. I get to show my children, Wesley, Evyn Mae, and Hayden, what years of hard work and dedication can achieve, she said. Before beginning medical school, Hesselgrave had a career as a mental health counselor and later worked as a research assistant at Columbia University, which ultimately gave her the confidence to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. In May, she will be graduating as a physician-scientist from the Medical Scientist Training Program and will begin an anesthesiology residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) US State Department spokesperson Ned price on Thursday said that it is an accolade and great honor to be sanctioned by the Russian government alongside other US officials and individuals. "Today, we also heard the Russians enact their latest sanctions. In addition to the Vice President (Kamala Harris), today's tranche included journalists and spokespeople for this administration, myself included. I have to say, it is nothing less than an accolade to have earned the ire of a government that lies to its own people, brutalizes its neighbors and seeks to create a world where freedom and liberty are put on the run, and if they had their way, extinguished. Similarly, it is a great honor to share that enmity with other truth tellers," Price said during a press briefing. Russia on Thursday announced sanctions against Price, US Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby, Meta (banned in Russia as an extremist organization) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, ABC host George Stephanopoulos and others. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby on Thursday during a press briefing also said when asked about his place on the sanctions list that "it's a good group to belong to." Kirby added that he was not contacted by anyone from the Russian government to inform him of the sanctions or the reasons behind them. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Hong Kong, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :For more than two years, people in Hong Kong have lived under some of the toughest coronavirus restrictions in the world. But one beloved tradition has persisted: horse racing. Throughout the pandemic the Chinese city has gone to great lengths to protect the sport from shutdowns, even as schools closed and infections tore through elderly care homes. But some at the heart of the racing scene have baulked at the personal costs of complying with restrictions, with at least two overseas jockeys leaving and others fearing for their mental health. Since 2020, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which has a monopoly on the industry in the city, has mostly conducted races behind closed doors and isolated riders from the local community. Australian jockey Blake Shinn said last week that the "mental stress" meant he would not return for next season. "I understand that the club's priority has been to keep racing going during a difficult time... but at a certain point it becomes a mental health issue," Shinn was quoted saying in the South China Morning Post. Jockeys and trainers have been required to stay home during off-hours and avoid mixing with people outside their household. Shinn compared it to being in jail. Another Australian jockey, Daniel Moor, returned home in March saying Hong Kong's pandemic rules -- which include largely sealing off the borders to the outside world -- had separated him from his family. Four-time champion jockey Zac Purton told AFP that the restrictions were a "fair trade-off" but acknowledged the personal toll it took on riders. "It is deterring jockeys from overseas from wanting to come to Hong Kong at the moment," he said. Lisbon, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :A man has been declared an official suspect in Germany at Portugal's request in connection with the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann nearly 15 years ago, a Portuguese prosecutor's office announced Thursday. Madeleine went missing from her family's holiday apartment in the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, sparking a media frenzy and an unprecedented international manhunt. The public prosecutor's office in the southern Algarve city of Portimao said the suspect, whose identity was not confirmed, was identified as a official suspect on Wednesday. The announcement comes after German police revealed in 2020 that the prime suspect was a child sex offender, who was already in jail in Germany, and that they believed he had killed her. Media reports have identified that suspect as a paedophile called "Christian B" who is suspected of raping an Irish tour representative and serving a prison term in northern Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old American in Praia da Luz in 2005. In Portugal, an "arguido" is an official suspect but is not someone who has been charged. At one point in the investigation, Madeleine's parents were also declared arguidos. Madeleine's body has never been found despite multiple investigations involving both British and Portuguese police. The man identified as "Christian B" has a history of previous convictions including child sex offences, and according to police, lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007. He made a living doing odd jobs in the area where Madeleine was taken, and also burgled hotel rooms and holiday flats. The German was on a list of people of interest at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, but investigators were unable to find him. Her disappearance sparked an international media frenzy and an unprecedented attempt to find her, with photographs of her plastered across news bulletins and billboards. Portuguese police initially closed the case in 2008, only to reopen it five years later. "The case was reopened after new elements came to light," a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office told AFP. Since then, investigations had been carried out "in cooperation with British and German authorities". (@FahadShabbir) UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Apr, 2022 ) : ):Marking International Mother Earth Day, UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid Friday urged collective action to safeguard biodiversity and protect ecosystems so that human health and well-being are not endangered. "We are wreaking havoc on our own home the only home we have, the one home we all share," President Shahid told an interactive dialogue on Harmony with Nature. Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the 'Group of 77' developing countries and China, echoed UNGA president's words, warning that if the current trend of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation continued, "we would seriously jeopardize our existence on this planet." "It is scientifically proven that the loss in biological diversity would pose a threat to our society, our culture, our prosperity, and our planet," said Umer Younis, an official of the Pakistan Mission to the UN. In his remarks, Shahid, the president of 193-member Assembly, urged the international community to accept responsibility for its reckless behaviour, noting that science has shown that our continued and careless encroachment into the world's ecosystems has damaged biodiversity and endangered human health and well-being. Referencing this year's theme of 'Harmony with Nature and Biodiversity: Ecological economics and Earth-centered law', President Shahid called for a shift to green economies and highlighted the need to embrace education, technology, and science. He said the international community needs to use the tools and targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as blueprints for a sustainable recovery from COVID-19. The interactive dialogue is called for in General assembly resolution 75/220, to discuss the relationship between harmony with nature and the protection of biological diversity, and to inspire citizens and societies to reconsider how they interact with the natural world in the context of sustainable development. Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :The United States and Cuba on Thursday held their highest-level talks since President Joe Biden took office, but Washington said they focused narrowly on migration and did not herald any broader thaw. Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio traveled to Washington for the meetings with US officials including Emily Mendrala, a senior State Department official in charge of Cuba and migration. "Engaging in these talks underscores our commitment to pursuing constructive discussions with the government of Cuba where appropriate to advance US interests," a State Department statement said. State Department spokesman Ned price said the talks were "focused squarely" on rising migration from the communist island, which has experienced economic tumult after the Covid-19 pandemic dried up its vital tourism industry. "Our broader policy is predicated on support for the Cuban people, support for their democratic aspirations. There are migration elements of that, there's a family reunification element of that, but these talks are migration talks," he told reporters. He noted that migration talks had taken place regularly until they were suspended by former president Donald Trump, who championed a hard line and rolled back much of the normalization initiated by his predecessor Barack Obama. Biden, who was Obama's vice president, has done little to reverse the measures put in place by Trump, who startled Biden's Democratic Party by making inroads among Hispanic voters in the crucial electoral state of Florida. The Biden administration has instead taken its own punitive action including the imposition of sanctions on senior Cuban officials for repressing rare mass protests last year. The State Department said that the talks also discussed the reopening of consular services at the US embassy in Havana which was announced last month. Obama reopened the US embassy, closed in the aftermath of Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution, but Trump reduced numbers to the bare minimum. The Trump administration took the action after mysterious sonic attacks sickened employees at the US embassy, a phenomenon since dubbed "Havana Syndrome" that has been witnessed at missions around the world. (@FahadShabbir) New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :The so-called "poison pill" Twitter has proposed to use against Elon Musk's potential hostile takeover is a mechanism with a proven track record that could force the outspoken entrepreneur into negotiations. To halt a takeover, the board plans to activate the pill if the Tesla CEO comes to own more than 15 percent of Twitter. He already holds 9.2 percent of the company, and said Thursday he has ready the $46.5 billion necessary to make an offer for the rest. Such a "pill" would allow other Twitter shareholders to purchase shares at half price, increasing the amount of shares in circulation and weakening Musk's influence. It would then be nearly impossible for him to take total control of the company without having to spend significantly more than he had originally planned. "The dilution created by this defense has generally served its intended deterrence effect," explained Eric Wehrly, associate professor of finance at Western Washington University. The "poison pill" was invented 40 years ago by business lawyer Martin Lipton to counteract a wave of hostile takeovers on Wall Street. "It was the age of the corporate raiders," Lipton explained to the media site The Deal in 2011, from investors such as Carl Icahn to Kirk Kerkorian. Quickly contested in court, the practice was declared legal for the first time in 1985 by the Delaware Supreme Court -- a tax friendly state where Twitter, although officially based in Californian, is incorporated. "Delaware is the home to roughly half of publicly traded companies in the US and has fairly well established law regarding the implementation of poison pills," said Jon Karpoff, a finance professor at the University of Washington. "Unless there's something unusual about Twitter's pill, which I would highly doubt... Musk would be unlikely to have a successful legal challenge," he said. Boston College associate law professor Brian Quinn doesn't think the issue will even end up in court. "Elon Musk has no case," he said. The National Security Committee, after reviewing the contents, assessments and conclusions by the security agencies, on Friday concluded that there had been no foreign conspiracy in the telegram, received from Pakistan Embassy in Washington ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :The National Security Committee, after reviewing the contents, assessments and conclusions by the security agencies, on Friday concluded that there had been no foreign conspiracy in the telegram, received from Pakistan Embassy in Washington. Chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the 38th meeting of NSC of the Cabinet, discussed the telegram received from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington. Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Asad Majeed Khan briefed the committee on the context and content of his telegram. "The NSC, after examining the contents of the communication, reaffirmed the decisions of the last NSC meeting," said a PM Office press release. The NSC was again informed by the premier security agencies that they had found no evidence of any conspiracy. "Therefore, the NSC after reviewing the contents of the communication, the assessments received, and the conclusions presented by the security agencies, concludes that there has been no foreign conspiracy," it added. The meeting was attended by Federal ministers Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar, Ambassador Asad Majeed, and senior civil and military officers. On March 27, former prime minister Imran Khan, while waving a letter, had told a public gathering that in a meeting with Pakistan's ambassador, a US government official had threatened Pakistan of repercussions if the no-confidence motion against him failed. However, if Imran Khan was ousted, the United States would forgive all of its wrongdoings. Citing the communication, the ex-prime minister had contended that the United States had hatched a regime change conspiracy in Pakistan. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Chief of Defence Staff Nigerian Armed Forces, General Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Leo Irabor, who is on official visit to Pakistan, Thursday called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza at Joint Staff Headquarters, Rawalpindi RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Apr, 2022 ) :Chief of Defence Staff Nigerian Armed Forces, General Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Leo Irabor, who is on official visit to Pakistan, Thursday called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza at Joint Staff Headquarters, Rawalpindi. During the meeting, matters of bilateral defence cooperation including security, military exchanges, training and prevailing regional environment were discussed, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release. Chief of Defence Staff Nigeria said that these mutually beneficial interactions have deepened the bilateral defence relationship, strengthened the cooperation and enhanced mutual understanding between the two armies. The CJCSC reaffirmed the strong and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between Nigeria and Pakistan. The visiting dignitary expressed his complete satisfaction on the performance of JF-17 fighter aircraft, inducted from Pakistan. He also said that the JF-17 aircraft, with its unique fighting capabilities, would prove to be a potent platform in addressing the security requirements of Nigeria. Earlier upon arrival at Joint Staff Headquarters, General Lucky Eluonye Onyenuchea Leo Irabor was presented Guard of Honour by a smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Armed Forces. (@ChaudhryMAli88) ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Friday said that Saudi Arabia is a selfless friend which has stood by Pakistan in time of need. The decades-old friendship had witnessed positive progression with the passage of time, the Speaker said this while talking to the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki. The Speaker said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy brotherly relations and the same transcends to the legislatures of both the countries and have supported each other on international and regional forums. The Speaker said that Pakistan attaches immense importance to its time-tested and all-weather friendship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He said that the brotherly relations between the two countries were intertwined in bonds of religion, history, and culture. Paying gratitude to the Saudi Leadership, the Speaker said that they have always stood by Pakistan whenever needed. He called for enhancing cooperation in diverse sectors. Saudi Ambassador Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki agreed with the Speaker saying that undoubtedly the hearts of the people of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan beat together. He said that his government and people hold Pakistani close to their hearts. He said that Saudi Arabia had and would always stand by Pakistan whenever needed. He agreed for enhancing parliamentary interaction between both the legislative bodies and extended his all-out support. Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Friday appealed to the nation to support "Earth Day" by showing love for the planet ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Friday appealed to the nation to support "Earth Day" by showing love for the planet. The Senate chairman, in his message on the World Earth Day 2022, said through celebrating 'Earth Day' the importance of the environment was being highlighted all over the world. "The climate change is directly or indirectly affecting human lives," he added. Sadiq Sanjrani underlined that steps were being taken within the country as per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations and all over the globe to combat the threats posed by climate change and global warming. "Landmark steps have been taken in the recent past and these initiatives have been acknowledged worldwide," he added. "The Parliament of Pakistan has played an effective role in this regard and has adopted a comprehensive strategy along with legislation to make the environment humane and minimize the negative effects of climate change", the Senate chairman observed. USAID Mission Director Julie A. Koenen has said that the United States launched $23.5 million four-year power sector improvement project in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :USAID Mission Director Julie A. Koenen has said that the United States launched $23.5 million four-year power sector improvement project in Pakistan. The project aimed at increasing the share of green energy in Pakistan's energy mix, said a statement issued here Friday. "Washington looks forward to advancing its partnership with Pakistan to build a clean, efficient and reliable electricity generation sector," the USAID Mission Director said. Julie Koenen said through this new initiative, USAID would partner with Pakistan to support the transition to a truly competitive wholesale power market. BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) China may set afloat its third aircraft carrier in the second half of 2022 with plans to demonstrate several new technologies, including electromagnetic catapults, Chinese newspaper Global Times reported on Friday, citing a Chinese military expert. "I think it (aircraft carrier) can be launched in the second half of 2022," Song Zhongping said. The commissioning of the third aircraft carrier may take longer than the usual process, lasting from three to four years after the start of construction works, because the vessel has several new technologies, including electromagnetic catapults, the military expert added, according to the report. The vessel was scheduled for launch on April 23, the 73rd anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy, but the launch was postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus disease outbreak in Shanghai. China already operates two aircraft carriers, with the first called Liaoning, built based on Soviet unfinished cruiser Varyag, which Beijing purchased in 1998. The ship firstly conducted its water performance test in 2011. The second aircraft carrier called Shandong was launched in 2017 after a four-year building process and was first tested in 2019. (@FahadShabbir) French presidential hopefuls Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen kicked off a final flurry of campaigning Friday, hoping to mobilise millions of hesitant voters before the weekend media blackout imposed for Sunday's contest Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :French presidential hopefuls Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen kicked off a final flurry of campaigning Friday, hoping to mobilise millions of hesitant voters before the weekend media blackout imposed for Sunday's contest. Both candidates launched attacks in interviews before a heavy schedule of walkabouts, with Le Pen insisting that opinion polls giving her rival the lead would be proved wrong. A win for Macron "is not inevitable," Le Pen told CNews television. "He calls millions of French voters the 'far right'... and for him it's an insult." "Never have I expressed even the slightest bit of hostility toward Emmanuel Macron's voters," she said, accusing the centrist incumbent of "not liking the French" and failing to appreciate the need for tougher measures to protect low-income households from rising prices. Macron for his part said Le Pen was trying to mask an authoritarian "extreme right" platform that stigmatises Muslims with a plan to outlaw headscarves in public and "to abandon the founding texts of our Europe. .. that protect individuals, human rights and freedoms." "Millions of our fellow citizens have moved toward her party and project because she gives the impression that she has an answer for the problem of purchasing power. But her answers aren't viable," he told France Inter radio. Le Pen later posed for selfies at a market in the northern Channel town of Etaples, while Macron was headed for Figeac in southern France to discuss "rural issues and offshoring," an advisor told AFP. Starting at midnight, neither candidate will be allowed to give interviews, distribute flyers or hold campaign events until 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Sunday, when initial estimates of results start coming in. Publishing opinion polls will also be banned. TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) The Japanese government has described the Southern Kuril islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, as the area illegally occupied by Russia in its Diplomatic Bluebook for the first time since 2003, media reported on Friday. The Southern Kurils are also described as an inherent part of Japan for the first time since 2011, the Kyodo news agency reported. The Diplomatic Bluebook was presented by the Foreign Ministry to the government on Friday. The move follows the Russian decision on refusing to negotiate a peace treaty with Japan, halting visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the Southern Kuril Islands, and withdrawing from dialogue with Japan on establishing joint economic activities on the archipelago. The Russian steps, in turn, were made in response to the Japanese government's decision to join the harsh sanctions against Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine. Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24 to support the people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The Western countries have strongly condemned the operation calling it an invasion and imposed harsh sanctions on Russia. WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova renewed a reciprocal defense purchasing agreement and discussed the beginning of negotiations on a bilateral military cooperation agreement, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said. "Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with Czech Republic's Minister of Defence Jana Cernochova today at the Pentagon to discuss the importance of transatlantic unity and express support for Ukraine...The two leaders also signed a bilateral Reciprocal Defense Procurement (RDP) agreement renewal to open defense markets and discussed the start of Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) negotiations," Kirby said in a press release on Thursday. Austin also spoke with his German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and French Defense Minister Florence Parly to discuss security assistance to Ukraine, Kirby said in a readout. Austin and his French counterpart agreed to continue to closely collaborate on issues related to Ukraine, Kirby said. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the operation is solely targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure. (@FahadShabbir) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) The Phoenix Ghost drones have been developed by the United States in response to Ukrainian requirements and will require minimal training, a senior US defense official said during a press briefing. "What I can tell you about the Phoenix Ghost (drone) is this was rapidly developed by the (US) Air Force in response specifically to Ukrainian requirements," the official said on Thursday. "It will require some minimal training for knowledgeable UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) operators to be able to use it and we are going to be working through those training requirements directly with the Ukrainian Armed Forces." The Phoenix Ghost drones provide similar capabilities to the Switchblade but not exactly the same ones as there are some differences in the capabilities for the Phoenix, the official clarified. Later in the day, Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby explained that the Phoenix Ghost drone had been in development by the US Air Force before the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. The discussions that Pentagon had with Ukrainians made the US defense officials believe that this drone system will "nicely suit their needs, particularly in eastern Ukraine." US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that the United States is providing Ukraine with another $800 million security aid package. The Defense Department said the new US security aid package for Ukraine would include 72 Howitzers, 144,000 of artillery rounds, more than 121 Phoenix tactical drones, parts and other equipment. The new package of military aid is the eighth drawdown of security assistance for the country amid the conflict with Russia. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2022) The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday it supported Mali in its intent to investigate suspected mass graves found near an army base which until recently belonged to the French military. "We support the decision of the Malian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this crime. We hope that those responsible will be found and brought to justice," the ministry said. The ministry added that France should cooperate with Mali on the investigation and warned French and EU officials against shifting the blame for the suspected killings on Malian forces. Malian troops reportedly found bodies buried near the base in the town of Gossi which the French armed forced handed over to Mali this week. France sent troops to the western African country in 2013 with the stated goal of defeating jihadists in northern Mali and the Sahel. The operation ended in February after France's ties with its former colony soured. (@iemziishan) A group of Ukrainian saboteurs preparing to attack a Russian humanitarian convoy and military personnel using a car bomb has been seized in one of the Russian-controlled territories, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) A group of Ukrainian saboteurs preparing to attack a Russian humanitarian convoy and military personnel using a car bomb has been seized in one of the Russian-controlled territories, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday. "In the course of a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine at the territory controlled by the Russian armed forces, the FSB thwarted the activities of a Ukrainian sabotage and terrorist group, which was preparing a terrorist attack against a Russian humanitarian convoy and military personnel using a car bomb at the instruction of the Security Service of Ukraine," the statement said. Searches in Ukrainian saboteurs' stashes found two man-portable air-defense systems, three grenade launchers, a machine gun, an assault rifle, a pistol, 127 hand grenades, 18 anti-personnel and magnetic mines, 17.6 Pounds of plastic explosives, 42 detonators, over 5,000 cartridges, a blasting exploder, radio stations, night vision devices, and a rigged vehicle, the statement added. A criminal case over preparation of a terrorist attack was initiated. Six people died Thursday when a fire engulfed a Russian military research institute involved in developing air defence systems in the northwestern city of Tver, local officials said Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Apr, 2022 ) :Six people died Thursday when a fire engulfed a Russian military research institute involved in developing air defence systems in the northwestern city of Tver, local officials said. Russian television showed thick black smoke rising from inside the yellow four-storey building of the Central Research Institute of the Russian Air and Space Forces. Several of the institute's employees had to jump out of windows on the upper floors to escape the flames, according to witnesses quoted by broadcasters. The Tver regional government said in a statement carried by state media that six people were killed and 21 injured in the blaze, updating earlier tolls. Preliminary information suggests the fire was caused by faulty electric wiring, the TASS state news agency said. The defence ministry said the institute focuses on research related to Russian air and space defence, as well as the development of new anti-aircraft systems. Accidental fires are common in Russia, where hundreds of blazes are recorded each year due to ageing and dilapidated infrastructure and non-compliance with safety standards that are often lax. (@ChaudhryMAli88) TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) Incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron's re-election would be a positive development for Canada and the world, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. Macron received 27.84% of the vote in the first round of the French presidential election, enough to see him advance to the run-off against political opponent Marine Le Pen. "I can tell you, that it would be a good thing for Canada and for the world to be able to continue to work with Emmanuel Macron," Trudeau told reporters on Thursday. Canada's prime minister touted his experience working with Macron on issues including climate change, among others, in endorsing his bid for re-election. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa have also called on French citizens to vote for the incumbent president Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the presidential election, according to French newspaper Le Monde. French citizens head to the polls on April 24 to pick their next president. Macron currently leads Le Pen by some 6 percent, according to the latest polls. (@FahadShabbir) The UK embassy in Kyiv, shut earlier this year due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will reopen next week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday New Delhi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2022 ) :The UK embassy in Kyiv, shut earlier this year due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will reopen next week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday. "We will very shortly, next week, reopen our embassy in Ukraine's capital city," he said on a two-day visit to India. London moved its main diplomatic mission in Ukraine from Kyiv to the western city of Lviv in February, shortly before Russia ordered in its troops. In early March, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said ambassador Melinda Simmons left the country because of the "serious security situation". A number of Western countries, including France, Spain and Italy, have either reopened their embassies in Kyiv or announced an imminent return. Truss said in a separate statement in London the reopening of the UK embassy was due to the "extraordinary fortitude and success" of Ukraine's resistance to Russian forces. "I want to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of the embassy team and their work throughout this period." No exact date was given for the reopening but the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the embassy premises were currently being made secure. Despite the reopening, the FCDO is still advising all UK nationals against travelling to Ukraine. bur-phz/jwp/jv (@ChaudhryMAli88) WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2022) The United States is currently not in discussions with Russia about the prospect of lifting Western sanctions imposed on Moscow, US Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said on Thursday. "We have channels of communication that are still open, but we're not at the point at which we're talking about sanctions relief," Singh said during a virtual panel discussion with the Bretton Woods Committee. Singh said Western sanctions will have profound impact on Russia's supply chains and its productive capacity over time, including its military industrial complex. The advisor also said that creating leverage through sanctions matters when it comes to negotiations for a diplomatic solution in Ukraine. Any sanctions relief talks with Russia will be led by Ukraine, not the United States, and must include certain security guarantees, Singh said. The United States and its allies and partners have imposed a wide range of sanctions against Russian persons and entities, including banks, military industrial complex institutions, shipbuilding industry, commercial airlines, among other sectors, but have largely excluded the energy sector. This Western sanctions are in response to Russia undertaking a special military operation in Ukraine. Can parents provide meaningful therapy to their own child after a traumatic event? A new University of South Florida study suggests so. The research, led by Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW, a professor in the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences School of Social Work, revealed that parent-led therapist-assisted treatment, which empowers a parent themselves to help their child, is effective for many families. Salloum and her colleagues developed the new approach, with parent-led treatment serving as the first step within a stepped care model, wherein the most effective yet least resource-intensive mental health treatment is delivered first. The first step of this program consists of three to five therapist-led sessions in conjunction with parent-child meetings at home, workbooks, a website with demonstrations of relaxation exercises, and weekly phone support. There is an incredibly large unmet need for effective and less costly ways to deliver trauma-focused therapy to children said Salloum. Innovative delivery models are essential to addressing treatment barriers and providing alternative treatments that are accessible, efficient, affordable, and effective. There can be many barriers to traditional therapeutic care after a child suffers a traumatic event, including cost, lack of specialized trauma therapists, wait lists, and access to transportation. Parent-led therapist-assisted treatment reduces many of these barriers. Salloums studies found that approximately 70% of children receiving parent-led treatment improved and did not need more intensive, therapist-led treatment. However, some parents with high parenting stress or children with high externalizing problems may need more sessions. Overall results from Salloums most recent study found that stepped care trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy was comparable to standard therapist-led trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy, and costs were 38.4% lower than standard care, with recurring costs 54.7% lower. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01MH107522. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Lonnie Young Presented with Themis Award at Symphony Finale Fri, 04/22/2022 - 13:43pm | By: Mike Lopinto The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Symphony opened its season finale concert on Thursday, April 21 by presenting the 2022 Themis Award to School of Music piano technician Lonnie Young. A fixture of both USM and the community, Young started at USM in 1996 and will be retiring at the end of the current school year. An introduction by Dr. Ellen Elder, associate professor of piano at USM, included words of praise from past and present piano faculty prior to the presentation by Symphony music Director Dr. Michael Miles. The award is presented annually to an outstanding USM administrator, professor, staff member, or other individual who has contributed to the success of this orchestra and its members. Since last years presentation was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional award was presented this year to Young this year. Responsible for the care and repair of the hefty stock of keyboards within the School of Music, Young also finds his talents at use across the campus and around the state. His expertise is an art for unto itself, having prepared pianos for students and celebrities from practice rooms to concert halls. He is magically anywhere and everywhere there is a need, and that often extends beyond pianos. My years at The University of Southern Mississippi have been filled with many fond memories of visiting artists to wonderful performances by students and faculty alike, Young noted. The award is named after Themis the Greek goddess of divine law and order; she was the Titan who assured that things were done in an honorable way. She presided over the most ancient oracles, and first instructed mankind in the laws of justice, morality, and good governance. She was the first counselor to Zeus, sat enthroned beside him, and advised him on the precepts of divine law and the rules of fate. She is the personification of the order of things established by divine law, custom, oracle, equity, and divine decree. A native of Stephens, Ark., Young lived in the same home from birth until marriage to Celia Costner Young in 1978. From an early age, he was gifted with a curiosity for all things mechanical. His father was a musician and was instrumental to his musical heritage. He began piano lessons at 6 years of age, possessing a natural ability to hear chord progressions. The two piano teachers in my small town were insistent on regular piano tuning and I could hear the difference in the sound of a fresh tuning and appreciated it. One of the first times he observed the tuning of a piano, he was interested but had no idea how to pursue training, so he attended a technical college in the field of automotive mechanics. He eventually discovered a classified ad for the Empire School of Piano Tuning in Miami, Florida and I wrote for information as the add requested, then soon enrolled in their correspondence course, and completed it by our first anniversary. During this period, he was mentored by a couple of men. Roy Roberson, who owned and operated a music store as a second-generation piano technician, and Conley Cook, who was the piano tuner his father knew and used. Robertson introduced him to the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) and drove him to his first regional convention in Fort Worth, Texas where he experienced classes taught by many of the leading manufactures representatives of the day. He credits most of his skills to that event and the many other PTG events he would attend in the future and eventually, instruct as well. In 1990, he moved to Greenwood, Mississippi to begin work as technical service manager for the Wurlitzer Company, a subsidiary of Baldwin Piano and Organ. There, he was able to see the entire production of all parts of a piano in one factory. In 1991, he moved to Hattiesburg to work for Roseberry Piano House and in 1996, joined the staff at The University of Southern Mississippi. Migrants are picked up off the coast of Dover by UK Border Force boat (AFP or licensors) The Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees for the Bishops Conference of England and Wales, Bishop Paul McAleenan criticizes the UK governments plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. By Vatican News staff reporter In a statement released on Thursday, Bishop Paul McAleenan argues that despite presenting this new move to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda as a humanitarian need to combat trafficking, this scheme will compound the difficulties of those arriving in Britain hoping for a new beginning." Helping those in need He says, The actions of the people of this country show that they wish to lift up those in need, decisions of the government should do likewise." Bishop McAleenan also recalls a memorial plaque on the promenade in Dover, in the south of England, honouring those who died at sea seeking refuge, which reads, "Every migrant has a name, a face, a story." This should be our starting point, the bishop underlines. We need to make it convenient for them to tell their story [their Asylum claim] remembering we are dealing with individuals made in Gods image who have endured great hardships in their own country and on their travels. Need to address core problems Under a new set of immigration policies announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week, tens of thousands of unauthorized migrants who arrive in the UK will be sent to Rwanda. Justifying the plan, Mr. Johnson said it was needed to save countless lives from human trafficking by smashing the business model of traffickers. But Bishop McAleenan stresses that the UK Government and the whole international community, motivated by the desire to uphold the dignity of human life, need to address the problems which cause people to flee their homes." Read also 19/04/2022 Archbishop Welby: UK/Rwanda asylum plan, opposite of the nature of God The head of the Anglican Church blasts the British governments plans to push back migrants and asylum seekers by externalizing their processing and relocation. The proposal has ... Look to Christian values This controversial scheme has also come under fire from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who said in his Easter sermon there are ethical questions about sending asylum seekers overseas. The leader of the Anglican Church also stressed that as a country formed by Christian values, sub-contracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God." Some fifty members of the Manitoba Metis Federation are in Rome to pursue a journey of reconciliation with the Church after the findings regarding abuse in Canada's "residential schools". By Salvatore Cernuzio & Linda Bordoni Pope Francis on Thursday received 55 indigenous peoples of the Metis Manitoba Federation from Canada in the Vaticans Clementine Hall. The Manitoba Metis Community has consistently asserted and protected its rights and identity as a self-governing people, and in recent times has been recognized in Canada as the Manitoba Metis Federation. This is why the members of this Federation - known as "Red River Metis"- came to Rome as a separate entity and did not participate in the Pope's audiences with other groups of Canada's indigenous peoples (Metis, Inuit, and First Nations), who were received in the Vatican at the beginning of April. A message of hope and renewal Like other indigenous peoples in Canada, the Manitoba Metis also suffered abuse in the Christian-run "residential schools" established by the government. During an audience on 1 April, in the presence of the Catholic Bishops of Canada, the Pope asked for forgiveness and expressed his "indignation and shame" for the abuse suffered by so many indigenous people in Canada. It was a powerful message that the indigenous peoples had been awaiting for decades. David Chartrand, President of the Manitoba Metis, had already expressed his gratitude for the Pope's words: "Like all indigenous people in Canada, particularly those of us who have suffered harm at the hands of individuals who have hidden their wrongdoings behind the Catholic Church, I was relieved to hear Pope Francis make a heartfelt apology. I know that many Red River Metis have been waiting for this apology for many years. I hope it will help start the healing process and unite us on this journey of reconciliation, revitalization, and renewal," he said. Chartrand repeated the same words in St. Peter's Square responding to journalists after the Thursday morning meeting in the Clementine Hall. "Our message," he explained, "was a little different. We certainly appreciated and accepted the Pope's apology, and we talked about reconciliation, but we had a bigger message of hope and renewal." Tears and compassion "The tears that were shed, the stories that were shared, His Holiness accepted them with such grace and we were so touched when he asked for forgiveness," the indigenous leader said. A survivor named Andrew, "who paid a heavy price as a child," was given the opportunity to tell his personal story to the Pope, who was patient, attentive, and emotional: "It touched our hearts to see his compassion." Gifts that tell the story of a people The Pope was shown the agreement signed with the Canadian government. He signed a copy, which will be displayed in a museum soon to be inaugurated. The indigenous people then gifted him with handcrafted works made with beads dating back 300 years. "Our beadwork tells the story of who we are," Chartrand explained, "We were once known as the 'Flower Beadwork People of the West,' because they didn't know what to call us. They called us half-blood, country people. And so, all of our work has prairie flowers that tell our story." The delegation also gave the Pope a pair of traditional slippers and some crosses dating back to the 1800s: "He appreciated the kindness of our people," Chartrand said. The Pope then shook the hands of each and every person present at the audience. "He got up from his chair and came to us. We saw that he was limping... we told him, 'Sit down, we will come to you.' But it was so good to see the Pope with such energy, enthusiasm, and pride. He touched our hearts, and many of us will not forget him as long as we live. And so it is a great honour for us to have such a forward-thinking Pope. He is first the Pope of God and then of the Vatican." Invitation to visit the tomb of Louis Riel The audience was also an opportunity for the Manitoba Metis to reiterate their invitation to the Pope (who has emphasized his willingness to travel to Canada, probably in July) to visit the area of Winnepeg and bless the tomb of Louis Riel, an early Metis leader who is considered the founder of the province of Manitoba, and who led the Red River resistance movements seeking to preserve the rights and culture of the people when their land came under Canadian influence. In a preface to a book-length interview with Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga on the Apostolic Constitution "Praedicate evangelium," Pope Francis says the Honduran prelate and head of the Council of Cardinals adequately unravels the meaning and itinerary of this meticulous and decisive work of revision and proposals. By Christopher Wells Pope Francis has praised Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga for a new interview in which the President of the Council of Cardinal Advisors discusses the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate evangelium and the reform of the Roman Curia. The Holy Father notes that the ongoing reform has its roots in the Second Vatican Council, and has been pursued by his immediate predecessors going back to Pope St Paul VI. More immediately, Pope Francis recalls that in the General Congregations prior to the Conclave that elected him, the Cardinals strongly urged that the new Pope would undertake a new reform of the Curia, a reform they saw as urgent and necessary. That reform took a major step forward earlier this year, with the publication of the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate evangelium, which instituted significant changes to the structure and organization of the Curia. In his preface, Pope Francis commends Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiagas explanation of the meaning and goals of the Apostolic Constitution, while at the same time noting that Praedicate evangelium is simply one part albeit a very important part of the greater work of reform. Structural and organizational reforms, the Pope says, are certainly necessary, but what is really important is the renewal of peoples minds and hearts. "We are all called upon to do our part." - Pope Francis The Pope points out, too, that the work of reform is a constant concern of the Church. Laws and documents are always limited, and almost always ephemeral, the Pope reminds us, acknowledging that as the world constantly changes, the Church, in her constant dialogue with the world, with a firm foot in the origins and faithful to Tradition, will again adapt her life and her human structures to the changing conditions of the times. The interview with Cardinal Maradiaga, including the Popes preface, bears the title Praedicate Evangelium: A new curia for a new time. Russian President Vladimir Putin orders his troops not to storm a steel plant in Ukraine's besieged port city of Mariupol, where the last group of Ukrainian fighters are holding out. By Stefan J. Bos The Russian President told his forces to hold back from storming Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant in a televised meeting across a small table from his defense minister. Instead, President Putin ordered his soldiers to block off the industrial area in Ukraine's strategic port city, which had become a symbol of resistance during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "I consider the proposed storming of the industrial zone unnecessary. I order you to cancel it," President Putin said. "This is a case where we must think especially about preserving the lives and health of our soldiers and officers. There is no need to climb into these catacombs and crawl underground through these industrial facilities. Instead, block off these industrial facilities so not even a fly can escape," he added. Putin explained that Russia's military should invite those who have not yet laid down their arms to do so. In return, he said, "the Russian side guarantees their lives and their dignified treatment." Putin claimed that besides this pocket of resistance, Russia now controls Mariupol. He spoke after authorities said more than 2,000 Ukrainian fighters and civilians remain inside the massive, four-square-mile plant, the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol. Among the fighters are also members of the 36th Marine Brigade. In a video message, its commander, Major Serhiy Volyna, said that his troops would not surrender. But he urged the world to help the hundreds of wounded soldiers and civilians. "This could be the last appeal of our lives. We are probably facing days, if not hours. The enemy is outnumbering us 10 to one," he stressed. Pleading with world leaders Major Volyna added: "We appeal and plead to all world leaders to help us. We ask them to use the extraction procedure and take us to the territory of a third-party state." He said everyone, including "500 wounded soldiers and hundreds of civilians such as women and children," should be brought to safety. However, on Thursday, there were no signs that Russia would lift a blockade near the steel plant. Russia wants to capture Mariupol as it firmly links territory held by the separatists who Russia backs in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region and Crimea, the peninsula Moscow seized in 2014. Moscow also made clear that it would use more serious weapons if Ukraine's Western allies threatened Russia. The Russian military showed footage claiming it successfully performed the first test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile that Putin said would make the West "think twice" about aggressive intentions against Russia. Pictures of the launch emerged reported clashes across Ukraine, including a Russian assault in the country's east. Rising death toll emerges Ukraine's military also claimed that in the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson, Russian troops are to "forcibly mobilize" locals to fight for Moscow. Amid raging battles, this war's rising death toll becomes increasingly apparent. The bodies of more than 1,000 civilians are reportedly being stored in morgues in and around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv alone. The war in Ukraine also has worldwide implications. For example, sunflower oil exports from Ukraine were halted amid fighting with Russia, triggering a domino effect on global food prices. The World Bank calculates there could be a "huge" 37 percent jump in food prices. World Bank president David Malpass says the world faces a "human catastrophe" as it would push hundreds of millions of people into poverty and lower nutrition if the crisis continues. Vietnam Briefing overviews the India-Vietnam bilateral relationship on the sidelines of a visit by Indias Speaker of the lower house of Parliament. We explore the strengthening of economic ties between both countries despite the pandemic and the resumption of direct flights. Indias Speaker of the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) Om Birla visited Vietnam on a three-day tour from April 19 to 21 on generating business ties and strengthening the India-Vietnam bilateral relationship. Vietnam and India are celebrating 50 years of close ties in 2022 and Birlas visit is the latest after Vietnams National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue visited India in December 2021. Vietnam and India established diplomatic relations in 1972. Strengthening trade and investment Two-way trade between Vietnam and India was at US$13.2 billion despite the pandemic representing year-on-year growth of 37 percent. The two sides looked to continue to build on their bilateral relationship including areas related to security, culture, tourism, education and training, supply chains, digital transformation, energy transformation, climate change, maritime and oil and gas cooperation. Birla also wants trade between both countries to reach US$15 billion in the short term from the previous US$13.2 billion in 2021. India ranks 24 out of 141 countries investing in Vietnam with approximately US$1 billion in investments consisting of 317 projects as of March 2022. As per a survey named Borderless Business by Standard Chartered, Indian companies that want to expand in the ASEAN region are optimistic about Vietnam along with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Indian businesses are expected to increase investment in part due to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which was recently implemented. Bilateral ties further enhanced Vietnam remains an important country in Indias Act Easy policy. In light of this, the two countries jointly implemented the 2021-2023 Action Program which aims to develop bilateral ties further and more effectively. Birla also stated that India established the Friendship Parliamentary Group with the National Assembly of Vietnam to enhance cooperation between the Indian Parliament and Vietnams National Assembly. Geopolitically, Vietnam has also backed India to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) as well as join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Both India and Vietnam share concerns about China and reiterated the importance of freedom of movement and security in the South China Sea. Direct flights resumed One of the highlights of Birlas visit was inaugurating the restoration of direct flights between Vietnam and India. Vietnams low-cost carrier VietJet Air operated directed flights between New Delhi and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City before the pandemic; these were suspended due to the pandemic but will resume on April 29 and 30. In addition, four new routes are being planned between Hanoi-Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City-Mumbai as well as island of Phu Quoc, popular with tourists, with New Delhi and Mumbai. These routes are expected to begin operations from June gradually. JAKARTA, Indonesia Indonesia will ban exports of cooking oil and its raw materials to reduce domestic shortages and hold down skyrocketing prices, President Joko Widodo announced Friday, a day after hundreds of people protested in the capital against rising food costs. The ban begins next Thursday and will continue for an undetermined length of time, he said. I will continue to monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy so that the availability of cooking oil in the country is abundant and at an affordable price," Widodo said in a statement. The announcement came three days after the Attorney Generals Office announced a corruption investigation involving a senior Trade Ministry official and three palm oil executives. Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin said the ministry official is suspected of issuing export permits for crude palm oil and its derivative products that resulted in domestic shortages and sharply higher prices for cooking oil. The government issued a policy earlier this year obligating all palm oil exporters to ensure that adequate supplies are available in the domestic market and that costs do not follow sharply rising international prices. Hundreds of people marched in Jakarta on Thursday to protest soaring food and oil prices. They demanded the government reduce prices of fuel and basic foods, including cooking oil. Indonesia and Malaysia are the worlds largest exporters of palm oil, which plays an important role in their economies. They account for 85% of global palm oil production. An Islamic State affiliate on Friday claimed a series of bombings a day earlier that targeted Afghanistan's minority Shiite Muslims, while Pakistan issued a warning of IS threats in its eastern Punjab province. The deadliest of three bombings on Thursday in Afghanistan exploded inside a Shite mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif. Hospital officials say at least 12 people were killed and as many as 40 were hurt. Earlier Thursday, a roadside bomb exploded near a boys school in the Afghan capital of Kabul, injuring two children in the city's predominately Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi. A third bomb in northern Kunduz injured 11 mechanics working for the country's Taliban rulers. Since sweeping to power last August, the Taliban have been battling the upstart Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K which is proving to be an intractable security challenge for Afghanistan's religiously driven government. Last November the Taliban's intelligence unit carried out sweeping attacks on suspected IS-K hideouts in eastern Nangarhar province. In a statement Friday, the IS-K said the explosive device that devastated Mazar-e-Sharif's Sai Doken mosque was hidden in a bag left inside among scores of worshippers. As they knelt in prayer, it exploded. "When the mosque was filled with prayers, the explosives were detonated remotely, the IS statement said, claiming that 100 people were injured. The Taliban say they have arrested a former IS-K leader in northern Balkh province, of which Mazar-e-Sharif is the capital. Zabihullah Noorani, information and culture department chief in Balkh province, said Abdul Hamid Sangaryar was arrested in connection with Thursday's mosque attack. The IS-K had been relatively inactive in Afghanistan since last November, but in recent days have stepped up its attacks in Afghanistan and in neighboring Pakistan, taking aim at Shiite Muslim communities reviled by Sunni radicals. Earlier this month two bombs exploded in Kabul's Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, killing at least seven students and wounding several others. The IS-K established its headquarters in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and have been blamed for some of the worst attacks in Afghanistan, including a vicious assault on a maternity hospital and at a school that killed more than 80 girls in 2021, months before the Taliban took power. The IS-K also took responsibility for a brutal bombing outside the Kabul International Airport in August 2021 that killed more than 160 Afghans who had been pushing to enter the airport to flee the country. Thirteen U.S. military personnel also were killed as they oversaw America's final withdrawal and the end of its 20-year war in Afghanistan. In recent months, the IS-K has also stepped up attacks in neighboring Pakistan, targeting a Shiite mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar in March. More than 65 worshippers were killed. The upstart affiliate has also claimed several deadly attacks against Pakistan's military. In Pakistan's central Punjab city of Faisalabad, the local police on Thursday issued a threat warning, saying "it has been learned that IS-Khas planned to carry out terrorist activities in Faisalabad," advising people to "exercise extreme vigilance." The police warning did not elaborate. Meanwhile late on Thursday a Pakistani soldier was killed in southwestern Baluchistan province after militants raided a security outpost. No one claimed responsibility. The area has been targeted by both IS-K as well as the violent Pakistani Taliban militants known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also headquartered in neighboring Afghanistan. The safe havens of militant groups in Afghanistan has raised concerns for Pakistan which earlier this month carried out air strikes inside Pakistan, killing at least 20 children, according to the United Nations education fund (UNICEF). Pakistan has not confirmed the strikes but has warned Afghanistan's Taliban to stop its territory being used to attack across the border into Pakistan. As the world marks Earth Day, activists in Africa are calling for wealthier countries to take responsibility for climate change and do more to help developing countries cope with the repercussions. In Africa, the climate crisis is threatening the livelihoods of millions and the availability of food and water. In recent years the continent has seen economic and population growth that has led to environmental degradation while suffering extreme climatic events such as floods, heatwaves and drought. Speaking online at the Exponential Climate Action Summit, Susan Chomba, head of Vital Landscapes for Africa at the World Resource Institute, said regulation of land use needs to be prioritized to preserve nature. For instance, most of the remaining areas with high biodiversity are the same areas that are increasingly receiving a lot of pressure from farming to produce food for people to eat not just locally in Africa but via local supply chain, Chomba said. That emphasis on the issue of how we address the demand for luxury products, demand for overconsumption of things that are driving deforestation, that are driving land degradation is critical. Much of Africas climate crisis is blamed on heavy atmospheric pollution by developed countries. Although developed countries pledged to give $100 billion to developing countries to help them adapt to the effects of climate change, that funding, combined with eligibility requirements to receive, is not adequate. John Recha, a climate scientist with the International Livestock Research Institute, said the priorities of donor and receiving countries are different when dealing with climate mitigation strategies. He said the funds come with conditions and restrictions that make it difficult for the nations to use them in ways they would prioritize. Instead, they must use the funds to sometimes do what the donors think is a priority, Recha said. That may not be necessarily what is a leading priority within the country. Fredrick Owino works with 16 African countries on how best to increase and preserve forests as one of the ways to mitigate global climate change. He said the funds to fight climate change come with many conditions that are difficult to fulfill. The commitments being made by some developed countries are not accessible, so we are trying to discuss among African countries how best we can access those funds, Owino said. They usually come as a part of a new requirement to report on our forests, a new arrangement of managing forest which our countries always find difficult to comply with. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change promotes sustainable use and management of forests. Forests store carbon, and the carbon increases concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Environmentalists are calling on African citizens and the world to take action and invest in the planet for a healthy environment and economy. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told fellow GOP lawmakers shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection that he would urge then-President Donald Trump to resign, according to audio posted Thursday night by The New York Times and aired on The Rachel Maddow Show on the U.S. cable network MSNBC. In the recording of a Jan. 10 House Republican Leadership call, McCarthy is heard discussing the Democratic effort to remove Trump from office and saying he was thinking of calling Trump and telling him, "I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign." It's unclear whether McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker if Republicans gain control during the fall midterm elections, followed through on his thinking or was merely sharing ideas privately with his colleagues in the aftermath of the deadly Capitol assault. In the same conversation, McCarthy told his colleagues he doubted Trump would take the advice to step aside. "That would be my recommendation,'' McCarthy is heard saying in response to a question from Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who would emerge as a staunch Trump critic. "I don't think he will take it, but I don't know." Earlier Thursday, after the Times published its initial story describing the conversation, McCarthy released a statement calling it "totally false and wrong." His spokesman, Mark Bednar, had told the paper, "McCarthy never said he'd call Trump to say he should resign." Bednar did not immediately respond to questions late Thursday night after the audio's release. Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the tape. The audio threatens to badly damage the relationship between McCarthy and Trump, who remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party, despite his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection and his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election. And it could threaten McCarthy's standing with House Republicans aligned with Trump, whose support he will need for votes to become House speaker next year. The audio depicts a very different McCarthy than the one who has been leading House Republicans over the last year and a half and who has remained allied with Trump even after delivering a speech on the House floor shortly after Jan. 6, during which he called the attack on the Capitol "un-American." At the time, McCarthy called the assault among the saddest days of his career and told his fellow Republicans that Trump "bears responsibility'' for the violence. Even after the violence, though, McCarthy joined half of the House Republicans in voting to challenge Joe Biden's election victory. Since then, the California Republican has distanced himself from any criticism of Trump and has avoided directly linking him to what happened. Within weeks of the siege at the Capitol McCarthy said he did not think Trump provoked the attack, as other prominent Republicans said at the time. Instead, McCarthy has allied with Trump, visiting him at the former president's Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago as he relies on the former president's brand for campaign support this fall. McCarthy indicated during an interview with The Associated Press this week in California that Trump will motivate voters to turn out for the party in this fall's midterm elections. "He'll motivate, get a lot of people out," McCarthy said at a GOP event in Fresno. The Times report Thursday was adapted from an upcoming book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America's Future, by Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. In the audio, Cheney, who eventually lost her No. 3 leadership position after voting in favor of Trump's impeachment, can be heard asking McCarthy about a 25th Amendment resolution calling for Trump's ouster and whether Trump might resign. "I've had a few discussions. My gut tells me no. I'm seriously thinking of having that conversation with him tonight," McCarthy is heard saying. "What I think I'm gonna do is I'm gonna call him." "I think it will pass and it would be my recommendation he should resign," he later adds. "I mean, that would be my take but I don't think he would take it. But I don't know." McCarthy, 57, has been strategically charting his own delicate course as he positions himself to try to take over as speaker if Republicans retake the House. He has begun to build out his leadership team and last summer tasked several groups of Republican lawmakers with drafting proposals on the party's core legislative priorities in hopes of making a fast start in 2023. But even as he inches closer to leading the chamber, McCarthy is well aware of the downside of power in recent months as hard-right members of the conference have created headaches with inflammatory actions and statements. There was little immediate reaction Thursday night from fellow Republicans who could determine his future. To be sure, no other Republican leader in the House has amassed the standing to challenge McCarthy for the leadership position. McCarthy has recruited the class of newcomers bolstering GOP ranks and raised millions to bolster Republican campaigns. He has drawn his closest rivals into the fold even as he works to shore up the votes that would be needed to become speaker. An outside group aligned with McCarthy has led fundraising ahead of the midterm elections, and rank-and-file Republicans working to regain the House majority are unlikely to be critical of the leader ahead of November. Still, McCarthy has also been a person of interest for the House committee investigating the storming of the Capitol on Jan 6. The select committee, which Cheney vice-chairs, requested an interview with McCarthy in mid-January, hoping to learn more about his conversations with Trump "before, during and after'' the riot. They had also sought information about McCarthy's communications with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the days before the attack. Hours after the request was made, McCarthy issued a statement saying he would refuse to cooperate because he saw the investigation as not legitimate and accused the panel of "abuse of power.'' The committee has been especially focused on McCarthy's communications with Trump and White House staff in the week after the violence, including a conversation with Trump that was reportedly heated. Without his cooperation, it remains unclear whether the panel will be able to gain testimony from McCarthy or any other congressional allies of Trump. While the committee has considered subpoenaing fellow lawmakers, they have so far avoided doing so as it would be an extraordinary move and could run up against legal and political challenges. Rights activists in Azerbaijan are accusing the government of manufacturing false charges to arrest critics who have been returned to the country after failing to gain asylum in Germany. Samir Ashurov was detained on April 19 on charges of assault with a knife, just weeks after he was deported from Germany back to his native country. Ashurov had fled to Germany in 2018 when he was a member of the opposition REAL Movement. After leaving Azerbaijan, Ashurov continued criticizing the Azerbaijani government. He was readmitted to Azerbaijan on March 29, after the German government refused to grant him asylum. His lawyer, Elchin Sadiqov, told VOA that Ashurov had left his house earlier this week planning to renew his passport so that he could again leave the country. Instead, he said, Ashurov was attacked in the street and had a knife planted on him. "He said that a man approached him near a metro station in Baku, shouting and knocking him to the ground. Samir ran away and shouted, Police, and thats when the police officers immediately detained him," Sadiqov said. "They then put a knife in the right pocket of his jacket," Sadiqov said. "He took the knife out and threw it away. Then they put it back in his left pocket. He was then taken to the 24th Police Station of the Nizami District Police Office. Ashurovs lawyer said he was tortured in custody and now was on a hunger strike, protesting his arrest. He said that he was beaten at the police station, said Sadiqov. When I met him, he had bruises on his chest and groin. He said he had been on a hunger strike since April 19 to protest his arrest. Elshad Hajiyev, spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, called these allegations completely unfounded. Samir Ashurov is charged with a specific crime, and what his lawyer says is a defense. And that's understandable, he said. A targeted campaign Government critics say authorities are using criminal charges to jail political opponents, in particular those who have spoken out while seeking asylum abroad. They say its part of a coordinated campaign by President Ilham Aliyev. I met Samir Ashurov last week after his deportation from Germany. He told me that he had been summoned to the prosecutor's office several times, was being monitored and that preparations were being made for his arrest, Tofiq Yaqublu, deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat Party and a senior politician of the National Council of Democratic Forces, wrote on Facebook. Ashurov, who spoke with VOA earlier this month following his return from Germany, said he was also questioned at the airport about why he had left the country. I said that I was facing political persecution in Azerbaijan," he said. "I told them that I had been arrested twice under false pretenses. I told them that I would be one of the victims of the government. Just like four political activists before me Malik Rzayev, Mutalim Orujov, Punhan Karimli and Jafar Mirzayev were arrested. He also predicted that he would be detained in the future. This regime will arrest me again on false charges, Ashurov told VOA. In January, Mirzayev, a member of the Germany-based DAS (Elect a Democratic Azerbaijan) group, was detained on charges of drug trafficking and sentenced to four months of pretrial detention. Mirzayev faces between five and 12 years in prison. Karimli, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA); Rzayev and Orujov have also been charged with drug trafficking. Some see coordinated campaign Some rights activists argue that the arrests are part of a coordinated effort aimed at migrants who sought asylum in other countries. Political activists deported from Germany were being arrested on drug charges. Now they have switched from drugs to knives, Afgan Mukhtarli, an investigative journalist, human rights defender and former political prisoner currently living in Germany, said in a Facebook post. We knew Samir would be arrested. Ilham Aliyev takes revenge on migrants. In his speeches, he repeatedly targeted migrants, calling them agents. Zafar Ahmadov, co-founder of a human rights NGO known as Defense Line, told VOA that the fate of readmitted political activists continues to be a concern. "The arrest of all five readmitted political activists is not a coincidence," said Ahmadov, who is also a member of the Democracy for Azerbaijan (AND) movement. "As a rule, we raise the issue of readmitted human rights activists before the EU Delegation and the embassies of EU member states." The German Embassy in Azerbaijan on Thursday told VOA it was monitoring Ashurov's case. "We are monitoring such incidents. We hold regular talks with the Azerbaijani government on human rights issues," the embassy officials said. Pact on repatriation The European Union and Azerbaijan in 2014 signed an agreement on the repatriation of persons residing without authorization. Since the signing of the agreement, more than 2,000 people have been returned to Azerbaijan, including 420 in 2021. International human rights organizations, including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch, report that the government of Azerbaijan frequently arrests individuals exercising their fundamental rights on trumped-up charges. The Azerbaijani government, on the other hand, says people are not persecuted for their political beliefs. This story originated in VOAs Azerbaijani Service. US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine that includes heavy artillery, tactical vehicles and armed drones. He said the weapons will support the country's needs amid Russia's pivot to refocus the war on the Donbas region. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. India and Britain have agreed to boost economic as well as defense ties that could eventually help New Delhi move away from its dependance on Russian arms. Following talks in New Delhi between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, who is on a two-day visit to India, the two sides said they will wrap up a free trade deal by October and announced a security partnership. "We have agreed a new and expanded defense and security partnership, a decadeslong commitment that will not only forge tighter bonds between us, but support your goal of Make in India," Johnson said, referring to Modi's push to expand domestic manufacturing of weaponry. Despite pressure from its Western allies, like the United States and Britain, India has taken a neutral position on the Ukraine crisis, refusing to condemn Russia or join sanctions imposed by Western countries. Analysts attribute India's stance partly to the fact that India sources much of its military equipment from its former Cold War ally. Britain said it will ensure faster delivery of defense equipment by streamlining licensing rules for exporting military hardware to India. Officials in New Delhi called it a "welcome development." Britain is offering next-generation defense and security collaboration across five domains land, sea, air, space and cyber to face complex new threats, according to the British Embassy. "What we are looking for is a combination of U.K.'s technology and our production base to make it a win-win situation," Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla told reporters. Indian Prime Minister Modi told reporters that both sides underscored the importance of diplomacy and dialogue to settle the Ukraine crisis. Indian Foreign Secretary Shringla said that there was no "pressure" on India over the position it has taken. Modi said he also stressed a "free, open, inclusive and rule-based order in the Indo-Pacific," in an apparent reference to China's aggressiveness in the region. Both leaders sounded an upbeat note on strengthening ties. Using Hindi words, Johnson called Modi a "khaas dost," or special friend, and said, "Our relations have never been as strong or as good between us as they are now.'' It was "historic" that Johnson's visit to India came in the 75th year of its independence, Modi said. Johnson said a free trade pact, when signed, could take trade between the two countries "to a whole new level." The deal is expected to double their current trade of $50 billion by 2030. The British prime minister also announced that Britain is to reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, at a news conference he held after his talks with Indian leaders. "The extraordinary fortitude and success of (Ukraine) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy in resisting Russian forces in Kyiv means I can announce that very shortly, next week, we will reopen our embassy in Ukraine's capital city," Johnson said. The main British diplomatic mission had been moved to the western city of Lviv in February. In response to a question, the British leader said it remained a "realistic possibility" that Russia could win the war in Ukraine. "Putin has a huge army. He has a very difficult political position because he has made a catastrophic blunder. The only option he now, he now has is to use his appalling, grinding approach led by artillery, trying to grind the Ukrainians down," Johnson told reporters. Saying that it was important to keep up "wave after wave" of pressure on Russia, he said Britain was seeing what it could do to reinforce the supply of military equipment, such as tanks to Poland, so that it could send heavier weaponry to Ukraine. The Cambodian government has hired a U.S. law firm and a public relations company to promote a positive image of Prime Minister Hun Sens government. The companies, both based in Washington, are Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, and international communications and public relations specialist Qorvis Communications. Qorvis has been on a $69,300 a month contract since September 1, 2021, with no deadline for completion, according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) document registered with the U.S. Department of Justice. Akin Gump began a $720,000 contract on January 5, 2022, that runs until January 1, 2023. The law firm has pledged to conduct outreach to U.S. government officials to build better understanding and highlight areas of common interest to build new relationships that enable the bilateral relationship between Cambodia and the U.S., according to the contract registered on FARAs website. Trade status, exports The $1.5 million yearlong lobbying campaign comes as Congress has suspended the Southeast Asia nations trade preference status for its deteriorating human rights record that involves overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding or operation of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, according to a 2021 report by the U.S. State Department. The aim of my mission is to expand the relationship, Cambodian Ambassador Keo Chhea told VOA Khmer by phone in early March after he became ambassador. And if it is good to facilitate a political relationship, we will promote culture and trade relations to have a better relationship. Cambodia also spent $1.2 million from 2019 to 2020 on two U.S. lobbying firms Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, of Washington, D.C., and PacRim Bridges LLC in Ferndale, Washington, according to the FARA filing. This lobbying work is to draw the attention of foreign policymakers to the current leadership of the Royal Government of Cambodia, said Sok Isan, a spokesperson for the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party. This is to counter politically biased, unethical and unprofessional media outlets from spreading false information about the leadership. The Royal Government of Cambodia comes from the will of the Cambodian people. Cambodia exported more than $8.7 billion worth of goods to the U.S. in 2021, according to data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. That volume has doubled in the last four years, despite the government crackdown on independent media, civil society groups, critics and opposition politicians. According to the Council for the Development of Cambodia, Cambodia attracted a fixed-asset investment of $4.35 billion in 2021. China remains the largest foreign investor, accounting for 53.4% of Cambodias total investment last year, which was a 67% increase over 2020. The U.S. was second with $163 million and Singapore was third with $121 million. Cambodia has benefited greatly from access to the U.S. market, U.S. Embassy spokesperson Chad Roedemeier told VOA Khmer by email. Today, the United States is Cambodias largest single export market by far. Our trade relationship should be mutually beneficial, transparent, balanced, and adhere to the highest standards, including labor rights. Cambodian exports to the U.S. include finished garments, footwear, suitcases, agricultural products and bicycles. Human rights The U.S. Congress has introduced two bills to promote free and fair elections, restore democracy, political rights and human rights in Cambodia, and impose economic sanctions on those who violate human rights there. The Cambodia Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2021 (S-3052) was introduced by the Senate in October 2021. The House version of the Cambodia Democracy Act of 2021 (HR-4686) was passed by the House in September 2021. Both bills are in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which had not set a date for a hearing when it was contacted by VOA Khmer. However, Congress has not reauthorized Cambodias trade preference status, called the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) since its expiration in late December 2020. The GSP is a system that provides opportunities for many of the worlds poorest countries to use trade to grow their economies and climb out of poverty. The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia said it remains committed to the Cambodian people and their aspirations for a more prosperous, democratic and independent country where all voices are heard and respected, and the kingdoms sovereignty is protected, according to Roedemeier. U.S. activists in the U.S. say human rights and the political situation in Cambodia have not improved since the dissolution of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) ahead of the 2018 national election that Hun Sens Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) won. Hun Sen has held power in Cambodia in various coalitions since 1985. More recently, on March 17, a Cambodian court convicted 20 opposition politicians and activists from the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party to between five and 10 years in prison for incitement, inciting military personnel to disobedience and conspiracy. Seven of them currently live abroad and were tried and convicted in absentia and sentenced to 10-year prison terms, according to Human Rights Watch. Hiring high-priced U.S. law firms and public relations firms is not the best way to improve the image of the Hun Sen government in the United States, said Morton Sklar, a legal counsel for the U.S.-based Commission of Inquiry on Cambodia. Sklar said a more effective way to improve Hun Sens image would be to take concrete steps to end the recent campaign of repression, end the criminal prosecutions of government critics and return to a more open and democratic election process by allowing the main political opposition to function in a fair and effective way. You cant claim compliance with democracy and human rights standards when you eliminate the opposition party and put its leaders in jail using vaguely worded criminal statutes against incitement to violence and social unrest as a basis for closing down a meaningful political process and for conducting mass trials and imprisonments, Sklar said. A Chinese court sentenced a U.S. citizen to death on Thursday over the intentional homicide of his girlfriend, an official notice said. The court found that Shadeed Abdulmateen had stabbed the 21-year-old woman in her face and neck multiple times last year when they met to talk after disagreements over their relationship. Shadeed and the woman surnamed Chen started dating after they met in 2019, but she subsequently wanted to break up, according to the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court. "From mid to late May 2021, Chen proposed breaking up many times, but Shadeed did not agree and made verbal threats to her," the court said Thursday. The two met in June 2021 near a bus stop in Ningbo, where Shadeed turned up with a folding knife and stabbed her, the notice said, adding that he was found guilty of intentional homicide. "Shadeed premediated a revenge killing, stabbing and cutting Chen's face and neck multiple times, causing Chen's death," the court said. The U.S. Embassy did not immediately reply to a request for comment. An official with the U.S. State Department said it was monitoring the matter but would not comment further due to privacy considerations, according to a Reuters report. Human rights advocates say China executes more prisoners every year than any other country, but executions of Westerners are rare. The most recent case involving the holder of a passport from a Western country is believed to be that of Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen who was executed in 2009 for heroin trafficking, according to state news agency Xinhua. Australias most populous states will on Friday abolish a raft of coronavirus rules, including compulsory isolation for close contacts. Some vaccine mandates for key workers will also be scrapped. Health officials in New South Wales and Victoria say the overhaul to the rules is a big step and is part of a plan to co-exist with COVID-19." The new policy is a major overhaul of coronavirus restrictions for more than half of the Australian population. Those who may have come into close contact with COVID-19 in the states of New South Wales and Victoria will no longer have to isolate for seven days. They must, however, wear a mask indoors and be tested regularly. They also need special permission to visit hospitals, nursing homes or prisons. Many business leaders said the quarantine measures were too strict because they forced workers who werent infected to stay at home. We get to put COVID in the rear-view mirror and finally leave the baggage of restrictions, isolations, and check-ins behind us. It means that the maximum available staff will now be with us, said Paul Guerra, chief executive of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce. Health authorities in Australia say a recent omicron wave has peaked and that many restrictions can be lifted because more than 95% of the population has received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccination. However, Nancy Baxter, a clinical epidemiologist at Melbourne University, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that it is too soon to end mandatory isolation for close contacts. Politically, it is expedient for all of these things to be relaxed because it signals that COVID is over, she said. But, you know, the problem is COVID hasnt gotten the memo that COVID is over and what we are seeing in Australia right now is we are seeing one of the worlds highest rate of new cases of COVID per day." In other parts of the country, including Western Australia and Queensland, quarantine rules remain in place for those who have come into close contact with confirmed coronavirus cases. Australia has had some of the worlds toughest coronavirus restrictions, including strict lockdowns. For more than two years its international borders were closed to most foreign nationals. According to government data, about 5.3 million infections and almost 7,000 deaths have been recorded in Australia since the pandemic began. Firefighters fanned out across blackened landscape in Arizona's high country, digging into the ground to put out smoldering tree stumps and roots as helicopters buzzed overhead with buckets of water to drop on a massive blaze. The work has been tedious and steady all with the recognition that already strong winds will become stronger Friday and a shift over the weekend could turn the blaze up hillsides or toward homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff. The 32-square-mile (83-square kilometer) blaze is one of a half-dozen major wildfires that have raced across Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado over the past week. Forecasters have warned that warm weather, little to no precipitation and spring winds create a dangerous recipe for wildfires. Those elements are "pretty much on steroids in the atmosphere for tomorrow," said Scott Overpeck with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "And by that we mean they are really cranked up. Everything is overlapping together at the same time." The Flagstaff-area fire was expected to keep growing Friday, fanned by the wind, said Jerolyn Byrne, a spokeswoman for the team working the blaze. Neither officials nor residents have been able to fully survey the damage, as crews on Thursday were busy wrestling a spot fire and trying to keep flames from running up the mountainside. If that were to happen, it would mean a much bigger fire with long-term consequences such as erosion and flooding. Water delivered Still, spirits were lifted Thursday as helicopters for the first time were able to start dropping water on the flames. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Flagstaff's Coconino County. The declaration clears the way for state funding for evacuations, shelter, repairs and other expenses. However, the money can't be used to reimburse home and business owners for losses. About 30 structures have been destroyed, but it's still unclear how many were homes, the county sheriff's office said Thursday. Hundreds of people have been evacuated because of wildfires burning in the Southwest. Popular lakes and national monuments closed in Arizona including Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument outside Flagstaff because the wildfire moved directly over it, blackening trees and burning tools and vehicles in a maintenance yard, said monument spokesman Richard Ullmann. The Coconino National Forest has closed where the wildfire is burning but has not enacted broader fire restrictions or closures. A sign at a gate warns of potential loose debris, falling trees and branches, and flash floods. Fire restrictions go into effect Friday at National Park Service sites in New Mexico, including Valles Caldera National Preserve and Bandelier National Monument. Wildfires have become a year-round threat in the West, given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall, scientists have said. The problems are exacerbated by decades of fire suppression and poor forest management along with a more than 20-year megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. Puzzled by fire's spread Residents around Flagstaff a year-round attraction for recreation, respite from desert heat, and Northern Arizona University questioned how a small blaze reported northeast of the college town Sunday afternoon ballooned in a matter of days. Matt McGrath, a district ranger at the Coconino National Forest, said firefighters had corralled the wildfire Sunday and didn't see any smoke or active flames when they checked on it again Monday. By Tuesday, the wind was firmly in control. Flames emerged and jumped the containment line. Residents in 765 homes were evacuated, along with 1,000 animals from the rural neighborhoods. The fire's cause hasn't been determined. Investigators were at the site Thursday off a bumpy, gravel and dirt U.S. Forest Service road. In the distance, a large plume of grayish smoke rose over the surrounding hills. Snow still sat atop other mountains. Smoldering stumps, scorched grass and charred trees dotted the area near where the wildfire started. Preston Mercer, a fire management specialist with the Coconino National Forest, remembers standing on the same patch of ground in 2010, fighting another large blaze. Like that one, this fire has been taking advantage of dry vegetation and fierce winds. "The environment is not very friendly. It was blowing 70 mph. Rocks were hitting everybody in the face. It was very smoky, and we were working directly in the heat," he said Thursday from the fire line. "These guys are working incredibly hard. They know the values at risk. This is their community." Crews nearby were focused on a 100-acre (40-hectare) spot fire that broke away from the main blaze toward hills that overlook nearby homes. One firefighter repeatedly swung a scraping tool as winds howled and smoke swirled through the air to reveal smoldering tree roots. He removed his glove and reached his hand into the ground to ensure it was cool before moving on and repeating the process. New Mexico, Colorado In neighboring New Mexico, crews were battling several fires, including two that had forced a small number of evacuations and one that was threatening natural gas and telecommunications lines. In Colorado, firefighters got a handle on two small wildfires in the southern and northern part of the state while contending with strong winds. The Boulder County blaze was sparked by the battery of a crashed drone that researchers were using to study severe weather, the sheriff's office said Thursday. Researchers used a fire extinguisher, but the fire spread quickly in high winds, authorities said. The other fire damaged or destroyed an estimated 15 structures, including homes, in Monte Vista, a community of about 4,150 people surrounded by farm fields, police said Thursday. Rocky Opliger, the incident commander on a wildfire that has forced evacuations south of Prescott, Arizona, said conditions are some of the worst he's seen in nearly five decades of fighting wildland fires. "This is very early to have this kind of fire behavior," he said. "Right now, we are on the whims of weather." Every year on Earth Day April 22 people come together to raise awareness about environmental problems. And this year they will focus on accelerating the transition to a prosperous green economy. During the event, also known as International Mother Earth Day, some 1 billion people in 190 countries take part in activities that often include planting trees, removing litter from land and water sites, and educating others about the environment. As curtailing climate change remains at the forefront of the global environmental agenda, Earth Day this year focuses on a business aspect of that goal: investing in our planet. More businesses need to be pulled into the effort to safeguard the planet, especially to fight climate change, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Earthday.org. According to the Earthday.org website, "Smart companies are discovering that they no longer have the choice between going green and growing long term profits sustainability is the path to prosperity." "If you want to solve climate change, follow the money, because the money is overwhelmingly moving into technological solutions, research and development, all of which are green," Earthday.org President Kathleen Rogers told VOA in an interview. Oil and gas companies that rely on fossil fuels are feeling the pressure. Companies that don't go green face a "giant risk," Rogers cautioned, because the outcry to curb fossil fuels continues to grow. Climate scientist Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University agreed, saying that "the transition towards clean energy is already happening." "The great revolution of this century is clean energy, and those energy companies that embrace clean renewable energy are going to prosper in the long term," he told VOA. Rogers noted, however, that while some companies "may not be extracting oil for carbon," they are using fossil fuels to make plastic, another environmental hazard. Most plastic bags, bottles, containers, etc. is not recycled, Rogers said. Instead, it ends up taking space in landfills or floating in the oceans. "There are devastating impacts from the use of plastic," Rogers said. Wildlife sometimes mistake it for food, and research has shown that tiny plastic particles have been found in human blood, she added. "Today we are as aware of the dangers of plastic as we are of climate change," Rogers said, so it is important to find a substitute for plastic. Earth Day comes on the heels of a United Nations climate panel report, released earlier this month, that said worldwide carbon emissions increased by 12% over the past decade. Despite that gloomy picture, it's possible to curtail climate change if governments act now, the report said. But many people wonder when that will happen, as many governments have stalled on the issue. "Stop placing the burden on individuals to solve the problem, and put more of the burden where it belongs, on governments and companies," Rogers said. And that includes Africa, which suffers from environmental problems such as air pollution, water scarcity and the loss of biodiversity. "Every country is facing the effects of the climate crisis" even though the continent's global emissions only range between 2 to 3 percent, explained Derrick Mugisha, an environmental scientist and regional director in Africa for Earthday.org. African leaders must step up and "minimize excuses to reverse the trends of environmental degradation." "In Asia, increased global warming due to climate change can no longer be ignored," noted Karuna Singh, Earth Day's regional director for Asia. The changing weather patterns can cause food insecurity and loss of biodiversity and compel people to become "environmental refugees," she said. India, with its dependence on fossil fuels, creates some of the worst air pollution in the world, she said. And the Indian government has recognized the gloomy findings and initiated a process to have experts suggest strategies that will accelerate solutions. For Mann, Earth Day is also a reminder that polluters who deny climate change are no longer credible. There has been a carefully orchestrated "deflection campaign by polluters to convince us that it's all on us," he said. But "70% of carbon pollution comes from just 100 polluters like fossil fuel companies and oil companies," he added. Denis Hayes, the organizer of the first Earth Day in 1970, told VOA the event is just as viable today as it was 52 years ago. "It's not just about picking up litter, but finding various remedies to combat climate change, including more efficient renewable power and greener transportation methods. It's about building a world that is livable for our children." The French military has accused Russian mercenaries of creating a mass grave and falsely blaming it on the French. The French Army says it has drone video, seen by news agencies Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, of Russian mercenaries burying bodies near Gossi, Mali, where the French army withdrew from a military base this week. Video of what appears to be a similar location circulated Thursday on Twitter, showing a blurred image of what are alleged to be bodies buried in the sand. The accompanying Twitter message says the departing French army left that scene behind in Gossi. Speaking to AFP and AP, the French Army said the mercenaries created the site to circulate images and blame the French army to stoke anti-French sentiment in Mali. The drone video was reportedly captured Thursday morning, but the French army left Gossi on Tuesday. France recently said it would withdraw its troops from Mali in a operation expected to take four to six months. A Twitter account named "Dia Diarra" posted a video Thursday, including what appears to be bodies partially buried in the sand, with the caption, "This is what the French left behind when they left the base at Gossi. These are excerpts from a video that was taken after they left! We cannot keep silent about this!" "Dia Darra" claims to be a Malian veteran and "patriot" and posts mostly pro-Malian military and pro-Russia content. The original profile photo used for the account could also be seen on the Russian social media website VK on an account of a man believed to be located in Colombia. After that was pointed out by several Twitter users, the profile picture was changed to a photo of Malian President Assimi Goita. The account has been active since January 2022. Many governments have accused the Malian army of working with mercenaries from the Russian company the Wagner Group which, critics say, has close ties to the Russian government. Mali's government denies the allegation, saying it works only with "Russian instructors." In March, Human Rights Watch reported that residents of Moura, in central Mali, said that hundreds of civilians were killed by the Malian army while working with "white soldiers," who spoke a language not familiar to them. VOA spoke to a man who saw 12 to 15 men killed and witnessed both Malian and white soldiers in the village during the five-day operation. Onstage, they dance through hoops and perform acrobatics with smiles on their faces. Off it, they hold anguished phone calls with family back in Ukraine. Dancers Anna and Olga have found a sense of calm performing in a circus near New York, but they are still living the war they fled thousands of miles away. "I spent a month without a full night's sleep. We couldn't go out to buy food we were stressed and shaken all the time. It was scary," recalls Anna Starykh, who left Ukraine after Russia's invasion in February. Now the 21-year-old is performing with the Flip Circus in the New York City suburb of Yonkers, where she can sleep without being woken by explosions. More than 4,500 miles away from Kyiv, in a parking lot near the banks of the Hudson River, Starykh and her friends prepare to perform with colleagues from across Europe and South America. The stage has become their sanctuary. "Work really helps (us) to calm down and stay positive," she tells AFP. Their concern for their family members back home is palpable, though. "I don't know in which situation they will be next day, next week, next month. I cry about this," says 22-year-old Olga Rezekina, who also fled Ukraine after the invasion began and whose parents and brother live in Odesa. Rezekina and Starykh arrived in the United States with 20-year-old Anastasiia Savych, a Flip Circus veteran who had returned to Ukraine with other circus members to renew her visa when Russian tanks crossed the border Feb. 24. All are graduates of the Bingo Circus Theater, a circus academy in Ukraine. Rezekina and Starykh joined Flip to replace two of Savych's male colleagues, who were mobilized to fight and stayed in Ukraine. On the day of the invasion, Savych left Kyiv for Poland on the train. "I never saw the capital so empty. No cars, no people outside. Everything was closed. It was like in a horror movie," she tells AFP. Two other Ukrainian dancers in their troupe fled via Romania and joined up with them in America on March 10. 'Leave problems backstage' They are among more than 5 million people who have left Ukraine since the invasion, according to United Nations estimates. "When I just arrived here, I felt guilty," says Savych, whose mother convinced her that she would not be able help the family by staying in Ukraine. Now she waits to hear that the war is over and that "we won," Savych says. "I'm 20 years old and want stay young and not speak about the war," she tells AFP. The three friends all have similar but different dreams for the future. "Live and be safe," says Starykh, when asked hers. "Traveling around the world," says Rezekina, while Savych hopes to live permanently in the U.S. Alexa Vazquez, who helps run Flip the circus was founded by her family in Mexico more than 50 years ago says it was difficult getting the women out of Ukraine with airports closed. "To have these girls here with right now safe means a world to us, especially to me, because they are friends, they are family. We can support them in any way possible," she tells AFP. The Ukrainians appear several times in the show, in which animals do not perform. "People come and they want to look at a good show. You can leave your problems backstage," concludes Rezekina. A Russian tanker impounded by Greece this week and reportedly carrying Iranian oil will be released amid confusion about sanctions on its owners. "The coast guard has been ordered by the anti-money laundering authority to release the vessel," a Greek government official said, without providing further details. On Tuesday, Greek authorities impounded the 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, on the southern coast of the island of Evia. They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from its ports, with some exemptions, as it adopted new sanctions against Russia for what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation." The Pegas tanker was also among five vessels sanctioned by the United States on Feb. 22, 2022 -- two days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- as part of broader sanctions against Promsvyazbank, a bank Washington described as critical to Russia's defense sector. Promsvyazbank said it and its unit PSB Lizing were not the owners of the tanker as it was bought back by its owner in April 2021. Promsvyazbank did not name the new owner. PSB Lizing said the owner was TransMorFlot. TransMorFlot was not available for comment. Greek sources close to the matter said that following checks there were no legal grounds to continue impounding the Pegas as the ship had recently changed ownership and its new owner was not on an EU sanctions list. Iranian oil On Tuesday, U.S. State Department welcomed Greece's efforts to implement the sanctions "initiated in response to Russia's brutal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine" and said it was aware of reports that the tanker was loaded with Iranian crude oil. Eikon tanker tracking shows the Pegas has been floating around the Mediterranean since September 2021 after loading in the Gulf in August. Three industry sources said it had Iranian oil on board but struggled to sell it to a customer in Europe, which alongside the United States has a ban on Iranian oil. U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic, also said the Pegas loaded around 700,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran's Sirri Island on Aug. 19, 2021. Prior to this load, the Pegas transported over 3 million barrels of Iranian oil in 2021, with over 2.6 million of those barrels ending up in China, according to UANI analysis. A Greek coast guard official confirmed it had received the decision made by the anti-money laundering unit, an independent authority, but said the order had not yet been officially served to Pegas. The Pegas, which was renamed Lana in March, had earlier reported an engine problem. It was headed to the southern Peloponnese peninsula to offload its cargo onto another tanker but rough seas forced it to moor just off Karystos where it was seized, according to the Athens News Agency. Environmentally, the planet was on a downward slide well before the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution designating April 22 in 2009 as International Mother Earth Day. The aim of this day is to celebrate the wonders of Mother Earth. The day also is meant to shed light on the issues threatening the health of the worlds ecosystems to ensure their survivability. Unfortunately, says U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, humans have been poor custodians of our fragile planet, which is facing a triple planetary crisis. Climate disruption. Nature and biodiversity loss. Pollution and waste. The triple crisis threatening the well-being and survival of millions of people around the world. The building blocks of happy, healthy livesclean water, fresh air, a stable and predictable climateare in disarray, putting the Sustainable Development Goals in Jeopardy. Ecosystems support all life on Earth. A healthy ecosystem depends on a healthy planet. Yet, scientists warn the planet is losing 4.7 million hectares of forests every year. They estimate around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. And, the warming of the planet, they say, could lead to a climate disaster, rendering the planet uninhabitable. Despite the dire outlook, Guterres says not all is lost. He says there is still hope of saving Earth if nations act together to tackle the problems that are endangering the well-being of the planet. He notes much has been accomplished since the global environmental movement started 50 years ago at a conference in Stockholm, Sweden. He says nations have negotiated agreements which have, among others, succeeded in shrinking the ozone hole. They have expanded protections for wildlife and ecosystems, and have ended the use of leaded fuel, thus preventing millions of premature deaths. But we need to do much more. And much faster. Especially to avert climate catastrophe. We must limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. And we are far off trackAt the same time we must invest rapidly in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable who have contributed least to the crisis. In June, Sweden will host a high-level U.N. meeting to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first U.N. conference on the human environment. Guterres says the gathering of world leaders will be a great moment to address the triple planetary emergency. He says we only have one Mother Earth so everyone must do everything to protect her. Show more Show less This week on Healthy Living, a look at Alopecia or hair loss. Nigerian dermatologist Dr. Zainab Babba Dan Agundi discusses the causes of Alopecia and ways to treat it. Also, an agro-ecological farming bootcamp in the DRC helps communities improve their health and skills in agriculture. Plus, a Cambodian artist challenges prejudices against people with disabilities. These stories and more in this week's program! S2, e146 Honduras extradited former President Juan Orlando Hernandez to the United States on Thursday to face drug trafficking and weapons charges in a dramatic reversal for a leader once touted by U.S. authorities as a key ally in the war on the drugs. Just three months after leaving office, Hernandez boarded an airplane handcuffed with agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration bound for the United States, where he faces charges in the Southern District of New York. He faces a three-count indictment charging drug importation and weapons offenses. In court documents, U.S. prosecutors alleged Hernandez was involved in a "corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of tons of cocaine into the United States." Prosecutors charge that Hernandez received millions of dollars from drug cartels, including from notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. They allege he used the money to finance his political campaigns and engaged in voter fraud in the 2013 and 2017 Honduran presidential elections. Hernandez was arrested at his home in Tegucigalpa in February at the request of U.S. authorities. He was shackled and paraded in front of journalists, a sight many Hondurans never imagined seeing. Honduras' Supreme Court rejected his appeal of a judge's decision in favor of extradition. U.S. prosecutors have accused Hernandez of fueling his political rise with money from drug traffickers. The payments were made in exchange for Honduran authorities allowing them to operate or for information helping them to evade interdiction. Hernandez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In a video message released Thursday, he said, "I am innocent; I have been and I am being unjustly subjected to prosecution." He has said he is the victim of drug traffickers he extradited who are now lying to seek revenge. Henry Osorto Canales, a retired National Police commissioner who is now an analyst, said that while the extradition was an embarrassment for Honduras, it was also a historic day. "This is a start because it has begun with the largest political piece that the country had and logically the rest of the pieces are going to fall, at least those closest (to Hernandez)," Osorto said. U.S. prosecutors have spent years building cases from low-level drug traffickers and local politicians to organized crime bosses who used their political connections and ties to drug trafficking cartels in Colombia and Mexico to move tons of cocaine to the United States. Many of them testified about making payments to Hernandez or one of his brothers, also a politician. Hernandez's brother Tony Hernandez, a former congressman, was sentenced to life in prison in the same U.S. court on essentially the same charges. Juan Orlando Hernandez took office in January 2014 and held the presidency until this January, when Xiomara Castro was sworn in as his replacement. Castro campaigned on rooting out Honduras' corruption and Hernandez was seen as the largest target. On Wednesday, Honduras' Supreme Court denied an appeal from the former chief of the National Police, Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares, better known as "El Tigre" or "The Tiger." He was arrested after Hernandez at the request of U.S. prosecutors on similar charges and is expected to be extradited in the coming weeks. U.S. prosecutors allege Bonilla assisted the movement of tons of cocaine through Honduras, working with Hernandez and his brother Tony Hernandez, both co-conspirators in the case in the Southern District of New York. Hernandez's transport via helicopter under heavy guard from the police base where he was held to the airport Thursday was covered live by local television outlets. Some Hondurans stood outside the airport's perimeter fence to catch a glimpse of the former president boarding the plane with U.S. authorities. When Hernandez's plane took off some were seen jumping in celebration. Thousands of their countrymen emigrated from the country during Hernandez's administration, often shouting "Get out JOH!" using his initials as they walked north. They frequently complained of a lack of job opportunities and gang violence. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 31 people were injured Friday, including 14 who were taken to hospitals, when violence erupted on a Jerusalem compound that is considered sacred to both Jews and Muslims. Officials say after Palestinians began throwing rocks at the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Israeli police intervened with rubber bullets and stun grenades. The Associated Press reports the police were in "full riot gear." The location is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Visits to the site by Jewish groups were halted Friday, as they usually are, for the last 10 days of Ramadan. Jews have been prohibited from praying at the site, but that prohibition has not been upheld in recent years. This year, the Muslim holiday of Ramadan also coincided with the Jewish Passover and several Christian holy days, resulting in thousands of people of different faiths making pilgrimages to the site. A recent uptick in violence in Jerusalem has raised fears of a repeat of last years 11 days of violence between Hammas and Israel. Former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who served as the country's third president has died at the age of 90. His death was announced Friday by his successor, incumbent Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who called him inspirational. "Emilio Mwai Kibaki was a quintessential patriot whose legacy of civil responsibility will continue to inspire generations of Kenyans long into our future," he said. Kibaki's served as president from 2002 to 2013, winning elections against Kenyatta and ending four decades of one-party rule. He came to power promising to fight corruption and transform Kenyas economy. While Kibaki ushered in economic reforms, corruption continued. His disputed re-election in 2007 against Raila Odinga, who accused him of rigging the outcome, led to street clashes and the deaths of more than 1,100 people. But Kibaki was also hailed in 2010 for shaping a new constitution for Kenya and improving social services. Kenyatta also praised the late president for transforming the country. "The late former president's administration conceptualized and spearheaded a transformation in crucial sectors such as education through the globally lauded free primary education program, infrastructure developments in transport and energy and the increasing the availability and the access to health care for his fellow Kenyans," Kenyatta said. At the end of two terms, Kibaki handed power to Kenyatta, who was elected in 2013, and retired from politics. Malawi and Mozambique this week launched a power transmission project to help Malawi meet an increasing demand for electricity. Malawi, one of the poorest nations in Africa, lost 30% of its power generation in January after Tropical Storm Ana destroyed its main power station. The new project is expected to generate 50 megawatts for the country when completed. The Mozambique-Malawi Regional Interconnector Project was launched during a visit to Maputo by Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera. Chakwera said the project was historic because it will establish a reliable power connection not only between the two countries but also across the Southern Africa Development Community, or SADC, a regional economic organization comprising 16 member nations. The power line has the potential to increase trade opportunities, he said, and will also create over 1,000 jobs for Malawians and Mozambicans. Innocent Chitosi, spokesperson for the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi, or ESCOM, said the project would help the corporation meet Malawis growing demand for electricity. "The projected demand is hovering around 550 [megawatts]," Chitosi said. "It keeps on changing of course with time, but we are able to produce on a stable basis around 350 megawatts, so you can see the gap. But also you know that if we have a better source of power, maybe the demand may increase. The $154 million interconnector project is being funded by the World Bank, the European Bank and the German state-owned bank KfW. Power purchases When the transmission line is finished, Malawi is expected buy about 50 megawatts of power from Mozambique about 12 percent of the countrys needs. However, Chitosi said the country could purchase more megawatts if the need arose. "Basically, there shall be no time when we shall say, This is enough," Chitosi said. "You know that the presidents vision is to have 1,000 megawatts by 2025. So, we have now negotiated for an additional 60 megawatts, making it 110. And we have room to request for more power supplies from the Mozambican side. But economic experts feel the project will not be economically viable unless Malawi becomes more industrialized. Betchani Tchereni, a lecturer in economics at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, said, "Our economic activities are limited in such that, yes, we are going to have electricity, but if we are going to use that electricity for consumptive purposes only, then there is no point in going into this. But if we are going to use that electricity for purposes of industrialization and production, then we are good. Tchereni said Malawi should exhaust all means of power generation at its disposal, like solar and wind energy, before it starts buying electricity from Mozambique. Chitosi, however, said the project is just one among many Malawi has undertaken to mitigate the shortage of power. In 2015, Malawis government liberalized the power sector, which was monopolized by the state-run ESCOM power transmission and distribution company, and allowed operations of the independent power suppliers. The target date to complete the new power line is October 2023. A journalist in Myanmar who contributes to news outlets including Voice of America and Frontier Myanmar was formally indicted Thursday by a court in Yangon. Sithu Aung Myint, who was arrested in August 2021 along with freelance journalist Htet Htet Khine, is facing two charges related to content that authorities say was critical of the military. A lawyer, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said the court indicted Sithu Aung Myint on charges of incitement and spreading false news under Section 505a of Myanmar's penal code, and charges of sedition under Section 124a, which penalizes anything deemed to create "contempt or disaffection" toward the military. If convicted, he could face up to three years imprisonment for the first charge and up to 20 years for the second. After the hearing Thursday, the lawyer said that Sithu Aung Myint has been denied access to adequate medical care while in custody. "The weather was hot, and the mosquito bites made it difficult for him to sleep. (He) took medication at the doctor's office because of diarrhea. However, most medicines provided are expired," the lawyer told VOA. Others in custody also lack proper medical care, the lawyer said. In a response sent to VOA after publication, Myanmar's military press team forwarded a comment from the Myanmar Prison Correctional Department that said Sithu Aung Myint had not informed the prison that he was unwell. The department said that the journalist looks fine and that healthcare for all those in custody is handled in accordance with prison rules and regulations. The military has previously denied targeting journalists for their coverage. At the time of his arrest in Bahan Township in Yangon, Sithu Aung Myint was in hiding with Htet Htet Khine, a freelancer who worked for BBC Media Action. They were taken into custody on Aug. 15, 2021. Than Lwin Htun, the head of VOA's Burmese service, said that Sithu Aung Myint's reporting for VOA is fact-based and that he believes the journalist should be released. "It is the responsibility of journalists to report on what is happening, so it is necessary to listen to the people through the media who are reporting correctly," Than Lwin Htun said. Htet Htet Khine, the journalist arrested with Sithu Aung Myint, is facing charges under Myanmar's Illegal Association Act. She is in Insein prison awaiting trial, and the lawyer representing her went into hiding after being harassed by the military. Separately, Soe Yarzar Tun, a freelance journalist released during a prison amnesty in June 2021, is back in custody after being charged under Myanmar's anti-terrorism law. A person familiar with the case, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, told VOA that lawyers for the journalist have not yet been able to get documents relating to his case. The freelancer worked for the Myanmar outlets Mizzima and Myanmar Now. He was first arrested in March 2021 while covering anti-coup protests and was detained for 122 days. Since the February 1 coup, 122 journalists and media workers have been arrested and 48 are still detained, according to Reporting Asean, which tracks arrests. Of those, 22 have been convicted. Accusations of incitement or attempts to denigrate the military are the most common accusations leveled at media. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include a statement provided by Myanmar's military press team. This story originated in VOA's Burmese service. On our recent trip to the big apple, we visited Teranga, a restaurant co-founded by world-famous Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam. With two locations in the city, the restaurant has a menu influenced by West African dishes from countries like Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, and many others. Pope Francis cleared his schedule Friday after knee pain flared up again and required medical checks, the Vatican said. "The pope has slowed down his activities today due to medical checks that were necessary today. That's why the agenda is empty today," spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters. One event canceled was a scheduled meeting with Argentina's foreign minister, Santiago Cafiero. The pain in his right knee kept Francis, 85, from presiding over Ash Wednesday events and also kept him from presiding over some Easter weekend events at Saint Peters Basilica. Francis delivered his Easter Sunday speech while sitting. Overall, the Pope is considered to be in good health, though in 2013 he underwent surgery for an inflamed colon, and he also reportedly suffers from sciatica, which causes lower back and leg pain. Earlier this month, Francis called the knee pain "a little annoying but it's getting better." Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Six people were killed Friday in a blast at a beachside Mogadishu restaurant, which was hosting Somalia's police chief and legislators when the explosion occurred, an ambulance service said. Government officials were unharmed in the blast, which sparked a fire inside the building, sending smoke into the sky as diners scrambled to safety. "There was a blast in the restaurant presumably caused by a suicide bomber, but we are not sure so far [about] ... the cause," said police officer Mohamed Ali. "The police commissioner was inside the restaurant when the blast occurred, but he is safe [as are] several legislators who stayed there," he told AFP. "Six people died and seven others were wounded in the blast," Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, told reporters. Al-shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. "Our special operations unit was responsible for the attack on government top officials including the police chief and apostate lawmakers, the attack has resulted in deaths and injuries among those at the scene in Abdul Aziz district," the group said in a statement published on its Shahada News Agency. The explosion was followed by sporadic gunfire, said Farah Dahir, a diner at a nearby restaurant. "I can see several ambulances rushing [to] the scene now, but it is very difficult to know about what exactly happened. The whole area is sealed off by police now," he told AFP. Mortar attack The explosion came days after a mortar attack targeted Somalia's parliament during a meeting by newly elected lawmakers. No lawmakers were harmed in Monday's assault, which was claimed by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which has been waging an insurgency against the central government for more than a decade. The Horn of Africa nation has seen a spate of attacks in recent weeks as it hobbles through a long-delayed election process to pick a new president. Some parliamentary seats remain unfilled but sufficient lawmakers have been sworn in to move the election process forward, with both houses due to choose a speaker next week. Somalia has not held a one-person, one-vote election in 50 years. Instead, polls follow a complex indirect model, whereby state legislatures and clan delegates pick lawmakers for the national parliament, who in turn choose the president. The election delays have worried Somalia's international backers, who have warned that the chaos distracts from the fight against al-Shabab. The al-Qaeda-linked militants frequently attack civilian, military and government targets in Somalia's capital and outside. The jihadists controlled Mogadishu until 2011, when they were pushed out by an African Union force, but they still hold territory in the countryside. VOA's Somalia service contributed to this report. The editor-in-chief of South Sudans oldest English-language newspaper, the Juba Monitor, has been arrested for allegedly defying a court order to stop publication over alleged malpractice. Anna Namiriano was arrested Tuesday afternoon after not acting on an order issued last week by Jubas Kator High Court to shut down the paper. She reportedly was being held at Jubas central prison. The case involves a dispute between the newspapers management and the family of its late founder, veteran journalist Alfred Taban, who died in April 2019. Tabans family had filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the independent newspapers managers and its publisher, Grand Media Africa, accusing them of mismanaging the papers ownership and resources. The family has sought restrictions on the newspapers activities until the case is resolved. Last week, the Kator High Court suspended the Juba Monitors activities, said Becu Pitia Lagu, an attorney representing the Taban family. Anna deliberately refused to implement the court ruling which was passed on the date 13th of this month asking her to close down the newspapers, cease the activities of the company, Pitia told VOAs South Sudan in Focus. Lazarus Yuggu, an attorney representing Namiriano, said the court never informed his client or the publisher of the shutdown order. He called his clients arrest illegal. There is no reason why the judge issued that order, Yuggu told VOAs South Sudan in Focus. There is no court contempt at all, because all of us were present at the court. I think this company is not actually a foreign company, whereby a judge may suspect [someone] of absconding or running away from the jurisdiction or something of that kind. The parties are present before the judge. Yuggu said the papers management had already paid printing fees for a week in advance, so they continued publishing. They just wanted to print for the one week that has been paid for, the attorney said. Namiriano plans to appeal the court order, Yuggu said. The Juba Monitor was established in Juba roughly a decade ago after Southern Sudan seceded from the rest of Sudan. Iranian intelligence officers arrested three people belonging to a group linked to Israel's Mossad agency and charged with involvement in releasing classified information, state TV reported Thursday. The report said they were arrested in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan but didn't identify them or how they had access to classified information. Iran and Israel have long accused each other of spying and waging shadow wars against each other. Israel views Iran as its greatest threat has repeatedly threatened to take military action against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is seeking such weapons and has vowed a harsh response to any aggression. In January, Israel said it had broken up an Iranian spy ring that recruited Israeli women via social media to photograph sensitive sites, gather intelligence and encourage their sons to join Israeli military intelligence. In July, Iran said it arrested members of an armed group linked to Mossad after they sneaked into Iran across its western border. Iran occasionally announces the detention of people it says are spying for foreign countries, including the United States and Israel. In 2020, Iran executed a man convicted of leaking information to the U.S. and Israel about a prominent Islamic Revolutionary Guard general who was later killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq. Iran does not recognize Israel and supports anti-Israeli armed groups across the region, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. "Is it a possible [scenario for you] to send Russian troops to Ukraine?" Sergei Loiko, a journalist for the Los Angeles Times, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2013 at a press conference. Putin then replied that it was "complete nonsense" and that nothing like this "can be [possible]." Nine years later, Loiko, a Russian citizen, and longtime U.S. resident, decided to join the Ukrainian army after Russia attacked Ukraine. In this film, Loiko meets average Ukrainian citizens armed to defend their country. These people were doctors, teachers, businessmen, actors, etc. Now they dropped their identities and took on the role of a soldier. Director - Anna Nelson, Camera - Vladimir Badikov, Editing - Elena Matusovsky U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Friday there is growing evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, with the majority of violations attributable to Russian forces. The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has been gathering and documenting evidence of hundreds of alleged unlawful killings of civilians in Bucha, and in towns in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy. All of those places were under the control of Russian armed forces in late February and early March. Bachelet said Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas. Her spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, said they killed civilians and wrecked hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes. She said the monitoring mission verified more than 5,260 civilian casualties, including 2,345 killed and 2,919 injured. More than 92 percent of the casualties were recorded in government-controlled territory and the rest in Russian-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. "We know that the actual numbers are going to be much higher as the horrors inflicted in these areas of intense fighting, such as Mariupol, come to light," Shamdasani said. "The scale of summary executions of civilians in areas previously occupied by Russian forces are also emerging. The preservation of evidence and the decent treatment of mortal remains must be ensured, as well as the psychological and other relief for victims and their relatives." Shamdasani said the willful killing of protected people, including summary executions, are gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, and amount to war crimes. The monitoring mission also documented what appears to be the use of cluster munitions by Ukrainian armed forces in the east of the country. Those weapons indiscriminately kill and maim civilians and are banned under international law. Shamdasani said the high commissioner is calling for this senseless war to stop. Since the fighting shows no sign of abating, she said the high commissioner is appealing to the parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights laws. "This means distinguishing between civilian and military objects," Shamdasani said. "It means not targeting or deliberately killing civilians. It means not committing sexual violence. People, including prisoners of war, must not be tortured. Civilians, prisoners, and others hors de combat must be treated humanely." High Commissioner Bachelet called on the parties to the conflict to investigate all breeches of international humanitarian law, and to prosecute and hold perpetrators of crimes accountable. This is in line with their obligations under what are defined as the rules of war. Editor's note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch. U.N. Secretary-General will travel to Moscow to meet Putin, Lavrov U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday and hold meetings and a working lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the U.N. said Friday. The U.N. chief had written to Putin on Tuesday requesting a meeting to discuss the next steps toward peace in Ukraine. He also wrote to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Guterres' representative said his office is in contact with the government in Kyiv about scheduling a visit there as well. No Easter humanitarian pause for Ukraine The secretary-general appealed Tuesday for a four-day humanitarian pause to coincide with Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated in both Ukraine and Russia on April 24. The temporary truce, which Guterres suggested go into effect Thursday, has so far failed to materialize. A horror story of violations against Ukraines civilians U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Friday that her office has detailed a horror story of violations perpetrated against civilians in Ukraine. She said Russias indiscriminate shelling and bombing of populated areas, the killing of civilians and destruction of hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure may amount to war crimes. U.N.s five veto holders may face scrutiny Since the U.N. was created in 1945, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council Britain, China, France, USSR/Russia and the United States have used their veto about 295 times to block measures they did not see as in their national interest. The former Soviet Union, then succeeded by the Russian Federation, has done so most often. Now the war in Ukraine has put the veto dynamic in the spotlight and demonstrated how it can tie the Security Councils hands for action in doing its job namely maintaining international peace and security. On Tuesday, the General Assembly is scheduled to vote on a resolution that would ask a permanent member who casts a veto to come explain to the full membership why they did it. The measure is likely to receive strong support. Yemens Houthi rebels agree to stop recruiting child soldiers The United Nations said Monday that Yemens Houthi rebels have signed an action plan to prevent and end recruiting or using children in armed conflict, killing or maiming children, and attacking schools and hospitals. More than 10,200 children have been killed or injured since the war started in 2015. It is unclear how many have been combatants. 20 million could face severe hunger from drought in Horn of Africa The World Food Program warned Tuesday that as many as 20 million people in drought-affected parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia could face catastrophic levels of hunger if the current rainy season fails for a fourth consecutive year. In brief The United Nations said Wednesday that more than 5 million people have fled Russias war in Ukraine for safety elsewhere. The refugee crisis is the fastest and largest since World War II. Another 7.1 million are internally displaced. Secretary-General Guterres expressed concern Wednesday about the deteriorating security situation in Jerusalem and called for provocations to stop immediately, particularly around the holy sites. Fighting has intensified in recent weeks between Israelis and Palestinians as Christians, Jews and Muslims all observe holy days simultaneously. Palestinians have accused Israeli police of using excessive force against them at holy sites, while Israeli police say the Palestinians have initiated the violence. Quote of note What we are witnessing now is a major disruption to harvest, planting and supply chains for essential foods and materials. What we are witnessing now is the direct and indirect acceleration of hunger for tens of millions of people. Collateral damage of an unwarranted, unwanted war. Irelands U.N. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason on the global impact of Russias war on Ukraine during a U.N. Security Council informal meeting Thursday on the link between conflict and hunger. The United Nations says 139 million people worldwide already experience conflict-induced hunger and warns that 47 million more may go hungry this year as a result of the impact of Russias invasion on rising food, fertilizer and fuel prices and availability. Some good news More than 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have now received one or more doses of the worlds first malaria vaccine through a pilot program coordinated by the World Health Organization. The WHO says the malaria vaccine pilots have shown that the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine is safe and practical to deliver, and that it substantially reduces deadly severe malaria. If the vaccine is widely administered, WHO says it could save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 African children each year. What we are watching next week On April 27, Ukraines foreign minister will address an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council on accountability for crimes committed during Russias war in his country. The Arria format meeting will hear remarks by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan and Ukraines Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova, among others. Did you know? The Knotted Gun sculpture, where Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made his appeal this week for an Easter truce in Ukraine, was created by Swedish sculptor Carl Fredrik Reutersward. The bronze statue depicts an oversized .357 Magnum revolver with its muzzle tied in a knot. The original sculpture was also known as Non-violence and Reutersward created it in tribute to Beatle John Lennon after he was gunned down outside his New York City apartment building in December 1980. The original statute was installed at the U.N. in 1988, and since then 30 replicas have been displayed in various places around the world, according to the Non-Violence Foundations website. You can see it on the plaza inside the U.N. compound near the visitor entrance. Two days into Russia's attack on Ukraine, a majority of U.N. Security Council members voted to demand that Moscow withdraw. One thing stood in their way: a veto by Russia itself. It was the latest in decades of vetoes on issues ranging from the Korean War to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to climate change that at least temporarily stymied the council that was designed to be the U.N.'s most potent component. A round of venting followed over the veto power afforded to just five of its 15 members: China, the United States, Russia, France, and Britain. Each has used that power over the years. Proposals to change the council's structure or rein in vetoes have sputtered for more than half a century. But now, a new approach simply subjecting vetoed matters to scrutiny by the full U.N. membership appears to be gaining traction. Spearheaded by Liechtenstein, the measure has more than 55 co-sponsors, including the U.S. The 193-member General Assembly is due to consider the measure Tuesday. "This is really an important initiative," said Thomas Weiss, a City University of New York Graduate Center political science professor and Chicago Council on Global Affairs distinguished fellow who specializes in U.N. politics. To him, the proposal promotes transparency and challenges the idea that a few powerful countries can tank Security Council initiatives without so much as an explanation. "It does, in important ways, suggest that the veto is not sacrosanct," he said. The proposal wouldn't limit vetoes, but they would trigger public debates in the General Assembly. Whichever country or countries had cast a veto would be invited to say why. The assembly wouldn't have to take or even consider any action. Regardless, the discussion could put veto-wielders on the spot and let a raft of other countries be heard. It aims "to promote the voice of all of us who are not veto-holders, and who are not on the Security Council, on matters of international peace and security because they affect all of us," said Liechtenstein's U.N. ambassador, Christian Wenaweser. From the U.N.'s 1945 start, World War II allies Britain, France, China, the Soviet Union (succeeded by Russia), and the U.S. have been the only countries with permanent seats and veto power in the Security Council. Other members are elected to two-year terms. While the General Assembly got a broad membership and agenda, the council got more power. Its resolutions are legally binding, if sometimes ignored nonetheless, and can entail military action (i.e., assembling peacekeeping forces with troops contributed by various countries.) Vetoes arose quickly. So did frustration. By the end of 1946, the assembly asked the council "to make every effort" not to let vetoes hinder prompt decision-making. By now, more than 200 different Security Council proposals have been vetoed, some by multiple countries, according to U.N. records. The subjects were as sweeping as reporting on weapons stockpiles and as specific as the governance of a part of the Indian Ocean nation Comoros. The Soviet Union/Russia has cast the most vetoes by far, followed by the United States. Fewer still have been cast by Britain, China and France. Countless other ideas were never brought to a vote because of an expected veto. All that has engendered laments that the council's sometime paralysis undermines its legitimacy and public faith in the the U.N. And Russia's invasion of Ukraine has only brought those grievances more into focus. "We are dealing with a state that is turning the veto in the United Nations Security Council into the right to die," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the council via video April 5. Saying the council "simply cannot work effectively," he called on members to remove Russia, reform or "dissolve yourself and work for peace." Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, in turn, bristled that his country had been thwarted in its efforts to hold a separate council meeting on Ukraine the day before. (Current council president Britain said it was just a scheduling disagreement). With the council at an impasse, the no-veto General Assembly has voted to demand that Russia stop the war, to blame Russia for the humanitarian crisis that has ensued, to urge an immediate cease-fire, and to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council. Russia subsequently said it withdrew from the rights group before the vote. Liechtenstein initially planned to introduce its proposal in March 2020 but held off because of the coronavirus pandemic, Wenaweser said. He said the Ukraine stalemate has now built support for the idea. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield cited what she called Russia's "shameful pattern of abusing its veto privilege" when she announced last week that Washington was backing Liechtenstein's proposal. She called it innovative and "a significant step toward the accountability, transparency and responsibility" of countries with veto power. The United States last used it to kill an August 2020 proposal about prosecuting and rehabilitating people involved in terrorism. Washington objected that the measure didn't call for repatriating foreign fighters for the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria. The other veto-wielding countries haven't responded to requests for comment on Liechtenstein's proposal. Wenaweser said Russia had raised objections, centered on views about the General Assembly's proper role in international peace and security issues. Wenaweser said his country is "pragmatic" about the future of veto power, but "we want to help initiate a change in mindset as to the way in which the veto is cast." The World Health Organization said Friday it "strongly recommended" Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid for patients with milder forms of the disease who were still at a high risk of hospitalization. However, the U.N. agency warned it was "extremely concerned" that the inequality in access seen with COVID-19 vaccines would again leave low- and middle-income countries "pushed to the end of the queue." U.S. pharma giant Pfizer's combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir was the "superior choice" of treatment for unvaccinated, elderly or immunocompromised people with COVID-19, the WHO's experts said in the BMJ medical journal. For the same patients, the WHO also made a "conditional (weak) recommendation" of the antiviral drug remdesivir, made by U.S. biotech firm Gilead, that it had previously recommended against. The WHO recommended Paxlovid over remdesivir, as well as over Merck's molnupiravir pill and monoclonal antibodies. Pfizer's oral treatment prevents hospitalization more than the "available alternatives, has fewer concerns with respects to harms than molnupiravir, and is easier to administer than intravenous remdesivir and antibodies," the WHO's experts said. The new recommendation was based on the findings of two trials involving almost 3,100 patients which showed that Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospital admission by 85%. The trials also "suggested no important difference in mortality" and "little or no risk of adverse effects leading to drug discontinuation. The recommendation applies to people over the age of 18, but not to pregnant or breastfeeding women. It also does not apply to patients with a low risk of complications from the disease, because the benefit would be minimal. The WHO's experts also declined to give an opinion for patients with severe forms of the disease, due to a lack of data. The WHO stressed the limitations of such antiviral treatments. "The medicine can only be administered while the disease is at its early stages," they said. This means the patients must quickly test positive and be prescribed the pill by a doctor - all of which can pose obstacles for low- and middle-income countries, the WHO said. Yet COVID-19 pills have been seen as a potentially huge step in ending the pandemic as they can be taken at home, rather than in hospital. Patients must start taking their Paxlovid pills within five days of the onset of symptoms - the course then lasts five days. Remdesivir can be taken within seven days of symptoms setting in, but it is administered intravenously over three days. The WHO called on Pfizer to "make its pricing and deals more transparent" for Paxlovid. Lisa Hedman, the WHO's senior adviser on access to medicines, said that radio station NPR reported a full course of Paxlovid costs $530 in the United States. Another source unconfirmed by WHO gave the price of $250 in an upper-middle-income country. Remdesivir meanwhile costs $520, Hedman said, but generic versions made by companies in India sell for $53-$64. There is also a question mark over whether the virus could build resistance to these treatments. But earlier this month Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted a bright future for treatments like Paxlovid as people grow tired of getting further booster vaccinations. Coming under fire for prioritizing wealthy countries with its vaccine, Pfizer has agreed to allow some generic drugmakers around the world to make cheaper versions of Paxlovid under a U.N.-backed scheme. But on Friday the WHO "strongly recommended" that Pfizer let more generic manufacturers produce the drug and "make it available faster at affordable prices." Under former Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong, local leaders who feared being branded as rightists falsified reports of grain production. In a paper on Chinas turbulence in the early 1960s, American researcher Clayton Brown wrote in 2012 that ranking party members seldom questioned political figures, either out of fear or ignorance. That cycle may be repeating itself now, some economists warn, as China reports solid economic growth and industrial production figures, despite widespread COVID-19 lockdowns compounded by property market shocks and a tech sector crackdown in 2021. I think its a lot of weak reporting and politically motivated numbers from lower levels that the higher levels dont know what to do about or dont want to know, said Adam McCarty, chief economist at Mekong Economics in Hanoi. That remains a problem for China. The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics reported 4.8% year-on-year GDP growth in the January-March quarter of 2022. Industrial production expanded 6.5% in the same period compared to the first quarter of 2021, the bureau said this month. Questions about economic data remained muted before the COVID-19 outbreak, as Chinas expanding middle class and its boom in export manufacturing backed up the figures. But todays headline data are rekindling doubt because of the $18.1 trillion economys list of problems. Now, with the latest GDP numbers, which seem very high, you have a chorus of economists outside China who are starting to say, This doesnt seem right. The numbers dont add up, and who are indeed questioning the reliability of the statistics, said Dexter Roberts, U.S.-based senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Asia Security Initiative and author of The Myth of Chinese Capitalism. Authorities in Shanghai have kept millions of people at home this month to stop the spread of COVID-19, impacting supply chains, factory production and shipping from the worlds largest seaport. Chinese regulators had cracked down in late 2021 against tech icons such as Alibaba to stop what they called abuse of user data and monopolistic business practices. In the property market, debt defaults have followed developers from last year into 2022, investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a March research note. Grain output data passed up to Maos government gave an impression of success for the leaders Great Leap Forward economic growth campaign, despite what later became known as a major famine, wrote Brown, an Asian-specialized assistant history professor at Utah State University. Maos party remains in charge of China today. China has a long history of opaqueness when it comes to reporting economic statistics, the Heritage Foundation research group said in a 2020 commentary. Todays Communist Party is chasing a strong GDP because it has staked its legitimacy on successful handling of the pandemic, Roberts said. Examining more granular data Traders, investors and others trying to grasp Chinas economic reality use more granular data, said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia-Pacific economist at French investment bank Natixis. Monthly figures on trade, manufacturing, everyday consumption and joblessness say more than quarterly production or GDP figures, she said. You could say that high-frequency data shows a much worse picture, especially consumption, than GDP data. And thats a fact, she said. Imports fell last month, and export growth slowed. The domestic Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI, a measure of confidence in factory production, hit a 25-month low in March. China is the worlds biggest manufacturing base. Home sales, retail transactions and joblessness all worsened in March. But for the full quarter, trade in goods rose 10.7% year on year, and retail sales of consumer goods increased 3.3% compared to the first quarter of 2021. The quarter covers two months before lockdowns touched financial hub Shanghai and tech metropolis Shenzhen. Some figures may be made up, some cannot, such as export-import figures, said Darson Chiu, deputy macroeconomic forecasting director at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. Otherwise, they wont add up when comparing with figures of other nations. Some figures contradict each other, Roberts said. Cement and steel output weakened in the first quarter, he said, while fixed-asset investment the amount spent on construction, land, infrastructure and equipment grew 9.3% over the same period. Some parts of the economy are struggling, but its fundamentally hanging together, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA. Due to the pandemic and other factors, several sectors in China have come under some pressure to maintain steady investment growth in the past two months, Liu said. However, as China's efforts to support the development of the real economy continue to intensify, industrial investment tends to keep growing. China remains strong structurally behind the COVID-19 crisis, economists believe. Its a leading world market that remains attractive to Western brands despite growing barriers to entry, McCarty said. The embassy spokesperson said foreign companies have cast a vote of confidence in the countrys economic future. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA South Africa has recorded a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, the highest rate in three months, raising concerns about a possible larger surge in the disease. South Africa's National Health Department reported 4,406 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period ending Thursday. The number represents a considerable jump from the 2,846 cases reported the day before, and the previous seven-day average of 1,549. Adrian Puren, executive director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of South Africa, confirmed omicron as the dominant COVID-19 variant in the country and said no new variant of concern has been reported. He said South Africa is not experiencing a new wave of COVID-19, noting that hospitalizations remain low. "And as you know, hospitalizations, in other words severe cases, dramatic cases that end up in hospital, either in high care or ICU, I think will be the more appropriate proxy if you like, or indicator, that we have actually reached the fifth resurgence," Puren said. When asked how the pandemic is affecting South Africa compared with other countries, he noted that omicron caused high caseloads in Britain and the United States. "We're obviously experiencing differences" compared with those countries, "but that's not to say that our next resurgence won't resemble that," Puren said. "And I think that's the concern that we need to really be prepared." He said even though South Africa plans to do away next month with the National State of Disaster restrictions adopted in the wake of COVID-19, other measures will be put in place. Those have been subject to public comment. "So I think we'll probably see a mixture of the things we had in place. So, for example, getting ventilation right. You know, I don't think people are focused a lot on that. But I think that's an area, especially for indoor events, offices, restaurants and so forth, that's absolutely critical," Puren said. The main opposition party's shadow minister for health, Michelle Clarke, said she would be asking parliament's Health Committee to analyze the rise in numbers when it meets Friday. "It's expected during this time to start seeing the resurgence because you're moving into the colder winter months. People are huddling more," she said. "So you would see a spread of COVID happening because the environment changes. But if you look at the data that's been produced within the clusters like, for example, old-age homes, schools, et cetera, it's definitely not showing that resurgence in those clusters as yet." She added that while the party is happy for the sake of the economy that the National State of Disaster restrictions are ending, there had already been 170,000 objections to the new proposed restrictions. Those include unhappiness over the continued 50 percent capacity in venues like restaurants. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol liberated, after nearly two months of fighting, even though Russian forces have not been able to penetrate the citys massive Azovstal steel plant that remains in the hands of Ukrainian fighters and civilians. Rather than storming the plant, Putin has instead ordered a blockade of the facility, sealing it off "so that not even a fly comes through," a tactic observers believe will save Russian soldiers' lives and possibly starve out the fighters and civilians inside the plant. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say evidence of mass graves outside Mariupol has emerged. Photographs from Maxar Technologies, a U.S. satellite imagery company, appear to show images of at least 200 new graves in the town of Manhush. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the World Bank Thursday that his country needs as much as $7 billion a month in support and will need hundreds of billions to recover from Russias invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden authorized another $800 million in U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on Thursday, declaring it was necessary to help Kyivs forces repel Russian fighters in the critical battles unfolding in the eastern region of the country. "This package includes heavy artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition, Biden said in a short White House speech. He said the new arms shipment was particularly aimed at helping Ukraines forces fight in the Donbas region, which is flatter, more open terrain than where earlier fighting had occurred to the west. Biden said the new assistance, on top of another $800 million package announced last week, "almost exhausts congressional authorization for U.S. military aid to Ukraine. But the president said he would soon ask Congress for even more money for Ukraines forces. Biden said the United States and its Western allies remain united in their resolve to assist Ukraine in fighting back against Russian President Vladimir Putins eight-week invasion. The most important thing is holding the world together against Russia, Biden said. So far, so good. Biden vowed that Putin will never succeed in occupying all of Ukraine. Putin has failed to achieve his grand ambitions on the battlefield. Kyiv still stands, the president said. New refugee aid In other war-related actions, Biden said he was sending $500 million to Ukraine in new economic aid, streamlining a humanitarian refugee effort to allow Ukrainians escaping the ravages of war in their homeland to move more quickly to the United States if they want and banning all Russian ships from docking at U.S. ports. Earlier Thursday, Putin ordered his forces not to storm a steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol where the last remaining Ukrainian forces have been holed up in the port on the north coast of the Sea of Azov. In a televised meeting, Putin told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that Russian forces should blockade the plant so that a fly cannot not pass through, and that going forward with a plan to storm the site would unnecessarily risk Russian troops. Shoigu told Putin that there were 2,000 Ukrainian troops at the Azovstal plant, but that the rest of Mariupol, a key port city, had been liberated. Biden claimed, There is no evidence Mariupol has fallen, but weeks of Russian bombing has all but flattened much of the city. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk demanded Russia allow for the evacuation of civilians and wounded soldiers from the plant through a humanitarian corridor. "There are about 1,000 civilians and 500 wounded soldiers there. They all need to be pulled out of Azovstal today," Vereshchuk said in an online post Thursday. Vereshchuk also said four buses were able to evacuate civilians from Mariupol on Wednesday. More than 100,000 Ukrainians are believed to be trapped in Mariupol, where 400,000 people lived before Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24. "The conditions there are truly horrific," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday at a diplomatic conference in Panama. He underscored that attempted humanitarian corridors to allow Mariupol residents to escape "have fallen apart very quickly." The fight over Mariupol is part of a broader Russian offensive in the strategically important Donbas region, where Moscow has been boosting its military presence. Moscows current objective is to broaden its control in the east and south. Ideally, they would like to grab Kharkiv and Odesa, John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Councils Eurasia Center and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told VOA. But those are tall orders. They may have to settle for Mariupol. On March 25, following losses in northern Ukraine, Moscow announced a major shift in strategy and removed forces from the north, including the suburbs of the capital, Kyiv, to consolidate military gains in the Donbas and establish a land bridge to the Crimea Peninsula, which it seized in 2014. Analysts say if Russian forces gain complete control of the Donbas, their diplomats will hold a stronger hand in peace negotiations and be in a better position to demand autonomy for the region. But even if (Putin) makes large gains in the east and south and accepts a settlement that gives him control of his new conquests, that does not mean that he will be satisfied, Herbst said. U.S. Defense Department analysts say the battle for the Donbas region, where fighting has been ongoing since Moscows annexation of Crimea in 2014, could last for months more. The United States slapped new sanctions Wednesday on dozens more individuals and entities accused of evading ongoing financial penalties imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. The Department of Treasury sanctions Transkapitalbank a key Russian commercial bank that has offered services to banks globally to evade international sanctions, and more than 40 individuals and entities that are part of a Russian sanctions-evasion network led by Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. Psaki said Washington also has imposed sanctions on companies in Russia's virtual currency mining industry and applied visa restrictions on more than 600 individuals in response to human rights abuses by Russia and Belarus. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. Moscow intends to seize all of southern and eastern Ukraine, a Russian general said Friday, suggesting a far more extensive offensive than Russia had previously acknowledged. Meanwhile, the U.N. secretary- general announced plans to visit Moscow next week. Ukraine said the comments by Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia's central military district, showed Russia's previous claims that it had no territorial ambitions were not true. "They stopped hiding it," Ukraine's defense ministry said on Twitter, adding that Russia had "acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is." Russian state news agencies quoted Minnekayev as saying that Moscow wanted to seize the entire eastern Donbas region, provide a land corridor to link up with the Crimean Peninsula, and capture Ukraine's entire south as far west as a breakaway, Russian-occupied region of Moldova. That would mean carrying the offensive hundreds of miles past the current lines. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said Russia had no intention of permanently occupying Ukranian cities. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, a move that was widely condemned by the international community. UN leader's visit The U.N. announced Friday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would meet Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. Hell also hold meetings and have a working lunch with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The U.N. chief wrote to Putin on Tuesday requesting a meeting to discuss the next steps toward peace in Ukraine. He also wrote to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Guterres' spokesperson said his office was in contact with the government in Kyiv about scheduling a visit there as well. Guterres also appealed this week for a four-day humanitarian pause to coincide with Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated in Ukraine and Russia. So far, those efforts have failed. At a Friday press conference in Moscow, Lavrov said talks to end the fighting in Ukraine were at a standstill because Kyiv had not responded to Moscow's latest proposals. "Another proposal we passed on to Ukrainian negotiators about five days ago, which was drawn up with their comments taken into account, it remains without a response, Russia's top diplomat said. However, Russias lead negotiator at the talks with Ukraine, Putin aide Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed that he'd engaged in several lengthy conversations with the head of the Ukrainian delegation on Friday, The Associated Press reported. Alleged war crimes In Geneva, the U.N. human rights office said there was growing evidence that Russia had committed war crimes in Ukraine. "Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes," said Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. The U.N. said it appeared that Ukraine had also used weapons with indiscriminate effects. Meanwhile, Putin has declared the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol liberated after nearly two months of fighting, even though Russian forces have not been able to penetrate the citys massive Azovstal steel plant that remains in the hands of Ukrainian fighters and civilians. Rather than storming the plant, Putin has ordered a blockade of the facility, sealing it off "so that not even a fly comes through." Observers believe the tactic is intended to save Russian soldiers lives and possibly starve out the fighters and civilians inside the plant. More aid U.S. President Joe Biden said, There is no evidence Mariupol has fallen, but weeks of Russian bombing have flattened much of the city. More than 100,000 Ukrainians are believed to be trapped in Mariupol, where 400,000 people lived before Russia invaded the country on February 24. Zelenskyy said Russian forces controlled most of Mariupol but that Ukrainian troops did remain in part of the city. Ukrainian officials said evidence of mass graves outside Mariupol had emerged. Photographs from Maxar Technologies, a U.S. satellite imagery company, appear to show images of at least 200 new graves in the town of Manhush. Zelenskyy told the World Bank on Thursday that his country needed as much as $7 billion a month in support and would need hundreds of billions to recover from Russias invasion. Biden authorized another $800 million in U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on Thursday, declaring it was necessary to help Kyivs forces repel Russian fighters in the critical battles unfolding in the eastern region of the country. VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters. Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government, Your Excellencies Heads of International Organizations, Your Excellencies Members of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, It gives me great pleasure to once again join friends old and new online for the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. I want to begin by extending, on behalf of the Chinese government and people and also in my own name, hearty welcome to all participating guests and warm congratulations on the convening of the Annual Conference. Right now, changes of the world, of our times and of history are unfolding in ways like never before. These changes are posing challenges that must be taken seriously by humanity. We have yet to walk from the shadow of a once-in-a-century pandemic, but new traditional security risks are already emerging. The weak and faltering global economic recovery is compounded by a widening development gap. While governance deficit in areas like climate change has hardly been addressed, new issues such as digital governance are also vying for attention. Viewed in such a context, the theme of this years Annual Conference "The World in COVID-19 & Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future" cannot be more relevant. As an ancient Chinese adage goes, "One must not change his commitment or give up his pursuit even in the face of danger and risk." A review of human history teaches us that the more difficult things get, the greater the need grows to stay confident. Problems are not to be afraid of, as it is one problem after another that have driven the progress of human society. No difficulties could ever stop the wheel of history. Faced with the many challenges, we must not lose confidence, hesitate or flinch. Instead, we must firm up confidence and press ahead against all odds. Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, For us to break through the mist and embrace a bright future, the biggest strength comes from cooperation and the most effective way is through solidarity. Over the past two years and more, the international community has been working extremely hard to respond to the COVID-19 challenge and boost global recovery and development. The hardships and challenges are yet another reminder that humanity is a community with a shared future where all people rise and fall together, and that all countries need to follow the trend of the times featuring peace, development and win-win cooperation, move in the direction of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and rise to challenges and build a bright future through cooperation. We need to work together to defend peoples lives and health. Safety and health are the prerequisite for human development and progress. For humanity to clinch a final victory against the COVID-19 pandemic, more hard efforts are needed. It is essential that countries support each other, better coordinate response measures and improve global public health governance, so as to form strong international synergy against the pandemic. We must keep COVID vaccines a global public good and ensure their accessibility and affordability in developing countries. China has provided over 2.1 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations. Be it in delivering vaccines abroad or producing them overseas, China has honored its commitments with concrete actions. China will follow through the pledged donation of 600 million and 150 million doses of vaccines to Africa and ASEAN countries respectively, as part of our effort to close the immunization gap. We need to work together to promote economic recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously eroded the gains the world has made in poverty reduction over the past decade. Uneven recovery is aggravating inequality across the world, further widening the North-South divide. We should stay committed to building an open world economy, stay on top of the dominant trend of economic globalization, increase macro policy coordination, turn to science and technology for more growth drivers, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and prevent serious negative spillovers from policy adjustments in some countries, all in an effort to promote balanced, coordinated and inclusive global development. We should follow a people-centered approach, place development and peoples well-being high on the agenda and, when policies are implemented, measures adopted and actions taken, always give top priority to bettering peoples lives. We should pay due attention to the pressing needs of developing countries and advance practical cooperation in such key areas as poverty reduction, food security, development financing and industrialization, in a bid to address uneven and inadequate development. The Global Development Initiative (GDI) I proposed last year has been echoed and supported by the United Nations and other international organizations and nearly 100 countries. China is working with the international community on the solid implementation of the GDI. We need to work together to maintain peace and stability in the world. An ancient Chinese philosopher observed, "Stability brings a country prosperity while instability leads a country to poverty." Security is the precondition for development. We humanity are living in an indivisible security community. It has been proven time and again that the Cold War mentality would only wreck the global peace framework, that hegemonism and power politics would only endanger world peace, and that bloc confrontation would only exacerbate security challenges in the 21st century. To promote security for all in the world, China would like to propose a Global Security Initiative as follows: It is important that we stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security; stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold non-interference in internal affairs, and respect the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries; stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, reject the Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism, and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation; stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the pursuit of ones own security at the cost of others security; stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction; stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, and work together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity. We need to work together to tackle global governance challenges. Countries around the world are like passengers aboard the same ship who share the same destiny. For the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future, all passengers must pull together. The thought of throwing anyone overboard is simply not acceptable. In this day and age, the international community has evolved so much that it has become a sophisticated and integrated apparatus. Acts to remove any single part will cause serious problems to its operation. When that happens, both the victims and the initiators of such acts will stand to lose. In todays world, unilateralism and excessive pursuit of self-interest are doomed to fail; so are the practices of decoupling, supply disruption and maximum pressure; so are the attempts to forge "small circles" or to stoke conflict and confrontation along ideological lines. Instead, we need to embrace a global governance philosophy that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, promote the common values of humanity, and advocate exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. We need to uphold true multilateralism, and firmly safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law. It is particularly important for major countries to lead by example in honoring equality, cooperation, good faith and the rule of law, and act in a way befitting their status. Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, Having been through hot and cold wars, hardships and tribulations, people in Asia deeply cherish the value of peace and understand that development gains do not come easily. Over the past decades, Asia has enjoyed overall stability and sustained rapid growth, making possible the Asian Miracle. When Asia fares well, the whole world benefits. Therefore, we need to continue developing and strengthening Asia, demonstrate Asias resilience, wisdom and strength, and make Asia an anchor for world peace, a powerhouse for global growth and a new pacesetter for international cooperation. First, we should resolutely safeguard peace in Asia. Peace and stability in our region does not fall into our lap automatically or come as charity from any country. Rather, it is the result of the joint efforts of countries in the region. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit, first advocated by Asia, are all the more relevant today. We should honor such principles as mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence, follow a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship, and make sure that we always keep our future in our own hands. Second, we should vigorously advance Asian cooperation. Many Asian proverbs describe the value of solidarity and cooperation, such as "climb the hill together and go down the ravine together" and "sugarcane and lemongrass grow in dense clumps". Win-win cooperation is a sure path to Asian development. The entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the opening to traffic of the China-Laos railway have effectively boosted institutional and physical connectivity in our region. We should seize these opportunities to foster a more open Asia-wide market and make new strides in mutually beneficial cooperation. Third, we should jointly promote Asian unity. Choosing dialogue and cooperation over zero-sum games, openness and inclusiveness over a closed-door and exclusive approach, and exchanges and mutual learning over a sense of superiority: this is the only choice worthy of the broad-mindedness of Asians. We should cement ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture, and uphold a regional order that balances the aspirations and accommodates the interests of all parties. Countries, no matter their size and strength, and both in and outside the region, should all add splendor rather than trouble to Asia. All should follow the path of peace and development, seek win-win cooperation, and contribute to an Asian family of unity and progress together. Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, Two months ago, China presented to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, bringing warmth and hope to people across the globe. In the second half of this year, we will convene the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which will draw the blueprint for Chinas future development. The fundamentals of the Chinese economy - its strong resilience, enormous potential, vast room for maneuver and long-term sustainability - remain unchanged. They will provide great dynamism for the stability and recovery of the world economy and broader market opportunities for all countries. China will fully apply its new development philosophy, accelerate the establishment of a new development paradigm, and redouble efforts for high-quality development. No matter how the world will change, Chinas faith in and its commitment to reform and opening-up will not waver. China will expand high-standard opening-up, fully implement the negative list for foreign investment, expand the encouraged catalogue for FDI, improve services for investment promotion, and add more cities to the comprehensive pilot program for service sector opening. China will take solid steps to develop its pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port, align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and move ahead with institutional opening-up. China will implement the RCEP in full, seek the conclusion of high-standard FTAs with more countries and regions, and actively work for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). China will press ahead with high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to make it high-standard, sustainable and people-centered. China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, and always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, Let me conclude with an old Chinese saying, "Keep walking and one will not be daunted by a thousand miles; make constant efforts and one will not be intimidated by a thousand tasks." As long as we join hands and never slacken in efforts, we will build great synergy through win-win cooperation, overcome the various challenges along the way, and usher in a brighter and better future for humanity. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting a little bit. I had the honor of spending some time with the Ukrainian Prime Minister, whos in town today. And he is meeting with some of my Cabinet members, including the Secretary of Treasury and others. And we had a a good discussion. I talked about what Im about to tell you about today, as well as he was thanking the American people for their support, understands its significant, and was we talked about keeping everyone together, in terms of Europe, the European Union, and others, in the effort to stop Putins brutality. But before I head out to the West Coast, I want to quickly update the American people on the latest steps were taking to support the people of Ukraine and to hold Putin accountable for his brutal and bloody war. Russian forces have retreated from Kyiv, leaving behind them a horrifying evidence. And youve seen it and you reported it your folks. And, by the way, I I dont say this often, but I think we should give enormous credit to the folks in your agencies that are on the ground in Ukraine, in these spots. And theyre theyre really Ive spoken to several of them. Its a we owe them. But uncovering these evidences of their atrocities and war crimes against the Ukrainian people its so clear to the whole world now. Now theyve launched and refocused their campaign to seize new territory in eastern Ukraine. And were in a critical window now of time where that theyre going to set the stage for the next phase of this war. And the United States and our Allies and partners are moving as fast as possible to continue to provide Ukraine the forces that they need the weapons they need excuse me and the equipment they need their forces need to defend their nation. Last week, I signed an $800 million package of security assistance to Ukraine that included new capabilities like artillery systems and armored personnel carriers equipment that is responsive to Ukraines needs and tailored to support the intensified fighting in the Donbas region, which is a different war than in other places because both topographically its different. Its flat, its not in the mountains, and it requires different kinds of weapons to be more effective. Today, Im announcing another $800 million to further augment Ukraines ability to fight in the east in the Donbas region. This package includes heavy artillery weapons dozens of Howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition to go with those Howitzers. It also includes more tactical drones. In the past two months, weve moved weapons and equipment to Ukraine at record speed. Weve sent thousands of anti-armor and anti-[air] missile[s], helicopters, drones, grenade launchers, machine guns, rifles, radar systems. More than 50 million rounds of ammunition had already been sent. The United States alone has provided 10 anti-armor systems for every one Russian tank thats in Ukraine a 10 to 1 ratio. Were sharing and will continue to share significant, timely intelligence with Ukraine to help defend them against Russian aggression. And on top of this, these direct contributions from the United States, were facilitating; were the outfit facilitating the significant flow of weapons and systems to Ukraine from other Allies and partners around the world, like the S-300 long-range, anti-aircraft systems that Slovakia recently transferred to Ukraine. We are getting them in there. We wont always be able to advertise everything we that our partners are doing to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom. But to modernize Teddy Roosevelts famous advice: Sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large Javelin. Because were sending a lot of those in as well. You know, but were not were not sitting on the funding that Congress has provided for Ukraine. Were sending it directly to the frontlines of freedom, to the fearless and skilled Ukrainian fighters who are standing in the breach. You got to admit, you have must be amazed at the courage of this country, the resolve that theyre showing, not just the milit- their military, but the average citizen: men and women, young young men, young women as well. Its you know, the sustained and coordinated support of the international community, led and facilitated by the United States, has a is a significant reason why Ukraine is able to stop Russia from taking over their country thus far. Every American taxpayer, every member of our Armed Forces can be proud of the fact that our countrys generosity and the skill and service of our military helped arm and repel Russias aggression in Ukraine, to beat back Putins savagery that tried to seize Ukraines capital and wipe out Ukraines government. The Battle of Kyiv was a historic victory for the Ukrainians. It was a victory for freedom, won by the Ukrainian people with unprecedented assistance by the United States and our Allies and our partners. Now now we have to accelerate that assistance package to help prepare Ukraine for Russias offensive thats going to be more limited in terms of geography, but not in terms of brutality not in terms of brutality. Combined with our recent drawdowns, it will ensure a steady flow of weapons and equipment into Ukraine over the next few weeks. However, with this latest disbursement, Ive almost exhausted the drawdown authority I have that Congress authorized for Ukraine in a bipartisan spending bill last month. In order to sustain Ukraine for the duration of this fight, next week Im going to have to be sending to Congress a supplemental budget request to keep weapons and ammunition flowing without interruption to the brave Ukrainian fighters and to continue to deliver economic assistance to the Ukrainian people. Hope and my hope is and my expectation is Congress would move and act quickly. And I want to thank the Congress Democrats and Republicans for their support for the people of Ukraine. Our unity at home, our unity with our Allies and partners, and our unity with the Ukrainian people is sending an unmistakable message to Putin: He will never succeed in dominating and occupying all of Ukraine. He will not that will not happen. In addition to bolstering Ukraines resistance on the battlefield, were also demonstrating our support for the people of Ukraine. Today, the United States is announcing that we intend to provide an additional $500 million in direct economic assistance to the Ukrainian government. This brings our total economic support for Ukraine to $1 billion in the past two months. This is money the government can help use to help stabilize their economy, to support communities that have been devastated by the Russian onslaught, and pay the brave workers that continue to provide essential services to the people of Ukraine. You know, these past weeks have seen a terrible human cost of Putins ambition for conquest and control. Approximately two thirds two thirds of all Ukrainian children have been displaced from their homes. More than 5 million Ukrainians have fled their country. Its an absolute outrage. The idea this is happening approaching the second quarter of the 21st century is just (sighs). Last month, when I was in Europe, I announced that the United States would welcome 100,000 Ukrainians so that we share in the responsibility of supporting Ukrainians fleeing Putins war machine. Weve already welcomed tens of thousands of Ukrainians to the United States. And today, Im announcing a program, Unite for Ukraine a new program to enable Ukrainians seeking refuge to come directly from Europe to the United States. This new humanitarian parole program will complement the existing legal pathways available to Ukrainians, including immigrant visas and refugee processing. It will provide an expedient channel for secure, legal migration from Europe to the United States for Ukrainians who have a U.S. sponsor, such as a family or an NGO. This program will be fast. It will be streamlined. And it will ensure the United States honors its commitment to go to the Ukrainian people and need not go through our southern border. Were also continuing to ratchet up the pressure on Putin and further isolate Russia on the world stage. Yesterday, the Treasury Department rolled out additional measures to crack down on the entities and individuals attempting to evade our unprecedented sanctions not just ours, but throughout the West. Today, Im announcing that the United States will ban Russian-affiliated ships from our ports, as they did in Europe. That means no ship no ship that sails under the Russian flag or that is owned or operated by Russian interests will be allowed to dock in a United States port or access our shores. None. None. This is yet another critical step were taking in concert with our partners in the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada and further to deny Russia the benefits of the international economic system that they so enjoyed in the past. We dont know how long this war will last. But as we approach the two-month mark, heres what we do know: Putin has failed to achieve his grand ambitions on the battlefield. After weeks of shelling Kyiv, Kyiv still stands. President Zelenskyy and his democratically elected government still remain in power. And the Ukrainian armed forces, joined by many brave Ukrainian civilians, have thwarted Russias conquest of their country. They have been bolstered from day one by an unstinting supply of weapons, ammunition, armor, intelligence from the nations of the free world led by us, the United States. As Russia continues to grind out the military advances and their military advances and the brutalities against Ukraine, Putin is banking on us losing interest. Thats been my view; youve heard me say this from the beginning. He was counting on NATO, the European Union, our allies in Asia cracking, moving away. Hes betting on Western unity will crack. Hes still betting on that. And, once again, were going to prove him wrong. We will not lessen our resolve. Were going to continue to stand with the brave and proud people of Ukraine. We will never fail in our determination to defend freedom and oppose tyranny. Its as simple as that. So, again, I want to thank the American people thank the American people for their support of the Ukrainian people. This is our this is our responsibility, it seems to me, and weve been able to hold the whole world together in this effort. So, thank you very much. Thank you. The articles on Voltaire Network may be freely reproduced provided the source is cited, their integrity is respected and they are not used for commercial purposes (license CC BY-NC-ND). Source: France to stop training diplomats, Voltaire Network, 22 April 2022, www.voltairenet.org/article216609.html In his opening speech at the 2022 Boao Forum for Asia annual conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a Global Security Initiative to stop the Second Cold War submerging the world. Before an audience of Asian personalities, he stressed that the main problem is not the situation in Ukraine, but the unipolar architecture of the world. He therefore made a plea for a new organization of international relations based on mutual respect as enshrined in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru of India and Zhou Enlai of the Peoples Republic of China in 1952-54, which feature in the preamble to the Chinese Constitution) and the Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference of 1955). Drawing on an ancient Chinese philosopher, he remarked that Stability brings a country prosperity while instability leads a country to poverty. He then underlined that they must together strive to preserve peace in Asia and strengthen their solidarity around the 2020 Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership. Finally, referring to the win-win principle of the ancient Chinese emperors, the Chinese president invited the participants to develop the political unity of the Asian continent while respecting the diversity of all its nations. As well, he encouraged ASEAN nations, of which China is not a part, to strengthen their political unity and protect their neutrality. Photo: Laurent Vu/SIPA/Shutterstock In February 2022, Lindsay Lohan gave the world Seasonal Mandela Affective Disorder when she posted her first TikTok. Hi everyone, its Lindsay Lohan, she says, and guess what? Im on TikTok. What she should have said is Guess what? Everything you know to be true is not so, because in that above statement, she pronounces her last name like Lowen, as in, rhymes with Bowen. Not Lo-han, as in, famous celebrity who weve all known for decades, Lindsay Lohan. Apparently, the masses had been pronouncing her name wrong this whole time, like when a professor gets your name wrong in the first week of freshman year and by the end of undergrad its too late to correct them and you just sort of rolled with it for four years, only on a scale of the entire world. Apparently, for some, this was already known (rhymes with Lohan) information. A production memo from the 2004 set of Herbie Fully Loaded instructs crew to pronounce her surname Lo-en like Coen. Found this memo (with my production logo) from Herbie Fully Loaded instructing us how to pronounce Lindsay Lohan's name. #GraphicDesigner pic.twitter.com/Y6CJkSNrhq Clint Schultz (@csdesign72) January 8, 2018 But on April 21, Lohan posted a preview for her upcoming podcast, The Loh Down, because every celebrity is now required by California State law to have their own podcast. She starts the preview, Hello, world. Its me, Lindsay Lohan, with a hard h. Lohan. Lo. Han. So which is the truth? We understand that language is malleable and pronunciation is contextual; maybe Lohan just relented after her TikTok made people blog histrionically. Or maybe shes messing with us. We dont know what to believe anymore and we bet you dont either, so weve compiled a list of 25 possible ways to address Lindsay Lohan if you ever meet her. One of them will probably take. Lynn-Z-Low-Han Lind-Sea-Low-Han Lindsay Low-Hawn Lindsay Lowen Lindsay Loan Lindsay Law-Han Lindsay Lawn Lindsay LeHahn Lynns A. Lohan Lindsay Logged-On Lin De Lorean Llindsay Llohan Lindy Lohan Lizzie Lohan Lindsay Log-Hands (in this scenario she has logs for hands) Lowes Listicle Longform Linsky Lohan Willy Loman Laura Linney Lucy Lawless Lori Loughlin The Lincoln Lawyer Logan Lucky The Wickedly Talented Linelle Lazeem Nicolas Cage has noodles on his plate and a song in his heart. The quadruple threat (man, myth, legend, crooner) was on The Late Late Show With James Corden April 22 to promote his new film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and Corden was grilling him on the usual stuff, like the highs and lows of parenting a talking crow. Corden brings up how Cage met his wife, Riko Shibata, in Japan and asks if Cage knows much Japanese. The only thing I can really do, Cage answers, is sometimes I go to a nice Japanese restaurant in Nevada called Osaka. And Ill sing a little song to the chef at the sushi bar. I know she likes udon, and I know she likes oden, those are two Japanese soups. Then, he sings a beautiful ditty: Udon, oden, oden, udon, shiawase, shiawase. That last part, he explains, means happy, happy. And then she brings us udon and oden, and were happy, happy! Corden makes him sing it two more times, and we, too, are happy, happy. Now he just needs to teach it to his talking crow. Related A mound of sandbags, surrounded by posters made during the war by various Ukrainian artists, is pictured outside the Pavilion of Ukraine Photo: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images Theres something missing in Venice this week. It isnt noticeable at first: The citys 59th Art Biennale curated by New Yorks own Cecilia Alemani, artistic director of the High Line has brought the global art world back to the place for the first time since the pandemic, clogging the bridges and alleyways with makers, machers, buyers, journalists, and the occasional celebrity culture vulture. Tilda Swinton was on hand for Chanels party honoring the recipients of its new Next Prize, and Bradley Cooper was spotted taking in the Isamu Noguchi show at the Museo Querini Stampalia. But from Larry Gagosians birthday party on the Giudecca to the halls of the Arsenale exhibition space, one major contingent was conspicuously missing this year. Having drinks near the Rialto, Max Levai, a New York art dealer and five-time Bienalle attendee, put it succinctly. Ive noticed no Russians. As by far the largest event on the art calendar since the full-on invasion of Ukraine in February, the Biennale is now serving as a proving ground for a (provisionally, at least) de-Russified global culture scene. Russians, wealthy ones in particular, have been an unavoidable part of the art world for years now, starting and supporting museums, collecting, buying at auction even owning a certain auction house. And they have always been hard to miss in Venice: The yachts that typically moor near the Giardini during the spring preview some equipped with helicopter pads, others with launches big enough to be yachts themselves have served as a surefire sign that the oligarchs were in town. Their owners, figures like Roman Abramovich and Leonid Mikhelson, could be counted upon to make the rounds, and though Venice is not technically a commercial event, they were nonetheless paid ample court by dealers, gallerists, and others. Theres definitely been less of that, says Dan Oglander, a Manhattan-based art advisor, referring to the lavish parties and semi-outre displays that typically accompanied the oligarchical presence. Today, both Abramovich and Mikhelson are facing international sanctions; the VAC Foundation, the Venetian outpost of Mikhelsons Moscow-based art program, appears to be closed indefinitely, and though one Biennale attendee was reportedly spotted wearing a T-shirt from the Garage Foundation (the Moscow art museum founded by Abramovichs ex-wife Dasha Zhukova, also shuttered at the moment), it was apparently intended as a joke. The shift has come in no small measure through the voluntary actions of Russian creatives, beginning last month when Russian Pavilion curator Raimundas Malasauskas announced that he would be withdrawing from the project, signaling the cancellation of the nations 2022 exhibition; as one of the participating artists said in a statement, There is no place for art when civilians are dying under the fire of missiles. The pavilion, extensively refurbished just in time for last years Architecture Biennale, stands completely empty, serving only as a site for protest: On Thursday, artist Vadim Zakharov, whose work was featured in Russias 2013 show, stood in front of the building with a sign announcing his opposition to Putins war. He was eventually hustled off by the Carabinieri who now stand guard over the pavilion at all hours, guns at the ready The best installation in Venice, as one passerby quipped. This hardly marks the first time that any nation has found itself cut out of the Biennale. Russia itself has taken a pass on multiple previous occasions since its pavilion was first added to the Giardini in 1914: The country sent no delegation in 1922, owing to its then-ongoing civil war; it sat out the years from World War II through the Korean War; and it stayed home again in 1978 and 1980 amidst the Soviet Unions invasion of Afghanistan. History has converged on the Biennale in other ways, often with disruptive consequences just four years ago, during the height of the Me Too moment, a group of women designers at the Architecture Biennale stormed the Giardini, bearing signs refusing to stand silent about misogyny in the design world, as their manifesto put it. Scholar Jenna Altomonte, looking at VABs in the context of successive world crises, writes that artist-activists respond by bringing attention to environmental concerns, corporate greed, misogyny, and labor violations. Far from an isle of artsy tranquility, Venice and its premier show have always shaken with whatever political tremors happen to be going around. In 2022, those shocks are emanating straight from Ukraine. And while the effect has been to push Russia to the sidelines, it has also led to the almost inescapable presence of another group Ukrainian artists and curators, who have defied considerable odds to make it to Italy along with their installations, paintings, and sculptures. I had to take a train to Berlin, and then to here, said Yevgenia Belorusets, an artist featured in the off-site exhibition We Are Defending Our Freedom. Sponsored by the Kyiv-based PinchukArtCentre, the show features both Ukrainian and international artists reflecting on the war and its human impact. Belorusetss piece, a series of diary entries and photographs presented under vitrines, documents her own harrowing experiences in the city since the Russian troops began their push westward. The inauguration of the Pinchuk pop-up featured a prerecorded video message from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who put a pointed question to the Venice crowd: Are you ready to fight on this cultural front? If the Biennale is serving as a proxy for the Donbas, the momentum certainly appears to be on the Ukrainian side, notwithstanding a few moments of sentimentalist overkill (viz. Damien Hirsts contribution to Defending, a Ukrainian flag dotted with butterflies). A more effective bit of political art in the Giardini, Piazza Ucraina, features works of wartime art, including posters, photos, and maps, mounted to burnt posts arrayed around a heap of sandbags. Its always a big question, making art in a time of war, says Borys Filochenko, one of the curators who created the piece. The question for us was, can you make art after Bucha? Sitting only a few steps away from the Russian Pavilion, the Piazza seemed more than an adequate riposte to the other spaces eerie, militarized emptiness. But the proximity of the two did point to another missing element, an inevitable casualty perhaps of any wartime Biennale. Its loss came into high relief on Wednesday, when the official Ukrainian Pavilion staged a press conference to discuss this years installation, a work from Kyiv-based Pavlo Makov. Entitled Exhaustion, the piece features a series of finely wrought bronze funnels, flowing with a constant stream of water; intended to speak to the metaphorical exhaustion of his countrys rough transition to democracy, the title also seemed a literal reflection of Makovs state of mind: I came to Venice directly from the bunker, the artist said later that day, standing in the Arsenale. All I could bring was my wife and my cat. During the morning media event, one Italian journalist pointed to a statement from Cecilia Alemani that the Biennale should be a place of encounter. How, she wanted to know, was any such encounter possible, without any Russian representation in Venice? The question hung in the air for a moment. It was, perhaps, something many wanted to ask, but were afraid to; the panelists, including this years Ukrainian Pavilion curators Maria Lanko, Lizaveta German, and Borys Filonenko, hesitated to answer, but Makov seized the mic. He spoke slowly. Unfortunately, he said, right now, Russian culture is arriving in Ukraine on the backs of tanks. That is the only exchange taking place. Maybe one day, he suggested, the Biennale could again fulfill its old role, providing a place for cultural dialogue between Ukraine and Russia or at least between Ukrainian artists and their conscientious counterparts, like Zakharov, who opposed the war. For now, even that was beyond reach. The only place for dialogue, said Makov, is the front. Architecture and classical-music critic Justin Davidson is a Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Magnetic City: A Walking Companion to New York. John Williams with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Philadelphia Orchestra as he played the hits. Photo: Chris Lee The king of American orchestral music arrived at Carnegie Hall, accompanied by his own Imperial March. John Williams, genial and limber at 90, conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra on Thursday night in two hours of the music that has infiltrated the worlds inner ear and shaped its visual imagination. Thanks to him, billions of us now know what it sounds like when bicycles take flight, sharks splinter small watercraft, archaeologists unearth magical artifacts, and dinosaurs go on a rampage. All those dark brass choirs and swelling string themes evoke memories of Sibelius and Strauss and Mahler and Elgar and a whole catalogue of big-boned symphonies, but Williamss eclecticism is endlessly inventive. Hes supplied the soundtrack for three generations of childhoods, from mine to that of the little girl who sat directly in front of me, clutching her plush snowy owl as Hedwigs Theme from Harry Potter played. Among his more than 100 film scores are more than a few musical Mount Rushmores. Its hard to grasp that some of those passages didnt exist before they popped out of his brain. Williams long ago reached an age where he could have spent his time smiling benevolently through tribute events. Instead, hes still meeting deadlines and cranking out scores (including for Steven Spielbergs The Fabelmans, due out next fall). He seemingly had a few weeks of unexpected leisure during the heart of the pandemic, because thats when he tossed off a new violin concerto. He and Anne-Sophie Mutter have already recorded it (the second movement is out), and on Thursday they gave the New York premiere of this long and uncharacteristically meandering work, which is full of charms and beautiful moments that dont quite gel. The easy explanation would be that a lifetime of thinking in two-minute cues doesnt help with the long spans of a concert. Or that a film composer of his gifts needs a cinematic stimulus to do his best work. Both are possible; I prefer to think that hes written mountains of fine music, but nobody bats 1,000. Mutter put in a strenuous nights work, too, twirling through the high-speed swordsmanship of a duel scene, tracking Hedwig in bewitching flight, and, in an encore, unspooling the vividly tragic theme from Schindlers List. There was one surprise, from the gritty 1973 film Cinderella Liberty, which features James Caan as a sailor on leave and Marsha Mason as a sex worker and single mom. Tintin its not. In the original incarnation, the score has a jazzy, low-down, wet-streets-at-night feel and a harmonica solo played by Toots Thielemans. Now, Williams has given it a fresh coat of varnish and a new orchestration for violin and orchestra. In Mutters hands it sounded positively Viennese airy, melancholy, and elegant, like a scene illuminated by gaslight rather than neon. Those few minutes made me wish someone would make a new movie to accompany that old score. Bilge Ebiri is a film critic for New York magazine and Vulture. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and the Criterion Collection, among others. Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Photo: Katalin Vermes/Focus Features I dont think aspirationist is a word, but I think Nicolas Cage would forgive me for making up a word to describe him, because thats exactly what he is: American cinemas great aspirationist. His characters are often trying to emulate or live up to an ideal whether that be Elvis in Wild at Heart and Honeymoon in Vegas, Humphrey Bogart in Dog Eat Dog, Fabian in Peggy Sue Got Married, or simply the concept of domestic, child-filled bliss in Raising Arizona. Aspiration is the ideology that underlies his whole star persona. The people Cage plays dont have goals; they have models. They live under the shadow of others and often seek to become them, which is funny because they are all still never not Nicolas Cage. (Therein lies the beauty of Face/Off, in which Nicolas Cage becomes John Travolta and John Travolta becomes Nicolas Cage, but they somehow both wind up being Nicolas Cage.) What makes Tom Gormicans The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent special, then, is not so much that Nicolas Cage plays Nicolas Cage but that the film presents us with a Nicolas Cage who spends a lot of time aspiring to be more like, well, Nicolas Cage or as the film puts it, Nick fuckin yahow! Cage! That yelp comes courtesy of an unhinged, floppy-haired, de-aged version of Cage that the real Cage occasionally finds himself talking to, a version that still exists in the popular imagination. And its touching to watch the mopey older actor arguing (and at one point making out) with his blustery movie-star self because, in truth, both variations are pathetic: Movie Star Cage is full of empty, outdated gestures, and Serious Actor Cage is a self-important loser who pins down directors and delivers monologues as he desperately tries to land parts. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent presents us with a Cage whos reached a dead end personally and professionally, but it also poignantly suggests that the dead end in question came a long, long time ago. And so this self-centered celebrity and neglectful parent, running low on money and struggling to get the roles he really wants, agrees to fly to Mallorca to attend the birthday party of a Spanish billionaire named Javi (Pedro Pascal) for a million dollars. Depressed about his professional fortunes, Cage plans to announce his retirement from acting right after this last gig. Meanwhile, Javi is being staked out by two CIA agents (Ike Barinholtz and Tiffany Haddish), who believe hes responsible for the recent kidnapping of the Catalan presidents daughter. They enlist Cages help in their investigation, and he soon finds himself torn between his hilariously inept attempts to locate the missing girl and his growing fondness for puppy-eyed, adoring superfan Javi, with whom he spends his time cliff-diving, talking old films, working on a script, and watching Paddington 2. (Massive Talent appears to have been made with one eye toward social-media ingratiation, which would ordinarily be annoying but here feels totally appropriate.) Cages dilemma reflects the psychological rift in his character. The young girl he needs to save happens to be around the same age as his daughter (played by Lily Sheen, who is not actually Nicolas Cages daughter but is in fact Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheens daughter), whom he loves but has alienated through his self-absorption. Javi, on the other hand, gives the movie-star egomaniac side of Cage renewed life, telling him he cant retire. You have a gift, he tells Cage. And to turn your back on this gift is to turn your back on the entire human race. In return, Cage tells the CIA that through the intuitive power of his nouveau-shamanic acting ability, he can tell that Javi is innocent, a good soul. It all sounds like bullshit, of course, and its to Cages credit (the real Cages) that hes allowed every single fiber of his public persona to be picked apart by this film. There are modest twists here and there, and a couple of dropped bits suggest that the picture has gone through its share of postproduction challenges. In its broad strokes, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a fairly by-the-numbers action comedy, one that sometimes wears Cages presence like a talisman against the bad juju of slipshod storytelling. But the talisman works because the film never loses sight of its touchingly nutty premise and because Cage remains a compelling actor. For all the grandiosity and stylization of his performances, theres always been something highly relatable about this need to live up to the image of others a hazy inadequacy that marks him, ultimately, as one of us. This time, when the image he must live up to turns out to be Nicolas Cage, something quite wonderful and unexpectedly truthful emerges. Press Release April 22, 2022 De Lima urges COMELEC to prevent disenfranchisement, confusion at the polls with massive information drive on COVID safety rules Re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima urged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to conduct an intensive information drive on the COVID safety rules to be enforced on May 9, Election Day, to prevent disenfranchisement resulting from confusion and disinformation, and to ensure a high voter turnout. De Lima, a former election lawyer, noted that the new rules on temperature checks, wearing of face masks and face shields, and no vaccination requirement, are not yet clear to the majority of the voting population. De Lima said the COMELEC should start informing the public at least two weeks before election day the specific regulations in voting that were modified to protect the voters against COVID-19. "[COMELEC] should make clear that COVID vaccination cards are not required to enter the polling place and in order to vote. COMELEC should ensure that all voters know that vaccination is not a requirement for voting. Neither should a voter be refused his right to vote just because his or her body temperature is above normal," she said. "I urge the COMELEC to adopt the policy that at no time should the failure to bring a face mask or face shield be a bar to exercising the right to vote, and that instead voters without face masks should be provided with such free of charge," she added. The lady Senator from Bicol further stressed that the COMELEC should be clear on its proposed guidelines on isolation polling booths it intends to set up on election day. "Without COMELEC being prepared for all these eventualities, ill-intentioned parties might spread disinformation to disenfranchise voters who have not been vaccinated or are experiencing mild COVID symptoms," she said. "The COMELEC should now conduct an intensive information drive on TV, radio, and social media, considering that COVID safety rules and regulations to be implemented on election day are not yet clear even to the candidates and political parties, much less the ordinary voters, barely three weeks before election day," she added. De Lima also said that the COMELEC should activate its online Precinct Finder on time or at least a week before the elections to enable voters to save time on election day. "I hope the COMELEC makes good on its promise to have the online Precinct Finder up and running within the week. The Precinct Finder had been a great help in the 2016 and 2019 Elections," she said. "With the online Precinct Finder, COMELEC will avoid the risk of superspreader incidents at the polling place. Overcrowding and unneccessary contact usually happen when voters flock to and gather around the posted precinct list of voters for long periods of time just to search for their precinct numbers," she added. Last April 21, the COMELEC said it was ready to hold the May 9 National and Local Elections with just 18 days to go, but its online Precinct Finder remains offline. The Precinct Finder, which has quick-search and user-friendly interface features, will allow voters to get their voting precinct locations online ahead of the polls. Planetario di Roma returns with new cutting-edge technology. Rome's Planetarium, which offers visitors an immersive astronomical experience, reopens to the public on Friday 22 April after being closed for the last eight years. The Planetario, housed in the Museum of Roman Civilisation in the EUR district, was inaugurated by Rome's mayor Roberto Gualtieri on Thursday as part of events to celebrate the capital's 2,775th birthday. The newly-reopened planetarium, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and a programme of interactive experiences for visitors of all ages, was described by Gualtieri as "a magical place to discover the wonders of the universe." The old optical projector has been replaced by the high-tech "Sky Explorer" offering 4K video resolution "capable of reconstructing the surface of the Earth, Moon and Mars with extreme realism", as well as glimpses of distant galaxies. Un bellissimo regalo per il compleanno di #Roma la riapertura del #Planetario. Una struttura avanzata, divenuta un vero punto di riferimento per la nostra citta che ha una vocazione per la cultura, il sapere e la #scienza. Un luogo magico per scoprire le meraviglie delluniverso. pic.twitter.com/kg9RxOWCJN Roberto Gualtieri (@gualtierieurope) April 21, 2022 The new planetarium can store a large amount of data and "carry out updates in real time", allowing visitors to be informed about the news and latest discoveries from the international scientific community. The interactive audio system also provides the chance to "discover the secrets and beauty of the universe" by admiring the "Earth from afar, flying over planets, nebulae and galaxies, and reliving fundamental events of space exploration and the most recent astronomy." The 300-sqm dome acts as a projection screen, offering an engaging vision of the cosmos with 98 reclining armchairs, arranged in three concentric rings, "enhancing the experience of immersive 'travel'." Placeholder while article actions load Two German chancellors are struggling with each other inside Olaf Scholz. His country, its allies and their common adversary in the Kremlin have to find out which one theyre dealing with. When Scholz took office in December, the temperament he displayed was still the one he had advertised during the campaign. In style, he was a knock-off of his predecessor, Angela Merkel managing more than leading, governing in tiny increments rather than big steps, papering over controversies instead of taking stances, communicating through obfuscation more than inspiration. At the time, I called him a smurf. Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, Scholz revealed another chancellor within him. This one was bold and capable of radical policy U-turns. Out went major tenets of German foreign and security policy. Advertisement Germany would stand with its allies in confronting and deterring Russia, refund and rebuild its derelict army for that purpose, and strive for independence from Russian coal, oil and gas. Breaking with German taboos, Scholz also promised to send weapons to Ukraine. He called it a watershed or sea change. I called it a German Revolution. Less than two months on, these two Scholzes are in internal but visible conflict. Yes, his government has sent money and equipment to Ukraine. But this has so far consisted of light weapons: armor, ammunition, anti-tank grenades and such. According to Ukraines ambassador to Germany, the weapons Kyiv asked for howitzers and tanks like Germanys Leopard and Marder models are not forthcoming. Instead, Germany is considering giving tanks to Slovenia, so that country can send Ukraine its own older tanks. All very convoluted. Advertisement Scholz again sounding rather like Merkel in her day dives deep into the fine print and the bureaucratic weeds to explain why. The only reason that matters, of course, is his fear of getting drawn into the conflict and facing Russia directly. But Germany is in exactly the same situation as all its other allies, from the U.S. and the U.K. to Estonia and the rest. And those countries have been sending Ukraine the heavy and lethal equipment. Unsurprisingly, both the Ukrainians and Germanys NATO allies are once again livid. Theyve always had doubts about how reliable Germany is in a crisis. Scholzs watershed moment in February made them optimistic. But now they see him yet again stepping on the brakes in any joint allied effort. That extends to the Wests effort to boycott Russian energy in order to defund Putins war machine. Germany, which has spent decades making itself dependent on Russias gas, is phasing out imports of its coal and trying to do the same with its oil. But, in the unsavory company of Hungary, Scholzs government is blocking a full embargo on gas. Owing to the hike in energy prices, Germany will actually pay more for Russian oil and gas this year than ever before an estimated 32 billion euros ($34.9 billion), according to a study by Greenpeace. Thats more than half of Russias military budget. Advertisement Even Scholzs governing partners are frustrated, and near open rebellion. The two junior parties the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats are so far doing nothing that would jeopardize the coalition. But their backbenchers are increasingly pointing fingers at Scholz and demanding a clearer line. To make a point, two of the most outspoken even took a trip to Ukraine without consulting Scholz. One was Anton Hofreiter of the Greens, the other was Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the Free Democrats, who chairs the Bundestags defense committee. Raising particular eyebrows in the chancellery, they took along Michael Roth, a foreign-policy expert whos also a Social Democrat, and thus a member of Scholzs own party. Its too early to write Scholz off. As a result of Putins attack and atrocities, Germany really has entered a new era. But revolutions are hard. Germanys voters and its entire political class must jettison old assumptions and draw new conclusions that can appear frightening, especially in a country still traumatized by another war, one it caused. Advertisement But thats what leaders are for. Scholz had a good start in office. To avoid failing his coalition, country and continent, he must now vanquish his inner waffler and embrace the stalwart ally, the decider, the communicator. If youre there, step forward, Olaf the Bold. More From This Writer and Others at Bloomberg Opinion: How Is Russias Fortress Economy Really Faring?: Clara Ferreira Marques and Scott Johnson Putin, His Rat and Six Ways the War in Ukraine Could End: Andreas Kluth Yes, Russians Know What Their Military Is Doing in Ukraine: Leonid Bershidsky This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andreas Kluth is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. He was previously editor in chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist. Hes the author of Hannibal and Me. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load When Russia invaded Ukraine, the free world began a diplomatic dance, led by the U.S., that continues today. In that dance, Israel got off on the wrong foot by initially declining to co-sponsor a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Russian aggression. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Israel eventually did an about-face and supported the resolution. It was one of many signals suggesting that the government wants to edge back into the Western mainstream. It will need to proceed cautiously. Russias assault on Ukraine has created a conundrum for Israel, which believes it must preserve its relationship with Moscow as a matter of national security. Russia controls the skies over neighboring Syria. It allows the Israeli air force to interdict Iranian efforts to supply Hezbollah, Irans Lebanese proxy, with precision armaments. While the U.S. would have been displeased had Israel refused to sign on as a co-sponsor, the Biden administration appreciates the position Israel is in. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been less understanding, asking again and again for Israel to supply him with advanced weapons. The Ukrainian ambassador to Israel explained: My president is Jewish; he expects more from Israel. The Israeli government chalked this up to the naivete of a young, inexperienced president. But it underestimated Zelenskiys savvy. He knew that Western powers were willing to give him votes of support and words of comfort, but not the military hardware he needed. Zelenskiy set out to dramatize and weaponize Western sympathy by casting the war as a second Holocaust. In a video address to Israeli parliamentarians in mid-March, he made his case. The threat is the same for both us and you the total destruction of the people, state, culture, he said. That is why I have the right to this parallel and to this comparison. Our history and your history. Our war for our survival and your experience in World War II. Advertisement Zelenskiy closed his speech with a dramatic challenge to the Jewish state to aid Ukraine. It is up to you, dear brothers and sisters, to choose the answer. You will have to live with this answer. Ukraine made its choice 80 years ago. It rescued Jews. This is untrue. In World War II, more than a million Jews were murdered in Ukraine with the agreement of the Nazi puppet government and the help of public officials and a considerable number of everyday Ukrainians. Zelenskiy must have known his audience was aware of this every Israeli is. But he correctly calculated that the government wouldnt issue more than a mild demurral. In any case, Zelenskiys analogy was aimed at a larger audience and a wider purpose. He wanted to make support for Ukraine into a morally compelling cause. Collaboration with the Nazis is a deep and painful wound to European self-esteem, one that reparations and Holocaust memorials havent healed. In the U.S., too, there is shame and regret over the refusal of President Franklin Roosevelt to take action or even let the public in on what he knew. Advertisement Zelenskiy was offering the international community an opportunity to redeem itself. His scenario has largely been accepted. It reached its apogee when hundreds of civilian corpses were discovered near Kyiv. Against the advice of his own State Department, President Joe Biden declared this to be genocide. With few exceptions, NATO allies accepted this judgment. Genocide is a loaded word. What the Russians have done in Ukraine is despicable, but its not mass extermination. Unlike the Turkish slaughter of a million Armenians, or the hundreds of thousands of Tutsi victims in Rwanda in 1994, the Ukrainians arent isolated, ignored or defenseless. They may even win the war. I hope they do. The government of Israel knows that this isnt genocide, a belief that probably modulates its response to the war. But Israel also doesnt want to get too far away from its American patron. It has shown its goodwill by sending tons of humanitarian aid, building a field hospital and taking in thousands of Ukrainian refugees. This week it announced that its sending helmets and flak jackets for the use of civilian rescue workers. Advertisement After Bidens genocide declaration, the Israeli foreign minister joined the international chorus of outrage. Intentionally harming a civilian population is a war crime and I strongly condemn it, he said. And Israel joined the other Western democracies at the UN General Assembly in suspending Russian membership in the UN Human Rights Council. Russia was furious. The Israeli ambassador to Moscow was summoned and given a tongue lashing in language not heard by an Israeli diplomat since the fall of the Soviet Union. To emphasize his displeasure, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a friendly and much publicized chat with Palestinian President Mohammed Abbas. This was a warning. Another step in the wrong direction and Israel would be on its own to stop Iranian aggression in Syria. Its a genuine threat. But getting crosswise with the U.S. would be even more reckless. For Israel, the sensible choice right now is to keep dancing, try to stay off the toes of its rival partners and pray for the music to end. Advertisement More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Putins Struggles May Embolden Xi on Taiwan: Hal Brands Boris Johnson Wont Find Refuge in Rwanda: Therese Raphael Yemen Truce Is Good News for the Wider World: Bobby Ghosh This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Zev Chafets is a journalist and author of 14 books. He was a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the founding managing editor of the Jerusalem Report Magazine. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load The Solomon Islands has sent shock waves across the Pacific by signing a security cooperation pact with China. The island nation had faced pressure from its traditional allies, Australia and the U.S., to reject the deal as they seek to counter Chinas growing influence in the region. The Solomon Islands leader told his parliament the pact wouldnt undermine the peace and harmony of our region. That hasnt squelched concerns about a possible Chinese naval base just 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Australia. 1. Whats the pact about? Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on April 19 -- the day the pact was announced -- that the cooperation would include maintenance of social order, protection and safety of peoples lives and property, humanitarian assistance and natural disaster response, to help Solomon Islands strengthen capacity building and safeguard its own security. According to an Associated Press report, Prime Minister Mannesseh Sogavare told his parliament in Honiara a day later that it will allow China to send police and military personnel to the Solomon Islands to assist in maintaining social order. Chinese warships also could stop in port there for logistical replenishment. Sogavare has insisted the pact would not allow China to construct a military base -- a concern that arose after a draft copy was leaked online in late March -- and has strongly asserted his countrys right to an independent foreign policy. Advertisement 2. How did the deal come about? Chinese diplomats have been wooing Sogavare for years and he has reciprocated by strengthening relations with the Asian superpower, including a contentious decision to switch the countrys diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in September 2019. That change has been one of the factors in growing domestic unrest between Sogavares government and the province of Malaita, the most-populous isle with a third of the nations 650,000 people. Daniel Suidani, who leads Malaita, has been a vocal critic of the switch to decision to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Last year, anti-China protesters demanded Sogavares resignation, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported, while the Solomon Islands Herald said shops in the capitals Chinatown were looted and damaged. Sogavare asked for Australian troops to help quell the unrest even as he accused other powers of encouraging the anti-China sentiment. A few months later came the security pact with China. 3. Whats the significance? Advertisement China has long been trying to beef up its presence in the Asia-Pacific, including building up its navy and constructing military facilities on disputed islands in the South China Sea. War hawks in Australia and the U.S. have warned that the This security cooperation pact could pave the way for Chinese military hardware and eventually a naval base in the South Pacific, although thats not the immediate case now. 4. What about the U.S.? The U.S. has long touted its alliances in the Pacific, including the sealing of a new defense accord with Australia and the U.K. last year, known as Aukus, and an older grouping known as the Quad that includes Australia, Japan and India, as part of efforts to counter the growing economic, political and military influence of China in the region. News of the pact came days before the Biden administrations East Asia czar Kurt Campbell was to visit to the islands as part of a U.S. delegation to discuss partnerships to deliver prosperity, security, and peace across the Pacific Islands and the Indo-Pacific. In Beijing, Wang Wenbin criticized Western efforts to block the pact, saying: We must point out that South Pacific island countries are not a backyard of any country, still less a pawn for geopolitical rivalry. Advertisement 5. What does this mean for Australia? The Australian government, to which the South Pacific region has long looked to for support, expressed concern that the deal could undermine stability. More immediately, it could become an issue in Australias upcoming national elections. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has portrayed himself as tough on national security, but the diplomatic loss is providing ammunition for attacks on his governments record. Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the signing of the security agreement the worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific since the end of World War II. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load For all the promises from politicians to tackle online hate speech and misinformation, they continue to proliferate. Governments know they can polarize societies and harm the vulnerable, but fear a broad crackdown will see them accused of censorship. After more than a year of internal wrangling, the European Union is readying legislation that, according to Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen, could represent a global gold standard for regulating social media. Previous frustrated efforts to control the worlds technology giants suggest the hardest work is still to come. 1. Whats driving this? Weve come a long way since the early days when social media were supposed to connect the world and promote truth and mutual understanding. Today, conspiracy theories about U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine can leap from obscure QAnon forums all the way to Fox News. Weve seen scandals over personal data breaches and the promotion of quack treatments for Covid-19. Events like the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot show how misinformation can trigger violence. Allegations last year that content on Facebook encouraged eating disorders and helped to foment genocide in Myanmar increased the pressure for action. Advertisement 2. Whats the EUs plan? The blocs Digital Services Act is set to give governments more power to force the companies to take down illegal content such as hate speech, terrorist propaganda or ads for unsafe toys. If they dont, they could face fines running to 6% of their annual revenue. Platforms would have to adhere to a code of conduct, allow enforcement agencies to examine the algorithms that decide what users see and report back on how theyre dealing with harmful material. If its found theyre not doing enough, they could be told to alter the algorithms. Additional powers to combat disinformation could be triggered during a crisis such as a war or a pandemic. Ads aimed at children -- an important source of revenue for the companies that own Facebook and Google -- would be banned. So would the targeting of ads using race, religion and other sensitive information. 3. How big is this? Advertisement It means the social media giants will no longer be left to police themselves, though much depends on what the EU decides is harmful and how rigorously the new rules are enforced. A lot of fake news and the misinformation flagged by Haugen isnt illegal and cant be taken down unless it violates the platforms terms and conditions. The alternative is to stop objectionable content appearing in feeds. But the algorithms that decide what users see are complex, and theres little precedent to guide the EUs researchers when they start their work. 4. How have the big tech firms responded? Theyre concerned that the details of how the DSA will work in practice arent clear. Watchdog groups say the tech giants have spent record sums lobbying the EU, especially on the DSA and the Digital Markets Act, a separate piece of legislation thats designed to rein in their market power. The DMA was originally their main focus, as Apple Inc. would be forced to allow third-party app stores in its products and Amazon.com Inc. would be banned from ranking its own e-commerce products higher than those of rivals. The DSA eventually became the more contentious bill after Haugen came to the European Parliament ringing alarm bells over hate speech and harmful content and lawmakers sought to ban targeted advertising altogether. While that effort has failed, the companies have continued one of the biggest lobbying efforts Brussels has ever seen. Advertisement 5. What could go wrong? The EU will need to find the funds to employ hundreds of people to monitor the DSA and the DMA. And even heavy fines might simply be shrugged off by the cash-rich tech giants. National regulators have never come close to applying the maximum fines allowed in the EUs current data rules. There are also technical obstacles. For example, how do you know that someone is too young to be targeted with ads without collecting data on them in the first place? The way the DSA is implemented will be up to the EUs 27 member states, which all have different legal regimes. Their varying interpretations of what represents illegal hate speech could mean a post is be taken down in Germany but left up in Denmark. 6. Is the EU leading the way here? The DSA will still put Europe ahead of the U.S. in regulating big tech companies. The U.S. even fought the EUs plans, arguing they unfairly target American companies. But plenty of Washington lawmakers have been pushing for tougher action and see the DSA as a possible model. The U.K. may end up being even tougher than the EU in tackling harmful content. Its planned Online Safety Bill would impose bigger fines and could even mean jail time for executives who fail to comply. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Adriana Stacey and her children play at their home in Fayetteville, Ark. (Terra Fondriest for The Post) The vast majority of teens and tweens today have smartphones. These parents said no. Its an approach that echoes something Ernest Hemingway once said: In order to write about life, first you must live it. The Best of Adam Sharp is loosely based on one of his wifes exes, and a relationship rekindled after two decades. His third novel, it centres on a pianist and, while writing it, Simsion spent a lot of time with a friend who played the piano, the aim being that anyone who knows that world well would read it and say it has a ring of truth. It features a lot of transgressive sex. That doesnt mean that I was there, but Ive lived in a world where that was common enough, and Ive talked to people whove been in those situations. Fifteen years ago, the 65-year-old had hardly written a word creatively in his adult life. If someone had said to me, Would you like to be a novelist? I would have said that would be wonderful but I dont have the talent, he says. Its good news for aspiring authors but comes with a caveat: be prepared to work massively hard. Even then, he admits, unpublished writers need a lot of luck. Having decided to get serious about writing at 50, Simsion took a methodical approach to the task, conscious of making up for lost time. Think about how much time you had to put into whatever career youve had to reach a certain level, he says, and apply that same principle. TAKE 7: THE ANSWERS ACCORDING TO GRAEME SIMSION Worst habit? Cocktails a legacy of research for The Rosie Project. Greatest fear? My writing causing harmespecially in the autism space. The line that stayed with you? You watch yourself from the sidelines Jackson Browne describing a way of thinking thats important to the way I work. Biggest regret? Not starting sooner. Favourite room? My home bar-library. The artwork/song you wish was yours? The Times They are a-Changin not the Nobel Laureates greatest song, but the phrase is now part of our language. If I could solve one thing... Tribalism. The Novel Project is his latest offering, book number 10, devised to help anyone keen to write anything from a bestseller to a family memoir. After retiring from IT, he penned a similar book featuring insights gleaned over his two decades in database management. That one time he had tried to write post-high school, he penned some pseudo Hemingway stuff and figured he wasnt mature enough to produce anything worthwhile. I hadnt spent enough time doing it. Its like getting behind the wheel of a car and saying you cant drive of course you cant. When we meet, Simsion is just back from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and is soon heading to southern Burgundy in France. But he can write anywhere: cafes, hotel rooms, airport lobbies, you name it. Im a bit contemptuous of people whove got to have their special place. As I said regarding my previous career: no one ever says, I need a special place to do database design. Ironically, the one place he finds it tricky to be productive is at his desk. That said, he points out that a lot of work in writing is not spent writing: I like to walk or jog and think. Its a tip he has for anyone in the business of ideas identify where youre most creative. It might be walking, digging ditches or taking a shower. Wherever it is, dedicate time and energy to it, dont waste it. International bestseller: The Rosie Project Not surprisingly, discipline is key to success; its part of his nature. While he was studying writing, for example, he didnt watch any television. The only exception would be to see how a particular trick was done, for example, in a series such as Breaking Bad. I still enjoyed my life, I socialised a lot. If youre going to have friends and family and keep yourself fit, which I tried to do, you only have so much time left, which I tried to divide up wisely. Given it was his first novel, was he shocked at Rosies success? It came as a huge surprise, but it was a series of things. The biggest day was when I won the Victorian Premiers Unpublished Manuscript Award because it was an affirmation of my writing. Someone outside the family thought my writing had some merit. Let me tell you, inside the family it was no sure thing, he says, laughing. Before then, there were only three readers. His daughter, who said: Wow, its better than I thought it would be, Dad. One was Anne, who he asked: Does it read like a real book? She said, Im not sure. Then he showed his personal assistant, also a literature major, who said it was terrific. Once he was shortlisted, there was a bidding war for the rights won by Text Publishing then a German publisher made a substantial offer, which triggered more international interest. Two weeks after the German offer, I had enough projected income to say thats my job now. Since then, he has co-written two books with his wife, Two Steps Forward and Two Steps Onward, about walking the Camino trail, a spin-off from the Rosie series, Don Tillmans Standardised Meal System, and the audiobook Creative Differences, which has been optioned by Truce Films. Loading When he was 12, Simsions family moved to Australia from New Zealand; he describes his younger self as socially awkward. I was in a place where I didnt fit in very well. I became unsure and retrospectively, I see I became an observer of what was cool. That detachment was useful later in life, his observational abilities giving an insight into behaviours, mannerisms and speech. A lover of language, he is finely tuned to the differences in how we speak, accents as well as generational distinctions. A focus on dialogue to paint character is informed by his screenwriting studies, the writing career hed originally pursued. The Rosie Project began as a screenplay, which he flipped into a novel in under a month. He uses direct language more than most authors and argues that its far more effective: the show dont tell philosophy. Toni Collette is slated to direct and star in Adam Sharp, which Simsion considers his best book, even though it is one of the least successful commercially. When doing publicity tours for The Rosie Project, he used to give the bookseller $50 and say: If no one asks me who I want to play Don Tillman, Ill take the $50 back. It never happened not that he minds. There are terrific casting directors out there, who will take care of that. Given its been years since the book was first optioned, his philosophical approach makes sense: these things always take time. He likens it to the Alcoholics Anonymous prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change Later this year, Sony Pictures will film The Rosie Project with Henry Cavill in the role of Tillman. Jennifer Lawrence was once slated to play Rosie; more recently, Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones. If her fans have anything to do with it, Clarke is a shoo-in. There was a picture of [Clarke] taken with books behind her and one of them was The Rosie Project. I dont even know if she was at home she could have been at the library, Simsion says, adding that he doesnt lie awake thinking about the adaptations. Ernest Hemingway famously said, You drive up to the State line, you throw it across, and you forget about it, he says, with a laugh. It eats my wife and my publisher up more than me. Ry Cooder was jamming with Taj Mahal and a crack band of musicians at Nashvilles Ryman Auditorium eight years ago on the same night Mahal received the Americana Music Associations Lifetime Achievement award. Taj Mahal (left) and Ry Cooder have reunited for an album that pays tribute to Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Credit: Cooder, who has known Mahal since the mid-1960s, when they played together in Californian band Rising Sons, suggested they play Statesboro Blues that night at the Ryman. Not only was it a knock-out performance, it planted a seed in Cooders mind. Mahal, 79, recorded Statesboro Blues in 1967 for his debut album, released just a couple of years after Rising Sons disbanded. The Allman Brothers rendition of Statesboro Blues is perhaps more widely known, but it originated with Piedmont blues player Blind Willie McTell in the late 1920s. While they continued to cross paths, Cooder and Mahal had not made any albums together since their one, ill-fated studio recording with Rising Sons. All thats changed with their shared passion for the finger picking, rag-time style of the Piedmont blues, made popular by the likes of guitarist Brownie McGhee and harmonica player Sonny Terry. Dozens of the countrys top doctors have backed calls for a crackdown on the scandal-tainted cosmetic surgery industry, with hundreds of submissions to the national medical watchdog as part of a landmark inquiry into patient safety. More than 800 responses from doctors and patients were received by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) after the regulator opened a sweeping review of the sector, many demanding an end to the unfettered use of social media by practitioners and laws to stop rogue medicos calling themselves cosmetic surgeons. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency is conducting a sweeping review of the cosmetic surgery sector. Credit: Weak regulation has allowed the billion-dollar industry to flourish for decades, doctors say, with some early data showing up to 20 per cent of women who have had breast implants may need surgery to fix up botched procedures. Women are being sucked into a vortex of aggressive social media and the use of influencers by cosmetic surgeons to market their services. Women arent seen as patients but as commodities, Professor Anand Deva, head of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Macquarie University, said. Channel Seven was billed almost $170,000 for the legal costs of three witnesses testifying on behalf of Ben Roberts-Smith in his defamation fight against war crimes allegations, including more than $65,000 over two years to pay for lawyers acting for his former patrol commander, a close friend. Documents aired in the Federal Court on Thursday shows bills and payslips sent to the lawyers were paid by Seven Network (Operations), a subsidiary of the public company Seven West Media. Ben Robert-Smith leaves the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday. Credit:James Alcock However, a spokesman for Seven West Media executive chairman Kerry Stokes said the bills were not ultimately paid by shareholders, but re-charged to the Stokes familys private company, Australian Capital Equity (ACE). No documents verifying this claim have been made public. The spokesman said Stokes believed soldiers should have legal representation when they appeared at the inquiry by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into war crimes allegations against Australian soldiers. A spur-of-the-moment TikTok has triggered a movement in which hundreds of young women are meeting weekly across Perth for sunrise swims with a body-positive twist. It comes after two years of COVID-19 restriction, isolation and uncertainty has hit young people hard: an exclusive survey of 16-24-year-olds from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald revealed alarming levels of mental illness. Sea Gals are fighting the isolation and uncertainty the pandemic has caused. I just went [for a swim] by myself one morning and posted it on TikTok, and it blew up and got a few thousand views, and lots of people wanted to join in, said Sea Gals founder Tara Jeisman. Jeisman said COVID restrictions over the past two years had been both socially and physically isolating. Australia knew about a secret draft security pact between China and Solomon Islands weeks before it mysteriously surfaced on the internet, with several government sources claiming the nations intelligence agencies played a role in orchestrating the leak. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne are under increasing pressure to reveal what they knew about the proposed agreement before the draft was leaked on March 24, after the Australian government this week failed to convince Honiara to abandon the deal with Beijing. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The deal could see Chinese naval vessels and troops based less than 2000 kilometres off the Australian east coast and cut off vital supply lines to the US and Asia in the event of a conflict. I cant go into all the details as to how Australia is able to know the specific information, as they are security matters, Morrison said. But what I do know is we have always been very conscious of that threat of China being able to influence a nation in our region. The key claim in Morrisons defence is weak. The prime minister says he knew of the developments for some time, yet the minister for international development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, says news only emerged on March 24 when the agreement leaked in draft form. For all the talks behind the scenes, the test for the government was in how it acted. And it didnt. China moved at a speed that Canberra could not match. Scott Morrison visits Ferra Engineering in Queensland on Thursday. Credit:James Brickwood The foreign minister, Marise Payne, chose not to go to the Pacific. The Liberal Party preselection for the NSW Senate ticket came up on March 25, the budget was on March 29, the election campaign drew closer. Yet Payne had time to stand alongside Morrison at a petrol station in Sydney on April 5 to talk about cuts to the fuel excise. And she was able to go to Brussels to speak to Western leaders about Ukraine on April 7. For all the agonising about what might have been done, the ministers public appearances tell the story. The Pacific did not get the priority. The government now mounts the ludicrous argument that it would have offended the Pacific to send Payne to the region. Australia was not looking to go and stamp around, said Morrison on Wednesday. The finance minister, Simon Birmingham, said on Thursday it would have been wrong to have someone shouting at Pacific leaders. They make Payne sound like Donald Trump. Loading In truth, the government was caught out for its complacency in fact, lulled into it by Labors decision to avoid a fight on foreign policy. Only now has Anthony Albanese gone for a full assault on Morrison over national security, right at the moment when it really counts. The government has been slow on other fronts. It took time to impose sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine but Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong made no criticism. When this column wrote about sluggish action against Russian oligarchs, Wong declined to comment. (It took until April 7 for Wong to issue a call to expel the Russian ambassador. It seemed a reluctant break with weeks of bipartisanship.) Morrison and Payne might have responded more vigorously to the March 24 leak if Labor had been on the attack, but it was not Wongs job to tell Payne what to do. It is only a matter of time before conspiracies spread about China moving during the Australian election campaign to embarrass the government an idea that only gains currency with Morrisons claim in Wednesday nights debate that Albanese was siding with China. But this is only a scramble for excuses for a strategic defeat and, just possibly, an election defeat. Australian aid funding to the Pacific reveals a neglect of the region that has allowed China to gain influence. Aid to Solomon Islands was $258 million in 2010 and $204 million in 2013 but never regained those heights after the Coalition took power. It was $156 million this financial year. The cuts in the May 2014 budget have come at a significant cost. Marise Payne and Scott Morrison hold a press conference at a BP Service Station in Mortdale, Sydney, on April 5. Credit:Janie Barrett Albanese has the advantage because the prime minister must answer for nine years of Coalition administration. Morrison claims to have seen the change in China and to have prepared for it. At the very same time, his ministers admit their surprise at the Solomons deal. The deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, even likens Solomons to Cuba. What would Labor do differently? There is no blueprint for its approach. Albanese says he would go to Solomon Islands but experts are not sure it would matter who flew to Honiara. White says it is fanciful to suggest it would make a difference if it was Wong or Payne. The head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Peter Jennings, says Labor is wrong to blame the government for the Chinese advance. Even so, Jennings says the response to the March 24 leak was not good enough. We should have engaged in more sustained senior diplomatic effort approach, he says. And the former foreign minister, Julie Bishop, says Payne should go to the Pacific. Loading Morrison argues that a stronger effort to stop the pact would not have made any difference. But why not make the attempt? The debate is not about being strong or weak on China. It is about being prepared. And being competent. The Solomons agreement is a pivotal moment in this campaign. There is no election in recent memory when a government has been struck by a foreign policy setback so great and so close to polling day. Morrison assures voters he is the best choice on national security but he asks them to judge him on promises, not results. Yet his agreement on nuclear submarines, with $5.5 billion spent on a scrapped plan, the design yet to be decided and the first boat a generation away, has already stretched the trust me pitch to its limit. Lisbon: Portuguese prosecutors have formally identified German convicted rapist Christian Brueckner as a suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 15 years ago. It is the first time Portuguese prosecutors have identified an official suspect in the case since Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleines parents, were named suspects in 2007. They were later cleared. Madeleine disappeared from her bedroom on May 3, 2007 during a family holiday in the Algarve region while her parents were dining with friends nearby in the resort of Praia da Luz. Christian Brueckner is the suspect in the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, but has never been charged in connection with her disappearance. Prosecutors in Faro, Algarves main city, did not publicly name the suspect but said in a statement he was identified as a suspect by German authorities at its request. German news outlet Bild cited authorities confirming that Brueckner was the official suspect. "Unity builds strength, and as a Government we are always ready for consensus. This is not just about a Government effort, this is about the lives of just over 33 million Peruvians," Mr. Castillo said in his speech for the 25th anniversary of Chavin de Huantar Military Operation. The Head of State highlighted the bravery and courage of the Armed Forces during the rescue operation, which he stressed prove that Peru does not give up or will never give up in the face of totally reprehensible acts. "They gave us the best example of unity to achieve goals in favor of the country, these objectives that we must use right now to achieve a great concentration on the entire national stage, in civil society, at the Judiciary, the Congress of the Republic, and the Executive Branch itself," he expressed. Likewise, the top official affirmed that if differences are put aside and the example of Chavin de Huantar is followed, successful results will be achieved for the nation. "The Chavin de Huantar strategy and operation is a milestone which will remain in the memory of all Peruvians and future generations," he underlined. Moreover, President Castillo expressed his administration's firm commitment to continue strengthening the Armed Forces which work not only for national security but also in different social actions. "Dear fellow citizens, I must call for the broadest national unity, just as these battalions unite to fight insecurity and crime," he concluded. El presidente Pedro Castillo participa en la ceremonia por el 25. aniversario de la Operacion Chavin de Huantar, el Dia del Valor Militar y Dia de los Defensores de la Democracia, donde se recuerda la exitosa liberacion de rehenes por parte de FF. AA. en la Embajada de Japon. pic.twitter.com/nKfJIfijMd YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. A number of commemorative events will be held this year on April 24 the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day in Istanbul, Turkey. The Istanbul-based Agos newspapers Editor-in-Chief Bagrat Estukyan told ARMENPRESS that in the past two years events werent organized in public spaces due to COVID-19 restrictions. This year the COVID-19 situation has improved and the Armenian community of Istanbul will organize several events. A rally will take place at 19:00, April 24 in the Besikstas district of Istanbul. The Human Rights Union will deliver a statement for the press on the same day. On midday April 24 a visit to the grave of Sevak Balkc is planned. He is the young Private who was murdered on April 24 in 2011 in a hate-fuelled killing while serving in the military, Estukyan added. He noted that last week the Saturday Mothers organization issued a statement commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide. In addition, various discussions and press conferences on the Armenian Genocide are planned in different locations on April 24 in Istanbul, as well as television programs. Asked what discussions are taking place around the latest Armenia-Turkey dialogue process and does it impact the Armenian Genocide issue, Estukyan said there are no significant discussions at all in Turkey. By in large there is no dialogue. The envoys meet, but we dont know what they talk. We find out from the press that they met in Vienna, in Moscow, but this doesnt mean dialogue because there is no result, no development and no progress. There is no reaction over this issue in Turkey. It seems that this matter is more urgent for Armenia and there is greater interest for the developments in Armenia, but in Turkey this isnt an item on the agenda, there is no tangible result, Estukyan said. Anna Gziryan YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian prosecution possesses objective evidence proving that the military-political leadership and servicemembers of Azerbaijan committed gross violations of international humanitarian law during the 44-day war, Prosecutor-General Artur Davtyan said at the parliamentary committee on state-legal affairs while presenting the prosecutions 2021 report. In concrete cases they premeditatedly targeted civilian settlements and civilians, murdered civilians, violated the rules of war, deployed banned munitions, targeted and destroyed Armenian historical-cultural values and fueled by ethnic hatred committed violence, torture and killings, Davtyan said, describing the actions of the Azerbaijani troops. He also spoke about the acts of terror committed during the 44-day war. The objective evidence gathered under the criminal cases clearly prove that as early as in June-July 2020, infamous terror groups started recruiting mercenaries from northern Syria. The recruited mercenaries were unimpededly transferred into Turkey through the Turkey-Syria state border, without control or check, and were then transferred by plane to Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, they underwent military training. The Syrian mercenaries detained by us have testified that they underwent special training for combat in mountainous terrains. They were ordered to target, kill and torture civilians in settlements, Davtyan said. Criminal prosecution was instituted against 60 representatives of the Azerbaijani military-political leadership, he added. 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. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he drew special attention to issues related to regional stability and security during his meetings in Russia. Speaking about his recent official visit to Russia, PM Pashinyan thanked his Russian partners for the warm reception. He said that the visit was productive. We reached important agreements in the issue of principles of opening regional connections, recording the identical approaches of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation. In the given matter we can record the uniformity of approaches of all our international partners in practice. And on this backdrop Id like to once again reiterate the readiness of the Republic of Armenia to launch as soon as possible the construction of the railway and roads connecting the East with West through the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the PM said at the Cabinet meeting. Pashinyan expressed hope that the trilateral task force dealing with this issue and co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan will be able to develop and agree the required documents for launching the process soon. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Clouds breaking up with skies turning out mostly clear or partly cloudy. Still a little breezy at times and chilly.. Tonight Clouds breaking up with skies turning out mostly clear or partly cloudy. Still a little breezy at times and chilly. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that he has informed President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan on the content of his talks in Moscow related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. This isnt anything new. Ive always done so after my talks and discussions in Russia, Europe or here in Armenia, and the President of Artsakh in turn presented the results of these negotiations to the political elite of Artsakh, Pashinyan said. After each phase of negotiations I am sharing in detail the information with the most various governmental and political circles of Armenia. I have always displayed readiness to share this content also with the parliamentary opposition but they are always rejecting such discussions, perhaps, for understandable reasons, to create legends on some conspiracy theories and put these legends in the foundation of their activities, the PM added. There are perfect well-made plays. Then there are plays that thrill and incite, refusing to accept simple, neatly-tied solutions. Jackie Sibblies Drury's Marys Seacole is wild, brave, and absolutely riveting. It doesn't accept any easy options and I utterly loved it. This is the second of Sibblies Drury's plays produced here, following on from 2019's Pulitzer Prize-winning Fairview, staged by the same creative team including director Nadia Latif and designer Tom Scutt. Although marginally more conventional than that incendiary drama which ended with the white audience up on stage Marys Seacole shares the same capacity to detonate audience expectations, swinging from the wildly comic to the furious and fiercely argued in a hair's breadth. Its ostensible subject is Mary Seacole, pioneering Jamaican nurse, who ran a hotel for sick travellers before heading out to the Crimean War to offer medical assistance to the British Army. We learn the outline of her story and her own view of herself when Kayla Meikle stands on stage in the first scene, in stern Victorian black, and tells us her own, sanitised view of her life. But then, in front of Scutt's simple set of lines of giant scrub-coloured fabric, with pockets and zips, something strange begins to happen. Mary is handed a bluetooth earpiece by a mysterious powerful figure called Duppy Mary (Llewella Gideon). Gradually her outfit is stripped away to reveal the uniform of an NHS worker, who is caring for an infirm white woman, Merry (Susan Wooldridge), whose shrill daughter May (Olivia Williams) is both moaning about how much work she has to do, and quick to castigate Mary for her lack of care. "Basic human compassion that's all I'm asking for." Yet it is Mary and her assistant Mamie (Deja J Bowens, making a wonderfully vivid professional debut) who clean Merry's bed after she has an accident. May and her bored teenage daughter Miriam (Esther Smith) bolt from the scene at the first sign of real mess and distress. These six women then become the protagonists of a series of different scenes, travelling through time, from today's NHS to a park bench in New York, to the Crimea where mutilated bodies suddenly rain from the sky. All explore similar themes: why do black women have to leave their own children to raise the children and care for the infirm mothers of richer white women? Why do their own mothers think that will give them a better life? Who are the real mothers and what value does the love they give possess? The play could not feel more topical, even though it was written in 2018, long before a war once again broke out near to the Crimea, or before the Windrush generation of carers found their service under-valued. But it is the universality of its concerns that give it such fighting power: the way it argues, almost with itself, about how much black women can define their own lives in the face of a racism that overwhelms them. There's anger as an underlying note, particularly in the powerful speeches of Duppy Mary, given elemental force by Gideon. But there's a lot of humour too. The conversations between Mary and Mamie are a subtle joy. The women who are happy to see others care for their families are brilliantly depicted by Williams, screeching down her phone while fixing her (invisible) daughter with fierce eyes, but also by Smith as a young mother who elicits compassion even while she is rattling insensitively on about her holiday in Jamaica. Williams, superbly sharp throughout, also turns up as Florence Nightingale, dripping with contempt as bright as the lamp she holds in her hand, anxious to erase Seacole's efforts from the narrative. The action is broad-ranging and massively varying in tone. What holds the piece together, apart from the sheer questing intelligence of the writing, is Latif's controlled direction and a performance of extraordinary range and power from Meikle. Both dignified and comic, doubting and assured, her kindly, thoughtful presence gives this bold, brilliant play its centre and its emotional heart. The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced that Gregory Doran is stepping down as artistic director with immediate effect. Doran, who has been in the role for ten years, will continue to direct rehearsals for Richard III and will remain with the company as "artistic director emeritus" until the end of 2023. In this capacity he will "lead specific projects and direct a production in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as part of the celebration of Shakespeare's First Folio in 2023". This will be his 50th production for the RSC. Erica Whyman, who has been acting artistic director since September 2021, will continue this role while the company recruits a permanent successor. Doran took a period of leave last year to care for his husband Antony Sher after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Sher died in December. Speaking about his decision to step down, he said: "It has been a real privilege to be a part of the amazing team leading this great company for this last decade of challenge and achievement. And to work through the entire canon of plays in Shakespeare's First Folio in time for its 400th anniversary next year. "We have made many strides in making our theatre more inclusive, accessible, diverse and accountable, but there is always more to do and I wish whoever succeeds me joy in continuing that work. I am honoured to have been granted the title of artistic director emeritus until the end of 2023." Shriti Vadera, RSC chair, responded: "Greg's unparalleled knowledge of Shakespeare's plays has created many memorable productions on our stages over a 35-year span that marks an extraordinary contribution to the RSC, not least as artistic director in the last ten years." Catherine Mallyon, RSC executive director, added: "The humanity we see shining through Greg's work on stage is also what we experience every day. From a kind word to an incisive intervention, Greg has always taken the time to see us all as individuals. It has been a joy and an inspiration to work alongside Greg and I thank him with all my heart for being such a generous and supportive professional partner." Your browser does not support the video tag. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan rules out signing any document on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict without a broad public discussion. I rule out, I simply rule out that a document can exist close to getting signed that would be signed without a broad public discussion, including with all layers of Artsakhs public. This is a guarantee, an iron guarantee that the fate of Artsakh cannot be decided behind the back of the people, Pashinyan said. He says that in this regard the pessimists are mentioning the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement as an example of a document that was singed without a broad public discussion. However, Pashinyan rejected the comparison. This is an odd comparison because in wartime a decision was to be made within hours and sometimes minutes to save thousands of Artsakhis, 25 thousand troops and save Artsakh from exodus of Armenians and these comparisons are simply inappropriate. But on the other hand our entire policy and steps are aimed at this very issue, so that we dont have to make decisions in such conditions, the PM said. Pashinyan added that the society is now aware of the content of all documents that are subject to negotiations. It is the 5-points handed over by Azerbaijan and our response to it which was essentially entirely published through interviews and speeches and we will continue this conduct in the future as much as inter-state diplomatic ethics allows, Pashinyan said. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar. The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin also attended the meeting, the Prime Ministers Office said. Highlighting the Armenia-EU cooperation, the Armenian PM highly appreciated the President of the European Council Charles Michels efforts aimed at stability in the region, which, jointly with other international partners efforts contribute to regional dialogue. Reiterating Armenias commitment to the democratic reforms agenda, Nikol Pashinyan expressed satisfaction over the allocation of 2,6 billion euros to Armenia as part of the EU Eastern Partnership programs economic and investment package and implementation of development programs. Toivo Klaar thanked the Armenian Prime Minister for the assessment and reiterated the EUs commitment to deepen partnership with Armenia and continue efforts aimed at regional peace. The interlocutors exchanged views over the course of implementation of the agreements reached at the April 6 Brussels meeting of PM Pashinyan, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh issue, the delimitation and demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan and unblocking of economic and transport infrastructures of the region were discussed. Both sides emphasized the necessity for a comprehensive resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. The course of implementation of the programs planned under the Eastern Partnership investment package was discussed. In this context Ambassador Wiktorin presented ongoing works and upcoming actions. The programs are aimed at strengthening democracy in Armenia, boosting the economy and development of SMEs, energy and infrastructure sectors. "Theres still children coming that are not even here yet. Thats how far we need to think about the responsibilities we have as people that are part of the land. "Theres still children coming that are not even here yet. Thats how far we need to think about the responsibilities we have as people that are part of the land." Thus begins Kevin Settees Poplar River documentary, a 10-minute film with narration by Sophia Rabliauskas. The documentary is one of four in the National Film Board-funded series The Lake Winnipeg Project that tells the stories of the Anishinaabe, Cree and Metis communities who live on one of the worlds largest freshwater lakes. Settees documentary will be shown as part of Manitoba Museums Earth Day presentation, beginning today. Kevin Settee Photo Poplar River is a 10-minute documentary by Kevin Settee thats part of The Lake Winnipeg Project. It follows Poplar River First Nation community members as they share their views on the importance and responsibilities of protecting their lands and waters for generations to come. Its a theme that Settee, a Winnipeg boy with far-reaching roots in the Fisher River Cree Nation community, carries throughout the series, amplifying the voices and views of the Indigenous communities who live, survive and thrive in the areas surrounding Lake Winnipeg. "So many people depend on Lake Winnipeg. So many rely on it and I wanted to document the challenges people are facing. Its about the the good things as well the hard-working people who are fighting for the lands, protecting the lands and the water. Its beautiful and also kind of threatened," Settee says. The first film in the series, Matheson Island, was shot during winter and the crew spent many hours outdoors in well-below-freezing temperatures to capture the tale of the Whiteways, who have fished for generations on the lake. But the low temperatures didnt really bother Settee. "The cold wasnt a challenge for me. I love the cold, I love being out in the outdoors. I am from Matheson Island and Fisher River is my home reserve; my grandma is from there. "Almost every shoot went so well. Everyone was on the same page, everyone knew the what was going to happen. We stayed in my cabin for a week. It was fun and exciting." However, it was Poplar River that presented the trickiest challenge, he confides. "It was pretty tiring. We had to go up 13 rapids and it took seven hours to take us up the river, and we went through all of it. I mean it terms of an overall journey, Poplar River was amazing because not a lot of people get to go where we went. We felt very fortunate that the community allowed us to film there and document it." The most affecting of the four films, Camp Morningstar, tracks the experiences of the members of the sacred camp, which was erected in response to the proposal of a silica sand mine project by Canadian Premium Sand (CPS) in Hollow Water First Nation. "I think the hope is that people will listen to the people affected when industry is trying to access our territories. We documented real people who are experiencing everything. The people who are on the rivers, and on the land and on the lake. Thats the whole point: they have important messages and they are so connected to the land and they know whats going on and they see whats happening," Settee says. Kevin Settee photo Poplar River community members outside fishing camp at Weaver Lake The importance of Lake Winnipeg to these communities is reinforced throughout the documentaries. As well as making their living from the vast body of water, the lakes profound spiritual and cultural connection to the First Nations is one that cannot be ignored. "Its everything," Settee says. "Water is our lifeblood. If water is sick we get sick. The damage has already been done with Manitoba Hydro and its impact on the lake. And think about the farming as well the chemicals and pesticides and fertilizer which accumulates in the lake. A lot of people take our land and water for granted. People are so disconnected with the land now; they dont understand." Settee calls on the government to step in. He says the effects of eutrophication can already be felt in the lake, with algae blooms damaging the fish and wildlife in the water. "The lake health needs to be considered. We need government policies. The government has opportunities to build plants to help slow down the chemicals going into the lake and they are not doing that. I dont think we are doing enough. " The films were made together with the communities featured, Settee says. Members had full control over the story and created it alongside the director and crew. Settee calls it a community project, one from which his voice is notably absent. "Yeah, that was intentional. I am not local so its not necessary for me to be projecting into the communities. I have friends and family who live there but I dont live there and so I didnt really see the importance of inserting myself in there. Its the style of documentary as well cinema verite you follow people and you let them speak." Nowhere is this more evident than in the Fisher River episode, which was shot at the height of the pandemic. Owing to restrictions, outsiders were not allowed into the area, and so Settee filmed everything himself. "I was the only one who was allowed to go and I convinced the NFB to let me shoot it 100 per cent by myself. When you are working by yourself, it can be more intimate and people are less intimidated. That comes across in the finished film; theres an intimacy to Fisher River, being inside the homes and the bedrooms and the spaces." The 31-year-old father of a son, 7, and a daughter, 1, was in elementary school when he first picked up a camera. He credits his grandmother for sparking the interest he has in documenting stories. "My granny was a photographer, and thats how I got introduced to photography. She would take pics of me and my cousins all over the place, on the land. As I got older I started buying the disposable cameras and started taking the same kind of pictures she was taking." 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. National Film Board Poplar River Land Guardian Clint Bittern As Settee got older he started watching documentaries and swiftly decided this was his calling: to show his people in the best light possible. "I make documentaries because I think my people are beautiful. We have so many amazing people whose stories need to be heard. Our people hold the answers to a lot of the problems in this world because we are so connected to the land. I think Indigenous people are very special. "Its not just about Indigenous filmmaking or even about money. Its about telling proper stories. So many times our stories are misrepresented and showed in a negative light. These stories here have hope. Im showing a balance between hardship and hope." The Lake Winnipeg Project: Poplar River will be shown at Winnipeg Gallery Theatre in the Manitoba Museum as part of the museums Earth Day Trail from today to to Sunday. Admission is included in the ticket price and there will be back-to-back screenings on all three days. DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Thousands of members of an Islamist group rallied in Bangladeshs capital on Friday to protest recent violence in Sweden involving an anti-Muslim far-right group and fresh clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque. Muslims protest after Friday prayers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, April 22, 2022. Thousands of Muslims staged a rally against the planned Quran burnings by a right-wing group in Sweden, and to show solidarity for the Palestinian people following their recent clashes with Israeli police at Al-Aqsa Mosque. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu) DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Thousands of members of an Islamist group rallied in Bangladeshs capital on Friday to protest recent violence in Sweden involving an anti-Muslim far-right group and fresh clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque. Protesters from the conservative Islami Andolon Bangladesh group, which supports the introduction of Islamic law in the Muslim-majority secular country, carried banners and placards reading Sweden Police, Shame, Shame! and Stop Brutality in Aqsa Mosque." Many also carried the flags of Bangladesh and Palestine during a procession. Bangladesh does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel and supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The protesters marched peacefully through streets of Dhaka outside the countrys main Baitul Mokarram Mosque following Fridays weekly prayers. 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. The conservative group has in the past organized similar protests to denounce Frances president and his staunch support of secular laws that deemed caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad protected under the nations freedom of speech. On Friday, Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalems Old City, the third holiest site in Islam, after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed. The renewed violence at the site, which is also sacred to Jews, came despite Israel temporarily halting Jewish visits, which are seen by the Palestinians as a provocation. Last weekend, violence broke out in southern Sweden despite police moving a rally by a far-right group, which was planning to burn a copy of the Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure. Moulana Imtiaz Alam, leader of the Islami Andolon Bangladesh, urged the Bangladeshi government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to officially denounce such acts. He also demanded the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to raise its voice. We ask the OIC and the Muslim countries to play an effective role against the misery of the Muslims and defamation of the Quran, he said. If the Bangladesh government does not take any steps in the OIC and the United Nations, we will conclude that they are working on behalf of Israel, he said. JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli police in full riot gear stormed a sensitive Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed. Israeli police move behind riot shields during clashes with Palestinian protesters at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli police in full riot gear stormed a sensitive Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed. The renewed violence at the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, came despite Israel temporarily halting Jewish visits, which are seen by the Palestinians as a provocation. Medics said more than two dozen Palestinians were wounded before the clashes subsided hours later. Friday evening, Israel said Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets from the territory. One rocket landed in an open area in southern Israel and the other fell in Gaza. Palestinian media reported that two Gaza residents were injured from the rocket that landed short. There was no immediate comment from local health officials. In Jerusalem, Tens of thousands of Muslims took part in the main Friday prayers at midday, which were held as planned. Palestinians and Israeli police have regularly clashed at the site over the last week at a time of heightened tensions following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel and arrest raids in the occupied West Bank. Three rockets have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas. Israeli police deploy in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. Israeli police and Palestinian youths clashed again at the major Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday despite a temporary halt to Jewish visits to the site, which are seen as a provocation by the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) The string of events has raised fears of a repeat of last year, when protests and violence in Jerusalem eventually boiled over, helping to ignite an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, and communal violence in Israel's mixed cities. Palestinian youths hurled stones toward police at a gate leading into the compound, according to two Palestinian witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. The police, in full riot gear, then entered the compound, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades. Israeli police said the Palestinians, some carrying Hamas flags, had begun stockpiling stones and erecting crude fortifications before dawn. The police said that after the rock-throwing began, they waited until after early morning prayers had finished before entering the compound. Palestinians clash with Israeli police at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. Israeli police and Palestinian youths clashed again at the major Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday despite a temporary halt to Jewish visits to the site, which are seen as a provocation by the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Video footage showed the police firing at a group of journalists holding cameras and loudly identifying themselves as members of the press. At least three Palestinian reporters were wounded by rubber bullets fired by police. Some older Palestinians urged the youths to stop throwing rocks but were ignored, as dozens of young masked men hurled stones and fireworks at the police. A tree caught fire near the gate where the clashes began. Police said it was ignited by fireworks thrown by the Palestinians. The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said at least 31 Palestinians were wounded, including 14 who were taken to hospitals. A policewoman was hit in the face by a rock and taken for medical treatment, the police said. Palestinians gather for early morning prayer during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, shortly before Israeli police clashed with protesters at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. Israeli police and Palestinian youths clashed again at the major Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday despite a temporary halt to Jewish visits to the site, which are seen as a provocation by the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) The violence subsided later in the morning after another group of dozens of Palestinians said they wanted to clean the area ahead of the main weekly prayers midday. Those went ahead, with some 150,000 worshippers attending, according to the Islamic endowment that administers the site. After prayers, a small group of Palestinians waving Hamas flags marched in protest and tried to break into an empty police post inside the compound. The police used a drone to drop tear gas on them, sending crowds of people scattering across the esplanade. The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City is the third holiest site in Islam. The sprawling esplanade on which it is built is the holiest site for Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of two Jewish temples in antiquity. It lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and clashes there have often ignited violence elsewhere. 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. Palestinian medics evacuate a person wounded in clashes between protesters and Israeli police at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City, Friday, April 22, 2022. Israeli police in full riot gear stormed the sensitive Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Palestinians and neighboring Jordan, the custodian of the site, accuse Israel of violating longstanding arrangements by allowing increasingly large numbers of Jews to visit the site under police escort. A longstanding prohibition on Jews praying at the site has eroded in recent years, fueling fears among Palestinians that Israel plans to take over the site or partition it. Israel says it remains committed to the status quo and blames the violence on incitement by Hamas. It says its security forces are acting to remove rock-throwers in order to ensure freedom of worship for Jews and Muslims. Visits by Jewish groups were halted beginning Friday for the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as they have been in the past. This year, Ramadan coincided with the week-long Jewish Passover and major Christian holidays, with tens of thousands of people from all three faiths flocking to the Old City after the lifting of most coronavirus restrictions. The Old City is in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and considers the entire city its capital. The Palestinians seek an independent state in all three territories and view east Jerusalem as their capital. INTERNATIONAL relief and development organizations based in Winnipeg are celebrating a proposed change to the Income Tax Act in the recent federal budget. INTERNATIONAL relief and development organizations based in Winnipeg are celebrating a proposed change to the Income Tax Act in the recent federal budget. Announced April 7 by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, it will no longer require Canadian aid groups to show they have complete direction and control over the funds they give to partners in the developing world. The amendment is intended to implement the spirit of Bill S-216 (Effective and Accountable Charities Act), which is currently being considered by Parliament. "The change has positive implications for us and our members, and for partners we work with internationally," said Andy Harrington, executive director of Canadian Foodgrains Bank. The current requirement to show direction and control over funding and programs is a "restrictive impediment" to good programming and relations with overseas partners, he said. "It creates an administrative burden to try and show that funded activities by international partners are in fact Canadian owned, and the reporting and agreements required are onerous and expensive." It is also highly paternalistic and colonial for partners in the developing world "to have their activities controlled from Canada," Harrington added. Under the current legislation, Canadian aid groups not only have to show they control and direct money and programs, "but over every decision the partner makes." Harrington cited the example of an African organization that refused to enter into a funding agreement with a Canadian aid group over the requirement. "They said they had fought to end colonization in their country, and now the aid group wanted to bring it back in through finances," he said. When the new legislation takes effect, the Foodgrains Bank will still have detailed agreements with partners for reporting about use of funds, he said. The change "puts to an end the idea that we know better from a desk in Canada what is happening or needed on the ground in the developing world," Harrington said, adding it also brings Canada into line most other developed countries. For Bruce Guenther, disaster response director at Mennonite Central Committee, the change is also welcome: "The current legislation is not in keeping with the spirit of mutual accountability that MCC believes in." The change will better reflect "our relationships with our partners. They are the actors, we are the supporters," he said, adding it will also relieve them from "onerous reporting and administrative burdens." It will give local partners "more flexibility if they need to change something. Under the current act, they cant do that without our approval. They can be more flexible and nimble," Guenther said. MCC will still have "very clear expectations," when it comes to reporting about the use of donated funds, he noted. The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. Bruce MacDonald, president and CEO of Imagine Canada, an umbrella group for Canadian charities, said the move will allow charities to be "more respectful and create true and authentic partnerships, not parent-child relationships." It will also have implications for organizations that want to support Indigenous groups in Canada that are not registered charities. "In the world of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this needed to be changed," MacDonald said. "For Indigenous groups, it feels quite colonial for charities that want to support them to have to say they have to own the program and Indigenous people have to do what they say." He hopes the change will be enacted quickly, perhaps as early as next month. "Through the budget, the government is signalling it intends to do this. But its too early to declare victory. We need to keep up momentum. We see the finish line in sight, but we cant give up." faith@freepress.mb.ca YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a meeting with the delegation led by EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar. The sides discussed the course of implementation of the agreements reached at the April 6 Brussels meeting and the prospects of unblocking the economic and transport infrastructures of the region, the foreign ministry said. Special attention was drawn on existing humanitarian issues, namely the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees. OTTAWA - The government signalled it is aspiring to a "more sustainable" approach to COVID-19 restrictions at the border with several small changes Friday, but public health officials say vaccine and mask mandates remain important. A man and two young girls arrive at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto on Tuesday May 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn OTTAWA - The government signalled it is aspiring to a "more sustainable" approach to COVID-19 restrictions at the border with several small changes Friday, but public health officials say vaccine and mask mandates remain important. Unvaccinated children aged five to 11 travelling with a fully vaccinated adult will no longer need a COVID-19 test to enter Canada as of Monday. Pre-entry tests will still be needed for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers over the age of 12 who are eligible to travel to Canada. Children under five don't currently require a COVID-19 test. Airports will still conduct random mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers as they arrive, but they will be refocused to four major Canadian airports: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. In a news release Friday, government officials announced several other small changes to ease restrictions for international travellers that will take effect after the weekend, "as of part of the Government of Canada's plans to move toward a more sustainable approach to COVID-19 travel requirements." Fully vaccinated travellers, and any kids under 12 with them, will no longer need to provide their quarantine plans when they enter the country. And when vaccinated people arrive in Canada, they won't need to wear a mask for 14 days, keep a list of contacts or report COVID-19 symptoms. The government will also do away with the need for fully vaccinated travellers to quarantine if someone in their group develops COVID-19 symptoms or tests positive. It's a good time to ease restrictions at the border, deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said at a briefing in French Friday. "If people are fully vaccinated, measures can be relaxed," Njoo said in French. The minor changes come as particularly good news for people travelling as a family this season, said National Airlines Council of Canada president Suzanne Acton-Gervais. While Njoo and his chief, Dr. Theresa Tam, said restrictions should be constantly reviewed they also expressed support for the vaccine and mask mandates that are in place. "I'm not saying anything about it from a policy perspective, but yes, the higher our vaccination rate is, the higher the uptake is of vaccines, the better overall," Njoo said. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos did not appear at the press briefing, but said in a statement that the government would continue to consider further easing of border measures based on science as vaccination levels and health-care system capacity improve. Airlines in the United States dropped their mask mandates after a Florida judge ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority in enacting the mandate on public transportation in the first place. Combined with the fact that many provinces have announced plans to scrap their own mandates, that has prompted some to question whether Canadians should have to mask up on planes and trains. Tam said if a mandate will encourage people to wear a mask and reduce transmission, why not have one? "I mean, it has a certain amount of inconvenience perhaps, but it does not essentially restrict travel as such. So I think it's one of the least intrusive measures, but adds definitely another layer of protection," Tam said. Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra says federal and provincial COVID-19 mandates are not out of step with each other at all. 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. "I actually think the federal rules and provincial rules are almost in sync," he said at a separate press conference Friday. "We've dropped testing requirements, we've dropped quarantine requirements, pre-departure tests. So we've really adjusted many of our measures." Ontario announced Friday it will extend its mask requirement in high-risk settings until June 11 while it weathers this latest wave of infections. Tam said COVID-19 is still widespread throughout Canada, and the current wave appeared to be reaching a peak in some parts of the country before the Easter long weekend. It's too soon to tell if gatherings over that long weekend will result in another bump in cases, she said. Generally, the number of hospitalizations appears to be manageable during this wave, though some hospitals are suffering as health workers take time off because of COVID-19 infections, she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2022. TORONTO - Alterna Savings and Credit Union Ltd. has signed a deal to acquire the majority of the assets of the troubled PACE Savings and Credit Union. TORONTO - Alterna Savings and Credit Union Ltd. has signed a deal to acquire the majority of the assets of the troubled PACE Savings and Credit Union. 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. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available. PACE was placed under administration by the predecessor of Ontarios Financial Services Regulatory Authority in September 2018 due to concerns about board governance and misconduct by certain executives. The regulator says the deal follows an assessment of the options available to PACE in light of the impact of pre-administration mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Alterna CEO Rob Paterson says the credit union looks forward to bringing a new era of stability and confidence to PACE's members and employees. Alterna Savings has more than 184,000 members and a network of 34 branches across Ontario. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2022. Boston urged people to start wearing masks Thursday and the Biden administration weighed its next legal step in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes court fight over the abrupt end of the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. FILE - Travelers wearing protective masks as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus move about the a terminal at the Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, April 19, 2022. Airlines have banned several thousand passengers since the pandemic started for refusing to wear masks. Now they want most of those passengers back. Officials with United Airlines and American Airlines said Thursday, April 21, 2022 that they will lift the bans now that masks are optional on flights. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file) Boston urged people to start wearing masks Thursday and the Biden administration weighed its next legal step in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes court fight over the abrupt end of the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit. The Boston Public Health Commission noted a rise in hospitalizations, as well as a 65% increase in cases and an even larger spike in COVID-19 levels in local wastewater samples. It also stressed that the guidance was merely a recommendation, not an order. The country is wrestling with how to deal with the next phase of the pandemic and find the right balance in enacting health measures at a time when many Americans are ready to move on after two exhausting years. A federal judge in Florida this week threw out a national mask mandate on mass transportation, and airlines and airports responded swiftly Monday by repealing their requirements that passengers wear face coverings. That put the Biden administration in the position of trying to navigate an appeal that could have sweeping ramifications over the power that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has in regulating future health emergencies. Los Angeles County bucked national trends and said Thursday it will still require masks on public transit including trains, subways, buses, taxis and rideshares. Cases have risen in the past week and hospitalizations have plateaued after falling the previous two months. Philadelphia last week became the first big city to bring back a mask mandate, responding to a rise and infections and hospitalizations there, but the city abruptly reversed course Thursday night and ended the mandate. Other cities in the Northeast have been closely watching the trend lines and a new color-coded map from the CDC to decide next steps. The map that the CDC switched to in late February is less focused on positive test results and more on whats happening at hospitals to give community leaders clearer guidelines on when to urge masking. Nearly 95% of U.S. counties still have low transmission based on the map, but more places have shifted to medium and high transmission in recent weeks, including many places in upstate New York. Hospitalizations nationally have ticked up in recent weeks but are nowhere near the peak reached at the height of the omicron surge. COVID-19 cases have increased rapidly citywide, so we need people to be vigilant and take precautions that can help us avoid another potential surge, said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the Boston commissions executive director. Living with COVID-19 is about collective responsibility and working together. She said people in Boston should mask indoors, stay up to date with their vaccinations and test for suspected infections. The Boston recommendation came two days after the city's transit system lifted mask requirements in response to the national transportation ruling, reflecting the mishmash of reactions following the court decision by an appointee of former President Donald Trump. As the Biden administration figures out an appeal, Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, said a monumental battle" was shaping up, with the future of the CDC at stake. The agency continues to recommend that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings. The question the courts are going to have to decide, and the public will have to decide, is when the next health crisis hits and it will will we have a strong public health agency to protect the population? he said. Or will the CDC simply have its hands tied behind its back? I think its a very really possibility were going to see the CDC handcuffed. While the Supreme Court did strike down the agencys eviction moratorium for housing, that was more at the edge of the agencys authority. Setting rules for mask wearing on public transit is a basic, core tenant of the CDCs power, Gostin said. If someone gets on a flight from New York to LA, theres no state stopping them. The only thing preventing that transmission is the CDC, Gostin said. Temple University Law Professor Scott Burris echoed that sentiment, saying that the U.S. government's legal authority to respond sensibly to epidemics and other kinds of emergencies is at stake in the case. Burris said the ability to manage future health emergencies must have weighed heavily in the reasoning of the Justice Department to appeal the ruling, but lets not forget were going into another surge and there is the potential for new variants. An appeal would go to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered a right-leaning court, and conservative justices have a majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling could take away the CDCs power to issue mask orders and cast any future orders under a legal cloud, he said. Temple Laws Craig Green said the federal governments strategy is really almost brilliant because it could win in two ways with its appeal. If COVID-19 cases numbers continue to fall, Justice Department attorneys could argue that the issue is moot and ask to have the case thrown out. No one will have reason to cite it ever in the future as a precedent, he said. But he said that if cases rise, the federal government would be better positioned to reimpose a mask mandate. I think the arguments about what a government can do, what the federal level can do under conditions of emergency were very difficult and problematic, he said. I can understand why the Department of Justice and the United States government really did not want to see that kind of limit on their authority in the future, even if COVID ends up being more controlled in the future. Amid the court battle, American, United and Delta have all indicated that they will lift the bans they imposed on passengers who refused to wear masks now that masks are optional on flights. We have talked to them individually, United CEO Scott Kirby told NBC on Thursday. Many of them assure us that now that the mask mandate is off, everything is going to be fine, and I trust that the vast majority of them will. Many passengers were shrugging off the changes. When Jon Schaudies flies from Chicago to San Antonio next week, he'll wear a mask, but won't worry if the passenger next to him doesn't do the same. 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. Schaudies, who travels frequently as vice president of a small manufacturing company, feels that he has enough protection from the COVID-19 vaccine and booster to avoid becoming seriously ill if he does contract it. I feel like people are at such extremes, but Im sort of right down the middle," said Schaudies, 51, who plans to get a second booster shot. He understands the worries of parents traveling with children who are too young to be vaccinated, but says they have decision to make about whether to fly. But for business travelers, we can't stop." The world has to go on at some point. ____ Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Whitehurst from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writer Carla K. Johnson contributed from Seattle. Climate change is worsening the already significant threat of flooding in Californias farm country, and state officials said Thursday that as much as $30 billion may be needed over three decades to protect the region, an increase from five years ago. The Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers meet on the edge of the Dos Rios Ranch Preserve in Modesto, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. The 2,100-acre preserve is California's largest floodplain restoration project, designed to give the rivers room to breath and restore traditional riparian habitats. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Climate change is worsening the already significant threat of flooding in Californias farm country, and state officials said Thursday that as much as $30 billion may be needed over three decades to protect the region, an increase from five years ago. Every five years, flood protection plans are updated for the Central Valley, where about 1.3 million people live at risk in floodplains. State officials released a draft of the latest update that calls for investing in levees, maintenance and multi-benefit projects that recharge aquifers and support wildlife while enhancing flood protection. The investments are necessary to protect a growing region where climate change is expected to worsen the chance of heavy rains and flooding, especially for the San Joaquin river basin. Climate change is no longer the future boogeyman that it once was. It's here, said Kristopher Tjernell, deputy director of integrated watershed management at the California Department of Water Resources. The cost of maintenance and new construction increased in part due to those changes and a better understanding of what is needed, according to the draft. The 2017 flood plan update called for $17 billion to $21 billion in investments over three decades. Since that update, about $4.4 billion has been allocated. The latest draft said the need is now $25 billion to $30 billion over the coming 30 years. Those investments, however, will save lives and property, according to the plan. The Central Valley is in the states interior and includes cities like Sacramento and Fresno. It is also home to a $17 billion agricultural economy. While the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast may be more associated with catastrophic flooding, the Central Valley is at significant risk. In 2017, severe weather forced officials to use the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Sacramento. Water tumbling over the spillway caused erosion, and nearly 200,000 people were temporarily evacuated as a precaution. California is struggling with drought and this spring continues to be dry. Snowpack is well below average, reservoirs are low, and officials fear a bad wildfire season. But not having enough rain and snow now doesnt mean flood risk has gone away, said Nicholas Pinter who researches watersheds at the University of California Davis. These updates are usually about maintaining interest in flooding, especially during a multiyear drought, Painter said. It is important not to neglect problems even if they aren't immediately occurring, he said. Finding enough money is a challenge, according to the draft. State funds are insufficient and it is difficult to persuade local communities to pay enough for flood management, according to the plan. Opportunities to grab more federal dollars are increasing, however. Officials said combating climate change requires projects that do more than just prevent floods. Allowing floodwaters to spread out can also help recharge aquifers and improve habitat. 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. Its one big watershed, and we have to be working together, said Julie Rentner, president of the conservation group River Partners. Rentner said the plan calls for additional spending on multi-benefit projects showing that officials are taking them seriously. The plan also calls for tracking performance and ensuring disadvantaged areas are properly protected, according to the draft. The public can submit comments on the draft through early June. The Central Valley Flood Protection Board is responsible for reviewing the comments and adopting the update. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/environment SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California workplace regulators on Thursday extended mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022, acting more than two months after state lawmakers restored similar benefits through September. Workers install piping for underground electrical lines in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, April 20, 2022. California workplace regulators are poised to extend mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022, more than two months after state lawmakers restored similar benefits through September. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California workplace regulators on Thursday extended mandatory pay for workers affected by the coronavirus through the end of 2022, acting more than two months after state lawmakers restored similar benefits through September. The decision again pitted management against labor as the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board renewed revised workplace safety rules that would otherwise have expired in early May. I dont think were done with this yet, board chairman David Thomas said of the pandemic. Theres going to be a surge in a week or so, Thomas added. "This is the best protection we have. Laura Stock, an occupational safety representative on the board, echoed employee advocates who lobbied board members to continue special protections for workers even as health officials ease mask, quarantine and other requirements for the general public. Unlike members of the public who can choose their own risk tolerance, Stock said, people who are in the workplace have no choice but to be there. Management representative Kate Crawford said the rules have caused confusion as she cast the only no in a 6-1 vote. Keeping what is known as exclusion pay for workers who are sent home due to the coronavirus is both costly and confusing, particularly since the Legislature recently approved COVID-19 sick leave, said Rob Moutrie, a policy advocate with the California Chamber of Commerce, Small businesses have particularly struggled with the obligation, Moutrie said. The Cal/OSHA rule applies in almost every workplace in the state, covering workers in offices, factories and retail businesses, while the state sick leave law applies only to companies with 26 or more employees. The debate comes as the highly transmissible omicron variant BA.2 becomes dominant in California and across the U.S., threatening a new wave of infections. The state's case rate is up by one-third and test positivity has doubled since late March. Hospitalizations and intensive care patients remain at or near their lows for the pandemic. But the state's models predict hospitalizations will increase from fewer than 1,000 now to nearly 1,400 in another month, while ICU admissions will begin to climb in early May. In another sign of Californias changing response to the pandemic, public health officials are canceling the states contract with diagnostics company PerkinElmer Health Sciences Inc. as of May 15, ahead of schedule. The company had been operating the states new $25 million COVID testing lab in Valencia, opened in November 2020, under a no-bid contract initially worth up to $1.4 billion. The state renewed the contract in October. Republican state lawmakers hailed the cancelation, citing repeated problems reported at the facility, including testing delays and quality control. This lab failed to serve Californians, and the state delayed accountability for months, Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk said. State health officials said Thursday that they are now relying more on a different form of testing and efforts that link positive test results to immediate treatment. But they said the state will maintain the ability to test up to 500,000 people a day through a network of labs as part of the states rapid response plan to future coronavirus outbreaks. Los Angeles County said Thursday that it will continue requiring masks for travelers aboard public transit and inside indoor transportation hubs, including Los Angeles International and other airports along with bus terminals and train stations. Also Thursday, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer and L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon announced two settlements totaling nearly $26.5 million related to allegations of fake COVID-19 testing and false advertising by Venice, California, based Sameday Technologies, doing business as Sameday Health, which operates 55 testing locations nationwide. Sameday Health said the problems arose amidst the chaos of massive surges in demand for services" early in the pandemic, but it said it has since corrected the problems. The renewed workplace regulation requires employers to keep paying workers' wages and maintain their seniority and other benefits for as long as they can't work because of a coronavirus exposure or infection, unless they receive disability payments or the employer can prove the close contact wasn't work related. "It is important that employees who are COVID-19 cases do not come to work," Cal/OSHA said. The state's sick leave law differs in that it provides employees with up to one week of paid time off if they get the coronavirus or are caring for a sick family member. They qualify for a second week off only if they or their family members test positive. There's a troubling provision in the revised Cal/OSHA paid leave rules that isn't in current regulations, said Mitch Steiger, a legislative advocate for the California Labor Federation. Currently, an employee who has had close contact with an infected worker is also sent home, with pay. But the revised rules can keep them on the job until they test positive. 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. The employer could force that person to stay at work and interact with co-workers, members of the public and immunocompromised people and whomever until that person tests positive, Steiger said before the board's decision. The more that we walk that back, the more space we give the virus to spread, he said. Agribusiness representatives objected that the workplace rules give employers two choices when dealing with an outbreak of three or more coronavirus cases if an employee comes in close contact. The employee must either test negative, or be given a week off with pay if they decline to be tested. Youre encouraging people to not get tested, Michael Miiller, California Association of Winegrape Growers government relations director, told the board. ___ Associated Press Writer Stefanie Dazio contributed to this story from Los Angeles. BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are increasing flooding, droughts and other costly catastrophes. BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are increasing flooding, droughts and other costly catastrophes. Pennsylvania on Saturday becomes the first major fossil fuel-producing state in the U.S. to adopt a carbon pricing policy to address climate change. It joins 11 states where coal, oil and natural gas power plants must buy credits for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. FILE - In this June 10, 2021 photo, a flume of emissions flow from a stack at the Cheswick Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, in Springdale, Pa. Pennsylvania on Saturday, April 23, 2022, will become the latest state in the U.S. to adopt a carbon pricing policy to address climate change. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) President Joe Biden is attempting a less direct approach known as the social cost of carbon that calculates future climate damages to justify tougher restrictions on polluting industries. Republicans say that could crush many businesses. They want the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the administration after lower courts in Louisiana and Missouri split on the issue. Governments elsewhere have moved more aggressively. Canada, for example, imposes fuel charges on individuals and also makes big polluters pay for emissions. It's one of 27 nations with some kind of carbon tax, according to The World Bank. The varied strategies come as scientists warn climate change is accelerating and all can help reduce emissions. But experts say U.S. efforts have been hobbled by its fractured approach. Part of the reason you need all of these things to work in tandem is we do not have a federal climate policy," said Seth Blumsack, director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy at Penn State University. We have social cost of carbon used in regulatory decisions but not (a carbon price) that is faced by the market. SO WHAT'S THE PRICE TAG? It varies. A lot. The Biden administration's social cost estimate is about $51, meaning every ton of carbon dioxide spewed from a power plant or tail pipe today is projected to contribute to $51 in economic damages in coming years. The state of New York has its own social cost of carbon, updated in 2020 to $125 a ton to account for economic trends. By contrast, emissions were most recently valued at $13.50 per ton at auction under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast, which Pennsylvania is joining. A similar cap and trade emissions program is in place in California, and one is due to go into effect in Washington state in 2023. Canada's carbon taxes include a minimum fuel charge for individuals equivalent to about $40 per ton. WHY THE BIG DIFFERENCES? The social cost of carbon attempts to capture the value of all climate damage, centuries into the future. Carbon pricing reflects how much companies are willing to pay today for a limited amount of emission credits offered at auction. In other words, the social cost of carbon guides policy, while carbon pricing represents policy in practice. Youre trying to get the price to reflect the true cost to society, said economist Matthew Kotchen, a former U.S. Treasury Department official now at Yale University. A more stringent policy would have a higher carbon price. A more lax policy would give you a lower carbon price. In the most efficient world, economists say the two figures would line up, meaning there would be agreement about what climate change damages will cost and the policies used to address them. IS ANY OF THIS WORKING? Emissions from northeastern states would have been about 24% higher if the carbon pricing consortium hadn't been in place, according to researchers from Duke University and the Colorado School of Mines. The carbon auctions also have brought in almost $5 billion that can be used to reduce household energy cost increases and promote renewable energy. The consortium began in 2009 the year of a failed push in Congress to establish a nationwide cap and trade program. The bipartisan proposal died amid arguments over cost and whether climate change was even occurring. Following lawsuits from environmentalists, President Barack Obama's administration crafted the social cost of carbon and began including future damage estimates in cost-benefit analyses for new regulations. It was used under Obama more than 80 times, including for tightened vehicle emissions standards and regulations aimed at shuttering coal plants. President Donald Trump moved to roll back many of the Obama-era rules and to help justify the changes, the Republican administration cut the social cost of carbon from about $50 per ton to $7 or less. The lower number included only domestic climate impacts and not global damages. On its face that might sound okay, but when you think about it, global harms from climate change have implications in the U.S. in terms of the global financial system, said Romany Webb, a climate change law expert at Columbia Law School. WHAT'S NEXT? On the day Biden took office, he set up an interagency group that revived the Obama estimate and promised a revised figure incorporating previously overlooked consequences of climate change. Many economists expect the revised figure to be higher, perhaps more than double the current $51. Without a nationwide cap and trade program, environmentalists and some economists want the government to be more aggressive in using the social cost of carbon to overhaul government energy policy. 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. Under Biden, the U.S. Interior Department for the first time is applying climate damage considerations to oil and gas sales on public lands and waters. An upcoming lease sale in Wyoming, for example, could result in future emissions of 34 million tons (31 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide. Thats equivalent to more than $1.5 billion in future damages. But the agency still plans to sell the leases because officials said there were no established thresholds to evaluate whether the increased emissions were acceptable, or not. The expansion of carbon pricing into Pennsylvania remains tenuous. A legal challenge is pending and the state's term-limited Democratic governor could soon be replaced by a successor who opposes the state's participation. While pricing carbon would be the gold standard, it seems politically difficult to actually get there, said Brian Prest with Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization. - Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter: @matthewbrownAP BEIJING (AP) Hong Kong relaxed pandemic restrictions on Thursday, with Disneyland and museums reopening and nighttime restaurant dining resuming as the city's worst COVID-19 outbreak appears to be fading. Visitors wearing face masks take photos at the Hong Kong Disneyland, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Hong Kong Disneyland reopened to the public after shutting down due to a surge in COVID-19 infections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) BEIJING (AP) Hong Kong relaxed pandemic restrictions on Thursday, with Disneyland and museums reopening and nighttime restaurant dining resuming as the city's worst COVID-19 outbreak appears to be fading. Enthusiastic visitors ran into Disneyland the moment the gates opened after a three-month closure. Popular theme parks were ordered to close in January as Hong Kong's fifth wave of the coronavirus took hold. Nearly 1.2 million people in the city of 7.4 million were infected in less than four months, and nearly 9,000 have died. Since Christmas we havent been back here, my daughters really happy, shes been waiting so long, said Joyce Mak, 36, who brought her young daughter to Disneyland. Last night she was so excited, she didnt want to go to sleep. The city was caught off guard as the surge, driven by highly transmissible omicron variant, overwhelmed hospitals. At the peak of the outbreak, bodies were stored in refrigerated containers because mortuaries were overwhelmed. The easing of restrictions came after officials acknowledged that people were getting frustrated with the measures, and that there must be a balance between fighting the epidemic and resumption of normal activities. Visitors take photos at the Hong Kong Disneyland, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Hong Kong Disneyland reopened to the public after shutting down due to a surge in COVID-19 infections. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) The relaxation of measures before Hong Kong has reached zero COVID-19 cases marks a shift from the citys earlier strategy, which was aligned to mainland Chinas zero-tolerance for any outbreaks. Previously, authorities were reluctant to ease measures until it was clear that outbreaks in the city were stamped out. A 15-year-old student, Cynthia Cheung, said Disneyland was her happiest place. Its been such a long time since coming here, last time was in December, she said. I really missed it. Theme parks can now operate at 50% capacity, and visitors must show proof of vaccination. Disney employees held up signs reminding people to keep social distance. In mainland China, the death toll rose to 25 in an outbreak in Shanghai that has all but shut down the countrys largest city. Health authorities said Thursday that eight more people had died in the previous day. The relatively low number of reported deaths highlights China's use of much narrower criteria than the rest of the world for its pandemic statistics. Shanghai has eased the lockdown somewhat in areas that have not reported new cases in seven to 14 days, allowing residents out of their homes but still restricting them to their compounds or neighborhoods. Some said on social media that they dare not venture out anyway, wary of entering nearby areas that have had recent cases. Officials said this week that 12.3 million people in the city of 25 million are now in control or prevention areas, which are less restrictive than lockdown zones in a three-tier system. That is 4 million more than 10 days ago, they said. However, one of the citys 16 districts announced Thursday that no residents would be allowed to leave their compounds. The Jingan district in central Shanghai said that even those in prevention areas, the least restrictive zone, would no longer be able to venture into the surrounding neighborhood. The city reported 18,495 new local cases on Thursday, including 15,861 without symptoms. In eastern Shanghai, some residents were ordered to leave their homes while health workers carried out a large-scale disinfection following a spike in infections, according to news reports and social media posts. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. It wasnt clear how many people in Beicai town were affected. The areas population is nearly 300,000. Phone calls to the municipal government werent answered. Photos published by The Paper, an online news outlet, showed workers in hooded, white protective suits spraying disinfectant in homes. In Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese region, attractions such as Ocean Park and M+ museum reopened Thursday. Gyms, beauty salons and massage parlors were also allowed to resume business. Customers must have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and scan a QR code upon entry for contact-tracing purposes. Restaurants, which had been barred from providing dine-in service after 6 p.m., can reopen in the evening, although each table is capped at four guests. Hong Kong reported 603 locally spread infections Thursday, down more than 99% from the peak of more than 30,000 in March. ___ Soo reported from Singapore. Associated Press researcher Chen Si in Shanghai, writer Joe McDonald and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report. TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (21,186.38, down 464.03 points.) Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (TSX:AQN). Utilities. Down 28 cents or 1.4 per cent to $19.38 on 19 million shares. Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY). Financials. Down $5.81, or 4.2 per cent, to $132.76 on 10.2 million shares. Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Down $1.22, or 2.1 per cent, to $57.07 on 9.6 million shares. Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K). Materials. Down 22 cents, or 3.1 per cent, to $6.95 on 9.4 million shares. 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. NorZinc Ltd. (TSX:NZC). Materials. Down one cent, or 28.6 per cent, to 2.5 cents on 8.7 million shares. Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSX:ATH). Energy. Down eight cents, or 3.1 per cent, to $2.54 on 7.4 million shares. Companies in the news: Alterna Savings and Credit Union Ltd. Alterna Savings and Credit Union Ltd. has signed a deal to acquire the majority of the assets of the troubled PACE Savings and Credit Union. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available. PACE was placed under administration by the predecessor of Ontarios Financial Services Regulatory Authority in September 2018 due to concerns about board governance and misconduct by certain executives. The regulator says the deal follows an assessment of the options available to PACE in light of the impact of pre-administration mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic. Alterna CEO Rob Paterson says the credit union looks forward to bringing a new era of stability and confidence to PACE's members and employees. Alterna Savings has more than 184,000 members and a network of 34 branches across Ontario. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Hudson's Bay Co. Hudson's Bay Co., North America's oldest company with fur trading roots entwined with Canada's Indigenous Peoples, is calling the donation of its landmark Winnipeg building to a First Nations group an act of reconciliation. The retailer announced the gift of the nearly century-old sprawling limestone building to the Southern Chiefs Organization on Friday. Grand Chief Jerry Daniels called the donation a "historic and monumental" step toward reconciliation in Canada. The powerful symbolism of having a colonial store in the hands of Indigenous Peoples will stand as a "beacon of hope," Daniels said. HBC, now a holding company with real estate, department stores and e-commerce operations, started in 1670 as a fur trading business. Its complex history is closely tied to colonial expansion as it established an exclusive and exploitative trading monopoly with Indigenous Peoples. The company's Winnipeg store opened in 1926. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2022. Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, abruptly reversing course just days after people in the city had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections. FILE - A sign requiring masks as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus on a store front in Philadelphia, is seen Feb. 16, 2022. Philadelphia is reinstating its indoor mask mandate after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the city's top health official, announced Monday, April 11, 2022. Confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen more than 50% in 10 days, the threshold at which the city's guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Philadelphia is ending its indoor mask mandate, city health officials said Thursday night, abruptly reversing course just days after people in the city had to start wearing masks again amid a sharp increase in infections. The Board of Health voted Thursday to rescind the mandate, according to the Philadelphia health department, which released a statement that cited decreasing hospitalizations and a leveling of case counts. The mandate went into effect Monday. Philadelphia had ended its earlier indoor mask mandate March 2. The health department did not release data to back up its reversal on masking, saying more information would be provided Friday. But the acting health commissioner, Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, told the Board of Health at a public meeting Thursday night that hospitalizations had unexpectedly gone down 25% in a matter of days. "Were in a situation that we really had not anticipated being in this soon but it is good news," she said, according to a transcript of the meeting. So Im really very happy ... to say it appears that we no longer need to mandate masks in Philadelphia and that we can actually move to simply a strong recommendation. Philadelphia had become the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate, but faced fierce blowback as well as a legal effort to get the mandate thrown out. Few masks were worn at the Philadelphia 76ers' home playoff game on Monday, even though they were required under city rules. City officials said the mandate would be lifted Friday morning. When the city announced April 11 that mandatory masking was coming back, Bettigole said it was necessary to forestall a potential new wave driven by an omicron subvariant. She said Philadelphia had crossed the threshold of rising cases at which the citys guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. If we fail to act now, knowing that every previous wave of infections has been followed by a wave of hospitalizations, and then a wave of deaths, it will be too late for many of our residents, Bettigole said at the time. Cases and hospitalizations continued to rise at least through Monday, when the health department reported 82 patients in the hospital with COVID-19 up nearly 80% from a week earlier with confirmed cases up 58% over that same span to 224 per day. Those numbers were still a fraction of what the city endured during the wintertime omicron surge. Bettigole told the Board of Health on Thursday night that hospitalizations had since drifted down to 65. The restaurant industry had pushed back against the citys reimposed mask mandate, saying workers would bear the brunt of customer anger over the new rules. Several businesses and residents filed suit in state court in Pennsylvania seeking to overturn the renewed mandate. The Board of Healths vote to rescind the mandate came after board members met in private to discuss the lawsuit. 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. We were very pleased to see Philadelphia make the correct decision to rescind the mask mandate, said the plaintiffs' lawyer, Thomas W King III, who was among those involved in last years successful legal challenge to the statewide mask mandate in schools. Shortly before news broke that the mandate was ending, the issue came up during Thursday night's debate between the three leading Democratic candidates seeking the party's nomination for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat. Notably, two of them, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia, came out against the mandate. We have to move past COVID," said Fetterman, adding that "we have to live with this virus, and I dont believe going backwards with a mask mandate or with closures is appropriate. U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb of suburban Pittsburgh said he hated wearing masks, but thought Philadelphia officials were trying to do whats best for everybody." Most states and cities dropped their masking requirements in February and early March following new guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that put less focus on case counts and more on hospital capacity and said most Americans could safely take off their masks. The Justice Department, meanwhile, said it is appealing a judges order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs. The CDC asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week. BEIJING (AP) Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade, while Hong Kong's government announced the end of a 2-year-old ban on non-residents flying into the city as its outbreak fades. A woman wearing a face mask walks past a mural in Beijing, Friday, April 22, 2022. Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade as they try to revive the local economy while millions of people are still confined to their homes. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) BEIJING (AP) Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade, while Hong Kong's government announced the end of a 2-year-old ban on non-residents flying into the city as its outbreak fades. Streets in Shanghai were largely empty despite an easing of restrictions that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes. Many residents still were barred from leaving their neighborhoods. A deputy mayor, Zhang Wei, promised every effort to resolve problems that prompted complaints about lack of food and fears the shutdown of China's most populous city might disrupt global trade. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government said non-residents who are vaccinated and have a negative virus test will be allowed to fly in again starting May 1. That eases one of the worlds most stringent travel bans, imposed in March 2020. An outbreak that infected some 1.2 million people in the city of 7.4 million and killed almost 9,000 appeared to be fading. Hong Kong Disneyland and museums reopened this week and restaurants resumed evening dining as new daily case numbers fell. On the mainland, Shanghai leaders are scrambling to ease the impact of a zero-COVID strategy that shut down most businesses starting March 28. Most factories and offices remained closed despite changes in anti-virus curbs since last week that have allowed 12.3 million people out of their homes. Commuters wearing face masks ride across an intersection in Beijing, Friday, April 22, 2022. Officials in Shanghai promised Friday to ease anti-virus controls on truck drivers that are hampering food supplies and trade as they try to revive the local economy while millions of people are still confined to their homes. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) In one neighborhood, a woman rode a skateboard and a couple took a child's photo outside a park. Delivery drivers rode past on scooters while government employees in white suits sprayed disinfectant on trash bags. You can only walk the dog, said resident Isabella Kao, who cannot leave her apartment compound because nearby areas are quarantined. Theres no point in going out because all your stores are closed, right? On Friday, the government reported 11 coronavirus deaths and 17,529 new cases in Shanghai. All but 1,931 had no symptoms. Shanghai accounted for 95% of the 18,598 new cases on China's mainland, of which 2,133 had symptoms. China's infection numbers in its biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic in 2020 are low compared with other major countries. But the ruling Communist Party has suspended access to Shanghai and some other major cities to isolate every case, fueling public frustration and warnings about the rising cost. Truck drivers who bring food to Shanghai and goods to its port, the world's busiest, are hampered by multiple checkpoints and virus tests. That has led to long waits and reports that some shipping companies and drivers are avoiding Shanghai. Under the new system, drivers are allowed through if they have had a negative virus test within the past 48 hours, no fever and a green health code on their smartphone that shows they havent been to areas with outbreaks, according to Wu Chungeng, director of the Highway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation. All localities should directly release them, Wu said, according to news reports. Meanwhile, some 80,000 small enterprises in government-owned buildings in Shanghai will be given six months' free rent, the director of the citys commission for state-owned assets, Bai Tinghui, said at the news conference with Zhang, according to state media. The government has made 65 billion yuan ($10 billion) in support loans to Shanghai businesses and distributed other financial aid, the online news outlet The Paper reported, citing city officials. Officials said the Shanghai port is operating normally, according to news reports. But they cited daily cargo volume equivalent to 100,000 containers, down almost 30% from the normal level of 140,000 containers. Authorities are enforcing a three-tier system that allows residents out of their homes if their area has had no new infections in the past week. They can leave the neighborhood after two weeks without a case. Supermarkets and pharmacies are reopening. 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. Some residents say they came close to being allowed out before a new case was found in a neighboring building and the wait started from scratch. Kao, 38, who runs a trading company, said she and her partner have spent most of the six weeks since March 11 in their apartment. She said they were allowed to go to other parts of the city for only four days during that time. Kao said her building is a control area, which means they are allowed outside, but around it is a closed area whose residents are confined to their homes. I feel the people of Shanghai are puzzled by the current anti-epidemic policy, Kao said. ___ AP researchers Chen Si in Shanghai and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the discussions that were prompted by his speech where he said that the international community is calling on Armenia to lower the bar in the issue of the Nagorno Karabakh status. Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, Pashinyan said the reactions to his statement are perplexing. The proposals presented by the OSCE Minsk Group in 2016 on the Nagorno Karabakh resolution are none other than a document on lowering the bar because the key meaning of that document was the indefinite delay of the status issue of Nagorno Karabakh. By saying indefinite it was meant decades, if not longer. In the 2016 proposals, the proposal on delegating the Nagorno Karabakh status issue to international bodies was also a similar lowering of the bar, moreover the kind of bodies that had already previously expressed a position around the issue within the framework of Azerbaijans territorial integrity. Such call to lower the bar was also the OSCE 1996 Lisbon summit and the 1999 idea of a common state. The 2001 Key West process was such a call to lower the bar, so were the 2007 Madrid Principles, upon which the 2016 January, July and August proposals were based. Various documents adopted by various international bodies since the 1990s contained direct or indirect calls for lowering the bar. And the fact that the meaning of these facts were carefully hidden from our public doesnt mean that they didnt exist, Pashinyan said. In the short-term, mid-term and long-term our tactics is the following: to ensure the kind of situation or solution that Artsakhis live in Artsakh, and like Ive said in my April 14 speech to parliament, for them to live in a way that they feel themselves Karabakhi, Artsakhi and Armenian. Any resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue or any development established in Nagorno Karabakh that not only would not ensure these conditions but also wont guarantee it is unacceptable for us and will never be acceptable for us, Pashinyan said. He said that this is the key part of the issue, everything else are "toasts". And the forces that want the Armenian government to adopt toasts that would result in a new war being unleashed and the exodus of Armenians of Artsakh, these forces are the ones who surrendered and are surrendering not only Artsakh but also the Republic of Armenia. But we can also be sure that we will not allow this, the people of Armenia will not allow it. We will also not allow various instigating statements that seek to deviate us from the peace agenda. We will not allow it because we are convinced that the peace agenda would ensure the future of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh, Pashinyan said. In a nod to the treaties and traditional lands on which K-12 classrooms in Manitoba operate, the new provincial education plan states there is an urgency to prioritize Indigenous education, especially language programs, in public schools. In a nod to the treaties and traditional lands on which K-12 classrooms in Manitoba operate, the new provincial education plan states there is an urgency to prioritize Indigenous education, especially language programs, in public schools. Following the release of Manitoba Educations latest reform plans, readers were quick to notice repeated references to truth and reconciliation and closing the achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students throughout the 26-page document. The Better Education Starts Today strategy, the original reform planning document published in 2021 alongside Bill 64 the highly controversial and now-defunct Education Modernization Act mentions truth and reconciliation once. The latest iteration has 11 such references. This is an improvement from last year, said Frank Deer, a professor of education and Canada Research Chair of Indigenous Education at the University of Manitoba. In a sense, (whats in this document) is what was missing from Bill 64. The obsolete reform bill sought to replace elected school boards with a centralized authority made up of government appointees. Critics raised concerns about the loss of local voice in decision-making and implementing a top-down approach that could set back progress on community-based Indigenous education initiatives. Deer said he is cautiously optimistic about the updated plans, given the advancement of truth and reconciliation is on top of the provinces new to-do list and it has promised to work alongside stakeholders, including the Indigenous Inclusion Directorate Advisory Council. On the subject of Indigenous language instruction, the former inner-city teacher, who is Kanienkehaka, said the province will have to make a significant financial commitment if it is serious about recognizing it as a bona fide discipline. The difficulty weve been having in graduating semi-fluent to fluent speakers is that were teaching our Indigenous languages as subjects rather than infusing all subjects with Indigenous language, said Kevin Tacan, language co-ordinator for Sioux Valley Dakota Nation. Tacan, a board member at Indigenous Languages Manitoba, said immersion programs are critical to improving fluency but they require qualified educators, who are in short supply. Post-secondary institutes need to create more opportunities for distance education so Indigenous people can access teacher training, he said. The updated strategy states reforms will be guided by a policy directive titled Mamahtawisiwin: The Wonder We Are Born With, which aims to support the holistic achievements of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit learners by assisting Manitoba educators in incorporating Indigenous pedagogy, languages, and cultures into their teaching. While acknowledging student success is individual, it states youth should attain mino-pimatasiwin (a Cree phrase that translates to The Good Life), a balanced life where emotional, physical, mental and spiritual needs are met. The leader, who oversees Indigenous education in the Seven Oaks School Division, said shes really hopeful about the documents emphasis on her field. Sherri Denysuik said the future of Indigenous education in Manitoba should involve the expansion of immersion programs, after-school programs and land-based learning. All of the provinces work, however, needs to ensure Indigenous educators, elders and knowledge keepers are key voices in guiding plans, Denysuik said. Reform work is already underway to improve age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, treaties, land-based education, Indigenous languages and the historical and contemporary contributions of Indigenous peoples. 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. Among the actions on the provincial to-do list: develop a plan for the recruitment and retention of Indigenous and Indigenous language educators; ensure Indigenous perspectives are embedded in curricula and assessments; and require principals to take concrete actions to improve the achievement of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit pupils. Jordan Bighorn, co-director of the Community Education Development Association, said hes skeptical to put it mildly about the changes in store because the priorities are vague. It is not lost on Bighorn that there is no mention of systemic racism or its impact on Indigenous learner outcomes in the report. At the same time, Bighorn called the new plan a doorstop because the use of terms such as equity, inclusion and reconciliation in it suggest the provinces door remains open for community members equity initiative pitches. CEDA continues to advocate for the implementation of a provincial equity secretariat and various projects to improve the representation of Indigenous educators in K-12 schools both of which, the organization argues, will improve student success. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Despite miserable, once-unimaginably long wait times in Winnipegs emergency rooms, frustrated doctors are advising people to seek treatment if they believe they need it. Despite miserable, once-unimaginably long wait times in Winnipegs emergency rooms, frustrated doctors are advising people to seek treatment if they believe they need it. "We see a lot of chronically ill and a lot of elderly people in the emergency department, and it is brutal waiting in pain," said Dr. Alecs Chochinov, who has spent decades as an ER physician. "The waits in emergency, while not new, have been described by many of my peers, people who have been practising for decades, as the worst theyve seen in their careers." Chochinov, the former head of the University of Manitobas department of emergency medicine, works out of the St. Boniface Hospital ER. He started a shift this week with 30 patients waiting for admission, which he said would occur only during the Christmas season during a normal year. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Dr. Alecs Chochinov: We see a lot of chronically ill and a lot of elderly people in the emergency department, and it is brutal waiting in pain." As of Wednesday afternoon, 47 of St. Bs 55 emergency beds were occupied, many by patients waiting for a bed elsewhere in the hospital. Four other ER physicians told the Free Press they are starting shifts with almost no bed availability and ever-growing lists of patients waiting for admission; the number has been as high as 39 people waiting at HSC, where there are roughly 60 emergency beds. Chochinov did not sound optimistic about a solution in the short term. "My biggest concern about the leaders of the system is that theyre afraid to be seen, to be open about their problems and to actually listen to good advice. Theyre like, shell-shocked," he said. "Everybodys in a defensive posture." The waits in emergency, while not new, have been described by many of my peers, people who have been practising for decades, as the worst theyve seen in their careers. Dr. Alecs Chochinov He said thats likely why advice offered by doctors and nurses whether communicated privately or in the series of letters that have eventually reached the media during the past couple of years have been met with silence, or even pushback. "Disasters are hard to manage optimally, and I think there has been a certain resistance to hear the voices from the professions about how to do it better," he said. "Leaders in health might be worried that in saying (to patients) please come that theyll be admitting that the system is not performing from an access perspective. Well, guess what? Everybody knows that so lets just come out and admit it." Premier promises improvements Click to Expand Crowded, lengthy waits in St. Boniface Hospitals emergency department will be addressed when the province redevelops the facility, says Premier Heather Stefanson. During question period Thursday, NDP Leader Wab Kinew raised the issue following media reports that the hospitals ER was at capacity Wednesday. Stefanson said the province will spend more than $100 million to redevelop the department. The money was first announced in Budget 2022 in mid-April. This investment will triple the size of its ER, it will reduce wait times, it will improve patient flow and provide more room for clinical staff to work, Stefanson said. Staff Dr. Kristjan Thompson, head of Doctors Manitoba, said 55 doctors in Manitoba were isolating due to COVID-19 Wednesday, double the number a week ago. Shared Health said Thursday that work is "underway to improve access and reduce wait times." "We acknowledge the significant strain currently being felt across emergency departments and urgent care centres in our province," a Shared Health spokesperson told the Free Press in a statement. Chochinov said it was jarring to meet an elderly man on a recent morning shift whose chart indicated his pain had started the previous afternoon. Chochinov assumed the pain had awakened the patient, who then decided to go to the hospital, but the man told him hed been at the ER waiting to see a doctor for 12 hours. Dr. Doug Eyolfson, a former Liberal MP who works at the Grace Hospital emergency room, said the most urgent cases are being handled without delays, but systemic issues mean others can face interminable waits. The Free Press was told of a mental-health patient finally being admitted to St. Boniface Hospital Wednesday after a week-long wait. "Every eight hours theyre getting a new physician. So when youre trying to provide a safe continuity of care for these patients, while seeing the (new) patients who come in in a timely manner, its a very difficult juggling act," he said. Dr. Doug Eyolfson in front of the Grace Hospital. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files) Eyolfson argued the knock-on effect is that some people are avoiding the ER until an illness or injury leaves them with no choice. "Were hearing anecdotes and people in the community saying they dont want to come in and theyre afraid of COVID, they dont want to wait eight hours to be seen," he said. But ignoring some symptoms can be a dangerous gamble, he said, offering examples of sudden back pain that could indicate an aneurysm, or fainting that could be a sign of arrhythmia; both could be fatal, The metric "left without being seen" records the percentage of patients who walk out of the ER before theyve been examined. It normally hovers between three and seven per cent, but it rose to 15 per cent across Winnipeg last July, and was a shocking 28 per cent at HSC. Shared Health said Wednesday it could not provide more recent data, and didnt explain why, but noted that a triage nurse sees all patients upon entry to an ER, so that urgent cases are seen immediately. This lobster is boiling and we cant even feel it, because weve been with it so long. Dr. Alecs Chochinov "Winnipeg emergency departments and urgent-care centres continue to experience challenges with patient flow due to a number of factors many pandemic-related," wrote an unnamed Shared Health spokesperson. "These can result in some patients spending more time than wed like in one of our emergency departments before being seen." Chochinov co-wrote the provinces 2017 report on reducing wait times. He said Manitobans need to understand that their health-care system has gradually declined over decades to the point of not being able to perform its core functions. He describes it as a cumulative, multifaceted process like climate change, instead of a car suddenly careening off a cliff. "This lobster is boiling and we cant even feel it, because weve been with it so long," he said. "People will dismiss it and say, Well there was crowding 20 years ago; its sustainable. Well, its actually worse." As the wait-times report pointed out five years ago, health-care delivery operates in silos where systems arent connected to each other, creating disjointed care and diffuse responsibility. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The PC governments health reforms were meant to address those issues, but many in the system argue the pace and approach taken has been counterproductive and focused on limiting short-term costs. Unions argue it led to staff taking early retirement on the eve of global pandemic that has created unprecedented challenges on top of the existing problems. Chochinov said the chaos is having an impact on the way the health-care system is treating Manitobans. But he said people who need care will get it. "Everybodys under a lot of duress, and under those circumstances people tend to not play together optimally," he said. "We go into medicine and nursing to serve people, and it would be horrifying for us to feel that people were staying away because they dont want to bother us." With files from Chris Kitching dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Manitoba Premier Heather Stefansons repeated absences from question period did not violate the rights of elected officials, Speaker Myrna Driedger ruled Thursday. Premier Heather Stefanson has been in the habit of missing question period. David Lipnowski/ The Canadian Press files Manitoba Premier Heather Stefansons repeated absences from question period did not violate the rights of elected officials, Speaker Myrna Driedger ruled Thursday. NDP house leader Nahanni Fontaine claimed the premier violated the rights and privileges of members by missing question period on three occasions. She raised it as a matter of privilege on April 7 and asked the Speaker to rule on it. Stefanson missed question period on March 8, 23, April 6, twice she attended news conferences scheduled at the same time and once because she was unwell. 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 premier missed question period again on Tuesday to announce funding for the Toba Centre for Children and Youth. Driedger said it was unclear whether the matter was raised at the earliest opportunity which is necessary to determine a case of privilege as Fontaine did not state which dates the premier was absent from question period in her complaint. The Speaker also referenced multiple sources stating the failure of a minister to answer a question cannot be raised as a question of privilege, though it could be a grievance in a committee setting. The House of Commons Procedure and Practice includes exemptions for requirements to be in attendance when the house is sitting for "parliamentary activities, or functions, or on public or official business," Driedger said. She added that during question period, questions are technically put to the government as a whole and it is the prerogative of the government to decide which minister will answer. "A lack of participation in oral questions by the first minister or any minister is not a violation of the privileges of the house, or of individual members," Driedger said. fpcity@freepress.mb.ca KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia shifted a dozen crack military units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and pounded away at cities across the region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, as the two sides hurtled toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Valentina Greenchuck, 73, holds a plastic bag containing an orthodox icon after arriving from Mariupol at a refugee center in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, April 21, 2022, after fleeing from the Russian attacks. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key Russian objective since the Feb. 24 invasion began. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia shifted a dozen crack military units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and pounded away at cities across the region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, as the two sides hurtled toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Meanwhile, Russia reported that one serviceman was killed and 27 others were left missing after the fire on board the warship Moskva, which sank a week ago following what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack. Moscow previously reported everyone aboard had been rescued. The Russian Defense Ministry did not acknowledge an attack on the ship. It continued to say a fire broke out after ammunition detonated, without explaining how that happened. The loss of the guided missile cruiser the flagship of Russias Black Sea fleet was a humiliating setback for Moscow. Helena stands next to her belongings after arriving from Mariupol at a refugee center in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, April 21, 2022, after fleeing from the Russian attacks. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key Russian objective since the Feb. 24 invasion began. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) In Mariupol, reduced largely to smoking rubble by weeks of bombardment, Russian state TV showed the flag of the pro-Moscow Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was the city's highest point, its TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at Mariupols besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. The Kremlin has thrown over 100,000 troops and mercenaries from Syria and Libya into the fight in Ukraine and is deploying more forces in the country every day, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. We have a difficult situation, but our army is defending our state, he said. Numerous cities and villages came under bombardment in the Donbas the industrial region in the east that the Kremlin has declared the new, main theater of war as well as in the Kharkiv region just to the west, and in the south, authorities said. An internally displaced woman looks out of a bus window after arriving from Mariupol at a refugee center fleeing from the Russian attacks, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, April 21, 2022. Mariupol, which is part of the industrial region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas, has been a key Russian objective since the Feb. 24 invasion began. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Russian forces pummeled an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters holed up inside the sprawling Azovstal plant, the last known pocket of resistance in the strategic southern port city, the mayors office reported. Every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor. Fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the battle for Mariupol despite the steel-mill holdouts. He ordered his forces not to storm the plant to finish off the defenders but to seal it off instead in an apparent bid to force them to surrender. Mariupol has taken on outsize importance in the war. Capturing it would deprive the Ukrainians of a vital port and complete a land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin seized from Ukraine in 2014. Firefighters work inside a building destroyed by a Russian bomb in Chernihiv on Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) It would also allow Putin to throw more of his forces into the potentially climactic battle for the Donbas and its coal mines, factories and other industries, or what the Kremlin has now declared to be its main objective. Danilov reported that some 12 to 14 of Russias elite military units have, in fact, left Mariupol and begun moving to the east to take part in the fighting there. It will now be difficult for our forces, because our guys in Mariupol were taking (those units) on themselves. It is their courage and feat, he said. Danilov also said Kyiv managed to deliver weapons via helicopter at great risk under cover of night to the Mariupol steelworks, which have been bombarded for weeks. Residents look at their house destroyed by a Russian bomb in Chernihiv on Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Putin said Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside the plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive, and offered decent treatment and medical care, according to an account of a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel, provided by the Kremlin. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged. More than 100,000 people down from a prewar population of about 430,000 are believed trapped in Mariupol with little food, water or heat, and over 20,000 civilians have been killed in the nearly two-month siege, according to Ukrainian authorities. Most attempts to evacuate civilians from the city have failed because of what the Ukrainians said was continued Russian shelling. A man wearing a gas mask helps firefighters extinguish a fire on a residential building following a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations would be open in Ukraine on Friday because it was too dangerous. She urged civilians to be patient and hang in there. Days into the Russian offensive to take the east, the campaign has yet to become a full-out assault, with military analysts saying Moscows forces are still ramping up and have not achieved any major breakthroughs in the Donbas or gained any significant ground. But shelling attacks killed three civilians in a small town and two villages Friday in the Donetsk region, which is part of the Donbas, the regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, posted on a messaging app. Kyrylenko said the Russians opened fire on at least 20 of the region's settlements. In other developments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks between the two countries have ground to a halt because Moscow hasnt received a response from Kyiv to its latest proposals, the details of which have not been released. A man takes cover with his dog under a building as the sound of rockets is heard following a Russian bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) Putins lead negotiator at the talks, Vladimir Medinsky, said he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He gave no details. Also, Rustam Minnekayev, a senior Russian military official, publicly outlined Russian war aims that appeared to be wider than what the Kremlin has stated in recent weeks. He said Russias forces aim to take full control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern too. He said such a move would open the way to the nation of Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldovan officials are warily watching Putins actions in Ukraine. In his nightly video address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned: The Russian invasion of Ukraine was assumed to be just the beginning; further, they want to grab other countries. This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an expansion of graves at a cemetery near Vynohradne, approximately 12 kilometers east of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 15, 2022. From mid-March through mid-April, there are new excavations at Vynohradne that consist of parallel trenches, with each trench approximately 40-meters long. (Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies via AP) Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak added that Russia was always lying to everyone and that, in fact from the very beginning, it wanted stupidly to steal some of Ukraines territory to secure an outlet to Transnistria. Satellite photos released Friday by Maxar Technologies revealed what appeared to be a second mass grave site excavated recently near Mariupol. The site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 40 meters (131 feet) long, Maxar said in a statement. A day earlier, Maxar made public satellite photos of what appeared to be rows upon rows of more than 200 freshly dug mass graves next to a cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. That prompted Ukrainian accusations that the Russians are trying to conceal the slaughter of civilians in the city. This confirms again that the occupiers arrange the collection, burial and cremation of dead residents in every district of the city, Andryushchenko said on the Telegram messaging app. The Ukrainians estimated that the graves seen in the photos released on Thursday could hold 9,000 bodies. The Kremlin did not respond to the satellite pictures. 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 U.N. Human Rights office again condemned the Russian invasion. Over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said. ___ Fisch reported from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Inna Varenytsia in Kviv and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine A 23-year-old Mexican citizen living in Trempealeau County has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for distributing cocaine. Karlett Salazar Zagal pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court for her role in running a cocaine business in western Wisconsin. According to federal prosecutors, law enforcement received information in August 2020 that cocaine was being sold in a barber shop and several taverns in Arcadia. Police narrowed the investigation to three people who received cocaine from Puerto Rico shipped a half-kilogram at a time. The drugs were sent via U.S. Mail and were hidden inside radios, printers and bed sheets. In exchange for the cocaine, the Wisconsin-based traffickers sent money and guns to Puerto Rico. Postal inspectors became involved and obtained the following search warrants: May 5, 2021: A parcel sent from Puerto Rico to a residence in Winona, Minnesota, was found to contain 557 grams of cocaine hidden inside a Bluetooth speaker. June 29, 2021: A parcel sent from Independence to Puerto Rico contained two Glock semi-automatic handguns. July 13, 2021: A parcel sent from Puerto Rico to a residence in Independence contained 506 grams of cocaine. Salazar Zagal was arrested the day after the July 13 warrant. She reportedly told prosecutors she knew what was going on because she helped run the cocaine business and the distribution of weapons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma prosecuted the case. 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. With a new strain of avian influenza spreading across the nation, a Baraboo outdoor exhibit that features endangered birds is taking measures to keep the disease away from its animals. The International Crane Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Baraboo dedicated to preservation efforts for endangered cranes worldwide, operates a zoological exhibit at its headquarters on the outskirts of the city. It is reinforcing exhibition areas to prevent wild birds that could carry the new bird flu variant from getting inside with their birds. Weve had a prevention plan written up since 2005, said foundation Director of Conservation Medicine Dr. Barry Hartup. The last time we had to activate it was in 2015 when there was a high path of avian influenza in the state. We reactivated our plan back in March. Four exhibits of cranes will not be opened when the rest of the facility opens to the public on May 1. Those cranes dwellings are not suited to have netting over the top to prevent wild birds from entering. Therefore, the birds from those exhibits will return to their covered winter yards until the risk of avian influenza diminishes, according to Hartup. A little bit like COVID, were looking for less evidence of community transmission, said Hartup. Well make a decision based on whats happening around us. Sandhill, Wattled, Siberian and Whooping cranes are the four species that will not be exhibited until further notice. Hartup said the decision was made through information the foundation gathered from the state departments of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Natural Resources, and Animal Health. This removes nearly all chance of exposure to a virus that is manifesting quite differently in the U.S. compared to 2015, when Avian Influenza was last reported in Wisconsin. Taking this important step safeguards all our birds, said Hartup in a release from the foundation. With the prevention measures in place, the facility will open 11 exhibits instead of the normal 15. The birds in those exhibits, along with non-exhibition birds kept for breeding, are in areas covered by top netting, according to Hartup. Those birds are effectively kept away from other large wildlife, he said. Another measure is placing model swans in the ponds of areas that would normally exhibit the four crane species slated to remain in winter yards. Hartup said that these are meant to deter waterfowl such as ducks and geese from using the water. When other birds are migrating, sometimes we get other waterfowl birds that take advantage of the lovely ponds in the exhibits, said foundation Marketing Communications Director Pamela Seelman. A former Lyndon Station was sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to third-degree sexual assault of an unconscious woman. Brent Jay Petersen, 21, of North Freedom, was ordered to spend four years on probation. As a condition of the probation, Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Barrett ordered Petersen to six months in local jail with Huber release privileges. Petersen had initially been charged with second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years and extended supervision of 15 years, but agreed to enter a plea to the lesser felony offense. According to the criminal complaint: Petersen was with a group of people at Lake Red Stone in June 2020, which included a woman who said Petersen repeatedly touched her in an unwanted way until she told him she was uninterested in him romantically. The group went to a residence later that day, where people consumed alcohol Petersen brought. The woman said Petersen handed her a mixed drink after she had already been drinking. Afterward, she began to feel dizzy and tired and laid down on a couch. She said Petersen gave her a pillow and laid next to her while the other people went to sleep. Petersen tried to kiss her and the woman said she pushed him away before passing out. She awoke to one of her friends yelling and was taken to another room where her friend said the pair looked like they were having sex. The woman said she then felt sick and her friend kicked Petersen out of the house. During a police interview, Petersen said he was drunk and didnt remember what happened. He said that if there was evidence he assaulted her, it likely happened, the complaint said. A rape kit exam conducted by the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory was positive for Petersens DNA. In a victim impact statement to the court, the woman wrote that she has a hard time knowing who to trust after she was assaulted. Over the past year, I continue to have nightmares, flashbacks, and many anxiety attacks that have kept me from being myself, the woman wrote in the statement. She also said in the statement that Petersen continually drove past her home, even though he ... still hasnt had any reason to be out toward her residence and family members homes. Other conditions of Petersens probation include providing a DNA sample and no contact with the woman, including not driving past her home, as well as registering as a sex offender for 15 years, participating in a sex offender program and maintaining absolute sobriety. Petersen is prohibited from possessing alcohol or controlled substances and must undergo alcohol and other drug assessment and follow-up treatment. Follow Bridget on Twitter @cookebridget or contact her at 608-745-3513. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In honor of Earth Day, one local agricultural companys efforts toward sustainability were recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Wisconsin director for USDA Rural Development, Julia Lassa, paid a visit Thursday to the ABS Global facility in Dekorra, discussing the facilitys production of sustainable energy through solar panels. The investments that are being made here, as well as in other rural communities across the United States, will really help us come up with climate-smart solutions, make more resilient communities, Lassa said. We couldnt be more excited to recognize these efforts in celebration of Earth Day this Friday. The USDA recently granted the facility $250,000 through its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), an amazing investment, said Lassa. This grant, combined with tax rebates and incentives, allowed ABS to purchase and install a 657 kilowatt (kW) array of solar panels. With this new unit, with the help of USDA, our provider and Alliant (Energy), were able to produce enough for 80 homes, said ABS Supply Chain Director and Head Veterinarian Jim Meronek. ABS a global supplier of bovine genetic products like bull semen began using solar panels in 2018, according to Meronek, implementing a 49 kW solar unit at the Dekorra facility to learn more about the functionality and dependability of the panels. We were producing enough power to power three homes at any one time, he said of the original solar array. The Dekorra facility has seven different electrical service areas from Alliant Energy, each of which is now being powered by its own set of panels. The new system went operational on Jan. 5, and since then, its produced over 60 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity. For reference, Bill Nussey, founder of the Freeing Energy Project, said one MWh can power an average American home for approximately 1.2 months. Meronek added that the panels on the $550,000 new unit should last around 30 years. Over that time period, he estimated that ABS would save over $2.6 million in electric bills between its four production barns and other buildings onsite. We still have some technical details to work out, said Meronek, adding nighttime electricity needs and winter sun production are among those details. According to Meronek, ABS expects to produce four times more energy in June and July than in December and January, depending on the position of the sun. Additionally, the replacement of all the facilitys light bulbs with LEDs and a new compost project started last month are helping ABS reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Im very proud of the company I work for, he said. Lassa said she, too, is proud. We know that rural communities are really the backbone of America, Lassa said. Making these types of investments, it really helps all of us. 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. YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh Republic issued a statement on the occasion of holding the "5th Congress of the Azerbaijanis Worldwide" in Shushi, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh Republic. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh considers extremely un-constructive the initiative to hold the "5th Congress of the Azerbaijanis Worldwide" in the Armenian town of Shushi occupied by Azerbaijan, which includes obvious elements of Armenophobia and expansionism. Such an "initiative" is also an attempt to escalate tensions in the region. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh strongly condemns the nationalist and aggressive policy of official Baku, which aims to torpedo and disrupt the peaceful settlement process of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict, reads the statement. Restore accountability to the Legislature Justice Moloto bemoans decade of accountability inertia and asks graduates to contribute to people- driven democracy. Former judge in the International Criminal Tribunal (ICTY*), Justice Bakone Moloto delivered a wide-ranging address at Wits this week, which focused on the broken and permeable pillars of state the Executive; the Legislature; the inadequate electoral system; and the mission of the current generation. Starting with what he termed the decade of accountability inertia, Moloto said that accountability in the pillars of the state is crucial to democracy. However, in the last decade the Legislature has been swamped with representatives who have failed to fulfill their responsibilities. They are more beholden to their political parties than to the voters to whom they are constitutionally accountable and as a result they have become toothless at holding the Executive to account. There can be no accountability for civic service if decisions in Parliament are made on a political basis by career politicians. Career interest will, then, always trump country interest, or citizens interest, as this decade of inertia demonstrated so clearly, said Moloto. He was speaking to an audience of graduates and parents at Wits on Wednesday, where he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University. The esteemed judge bemoaned the accountability inertia that had seeped into The House of the People. He further added his voice to growing concerns around the ineffective electoral system used in the country, which has produced party puppets. One thing that has been proven without question by our recent history is that the status quo is not serving the majority of the population. Our proportional representation system does not allow the views of the people full representation within the Legislature. He stressed that parliamentary representation is a matter of civic, not political, duty. Debates around electoral reform continue to rage and Moloto suggested that South Africa could use the constituency-based electoral system, similar to that used in the UK. This is a system in which candidates from various parties vie for election in a particular constituency, with the candidate [who wins] the majority of the votes representing that constituency in the Legislature. Delivering on the promises to the constituency thus becomes a priority as representatives face a real possibility of not returning to Parliament in the next election if they fail to deliver. Moloto called on the graduates to do what is right for our collective futures. As your minds are unleashed onto the world, think about what contribution you might make to the legal dynamism necessary to ensure that the South Africa of the next 100 years is truly shaped by a people-driven democracy that we, and those who come after us, can be proud of." Read the speech by Judge Bakone Moloto. About Moloto Bakone Justice Moloto had a distinguished career as judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He is the only South African to sit as a judge on the ICTY, generally recognised as the most successful international criminal tribunal of recent years. His career at the ICTY extended from 2005 to 2017 and culminated in his sitting as one of three judges in the trial of the Butcher of Bosnia, Ratko Mladic. Born in 1944, Moloto first studied at the University Colleges of the North and Fort Hare. He was a prominent student leader at the University College of Fort Hare and was involved in a skirmish with the police at a student protest to commemorate the death of Prime Minister Verwoerd in 1966. This led to his exclusion from Fort Hare for a year, during which he taught at Orlando West High School and Tshidi Barolong High School. Readmitted to Fort Hare in 1968, he became active in the University Christian Movement (UCM), which called a strike to protest the Universitys refusal to allow the UCM to operate on campus. This resulted in all students being suspended and required to reapply for re- admission. Moloto was not readmitted in 1969. In 1971, he was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act and banished to Mahikeng. In Mahikeng he became a candidate attorney for Frank Sithole and completed his BA (1973) and BProc (1978) degrees at the University of South Africa. In 1978, he qualified as an attorney and set up his own firm. Later from 1986-1987 he became a managing partner in the attorneys firm of Baqwa, Moloto, Nzimande, Webster and Mbuli in Durban. In 1977 the Black Lawyers Association was formed to represent the interests of black professional lawyers and shortly afterwards the Black Lawyers Association Legal Education Centre was established to find positions for young black lawyers in law firms and to engage in trial advocacy training. In 1987, Moloto succeeded Godfrey Pitje, the doyen of South African black lawyers, as director of this program. According to Justice Dikgang Moseneke, former Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa and former Chancellor of Wits, the trial advocacy program under Moloto flourished as it attracted scores of practicing advocates and attorneys, so much so that the program had to be extended beyond Johannesburg to far- flung cities like Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth as demand grew.1 In 1995 Moloto was appointed as a judge of the Land Claims Court that dealt with claims by people who had been dispossessed of their land during the apartheid era. In 2003, he was also appointed as a judge of the North Gauteng High Court, in effect serving as judge before two courts. In 2005, Moloto was nominated by the South African government to serve on the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It was established by resolution of the Security Council in 1993 to prosecute persons responsible for committing serious violations of international humanitarian law that is genocide crimes against humanity and war crimes, in the former Yugoslavia after 1991. Judges were required to be properly qualified judges of high moral character, impartiality and integrity, and were elected by the General Assembly of the United Nations from a list submitted by the Security Council. In 2005, Moloto was duly elected as a judge of this court by the General Assembly. This was the criminal tribunal on which Moloto served for twelve years. During this period, he sat as a judge in a number of the most historic international criminal trials of the present era. His final trial was that of the commander of the Bosnian Serb army General, Ratko Mladic, widely known as the Butcher of Bosnia, who was found responsible inter alia for the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre of some 8,000 Muslim Bosnians at Srebrenica in 1995. The Court sat from 2011 to 2017 in this case and in November 2017 convicted Mladic of genocide, crimes against humanity and other international crimes. Mladic was sentenced to life imprisonment. The appeal against this verdict is still pending. Moloto was highly regarded as a judge by his judicial colleagues and counsel. He was an independent thinker and did not hesitate to dissent from the majority of the Court when he found this necessary. His dissenting opinions were of significance to the jurisprudence of the ICTY. His time at the ICTY was characterised by loyalty and collegiality to the institution that he served. Judge Theodor Meron, a former President of the ICTY, summed up the esteem in which he was held by judges of the Court when he stated: Judge Molotos service at the ICTY was characterised by independence, impartiality, fairness, professionalism and depth. When the law and evidence so required, he did not hesitate to reach unpopular decisions. Never guided by preconceived narratives of guilt or innocence, law fairly applied was his one and only lodestar. Once he had reached a decision, he adhered to his position disregarding any political agenda. In short, Moloto was a model to his colleagues in the international judiciary. ICTY* International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Protesters head to high court over fees charged to protest in Johannesburg CALS and the Right2Protest Project are assisting the Right2Know Campaign and the Gauteng Housing Crisis Committee in challenging fees charged for protests On Monday 25 April, the High Court is set to hear a matter which challenges the practice of requesting a fee from protest convenors in the City of Johannesburg. The applicants, represented by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, argue that charging a fee to exercise the rights guaranteed in section 17 of the Constitution is unlawful and unconstitutional. Next Monday, the High Court in Johannesburg is set to hear an application brought by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) on behalf of the Right2Know Campaign, the Gauteng Housing Crisis Committee and community leader Keith Duarte. The application challenges the practice of the City of Johannesburg enforced by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) of charging the convenors of protests a fee to allow them to exercise their right to protest. The South African Human Rights Commission last week applied to intervene in the matter as a friend of the court, supporting the position that protests should be free of charge. The right to protest is enshrined in section 17 of the Constitution, which guarantees everyone the right to assemble, demonstrate, picket and present petitions. Public demonstrations are further governed by the Regulations of Gatherings Act, which acknowledges that every person has the right to express their views in public and to enjoy the protection of the state when doing so. Nowhere in this legislation is there a requirement for a fee to be paid in order to exercise the constitutional right to protest or to be protected by the state while exercising this right. The Right2Know Campaign and the Gauteng Housing Crisis Committee regularly organise protests in Johannesburg and engage in the process of notifying the municipality as prescribed by law. In their experience, both the City of Johannesburg and the JMPD insist that paying a fee is a necessary pre-condition to organising a protest. They have been informed on several occasions that if the fee is not paid and their protest continues, it would be deemed unlawful and there would be a limited police presence. CALS has therefore approached the High Court to challenge this practice on behalf of these organisations. We are represented by advocate Mluleki Marongo. The fees charged by the City can range from R172 for a picket convened by a civil society organisation to R15,000 for a strike organised by a union. Many of those who seek to exercise their right to protest cannot afford to pay even a nominal fee. Marches are often the last resort of people who are trying to draw attention to injustice or to demand basic services. The absence of law enforcement at a protest action can have chilling effects, giving the impression that the gathering is illegal and putting protesters at risk of being harmed by motor vehicles and criminal elements that infiltrate gatherings. Protest is an important tool for any member of the public to make themselves heard on the issues that affect them from service delivery to gender-based violence to climate change, says Sithuthukile Mkhize, head of the Civil and Political Justice programme at CALS. Neither our Constitution nor the legislation governing gatherings authorise the state to charge a fee to exercise the right to protest. This fee is discriminatory and we hope the Court will rule it is invalid and unconstitutional. The matter will be heard virtually by the High Court in Johannesburg on 25 April 2022 from 10:00 Read our papers in the matter here From the Centre for Applied Legal Studies: For inquiries, please contact: Sithuthukile Mkhize at sithuthukile.mkhize@wits.ac.za sithuthukile.mkhize@wits.ac.za Thandeka Kathi at thandeka.kathi@wits.ac.za From the Right2Protest Project: Omhle Ntshingila (Communications & Engagement Officer) at ntshingila@wits.ac.za or on 082 322 0512 From the Right2Know Campaign: William & Mary board elects leadership William & Marys Board of Visitors unanimously elected Judge Charles E. Poston J.D. '74, P '02, '06 and Barbara L. Johnson J.D. '84 as rector and vice rector, respectively, of the governing body of the university during a meeting held at William & Marys campus Friday. Additionally, Ardine Williams was unanimously elected secretary of the board. The three officers will begin two-year terms in those roles July 1. Poston retired from the bench after a long, distinguished career in law, including serving as chief judge of the Norfolk Circuit Court. Johnson is the founder of BLJohnsonLaw PLLC and Williams is the vice president for workforce development at Amazons HQ2. The rector of the university serves as chair of the Board of Visitors and its executive committee. In January, then incoming Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that William & Marys current rector, John E. Littel P '22, would serve as Virginias next Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Littel joined the board in 2012 and was first elected to lead the board in 2018. In 2020, he was reelected to a second two-year term as rector which will conclude June 30, 2022. W&Ms current vice rector, William H. Payne II '01, was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2014 and reappointed in 2018. He and Littel both served as members of W&Ms presidential search committee in 2017-18. Payne serves as chair of the Committee on Administration, Buildings and Grounds, chair of the Design Review Board and is a member of the Executive Committee and Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance. I am honored for the opportunity to serve our remarkable university and its community, said Poston, who was appointed to the Board in 2019 and has served as chair of the Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance and as a member of the Committee on Financial Affairs and the Richard Bland College Committee. I extend immense gratitude to Rector Littel and Vice Rector Payne for their tireless work and steadfast leadership during historically challenging times. Their leadership has moved William & Mary forward in so many meaningful ways, Poston added. As we look forward, I am grateful for the confidence of the board as we work together to advance the objectives outlined in Vision 2026. President Katherine A. Rowe also expressed appreciation and thanked board leadership for their work and commitment to the university. I am deeply grateful for the friendship and partnership over the past four years with Rector Littel and Vice Rector Payne as the administration and the board worked together to chart a course toward William & Marys future, said W&M President Katherine A. Rowe. They are true leaders, committed to the success of our university. I look forward to partnering with Judge Charles Poston, Barbara Johnson,and Ardine Williams, who have been invaluable resources to me as well as dedicated members of the board and our community." Charles E. Poston J.D. '74, P '02, '06 Poston received his B.A. from the University of Richmond, M.A. from the University of Virginia and J.D. from William & Mary Law School. Poston works with The McCammon Group, which provides mediation, arbitration and other services. He assumed that position after two decades as a judge with the Norfolk Circuit Court, including three years as its chief judge. During his time there, he served as a member of Lawyers Helping Lawyers, the Judicial Council of Virginia and the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, which he also chaired. In addition, Poston was the presiding judge for the first Mental Health Court in Virginia. Before the circuit court, Poston spent six years serving with the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, including four years as chief judge. In 2014, the Virginia General Assembly honored Poston with a resolution acknowledging his accomplishments. Prior to his judicial career, Poston practiced law privately in Hampton Roads and served as chair of the Citizens Advisory Council, vice chair of the Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council and an administrative hearing officer. In addition to his work with McCammon, Poston previously served as an adjunct faculty member for W&M Law School, Averett University, St. Leo College (now St. Leo University) and Tidewater Community College. His wife, Anita Owens Poston, J.D. 74, is also a graduate of W&M Law School. She served as a member of W&Ms Board of Visitors from 2003 to 2011 and is a member of the W&M Real Estate Foundation Board. Their daughter, Margaret, and son, C. Evans Poston, Jr., are also both graduates of William & Mary. Barbara L. Johnson J.D. '84 Johnson has served as secretary of the board since 2020. A 1984 graduate of W&M Law School, Johnson is the founder of BLJohnsonLaw PLLC. She also currently serves as counsel to the firm of Potter & Murdock LLC, focusing on representing management in labor and employment matters. In addition to her service to the Board of Visitors at W&M, Johnson has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the W&M Law School Foundation, where she served as president from 2014 to 2016 and vice president from 2012 to 2014. Johnson was appointed to the Board of Visitors in 2017 and chaired the Richard Bland College Committee. She was also vice chair of the Committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance and a member of the Committee on Administration, Buildings and Grounds. Ardine Williams Williams has served on W&Ms Board of Visitors since 2021. She has served as a member of the Committee on Administration, Buildings and Grounds, the Committee on the Student Experience and the Richard Bland College Committee. She received her B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University and completed the executive program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Williams has worked at Amazon since 2014, starting as vice president for Amazon Web Services talent acquisition. She became vice president of people operations in 2017, and two years later, she moved into her current role as vice president for workforce development. As vice president, she is responsible for advising businesses across Amazon on talent attraction and development and has focused on accelerating the company's initiative to re-train 100,000 employees by 2025 for careers in high-demand fields. She also works closely with community and state leaders and serves on the Washington Education Investment Oversight and Accountability Board and the Greater Washington, D.C., Partnership CoLAB (Collaborative of Leaders in Academia and Business) Advisory Board. Before Amazon, Williams served in multiple roles at Intel Corporation from 1997 to 2014. Most recently, she served as vice president of human resources enterprise services. Prior to her time at Intel, Williams worked in the NetServer Division of Hewlett Packard and in various positions for Behring Company. A U.S. Army veteran, Williams has become known for her work in recruiting military veterans and their spouses. She served as the executive sponsor for American Veterans at Intel and represented the company in meetings about veterans issues and immigration with multiple government agencies. Williams was also a member of the White House's Joining Forces Initiative industry working team and the President's Job Council working team. Among her many accolades is a Seven Seals Award from the U.S. Secretary of Defense. For many years the Union of Armenians of Russia, with support from the Moscow government, is organizing a number of events on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. April 22, 2022, 14:10 International conference on Armenian Genocide to be organized in Moscow STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: This year an international conference will be held at the President Hotel, films and presentations will be screened, the organization said. Click the photo and watch the video. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday proposed a Global Security Initiative to promote security for all in the world in his keynote speech delivered via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022. Xi underscored the importance of resolutely safeguarding peace in Asia, vigorously advancing Asian cooperation, and jointly promoting Asian unity. No matter how the world will change, China's faith in and its commitment to reform and opening up will not waver, Xi said. BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) Likening countries around the world as "passengers aboard the same ship who share the same destiny," Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on "all passengers" to pull together for the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future. "Faced with the many challenges, we must not lose confidence, hesitate or flinch. Instead, we must firm up confidence and press ahead against all odds," Xi said in his keynote speech delivered via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. The world is yet to walk out of the shadow of a once-in-a-century pandemic, but new traditional security risks are already emerging, Xi noted, saying this year's conference theme of "The World in COVID-19 & Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future" is all the more relevant against such a backdrop. Photo taken on April 19, 2022 shows the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. [Xinhua/Yang Guanyu] Security for All Xi proposed at the event a Global Security Initiative to promote security for all in the world. "It is important that we stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security," he said. He called for a commitment to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, upholding non-interference in internal affairs, and respecting the independent choices of development paths and social systems chosen by people in different countries. He stressed staying committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, rejecting the Cold War mentality, opposing unilateralism, and saying no to group politics and bloc confrontation, which would exacerbate security challenges in the 21st century. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, on April 21, 2022. [Xinhua/Huang Jingwen] The legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, said Xi, underlining the importance of opposing the pursuit of one's own security at the cost of others' security. He made the call to support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. To tackle global governance challenges, Xi said that all countries need to "embrace a global governance philosophy that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, promote the common values of humanity, and advocate exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations." "We need to uphold true multilateralism, and firmly safeguard the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law," said Xi, calling for major countries to lead by example and act in a way befitting their status. Asian Family of Unity, Progress "We need to continue developing and strengthening Asia, demonstrate its resilience, wisdom and strength, and make Asia an anchor for world peace, a powerhouse for global growth and a new pacesetter for international cooperation," Xi said. Noting that the world benefits when Asia fares well, Xi underscored the importance of resolutely safeguarding peace in Asia, vigorously advancing Asian cooperation, and jointly promoting Asian unity. Xi called upon Asian countries to honor principles such as mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence, follow a policy of neighborliness and friendship, and "make sure that we always keep our future in our own hands." Highlighting win-win cooperation as a sure path to Asian development, Xi called for fostering a more open Asia-wide market and making new strides in mutually beneficial cooperation by seizing opportunities such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-Laos railway. He also underscored efforts to cement ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture and uphold a regional order that balances the aspirations and accommodates the interests of all parties. Hailing the broad-mindedness of Asians in "choosing dialogue and cooperation over zero-sum games, openness and inclusiveness over a closed-door and exclusive approach, and exchanges and mutual learning over a sense of superiority," Xi made the call to "contribute to an Asian family of unity and progress together." Aerial photo taken on April 15, 2022 shows a view of Shanghai's Yangshan Port in east China. [Xinhua/Ding Ting] The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.6 percent, noting that global economic prospects have worsened "significantly" since its forecast in January. The Chinese economy, with its strong resilience, enormous potential, vast room for maneuver and long-term stability unchanged, will provide great dynamism for boosting the stability and recovery of the world economy and broader market opportunities for all countries, Xi noted. "No matter how the world will change, China's faith in and its commitment to reform and opening up will not waver," Xi said, adding that the country will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. Video reporters: Zhou Xuan, Wang Junfeng, Guo Liangchuan and Li Duojiang; video editors: Chen Sihong, Peng Ying, Zhang Yuhong, Cao Ying and Luo Hui (Source: Xinhua) Found on the southeastern coast of Revillagigedo Island, Ketchikan is the southernmost southeastern city in the US State of Alaska. It is referred to as "Alaska's first city" due to its crucial position off the southern tip of Inside Passage that links the Puget Sound with the Gulf of Alaska. This area is found within the Alexander Archipelago, a 480km chain of 1,100 islands stretching from Alaska to British Columbia, Canada. Once a fishing settlement on the Ketchikan River, populated by the Tongass and Cape Fox Tlingit Indians, Ketchikan currently serves as a popular northbound cruise port on the Inside Passage. The city is well known for its spectacular natural scenery, colorful buildings, Native American totem poles, and salmon fishing. Because of its rich fishing heritage dating back hundreds of years, Ketchikan is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World." Thus, a salmon is found at the center of the Ketchikan's flag upon a green and white background. Geography Of Ketchikan Bird's eye view of a historic residential neighborhood in Ketchikan, Alaska. Alaska is part of the United States in the Northwest corner of the continent of North America. It neighbors Russia to the west and Canada to the east and south. Ketchikan is located about 378km south of Juneau and 1,100km northwest of Seattle, Washington. The city has been named after Ketchikan Creek, the body of the water that runs through the heart of Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island and empties into the Tongass Narrows. Ketchikan is a Tlingit Indian word for "Thundering Wings of an Eagle," although its true meaning is uncertain. It is thought to be a nod to the formation of the glacial rivers that appear like an eagle's spread wingtip. Ketchikan covers an area of 15.27 sq. km and sits at an elevation of 0m, whereas areas outside the borough have an elevation of upwards of 91.4m. Climate Of Ketchikan A view of the Creek Street in Ketchikan, Alaska during winter. Editorial credit: Ana Matta / Shutterstock.com Historically, Ketchikan sees 229 days of precipitation a year, totaling up to 153.24 inches. This is due to its oceanic climate, similar to that of Scotland or Northern Ireland. Ketchikan is often referred to as the Rain Capital of Alaska as it receives much more rain compared to the national average. The average temperature in January is 0.9C, while the average temperature in August is 14.7C. History Of Ketchikan Native American Totem and Clan houses located at Totem Bight State Historic Site in Ketchikan, Alaska. For centuries, the Tlingit Indians have relied on the salmon that call the Pacific waters of the Ketchikan River home from May to August. It wasnt until the late 1880s that an Oregon-based canning company set up a salmon cannery in what is known as modern-day Ketchikan. The cannery burned down two years later and was replaced with a saltery and general store. This led to the beginning of a settlement that would become the present-day Ketchikan. By 1890, news of gold-rich pay dirt brought miners from all over the United States to the state in high hopes of striking it rich in the Gold Rush. Alas, gold, silver, and copper mines popped up in the mountains around Ketchikan. On August 25, 1900, Ketchikan was incorporated and given the nickname Alaskas first city. Its geographical position allowed it to be a prime location for a port of entry, bringing shipping traffic to the waterways. Unlike Fairbanks or Juneau, Ketchikan did not have a mineral-rich geological sample of gold. Subsequently, the Gold Rush didnt last long in Ketchikan and began to dwindle around 1910. By the 1930s, its main industry was fishing and canning, with 13 canneries operating and shipping over 1.5 million cases of fish a year. Demographics Of Ketchikan Being the county seat of Ketchikan Gateway Boroughs, Ketchikan is the fifth most populous city in Alaska, with a population of approximately 8,192 inhabitants with a population density of 829.19 inhabitants per sq. km. Nationally, it is placed 3,517th on the list of the largest cities in the United States. It is the last major city, both north, and south, on the Tongass Highway, with small towns also considered part of Ketchikan. Economy Of Ketchikan A street in Ketchikan, Alaska. Editorial credit: Darryl Brooks / Shutterstock.com The economy of Ketchikan is made up of 3 main industries: fishing which consists of the processing and shipping of seafood such as salmon, halibut, trout and snapper, and cod. Seafood processing makes up 70% of Alaskas manufacturing sector. Alternatively, fishing tourism makes up a part of Ketchikans fishing industry with boats, guides, and equipment for hire. Southeast Alaska (where Ketchikan is located) makes up one-third of all fishing vessels in the state. Whether industrially processing seafood or packaging fish to bring home after a derby, this perishable good can be shipped overnight through the Ketchikan International Airport on Gravina Island. Overall, Alaskas seafood sector makes up for two-thirds of the total imports in the United States and is a 3 billion dollar industry annually. Another economic driver in Ketchikan is its tourism sector, in which 1 million visitors are welcomed annually from Mid-May to Mid-September. During the peak summer months, the cruise ports located at Ketchikan Harbor house 4 Panamax ports. Thus, four large cruise ships can be stationed in Ketchikan at a given time and allow 13,000 visitors into the town in a single day. Timber has long been a prevalent industry in Ketchikan. However, this industry is currently ongoing a major shift. Along the Ketchikan river, hemlock, spruce, and cedar trees grow. Henceforth, due to environmental, legislative, and conservation views changing, many logging camps and pulp mills have seized operations since the late 1990s. Attractions Of Ketchikan Misty Fjords National Monument and Tongass National Forest Aerial view of the Misty Fjords National Monument in Tongass National Park with clouds rolling in the valley on a fall day near Ketchikan, Alaska Located about 64km east of Ketchikan is Misty Fjords National Monument. It is a designated wilderness area and part of the Tongass National Forest, maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. The Tongass National Forest is considered a temperate rainforest that stretches 68,000 sq. km, covering the islands of the Alexander Archipelago, peaks of the Coast Mountains, and several fjords and glaciers. The name Misty Fjord is a recognition of the oceanic climate and constant precipitation. This stunning sea cliff protrudes 914.4 meters straight out of the water. If one visits after a large rainfall, waterfalls can be seen cascading around the fjord. It is suggested, for best viewing, to take a seaplane and see it from the air. However, this is weather permitting, and one of the daily day cruises may be an alternative option. Shaped by a rich Tlingit Indian heritage, whose century-old traditions of living and relying on the life cycle of the salmon have influenced Ketchikan, Alaska. Thus, making it what it is today. With a thriving seafood fishery, Native American totem poles, and a spectacular landscape, it's no wonder why Ketchikan went from a 20th-century gold rush town evolving into a must-see tourist destination on Alaska's Inside Passage putting it at the center stage for the world to discover. Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered a somewhat foreboding video address proposing a "global security initiative", in a cryptic yet pointed message to the US, Australia and the West. In it, the Chinese leader touted the principle of "indivisible security", a concept also endorsed by Russia. While not giving details about how that principle would be implemented, it was the latest explicit sign that China is seeking to reshape the global order to diminish the influence of the United States and its allies. "To promote security for all in the world, China would like to propose a Global Security Initiative as follows," Xi said while speaking at the annual Boao Asia Forum. He then laid out a vision aimed largely at dismantling the US-led global order since World War II. A screen shows Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a keynote speech on April 21. Source: Reuters The president called for nations to "stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold non-interference in internal affairs, and respect the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries". He also called for countries to "reject the Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism, and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation" a pointed dig at the likes of NATO and the recently formed Quad Alliance between the US, Australia, India and Japan. Xi also said China will "reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction", alluding to the use of sanctions deployed by the US and its allies against Russia. China 'parroting' Kremlin language, US says Reacting to the speech in his China-focused newsletter, author and China watcher Bill Bishop said it was particularly "noteworthy" Xi mentioned "indivisible security" on two occasions during the address. "Anyone still hoping there are signs of daylight between Xi and Putin will be disappointed," he wrote. Story continues In talks over Ukraine, Russia has insisted that Western governments respect a 1999 agreement based on the principle of "indivisible security" that no country can strengthen its own security at the expense of others. China and Russia have grown increasingly close with China refusing to condemn Russia bloody invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin holds talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping via a video link back in December 2021. Source: Reuters US will defend global order against those who 'seek to destroy' it State Department spokesperson Ned Price, responding to a question about Xi's speech at a regular briefing in Washington, said China continued to "parrot some of what we have heard coming from the Kremlin". Mr Price reiterated that China would face serious consequences if it gave material support for Russia's war effort in Ukraine, but that Washington had not yet seen Beijing provide that kind of assistance to Moscow. The US is promising to continue to uphold the rules-based international system it had built with like-minded partners based on respect for human rights, sovereignty, and self-determination, Mr Price said. "We are committed to upholding the various systems that certain countries around the world and Russia and the PRC are among them - seek to challenge, and in certain instances, seek to tear down and even destroy," he said. Analysts noted that it was the first time China has argued for "indivisible security" outside the context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, with implications on potential US actions in Asia. "If China deems actions by US and its allies on Taiwan or the South China Sea as disregarding its security concerns, it could evoke the concept of 'indivisible security' to claim the moral high ground in retaliation," said Li Mingjiang, associate professor at the School of International Studies in Singapore. Just days after officially signing a security agreement in Australia's region, China, it seems, continues to lay its cards on the table. with Reuters Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. 1,500 visas granted in Wales so far as part of Homes for Ukraine scheme Around 1,500 visas for Ukrainian refugees have been issued under the Homes for Ukraine scheme in Wales. New data published by the UK government show that 48 visas have been issued to those from Ukraine who are being accommodated in Wrexham. Just over 1,100 people from Ukraine have been sponsored by individuals in Wales and 390 are sponsored by the Welsh Government as a super sponsor. The number of people who have applied to come to Wales via the Homes for Ukraine route and via the super-sponsor route is increasing, the Welsh government has said. People from Ukraine are being accommodated in welcome centres around Wales where they are receiving wraparound support. They are also being welcomed into homes across Wales by people acting as sponsors and by family members. In a written statement to Senedd Members, Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice said: The number of people who have applied to come to Wales via the Homes for Ukraine route and via the super-sponsor route is increasing. I have raised the time it takes for visas to be issued and the complexity of the current system which people from Ukraine must navigate before they can come to the UK, at my regular meetings with the Minister for Refugees Lord Harrington. He has told me he expects the UK Government to expedite visa processing times to 48 hours. There is a warm welcome in Wales for people from Ukraine and, as a Nation of Sanctuary, we will do everything we can to support everyone who comes to Wales. A free helpline for sponsors is available between 8am and 8pm on 0808 175 1508. Ukrainian nationals and their families who need help and advice can call 0808 164 8810, if they are in the UK or +44 808 164 8810 if they are outside the UK. Five-day recruitment window opens for full-time firefighters in North Wales A five-day recruitment window has opened today for people looking to become full-time firefighters in North Wales. The opening of the window comes seven months after the previous recruitment drive was paused due to a lack of resources Registration for on-line applications is now open and close at noon on Tuesday 26 April. Deeside Crew Manager Ian is retiring this month after serving his community since 1995 and he is encouraging anyone considering a career as a Firefighter to go for it! Registration for on-line applications will open at noon TOMORROW Friday 22 April: https://t.co/8R69zRTCaO pic.twitter.com/SI3VHPUdQv North Wales Fire #DiogeluCymru #KeepWalesSafe (@NorthWalesFire) April 21, 2022 Head of Operations Anthony Jones said: The recruitment window will be open for online registrations over a period of five days. Were looking for people to join our team. We believe there is no such thing as a typical firefighter and applications from all backgrounds are encouraged. The fire and rescue service has changed considerably over the last few years and the firefighter role has adapted to reflect this and to meet the demands of the local community. We recruit based on merit and ability, so regardless of your gender identity or your ethnicity, if you think you have what it takes, keep an eye on our website and social media for updates on the recruitment process. Our firefighters need to be able to communicate with all groups within the community but especially those at risk, such as the elderly and children. They are able to switch from responding to a wide variety of incidents, to a more preventative role involving educating our communities, visiting the people we serve at home to ensure residents know how to keep themselves safe from fire and what to do in case of an emergency. The role of a modern-day firefighter is therefore varied, challenging and immensely rewarding and we recently held taster days at Rhyl Fire Station because for such a diverse role we need a diverse workforce which reflects the communities we serve. Were therefore especially keen to encourage applications from under-represented groups, which currently include women and people from LGBTQ+, black and ethnic minorities. Were also looking for Welsh speakers and learners as we want to deliver a first-class service to all our communities. Registration for on-line applications for full time firefighter posts is open between noon on Friday 22 April and noon on Tuesday 26 April. To apply Click here North Wales Police and Crime Commissioners message on 29th anniversary of Stephen Lawrences death Today, Friday 22 April is the fourth annual Stephen Lawrence Day, named for the black teenager who was killed in a racist attack on the same day in 1993. North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner has said Stephen Lawrence Day is a reminder to us all that from great pain and tragedy can come change that is important for everyone in our community. Stephen Lawrence was a black teenager who lived in Eltham in South London. He was studying for his A-levels and wanted to be an architect when he was older. He lived with his mum, dad, brother and sister. Stephen was 18 when he was attacked and killed while waiting for a bus. Stephen Lawrence Day was created by the Stephen Lawrence Foundation as a celebration of his life and legacy. In a message to mark the day, Andy Dunbobbin, Police & Crime Commissioner for North Wales, said: Today, as we mark Stephen Lawrence Day and the 29 years since his tragic and shocking killing on April 22 1993, we remember Stephens life, death, legacy and the dignified campaigning work of his family and friends, which have all led to great change for the better right across our country. He said: Stephens death was a watershed moment in relations between the Police and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the UK and the Macpherson Report, which followed in 1999, rightly shone a light on the institutional racism and inequalities that affect many of our fellow citizens. Since then, much work has been done to try and improve policing, engagement and representation of different communities right across the UK. But much remains to be done to ensure our institutions of law and order are as representative of todays country as possible, and this a key priority of mine as Police and Crime Commissioner. The Commissioner said: In North Wales, we have pledged to improve our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communitys confidence in the police and to increase representation among our officers and staff. April 22 stands as a reminder to us all that from great pain and tragedy can come change that is important for everyone in our community. In policing, as in elsewhere in society, we should remember and build on this legacy in a positive way each and every day as we remember Stephen Lawrence. North Wales Police needs to further improve custody services to ensure safety of detainees, report finds North Wales Police has improved its custody services, but further changes are needed to ensure the safety of detainees, a new report has found. Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Her Majestys Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) said the regions police force has made improvements in several areas since their last inspection in 2014. The inspectorates found that frontline officers understand vulnerability and take account of this when deciding to make an arrest. They also said the police force only takes children into custody after exploring other alternatives. However, HMICFRS and HMIP said they had four main causes of concern about North Wales Polices custody services, which were: The force doesnt always meet legal requirements, including providing detainees with written copies of their rights and entitlements; Governance and oversight of the use of force in custody is limited, and North Wales Police cant show that when force is used it is necessary and proportionate; The quality of recording on custody records is poor, with important information missing from some records; and The force is not managing detainee risks well enough, including different officers carrying out checks, so there is often little continuity to assess changes in a detainees behaviour. It found that whilst custody staff in North Wales three custody suites in Llay, St Asaph and Caernarfon are calm and confident while dealing with detainees, there are significant weaknesses in managing risk. This is described as a serious concern and that some ways of working mean that the force isnt ensuring detainees safety. The report said: Custody officers generally carry out initial risk assessments and set observation levels correctly. Observation checks are usually on time. But some ways of working dont follow APP guidance. Sometimes there is a disproportionate response to managing risk. For instance: Different custody detention officers often complete the observation checks. This means that changes in a detainees behaviour or condition might not be picked up. Custody detention officers dont always rouse detainees on Level 2 in the right way (Level 2 requires rousal checks that get an active response from the detainee). And these checks arent always properly documented. Custody officers routinely remove clothing with cords and footwear from detainees rather than making an individual risk assessment. Officers rarely record the justification for this. Anti-rip clothing to manage detainees risks is used frequently, often without adequate reasons why, and without it being properly recorded. Other ways of managing the risks arent always considered. Most detainees are booked into custody quickly, and detention is appropriately authorised. But the circumstances of, and grounds for, arrest arent always explained in front of the detainee. Custody officers give good explanations to detainees about their rights and entitlements. But they dont always give them written information, as required by Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code C paragraph 3.2. The forces approach to complaints while individuals are in custody is poor. There is little promotion of how to make a complaint, not all officers are clear about the procedures to follow and detainees wishing to make a complaint while in custody arent always able to do so before they are released. In terms of when detainees are held in custody, the inspectorate found that general conditions in the three suites vary due to age. In Llay, the more modern facility, there is praise for the intercoms for remote communication and CCTV standards. However the inspectorate found that showers at both the Llay and Caernarfon facilities lack privacy. The inspectorates have therefore made recommendations for North Wales Police to address these concerns, while also highlighting an additional 17 areas for improvement. Her Majestys Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: Anyone detained in custody should be treated fairly and kept safe from harm. North Wales Police has made many improvements since our last inspection in 2014. Custody staff are respectful, calm and confident when dealing with detainees. The force is committed to diverting children and vulnerable adults away from custody. It is also good at recording and reporting adverse incidents in detention and learning from them. However, we still have concerns in some areas, including explaining rights to detainees, the use of force, and record keeping. We will be working closely with North Wales Police and monitoring its progress against our new recommendations. West Midlands arrests following large scale fuel theft from industrial units in Wrexham A group suspected of large-scale fuel theft have been arrested, following a series of raids led by North Wales Police. The raids followed an extensive joint-policing operation targeting a suspected Organised Crime Gang based in the West Midlands. Today addresses in the Smethwick, Small Heath, Handsworth and Dudley areas of Birmingham were identified and searched under warrants. These addresses included both residential properties, and industrial units where suspects were believed to be storing fuel. North Wales Police officers were assisted by colleagues from West Midlands Police in executing the raids, which resulted in the arrest of three people. In addition to todays arrests, officers seized a heavy goods vehicle suspected to be linked with fuel thefts. The group are suspected of involvement in approximately 40 thefts from sites all over the UK, with seven of these incidents reported within North Wales. In each of the North Wales offences, committed at industrial units in Wrexham, Flintshire and Anglesey, approximately 50,000 worth of fuel was stolen. Cumulatively, the gang is suspected to have stolen fuel worth over 1 million in offences committed in Hampshire, Surrey, Kent, West Mercia and Scotland. Thieves used large vehicle batteries to power pump systems which moved the fuel from storage tanks to large intermediate bulk containers (IBCs). Using these devices enabled the suspects to syphon around 10,000 litres of fuel per hour at each offence location. DCI Alun Oldfield said: Todays arrests are the result of an intensive year-long investigation, which sought to identify those responsible for a spate of large-scale fuel thefts. Led by North Wales Police officers, this cross-force operation culminated in the execution of targeted warrants across the Birmingham area. I would like to thank West Midlands Police officers and the Customs and Excise staff who assisted in this operation. Victims incurred significant financial losses as a result of these crimes and todays arrests will disrupt the co-ordinated planning of future fuel thefts across the UK. The arrested suspects remain in custody and the investigation remains ongoing. NSW Labor won't cut supply to the minority NSW government as key independent MP Alex Greenwich threatens to pull his support after negative comments by the premier on the transgender community and sport. Dominic Perrottet has weighed in on the controversy surrounding his and Prime Minister Scott Morrison's choice of candidate for the north shore electorate of Warringah in the upcoming federal election. The candidate, Katherine Deves, has been campaigning on preventing transgender women playing sport alongside other women. But Ms Deves has drawn controversy for a long and recent history of comments considered transphobic, including that transgender children were "mutilated", that opposing transgender athletes in sport was akin to preventing the Holocaust, and linking gender transitioning or cross-dressing to sex offending and serial killing. "I'm deeply concerned that the impacts of statements made are having an extremely negative impact on trans people and particularly young trans people," Mr Greenwich told AAP. He has threatened to end his guarantee of supply to Mr Perrottet's minority government in the NSW lower house, where the premier needs the support of at least two crossbenchers. "I've made it clear that I've had a very co-operative relationship with Mr Perrottet in minority government; that would be impossible for me to maintain if these types of attacks continue," Mr Greenwich said. NSW Labor leader Chris Minns says the opposition won't cut supply and won't support or move a no confidence motion against the government in parliament. "The choice of government should be left to the voters in March 2023," Mr Minns said. Mr Greenwich is hoping to meet with Mr Perrottet in a week, along with transgender advocates and representatives from sporting codes. The premier has said "girls should play sport against girls" and took to ABC Sydney on Friday to say it was a personal issue to him as a father of six girls. Story continues "People are entitled to have their opinion," Mr Perrottet told ABC Sydney. "When asked my opinion I will express my opinion in a sensitive way." But Mr Greenwich said the premier's views were not an informed opinion and was hoping for Mr Perrottet to be more understanding after their planned meeting. Liberal MPs, including NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, have called for the party to dump Ms Deves as candidate, while others have called for Mr Kean to be sacked for speaking out. "I believe no one should be sacked," Mr Perrottet said. Mr Morrison has stood by Ms Deves, who has refused to make public appearances or comments since apologising for her past comments. Since then more of her previous comments have surfaced. There is scarcely a single COVID restriction left in Britain, as the Johnson government ruthlessly implements its Living with COVID policy. On Tuesday, the National Health Service (NHS) was told by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to return to pre-pandemic physical distancing in all areas. This occurred less than two months after Johnson addressed parliament on his strategy for living with COVID. With that February 21 speech Johnson ended almost all remaining restrictions in non-NHS settings, including the ending on February 24 of the legal requirement to self-isolate after a positive test, routine contact tracing and self-isolation support payments. This allowed the virus to spread unhindered for the next two months. The clearest indication of the governments herd immunity agenda was the announcement this week that the deadly disease would now be allowed to spread through the NHS. Simply put, if there are no restrictions in the NHS there can be none anywhere else. A patient is pushed on a trolley outside the Royal London Hospital in east London, January 12, 2021, during England's third national lockdown since the coronavirus outbreak began. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) The NHS was issued by the UKHSA with new stepping down rules applying to all areas, including emergency departments and other hospital settings, ambulances, patient transport services and GP surgeries. In an April 19 letter to health service leaders, NHS England declared, With the pressure from COVID-19 continuing, we are setting out a way forward on a number of areas where guidance has evolved throughout the pandemic; adapting the way that the NHS operates with COVID-19 in general circulation and with the virus likely to remain endemic for some time to come [emphasis added]. The new rules will ensure that hundreds of thousands will get COVID, as patients in waiting rooms surgeries, emergency departments and even ambulance services in England are no longer required to socially distance. Patients with COVID symptoms will still be isolated from other patients, but NHS England now advises, Virus patients can be released from isolation wards after a week, if they produce two negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven. However, any inpatient exposed to the virus from other patients, or from family, but without symptoms, will not have to isolate at all. NHS England also instructed a return to pre-pandemic cleaning protocols outside of COVID-19 areas, with enhanced cleaning only required in areas where patients with suspected or known infection are being managed. This criminal set-up was announced on the same day as almost 18,000 people were in hospital with COVID. According to Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers representing hospital trusts, 70,000 NHS staff are currently off sick, a staggering 40 percent of them with COVID-19. While Hopson has opposed bringing back all restrictions, saying Nobody is arguing we should go back to draconian lockdown restrictions, he warned, but this is not all or nothing. He continued, There is concern across the NHS that the government doesnt seem to want to talk about coronavirus anymore. But we think we need a proper grown-up national debate about what living with COVID actually means. Hopson said the government was pretending that the virus doesnt exist anymore and that nobody needs to take any precautions and this was one of the main reasons why the virus remained widespread in the population. Since the end of all major public health measures outside the NHS on February 24, over 3 million more people have registered positive tests, taking total recorded infections to almost 22 million. This is under conditions in which there is no longer any universal free testing. According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 15,861 deaths in Britain from COVID in the 14 weeks from January 1 to April 8. But the figures in the two weeks since have been even more brutal. In the week to April 14, the UK saw almost 2,000 deaths and well over 1,500 deaths have been recorded in just the last three days (Tuesday, 482; Wednesday, 508; Thursday, 646). It is likely that Fridays figures will mean another 2,000 dead in a week. Such figures spread out annually would mean 100,000 plus deaths a year. At least 172,000 people are already dead from COVID in Britain, according to the governments own manipulated figure tallying those who die within 28 days of a positive test. The real figure is above 192,000, as defined by the Office for National Statistics counting instances of COVID being recorded as a cause on a death certificate, and will shortly hit 200,000. The absence of any systematic testing means there can no longer be any accurate daily figure for the number of COVID infections. This accounts for the 19,482 new positive tests recorded by the UKHSA on Thursday, an absurdly low figure when compared to a surging death toll under conditions in which Omicron and its variants are not as deadly as previous variants, particularly in vaccinated populations. Another clear indication of the state-sanctioned cover-up of the scale of COVID is that thousands of care home residents continue to die from the disease, despite some restrictions still being in place in these settings. In the 15 weeks from January to April 14 this year, 3,242 care home residents died in England from the disease (2,372 in homes, 826 in hospitals and 44 elsewhere). According to an April 18 article on the Leicestershire Live website, information not available on any national news source, there are Covid outbreaks in a quarter of the 18,000 care homes across the UK. Recent figures on infections and deaths cover the two-week period of the Easter school holiday from April 4-18. At every other stage of the pandemic, children and educators returning to the classroom has sent COVID case numbers rocketing. Last term, on a single dayMarch 17the Department for Education recorded over 200,000 pupils off school for reasons relating to COVID. Some 202,000 state school pupils in England were not in class, and nearly one in 10 teachers were off due to COVID. Among Thursdays fatalities were the tragic deaths of another three children; two boys aged 0-4 and a boy aged 15-19. Child deaths from COVID stand at 174. On Wednesday Safe Education for All campaigner Lisa Diaz, a parent of two from Wigan, tweeted a photo of a 10-year-old child in hospital, explaining, This is my friend @cocobelladoodles daughter. She is 10 years old. After protecting her little girl for 2 years, omicron has finally got her. She is now in hospital with PIMS [Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome], on an intravenous drip and faces multiple organ damage. The horrific impact of COVID on the human body only appears to worsen. Twitter user @HRHMHowler, a critical care nurse, posted Sunday a tweet with over 11,000 shares and nearly 48,000 likes including the following harrowing observation: Last night, we palliated a COVID patient in his 30s. All treatment has failed. We held his hand as we gave him morphine for the pain from the pieces of lung he was coughing up. No family. No friends. Just us. Its real. Not talking about vaccination - talking about reality. A subsequent tweet in the thread from the nurse read, Our patient is dying. Not dead yet. He has no family or close friends. Its our job to be there for him. For those who have tweeted love - thank you. None of this finds any reflection among Britains compliant media. The fact that over 500 people died from COVID in one day this week was hardly mentioned. It was afforded one sentence on the BBC website under the subhead, Daily deaths remain low. Many Twitter users responded with anger that the BBC devoted an analysis to three deaths reported in the Chinese city of Shanghai, while passing over hundreds of deaths in Britain as not worthy of any coverage. A group of Detroit-area high school students, organized in the 482Forward Youth Organizing Collective, staged a die-in at Martin Luther King High School on Saturday, April 16. The protest and accompanying press conference called attention to the lack of school counselors amid an unprecedented mental health crisis among children and teenagers. The students chanted, Mental health is a human right; Fund our counselors, do whats right, holding signs including, This is life or death for us. They then lay on the concrete for 11 minutes in silence to underscore the appalling lack of counselors. When last tallied in 2019, Michigans ratio of mental health professionals-to-students was second-worst in the US, with one counselor for every 691 students. Only Arizona had a higher ratio. Student protest in front of Martin Luther King High School (Source: 482Foward) Nearly half of all Michigan K-12 schools, 400 out of 900, had no full-time counselor at the time of the 2019 study. This state of affairs pre-dated the pandemic, but COVID dramatically intensified the growth of depression and anxietyand especially griefwithin the population. Under the impact of the ruling elites herd immunity policy of mass death and infection, diagnoses of depression have reportedly tripled, with disproportionate impacts on those with lower incomes. More than 200,000 American children have now lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID-19, one of the most stressful events that a child can experience. During the die-in, multiple students spoke to the impact that the lack of mental health services in schools has on them. A freshman at Lincoln Park High School, Stacy Gonzales, told the group, This issue hits close to home. We do not need more funding for policing in our schools. We are facing a day-to-day rollercoaster of emotions. Our health is on the line, and we need to be taken seriously. She related her personal crisis with family issues and the difficulty of sharing this with the school counselor. But after only 15 minutes, the counselor had to move on, Gonzales told the protesters. Denby High School student Louis Mason echoed the point, Im fighting. Mental health plays a huge role inside of our schools. Its very sad that we dont have access to actual help. We all struggle with barely having the energy to get out there because of the struggles we face behind closed doors. Im a victim of all this. What it boils down to is that we dont have enough professionals in our buildings to proactively help students, said Terri Tchorzynski, president of the Michigan School Counselor Association, to the Michigan Advance. Tchorzynski said the shortage is caused by a lack of funding, not a lack of availability of counselors. The American School Counselor Association recommends states have one counselor for every 250 students, a standard that only 14 percent of schools nationally presently meet, according to Education Week. Nearly 40 percent of all school districts, enrolling 5.4 million students, also did not have a school psychologist in the first full year of the pandemic. Just 8 percent of districts met the National Association of School Psychologists recommended ratio of one school psychologist to 500 students. When a student needs a counselor or mental health support, and one is not available, then our state government has failed that student. This lack of support means more problems for all students, lower academic performance and sadly can lead to tragic outcomes, added Emily Gonzalez, also a student at Lincoln Park High School. Chart on lack of school counselors (Source: Education Week) Tragedy has become all too common. Last December, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley carried out a mass shooting at his suburban Detroit high school in Oxford. The event, itself a reflection of a broken mental health system and a deep-seated social crisis, further traumatized students across the entire metro area. Nationally, nearly half of school and district leaders said that their school or district is getting more threats of violence by students than in the fall of 2019, according to an EdWeek survey last December. The approach by state and national government in allowing the pandemic to rage, refusing to close schools and require all available mitigation measures, amounts to felonious child abandonmentwhose definition often includes failure to provide adequate care. It is not surprising that a poll of high school students revealed that 44 percent felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, with 37 percent experiencing poor mental health during the pandemic. Suicide has risen to the second leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults, surpassed only by motor vehicle fatalities. The die-in served to launch a petition drive sponsored by the Democratic Party-aligned 482Forward, calling for doubling the number of school counselors and mental health supports in the state. The petition asks for an appropriation of $300 million from the state legislature and Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. But this petition, like many similar iterations from students across the US, will fall on deaf ears. The governors current budget proposal provides nowhere near the already inadequate request by 482Forward, only $120 million for mental health professionals, up from Fiscal Year 2022s disastrous $53.9 million. At the hands of both Democratic and Republican politicians, Michigans mental health system has suffered deaths by a thousand cuts over years, according to the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan (CMHAM). As a result, the state provides inadequate resources for opioid crisis support, suicide prevention, autism services, mental health crises, and public health services through Medicaid, pointed out a recent CMHAM report. The student "die-in" (Source: 482Foward) By contrast, the states coffers have always been wide open for the Detroit Three automakers. The vast sums handed out to the corporate elites expose the sums requested for mental health as a mere pittance. Whitmers new budget proposal adds a whopping $500 million to the $1 billion Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund for big business. More than $666 million of these funds were earmarked for General Motors last January. This adds to the $2.28 billion in tax credits approved by the legislature in 2020 for the profitable corporation. Young people demanding their rights to mental health care, well-funded schools and wrap-around services should not be deluded by big business-funded organizations like 482Forward, a front for the Democratic Party and unions. The collective exists to peddle the age-old illusion that the Democrats can be pressured into reforms. It organizes meetups with state legislators and lobbying, looking to co-opt and recruit potential youth candidates for capitalist party politicking. None of these initiatives have had the slightest effect on the ongoing de-funding of education or the lavish payouts to corporate elitesnor will they ever. Biden, along with the entire political establishment, has cynically claimed that the protection of the mental health of children was a central reason for the reckless reopening of schools during the pandemic. Yet Bidens recent spending bill for the 2022 fiscal year significantly low-balled funding for education and provided only a meager increase in funds for student mental health, failing to adequately fund the necessary mental health services students need across the US. Make no mistake, there is no way forward via the two political parties of big business. Having presided over more COVID death than Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and the Democrats are now carrying out a war against Russia, a nuclear power, and gearing up for World War III. Domestically, a bipartisan class war of austerity, disease and increased exploitation is being waged by the financial elite against workers and youth. Just a few months ago, students at King High School walked out to demand COVID safety, with student protests continuing nationally. It is time to unify the struggle for a future free of war, poverty, climate change and the pandemic with the struggles of workers erupting around the world. Young people must draw the necessary lesson of the dead-end of capitalist politics and make the decision to join the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) to fight for a socialist future. To take forward this fight, we urge you to attend the online May Day meeting! The White House announced on Thursday that it will be sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine for its proxy war with Russia, which is now focused in the east of the country. The package includes heavy artillery, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as drones. President Joe Biden also announced another $500 million in economic aid. According to the New York Times, the military aid package effectively will create five new Ukrainian artillery battalions, and includes more than 120 new drones built specifically for use by Ukraines forces. Ukrainian servicemen study a Sweden shoulder-launched weapon system Carl Gustaf M4 during a training session on the Kharkiv outskirts, Ukraine, Thursday, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Marienko) In announcing the new package, Biden said it would send an unmistakable message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He will never succeed in dominating and occupying all of Ukraine. The US president, visibly gripped by war fever, said, Sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large Javelin, because we're sending a lot of those. He boasted that the US had moved weapons into Ukraine at record speed over the past two months, and had provided ten anti-armor systems for every one Russian tank thats in Ukraine. Biden threatened that the US had the capacity to keep up this level of military deliveries for a long time. Biden also announced that the US has closed off its ports to Russian ships in a further escalation of the warfare by the NATO powers against Russia. In response, the Kremlin on Thursday imposed sanctions on 29 high-ranking US officials and CEOs, including Vice-President Kamala Harris and Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg, who are now barred from entering the country. The latest announcement of massive military aid for Ukraine makes abundantly clear that the imperialist powers, with the US taking the lead, are doing everything they can to prolong the Ukraine war and escalate the conflict with Russia. It came just one day after Russia demonstratively launched a test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which can carry nuclear weapons. Putin, who launched the war in a desperate bid to force the imperialist powers to the negotiating table over his demands for security guaranteesa strategy that has clearly failedsaid the test was a warning to those who try to threaten our country. The latest package brings the total US commitment of military aid to Ukraine just since the outbreak of the war to $3.4 billion. The military assistance provided by NATO to Ukraine is unprecedented in scope. In a testimony before Congress last week, Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that in the months leading up to the war and afterward, the US and NATO sent 25,000 antiaircraft weapons and 60,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. A list provided by the Pentagon indicates that Washington has supplied Ukraine with 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems; 5,500 Javelin anti-armor systems; 18 155mm howitzers and 40,000 155mm artillery rounds;16 Mi-17 helicopters; 50 million rounds of ammunition, 7,000 small arms and 75,000 sets of body armor and helmets, encrypted radios, armored trucks and more. Britain has supplied about $588 million of weapons, including anti-tank and anti-ship missiles and long-range artillery. The US is also training Ukrainian troops in neighboring NATO countries. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that a race to arm Ukraine was under way, and that much of it was being organized in secret. The Times wrote: Unlike the early part of the war, when many countries seemed to compete to announce what they were providing Ukraine, the current race is being run largely in secret. Much of the coordination, including how to get materiel into Ukraine, is being handled through the United States European Command, or Eucom, based in Stuttgart, Germany, and through a blandly named International Donors Coordination Center set up with the British. Most countries, including France, are not advertising precisely what weapons and equipment they are delivering to Ukraine. Poland has refused to confirm the shipment of more than 100 Soviet-era T-72 and T-55 tanks to Ukraine. By contrast, the Czech Republic has boasted that it supplied Kiev with T-72 tanks and BMP-1 armored vehicles, and the Slovak government has supplied a Soviet-era S-300 antiaircraft missile system. The US is now trying to buy up as much Soviet-era military equipment as possible to sell it to Ukraine. The Times quoted former US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates as saying, We dont really have time to get a lot of heavy American armor into Ukraine, and there isnt time to train the Ukrainian military. But there is a lot of former Soviet military equipment still in the arsenals of the East European states. The US, Gates said, ought to be ransacking the arsenals of these countries for armor and antiaircraft systems, with a promise from the US to backfill over time with our equipment to our NATO allies. Speaking at a roundtable at Russias defense ministry about the Crisis in Russian-American relations, Sergey Koshelev, the ministrys deputy head of the department on Northern America, said on Thursday that weapons deliveries by NATO on the territory of Ukraine were a legitimate military target for Russia. He acknowledged that the announcements of ever greater military aid by the US to Ukraine were provoking growing anxiety in the Kremlin. Washington, Koshelev said, clearly sought to bring about maximum losses for the Russian army. The Russian military has acknowledged significant losses in Ukraine, admitting, however, only to 1,351 dead as of March 25. The figure has not been updated since, and Pentagon and Ukrainian officials claim that the figures are much higher. Reports have also suggested that dozens of high-ranking military officials, including several generals, are among the dead. Funerals for fallen soldiers are taking place across the country every day. In an indication that the Russian state is trying to cover up the true toll of the war, the Russian Defense Ministry proposed on Wednesday that relatives of soldiers killed in Ukraine should have to apply to enlistment officers rather than civilian authorities for compensation payments, in order to limit the circle of people with information on Russian troops that were killed. Last week, Russias navy lost its flagship, the Moskva, which sank in the Black Sea. While the circumstances of the sinking of the ship are still disputedwith Ukraine claiming it caused it to sink with two missiles and the Kremlin insisting there was a fire onboardthe loss of the Moskva has been a major military humiliation to Russia. The relatives of many of the 500 sailors on board are still waiting to learn the fate of their loved ones. In Ukraine, 12 million people have been displaced by the warover one in four of the population. Seven million are internally displaced refugees, while 5 million have fled to other countries, mainly Poland. During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths among the homeless reached record numbers in California, with a large number occurring in plain view of the public. There are other factors that have contributed to the increase in homeless deaths, including the increased availability of Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is around 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. Fentanyl analogues such as carfentanil can be 10,000 times stronger than morphine. Many homeless suffer from mental illness, and self-medicate with street drugs that have become increasingly like a deadly game of Russian roulette. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the homeless population especially hard, with many cities seeing mortality more than doubled, while medical care for the homeless has become even more difficult to access while public health services are strained to combat the pandemic. While officials and homeless advocates have rung the alarm regarding homeless deaths around the nation, the crisis is especially acute in California, where nearly a quarter of the nations homeless population reside. California is composed of 58 counties, but only a handful of them counted homeless deaths. Based on an analysis of these numbers, experts conservatively estimated that there were at least 4,800 homeless deaths in 2021 alone. In Los Angeles County, while the homeless population grew by 50 percent from 2015 through 2020, homeless deaths increased by nearly 200 percent. According to the Office of the County Coroner-Medical Examiner, in 2021 the County averaged five homeless deaths per day. Of these almost 2,000 people, 287 were found on sidewalks, 24 in alleys and 72 on other pavement, only a portion of the total homeless deaths that occur annually across the United States. According to a study by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, when compared to the general public, homeless people are 35 times more likely to die of a drug or alcohol overdose, four times more likely to die of heart disease, 16 times more likely to die in a car crash, 14 times more likely to be murdered, and eight times more likely to die of suicide. As a result, the median age of death for the homeless is 63, which is far below the average US life expectancy of 77. The California state and local governments have responded to the calamitous situation with paltry amounts of money, including funds to build 42,000 new affordable housing units, a drop in the bucket of what is required to contain the growing crisis. Los Angeles County raised its sales tax in 2017 to generate approximately $3.5 billion more over 10 years for homelessness programs. Using these resources, the county government claims to house 207 people every day, but it is estimated that 227 people become homeless daily, so the total continues to rise. The situation is dire across the rest of the state as well. Between 2018 and 2020, there were 809 homeless deaths in Alameda County. In Sacramento County, at least three homeless people froze to death in 2021. In the City and County of San Francisco, which has a population of 875,000, there were 331 homeless deaths between March 2020 and March 2021, more than double the number of previous years. The most common cause of death was acute drug toxicity, with fentanyl being the most likely culprit. Traumatic injuries, including murder and suicide, were the second leading cause of death. Across California, homeless men, especially older men, die at rates far disproportionate to their share of the general population. For example, in Los Angeles County, men make up 67 percent of the homeless population, but represent 83 percent of homeless deaths. In San Francisco, men in their 50s have the highest rates of overdose deaths. Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general, has identified a pattern of men too poorly equipped to handle triggers such as major illness, the death of a spouse, or loss of a job. He added, As men get older they tend to be less good at building and maintaining relationships. When people do not have a safety net to catch them in the form of community and strong healthy relationships, its much more likely they end up struggling with substance use disorders, with mental illness and homelessness. What Murthy fails to mention is the pivotal role that capitalism and the obscene polarization of wealth plays in creating the crisis of homelessness, addiction, despair and death. Local governments may pay lip service to addressing homelessness, whose public display disturbs the comfortable lives of the privileged upper middle class and the rich, but they cannot address the fundamental conditions that gave rise to the crisis. No solution to this growing problem can be found within the confines of the capitalist system. The end to mass homelessness requires the mobilization of the entire working class on the basis of a socialist program to address these problems on an international scale, not just in the United States, but around the world. The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke with Bron Markham, a New Zealand nurse with more than 50 years experience, for the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. She spoke about her observations from working as a vaccinator during the pandemic, and more generally about the Labour Party-led governments recent decisions that have ended most public health restrictions. Bron Markham Bron described the recent developments in New Zealand as soul destroying, saying, Its gone from I dont know anybody who has COVID to most of my family and friends now have COVID. Omicron has swept across the country over the past three months. In October 2021, when the government announced it was abandoning its previous, successful elimination strategy, New Zealand had recorded just over 30 deaths from COVID, one of the lowest tolls in the world. By April 19, 602 people had died with COVID, most of them during March and April. During her lengthy career, Bron has been involved in establishing regional clinics in Papua New Guinea, and in a vaccination campaign in the Pacific island nation of Tokelau. She also spent eight months working in a hospital in Afghanistan as part of the Red Cross, in 20072008. Last year, Bron, who had retired, decided to return to work for the Wairarapa District Health Board (DHB) in response to the Ministry of Healths call for people to assist with the vaccination campaign. She worked in the role until February this year. From the outset, my recruitment was botched, she said, highlighting significant disorganisation in the recruitment campaign. I had to wait three months for a response, and finally messaged someone outside the DHB who got in touch with the HR department, and then I was recruited. The DHB had lost her initial application. New Zealands rollout of the Pfizer vaccine was beset by delays. In part, this was due to a lack of global supplies, but it also became clear that there was a lack of coordination and initiatives to make the vaccine easily accessible to the population. Vaccination rates lagged in rural areas, and among the Maori and Pacific Islander population, which are among the most exploited sections of the working class. On October 6, two days after Ardern declared an end to the elimination strategy, only 39 percent of the total population was double-vaccinated (48 percent of the eligible population aged over 12). As of April 13, the figure stands at 80 percent of the population, and 95 percent of over-12s. However, just 2.6 million people, about half the population, has received a third dose, which is essential for providing some protection against Omicron. The vaccination teams faced numerous logistical and bureaucratic obstacles, Bron explained. As we went out as clinicians to try and vaccinate, there were things like no supplies, or wed run out of vaccines, or the clinic would be open and no one had publicised it. Vaccines were often under-ordered for a specific area, or there would not be enough staff to distribute them. Drive-through vaccination clinic in Featherston. (Image credit: Wairarapa District Health Board Facebook page, September 9, 2021) On her first day at a new mobile clinic in Featherston, a rural town with 2,500 people, Brons team was shown a small room literally packed to the door with unopened boxes. The team was then given woefully inadequate time for the setup. Initially, both the line managers were non-clinical, so there was an almost complete lack of knowledge of the requirements necessary to meet even partial levels of clinical safety. For example, at no stage were there biohazard waste disposal options at the Featherston clinic, despite this being recommended for clinics by the Immunisation Advisory Centre. Healthcare workers in the vaccination teams were not supplied with N95 masks, only the much less effective surgical masks. Bron said she requested the N95s from management, A, because of my age, and B, because we are constantly exposed to the virus. First off, they were slow to respond to that request. Second, they said: Were thinking about it. Eventually, fed up with the delay, Bron bought her own N95 mask. While N95s are part of PPE requirements for nurses in hospital wards, Bron said this was not the case for community vaccinators. Were out in the community sitting in a cubicle, half a metre from somebody, or less, whose status isnt known. So from a safety perspective you should always make sure N95 masks are available, she said. Bron believed the lack of PPE was due to budget constraints. Pay rates in the vaccination teams were low, and Bron said she could have got 30 percent more if she took a job in Wellington. Some workers, responsible for recording peoples data, were paid around $20 an hour, the legal minimum wage. On many days, the team was so swamped that they would work eight hours with 10 minute breaks, not 20, and no 30 minute lunch break. Appointments were scheduled right throughout the day without gaps, and staff were told they would not be paid anything extra for forgoing their breaks. Bron recalled how, when they decided to take a lunch break it led to a 45 to 90 minute wait for patients. This caused the team such angst that they approached management and demanded either lower numbers of booked patients or scheduled breaks when there were no bookings. But this was a constant battle to achieve as the team was continually confronted by either a refusal to negotiate or threats. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) was informed of the teams concerns, but the union did not become involved in seeking to resolve the issues. Bron described the union as distant from the front line workers, saying I wouldnt have expected them to support us. Rostering practices violated the MECA [the nurses multi-employer collective agreement with the DHBs] almost without exception, Bron said. Standard DHB practice was to release the new roster as late as 10 p.m. on Sunday for the new week. According to the MECA, it must be released 6 weeks in advance. Bron said her vaccination team acknowledged the difficulty in achieving this in the dynamic COVID environment, however there was zero discussion on this with anyone that I was aware of. Certainly not with rostered team members. As a result, staff missed doctors appointments, and were often stressed about the week ahead. In addition, all staff were initially employed on casual contracts with no guaranteed hours. Some people who relied on a minimum level of income were constantly forced to negotiate hours to make ends meet. Bron said workers who became too demanding would find that their shift hours would reduce, or their name wouldnt appear on the roster at all. Despite the obstacles, Bron said, We had a really good team of people committed to serve the communities. That was the only reason we stuck at it and continued to do it, because the communities needed our support. Commenting on the Ardern governments removal of COVID-19 restrictionsthe reopening of all schools and businesses, and removal of vaccine mandatesBron pointed out that New Zealand was following other governments where the virus has been allowed to spread. She said: Its absolutely immoral. Every removal of public health restrictions is immoral, everything about it. Healthcare workers were all quite taken aback when Ardern announced the end of the elimination strategy, Bron said. I know some of the ED [emergency department] nurses who were associated with the COVID response were quite worried about how it would be, because they said: Were not coping now, so how will we ever cope? The ED at Masterton Hospital [in the Wairarapa] is packed, 24 hours a day. Its beyond belief that they put so much effort into elimination, and then abandoned it. But you know, this is all driven by capitalism, Bron said. She believed that Ardern had been told by business interests that there was no alternative to letting the virus spread, while the media focused on the perspective of tourism business owners in places like Queenstown, who were demanding the dismantling of the border quarantine system. She commented that the Ardern governments announcement last month that nurses can return to work even if they test positive for COVID, in some cases, was similar to policies in the United States. Bron said nurses felt that they had to continue working despite the appalling conditions because if they dont go to work, people die. Bron criticised claims by the government that hospitals are well equipped to cope with the Omicron surge. What [Minister of Health] Andrew Little is saying is not truthful, she said. The hospitals are overwhelmed, nurses are so overwhelmed. Thats our main concern. I dont know what will result from that. The health system, Bron explained, had been in crisis around nursing staffing levels for around 15 years, probably even before that. The governments so-called safe staffing protocols consisted of red buttons or flags, that are notifiers of critical shortages. Theres nothing you can do about that. You cant put a patient out on the street and you cant recruit a nurse that doesnt exist. During nationwide strikes in 2018 and 2021, nurses demanded safe levels of staffing, but the government has refused to provide the necessary funding and resources. For years, the NZNO has enforced contracts that failed to keep up with the growing level of need for healthcare services. None of the unions has objected to the governments abandonment of the COVID elimination strategy, which has led to hospitals being overwhelmed with COVID patients, and the postponement of thousands of medical procedures. As part of its G7 presidency, the German government is seeking to raise 50 billion in financial aid for Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced at a press conference on Tuesday evening. A significant part is already covered by pledges, but there is still something missing, he reported. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Photo: DBT / Leon Kuegeler / photothek) A significant part of this sum will go towards the massive rearming of the Ukrainian army. In this way, Germany and the other NATO powers are pursuing the declared goal of continuing the war until Russia is completely defeated, even if this takes months or even years. In doing so, they are deliberately accepting the risk of a nuclear confrontation that would render large parts of the earth uninhabitable. The German government has allocated several billion euros for arms deliveries to Ukraine. By the end of March, it had approved arms deliveries worth 186 million for Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Economics. Last Friday, it became known that it was increasing the so-called strengthening aid for partner countries in crisis regions from 225 million to 2 billion this year. More than half of this sum is to go towards armaments for Ukraine. Also last week, the European Union increased its funding for arms deliveries to Ukraine from 1 billion to 1.5 billion. According to Chancellor Scholz, this money is also to a large extent a German contribution. So far, the biggest donor has been the US, which since the start of the war on February 24 has handed over weaponry worth $3.2 billion to Ukrainian troops, trained Ukrainian soldiers and also provided logistical support to the Ukrainian army. But with the sums now announced, Germany is not far behind the US. The weapons which are being supplied range from vast quantities of ammunition to highly effective anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to artillery pieces, tanks and combat aircraft. While there is still a public debate in Germany about whether to limit what is sent to so-called defensive weapons or also to supply heavy offensive weapons, Scholz made clear that there has long been a division of labour among the NATO partners. Whereas Germany has so far mainly provided machine guns, bazookas, anti-aircraft missiles and equipment from Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) stockpiles, Ukraine can now directly access German arms companies, with the German government picking up the bill. We have asked the German arms industry to tell us what materiel they can supply in the near future,' Scholz explained. Ukraine has now made a selection from that list, and we are providing it with the money it needs to make the purchases. These included, he said, what can be used in an artillery engagement. Scholz evaded the question of whether this also meant heavy weaponry, such as tanks and cannons. He rejected the delivery of heavy weapons from Bundeswehr stocks on the grounds that the Bundeswehr could not do without them without weakening its own operational readinessa view shared by senior generals. At the same time, he made clear that the US and the Netherlands would be helped to equip Ukraine with heavy artillery from their stocks. In the longer term, something like this could certainly also be supplied from Germany. The German government has also long since given the green light for the delivery of heavy weapons from former German Democratic Republic (East German) stocks that are in the possession of Eastern European NATO members. Now, in a kind of roundabout swap, it also wants to compensate Eastern European countries that supply Ukraine with heavy Soviet-style weapons with modern weapons, he said. The gigantic arms shipments to Ukraine underline that NATO is waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Its goals are not freedom and democracy for Ukraine, which serve merely as a means to an end, but the subjugation of Russia, control over its vast landmass and unhindered access to its valuable raw materials. The invasion of Ukraine by the reactionary regime of Vladimir Putin, in response to NATOs encirclement of Russia, has provided the latter with the necessary pretext to put these plans into action. Chancellor Scholz, speaking to the press after an online summit with the heads of the governments of the US, France, Britain, Poland, Canada, Italy, Romania and representatives of the EU, left no doubt about NATOs real goals. It is seeking the military defeat and economic ruin of Russia and has no interest in ending the war any time soon through a ceasefire. Our common goal, the goal of dozens of nations that are now supporting Ukraine with financial aid and with military supplies, is to make the Ukrainian military capable of resisting the Russian attack, Scholz stressed. He accused the Russian president of being responsible for war crimes. A dictatorial peace, as Putin had in mind, was unacceptable. Together with our partners in the EU and in NATO, we are in complete agreement: Russia must not win this war. We will continue to actively support Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Green Party) was even more outspoken. During a visit to the Latvian capital Riga, she said that Berlin would continue to help Ukraine militarily in the medium and long term in its defensive struggle against Russia. It is also about the next three months and also the next three years. And here Germany will be able to contribute more. The supply of armoured vehicles was also not taboo for Germany, even if it sometimes sounds that way in the German debate, she added. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Germanys former Defence Minister, also insisted on the supply of heavy weapons. I do not distinguish between heavy and light weapons, she explained in an interview with Bild. The Ukrainian armed forces must get what they need and could handle, she said. Ukraine could win the war, she said, but it was necessary to prepare for the fact that at worst, the war could last for months, even years. The financing of the Ukrainian war with billions of euros shows the real meaning of the turn of the times that Chancellor Scholz proclaimed in the Bundestag (federal parliament) at the beginning of the war. Some 81 years after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which cost the lives of almost 30 million Soviet citizens, including millions of Jews, German tanks are again rolling towards Moscow. Even the Berlin correspondent for the BBC, which is otherwise fully on the side of NATO, had noticed this. He quoted the foreign policy spokesman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary group, Nils Schmid, saying, There will be no cooperation with Russia in the foreseeable future. It will be more about containment and deterrence and, if necessary, defence against Russia. The BBC journalist then commented, Unexpectedly harsh words for a party that until seven weeks ago believed Germanys historical guilt and moral duty to make amends for Nazi crimes meant peace with Russia at any price. Under the pressure of the deepest social, economic and political crisis of world capitalism since the 1930s, German imperialism is returning to its old militarist traditions. The risks it is taking in doing so are enormous. The Russian government has the second largest nuclear arsenal in the world and has threatened to use it if NATO further intensifies its offensive. All the establishment partiesthe SPD, Greens and Liberal Democrats (FDP), as well as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Christian Democrats (CDU/ CSU) and the Left Partysupport this war. Only an independent movement of the international working class fighting for a socialist perspective can stop it. In its prosecution of its war drive against Russia over Ukraine, the American ruling class and its media outlets endlessly proclaim the sanctity of the American values of freedom and democracy supposedly being defended abroad. At home, however, the capitalist oligarchy maintains a barbaric apparatus of repression and violence. Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old African refugee and auto parts worker, was killed in broad daylight on April 4 by a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His alleged offense was driving with an unregistered license plate, a minor and common situation. Bystander video, police body camera footage and an independent autopsy confirm that, after a brief scuffle, the officer fired a bullet point blank into the back of Lyoyas head as he pinned the young man to the ground. Despite this clear evidence, the officer has yet to be publicly identified, arrested or charged. A TV display shows video evidence of a Grand Rapids police officer pursuing Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lyoya, 26, was shot and killed about 8:10 a.m., on April 4, after what police said was a traffic stop. (Video released by Grand Rapids Police Department) Lyoyas father, Peter Lyoya, who had brought his family to the US in 2014 to flee violence in the Congo, was shocked when he heard his son had been killed. I didnt believe that theres a genocide in this country, he said at a press conference last week. I didnt know that here in America, there can be execution-style to be killed by the police officer. Close to 600 people have been killed by police during traffic stops since 2017, according to a recent analysis of data collected by Mapping Police Violence done by the Guardian. Traffic stop killings account for approximately 10 percent of the more than 1,000 police murders every year. Among the examples cited by the Guardian are a man killed by Miami police after being pulled over for an expired license plate tag and a Milwaukee man killed after he apparently failed to use his blinker. There have only been four days so far this year on which a police killing has not been reported somewhere in the United States. Employed by the state to defend the interests of private property and enforce an ever growing gulf of social inequality, the police operate in working class neighborhoods as judge, jury and executioner. On Thursday night Texas carried out the execution of the oldest man on its death row. Despite popular opposition to the death penalty, the countrys death chambers continue to operate in 27 states. After more than three decades on death row, Carl Wayne Buntion, 78, was strapped to a gurney and injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a barbiturate which, when administered in a high dose, results in death by respiratory arrest. Opponents of its use compare the effect on the subject to death by drowning or being burned alive. The drugs sale to US states that have the death penalty has been blocked by its Danish manufacturer. Oscar Franklin Smith, 72, was set to executed in Tennessee simultaneously with Buntion but was granted a last minute reprieve by the states governor due to oversight in preparation for lethal injection. Smith, who was convicted of murdering his estranged wife and her two sons in 1989, had maintained his innocence. His attorneys have been rebuffed in efforts to present DNA evidence that they claim would have exonerated him. The prison had already served Smith an all-American last meal of a cheeseburger, a slice of apple pie and a dish of vanilla ice cream and he was in the process of receiving his last religious rites when word came down that his life would be spared, at least temporarily. South Carolina is set to execute Richard Bernard Moore, 57, by firing squad next week after a temporary stay ordered by the state Supreme Court. Moore had been given the choice of dying by electric chair or firing squad, electing for the latter. If his killing goes forward as planned, it would mark the first such execution in the United States in over a decade. And Texas is set to execute Melissa Lucio, 53, in less than a week. She would be the eighteenth woman executed since the death penalty was reinstated in the US in 1976. The mother of fourteen children was convicted of murder following the death of her two-year-old child in 2007. Lucio maintains her innocence and that she was coerced into confessing after six hours of intense interrogation by police. Evidence presented by her attorneys corroborates Lucios insistence that the child was injured after falling down a stairway. More than 1,500 people have been put to death in the United States over the last 46 years. The majority have been by lethal injection (1,365), followed by electrocution (163), gas chamber (11), hanging (3) and firing squad (3). While the death penalty for juveniles was ended by the Supreme Court in 2005, 22 people have been executed after being convicted of crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 187 people have been released from death row after being found innocent of the crime of which they were previously convicted. This amounts to an average of nearly four wrongly convicted people being exonerated every year after facing down their deaths at the hands of the state. How many innocent people have been executed to satiate the blood lust of prosecutors, judges and politicians will never be known. This is the barbaric reality of life in the United States, a society riven by grotesque levels of social inequality and overseen by a capitalist ruling elite which has shown time and again its homicidal indifference and outright hostility to the lives of the working class. The apparatus of domestic oppression stretches well beyond daily police killings and official state murder. Approximately two million men and women languish in the nations sprawling network of prisons and jails, the largest incarcerated population in the world. Ten million people pass through Americas jails every year, with many remaining trapped behind bars before they are even convicted of a crime because they cannot afford to pay for their bail. Meanwhile, thousands of immigrants, many of them never accused of a crime, are locked away in a sprawling network of hundreds of prisons and jails simply because they lack the proper paperwork. These include tens of thousands of children who are subject to isolation and abuse by their guards. The indifference of the American ruling class to life has been on display throughout the pandemic, with the deadly virus allowed to spread far and wide, killing at least one million people in the US and 20 million globally. Even as life expectancy has fallen for the first time since World War II, the stock market has hit new highs, fueled by an infusion of bailout money and an orgy of pandemic profiteering. Backward and antiscientific sentiments have been openly encouraged and promoted at the highest levels of the state. Public health as a field of science dedicated to protecting and educating the public about diseases has been almost completely obliterated as it stands in the way of the accumulation of profits. This indifference also finds expression in the more than 7,800 people who died while homeless in the US in 2020, meaning that nearly two dozen people died every day on the streets, in their cars, in abandoned buildings or public shelters. Gun violence deaths, another indicator of deep social crisis, approached 45,000 in 2021, including an estimated 24,000 suicides. The character of the American state is a reflection of the profound social and class tensions in the heart of world capitalism. The United States has the highest levels of inequality of any major capitalist country. The only progressive way forward for the working class in the fight against war, police violence, state repression and crushing social inequality is in the fight for socialism. The International Committee of the Fourth International and World Socialist Web Site are hosting the International May Day Online Rally on Sunday May 1 to provide the program for the unification of the working class in the global struggle against the capitalist system, which is the root of social inequality and all its ills. To register for the International May Day Online Rally, fill out the form below or visit wsws.org/mayday for more information. The Chinese government announced on Tuesday it has signed a framework agreement on security cooperation with the Solomon Islands. The Solomons government informed parliament that Beijing will send officials to the Pacific nation next month to formally sign the agreements. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (Photo: solomons.gov.sb) Speaking from Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the pact would involve China cooperating with Honiara on maintaining social order, protecting peoples safety, aid, combating natural disasters and helping safeguard national security. Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister Jeremiah Manele confirmed the signing to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) by text message. Wang said the cooperation pact would be public, transparent, open and inclusive, and will not target any third party. It is parallel to and complementary to the existing bilateral and multilateral security cooperation mechanisms in Solomon Islands, he declared. Australia, New Zealand and the US have strenuously opposed the pact, claiming it could open the door to a Chinese naval base in the South Pacific. Just days before the announcement Australias minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja, travelled to the Solomons to meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in a last-ditch effort to dissuade him from going ahead. Since the draft agreement was leaked online on March 25, fierce diplomatic pressure has been applied by Canberra and Wellington, including appeals to other Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) governments, to halt the deal. In a defiant speech to parliament, Sogavare denounced the regional powers, who he accused of treating the Pacific as their backyard, and warned about Australian media calls for a regime change operation against his government. The deal is a major set-back for US-led interests across the Southwest Pacific, centred on resisting any influence by Beijing in the strategically significant region. While Pacific governments have increasingly turned to China for aid and financial support, the pact is the first security agreement that gives China a foothold in the Southwest Pacific. An hysterical reaction immediately erupted in the midst of the Australian election campaign. Deputy prime minister and National Party leader Barnaby Joyce declared it a very bad day for Australia. We dont want our own little Cuba off our coast. Opposition Labor Party foreign affairs spokesperson Penny Wong described it as the worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of World War Two. Highlighting the alarm in Australias foreign policy establishment, the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday carried four comments excoriating successive governments. Political editor Peter Hartcher, who is highly connected in Washington, declared that the countrys leaders should hang their heads in shame for allowing China to steal a march in the Pacific without firing a shot. New Zealand Labour Party Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also denounced the pact, hypocritically declaring it will lead to an increasing militarisation of the Pacific. Ardern said while the Solomon Islands was free to make its own decisions, they were breaching an agreement within the 18-member PIF to discuss defence matters at the forum before making major decisions. Arderns comment is a veiled reference to the Biketawa Declaration, signed in 2000, under which Australia and New Zealand bullied the PIF to overturn a 30-year policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of member countries. The declaration established a mechanism for diplomatic, economic and military intervention at the behest of the major powers in response to political crises. The US State Department bluntly warned that the pact leaves open the door for the deployment of PRC military forces to the Solomon Islands and sets a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific island region. One diplomatic source told the ABC that the announcement was clearly pushed through by China and the Solomons ahead of an impending visit there by Kurt Campbell, the US National Security Council coordinator for the Indo-Pacific. Campbell and top State Department official Daniel Kritenbrink are due to arrive in Honiara this week, before visiting Fiji and Papua New Guinea where the Solomons-China deal will be central to discussions. The high-level delegation will, according to Reuters, stop in Hawaii beforehand to consult with senior military officials and regional partners at United States Indo-Pacific Command. Washington has already been directly interfering in the affairs of the Solomon Islands. Extensive riots and an attempted coup in Honiara last November were carried out by supporters of Daniel Suidani, the premier of Malaita province, who opposes the governments links with China and maintains his own illegal foreign policy with ties to Taiwan. He is financed and politically supported by Washington. After the riots, China donated police equipment and sent six police trainers to work with Solomon Islands officers. In February, the US announced it would open an embassy in Honiara, part of the Biden administrations offensive to commit more diplomatic and security resources to the Indo-Pacific to counter China. The US embassy will doubtless provide a permanent base, not only for State Department operatives, but the CIA as well. Recriminations are being voiced that Washingtons longstanding policy of outsourcing its Pacific policy-making to Canberra and Wellington has proved to be an abject failure. Writing in the Diplomat, prominent pro-US New Zealand academic Anne Marie Brady warned that it is now time for the United States to shape its own policy on Solomon Islands, otherwise Campbells trip is a fools errand. Brady advised that Campbell should meet with opposition MPs, i.e., the anti-China supporters of Suidani. The US, she said, must make sure it is on good terms with all political forces in the Solomons. In the Sydney Morning Herald last month, Brady called for a cull of sacred cows, including an over-emphasis on sovereignty, in other words any, even notional, commitment to international law and the Solomons rights as an independent sovereign nation. Australia and New Zealand have a track record of aggressively intervening in what they regard as their backyard in the Southwest Pacific. Both imperialist powers exploited an acute political crisis in the Solomons in 2003 to launch the neo-colonial Regional Assistance Mission (RAMSI). Australian military and police were stationed in the country together with officials who effectively took control of the state apparatus. When RAMSI ended in 2017, it left behind an impoverished country mired in economic and social crisis. Around 50 Australian Federal Police officers are still working in the Solomons along with a group of New Zealand police. Following this weeks announcement, Washington and Canberra are likely to do everything they can to sabotage the Solomons-China military agreement before it is finalised. Whatever the outcome, as the US-led build-up to war and manoeuvres to block China in the Pacific escalate, there will be ongoing efforts to destabilise and remove the Sogavare government. Authorised by Cheryl Crisp for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000. As COVID-19 cases begin to plateau in Cayuga County, hospitalizations are on the rise. The Cayuga County Health Department reported 227 active cases on Friday, up from 217 on Wednesday but down from 237 four days ago. The local case counts included laboratory-confirmed tests and positive at-home test results that are reported by residents. Cayuga County's case rate is 253.34 per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The high case rate, along with new hospital admissions and the percentage of staffed beds in use, contribute to the county's high community level. The CDC uses those metrics to calculate the community level. In New York, Cayuga is one of more than 20 counties with a high COVID community level. Under that designation, the CDC recommends individuals to wear masks in indoor public areas, get vaccinated and get tested if they have symptoms of the virus. While the case rate and number of active cases have been relatively flat, hospitalizations are on the rise. The health department reported on Wednesday that 15 residents were hospitalized with COVID. According to the department's latest update, there are now 13 hospitalizations. Hospitalizations tend to be a lagging indicator because they usually increase days or weeks after cases begin to rise. Eight of the residents are fully vaccinated, but it's unknown if they have received any booster shots. Five residents are unvaccinated, all of whom are age 70 and older. Even as the health department continues its efforts to deploy the COVID-19 vaccines, the vaccination rate hasn't increased much in recent weeks. The CDC says the vaccination rate is 59.2%. Among eligible residents ages 5 and older, the rate is 62.3%. A majority of fully vaccinated residents (56.7%) received their booster shots. Cayuga County had a COVID-19 death this week. A man in his 80s died after testing positive for the virus, the health department said. Other information, including his vaccination status, was not released. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. 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. Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese has tested positive for COVID-19 less than two weeks into a six-week election campaign. Albaneses infection exposes the lies promoted by both major parties to justify the ending of public health measures and the endangerment of millions of working people in the interests of corporate profit. Together with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Albanese has presented the pandemic as a thing of the past, superseded by a mythical economic recovery. Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese talks to the audience during a debate with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Brisbane, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Jason Edwards/Pool via AP) In the first election debate on Wednesday night, both were on stage maskless, in front of a similarly unprotected audience. Fittingly, the forum, at which Albanese was likely infectious, was hosted by Murdochs Sky News, notorious for its undermining of public health and science over the past two years. In their contributions at the debate, Morrison and Albanese said nothing about the 6,842 needless deaths from COVID-19, more than two-thirds of which have occurred since the beginning of the year. Yesterday, a further 51 deaths were reported, the highest single-day figure for more than a month and the 30th-highest since the beginning of the pandemic. Another 46 deaths were reported today. Around the country, 3,236 people are currently hospitalised with COVID-19. According to official figures, which massively understate the spread of infection due to the conscious dismantling of testing by state and federal governments, almost 5.6 million people in Australia have contracted the virus. The election campaign has proceeded in an utterly reckless fashion, as large contingents of politicians, staffers and journalists travel around the country for publicity stunts, with no regard for the trail of infection they will leave behind. This election bubble, completely divorced from the hardships and concerns of working people, and from the real state of the pandemic, has burst. With Albaneses infection, reality has intruded on an unreal official campaign. Just hours before testing positive, Albanese visited an aged care facility on the New South Wales (NSW) South Coast, meaning he may have exposed the vulnerable residents to the deadly virus. More than 2,000 aged care residents have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. According to the Australian Financial Review, at least four journalists in Albaneses entourage had tested positive to the virus prior to the Labor leader. It is not known how many other senior Labor politicians have been exposed. Despite sharing the debate stage with Albanese on Wednesday night, Morrison is continuing his campaign. The prime minister contracted COVID-19 early last month and is therefore exempt from close-contact rules and not even required to test for the virus. Media commentators have moronically stated that Morrison is not at risk due to his prior case, in wilful ignorance of the thousands of reinfections documented over the past four months. Not a single corporate pundit has voiced concern over the fact that the prime minister and his entourage may be functioning as a traveling super-spreader of the virus. The infections are hardly surprising. Health authorities and government figures around the country, Labor and Liberal-National alike, claim the Omicron BA.2 wave has peaked. In fact, more than 50,000 new infections were recorded in Australia yesterday, bringing the total number of active cases to 369,910. In more than two years of the pandemic, there have been only 53 days when more people were infected. The fact that both Albanese and Morrison have been infected in recent weeks is a clear sign that community transmission is much more widespread than the official figures indicate. Overwhelmingly, the victims are working class. Unlike Albanese and Morrison, workers in factories, warehouses, hospitals and schools have no control of their environment and can do little to protect themselves if a wave of infection sweeps through their workplace. The catastrophic pandemic is completely off the agenda in the federal election because Labor and the Liberal-Nationals are in total agreement. The continuing crisis, along with Albaneses infection, is a direct product of the let it rip policies adopted by the National Cabinet and every state, territory and federal government, Labor and Liberal alike. This is fundamentally a class question. Among workers, hardest hit by the health, economic and social impact of the pandemic, there is broad support for the elimination of the virus. But the official parties have made clear that they are interested only in business, not health advice. Albanese is pitching Labor to the financial elite as the only party capable of carrying out the big reforms demanded by big business to boost productivity and build a stronger economy. This includes the overturning of any public health measures that could possibly stand in the way of corporate profits. The decision last December by the NSW Liberal-National government to scrap density limits, mask mandates, QR code check-ins and vaccination requirements has been widely criticised as a pivotal moment that massively accelerated the devastating spread of Omicron. In reality, the continuous dismantling of public health measures around the country, while cases surged, has only been possible because of the close collaboration of Labor, particularly Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. On December 15, there were 6,233 cases of COVID-19 in NSW, just 3.4 percent of the 185,898 active in the state yesterday. Yet the entire political establishment, with the eager backing of the corporate media, declares the pandemic over. The Victorian Labor and NSW Liberal-National state governments announced Wednesday that virtually all of the few remaining public health measures against COVID-19 would be scrapped. From 6 p.m. in NSW and 11:59 p.m. in Victoria, close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases will no longer be required to self-isolate. The Queensland Labor government followed suit today, announcing that close-contact isolation will end from next Thursday. In NSW and Victoria, masks will no longer be required except for on public transport, in hospitals, aged care facilities, airports and aircraft. Capacity limits for public transport and venues will be removed, and proof of vaccination will no longer be required for entry into venues in Victoria. In NSW, vaccine mandates will be removed for all workers except those in aged care and disability. From April 30, unvaccinated international travellers will no longer be required to quarantine on arrival in NSW or Victoria. In NSW, they will be required to take a RAT within 24 hours of landing, while in Victoria, post-arrival testing will only be recommended. The removal of the seven-day isolation rule for close contacts was demanded by big business lobbyists because up to 20 percent of workers in many sectors were unable to work due to infection or exposure to COVID-19. In fact, since late last year, countless industries have been granted exemptions, forcing potentially infectious workers back on the job in order to maintain company profits. Australias unions have facilitated this reckless drive, enforcing the slashing of restrictions while cynically calling for rapid antigen tests (RATs), masks and other measures explicitly aimed at keeping factories open. Demonstrating the role of the unions, Health Services Union (HSU) National President Gerard Hayes last week voiced his support for the removal of isolation rules, declaring: If you are fully vaxxed, return a negative test and have no symptoms, you should be able to go to work. This stands in complete opposition to the health workers supposedly represented by the HSU. During a NSW-wide strike on April 7, a Newcastle health worker interrupted HSU and Labor speakers at a stop-work meeting, saying: COVID is the biggest issue here. You havent mentioned it. We work with COVID every day, numbers of us have been sick. Earlier this month, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce blamed the close-contact rules for chaotic scenes and major delays at the nations airports. The NSW and Victorian governments moved swiftly to exempt aviation workers, placing staff and passengers at risk while doing nothing to resolve the congestion. Australian Industry Group boss Innes Willox claimed: The massively disrupted Easter for Australians wanting to travel should be a clear signal to health officials that their rules are no longer fit for purpose. In other words, the bipartisan actions of Australian governments have created such a wave of mass infection that society cannot function. The solution demanded by business and now enacted by the Victorian, NSW and Queensland governments is to remove the few remaining measures aimed at preventing illness and pretend the pandemic is over. The Socialist Equality Party is the only party standing in the elections demanding the immediate repudiation of the homicidal let it rip policies and the instatement of scientifically-grounded measures necessary to end the pandemic. Experience has shown that this requires the intervention of the working class, against all of the official parties. Rank-and-file committees must be formed in workplaces, schools and neighbourhoods to impose the necessary public health measures and allow workers, not management, to determine what is safe. This includes the provision of high-quality N95 masks and other personal protective equipment, free mass PCR testing, the closure of non-essential business with full compensation for workers and small-business people as well as lockdowns where necessary to eliminate transmission. Authorised by Cheryl Crisp for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000. Where is Anne Frank is an animated film directed by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman, best known for his remarkable Waltz With Bashir (2008) devoted to the 1982 Israeli war in Lebanon. Commissioned by the Anne Frank Fonds Basel, the new, intentionally disturbing movie is made up of 159,000 individual drawings created in 15 countries using a new technique that combines static backgrounds with classic, animated figures in 2D. Anne Frank, the young German-Jewish girl who hid with her family from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II, addressed her famous diary to Kitty, an imaginary friend. Folmans film, which took eight years to create, brings Kitty to life and places her in contemporary Amsterdam. Where is Anne Frank The film opens on an inclement morning outside the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam, where a long line of harried people wait for the famed institution to open. The crowd is apparently oblivious to the situation of a nearby family of refugees whose flimsy tent is being blown away by a gusty wind. Inside the museum, a red-haired, freckled teenage girl, Kitty, materializes from the swirling ink of Annes Diary. In fact, it was on her 13th birthday in 1942 that Anne received a red-plaid autograph book and began using it as a diary. The first words she wrote were: I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support. The teenager continued to chronicle her life living in Amsterdam under the tyranny of German occupation, as she and her family hid from the Nazis. After two years, in August 1944, they were discovered and deported, first to the Auschwitz concentration camp. Unaware that 75 years have gone by, Kitty (voiced by Ruby Stokes) is convinced that if she is alive, Anne (Emily Carey) must be too. The film tells the story of Kittys journey across Europe in search of her beloved friend. Armed with the precious Diary (which she has stolen) and with help from her friend Peter (Ralph Prosser), who runs a secret shelter for undocumented refugees, Kitty follows in Annes footsteps, from the Annex where the Frank family hid to her tragic end in the Holocaust. As policemen comb the city like stormtroopers for the Diarys whereabouts, one overblown official claims that the document is the biggest spiritual treasure this countrys produced since Rembrandt. Various themes emerge, directed primarily toward the present, including the refugee crisis in Europe. In todays Amsterdam, Anne Franks name is ubiquitouson a hospital, a theater, a bridge, a school, etc. But the question is posed: where and how well is the essence of her story understood? A character argues, Everyone knows who she is, but no one talks about what happened to her. As Kitty follows the path Anne took in Europe, the first stop is the Westerbork transit camp in the northeastern Netherlands, then Auschwitz in Poland and finally Bergen-Belsen in northern Germany. Throughout the film, ominous black-caped Nazis with skeleton faces march in unison. Folman explains that the creators designed the Nazis as giants of the Underworld with masks and ferocious dogs. And we [drew] on Greek mythology which Frank was very fond of. Where is Anne Frank (2021) Playing an important part in the narrative is an African girl, Awa (Naomi Mourton), a refugee, whose family faces persecution in present-day Netherlands. Kitty finally holds the Diary as a hostage, demanding the African familys freedom and freedom for all refugees. She addresses a crowd with a bullhorn, Anne didnt write her Diary so you could worship herThe pages themselves are not important. Whats important is the message that is passed down to the tens of millions of children who read this DiaryAnd that is why I shall burn this Diary unless all these people [thousands of refugees] are guaranteed shelter, a guarantee that they can stay in this country as free people for as long as they wish. In an interview, Folman spells out that Kitty, a child of our times, began as Annes imaginary friend, basically. But in the movie she is building a bridge between the past and the present. As she ventures out into the world, she meets young people such as herself who are in dangermaybe because they have to flee from war zones. That reminds Kitty of Anne and the fact that Anne did not have an opportunity to flee during her relatively short time in hiding. This experience turns Kitty into an activist. The director, the son of Holocaust survivors, further elaborates that the conception of the film was altered by the eruption of the refugee crisis. As the flight of refugees from war zones to Europe reached an apex in 2018 and 2019, I rewrote the scriptThe second part originally dealt with girls in war zones. I then went over those sections and focused on children fleeing from war zones to seek safety in Europe Today, we see populism, right-wing extremism, even fascism, and definitely racism and xenophobia in various countries. I dont believe a film can change anything, but I believe its important that, as filmmakers, we do everything to fulfill our hope of films playing a part in reintroducing a different mental and political attitude. The films production notes assert that Anne and Margot Frank were two of 1.5 million Jewish children killed during the Holocaust. Children are still fleeing from conflict zones and their lives are in danger; minorities, refugees and individuals are still discriminated against. Reading the Diary without putting it into the context of the present is meaningless as we need to learn the lessons of the past to make a difference. I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.Anne Frank AUBURN Funding for a cat spaying and neutering program and Memorial City Hall security were among the suggestions made by Auburn City Council members during a budget discussion. The council gave input on the city's proposed 2022-23 budget at its meeting Thursday night. Councilors were previously presented a first draft spending plan earlier this month, featuring a 2.8% tax levy increase and general fund of $43,949,604. That overall spending plan would be a 7.7%, or $3.1 million, jump from the 2022 revised budget. Councilor Terry Cuddy made the first recommendation, which was $5,000 for a cat spaying or neutering program. He said it was originally planned for Claire Lovell of the Auburn Community Cats TNR, a group working on efforts to spay and neuter feral and stray cats. Lovell was to give a presentation, but was not able to attend the meeting. It is hoped she will give her presentation at next week's council meeting, Cuddy said. Cuddy said issues with the amount of cats in the city have repeatedly come to his attention. He said Lovell will propose ways this funding could possibly be dispersed, noting the group is working on becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. After the meeting, Cuddy said if funding was approved and the TNR group secured nonprofit status, it would pay veterinarians to do the work. If the group doesn't receive that status in time, Cuddy said, the city would "say there was a need for veterinarians to do this service, and then TNR would line up the veterinarians just to do this, just to answer a (request for proposals)." Cuddy said during the meeting the cost would mainly be the procedures and these efforts would be focused on cats within the city. City Manager Jeff Dygert asked Cuddy if TNR would be able to answer some questions, such as if the city were to have an agreement with a veterinary service, would the work be centered specifically on spaying and neutering efforts or it would be a "general fund that takes care of any animal that's brought to that vet?" Cuddy said he believes the intent is focused squarely on spaying and neutering. Councilor Jimmy Giannettino said the proposed budget is "both operationally and fiscally responsible" and lauded the efforts of city staff. He referenced Dygert's suggestion at a previous meeting for trained security personnel at city hall following staff confrontations from the public. "It has become, for the reasons that you specified, a very serious issue. Because it's been brought up to us, I feel that it is on us to address it, and I'm asking that we come up with a figure associated with what needs to be done," Giannettino said. "In my opinion, that does include human resources. We need physical people in this building, and, I would argue, what we kind of call the 'city hall campus,' possibly attention to the (New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center) and the parking garage. I would ask that it be included in this budget, because the reality is, if it's not budgeted for, it doesn't exist." Other input brought up included additional requests from Giannettino and Councilor Ginny Kent. Since the preliminary spending plan was built around a 6.3% sales tax uptick over the actual 2021 collections, coming to to $650,479, Giannettino suggested looking at increasing that 6.3% bump in regard to covering the costs of these requests rather than cutting existing components in the proposed budget. Mayor Mike Qull asked Dygert and staff to come up with a proposal integrating these requests The previously proposed 2022-23 spending plan also called for a bump to solid waste collection rates in order to cover a $1.18 million deficit in the solid waste fund. A presentation on those recommendations is scheduled for the April 28 council meeting. Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 3 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. [April 21, 2022] Meridian reports a record-breaking year and looks ahead to a bold future with renewed purpose Meridian moves forward with new leadership, focus on ESG and a new corporate strategy TORONTO, April 21, 2022 /CNW/ - Meridian, Ontario's largest and Canada's second largest credit union, reported a year of strong financial performance and record profits at its 17th Annual General Meeting held today. "Meridian continues to demonstrate that it is a purpose-driven organization, with a deep dedication to helping Members achieve their best life," said Jay-Ann Gilfoy, President & CEO, Meridian. "With the backing of our Members, we are looking ahead to an exciting future of growth that continues to improve the social fabric of our communities and integrates our commitment to a healthy planet and environmental sustainability." Marking her first 100 days in the role, Jay-Ann also acknowledged her immediate predecessors: Bill Maurin, former President & CEO and Gary Genik, who served as Interim President and CEO after Bill stepped down last May. "We also thank the Board of Directors for their continued diligence and support in helping Meridian strategically navigate difficult times against the background of COVID and major global events," said Jay-Ann. "It's also a testament to the resilience of our employees who are passionate in delivering on our purpose." Board work in 2021 bridges to the future During 2021, the Board led a CEO transition with a comprehensive national search led by the Human Resources Committee, and several strategic advisors including a diversity and inclusion specialist and an executive recruitment firm. "The Board was thrilled to announce the appointment of Jay-Ann Gilfoy as the new President and CEO of Meridian and motusbank and has the utmost confidence in her leadership to guide us through our next era," said Karen Farbridge, Board Chair, Meridian. In laying the foundation for a new long-term strategy, the Board approved a new purpose and vision statement. "Our vision is to be recognized as an inclusive, transparent and people-focused financial partner," said Karen. As part of this work, the Board and management are committed to enhance the integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities within Meridian's new strategy. "We understand that addressing ESG matters is important to differentiating our brand, attracting Members, retaining employees, and creating sustainable communities," said Karen. "As stewards of the ESG journey, the Board commits to enhance its focus on climate-related initiatives, along with rethinking how these and other ESG initiatives can support innovation." Boardhighlights Meridian is honoured to have once again received an Excellence in Governance Award from Governance Professionals of Canada. For the third consecutive year, Meridian was recognized for its best practices in Board/Director Effectiveness. There were four positions to be filled on the Board in 2022. The successful candidates recommended by the Board's Nominating Committee were acclaimed to their positions. These include Gail Harding and Tamara Paton who return to the Board to serve for another three-year term. The Board also welcomed two new Directors. Stacey Grant-Thompson brings deep expertise in digital and direct marketing related to the optimization of end-to-end marketing programs with additional experience in the areas of strategy, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. Most recently, she served as Chief Marketing Officer at Manulife Canada and has successfully built, scaled, and re-positioned several brands in financial services and telecom. Lianne Hannaway is a Chartered Professional Accountant with a background in financial services and business transformation, highlighted by senior leadership positions at TMX Group, the parent company of the Toronto Stock Exchange, and at KPMG. She is Treasurer at The Equality Fund, a groundbreaking collaboration that supports women's rights organizations and feminist movements globally and is a board member of Kids Help Phone. She also founded Wealthnuvo, a financial community platform designed to help women entrepreneurs and investors build wealth. Departing Directors Carol Hunter and Andrew Lo were acknowledged and thanked for their service. Karen Farbridge was reappointed by the Board as Board Chair for a further two-year term. The following Directors were appointed as Committee Chairs until the next Annual General Meeting: Audit & Finance: Bruce West Governance: Hari Panday Human Resources: Tamara Paton Nominating: Ian Cunningham Risk: Gail Harding Financial and growth highlights The following are some notable highlights from 2021: Total assets under management which includes both our on-balance sheet assets as well as our wealth portfolio grew by 7% in 2020, to $28.3 billion Total relationships reached $40.5 billion at the end of 2021, with growth of $3.4 billion over the year at the end of 2021, with growth of over the year Loans to Members grew by $1.5 billion in 2021 to $19.4 billion , higher than the previous year as the economy slowly rebounded from the pandemic low in 2021 to , higher than the previous year as the economy slowly rebounded from the pandemic low Consolidated pre-tax earnings in 2021 were a record $218 million , up $151 million from the prior year , up from the prior year Balance sheet assets grew by 5% to $24.1 billion , which was an increase of $1.0 billion over 2020 , which was an increase of over 2020 Meridian's net Membership base increased by over 8,000 Members and motusbank saw membership growth of over 1,800 Corporate and brand highlights Meridian launched its new brand awareness campaign "What If?" in May, reinforcing the organization's purpose driven goal of helping its Members build resilience. Meridian was the proud "Two Row Sponsor" of Niagara's Annual Celebration of Nations to help support and promote Indigenous arts programming in September. Meridian?employees?also marked the?country's first National?Day for Truth and Reconciliation in November. In preparation, Meridian planned learning opportunities during the month of September to provide employees with an introduction to understanding Indigenous perspectives in Canada . . The first-in-kind Meridian Financial Resilience Score for businesses was launched in October 2021 , designed to help business owners gain perspective on their financial situation, gauge their financial resilience, and find out how to build their capacity for more. Meridian also has a Financial Resilience Score for individuals, launched previously. About Meridian We acknowledge the land on which we operate is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. With more than 75 years of banking history, Meridian is Ontario's largest credit union, and second largest in Canada, helping to grow the lives of 365,000 Members. Meridian has $28.3 billion in assets under management (December 31, 2021) and delivers a full range of financial services online, by phone, by mobile and through a network of 89 branches across Ontario, and business banking services in 15 locations. Meridian cardholders also have access to over 43,000 surcharge-free ABMs in North America with THE EXCHANGE Network and the Allpoint Network in the US. For more information, please visit: meridiancu.ca, follow us on Twitter @MeridianCU or visit us on Facebook. SOURCE Meridian Credit Union [ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ] The town of Owasco will be holding an informational public meeting on heat pump heating and cooling systems next week. In an interview with The Citizen Friday, Owasco Supervisor Ed Wagner said the Monday meeting is meant to educate the public on heat pumps, how they work and "how they can save people money." The town is working with HeatSmart CNY and the Central New York Regional Planning & Planning Development Board to encourage people to get these heat pump heating and cooling systems. Wagner said, touting their environmental and cost-savings benefits. People will be able to ask questions. Those in attendance will include Lindsay Speer, the campaign director for HeatSmart, Alison Mullan-Stout of the group, Alliance for a Green Economy, some contractors and people from different towns who have had these systems installed in their homes, Wagner said. He also said HeatSmart reaches out to different towns as a part of their involvement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's Clean Energy Communities program. In some cases, people can save half of their annual utility cost by switching to heat pumps, Wagner said, adding that there are grants available to people with certain income qualifications to help offset the initial cost of the investment for the heat pumps. "The reason why we're doing this is it's best for the environment, it saves our residents money and we can help them receive the benefits of grants that are out there at this time. A year from now, the grants may not be around," he said. "We want our people and our town to be able to capitalize, especially those in need, who are on subsidies, trying to make ends meet, and heating is one of the biggest expenses that people face in the wintertime. This also provides needed cooling for especially senior citizens." Wagner also noted Owasco's different environmental efforts, including the municipality becoming the first town in Cayuga County to become a certified "climate smart community" by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau. Love 1 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. Rev. Louis Vasile has seen a lot over the past 50 years of his priesthood. Ordained in 1972, Vasile spent the last 17 years serving the Cathol File image: The CDC has recommended adenovirus testing when the cause of a childs infection isnt clear (Getty) A cluster of severe hepatitis cases among children in Alabama has prompted the countrys Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a nationwide health alert. The guidelines issued on Wednesday have alerted health care providers and public health authorities that an investigation is underway. It also recommended that adenovirus testing be carried out when the cause of a childs infection isnt clear. It comes after more than 100 hepatitis cases were confirmed in the UK alone, with more reported in at least four other countries. The advisory says Alabama health officials identified nine cases of hepatitis in children aged between one and six, who had also tested positive for adenovirus since October. All children were previously healthy and none had contracted Covid-19. Several were determined to have what is known as adenovirus type 41, which typically causes diarrhoea, vomiting and respiratory symptoms. Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that can be caused by viral infections, alcohol use, toxins, medications, and certain other medical conditions, while adenoviruses are doubled-stranded DNA viruses that are spread by close personal contact, respiratory droplets and fomites, the CDC website states. The CDC has ruled out some common causes of liver inflammation, including the hepatitis A, B and C viruses, in the Alabama cases. At this time, we believe adenovirus may be the cause for these reported cases, but investigators are still learning more including ruling out other possible causes and identifying other possible contributing factors, the agency said. The health advisory noted that they were investigating a possible association between pediatric hepatitis and adenovirus infection. Cases of pediatric hepatitis in children who tested negative for hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E were reported earlier this month in the United Kingdom, including some with adenovirus infection, it added. Public health authorities in the US and the UK have already announced that they had launched an investigation to look into the causes of an unknown type of hepatitis. The World Health Organisation also issued an advisory stating that 74 cases of acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology among children across the UK had been identified. Apr. 21Former Athens, Tennessee, Police Chief Cliff Couch has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga alleging violation of his First Amendment rights and accusing the town's city manager of retaliating against him for speaking out about activities involving the city manager. The six-count federal complaint stems from an ongoing feud between Couch and City Manager C. Seth Sumner over the police chief's contentions Sumner interfered with his authority as chief, pressured him to investigate an elected city official, retaliated against him for going to other elected officials with suspicions about Sumner and that Sumner fired him in retaliation. Couch fired in October amid a City Council probe into ongoing problems between the two men is seeking $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages and seeks to triple the award under specific guidelines that, if applicable and the case goes Couch's way, would bring the total to $6 million. Sumner announced the firing Oct. 11 in a news release that said the chief had been fired three days earlier. "Couch was provided an opportunity to resign, but as of 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 11, 2021, he did not exercise that opportunity," Sumner said in the release. Sumner gave no other reason in the release for Couch's termination but said the move would provide more stability. Fred Schultz, a former lieutenant with the department, has since been appointed permanent chief. Schultz already had served six months as interim chief. "Mr. Sumner and I have no comment about the lawsuit," Athens City Attorney Chris Trew said Thursday in an email. Trew pointed to media coverage from Kansas, where Couch served as chief and was embroiled in similar battles with the city of Great Bend in 2017. On Sept. 14, 2017, Couch announced his resignation from his post in Great Bend effective the next month, the Great Bend Tribune reported. Couch's resignation in Great Bend was the final chapter in what the paper called "the ongoing saga that consumed much of the summer and fall of that year." Similar to what happened in Athens, the monthslong controversy in Great Bend pitting Couch against a city administrator and a former mayor. Story continues In the federal suit in Chattanooga, Sumner is represented by Chattanooga lawyer Keith H. Grant, and the city is represented by Knoxville lawyer Emily C. Taylor. Both Grant and Taylor said they couldn't comment on the pending case, saying they would file answers on behalf of their clients May 6. In the suit, Couch accuses Sumner of repeatedly crossing ethical lines, retaliating against him and other city employees for refusing to advance the city manager's political agenda and slowly stripping the police chief's authority starting in 2019. That was when Sumner allegedly asked Couch to fix a citation he had been issued in February that year for having a loaded firearm with him at a Knoxville airport. Couch refused, the suit states. In May 2020, Sumner tried to get him to file unwarranted charges against a local resident, but the judge wouldn't sign a warrant in the matter for lack of probable cause, Couch's suit states. Couch also contends turnover in the department in early 2020 led him to ask the city's human resources department to investigate allegations of harassment, but Couch said in the suit Sumner took over the investigation, then stopped it, then resumed it again, further eroding the chief's authority. Couch said it was about this time that Sumner started holding one-on-one meetings with Couch while driving around McMinn County in Sumner's car, according to the suit. "This was both odd and intimidating to Chief Couch," the suit states. During one such meeting on July 15, 2020, Couch contends in the suit Sumner started asking about City Councilman Dick Pelley's involvement in a federal lawsuit filed against Sumner. Sumner leveled accusations that Pelley was involved in an incident in which an elderly woman was found in poor condition but Couch referred the case to Adult Protective Services and told Sumner there was little police should do in follow-up, the suit states. Couch sometime later told Sumner an outside agency should conduct that kind of investigation, the suit states. On Sept. 2, 2020, Couch called 10th Judicial District Attorney General Stephen Crump about some of the issues he was experiencing with Sumner, according to the lawsuit. "Chief Couch explained that he felt the city manager was crossing ethical and perhaps legal lines by showing up at dispatched calls, entering crime scenes and by pressuring the department to press charges against those he was upset with, including Councilman Pelley," the suit states. Couch was told to keep notes on anything he felt was unethical or illegal, according to the suit. After this meeting, Couch contends Sumner told him during a one-on-one meeting a week later to put a positive spin on reports, presentations and memorandums about the state of the police department and accused Couch of painting a negative picture of the department, the suit states. At a meeting held Sept. 30, 2020, between Couch, Sumner and others acting as facilitators, Couch voiced his concerns about being asked to cross what he believed to be ethical lines in being pressured to press charges on Pelley and that he felt he couldn't run his department without interference from the city manager. The dissolving relationship between the city manager and the police chief continued to worsen in November 2020 when a surveillance camera in the police department lobby malfunctioned and when a replacement was sought from a supply closet, two Nest surveillance cameras were discovered missing, the suit states. The cameras were thought to have once been in the possession of the city manager, according to officers who saw the cameras last, and Couch launched an investigation after hearing discrepancies in accounts of what happened to the cameras, the suit states. Both cameras later turned up in two different locations, the suit states. During the Nest camera investigation, Couch went again to Crump to provide the information about the cameras. Crump in early 2021 concluded there was not enough evidence to charge Sumner with taking the cameras. Meanwhile, Couch contends in the suit he continued to voice concerns that he was being retaliated against by Sumner. The camera issue and the dispute between Couch and Sumner boiled for months in Athens, and the City Council called a special meeting in August 2021 to discuss several issues revolving around Sumner, the first being the missing cameras, the suit states. During the August meeting, Sumner said he had the cameras briefly in his office and returned them the next day. He said they never left city property, the Times Free Press previously reported. Couch during the meeting detailed examples of Sumner's retaliation against him, the suit states, and told council members about his own allegations Sumner tried to get Couch to fix the citation and investigate a sitting City Council member. The hourslong meeting was recessed to be reconvened but several delays led to the meeting not being resumed until it was finally set for Oct. 18 the suit states. But 10 days before the Oct. 18 meeting was to take place, Sumner fired Couch, the suit states. In an Oct. 11 work session the same day Couch's firing was announced Couch contends Sumner refused to answer questions about the firing. "At the workshop, Councilman Pelley openly stated that the timing of this was suspect and that he believed this was retaliation, that the city of Athens was retaliating against Chief Couch and that there was no reason for the termination of Chief Couch," the suit states. During the Oct. 18 meeting, Sumner again refused to give a reason for Couch's firing, the suit states. At the end of that meeting, Sumner was suspended without pay for two weeks. Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton. EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that Rebecca Walker has remained the state director of nursing during her charges and trial, in which she was found not guilty. Rebecca Walker, Delaware's state director of nursing, was found not guilty on all charges after she was criminally accused of falsifying drug test records of state employees under her supervision. Walker broke down in tears Thursday as Superior Court Judge Francis Jones read the verdict. "The state could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she (Walker) had an intent to deceive and that she or the other employees gained any personal benefit from the incorrect records," Jones said. Walker was indicted on three misdemeanor charges in April 2021 for reportedly fabricating employees' records during her time as the deputy director of the Delaware Division of Forensic Science, claiming they passed drug and alcohol tests they never actually received, according to charging documents. Walker was indicted on three misdemeanor charges in April 2021 for reportedly fabricating employees' records during her time as the deputy director of the Delaware Division of Forensic Science, claiming they passed drug and alcohol tests they never actually received, according to charging documents. Walker was in charge of administering the tests from May 2015 to February 2020 as part of the division's new policy to increase transparency and accountability. Ahead of her criminal trial, which began on April 12, Walker agreed to have Jones hear the evidence and render a verdict instead of a jury. "The Courts exonerating verdict reflects that Walker had not made any intentional false entries in the employee alcohol testing records at the Delaware Division of Forensic Science and had not gained any benefit from the alleged false entries," said Walker's defense attorney, John Malik, in a statement released by him. Walker did not comment. The trial saw testimonies from former employees of the state Division of Forensic Science who said that they were not subjected to a Breathalyzer test when Walker's records reflected they had been. State prosecutors said that Walker "slacked off and failed" to perform her duties as the chief substance abuse officer overseeing a drug and alcohol screening program in the division. Story continues TESTIMONIES: Verdict looms after testimony against state official charged with falsifying records ends According to prosecutors, the trial testimony indicated Walker brought into her state workplace, work for her doctoral classes, work for another class she was teaching, all while also working part time as a nurse at Christiana Hospital and being a mother. "She knew what to do and chose not to do it," said Deputy Attorney General Nicole Mozee in closing statements on April 19, 2022. Deputy Attorney General Nicole Mozee said that Walker "yearned for praise" and wanted to be recorded as a stellar employee on her reviews, giving her a reason to falsify the records to make it appear as though she had met her work expectations. Malik characterized the false record-keeping as a simple mistake and said that his client "never intended to commit any of these crimes." During the trial, he called into question the memory of some who said they were not subjected to Breathalyzer tests. He disputed any reported benefits, saying there was hardly any time saved from skipping a Breathalyzer test and that a hypothetical "ding" on a performance review is not sufficient to establish intended benefit in order to find his client guilty. Malik noted that in order for Walker to be found guilty, prosecutors must show intent to defraud or misrepresent the test results, which ultimately formed the basis of the not guilty verdict on Thursday. Division of Forensic Science Medical Examiner Office on S. Adam St. in Wilmington. Walker, an attorney, nurse and a former state representative, assumed the leadership position at the Division of Forensic Science in 2015 after she helped create the agency as a state legislator. She was hired as part of a complete restructuring of the division, formerly known as the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, which in prior years had been subject to high-profile scandals over missing narcotics and other official misdeeds that led to lawsuits and chaos in the state's prosecution of criminal trials. As part of the new policies, Walker was in charge of conducting drug tests on employees twice a year along with randomized testing. She remained in this role until February 2020 when she left to work as the states director of nursing at the Department of Health and Social Services. Contact the reporter Yusra Asif @ yqureshi@delawareonline.com This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware state official Rebecca Walker not guilty of falsifying records UPDATED: Hulu experienced broad technical difficulties Thursday for more than two hours, as thousands of users spanning the U.S. logged complaints about problems with streaming video and accessing the Hulu app. At about 10:45 p.m. ET, a rep for Disney Streaming Services, which operates Hulu, said in an email, We have resolved the technical issue that temporarily impacted Hulu. We apologize for the inconvenience. The spokesperson did not say whether customers would be eligible for refunds because of the outage. More from Variety User reports of issues with Hulu began to spike around 8 p.m. ET, according to monitoring site Downdetector with more than 57,000 complaints registered as of 8:21 p.m. ET. The problems were reported across the country, with reports concentrated in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. According to user reports, the problems with Hulu were occurring on both the on-demand and live TV sides of the service across multiple devices. A message on Hulus main support website said, Playback unavailable? Were investigating the issue with the highest priority and hope to have things back up and running soon. Thanks for your patience! Screenshot of Hulus technical support site on April 21 There were no evident issues Thursday evening with Disney+ or ESPN+, which are also operated and managed by Disney Streaming Services. Meanwhile, the main page for hulu.com on Thursday displayed an error message to logged-in users that said, Well be back. This page is temporarily unavailable. Please try refreshing the page or go back to the homepage. Other attempts to access hulu.com returned an error message that said, upstream request timeout. With the Hulu app, users reported that when they tried to stream a title, they saw an error message reading, Were having trouble playing this. Rest assured, were working on it. In the meantime, it may help if you restart the video. On some connected TV platforms, launching the Hulu app produced an error message that read, Sorry. Hulu was unable to start. Please exit and try again. Story continues In October 2011, Disney raised the price of Hulus VOD streaming packages by $1 for both current and new subscribers. Hulu with ads increased from $5.99 to $6.99 per month and Hulu without ads went up from $11.99 to $12.99 per month. Then in December, Hulu hiked the price of its live TV plans by $5 per month, and with the fee increase started bundling Disney+ and ESPN+ with Hulu + Live TV subscriptions. The live TV service costs $69.99/month (with ads in the subscription VOD content) or $75.99/month (no SVOD ads). Hulu had 45.3 million total subscribers as of the end of 2021, including 4.3 million on the live TV tiers. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Photo Illustration Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Crises reveal the true character of leaders. They are the crucibles in which their strength and abilities are tested and their defects are exposed. The bigger and more challenging the crisis, the more we learn. Two months have passed since Russia massively expanded eight years of tensions against Ukraine with a brutal, illegal invasion that has shaken the geopolitical landscape to its foundations. In the course of those two months we have seen the depravity of Russias armed forces, the ingenuity, courage and resilience of the people of Ukraine, and a number of long-standing assumptions about the nature of the post-Cold War world shattered. We have also seen leader after leader worldwide confronted with difficult choices and the opportunity to lead, to choose sides, to fight for what is right or to enable and support war criminals as they displayed their contempt for both life and the international order. At this point, we have learned enough to provide a first pass at evaluating how those leaders are doing. Heres an assessment of how the most noteworthy among them have distinguished themselves for better or for worse in the course of what must certainly be seen as one of the darkest chapters in the recent history of Europe. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Volodymyr Zelensky, president of UkraineNo greater star nor a more unlikely one has emerged from this crisis so far. Zelensky is a relative political neophyte who was struggling to master his brief during the two years before Russia launched its massive escalation of its assault on Ukraine that began in 2014. In the weeks before the invasion, he dismissed warnings that it was imminent. And then, the moment it began, he was seemingly transformed. He rejected offers to leave the country with bravado saying, I dont need a ride, I need ammunition. Dressed in combat gear, he offered videos that captured, communicated and added to the spirit of his entire country. He spoke to foreign leaders via video pleading his case. He spoke before parliaments, the US Congress and to the global audience for awards shows. He effectively led his government and military but he did more than that, he became a global symbol of the fight for freedom and democracy against monstrous tyrants like Putin. Further, under his leadership Ukraine has thus far stymied the aggression of its much larger neighbor, won the Battle of Kyiv, and forced Putin to vastly downsize his ambitions in Ukraine. This war has a long way to go. Zelensky is just one man. The challenges ahead will be great. But if there is a man of the moment, a transcendent figure produced by this crisis and one who deserves the acclaim he has won, it is the former comedian and media executive turned president of Ukraine. (Grade: A+) Story continues U.S. President Joe Biden. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Joe Biden, president of the United StatesSo, it turns out having foreign policy experience matters. Biden, who had more than anyone elected to the US presidency in history, has certainly shown that during the Ukraine crisis. Under his leadership, the US has provided Ukraine with more than $3 billion in military aid since the February invasion with Congress recently authorizing a total of $13.6 billion to support Ukraine militarily, to aid humanitarian efforts and to bolster the strength of NATO. Biden has rallied NATOwith the support of his Secretary of State Antony Blinken, his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and the rest of his administration in a well-coordinated effort. The US has used releases of intelligence cannily as well as diplomacy to bring the 30 members of NATO along and provide remarkably unified, strong support for Ukraine. Biden has not been rattled by Putins threats, has carefully avoided unnecessary escalation and has adapted his policies swiftly as circumstances have warranted. (Witness regular upgrades to aid packages such as the most recent which was announced on Thursday of this week. The strength he has shown versus Putin in terms of sanctions imposed, aid provided to Ukraine and coordinated actions with allies vastly outstrips anything displayed by George W. Bush in the wake of Putins invasion of Georgia in 2008 or Barack Obama in the wake of Putins support of Assad in Syria or his original 2014 invasion of Ukraine and reveals the repugnant nature of Donald Trumps obsequious groveling before Putin and his constant defenses of the Russian despot. Biden is low key and unflappable. But his performance in this case has been one of the very best by a U.S. president on the international stage in decades. (Grade: A) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European CommissionWhile some of von der Leyens German colleagues have not covered themselves with glory during this crisis, the former German defense minister has distinguished herself by being one of the strongest international voices for swift action on Ukraine. She has condemned Russian atrocities. She has led efforts to commit substantial economic assistance for Ukraine. She has visited Zelensky in Kyiv. And she has led efforts to fast-track Ukraine admission into the EU. In addition, she has been one of the key leaders working to maintain unity within the often fractious European community. (Grade: A) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary generalLike von der Leyen, Stoltenberg has played a central role in marshaling Western support for Ukraine. He has also overseen an on-the-fly rethinking of NATOs role in the wake of Russias attack on its neighbor and Putins threats against Europe. He has overseen the redeployment of NATO troops toward its eastern frontiers. And he has had to prepare for the possibility that Russia might use its most deadly weapons in this conflict. At the same time, he has helped prepare the way for NATO consideration of the possible applications of Finland and Sweden to join its ranks. NATO has not looked as strong or effective as an alliance as it does today. That is saying something given that not too long ago, many were wondering about its future utility. (Grade: A) Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Sanna Marin, prime minister of Finland, and Magdalena Andersson, prime minister of SwedenThese two nations have moved swiftly to consider doing the once unthinkable and joining NATO in the wake of Russias attack on Ukraine. (See above.) They have done this in the face of Russian threats. And they have done so as a consequence of a massive reversal in domestic public opinion in both countries. The move would strengthen NATOs northern flank in key ways and would mark one of the biggest transitions in the alliances recent history. (Grade: A) Foreign Ministers Gabrielius Landsbergis of Lithuania, Eva-Maria Liimets of Estonia, and Edgars Rinkevics of Lithuania. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty The leaders of the former states of the Eastern BlocWith few exceptions (see below) the leaders of states that were once in the Eastern Bloc have distinguished themselves during this crisis as activists within Europe urging support of Ukraine and strength against Putin. These countries feel the Russian threat most acutely both because of their past under Soviet domination and because of Putins recent threats that made it clear that his ambitions were unlikely to stop at Ukraine. The Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have long felt especially vulnerable to Russian aggression. Since the Russian attack on their neighbor they have been among the leaders in not just calling for NATO action but, despite their size, providing meaningful support to Ukraine. Similarly the Czechs and Slovaks have provided disproportionate support. And perhaps no other nation has done more for Ukraines refugees than Poland, now hosting 3 million of them (although kudos to all nations who have stepped up the challenge of absorbing the more than 5 million people who have fled the war torn countryTwo other former Warsaw Pact countries, Hungary and Romania, are among the leaders here.) (Grade: A but see below) Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United KingdomWhile Johnson has gone to Kyiv and been publicly supportive of Zelensky and Ukraine and Britain has provided some important weapons systems to Ukraine, Britains leader loses points for his countrys foot dragging when it comes to accepting Ukrainian refugees. This is perhaps consistent with Britains otherwise pretty repulsive immigration policies but at this moment of great need, it is a clear failing in the countrys Ukraine policies. (Grade: B) President Emmanuel Macron of France. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Emmanuel Macron, President of FranceMacron is a far cry better than his current challenger for Frances top job, Marine Le Pen, a right-wing Putin acolyte would-be. But in his desire to establish himself as the voice of an independent European foreign policy, Macron spent the early parts of this crisis trying to frame himself as a reasonable alternative among Western leaders and as a result he was repeatedly played by Putin. France has also lagged in providing arms in Ukraine and has framed its arms shipments in a strangely conciliatory way to the Russians. (Grade: B-) President Andrzej Duda of Poland. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Andrzej Duda, president of PolandAs I noted above, Poland deserves huge credit for its support of Ukraine, especially on the refugee front. But the government of Andrzej Duda cannot be seen as a staunch defender of democracy vs. autocracy. Duda has carved away at democracy in his homeland from undercutting the independence of courts to limiting press freedoms. Maybe Duda is recalculating. For the moment he gets the benefit of the doubt because his government has undertaken such a heavy lift during this crisis. But the greater threat here is a battle in which he was on the wrong side for years. So, he has to be marked down and if he reverts after this is all over, well, the grade will again be much, much lower, as it would have been before Feb. 24. (Grade: B-* this could change) Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Olaf Scholz, chancellor of GermanyIn the days right after Russias invasion of Ukraine, Germany appeared to be in the midst of an historic about face on its defense policies. It reversed a decades-old policy to provide weapons to Ukraine. Germany also committed to increasing its defense budget substantially. And Germany agreed to shutter its controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Russia. But since then Germany has frustrated Western plans to put economic pressure on Russia by continuing to spend billions buying Russian oil and gas. Scholz and German weapons shipments to Ukraine have been deeply disappointing. Scholz has appeared weak and, paradoxically given history, has made Germanys Green Party, once seen as soft on such issues, especially German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, seem stronger by comparison. Definitely a mixed picture. (Grade: C) Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Viktor Orban, prime minister of HungaryYes, Hungary has accepted Ukrainian refugees and hosts a significant deployment of NATO troops. But Orban, who is the European leader closest to Putin, has been a vocal critic of Ukraines President Zelensky, whom he characterized as part of the international left and its opposition to the Hungarian politicians reelection campaign. Lumping the Jewish Zelensky in with financier George Soros and a globalist conspiracy against him was, of course, an anti-Semitic dog whistle. Orban has continued to undercut Hungarian democracy. And he has opposed EU sanctions on Russian oil. While he gets some credit for softening his support for Putin, he is still a dangerous and odious figure. (Grade: C-) President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty The leaders of the new non-alignedWhile the issues associated with the war in Ukraine are as clear cut as can be, many nations around the world have refused to take sides. Some, like India, have done this because of historical ties with Russia. Some, like the oil producing countries of the Middle East have done this because they have economic interests that are closely aligned with Russia and/or because they want to distance themselves from being too closely aligned with the US and the West. Israel doesnt produce oil but Russian oligarchs play a big role in the Israeli economy and since Bibi Netanyahu, Israel has sought close ties with Moscow. Others like Mexico and Brazil have leaders who are simply morally adrift. Heres the reality: Russia violated international law when invading Ukraine. It has serially committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. It has used weapons banned by international law. It has rebuffed all attempts at diplomacy. It has lied. It has behaved repulsively. Ukraine is innocent. Ukraine never posed any threat to Russia. Ukraine is only seeking to defend itself. There are two sides to many international crises. Foreign policy is complicated. Not in this instance. Russia is in the wrong. Ukraine is the victim. And the leaders of these nations, while perhaps thinking they were acting in their national interests, have made the world a more dangerous place by failing to place pressure on Russia to stop and to honor international laws. (Grade: D) President Xi Jinping of China. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Xi Jinping, president of ChinaLong before this crisis began, Xi met with Putin and they declared that they were best friends. The two leaders have formed a security partnership based on history and a worldview that includes a common aspiration for diminished U.S. and Western influence. It was hoped that China might serve a moderating influence on Putin and encourage him to contain or end the crisis in Ukraine. So far, to our knowledge, that has not happened. Instead, Chinas propaganda mills are pumping out Putin-fabricated lies about what is happening in Ukraine. China is seen as an economic support for Russia during the crisis. And it has been speculated that China might provide military aid to Moscow in response to Russian requests. That said, Russias bad performance in Ukraine has not been good for China (nor very promising for their security partnership even if Russia always had been seen in Beijing as a much junior partner). So, it is possible that China may be or could play a constructive role in bringing this crisis to an end more quickly. And, China has pledged to help Ukraine rebuild. We can hope that they rise to the challenges their increasingly important leadership role demands. But so far, the best we can give them is (Grade: D) President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Vladimir Putin, president of RussiaPutin has always been a lousy president of Russia. The economy has been more or less stagnant and is now in crisis. He has brutally suppressed dissent at home and abroad, arresting and killing his opponents. And to distract his people he has waged a series of horrifying international campaigns that have included leveling cities and invading neighbors, from Grozny to Aleppo, from Georgia to Ukraine. But of all Putins leadership failures, of all his crimes, it is likely that his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and his wholesale slaughter of its citizens will be seen as the worst. It will also likely be seen as his greatest blunderfrom military miscalculations to underestimating the resolve of the West to hold him accountable. The people of Ukraine and of Russia will both be paying for his disastrous rule for decades to come. Let us hope that he too is held accountable for his manifold crimes during that period. (Grade: F. It would be lower if there were a lower grade to give.) 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. THE SPLURGE: Why A Medical Pedicure Is Totally Worth It Getty Images/InStyle "I have really bad feet," is how patients often greet Marcela Correa, a licensed medical pedicurist and owner of Medi Pedi, a medical-grade pedicure practice in Manhattan. I am one of said patients. Living in New York, I put my feet through it because I walk everywhere, and more often than not, I prioritize fashionable shoes over supportive, comfortable sneakers. Needless to say, my dry cracked heels and calluses still look rough after a pedicure even if I pay extra for callus removal. So heading into the open-toe shoe season, I figured there's no better time than now to pay a visit to Correa for a medical pedicure, a $200 treatment that is nothing like the standard pedicure at your neighborhood salon. RELATED: 15 Pedicure Colors You Need to Try This Summer What Is a Medical Pedicure? While a medical pedicure is still relaxing, the environment at Medi Pedi is more like a doctor's office than a traditional spa. There are no massage chairs or nail polish walls. Instead, the procedure combines that of a traditional pedicure with podiatry care, including treating calluses, cross toes, bunions, athlete's foot, ingrown nails, nail discoloration, and nail fungus. "Medical pedicures are customized to what your feet need as opposed to just simple aesthetics. They're specific and very thorough, paying close attention to the health of your nails and skin not just how they 'look,'" Correa says. "A medical pedicure is also centered around prevention. Medical nail technicians performing the service have been trained under a podiatrist and can detect things like nail fungus, athlete's foot, calluses, and corns, as well as educate you on treating and preventing them at home." For people who have underlying conditions such as diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and cancer, medical pedicures are a safe option as there's a minimal risk of cuts or infections, which could compromise their health. Story continues RELATED: How to Remove Your Gel Manicure Without Going to the Salon What Happens During a Medical Pedicure? First, Correa examined my feet for any immediate red flags. She noticed I had minor cross toes from years of wearing narrow shoes and recommended I wear guards to correct the alignment of my toes. She also pointed out my calluses and dry cracked heels, which were obvious to even the untrained eye. Then, Correa and her assistant got to work. First, they removed the red nail polish from my nails and applied a nourishing cream to my heels with rubber guards on top to help it penetrate the skin. Next, Correa removed any dead skin, corns, and calluses, then moisturized my feet. Once they were soft, my toes were cleaned (including underneath the nail) and a hand-held drill was used to smooth the surface of my nails. An oil was then used to condition the cuticles. Correa finished the treatment by buffing away the cracks on my heels and slathering another nourishing cream on my feet. The toenails aren't painted and left bare. VIDEO: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Gel Manicures Why Should You Get a Medical Pedicure? While my feet were so soft and smooth that they looked like I had just come out of the womb, aesthetics are just a minor part of why getting a medical pedicure is worth it. Correa provided me with a callus cream and buffer to take home and use post-medical pedicure to keep my calluses under control, and recommended rubber guards to wear to correct the alignment of my toes. She also pointed out that I had a vertical ridge on one of my toenails that I should get checked out by a dermatologist to ensure it's not a sign of an underlying condition, such as liver disease. "Essentially, my team and I 'prep' the feet to be treated by the client's doctor. More often than not, the clients that come to see us have either been recommended by their doctor or leave with a doctor recommendation from us," Correa explains. "We have many fields that we network in, like, but not limited to, podiatrists, orthopedics, internal medicine, dermatologists, oncologists, endocrinologists, and more." Correa tells me that she doesn't want to see patients once a month unless they're dealing with conditions that need regular maintenance, like ingrown nails or athlete's foot. Instead, she compares herself to a dental hygienist and recommends getting a medical pedicure every six to eight weeks to maintain their long-term foot health. It's only been a week, but I'm already looking forward to my next treatment. The Splurge is our recurring column dedicated to expensive beauty products that are worth it. This week, why a medical pedicure is worth it, despite the $200 price tag. NEW YORK Brian Kolfage, an Air Force veteran living in Miramar Beach, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal wire fraud conspiracy and tax charges in federal court in New York. Under the terms of a plea agreement reached between Kolfage's counsel and federal prosecutors, Kolfage could be sentenced to as long as five years and three months in prison, He also faces a forfeiture penalty of nearly $18 million, along with fines totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to information presented by prosecutors during a remote electronic hearing Thursday, almost $17.9 million in proceeds to We Build the Wall Inc., the Florida nonprofit founded by Kolfage that is at the heart of the federal charges, are traceable to offenses charged in indictments handed down in the case. Those proceeds have been frozen since early on in the case. Background on case: Kolfage says politics, misunderstanding behind fraud conspiracy indictment Earlier this month:Brian Kolfage agrees to plead guilty in 'We Build the Wall' federal fraud case Kolfage's sentencing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. But prior to his formal change of plea from not guilty to guilty, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres told Kolfage who lost both legs and his right hand and forearm during a 2004 rocket attack while he was serving in Iraq, and subsequently became involved in a number of conservative enterprises that she was not bound by the plea agreement. Under those terms, the maximum prison time that Kolfage could face is 46 years, according to information from Thursday's proceedings. Specifically, Kolfage pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud one of two charges brought against him in New York, where he had also been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Brian Kolfage, an Air Force veteran who lost both legs and his right hand and forearm in a 2004 rocket attack while serving in Iraq, speaks in front of a section of wall built with proceeds from his Florida nonprofit We Build The Wall Inc. Kolfage pleaded guilty Thursday to federal tax and wire fraud charges filed in connection with mishandling of donations to the organization. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of filing a false tax return and one count of wire fraud in connection with the electronic filing of one of those returns. Those charges stem from a grand jury indictment in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Story continues The New York and Florida charges were combined for Thursday's change of plea hearing. The financial sanction noted in Thursday's proceedings represents part of the money donated to We Build The Wall Inc., the nonprofit formed by Kolfage in 2019 to collect donations for privately funded construction of sections of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The nonprofit collected a reported $25 million, with Kolfage subsequently claiming that $8 million went to construction of roughly 4.5 miles of border fencing in Texas and New Mexico. Kolfage and three other codefendants were indicted by a New York grand jury in 2020. One of those codefendants included Trump White House political strategist Steve Bannon, who was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump shortly before the end of his presidency. Another codefendant, Florida financier Andrew Badolato, also changed his plea to guilty on Thursday. Proceedings are pending against the fourth codefendant, Colorado businessman Timothy Shea. Kolfage acknowledged Thursday that he had made misrepresentations to donors regarding whether he would receive money from We Build The Wall Inc. "I knowingly and willfully conspired to receive money from the donations," Kolfage told Torres prior to formally entering his guilty plea. Court documents have indicated that Kolfage received $350,000 in the scheme. Bannon is alleged to have steered $1 million in donations to We Build The Wall Inc. to a separate nonprofit organization that he controlled. In connection with the tax charges, Kolfage admitted Thursday that he knowingly concealed the money he had received from We Build The Wall Inc. to avoid paying taxes on those dollars. "I knew what I was doing was wrong," he said. Badolato's change of plea from not guilty to guilty on the wire fraud conspiracy charge from New York subjects him to as long as four years and three months in prison, and to fines ranging from $15,000 to $150,000. But as with Kolfage, the judge reminded him that she wasn't bound by any plea agreement. Badolato told Torres that he and the other defendants had mutually decided to falsely claim that Kolfage wouldn't receive money through We Build The Wall in a bid to boost donations. Badolato also said that he had gotten money through the nonprofit. "I was paid by We Build The Wall," he said. "I knew the statements that Brian wasn't being compensated were false," Badolato added, "... and I humbly and respectfully beg the court for mercy." This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Brian Kolfage pleads guilty, could face more than five years in prison OnlyFans has temporarily paused accounts and payments for its Russian creators, reported Motherboard. The UK-based platform up until now was one of the few Western tech companies to keep its door open to Russian users. Although OnlyFans momentarily blocked access to Russian creators in February, it soon restored the accounts, saying that full functionalities would be available as long as we have the payment methods to support them. But now even tighter payment restrictions appears to have forced OnlyFans hand. OnlyFans is a creator first business. Over the past few months we have explored several options to continue providing our services to creators impacted by the Russia / Ukraine war. However, due to a further tightening of payment restrictions to and from Russia, OnlyFans can no longer properly serve our Russian creator community. As a result, we are taking steps to temporarily pause accounts where payments are received in Russia. We have asked impacted creators to contact support@onlyfans.com who can help address any queries regarding their accounts, said a statement provided to Motherboard by OnlyFans. It's unclear if OnlyFans users in Russia can still access their accounts and pay for services on the platform. Engadget has reached out for clarification and will update if we hear back. Spending and earning money in Russia has become even more difficult in recent weeks as countries continue to pile on sanctions. Russian creators and merchants have been barred from making money on a number of Western platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, Etsy, Fiverr and Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook. Visa, Paypal, American Express and Mastercard have suspended operations in the country, making it impossible for many Russians to receive or send foreign payments. A partial SWIFT ban on Russia means that a number of its major banks are unable to make transactions with the rest of the world. Apr. 22The records of university foundations and athletic booster clubs are not exempt from the state's transparency law, the New Mexico Court of Appeals said in an opinion issued Thursday. A three-judge panel issued the opinion in response to an appeal from the University of New Mexico Foundation and the Lobo Club in two district court lawsuits. Court of Appeals Judge Megan Duffy, writing on behalf of the panel, said nothing in state law offers blanket exemptions to the state's Inspection of Public Records Act, or IPRA, for university foundations and booster clubs. The law gives the public the right to inspect records of state and local government entities on written request, with certain exceptions. Greg Williams, a New Mexico Foundation for Opening Government board member, said the opinion clarifies that fundraising groups for state universities are subject to the state's public records law. "I think it is very significant when it comes to UNM and other state universities," Williams said of the opinion. "It ensures that universities will not be able to hide fundraising information by setting up separate foundations." UNM officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The opinion found that 2nd Judicial District Judge Nancy Franchini ruled correctly when she found that the UNM Foundation and the Lobo Club needed to turn over records to independent journalist Daniel Libit. The Court of Appeals remanded one of the cases back to district court. "We always felt that the law was very clear," Libit said. "You cannot play hide the ball with public records by claiming they exist in entities that are, for all intents and purposes, holding public records and doing the public's business." Libit's attorney, Nicholas Hart, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Libit filed records requests in 2016 and 2017 seeking records related to the naming agreement between UNM and WisePies Pizza for the Pit. In 2018, UNM paid Libit $35,000 to settle that lawsuit. Story continues Libit filed a second lawsuit against the Lobo Club seeking records related to former Athletics Director Paul Krebs, who resigned from UNM and was indicted in 2019 for embezzlement and other felonies for allegedly using UNM funds to pay for non-students to play golf in Scotland. Krebs is scheduled for trial in October in 2nd Judicial District Court on those charges. Franchini ruled that the UNM Foundation raises money on behalf of UNM and that its records are subject to IPRA. The foundation appealed the rulings in both cases, arguing that a section of the state's Public Finances Act exempts all their records from public inspection, with the exception of an annual audit. In its opinion, the Court of Appeals found that the law specifies that annual audits are public records, but "does not specifically exempt any records from disclosure." The law says only that the annual audit is a public record, but it doesn't exempt other records, the opinion states. "When the Legislature has intended to exempt records from public inspection ... it has done so expressly..." the judges noted. Omega Seiki Mobility will invest around 1,900 crore to set up this facility spread across 250 acres of land. It aims to produce one million units every year. Faridabad-based electric vehicle manufacturer Omega Seiki Mobility has announced its plans to set up the world's largest electric three-wheeler facility in Karnataka. The company has announced an investment of $250 million, roughly converted to around 1,900 crore. The facility, which will be spread across 250 acres of space, will start manufacturing from the next financial year. The company aims to produce around one million electric three-wheelers from this facility. Omega Seiki will use this facility to manufacture its entire range of electric three-wheelers which include Rage, Rage RapidEV, Rage Frost, Rage Swap, and Rage Tipper. On Friday, Omega Seiki made the announcement, saying that it will also be raising capital by way of equity and debt to set up the plant. The new facility will be supplemented by its supply chain of powertrains and battery packs. The company is also in talks with existing and new suppliers to set up ancillary manufacturing units at the facility. "On the occasion of World Earth Day (April 22), Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) is proud to announce that it will be setting up the world's largest e-3W manufacturing unit in Karnataka with an investment of USD 250 million," the company said in a statement. Uday Narang, founder-Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility, said, The organised electric three-wheeler market has exponentially grown by a massive 200 per cent in FY22 as against the previous fiscal. This has helped EV 3-wheelers now command a massive 46 per cent of overall three-wheeler volumes." We believe that adoption of EVs in the last-mile delivery sector and government bodies will help India become the first market in the world where the sale of an electric three-wheeler in proportion to an internal combustion engine-powered three-wheeler will be 3:1," Narang added. The company currently has an order book of over 50,000 vehicles. "We want to be the market leader in the three-wheeler market, not just in India but in the world and our Megafactory with a capacity of 1 million units is the first step towards this goal," Narang said. The e-three-wheeler commercial vehicle segment in India is key to last-mile connectivity. They offer offer affordable mobility at a time when petrol, diesel and CNG prices are at an all-time high. The company said that in recent years, this market has seen exponential growth, mainly driven by e-commerce companies for their last-mile requirements. Omega Seiki also plans to enter international markets with joint ventures in Bangladesh, Egypt and UAE already in place. First Published Date: Ravnsborg knew he hit a person As bad as I feel about Mr. Joe Boever's death, it makes me wonder how Mr. Jason Ravnsborg can always have a smile on his face when on TV. He should have tears in his eyes. How can his mind be good enough to do the job as attorney general? His job can't take much clear thinking. I wonder how Mr. Boever really got into the ditch and how long he was laying there before his heart stopped. Mr. Ravnsborg must have known he hit a person with glasses in the front seat of his car. Deer don't wear them. I know that for sure. How could Mr. Ravnsborg plead no contest to the charges? Was it ever thought of to do a lie-detector test, or don't all the law and authorities want to know what really happened? Our tax money might as well pay for that instead of hiring more attorneys from out of state. The newspaper showed tracks across the line on the wrong side of the road. How about that? And he is the attorney general. He was not drug and alcohol tested until the next day. I'm sure he knows ways to handle that and test clean. The news should be talking about murder charges instead of impeachment. Tell us why he hasn't been barred from being attorney general. How could his mind be on the job, not on killing somebody? Mr. Bill Janklow was put behind bars right away, tested and paid a fine. As attorney general, I'm sure when you have an accident, you should always call an ambulance and law enforcement, not leave the person in the ditch for dead. Mr. Ravnsborg knew he didn't hit a deer. We should pray for Mr. Boever and his family every day. Zelda Klebsch, Redfield People at the top have to be accountable The job of the attorney general is to prosecute the suspects that the police arrest. If the attorney general did not prosecute, the work of the police would become invalid. About 15 years ago, I noticed on the news in South Dakota that some teenagers were throwing rocks down from an overpass into traffic on a freeway. One rock about the size of a brick passed through a windshield and killed a passenger in the car. The hole in the windshield was the same size as the rock. That is because the modern safety glass does not get a hole in it unless something that size passes through the windshield. Story continues When the hole in Jason Ravnsborg's windshield is just large enough for a torso to pass through it, then it becomes necessary for Jason to have removed Joe Boevers body from his front seat before he called the police. The only way that Ravnsborg could intimidate that many cops is if he threatened them to not prosecute their cases. Remember that early on, the police groups were for Ravnsborg to resign. Anyone in law enforcement or the court system who tampers with evidence is not fit to be working for justice. Ravnsborg himself says that how this case works out could affect how the law works in the future. If he gets by with it, it means that a precedent will be in place to subvert justice if you have a high enough position. When I was an impressionable teenager, I saw Richard Nixon have to resign as president. It impressed upon my generation that the people at the top have to be accountable. Changing the paradigm so the people at the top are not accountable is not a good thing for the next generation. Roger L. Elgersma, Pipestone, Minn. This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Letters to the editor about South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast/Getty Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is enthralling conservatives, while incensing his critics, in a political landscape where left and right are no longer defined by policy substance. Debates on tax rates, the social safety net, or how big the Pentagon budget should be are mere trifles compared to what truly animates the body politicwhich is dumb culture war battles. These days, politics is increasingly distilled down to fights between feuding tribes on Twitter, focused on the culture war outrages of the day. DeSantis has proven deft at wading into these fights and pushing legislation squarely at the heart of them. School Speech Bans Came From Republicans Inferiority Complex About America Potentially the most cynical player weve seen on the national political stage in a long time, DeSantis has made a clear calculation: No matter whether these laws live or die in the courts, he canat least short-term, and at least among his most hardened baseturn culture war legal losses into political wins. Last year, DeSantis moved against social media companies, pushing a law that is almost certainly unconstitutional, and not compatible with the First Amendment. More recently, he championed Floridas instruction law that some DeSantis defenders erroneously (and nauseatingly) describe as an anti-grooming lawand which DeSantis detractors have also (not quite accurately but catchily) dubbed the Dont Say Gay law. This bill is less obviously unconstitutional, but there are First Amendment and equal protection issues with it that could prove its undoing. This week, DeSantis moved on to fixing one big liability associated with last years social media law: the cronyist, sell-out-to-Big-Mouse exemption it gave to Disney and others in the theme park business who dominate Floridas economy. On the one hand, this would appear to correct a major flaw with the social media bill that underlined its probable unconstitutionality. On the other, the fact that this comes after DeSantis and Disney got into a spat over the instruction law makes it plain that Floridas social media law was (and remains) politically motivated. This makes the latter of those two laws even less likely to pass constitutional muster when push comes to shove, and it also serves to remind people of the original cronyism problem. Story continues Whats interesting about this is that there is exactly no chance that DeSantis, a man with a J.D. from Harvard, does not know all this. However despicable, risible, or just merely irritating you may find him, the guy is no dummy. DeSantis knows exactly what hes doing, and he understands that no matter the outcome of each case challenging the culture war laws he has championed, the governor has a way to emerge a winnerat least among the most hardcore of his GOP base. If DeSantis and Republicans somehow prevail, and these laws are deemed constitutional by courts, DeSantis will be the culture war gladiator who delivered victories for his adoring crowd. If, however, courts nix the laws or force Florida back to the drawing board, the governor is more than capable of turning that to his advantage, too. If the instruction law is outright struck down and quickly, DeSantis is less likely to wind up being plausibly blamed for LGBTQ+ kids suicides, which some predict the law remaining on the books will spark en masse. Avoiding that is obviously good for him. A bonus, however, will be that DeSantis will be free to rail against judicial activism, the liberal elite, and just about anyone else not culturally aligned with his base and who opposed him on the law (presumably, the liberal elite will also include those of us not on the left, but who simply found ourselves repeatedly headdesking while reading the thing because the legal drafting is just so bad). With the social media law, including the Disney amendments, DeSantis will be relieved of having to oversee execution of a law that is clearly not in line with the U.S. Constitution. He also wont have to deal with the uncomfortable reality that the law would inevitably be used by the libs, the woke brigade, socialists or whoever else to force Trump-friendly sites like GETTR or Parler to moderate their content in a consistent manner. Nor will he have to own a situation in which a leftist candidate for public officelets say one actively using social media to promote gender fluidity theory or even post pornographyuses the law to force their way onto former President Trumps supposedly family-friendly TRUTHSocial social media site. And DeSantis can still bash woke corporations, California commies, and (once again) activist judgeswhile racking up legal bills that Sunshine State taxpayers will have to footas he banks any and all available political dividends. This begs the question: Is anyone else potentially running for president in 2024 quite this crafty? Ron DeSantis Isnt a Tough Guy. Hes Just Another Cowardly Bully. Trump keeps fighting 18-month-old battles over whether he won or lost the 2020 election (Piers Morgan is right: He lost). Ted Cruz is still busy being Ted Cruz, getting an extra dollop of bad press, but little love from the base compared to his major rivals. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has shown a willingness to needle DeSantisif not explicitly by name, certainly by implicationfor not being quite the keep the state open during COVID champion he claims to beand also for issuing rather top-down, statist, and un-libertarian pandemic-related diktats that overrode the preferences of local government entities. But for now, Noems pretty dependent on him remaining in the spotlight to keep her out of obscurity. The reality is, if DeSantis runs in 2024, hell enter the race possibly more hated even than Trumpat least when it comes to liberals, and probably quite a few independents, too. And though hell start off with a following on the right that may be narrower than Trumps, it might actually end up more fanatically devoted to DeSantis. Losing his culture war legal battles looks likelybut DeSantis can (and likely will) leverage such setbacks to inch ever closer to the 2024 nomination. 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. We need to do more, in this moment, for the city of Eries youth. That was the message Gary Horton, chief executive of the Urban Erie Community Development Corp. and president of Eries NAACP branch, brought to Erie City Council on Wednesday night in the wake of the April 5 shooting at Erie High School that injured one student and the recent fatal shooting of 7-year-old Antonio Yarger Jr. near his Downing Avenue home. Erie High shcoting:DA seeks to transfer case out of juvenile court Horton, speaking to council members during the public comment portion of Wednesdays meeting, said city officials and other local agencies must commit more resources and money toward youth development that promotes empowerment, self-esteem, job training and other positives that can steer young people away from crime and negative behaviors. He urged council members to support that stance. Most kids arent bad, Horton said. These younger kids need structured, supervised time outside of school to keep them on the right track. The majority of kids are left behind, Horton said. We need to invest in the rest. Horton is affiliated with the Minority Community Investment Coalition, a group made up of the Booker T. Washington Center, the Martin Luther King Center and the John F. Kennedy Center. He is part of the Eastside Grassroots Coalition, along with the Sisters of Mercy at the House of Mercy and the Burton-Diehl Neighborhood Organization. MCIC wants to create a youth development fund that would focus on mentoring, job training, career development, academic support, financial literacy, art and cultural education and many other programs. Neighborhood centers:Playing a crucial role in Erie during pandemic Horton has said the funds goal is to help vulnerable good kids in Erie avoid crime and other negative behaviors. City government has approved a $255,000 grant, from the citys $76 million allocation of American Rescue Plan funds, for MCICs youth fund. Story continues City officials, city council member respond City officials have said that almost $1.6 million in ARP funding, including MCIC's allocation, is set aside for youth programs. But Horton, in an interview, said the city and other agencies should contribute more, especially since the city plans to set aside $14.5 million in ARP funds for policing-related initiatives, including the hiring of 21 additional police officers. City Councilman Chuck Nelson supports Hortons rationale. Erie City Councilman Chuck Nelson. Nelson said that within the citys $14 million ARP funding proposal for public safety, theres about $4 million in there directly for policing youth. But we can only find $1.6 million for youth programs? I hope the ARP money for youth programs gets leveraged, Nelson said. But what we need to do is correct whats happening in the community that contributes to crime, and that includes the lack of funding for youth activities. ARP funds:Police seek money to add officers, restart units MCIC is also seeking funding from the Erie Community Foundation and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. We want them to commit more than $255,000 to invest in youth. We need a significant investment in the broader group of youth who arent in trouble and are not involved in violence, Horton said. We have a right-now problem that needs the investment. A number of local youth, including many new Americans, attended Wednesday's meeting. One was 9-year-old Zadell Silva, a third-grader at St. James School whose family members are from Liberia and Puerto Rico. Silva told council members he supports establishing youth programs because they can benefit many local children and help them eventually secure jobs "that get them a better life." ARP framework Horton did not ask City Council members to take immediate action on his request. While council has the final say on ARP allocations, grant awards are recommended by a committee created by the city to vet applications for ARP funding. Mayor Joe Schembers administration wants applicants to refrain from stepping outside that framework and lobbying City Council directly regarding ARP funds. Renee Lamis, Schembers chief of staff, pointed out that Schembers administration has already committed more than $1.55 million in ARP funds to programs that aim to help youth in the city. We are in the process of talking to other local funders about how we can leverage these ARP funding awards," Lamis said. Erin Fessler, vice president of marketing and community/government relations for the Erie Community Foundation, said the organization is aware of MCICs project and that initial conversations are happening regarding support. "We at ECF are committed to work with organizations like MCIC because our ultimate goal is to improve opportunities for youth in our communities, Fessler said, pointing out that the organization has provided funding for local summer youth job programs in the past. Right now we are exploring ways in which we might support this work, Fessler said. Perry Wood, the Gaming Revenue Authority's chief executive, said MCIC could potentially qualify for financial help via a new $1 million community facilities fund the authority is establishing. MCIC would have to submit an application, Wood said. During Wednesday's City Council meeting, Option Bhuje, a 15-year-old freshman at Erie High, asked City Council to support youth "who are in need of new opportunities." Bhuje's family is from Nepal and he has worked with Horton in youth programs. "We ask that you help us to learn and earn money," Bhuje said. Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Activist: Erie's 'good kids' deserve major community commitment STILLWATER Odalys Martos closes her eyes, clasps her hands together and prays again and again. Her lips move, but there is no sound. Its my son, God, please, she prays in Spanish. Odalys rarely sees a pitch her son Victor Mederos throws for the fourth-ranked Oklahoma State baseball team, even as she sits nearby in the orange plastic seat at OBrate Stadium. She sometimes opens her eyes. When she does, she looks up to thank God that Victor is unharmed. He pitches. She prays. She prays for Victor to have energy. She asks for him to be strong. She believes she can see God through him. Hes just representing God every step of the way, she says in Spanish through her oldest son, Vitin. OSU baseball rewind: How Nolan McLean, Hueston Morrill earned label 'freaks of nature' for Cowboys Oklahoma State pitcher Victor Mederos hugs his mom, Odalys Martos, after the Cowboys' Bedlam victory on Saturday, March 9, 2022, inside O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater. His uncle, Ariel Mederos, is in the background. Odalys credits prayer as protection for her family, and not just when Victor pitches. As much trust as she puts in her faith, prayer is what she believes guided her and her two sons on a life-altering, death-defying journey. Fourteen years ago, they defected from Cuba. They risked everything. Crossed five borders. Traveled more than 3,000 miles. They sought a better life in the United States, and they found it. Just being here and being able to pitch on Saturdays, being able to just enjoy life and not have to worry about what Im going to eat today and what Im going to do, Victor said, forget about everything else, just being able to live a normal life is already a lot. Past the midway point of the season, the right-handed pitcher and top-100 MLB draft prospect has turned heads with his powerful fastball and energy. But without his family risking it all, there is no Victor Mederos on the mound each Saturday. Victor is free. So is his family. We have a purpose, Victor said. Victor and his family survived. They created a new path and strengthened their family while becoming American citizens. It was really hard because sometimes you let people think you own a future, but there is nothing guaranteed in life, Victor Mederos Sr. said in Spanish through Vitin. You have a vision and you see a future, but there is nothing 100%. You just gotta take a risk. Story continues Thank God everything came out the right way. More: How OSU reliever Roman Phansalkar 'put himself in a different category' after Tommy John surgery Victor Mederos, right, is pictured with his mom, Odalys, center, and his older brother, Vitin, left, in Cuba. A plan of action Victor Sr. knew there had to be more in life. As a teacher, he made little money in Cuba. Even his wife, Odalys, a lawyer, brought home scant money. With a growing family in a country ruled by communism, they were barely getting by. Victor Sr. began looking for a way out. He just didnt tell anyone when he came up with a plan. He feared he could be talked out of it. Hope of a better future was too important to wait. So, one morning in 2001, Victor Sr. disappeared. He secretly boarded a boat and cruised away. It was super hard, Victor Sr. said. I was always thinking everything is really dangerous. Vitin also named Victor was 10. Victor actually named Victor Victor was just 2 months old. And their father was across the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Keys. Though just 90 miles away, there was a whole new world separating the family. He called that evening to explain his plan for a better life. He hated being away. But this was best. Victor and Vitin in Cuba. Vitin raised his younger brother like a son after their father defected in 2001. They defected six years later. At the end of the day, they might not see it, but they were still kids, Victor Sr. said. It was just leaving two kids in a world they had to face by themselves. It was really hard just thinking about the best for them. Vitin was suddenly the man of the house, and he was angry. He refused to talk to his father at first. Vitin still remained strong for his mom and brother. He became like a father figure to Victor throughout the next few years. Vitin was the first kid his age in the neighborhood allowed to ride a bike to school. He designed a wooden seat, fastened it to the front and took Victor to kindergarten each morning, pedaling half an hour before turning back another hour to his own school. Vitin also picked up Victor from school and watched over him until Odalys returned from work. We were always together, Vitin said. It was different. There was 10 years difference, so I never saw him as my little brother. To me, he was just my kid. I gotta take care of him, I gotta provide for him, I gotta look out for him. It was that type of relationship. Victor Sr. settled in Miami, Florida, and checked in almost daily. He worked at a grocery store, took on construction projects and did any other jobs he could find. He sent money to his family. He also saved. The next step in his plan required more money. Victor Sr. was going to reunite with his family. 'A big step forward for him': Bryce Osmond pitches six strong innings to lead OSU past OU, Bedlam series win The Mederos family gathers to watch Oklahoma State pitcher Victor Mederos against OU on April 9. This is real life Victor Mederos was having the time of his life. The ranch in Costa Rica was a dream for a 6-year-old. He rode horses. He did not have to go to school for the few months he was there. It was probably the best part of my childhood, Victor said. The ranch owned by Victor Sr.s friend was more than fun times. It was a hideout. For three months, Victor and his mom, Odalys, lived on the farmland waiting for Vitin to arrive. He was still in Cuba, alone and unable to leave on the visa his mom had acquired because he was approaching the initial age for his military obligation. With less than a month remaining on the visa, Vitin was finally allowed to travel. That was the window the Mederos family needed. When Vitin arrived, so did Victor Sr. Victor Sr. paid $9,000 to a man named Cappy a nickname given to the man the family only knew once served in the military to guide his family across five borders into the United States. On Jan. 1, 2008, Odalys, Vitin and Victor started an 11-day, 2,500-mile journey. Victor Sr. returned to Miami and anxiously waited, unbeknownst to him what was ahead for his family. The family had no idea some details from their journey would still be impossible to share more than a decade later. But things got scary almost instantly. The Mederos family was with a large group of people. The group was quickly stopped at a checkpoint. The family was quickly separated from the group, deemed safe because they were paid in full and with Cappy. The others had to come up with the money fast or else. Most of those people, we didnt even see them anymore, Vitin said. Oklahoma State pitcher Victor Mederos, center, pictured between his father, Victor Sr., left, and his brother, Vitin. The sons were reunited with their father in Miami in 2008 after defecting from Cuba with their mother. Once the Mederos family arrived at the Nicaragua border, tough conditions got worse. Two guards on duty were paid off. A third, however, was not. There he stood with an AK-47 between a rocky terrain and the border fence. The Mederos trio and others laid flat and still on the sharp rocks, less than 20 feet from the guard. For nearly an hour, they waited. Victor was nearly in tears as the rocks nearly pierced his skin. He told Vitin he needed to move, but his brother insisted he not. Finally, the guard moved. The paid-off guards appeared. And the Mederos family ran through bars on the fence, jumped into a car waiting for them and sped off as spotlights searched and sirens blared. We just got moving, Vitin said. They later crossed the border into Honduras and attempted to blend in. Odalys stood out with her blonde hair. The family was unable to speak, fearing their accents would give them away. They traveled mostly at night. They crossed dangerous black bean fields in the cold with barely any clothes. The fields were on hills. They had to hold onto trees as they climbed. Its slippery as hell, especially when its moist early in the morning or late at night, Victor said. If you fall, youre basically dead. They crossed into Guatemala and then into Mexico, either on foot or traveling by bus and car. Once in Mexico, they had to wait. For five days, they sat hoping for a permit that cleared them to cross through the country. If not, they heard horror stories of others who were captured by police and extorted for more money or else they would likely be killed. This is real life, Victor said. Theyre not joking about it. You have to take that s--t serious. Once the Mederos family got the permit, they spent more than 30 hours on a bus traveling through Mexico. Finally, they saw the U.S. border. A border patrol officer stopped the family. He needed to see paperwork, but they did not have it. So, Odalys told the truth. She had heard rumors that crucial paperwork was often thrown away at the border, setting back immigrants efforts to cross the border. She had sent the paperwork to Miami with Victor Sr. Odalys silently prayed as the officer weighed his options. He appreciated the honesty and let the family pass. They were granted refugee status. They joyfully stepped onto U.S. soil. It was everything, Vitin said. 'Hes got tons of rock-like qualities': How Chase Adkison's winding journey led him to big role at OSU The Mederos family gathers to watch Oklahoma State pitcher Victor Mederos as OSU faces off against OU in Stillwater on Saturday, April 9, 2022. A natural talent Vitin Mederos yells with each time his brother throws a baseball. Sit em down! he says in Spanish each time Victor fires a two-strike pitch. That started in their early days in Miami. Victor had just discovered baseball after leaving Cuba. He had never played in his home country, but his first game in America was special. Victor, then 7, hit a home run onto the roof of a house. By 14, he was throwing 87 mph. He hit a 414-foot homer inside Marlins Park, winning a home run derby. It was a natural talent, Vitin said. In 2017, Victor was named to the USA Baseball 17U national team development program. Putting on a jersey representing his adopted country was thrilling. Its tough because you want to represent your country, Victor said. My country was Cuba. Thats where I was born. You just want to represent more than just communism. Im so grateful to actually be here. Victor Mederos playing baseball as a child in Miami after he and his family defected from Cuba. He was a three-time All-American in high school. And he was also the 2019 Under Armour All-American Game MVP. His future was bright. Some scouts projected him to be a first-round selection. Victor instead signed with the University of Miami. But he struggled with the Hurricanes, making eight starts in 12 appearances and finishing with a 5.11 earned-run average. He was no longer enjoying baseball. So, he sat down with his family none of them make a decision alone and said he wanted to transfer. Ultimately, OSU became the best fit. Victor loved the coaching staff. And he wanted to be on his own. Victor enters this weekends series against No. 20-ranked TCU with a 3-2 record and 41 strikeouts while sporting a 5.79 ERA. Hes allowed exactly three earned runs in each of his last five starts. And his confidence is up. Hes never been happier. The joy is evident when Victor celebrates a big moment by pumping his fist, shaking his hips and yelling. You see him here, and hes having fun, Vitin said. He likes the way he plays. 'Roc Riggio came of age tonight': How Oklahoma State erased late deficit to earn Bedlam baseball win over OU Oklahoma State pitcher Victor Mederos speaks with his family as his father, Victor Sr., watches from the stands of O'Brate Stadium. Two weeks ago, the entire family watched Victor pitch against Bedlam rival OU. It was their first time seeing him play in person this spring. They all sported black hoodies with images on both front and back of Victor in an OSU uniform. They made their presence known, too. Vitin hooped and hollered with each play. Victor Sr. silently beamed with pride. Odalys prayed. Thats what families are all about, Vitin said. It doesnt matter what happens tomorrow, the only thing you have next to you is your family. Baseball comes and goes, money comes and goes, but family is going to be there. And the Mederos family is grateful to be here, not only at OSU where Victor has found a new home but also in the United States where they have found a new life. Jacob Unruh covers college sports for The Oklahoman. You can send your story ideas to him at junruh@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Victor Mederos left Cuba on path to Oklahoma State baseball, MLB THANDIWE newton Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images Thandiwe Newton is recovering from a foot injury in the emergency room. On Friday, the 49-year-old Crash actress shared a photo from the inside of a hospital on her Instagram Story. The snap shows a young man placing a blanket over a woman who is seen sitting nearby. "Witnessing tender moment between mother and son," Newton wrote before telling her followers why she was in the hospital. "In ER 'cause I got some stupid bit of glass in my foot," she wrote, adding, "ouch though" Her visit to the hospital comes hours after she posted an uplifting message to her Instagram account. Sharing a photo of a succulent plant and a stick of sage, Newton wrote, "A New Day / Ubuntu" the latter of which translates to "humanity" or "I am because we are" before signing off with her first name. RELATED: Thandiwe Newton Apologizes to 'Darker-Skinned Actresses' in Tearful Interview She posted a similar snap to her Instagram Story, showing a wider shot with the sage burning next to a graphic board and a tube of Chanel lipstick. "Road Trip," Newton wrote, adding once again, "UBUNTU." The hospital visit comes after Newton left the third installment of the Magic Mike franchise, which is currently in production in the United Kingdom. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. "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," a Warner Bros. spokesperson told PEOPLE earlier this month. They added that Salma Hayek, 55, will replace Newton. Earlier this week, Newton's husband Ol Parker was seen without his wedding ring outside his London home. RELATED VIDEO: Finding Magic Mike's Johnny Dutch and Nate Bryan On Being Vulnerable and Forming a Brotherhood Story continues Magic Mike star Channing Tatum previously opened up about what fans can expect in the highly anticipated follow-up to 2015's Magic Mike XXL, saying he plans to make "the Super Bowl of stripping" with Magic Mike's Last Dance, which he announced in November will premiere on HBO Max. "I want dancing like we've never been able to do in the other two movies, because we had to be honest to what the reality of that world is, which isn't great dancing," he said in February. RELATED: Channing Tatum Sports a Buzz Cut in First Photo from London Set of Magic Mike's Last Dance "We're going to go off. I'm so sore right now because I [have been] in [choreographer Alison Faulk's] garage with a Dexter-type situation that you guys will all know about eventually, when the movie's out," continued the 41-year-old actor. "You'll know why it looked like Dexter in her garage." The first Magic Mike premiered in 2012, loosely based on Tatum's own experience as an 18-year-old stripper in Tampa, Florida. The movie grossed more than $167 million worldwide. Marine Le Pen is seen on a television screen at a bar in Paris as people watch the presidential debate between President Emmanuel Macron and Le Pen on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times) WASHINGTON U.S. officials are anxiously watching the French presidential election, aware that the outcome of the vote on Sunday could scramble President Joe Bidens relations with Europe and reveal dangerous fissures in Western democracy. President Emmanuel Macron of France has been a crucial partner as Biden has rebuilt relations with Europe, promoted democracy and forged a coalition in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. But Macron is in a tight contest with Marine Le Pen, a far-right challenger. Le Pen is a populist agitator who, in the style of former President Donald Trump, scorns European Union globalists, criticizes NATO and views President Vladimir Putin of Russia as an ally. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times Her victory could complicate Bidens effort to isolate Russia and aid Ukraine. But the very real prospect of a nationalist leading France is also a reminder that the recent period of U.S.-European solidarity on political and security issues like Russia and democracy may be deceptively fragile. Poland and Hungary, both NATO members, have taken authoritarian turns. And Germanys surprisingly strong response to Russias invasion of Ukraine is already drawing domestic criticism. To have a right-wing government come to power in France would be a political earthquake, said Charles A. Kupchan, a professor at Georgetown who was the Europe director of the National Security Council during the Obama administration. It would send a troubling signal about the overall political health of the Western world. He added: This is a moment of quite remarkable European unity and resolve. But Le Pens election would certainly raise profound questions about the European project. Macron was unable to command more than a small plurality of support against several opponents in the first round of voting on April 10. Le Pen, who finished second, is his opponent in the runoff election Sunday. Polls show Macron with a clear lead, but analysts say a Le Pen victory is completely plausible. Story continues An immigration hard-liner and longtime leader of Frances populist right, Le Pen has campaigned mainly on domestic issues, including the rising cost of living. But her foreign policy views have unsettled U.S. officials. Last week, she renewed vows to scale back Frances leadership role in NATO and to pursue a strategic rapprochement with Russia after the war with Ukraine has concluded. Le Pen also expressed concern that sending arms to Ukraine risked drawing other nations into the war. In a debate Wednesday, Macron reminded voters that Le Pens party had taken a loan from a Russian bank. You depend on Mr. Putin, he told her. Le Pen insisted she was an absolutely and totally free woman and said she sought foreign cash after French banks refused to lend to her. She also sought to deflect charges that she was sympathetic to Russias war aims, declaring her absolute solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Le Pen has also pledged to curtail the influence of the European Union, which the Biden administration sees as a vital counterweight to Russia and China. One senior U.S. official noted that France has a recent history of right-wing candidates striking fear into the political establishment before falling short. That was the case five years ago, when Macron defeated Le Pen in a runoff. But recent elections in the West have been prone to upsets, and analysts warned against complacency in Washington, especially given the stakes for the United States. One sign of how much the Biden administration values its partnership with Macron was the minor sense of crisis after France withdrew its ambassador to Washington in September after the disclosure of a new initiative between the United States and Britain to supply Australia with nuclear submarines. Macrons government blamed the Biden administration for the loss of a lucrative submarine contract it had with Australia and was especially angry to learn about the arrangement through a leak to the news media. Biden officials expressed profuse support for France in a flurry of meetings and phone calls, and Biden called the episode clumsy. France was an extremely, extremely valued U.S. partner, he said. If Le Pen were to win, Bidens national security team would be forced to reassess that relationship. The most pressing question would be the status of economic sanctions against Russia, in which the European Union plays a crucial role. During the debate Wednesday, Le Pen said she supported sanctions against Russias financial system and oligarchs but opposed banning imports of Russian oil and gas, saying that the French people should not have to suffer. I dont imagine Marine Le Pen going to see Vladimir Putin two weeks after getting elected and talking about a great reset in relations, said Martin Quencez, the deputy director of the Paris office of the German Marshall Fund. Rather, it would be more like Le Pen, as president, making it more difficult for the EU and the U.S. to agree on a new posture a new package of sanctions, and to agree within NATO on what we need to do on the eastern flank, he added. For the Biden team, the fallout from a Le Pen victory would extend well beyond policies toward Russia and deal a blow to his project of bolstering democracy against authoritarianism worldwide, said Daniel Baer, the acting director of the Europe program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Biden sees this moment as a contest between democracy and autocracy, he said. Over the longer term, certainly having one of the worlds most revered, advanced democracies elect an illiberal person would be a setback for the cause of democracy writ large. Kupchan noted that the vigorous European response to Russias invasion of Ukraine had papered over simmering concerns in Washington about autocracy in countries like Poland and Hungary, whose right-wing prime minister, Viktor Orban, was comfortably reelected last month. Everything we were worried about before Feb. 24, the date of the Russian invasion, is still lurking beneath the surface, Kupchan said. And if Le Pen did win, it would mean that illiberalism the politics of racism, of protectionism, would be on the surface. He added: In some ways, all the domestic trials and tribulations are in suspended animation. But theyre still with us. And the French election shines a bright light on that. 2022 The New York Times Company FILE - The then U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell speaks to the media at foreign ministry in Tokyo, Jan. 17, 2013. A U.S. delegation led by Campbell, the now National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator, has arrived in the Solomon Islands to express its concerns that China could send military forces to the South Pacific nation and destabilize the region. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) The Biden administration on Thursday warned the Solomon Islands that the United States will take unspecified action against the South Pacific nation should its recently concluded cooperation agreement with China pose a threat to U.S. or allied interests. The White House said the message was delivered directly to the countrys leadership by a visiting senior U.S. delegation. The delegation expressed concern that the deal with China raises questions about its scope and purpose, according to the White House, which also lamented transparency in the agreement and cast doubt on Solomon Islands' officials' claims that the deal was purely domestic. The visit came just days after China and the Solomons confirmed they had signed a security pact, a development that has alarmed neighboring countries and Western allies who fear a military buildup in the region. Solomon Islands representatives indicated that the agreement had solely domestic applications, but the U.S. delegation noted there are potential regional security implications of the accord, including for the United States and its allies and partners, the White House said in a statement. The U.S. delegation outlined clear areas of concern with respect to the purpose, scope, and transparency of the agreement, it said. If steps are taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power-projection capabilities, or a military installation, the delegation noted that the United States would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly. There was no indication of what the U.S. response might be. The White House statement noted that Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare had assured the U.S. there would be no long-term Chinese presence on the islands and no power projection capability but stressed that the U.S. would follow developments closely in consultation with regional partners. A draft of the pact, which was leaked online, said Chinese warships could stop in the Solomon Islands for logistical replenishment and China could send police and armed forces there to assist in maintaining social order. The Solomons and China have not released the final version of the agreement. Story continues In a bid to deal with the matter, the U.S. proposed, and the Solomon Islands accepted, a proposal to launch a high-level strategic dialogue that would address mutual concerns. The U.S. delegation was led by Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator, and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. During the visit, the U.S. side also discussed its plans to reopen an embassy in the Solomons capital of Honiara, as it tries to increase its presence in the strategically important country amid growing concerns about Chinese influence. The embassy has been closed since 1993. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed. Weather Alert ...FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 8 AM PDT TUESDAY... * WHAT...Overnight temperatures expected to drop into the low to mid 30s with sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 to 32 in the cold prone areas of these zones. * WHERE...In Washington, Kittitas Valley and Yakima Valley. In Oregon, Foothills of the Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon and Foothills of the Southern Blue Mountains of Oregon. * WHEN...From 2 AM to 8 AM PDT Tuesday. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Sensitive plants and vegetation should be protected. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly. Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above- ground pipes to protect them from freezing. && Beijing (Gasgoo)- On April 22nd, Chinas major carmaker Great Wall Motor released its quarterly financial report for the January-March period in 2022. Latte DHT; photo credit: WEY According to the report, during the first three months of this year, Great Wall Motor brought in a total of RMB33.62 billion ($5.2 billion) in revenue, representing an 8.04% increase year over year. Meanwhile, the companys net profit attributable to shareholders amounted to RMB1.63 billion ($252.57 million) in the quarter, notching down 0.34% compared to a year ago. After non-recurring deductions, the net profit attributable to shareholders equaled RMB1.3 billion ($201.44 million), down 2.41% from the year-ago period. By the end of the March, Great Wall Motors total assets summed up to RMB174.94 billion ($27.04 billion), roughly the same as the same quarter in 2021. Notably, during the reporting period, Great Wall Motors R&D cost saw a 46% year-on-year jump to RMB1.32 billion ($204.59 million) from 2021s RMB907.92 million ($140.35 million). From January to March, Great Wall Motor sold 283,500 vehicles cumulatively, indicating a 16.32% decline from the earlier year. The automakers new energy vehicles sales summed up to 35,403 vehicles in the three-month span. In addition, the accumulative export volume of the company amounted to 29,322 vehicles. 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. The Coconino County Sheriff's Office arrested two separate people for allegedly attempting to enter neighborhoods evacuated due to the Tunnel Fire, officials say. One person attempted to access the closed area in the Timberline subdivision on a UTV, according to a release from the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. The man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after deputies determined the man was impaired. A second person was arrested after they ran a roadblock and fled into the closure area, officials said. The man almost struck multiple public works employees manning the roadblock, as well as a deputy attempting to stop him, according to CCSO spokesman Jon Paxton. The man was ultimately stopped and arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, violating the fire ban, endangerment and felony flight. Coconino County hosts Tunnel Fire community briefing Coconino County hosted a community briefing Wednesday evening to give an update to evacuees CCSO urged residents to remain patient and steer clear of the area as crews continue to battle the 20,198-acre Tunnel Fire. "The Sheriffs Office would like to thank all the residents for their patience during this trying time and want them to know we are doing as much as possible to get everyone back into their homes as soon as it is safe to return," Paxton said in a statement. He added that deputies will continue to escort residents into the area as needed and as long as it's safe to do so. Please bring identification and information to show you live within the closure area to the East Valley Baptist Church, 10655 North Highway 89. Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at 928-556-2250 or bburkitt@azdailysun.com. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 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. VILLANOVA, Pa.Villanova University student Zachary (Zach) Boyer has been named as a 2022 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. A junior in Villanova's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Boyerfrom Tamaqua, Pa.was selected from more than 1,200 institution-nominated students nationwide. As a Goldwater Scholar, Zachary will have a remarkable opportunity to further the work hes begun as a student-researcher at Villanova. He follows in the footsteps of previous Villanova honorees, many of whom have gone on to excel as researchers in other prestigious, national scholarship programs, said University Provost Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD. I congratulate Zachary on this honor and thank the Villanova faculty and staff who have helped him achieve his academic goals. A Chemistry major and recipient of the James C. Curvey Endowed Scholarship at Villanova, Boyers research has focused on the underlying chemistry of antimicrobial agents. An aspiring medicinal chemist, he aims to develop therapeutics for infectious diseases. The pandemic delayed Boyers attempts to become involved in bench research until Spring 2021, when he began working with Dr. Matthew OReilly. In Summer 2021, he was awarded a Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellowship and studied the synthesis of novel molecules with antimicrobial properties (Organic Synthesis, Identification, and Biological Analysis of anti-MRSA Dihydrofolate Reductase Inhibitors). Boyer has presented at the Villanova Undergraduate Research Symposium, as well as the 2022 American Chemical Society national conference. This summer, he will work as Johnson & Johnson as a Synthetic Chemist Intern. The Goldwater Foundation awards $7,500 scholarships to sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. It is widely considered the preeminent award for undergraduates preparing for research careers in STEM. Recent Villanova Goldwater honorees went on to become Knight-Hennessy Scholars, Marshall Scholars, NSF Graduate Research Fellows and Fulbright Student Grant recipients. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who served for 30 years in the United States Senate. The program is designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. For more information, visit the Goldwater Scholarship website. About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova Universitys Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six collegesthe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nations top universities, Villanova supports its students intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu. YORK Several years ago, the theory of a problem solving court was introduced to Nebraska and not too long ago one was started in York County. The problem solving court program has proven to be a great success in helping those with addictions, who had been charged with felonies, turn their lives around while avoiding incarceration. That was the message this week as Bob Denton and Adam Jorgensen (both state leaders in the program) visited with the York County Commissioners. They were also joined by Carrie Rodriguez, head of District 5 probation. They came before the county board to provide an update on the program, as the countys agreement with Seward County and the state, to continue the program (also known here as drug court), is up for renewal. The interlocal agreement is an effort between counties and the state, Denton said. The state provides all the pay for staff and the counties pay for office space and equipment, just like we do with probation. And the fees collected from the participating individuals are used to pay for their treatment. He said about 1,000 people go through problem solving courts in the state each year. The state court system determines the criteria for who can and cannot participate. Commissioner Kurt Bulgrin asked if someone qualified, could someone still say they werent allowed to? Absolutely, Denton said. When someone is brought forward for consideration, probation does an assessment and the local team determines who is taken. The local team typically consists of the presiding judge, the county attorney, the drug court coordinator, a local treatment provider, local law enforcement official, defense counsel and probation staff. How many people are in the York County program now? Bulgrin asked. Rodriguez said there are currently 17 going through the program, right now, in York County, and there are two in Seward County. She also noted that so far 15 people have graduated from the program in York County and only two have re-offended. The objective is to keep people out of incarceration, correct? asked Bulgrin. If you saw our claims earlier (money being spent on inmates), you would see we have a lot. Are we getting as many in the program as we can or is it really difficult? Rodriguez said there are currently six referrals that are pending in York County. Of all the counties, are all participating in this program, in Nebraska? asked Commissioner Daniel Grotz. We have 12 districts and there is at least one problem solving court in each, Denton said. Unfortunately, we dont have them in all the counties. Rodriguez added that in District 5, there are 11 counties (which includes York County) and seven of those counties have problem solving courts. This is a very valuable program that changes lives and improves communities, Denton said. The renewal of the agreement, to keep the program going in York County, will be an action item on an agenda in May. 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. TVS Motor Company announced that it has invested a total of 100 million pounds (about Rs 995 crore) in Norton Motorcycles, the most iconic sporting motorbike brand in the United Kingdom, which it purchased in April 2020. Norton Motorcycles was purchased by TVS Motor Company for 16 million pounds (around Rs 153 crore). "The company is excited to announce an investment of about 100 million pounds in Norton Motorcycle, the iconic British brand we had acquired in 2020," TVS Motor Company's Joint Managing Director Sudarshan Venu said in a statement. It is investing in electrification, cutting edge technology, world-class vehicles, manufacturing, sustainability and the future of mobility, he added. Also read: Lamborghini rolls-out 20,000th Huracan, all you need to know about the supercar "This is expected to create 250-300 direct jobs over the next three years and another 500-800 indirect jobs across the supply chain. The investments, spread over the next few years, will result in an exciting range of products for the global market," Venu noted. Some of these investments have already been made, leading to the creation of a facility and the imminent launch of a re-engineered V4 SV and 961 Commando, he added. "A world-class team led by Robert Hentschel is working to bring Norton back to its rightful place," Venu stated. Norton has recently opened its new manufacturing facility in Solihull, West Midlands. TVS has announced this investment coinciding with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to India. "Trade and investment between the UK and India are creating good jobs and sustaining livelihoods in both of our countries. I'm very pleased that TVS Motor Company has decided to join the legions of Indian companies investing in the UK, boosting our future mobility sector and driving economic growth," Johnson said in the statement. Founded by James Lansdowne Norton in Birmingham in 1898, Norton Motorcycles is among the most popular British motorcycle brands of all time. The company is known for its classic models and range of luxury motorcycles ranging from authentic retro classic reboots of the famous 'Commando' to its contemporary 200 bhp, 1200cc V4 superbikes. With inputs from PTI Live TV #mute In a bizarre incident, a Tata-owned Air India flight was delayed by over an hour on Thursday afternoon. As per officials, the Srinagar-Jammu Air India AI-822 was delayed after a rat that was found in the plane before take-off from Srinagar (SXR) airport. This is not the first time a rodent, or an insect has delayed Air India flight. Last year, a bat was found inside a Delhi-Newark international flight mid-air and the pilot decided to return back to Delhi's IGI airport. The passengers were shifted to another plane, and the wildlife authorities can only recover a carcass from the plane. Also read: Srinagar, Jammu airport to have night parking facility for planes As for the Srinagar flight, according to the flight schedule, the plane was about to take off from Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport in Srinagar at 2:15 pm but it was taken off around 3:20 pm after an hour delay. "Air India AI-822 flight from Srinagar to Jammu was delayed due to rat found in the aircraft, the flight was reported delayed," the airport official told ANI. With the takeover of Air India by Tata Group, it has been anticipated that services and aircraft condition of the former National air carrier will improve over the time. With inputs from ANI Live TV #mute The Tunnel Fire surpassed 20,000 acres overnight. The wind-driven fire, which first started Sunday before growing dramatically Tuesday, forced the evacuations of hundreds of households northeast of Flagstaff. All areas both east and west of Highway 89 and north of Campbell Avenue remained under evacuation Wednesday morning, as well as Moon Crater farther to the east. The Antelope Hills area east of Highway 89 remained on "SET" status, with officials urging residents to prepare for a possible evacuation. Highway 89 northbound is closed at milepost 425, while the southbound lanes are closed at milepost 435. Forest Road 544 is also closed. 3 p.m.: Coconino National Forest officials are reminding drivers not to take Forest Road 244A to avoid the Highway 89 closures. "Maps are redirecting people around the fire using Forest Service roads, but those roads are UNSAFE and blocked off," officials said. 1 p.m.: Gov. Doug Ducey has declared a state of emergency in Coconino County as the Tunnel Fire continues to burn. In a statement, Ducey said the State of Emergency will "assist impacted communities with the resources needed to respond to and recover from the fires destruction." Our team is on the ground working with first responders to monitor the Tunnel Fire in Coconino County, Ducey said. As strong winds fuel fires across Arizona, we are doing everything we can to keep Arizonans safe. We pray for the safety of the responders and firefighters in Northern Arizona and are thankful for their dedication to protecting the lives, pets and property of Arizonans. Our prayers are with the residents affected by the fire and we encourage everyone in the area to follow the guidance of fire officials, stay safe and respond to any evacuation notices." He added that his office is continuing to monitor the situation and will deploy additional resources as needed. 11 a.m.: Infrared flyovers Wednesday night revealed hot spots on the fire's southern edge northeast of the Timberline neighborhood, the western edge near the slopes of Schultz Peak, and the northern edge of the fire boundary. The fire has spread about 800 acres overnight, with "fingers" protruding from the northern edge. "There's still a lot of heat in this thing," fire information officer Dick Fleishman said Thursday. Wind remains the biggest concern, Fleishman said. High winds continue to prevent air support and create the potential for "rapid spread." Winds gusts are expected to reach up to 40 mph this afternoon. The winds are expected to shift Sunday, which Fleishman said will "really test" the western line. Bulldozers and hand crews spent most of Wednesday securing this line, while other crews chased "spot fires" that continued to pop up in the Timberline area. Crews responded to a 100-acre "slop over" that burned over lines last night. They're also focusing on putting out fighting "sleeper" fires within the burn scar of the 2010 Schultz Fire. Control of this area is important to protecting the area watershed and minimizing post-fire flooding, Fleishman said. A Type 1 team, which will include more personnel and more complex administration, is expected to arrive from the Pacific Northwest today. They're slated to take over operations starting at 6 a.m. Friday. 9 a.m.: The Tunnel Fire grew nearly 800 acres overnight, reaching a total of 20,511 acres Thursday morning. Fire crews continued cooling hotspots throughout the Timberline Estates and Wupatki Trail subdivisions overnight on top of working to contain multiple spot fires on the western flank near Forest Road 420, also known as Schultz Pass Road. "These efforts were instrumental in keeping the fire from burning up steep slopes toward Schultz Peak and may help to minimize post-fire flood impacts," officials with the Coconino National Forest detailed in a morning briefing, Fire crews will focus on protecting residences, buildings and the watersheds that drain near them throughout the day, officials said. They'll continue to work the western flank and the areas in and around the subdivisions northeast of Flagstaff in anticipation of the Red Flag winds set to hit the area as soon as 11 a.m. The windy conditions are expected to continue throughout the day and into Friday. Friday will also bring a slight chance of moisture and higher humidity levels. Hand crews also completed creating a handline on the southern edge of the fire nearly the Pinnacle Peak 3445KV powerline, as well as along the north edge of the fire below O'Leary Peak. They will continue to extend the fire lines further to the east throughout the day. Current firefighting resources include 179 firefighters, four 20-person hand crews, four dozers, 21 engines, one attack plane, a Type 3 helicopter and two Type 1 helicopters with more air assets on the way. A Type 1 incident management team is expected to arrive Thursday with plans to fully transition operations Friday morning. Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at 928-556-2250 or bburkitt@azdailysun.com. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 10 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. New Delhi: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is inviting applications under its TCS BPS Hiring programme. Candidates who have completed their graduation in science, commerce or arts streams can apply for the job roles under the latest TCS hiring programme. Candidates who will perform exceptionally in the TCS BPS Hiring will be able to join the Cognitive Business Operations (CBO), Banking and Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), and Life Science operations at the IT major. The TCS BPS Hiring programme can be seen as a doorway to a successful career in the booming IT industry. TCS BPS Hiring 2022 Eligibility Candidates who have completed their graduate degrees in either arts, science or commerce can apply for TCS BPS 2022. However, candidates should have completed their degrees in either 2020, 2021 or 2022. TCS BPS Hiring 2022 Last Date The last date to apply for TCS BPS hasnt been updated by the IT company. However, on the official page, its written that the registrations under the programme are open. Job aspirants can visit the official portal to apply for the jobs. How to Apply for TCS BPS Hiring 2022? Step 1: Candidates will need to visit the official TCS NextStep portal to complete their registration for TCS BPS Hiring 2022. Step 2: Upon registration, you will receive CT/DT ID. Keep the ID handy. If you already have a CT/DT ID, you can directly log on to TCS Next Step Portal to complete your application form. However, If you are a new user, you will need to register on the TCS Next Step Portal by selecting the BPS category. You will need to provide your details to complete your application form. Step 3. You will need to visit this link to complete your application process for TCS BPS Hiring. According to TCS, this is a mandatory step. Also Read: OnePlus launches new Ace series smartphone with 150W fast charging: Price, specs NOTE: TCS has pointed out on its official website that multiple entries from a single candidate will lead to disqualification. Also Read: Zomato goes green, announces 100% 'plastic neutral deliveries' from April 2022 Live TV #mute A removable EV battery of Pure Electric scooter charging at home in Hyderabad caught fire recently, killing an 80-year old man and injuring three others. This is the third such EV fire incident involving Pure Electric after multiple other incidents have been reported across India, including those of Ola, Okinawa, and Jitendra EV scooters. Taking cognizance of the increasing incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the companies found negligent will be penalised and a recall of all defective vehicles will be ordered after receiving the report of an expert panel that has been formed to enquire into the matter. If any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered. Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) April 21, 2022 The government had earlier ordered a probe after an e-scooter launched by ride-hailing operator Ola's electric mobility arm caught fire in Pune. The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) had been asked to probe the circumstances that led to the incident and also suggest remedial measures, according to the road transport ministry. In a series of tweets, Gadkari said several mishaps involving electric two-wheelers have come to light in the last two months. "We have constituted an expert committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps. "Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies," the road transport and highways minister said. According to Gadkari, the government will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles." He said, "If any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered." Also read: Amidst rising EV fire incidents, Niti Aayog drafts India's battery swapping policy Meanwhile, companies may take advance action to recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately, Gadkari tweeted. Recently, Niti Aayog came out with a battery swapping policy draft for electric vehicles. The draft suggested incentives as well as rigorous testing protocol for swappable batteries. The draft policy also comes at a time when there are rising concerns over safety issues around electric vehicles in the wake of multiple instances of such vehicles catching fire. Live TV #mute One of the major two-wheeler manufacturers in India, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), is planning on planting a firm foot into the electric vehicle segment moving forward. The Japanese automaker plans to launch the Honda e:SWAP battery-swapping network in India. The swapping stations will be set up on the stations of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited in Bengaluru and Bengaluru Metro Stations. As per the latest announcements, the automaker plans to launch the Honda e:SWAP stations in phases starting in Bengaluru. The company is planning on starting the operations with 7 seven such stations and further expanding the network in a phase-by-phase manner. This step is in sync with the company's and the government's goal to transition to a more environmentally friendly fuel source. Coming to the details of the Honda e:SWAP, the stations will have 12 slots per exchanger which will be connected to a cloud system. This battery exchange process is wholly digitised with protection against theft. Furthermore, as per Honda, the number of exchanger slots can be increased by pairing up to seven exchangers depending on the demand in the area. Also read: Pure EV to recall 2,000 electric scooters as Nitin Gadkari gives stern warning after series of fire incidents It is to be noted that the charging slots need 2-4 hours to fully charge the battery, depending on the percentage on which it is plugged in. The battery weighs around 10.3 kg in weight and has got an IP65 rating. It is to be noted that the battery swapping station will exclusively be for two and three-wheeler EVs. Furthermore, keeping in mind the recent incident of EV fires, the company also said that the batteries had been designed keeping in mind the Indian weather conditions. As per Honda, the batteries have been tested in Thane, Mumbai and do not operate above a threshold temperature of 60 degrees. Moreover, the batteries have been designed with a system to suppress thermal runways. Ensuring the security even more the company claims that the batteries have gone through multiple tests against water, falling from a height and other tests to ensure their functioning even in tough conditions. Speaking on the occasion, Atsushi Ogata - Managing Director, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said, "Bringing the synergies of Hondas global expertise with strong indigenous support, HMSI will further expand its horizons in India. A staggered implementation of flex-fuel technology and multiple EV model introduction in future will lead to an exciting journey ahead. HMSI also plans to enter the low-end motorcycle segment while boosting its new fun models' business in domestic markets. Parallelly expanding its wings overseas, HMSI aims to serve more developed countries with its highest level of global quality standards" Live TV #mute Pure EV, an electric vehicle maker in India issued a statement on Thursday, expressing deep regret over the alleged explosion of their EV battery in Nizamabad, Hyderabad. An 80-year old person died, while three were seriously injured due to the battery catching fire while charging at home. This is the third such incident of Pure EV catching fire and after warning a from Nitin Gadkari, the company has decided to recall 2,000 concerned vehicles. Offering condolences to the family of the victim, the company in a statement said it is in the process of getting further details from the concerned user and authorities. The company does not have any record of sale or service availed by the user quoted in the media, it said. "From our customer database we do not have any record of sale done or service availed by the quoted user in the media. Our dealer is exploring whether the vehicle was purchased through second hand sale from any of our first buyer." Also read: Electric scooters catching fire in India, govt to penalize EV makers With increasing incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the central government will issue necessary orders on defaulting companies after receiving the report of an expert panel that has been formed to enquire into the matter. "In view of the recent fire incidents involving our vehicles in Nizamabad and Chennai, PURE EV has decided to recall 2000 vehicles from the models ETRANCE+ and EPLUTO 7G of the concerned batches," Pure EV said. "The vehicles and batteries therein shall undergo a thorough check for their health. The company shall inspect the battery for any imbalance issues and shall calibrate through its device BATRICS FARADAY. Additionally, the BMS and charger calibration shall be carried out as required," it said. With inputs from PTI Live TV #mute New Delhi: The Thanjavur all-women police force has arrested a 12-year-old boy for raping and impregnating a 17-year-old girl, who has since delivered a baby. According to a report in English news daily, the police force has booked the boy under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The reports also added that even though the boy has been arrested based on the victims statement, the police officials are checking whether any other person is involved. The victim and the accused are both school dropouts and live in the same neighbourhood. The 17-year-old girl was hospitalised after she complained of stomach pain. Upon examination, the doctors found out that she was nine months pregnant and she gave birth to a girl child the same day. The hospital then informed the all-women police about the incident, following which the team held an inquiry session with the girl. During the inquiry, the girl pointed at the boy, who was later on booked under Pocso Act Section 5 (1) and 5 (j) (ii) read with Sec 6 and then arrested. The police has sent the boy to a juvenile home in Thanjavur. We have decided to ascertain the boys age using scientific methods and a DNA test, the report quoted Police inspector Ravimathi as saying. She also added that the girl and her parents feigned ignorance of her pregnancy till she delivered a baby. Live TV The district adminitration in Rajasthan's Alwar razed a 300-year-old temple in Rajasthan's Alwar today, trigerring a massive political controversy. The Lord Shiva temple in Alwar district`s Rajgarh town was demolished using Bulldozer, two days after a similar action in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area made national headlines. The video of the temple demolition is going viral on social media putting the Congress government of Rajasthan in the dock. However, the ruling party has washed its hands off the demolition claiming that the Rajgarh municipality is being ruled by the BJP and the action has been taken by the saffron party workers. Meanwhile, the local administration said that the action to remove the encroachment was taken as per the master plan. Bharatiya Janata Party state president Satish Poonia however questioned how can a 300-year-old temple be an encroachment? "The BJP is sending its team to the spot, which will give its report in three days," he added. Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara told a press conference that the BJP is playing politics on the issue. "In 2018, the BJP Mandal President wrote a letter to the district collector recommending the removal of this encroachment. As there is a BJP board in Rajgarh being headed by Satish Guharia, the resolution to remove this encroachment was passed in their board meeting. Thereafter, encroachment was removed. Temples are not tampered with in the Congress government, this has been the agenda of the BJP," he added. "Many temples were demolished during the BJP rule in Rajasthan under, during the tenure of former CM Vasundhara Raje. Recently, bulldozers were run in Delhi to erase buildings despite SC objections. Also many temples were brought down in Gujarat. It`s the BJP and RSS which is playing politics on these issues," he added. Veteran Congress leader Jitendra Singh said, "It is unfortunate that the encroachment drive was ordered by the BJP Board and Chairman of the Nagar Palika Rajgarh to make the Gaurav Path also sanctioned by the last government without taking the local people into consideration." BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya shared a video of the incident on Twitter and said "Shedding tears on Karauli and Jahangirpuri and hurting Hindus` faith -- this is what the secularism of Congress is all about." The Karnataka government is all set to strictly implement the law in connection with Azaan. The move is likely to add to the existing social unrest in the state. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the state DG and IGP Praveen Sood made it clear on Friday that everyone should follow the law in this regard. Meanwhile, Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik has stated that he has launched an "Azaan se Azadi" campaign in the state. He had demanded that the government should ensure implementation of the law on violation of rules while performing Azaan in mosques. Instructions have been issued for resolving the Azaan issue harmoniously by holding peace committee meetings at the police station level. The process is going on. Everyone should follow the law, Bommai said. There is a High Court order on Azaan. A circular has already been issued in accordance with that. The rule also specifies the decibel level. The DG has already issued the circular, he stated. IGP Praveen Sood had stated that as per the rule, notices have been issued to mosques and other places where speakers are used. "We will not allow violation of the High Court rule at any cost. The police have issued notices across the state. We will not allow any violation," he stated. "We will not let peace be disturbed in the state," he said. Sources in the police department, however, said that any action against a mosque or a temple for use of speakers would result in chaotic consequences for the state New Delhi: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is all set to release the Class 10 compartment exam 2022 admit card on Friday (April 22, 2022). Once released, the students will be able to check their Class 10 compartment exam 2022 admit card on the official website- secondary.biharboardonline.com. It may be noted that the Bihar Board will conduct the 10th matric compartment exam from May 5 to 9. BSEB 10th Compartment Exam 2022 Admit Card: Steps to download Step 1. Visit the official website- secondary.biharboardonline.com Step 2. On the homepage, click on the relevant link for download BSEB matric compartment exam admit card 2022 Step 3. Enter your credentials to login Step 4. Your BSEB 10th admit card 2022 will be displayed on the screen Step 5. Download it and take a printout for future reference According to the reports, BSEB Matric compartment exams will be taken by as many as 4,326 students. The students need to note that the exam will take place in two shifts, the first from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm and the next from 1:45 pm to 4:30 pm. The Class 10 Matric Compartment exam practical papers will be held between April 29 and April 30. BSEB has also issued helpline numbers for the students appearing for the compartment exams-- 0612- 2232074, 2232257 and 2232239. Live TV A district court Friday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Samajwadi Party MLA Shazil Islam who has been booked for allegedly threatening Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and making provocative statements against him. District government advocate SK Pathak said Islam, the SP MLA from Bhojipura, had filed his anticipatory bail plea in the District Sessions Court, terming the FIR registered against him a political conspiracy. "The court rejected the anticipatory bail plea," Pathak said. Islam and some other SP party leaders were booked for allegedly threatening Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and making provocative statements against him during an event on April 1 to felicitate victorious SP MLAs. The felicitation ceremony was organised by SP district Vice President Sanjeev Kumar Saxena. The FIR was lodged at the Baradari police station of Bareilly under sections 504 (disturbing peace), 506 (threatening) and 153A (making provocative statements with intent to incite riots). It was stated in the police complaint that Islam told his party supporters in the function that "if the voice comes out from his (Adityanath's) mouth, our (SP's) guns will not emit smoke but bullets". The Bhojipura MLA, however, has questioned the veracity of the video clip based on which the police complaint was filed, saying the news channel had doctored his statement. Days after the alleged statement, the Bareilly Development Authority had bulldozed a petrol pump of the MLA which was allegedly not constructed as per the approved map and cancelled its licence. Live TV A day after the contentious demolition drive in violence-hit Jahangirpuri, leaders of the Communist Party of India and Samajwadi Party on Friday made a beeline for the area here to meet the local residents, but were stopped by police. The five-member delegation of the Communist Party of India (CPI) sat on a dharna near the barricades at Kushal Chowk in Jahangirpuri after being stopped by the security personnel. The delegation was led by CPI national secretary and Rajya Sabha MP D Raja, who said they have come to understand the people's suffering. Other members of the delegation included CPI leaders Annie Raja, A Khan, Pallav Sen Gupta and Binoy Biswan. "We came here to meet the people and understand their suffering. Why are we not being allowed to go inside? Why was this bulldozing' order? Who was behind this? The Delhi Police is under the Ministry of Home Affairs so (home minister) Amit Shah should be held responsible," Raja told reporters. He added that illegal bulldozing was carried out in the area and the Union home minister should explain what happened there. "You have caused devastation what will happen to these people? We are asking the police personnel for permission to visit C-Block where demolition was carried out, but we are not being allowed in. We will stand here and put forth our demands," Raja said. Later, a four-member delegation of the Samajwadi Party (SP) also reached Kushal Chowk. The delegation included party MPs S T Hasan, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Ravi Prakash Verma, Javed Ali Khan and Safiqur Rahman. "We should be allowed to visit the place and meet people. They (police) are preventing us by saying democracy is under threat," Hasan told reporters. Live TV The Tunnel Fire continued to burn uncontained Thursday as fire crews again reckoned with high winds and difficult conditions. The blaze just 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff grew nearly 800 acres overnight to 20,511 acres as hundreds of households remain under evacuation. There's still no exact scope of the damage wrought and structural losses as officials doubled down on area closures Thursday, while hundreds of firefighters and firefighting resources are still working to contain the wind-fueled flames. A Type 1 team, which will include more personnel and more complex administration, arrived from the Pacific Northwest Thursday. They're slated to take over operations early Friday. Fire crews focused on the Timberline Estates and Wupatki Trail subdivisions Thursday as they braced for another day of Red Flag Warning wind conditions. The winds proved to be a bit weaker than previous days, however, finally easing up enough for aerial aircraft to aid in the fighting of the fire. Infrared flyovers Wednesday night revealed hot spots on the fire's southern edge northeast of the Timberline neighborhood, the western edge near the slopes of Schultz Peak, and the northern edge of the fire boundary. "There's still a lot of heat in this thing," fire information officer Dick Fleishman said Thursday. Preston Mercer, fire management specialist for the Flagstaff Ranger District, said crews focused heavily on keeping the fire from creeping up the San Francisco Peaks as that would have created a long-term fire that demanded more resources. Bulldozers and hand crews spent most of Wednesday and Thursday securing this line, while others chased "spot fires" that continued to pop up in the Timberline area. At one point, the fires were spotting more than a mile ahead of the main fire, which was already moving at multiple miles per hour. They were able to corral it even with the winds, though, Mercer said. They are now in a "holding pattern" as they fight to keep more embers from crossing the line. "Fingers crossed with these wind events today and tomorrow they'll stay in the lines," Mercer said, adding that the fire is "100% wind-driven." The winds aren't expected to wane anytime soon, either. Friday has a chance of precipitation, but that's likely going to be coupled with even more winds followed by dry conditions well into next week, said Brian Klimowski of the National Weather Service. The wind will be a factor again before shifting Sunday, which Fleishman said will "really test" the western line. Current firefighting resources include 179 firefighters, four 20-person hand crews, four dozers, 21 engines, one attack plane, a Type 3 helicopter and two Type 1 helicopters, with more air assets on the way. Gov. Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency in Coconino County on Thursday afternoon, pledging to "assist impacted communities with the resources needed to respond to and recover from the fires destruction." The declaration clears the way for state funding for evacuations, shelter, repairs and other expenses. However, the money cant be used to reimburse home and business owners for losses. Our team is on the ground working with first responders to monitor the Tunnel Fire in Coconino County, Ducey said. He added: We pray for the safety of the responders and firefighters in northern Arizona and are thankful for their dedication to protecting the lives, pets and property of Arizonans. Our prayers are with the residents affected by the fire and we encourage everyone in the area to follow the guidance of fire officials, stay safe and respond to any evacuation notices." He noted that his office is continuing to monitor the situation and will deploy additional resources as needed. "Wildfires have become all-too-common occurrences here in Arizona. The fire grew so quickly due to extremely high winds and displaced many of our residents from their homes," said Patrice Horstman, chair of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors in a statement. "We thank Gov. Ducey for recognizing this crisis and for supporting our impacted communities." Ducey's state of emergency declaration won't impact current operations, according to fire information officer Jerolyn Byrnes, but it will help in the long run by authorizing more funding for post-fire recovery. "That's FEMA dollars that folks can utilize to help rebuild after the fire, do recovery, cleanup, that kind of thing," he explained. It includes recovery efforts related to post-fire flood mitigation, which remains a priority for ground crews. They focused heavily on preventing the fire from burning past the western line into the steep slopes where fire damage could result in significant flood risk. They did the same Wednesday night, cooling hot spots throughout the Timberline Estates and Wupatki Trail subdivisions on top of working to contain multiple spot fires on the western flank near Forest Road 420, also known as Schultz Pass Road. "These efforts were instrumental in keeping the fire from burning up steep slopes toward Schultz Peak and may help to minimize post-fire flood impacts," officials with the Coconino National Forest detailed in a Thursday morning briefing. All areas both east and west of Highway 89 and north of Campbell Avenue remain under evacuation, as well as Moon Crater farther to the east. The Antelope Hills area east of Highway 89 remained on "SET" status, with officials urging residents to stay prepared for a possible evacuation. Highway 89, which is the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, remained closed at milepost 425 northbound and milepost 435 southbound. Forest Road 544 is also closed. People who have evacuated their homes due to the Tunnel Fire should contact the call center at 928-679-8525. According to Coconino County, they are experiencing a high call volume but will respond to all voicemails. Felicia Fonesca with The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at 928-556-2250 or bburkitt@azdailysun.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 7 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. The Delhi High Court on Friday said the speech given by Umar Khalid, which forms the basis of a case against him for a larger conspiracy behind the Delhi riots of February 2020, was obnoxious and prima facie not acceptable, and sought the Delhi Police's response on his plea seeking bail in the case. A bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul said that certain statements in the speech were "offensive per se" and gave an impression that only one institution fought for the independence of the country. The court granted three days to the Delhi Police, represented by special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, to file its short reply to the bail application filed in the case under the stringent UAPA and listed the case for further hearing on April 27. A part of the speech given by Khalid in Amravati in February 2020 was read out by his counsel before the bench also comprising Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar. Referring to Khalid's remarks that 'Jab aapke purvaj dalali kar rahe the' (When your ancestors were brokering), the court said "This is obnoxious. These expressions being used, don't you think they incite people?" "There are no qualms against free speech but what are you saying," observed the court. "This is offensive per se. You said it at least five times...Don't you think it foments religious ferment between groups? Did Gandhi Ji ever employ this language ? Did Bhagat Singh employ this language against the English? Is this what Gandhi ji taught us that we can use such intemperate language against people and their 'purvaj'?" questioned the court. The court asked if free speech can extend to "obnoxious statements" and if the speech did not attract the law against promoting enmity between religious groups. "Can free speech extend to making these obnoxious statements? Does it not attract sections 153 A and section 153 B (of IPC)? Prima facie this is not acceptable," it said. "It is very easy to invoke Bhagat Singh but difficult to emulate him... There was a gentleman who was eventually hanged .... He stayed there..., he did not run away. You are saying you weren't even there," stated the court. Senior advocate Trideep Pais, appearing for the petitioner, said the Amravati speech was made in the context of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the violence at Jamia Milia Islamia. He also said that speech did not have any "reaction" and did not incite violence. The senior lawyer sought bail on grounds that Khalid was not present when the violence broke out, no money was recovered from him and the case is based on cooked up statements. The court stated that for the offence of conspiracy, the accused need not be present at the place of the offence. The senior lawyer informed the court that the present FIR was "premised" on certain portions of the speech. "We are not surprised", said the court. Khalid and several others have been booked under the anti-terror law in the case for being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence had erupted during the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens. On March 24, the trial court had denied bail to Khalid, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations against him were prima facie true. The trial court had noted from the charge sheet that there was a premeditated conspiracy of a disruptive 'chakka jam' and a preplanned protest at 23 different sites which was to escalate to confrontational 'chakka jam' and incitement to violence and resulting in riots. Besides Khalid, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others have also been booked under the stringent law in the case. Live TV Bengaluru: Two Muslim girl students on Friday voluntarily left the exam centre after they were denied permission by the authorities to appear in the II PUC (Class 12) examinations in Karnataka wearing a hijab. According to Zee Media reports, the incident took place at Vidyodaya PU College in Udupi. Around 6.84 lakh students today appeared in the II PUC (Class 12) examinations in Karnataka amid tight security. The hijab-clad students were instructed to remove it at the entrance and attend the examination. Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh had earlier announced that the students wearing hijab will not be allowed to write the II PUC examinations. The staff members have also been restricted to wear a hijab during the exams. After successfully conducting SSLC (class 10) exams amid the hijab controversy, the Karnataka government is holding crucial II PUC examinations from Thursday to May 18. The students have been banned from taking mobiles inside exam halls. The supervisors are permitted to carry a basic set without a camera. Taking no chances, the state education department had sought the police security cover for all examination centres and all exam works will be carried out in police ''bandobust''. The 200-metre zone surrounding the exam centre is declared a prohibited zone. Ahead of the exams, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy wished all students the best of luck. He further advised that nothing is more important than life. "Don`t get into trouble throughout life by neglecting exams, let a bright future be yours," he said, indirectly referring to the hijab crisis. Sources said that the four students attached to Udupi Pre-University Girl`s College, who were involved in the hijab protest, did not turn up for examinations. The college sources explained that they did not even collect their hall tickets. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of exams as there is the possibility of the hijab controversy resurfacing. The examination is being conducted in 1,076 examination centres and a total of 3,46,936 boys and 3,37,319 girls are writing the exams. The practical lab tests will be conducted in 1,030 examination centres and 2,67,349 students are likely to appear for it. Earlier, the Karnataka High Court Special bench, headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, had dismissed the petition by students seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms. The bench had also noted that wearing of hijab is not an essential practice of Islam. The hijab controversy started with students of Udupi Pre-University College and it spread across the state creating a crisis. (With Agency Inputs) Live TV New Delhi: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is on a two-day visit to India, reached Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday (April 22, 2022). UK Prime Minister was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a ceremonial reception there. "Thank you for the fantastic welcome...," said UK PM Boris Johnson on his arrival at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The UK Prime Minister was accorded a Guard of Honour upon his arrival at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. #WATCH | "Thank you for the fantastic welcome...I don't think the things have ever been as strong or as good between us (India-UK) as they are now," UK PM Boris Johnson said in Delhi pic.twitter.com/f7tuRbFGKj ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives UK PM Boris Johnson at Rashtrapati Bhavan pic.twitter.com/IpbQMKAWPb ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 "It is a very auspicious moment in India-UK friendship and two democracies, largest and one of the oldest. I do not think things have ever been so strong and good between India and UK as they are now," Johnson said. UK PM Boris Johnson at Raj Ghat UK PM Boris Johnson also laid a wreath at Raj Ghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi today. Delhi | UK PM Boris Johnson lays a wreath at Raj Ghat and pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. pic.twitter.com/gdx4I4yeFI ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 UK PM Boris Johnson at Hyderabad House In the afternoon, British PM and PM Modi reached Hyderabad House and held the talks there. #WATCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British PM Boris Johnson meet at Hyderabad House in Delhi pic.twitter.com/5Q8mtl0olm ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 #WATCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British PM Boris Johnson hold talks at Delhi's Hyderabad House (Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/AlMBrLLB1f ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 Boris Johnson is likely to 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 cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Boris Johnson reached Delhi late Thursday, where Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar received him at the Airport. The UK Prime Minister will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar. Live TV New Delhi: Google is celebrating 'Earth Day' on Thursday (April 22, 2022) with an interactive doodle to spread knowledge about planet earth. Google through its Doodle aims to raise awareness about climate change. Google through today's doodle is addressing the pressing challenge of climate change through its doodle. "Using real time-lapse imagery from Google Earth Timelapse and other sources, the Doodle shows the impact of climate change across four different locales around our planet. Stay tuned throughout the day to view these scenes, each remaining on the homepage for several hours at a time," Google said. The Google Doodle is real time-lapse imagery from Google Earth Timelapse, which showcases the impact of climate change across different regions. The Doodle shows the impact of the climate crisis by using the real imagery from Glacier retreat at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, Sermersooq Glacier retreat in Greenland, Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Harz Forests in Germany. About Earth Day: Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22 every year to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It was first celebrated in 1970 and now it includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries. The year 2022 marks the 52nd anniversary of the annual celebrations. Many events and campaigns are being held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Theme of Earth Day 2022: The theme for Earth Day 2022 is "Invest In our Planet", urging businesses to shift towards sustainable practices. Inspirational quotes on Earth Day: - I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use - Mother Teresa - Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better - Albert Einstein. - The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations - John Paul II - Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries - Jimmy Carter Live TV Jharkhand High Court on Friday granted bail to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad in the Doranda Treasury Case in which a CBI special court had sentenced him to five years in prison. 73-year-old Prasad is in custody following his conviction and sentencing by a CBI court in February in a fodder scam case involving embezzlement of over Rs 139 crore from Doranda treasury. "The Jharkhand High court has accepted our petition for suspension of the sentence and has granted bail. We had pleaded that he has served half of his five-year sentence in this case. Prasad has already served 41 months in jail ...We had submitted the trial court's certified copy. The court has granted bail," said Prabhat Kumar, the counsel of Lalu Prasad told PTI. The HC order is expected to be communicated to the lower court by Tuesday and we will submit the bail bond and obtain a release order, Kumar said. Jharkhand High Court on April 8 had deferred the hearing into a petition filed by the incarcerated leader challenging his conviction in a fodder scam case. The former Bihar Chief Minister was sentenced to five years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 60 lakh by a special CBI court in Ranchi in connection with the fifth fodder scam case involving embezzlement of over Rs 139 crore by Doranda treasury. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh was on April 8 informed by CBI, which is investigating the scam that the earlier order of the court to file a counter affidavit in the matter could not be complied with by the agency and pleaded for more time. Prasad's counsel Kapil Sibbal had told the court that his client has already served more than half of the sentence of five years in prison in the case and deserves to be released from custody. Prasad was convicted by the CBI court here on February 15. On February 21 he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined Rs 60 lakh in the fodder scam case. Prasad had held the finance portfolio of undivided Bihar, of which he was the chief minister, during the period of the scam. He had allegedly received kickbacks through the animal husbandry department. Fake challans and bills were raised which were cleared by the finance department and money was released through the treasury. Live TV Eighteen more students tested positive for Covid at IIT-Madras on Friday, just a day after Twelve students were found infected with the virus. The total number of infections on the premises is now 3O According to media reports, all those who tested positive are from the same hostel. In response, the IIT administration and health department have stepped up the sanitation efforts on the IIT campus. The administration has been asked to strengthen the preventive measures as well. Tamil Nadu health secretary Dr J. Radhakrishnan visited the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras on Thursday. Radhakrishnan while speaking to IANS said, All the students who tested Covid-19 positive are now lodged in the IIT hostel at Taramani. About the condition of the students, he said that the students have a mild infection and added that wards at the General hospital, Guindy, are ready for the students if necessary. "The doctors at Guindy hospital have said that the students have a mild infection and they don`t need to be hospitalised as of now." On April 19 a student who had a cold, fever and headache tested positive for Covid-19, and the next day two more students also tested positive. The IIT Madras authorities told IANS that on Wednesday 18 samples of close contacts of those who had turned positive were tested and it was found that 9 have contracted the infection. Live TV Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has alleged that BJP goons are blackmailing landlords and shopkeepers to pay money, otherwise they would bulldoze their houses and shops. In a letter to Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, he asked them to help the people catch the blackmailing BJP goons and hand over them to the police. Sisodia said that BJP should be involved in recovery from MCD. Delhi CM and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, Many such complaints are coming from all over Delhi. The people of Delhi will not tolerate this type of extortion and hooliganism. Is this why the MCD elections have been postponed? Live TV Amid the ongoing Alwar Temple demolition controversy, Rajasthan Minister Mahesh Joshi said that making issues in the name of temples has become a fashion now. Talking to ANI on the incident, Mahesh Joshi said, I'm sorry to say, it has become a fashion; issues are made in the name of temples now. We respect temples, we're more religious than people from BJP... We don't use religion for vote bank. The leader also accused BJP of using issues of religion for politics and vote bank. The comments came after BJP leaders on Friday expressed outrage after a 300-year-old Lord Shiva temple in Alwar district`s Rajgarh town was demolished. The video of the temple demolition is going viral on social media putting the Congress government of Rajasthan in the dock. Congress blames BJP However, the ruling party has washed its hands off the demolition claiming that the Rajgarh municipality is being ruled by the BJP and the action has been taken by the saffron party workers. Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara told a press conference that the BJP is playing politics on the issue. "In 2018, the BJP Mandal President wrote a letter to the district collector recommending the removal of this encroachment. As there is a BJP board in Rajgarh being headed by Satish Guharia, the resolution to remove this encroachment was passed in their board meeting. Thereafter, encroachment was removed. Temples are not tampered with in the Congress government, this has been the agenda of the BJP," he added. Veteran Congress leader Jitendra Singh said, "It is unfortunate that the encroachment drive was ordered by the BJP Board and Chairman of the Nagar Palika Rajgarh to make the Gaurav Path also sanctioned by the last government without taking the local people into consideration." Meanwhile, the local administration said that the action to remove the encroachment was taken as per the master plan. BJP on demolition Bharatiya Janata Party state president Satish Poonia however questioned how can a 300-year-old temple be an encroachment? "The BJP is sending its team to the spot, which will give its report in three days," he added. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya shared a video of the incident on Twitter and said "Shedding tears on Karauli and Jahangirpuri and hurting Hindus` faith -- this is what the secularism of Congress is all about." Live TV British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday hailed Indias Covid-19 vaccination efforts and said that he took the vaccine created by India and said he benefitted from that. I have the Indian jab (Covid- 19 vaccine) in my arm, and it did me good. Many thanks to India, said PM Johnson during a joint media address with PM Modi. PM Johnson on India-UK relations The leader also reiterated PM Modis commitment to enhancing the India-UK relationship and said that the relations between the two countries have never been better. We have had wonderful talks today & have strengthened our relationship in every way. The partnership between India and Britain is one of the defining friendships of our times, said Johnson. Shared interests in keeping the Indo-Pacific region free, open & rule-based. Agree to combat threats on air, space and maritime. Taking steps for sustainable homegrown energy. This visit has deepened our relationship, he added. India-UK Covid vaccine partnership In May 2021, India and the UK agreed to "expand and enhance" their existing partnership on vaccines, besides vowing to work together to reform and strengthen the World Health Organization (WHO) and the global health security architecture to strengthen pandemic resilience. The decision was taken at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson. PM Modi during Modi-Johnson talks Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a detailed dialogue with British PM Boris Johnson in New Delhi. During the talks, Modi invited the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. During a joint media address, PM Modi said, We expressed our commitment to fulfilling promises made during the last COP 26. We invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. PM Modi also welcomed his UK counterpart and said that Johnson's visit to India during 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' is historic. The prime minister also talked about the crucial Future Trade Deal, which has been one of the prime agendas of Johnsons two-day visit to India. Live TV Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a detailed dialogue with British PM Boris Johnson in New Delhi. During the talks, Modi invited the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission, reported ANI. During a joint media address, PM Modi said, We expressed our commitment to fulfilling promises made during the last COP 26. We invite the UK to join India's National Hydrogen Mission. PM Modi also welcomed his UK counterpart and said that Johnson's visit to India during 'Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' is historic. The prime minister also talked about the crucial Future Trade Deal, which has been one of the prime agendas of Johnsons two-day visit to India Last year we (India-UK) launched a comprehensive strategic partnership. Work on FTA is underway. Talks held on defence sector, trade, climate & energy. Talks also hold on free, open & rule-based Indo-pacific region, Reiterating PM Modis commitment to India-UK relations, PM Boris Johnson said, We have had wonderful talks today and have strengthened our relationship in every way. The partnership between India and Britain is one of the defining friendships of our times Ahead of the talks, the UK said it will offer India the best of British know-how on building battle-winning aircraft and support the country's requirements for new technology to respond to threats in the Indian Ocean. In a statement, the British High Commission said the UK will issue an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) to India to cut the delivery period for defence procurement. The British prime minister arrived in India on Thursday on a two-day visit in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. Live TV China on Thursday rolled out a private pension scheme to complement the nation's current pension system in its latest effort to tackle the strains of an aging population. The scheme allows Chinese citizens to contribute up to 12,000 yuan ($1,872) annually to individual pension accounts that would be subject to closed-end management, according to guidelines released by the State Council. The cap would be adjusted according to social and economic development as well as how the country's pension system evolves. The funds can be used to purchase financial products that are of relatively lower risk and have a longer-term investment horizon, according to the guidelines. Workers who currently contribute to the basic pension insurance can participate in the scheme on a voluntary basis, the guidelines said. The government will offer tax incentives to encourage participation in the new system, the guidelines said. The scheme will be piloted in some cities for a year before it is implemented nationwide, it said. The private pension mechanism will complement the country's current pension system consisting of the basic old-age pension, enterprise annuities as well as commercial insurance for the elderly, offering another layer of support for the aging population, analysts said. Policymakers in China are actively taking measures to address the issues of an aging society. According to the latest census, by 2020, the number of Chinese people aged 60 or above had reached 264 million, accounting for 18.7 percent of the country's total. With such an aging population, government expenditure alone is hard to meet the rising obligations, and the development of the private pension scheme would help ease the strains, said Everbright Securities in a note. In a statement commenting on the new scheme, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said that the mechanism highlights the market-oriented operation of pension funds, which are usually large in scale and long-term in investment horizon, providing stable support to the real economy. It also said that the commission will work on the matching rules for private pensions to invest in the country's publicly-offered funds, which now run over 4 trillion yuan of pension assets. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant bail to Maharashtra cabinet minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik in a case of money laundering, saying the probe is at a nascent stage. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant said it will not interfere with the Bombay High Court order of March 15 but Malik can avail the remedy available under the law before the trial court. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Malik, said they arrested me in 2022 for something that happened in 1999. He said there is no case under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) made out as there is no predicate offence. The bench said the investigation is at a very nascent stage and that it will not interfere with the high court order. On March 15, the Bombay High Court had rejected Malik's interim application seeking immediate release in a case of money laundering, saying just because the special PMLA court's order remanding him in custody is not in his favour; it does not make that order illegal or wrong. The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Malik in February under provisions of the PMLA after which he had filed a habeas corpus plea in the high court, claiming his arrest by the ED and the consequent remands were illegal. The HC had said Malik's counsel had argued before the PMLA court and vehemently opposed the ED's request for the minister's custody. Yet, the special court had remanded him to ED's custody and subsequently to judicial custody based on valid legal grounds. The high court had said that the minister still had the option to apply for bail in the case before the special court. It had held that Malik was arrested by the ED in accordance with the law, and subsequently been remanded to the probe agency's custody and then to judicial custody following due process. Therefore, there was no reason for the high court to pass any interim order directing Malik's release from custody, it had said. Malik was arrested by the ED over a property deal allegedly linked to the aides of gangster Dawood Ibrahim. The central agency has accused Malik of being part of an alleged criminal conspiracy to usurp a property in Mumbai's Kurla area which currently has a market value of Rs 300 crore and belongs rightfully to one Munira Plumber. Malik contended before the HC that he had bought the property in a bonafide transaction three decades ago, and Plumber has now changed her mind about the transaction. Live TV New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled visit to Jammu and Kashmir, an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in the Sunjwan area on Friday (April 22, 2022). One security force personnel was killed and four more suffered injuries in a gunfight near an Army camp on the outskirts of Jammu today, officials said. #UPDATE | 1 security force jawan martyred and 4 jawans injured in the encounter. We had cordoned off the area in the night. Encounter still underway (in Sunjwan area of Jammu). Terrorists seem to have hidden in a house: Mukesh Singh, ADGP Jammu Zone pic.twitter.com/sHN7isoyDL ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 A search operation was launched on a specific information about the presence of at least two terrorists belonging to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit. A police officer said that an encounter is underway and probably two Jaish terrorists are believed to be trapped. Both are believed to be foreigners. Additional Director General of Police of Jammu Mukesh Singh said the encounter started when the police's Special Operations Group and the CRPF launched a joint search operation in the area. Pertinently, PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Jammus Samba district on April 24, 2022. Meanwhile, another anti-terror operation is also underway in North Kashmir's Baramullah district in Kashmir since the last 22 hours. Security forces have managed to kill three terrorists in this ongoing encounter including a top LeT commander. It's believed that two more terrorists are trapped in cordon. Live TV Amid speculations about poll strategist Prashant Kishor joining the Congress, leaders of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bengal BJP unit argues that Kishor`s entry into Congress won`t help in reviving the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. "Political strategist Prashant Kishor has never joined TMC. He is our political analyst", said Trinamool Congress General Secretary Kunal Ghosh while speaking exclusively to ANI on Friday. Also Read: Lifeline or futile? Will Prashant Kishor joining Congress help it challenge BJP in 2024 elections Speaking on Prashant Kishor joining Congress, Ghosh said, "Kishor is a political strategist. He is not a TMC leader. He can speak to any political party. We know Congress has a history of failure. If Congress wants to revive itself, it can try. Our (TMC) main focus is to defeat BJP." "Like in Bengal, TMC is strong. So in other states, if Congress think they can fight and defeat the BJP, they are most welcome," Kunal Ghosh added. Speaking about Prashant Kishor joining Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party`s Manoj Tigga said, "Congress is not going to revive. It`s a democratic country and anyone can join any party. But it`s tough for Congress to make a comeback. 2024 will be a winner again for the BJP". Questioning the motive of the BJP behind stopping political leaders from entering Jahangirpuri, Ghosh said, "We never stopped any political delegates from visiting Bagtui (Rampurhat ) because we knew there is nothing to hide and we wanted the truth to come out but why is BJP stopping other political parties from visiting Jahangirpuri? This is because they are hiding facts or conspiracies." "There are several pictures which highlight Jahangirpuri violence`s main accused, Ansar having some close relations with BJP. A thorough investigation should be done", said Kunal Ghosh when asked about TMC tweets on Jahangirpuri. Meanwhile, BJP chief whip Manoj Tigga counter-attacked Kunal Ghosh saying, "Delhi government is ruled by Kejriwal who is the friend of Mamata Di. So, she should ask him about stopping TMC fact-finding team."Tigga added, "As far as Bagtui is concerned, yes they (TMC government) allowed the opposition`s fact-finding team. But whom should we talk to? The victims were removed from Bagtui village and taken to the other place. This is the reality." Live TV Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi might visit to Gujarat at the end of May month. She will take part in a convention which will be organized for women belonging to the co-operative sector of Anand and Kheda districts. Congress has started preparation for this convention. The party will organize the convention of 20,000 women who are associated with the cooperative sector. New Delhi: The Delhi government on Friday (April 22, 2022) issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for schools in the national capital. Amid the rising Covid-19 cases in Delhi schools, the authorities have issued a number of Covid-19 guidelines that the school administration needs to follow. In the order, the Delhi government has directed the schools to ensure that no students and staff members should enter school premises without thermal scanning. The order also advised the parents to not send their children to school if they test positive for the coronavirus. Delhi government issues Standard Operating Procedure to prevent the spread of COVID19 in schools SOPs to be followed- Quarantine room to be available at schools; Teachers will daily ask the students about Covid related symptoms in students and their family members pic.twitter.com/cToYRADhY3 ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 "Students should also be guided to avoid sharing of lunch, stationary items," the government stated. Check complete guidelines here: - Students and staff should not be allowed to enter school premises without thermal scanning. - Parents should be advised to not send their children to school if they test positive for the coronavirus. - Quarantine room have to be available at schools. - Students should also be guided to avoid sharing lunch, stationery items etc. - Schools should use all the entry/exit gates of the school building to avoid crowding at the time of entry and exit of students.. - Teachers will daily ask the students about Covid-related symptoms in students and their family members. - Head of school should ensure that all eligible students/staff/guests should wear face masks properly. - School should encourage vaccination among the students and parents. Meanwhile, Delhi logged 965 fresh Covid cases in a day with a positivity rate of 4.71 per cent while one person died due to the infection, according to data shared by the city health department on Thursday. A total of 20,480 tests were conducted in the city a day ago, the data showed. Live TV Srinagar: Three terrorists have been killed in an ongoing encounter that started on Thursday (April 21, 2022) between terrorists and security forces at Malwah area in North Kashmir`s Baramulla district. A most want top commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba was among three terrorists killed while four soldiers, including an officer and a policeman, were injured in a gunfight at Malwah village of Baramulla district. In the ongoing encounter at Malwah village police claimed to have got a major success of the year as three terrorists were killed and two more foreign terrorists are believed to be hiding. IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said, Acting on specific information generated by Budgam police, a special team of Budgam Police along with Army (62RR) launched a joint cordon and search operation in Malwah area of Baramulla. During the search operation as the joint search party reached the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired indiscriminately upon them in which four 4 soldiers including one officer received minor injuries. The fire was effectively retaliated, leading to an encounter. Later on Baramulla Police headed by SSP Baramulla also joined in the operation. One policeman from Baramulla district also got injured in the encounter who was later shifted to Armys base hospital in Srinagar, he added. ALSO READ | One security force personnel killed, 4 injured in encounter in J-Ks Sunjwan Terming the Top LeT commander a major success, Kumar said, "In the ensuing encounter, so far three terrorists of LeT including outfits commander Yousuf Kantroo, one of longest surviving militants, were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. Kantroo earlier joined as an OGW of HM (Hizb-ul-Mujahideen) outfit and was arrested in the year 2005. Later, he was released in the year 2008 but he again joined terror ranks in the year 2017 and started killing innocent civilians, policemen and political workers. Later on he switched from HM to LeT outfit. However, the identification of the other killed terrorist is being ascertained, Kumar added. According to the police records, the three terrorists who were killed were part of groups involved in several cases including attacks on Security Forces and civilians. IGP Kashmir also informed that Yousuf Kantroo was involved in dozens of civilian atrocities and SFs personnel killings including killing of SPO Mohammad Ishfaq Dar and his brother Umer Ahmad Dar of Chatabugh Budgam on March 26 this year, killing of BDC Chairman Late Sardar Bhupinder Singh on 23 September 20 in his own native place in Khag, killing of NC Block president at Natipora Chanapora Srinagar, killing of Tajamul Mohidin Dar of Guttapora Budgam on 21 March 2022, killing of Gulzar Ahmad of Lawaypora at Narbal, killing of Tanveer Zargar of Chewa at Narbal, killing of Nazir Ahmad Dar (an employee of Health department) of Warihama at Warihama, killing of Sarpanch Manzoor Ahmad of Pattan. Kumar further added, "he was also involved in grenade throwing incidents, abduction and killing of police and SF personnel including killing of CRPF personnel HC Riyaz Ahmad Rather of Nawgam Anantnag at Kanihama by lobbing Grenade on deployment on 23 December 2017, abduction and killing of constable Mohammad Ashraf Rather alias Ishfaq of Archanderhama Magam, abduction and killing of Army Personnel Mohammad Sameer Malla of Lokipora Khag on 7 March this year, killing of SPO Mohammad Altaf during an encounter at Peth-Zanigam, killing of one Ex-SPO Naseer Ahmad Khan of Buchipora Kawoosa Khalisa. Moreover, he was also involved in snatching 4 AK rifles from the residence of Legislature Muzafar Parray at J-13 Jawahar Nagar Rajbagh. Furthermore, on his directions Abrar Nadeem (neutralized (militant) carried out an attack on CRPF at Lawaypora Srinagar in which 3 CRPF personnel were killed on 25 March 2021, Kumar said. Additionally, Kantroo was also involved in recruiting innocent and "gullible youth into terrorist folds including the recruitment of Faisal Hafeez Dar of Aaripanth Magam. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter. Two more terrorists are still inside the cordon and an exchange of fire is going on. Security forces have installed lights and sealed entry and exit points. Extra reinforcement has been sent to the spot to ensure the hiding terrorists can't escape taking advantage of the darkness. The encounter started in the early hours and has been going on for more than 20 hours now. Live TV New Delhi: Visiting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday paid a visit to the Rajghat to lay a wreath on the 'samadhi' of Mahatma Gandhi. Delhi | UK PM Boris Johnson lays a wreath at Raj Ghat and pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. pic.twitter.com/gdx4I4yeFI ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 The UK PM was earlier accorded a grand ceremonial reception and a Guard of Honour at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the national capital. PM Boris Johnson said this was an auspicious moment in friendship with India and between the two largest democracies, after the ceremonial reception. Delhi | UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan pic.twitter.com/IZQGYR30xX ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 The UK Prime Minister was earlier received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Talking to the media after the ceremonial welcome, Johnson said that "relations with India were never so strong." #WATCH | "Thank you for the fantastic welcome...I don't think the things have ever been as strong or as good between us (India-UK) as they are now," UK PM Boris Johnson said in Delhi pic.twitter.com/f7tuRbFGKj ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2022 PM Modi also shared a photo with his "friend" UK PM on his official Twitter handle. Wonderful to see you, my friend PM @BorisJohnson in India on a long-awaited visit. Look forward to our discussions today. https://t.co/6gUxR1PwPH pic.twitter.com/z6Ufv8zgAb Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2022 He also thanked the Gujarat government and the people for putting up a grand reception on his arrival in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The British Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to India, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the day for talks on the UK and India`s strategic defence, diplomatic and economic partnership aimed at bolstering close ties and stepping up security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. He will be holding a meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at Hyderabad House and later will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Modi. Johnson reached Delhi late on Thursday night and was received by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the Airport. The British Prime Minister arrived in Ahmedabad on Thursday, where he was given a grand welcome. The UK and Indian businesses are going to confirm more than one billion pounds in new investments and export deals on Friday in areas ranging from software engineering to health and creating almost 11,000 jobs across the UK, the British High Commission said in a statement. Live TV New Delhi: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who is on a two-day visit to India will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (April 22, 2022) to 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 cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Boris Johnson reached Delhi late Thursday, where Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar received him at the Airport. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be meeting PM Modi in Delhi. Yesterday, April 21, Johnson had visited Gujarat's Ahmedabad as part of his India visit pic.twitter.com/AKSHEuYUlY ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2022 On Friday morning, Johnson will attend a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan and later a wreath-laying at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. The UK Prime Minister will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar. On the same afternoon, the two sides will issue a press statement at around 1 pm at Hyderabad House. Johnson arrived in Gujarat on Thursday for the start of his two-day visit to India. According to a statement by British High Commission, Johnson 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. Last year, Johnson and PM Modi agreed on a UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, announcing more than 530 million pounds in investment into the UK and committing to a deeper bilateral relationship across trade, health, climate, defence and security, and connecting our people. India was also 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 third round of negotiations will begin next week and the two sides are keen to double bilateral trade by 2030. The United Kingdom is also looking to increase its footprint in defence production in India. British Prime Minister`s visit to India beginning comes amid the rising importance of the Indo-Pacific and India`s centrality in the region with the two countries set to further intensify cooperation across the full spectrum of bilateral ties. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is expected to figure in the bilateral talks with Johnson putting forth UK position and listening to the Indian perspective while not lecturing India, sources said. They said the two sides understand and respect each other`s position on Ukraine and it will be part of the discussion. Live TV New Delhi: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has started the registration process for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) 2022. The last date to apply for the posts is May 10, 2022. As per the official notification, the department is seeking to hire for 66 vacancies in Border Security Force (BSF), and 29 vacancies in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Also, 62 vacancies in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), 14 vacancies in Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and 82 vacancies under the Services Selection Board (SSB) were announced in the recruitment notice. Click here to register for UPSC CAPF 2022 The examination will be conducted at 45 exam centres on August 7, 2022. The eligibility criteria specifications state that the candidate must have a Bachelors Degree in any stream from a government-recognized University. The candidates need to be between 20 and 25 years of age in order to fit under the age limit. The last date of application for the Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination is May 10, 2022. For further details, kindly visit the official website https://www.upsconline.nic.in. Live TV India and the UK on Friday decided to set up a task force on countering extremist elements such as pro-Khalistan groups operating in Britain, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asserting that his country does not tolerate such elements. After holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Johnson also said that economic fugitives seeking to use the British legal system to evade the law in India are not welcome in Britain. At a press conference, Johnson said the UK government has ordered the extradition of economic offenders wanted in India but legal technicalities are making the process difficult. Asked about concerns over reports of human rights violations and the rise of Hindu nationalism in India, Johnson said the UK raises these issues in a "friendly way" but added that India is a great democracy and it has constitutional protection for its communities. "On our relations with India and how we deal with questions around human rights and democratic values, of course, we have these conversations but the advantage of our friendship is that we can have them, and we can have them in a friendly and private way," he said. "It's very important to realise that India has constitutional protections for communities. India is very very different from autocracies around the world. It is a great democracy. It is a stunning shining fact that 1.35 billion people live under a democracy, and that's something we should celebrate," Johnson said. "It offers, I say, an opportunity for closer cooperation and partnership... That doesn't mean I am not going to raise tough, consular questions," he said. To a question on concerns in India over Khalistani elements operating from the UK, Johnson said his country has a "very strong view" on extremist groups. "We have a very strong view on it in the UK. We don't tolerate extremist groups setting up in the UK with a view to threatening other countries, threatening India. "What we have done particularly as a result of this visit is set up an anti-extremism task force to see what more we can do to help India in that aspect," he said. Asked about the extradition of economic offenders Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya to India, Johnson said "legal technicalities" have made it "very difficult". "I think there are legal technicalities that have made it very, very difficult but what I can tell you is the UK government has ordered their extradition and we have said that from our point of view, we want them to be taken back to India for trial," he said. "We don't welcome people who want to use our legal system to evade the law here in India," the British prime minister said. At a separate media briefing, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has been pursuing the issue of economic offenders with the UK. "Our objective is to bring back those economic fugitives who are wanted in India to face justice in the country. The matter did come up in today's talks. It was conveyed that this is a high priority," he said. `Why don't men and women really like one another nowadays?' Connie asked Tommy Dukes, who was more or less her oracle1. `Oh, but they do! I don't think since the human species was invented, there has ever been a time when men and women have liked one another as much as they do today. Genuine liking2! Take myself. I really like women better than men; they are braver, one can be more frank with them.' Connie pondered this. `Ah, yes, but you never have anything to do with them!' she said. `I? What am I doing but talking perfectly3 sincerely to a woman at this moment?' `Yes, talking...' `And what more could I do if you were a man, than talk perfectly sincerely to you?' `Nothing perhaps. But a woman...' `A woman wants you to like her and talk to her, and at the same time love her and desire her; and it seems to me the two things are mutually exclusive.' `But they shouldn't be!' `No doubt water ought not to be so wet as it is; it overdoes4 it in wetness. But there it is! I like women and talk to them, and therefore I don't love them and desire them. The two things don't happen at the same time in me.' `I think they ought to.' `All right. The fact that things ought to be something else than what they are, is not my department. Connie considered this. `It isn't true,' she said. `Men can love women and talk to them. I don't see how they can love them without talking, and being friendly and intimate. How can they?' `Well,' he said, `I don't know. What's the use of my generalizing? I only know my own case. I like women, but I don't desire them. I like talking to them; but talking to them, though it makes me intimate in one direction, sets me poles apart from them as far as kissing is concerned. So there you are! But don't take me as a general example, probably I'm just a special case: one of the men who like women, but don't love women, and even hate them if they force me into a pretence5 of love, or an entangled6 appearance. `But doesn't it make you sad?' `Why should it? Not a bit! I look at Charlie May, and the rest of the men who have affairs...No, I don't envy them a bit! If fate sent me a woman I wanted, well and good. Since I don't know any woman I want, and never see one...why, I presume I'm cold, and really like some women very much.' `Do you like me?' `Very much! And you see there's no question of kissing between us, is there?' `None at all!' said Connie. `But oughtn't there to be?' `Why, in God's name? I like Clifford, but what would you say if I went and kissed him?' `But isn't there a difference?' `Where does it lie, as far as we're concerned? We're all intelligent human beings, and the male and female business is in abeyance7. Just in abeyance. How would you like me to start acting8 up like a continental9 male at this moment, and parading the sex thing?' `I should hate it.' `Well then! I tell you, if I'm really a male thing at all, I never run across the female of my species. And I don't miss her, I just like women. Who's going to force me into loving or pretending to love them, working up the sex game?' `No, I'm not. But isn't something wrong?' `You may feel it, I don't.' `Yes, I feel something is wrong between men and women. A woman has no glamour10 for a man any more.' `Has a man for a woman?' She pondered the other side of the question. `Not much,' she said truthfully. `Then let's leave it all alone, and just be decent and simple, like proper human beings with one another. Be damned to the artificial sex-compulsion! I refuse it!' Connie knew he was right, really. Yet it left her feeling so forlorn, so forlorn and stray. Like a chip on a dreary11 pond, she felt. What was the point, of her or anything? It was her youth which rebelled. These men seemed so old and cold. Everything seemed old and cold. And Michaelis let one down so; he was no good. The men didn't want one; they just didn't really want a woman, even Michaelis didn't. And the bounders who pretended they did, and started working the sex game, they were worse than ever. It was just dismal12, and one had to put up with it. It was quite true, men had no real glamour for a woman: if you could fool yourself into thinking they had, even as she had fooled herself over Michaelis, that was the best you could do. Meanwhile you just lived on and there was nothing to it. She understood perfectly well why people had cocktail13 parties, and jazzed, and Charlestoned till they were ready to drop. You had to take it out some way or other, your youth, or it ate you up. But what a ghastly thing, this youth! You felt as old as Methuselah, and yet the thing fizzed somehow, and didn't let you be comfortable. A mean sort of life! And no prospect14! She almost wished she had gone off with Mick, and made her life one long cocktail party, and jazz evening. Anyhow that was better than just mooning yourself into the grave. On one of her bad days she went out alone to walk in the wood, ponderously15, heeding16 nothing, not even noticing where she was. The report of a gun not far off startled and angered her. Then, as she went, she heard voices, and recoiled17. People! She didn't want people. But her quick ear caught another sound, and she roused; it was a child sobbing18. At once she attended; someone was ill-treating a child. She strode swinging down the wet drive, her sullen19 resentment20 uppermost. She felt just prepared to make a scene. New Delhi: After Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, now Tamil Nadu government has made the wearing of masks mandatory in the state amid rising Covid-19 infe ctions in the country. In an order issued on Friday (April 22, 2022), the government said that the violators will have to pay Rs 500 as fine. The Department said the decision was taken considering the rising cases of Covid-19 in the country, especially in the national capital. Tamil Nadu has also witnessed a slight increase in fresh cases in the past couple of days. 39 people tested positive for coronavirus infections in Tamil Nadu on Thursday, with 31 registered the previous day. Earlier, the Department had earlier withdrawn the mask mandate following a decline in the number of infections. On Thursday, IIT Madras has declared a Covid zone on Thursday after twelve students of the premium institute also tested positive. The students were however not admitted to the hospital even though they had taken first aid care from the Guindy government hospital. Meanwhile, India on Friday reported a single-day rise of 2,451 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total tally to 4,30,52,425. According to the Union Health Ministry figures updated this morning, the countrys active caseload has reached 14,241. The death toll climbed to 5,22,116 with 54 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. An increase of 808 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data said. Live TV Hubli: The Karnataka government has extended Section 144 imposed in Hubli city after a mob pelted stones at a police station in which four policemen were injured on Saturday night, till April 23, news agency ANI said. As many as 12 cases were registered in connection with the law and order situation in which 134 arrests have been made. Speaking to ANI, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Labhu Ram said, "The main case was registered in connection with April 16 night (stone-pelting) incident, while in connection with law and order situation, we have registered 12 cases in which 134 arrests have been made. Section 144 to continue till Saturday morning in South Sub-Division 5 PS limit." The commissioner further informed that a student who was in judicial custody in connection with a stone-pelting incident has been granted permission by the court to write the exam. "One student Abhishek who is in judicial custody has been granted permission by the court to write the exam. We will make arrangements accordingly," Ram said. A stone-pelting incident took place at Old Hubli Police Station on April 16 in which four policemen including one inspector injured. The mob which gathered outside the police station suddenly turned violent and started pelting stones at the police station and police vehicles. 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. Earlier on Sunday, the Karnataka Minister CN Ashwathnarayan condemned the incident and said strict action will be taken against those who violated the law. "The strongest possible action should be taken to send the right message to the people who time and again do not respect the law of the land. We condemn the incident. The people have been arrested," Ashwathnarayan said. Live TV NEW DELHI: Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan was on Friday (April 22) trending on social media and it was not for her stylish public outings with her gal pals or her upcoming projects. The actress appearing in an advertisement for Malabar Gold and Diamonds, on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. This triggered a section of social media users who protested against Kareena, as she 'married a Muslim', and despite this got featured in an ad for a Hindu festival. Users also said the ad was an 'insult to the Hindu religion' as Kareena appears without a bindi. #No_Bindi_No_Business, #Boycott_MalabarGold is also trending on Twitter. One of the users wrote, "The latest advt by MalabarGold is another example of disregard to Hindu festival. Wearing Bindi is imp.part of traditional Indian woman dressing..Mocking Hindu traditions and expecting Hindus to spend their money for them. Not anymore." Another said, "So called 'The Responsible Jeweller' releasing ad with Kareena Kapoor Khan without a bindi for Akshaya Tritiya ! Do they care about Hindu culture?" The auspicious day of #AkshayaTritiya by having Kareena Kapoor Khan as a model with no bindi on her forehead. Why no bindi for Hindu festivals So, #NoBindiNoBusiness and #Boycott_MalabarGold Malabar Gold peoples disgrace our goodold tradition, shame on them. pic.twitter.com/WXJ6ivDuyQ Krishna Kumar Sharma KN (@SanakkSharma2) April 22, 2022 Kareena Kapoor-Khan, who got married in an Islamic family, has made the advertisement famous. Malabar has disrespected the Hindu religious tradition with the money of Hindus for its economic benefits.#Boycott_MalabarGold #No_Bindi_No_Business pic.twitter.com/lNJQ1v6s52 Ravichandra B M (@RavichandraBM7) April 22, 2022 MALABAR shows Kareena Kapoor Khan without a bindi in Akshaya Tritiya ad Disrespecting the Hindu religious tradition only by the money of Hindus for the sake of economic benefits!#No_Bindi_No_Business#Boycott_MalabarGold pic.twitter.com/2K4wFcN8sz Tejas Pawaskar (@tejasppawaskar) April 22, 2022 Kareena has been endorsing the Kerala-based jewellery retailer for a long time now. In the advertisement for Akshaya Tritiya, Kareena is seen wearing an embellished pink lehnga, paired with an elaborate diamond neckpiece, huge earrings, and a maang tika. But what caught everyone's attention was the absence of Bindi on Kareena's forehead. Netizens slammed the brand for promoting a Hindu festival without a proper depiction of Hindu married women. They argued for roping in a 'muslim married woman' for the launch the Hindu festival ad. Mulitple hashtags such as #BoycottMalabarGold, #BoycottKareenaKapoorKhan became top trends on social media. Last year in October, jewelry brand Tanishq had also faced massive backlash from netizens as they claimed that the brand was promoting love jihad in its advertisement. However, later it withdrew the advertisement. Live TV NEW DELHI: Superstar Hrithik Roshan and the mystery girl aka actress-musician Saba Azad's growing proximity together is being seen as a 'couple thing'. The buzz is strong that they are dating and aren't shy to express their fondness for each other in public. It was only some time back that the Greek God was photographed walking hand-in-hand with his rumoured ladylove Saba at Mumbai airport as they together jetted off to Goa for a bash. Their airport PDA caught much attention and was widely talked about on the internet. Now, weeks later, Hrithik has once again expressed his liking for Saba Azad with a social media post. The actor gave a shout out to the cast of 'Rocket Boys' on his Instagram stories on Friday. He shared a still from the show and wrote, "Repeat watch! So much to learn from this one. What amazing work by the entire team. Makes one proud to know it's made in India by one of us." For rumoured girlfriend Saba Azad, he wrote: "You are one of the finest actors I have ever seen.. You inspire me." This is what Hrithik Roshan posted: It all started when Hrithik and Saba were first photographed hand-in-hand after a cosy dinner date in February this year. They raised speculations once again after Saba was clicked at the Roshans' family Sunday lunch. They were also seen enjoying Kerala cuisines together. The owner of the restaurant shared the photos thanking the stars - Hrithik and Saba, for visiting the place and enjoying authentic Kerala dishes. For the unversed, Saba Azad dated Naseeruddin Shah's son Imaad Shah for the longest and the two were in a live-in relationship. Saba made her debut with 'Dil Kabaddi,' and was also seen in the 2011 film 'Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge' alongside Saqib Saleem. She featured in 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy' opposite late Sushant Singh Rajput. She was last seen in an anthology series 'Feels like Ishq' which was released in 2021. On the work front, Hrithik has three films in the making. He is shooting for 'Fighter' also featuring Deepika Padukone. The actor also features in the Hindi remake of 'Vikram Vedha' and shared his first look from the film on his birthday - January 10. The movie also stars Saif Ali Khan. Hrithik has also confirmed that he will be returning with 'Krrish 4'. Reports are also there that the actor has been approached along with Kareena Kapoor Khan for an untitled project. However, there is no confirmation for it. If the actors give their nod to the film, they will team up together after their 2003 released 'Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoo'. Live TV New Delhi: The four labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations and occupation safety, health and working conditions are likely to be implemented from July 1, several media reports have quoted. Once implemented, the new wage code will impact working hours, salary restructuring and PF contribution, encashing of Earned Leaves among the prominent ones. (Also read: LIC IPO latest update: Check expected launch date and other details) As per reports at least 23 states have pre-published draft rules on these laws, while the Centre has completed the process of finalising the draft rules on these codes in February 2021. The central government has notified four labour codes, namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, on August 8, 2019, and the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on September 29, 2020. Since labour is a concurrent subject, the Centre wants the states to implement these as well in one go, as has been reported earlier. Reduced in-hand salary after implementation of Wage Code The government's notification on Code on Wages 2019 may reduce the take-home pay while components like PF and Gratuity might rise. This is based on the grounds that the new wage code mentions provision entailing that the employee's basic salary will be at least 50 percent of his/her net monthly CTC. Hence, if this provision comes into effect, it will mean that employees will not be able to get more than 50 percent of his/her net monthly salary in form of allowance. Higher PF after implementation of Wage Code This also means that there will be a consequent rise in gratuity and PF contribution of the employee. Hence, while the take home pay of the employees may be reduced, the Gratuity and PF component may rise. 12 hours work-week Experts also believe that the new draft will impact the working hours of employees with some media reports saying that employees may be allowed a four-day workweek but they will have to work for 12 hours on those four days. The labour ministry has apparently made it clear that 48-hour weekly work requirement is a must. Big changes in Earned Leave policy after new wage code implementation The biggest change could be seen in cases of Earned Leave. Government departments now allows 30 holidays in 1 year, defense employees get 60 holidays in 1 year. Employees can cash up to 300 holidays on carry forward, however the Labor union is demanding to increase number of holidays to 450 in new code. At present there are 240 to 300 holidays in different departments. Employees can take these holidays in cash only after 20 years of service. Live TV #mute New Delhi: Every year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) releases a holiday calendar that specifies which particular dates banks across the country stay closed. Banks will be closed for four consecutive days at the start of the month in May, according to the RBI holiday calendar. These holidays may also differ from state to state because they are based on state-specific celebrations. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) determines bank holidays in four categories: Negotiable Instruments Act, Holidays, Real-Time Gross Settlement Holiday, and Banks' Closing of Accounts, according to a report. Apart from national holidays, there are certain state-specific holidays, which include all Sundays as well as the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. Bank Holidays in May 2022: Full list May 1 (Sunday): May Day Across the country/ Maharashtra Day Maharashtra May 2 (Monday): Maharshi Parasuram Jayanti Several states May 3 (Tuesday): Idul Fitr, Basava Jayanti (Karnataka) May 4 (Wednesday): Idul Fitr Telangana May 9 (Monday): Guru Rabindranath Jayanti West Bengal and Tripura May 13 (Thursday): Idul Fitr National May 14 (Saturday): Second Saturday Bank Holiday May 16 (Monday): State Day, Buddha Purnima Sikkim and other states May 24 (Tuesday): Birthday of Kazi Nazrul Islam Sikkim May 28 (Saturday): Fourth Saturday Bank Holiday Apart from national holidays and weekend leaves, bank holidays are implemented based on regional events. Banks in India, however, stay closed on national holidays such as Independence Day. According to the RBI's list, banks are also closed on Sundays and the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. Live TV #mute New Delhi: Are you planning a trip to the UAE? If you are, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has some exciting news for you. NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), NPCI's international subsidiary, has announced that BHIM UPI is now available at NEOPAY terminals across the UAE. "This effort will enable Indian tourists to execute purchases using BHIM UPI, which has emerged as the preferred way of payment of Indian citizens," stated NIPL CEO Ritesh Shukla. To accomplish this, NIPL has collaborated with Mashreq Bank's payments division, NEOPAY, to develop an acceptance infrastructure via which Indian citizens will be able to make payments in the country using BHIM UPI. How will this function? Users must have a bank account in India with UPI activated in order to conduct transactions using UPI in the UAE. People must also have a smartphone app that supports UPI payments, such as BHIM. No. UPI payments will be accepted at merchants and establishments equipped with NEOPAY terminals. "The UAE is regularly one of the top source markets for Indian visitors and our relationship with NIPL will enable thousands of Indian tourists who visit the UAE every year to enjoy safe and seamless transactions," said Vibhor Mundhada, CEO of NEOPAY. NPCI's international arm, NIPL, has partnered with a number of international financial services providers to provide Indians with seamless transaction services. The UPI is accepted in Bhutan and Nepal, and it is expected to be operational in Singapore later this year. Live TV #mute New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India, on Friday (April 22), said that the regulator has slapped a fine of Rs 36 lakh on the Central Bank of India for violating norms on customer protection. In an official notification dated April 18, 2022, the RBI said it imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 36 lakh on the public sector bank for non-compliance with certain directions on 'Customer Protection. According to the RBI notification, the Central Bank of India limited the liability of customers in unauthorised electronic banking transactions. The regulator pointed out that the penalty has been imposed under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. "This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers," the RBI said. It was also mentioned in the notification that RBI had conducted a statutory inspection for supervisory evaluation of the bank with reference to its financial position as of March 31, 2020. The regulator also revealed the non-compliance with the relevant directions to the extent the bank failed to credit (shadow reversal) the amount involved in the unauthorised electronic transaction to the customer's account within 10 working days from the date of notification by the customer, it said. RBI also pointed out that the regulator had sent a notice to the Central Bank of India advising it to show cause as to why the penalty should not be imposed on it for failure to comply with the said directions. Also Read: Bank Holidays in May 2022: Banks to remain shut for 10 days; Full list here "After considering the bank's reply to the notice, oral submissions made in the personal hearing and examination of additional submissions made by it, RBI came to the conclusion that the aforesaid charge of non-compliance with the aforesaid RBI directions were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty, to the extent of non-compliance with such directions," said the release. Also Read: Old coin sells for Rs 30,500! Know what is so special about it and how you can sell your collectables As of now, RBI hasn't pointed out if bank customers need to worry about non-compliance with customer protection rules. The Central Bank of India is also yet to update the customers about the same. Live TV #mute Moscow: Russia has imposed personal sanctions on 29 US citizens, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and 61 Canadian citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. A total of 29 US citizens are included in Russia`s "stop list" in response to the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the US` Joe Biden Administration, the Russian Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. "Top US leaders, businessmen, experts and journalists, who are pursuing a Russophobic agenda, as well as the spouses of a number of high-ranking officials" are among those added to the list, and they will be denied entry to Russia for an indefinite term. Russia has also included a group of the Canadian government, defence, and media representatives in the country`s "stop list" in response to "the Russophobic course" pursued by Canada. Sixty-one Canadian citizens will be prohibited from entering Russia. The foreign ministry said the "stop list" would be expanded in the near future, in response to the hostile actions carried out by the United States and Canada. Live TV Washington: It is the United States, and not Russia, which is and will be India's "reliable" partner post the war in Ukraine, the Biden Administration pitched on Thursday, asserting that it is ready to go the extra mile to meet New Delhi's defence and national security needs. "I think there are real doubts about Russia's ability to be a reliable partner for the foreseeable future. Because Russia is burning through a tremendous amount of its own military equipment. So, it faces urgent resupply needs of its own," US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet told PTI in an interview. Of the rank of Under Secretary of State and a senior policy advisor to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chollet said the Biden administration is very much eager to work with India as it diversifies its defence capabilities and defence suppliers. "We very much want to be part of that. We're doing much more than we've ever done in the history of our relationship together in terms of defence. And so, as India's seeking to acquire new capabilities, the United States very much wants to be a partner with India in that effort," he said. Chollet argued that the military equipment being supplied by Russia has shown it is lacking in capability. "The difficulty of doing business with Russia is only going to grow over time. It's become much harder given all the sanctions placed on Russia in the last 12 weeks," he said. "Also, the export control against Russia... Russia's inability to import key technologies to be able to make certain products, including some of its military hardware, are going to mean that it's going to have a hard time even getting the capability to replace or to produce this kind of material. So, any way you look at it in terms of actual capability, in terms of the difficulty of doing business with Russia, in terms of the reputation costs associated, Russia is just a far less attractive partner, he said. However, Chollet evaded a direct answer to the question on the US deploying its Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal in December 1971 during the India-Pakistan War, which many in India say is a symbol of the US also not being a reliable partner when needed. "The US has shown throughout the course of this conflict, something we believe deeply, that we are a very reliable partner. If you think back...The United States made the decision to start sharing some of the most sensitive intelligence that we had about Russia's planning and intentions when it came to Ukraine, our effort to share as much information as we possibly could with our friends and allies around the world in the spirit of being a reliable partner and in trying to bring the world and make them together and to make them aware of what we were seeing and try to create a unified effort, he said. Chollet asserted that the India-US relationship has not been impacted by the Ukrainian war. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not impacted the relationship between the US and India. The US-India relationship is deep, it's strong, he said, adding that it has bipartisan support in Washington. "Obviously, we have talked with our Indian friends about everything from votes in the UN to the defence relationship with Russia. It was a topic of conversation at 2+2 (ministerial meeting) recently, but we fully understand the position that India is in given its long-standing defence relationship with Russia, he said. "It's important to note that from our perspective we see that the defence relationship (between India and Russia) in a way started and flourished at a time when the United States was not available as a partner to India. Obviously, we are in a much different moment right now, he said. The US-India defence relationship is in a much different and more positive place than it was even 10 years ago. One of the significant outgrowths of the 2+2 process is the potential and the continued growth of the US-India defence relationship, he said. The agenda of the 2+2 meeting was just a further example of the breadth and depth of the strategic relationship between the US and India. Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held the 2-2 ministerial dialogue in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. The 2+2 ministerial meeting was preceded by a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden. Chollet said that the Biden administration as of now has not taken any decision on CAATSA sanctions now that India has started receiving S-400 missile equipments from Russia. "We have made no decision on that (CAATSA sanctions). Obviously, we are getting back to the overall theme of our desire to strengthen our defence partnership with India. We are very much eager to work with India..., he said. Referring to the progress in the India-US relationship since the Clinton administration irrespective of which party is in power, Chollet said it is like a rocket shooting into space with different stages. "We are building on the work of our predecessors. It is important -- it's both Republicans and Democrats and there has been a very steady trajectory of closer cooperation and closer partnership. We are led by the people-to-people ties between our two countries, he said. In many ways, when it comes to the US-India relationship our governments are having to catch up to where our people are and our societies are, he said. Live TV MADISON A South Dakota woman ordered to stop practicing midwifery in Nebraska without a license is facing a felony charge in Madison County. Judy Jones, 74, of Irene, South Dakota, appeared before County Judge Michael Long on Tuesday after she was charged with unlicensed practice of nurse midwifery on March 16. Stu Dornan, Jones attorney, requested a preliminary hearing to determine whether probable cause exists to bind the felony charge over to Madison County District Court. It is alleged that Jones, after receiving a cease-and-desist order, practiced without having obtained a credential under the Uniform Credentialing Act between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2021. The charge is a Class 3 felony punishable by up to 4 years imprisonment, a $25,000 fine or both. Post-release supervision also could be ordered if Jones is convicted. Per the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the care that licensed midwife nurses are permitted to provide in Nebraska includes attendance at childbirth; prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care; normal obstetrical and gynecological services for women; and care for the newborn immediately following birth. In Nebraska, only medical doctors or physicians assistants under the direction of a medical doctor are able to perform a preplanned at-home-delivery, said Jeff Powell, the interim deputy director for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Even licensed, certified nurse midwives cannot perform a preplanned delivery at a home, he said. Jones had been ordered to stop practicing in Nebraska without a license in 1999, and Powell said Jones has not sought a license as a certified nurse midwife in the state. In January 1993, Jones was permanently enjoined from practicing midwifery without a license in South Dakota after assisting in the at-home delivery of a child, according to South Dakota Supreme Court records. This is not the first time shes been accused of unlicensed midwifery practice. She assisted in two at-home births, one in August 1999 and one in March 2001 in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. And in April 2001, she was indicted on four counts of unlicensed practice of midwifery in connection with the two at-home births. Jones was previously found in contempt of the courts 1993 injunction not to practice without a license. Jones also had faced charges out of Custer County, Nebraska, in connection with the 2011 death of an infant boy. On April 15, 2011, Jones entered into a contract with the boys parents to spiritually minister to and support (the mother) during her pregnancy and in the delivery of their child, according to a civil case that Jones filed against law enforcement investigators and Custer County prosecutors in 2018. On Sept. 24, 2011, the woman gave birth to the boy at home and with Jones services. Shortly after birth, the infant had difficulty breathing and Jones provided rescue breathing until the boy was transported to a medical center in Broken Bow. The boy was transported to a hospital in Kearney and then to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha. He was placed on hospice care on Oct. 11 and died nine days later. Jones had at one point faced felony charges in connection with the boys death, including manslaughter. The case saw numerous delays and, in October 2015, it was dismissed after prosecutors said the parties involved in the case no longer wished to proceed. A Madison County victim/witness assistant said the alleged recipient of Jones Madison County services made reports to a hospital, apparently resulting in an investigation that incriminated her. Jones preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday, June 6. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 LONDON: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said that it strongly recommends Pfizers Covid-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid for patients with milder forms of the disease who were still at a high risk of hospitalization, said news agency AFP. However, the global health agency warned that it was extremely concerned that the inequality in access seen with Covid-19 vaccines would again leave low-and-middle-income countries pushed to the end of the queue. The WHO experts said in the BMJ medical journal that US pharma giant Pfizers combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir was the superior choice of treatment for unvaccinated, elderly or immunocompromised people with Covid-19. For the same patients, the WHO also made a conditional (weak) recommendation of the antiviral drug remdesivir, made by US biotech firm Gilead, that it had previously recommended against. The WHO recommended Paxlovid over remdesivir, as well as over Mercks molnupiravir pill and monoclonal antibodies, news agency AFP reported. Pfizers oral treatment prevents hospitalization more than the available alternatives, has fewer concerns with respect to harms than molnupiravir, and is easier to administer than intravenous remdesivir and antibodies, the WHOs experts said. The new recommendation was based on the findings of two trials involving almost 3,100 patients which showed that Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospital admission by 85%. Meanwhile, Johns Hopkins scientist Amita Gupta has warned that vaccine inequity remains an issue both within India, where less than 2 per cent of the population has received a Covid booster, and the globe with 56 countries unable to inoculate even 10 percent of their people. Tracking hospitalisation rates which provide an indicator of the severity of illness is key, the chief of the Division of Infectious Disease, and Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said while stressing that no one is safe from Covid until everyone in the world gets vaccinated. She cited the example of the Omicron variant to buttress her point. The highly transmissible variant is believed to have emerged in November last year in South Africa and Botswana due to inadequate immunisation in African countries before spreading globally, Gupta said, adding that another variant is likely to follow the same trend. Meanwhile, an expert panel of India's central drug authority has recommended granting emergency use authorisation for Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for children in the five to 11 years age group with certain conditions, official sources said on Thursday. The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the CDSCO has, on the other hand, sought more data from Bharat Biotech to review its emergency use authorisation (EUA) application for use of Covaxin among those aged two to 11 years, they said. The SEC has also recommended the grant of emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Cadila for their ZyCoV-D vaccine for an additional dose of 3mg with a two-jab inoculation schedule 28 days apart for those aged 12 years and above, another source said. Presently, ZyCoV-D is approved for a 2mg three-dose vaccination schedule. Biological E's Corbevax is being used to inoculate children against COVID-19 in the age group of 12 to 14 years. Covaxin has been granted Emergency Use Listing by the DCGI for the age group of 12 to 18 years on December 24, 2021. India began inoculating children aged 12-14 on March 16. (With PTI Inputs) Live TV CEDAR FALLS One person has been arrested in connection with an overnight robbery in a Cedar Falls parking lot. Police said the robber demanded payment through a mobile payment app. Cedar Falls police arrested 20-year-old Isaiah Malik Pratt for second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary and possession of marijuana. Officers were called to the Planet Fitness, 6301 University Ave., shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday for a report that two people had been robbed. According to court records, Pratt approached two people sitting in a vehicle in the businesss parking lot, put his hand in the drivers side window and asked for money. When they declined, he wandered off but returned a short time later and climbed into the back seat their vehicle. He held his hand in his pocket as if he was armed and threatened to stick them if they left, records state. He then told them to send him $47 through CashApp, a mobile payment system, according to court records. The robber left in a silver vehicle, according to witnesses. Officers found Pratt a short time later and detained him. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Tri County FBLA attended the State Leadership Conference in Kearney on April 11-13 at the Younes Conference Center. On Monday afternoon, the conference opened with a general session which included awards for outstanding members, chapters, and businesses. After awards keynote speaker Brooks Harper spoke on leadership and taking advantage of opportunity. Speeches from state officer candidates followed, including presidential candidate Payton Smidt, Tri County Sophomore and FBLA Reporter. Payton used the slogan Keep Pace with Payton to introduce her goals for Nebraska FBLA including pursuing new members, activating and energizing chapters, and empowering members to serve their communities. After the session, Payton ran a campaign booth with the help of other Tri County FBLA members and promoted her campaign using displays, brochures, stickers, and business cards. On Monday evening, a formal caucus was held in which officer candidates were seated onstage to answer questions submitted by chapters throughout the state. Voting delegates attend this event to prepare to choose which candidate they will vote for. On Tuesday, members competed in objective tests such as Personal Finance and Accounting, attended workshops such as Time Management and How to Prepare for an Interview, and worked at Paytons campaign booth. Tuesday evening, the delegate assembly was held in which representatives from each chapter elected officers for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Reporter. Payton Smidt received a majority of votes and was elected as Nebraska FBLA State President for the 2022-2023 membership year. That evening, Tri County FBLA attended the Chapter awards ceremony and received the Sweepstakes award. The Sweepstakes Award involves completing a number of ribbon projects such as Go Green, March of Dimes, and writing reports about the chapters activities. This is the 40th consecutive year that Tri County FBLA has won the Sweepstakes award. The chapter then attended the FBLA Olympics in which members were divided into teams with members from chapters across the state to compete in minute-to-win-it style games to reach the final round for a prize. On Wednesday, Tri County FBLA attended the Awards of Excellence ceremony. Finalists for each test were awarded certificates, and the top 3 in each event received trophies and qualified for the National Leadership Conference in Chicago in June. Jackson McNiff received honorable mention in Computer Problem Solving. During this ceremony, Payton Smidt was installed as Nebraska FBLA State President. Payton will serve on the FBLA Board of Directors and lead the Nebraska delegation at the National Conference in Chicago June 29 to July 2. It is an honor for her to hold this position and Tri County FBLA is very proud. Payton is the fourth Tri County FBLA member to be elected to a state officer position, and second ever State President. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The members of the Legislature said their goodbyes this week, as the session adjourned on Wednesday. Foremost among the farewells was a memorial service and tribute to former state senator Dennis Byars of Beatrice, who represented District 30 longer than any other to date. He was laid to rest on Tuesday, and I was privileged to serve as an honorary pallbearer. We are so grateful for his unwavering support of those with developmental disabilities and his dedicated service at many levels of local and state government. The final day of session was largely ceremonial in nature, with an opportunity to congratulate outgoing senators and hear from the Governor. I was gratified to get a number of measures enacted by the Legislature in this extremely busy short session. My priority bill, LB 1261e, was signed into law by the Governor during a ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. The bill amends the Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act with the goal of promoting investment in Nebraska agriculture through livestock modernization or expansion and to encourage businesses to locate in rural Nebraska. This Act, administered by the Nebraska Department of Revenue, provides a refundable credit against taxes for investments in livestock production. These are awarded through an application process. LB 1261e also includes provisions from LB 596 to provide tax credits to fuel retailers selling E15 or higher blends of ethanol. The e clause means the bill went into effect immediately upon the Governors signature on Tuesday. Another of my bills, LB 761, the Precision Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Act was amended into a Transportation Committee bill, LB 1144. The goal is to obtain better connectivity with specific download and upload speeds, especially in unserved agricultural areas of the state. Uses of improved connectivity include on-farm traceability solutions; products that improve soil health, water management tools, and seeds that lower water, carbon, and nitrate footprint; and products using autonomous solutions (self driving) in agricultural equipment. LB 707 was a bill I introduced to clean up statutes relating to out-of-state auctioneers selling real estate in Nebraska, and was included in the Banking Committee bill, LB 811. That bill was passed in mid April. Some of the bills I introduced this session were amended into LB 1014, which distributed the $1.04 billion coming into Nebraska through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for Covid related expenditures. This measure included four of my bills: LB 760, grants to EMS programs; LB 968 for affordable housing; LB 996 for assisted living facilities; and LB 1091 for scholarships to college students in nursing. I had three bills incorporated into the budget bills which were moved out of the Appropriations Committee. Budget bill LB 1011 was the vehicle for my LB 762, providing funding for behavioral health. Budget bill LB 1012 included LB 759 and LB 1090, dealing with loans and grants for small business. Looking back over the session, I would say the biggest accomplishment was on the revenue side, through the tax rate reductions in LB 873. What this will ultimately do for many people in the State of Nebraska is give back some taxes, not only on Social Security and income tax but also through property tax credits paid on community colleges. This will help a broad segment of the people in our state. It took a lot of work to get this done. Three different tries on three different bills, but long-term it will have a huge impact. As for a disappointment, I would have to say it was the failure to enact justice reforms (LB 920) as a part of reducing Nebraskas serious prison overcrowding problem. From an interim study, we had twenty one recommendations and seventeen of those were generally agreed upon by all of the senators. There were four issues that were an obstacle. Both sides visited about LB 920 multiple times, including senators, the Speaker and the Governor. I estimate we had probably forty hours of discussion on the sentencing reforms on the floor and the bill failed to advance. If or when the state builds a new prison, without justice reforms the state is likely to be right back at that 150% of capacity level. Not to have something meaningful come out of all that, for me, was disappointing. Looking ahead, the interim months between now and January offer many opportunities to study the issues, learn about new ones and evaluate what is most important going forward. Each year has challenges and chances to make things better for our District and the entire state. I encourage you to contact me through my office, which is staffed all year. We will work to help with any questions regarding the state government or concerns you may have. We also welcome your ideas and suggestions for future legislation. mdorn@leg.ne.gov 402-471-2620 District 30, State Capitol, PO Box 94604 Lincoln NE 68509-8604 Thank you! Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 City College at Montana State University Billings paramedic program was recently reaccredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions. Program accreditations are important since it assures current and prospective students, along with employers, that City College offers quality programs that uphold the highest level of academic and industry standards. This program accreditation is no different, and graduates of the paramedic program enjoy a 100 percent pass rate and a 100 percent job placement rate as a result. Sectors students are commonly recruited for upon program completion are ambulance services, fire departments, and helicopter services. This program prepares students for successful careers in all areas by requiring 900 hours of lab and classroom activity, which exposes them to real-world and hypothetical situations. Students must also complete an additional 900 hours of field work, which develop skills needed to perform under pressure. Student field work placements depend on their individual career goals. The program has sent students to Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, North Dakota, Texas, and California for field work. Nick Anderson, a former program graduate, shares that the paramedic program gave him a springboard into his career as a firefighter/paramedic for the City of Billings Fire Department. Anderson adds, "The program is intense and requires much effort, but is extremely rewarding. The instructors and preceptors for the program are hardworking, experienced, and talented, and helped me overcome challenges and obstacles I faced. Many have become my co-workers and great friends." For more information about the paramedic program at City College at MSU Billings, visit the program website or contact Chad Landon, paramedic program director at chad.landon@msubillings.edu. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When Dani was 17 and living in Whitefish, she thought her mom was just leaving town for a couple of weeks. Her parents had separated a few months earlier and she wasnt in the habit of living with her dad. When her mom went to visit family in California, Dani stayed behind. Being a 17-year-old, I was like, really excited, said Dani, who is now 19 and asked to be identified by her first name only. I was like, Oh yeah, like I got the place to myself, going to be super fun. But in reality, it wasnt fun at all, and it was actually really traumatic. Feeling alone and unsafe, Dani soon moved in with her best friends family. According to the federal governments definition, she was technically homeless. Her mom decided to relocate to California permanently, and Dani ended up living with her friends family for months, feeling grateful for their support while she navigated her changed reality. Without them, I think I would probably still be homeless, or even worse off than that, Dani said. Me seeking them out was what seemed to be really my only option. Homeless children and youth are officially defined as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including those who are living doubled or tripled-up in another household due to the loss of their own. In Montana, the Office of Public Instruction estimates that 4,709 students fit that category during the last school year, 487 of whom were unaccompanied, i.e., living without their families. In the three years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, that latter figure was even higher, with the statewide number of unaccompanied homeless youth ranging between 694 and 723. For decades, Montanas system of resources for homeless youth and young adults has been devastatingly sparse. One state-contracted report from 2020 found that of 1,315 emergency housing beds available statewide, only 43 were available to youth under the age of 18. Many of those shelter programs and group homes are located in the western part of the state and serve specific populations youth who are pregnant or parenting, for example, or referred for behavioral issues. Some programs have conditions for admission, like drug tests or attending in high school. Montana law presents another requirement for residential programs and group homes that serve minors: Participants must either be legally emancipated or have the consent of a parent or guardian in order to stay overnight hurdles that many youth cannot overcome. A bipartisan effort in the state Legislature to change that statute failed by one vote in 2021. Given the multiple restrictions, many local service providers are using creative methods to help homeless youth and young adults, including hiring staff to help kids find shelter and appealing directly to landlords willing to rent to certain tenants. Progress, providers say, is often laborious and incremental. This is a real problem across the board, said Nichole Heyer, a youth homelessness navigator at Montana Legal Services Association. Making sure that every kid has a safe, happy, healthy place to be raised? Yeah. Were not quite there. FEDERAL MONEY, LOCAL EXPERIMENTS In 2019, under the Trump administration, Montana received roughly $3.4 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help create a range of housing options for homeless youth across the state. The program is known as the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, or YHDP. That money has since been distributed to 12 grantees around Montana, creating a cohort of providers working toward the same goal in distinct ways. Dawson Community College in Glendive, for example, is providing homeless youth with year-round campus housing while they work toward completing a two-year college program of their choice the goal is to help participants leave the program debt-free with a degree in hand. Tumbleweed, a Billings organization that serves runaway and homeless youth, has added a staff member to help youth navigate the systems of available services. Missoulas Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) is using its grant money to help young adults pay for affordable housing units, which often involves staff members convincing landlords to rent to people with marginal income and no credit history. The diversity and range of programs is in line with HUDs vision for the program, said Keegan Flaherty, who coordinates Montanas YHDP through a contract with the states Continuum of Care Coalition. She said the grant program approaches youth homelessness with a see-what-works mentality. Its a demonstration program. That means no one knows what theyre doing, said Flaherty, who also emphasized the invaluable experience of the service providers who became YHDP grantees. Everyones just trying. Taken together, the YHDP grantees are working on more than a dozen projects to target youth homelessness. They aim to identify and create 45 additional beds for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, ranging from transitional housing options to more permanent placements. Though each provider is trying its own approach, YHDP grantees are organized around a common set of principles outlined by HUD. Among them: Grantees must work with youth partners in developing their services and be trauma-informed to support particularly at-risk demographics, including Indigenous people and LGBTQ youth. Because of these requirements, Montanas YHDP includes a paid advisory board of young people who have experienced homelessness. Dani is one of the current members. Since January 2021, the youth board has given feedback on how the grantees can strengthen their services. Among their recommendations, the youth advisers have suggested modifying intake forms to communicate respect and care for the young people seeking services. If youre already in a bad situation, having somebody treat you lesser doesnt make you feel good, said L., a member of the advisory board from Billings who asked to be identified by her first initial to maintain her privacy. It kind of just keeps those barriers up. Another HUD requirement is that providers sign on to a housing first philosophy meaning their housing programs have a low barrier or no barrier to participation. In theory, grantees would be prohibited from requiring drug tests, sobriety, high school enrollment or any other standard for young people seeking services. Youth engagement, equity, focusing on special populations, is new for a lot of service providers, Flaherty said. Theyre aware of it, but they have never had funding, that Im aware of, thats so specific. Like, you have to do these things. Though complying with the red tape of a federal program may be arduous for providers, Flaherty said its driven by a purpose: making services actually work for young people who are looking for an open door. THE AFFORDABILITY HURDLE Advocates for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness consistently point to affordable housing as a key resource that is lacking. In other words, providers are looking for landlords, developers and property managers who are willing to rent to the young adults in their programs, many of whom are receiving financial support from the nonprofit grantee. I think that if we had more units, I think we would be able to serve more youth, said Kristen Chambers, who oversees programs for homeless youth at Action Inc. The Butte-based organization has recently begun leasing six apartments for youth age 18 to 24 through one landlord on the private market. Without more affordable apartments tailored to the need, providers said, the obstacle course for low-income youth and young adults will only continue. In increasingly expensive cities like Missoula and Bozeman, helping young people elbow their way into the competitive housing markets can seem like a Sisyphean task. Providers say thats partly because of stigma. I think theres a lot of judgment on youth and young adults, said Christina Dunbar, a housing navigator with Missoulas HRDC. Like, Oh, well, theyre just lazy and theyre not working. No, theyre making $14 an hour and rent is 70% of their income. Whereas some young people might be able to rely on family for financial support, Dunbar said, youth in her program dont have any of that. As affordable housing units and cooperative landlords remain scarce, many youth and young adults are left to couch surf with friends or partners. That might offer young people temporary stability, but such living situations can also introduce them to more risk. L., the Billings-based member of the youth advisory board, stayed with extended family and romantic partners after her parents told her to move out when she was 18. While she had a roof over her head, L. said many of her living situations were filled with domestic violence, forcing her to jump from one to another to another. Now the mother of a 6-month-old baby, L. is employed and living in temporary housing for low-income people who are pregnant or parenting. Becoming a mom, she said, has only increased her motivation to find stable housing. Her goal is to eventually become a homeowner. Many providers have come to expect that young people in their programs have been through similar rollercoasters in their quest to find housing. While no two situations are identical, providers often understand homelessness as an origin point for other traumatic experiences the first domino in a series of destabilizing events. Whenever a provider intersects with a young person, Flaherty said, the goal is to make their period of hardship as brief as possible. If someone is housing insecure or homeless at a young age, lets stop it now, Flaherty said. So in the future it doesnt happen again. EVERYBODYS PROBLEM Providers and advocates repeatedly described youth homelessness as an issue thats relevant to Montana as a whole, in part because of how entangled the issue is with other social problems. Nationwide, Black and Indigenous youth experience homelessness at disproportionately high rates, as do people who identify as LGBTQ. Youth who have been engaged in the foster care system also have an increased likelihood of experiencing homelessness. The National Network for Youth, a policy research and advocacy group, also describes the link between youth homelessness and the criminal legal system as a two-way relationship in which young people are at increased risk of arrest. Homelessness can funnel people into other dangerous situations as well many young people who have been trafficked for sex identify themselves as former runaways. Advocates say interfering with these pipelines, and preventing youth from entering them in the first place, requires engagement from all corners of a community and all levels of government. It takes a village to raise a kid, right? Flaherty said. And it takes a village to wrap their arms around someone whos in crisis. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Montana has temporarily closed the Veterans long-term care center in Miles City following concerns over patient safety, the agency said Thursday. In December, the VAs regional office received a self-report from the facility over concerns for patient safety. The VA did not disclose the nature of the concerns or whether any veterans were harmed as a result of the concerns other than to say they were valid. The VA reportedly investigated the situation at the CLC in Miles City through an administrative review process, deemed the concerns justified and decided to move the veterans at the facility to other long-term care centers, according to Montana VA spokesperson Matt Rosine. In Dec. 2021, Montana VA identified concerns with patient safety. VA pursued multiple processes to include inspections, investigations, and inquiries to fully evaluate the CLC, read a press release Thursday afternoon issued in response to questions from the Billings Gazette. Currently, the VA is working with the veterans living at the center and their families to relocate them to other care homes. Those facilities could include local nursing homes or other federally-managed homes like the care center at the VA Hospital at Fort Harrison near Helena according to people familiar with the situation. After the veterans have been moved from the home, the temporary closure will allow the VA to recruit, train and increase staffing requirements to the level of care the VA deems necessary to reopen the living center. The safety and well-being of our veterans is our highest priority. Due to staffing challenges, we are unable to ensure that a critical level of high-quality care can be provided to residents, said Montanas VA Executive Director Dr. Judy Hayman via the press release. We are proactively transitioning Veterans to other locations based on their and their families' preference. Currently the home, which treats long-term patients in need of skilled-nursing and complex care, is home to 14 veterans. The facility employs 40 people but has staffing shortages in five areas, according to the VA. Those include physical therapy, social work, nursing leadership, nurse educator, and recreation therapy. Sen. Steve Daines office said they were aware of the closure in Miles City and the Senator is looking into the situation. He added in a statement that he is committed to doing everything he can to support and care for Montanas veterans." Sen. Jon Testers office said they were also aware of the closure Thursday and the Senator had been in contact with Department of Veterans Affairs officials to look into the situation. Im deeply concerned with what has transpired at the VAs Miles City Community Living Center. The issues that have been brought to my attention and to that of VA leadership are unacceptable, and I'll be working to hold anyone found responsible of wrongdoing accountable. The Montana VA Health Care System serves more than 47,000 enrolled Veterans across Montana with a staff of 1,400 at 18 care sites across the state. One third of Montana VA employees are veterans, according to the Montana VA press release. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 9 Angry 15 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. TOWNSEND A judge on Friday sentenced 66-year-old Lloyd Barrus to life without parole in the Montana State Prison for his role in the 2017 shooting death of Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore. District Judge Kathy Seeley also gave Barrus two additional life sentences for a high-speed chase he and his son, Marshall Barrus, had with police that ended in a shootout 100 miles away in Missoula County. Marshall Barrus was mortally wounded in the shootout. The three life sentences will run concurrently. Several people, including Moores wife, Jodi, gave statements inside a packed courtroom in the Broadwater County Courthouse before Seeley imposed the sentence. Jodi Moore said her husband was executed at close range. Execute. Thats what he did. Lets call it that, she said. Please do not allow this man the opportunity or possibility to ever do this again to another family. He has proven by his past behavior that he will do this again and again. Seeley said it was, indeed, an execution. I dont know that there was a plan per se, but these two men with their extremist anti-government beliefs were both out of control, and they both made bad choices over and over that evening, Seeley said. I do not believe if he is out in the streets that the public will be safe. Barrus showed little emotion during the hearing but did speak briefly. I am truly sorry for the loss, uh, the Moore familys loss, he said, flanked by defense attorneys Craig Shannon and Greg Jackson. My son I dont see how anybody could be more upset than I am for what happened here. Prosecutors say Lloyd and Marshall Barrus held anti-law enforcement views and were on a suicide mission on May 16, 2017, when they provoked Deputy Moore shortly after 2 a.m. by passing him on U.S. 287 south of Townsend driving 100 mph. They were in a Chevy Suburban and Lloyd Barrus was driving. They say Moore was struck in the face by a bullet through his windshield, his car stopped in the grass just south of Three Forks, and he was alive until the Suburban returned four minutes later and additional gunshots from a semi-automatic rifle ended his life. They say Marshall Barrus fired the mortal rounds. Butte-Silver Bow police spotted the Suburban moving westbound on I-90 about an hour later and started a 90-mile chase, ending in a shootout in Missoula County. Bullets fired from the Suburban knocked two Butte patrol cars from the pursuit, but by then troopers and police from several counties were involved. The Suburban came to a stop just inside Missoula County, its tires shredded by stop-sticks, and a firefight broke out. Marshall was hit and later died while Barrus escaped injury and was arrested. In September, a jury in Butte found Barrus guilty of deliberate homicide by accountability in Moores death, and of two counts of attempted deliberate homicide for the high-speed chase and shootout. Defense attorneys for Barrus argued Friday, as they have the past five years, that Barrus suffered from mental illness and severe delusional disorders. They wanted him to be sentenced to Montana State Hospital. Who was driving that car? His delusional disorder was, Shannon told the judge. But Seeley had already decided he was going to Montana State Prison so the only question was for how long. Seeley ruled last month that even though Barrus was paranoid in the days leading up to Moores death, he understood the criminality and wrongfulness of his actions. Her ruling meant Barrus would be sent to state prison as prosecutors requested. Moores brother, Nebraska Moore, told the judge Friday Barrus should never have been free to commit the crimes he did that night. In March 2000, Lloyd Barrus, another son and a woman were arrested after a high-speed chase and armed standoff with police in Death Valley, California, that lasted more than 18 hours. They eventually exchanged gunfire with police and reportedly damaged a California Highway Patrol helicopter and forced it to land. Barrus was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was ultimately released. The state of California, in its infinite wisdom, released the convicted individual from confinement to do what he said he was born to do to attack and ultimately kill law enforcement officers, Nebraska Moore said. That Barrus was not going to be executed by the state of Montana was an unwarranted mercy, he said. The next time I make popcorn, I will regret that I am not eating it at his execution, he said. The next time I have a beer, I will take great satisfaction in knowing that while there is alcohol in prison, its usually fermented in a trash bag in somebodys toilet. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty but dropped that because Barrus has had extensive mental health issues that could have been a significant mitigating circumstance for imposing death. At one point after charges were filed, Seeley ordered Barrus be given antipsychotic medications via injection to render him competent to stand trial and aid his defense, since he refused to take the drugs orally. He was ultimately cleared to stand trial. The case was prosecuted by Montana Department of Justice Attorneys Dan Guzynski and Stephanie Robles and Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson, with help from several others. Guzynski said after Fridays hearing that under the circumstances, the sentence was the most severe allowed by law and he was pleased the judge imposed it. It honors Deputy Moore, his family and all the law enforcement officers that were involved, he said. Moore was 42 when he was killed. He left behind Jodi and their three children. Two of their sons, now 18, were also in the courtroom Friday. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 Is anyone else getting tired of whiney Republicans? The most recent example is an editorial sent across the state by 57 Republican Legislators (Billings Gazette, April 15). Their complaint is, once again, a screed against the judiciary. Didnt any of them take eighth grade civics classes? What part of checks and balances dont they understand? This time around they are griping that a judge found several laws passed by the last legislature unconstitutional. The laws in question make it more difficult for people to vote. Why make voting in Montana more difficult? As usual, they trot out false arguments about voter fraud which have been proven repeatedly to be fake news. This is part of an effort by the Republican Party to undermine our faith in elections because Donald Trump lost the last one ... never mind that Montana Republicans won all the statewide offices and picked up many legislative seats in the last election. Its ironic that so many Republican legislators think their own victory was rigged by Democrats. Republicans in the last Legislature repeatedly demanded confidential documents from the Montana Supreme Court, which the court refused to provide. So, the Legislature enlisted Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen to complain on their behalf, taking their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. It was a complete waste of resources to assert the Legislatures inflated view of their own power. It's bad enough that they waste time and money on these efforts to protect and preserve their power, but every time they lose, they revert to slinging insults like school yard bullies. In this last editorial they say the judge they disagree with is an activist judge who doesnt like common sense. They go on to accuse the judge of being part of an imagined conspiracy, stating, Judge Moses unilaterally blocked all these commonsense laws at the request of the Montana Democratic machine. Quite an accusation considering the Republicans are in complete control of state government. As a part of their continuing war with the judiciary, the Republican Legislature eliminated the Judicial Nominating Commission so that Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte could appoint whoever he pleases to judicial vacancies. Once again, the Republicans complained about being treated unfairly by activist judges. And, as a result, handed complete power to appoint judges to their Republican pal in the governors office. Many people think this is all just political posturing. Thats true. But the Republicans are preoccupied with creating smoke where there is no fire. While they are pointing fingers at the liberal judiciary, they whine about the border wall, wolves stalking our mountains, gays, trans, antifa and socialists behind every tree, they are ignoring real problems that affect the day to day lives of Montanans. Where is their concern about the fact that the Warm Springs State Hospital is failing the patients it is meant to take care of? What are they doing for farmers and ranchers who face manipulated and unfair prices for their products? What are they doing about the thousands of people who cant find affordable housing? What about replacing and maintaining our aging infrastructure? These are serious issues, but Republicans dont talk much about them. Instead, Republicans are taking books out of local libraries, telling school boards what to teach in history class, arguing about masks, and promoting myths about election fraud. At the end of the day, these things have little to do with the quality of life here in Montana. The serious problems we face will not be addressed by the whining of overblown, self-important Republican legislators. Ken Toole is a former state senator and former vice chair of the Montana Public Service Commission. He is now retired and lives on an off-grid farm south of Great Falls. Love 28 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 25 Years Ago 1997 After 30 years and 4,800 students, the Mandan High School music department decided it was time to buy new uniforms, designed by a committee of parents and students, for the concert choir, concert band, jazz ensemble and marching band. The new attire, including marching band uniforms at $425 each, come with a $67,000 price tag, of which the committee has raised more than $40,000 in cash and pledges. North Dakota Tourism Director Kevin Cramer, has recognized the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation of Mandan with the 1997 Public or Nonprofit Travel and Tourism Entity award at the states annual tourism conference held in Bismarck. The Mandan Rural Fire Department held its annual election April 10 and elected new officers for 1997-98. They are: John Bullinger, chief; Dale Kraft, assistant chief; Dave Stegmiller, secretary; Ken Zander and Dave Walth, Mandan captains; Mike Gartner, St. Anthony captain; Tim Sheldon and Don Friesz, Mandan lieutenants; Lynn Gustin and John Miller, St. Anthony lieutenants. Temps recorded Tuesday, April 22: a high of 60 degrees above zero; 40 degrees for the low. 50 Years Ago 1972 Mandan voters have elected Dr. Donald A. Carlsen as their new mayor in a record municipal election turnout. Carlson, who easily defeated city commissioner Harry A. Kautzman, succeeds A.R. Shaw who did not seek reelection. Two new commissioners were also elected - William Helbling and Peter R. Hoffman; they replace Kautzman and Paul Hoffman. In the municipal judge race, William Engelter Jr. defeated incumbent Municipal Judge Patrick S. ONeil. The 3,684 ballots cast in this election was a record; the previous high was 2,862 in 1964. The Mandan Rural Fire Department has elected Harold Helferich, chief, and Donald Shaw, assistant chief, for their 11th term in office. Helferich has been with the department since it was organized in 1961. He also served as chief of the Hebron Fire Department for five years before coming to Mandan. Shaw has served as secretary of the Fire District since 1961, along with his duties as a fireman. Other officers elected were Matt Baron, secretary; Ray Yantzer and Donald Depee, captains; and Jerry Sheldon and Robert Pettitt, lieutenants. Ernest Borr, whos been associated with the Mandan Public Schools music program for the past 14 years, is moving onto Mary College as director of instrumental music and assistant professor in the Humanities division, effective July 1. Before arriving in Mandan, Borr served in the military and was an instructor at Napoleon High School. During his years at MHS, his bands and music students achieved numerous honors in high school music competition, with the concert band being chosen as the 1971 Governors Band. Borr is also a past president of the ND Education Association and is currently president of the ND Music Educators Association. The 44th Academy Awards were held this past week in Los Angeles. Winning Best Picture was The French Connection, starring Best Actor winner, Gene Hackman. The films director, William Friedkin, received the Best Director award. Jane Fonda received the Best Actress award for her role in Klute. The Best Supporting Actor and Actress winners were Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman, for their roles in The Last Picture Show. 75 Years Ago 1947 Arnold E. Larson of Mandan has been selected as director of the projected Army Reserve band which, when fully organized, will be composed of 28 enlisted men living in the Mandan-Bismarck area. Larson was selected by Col. L.B. Wyant, state senior instructor, Organized Reserves. An election of officers for the coming year was the main feature of Mondays luncheon meeting of the Mandan Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Mrs. E.D. Tostevin, as Regent, is the new chapter head; she succeeds Mrs. Art Olson. Other officers are Mrs. W.H Stutsman, vice-regent; Mrs. C.C. Gurtner and Mrs. W. Shemp, recording and corresponding secretaries; Mrs. G.W. Stewart, registrar, and Mrs. L.N. Cary, chaplain. Work on the new Farmers Union elevator, being constructed on the Northern Pacific right of way on East Main Street, is well under way. The elevator is to have a capacity of 45,000 bushels and will stand 106 feet high. A three-tiered anniversary cake, decorated in the colors of the rainbow, centered the tea table when members of the Mandan Assembly of Rainbow for Girls entertained more than 100 guests in the Masonic Temple, marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the order. The cake was baked by Mrs. Harry M. Hunke, mother advisory of the assembly. The evenings proceeds will be sent to the Eastern Star home at Fessenden. Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Lindsay has announced the engagement of their daughter, Colleen, to Dr. Sidney O. Hughes, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Hughes, also of Mandan. Miss Lindsay is a 1944 graduate of Mandan High School and has been attending Iowa State College at Ames, Iowa. Hughes is a 1940 graduate of Mandan High School and attended Jamestown College, before going to the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks to study medicine. He plans to return to Philadelphia in July to intern at the Presbyterian hospital. Births announced this week: Boys, born to Mr. and Mrs. Maurice LaGrave, to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bernhardt, to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Schlosser, to Mr. and Mrs. Orin Baertsch and to Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Volk, all of Mandan. Girls, born to Mr. and Mrs. Adam Bullinger, St. Anthony; and to Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Mahowald and to Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Flaten, all of Mandan. 100 Years Ago 1922 John Kopp, laborer, resident in the Dogtown district, is one of those chaps that wont learn a lesson, says States Attorney L.H. Connolly. Kopps home was raided this week for a fourth time in the past six months and resulted in another arrest on charges of manufacturing intoxicating liquor. The home of Matt Zander, formerly on Mandans night police force, was also raided and a complete still, two gallons of home brew and other moonshine equipment were also seized. Zander lives in the Syndicate, near the fairgrounds. The raids were carried out by Deputy Sheriff Gabe Eckroth and two U.S. prohibition agents. Miss Josephine Wetsch, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Phil Wetsch of the city, and Jacob Stumpf, son of Martin Stumpf, were married at a nuptial mass at the St. Joseph Church on Tuesday evening, with Rev. Fr. Clement officiating. The newlyweds will make their home on the Stumpf farm, southwest of Mandan. A startling decrease in the number of marriage licenses issued at the office of County Judge B.W. Shaw has been discovered. Since January 1st, only 21 permits have been issued as of April 21. For the same time frame in 1921, there were 41 licenses issued. The local Boy Scout troop will have a personal part in the dance which is to be held Friday evening at the Elks Hall for the benefit of the scout patrols. The boys will be serving lunch and punch, work the coats room and otherwise make themselves generally useful. Proceeds from the dance will go to the purchase of tents and other camping equipment for the boys to use during the summer. 125 Years Ago 1897 At 2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 22, the thermometer recorded 64 degrees above zero. C.E.V. Draper has been appointed county coroner in place of Z. Gilbert, deceased. The ugly, though very useful, snow fences along the railroad right-of-way within the city limits have been taken down and piled away for the summer. There will be a quantity of sugar beet seeds for free distribution in the hands of Secretary Timmerman in a few days. Parties, desiring some for experiment, should forward their names at once. Word has been received at the Mandan post office that the office known as Cynch is to be discontinued on April 30th. After that date, parties using Cynch as their address, must get their mail at Mandan. The tin-horn gamblers have been given until tomorrow night to leave town. If they tarry longer, officer Clark and States Attorney Voss will make their lives miserable. Negotiations between Foran & Company, the proprietors of the Union Hotel, and W.B. McLean, were closed this week, and the business has passed into the hands of Mr. McLean. The new proprietor informs the Pioneer that he proposes to conduct this well-known hotel as a good $2 house. (In the 1922 Pioneer newspaper, the Union Hotel is located at 214 West Main St.) Diane Boit can be reached at dboit46@gmail.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A recently appointed state legislator is calling on the North Dakota attorney general to determine if the state owns the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge. Sen. Tracy Potter, D-Bismarck, requested an opinion from the attorney general's office Monday to settle the ownership dispute, which the office has previously declined to wade into. The nonprofit Friends of the Rail Bridge wants to stop BNSF Railway from demolishing the 139-year-old bridge spanning the Missouri River to make way for a new structure. The preservation group and the railroad signed an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard in early 2021 outlining paths to either keeping or removing the bridge. The Coast Guard decides on projects proposed along that part of the river, and the permitting process for a new bridge has been ongoing for more than four years. The nonprofit earlier this year said it believes state ownership of the bridge would bolster its cause. The railway called those ownership claims "absurd" and questioned the timing. The Attorney General's office previously told the State Historic Preservation Office and the State Historical Society that it would not get involved in the ownership dispute because no state entity was involved. Potter said he thinks the State Historical Society has a "statutory responsibility" to determine if the bridge has historical interest if it is owned by the state. He added that no state officials had voiced any opposition to the idea of the state owning the bridge. He did not say whether any expressed interest. If the attorney general declines to issue an opinion or says the bridge does not belong to the state, then the preservation effort continues as it is, he said. "But if the attorney general says yes, then all of the dreams people have had about the preservation of the bridge come into play immediately," Potter said. The attorney general is reviewing the request, spokeswoman Liz Brocker said. Potter said the preservation group did not ask him to request the opinion. FORB President Mark Zimmerman said Potter advised the group he'd be taking action. Bismarck-area District 35 Democrats in March appointed Potter to fill out the remainder of the term of Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, which expires at the end of November. Potter also is running for the seat in the November election. Oban recently resigned after President Joe Biden appointed her as state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development agency. She had previously chosen not to seek reelection to the Legislature this year due to what she said was the divisive nature of politics. Reach Sam Nelson at 701-250-8264 or sam.nelson@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Bring together a group of veterans and stories will follow. Bring them together for a two-day trip to Washington, D.C., and visits to war memorials, and the stories will only get better. Mel Mayher and Richard Pavliceck, both of Dickinson, sat down for breakfast at the Bismarck Airport on April 10. They drove from Dickinson together, and joined Jim Weaver, of Minot, whom they'd just met for the first time, for coffee and a doughnut as they waited to get on the Western North Dakota Honor Flight airplane. The new friends shortly were sharing stories of their experiences, the common bond among veterans of any military branch. Mayher, a Navy veteran, arrived in Vietnam on a ship with 2,500 Marines in 1965. The Marines and the sailors got along OK, but Mayher threw out a sly grin as he described the Marines Corps, which technically is a part of the U.S. Department of the Navy. They cant walk on water, he chuckled, adding they get their uniforms and their checks from us. That shot aside, Mayher said theres a lot of respect among veterans of all branches. Theres not a one of us that wouldnt back the other up, he said. Mayher, Pavliceck and Weaver were among 93 veterans treated to the trip on April 10 and 11. It was the first for the new chapter of the Honor Flight Network, which is dedicated to honoring military veterans with an expense-paid trip to the nations capital to view historic sites and war memorials. Trips are funded through business and private donations, service organizations and fundraisers. The trip last week evoked many memories for vets. It also provided them, volunteers and accompanying media with many new experiences, and many stories. Volunteering advice Among the volunteers on the flight was Army veteran Patience Mosbrucker, who along with her husband, Dwight, was making her first Honor Flight run. She was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland, at one point and had visited most of the monuments the veterans were scheduled to visit. Before the trip she told a number of vets to prepare themselves for what theyd see and how theyd react. Its super emotional, she said. When veterans get together, they speak a language no others speak, and they reveal things they wouldnt say to others." Remembering Dad It wasnt Weavers first trip to D.C. Of all hed seen before, the World War II Memorial was the most humbling. I cant describe it, he said April 10, and referred to all those who pitched in for the war cause. We wouldnt be where we are today if it wasnt for all these people. The next day, Weaver, a Vietnam vet, said while at the World War II memorial that it was special to him because his father was a veteran of the war and had served in Europe. His father died on Christmas Eve 11 years ago. I didnt make it down to Florida when he died, Weaver said. Marine response Mayhers comment about the the Marine Corps was one of at least two heard on the first day of the trip, and the Marines took a number of good-natured shots from veterans of other military branches. An Army vet mentioned that the person who kept asking the bus driver to stop at a liquor store must have been that Marine near the front of the bus. It could very well have been, quipped Marine veteran Bob Albrecht, of Bismarck. And the comment from the Navy man about Marines not being able to walk on water? Albrecht shrugged. The Navy, he said. Thats the sister to the Marine Corps. Albrecht after breaking rifle range records found himself as a forward observer and sniper in Vietnam in 1969. He and a radio man were sent as far north as they could get us. We did more observing than anything, he said. Albrecht was one of eight military personnel who carried President Dwight Eisenhowers casket into the Capitol Rotunda and escorted it by train to Abilene, Kansas, in 1969. Coming home When Albrecht returned from Southeast Asia he never imagined there would be a memorial like the Vietnam Wall, nor did Richard Dewitz, of Tappen, an Army veteran who served in 1967-68. Both said their return to North Dakota was much more friendly than what they saw when they arrived on the West Coast. At best we were ignored, Dewitz said. Some people made rude comments or acted like they were spitting on the ground in front of us. Protestors were few in number but quite vocal and drew considerable media attention, according to Dewitz. In reality, they were right to oppose (the war) because it didnt do any good, he said. But he disagrees with the way they protested and their treatment of returning soldiers. We did what we were asked to do because our country asked, he said. To him, the Vietnam memorial symbolizes people showing they did care, as a country. This makes the ones who were in combat feel better, he said. Eavesdropping Jim Blotter of Turtle Lake was stationed in Scotland during the Korean War. He was trained in radio repair -- fixing what he called some pretty sophisticated (expletive). We listened to the Russians, he said. He and his cousin Donald Sondrol, also of Turtle Lake, stood together as they took in the giant statue at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Sondrol was most grateful for the welcome at the D.C. airport Sunday by North Dakota National Guard soldiers stationed in the nation's capital, calling it the most impressive thing Ive seen so far. Job description Nicholas Ressler, 78, of Mandan, served in the Army during the Vietnam Era as an armored intelligence specialist. Thats a fancy way of saying 'scout,' which is a fancy way of saying 'bait,' he said. The changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery -- home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier -- stood out for him, not only for the dedication of the soldiers, but for the respect the monument -- the whole setup -- gives to the countrys military fallen. Is there another country that does what we do here? he said. Think of the dedication these young men have, the commitment. Its unbelievable. Ressler is the 11th of 12 children in his family. Seven, including one sister, served in the military. Tough duty The precision of the guards at Arlington impressed Lee Wolf, 73, of Center, an Army veteran who built roads and airstrips and helped locals in Vietnam with various projects. But Wolf didnt feel his expertise would cross over to the guard work done by the young men at Arlington. Im not that kind of person, he said. It takes a special person to do that. As the buses pulled into Arlington, driver Kokina Brown, of Baltimore, told the veterans to look for headstones with pointed tops. Some veterans requested them, she said, so no damn Yankee can sit on my headstone. Better now For Joe Gross, of Devils Lake, being greeted by North Dakota National Guard members at Baltimore-Washington International Airport was the best welcome home I ever received. Hes an Army veteran, and arrived in Vietnam's A Shau Valley after the battle of Hamburger Hill. I picked up body parts, he said, adding that the rest of his time in the Army never did get any better. He mustered out at Fort Lewis, Washington, and was greeted there by a woman he referred to as a skinhead. She threw a dirty diaper at him, soiling his uniform. Military police helped him find new clothes and told him it would be best if he didnt fly home in uniform. The political climate was only a little better when he got home. His wife, who was in nursing school at the time, had been hiding the truth about where Gross was and why he didnt visit her. She told her friends I was in prison, he said. They were married for 39 years before his wife died of cancer. Tears of gratitude A Wisconsin man visiting the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial struggled to talk about why he extended his hand to two Western North Dakota Honor Flight members. Dean Julien, 56, of Greendale, was in D.C. as a chaperone for a group of high school orchestra and chorus members. He and the vets went different directions after they shook hands, and the North Dakotans didnt see the tears stream from under his tinted glasses. I dont think they get enough accolades, he said. Shaking their hands and thanking them was something little I can do. Im just grateful. Appreciation The difficulty and hard work that went into organizing the Honor Flight wasnt lost on the veterans. Jim Brown, 86, of Reeder, said he appreciated the trip and called the task of putting it together immense. How long am I going to sit and daydream about this trip? he said. Brown noted the salutes and applause directed to the veterans from people at stoplights. The respect of the silent changing of the guard stood out for him too, as did the bigness of Washington, compared to little old downtown Reeder. The whole trip was so nice, the Navy veteran said. Others agreed. One took the microphone as the airplane approached Bismarck on Monday evening and asked the veterans to give Honor Flight staff a round of applause. He didnt have to ask twice. Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. North Dakota saw an uptick in COVID-19 cases over the week, and a state disease specialist says it's too soon to rule out the so-called "stealth omicron" subvariant of the coronavirus as being a threat. The state Health Department's coronavirus dashboard, updated every Friday, showed 336 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases since the previous week. That's the highest total in five weeks, though severity of disease -- one of the things the new weekly dashboard aims to track -- remains low. No new virus-related deaths were reported in North Dakota. And only 14 COVID-19 patients were admitted to a hospital in the past week. Coronavirus patients made up less than 2% of occupied inpatient beds and intensive care unit beds statewide. The two hospitals in Bismarck had a total of 23 staffed adult and pediatric inpatient hospital beds available and nine adult and pediatric ICU beds open, according to the most recent state data. The BA.2 subvariant of omicron is about 30% more contagious than the original, and it has become dominant around the globe. But North Dakota has not seen the rise in COVID-19 cases that some other areas have. The 336 new cases reported this week are the exact same as the figure for the dashboard week ending March 18. Last week's blizzard hampered the ability of the State Lab to compile weekly variant data, according to Kirby Kruger, head of the Health Department's disease control division and forensic pathology section. The most recent available data, from April 15, shows 89 BA.2 cases confirmed since the subvariant was first confirmed in the state in early February. Kruger said he's encouraged that the increase in cases has been fairly small. However, "I think it may be too soon to say that BA.2 isnt going to pose a threat to North Dakota," he said. "It is more infectious. Also we know that immunity can wane in individuals over time." There have been 240,713 confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Dakota during the pandemic that began in March 2020. Data posted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 2,257 virus-related deaths in the state, no change from last week. County-level death data is not available. The state also no longer reports the number of active COVID-19 cases, as part of the recent shift in its coronavirus approach from pandemic to "endemic," essentially meaning that coronavirus is expected to be a part of daily life. As part of that shift, virus data is no longer publicly reported daily. The state says daily case counts and test positivity rate could be skewed by the fact that results from widely available COVID-19 home test kits are not required to be reported to the state. More information Federal data shows that North Dakota continues to have some of the worst COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country: 65.5% of adults in the state are fully vaccinated, with the rate for all vaccine-eligible people -- age 5 and older -- at 59%. The national averages are 75.9% and 70.2%, respectively. "Vaccination continues to be our best defense against serious disease and outcomes and we continue to encourage people to visit with their health care providers regarding vaccination and booster doses," Kruger said. County-level COVID-19 risks determined by the CDC can be found at https://bit.ly/3Clifrq. Burleigh and Morton counties both are considered at low risk, as is the rest of the state. State Health Department guidance and resources for businesses is at https://bit.ly/3w0DpKj. Go to https://www.ndvax.org or call 866-207-2880 to see where COVID-19 vaccine is available. Information on free public testing and free test kits is at health.nd.gov/covidtesting. More detailed pandemic information is at www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. Reach News Editor Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com. 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. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $35 million in loans and grants to support solar projects, rural electric cooperatives, and infrastructure hit by severe weather in North Dakota. USDA Rural Development State Director Erin Oban announced the recipients of the funding assistance Friday. A $10,000 grant will go to Jamie Zins of McKenzie, who owns a woodworking shop and will install solar panels to support the business. An $11,000 grant will go to the Ulmer Ranch hunting outfitting business near Flasher to install solar panels. A $13.8 million loan will support new power lines and smart grid technologies for KEM Electric Cooperative, which is based in Linton and serves Burleigh, Emmons, Kidder, Logan and McIntosh counties. The city of Napoleon will receive a $590,000 loan and a $380,000 grant to replace sewer mains and install a gravity outlet to address issues with the city's aging clay pipes. The city is also receiving a $480,000 loan and a $776,000 grant to replace its water tower. The city of Richardton will receive a $2.8 million loan for street and storm sewer improvements. Other loan and grant money will go toward communities and businesses in north-central and eastern North Dakota. Reach Amy R. Sisk at 701-250-8252 or amy.sisk@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Williston region appears to be in the bulls-eye of the next spring blizzard to hit North Dakota. The National Weather Service on Friday expanded the area of a blizzard warning through the weekend. It now encompasses nearly all of western North Dakota, including Mandan but not Bismarck. The forecast calls for more than a foot of snow in western North Dakota and wind gusts as high as 60 mph. There also could be ice accumulations up to one-tenth of an inch in the western third of the state. Williston could get 12-18 inches of snow, with areas to the north getting up to 2 feet, according to the weather service. Bismarck is under a winter weather advisory. The city and areas to the north could get 3-6 inches of snow along with the strong wind gusts. Areas closer to the Canada border also could get a light glaze of ice. That could cause power outages. The snow and wind also are likely to hamper travel. "Motorists should be aware of rapidly changing conditions and are encouraged to reduce speeds and drive according to the conditions," the state Department of Transportation said in a statement. The storm is expected to rapidly strengthen on Saturday and Saturday night, with snowfall rates up to 2 inches per hour, in the west, according to AccuWeather. Northeastern North Dakota is under a flood watch through Saturday evening, as forecasters say heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding and overland flooding. In Bismarck-Mandan, rain is expected throughout the day Saturday, turning to light snow Saturday night and Sunday. The metro area is likely to get 3-4 inches. The storm comes in the wake of a three-day blizzard last week that dumped 2-3 feet of snow in western North Dakota, and an Easter Sunday storm that added several more inches. The storms and cooler weather set more than two dozen records in the state, including nearly 10 in Bismarck alone. Reach News Editor Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Local Weather Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. State investigators are looking into a Thursday disturbance at Mott-Regent Public School in which a man was killed by a deputy sheriff. Jeffrie Ray Glover Jr. died in the incident, according to the Hettinger County Sheriffs Office. His age and city of residence were not included in information released by the department, nor was the name of the deputy, who has been placed on administrative leave -- standard procedure in such instances. The deputy responded to the school on a call of a disturbance about 3 p.m., according to the department. The deputy made contact with Glover and the encounter escalated into an assault on the deputy resulting in a lethal force scenario in which Glover died, the sheriffs department said. Authorities did not provide details on the nature of the disturbance including why Glover was at the school, or on what type of lethal force was used. "We will not make any further comment until the investigation of the deputys actions are completed," Sheriff Sarah Warner said in a statement. The incident has been turned over to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The probe could take 30 days, the sheriff's office said, at which time BCI will report its findings to the Hettinger County States Attorney's Office. The North Dakota Highway Patrol, Adams County Sheriffs Office, and Mott Ambulance Service also responded to the K-12 school, which is in Mott. Glover was not an employee of the school, Superintendent Willie Thibault said. The school did not hold classes on Friday. Staff members were at the school and counselors were available to them. School will be in session Monday, and counselors will be available to students then and as needed, according to Thibault. Students and staff were unharmed, he said. We have a safety protocol and we followed it. Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 4 Sad 2 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A subsidiary of North Dakotas only Fortune 500 company says it wont pursue plans to build a natural gas pipeline from western North Dakotas oil patch to the eastern part of the state. WBI Energy is a unit of Bismarck-based MDU Resources Group. The company says the project is not viable due to regulatory uncertainty, limited in-state demand and rising construction, labor and land-acquisition costs. The North Dakota Legislature in November set aside $150 million in federal coronavirus aid to help construct a trans-state pipeline, hoping to spur industrial development. The head of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority says only Viking Gas Transmission applied for the grants. He sent 72 messages to a bad, bad person. That's not illegal and until there is more information I think (this) is a step in the right direction. -- GOP Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, after Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, stepped down as head of the Legislative Management committee following a published report that he had exchanged scores of text messages with a man jailed on child pornography charges. q q q "It's a mess." -- Mandan Public Works Director Mitch Bitz, on the snow dropped by last week's blizzard, and the inability of crews to dump it on fields that had thawed before the storm because the trucks get stuck. q q q We were at the halfway point before the storm. The timing of the storm didnt fit with calving season, but we just roll with the punches. -- New Rockford rancher Jeff Schafer, on last week's blizzard hitting in the middle of spring calving. q q q Its a little more difficult to move. A little wet and heavy. But Im not going to complain. We need the moisture, so you just keep working at it. -- Keven Martin, while plowing snow at an apartment building during last week's blizzard. q q q "Two back-to-back systems could saturate us, and if we get a sudden return of warm temperatures, that could bring some potential for some flooding." -- Jason Anglin, lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Bismarck office, on a weekend storm bearing down on North Dakota. q q q I think its a really serious win for the Badlands, for the long-term integrity of those areas that are still roadless and considered suitable for wilderness. -- Badlands Conservation Alliance President Connie Triplett, after federal appellate judges upheld a ruling dismissing a lawsuit brought by the state of North Dakota and several western counties that could have resulted in new roads built through parts of the Badlands. q q q We're going to keep all options on the table. -- Jared Hendrix, leader of a petition drive to term-limit North Dakota legislators, on the possibility of suing over its rejection by the secretary of states office, which concluded the petitions were riddled with violations, a contention Hendrix rejects. q q q "I think the ones that we have here in North Dakota ... those should be changed as well." -- Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Tribal Chairman Mark Fox, on a federal effort to rename places containing the offensive term "squaw" in their names. q q q "They thought it was a joke. They couldn't believe it." -- Kathy Skarda, a Keene-area farmer and rancher who spent the first 25 years of her life in the Squaw Gap area in McKenzie County, on the reaction of friends and family to a federal effort to rename places containing the offensive term "squaw" in their names. q q q "If the attorney general says yes, then all of the dreams people have had about the preservation of the bridge come into play immediately." -- Sen. Tracy Potter, D-Bismarck, calling on the North Dakota attorney general to determine if the state owns the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge, which is headed toward demolition. q q q These officers are now better prepared to identify substances other than alcohol in a suspected impaired driver, removing them from the road and making North Dakota roads safer. -- Highway Patrol Trooper Tarek Chase, coordinator of the North Dakota Drug Recognition Expert program, which trains officers on detecting drivers impaired by drugs. Thirteen officers recently graduated. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The political philosopher and classicist Leo Strauss continues to stir debate among Orthodox Jewish scholars as to just how Judaism can light the way in seeing the connection between faith and reason. [] Love him or hate him, its almost impossible to ignore the philosopher Leo Strauss (18991973). Few individuals have drawn out so thoroughly some of the implications of philosophy for a range of political positions while simultaneously exploring perennial issues such as the meaning of the Enlightenment and its relationship to classical and religious thought. Religion was always one of Strauss major interests. He grew up in a conservative, even somewhat Orthodox Jewish family in Germany and was one of the many Jews who left the country in the 1930s in the wake of the National Socialists rise to power. Though the precise content of his own religious beliefs remains, Id suggest, a debatable matter (we do know, for instance, that Strauss was disdainful of atheism), he never identified as anything other than Jewish. At the same time, he recognized, much like his fellow German Joseph Ratzinger, that one of the perennial issues that had been sharpened by modernity and the Enlightenment more generally was the question of the relationship between faith and reason. In Strauss case, this issue was famously explored in his critique of the position on this topic taken by the 17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, himself of Portuguese Sephardic Jewish origins. Spinozas view was that Enlightenment rationality had essentially refuted some central claims of Orthodox Judaism, especially concerning matters such as the authorship of the Pentateuch. That and his questioning of other central Orthodox Jewish teachings had earned Spinoza expulsion from the Talmud Torah congregation in Amsterdam. This made Spinoza a hero for free thinkers throughout Europe at the time and up until the present. Strauss, however, took a different view of Spinoza. He argued that Spinozas criticisms of Orthodox Judaism had failed, not least because Enlightenment thinkers, Strauss claimed, relied upon just as many axiomatic and often unexamined assumptions as the claims of religion. Whats more, Strauss book Spinozas Critique of Religion (1930/1965) went on to defend Jewish Orthodoxys account of reality against the broad claims advanced against religion by skeptics. At the same time, Strauss did not seem to think that Orthodox Judaism could make a decisive case against the claims of its Enlightenment critics. Which is to leave matters somewhat in a state of, to use a phrase familiar to Catholics, limbo. Strauss, however, was not an Orthodox Jew himself. That in turn raises three questions. First, what do Orthodox Jews think of Strauss defense of their religious claims? Second, how would Orthodox Jews defend their position against skeptics and how much would such defenses cohere with and depart from Strauss arguments? Third, is it possible for Orthodox Jews to improve on Strauss defense of their religious belief in the light of the claims of philosophical and religious skepticism? These three questions are central to a collection of essays published under the title Strauss, Spinoza & Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of Faith (2022). Edited by Jeffrey Bloom, Alec Goldstein, and Gil Student, this book brings together 18 Orthodox Jewish thinkers to address various aspects of the problems raised by Spinoza and Strauss. Jews and non-Jews alike will benefit from the subsequent and many faceted reflections on how we can explain and defend religious tenets on grounds of reason without collapsing faith into rationalism. Not surprisingly, all the contributors regard Strauss position as inadequate, occasionally to the point of arguing that Strauss significance as a specifically Jewish scholar is exaggerated and hardly worth attention. Readers will, however, discover that the authors approach the question in quite different ways, especially when it comes to the sources they use as a starting point. Many begin with philosophy, including modern philosophy, and eventually reach classic Jewish sources. Others focus more on the rich and powerful traditions of Jewish philosophy that emerged in the medieval period. Yet others engage the topic with traditional Jewish starting points such as rabbinical biblical interpretation. I suspect that those who are not Jewish will find this collection of papers most valuable for the ways in which they illustrate how seriously Orthodox Jewish minds take reason. One discovers, for instance, that Jewish mysticism is not at all defined by irrationality or a contempt for logic. Likewise the treatment of knowledge and belief, their respective limits, the differences between the two, and the ways in which they relate to each other is especially illuminating. Maimonides is a figure who looms large throughout many chapters, as are other Jewish thinkers from the medieval period who offered logical proofs for the existence of God. Underpinning all this is not the type of language games into which many philosophers are prone to lapse, but rather the confidence that the universe and therefore reason itself has meaning, and that this meaning points to the existence of a rational Creator. All this is important, but what matters is the way the rational conclusion that there is a God ends up transforming peoples lives. Having confidence that there is a basic compatibility between reason and faith, because both proceed from the same ultimate Being, is one thing. Grasping the meaning of this truth for all our free choices and actions is another. Strauss was less concerned with that topic, but it is most definitely something to which the Orthodox Jewish authors of these papers give a great deal of attention. It is also one of the many things that allows Judaism to be what it has always been: Lumen gentiuma light unto the nations. The Italian writer, poet and humanist, Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-75) is probably most familiar in the English-speaking world for his Decameron, a collection of one hundred short stories that were adapted by Chaucer and Shakespeare and inspired works by Swift, Tennyson and Keats. He was a key literary figure in late-medieval and Renaissance Europe whose considerable output included love poetry, courtly tales, a genealogy of the gods, and the first collection of biographies devoted solely to women in Western literature. Towards the end of his life, disillusioned with love and suffering from a variety of ailments, he was only dissuaded from burning much of his own material by the intervention of Petrarch, a close colleague and mentor. Fortunately his works survived, and the many translations and extant manuscripts are testament to their popularity. In the 15th century numerous illustrated copies were produced for the courts of Europe. Petrarch appears to Boccaccio who is ill in bed, in a building decorated with the coat of arms of the French royal family, from Des cas de nobles hommes et femmes, a French translation of Boccacio's De mulieribus Claris (France, 3rd quarter of the 15th century), Add MS 35321 , f. 247v Twenty seven British Library manuscripts containing works of Boccaccio are either fully or partially digitised in our online catalogues. An advanced search in the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts using the field Author: Boccaccio produces a list of all of these with a selection of images from each one. Six are also fully digitised on our Digitised Manuscripts website. Here are just some of these fascinating manuscripts. Concerning Famous Women Most impressive of all are two grand volumes of Boccaccios ground-breaking collection of biographies of famous women, De claris mulieribus (Concerning Famous Women) in a French translation by Laurent de Premierfait. Both contain magnificent illustrations of the characters and their deeds. Boccaccios purpose in this work is to encourage virtuous behaviour among women, but the examples he chooses from among biblical, classical, mythological and historical characters are both good and bad. All the well-known female figures are present, each one accompanied by a portrait, from Eve to Medusa, and from Sappho to Cleopatra, alongside less familiar examples such as Hypsicratea, Queen of Pontus, and Faustina Augusta, wife of Marcus Aurelius. Christine de Pizan based many of her biographies of women in the famous Cite des Dames on this work. Cleopatra is bitten by two dragon-like asps and blood pours from her arms, from Des cleres et nobles femmes, a French translation of Boccacio's De mulieribus Claris (Rouen, c. 1440): Royal MS 16 G V , f. 101r Hypsicratea cutting her hair and joining her husband King Mithridates VI in battle, from Des cleres et nobles femmes, a French translation of Boccacio's De mulieribus Claris (Paris, 1st quarter of the 15th century): Royal MS 20 C V , f. 119r The Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts also features copies of the original Latin text of Boccaccios De claris mulieribus. One of these, Harley MS 6348, is an early copy made in Italy in the 14th century, not long after Boccaccios death. The opening page of De claris mulieribus contains the dedication beginning with the words: Pridie, mulierum egregia... The first sentence translates as: Some time ago, illustrious lady, while away from the crude multitudes and almost free of other concerns, I wrote a little book in praise of women, more for the pleasure of my friends than as a service to humanity (trans. Guarino). The opening page of Boccaccio's De claris mulieribus (Italy, last quarter of the 14th century): Harley MS 6348 , f. 24r Concerning Noble Men and Women In addition to his biographies of women, Boccaccio produced a collection of biographies of both men and women, De casibus virorum illustrium, also translated into French by Premierfait. Some of these are very large volumes, each containing over fifty biographies with numerous miniatures. For example, Royal MS 14 E V, a Bruges manuscript owned by Edward IV, is almost half a metre tall and has 513 folios the size of a small suitcase so you need to be strong just to lift it off the shelf! the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts has images of all the pages with illustrations from this manuscript. For example, a historical event known as the Sicilian Vespers, the Easter rebellion by the Sicilians against French rule in 1282 when thousands of French civilians were murdered, is the subject of one illustration. The Sicilian Vespers, from Des Cas des nobles hommes et femmes, a French translation of Boccacio's De casibus virorum illustrium (Bruges c. 1480): Royal MS 14 E V , f. 488r The theme of the biographies is the changeability of fortune. Boccaccio focuses on the downfall of famous people, all of whom are subject to the will of Lady Fortune. In book 6 the two meet and speak about the fates of the unlucky nobles who are destined to fall from dizzy heights of power and wealth. Boccaccio in his study, with his vision of Fortune as a crowned lady with many arms, from Des Cas des nobles hommes et femmes, a French translation of Boccacio's De casibus virorum illustrium (Paris, 1st quarter of the 15th century): Royal MS 20 C IV , f. 198r Another manuscript of his work, Harley MS 621, has a miniature at the beginning of each of the major sections or books into which the work is divided. In this one, Boccaccio watches Fortune turn her wheel. Note the cockerel in the border! Boccaccio watching Fortune turn her wheel, with an old king seated on top, a pile of fallen persons below, and a violent battle between two armies in the background, from Des Cas des nobles hommes et femmes, a French translation of Boccacio's De casibus virorum illustrium (France, 3rd quarter of the 15th century): Harley MS 621 , f. 217r The Fall of Princes The English poet, John Lydgate, produced an abridged version of De Casibus in a Middle English translation, known as The Fall of Princes. Three copies are fully digitised on Digitised Manuscripts. One of these, which was probably made at Bury St Edmunds, contains a series of illustrations of key scenes in the margins. One gruesome example is of King Cyrus of the Persians who subdued all the nations from Syria to the Red Sea. According to the Boccaccio/Lydgate version of his life, Tomyrus, Queen of the Scythians defeated his army, severing his head from his body, and throwing it into a bowl of blood with these words, Thou that hast all thy time thirsted for blood, now drink thy fill, and satiate thy self with it. The remains of King Cyrus floating in tub of blood, The Fall of Princes (England, perhaps Bury St Edmunds, 1450-1460): Harley MS 1766 , f. 135r The Decameron There are also Boccaccio manuscripts on the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts containing a variety of his other works, including three of his most well-known work, the Decameron. This copy of the Decameron, translated into French by Laurent de Premierfait, is decorated with borders containing the royal arms of England. This is because it was part of the collection of manuscripts owned by King Edward IV of England. Jean, duke of Berry, receiving the book from the translator, Laurent de Premierfait, with the border containing the royal arms of England, from the beginning of Les cent Nouvelles, a French translation of Boccaccios Decameron (Bruges, 1473-83): Royal MS 19 E I , f. 1r Other Boccaccio texts include Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta, a quasi autobiographical novel about a love affair set in Naples. Illuminated initials in Boccaccio's Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta (Italy, c. 1500), Harley MS 5427 , ff. 19v-20r This overview of Boccaccio manuscripts helps to demonstrate that our Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts, though not providing full digital coverage, remains a key source for images of our manuscript collections. We continue to maintain it and make updates and corrections to the records. We hope you enjoy exploring! Chantry Westwell Follow us on Twitter @BLMedieval Jim Bakker claims Christian pastors are being murdered for preaching on controversial social issues: "We're not going to be able to preach much longer because they'll shoot us in the pulpits. They will kill us in our pulpits. You don't believe me? They're already doing it." pic.twitter.com/SYF1qeU15w Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) April 21, 2022 Recurring 1980s nightmare Jim Bakker makes a living fleecing gullible people with a predictable message of fearmongering, hate, lies, and false promises. He's a charlatan and a con artist who has been convicted of fraud and served time in prison, not to mention accused of sexual assault. The former televangelist is currently the head of The Jim Bakker Show, a daily Christian talk show that's nothing more than a platform for Bakker to sell survivalist gear, quack nostrums, and other doomsday nonsense to suckers who believe his false prophecies about the end of the world. On a recent episode of his infomercial, he told his cognitively challenged viewers that Christian pastors are being murdered in their pulpits. "We're not going to be able to preach much longer because they'll shoot us in the pulpits," he said. "They will kill us in our pulpits. You don't believe me? They're already doing it." As he spoke, a banner on the screen advertised "Three Overflowing with the Holy Spirit Books" for $65. The four private astronauts from Axiom Space are now due to depart the International Space Station on Saturday night and return to Earth the next day. Four commercial crew astronauts are also looking ahead to their mission aboard the orbiting lab set to begin after the Axiom Mission 1 (Ax1-) crew departs. NASA, SpaceX and Axiom Space are planning for the Ax-1 crew to undock from the station inside the Dragon Endeavour crew ship on Saturday at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Ax-1 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria will lead Pilot Larry Connor and Mission Specialists Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe back to Earth inside Endeavour for a splash down at 1:46 p.m. on Sunday off the coast of Florida. The SpaceX Crew-4 mission awaits its launch date as mission managers monitor weather conditions at the Ax-1 splashdown site and review mission data after Endeavour's return. The Falcon 9 rocket that will the launch the Crew-4 astronauts to space inside the Dragon Freedom crew ship successfully fired its nine Merlin engines on Wednesday during its static fire test. In the meantime, Crew-4 Commander Kjell Lindgren with Pilot Robert Hines and Mission Specialists Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristoforetti, continue training for their mission while in quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations on the station continue normally, as the four Expedition 67 astronauts worked on an array of space research on Thursday. Commander Tom Marshburn joined of NASA joined ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer for muscle measurements and ultrasound scans. The duo contributed to the Myotones human research experiment to understand how weightlessness affects the biochemical properties of muscles. NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari collected blood and urine samples and stowed them in science freezer for future analysis for more insights into spaceflight's impact on the human body. The quartet also checked out their Dragon spacesuits as they look ahead to their departure inside the Dragon Endurance soon after the Crew-4 astronauts begin their station mission. The three cosmonauts living and working on the orbital lab focused on their suite of science and upkeep tasks. Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev studied piloting techniques that may be used on future planetary or robotic missions. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Denis Matveev attached a heart monitor to himself then photographed the condition of Russian module windows. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov pursued cardiac research during the morning before working on Russian life support and photography gear. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. When deciding on a menu for her wedding, a 42-year-old Florida bride made sure to include baked lasagna, with the emphasis on baked. Unbeknownst to her 3040 guests, she and her caterer loaded the entree with marijuana. But their plan bombed when guests became so ill, some were rushed to the hospital. "I thought I was having a heart attack. My heart was racing " said one of the guests to WESH2. "We were high as a kite, out of our minds." After denying that they had laced the food in February, when the wedding took place, the bride and caterer finally fessed up and were arrested Monday, facing felony charges. From WESH2: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) scientists have described a new species of Atolla jellyfish that they discovered in the ocean's "midnight zone" 1000 to 4000 meters below the surface. Sunlight doesn't reach that depth so the only glow comes from bioluminescent creatures. The researchers first spotted the creature in video from remotely operated vehicles exploring the Monterey Bay off the coast of California. From The Guardian: While Atolla, a red-colored jelly with one trailing tentacle, is a common inhabitant of the midnight zone of Monterey Bay, there were some jellies that looked different. Instead of one tentacle, this jelly had none[] The researchers collected numerous specimens of three different Atolla-like jellies that lacked the tentacle. They have now created enough details to formally identify one of them, naming it the Atolla reynoldsi in a research paper published last month. The newly described jelly is larger than other Atollas the largest specimen MBARI researchers collected was 13 centimeters in diameter[] The existence of this jelly raises questions about species that live in the global ocean and haven't yet been described. Millions of species live in the deep-sea and many are still unknown. Noaa estimates that humans have only described 10% of what can be found in the ocean. MAGA folk may tell you the Capitol insurrection was simply a "normal tourist visit" or a "bold-faced lie." But, as we saw six days after the Jan. 6 attack, when party leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy spoke out against the complicit one-term president, the GOP knew this was an insurrection. And they knew who was responsible, briefly, before they zipped themselves back into their pod skins to play stupid again. But Thursday night The New York Times released new audio, which they'd obtained for their new book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America's Future, of a McCarthy who was ready to ask Trump to resign. And in the NYT-obtained audio below, broadcast by CNN, McCarthy very clearly blamed Trump for the deadly actions that took place at the Capitol. And even Trump allegedly agreed that he was partly to blame. "Let me be clear to all of you, and I've been very clear to the president," the House Minority Leader said. "He bears responsibility for his actions. No ifs, ands, or buts. I asked him personally today, does he hold responsibility for what happened. Does he feel bad about what happened. He told me he does have some responsibility for what happened. And we need to acknowledge that." YouTuber preposteRUSS says, "Using rarely seen front and back camera angles from the actual N4 highway assault in Pretoria, South Africa that went viral in 2021, I edited together a real-time action sequence so you can see exactly what went down in this daring escape." From the YouTube description: On April 22, 2021 Security officers Leo Prinsloo and Lloyd Mthombeni were escorting goods when they came under attack by a gang of criminals. Leo: "Unfortunately the criminals in our country are well-informed, and both former and current police and military have been arrested in connection with the bad guys. Because of that, the hit can come anytime during your work shift. You have to be at the top of your game the whole bloody day. This time the first shots came just 15 minutes after we started the job, half past 10 in the morning. The modus operandi for the jackers is to come from behind and open fire on the guards. No warning. They want to obstruct the windows, and if possible take out the crew so that they can get to the vehicle easily. They come ready to kill, and the justice system isn't any kind of deterrent. From the first shot to the last, 13 rounds struck the vehicle, and more than 30 were fired at us. It was the first time that I had been in a gun exchange since I left the police 17 years ago. Once we got to the hotel carpark where the chase ended, I hoped to push the Audi through the spiked barriers and puncture his tires so that they couldn't get away. I spun him sideways, and he ended up on the concrete sidewalk. Our truck also got stuck on the concrete barriers. The driver of the car jumped out and ran, which is when I jumped out with my rifle. I made the decision that he wasn't a shootable target in that public place. He ran across the street and got away, to my great frustration." The Basil family dealerships have grown into a big operation, selling seven brands of new vehicles as well as used, commercial and fleet vehicles, from Lockport to Fredonia. Now they have created the position of chief operating officer to help run things, and hired an industry veteran, Brad Coon, to fill it. Our stores, while independently owned, work so closely together that we The University at Buffalo has been chosen to lead a $10 million research project to develop and manage advanced supercomputing infrastructure, UB said Friday. The National Science Foundation grant will cover five years of research led by UB with contributions from six other institutions: Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Indiana University, the University of California San Diego, the University of Texas at Austin and Tufts University. The grant is the latest of several significant federal research grants awarded to UB as it seeks to become a top public research university. Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul challenged UB to more than double its annual research funding to $1 billion a year by 2030. UBs vice president for research and economic development, Venu Govindaraju, said the award shows that UB and Western New York are well-positioned to become one of the nations hubs for technological innovation. The University at Buffalo has strategically recruited top faculty members in areas poised for significant federal investment, and we have continually refurbished our infrastructure to enable world-class and cutting-edge research, he said. This grant is reflective of these efforts. The grant will further research at UBs Center for Computational Research to develop software for managing high-performance supercomputers, said Thomas Furlani, chief information officer at Roswell Park and a research professor of biomedical informatics at UBs Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Furlani, the grants principal investigator, has led 12 years of research at UBs computational research center, home to a powerful supercomputing facility. Supercomputers perform data-intensive tasks like simulating the efficacy of new drug compounds or designing lighter, stronger materials for space travel. Use of these machines is in high demand, which is why the NSF invests in making them as efficient as possible, Furlani said. Furlanis team at UB has devised software used by more than 200 supercomputing facilities worldwide to automatically identify performance issues with hardware and software and improve code performance. The new research will include developing a flexible framework for analyzing data across national and local cybernetworks, devising simulation tools to predict how the national cyberinfrastructure will respond to new or changing systems, and methods for training future cyberinfrastructure workers with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. UB has received several other federally funded grants to lead research projects this year. In January, UB was chosen to lead a $5 million research program funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to improve the nations ability to track and monitor objects in space like spacecraft, debris and meteoroids. In March, the Department of Defense selected UB to lead a $7.5 million project to develop new ways of precision-testing semiconductor chips. Buffalo Next Must-read local business coverage that exposes the trends, connects the dots and contextualizes the impact to Buffalo's economy. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Two years ago, Chelse Herbold was a food service worker with a bachelor's degree in geology that wasn't helping her pay the rent. Today, Herbold, 28, has an associate degree in automotive technology that she earned on the job as the first woman auto technician at West Herr Kia. Herbold is one of the first graduates of a new SUNY Erie Community College program that was created to produce skilled workers for an industry that's badly in need of mechanics. In fact, it's so hard to hire auto technicians that two of the region's biggest car dealers, West Herr Automotive Group and Northtown Automotive Cos., have partnered with ECC to build a direct pathway to train and hire students. Northtown even built a classroom, lab space and four dedicated service bays at its new Jaguar/Land Rover dealership in Amherst for its ECC co-op program. The program produces auto technicians, but it's a model for future "earn while you learn" partnerships that train workers in in-demand skills and pay them to get on-the-job training while earning their credentials. Jay Galligan, a vice president at West Herr, said the program has produced 12 current and 12 soon-to-be employees for the company. The program funnels trained workers to West Herr and Northtown at a time when there are more open jobs than people looking for work. We employ over 500 technicians, and we retire 5% to 10% a year, so just to replace our retirees we need 30 or 40 new technicians at any given time to add to our team, Galligan said. ECC reached out to us about adding co-op experience to their auto tech program and helped build this model. It has now become a permanent program in the college, and we are thrilled to be part of it. ECC President David Balkin calls the program an example of the partnerships needed between higher education and industry to serve the needs of todays students and employers. It also helps ECC by creating a program that it can market as a pathway to a career for students at a time when enrollment is declining. SUNY Erie is working with companies who are in competition, but who recognize that a rising tide will lift all boats, Balkin said. The partnerships with West Herr and Northtown predated Balkin taking over as ECC president, but he quickly seized on them as an opportunity to develop other feeder programs for worker-strapped employers. Balkin said ECC and the dealerships see the program "as the way forward for recruiting, training and retaining qualified technicians. West Herr Automotive piloted the program at ECCs Vehicle Technology Training Center in Orchard Park in 2019 and the first class of 12 students, including Herbold, graduated last May. All 12 were immediately hired as full-time technicians at West Herr dealerships. The second class of 12 will graduate this May and are guaranteed jobs as well. The auto co-op provides more hands-on experience than classroom time and includes time working in paid positions with the hiring dealership, Balkin said. Students rotate between spending 7 weeks working with mentors at a dealership service department and then 7 weeks of classroom coursework, Balkin said. The dealers provide tuition assistance and retention bonuses to help them buy their own tools once hired. When West Herr came aboard as a partner, ECC provided space for the co-op at its Vehicle Tech Training Center in Orchard Park. The site, a former Chevrolet dealership, also houses ECC's manufacturer-based programs for Ford and Dodge/Fiat/Chrysler technicians. West Herr provided an architect and funding to make the necessary changes to the facility, including equipment, tools and structural modifications to accommodate the co-op program, said ECC auto tech instructor Vinnie LaVerdi. The center has four service bays and downstairs classroom and lab space for the program. LaVerdi and second-year instructor Joe Uhrich devised the curriculum and Uhrich ushered it through state approval process, paving the way for future co-op programs. Galligan said 20 West Herr technicians are currently serving as mentors an integral part of the program where the students work with them as a "second pair of hands" during their paid co-op time. The traditional path for recruiting workers is through career fairs, but then, how do you know who anyone is or if they are a good fit? said West Herr Director of Recruiting Scott Jacobs. With this program, by the time they graduate we know who they are, they know who we are, and they are part of our team. While the West Herr pilot proved successful, ECC lacked space in its Vehicle Training Center to expand it. Enter Northtown Auto. The company had its 11th store in the works and agreed to provide what ECC needed to teach the class and lab segments at the new dealership, which opened in December and welcomed its first students in February. Northtown Director of Fixed Operations Bill Holm said finding experienced technicians has always been a challenge, but the situation is more critical lately. While the industry is growing, the number of available workers shrunk due to the pandemic and early retirements by older employees. At the same time, vehicles are more complex, with computer diagnostics, hybrid and electric technologies requiring more education for technicians servicing newer model vehicles, he said. Holm said offering a co-op opportunity to auto tech students is unique; a company spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to equip its new dealership for classes even more so. We are fortunate to have the support and broad thinking from ECC to let this work outside of a traditional campus, he said. Everyone benefits, Holm added. Todays auto techs wont be successful without an education and understanding of computer systems in todays automobiles, and we not only need workers, we need educated ones. Galligan and Holm said they would expand the auto co-op programs immediately if there was space available. Galligan also chairs the ECC Foundations Workforce Committee, which he said is seeking ways to create similar programs for other disciplines. The next step is to address, How can we do this with other fields? he said. How can we duplicate the success of this program for trades like welding, electrical and plumbing? Balkin said the model is not limited to the technical trades. We are now engaging with the health care and advanced manufacturing industries" to develop new partnerships, he said. Some of those may replace current programs at ECCs three campuses. Balkin is working to reorganize the schools campus operations and recently discontinued several South Campus programs suffering from low enrollment. He said his goal is to curb declining enrollment at ECC by replacing under-enrolled programs with degrees and credentials for in-demand trades. Hes also willing to partner with other auto dealerships open to creating classroom and lab space at their stores to expand the vehicle tech co-op program. The auto dealers say they are in great need of technicians for auto body and collision specialists. Meanwhile, the auto tech co-op has been life-changing for the students. Herbold was working in food service after graduating from SUNY-Buffalo State with a geology degree and trying to save enough money to get married to her fiance while living on her own. She realized she wanted a more lucrative job and her late father made a good living as a mechanic. She attended an open house to introduce the ECC program and said, Thats what I want to do. During her first co-op at West Herr, she quickly went from taking out the garbage and moving tires to performing oil changes and new car inspections. By the end of her second year, she was rebuilding engines. She graduated last May into her job as the first female on the West Herr Kia team. She said that felt a little awkward at first, but not for long. Sometimes Ill get a bolt free that some of the other techs cant get, she said. It takes leverage. Herbold met her goal of saving for a wedding. She's getting married in August. Second-year student Marcos Perez, 28, a married father of three, was working the overnight shift at a warehouse before applying to the program. The biggest attraction: I am not just going to school, I am making money at the same time," he said. He has found himself texting LaVerdi and second-year instructor Gary Bianchi from the co-op saying OMG, what you taught me last week, Im applying it here! Perez will graduate into a higher-paying, full-time job at West Herr Toyota in May, and he already plans to pursue further credentials in hybrid and electric vehicles. Ideally, I would like to be an instructor 20 years down the road, Perez said. I could see myself in a building like this teaching the technicians of the future. Buffalo Next Must-read local business coverage that exposes the trends, connects the dots and contextualizes the impact to Buffalo's economy. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. John Waters, wearing a hard hat and life jacket, sat in a cramped trailer Thursday morning, feet from the starboard side of the listing USS The Sullivans in Buffalo's Inner Harbor. He pointed to a small computer monitor next to a control board his makeshift command center that he would use to track the underwater movements of Thursday's lead diver, Robert "Turbo" Dorato. Winding from the trailer was a 600-foot hose that supplies Dorato's suit with warm water warm enough to make him sweat in a 38-degree river and air that feeds his umbilical line. Waters and Dorato are part of an eight-diver team from BIDCO Marine Group that is trying to decipher the mystery behind what is causing the 79-year-old Fletcher-Class destroyer to fill with water. Theres only one way to locate the breach or breaches: by putting divers in the water to see the damage for themselves. Once the magnitude of the problem is determined, the divers will play a role in stabilizing the ship and then either patch or plug the hole or holes in the hull. In the eight days since the ship began leaning and taking on water, both organizations overseeing the dive and the divers have faced many obstacles: battering winds, the precarious position of the ship and murky water that limits visibility. Naval Park and U.S. Coast Guard officials are focused on protecting the divers. Plans have been scrapped, "stand down" pauses put in effect and the restoration of the vessel prolonged at the first hint a diver might be in danger. Mark C. Judd, BIDCO's president, has worked closely with the Buffalo sector of the Coast Guard each day to evaluate potential concerns. One has been prevalent this week: Could the mooring lines, taut like piano strings, snap and disconnect the ship from the pier? "That's one of the reasons why anyone who's out there should have a hard hat on and be extremely cautious," said Buffalo Naval Park president and CEO Paul J. Marzello Sr. "If one of those lines snaps, they could snap a human body in half." Also, when the diver is in the water, if the unstable ship slides from its position it tilted 2 inches Wednesday night into Thursday several dangerous scenarios come into play. Waters, the supervisor, must be alert. "He's monitoring the water temperature and ensuring that all the conditions are right," Judd said. "He's monitoring the diver's communication back 'Is he seeming stressed? Is he breathing heavily?' " With guidance from Judd and Waters, BIDCO's team of eight divers has been prepared for anything. It is mostly the same crew that saved a man from drowning in the Niagara River in December. But the safety concerns are balanced by the pressure to fix an ailing National Historic Landmark whose bow hovered 6 inches above the water's basin on Thursday. The weather Winds challenge work to save waterlogged destroyer; 'too early to tell' The Sullivans' prognosis Diesel pumps worked throughout the night and have reached a point of "equilibrium," in that they are pumping out as much water as is leaking into the vessel, said Paul Marzello, president and CEO of the park. Gusting winds approaching 40 mph along the waterfront Tuesday and Thursday halted BIDCO's attempts to put divers in the water. The primary fears were the wind's effect on ship stability, as well as seiches standing waves that operate in a seesaw motion in which divers could get caught. "The wind is blowing the lake toward us, creating that seiche effect, or away from us, which lowers or raises the ship, and that's our real concern, what it's going to do to her when she's precariously fixed in this position," Marzello said Tuesday. Water levels are monitored using ladder rungs on the pier; there are set depths and heights the water can reach that would cause an immediate stop. If water is deemed safe but still unsettled, the divers are equipped with a buoyancy control vest in which air may be pumped in or out, depending on their desired direction of movement, Waters said. Unlike the wind, the water temperature isn't an issue thanks to the divers' suits, through which warm water flows. "In the water, you're warm like you're standing in the shower," said Judd, a former diver. "In fact your face plate fogs up." "You're usually sweating," Waters added. To see and to move Before the water that caused the Sullivans to list could be pumped out, more than 7,500 gallons of contaminants that leaked from the compartments of the ship were removed. Even with the removal, the oil and debris combined with a Great Lake's water close to shore hinder the divers' vision and movement. Clearing contaminants crucial as USS The Sullivans remains 'fairly stable' "I don't suspect there will be additional damage to the ship," said Lexia Littlejohn, commander of the Buffalo sector of the U.S. Coast Guard. "They can see about one foot in front of them," Waters said. "When he's on that ship, there's a lot of hand feeling, and the zebra mussels are another issue with your hand placement." These mussels, an invasive, freshwater species, cling to the hull of the ship, a slippery, unnatural surface on an otherwise smooth hull. As divers maneuver along the hull, BIDCO deploys lines on which they can hold to maintain their balance. BIDCO divers on Thursday were able to patch five holes in the Sullivans' hull, according to a Naval Park release. It is unclear whether those holes were recent breaches or existing air vents submerged during the list. Movement and vision challenges will intensify once divers can enter the hull of the ship. Compartments within the hull are dark and likely coated with oil, Marzello said. The Naval Park's recovery of the Sullivans' damage control manual and general arrangement drawings will be crucial to BIDCO and the Coast Guard's thorough plans ahead of each dive. "Plan your dive and dive your plan, that's the motto," Judd said. Mooring lines The mooring lines present a twofold danger. Should the ropes stabilizing the ship break, the Sullivans could slide from its position and either trap a diver inside or pin a diver against the surface. In water 16 feet deep, the divers will be working with the hull over their heads. "If the hull moved and the ship rolled ... " Judd said before trailing off. "It's very unlikely, but the ship is not stable, and complacency is a problem." Above-water or "top side" trouble is possible, causing the Naval Park to be closed to the public, elaborate barriers blocking off the park and hardhat-only zones. The state of the mooring lines was so important that Wednesday morning's dive was canceled and support mooring lines were added as a precaution. Mental perspective Teamwork particularly the relationship between Waters and the divers is an integral, underappreciated part of the task. Fatigue, stress and productivity factor into how long a diver may stay in the water. Wednesday afternoon's dive lasted two and 1/2 hours, Waters estimated, during which about a quarter of the ship's hull was assessed and the surface below the ship was probed. If conditions allow, a diver could stay in the water for an entire eight-hour shift. That duration depends mostly on Waters' feel, Judd said, his ability to know a diver's personality. "These guys are tough nothing scares them, but things concern them," he said. Additional safeguards are in place. A standby diver will be in full gear at the edge of the dock, prepared to enter in case of emergency. The Buffalo Fire Department has worked with BIDCO and the Coast Guard to determine a rescue plan for a diver. But Waters' role in the command station again looms large in crisis. "You just try keep everybody calm enough to make the right decision and come out," Waters said. Ben Tsujimoto can be reached at btsujimoto@buffnews.com, at (716) 849-6927 or on Twitter at @Tsuj10. 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. Michael Zanetti, a NASA planetary scientist at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, hikes the Cinder cone in Portillo volcanic field in New Mexico in late 2021, testing the backpack-sized prototype for NASAs Kinematic Navigational and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK), a mobile lidar scanner now in development to support lunar exploration and science missions. Credits: NASA/Michael Zanetti Imagine a mountaineering expedition in a wholly uncharted environment, where the hikers had the ability to generate a real-time 3D map of the terrain. NASA researchers and their industry partners have developed a remote-sensing mapping system set to aid explorers in the most isolated wilderness imaginable: the airless wastes at the South Pole of the Moon. The Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) is a mobile lidar scanner - a remote sensing method that uses light detection and ranging laser light to measure range. Donned like a hiker's backpack, it makes use of an innovative type of lidar called frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidar in order to provide Doppler velocity and range for millions of measurement points per second. These measurement points instantly create a real-time navigation system, delivering to the explorer a 3D "point cloud" or high-resolution map of the surrounding terrain. Think of it as a superpowered version of laser range finders used by surveyors or the highly sensitive proximity alarms that help smart cars avoid collisions, said planetary scientist Dr. Michael Zanetti, who leads the KNaCK project at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "Basically, the sensor is a surveying tool for both navigation and science mapping, able to create ultra-high-resolution 3D maps at centimeter-level precision and give them a rich scientific context," Zanetti said. "It also will help ensure the safety of astronauts and rover vehicles in a GPS-denied environment such as the Moon, identifying actual distances to far-off landmarks and showing explorers in real time how far they've come and how far is left to go to reach their destination." That's a key challenge as Artemis-era explorers prepare to undertake the first modern missions to the Moon, and the first ever to its South Pole. The Sun never rises more than 3 degrees above the lunar horizon there, leaving much of the terrain in deep shadow. That makes distances to various points of interest difficult to eyeball. Initiated in 2020 with funding by NASA's Early Career Initiative, the KNaCK project has partnered with Torch Technologies Inc. of Huntsville to develop the backpack prototype and associated navigation algorithms that permit accurate mapping without GPS. The project's commercial vendor, Aeva Inc. of Mountain View, California, is supplying FMCW-lidar sensors and support, working with NASA to enhance the backpack's lidar sensing system for use on the Moon and other extraplanetary human excursions. Using KNaCK during rover excursions and when traveling on foot, explorers could precisely map the topography of the landscape, including deep ravines, mountains, and caves. Lidar even works in pitch blackness, relieving astronauts of the need to haul cumbersome lighting rigs everywhere they go. "As human beings, we tend to orient ourselves based on landmarks - a specific building, a grove of trees," Zanetti said. "Those things don't exist on the Moon. KNaCK will continuously enable explorers traversing the surface to determine their movement, direction, and orientation to distant peaks or to their base of operations. They can even mark specific sites where they found some unique mineral or rock formation, so others can easily return for further study." That's vital for astronauts on a clock, their excursions limited by the oxygen supply in their suits. KNaCK's ultra-high-resolution precision - an order of magnitude greater than conventional lunar topography maps and elevation models - makes it a vital resource for conducting science and mission operations 238,900 miles away from mission control, Zanetti said. The hardware will get another major field test in late April at NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) in Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico. The team previously put the KNaCK system through its paces at that ancient volcanic crater - estimated to be 25,000-80,000 years old - in November 2021. They also used it recently to conduct a 3D reconstruction of the 6-mile-long sea barrier dunes at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which protect its primary rocket launch pads. Kennedy and Marshall engineers will continue to use KNaCK to assess the impact of storms on dune erosion, ensuring the safety of future flight missions as they further refine the system. Next, the KNaCK team will work to miniaturize the hardware - the backpack prototype weighs about 40 pounds - and harden the sensitive electronics against the punishing effects of microgravity and solar radiation. "Taking advantage of the latest advancements in lidar technology from Aeva, our next-generation space-hardened unit with support from Torch Technologies will be about the size of a soda can and could enable lunar surface operations like never before," Zanetti said. He envisions mounting it on a rover or on the side of an astronaut's helmet - which should leave plenty of room in future lunar mountaineers' all-purpose backpacks. Learn more about NASA's return to the Moon here: https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. A birthday gathering Friday in Buffalo's Emerson neighborhood for a 14-year-old youth was not a celebration. It was a plea. The family and friends of Jaylen M. Griffin, last seen in August 2020, used the occasion to ask public officials to persevere in their search for the missing youth. "We should have been celebrating a birthday with him in person, but instead we're talking about it," said Pastor Tim Newkirk of GYC Ministries and its affiliate Community Action Coalition. Jaylen's father, older brother and community representatives from GYC Ministries, Back to Basics Outreach Ministries and Buffalo Peacemakers gathered behind Lincoln Field House, a short walk from Griffin's Warren Avenue home, to urge for hope not to be lost. Attempts to locate Jaylen have proven fruitless. Since learning of the case in 2020 at a vigil following the Nov. 23 death of Jaylen's brother, Jawaan, Newkirk said GYC Ministries has pursued several tips that led them to youths who looked similar to but were not Jaylen. Door-to-door searches, a steady stream of missing person flyers with his picture and a billboard on the Kensington Expressway were among other tools used in a search that's included help from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Special Victims Unit of the Buffalo Police Department. Billboard added to effort to find missing Buffalo 13-year-old Jaylen Griffin was 12 when he was last seen Aug. 4, 2020, at the family's home on Warren Avenue, not far from the Central Terminal. Advocates now call upon law enforcement and government officials from areas outside of Buffalo to take note of the case, since it's "not a typical runaway" situation, Newkirk said. "We're asking for the expanded efforts and community-involved efforts to extend beyond the adjacent areas of law enforcement through to Niagara Falls, Rochester, Pennsylvania, Syracuse and surrounding suburban areas," said Tamea Dixon, community liaison for the Community Action Coalition. Brian Griffin, Jaylen's father and a childhood friend of Newkirk, spoke briefly. "I'm stable, but I have my days where I break down crying. It's rough," he said. "It's really hard for the mom." Jaylen's father expressed gratitude to Newkirk for being by his side from driving him to doctor's appointments to doubling down on the search during his son's absence. "This right here has brought us even tighter," Brian said. The local outreach and ministry organizations remain steadfast in their quest to find Jaylen. "We believe when one is missing, we'll leave the 99 to go find that one," said Pastor James Giles, founder of Back to Basics. "We are going to be persistent." Community Action Coalition aims to help families of missing, exploited kids An organization that has been involved in recent efforts to find missing youth is on a missi Pastor Charles H. Walker II of Back to Basics and Mount Hope Community Church on Broadway announced a partnership with Liberty Yellow Cab owner Bill Yuhnke to place a flyer of Jaylen's picture and information in each of the fleet's 116 vehicles. As Jaylen's missing person case continues, Brian copes each day by looking at a photo of his son. "Pray and let it go that's all I can do," Brian said. "It's out of my control. Put it in God's hands." Buffalo Police Department's Special Victims Unit can be reached at 716-851-4494. The department also has a confidential tip line which accepts calls and texts at 716-847-2255. Anyone with information on his whereabouts may also call 911, so police can respond immediately. Ben Tsujimoto can be reached at btsujimoto@buffnews.com, at (716) 849-6927 or on Twitter at @Tsuj10. 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. When New Yorkers voted in 2014 to craft new legislative districts without partisan bias, they expressed their resolve in the most ironclad way an amendment to the state Constitution. What better method, proponents argued, than constitutionally assigning to an Independent Redistricting Commission the reapportionment process mandated by the decennial census, and away from partisan legislators. Now eight years later a panel of New York's highest-ranking judges will finally interpret just exactly what voters approved in the 2014 amendment. And when the Court of Appeals on Tuesday morning considers the complicated case filed earlier this year by Republicans claiming they were shut out of the process, some now wonder if even the state's high court can insulate itself from the nation's increasing political polarization. "It's highly unfortunate that people have become so cynical when they believe the prior political affiliation of judges matters when they take the oath of office to uphold the Constitution," said former Rep. John J. Faso, spokesman for the Republican group challenging as hyperpartisan the congressional and legislative districts ultimately fashioned by Albany Democrats. Appeals court rules New York congressional map to be unconstitutional "The 2022 congressional map was drawn to discourage competition and favor Democrats," the court concluded. "It's very unfortunate that President Trump can criticize someone who is an 'Obama judge,' or it's noted that a 'Trump judge' overturned the mask mandate," he added. "Anyone comes to any job with an inherent point of view, but the role of a judge is to weigh the facts and apply the law. I feel confident we will get a fair hearing and hopeful we will win." Indeed, whether a judge carries an "R" or "D" in their label seems to enter the complicated case that on Thursday resulted in a 3-2 decision by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court in Rochester, upholding Republican Justice Patrick F. McAllister of Steuben County. He ruled in March that legislative Democrats violated the State Constitution by drawing congressional maps favoring their own party. Two Democrats were among the three appellate judges who voted to uphold the GOP argument on Thursday. And now, it escapes nobody's notice that all seven Court of Appeals judges were appointed by Democratic Governors Andrew M. Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, or that U.S. Supreme Court decisions often break along 5-4 partisan lines. After the Thursday ruling in Rochester, meanwhile, the very real possibility of a delayed primary election looms if the Republican argument also prevails in the state's high court. Faso said his plaintiffs in the case will seek moving the scheduled June 28 primary to make time for a non-partisan reapportionment process, even though delaying it until the 2024 election could be possible. But he believes that option gives those who crafted partisan lines a "free chance" in 2022. Faso says his team believes a primary should take place in August, and could be scheduled until as late as Aug. 23. "Yes, it would be inconvenient, but it would be more inconvenient to vote on unconstitutional district lines," he said. Faso, the former Assembly minority leader from Columbia County who ran for governor in 2006, believes the strength of the case his team of lawyers has offered explains their success so far. He points to support from non-partisan groups like the League of Women Voters, which submitted arguments to the court backing the Republican case. "Indeed, as is evident from the Amendments text, the very purpose of the IRCs creation and duties was exactly to check and limit the Legislatures power over redistricting," the League said. Democrats ranging from Hochul to Assembly Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie said in initial court arguments that the GOP case is flawed because legislators are protected by a state version of the U.S. Constitution's "speech and debate" clause. That provision prohibits legislators (and by extension, they argued, the governor) from being held accountable for their actions outside the Legislature. The Attorney General's Office argued the privilege is "absolute," and that past cases have established the precedent. Despite precedent, GOP hopes for success in reapportionment challenge Though the New York GOP is reduced to almost afterthought status in Democrat-controlled Albany, the party harbors at least a glimmer of reapportionment hope through its suit slated for arguments Feb. 24. But so far those arguments have not convinced any judges all the way through the appellate process, though the Rochester panel upheld Democratic arguments regarding maps for the State Senate and Assembly (while upholding the GOP argument for House of Representatives lines). The judges ruled the Legislature can assume a new redistricting task if it wants to. Still, much of New York's legal and political community will be riveted on the arguments before the high court on Tuesday, especially because so much is at stake. James R. Gardner, a professor at the University at Buffalo's School of Law, notes a decision is highly anticipated because it will finalize for New York how best to accommodate the voters' desire to end gerrymandering. "What we've seen this cycle is essentially the complete failure of that," he said. "The Independent Redistricting Commission has been so riven by partisan bickering that they were unable to do their job. It looked good on the drawing board, but in reality, polarization has paralyzed them." The New York experience mirrors what occurred in other states, he said, despite real optimism. And while he recognizes the political polarization preventing reformed reapportionment, and "nationwide erosion of liberal democracy," he does not believe the divisions will extend to the Court of Appeals. "I like to think New York has been a bit insulated because of the commitment by the people and their officials to maintain liberal democracy, and that brings with it a judiciary with impartiality as a goal," he said. "The public should have confidence in the Court of Appeals and the Fourth Department." 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 judge has ordered more psychiatric tests to be conducted on the Buffalo man who was shot by police officers on March 14 after he lunged at them with a knife, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said Friday. Dominique Thomas, 30, who remains hospitalized since the shooting, was indicted on four felony counts of menacing a police officer in connection with the March 14 incident. At about 4:30 a.m. March 14, Thomas allegedly called 911 to report that someone was trying to kill him. Buffalo patrol officers responded to his apartment building on Hertel Avenue where they found him in the stairwell and saw he had a knife. Body camera footage from one of the police officers that was released to the public showed officers backing away from him out onto the street while trying to calm him down before he suddenly ran toward them. The footage shows Thomas had a knife in his hand. Two police officers opened fire on him and he was shot multiple times. Video shows police officer screaming 'Why?' after shooting man who ran at them with a knife Buffalo police on Wednesday released a 3 minute 44 second video from a body-worn cameras of one of the police officers who shot a man armed with a knife who was having a mental health crisis early Monday morning. After Thomas' initial arraignment, two doctors conducted what are called "forensic examinations" and determined he was competent to stand trial. But Thomas' defense counsel asked Erie County Judge Kenneth Case for additional tests, which Case granted. Thomas' brother, Robert, told reporters at a news conference last month that Dominique Thomas has schizophrenia and a history of mental illness. Thomas' supporters questioned why police shot him and called for the Buffalo Police Department's Behavioral Health Team to operate 24 hours a day to handle mental health crises. The team, which pairs police with mental health workers, was not on duty at the time of the incident. In addition to the charges related to March 14, Dominique Thomas is facing a pending charge on a separate case. He was arraigned before Buffalo City Court Judge Carrie Phillips on a misdemeanor count of third-degree menacing for allegedly threatened to kill his doctor after being treated at Erie County Medical Center in August. Thomas allegedly failed to appear for a court date after which a warrant was issued. He has court dates scheduled for May 9 in the doctor case and June 15 for the police case. If convicted on all charges, Thomas faces up to seven years in prison. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A convicted felon from California won't see his home state again for several years, after pleading guilty to gun and drug charges Thursday in Niagara County Court. Brock Goines, 34, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., faces up to 10 years in state prison for attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, Assistant District Attorney Maria H. Stoelting said. Goines rented an Airbnb apartment in Niagara Falls and shipped two handguns there from California, Stoelting said. The Airbnb owner intercepted the package and called police, who searched the room Feb. 23 and also found 527 tablets of controlled substances, Stoelting said. Judge Caroline A. Wojtaszek ordered Goines held pending sentencing June 14. A woman, Haleigh Felton, 26, of Inglewood, Calif., also was arrested, but charges against her were dropped, Stoelting 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. Erie County is now considered to have a "high" Covid-19 community level under federal parameters, though hospitalizations from the virus continue to remain low. The county's Health Department said total new Covid cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days hit 359 on Thursday, moving the area into what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers a high Covid level. The CDC also looks at hospital admissions and bed capacity to determine community levels. At the high level, the CDC recommends wearing a mask indoors in public, staying up to date with Covid vaccines and getting tested if symptoms arise. Covid-19 in Western New York: The latest statistics More than 325,200 Western New Yorkers have contracted Covid-19 since March 2020 and 3,900 have died of it. "These recommendations are basic protective measures that we are all familiar with at this point in the pandemic," said county Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein. While Covid cases have been rising, the new subvariants, like the BA.2 strain, have so far resulted in milder illnesses that don't require hospitalization as often. County Executive Mark Poloncarz said this week it would take a much greater strain on hospital capacity for any new health-related restrictions to be imposed. Erie County's Covid numbers are rising but not enough to impose new restrictions "There's nothing that would indicate, at this time, that we are in a situation that would cause us to take any drastic action," County Executive Mark Poloncarz said this week. On Wednesday, the county said there were 79 Covid patients in Erie County hospitals 31 of whom were admitted due to the virus. Compare that with more than 500 hospitalizations a day for much of January. In terms of capacity, Erie County hospitals had 20% of hospital beds and 22% of intensive care unit beds available as of Wednesday closely mirroring the statewide average, state data show. Central New York and the Finger Lakes, at both around 9% of hospital beds available, remain the tightest on capacity. Jon Harris can be reached at 716-849-3482 or jharris@buffnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByJonHarris. 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. WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden pledged an additional $1.3 billion Thursday for new weapons and economic assistance to help Ukraine in its strong but increasingly difficult battle against the Russian invasion, and he promised to seek much more from Congress to keep the guns, ammunition and cash flowing. The latest military aid, Biden said, will be sent directly to the front lines of freedom. Putin is banking on us losing interest, Biden said. The Russian president is betting that Western unity will crack ... and once again were going to prove him wrong. The new package includes $800 million in military aid for much-needed heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition and drones for the escalating battle in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It builds on roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance that Biden previously approved. Theres also a fresh $500 million in direct economic assistance t o Ukraine for government salaries, pensions and other programs. That raises the total U.S. economic support to $1 billion since Russias invasion began nearly two months ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the United States in his nightly address in Ukraine, saying the military aid was just what we were waiting for. Earlier in a virtual address to the World Bank meeting in Washington, he said his nation will also need up to $7 billion each month to make up for economic losses. With tens of thousands of buildings damaged and key infrastructure in ruins, Ukraine will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild, Zelenskyy said. Biden underscored a need for the United States and Western allies to remain resolved in their support for Ukraine amid signs that Americans may becoming more wary of the war. A poll published Thursday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows Americans desire to get involved has waned somewhat. Some 32% say the U.S. should have a major role in the conflict. Thats ticked down from 40% last month, though its slightly higher than the 26% who said so in February. An additional 49% say the U.S. should have a minor role. The president also announced that Russian-affiliated ships would be barred from U.S. ports, though that appeared to be largely symbolic. Russian ships bring a tiny amount of the cargo unloaded in the U.S., and "my guess is that ... a decent chunk of that was tankers transporting Russian oil which is now banned anyway, said Colin Grabow, a research fellow who studies trade at the Cato Institute. Overall, Biden said that $6.5 billion in security assistance that Congress approved last month as part of a $13.6 billion package for Ukraine could soon be exhausted." With the latest announcement, Biden has approved about $3.4 billion in military aid since Feb. 24. Congress' overall total also included about $6.8 billion in direct economic assistance to care for refugees and provide economic aid to allies in the region impacted by the war and additional funding for federal agencies to enforce economic sanctions against Russia and protect against cyber threats. Next week, Im going to have to be sending to Congress a supplemental budget request to keep weapons and ammunition deployed without interruption, Biden said. Congress has signaled it is receptive to further requests and has been expecting there would be a need for further help for the Ukrainians. But the issue could become entwined with partisan fights over pandemic spending and immigration, complicating the pathway. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has expressed a willingness to consider more aid for Ukraine in recent weeks. I think we need to say we want the Ukrainians to win, and were prepared to do everything we can to help them win, McConnell said Monday in Shelbyville, Kentucky. We want to do more, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters at the Capitol, during an appearance with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. She said lawmakers would learn more about Bidens latest funding request in the next day or so, to be taken up as soon as we can. Next week. Biden has chosen retired Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff, a National Security Council official during the Obama administration, to oversee coordination of the security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the yet to be formally announced appointment, said Wolff was brought to the White House National Security Council team in recent days. Biden spoke on the new assistance, and more broadly about the situation in Ukraine, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the strategic city of Mariupol. Putin, however, ordered his troops not to risk more losses by storming the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the wars iconic battleground. Biden in an exchange with reporters following his remarks called Russias claim on Mariupol questionable." Russian forces have destroyed much of southeastern port city, which has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of the war. By Russian estimates, about 2,000 Ukrainian forces remain holed up in a sprawling steel plant, even as Russia continues to pound the industrial site and issue ultimatums for surrender. Biden sought to make clear to Russians that plenty more military assistance for Ukraine would be coming. Sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large Javelin, because were sending a lot of those, Biden said, paraphrasing Theodore Roosevelt and referring to an anti-tank missile system. The new U.S. military assistance is to include 72 155mm howitzers, 144,000 artillery rounds, 72 vehicles used to tow to the howitzers onto battlefields, and over 121 Phoenix Ghost tactical drones, as well as field equipment and spare parts. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the drones were developed by the Air Force and fit a specific need of Ukrainian forces in the battle for the Donbas. The drones are produced by a U.S. company, Aevex Aerospace, in a program that began before Russia invaded on Feb. 24. Kirby said the Phoenix Ghost is similar to the armed Switchblade kamikaze drones that the Pentagon already is providing to Ukraine. The 72 howitzers are in addition to the 18 announced last week the U.S. was transferring to Ukraine. Bidens decision to quadruple the number pledged in an arms package announced just last week reflects what is shaping up as a major ground battle in the contested Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The Russians have been deploying additional artillery there in recent days as they aim to expand their offensive and attempt to take full control of the Donbas after retreating from a failed attempt to capture Kyiv, the capital. Heavy weaponry like artillery is expected to play a key role in the fighting in the relatively confined area where Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatists have been battling since 2014. The announcements on new aid came against the backdrop of International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this week dominated by how to manage the spillover from Russias war in Ukraine. Ahead of his remarks, Biden met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal. The Ukrainian leader also met on Thursday with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as well as Pelosi. Yellen at a news conference said the economic aid the U.S. and allies have sent is only the beginning of what Ukraine will need to rebuild. She added that she'd be discussing efforts to further aid Ukraine with her Western counterparts this week. I think we stand united in recognizing weve got to find ways to meet Ukraines needs, she said. The Biden administration also announced a new program Thursday aimed at streamlining refugee applications for Ukrainians and others fleeing the fighting, while they are still in Europe. The U.S. will no longer routinely grant entry to those who show up at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum, as thousands have. The U.S. expects to admit up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine and about 15,000 have come, mostly through Mexico. Associated Press writers Ben Fox, Alan Fram, Fatima Hussein, Chris Megerian, Zeke Miller and Paul Wiseman contributed reporting. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Something crazy is going to happen in June unless the Legislature or the former lieutenant governor acts quickly. Given lawmakers responsibility to the New York constitution, the law and the states voters, they should plan on shouldering the responsibility. The issue is the former lieutenant governor, of course. Facing federal charges of corruption, Brian Benjamin resigned this month, less than a year after assuming the office. Because of the insufficiency of state law actually, the lunacy of state law removing a candidate from the ballot is ridiculously difficult, even when the candidate has been charged with felonies involving the misuse of public office. Benjamin was elevated from the State Senate to the lieutenant governors office last year by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who became the states chief executive in August, when Andrew M. Cuomo resigned. She is seeking the Democratic nomination for the office in the June 28 primary. It wont help her cause or that of Democrats, generally for Benjamin to appear on the ballot. But thats not voters problem. Their issue is that the ballot belongs to them, not the politicians. With it, voters express their choices for their government, whether its a village mayor, a state legislator or a lieutenant governor. Benjamin was arrested this month on charges that he illegally manipulated campaign finance laws to benefit his 2019 campaign for New York City comptroller. He has denied the charges. Benjamin owns a legal presumption of innocence but, as a political matter, voters should not have to tolerate his name on the ballot. The options to remove him are few. He could move out of state, though no one is predicting that. He could run for a different office, but that would only move the problem, not solve it. Hochul said in a radio interview that she believes the Legislature could act. Some legislators have expressed support for a law to allow a candidate facing criminal charges to be removed from the ballot. Its an obvious need. They should act now. Failing to do so will hand Republicans another weapon, beyond the cudgels named Benjamin and Cuomo. How can you trust Democrats, they will say, if they wont even act to remove a suspected felon from the ballot let alone a suspected felon running for the states second-highest executive office? The argument would have merit. Thats not to say that Republicans dont have their own skeletons. Few of them complained when former Rep. Chris Collins of Clarence chose to remain a candidate even though he was facing federal charges of insider trading. He won that election and, for several months, served as a politically impotent representative of the 27th Congressional District. Although he had loudly denied the allegations, he later admitted his guilt and went to prison. The districts voters would have been better off if he could have been forced off the ballot. Members of both parties in New York have long waved their indifference to laws and ethics like banners. (Before his conviction for corruption, then-Comptroller Alan Hevesi, a Democrat, liked to say that it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Not always.) Thats the overarching issue that Benjamins arrest raises yet again for New Yorkers. The immediate one, though, is how to protect the states voters from the embarrassment the frustrating pointlessness of being presented with a ballot that includes the former lieutenant governors name. Some observers think the Legislature cant act in time to prevent that from happening, but that seems little more than conjecture at this point. Lawmakers meaning Democrats, who own supermajorities in both the Assembly and Senate need to take this seriously. Theyre going to be clubbed with Benjamin however they proceed, but they could win some gratitude by acting now to ensure that candidates charged with felonies can be removed from the ballot. Republicans wont say so, but the day will come when theyll appreciate it, too. 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. Gowanda fishing clinic May 7 Anyone ages 6 and up is invited to attend a free youth and adult fishing clinic through the Gowanda Volunteer Fire Company, 230 Aldrich St., Gowanda, on May 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You must preregister at gowandafirerescue.com. The event will begin at the fire hall for an orientation and then participants will head to Cattaraugus Creek for fishing lessons from the many volunteers. Co-sponsors include Region 9 DEC, area fishing clubs and local businesses. This has been designated a free fishing day event so no fishing license is required for anyone 16 or older. Some fishing rods and reels are available for use. Junior anglers must be accompanied by an adult. Lunch will be provided for free. For more information, contact Bill Mansfield at 955-9785. Antique fishing tackle show May 7 New Yorks longest-running tackle show will be taking place from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 7 at the Elks Lodge No. 41, 6791 N. Canal Road, Lockport. The 32nd annual event for tackle collectors and the general public is a great opportunity to buy, sell or view vintage tackle displays many from Western New York. If you have some antique tackle you would like to be appraised, bring it to the show. Admission is $5. Spouses and children younger than 16 are free. If you would like to exhibit some of your vintage tackle, tables are $20. Setup for the show will take place at 9:30 a.m. For more information, contact Dan Bedford at 713-9410. For questions on appraisals, contact Mark Schmitkons at 751-6611. New fisheries group forming Since December 2017, DEC has been working with the Lake Ontario Fisheries Management Focus Group, consisting of Lake Ontario anglers who represent the open lake and tributary fisheries, to improve DECs fisheries management and better meet the desires of anglers. This group will become a formal entity this year known as the Lake Ontario Fisheries Advisory Council (LOFAC). Membership will include eight open lake anglers and eight tributary anglers representing four lake management areas of Lake Ontario (West, West Central, East Central, and East). The new advisory council will consist of a mix of individuals who served on the Lake Ontario Fisheries Management Focus Group and new members. LOFAC will have regular meetings with DEC and will provide input from Lake Ontario anglers to DEC fisheries managers and biologists, as well as helping DEC communicate fisheries science and management to the public. It is hoped the first meeting will take place this spring. LOTSAs Dock Talk with Hajecki Timing is everything as the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association (LOTSA) prepares to hold its spring seminar at the dock of one of the top charter captains in the area. At 7 p.m. May 5, the fishing group will be sponsoring a seminar on spring king salmon fishing and electronics by Capt. Rich Hajecki, of Crazy Yankee Sportfishing. The seminar will be held at Bootleggers Cove Marina in Wilson. He will be giving the seminar from the back of his boat, Yankee Troller. Marty Polovick of Lockport will be grilling some of his famous hot dogs starting at 6 p.m. This is also the day before the start of the Lake Ontario Counties Spring Derby and you could pick up some important tips on catching the big one. Hajecki is one of the top competition fishermen on the lake. He also works for Krenzer Marine on Sodus Bay as the service manager and marine electronics sales manager. He will be going over the types and options of transducers, mounting and placement of the electronics and transducers, settings on the electronics and how to use and fine-tune them to help you get the best results from them while fishing. He also will be taking any questions. For more information on LOTSA, check out lotsa1.org. Lake Erie outreach event postponed DEC has postponed its State of Lake Erie angler outreach event that was scheduled for April 26 at Woodlawn Beach State Park. It will be rescheduled for early summer. The 2021 Lake Erie Annual Report is now available on the DEC website at dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/2021lkerierpt.pdf. For further information, contact Jason Robinson, Lake Erie unit leader at 366-0228. South Africa: Late KZN police diver hailed for courage, bravery Late KwaZulu-Natal police search and rescue officer, Sergeant Busisiwe Mjwara, has been hailed for her courage and bravery through her unrelenting service to the nation. Mjwara and her canine, Leah, on Sunday perished while searching for a family of three that did not survive the devastating floods in the Msunduzi River in Pietermaritzburg. It was a team of six that attempted to find the family when the tragedy struck. Paying tribute, Police Minister, Bheki Cele, in jest described Mjwaras commitment to the police service as very arrogant. This, he said, was because she chose to join the male-dominated search and rescue unit, despite the risks associated with the job. The girl sleeping here is very arrogant. She knows herself. It wasnt enough for her to be a police officer. She said she wanted to do what others couldnt do. Im told that in the entire unit, there were only two women among a host of men. She did what others avoided, he said. The Minister said Mjwara was the epitome of police excellence. Very few police officers go the extra mile shes one of them, said Cele. The Minister paid tribute to all police officers who had risked their lives to provide service to flood-ravaged areas in the province. Comforting the family, Cele said the Sergeant had concluded her lifes journey and called on the family to find solace in knowing this. National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, described Mjwara as a brave and courageous officer, saying her death was a sad turn of events for SAPS. There is no greater sacrifice than for one to give up their life in the service of others. "Police... [provide] a service to communities... One of the critical services we provide is also search and rescue. Mjwara, Msemola said, was among those providing the service. "She chose to go and provide the service of searching for and rescuing people," he said. When Mjwara joined SAPS in 2008, she "took up the oath of office, and promised to uphold and enforce the law". Masemola said: "Most importantly, she promised to serve and protect the people of South Africa. As management of the SAPS, we have no doubt that she played a role in protecting the people of this country. She upheld the code of conduct, and also the ethics and integrity with pride and dignity. "In the face of danger, she did not step back, but chose to put the safety and security of the people of this country first." KZN Premier, Sihle Zikalala, said Mjwaras death was a reminder of the importance of police in society. They dont just protect us from criminality but they even protect us in times of strife. To the family, do know that we grieve with you in this difficult moment of grief and find comfort in God. Let us accept that she left us in a painful manner. Let us imagine her conceding that she fought a good fight and has concluded her journey. She served the country with distinction. As we speak here, we speak of her patriotism, bravery and heroism. When all is said and done, Sgt Mjwara teaches us that courage and bravery are born out of a deep care for others. Without that human compassion and ubuntu, we cannot talk of courage and not speak of a crown of glory given to those who fought courageously, he said. The Premier saluted the late sergeant, saying she died a heroic death. Her work is risky by nature. She could have easily said the rivers current was too strong and not worth the risk, but she did not do that. That is courage, that is commitment, he said. - SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Company Logo Global Point of Care and Rapid Diagnostics Market Global Point of Care and Rapid Diagnostics Market Dublin, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Point of Care & Rapid Diagnostics Market by Product (Glucose, Infectious Disease (HIV, Hepatitis C), Pregnancy Test), Platform (Microfluidics, Dipsticks), Mode of Purchase (OTC, Prescription), End User (Pharmacy, Hospital, Home) - Forecast to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global point of care diagnostics market is expected to reach USD 72.0 billion by 2027 from an estimated USD 43.2 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2022 to 2027. Point-of-care testing (POCT) includes screening or diagnostic tests performed outside traditional laboratories. These tests are designed to be used at or near the site where the patient is located (such as at home, in an ambulance, at a physician's office, and other locations). POCT allows rapid and reliable diagnostic testing through which outcomes can be obtained instantly, helping physicians/patients to make decisions related to care remotely and as soon as possible. Market growth is mainly driven by the high prevalence of infectious diseases, supportive government policies and rising number of CLIA-waived POC tests. In addition, healthcare decentralization and greater investments and funding for product development are expected to offer growth opportunities for players in the point of care diagnostics market. POC tests can greatly improve the management of infectious diseases, especially in developing countries where access to timely medical care is a challenge and the healthcare infrastructure is antiquated and sparse. The high prevalence of infectious diseases, coupled with the inadequate healthcare infrastructural facilities in developing countries, is expected to drive the adoption of POC testing. The Glucose Monitoring Products segment accounted for the largest share of the point of care diagnostics market, by product type, in 2021 Based on products, the point-of-care diagnostics market is segmented into glucose monitoring products, cardiometabolic monitoring products, COVID-19 testing products, infectious disease testing products, coagulation monitoring products, pregnancy & fertility testing products, hematology testing products, tumor/cancer marker testing products, fecal occult testing products, urinalysis testing products, drug-of-abuse testing products, cholesterol testing products, and other products. Story continues In 2021, the glucose monitoring products segment accounted for the largest share of the point-of-care diagnostics market. This can be attributed to the growing diabetic patient population base, ongoing technological advancements, and the growing preference for home glucose testing. The Lateral Flow Assays segment accounted for the largest share of the point of care diagnostics market, by platform, in 2021 Based on platform, the point-of-care diagnostics market is segmented into lateral flow assays, immunoassays, microfluidics, dipsticks, and molecular diagnostics. The lateral flow assays segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2021. The widespread adoption of lateral flow assays in POC testing as a replacement for lengthy, conventional laboratory procedures is a key factor contributing to the growth of this segment. The OTC Testing Products segment, by mode of purchase, accounted for the largest share of the global point of care diagnostics market in 2021 On the basis of mode of purchase, the point-of-care diagnostics market is segmented into OTC testing products and prescription-based testing products. The OTC testing products segment accounted for the largest share of the market in 2021. The growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases and the favorable reimbursement scenario for OTC testing products are the major factors driving the growth of this market segment. On the basis of End Users, Hospitals & Critical Care Centers segment accounted for the largest share of the global point of care diagnostics market, in 2021 The hospitals & critical care centers segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period, owing to the increasing adoption of POC devices offering reduced turnaround time. The clinical laboratories segment accounted for the largest share of the point-of-care diagnostics market in 2021. However, the home care and self-testing segment is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases (requiring long-term care and frequent monitoring), growing awareness about home care, and the increasing availability of user-friendly and advanced POC diagnostic products. The Latin America market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period In 2021, North America accounted for the largest share of this market, followed by Europe. The rising prevalence of lifestyle diseases, growing number of product approvals, and government initiatives to support the wider adoption of POC testing products are the key factors driving the growth of the North American point-of-care diagnostics market. On the other hand, the Latin American market is projected to register the highest growth during the forecast period due to government efforts to increase awareness about the early detection of diseases and regular health check-ups, further promoting point-of-care devices. As of 2020, the point of care diagnostics market is dominated by Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland), Abbott Laboratories (US), Siemens Healthineers (Germany), Danaher Corporation (US), Quidel Corporation (US). Other leading players are Becton, Dickinson, and Company (US), Biomeriux S.A. (France), and Chembio Diagnostics (US). Market Dynamics Drivers High Prevalence of Infectious Diseases Increasing Incidence of Target Conditions Supportive Government Policies Dearth of Skilled Laboratory Technicians Rising Number of Clia-Waived Poc Tests Restraints Pricing Pressure Owing to Reimbursement Cuts and Budget Constraints Stringent Regulatory Policies Opportunities Emerging Markets Healthcare Decentralization Increasing Provider Awareness About Novel Technologies Poc Tests with Multiplexing Capabilities Growing Investments and Funding for Product Development Challenges Lack of Alignment with Definitive Central Lab Methods Inadequate Adoption of Poc Devices in Professional Settings Reluctance to Change Existing Diagnostic Practices Premium Pricing of Novel Platforms Technology Analysis: Emerging Point-Of-Care Applications Sepsis Biomarkers Stroke/Cardiac Markers Thyroid Testing Dna Testing Endocrine Testing Respiratory Diagnostics Regulatory Landscape Industry Trends Related to COVID-19 Value Chain Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Prominent Companies Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises End-users Pricing Trend Analysis Porter's Five Forces Company Profiles Key Players Abbott Siemens Healthineers Ag Quidel Corporation Danaher Corporation Becton, Dickinson and Company Thermo Fisher Scientific Biomerieux S.A. Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. Ekf Diagnostics Trinity Biotech plc Instrumentation Laboratory (A Werfen Company) Nova Biomedical Pts Diagnostics Sekisui Diagnostics Other Players Lifescan Ip Holdings, LLC Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings Ag Fluxergy Prescision Biosensor, Inc. Acon Laboratories, Inc. A. Menarini Diagnostics S.R.L Orasure Technologies, Inc. Mankind Pharma Terumo Corporation Grifols, S.A. Diasorin S.P.A. Accubiotech Co., Ltd. Meridian Bioscience Biocartis Genestat Molecular Diagnostics, LLC. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dhsbvb Attachment CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Governmental donors must commit to unrestricted funding that doesnt force organisations to spend money immediately on a crisis not as severe as another, or on a project that no one needs (Getty) The war in Ukraine has prompted the British public to donate millions to the humanitarian response. Though a lifeline for many, the humanitarian sectors efficacy has often been called into question, especially in light of high-profile and well-funded interventions. The influx of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake was described as an over-resourced circus. Ten years on from the Central Sulawesi earthquake, almost half of the Indonesians affected identified shelter as having been their priority need, with only a fraction of beneficiaries receiving it. Meanwhile, widespread reports have emerged of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh selling aid to buy items they actually want and need. Indeed, there are signs of history repeating itself when it comes to the Ukraine crisis. Reports have emerged that the Polish government has tried to regain control of the response from NGOs, whilst the Romanian government has expressed concern regarding the UNs coordination. It has also been suggested to me that some international non-governmental organisations (iNGOs) are unable to spend the large amounts that have been donated. There is a fundamental reason why little has changed despite widespread awareness of past failings: the sector remains accountable to those who fund it, and not to those who use its services. Think about government services. If you dont like them, you can sign a petition, write to your local MP, stand for election or vote and so, theoretically, influence what you receive. Meanwhile, services that conflict-affected communities receive are dictated by governmental donors in the global north. These donors are in turn answerable to their voting base, and not to those receiving the service. As the average length of wars increases, humanitarian organisations assume the role of quasi-state, but without the democratic representation of a government. Frequently, governmental donors, keen to show their voters swift action, set tight timelines for projects that result in intrinsically short-term aid. The Ukraine response will need large-scale reconstruction, long-term education and mental health support, and integration services. These things will take years but judging by past humanitarian interventions, funding will dry up before peoples needs have been met. Story continues Linking funding to what is referred to as the CNN effect when the deciding factor in humanitarian intervention is the coverage given by global media players has also brought about vast inequities in the distribution of humanitarian aid. Whilst the Ukraine response has raised billions, money donated to avert famine in the Horn of Africa only amounts to 3 per cent of what is needed. When one in every 28 people needs humanitarian assistance, extreme poverty is on the rise after two decades in decline, and climate displacement looms large, we cannot afford to prioritise funding based on the media cycle. Furthermore, the distance between governmental donors and those receiving services has meant that donors are wary of supporting smaller players, and elect to fund the behemoth iNGOs and UN agencies with large donor-relations departments as seen in the UK governments exhortations to donate to established charities. However, it isnt sustainable to allot the lions share of funding to such organisations, like the 260m raised for 15 leading charities responding to the war in Ukraine. For such organisations, 260m is a drop in the ocean because of massive overheads and bureaucracy. Many projects are contracted out to implementing partners, resulting in funding leakage as each organisation covers their programme management, finances and communications out of the original budget. Donors would get much better bang for their buck by supporting grassroots charities think of the difference between donating to the World Food Programme vs your local soup kitchen. An added boon of supporting local charities is helping them build experience in leading a humanitarian response; they will be there long after the internationals have closed shop. There is still a role for the UN and iNGOs; examples include negotiations with the Syrian government to help refugees return to their land, or building irrigation networks to mitigate the effects of climate change in Somalia. As for Ukraine, major organisations should focus on evacuations, negotiating humanitarian corridors, coordinating response, and providing training. Running reception centres and providing food and services can and should be done by grassroots responders. Reliance on massive organisations also lowers quality, as internationals can be unaware of the cultural context. Richard Davies in Extreme Economies describes Syrian refugees in Jordan receiving food vouchers for items that were culturally unfamiliar to them, which they sold at a discount to use the cash on food they actually wanted, thereby losing some of the value of the voucher. A lack of cultural competence resulted in tens of millions of dollars being wasted. Im not suggesting that the response is in vain. The humanitarian ecosystem does save lives just not as many as it should. There are some brilliant organisations, but its hard for the public to work out which they are. To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment, sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here To start, the public should prioritise donating to grassroots organisations or iNGOs that partner with local actors, setting up direct debits to fund the response long after media attention has died down, and donating only to organisations that use respectful imagery pertaining to crisis-affected communities. In the meantime, governmental donors must commit to unrestricted funding that doesnt force organisations to spend money immediately on a crisis not as severe as another, or on a project that no one needs. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs proposal for an independent commission is a first step, but it doesnt include plans for such a commission to be staffed by those who are themselves affected by the crisis. Long term, Id be in favour of affected communities being allowed to vote in humanitarian leadership and to form advisory panels within governmental donors. In the past, poorly managed humanitarian response, as in the Rwandan genocide, prompted reform. This time, lets pre-empt the conversation and start managing the response better from the get-go. Tiara Ataii works in humanitarian response for the UN and major iNGOs in 11 countries. She founded the largest student-led charity worldwide, SolidariTee, which fights for long-term change in the refugee crisis Some of the newest beers that are about to hit the tap lines of Madison breweries have familiar styles. Theres a wheat beer, American red ale, Belgian-style tripel, golden ale and a stout. Only the recipes for these brews are far from local. In March, Pravda Brewery in Lviv, Ukraine, released its beer recipes for all to see and invited brewers from around the world to make its beers to show support for its home country, invaded by Russia in February. The beers will also carry the brewerys original labels, some bearing caustic messages about the conflict. Eleven Madison-area breweries have taken up the cause and on Sunday will serve them at the Brew for Ukraine Brewing Festival at Wisconsin Brewing Co. in Verona. The event, from noon to 5 p.m., will include music and food and could raise more than $20,000 with the proceeds going to Ukraine relief efforts. Some of the beers in what is being called the Victory Series will also be available at select breweries and a few taverns. One of the beers, Syla, named after a small Ukrainian village and made at Giant Jones Brewing Co. on Madisons Near East Side, has also been bottled and is for sale in individual 500ml bottles at the brewery and by next week at Star Liquor on Williamson Street. When theres opportunities to partner with our colleagues to relieve the fallout from aggressive imperialism, its obvious, Jessica Jones, co-founder of Giant Jones, said when asked about her brewerys involvement in the collaborative project. When its all of our colleagues coming together to, like, move on one thing, its just a bigger splash. Jones brewed Syla, a Belgian-style tripel with 8.4% alcohol and black peppercorn and coriander seed, with brewers from Wisconsin Brewing Co. and Delta Beer Lab. Other breweries that are part of the collaboration are Funk Factory, Great Dane, Grumpy Troll, Karben4, Lake Louie, Starkweather, Vintage and Working Draft. And like the Madison-area breweries involved in the collaboration, Pravda Brewery is also a craft brewing company. It was founded in 2014 and its first home was a former department store on Lvivs central square. The project included Czech engineering, Belgian consulting, a German bottling line, Spanish pouring system and American brewer, according to the brewerys website. Pravda, which is Russian for truth, later relocated to expand its production threefold and now has the capacity to brew 9,500 barrels of beer a year and has a stage where its own brass band orchestra performs. But when Russia invaded, the brewery halted production to make Molotov cocktails for the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces. Its unclear if the company has restarted its brewing systems, but its recipes are now being made by breweries around the world, including at Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Bare Bones Brewery in Oshkosh and Sunshine Brewing Co. in Lake Mills. As peaceful craft brewers, we want to return to the normal life asap and enjoy brewing and drinking, the brewery wrote when it released its recipes. Its a decisive moment for Ukraine, Europe and democracies of the world. Soon (we) will win this war and have a good beer. The Beer of Victory. Pravda also is sending a message to the world with the names of some of its beers. Frau Ribbentrop, a wheat beer brewed locally by Vintage, is highly critical of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for not supplying Ukraine with weapons and continuing to do business with Russia. The golden ale, produced here by Great Dane, is dubbed Putin Huylo, which translates into a slur against the Russian leader. On a lighter note, Pravdas beer From San to Don was produced at Grumpy Troll Brew Pub in Mount Horeb. The name comes from two rivers, one in western Ukraine, the other in central Russia. Proceeds from the Ukrainian beer sold in the Grumpy Troll taproom will go to a charity that feeds Ukrainian refugees in Poland. This shows that local people can get together and make a difference, said Dave Joe, Grumpy Trolls director of operations. Were pretty passionate about helping everybody out. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 With Dane County seeing a medium level of COVID-19, due to increasing reports of new cases, health officials on Friday again urged residents to get booster shots and second boosters if they qualify and havent had the injections. Reported case activity in the county has been increasing since late March, with a current seven-day average of 159 cases per day, up from about 60 in mid-March. However, COVID-19 hospitalizations have not risen, which officials attributed to the countys high vaccination rate, treatment options and natural immunity acquired by many people following the omicron variant surge in January. While the recent increase in cases is a cause of concern and caution, it is not a cause for alarm, Janel Heinrich, director of Public Health Madison and Dane County, said in a statement. We have always been clear that this pandemic is not over; we expect to see peaks and valleys in the number of cases in our community. Barron and Rusk counties also have medium COVID-19 community levels, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest analysis Thursday. The rest of Wisconsin has low levels. The CDC levels are based on cases per 100,000 residents, new hospitalizations and hospital bed capacity over the past week. Since many people have turned to home testing for COVID-19, for which results are typically not included in reported cases, health officials are also looking at virus levels in sewage as an indicator of community transmission. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the level of the coronavirus at the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District has been steady recently, while Green Bay, Janesville, Kenosha, Milwaukee and Racine have seen major increases. Other cities with major increases recently are Baraboo, Hudson, Marshfield, Platteville, Portage, Superior and Viroqua. People age 12 and older should get a Pfizer booster five months after their second shot, with the cutoff at age 18 for the Moderna vaccine, the CDC says. People 50 and older can get second boosters four months after their first booster, with older adults and those at high risk of severe disease most in need of getting them, health officials say. In Dane County, 20% of residents are eligible for booster shots but havent received them. Now is the time to get up to date, Heinrich said. The countys medium level also means people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease should talk to their health care providers about whether they should wear masks in public, health officials say. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In another shakeup to Wisconsins contested Republican gubernatorial primary, millionaire businessman Tim Michels has filed paperwork creating his own campaign for governor. Michels entry to the race adds another name to a crowded Aug. 9 primary ballot that already includes former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Marine Corps veteran Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport. The winner of the primary would go on to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is seeking a second term, in the Nov. 8 general election. Despite Fridays campaign registration statement filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, which is a necessary step to get on the November ballot, Michels has remained largely silent on his gubernatorial prospects. Michels didnt respond to a request for comment Friday, but several sources said hes expected to formally announce his campaign and launch a high-dollar television ad buy in the coming days. While Michels entry comes relatively late in the campaign season with the primary less than four months away, the U.S. Army veteran also has the funding to potentially launch a formidable campaign. Kleefisch has emerged as the odds-on favorite to win the August primary this fall, though some strategists have said the addition of anti-establishment candidates Nicholson and Ramthun underscore that a consensus pick has not yet been decided. Shes the clear frontrunner, GOP strategist Bill McCoshen, who had previously considered a run for governor before opting out, said of Kleefisch. Tim Michels is going to have to work to catch up to her, but I think thats the plan. Michels, 59, is co-owner of Michels Corp., a family-owned international energy and infrastructure construction business. He last ran for office in 2004, when he lost to Russ Feingold in the U.S. Senate race. An invitation to a Waukesha County fundraising event held Thursday for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, who is also seeking reelection this fall, listed Michels as a host. Johnson has said he does not plan to endorse any gubernatorial candidate. Met with Trump Conservative radio host Jay Weber tweeted earlier this week that Michels had recently met with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Trump has not formally endorsed a candidate in the states upcoming gubernatorial race. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who was considering a gubernatorial run before opting out earlier this week, recently told WISN-12 that he had spoken with Michels on the prospect of running for governor, but the business owner said he would not enter the race if Thompson ultimately ran. I told him I would call after I made the decision and I called him and said, Im not going to run, and he said, Im running, and I think youre going to hear from him very shortly, Thompson said in the video posted Thursday. Thompson, who made a recent trip to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, said the former president had encouraged him to join the gubernatorial race. Thompson, 80, later said he ultimately decided against launching a campaign after his family said they were against it. Who is Tim Michels and is he ready to run for office? Democratic Party of Wisconsin rapid response director Hannah Menchhoff said in a statement. We have no idea because Tim Michels doesnt appear to have spoken to a single Wisconsinite about his plans other than Tommy Thompson and Ron Johnson. All that can be said for certain at this point is that the messy Republican primary is about to get much messier. Other candidates Kleefisch, a former television journalist who served eight years as lieutenant governor under Scott Walker, has primarily focused her campaign on unseating Evers. Nicholsons campaign has included a focus on challenging what he has dubbed the Madison machine of established Republicans, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who earlier this year urged Nicholson not to run while deeming Kleefisch the best choice to defeat Evers. Nicholson ran for U.S. Senate in 2018, but lost the Republican primary to Leah Vukmir, who went on to lose to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison. Ramthun, who has falsely claimed that Trump won Wisconsins 2020 election, has drawn praise from the former president, who called the state lawmaker in early December to thank him for his efforts to overturn the election, according to Rolling Stone. Trump has continued to falsely claim he won the 2020 election, despite recounts, audits and court decisions affirming that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. Other Republicans who had considered a run for governor, but ultimately bowed out, include Madison businessman Eric Hovde and McCoshen, a former chief of staff to Thompson when he served as governor. Trump urged former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy to run for governor last year, but the former lumberjack athlete later said he would not be entering the race. Business owner Robert Meyer, who unsuccessfully challenged Walker in the 2018 GOP gubernatorial 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. 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. The deadline for gubernatorial candidates to secure the 2,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot is June 1. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CABO DELGADO, Mozambique (BP) Islamic insurgents have increasingly attacked northern Mozambique as Christianity increases there, the international evangelistic ministry Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) said in its latest special report. Radical Islamists have killed nearly 3,000 and displaced more than 800,000 Christians and moderate Muslims in recent years who refused to recite certain creeds, VOM said in its report. A focal point includes Cabo Delgado where the Christian population has grown to 40 percent Christian since 2017. VOM cites an influx of Christians working in Cabo Delgado and growing conversions among Muslims. In a 2020 attack that killed 70 residents of a Cabo Delgado village, Islamists decapitated all affirmed Christians. Islamists gathered everyone in Pastor Matateus village and asked each of them a single question: What is your religion? Those who answered Christian were decapitated, and pastors and their families were killed in especially gruesome, torturous ways, VOM said. The insurgents then reportedly raised an Islamic flag and declared the establishment of Sharia, or Islamic law. Pastor Matateu and his family hid in the bush for more than a month. The terrorists are members of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah, translated as adherents of the prophetic tradition, remnants of an extremist group from Tanzania. The group initially targeted police and government buildings, VOM said, but began targeting Christians and entire towns after pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019. Locally, the insurgents are known as al-Shabab, but are not affiliated with the Somalian Islamists of the same name. RELATED: Scores Beheaded, Hundreds of Thousands Displaced in Mozambique Among the towns that have been attacked is the Indian Ocean port city of Mocimboa de Praia, once home to 120,000 people, which has been devastated and largely abandoned since 2019. Todd Nettleton, VOM chief of media relations and message integration, said pastors are especially persecuted. When one of our VOM staff members arrived in Pemba, Mozambique earlier this year, he was immediately taken to lunch with four pastors, all of whom had experienced Islamist attacks firsthand, Nettleton said. One pastor, who had been separated from his wife while fleeing attackers, still didnt know if his wife was alive or dead months after the attack. And another pastor had suffered the traumatic experience of finding the mutilated body of his young son, who was murdered by the Islamists. Nettleton cited the pastors perseverance in faith and Christian service, encouraging prayers that Mozambique Christians remain faithful, be comforted as they comfort others, and have opportunities to show Christs love to their persecutors. Jesus is being lifted up in northern Mozambique. His great name is being glorified by men and women who value Jesus Christ more than their own safety or comfort, men and women who loved not their lives even unto death, Nettleton said, referencing Revelation 12:11. VOM quoted Matateu as saying, What could separate me from God? Death, no! The war, no! So of course, I will continue to serve my God. Because He gave Himself, I will always give myself. Nationwide, 54 percent of Mozambiques 32.3 million people are Christian, persecution watchdog Open Doors said in its 2022 World Watch List that ranked Mozambique as the 45th most dangerous country for Christians. It is the countrys first time on the list of the 50 countries where Christians suffer the most persecution and danger. RELATED: NEW: The Top 5 Trends From the 2022 World Watch List Constitutionally identified as a secular country with religious freedom, Mozambique generally has limited religious freedom, Open Doors has said. However, the persecution of Christians is severest in the northern Cabo Delgado Province due to ISIS-affiliated extremists carrying out violent attacks there. Open Doors also linked expanded persecution to Mozambiques withdrawal of its army from the area and the presence of drug cartels. VOMs free report, Mozambique: A Faithful Witness Amid a Brutal Islamic Insurgency, is available here. This article originally appeared at Baptist Press. Friends of Music is capping off its 75th anniversary with a group that could be considered quite worldly. Sultans of String is set to hit the stage at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 1, at Columbus High School, 3434 Discoverer Drive. Individual tickets cost $25. Sultans of String is a Toronto-based trio with a combination of fiddle, guitar and bass. The group which has won the Canadian Grammy and the Canadians Folk Music Award - plays world music including genres Flamenco, gypsy-jazz, Arabic and Cuban. Sultans of String also performs well-known songs like Pinball Wizard by The Who and Sweet Georgia Brown. Its really different. They play all different kinds of music, said Friends of Music board member Fred Ritter. Theyre phenomenal. Fellow Friends of Music board member Tim Tarnick said hes heard a few of Sultans of Strings songs and thought the group was quite talented. Theyve been around awhile, Tarnick said, noting the bands awards. Theyre very well-rounded and they can play all these different genres. Ritter said Sultans of String was previously set to perform in Columbus earlier but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was postponed. Ritter has a history of music in the community. He was the longtime Columbus High School choir director before he retired from his position about seven years ago. His son, Jacob, took over his position at CHS while his daughter, Celeste Ditter, is the Columbus Middle School vocal music teacher. Ritter said with his musical background he wants to provide Columbus with quality concerts through Friends of Music. This season was also unique as Friends of Music hosted seven concerts instead of the typical five. This was done as there werent any shows during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tarnick said he found the concert season was an enjoyable experience. We have a great board. They all work hard to promote and get the word out, said Tarnick. Ritter said this past season has been amazing, adding the crown concert was Melissa Manchester who performed earlier this month. She had all these famous tunes, he said. She was phenomenal. Ritter said that wasnt the only great show as Friends of Music held six other noteworthy shows. Every time I see (the concerts) I go, Wow, its happening right in Columbus, Nebraska,' he said. I think Sultans of String are another example. You wouldnt see this otherwise. Ritter added Friends of Music offer these shows but at less cost. You could see these groups in Omaha or Lincoln but youll spend $100 a pop when you buy the ticket, the meal, travel and maybe even staying overnight, he said. To have that right here in Columbus, Nebraska, is just incredible. Friends of Music have also announced their lineup for next season. There are going to be six concerts, including groups that perform tributes to musician James Taylor and band Chicago, respectively, a pianist, cowboy music, a sister ensemble and a five-piece a cappella. Next years shows are equally entertaining, Tarnick said. Tickets for next years shows cost $60 for adults, $30 for students and $160 for a family membership. They can be bought at the door of the upcoming Sultans of String show. Anyone purchasing a new membership for the 2022-23 season gets into Sultans of String for free. Andrew Kiser is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at andrew.kiser@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WAHOO Hailey Nice had just met the young couple who had moved from Lincoln. She'd noticed Kayla Matulka and Kolton Barnes unloading boxes at the old Malmo schoolhouse converted into a home May 1, 2020, as she and her kids delivered May Day baskets around the Saunders County town. But the pandemic had kept them from meeting until July 12, a Sunday. By then, Matulka's 11-year-old son and Nice's 7-year-old son had started hanging out together, riding bikes around the small town 6 miles northwest of Wahoo. That Sunday, Nice said she and her husband shared a couple of beers with Matulka and Barnes while the kids played on a trampoline and swing set nearby. The couple seemed so happy, Nice would tell the dispatcher three days later, after she discovered Matulka dead in her bedroom and called 911. At Barnes' murder trial Tuesday, Nice wiped tears as she listened to audio of the call, where she'd told the dispatcher as she waited for deputies to arrive that Kayla's leg was cold to the touch, and she just wanted "to go hug her babies." Nice recounted how the couple had talked that Sunday about plans for an October wedding and about work on the house. Then, at about 9:30 a.m. the next Wednesday, Matulka's son, Jayden, and her 6-year-old daughter, Kinsley, came over, saying they couldn't find their mom or Kolton. Nice made them breakfast, turned on a movie and called their mom. When Matulka didn't answer, Nice left a voicemail and a text to say where the kids were. A half-hour later, she said, Jayden wanted to see if his mom and Barnes were back yet, so he rode a scooter home and came back about 10 minutes later looking sad. "What did he say?" Assistant Attorney General Sandra Allen asked Nice. "That his mom was dead," she said. Nice thought maybe she'd misheard him, so she asked him to repeat it. Nice took the kids to her mom's home nearby, then went to check the house at 236 Bowen Ave., hoping the boy was wrong about what he'd seen. There was evidence the garage door had been kicked in, and when she got to the bedroom, something blocked the door. Inside, she saw the mattress wasn't fully on the bed like it should be. "And then Kayla was on the ground between the bed and the dresser," Nice said. "She was gone." Deputies found the couple's dog, Diesel, dead in the room, too, stabbed to death like Matulka, who also had been strangled. In opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors painted Barnes as a controlling fiance who wouldn't take no for an answer when his bride-to-be tried to break it off that night. He'd texted her, threatening to kick down doors if she wouldn't let him in. "What went on after these texts? That's the crux of this case," Assistant Attorney General Corey O'Brien said. "And the state will contend the only person capable of doing what happened to Kayla is Kolton Barnes." He said Barnes initially denied going inside after returning from the Malmo bar, but a camera at the house across the street showed him coming and going several times, and during a break in an interrogation, he could be heard saying under his breath: "Dear God, please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt her." Barnes' attorney, Matt McDonald, of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy, said when the state was giving its theory of the case, "they don't know. They were not there." He described a chaotic relationship where Matulka struggled with mental health problems and self-medicated with illegal drugs. He said she died with methamphetamine in her system, along with clonazepam, marijuana, alcohol and MDMA, and she'd huffed laughing gas that night. McDonald said when Barnes came home he found Diesel dead and Matulka in a corner, "crazed out of her mind" with a knife in her hand. "And she comes at him," the defense attorney said. "Kolton did not have time to think. He reacted." Barnes is accused of first-degree murder and six other felonies, including two counts of child abuse, cruelty to an animal, tampering with evidence and two weapons charges. The trial is set to continue Wednesday. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSpilger Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The courtyard of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Carlisle contains, among other things, a rock and a pine tree. These two elements of nature were planted, fittingly, on Earth Day 1991 in memory of Jeff Deihl, who died in a car crash in 1990 at age 16. In addition to honoring Deihls legacy for the past 31 years, the pine has recently been given another name: The Giving Tree. The Giving Tree began in December 2020 when We Care, a ministry group from St. Paul Lutheran Church at 201 W. Louther St. in Carlisle, decided to donate winter items by hanging them on Deihls tree for members of the community to take as needed. I had seen this idea online being done by another church and they just did it through the month of December for Christmas, We Care member Holly Hoffman said. [They] put gloves and hats and kind of winter things on the tree and I mentioned it to this group ... and everybody kind of pretty enthusiastically embraced the concept. Heidi Kaufman, a member of We Care, said the donations seemed like a relevant need at the time. This was during COVID, so a lot of other things had kind of fallen off the burner and had to be on hiatus for a while, Kaufman said. Hoffman said that once they saw how popular it was, We Care decided to maintain the pine all year, allowing it to blossom with donations as long as the tree stayed green. It was going to be just a winter giving tree and we just ditched the winter and now call it the giving tree, Hoffman said. According to the St. Paul website, We Care is a diverse group of engaged citizens who desire to better understand and work to alleviate the refugee crisis on our borders. We Care also advocates for humanitarian aid to achieve justice through merciful hands. Hoffman said the group formed around June 2018 over tensions at the border between the United States and Mexico. Our founding member, Nancy Miller, stood up after one of the worship services ... and said I dont know what we should do but we should do something, so anybody who wants to do something stay after church and well meet, and that was our first meeting, Hoffman said. It was [a] very spontaneous, need-driven, emotional response to what we saw as injustices in the immigration system. She said the group expanded its vision to meet local needs when Kaufman mentioned at a meeting that shed seen a homeless gentleman sleeping in the churchs courtyard. The Giving Tree became means to support these members of the community. We Care members estimate that about 100 items are removed from the tree each week. There were periods where there were much more than 100, Kaufman said. There are also periods where we are busy and dont keep it up. Hoffman said donations can range from snacks that cost less than a dollar to full thick winter coats for large men. Toiletries, drink mixes, socks, jewelry and personal care items are just a few of the items that hang in plastic bags on the Giving Tree for people in need. She said some We Care members have worked with Community CARES (an organization dedicated to meeting the needs of the homeless) and know the distinct needs of the homeless population, so they recommend donations others might not think about, such as nail clippers or can openers. Theres some pretty odd things occasionally hanging out there on my tree, Hoffman said. My favorite one in the new bunch of stuff we just got was foot callous removers. Kaufman pointed out the growth shes seen in the Giving Tree since We Care began using it, growth that has also been reflected in the ministry. We thought about quitting many times to be honest, but then its hard to quit something that is needed, she said. For the ministry, growth came in the form of establishing an inventory process. Kaufman said We Care initially used a burdensome spreadsheet to track donations but eventually switched to an easier method of recording the date and the items placed on the tree. It was a good learning curve for us but it wasnt necessary to maintain it, she said of the spreadsheet. We probably learned and moved on and now that we dont keep it so elaborate, maybe we can keep it up. Donations have also grown over the years, alongside morale. I think what keeps us motivated is that at the beginning we put most of our resources into it, and I dont find that to be necessary anymore, Kaufman said. We find a lot of people donating towards the tree. Hoffman said community members have even started hanging donations on the tree on their own for others to take. As long as the enthusiasm is there on both the giving and the receiving end I think well keep it up, she said. Maddie Seiler is a news reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com covering Carlisle and Newville. You can contact her at mseiler@cumberlink.com and follow her on Twitter at: @SeilerMadalyn Love 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. A Carlisle man has been sentenced to 161 months in prison that will be followed by five years of supervised release for the distribution of crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Friday. Sheldon Tee Brooks, 58, had pled guilty for the possession of more than 12 grams of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. He was also found to be in possession of a short-barreled shotgun in Cumberland County between October and November 2019 with an obliterated serial number in furtherance of drug trafficking, U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus said. The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian T. Haugsby, was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and Pennsylvania State Police, a news release said. The release said it came as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, the release said. Maddie Seiler is a news reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com covering Carlisle and Newville. You can contact her at mseiler@cumberlink.com and follow her on Twitter at: @SeilerMadalyn 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. On April 17, 1909, a return to Normal meant something entirely different to the alumni of the teachers college in Shippensburg. The celebration they attended in the chapel of Old Main had nothing to do with the journey out of a global pandemic. Instead, they were on campus to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the Cumberland Valley State Normal School an early version of the present-day Shippensburg University. Founded in 1871, the college received official recognition and approval by the state on Feb. 21, 1873, according to a brief history posted on the university website. Two months later, on April 15, 1873, the Normal School admitted its first class of 217 students from southcentral Pennsylvania. Supporters marked the inauguration with a ceremony that dedicated the first major campus building. Back then, Old Main not only housed the college administration, but classrooms, dormitories, a chapel, formal parlors, a dining hall and a kitchen. The Carlisle Weekly Herald described the completion of the building as an event of which this section of the state may justly be proud. At four stories in height, the building was 215 feet long by 165 feet wide. It was large enough to accommodate 300 students with the necessary force of teachers and attaches, The Herald reported. It is situated on a hill ... commanding a fine view of the surrounding country for miles and displaying its magnificent proportions to the best advantage. The ceremony included a speech by Professor George P. Beard, Normal School principal, along with music by the Shippensburg Brass Band and a choir composed of the Teachers of the Institution, according to the newspaper. The school will aim to teach a love of country, patriotism and true Christian piety, Beard said in his speech. Every advantage will be taken to advance the pupil and secure the success of the school. The Shippensburg News, in its April 19, 1873 edition, included a detailed account of inauguration ceremony and an overview of the building features and the approaches to the campus. Located in the rear of the middle wing of the building, the chapel auditorium measured 80 feet deep by 50 feet wide and included a rear gallery capable of seating about 200 people. Over the platform, to the right and left of the front windows, are two allegorical figures, representing respectively History and Education, The News story read. The Chapel receives its light from fifteen graceful windows, reaching from the ceiling to within a few feet of the floor. The glass, being frosted, the light is pleasant and subdued. The seats are comfortable, being manufactured and designed for buildings of this character. The Shippensburg newspaper reported that 1,500 people attended the inaugural ceremony including Dr. R.C. Hays, president of the colleges board of trustees, and John Eaton Jr., U.S. Commissioner of Education. Tour Through Time runs Saturday in The Sentinel print edition. Reporter Joseph Cress will work with the Cumberland County Historical Society each week to look at the county through the years. Send any questions, feature ideas or tips to jcress@cumberlink.com. Joseph Cress is a reporter for The Sentinel covering education and history. You can reach him at jcress@cumberlink.com or by calling 717-218-0022. 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. PHILADELPHIA A fired Philadelphia police officer was arrested for aggravated assault and other charges in the beating of a mother who was pulled from her SUV by police after accidentally driving into civil unrest with her 2-year-old son in the car. The interaction between Rickia Young and more than a dozen officers during the October 27, 2020, protests that followed the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. a Black man in mental health crisis was recorded by at least one witness on their cellphone. The video shows a rush of officers rocking and shaking the SUV as they try to open the doors, eventually breaking the windows and pulling the passengers to the ground. Prosecutors said Thursday that Darren Kardos, 42, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, possession of an instrument of a crime, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. Court records showed he turned himself in on April 15 and was released on his own recognizance. Youngs attorney, Kevin Mincey, said litigation is still pending against the National Fraternal Order of Police because of a photo the union tweeted the night of the unrest. It showed a Philadelphia officer holding Youngs son with a caption claiming police had found the child wandering shoeless in the melee and calling the officers heroes. The post was later deleted, but was shared widely on social media. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a news conference Thursday that Young was driving slowly, trying to navigate out of the area, when Kardos used his baton to break the windows. Kardos made claims about the victims actions that were not corroborated by the video evidence, Krasner said. Prosecutors would not say whether they expected other officers to be charged in the episode, but said the investigation remains active. An attorney for Kardos was not listed in court records, and a spokesman for the Lodge 5 Fraternal Order of Police declined to comment Thursday. Kardos was one of two officers fired last spring over their actions during the unrest. In a call with reporters Thursday, Young said she was happy but in shock. She and her son are still living with traumatic memories of that night, she said. Addressing the officer, Young said, You could have talked to me, Im very easy to talk to. What you did to me in front of my son was not acceptable. She added, I have to live the rest of my life knowing that the people who are supposed to serve and protect us really dont serve and protect us. The city settled a civil lawsuit for $2 million in September with Young, who was released without charges. Young, a home health care aide, said she saw the protests on television and went to West Philadelphia to pick up her then 16-year-old nephew that night. She put her then 2-year-old son in the car, not wanting to leave him home alone, and hoping he might fall asleep. After getting her nephew she accidentally drove into the fray about 1:45 a.m. as police clashed with demonstrators. Police told her to turn around. As she did, officers swarmed her car, broke windows and injured her and her nephew as they pulled them from the vehicle. Her nephew would later need surgery to repair broken bones in his hand. Young spent the next few hours at police headquarters and at a hospital. She was bruised, bleeding from the head and had been sprayed with mace. Her mother went in search for her son, who she found in a police cruiser with a welt on his head and glass in his car seat, her attorneys previously said in an interview. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 PHILADELPHIA Prosecutors said Thursday they will not re-try a Philadelphia man whose 2012 murder conviction was overturned earlier this month, citing weak evidence and the involvement of a disgraced former detective now charged with sexually assaulting witnesses in other cases. Rafiq Dixon, 40, had been serving a life sentence in the 2011 fatal shooting of Joseph Pinkney. Dixon was expected to be released from prison Thursday afternoon, hours after a Common Pleas Court judge granted the motion to withdraw charges, his attorney said. The initial case relied heavily on testimony from three witnesses who gave inconsistent accounts. All three were interviewed by former homicide detective Philip Nordo, who has been charged with various crimes including stalking, intimidating, and sexually assaulting male suspects and witnesses during his career. In June, a judge reversed the 2015 conviction of Arkel Garcia, who confessed to murder during an interrogation in which, his lawyer said, Nordo asked the teenager to view pornography with him. The ruling came after both sides presented evidence that Nordo had sexually groomed witnesses in the case and trial prosecutors had suppressed his misconduct. Garcia was also serving a life sentence. At least eight murder cases involving Nordo have fallen apart before or after conviction, including five overturned convictions, prosecutors said. Prosecutors Thursday did not accuse Nordo of similar behavior in Dixon's case. The former detective has denied the allegations, and he's scheduled for trial in May. The case against Dixon was thrown out earlier this month after a judge found his initial attorney was ineffective after failing to call a witness who could present strong alibi evidence. Dixon's appeals attorney Craig Cooley said Thursday that he appreciated the willingness of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office Conviction Integrity Unit's attorneys to push for this outcome. Some family members are up at the prison right now, Cooley said Thursday afternoon. Were all excited. Ive represented Rafiq for eight years now. This was a long time coming. Hes always professed his innocence. He had strong alibi information that wasnt presented in this case. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Thursday convicted U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican from Nebraska, of lying to FBI investigators about illegal contributions to his 2016 re-election campaign. Following a trial in Los Angeles federal court, the jury found Fortenberry guilty of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts, along with two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. Prosecutors accused Fortenberry of lying to investigators during two interviews in 2019 about $30,000 in campaign contributions he received in 2016 from Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury. Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from donating to federal election campaigns. Fortenberry's lawyers said he did not mean to mislead FBI agents but was caught off-guard by their interview request and suffered from a faulty memory. Prosecutors alleged that an associate who hosted a 2016 fundraiser for Fortenberry told him in a 2018 telephone call that the donations in question probably did come from Gilbert Chagoury" but were routed through intermediaries to avoid individual donor limits. According to the U.S. Justice Department, when FBI agents quizzed Fortenberry about the campaign contributions he denied being aware of any illegal donations. "If we want to expect anyone to follow the law, ultimately it starts with the law-makers," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins told media outside the courthouse after the verdict was announced. "I think that's even more paramount when the investigation itself goes to election integrity." Fortenberry, 61, has served in Congress since 2005. The three felony charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 28 before U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld in Los Angeles. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Robert Birsel) MTC Truck Driver Training, based at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, announced last month its first graduate under the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) mandate. Sidney Sudmeyer, a Farmington resident, graduated with a driving job at St. Louis-based carrier Hogan Transportation. The FMCSA Entry-Level Driver Training rule went into effect on Feb. 7 and requires that all new commercial drivers license (CDL) applicants be trained in a registered facility using a standard curriculum. ELDT is a positive step for the transportation industry, says Terry Sanders, safety and compliance manager for MTC. Standardized training and clear expectations will save lives and improve safety for the motoring public as a whole. Sudmeyer will join her husband, Joshua, a 2020 Mineral Area College CDL graduate, as they team drive on a Midwest Regional run for Hogan. My goal in getting a CDL was to team drive with my husband, said Sudmeyer. I have ridden with him the last two years and decided the best choice for us financially was for me to become a driver. "We made the choice to live out of our truck and follow a very strict budget. We save and invest a high percentage of our income with the goal of being financially independent by age 35." Sudmeyer said she had a leg up on the curriculum. I came into training a little advanced since I knew a lot about trucking, she explains. I just needed to learn how to make the truck move where I wanted it to go. "My instructors Adam and Doug were great and have me where I needed to be quick. MTCs first class under the ELDT mandate had a relatively similar experience to those who graduated a month prior. We had most components in place for the ELDT timeline already, said Sanders. It was just a matter of streamlining and reorganizing some processes. "MTC is much more advanced in many areas such as organization of training, communication, and delivering a solid and structured lesson plan. MTC is anticipating high enrollments in 2022. Due to the ELDT and the demand for truck drivers we expect increased enrollments. Our entire team will be working hard to train as many students as we possibly can to meet the need. Our goal is for all of our students to graduate with their CDL and at a high-paying truck driving job. says Jennifer Cook, director of admissions. To learn more about MTCs CDL training program please visit www.beatrucker.com or call 573-518-2238. MTC Truck Driver Training is a St. Louis based Commercial Drivers License training center with three locations in Missouri. For more than 30 years, their award-winning training program has produced skilled, safety-minded graduates who are ready to succeed as professional truck drivers. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 1 By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Transport routes through the South Caucasus are becoming increasingly popular as more countries seek ways to bypass Russia. Given the current situation, Azerbaijan has the potential to become one of the transport and logistics hubs through which freight traffic will pass. Today, new realities are emerging, and under these conditions, it is possible to assert that regionalization is becoming a trend, with the countries of the South Caucasus region determining the parameters of economic activity in the region. In the current situation, Azerbaijan's role as a regional transportation hub is irreplaceable. As the most stable projects, transportation via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and Azerbaijan's transit along the route of the New Silk Road are becoming increasingly popular. In terms of the North-South corridor, its significance for Russia is difficult to overestimate, especially in light of the sanctions. Azerbaijan's modern and dependable transport and logistics infrastructure can withstand the heavy load and keep the region's economic processes and commodity flow moving. Other countries are increasingly interested in traveling through the South Caucasus. For example, given recent geopolitical situations and the fact that nearly 90 percent of Kazakhstan's logistics are tied to Russian territory, this route has become more of a focus of interest for the country. Currently, an increase in transportation through the Trans-Caspian international transport route in the direction of Azerbaijan and Georgia (ports: Baku, Batumi, and Poti) is being planned in order to ensure the uninterrupted transportation of cargo from Kazakhstan to European countries. In light of this, other Central Asian countries will begin to seriously consider the possibility of transporting goods through the South Caucasus. In this regard, China has recently launched a railway route to Germany, allowing trains to bypass Russia and arrive in Mannheim. The first train left Xi'an city on April 13. The route crosses the Caspian and Black Seas by rail and sea, passing through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The new route passes through countries and regions where China-Europe trains have rarely passed before. Now, transportation efficiency will improve and costs will fall. Rail corridors from China to bypass Russia have been in the works for decades. Thus, traffic on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was 25,200 TEU in 2021, and 11,000 TEU on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad. Furthermore, approximately 3,000 containers were transported along TRACECA during the first two months of 2022, across the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. This new route project will significantly strengthen Azerbaijan's position in the East-West transport corridor. Furthermore, Finland's largest freight operator Nurminen Logistics recently announced its intention to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). As a result, on March 16, the Finnish company signed a commercial use agreement with Kazakh State Railways. It should be noted that the Trans-Caspian transport route is a vital trans-Eurasian corridor that runs through the South Caucasus. The route begins in Southeast Asia and China and travels to Europe via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. It is one of the new Silk Road routes, the Middle Corridor of the 'One Belt, One Road' project. During the crisis, this transport corridor proved to be the most profitable, safest, reliable and stable. As a result, this corridor, which runs through Azerbaijan, is attracting the attention of an increasing number of exporters and importers. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route is another important transportation route that passes through Azerbaijan. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is of exceptional importance for transforming Azerbaijan into a regional transportation hub. The agreement on the construction of the railway, which opened in 2017, was signed in 2007 in Tbilisi by the Azerbaijani, Georgian, and Turkish leaders. The 828-kilometer Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway runs from the Caspian Sea coast in Azerbaijan to the Georgian capital, and then to Turkey, connecting the country's extensive railway system and gaining access to European borders. The North-South Transport Corridor was established on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed on September 12, 2000, by Russia, Iran, and India. Azerbaijan became a party to this agreement in 2005. The Corridor's goal is to reduce cargo delivery times from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe. Given the current global situation and sanctions, this route and Azerbaijan's role as a transit country have become critical for Russia. In short, the volume of international freight traffic passing through Azerbaijan is likely to increase significantly in the near future. The country's infrastructure of ready for this. Azerbaijan is now transforming into a regional transportation hub, ensuring that the global economy does not stall. A Bonne Terre man faces felony charges in southeast Missouri after allegedly planning to rob a bank in Dexter and stealing cash from one of the bank's customers this month. Mitchell Lee Johnson, 33, has been charged in Stoddard County with stealing or attempting to steal from a financial institution and felony stealing ($750 or more). According to a probable cause statement from the Dexter Police Department, at 10:42 a.m. on April 8, officers responded to a Regions Bank location, at 1028 W. Business US 60, regarding a robbery. It was first reported that a man had grabbed money from a female customer's hand inside the bank and then fled the property on foot. The suspect, identified as Johnson, was apprehended by Dexter officers on the southwest corner of Discount Cigarettes & Beer, according to the report. Officers reportedly found Johnson in possession of a white Regions Bank envelope with a bundle of US currency and a handwritten note. According to police, the note said, "This is a robbery. Hand over $8,000, and no one gets hurt. No dye packs. I don't want to hurt you. But I will if have to. All I want is the money. Don't alert any of your co-workers." After Johnson was read his Miranda Rights, the report states he admitted he intended to use the note he had written to commit a robbery at Regions Bank. The man reportedly said he saw a woman inside the bank holding money and decided it was easier to take the money from her. Johnson was placed in custody and transported to the Dexter Police Department for further questioning. The woman reportedly told police that she had been inside the bank making a withdrawal. She said after the clerk gave her the money, a man standing behind her forcefully grabbed the cash from her hand and then fled the property on foot. The woman's husband was inside the bank and, after witnessing the incident, attempted to follow the suspect as he ran from the property. Detectives interviewed Johnson at the Dexter Police Department. The report states that during the interview, the man said he had been at the Southeast Health Center's behavioral health floor since March 31 because of mental health issues. Johnson reportedly said he was discharged from the hospital on April 8 and walked to Regions Bank. He added that before he was released, he wrote the note inside his hospital room. Johnson reportedly said his intention was to commit a robbery; however, he had no plans of hurting anyone. The report states the man further explained that after the robbery, he had planned on using the money to get to California to avoid his former gang members. Johnson reportedly said that since leaving a prison gang, he was being followed and felt they were going to kill him. The man told police that he had been incarcerated before for a bank robbery in Illinois and also admitted he had assaulted an officer. Johnson was booked at the Stoddard County Jail, and a $1 million cash-only bond was set in the case. The man was arraigned last week and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A search of Johnson's criminal history showed he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of resisting/interfering with arrest in Clayton. The man has previously pleaded guilty in at least three felony assault cases in separate counties and one case of bank robbery in Randolph County, Illinois. Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The new members of Desloge Board of Aldermen were sworn in at the Desloge city meeting last week. After inducting the newly-elected city officials, the board selected an acting board president and chose representatives to area and city boards. After voters cast their ballots on April 5, Mark Bonney was elected to serve Ward I, J.D. Hodge was re-elected to represent Ward II, and Pete Pasternak won the election to serve Ward III. Just before Chief Deputy Clerk Judy Hutchison swore in the election winners, Mayor David Shaw presented exiting aldermen, Deion Christopher of Ward I and Alvin Sutton of Ward III, with plaques of appreciation for their years of service to the city. The two aldermen did not seek re-election to their positions this year. The new board reconvened and unanimously elected Alderman Terry Cole as acting board president for one-year term. Next, Shaw announced his intentions to participate as a Planning and Zoning Commission member. The board approved Alderman John Wigger to serve as part of the Planning and Zoning Commission in a unanimous decision. The board unanimously appointed alderwoman Kelly Farkas to serve on the Desloge Library board. The last post-election appointments were made for a new Budget Committee. The board members approved Cole, Shaw, and newly-elected Pasternak to the new Budget Committee. During the mayor and aldermen reports, Pasternak said he was thankful for the support in the election and was looking forward to working with everyone. The newly-elected aldermen said he appreciated Sutton for his time and for offering to help him with anything he needed. Wigger said he wanted to remind the departments working in the weather that the employees should take care of themselves accordingly as hot weather approaches. He stated his appreciation for all that the city workers do for the community. Cole used his time to show appreciation to all departments fire, police, public works, parks, and recreation. He noted that this time of year is the busy season for parks and recreation. Cole also welcomed Pasternak and Bonney to the board. Next, Farkas gave thanks to Parks and Recreation Director Dooley Pollitte for his departments help in preparing an Easter egg hunt sponsored by the Desloge Library and held last week. Farkas went on to thank the Desloge Police Department. She mentioned that she recently had a chance to get to know the department employees better and wanted to share her appreciation for them. Mayor Shaw thanked City Accounts Payable Clerk Debra Hartmann and Utility Clerk Kelly Cash for their exceptional service during the week of March 14-18 while the city clerk and chief deputy clerk were out of the office for training on their state certifications. The mayor noted that the office was already short-staffed and Hartmann and Cash went above and beyond to make sure that matters were handled correctly and the public was served. The mayor also thanked Librarian Misty Boyer and assistant Librarian Ellen Berry for assisting in answering the phones during lunch hours. All of these actions demonstrate the outstanding work ethic and service above themselves, said Shaw. We are privileged to have such employees. Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Charlottesville Police Department released its annual department report for 2021 on Thursday, revealing the department continues to show a trend in arresting more Black people than white people. In 2021, 56% of total arrests were of Black people, while 42% were of white people. These statistics remain unchanged from 2020, though 2021 saw an decrease in total arrests at 831 down from 922 in 2020. According to 2020 census data, 65.18% of the citys population is white and 15.3% of the citys population is Black. Representatives from the Charlottesville Police Department did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Progress. The report is released annually to present statistical data and more information about the departments activity. It includes statistics in relation to arrest, crime and detention rates. During the ensuing months, we will call upon members of our community to discuss our strategic organizational response, police reform, and the departments policies and procedures, Acting Chief of Police Latroy Durrette wrote in the report. We will use these opportunities of engagement to reaffirm our commitment to service, strengthen trust, and to reassure the community that the members of CPD hold fast to servant leadership and will continue to work diligently to ensure the safety of our citizens and promote community relationship built on trust, transparency, and mutual respect. According to the report, there was an uptick in crimes against property in 2021, with 1,998 total offenses, or 320 more than there were in 2020. This included an increase in burglary and breaking and entering, at 129 total offenses, and an increase in destruction of property, at 526 total offenses. There was a large uptick in motor vehicle theft, with 149 offenses in 2021 up from 71 in 2020. There was an increase in crimes against persons in 2021, with 753 total offenses up from 614 total offenses in 2020. There were 496 simple assault offenses, an increase from 368 offenses in 2020. There were zero homicides in 2021, down from four in 2020. The department received a total of 36,065 calls for service in 2021, with 50% being non-emergency calls. According to the report, the department has 117 officers and 35 civilian employees. City Council recently approved a police department budget of more than $20 million for fiscal year 2023, a a 6.9% increase from the current fiscal year. This story was edited to correct budget figures for the next fiscal year. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Our national security hinges on the health of our nation. For the past several years, our armed forces have struggled to meet recruiting goals that ensure the strength of our countrys defense. A major factor behind our recruitment challenges: malnutrition. In Virginia, an alarming 70 percent of youth ages 17-24 are ineligible for military service due to a combination of health concerns, behavioral issues, or educational deficits. Nationally, 71 percent of young people are ineligible. Obesity alone accounts for 31 percent of disqualifications. These staggering figures will only continue to rise if left unchecked. I recently participated in a roundtable discussion with Mission: Readiness, an organization of nearly 800 retired military leaders who have championed investments in child nutrition for over a decade. The conversation included fellow Mission: Readiness member Major General (Ret.) Malcolm Frost, U.S. Army, Sarah Steely from No Kid Hungry Virginia, and Mercedes Kirkland-Doyle of The Good News Community Kitchen to sound the alarm on the connection between our waning military preparedness and our states food security. In order to address our countrys obesity epidemic, we must begin with our youngest Americans. Child nutrition programs are a crucial first step to ensuring our children grow up to be healthy, successful adults. Building a foundation of healthy habits during school time can help children prepare to thrive in future military service, or any career they choose. Prior to the pandemic, the obesity rate for children in Virginia between the ages of 10 and 17 was 15 percent. This percentage is likely higher now due to school closures over the past two years, during which kids were often unable to access their regular school meals or engage in PE classes or afterschool sports. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is one of our most important tools to push back against child food insecurity and malnutrition. Congress established this vital program following World War II, when malnutrition disqualified at least 40 percent of military recruits. While malnutrition most often manifests as obesity today, the need for the NSLP remains. The nutritious, balanced meals provided by the NSLP are often the most consistent source of healthy foods and fresh produce for school-aged kids, especially kids who may be facing food insecurity at home. The most recent data, from 2016, showed that 41 percent of Virginia kids were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. Other programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, bolster the NSLP to provide meals and nutrition education to families outside of normal school hours. Unfortunately, participation in school lunch decreased during the pandemic, from nearly 30 million participants nationwide per day in 2019, to 23 million in 2020, further exacerbating the impact of food insecurity in our country. Especially in the wake of the pandemics effects, child nutrition programs deserve the full attention and support of our lawmakers. Failing to invest further in these programs, which have historic bipartisan support, will significantly weaken our long-term national security. We owe it to Virginias young people to provide them with better access to fresh and balanced meals. The strength of our next generationand our militarydepend on it. Sandra Alvey lives in Gordonsville. Sandra Alvey lives in Gordonsville. A new coffee stand has the thumbs up from the Corvallis Planning Commission. The new Starbucks location sits in one of the citys bigger shopping centers near a traffic-heavy intersection in southwest Corvallis. The Planning Commission unanimously approved a permit with conditions for the project at its meeting Wednesday, April 20. Portland-based architect Dave Hardister applied in October for a permit allowing the owners of Sunset Shopping Center to build an about 1,800-square-foot Starbucks store in the plaza at the intersection of Highway 20/Southwest Philomath Boulevard and Southwest Technology Loop. This process has been very easy, I think, Hardister said, overall, cooperative and helpful through the whole process. Planning Commissioner Tanya Laird, who led the motion to approve, said the proposal seems to fit well with the development as a whole, and with the conditions for approval it meets all city requirements. I think it would be a good fit in that area, Laird said. The decision may be appealed to the Corvallis City Council within 12 days of signing off on the commission's decision, which was expected to take place Thursday. 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 proposed free-standing Starbucks would be sited in the plaza on what is currently about a .4-acre grass lot, west of a Valvoline oil change shop and south of storefronts including a Subway sandwich restaurant and a UPS Store location. Schematics show a drive-thru lane routing cars counterclockwise around the building from a private drive near Southwest Technology Loop and its intersection with Southwest Research Way. Pedestrian paths are planned between the site of the proposed Starbucks building and existing public sidewalks on Technology Loop and Philomath Boulevard. Planning Commissioner Paul Woods raised concerns about the pedestrian connections alignment to Technology Loop, asking if it could be reconfigured to run along the south edge of the shopping center driveway rather than the north. However, thats logistically difficult due to a transformer, water vault and Fire Department hookups in the way, according to the developer and city staff. The property changed hands for $24.9 million in 2013, according to Benton County records, when eight tax lots were purchased by Phillips Edison Grocery Center Operating Partnership, then believed to be one of the more expensive property transactions in the citys history. Doing business as Phillips Edison & Co., the Cincinnati-based commercial real estate investor on its website lists 288 properties anchored around grocery stores across the U.S. including shopping centers in three other Oregon cities: Gresham, Portland and Salem. Starbucks operates three stores in the Corvallis area, with another two kiosks inside Safeway stores, including the Sunset Shopping Center. Another three Starbucks stores and two kiosks are in Albany. Imagine Coffee Company and publicly-traded Dutch Bros. Coffee also operate coffee shops near the proposed new Starbucks. 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 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. A Lebanon man is dead after crashing his car into a ditch, according to a news release from Lebanon Police Department. Lebanon police, the Linn County Sheriffs Office and Lebanon Fire District responded to reports of a vehicle crash on West Airport Road, east of Stoltz Hill Road on Wednesday, April 20 at around 10:37 p.m. According to LPD, the car came to a stop in a ditch. After firefighters personnel stabilized the vehicle, they found the driver, Howard Lindgren, 87, dead. He was the only occupant of the vehicle. Police say Lindgren was traveling west on West Airport Road when he veered across the road at a high speed, went off the roadway and crashed into a ditch. The investigation is ongoing. Lindgren may have suffered a medical event prior to the crash, according to Lebanon police. At this time, there are no indications of alcohol or drugs being involved in the crash. West Airport Road was closed between Stoltz Hill Road and South Seventh Street for around three hours. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 Lebanon voters will have the choice to approve a $20 million bond measure to pay for overdue repairs at the Lebanon school district. The measure was unanimously approved back in February by the Board of Directors for Lebanon Community Schools for the May 17 primary ballot. Should voters approve the request, the state would pitch in another $4.3 million in funds. The money will go toward repairing leaky roofs and faulty air-conditioning machinery as well as the school district's aging public swimming pool. Based on the school district's estimates, the measure would cost a property owner with a home assessed at $175,000 about $50.75 per year. Payments would apply to 2023. That money falls short of the extensive repairs needed, according to school district officials. As of Friday, April 15, a spokesperson with the Lebanon Community School District Superintendent's office said no opposing statement has been filed against the bond measure for forthcoming voter's pamphlets. In 2011, Lebanon's bond request for $1.92 million to pay for facility repairs and materials was rejected by a 10-point margin at the ballot box. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. County voters' pamphlets will be mailed out by May 3. Last day absentee or replacement ballots must be mailed to voters by May 12. Voters will decide whether or not to approve the bond measure on Oregon's May 17 primary election. Mailed voter ballots must be postmarked by May 17. Ballots deposited in an official drop box must also be received by 8 p.m. that same day. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 FRIDAY Music a la Carte: "Double-Reed Divas with Molly Myers," noon, lounge, Memorial Union, 2501 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis. The Double Reed Divas from Vancouver, Washington are a chamber ensemble of the Oregon Chamber Players. Performers are Victoria Racz, oboe/oboe d'amore/English horn; Ann van Bever, oboe/oboe damore/English horn; and Dagny Rask-Regan, oboe/English horn/bassoon/piano. This concert will include music of Francois Gossec, Amy Beach, Elizabeth Aitkens, Timoteus Racz and others. Joining the Divas for this performance will be Oregon State University music senior Molly Myers, playing a double-reed arrangement of Gustav Holsts Second Suite in F. Information: erin.sneller@oregonstate.edu. SATURDAY Wedding and Event Showcase, 1 to 4 p.m., Greater Jefferson Community Center, 107 N. Main St., Jefferson. Come get information on places to hold an event or a small wedding. Local vendors will be on hand, including photographers and wedding designers. Participants can also visit two sites: the 1854 Jacob Conser House and the historic Jefferson United Methodist Church. Information: 541-979-3652 or amybailey.jeffersonmuseum@gmail.com. SUNDAY Corvallis Youth Symphony Association spring concerts, LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St. Willamette Valley Junior Honors Symphony, 2:30 p.m.; Corvallis Youth Symphony, 4 p.m. The performances will include selections by Schubert, Sibelius and Mussorgsky, as well as the Wieniawksi Violin Concerto in D minor, performed by CYS concertmaster and young soloist Beatrice Lobscheid. Adult advance-sale tickets, $10; $12 at the door; available at cysassoc.org/tickets. Students through college and music educators will be admitted free of charge. Information: 541-766-4903 or cysassoc@peak.org. MONDAY Willamette Writers on the River-Corvallis Open Mic Night, 6:30 p.m. Zoom. All genres are welcome, but readings should be suitable for mixed audiences. Registration: www.willamettewriters.org/event. "Holocaust Memorial Week: How Masculinity and Alcohol Fed Mass Murder," 7 p.m., Zoom. Lecture by Edward B. Westermann, Regents Professor of History at Texas A&M University. He has published extensively on World War II and the Holocaust. This talk will be based on his book, Drunk on Genocide: Alcoholism and Mass Murder in Nazi Germany. Moderated by Kara Ritzheimer. Registration: erin.sneller@oregonstate.edu. Presented by the Oregon State University College of Liberal Arts, the Center for the Humanities, donations to the OSU Foundation's Holocaust Memorial Fund, the city of Corvallis, the OSU Provost's Fund for Excellence and Beit Am. Items for this calendar are pulled from the user-generated calendar that runs on our websites. For further information, write to jane.stoltz@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Azernews Labour and Social Security Minister Sahil Babayev has said that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Montenegro increased by 3.75 times in 2021. He made the remarks during the meeting with the new head of the Montenegro diplomatic mission in Azerbaijan Milica Buric. During the meeting, the minister emphasized that bilateral relations based on high-level political dialogue and friendly ties are constantly developing. Noting that there are good prospects for the development of bilateral relations, Babayev underlined the importance of establishing a Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation between the governments of Azerbaijan and Montenegro in this regard. He stressed the importance of expanding the contractual and legal framework for cooperation between the two countries. Moreover, the minister briefed on the socio-economic achievements in Azerbaijan, recent reforms in the field of labour, employment and social protection, and the positive results of these reforms, In turn, Milica Buric expressed satisfaction with the expanding cooperation between the two countries. The parties also exchanged views on the current cooperation between the two countries and the further development of these relations. It should be noted that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Montenegro amounted to $113,410 in 2021. April 17-23, 2022, is National Volunteer Appreciation Week. Bright Key programs at Heard, Highlands, Selma Street and Slingluff elementary schools in Dothan wish to recognize and honor the more than 160 community members that volunteer through various Bright Key programs at the schools. We are so appreciative of the time and energy our volunteers commit each year to serve our students in our programs - everything from weekly one-on-one academic tutoring to serving on a Bright Key program team to spending the day outdoors with our Boy Scouts group, said District Bright Key Coordinator Brittany Shepard. The largest number of volunteers serves the Bright Key schools as a tutor in each of the schools Academic Dream Rooms. In the Academic Dream Rooms, students are matched with a volunteer to work weekly on academic skills for the entire school year. These students and volunteers are working hard on academic skills to maximize the academic growth potential of the student but are also building a mentorship relationship where the student has another consistent, supportive adult in his corner as his cheerleader, said Brittany. Volunteers are parents, grandparents, community business employees, retired teachers, Wallace and ACOM students and local church members interested in investing in the success of Dothan City Schools students. For the 2021-2022 school year, volunteers will well-surpass 1200 total hours of service in Bright Key programs. Bright Key is a partnership between Wiregrass Foundation and Dothan City Schools to pilot an innovative, grassroots community school initiative in area schools. Bright Key has been at Highlands Elementary and Selma Street Elementary for over six years and has expanded to Heard Elementary and Morris Slingluff Elementary where the initiative is in its first year. For more information about the Bright Key program and how you can serve as a volunteer, contact Bright Key District Coordinator for Dothan City Schools, Brittany Shepard, at (334)589-9148 or brshepard@dothan.k12.al.us. By Azernews Azerbaijani will build a new reservoir for water supply to the liberated Shusha city. The remarks were made during a regular meeting organized by Azerbaijans working group on the preparation of a feasibility study and preliminary design documentation for the creation of a drinking water supply system for Azerbaijans Shusha city and nearby Dashalti village. The meeting was attended by employees of the Azersu OJSC and other state organizations included in the working group. During the meeting, the participants discussed urgent work and promising projects carried out to restore the drinking water supply to the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. Presentations on the impact of climate changes on water resources were also shown during the meeting, the report added. The meeting participants stated that after the liberation of Shusha, the Kichik Kirs and Zarisli sources, providing the city with water, were rapidly rehabilitated, and repair and restoration work was carried out on the main pipelines and reservoirs. Moreover, the participants noted that the ongoing construction and improvement works, and new residential and non-residential facilities in the city will significantly increase the demand for drinking water. They noted that the performance of existing sources wont be able to fully meet this demand in the summer season. Thus, its planned to use the water resources of the Zarisli river as an alternative source. The participants added that to ensure a sustainable drinking water supply, taking into account the prospective development of Shusha, work continues on the design of a new reservoir in the riverbed. The participants were also informed about the planned building of a pumping station and a pressure water pipeline 2.6 kilometers long to transport water from the reservoir, which will be created in the bed of the Zarisli river. Moreover, they discussed perspective projects on the reconstruction of drinking water supply and sanitation systems in Shusha, the use of innovative technologies in this sphere, and environmental impact assessment. Later, members of the working group inspected the construction site of the new reservoir and viewed the relief of the territory. It should be noted that the Interdepartmental Center under the Coordination Headquarters was established in accordance with the decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated November 24, 2020, for centralized resolution of issues in the Azerbaijani liberated territories. Now Azerbaijan is restoring all the reservoirs that were under occupation - Khudafarin, the largest reservoir with a capacity of 1.6 billion cubic meters, Giz Galasi, Sugovushan, Khachin, Kondalanchay-1, Kondalanchay-2, Ashaghi Kondalanchay and Aghdamkand. The construction of a new reservoir - the Hakarichay reservoir is on the agenda. The Sugovushan water reservoir and canal will be renovated as well. The length of the canal is 5.2 km, and after the repairs, it will be possible to supply water to a large area. The Khachinchay reservoir and a 7-km canal, which is right under Mount Farrukh, will also be renovated. The reconstruction of the Tartarchay Left Bank canal, the water management complex of Aghdam, Fuzuli and Jabrayil regions, as well as the identification of water sources is also on the agenda. Additionally, a new reservoir is to be built in either Zangilan or Gubadli region, and the construction of these canals will allow the opportunity to irrigate 10,000 hectares of land in the near future. In short, the issue of land reclamation and irrigation in Azerbaijan is very acute today. Azerbaijan has a favorable climate and fertile land, which means that with the right approach and using advanced technology, the country will achieve its goals very soon. NEWTON The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing more than $400,000 in two projects in Dale County under the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program and the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant program. Alabama State Director for Rural Development Nivory Gordon Jr. announced the funding Friday in honor of Earth Day 2022. The USDA is investing the money in Alabama and nearly $800 million in climate-smart infrastructure in 40 other states, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands. A news release said these investments will strengthen the health and livelihoods of people across rural Alabama and rural America. They include funding for two projects in Alabama and 165 projects nationwide to expand access to safe water and/or clean energy for people living in rural communities. The projects will highlight USDAs commitment to help rural communities to build infrastructure that improves the quality of life in rural communities across Alabama. These investments also help Alabamas rural communities to make environmentally conscious improvements to their community infrastructure to combat the climate crisis. The local investments include: The Newton Water and Sewer Board will receive a loan of $191,000 and a grant of $149,000 under the Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program to install remotely read water utility meters. This investment will allow the board to closely track water consumption, reducing water waste and more quickly alerting staff of a water leak in the system. This investment will also reduce the boards vehicle emissions, labor, and transportation expenses in reading meters. This investment will also help to ensure accuracy of the meter readings. This investment will benefit the 1,511 rural residents of the town. The Dale County Water Authority will receive a grant of $74,000 under the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant program to repair a breached water main caused by Hurricane Sally in September of 2020. Because of the damaged water main, the authority experienced a 112% increase in water being pumped from the main well. The water main repair will result in a greatly reduced amount of wasted water in the system, conserving fresh water in the community. This investment will benefit 2,396 rural residents in Dale County. Fridays announcement is part of the Biden-Harris Administrations Building a Better America Rural Infrastructure Tour, during which Biden Administration officials are traveling to dozens of rural communities to talk about the impact of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments, as well as President Bidens broader commitment to ensure federal resources reach all communities in rural America. This Earth Day, we celebrate investments made by USDA to help Alabamas rural communities make improvements which benefit both our communities and our planet, Gordon said. Investments like the one here in Newton today help to highlight USDAs commitment to helping Alabamas rural communities. The success of rural Alabama and rural America is critical to the success of the rest of the country and the world. So, when we invest in climate-smart solutions in rural communities, we invest in the health, livelihoods and futures of the people everywhere across the world. Lori Wilcoxon recently joined the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce leadership and management team as vice president of administration and investor relations Wilcoxon brings 32 years of management, budgeting, strategic communications, team building and leadership experience to the chambers operations. We are thrilled that Lori has agreed to be a part of our growing and thriving chamber. She has many key skill sets that will enhance the chambers day-to-day operations, event execution, strategic planning, investor relations and continued growth, said Dean Mitchell, DACC executive director. Lori is a proven leader and has been successful at every point in her career. Her positive attitude and team spirit will help the Chamber continue to be the best and biggest business organization in the Wiregrass area. Serving our membership will continue to drive our every decision, and I know Lori will help us be better every single day. Wilcoxons experience includes general manager of the Wiregrass Commons Mall and 2020 Census coordinator for Houston, Henry and Geneva counties. She has been involved in local community activities to include City of Dothan planning and development, board of directors of Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission, City of Dothan Board of Zoning and board of directors of Houston County Economic Development Authority and Visit Dothan. The strategic partnership agreements between parties to develop The Global City in HCMC were witnessed by Graham Stuart, MP, prime minister trade envoy to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Masterise Homes has signed strategic partnership agreements with Foster + Partners and Quimera Energy Efficiency in developing The Global City in HCMC on April 7. Foster + Partners will act as architectural advisors of The Global City, providing innovative and sustainable design solutions for the township. Quimera Energy Efficiency (QEE) a London-based smart building hi-tech engineering company, will design, install, commission, and maintain energy-efficient systems with minimal rates of energy consumption. Representatives of Masterise Homes, Foster + Partners and QEE signs strategic partnership agreements. Photo by Minh Tri The Global City is the first township in Vietnam to engage Foster + Partners and QEE. "Envisioning The Global City to be Southeast Asia's iconic township, Masterise Homes commits to bringing the township luxury contemporary designs, advanced technology and sustainable solutions," Youssef Akila, head of Design, Masterise Homes said at the signing ceremony. Youssef Akila, head of Design, Masterise Homes. Photo by Minh Tri Youssef Akila, head of Design, Masterise Homes. Photo by Minh Tri Akila also discussed various elements of sustainability at The Global City, including greenery, energy, water treatment, and selection of materials. In particular, 11 percent of the master plan consists of green spaces of different sizes, which is equivalent to 13 hectares of trees. A local electric transport network of bicycles, electric mopeds and small carts using lighting poles as charging locations can provide a local carbon positive transport network for inhabitants. Buildings are arranged and designed to limit sun exposure and solar radiation (30-40 percent reduction on average). "The principles of sustainability are integral to our work. For any projects including The Global City, we strive to design buildings that address the effects of climate change, create urban quarters that support thriving communities, and look to improve the quality of life in a city for all," said Toby Blunt, senior partner, Foster + Partners. Toby Blunt, senior partner, Foster + Partners. Photo by Minh Tri John Chambers, business development director of Quimera Energy, shared that as Vietnam aims to reduce emissions by 27 percent by 2030, Quimera aims to help clients reach their net-zero targets. "As will be the case with The Global City Project, Quimera will work closely with Masterise and Foster + Partners to design, install, commission, and maintain energy-efficient plant rooms and systems," said Chambers. The Global City development, located in An Phu ward, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, began construction last year. The project is expected to be completed in the following 48 months. A perspective of The Global City project. Photo by Foster + Partners Foster + Partners is a global studio for architecture, infrastructure, design, and engineering services. Its team of 1,500 is headquartered in London, with studios in 13 other cities (Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Hong Kong, Madrid, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Sydney). Quimera Energy Efficiency is an international company based in London, U.K. QEE adopts a retro-commissioning approach to energy efficiency, focusing on generating energy savings and minimizing emissions. Masterise Homes a member of Masterise Group, is a real estate developer with a portfolio comprising several branded residences in the Vietnam market. Masterise Homes has signed a strategic partnership with Marriott International, one of the largest hotel brands in the world with iconic brands of Marriott, JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton. NFTs beginning to find takers in Vietnam Vietnamese artists have begun to enter the world of non-fungible tokens, sparking high expectations of a booming new investment platform in a country pushing for digital transformation. Song writer Nguyen Van Chung earlier this month announced his intention to issue non-fungible tokens, becoming one of the first artists to do so. The NFT of artist Nguyen Van Chung is seen on a smartphone. Photo by VnExpress/Dat Nguyen He offered to sell a share of profits from his YouTube channel, which has 200,000 followers, a process he calls "equitization" of the channel. The channel has 700 music videos. Rapper Binz last month launched a collection of non-fungible tokens for a percentage of royalties from his new song Dont Break My Heart, which has 8.6 million views on YouTube. He offers investors 0.05 percent royalty on these tokens, which are priced at US$69-108,000. Model Vinh Thuy announced earlier this week he plans to join the NFT market with his 1988Dragon collection. Details of the collection are yet to be released. An illustration of Vinh Thuy NFT. Photo courtesy of model Vinh Thuy The announcements come after Vietnam made headlines globally with Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based play-to-earn NFT game in which people can earn cryptocurrency by selling characters and items. NFT is a non-interchangeable unit that represents objects like art, music, in-game items, and videos. By using blockchain technology, NFT ensures that only one person can own an asset at any given time. Truong Gia Bao, chairman of business consultancy Digital Transformation for SMEs, said NFTs are emerging in Vietnam as representatives of both physical and digital assets. There are property NFTs in which investors could buy a small piece that is part of a bigger project, he said. Other sectors have also started to show interests in NFTs. Than Thuc Quyen, CEO of Sanova Hotel, said the company plans to partner with a South Korean firm to develop NFTs for hotel services. "This is just an idea for now and we have not deployed it yet as this [technology] is still new in the tourism-services industry". In February companies like Crystal Bay and Beowulf Blockchain launched a platform for tourism NFTs on which customers can trade bookings with each other. Vietnam is among the top five countries globally in terms of NFT ownership, U.S.-based price-comparing platform Finder reported last November. Around 17.4 percent of Vietnamese Internet users own NFTs as against the global rate of 11.7 percent, it said. Around 68 percent of Vietnamese believe NFT prices would continue to rise, the highest rate in the six Southeast Asian countries surveyed in November by Statista and Milieu. Nguyen Trung Anh, founder of cryptocurrency game platform MetaHub, said investors in NFTs believe their value would continue to rise due to their exclusivity. Some companies are trying to develop key opinion leaders on social media and auction the NFTs of those people, he said. "They can appear in metaverse later, and therefore I think the prices are appropriate". But there are hurdles such as "trash" NFTs, which represent copyrighted assets, the equivalent of counterfeit goods in the real world, he said. It is therefore better to bet on NFTs of talented artists. Another challenge is the lack of a legal framework for this new technology. Trinh Xuan An, deputy chairman of the Young Lawmakers Group, said, "We need to create awareness of a legal framework for blockchain to manage and develop it". Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai last month instructed ministries to look into building a legal framework for digital assets. The State Bank of Vietnam earlier this month also included blockchain technology in a proposed decree for regulating fintech in banking. "This draft decree has blockchain, but is only for the banking sector," Dao Tien Phong, managing lawyer of Investpush Legal, said. "It should be expanded to other sectors". Vien Thong The Hong Kong ship Outrivaling 3 is stuck under the Hoang Van Thu Bridge in Hai Phong, April 21, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Chinh A Hong Kong ship got stuck in the underside of a bridge in the northern city of Hai Phong after its engine died on Thursday. The Outrivaling 3, spanning over 118 m with full capacity at 12,088 tons, rammed into the Hoang Van Thu Bridge in Hai Phongs Hong Bang District at around 3:30 p.m. The collision caused the ship to be stuck in the underside of the bridge and damaged a 10-meter rail section, along with its lighting system. Nguyen Van Tung, chairman of the Hai Phong Peoples Committee, has deployed police forces to prevent vehicles from going through Hoang Van Thu Bridge starting 4 p.m. Thursday. Authorities have deployed different ships to try getting the Outrivaling 3 out, waiting for the tides to lower and push the ship back into the waters. Ta Viet Dong, director of the Hai Phong management board of civil construction projects, said the collision didn't affect the bridge's structure much, but experts would still evaluate impacts of the collision. An investigation revealed that the ship's engine previously died as it was trying to dock Hoang Dieu Port, forcing it to free float on the river. When the tides got high, it was pushed towards the upstream of the Cam River, before ramming into the bridge. The Hoang Van Thu Bridge over the Cam River was opened to traffic in October 2019. ELKO Elko County is one step closer to construction of a judicial center on the block next to the courthouse. County Commissioners unanimously agreed to purchase six parcels from the Wright Motor Co. on Wednesday, completing the purchase of the full block that includes a bank building currently being remodeled for additional courtroom facilities. The vote on the final agreement completed the sale, which was initiated in January 2021, said County Manager Amanda Osborne. She reported the purchase price was $930,000, to be paid with funds set aside in the capital projects account. Over the years and with the addition of new judges in the Justice and District Courts the County has sought ways to alleviate overcrowding at the courthouse. County moves toward funding judicial and event/rec center ELKO Elko County will set aside portions of the new 50-cent tax rate for wildland fire protection and capital projects as it prioritizes a j After the election of a third District Court judge and creation of a new department in 2020, the County purchased the former Washington Federal bank building. It is currently being remodeled with courtroom, jury box, offices and judges chambers for District Court Department 2. Due to the 112-year-old courthouse reaching capacity over the past few years, the Fourth Judicial Court has advocated for a judicial complex, similar to the Lander County Courthouse and Administration building. If constructed, it would place both Justice Court departments A and B and District Court departments 1, 2 and 3, their staffs, offices and courtrooms into one location. Judge Al Kacin, speaking to the Elko Daily Free Press in December, said his cramped courtroom has prompted jury selections for Department 2 to be conducted at the Elko Convention Center. Jury trials could be held more efficiently if each judge could have access to their judicial chambers to address trial or other court-related matters, he said. Elko District Court settles into three departments This year, the report stated the district had a combined total of 1,996 cases at a 98% disposition rate. Lack of courtroom space has also forced Department 1 Judge Kriston Hill and her staff to work out of a remodeled conference room or other available space when allowed by other judges schedules. On March 2, Commissioners listed the judicial center as one of the top two priorities for County capital improvements next to the proposed recreation and events center. In an updated capital needs summary presented to Commissioners on Wednesday by Osborne, the County estimates the cost for the complex addition at $40 million. Additional parking was estimated at $10 million. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Where can the United States and its allies fight Putins murderous rampage in Ukraine? The answer is everywhere, with every weapon available. This war is being fought on many fronts at once: military, economic, legal, media, moral. The focus now is on the Russian assault in eastern Ukraine. But battles are also blazing in boardrooms, courtrooms and chat rooms. The troops are internet influencers and war crimes investigators, financial managers and factory managers, preachers and politicians. Putins foes should not cross a red line that expands the fighting to neighboring countries. But they have to push right up to that line. As Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, puts it, Putin will only stop when we stop him. There was hope at the outset of this war that Czar Vlad The Violator would negotiate a fair end to the conflict that he would accept a neutral Ukraine with its prewar boundaries secured by international guarantors. But that hope was seriously misguided. Putin has reacted to his humiliating defeats by escalating his military mission, not reducing it. The West has to respond by increasing its own commitment to the battle that is, the many battles. Now. That commitment starts with a simple question: Should President Biden go to Ukraine and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Asked by CNN if Biden would come, Zelenskyy said, I think he will. That would be an important gesture, assuming the security situation can be stabilized. But even if Biden doesnt travel, he can be a vital voice of moral clarity by continuing to insist that it is Putin who has crossed a red line from president to pariah, from insider to outcast. He has exiled himself. Hes created his own Elba in the Kremlin. But moral markers are not enough. Biden has to get over some of his earlier squeamishness about supplying Kyiv with the heavy weapons it needs to hold off Russian advances. He made a good start with an $800 million package that, according to CNN, included 11 Mi-17 helicopters that had initially been earmarked for Afghanistan, 18 155 mm howitzer cannons and 300 more Switchblade drones, in addition to radar systems capable of tracking incoming fire and pinpointing its origin. Biden also has to pressure U.S. arms makers to step up production of critical weapons like Javelin anti-tank missiles and shoulder-fired Stingers that can shoot down aircraft. Some of those munitions would go directly to Kyiv; others could restock the arsenals of NATO allies that have already been aiding Ukraine. Speaking of NATO, Biden should openly support the growing ambitions of Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Show Putin how badly he miscalculated. He invaded Ukraine in part to roll back NATOs possible expansion toward the Russian border, and hes created exactly the opposite effect. If Finland does join, that would add 830 miles to the border between the alliance and Russia more than double the current line of confrontation. On the economic front, Washington, D.C. has to declare war on the ruble, driving down its value and forcing Moscow into defaulting on its international obligations. Close all the banking loopholes, hunt down the oligarchs and above all, do everything possible to shut off Russias income from the export of oil and gas. Biden has already agreed to auction off drilling leases on 145,000 acres of public lands, and while the environmental lobby is screaming in protest, governing is about making choices, and protecting the national security by enhancing energy independence has to be the administrations top priority. The U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court, but it can aid war crimes investigations in many ways. The United States has demonstrated before and during this conflict that it has unparalleled intelligence regarding Russian military plans and activities, Yale Law professor Oona Hathaway writes in the Washington Post. Sharing information with the ICC prosecutor as he investigates possible crimes in Ukraine could be an important step toward ensuring accountability. In the media war, the White House should be bolstering resources for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which beams Russian-language broadcasts into a country where few dissident voices have survived. And it should be utilizing Telegram and other online platforms that can still evade the Kremlins censorship to spark dissent in Russia and reveal Putins lies about the motives and the costs of his miscalculation. Putin has crossed a red line of decency, of humanity, of respect for international norms of civilized behavior. He must be made to pay. On every front. In every way. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 LAS VEGAS (AP) Most of the five leading Republican candidates for Nevada governor who gathered Wednesday for a campaign forum in Las Vegas offered dire assessments of the states tourism-dependent economy, rising crime and struggling schools and asked for votes for their visions to fix them. Several also blamed Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the consensus GOP front-runner, for skipping the event. We want to have the best, well-run, state in the country, said Guy Nohra, a Reno venture capitalist, drawing applause from among about 100 people at a Republican women's club luncheon. But we dont. Were 50th in everything, said Nora, who called his foray into politics the culmination of an American dream after his own teenage experience fighting a war in his home country, Lebanon, and his business ventures in the U.S. The event also featured North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, Gardnerville surgeon Fred Simon, former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and firebrand northern Nevada lawyer Joey Gilbert. The tone in the room was polite, calls to action were pointed, and fangs were out over the absence of Lombardo, the best-funded candidate among the 20 Republicans seeking the nomination in June to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in November. You need to know theres somebody in this room who should be your next governor, Lee said after placing an empty chair next to the speakers podium to conduct a self-answering John-versus-Joe monologue. But its not Lombardo and its not Sisolak. Lombardos campaign spokeswoman, in a statement, called the two-term elected head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department one of the most accessible elected officials in Nevada. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Ray noted that Lombardo participated in previous candidates forums, said he planned to attend others and pointed to his fundraising lead. Voters know that Joe has leadership and experience they can trust, and thats evident in our fundraising number," she said. Campaign filings submitted to the Nevada Secretary of State last week showed Lombardo raised more than $825,000 during the first three months of 2022 and spent about $522,000, with almost $3 million in the bank ahead of the June 14 primary. Sisolak, by comparison, raised almost $1.6 million from January to March and spent $265,000, leaving him with more than $9.5 million to spend. His lone underfunded Democratic primary challenger, former North Las Vegas City Council member and Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, reported loaning his own campaign $4,200 and having about $6,900 cash-on-hand on March 31. Among the Republicans, Simon is running a mostly self-funded campaign. He calls himself a constitutional conservative and reported he contributed all but about $10,000 of the $1.3 million he took in during the January-to-March reporting period. He spent $66,000 and reported having almost $1.25 million to spend. Im not owned, Simon told the GOP womens group. Nohra reported raising $528,000 and spending almost $413,000, ending the reporting period with $700,000 cash-on-hand. Gilbert, a Reno-based attorney who was outside the U.S. Capitol the day it was stormed on Jan. 6, 2020, parked his campaign bus parked outside the forum at Lawrys The Prime Rib restaurant. He cited lawsuits he filed in Nevada against what he called COVID insanity of coronavirus pandemic mask mandates and a ban on treating COVID-19 patients with a malaria drug. He drew loud applause for a pledge to audit this sucker, the entire thing, and promised to get rid of transgender social indoctrination nonsense in schools. Youre looking at the Ron DeSantis of the West, Gilbert said, invoking the name of the Florida Republican governor who signed a law that forbidding classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Floridas so-called Dont Say Gay law has become a culture war flashpoint. Heller, who lost his U.S. Senate seat to Democrat Jacky Rosen in 2018, previously served as Nevada Secretary of State and in the Nevada State Assembly and the U.S. House. He said he had a wonderful flight from Reno to Las Vegas for the forum because, for the first time in two years, he didnt have to wear a face covering. He noted that as a senator he voted to approve the Trump-nominated Florida federal judge who struck down the nations federal mask mandate on public transit. Heller reported raising $155,000 and spending $179,000 during the January-to-March reporting period, leaving a little more than $241,000 to spend. 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 Amid punishing rent hikes, an affordable housing shortage and rising costs for food, gas and other essentials, a new Nevada Independent/OH Predictive Insights poll indicates that Nevadans across the political spectrum support rent control policies. The results of the poll, conducted from April 1-9, indicate that 65 percent of Nevada residents support the state enacting rent control policies or limiting the amount that a landlord can demand when leasing a home or renewing a lease. Support for rent control spanned across the political spectrum, with 81 percent of liberal-identifying respondents saying they supported rent control policies, 65 percent of moderates in favor of the policy and 53 percent of conservatives indicating support. Sixty-nine percent of respondents also said they would support the addition of more shelter and bed space as the states unsheltered population continues to grow. The poll results should not be surprising, said Mike Noble, chief of research and managing partner of OH Predictive Insights. He said that in Arizona, Nevada and Utah states that historically have had lower housing prices housing costs are becoming out of reach for residents, especially in the wake of the pandemic, which devastated incomes for blue-collar workers. Affordability as a local [issue], its becoming quite the pain point, Noble said. I think any solution is a good solution right now in voters minds due to the rising costs that everyones seen between housing costs or purchase or rent. Rental prices in Nevada have grown by double digits since 2020. The Nevada State Apartment Association reported that as of the end of March, the average asking rent was $1,451 a month in Southern Nevada and $1,513 in Northern Nevada across all apartment types, a 34 percent increase and nearly 24 percent increase compared with prices two years ago, respectively. And home prices have hit an all-time high, reaching a median price of $460,000 in Las Vegas (up nearly 27 percent from last year) and $575,000 in the Reno-Sparks area (up almost 20 percent from last year) in March, according to reports from the Las Vegas Realtors Association and the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors. Noble attributed the strong support across party lines for providing more beds and shelters for Nevadas unsheltered population to the accelerating housing crisis. The poll sampled 748 registered voters in Nevada via an online opt-in survey. The breakdown of respondents party affiliation closely mirrored statewide registration totals, with 30 percent of respondents identifying as Republican, 35 percent as Democrat and 34 percent as nonpartisans not aligned with either major party. The poll had a 4.4 percent margin of error. Separated by region, residents of Washoe and Clark counties indicated higher levels of support for rent control (68 percent Washoe, 66 percent Clark) and the addition of more shelter and bed space (60 percent Washoe, 73 percent Clark) than those in rural counties. Still, 53 percent of rural respondents said they would support rent control as a potential solution to the housing crisis, and 55 percent indicated support for increased government-provided shelter and bed space. Broken down by party, 81 percent of Democrats said they supported rent control, and 56 percent of Republicans and nonpartisans said they supported the measure. Twenty-three percent of nonpartisans and 15 percent of Republicans said they were unsure where they stood on the issue. Though younger generations between the ages of 18 and 54 overwhelmingly supported rent control policies (71 percent), those older than 55 indicated less support for the measure (57 percent). Out of those aged 55 or older, Democrats indicated the most support (83 percent) for rent control followed by Republicans (45 percent) and nonpartisans (43 percent). People with lower levels of educational attainment also were more likely to support rent control. Noble pointed to the lack of wage increases as a driving force behind younger people and those with lower incomes supporting rent control measures. Theyre going to be more adversely impacted with the increases because they have less of an ability to really combat it, compared to folks that have higher incomes or have more job availability or that have been longer in life, he said. Typically, the longer youve been around, youre able to make more money on average. Results from the poll follow calls from the Clark County Commission urging state lawmakers to take action on rising rents, given that local governments do not have explicit permission to implement policies such as a rent control law. But Gov. Steve Sisolak told reporters in March that, based on his understanding, local governments already have some authority to implement rent stabilization measures. We cannot have rents continuing to spiral like theyre spiraling, he said. We are working with our local jurisdictions. I will continue to communicate with legislative leadership to make sure that theyre on the same page, in terms of coming up with a plan moving forward. Again, this is something we need to put a lot of thought into. Earlier this week, the state launched a $250 million Home Means Nevada affordable housing investment initiative in a southwest Las Vegas neighborhood. At the event, Assemblyman Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) said a lot of work needs to be done to address Nevadas housing crisis, but it is unlikely lawmakers will hold a special legislative session for that purpose in the near future. I dont think its likely that we will have a special session, but never say never, Yeager said. We definitely have a lot of work to do between now and the next session to figure out what are the solutions when it comes to housing. Reporter Naoka Foreman contributed to this report. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Consul General Ms Hooper and Chef Luke Nguyen showing the dishes after the demonstration Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first time Taste of Australia has been held in Vietnam since 2019. Australias Consul-General in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Sarah Hooper, said: This years Taste of Australia program will again showcase the best of Australian food. It will build on Australias international reputation as a supplier of food and beverages that are high quality, safe and sustainable. Taste of Australia 2022 will spread the word about high-quality, sophisticated and versatile Australian produce and products available in Vietnam, starting with a video series collaborating with Melbourne-based Australian-Vietnamese chef Frank Pham that will feature premium Australian produce including beef, lamb, abalone and rock lobster. This years program will also present a web series to highlight the sophisticated Australian wine varieties and the versatility of Australian wine for pairing with Vietnamese cuisine. Australian Consul General Ms Sarah Hooper showing the Wester rock lobster during the media launch Alongside the online series, Taste of Australia 2022 will also partner with up to 40 of the best restaurants in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to highlight the versatility and first-class quality of true Australian produce, fresh fruits and products in the local market. As in previous years, world renowned Australian chef Luke Nguyen is the Taste of Australia Ambassador and will be consulting on the program. Following the exciting entrance of Australian peaches and nectarines into the Vietnamese market, Taste of Australia will include an extensive nationwide promotional campaign to bolster the image of diverse, superior and accessible Australian products at major retail stores such as MegaMart, WinMart, BRG, Kingfood and Annam Gourmet Market./. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli The chairman of the State Committee for Work with Diaspora, Fuad Muradov, has made public the agenda of the fifth World Azerbaijanis' Congress due in the country's cultural capital Shusha on April 22-23. In his relevant article published in the official Azarbaycan (Azerbaijan) newspaper, Muradov stressed that a report on the committee's activities is scheduled to be presented following the official opening ceremony of the congress. The topics "Tasks facing Azerbaijani diaspora in the post-war period" and "Contribution of Azerbaijani diaspora to restoration and reconstruction of Karabakh will then be discussed. "Holding the event of world Azerbaijanis in Shusha, symbolizing our historical Victory, is a significant historical event of great political significance. Therefore, we call this congress the Congress of Victory," Muradov said. Furthermore, he noted that Azerbaijan has studied the existing problems in the field of coordinating the activities of diaspora organizations and deepening ties with the homeland of our compatriots living abroad. The article also stressed that the state has taken a number of steps to prevent the fragmented work of the diaspora. Further, Muradov wrote that in order to improve the legislative framework in the field of work with the diaspora, the State Committee has created a working group, which included representatives of relevant structures, studied foreign experience, and prepared proposals in this direction. In Azerbaijan, the medal 'For Merit in Diaspora Activities' was established to encourage our compatriots living abroad to participate in diaspora activities, as well as to reward Azerbaijanis who have done a great job to spread the truth about Azerbaijan, promoting our history and culture abroad, the article added. Earlier, Shirvan Karimov, chairman of the Azerbaijanis League of Russia's Samara region, said that under President Ilham Aliyev's leadership, the Azerbaijani diaspora has developed, strengthened, and properly protected the country's interests. Each of us walks with our heads held high, because our pride was restored as a result of the second Karabakh war, he said. He also added that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation had unique merits in developing diaspora activities. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation has always supported us. We are grateful to the Azerbaijani state for attention and concern, Karimov said. To recap, the fifth World Azerbaijanis' Congress will be held from April 22 to April 23. The Shusha-based event is expected to draw 400 diaspora representatives from 65 countries. The congress participants will first visit Baku's Alley of Honors, then the Alleys of Martyrs I and II before departing for Shusha. Following its victory over Armenia in the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan has organized a number of international and domestic events in Shusha. Shusha was occupied by Armenian forces on May 8, 1992, and liberated by Azerbaijan during the 44-day war on November 8, 2020. Shusha was declared Azerbaijans cultural capital by the presidential decree on May 7. Apart from Shusha, 300 other city centers, villages, and settlements were liberated from Armenian occupation during the war in 2020. Following the liberation of Shusha, the Azerbaijani, Russian, and Armenian leaders signed a trilateral peace treaty on November 10. The peace treaty called for the return of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar, Aghdam, and Lachin regions, which had been occupied by Armenia since the early 1990s. At the reception (Photo: baoquocte.vn) Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Nguyen Tuan updated information about the situation of the sea and islands of the homeland, about the importance of the means Vietnamese Navy uses at sea, including "sovereign boat", an important means to help improve combat readiness, continuous and solid defense, creating a fulcrum for fishermen to catch fish and protect the sea. On this occasion, Ambassador Nguyen Tuan acknowledged the enthusiasm, patriotism, and spirit of sharing and looking towards the country, among the Vietnamese community in Slovakia. The Ambassador affirmed that the amount of 6,670 EUR donated by the Vietnamese community in Slovakia will be transferred to the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese as soon as possible to buy "sovereign boats" to present Truong Sa Island district and DK1 frame house./. More than 126,800 doses of vaccine given to children aged 5 to under 12 in 28 provinces and cities (Photo: congthuong.vn) In addition to the Moderna vaccine from Australia, Vietnam has received commitments on vaccine support of 2 million doses of Moderna from the Netherlands, and 2 million doses of Pfizer from France. These vaccines will arrive in Vietnam in April 2022. Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is continuing to coordinate with the Ministry of Health, and discuss with international organizations and partners on how to ensure the source of vaccines for children, contributing to completing the vaccination plan for children in the second quarter of 2022. After 1 week of implementing COVID-19 vaccination for children from 5 to under 12 years old, as of April 21, the Ministry of Health said that 126,829 doses of vaccine had been administered to children in this age group across 28 provinces and cities, with no serious reactions. According to statistics, there are about 11.8 million children nationwide from 5 to under 12 years old who are subject to the COVID-19 vaccine. Among them, it is estimated that up to now, about 8.2 million children have not been infected with COVID-19. The two injections for eligible children will be carried out by the health sector from now until the end of the second quarter of this year. This is one of the key tasks of the health sector in 2022./. Ukraine will create a United24 fund to restore the country after Russia's military aggression and estimates its required volume at $600 billion, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. "The United24 fund will cost about $600 billion," he said at the Ministerial Roundtable in Support of Ukraine as part of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings 2022. The Prime Minister said that it is not only about restoring the destroyed, but also about building a new economy. "Ukraine's efforts are not enough to restore life normally after such Russian aggression," Shmyhal said. According to him, Ukraine needs a plan similar to the Marshall Plan after World War II. He noted that the restoration of Ukraine with the support of the whole world will be a safeguard against such aggression in the future. "If the aggressor knows that the whole world will help, then the desire to start a war will be reduced. Such support will be useful for all our countries," the Ukrainian prime minister said. Shmyhal estimated the current needs for financing the state budget deficit of Ukraine at $4-5 billion per month, while President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking before that, said the amount of necessary support is up to $7 billion per month. By Trend The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs from the United States and France did not send signals to the Russian side about their readiness to resume the work of this mechanism in order to achieve a comprehensive peace between Baku and Yerevan, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, Trend reports citing TASS. "We have not received such signals. We do not expect them," she noted. Zakharova explained that the two countries actually paralyzed "the once well-coordinated work of the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group" by refusing to interact with Russia. Ukraine will receive a EUR 88.5 million grant from the World Bank Trust Fund for development policy in the field of economic recovery. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine) Arup Banerji signed the corresponding agreement in Washington on April 21, according to a statement from the Finance Ministry. The Ministry of Finance clarified that the grant funds will be sent to Ukraine from the donor trust fund, within the framework of the Second Development Policy Loan in the field of economic recovery for Ukraine. Marchenko noted that the funds allocated to the general fund of the state budget will allow Ukraine to increase funding for social and humanitarian areas and ensure the macro-financial stability of our state. "Grant assistance is a priority for us, since today we are already thinking about the future and the restoration of the country from catastrophic destruction," the minister emphasized. The Trust Fund was established by the World Bank Group and has already received contributions from Denmark (about EUR 20.5 million), Iceland (about EUR 460,000), Latvia (about EUR 5 million), Lithuania (about EUR 5 million) and the United Kingdom (about EUR 60 million). The UK will provide financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $500 million in loan guarantees to mitigate the economic consequences of Russian criminal activities, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said following a meeting with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. "Rishi Sunak supported my earlier call for the urgent provision of part of the partner countries' resources to Ukraine for the needs of the Ukrainian budget. This will allow the government to continue to carry out all protected spending and social programs," the minister said. According to him, he received assurances of the UK's readiness to join efforts to attract other countries and financial institutions to two new financial support mechanisms for Ukraine - the World Bank Trust Fund and the IMF special account to receive Special Drawing Rights (SDR) previously distributed by the fund. The fall in tax revenues in Ukraine by more than half due to the war unleashed by Russia and the costs of the war and 7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) cause a budget deficit of $5 billion per month and the need for its external support, predominantly by grant funds, Director of the IMF's European Department Alfred Kammer has said. At a press conference in Washington of Friday, he said the IMF proposes that most of the support be provided in the form of grants. According to him, there are various types, including the possibility for IMF members to provide their special drawing rights. Kammer said that an estimate of $5 billion in deficit per month for the next two months was carried out by the Ukrainian authorities in conjunction with the IMF. Speaking about possible instruments to support Ukraine, he named a special account administered by the IMF, a World Bank multi-donor trust fund, and there will also be an EU Trust Fund for Solidarity. The IMF representative also said the Ukrainian government is now very interested in supporting economic recovery in those parts of the country where economic activity can continue, and this is a very important priority for the government, which will help normalize, increase productivity and growth, and also help IDPs. In the Regional Economuc Outlook for Europe presented on Friday, the IMF reaffirmed its forecast for Ukraine's GDP to fall by 35% in 2022. According to the presented chart, a little more than a third of this fall is due to a fall in labor resources, almost half is due to the loss of capital, including due to physical destruction. The remaining part of the negative contribution to the dynamics of GDP is the fall in overall productivity. "In Ukraine, the already significant economic damage will increase as the war continues," the fund said. According to it, the ongoing war is also disrupting the country's pivotal agricultural sector, which accounts for 12% of GDP and half of its export revenue, where production could fall by half. In addition, the war has brought severe damage to seaports, through which over 80% of exports and imports are routed, as well as logistic networks, severely impacting good flows. "Further broad-based donor support will be critical to Ukraine's medium-term economic prospects as needs for post-war reconstruction are likely to be very large," according to the document. On Thursday, enemy troops launched a missile attack on Zaporizhia, as a result of which, eight citizens were injured, windows in the cars of an evacuation train were damaged by an explosion, the Prosecutor General's Office reports. "According to the investigation, on April 21, 2022, representatives of the armed forces of the Russian Federation launched a missile attack on Zaporizhia. As a result of an air attack, eight citizens were injured. Windows in four cars of Zaporizhia-Lviv evacuation train were also damaged by the blast. According to preliminary data, there were no casualties among the passengers," the message in the Telegram channel says. Under the procedural leadership of Zaporizhia Regional Prosecutor's Office, criminal proceedings were initiated on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 1, Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). On Thursday, in Luhansk and Donetsk directions, the Ukrainian defenders repelled 10 attacks of the aggressor, destroyed 33 units of enemy equipment and shot down 10 air targets of the occupiers, according to the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO). "During the current day, April 21, the servicemen of the Joint Forces grouping successfully repulsed 10 enemy attacks. Due to skilful actions and skill our soldiers inflicted damage to the Russian occupiers. In particular, the Ukrainian defenders destroyed six tanks, four artillery systems, eight armored vehicles and 15 vehicles. Anti-aircraft defense units in the skies of Ukrainian Donbas shot down two aircraft (Su-34 and Su-25) and eight Orlan-10 type drones," reads a report published on Facebook. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed introducing a special "war tax," primarily for Russia. "I propose to introduce a special "war tax": Russia should pay for the fact it has violated global stability," the president said via video link at the ministerial conference in support of Ukraine, organized by the World Bank Group and the government as part of the Spring Meetings in Washington. In his opinion, the tax should be introduced on all trade operations of Russia and Russian companies, as well as on all financial transactions "not yet blocked." The proceeds from this tax, according to Zelensky, should be directed to the restoration of Ukraine. At the same time, he believes this tax should be introduced in the future for any aggressor. "Then the victim of the unleashed war should receive the funds from this tax," Zelensky said. He also called for "immediate support for Ukraine so that Russia understand that it cannot achieve its goals." The president stressed the need to "do everything to exclude Russia from international financial institutions." "Each country must prepare for a complete break in relations with Russia. If Russia is completely isolated, it will avoid war," the president of Ukraine said. Zelensky noted that the blocked Russian assets should be used to compensate for the losses of countries affected by the war and to restore Ukraine. He also called for the next meeting of the ministerial conference to be held in Ukraine, "perhaps in Kharkiv." Australia's public broadcasters have stopped broadcasting all Russian state propaganda channels, and the government has imposed sanctions against 32 propagandists, said Culture and Information Policy Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko. "Last month I appealed to my Australian colleague Paul Fletcher regarding the restriction of Russian propaganda in Australia. The country's public broadcasters have already stopped broadcasting all Russian state propaganda programs and channels, and the Australian government has imposed sanctions against 32 propagandists and distributors of disinformation, including senior editors of Russia Today, the Strategic Culture Foundation, InfoRos and NewsFront," Tkachenko wrote on his Telegram channel. Also, he said, leading Australian platforms have taken part in the fight against disinformation, in particular, they have started labelling Russian propaganda content accordingly and removing it. In addition, Australian broadcasters are considering the possibility of increasing the share of Ukrainian news in the airwaves, including the broadcasting of Ukrainian TV channels. In the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, the Russian occupiers are artificially bringing the situation of a humanitarian crisis closer, the press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. "In the temporarily occupied territories, enemy units continue to block the movement of local population, rob and artificially bring a humanitarian crisis closer - they destroy critical infrastructure facilities and block the delivery of humanitarian supplies from the territory of Ukraine. There are cases of executions of civilians and volunteers," the message posted on Facebook said on Friday morning. In Volyn and Polissia directions, the enemy did not conduct active operations. In Slobozhansky direction, the aggressor continues to partially block Kharkiv, conducts fire attacks on the units of the Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure facilities. "In Izium direction, the enemy concentrated up to 25 battalion tactical groups from the 1st Tank Army, the 20th and 35th combined arms armies and the 68th Army Corps of the Eastern Military District, the airborne troops of the armed forces of the Russian Federation," the General Staff said. The aggressor is trying to launch an offensive in the direction of Zavody settlement, in addition, the enemy has reached the northern outskirts of Dubrovne and is trying to gain a foothold on the reached line. In Donetsk and Tauride directions, the occupiers are carrying out assault actions in the area Zarichne and Maryiynka, trying to advance in the area of Rubizhne. Fighting also continues in the direction of Novtoshkivske and Popasna. In Pivdenny Buh direction, the enemy continues to conduct fire attacks on the units of Ukrainian troops and tried to conduct reconnaissance in force in the area of Trudoliubivka, but suffered losses and retreated to the previous lines. "The enemy continues to suffer losses. According to available information, on April 20 of this year, another batch of wounded servicemen of the armed forces of the Russian Federation (about 220 people) and more than 50 bodies of the dead invaders were delivered to the central district hospital of the city of Novoaidar," the General Staff reported. In addition, "the battalion tactical group of the 136th separate motorized rifle brigade of the 58th combined arms army of the Southern Military District, operating in Kurakhovsky direction, suffered significant losses in manpower (up to 250 people) and lost up to ten units of rocket and receiver systems." The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) secured the seizure of funds in the amount of more than UAH 203 million from the accounts of the former member of parliament of Ukraine from the Party of Regions, the office's website reported on Friday. At the same time, the name of the ex-MP is not reported. As it became known to Interfax-Ukraine from informed sources, this is Mykola Yankovsky, who in 1998-2006 was a member of parliament of the III-VI convocation from the Regions of Ukraine, United Ukraine, Party of Regions factions. Since 1988, he was the general director, then the president of the Stirol concern, located in the now occupied Horlivka (Donetsk region). In 2003, he was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine. "According to investigators, the ex-member of the Party of Regions, close to the fugitive president, legalized abroad the income received from transactions in one of the concerns located in Donbas. He registered a company in the temporarily occupied city of Horlivka and retained control over pharmaceutical production. Carrying out economic activities, he collaborated with the occupation administration of the aggressor state to the detriment of the national security of Ukraine. By paying taxes and filling the budget of the pseudo-republic [the so-called "DPR"], the ex-MP actually provided financial assistance to illegal armed groups controlled by the Russian Federation in the context of combat operations against Ukraine," the PGO said. The office exercises procedural guidance in the case of financing actions committed with the aim of forcibly changing or overthrowing the constitutional order or seizing state power, changing the boundaries of the territory or state border of Ukraine and justifying, recognizing as legitimate, denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (Part 4 of Article 110-2 and Part 3 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Pretrial investigation is being carried out by the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI). France redistributed the second column of firefighting equipment and 50 tonnes of equipment to Ukraine, French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins said. "We are glad to officially hand over to the Ukrainian authorities the 2nd column of firefighting equipment and 50 tonnes of equipment. Solidarity of France and its local communities in action. Admiration for the dedication and courage of firefighters of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggressor. They will be better equipped," de Poncins wrote on Twitter on Friday. According to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the convoy consists of 24 rescue vehicles and 50 tonnes of equipment. By Azernews EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar has discussed reopening of regional communications with the Azerbaijani and Armenian deputy prime ministers. Klaar made the remarks on his official Twitter page. "Excellent meetings yesterday [April 20] with Azerbaijani Deputy PM Shahin Mustafayev and today [April 21] with Armenian Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan about reopening of communications. Good to see a strong commitment from both sides," he wrote. Meanwhile, Senior Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations Asli Aydintasbas has stated that the normalization of relations in the South Caucasus region opens up space for enormous economic potential and energy cooperation, according to Trend. She stated that the South Caucasus transport lines are not only economically important for Turkey, but also hold the key to regional stability within the region. "Ankara is now signaling that it is open to normalization of relations with Armenia but wants to do it in lockstep with Azerbaijan, pacing it with the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. If regional powers can move forward with normalizing relations, it opens up space for enormous economic potential and energy cooperation," she said. The official noted that opening the Armenian-Turkish border quadruples Turkey-Azerbaijan trade potential and energy cooperation. She added that this is a win-win situation for everyone in the region. "The region also has the potential to tap into the resources of Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries, creating a significant trading block," Aydintasbas added. This arrangement is especially important given that sanctions against Russia are likely to have a negative impact on all regional players. Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan can offset some of their losses, according to Aydintasbas, by opening the border with Armenia and trading directly with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan. "They could also create an energy corridor that can reach Europe and address, partly, Europes growing energy needs," she said. The liberation of Azerbaijan's historic lands from Armenian occupation as a result of the Second Karabakh War in 2020 has created unprecedented opportunities for South Caucasus cooperation and interaction. Today, the two countries are on a new path toward normalization of relations: transport and communication links, which have been stymied for the past 30 years of occupation, are finally being allowed to develop, and the foreign ministries are working on the drafting of a peace treaty. Following this, Turkey declared its intent to normalize relations with Armenia. The two countries' special representatives working in this area have been appointed. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has called on countries to give Ukraine heavy weapons to defend and liberate Russian-occupied territories, as well as to impose a complete global embargo on Russian oil and gas, real sanctions against the Russian banking system and trade. "Primarily we need heavy weapons to defend and liberate Russian-occupied territories. I know that these weapons can be sourced quickly from different countries. All that's needed is the will to do so. If you give us these weapons, you will show the world that you are not afraid to confront evil. We also need a total global embargo on Russian oil and gas. We need real sanctions against Russia's banking system and trade," Reznikov wrote in an article for The Wall Street Journal. He said that in this case, Russian invaders will be gone from Ukraine in a few months. "If you don't, the war will drag on, and the terrorist state of the Russian Federation will destroy the reputations of global leaders and encourage other rogues to test their strength. The flames of the war can spread to other countries at any moment because Vladimir Putin won't stop in Ukraine," the minister said. Reznikov said that At the same time, Reznikov said that among the casualties of Russia's war on Ukraine has been the postwar system of global order and security. He called for the replacement of the UN Security Council and the OSCE, which failed in preventing a war against Ukraine, with a new and more effective set of international institutions. "Russia has done everything that the international security institutions were created to prevent. How can the United Nations Security Council, on which Moscow has a permanent seat, live up to its mission to maintain peace? What kind of security and cooperation is possible on the Continent when one participating state of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe has attacked another and killed thousands of civilians? These organizations have failed. Like the League of Nations before them, they must be replaced by a new and more effective set of international institutions capable of serving the interests of all countries, not only those of the great powers," he wrote. Russian invaders fired at the building of the regional trauma hospital in the city of Lyman, Donetsk region, from Uragan multiple launch rocket systems, head of Donetsk regional military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said. "Direct hits of the shells caused a fire and destruction both in the hospital and in residential buildings located nearby. Rescuers and pyrotechnicians extinguished the fire and neutralized explosive objects," Kyrylenko wrote in Telegram on Thursday. The head of the regional administration did not report any casualties as a result of the shelling. According to him, the shelling was carefully recorded. Kyrylenko also attached a video of a fire in one of the hospital buildings to the message. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has already received more than 100,000 applications in Diia application about damaged property of Ukrainians as a result of Russian aggression. "Our team processes all the claims you send in the application and on the Diia portal 24/7, so that a team of experts can assess the property and quickly restore the destroyed houses. To date, we have received more than 100,000 damaged property claims through Diia," the message on the department's Telegram channel said. To apply in the Diia application, you need to select Damaged Property in the Services section, specify all the necessary information and send a message. On the Diia portal - log in, fill out the form and send a message. In addition, the service is available to administration services centre employees and notaries who can fill out and send messages on behalf of Ukrainians and their representatives. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called an additional $500 million financial aid package to Ukraine, previously announced by U.S. President Joe Biden, "only the beginning," the Associated Press said. "We plan to deploy this direct aid to Ukraine as soon as possible, to be used on the most urgent need. This is only the beginning of what Ukraine will need to rebuild," she said. Thus, this package will be provided in addition to the $500 million that Biden announced in March, the agency notes. Speaking of sanctions against Russia, she noted that the U.S. continues to tighten the vise of our economic pressure campaign. Europe clearly needs to reduce its dependence on Russia in respect to energy. But we need to be careful, Yellen said. Yellen met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko on Thursday. Earlier, Yellen and several other officials, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, left the room during the speech of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the G20 meeting in Washington. So did U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Yellen stated that Russia should be excluded from the 20 and that she intended to boycott events where Russian officials would speak. Russia to remain under sanctions if there is no peace agreement on Ukraine German Chancellor Peace that is not secured by a corresponding agreement will not free Russia from international sanctions, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "Russia is in a very difficult situation, the sanctions are seriously damaging the Russian economy," Scholz told Spiegel. "A cold peace that is not secured by an agreement will not free Russia from sanctions," the chancellor added. David Arakhamia, head of the Ukrainian delegation to negotiations with Russia, says that the Georgian government is continuing to help Russia circumvent international sanctions. "The whole of Europe says it will not open bank accounts for Russian citizens, while Georgian banks are doing this with pleasure. Russian businessmen are circumventing the sanctions with the assistance of Georgian companies. All of that is being done with the knowledge of the Georgian government," Arakhamia said in an interview with the Georgian opposition TV channel Mtavari Arkhi. He said he intentionally did not meet with a Georgian parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Shalva Papuashvili last week and met with a delegation of the United National Movement opposition party, founded by former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in Kyiv a few days ago. "We made ourselves clear to the Georgian authorities before the war - Saakashvili is a citizen of Ukraine, who holds a high position here. There is a mechanism provided by international agreements which prescribes how to transfer Saakashvili to us, but the Georgian administration looks at the Kremlin for guidance in these affairs," Arakhamia said. It will be possible to normalize relations between Ukraine and Georgia only if the Georgian government joins the international sanctions against Russia and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky makes an address at the Georgian parliament, as he did in many other countries, Arakhamia said, adding that the Ukrainian ambassador may return to Tbilisi in that case. As reported earlier, Zelensky recalled the Ukrainian ambassador from Georgia in the wake of the Georgian government's refusal to back anti-Russian sanctions. Forensic experts from Slovakia have arrived in Ukraine, and French experts are already working in Kyiv region, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova has said. "Foreign experts assist us with documentation of international crimes committed by Russia. French are already working in Kyiv region, the first group of Slovak police, forensic experts and anthropologists also started their work today," Venediktova said on Twitter on Friday. The prosecutor general also said on Facebook that over 7,600 war crimes by Russia were recorded in Ukraine during the full-scale invasion, and the support of the world in collecting evidence is extremely necessary. "Now we have a mission of representatives of the French gendarmerie and the medical service of the Armed Forces of the French Republic in Kyiv region. There is also the team of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in Ukraine," Venediktova said. According to the prosecutor general, the work of foreign specialists on the territory of Ukraine is also a sign of Ukraine's openness. "Our goal is absolutely transparent, a thorough investigation of every war crime of Russia in order to bring the perpetrators to justice," Venediktova said. Residents of the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea record the export of grain from the territory of the temporarily occupied Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, which is the violation of Article 55 of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Liudmyla Denisova, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said. Denisova published an appeal to the UN Commission to investigate violations of human rights with a call to investigate the illegal export of Ukrainian grain by Russian invaders on her Facebook page. "Residents of the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea report that they have recently noticed an increase in the number of freight trains, on the wagons of which "grain" is written. All of them belong to the North Caucasian Railways. Trains are sent to railway stations that border Kherson region. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea does not have its own grain reserves for export in such quantities," Denisova stressed. According to her, grain is exported from the Russian-occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, where a large number of granaries with crops owned by Ukrainian owners are located. "The aggressor obviously intends to take out Ukrainian grain. A few weeks ago, the rashists already stole grain from the port of Berdiansk ... I appeal to the UN Commission to investigate human rights violations during Russia's military invasion of Ukraine with a request to take into account these facts of Russia's violations of human rights in Ukraine," the Commissioner for Human Rights said. According to her, residents of Crimea also record the sale on the peninsula of vegetables exported from the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region. The leadership of the Russian army is completing the identification of favorable places for delivering the main blows in eastern Ukraine, spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Oleksandr Motuzianyk has said. "The leadership of the Russian army is completing the identification of favorable places for delivering the main strikes. This is evidenced, in particular, by the methods of fire destruction, the form of formation of battle formations, the separation of enemy troops, as well as continuous offensive operations in certain directions," Motuzianyk said at a briefing in the Ukraine media center in Kyiv on Friday. According to the spokesperson, the greatest activity of the invaders is observed in the direction of Izium-Barvinkove, in the area of the railway junction station Popasna, in the area of the Severodonetsk urbanized area, near Mariupol, as well as on the section of the Zaporizhis-Donetsk road. War in Ukraine not only led to deaths of thousands of Ukrainians, but also to environmental impact US Embassy The Russian invasion of Ukraine poses a threat to the environment and the epidemiological situation in the country, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has said. "Russia's senseless war on Ukraine has not only led to the deaths of thousands of Ukrainians and displaced millions more, but also led to environmental impact that continues to threaten the health and lives of all those who remain. Debris produced by the shelling of buildings can poison the air, creating gases that burn skin and damage organs. Chemicals released from damaged facilities and critical infrastructure can leak into the ground, poisoning the soil and plants that many Ukrainians rely on for food," the embassy said on Twitter. In addition, damage to water supply facilities pose a threat to the health and life of residents. "Damage to water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure also generates widespread health threats including typhoid, cholera, dysentery and polio," the embassy said. "Russia's reckless attacks not only endanger the lives of civilians, but they also risk poisoning Ukraine's air, land, and water long into the future. On Earth Day, and every day, we stand with Ukraine," the embassy said. By Trend Azerbaijani diaspora fully supports the policy pursued by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and all his actions, representative of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Germany Yusif Tahmazov told Trend on the sidelines of the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha city on April 22. "President Ilham Aliyev noted in his speech that Azerbaijanis living abroad are the force which can influence on the political actions of other states," Tahmazov said. He noted that the congress in Shusha is a top-level event which is necessary for all the Azerbaijani people, especially the youth. "Our youth living abroad should be brought up in the spirit of internationalism, and love for their Motherland. In this regard, such events are also of great importance," Tahmazov said. He also expressed joy of returning to his native Shusha, after more than 30 years. The Russian army continues to deliberately destroy the civilian infrastructure of Donbas, Head of Donetsk Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko has said. "Today, the biggest blow was inflicted on Slovyansk: at night, the Russians fired at the city, probably with cluster munitions. Nine high-rise buildings and 12 private houses, a school, a store and vehicle stops were damaged. Currently, work is underway to restore electricity and gas supply," Kyrylenko said in Telegram on Friday. According to him, in Lyman, the Russians used the Uragan (Hurricane) MLRS and ended up in the regional trauma hospital. The administrative building in Oleksandrivka was also destroyed. A multi-storey building was also damaged there. According to preliminary information, there are no victims. In addition, one high-rise building was damaged in Svitlodarsk at night, no one was injured. Dobropillia was also under the artillery fire of the invaders: the administrative building was damaged, at least two people were injured. "In total, today the occupiers fired on 20 settlements, where they destroyed or damaged 34 civilian facilities. We carefully record all the crimes of the Russian army. There will be punishment for everything," Kyrylenko said. During an April 9 visit to Bucha, UN human rights experts recorded the unlawful killing, including extrajudicial executions, of about 50 civilians, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has said. "Almost every resident in Bucha our colleagues spoke to told us about the death of a relative, a neighbour or even a stranger. We know much more needs to be done to uncover what happened there and we also know Bucha is not an isolated incident," the press service of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Friday, citing Bachelet. The High Commissioner said that in those eight weeks, international humanitarian law had not only been ignored, but seemed to have been completely rejected. According to the HRMMU report, Russian armed forces have indiscriminately shelled and bombed populated areas, killing civilians and wrecking hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure, actions that may amount to war crimes, the organization said. "What we saw in Government-controlled Kramatorsk on April 8 when cluster sub-munitions hit the railway station, killing 60 civilians and injuring 111 others, is emblematic of the failure to adhere to the principle of distinction, the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks and the principle of precaution enshrined in international humanitarian law," Bachelet said. HRMMU also documented the likely use of indiscriminate weapons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the east of the country, resulting in the death or injury of civilians and damage to civilian objects. The organization said that since February 24 to midnight on April 20, HRMMU has documented and verified 5,264 civilian casualties in Ukraine: 2,345 killed and 2,919 injured. Of these, 92.3% (2,266 killed and 2,593 injured) were recorded in government-controlled territory. Some 7.7% (79 killed and 326 injured) were recorded in Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups. HRMMU has received over 300 allegations of killings of civilians in towns in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy, all under the control of Russian armed forces in late February and early March. The organization said that wilful killing of protected persons, including summary executions, are gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, and amount to war crimes. HRMMU is also documenting the devastating consequences of the conflict on a range of other human rights, including the right to health. To date, it has recorded 114 attacks on medical establishments, although the actual figure is likely to be considerably higher. The disruption of medical care has also seen the general mortality rate among civilians increase in a number of besieged towns and cities. "We estimate that at least 3,000 civilians have died because they couldnt get medical care and because of the stress on their health amid the hostilities. This includes being forced by Russian armed forces to stay in basements or not being allowed to leave their homes for days or weeks," Bachelet said. Allegations of sexual violence against women, men, girls and boys by members of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine have increasingly surfaced. HRMMU has received 75 allegations from across the country, although the majority are from the Kyiv region. HRMMU is looking into each allegation, although this remains challenging as survivors may not be willing or able to be interviewed. Detention of civilians has become a widespread practice in areas controlled by the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups. Since 24 February, HRMMU has recorded 155 such cases, including of local officials, journalists, activists, human rights defenders, and others. Some were reportedly tortured or ill-treated, left without food or water, or held in overcrowded improvised facilities. Five victims of enforced disappearances were subsequently found dead. HRMMU has also received information about alleged arbitrary and incommunicado detentions by Ukrainian forces or people aligned with them. In some cases, relatives do not have information about where their loved ones are, raising serious concerns regarding enforced disappearance, compliance with due process and the risk of torture and ill-treatment. Borrell, on behalf of EU, supports Ukraine's call to Kremlin to allow safe evacuation of Mariupol's civilians Due to the situation in Mariupol, European Union High Representative Josep Borrell said the EU supports Ukraine's appeal to the Kremlin calling for the creation of safe corridors with a guarantee of a ceasefire for the evacuation of civilians. The text of the statement was circulated by the EU Foreign Service on Friday. "The EU supports Ukraine's appeal on Kremlin to allow the safe evacuation of Mariupol's civilians. Humanitarian corridors have to be created immediately, with necessary ceasefire assurances, from Azovstal and other areas of the city to other parts of Ukraine. Free and safe access for those delivering humanitarian assistance must be ensured, in line with basic human rights principles and international humanitarian law," Borrell said in the statement. Borrell said that for weeks now "the world has born witness to cruel illegal onslaught in Mariupol by Russia leding to wide-scale destruction of the city, including atrocities against civilians, under a twisted pretext of 'liberating' the city." "Thousands of its inhabitants have been deported to Russia or forcibly displaced to the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine. Despite the Russia-inflicted carnage, over 100,000 civilians remain in Mariupol, including as many as a thousand who may have taken refuge in the Azovstal steel plant, defended by Ukraine's Armed Forces," the High Representative said, outlining the situation. He commended Ukraine for its efforts to finding a diplomatic solution for the evacuation of civilians, while expressing regret that Russia "is not reciprocating." Some 1,084 civilians found dead in Kyiv region, over 300 bodies not yet identified As of Friday, April 22, law enforcement officers found the bodies of 1,084 civilians in Kyiv region, who were killed during the occupation of the region by Russian troops. "Now the number of deaths in Kyiv region is 1,084. The bodies of the killed have been examined by investigators and taken to forensic medical institutions," Head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv region Andriy Niebytov said on the air of the Ukrainian telethon on Friday. According to him, these are the bodies of civilians in the region who were not related to the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the territorial defense, the vast majority of them were killed from small arms. "Currently, more than 300 bodies of the dead remain unidentified," Niebytov said. He urged Ukrainians to report on line 102 information about missing relatives and acquaintances from Kyiv region. The head of the central office also said that the total number of victims in Borodianka now totals more than 80 people. At the same time, the chief of police said this figure is not final, since rescuers continue to clear the rubble in Borodianka. Niebytov also said that the regional police opened more than 150 criminal proceedings on the facts of looting by Ukrainian citizens, some 85 people have already been notified of suspicion. Speaking about the demining of territories in the region, the head of the main department noted that demining was completed on the main roads. "But I want to warn that infrequently used roads, forest paths, abandoned houses are still very dangerous," he said. In the context of the possibility of visiting cemeteries on memorial days, Niebytov said that pyrotechnicians had not yet had time to examine these territories in Kyiv region, so visiting cemeteries could be dangerous. UN data on civilian deaths from war in Ukraine increased by 90 per day Losses among civilians from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to 00:00 on April 21 amounted to 5,381 civilians (in the report a day earlier some 5,264), including 2,435 killed (2,345), the Office of the High Commissioner UN Human Rights said on Friday. The daily summary traditionally states that the increase in indicators to the previous summary should not be attributed only to the cases on April 20, since during the day OHCHR verified a number of cases for the previous days. "OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration," the UN said in the data document. According to him, this applies, for example, to Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region) and Popasna (Luhansk region), where there are reports of numerous civilian casualties. They are subject to further verification and are not included in the above statistics. "Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the UN said. According to confirmed UN data, 746 men, 469 women, 66 boys and 48 girls killed, while the gender of 70 children and 1036 adults has not yet been determined. Among the 2,946 injured were 62 girls and 67 boys, as well as 157 children, whose gender has not yet been determined. Compared to the previous day, according to the UN, seven children were killed and another child was injured. OHCHR said that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on April 22, there were 933 (851) killed and 1,097 (1,088) injured in government-controlled territory, and 79 (79) killed and 330 (326) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed "republics." In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 1,423 (1,415) killed and 1,519 (1,505) wounded. According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, as of 08:00 on April 22, 208 (208) children were killed, 386 (376) were wounded. The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will lead a team of experts who will visit Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) next week, the IAEA website stated on Friday. "The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, will head an expert mission to Ukraine's Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) next week to step up efforts to help prevent the danger of a nuclear accident during the current conflict in the country", a statement on the IAEA website said. The team will arrive in Chornobyl on April 26 to deliver necessary equipment and carry out radiological and other assessments of the site. In March, Grossi visited Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP where he discussed IAEA assistance for Ukraine with the country's Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko, the head of the nuclear power industry regulator, Oleh Korikov, Energoatom chief Petro Kotin, and Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP's General Director Ihor Polovych. Grossi said that "IAEA's on-site presence will help prevent the danger of a nuclear accident that could have severe public health and environmental consequences in Ukraine and beyond." Russia continues to build up electronic intelligence and electronic warfare systems around Gomel region (Belarus) bordering Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said. "In the areas of the settlements of Klimovka and Dymamerki, posts for setting radio interference by units from the 48th separate electronic warfare battalion of the Western Operational Command of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus have been deployed. In addition, the enemy has trained regular air defense forces and means. There is a threat of air and missile strikes on the objects of civil and military infrastructure of Ukraine from the territory of the Republic of Belarus," the AFU said on Facebook. In Siverske direction, units of the border service of the FSB of Russia continue to guard the Ukrainian-Russian border in Bryansk and Kursk regions in an enhanced regime. The regrouping of troops continues. In Slobozhansk direction, the occupiers, using units from the sixth Combined Arms Army, the Baltic and Northern Fleets, continue to partially block the city of Kharkiv, trying to carry out fire damage to units of Ukrainian troops and critical infrastructure facilities. In Izium direction, the enemy is conducting aerial reconnaissance of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to determine possible directions of attack. To improve the tactical position of the units, the enemy tried to carry out offensive actions in the directions of the settlements of Zavody and Dibrovne, but did not achieve success. In Donetsk and Tavriysk directions, the fighting took place along the entire line of collision. "During the day, the enemy carried out assault actions in the direction of the city of Slovyansk, entrenched in the settlement of Lozove. In the areas of Zelena Dolyna and Kreminna, the enemy continues to consolidate in occupied positions, is regrouping and preparing for offensive operations," the General Staff said. Russia has strengthened the grouping of troops by moving separate units of the 41st combined-arms army of the central military district from the territory of Russia, and is unsuccessfully trying to fortify itself in the village of Rubizhne. In the area of Popasna, Russian troops attempted to shoot in the direction of the settlement of Novotoshkivsk and deep into the settlement of Popasna, but did not achieve success. In Avdiyivska and Kurakhivsk directions, the invaders tried to carry out assault actions, but they did not achieve success. In Mariupol direction, the enemy continued to launch air strikes on Mariupol and block Ukrainian units in Azovstal area. In Zaporizhia direction, the invaders tried to storm in the direction of the village of Zelene Pole, but did not achieve success. The enemy strengthened the group by moving units of the 19th motorized rifle division of the 58th combined arms army of the southern military district. At the same time, the battalion tactical group of the 127th motorized rifle division of the fifth combined arms army lost its combat capability and was withdrawn to the recovery area. "The conduct of assault actions to reach the administrative borders of Kherson region is not ruled out," the General Staff said. According to updated information, the personnel of a separate group of Russian troops in the so-called Transnistrian-Moldovan Republic are serving on a daily basis. At the same time, there remains the possibility of using the territory of the unrecognized republic for aggression against Ukraine. Ihor Zhdanov, Information Defence Project , Open Policy Foundation Informational Defence of Ukraine provides a daily review of the military-political situation in Ukraine as of April 21st, based on an analysis of open sources. 1. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing for the decisive battle for the Donbas area. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russians continued their attacks in the Eastern Operational Zone in order to establish full control over the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. At the same time, missile and bomb strikes on military and civilian infrastructure throughout Ukraine continue. In Slobozhanshchyna, Kharkiv is being partially encircled and the city's infrastructure is being destroyed by artillery. In the Donetsk and Tavriia directions, the enemy tried to take full control of Mariupol. They have continued to carry out air strikes and have attempted assaults in the area of the seaport and the Azovstal plant. The shelling of Mykolaiiv continues in the Pivdennyi Buh direction, the enemy is trying to improve its tactical position and get closer to the city, but without success. The total combat losses of the enemy from February 24 to April 21 are approximately: combatants approximately 21,000 people (liquidated), tanks - 829 units, armored combat vehicles - 2118 units, artillery systems - 393 units, MLRS - 136 units, air defence - 67 units, aircraft - 172 units, helicopters - 151 units, automobiles - 1,508 units, ships / boats - 8 units, fuel tanks - 76 units, UAVs of operational and tactical level - 166 units, special equipment - 27 units, TBM / BRBM (tactical ballistic missile / battlefield range ballistic missile) launchers - 4. According to updated data from the defenders of Ukraine, the commander of the First Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Second Motorized Rifle Division of the First Tank Army of the Western Military District, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Mezhuyev, was killed. Two members of the same unit, Colonel Kharitonov and Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov, were also seriously injured and are being treated in Moscow. 2. Information summaries and assessments of foreign and Ukrainian intelligence. A senior US defense official said on Wednesday that russian forces in Ukraine had been reinforced by 17 BTGs last week, four of which had entered Ukraine in the past 24 hours. In general, according to US estimates, there are currently 82 russian BTGs in Ukraine. According to UK intelligence, russia obviously wants to have significant progress by May 9th, and this may affect how quickly and persistently they will conduct military operations in the near future. Now russian forces are advancing in the direction of Kramatorsk, and the city is constantly under missile strikes, according to intelligence. Also in the east, there is a high activity of russian troops in the air - to support the attacks of ground forces and to suppress and destroy Ukrainian air defences. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Ukrainian spies intercepted audio conversations of the occupiers which referred to an order to kill all prisoners from the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Popasna, the Luhansk region. 4. The russian occupiers are violating international humanitarian law and committing genocide against Ukrainians. Crimes of aggression and war cries: 7661 Crimes against national security: 3526. The key file about the aggression of the russian federation: 591 suspects 208 children died. 376 children were injured (see the chart). The russian invaders are launching missile and bomb strikes on civilians, towns and villages. In the Kharkiv region, the intensity of shelling decreased, but in the evening Mykolaiiv was hit by missiles, and at night, the Hurricane MLRS shelled Zelenodolsk in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The Luhansk region: the situation is difficult - constant shelling, significant destruction in Rubizhne and Novodruzhesk. Donetsk: shelling along the entire line of demarcation. On April 20th, the russians wounded five civilians. There are three wounded in Marinka and two in Vuhledar. The Kherson region: due to the invasion, the situation in the region has become more critical. Explosions and shelling are heard in all areas. Destroyed infrastructure. Information on wounded and injured civilians is currently unavailable. The Mykolaiiv region: in the evening, Mykolaiiv was hit by missiles. The blasts took place in the city center, where only private houses are located. As a result of night attacks in Mykolaiiv, one person was killed, two wounded. During a shelling of the Kyiv district of Kharkiv on Thursday, a russian shell hit a car, killing two civilians. According to Onet.pl, russian troops fired on the cemetery of victims of totalitarianism in Kharkov-Pyatihatki, where Polish officers killed by the NKVD (People's Commisariat for Internal Affairs) have been buried. The cemetery was partially destroyed, rockets and cluster munitions fell on it. One of the missiles struck among the graves. 3,820 captured Polish generals and officers executed by the NKVD in 1940 are buried in the Pyatykhatky cemetery. The russian occupiers kidnap civilians, hold them hostage and torture them. russian invaders have set up several mass graves in the village of Manhush where the bodies of murdered Mariupol residents are being transported by trucks. The other day a group of Ukrainian teenagers aged 14-15 were brought to one of the charitable foundations of the russian federation (Vladimir) from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This was reported by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Lyudmyla Denisova. There is information that the parents of the children were killed by the russians during the war. It is forbidden to search for the relatives of the children. In Kakhovka, the Kherson region, the russian invaders released two locals on April 11. Hennadii Murashkin returned home. The fate of another Kakhovka resident, Vasyl Lotaniuk, is unknown. 5. Easter truce, exchange of prisoners, evacuation of civilians. Easter truce. russia has rejected a proposal by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supported by the EU and Ukraine to introduce a four-day "Easter humanitarian break" in Ukraine. Cartel. Ukrainian authorities conducted a second prisoner exchange in one week, rescuing 19 Ukrainians from captivity, including the wounded. Among the 19 Ukrainians released from captivity, ten are servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including two officers. The other nine are civilians. Humanitarian corridors. On Thursday April 21st, the evacuation of Ukrainians was to take place from Mariupol and the Kherson region: the villages of Vysokopillia, Novovoznesenske and Myroliubivka. Unfortunately, humanitarian corridors from the Kherson region did not work, as the russians did not allow buses to take people out, and the shelling continued. The occupiers also captured the coordinator of the evacuation column. Evacuation buses with 79 Mariupol residents who managed to break the blockade on April 20th arrived in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. 6. Political and socio-economic situation in Ukraine, losses due to the russian aggression. Society and government demonstrate unity, patriotism and faith in victory. The Verkhovna Rada convened again on April 21st when it dismissed detainee Viktor Medvedchuk, a member of the Committee, who was detained trying to escape. Moreover, the Verkhovna Rada extended martial law for one more month. Since the beginning of the war, more than 250,000 Ukrainians have used the "eEnemy" chatbot, which can be used to report the movement of russian equipment and troops. The Ukrainian economy, despite the negative effects of hostilities, is showing some signs of recovery. Small and medium-sized catering establishments are resuming their work in Ukraine; in particular, their number began to grow rapidly after the deoccupation of northern Ukraine in early April. This is stated in a study by IT company Poster, which is engaged in the automation of institutions. Thus, 40% of small and medium-sized institutions are already operating in Kyiv compared to the pre-war figure on February 23, and 41% in the Kyiv region. For comparison, at the end of March in Kyiv there were only 18% of operating institutions, in the Kyiv region - 16%. In less than a month, the number of open institutions in the Chernihiv region increased from 1% to 20%, in Sumy - from 16% to 49%, compared to pre-war levels. The most difficult situation remains in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions: 9%, 5% and 0% respectively of the number of institutions operating before the war in those regions work there now. Ukraine is rebuilding infrastructure in the occupied territories. During the war waged by russia against Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has already liberated 934 settlements. Police resumed work in 435 settlements, and local self-government in 431 communities. The work of humanitarian headquarters has started in 361 settlements. 7. International support and assistance to Ukraine. Political support for Ukraine and security guarantees. The Latvian Seimas has adopted a statement on russia's aggression and war crimes in Ukraine, stating that russia is committing genocide against the Ukrainian people. Military assistance to Ukraine. The Pentagon detailed the contents of the new third package of military aid to Ukraine for $800 million, which was announced on Thursday by US President Joe Biden. Details were provided by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. In particular, the package includes: 72,155-mm howitzers and 144,000 artillery pieces of ammunition; 72 tactical machines for towing 155-mm howitzers; more than 121 Phoenix Ghost tactical drones; field equipment and spare parts. According to BNS, the Minister of Defence, Arvydas Anusauskas, said that Lithuania had given Ukraine heavy mortars to help fight against russian aggression. A ship with a new cargo of weapons for Ukraine departed from Spain to Poland. The ship has trucks with military materials, 200 tons of ammunition, as well as 20 armoured vehicles. The transfer of spare parts for military aircraft to Ukraine by partner countries has allowed Ukraine to increase its air force by 20 aircraft. According to RBC-Ukraine, Slovenia intends to transfer to Ukraine T-72 tanks, which are in service with the country. Instead, she will receive German armoured vehicles. The German Ministry of Defence has removed all heavy weapons from the list sent to Ukraine. This was reported by Bild, which has Ukrainian and German lists. The list of Ukraine's request for weapons to fight the russian invasion included a number of heavy weapons: Leopard tanks, Puma and Marder armoured personnel carriers, Boxer armoured vehicles, and Fuch armoured personnel carriers. Back in mid-March, almost all the weapons requested by Ukraine were on the list of supplies to German industry - even two modern Leopard tanks. According to the publication, after that the Ministry of Defence, at the insistence of Olaf Scholz's office, began to reduce the lists - and as a result, the list of possible exports of German military industry weapons to Ukraine was reduced from 48 to 24 pages. Financial assistance to Ukraine. The G7 finance ministers have announced additional support for Ukraine that is worth more than $24 billion by 2022 and are ready to increase it if necessary. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced that the Trust Fund for Solidarity with Ukraine will start working on May 5th, Interfax-Ukraine reported: "On May 5th, it will be the starting point for this trust fund, from an international donors' conference. It will be organized by Poland, Sweden and with a support of the European Commission, all member states and many international actors," he said. 8. Statements, provocations and fakes of the russian aggressors. Operational Command "South" reports that the occupiers in the Kherson region have decided to postpone the date of the so-called referendum from early May to April 27. In the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region, the self-proclaimed occupation authorities announced the mobilization of males. And to schedule the population census for the period from May 2 to 10. Locals are prohibited from moving between the settlements. On April 19th, Ukrainian intelligence reported that the russian occupiers were preparing pseudo-referendums in the occupied districts of the Kherson and Mykolaiiv regions to declare so-called "People's Republics" and join russia. The russian Defence Ministry has again announced the "liberation" of Rubizhne, according to the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, Serhii Haidai. The head of the administration also stressed that it was fake information. This is the third such "liberation" by the occupiers of Rubizhne, based on russia's false reports. For the first time, this settlement "came under the control" of the invaders on March 1st. Then on March 18th, russian propaganda again reported on the "liberation" of Rubizhne and even the "cleansing" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 9. Political and socio-economic situation in russia, the impact of international sanctions on it. New sanctions and restrictions against russia. The United States on Wednesday unveiled a new package of sanctions against russia, aimed at russia's key commercial bank Transcapitalbank and a network of more than 40 individuals and legal entities led by sanctions-stricken russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev. The United States will ban russian ships from entering American ports, similar to the EU decision. This was announced by US President Joe Biden during a briefing on Thursday. The United Kingdom has added 26 more russian citizens and companies to the sanctions list, including high-ranking military officials involved in atrocities on the front lines in Ukraine, banned imports of timber and a number of luxury goods, and increased tariffs on trade with russia. Accounts of russian Binance cryptocurrency users with a total cryptocurrency value of more than 10,000 will be restricted due to EU sanctions against russia. The National Bank of the Czech Republic has revoked the license of Sberbank CZ, the Czech "daughter" of Sberbank. The decision is not yet final - the bank can file an appeal. The negative impact of sanctions on the russian economy. VTB, which came under Western sanctions in February, paid a $52 million coupon to the owners of one of the bank's four Eurobond issuers. The volume of the russian taxi market in 2022 may decrease by 10-20% - market participants see risks in the outflow of drivers from the CIS countries, rising prices for cars, components for them, repairs and insurance. In early March, the Lithuanian Viciunai Group, known in Ukraine as a manufacturer of Vici products, decided to stop their business in russia and is consistently implementing a plan to leave the country. This event opened the Vietnamese food week in Brasilia held from April 21 to May 8. The event was jointly organised by the Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil and the Patronal Union of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars and Similar (Sindhobar), Brasilia Bank, and the National Service For Commercial Education (SENAC), and sponsored by Brazil's Tobacco Cigarette Factory (BAT). Speaking at the ceremony, Jael Antonio Da Silva, President of Sindhobar said that this is the first time the Union has coordinated with the Vietnamese Embassy to organise a large-scale food festival across the capital. Vietnamese food week promises to bring Asian food lovers new dishes with a variety of flavours and colours, made by the city's chefs who have learned from Vietnamese Embassy members and rehearsed at Same Same restaurant. Participating in the festival are 14 restaurants: Same Same But Different, Makisan, Grande Muralha, Capim Dourado, Fred, Taypa, Gran Bier, Sagres, Mayer Sabores do Brasil, Downtown Senac, Capim Dourado, Universal, Osteria Vicenza and Casa Baco. Restaurants will introduce dishes such as Nem (spring rolls), pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup), fried pho, chicken fried rice, fried rice with shrimp and meat, vermicelli, deep-fried fish, braised chicken with lemongrass, breaded meat with tamarind sauce and meatball bread. In particular, customers can experience dessert with fried banana cake and egg coffee. Paco Britto, Vice-Governador of Brasilia, expressed his gratitude to the Vietnamese Embassy for the initiative in instructing chefs on how to make unique Vietnamese dishes, and to the Sindhobar for co-organising the ceremony, thanks to the sponsors for the programme and the enthusiastic participation of the restaurants. He also emphasised that this event will not only connect the culinary culture in particular but will also bridge the cultures of the two countries in general, promoting mutual understanding and further cementing the friendship between the two countries Vietnam and Brazil. For her part, Ambassador Pham Thi Kim Hoa affirmed that diners will experience a sense of delight when enjoying dishes with their own unique and very new flavours and colours, through which people in the Brazilian capital will understand more about Vietnamese culinary culture. The festival is also a cultural cooperation activity to celebrate the 62nd founding anniversary of Brasilia (April 21, 1960 - April 21, 2022). By Trend President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, speaking in Shusha city [liberated from Armenian occupation in the 2020 second Karabakh war], inspired everyone with his confidence and faith in the future of Azerbaijan, Mikhail Gusman, First Deputy General Director of Russian TASS News Agency, told Trend. Gusman made the remark on the sidelines of the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha on April 22. "The holding of the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha, in the liberated territory of Azerbaijan, in the primordial Azerbaijani territory, which was occupied for so many years, is a historic event, the agencys representative said. The fact that our compatriots from all over the world were able to come here very strongly impressed everyone. Everyone is in a high emotional mood, and this mood showed itself with particular force during the speech of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev who made a huge impression by talking about the plans of the country, Gusman noted. All participants of the congress, wherever they live, of course, are always connected with their native land in their thoughts, with its future, successes, achievements. We dream that there will always be peace in Azerbaijan. The main thing is that today Azerbaijan is one of the most respected members of the international community, looking confidently into the future and having, in my opinion, amazing plans, which, I am sure, are destined to come true," he said. Gusman also said that the proposals that Azerbaijan presented to Armenia for the normalization of relations will favor the economic development of the entire region. "There will be new communications, new transport interchanges, and additional economic opportunities will appear. This is very important for Azerbaijan and for the entire region. Namely in this context Azerbaijan, with its unique capabilities, can become the center of this entire region in the development of various economic, socio-cultural projects," he added. Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb congratulated Head of the Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II and the Christian people in Egypt on Easter Sunday, which Coptic Orthodox Christians celebrate this year on 24 April. In a phone call with Pope Tawadros II, El-Tayyeb affirmed Al-Azhars appreciation of the bonds between the Muslim and Christian people in Egypt, saying that these bonds stem from the right understanding of religion, Al-Azhar said in a statement on Saturday. The relations between Muslims and Christians are a true embodiment of unity and brotherhood, the statement cited El-Tayyeb as saying, adding that this brotherhood will always remain a solid bond that strengthens the nation in the face of difficulties and challenges. The grand imam added that he is not congratulating the pope and Christians out of courtesy or formality, but rather out of an understanding of the instructions of Islam. During the phone call, Pope Tawadros also hailed the relations binding the leaders and people of the church with the scholars of Al-Azhar, saying that these relations are a reflection of cooperation and ties between the two ancient institutions in all fields. The pope also expressed his happiness over El-Tayyebs phone call as a renewal of the permanent bonds of friendship and love uniting Muslims and Christians into the strong national fabric of Egypt, the statement added. Coptic Orthodox Christians who comprise a substantial majority of Christians in Egypt will also celebrate Good Friday and Holy Saturday on 22-23 April. On Holy Saturday, Copts usually go to church before gathering at night to celebrate and break their 55-day fast. The Christian religious week was disrupted over the past two years due to the pandemic, as attendance of masses was limited to Church officials in order to stem the spread of the virus in the country. This year, the Christian religious week coincides with the Muslims holy month of Ramadan and falls only a week before Eid Al-Fitr holidays, during which Muslims end their month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting. On Wednesday, Egypts National Authority for Social Insurance said pensions for public sector workers for May will be disbursed on 22 April, pushed up from early May, so pensioners can be paid ahead of the holidays of Eid El-Fitr and Easter. Relations between Muslim and Christian people in Egypt have been always characterised by tolerance and peaceful coexistence with Al-Azhar and the church working to strengthen and perpetuate these warm relations against attempts at destabilisation. In November, El-Tayyeb and Pope Tawadros II, who traditionally congratulate each other on religious feasts, marked the 10th anniversary of the Egyptian Family House established in 2011 to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence. 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: The two remaining contenders in the French presidential race return to the fray Monday after a brief Easter pause in campaigning and ahead of a high-stakes televised debate. President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen both have low-key meetings Monday, pacing themselves until Wednesday's face-off, which could turn out to be the key to the campaign. Last time around in 2017, when the same two candidates faced off at this stage of the campaign, most observers think Macron came off best. He won the election comfortably a few days later. This time however, Le Pen insists she is better prepared. "In my head, I'm ready to exercise power," she told TF1 television Sunday night. Macron was equally confident in his comments to TF1. "I think I have a winning plan that deserves to be known and I have the feeling that on the far-right side, there is a plan that deserves to be clarified," he said. The latest opinion polls still suggest Macron has the edge, giving him scores of between 53 and 55.5 percent to Le Pen's 44.5 to 47 percent. But allowing for margins of error, Macron knows there is no room for complacency ahead of next Sunday's second-round vote. 'Reassure everybody' Le Pen, too, knows what is at stake. "I've read so much nonsense about my plans over the last few days, so many caricatures -- even fake news -- that it's extremely important I can get a moment with all the French people who are interested... so as to be able to reassure everybody," she said Saturday. Le Pen has worked hard to present a more moderate face to voters, stressing her plans to tackle rising living costs rather than her usual topics of immigration and Islam. On Sunday, her team was keen to play down her proposed ban on the Islamic headscarf in public places, which she has said will be punished with fines by the police. This was no longer her priority in the fight against extremism, they said. They have also hit back at a report that the European Union's anti-corruption body OLAF had accused her and senior colleagues of having embezzled more than 600,000 euros ($650,000) of EU funding during their time as euro-deputies. Her lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, expressed suspicion at the timing of the release of the story, first revealed by the investigative website Mediapart on Saturday. Russian roulette On Monday, Le Pen will head to Normandy in the north of France on what she is calling her "mission to convince", before stepping back from campaigning to prepare for the debate. Macron meanwhile has radio and television interviews lined up. A string of leading politicians on the left and the right eliminated in the first-round of the election have thrown their weight behind Macron. But the results of a survey Sunday carried out by Jean-Luc Melenchon, the third-placed radical-left presidential candidate, will give Macron food for thought. Melenchon garnered 7.7 million votes in the first round: nearly 22 percent of the total. Of his 215,292 supporters surveyed however, only a third intended to back Macron in the second round. The rest preferred to return a blank or spoiled ballot paper -- or just not vote at all. Melenchon himself, rather than explicitly endorsing Macron, has simply called for "not a single vote for Le Pen". Christophe Castaner, the leader of Macron's Republic on the Move (LREM) group in parliament, played down the significance of the survey. But he also warned: "Not to choose, is to accept you are playing Russian roulette." Search Keywords: Short link: The situation is very tense in occupied East Jerusalem due to repeated incursions by Israeli settlers, but efforts are underway to curb escalation in other Palestinian areas, writes Mohamed Abu Shaar in Gaza. Sonic booms and tear gas ruined the spiritual atmosphere for worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, whose numbers notably increase during the holy month of Ramadan. Such Israeli escalation in the occupied city of Jerusalem had not been seen in years. In the past few days, Israeli army and police have repeatedly stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in large numbers to evacuate it of Palestinians who are in seclusion there, making way for extremist settlers to enter the mosque as part of the Jewish celebrations of Passover on 15-25 April. However, the entry of settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform Talmudic prayers was not the most threatening acts against Palestinians. Radical Jewish groups called for slaughter sacrifices and sprinkling of blood in Al-Aqsa Mosque. The ritual revives an idea adopted by extremist Jewish groups that Al-Aqsa Mosque was built on the ruins of Solomons Temple, and making a slaughter sacrifice would be the start of the temples return. Nasser Al-Hadma, an expert on Jerusalem, explained that for radical Jews, a slaughter sacrifice in Al-Aqsa Mosque is the last step of moral preparation for rebuilding the temple on its ruins. It has been 31 years since the holy month of Ramadan has coincided with both Jewish Passover and Christian Easter, but tensions in occupied Jerusalem have overshadowed the spiritual and festive atmosphere of these religious occasions. Jerusalem activist Hanadi Halawani, who along with other Palestinian women habitually go into seclusion at Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and prepare food for visitors to the Temple Mount, was dismayed that she could not reach the mosque this year when the Israeli authorities banned her from entry. Halawani is one of 47 Palestinians who were recently banned from the mosque by Israel, which accuses them of inciting and instigating havoc. Most Palestinians who were banned try to reach the nearest point in the Old City in Jerusalem to pray and recite the Quran. This challenges Israel, which sends police to assault and disperse them. The most violent confrontations at Al-Aqsa Mosque were on the second Friday of Ramadan, which marked the first day of Passover. Tens of thousands of Palestinians flocked to pray and go into seclusion at Al-Aqsa Mosque to prevent any attempt of slaughter sacrifices by Jewish settlers. However, Israeli police said that young Palestinians were armed with firecrackers and stones, and set up barriers and obstacles inside the mosque. In response, the police evacuated the mosque of worshippers, which set off clashes that injured dozens of Palestinians. Several hundred Palestinians were also arrested, some of whom were released and others prosecuted. These Israeli measures reduced the number of Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque, at a time when Israel allows between 300 to 500 settlers to invade the mosques courtyards daily under heavy police protection. The Israeli occupation continues its plot to control Al-Aqsa Mosque, declared the Mufti of Jerusalem Mohamed Hussein. Everything that is happening at Al-Aqsa Mosque is part of the plan of Judification of the holy city and making it the unified capital of Israel. Talking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Hussein warned of Israel trying to change the status quo at Al-Aqsa, adding, Israel wants to impose a new reality at Al-Aqsa through force of arms. Husseins statements reference warnings by the Palestinian Authority (PA) that Israel wants to impose a temporal and spatial division at Al-Aqsa Mosque, whereby it is entirely dedicated to Jews at certain times. Israel succeeded in imposing this scheme at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, which is shutdown for days at a time during Jewish holidays. Successive developments on the ground in occupied Jerusalem and Israeli assaults on worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque area pose a threat to Israel beyond the city boundaries. Armed Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said they would not stand by and watch Israeli violations. At the end of Ramadan last year, large-scale military confrontations erupted between Palestinian factions in Gaza and Israel due to similar events. The residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem were assaulted and hundreds of Israelis stormed Al-Buraq Wall area as part of the Flags Dance march. Hamas said it views any attack on Jerusalem as one on Gaza, which puts it in a difficult position if it starts a new military confrontation with Israel. Palestinians are still counting their losses and trying to recover from the previous military confrontation. Some believe that military confrontation with Israel should not be the first option for Palestinians, because of the high cost of successive wars suffered by the Gaza Strip. Palestinian writer and political analyst Jamil Abdel-Nabi argued that Palestinian factions are paying a high price for limiting their activity to military resistance, while neglecting other aspects of popular resistance that would inspire wide popular participation at a lower cost. I understand the indecision, the dilemma of the reisistance, said Abdel-Nabi. If it is silent, then it is staying out of the conflict in Palestine. This alone is a disaster. Meanwhile, participation in the only way it knows will force it into a war that no one wants. He said Palestinians were resisting without fearing the price they might pay, because it was within tolerable limits. However, after the resistance became paramilitarised and Israel started attacking as if it were fighting an equal power, the price is too high. Egypt exerted much effort to prevent escalation between Palestinian factions and Israel from spiralling into broad confrontations. However, since Israel continues to allow Jewish settlers to storm the Al-Aqsa courtyard, it is likely these mediation efforts will be met with Israeli intransigence. According to observers, this is due to a desire by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to prove himself as a right-wing leader, on the heels of opposition leader and Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. Bennetts intent on courting the right-wing bloc, from which he hails, puts the stability of his government in jeopardy. In fact, the United Arab List headed by Mansour Abbas, a partner in Israels coalition government, suspended its participation in the ruling coalition and Knesset for two weeks. The United List, which holds four out of 120 Knesset seats and is an Islamic Arab party in Israel, is facing immense pressure due to the events at Al-Aqsa Mosque. This symbolic protest, which does not impact the coalition right now, may eventually lead to the collapse of the government and new elections in Israel if the Arab List withdraws permanently from the ruling coalition. This means Bennett must strike a delicate balance between appeasing the right and maintaining the stability of his government. *A version of this article appears in print in the 21 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: French President Emmanuel Macron attacked his far-right rival Marine Le Pen for her links to Russia during a televised presidential debate on Wednesday, accusing her of being "dependent" on the Kremlin. "You are dependent on the Russian government and you are dependent on Mr. Putin," Macron said, referring to a loan agreed by Le Pen's party with a Czech-Russian bank which he said was "close to the Russian government". Le Pen replied that she was "an absolutely and totally free woman". Search Keywords: Short link: The United Nations voiced deep concern at the worsening violence between Israel and the Palestinians, as clashes erupted again at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Friday. "We are deeply concerned by the escalating violence in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel over the past month," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Friday's new clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at the Al-Aqsa compound come after a month of deadly violence, as the Jewish festival of Passover overlaps with the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The violence has sparked international fears of a major escalation, a year after similar unrest led to an 11-day war. "The use of force by Israeli police resulting in widespread injuries among worshippers and staff in and around the Al-Aqsa mosque compound must be promptly, impartially, independently, and transparently investigated," she said. "Those responsible for any violations should be held to account, and policies and procedures on the use of force reviewed with a view to avoid any further violations." She said the conduct of Israeli security forces on April 15, captured in numerous videos, "raises serious concerns that the use of force was widespread, unnecessary and indiscriminate", Shamdasani added. Call For Calm Noting how the tension in Jerusalem had impacted on other areas, the spokeswoman said Israel's intensified military operations in the West Bank, especially in Jenin, and the use of firearms by Palestinian militants, "place Palestinian residents at high risk". She said the weeks of violence included "the most serious attacks in Israel in many years", with 12 Israelis and two foreign nationals "killed by attackers in incidents in Beersheba, Bnei Brak, Hadera and Tel Aviv". She said Israel's raids and arrest operations across the West Bank raised serious concerns of "excessive use of force and ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests of family members of wanted people". "Some of the killings, including in particular Israeli security forces shooting at a Palestinian woman in Husan on April 10, raise serious concerns of excessive use of force and arbitrary deprivation of life," she said. "All use of force resulting in killing or injury must be promptly, impartially, independently and transparently investigated, and those responsible for any violations held to account." Furthermore, she said the Israeli authorities' response to attacks in Israel, such as movement restrictions, raised concerns about possible collective punishment. International humanitarian and human rights law strictly prohibits penalties against people or groups for acts they have not personally committed, said Shamdasani. She said the office of UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet was calling for calm and urged investigations where people had been killed or injured. Search Keywords: Short link: Joining Tomaso Albinonis Adagio in G-minor and Sufi singing, the newly released music video Naeim Redak (The Blessing of Your Approval) is a unique collaboration between Basem Darwisch, his Egyptian-German band Cairo Steps and Sheikh Ehab Younis. Released on Cairo Steps YouTube channel Thursday, the collaboration is a creative fusion between one of Western musics most iconic pieces and Sufi singing to the lyrics from old Sufi repertoire. Besides Darwisch on oud and Sheikh Ehab Youniss vocals, the work also features a plethora of German musicians: Max Klaas on percussions, Jan Boshra on cello, Maria Voigt and Angelika Low-Beer on violins, Rageed William on duduk (a double reed woodwind instrument resembling a flute), Stefan Hergenroder on e-bass, Sebastian Mueller-Schrobsdorf on piano and Wolfgang Wittemann on soprano saxophone. The video was created during Darwischs recent stay in Sinai. I did not really plan to create this video. I was in St. Catherine with two German videographers; we were shooting visuals for another piece from an album Mountain Melody. Inspired by the beauty of Mount Sinai, Darwisch thought about capturing additional footage for Naeim Redak. Sherif El Alfie took footage of Sheikh Ehab on Kasr El Nil bridge at dawn hours and creation of a visual collage. With music recorded in Egypt and Germany, mixing and mastering done by Bassem Sobhy from Egypt, the whole project became a real collaboration between two countries, said Darwisch, referring to Dream Studios-Mafdy Thabet in Cairo and Germanys Oberlin Studios. The music video, which also incorporates a few shots from Egypts south, was directed by Mohamed El Alfie. This is not the first collaboration between the Germany-based Egyptian musician and Sheikh Ehab. In 2016, Cairo Steps released their highly successful Yamaleka Al Qadri in which Sheikh Ehabs Sufi chant interweaves Erik Saties Gnossienne No 1. This was followed by another collaborative title, Malek Al Molk. Albinonis Adagio which carries a lot of passion and sadness as Darwisch puts it, took two years to shape itself in the musicians mind who looked for a vocabulary that would express his own blended soul. Indeed, the Egyptian oud player, composer and music producer seats his work deeply in Middle Eastern ethos. At the same time, the years he spent in Germany has granted him an education and sensitivity that allow him to absorb other creative cultures. As a result, Darwisch and Cairo Steps, a band that he founded in 2002, are a reflection of his complexity as an artist and a human. As for Adagio in G-minor, the composition has been attributed to the Venetian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni, giving it the weight of over three-centuries of musical history. However, some researchers claim it was composed by a 20th century cataloger and musicologist, Remo Giazotto. Regardless of its origin, Adagio in G-minor is a standard of Western music today that has made its way into many film scores and concert halls over the past decades. Adagios popularity however is a devil in disguise, a true blessing and a curse for the performers. The composition calls for unique creativity that could infuse this earworm-inducing melody with artistically novel and convincing concepts. As the term indicates, an adagio is a slow piece of music, one characteristic of Albinonis Adagio in G-minor. Adagio Naeim Redak is faster, yet its pace supported by Middle Eastern percussion serves the conceptual purpose of the composition. As Darwisch explains Oriental cultures love rhythm. I opted for a compromise between the rhythm and the original work, trying to keep the authenticity of each. The composer adds that Sheikh Ehab Younis, a blind Sufi chanter, is perfect for such musical procedures. I have known Sheikh Ehab since 2015. He has a great knowledge and a malleable musical sense. His affinity for the classical music allows him to incorporate this creative culture into his own. This is a very unique quality. The final result is a melting pot of cultures, religions and musical traditions, in which Naeim Redak meets the expectations formulated by the experienced listeners and music afficionados alike. Darwischs composition draws from Albinonis work its solemnity and an elegiac tone, and transcends itself beyond the material existence and into Sheikh Ehabs vocals, singing the old Sufi spiritual wording And if I obey It is the bliss of your satisfaction You created me and you created me if it were not for you As we walk on a soft contemplative carpet embroidered with gentle percussion, in the second half of the work the soprano saxophones reedy tonality delivers some awakening yet without deflecting our senses. By the time the warm line from the strings closes the composition, the listeners minds are already transformed. The silence that follows Naeim Redak is a moment of rumination about one self, cultures, religions and passage of time. Besides its emotional charges, the decision to make Adagio in G-minor as lining for Naeim Redak carries technical responsibilities. The composition is not as easy as it may seem and according to Darwisch its delivery requires an impeccable intonation and sense especially in strings section, a quality he was happy to find in the musicians with whom he worked on the composition. In our short conversation, the musician reiterates on multiple occasions his gratitude towards all the musicians and crew who contributed to Naeim Redaks output. It is a great and big team from Egypt and Germany behind this work. Without them it would not be so good and emotional, Darwisch concludes. For the time being, listeners can enjoy Naeim Redak on Cairo Steps YouTube. Darwisch plans to perform the piece live in one of his upcoming concerts in Egypt for which we will have to wait until December 2022. Founded in 2002 as a collaboration between Darwisch and German pianist Matthias Frey, Cairo Steps has performed extensively in Egypt and Germany, and on many other international stages. The band brings together numerous music genres traditional Egyptian and Oriental grooves, Sufi traditions, Western classical music, European ethnic music and jazz improvisation into one melting pot. The final blend is a unique combination of compositions from Eastern and Western musical cultures. In 2018, Darwischs Cairo Steps received the German Jazz Music Award for their album Flying Carpet, created with Quadro Nuevo. This collaboration also saw the participation of flutist Ines Abdel-Dayem, who is also Egypts culture minister. In 2021, Basem Darwisch and the jazz music ensemble Quadro Nuevo were honored with a German Gold Award. The award was given for the album Mare by Quadro Nuevo, which includes Darwischs track Cafe Groppi, a composition inspired by the iconic coffee shop in downtown Cairo, as well as to Darwisch himself and the sound engineer. Search Keywords: Short link: The Senate Egypt's consultative upper house of parliament will reconvene Saturday to open a debate on the government's supervision of cash and in-kind donations granted to NGOs and charity organisations. The debate comes following a discussion request submitted by member Soha Said Abdel-Moneim and endorsed by more than 20 senators. According to 2019's amended constitution, members of Egypt's Senate are authorized to supervise the government's performance in the form of submitting discussion requests on certain government policies and public opinion issues. The three requests discussed by the Senate so far have covered climate change, overpopulation and national consciousness. According to Soha Said Abdel-Moneim, an appointed senator who is a member of the Free Egyptians Party, the new discussion request regards the government's supervision of cash and in-kind donations granted to NGOs and civil society organisations. "During the period from January 2021 to October 2021, money donated by individuals to NGOs and charity organisations has reached a total of EGP 4.997 billion, and this is to add to another EGP 2.222 billion granted by donor agencies," said Abdel-Moneim, asking "whether the government exerts any kind of control and supervision on these donations, making sure they are spent in a transparent way and for the purposes they are allocated." Abdel-Moneim, said her discussion request comes after millions in Egypt saw tens of TV ads costing millions of pounds, urging people to donate money to charity organisations, hospitals and NGOs during the holy month of Ramadan. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt strongly condemned three terrorist bombings in Afghanistans capital Kabul, which took the lives of several innocent people and injured dozens, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. Egypt extended its sincere condolences to Afghanistan, and the families of the victims of those brutal terrorist operations, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry added that Egypt reiterates the importance of concerted efforts to combat terrorism, violence and extremism in all its forms and manifestations. The recent terrorist attack targetted educational facilities in Kabul, as well as a mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif and another in Kunduz on Thursday, killing and wounding dozens of innocent people. The latest attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. Since Taliban fighters seized control of Afghanistan last year after ousting the US-backed government, the number of bombings has fallen but the IS group has continued attacks, often against Shia targets. Search Keywords: Short link: The temperature will gradually rise across Egypt from the early hours of the morning till sunset, with relatively hot weather prevailing in the north. Meanwhile, the weather will remain chilly at night and in the early morning. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA), in a statement on Thursday night, recommended heavier clothes within these early/late hours. Weather will be mildly windy in the most parts of the country, including Greater Cairo, on Friday, the statement added. Other than that, no major changes to the weather are expected over next week, the EMA said. From Friday through Wednesday, hot weather will prevail during the daytime in Greater Cairo and Lower Egypt. It will be moderate on the North Coast, hot in South Sinai and northern Upper Egypt, very hot in southern Upper Egypt, and cold in the north of the country. Weather at night will be moderate in South Sinai and southern Upper Egypt. On Friday, Cairo will witness highs of 29 degrees Celsius and lows of 15 degrees. Alexandria will have highs of 24 degrees Celsius and lows of 14 degrees, while Matrouh will see highs of 23 degrees and lows of 13 degrees. Search Keywords: Short link: Hong Kong: CE tours Pokfulam Farm Chief Executive Carrie Lam today visited The Pokfulam Farm, formerly the Old Dairy Farm Senior Staff Quarters, to learn about its revitalisation and the services it provides to the community. The farm, which recently began a trial operation, is a Grade 1 Historic Building with a history of over 130 years. It was revitalised under Batch IV of the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme. Accompanied by Secretary for Development Michael Wong, Mrs Lam toured the farm and was briefed on the project's background by representatives of Caritas - Hong Kong, which was responsible for taking forward the revitalisation. She learnt about how the organisation had preserved the architectural features of the historic building, including the original circular ventilation windows and the fireplace, during the revitalisation process while complying with the Fire Safety Ordinance and the prevailing requirements on barrier-free access, and how visitors' experience could be enhanced by way of design that fit into the landscape. The Chief Executive also spoke to Pok Fu Lam Village residents about how they had been in close co-operation with the organisation and took an active part in the project in connecting the culture and history of the farm with the village. Noting that buildings bear witness to changes of the times and reflect the trajectory of urban development, Mrs Lam said she is delighted to see that the farm has become another successful revitalisation project to shoulder the mission of preserving Hong Kong's legacy and keeping its history alive. She also emphasised that the Government has all along been striving to make Hong Kong a more livable and charming city by striking a balance between development and conservation. The revitalisation scheme rolled out in 2008 has played an integral role in the Government's work, she added. Up till now, the scheme has successfully launched six batches which involve a total of 22 government-owned declared monuments and graded historic buildings. This story has been published on: 2022-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Trend Serious tasks have been set before Azerbaijani diaspora organizations at the Victory Congress of the World Azerbaijanis, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev told reporters at the congress in Shusha on April 22, Trend reports. According to Hajiyev, one of the most important directions of these tasks and instructions is to prevent any provocations and anti-Azerbaijani propaganda, to more actively inform the general public about the realities of Azerbaijan through the diaspora representatives in the countries where they live and work, and to increase the role of Azerbaijanis in public political life in these countries. "Looking back at the policy and the activities of diaspora organizations during the 2020 Second Karabakh War, we can note with satisfaction that serious success has been achieved in this direction in accordance with the tasks set by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, he said. However, we are facing new tasks, because we are living in a post-conflict period and Armenian lobbying organizations, some of their patrons and, in general, various circles which have been carrying out vicious propaganda and campaigns against Azerbaijan for a long time, are still pursuing such intentions against our country, the official noted. Therefore, our diaspora organizations have been set new tasks to more coordinately inform the international community about the realities of Azerbaijan," added Hajiyev. Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Sea of Saint Mark, led Good Friday mass at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo's Abbasiya district, attended by hundreds of worshipers and a host of bishops and priests. The prayers began in the early hours of Friday morning and ended with the approach of sunset, and included six prayers, which are the daily prayers, from the first to twelve hours of "Good Friday." Pope Tawadros II pointed out that on this special occasion we celebrate the memory of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ as if we were at the time of the cross. He explained the events of this day in the life of Christ and the journey of suffering in the life of mankind. Good Friday, is one of the most important ecclesiastical occasions in the Coptic Orthodox Church. Christians marked Good Friday in churches around the country only days after Palm Sunday. 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. The celebrations of Christian religious holy events were disrupted over the past two years due to the pandemic, as attendance of masses was limited to Church officials in order to stem the spread of the virus in the country. Search Keywords: Short link: A regional realignment in the Middle East has been going on for sometime. First there was the Abraham Accords, then the Egyptian, Saudi and Emirati rapprochement with Turkey. A regional realignment in the Middle East has been going on for sometime. First there was the Abraham Accords, then the Egyptian, Saudi and Emirati rapprochement with Turkey, the initiative of new Mashreq involving Iraq, Jordan and Egypt and, even talks amongst rival regional parties. Also attempts to return Syria to the Arab fold spearheaded by the UAE. And most recently there was a spat of meetings the last of which was the meeting in Sde Borek involving Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Morocco and Israel with the participation of the United States. If anything these developments reflect the dissatisfaction of countries of the region with the prevailing status quo. But they also reflect more pressing concerns: the reduced US commitment to the security of the region, the ramifications of a revived nuclear deal with Iran; and finally a belated realisation by some Arabs of the dangers of leaving Syria, Yemen and Libya prey to foreign interventions and particularly to the machinations of Iran and Turkey. What was absent from all these endeavours -with one exception - was that they did not explicitly take place in the context of establishing a regional security architecture. The exception was Sde Borek where the Israeli Foreign Minister attempted to present the meeting as a harbinger for a new regional security architecture based on progress, technology, religious tolerance, security and intelligence cooperation, designed to deter our common enemies, first and foremost Iran and its proxies. No wonder the Israeli as well as western media labelled the Israeli proposal as the Mini Middle Eastern NATO. While there is no one template for regional security systems, they can, however, be broadly categorised in two major groups: First, inclusive, comprehensive and cooperative in the sense that they include all regional states and cover not only military but also political, economic and humanitarian matters the example of which are the OSCE and ASEAN; and the second, a strictly politico- military arrangement such as NATO to serve as a defence mechanism against potential adversaries. What Israel is proposing is the latter, whereas I believe the Arabs have every interest in an inclusive and cooperative system that would also serve as a conflict resolution mechanism. This in my view is the best means to ensure the long-term stability of the region. Establishing a Middle East security system has been on the regional and international agendas for a few decades. Most official efforts were of a declaratory nature focusing on the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and Gulf security. The one practical initiative was taken within the context of the Madrid Middle East conference in 1991, where a working group on arms control and regional security ( ACRS) was established. It however quickly floundered due to Israels obstruction of any movement on the issue of disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament. There have also been a plethora of studies and track two efforts. To help jump start the discussion on which of the two options better serve Arab interests, it useful to refer to the outcome of two recent endeavours on the issue of a Middle East security architecture. A track two meeting organised by the Oriental Institute in Moscow in November 2021 and a report produced last March by the School of Global and Public Affairs of the American University in Cairo entitled Al Mostaqbal: Envisioning a better Arab future (http//:documents.auc egypt.edu), both of which I had the privilege to participate. The purpose of the Moscow meeting - in which former officials, members of think tanks and journalists from most regional states-with the exception of Israel- together with Russia, EU, US, India and China participated - was to discuss the Russian proposal for Gulf regional security whose latest version was presented to the UNSC on 20 October 2020 with the new title of Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Comprehensive Review of the Situation in the Gulf Region. The meeting initially focused on Gulf security, but as deliberations progressed views converged on the fact that for such a system to be viable and sustainable it needed to be anchored in a Middle East security system that would include both Arab countries as well as Iran, Israel and Turkey. As a consequence, the view was that efforts to create a regional security architecture should take place in a sequence of three stages: the Gulf subregion, Middle East region as a whole and ultimately at the international level as the regional system would require international guarantees, in particular from nuclear weapon states. The linkage between the three stages was the need to rid the region of weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons. It was also agreed that the process would be gradual, flexible and pragmatic in a way to allow for different countries to participate in discussions on different themes which can include, inter alia: disarmament, confidence-building measures, human rights and humanitarian matters, terrorism, environment and water, and energy. But ultimately all discussions would be channeled in a OCSE inspired process. In this regard it important to take into account recent crisis in Ukraine, in the sense that a sustainable regional security system must be based on a balance of interests of all parties and that no one party can impose its will on the other parties. The second effort of direct relevance is that of "Al Mostakbal" report, the brainchild of Nabil Fahmy, presently the Dean of the Scool of Global Affairs and Public Policy GAPP at the American University in Cairo and the former Foreign Minister of Egypt. It involved only Arab academics, intellectuals and former diplomats. The purpose of the report was to chart a future course for a security architecture that would address the concerns of Arab states. The premise of the report was that Arabs should move from being at the receiving side to one that takes the initiative in establishing a regional security architecture. But more importantly while it acknowledged the negative impact on Arab security of the three non-Arab countries in the region: Israel, Iran and Turkey, it maintained that for such an architecture to be stable and sustainable needed to include them. After analysing the current situation in the region, it proceeded to lay out four future scenarios, selecting one as the most realistic: namely, steady change where regional and international efforts towards conflict management succeed in mitigating the most severe aspects of the ongoing conflicts and sub-regional frameworks shift towards greater institutional forms of cooperation and greater engagement to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It then provides policy recommendations for Arab countries to ensure that such a scenario prevails. The recommendations are premised on the fact that Arab countries will be proactive and will not cede the initiative to other regional or for that matter international players. The policy recommendations are largely designed to address the shortcomings that have long deprived Arab countries from articulating a common vision for a regional security architecture and include: emphasizing human security in order to address the domestic vulnerabilities of Arab countries, the need to make efforts with regard to stabilization and reconstruction in post conflict Syria, Libya and Yemen as a means to roll back foreign interventions, devising regional security frameworks which would include a nuclear dimension, and preserving the tenets of a two state solution to Palestinian-Israeli conflict through efforts at both the international level by reinforcing the Arab Peace Initiative as well as by providing political and economic support to the Palestinians in the occupied territories. Having participated in both endeavours and after consulting numerous reports, I am of the view that a number of conditions have to be met to ensure the success of the process of the establishment of a sustainable Middle East security architecture: First, the need to establish a set of norms of conduct throughout the region which should form the backdrop of efforts to resolve problems on all levels anchored in the principles of the UN Charter, in particular the right of self-determination for all people, the non-use of force, the respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states and the non-interference in domestic affairs; Second, the establishment of an arms control and disarmament regime, in particular the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction; Third, the process needs to be gradual, flexible and pragmatic; Fourth, the creation of a viable Palestinian state and; Fifth, the process should be inclusive of all states in the region and not be directed at any single party. It is my hope that Al-Mostakbal report, together with the outcome of the Moscow meeting would stimulate Arab governments to initiate a process of consultations about identifying the common threats, identify what kind of a security architecture would safeguard their security interests and, agree on how to cooperate amongst themselves in establishing mechanisms that would enhance their negotiating power vis a vis the other regional states that should ultimately be part of the regional security architecture. * The writer is a former Senior Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt and Assistant UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Special Representative for Syria. Search Keywords: Short link: Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 96th birthday at her Sandringham estate on Thursday as gun salutes rang out across London and Windsor and military bands played "Happy Birthday." Britain's longest serving monarch, who celebrates a historic platinum jubilee this year, was pictured with two white ponies in a photo released for the occasion. Government ministers joined members of the royal family in sending their best wishes to the queen, who has stepped back from most public duties this year over concerns about her health. She has travelled from Windsor Castle, west of London, to spend her birthday at her estate in Sandringham, Norfolk. "An inspiration to so many across the UK, the Commonwealth and the world, it's particularly special to be celebrating in this Platinum Jubilee year," her grandson Prince William and his wife Kate said on Twitter. Johnson was not present for the decision on a scandal that has rocked his leadership of the country and the Conservative Party. He was more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) away in India, insisting he wanted to "get on with the job" of leading the country. Labour leader Keir Starmer said the move sought to uphold "the simple principle that honesty, integrity and telling the truth matter in our politics." "It is a British principle ... guiding members from every political party in this House," Starmer said. "But it is a principle under attack." The move was instigated by the opposition Labour Party and passed after the government abandoned efforts to get Conservative lawmakers to block it. Johnson's Conservatives have a substantial majority in Parliament, but many lawmakers were uneasy with the prime minister's behavior. The probe piles more pressure on a Conservative prime minister whose grip on power has been shaken by claims he flouted the pandemic rules he imposed on the country, then repeatedly failed to own up to it. The move, approved by cries of "aye" and without a formal vote in the House of Commons, means Parliament's Committee of Privileges will investigate whether Johnson knowingly misled Parliament -- historically a resigning offense if proven. British lawmakers on Thursday ordered a parliamentary investigation into Prime Minister Boris Johnson for allegedly lying about whether he broke coronavirus restrictions by attending illegal gatherings during the pandemic. Johnson was fined 50 pounds ($66) by police last week for attending his own birthday party in his office in June 2020, when people in Britain were barred from meeting up with friends and family, or even visiting dying relatives. Johnson is the first British prime minister ever found to have broken the law while in office. He has apologized, but denied he knowingly broke the rules. Johnson's shifting defense -- initially saying there were no illegal gatherings, then claiming it "did not occur to me" that the birthday event was a party -- has drawn derision and outrage from opponents, who have called for him to quit. "The truth is simple and it's this -- he lied to avoid getting caught, and once he got caught, he lied again," Scottish National Party lawmaker Ian Blackford said in the House of Commons. Usually lawmakers are forbidden from accusing one another of lying, but Blackford was not reprimanded by the Speaker. A growing number of Conservatives are uncomfortable about defending a leader who broke rules he imposed on the country. A few have called openly for Johnson to go, and the number is growing. Others are waiting to see whether public anger translates into Conservative losses at local elections on May 5. "It is utterly depressing to be asked to defend the indefensible," said Conservative legislator William Wragg. "Each time part of us withers." Lawmaker Steve Baker, until now a prominent supporter, said that Johnson "should be long gone" for violating the "letter and spirit" of the rules." "I'll certainly vote for this motion," he said. "But really, the prime minister should just know the gig's up." The Committee of Privileges probe will not start until twin police and civil-service investigations into "partygate" have concluded. Senior civil servant Sue Gray is investigating 16 events, including "bring your own booze" office parties and "wine time Fridays" in Johnson's 10 Downing St. office and other government buildings. Police are probing a dozen of the events and so far have handed out at least 50 fines, including ones to Johnson, his wife Carrie and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak. Johnson could still face more police fines. Johnson and his allies argue that it would be reckless for the country to change leaders now amid the war in Ukraine and a cost-of-living squeeze sparked by soaring prices for energy and food. As he flew to India for a two-day visit focused on boosting economic ties, Johnson again denied knowingly misleading Parliament and insisted he would lead the Conservatives into the next national election, due by 2024. "I have absolutely nothing, frankly, to hide," Johnson told Sky News during his visit to the western Indian state of Gujarat. "I want to get on with the job that I was elected to do." "Chinese production issues seem well managed, and we expect Austin and Berlin to make up the slack from Shanghai's 19-day outage," he said referring to Tesla's two new factories in Texas and Germany which have started deliveries in recent months. The price increases are designed to cover higher costs for the next six to 12 months, which protects Tesla on orders for cars that it may not deliver for a year. "Price increases are nicely exceeding cost inflation," said Craig Irwin at Roth Capital. Tesla raised its prices in China, the United States and other countries, after Musk said in March the U.S. electric carmaker was facing significant inflationary pressure in raw materials and logistics amid the crisis in Ukraine. "Our own factories have been running below capacity for several quarters as supply chain became the main limiting factor, which is likely to continue through the rest of 2022," Tesla said in a statement. Shares of Tesla rose 5 percent after the close of regular trading. On an investor conference call, Musk said Tesla has a reasonable shot at achieving 60-percent vehicle delivery growth this year and remains confident of seeing 50 percent annual delivery growth for several years. Tesla has been an outlier since the pandemic outbreak, posting record deliveries and earnings for several quarters when rivals wrestling with global supply chain snarls rolled out production halts. Tesla, Inc. results surged past Wall Street expectations Wednesday, as higher prices helped insulate the electric vehicle maker from supply chain chaos and rising costs. The results also should trigger $23 billion in new payouts to CEO Elon Musk, already the world's richest man. The results let Musk meet a hat trick of performance goals worth a combined $23 billion in new compensation. He receives no salary, and his pay package requires Tesla's market capitalization and financial growth to hit a series of escalating targets. The world's most valuable automaker said revenue was $18.8 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, versus estimates of $17.8 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. This is up 81 percent from a year earlier. Revenue from sales of its regulatory credits to other automakers jumped 31 percent to $679 million in the first quarter from a year earlier, helping boost revenue and profits. Its earnings per share was $3.22, beatings analysts' estimates of $2.26. Tesla's pre-tax profit (EBITDA) per vehicle delivered rose by more than 60 percent to $16,203 in the latest quarter compared with a year earlier. Tesla said it has lost about a month of build volume out of its Shanghai factory due to COVID-related shutdowns. It said production is resuming at limited levels, which will affect total build and delivery volume in the second quarter. Musk expected Tesla's total production in the current quarter to be similar to that of the first quarter. Lithium Is Software Musk said lithium is responsible for cost increases and "a limiting factor" to EV growth. He encouraged companies to get into the lithium business, which he said would generate high margins thanks to high prices. "The lithium margins right now are practically software margins... Do you like minting money? Well, the lithium business is for you." He also said Tesla will have "some exciting announcements in the months to come" regarding securing raw materials for batteries. Musk said its own 4680 battery cells would become a risk to production next year if it does not solve volume production by early 2023. "But we're highly confident of doing so." He also said as a risk mitigation, it will also use its existing, 2170 batteries for vehicles being made in Texas. Musk said Tesla expects to mass produce a robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedal by 2024. During the call, Musk did not mention Twitter, which he offered to buy last week for $43 billion. Investors are concerned that he may sell some Tesla stocks or borrow against additional Tesla shares to finance his bid. Investors also worry about Musk being distracted by his Twitter bid at a time when Tesla is ramping up production at new factories in Berlin and Texas. "Factory ramps take time, and Gigafactory Austin and Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg will be no different," Tesla said in a statement. The new factories will be key to meeting demand and reducing reliance on its China factory, its biggest one, which is recovering from a plant shutdown. Short track speed skaters Hwang Dae-heon and Choi Min-jeong were promised a lifetime's supply of fried chicken at an event in Seoul on Thursday honoring their achievements. Hwang won gold in the men's 1,500-m event and Choi in the women's 1,500-m event at the Beijing Olympics in February. Young women are increasingly taking to the Internet to vent their frustrations with the ways of the world. Online comments on Korea's Internet portals by women in their 20s have increased 30 percent amid rampant debates and bickering ahead of the presidential election. They still make up a small proportion of Korea's vociferous armchair warriors, but their forces are massing. One spur has been the gender wars fueled by candidates in the run-up to the presidential election. President-elect Yoon Seok-youl, one sharp eye on disgruntled young male voters, even proposed to shut down the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. According to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT, men in their 20s posted 7,496 online comments on average a month on Naver's news portal from January to March this year, and women in their 20s 3,357. Compared to the same period of 2021, the number of messages posted by men in their 20s remained unchanged, but comments posted by their female counterparts increased from 2,631 to 3,357. In March, when the presidential election took place, online comments posted by 20-something women soared to 5,250 a month, the first time it surpassed 5,000, but still fewer than 8,198 for their male counterparts. KYODO NEWS - Apr 22, 2022 - 18:46 | All, Japan German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Japan from next Thursday to hold talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Japanese government said Friday, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's growing influence expected to top the agenda. "Through the visit by Chancellor Scholz, we hope to deepen our relations with Germany, a country with which we share fundamental values and an important partner of ours in responding to global issues," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno at a press conference. Germany is now the rotating chair of the Group of Seven major developed countries, while Japan will take over the chairmanship next year. The European country is set to host the annual G-7 summit at Schloss Elmau, a castle resort in the Bavarian Alps, from June 26 to 28. Scholz, who took office in December, is also expected to attend a dinner party hosted by Kishida during his two-day visit, Matsuno said. His visit is aimed at preparing for the summit, through which Germany is hoping to demonstrate the G-7 countries' unity in promoting common values such as democracy and freedom. KYODO NEWS - Apr 23, 2022 - 15:20 | All, Japan Japan and Russia have clinched a deal on Tokyo's fishing quota for salmon and trout spawned in Russian rivers, Japan's Fisheries Agency said Saturday, reaching an agreement on the issue despite Japan's economic sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The two countries agreed on a quota of 2,050 tons within Japan's exclusive economic zone for 2022, the same level as last year, and a payment to Russia of a "cooperation fee" of between 200 million yen ($1.5 million) and 300 million yen, depending on the actual catch. The lower end of the fee -- which Tokyo pays to Moscow since salmon and trout, according to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, belong to the country in which they were spawned -- was reduced by 60 million yen from last year due to a decline in catch in recent years. The two governments will sign the document on Monday. With the agreement, Japanese fishermen are expected to start operating in the EEZ near Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, in early May. On April 11, the two governments started negotiations for Japan's fishing quota for salmon and trout even though Tokyo has been stepping up sanctions against Moscow in an effort, along with the United States and European countries, to pressure Russia to stop the war in Ukraine. In Hokkaido, the ban on net fishing for salmon and trout is normally lifted on April 10. But this year fishing has not been allowed as the ban remained in effect pending the outcome of negotiations. "This is part of Japan's cooperation in resource management undertaken by Russia," an agency official said. "I don't see any problem with it." In last year's talks, the two countries agreed on a payment to Russia of between 260 million yen and 300 million yen depending on the catch, with the actual fee being 260 million yen. Japan's quota within Russia's EEZ, which is usually discussed along with that of within Japan's EEZ, remains undecided. The negotiations are part of many similar frameworks surrounding fishing between Tokyo and Moscow. The two countries discuss their quotas for fish resources such as saury and squid within each other's EEZs throughout the year. By Hiroki Kawasumi, KYODO NEWS - Apr 22, 2022 - 10:58 | Feature, All, Japan A hospital in eastern Japan has introduced a new and welcome approach to the fight against alcoholism, bringing an optional abstinence requirement while working to remove the stigma often associated with those who seek treatment for a drinking problem. Started at Kitaibaraki City Hospital in Ibaraki Prefecture by the University of Tsukuba about three years ago, it has been attracting patients from both inside and outside the prefecture nearby Tokyo. With coronavirus pandemic stresses leading to more and more people hitting the bottle at home, the person in charge of the ward says it offers those worried about excessive drinking "no-pressure consultations." The relaxed approach is a marked change from how alcoholism is treated in Japan, generally, with those seeking help often admitted to psychiatric wards -- considered socially unacceptable in a country in which people are careful to keep up a veneer of respectability. On the morning of March 23, a man in his 40s from the prefectural capital of Mito visited the ward for alcohol reduction at the Kitaibaraki Center for Family Medicine. He was hospitalized for alcohol addiction last year but fell off the wagon during the year-end and New Year holidays. "I wish I could stop drinking once and for all," the man said during his consultation with Hisashi Yoshimoto, associate professor at the university in charge of the program. However, instead of admonishing the man for being weak or a failure, Yoshimoto said, "As long as you can control your volume, it's not bad. People have relapses, so don't beat yourself up about it." Surprised by Yoshimoto's judgment-free response, the patient said, "Every doctor I've met till now has just repeated the same thing: 'You have to stop drinking.'" The outpatient ward for alcohol reduction was opened in January 2019 by Yoshimoto, who studies the relationship between alcohol consumption and health disorders, establishing a relatively low bar for patients to seek out checkups and follow-up examinations when they feel alcohol is a problem. Instead of pressuring patients to quit drinking right away, doctors set a target with their patients to reduce their alcohol consumption. The man from Mito agreed with Yoshimoto that he should cut down on drinking based on results from a blood screen and consultations, among other procedures. Being part of the general medical ward of the hospital that treats a wide range of ailments, rather than the psychiatry department which only focuses on mental disorders, the program is more attractive to those looking for a path out of their alcohol addiction. According to Yoshimoto, alcoholism in Japan is categorized as a mental disease and is thus usually treated by psychiatrists. But for this reason, many patients are reluctant to receive treatment for fear of being labeled an "addict" or a person suffering from a mental disorder. Yoshimoto wants his patients to feel at ease when they come for consultations. "Ideally, they can visit us if, for instance, they have a bad test result for liver function in a health checkup" or those who think they are verging on becoming an alcoholic. The outpatient alcohol reduction program has spread to three hospitals in the prefecture. Some 150 patients in Ibaraki, Fukushima, Tochigi and Tokyo, among other prefectures, have visited the wards. Some patients became worried about their drinking when they found themselves spending most of their spare time at home during the pandemic. While idle, they began regularly having a tipple that turned into more. Thirty percent of patients in the program have quit drinking, while half are on a pathway to cutting back, says Yoshimoto, who is also considering starting online medical checkups. "As long as humans exist, alcohol will not go away. We want to convey the message of people learning the best way to handle it across society," he said. By Trend Azerbaijan has created a new reality in the South Caucasus, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said, Trend reports. Hajiyev made the remark at a panel meeting named "Tasks facing Azerbaijani diaspora in post-Soviet period, action plan/road map" within the framework of the 5th Congress on April 22 in Shusha city. According to him, this new reality is the peace agenda of the region, and the five-point principles prepared by Azerbaijan [within a future peace treaty] were presented to Armenia. If Armenia and the Armenian people want to look to the future, they must appreciate these opportunities, he explained. The speeches of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during the 2020 second Karabakh war played a big role in preventing the information blockade, the presidents assistant said. "In the post-Karabakh war period, the Armenian lobby continues to carry out anti-Azerbaijani campaigns, he noted. According to the resolution recently adopted by the European Parliament, Armenian material and cultural monuments were allegedly destroyed in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation [in the second Karabakh war]. But why the European MPs who adopted this resolution dont see the destroyed cultural and historical monuments of the Azerbaijani people?" Hajiyev asked. KYODO NEWS - Apr 22, 2022 - 23:11 | All, World French prosecutors have issued an international arrest warrant for former Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn over alleged misappropriation of funds from Renault SA, Nissan's key alliance partner, investigative authorities said Friday. Aside from Ghosn, the prosecutors are after four individuals linked to a car dealer in Oman for their suspected roles in helping Ghosn's alleged misconduct, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing French authorities and other sources. If the preliminary judge decides to indict Ghosn, a trial can be held in absentia in France. Ghosn and the other four are accused of misappropriating millions of euros from the French carmaker through the Omani dealer so that Ghosn could use the money for personal use, according to the report. A 120-foot yacht was one of the purchases Ghosn made through the scheme, the investigators added. The four are the current owners or former directors of Suhail Bahwan Automobiles, the Omani car dealer, according to the Journal. "This is surprising. Ghosn has always cooperated with French authorities," the spokesperson for the former Nissan chairman was quoted by Reuters as saying. Ghosn was arrested by Japanese prosecutors in Japan in 2018 for underreporting his compensation, but he jumped bail and fled in late 2019 to Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan. Ghosn does not rule out going to France to face trial one day if the situation allows, the Journal reported, citing people close to him. Former Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who had also been arrested with Ghosn, faced trial in Japan and was given a six-month suspended prison sentence in March for helping Ghosn in his financial misconduct. In the trial that proceeded without Ghosn, the presiding judge severely criticized him for his greed, saying, "The chief culprit in this case is former Chairman Ghosn," as Kelly did not benefit directly from his involvement. Ghosn said in an interview after the ruling that it was a "face-saving" judgment for Japanese prosecutors and Nissan that had cooperated in the investigation. He has criticized Japan's justice system as "rigged" and said he fled the country to avoid being "held hostage." KYODO NEWS - Apr 23, 2022 - 02:45 | World, All The United States said Friday it has warned the Solomon Islands against any possible moves toward inviting a Chinese military presence following the recent signing of a security agreement between the Pacific nation and the Asian economic powerhouse. "If steps are taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power-projection capabilities, or a military installation, the delegation noted that the United States would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly," the White House said following a trip by senior U.S. officials to the island country. The Solomon Islands have been gaining attention from the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden amid concerns over China's expanding influence in the southwest Pacific Ocean, and most recently over what Washington has described as a "shadowy" deal between the island country and China. Visiting the Solomon Islands was the final leg of the U.S. delegation's trip across the Pacific this week, which was led by White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink and others. According to the White House, the United States and the Solomon Islands engaged in "substantial discussion" around the island country's security agreement with China. Beijing on Tuesday announced the signing of the pact, which reportedly allows the deployment of Chinese police, military and other armed personnel, as well as the docking of the Asian nation's ships in the islands. During the talks, the U.S. delegation noted there are "potential regional security implications of the accord, including for the United States and its allies and partners" and outlined "clear areas of concern with respect to the purpose, scope, and transparency of the agreement," the White House said in a press release. In response to the concerns, the Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare reiterated his assurances that "there would be no military base, no long-term presence, and no power projection capability, as he has said publicly," according to the White House. The United States emphasized that it will follow developments closely in consultation with regional partners. It also said it will "expedite" the opening of an embassy in the Solomon Islands, while vowing to deepen bilateral ties such as by launching a program on maritime security issues and advancing initiatives on climate, health and people-to-people ties. The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019. Concerns are increasing over China's growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, with Beijing militarizing outposts in disputed areas of the South China Sea and carrying out repeated incursions into waters around the Senkaku Islands, a group of East China Sea islets controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. KYODO NEWS - Apr 22, 2022 - 17:26 | World, All North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae In have exchanged personal letters, the North's official media reported Friday, despite rising tensions over Pyongyang's military provocations. Kim and Moon shared the view that inter-Korean relations "would improve and develop" if the North and South "make tireless efforts with hope," the Korean Central News Agency said. In Seoul, Moon's spokeswoman, Park Kyung Mee, said that in his letter to Kim, Moon said, "Holding the hands of Chairman Kim, I took one clear step that would change the fate of the Korean Peninsula." The exchange between the two leaders came just days after South Korea and its defense ally, the United States, began joint springtime military exercises, which the North slammed as a "rehearsal" for war. By improving ties with Seoul during Moon's remaining tenure, Pyongyang might be trying to urge South Korea's conservative President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol to abide by joint declarations previously signed by Kim and Moon, pundits said. Yoon will take office on May 10. KCNA said Kim received a personal letter from Moon on Wednesday and replied to him the following day, adding the exchange of letters between the two leaders is "an expression of their deep trust." "Kim Jong Un appreciated the pains and effort taken by Moon Jae In for the great cause of the nation until the last days of his term of office," the news agency said. Park said at a news briefing that in his letter, Kim expressed regret for not being able to achieve as much as the two leaders had hoped. For his part, the South Korean president asked the North Korean leader to resume talks with the United States in the near future and to proceed with dialogue with the incoming Yoon administration, the spokeswoman said. Kim and Moon met three times during a period of rapprochement in the divided Korean Peninsula beginning in 2018. In the joint declaration they signed at their summit meeting in Pyongyang in September of that year, the two leaders agreed to take steps to cool military tensions and improve bilateral ties. But in recent years, inter-Korean relations have sharply deteriorated, as U.S.-North Korea negotiations over denuclearization and sanctions relief stalled for more than two years. Kim is believed to be irritated that Moon hesitated to move forward on economic cooperation projects with Pyongyang, including reviving operations at the Kaesong industrial park, near the border with the South, amid opposition from Washington. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, North Korea's economy has been sluggish as it sealed its borders to keep the novel coronavirus out, choking off its trade with China -- Pyongyang's most influential ally in economic terms. Although Kim is apparently eager to see the United States ease its crushing economic sanctions against his country, Pyongyang has returned to the very missile activities that had previously prompted the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions resolutions against it. North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile last month, marking an end to its self-imposed moratorium on ICBM tests introduced in April 2018. And on Sunday, KCNA reported that Kim observed the test-firing of a "new-type tactical guided weapon" the previous day. Some analysts say it can carry a tactical nuclear weapon that could be used in a limited-strike capacity. Speculation lingers that, in the not-so-distant future, North Korea may stage its seventh nuclear test or test-fire an ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere in the continental United States. The United States and North Korea remain technically in a state of war as the 1950-1953 Korean War, in which U.S.-led U.N. forces fought alongside South Korea against the North supported by China and the Soviet Union, ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. The last time that Kim and Moon exchanged letters was in July 2021, when the two Koreas agreed to reconnect their communications lines that the North had cut off the previous year. In June 2020, Pyongyang blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong, a symbol of recent inter-Korean reconciliation, in retaliation for defectors in South Korea launching balloons carrying leaflets critical of the North. KYODO NEWS - Apr 22, 2022 - 21:49 | All, World, Japan Tokyo has switched to a hard-line stance in its decades-long territorial dispute with Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stating in its annual foreign policy report released Friday that four northern islands are "illegally occupied" by Russia. The 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook maintained the view from last year on China, saying its increasing military activities have become "a source of strong concern from the aspect of security for the international community and regions including Japan." The report highlighted Tokyo's departure from a conciliatory approach toward Russia, with the "illegally occupied" wording on the status of the islands, off Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, appearing for the first time since the 2003 report. The dispute over the islands -- Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group -- stems from their seizure by the Soviet Union, Russia's predecessor state, in the weeks following Japan's World War II surrender on Aug. 15, 1945. It has prevented the two nations from signing a peace treaty. The bluebook also said the islands, called the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, are an "inherent" part of the territory of Japan, a description that had been absent since the 2011 report. "The Northern Territories are islands over which Japan has sovereignty, and are an inherent part of the territory of Japan, but now are illegally occupied by Russia," the bluebook said. Calling the Russian invasion of Ukraine "an outrage that undermines the foundation of the international order not only in Europe but also in Asia," the report said the current circumstances leave the prospects for an outcome in the territorial talks uncertain. The Japanese government strongly demands that Russia heed the criticism of the international community, withdraw its troops from Ukraine and comply with international law, the report states. Japan has imposed economic sanctions in line with Western nations since the invasion began on Feb. 24. The administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hoped that progress in negotiations on the territorial issue would lead to the return of some of the islands based on a 1956 bilateral treaty. During his tenure from December 2012 to September 2020, Abe met with Russian President Vladimir Putin over 20 times without a breakthrough. Under the 1956 pact, the Soviet Union agreed to return some of the islands upon the conclusion of a peace treaty. Asked about the wording in the Japanese policy report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the four islands are an "integral territory" of Russia, adding that continuing the peace treaty talks with Japan has become difficult due to Tokyo's "hostile actions" toward Moscow, according to Russia's Tass news agency. In an overview of the global situation, the report said the world "has entered an age of U.S.-China competition," from the time in which Washington had supported the world's stability and prosperity through "overwhelming political, economic and military power," referring to enhanced presence of emerging and developing nations. On relations with the United States, it said the Japan-U.S. alliance has become "stronger than ever before in history," as the two nations held eight summit and 15 foreign ministerial talks by the end of February after the launch of U.S. President Joe Biden's administration in 2021. In descriptions of Asia, the report lists "China, Mongolia and others" before "Korean Peninsula" for the first time since the 2002 edition, displaying the government's strong interest in China's growing clout in the region. It said Beijing's "unilateral attempts to change the status quo" in waters near the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are "completely unacceptable." But it also called for the two countries' efforts to build "constructive and stable Japan-China relations," stating they are important "not only for the two countries, but for the peace and prosperity of the region and the international community." It condemned North Korea's missile launches as "absolutely unacceptable," saying the country has been firing missiles "at an extremely high frequency and in new forms" since the beginning of this year, including its first launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in March since November 2017. On South Korea, the document said its relations with Japan are in a "very severe situation," citing conflicting issues over compensation for women coerced into working in military brothels and wartime laborers. Although last year's report said the situation had "remained unacceptable to Japan," the latest one did not use such wording and instead said such a state "cannot be left untouched as it is." The apparent softened stance came after the country's main opposition candidate Yoon Suk Yeol was elected in March as the next president, with the conservative president-elect seen as willing to improve soured bilateral ties. Catherine Kitandwe, a commercial pilot and flight instructor, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Kampala, Uganda, on April 16, 2022. (Photo by Kiggundu Joseph/Xinhua) KAMPALA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Like many children, Catherine Kitandwe's dream was to become a pilot. Along the way she digressed but later in her adult life, she found a footing in a profession she dreamt of. Kitandwe is now one of the only two women flight instructors in Uganda, according to the Uganda Professional Pilots Association (UPPA), an umbrella organization bringing together pilots and aeronautical engineers. Kitandwe graduated in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in public health. A year after her studies, Kitandwe embarked on pursuing her childhood dream of flying planes. Her first hurdle was convincing her parents to allow her to follow her childhood dream. "It was tricky talking to them about this crazy dream. But I was determined. This is what I wanted. I had faith," the 28-year-old told Xinhua in a recent interview. She started applying to various schools both within and outside Uganda until she was admitted to Vine Air Flight Academy, a local flight school. The admission into the flight school left Kitandwe's parents apprehensive because of the costs involved. Evelyn Kitandwe, her mother, said they were not sure they would manage to take her through the training. "We feared the heights involved, the possibility of there being accidents and all sorts of things," Evelyn Kitandwe added. June 2020 was a memorable time for Kitandwe in flight school. It marked the shift from "ground to airwoman." "This was the first time I had my successful solo flight. This is when I gained my weight as a pilot," she said. After getting her commercial pilot license in 2021, Kitandwe went for further training as a flight instructor, and in April 2022, she graduated, joining Captain Esther Kyokunda, another woman in the category. "This also called for more passion as it was more challenging. It was not easy switching seats and going up there with someone who has no much experience flying planes," Kitandwe said. INSPIRING OTHERS The UPPA described Kitandwe's graduation as a flight instructor as an inspiration and is optimistic that many other women would take on the role. "We are happy taking on this role ad hope to see more ladies become instructors in the future," the association said. "It is not about gender but the skills one acquires. Nothing is impossible," Kitandwe said, advising more girls to follow their dreams. With the training she received, Kitandwe said she is now ready to impart the same skills to others. Kyokunda, the other woman flight instructor, described Kitandwe as a hardworking young woman. "I am happy she became an instructor. She has all the qualities of a good mentor," Kyokunda said. "She is a good role model and other girls should learn from her." Kyokunda advised other girls to join them in the cockpit. "Let them know that it is possible for them to become pilots and even instructors. Today we are two female instructors, we want to be three or even more tomorrow." Catherine Kitandwe, a commercial pilot and flight instructor, takes a walk after an interview with Xinhua in Kampala, Uganda, on April 16, 2022. (Photo by Kiggundu Joseph/Xinhua) BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a phone conversation with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Friday at the latter's request. Li once again congratulated Nehammer on his assuming office as the Austrian chancellor. Noting Austria is China's important cooperative partner in the European Union (EU), Li said that since the diplomatic ties were established 51 years ago, China-Austria relations have transcended the differences in their systems, cultures, and development levels, with cooperation between the two sides continuously deepening. In 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van der Bellen, decided to establish China-Austria friendly strategic partnership, lifting the relationship to a new level, Li noted. China, he said, is ready to strengthen dialogue and communication with Austria, deepen practical cooperation in various fields, and push forward sound and stable development of China-Austria relations. Li pointed out that the current international and regional situation is complex and volatile, and economic globalization is facing headwinds. As China and the EU are comprehensive strategic partners, both major economies in the world and important trading partners of each other, they should all the more stick to two-way opening-up and cooperation, strengthen communication and dialogue, and jointly send a signal of stable development of China-EU relations and active progress of bilateral cooperation, so as to ensure smooth logistics between China and the EU, stable industry chains and supply chains as well as food security and energy security, he added. Li stressed that opening-up is China's basic national policy, which has not only boosted growth for the country itself, but also brought benefits for the world, and the policy will never waver. No matter how the international landscape may change, China will remain committed to opening-up and deepening bilateral and multilateral international cooperation, he said, adding that a large open Chinese market will always be a magnet for enterprises from all over the world, including Austria, to invest and develop their businesses. For his part, Nehammer said that Austria and China have maintained a sound relationship for a long time, and the two countries have carried out successful cooperation in various fields. Noting that China is a vital participant in international affairs, he said that Austria cherishes its relations with China, adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to continue deepening cooperation with China and to promote further development of Austria-China friendly strategic partnership. Austria supports the strengthening of dialogue and communication between the EU and China as well as the continuous improvement of EU-China relations, Nehammer said. The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Li elaborated on China's principled position, pointing out that China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace, upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, observes international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. He expressed the hope that all parties will jointly promote relevant parties to achieve a ceasefire and end the conflict through dialogue and negotiation, especially to prevent a larger humanitarian crisis. NANNING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping was elected delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the CPC Guangxi regional congress by a unanimous vote on Friday. Xi was nominated by the CPC Central Committee as a candidate for delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress, scheduled to be held in the second half of 2022. The CPC congress of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was held from Thursday to Friday in the regional capital of Nanning. The announcement of Xi's unanimous election won a burst of sustained and warm applause at the regional congress on Friday morning. BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of nurturing more high-caliber talent committed to the country's development. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks Thursday in a letter replying to veteran professors of the University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB). The president also expressed hope for advancing the innovative and green development of the country's iron and steel industry. In the letter, Xi extended congratulations to faculty, students and alumni of the university as it marks its 70th anniversary. Noting the great need for a class of talented people with both ethical integrity and professional competence, Xi called on the university's faculty to carry forward the spirit of rigorous scholarship and devotion to nurture more high-caliber talent who have strong ideals, professional skills and iron wills and follow the leadership of the Party. He further encouraged them to make greater contributions in the efforts to build the country into a leader in science, technology and manufacturing. Xi's letter was written in reply to prior correspondence from 15 senior professors of the university. In their letter, the professors reported the university's development and expressed their resolve to foster more talent for the high-quality development of the country's steel and iron industry. First founded in 1952, the USTB, then known as the Beijing Institute of Iron and Steel Technology, was New China's first college of iron and steel industry. BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- On March 15, an online platform named "Message Board for Leaders" saw a new post pop up, reading, "We painted walls for an employer from Oct. 31 to Dec. 5, 2021, but the employer is still in arrears with our payment of 22,000 yuan (around 3,432 U.S. dollars). I hope you can help us." The message was addressed to the Party chief of Xingtai city in north China's Hebei Province. One month later, a reply was posted, saying, "Your payment was made on April 13." This is one of some 3 million messages that have been replied to since 2012 on the "Message Board for Leaders," an online platform where ordinary people in China share their problems and suggestions concerning public affairs directly with Party and government chiefs of localities across China and leading officials of departments of central authorities. Over the years, the platform has emerged as a convenient and effective tool for communication and dialogue between the government and the people amid efforts to promote whole-process people's democracy and translate people's voices into state policies. Chinese authorities have delivered concrete measures to solve problems in accordance with people's voices conveyed via the platform. Government employees and members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the primary level have seen adjustments to their workloads so that they can concentrate their energy and time on better serving the people; elderly people with no families were given subsistence subsidies by the government; problems people met in administrative procedures relating to real estate certificates were solved; children living in remote mountainous villages had their school buildings renovated; migrant workers received their back pay. The list of problems solved thanks to the platform is long. In 2021, the Chinese government at all levels addressed 700,000 of the most pressing problems of great concern to the people by means of the platform. The general public are also contributing their opinions and suggestions on state affairs via the platform, many of which have been enshrined in government and CPC documents. Back in 2020, Chinese central authorities invited the general public to give suggestions on the formulation of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) via online platforms for the first time. Li Dianbo, a grassroots official from north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, submitted a suggestion on the platform, calling for building a community-based elderly care system in which senior residents help each other in performing daily care. The suggestion was adopted and included in the 14th Five-Year Plan. In the run-up to its 20th National Congress, the CPC is making use of the platform to hear voices from the people. To date, thousands of suggestions have been made since the platform opened for such submissions in mid-April. China has been effectively controlling COVID-19. That contributes immensely to the global fight against the pandemic, said former Pakistani Ambassador to China Masood Khalid. In response to sporadic outbreaks in some 30 provincial areas in the country since March, China has been adhering to a dynamic zero-COVID approach, taking swift and precise actions to curb new cases while treating the infected. Pakistani health expert Shahzad Ali Khan said China's dynamic zero-COVID policy remains the optimal choice to timely contain the resurgence of the virus. Produced by Xinhua Global Service By Trend Speech of President Ilham Aliyev at V Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha, which was positive regarding the work of the diaspora, inspires us for further work, President of Israel-Azerbaijan AzIz International Association Lev Spivak told Trend on sidelines of V Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha on April 22. "I was also very glad to hear President Ilham Aliyev talk about future of Karabakh. This gives us hope," Spivak said. He noted that President Ilham Aliyev also clearly outlined tasks and directions of diasporas work until the next congress. Spivak emphasized that whole world spoke with admiration about victory of Azerbaijan in second Karabakh war. According to him, activities of diaspora plays an important role in bringing the truth to the world. Staff members transport the COVID-19 vaccine donation from China at the Bandaranaike International Airport on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 27, 2021. (Photo by Ajith Perera/Xinhua) China is ready to consolidate political mutual trust with Sri Lanka, strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance among developing countries, deepen practical cooperation in various fields and push for sound and stable development of bilateral relations, Li said. BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday held a phone conversation with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on bilateral ties at the latter's request. In the phone call, Li noted that the two countries enjoy profound traditional friendship and are strategic cooperative partners. China is ready to consolidate political mutual trust with Sri Lanka, strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance among developing countries, deepen practical cooperation in various fields and push for sound and stable development of bilateral relations, Li said. Noting that China empathizes with Sri Lanka for the difficulties and challenges facing the South Asian country, Li said that China is ready to provide much-needed livelihood assistance for Sri Lanka within its capacity, Li said. China is ready to play a constructive role in Sri Lanka's stable socio-economic development based on the principle of non-interference in its internal affairs and on the premise of respecting Sri Lanka's will, Li said. China supports continuous progress in bilateral practical cooperation projects, and hopes for an early start of the negotiation and signing of their free trade agreement, so as to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation, Li added. For his part, Rajapaksa thanked China for providing emergency humanitarian assistance for Sri Lanka and appreciated China's strong support to Sri Lanka when it is facing difficulties. Sri Lanka is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in finance, economy, trade and tourism, advance the negotiation of the bilateral free trade agreement, and deepen bilateral cooperation, he said. by Xinhua writer Yan Jie MANILA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Tom, a yacht worker on Boracay island in central Philippines, found his life full of hope after seeing more foreign tourist arrivals on the resort island famous for powdery white-sand beaches. "The pandemic is very difficult for us, but now the (tourism of) Boracay is going into the recovery stage. We expect a lot of tourists coming from different countries to come here for vacations," Tom told Xinhua. As a key economic driver, the tourism industry's contribution to the Philippines' gross domestic product stood at 12.7 percent in 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. The pandemic has badly hit the tourism sector in the Philippines, forcing hotels and airlines to lay off staff. Almost 1.1 million workers were affected in the tourism industry across the country. From April 1, the Philippines reverted to pre-pandemic entry rules for fully vaccinated foreign nationals from visa-required countries. The relaxed rules opened the country to all travelers, including tourists, to enter the Southeast Asian country known for world-class white-sand beaches, crystal clear azure seawater, and diving resorts. Boracay island remains the top tourist attraction in the country. According to the local tourism office, the island logged over 150,000 tourist arrivals in March, almost the pre-pandemic monthly level in 2019. Resorts, restaurants, and yachts on the island are now fully operational, and beaches with sunshine await foreign visitors. James, a beach-lover from Britain, is more than happy to choose Boracay island as his vacation destination. "To be on holiday again is a great feeling. It is my first time in the Philippines, and it will not be my last," he said. According to the Philippines' Department of Tourism, 200,000 foreign tourist arrivals have reached the archipelago as of April 7 in nearly two months since the country began to ease travel restrictions for international travelers. Philippine Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said the sustained influx of tourists in the country is a good sign of the sector's success in its preparation to welcome foreign tourists in the new normal. "This continued growth shall aid our stakeholders, as well as the economy, in recovering from the effects caused by the pandemic," she added. Her words were echoed by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)'s latest Economic Impact Report, which is released on Thursday during the WTTC summit in the Philippine capital. "The travel and tourism sector will be a driving force of the global economic recovery from the two-year pandemic," the report said. However, as the Philippines' tourism enters recovery, the local authorities remind travelers to adhere to basic health protocols, such as wearing a face mask, keeping a safe distance, or avoiding crowds. Felix Delos Santos, chief of the tourism office of Malay city on Boracay island, said almost all the island's residents and tourism workers have been fully vaccinated. He said visitors need to submit health information declarations and vaccination cards online before entering the island to ensure safety. Moreover, resorts and restaurants on the island hired safety officers to remind visitors to observe basic health protocols. "We followed the national (pandemic prevention) policies. The priority (of our work) is on the health and safety of our tourists," Delos Santos said. El Nido in Palawan province, renowned for its diverse collection of coral reefs and unparalleled pristine waters, has also seen a slow but steady increase of foreign tourists since April. Pio Sanchez, manager of El Nido Lagen island resort, said safety and sustainability would be key drivers for their business to move forward. "We require all our guests to follow the minimum health protocols, including wearing face masks whenever they are in public areas. At the same time, we have offered hand sanitizers in specific areas of the resort, and we do regular testing for our staff to make sure everyone is in good condition," Sanchez added. TEHRAN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- At a time when the Iranian nuclear talks are about to reach an agreement, Iran and world powers have adjourned their talks, mostly over whether the United States will remove Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from its Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list. While negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna stalled a year after they began, Tehran and Washington have ramped up their rhetorical war, demanding political decisions from the other side to bridge the final gap. FIRM STANCE Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Thursday that his country "does not pay attention to excessive demands nor will it retreat from its red lines." Iran has so far insisted on its position with no signs that it may budge any time soon, said Iran's English daily newspaper Tehran Times, adding that "in fact, the odds are currently against any change in Iran's position." Such a firm approach to Vienna talks has recently been praised by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who "expressed his satisfaction with the resistance of the negotiating team to the other sides' aggression and avarice," according to his official website. "The other side withdrew from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and broke its commitments. Now they feel helpless and have reached a dead end," Khamenei said, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal. According to the reports provided by Amir-Abdollahian and Iran's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, "the red lines of the system have not been crossed in any way in the Vienna talks," Jalil Rahimi Jahan Abadi, a member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying last week. "The United States not only has not achieved anything since leaving the JCPOA, but even Iran's position has become stronger and more coherent in recent years than when the United States was present in the JCPOA," the Iranian lawmaker pointed out. "U.S. INACTION" In the United States, following media reports that President Joe Biden's administration has considered dropping the IRGC terrorist designation, more congressmen have voiced opposition to any potential deal with Iran. It would be politically untenable to make such a concession to Iran, Biden's advisers suggested. "If Iran wants sanctions-lifting that goes beyond the JCPOA, they'll need to address concerns of ours that go beyond the JCPOA," U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday. "If they do not want to use these talks to resolve other bilateral issues, then we are confident we can very quickly reach an understanding on the JCPOA and begin to reimplement the deal itself," he said. Iran believes that the Trump administration's move to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization was "politically motivated and designed to make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Biden administration to resuscitate the JCPOA," according to Tehran Times. Washington "does not seem to be ready to take the initiative in terms of concluding the Vienna talks. Quite on the contrary, it keeps sending signals that it is not ready to make the kind of political decisions Iran demands," the newspaper said in a recent op-ed titled "U.S. inaction could doom Vienna talks." "The U.S. has halted progress for a nuclear deal. Biden is weak in dealing with political opponents," Mohammad Marandi, an adviser to Iran's negotiating team in the Vienna talks, tweeted recently. DIPLOMACY STILL OPEN Despite the war of words, "the diplomatic path is working properly, and we have not gone far from a good and lasting deal," Amir-Abdollahiann said. Meanwhile, Price said Washington is also prepared for a return to full JCPOA implementation, while EU's mediators continued to send messages and work to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. "Tehran and Washington are close to a deal, but both sides need to give and take to achieve the wider benefits" of a renewed JCPOA, Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow and deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an article. It would be "foolish for Washington to jeopardize the opportunity to contain Tehran's nuclear program over the lifting of what is a largely symbolic designation of the IRGC," while for Iran, delaying the return to the nuclear deal comes with a high price tag in terms of opportunities lost for its economy, she said. According to Geranmayeh, "a number of reasonable compromises are in circulation." One option reportedly under review is to remove the IRGC's FTO designation but keep on the list its elite Quds Force, which carries out operations in the Middle East. Also, a group of nuclear nonproliferation experts and former government officials on Thursday urged the White House to complete negotiations to restore compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that "a prompt return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA is the best available way to deny Iran the ability to quickly produce bomb-grade nuclear material." "Repeating the failed strategy pursued by the Trump administration is misguided, irresponsible, and dangerous as it would increase the danger that Iran would become a threshold nuclear-weapon state," they warned. Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks, during which Iran and the United States have negotiated indirectly, have been held in Vienna to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, which former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to drop some of its nuclear commitments. In a makeshift hospital in Shanghai, medics and patients draw pictures to encourage each other amid the city's battle against the COVID-19. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Ugandan youths are gearing up to learn Chinese as they see the language as a tool with which they can access a broader future. KAMPALA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan youths are gearing up to learn Chinese as they see the language as a tool with which they can access a broader future. Under the shade of trees at the Confucius Institute at Makerere University, students were gathering in small groups to practice Chinese. They share a clear target: to tap opportunities from China's increasing economic influence on the global stage. Students pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies attend a Chinese language class at the Confucius Institute in Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, April 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping) Vianney Nsubuga, a freshman pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies, told Xinhua that Africa's continuous interactions with China have brought numerous employment opportunities, such as jobs in the transport and energy infrastructure sectors. China has financed major energy and transport infrastructure projects in Uganda as part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, including the Entebbe International Airport in Kampala, the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, the 183 MW Isimba Hydropower Plant, and the 600 MW Karuma Hydropower Plant still under construction. "By learning Chinese and mastering the language, it is going to help me in my life," said Nsubuga, who hopes to work as an interpreter, translator, or a Chinese language teacher after graduation. "By knowing it (Chinese) or teaching it to the young people, you are making connections with the world," the freshman added. A Chinese language instructor (L) teaches a Chinese language class at the Confucius Institute in Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, April 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping) Jedrine Nasuna, a sophomore pursuing a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies, said she had decided to learn Chinese after her mother told her about China's increasing role in global affairs and its relations with her country. "I wanted to study mass communication but my mum advised me to learn Chinese," she said. "China is working hand in hand with Uganda -- building roads, power plants. Most of the things that are happening in Uganda, the Chinese are taking part in." The cooperation features mutual benefits, she said, as some Chinese companies that have set up business in Uganda or in other parts of Africa are also having their employees learn about the local culture to ensure smooth business operations. As China and the world have been reaching out to each other, learning different languages and cultures is playing a critical role in cementing ties with others, said Wang Xiaojuan, a Chinese language instructor at the Confucius Institute. A Chinese language instructor (L) interacts with students at the Confucius Institute in Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, April 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Gaiping) Some students may work as diplomats in China in the future, while Chinese people learning the local languages in Uganda will also strengthen their friendship with locals, Wang said. The Ugandan government has taken measures to facilitate the education of the Chinese language in schools, so as to prepare its young talents for future cooperation with China both at bilateral and multilateral levels. In 2019, Uganda adopted the Chinese language into its ordinary-level secondary school curriculum. Nowadays, many government schools have set up Chinese courses with assistance from the Confucius Institute, and have been training more and more Chinese language teachers. Xia Zhuoqiong, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute, said discussions are underway for the inclusion of Chinese into the advanced-level secondary school curriculum. "While teaching the Chinese language, Chinese teachers are also working hard to learn local languages, such as Luganda and Lusoga," Xia said. "By learning these languages, we really understand their culture and really understand how to communicate with them. The distance between our hearts and their hearts is getting closer and closer." To celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of the UN's official working languages throughout the organization, the UN Chinese Language Day is observed annually on April 20. BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday refuted a U.S. official's remarks that China should learn the right lessons from the situation in Ukraine, including that it can't separate the United States from its allies. "China's position on the Ukraine issue is aboveboard, just, objective and beyond reproach. On the contrary, it is the U.S. side that has a poor track record on relevant issues," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing. "We advise the U.S. side to look in the mirror and properly manage its own affairs before pointing fingers at others," Zhao said. He said the remarks made by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman are entirely cliches and an old trick to smear and slander China. Facts have proven that China is a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order, he said. TEHRAN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) vowed to take revenge on the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, former commander of its IRGC Quds Force, Press TV reported on Friday. "They (Americans) constantly send messages saying they will offer rewards and remove certain sanctions if we give up seeking revenge for Soleimani," Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the naval unit of the IRGC, was quoted as saying. "But, this is wishful thinking. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) insists on taking revenge, and that revenge is inevitable," said Tangsiri. Those involved in the assassination of Soleimani "will be brought to justice" at a time and place determined by Iran, he noted. Soleimani and his companions were killed in a U.S. drone strike on a convoy near Baghdad International Airport on Jan. 3, 2020. Five days later, in a military operation codenamed Operation Martyr Soleimani, the IRGC launched a volley of ballistic missiles against the Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq's western province of Anbar. Iran has called Soleimani's assassination state terrorism and vowed to put an end to the U.S. military's presence in the region as its ultimate revenge while urging neighboring Iraq to expel U.S. forces from its soil. PHNOM PENH, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade pact, and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) are the catalysts for economic growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, officials and academics said on Friday. Both RCEP and the CCFTA entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022. RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Speaking at a hybrid international conference on RCEP and the CCFTA, the Cambodian government's senior advisor Sok Siphana said both pacts are crucial to help recover the pandemic-hit economies in Cambodia and in the region. "I think the two free trade agreements would be a big boost to our economies, although the effect will not be tomorrow," he said. The Cambodian Ministry of Commerce's secretary of state Sim Sokheng said the two deals have given Cambodia larger market access and will play an important role in attracting more foreign investors, especially Chinese ones, to the country. "The two agreements have opened a new chapter of cooperation for prosperity and development between Cambodia and China in particular and between Cambodia and other RCEP members in general," he said. "RCEP not only promotes the regional economic integration, but also underscores the commitment of all member countries towards multilateralism in the face of rising protectionism," he added. Being the world's largest trade bloc, RCEP has a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of 26.2 trillion U.S. dollars, representing around 30 percent of global GDP, 28 percent of global trade, and 32.5 percent of global investment, he said. Sokheng said under the RCEP pact, Cambodia is expected to see a year's export growth at 9.4 percent to 18 percent, which will contribute to the national economic growth from 2 percent to 3.8 percent. For the CCFTA, he said the deal is projected to raise Cambodia's annual export to China by 25 percent. Wu Guoquan, the economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia, said both agreements have laid a strong foundation for China and Cambodia to boost economic and trade relations. "Under RCEP and the CCFTA, I believe that the cooperation between China and Cambodia in jointly building the 'Belt and Road' will be accelerated and the quality of the cooperation will be higher," he said. Kavi Chongkittavorn, a senior fellow at the Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Security and International Studies in Thailand, said RCEP is pivotal in three areas of global trade, namely rule-based trade, huge market access and economic cooperation. "RCEP is a major catalyst to open up the domestic market, enlarge huge resources for trade and investment, and connect regional and global value chain activities," he said. Kavi said RCEP has provided golden opportunities to Cambodia and facilitates its post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery through huge market access and market diversification. "All countries benefit from RCEP due to huge market access, but Cambodia, the young and dynamic 'little tiger' economy will benefit more," he said. * Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 has voiced the importance of an open mind and coordinated global actions loud and clear. * Themed "The World in COVID-19 & Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future," the forum was held from Wednesday to Friday in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. * From improving public health, promoting common prosperity, and realizing carbon neutrality to proposing the Global Security Initiative, China has shared its wisdom and demonstrated its resolution to bring more certainties to the world's prospects. BOAO, Hainan, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Defying headwinds from the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, fragile global economic recovery and complex geopolitics, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2022 has voiced the importance of an open mind and coordinated global actions loud and clear. Themed "The World in COVID-19 & Beyond: Working Together for Global Development and Shared Future," the forum was held from Wednesday to Friday in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan. It gathered government officials, heads of international organizations, experts and entrepreneurs from all over the world to discuss the post-pandemic development agenda. From improving public health, promoting common prosperity, and realizing carbon neutrality to proposing the Global Security Initiative, China has shared its wisdom and demonstrated its resolution to bring more certainties to the world's prospects. Photo taken on April 19, 2022, shows the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu) Delivering remarks for the opening ceremony, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that China as the world's second-largest economy is of great significance to promoting the world's economic recovery. Meanwhile, all countries over the globe should strengthen their cooperation to achieve the goal. "In a world of change, one thing remains constant -- the importance of solidarity between countries," Georgieva said. BRIDGING IMMUNIZATION GAP "Last year when we met, much of the talk was on COVID-19. This year, the virus is still here with us," said BFA's chairman Ban Ki-moon in his welcome speech during the opening ceremony of this year's conference. To date, the world has recorded more than 500 million COVID-19 infections and the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 6.2 million people. For humanity to clinch a final victory against the pandemic, more hard efforts are needed. China has provided over 2.1 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations. It will follow through with the pledged donation of 600 million and 150 million doses of vaccines to Africa and ASEAN countries respectively, as part of its effort to close the immunization gap. Be it in delivering vaccines abroad or producing them overseas, China has honored its commitments with concrete actions. "China action" has won rounds of applause from BFA attendees. A batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated by China arrives at an airport in Tunis, Tunisia, on Feb. 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Adel Ezzine) "China is doing its best, not only to protect its own people but also to make a huge contribution," said Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, former director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO). Alessandro Golombiewski Teixeira, a former chief economic advisor to the president of Brazil, is "a big supporter" of China's dynamic zero-COVID approach. "I think China can inspire countries to take this as a serious matter because you are talking about the life of its people," he said, adding that other countries may not be able to copy the Chinese model, but can learn from the Chinese mentality to better deal with the pandemic and to avoid as many deaths as possible. TOWARD GREENER FUTURE Ranging from the venues which are solely powered by green electricity, to the recyclable and degradable cups provided to BFA guests, low-carbon applications and design details can be spotted throughout the BFA venues. The conference's green transition has mirrored China's continuous pursuit of a greener future. China has announced its ambitious targets of peaking CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. China, the world's largest carbon emitter, has become the largest user of renewable energy over the years, with its carbon intensity slashed significantly. The country's enterprises are also scrambling to walk the talk. During the BFA, a newly developed stainless steel material bought by BROAD Group caught the attention of many guests. The construction material can reduce carbon emissions by 90 kg per square meter, equivalent to the amount of carbon absorbed by five trees. Traditional industries in China have also jumped on the bandwagon to accelerate the green shift. China's leading oil and gas producer China National Petroleum Corporation announced intensifying its efforts in green transformation during the BFA, particularly in the fields of technological innovation and eco-friendly development. Aerial photo taken on April 9, 2022, shows the view of Nanqiang Village in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun) "Carbon neutrality may become a novel change in the global civilization form," said Liu Qiao, dean of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, adding that China is actively engaged in the upgrade. PURSUING COMMON PROSPERITY "Absolute poverty can be eradicated in a relatively short time," said Jeffery Sachs, professor at Columbia University and the author of "The End of Poverty," during a BFA sub-forum. The victory of China's battle against absolute poverty echoed his opinion. China has raised nearly 800 million people out of poverty over the past four decades, which can be deemed as a catalyst for propelling the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals. Now, China has embarked on a new journey toward common prosperity. By 2035, the country is expected to have basically achieved socialist modernization. Sachs pointed out that abundant resources, including high-quality education, health care services and infrastructure, coordinated by a proactive government for everyone are the keys to the success in realizing the goal. "I think we should develop a global common ethic around a common prosperity," said Sachs, adding that China's idea is inspiring to other countries as it ensures people's right to live a decent life. Ian Goldin, former vice president of the World Bank, also praised China's pursuit of common prosperity. Aerial photo taken on Feb. 16, 2022, shows a photovoltaic power station in Yongren County of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) "We need to coordinate global resources effectively and create a sustainable environment," he said. Once an obscure fishing village, Boao has gradually developed into a high-level dialogue platform with great global influences over the past two decades. Meanwhile, Hainan has been striving to become China's largest free trade port under the country's firm determination to build an open world economy and promote balanced, coordinated and inclusive global development. "China is playing an increasingly important role in both economic globalization and global governance, and we should grasp the global trend and fulfill our responsibilities," said Chi Fulin, head of the Hainan-based China Institute for Reform and Development. (Video reporters: Ma Ruxuan, Mu Xuyao, and Liu Xiaorui; video editors: Zhou Xuan, Wu Changwei, Jiang Lei, Jiang Chao, Wang Huan, Liu Chang, Wang Junfeng, Guo Liangchuan, and Li Duojiang) A member of al-Tell family makes food inside a cave in Khirbet Zanota village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, April 17, 2022. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua) by Sanaa Kamal RAMALLAH, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Adel al-Tell, a young Palestinian man who lives with his large family in a dilapidated cave in the West Bank, has been resorting to TikTok to document his extraordinary cave life. The 32-year-old from Khirbet Zanuta village, located 20 km south of the West Bank city of Hebron, posted his first TikTok video a year ago, soon gaining hundreds of thousands of likes from his burgeoning followers. In al-Tell's TikTok short videos, his families are seen milking goats, making tabuns (a clay oven used in parts of the Middle East), herding sheep, and above all, recording Israeli settlers' attacks on local Palestinians. "It seems that the situation here is miserable and no one wants to live in this cave," the young man told Xinhua, referring to the lack of the basic necessities of life such as water, electricity and furniture in his cave. However, the fact is that "we have enough money to buy a modern house, but we want to stay and live here in order to defend our land against Israeli settlement expansion in our own way," he explained. Al-Tell now has more than 60,000 followers on TikTok, and the contents he has published in recent months alone have received as many as more than 1.5 million likes. "TikTok gave me a lot of space to show the world our lives here, not only the Palestinian heritage but also our main cause: protecting our land from settlers who want to seize it and build their settlements," he noted. Al-Tell and his family are among some 450 people living in Khirbet Zanuta village, where the majority of the residents live off sheep grazing and the food from the poultry and goats they raise. Under the Oslo accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli government in 1993, the West Bank region was divided into three areas: Area A under the Palestinian control, Area B under Palestinian civil administration and Israeli security control, and Area C under full Israeli control, which comprises about 60 percent of the total territory of the region. Unfortunately, the Khirbet Zanuta village is located in Area C and has been slated for demolition by the Israeli army in favor of what Palestinians call the expansion of Jewish settlements. "Our life is very difficult and Israel is working to expel us from our land in order to implement the annexation and settlement expansion plan and to impose its control over all Palestinian lands," Mariam al-Tell, Adel's mother, told Xinhua. "The settlers deliberately attack the residents of the village, and the Israeli forces set up military checkpoints at the entrances to the village to prevent us from bringing water and other needs back," the mother lamented. The 67-year-old has always yearned to live safely in her home without fear of demolition by the Israeli authorities. "We have the right to live on our land and we have the right to bequeath to our children a better future," she said. Members of al-Tell family have Iftar, the fast-breaking meal, inside a cave in Khirbet Zanota village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, April 17, 2022. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua) Members of al-Tell family are seen inside a cave in Khirbet Zanota village, south of the West Bank city of Hebron, April 17, 2022. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua) By Trend Liberation of ancestral lands of Azerbaijan from the Armenian occupation is a great reason for the pride of all Azerbaijanis worldwide, Representative of Azerbaijani diaspora, Honored Scientist of Azerbaijan Amirullah Mammadov told Trend on the sidelines of V Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha on April 22. "This victory is a great holiday for all Azerbaijanis," Mammadov said. He noted that for about 30 years, more than 20 percent of Azerbaijans territory was under occupation and successful liberation of the country's territory thanks to Azerbaijan's army, is a great reason for the pride of millions of compatriots living in other countries. Holding the V Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha is also a great joy and holiday, Mammadov said. SANAA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A delegation from Oman arrived in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Friday to convince the Houthi group to engage in a peace process with the Yemeni government. "The Omani delegation would meet with the top leaders of the (Houthi) group amid efforts to lift the blockade and end the war," the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported without providing further details. Yemen's warring sides agreed to implement from April 2 a UN-brokered cease-fire that was meant to last two months. The truce includes the halt of all ground, aerial and naval military offensive operations across Yemen and its borders. Oman, which borders both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, has been actively engaged in brokering the cease-fire. The UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg also hailed Oman's "crucial role in supporting the negotiations." Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of Sanaa. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation, according to the UN. LJUBLJANA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Early voting numbers in Slovenia's April 24 parliamentary election shattered records, the State Election Commission said on Friday. A total of 130,151 people, or 7.67 percent of all eligible voters, cast their ballots in the three-day early voting, the commission said on its website. Four years ago, turnout in early voting was only 3.1 percent. Early voting was possible between Tuesday and Thursday this week for people who cannot cast their ballot at a voting station on election day. Analysts said the high number of early voters suggested that voter turnout on election day would be significantly higher than the 52.64 percent registered in 2018. Polls suggest a tight race between Prime Minister Janez Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) and the Freedom Movement (FM), a new party headed by manager Robert Golob. Each of the two parties could win about 25 percent of the vote with several other parties passing the four percent threshold for parliamentary representation. The new government is likely to be a coalition that would have to hold majority in the country's 90-seat Parliament. Preliminary election results will be released late on Sunday. Photo taken on April 21, 2022 shows China donating books in Chinese to an Egyptian public library during an event marking the UN Chinese Language Day in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) In Egypt, the ways to learn Chinese have become increasingly diverse and considerate towards local youngsters who are willing to challenge themselves with the language famed for profoundness and splendid culture. As Chinese has become an official curriculum of Egyptian primary, preparatory and secondary schools, it would continue to serve as a bridge between China and Egypt that enhances their friendship. CAIRO, April 22 (Xinhua) -- In Egypt, the ways to learn Chinese have become increasingly diverse and considerate towards local youngsters who are willing to challenge themselves with the language famed for profoundness and splendid culture. During an event held in Cairo on Thursday marking the UN Chinese Language Day, which falls on April 20, Egyptian students expressed their ambition to master the language. Jawnaa Essam, a teenage student at Egyptian Chinese Friendship School, said that Chinese is a difficult language but at the same time, it's amazing and enjoyable to learn, "which is why I want to learn it and be fluent in it." "I like today's celebration, and it has motivated me to learn Chinese and have a China-related career like a translator and visit China in the future," the Egyptian student told Xinhua. The event was held in the Misr Public Library (MLP) overlooking the Nile River and decorated with Chinese red lanterns. It was co-organized by the China Cultural Center (CCC) in Cairo, the Chinese Bridge Club in Cairo, and Confucius Institute at Cairo University. Students from the Egyptian Chinese Friendship School and Confucius Institute at Cairo University put on the performance of Chinese songs and the Chinese martial arts. Shao Bin, CCC deputy director, handed over a gift of nearly 300 books to the library, hoping for a growing cultural exchange between China and Egypt. Photo taken on April 21, 2022 shows Egyptian learners of Chinese performing at an event marking the UN Chinese Language Day in Cairo, Egypt. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) The Chinese language is an important carrier of the deep and vast Chinese culture, Shao told the event, adding that the 20-year-old CCC in Cairo was one of the oldest large-scale overseas Chinese cultural centers. "Over the past 20 years, the CCC in Cairo held over 50 Chinese language courses, in addition to specialized training courses on tour guiding in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, and commerce in Chinese, with the participation of thousands of trainees and students," said the Chinese cultural official. Riad Taher Radwan, director of MPL, told Xinhua that the library, which prepares to expand branches from 21 to 24 nationwide, enjoys longstanding cooperation with CCC in holding activities and symposiums. "Egyptian public libraries and youth facilities seek to consolidate relations between Egypt and other countries and I see that our relations with China are going well," said the library director. For her part, Gianna Xu, head of the Chinese Bridge Club in Cairo, said the channels for learning Chinese have increased in Egypt, and Chinese is now an official curriculum of Egyptian primary, preparatory and secondary schools. "We would like the Chinese language to be a bridge between China and Egypt that enhances their friendship," Gianna told Xinhua. KIEV, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on Friday that Kiev will complete the talks on security guarantees with partner countries within a week, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. "Weapons supplies, closure of the sky, military consultations and means for the rapid purchase of additional weapons are important for us. I think that these issues can be completed within a week," Podolyak said. On April 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy and Turkey showed their willingness to join the creation of a system of security guarantees for Ukraine. The advisors to the leaders of Poland, Germany, France and Israel reportedly have expressed readiness to discuss a list of security guarantees for Ukraine, the report said. At the peace talks with Russia in Istanbul, Turkey last month, Kiev proposed to sign a new international treaty on security guarantees, which enshrines obligations for the guarantor countries to provide Ukraine with military assistance in the event of an attack. Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, attends a symposium on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecological conservation in Beijing, capital of China, April 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu on Friday urged the advancement of sound legislation work to protect the ecological environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks while attending a symposium on the matter. Noting that legislation work should be more targeted, feasible and workable, Li stressed the importance of efforts to prioritize ecological preservation and highlight ecological security and restoration. Legislation should be focused on enhancing the prevention and management of ecological risks, and strike a balance between ecological protection, industrial production and people's livelihoods in a scientific manner, Li said. He also underscored efforts to undertake solid research and consultation, and better integrate the legislation with other relevant laws. Aerial photo taken on April 22, 2022 shows Liaoning's first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway departing from Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) SHENYANG, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Northeast China's Liaoning Province launched its first international freight train that runs via the China-Laos Railway on Friday, according to the local railway authorities. At 10:18 a.m. Friday, Liaoning's first China-Laos international freight train departed from Shenyang, the capital city of the province, for Laotian capital Vientiane, loaded with 25 forty-foot containers of cargo including mechanical and electrical products, daily necessities and auto parts. According to Wang Xiaodong with China Railway Shenyang Group Co., Ltd., the operation of the international freight train service marked the beginning of the trade via railway between northeast China and ASEAN countries. The cross-border train was expected to arrive in Laos in 10 days, which is five to 10 days less than the transportation period of sea shipping, said Gao Zengli, chairman of Chengtong Industrial Investment Co., Ltd., one of the organizers of the service. In addition, the new transportation method can effectively prevent the loss of goods during transportation, and reduce the impact of the pandemic and other force majeure factors, Gao said. The China-Laos Railway, which kicked off operation on Dec. 3, 2021, stretches over 1,000 km, linking Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with the Laotian capital Vientiane. LIBREVILLE, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Gabonese government, via a statement issued Wednesday, strongly condemns the attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau. The Gabonese government "demands that the military return to their barracks and maintain a republican posture," reads the statement. The Guinea-Bissau government spokesperson Pamela Ferreira announced late Tuesday that some military members have tried to overthrow President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, and it is a failed attempted coup d'etat. President Embalo chaired the council of ministers at the government palace on Tuesday afternoon, when the putschist attacked them with heavy weapons, killing and injuring several members of the president's security. The motives of the military are still unknown. TEHRAN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the Saudi-led coalition's "destructive war" on Yemen has caused the country to face the biggest humanitarian catastrophe in the century. It said in a statement that as the coalition's war and blockade enter the eighth year, the direct and indirect consequences of the humanitarian catastrophe have seriously impacted the country's innocent civilians, including women and children. Yemen's infrastructure has been destructed and vital sectors such as health, economy, and education have been ruined, the ministry noted. It accused the coalition and its Western supporters of violating all international and human rights laws in Yemen by unleashing sales of weapons and adopting double-standard and biased approaches at the United Nations Security Council. The ministry reaffirmed the only way to solve the Yemeni crisis is through a political solution led by the Yemenis. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of the northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the following year to support the Yemeni government. MOGADISHU, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The special forces of the Somali National Army (SNA), Danab, killed seven al-Shabab militants and wounded others Sunday during a security operation at an area near Wisil town in Hobyo in Mudug region, central Somalia, a senior army official said. Odowa Yusuf Rage, the SNA chief, said the forces also arrested two wounded militants and recovered weapons and a vehicle during the operation. "Our forces recovered weapons, mainly four improvised explosive devices (IEDs), four AK 47 rifles and a vehicle during a special operation in Mudug region under Galmudug State in central Somalia," Rage said. He stressed that the operation targeted the terrorists in the area to reduce their threat in the region, adding that they will continue such operations against the militants until stabilization is restored. The operation came two weeks after Galmudug State concluded parliamentary elections in the region. Government forces have intensified operations against al-Shabab in the southern regions, but the militants are still in control of the rural areas of those regions, conducting ambushes and planting landmines. Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) specialist Agapatus Gurti installs a compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion kit in a vehicle at CNG workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua) DAR ES SALAAM, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Behind the facade of buildings housing the state-run Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) along Morogoro Road in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, a team of technicians are busy modifying vehicles from using gasoline to using compressed natural gas (CNG). DIT, one of the East African nation's high learning institutions dealing with training, consultancy and innovations in different areas, is boasting about the technology to modify vehicles from using gasoline to CNG as one of its latest innovations. Gerutu Bosinge, the CNG workshop manager at the DIT, said the technology is helping to save the environment from degradation and reduce the impacts of climate change because natural gas is clean energy. "Natural gas has little carbon dioxide compared to (other) fossil fuels. Using natural gas reduces a lot of carbon dioxide," Bosinge told Xinhua in an interview as he supervised technicians in the workshop who were modifying a car from using gasoline to CNG. He said fossil fuels are one of the major contributors to environmental degradation and countries around the world are finding ways to phase out the use of fossil fuels. "In the economic sense, CNG is cheaper than fuel. When you use natural gas you save about 50 percent of the costs," he said. Frederick Michael Sanga, a public servant working in Dar es Salaam, had his car modified from using gasoline to using CNG three years ago. "I have not regretted the decision I made. I am saving a lot of money that I could have used for buying fuel," Sanga told Xinhua by telephone. He said he used to spend about 60,000 Tanzanian shillings (about 26 U.S. dollars) for buying fuel in a week but now he spends less than 17,000 Tanzanian shillings a week for buying CNG, insisting that the amount paid for the modification process is cheaper compared to the benefits that one gets after one had the vehicle modified. "With the current rising prices of fuel I cannot imagine how I could have managed to drive my car," said Sanga, adding that using CNG also makes the car to be in good condition. According to Bosinge, DIT engaged in research work on the modification of vehicles from using fuel to CNG in 2008 until 2018 when they made a breakthrough. The modification work started in 2018 and until now DIT has converted more than 800 cars from using gasoline to using CNG and more people are making inquiries for converting their vehicles. Bosinge said the operation of the CNG workshop in the compound of the DIT is fully covered by the institution. "DIT is fully financing the running of the workshop," he said. The workshop has employed four full-time technicians who are assisted by the students, he said. "It takes one to two days to modify one vehicle. But if we have two technicians they can modify two to three cars a day," he said, noting that there are some vehicles that are more complicated when it comes to refitting them from using gasoline to natural gas. "Cars with gasoline direct injection are complicated because they need special kits. It is different from cars with gasoline indirect injection," said Bosinge. He said the cost of converting one vehicle depends on the size of the vehicle but the minimum price is 2 million Tanzanian shillings. As DIT is converting more vehicles that use gasoline into CNG, plans are afoot to convert vehicles that use diesel before the end of this year, said Bosinge, while appealing to authorities to reduce import duty for modification kits and gas cylinders to encourage more people to use the technology and lessen the use of fossil fuels which are detrimental to the environment. Apart from the DIT workshop, there are two small workshops that are being managed by former DIT students in Dar es Salaam for converting vehicles from fuel to CNG. "DIT is supporting them technically and encouraging others to do the business because this technology is being used all over the world," said Bosinge. There are two filling stations for CNG in Dar es Salaam, with one being located at Ubungo Maziwa and the other one near TAZARA station. The government plans to establish five more filling stations for CNG in Dar es Salaam, said Bosinge. This technology has not started to be applied in upcountry regions where natural gas is not supplied. With Tanzania's natural gas reserves estimated at 1.61 trillion cubic meters, Bosinge feels that the future is bright when it comes to promoting the use of clean energy in the wake of environmental destruction caused by fossil fuels. Sanga, the owner of the refitted car, said he is also contributing to saving the environment from further degradation because his car is no longer emitting gases that contribute to global warming. "I am appealing to my fellow citizens to modify their vehicles from using fuel to using CNG in order to protect Mother Nature," he said. Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) compressed natural gas (CNG) workshop manager Gerutu Bosinge checks the vehicle installed conversion kit at CNG workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua) Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) specialist Agapatus Gurti installs a compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion kit in a vehicle at CNG workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua) A specialist of Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) installs a compressed natural gas (CNG) equipment in a vehicle at CNG workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on April 12, 2022. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua) By Trend Shusha is hosting the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis, and we have been waiting for this day for 30 years, a Congress participant, Chairman of the Benelux Azerbaijanis Congress (BAC) Elsever Mammadov said in an interview with Trend in Shusha. According to him, the Victory Congress is a very significant historic event. "The entire world saw the Azerbaijani people uniting around their country and liberating their lands. Azerbaijan has once again shown the world that Shusha is Azerbaijan," Mammadov stressed. MOGADISHU, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A huge blast went off at a popular restaurant in the Somali capital, Mogadishu on Friday evening in the latest attack in the country. The state-owned national television said the blast targeted Mogadishu's Lido Beach restaurant which is near the national intelligence service headquarters. The casualties were yet to be known. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. LUSAKA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Zambia will launch the second round of COVID-19 vaccination campaign next month to cover more people, health minister Sylvia Masebo said on Friday. The second round will start in the second week of next month to reach those not yet vaccinated and to move closer to the target of vaccinating 70 percent of the eligible population, she said. "We will be providing an opportunity for those not yet vaccinated to get access by getting the vaccines closer to the community," Masebo told a press briefing on COVID-19. Only 21.3 percent of the eligible population have so far been fully vaccinated since the launch of the vaccination program in April 2021, she said. The pandemic is still a threat, as indicated by the emergence of new cases, the minister said, urging people to get vaccinated. She said the health ministry has initiated a program to digitalize COVID-19 certificates, and all those who have been vaccinated can access a self-service web portal to generate digital certificates with QR codes. ULAN BATOR, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring on Friday issued a warning of yellow dust storms and snowstorms. Strong winds and yellow dust storms are expected to hit the western part of the country during the upcoming weekend, the weather monitoring agency said. In addition, snowstorms are expected to sweep through the northern part of the country while dust storms will hit the southern part of the country starting from April 25, it said. The agency urged the public, especially drivers and nomadic herders, to take extra precautions against possible disasters. Mongolia has four seasons. Strong winds, dust and snowstorms are common in spring in the country. A total of 10 people, mostly nomadic herders, lost their lives due to heavy dust and snowstorms that swept through large parts of Mongolia in March 2021. TOKYO, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Japan began procedures toward auctioning off 4.8 million barrels of crude oil from three state reserve bases on Friday in a bid to stabilize the market amid skyrocketing prices. According to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, an auction will be held on May 10 for the almost 5 million barrels of crude oil, which is part of 9 million barrels of crude Tokyo has decided to release from its national reserves. The release from the national reserves will be the first since Japan introduced the scheme in 1978. The oil will be available to the winning bidder on June 20 or later, local media reported Friday. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged that Japan will release 15 million barrels of oil reserves. The move is in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA), which plans a joint release by its 31 members of 120 million barrels, to help stabilize markets. "We will swiftly advance the necessary procedures for the rest of the reserves for the release," Koichi Hagiuda, Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, told a press conference Friday. The ministry said last week 6 million barrels, one of the largest by Japan from both private and state reserves, will be released to the market over a six-month period through Oct. 8. Security officers arrive at the site of an attack in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, April 22, 2022. A junior-level paramilitary officer and two militants were killed Friday in an attack and the subsequent gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. The attack took place near a military cantonment at Sunjwan in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (Str/Xinhua) SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A junior-level paramilitary officer and two militants were killed Friday in an attack and the subsequent gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. The attack took place near a military cantonment at Sunjwan in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The police cordoned off the area on specific intelligence information about the presence of militants earlier. However, in a pre-dawn attack, militants attacked a bus carrying paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), killing an assistant sub-inspector and wounding two others. Following the attack, government forces targetted the area and engaged the militants in a gunfight. "So far two militants have been killed," a police officer said. "A CISF assistant sub-inspector was killed and two of his colleagues wounded. Besides this, two police personnel were also wounded fighting militants." The attack in Jammu comes two days ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city. Senior police official in Jammu Mukesh Singh said the slain militants were part of a suicide squad, and the police said they suspected the presence of a third militant in the area. "The operation is underway," Singh said. Meanwhile, four militants, including a commander, were killed in an ongoing gunfight in Baramulla district. Four troopers and a policeman were also wounded in the standoff. There has been a spurt in militant incidents in the region since last month. A guerilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Security officers arrive at the site of an attack in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, April 22, 2022. A junior-level paramilitary officer and two militants were killed Friday in an attack and the subsequent gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. The attack took place near a military cantonment at Sunjwan in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (Str/Xinhua) Security personnel carry the body of a militant killed in an attack in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, April 22, 2022. A junior-level paramilitary officer and two militants were killed Friday in an attack and the subsequent gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. The attack took place near a military cantonment at Sunjwan in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (Str/Xinhua) BANGKOK, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Thailand said on Friday that it will further ease entry rules for foreign visitors next month in its latest effort to revive the tourism sector and economy. Beginning May 1, fully-vaccinated visitors will no longer need to take mandatory COVID-19 tests on arrival, which would be replaced by self-antigen tests, Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), told a news briefing. Earlier this month, Thailand dropped the requirement for mandatory pre-arrival COVID-19 tests. Travellers having not been fully-vaccinated would be allowed for quarantine-free entry if they could present proof of a negative RT-PCR test no more than 72 hours before their trip, or they would be quarantined for five days, with one RT-PCR test on day four or five, Taweesin said. The country will also lower the minimum COVID-19 insurance coverage for all foreign arrivals to 10,000 U.S. dollars, down from the previous requirement of 20,000 U.S. dollars, he said. The adjustment came as the kingdom stepped up efforts to accelerate its economic recovery from the worst performance in more than two decades. During the April 1-20 period, 275,559 travelers entered Thailand, according to the CCSA data. That was compared with a total number of 427,869 foreign arrivals last year. The country's economy expanded 1.6 percent in 2021, rebounding from a 6.2-percent contraction in 2020. The Thai central bank expected the economy to grow 3.2 percent this year. On Friday, Thailand reported 21,808 new confirmed cases over the past 24 hours and 128 more fatalities, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to more than 4.12 million, and the death toll to 27,520, according to the CCSA. ISLAMABAD, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A Pakistani soldier was killed and another injured when terrorists attacked a security forces post in the country's southwest Balochistan province, an army statement said on Friday. The security forces successfully repulsed the attack, causing heavy losses to the terrorists, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement. "The escaping terrorists were pursued into the nearby mountains. At one of the blocking positions established to cut off fleeing terrorists, a heavy exchange of fire took place between terrorists and security forces," the statement said. It added that security forces, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts to sabotage peace, stability and progress of Balochistan. Relatives and friends wait to carry the coffin of a victim of a blast at a mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, April 23, 2022. At least 33 people were killed and 43 others wounded after a blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Friday, chief spokesman of the Taliban-led caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid said. (Photo by Aimal kakr/Xinhua) KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, April 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 33 people were killed and 43 others wounded after a blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Friday, chief spokesman of the Taliban-led caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid said. "We are saddened to learn that an explosion took place in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province this afternoon. As a result 33 villagers, including several children, were killed and 43 were wounded," the spokesman wrote on social media. He condemned the crime, saying the culprits behind the attack will be brought to justice. The explosion occurred roughly at 2:30 p.m. local time in Mullah Sikandar Mosque in Imam Sahib, a witness told Xinhua anonymously. The incident came shortly after Friday prayers when a group of worshippers were ritualizing Zikr, a special religious practice, to celebrate holy month of Ramadan. The nature of the blast that severely damaged the building was not immediately known. Besides, at least one person was wounded in the country's national capital Kabul in a roadside bomb blast which came hours after Kunduz explosion in Police District 7 of the city, according to a security source. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. On Thursday, 34 people were killed and over 100 wounded in multiple explosions, including a blast targeting a mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif city, capital of northern Balkh province. An injured man is treated at a local hospital after a blast at a mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, April 23, 2022. At least 33 people were killed and 43 others wounded after a blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Friday, chief spokesman of the Taliban-led caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid said. (Photo by Aimal kakr/Xinhua) Relatives and friends wait to carry the coffin of a victim of a blast at a mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, April 23, 2022. At least 33 people were killed and 43 others wounded after a blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Friday, chief spokesman of the Taliban-led caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid said. (Photo by Aimal kakr/Xinhua) Relatives and friends carry the coffin of a victim of a blast at a mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, April 23, 2022. At least 33 people were killed and 43 others wounded after a blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Friday, chief spokesman of the Taliban-led caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid said. (Photo by Aimal kakr/Xinhua) An injured child is treated at a local hospital after a blast at a mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, April 23, 2022. At least 33 people were killed and 43 others wounded after a blast rocked a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz on Friday, chief spokesman of the Taliban-led caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid said. (Photo by Aimal kakr/Xinhua) ROME, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Italy hopes to keep dialogue channels open with Russia amid the Ukraine crisis due to their relatively close ties, and has a key mediator role to play in Europe's relations with Moscow going forward, a leading political analyst has said. BRIDGE BETWEEN EUROPE, MOSCOW "In recent decades, Italy has acted as a bridge between Europe and Moscow," Eleonora Tafuro, a research fellow focusing on Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), told Xinhua in an interview. "There are several factors. You can name political or cultural ties or considerations of Italy's role as a middle power. But I think economic considerations have always played a big role in pushing Rome toward a mediator role with Russia, and it will continue to be so," Tafuro said. As relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told local media on April 13 that Italy "always has a channel open with Moscow" in the hopes of pushing for a political settlement. Tafuro noted the conflict in Ukraine has increased the challenges for Italy as a "bridge" between its European allies and Moscow. ENERGY DEPENDENCE While the 27-nation European Union (EU) is united in denouncing Russia for its military operation in Ukraine, the reliance some European countries have on Russian energy complicates the situation. "The EU and Russia have had a very difficult and complex relationship over the last few years," she said. "This includes close economic ties, almost an economic interdependence, especially in some fields such as energy. At the same time, it is a very tense political relationship." "What we're seeing today is not a new situation," Tafuro pointed out. "But it's made much worse by the conflict. In the near term, we are going to witness a weird mix ... because our energy dependence on Russia won't go away anytime soon." This situation is particularly problematic for Italy and Germany, the two main importers of Russian natural gas in Europe, she said. Italy's energy situation is "more vulnerable" than Germany's, even though Germany imports a greater percentage of its gas from Russia -- some 50 percent for Germany compared to 40 percent for Italy -- since Italy's overall energy mix is more reliant on gas than Germany's, she said. The situation in Italy may improve in the coming months, following a high-profile gas supply deal Italy signed with Algeria earlier in April. The deal will make Algeria Italy's single largest gas supplier, just ahead of Russia. But it will be impossible for Italy to eliminate its need for Russian gas in the near term, Tafuro said. Italy on Wednesday and Thursday struck new deals with Angola and the Republic of the Congo in a continued effort to ramp up gas imports. DELICATE BALANCE The complications for Rome, Tafuro said, go beyond natural gas supplies. Italy has the second-highest number of Ukrainian residents in the EU, trailing only Poland, something that is already leading to a rising flow of refugees, she said. There are over 91,000 Ukrainian refugees in Italy, according to media reports. Last week, Italian media quoted civil official to report that four regions of the Western European nation were under pressure. Still, Tafuro said the Ukraine crisis has enhanced the importance of Italy as a Russia-EU mediator. "Italy has to maintain this very fragile balance between being a committed European country that sustains and supports all the decisions that are taken collectively by the European Union member states," she said. "At the same time, it wants to maintain open channels of dialogue with Russia, because of its own economic and energy dependence on Moscow." "It is a delicate balance. I think it's an increasingly difficult task for Rome to perform, but it's a necessary one," she concluded. BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Addressing the Portuguese parliament via video link, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on Portugal to send "heavy weapons" and strengthen the sanctions on Russia. "I am grateful for the opportunity in this difficult time because you know how we are feeling, fighting for our independence, but also our survival," said Zelensky, referring to what Portugal experienced in history. - - - - Zelensky on Thursday discussed assistance for Ukraine with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. At a meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, the parties touched upon the issues of strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, supporting Ukraine's integration into the European Union and the post-conflict recovery, the Ukrainian presidential press service said. - - - - Ukraine and Russia on Thursday conducted their sixth prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Ten Ukrainian soldiers, including two officers, and nine civilians held by the Russian military were released as a result of the exchange, Vereshchuk said on Telegram. - - - - Russia has imposed personal sanctions on 29 U.S. citizens, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and 61 Canadian citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. A total of 29 U.S. citizens are included in Russia's "stop list" in response to the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the U.S. Joe Biden administration, the ministry said. - - - - The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday voted to extend the martial law in the country for another 30 days, until May 25, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. The presidential proposal on the prolongation of the martial law was supported by 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly, Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram. - - - - President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the United States will provide Ukraine with an additional package of security assistance worth 800 million U.S. dollars to help it defense against Russia's military operation. The announcement came as Russia said the military operation had entered the second phase, focusing on Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. In remarks delivered from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Biden said the package "includes heavy artillery, weapons, dozens of howitzers and 144,000 rounds of ammunition to go with those howitzers," as well as "more tactical drones," adding that his country will continue to share "significant timely intelligence" with Ukraine. - - - - Russia has ordered the closure of Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian consular missions in St. Petersburg in a tit-for-tat move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday. The ambassadors of Latvia and Estonia and the Lithuanian charge d'affaires were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry Thursday in protest over the closure of Russian consulates and expulsion of staff in these countries. By Trend Chairman of Azerbaijan Academic Association, Radiation Oncologist at International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna Kamal Akbarov expressed his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for organizing the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis during his interview with Trend on the sidelines of the Congress in Shusha. "Attending such an event is of great importance for every Azerbaijani living abroad. I have been living in Vienna and working at the UN for five years. Thus, the invitation to take part in the congress was very valuable for me," Akbarov said. According to him, today our compatriots have a task to bring the truth of Karabakh events to the world's eyes and ears. "Given the new realities, every Azerbaijani and representatives of the Azerbaijani diasporas across the world aim to support the results of Azerbaijan's victory achieved in the second Karabakh war in 2020. Such activities inspire us and create a feeling of unity irrespective of the country you live in," the chairman said. NEW DELHI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- India and Britain signed several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in the fields such as nuclear energy, education, wind energy, artificial intelligence (AI) on Friday, which is the last day of the two-day visit here of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Johnson's visit saw delegation-level talks and one-to-one discussions between the British prime minister and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. During their meeting, the two prime ministers reiterated the need to focus on sustained economic recovery. They expressed satisfaction at the progress made in implementation of the roadmap 2030 on bilateral ties launched at their virtual meeting in May last year. They also highlighted progress in negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) launched in January 2022 in the Indian capital New Delhi, agreeing to conclude majority of the talks on a comprehensive and balanced FTA by October this year. Modi welcomed Britain's commitment to 1 billion U.S. dollars in investment on climate related projects in India over the next five years, according to media reports. LISBON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Addressing the Portuguese parliament via video link, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on Portugal to send "heavy weapons" and strengthen the sanctions on Russia. "I am grateful for the opportunity in this difficult time because you know how we are feeling, fighting for our independence, but also our survival," said Zelensky, referring to what Portugal experienced in history. Zelensky's 15-minute speech received a standing ovation in the parliament attended by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Portuguese president said that the speech of his Ukrainian counterpart "showed gratitude" to Portugal and "a very strong desire to integrate the European family." WASHINGTON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Navy has begun an investigation after three sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington were recently found dead. The suspected suicide deaths occurred on April 9, 10, and 15, according to multiple U.S. media reports. The USS George Washington has been docked at Newport News Shipbuilding in the eastern state of Virginia for a major overhaul since August 2017. The process includes a replacement of the vessel's nuclear fuel and upgrades for future use. A Pentagon spokesperson told reporters earlier this week that the Navy was "investigating these deaths." "I don't believe that they are aware of any indications that they are related," the spokesperson said. "That's what they believe right now." A total of seven USS George Washington crew members have reportedly died in the past ten months, including the three recent deaths. Suicide rates among active duty service members in the U.S. military increased by 41.4 percent from 2015 to 2020, according to official data. Some 580 members of the U.S. military, including 384 active duty service members, died by suicide in 2020. Srinagar: DGP Dilbad Singh has termed the terrorist attack in Sujwan near Sujwan Military Station in Jammu as a conspiracy to spread chaos ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit. He said that it seems that this incident was carried out to disturb the system before the visit of PM Modi. Let us inform that this morning at 4.45 am, terrorists attacked the CISF bus, in which one soldier has been martyred, while 11 people have been injured. After this, immediate action was taken by the security forces and both the attacking terrorists were surrounded and killed. Security agencies have become alert after this attack before PM Modi's visit and a meeting has been called in the evening. Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said that PM Modi's program is on Sunday only in Pali of Samba district, located just 20 km from the place where this terrorist attack took place. However, the police officer expressed satisfaction that the security forces responded with promptness to the attack of the terrorists and killed them. Dilbagh Singh said that it seems that these two terrorists were fidayeen attackers. "As per our reports, both the terrorists belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed and were residents of Pakistan," he said. The DGP further said that it seems that these terrorists were trained to attack the security forces and their bases. He had tied explosives on his body. This suggests that his plan was to blow himself up to damage the security forces and their bases. He told that it was a conspiracy to create unrest in Jammu before PM Modi's visit. Children are more at risk of this wave of Corona, keep these things in mind Happiness turned into mourning! Uncontrollable Bolero climbed on the guests gathered in the wedding, many people were bleeding The cheapest liquor is being available here, the publicity was being done through loudspeakers, only then the police reached and..." Bhopal: MP's IAS officer Niyaz Khan has urged Muslims this time to come forward to end the transition of terrorism. Khan said that if terrorism is anti-Islamic, then this infection should be eliminated. Niaz Khan tweeted this in the wake of the killing of people in the Mazar-e-sharif mosque incident in Afghanistan and urged Muslims to come forward. Taking to social media, IAS officer Niyaz Khan said that terrorism is anti-Islam. Extremism is a blot on Islam. Therefore, it is the duty of the world's 2 billion Muslims to do everything possible to kill the terrorists. Khan tweeted tagging a news item that reported the killing of 17 persons and serious injuries to 66 people in the Mazar-e-Sharib mosque accident in Afghanistan. Khan, an IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has also demanded that a film be made on the incident of killings of Muslims after the release of The Kashmir Files. He had also demanded the director of The Kashmir film Vivek Agnihotri to spend the proceeds of the film on Kashmiri Pandits and their children. He had also criticised film actor Aamir Khan and praised Sonu Sood for helping the needy. UP railway board issued notice to displace Maa Chamunda temple, which even British could not remove Adani acquires Ocean Sparkle, India's largest marine services company NSE IFSC launches international sustainability platform at GIFT City Karan Johar is a great director and with his work, he has won everyone's heart. You all know that Karan Johar has given the industry from romantic films like 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,' to successful films like 'Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham' and 'My Name is Khan.' However, recently he has made a shocking revelation. In fact, in a conversation with a famous website, the filmmaker has shared an anecdote related to the shooting of the song 'Suraj Hua Maddham' from 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' in Egypt, which embarrassed him. In fact, Karan Johar said that when he was shooting for 'Suraj Hua Maddham' in Egypt, he started having loose motions during this time. Karan Johar said, "We were shooting for Suraj Hua Muddham in Egypt. There was a location where there was only sand and large white stone limestone structures for 100-100 kilometres. Only limestone structures up to 500 kilometres away.'' He further said, "I had a bad stomach in the morning. I began to have loose motions. There was no trace of washrooms nearby. No tents. I thought what to do now? Then I went after a large stone. I figured, I'd hide completely behind it, no one would see me. I couldn't stop. So I went after the big stone. In the meantime, I heard a slight voice and looked back.'' At the same time, he said, "There was a Hollywood crew who came to find the location for the shooting at the same place. About 20 people from other countries saw me there.'' They were about to take off the cameras, when I turned around and said, "Please wait, I am a film director." Respect me a little bit. They replied to me and said, "Okay, do your job. After that, they turned politely.'' He has neither seen Shah Rukh nor Kajol. Everything was hidden behind the limestone. He just saw me and my position. I don't think I've been able to come out of that incident to this day. Well, this is not the first time that Karan Johar has mentioned this story. In fact, earlier in 'Hunarbaaz: Desh Ki Shaan', Karan Johar also talked about this incident. Karan Johar remembered the incident when Parineeti Chopra sang the song 'Suraj Hua Maddham' on the show. Alia wore old and cheap sandals in her wedding For this special reason, Priyanka named her daughter Malti Marie Shehnaaz's selfie with famous fashion designer goes viral KABUL: Border confrontations and unprecedented Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan have reportedly heightened already simmering tensions with the Taliban rule in the war-torn country. According to residents quoted by RFE/RL, Pakistan started air raids over eastern Afghanistan on April 16, killing hundreds of civilians. Islamabad claimed it was pursuing terrorists from the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The airstrikes sparked unusually vehement retaliation, with the Taliban voicing threats against a long-time ally. Experts say the Taliban's refusal to crack down on the TTP, a close ideological and organisational ally, is at the foundation of the rising tensions. In recent years, the terrorist organisation has increased its insurgency against Islamabad from its bases in Afghanistan. Peace discussions between Islamabad and the TTP, often known as the Pakistani Taliban, have been mediated by the Afghan Taliban. The militants have resumed cross-border operations against Pakistani security forces since a temporary month-long ceasefire ended and peace talks collapsed in December. "Pakistan is enraged that the Taliban are following in its footsteps by supporting a militant group opposed to a neighbouring country," Sami Yousafzai, an Afghan journalist and pundit who has followed the Taliban since its inception in the 1990s, said. Muslim fundamentalists attack Sikh leader's family in Nankana Sahib, condition of two sons critical Taliban Govt denies presence of TTP militants in Afghanistan Change in Islamabad govt, an opportunity for normalising India-Pak relations KIEV, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to discuss assistance for Ukraine. The parties discussed improving Ukraine's defence capabilities, helping Ukraine's integration into the European Union (EU), and post-conflict recovery at a meeting in Kiev on Thursday, according to the Ukrainian presidential press office. Following the meetings, Zelensky stated that Ukraine is relying on the military and financial assistance of Spain and Denmark in its battle with Russia. "Today, our visitors learned about Ukraine's needs. We are expecting swift assistance from them "he stated For his part, Sanchez said Spain had contributed USD 130 million to the European Peace Fund and had provided USD 33.6 million in humanitarian help to Ukraine. In addition, Spain has provided 200 tonnes of ammunition and other supplies to Ukraine, according to Sanchez. Spain will completely support Ukraine on its path to EU membership, he stressed. Meanwhile, since the war with Russia began, Denmark has provided major political, financial, and sanctions help to Ukraine, according to Frederiksen. "The EU and its worldwide partners have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, and we will do even more together," she said. Frederiksen also stated that Denmark is prepared to assist in the post-conflict recovery of Mykolaiv, Ukraine's southern metropolis. Russian Defence Ministry claims Ukraine's Mariupol city captured World faces human catastrophe due to Russia-Ukraine war: World Bank Prez European Union preparing 6th package of sanctions against Russia: Zelensky While infrastructural development was a focus of the world after the industrial revolution, environment preservation and promotion have taken the centre stage for the last two decades. With the concerns of climate change, many national and international efforts have been made for the conservation of biodiversity, water resources and the overall environment. But, environmental conservation requires money as suggested by the theme of Earth Day, 2022. While Nepal is focusing on development projects a lot lately, the more pressing issue seems to be environmental conservation, which is often sidelined. But does conservation, though necessary, have enough budget to go on in Nepal? Stakeholders say neither the government nor the private sector has generated enough investments, and it is everyones duty to correct the problem. Insufficient investment Photo: Pxfuel If you analyse the governments allocation to the environmental conservation sector over the year, the Nepal governments investment appears to be on the rise. This fiscal year, Rs 11.72 billion has been allocated for projects under 25 subtopics, informs Prakash Thapa, the information officer for the Ministry of Forests and Environment. But, like in other sectors, the budget spending rate is quite low in environmental conservation also, with only 42 per cent spent in the first nine months. While the budget seems to be increasing, stakeholders complain the federal government has not prioritised environmental conservation. It is a problem not just nationally but internationally even though the issues of the environment along with Sustainable Development Goals 2030 commitments have been highlighted a lot. And the budget is decreasing too, says Prabhu Budhathoki, a former National Planning Commission member. Forest and environment expert Budhathoki adds, According to the NPCs analysis report of the SDG and Nepals commitment, it was concluded that Nepal needed Rs 18 billion more annually to be able to achieve the goals. Similarly, about Rs 2 to 3 billion more is needed for Nepal to work on two SDG goals related to environmental conservation. Investment and intervention from I/NGOs are also limited, he says. Water conservation activist Prakash Amatya also agrees. There is insufficient understanding of environmental conservation and protection among the government instruments. There is a huge investment in the Melamchi drinking water project and building the tunnel for inter-basin transfer of the water resources from one valley to another, but theres no concrete plan to conserve the natural water environment in Kathmandu Valley. We havent been able to work on minimising impacts of air pollution, waste management, land use and plastics use, says Amatya, stressing it is time for action. Deviated priorities Sketch for representation only The investment in environmental conservation in Nepal is insufficient because policymakers have not realised the significance of the sector in the national GDP, says Ananta Rama Bhandari, the head of the Forest Programme at the World Wildlife Fund Nepal. The valuation of forests is being limited to timber and fuel [firewood], but according to a study, we gain two-thirds of the benefits from the forest, indirectly. We are yet to make the policymakers realise the prospects of environmental conservation. Budhathoki remembers that in the fiscal year 2016/17, the government had allocated Rs 22 billion for the forest and environment sectors. When the budget has decreased to half now, it does indicate that the priorities have changed. Behind the lack of or a fall in investment in environmental conservation, stakeholders primarily hold the government responsible. In addition, it may also be because of the recent pandemic that redirected the money from different sectors to facilitate and invest in the health sector, says Bhandari. International budget and aid that Nepal gets also got redirected for the same. The pandemic and its effects may have downsized the offices and many have been shut down, causing the budget to slash more, adds Bhandari. Role of the stakeholders Photo: Pxfuel However, many people believe this can be looked at as some good news. According to them, the amount allocated by the federal government appears low as some local governments have taken over the role of environmental conservation in their jurisdiction. Hence, if the budget has to be increased, people from the local level shall take the lead, stakeholders suggest. The Ministry of Finance allocates the budget based on the proposals submitted by the departments and ministries, asking for a budget they need. A ceiling for the budget is fixed in around May, Budhathoki says, suggesting people need to be active throughout the process to secure sufficient investments in the environmental conservation sector. He says if the respective departments need the budget, they have to work for it. The decision will also come down to the kind of leadership the department gets and their convincing capabilities. We have to lobby and make the policymakers understand that if we do not make preservation efforts today, development and living will eventually be costlier tomorrow. Once we show that there is a direct and active impact on peoples lives, we can bring about the change with increased public pressure for the governments proactiveness to work on the matter. We have to ensure that focus is on preservation and maintenance as well as green enterprises and eco-tourism, he adds. Meanwhile, pointing to the low expenditure figures Thapa mentioned, Budhathoki says, If we are only spending half or so of the allocated budget in a fiscal year, it shows that we are incapable of using the resources we have. So we cannot expect the budget to increase if the trend continues. Actually, we can still expect more decreases in the budget. Further, WWFs Bhandari says, We have to start utilising and maximising creative management of the resources we have. We need to start properly zoning the areas of work and focus on conservation. Meanwhile, Budhathoki says, at the individual level, one can reduce carbon footprint and use of fossil fuels. We have to actively make efforts in favour of the environment and wildlife if we want to ensure their longevity. Apart from that, Budhathoki concludes, Depleting natural resources in Nepal is a global concern. And, being a global concern means global responsibilities. So, we have to call out to the international agencies to help us in protecting our resources. 3t Energy Group (3t) and EnerMech promoted Paul Attrill to serve as vice president of sales for the 3t EnerMech joint venture (JV). In the new strategic position, Attrill will help to drive the growth of 3t EnerMech and support its global client base through an industry-recognized blended approach of traditional in-person training and digitalized workforce management solutions. Paul Attrill It is an exciting move for both Paul and 3t EnerMechPaul has extensive experience with the Group, its businesses and global operations, Kevin Franklin, CEO of 3t Energy Group, commented in a company release. 3t EnerMech is a strategic alliance combining expert instruction, best in-class facilities and market-leading knowledge from 3t Energy Group and EnerMech to create sustainable training management solutions. With a focus on world-leading training and competency solutions encompassing a blend of traditional training, digital learning technologies and training compliance management platforms, the JV supports its global clients by enhancing and developing its clients people for a safer and more efficient workforce. With our ongoing focus on domestic and international growth to deliver solutions for a safer and more productive workforce, as a group we also have a committed team to deliver our environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibilities, Franklin continued. We are fully invested in building a strong and committed organisation to aid our growth strategy by transforming training with technology and help solve our clients training challenges, particularly within new emerging markets. Based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Attrill has been instrumental in the growth of 3ts global operations and for the past 11 years he has led expansion in key regions including China and the Middle East. Being part of 3t Energy Groups continued growth over the past decade has allowed me to see the incredible value our training solutions bring to our client-base, specifically through the energy transition and supporting our customers to become safer and more agile, Attrill said in the release. Story continues Launched in 2021, 3t EnerMech has already secured a significant contract with the Guyanese Government to develop and deliver key skills programmes for Guyanese nationals. Together with a pioneering venture with Orinduik Development Inc. a new training center is being constructed which will deliver Guyanas first in-country, state-of-the-art training facility for the local workforce, according to the company release. With continued success in also Qatar and Guyana, Attrill and the combined global EnerMech and 3t team will lead the growth strategy to shape the future training requirements for the 3t EnerMech client base. Im excited to be working with new colleagues from EnerMech and the next phase of our global growth strategy to shape the future of training for the range of sectors we operate in, Attrill added. 3t Energy Group is a leader in oil and gas and wind energy training underpinning its commitment and expertise in the energy transition process. The company, which counts the likes of BP, Shell, Total, Wood, Saudi Aramco, Transocean, Valaris, Vantage Drilling, Bilfinger, Schlumberger and Robert Gordon University amongst its clients, is the number one provider of training to the U.K. energy sector and U.K. offshore wind market, according to the release. EnerMech is a specialist service company delivering integrated solutions for complex energy and infrastructure projects. The company delivers value to its customers by combining experts, equipment, IP and technology across the entire asset lifecycle. By Trend Georgia is in negotiations with German Vensys Energy AG on wind power plants production start, Mamuka Mikashavidze, President of Georgian Wind Energy Association, said, Trend reports via Georgian media. Currently the talks with Vensys Energy AG, German gearless wind turbine manufacturer owned by Chinese Goldwind, concern the purchase of a necessary technology license needed for production. "We aim to introduce the Permanent Magnet Direct Drive, which is latest invention in wind energy. This technology differs with electricity, which is generated by magnets. Also, it does not have an extra gearbox and does not require oil change, which is more environmentally friendly, and, at the same time, generates 12-15 percent more electricity," Mikashavidze said. Meanwhile, the corresponding memorandum on the start of the industrial production of wind power plants in Georgia has been signed by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Ioseb Loladze, DELTA State Military Scientific-Technical Center, and Georgian Wind Energy Association in late March 2022. (Bloomberg) -- Bain Capital is considering a deal for European technology services provider Solutions 30 SE, according to people familiar with the matter. Most Read from Bloomberg The buyout firm has been speaking with advisers about the potential investment, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Shares of Solutions 30 jumped as much as 15% in Paris trading Friday, the biggest intraday gain in nearly two months, before falling back. They were up 2.3% at 9:57 a.m. in France, giving the company a market value of about 725 million euros ($784 million). Deliberations are ongoing, and theres no certainty Bain will decide to proceed with a formal offer, the people said. Representatives for Bain and Solutions 30 declined to comment. Solutions 30 has 15,700 engineers serving customers in industries including telecommunications, security, energy and retail, according to its website. Founded in 2003, it operates in about 10 countries across Europe. The company has previously been targeted by short sellers including Muddy Waters Capital LLC. In December 2020, Solutions 30 said it hired an external auditor to look into allegations made in an anonymous report. The review eventually cleared Solutions 30 of wrongdoing, but the companys shares have remained under pressure. In May last year, the company said EY couldnt sign off on its latest full-year accounts. It has since hired PKF as its new auditor. Following this turmoil, Solutions 30 said it was considering options including finding an anchor investor or delisting. The company announced in July it hired Rothschild to advise on the strategy for strengthening its shareholder structure. Story continues The managers have always indicated that a transaction could go as far as a delisting if the valuation retained by the buyer(s) offered a significant premium, Oddo BHF analyst Emmanuel Matot wrote in a note. A sell-off in technology and software stocks globally is prompting financial investors to target publicly-listed companies in the sector amid more attractive valuations. A consortium including Accel-KKR offered to buy Finnish software company Basware Oyj earlier this month. Buyout firm Cinven said this week it was considering a potential bid for U.K.-listed software provider Ideagen Plc. (Updates with analyst quote in penultimate paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- Its been a painful week for traders of Chinas stocks, bonds and currency as growing fears about the fallout from the nations Covid Zero strategy send markets tumbling. Most Read from Bloomberg The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of big mainland companies listed in Hong Kong is among the worst-performing stock benchmarks globally this week. The offshore yuan extended declines, hitting the weakest level in a year. High-yield dollar bonds are headed for the longest stretch of weekly losses since March. Sentiment toward Chinese assets has soured as Covid lockdowns slow economic growth and policy stimulus falls short of investors expectations. Domestic equities have lost about $2.7 trillion of market value this year, prompting the authorities to step up efforts to halt the decline. For a turnaround in sentiment, we need to see something sincere from policy makers, either a lot of extra liquidity, a major shift in the Shanghai situation, or a massive surprise that will breathe some new hope into the market, said Wang Yugang, a fund manager at Beijing Axe Asset Management Co. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index shed 5.6% this week, the biggest drop in more than a month. Other assets are also under pressure, with the onshore yuan on track for its biggest weekly loss since August 2019. Options traders are pricing in a further weakness for the currency after it breached a key technical support level on Wednesday for the first time since September. Read more: Chinas Oil Demand Is Tumbling the Most Since Wuhan Lockdown The PBOC is looking to provide further support for the economy, and seems intent on pulling as many levers as possible, perhaps with the exception of lowering interest rates for now, said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. Allowing the yuan to weaken slightly this week seems to be part of the overall support package. Story continues Meanwhile, junk dollar bonds are down for a second straight week in the worst such stretch since mid-March. That pares an initial bounce that the securities got from Beijings promises of support, as investor patience for more details wears thin. In a sign of broader concerns, higher-rated developers such as Country Garden Holdings Co. posted some of this weeks largest declines. Any renewed rally ahead may only be sustained if concrete and significant policy steps were taken rapidly, according to Jean-Louis Nakamura, the chief investment officer for the Asia Pacific region at Lombard Odier. Seeking Support The authorities are taking action to stem the declines. At a Thursday meeting with investors, the securities regulator called on the countrys giant social security fund, banks and insurers to boost their equity investments. This was followed by a series of articles in state media projecting confidence in the economy and markets. The concerted efforts underscore growing pressure on authorities to boost confidence before a closely watched leadership confab thats expected to confirm a precedent-breaking third term for Chinese President Xi Jinping. This isnt the first time the government has urged institutional investors to increase positions. A similar call was issued less than two weeks ago following a request made in October 2019. READ: When Stocks Crash, China Turns to Its National Team: QuickTake With no end to tight Covid restrictions in sight, overseas investors offloaded 45 billion yuan ($7 billion) of stocks in March, the largest outflow in nearly two years, while global funds slashed their holdings of Chinese bonds by the most on record that month. The authorities have shown little alarm about the withdrawals, with Fang Xinghai, the vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, saying Thursday that capital outflows will always return. Obviously, Beijing wants to stem the bearish sentiment about both the economy and the stock market, said Castor Pang, head of research at Core Pacific Yamaichi. But the economy is like a giant ship, and it takes time for it to turn around. Even if Beijing wants to talk up the market, its hard to change how investors are thinking. Pension Boost Separately, China also published guidelines on the development of individual pensions on Thursday, which CICC analysts estimate to be valued at a total of 1 trillion yuan in the long term. This may help fuel additional inflows into domestic equities. Meanwhile, the authorities are trying to resolve a dispute involving the audit of Chinese firms listed in the U.S., an issue which has weighed on sentiment. The securities regulator is holding talks with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board every two weeks, and is confident about reaching an audit deal, the regulatory commissions Fang said Thursday. The Hang Seng Tech Index closed up 0.3% after sliding as much as 3.6% earlier. The mainland benchmark CSI 300 index finished the session up 0.4%, reversing a loss of as much as 1.1%. The gauge slumped 4.2% this week to record its worst five-day performance since mid-March. Still, the rout may be just whats needed to draw investors back in. Funds have been on the sidelines as they await the market to form a double bottom, a sign that it may be safe to build back positions. (Updates second paragraph with yuan prices.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2022 / Elapath Energy (EE) has signed a contract with Kuwait Petroleum Services Company to drill five new oil wells in the Nasiriyah oil field for $30m. Elapath Energy, Friday, April 22, 2022, Press release picture Elapath Energy to drill five new oil wells in Southern Iraq! Elapath Energy (EE) has signed a contract with the Kuwait Petroleum services Company to drill five new oil wells in the Nasiriyah oil field in Southern Iraq for a fee of $30m over three months. The Middle Eastern company authorized the deal. As part of the deal, Elapath Energy will develop the five new oil wells by building two new towers to increase both oil production and oil storage. The creation of the five new wells will expand the Nasiriyah oilfields production by 40,000 barrels of crude oil, alongside investing in 20 million standard cubic feet of gas used as fuel for power plants in Iraq and transported to European countries. Besides increasing oil and gas production, the expansion of the oil field will also boost work opportunities. Elapath Energy Elapath Energy, Friday, April 22, 2022, Press release picture Elapath Energy is an upstream and downstream contractor with global experience. The company provides advanced energy services throughout the Middle East to South Asia with over 100 employees. Its path means "God's road", reflecting its commitment to providing top-notch service for all clients-regardless of where they are located. The company was established in 1990 in UAE, before later moving to the USA. It drilled several new oil wells in 2018 and 2019. Also, on 28 December 2021, it drilled a well at Al Magwa in Kuwait City, which is described as one of the most critical fields in Kuwait. It has continued to drill for new wells in 2021, completing a new oil well with a depth of 3,526m at Burgan field in Kuwait. Elapath Energy's story is one of success and longevity. With roots in the Middle East as far back as MOISS, an oil company that served as just another startup. Everything changed, however, during its inception in UAE's early days, when few companies claimed their title for the supplier without a doubt being established yet; Elapath Energy has been able to survive and thrive by becoming more than what people expect from such a business. Furthermore, the company does so proudly. Story continues Elapath Energy's decades of experience and innovation in the energy sector have made it a leading company for global construction projects. The most recent contract will see five new oil wells drilled in the Nasiriyah oil field in Southern Iraq for $30m over three months - enough to provide smooth supply lines throughout Kuwait. Leading Company for Oil & Gas Services Elapath Energy is one of the first established oil and gas service providers in UAE, thanks to its high standards maintained across all areas, improving customer confidence. Moreover, the company has a strategic market position with quality services and satisfied clientele. This reputation resulted in them moving to the USA, where their main branch resides; the company is now spreading their work globally through various regions within America and other parts of the earth! With over 100 employees and offices across six continents, Elapath Energy is an industry leader in upstream oil & gas operations. The company has experience working on every continent except Antarctica! The company's expertise includes anything from large-scale projects, including pipeline construction or offshore drilling, to smaller tasks, such as gathering intelligence for security forces during counterinsurgency operations. They all share a sense of urgency about delivering top-quality service at any time, whatever obstacles may be encountered. To keep up its quality standards, Elapath Energy has set out to establish reliable strategic partnerships in the world market through agreements with leading industry tycoons. It is an active service provider that skillfully generates relationships by providing high-quality products. At the same time, the company is dedicated to optimum customer satisfaction through strict QHSE integrated management system practices based on international best practices guidelines. Media Details Elapath Energy Info@elapathenergy.com New York, United States www.Elapathenergy.com SOURCE: Elapath Energy View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/698456/Elapath-Energy-Signs-Drilling-Contract-to-Drill-Nasiriyah-Oil-Field (REUTERS) The former president of Honduras will appear in US District Court in New York on 22 April after he was extradited to the US as part of a sweeping indictment on drug and weapons charges. Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York allege that Juan Orlando Hernandez participated in a corrupt and violent drug-trafficking conspiracy to facilitate the importation of hundreds of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States, according to the US Department of Justice. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Mr Hernandez abused his position to operate Honduras as a narco state for which he received millions of dollars from drug trafficking organisations including Joaquin El Chapo Guzman to allow criminal groups to operate with virtual impunity in the country. Mr Hernandez allegedly received a $1m bribe from El Chapo to protect the Sinaloa Cartels operations through Honduras. Because of these alleged crimes, communities in the United States suffered, and the people of Honduras suffered, Mr Garland said on 21 April. Mr Hernandez is expected to plead not guilty, and he has repeatedly denied allegations against him. In a video message on Thursday, he claimed he has been unjustly subjected to prosecution and exploited by drug traffickers. This is revenge from the cartels, its an orchestrated plot so that no government will confront them again, he said in a letter that was published last month. Part of that conspiracy has been a campaign of hate and misinformation. But its evident, the contradictions of criminals, trial after trial, they lie and contradict themselves. Mr Hernandez entered office in January 2014 and remained in the role until January 2022, when Xiomara Castro was sworn in as his replacement. A warrant for the arrest of Mr Hernandez was issued within hours after he left office. In February, Mr Hernandez was placed in handcuffs at his home in Tegucigalpa. The countrys Supreme Court rejected his appeal of a judges decision to allow his extradition to the US. Story continues An unsealed indictment alleges that beginning in 2013 or 2014, Mr Hernandez partnered with cartel leaders and other violent and large-scale traffickers and received bribes to ensure their operations in Honduras and his political power in the country, including elections in 2013 and 2017. Prosecutors allege Mr Hernandez protected traffickers from investigation and arrest, aided traffickers evasion from military and law enforcement, directed the military to protect drug shipments, and sanctioned brutal violence. A case against him has been building for months he was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in his brothers trial as well as the case against former national police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla, nicknamed El Tigre. The nations former top law enforcement was arrested on 9 May and is expected to be extradited to the US. TORONTO, April 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Canada today announced that it will terminate two ETFs, Franklin Martin Currie Sustainable Global Equity Active ETF (FGSG) and Franklin Martin Currie Sustainable Emerging Markets Active ETF (FSEM), on or around June 29, 2022. Franklin Templeton Logo (CNW Group/Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.) Investors in Canada will still be able to access these sustainable strategies from Martin Currie in a mutual fund format through Franklin Martin Currie Sustainable Global Equity Fund and Franklin Martin Currie Sustainable Emerging Markets Fund. Franklin Templeton Canada regularly reviews its investment offerings to ensure that its ETF and fund line-up remains competitive and positioned to meet the evolving needs of investors and advisors. As FGSG and FSEM have not achieved scale and have not qualified as mutual fund trusts under the Income Tax Act (Canada), the company has made the decision to terminate these two ETFs. Investors who currently hold units of these ETFs outside a registered plan should speak with a tax advisor regarding the potential tax implications associated with the ETFs not qualifying as mutual fund trusts. Effective today, April 22, 2022, no further direct subscriptions for units of FGSG or FSEM will be accepted. Units of these ETFs will continue to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) until delisting occurs at the close of business on or around June 24, 2022. On or around June 29, 2022, Franklin Templeton Canada will sell and convert the ETFs' portfolios to cash, and the remaining assetsafter paying or providing for the ETFs' liabilities and obligationswill be distributed to the ETFs' unitholders on a pro rata basis. Unitholders who do not sell or redeem their units before the close of business on June 24, 2022, will receive cash representing their proportionate share of the ETFs' assets on or around June 30, 2022. Investors are encouraged to speak to their financial advisor about their investment options. Franklin Templeton's client service team is also available to answer questions between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST at 1-800-387-0830 or service@franklintempleton.ca. Story continues About Franklin Templeton Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 155 countries. In Canada, the company's subsidiary is Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., which operates as Franklin Templeton Canada. Franklin Templeton's mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers boutique specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has 75 years of investment experience and approximately US$1.5 trillion (approximately CAN$1.9 trillion) in assets under management as of March 31, 2022. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca and connect with Franklin Templeton on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and read the Beyond Bulls & Bears blog. Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in ETFs. Investors should carefully consider an ETF's investment objectives and strategies, risks, fees and expenses before investing. The prospectus and ETF facts contain this and other information. Please read the prospectus and ETF facts carefully before investing. ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at prices above or below the ETF's net asset value. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns. ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Copyright 2022. Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved. SOURCE Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2022/22/c9597.html SEOUL, South Korea, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Workspace environment solutions company Fursys is speeding up its expansion of its overseas business with Fursys Global Solution (FGS) to support organizations going global. Examples of Fursys Global Solution implementations FGS is a total furniture solution that offers extensive services worldwide, ranging from furniture to workspace consulting services, for domestic firms and public organizations to make inroads into overseas markets through the utilization of Fursys' exclusive global network. Building on its extensive know-how in the furniture export business, Fursys has been delivering office furniture solutions to corporate clients in over 60 countries around the world. The FGS service was designed and launched to address issues related to quality, logistics, and aftersales services that the overseas operations of domestic companies might face when procuring furniture from Korea or locally. It is a professional service provided by the Fursys headquarters for the management of an entire range of activities, from consulting, production, and export to installation and after sales services, to help companies setup overseas offices seamlessly and stably at the same level as in Korea. Fursys has supported the overseas market expansion of leading companies in Korea, including Samsung, SK, and Hyundai Motor Group, as a reliable business partner for several years. Now, it plans to offer the FGS service in global regions, including Southeast Asia (the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia), Europe and Latin America, where the Fursys network is present. In addition, the company intends to accelerate overseas market expansion by delivering comprehensive office solutions through its global network, becoming a seller on global online e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Alibaba, and Shopee, and establishing a presence in major markets, including the U.S. and Taiwan, starting with Fursys Vietnam. A Fursys official said, "With Fursys' unique global solutions backed by an unparalleled global network, strong local infrastructure and excellent product quality, numerous companies in Korea will be able to penetrate the global market and create an optimal working environment seamlessly." Story continues About FURSYS Fursys is a leading office furniture brand in Korea that has maintained its number one position in the industry. Based on innovations achieved by placing the highest priority on space and humans over furniture, future-oriented corporate value, and management philosophy, the company creates workspaces for major organizations in Korea, contributing to social and economic growth. By quickly responding to changing workspace environments and diversifying consumer needs for economy, functionality, design, and practicability, Fursys is strengthening its position as a leader in the office furniture industry in Korea. Further information can be found at its official website (http://www.fursys.com), blog (http://blog.fursys.com), or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/fursys.official). For detailed information about the FGS service, please visit "Services - Overseas Business Program" page on the official Fursys website. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fursys-speeds-up-its-global-operations-with-office-solutions-that-help-companies-go-abroad-301530795.html SOURCE FURSYS DUBLIN, April 22, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Global Digital Lending Platform Market (2022-2027) by Offerings, Point of Service, Deployment Mode, Geography, Competitive Analysis and the Impact of Covid-19 with Ansoff Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Digital Lending Platform Market is estimated to be USD 16.23 Bn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 55.53 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 27.89%. Market dynamics are forces that impact the prices and behaviors of the Global Digital Lending Platform Market stakeholders. These forces create pricing signals which result from the changes in the supply and demand curves for a given product or service. Forces of Market Dynamics may be related to macro-economic and micro-economic factors. There are dynamic market forces other than price, demand, and supply. Human emotions can also drive decisions, influence the market, and create price signals. As the market dynamics impact the supply and demand curves, decision-makers aim to determine the best way to use various financial tools to stem various strategies for speeding the growth and reducing the risks. Countries Studied America (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, United States, Rest of - Americas) Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Rest of - Europe) Middle-East and Africa (Egypt, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Rest of MEA. Asia-Pacific (Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Taiwan, Rest of Asia-Pacific) Competitive Quadrant The report includes Competitive Quadrant, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their Industry Position score and Market Performance score. The tool uses various factors for categorizing the players into four categories. Some of these factors considered for analysis are financial performance over the last 3 years, growth strategies, innovation score, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, etc. Story continues Why buy this report? The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Digital Lending Platform Market. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies. The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry. The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model and the Ansoff Matrix. In addition, the impact of Covid-19 on the market is also featured in the report. The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies. The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's competitive positioning tool. Market Dynamics Drivers Increasing Demand for Automation in The Money Lending Process Rise in Government Initiatives Toward Adoption of Digital Lending Platform The Surge in Multichannel Collection Service Rise in The Need to Reduce Bad Debt and Maintaining an Accurate Borrower Profile Restraints Higher Dependance on Traditional Lending Methods High Cost of Maintenance and Investment Opportunities Specialized Applications of AI/ML Growing Demand for Commercial and Consumer Debt Recovery Services The Rise in the Use of Analytics-Enabled Collections Models Challenges Lack of Digital Literacy in Underdeveloped Countries Network Connectivity and Infrastructural Issues Data Security and Privacy Concerns due to Increasing Cyber-Attacks Lack of Real-Time Collaboration Between the Borrower and Collector Market Segmentation The Global Digital Lending Platform Market is segmented based on Offerings, Point of Service, Deployment Mode, and Geography. Offerings, the market is classified into Software and Service. Point of Service, the market is classified into Design and Implementation, Training and Education, Risk Assessment, Consulting, and Support and Maintenance. Deployment Mode, the market is classified into Cloud and On premises. Geography, the market is classified into Americas, Europe, Middle-East & Africa and Asia-Pacific. Companies Mentioned Black Knight, Inc Built Technologies, Inc. CU Direct Corporation Decimal Technologies Docutech (First American Financial Corporation) Ellie Mae, Inc. (Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.) Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS) Finantix (InvestCloud Private Banking) Finastra (Misys International Limited) Fiserv, Inc. HiEnd Systems LLC ICE Mortgage Technology, Inc. Intellect Design Arena Ltd Juris Technologies Sdn Bhd Mambu Newgen Software Technologies Limited Nucleus Software Exports Limited. Pegasystems Inc. Roostify, Inc US Rupeepower ind Sageworks (Abrigo) Sigma Infosolutions Ltd Symitar (Jack Henry & Associates, Inc) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y575nk View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220422005264/en/ Contacts ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Households in rural and First Nations communities to benefit from the funding to increase access to highspeed Internet OTTAWA, ON, April 22, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development, together with the Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, highlighted more than $63 million in combined federal and provincial funding for 11 projects to bring high-speed Internet access to 13,748 households in rural Ontario, as well as in First Nations communities. Funding details for these previously announced projects are as follows: $793,578 for Huron Telecommunications Co-operative Limited to improve access for 115 households in the communities of Blyth, Lucknow, St. Helens and Wingham $557,025 for Huron Telecommunications Co-operative Limited to improve access for 109 households in the communities of Belgrave and Bluevale $596,813 for Huron Telecommunications Co-operative Limited to improve access for 135 households in the community of St. Helens $517,826 for Huron Telecommunications Co-operative Limited to improve access for 111 households in the community of Auburn $2,027,878 for Huron Telecommunications Co-operative Limited to improve access for 427 households in the communities of Benmiller, Bogies Beach and Nile $10,625,666 for Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative Ltd. to improve access for 1,191 households in the communities of Belgrave, Bluevale, Blyth, Brussels, Clinton, Ethel, Henfryn, Kinburn, Londesborough, Seaforth and Walton $3,286,383 for Cogeco Connexion Inc. to improve access for 948 households in the communities of Clear Lake, Kearney and Novar $4,758,237 for Cogeco Connexion Inc. to improve access for 696 households in the communities of Gordon Bay, Humphrey and Port Cockburn $9,603,742 for Cogeco Connexion Inc. to improve access for 1,697 households in the communities of Broadbent, Dunchurch, Fairholme, Hurdville, Maple Island, McKellar and Waubamik $352,850 for Vianet Inc. to improve access for 117 households in the community of Carling. $30,400,000 for Bell Canada Inc. to improve access for 8,202 households in the communities of Barkway, Baysville, Bracebridge, Chippewas of Rama First Nation, Glen Echo, Glen Orchard, Golden Beach, Gravenhurst, Houseys Rapids, Kahshe Lake, Lake Dalrymple, Lakewood, Longford, Matthiasville, Milford Bay, Mortimers Point, Muskoka Beach, Muskoka Falls, Port Stanton, Scarlet Park, Severn Bridge, Southwood, Stoneleigh, Swift Rapids, Torrance, Walkers Point, Washago and Whitesidef This funding is thanks to a collaboration between Ontario and Canada. On July 29, 2021, the governments announced their partnership to support large-scale, fibre-based projects that will provide high-speed Internet access to more than 280,000 rural and remote households across the province. This historic agreement was made possible by a joint federal-provincial investment totalling more than $1.2 billion. Story continues This investment builds on the Government of Canada's progress toward ensuring that 98% of Canadians have access to high-speed Internet by 2026, and 100% by 2030. As we work to rebuild from the COVID19 pandemic and grow the economy, the federal and provincial governments will continue to make investments in infrastructure to build strong communities and a more competitive and resilient Ontario and Canada for everyone. Through its broadband initiative, the Canada Infrastructure Bank is collaborating with the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario to improve the commercial viability of projects. Quotes "We need to close the connection gap and ensure that every nook and cranny of Ontario has access to reliable high-speed Internetwhether that's in Oil Springs or Carlsbad Springs or all the way on the shores of Lake Superior. This investment of more than $63 million in funding to connect 13,748 rural households in the province is a milestone for Ontarians. Investments like these help create jobs, improve access to health care and online learning services, and keep us connected to our loved ones. The Government of Canada will continue to make investments like these to help achieve our national target of connecting 98% of Canadians by 2026 and 100% by 2030." The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development "Today's announcement is great news for the people of southern Ontario. High-speed Internet access is an essential tool that has only been made more vital due to the pandemic. Our government understands that it is critical to connect Canadians, especially in rural and remote regions, and we will continue to make investments that connect Canadians across the country." The Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Quick facts The projects highlighted today are a part of a larger announcement made on April 19, 2022, by the governments of Canada and Ontario about joint funding for projects to bring high-speed Internet access to many communities in regions across Ontario. Canada's Connectivity Strategy aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download / 10 Mbps upload. The Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) is a $2.75 billion investment by the Government of Canada designed to help connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% connectivity by 2030. Only the hardest-to-reach households may take until 2030 to get connected. On July 29, 2021, a Canada-Ontario broadband partnership was announced. This agreement will bring high-speed Internet access to more than 280,000 households across Ontario through a total investment of more than $1.2 billion, co-funded equally by both levels of government. Associated links Stay connected Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media. Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2022/22/c4187.html BGBF The funds brand name will provide a clear connection to parent company, ICOA Inc. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BGBF, a Southeast Asia Bitcoin-denominated fund that will be launching its highly-anticipated second sub-fund in early May 2022, has announced that The ICOA Fund will be the official brand name of this second sub-fund. Set to be a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-regulated fund, this second sub-fund has so far been referred to by its working title of BGBF-2. The rationale behind choosing The ICOA Fund as the brand name is to deepen and demonstrate the strong bond and collaboration it will have with its parent company, ICOA Inc. ICOA Inc. as the parent company, and The ICOA Fund as a subsidiary brand, will undoubtedly draw from the others reputational strengths and networks. Together, they will more powerfully increase the awareness and reach of the ICOA brand, with the overt connection between parent and sub-fund allowing for joint marketing opportunities and efficiencies. BGBFs holding company, BCMG, was acquired in late 2021 by ICOA Inc. (OTC PINK: ICOA). ICOA Inc.is a publicly traded Nevada-based company operating in the fintech, blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), and cryptocurrency spaces through strategic acquisitions and joint ventures. The ICOA Fund will launch with a hard commitment of 2000 BTC. It will invest exclusively in BTC and BTC Derivatives, and offer insurance coverage and underwriting for public offering security insurance (POSI). The new fund will retain the strap-line of Multiplying Bitcoins used by BGBFs first fund, BGBF-1. Details on the trading philosophy and investment structure behind The ICOA Fund will be announced at launch. As a summary: A maximum of 70% will go towards three BTC yield generating sub-strategies; A maximum of 30% will be invested into Market Making and liquidity pools of carefully selected projects. ICOA Inc.s CEO Hadria Wong comments: ICOA and BGBF effortlessly connect on our collective core mission of bridging traditional finance and virtual assets. As we have learned through working alongside each of our subsidiaries, our ecosystem is much more powerful when we combine forces and lean on each other. The ICOA team is thrilled to soon launch The ICOA Fund and turn it into a great success and opportunity for our investors. Story continues Top level information on the The ICOA Fund can still be found at www.BGBF.fund. The new URL of www.icoa.fund will go live in the next 24 hours. Please note that a branding transition will be in operation for the next week. Website visitors are therefore advised that references to BGBF-2 might still exist until the official launch of The ICOA Fund in early May 2022. For more information on ICOA Inc., please visit icoa.tech or the official ICOA Twitter here . For further information, please contact pr@icoa.tech About ICOA ICOA is a publicly traded Nevada-based company operating in the fintech, blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), and cryptocurrency spaces. Establishing itself as a heavyweight in the innovative tech space through introducing millions of people across forty states to wired and wireless broadband networks, ICOA now looks to the next wave of transformative technology blockchain. The highly experienced ICOA team supports its investors through strategic acquisition, identifying the most promising and exciting opportunities across the whole blockchain ecosystem. By acquiring or partnering with a spectrum of deliberately chosen projects or teams from key verticals, ICOA delivers on its mission of bringing digital assets to every portfolio and making blockchain opportunities accessible and safe for retail and institutional investors alike. For more information on ICOA, visit its company website here . About BGBF BGBF is Southeast Asias first POSI-insured, Bitcoin-denominated, and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-regulated fund. A unique fund with a Bitcoin (BTC) in, Bitcoin out structure, BGBF multiplies its clients BTC while providing them with additional unparalleled security measures so they can trust their assets are in safe hands. Open to accredited investors as per Singapore Jurisdiction, BGBF delivers guaranteed returns through an innovative investment strategy and provides convenience through effortless FIAT conversions. Investing in BTC has never been simpler or more dependable. In late 2021, BGBFs holding company, BCMG, was acquired by ICOA a publicly-traded Nevada-based company operating in the fintech, blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), and cryptocurrency spaces. BGBF seamlessly lends itself to ICOAs mission to bridge traditional finance with virtual assets. To learn more, please head to BGBFs website here . SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: This press release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as believes, expects, potential, plans, suggests, may, should, could, intends, or similar expressions. Many forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results implied by such statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to continue to enhance our products and systems to address industry changes, our ability to expand our customer base and retain existing customers, our ability to effectively compete in our market segment, the lack of public information on our company, our ability to raise sufficient capital to fund our business, operations, our ability to continue as a going concern, and a limited public market for our common stock, among other risks. Many factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond the companys control. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. The logo of Reliance Industries is pictured in a stall at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show at Gandhinagar By Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd, operator of the world's biggest oil refining complex, has ordered at least 15 million barrels of Russian oil since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, trade sources said. Reliance has bought an average 5 million barrels a month for the June quarter, the sources said. Reliance did not immediately respond to a Reuters' email seeking comment. Before the Ukraine war, Indian refiners, including Reliance, rarely bought Russian oil owing to high freight costs. But Western sanctions against Russia since its Ukraine invasion, which Moscow calls a "special operation", have prompted many oil importers to shun trade with Moscow, depressing its crude prices to record discount levels. Indian refiners have snapped up the cheap barrels as India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, is hit hard by high oil prices. India imports about 85% of its 5 million barrels per day oil needs. While New Delhi has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, it has not explicitly condemned Moscow's actions. India has also abstained from voting on multiple United Nations resolutions on the invasion. Refinitiv's tanker flow data shows a supply of about 8 million barrels of Russian oil, mainly Urals, at the Reliance-operated Sikka port in western India, for arrival between April 5 and May 9. Most of these barrels are supplied by Russian trader Litasco, the Refinitiv data shows. Traders said Reliance is buying Russian oil on delivered basis. Reliance is scheduled to received its first parcel of Russia's ESPO oil in early May, the Refinitiv data shows. This grade is mostly supplied to China. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance operates two refineries at the Jamnagar complex in western India that can process about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil daily. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma. Editing by Jane Merriman) By Azernews Police have seized about 2 kg of drugs and psychotropic pills from two suspected drug traffickers in Azerbaijan's Yardimli region on the border with Iran, Azertag reported on April 22. As a result of the Yardimli district police department's search operations, suspected drug traffickers Baku resident Rafael Allahverdiyev and Absheron resident Marahim Ibrahimov were detained in Yardimli regions Arus village, the report added. Rafael Allahverdiyev, a resident of Baku, and Marahim Ibrahimov, a resident of Absheron region, suspected of drug trafficking, were detained in Arus village of Yardimli region as a result of search operations carried out by the Yardimli region police department. The Lankaran regional group of the Interior Ministry's press service reported during the preliminary investigation that about 1 kilogram of methamphetamine, 1 kilogram of marijuana and 970 pills were seized from them. An investigation is underway at the Yardimli district police department. Both men were remanded in custody by a court decision. As Iran borders both Afghanistan and Azerbaijan, drugs are traditionally smuggled in from Afghanistan into Iran and then into Azerbaijan. Given Azerbaijan's geographical location, drug traffickers attempt to smuggle drugs into European countries along the Balkan route via the country. After the restoration of its territorial integrity, Azerbaijan is taking steps to ensure the safety and restoration of order in the liberated lands. One of these measures is to halt the flow of drugs in the region that was previously controlled by Armenia's illegal regime in Karabakh. Armenia used Karabakh and the surrounding seven regions for illegal activities such as arms and drug trafficking during its 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani territories. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan repeatedly raised the issue with international organizations, Armenia continued in the same vein, creating all of the necessary conditions for the illegal cultivation, production, and distribution of narcotic substances. Azerbaijan closed the drug trafficking route from Iran to Armenia and then to Europe that used to pass through Jabrayil region. After Azerbaijan regained control of the 130-km section of the state border with Iran, which had been under Armenian control for 30 years, the country closed the drug trafficking route from Iran to Armenia and then to Europe. jetcityimage / iStock.com Though the United States appears to be coming out of the worst of the pandemic, COVID-19 isn't going away any time soon. And there remains the continued risk of another surge as more states relax restrictions and open up. Find: Surprising Things You Can Buy With Food Stamps Rising Gas Prices: The True Cost of Going Electric As such, while time has passed to hoard supplies, it does not hurt to be prepared for any eventuality -- and that includes other kinds of crisis situations, such as the recent power outage in freezing Texas. Here is a list of things to stock up on to be smart and prepared for any emergency, pandemic-related or not. dragana991 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Shelf-Stable Milks Shelf-stable milk refers to any milk that can sit at room temperature on a shelf without refrigeration or only needs to be refrigerated after opening. Dairy milk will have to be refrigerated immediately after opening, but alternative milk made from nuts or grains can often withstand room temperature for days without spoiling, which can be super handy in situations where the power goes out. This kind of milk lasts longer than regular milk, too, so you can purchase greater quantities. POLL: Do You Think Student Loan Debt Should Be Forgiven? FotografiaBasica / Getty Images Rice and Beans You want to stock up on the kinds of foods that are filling, easy to make in a pinch, affordable in large quantities and provide nutrients, vitamins and fiber, nutrition expert Samantha Cassetty told Business Insider. These foods not only last a long time in storage but can be easily worked into any number of tasty recipes with fresh produce and meat. oxyzay / Shutterstock.com Nut Butters From peanut to almond, sunflower (technically a seed) to cashew, nut butters take our favorite protein-laden nuts and grind them into delicious smoothness that can make a quick and satisfying snack at any time. Nut butters tend to last a long while, especially if refrigerated after opening, and with a little bread or some crackers can be a meal in and of themselves. Story continues Kyryl Gorlov / Getty Images/iStockphoto 14-Day Supply of Water Water is precious, and though the coronavirus has not had an impact on the water supply, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that households should always have a 14-day supply of water on hand for emergencies. Water is necessary for taking medications and brushing teeth as well as essential to hydration, a non-negotiable to survival. dragana991 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Bleach If you never used much bleach before, the pandemic has probably changed that. Early on in the pandemic, people were wiping down their groceries with a water-bleach solution out of fear the virus could be transmitted that way. Though transmission by touch appears to be the least likely way to spread the virus, if you live with people who work outside the home, bleach (diluted with water) is handy to have for wiping down commonly shared areas such as doorknobs and handles, kitchen counters and bathroom fixtures and surfaces. Onfokus / Getty Images/iStockphoto Hand Sanitizer Though the coronavirus isn't as likely to spread through touch, other germs and viruses have not just magically gone away. Viruses like norovirus, or stomach flu, are notoriously contagious through touch, and so keeping hand sanitizer or a 75% or more alcohol solution on hand, literally, is a great idea. Hand sanitizer was among the first items to fly off shelves during COVID-19 spikes. ozgurdonmaz / Getty Images/iStockphoto Toilet Paper Who can forget the great toilet paper crisis of 2020? At the first mention of shelter-in-place mandates due to the coronavirus, suddenly stores could not keep TP stocked and had to enforce limits on how much people could buy. To avoid future repeats of this scenario, keep extra TP on hand, though within reason. It stores well, so keep a few extra rolls handy as long as you have somewhere to put it. wundervisuals / Getty Images Toothpaste Stocking up on items of personal hygiene that you use frequently just makes sense. Whether you got sick with the virus, had an exposure that forced quarantine or are just trying to limit your trips to the store for safety, don't forget to keep an extra month or two's supply of toothpaste. Shutterstock.com Body Wash and Shampoo The same is true for shampoo and body wash, those items you need on a near-daily basis. Why leave your cleanliness to chance when you can stock up and be prepared? Fortunately, these kinds of items don't go bad very quickly. Also, consider buying in bigger or bulk sizes. DNY59 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Medications and Supplements Medications are, for many people, lifesaving and necessary. Whether you have prescriptions or you rely upon over the counter medications such as ibuprofen or antihistamines, The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) recommends you keep a minimum 14-day supply on hand and plan ahead so that you aren't running out of medications without an ability to refill quickly. Other experts recommend a 30-day supply, if possible, or 90 days if your doctor and insurance provider (and your wallet) allow. Additionally, if you take any supplements, be sure to keep enough on hand. You may also have other kinds of healthcare needs related to illness -- an oxygen tank for COPD, blood testing strips for diabetes or other medical supplies. Be sure to keep an extra supply of all these needs on hand. And don't forget female hygiene products such as pads or tampons. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Items That You Should Continue To Stock Up On MiniLuxe Holding Corp. Reports YOY Revenue Growth of 57% with Gross Profit more than doubling prior year Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States. Toronto, Ontario, April 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MiniLuxe Holding Corp. (TSXV: MNLX) today announced its financial results for the 13 weeks and 52 weeks ended December 26, 2021 (Q4 2021 and FY 2021, respectively). The fiscal year of MiniLuxe is a 52-week reporting cycle ending on the Sunday closest to December 31, which periodically necessitates a fiscal year of 53 weeks. All of the fiscal years referred to in this release consist of 52 week-periods. Unless otherwise specified, all amounts are reported in U.S. dollars. MiniLuxe is pleased to report total revenue of $16.7M in FY 2021, a nearly 60 percent increase over total revenue in the 52 weeks ended December 27, 2020 (FY 2020). Gross profit more than doubled, increasing from $4.0M in FY 2020 to $8.2M in FY 2021. Strong growth momentum in Q4 2021 contributed to these results. Revenue for Q4 2021 came in at $5.2M, up nearly 10% over revenue in the 13 weeks ended September 26, 2021 (Q3 2021) and more than 70% over revenue in the 13 weeks ended December 27, 2020 (Q4 2020). This performance was achieved despite various COVID-mandated closure periods that restricted operating capacity to about 60% through 2021 (relative to normal full levels of operating hours and station availability). 2021 Financial Highlights ($USD) Total revenue of $16.7M, a YoY increase of 57% Gross profit of $8.2M, representing more than a 2x increase (+102%) from prior year Record fleet (MiniLuxe owned studios) contribution with gross margin of 49% Quarter over quarter sequential growth in every 2021 quarter YoY growth on a like-for-like (same store sale basis) for every quarter of 2021 Q4 2021 demonstrated record period growth surpassing Q4 2019 levels despite operating below full capacity due to Covid re-ramp. Q4 2021 revenue of $5.2M was +13 percent to Q4 2019 (pre-COVID comparable) Net loss of ($54.4M) compared to net profit of $6M for 2020 chiefly due to non-cash IFRS accounting of the fair value of redeemable preferred shares. As part of the companys December 6 th , 2021 RTO transaction, the redeemable preferred shares were cancelled SGA on a normalized basis (e.g., netting out one-time go-public expenses) in line with prior year. Incremental SGA attributable to reopening studios, bringing leadership talent back on board and intentionally making growth investments in digital Adjusted EBITDA1, which management views as more reflective of the business, of ($7.2M) compared to ($8.3M) for 2020 Story continues 2021 Business Highlights Completed a Reverse Takeover Transaction resulting in the Companys listing on the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange (the TSXV) Strong and in many cases record performance achieved despite operating at approximately 60 percent of full capacity giving confidence for further fixed cost leverage Added more than 35,000 new clients in 2021 on top of ~40,000 existing MiniLuxe clients Strong NPS scores maintained at 80+ MiniLuxe performed more than 380,000 services, bringing the total number of services performed since MiniLuxes inception to nearly 3 million Appointed Aditi Gupta as Chief Growth Office to focus on product business Both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year revenue growth have accelerated continuously throughout FY 2021. This consistent revenue momentum came from the combination of increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates, implementation of efficient and agile operational practices, and growth in consumer demand for clean self-care services. Throughout the pandemic, MiniLuxe has maintained its industry-leading standards for super-hygenic and ethical nail care and waxing treatments and has stayed dedicated to utilizing only MiniLuxe-certified providers. Concurrent with the resurgence in demand, MiniLuxe has been fast-tracking recruitment and deployment of certified nail designers and waxing specialists across all channels of operations. FY 2021 results also compare favorably on a like-for-like basis to record-setting results generated by pre-pandemic 2019 operations, which were at full capacity. As noted in the prior release of Q3 2021 results, Q3 2021 revenue exceeded that of the 13 weeks ended September 29, 2019 (Q3 2019) on a like-for-like basis, marking an inflection point with respect to operations since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In Q4 2021, MiniLuxe maintained this positive trend of beating the record 2019 numbers, with Q4 2021 revenue of $5.2M coming in 13% higher than that of the 13 weeks ended December 29, 2019 (Q4 2019) on a like-for-like basis. Overall, positive growth during a challenging macro-economic environment speaks to the resilience of the MiniLuxe brand and the trust and connection consumers have with the brands purpose: to positively promote clean self-care while empowering a diverse base of team members. We continue to march forward with our mission to be the largest empowerment and educational platform for BIPOC hourly workers, said Tony Tjan, Chairman and Co-founder of MiniLuxe. We are proud of how our leadership and talent in the field navigated through 2021 and, more importantly, value their commitment towards being at the very top of the craft of what we do elevating nail care and waxing to best-in-class self-care. The momentum of our results bodes well for the potential of our core business and several growth initiatives underway, noted Zoe Krislock, CEO of MiniLuxe. MiniLuxes talent revenue comes from MiniLuxe certified designers working either on-premises in one of MiniLuxes company-owned fleet studios or in off-premises channels (such as hotels, homes or offices). MiniLuxes digital booking application and its proprietary line of products, which are used in every service, have been key to this omni-channel strategy. In Q4 2021, monthly app downloads of MiniLuxe reached nearly triple the levels seen at the start of FY 2021. Total downloads in FY 2021 increased 123 percent over FY 2020, bringing downloads to date to over 60,000. MiniLuxes field teams use the app and platform to manage booking and CRM (customer relationship management), while clients use it to digitally book their MiniLuxe services and facilitate cashless payments. Investments in digital technology in FY 2021 included development of a newly redesigned e-commerce platform and an overhaul of the MiniLuxe apps user interface; the company expects continued accretive returns from both of these initiatives. Other key investments to support growth in 2021 included expanding the senior leadership team and costs related to going public in December of 2021 on the TSXV via the largest CPC (Capital Pool Company) offering in the history of the exchange. In FY 2021, MiniLuxe employees performed more than 380,000 self-care treatments, bringing the total number of services performed since MiniLuxes inception to nearly 3 million. 2021 Results Selected Financial Measures for Fiscal Year ended YoY Change December 26, December 27, $ Change % Change 2021 2020 Talent Revenue $ 15,741,510 $ 9,712,174 $ 6,029,336 62 % Product Revenue 940,197 897,642 42,555 4 % Total Revenue $ 16,681,707 $ 10,609,816 $ 6,071,891 57 % Gross Margin ($) $ 8,164,728 $ 4,032,738 $ 4,131,990 102 % Gross Margin (%) 48.9 % 38.0 % Non IFRS Metrics for Fiscal Year ended December 26, December 27, In thousands 2021 2020 Adjusted EBITDA $ (7,162 ) $ (8,294 ) Results of Operations The following table outlines our consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss for the fiscal years ended December 26, 2021 and December 27, 2020: for Fiscal Year ended December 26, 2021 December 27, 2020 Revenue $ 16,681,707 $ 10,609,816 Cost of sales 8,516,979 6,577,078 Gross profit 8,164,728 4,032,738 General and administrative expense 13,863,113 10,089,995 Stock listing expense 5,919,418 - Depreciation and amortization expense 3,018,418 3,513,646 Operating loss (14,636,221 ) (9,570,903 ) Finance costs (2,893,860 ) (2,931,092 ) Finance income 10,474 16,197 Other income 2,704,112 3,964,638 Gain (loss) on financial instruments (39,557,923 ) 14,539,685 Profit/(loss) before tax (54,373,418 ) 6,018,525 Income tax expense (60,773 ) (47,560 ) Net profit/(loss) and comprehensive profit/(loss) for the year, basic $ (54,434,191 ) $ 5,970,965 Basic earnings per share Common shares $ - $ 0.52 Subordinate voting shares $ (1.40 ) $ - Proportionate voting shares $ (1,402.41 ) $ - Basic weighted-average shares outstanding Common shares - 11,583,757 Subordinate voting shares 30,536,265 - Proportionate voting shares 8,279 - Diluted earnings per share Common shares $ - $ 0.05 Subordinate voting shares $ (1.40 ) $ - Proportionate voting shares $ (1,402.41 ) $ - Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding Common shares - 116,414,211 Subordinate voting shares 30,536,265 - Proportionate voting shares 8,279 - Cash Flows The following table presents cash and cash equivalents as at December 26, 2021 and December 27, 2020: for Fiscal Year Ended December 26, 2021 December 27, 2020 Cash and cash equivalents beginning of period $ 2,866,368 $ 4,855,286 Net cash provided by (used in): Operating activities (3,769,300 ) (6,890,727 ) Investing activities (1,275,763 ) (112,179 ) Financing activities 21,298,806 5,013,988 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 16,253,743 (1,988,918 ) Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 19,120,111 $ 2,866,368 Non-IFRS Measures and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures This press release makes reference to certain non-IFRS measures used by management. These measures are not recognized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Companys results of operations from managements perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of the Companys financial information reported under IFRS. The non-IFRS measures referred to in this press release are Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA is used by management as a supplemental measure to review and assess operating performance. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA most accurately reflects the commercial reality of the Company's operations on an ongoing basis by adding back non-cash expenses. Additionally, the rent-related adjustments ensure that studio-related expenses align with revenue generated over the corresponding time periods. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding back fixed asset depreciation, right-of-use asset depreciation under IFRS 16, asset disposal, and share-based compensation expense to IFRS operating income, then deducting straight-line rent expenses2 net of lease abatements. Additionally, the company has added back the stock listing expense associated with the RTO transaction, as its largely non-cash. IFRS operating income is revenue less cost of sales (gross profit), additionally adjusted for general and administrative expenses, stock listing expense, and depreciation and amortization expense. The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net loss for the periods indicated: for Fiscal Year Ended In thousands of U.S. dollars December 26, 2021 December 27, 2020 Operating Income $ (14,636 ) $ (9,571 ) Right-of-Use Asset Depreciation Expense 1,383 1,769 Fixed Asset Deprecation Expense 1,635 1,745 Disposals 439 268 Stock Compensation Expense 216 90 Stock Listing Expense 5,919 - Straight Line Rent (2,376 ) (3,015 ) Lease Abatements (258 ) 420 Adjusted EBITDA $ (7,162 ) $ (8,294 ) About MiniLuxe MiniLuxe, a Delaware corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts is a digital-first, socially-responsible lifestyle brand and talent empowerment platform for the nail and waxing industry. For over a decade, MiniLuxe has been setting industry standards for health, hygiene, and fair labour practices in its efforts to transform the heavily-used but highly under-regulated nail care industry. MiniLuxe looks to become one of the largest inclusionary educators and vocational employers, with a diverse, predominantly female and BIPOC workforce on its talent empowerment platform. Today, MiniLuxe derives its revenue streams from talent (provision of nail care and waxing services) and product (sales of proprietary clean nail care products). MiniLuxe is driven by a fully-integrated digital platform that manages all client bookings, preferences, and payments and provides designers with the ability to manage scheduling and client preferences, track their performance and compensation, and access training content. Since its inception, MiniLuxe has performed nearly 3 million services. www.miniluxe.com Shareholder call The Company will be holding an informational shareholder call via Zoom on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022 from 1pm to 1:30pm EDT. Participation details: Zoom Meeting https://cueball.zoom.us/j/8578915430?pwd=SC82SE8zcm9XOHMwSEsxY1Nub3pudz09 Meeting ID: 857 891 5430 Passcode: 026354 For further information Anthony Tjan Executive Chairman, MiniLuxe Holding Corp. atjan@miniluxe.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 1 Please refer to Non-IFRS Measures and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures sections of this press release. 2 Straight-line rent expense for a given payment period is calculated by dividing the sum of all payments over the life of the lease (the figure used in the present value calculation of the right-of-use asset) by the number of payment periods (typically months). This number is then annualized by adding the rent expenses calculated for the payment periods that comprise each fiscal year. For leases signed mid-year, the total straight-line rent expense calculation applies the new lease terms only to the payment periods after the signing of the new lease. ReportLinker The global analytical instrumentation market was valued at USD 7. 67 billion in 2021, and it is projected to be worth USD 11. 40 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 6. 96% during the forecast period 2022-2027. New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "North America Analytical Instrumentation Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271927/?utm_source=GNW The rising concerns regarding product quality, increasing investments in R&D, and stringent government regulations are some major factors driving the growth of the North American analytical instrumentation market. The rising customer awareness, especially in emerging regions, and the need for analytical instruments across multiple sectors, are further expected to augment the markets growth over the forecast period. Key Highlights In the past few years, the growth in the market studied was primarily driven by factors such as government initiatives for environmental testing and pollution control and especially in developing countries, increasing investments in North Americas pharmaceutical R&D, stringent regulations on drug safety, expansion of crude and shale gas production, increasing focus on the quality of food products, and technological advancements in mass spectrometers. Further, companies developing batteries for mobile phones, electric vehicles, energy systems, and other systems/devices depend on analytical instruments to enhance testing, storage potential, and output to create more efficient, cleaner, and safer energy sources. Companies use electron microscopy technologies to understand structures that level down at the atomic scale, along with spectroscopy tools to discover critical changes in materials that cause defects and inefficiency. However, the high cost of analytical instruments restrains the growth of the studied market. Furthermore, along with the cost of instruments, various other costs are associated, such as staffing, maintenance, and laboratory expenses, thereby restraining the markets growth. Moreover, the advancement in features and functionalities, technological advancements, and innovative systems are adding to the cost of analytical instruments. The market vendors are increasingly targeting analytics, mainly to support industries operating in regulated sectors across the world. To target applications in industries, such as pharmaceuticals, collaborative work is increasingly witnessing adoption, which is critical for business growth. The recent COVID-19 outbreak resulted in significant demand in the market studied. The need for accelerated research has significantly increased during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the public expects unprecedented progress from the scientific community. Key Market Trends Life Sciences Segment Expected to Hold Significant Market Share Life sciences account for the largest share in the analytical instrument industry, representing a quarter of the entire industry. Life sciences comprise more than 13 individual technology segments, encompassing a wide range of applications using analytical tools such as spectrometry, atomic spectroscopy, and molecular spectroscopy. This provides significant opportunities to grow both general instrument applications and niche research systems. Demand for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) continues to flourish, impacting the sequencing segment and driving strong demand in the nucleic acid sample preparation segment. This growth was evident in the public and private sectors, as genomics technology went beyond basic research to reach the biomedical domain. Such tremendous growth is expected to create a significant demand for analytical instrumentation solutions, as it helps pharmaceutical companies comply with stringent regulations on drug safety. Geographically, China has the highest demand for life science instruments, majorly propelled by the countrys precision medicine initiative. It is followed by the United States, which is the largest life science market. Owing to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, the demand for analytical tools is rapidly shifting to the clinical and pharmaceutical segments. Also, a significant rise in demand for pharmaceutical biosimilars, phytopharmaceuticals, and regenerative medicine, is expected to aid in the adoption of analytical instrumentation solutions in the industry. The companies such as Agilent Technologies are just one of the leading manufacturers of analytical instruments for healthcare and research laboratories in the United States that contributes to this market by offering analytical instruments and supplies to conduct research and experiments and make accurate diagnoses. The market is witnessing several strategic developments such as new product developments, mergers, and collaboration that suggest the increase in the adoption of analytical tools in the segment. For instance, in November 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific launched its new mass spectrometry (MS) instruments, workflows, and software. The Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris MX mass detector allows biopharmaceutical laboratories to implement the multi-attribute method (MAM), perform intact monoclonal antibody analysis, conduct oligonucleotide mass determination, and carry out peptide mapping. Development of Precision Medicines to Drive the Market Growth The emergence of precision medicine to develop personalized medicines and therapies is one of the most important factors driving the laboratory analytical instruments markets growth. Increased access to precision medicine requires more widespread participation in clinical trials to accelerate the availability of new targeted therapies. This requires the analytical instrument to perform various functions in clinical trials. Owing to such needs in the clinical research domain, the FDA approved various drugs, such as Lynparza and Blincyto, that are tailored to specific characteristics of an individual. Such developments are expected to boost the demand for the analytical instruments market. Vendors in the market are focusing on expanding their offerings in the precision medicine industry, primarily through partnerships and collaborations. For instance, in July 2021, Sciex launched the ZenoTOF 7600 System, a mass liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) instrument that includes both Zeno trap and electron activated dissociation (EAD) fragmentation. Competitive Landscape The degree of competition in the market studied is anticipated to be moderately high over the forecast period. The major vendors in the market garner more in-depth product portfolios catering to different customer requirements, whereas smaller vendors operate in niche segments providing customizations and customer-specific orders. Key players include Agilent Technologies Inc., Malvern Panalytical Ltd (Spectris Company), PerkinElmer Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Shimadzu Corporation. November 2021 - Agilent Technologies announced the introduction of the NanoDisSystem for nanoparticle dissolution testing. Combining Agilent instrumentation and software to enable customers to meet 21 CFR Part 11 and other regulations through its application, the new NanoDisSystem delivers a dedicated workflow that is automatable and auditable. October 2021 - Bruker Corporation announced the launch of its large sample Dimension IconIRnanoscale infrared spectroscopy and chemical imaging systems. The platform combines Dimension Icon AFM and nanoIR photothermal AFM-IR technology to establish new chemical and material property mapping standards with sub-10nm chemical imaging resolution. Additional Benefits: The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271927/?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 ReportLinker The North American print label market was valued at USD 8,813. 41 million in 2021, and is expected to reach USD 10,905. 35 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 3. 59% during the period of 2022-2027 (henceforth, referred to as the forecast period). New York, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "North America Print Label Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271915/?utm_source=GNW The combination of digital technology with the existing label printing technique will bring a massive change to all the small-scale and large-scale sectors, improving the overall market. Key Highlights The evolution of digital print technology is making strong inroads into the print label market at a much faster pace due to its cost-effectiveness and professional, high-quality printing in industrial-size digital presses. With the evolution of new digital technologies, such as UV inkjet and water-based inkjet, digital print technology is becoming more advanced. As the technology continues to improve further, printers find new ways in utilizing the technology to enhance productive print labels, due to which the market is expected to grow lucratively during the forecast period. The digital printing technology demand has been witnessing a positive demand across the end-user industry sectors, such as in food, beverages, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals. The demand has been boosted by the continued rise in the levels of order quantity, having lower inventory on the supplier side, lesser lead time to meet the ordered quantity, and lower cost. The combination of digital technology with the existing label printing technique will bring a massive change to all the small-scale and large-scale sectors, improving the overall market. Label application problems are mostly caused by environmental conditions, namely temperature and humidity. If possible, applying the labels only in dry, room-temperature conditions can be preserved. However, it is not always possible to avoid extreme temperatures or humidity, such as in winter, summer, and cold warehouses. Print label, once stuck into the surface, must withstand the different temperature conditions it goes through. Not all, but some labels are specially designed to withstand different temperatures, such as labels on hazardous chemicals, labels on cold chain products, among others. Most of the labels are made of paper and film face stocks. Paper film stocks are more susceptible to the elements as compared to specialty films. For example, the paper is not waterproof. Some stocks are made with wet strength paper that slows the penetration of water, but even those would eventually become saturated. Packaging and label segments are considerably stable in the COVID-19 period, owing to the increasing demand for food and pharmaceutical packaging. The COVID-19 outbreak disrupted the supply chain across various end-user industries such as food & beverage, healthcare, industrial, among others. The pandemic created unprecedented challenges for supply chain and logistics management in the last few months. Products that include canned food, toilet paper, sanitizers and cleaning supplies have witnessed a significant rise in demand, while other end-use sectors have slowed dramatically. Key Market Trends Food and Allied Products is Expected to Hold Significant Share The packaging industry is the primary user of the print label for providing the customers with the necessary information about the product and promoting the brand of the product. For instance, according to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), packaged and processed food items must have nutritional labeling that makes labeling important. Digital printing technology demand has been experiencing real demand across the end-user industry sectors, such as in food, beverages, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, etc. With the increasing penetration of organized retail formats, such as supermarkets and hypermarkets, and e-commerce, the processed and packaged food market is currently exhibiting strong growth. This is aiding the growth of the print label market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new policy to provide flexibility for food manufacturers and restaurants that have products on hand that are not labeled for retail sale (i.e., labeled for food service). To facilitate food distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA released a guidance document, which allows restaurants and food manufacturers to sell food products without nutrition labeling under certain circumstances. Food labeling is required for most prepared foods, such as bread, cereals, canned and frozen foods, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc. Nutrition labeling for raw produce, including fruits, vegetables, and fish, is voluntary. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) provided similar flexibility for FSIS regulated products last week. To maintain the highest levels of product safety and ensure a low environmental footprint of inks, several players have been introducing better quality inks. Siegwerk, a leading provider of printing inks in the region, launched its new, low migration U.V. offset ink range Sicura Litho NutriEco. This ink is well-suited for the Food and Beverage Industry and has a shallow carbon footprint. Apart from enhancing the performance of printing, U.V. cured inks are migration-compliant and hence are ideal for U.V. flexo food packaging and label applications. Sun Chemical, a US-based company, launched SolarVerse, a range of highly pigmented, low viscosity, multipurpose U.V. flexo base concentrates that are ideal for labeling food materials. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, the revenue in the food market in the U.S. is estimated to be USD 702,061 million in 2020. Processed and perishable foods hold a significant share in the current Food market scenario and are expected to drive the market in the foreseen period. As most processed food manufacturers use printed labels for their products, it is expected to give a considerable surge in its demand in the food industry. Furthermore, the COVID-19 impact on the food industry has been favorable. According to the monthly sales data from the U.S. Census Bureau, unadjusted retail sales at food and beverage stores witnessed a 30% increase from February to March of 2020 and a 26% increase over comparable sales in March 2019. United States is Expected to Hold Major Share The United States Print Labels Market has been experiencing consolidation due to the reduced profit margins, shorter lead times, and converters having trouble finding skilled workers to operate their respective presses. The market is also experiencing a renewed focus from the European players who want to leverage the growth potential that the labels market of the country offers. The label manufacturers in the US experience most of the demand from the food and beverage segments. For instance, Ritrama has developed a new matt effect polyethylene film codenamed PE Smart Matt, explicitly designed to create high-impact labels for the food, beverage, and personal care sectors. The considerable growth of private label beverage sales is expected to impact the market positively. Most of this growth is experienced due to the growing demand for smart labels that facilitates the disbursement of information for both consumers and manufacturers. Raleys shelf guide program initiated in California helps shoppers identify what ingredients, food processing methods, and nutrition offered are indicative of this trend. The Food Safety Modernization Act mandates Consumer packaged goods (CPG) to be able to, at minimum, identify the immediate supplier and recipient (other than retailers to consumers) of a product to monitor the path of their products. The increasing use of NFC and RFID technology by retailers to track customers experiences to customize their offerings is also expected to expand the need for smart labels further. Due to a lot of innovation by a prominent player in the region, the market is getting volatile. For instance, Digimarc, a company based in Beaverton, Oregon, launched the Digimarc Platform featuring the Digimarc Barcode, which is a method to enhance objects and media of all kinds, including printed products, with a digital watermark thats invisible to the human eye, but can be detected by smartphones, computers and barcode scanners. Healthcare products would continue to increase hand sanitizer labels, warning labels, drugs, & vaccines labels. Such trends are driving manufacturers to move to printed labels, thereby driving the demand. In January 2021, RFID-specialists, eAgile Inc. of Grand Rapids, United States, invested in the new Nilpeter FA-17 to meet process needs within their pharmaceutical & nutraceutical portfolios In January 2020, Epson America, Inc. introduced the new TM-L90II LFC thermal label printer at the NRF 2020 Retails Big Show. The TM-L90II LFC is a flexible label printer that supports 40-, 58- and 80mm full media for flexible printing options. Replacing the TM-L90 Plus LFC models, this flexible and adaptable thermal label printer supports liner-free printing and receipt printing and features a back-feed functionality and label-taken sensor. It enables merchants in the QSR and fast-casual segments to fastly print order details and add appropriate labels to orders. So, foodservice operators can ensure that the correct order is delivered to the right consumer. It benefits retailers and hospitality merchants alike in improving order accuracy and efficiencies. Competitive Landscape The North America print label market is highly competitive with the presence of significant players such as Fort Dearborn Company, Mondi Group, Avery Dennison Corporation, CCL Industries, Inc., etc. The companies are increasing their presence in the market by introducing new offerings or entering into strategic partnerships or acquisitions. March 2022 - Avery Dennison Corporation, a global materials science company specializing in the design and manufacture of a wide variety of labeling and functional materials, has acquired the linerless label technology developed by Catchpoint Ltd, a UK company based in Yorkshire, England. June 2021 - Mondi partnered with German adhesive label company VPF to create the global first sustainable release liner range made from recycled paper, the first commercial application of its paper-based EverLiner M R. Additional Benefits: The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format 3 months of analyst support Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06271915/?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 Nicola Ziady Old Dominion University welcomes Nicola Ziady as its inaugural vice president of university communications and chief marketing officer. NORFOLK, VA, April 22, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following a national search with the engagement and expertise of Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Old Dominion University announces the selection of Nicola Ziady as its inaugural Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer. Nicola will begin her Monarch journey on July 11, 2022, following eight years of strong leadership and exemplary service as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the University of Cincinnati, a Research 1 urban university with more than 45,000 students. Nicola also has prior experience and proven success in the area of marketing at Case Western Reserve University, as well as St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland. This inaugural leadership position was established following the extensive review and detailed recommendations of a Branding, Marketing, and Communication Task Force that was convened by ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., and the University Communications Working Group that was formed following the Task Forces work to operationalize the recommendations. Yuping Liu-Thompkins, Ph.D., who serves in ODUs Strome College of Business as Professor of Marketing, Director of Loyalty Science Lab and E.V. Williams Faculty Fellow, shared the following based on her industry expertise, as well as significant contributions as a member of the Branding, Marketing, and Communication Task Force and University Communications Working Group. I am really excited about the prospect of a new chief marketing officer for Old Dominion University. ODU has grown significantly over the 20 years Ive been here. The recent move to an R1 institution is an example of this growth. ODU has a lot of great stories about our students, faculty and staff. We need a more unified voice to tell these stories. The candidates we interviewed all had deep experiences in this area. I look forward to seeing the new leader take the branding of ODU to a whole new level. Story continues Additionally, John B. Ford, Ph.D., who also serves in ODUs Strome College of Business as Professor of Marketing and International Business, Eminent Scholar and Haislip-Rorrer Fellow, highlighted the importance of this position and Nicolas selection when considering the current state and future direction of ODUs overall efforts. The position of Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer is a very important position for Old Dominion University. Ensuring the consistency of all communications and enabling and maintaining the essence of the ODU brand is a key component of our ever-increasing national recognition and prominence as an R1 institution. Nicola is the ideal candidate for this position. Her experience with St. Jude, Cleveland Clinic, and the University of Cincinnati give her an extraordinary understanding of brand image and communication. Her energy and insight will help ODU develop and enhance a significant national reputation. Dr. Fords assessment is grounded in his critical institutional leadership as part of the Universitys strategic planning process, specifically co-chair of the Branding, Marketing, and Communication Subcommittee, with significant industry leadership as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Advertising Research and Associate Editor (Advertising) of the Journal of Business Research. In announcing Nicolas selection, President Hemphill said, On behalf of Monarch Nation, I am honored to welcome Nicola to the ODU family. She brings deep experience to our institution. I am confident that she will provide the industry expertise and insight, as well as best practices, that are needed to advance our institution and expand possibilities now and well into the future. President Hemphill added, I must also express my deep appreciation for the Task Force and Working Group members who were dedicated to charting a visionary path forward. Their work was very thoughtful and has positively impacted the ongoing planning efforts in this critical area. The Search Committee went above and beyond in its significant effort to examine and engage with a top-quality applicant pool, which has resulted in Nicolas selection. All of these cross-functional campus groups answered the call to serve in a profound way that will be impactful for many years to come. Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Robert Wojtowicz, Ph.D., who chaired the Search Committee said, "Nicola brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position of Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer. As the head of a newly reorganized division, moreover, Nicola will be able to spread the good news about ODU more effectively to a wider audience than ever before." A software engineer by training, Nicola has a Bachelor of Science in Computing from Waterford Institute of Technology with additional training, including executive education experiences, at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Miami University, Oxford University, Harvard University and Case Western Reserve University. With a data-centric approach, Nicola is a published author and national presenter with a service history on industry review committees and advisory committees, as well as a volunteer for several organizations and recipient of numerous awards. In being selected for this important role, Nicola shared, Higher education is changing and evolving, and so is Old Dominion University. President Hemphill has an aspirational and ambitious vision for the future to break barriers, ceilings and new ground. I am honored to be chosen to serve this institution as it advances to new heights as one of the nation's leading public R1 universities. We have a wonderful story to tell in coastal Virginia and a singular purpose to give new vantage to the next generation of bold ideas and crowning achievers. I want to thank President Hemphill for the trust he has placed in me. I also want to thank the Search Committee and the campus community for the manner in which they welcomed me during my visit to campus, especially the University Communications and senior leadership teams. I look forward to collaborating with the outstanding students, faculty, and staff to propel the regional and national stature of Old Dominion University. Attachment CONTACT: Amber Kennedy Old Dominion University 757-683-3278 alkenned@odu.edu TORONTO, April 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) today released its Ontario Manufacturers' Platform for Prosperity, outlining a provincial strategy to restore Ontario's manufacturing sector's leading position. This plan, which is based on three pillars - workforce, business costs, and scale-up is crucial to Ontario's prosperity and its ability to stay competitive. Ontario's Manufacturing Sector Lags Behind Ontario has been lagging for several years despite it being Canada's largest manufacturing province, accounting for 45 per cent of the country's manufacturing output and about 50 per cent of its manufacturing exports. With a slow decline in investment since the early 2000s and little growth in exports, the erosion of Ontario's industrial competitiveness is having a direct impact on manufacturers' ability to grow. While the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic has led to a strong demand for local and stable goods, manufacturers are limited in capitalizing on this opportunity for several reasons, including labour and skills shortages, which are the most pressing issues facing manufacturers today. In fact, a recent survey by CME showed that 82 per cent of manufacturers are experiencing labour shortages. The high cost of doing business in Ontario is also causing limitations. A Concrete Plan To Boost Investment It is time for action. CME has a "2 % challenge" - for Canada to secure two per cent of OECD manufacturing investment by the end of the decade, and for Ontario to get its fair share of this activity - $18 billion annually. To accomplish the challenge set by CME, the three pillars of its Platform for Prosperity need to be addressed: Labour shortages/get manufacturers the workers we need; Lower the cost of doing business; and Support business scale-up and investment. "The manufacturing sector is critical to Ontario, and we need to act decisively to re-establish our leading position. Following consultations with our members, we have identified solutions to help Ontario's manufacturers reclaim their rightful place on the world stage and to create a strategy that will enable Ontario's manufacturing sector to grow and thrive. However, for manufacturers to be ready to meet the challenges ahead, we need the provincial government to be a true partner," said Dennis Darby, President & CEO of CME. Story continues QUICK FACTS Ontario's manufacturing sector employs close to 775,000 Ontarians The sector's 36,200 manufacturing firms also directly generate over 12 per cent of the province's GDP and over three-quarters of its merchandise exports Taking direct and indirect impacts into account, the sector's footprint amounts to more than 30 per cent of Ontario's economic activity ABOUT CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS & EXPORTERS (CME) From the first industrial boom in Canada, CME has advocated for and represented member interests. 150 years strong, CME has earned an extensive and effective track record of working for and with 2,500 leading companies nationwide. More than 85 per cent of CME's members are SMEs and collectively account for an estimated 82 per cent of total manufacturing production and 90 per cent of Canada's exports. As Canada's leading business network, CME, through various initiatives including the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition, touches more than 100,000 companies from coast to coast, engaged in manufacturing, global business, and their integrated supply chains. SOURCE Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2022/22/c7210.html (Adds quote from Zelenskiy) * Russian general describes Moscow's aims in new, broader terms * Ukraine says comments show Russia is seeking occupation * EU official sees decisive couple of weeks * UN Secretary-General to visit Moscow next Tuesday By Pavel Polityuk KYIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine, April 22 (Reuters) - Moscow wants to take full control over southern Ukraine, a Russian general said on Friday, a statement Ukraine said gave the lie to Russia's previous assertions that it had no territorial ambitions. Rustam Minnekayev, deputy commander of Russia's central military district, was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying full control over southern Ukraine would give it access to Transnistria, a breakaway Russian-occupied part of Moldova in the west. That would cut off Ukraine's entire coastline and mean Russian forces pushing hundreds of miles west beyond current lines, past the major Ukrainian coastal cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa. Moscow says it is conducting a "special military operation" to demilitarise Ukraine and liberate its population from dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and its Western allies call Russia's invasion an unjustified war of aggression. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Minnekayev's statement showed Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "intended only as a beginning". "And then they want to capture other countries," he said. "All the nations that, like us, believe in the victory of life over death must fight with us. They must help us, because we are the first in line. And who will come next?" On Twitter, Ukraine's defence ministry said Russia had now "acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is." Minnekayev said Russian speakers were oppressed in Transnistria, something Moldova and Western leaders reject. Story continues U.S. State Department spokesperson Jalina Porter declined specific comment on Minnekayev's statement but said Washington firmly supported Moldova's sovereignty and was "clear-eyed" about events on the ground. "No one should be fooled by the Kremlin's announcements," Porter said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked if Russia had expanded the goals of its operation and how Moscow saw the political future of southern Ukraine. In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and the two discussed Ukraine's most pressing needs, a statement said. Zelenskiy said allies were finally delivering the weapons Kyiv had asked for and they would help save thousands of lives. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday he had authorized a further $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, including heavy artillery, ammunition and tactical drones. Canada said on Friday it had provided heavy artillery to Ukraine. A senior EU official said the next couple of weeks would likely be decisive. "This is not a fairy tale with an imminent happy ending," he told reporters. "We are likely to see a very significant increase in the intensity of Russian military attacks in the east... we are likely to see an intensification of Russian military attacks along the coast." Ukraine's military said Russian forces had increased attacks all along the frontline in the east and were attempting an offensive in the Kharkiv region, north of their main target, the Donbas. Russia's defence ministry said its forces had captured a large arms depot in the Kharkiv region. It also reported hitting dozens of targets in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions on Friday. In Kharkiv city, shellfire hit the main Barabashovo market. Ambulance services said there had been casualties but gave no details. A wedding hall and a residential building were also struck. Russia's defence ministry confirmed for the first time that the crew of its Black Sea flagship Moskva, which Ukraine says it hit with an anti-ship missile, suffered casualties when it blew up and sank last week, a report from RIA news agency indicated. WAR CRIMES In Geneva, the United Nations human rights office said there was growing evidence of Russian war crimes, including indiscriminate shelling and summary executions. It said Ukraine also appeared to have used weapons with indiscriminate effects. Russia denies targeting civilians and says, without evidence, that signs of atrocities committed by its soldiers were faked. Ukraine has previously said it will punish any soldiers found to have committed war crimes. It did not respond immediately to the U.N. office's remarks. Russia's defence ministry said thousands of Ukrainian troops holed up in a huge steel works in Mariupol, the main port of the Donbas, were "securely blockaded", a day after President Vladimir Putin said the army would not bother rooting them out. Putin has declared victory in the city after a nearly two-month siege, an announcement dismissed by Pentagon press secretary John Kirby, who told CNN there was still an active Ukrainian resistance. In a Russian-held section of Mariupol, the guns had largely fallen silent and dazed-looking residents ventured out to a background of charred apartment blocks and wrecked cars. Some carried suitcases. Volunteers in white hazmat suits and masks roved the ruins, collecting bodies from apartments and loading them on to a truck marked with the letter "Z", symbol of Russia's invasion. Ukraine estimates tens of thousands of civilians have died in Russia's bombardment and siege of the city and says 100,000 civilians are still there and need full evacuation. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk on Friday said "there is a possibility" a humanitarian corridor out of Mariupol could be opened up on Saturday. Relatives of residents feared the worst. In Lviv, Sofia Telehina said her grandmother in Mariupol had cried constantly when they last spoke by phone and said everything was bombed to pieces. "Since then I've not been able to reach her," she said. 'DEMOLISHING EVERYTHING' In Zaporizhzhia, where 79 Mariupol residents arrived in the first convoy of buses permitted by Russia to leave for other parts of Ukraine, Valentyna Andrushenko held back tears as she recalled their ordeal. "They (Russians) were bombing us from day one. They are demolishing everything." Moscow says it has taken 140,000 Mariupol residents to Russia. Kyiv says many were forcibly deported in what would be a war crime. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Moscow on Tuesday to discuss urgently bringing peace to Ukraine, a spokesperson said, adding that Guterres might also visit Kyiv. The Pentagon said more than 20 countries would attend U.S.- hosted defence talks in Germany next week to consider Ukraine's long-term defence relationships once the war is over. (Reporting by by Reuters journalists; Writing by Peter Graff, Philippa Fletcher and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Gareth Jones and Rosalba O'Brien) PLATTSMOUTH The public is invited to visit with Gov. Pete Ricketts when he comes to Plattsmouth next Wednesday. The governor will hold a Legislative Wrap-Up town hall meeting at the Plattsmouth Public Library, 401 Ave. A, at 10 a.m. During this 60-minute public event, the governor will discuss bills that he signed during this years Legislative session. This includes LB 873, a massive tax relief package that will deliver $3.4 billion of additional tax relief to Nebraskans through tax year 2027. Lawmakers, along with his signature, approved more investment in public safety, plus the extension and expansion of the Nebraska Rural Development Act to attract more investment in rural communities. The governor will also discuss legislation developing Nebraskas water resources, including the creation of a 3,600-acre reservoir between Lincoln and Omaha. State Sen. Rob Clements, who represents Cass County in the Legislature, will also attend. The governor and Clements will open the meeting with remarks about this years session, then take questions from the public. The event is free to the public. 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. ExploreTECH, a technology marketplace for the hospitality and travel industry, has introduced a 'revolutionary solution' with its comprehensive vendor/product comparison tool for users. The new functionality will assist hospitality and travel buyers in making informed business decisions based on their requirements while offering vendors with the perfect platform to showcase their products and technology, the company said. This latest feature helps buyers from the travel and hospitality industry save time and money by offering an in-depth breakdown of key features and functionalities per products of different providers all on one unified platform. On the other hand, technology providers are presented with a unique opportunity to showcase their key products and features, reaching out to a wide range of buyers all with different objectives and budgets. By connecting with the right vendors, buyers can navigate challenges and create long-term strategies, the platform also allows subscribers to request demos and buy products directly from vendors, it said. Being part of the industry, we understand the constant challenges, especially in the new normal environment. Our comparison tool is disruptive as it is truly a unified source of information of multiple vendors. ExploreTECH offers the opportunity for hospitality and travel professionals to expand their network beyond local sources, as well as discover the newest technologies that can enhance their business strategies. says Ralph Melis, Co-founder of ExploreTECH The one-of-a-kind digital marketplace assists vendors in boosting their audience engagement and lead generation through cost-effective subscription modules. ExploreTECHs objective is to connect these vendors with hospitality and travel businesses of all sizes and budgets as well as consulting firms, investors and other service providers that support the hospitality and tourism. We want to give the industry the flexibility of choice in finding the right commercial software for their business. Todays customers know what they want but might not know who to connect with and ExploreTECH wants to serve as the platform that provides them with the perfect solution. We cannot ignore the fact that technology is what drives businesses today, added Melis. ExploreTECH works as a unified source for multiple vendors changing industry standards with its highly beneficial and unique features. The user-friendly format allows businesses to take maximum advantage with the easiest assimilation possible. The objective is simple it is all about creating a new type of marketplace that brings together multiple players, small and large, on one platform. - TradeArabia News Service An explosion at a mosque and religious school in northern Afghanistans Kunduz region during Friday Prayers has killed at least 33 people, a Taliban official said on April 22. Students of the school are among the dead, said Zabihullah Mujahid on Twitter. "We condemn this crime...and express our deepest sympathies to the bereaved," he said, calling those who carried out the attack seditionists and evil elements. The blast, which also wounded another 43 people, many of them students, occurred in the town of Imam Saheb in Kunduz Province, he said. The United Nations called the attack horrific. Deputy special representative to Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said on Twitter that killings must stop now and perpetrators brought to justice. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Afghanistans Islamic State affiliate, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (IS-K), claimed responsibility for a series of bombings on April 21, the worst of which was an attack on a Shi'ite mosque in northern Mazar-e-Sharif that killed at least 12 worshippers and left 58 people injured. The blast on April 22 occurred as people gathered to worship in the mosque, according to eyewitnesses. Shortly after the blast at the mosque there was a large explosion on a road in Kabul. No details were available about the latter explosion. Recent bombings in Kabul and other Afghan cities have killed dozens of people. IS-K also claimed a separate attack on April 21 in Kunduz city that killed four people and wounded 18. Taliban authorities said earlier on April 22 that they had arrested the "mastermind" of the bombing at the mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif. Zabihullah Noorani, head of the Information and Culture Department in Balkh Province, identified the person arrested as Abdul Hamid Sangaryar. IS-K said in a statement on April 22 the explosive device that devastated the mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif was hidden in a bag left inside among scores of worshippers. As they knelt in prayer, it exploded. When the mosque was filled with prayers, the explosives were detonated remotely," the IS-K statement said. The IS-K had been relatively inactive in Afghanistan since the Taliban-led government's intelligence unit carried out sweeping attacks on suspected IS-K hideouts in eastern Nangarhar Province in November, but in recent weeks it has stepped up its attacks in Afghanistan and in neighboring Pakistan. With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP This will be the prime ministers first visit to the newly carved Union Territory (UT) post abrogation of Article 370which granted special status to the erstwhile state. Auqib Javeed | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles SRINAGAR The Kashmir Valley is witnessing a wave of militant attacks on locals, non-locals and security forces. The attacks are happening ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Jammu on April 24. This will be PM Modis first visit to the newly carved Union Territory (UT) post abrogation of Article 370which granted special status to the erstwhile state. On April 18, suspected militants shot dead a Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan and critically injured another outside a railway station in Pulwama in south Kashmir. This was the ninth attack in the last 18 days of this month. On 15 April, militants shot dead 50-year-old Satish Kumar Singh, a Kashmiri Rajput Hindu and a driver by profession near his residence in Karan village of Kulgam. The killing triggered panic among the minority community, who have been on the receiving end since October 2021 when the series of attacks left them shaken. Fear among minorities Several people from the minority community left the valley in scare in October last year. While many have returned but are living in a state of perpetual fear. We are indeed living in fear now, said Anil Bhat, brother of a Kashmiri Hindu who was shot and injured by militants in South Kashmirs Shopian on April 5. In the first week of the holy month of Ramadan, at least four non-local labourers were shot at and injured by militants in South Kashmir in two militant attacks. The militants again struck in Srinagar city and killed one jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and left another critically injured in the Maisuma area of the city on April 4. Earlier on March 25, the militants barged inside the house of a special police officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and shot dead him and his brother. In the first three months of the ensuing year, 44 militants have been killed while 13 militants were killed in eight encounters in March. In January, 21 militants were killed in 13 gunfights. The government has repeatedly asserted that the return of tourists to the valley is a sign of normalcy. The government said that Kashmir is witnessing a record-breaking tourist footfall this year, the highest in 10 years. In this season, the valley received more than 3.5 lac tourists. However, the spurt in violence is belying these claims. At the same time, the Jammu and Kashmir police have detained several locals believed to be suspects of militant attacks under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA). Even if the government is claiming that normalcy in the valley has returned with the abrogation of Article 370, the attacks on the civilians and security forces continue. The police claimed to have killed four Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants, who were behind the recent targeted killings of non-locals in an operation in south Kashmirs Shopian. The attacks also came ahead of the annual Amaranth Yatra which will commence on June 30 this year. Tense atmosphere in the Valley The Concerned Citizens Group (CCG), in its 10th report released on Saturday, April 16, said that the atmosphere has worsened in the Valley and communal hatred had significantly increased since the abrogation of Article 370. It stated that a common perception in the Valley was that militancy would continue with local recruitment. The civil rights group, led by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, prepared the report after the members paid a visit to the Kashmir valley. The group included Wajahat Habibullah, former chairman of the Minority Commission and the first chief information commissioner of India; Sushobha Barve, executive secretary, Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, Delhi; Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Kapil Kak; and Bharat Bhushan, a senior journalist, visited Jammu and Kashmir between March 20 and 25. The CCG report noted that the official promotion of the controversial Bollywood movie The Kashmir Files seeks to delegitimize the Valleys majority communitys own pain and suffering of three decades and has made the lives of the Kashmiri Pandits there very unsafe. Civil society groups conveyed to us that the film more reelty than reality, as a leading academic put it seeks to slander, vilify and delegitimise the Valleys majority communitys own pain and suffering of three decades during which period tens of thousands of youths were killed, it said. Auqib Javeed is a journalist based in Kashmir. He tweets at @AuqibJaveed The fentanyl crisis was personal for people who attended a town hall Wednesday evening hosted by The Gazette and news partner KKTV. "[Fentanyl] is killing kids. I work with kids. I want to figure a way to bring this message to the students I work with to let them know that this is bad," said Mark Guthmiller, a school psychologist for Sand Creek High School. "It isn't going out in the country drinking a few beers having a few laughs. No, this is something that could kill you." A recent news release from the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office cited data from the Coroner's Office that 101 people in El Paso County died in 2021 due to fentanyl 99 via overdose and intoxication and two who took it to commit suicide. In 2017, there were only five fentanyl-related deaths. Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly said there has been a more than doubling of fentanyl deaths each year since 2017. Some of those were minors, ranging in age for 1 to 17. Kelly was one of eight panelists at the town hall, along with 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen; interim Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez; Colorado Springs Fire Chief Randy Royal; Cory Notestine, director of counseling and wellness for School District 11; Dr. David Steinbruner, chief medical officer for UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central and Memorial Hospital North; Katie Blickenderfer, chief clinical officer for Diversus Health; and El Paso County Undersheriff Joe Roybal. Kelly said that the average age of people dying from fentanyl use is 35, compared with 47, for deaths from use of other drugs. According to Royal, 1% of Colorado Springs Fire Department calls are fentanyl-related. Though the percentage is small, the number is huge. "It's everybody's problem now," Kelly said. Kelly said the rise of the drug is the latest wave of the opioid epidemic that began in the 1990s when providers began increasing the number of opioid prescriptions. Part of the issue with fentanyl is how ubiquitous and deadly it is. The synthetic fentanyl is easy to make, can be made year-round, and doesn't require a grow operation. It can be masked as a prescription drug and even as candy. A poster displayed at the town hall meeting by the District Attorney's Office showcased numerous articles and tweets from East Coast media outlets and public officials warning of fentanyl-laced products designed to mimic common sweets such as gummy worms or Skittles. The drug also is very profitable, Vasquez said. Cartel bosses can invest $2,000 for a kilogram of the drug and make 500,000 pills that could sell for $5 each, netting a profit of more than $2 million. Because the drug can be trafficked in various ways disguised as prescription pills, mailed, placed into backpacks, and so on it has a broad impact. Putting its lethality at 2 milligrams into perspective, Steinbruner said that when he prescribes fentanyl for legitimate reasons such as pain control, he prescribes 50 to 100 micrograms. There are 1,000 micrograms in a milligram. The doctor recommended families have some Narcan at home. Narcan, which has the generic name of Naloxone, is a opioid antagonist that can reverse the effect of respiratory depression that occurs during a fentanyl overdose. He cited a standing order that allows more than 200 pharmacies statewide to carry and distribute Narcan without a prescription. Stoptheclockcolorado.org has a map where people can find a participating pharmacy near them. Allen pointed to the diverse backgrounds of the panel at the town hall as showcasing the breadth of the danger of the drug. "It is affecting everybody in our community," he said. "From our schools, to our fire department, to our treatment providers to our coroner's office to the DA's office to parents out on the street." Discussion turned to how to best control fentanyl's use. Allen implored attendees to watch the legislation being passed by elected officials, pointing to House Bill 1263, passed in 2019, which made it so that possession of 4 grams or less of Schedule 1 or 2 drugs is a misdemeanor as opposed to a felony. Fentanyl is a Schedule 2 drug. After the town hall, Allen said legislation targeting fentanyl specifically could be effective because of just how different it is from other substances. "Methamphetamine, if you use it, is not going kill you immediately, cocaine is not going to kill you immediately. Fentanyl, if you get a lethal dose, you're dying within a minute or two and so yes, I think [legislation] can be tailored specifically to fentanyl and I think it should be frankly because it so different and so much more dangerous than the other drugs," Allen said. Education was another way the panelists recommended attacking the problem. Blickenderfer advocated for harm reduction and other programs to help those who are already using, and preventive education for those who had never taken the drug. "I think the first thing we recognize is that scaring our youth is not going to be the answer ... but having honest conversations about what we're going to be able to do and where can you turn for support," Notestine said. Watch the full discussion on The Gazette's Facebook page. Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Reporter Stephanie Earls is a news reporter and columnist at The Gazette. Before moving to Colorado Springs in 2012, she worked for newspapers in upstate NY, WA, OR and at her hometown weekly in Berkeley Springs, WV, where she got her start in journalism. PM Pham Minh Chinh to visit US, attend ASEAN-US Special Summit Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a Vietnamese high-level delegation to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit and pay a visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters during a routine press conference on April 21. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. (Photo: VNA) The ASEAN-US Special Summit will take place in Washington D.C from May 12 - 13 in celebration of the 45th anniversary of bilateral dialogue relations. PM Chinh will also take the occasion to meet with UN officials, Hang said, noting that Vietnam is actively preparing for the PMs trip to the US. The preparation for the summit is going in line with ASEAN procedures, she continued, and at the moment, both parties are making very active arrangements for this major event. Both ASEAN and the US are looking forward to the success of the summit, she added. The spokesperson also held that since Vietnam and the US established diplomatic ties 27 years ago, the two countries have come a long way on the basis of a win-win partnership and mutual respect for each others independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions. On such a basis, we want and stand ready to work with President Joe Bidens administration to further promote deeper, more effective and sustainable relations for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world, she stated. Viral videos have flooded social media showing Hindu extremist mobs armed with swords, guns and rods, taking out processions through Muslim areas, blasting Islamophobic songs, chanting Hindu religious slogans, attacking mosques, shrines, Muslim families, homes and their businesses. TCN News Support TwoCircles Washington, DC The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group based in the United States, has condemned the large-scale days long Hindu extremist violence against Muslims across several Indian states during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. Starting the first week of April, the violence has spread far and wide with targeted street violence against Muslims and their places of worship as well as their homes, stores and businesses, especially during the Hindu festivals of Ram Navami on April 10 and Hanuman Jayanti on April 16, IAMC said in a statement. Viral videos that have flooded social media show Hindu extremist mobs armed with swords, guns and rods, taking out processions through Muslim areas, blasting Islamophobic songs, chanting Hindu religious slogans, attacking mosques, shrines, Muslim families, homes and their businesses, it said. The news reports and videos circulating on different social media platforms suggest that the violence was orchestrated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu supremacist paramilitary organization and its militant affiliates like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal. The RSS is the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), IAMC said. Most incidents were reported in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Goa, Bihar and West Bengal. Muslim homes, businesses, mosques and shrines were attacked, vandalized and burnt in the BJP ruled Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. In Madhya Pradeshs Khargone city, the epicentre of violence, the local administration demolished Muslim homes and shops, doubly victimizing them after Hindu extremist mobs had terrorized and targeted them. In Gujarats Himmatnagar, the Hindu extremists set fire to a Muslim shrine. In Delhis Jahangirpuri, VHP and Bajrang Dal militants, armed with swords, tridents and guns, took out a rally on Hanuman Jayanti and tried to hoist a saffron flag and pelted stones at a mosque. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi has blamed the BJP for instigating the violence, stating that the AAPs Hanuman Jayanti procession had been entirely peaceful. In Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Muslims reported that Hindu extremist mobs stormed Muslim dominated areas of the city, pelting stones at properties, attempting to break into homes, and chanting hateful slogans. Hindu extremists threatened to bulldoze Muslim-owned homes and forced several Muslim families to flee. In Mulbagal, Karnataka, the police assaulted Muslim residents during a Hindu extremist rally. The police included a boy who was on his way home from offering prayers. Raja Singh, a BJP leader from Telangana state, was booked by Hyderabad police for leading a Hindu extremist rally and delivering an anti-Muslim hate speech. Singh had claimed that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a close ally of Prime Minister Modi, would use a bulldozer to clean the country and turn it into a Hindu Rashtra (nation) very soon. Instead of holding the Hindu extremists accountable, the police in the states ruled by the BJP have arrested Muslims on false and fabricated charges of violence. Local state authorities have also ordered the demolition of Muslim-owned homes and shops, punishing poor Muslims for resisting the violent Hindu mobs. It is noteworthy that no Hindus who set mosques on fire, pelted stones, beat Muslims, or robbed Muslim homes have had their homes bulldozed. Every religious group has a right to celebrate their festivals. However, it is shameful and despicable that Hindu extremists in India are using their festivals to terrorize Indian Muslims with physical assaults, vandalism, and arson. It is alarming that these acts of large-scale violence are being committed in the presence of the police, said Rasheed Ahmed, Executive Director of IAMC. Ahmed further termed the bulldozing of Muslim houses and shops as complete injustice and a grave breach of Indian and international law. IAMC urged the international human rights organizations & civil society groups to take note of the deteriorating situation in India, which it said has the potential to turn into a full-blown Muslim and Christian genocide in the coming months. IAMC also called on the US State Department to ask the Indian government to stop stoking the anti-Muslim sentiment, punish the Hindu extremists involved in the anti-Muslim violence, and accept the recommendation of the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to designate India as Country of Particular Concern (CPC). Jimmy Sengenberger is host of The Jimmy Sengenberger Show Saturdays from 6-9am on News/Talk 710 KNUS. He also hosts Jimmy at the Crossroads, a webshow and podcast in partnership with The Washington Examiner. Teachers who participated in the February sick-out found flyers on their windshields. An unnamed teacher said that the leaflets were only applied to vehicles that had messages about union solidarity and in support of their fired superintendent painted on them. DES MOINES Iowa is set to receive an additional $5.3 million in federal funding to help residents lower their home energy bills this summer, the White House announced Thursday. The funding is part of $385 million being released nationally by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the White House said. The funding comes from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and is designed to help low-income families and individuals reduce their home energy costs, including summer cooling. The program is available to Iowans at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, such as a household of three with an income of no more than $43,920, or a household of five with an income of no more than $62,080. The Biden administrations pandemic relief package previously provided $4.5 billion to the energy assistance program, $78.5 million of which was sent to Iowa. Between the new funding release, the pandemic relief package, the bipartisan 2021 infrastructure bill, and regular federal programming, Iowa has received $134.6 million in federal energy assistance funding during the current federal budget year, the White House said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR A legal battle is shaping up to decide whether Dalton City towing company boss Gregory W. Hostetler was just careless about whom he did business with or was instead a knowing buyer of stolen catalytic converters. Macon County Circuit Court Judge Rodney Forbes found probable cause to try the 46-year-old Hostetler on a charge of theft at a preliminary hearing Wednesday. Hostetler entered a plea of not guilty. He had been arrested Feb. 25 after a police operation that used both an undercover seller and a detective who sold suspect catalytic converters to Hostetler himself in one case and employees of his company in another. Giving evidence, Macon County Sheriffs Office Detective Jonathan Roseman said he was the seller in one of the sales and said he was asked for no written proof he was legally allowed to sell a catalytic converter, as required by law, when he walked into Hostetlers business. Questioned by Macon County States Attorney Scott Rueter, Roseman said he had been asked for the vehicle identification number or VIN the converter came from, and said he provided a false one. He said no attempt was made to check whether he was a legitimate seller of the catalytic converter, which is a part of a vehicles exhaust system and highly prized for its expensive scrap value. Roseman said officers probing a rash of the thefts had focused their investigation on Hostetler after being told by known thieves, which cut the devices off of victims cars, that he was a reliable buyer. A search warrant executed at his business found around 60 catalytic converters that had been removed from various vehicles, but Roseman said police only have direct knowledge of Hostetler being involved in at least four or five illegal buys. Defense attorney Joseph Basola, on cross-examination, pushed the detective to define how anyone would be able to tell a catalytic converter had been stolen? Roseman said that would be difficult, and there was no way to identify from which vehicle it had been taken. So how does a businessman who is buying catalytic converters, how would he know whether one was stolen or not? the attorney asked the detective. Rueter objected to the question, saying it called for an opinion, but the judge allowed Roseman to answer. The detective said a basic minimum way to check legitimacy of the buyer would be to ask for proper identification. In my case, I was never asked for an ID and never asked about any ownership of any vehicle and I never provided any written documentation of any kind, he told the attorney. In response to a question from Rueter, Roseman said police found no proper records or documentation of Hostetlers catalytic converter purchases. And so it would be a logical conclusion then, or certainly one logical conclusion, that based upon the failure to keep that documentation, the person purchasing those catalytic converters knew there was a probability or possibility that those were stolen? Rueter asked the detective. Roseman agreed, and said Hostetler even told police later he suspected the converter sold to him by the confidential source working for detectives was stolen but still made no attempt to report his suspicions. Hostetler is due back in court for a pretrial hearing June 10. Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Henry Dinkins, accused of killing 10-year-old Breasia Terrell, will have his trial in Linn County, not Scott County. Dinkins, 49, of Davenport, is accused of kidnapping Breasia on the morning of July 10, 2020. He is alleged to have shot her to death. Her remains were found March 22, 2021, by two fisherman in a Clinton County pond. Dinkins has since been charged with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Each of the charges is a Class A felony under Iowa law that carries a mandatory prison sentence of life without parole. In court documents filed Thursday, the Iowa Supreme Court stated the trial will be moved to Linn County. The supreme court ordered that District Judge Henry Latham who is presiding over Dinkins case and a court reporter be reimbursed for travel and subsistence expenses related to the shift in location. The trial is scheduled for Oct. 17, according to court records. Dinkins consented to the change in venue on April 11, though the change was not finalized at that time. Dinkins and his former court-appointed attorney, Miguel Puentes, requested a change of venue. Latham ordered it March 30 without establishing the location. Puentes withdrew from the case after he and Dinkins could not reconcile a break in their attorney-client relationship, according to court records. Dinkins attorneys, Chad and Jennifer Frese of Marshalltown, were appointed April 4 by Latham. Dinkins is being held in the Marshall County Jail. Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane said on April 12 that Dinkins was moved so he could to be closer to his new attorneys. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mike Grandon was a master at both wit and wisdom in his many years of public service. Grandon, 79, a lifelong Clear Laker until his final years, died Sunday at a senior living center in Eagan, Minnesota. He was Cerro Gordo County treasurer for nine terms, retiring in 2010. Think about that. Nine terms, including the last eight when he was unopposed for re-election. I had the opportunity to cover him many times as his career at the courthouse and mine at the Globe overlapped. Grandon was a proud, loyal Democrat but always said his party affiliation had no bearing on how he did his job. I know of no liberal or conservative way to sell license plates, he said with his typical candor laced with humor. He was first elected in 1974. A few months into his first term, he was diagnosed with having a brain tumor. It was benign and operable, a lucky combination to have, he said after he underwent successful surgery. I asked him years later if recovering from such a serious situation had any impact on how he looked on life from that day forward. Oh, he said, I dont get nearly as upset when I cant find matching socks. He sometimes gave the appearance of having a rough edge to him, but he was a softie at heart. Back in the days when people actually had to purchase new license plates instead of tags, Mike would sometimes go out in the courthouse parking lot in the dead of winter to assist elderly patrons putting the plates on their cars. He was serious about his politics. I asked him one time what the real difference was between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats tax and spend, he said. Republicans just spend. Grandon volunteered his time in many different ways and expressed concern for people who were downtrodden through no fault of their own. If you find yourself in quicksand, the only way you can get out is if someone gives you a hand, he once said. And a lot of people are born in quicksand. After retiring as treasurer in 2010, he stayed out of the limelight for four years and then decided to run for county supervisor. In the Democratic primary, he lost by one vote in a four-person race but since none of the candidates got 35 percent of the vote, the election was decided by 13 delegates at the county convention. Grandon realized he was going to lose but had committed to one last campaign appearance. Wit and wisdom prevailed again as he told the delegates, As I speak tonight, I feel like Im rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. No mention of him would be complete without citing his devotion to his church and especially to his wife and children. Early in his retirement I asked him to reflect on his life and career, and if there was one moment that stood out more than any others. He didnt hesitate. He said, When my son asked me to be the best man at his wedding. You were one of a kind, Mike, in so many ways. A really good kind. John Skipper retired from the Globe Gazette in February 2018 after 52 years in newspapers, most of that in Mason City covering North Iowa government and politics. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 targetbusiness wrote: A college admissions officer predicts that 20 percent of the students who are accepted will not attend the college. According to this prediction, how many students should be accepted to achieve a planned enrollment of x students? A. 1.05x B. 1.1x C. 1.2x D. 1.25x E. 1.8x 20 percent of the students who are accepted will not attend the college Ive spent the last 20 years helping students overcome their difficulties with GMAT math, and the biggest thing Ive learned is Students often get questions wrong NOT because they lack the skills to solve them, but because they dont understand what the GMAT is testing. Learn more Brent Hanneson Creator of gmatprepnow.comIve spent the last 20 years helping students overcome their difficulties with GMAT math, and the biggest thing Ive learned is Signature Read More In other words, 80 percent of the students who are accepted WILL ATTEND the college.In other words, 4/5 of the students who are accepted WILL ATTEND the college.We can write (4/5)(# accepted) = # who attendLet x = # of students who attend.We get the equation: (4/5)(# accepted) = xMultiply both sides by 5/4 to get: # accepted = (5/4)xRewrite as: # accepted = 1.25xAnswer: DCheers,Brent_________________ mohankumarbd wrote: Conclusion Because of these restrictions, many American scientists who specialize in the field of stem cell research have signed long-term contracts to work for foreign companies. Conclusion Relates to conclusion and states facts that we know are true Deceptive answer, but we do not know this to be true, some could break there contracts. Nothing to do with financing is stated, irrelevant! Does not say this, they could or could not. Does not say this, could or could not happen Government restrictions have severely limited the amount of stem cell research Americancompanies can conduct.Recently, Congress has proposed lifting all restrictions on stem cellresearch.Which of the following conclusions can most properly be inferred from theinformation above?A) At least some foreign companies that conduct stem cell research work under fewerrestrictions than some American companies do.b) Because American scientists are under long-term contracts to foreign companies, there willbe a significant influx of foreign professionals into the United States.c) In all parts of the world, stem cell research is dependent on the financial backing of localgovernment.d) In the near future, American companies will no longer be at the forefront of stem cellresearch.e) If restrictions on stem cell research are lifted, many of the American scientists will breaktheir contracts to return to American companies.Main CR Qs link - Main link - cr-qs-600-700-level-131508.html The Danville School Board unanimously voted to approve the school systems proposed $98.2 million 2022-23 budget during its meeting Thursday night. Danville Public Schools budget for the upcoming year includes about $58 million from state funding, $6.6 million in federal grants, $22.8 million in local funding from the city of Danville and $948,191 from other restricted/special revenue. That makes up the $88.4 million total operating budget for the school system, School Superintendent Angela Hairston said during a presentation to the school board. However, the numbers could change once the General Assembly approves the state budget. The current budget proposal is based on former Gov. Ralph Northams proposed state budget before he left office in January. The school systems figures for its upcoming budget are contingent on the adjustments that will be made following approval of the state budget under current Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Hairston told school board members during her budget presentation. Eighty percent of our [operating] budget goes toward salary and benefits, Hairston pointed out. The remaining 20% goes toward operations, including items such as textbooks, buses and other areas, she added. A rise in student enrollment has led to an increase in anticipated state funding. The citys school system has 5,736 students attending classes this year 231 more students than in 2020-21, when 5,505 were enrolled, according to figures from school officials. Hairston said last month the additional students are coming from private schools, homeschooling and families who have moved to the city from outside the area. The school systems Virtual Academy has played a large role. In addition to the $88.4 million operating budget, the overall budget also includes about $5.2 million for capital outlay and nearly $4.6 million for the child nutrition budget for a total of $98.2 million. A 5% salary increase for employees, a stipend for staff for extended school year to address learning loss and an increase in substitute pay to support teacher planning are part of the budget. Hairston also plans for increased support for mental health services, strategies for improving student attendance and summer school opportunities in the 2022-23 budget. Additional gifted teachers, content specialists and dual enrollment opportunities are also on the table, as well as addition of skilled trades to the school divisions Career and Technical Education programs. The budget also includes upgrades to tracks at George Washington High School and Langston Focus School, technology upgrades and new school buses with air conditioning, Hairston said. The school system has bought eight new buses and older buses will be retrofitted with air conditioning, she said. We need air-conditioned buses for safety with more school in the summer, she said. Danville City Council also must approve the school systems proposed budget. In other matters, the school board unanimously approved a resolution supporting the use of revenues generated from the upcoming Caesars Virginia Casino at the former Dan River Inc. site at Schoolfield. The Danville School Board supports money allocated to improve wraparound services, universal pre-K, raising the funding levels to support instructional needs to include improved teacher salaries, increased access to Danville Community College for post-graduates, investment in the K-3 literacy initiative, and financial support for positive out-of-school/after-school programming, the resolution states. The resolution also points out that Danville voters approved a 1% sales tax increase to fund needed school building improvements. Costs for necessary major capital projects are more than $194 million, the resolution states. 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. Danville and Pittsylvania County continue to crack down on skill game operators out of compliance. Thursday morning, the Danville Board of Zoning Appeals voted to uphold the zoning administrators decision to disallow two gaming operators from applying for special use permits for indoor commercial recreation. What they were proposing was against the law, said Gus Dyer, the boards chairman. We upheld that determination [from the zoning administrator]. He was correct in telling them they could not apply. The skill game machines were illegal under current ABC rules, said Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Doug Plachcinski. They were proposed for locations at 504 Kemper Road and 3007 Riverside Drive. You cannot ask permission for something that has never been legal, Plachcinski told the Danville Register & Bee. He had sent notices of violation to the two locations for operating skill games. In a zoning variance/appeal of a zoning violation for games at 3007 Riverside Drive, SND Management LLC representative Shelby Fitzgerald wrote that skill games are in the Virginia Judicial System and there is no clear legal guidance on this issue. There are other stores within a close radius that offer skill games, Fitzgerald added. Skill games are already in use throughout the city and state. A special use permit is not available for Danvilles [businesses] and therefore needs to be granted. In the second appeal regarding games at Kemper Road, Usman Enterprises Inc. representative Gazanfar Ali wrote that skill games were operating on his street and within his property location. However, Ali was allowed by the board to operate skilled games at 900 S. Main St. pending consideration of his application for a special use permit there. That location was legal under previous state law and had received a notice of violation under the citys old rules, before the city recently classified skill games under adult use, Plachcinski said. Therefore, Ali can apply for a special use permit under the citys old ordinance, Plachcinski said. Skill games are illegal in the state of Virginia. However, there is a court injunction against enforcing the ban pending the outcome of a court case next month in Greensville County. But Danville can still enforce violations of its zoning ordinance, even if they involve skill games. Earlier this month, the Danville Planning Commission voted to postpone consideration of a request for a special use permit for a skill game arcade at a former car dealership on 4764 Riverside Drive until June 13, after the court case is expected to be decided. Brad Skidmore and Bill Powell applied for a special use permit for a skilled gaming facility. They plan to renovate Robert Woodalls former Mitsubishi building into a skilled gaming arcade at 4764 Riverside Drive. So far, Plachcinski said the city has sent out about 10 or 11 notices of violation to gaming facilities that do not have special use permits. There will be a couple of more such appeals heard before the board of zoning appeals next month, he said. Operators that receive a notice have 30 days to appeal or come into compliance with city rules. As for skill game locations in Pittsylvania County, Some of the establishments that were notified have ceased operations, but others continue to operate, said county spokesperson Caleb Ayers. When a business receives notice of violation in the county, it has 15 days to shut down gaming operations, Ayers said. County authorities will take steps to prosecute those that continue to operate skill game machines illegally 15 days after the notice, he said. About eight establishments in the county have been notified so far, Ayers said. However, ones that were operating under old ABC rules are legal and will not receive notices, he added. 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. Gov. Glenn Youngkin is just over three months into his four-year term as Virginia governor, but his political organization already is expanding its reach across a national stage. Last fall, Youngkin narrowly defeated a former governor, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, bidding for a second non-consecutive term in a state that doesnt allow its chief executive to run for reelection. But the Republican political newcomer is trying to parlay his electoral success at winning a formerly blue state to a national platform through a pair of new federally registered organizations to push candidates or issues in other states as well as Virginia. And that has stirred speculation that Youngkin is following the path of Virginia governors considering runs for higher office. Virginia governors quest for a place on a presidential ticket usually are ill-fated, though four of the states last 10 governors before Youngkin Chuck Robb, George Allen, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine subsequently were elected to the U.S. Senate. That is not something the governor really worries about or talks about, said Kristin Davison, vice president of Axiom Strategies, the national consulting firm that managed Youngkins gubernatorial campaign and still advises him. Hes not really thinking about the national scene, Davison said in an interview on Thursday, but that doesnt mean the national scene isnt looking at him. Larry Sabato, president of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, has seen the national spotlight lure many governors, both Democrat and Republican, elected in an off-off year political cycle that gives them the nearly undivided attention of a national audience. They just cant resist, Sabato said Thursday. Youngkins political team last month formed the Spirit of Virginia political action committee under Section 527 of the federal tax code to raise money for political candidates in Virginia and other states, and also Americas Spirit, a social welfare organization under the tax code to advocate for political issues, but not campaigns. Spirit of Virginia has succeeded the essentially defunct state PAC originally led by Youngkins wife, Suzanne, and his chief of staff, Jeff Goettman, and known both as Rebuild Virginia and Virginia Wins. The new PAC, like the old one, is dedicated to restoring and renewing leadership in the Commonwealth, according to filings at the IRS. Americas Spirit is a 501(4) organization that under the tax code must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, which Davison said means advocating for issues and policies, not politicians. In Virginia, the group is registered as a nonstock corporation, based in Midlothian. Both of the new groups are able to raise unlimited amounts of money, but the PAC must report the source of donations while the social welfare organization does not, although it is more restricted in how it spends the contributions it collects. The organizations have a threefold mission, Davison said. The first is to promote Youngkins legislative agenda, as Spirit of Virginia did last month with television ads aimed at pressuring Senate Democrats to agree to a state budget that includes all of his $5 billion tax cut package. The other, more narrowly political missions are to keep Virginia reliably red by electing Republican candidates here and to help other candidates around the country, especially in Democratic-controlled states the GOP hopes to flip, the governors political consultant said. Youngkin isnt involving himself in Republican nominating campaigns in battleground congressional districts for the impending mid-term elections, Davison said. However, she said the governor will help the eventual GOP nominees in the 2nd, 7th and, possibly the 10th districts, where national Republicans have targeted Virginia congresswomen Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton, respectively. Outside of Virginia, Youngkin has attracted Republican attention with a successful campaign that kept former President Donald Trump at arms length while not offending his base, and focused on issues that cut across the political spectrum, such as education and the cost of living, especially taxes. He sparked a movement in Virginia when he won last year focused on kitchen-table issues, Davison said. And that movement has continued to grow around the country. Youngkin waved off a question about his potential presidential aspirations in an appearance on CNBCs Squawk Box that he used to push his tax cut and education plans. Ive got a new job in Virginia, and Im extremely excited to be doing it, he said. But Sabato is skeptical, after watching governors from Linwood Holton to McAuliffe follow the national siren song from across the Potomac River in Washington. Former Gov. Doug Wilder called his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992 his biggest mistake, the political analyst observed, and you know, he doesnt admit mistakes. Former Gov. Jim Gilmore twice sought the GOP presidential nomination. Gov. Bob McDonnell flirted with being named to a national ticket as vice president, but that faded amid a personal scandal at the end of his term. Warner traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire in 2006 before announcing that he would not seek the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Virginia is the Mother of Presidents birthplace of eight of the 46 and three presidents were former Virginia governors: Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler. Kaine is only recent Virginia governor to reach a national ticket, running for vice president in Democrat Hillary Clintons failed presidential bid in 2016. McAuliffe announced in April 2019 that he would not run for president in 2020. Two governors who resisted the national spotlight were Mills Godwin, the only two-term governor in modern Virginia history, and Jerry Baliles. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who preceded Youngkin, has returned to his medical practice and says hes not likely to run for political office again. Godwin set the right example, by saying there was no higher honor than to be governor of Virginia, Sabato said. If only they all believed it, because theyre better governors when they do. GREENSBORO On this Saturday, two groups of people stand watch in the 20-space parking lot of a Japanese steakhouse, each staking out their own territory. When a car pulls in, often with a woman driving, each group springs to action. Those wearing rainbow-colored vests motion in the direction of the abortion clinic, guiding drivers to the proper place to park. Others, dressed in navy Sidewalk for Life hoodies, wave, smile and put their hands in a praying position. Some wield signs, such as one reading God loves you and your baby. We can help. While theres no shouting or screaming, the scene is no less jarring for those arriving at the abortion clinic for the first time. The restaurant parking lot is contested ground an unusual place for actions so significant. Both anti-abortion advocates and abortion-rights clinic escorts are represented there, and both sides are aware it can overwhelm those who come. But both sides stand their ground outside a Womans Choice of Greensboro clinic for hours at a time, five days a week. They feel compelled to be there. Both sides believe they are helping the women who come. **** Lauren O., 26, is one of about 50 people who serve as volunteer escorts. Escorts serve as a friendly face when patients pull in. They offer to walk patients inside the clinic. They speak gentle, reassuring words. They play music over a speaker to dull the volume of the anti-abortion advocates words a request made by patients. Escorts are essential to the clinic, helping to reduce confusion and ensure patient safety. Wearing rainbow-colored vests, they position themselves on clinic property as well as the adjacent restaurant parking lot. Because the clinic is not visible from the main road, patients sometimes miss the turn and enter the restaurant parking lot, which is consistently occupied by anti-abortion advocates. If this happens, abortion-rights advocates can be quick to approach the car and initiate conversations about the patients reproductive decisions. If we werent there to contextualize this and tell folks these are protesters, not random well-meaning citizens, not just kind Christian folks, people would be confused, more likely to be misdirected and have a harder time accessing care, said Lauren, who did not want her last name used to protect her personal security. Escorts view their role as being there for patients needs, not influencing patients decisions. Were here to make sure everyones safe. Thats the priority, not that everybody gets a procedure, said Ten H., 24, an escort who did not want their last name used for the same reason. But Lauren said anti-abortion advocates perceive them differently. She said they push a narrative that escorts want to make the clinic money and force people to have abortions. Saturday is the clinics busiest and most crowded day. As a result, 10-15 escorts are usually present, with about as many and often more anti-abortion advocates. The crowd can be intimidating, though the protesters are rarely effective in halting an abortion. Escorts say they are there to combat the protesters words with understanding and reassurance. Its given me the opportunity to be the person who looks them in the eye and says, I believe youre a good person. I believe youre a good parent, Lauren said. Seeing the relief and the weight roll off their shoulders when they hear that first encouraging word to then have the strength to go into their appointment and do what they need to do is so meaningful. Although the clinic may be calmer on weekdays in terms of volume, Ten said that anti-abortion advocates can act more boldly when escorts are in smaller numbers. Generally, there are three to five escorts during the week and a similar number of anti-abortion advocates. The clinic does not allow the anti-abortion advocates to come on its property Ten, who is one of the few escorts of color, has heard explicitly racist insults. They choose to target me, Ten said. I expected that going into this because a lot of times Ive seen that pro-life or anti-abortion people often have similar beliefs as white supremacists. And so I was anticipating that, but it was just alarming. Ten often wears sunglasses and Bluetooth headphones to tune out anti-abortion advocates as much as possible. Similarly, Lauren said the name-calling has taken a mental toll. Shes been called evil, selfish and the demonic one. In therapy, she discusses how hearing these repeated comments affects her sense of self and how she must resist internalizing the insults. Bobby Singleton, co-founder of Triad Coalition for Life, an organization that compiles pregnancy resources and coordinates a daily presence outside the clinic, said name-calling is not allowed by anyone affiliated with his group. Each of the groups pool of about 50 volunteers has agreed to a code of conduct he strictly enforces that prohibits verbal abuse of patients and escorts. It also bans obstructing entry to the clinic. Singleton said there used to be a group outside the clinic unrelated to Triad Coalition for Life that was combative and shouted at patients and escorts. He said they havent been there for months. Escorts keep coming back, despite the mental toll. I think its essential that people know that theyre supported when they go to a clinic because of all of the shame and stigma and all of the misconceptions about abortion and about the people who get them, Ten said. **** Positioned just beyond the trespassing boundary is a group of anti-abortion advocates. This is their preferred terminology, rather than the label of protesters the clinic and escorts use. Before a wooden cross, they use a microphone and speaker to promote resources for single mothers and urge those entering the clinic to choose life. Remember you dont have to do this, Becky, an anti-abortion advocate, who did not want her last name used to protect her privacy, said on the mic. We love you and are praying for you. We dont want you to be harmed either through this. And this is harmful to you. At 10 a.m., about 30 people wearing turquoise Love Life shirts arrive at the parking lot. Love Life is a national group whose goal is to establish a consistent Christian witness at every abortion center across the country. Every Saturday, during its 40-week campaign, the group walks about a half-mile from Destiny Christian Center to the clinic to pray for the abortion providers, escorts and women terminating their pregnancies. This is a business a business that is making money off death, a male Love Life leader said. Its a place that has a culture of death, and were praying that people would choose life. We pray that repentance would happen and people would choose life in Jesus name. A pink ultrasound bus from the Pregnancy Network, a Christian, multi-denominational organization seeking to serve Triad women facing unplanned pregnancies, is parked prominently. Its available for free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and STD tests. The mobile unit started coming to the clinic in 2018. The organization also has its information plastered overhead on the closest billboard to the clinic. For the past two and a half years, Becky, 38, has spent nearly every day at the clinic during its operating hours. She said its what God has called her to do and that he gives her the words to reach out to women. Any of the tough information that we tell women is because we want them to know now while they still have a choice instead of them finding out after they no longer have a choice, so any of the tough information is said in love, Becky said. Were here in love. Were not here in judgment. Shanda, 45, who also did not want her last name used to protect her privacy, started coming to the clinic more than two years ago. She said her first experience was confusing as she came by herself and was mistaken as a patient. As a Black woman, she said she looked like most of the people who go into the clinic. That observation highlighted the need for her to represent her anti-abortion viewpoint. Black women in North Carolina have the highest rates of abortion, 21 per 1,000 people, according to 2019 data from the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics. Shanda comes to the clinic about three times a week. She tries to talk with patients about choosing life, but she doesnt scream at them. Its easy to get discouraged by the number of people going into the clinic, she said. On average, she said maybe one in 25 women will stop on their way into the clinic, but its always a guessing game. You can go all week and not have a single connection or you can go the following week and have like three or four a day, Shanda said. While anti-abortion advocates efforts may not stop many abortions, Shanda easily recalls success stories that inspire her to keep showing up in the hopes of adding to her list of patients who didnt have an abortion. When you start going through your phone and youre looking at the pictures of babies that are actually here because of you, the moms that call and say thank you for either walking me through this or thank you for referring me to post-abortive counseling thats all the reward there is, Shanda said. Becky also said shes held babies born after a mom continued a pregnancy to term, even thrown baby showers for them. Both said its not their place to change someones mind, but they feel its important to be outside the clinic to offer an alternative viewpoint or be a sign that they dont have to terminate the pregnancy. We stay as long as we can to reach out to as many women as we can, because we dont want to miss that one, Becky said. **** The abortion clinic wasnt always this fraught scene. Located just back from the main road, the 2,772-square-foot building with two operating rooms was known only to employees and those seeking its services. But that all changed when anti-abortion advocates started having a daily physical presence outside the clinic. They have signs. They yell racially charged really disgusting language and say really inaccurate and harmful things to our staff and our patients under the guise of sidewalk counseling, said Amber Gavin, vice president of advocacy & operations at A Womans Choice, in reference to the environment seen across the independent abortion providers clinics. Its a challenge that we constantly see. The rise of activity outside the abortion clinic emphasized the need for escorts to help ensure patients could enter the clinic safely and prevent confusion from crowds unaffiliated with the clinic and lacking medical credentials. Now, a scene of anti-abortion advocates and escorts is common outside clinics across the state and country. In addition to the abortion clinic in Greensboro, A Womans Choice operates clinics in Raleigh, Charlotte and Jacksonville, Fla. The independent abortion provider has had a presence in North Carolina for 14 years. In 2017, the Charlotte facility opened to expand access, specifically locating near the airport to facilitate easy travel. Fifteen clinics offer some form of abortion services in North Carolina. They are located in Wake, Mecklenburg, Orange, Durham, Guilford, Buncombe, Cumberland, Forsyth and New Hanover counties. In 2019, the most recent year for which complete data exists, 143,004 pregnancies among North Carolina residents were reported to the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics. Of the known pregnancies, about 16% were terminated through an abortion procedure, amounting to 23,495 abortions performed. The history of violence against abortion providers, clinic escorts and abortion nurses is well documented, and its not that far in the past, Lauren said. Its not that far removed, and its still very present in my mind. A Preferred Womens Health Center in Charlotte received a bomb threat credible enough to evacuate patients in January 2021. Gavin said operating abortion clinics is a challenge in the midst of passionate anti-abortion advocates, employee recruitment, strict state regulations requiring mandated scripted counseling and a 72-hour waiting period and the looming threat of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court. Whatever the outcome is will have a huge effect on abortion care throughout the United States, Gavin said. And so I think its fair to say that were all anxious and that Roe has the potential to become decimated and so it really will be left up to the states, which is scary. **** At age 20, Lauren terminated an ectopic pregnancy, one in which the fertilized egg grows outside the uterus. It was a vastly different experience than patients encounter at A Womans Choice of Greensboros clinic. Instead of going to an abortion clinic, she received a shot of methotrexate, a drug used to medically induce miscarriage, at the hospital. I was catered to as a white woman having an abortion for what society labeled a medical reason, Lauren said. She made her decision in consultation with her doctor and free from encounters with anti-abortion advocates. Without a crowd second-guessing her, she was able to feel at peace with her decision. But spending days outside the clinic as an escort reveals that most women dont get to have her experience, though she wishes it were the norm. Lauren and Ten both dream of a day when clinic escorts arent needed and theres cultural acceptance around abortions, so everyone feels safe and confident in their decisions. Becky and Shanda dream of a day when abortion is no longer legal and practiced. They no longer wish to see abortion promoted or funded by the government, and instead want the emphasis to turn to pregnancy centers and adoption. But, for now, the action and noise in the parking lot outside the clinic will continue to ebb and flow with its operating hours, as onlookers continue to take a special interest in the decisions being made inside. Neither group plans to go anywhere. UNC Media Hub is a collection of students from the various concentrations in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media working together to create integrated and free multimedia packages covering stories from around North Carolina. GREENSBORO State health officials are continuing to report an increase in new COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, but havent seen a significant spike in hospitalizations. There were 7,279 new cases reported for the week ending April 16, compared to 4,741 the previous week, in data released Wednesday by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Despite the uptick in new cases, the state reported that 278 patients with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals across North Carolina during the week ending April 16 up slightly from 242 patients the previous week. Thats in comparison to a high this year of 4,285 COVID-19 patients admitted the week ending Jan. 29. Cone Health also has reported that COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped steadily in recent months. Twenty-five COVID-19 patients were hospitalized Friday in Cone Health hospitals, compared to 40 on March 22; 129 on Feb. 22; and 303 on Jan. 22, according to Cone Health spokesman Doug Allred. This weeks DHHS report showed the percentage of emergency room visits for COVID-19 symptoms stayed at 2% for the week ending April 16, the same as the previous week. In Guilford County, public health officials reported 155 new cases Friday, and no new deaths. Countywide, there are 1,451 active cases, officials said. Another metric that health experts are watching closely is the number of COVID-19 virus particles in wastewater. It is serving as an early indicator of how quickly the virus may spread without relying on individual test results. It turns out that the (COVID-19) numbers you find in sewage reflect probably closer now than absolute case numbers, said Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious disease expert with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. In the states latest report, 5.1 million COVID-19 virus particles were found in wastewater samples last week, up from 2.1 million for the week that ended April 9. To put that into context, 100 million COVID-19 particles were found in wastewater samples in late January during the peak of the omicron surge. You can watch the sewage numbers in a particular community to determine whether your COVID (spread) is going up or down, Ohl said. It also tends to show up earlier than with the absolute case numbers and hospitalizations, which tend to lag behind two to three weeks. Ohl said the latest local wastewater samples provide evidence that COVID-19 has plateaued in the Triad, while those numbers are rising both in Charlotte and the Triangle. We are getting closer to where we were in October, and our hospitalizations havent really gone up a lot in recent weeks, Ohl said. Ohl said that for Baptist facilities, all but one of their COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated. Ohl said the Triad and North Carolina are benefiting, as expected, from warmer spring weather and people getting outside more during daylight hours. DHHS reports the BA.2 variant made up 78% of North Carolina cases for the period of March 27 to April 9. Ohl said its become clear that there are at least two subvariants mutating from BA.2 that could eventually affect the Triad. However, Ohl said that because there hasnt been an immediate surge with BA.2 he doesnt believe the community spread will be anything close to delta or omicron. At least 52% of North Carolina residents have had at least one booster shot or additional dose of vaccine, the DHHS report showed. At least 76% of adults in North Carolina have had at least one dose of vaccine, and 38% of children ages 5 through 17 have had at least one dose. Guilford Countys COVID-19 community level spread remains low, according to metrics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also on Friday, the CDC announced that, for the second year, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. Contact Annette Ayres at 336-373-7019. 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. Public defenders in Montana will be getting raises after their union and state officials struck a deal, just a day after the public defenders' office said it would boost pay to help recruitment and retention efforts. The pay hike is "front loaded," Timm Twardoski said Friday, meaning the biggest raises are going to attorneys who are newer to the job. Twardoski is the executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 9. Entry-level attorneys who were making roughly $65,000 a year will now make more than $76,000, while attorneys in their third year are seeing a raise from about $84,000 to more than $89,000. AFSCME Montana Council 9 and Local 3448 negotiations teams met with representatives from the Office of the State Public Defender for the talks Friday. Twardoski said the union has essentially been in constant talks with the agency and the Legislature since the state took over running public defender operations from the counties in the 2000s. The new agreement comes as the Office of the State Public Defender has for months been making its case to state lawmakers for the need to raise pay for public defenders, who could earn more doing legal work for other state agencies. On Thursday OPD announced it had support from Gov. Greg Gianforte and the state budget office to open negotiations with the union to boost pay. "Weve been in communication the union and OPD for a long time and a lot of years and of course nobody really knew where we were going to end today, but we knew recruitment and retention were an issue and this helps us all," Twardoski said. The agency has 132 attorneys statewide, and only nine will see the smallest raise of roughly 50 cents an hour, Twardoski said. "Those nine folks at the end, we're going to try to do something for them in the future," he said. "But if we can help 123, or 132 attorneys, that just makes sense." The Office of the State Public Defender announced on Thursday it was immediately raising rates for its contract attorneys from $56 to $71. The higher rate had already been established in the agency's region around Yellowstone County, where the office had been struggling to assign attorneys to indigent clients due to workforce retention issues. Love 1 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. TOWNSEND A judge on Friday sentenced 66-year-old Lloyd Barrus to life without parole in the Montana State Prison for his role in the 2017 shooting death of Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore. District Judge Kathy Seeley also gave Barrus two additional life sentences for a high-speed chase he and his son, Marshall Barrus, had with police that ended in a shootout 100 miles away in Missoula County. Marshall Barrus was mortally wounded in the shootout. The three life sentences will run concurrently. Several people, including Moores wife, Jodi, gave statements inside a packed courtroom in the Broadwater County Courthouse before Seeley imposed the sentence. Jodi Moore said her husband was executed at close range. Execute. Thats what he did. Lets call it that, she said. Please do not allow this man the opportunity or possibility to ever do this again to another family. He has proven by his past behavior that he will do this again and again. Seeley said it was, indeed, an execution. I dont know that there was a plan per se, but these two men with their extremist anti-government beliefs were both out of control, and they both made bad choices over and over that evening, Seeley said. I do not believe if he is out in the streets that the public will be safe. Barrus showed little emotion during the hearing but did speak briefly. I am truly sorry for the loss, uh, the Moore familys loss, he said, flanked by defense attorneys Craig Shannon and Greg Jackson. My son I dont see how anybody could be more upset than I am for what happened here. Prosecutors say Lloyd and Marshall Barrus held anti-law enforcement views and were on a suicide mission on May 16, 2017, when they provoked Deputy Moore shortly after 2 a.m. by passing him on U.S. 287 south of Townsend driving 100 mph. They were in a Chevy Suburban and Lloyd Barrus was driving. They say Moore was struck in the face by a bullet through his windshield, his car stopped in the grass just south of Three Forks, and he was alive until the Suburban returned four minutes later and additional gunshots from a semi-automatic rifle ended his life. They say Marshall Barrus fired the mortal rounds. Butte-Silver Bow police spotted the Suburban moving westbound on I-90 about an hour later and started a 90-mile chase, ending in a shootout in Missoula County. Bullets fired from the Suburban knocked two Butte patrol cars from the pursuit, but by then troopers and police from several counties were involved. The Suburban came to a stop just inside Missoula County, its tires shredded by stop-sticks, and a firefight broke out. Marshall was hit and later died while Barrus escaped injury and was arrested. In September, a jury in Butte found Barrus guilty of deliberate homicide by accountability in Moores death, and of two counts of attempted deliberate homicide for the high-speed chase and shootout. Defense attorneys for Barrus argued Friday, as they have the past five years, that Barrus suffered from mental illness and severe delusional disorders. They wanted him to be sentenced to Montana State Hospital. Who was driving that car? His delusional disorder was, Shannon told the judge. But Seeley had already decided he was going to Montana State Prison so the only question was for how long. Seeley ruled last month that even though Barrus was paranoid in the days leading up to Moores death, he understood the criminality and wrongfulness of his actions. Her ruling meant Barrus would be sent to state prison as prosecutors requested. Moores brother, Nebraska Moore, told the judge Friday Barrus should never have been free to commit the crimes he did that night. In March 2000, Lloyd Barrus, another son and a woman were arrested after a high-speed chase and armed standoff with police in Death Valley, California, that lasted more than 18 hours. They eventually exchanged gunfire with police and reportedly damaged a California Highway Patrol helicopter and forced it to land. Barrus was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was ultimately released. The state of California, in its infinite wisdom, released the convicted individual from confinement to do what he said he was born to do to attack and ultimately kill law enforcement officers, Nebraska Moore said. That Barrus was not going to be executed by the state of Montana was an unwarranted mercy, he said. The next time I make popcorn, I will regret that I am not eating it at his execution, he said. The next time I have a beer, I will take great satisfaction in knowing that while there is alcohol in prison, its usually fermented in a trash bag in somebodys toilet. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty but dropped that because Barrus has had extensive mental health issues that could have been a significant mitigating circumstance for imposing death. At one point after charges were filed, Seeley ordered Barrus be given antipsychotic medications via injection to render him competent to stand trial and aid his defense, since he refused to take the drugs orally. He was ultimately cleared to stand trial. The case was prosecuted by Montana Department of Justice Attorneys Dan Guzynski and Stephanie Robles and Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson, with help from several others. Guzynski said after Fridays hearing that under the circumstances, the sentence was the most severe allowed by law and he was pleased the judge imposed it. It honors Deputy Moore, his family and all the law enforcement officers that were involved, he said. Moore was 42 when he was killed. He left behind Jodi and their three children. Two of their sons, now 18, were also in the courtroom Friday. Love 10 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Cancun Bar and Grill expanding to Warrensburg There is a bright blue sign of things to come for those looking for something to eat in Warrensburg. The sign reads Cancun Bar and Grill and it is on the outside of the former Subway restaurant along Illinois 121. The renovations will take approximately two months, said Francisco Lopez, who owns a Mexican restaurant of the same name on North Main Street in Decatur. The menu and decor will be similar to the Decatur restaurant. The hours, however, will be different, Lopez said. Well close here at 9 oclock, he said about the Decatur restaurant. On weekends, were going to leave that one (Warrensburg) open a little later. The former Subway restaurant provides a drive-through option for their customers, a resource Lopez plans to keep. However, the rest of the building is being refurbished. We are putting in a new kitchen, he said. Pretty much, were redoing everything. Gary Haines, who owned the Subway restaurant, said he is glad the building has a new occupant that will put it to good use. He said COVID and the increasing costs of operating a Subway prompted him to close the location, as well as the restaurant he operated in downtown Decatur. He said the downtown customers have at least three nearby choices to choose from to get their Subway fix, including the new location in the former Pizza Hut at 975 W. Eldorado St. "It's a great store," Haines said of the West Eldorado location. He is hopeful the downtown location will find a good tenant, hinting that a bagel/coffee shop or lunch place might be a good fit. Homerun Food and Pharmacy filling the neighborhood Homerun Food and Pharmacy, located at 806 S. Jasper St., Decatur, joined the neighborhood in October. According to Ribhi Qattoum, owner of Homerun Food and Pharmacy, the business has been important to the community. And its been very popular, he said. Hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. The business closes at 9 p.m. on Saturday. And on Sunday, were closed, Qattoum said. The convenient store staff sells the popular Chesters Chicken and Homerun Pizza, both made to order. Wings, in portion sizes from six to 100, as well as chicken tenders and pieces, are sold along with fish, shrimp and various pizzas. We have all the toppings you could think of, Qattoum said. Qattoum confirmed the pizza is not the Homerun Inn pizza found in the grocery store freezer sections. The name came from Homerun, when we had a store about 30 years ago, he said. Deliveries are made through Doordash. The store also offers basic grocery items and a pharmacy. Pharmacy deliveries are free for customers. Over-the-counter items are also available, including brand name and store items under the name Health Mart. We basically offer all of the medicines or prescription medicines, Qattoum said. For more information, call 217-775-0875. Lutheran Child and Family Services moves to new location Lutheran Child and Family Services has been providing child welfare resources and services in Decatur for several years. Now they have more space available to help foster families and the children they serve. The agencys newest location is at 2826 N. Monroe St., Decatur. LCFS works with the Department of Children and Family Services and their families. We lead the state in getting children back home safely and remain home safely, said Mike Bertrand, LCFS president. Every child should be nurtured. Every child should have the opportunity to grow up to be a healthy, happy adult, however they define that. Next year, LCFS will be celebrating 150 years in Illinois. Were in this community, were part of this community, Bertrand said about Decatur. Were neighbors. The new location provides the agency with more space for parent meetings as well as storage of donated items. The plans are to add preventative programs, supportive services and counseling to the agencys services. In 2021, the agency served more than 300 children in Decatur foster homes. The office was previously located on Pershing Road. We were literally two buildings over, Bertrand said. LCFS is currently seeking foster parents. For more information, contact the Decatur agency at www.lcfs.org. Charro Mexican Restaurant is ready for customers After months of preparation, Decatur's newest Mexican restaurant, Charro, is ready to serve customers. Owner Ezequiel Camacho said the restaurant has been busy since it opened to the public early this week. I had to close the door early, he said after the second day. Zach Crain, manager for Charro, assisted customers after the ribbon cutting of the new Mexican restaurant, located at 2350 Mount Zion Road, Decatur, on Monday. This is our soft launch and grand opening, so you will need to come back, he jokingly said. The Decatur Charro restaurant is the third one for the owners. Taylorville and St. Louis Charros have served the same menu for several years. Specialty dishes include Chile Colorado, Milanesa, and Chef Molcajete as well as vegetarian, steak, chicken, seafood and traditional Mexican dishes. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The 7,400-square-foot building was constructed in 1999. The owners have been working on refurbished the structure, which housed the former Bennigan's, and Krieger's and Coronas Mexican Bar and Grill restaurants. is a customer at the Taylorville restaurant where he has an insurance business. He is also Its the place to go in Taylorville for Mexican food, said Dan McNeely, who owns a business in Mount Zion and is Chamber of Commerce president. They are branching out to Decatur, so it will be good for the community. McNeely lives in Taylorville. Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. DECATUR The Rev. Wayne Kent will never forget the sight of 30,000 cots set up in Polish warehouses to provide shelter for Ukrainian refugees. The story is repeated over and over, Kent said. The women are shell-shocked. They don't know what to do. They have two or three little children and are exhausted. They have a 15 to 18 hour trip on a train, then they get to the border and stand in line for five hours. They arrive at these warehouses exhausted. Men between 18 and 60, with very few exceptions, must stay behind to fight the war, which means the women, children and elderly must leave without them, worrying about their safety and without the support and assistance of their husbands, fathers and sons. Kent visited Poland for 11 days at the end of March and beginning of April to take donations from First Christian Church, where he is senior pastor, and Disciple Heritage Fellowship. He and his wife, Leslie, ministered in Poland in the 1970s and 1980s and still have friends there. Some of those friends have risen to positions of authority in their fields in the years since the Kents were there before, and they were able to help make connections with the most acute needs for the donations. One of those friends, Kent said, was responsible for looking out for the needs of the refugees in the warehouses. Those warehouses were meant for trade shows and public events, and didn't include kitchens and showers. It was a daunting task, Kent said. IKEA has a large factory in the Warsaw region, with 8,000 employees, and IKEA said we're going to make furniture for children for day care. Up to 1 million children have arrived, 2.4 million refugees, and IKEA said we'll stop making our stuff and start making stuff for kids. Emergency child care centers are set up and more are being created, so the women can take care of getting their papers in order and finding employment and housing. Some of that housing is being provided by Poles who open their homes to refugees. On the way over, I had a very interesting conversation with a young woman from Lithuania, Kent said. I asked her how she felt about the war. She told him that Polish people were inviting refugees into their homes because that was always the response to Russian aggression in the past. Her parents told her how during the Soviet bloc years, having refugee guests was common. She said, 'This is part of who we are. We will be having Ukrainians living with us in the days ahead,' he said. It was a fascinating statement about how Europe views this cycle of aggression that comes out of the East, if you will. Estimates were that Poland would have 2 million refugees by the end of July, Kent said. They already have more than that and estimates now are possibly 5 million by July. The Polish government is providing the refugees with employment documents, emergency shelter, help finding more permanent housing, medical care and food, but the strain on Poland's resources is considerable and will only get worse. Churches have bought extra copy machines to help refugees with their paperwork, and some of First Christian's money went to buy toner for those machines, Kent said. Some was donated toward food and medical care for refugees in temporary housing. Part of the purpose of Kent's trip to Poland was for him to see in person what the needs are and where the church can help. Kent spoke to a Polish professor of economics while in Poland and as much as the Polish people are helping Ukrainian refugees, it will cause hardship to Poland over time. With 2.4 million more people in need of schools, jobs, housing, food and medical care, those resources will be strained. Unemployment and housing costs will most likely rise, schools will be stretched to the limit with the influx of Ukrainian children enrolling in the fall, and long waits for medical care will probably increase with so many more people seeking that care, Kent said. It's a mess, it's chaos, Kent said. I felt like, as we're trying to figure out what to do, we're building a plane as it's flying, but (Poland is) building a rocket ship that's already left Earth. Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter 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. DECATUR When Sue Fustin was asked to apply for an open teaching position at Our Lady of Lourdes School, she didn't realize that down the road, her marriage to another woman would be an issue. I met with the principal and she said, 'I need a science teacher. I haven't had a science teacher in two years,' Fustin said. I said I would love to do that. I love teaching. And I said, 'Will the marriage of Deb (Rainey) and I interfere with that at this school?' Fustin said the principal told her that her personal life was her own business. She interviewed again with the Rev. Michael Friedel, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, and Principal Theresa Bowser, and all the questions were about her professional experience and abilities. No one asked about her personal life. If they had (asked), I would have answered truthfully, Fustin said. Yet Fustin was dismissed on March 22, and the reason cited was her marriage, which she was told violated the terms of her contract and Catholic doctrine. She has received a significant number of texts and emails of support from Lourdes families and families and former colleagues from her days teaching in public schools. She began work at the end of October 2021 and taught until March, when a parent found a wedding photo of Fustin and Rainey online and showed it to Friedel. On March 18, Bowser told her she would not be employed again for the 2022-23 school year. Fustin said she emailed the priest and asked for him to meet with her and Rainey but got no response. On March 22, she was asked to stay after school for a meeting with the Diocese of Springfield's attorney, director of human services, and Friedel, and was told she was dismissed effective immediately. Friedel referred all questions about Fustin's employment to the diocese. Though the diocese will not address the specific employment and termination of Fustin, spokesman Andrew Hansen said parochial schools are within their rights under the First Amendment provision of non-interference in church matters by the government, and under Supreme Court rulings, to require staff members to adhere to church doctrines, even those who are not of the same faith. Teachers in our Catholic schools are ministers of the Church, and the first mission of our schools is faith formation, Hansen said. Courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have consistently affirmed that teachers who teach in Catholic schools are ministers of the Church, and the Church's right to hire or terminate a teacher's contract based on religious matters is protected by the First Amendment. Teachers who teach in Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois do not have to be Catholic. Fustin is a United Methodist, and one of the things she liked about teaching in parochial school, she said, was that she could and did pray with her students daily. She was free to talk about faith in God and point out, in the science classes she taught, how amazing God's creation is. I honestly felt really good about that, she said. Because I could pray in school. I believe in God. I'm a Christian person. So that was refreshing. She did not discuss her personal life with students, she said. She had no photo of Rainey on display, never mentioned her marriage and, when students asked her where she lived, joked that she commuted from Chicago daily. During school Mass, she participated in the service as much as possible, refraining from taking Communion because she's not Catholic, but participating in other aspects of the service. And while she said she respects others' beliefs, even when she doesn't agree with them, her issue is that they had no complaints about her teaching. If they'd told her up front that her marriage would be unacceptable for a teacher at a Catholic school, she wouldn't have taken the job. She really didn't want to teach again, Rainey said. When she retired from (Argenta-Oreana schools), she taught a little bit at Millikin (University), but she really didn't want to teach again, and she was kind of apprehensive when they called her, but she said that's what she used to do. She taught science and she loved it. Absolutely loved it. She came to life (while she was teaching). For now, Fustin said, she plans to relax and heal before deciding what to do next. Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. BRISTOL, Va. Two eye witnesses testified in the murder trial of a Bristol, Virginia police officer Friday. After 3:00 a.m. on March 30, 2021, Walter Robinette was asleep in his room at the Rodeway Inn on Euclid Avenue when he heard gunfire coming from what he believed to be upstairs or two doors down. Not long after the shots, a red Ford Mustang drove from one parking space to another, Robinette said, and within minutes police showed up and were telling the driver to show them his hands and to stop being stupid, he said. Robinette also said he heard high RPM coming from the car as it backed up, engaged into drive and screeched its tires before Officer Johnathan Brown fired six shots at the driver, Jonathen Kohler, killing him almost instantly. Surveillance footage has shown it was Kohler who fired the shots that woke Robinette and prompted multiple 911 calls. Before officers arrived, Kohler fired five shots from his vehicle in the Rodeway Inn parking lot, evidence shows. Marianne Perkey was also staying at the Rodeway Inn, which is now the Travel Inn, on the night of Kohler's death. Fearing for her life, she was one of three motel guests to call 911 to report Kohler's shots. [I] thought somebody was shooting at us and that we were going to die, Perkey said. Perkey testified the Mustang drove toward Brown before he fired. To bolster its stance that Brown's life was in immediate danger, the defense brought in an expert witness in Ford Mustangs and high-performance modifications on Friday. The witness told the jury Kohlers 1994 Mustang would have had 215 horsepower stock, but was equipped with enough modifications to reach 350 horsepower. The lead case agent from the Virginia State Police was recalled to the stand Friday and testified that the officers from the Bristol Virginia Police Department (BVPD) were dispatched to the motel for a call of shots fired, not for an active shooter situation. He also said it is proper for an officer to deploy deadly force if their life is in immediate danger. BVPD Major Darryl Milligan was also recalled to the stand to testify to specific times and events that occurred on the morning of the shooting. Officers were dispatched to the motel at 3:17 a.m., Milligan stated. Brown arrived in the area at 3:23 a.m. He fired the fatal shots roughly four minutes later. The defense will continue to present evidence on Monday as the trial enters its second week. 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. ABINGDON, Va. A significant collection of animal artwork collected by the late Gene and Anne Worrell will comprise the central exhibit of a planned expansion of the William King Museum of Art. Museum officials announced the transformational partnership Thursday in conjunction with the Virginia Museum of Animal Art, a foundation started by the Worrell family. The donation includes the funding required to expand the museum, Director Betsy White said during a news conference. It is being gifted to the King Museum of Art, allowing it to be seen by many. It will lead to cultural and environmental tourism and an educational tool that will foster an appreciation for the animal world, White said. This gift includes 80 to 100 pieces of two-dimensional art paintings and sculptures. The sculptures include large pieces that will be installed throughout our campus. The collection includes about 80 pieces, both paintings and sculptures, valued at between $8 million and $9 million. She hailed the collection as among the most significant animal art collections in the world The exhibition and educational possibilities are endless. The opportunities for this collection to make our museum a destination museum are also endless, she said. This begs one big, obvious question. Where do we put it? Funding and plans are in place for a new wing here as well as renovations to our campus to appropriately house, care for and display this extraordinary collection. This is not only a gift to the William King Museum of Art; it is a gift to our region. Pieces will be displayed in a planned 5,000-square-foot addition to the museum that is to be phase three of its ongoing expansion efforts, White said. We are going to start securing an architect. Hopefully we can start [construction] in the next six to eight months and, maybe, within 18 months we can open, White said. There isnt room to display the entire collection at once, but pieces will be rotated T. Eugene Worrell was a Bristol native who met his wife here while attending college. Together they started the Bristol Virginia Tennessean newspaper which later merged with the Herald Courier. It formed the cornerstone of a newspaper empire that included about 70 daily and weekly newspapers across Virginia and in other states. Granddaughter Shannon Worrell said Thursday she has many fond memories visiting her grandparents in the region I think my grandparents recognized Abingdon as an artistic center of Virginia and maybe this will help bring more people to Southwest Virginia, Worrell said, adding the exhibit includes something for children and adults. Bringing the animals [images] here hopefully will foster a greater appreciation for the natural world. Worrell said the pieces coming here are the finest in the collection and her grandparents favorites. We are so excited to partner with the William King Museum of Art to create a home for this extraordinary collection, said Andrew Dracopoli, president of the Virginia Museum of Animal Art. Mr. Worrell often said he had this disease called collecting. He was really passionate about it and took it with all the enthusiasm and excitement like he did everything, including publishing the Bristol Herald Courier. 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. A 48-year-old Catawba man was sentenced to at least six years in prison after pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon during Catawba County Superior Court. Jonathan Andreas Linebarger was convicted for assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of possession of a firearm by felon, a news release from District Attorney Scott Reillys office said. Officials say that on two separate occasions, Linebarger fired a gun at a person or a home. On Feb. 9, 2019, Linebarger went to a Claremont residence. He approached the adult victim while holding a handgun. The victim fled into a wooded area as the defendant fired at least six shots into the woods, the release said. Another witness was at a neighbors house and heard the gunshots. While hiding behind a parked car, she saw the defendant leave in his vehicle and heard him fire more gunshots as he departed the property, the release said. On Oct. 24, 2019, officers responded to a report of shots fired at a Hickory residence. A witness told them that the defendant shot four or five times before leaving the scene in his vehicle, the release said. Linebargers sentence length was enhanced by his status as a habitual felon, which included prior convictions from Catawba County for possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine in October 2004, possession of Schedule II controlled substance in September 2008 and attempted obstruction of justice in May 2011, the release said. Linebarger was previously convicted of possession of a firearm by felon in July 2014 in Catawba County, the release said. Superior Court Judge Steven Warren, from Buncombe County, imposed the prison term for Linebarger. Linebarger will serve his sentence in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections, the release said. The cases were investigated by Catawba County Sheriffs Office and Hickory Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Lance Sigmon handled prosecution for the State, the release 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. Republicans have redefined the word woke. They are working the word like flies at a July 4th picnic. It was number 1 on the hit parade of words used at CPAC. Steve Bannon is even linking it to Putin invading Ukraine, calling him strong for not being woke and Biden weak for being woke. Harvard educated Senator Cruz seemed obsessed with critical race theory in questioning Judge Jackson. Governor DiSantis, a Yale/Harvard (history and law) educated elite, is also obsessed with the topic. He and Cruz have White House ambitions but is an obsession with wokeness the best way to get there? Even vaccines and masks are being linked to wokeness. He recently berated some high school students attending a press conference to take off their masks. Florida has passed a bill that would ban the use of the word gay to go along with the discomfort bills. Texas is considering making gender transitioning care child abuse. Harvard law grad Hugh Blackwell from neighboring Burke County with its Confederate flags greeting all traveling I-40, is pushing what he calls an academic transparency bill. Teachers thankfully responded with a resounding no. Trump, at a rally in S.C. asked supporters to lay down their lives in a fight against critical race theory. The last time he asked supporters to lay down their lives, those that took him seriously are facing fines and prison terms. This obsession with wokeness is a diversion to distract from the fact that the Republican Party has no agenda to address the real challenges of our time. They are trying to create a frenzy over nothing while they ban books and words, ban the teaching of the uncomfortable truths of our history, make it harder to exercise our right to vote, and sugarcoat the truth about Trumps attempt to overturn the election, which had it succeeded would have threatened our Republic as we know it. This tired, predictable, phony culture war strategy may still fool some of the people some of the time, even lead to an occasional election victory but what a pathetic waste of smarts among the partys educated elite that could be developing a conservative agenda that addresses real problems, not phony ones. David Turman Hickory Jon Huisken, who retired from Hope in 2011 after more than 40 years as the colleges registrar, died on Thursday, April 21, 2022. He was 79. Huisken, who had graduated from Calvin College in 1965, had been teaching middle school and junior high school, but was interested in working in higher education when the opportunity arose to come to Hope as assistant registrar in 1969. He became registrar a year later, and in 1989, to reflect the way that his responsibilities had grown, he was promoted to dean for academic services and registrar. To stay in touch with what faculty experienced, he also taught the colleges business writing course, and for several years had taught at Davenport University as well. Hope students expressed their appreciation for him in 1987, when the graduating class presented him with a special award for service during that years Commencement ceremony. In addition, he received the colleges Vanderbush-Weller Development Fund Award in 2011 for his strong positive impact on students, and the Provosts Award for Service to the Academic Program in 2004. For a retirement feature story celebrating Jon and his impact at Hope, please page 22 of the December 2010 issue of News from Hope College. Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Joanne (04); their daughters and their families: Amy Beth Huisken Praestgaard (86) and Jens Thomas Praestgaard of Boston, Massachusetts; Shelley Min Huisken-Coniglio (88) and Mario Coniglio of New Hamburg, Ontario, Canada; Jana Lynn Huisken (94) and Christopher Ashe of San Francisco, California; and Jennifer Sue Huisken LaPointe (96) and Lynn LaPointe of Lansing, Michigan; and six grandchildren: Emily Joanne and Jonathan David Spencer; Sofie Christina, Erik Jon, and Matthew Eigil Praestgaard; and Tahlia Shea DeCory. Arrangements are by Yntema Funeral Home of Zeeland, Michigan. Visitation will be on Sunday, April 24, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Yntema Funeral Home, 251 S. State St. in Zeeland. The funeral service will be on Monday, April 25, at 1 p.m. at Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church, 7146 48th Ave. in Hudsonville, Michigan, with a reception following. The services on April 25 will also be livestreamed at http://georgetownprc.org/live-stream/ Memorial gifts may be sent to: Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary, 4949 Ivanrest Avenue SW, Grandville, MI 49418; or Protestant Reformed Special Education, Heritage Christian School, 6340 Autumn Drive, Hudsonville, MI 49426 PARIS The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the appointment of Edgar County State's Attorney Mark Isaf as a resident circuit judge for that county in the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Isaf is being appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Steven Garst in January. The appointment takes effect on June 1 and will conclude on Dec. 5, when the vacancy will be filled by the winner of the November 2022 general election. Isaf is currently running unopposed for that seat. The Fifth Circuit encompasses Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, and Vermilion counties. State Supreme Court Justice David Overstreet said in a press release that he welcomes Isaf to the bench and looks forward to his participation in the judicial community. "The citizens of Edgar County have shown their confidence in Mr. Isaf by electing him as Edgar County states attorney for the past 12 years," Overstreet said. "I know he will bring a well-rounded approach to the bench from the time he has spent as a member of the bar and his civic volunteer duties. Isaf previously worked at Asher, Smith, & Isaf for 15 years. He is a past chair of the Illinois Workers Compensation Advisory Board, past president of the Edgar County Bar Association, and temporary member of the Supreme Court criminal case jury instruction committee. He has also served as a special assistant attorney general in Illinois Department of Transportation eminent domain cases. It is an honor and a privilege to receive this appointment from the Illinois Supreme Court and Justice Overstreet, Isaf said. I look forward to the challenge of the new role as resident circuit judge and further serving the residents of Edgar County. Isaf earned his bachelor's from Hamilton College and his law degree from the Northern Illinois University College of Law. Contact Rob Stroud at 217-238-6861. 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. CHARLESTON The Eastern Illinois University Board of Trustees voted unanimously Friday to change Douglas Halls name to Powell-Norton Hall in honor of two prominent Black women from the history of the school and of Coles County. President David Glassman proposed this new name, in honor of Zella Powell and Ona Norton, after considering various options presented by a naming committee. The committee voted in April 2021 to recommend eliminating Illinois U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas as the halls namesake due to his support of slavery prior to the Civil War and his racist rhetoric. Glassman said he could not choose between the two trailblazing women, so he personally suggested naming the hall after both of them. His Presidents Council of advisers unanimously supported this idea. Powell is believed to be Easterns first Black graduate, earning a degree from Eastern State Normal School in 1910. Her family migrated from the south in the mid-1800s and became one of the founding families of Mattoon. After graduating, Powell had a long career as an educator in Mattoon and then in Chicago. Her daughter later obtained a masters in library science from the University of Michigan and helped establish the Charles Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. She was part of this county and part of its history, Glassman said of Powell at Fridays board meeting. Norton was the matriarch of a prominent Black family in Charleston and was active in several community organizations here, including being named the Chamber of Commerces Woman of the Year in 1967. In the 1950s, Norton and her husband began providing housing in the community for Black athletes who were having trouble finding places to stay. They eventually acquired additional houses near campus in which to board more students in need. It was an incredible gesture, incredible support for the institution during a difficult time, Glassman said. Decades ago, Eastern made Abraham Lincoln and Douglas namesakes for adjoining residence halls in recognition of Coles County hosting one of the pivotal Lincoln-Douglas debates between these two U.S. Senate candidates in 1858 on the eve of the Civil War. Glassman said public discussion of changing the name of Douglas Hall had been occurring on campus for approximately 10 years, with concerns about Douglas political legacy weighed against the history of the debates. He said this discussion gained new urgency following the killing of George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis, Minn. We feel now is the time to make a change, Glassman said, adding that the Douglas Hall name had become a hurtful unwelcome sign for many current and prospective faculty and students. Glassman emphasized that the name change is not an attempt to erase or rewrite history. We will still educate our students about the Lincoln-Douglas debates. We will still educate our students about the positions of Lincoln and Douglas, Glassman said. Trustee Joseph Dively of Mattoon said he understands those who are concerned about honoring the history of the debates, but he has been moved by the comments from Easterns black community during the name change discussions. (The Douglas Hall) name is hurtful. It doesnt reflect who we want to be. It causes pain, Dively said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As we celebrate National Community College Month this April, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the impact a community college can have on someones life through the eyes of one of our students, Logan Puckett of Pana. The community colleges of Illinois serve the most diverse group of students and communities of any higher education option in Illinois. Community colleges feel like home, while offering a comprehensive higher education experience that expands students knowledge level and world view. At Lake Land College, we celebrate our differences and strive for an inclusive culture where everyone belongs. In a recent essay, Logan Puckett said, The accessibility of a community college has changed my life in how I see things as a student and as a person. It has allowed me the opportunity to be involved in many student organizations in the college. It is easier to be involved in a college like Lake Land College because it is a smaller college. For example, one feels more involved in the classroom, with the opportunity to work with other classmates, as well as ask professors for assistance for a specific problem. The college has also allowed me to be able to commute from home, which lets me be with my family. Community colleges degree and stackable certificate programs help all students forge a clear, personalized path toward their goal, giving them a sense of accomplishment and greater control over their future. Illinois is first in the nation in terms of its community college students earning bachelors degrees, and we are the largest provider of public workforce training in the state. We are outcomes-driven at Lake Land and are constantly assessing our progress in helping students reach their goals. Community colleges make the proven and substantial benefits of higher education available to the greatest number of people by providing whatever it takes to help them succeed: affordable tuition and financial aid counseling, faculty mentoring, comprehensive student success services, and class schedules that allow students to fulfill their family and job responsibilities. We open up access to more rewarding futures. Since I was unable to afford to go to a large university, Lake Land College has helped me a lot financially and has made it possible to get a degree. This has meant a lot to me so much that it has and will continue to change my life, Puckett, who is majoring in business, wrote. Even in the most challenging times, community colleges deliver education that is relevant and free of red tape. We meet students where they are, and make the most of their prior learning experiences. We can ramp up and re-engineer workforce development programs quickly, helping businesses and government stay ahead. Were flexible, innovative and agile as is demonstrated by Lake Land Colleges fast-track program development with area businesses such as North American Lighting. Community colleges return our communities investment by boosting local education levels and social mobility, developing new generations of local leaders, and being a trusted, proactive partner for local economic and civic ambitions. We build individual and collective resilience. Were dedicated and accountable to our communities. As demonstrated in our recent efforts to seek significant community input for our next strategic planning cycle, we not only value your input, we use it to grow and improve and in doing so, positively impact our communities and individuals. My community college (Lake Land College) can change the direction of anyones life. A college education is the main driver to lead many out of poverty, and the way to get out of poverty, or to avoid it is by studying at a community college. My community college has programs for both blue and white-collar workers, and at the same time, the programs are inexpensive, Logan wrote. I applaud Logan for sharing his personal story and for eloquently articulating the positive impact community colleges have on peoples lives. We are proud to serve Logan and the thousands of students at Lake Land College. We are equally proud to serve your community as one of the 48 community colleges of Illinois. During this April celebration, I invite you to consider how we can work together to expand opportunities for more students like Logan to grow from the experience of a community college education. Josh Bullock is president of Lake Land College. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Q: Is there somewhere in the Triad I can purchase Blue Plate Mayonnaise? Growing up in central Georgia, Blue Plate was our go-to mayo, and with apologies to all the Duke Mayo fans around here, Blue Plate really is the hands down best mayo on the market. For those who doubt me, just look up how many times Blue Plate has won best mayo contests. D.W. Answer: Youre in luck; Publix, 34 Miller St., Winston-Salem, has Blue Plate Mayo. Q: Are there any mail boxes in the Winston-Salem area that have Sunday collection? If so, where are some of them, and what times are they serviced? J.L. Answer: The website for the U.S. Postal Service (usps.com) has a collection mailbox locator. Find a box is under the Quick Tools tab, Find USPS Locations, then click on boxes. SAM checked a 20-mile radius of Winston-Salem, NC 27101. There are 199 blue collection mailboxes. None of them has Sunday pick-up. Q: What are the beautiful shrubs at the Akron Drive bridge over U.S. 52? B.S. Answer: Keith Finch, the vegetation manager for the City of Winston-Salem, said that the shrubs are loropetalum. According to N.C. State Extension, loropetalum originated in Japan, Thailand, China, and Taiwan. Its an evergreen, a perennial, and is resistant to deer. Flowers are lightly fragrant, 3-6 inches in size. They grow to a height of 6 to 10 feet and can be 6 to 10 feet wide. Q: What kind of birds are hatching under the bridge at the Old 421 Park off Yadkinville Road? F.B. Answer: Ron Morris, the birding columnist for the Winston-Salem Journal, said that they are probably cliff swallows. Eastern Phoebes nest under bridges, too, but just one pair per bridge whereas Cliff Swallows are colony nesters. Theres a big colony under the U.S. 158 bridge and Interstate 40 bridge over the Yadkin River as well. Saturday shredding events Mount Tabor United Methodist Church, 3543 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem, will have a shredding event from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. They will accept monetary donations to benefit food programs serving children in Forsyth County and other missions of the United Methodist Women. Make checks payable to Mt. Tabor UMC-Circle 5. For more information, call the church 336-765-5561 or go to www.mttaborumc.org. New Philadelphia Moravian Church, 4440 Country Club Road, Winston-Salem, will have a document shred from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. The cost is $5 per box. Enter from Kilpatrick Street. They will unload. You do not have to get out of your vehicle. The shredding is sponsored by the Advent Class. Proceeds will benefit outreach ministries of the Moravian Church. For more information, call 336-972-0494 or visit www.newphilly.org. New Hope United Methodist Church, 5125 Shattalon Drive, Winston-Salem, will have a community shred day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Documents will be shredded on site. Donations of $5 per bag are requested. Proceeds will benefit youth and local missions. Email: AskSAM@wsjournal.com Write: Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Surry County man who is charged with murder in the shooting death last year of a Winston-Salem man is facing an unrelated murder charge in an overdose death in Surry County, authorities said Thursday. Justin Neil Sydenstricker, 33, of Eastridge Place in Pilot Mountain, is charged with second-degree murder, the Surry County Sheriffs Office said. Sydenstricker is linked to the overdose death of Adam Casey Marshall, 29, the sheriffs office said. Surry County deputies found Marshall dead May 2, 2021 at a home in the 300 block of Snody Road in Mount Airy. After an 11-month investigation, detectives linked Sydenstricker to Marshalls death, the sheriffs office said. Sydenstricker is accused of supplying the illegal drugs to Marshall that contributed to Marshalls death, the sheriffs office said. The sheriffs office did not specify what type of drugs were supplied to Marshall. Sydenstricker was served with an indictment charging him with second-degree murder in the Forsyth County Jail, where he is being held on another murder charge, the sheriffs office said. A Surry County grand jury indicted Sydenstricker on the second-degree murder charge earlier this month, said Capt. Scott Hudson of the Surry County Sheriffs Office. On Dec. 20, 2021, Winston-Salem police charged Sydenstricker with felony murder in connection with the shooting death of a man in the Happy Hill neighborhood. Edwin Cisneros-Lopez, 20, who lived in Willow Peake Apartments in the 800 block of Pitts Street in Happy Hill, was pronounced dead after he arrived at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, police said. A man fired on Cisneros-Lopez multiple times around 8:42 a.m. after lying in wait for Cisnerous-Lopez to come out of his apartment, police said at the time. Someone drove Cisneros-Lopez in a private vehicle to Wake Forest Baptist for treatment, police said. Sydenstricker also is charged with possession of heroin and carrying a concealed gun, court records show. The deaths of Adam Marshall and Edwin Cisneros-Lopez are not related, Hudson said. Sydenstricker was being held Thursday in the Forsyth County Jail with no bond allowed, the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said. Sydenstricker is scheduled to appear April 28 in Forsyth District Court on the felony murder charge and the other offenses in Forsyth County. No court date has been set for Sydenstricker to appear in Surry Superior Court on the second-degree murder charge, Hudson 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. UPDATE: Patrick T. Mathurin has been found in good health. ---------------------------------------------------- Winston-Salem police are asking for the public's help in finding a missing teenager, authorities said Thursday night. Patrick T. Mathurin, 19, was last seen Wednesday walking in the area of Timlic Avenue, police said. The N.C. Center for Missing Person has issued a Silver Alert for Mathurin, who is believed to be suffering from a cognitive impairment, the center said in a news release. Mathurin was last seen walking toward Piedmont Circle or Rolling Hills, police said. Mathurin is a black man standing 6 feet 3 inches in height and weighing 220 pounds, police said. Mathurin has short black hair and brown eyes. Mathurin was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, a black pullover and a grey sweatpants, police said. Anyone with information about Mathurin's whereabouts can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800 or its Spanish line at 336-728-3904. Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County is on Facebook. The Text-A-Tip program at 336-276-1717 allows people to text tips, photos and videos to the police. 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. Thursday marked the sixth anniversary of the disappearance of James Martin Roberts, a former Appalachian State University student, Boone police said in a statement. Roberts was reported missing on April 21, 2016, to the Boone Police Department by his roommates, police said. Roberts was 19 at the time of his disappearance. Roberts, a graduate of East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, was last seen leaving his Boone apartment complex. Before he disappeared, Roberts was captured on a bus surveillance video near Appalachian State Universitys Convocation Center for 17 seconds walking toward a busy intersection, the Winston-Salem Journal reported in August 2018. During the past six years, numerous agencies and people have contributed to the investigation to find Martin, police said. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an age progressed photograph on the fifth anniversary of Martins disappearance to help find him, police said. Here is a link to Martins entry at NCMEC: https://tinyurl.com/4hbwnfar. Roberts, who would be 25, is a white man standing 5 feet 10 inches in height and weighs 145 pounds, the center said. Roberts has brown hair and blue eyes. Roberts was last seen wearing a black short sleeve App State windbreaker, khaki shorts and gray New Balance sneakers, the center said. Roberts was carrying a backpack. Roberts has a tattoo on his left forearm that depicts three mountains and a tattoo on his chest, the center said. Roberts may be in need of medical attention. Investigation Discovery aired an episode of the series Disappeared in June 2018 that explored the investigative twists and turns regarding Roberts disappearance, but it has produced no new leads, the Journal reported in June 2018. Specialists periodically review the case to ensure that investigators are covering all possible scenarios regarding Roberts disappearance, police said. Investigators look into every tip and lead that is received in the case, police said. Police Sgt. Candace Burlingame, the lead investigator, is looking for new avenues to find Martin, police said. The Boone Police Department works continuously with family of Martin Roberts and the community, in an effort to bring Martin home, Burlingame said. Our hearts are always with the family, but especially this time of year. Anyone with information concerning Martins disappearance or his whereabouts can call Boone police Department at 828-268-6900 or dial 911 for their local law enforcement agency. 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. Google announced plans Thursday to invest more than $750 million in Nebraska this year, including construction of a new data center on the northwest edge of Omaha. The financial commitment also includes an expansion of Googles current data center in Papillion, though company officials did not provide specific financial details for that or any of the other projects during an event with elected leaders in Papillion. The new northwest Omaha data center, slated to be built at the intersection of State Street and Blair High Road, will be the third Google data center to open in the region. Along with the facility in Papillion, Google has a data center in Council Bluffs. (This) will bring more opportunity to the local community and more resources for our customers to grow their businesses and use digital services, said Stacy Trackey Meagher, managing director for Google Clouds central region. Operations for the new data center will span multiple buildings, totaling more than 1.4 million square feet, along with equipment yards and parking areas, according to documents filed with the City of Omaha. A Google representative estimated that construction could last anywhere from 18 to 24 months. Combined with a previous $600 million investment to build the Papillion data center, where more than 120 people work, Googles $750 million announcement will push its investments in Nebraska well north of $1 billion. I think it just gets to the great people that we have here to be able to hire (and) the great business climate we have here in our state, Gov. Pete Ricketts told reporters. Trackey Meagher said the data centers, in part, run Google software platforms that people routinely interact with, including search and YouTube. Separate from its $750 million commitment, Google also announced that it will donate $100,000 toward Omahas new central public library that is currently in the planning stages a donation lauded by Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert. We have great momentum right now and strong public-private partnerships with our business community, she said. Building great partnerships is the way we get things done in Omaha. Nearly everything we accomplish benefits from the leadership, the financial support and the vision of all of our valued partners. Googles efforts in Nebraska are part of its plan to invest about $9.5 billion in offices and data centers across the U.S. this year. In a news release, the company also said it will create at least 12,000 new full-time jobs. A representative for the company said Google did not have any new job figures to share for the Omaha area. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 A Lancaster County judge signed arrest warrants Friday for two people who allegedly followed a 41-year-old man into his room at Oak Park Motel earlier this week and beat him with their fists and a handgun. Lincoln Police responded to the motel, 926 Oak St., shortly before 11 p.m. Monday. They found the victim with a "blood-covered face" taking shelter at a nearby community center, Officer Jesse Tenney said in an arrest affidavit. The man told police he had gone to a neighboring room to talk with 42-year-old Michael Carr and 40-year-old Merry Bills, who later followed him back to his room and forced their way inside before attacking him, Tenney said in the affidavit. Surveillance video from the motel corroborated the man's story, Tenney said, and showed an unknown woman shutting the door behind Carr and Bills, standing guard as the attack occurred. A minute later, Teeney said Carr and Bills left the room, and Carr handed a backpack to another motel guest, who told police Carr asked him to hang onto it. Carr, Bills and the unknown woman all fled before police arrived. In the bag, authorities found a handgun that matched the description of the gun used in the attack, along with suspected methamphetamine residue and 25 sublingual opioid strips, Tenney said. Carr was charged Friday with second-degree assault, possession of a gun by a prohibited person, two counts possession of a controlled substance and burglary for allegedly entering the man's motel room. Bills was charged with burglary and aiding or abetting a Class 2A felony for her alleged role in the assault. Neither has been arrested. Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley 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. OMAHA Fueled by discontent over schools handling of COVID-19, sex education, curriculum and other issues, new political groups have sprung up this election cycle, endorsing local school board candidates and not pulling any punches on where they stand on the issues. The endorsements may give voters greater insight into the candidates, whose values and beliefs could be hard to pin down in years past. Groups are contacting candidates, screening them and posting endorsements on social media. It will still take some work, however, for voters to sift through the endorsements, separate fact from fiction and figure out whose oval to color on the ballot. Among the new groups active this year are Protect Nebraska Children Political Action Committee, Nebraskans for Educational Excellence, Nebraskans Against Government Overreach and Women Who Run Nebraska. Jason Holling-Karas, a Bennington school board candidate, said hes received about five questionnaires from various groups and political action committees seeking candidates to endorse. There have been a whole bunch of them coming from different organizations, and some of them are kind of extreme. Its really been all over the board, he said. Holling-Karas said the questions focused on a wide range of topics, from candidate opinions on the pandemic to parental control to racism. He said he chose to answer surveys from organizations that had values he aligned with and disregarded others that seemed to stray from the school board race. There were some others that I dont think any good would come out of answering them either way, he said. Why do you need to know stances on abortion for a school board position? Its supposed to be a nonpartisan position. Its been a very interesting experience going through all of them. Holling-Karas has been endorsed by Nebraskans for Educational Excellence, a group formed by Millard Public Schools parents last fall. The group has endorsed candidates in the Omaha, Millard, Papillion-La Vista, Bennington, Bellevue, Gretna and Elkhorn districts, as well as elsewhere in the state. Holling-Karas said when he filled out the form for an endorsement, the group asked if he agreed on values such as public education for all or using local health experts to make decisions concerning face mask policies. They were much more inclusive and much more community-focused things that more resonated where I am at, he said. Im glad I got endorsed by them, because they accurately reflect my views. According to its organizers, Nebraskans for Educational Excellence started as a grassroots group of Millard parents concerned about the districts response to the pandemic. Members were concerned about a lack of mask mandates in many public school districts, against the advice of local public health leaders, while COVID-19 numbers were still high and children under age 12 had no access to vaccines. Several members have or know children who are immunocompromised, said Allison Kinney-Walker, one of the groups core members. Additionally, the group was concerned about legislative bills members believed would restrict important conversations about race and gender in schools and redirect money for public schools to private schools. The group has a written platform, which includes support for teaching students about reproductive health, sexual orientation, gender identity and social-emotional well-being. We support the development of health standards that would include these topics, while acknowledging that each district can adopt the standards that they feel are appropriate for their district, Kinney-Walker said. The platform also calls for teaching an accurate depiction of American history, which includes the experiences and contributions of all Americans. The group says that critical race theory is not being taught in public schools and the politicization of American history is having a chilling effect on teaching and on our teachers. Women Who Run Nebraska endorses progressive women running for office. Co-founder Denise Blaya Powell said while the organization was formed in 2017 solely to support women, it became a political action committee in 2019 after staff realized what candidates needed most was funding. We want to generate enthusiasm and support women up and down the ballot, to help candidates spread their message far and wide, Powell said. Women Who Run Nebraska is officially nonpartisan though Powell said while it has historically endorsed Democrats and nonpartisan candidates, there are a lot of Republicans in this cycle we are excited about. The four-person staff has endorsed 67 candidates across the state so far, including some running for school boards in Bellevue, Elkhorn, Gretna, Millard, Omaha, Papillion-La Vista, Ralston and the Westside district. Powell said she has also seen the trend over the past few years that more political groups are popping up to support candidates. While midterm elections are usually quieter, Powell said she believes more people are involved in this years midterm elections than in recent years. I think its moved a lot more people to want to act and step up, whether that means showing up at a school board meeting or testifying at the Legislature or running for office themselves, Powell said. Its a really big, important year. People are looking at decisions being made at school boards across the state, or big debates in the Legislature, and are sparking a lot of important conversations. Nebraskans Against Government Overreach, which was formed in 2020, has endorsed almost 60 candidates across the state, including school board candidates in the Bellevue, Millard and Elkhorn districts. Founder Allie French said the group technically launched in 2018 but focused on fighting against mandated vaccinations. After COVID-19 hit, it transitioned to supporting conservative candidates running for local office. The group has also spoken out against the state health education standards and face mask policies. Its also promoted a group that claims the 2020 election in Nebraska was fraudulent. French said she hopes the organization provides voters simple guidance to selecting the right candidates. We look for individuals who stand up for medical freedom and are trying to lessen the governments interference on peoples daily lives, she said. Sometimes thats taxes, other cases its school choice or ensuring a patriotic curriculum is being delivered. The Protect Nebraska Children Political Action Committee has endorsed nearly 50 candidates statewide. The group was formed by opponents of statewide health education standards that, as initially proposed, would have taught elementary school students about gender identity and sexual orientation. The group supports conservative candidates and has a Facebook group that contains a membership of more than 22,000 people. Sue Greenwald, one of its leaders, said the endorsements are meant as a service to voters. Nebraska is a conservative state and they want to vote for conservatives, they just dont know who they are, she said. As of Friday, the group had endorsed candidates in Bellevue, Papillion-La Vista, Omaha and Elkhorn public schools. Brian Parizek, a lieutenant with the Douglas County Sheriffs Office, found out he was endorsed by Protect Nebraska Children last week. Hes running for the Omaha Public Schools board in Subdistrict 6. Parizek said Protect Nebraska Childrens endorsement questionnaire was just one of a few hes filled out and he was happy to learn he had received its endorsement. They certainly have childrens education and growth at heart, Parizek said. I know some people might describe the organization in a different way, but what they really want is the best education for their students. Meantime, Loan Eby, who is running for the Papillion-La Vista school board, said she rejects all endorsements and offers of financial support. Eby said she doesnt want to be beholden to any group or risk being accused of running afoul of accountability laws. Ive been asked by multiple groups, and Im not going to say which ones, if I wanted to be endorsed by that group, she said. And every time I have respectfully declined. She said she doesnt fit into the usual political camps. Im not blue. Im not red. And, actually, I am not political. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The topics displayed on the colorful poster boards in the Scott Middle School gym were wide-ranging: Hunger, poverty, mental health, cancer, elephant conservation, epilepsy, animal cruelty. The pitch sixth grade students made Thursday was the same: Help us make a difference. For the first time since the pandemic started, Scott's annual Make-A-Difference Fair was back as the busy, bustling event the school is used to, the gym packed with booths where students advocated for a cause and related nonprofit groups. "It's been two years, so it's very exciting," said Debbie Beran, one of the four humanities teachers in Scott's sixth grade A team that puts on the fair. "It's just nice to see their faces and people smiling." For years, students in the 6A section have planned and participated in the fair as part of LPS' humanities curriculum that requires sixth graders to create a civil action project. The work began in January when students held Zoom meetings with 12 nonprofits. Then students chose a cause to research and later summarized their findings in a paper before selecting a nonprofit to support. Students were put into groups to craft a presentation to educate the public about the issue and persuade others to make a difference through their time or treasure. In addition to spreading the word at Thursday's fair, students also wrote letters to local dignitaries, the media and others encouraging them to check out the event. This year's fair marked the first time students and teachers could hold it in person since the coronavirus pandemic started. In 2020, COVID-19 forced the school to cancel it entirely and last year it was held virtually. The event, which has the feeling of a science fair in which experiments have been swapped out with worthy social causes, has raised more than $70,000 for local and international nonprofits since it started 11 years ago. Some of the issues on display reflected the pandemic's impact on students and society at large. Many booths advocated for mental health organizations, for example. "I have seen that one more this year than I have in years past," Beran said. Lathen Benesh and Jena Reifschneider chose to support the Mental Health Association of Nebraska because of a personal connection to the cause. "It's a big problem recently, especially since the COVID pandemic," Benesh said. Coming out of two COVID-interrupted years, Beran said the school wasn't sure if students were ready for a full-blown in-person fair. "We kind of were a little nervous if people were ready to socially speak to people, in front of people ... but I think some of that is coming off of the pandemic," Beran said. But the students were prepared and ready, happy to give their presentations. CeCe Seymore and Jax Runnebaum picked the American Cancer Society because they've had family members who've battled the disease. That made Thursday's experience all the more meaningful for the pair. "It really means a lot to spread awareness," Runnebaum said. LPS Superintendent Steve Joel and board member Lanny Boswell attended to check out the presentations. Joel aptly summed up the hard work of students trying to make a difference. "These kids are going to save the world." Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @zach_hammack Love 0 Funny 1 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. Lifelong Buffalo Bills fans Sandy and John Chet Chester were watching a recent episode of the NBC television drama This Is Us in the living room of their Kenmore home when Mandy Moores character, the family matriarch battling dementia, delivered a stirring monologue to her adult children. Moore might as well have been speaking to the local couple through their screen. Shes just sitting there saying, Go and live your life. Go out there and do something. Live, Sandy Chester said in a recent interview with The Buffalo News. And the next day I looked at Chet and I said, Lets sell the house and get an RV. His head swiveled so quick. He said, I have been thinking about that forever. Sandy, 55, and Chet, 60, both have health issues. Shes a decade removed from an addiction to OxyContin, prescribed for significant injuries to her legs and feet, she said. Last year, she had her left knee replaced but has since returned to a part-time job at Paulas Donuts. He said he has COPD, emphysema, had a scare with Covid-19 and is on disability because he can no longer work. Faced with years of mounting debt, the Kenmore West High graduates said they declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy. They recently sold their yellow three-bedroom, one-bathroom house, which Chet grew up in and the couple moved into after his mothers death. And they plan to live in a tent at Arrowhead Campground in Delevan until they find a cheap, used RV to travel the country visiting Bills Backers groups. We had to switch our plan from getting like a 2017 RV down to like a 2010 RV, but were getting one that was top of the line, Chet said, expressing his hopes after significant proceeds from the sale of the house were collected to repay debt. That knocked a good chunk of money out of it that I had kind of counted on, but its not there anymore. Weve got to figure it out, Sandy said. Were doing this no matter what, even if we get a van. Didnt take long to get under The Chesters story begins with a romantic fling as teenagers and pauses through early adulthood until it resumed about a decade ago, when Sandy, nee Pfeiffer, moved back from North Carolina, where she suffered an injury at work. Unable to have children, caring for her sick mother, who would die of cancer, and kicking an opioid addiction, Sandy said she reconnected with Chet, her older brothers best friend and a divorced father of two. Its probably a B+ Lifetime movie, she said. Chet lived his entire life in Western New York and said he lost his father when he was 7 years old, when his dad, who served in the Navy and fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, died in an auto accident. Three theaters of war, Chet said, and he gets killed in a car crash when he was home on leave. Chet and his mother moved into the house in Kenmore two years later, when he was 9. He dated Sandy when she was in high school and he was just beginning his 30-year career as a machinist. Sandys father also was in the armed forces, serving as a Marine, she said, and though her initial romance with Chet was short-lived, she followed in his footsteps in a sense, becoming a machinist in Newton, N.C., where for years she watched the Bills from the same stool at a nearby Hooters. Chet, meanwhile, had married and fathered two sons with his first wife. He was recently divorced and had lost his mother when Sandy returned to Western New York in 2011. They reconnected when he stopped by her moms house for Christmas. Sandys mother died six months later. The couple married in July 2012 and moved into Chets childhood home in Kenmore. He was laid off shortly thereafter and they began to rack up debt. It didnt take long to get under, Chet said. Though he found another job, Chet said he stopped working for good in February 2020, when he had a scare with Covid-19. I couldnt even lift my head off the couch, Chet said. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital on March 2, less than two weeks before the shutdown in the United States. They came in with the gurney to take him, Sandy said. It was devastating. Im watching my husband gasp for air. I thought I was going to lose him. Thats why were doing this. I need him to relax. Mafia is family Chet said he was released from the hospital after a week of IVs, oxygen and breathing treatments. He said he did not need a respirator, and months later tested negative for antibodies. But they said that really doesnt mean anything, Chet said. The couple listed their house in Kenmore for $165,000 in March, according to online records. A red, white and blue Zubaz flag with the Buffalove logo is stretched across the front steps. The sale, to a young couple, is pending. It was under what we were asking so they could afford it, Sandy said. Its the little things that get you into heaven. The Chesters said they have to vacate the premises by May 25, when theyll pitch a tent at the campground in Delevan where Sandys family vacationed when she was a kid, and continue searching for an affordable RV. With what we paid off with the debt, it was a lot, Sandy said, but its going to help my husband be able to breathe a little bit better. And well figure out the RV. Weve got this. Im not worried about it, because God will provide. Bills Mafia will, as well. Sandy posted a photo of the sold sign in their front yard on Twitter on April 10, along with a brief description of the couples plans to buy an RV and travel the country visiting Bills Backers groups. Open to suggestions and invites, she wrote. It generated nearly 100 comments. Thats amazing. So cool. This sounds like a blast! Do you think you can get the RV to Italy? The invitations poured in from Raleigh, Des Moines, Nashville and Las Vegas. Baltimore. Washington. Charlotte. Orlando. Jacksonville. Chicago. Vancouver. Denver. Albuquerque. Miami. San Diego. San Francisco. Fort Worth. Arkansas. Cincinnati. Kansas City. Its so comforting knowing were going to get an RV and we have these people behind us, Sandy said. Even in the comments, theres a dude that said, Im an RV tech, if you need anything. I cant wait for the rest of my life, she said. The Bills Backers, I am telling you, were not going to go hungry and were not going to go without any alcohol, thats for sure. Theyre just warm and opening up their hearts and allowing us in, and I think that is amazing. Mafia is family to me. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ATLANTA (AP) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was hostile during testimony Friday in a hearing on her eligibility to run for reelection, saying she did not remember liking and making various social media posts surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year and accusing an opposing lawyer of using chopped videos and twisting her words. But Greene who, the day before the Capitol riot, proclaimed on TV that this is "our 1776 moment testified that she's never endorsed violence. Greene is set to appear on the Republican ballot for Georgias May 24 primary and has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. The administrative law judge who oversaw the hearing must present his findings to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then make the ultimate determination over whether Greene is qualified. Greene has repeatedly denied aiding or engaging in an insurrection and has filed a lawsuit alleging that the law the voters are using to challenge her eligibility is itself unconstitutional. But Ron Fein, a lawyer for the voters who filed the challenge, said Greene took an oath and then broke it by engaging in an insurrection. While Greene wasnt on the steps of the Capitol, she nevertheless played an important role in stoking Republican fury ahead of the attack, Fein said. Unlike the Civil War and other insurrections that involved military uniforms and tactics, he said, The leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. Andrew Celli, a lawyer for the voters, questioned Greene about posts on her social media accounts. She repeatedly responded, I don't recall," or I don't remember. When asked about the fact that her Facebook account had, in 2019, liked a post calling for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be shot in the head, Greene said she had no memory of that and said someone else could have been responsible. Whenever Celli suggested that she'd endorsed the use of violence to interrupt the certification of the electoral votes, Greene asserted she doesn't support violence and was encouraging peaceful protest. Celli played a clip of an interview Greene did Jan. 5, 2021, in which she said this is our 1776 moment. When Celli asked if she was aware some Trump supporters used that reference as a call to violence, Greene said that wasn't her intention and that she was talking about her plans to object to the certification of electoral votes. I was talking about the courage to object, she said. Celli appeared to grow frustrated at times when she didnt directly answer his questions and accused him of was speculating. Ms. Greene, Im just asking questions, he said. Im just answering, she responded. Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot sometimes seemed exasperated by repeated rephrasing of questions and at times told Celli to move on. He also repeatedly admonished Greene supporters for clapping or cheering during the proceedings. James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, said his client did not engage in the attack on the Capitol, and the challengers are making a very serious charge with significant ramifications. They want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people living in the 14th District of Georgia by removing Greene from the ballot, he said. At the time of the riot, Greene was in a dark hallway at the Capitol urging people via social media to be safe and remain calm, he said. Rep. Greene was a victim of this attack, Bopp said, adding that she believed her life could be in danger. Bopp said that Greene was engaging in protected political speech. He also argued that the administrative hearing process is meant to address basic qualification questions, not to evaluate major constitutional and federal claims. Dozens of Greene supporters attended the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and staunch Greene ally. The challenge to Greene's eligibility to run for reelection was filed by five voters who live in her district, and the procedure for such a challenge is outlined in Georgia law. The law says any voter who's eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge that candidate's qualifications by filing a written complaint. The secretary of state then has to request a hearing before an administrative law judge. Beaudrot asked both sides to submit briefs by midnight Thursday, and said he would try to make a decision within a week after that. Once he submits findings, Raffensperger will be tasked with deciding the eligibility of Greene, a Trump loyalist, as he faces a tough primary challenge from a Trump-endorsed candidate. Raffensperger attracted Trumps wrath shortly after the 2020 election when he refused to take steps to overturn Trumps narrow loss in the state. The 14th Amendment says no one can serve in Congress who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same. Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it aimed to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Atlanta on Monday declined a request from Greene to halt the challenge process. Greene is appealing that ruling. The Georgia complaint was filed on the voters' behalf by Free Speech for People, a national election and campaign finance reform group. The group filed similar challenges on behalf of voters in Arizona, where a judge on Friday ruled to keep three Republicans on the ballot, and in North Carolina against Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at the rally that preceded the riot. A federal judge last month blocked the challenge against Cawthorn, writing that laws approved by Congress in 1872 and 1898 mean the 14th Amendment section cant apply to current House members. Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed reporting. 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 The half-hour before class is one of the most important times of the day for teacher David Beatty. He picks current events to discuss with his high school students on a recent Monday morning, it's the war in Ukraine and the Grammy Awards. He gathers books and materials for the day, loading it all into a cart to wheel from room to room. But the most essential piece of the morning hangs on a bulletin board in the teachers lounge: an intake list of the teenagers brought to the Lancaster County Youth Services Center over the weekend. On this early April Monday morning, there are three new names three kids entering the juvenile detention center. "Every single day in detention is different," Beatty said. "There's no Groundhog Day here." A Lincoln Public Schools teacher, Beatty is one of the five teachers in the Pathfinder Education Program, based in the Lancaster County Youth Services Center, tasked with educating Nebraska youth while they're detained and awaiting court decisions. Every year, hundreds of teens move through Nebraskas four juvenile detention centers, in Douglas, Lancaster, Madison and Sarpy counties. At all four detention centers, teachers such as Beatty educate teens from seventh to 12th grade. Depending on their cases, they stay anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. The constantly changing group of kids bring different levels of trauma and learning challenges into the classroom. Beatty and teachers like him at Nebraskas three other juvenile detention centers serve as one of the last lines of defense against that trauma and those learning challenges. Against sometimes long odds, they try to keep students learning. "A lot of our students have, for some reason or another, not had a successful school history," said Randall Farmer, educational director of the program. "I have to get them to want to learn and love learning again, if that's not part of who they are already." Between swigs of coffee, Beatty reads each file for the new students brought in over the weekend, familiarizing himself with their academic, social and emotional needs. By 8 a.m., he gathers his books, projector and dry-erase board and wheels them all to the first of four housing units he teaches. There's the quarantine unit, where the incoming teens spend 10 days secluded in rooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19 before being put in a housing unit. Beatty and his fellow teacher hold lessons through closed-glass doors. There's the high-security boys' unit, where the boys come out of their rooms to sit at plastic desks spaced around the common area. There's the resource area, used by the two other lower-security units. Its the part of the building that most resembles a classroom, complete with books, computers and posters on the walls. Each unit is like a one-room schoolhouse. In a 50-minute class period, one student could be learning seventh grade math while another works on a senior research paper. One student could be eager to earn school credit, while another struggles to crack a book. Nearly nine out of every 10 of the students enter juvenile detention with credits that put them below grade level, said Dave Collins, principal of the education department at the Douglas County Youth Center. Thus, credit recovery trying to get students back on track to graduate is a main focus for program teachers. "A lot of times, some of these kids were the unteachables," librarian Susan Helming said. "People just pass them on because they can. When you see a senior that comes in here with a first grade reading level, you're wondering, how did you get through 12 years of public school? How is that possible?" For many students, their time in a juvenile detention center could be the first time they get one-on-one attention from their teachers, she said. Its often the first time a teacher has focused specifically on that students learning challenges. Helming became a teacher at the Douglas County Youth Center after six years working as a guard in the same units where she now teaches. When teens need more individual attention, or time to focus and read in a quiet space, they get sent to her in the library. Sometimes, that time isn't just for extra help with reading. When students are struggling to behave in class, one-on-one time with Helming in the library can help calm them down. Some days, that time to cool down goes smoothly. Others, she ends up with ripped-up books. Some kids are angry, Collins said. Some are defiant. Some are mad at the police. And others are nearly silent. A lot of them look scared, Collins said. Never been here before. Helming has to count her pencils at the start and end of the day to make sure they arent being used as weapons. Teachers carry walkie-talkies to communicate both with each other and detention officers. Kids in rival gangs can't be kept in the same unit, and moving students through the halls has to be timed to avoid encounters that could turn into fights. But the classroom is a judgment-free zone, teachers said. I've been given a task by the state of Nebraska to teach them. And that's what I'm going to do, Helming said. Some of the most respectful kids I've worked with have been in here for murder." In both the Lancaster and Douglas County detention centers, students come from all over. Their families have fled violence from countries such as Sudan, Syria and El Salvador, ending up in Nebraska. Or theyre locals some have never set foot west of 72nd Street in Omaha, Helming said. "If anything is going to link them together, it's going to be survival," Helming said. "Some kids are the parents of a family. They're the ones who are taking charge of their siblings. There's a lot of survival going on." Helming once had a student tell her his mother said she'd wished she'd gotten an abortion. "Well, I'm glad you're here," she replied. Another girl said she had to choose between staying home and getting raped by her mother's boyfriend, or running away and having the police called. "She just looked at me, and she says, 'I just didn't feel like getting raped,'" Helming said. Pathfinders staff care for the kids year after year, but they all fall into a certain amount of compassion fatigue, Farmer said. To see a teen leave detention seemingly on the right path and excited about learning only to have them return a year later takes a toll on both students and teachers. "These kids are incredibly valuable," Beatty said. "They're going to be productive members of society. But they've hit a speed bump in their early life." After teaching five classes and grading work, Beatty and his fellow teachers leave for the day. But it isnt unheard of to walk out to the parking lot and meet a former student, now a grown adult with a spouse and children, Farmer said. Theyll say, I wanted to bring them back here to show them where I decided to change my life, and I wanted to thank all of you, Farmer said. This story is a collaboration between the Flatwater Free Press and Nebraska Public Media. The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter. Nebraska Public Media, the states NPR and PBS station, has produced award-winning original content for nearly 70 years. This story is a collaboration between the Flatwater Free Press and Nebraska Public Media. The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter. Nebraska Public Media, the states NPR and PBS station, has produced award-winning original content for nearly 70 years. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon is going to Poland in June on a mission to help the people of Ukraine as they battle Russian invaders and try to survive the horror of war after being displaced. Unlike his multiple military missions in Afghanistan, where he was seriously wounded in a firefight with the Taliban, "this is a humanitarian support mission," the retired U.S. Army colonel said. "It has more of a humanitarian flavor." "Help folks," he said. "Make the world better." The current challenges of assisting Ukrainians who have fled from the Russian invasion and the relentless shelling that has reduced their cities to rubble are overwhelming, Brewer said, "and I want to help." An estimated 5 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country, mostly settling in Poland. Brewer is making plans to fly to Krakow, where he will begin his mission to "help coordinate relief help," with a follow-up trip a few months later. His effort will include visiting logistics hubs and refugee camps and assisting with the command and control skills that can be adapted to help meet the overwhelming challenge that the flood of refugees has produced, including management of equipment and supplies. "When you get asked to go and help, you jump in and go where you can help," Brewer said. "I do not know how long I would be there. The mission dictates it." Brewer said he fears that "Ukraine is in for some very hard days ahead" as Russian troops continue to batter the country. "I think the Russian mindset is much different than any other in the world," he said. "It's an old habit they have. They deliberately and brutally level towns. There is not much concern for human value. They do very horrible things to people." The Ukrainians "have fought very hard," Brewer said, "and have been very resourceful" in resisting the Russian invasion. Brewer said he wants to do what he can to help them now. Last November, despite ongoing health challenges that included medical treatment for leukemia and the lingering aftermath of serious combat wounds, Brewer led a team of five state senators on a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Brewer, who represents a vast legislative district in north-central Nebraska, grew up as an Oglala Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation and he is the Nebraska Legislature's first and only Native senator. He was reelected to a second term in 2020. Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon 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. Charles W. Herbster, a businessman and a front-runner for the Republican nomination to be Nebraskas next governor, filed a lawsuit Friday against state Sen. Julie Slama after she, along with seven other women, accused him last week of groping them. Herbsters nine-page lawsuit, which was filed in Johnson County District Court in Southeast Nebraska, accuses Slama of defamation by publicizing false claims against Herbster less than one month before the May 10 primary. As set forth in my lawsuit, the false accusations and attacks on my character are part of a greater scheme calculated to try and defeat my candidacy, Herbster said in a statement. I will not stop fighting until the truth is told and my name is cleared. In a statement Friday evening, Slamas attorney, Dave Lopez, said: Sen. Slama has not been served with any such lawsuit. He added that if and when Slama is served with a lawsuit, they will review it and respond in due course. To be sure, any claim that calls into question Sen. Slamas well-corroborated account of her sexual assault by Charles Herbster would be categorically without merit and frivolous, Lopez said. Sen. Slama will vigorously defend herself against any such lawsuit. Charles Herbster will be subject to the full scope of civil discovery if he proceeds with any legal attack against Sen. Slama. In a story published April 14, the Nebraska Examiner reported that Herbster reached up Slama's dress without her consent and touched her inappropriately at the Douglas County Republican Partys 2019 Elephant Remembers dinner. Slama confirmed the Examiner's reporting in a statement that same day. In total, the online news site reported allegations from eight women who said Herbster, a Republican megadonor and CEO of Conklin Co., touched them inappropriately. The Omaha World-Herald has not independently corroborated those seven other accounts. The women were between their late teens and mid-20s at the time, according to the Examiner, and all the incidents occurred between 2017 and this year. In his lawsuit, the gubernatorial candidate accused Slama of having made a false and defamatory statement when she confirmed to the Examiner that Herbster touched her inappropriately at the dinner. His lawsuit states Slama repeated her false and defamatory statement in an interview with radio station KFAB. Herbster claims that media coverage of Slamas statements have brought him disrepute and damage to his reputation. Herbster sought to tie Slamas claims to her political connections to Gov. Pete Ricketts and endorsement of Herbsters primary opponent Jim Pillen, a Columbus hog producer and University of Nebraska regent. Herbster's lawsuit notes that Slama served as press secretary for Ricketts 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and that she was appointed by Ricketts to fill the District 1 legislative seat. Slama, who won a bitterly contested race to keep her seat in 2020, has said she was not seeking any gain in coming forward. I have nothing to gain here, she said in the KFAB interview. I have if he wins I have to work with him for two to six years. And my only interest in this is protecting this from happening to other young women, because they dont deserve it. Similarly, Ricketts has called Herbster's assertion "ridiculous," and the Pillen campaign has said it was not behind the Examiner's story. The allegations triggered a political uproar in Nebraska, with prominent politicians including every woman serving in the Legislature condemning Herbster and calling him unfit to serve. Earlier this week, a Herbster campaign official told the World-Herald that the campaign was also preparing to file a lawsuit against the Examiner. A Herbster spokesperson did not respond to questions Friday regarding a potential lawsuit involving the Examiner. The news outlet has said it stands by its reporting. Speaking generally, Eric Berger, a law professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said lawsuits filed by public figures claiming defamation have a high bar to clear in order to succeed. In this country its very difficult for a public figure or public official to recover damages for defamatory statements, he said. In his lawsuit against Slama, Herbster is seeking an unspecified amount in damages, as well as money for fees and costs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SCHUYLER This month, Schuyler residents got a fresh look at a familiar local landmark. The first priority for renovations at the Oak Ballroom was the removal of the booths and flooring. The booths, which many visitors associate with the building, are not original. Their removal allows for up to 570 people in the building and opens up the area by the fireplace for parties, weddings and quinceaneras. The flooring was bordering on 50 years old, according to City Administrator Will De Roos, well past the 20-year lifespan attributed to gymnasium or dance hall floors. Among cosmetic changes made, strings of Edison bulbs were draped along the support ties crisscrossing the ceiling, the stage was painted and the bathrooms were gutted and redone. The legendary ballroom on the south side of town was designed by Nebraska native Emiel Christensen. Construction began in 1937 using oak trees from the Platte River and stone from the local Wells, Abbott, Neiman Mill. At its 1939 opening, attendees were treated to a performance by Lawrence Welk and his orchestra. Welk later praised the buildings regality and its significance in his bands history in what he described as a lean time for them. In 1983 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places for its local interpretation of English Tudor Revival architecture. Its exposed oak timbers, white-panel walls and barn-like trusses make it unique in eastern Nebraska. The building resulted from the Works Progress Administration, an initiative by President Franklin Roosevelt to both build infrastructure and create jobs in the late '30s. Since then, it has hosted many events, and created many memories. Theres been dances, Christmas parties Cargill, I worked for them for 22 years, went to every Christmas party here, all the dances I went to here, said Greg Hajek, whose father was one of the men employed to help build the ballroom. The buildings historical significance is amplified by its location, with the entrance near the Mormon Trail, a prominent historical feature in Nebraska. The mural by Jim Ridgeway above the fireplace commemorates that with a gold-leaf impression of a covered wagon crossing the prairie. Jim Mejstrik, whose father was manager at the ballroom for years, recalled when he had to cover for his father while he dealt with a family matter. The band was horrible, Mejstrik recalled. "I had to unplug their equipment." The final pieces of the renovation custom trim and painting the stages acoustic tiles have yet to be completed but the ballroom is functional. Manager Daniele Baete-Kozisek said the venue is booked on weekends for the foreseeable future. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As young boy growing up in McCook, my dad and I spent a great deal of time fishing in the Sandhills. And during summers I served on the staff of the Boy Scout Camp Opal Springs in Wellfleet. So Ive always known what a treasure the Sandhills are for Nebraska. I was recently thinking about Earth Day and these irreplaceable resources we have in our state. The Sandhills are the largest intact grassland in the world. The Platte River plays host to hundreds of thousands of cranes every year on their annual migration. And our lands and waters support a diverse and robust agricultural economy that helps feed the world. It can be easy to forget that our own lives, economy and culture all depend on nature for clean air, drinking water and food. And it can be difficult to face that our natural world has been changing at a rapid rate. The University of Nebraska predicts that over the next decades we should expect more extreme heat waves and droughts punctuated by intensive precipitation events, and unless we begin to halt the conditions causing climate change, "severe drought could become the new climate normal" for Nebraska. This would be catastrophic for not only the health of our human and natural life but also our agricultural economy. With that in mind, the Biden administration last year released plans for a strategy to conserve 30% of Americas lands and waters by 2030. With its America the Beautiful initiative (or 30x30 for shorthand), the government expressed a "commitment to supporting the voluntary conservation efforts of farmers, ranchers, and fishers; and honoring of Tribal sovereignty and private property rights." Unfortunately, there has been a lot of disinformation about the initiative. I would agree with critics who say the administration should have been clearer about the proposal. Regardless, I believe its objectives are good, entirely voluntary and that Nebraska would be wise to embrace it. America the Beautiful aims to give more resources to farmers and ranchers to help them meet accelerated food demand without sacrificing the lands, water and wildlife we all value and need. In Nebraska, over 90% of land is in production agriculture. Conservation in our state means working collaboratively with landowners to apply voluntary practices that are beneficial economically as well as ecologically. Some politicians, though, have been spreading false messages about the America the Beautiful initiative, calling it a federal land grab. In fact, on Earth Day, Friday, Gov. Pete Ricketts is hosting a summit to build opposition to the initiative. If their portrayal of it were accurate, I would never advocate for it. But I truly believe America the Beautiful provides the opportunity of a lifetime for collaborative conservation action that works with private landowners rather than restricting their rights. The belief that we must act on behalf of conservation is widely shared among all Nebraskans. A recent statewide survey conducted by a Republican polling firm showed that 79% of Republicans, 84% of independents and 83% of Democrats believe "more needs to be done to conserve land, water and wildlife habitat in the state." So this Earth Day, please help me push back against extremist and divisive rhetoric. Learn more about the voluntary America the Beautiful initiative. It is not an order or mandate. And get involved with local conservation groups working to not only protect wildlife and nature, but also the resources that underpin all aspects of our economy and way of life. Ben Nelson was governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and a U.S. senator from 2001 to 2013. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 RACINE The former barber who allegedly fatally shot a client who refused to pay for a haircut was in Racine County Circuit Court on Wednesday for arraignment. Tamir Williams, 34, pleaded not guilty to first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting death of Andre Sandoval, 21. The plea followed a preliminary hearing in which the court found there was sufficient evidence to bind the case over for trial. However, no trial date was immediately set. Instead, a status hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. on June 13. Case history The Mount Pleasant Police Department was dispatched on Aug. 28 to Angels Beauty Salon, 2221 Durand Ave., for a report of a shooting. There they found Sandoval with a gunshot wound to the head. Lifesaving measures were undertaken, but the young man was ultimately pronounced deceased. According to an investigators report, Williams admitted to the killing, and was unemotional and showed no remorse for the shooting during an interview. Video from the scene shows him surrendering to police. According to the criminal complaint, Williams said Sandoval refused to pay for a haircut. After Sandoval left the salon, Williams allegedly followed him out, carrying a backpack with a handgun inside it. At that time, Williams was not legally allowed to possess a firearm due to a court-ordered harassment injunction against him, according to law enforcement. Police said that Williams claimed he feared Sandoval meant to do him harm even though Sandoval left the building without violence. When police asked him why he felt threatened, Williams reportedly did not respond. Multiple witnesses identified Williams as an employee at the salon, identified him as the shooter and confirmed that Sandoval had been a customer at the salon moments before being killed, according to the criminal complaint. Delay The case stalled after court-ordered mental health treatment following a competency hearing for Williams was delayed due to a backlog of cases with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. At that time, the departments facilities were operating at capacity for inpatient services, primarily because the facilities were experiencing staffing shortages. In early December, the Wisconsin National Guard sent 60 members to shore up staffing in four facilities: Mendota Mental Health Institute, Winnebago Mental Health Institute, Southern Wisconsin Center in Dover and Central Wisconsin Center. A person is deemed competent to stand trial when they are able to understand the proceedings, the charges against them and to participate in their own defense. Being ruled not competent to stand trial is different than being ruled not guilty by reason of mental defect, or NGI. In an NGI case, the defendants mental state at the time of the offense is closely examined, as is their ability to tell right from wrong. The defendant was eventually sent for treatment and was found competent to stand trial during a hearing in April 2022. 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. RACINE One of two brothers being held on Racine County warrants in Lake County, Illinois, in connection to a Racine robbery-homicide has been extradited. Jonathan Martinez, 25, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and attempted armed robbery, as party to a crime on both counts, for the shooting death of James Hamilton, who was 31 at the time of this death. The defendant made his first appearance in Racine County Circuit Court on Thursday via video link. A preliminary hearing was set for 8:30 a.m. on April 27. Bail was set at $1 million, cash only. Christopher Martinez, 23, who also is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and attempted armed robbery, as party to a crime, has not been extradited. Moises Gonzalez, another sibling connected to the case, was charged with attempted armed robbery, as party to a crime, and possession of narcotics. On the day of the shooting, Gonzalez told Hamilton to be alert and watch out for himself, and arm himself because he had a bad feeling, according to investigators. The defendant may have had more than a bad feeling. According to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Gonzalez knew his younger brothers intended to rob Hamilton. Gonzalez posted $5,000 cash bail and is on house arrest. Case history The Racine Police Department was dispatched at 10:04 p.m. on Oct. 4 to the 1000 block of Monroe Avenue on a report of suspicious circumstances and a possible home invasion. Inside the residence, officers found Hamilton deceased from multiple gunshot wounds. According to the criminal complaint, there were multiple weapons inside the residence, including a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver with three rounds fired and blood on the handgrip. Additionally, there was an AR-15-style rifle, 9mm casings near the victim, a .22 caliber casing in the living room, and bullet holes in the doors and furniture. In addition, officers located $125,041 in cash, with approximately $107,530 of the cash found in a Louis Vuitton bag. More than $6,400 in blood-soaked bills was found on the floor. More than 7.5 pounds of drugs marijuana, mushrooms, heroin and LSD were also found. According to the criminal complaint, surveillance video showed a red truck parked in the neighborhood for about one hour prior to the killing. At about 9:45 p.m. two people exited the truck and made their way toward Hamiltons house. Two minutes later, the men could be seen running from the house. Investigators were able to trace the truck to the Martinez brothers. Further, data from Christopher Martinezs cellphone puts him in the immediate area the night of the homicide; pings off of cellphone towers showed the phones traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin and back again. Information obtained from the Illinois Tollway indicated Jonathan Martinez was the primary driver of the red truck. Apparent shootout Gonzalez reportedly told investigators that he sold marijuana on the side to help make ends meet and to support his family. It was through this side gig that he said he knew Hamilton. Later, he introduced Hamilton and his younger brother Christopher Martinez, and the two men allegedly began moving large quantities of cocaine. Gonzalez reportedly told investigators that Christopher Martinez was aware of the large amounts of cash that Hamilton had and had purportedly spoken repeatedly about the possibility of robbing him. On the day of the homicide, Gonzalez allegedly picked up Hamiltons roommate so he would be out of the house for the day. It was at that time that he warned Hamilton to arm himself because he had a bad feeling. It may be that Hamilton took the advice seriously because, according to the criminal complaint, the evidence at the scene indicated the victim and the suspects may have had a shootout. Allegedly, Gonzalez received a text message from Christopher Martinez stating the robbery had gone bad and he had shot Hamilton. Christopher Martinez also allegedly said he was going to go back for the money but Gonzalez texted him that it would be stupid to go back and instead he should get out of there, according to the criminal complaint. Gonzalez said Hamilton was alive after the shooting and made a call to his roommate, who was still with Gonzalez, telling him that either he had been shot or that his dog had been shot. Later, Christopher Martinez allegedly blamed Gonzalez for what transpired at Hamiltons house because when they entered, he was armed and on the lookout. According to Gonzalez, Christopher Martinez said Hamilton shot first and he allegedly returned fire, killing him. Gonzalez described Christopher Martinez as wild and crazy and had once aimed a rifle at him, according to the criminal complaint. The defendant also said his brother had badgered him about assisting in the robbery and had further offered $10,000 cash for the assistance. Gonzalez allegedly told investigators he didnt want to upset Christopher because he was scared for his safety and the safety of his family. 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. MOUNT PLEASANT Welcome to Pancake Day, Italian style. The event, held for years at Festival Hall in Racine, is moving this year to Roma Lodge, under the new sponsorship of the Roma Lodge fraternal organization. Roma Lodge agreed to take over the annual charitable event after the Kiwanis Club of Greater Racine disbanded in 2018. Pancake Day had been a Kiwanis activity for more than six decades. The COVID-19 pandemic canceled the event entirely in 2020 and 2021. So after a two-year hiatus, Pancake Day is making a triumphant return April 30 under new sponsors in a new location and with a few other new twists. The event is scheduled for 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 30 at the Roma Lodge, 7130 Spring St. in Mount Pleasant. Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door. Parking is free in the ample Roma Lodge parking lot. Months of work Bill Pucci, a Roma Lodge board member serving as Pancake Day chairman, said he and other volunteers have been working for months to organize the popular community event. They have gotten a helping hand from a few former Kiwanians and have acquired the jumbo-sized rotating burners the Kiwanis Club deployed each year to produce pancakes en masse. With 350 members, Pucci is confident his Italian-American organization can replicate the event that the community remembers. We have the manpower and the space, he said. Im just excited that were pulling it off. Roma Lodge is getting assistance, too, from the Vittoria Colonna Lodge, an organization of Italian-American women who meet at Roma Lodge. Vicki Christensen, past president of the Vittoria Colonna group, said her members have agreed to help with collecting tickets, serving pancakes, cleaning tables and more. The group includes about 155 women. Christensen said she is excited to see Pancake Day coming to the Roma Lodge. The women of Vittoria Colonna work closely with the men, and they are eager to help, she said. Its quite an undertaking, she said. Its very important to support both the Roma Lodge and the community. Supporting nonprofits Just as with the Kiwanians, proceeds from Pancake Day will be used to support nonprofits in the Racine area, to be determined later. The traditional breakfast, available all day, will include pancakes, sausages, juice and coffee. Organizers also will present live musical performances starting at 7 a.m. For the first time, the event will also include alcoholic beverages. Roma Lodge will have its bar open, and patrons will be able to purchase bloody marys, mimosas and other adult beverages. Pucci said organizers believe offering cocktails will be a crowd-pleaser. Its Wisconsin. People love their bloody marys, he said. We thought itd be a nice touch. The event is taking place one week earlier than usual and will remain on the final Saturday of April in future years so as not to conflict with weddings and other activities happening at Roma Lodge on the first Saturday in May. Under the Kiwanis Club, Pancake Day drew as many as 10,000 people in its heyday. The biggest turnout in recent years occurred in 2013 when the Kiwanians served 6,400 breakfasts. In 2019, before the COVID pandemic struck, the Roma Lodge group joined with the Kiwanians and worked together for one last event at Festival Hall, before the transition to Roma Lodge was to become complete. That year saw about 3,500 people turn out for the event. Pucci said he is hoping to attract about 5,000 people this year for the events debut at Roma Lodge. Organizers are working hard to introduce new features while still maintaining the traditions that have made Pancake Day a local favorite. Most of all, patrons will find that the pancake breakfast is as delicious as always. You know, were Italians. Food is part of our culture, Pucci said. Cooking good food is something we dont compromise with. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Big Brother Is Watching You. That was the pervasive punch line in British writer George Orwells novel 1984. Developments in business and government give fresh currency to the classic. Orwell, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, was a committed socialist. Unlike many on the left today, however, he had personal involvement with working people, because he was one. He stressed egalitarianism, while warning about dangers of concentrated power in government as well as corporations. Technologies today provide unprecedented opportunities to gather personal information about, while curtailing freedom of, individuals. Colorful capitalist Elon Musk has been a magnet for controversy throughout his remarkable, successful business career. Currently, he is fighting to buy social media giant Twitter, while complaining about the behemoths heavy-handed censorship practices. Twitter representatives react to such criticism with shock, and not in the cynical Casablanca sense. In that classic movie, Captain Renault expresses artificial outrage about gambling going on in Ricks Cafe. Twitters arbitrary censors sanctimoniously believe in their bullying. People they deem inappropriate include former President Donald Trump, who though now out of office remains Public Enemy Number One for much of our news and infotainment media. Simultaneously, Twitter ignores truly evil hate speech. As one prominent example, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regularly calls for the destruction of Israel, which he terms a cancerous growth. In Twitter Land, that is acceptable political expression while Trumps statements inspire harm. Apple cofounderand rescuerSteve Jobs advocated both free speech and privacy. Not long before Jobs 2011 death, he strongly emphasized protecting customer privacy in announcing a new version of the iPhone. In 2016, Apple strenuously resisted U.S. government efforts to force cooperation to secure cell phone data. A married couple who carried out a horrific mass murder in San Bernardino, California had the phone. The murderers personally supported Islamic terrorist groups. President Barack Obama publicly endorsed FBI efforts to force Apple to cooperate in breaking encryption on that phone. He transformed a gruesome local crime into a major international incident by discussing the matter in a formal speech from the Oval Office. He then travelled to Southern California. Obama opened the door for the Islamic State plausibly to take credit for the killings. The terror group immediately did so. There is no evidence the killers had ties to terrorist groups. Apple loyalty to Jobs important legacy involved taking tremendous, threatening heat from the Feds. The FBI eventually broke the encryption, with outside tech help. That agency should focus on improving internal skills, not harassment. A wit quipped that 1984 was really about 1948, a reference to the Stalinist Soviet Union. In the late 1940s and well into the 1950s, intense anti-communism seriously distorted U.S. domestic politics and our wider society. Leftwing and other intellectuals found their careers damaged and in some cases destroyed. Blacklisting of writers became a feature of this intimidation. That era passed but ominous concentrated power remains. In our fascinating, fantastic global information revolution, institutions committed to following the law and protecting personal privacy deserve our support. Here, nonprofits are particularly important. Jobs, Musk and other entrepreneurs who resist concentrated arrogant power also deserve support. Government and corporate snoops pry, corporate and government bullies try to intimidate, today as through history. Today, these powerful entities control unprecedented technologies, but our U.S. Constitution provides essential protections. Meanwhile, remember: You have a right to privacy. Big Brother has not abolished that, not yet, but hed like to. Arthur I. Cyr is the author of After the Cold War. Contact acyr@carthage.edu. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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 HCM City to pilot helicopter tours on April 29 Helicopter tours will be piloted in HCM City on April 29, according to the Southern Vietnam Helicopter Company. Helicopter tours will be piloted in HCM City on April 29 "The pilot tours will last 40 minutes over some areas including Aeon Mall Tan Phu, Aeon Mall Binh Tan, RMIT University, Phu My and Thu Thiem bridges, the Landmark81 Building, and the Binh Quoi Tourism Site, the company said. "Passengers will pay VND4.08 million (USD174) for the tour of 40 minutes," the company said. A 16-seat AW-189 imported from Italy and 12-seat EC-155B1 imported from France will service the tour. The tour will start at at Tan Son Nhat Airport or Military Hospital 175. After the pilot tours, the sightseeing helicopter service, the first of its kind in the city, will be launched in short-range flights of 20 to 40 minutes for tourists to see the city centre and the coastal district of Can Gio and mid-range flights lasting for 50 to 80 minutes for visitors to view the city and the Tan Lap Tourism Site in the neighbouring province of Long An. According to Vo Anh Tai, deputy general director of Saigontourist Group, the helicopter tours will help diversify HCM Citys tourism products and boost the tourism co-operation between the city and the Mekong Delta region. 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. Killeen, TX (76540) Today Partly cloudy and windy this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 75F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy and windy this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low near 75F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. The Vernon County Fair association will again sponsor the Fairest of the Fair and Junior Fairest of the Fair contest. The Fairest and Junior Fairest will serve as the hostesses for the Vernon County Fair Sept. 14-18. The Fairest will also represent Vernon County at the state Fairest of the Fairs contest held in January 2023. The contestants must be a resident of Vernon County, or most of their fair activities take place in the county. They must be a resident of the state of Wisconsin for a least a year prior to entry. Fairest contestants must be 18 years of age by Jan. 1, 2023, since the contestant will be required to travel if they are selected as Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs in January 2023. Junior Fairest contestants must be 14 to 16 years of age. Each contestant must have a sponsor for the contest. Any business, youth or civic organization may sponsor a contestant. The sponsor fee is $30. The contest will be held Saturday, June 11, in the Youth Activity Building on the Vernon County Fairgrounds. There will be a social hour at 6 p.m., with the program to follow at 7 p.m. The deadline for applications is May 5 and must be postmarked no later than May 5. Applications are available on the fairs website at www.vernoncountyfair.com, under Fairest of the Fair, entry packet. To obtain more information, contact Angie Hornby at fairest@vernoncountyfair.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Vernon County Museum will host the Wisconsin Historical Societys traveling exhibit, Great Lakes Small Streams: How Water Shapes Wisconsin, from May 2 to 27. The Great Lakes region is home to one of the largest freshwater resources on the planet. That water shapes the landscape, history, and communities of our state. This exhibit explores our states long relationship with water and the impact we have had on our vast waterways. The museums own Vernon County water exhibit, Drops of Water, continues to be on display throughout the building. The traveling exhibit will be set up in the museums first-floor, wheelchair-accessible conference room. It will be available during the museums regular public hours of Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m., or by appointment. An exhibit opening party for Great Lakes Small Streams will be held Tuesday, May 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. The Vernon County Museum is located at the corner of South Main and East South streets in Viroqua, just north of the Vernon Memorial Healthcare buildings. The museums phone number is 608-637-7396, and the website is vernoncountyhistory.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A 44-year-old La Crosse man is being held in the La Crosse County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond after allegedly injuring three people during an attempt to rob a couple of their jackpot winnings. Samuel L. Thomas was charged Thursday in La Crosse County Circuit Court with two felony counts of armed robbery/use of force, three felony counts of substantial battery/intent to cause bodily harm and a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. According to the criminal complaint, a husband and wife won a $4,300 jackpot drawing at Cheap Andys Bar in La Crosse on April 13. The couple reportedly was concerned about a robbery attempt and asked the bartender to put aside $4,000 in safekeeping until the couple could retrieve it the following day. The remaining $300 was applied to an open bar tab. The husband exited the bar ahead of the wife and got inside his parked car. He was reportedly approached by Thomas, who said, Give me all your money, or Ill shoot you. The complaint said Thomas brandished a weapon later identified as a BB gun. The husband told police he took $50 from his pocket and that Thomas tried to grab it before the husband said, No, you aint getting that. At that point, the wife approached the vehicle. Thomas reportedly turned and pointed the weapon toward her. She knocked the weapon from Thomas hand and kicked it underneath a parked vehicle. Thomas then grabbed her purse and struck her in the head. She told police she didnt see what she was struck with and didnt remember much after that. The incident caught the attention of bar patrons, who came outside and wrestled Thomas to the ground. One of the patrons was knocked unconscious during the struggle, and Thomas was able to break free and flee on foot. A witness told police he saw a rachet wrench in Thomas right hand. The complaint says the husband sustained a cracked rib, the wife sustained a concussion and the bar patron sustained a head laceration that required 10 staples to close. Police arrested Thomas on April 15. The complaint says he gave police a false name and initially denied he was at Cheap Andys. He later admitted being at the bar but denied knowing anything about the jackpot or attempting to steal the wifes purse. He said he approached the husband outside the bar because he was disrespecting his girl earlier in the evening. Thomas has a preliminary hearing set for April 29. 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 Monroe County Sheriffs Office is investigating the death of two people in the town of Ridgeville early Friday morning. Shortly after 6 a.m., police received a call of a potential murder/suicide at a Lexicon Avenue address. The caller claimed responsibility for one death at the residence and threatened suicide. The Monroe County Sheriffs Office and the Monroe County Combined Tactical Unit responded to the scene and found two dead people inside the house. The names of the deceased were not disclosed. The investigation is ongoing, but law enforcement officials say its unlikely there is any danger to the public. The sheriffs office was assisted on scene by the Monroe County 911 Communications Center, Monroe County Combined Tactical Unit, Wisconsin State Patrol, Wilton Police Department and the Monroe County Medical Examiner. This incident remains under investigation by the sheriffs office and medical examiner. 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. At an Earth Day rally on Friday, a group of students called on UW-La Crosse and the School District of La Crosse to create climate action plans and commit to 100% clean energy. "Now is our time to demand our schools take action and ensure change for the future," student Laurel Masters said. The UW-L students spoke at an event hosted by Citizen Action of Wisconsin at La Crosse City Hall. They called on the community to sign two petitions urging the schools to make plans against climate change, while applauding work done by other area entities such as the city of La Crosse and La Crosse County. Both the city and county have made commitments to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050, among other initiatives. Christina Mehrkens, who is among the leaders of the UW-L Students for Sustainability Club, said that UW-L is the one of the only UW System schools without a sustainability coordinator, though officials this spring said they were considering adding the position. Mehrkens additionally claimed the university uses alumni dollars to invest in fossil fuel corporations, an issue that students and student organizations across the UW System have been highlighting heavily in the last year. She pointed out that while universities are hubs for research on climate change, they are often some of the largest emissions producers in communities. "We need the La Crosse School District, UW-La Crosse two of our largest employers and two of the biggest social hubs in the county to commit to renewable energy, to commit to being an environmentally friendly campus, because we need their help. We can't do it without them," said student Wyatt Molling. The event was an example of young people leading the fight against climate change, and Molling said that more institutions need to make commitments. "Because so far, and what we often see of those in power and certain elected officials, is that we only get pandering. We only get people talking about change as a means to win over voters," Molling said. La Crosse Mayor Mitch Reynold joined the students, pointing to tangible sustainable actions the city has taken. "We're actually taking concrete steps here in the city of La Crosse to really try to reach that goal," Reynolds said. He specifically pointed to the $68 million expansion project at the city's wastewater treatment facility on Isle La Plume. Once completed, the plant will be able to convert the wastewater it collects into energy that is hooked up to a microgrid that can power all of Isle La Plume including the city's new fleet of electric buses. The new technology at the plant will also allow the city to address contaminants that come in through wastewater, including PFAS once the state permits it. "We're doing solid things, we're doing things that we can point to to say: We're making this investment for your future," Reynolds said. "When we're talking about making change here in the city of La Crosse and talking about carbon free by 2050, we really mean it and we're taking steps to reach that." But there are still major issues in the area that need tackling, the students said. Molling pointed to the PFAS crisis affecting French Island and other communities around the state, and runoff from nearby farms and industrial sites impacting area waters. This has specifically impacted Lake Neshonoc in West Salem where Molling grew up. He said the lake has three-times the average fecal count, or amount of manure, than any other waterway in La Crosse County. According to water samples taken at county beaches last summer shared by the La Crosse County Health Department, two beaches on the lake had fecal counts of 140 and 120. The next closest level was at Airport Beach in La Crosse at 60, and the remaining were 40 or lower. The lake has been identified by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, and beaches along its shorts have been closed by the county several times due to harmful bacteria levels. It's also on the state's 303d list of impaired waters because of the amount of contaminants within it. The lake has been dredged before to remove some of the contaminating sediment, but the county board voted against funding for another dredge on the lake last year. Other waterways in the region, such as the Mississippi River, have also seen the impact of runoff. In 2013, Pettibone Beach in La Crosse was closed for a week due to E. coli contamination from fecal runoff that occured during heavy rainfall. "In the same way that my father took me fishing as a child, I hope to someday be able to do the same for my children. But frankly, it doesn't exactly look like it's possible," Molling said. He added, "Just remember when you're swimming in Pettibone Beach this summer, remember all the things that are swimming with you." 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. UW-Madison has promoted its interim chief financial officer to the permanent position, the university announced Thursday. Rob Cramer took over as the temporary vice chancellor for finance and administration last May following the departure of Laurent Heller, who left for Johns Hopkins University. Cramer was also among the finalists in the 2016 search that led to Hellers hire. Rob has all of the tools, experience and knowledge to lead these critical units and support our universitys success, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in a statement. Im appreciative of his steady presence at this important time of transition. Cramer, a UW-Madison alumnus, has a resume that includes decades of administrative experience. He spent 10 years at UW-Platteville as the vice chancellor for administrative services and about four years as vice president for administration for the University of Wisconsin System. Hes also served as secretary of the State of Wisconsin Building Commission and administrator of the Division of State Facilities in the state Department of Administration. The university is at a critical juncture and we have to be very focused on ensuring it thrives in order to support Wisconsin today and tomorrow, Cramer said in a statement. Cramers office oversees budget, facilities planning, business services, human resources, public safety and University Housing. His salary will be $420,000, university spokesperson John Lucas said. Other finalists for the job included Sheryl Van Gruensven, UW-Green Bays chief business officer, and Patrick Duhaney, the city manager for Virginia Beach, Virginia. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol on Thursday. But he has ordered his troops not to attack the large, steel factory containing the last Ukrainian fighters in the city. Instead, he told his forces to surround the Azovstal factory so that not even a fly comes through. Russian troops have attacked the southeastern port city of Mariupol since the early days of the war. The city is largely destroyed. Top officials have claimed it was about to fall, but Ukrainian forces continued to fight. In recent weeks, a few thousand Ukrainian soldiers were in the factorys tunnels and bunkers. Russian forces continued to bomb the site and demanded that they surrender. But on Thursday Putin declared victory without taking the factory. The completion of combat work to liberate Mariupol is a success, he said in an appearance with his defense minister. Congratulations. Ukraine denied that there is a Russian victory in Mariupol. "This situation means the following: They cannot physically capture Azovstal. They have understood this. They suffered huge losses there, said Oleksiy Arestovich. He is an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. By calling the mission a success, Putin may be seeking to take the attention off the plant. The factory has become a worldwide symbol of resistance. Even without the plant, the Russians appear to have control of the rest of the city and its port. The capture of Mariupol would be the Kremlin's biggest victory in the war in Ukraine. It would help Russia secure more of the coastline and provide land access between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014. It would also permit Putin to move more forces to the larger battle for Ukraines eastern, industrial area of the Donbas. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said about 2,000 Ukrainian troops remained at the steel plant. Ukrainian officials said about 1,000 civilians were also trapped there along with 500 wounded soldiers. Shoigu said the site was blocked off and predicted it could be taken in days. I consider the proposed storming of the industrial area pointless. Putin said. He said he wants to protect the life and health of our soldiers and officers." Putin may be hoping Russian forces can wait for the defenders to surrender after running out of food or ammunition. The attack of the plant could also continue. More than 100,000 people were believed to be trapped with little or no food, water, heat or medicine in Mariupol. The city had a prewar population of about 430,000. Chris Parry is a former, British high-ranking military official. He told The Associated Press: "The Russian agenda now is not to capture these really difficult places where the Ukrainians can hold out in the urban centers, but to try and capture territory and also to encircle the Ukrainian forces and declare a huge victory. Russian officials have said capturing the Donbas is the wars main goal. Luhansk is one of the two regions that make up the Donbas. The governor there said Russian forces control now 80 percent of the area. Before Russia invaded, Ukraine controlled 60 percent of Luhansk. Meanwhile, Western powers are increasing their support of Ukraine, moving to send additional heavy weapons to the country. Im Dan Novak. Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. ________________________________________________ Words in This Story bunker n. a strong building that is mostly below ground and that is used to keep soldiers, weapons, etc., safe from attacks liberate v. to free from being controlled by another person, group, etc. pointless adj. having no meaning, purpose, or effect agenda n. a plan or goal that guides someone's behavior and that is often kept secret territory n. an area of land that belongs to or is controlled by a government front n. an area where military forces are fighting region n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way A recent report from the Inspector General of the Department of Defense says that United States military bases in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic are failing to prepare for long-term climate change. The report gives a rare bit of public information about the militarys state of readiness for the worsening weather conditions that many expect from a warming Earth. The U.S. military long has recognized climate change as a threat to national security. That is in part because of the effect that floods, wildfires, extreme heat and other natural disasters are having and will have on U.S. bases and troops around the world. Increasing hurricanes, flooding, storms and wildfires in recent years have caused billions of dollars in damage to Floridas Tyndall Air Force Base, Nebraskas Offutt Air Force Base and other U.S. military bases. It also has interrupted training and other operations. For years, laws, presidential orders and Pentagon rules have required the military to plan and work so that its bases, warships, warplanes and troops can carry out their missions despite increasingly difficult weather conditions. President Joe Biden directed faster, larger action on climate change by the Department of Defense and other agencies as one of his first acts in office. Inspectors visiting the United States six northernmost military bases last June and July found none were carrying out the required planning to prepare their bases and operations against long-term climate change. Further, the inspector general report said, most installation leaders at the six installations we visited in the Arctic and sub-Arctic region were unfamiliar with military installation resilience planning requirements, processes, and tools. Resilience is a term that means the ability to adjust to change. Senior officers told the inspector generals inspection team that their operations lacked the training and funding to start the required work. Some saw requirements for that kind of long-term planning as making up a wish list that would go up against competing priorities, the officers told the inspectors. A Pentagon spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The inspector general report cited Defense officials as saying that the Biden administration has finished or is working on many of the reports recommendations. One of the bases is in Greenland and the other five are in Alaska: Thule Air Base, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Clear Space Force Station, Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely. The Arctic and sub-Arctic are important to the U.S. because of rising tensions and competition with Russia and China, and because rising temperatures are melting sea ice. The melting sea ice will, possibly, allow oil exploration and open shipping lanes. The inspectors found that the kind of problems linked with worsening climate change are already causing trouble at the U.S. bases. At Fort Wainwright in Alaska, increased wildfire risks in 2019 interrupted training for two Pacific Air Force groups known as squadrons, so that one was able to carry out only 59 percent of planned training for a period, the report said. Many of the exact discussions of climate risks at the six bases were blacked-out in the version of the report made public last week. But inspectors photographed and described some of the issues. These included cracked runways, damaged buildings and roads, and a collapsed rock barrier that had been piled up to hold back floodwater at Thule in Greenland. The report said of the base leaders, They stated that their day-to-day focus was on reacting to immediate problems or reducing risk to existing hazards, rather than planning for future hazards. The Arctic is warming two to three times faster than the rest of the world. A March heat wave that increased Arctic temperatures 30 Celsius higher than normal surprised scientists. Of 79 U.S. military installations overall, the Department of Defense says two-thirds are at risk of worsening flooding conditions and half are vulnerable to increasing drought and wildfires. Im John Russell. Ellen Knickmeyer reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. ________________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story installation n. a military camp, fort, or base priority n. something deserving attention before competing alternatives version n. a form or variant of a type or original focus v. to concentrate attention or effort hazard n. a source of danger When police pulled her over for blowing a stop sign, she reportedly told them, her "daughter is no longer alive," according to court paperwork. MOGADISHU, April 21 (Xinhua) Somalias special forces, Danab, killed more than ten al-Shabab militants and wounded several others during security operations carried out in the central part of the country, officials said on Thursday. The military officials told SNA Radio that the special forces conducted a series of security operations against the extremist group in several villages in Mudug region on Wednesday. The Danab forces launched operations against al-Shabab in several villages including Qararow, Kalaxiran, Goryale, Dhumale, Caad, Gabdhale and Waable, among others, in Mudug region, the military radio reported. The government forces have intensified security operations against the al-Qaida allied terror group to liberate regions still under the control of the group. Everyone who knows me knows that I love coffee. I dont mean the kind my mother made, perk coffee that sat on the stove for hours on end, but good coffee that I make fresh with the right kind of beans. Straight-up coffee, flavored, espresso or cappuccino I love them all. When I talk about it or even write this column, I can just smell and taste it. Yummy. Now, I dont overdo it, although my wife, Penny, might say I do. But if I kept track of how much coffee I drink, its probably six cups a day. Not six mugs a day, but six cups, with a cup being 8 ounces. Mugs are often twice that amount. I mention this because the studies referenced below define a cup as 8 ounces; keep that in mind. I do have an espresso maker for my 4 p.m. jolt. But Im careful to limit myself to a single shot of this deliciousness. If you love, love, love espresso, then consider popping for one. Theyre coming down in price all the time. Whether coffee is healthy or not is so important, because three out of four people drink it, with most of them drinking it regularly. So if its bad, its an important public health message for us to know that. It turns out, though, that the opposite is true. Drink coffee, live longer. Its that simple. Coffee is an elixir of life. And, interestingly, its not the caffeine. Regular coffee and decaf carry the same protection. The theory is that chemical compounds known as polyphenols, along with other antioxidants in this gift from Mother Nature, carry properties associated with reduced inflammation and reduced insulin resistance, which could be why previous studies have shown that coffee may protect us from diabetes. Still other studies have shown that coffee promotes health of the liver, that rarely discussed organ that does wonders for us and never asks for so much as a simple thank you in return. Now, lets discuss two more recent studies published in the American College of Physicians Annals of Internal Medicine. The first was a mammoth study from 10 European countries that involved more than 500,000 men and women. Researchers found that those drinking three cups of coffee per day lived longer. Most noticeable was a reduction in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract such as colon cancer, but also diminished heart attacks and strokes. The second study came out of the University of Southern California. Again, it was a mammoth study, including 185,000 people of all different ethnicities. And guess what? It showed the same thing: Drink coffee, live longer. The strength of these new studies is that theyre really, really large more than half a million people followed for 16 years. Large and long make for good data. You can argue there are other factors that might impact the results found in these studies behavioral factors. Coffee drinkers just might be more active, they might be more engaged with their life, they might eat differently, things like that. That notion was addressed in the editorial content that accompanied the studies results. The writers said we should hold our horses before doctors rush to recommend to everyone that they drink coffee. Well, they might be right or they might just be the Puritans who are afraid to recommend anything that might be fun. Doctors have a tendency to do that. They can be rigid prigs when it comes to recommending fun things. But with COVID, I think all of us have recognized that fun things are an important part of our life coffee included. If the concern is about drinking too much caffeine, consider that previous studies have shown up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day is OK for most adults. Thats about four cups of coffee a day. My spin: The naysayers who say coffee is bad for you should fold up their tents and go home. They are wrong. Coffee, whether caffeinated or decaffeinated, is not bad for you at all. And there are so many studies that show it has a salutary effect that perhaps we should consider it a vitamin. Maybe we should call coffee the new Vitamin C2. Ill drink to that drink coffee, that is. Stay well. This column provides general health information. Always consult your personal health care provider about concerns. No ongoing relationship of any sort is implied or offered by Dr. Paster to people submitting questions. Any opinions expressed by Dr. Paster in his columns are personal and are not meant to represent or reflect the views of SSM Health. NEW DELHI (AP) India and Britain on Friday called on Russia to declare an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an expansion of economic and defense ties that could help India reduce its dependence on Moscow. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he and Johnson discussed the situation in Ukraine during a meeting in New Delhi and underscored the importance of diplomacy and dialogue. Johnson did not pressure Modi to take a tougher stand against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, said Harsh Shringla, Indias foreign secretary. Modi has called the situation in Ukraine very worrying and has appealed to both sides for peace. While India has condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine, it has so far not criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, and abstained when the U.N. General Assembly voted this month to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council. India was an ally of Moscow during the Cold War but has since sought to maintain ties with both Russia and Western nations. Johnson used the Hindi language to describe Modi as a Khaas Dost, or special friend, and said, Our relations have never been as strong or as good between us as they are now. He told reporters that the world "faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty. Our collaboration on the issues that matter to both our countries, from climate change to energy security and defense, is of vital importance as we look to the future, Johnson said. He said India had come out strongly against killings in Bucha earlier this month, and that Modi had already intervened several times with Vladimir Putin to ask him what on Earth he is doing and where it is going. Modi has responded coolly to pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden and others to curb imports of Russian oil in response to the invasion. India is the worlds third-largest consumer of oil after the United States and China, over 80% of which is imported. Last month, state-run Indian Oil Corp. bought 3 million barrels of crude from Russia to secure its needs, resisting Western pressure to avoid such purchases. In the early 1990s, more than 70% of Indian defense equipment was of Soviet origin. India is now diversifying its defense procurement, but experts say up to 60% of its current military equipment was acquired from Russia. India has a historic relationship with Russia and everybody respects it, Johnson said. India and Britain have agreed to collaborate on the manufacturing of defense equipment, systems, spare parts and components through a transfer of technology and setting up of joint ventures. Johnson said Britain will issue an open general export license to India, reducing bureaucracy and shortening delivery times for defense procurement. He said he and Modi also discussed new cooperation on clean and renewable energy, aimed at supporting Indias energy transition away from imported oil and increasing its resilience through secure and sustainable energy. India welcomed Britains commitment to invest $1 billion in climate-related projects in India between 2022 and 2026, according to a joint statement issued after the talks between the leaders. Johnson said a collaboration between the two countries on energy security, including solar and offshore wind power, will help reduce dependence on imported hydrocarbons. He said the two countries will try to conclude a free trade deal by October that is expected to double their current $50 billion trade by 2030. There are some difficult issues, he said. But there are big opportunities, we can get it done. Im optimistic. Associated Press writer Krutika Pathi contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. NEW YORK (AP) CNN is shutting down its CNN+ streaming service less than a month after its launch, a spectacular flameout for a venture that had attracted stars like Chris Wallace and Alison Roman and was seen as a way to attract a new generation of news consumers. It had started March 29, shortly before CNN was taken over by new corporate parents. The new leaders of Warner Bros. Discovery quickly let it be known they considered CNN+ an ill-conceived idea. The subscription-based service will be shut down at the end of April. Executives said some CNN+ programming and employees will be absorbed into the television network and website but there will be layoffs. The head of CNN+, Andrew Morse, is leaving the company. In a memo to employees on Thursday, incoming CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht said consumers wanted simplicity and an all-in service rather than stand-alone offerings. Discovery had previously suggested that it wanted to merge the new companys separate streaming services, which include Discovery+ and HBO Max, into a single app. In a Thursday town hall, executives also said that the service's inability to show live breaking news was a crucial failing. Because of contracts with cable and satellite companies, CNN+ could not stream the CNN television network. It's a little bit like The New York Times subscription without The New York Times, said J.B. Perrette, head of Discovery's streaming services. Perrette said Discovery had learned from trying to launch its own news service in Poland, and in seeing the experiences of other paid streaming services in the United States like Fox Nation, that CNN+ could not expect to get near one million subscribers. Unlike CNN+, which was charging customers $5.99 a month, broadcast networks like ABC, CBS and NBC offer free news-streaming services. Those are the facts, Perrette said. We've learned from painful history, financially costly history. If the company is going to go in a different direction than CNN+, we can't let it go on one second more than it needs to, he said. There had been skepticism from outside CNN about whether the streaming service could succeed, particularly given the glut of streaming services already available. Even Netflix, the streaming pioneer, is feeling the competitive pressure. This is a service leveraging the CNN brand that is not delivering the type of content that the CNN brand is known for, the live impactful news content, said Parks Associates research director Paul Erickson. It was already a bit of a tricky proposition to begin with even without the change in corporate ownership. Under AT&T, there were $100 million in development costs and some 500 employees assigned to building out CNN+. Perrette told the employees they would have first dibs on some 100 jobs currently open at CNN. Licht's memo said there would be at least six months of severance pay for departing staffers. In the meeting, a CNN staff member wondered why AT&T, CNN's previous corporate owner, was allowed to develop and start the service with new management coming in that clearly had its reservations about it. But executives said they were not allowed, until the takeover was formally approved weeks ago, to be involved in meetings about the service. The executives said accountability for the rapid failure lies squarely with previous management. Would we have preferred to have this discussion six months ago, nine months ago? Perrette said. Couldnt do it. The CNN+ service's flagship was arguably Wallace's daily interview show, for which he left his previous job as Fox News Sunday host. Wallace did not immediately return a message seeking comment. It also featured programming from food-media star Roman, former NPR host Audie Cornish, ex-NBC News host Kasie Hunt, Jemele Hill, Rex Chapman and current CNN personalities Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. Some of the shows hadn't even started yet. Warner Bros. Discovery is led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who has his own vision for CNN and its Warner siblings. Licht said in his memo that the incredibly difficult decision to shutter CNN+ is the right one for the long-term success of CNN. It will allow leaders to refocus resources on the core products that drive our singular focus: further enhancing CNN's journalism and its reputation as a global news leader. On the television network, Licht is expected to increase CNN's emphasis on news coverage with less commentary. He told staff members that the decision was no reflection on the service that they had built. Licht acknowledged in the staff meeting that the experience with CNN+, at least initially, will have repercussions with personnel and those who might want to come there. We have to own the erosion of trust and build it back, he said. Arbel reported from Phoenix. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. To those who know Sir Emarion M. Tucker from the Dane County Jail, he is pleasant, respectful and engaged in his education. But the 19-year-old man facing Circuit Judge Chris Taylor for sentencing Thursday also had admitted that as a 16-year-old in 2018, he broke into a 43-year-old womans Southwest Side home and raped her, and while free on bail, he assaulted and robbed two other women as they went about their lives on Madison streets. I understand you are making efforts, Taylor said. I understand the perplexity of your counsel: How can there be the perception that you are kind and pleasant, and yet capable of such violence? That unpredictability led Taylor on Thursday to sentence Tucker to 25 years in prison, followed by 20 years of extended supervision, which she said was necessary because she could not guarantee that the person back on the street after a shorter sentence would be any less dangerous than Tucker has shown himself to be. (Deputy District Attorney William) Brown is correct, Taylor said. Its a very unusual case. Its very unusual to see such a young person engaged in such violence. Tucker pleaded guilty last year to first-degree sexual assault for the 2018 rape, which he committed when he was 16 years old. He was originally charged in juvenile court, but the case was transferred to adult court in May 2019. Since then, the case was delayed by an appeal, competency proceedings and by COVID-19 precautions in the jail and the courts. The victim in the rape case told police that someone she later learned was Tucker broke into her home, threatened her with a two-by-four and raped her before leaving with her phone and one of her bank cards. His use of the card at a gas station ATM led to his arrest. In court Thursday, the woman, speaking by phone, told Taylor that the incident all but ruined her life. This is really hard for me to write and speak for several reasons, she said. One, most being that I had to relive one of the worst days in my life, even though it replays in my head every day. But mostly I feel like Im giving away all my power again by telling all the ways that I was destroyed. She said that in the moment, she felt like she had to give up her power, her body and her mind for fear Tucker would kill her. She said he asked her questions about her children as he raped her. My family is my whole heart, she said. The mother that they knew was destroyed that day. You killed my soul, she said. You killed every piece of who I was. At the time of the incident, Tucker was supposed to be on home detention as part of a juvenile court disposition of an earlier case. About a year after Tucker was charged in adult court, Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell agreed to reduce Tuckers bail from $30,000 to $2,000, which was then posted. He was supposed to be confined to his grandmothers house. About two months later, Tucker attacked and robbed a woman on a Far West Side street and demanded sex from her. About two months after that, he robbed a 77-year-old woman of her purse at the Walgreens on Cottage Grove Road, punching her after she had rolled down her car window. Tucker also pleaded guilty to robbery charges related to those crimes. Mr. Tucker is a predator, said Brown, who asked for a 30-year prison sentence. Hes a predator who preys on vulnerable women in our community. State Assistant Public Defender Laura Breun, who asked for 12 years in prison, argued that Tucker is very young and immature and will be a very different person than he is today after serving a shorter sentence and having time to reflect on what hes done. She said he has accepted responsibility for his crimes and has not minimized his actions, as Brown had argued. Taylor disagreed, referring to passages in a state Department of Corrections pre-sentence report in which Tucker, describing the rape, left the impression that the victim had acted willingly with Tucker. You raped her, Taylor said. In court, Tucker apologized to the court and to the people I have harmed. The damage Ive done cannot be fixed, Tucker said. But I do want those Ive harmed to have closed wounds. I want the people Ive harmed to be in a world of light and not in a dark place. Taylor sentenced Tucker to 15 years in prison for the sexual assault, three years for the May 2020 robbery and seven years for the July 2020 robbery of the 77-year-old woman. With credit for time Tucker has spent in custody since his arrest in 2018, his 25 years in prison will be shortened by about three years and four months. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A man who was charged with stabbing another man near State Street in 2020, leaving the victim with a serious injury, pleaded guilty Thursday to a lesser felony, avoiding a trial that was scheduled for next week. Billy G. Langford, 36, of Madison, who was originally charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide in July 2020 for a stabbing that injured a 53-year-old man, will be sentenced on May 19 by Dane County Circuit Judge John Hyland. Under a plea agreement, Langford pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with intent to cause great bodily harm, which carries up to 15 years of combined prison and extended supervision. Attempted homicide is a 60-year felony. Langford has two other felony and two misdemeanor cases currently pending. A criminal complaint states city surveillance video showed the man standing near a grill at Peace Park on July 9, 2020, when Langford approached and appeared to make a stabbing motion toward the mans chest. Langford left the park and got onto a bus afterward, while the man, hunched over, walked toward State Street where two people flagged down a police officer. The complaint states Langford told officers later that the man had killed his sister, and I was just defending myself cause he said I would end up like her. Langford was originally jailed on $35,000 bail, but over time his bail was reduced to $5,000 and then to a signature bond in February, according to court records. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A strong gust of wind Wednesday blew over a wall that was being placed for a new home, causing the wall to fall onto a construction worker and kill him, according to the DeForest Police Department. Guadalupe Cervantes Vallin, 42, of Sturtevant, died from injuries he suffered during the workplace accident, according to preliminary results from a forensic exam, the Dane County Medical Examiners Office said Thursday. DeForest police responded about 2:30 p.m. to a medical emergency at a construction site in the 4600 block of Bellflower Drive in the village of DeForest, the Police Department said. Officers found a man who was not breathing and did not have a pulse. Construction workers had been trying to put a framed wall into place for the home when wind knocked it onto the worker, later identified by the medical examiner as Cervantes Vallin, who was helping put up the wall, police said. Emergency crews began lifesaving measures and then took Cervantes Vallin to a local hospital. He died at the hospital, the medical examiner said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is assisting the DeForest Police Department in investigating the death. DeForest Windsor Fire and EMS Department and the Sun Prairie EMS Department assisted at the scene. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Catholic school administrator from Rhode Island will join Edgewood High School as its new president starting July 1, the school announced Thursday. Kevin Rea will step into the leadership position currently held by Mike Elliott, who announced his retirement in October after nine years as president of the private Catholic high school. I feel deeply honored and thrilled that I will be joining the Edgewood High School community as president at such an exciting time in its history, Rea said. Rea served as president of Wyoming Seminary School from 2015-21 before returning to Rhode Island for family reasons, according to a statement released by Edgewood communications director Martha Doherty. Before working in Wyoming, Rea was assistant head of school at Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, and served in various education and administration roles in the United Kingdom. He is well-positioned to help us build on the strong foundation that Mike Elliott and previous presidents as well as our Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa sponsors, faculty, staff, students and families have built throughout Edgewoods history, said Marykay Zimbrick, board chair and a member of the president search committee. President of Edgewood High School announces plan to retire in June 2022 Mike Elliott, who has been president of the private high school in Madison since 2013, told students, staff and faculty in a statement Monday that the decision came after conversations with family and friends, careful thought and many prayers. Elliott, who has been president of the high school since 2013, told students, staff and faculty in a statement in October that his decision to step down came after conversations with family and friends, much thought and many prayers. He cited a desire to spend time with his family, including his young grandchildren, which prompted his decision to retire. He plans to leave the position in June. Zimbrick said she and fellow board members were grateful for the leadership Elliott has shown as president through uncertain and often challenging times. Together, we have addressed many challenges and celebrated many milestones and Im so proud of where Edgewood is headed, Elliott said. Im confident Kevin, in partnership with the entire Edgewood community, including our generous donors and alumni, will continue the beloved Edgewood tradition and make the Edgewood experience even better. 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. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has agreed to the establishment of a regional force to fight armed groups in the eastern part of the country. During a mini-summit held in Nairobi, the leaders of DR Congo, Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda directed that the regional force be established immediately. DR Congo currently has one of the largest UN peacekeeping forces (MONUSCO) in Africa but has struggled to bring peace to its eastern regions, where a myriad of local and foreign militia groups have caused havoc for decades. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group linked to ISIL (ISIS), is considered the deadliest of dozens of armed militias that roam the mineral-rich eastern DRC. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is another militia group in the area. It was formed and led by remnants of the elements that committed the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, which claimed more than a million lives. The regional summit directed all foreign armed groups inside the DRC to disarm and return unconditionally and immediately to their respective countries. Summit leaders also demanded all Congolese armed groups to participate unconditionally in the political process to resolve their grievances or face military action. The leaders resolved to meet within one month to evaluate progress made under what is known as the Heads of State conclave. Other than Kenya whose president is the current chair of the East African Community (EAC), the other governments represented at the summit have long complained about security threats posed by Congo-based armed groups that originate from their countries. The meeting noted that a consultative dialogue between DR Congo president, Felix Tshisekedi and the representatives of local armed groups in the DRC is to take place at the earliest possible time. New documents posted online by Michael Gableman underscore efforts by the former state Supreme Court justice to gather information on the partisan leanings of public election employees as part of his GOP-ordered review of the 2020 election, including details on a Milwaukee staffer he determined to be probably a Democrat because she has a nose piercing and sometimes colors her hair. The memo, titled cross pollinators and posted on the Office of Special Counsel website Thursday, lists details about a Milwaukee geographic information system analyst, including that she has a weird nose ring, has colored hair in some of her photos, loves nature and snakes, plays video games and lives with a boyfriend but is not married to him. The unsigned memo also notes that the employee has no overt signs of rampant partisanship. The documents were posted on the same day that a Dane County judge ordered Gableman to stop deleting public records related to the GOP-ordered review into the 2020 election after court filings revealed that Gablemans office regularly destroys records deemed irrelevant or useless. Among the documents recently posted on Gablemans website, the cross pollinators memo underscores the former justices fixation on the partisan leanings of elections officials in the state. Gableman was hired last year by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, to review the election at a cost of $676,000 to taxpayers. Others listed in the memo include Milwaukee Election Commission director Claire Woodall-Vogg, who is referred to as Voggy in another memo; Madison and Green Bay city clerks Maribeth Witzel-Behl and Celestine Jeffreys; and Racine clerk and treasurer Tara Coolidge, among others. Witzel-Behls name is misspelled Maribeth Wetzel in the report, and Jeffreys is misspelled Jefferies. In a recent discussion with WTAQ-AM, Gableman criticized the clothing choice of the Wisconsin Elections Commissions nonpartisan administrator, Meagan Wolfe, remarking, black dress, white pearls, Ive seen the act, Ive seen the show. Gableman has a bizarre fixation with the jewelry and appearance of the women he is supposedly investigating, Wisconsin Elections Commission Democratic chair Ann Jacobs tweeted Thursday. Its sleazy and gross and has no place in any investigations by the government. Gablemans office had not responded to a request for comment Thursday. Deleted records Indiana lawyer James Bopp, who is representing Gableman in an ongoing lawsuit filed by liberal watchdog group American Oversight seeking records related to the election review, wrote in an April 8 letter to the organization that the Office of Special Counsel routinely evaluates documents, including text messages and emails, to determine whether the record is of use to the ongoing probe. Documents deemed relevant to the investigation are downloaded and kept. If the document is irrelevant or useless to the investigation, the (office) deletes that document, Bopp wrote in the letter, which was filed in court Wednesday. In light of this standard procedure, the (office) routinely deletes documents and text messages that are not of use to the investigation. An irrelevant or useless document includes documents that the (office) is not intending to further investigate, and is not intending to rely upon for its recommendations or reports. Bopp wrote that the deletion of records ensures that the office is not overrun by irrelevant and useless documents, but an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Council back in October found that deleting such records, even by a state contractor like Gableman, violates state law. American Oversight this week filed a request for a temporary injunction to prevent Gablemans team from deleting records as part of an ongoing lawsuit seeking access to the documents. Judges order Dane County Circuit Court Judge Frank Remington ordered Gableman on Thursday to not delete or destroy any records that may be responsive to American Oversights original request pending further action from the court on the matter. A scheduling conference has been set in the case for Tuesday. If this investigation was above board, the Office of Special Counsel would have maintained and released records of its work required by law, American Oversight senior adviser Melanie Sloan said in a statement. Instead, it is fighting tooth and nail to hide its work from the public. This inquiry is nothing more than an attempt to prop up conspiracy theories and undermine free and fair elections. In the October memo, which was prepared for then-Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, Legislative Council deputy director Dan Schmidt wrote that the states public records law generally applies to records created or maintained by Gablemans office. In court filings, Bopp contended that the states public records retention law only applies to state agencies and not Gablemans office citing an exemption to the law provided to the state lawmakers who hired him. The (office) is not a state agency subject to the retention law, as it is clear that the (office) is not a commission, board, department or bureau of state government, Bopp wrote. Rather, it is an independent contractor contracted by the Assembly to assist in the investigation of the 2020 Election. As such, it is also not an officer for purposes of the public records retention law. State lawmakers are exempt from Wisconsins record retention law, allowing them to regularly delete records, though requested documents must be retained if they exist at the time of a formal request. Schmidt wrote in the memo that such an exemption does not apply to Gableman. Court battles The case is one of three records-related lawsuits filed by American Oversight against Vos, the Assembly and Gableman. Vos and Gableman have fought back against multiple records requests from both American Oversight and news organizations, arguing that releasing such documents could undermine the ongoing review. Despite a wide array of claims made by Gableman, the former justice has so far failed to produce evidence to support claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, which saw President Joe Biden defeat former President Donald Trump in the state by about 21,000 votes. Several judges have been unsympathetic to Republican efforts to withhold those records, with Remington last month ordering the release of hundreds of pages of documents related to Gablemans review. Remington described the records as much to-do about nothing. In a separate case, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn in March held Vos in contempt of court for failing to provide requested public documents related to the probe. Vos has extended Gablemans contract through the end of April, but later said he is considering rescinding subpoenas issued by the former justice so that a Republican attorney general if elected in November could file criminal charges against the subpoenaed individuals, though he did not provide specifics on what charges could be pursued. Gableman said he had recently been contacted by officials in Vos office notifying him of plans to dismantle his office by the end of the month. Vos said his goal is to now focus on resolving the several pending lawsuits surrounding the former justices review. 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. When the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art unveils its latest show on Saturday, it will feature dozens of new artworks, but also one left undone: a mural by Madison artist Lilada Gee. Gees work on the interior mural came to a halt in March, after an incident just outside the museum walls that she describes as traumatic. The encounter resulted in the firing of an Overture Center employee and a sped-up timeline for more training on microaggressions and unconscious bias but also should not detract from a groundbreaking and important artistic show at MMOCA, supporters say. Gee is among 23 Black Wisconsin women artists invited to be part of the museums 2022 Wisconsin Triennial, titled Aint I A Woman? after a quote from the abolitionist and womens rights advocate Sojourner Truth and the classic book on Black feminism by author bell hooks. If you go What: Opening celebration and reception for the 2022 Wisconsin Triennial, Aint I A Woman? Where: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 227 State St. When: 5-8 p.m. Saturday. Mix by DJ Femme Noir and cash bar. Presentations from 6-7 p.m. by artists Nakeysha Roberts Washington and Lilada Gee Gallery hours: MMOCA galleries are open 12-6 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Aint I A Woman? runs through Oct. 9 Admission: The museum and the opening celebration are free and open to the public. Website: mmoca.org Aint I A Woman? marks a historic milestone: It is the first time the Triennial, one of the states most prestigious shows featuring contemporary Wisconsin artists, has been organized by a guest curator, Milwaukee gallery owner Fatima Laster. Last month, Gee was at MMOCA working on her mural when she went outside to her car to get more art supplies. She called Annik Dupaty, the director of events and volunteers at the museum, to let her back into the building through locked glass doors along Henry Street. But before she could return, Gee was stopped by what she described as aggressive verbal and physical behavior. A staff member from the adjacent Overture Center for the Arts, whose building shares the entrance with the art museum, happened to be standing in the entryway, Gee said. When Dupaty arrived and opened the doors to greet Gee and let her into the building, the woman was right in my face yelling at me at the top of her lungs. What are you doing?!? You cant come in here! Youre not supposed to come in this door!, Gee told the nonprofit publication Madison 365, which first reported the incident. The woman, a longtime Overture employee, then physically barred Gee from entering the door. The confrontation left Gee so shaken and confused that she was emotionally unable to return to her artwork, she said. The incident traumatized me, Dupaty said in an email this week. Discussing it continues to be triggering. When Overture learned of the incident, it conducted an investigation and the employee was terminated, said Ed Holmes, Overtures chief equity and innovation officer. Overture viewed footage of the incident taken by a security camera, he said. The behavior of the former staff member, who is white, toward Gee and Dupaty, who are Black, didnt match any of our cultural values, our expectations about creating a more welcoming atmosphere of belonging, Holmes said. Although the doorway where the incident happened is not an entrance typically open to the public, he said, theres an expectation that people are going to listen, be aware, and make good judgments, and that was just not the case in this situation. Overture officials declined to provide the security camera footage or the former employees name due to confidential personnel or security matters. Added training Emily Leach, also an artist in the Aint I A Woman? exhibition, calls the incident horrible and something that should not have happened. Leachs own artwork in the show is based on Black womens role in archiving and caring for family histories. But it also examines the uneasiness between visibility and invisibility, something that becomes more apparent after the confrontation Gee experienced, she said. The show at MMOCA is such an exciting and historic moment, said Leach, and at the same time, I wish that I could say that I was surprised to hear that this happened. Overture is now working to require additional training among staff and its nearly 500 volunteer ushers in looking at unconscious bias, macro- and microaggressions, what that means in terms of social and racial justice and equity, diversity and inclusion, Holmes said. We all feel horrible that this situation has taken place, Holmes said. Overture had been discussing the additional trainings all along, he said, but the incident regarding Gee really made it a top priority, and has pushed the fast-forward button for us to really know that this is something we really need to address. Healing process Gee is the founder and president of Defending Black Girlhood and Black Women Heal, a Madison-based nonprofit created to support Black women and girls. She is also part of the team behind plans for the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, founded by her brother, the Rev. Alex Gee, to be constructed on Madisons South Side. Gee said following the incident in March that she no longer wanted to deal with Overture directly, but would be represented by her brother. Holmes said that a handwritten letter of apology was sent to Gee via Alex Gee. Contacted this week through his office, Alex Gee declined to comment. We cant begin to understand how someone is impacted by an incident like this, Holmes said. I do know that the healing process takes time, patience and understanding, and its up to the person whos impacted to determine what that looks like. Gee said she has received support from friends and the art community. One of the questions people kept asking me was whether I was going to finish the mural she was painting for Aint I A Woman?, she said. No niceties Gee turned to a longtime friend and elder, Pia Kinney James, who suggested the artwork would be more powerful if left undone. This is trauma that women, especially African American women, experience every day, Kinney James said. Its not about the artist not completing (the work). Its about someone causing its non-completion. Gee consulted with her brother, other family members, and some creatives that I trust after I spoke with Miss Pia, and they confirmed that this is what you need to do, she said. I think there is this desire, this expectation, that when something like this happens especially for Black women (we should) push through, be strong, Gee said. But I think its important for us to understand that some things cannot be undone. The impact needs to be seen and understood. You cant just clean up everything and make it nice and pretty for people. Reading planned So Gee left the unfinished mural alone and began to write an open letter instead. She plans to read that letter at the opening celebration for Aint I A Woman? Saturday evening at the museum. Initially, I didnt know what I was going to do with it, she said of the letter. I just needed to write down what was evoked from me today why did this trigger me? What was that trigger? Citing the guest curators wish to keep the exhibition a surprise until the opening, MMOCA declined to provide images of the incomplete mural or to allow a photographer as the exhibition was being installed. Laster, the guest curator, also declined an interview and said through an MMOCA spokesperson that she did not want the incident involving Gee to detract from the artwork and historic nature of Aint I A Woman? Gee credits Laster for letting her show the incomplete mural and present her open letter before the public. Dupaty, too, emphasized that Laster and all of the artists in the show deserve to be celebrated, respected and lauded. The work is compelling, beautiful, and each artist has something unique to say, Dupaty said. I think people are going to enjoy spending time exploring this exhibition over and over again. This show is a big deal, agreed Gee. Its historic, having a show like this in Madison, curated by a Black woman, full of Black women artists, pieces about Black womanhood. This is a historic event. For (Laster), I laud her courage for allowing me to express myself in this way. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A roundup of today's Election 2022 headlines and analysis: TOP STORIES Biden takes swipe at GOP's assault on Disney: 'They're going after Mickey Mouse' President Joe Biden on Thursday criticized the Republican Party over its confrontation with Disney and suggested the "far right has taken over the party." It's the first time that Biden, who was speaking at a fundraiser in Oregon, has commented on the feud between Disney and Republicans. The party, in an effort to galvanize its base, has seized on Disney over the corporation's opposition to legislation that prohibits schools from teaching young children about sexual orientation or gender identity. In retaliation, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has led an effort to curtail special privileges Disney enjoys in the state. "This is not your father's Republican Party," Biden said at one point on Thursday, later adding: "It's not even conservative in a traditional sense of conservatism. It's mean, it's ugly. I mean, look at what's happening now in Florida: Christ, they're going after Mickey Mouse." Full story here: *** Republicans build momentum as they drive anti-LGBTQ legislation nationwide Former President Donald Trump recently likened teaching kids about gender and pronouns to "child abuse." Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused his critics of supporting "sexualizing kids in kindergarten." And South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem debuted an ad that brags, "In South Dakota, only girls play girls' sports." As they gear up for midterm elections, Republicans nationwide are intently focused on passing new restrictions on the LGBTQ community and, in particular, transgender kids. They have passed measures banning school instruction about queer people, outlawing gender-affirming care for those under age 18 and barring transgender children from participating in youth sports. Full story here: More stories on 2022: *** BATTLE FOR THE SENATE Live TV debate exposes Democrats' differences in Senate race The leading candidates for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvanias open U.S. Senate seat held their first live-televised prime-time debate. John Fetterman is the states lieutenant governor, and has led polls and fundraising. He took the brunt of the attacks from state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia and U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb of suburban Pittsburgh. Perhaps the sharpest exchange in Thursday night's debate centered on a 2013 incident when, shotgun in hand, Fetterman confronted someone he believed was involved with gunfire on a nearby street in Braddock, where Fetterman was mayor. The debate also exposed differences over suspending the federal gas tax and opposing new natural gas drilling leases. The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2022 With a 50-50 Senate, every race will matter in November. Here are the 10 seats most likely to flip. *** 2024 LOOKAHEAD Iowa GOP open to non-Trump prospects as 2024 gets underway Former President Donald Trumps persistent flirtation with another White House run is doing little to discourage other potential Republican candidates from stepping up their activity in Iowa, the state that will formally launch the nomination process. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo quietly finished his fifth trip to Iowa last week, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is planning a statewide trip this summer. Former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to visit western Iowa this weekend. Pences trip is particularly notable since he spent the better part of four years in lockstep with Trump. It provides further evidence that Pence is considering his political future without regard to Trump's plans. MADRID (AP) A leading Spanish museum said Friday it's confident that U.S. courts will again rule that a valuable French impressionist painting once taken from a Jewish family by the Nazis belongs to the museum, and not to descendants of the family. In a statement Friday, the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum said that despite a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling that returned the case to lower courts, it was sure those courts would once again rule that Spanish law, rather than California law, should prevail. That would mean the painting, Camille Pissaros Rue Saint-Honore in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain, should remain in the hands of the Madrid museum where it now hangs. The painting has been estimated to be worth more than $30 million. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday to return the case to the Courts of Appeal kept alive San Diego resident David Cassirers hopes of getting back the streetscape that belonged to his great-grandmother. U.S. lower courts have previously concluded that Spanish property law and not California law should ultimately govern the case and that under Spanish law, the museum was the rightful owner of the painting, which the family believed for over half a century had been lost or destroyed. The Courts of Appeal will now decide whether California state law, rather than federal law, might hold precedence over Spanish law. This could overturn earlier rulings. The Thyssen museum said that Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor had commented during the hearing that the next ruling would probably be again in the Spanish museums favor. Cassirers great-grandmother, Lilly Cassirer, a German Jew, had owned the 1897 oil painting. After the Nazis came to power, Cassirer and her husband fled Germany. In 1939, in order to get visas to leave, she surrendered the Pissarro painting to the Nazis. The painting changed hands a number of times after that. In 1958, Lilly Cassirer reached a monetary settlement with the German government worth about 232,000 euros ($250,000) today, but she didnt give up rights to try to pursue the painting if it turned up. Rather than being lost or destroyed, the painting had traveled to the United States, where it spent 25 years in the hands of different collectors before being purchased in 1976 by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza of Lugano, Switzerland. He owned it until the 1990s, when he sold much of his art collection to Spain. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia shifted a dozen crack military units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine and pounded away at cities across the region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday, as the two sides hurtled toward what could be an epic battle for control of the countrys industrial heartland. Meanwhile, Russia reported that one serviceman was killed and 27 others were left missing after the fire on board the warship Moskva, which sank a week ago following what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack. Moscow previously reported everyone aboard had been rescued. The Russian Defense Ministry did not acknowledge an attack on the ship. It continued to say a fire broke out after ammunition detonated, without explaining how that happened. The loss of the guided missile cruiser the flagship of Russias Black Sea fleet was a humiliating setback for Moscow. In Mariupol, reduced largely to smoking rubble by weeks of bombardment, Russian state TV showed the flag of the pro-Moscow Donetsk separatists raised on what it said was the city's highest point, its TV tower. It also showed what it said was the main building at Mariupols besieged Azovstal steel plant in flames. The Kremlin has thrown over 100,000 troops and mercenaries from Syria and Libya into the fight in Ukraine and is deploying more forces in the country every day, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. We have a difficult situation, but our army is defending our state, he said. Numerous cities and villages came under bombardment in the Donbas the industrial region in the east that the Kremlin has declared the new, main theater of war as well as in the Kharkiv region just to the west, and in the south, authorities said. Russian forces pummeled an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters holed up inside the sprawling Azovstal plant, the last known pocket of resistance in the strategic southern port city, the mayors office reported. Every day they drop several bombs on Azovstal, said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayor. Fighting, shelling, bombing do not stop. A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in the battle for Mariupol despite the steel-mill holdouts. He ordered his forces not to storm the plant to finish off the defenders but to seal it off instead in an apparent bid to force them to surrender. Mariupol has taken on outsize importance in the war. Capturing it would deprive the Ukrainians of a vital port and complete a land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin seized from Ukraine in 2014. It would also allow Putin to throw more of his forces into the potentially climactic battle for the Donbas and its coal mines, factories and other industries, or what the Kremlin has now declared to be its main objective. Danilov reported that some 12 to 14 of Russias elite military units have, in fact, left Mariupol and begun moving to the east to take part in the fighting there. It will now be difficult for our forces, because our guys in Mariupol were taking (those units) on themselves. It is their courage and feat, he said. Danilov also said Kyiv managed to deliver weapons via helicopter at great risk under cover of night to the Mariupol steelworks, which have been bombarded for weeks. Putin said Russia gave Ukrainian forces inside the plant the option to surrender, with guarantees to keep them alive, and offered decent treatment and medical care, according to an account of a phone call with European Council President Charles Michel, provided by the Kremlin. But the Kyiv regime does not allow them to take this opportunity, Putin charged. More than 100,000 people down from a prewar population of about 430,000 are believed trapped in Mariupol with little food, water or heat, and over 20,000 civilians have been killed in the nearly two-month siege, according to Ukrainian authorities. Most attempts to evacuate civilians from the city have failed because of what the Ukrainians said was continued Russian shelling. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said no humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations would be open in Ukraine on Friday because it was too dangerous. She urged civilians to be patient and hang in there. Days into the Russian offensive to take the east, the campaign has yet to become a full-out assault, with military analysts saying Moscows forces are still ramping up and have not achieved any major breakthroughs in the Donbas or gained any significant ground. But shelling attacks killed three civilians in a small town and two villages Friday in the Donetsk region, which is part of the Donbas, the regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, posted on a messaging app. Kyrylenko said the Russians opened fire on at least 20 of the region's settlements. In other developments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks between the two countries have ground to a halt because Moscow hasnt received a response from Kyiv to its latest proposals, the details of which have not been released. Putins lead negotiator at the talks, Vladimir Medinsky, said he held several lengthy conversations Friday with the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He gave no details. Also, Rustam Minnekayev, a senior Russian military official, publicly outlined Russian war aims that appeared to be wider than what the Kremlin has stated in recent weeks. He said Russias forces aim to take full control of not just eastern Ukraine but southern too. He said such a move would open the way to the nation of Moldova, where Russia backs the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldovan officials are warily watching Putins actions in Ukraine. In his nightly video address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned: The Russian invasion of Ukraine was assumed to be just the beginning; further, they want to grab other countries. Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak added that Russia was always lying to everyone and that, in fact from the very beginning, it wanted stupidly to steal some of Ukraines territory to secure an outlet to Transnistria. Satellite photos released Friday by Maxar Technologies revealed what appeared to be a second mass grave site excavated recently near Mariupol. The site at a cemetery in the town of Vynohradne has several newly dug parallel trenches measuring about 40 meters (131 feet) long, Maxar said in a statement. A day earlier, Maxar made public satellite photos of what appeared to be rows upon rows of more than 200 freshly dug mass graves next to a cemetery in the town of Manhush, outside Mariupol. That prompted Ukrainian accusations that the Russians are trying to conceal the slaughter of civilians in the city. This confirms again that the occupiers arrange the collection, burial and cremation of dead residents in every district of the city, Andryushchenko said on the Telegram messaging app. The Ukrainians estimated that the graves seen in the photos released on Thursday could hold 9,000 bodies. The Kremlin did not respond to the satellite pictures. The U.N. Human Rights office again condemned the Russian invasion. Over these eight weeks, international humanitarian law has not merely been ignored but seemingly tossed aside, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said. Fisch reported from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Felipe Dana in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Inna Varenytsia in Kviv and Robert Burns and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report, as did other AP staff members around the world. 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. A 42-year-old Kenosha man has been charged with first degree reckless homicide for allegedly knowingly supplying a local man with heroin laced with fentanyl that killed him. Jeremy D. DeBartelo was charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court. He made his initial appearance at intake court Friday afternoon. Court Commissioner Loren Keating set a cash bond of $100,000. According to the criminal complaint, Kenosha Police responded to the 2000 block of 42nd Street on the night of March 22 for a report of a possible overdose. Upon arrival, officers spoke with a man who said he had walked into a bedroom that both he and another individual named Kenneth Reau shared. The man said he found Reau on a bed, and he appeared to have pale skin but was warm. The man said he attempted to administer a dose of Narcan and said he called 911 within five minutes after finding Reau on the bed. The man reportedly told officers Reaus heroin dealer was DeBartelo, who had an active felony warrant through Wisconsin Community Corrections for felony larceny, according to the complaint. The man reportedly told officers Reau purchased the drugs from DeBartelo earlier that day. Reau was pronounced dead by a medical examiner shortly after midnight on March 23. When officers searched the residence they reportedly found a white plate that contained a Band-aid wrapper with a white clumpy substance that later field tested positive for the presence of fentanyl. When interviewed by investigators, DeBartelo initially denied providing Reau with any drugs. However, according to the complaint, Debartelo then became emotional and ultimately admitted that he had sold Reau the heroin. During their investigation, the complaint indicates officers spoke to others in the supply chain who confirmed the color of the heroin. An alleged supplier reportedly confirmed he had taken DeBartelo to Racine just days prior to Reaus death and knew that it was a new batch as everyone was falling out from it, the complaint states. DeBartelo was represented by public defender Toni Young Friday at intake court. Attorney James Kraus appeared for the state. The defendant does have a significant criminal record, including a felony theft from 2019, a failure to report to jail in 2018, and then a number of misdemeanors, including two counts of misdemeanor bail jumping in 2007, Krause told the court. Reaus brother and daughter asked Keating for the highest bond possible. I would like to ask for the highest amount of cash bond possible due to everything that happened, she said. DeBartelo asked Young to tell the court he was friends with the alleged victim and was very disturbed. Keating said DeBartelo faces a lengthy time in prison if convicted. The court does believe there is a potential flight risk here and is going to impose a $100,000 cash bail. Debartelos preliminary hearing was set for April 29. Seventeen people have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in northern Nigeria, where a more than decade-long Islamist insurgency has claimed tens of thousands of lives, sources said Thursday. Around two dozen fighters dressed in military-like uniform and believed to be from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group sneaked on foot into Geidam town in Yobe state late on Wednesday, militia sources said. They rounded up nine people in a bar in and slaughtered them, some with their hands tied behind their back, militiaman Gremah Bukar told AFP. They killed nine people at the bar, including two women and a retired police officer, he said. The jihadists also forced their way into the staff living quarters of a technical college, killing two people and torching buildings, said Bukar, in an account supported by another militiaman, Abubakar Adamu. Residents who saw the attackers mistook them for troops from a base in the town, said resident Babagana Kyari. Ari Sanda, another resident, said the jihadists came through the eastern part of the town which had been left unguarded and people who saw them leave thought they were bona-fide troops. Both residents gave the same death toll. Geidam, close to the Niger border, has been repeatedly raided by the jihadists, including the military base where they killed troops and carted away weapons. Revenge Separately, ISWAP claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a bar in Taraba state an area in northern Nigeria outside their typical zone of operations. Police said three people died and 19 were injured on Tuesday when an explosive device went off at a bar. State policeman Usman Abdullahi told AFP on Thursday that three of the injured had died, bringing the death toll to six. In a statement released in Arabic on Wednesday, the jihadist group said it had detonated the bomb, killing and wounding nearly 30 Christians and damaging the bar. The statement, translated by SITE Intelligence which monitors jihadist activities worldwide, said the attack was revenge for the death of two of the groups leaders, without giving further details. The blast occurred in a crowded open-air moonshine bar in the town of Iware. ISWAP has become the dominant threat in northeast Nigeria since the death in May 2021 of Abubakar Shekau, the former leader of rival group Boko Haram. More than 40,000 people have died and around two million have fled their homes since Boko Haram launched the insurgency in 2009. Nigerias military has scaled up its offensive ahead of the rainy season which starts next month, killing high-profile commanders in recent air strikes on the groups camps. Taraba is located in the eastern central part of Nigeria and has not experienced any jihadist attacks since 2014. However, the state is a hotspot for kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits. There has been growing concern about increasing ties between jihadists and bandits who are motivated by financial motives with no ideological leaning. BRIGHTON Catori, one of two emaciated horses surrendered last August as part of an animal abuse investigation in Pleasant Prairie, has made significant improvement while under care at Solstice Sanctuary in Brighton. She came to us lethargic, timid and reserved, said sanctuary founder Angela Axton, whose family also operates a horse boarding and training facility on the 43-acre property. She was extremely underweight and losing muscle. She was a body score of 2 and horses should be 5. The mare was put on a nutrition program designed to safely nurse malnourished horses back to health. She now has energy to play, enjoys time with her pasture mate and looks to humans for love, Axton said. She looks forward to her food, every feeding. Kanali, the second horse surrendered as part of the Pleasant Prairie case, could not be saved. She was with us for just five days before she died, Axton, who lives with her husband Bradley May on the property, said. She was so emaciated her bloodwork showed her body was eating the muscle to survive. Goats, donkeys, more The sanctuary had taken in its first rescue a donkey named Irvin three months earlier, after Axton and her family relocated to the Brighton property from Antioch, Ill. It has since been granted its nonprofit status and rescued four more horses, a miniature cow, two more donkeys, two piglets and three goats. Irvin arrived skinny and weak, contaminated with lice and suffering from allergies. He itched himself raw in numerous spots all over his body, Axton said. He could barely hold himself up. Thankfully, our team was there to lift him into and out of the trailer because he was physically incapable that day. Irvin spent three weeks in quarantine. We brought him home May 13, the same weekend we finalized paperwork for the sanctuary, Axton said. Irvin, whose hair has grown back think and shiny, now comes running, baying and kicking in excitement, any time someone comes near. The goats Raphi, Raega, and Razi came from a family in Ohio looking to rehome them because white patches in their coats prevented them from being used as show goats. Niko and Nala, two more donkeys, were rescued from a second chance lot and provided needed companionship for Irvin. They had very bad overgrown hooves, Axton said. Nala was very scared of men, indicating she had suffered some abuse. They are now very playful and will help the sanctuary add a human healing element to the non-profits mission. Were going to call it, Giggles with Goats, she said, adding it will likely include some stretching and body movement, mindfulness and spending time with goats for joy. Wellness programs planned Axton said they also hope to host art-based wellness programs, forest bathing and nature walks on the property. We would like to use a variety of healing modalities and the land to offer as much as we can to people, she said. Rachel Szydlowski, another founding member, has developed a close bond with the only cow at the sanctuary, Juniper. Szydlowski spotted the mini Hereford in Texas when the sanctuary crew was in the state to rescue Josie, a five-month old filly with a broken leg, and Hank, a six-month-old stud colt. She lived her life tied to a tree with minimal hay, Szydlowski said of the cow. They also couldnt leave Texas without Opal, a broodmare, and Cat Woman, Opals seven-month old mini-foal. Fundraising planned For now, the sanctuary is full. Plans are underway for a fundraising campaign to build another barn on an adjacent property. That will add up to 12 more stalls. Axton said people can help by making a donation or by simply connecting and sharing social media posts. The sanctuary which has a TikTok following 34,000 followers has launched an individual animal sponsorship program on May 13, the one-year anniversary of Irvins arrival. For more information about the sanctuary, or to make a donation, visit www.solsticesanctuary.org. Criminal case In the criminal case that brought the horse Catori to Solstice Sanctuary, Larry J. and Debbie M. Wachter each face one felony count of mistreatment of an animal causing death and a misdemeanor count of intentionally mistreating animals. The final pre-trial hearing is set for June 29, with jury selection set to take place July 18. As a 20- and 30-something young woman living in Manhattan some years ago, the city felt like my playground. Virtually nowhere was off limits, too unfriendly or unsafe to visit. The Theater District for plays. The Lower East Side for live music. Harlem for soul food. The Bronx for Italian. Queens for Mets games. Brooklyn for beaches. My friends and I would walk the streets of Manhattan into the early morning hours, unalarmed by the emptiness or the occasional strangers wed pass. Even as a young woman, I felt perfectly comfortable taking the subway alone at night and would hardly even look up from my magazine or cellphone. In the 13 years I lived there, I never so much as had my purse stolen or a single uncomfortable subway encounter. In fact, after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, I worried constantly about unattended backpacks, mailbox bombs and transit terrorism but never about being personally attacked. That New York City is gone, apparently. In the years since Ive moved out to the suburbs, COVID-19 and crime have ravaged the town I once felt so safe in that I left my door unlocked just like they did on Friends. Now, reading the crime section in the newspaper is like a walk down memory lane past all my old haunts except the street is terrifying and unrecognizable. A stabbing on West 44th Street and Ninth Avenue sent a man to the hospital its being investigated as a hate crime. Thats just four blocks from where my office was, and the exact corner of my favorite theater district restaurant. The theater district is now a crime haven. Another night, two men were shot and wounded near Ludlow and Stanton streets where my friends and I would go to listen to live music at least one night a week. The next morning, an ex-con released from prison a month ago attacked five people with a knife and a bottle during a meth-induced rampage on the Upper East Side, where I used to live for a time. One victim was attacked at East 96th and Second Avenue, two blocks from my friends old apartment. That victim was taken to the hospital I regularly volunteered at. Later that day, a man slashed a woman in the leg at the M train platform at Herald Square the very station Id transfer at nightly to get the N/R when I lived downtown. That was all over three days, and managed to intersect with much of my old life in Manhattan. That doesnt even cover the Brooklyn subway rampage last week, which left 29 people wounded. Or recent attacks outside Manhattan, like the gruesome murder of a Queens mother, found dead in a duffel bag, stabbed 50 times; or the sexual assault of a 59-year-old woman on a Brooklyn sidewalk; or the shooting of a beloved Queens father who worked with disabled adults; or the fatal stabbing of a Bronx man outside his home. Thats all just in the past four days. Cops say, and the numbers bear out, that shootings are concentrated in low-income neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx neighborhoods where residents are already struggling with all kinds of other challenges. Its no wonder some New Yorkers want out of what we all once agreed was the greatest city in the world. A recent Morning Consult poll found that 40% of New Yorkers working in Manhattan said they want to leave the state, and 84% said conditions in the city have worsened in the last two years, particularly with violent subway crimes and homelessness. Its not just a feeling; the numbers back it up. On the subways, crime has increased 68% since this period last year. Hate crimes are up 41%. Overall crime is up 44%. Robberies are up 48%, with rapes up 17% and shootings up 8%. Its hard to imagine anyone wanting to visit a city, much less live in one, with crime numbers going in this direction, with this kind of senseless violence around so many corners. The new mayor, Eric Adams says of the crime surge, The most important city on the globe has become a laughingstock of the globe. But for those of us who love this town, once called New York City home and still want it to be great, no ones laughing. Its a tragedy. New York City has survived a lot: the 1964 race riots, the crime-ridden 1970s and 80s and 90s, Son of Sam, the Crown Heights riot, the killing by cop of Amadou Diallo, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and now COVID-19. But can it survive this new crime wave ripping through too many of the citys neighborhoods, crippling transit, terrorizing locals and tourists alike, and tearing away the sense of safety that once made it so livable and loveable? This once-and-always New Yorker hopes so. Cupp writes for Tribune Content Agency and is host of S.E. Cupp Unfiltered on CNN: secuppdailynews@yahoo.com. Being able to save for retirement in a 401(k) is far from a given. Plenty of companies don't offer these plans to their workers. But if you have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan through your job, it's important to take maximum advantage of the benefits it can provide. Here's how. 1. Snag your full employer match Most companies that offer 401(k) plans will match workers' contributions to some degree. And if you're able to claim your employer match in full every year, it could really help you grow your nest egg. Let's imagine you work for the same company for 30 years and get a $3,000 match every year during that time. Off the bat, that's an additional $90,000 for retirement. But that doesn't factor in the growth of the investments in your 401(k). If your plan offers reasonably good fund options and you make savvy choices from among them, you might generate an average annualized return of 8% over the years. (That's actually a little bit below the stock market's average rate of return, but as investors, we have to account for fees, too.) In that case, the $3,000 a year you get from your employer over three decades would actually grow into around $340,000. 2. Minimize your investment fees One downside of 401(k)s is that they generally don't let you invest in individual stocks. Rather, you'll be limited to a specific set of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, all of which charge annual fees. But you can keep those fees to a minimum by loading up on index funds. Index funds are passively managed, and their goal is to perform as well as the benchmarks indexes they're tied to. Because of that, their expenses tend to be low, and many of them have strong track records. Take S&P 500 index funds, for example. Over the past 60 years or so, that index has delivered an average annualized return of 10.5%, accounting for both strong years and weak years. If you concentrate your 401(k) portfolio in a fund that tracks that index, you might enjoy similar performance. 3. Pump at least some of your money into a Roth Not every company that provides its employees with a 401(k) offers a Roth 401(k) option. But if your employer does, it can pay to route at least some of your contributions into this type of account. While those contributions won't get you the up-front tax breaks that are a feature of the traditional 401(k), you won't have to pay taxes on your Roth 401(k) withdrawals, which should give you more financial flexibility during retirement. Furthermore, no matter what type of 401(k) you have, once you turn 72, you'll need to start taking required minimum distributions from it. The only specialized retirement account that has no required minimum distribution is the Roth IRA. But if you have funds in a Roth 401(k), you can rest easy knowing that those distributions won't add to your tax burden. Build up your savings Your retirement expenses could end up being a lot higher than you expect, so the more you are able to maximize the size of your nest egg, the less stressful your senior years are liable to be. Making full use of all the benefits of tax-advantaged retirement accounts is a great place to start. 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 TWIN FALLS When something bad happens, for 34 years Clint Sant has been one of the first to hear about it. Thats because Sant has been a dispatcher in the Magic Valley since 1988. Sant first worked as a dispatcher in 1988 for Lincoln County. He joined the city of Twin Falls in 2003, where he has answered emergency calls to 911 and dispatching responders to critical events for the past 19 years. Now, Sant has retired. The city held a party for Sant on Wednesday at City Hall to congratulate him on his retirement and to thank him for his years of service. This was not an easy decision to make, Sant said. Having worked his final overnight shift until 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, he had been awake more than 24 hours. I loved my job, Sant said. I loved the people. I honestly feel like Im old enough to be dad to most of them. During his long run as a first responder, Sant said he had dispatched for two generations. Twin Falls recently hired Jacob Lee, the son of Brian Lee, police chief for Burnet, Texas, who Sant dispatched for in the 1990s. That made me feel a little bit old, Sant said. But honestly its dispatching for people like that that kept me young. At the farewell party, City Manager Travis Rothweiler told Sant his long service as dispatcher was notable, as it is not an easy job and one with high attrition. In my opinion, the work that youve done for the city of Twin Falls as a dispatcher is one of the hardest in all of the city, Rothweiler told Sant. Youre on the front line, receiving the first call of someone having their worst moment. Rothweiler presented Sant with a plaque to honor his dedication and work. The level of work and the level of dedication that hes given to us is a debt that were not going to be able to easily repay, Rothweiler said. Deputy City Manager Mitch Humble presented Sant with a flag that had flown over City Hall last week, which coincided with Public Safety Communications week. Police Chief Craig Kingsbury also toasted Sant, noting how remarkable it is to have someone retire from Dispatch. Ive been doing this job for 32-plus years, and I tried to count how many dispatchers I know that actually retire. I know a lot that quit, a lot that left early, I think with you, now I know five. And thats something to be said, because not a lot of people make it through, Kingsbury said. For all your years, your decades of being that first, first responder, thank you very much for that. Were going to miss you. Co-workers had a last opportunity to toast Sant, and many shared memories of times he had made a difference in their jobs. One person spoke for many when they thanked him for helping people through their worst moments, or just trying to keep the calm the chaos. Many people talked about the bonds they had formed in the pressure cooker of the emergency communications and dispatch department. At the party, Sant radioed in his last call to dispatch. Dispatch 12-1-12, he said. Thank you for everything, I am out of service. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Two thousand citizens from five intermountain states, including Idaho, weigh in on the future of democracy in the United States. Spoiler alert: they are not very optimistic. The discussion will be based on a survey conducted by the Frank Church Institute in November of 2021. It will be presented by Rod Gramer, President and CEO of Idaho Business for Education, and Vanessa Crossgrove Fry, interim director of the Idaho Policy Institute and associate research professor at the School of Public Service at Boise State University. Gramer is an Idaho native and graduated from the University of Idaho in 1975 with a degree in journalism and history. He spent 38 years working as a reporter, newspaper editor, columnist and television news executive. He is the author of three books: Fighting the Odds: The Life of Senator Frank Church, The Good Assassin and Lucky and The Wit and Wisdom of Governor Phil Batt. In addition, he has written articles and commentaries for numerous publications including The New Republic, USA Today and Changes and several newspapers throughout Idaho. Fry leads students, staff and faculty in providing innovative and objective research to help public, private and nonprofit leaders to overcome challenges and navigate changes. She teaches the MPA Capstone and co-teaches the Vertically Integrated Project Housing Opportunities for All. She has focused both her work and education on utilizing multi-sector, evidenced-based solutions, to address persistent social, environmental and economic issues as well as meet the current and critical needs in communities across Idaho and beyond. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco where she received her MBA in sustainable management. She also holds a BA in biology and fine arts from Wittenberg University in Ohio and a doctorate from BSU. In addition, she serves on the board of the Red Cross of Greater Idaho. This presentation will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 26 at the College of Southern Idahos Herrett Center for Arts and Science Building. The presentation is free and open to the public. The broadcast will also be online. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Editors note: The following column was written by six former Idaho attorneys general and submitted by Jim Jones. The six of us served as Idaho Attorney General from 1971 to 2003, a total of 32 years. It is an important State office, but Idahoans are often in the dark as to what the Attorney General is supposed to do. Although the AG runs on a partisan ticket, voters may not know that his official functions are mostly legal in nature. He provides legal advice to government officials so that they can act within the law. In actuality, the AG is much like a family lawyer to the State. We expect the lawyers we hire for our personal or business affairs to give us honest, accurate advice about the law to keep us out of troubleto tell us what the law is, rather than what we wish it was. It is often said that lawyers are not doing their job if they dont sometimes warn clients against doing what they want to do. Like a family lawyer, a competent AG tells State officials what they need to do to keep the government out of legal trouble. The AGs oath of office requires that he give legal advice and assistance that complies with the U.S. and Idaho Constitutions. Keeping the government on firm legal footing is not headline-grabbing but it is essential for the protection of both the government and the citizenry. What does often make the news are AG opinions on hot-button issues. The AG is required by statute to provide legal opinions to other State officials upon their request. The opinions must be based on the law as it is at the time and they must be accurate. Otherwise, the State could face substantial liability. During the legislative session, it is not unusual for the AG to be asked about abortion and any number of similar issues. We have all been asked for legal opinions that require us to provide accurate legal opinions that may be contrary to our own strongly-held beliefs. The law requires that we put our personal beliefs aside when doing this work. Giving a green light to legislation with serious constitutional problems is a violation of our duty and does not benefit anyone. The courts will strike it down and require the State to pay the attorney fees of the person or group challenging the law. Weve seen that happen all too often. A case in point is Senate Bill 1309, the abortion bill currently being challenged in the Idaho Supreme Court. The AG issued an opinion pointing out constitutional problems with the bill even though he is personally pro-life. He was duty-bound to put his personal views aside to do his job. The AG does not tell legislators what they may or may not do. He only tells them what the law is. The AG serves as a member of the State Land Board and as the Boards legal advisor. The Board is required by the Idaho Constitution to get the maximum long-term return from State lands for the benefit of our public schools. If the Board is inclined to give favorable rates to people using those lands for grazing or vacation homes, the AG is required to advise against it. Peoples feathers may be ruffled but it is the AGs job. The AG has a raft of other important duties. He is the States chief legal officer. He defends all appeals by convicted criminals. He protects the public from con artists. He litigates in court against federal overreach. He protects Idahos water. Above all, the AG is the person most responsible in the State for upholding the rule of law, regardless of whether he or she may object to some of those laws. The AG can advocate for changes in the law through legislative action or in federal or State court proceedings but must always observe the law as it currently exists. As a nation of laws, we should expect no less from the States family lawyer. Tony Park, Idaho Attorney General (1971-1975) Wayne Kidwell, Idaho Attorney General (1975-1979) Dave Leroy, Idaho Attorney General (1979-1983) Jim Jones, Idaho Attorney General (1983-1991) Larry Echo Hawk, Idaho Attorney General (1991-1995) Al Lance, Idaho Attorney General (1995-2003) Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served eight years as Idaho attorney general (1983-1991) and 12 years as justice of the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017). He is currently a regular contributor to The Hill online news. He blogs at JJCommonTater. Love 8 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Its the leading killer of people 18-45. It kills instantly. Fentanyl should be a major crime deterred by felony charges. By making it a minor crime with a careless new law in 2019, Colorado became the red-carpet state for fentanyl dealers. The law reduced to a misdemeanor the possession of 4 grams or less. Thats more than enough to deal. Its enough to kill more than 2,000 people. As shown by the scientific research of Golden-based economist Tim Reichert, Colorados lenient drug law has caused yes, (SET ITAL) caused (END ITAL) the deaths of nearly 700. The law correlates with a 529% increase in fentanyl deaths. (See the Perspective Section on Sunday for a detailed report.) Despite the carnage, seven Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and Republican Mike Lynch think possessing highly lethal amounts should remain a misdemeanor. They propose protecting Colorados status as the countrys least threatening state for possessing the worlds most deadly drug. Were so cool. The committee passed a version of House Bill 1326 on Wednesday that allows 1 gram of fentanyl without the potential of a felony charge. Each gram equals more than enough to deal more than enough to cause 500-plus overdose deaths. Clearly, these politicians consider lives expendable. House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Boulder, proposed the 1-gram tolerance as an alternative to zero tolerance. Some proponents suggest reviewing the results in two years. During this experiment, we could lose another 1,900 victims at the monthly death rate of 80. Thats if were lucky and the rate stops rising. Making the possession of any amount of pure fentanyl a felony ... is a necessary change to our criminal code, said Colorados Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, the self-proclaimed peoples lawyer, testifying before the committee. They didnt listen. Garnett and most other 1-gram proponents would felonize assault rifles to save lives. Intelligent minds can debate the merits, but FBI data show the countrys 76 million rifles combined kill fewer than 500 each year nationwide. Yet, these lawmakers would let one individual possess enough white powder to outkill the countrys rifles in a year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids kill more than 60,000 Americans each year. By contrast, all guns combined kill about 45,000. Car crashes kill about 38,000. Unlike cars and guns, illicit fentanyl serves no purpose other than killing. Yet, we essentially allow enormous amounts. If the bill passes as written, well allow enough for one to kill hundreds instead of thousands. For those grieving loved ones, one overdose is one too many. This is not just another substance to hit the evolving hipster drug scene. My boys did not overdose on a drug. They were poisoned, said Black Forest, Colorado, resident Michelle (Shelly) ODell-Riviere, in a conversation with a Gazette editorial board member Thursday. Her sons 19-year-old Stephen and 21-year-old Andrew died on a bed in an apartment they shared after each took one pill. One of the young men obtained the pills at a party, thinking it was Oxycontin. Your whole world stops, the mother said, declining to discuss House Bill 1326. You try to move on and live your life. Everyone else is living their lives and your world has stopped. Her plight is so common that grieving parents and others in her community have become a de facto support group to cope with their losses. Soon, everyone will know fentanyl victims. Any compromise on fentanyl possession comes at the cost of human lives. If Garnett and Gov. Jared Polis create a law enabling one person to poison 500-plus, they will own the deaths and the grief surrounding them. Instead, they should send the drug trade a powerful message. Make any possession of fentanyl a felony, reducing charges for users who complete rehab. Tell the world were done sacrificing loved ones to enrich dealers who surely laugh at our stupidity. Reprinted from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch distributed by Creators.com Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Prayer session Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church will host a National Day of Prayer Session on Thursday, May 5 from noon to 3 p.m. via Zoom or conference call. Phone number is 1-301-715-8592; Meeting ID: 892 2948 7248 Passcode: 446325 Concert Joyful Sound Quartet will have a concert at First Baptist Church of Bassett at 6 p.m. Saturday. Painting The youth group of First Baptist Church of Basset will have a Bob Ross Paint Night for kids in middle and high school from 6-8 tonight. The church is at 2590 Riverside Drive, Bassett. The painting party will be held in the CLC Center. Be sure to wear clothes you wouldnt mind getting paint on. Cruise-in Blackberry Baptist Church, Sanville, will hold a cruise-in with cars on display at the church on April 30 from 8:30 a.m. to noon, with breakfast served at the church. Anniversary Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, 601 Third St., Martinsville, will celebrate its 78th anniversary at 11 a.m. Sunday. The speaker will be Rev. Ray T. Arrington of Roanoke. Service will be held in the sanctuary and via Zoom. All CDC guidelines will be observed. Zoom ID # 89229487248 passcode 446325. The Rev. Eric F. Hairston Sr. is the host pastor. Guest speaker Wellspring Fellowship, 590 DuPont Road, Martinsville, will have Stephanie Mogg as guest speaker for the 10:30 a.m. service Sunday. She is a leader of the prophetic teams at Center City Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Services Church Without Walls Kingdom Minded Believers, 904 Fayette St., Martinsville, will be in fellowship with Bible Way Ministries at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Elder Moses and Minister Shawan Barr will be preaching for Bishop Randy Martins anniversary. Shiloh Way of the Cross Church of Christ of the Apostolic Doctrine, 938 Brookdale St., has Wednesday prayer service at 6:30 p.m. Masks are recommended in services. Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, 725 Beechnut Lane, Martinsville, will hold in-person worship at 11 a.m. Sunday in the church sanctuary. Masks are optional on the recommendation of your physician. Starling Avenue Baptist Church, 932 Starling Ave., Martinsville, has in-person and live stream worship service on Sundays beginning at 11 a.m. You can attend in-person worship in the sanctuary or virtual church on Facebook Live or YouTube Live. For in-person worship, masks are now optional. Broad Street Christian Church, 106 Broad St., has in-person worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday in the sanctuary. Pilgrim Baptist Church, 601 Third Ave., Martinsville, will hold Sunday services at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary. Services will also be held via Zoom. Phone number 1-301-715-8592, Meeting ID 892 2948 7248; Passcode 446325, for all services. Sunday school will be held on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Regular music Pocahontas Bassett Baptist Church is resuming its Pickers and Fiddlers on the second Saturday of each month. Breakfast-type refreshments are served, and both the program and refreshments are free. Come to listen or bring your harmonica or stringed instrument and join in. Regular community Smith Memorial United Methodist Church, corner of John Redd Boulevard and Daniels Creek Road, Collinsville, serves take-out community meals each month every other Wednesday from 5-6 p.m. Next meal is on May 4. Pocahontas Bassett Baptist Church will resume its monthly community meals on Thursday, May 19, at 5:30 p.m., and thereafter at 5:30 each third Thursday of the month. Starling Avenue Baptist Church, 932 Starling Ave., Martinsville, serves a drive-thru community meal on the last Tuesday of each month from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The next meal is Tuesday, April 26. Christ Episcopal Church, 311 E. Church St., Martinsville, serves free community meals, packed to take home, from 5-5:45 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month, at the Parish House parking lot. The next meal is Wednesday, April 27. Publication of church events is free in the Bulletin. Announcements received by the newspaper by 3 p.m. Wednesday will qualify for publication the following Friday. Pictures are welcomed. Send information to accent@martinsville bulletin.com or Martinsville Bulletin, P.O. Box 3711, Martinsville, Va., 24115. A school bus plunged down a ravine and overturned after being struck by a pickup truck Thursday afternoon in Chesterfield County, Virginia, sending five students and two adults to area hospitals. None of the occupants aboard the bus sustained life-threatening injuries, said Chesterfield Fire & EMS spokesman Lt. Kenny Mitchell. Details on their injuries were not immediately disclosed. The children ranged in age from 12 to 17 and were special needs students. Most were non-verbal and/or had physical disabilities, Mitchell said. Fire crews in Chesterfield, just outside Richmond, responded at 3:53 p.m. to a two-vehicle wreck, Mitchell said. Upon arrival, firefighters found a school bus that had broken through a guardrail and plunged down a ravine before rolling onto its right side. Five students were aboard the bus, and paramedics transported four of them to hospitals. The fifth student was taken to a hospital by a family member. In addition, two adults between the ages of 57 and 67 were transported by paramedics to the hospital, Mitchell said. The driver of a 1997 Ford F150 veered off the road, over-corrected and struck the school bus, causing the bus to veer off the road, said Chesterfield police Lt. John Payne in a release. The pickup driver was not injured and stayed at the scene for questioning, authorities said. The bus was to remain on its side at the scene indefinitely to allow police crash team officers to investigate. upport for Moroccos autonomy plan in the Sahara, presented by the Kingdom in April 2007 to achieve a final settlement of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, was widely echoed during the closed-door UN Security Council meeting held on Wednesday. According to well-informed UN diplomatic sources, the autonomy plan was widely supported by several members of the Security Council, which considered the Moroccan initiative as a serious and credible basis for ending the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, as enshrined in UNSC resolutions since 2007. Similarly, the recent historic support of Spain and Germany for the autonomy initiative was widely echoed during the Councils consultations. During this meeting, Security Council members were briefed by the Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, on his first tour in the region, as well as by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of MINURSO, Alexander Ivanko, who spoke via video-conference. According to the same diplomatic sources, the members of the Security Council have strongly and unanimously supported the UN political process to achieve a political, realistic, pragmatic, sustainable and compromise-based solution to the Moroccan Sahara issue, based exclusively on the resolutions of the Security Council since 2007, particularly Resolution 2602, adopted last October. In this regard, they reaffirmed their support to the efforts of the UN Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy to relaunch the UN political process. A strong and frank call was made for the resumption, as soon as possible, of the round-table process, which Algeria continues to oppose, in an additional challenge to the international community. In Resolution 2602, the UN Security Council mentioned Algeria five times and urged it to remain committed to the round-table process in a spirit of realism and compromise, in order to achieve a successful outcome, thus establishing Algeria as the main party to this regional dispute. The members of the Council also welcomed Moroccos full cooperation with the MINURSO. This includes the Kingdoms COVID-19 vaccination campaign which covered the UN missions members. At this meeting, the members of the Security Council expressed their utmost concern over the polisarios renunciation of the ceasefire, its violations of military agreements and its obstruction of MINURSOs activities and the movement freedom of its military observers. They also enjoined the polisario to respect the cease-fire, to refrain from any act of provocation, and to stop its dangerous obstruction of MINURSOs cease-fire supervision mandate, notably by blocking its patrols and preventing the supply of military observers, as detailed in the Secretary-Generals last report to the Security Council, released last October. According to the same sources, this meeting took place in a calm atmosphere, thus promoting the best conditions for the UN Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy mandate, in accordance with Resolution 2602. Two former Guinean ministers were imprisoned and another placed under judicial supervision on Thursday in Conakry, for, among other things, embezzlement of public funds and illicit enrichment, one of their lawyers said. The former Minister of Security under Alpha Conde (2010-2020), Albert Damantang Camara, and the former Minister of Urbanism and Housing, Ibrahima Kourouma, were placed under arrest in Conakry by the Court of Repression of Economic and Financial Offences (Crief), said one of their lawyers Amara Bangoura. A former Minister of Economy during the same period under Mr. Conde, Mamadi Camara, was placed under judicial supervision by the Crief. The three former officials were questioned on Wednesday and Thursday by the investigating chamber of the Crief, which was created by the military that overthrew President Conde on September 5. They are being prosecuted for embezzlement and complicity in embezzlement of public funds, illicit enrichment, corruption and money laundering, said Mr. Bangoura. With the help of a machine learning tool, physicians were able to better assess whether their patients responded to bladder cancer treatment. Credit: Justine Ross/Michigan Medicine In a small but multi-institutional study, an artificial intelligence-based system improved providers' assessments of whether patients with bladder cancer had complete response to chemotherapy before a radical cystectomy (bladder removal surgery). Yet the researchers caution that AI isn't a replacement for human expertise and that their tool shouldn't be used as such. "If you use the tool smartly, it can help you," said Lubomir Hadjiyski, Ph.D., a professor of radiology at the University of Michigan Medical School and the senior author of the study. When patients develop bladder cancer, surgeons often remove the entire bladder in an effort to keep the cancer from returning or spreading to other organs or areas. More evidence is building, though, that surgery may not be necessary if a patient has zero evidence of disease after chemotherapy. However, it's difficult to determine whether the lesion left after treatment is simply tissue that's become necrotic or scarred as a result of treatment or whether cancer remains. The researchers wondered if AI could help. "The big question was when you have such an artificial device next to you, how is it going to affect the physician?" Hadjiyski said. "Is it going to help? Is it going to confuse them? Is it going to raise their performance or will they simply ignore it?" Fourteen physicians from different specialtiesincluding radiology, urology and oncologyas well as two fellows and a medical student looked at pre- and post-treatment scans of 157 bladder tumors. The providers gave ratings for three measures that assessed the level of response to chemotherapy as well as a recommendation for the next treatment to be done for each patient (radiation or surgery). Then the providers looked at a score calculated by the computer. Lower scores indicated a lower likelihood of complete response to chemo and vice versa for higher scores. The providers could revise their ratings or leave them unchanged. Their final ratings were compared against samples of the tumors taken during their bladder removal surgeries to gauge accuracy. Across different specialties and experience levels, providers saw improvements in their assessments with the AI system. Those with less experience had even more gains, so much so that they were able to make diagnoses at the same level as the experienced participants. "That was the distinct part of that study that showed interesting observations about the audience," Hadjiyski said. The tool helped providers from academic institutions more than those that worked at health centers focused solely on clinical care. The study is part of an NIH-funded project, led by Hadjiyski and Ajjai Alva, M.D., an associate professor of internal medicine at U-M, to develop and evaluate biomarker-based tools for treatment response decision support of bladder cancer. Over the course of more than two decades of conducting AI-based studies to assess different types of cancer and their treatment response, Hadjiyski says he's observed that machine learning tools can be useful as a second opinion to assist physicians in decision making, but they can also make mistakes. "One interesting thing that we figured out is that the computer makes mistakes on a different subset of cases than a radiologist would," he added. "Which means that if the tool is used correctly, it gives a chance to improve but not replace the physician's judgment." Explore further Study validates therapy for aggressive bladder cancer More information: Di Sun et al, Computerized Decision Support for Bladder Cancer Treatment Response Assessment in CT Urography: Effect on Diagnostic Accuracy in Multi-Institution Multi-Specialty Study, Tomography (2022). Di Sun et al, Computerized Decision Support for Bladder Cancer Treatment Response Assessment in CT Urography: Effect on Diagnostic Accuracy in Multi-Institution Multi-Specialty Study,(2022). DOI: 10.3390/tomography8020054 Back in December, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a detailed briefing to warn public health officials about an emerging COVID variant dubbed Omicron. Officials were incredibly specific, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, predicting that Omicron would enter the United States in four weeks and grow in intensity within six weeks. And it all pretty much rolled out as forecast. "It was impressive, and it really made sense that this is the kind of surveillance that needs to happen so that we can begin to understand how future outbreaks are going to impact us," Freeman said. The Omicron outlook is considered the first real success of the CDC's new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA), which aims to become the equivalent of the National Weather Service for infectious diseases. Public health officials and infectious disease experts are enthusiastic about the center's launch, which was formally announced this week but has been in the works since last summer. "I'm very excited about the idea of us being more data-driven," said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. "During the pandemic, we struggled a lot, relying on a lot of private sector data. If done correctly, this would allow the government to provide much better projections" of future outbreaks. Announcement of the new center came in the middle of a sweeping, monthlong review of CDC operations ordered by agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky in response to public criticism of the agency's overall response to the COVID pandemic. Armed with $200 million in seed funding, the CFA has started building a world-class outbreak analytics team charged with developing faster and richer evidence to predict trends in infectious disease, the agency said in its announcement. Data arrives 'in their own way, in their good time' Today, the CDC is saddled with an entirely voluntary system of data gathering when it comes to infectious diseases, noted Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. "They just haven't gotten the data completely and quickly enough in order to track the pandemic, and to make reasonable forecasts of what's happening in the near-term future," he said. Infectious disease data starts with individual cases, as patients show up for treatment at hospitals and doctor's offices, Schaffner said. Those cases are reported to city or county health officials, who pass the data along to state health departments, who then relay the information to the CDC. At each step, doctors and health officials gather and pass along much-needed outbreak data "in their own way, in their good time and, as you can imagine, with varying degrees of accuracy," Schaffner said. The reporting system also is hampered by outdated technology. In some locales, public health officials still rely on fax machines or phone calls to report infectious disease data, Freeman said. "You can see it's a system over which the CDC can persuade, can cajole, sometimes can enhance by funding, but they're kind of at the end of a multi-stage voluntary system," Schaffner said. "Are we surprised that it takes data a long time to get through that system? And are we surprised that the data quality varies across the 50 states?" he said. "Somebody's got to think outside the box and say, 'We got to do something about this. This won't work in the 21st century.'" As a result of this patchwork system, outside experts at the University of Washington and Johns Hopkins University wound up taking the lead in tracking COVID trends both in the United States and around the world during COVID pandemic, Benjamin said. He hopes that the CFA will partner with such university-based infectious disease-tracking operations. "They have been gathering just amazing amounts of data, and we've all used that data over the last couple of years," Benjamin said. There also are other potential partners that think even further outside the box, Schaffner said. For example, Google once attempted to track and predict influenza activity in the United States by analyzing search queries related to the flu, Schaffner noted. Privacy concerns led Google to abandon the effort in 2015, but the concept remains valid. Schaffner also pointed to the digital health company Kinsa, which hands out free thermometers to people who take their temperature daily and upload their readings through a cellphone app. Kinsa officials think they can anticipate flu outbreaks in communities and potentially even specific neighborhoods by tracking when lots of people start to develop a fever, Schaffner said. "The CDC needs to start talking to people like that," he said. "Neither of these examples provide the whole answer, but perhaps there's a way to incorporate what I call 'radar systems' that are already out there." Radar systems detect blips, and those blips can be advantageous, Schaffner noted. "You can't tell whether it's an enemy plane or friendly until you get more information, but getting the blip as early as possible gives you an advantage," he said. "And that's what these Google and Kinsa systems are. They're radar that detect blips out there, to which you can then direct more sophisticated investigation." Local public health experts are needed Dr. Daniel McQuillen, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said the CFA also needs to build up the disease-tracking capability of community-based public health officials. "While the leadership this center can provide is crucial, it is equally important to have experts in every community who can serve as local partners to follow the specific data in their areas, serve as trusted health messengers in their communities, and manage local surges and needs on the ground," McQuillen said in a written statement. "Unfortunately, nearly 80% of U.S. counties lack an infectious diseases physician." Freeman compared this new effort to the way the National Weather Service grew its operations in the mid-20th century. "Back in the 1950s, you had people out there with weather stations who were citizen scientists, who basically reported the weather in regularly from wherever they were across the country, and really helped to build the weather forecasting that we have now by sheer volunteer effort," she said. Such local efforts can be paired up with infection data streaming in from other countries to help the United States predict outbreaks and then track them as they play out, Freeman said. "Throughout the pandemic, the cues on what potentially could happen to the United States were always ahead of us, right?" Freeman said. "I don't know that we were ever in this pandemic experiencing something before the rest of the world did. Other developed countries like Israel were really going through these experiences ahead of us. And so we had a unique opportunity to understand what could happen to us and use that information to be more prepared." But Freeman added that these improved analytics will be meaningless if the United States doesn't also bolster its ability to respond to predicted outbreaks. Freeman recalled the despair she and others felt when the CDC predicted the Omicron outbreak so accurately. "My first thought was, 'We're not ready,'" Freeman said. Rapid COVID tests remained scarce, vaccination rates were lagging, and treatments to prevent people from developing severe disease were in short supply. "It's great to have the information, but you have to be able to act on it early," Freeman said. "You still have to have the resources in place to respond appropriately and rapidly. If you consider the time when we knew Omicron might be heading our way and the extent of its impact, to me, the day after we should have been mobilizing every resource we had." Explore further CDC launches new forecasting center for infectious diseases More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about the The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. In an evidence-based clinical practice guideline published by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recommendations are presented for the prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) after major extremity trauma. Researchers evaluated the current best evidence associated with treatment to develop recommendations for prevention of SSI among adults after major extremity trauma. Fourteen strong and moderate-strength recommendations were developed. In the setting of open fracture in major extremity trauma, the authors suggest early delivery of antibiotics to reduce the risk for deep infection. In operative treatment of open fractures, preoperative antibiotics are suggested to prevent SSI. Patients with open fracture are suggested to be brought to the operating room for debridement and irrigation as soon as reasonable and ideally within 24 hours of injury. Antibiotic prophylaxis with systemic cefazolin or clindamycin is recommended for patients with major extremity trauma undergoing surgery, except for type III and possibly type II open fractures, for which Gram-negative coverage is preferred. Local antibiotic strategies may be beneficial for patients with major extremity trauma undergoing surgery. Irrigation with saline solution (without additives) is recommended for initial management of open wounds. Closing an open wound is recommended when it is feasible without any gross contamination. Silver-coated dressings are not suggested for improving outcomes or reducing pin site infections. "We created this guideline as an educational tool to guide qualified physicians and clinicians in making treatment decisions that improve the quality and efficacy of care," the authors write. Several workgroup members disclosed financial ties to industry. Explore further American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons updates guideline for managing hip fracture in seniors More information: Clinical Practice Guideline 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is associated with improvement in the mean partial pressure of oxygen (PaO 2 )/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO 2 ) ratio (P/F ratio) among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and mild-to-moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), according to a study published online April 11 in Drugs in Context. Steven H. Abman, M.D., from the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues conducted a retrospective medical chart review study that included patients who were aged 18 years or older with mild-to-moderate ARDS who received iNO for 24 hours continuously during hospitalization for COVID-19. The analysis included 37 patients at six sites. The researchers observed an increase in P/F ratio from 136.7 at baseline to 140.3 and 151.8, respectively, at 48 and 72 hours after iNO initiation. There was a 62 percent response rate (23 patients). No patient experienced adverse events during hospitalization, including methemoglobinemia, airway injury, or worsening pulmonary edema associated with iNO. Twenty of the patients (54.0 percent) improved or remained stable according to the physician-rated Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale score at discharge. "This study provides additional evidence supporting a favorable benefit-risk profile for iNO in the treatment of COVID-19," the authors write. "Future randomized, placebo-controlled studies are needed to determine its potential efficacy and place in therapy." Several authors were employees of OPEN Health, which received consulting fees from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, which funded the study. Several authors were employees of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. More information: Steven H Abman et al, Real-world use of inhaled nitric oxide therapy in patients with COVID-19 and mild-to-moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome, Drugs in Context (2022). Steven H Abman et al, Real-world use of inhaled nitric oxide therapy in patients with COVID-19 and mild-to-moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome,(2022). DOI: 10.7573/dic.2022-1-4 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The 2022 National Drug Control Strategy released by the White House yesterday would expand substance use prevention and early intervention strategies and enable physicians to more effectively provide treatment to patients with substance use disorder (SUD). SUD is a treatable chronic medical condition, like diabetes and hypertension, but access to care for this disorder is limited. The American College of Physicians (ACP) is glad to see that the White House's strategy would evaluate reimbursement policies for treatments, remove barriers to buprenorphine prescribing, and develop addiction curriculum for medical schools. It also promotes proven harm reduction strategies like expanded access to naloxone. ACP also supports the administration's call for reforms in related criminal justice policies. This includes promoting alternatives to incarceration and identifying racial inequities in investigation, arrest, and sentencing data and using that to drive policy change. "The United States is experiencing a devastating drug overdose epidemic with more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths during a 12-month period," said George M. Abraham, MD, MPH, MACP, FIDSA, president, ACP. "SUD poses a heavy societal burden, endangering individual and family health and well-being, tearing through communities and sapping resources from the health care system, more needs to be done to improve access to care. We look forward to working with the administration to implement policies to help better treat SUD." Explore further New study identifies gaps in treatment for opioid use disorder as overdose emergencies soar Signs indicating that protective face masks must be worn in classrooms are displayed outside lecture halls at Columbia University, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections. Colleges in Washington, D.C., New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Texas have reimposed a range of virus measures, with Howard University moving to remote learning amid a surge in cases in the nation's capital. This is the third straight academic year that has been upended by COVID-19, meaning soon-to-be seniors have yet to experience a normal college year. "I feel like last summer it was everyone was like, 'Oh, this is it. We're nearing the tail end,'" recalled Nina Heller, a junior at American University in Washington D.C., where administrators brought back a mask mandate about a month after lifting it. "And then that didn't quite happen, and now we're here at summer again, and there's kind of no end." Mandates were shed widely in the wake of spring break as case numbers dropped following a winter surge fueled by the omicron variant. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant continues to rapidly spread throughout the U.S. "As much as we would like to move on and think that the pandemic is over, and I think we all would like that to happen at this point, it's wishful thinking," said Anita Barkin, co-chair of a COVID-19 task force for the American College Health Association. "The pandemic is still with us." COVID-19 had eased so much at Williams College that the private liberal arts school in Massachusetts allowed professors to decide whether to require masks in their classes early last week. But just days later, with cases rising, it reinstated an indoor mask mandate, which was even stricter than what had been in place before. Signs indicating that protective face masks must be worn in classrooms are displayed outside lecture halls at Columbia University, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo "I think students are really feeling like people they know are dropping like flies," said junior Kitt Urdang, who's had a half-dozen friends test positive in recent days. "There's definitely been a lot more uncertainty than there's been on campus since COVID hit." Philadelphia recently brought back its mask mandate, leading the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University to again require them starting Monday. Although the city ended the mandate Thursday, the colleges haven't made any changes. In Washington, D.C., Howard University's main campus, affectionately dubbed "The Hilltop" by students and alums, was largely quiet this week, with many students taking classes and exams from home. The academic year is coming to a muted end as rising virus numbers prompted administrators to abruptly shift back to online education. The city's COVID infection rate has more than doubled in April. Besides American, Georgetown and George Washington University also reinstated their indoor mask mandates. But Howard is the only one that has moved away from in-person instruction. The spring semester ends Friday, with final exams for most students starting next week. Administrators have promised an update on what this means for the May 7 commencement ceremony. "I don't think people are super unhappy about wearing masks," said Lia DeGroot, a George Washington senior who never shed her mask during the single week the mandate was lifted at her school. "Of all of the things that the pandemic has disrupted, I think wearing masks is, you know, a relatively small thing to do. I think that's kind of the mindset that a lot of students have." In nearby Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University announced this month that it was testing all undergraduate students twice weekly through Friday, noting a steep rise in cases. The school also said masks would be required not just in classrooms, but in places like residence hall common areas. In Houston, Rice University announced earlier this month that students should resume wearing masks in classrooms, citing an uptick in cases on campus. Large college parties also were canceled. Students walking the quad wear protective face masks as classroom mask mandates remain in place at Columbia University, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in the Manhattan borough of New York. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo New Mexico State University took a different tack, announcing Monday that all students on campus must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by July 1, ending the option of submitting weekly tests as an alternative. One of the few counties still identified by the CDC as having high spread is home to New York's Syracuse University, which announced Monday that it would again require masks in classrooms. J. Michael Haynie, the school's vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, said in a letter that "it is important that we take reasonable action to minimize the impact of COVID infections" with finals and commencement fast approaching. The University of Rochester in upstate New York, the University of Connecticut, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and Columbia University in New York City took a similar approach. Many, like Columbia, noted that their surveillance testing programs were finding more cases. While many students were eager to mask up, grumbling was emerging. "We're to the point where we're tired of masks," said Neeraj Sudhakar, a Columbia grad student studying financial engineering. "We probably have a 99% vaccination rate, so at this point I think we just need to move on with the pandemic and treat it as endemic rather than going back to what we were doing the past two years." Explore further NYC schools drop outdoor mask mandate; indoor mandate stays 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the public debate on masks is as heated as everespecially in Philadelphia, which earned national attention for once again requiring masks in indoor public spaces. Yet in the realm of science, there is plenty of evidence to support using the face coverings. Researchers who study airborne transmission of viruses say there is no question that maskseven the cloth varietyreduce the spread of the coronavirus. Exactly how much depends on the type of material, how well the mask fits, and how many virus particles an infected person is shedding, among other factors. No mask is bulletproof, but that's not a reason to reject them entirely. No infection-control measure is absolute, short of complete isolation. That's why public health officials have stressed multiple layers of protection: masks, social distancing, and, above all, vaccines. If one layer fails, another may do the trick. Some physicians have questioned whether a universal mask requirement is appropriate at this stage of the pandemic, for reasons we'll get to below. But that question might be harder to answer, at least by science alone. How scientists study masks The evidence for wearing masks comes from three types of studies, says Seema Lakdawala, a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who studies the airborne transmission of viruses. Some researchers have placed infected and uninfected animals in cages, separating them with various materials to determine how well each blocks the spread of disease. Others have opted for mannequinsmasked models of human heads. In one such study, breathing was simulated by connecting the heads to nebulizers and ventilators. As for studies in live humans, researchers generally do not expose people to the coronavirus on purpose, as it can have severe consequences. Instead, the human evidence for masks comes mostly from the real world, by comparing rates of disease in masked and unmasked populations. What the evidence shows Collectively, these studies leave little room for doubt, says Lakdawala, who coauthored a Science magazine review of airborne virus transmission. Masks reduce the flow of virus particles in both directions, when exhaled and inhaled. Medical-grade N95 masks, so named because they filter at least 95% of particles, are the most effective. KN95 face coverings are in the same league, though be sure to check the rating label to avoid counterfeits. Surgical masks don't work quite as well, and cloth masks are the least effective. One study suggests that fabric masks block about half of virus-laden "aerosols," though the rate varies with the size of these particles. Two layers are better than one. Even blocking half of particles is a lot better than nothing, said Lakdawala, an associate professor in Pitt's department of microbiology and molecular genetics. That's because the immune system's response to viruses is a numbers game. Reducing the amount of virus exposure gives the immune system time to marshal its various defenses before the virus makes enough copies of itself to cause severe illness. Even if a masked person becomes infected, the disease is more likely to be mild, she said. That's especially true when the mask is coupled with other layers of protection, such as a vaccine. "Anything you can do to diminish the amount of virus you're breathing in is going to be helpful to reduce the risk," she said. How do masks work, given that viruses are smaller than the holes in the fabric? A common misconception about masks is that they can't block viruses because the infectious particles are smaller than the "pores" in woven fabric. Wrong, says Lakdawala. First off, viruses are carried inside larger particles of mucus or saliva. Some are large enough to be visible, and are easily intercepted by the fibers in a mask. Most are too small to see, yet even those can be blocked if they run straight into the fibers. But masks block viruses in other ways besides direct interception, and it doesn't matter that the particles are smaller than the pores in masks. "They're not like a colander," she said. Other molecular processes enable masks to trap even the smallest virus-laden particles, such as electrostatic charges in the mask material and the fabric's ability to disrupt airflow. Masks in the real world These microscopic phenomena can be studied in a laboratory, where researchers can control factors such as airflow and the amount of virus. But what about studying masks amid the chaos of the real world? Time to call the epidemiologist. In one of the most recent such studies, researchers enlisted more than 1,800 California residents who were tested for COVID at some point between mid-February 2021 and the end of that year. All were asked how often they'd worn masks during the two weeks prior to testing. Those who said they always wore a mask in indoor public places were 56% less likely to test positive than those who said they never wore one, the authors reported in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a CDC journal. Among those who specified wearing an N95 or a KN95 variety of mask, the odds of testing positive were 83% lower than for non-wearers. For those wearing surgical masks, the odds of infection were 66% lower than for non-wearers. The impact of cloth masks, on the other hand, was not statistically significant. But just 200 of the participants reported using cloth masks; a larger study might have enabled a firmer statistical conclusion. In another recent real-world study, Duke University researchers found evidence supporting mask mandates in schools, where cloth masks are the norm. In school districts where masks were required, cases of in-school transmission were 72% lower during the late summer and fall of 2021, compared with those where masks were optional, the authors reported in Pediatrics. But the authors said they could not rule out if other precautions or demographic factors may have played a role. Science and the public message Then there's the issue of messaging. The science is all about relative risk, but public health officials ultimately have to translate that nuance into a yes-or-no policykeeping guidance as simple and straightforward as possible, to improve understanding. If they started specifying which kinds of masks were OK for various situations and people, adherence might suffer. Julia Raifman, an assistant professor of health law, policy, and management at Boston University, called Philadelphia's mask mandate a sound approach. "It's an ideal policy to let people keep going to work and school, and keep engaging with each other and the economy, with less of a chance of exposure to the virus," she said. Yet others caution that at this stage of the pandemic, when risk is fairly low, a blanket mask mandate may backfire. Requiring everyone to wear masks may seem like "crying wolf," leading some people to tune out when risk is higher, said Leana Wen, a former Baltimore health commissioner and professor of health policy and management at George Washington University. A more effective approach, she said, might be to give free N95 masks to all who want them. Is there a downside to masks? Masks are not without consequences. They prevent the hearing-impaired from being able to read others' lips. And if a mask does not fit properly, it may contribute to eye problems, such as dryness and the reddish bumps called styes. Detractors also have raised the possibility that masks could interfere with speech development in young children, though researchers have generally not found that to be an issue. None of these concerns outweighs the potential consequences of COVID. But now that most people have been vaccinated, the risk of severe disease is greatly reduced. Should masks remain as a vital layer of protection? A real-world study of that very question is underway right nowin Philadelphia. Explore further Cloth masks inferior for protection against airborne viral spread 2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain After a court ruling struck down a federal mask mandate, many airlines and state transit systems made the face coverings an optional defense against COVID-19. It's one more decision people will have to make on their own as they increasingly return to in-person work, commute by bus or train, or travel on planes to spring events such as weddings and family reunions. "When it comes to events, especially those that are somewhat voluntary that we have to make decisions on such as weddings, anniversary parties, bar mitzvahs, what should we do?" said Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease expert at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, during a Johns Hopkins University-led webinar Tuesday. "It's a challenge," said Jain, who helped plan and host his daughter's 400-person wedding during the January omicron-fueled surge. Deciding to go, or host, an event can be tricky when it's impossible to know when the next big surge occurs, he said. When cases began mounting in December and Jain's daughter refused to postpone, he turned to planning and communication to ensure the gathering wouldn't become a "superspreader" event. That meant requiring all guests to be fully vaccinated, and asking two who refused to stay home. The guests agreed to test before travel and again before daily events. Jain held Zoom calls with guests to ensure they understood. He spent months collecting rapid tests and even tapped his own lab for more accurate PCR testing of some people. While that is not available to the average person, testing turnaround times are not as long outside of a major surge. And rapid tests are far more widely available in stores, city and county libraries, and by ordering free kits on a federal website, covid.gov/tests. Jain and webinar moderator Gigi Gronvall, a senior scholar in the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the self-administered rapid tests still work well with the omicron variants. Jain found 10 positives among the guests but was able to repeatedly retest them to ensure that by the time some events occurred days later, most were no longer infectious and could attend with masks. Jain called the efforts "layering," with vaccinations, testing and masking of as many people as possible, including people working at the events such as hairstylists and food servers. Good ventilation systems or outdoor events are even better. Children under age 5 who are not yet eligible for vaccination can likely safely go so long as they and others around them are tested, he said. Mask those age 2 and older, per guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even now that the January surge has subsided and cases remain low, though ticking up again, caution still is needed. That includes continuing to wear a mask on planes, trains and buses, enclosed spaces with little opportunity for distancing, Jain said. Lifting the mandate ordered by the CDC but struck down Monday by a federal judge appointed by then-President Donald Trump was "a terrible idea," he said. "We don't know enough about the spread of the BA.2 variant," which is now the dominant coronavirus variant nationwide, he said. Nonetheless, the Maryland Department of Transportation joined other transit systems and airlines that dropped their mandates, leaving people to decide their own risk based on their age and health, and that of their family. MDOT said masks would be optional at BWI Marshall Airport, as well as on all buses, trains and mobility vehicles. Most other mask mandates already had been abandoned, except for some college campuses and health care facilities that had kept or reinstated masking after cases again began to rise in recent weeks. The Maryland Department of Health recommends people wear masks indoors if they are not fully vaccinated and outdoors when they can't keep a distance from others. Though, officials note that schools, day cares, camps and businesses can set their own masking policies. The health department "is evaluating the recent actions at the federal level and will provide updates to Marylanders as appropriate," said Ebony Wilder, a spokeswoman. Cases had been dropping to some of their lowest levels of the pandemic until last month when they started slowly rising again. The state's data shows 667 more cases were reported Tuesday, well below the thousands reported daily during the pandemic peak in January. Hospitalizations and deaths have not ticked up but tend to lag cases by weeks. Close to 4.2% of people tested in Maryland for COVID-19 were positive, according to Tuesday's report, below the double-digit peaks but edging closer to the 5% threshold that public health officials say signals that COVID-19 is widespread. Testing, however, may be less accurate these days as more people eschew a nasal swab or test at home and do not report results. Another indicator of the spread of COVID-19, wastewater tested by the CDC, shows an increasing amount of virus. In Maryland, a plant in Howard County not far from Baltimore showed a sharp upturn in the load beginning in early March. Another plant, in Washington County in Western Maryland, shows a less sharp increase. Many jurisdictions are following the CDC's lead when advising the public about masking and other measures. The agency recently developed a county-level map tracking risk from the virus that weighs the level of severe illness from COVID-19, measured by the burden on the health care system rather than just cases. "We are utilizing CDC guidance, which is based on community indicator levels reading as high. We are currently low," said Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, Baltimore's health commissioner, when asked about when any mandates might return. While hospitalizations usually lag cases by weeks, public health officials have said low hospitalizations could indicate that vaccines, coupled with natural immunity from recent infections with another omicron variant, could mean most people won't get severely sick. Maryland health officials, however, warn that immunity wanes and have been encouraging booster shots for those eligible. Federal regulators recently announced that they would allow a second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for older people and those with medical conditions, leaving the public to decide whether and when to get another shot. The state and local health departments continue to make the vaccinations available. Though far fewer are lining up for shots now, Maryland has a relatively high rate of vaccination, with about 80% of the eligible population age 5 and older fully vaccinated. Federal regulators are expected to authorize vaccinations for those under age 5 in coming weeks. Adults are eligible for booster shots, and those over age 50 for the second booster. But going forward there also may be more useful information guiding personal decisions. The CDC launched a new center Tuesday called the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics. Officials likened it to a National Weather Service for infectious diseases, making predictions based on data and relaying useful guidance to the public. It will fund modeling and other work at the center and private universities. Among the forecasting center's leaders is Caitlin Rivers, a Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist. "The capabilities and team we are building at the new center will improve decision-making in a health crisis," said Dylan George, the center's director for operations, in a statement. "Better data and analytics will give us better responses to protect all Americans." Explore further California to lift indoor mask rule for vaccinated 2022 The Baltimore Sun. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Influenza viruses, like the model shown here, display several kinds of surface proteins on their exteriors. Credit: NIAID Adults (aged 18 or older) hospitalized with COVID-19 are at higher risk of complications and death than those with influenza, despite being younger and having fewer chronic illnesses, according to a retrospective cohort study conducted at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona. The findings, presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Lisbon, Portugal (23-26 April), also suggest that COVID-19 is associated with both longer stays in hospital and intensive care, and costs nearly twice as much to treat. For the study, researchers examined medical records of 187 patients (average age 76 years, 55% male) admitted to hospital with seasonal influenza infection between 2017 and 2019, and 187 COVID-19 patients (average age 67 years, 49% male) hospitalized during the first wave of the pandemic between March and May, 2020, who all required oxygen therapy at admission. In both cohorts, patients were enrolled consecutively until the required sample size was reached. The study compared clinical characteristics, healthcare resource use outcomes (including length of stay, admission to intensive care), hospital costs, and death. Influenza patients tended to have more existing chronic illnesses and problems performing activities of daily living than COVID-19 patients, but were less likely to have overweight or obesity (BMI of 25kg/m or more). The analysis found that COVID-19 was associated with higher risk of infection severity and admission to ICU (26 [14%] influenza vs 69 [39%] for COVID-19; see table in notes to editors). In addition, COVID-19 patients were more likely to experience certain complications such as acute kidney injury, blood clots, and moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (where the lungs cannot provide the body's vital organs with enough oxygen); while influenza patients were more likely to suffer from bacterial pneumonia (see table in notes to editors/abstract). Overall, 29/187 (15%) COVID-19 patients and 10/187 (5%) influenza patients died of any cause within 30-days of hospitalization, and the death rate after 90 days was even higher (19%; 35/187 vs 6%; 12/187). The authors note that there were no differences in mortality trends between the three seasonal influenza periods studied. After accounting for potential confounders including age, comorbidities, sex, disease severity, presence of pneumonia, and corticosteroid treatment, researchers found that COVID-19 patients were more than three times as likely to die within 30 and 90 days of being admitted to hospital than influenza patients. Further analyses showed that COVID-19 patients spent far longer in hospital (average [median] 14 days vs 11 days) and ICU (17 vs 10 days) compared with influenza patients. Moreover, the average cost of critical care for COVID-19 patients was almost twice as much as for influenza patients (21,350 vs 12,082). Pharmacy treatment and testing costs were also significantly higher in the COVID-19 group. "Our findings suggest COVID-19 is far more lethal than influenza", says lead author Dr. Inmaculada Lopez Montesinos from the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain. "Despite influenza patients being older and having more comorbid illnesses, COVID-19 patients had consistently worse health outcomes and were considerably more expensive to treat. Even for those people who are lucky enough to survive COVID-19 and make it out of the hospital, they will be forever scarred by the consequences. It is vital that people get fully vaccinated and boosted against both viruses." The authors acknowledge that several limitations of their study, including that it was conducted in one tertiary-care hospital in Spain, so the findings might not be generalizable to other populations. They also note that no genotyping studies were conducted, and although it is highly likely that COVID-19 patients were affected by wild-type B.1, the results may not reflect the current scenario in which multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants are circulating globally. Likewise, the absence of vaccinated COVID-19 patients during the study period may not reflect the current profile of inpatients with COVID-19. Provided by European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Can Iraq's Archaeological Renaissance Help Forge a National Identity? Assyrian artefacts originally from Mosul are displayed at Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad. ( AFP) MOSUL/BOGOTA -- On Feb. 26, 2015, shocking footage emerged from northwestern Iraq of Daesh militants smashing pre-Islamic artifacts and burning ancient manuscripts at Mosul Cultural Museum. The terrorist group, which had seized control of the multiethnic city the previous year, had set about looting everything of value and destroying anything that failed to conform to its warped ideology. The priceless objects had told the singular narrative of Iraq as a land of remarkable civilizations, from the Sumerians and the Akkadians to the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Yet it took only moments for Daesh to erase the evidence of thousands of years of human history. The same was true across large swaths of the country seized by the militants intent on symbolic destruction and easy loot. "Daesh wanted to show and prove that it could not only destroy the present and future of Iraq but its past as well," Amer Abdul-Razzaq, head of the Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province, told Arab News. "They wanted to destroy the mixed civilization of Iraq, which is diverse with different ethnicities, minorities and nations such as the Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians. They brutally destroyed places like Nimrud, Hatra, the tomb of the Prophet Yunus, and they destroyed many places that are holy and symbolic to Muslims." On July 21, 2017, almost two years after the pillaging, Mosul was finally liberated by the Iraqi army, ushering in a period of painstaking work to restore the city's monuments, churches, mosques and archaeological treasures. Since then, and the subsequent liberation of other areas that were under the group's control, Iraq has experienced something of an archaeological renaissance, with foreign experts returning to the country and a growing number of young Iraqis taking an interest in preserving what remains of their heritage. An Iraqi army soldier walks across the ancient ruins of Nimrud following the recapture of the ancient town on the outskirts of Mosul from Daesh extremists. ( AFP) "Antiquities and heritage unite us and let us recognize we all belong to each other, and it is important for us to know we all go back to one root in some point in ancient history," Falih Al-Shmari, who is studying for a doctorate at the University of Baghdad, told Arab News. "For example, Assyrian mandates were found in the north, east, west and south of Iraq, which indicates we all were Assyrian at some point and we belong to others as one identity. "Even in Islamic history, we were the same and there is the same description of Islamic architecture and ideas. We are an Islamic society and we were all educated in Islamic principles and education in the past." Among the most recent discoveries is a mosque built from mud dating back to the Umayyad period, about 1,400 years ago, uncovered by British Museum specialists in tandem with local experts at Tell Kabiba in Dhi Qar. Prior to this, in 2016, an archaeological team led by Sebastien Rey of the British Museum, discovered the Enino temple -- also known as the Temple of the White Thunderbird -- in the Assyrian city of Girsu, now known as Tello, in the north of Dhi Qar. Other European-led missions working in Tello have uncovered the temple of King Gudea, the most famous Sumerian king of the Lagash dynasty, who ruled between 2144 B.C. and 2124 B.C. Assyrian artefacts originally from Mosul are displayed at Iraq's National Museum in Baghdad. ( AFP) In the past year, French archaeologists working in the city of Larsa at Tell Es-Senkereh discovered the palace of King Sin Ednam (1850-1844 B.C.), which dates back to the ancient Babylonian era. Six missions from Britain, France and Italy working in the Sumerian city of Girsu have uncovered a residential area dating back to the Early Dynastic period (2900--2350 B.C.), including the temple of the god of war Ningirsu. Another major achievement is the restoration of what is perhaps the oldest bridge in the world, in the city of Girsu. The work on the 4,000-year-old structure is taking place under a five-year contract with a British team. British and German excavation teams have also uncovered the site of the ancient city of Charax Spasinou, the largest city built by Alexander the Great, in southern Iraq near Basra at the modern-day site of Jebel Khayaber. Meanwhile, in the north of the country a French team in Mosul is continuing its maintenance of the mural of the Church of Mar Korkis, and working at sites in the city of Ashur, which include the royal cemetery, the Parthian palace, and Walter Andre's palace. At the Kirkuk Citadel, also in northern Iraq, the local archaeological authority is working with the Turkish government to properly maintain what some scholars believe is the tomb of the Prophet Daniel. "We have found empires and states that are unbelievable and we, in this era, can barely imagine how powerful and advanced they were," said Abdul-Razzaq. "Iraq lies upon a massive archaeological trove of more than 20,000 sites. It is very hard to protect it all. That is why a lot of it has been stolen and destroyed. The items that have been stolen are in the thousands. "In my opinion, I see it as a human tragedy because this archaeology is not only that of a specific nation or minority, but all of humanity." The looting and destruction did not begin in 2014 with the rise of Daesh, however. Abdul-Razzaq said Iraq's heritage has been suffering as a result of conflict and official neglect for decades. "In 2003, during the US invasion of Iraq, there was massive destruction at many archaeological sites and that was due to a lack of protection by the UN," he said. "American forces protected oil fields, important ministries, defenses and security -- not archaeology." The looting of Baghdad Museum was perhaps the most emblematic example of this neglect. For 36 hours, beginning on April 10, 2003, the museum was ransacked by thieves. It was only later, when the extent of the damage became clear, that the US-led coalition began to prioritize the protection of Iraq's antiquities. "Six months after the US invasion, the Americans realized they had to act in order to protect archaeological sites from looting and destruction," said Abdul-Razzaq. "Through social activists, and after (Grand Ayatollah) Ali Al-Sistani issued a fatwa, they raised awareness among the people about protecting it. After that, the Iraqis were able to bring back many stolen archaeological items and people started protecting it. "Nevertheless, we have lost, and are still missing, a massive number of items, even today. We are still searching for them." Aamir Al-Jumaili, a lecturer at the University of Mosul's College of Archaeology for 20 years, said the destruction of Iraqi heritage has been going on even longer. "We need to go back to 1991, not only 2003, to evaluate the destruction and loss we had," he told Arab News. "During Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1991, Iraq lost many archaeological items through robbery, destruction and smuggling at museums in Iraq's cities." A member of the Iraqi forces holds damaged artefacts inside the destroyed museum of Mosul in March, 2017 after they recaptured it from Daesh fighters. (AFP/File Photo) Although authorities in the country have introduced legislation to protect antiquities, based on earlier laws first enacted in 1936 and strengthened in the 1970s, some experts believe the government should make the penalties for harming the nation's heritage much more robust. "In the past, the laws protecting archaeological sites and ancient history were stronger than we had in 2003 and 2014," Ahmad Qasim Juma, an archaeology lecturer at the University of Mosul and a UNESCO consultant, told Arab News. "Before 2003, if anyone did anything illegal to an ancient archaeological site, they would be killed by the government. After 2003, and until 2018, anyone would go to an archaeological site and start digging and researching without expert knowledge or a government permit. There are no strict punishments to stop them." The problem has been compounded by decades of government neglect and underfunding, dysfunctional administrations, and the continued presence of armed groups in the countryside, including militias backed by Iran. "There are many different forces and militias controlling the country," said Al-Shmari. "Sinjar contains foreign forces and militias that control it all. If you want to research or investigate, they don't allow you to do it. Sinjar is one of the areas that is very hard to get to for archaeologists." He believes that investment by the central government could help turn the tide and, in the process, begin to reshape Iraq's global image. "We are not happy with the level of government support for Iraq's antiquities and heritage. It is really low. If it was up to me, I would make Mosul one of the biggest tourist cities," said Al-Shmari. "Foreign workers and tourists face challenges and difficulties in terms of security and administration. We need to provide facilities and help them when they are coming to Iraq. "We have the capabilities to make discoveries at archaeological sites but it requires funds and support to do that. It is the government's responsibility to fund and support local students and researchers." Indeed, as Iraq begins to emerge from decades of crisis, experts believe an opportunity has presented itself to develop other aspects of its economy besides oil to embrace educational partnerships and perhaps even international tourism. "Antiquities and tourism are one the biggest economic aspects that Iraq should focus on, as it mainly depends on oil, which can fall at any time in the future," said Abdul-Razzaq. "If we wisely focus on antiquities and tourism, it will play a significant role. "For example, we in Dhi Qar used to have one or maybe two tourists per month. Now we have three to four tourists per day coming to Dhi Qar. Iraq's tourism sector can play a bigger role than oil." Abdul-Razzaq hopes that in the process, Iraqis will not only begin to feel proud of their history and shared identity but also turn the page on the violence and sectarian strife of recent decades. "We have to take advantage of our ancient archaeology and history," he said. "We are known as the cradle of human civilization and humanity. Everything began in Iraq: The first laws, writing, medicines and agriculture. "I always focus on archaeological development because it will create national identity. We are just like a tree -- we have very strong roots." Credit: Lidiia, Shutterstock New research supported by the EU-funded HBP SGA3 and DoCMA projects is giving scientists new insight into human consciousness. Led by Korea University and projects' partner University of Liege (Belgium), the research team has developed an explainable consciousness indicator (ECI) to explore different components of consciousness. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications. Consciousness can be described as having two components: arousal (i.e. wakefulness) and awareness. The act of opening one's eyes indicates a state of wakefulness, and the ability to perceive differences or follow commands shows awareness. Under different conditionsdreamless sleep, sleep with dreams, anesthesia and severe brain injuriesthere are different levels of consciousness. Until now, there had been no reported systems of measurement capable of quantifying the two components of consciousness. A reliable measure of consciousness The ECI developed by the researchers uses deep learning to distinguish between wakefulness and awareness under physiological, pharmacological and pathological conditions. The team analyzed the brain activity of six healthy participants during sleep; 16 healthy participants under ketamine-, propofol- or xenon-induced anesthesia; and 34 participants who were a coma as a result of severe brain injury. The study showed that ketamine-induced anesthesia and rapid eye movement sleep (when most of our dreaming happens) with low wakefulness and high awareness are clearly different from other states. What's more, the parietal regions of the brain were found to be the most relevant for measuring wakefulness and awareness in altered states of consciousness. The study authors describe the novel tool as a potentially "reliable discriminator and valuable tool as an objective measure of consciousness." This paper presents "the world's first technology to quantify the arousal and awareness at the same time," states study co-senior author Prof. Seong-Whan Lee of Korea University's Department of Artificial Intelligence. The ECI has the potential to improve clinical care for patients in different settings, such as monitoring anesthesia-induced states during surgery and diagnosing patients in comas or vegetative states. According to co-senior author Dr. Olivia Gosseries, who is co-director of the Coma Science Group at the University of Liege, "future studies are needed to implement this novel indicator in the clinical routine and even to develop an online and real-time tool to be implemented in our hospitals, operating rooms and intensive care units." HBP SGA3 (Human Brain Project Specific Grant Agreement 3) is the last of four phases of the Human Brain Project initiative. "This fruitful international collaboration between HBP partners illustrates the efficacy of the EBRAINS data sharing platform tools for large human neuroimaging sets," says study co-author and Coma Science Group lead Prof. Steven Laureys from the University of Liege. "Our work capitalized on the efforts made by the Human Brain Project teams to promote and facilitate digital neuroscience and brain medicine." The DoCMA (Disorders of Consciousness (DoC): enhancing the transfer of knowledge and professional skills on evidence-based interventions and validated technology for a better management of patients) project ends in January 2023. Explore further Heartbeat can help detect signs of consciousness in patients after a coma Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain South Africa is witnessing a "worrying" spike in coronavirus cases after a relative lull in new infections, official data showed Friday. Daily official updates released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Friday showed 4,631 infections had been detected in the past 24 hours. This is the highest number registered for almost three jumps, and a jump from an average daily of around 1,300 infections recorded last week. Health Minister Joe Phaahla told parliament earlier Friday that the rise in infections was "worrying". "Over the last few days we have seen worrying signs of the rise in the level of COVID infections. We hope that this will not go much higher, but we are monitoring," he said. "We hope that even if there is rise, it will not be disruptive". More than half of the new cases reported Friday were found in the most populous province, Gauteng, where Johannesburg is situated. Flood-hit KwaZulu-Natal province recorded the second highest number, accounting for 22 percent of the latest cases. With a total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of more than 3,7 million, COVID has hit South Africa harder than any other country on the continent. NICD executive director, Adrian Puren said the Omicron variant is still the dominant circulating variant. Only one COVID death was recorded on Friday. Early in March South Africa registered zero COVID deaths, for the first time since May 2020. Scientists have predicted a new wave will hit the country in May as the southern hemisphere winter season starts to set in. Explore further S.Africa daily Covid cases hit record as controls tightened 2022 AFP Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a dying cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 (yellow), the virus that causes COVID-19. Credit: NIAID Integrated Research Facility, Fort Detrick, Maryland. Stricter pandemic policy measuresoften implemented by countries that tried to control, rather than eliminate COVID-19are associated with slightly worse mental health and lower life evaluations, according to two new studies reviewing data from 15 countries between April 2020 and June 2021, published in The Lancet Public Health journal. Mental health impacts associated with lockdowns were worse for women and women living in households with dependent children when compared to men of all ages. At the national level, countries that aimed to eliminate community transmission of COVID-19 within their borders (eliminators) experienced fewer deaths and equivalent or better mental health trends during the pandemic than countries that aimed to control rather than eliminate transmission (mitigators). Over the course of the pandemic, governments across the globe employed diverse strategies and issued a variety of guidelines to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. However, containment measures were not homogenous; some countries adopted ambitious elimination strategies with zero community transmission targets. Other countries chose to slow down transmission through a mix of intermittent lockdowns, workplace, business, and school closings, social distancing, the wearing of face masks, and the cancelation of public gatherings and public transport. Eliminator countries like South Korea and Japan implemented early and targeted actions such as international travel restrictions, testing, and contact tracing, which resulted in lower levels of COVID-19 infections and enabled them to opt for more lenient domestic containment strategies. In contrast, mitigator countries such as France and the UK opted for less prohibitive international travel restrictions and aimed to controlrather than eliminatethe virus through strict and lengthy domestic policy measures including physical distancing and stay-at-home requirements. "Governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have been widely debated. At first sight, it may seem that eliminator countries implemented much harsher strategies than other countries because of their widely reported international travel bans. But, in reality, people within these borders enjoyed more freedom and less restrictive domestic containment measures overall than citizens in mitigator countries," says Dr. Lara Aknin, Simon Fraser University (Canada), author of the first study. While the first study indicates that the type and timing of pandemic restriction plays a factor in determining mental health impacts, the second study suggests that these are felt disproportionately by different groups. Together, the findings strengthen the notion that stricter policy measures may lead to adverse mental health outcomes and that effective policies to contain the pandemic must go hand in hand with strategies and resources to address mental health for the general population and those most at risk. Degree of strictness and type of containment determine impact on mental health To assess how variation in COVID-19 policy restrictions affects mental health, the first study combined daily policy stringency data with mental health data captured fortnightly from samples of 15 countries. Countries were grouped based on their response to COVID-19 from April 2020 to June 2021 as either eliminators (Australia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea) or mitigators (Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK). In mitigator countries, there was a stronger link between severe containment policies and lower life evaluation compared to eliminator countries. When looking at individual policies, those leading to a loss in social connection and primarily adopted in mitigator countries (e.g., restrictions on gatherings and stay-at-home requirements) were associated with greater psychological distress and lower life evaluations. On the other hand, policies such as school, workplace, public events, and public transport closures, as well as restrictions on domestic travel, were not linked to mental health. Perhaps surprisingly, the number of consecutive days spent under high or low levels of pandemic restrictions yielded no difference in mental health outcomes. Stricter policy measures were in general associated with lower opinions of the government's handling of the pandemic, and hence, mental health. Evaluations of how the government handled the pandemic were more positive in eliminator compared to mitigator countries. Over time, there was a decline in the negative association between stringency and future mental health, partly due to the effect on reduced deaths. Building on previous research, the authors conclude that the effect of strict policies on reducing deaths is much larger than the one observed for adverse mental health outcomes. Study author Dr. Rafael Goldszmidt, says, "Our research demonstrates that in addition to the intensity of the pandemic itself, the type of the pandemic response pursued makes a difference to people's mental health. Mitigation strategies may be associated with worse mental health outcomes at least in part because containment measures such as long periods of lockdowns and physical distancing can impede social connections. Nevertheless, as stricter policies are proven to be effective at reducing deaths, they may help offset the effects they have on psychological distress and life evaluations." He adds, "Strategies that aim to eliminate transmission while promoting early actions and targeted stringency can reduce deaths while also protecting people's mental health in the process. At the same time, governments need to provide clear and consistent information about policy measures to increase residents' confidence in the government's handling of the pandemic." Among the study's limitations is that mental health data were not available in the present survey before April 2020, when the pandemic began. Therefore, it was not possible to explore how mental health changed during the early implementation of COVID-19 policies when initial reactions may have differed from later responses. Furthermore, findings are limited to the specific time, policies, sample of countries, and nature of the pandemic studied. Women's mental health most impacted by lockdown The second study, based on nationally-representative data from Australia, underscores that the mental health impacts of lockdown were not felt equally across all demographic groups. The authors exploited a natural experiment that emerged from Victoria's unique lockdown, while other jurisdictions remained unrestricted, to isolate the causal impact of lockdown. The authors used data from over 20,000 individuals included in the Household, Income, and Labor Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. They compared the mental health of individuals in the state of Victoria during lockdown (the treatment group) relative to their mental health the year before lockdown and compared this relative change with the relative change of mental health of residents living in the remainder of Australia (the control group) who were relatively free of restrictions The analysis found that lockdown had a significant, but relatively small, adverse mental health effect. While the experience of lockdown slightly lowered mental health scores across the study population, females were more likely to suffer mental health consequences than males, especially those between 20 and 29 years of age. There were no significant effects for adolescents of either gender and no effects for younger males (aged 20-29). Meanwhile, males aged 55 years and above saw an improvement in their mental health during lockdownthe only demographic group that did so. Moderately large effects were also found for females living in coupled households with dependent children. They were more likely than any other group to face negative mental health outcomes, while males in coupled households with dependent children and without children only saw modest negative outcomes. No negative effect of lockdown was found for single mothers. Study author Prof Mark Wooden of the University of Melbourne says, "While the effects of lockdowns on overall population mental health were small, there were substantial and clinically relevant impacts for some groups. Women, especially those living in couple families with dependent children, have been hit hardest and were more likely than men in any age group to see a decline in their mental health. This gendered effect may be due to the additional workload associated with working from home while having to care for and educate their children at the same time, heightening already existing inequalities in household and caring responsibilities." Wooden adds, "It may seem unexpected that this trend did not apply to single mothers. One reason for this may be the financial support package Australia's Federal Government provided this group with as part of its economic recovery response which could have eased concerns and anxiety about lockdowns. In addition, single mothers are more likely to have experienced life without a safety net and strong support system before the pandemic. As such, they may have found it easier to adapt to sudden changes than women in coupled households." The researchers acknowledge several limitations to their study. As the data only includes information on the time period during lockdown, no conclusion about the duration or persistence of the mental health lockdown effect can be drawn. Secondly, it is possible that, without the aggressive COVID-19 suppression approach taken by the Australian Government in, the rate of COVID-19 infection would have been higher which could have resulted in greater COVID-19 morbidity and mortality and therefore could have had a much greater impact on population mental health. Finally, consideration needs to be given that the strict lockdown approach and the country-specific nature of the economic, employment, and welfare policy responses to the pandemic are specific to Australia and may not be generalisable to other settings. Explore further Pandemic lockdowns had severe mental health consequences for women in the developing world More information: Policy stringency and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of data from 15 countries, The Lancet Public Health (2022). Journal information: The Lancet Public Health Policy stringency and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of data from 15 countries,(2022). Charlie McConalogue T.D., Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, announced today that, following its scrutiny of a submission by the United Kingdom to the EU/third country opposition procedure for the Irish Grass Fed Beef PGI application, the European Commission has invited both parties to engage in appropriate consultations and to inform the Commission of the results of these consultations. Minister McConalogue said: "My Department along with An Bord Bia are currently examining the reasoned statement of opposition submitted by the UK. For some time now, my Department and An Bord Bia have fully engaged with their counterparts in Northern Ireland to share information and provide advice on the technical aspects of a grass fed standard and related matters associated with the possibility of having an all island PGI for Irish Grass Fed Beef. I welcome the opportunity now for both parties to engage to progress and finalise this work. Minister Mc Conalogue added: The PGI application and product specification has been subject to scrutiny by the European Commission, EU Member States and third countries. The European Commission has not been advised of any other opposition. I believe that the success in getting the application to this stage of the process demonstrates the quality of the product specification that was drafted by Bord Bia in consultation with my officials and which took account of engagement with our farming representative bodies through our national opposition procedure. Minister Mc Conalogue concluded: I am hopeful that the engagement between both parties can be progressed quickly. I am excited to see the Irish Grass Fed Beef come to fruition for the benefit of our beef farmers on the island." Notes for Editors: EU quality policy aims to protect the names of specific products to promote their unique characteristics, linked to their geographical origin as well as traditional know-how. Product names can be granted a 'geographical indication' (GI) if they have a specific link to the place where they are made. The GI recognition enables consumers to trust and distinguish quality products while also helping producers to market their products better. An Bord Bia is the applicant for a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for Irish Grass Fed Beef and the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine is the Competent Authority. In August 2020 a national opposition procedure was held for the PGI application for Irish Grass-Fed Beef. In November 2020, the DAFM lodged the application single document and product specification document with the European Commission. In May 2021, the European Commission responded to the IE application with technical queries. Between June 2021 and October 2021, the DAFM responded to the European Commission queries, following which, on 8 December 2021, the Commission published the PGI application for the EU/third country opposition procedure. This consultation ended on 8 March 2022. On 1 March 2022, the EU Commission notified this Department that the UK authorities had submitted a Notice of Opposition. A letter from the European Commission received by the Department on 14 April 2022 - invites the applicant and the opponent to engage in appropriate consultations for a period of three months from the date of this letter. - to inform the Commission of the results of these consultations. ENDS AFTER THE controversial flyover issue, now the rice purchase made by the local government for Zamboanguenos at the height of the Covid-19 pa... Immediacy isnt how anyone describes geologic time. This is the slow movement of plates weighing impossible to comprehend numbers of tons, of weathering by heat and cold and water all gently shoving stone into new forms that are only seen in the brief moment a human can consider them. But in "Fire of Love," time scales into something deeply human into romance. Playing at IWFF "Fire of Love" is screening as part of the 45th annual International Wildlife Film Festival. 93 minutes Directed by Sara Dosa Show times: Saturday, April 23, at 8:30 p.m. at the Roxy Tuesday, April 26, at 6:15 p.m. at the Roxy For tickets, go to wildlifefilms.org. Katia and Maurice Krafft were two of the foremost volcanologists in the world at the time of their death in 1991, and only by doing something known very well by anyone living now in 2022: putting their lives on video. "Fire of Love" pulls almost entirely from the footage shot by the Kraffts and their friends, generally other volcanologists who were swept along with these two as they sprinted all over the world to experience eruptions at as many volcanoes as they possibly could, in order to understand one of the most majestic and terrifying killers humanity has ever lived next to. This is a documentary that works both as a clinical reconstruction of lives lived in the danger zone, an undertaking that might recall "The Alpinist," but (spoiler ahead) instead of the death of the main character being a surprise, "Fire of Love" tells you right off the bat that these two died doing what they loved. And that right there is where it gathers its power. This is not a hagiography there is a journalists detachment in telling the Kraffts story. Katia is a geochemist and is more respectful of the power of the natural forces constantly on display in her view of the world. Maurice is gung-ho, a daredevil constantly dreaming of taking a canoe down a lava flow in Hawaii. And they show themselves as these two types in their hundreds of hours of film Sara Dosa combed through to stitch together this portrait of interpersonal love and the love of forces that the Kraffts wanted desperately to better understand. This is a modern couple by every meaning of the phrase they decide not to have children early, they seek to never be tied down and constantly on the move in search of a new eruption and most of all, they are deeply cognizant of how they come across the cameras aperture and are mapped onto the film they lug across the world to capture images of volcanoes no one had ever brought to the world before. The sense of their sense of self is what Dosa is untangling throughout this film. She couldnt, or rather, cant actually remove how they viewed themselves and acted as themselves, because after a while these were in fact actors and scientists and lovers and volcanologists all rolled into one complex organism known as Maurice and Katia Krafft. In the footage captured for television, their appearances in their own film, the interweaving of beautifully rendered woodcut animation all make "Fire of Love" a visually arresting piece, one that comes to a conclusion with the captured image of the Kraffts looking at Mount Unzen, where a beautiful, roiling downward blasting pyroclastic flow that would leave only a watch and a camera for the Kraffts to be identified by: time and image, left together as a final still life for lives lived in chaotic, glorious action. Thomas Plank is a former Missoulian and Independent Record journalist. When he is not working for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, he is fly-fishing western Montana's rivers and considering better ways to expand his bookcase situation because let him tell you, he's running out of room already. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CONCORD, N.H. (AP) A bill adding an exception to New Hampshires new abortion ban for cases in which the fetus has been diagnosed with abnormalities incompatible with life is heading to the desk of Gov. Chris Sununu, who has said he will sign it. Since Jan. 1, New Hampshire has outlawed abortion after 24 weeks gestation, with exceptions only for pregnancies that threaten the mothers life or health. Doctors who provide late-term abortions can face felony charges, and ultrasounds are required before any abortion. With nine Republicans joining all 10 Democrats, the Senate voted 19-5 in favor of a bill to limit the use of ultrasounds and add the abnormalities incompatible with life exception. The bill passed the House last month. Sen. Becky Whitley, D-Hopkinton, said she was grateful to women who shared heartbreaking stories, including a Brookline woman who learned 21 weeks into her pregnancy that one of her twins would not survive on her own after birth. We know that there are many more women who have these deeply personal stories who may not be comfortable attending a public hearing who can attest that, yes, these circumstances are rare, but they happen to real families, she said. The Senate rejected an amendment proposed by Sen. Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, who said she understood the desire to add an exception but felt the bill raised too many questions. Incompatible with life ... is it just minutes, is it days, is it weeks? We dont know that, she said. With the U.S. Supreme Court considering a case that could severely erode abortion rights, state legislatures across the country are taking up measures to either restrict the procedure further, or ensure access to it. New Hampshire lawmakers are considering at least eight bills on both sides of the issue. Among those that have passed the House are bills that would allow health care workers to refuse to participate in the delivery of contraception or abortion care, and another that would eliminate the safety zone that keeps protesters at least 25 feet (7.5 meters) away from abortion clinics. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BEIJING (AP) Hong Kong relaxed pandemic restrictions on Thursday, with Disneyland and museums reopening and nighttime restaurant dining resuming as the city's worst COVID-19 outbreak appears to be fading. Enthusiastic visitors ran into Disneyland the moment the gates opened after a three-month closure. Popular theme parks were ordered to close in January as Hong Kong's fifth wave of the coronavirus took hold. Nearly 1.2 million people in the city of 7.4 million were infected in less than four months, and nearly 9,000 have died. Since Christmas we havent been back here, my daughters really happy, shes been waiting so long, said Joyce Mak, 36, who brought her young daughter to Disneyland. Last night she was so excited, she didnt want to go to sleep. The city was caught off guard as the surge, driven by highly transmissible omicron variant, overwhelmed hospitals. At the peak of the outbreak, bodies were stored in refrigerated containers because mortuaries were overwhelmed. The easing of restrictions came after officials acknowledged that people were getting frustrated with the measures, and that there must be a balance between fighting the epidemic and resumption of normal activities. The relaxation of measures before Hong Kong has reached zero COVID-19 cases marks a shift from the citys earlier strategy, which was aligned to mainland Chinas zero-tolerance for any outbreaks. Previously, authorities were reluctant to ease measures until it was clear that outbreaks in the city were stamped out. A 15-year-old student, Cynthia Cheung, said Disneyland was her happiest place. Its been such a long time since coming here, last time was in December, she said. I really missed it. Theme parks can now operate at 50% capacity, and visitors must show proof of vaccination. Disney employees held up signs reminding people to keep social distance. In mainland China, the death toll rose to 25 in an outbreak in Shanghai that has all but shut down the countrys largest city. Health authorities said Thursday that eight more people had died in the previous day. The relatively low number of reported deaths highlights China's use of much narrower criteria than the rest of the world for its pandemic statistics. Shanghai has eased the lockdown somewhat in areas that have not reported new cases in seven to 14 days, allowing residents out of their homes but still restricting them to their compounds or neighborhoods. Some said on social media that they dare not venture out anyway, wary of entering nearby areas that have had recent cases. Officials said this week that 12.3 million people in the city of 25 million are now in control or prevention areas, which are less restrictive than lockdown zones in a three-tier system. That is 4 million more than 10 days ago, they said. However, one of the citys 16 districts announced Thursday that no residents would be allowed to leave their compounds. The Jingan district in central Shanghai said that even those in prevention areas, the least restrictive zone, would no longer be able to venture into the surrounding neighborhood. The city reported 18,495 new local cases on Thursday, including 15,861 without symptoms. In eastern Shanghai, some residents were ordered to leave their homes while health workers carried out a large-scale disinfection following a spike in infections, according to news reports and social media posts. It wasnt clear how many people in Beicai town were affected. The areas population is nearly 300,000. Phone calls to the municipal government werent answered. Photos published by The Paper, an online news outlet, showed workers in hooded, white protective suits spraying disinfectant in homes. In Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese region, attractions such as Ocean Park and M+ museum reopened Thursday. Gyms, beauty salons and massage parlors were also allowed to resume business. Customers must have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and scan a QR code upon entry for contact-tracing purposes. Restaurants, which had been barred from providing dine-in service after 6 p.m., can reopen in the evening, although each table is capped at four guests. Hong Kong reported 603 locally spread infections Thursday, down more than 99% from the peak of more than 30,000 in March. Soo reported from Singapore. Associated Press researcher Chen Si in Shanghai, writer Joe McDonald and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. HELENA, Mont. (AP) The administrator of Montana's state psychiatric hospital is leaving his post amid the facility's loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding for repeated failures to meet health and safety standards, the state health department said Thursday. Kyle Fouts, who has led the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs since 2019, will begin work on May 9 as administrator at the Intensive Behavior Center in Boulder, the Montana State News Bureau reports. The center is a 12-bed, short-term treatment facility for people with intellectual disabilities, The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had found patients at the Montana State Hospital were in immediate jeopardy several times in recent months before revoking the hospital's federal funding effective on April 12. Payments for patients who were already at the hospital continues for another 30 days, but no new patients would qualify for Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements. The hospital's deficiencies included failing to separate patients with COVID-19 from those who weren't sick. Three patients died of COVID-19. Another patient died after repeated falls. The hospital, which had about 142 patients in early April, is also short-staffed and has relied heavily on traveling staff, the agency found. The Montana State Hospital also failed to adequately investigate the August 2021 death of a patient after staff reportedly ignored her complaints that she wasn't able to catch her breath, CMS said. In March, as the hospital was working to avoid the loss of federal funding, a patient was violently assaulted by fellow patients, requiring hospitalization. The facility is at least $7 million over budget because of hiring traveling staff at a higher cost, the health department has said. The hospital is reimbursed on average $7 million annually through Medicaid and Medicare, out of about $47 million annually appropriated to the facility by the Legislature, state officials said. Carter Anderson, inspector general of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, will serve as interim director of the state hospital in Warm Springs, the health department told state lawmakers in an email. The state has also hired an outside contractor, Alvarez & Marsal, to evaluate the state's health care facilities at a cost of $2.2 million. Fouts has 32 years of supervisory experience in the public sector. A message left at his work phone number seeking comment Thursday was not immediately returned. For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, Independent Record.